The Portland Beavers, est. 2001

[Questdog]

Monthly Awards for April
AL Player of the Month: Antonio Mata, 1b, Tampa Bay (28 S) .423/.455/.769 6 2B 10 HR 8 SB 28 R 30 RBI in 26 G
AL Pitcher of the Month: Doug Schmidt, Seattle (29 R) 4-0 1.79 40.1 IP 32 H 1 HR 9 BB 23 SO
AL Rookie of the Month: Willie Franco, lf, Texas (21 L) .406/.442/.679 7 2B 2 3B 6 HR 18 R 20 RBI in 26 G (24 GS)

NL Player of the Month: Jake Johnson, 2b, Chicago (N) (31 R) .363/.425/.667 2 2B 1 3B 9 HR 24 R 20 RBI in 26 G
NL Pitcher of the Month: Dave Sikes, San Diego (23 L) 5-0 1.64 38.1 IP 21 H 4 HR 15 BB 46 SO
NL Rookie of the Month: Jim Detwiler, lf/cf, Colorado (24 L) .379/.449/.690 9 2B 6 HR 15 R 23 RBI in 25 G (22 GS)

Monthly Awards for May
AL Player of the Month: Antonio Mata, 1b, Tampa Bay (28 S) .341/.382/.555 4 2B 1 3B 7 HR 4 SB 26 R 27 RBI in 29 G
AL Pitcher of the Month: Mickey Monroe, Kansas City (27 R) 5-0 1.34 47 IP 29 H 1 HR 16 BB 50 SO
AL Rookie of the Month: Sergio Linares, 3b, Oakland (25 S) .315/.347/.435 8 2B 1 HR 5 SB 12 R 10 RBI in 27 G (24 GS)

NL Player of the Month: Larry Brown, cf/lf, New York (N) (29 R) .406/.496/.783 11 2B 1 3B 9 HR 18 BB 8 SO 24 R 31 RBI in 29 G
NL Pitcher of the Month: Jimmy Nester, Pittsburgh (26 R) 0-0 15 SV 1.47 18.1 IP 14 H 1 HR 4 BB 14 SO
NL Rookie of the Month: Marv Kirkeeng, cf/lf, Pittsburgh (22 L) .345/.351/.469 7 2B 2 3B 1 HR 1 BB 14 SB 26 R 13 RBI in 28 G (26 GS)

Monthly Awards for June
AL Player of the Month: Eric Lier, c, Los Angeles (A) (27 R) .425/.472/.650 6 2B 4 HR 19 R 14 RBI in 23 G (21 GS)
AL Pitcher of the Month: Steve Preble, New York (A) (26 R) 4-1 1.80 45 IP 38 H 2 HR 13 BB 27 SO
AL Rookie of the Month: Lou Brown, lf, Baltimore (25 L) .293/.397/.596 6 2B 8 HR 17 BB 22 R 16 RBI in 27 G

NL Player of the Month: Phil Turpen, 1b, San Francisco (32 L) .305/.402/.621 6 2B 8 HR 15 BB 20 R 19 RBI in 27 G
NL Pitcher of the Month: Ron Bell, New York (N) (26 R) 2-1 11 SV 3.21 14 IP 10 H 1 HR 4 BB 20 SO
NL Rookie of the Month: Tim DePriest, 3b, Portland (27 R) .320/.350/.464 9 2B 1 3B 1 HR 10 R 9 RBI in 26 G (25 GS)

Monthly Awards for July
AL Player of the Month: Arturo Hernandez, rf, Los Angeles (A) (21 L) .371/.451/.865 10 2B 2 3B 10 HR 13 BB 12 SO 15 R 29 RBI (!) in 24 G (23 GS)
AL Pitcher of the Month: Tony Ahern, Seattle (33 R) 2-1 3.45 15.2 IP 14 H 0 HR 7 BB 8 SO
AL Rookie of the Month: Arturo Hernandez, rf, Los Angeles (A)

NL Player of the Month: Floyd Miller, ss, San Diego (28 S) .355/.387/.682 4 2B 1 3B 10 HR 19 R 10 RBI in 26 G
NL Pitcher of the Month: Brian Stinnett, San Francisco (31 R) 4-0 1.17 38.1 IP 23 H 1 HR 11 BB 31 SO
NL Rookie of the Month: Tom Taylor, 2b, San Diego (26 S) .289/.343/.495 9 2B 1 3B 3 HR 1 SB 11 R 16 RBI in 26 G

Monthly Awards for August
AL Player of the Month: Antonio Vasquez, 1b, Cleveland (25 L) .349/.434/.761 4 2B 1 3B 13 HR (!) 18 BB 26 R (!!) 27 RBI (!) in 27 G
AL Pitcher of the Month: Doug Willard, Kansas City (24 L) 4-2 1.32 47.2 IP 32 H 1 HR 16 BB 43 SO
AL Rookie of the Month: Henry de la Rosa, 1b, Oakland (26 L) .419/.453/.558 6 2B 2 HR 16 R 15 RBI in 24 G (23 GS)

NL Player of the Month: Bobby Manzano, 1b, Colorado (26 L) .346/.421/.682 7 2B 1 3B 9 HR 14 BB 29 R (!!) 21 RBI in 27 G
NL Pitcher of the Month: Paul McDonald, Houston (33 R) 5-1 2.20 45 IP 43 H 5 HR 3 BB 21 SO
NL Rookie of the Month: Mike Wetzel, 3b, Portland (25 R) .305/.377/.347 4 2B 10 BB 9 R 5 RBI in 25 G (24 GS)

[Questdog]

Sunday, September 1, 2002

The Burgermeister finally made a proclamation on P Alan Gross, the best pitcher on our team: Torn Rotator Cuff. 6 months, at least, until he can pitch.

P Larry Duke will move back to the rotation to take the spot of Gross.

Today is also the day we can expand rosters to 40 and since the Indianapolis Indians (AAA) are 7 games out of the playoffs with 9 games to play, we have no compunction about calling up their players to help us out. So the following players are here in Portland today:

RP Vic Gutowski (24 R)
RP Paul Hoskins (23 L)
RP Mike Meyer (25 R)
C Paul Stewart (27 R)
2B Taylor Cohen (27 R)
3B Tim De Priest (27 R)
3B Alan Douglas (30 R)
SS Rick Ferrell (27 R)
OF Jerry Alston (29 L)
OF Don Quinney (28 L)

Every one of the players called up have been with the Beavers before, except RP Vic Gutowski, who will be making his Major League debut. All the rest of them were with the Beavers this season, except RP Mike Meyers, who pitched for us a little last year. OF's Alston and Quinney are currently hurt. Alston should be ready to go in a couple of days; it will be a few weeks for Quinney.

Philadelphia Phillies (70-64 .522 5.5 GB in 2nd place in the NL East) at
Portland Beavers (79-54 .594 in 1st place in the NL West)

Champ Keckler, Phi (36 R 7-3 4.23 9.3-1.7-1.5-5.1 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Angel Rodriguez, Por (24 R 1-4 4.19 8.9-1.3-3.5-5.2)

We have never faced Yocco before. He was 12-7 with a 2.93 ERA in 32 starts for the White Sox last year.

The team record streak that I was sure would end yesterday, but did not, will surely end today....

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
PHILADELPHIA
1: 3B Tim LaRose (23 R .304-0-40-.769 in 438 AB) 2002 All-Star
2: SS Manny Gonzalez (24 R .244-15-71-.691 in 499 AB)
3: LF Rick Lewis (25 L .255-16-74-.738 in 502 AB) 2001 Gold Glove & Silver Slugger 2001/02 All-Star
4: RF Charlie Reshard (24 L .267-23-77-.797 in 430 AB) 2001 Silver Slugger 2nd in ROY vote
5: CF Steve Graham (23 R .275-4-17-.747 in 142 AB) Rookie
6: 1B Ignacio Medina (31 L .270-24-80-.821 in 470 AB) 2001 All-Star
7: C Fred Wann (29 R .227-21-49-.731 in 365 AB)
8: 2B Russ Engelman (24 R .190-0-4-.471 in 58 AB) Rookie #46 Prospect
9: P Champ Keckler (36 R .088-0-0-.227 in 34 AB) FA from ChA 3-yrs./$38.2 mil.

PORTLAND
1: SS Stu Redman (30 R .297-5-49-.759 in 489 AB)
2: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .273-5-38-.718 in 487 AB)
3: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .270-9-54-.730 in 381 AB)
4: C Mark Parker (28 R .272-8-38-.806 in 268 AB)
5: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .287-11-61-.790 in 335 AB)
6: LF Lebron Williams (33 L .284-8-41-.783 in 261 AB)
7: 3B Mike Wetzel (25 R .283-0-7-.675 in 159 AB)
8: 2B Doug Baker (25 L .200-0-3-.475 in 40 AB)
9: P Angel Rodriguez (24 R .304-0-0-.652 in 23 AB)

Game Start: 2:05 PM
Weather: 72 deg. Clear skies with a 7 MPH wind blowing in from left.
Attendance: 25,000 One more fella wanted in, but we sent him away....

Tim LaRose grounds put to the pitcher. Manny Gonzalez lines out to short. Rick Lewis ground one to 2nd, but Doug Baker boots it. E-4. He steals 2nd and C Mark Parker throws the ball into center and Lewis goes to 3rd. SB + E-2. And of course, with a runner in scoring position and 2 outs, Charlie Reshard lines a hit to center. 1 to 0, Phillies. Steve Graham fouls out to the left side, SS Stu Redman making the catch.

Bottom of the 1st: Stu Redman leads off with a line drive to left center for a hit. Javy Fernandez hits the ball on the nose, but lines out to 2nd. Lee Kowalski grounds a hit to right and Redman beats the throw to 3rd. Mark Parker grounds a hit to left to tie the game at 1! Danny Hernandez flies out to right. Lebron Williams flies out to left.

After getting them out in the top of the 2nd, P Angel Rodriguez came to the dugout complaining of a stiff back.... He is out of the game. RHP Phil McPhie is in. The Burgermeister says it is nothing serious, but a week of rest would do him a world of good.... Well, he can rest in the Winter....

Bottom of the 6th: New pitcher: RHP Miguel Avila. With 1 out, Mike Wetzel whacks a 3-2 pitch to center for a hit. With 2 outs, PH Tim DePriest draws a walk. Stu Redman then doubles to left center and both runners score! 3 to 1, Beavers!

Bottom of the 7th: New pitcher: LHP Jim Enright. Lee Kowalski beats out an infield hit to get us started. Mark Parker blasts one to deep left, but it is caught at the base of the wall. Kowalski tags up and makes it to 2nd. PH Jim Eighmy is intentionally walked. PH Dave Priestly hits a triple to the right field corner! 5 to 1, Beavers! Mike Wetzel is intentionally walked. New pitcher: RHP Fidel Velasquez. Doug Baker grounds out to 2nd and Priestly scores. 6 to 1, Beavers.

Won - 7 to 4

And the team record streak I mentioned is still in tact!

We had 13 hits and made 3 errors.
The Phillies had 7 hits and made 1 errors.

Angel Rodriguez went 2 innings, allowed 1 unearned run, 2 hits, no walks and struck out 2.
RHP Phil McPhie went 3 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit, 1 walk and struck out 2.
LHP Paul Hoskins (W 1-0) went 1 scoreless inning, allowed 1 walk and struck out 2.
RHP Doug Maxwell went 1 scoreless inning and allowed 1 hit. He threw a WP.
RHP Vic Gutowksi, in his Major League Debut, went 1 and 1/3 innings, allowed 2 runs, 2 hits, 1 walk and struck out 1.
RHP Mike Meyer went 2/3 of an inning, allowed 1 run, 1 hit and 1 walk.

Champ Keckler went 5 innings, gave us 1 run, 7 hits, 1 walk and struck out 2.
RHP Miguel Avila (L 2-3) went 2/3 of an inning, gave us 2 runs, 2 hits, 1 walk and struck out 1.

SS Stu Redman had 2 hits with a double, scored a run and had 2 RBIs. RF Lee Kowalski went 3 for 3 with 2 walks and scored 2 runs. C Mark Parker had 2 hits and an RBI and though he made a throwing error, he also threw out 2 base stealers. PH/1B Jim Eighmy was intentionally walked and had a hit, scored a run and had an RBI. PH/LF Dave Priestly hit a triple, scored a run and had 2 RBIs. 3B Mike Wetzel went 3 for 3 with and intentional walk and scored a run. PH Tim DePriest drew a walk and scored a run.

[Questdog]

September 2, 2002

Monday Morning Report

AL Player of the Week - Jesus Quintana, 1b, New York (A) (26 L .326/.415/.512) Had 12 hits with 1 2B, 3 HR, 3 BB, 1 SO, 8 R and 9 RBI in 6 G
NL Player of the Week - Miguel Colorado, c, Miami (24 L .294/.374/.437) Had 10 hits with 3 HR, 5 R and 3 RBI in 6 G

(Slash lines are for the season, not the week)

August 26: 2B Jim Ness of Los Angeles (A) hit 2 home runs at Chicago (A). He had 3 hits and a walk, stole 2 bases, scored 3 runs and had 6 RBIs. In the 1st inning, he hit a Grand Slam. The Angels won, 10 to 5.
August 28: SS Marty Jennelle of Detroit had 5 hits at home versus Baltimore. He had an RBI and also made 2 errors. The Tigers won, 6 to 5.
August 29: LHP Jackie Denison of Cleveland pitched a 6-hit shutout at Texas, in the first game of a double header, where Cleveland batted as the home team. He walked 1 and struck out 7. At, bat he had 2 hits and an RBI. He is now 11-9 with a 4.19 ERA. The Indians won, 7 to 0.
August 29: 1B Antonio Vasquez of Cleveland hit 2 home runs at Texas in the second game of the double header, where Texas batted as the home team. He drew 3 walks and scored 3 runs. The Indians won this one, also, 8 to 5.
August 30: RHP Doug Rosencrans of Texas pitched a 7-hit shutout at home versus Cleveland. He did not walk a batter and struck out 2. He is now 2-10 with a 5.92 ERA. The Rangers won, 5 to 0.
August 31: RHP Manny Leiva of San Diego pitched a 2-hit shutout at New York (N). He walked 1 and struck out 4. At bat, he had a hit. He is now 13-7 with a 2.61 ERA. The Padres won, 2 to 0.
August 31: RHP Israel Renteria of San Francisco pitch a 3-hit shutout at Chicago (N). He walked 3 and struck out 1. At bat, he hit 2 doubles and scored a run. He is now 11-10 with a 3.62 ERA. The Giants won, 4 to 0.
September 1: LF Larry Brown of New York (N) hit 2 home runs at home versus San Diego. He had 3 RBIs. The Mets won, 5 to 4.
September 1: C Estevan Lorenzo of Tampa Bay hit 2 home runs at home versus Chicago (A). He had 3 hits and scored 3 runs. The Rays won, 7 to 1.
September 1: LHP Rod Guerra of Toronto pitched a 3-hit shutout at home versus Los Angeles (A). He walked 1 and struck out 2. He is now 10-9 with a 3.08 ERA. The Blue Jays scored a run in the bottom of the 9th and won, 1 to 0.
September 1: 1B Mike Morgan of Texas hit 2 home runs at home versus Cleveland. He had 3 hits and a walk and scored 3 runs. His 2nd home run ended the game in the bottom of the 10th. The Rangers won, 5 to 4, in 10 innings.

Random Fact of the Week: Now, I hate mentioning good things that players are doing, because jinxes are real. But sometimes something is just so interesting that you cannot keep your mouth shut. OF Lebron Williams had 136 AB through June 10 and had grounded into 12 double plays, a horrific rate. Since then, he has had 128 AB and has not grounded into any!

[Questdog]

Monday, September 2, 2002

Manager Bruce Gray (46) has his Cubs here to play us a 4-game series. They split 4 games in Chicago with the Giants over the weekend. The first time we met them they swept us 4 games in Chicago (N), May 23-26. They are 2nd in the NL in scoring with 5.0 runs per game (Portland is up to #10 with 4.1). They are 2nd in the league in hitting home runs, while the Beavers are 3rd from the bottom, ahead of only the Braves and Dodgers. They are 11th in runs allowed with 4.4 per game (Portland is #2 with 3.7). Their pitchers are last in the league in Saves, while Portland is 3rd.

Chicago Cubs (69-67 .507 7 GB in 4th place in the NL East) at
Portland Beavers (80-54 .597 in 1st place in the NL West)

Art Roach, ChN (27 R 6-7 3.50 7.9-0.5-2.1-8.0 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs J.T. Burdick, Por (24 L 0-1 4.00 9.0-0.5-4.0-3.5)

We have not faced Roach as a starter before. He had a win in relief and a save in the series in Chicago. He has 31 SV over the past two seasons This will be his 8th start of the year and he did not start at all last season.

Burdick makes his 4th career start still looking for win #1. At this point, there is no choice but to continue to pitch him, even though he has walked more than he has struck out.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
CHICAGO (N)
1: SS John Godfrey (29 L .264-4-54-.673 in 552 AB)
2: 2B Jake Johnson (31 R .277-20-63-.877 in 397 AB) 2002 All-Star Playing hurt
3: 3B Larry Menard (35 R .266-25-83-.757 in 526 AB) 2001 All-Star
4: RF Arturo Guerra (35 L .305-17-70-.885 in 325 AB) 2001/02 All-Star
5: LF Joe Gombos (23 R .265-3-29-.710 in 223 AB) Missed 2 mos. w/injury
6: 1B Tony Ramirez (32 R .265-15-65-.751 in 426 AB)
7: C Toby Bey (26 R 2002 Debut .282-5-46-.721 in 380 AB in AAA)
8: CF John Presley (27 R .277-3-24-.760 in 94 AB)
9: P Art Roach (27 R .267-0-0-.600 in 15 AB)

PORTLAND
1: SS Stu Redman (30 R .298-5-51-.761 in 494 AB)
2: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .272-5-38-.715 in 492 AB)
3: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .276-9-54-.743 in 384 AB)
4: C Mark Parker (28 R .275-8-39-.806 in 273 AB)
5: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .284-11-61-.784 in 338 AB)
6: LF Lebron Williams (33 L .280-8-41-.774 in 264 AB)
7: 2B Mike Campell (31 R .197-2-11-.554 in 132 AB) Yes, Mike Campell
8: 3B Jim Eighmy (28 R .254-3-18-.703 in 114 AB)
9: P J.T. Burdick (24 L .000-0-0-.000 in 6 AB)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Weather: 63 deg. Clear skies with a 7 MPH wind blowing in from right.
Attendance: 21,284

John Godfrey leads off with a walk.... Jake Johnson strikes out. Full count to Larry Menard and he takes strike three! Arturo Guerra grounds an 0-2 pitch to center for a hit and Godfrey goes to 3rd which means there is a runner in scoring position with 2 outs.... Joe Gombos flies out to center!

Bottom of the 1st: Stu Redman swings at the first pitch and grounds out to the pitcher. Javy Fernandez beats out an infield hit. Lee Kowalski grounds out to 2nd, Jake Johnson making a nice play, and Fernandez goes to 2nd. Mark Parker grounds out to short.

Top of the 2nd: With 1 out, Toby Bey, in his first at bat of 2002, grounds a hit to center. John Presley takes a 3-2 pitch for ball four. P Art Roach tries to bunt them up, but pops out to the catcher, but that means there are 2 outs with a runner in scoring position.... John Godfrey doubles to center and both runners score. 2 to 0, Cubs. Jake Johnson lines a hit to right and Godfrey heads home, but Lee Kowalski guns him down!

Lost - 2 to 0

And the team record streak I mentioned is still in tact.

We had 6 hits and made no errors.
The Cubs had 8 hits and made no errors.

J.T. Burdick (L 0-2) went 6 innings, allowed 2 runs, 7 hits, 3 walks and struck out 4. All four of his starts have met the criteria for a Quality Start. None have been impressive outings, but he should have at least gotten a win by now....
LHP Al McMillian went 1 scoreless inning, allowed 1 hit and struck out 2.
RHP Ron Beckman went 2 perfect innings and struck out 1.

Al Roach (W 7-7) went 6 and 2/3 innings, gave us 2 no runs, 6 hits, no walks and struck out 2. Pop out, pop out, pop out, pop out....
RHP Garland Roop (SV 12) pitched a perfect 9 with 2 pop outs and a weak ground out.

CF Javy Fernandez had 2 hits. LF Lebron Williams had 3 hits with a double.

[Questdog]

Tuesday, September 3, 2002

Chicago Cubs (70-67 .511 6 GB in 3rd place in the NL East) at
Portland Beavers (80-55 .593 in 1st place in the NL West)

Enrique Espinoza, ChN (37 R 7-4 3.93 9.7-0.7-2.1-5.7 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Larry Duke, Por (34 L 7-9 3.72 9.4-0.9-1.5-4.4)

We not faced Espinoza this season. We beat him twice last year when he was with the Rockies, but he pitched well both times.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
CHICAGO (N)
1: SS John Godfrey (29 L .264-4-56-.674 in 556 AB)
2: 2B Jake Johnson (31 R .277-20-63-.874 in 401 AB) 2002 All-Star Playing hurt
3: C Al Soto (34 S .318-18-72-.875 in 444 AB) 2002 All-Star
4: 3B Larry Menard (35 R .267-25-83-.757 in 529 AB) 2001 All-Star
5: RF Arturo Guerra (35 L .304-17-70-.880 in 329 AB) 2001/02 All-Star
6: LF Joe Gombos (23 R .260-3-29-.698 in 227 AB)
7: 1B Tony Ramirez (32 R .265-15-65-.749 in 430 AB)
8: CF Bob Johns (26 R .268-4-27-.748 in 280 AB) Missed a month w/injury
9: P Enrique Espinoza (37 R.065-0-1-.158 in 31 AB) Signed as minor league FA 5/1

PORTLAND
1: SS Mike Wetzel (25 R .294-0-7-.697 in 163 AB)
2: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .274-5-38-.717 in 496 AB)
3: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .273-9-54-.735 in 388 AB)
4: C Mark Parker (28 R .271-8-39-.795 in 277 AB)
5: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .282-11-61-.777 in 341 AB)
6: LF Lebron Williams (33 L .288-8-41-.791 in 267 AB)
7: 2B Mike Campell (31 R .193-2-11-.542 in 135 AB) Yes, Mike Campell
8: 3B Jim Eighmy (28 R .248-3-18-.685 in 117 AB)
9: P Larry Duke (34 L .065-0-1-.152 in 46 AB) 34 SO

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Weather: 70 deg. Clear skies with a 9 MPH wind blowing in from right.
Attendance: 22,001 That 1 guy slipped by this time....

John Godfrey leads off with a double to left center. Why did you have to get hurt, Mr. Gross? Jake Johnson swings a the first pitch and singles to right and Godfrey beats the throw to the plate. 1 to 0, Cubs. Johnson goes to 2nd on the throw. Why, oh why, Mr. Gross? Al Soto flies out to left. Larry Menard double to right. 2 to 0, Cubs. Arturo Guerra flies out to center. And now there are 2 outs with a runner in scoring position.... Joe Gombos grounds out to 3rd!

Bottom of the 1st: Mike Wetzel dumps an 0-2 pitch into left center for a hit. Javy Fernandez strikes out. Lee Kowalski grounds into a 4-6-3 double play. What a disappointment he has been....

Bottom of the 2nd: Mark Parker leads off with a double to right and goes to 2rd on a wild pitch. But 3 outs later, he is still standing there....

Bottom of the 3rd: Stop the Presses! With 1 out, P Larry Duke singles to center! Mike Wetzel draws a walk. Javy Fernandez hits one deep to right, but it is caught up against the wall. Id the wind was not blowing in, that surely would have been a home run.... 2 outs. Lee Kowalski singles to right and the Dashing Duke heads for home and beats the throw! 2 to 1, Cubs. Mark Parker draws a walk to load the bases up and Danny Hernandez lines a single to center and 2 runs score! 3 to 2, Beavers. That gives Hernandez 63 RBI on the season, tying the team record!

Top of the 5th: Tony Ramirez leads off with an infield hit and Bob Johns gets plunked. The Bullpen is up. P Enrique Espinoza bunts them up and then John Godfrey beats out another infield hit to score a run. 3 to 3. ....and no ball has left the infield....but it will....and soon.... Jake Johnson doubles to right and both runners score. 5 to 3, Cubs. I hate when I am right.... Call to the Bullpen: P Larry Castillo. Not the best choice, since he get hammered by lefties and Al Soto is a switch hitter, but the bullpen is not full of fresh arms at the moment.... But Castillo gets Soto to ground out, but lets the righty Larry Menard single to left to score another run. 6 to 3. And then he gets whack around a bunch.... I am off to see if there is something more interesting in this park than this 6-run inning....

Lost - 10 to 3

10 runs allowed, but still the team record streak I mentioned is in tact.

We had 10 hits and made 1 error.
The Cubs had 14 hits and made no errors.

Larry Duke (L 7-10) went 4 and 1/3 innings, allowed 6 runs, 7 hits, 1 HBP, no walks and struck out 1. At bat, he had a hit and scored a run. I think we need to try someone else....
RHP Larry Castillo went 1 and 1/3 innings, allowed 3 runs, 5 hits and struck out 1.
LHP Paul Hoskins went 2 and 1/3 hitless innings and struck out 2.
RHP Mike Meyer went 1 inning, allowed 1 run, 2 hits, 1 walk and struck out 2.

Enrique Espinoza (W 8-4) went 6 innings, gave us 3 runs, 9 hits, 2 walks and struck out 2. He threw a WP. At bat, he hit a double and scored a run.

C Mark Parker hit 2 doubles and drew a walk, but no runs or RBIs. 1B Danny Hernandez had a hit and 2 RBIs, tying the team record of 63 in one season, set by Frank Wiginton last year. PH/1B Eric McCornack hit a double. 3B Jim Eighmy hit a double. LF Jerry Alston beat out an infield hit in his only trip to the plate.

For the Cubs, SS John Godfrey had 3 hits with 2 doubles, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBIs. 2B Jake Johnson had 2 hits with a double and a walk, scored 3 runs and had 3 RBIs. 3B Larry Menard had 3 hits with a double, scored a run and had 2 RBIs.

[Questdog]

Wednesday, September 4, 2002

Chicago Cubs (71-67 .514 5 GB in 3rd place in the NL East) at
Portland Beavers (80-56 .588 in 1st place in the NL West)

Jamie Nale, ChN (29 L 10-7 3.17 8.7-0.3-2.6-4.0 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Terry Cole, Por (32 L 17-6 2.86 8.2-0.3-3.2-5.9)

Not surprisingly, given that he is a very good left-handed pitcher, Nale beat us handily when we faced him on May 24 in Chicago. He held us to 2 runs in 8 innings, which are more runs than we deserved on the 4 hits and 1 walk he gave up.

Terry Cole is reporting that his pulled abdominal muscle seems to be 100% now. He was awful his last time out with 6 walks in only 3.1 IP.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
CHICAGO (N)
1: SS John Godfrey (29 L .267-4-58-.682 in 561 AB)
2: 2B Jake Johnson (31 R .279-20-66-.879 in 405 AB) 2002 All-Star Playing hurt
3: C Al Soto (34 S .316-18-72-.870 in 449 AB) 2002 All-Star
4: 3B Larry Menard (35 R .270-25-85-.763 in 534 AB) 2001 All-Star
5: RF Arturo Guerra (35 L .305-17-71-.879 in 334 AB) 2001/02 All-Star
6: LF Joe Gombos (23 R .259-3-31-.696 in 232 AB)
7: 1B Tony Ramirez (32 R .264-15-65-.745 in 435 AB)
8: CF Bob Johns (26 R .265-4-27-.743 in 283 AB)
9: P Jamie Nale (29 R .134-0-2-.339 in 67 AB)

PORTLAND
1: SS Stu Redman (31 R .297-5-51-.758 in 499 AB)
2: 3B Mike Wetzel (25 R .293-0-7-.696 in 167 AB)
3: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .273-9-55-.733 in 392 AB)
4: C Mark Parker (28 R .275-8-39-.809 in 280 AB)
5: 1B Jim Eighmy (28 R .248-3-18-.688 in 121 AB)
6: LF Dave Priestly (28 R .265-4-22-.753 in 196 AB)
7: 2B Mike Campell (31 R .187-2-11-.527 in 139 AB) Yes, Mike Campell
8: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .272-5-38-.712 in 500 AB)
9: P Terry Cole (32 L .250-0-7-.547 in 64 AB)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Weather: 60 deg. Overcast with an 8 MPH wind blowing right to left.
Attendance: 18,852

John Godfrey lines out to center. Jake Johnson swings at the first pitch and grounds out to 3rd. Al Soto flies out to left! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the 1st: Stu Redman grounds out to 3rd. Mike Wetzel grounds out to 2nd. Lee Kowalski grounds out to 1st.

Bottom of the 2nd: With 2 outs, Dave Priestly gets the first hit of the game for either team and then steals 2nd. Mike Campell (yes, Mile Campell) lines a hit to right center and Priestly beats the throw to the plate! 1 to 0, Beavers! Campell moves up to 3nd on the throw. Javy Fernandez lines a hit to right and Campell scores! 2 to 0, Beavers!

Top of the 3rd. With 1 out, P Jamie Nale gets the first hit of the game for the Cubs. John Godfrey walks. Jake Johnson flies out to center, but that means there is a runner in scoring position with 2 outs, so Al Soto doubles to right and both runners score. Tie game. 2 to 2. Larry Menard doubles to center. 3 to 2, Cubs.

Bottom of the 3rd: Mike Wetzel and Lee Kowalski get us started with a pair of hits. But the party bogs down until, with 2 outs, Dave Priestly grounds a hit to center. Wetzel rounds 3rd and stops the party altogether when he is thrown out at the plate.

Top of the 5th: With 1 out John Godfrey beats out an infield hit and then Jake Johnson reached on an error by Jim Eighmy. E-3. Al Soto strikes out! But that means there are 2 outs and a runner scoring position and Larry Menard doubles to right and both runners score. 5 to 2, Cubs and I think that should about do it....

Bottom of the 7th: Javy Fernandez leads off with a hit to right. Pinch-Hitter: SHB Eric McCornack. He walks. Stu Redman, our MVP this year, grounds into a 5-4-3 double play and Fernandez is on 3rd. Mike Wetzel grounds a single to left. 5 to 3, Cubs.

Bottom of the 9th: New pitcher: RHP Garland Roop, their closer. Javy Fernandez leads off with a walk. Pinch-Hitter: LHB Danny Hernandez. He beats out an infield hit! Stu Redman grounds into another double play....6-4-3 and Fernandez is at 3rd. Full count to Mike Wetzel and he takes strike three....Ballgame.

Lost - 5 to 3

Still the team record streak I mentioned is in tact.
It ought to be helping us win some games, but apparently is irrelevant....

We had 11 hits and made 1 error.
The Cubs had 7 hits and made no errors.

Terry Cole (L 17-7) went 7 innings, allowed 5 runs (3 earned), 6 hits, 2 walks and struck out 5. At bat, he had a hit.
RHP Doug Maxwell went 1 scoreless inning, allowed 1 hit and 1 walk.
LHP Al McMillian went 1 perfect inning and struck out 1.

Jamie Nale (W 11-7) went 8 innings, gave us 10 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks and struck out 2. At bat, he had a hit and scored a run.
RHP Garland Roop (SV 13) went 1 scoreless inning, gave us 1 hit, 1 walk and struck out 1.

3B Mike Wetzel had 2 hits and an RBI. LF Dave Priestly had 2 hit and scored a run. CF Javy Fernandez went 2 for 2 with 2 walks against a tough lefty! He scored a run and had an RBI. PH Danny Hernandez beat out an infield hit.

For the Cubs, 3B Larry Menard hit 2 doubles and had 3 RBIs.

[Questdog]

Thursday, September 5, 2002

This is our last chance to beat the Cubs in a game this year....we are 0-7 so far.

Tony Ricketts is pitching on his birthday. He turns 28 today. Happy Birthday, Tony! Let's go nine!

Chicago Cubs (72-67 .518 4 GB in 3rd place in the NL East) at
Portland Beavers (80-57 .584 in 1st place in the NL West)

Franklin Rodriguez, ChN (22 R 6-10 5.04 10.0-0.9-4.5-7.3 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Tony Ricketts, Por (28 R 12-4 3.17 7.7-0.7-1.8-5.9)

At first glance, it would seem that we have a beneficial pitcher's match-up, but it appears that young Mr. Rodriguez is blossoming into his predicted talent of late. He has gone at least 8 innings in each of his last 3 starts with an ERA of 1.82 during that span. At least, he is not a left-hander.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
CHICAGO (N)
1: SS John Godfrey (29 L .267-4-58-.682 in 565 AB)
2: 1B Tony Ramirez (32 R .264-15-65-.743 in 439 AB)
3: C Al Soto (34 S .316-18-77-.869 in 453 AB) 2002 All-Star
4: 3B Larry Menard (35 R .271-25-88-.769 in 538 AB) 2001 All-Star
5: RF Arturo Guerra (35 L .302-17-71-.869 in 338 AB) 2001/02 All-Star
6: 2B Lee Bynum (24 R .234-1-14-.607 in 175 AB)
7: LF Bob Johns (26 R .262-4-27-.735 in 286 AB)
8: LF Joe Gombos (23 R .256-3-31-.696 in 234 AB)
9: P Franklin Rodriguez (22 R .139-0-2-.361 in 36 AB)

PORTLAND
1: SS Stu Redman (31 R .294-5-51-.751 in 504 AB)
2: 3B Mike Wetzel (25 R .297-0-8-.699 in 172 AB)
3: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .273-9-55-.731 in 396 AB)
4: LF Lebron Williams (33 L .289-8-41-.790 in 270 AB)
5: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .284-11-63-.779 in 345 AB)
6: CF Dave Priestly (28 R .270-4-22-.758 in 200 AB)
7: 2B Mike Campell (31 R .189-2-12-.527 in 143 AB) Yes, Mike Campell
8: C Steve Jensen (25 R .243-0-4-.633 in 70 AB)
9: P Tony Ricketts (28 R .104-0-2-.247 in 48 AB)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Weather: 54 deg. Overcast with an 18 MPH wind blowing in from right. There is one b-day present for Tony!
Attendance: 18,604

John Godfrey grounds out to 1st. Tony Ramirez flies out to right. Al Soto flies out to right! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the 1st: The best present we can give Tony is 10 runs! Stu Redman swings at a 3-1 pitch and lines a hit to left. He tries to steal, but they have a pitch-out on and he is a dead duck. Mike Wetzel swings at a 3-1 pitch a grounds a hit to left. Lee Kowalski grounds into a force at 2nd, 4-6. 2 down. Lebron Williams grounds out to 2nd.

Top of the 2nd: Larry Menard leads off with a dying quail that falls in right for a hit. Arturo Guerra doubles to right. With 1 out, a passed ball scores a run. 1 to 0, Cubs. A balk, scores another.... 2 to 0, Cubs. You cannot call balks on pitchers on their birthdays, c'mon!

Bottom of the 6th: Mike Wetzel leads off and drills one into the teeth of that 18 MPH wind blowing in form right, but Mother Nature cannot deny that blast! Home Run! That is the first of his major league career in AB #370. 2 to 1, Cubs.

Top of the 7th: Arturo Guerra leads off with a grounder to right for a hit. The Bullpen is up. Lee Bynum grounds a hit to left. Pinch-Hitter: LHB John Clayton. He strikes out. Pinch-Hitter: LHB Tim Elliott. He strikes out! And now we only have to get the pitcher out, except it is now 2 outs with a runner in scoring position.... P Frank Rodriguez doubles to right and both runners score.... 4 to 1, Cubs. 22 SO in 38 AB before that blast by Rodriguez..... Call to the Bullpen: LHP Paul Hoskins. Javy Fernandez comes in to play center in a double switch. John Godfrey strikes out on 3 pitches. What a load of malarkey....

Bottom of the 7th: With 1 out, Javy Fernandez reaches on a 2-base error by John Godfrey. E-6, his 2nd error of the day, though only #14 on the season. Stu Redman lines a hit to center and John Presley flubs the pickup and Fernandez scores easily and Redman ends up on 2nd. 1B + E-8. 4 to 2, Cubs.

Bottom of the 8th: We load the bases up with 2 outs, but RHP Garland Roop, their closer, strikes out Javy Fernandez.

Bottom of the 9th: On the Hill: RHP Garland Roop, starting his 2nd inning of work. Stu Redman continues his stellar hitting of the past few days by striking out. Mike Wetzel work the count full and draws a walk. Lee Kowalski doubles to right! The tying runs are in scoring position with 1 out. Lebron Williams swings at the first pitch and grounds out to 2nd.... Wetzel scores, but so what. 4 to 3, Cubs. 2 outs. Danny Hernandez up. If he can get a hit, he will set a new team record for RBIs in a season. He takes strike one.... He takes strike two.... He swings and lines a hit to center!!! Tie game!!! 4 to 4! Pinch-Hitter: RHB Tim DePriest. I hate taking LHP Al McMillian out of the game, but I guess we are obligated to pinch-hit here.... He takes ball one.... He swings and misses.... He swings and misses.... 1-2 pitch and he swings and hits a liner to right center for a double! Hernandez rounds 3rd and is waived home! Here he comes.... Here comes the throw.... Safe in a cloud of dust!!! ....and THIS Ballgame Belongs to the Beavers! Pulled THAT one out of our arsenic!!

Won - 5 to 4

And still the team record streak I mentioned is in tact.
It will end eventually and I will tell you about it then, if you have not figured it out.

This win is #81 which guarantees us of at least a .500 record in our second season of existence after we lost an even 100 games on our maiden voyage. We will have a winning record this year as long as we manage to not lose 24 games in a row.

We had 13 hits and made 1 error.
The Cubs had 5 hits and made 3 errors.

Really, we should have won this game easily....

Tony Ricketts went 6 and 2/3 innings, allowed 4 runs (2 earned), 6 hits, no walks and struck out 5. He balked in a run. At bat, he had a hit.
LHP Paul Hoskins faced 1 batter and struck him out.
RHP Vic Gutowski pitched 1 perfect inning and struck out 2.
LHP Al McMillian (W 1-2) went 1 scoreless inning, allowed 1 walk and struck out 2.

With Hoskins and Gutowski making the team next year, I think we will have an even better Bullpen than this season, when we have the best in the National League, at least by ERA.

Franklin Rodriguez went 7 and 1/3 innings, gave us 2 runs (1 earned), 10 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk and struck out 2. At bat, he hit a double and had 2 RBIs.
RHP Garland Roop (L 6-6) went 1 and 1/3 innings, gave us 3 runs, 3 hits, 3 walks and struck out 3.

SS Stu Redman had 2 hits and an RBI. 3B Mike Wetzel had 2 hits with his first career home run, drew a walk and scored 2 runs. RF Lee Kowalski, cold of late, hit a big double and scored a run. LF Lebron Williams had 2 hits and an RBI. 1B Danny Hernandez had 3 hits, scored the winning run and tied the game in the bottom of the 9th with his 64th RBI of the season, a new team record. Not bad for someone who began the season in the minors. PH Doug Baker drew a walk. PH Tim DePriest won the game with a double and an RBI. C Paul Stewart drew a walk in his only appearance.

[Questdog]

Friday, September 6, 2002

Manager John Potter (50) has his Rockies in town for a 3-game series over the weekend. They just split 4 games in Denver with Montreal. We are 9-2 against them on the season, but split 2 games in Denver the last time we faced the, July 22-23. The lead the NL in scoring with 5.0 runs per game (Portland is #13 with 4.1). The Rockies score at a 4.2 runs per game clip on the road. They are 16th (last) in runs allowed with 5.1 per game (Portland is #2 with 3.7). The Rockies only allow 4.0 runs per game on the road.

From here on out, every series will be the last of the season with each of the other seven Western Division clubs.

Colorado Rockies (69-72 .489 13.5 GB in 6th place in the NL West) at
Portland Beavers (81-57 .587 in 1st place in the NL West)

Jeff Griffis, Col (28 R 8-11 4.60 9.7-0.9-4.2-4.3 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Phil McPhie, Por (27 R 8-3 2.88 7.9-0.5-1.8-6.5)

We whooped up on Griffis the only time we faced him this season. On June 24, he gave us 6 runs and 11 hits in 4.2 IP in Denver, but managed to escape getting the loss. We did win, though, in extra innings. He is 4-7 with a 3.88 ERA on the road.

McPhie's number in his line above look nice and pretty, but those have mostly been sculpted while pitching in relief. As a starter, he is 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA in 3 outings with only 4 SO in 18.1 IP.

If the team record streak I have been hawking survives this series, it will truly be a miracle. Heck, if it survives this game, I will be amazed. Of the 11 games we have played with Colorado so far, only 3 would have qualified for the current streak.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
COLORADO
1: RF Jeff Johnson (27 L .293-14-47-.787 in 484 AB) 2001 All-Star Missed a month w/injury
2: 2B Jesus Lopez (35 R .308-0-34-.825 in 412 AB)
3: 1B Bobby Manzano (26 L .323-30-91-.935 in 557 AB) 3rd in 2001 MVP vote 2001/02 All-Star
4: CF Julio Chapa (28 R .262-30-82-.874 in 397 AB) 2001/02 All-Star Missed 6 weeks w/injury
5: C Willie Solano (.322-29-99-.938 in 463 AB) 2002 All-Star 16 for 38 (.421) 1 2B 6 HR 13 RBI vs POR this year in 10 games 1.386 OPS
6: SS Bob Stallings (26 R .249-12-65-.677 in 421 AB) Rookie #80 prospect
7: 3B Melvin Mendoza (32 R .161-5-18-.474 in 230 AB) 30 HR in 2001
8: LF Johnny Alcorn (23 R .212-1-19-.563 in 137 AB) Rookie #5 prospect
9: P Jeff Griffis (28 R .175-0-3-.414 in 57 AB)

PORTLAND
1: SS Stu Redman (31 R .295-5-52-.751 in 509 AB)
2: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .274-5-39-.716 in 504 AB)
3: LF Lebron Williams (33 L .291-8-42-.790 in 275 AB)
4: C Mark Parker (28 R .275-8-39-.805 in 284 AB)
5: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .289-11-64-.785 in 350 AB)
6: 3B Mike Wetzel (25 R .301-1-9-.726 in 176 AB)
7: RF Jerry Alston (29 L .227-0-1-.534 in 22 AB)
8: 2B Doug Baker (25 L .182-0-4-.450 in 44 AB)
9: P Phil McPhie (27 R .167-0-0-.417 in 12 AB)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Weather: 53 deg. Overcast with a 9 MPH wind blowing out to right. Do not care for that wind....
Attendance: 24,251

Jeff Johnson grounds out to 2nd. Jesus Lopez grounds out to the pitcher. Bobby Manzano grounds out to 2nd! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the 1st: Stu Redman lines a 1-2 pitch to center for a hit. Full count to Javy Fernandez and he flies out to center. Lebron Williams pops out to 2nd. Mark Parker grounds out to 3rd.

Top of the 2nd: Julio Chapa swings at the first offering and doubles to left center. Willie Solano lines a hit to left center and Chapa stops at 3rd. With 1 out, Melvin Mendoza flies out to right and Chapa scores without a throw. 1 to 0, Rockies.

Bottom of the 4th: Danny Hernandez leads off with a walk and Mike Wetzel sends him to 3rd with a line drive hit to left center. Jerry Alston grounds a hit to right and Hernandez scores to tie the game! 1 to 1. But that is all we get....

Top of the 6th: With 1 out, Jeff Johnson lines a single to right. With 2 outs, Bobby Manzano and Julio Chapa hit back-to-back singles and the Rockies lead, 2 to 1.

Bottom of the 9th: Still 2 to 1, Rockies. New pitcher: LHP Chuck Griffith, their closer. With 1 out, Stu Redman lines a hit to center. Pinch-Hitter: RHB Dave Priestly. He grounds out to short and Redman goes to 2nd. 2 outs. Pinch-Hitter: RHB Mike Campell. Yes, Mike Campell. He lines a hit to right center and Redman beats the throw to the plate to tie the game!!! 2 to 2. Mark Parker flies out to deep center.

Extras!

Top of the 10th: New Pitcher: RHP Doug Maxwell. LF Rick Mohr beats out an infield hit. Pinch-runner: Enrique Miranda. Pinch-hitter: LHB Victor Acuna. 2 for 16 (.125). He laces one deep to left... oh, no.... but it stays in the park and LF Brion Dawkins runs it down! That was close.... Miranda steals 2nd. Crud.... We walk Jeff Johnson intentionally. Miranda steals 3rd. Double crud.... Jesus Lopez grounds out to 2st, 3-1, and Miranda stays put at 3rd! Lopez moves up to 2nd. But that means.... yes, 2 outs and runners in scoring position. We pitch to Bobby Manzano. I dunno about that. I do not care much for intentional walks, usually, but this seems like a place may be give one. Manzano is a high-average hitting lefty and Julio Chapa, on deck, has a ton of power, but his average is much lower and he is a right-hander. 2-2 pitch and Manzano swings and grounds out to 2nd!

Bottom of the 10th: We go down in order, though Mike Wetzel nearly hit one out.

Top of the 11th: P Doug Maxwell retires them in order, including getting Willie Solano out!

Bottom of the 11th: A run, please! New pitcher: RHP Pat Wolfert. 6.27 ERA in 37.1 IP. ERA is only 3.79 on the road, though. Light-hitting 2b Rick Ferrell leads off with a double to left! They walk Lee Kowalski intentionally. Stu Redman bunts them up. They walk Dave Priestly intentionally to load the bases up with 1 out. P Doug Maxwell due up and I hate to pull him, but Pinch-Hitter: RHB Tim DePriest, yesterday's hero. Just no double play, please.... He swings at the first pitch and lines a hit to left and THIS Ballgame Belongs to the Beavers! Another Arsenic Pie from the Bun Oven!

Won - 3 to 2, in 11 innings

And the team record streak I mentioned is still in tact.
It will end eventually and I will tell you about it then, if you have not figured it out.

We had 13 hits and made no errors.
The Rockies had 8 hits and made 1 error.

Phil McPhie went 7 innings, allowed 2 runs, 6 hits, no walks and struck out 3.
LHP Paul Hoskins went 2/2 of an inning, allowed 1 hit and struck out 2.
RHP Ron Beckman went 1 and 1/3 innings and retired all 4 batters he faced with 3 strikeouts.
RHP Doug Maxwell (W 6-4) went 2 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit, 1 walk (INT) and struck out 1.

Jeff Griffis went 7 innings, gave us 1 run, 8 hits, 1 walk and struck out 3.
Pat Wolfert (L 1-2) went 1/3 of an inning, gave us 1 run, 2 hits and 2 walks (2 INT).

SS Stu Redman had 3 hits and scored a run. PH Mike Campell (Yes, Mike Campell) tied the game with a 2-out hit in the bottom of the 9th, raising his overall season average to .188! PH Tim DePriest won the game for the 2nd day in a row with a pinch-hit! C Mark parker had 2 hits with a triple, but no runs or RBIs. 3B Mike Wetzel had 3 hits, but no runs or RBIs. It was his 3rd multi-hit game in a row. RF/LF Jerry Alston had 2 hits and an RBI in his first start for the Beavers since the middle of May. 2B Rick Ferrell hit a double and scored the winning run in his first action in the major leagues since the All-Star Break.

[Questdog]

Saturday, September 7, 2002

Colorado Rockies (69-73 .486 14.5 GB in 6th place in the NL West) at
Portland Beavers (82-57 .590 in 1st place in the NL West)

Greg Douglas, Col (27 R 3-3 3.95 9.0-0.5-2.8-5.5 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Angel Rodriguez, Por (24 R 1-4 4.09 8.9-1.3-3.4-5.3)

We happened to win the only game Douglas has started against us this season, but it was not his fault the Rockies lost. In 7.1 IP in Denver on July 23, he only gave us 4 hits and 1 run, but be hit their bullpen hard and won, 7 to 6. We did manage to pin loss on him in relief earlier in the season. He is hot right now and has not allowed a run in his last 2 starts, both of which were in Denver!

With Angel Rodriguez, going today, the odds of the team record streak continuing would seem very small....

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
COLORADO
1: RF Jeff Johnson (27 L .293-14-47-.786 in 488 AB) 2001 All-Star
2: 2B Jesus Lopez (35 R .305-0-34-.816 in 417 AB)
3: 1B Bobby Manzano (26 L .324-30-91-.934 in 562 AB) 3rd in 2001 MVP vote 2001/02 All-Star
4: CF Julio Chapa (28 R .264-30-83-.876 in 402 AB) 2001/02 All-Star
5: 3B Dave Watts (33 R .260-4-28-.730 in 192 AB) Trade w/SD 8/17
6: C Eddie Esquibel (25 L .267-2-9-.756 in 45 AB) Rookie
7: SS Steve Daniels (27 R .258-3-17-.626 in 233 AB) Trade w/SD 7/19
8: LF Johnny Alcorn (23 R .209-1-19-.555 in 139 AB) Rookie #5 prospect
9: P Greg Douglas (27 R .227-0-3-.455 in 22 AB)

PORTLAND
1: SS Stu Redman (31 R .298-5-52-.755 in 514 AB)
2: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .272-5-39-.711 in 508 AB)
3: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .270-9-55-.727 in 403 AB)
4: C Mark Parker (28 R .277-8-39-.812 in 289 AB)
5: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .285-11-64-.778 in 354 AB)
6: LF Lebron Williams (33 L .287-8-42-.779 in 279 AB)
7: 2B Mike Campell (31 R .196-2-13-.535 in 148 AB)
8: 3B Mike Wetzel (25 R .309-1-9-.738 in 181 AB)
9: P Angel Rodriguez (24 R .304-0-0-.652 in 23 AB)

Game Start: 2:05 PM
Weather: 69 deg. Overcast with a 9 MPH wind blowing out to left. Not what we need....
Attendance: 23,989

Jeff Johnson grounds out to 2nd. Jesus Lopez lines a 2-2 pitch to left for a hit and Lebron Williams overruns the ball and Lopez scoots to 2nd. 1B + E-7. Bobby Manzano grounds out to 2nd and Lopez goes to 3rd, where he is in scoring position with 2 outs.... Julio Chapa swings at the first pitch and hits a short fly ball to right for the 3rd out!

Bottom of the 1st: Stu Redman swings at the first pitch and fouls out to the catcher. Full count to Javy Fernandez and he grounds out to short. Lee Kowalski strikes out. He is now 29 for 127 (.228) since August 1st.

Bottom of the 2nd: Mark Parker leads off with a double to center. With 1 out, Lebron Williams draws a walk. Mike Campell (yes, Mike Campell) lines a hit to right and Parker heads home. The throw by Jeff Johnson is wild and Parker scores and the runners move up to 2nd and 3rd! 1 to 0, Beavers! Mike Wetzel grounds out to short and Williams scores. 2 to 0, Beavers.

Top of the 3rd: With 2 outs, Jeff Johnson beats out an infield hit and then Jesus Lopez triples to right center. 2 to 1, Beavers. Bobby Manzano lines a hit to center to tie the game at 2.

Top of the 5th: Jeff Johnson leads off with a hit off a 3-2 pitch. Jesus Lopez tries to bunt him over, but pops out to the pitcher. Bobby Manzano lines a hit to right center. The Bullpen is up. Julio Chapa doubles to the left field corner and Johnson scores. 3 to 2, Rockies. Dave Watts strikes out! But that means there are 2 outs and runners in scoring position.... Eddie Esquibel rips a line drive to the right side, but Danny Hernandez makes a diving catch!

We had 2 hits in the 2nd inning to score our 2 runs, but through 6 innings, those are the only 2 hits we have....

Bottom of the 7th: With 1 out, Lebron Williams lines our 3rd hit of the game to center. Then he surprises everyone by taking off for 2nd base! He is safe! That is the first time he has ever tried to steal a base as a Beaver! I looked it up and he last tried to steal a base in the major leagues in 1998. He went 1 for 2 that season for the Brewers. The only other steals in his whole 9-year major league career were when he was a 25-yr.-old rookie for the Royals in 1994, when he stole 2 and got caught 4 times. He now has 4 career steals and has been caught 7 times. well, we HAVE to knock him in, now, right? Mike Campell (yes, Mike Campell) lines a hit to left and Williams scores to tie the game! 3 to 3! A wild pitch sends Campell to 2nd. Mike Wetzel doubles to right and Campell scores! 4 to 3, Beavers! That is all we get, though.

Top of the 9th: Still 4 to 3, Beavers. On the Hill: RHP Ron Beckman, beginning his 2nd full inning of work. Pinch-Hitter: LHP Victor Acuna, now 2 for 17 (.118) on the season. He grounds out to 1st. Jeff Johnson pops out to 2nd! 2 outs. Jesus Lopes takes a 1-2 pitch for strike three and THIS Ballgame Belongs to the Beavers!

Won - 4 to 3

And the team record streak I mentioned is still in tact!!
It will end eventually and I will tell you about it then, if you have not figured it out.

We had 5 hits and made 1 errors.
The Rockies had 11 hits and made 2 errors.

Angel Rodriguez went 6 innings, allowed 3 runs, 8 hits, 2 walks and struck out 3.
LHP Al McMillian went 2/3 of an inning, allowed 1 hit and struck out 2.
RHP Vic Gutowski (W 1-0) faced 1 batter and got him to pop out.
RHP Ron Beckman (SV 10) went 2 scoreless innings, allowed 2 hits and struck out 1.

Greg Douglas (L 3-4) went 8 innings (CG), gave us 4 runs, 5 hits, 1 walk and struck out 4. He threw a WP.

C Mark Parker hit a double, stole a base and scored a run. LF Lebron Williams had a hit and a walk, stole a base (yes, he did, too!) and scored 2 runs. 2B Mike Campell (yes, Mike Campell) had 2 hits, scored a run and had 2 RBIs. 3B Mike Wetzel hit a double and had 2 RBIs.

For the Rockies, Jesus Lopez had 3 hits with a triple, scored a run and had an RBI, but struck out to end the game.

[Questdog]

Sunday, September 8, 2002

The finale of our series with the Rockies was rained out and will be made up on September 30, the day after the regular season was supposed to end.

It is a shame, because we were going to face RHP Tom Keasler, who we have roughed up this season and have beaten 3 times.

[Questdog]

September 9, 2002

Monday Morning Report

AL Player of the Week - Tom Caravetta, rf, Detroit (24 R .294/.328/.435) Had 14 hits with 2 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 1 SB, 6 R and 10 RBI in 6 G
NL Player of the Week - Hilton Waggoner, ss, Pittsburgh (24 S .293/.396/.437) Had 13 hits with 3 2B, 3 HR, 1 SB, 6 R and 5 RBI in 6 G

(Slash lines are for the season, not the week)

September 2: RHP Greg Douglas of Colorado pitched a rain-shortened 6-inning 6-hit shutout at home versus Montreal. He did not walk a batter and struck out 1. He is now 3-3 with a 3.95 ERA. The Rockies won, 3 to 0. Not the most impressive stat line, but any shutout in Denver is very impressive.
September 2: C Stan Brown of San Francisco hit 2 home runs at home versus New York (N). He hit a double and had 3 RBIs and threw out 5 base stealers. His double came with 2-outs in the bottom of the 13th and tied the game and his 2nd home run came in the bottom of the 16th and tied the game. The Giants won, 7 to 6, in 17 innings.
September 2: LF Lou Brown of Baltimore hit 2 home runs at home versus Kansas City. He had 5 RBIs. The game was tied at 3 in the bottom of the 7th when he hit a Grand Slam to untie it. The Orioles won, 8 to 3.
September 2: RHP Barry Burnette of Chicago (A) pitched a 5-hit shutout at home versus Boston. He walked 3 and struck out 9. He is now 3-6 with a 4.57 ERA. The White Sox won, 11 to 0. 3B Tony Guerra hit 2 home runs. He drew a walk and hit a Grand Slam and had 5 RBIs.
September 3: CF Julio Chapa of Colorado hit 2 home runs at home versus Montreal. He had 3 hits and 3 RBIs. It was his 9th multi-homer game of the past 2 seasons, the most in the major leagues. The Rockies lost, 16 to 7.
September 3: 1B Jesus Quintana of New York (A) hit 2 home runs at home versus Oakland. He drew a walk and had 5 RBIs. The Yankees won, 6 to 2.
September 4: RF Darryl Addison of Seattle only had 1 official AB at home versus Tampa Bay, but he had 6 RBIs. He hit a Grand Slam and had 2 SF. He also drew a walk and scored 2 runs. The Mariners won, 12 to 5.
September 5: LHP Norm Phillips of St. Louis pitched a 3-hit shutout at home versus Cincinnati. He walked 1 and struck out 6. He is now 5-9 with a 3.27 ERA. The Cardinals won, 6 to 0.
September 5: 1B Don Richins of Arizona hit 2 home runs at home versus Atlanta. He had 3 RBIs. The Diamondbacks won, 5 to 3.
September 5: C Valentin Salviati of Toronto hit 2 home runs at Milwaukee. The Blue Jays won, 4 to 3, in 10 innings.
September 5: 3B Walt Carr of Texas hit 2 home runs at home versus Washington. He had 3 RBIs. The Rangers lost, 4 to 3.
September 6: 3B Steve Carrillo of Detroit hit 2 home runs at Cleveland. The Tigers won, 6 to 0.
September 8: RF Dan Myer of Atlanta hit 2 home runs at Philadelphia. He drew 2 walks and had 3 RBIs. The Braves won, 12 to 3.
September 8: SS Hilton Waggoner hit 2 home runs at home versus Chicago (N). He had 3 hits, stole a base, scored 3 runs and had 3 RBIs. The Pirates won, 8 to 3.
September 8: RF Tony Dominguez of San Francisco hit 2 home runs a t Los Angeles (N). He hit a double, drew 2 walks and had 5 RBIs. The Giants won, 14 to 13, in 12 innings.
September 8: 1B Antonio Vasquez of Cleveland hit 2 home runs at home versus Detroit. He drew a walk and had 3 RBIs. The Indians won, 9 to 4.
September 8: 1B George Latimer of Baltimore hit 2 home runs at home versus Toronto. He drew 2 walks, stole a base, scored 3 runs and had 3 RBIs. The Orioles won, 9 to 4.
September 8: RHP Frank Madero of New York (A) pitched a 2-hit shutout at home versus Tampa Bay in the second game of a double header. He walked 1 and struck out 13. It was his 3rd shutout of the season. He is now 13-10 with a 2.74 ERA. The Yankees won, 4 to 0, to split the double header.

Random Fact of the Week: Still In first place! Editor's Note: In all my years of playing OOTP and all the other baseball games back to MicroLeague Baseball on my Amiga, I have never managed a team that was as magical as this one. How they win so many close games and pull games out of the loss column at the last minute, I have no idea, but I am having a blast playing them! My Liberty League pursuits have suffered a lack of attention of late because of this, but I am rolling with the wave of Beavermania! I'll get back to my normal routine after this season is done....

[Questdog]

Tuesday, September 10, 2002

Manager Ramiro Herrera (52) has his Diamondbacks in town for a 3-game series. They won 2 out of 3 in Phoenix against the Astros over the weekend and have won 7 of their last 8 games. We are 5-6 against them on the season and lost 2 of 3 in Phoenix the last time we faced them, August 23-25. They are 9th in scoring with 4.2 runs per game (Portland is #13 with 4.1). They are 5th in runs allowed with 4.2 per game (Portland is #2 with 3.7).

Arizona Diamondbacks (73-70 .510 11.5 GB in 4th place in the NL West) at
Portland Beavers (83-57 .593 in 1st place in the NL West)

Steve Hall, Arz (27 R 9-6 4.50 8.6-1.4-4.2-7.2 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Terry Cole, Por (32 L 17-7 2.90 8.2-0.3-3.1-6.0)

We are 2-0 when Hall has started against us this season. He pitched one clunker and one really good game, where he did not figure in the decision. The good game was the more recent of the two.

Cole is 8th in the league in ERA, leads in wins and is 2nd in fewest HR/9. He has guaranteed himself a contract with the Beavers for next season and if he does not win a game for us next year, he has already earned the money with the great season he had had this year.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
ARIZONA
1: 3B Dan White (28 R .273-15-71-.751 in 554 AB) 2002 All-Star
2: LF John Golliday (26 R .220-2-32-.566 in 437 AB)
3: 1B Don Richins (35 L .345-8-35-.967 in 177 AB) Missed 4 mos. w/injury Playing hurt
4: SS Mario Saucedo (26 R .289-6-62-.802 in 418 AB) Missed 1 month w/injury
5: C Gary Stanley (36 R .187-12-52-.613 in 402 AB)
6: RF Tommy Sheehan (28 L .253-8-42-.693 in 407 AB) Missed 1 month w/injury
7: 2B Mike Chapin (28 S .258-0-24-.630 in 298 AB)
8: CF Don Menjivar (28 R .282-1-13-.664 in 220 AB)
9: P Steve Hall (27 R .271-0-6-.619 in 48 AB) Has not lost a game since July

PORTLAND
1: SS Stu Redman (31 R .295-5-52-.750 in 518 AB)
2: 3B Mike Wetzel (25 R .310-1-11-.743 in 184 AB)
3: LF Lebron Williams (33 L .288-8-42-.783 in 281 AB)
4: C Mark Parker (28 R .276-8-39-.811 in 293 AB)
5: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .283-11-64-.772 in 357 AB)
6: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .268-9-55-.720 in 407 AB)
7: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .270-5-39-.705 in 512 AB)
8: 2B Mike Campell (31 R .205-2-15-.551 in 151 AB)
9: P Terry Cole (32 L .262-0-7-.569 in 65 AB)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Weather: 59 deg. Overcast with a 17 MPH wind blowing in from right.
Attendance: 21,224

Dan White swings at the first pitch and lines a hit up the middle. John Golliday flies out to right. Don Richins swings at the first pitch and flies out to shallow center, Javy Fernandez making a nice catch. Mario Saucedo hits a no-doubter to right into the teeth of a strong wind. Home run. 2 to 0, Diamondbacks. The team record streak I have been harping on for a week or two is over.... See the details in the post-game comments. Of course, it end in the most unlikely of circumstances with a pitcher who is very tough to homer against and a batter who only has 6 home runs on the season and with a strong wind blowing straight in where the ball was hit.... Gary Stanley flies out to left.

Bottom of the 1st: Stu Redman flies out to shallow right. Mike Wetzel, in his new #2 hole, grounds out to short. Lebron Williams, in his new #3 hole, lines a hit to center. Mark Parker singles to right and Williams beats the throw to 3rd. Wild pitch! Williams scores! 2 to 1, Diamondbacks. Danny Hernandez grounds out to 3rd.

Through 5 innings, P Terry Cole has only thrown 42 pitches.

Bottom of the 6th: With 1 out, Mike Wetzel lines a hit to right center and Lebron Williams doubles to right. Mike Parker sends a drive to deep left center.... get out of here!.....but it is caught against the fence. Wetzel trots home to tied the game at 2.

Top of the 9th: Still 2 all and both starting pitchers still in the game. P Terry Cole has thrown 85 pitches so far. The Bullpen is up and ready. The Diamondbacks go down, 1-2-3!

Bottom of the 9th: P Steve Hall has thrown 103 pitches. Full count to Danny Hernandez and he dumps a hit to left. Lee Kowalski lines an 0-2 pitch to left center, but it is caught. Wild pitch! Hernandez is at 2nd. Javy Fernandez strikes out looking. 2 down. Mike Campell (Yes! Mike Campell) lines an 0-1 pitch to the gap in right center and Hernandez scores with ease! ....and THIS Ballgame Belongs to the Beavers!

Won - 3 to 2

Yet another walk-off win!
#11 on the season and the 3rd in the last 4 games!
It is the 3rd walk-off hit for Mike Campell (Yes! Mike Campell), which leads the team!

We had 8 hits and made no errors.
The Diamondbacks had 3 hits and made no errors.

The team record streak for not allowing a home run is over.
We went a remarkable 18 games in a row without allowing a home run!
That was 184 2/3 innings between home runs allowed!
Wow!
We hit 13 home runs ourselves during the streak.

Terry Cole (W 18-7) went 9 innings (CG), allowed 2 runs, 3 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 5. 94 pitches.

Steve Hall (L 9-7) went 8 and 2/3 innings (CG), gave us 3 runs, 8 hits, 2 walks (1 INT) and struck out 3. He threw 2 WP.

3B Mike Wetzel had 2 hits, stole a base and scored a run. LF Lebron Williams had 2 hits with a double and scored a run. 2B Mike Campell (Yes! Mike Campell) had 2 hits with a triple and the game-winning RBI with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th! Editor's Note: OOTP scored the game-winning hit a triple, when in real baseball, he would only get credit for a double.

For the Diamondbacks, SS Mario Saucedo hit his 7th home run of the season and had 2 RBIs.

Down on the Farm: The regular season has ended for all of the minor leagues. Here is how our farm teams fared this year:

Indianapolis Indians of the International League (AAA)
76-68 .528 5 GB in 2nd place in the West Division
Out of the Playoffs

Jacksonville Suns of the Southern League (AA)
64-76 .457 29 GB in 6th (last) place in the South Division
Out of the Playoffs

Stockton Ports of the California League (A+)
80-60 .571 1st place in the North Division
In the Playoffs: Best of 5 Championship Series against Lake Elsinore Storm (SD) 87-53 .621

Lexington Legends of the South Atlantic League (A)
68-72 .486 29 GB tied for 5th place in the Northern Division (8 teams)
Out of the Playoffs

Hillsboro Hops of the Northwest League (SA)
43-34 .558 1 GB in 2nd place in the East Division (lost 1-game playoff for the division title)
Out of the Playoffs

Great Falls Voyagers of the Pioneer League (R)
34-34 .500 6 GB in 4th place in the Northern Division (5 teams)
Out of the Playoffs

Bristol Beavers of the Appalachian League (R)
18-50 .265 26 GB in 5th (last) place in the West Division
Out of the Playoffs

The Stockton Ports lost the first game of the Best-of-Five California League (A+) Championship Series, 6 to 0, at the Lake Elsinore Storm (SD).

[Questdog]

Wednesday, September 11, 2002

Arizona Diamondbacks (73-71 .507 12.5 GB in 4th place in the NL West) at
Portland Beavers (84-57 .596 in 1st place in the NL West)

Alfredo Cardenas, Arz (26 R 7-13 4.14 9.5-0.9-2.4-6.7 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Tony Ricketts, Por (28 R 12-4 3.15 7.8-0.7-1.7-5.9)

We are 3-0 against Cardenas this season, but two of the games were very good outings and we squeaked out wins.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
ARIZONA
1: SS Mario Saucedo (26 R .289-7-64-.807 in 422 AB)
2: 3B Dan White (28 R .274-15-71-.752 in 558 AB) 2002 All-Star
3: 1B Don Richins (35 L .339-8-35-.954 in 180 AB) Playing hurt
4: 2B Mike Campoverde (27 S .193-8-28-.599 in 166 AB)
5: RF Tommy Sheehan (28 L .252-8-42-.689 in 409 AB)
6: LF Rich Ellis (26 L .317-6-46-.823 in 357 AB) Missed 1 month w/injury
7: C Harry Kloosterman (32 S .213-6-25-.609 in 202 AB)
8: CF John Golliday (26 R .218-2-32-.561 in 441 AB)
9: P Alfredo Cardenas (26 R .192-0-3-.434 in 52 AB)

PORTLAND
1: SS Stu Redman (31 R .293-5-52-.744 in 522 AB)
2: 3B Mike Wetzel (25 R .314-1-11-.748 in 188 AB)
3: LF Lebron Williams (33 L .291-8-42-.789 in 285 AB)
4: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .283-11-64-.773 in 360 AB)
5: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .265-9-55-.714 in 411 AB)
6: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .268-5-39-.703 in 515 AB)
7: 2B Mike Campell (31 R .213-2-16-.575 in 155 AB)
8: C Steve Jensen (25 R .236-0-4-.617 in 72 AB)
9: P Tony Ricketts (28 R .122-0-2-.283 in 49 AB)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Weather: 60 deg. Overcast with a 9 MPH wind blowing right to left.
Attendance: 19,618

Mario Saucedo lines a hit to right center. Dan White pops out to 1st. Don Richins doubles to left, down the line, and Saucedo scores from 1st standing up. 1 to 0, Diamondbacks. Mike Campoverde grounds out to 1st, 3-1, and Richins moves up to 3rd. 2 outs and a runner in scoring position.... Tommy Sheehan fouls out to the right side, 2B Mike Campell making the catch!

Bottom of the 1st: Stu Redman swings at the first pitch and flies out to left. Mike Wetzel flies out to shallow right. Lebron Williams grounds out to 2nd.

Bottom of the 3rd: With 1 out, Steve Jensen lines out first hit of the game to left. P Tony Ricketts bunts him up to 2nd and Stu Redman comes through with a 2-out hit to left and Jensen scores to tie the game at 1!

Bottom of the 5th: Mike Campell (Yes! Mike Campell) leads off with a line drive to right for a hit. With 2 outs, he steals 2nd and Stu Redman comes through again with a 2-out to to plate him! 2 to 1, Beavers!

Top of the 6th: Dan White leads off with a double to center and the Bullpen quickly scrambles into action. Don Richins grounds a hit to center and White scores without a throw to tie the game at 2. With 1 out and and 2 lefties and a switch-hitter coming up, we make the Call to the Bullpen: LHP Paul Hoskins. Pinch-Runner: Davey Godwin. He steals 2nd on the first pitch to Tommy Sheehan and steals 3rd on a 2-0 pitch. Sheehan then homers to right.... 4 to 2, Diamondbacks. P Hoskins strikes out the next two, but the damage is done. Rookie relievers in the middle of a pennant race is not ideal....we need to try to quit putting them into pressure situations.

Bottom of the 6th: Lebron Williams leads off with a double to left center, goes to 3rd on an infield hit by Danny Hernandez and, with 1 out, scores on a ground out by Javy Fernandez. 4 to 3, Diamondbacks.

Bottom of the 8th: With 1 out, Lee Kowalski dumps a hit to right. Javy Fernandez then puts a charge into one to left, but it becomes the 3rd ball hit by out last 4 batters to be caught up against the fence. All of them but Kowalski, who got the little poke hit. 2 outs. Pinch-Hitter: SHB Eric McCornack. He doubles to left center and Kowalski scores from 1st standing up! Tie game! 4 to 4.

Top of the 9th: New Pitcher: LHP Al McMillian. Did I say we should keep the rookie relievers out of the pressure cooker situations? Yes, but I trust McMillian more than LHP Larry Duke at this point. And RHP Ron Beckman is light out against righties, but gets tattooed by lefties.... Pete Howard draws a walk. Should have went with Duke.... Pinch-runner: Tom Lockhart. He tries to steal 2nd and Mark Parker guns him down! Harry Kloosterman walks. Pinch-Hitter: RHB Gary Stanley. Call to the Bullpen: RHP Ron Beckman. Full count to Stanley and we takes ball four. Of course....I should not have said what I did about Beckman.... Pinch-hitter: LHB Jimmy Hirtle. .188 with no HR in 48 AB. Full count and he plops a hit to left and the bases are loaded with 1 out. Full count, yet again, to Mario Saucedo and he swings and misses! But that means there are 2 outs and runners in scoring position.... Dan White grounds out to short!!!

Bottom of the 9th: New pitcher: RHP Don Charles. Stu Redman leads off with a grounder up the middle for a hit! If we win again in the bottom of the 9th, I will lose it.... Mike Wetzel lays down a good bunt and Redman is at 2nd with 1 out. New pitcher: LHP Willie Diaz. Pinch-Hitter: RHB Dave Priestly. They walk him intentionally. Pinch-Hitter: RHB Jim Eighmy. We thought long and hard about letting Danny Hernandez hit. Eighmy pokes a hit to right center and the bases are loaded with 1 out. Lee Kowalski grounds one to 2nd and they get the force at home. 2 outs. Pinch-Hitter: RHB Tim DePriest. Hate to see Javy Fernandez leave center field, but he is not a good hitter, especially against lefties. DePriest fouls on to the right side and 1B Tom Lockhart drops the ball! Given a second chance, DePriest grounds out to 3rd.

Extras!

Top of the 10th: Pinch-Hitter: LHB Floyd Harris leads off with a walk. Pinch-hitter: SHB Dale Higdon. He walks. WTF, Beckman?! Call to the Bullpen: LHP Larry Duke. If they are going to beat, at least let it be with hits.... Pinch-hitter: RHB Alberto Ramirez. .286 with 1 HR in 77 AB. He strikes out looking! Tom Lockhart grounds out to 1st and the runner move up to 2nd and 2rs, which means there are 2 out and runners in scoring position.... Harry Kloosterman lines a hit to right center and 2 runs score.... 6 to 4, Diamondbacks. Victor Zuccarello strikes out looking.

Bottom of the 10th: New pitcher: Billie Zoghby, their closer. He has 5 SV against us this season and we have not scored a run off him yet. Jerry Alston strikes out. Mark Parker lines a hit to left center. Doug Baler draws a walk. We HAVE to lose this game, or I will lose my sanity.... A wild pitch sends the runner to 2nd and 3rd. Stu Redman grounds out to the pitcher. 2 outs. Mike Wetzel lines a hit to right and both runners score!! Tie game!! 6 to 6. Oh, my..... I am not really here, am I?.... Dave Priestly grounds out to 3rd. Well, we have not won the game, yet, so many I can hang on....

Top of the 11th: With 1 out, Mario Saucedo triples to right center. We walk Dan White intentionally. Floyd Harris pops out to 2nd. 2 outs and a runner is in scoring position.... CF Don Menjivar fouls out to the right side, 2B Doug Baker making the catch!!

Bottom of the 11th: New pitcher: RHP Scott Jefferson. 3.12 ERA in 60.2 IP. Only 2 HR allowed. He strikes out Jim Eighmy, but Lee Kowalski grounds a hit to center. Pinch-Hitter: RHB Alan Douglas. 0 for 6 as a Beaver. He grounds a hit up the middle and Kowalski goes to 3rd, just beating the throw! Jerry Alston pops one up to shallow right and Mario Saucedo, now at 2nd, runs back but cannot catch up with it and it falls for a hit and Kowalski scores and THIS Ballgame Belongs to the Beavers! And my mother is a Rasputin critic from Manila and my father has turkeys for eyeballs and he always stares up to the clouds when it rains and my little brother is a wedge cutter at the lettuce factory where he whistles Dixie to the workers at their lunch break and my sister is, I don't have a sister, but if she was my sister I would adore her with all my heart even though she voted for Dewey and my uncle Charlie told me about the birds and the bees and how they gather honey for Winter with their clothes off and I just got slapped by the Burgermeister.... Thanks, Allen. I do have a sister, two of them....

Won - 7 to 6 in 11 innings

Yet another walk-off win again!
#12 on the season and the 4th in the last 5 games!

We had 17 hits and made 1 error.
The Diamondbacks had 11 hits and made 2 errors.

Tony Ricketts went 5 and 1/3 innings, allowed 3 runs, 6 hits, no walks and struck out 2.
LHP Paul Hoskins went 2/3 of an inning, allowed 1 run, 1 hit, 1 home run and struck out 2.
RHP Doug Maxwell went 2 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit and struck out 3.
LHP Al McMillian faced 3 batters and walked 2 of them and got one out.
RHP Ron Beckman went 2/3 of an inning, allowed 2 runs, 1 hit, 3 walks (!!) and struck out 1.
LHP Larry Duke (W 8-10) went 2 innings with out allowing a runner of his own to score, but did let in 2 of Beckman's runners, gave up 2 hits, 1 walk (INT) and struck out 2.

Alfredo Cardenas went 8 innings, gave us 4 runs, 10 hits, 1 HBP, 1 walk (INT) and struck out 4.
RHP Scott Jefferson went 1/3 of an inning, gave us 1 run, 3 hits and struck out 1.

SS Stu Redman had 3 hits, was hit by a pitch, stole 2 bases and had 2 RBIs. 3B Mike Wetzel only had 1 hit, but knocked in 2 runs. LF Lebron Williams hit a double and scored a run. 1B Danny Hernandez had 2 hits with a double. PH/1B Jim Eighmy had a big hit in the bottom of the 9th. RF Lee Kowalski had 2 hit and scored 2 runs. PH Alan Douglas had a big hit, his first as a Beaver, in the bottom of the 11th. PH Eric McCornack tied the game with a 2-out RBI double in the bottom of the 8th. CF Jerry Alston had the game-winning hit!

For the Diamondbacks, 1B Don Richins was 3 for 3 with 2 doubles and 2 RBIs before he was thankfully lifted for a pinch-runner. RF Tom Sheehan hit his 9th home run of the season and had 2 RBIs.

Down on the Farm: The Stockton Ports won the second game of the Best-of-Five California League (A+) Championship Series, 8 to 4, at the Lake Elsinore Storm (SD). The series now tied at 1 game apiece.

[Questdog]

Thursday, September 12, 2002

We called up RHP Bruce Byrd from Indianapolis (AAA) to give us someone to pick up some slop innings (if every we have any) and save some rest on our good arms. I do not know what we will do for a starting pitcher in this stretch coming up where we have 2 double headers in 12 days with no days off. There are only 3 days between the double headers, which means we will need 7 starting pitchers in those 5 days if everyone is to start with any freshness in their arm. Probably one of the fellas we have left at Indy will have to come up, but they are all extremely control-challenged....

Arizona Diamondbacks (73-72 .503 13.5 GB in 5th place in the NL West) at
Portland Beavers (85-57 .599 in 1st place in the NL West)

Rich Hunter, Arz (33 R 10-10 3.02 7.9-0.6-2.1-4.5 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Angel Rodriguez, Por (24 R 1-4 4.12 9.1-1.2-3.4-5.2)

Thankfully, we have only faced Hunter once this season, since he pitched a 2-hit shutout against us in that game and had 3 hits and knocked in 2 runs. He has only allowed 1 run total in his last 3 starts, but lost the game he gave up a run. He i tied for the NL lead with 3 shutouts and is 7th in WHIP. It would be nice if this game could get rained out, but no chance....

The Burgermeister reports that OF Don Quinney is available for pinch-hitting duties, though his knee is still sore. He also reports that 3B Ron Peddicord is recovering nicely and expects him to be able to play within a week.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
ARIZONA
1: SS Mario Saucedo (26 R .290-7-64-.809 in 428 AB)
2: 3B Dan White (28 R .274-15-71-.752 in 563 AB) 2002 All-Star
3: 1B Don Richins (35 L .350-8-37-.981 in 183 AB) Playing hurt
4: 2B Mike Campoverde (27 S .194-8-28-.596 in 170 AB)
5: C Gary Stanley (36 R .185-12-52-.611 in 405 AB)
6: LF Rich Ellis (26 L .314-6-46-.816 in 360 AB)
7: RF John Golliday (26 R .216-2-32-.557 in 444 AB)
8: CF Don Menjivar (28 R .278-1-13-.656 in 223 AB)
9: P Rich Hunter (33 R .123-1-5-.346 in 57 AB)

PORTLAND
1: SS Stu Redman (31 R .296-5-54-.749 in 527 AB)
2: 3B Mike Wetzel (25 R .311-1-13-.740 in 193 AB)
3: LF Lebron Williams (33 L .291-8-42-.789 in 289 AB)
4: C Mark Parker (28 R .279-8-40-.812 in 298 AB)
5: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .286-11-64-.778 in 364 AB)
6: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .266-9-55-.713 in 417 AB)
7: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .266-5-40-.697 in 519 AB)
8: 2B Mike Campell (31 R .215-2-16-.576 in 158 AB)
9: P Angel Rodriguez (24 R .280-0-0-.600 in 25 AB)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Weather: 63 deg. Clear skies with an 8 MPH wind blowing in from right.
Attendance: 20,616

Mario Saucedo leads off with a walk. Dan White grounds out on a slow roller to 2nd and Saucedo moves up a base. Saucedo tries to steal 3rd and Mark Parker throws him out! Only the 2nd runner caught stealing out of 12 with Rodriguez on the mound. Don Richins flies out to center!

Bottom of the 1st: Stu Redman flies out to shallow right. Mike Wetzel hits one on the nose, but lines out to short. Lebron Williams grounds out to 2nd.

Top of the 4th: With 2 outs, Don Richins gets the first hit of the game for the Diamondbacks, a single to right center. Mike Campoverde follows with their 2nd, a double to left center, and Richins scores from 1st on his gimpy knee. 1 to 0, Diamondbacks.

Top of the 5th: John Golliday, that noted slugger, leads off with a home run to left, his 3rd homer of the year in 446 AB. 2 to 0, Diamondbacks. Don Menjivar walks and the Bullpen is up. P Rich Hunter bunts him over and Mario Saucedo knocks him home with a line drive to center. 3 to 0, Diamondbacks. Saucedo then steals 2nd and 3rd on successive pitches and the next pitch gets knock to the seats in right by Dan White for a home run. 5 to 0, Diamondbacks.

In the 6th, we got 2 hits in 1 inning, so that is some progress from the last game P Rich Hunter pitched against us, but we still have no runs.

2 more hits in the 7th, but still no runs....

Lost - 5 to 0

We had 8 hits and made no errors.
The Diamondbacks had 8 hits and made no errors.

Angel Rodriguez went 4 and 1/3 innings, allowed 5 runs, 5 hits, 2 home runs, 3 walks and struck out 4.
LHP Paul Hoskins faced 2 batters and retired them.
RHP Larry Castillo pitched 2 scoreless innings and allowed 2 hits.
LHP Al McMillian pitched 1 perfect inning.
RHP Vic Gutowski pitched 1 scoreless inning, allowed 1 hit and struck out 1.

Rich Hunter (W 11-10) went 7 and 1/3 innings, gave us no runs, 7 hits, 1 HBP, 1 walk and struck out 3. 115 pitches.

SS Stu Redman had 2 hits. RF Lee Kowalski had 2 hits with a double.

For the Diamondbacks, RF John Golliday hit his 3rd home run of the season. 3B Dan White hit his 16th home run of the year and had 2 RBIs.

[Questdog]

Friday, September 13, 2002

Friday the 13th will be unlucky for someone....

We begin our final road trip of the season, a short one, with 3 games over the weekend in Los Angeles against manager Gary Lovell (39) and his Dodgers. They just split 4 games here with the Cardinals. We are 7-4 against them on the season and split 2 games here the last time we met them, August 26-27. They are 16th (last) in scoring in the NL with 3.9 runs per game (Portland is #11 with 4.0). He have hit 1 more home run than they have in 3 fewer games. We are the bottom two offenses in the league in hitting home runs. They are 4th in fewest runs allowed with 4.1 per game (Portland is #2 with 3.7). Their bullpen has a 3.45 ERA, 3rd best in the NL behind Portland and San Diego.

Portland Beavers (85-58 .594 in 1st place in the NL West) at
Los Angeles Dodgers (65-81 .445 21.5 GB in 7th place in the NL West)

Phil McPhie, Por (27 R 8-3 2.85 7.9-0.4-1.6-6.2 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Chris Parris, LAN (31 R 7-10 3.59 8.5-1.1-2.4-5.8)

Parris is 2-0 against us and pitched very well in both games.

Since Danny Hernandez set a new team record for RBIs in a season, he has gone 5 games in a row without any.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
PORTLAND
1: SS Stu Redman (31 R .298-5-54-.751 in 531 AB)
2: 3B Mike Wetzel (25 R .310-1-13-.734 in 197 AB)
3: LF Lebron Williams (33 L .290-8-42-.785 in 293 AB)
4: C Mark Parker (28 R .276-8-40-.806 in 301 AB)
5: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .285-11-64-.775 in 368 AB)
6: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .268-9-55-.718 in 421 AB)
7: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .267-5-40-.701 in 521 AB)
8: 2B Doug Baker (26 L .180-0-4-.450 in 50 AB) Missed his Birthday on 9/10
9: P Phil McPhie (27 R .143-0-0-.357 in 14 AB)

LOS ANGELES (N)
1: Dennis Kossmann (25 R .206-8-54-.607 in 432 AB)
2: 3B Steve Gustafson (34 S .287-1-42-.707 in 551 AB) 2001 Gold Glove
3: RF Tom Wilson (29 R .291-9-31-.749 in 320 AB) Trade w/NYN 7/15
4: LF Larry Dunn (30 R .278-3-47-.687 in 492 AB)
5: SS Orlando Orea (24 R .256-1-4-.894 in 39 AB) Rookie
6: 1B Mike Mitman (29 L .247-4-35-.630 in 393 AB)
7: C Mike Haman (30 R .226-2-17-.599 in 155 AB)
8: 2B Dick Black (30 L .270-5-31-.676 in 259 AB)
9: P Chris Parris (31 R .114-0-4-.264 in 44 AB) 2001 Gold Glove w/ATL Trade w/ATL 6/19

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Weather: 64 deg. Clear skies with a 13 MPH wind blowing left to right.
Attendance: 9,656

Stu Redman grounds an 0-2 pitch to left for a hit. Mike Wetzel grounds on to short and Orlando Orea boots it. E-6. Lebron Williams grounds into a 6-4-3 double play. Redman is a t 3rd with 2 outs. Mark Parker flies out to left.

Bottom of the 1st: Dennis Kossmann swings a t the first pitch and flies out to right, Lee Kowalski making a nice catch. Steve Gustafson swings at the first pitch and grounds out to 2nd. Tom Wilson grounds out to short! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the 4th: With 2 outs, Tom Wilson beats out an infield hit and the Dodgers have their first base runner of the game, but that is all they get. P Phil McPhie has thrown 34 pitches through 4 innings.

Bottom of the 5th: Orlando Orea leads off with a hit to center. Mike Mitman lays down a bunt and P Phil McPhie tries to get the force a t 2nd, but the throw is late. With 1 out, they try a double steal, but Mark Parker throws Orea out at 3rd! But that means there are 2 outs with a runner in scoring position and Dick Black singles to left. It looks like Lebron Williams may have a play at the plate, but he fails to pick up the ball and Mitman scores and Black ends up on 2nd. 1B + E-7. 1 to 0, Dodgers.

Top of the 9th: Still 1 to 0, Dodgers and we are staring our 2nd straight shutout in the face. New pitcher: RHP Al Barefield, their excellent closer. 1.84 ERA, 2 HR, 79 SO in 78.1 IP. In 8.1 IP against the Beavers, we have 4 hits, no walks and 8 SO. No runs. Our 3-4-5 hitters go down in succession....Ballgame.

Lost - 1 to 0

We had 4 hits and made 2 errors.
The Dodgers had 4 hits and made 1 error.

Phil McPhie (L 8-4) went 7 innings, allowed 1 run, 4 hits, no walks and struck out no one. This is who Friday the 13th was unlucky for....
RHP Doug Maxwell pitched 1 perfect inning with 1 strikeout.

Chris Parris (W 8-10) went 8 innings, gave us no runs, 4 hits, 2 walks and struck out 5.
RHP Al Barefield (SV 32) pitched a perfect 9th with 1 strikeout.

SS Stu Redman had 3 of our 4 totals hits. PH Don Quinney drew a walk.

Down on the Farm: The Stockton Ports lost the third game of the Best-of-Five California League (A+) Championship Series, 6 to 2, at home against the Lake Elsinore Storm (SD). Lake Elsinore now leads the series, 2 games to 1.

[Questdog]

Saturday, September 14, 2002

Portland Beavers (85-59 .590 in 1st place in the NL West) at
Los Angeles Dodgers (66-81 .449 20.5 GB in 7th place in the NL West)

J.T. Burdick, Por (24 L 0-2 3.75 9.4-0.4-4.1-4.1 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Jeff Trousil, LAN (34 R 12-9 3.91 8.7-0.8-4.5-4.8)

We are 2-0 against Trousil, but he pitched well both games.

Career start #5 for Burdick, still looking for win #1.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
PORTLAND
1: SS Stu Redman (31 R .301-5-54-.756 in 535 AB)
2: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .267-9-55-.713 in 424 AB)
3: LF Lebron Williams (33 L .286-8-42-.775 in 297 AB)
4: C Mark Parker (28 R .272-8-40-.796 in 305 AB)
5: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .283-11-64-.771 in 371 AB)
6: 3B Tim DePriest (27 R .279-2-18-.712 in 179 AB)
7: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .265-5-40-.697 in 524 AB)
8: 2B Mike Campell (31 R .210-2-16-.563 in 162 AB)
9: P J.T. Burdick (24 L .000-0-0-.000 in 7 AB)

LOS ANGELES (N)
1: Dennis Kossmann (25 R .204-8-54-.602 in 436 AB)
2: 3B Steve Gustafson (34 S .286-1-42-.707 in 555 AB) 2001 Gold Glove
3: RF Tom Wilson (29 R .291-9-31-.749 in 323 AB)
4: C Al Decker (30 S .250-13-62-.705 in 464 AB)
5: LF Larry Dunn (30 R .277-3-47-.683 in 495 AB)
6: SS Orlando Orea (24 R .262-1-4-.878 in 42 AB) Rookie
7: 1B Tommy Hogan (26 L .287-1-7-.721 in 143 AB) Rookie
8: 2B Curt Brown (28 R .317-3-13-.838 in 139 AB) Missed 3.5 mos. w/injury
9: P Jeff Trousil (34 R .113-0-5-.272 in 53 AB)

Game Start: 2:05 PM
Weather: 66 deg. Overcast with an 18 MPH wind blowing out to right.
Attendance: 10,467

Stu Redman swings at the firs pitch and lines out to right. Lee Kowalski hits a home run to right! 1 to 0, Beavers! Lebron Williams draws a walk and goes to 2nd on a wild pitch. Mark Parker walks. Danny Hernandez swings at the first pitch, the second pitch and the third pitch and then goes and sits down in the dugout. Tim DePriest strikes out.

Bottom of the 1st: Dennis Kossmann leads off with a double down the right field line. Steve Gustafson singles to left and Kossmann scores without a throw. Tie game: 1 to 1. Tom Wilson lines one to deep left center, but Javy Fernandez manages to run it down for the first out. Full count to Al Decker and he takes ball four. Larry Dunn grounds out to 3rd and runners are at 2nd and 3rd (scoring position) with 2 outs. Full count to Orlando Orea and he takes ball four to load the bases up. Tommy Hogan grounds one to short and Stu Redman goes the short way, but Mike Campell drops the throw and a runner scores. E-4. 2 to 1, Dodgers. That is Campell's first error of the season in his 41st start at 2nd. Curt Brown strikes out looking!

Top of the 3rd: With 2 outs, Mark parker reaches on a 2-base throwing error by Orlando Orea. E-6. Danny Hernandez lines a hit to right center and Parker scores to tie the game at 2.

Top of the 5th: With 2 outs, Mark Parker smashes a home runs to left center! 3 to 2, Beavers!

Bottom of the 5th: Al Decker leads off with a 4-pitch walk and Larry Dunn hits a 2-0 pitch to tight for a home run. 4 to 3, Dodgers.

Bottom of the 7th: On the Hill: RHP Ron Beckman, beginning his 2nd full inning of work. Tom Wilson leads off with a home run down the right field line. 5 to 3, Dodgers.

Lost - 5 to 3

We had 7 hits and made 1 error.
The Dodgers had 6 hits and made 1 error.

J.T. Burdick (L 0-3) went 5 innings, allowed 4 runs (3 earned), 5 hits, 1 home run, 5 walks and struck out 4. He threw a WP.
RHP Ron Beckman went 2 innings, allowed 1 run, 1 hit, 1 home run and struck out 1.
LHP Paul Hoskins faced 1 batter and walked him om 4 pitches.
Larry Castillo faced 3 batters and got them all out with 2 strikeouts.

Jeff Trousil went 2 and 2/3 innings, gave us 3 runs (2 earned), 6 hits, 2 home runs, 4 walks and struck out 2. He threw a WP. 101 pitches.
RHP Ed Weber (W 1-0) went 1 and 1/3 innings and retired all 4 batters he faced with 1 strikeout.
RHP Al Barefield (SV 33) pitched a perfect 9th with 1 strikeout.

RF Lee Kowalski hit his 10th home run of the season. C Mark Parker hit his 9th home run of the year, drew a walk and scored 2 runs. 1B Danny Hernandez had 2 hits and an RBI. CF Javy Fernandez drew 2 walks. 2B Mike Campell (yes, Mike Campell) had 2 hits with a double.

For the Dodgers, RF Tom Wilson hit his 10th home run of the season and drew a walk. LF Larry Dunn hit his 4th home run and had 2 RBIs.

Down on the Farm: The Stockton Ports lost the fourth game of the Best-of-Five California League (A+) Championship Series, 4 to 0, at home against the Lake Elsinore Storm (SD). Lake Elsinore wins the championship, 3 games to 1.

[Questdog]

Sunday, September 15, 2002

Portland Beavers (85-60 .590 in 1st place in the NL West) at
Los Angeles Dodgers (67-81 .453 19.5 GB in 7th place in the NL West)

Terry Cole, Por (32 L 18-7 2.86 8.0-0.3-3.1-5.9 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Dennis Ord, LAN (29 L 9-6 2.99 7.3-0.4-1.9-5.7)

We beat Ord the only time we faced him and scored 4 runs in 4.2 innings. But he is a good lefty and that means trouble for us scoring runs usually.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
PORTLAND
1: 3B Mike Wetzel (25 R .303-1-13-.721 in 201 AB)
2: 2B Mike Campell (31 R .217-2-16-.579 in 166 AB)
3: LF Dave Priestly (28 R .265-4-22-.752 in 204 AB)
4: C Mark Parker (28 R .273-9-41-.806 in 308 AB)
5: 1B Jim Eighmy (28 R .242-3-18-.667 in 128 AB)
6: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .266-10-56-.716 in 429 AB)
7: SS Rick Ferrell (27 R .268-0-11-.645 in 71 AB)
8: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .264-5-40-.697 in 526 AB)
9: P Terry Cole (32 L .250-0-7-.544 in 68 AB)

LOS ANGELES (N)
1: Dennis Kossmann (25 R .204-8-54-.602 in 441 AB)
2: 3B Steve Gustafson (34 S .289-1-43-.712 in 558 AB) 2001 Gold Glove
3: RF Tom Wilson (29 R .291-10-32-.759 in 326 AB)
4: C Al Decker (30 S .249-13-62-.704 in 466 AB)
5: LF Larry Dunn (30 R .277-4-49-.687 in 499 AB)
6: 1B Mike Haman (30 R .222-2-17-.588 in 158 AB)
7: SS Ralph Burlett (30 R .056-0-0-.161 in 18 AB)
8: 2B Curt Brown (28 R .315-3-13-.829 in 143 AB)
9: P Dennis Ord (29 R .152-0-2-.391 in 46 AB)

Game Start: 2:05 PM
Weather: 74 deg. Overcast with an 7 MPH wind blowing out to right.
Attendance: 10,274

Mike Wetzel swings at the first pitch and grounds a hit by the third baseman. Mike Campell (yes, Mike Campell) draws a walk. Dave Priestly swings at the first pitch and flies out to deep left center. Mark Parker swings at the first pitch and flies out to shallow left, but Larry Dunn drops the ball and the bases are loaded with 1 out! E-7. Jim Eighmy takes four pitches and we have a run with a bases-loaded walk! 1 to 0, Beavers! Lee Kowalski takes four more pitches for another run! 2 to 0, Beavers. Ord was in the top 10 in the league in fewest BB/9 coming into this start! Full count to Rick Ferrell and he beats out an infield hit for another run! 3 to 0, Beavers! Ferrell now has a 12-game hitting streak dating back to May! Javy Fernandez strikes out. 2 down. P Terry Cole pops out to 3rd. It is always nice when your starting pitcher bats before he ever takes the mound!

Bottom of the 1st: Dennis Kossmann flies out to right. Full count to Steve Gustafson and he grounds out to 1st, 3-1. Tom Wilson beats out an infield hit because P Terry Cole was slow to field the ball. But no worries, Mark Parker throws him out when he tries to steal!

Bottom of the 2nd: Al Decker leads off with a hit to left and goes to 3rd on a hit by Larry Dunn and scores on a fly ball by Mike Haman. 3 to 1, Beavers.

Top of the 3rd: With 2 outs, Lee Kowalski triples to center and then scores on a wild pitch. 4 to 1, Beavers.

Bottom of the 6th: With 2 outs, Al Decker hits a home runs down the left field line. 4 to 2, Beavers.

Won - 4 to 2

We had 6 hits and made no errors.
The Dodgers had 10 hits and made 1 error.

Terry Cole (W 19-7) went 7 and 2/3 innings, allowed 2 runs, 9 hits, 1 home run, no walks and struck out 2.
RHP Doug Maxwell (SV 13) went 1 and 1/3 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit and struck out 1.

Dennis Ord (L 9-7) went 7 and 1/3 innings, gave us 4 runs, (2 earned), 5 hits, 5 walks and struck out 3. At bat, he had a hit.

3B Mike Wetzel had a hit and 2 walks and scored a run. RF Lee Kowalski had 2 hits with a triple and a walk, scored a run and had an RBI.

For the Dodgers, C Al Decker had 2 his with his 14th home run of the season and scored 2 runs.

[Questdog]

September 16, 2002

Monday Morning Report

AL Player of the Week - Dean Renken, 3b, Toronto (26 R .286/.329/.444) Had 13 hits with 1 2B, 4 HR, 1 SB, 7 R and 7 RBI in 6 G
NL Player of the Week - Bobby Manzano, 1b, Colorado (26 L .334/.395/.555) Had 12 hits with 4 2B, 5 R and 2 RBI in 6 G There was no one better than that?

(Slash lines are for the season, not the week)

September 9: RF Arturo Guerra of Chicago (N) had 5 hits at Atlanta. He scored 1 run and had 3 RBIs. The Cubs won, 9 to 4.
September 9: LF Rick Lewis of Philadelphia hit 2 home runs at home versus Pittsburgh. He had 3 hits and a walk and had 3 RBIs. The Phillies lost, 13 to 8.
September 9: RHP Wayne Lovelace pitched a 3-hit shutout at home versus Chicago (A). He walked 3 and struck out 10. He is now 10-9 with a 4.25 ERA. The Twins won, 1 to 0.
September 10: C Willie Solano of Colorado hit 2 home runs at Houston. He drew a walk, scored 3 runs and had 4 RBIs. The Rockies hit 9 doubles and won, 15 to 6.
September 10: RF Tom Wilson of Los Angeles (N) had 5 hits at home versus St. Louis. He hit a double, scored a run and had 2 RBIs. The Dodgers won, 7 to 1.
September 10: LHP Bob Guardado of Kansas City pitched a 4-hit shutout at home versus Los Angeles (A). He walked 2 and struck out 8. At bat, he had a hit and scored a run. It was his 3rd shutout of the season. He is now 14-12 with a 2.90 ERA. The Royals won, 4 to 0.
September 11: RHP Brian Stinnett of San Francisco pitched a 10-inning, 5-hit shutout at San Diego. He walked 1 and struck out 7. 115 pitches. It was his 3rd shutout of the season, tying for the NL lead. He is now 12-8 with a 2.62 ERA. The Giants won, 2 to 0, in 10 innings.
September 11: RHP Jessie Shupp of Cincinnati pitched a 3-hit shutout at home versus Miami. He walked 1 and struck out 4. It was his 2nd shutout of the season. He is now 11-13 with 3.65 ERA. The Reds won, 13 to 0.
September 11: New York (A) scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th to beat Baltimore at home, 6 to 5. The winning hit was a 2-out bases loaded triple by SS Dave Love, his only hit of the game.
September 11: RHP Danny Carranza of Boston pitched a 1-hit shutout at home versus Detroit. He walked 5 and struck out 8. The hit was a 2-out single in the 6th. He is now 9-9 with a 3.70 ERA. The Red Sox won, 4 to 0.
September 11: RHP Nick Couto of Minnesota pitched a 3-hit shutout at home versus Chicago (A). He walked 1 and struck out 6. It was his 2nd shutout of the season. He is now 12-12 with a 3.41 ERA. The Twins won, 4 to 0.
September 13: SS John Johnson of Toronto hit 2 home runs at home versus Cleveland. He had 3 hits and 5 RBIs. The Blue Jays won, 12 to 7.
September 13: 1B Earl Hays of Los Angeles (A) hit 2 home runs at home versus Chicago (A). He had 4 hits and 5 RBIs. Both home runs came in the 7th inning and the 2nd one was a Grand Slam. The Angels scored 8 runs in that inning and won, 17 to 2.
September 14: CF Julio Chapa of Colorado hit 2 home runs at San Francisco. He hit a double, drew a walk, scored 3 runs and had 6 RBIs. The Rockies won, 11 to 6.
September 14: RHP Mike White of Milwaukee pitched a 7-hit shutout at Oakland and hit 2 home runs at bat. He walked 2 and struck out 6 on the mound and drew a walk and had 5 RBIs at the plate. He is now 14-7 with 3.27 ERA. The Brewers won, 10 to 0. The offensive outburst raised his season batting average to .121 and the home runs were the first he has hit.
September 14: 3B Dean Renken of Toronto hit 2 home runs at home versus Cleveland. He had 3 hits and 4 RBIs. The Blue Jays lost, 5 to 4.
September 15: C Roger Bradshaw of Houston hit 2 home runs at St. Louis. He had 5 RBIs. The Astros won, 11 to 2, after scoring 8 runs in the top of the 9th.
September 15: 1B Antonio Mata of Tampa Bay hit 2 home runs at Boston. He had 4 hits and 3 RBIs. The Rays won, 6 to 4.
September 15: RHP Pedro Gonzalez of New York (A) pitched a 3-hit shutout at Washington. He walked 1 and struck out 6. At bat, he went 3 for 2 with a double, the only extra-base hit in the game, scored a run and had an RBI. He is now 14-5 with a 3.24 ERA. The Yankees won, 4 to 0.

Random Fact of the Week: London, Paris and Rome are all towns in Kentucky. How's that for random?

[Questdog]

Monday, September 16, 2002

We are in San Diego to finish this short road trip and all road trips for the season with 2 games against manager Clyde Black (64) and his Padres. They won 2 of 3 here over the weekend against the Diamondbacks. We are 7-5 against them on the season and swept them in 3 games here the last time we met, August 16-18. They are 13th in scoring with 4.0 runs per game (Portland is #14 with 4.0). They lead the league in fewest runs allowed with 3.4 per game (Portland is #2 with 3.7).

One win in these two games is all I ask....

Portland Beavers (86-60 .589 in 1st place in the NL West) at
San Diego Padres (83-67 .553 5 GB in 2nd place in the NL West)

Tony Ricketts, Por (28 R 12-4 3.21 7.8-0.7-1.6-5.8 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Manny Leiva, SD (26 R 13-7 2.73 8.1-0.6-2.3-5.2)

We lost in extra innings the only time we faced Leiva this season, but he pitched very well, going 8.1 innings.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
PORTLAND
1: SS Stu Redman (31 R .298-5-54-.748 in 541 AB)
2: 3B Mike Wetzel (25 R .304-1-13-.726 in 204 AB)
3: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .269-10-57-.727 in 432 AB)
4: LF Lebron Williams (33 L .282-8-42-.767 in 301 AB)
5: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .285-11-65-.771 in 376)
6: CF Javy Fernandez (27 L .264-5-40-.695 in 530 AB)
7: 2B Doug Baker (26 L .189-0-4-.462 in 53 AB)
8: C Steve Jensen (25 R .243-0-4-.627 in 74 AB)
9: P Tony Ricketts (28 R .120-0-2-.277 in 50 AB)

SAN DIEGO
1: Joe Greenslit (28 R .301-14-65-.788 in 531 AB) 2002 All-Star
2: SS Floyd Miller (28 R .260-28-90-.752 in 576 AB) 2001 All-Star
3: C Jose Hernandez (31 R .273-15-39-.752 in 440 AB)
4: 1B Rich Loomis (26 R .220-4-14-.578 in 182 AB) Trade w/COL 7/19
5: 3B Orlando Moran (27 R .265-19-70-.742 in 501 AB)
6: LF Tom Peterson (26 L .246-2-19-.655 in 284 AB)
7: 2B Bob Sargent (29 R .229-8-33-.676 in 293 AB) Missed 2.5 mos. w/injury
8: RF Howard Travers (29 R .288-2-35-.721 in 385 AB)
9: P Manny Leiva (26 R .135-0-2-.284 in 74 AB) 2002 All-Star

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Weather: 64 deg. Overcast with an 6 MPH wind blowing right to right.
Attendance: 16,901

Stu Redman grounds out to 3rd. Mike Wetzel lines a hit to center. Lee Kowalski doubles to right center and Wetzel stops at 3rd. Lebron Williams doubles to center! 2 to 0, Beavers! Danny Hernandez lines one to deep right center, but Joe Greenslit makes a leaping catch to deny us a 3rd straight double. Williams tags up at 2nd and moves over to 3rd. 2 outs. Javy Fernandez swings at the first pitch and grounds out to 2nd.

Bottom of the 1st: Joe Greenslit strikes out! Full count to Floyd Miller and he swings and misses!! Jose Hernandez strikes out!!! 1-2-3!

Top of the 2nd: Full count to Stu Redman and he takes ball four and then steals 2nd. Mike Wetzel lines a 3-1 pitch to center for a hit and Redman scores! 3 to 0, Beavers! Lee Kowalski grounds into a force at 2nd, 3-6. Lebron Williams singles to right and Kowalski goes to 3rd. Danny Hernandez flies out to the warning track in straight away center and Kowalski trots home. 4 to 0, Beavers.

Bottom of the 4th: Floyd Miller leads off with a home run down the left field line. 4 to 1, Beavers.

Top of the 5th: New pitcher: RHP Jim Lerner. Full count to Lee Kowalski and he walks. He steals 2nd on the first pitch to Lebron Williams and then steals 3rd on the next one and scores when the catcher throws the ball into left! 5 to 1, Beavers.

Bottom of the 6th: PH Manuel Jauregui leads off with a hit and with 2 outs, Jose Hernandez hits a home run to right. 5 to 3, Beavers.

Top of the 9th: On the hill: LHP Manny Hilerio, beginning his 2nd full inning of work. Steve Jensen leads off with a hit, goes to 2nd on a wild pitch and goes to 3rd on a passed ball. 1B Jim Eighmy walks. Stu Redman grounds one to 3rd and Orlando Moran boots it an Jensen scores. E-5. 6 to 3, Beavers.

Won - 6 to 4

We had 9 hits and made 1 error.
The Padres had 7 hits and made 2 errors.

Tony Ricketts (W 13-4) went 7 innings, allowed 3 runs, 6 hits, 2 home runs, no walks and struck out 7. At bat, he drew a walk. Do you remember that Ricketts lead the league in losses last year with 19?
RHP Larry Castillo went 1+ innings, allowed 1 unearned run, 1 hit and struck out 1.
LHP Al McMillian faced 1 batter and retired him.
RHP Ron Beckman (SV 11) faced 2 batters and retired them both with 1 strikeout.

Manny Leiva (L 13-8) went 4 innings, gave us 4 runs, 7 hits, 2 walk and struck out 1.

3B Mike Wetzel had 2 hits, scored a run and had an RBI. RF Lee Kowalski hit a double, drew 2 walks (1 INT), stole 2 bases and scored 3 runs. LF Lebron Williams had 3 hits with 2 doubles and 2 RBIs.

For the Padres, SS Floyd Miller hit his 29th home run of the season. C Jose Hernandez hit his 16th home run and had 2 RBIs.

[Questdog]

Tuesday, September 17, 2002

Portland Beavers (87-60 .592 in 1st place in the NL West) at
San Diego Padres (83-68 .550 6 GB in 2nd place in the NL West)

Angel Rodriguez, Por (24 R 1-5 4.40 9.2-1.3-3.5-5.4 H/9-HR/9-BB/9-K/9) vs Bob Kinney, SD (32 R 11-10 3.25 8.2-0.9-2.2-6.2)

We are 2-2 when Kinney has started against us. He is 1-1 and had only one start that was less then very good and he went 7.2 innings in that one. He is 0-6 in his last 8 starts, but his ERA is only 3.88 during that span. Not great, but good enough to expect a win or two.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age Bats BA-HR-RBI-OPS) Stats are for last season.
PORTLAND
1: SS Stu Redman (31 R .297-5-55-.748 in 545 AB)
2: 3B Mike Wetzel (25 R .306-1-14-.727 in 209 AB)
3: LF Lebron Williams (33 L .289-8-44-.783 in 305 AB)
4: C Mark Parker (28 R .269-9-41-.797 in 312 AB)
5: 1B Danny Hernandez (23 L .284-11-66-.770 in 377)
6: RF Lee Kowalski (27 L .269-10-57-.731 in 435 AB)
7: CF Jerry Alston (29 L .296-0-3-.655 in 27 AB)
8: 2B Doug Baker (26 L .196-0-4-.472 in 56 AB)
9: P Angel Rodriguez (24 R .269-0-0-.577 in 26 AB)

SAN DIEGO
1: Joe Greenslit (28 R .299-14-65-.782 in 535 AB) 2002 All-Star
2: SS Floyd Miller (28 R .260-29-91-.755 in 580 AB) 2001 All-Star
3: 1B Rich Loomis (26 R .220-4-14-.582 in 186 AB)
4: LF Tom Peterson (26 L .244-2-19-.649 in 287 AB)
5: C Wil Carballo (31 R .241-4-20-.744 in 137 AB)
6: 3B Emilio Borja (31 R .265-3-33-.720 in 226 AB)
7: 2B Tom Taylor (26 R .279-4-18-.800 in 140 AB) Rookie
8: RF Howard Travers (29 R .289-2-35-.720 in 388 AB)
9: P Bob Kinney (32 R .194-0-2-.403 in 62 AB)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Weather: 60 deg. Overcast with a 12 MPH wind blowing out to left.
Attendance: 13,642

Stu Redman leads off with a double to left. Mike Wetzel grounds out to 2nd and Redman goes to 3rd. When I was a kid, the announcers would have said that was a great piece of hitting. Lebron Williams walks on 4 pitches. Mark Parker grounds into a 5-4-3 double play....that was not a great piece of hitting, there....

Bottom of the 1st: Joe Greenslit leads off by lining a 2-2 pitch to center for a hit. Full count to Floyd Miller and he fouls out to 1st. Rich Loomis lines a 2-2 pitch to left for a hit. 2 strikes on 3 straight batters, but only 1 out.... Tom Peterson walks on 4 pitches to load the bases up with 1 out. 2 strikes to Wil Carballo, but 4 balls and a run is forced in. 1 to 0, Padres. 2 more strikes to Emilio Borja and he strikes out looking and that means there are 2 outs and runners in scoring position.... Tom Taylor swings at the first pitch and grounds out to 3rd! 34 pitch inning.

Bottom of the 4th: Wil Carballo leads off with a home run down the right field line. 2 to 0, Padres.

Bottom of the 5th: Joe Greenslit leads off with a double to right. The Bullpen is up. Floyd Miller and Rich Loomis both walk and we make the Call to the Bullpen: LHP Paul Hoskins. Tom Peterson lines a hit to left. Greenslit scores and Miller heads home, but Lebron Williams throws him out. 3 to 0, Padres. Call to the Bullpen: RHP Vic Gutowski. He gets two outs to end the inning.

Through 6 innings, we have 2 hits.

Lost - 3 to 0

3rd time we have been shutout in the last 6 games.

We had 5 hits and made no errors.
The Padres had 9 hits and made 1 error.

Angel Rodriguez (L 1-6) went 4+ innings, allowed 3 runs, 6 hits, 1 home run, 4 walks and struck out 3. He threw a WP. He have no one option but to keep him and J.T. Burdick in the rotation.
LHP Paul Hoskins went 1/3 of an inning and gave up a hit.
RHP Vic Gutowski went 2 and 2/3 scoreless innings, gave up 2 hits and struck out 2.
RHP Ron Beckman went 1 perfect inning and struck out 1.

Bob Kinney (W 12-10) went 9 innings (CG), gave us no runs (ShO), 5 hits, 1 walk and struck out 5. At bat, he had a hit.

SS Stu Redman hit a double. LF Lebron Williams had 2 hits and a walk. Lee Kowalski hit a double. PH Don Quinney had a hit.

For the Padres, C Wil Carballo hit his 5th home run of the season, drew a walk and had 2 RBIs.