Millennial League Baseball, est. 2001

[Questdog]

August 20, 2001

Monday Morning Report
Player of the Week - Frank Bates, CF, Syracuse (29-R .269/.346/.494) Had 14 hits with 1 2B, 6 HR (!!), 0 BB, 5 SO, 1 SB, 1 CS, 8 R and 13 RBI in 7 G

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

August 13 - CF Mike Fox (22-L) of Hartford had 4 hits with a home run, stole a base, scored 4 runs and had 3 RBI at home versus New Orleans. The Whalers won, 9 to 3.
August 13 - CF Frank Bates (29-R) of Syracuse had 4 hits with 3 home runs and 5 RBI at home versus Charlotte. The Sycamores won, 6 to 4, when Bates hit his 3rd home run with 1 out and a man on base in the bottom of the 9th. He is the 1st player to ever hit 3 home runs in a game in the MLB. Charlotte lost 2B Jim Sabin (33-R) for the season with a torn ACL. He was hitting .259 with 1 HR and 26 RB in 309 AB.
August 14 - Juan Ledesma (29-R) of Ottawa pitched a 3 hit shutout at home versus Birmingham. He walked 1 and struck out 6. At bat, he had a hit and scored a run. He is tied for the League lead with 5 shutouts. He is now 11-3 with a 2.00 ERA in 25 starts. The Otters won, 10 to 0.
August 14 - Charlotte outhit Syracuse, 10 to 4, but lost on the road, 3 to 0. 2 of the Sycamore's hits were home run.
August 14 - RF Gil Weaver (23-L) of Orlando had 2 hits with a Grand Slam, a walk and 5 RBI at Buffalo. The Juice won, 9 to 3.
August 17 - Syracuse won at Providence, 4 to 2, for their 10th win in a row. They are now only 2 games out of 1st place.
August 17 - C Marc Barksdale (30-R) of Columbus had 2 hits with a Grand Slam and 6 RBI at Ottawa. The Explorers won, 8 to 1.
August 18 - Syracuse lost at Providence, 8 to 7, ending their winning streak at 10 games. Is was not CF Frank Bates (29-R) fault, though. He had 4 hits with a home run and 5 RBI.
August 19 - LF Mickey Lynn (28-L) of Buffalo hit 2 home runs and had 5 RBI at home versus Indianapolis. The Bombers won, 12 to 3.

[Questdog]

Monday, August 20, 2001

Our Bullpen cannot afford to go a week shorthanded, so P Jim Kenzy (33-R) was put on the DL and RP Justin Reddick (29-R) was recalled. 1B Rick Tuttle (34-R) was sent to Daytona (A) and P Spencer Shuff (33-R) was recalled to start tomorrow's game. It has not been 10 days since we sent him down, but putting Kenzy on the DL, waives that requirement.

We are in Charlotte to play the 1st place Hornets a 3 game series. They won 2 of 3 in Richmond over the weekend. We are 3-4 against them on the season and this is our 1st trip to North Carolina. They are 8th in scoring with 4.21 runs per game (Jacksonville is still last with 3.51). After the weekend's humiliation by Birmingham, we are now 11 runs out of the #15 spot. The Hornets are 5th in fewest runs allowed with 3.85 per game (Jacksonville is last with 5.25). Their run differential is +45 and ours is -213.

Jacksonville Jays (40-82 .328 29 GB in 8th (last) place in the Southern Division) at
Charlotte Hornets (70-54 .565 2.5 GA in 1st place in the Southern Division)

JAX: Blair Montgomery (29-R) (0-0 5.40 ERA 5 IP, 4 H, 1 HR, 2 BB, 2 SO) Rookie vs.
CHAR: Ron Simon (28-R) (6-12 3.73 ERA 154.1 IP, 146 H, 17 HR, 56 BB, 100 SO)

This will be Montgomery's 2nd Major League start. His first ended in injury when he hit a double.

In April, we scored 4 runs on 9 hits and 3 walks with 2 strikeouts in 5 innings in a no decision against Simon that we ended up winning.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
JACKSONVILLE
1: CF Cal Doty (24-L .269-461-2-41-.692-13 C+)
2: RF Mike Volkman (33-L .280-339-5-49-.708-1 D+)
3: LF Joe Roberts (30-L .309-395-1-38-.737-25 B+)
4: 1B Tony Becerra (32-L .244-324-12-34-.702-5 A+)
5: 3B Brian Porter (34-S .230-378-5-38-.619-0 C+)
6: 2B Frank Roadman (26-R .211-337-4-26-.553-33 B)
7: SS Junior Danielson (30-R .209-153-0-9-.503-10 B)
8: C Bert Swope (29-S .213-141-0-12-.564-0 B)
9: P Blair Montgomery (29-R 1.000-1-0-0-3.000-0 C) Rookie

CHARLOTTE
1: 3B Larry Davis (26-S .383-433-2-38-.921-17 C+) All-Star
2: RF Ron Bylina (25-L .211-199-6-30-.679-2 B)
3: 2B Terry Wolf (29-L .280-486-16-72-.815-4 B)
4: LF John Hartz (36-R .234-312-6-44-.722-9 B) All-Star
5: 1B Bruce McArthur (24-L .239-188-2-23-.678-1 A+)
6: C Larry Griffin (29-S .269-253-4-29-.765-0 C+)
7: SS Randy Dodson (28-L .217-106-3-13-.647-1 B+)
8: CF Scott Damon (22-R .277-177-3-23-.717-0 B+) Rookie #11 prospect Strained hamstring
9: P Ron Simon (28-R .239-46-0-3-.532-0 C)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Charlotte Municipal Stadium
Weather: 85 F, Clear Skies, with a 7 MPH wind blowing in from right
Attendance: 12,646

Top of the First:
Cal Doty lines a hit to right. Mike Volkman triples to right and Doty scores! 1 to 0, Jays! Joe Roberts strikes out looking... Tony Becerra takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. Brian Porter takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4 to load the bases up with 1 out. Frank Roadman flies out to deep center and Volkman trots home. 2 to 0, Jays! Junior Danielson beats out an infield hit to load the bases back up. Bert Swope grounds out to 1st, unassisted....

Bottom of the First:
Larry Davis flies out to center. Ron Bylina grounds out to the pitcher. Terry Wolf grounds one to 1st, but Tony Becerra boots it... P Blair Montgomery picks Wolf off at 1st!

Bottom of the Third:
With 2 outs, Larry Davis takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4 and then steals 2nd. Ron Bylina takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. Terry Wolf swings at the first pitch and lines a double to left and Davis scores and Bylina heads home, but is thrown out by Joe Roberts and Junior Danielson, 7-6-2! 2 to 1, Jays.

Top of the Fourth:
Bert Swope grounds one to short, but Randy Dodson makes a bad throw for an error. P Blair Montgomery bunts the runner up. Cal Doty lines a hit to right and Swope scores! 3 to 1, Jays! The next two make outs...

Bottom of the Sixth:
Terry Wolf grounds a hit to right. The Bullpen gets up. John Hartz grounds into a force at 2nd, 5-4. Bruce McArthur hits a home run to right... Tie Game: 3 to 3.

Bottom of the Eighth:
New Pitcher: Bill Grant (30-L). Ron Bylina swings at an 0-2 pitch and knocks it off the top of the fence in right center for a double.... I AM sitting on my hands, Pia! Terry Wolf grounds out to 1st, unassisted, and Bylina goes to 3rd. We walk John Hartz intentionally. Bruce McArthur grounds a hit up the middle and Bylina scores and Hartz goes to 3rd... 4 to 3, Hornets. Larry Griffin pops out to 2nd. They let P Alan Howard bat and he strikes out looking on 3 pitches! With 2 outs and a runner in scoring position, no less!

Top of the Ninth:
On the Hill: Alan Howard (28-R), their closer, after facing 5 batters and getting 5 outs. Bert Swope grounds a hit to center. Pinch-runner: Frank Wendell (33-R). 2B Rick Dundore (35-R) bunts the runner up. Cal Doty swings at an 0-2 pitch and just gets a piece of it and beats out an infield hit! Mike Volkman swings at the first pitch and lines a hit to right and Wendell scores! Tie Game: 4 to 4! Doty steals 3rd! Joe Roberts lines one hard to deep right, but Ron Bylina makes an amazing diving catch, though Doty trots home with the go ahead run! 5 to 4, Jays! Volkman tries to steal 2nd and gets thrown out...

Bottom of the Ninth:
The Bullpen is ready. We had 2 guys tossing from each rubber... Garrett Bender (27-R) is in to catch. PH Ken Hawco (36-R), batting .205 with 1 HR and 2 RBI in 44 AB, flies out to deep center. SS Marty Derringer (23-R), batting .226 with 4 HR and 37 RBI in 380 AB, strikes out! Larry Davis, the League leader in batting, lines a hit to left... PH Tom Morris (27-R), batting .247 with 7 HR and 37 RBI in 219 AB, is sent up for Ron Bylina, who doubled off the wall against P Grant... The only 2 available rested pitchers are Barry Finney (26-R) and Justin Reddick (29-R), neither of whom inspires any confidence... So we let P Grant go... Morris strikes out and THIS Ball Game Belongs to the Jays!

Won - 5 to 4

We had 11 hits and made 1 error
Charlotte had 9 hits and made 1 error

Blair Montgomery went 7 innings, allowed 3 runs, 1 home run, 6 hits, 3 walks and struck out 2.
LHP Bill Grant (W 4-2) went 2 innings, allowed 1 run, 3 hits, 1 walk (INT) and struck out 3.

Ron Simon went 6.1 innings, gave us 3 runs (2 earned), 8 hits, 2 walks and struck out 3.
RHP Alan Howard (L 7-9) went 2.2 innings, gave us 2 runs, 3 hits and struck out 2. It is the 2nd Loss we have pinned on Howard. He also has a Win and a Save against us.

CF Cal Doty had 4 hits with a double, stole a base, scored 2 runs and had an RBI. RF Mike Volkman had 4 hits with a triple, scored a run and had 2 RBI. PR Frank Wendell scored a run.

For Charlotte, 1B Bruce McArthur had 2 hits with his 3rd home run of the season and 3 RBI.

[Questdog]

Tuesday, August 21, 2001

Jacksonville Jays (41-82 .333 28 GB in 8th (last) place in the Southern Division) at
Charlotte Hornets (70-55 .560 2 GA in 1st place in the Southern Division)

JAX: Spencer Shuff (33-R) (1-9 7.53 ERA 57.1 IP, 84 H, 10 HR, 18 BB, 16 SO) vs.
CHAR: Rick Cox (30-R) (9-6 2.30 ERA 191.1 IP, 161 H, 6 HR, 51 BB, 119 SO) All-Star

Shuff gave up 3 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits and 2 walks with 3 strikeouts in 6.1 innings last time out in a loss.

Cox is their #1 starter. He is 4th in the League in ERA and IP. In 2 starts against us, he is 1-1 with a 2.16 ERA and 16.2 IP, 14 H, 1 HR, 4 BB and 10 SO.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
JACKSONVILLE
1: CF Cal Doty (24-L .275-466-2-42-.703-14 C+)
2: RF Mike Volkman (33-L .288-344-5-51-.727-1 D+)
3: LF Joe Roberts (30-L .306-399-1-39-.729-25 B+)
4: C Garrett Bender (27-R .260-273-5-34-.705-0 B+)
5: 1B Tony Becerra (32-L .242-327-12-34-.698-5 A+)
6: 3B Brian Porter (34-S .228-381-5-38-.616-0 C+)
7: 2B Rick Dundore (35-R .200-55-0-2-.545-1 B)
8: SS Junior Danielson (30-R .210-157-0-9-.503-10 B)
9: P Spencer Shuff (33-R .071-14-0-1-.276-0 C+)

CHARLOTTE
1: SS Marty Derringer (23-R .226-381-4-37-.598-7 B+)
2: 3B Larry Davis (26-S .384-437-2-38-.923-18 C+) All-Star
3: 1B Tom Barker (28-L .234-77-1-5-.664-0 C)
4: LF John Hartz (36-R .232-315-6-44-.717-9 B) All-Star
5: 2B Bruce McArthur (24-L .245-192-3-26-.700-1 A)
6: RF Tom Morris (27-R .245-220-7-37-.751-1 B+)
7: C Larry Griffin (29-S .266-256-4-29-.759-0 C+)
8: CF Gabe Valdez (29-R .306-301-5-55-.765-2 B)
9: P Rick Cox (30-L .138-65-0-5-.352-0 F) All-Star

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Charlotte Municipal Stadium
Weather: 92 F, Clear Skies, with an 11 MPH wind blowing in from right
Attendance: 13,869

Top of the First:
Cal Doty grounds out to 2nd. Mike Volkman grounds one to 1st, but Tom Barker boots it! Joe Roberts swings at the first pitch and grounds into a force at 2nd, 6-4. He is now 2 for his last 25 and is hitting .224 in August... Garrett Bender strikes out...

Bottom of the First:
Marty Derringer flies out to deep left. Larry David pops out to 3rd. Tom Barker grounds out to 1st, 3-1! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the Fourth:
Tom Barker pops a hit to right and then steals his first base of the season... John Hartz swings at a 3-2 pitch and doubles to left center and Barker scores... 1 to 0, Hornets. Bruce McArthur flies out to center and Hartz tags up and beats the throw to 3rd... Tom Morris hits a home run to left center... 3 to 0, Hornets. 474 ft. With 2 outs, Gabe Valdez grounds a hit to left. P Rick Cox, a .138 hitter, doubles to center and Valdez scores.... 4 to 0, Hornets. I call foul! It was 2 outs, yes, but there was no runner in scoring position! Marty Derringer draws a walk... The Bullpen gets up. Larry Davis flies out to center.

Bottom of the Fifth:
With 1 out, John Hartz grounds one to 3rd, but Brian Porter boots it... Bruce McArthur lines a hit to center... The Bullpen gets up. Tom Morris pokes a hit to center and Hartz heads home and Cal Doty throws the ball to the backstop for his 10th error of the season... 5 to 0, Hornets. Call to the Bullpen: Justin Reddick (29-R). Frank Roadman is in to play 2nd in a double switch. Larry Griffin swings at an 0-2 pitch and whacks it to center on a line and Doty overruns the ball for error #11 and both runners score and Griffin goes to 2nd... 7 to 0, Hornets. P Reddick balks Griffin to 3rd... Gabe Valdez flies out to left and Griffin holds. NOW there is a runner in scoring position with 2 outs for P Rick Cox! He strikes out!

Top of the Seventh:
Joe Roberts grounds one wide of 1st and Tom Barker makes a nice stop, but not a nice toss to the pitcher for an error! Garrett Bender grounds a double play ball to short, but Marty Derringer makes another error on his throw to 2nd! Tony Becerra grounds into a force at 2nd, 4-6, and Roberts goes to 3rd. Brian Porter ground a hit to left and Roberts scores! 7 to 1, Hornets. PH Dennis Brown swings at the first pitch and doubles to left and Bender scores! 7 to 2, Hornets. Junior Danielson pops out to 2nd... Frank Roadman puts a charge into one to left, but it is caught just short of the warning track...

Bottom of the Seventh:
New Pitcher: Barry Finney (26-R). With 1 out, Bruce McArthur hits a home run to right... 8 to 2, Hornets. He has 4 home runs on the season and 2 in the last two games...

Lost - 8 to 2

We had 4 whole hits and made 3 errors
Charlotte had 10 hits and made 3 errors

Spencer Shuff (L 1-10) went 4.1 innings, allowed 7 runs (4 earned), 8 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out no one.
RHP Justin Reddick went 1.2 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit, 1 walk and struck out 2. He balked.
RHP Barry Finney went 2 innings, allowed 1 run, 1 hit, a home run, 2 walks and struck out 2.

Rick Cox (W 10-6) went 9 innings (CG), gave us 2 unearned runs, 4 hits, no walks and struck out 7. 105 pitches. At bat, he hit a double and had an RBI.

Cal Doty had 2 hits with a double and made 2 errors in one inning... PH Dennis Brown hit a double and had an RBI.

For Charlotte, RF Tom Morris had 2 hits with his 8th home run of the season, drew a walk, scored 2 runs and had 3 RBI.

[Questdog]

Wednesday, August 22, 2001

P Spencer Shuff (33-R) was shuffled back to Daytona (A) and C Jim Hess (31-R) was recalled.

Jacksonville Jays (41-83 .331 29 GB in 8th (last) place in the Southern Division) at
Charlotte Hornets (71-55 .563 3 GA in 1st place in the Southern Division)

JAX: Mike Gaddis (32-R) (3-12 5.99 ERA 106.2 IP, 140 H, 15 HR, 28 BB, 60 SO) vs.
CHAR: Jack Brown (25-R) (13-9 3.14 ERA 166.1 IP, 146 H, 13 HR, 50 BB, 97 SO)

Gaddis gave up 9 runs on 10 hits, 3 home runs and 3 walks with 5 strikeouts in 7 innings last time out in a loss.

In 2 starts against us, Brown is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 14 IP, 14 H, 0 HR, 3 BB and 10 SO.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
JACKSONVILLE
1: 2B Frank Roadman (26-R .211-342-4-27-.551-33 B)
2: LF Joe Roberts (30-L .303-403-1-39-.722-25 B+)
3: CF Cal Doty (24-L .277-470-2-42-.706-14 C+)
4: C Garrett Bender (27-R .256-277-5-34-.695-0 B+)
5: 1B Tony Becerra (32-L .239-331-12-34-.690-5 A+)
6: RF Dennis Brown (27-L .231-173-5-25-.630-0 C)
7: 3B Bobby Scrogham (25-R .232-99-1-7-.635-3 C) Rookie
8: SS Junior Danielson (30-R .206-160-0-9-.494-10 B)
9: P Mike Gaddis (32-R .233-30-0-1-.467-0 F)

CHARLOTTE
1: 3B Larry Davis (26-S .381-441-2-38-.916-18 C+) All-Star
2: RF John Hartz (36-R .232-319-6-45-.718-9 C+) All-Star
3: 2B Terry Wolf (29-L .282-490-16-73-.819-4 B)
4: 1B Bruce McArthur (24-L .251-195-4-27-.728-1 A+)
5: C Larry Griffin (29-S .269-260-4-31-.762-0 C+)
6: CF Gabe Valdez (29-R .305-305-5-55-.761-2 B)
7: LF Dave Sanders (27-R .267-303-3-27-.706-5 A+)
8: SS Scott Damon (22-R .278-180-3-23-.716-0 A+) Rookie Strained hamstring
9: P Jack Brown (25-R .214-56-0-3-.464-0 B+)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Charlotte Municipal Stadium
Weather: 79 F, Partly Cloudy, with an 8 MPH wind blowing in from center
Attendance: 12,814

Top of the First:
Frank Roadman flies out to right. Joe Roberts grounds a hit up the middle. A wild pitch sends him to 2nd. Cal Doty lines a hit to center and Roberts heads home, but is thrown out by Gabe Valdez... Garrett Bender strikes out...

Bottom of the First:
Larry Davis lines a hit to left. John Hartz flies out to right. Terry Wolf grounds into a force at 2nd, 3-6. P Mike Gaddis picks Wolf off at 1st!

Bottom of the Second:
Bruce McArthur lines a hit to right. Larry Griffin grounds into a force at 2nd, 3-6. Gabe Valdez pokes a hit to center. Dave Sanders clears the bases with a double to right center.... 2 to 0, Hornets. Scott Damon takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. P Jack Brown swings away and strikes out. Larry Davis grounds out to 1st, 3-1!

Top of the Third:
Junior Danielson lays down a bunt and beats it out for a hit! P Mike Gaddis bunts into a force at 2nd, 5-6. Frank Roadman doubles to left center! Joe Roberts takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4 to load the bases up with 1 out. Cal Doty grounds a hit to right and 2 runs score!! Tie Game: 2 to 2. We try for a double steal, but Roberts is thrown out at 3rd... Garrett Bender grounds out to short.

Top of the Fifth:
Frank Roadman walks on 4 pitches and steals 2nd. Joe Roberts flies out to center and Roadman tags up and beats the throw to 3rd. Cal Doty takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. With the infield in, Garrett Bender swings at the first pitch and grounds out to 3rd and Doty goes to 2nd and Roadman stays put at 3rd. Tony Becerra bloops a hit to left and both runners score!! 4 to 2, Jays!

Bottom of the Sixth:
Terry Wolf lines a double to right. The Bullpen gets up. Bruce McArthur grounds out to 2nd and Wolf goes to 3rd. Larry Griffin takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. Call to the Bullpen: Gary Adamson (35-R). Gabe Valdez lines a hit to left and Wolf scores... 4 to 3, Jays. The next two make outs!

Top of the Seventh:
Joe Roberts takes a 3-2 pitch for our 6th walk of the game. That does it for P Jack Brown. New Pitcher: Alan Howard (28-R), their closer, who gave us 2 runs in 2.2 innings on Monday and took the loss. Randy Dotson (28-L) is in to play short in a double switch. Roberts steals 2nd! Cal Doty grounds out to 2nd and Roberts takes 3rd. Garrett Bender lines one hard to left, but Dave Sanders makes a running catch and then fires home to nail Roberts at the plate... Second time Roberts has been thrown out at home today....

Bottom of the Ninth:
On the Hill: Roger Wallace (26-R), after getting 2 outs in the 8th. 7-8-9 up for them. Dave Sanders grounds out to 2nd. PH Ken Hawco (36-R), 0 for 1 this series, strikes out! Randy Dodson strikes out and THIS Ball Game Belongs to the Jays!

Won - 4 to 3

It is the first time we have won a series in a month!

We had 7 hits and made no errors
Charlotte had 7 hits and made no errors

Mike Gaddis (W 4-12) went 5.1 innings, allowed 3 runs, 5 hits, 3 walks and struck out 1. At bat, he scored a run.
RHP Gary Adamson (H 2) went 2 scoreless innings, allowed 2 hits, 2 walks and struck out 1.
RHP Roger Wallace (SV 2) faced 4 batters and got 5 outs with 2 strikeouts.

Jack Brown (L 13-10) went 6+ innings, gave us 4 runs, 7 hits, 6 walks and struck out 2. He threw a WP. 113 pitches.
RHP Alan Howard faced 8 batters and got 9 outs with 3 strikeouts.

2B Frank Roadman hit a double, drew a walk, stole a base and scored 2 runs. LF Joe Roberts had a hit and 2 walks and stole a base, but was out on the bases every time he got on with 1 caught stealing and 2 outs at the plate. CF Cal Doty had 2 hits and a walk, scored a run and had 2 RBI. 1B Tony Becerra had a hit and 2 RBI. SS Junior Danielson had a hit and a walk.

[Questdog]

Friday, August 24, 2001

SS Leander Gooding (30-R) has been cleared to play, finally, by Trudy, so he was activated from the DL and 2B Rick Dundore (35-R) was sent back to Daytona (A).

We are in Memphis to play the Mules a 3 game series over the weekend. They just lost 2 of 3 here to Louisville. We are 2-5 against them on the season and this is our first trip to Tennessee. The last game we played with them, we lost, 20 to 1. They are 2nd in scoring with 4.60 runs per game (Jacksonville is last with 3.51). They lead the League with 133 HR and we are last with 45. The Mules are 14th in fewest runs allowed with 4.54 per game (Jacksonville is last with 5.25). Their run differential is +7 and ours is -217.

Jacksonville Jays (42-83 .336 28 GB in 8th (last) place in the Southern Division) at
Memphis Mules (68-58 .540 2.5 GB in 2nd place in the Southern Division)

JAX: Marco Gonzalez (27-R) (3-11 4.80 ERA 125.2 IP, 138 H, 8 HR, 61 BB, 60 SO) vs.
MEM: Darrell Carraway (33-R) (4-4 4.99 ERA 1 SV 88.1 IP, 112 H, 7 HR, 40 BB, 60 SO)

Gonzalez gave up 7 runs on 8 hits, 1 home run and 4 walks with 3 strikeouts in 6 innings last time out in a loss.

We have only faced Carraway as a reliever and he has pitched 3 scoreless innings and given us 1 hit and 1 walk and struck out 2. He is 3-0 in his last 4 starts, including a 10 inning win.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
JACKSONVILLE
1: SS Leander Gooding (30-R .278-255-0-26-.673-11 B)
2: LF Joe Roberts (30-L .304-405-1-39-.727-26 B+)
3: CF Cal Doty (24-L .279-473-2-44-.711-14 C+)
4: C Garrett Bender (27-R .253-281-5-34-.686-0 B+)
5: 1B Tony Becerra (32-L .239-335-12-36-.687-5 A+)
6: RF Dennis Brown (27-L .232-177-5-25-.628-0 C)
7: 2B Frank Roadman (26-R .211-346-4-27-.555-34 B)
8: 3B Bobby Scrogham (25-R .225-102-1-7-.623-3 C) Rookie
9: P Marco Gonzalez (27-R .125-32-0-0-.277-0 F)

MEMPHIS
1: 2B Keith Meyer (26-L .327-498-17-91-.935-15 C+) All-Star
2: RF Juan Nunez (34-R .306-408-9-40-.783-12 C+) All-Star
3: SS Leo Toruno (27-L .278-500-20-71-.808-23 C+) All-Star
4: 1B Nestor Gonzalez (27-L .278-406-27-88-.850-1 A) All-Star
5: LF Rafael Jimenez (27-L .262-290-15-56-.795-7 C+)
6: 3B Pedro Manzanares (27-R .246-313-8-37-.724-1 B)
7: CF Steve Gress (30-L .290-466-7-44-.741-15 B) All-Star
8: C Ed Vaughan (34-L .217-286-10-30-.661-0 C)
9: P Darrell Carraway (28-R .179-28-0-3-.421-0 F)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: RFK Stadium
Weather: 92 F, Clear Skies, with a 10 MPH wind blowing in from right
Attendance: 14,775

Top of the First:
Leander Gooding draws a walk. Joe Roberts walks on 4 pitches. Cal Doty pops out to short. Garrett Bender lines a 3-1 pitch to left for a hit and Gooding heads home....Safe! 1 to 0, Jays. In that 20 to 1 loss to the Mules, we scored in the 1st inning and had a 1 to 0 lead... Tony Becerra grounds into a force at 2nd, 3-6, and Roberts goes to 3rd. Dennis Brown pops out to 2nd.

Bottom of the First:
Keith Meyer beats out an infield hit. Juan Nunez strikes out! Only his 38th K of the season! Meyer steals 2nd. Leo Toruno hits a home run to right... 2 to 1, Mules. Nestor Gonzalez lines a hit to center. Rafael Jimenez lines a hit to center. Pedro Manzanares strikes out on 3 pitches. Steve Gress pops one up to shallow right that no one can reach and it drops for a hit and Gonzalez scores... 3 to 1, Mules. Ed Vaughan pops out to 3rd.

Bottom of the Second:
With 1 out, Keith Meyer draws a walk. Juan Nunez grounds a hit to center and Meyer heads to 3rd. Cal Doty throws the ball into the dugout for an error and Meyer scores... 4 to 1, Mules. The next two make outs.

Top of the Third:
With 1 out, Cal Doty draws a walk and steals 2nd. Garrett Bender takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. Doty steals 3rd. Tony Becerra strikes out... Dennis Brown strikes out...

Bottom of the Fourth:
P Darrell Carraway doubles to center. But the next three make outs!

Top of the Fifth:
With 1 out, Cal Doty pokes a hit to right center, steals 2nd and goes to 3rd on a ground out. Tony Becerra pops one up to right, but Juan Nunez drops the ball for a 2 base error and Doty scores! 4 to 2, Mules.

Bottom of the Seventh:
With 1 out, Leo Toruno grounds a 3-2 pitch to right for a hit. The Bullpen gets up. With 2 outs, Rafael Jimenez takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. P Marco Gonzalez has had Pedro Manzanares' number today, so he is allowed to face one more batter.... Manzanares lines a hit to right center and the bases are loaded with 2 outs. Call to the Bullpen: Bill Grant (30-L). Steve Gress grounds a hit to center and Toruno scores... 5 to 2, Mules. Ed Vaughan walks to force in a run... 6 to 2, Mules.

Lost - 6 to 2

We had 6 hits (all singles) and made 1 error
Memphis had 14 hits and made 1 error

Marco Gonzalez (L 3-12) went 6.2 innings, allowed 6 runs (5 earned), 12 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 5. At bat, he went 2 for 2.
LHP Bill Grant went 1.1 scoreless innings, allowed 2 hits and 1 walk.

Darrell Carraway (W 5-4) went 6 innings, gave us 2 runs (1 earned), 5 hits, 4 walks and struck out 2. At bat, he hit a double.

CF Cal Doty had a hit and a walk, stole 3 bases and scored a run. C Garrett Bender had a hit and a walk and an RBI.

[Questdog]

Saturday, August 25, 2001

Today is Bill Grant's 31st birthday!

Jacksonville Jays (42-84 .333 29 GB in 8th (last) place in the Southern Division) at
Memphis Mules (69-58 .543 2.5 GB in 2nd place in the Southern Division)

JAX: Mackie Reed (29-R) (6-9 4.51 ERA 143.2 IP, 165 H, 17 HR, 49 BB, 56 SO) vs.
MEM: Charlie Foltz (27-R) (12-5 3.57 ERA 169 IP, 162 H, 11 HR, 59 BB, 140 SO) All-Star

Reed is 0-5 in his last 6 starts. He avoided a loss last time out by only facing one batter and exiting with an injury. He was the starter in that 20 to 1 pasting we took from the Mules...

Foltz is tied for 5th in the League in SO. In 2 starts against us, the All-Star is 0-1 with a 4.22 ERA with 10.2 IP, 14 H, 0 HR, 2 BB and 8 SO.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
JACKSONVILLE
1: SS Leander Gooding (30-R .274-259-0-26-.665-11 B)
2: LF Mike Volkman (33-L .284-349-5-51-.717-1 D+)
3: CF Cal Doty (24-L .279-476-2-44-.712-17 C+)
4: C Garrett Bender (27-R .254-284-5-35-.688-0 B+)
5: 1B Tony Becerra (32-L .236-339-12-36-.680-5 A+)
6: RF Dennis Brown (27-L .232-181-5-25-.625-0 C)
7: 2B Frank Roadman (26-R .211-350-4-27-.554-34 B)
8: 3B Bobby Scrogham (25-R .217-106-1-7-.601-3 C) Rookie
9: P Mackie Reed (29-R .167-42-1-3-.533-0 D+)

MEMPHIS
1: 2B Keith Meyer (26-L .329-502-17-91-.936-16 C+) All-Star
2: RF Juan Nunez (34-R .305-413-9-40-.779-12 C+) All-Star
3: SS Leo Toruno (27-L .279-505-21-73-.814-23 C+) All-Star
4: 1B Nestor Gonzalez (27-L .280-410-27-88-.852-1 A) All-Star
5: LF Rafael Jimenez (27-L .266-293-15-56-.802-7 C+)
6: CF Steve Gress (30-L .291-470-7-46-.743-15 B) All-Star
7: 3B Marty Eades (30-R .235-115-6-17-.763-0 C+)
8: C Hector Ramirez (29-R .216-167-3-15-.574-0 B+)
9: P Charlie Foltz (27-R .161-56-0-3-.390-0 F) All-Star

Game Start: 2:05 PM
Ballpark: RFK Stadium
Weather: 82 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 10 MPH wind blowing in from right
Attendance: 14,909

Top of the First:
Leander Gooding beats out an infield hit. Mike Volkman strikes out... Cal Doty lines out to left. Gooding steals 2nd. Garrett Bender grounds out to 1st, 3-1...

Bottom of the First:
Keith Meyer swings at the first pitch and pops out to left. Juan Nunez tries to bunt his way on, but is out, 2-3! Leo Toruno takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. Nestor Gonzalez flies out to very deep center!

Bottom of the Second:
Rafael Jimenez bloops a hit to center. With 1 out, Marty Eades takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. Hector Ramirez lines out to right and Jimenez tags up and moves to 3rd. Which brings P Charlie Foltz up with 2 outs and a runner in scoring position.... He lines a hit to left and Jimenez scores... 1 to 0, Mules. Kieth Meyer clears the bases with a double to right center... 3 to 0, Mules.

Top of the Third:
P Charlie Foltz strikes out the side in order....

Bottom of the Third:
Leo Toruno triples to right... With the infield in, Nestor Gonzalez grounds out to 2nd and the runner holds. Rafael Jimenez doubles to left and Toruno scores... 4 to 0, Mules. With 2 outs, Marty Eades doubles to right and Jimenez scores... 5 to 0, Mules. Hector Ramirez grounds a hit up the middle, which brings up P Charlie Foltz again with 2 outs and a runner in scoring position.... He strikes out on 3 pitches!!!!!

Top of the Fourth:
Cal Doty and Garret Bender lead off with back to back hits and we have runners at the corners with no outs. Tony Becerra flies out to the warning track in center and Doty trots home. 5 to 1, Mules. The next two make outs.

Bottom of the Fourth:
Keith Meyer doubles to center, already their fifth extra base hit... The Bullpen is up. Juan Nunez grounds a hit to left. Leo Toruno grounds out to 1st, unassisted, and Meyer scores and Nunez goes to 2nd. 6 to 1, Mules. Call to the Bullpen: Barry Finney (26-R). Junior Danielson (30-R) is in to play short in a double switch and Leander Gooding moves to 2nd. With 2 outs, Rafael Jimenez grounds a hit to left. Steve Gress swings at a 3-2 pitch and pops out to left!

Top of the Fifth:
With 1 out, Junior Danielson draws a walk and steals 2nd. Why we are stealing, down 5 runs, is a mystery.... Leander Gooding takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. Mike Volkman grounds into a force at 2nd, 5-4, and Danielson goes to 3rd. P Charlie Foltz balks in a run! 6 to 2, Mules.

Top of the Sixth:
Garrett Bender grounds a hit to left. Tony Becerra hits one 450 ft. to right center!! 6 to 4, Mules.

Bottom of the Sixth:
New Pitcher: Roger Wallace (26-R). Keith Meyer walks on 4 pitches. Juan Nunez lays down a bunt and beats it out for a hit... A passed ball moves the runners up... The Bullpen is back up... We walk Leo Toruno intentionally to load the bases up with no outs... Utter stupidity... Can anyone else smell a Grand Slam? Nestor Gonzalez grounds into a force at home, 3-2. Rafael Jimenez doubles to center and 2 runs score... 8 to 4, Mules. Call to the Bullpen: Justin Reddick (29-R). Steve Gress hits a home run to right... 11 to 4, Mules. Pia! A train ticket, if you please!

Top of the Eighth:
With 1 out, Garrett Bender doubles to right and goes to 3rd on a wild pitch. Tony Becerra flies out to deep left and Bender tags up and scores. 11 to 5, Mules.

Lost - 11 to 5

We won the very first game we played against the Mules, 7 to 2, but that was with Victor Espinoza (36-R) pitching. Since then, they have scored 82 runs in 8 games against us....

We had 8 hits and made no errors
Memphis had 15 hits and made no errors

Mackie Reed (L 6-10) went 3.1 innings, allowed 6 runs, 9 hits, 2 walks and struck out 2. In 3 starts against the Mules, he has given up 32 hits in 11 innings for a 19.64 ERA....
RHP Barry Finney went 1.2 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit and struck out 1.
RHP Roger Wallace got 1 out, allowed 4 runs, 2 hits and 2 walks (1 INT).
RHP Justin Reddick went 1.2 innings, allows 1 run, 2 hits, 1 home run and 1 walk.
LHP Bill Grant went 1 scoreless inning, allowed 1 hit and struck out 1.

Charlie Foltz (W 13-5) went 7.2 innings, gave us 5 runs, 7 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 6. He threw a WP and balked. 129 pitches. At bat, he had a hit, scored a run and had an RBI.

SS/2B Leander Gooding had a hit and a walk and stole a base. C Garrett Bender had 3 hits with a double and scored 2 runs. 1B Tony Becerra hit his 13th home run of the season and had 4 RBI. PH/CF Frank Wendell had a hit.

For Memphis, LF Rafael Jimenez went 5 for 5 with 2 doubles, scored 3 runs and had 3 RBI. CF Steve Gress hit his 8th home run and had 3 RBI.

[Questdog]

Sunday, August 26, 2001

RP Justin Reddick (29-R) was sent back to Daytona (A) and RP Bob Craig (23-R) was recalled. Craig has been hammered in almost every game he has pitched for the Jays, but he keeps pitching great for the Tortugas. The American Association is only hitting .190 against him with no home runs in 32.2 IP with a 2.20 ERA. For the Jays, he has a 17.47 ERA in 5.2 IP with 13 hits, 2 home runs and 7 walks...

Jacksonville Jays (42-85 .331 30 GB in 8th (last) place in the Southern Division) at
Memphis Mules (70-58 .547 2.5 GB in 2nd place in the Southern Division)

JAX: Dalton Hartman (24-R) (2-6 5.14 ERA 68.1 IP, 89 H, 8 HR, 20 BB, 25 SO) Rookie vs.
MEM: Rick Potts (22-R) (7-9 3.65 ERA 148 IP, 146 H, 10 HR, 60 BB, 107 SO)

Hartman allowed 6 runs on 13 hits, 2 home runs and 3 walks with 3 strikeouts in 7.2 innings last time out in a loss.

Though Charlie Foltz (27-R) was an All-Star, Rick Potts is their #1 starter. In 2 starts against us, he is 1-0 with a 3.24 ERA and 8.1 IP, 9 H, 1 HR, 5 BB and 6 SO. The first time he faced us, he only pitched to 1 batter before leaving with an injury. He is pitching with back spasms today, but they do not think it will affect his throwing.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
JACKSONVILLE
1: SS Leander Gooding (30-R .274-263-0-26-.665-12 B)
2: CF Joe Roberts (30-L .300-410-1-39-.720-26 C)
3: LF Mike Volkman (33-L .280-353-5-51-.709-1 D+)
4: C Garrett Bender (27-R .260-288-5-35-.702-0 B+)
5: 1B Tony Becerra (32-L .238-341-13-40-.689-5 A+)
6: RF Dennis Brown (27-L .234-184-5-25-.625-0 C)
7: 2B Frank Roadman (26-R .210-352-4-27-.551-34 B)
8: 3B Bobby Scrogham (25-R .209-110-1-7-.580-3 C) Rookie
9: P Dalton Hartman (24-R .250-24-0-2-.583-0 F) Rookie

MEMPHIS
1: 2B Keith Meyer (26-L .331-505-17-93-.943-16 C+) All-Star
2: CF Steve Gress (30-L .291-475-8-49-.746-15 B) All-Star
3: SS Leo Toruno (27-L .281-508-21-74-.823-23 C+) All-Star
4: 1B Nestor Gonzalez (27-L .277-415-27-88-.842-1 A) All-Star
5: LF Rafael Jimenez (27-L .279-298-15-59-.827-7 C+)
6: 3B Pedro Manzanares (27-R .246-317-8-37-.721-1 B)
7: C Ed Vaughan (34-L .218-289-10-31-.664-0 C)
8: RF Ron Alario (31-R .232-220-1-12-.596-0 A+)
9: P Rick Potts (22-R .102-49-0-0-.224-0 B+) Back spasms

Game Start: 2:05 PM
Ballpark: RFK Stadium
Weather: 74 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 10 MPH wind blowing right to left
Attendance: 15,522

Top of the First:
Leander Gooding lines out to right. Joe Roberts grounds out to 3rd. Mike Volkman grounds out to the pitcher...

Bottom of the First:
Keith Meyer grounds out to short. Steve Gress walks on 4 pitches... Leo Toruno lines a hit to left. Nestor Gonzalez, who has been relatively quiet this series, hits a home run to right center... 3 to 0, Mules. Rafael Jimenez pops out to short. Pedro Manzanares takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. Ed Vaughan strikes out on 3 pitches.

Bottom of the Second:
Ron Alario swings at the first pitch and grounds a hit up the middle. P Rick Potts bunts into a force at 2nd, 1-6. Keith Meyer draws a walk. Steve Gress takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4 to load the bases up with 1 out. That is 4 walks already for P Dalton Hartman.... Leo Toruno flies out to center and P Pots tags up and beats the throw home and Meyer takes 3rd. 4 to 0, Mules. A wild pitch scores Meyer... 5 to 0, Mules. Nestor Gonzalez lines a hit to center and Gress heads home.... The throw by Joe Roberts is to the backstop for an error... 6 to 0, Mules.

Top of the Third:
Frank Roadman swings at a 3-2 pitch and hits a home run to left center! 6 to 1, Mules.

Bottom of the Fourth:
On the Hill: Roger Wallace (26-R), after a scoreless 3rd. Steve Gress lines a hit to left. Leo Toruno grounds into a force at 2nd, 4-6. Nestor Gonzalez hits another home run to right... 8 to 1, Mules. It is the second time he has hit 2 home runs in a game against us...

Top of the Fifth:
With 1 out, Leander Gooding draws a walk. Joe Roberts lines a hit to center. PH Bert Swope (29-S) hits one deep to right and I think he has done it, but he has not and it is caught on the warning track and Gooding tags up and goes to 3rd. Roberts, down 7 runs, steals 2nd... Garrett Bender grounds a hit to right and both runners score!! 8 to 3, Mules.

Bottom of the Sixth:
On the Hill: Bob Craig (23-R), after a scoreless 5th. I was hoping to avoid pitching him against the Mules, but could not... Leo Toruno and Nestor Gonzalez lead off with back to back walks. Rafael Jimenez grounds into a force at 2nd, 4-6, and Toruno goes to 3rd. Pedro Manzanares strikes out. Ed Vaughan walks on 4 pitches to load the bases up with 2 outs. Ron Alario clears the bases with a triple center.... 11 to 3, Mules. A wild pitch scores Alario.... 12 to 3, Mules.

Bottom of the Eighth:
On the Hill: Gary Adamson (35-R), after a perfect 7th. Yes, a perfect 7th! Facing the 1-2-3 hitters, too! Nester Gonzalez grounds a double over the 1st base bag... With 1 out, PH Dave Stacy (26-R), 0 for 1 this series, grounds a hit to left. Ed Vaughan flies out to deep left and Gonzales tags up and scores... 13 to 3, Mules.

Lost - 13 to 3

Swept.
Outscored in the 3 games, 30 to 10.
That gives the Mules 95 runs in their last 9 games against us...

We had 7 hits and made 2 errors
Memphis had 12 hits and made 1 error

Dalton Hartman (L 2-7) went 2 innings, allowed 6 runs, 4 hits, 1 home run, 4 walks and struck out 1. He threw 2 WP.
RHP Roger Wallace went 2 innings, allowed 2 runs, 4 hits, 1 home run and struck out 1.
RHP Bob Craig went 2 innings, allowed 4 runs, 2 hits, 3 walks and struck out 3. He threw a WP.
RHP Gary Adamson went 2 innings, allowed 1 run, 2 hits and struck out 1.

Rick Potts (W 8-9) went 9 innings (CG), gave us 3 runs, 7 hits, 1 home run, 4 walks and struck out 8. He threw a WP. 134 pitches. At bat, he hit a double and scored a run.

SS Leander Gooding had 2 hits and a walk and scored a run. CF Joe Roberts had 2 hits, stole a base and scored a run. C Garrett Bender had a hit and 2 RBI. 2B Frank Roadman hit his 5th home run of the season and drew 2 walks.

For Memphis, 1B Nestor Gonzalez went 4 for 4 with a double and 2 home runs and a walk, scored 3 runs and had 6 RBI, tying the League record for the 2nd time. RF Ron Alario had 3 hits with a triple, scored a run and had 3 RBI.

[Questdog]

August 27, 2001

Monday Morning Report
Player of the Week - Bruce McArthur, 1B, Charlotte (24-L .275/.356/.441) Had 13 hits with 3 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 2 BB, 1 SO, 7 R and 10 RBI in 6 G

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

August 21 - Jim Riggs (31-R) of Providence set a new MLB record with 14 strikeouts in 8 innings at home versus Ottawa. He allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks and lost the game, 2 to 0. 113 pitches thrown.
August 26 - Jim Riggs (31-R) of Providence pitched a 5 hit shutout at Hartford. He walked 1 and struck out 8. At bat, he hit a double. He is tied for the League lead with 3 others with 5 shutouts. He is now 13-7 with a 2.43 ERA in 29 starts. The Steamrollers won, 2 to 0.

[Questdog]

Monday, August 27, 2001

We are in Louisville to play the Colonels a short 2 game set. They lost 2 of 3 in Birmingham over the weekend. We are 3-6 against them on the season and were swept in 3 games the last time we were here, August 3-5. They are 11th in scoring with 3.77 runs per game (Jacksonville is last with 3.51). The Colonels are tied for 6th in fewest runs allowed with 3.92 per game (Jacksonville is last with 5.36). We now have a team ERA of 5.01. Their run differential is -19 and ours is -237.

Jacksonville Jays (42-86 .328 31 GB in 8th (last) place in the Southern Division) at
Louisville Colonels (66-64 .508 8 GB in 4th place in the Southern Division)

JAX: Mike Gaddis (32-R) (4-12 5.95 ERA 112 IP, 145 H, 15 HR, 31 BB, 61 SO) vs.
LOU: Carlos Santiago (23-L) (8-10 3.14 ERA 198 IP, 189 H, 13 HR, 71 BB, 97 SO)

Gaddis allowed 3 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks with 1 strikeout in 5.1 innings last time out in a win. He is 2-1 in his last 4 starts.

Santiago is their #1 starter. In 2 starts against us, he is 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA with 13 IP, 13 H, 1 HR, 2 BB and 6 SO. He is 4-0 in his last 5 starts.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
JACKSONVILLE
1: SS Leander Gooding (30-R .277-267-0-26-.672-12 B)
2: LF Cal Doty (24-L .277-484-2-44-.704-17 B+)
3: 1B Ismael Gonzales (33-R .280-118-3-14-.716-0 D+)
4: C Garrett Bender (27-R .260-292-5-37-.699-0 B+)
5: 3B Bobby Scrogham (25-R .204-113-1-7-.571-3 C) Rookie
6: RF Joe Roberts (30-L .301-415-1-39-.721-27 B)
7: 2B Frank Roadman (26-R .212-354-5-28-.566-34 B)
8: CF Frank Wendell (33-R .216-116-0-10-.515-12 C+)
9: P Mike Gaddis (32-R .212-33-0-1-.424-0 F)

LOUISVILLE
1: CF Rob Dickerson (32-R .308-65-0-4-.705-5 B) Strained shoulder
2: LF Gilmer Duncan (27-L .274-398-14-57-.759-19 B+)
3: C Dick Pavlov (33-L .269-413-8-39-.708-1 B+) All-Star
4: 1B Alan Douglas (25-S .217-364-16-41-.653-19 A)
5: 2B Ron Lerche (23-R .289-329-5-32-.767-8 A) Rookie #5 prospect
6: RF Ray Lovell (27-L .248-149-3-19-.681-0 B)
7: 3B Jorge Ramos (28-L .263-255-6-16-.698-1 C+)
8: SS Graham Carr (29-R .281-438-0-35-.662-2 B+)
9: P Carlos Santiago (23-L .031-65-0-0-.077-0 F)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Colonels Field
Weather: 80 F, Clear Skies, with an 11 MPH wind blowing left to right
Attendance: 10,201

Top of the First:
Leander Gooding walks on 4 pitches. Cal Doty lines a hit to left. Ismael Gonzales beats out an infield hit and the bases are loaded with no outs. Garrett Bender grounds a double play ball to short, but Graham Carr makes a bad throw to 2nd and Gooding scores! 1 to 0, Jays! Bobby Scrogham swings at the first pitch and flies out to right and the runners hold. Joe Roberts lines a hit to center and Doty scores! 2 to 0, Jays! Frank Roadman walks on 4 pitches to force in a run! 3 to 0, Jays! Frank Wendell swings at the first pitch and pops out to 1st. P Mike Gaddis grounds out to 3rd.

Bottom of the First:
Rob Dickerson lines a hit to right. I really was tempted to pinch-hit for Gaddis in the top of the First, but I could not remember if the League rules allow it or not and I did not want to look foolish if it was prohibited... Gilmer Duncan flies out to center. Dick Pavlov, the All-Star MVP, strikes out! Dickerson steals 2nd. Alan Douglas strikes out!

Top of the Second:
Leander Gooding swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds a hit to left and then steals 2nd. With 1 out, a wild pitch sends him to 3rd. Ismael Gonzales grounds out to short and Gooding scores. 4 to 0, Jays!

Top of the Third:
With 1 out, P Mike Gaddis pops a hit to shallow right. Leander Gooding grounds one to short, but Graham Carr makes another bad throw to 2nd! Cal Doty grounds into a force at 2nd, 3-6, and P Gaddis goes to 3rd. Ismael Gonzales grounds a hit to left and P Gaddis scores! 5 to 0, Jays!

Top of the Sixth:
With 1 out, Garrett Bender takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4, the 6th walk we have taken today. That does it for P Carlos Santiago. New Pitcher: Dick Miller (33-R), with a 2.44 ERA in 55 IP. Bobby Scrogham bloops a hit to right. A passed ball moves the runners up. Joe Roberts strikes out looking... Frank Roadman strikes out...

Bottom of the Seventh:
Jorge Ramos doubles down the right field line. The Bullpen gets up. Graham Carr grounds out to 2nd and Ramos goes to 3rd. PH Steve McManus (35-R), batting .220 with 1 HR and 8 RBI in 41 AB, strikes out looking! Rob Dickerson grounds out to 2nd!

Top of the Eighth:
New Pitcher: Larry Lewis (29-R), with a 3.42 ERA in 68.1 IP. He has pitched 5 innings in the last two days. With 1 out, PH Tony Becerra (32-L) grounds a hit up the middle. Garrett Bender draws a walk. Bobby Scrogham grounds a hit up the middle and the bases are loaded with 1 out. That does it for P Lewis. New Pitcher: Ed Deese (33-R), with a 2.27 ERA in 67.1 IP. Joe Roberts swings at a 3-2 pitch and lines a hit to center and Becerra scores! 6 to 0, Jays! Frank Roadman flies out to center and the runners hold. Frank Wendell flies out to deep center.

Bottom of the Eighth:
With 2 outs, Alan Douglas hits a home run to right... 6 to 1, Jays.

Top of the Ninth:
With 1 out, Leander Gooding swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds a hit to right. That does it for P Ed Deese. New Pitcher: Randy Duffy (29-L), with a 4.05 ERA in 60 IP. Cal Doty grounds one to 3rd, but Jorge Ramos throws the ball away for a 2 base error. Tony Becerra takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4 to load the bases up with 1 out. Garrett Bender takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4 to force in a run! 7 to 1, Jays! That does it for P Duffy. New Pitcher: Steve Dockery (24-R), their All-Star closer with 17 SV and a 2.01 ERA. He is pitching with a strained ab and pitched 2 innings yesterday. 3B Brian Porter (34-S) swings at the first pitch and pops out to left and the runners hold. Joe Roberts grounds the third out down to 3rd, but Ramos boots the ball for his 2nd error of the inning and Doty scores! 8 to 1, Jays!

Won - 8 to 1

We had 12 hits (all singles) and made no errors
Louisville had 7 hits and made 4 errors

Mike Gaddis (W 5-12 went 9 innings (CG), allowed 1 run, 7 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 6. 128 pitches. At bat, he had a hit and scored a run.

Carlos Santiago (L 8-11) went 5.1 innings, gave us 5 runs (4 earned), 7 hits, 6 walks and struck out 2. He threw a WP. 117 pitches.

SS Leaner Gooding had 2 hits and a walk, stole a base and scored 3 runs. LF Cal Doty had a hit and scored 2 runs. 1B Ismael Gonzales had 2 hits, scored a run and had 2 RBI. PH/1B Tony Becerra had a hit and a walk and scored a run. C Garrett Bender tied the League record with 4 walks and had 2 RBI. 3B Bobby Scrogham had 2 hits and 2 walks. RF Joe Roberts had 3 hits and 2 RBI.

For Louisville, SS Graham Carr had 3 hits with a double, but made 2 errors.

[Questdog]

Tuesday, August 28, 2001

Jacksonville Jays (43-86 .333 30 GB in 8th (last) place in the Southern Division) at
Louisville Colonels (66-65 .504 8 GB in 4th place in the Southern Division)

JAX: Blair Montgomery (29-R) (0-0 4.50 ERA 12 IP, 10 H, 2 HR, 5 BB, 4 SO) Rookie vs.
LOU: Gene Hildebrand (31-L) (11-10 3.41 ERA 2 SV 148 IP, 154 H, 8 HR, 54 BB, 76 SO)

This will be Montgomery's 3rd Major League start. He allowed 3 runs on 6 hits, 1 home run and 3 walks with 2 strikeouts in 7 innings last time out in a no decision.

We have only faced Hildebrand as a reliever when he was briefly their Closer when their All-Star closer was on the DL. He pitched a perfect inning against us and earned a Save. He has lost his last 2 starts, allowing 11 runs (7 earned), 1 home run and 3 walks with 3 strikeouts in 6 total innings.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
JACKSONVILLE
1: SS Leander Gooding (30-R .279-272-0-26-.677-13 B)
2: LF Cal Doty (24-L .276-490-2-44-.700-17 B+)
3: RF Joe Roberts (30-L .304-421-1-41-.724-27 B)
4: 1B Ismael Gonzales (33-R .287-122-3-16-.725-0 D+)
5: 3B Bobby Scrogham (25-R .216-116-1-7-.600-3 C) Rookie
6: 2B Frank Roadman (26-R .209-359-5-29-.560-34 B)
7: CF Frank Wendell (33-R .207-121-0-10-.494-12 C+)
8: C Jim Hess (31-R .000-4-0-0-.200-0 B) Rookie 1st Major League start
9: P Blair Montgomery (29-R .333-3-0-0-1.000-0 C) Rookie

LOUISVILLE
1: CF Rob Dickerson (32-R .304-69-0-4-.693-6 B) Strained shoulder
2: LF Gilmer Duncan (27-L .272-401-14-57-.756-19 B+)
3: C Dick Pavlov (33-L .269-417-8-39-.706-1 B+) All-Star
4: 1B Alan Douglas (25-S .217-368-17-42-.659-19 A)
5: 2B Ron Lerche (23-R .285-333-5-32-.758-8 A) Rookie
6: RF Ray Lovell (27-L .242-153-3-19-.664-0 B)
7: SS Ron Duggins (29-R .252-365-8-44-.657-13 C+)
8: 3B Jorge Ramos (28-L .264-258-6-16-.703-1 C+)
9: P Gene Hildebrand (31-S .150-40-0-1-.346-0 C)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Colonels Field
Weather: 74 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 9 MPH wind blowing in from center
Attendance: 9,857

Top of the First:
Leander Gooding grounds out to 3rd. Cal Doty swings at the first pitch and grounds out 2nd. Joe Roberts grounds out to 3rd...

Bottom of the First:
Rob Dickerson grounds out to short. Gilmer Duncan grounds out to 3rd. Dick Pavlov grounds out to short! 1-2-3!

Top of the Third:
P Blair Montgomery walks on 4 pitches. Leander Gooding swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds a hit to left. With 2 outs, Ismael Gonzales grounds a hit to left and P Montgomery beats the throw home! 1 to 0, Jays!

Top of the Sixth:
Bobby Scrogham grounds a double over the 3rd base bag. They walk the mighty Frank Roadman intentionally. Frank Wendell swings at the first pitch and grounds a hit up the middle and the bases are loaded with no outs. Jim Hess swings at a 2-2 pitch and jerks one down the line and over the fence for a Grand Slam!!!! His first Major League hit! 5 to 0, Jays!

Top of the Seventh:
Ismael Gonzales grounds a hit to left and Bobby Scrogham draws a walk. Frank Roadman swings at a 3-2 pitch and lines a hit to center and Gonzales heads home, but Rob Dickerson throws him out... The next two make outs...

Won - 5 to 0

Mini-sweep!

Only our 3rd shutout of the season and the 1st not started by Victor Espinoza (36-R)!
1st time ever we have had back to back CG from our starting pitchers!

We had 15 hits and made 1 error
Louisville had 5 hits (all singles) and made no errors

Blair Montgomery (W 1-0) pitched 9 shutout innings (CG), allowed 5 hits, 2 walks and struck out 4. 126 pitches. I did not think he had that many pitches in him! At bat, he had a hit and a walk and scored a run.

Gene Hildebrand (L 11-11) went 9 innings (CG), gave us 5 runs, 15 hits, 1 home run, 3 walks (1 INT) and struck out 4. 133 pitches.

SS/2B Leander Gooding had 2 hits. LF Cal Doty had 2 hits. 1B Ismael Gonzales had 3 hits and an RBI. 3B Bobby Scrogham had 2 hits with a double and a walk and scored a run. 2B/3B Frank Roadman had 2 hits and a walk and scored a run. CF Frank Wendell had 2 hits and scored a run. C Jim Hess hit a Grand Slam.

[Questdog]

Thursday, August 30, 2001

CF Danny Stewart (30-L) has been cleared to play by Trudy the Trainer, so he was activated from the DL. But we need to send someone to Daytona (A) to make room. The obvious choice and the previous plan was C Jim Hess (31-R), but he just hit a Grand Slam, so I can't do that. Maybe you could, but I can't. We don't need 6 outfielders, either, but which one would go? If you go just by stats, then Dennis Brown (27-L), but he is starting right now, because Mike Volkman (33-) has gone cold. He will move to the bench with Stewart back, but it still does not seem right to tell him he is going from starting to the minors. I can't send Volkman down; he has the 2nd highest OPS of the bunch. Frank Wendell (33-R) is obviously the least talented of the group, but he is the only right-hander. We have two 3rd baseman, though, neither of whom deserves a job in the Majors. Since we are starting the youngster Bobby Scrogham (25-R) right now, we sent Brian Porter (34-S), the fella who was leading the league in doubles in May, down.... He'll be back as soon as Scrogham's stats get too ugly to stomach. That leaves our roster with only 4 players who can cover 2nd, 3rd and short, which is too thin for me, but Stewart probably will be hurt again, soon, anyway....

We are back home for the final extended home stand of the season. We'll be here for the next 11 days. First up is the Syracuse Sycamores with 4 games through the weekend to finish up our season series. We were swept in 4 games at Syracuse, June 21-24, and scored 10 total runs in the series. They are the hottest team in the League right now. They just won a pair of games in Hartford and have won 5 in a row and 18 of their last 21. When we faced them the first time, they had a losing record and were in 6th place and were having a hard time scoring enough runs to take advantage of their excellent starting rotation. They were 11th in scoring. But they are scoring now and are up to 3rd place on the list with 4.38 runs per game (Jacksonville is up to #15 with 3.55!). But the Sycamores pitching will probably put us back in last place by the end of this series.... They are 2nd in fewest runs allowed with 3.48 per game (Jacksonville is last with 5.28). But after the Louisville series, our ERA is under 5 (4.94)! Their run differential is +119, the best in the League, and ours is -225, by far the worst. New Orleans, in the middle of a long losing streak, is down to 2nd worse at -72.

Syracuse Sycamores (76-56 .576 1.5 GB in 2nd place in the Northern Division) at
Jacksonville Jays (44-86 .338 29 GB in 8th (last) place in the Southern Division)

SYR: Frank Cane (25-R) (2-1 2.72 ERA 53 IP, 38 H, 3 HR, 19 BB, 34 SO) vs.
JAX: Marco Gonzalez (27-R) (3-12 4.90 ERA 132.1 IP, 150 H, 9 HR, 63 BB, 65 SO)

With Ron Wisham (31-L) on the DL for another week, the Sycamores have Cane listed as their #1 starter. He did not pitch his 1st game of the season until July 19, because of an injury in Spring Training. We have not faced him before. He has made 8 starts and he gave up 4 runs once and won that game. All other games were 3 runs or less. In his lone loss, he only gave up 1 run to Ottawa, but Syracuse was shut out.

Gonzalez gave up 6 runs (5 earned) on 12 hits, 1 home run and 2 walks with 5 strikeouts in 6.2 IP in a loss to Memphis last time out. But for our pitchers against the Mules, that was a pretty excellent outing!

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
SYRACUSE
1: CF Frank Bates (29-R .270-504-25-73-.839-30 C) All-Star
2: LF Jeff Garrigus (32-R .244-499-16-61-.735-19 A)
3: 1B Don Bruns (31-R .307-433-9-56-.800-7 C+)
4: 3B Octavio Garcia (25-S .213-390-11-50-.650-3 B)
5: C Lee Dean (28-L .251-386-9-54-.739-0 C)
6: SS Buddy Elliott (31-R .268-328-5-39-.720-1 B)
7: RF Dave Bess (25-R .239-465-4-48-.637-6 B+)
8: 2B Sal Esquivel (33-R .203-320-11-50-.609-4 B+)
9: P Frank Cane (25-R .200-15-2-4-.850-0 B)

JACKSONVILLE
1: SS Leander Gooding (30-R .282-277-0-26-.679-13 B)
2: RF Joe Roberts (30-L .300-426-1-41-.716-27 B)
3: LF Cal Doty (24-L .277-495-2-44-.701-17 B+)
4: C Garrett Bender (27-R .259-294-5-39-.702-0 B+)
5: 1B Tony Becerra (32-L .240-346-13-40-.692-5 A+)
6: CF Danny Stewart (30-L .229-83-0-11-.571-2 C+)
7: 2B Frank Roadman (26-R .212-363-5-29-.567-34 B)
8: 3B Bobby Scrogham (25-R .225-120-1-7-.626-3 C) Rookie
9: P Marco Gonzalez (27-R .176-34-0-0-.376-0 F)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Weather: 89 F, Clear Skies, with a 9 MPH wind blowing out to right
Attendance: 3,394

Top of the First:
Frank Bates, predictably, hits a home run to left... 1 to 0, Sycamores. Jeff Garrigus flies out to right. Don Bruns grounds out to 2nd. Octavio Garcia swings at the first pitch and grounds out to 2nd.

Bottom of the First:
Leander Gooding grounds out to short. Joe Roberts pops out to 2nd. Cal Doty strikes out....

Top of the Fifth:
Dave Bess leads off with a double to center. But the next three, including Frank Bates, make outs!

Top of the Sixth:
Jeff Garrigus takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. The Bullpen gets active. Don Bruns pokes a little hit to center and Garrigus beats the throw to 3rd... Octavio Garcia swings at a 3-2 pitch and gets fooled, but pops a hit to center and Garrigus scores... 2 to 0, Sycamores. Lee Dean lines a hit to left and the bases are loaded with no outs... Call to the Bullpen: Roger Wallace (26-R). Buddy Elliott strikes out looking. Dave Bess grounds a hit up the middle and 2 runs score... 4 to 0, Sycamores. The next two strike out.

Bottom of the Eighth:
Frank Roadman swings at the first pitch and lines a double to the left field corner. Bobby Scrogham takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. But the next three make outs...

Top of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Barry Finney (26-R). Dennis Brown (27-L), who pinch-hit last inning, stays in to play right. With 1 out, P Frank Cane grounds a hit up the middle. Frank Bates pokes a hit to center. The Bullpen is back up... Jeff Garrigus doubles to right and P Cane scores... 5 to 0, Sycamores. Pia! A train ticket! Fun fact: P Finney had an ERA of 0.00 in April. It is 5.47 since... And he has more runners on the bases... Don Bruns lines a hit to right and Bates scores... 6 to 0, Sycamores. Call to the Bullpen: Bill Grant (30-L). A passed ball scores Garrigus.... 7 to 0, Sycamores. With 2 outs, 2 more consecutive passed balls score Bruns... 8 to 0, Sycamores. Lee Dean doubles to center. Buddy Elliott hits a home run to left, inches over the fence... 10 to 0, Sycamores. Unspeakable....

Who the heck is the scout that rated C Garrett Bender as a B+ on defense? He now has started 86 games and has made 14 errors and has 14 passed balls, both figures leading the League over a lot of other catchers who have played a lot more games.... Editor's Note: In the pre-sim, he was a starter for 3 seasons and had a .989 FA, averaged 96.7 innings per PB and threw out 41.3% of base stealers, had a ZR of 3.4 per 1000 innings and an EFF of 1.063. This season he has a .973 FA, has averaged 53.2 innings per PB, has thrown out 34.6% of base stealers, has a ZR of -3.2 per 1000 innings and has an EFF of .845. In 1999, he led all catchers in ZR and was 3rd in CS%. In 2000, he was 2nd in ZR and led all catchers in CS%. It is incomprehensible how he has been so bad this season.... He never hit a lick in those seasons either, and he is hitting great for a catcher this year! It's like he is not even the same player in any respect....

Lost - 10 to 0

We had 4 whole hits and made no errors (but 3 passed balls in 1 inning)
Syracuse had 14 hits and made 1 error

Marco Gonzalez (L 3-13) went 5+ innings, allowed 4 runs, 5 hits, 1 home runs, 4 walks and struck out 4. At bat, he hit a double.
RHP Roger Wallace went 1 scoreless inning, allowed 1 hit and struck out 3.
RHP Bob Craig went 2 scoreless innings, allowed 2 hits and struck out 1.
RHP Barry Finney got 1 out, allowed 4 runs and 4 hits.
LHP Bill Grant got 2 outs, allowed 2 runs, 2 hits and 1 home run.

Frank Cane (W 3-1) pitched 9 shutout innings (CG), gave us 4 hits, 2 walks and struck out 5. 112 pitches. At bat, he had a hit and a walk and scored a run.

2B Frank Roadman hit a double.

For Syracuse, CF Frank Bates had 3 hits with his 26th home run of the season, drew a walk and scored 2 runs.

[Questdog]

Friday, August 31, 2001

Syracuse Sycamores (77-56 .579 1.5 GB in 2nd place in the Northern Division) at
Jacksonville Jays (44-87 .336 30 GB in 8th (last) place in the Southern Division)

SYR: Jim Hosack (29-R) (1-0 1.00 ERA 9 IP, 6 H, 0 HR, 3 BB, 4 SO) Rookie vs.
JAX: Mackie Reed (29-R) (6-10 4.78 ERA 147 IP, 174 H, 17 HR, 51 BB, 58 SO)

This will be Hosack's 2nd Major League start. His 1st was a CG 6 hitter where he only allowed 1 run.

Reed is 0-6 in his last 7 starts. The only one he did not lose, he only faced 1 batter. He gave up 6 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks and with strikeouts in 3.1 innings last time out.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
SYRACUSE
1: 2B Bill Crystal (27-S .229-279-9-33-.653-17-B+) ex-Jay
2: CF Frank Bates (29-R .274-508-26-74-.851-30 C) All-Star
3: 1B Don Bruns (31-R .308-438-9-57-.800-7 C+)
4: C Lee Dean (28-L .254-390-9-54-.746-0 C)
5: LF Jeff Garrigus (32-R .245-503-16-62-.736-19 A)
6: SS Buddy Elliott (31-R .267-333-6-41-.724-1 B)
7: RF Dave Bess (25-R .241-469-4-50-.643-6 B+)
8: 3B Sal Esquivel (33-R .201-324-11-50-.602-4 B+)
9: P Jim Hosack (29-S .250-4-0-0-.500-0 B) Rookie

JACKSONVILLE
1: SS Leander Gooding (30-R .278-281-0-26-.670-13 B)
2: RF Joe Roberts (30-L .300-430-1-41-.714-28 B)
3: LF Cal Doty (24-L .277-499-2-44-.699-17 B+)
4: C Garrett Bender (27-R .256-297-5-39-.698-0 B+)
5: 1B Tony Becerra (32-L .237-350-13-40-.684-5 A+)
6: CF Danny Stewart (30-L .221-86-0-11-.552-2 C+)
7: 2B Frank Roadman (26-R .213-366-5-29-.570-34 B)
8: 3B Bobby Scrogham (25-R .221-122-1-7-.621-3 C) Rookie
9: P Mackie Reed (29-R .163-43-1-3-.521-0 D+)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Weather: 76 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 7 MPH wind blowing out to right
Attendance: 4,745

Top of the First:
Bill Crystal, the ex-Jay, who was scheduled to be our cleanup hitter before he developed a bad personality this Spring and was traded to Syracuse for CF Danny Stewart, swings at a 3-2 pitch and misses! Frank Bates grounds out to 2nd. Don Bruns grounds a hit to right. Lee Dean doubles off the wall in center and Bruns scores... 1 to 0, Sycamores. Jeff Garrigus flies out to right.

Bottom of the First:
Leander Gooding swings at a 3-2 pitch and lines a hit to center. Joe Roberts swings at a 3-2 pitch and misses... Gooding steals 2nd. Cal Doty walks on 4 pitches. Garrett Bender swings at a 3-1 pitch and clears the bases with a double down the left field line and ends up on 3rd!! 2 to 1, Jays! Tony Becerra flies out to deep right and Bender tags up and scores. 3 to 1, Jays! Danny Stewart swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds out to the pitcher...

Top of the Second:
Buddy Elliott and Dave Bess lead off with back to back hits and the Sycamores have runners at the corners with no outs. Sal Esquivel grounds into a force at 2nd, 5-4, and Elliott scores. 3 to 2, Jays. P Jim Hosack lays down a bunt and beats it out for a hit... Bill Crystal takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4 to load the bases up with 1 out... Frank Bates grounds into a force at 2nd, 6-4, and Esquivel scores. Tie Game: 3 to 3.

Top of the Third:
Lee Dean swings at a 3-2 pitch and lines a hit to center. Jeff Garrigus swings at the first pitch and doubles to right... The Bullpen is up. With the infield in, Buddy Elliott swings at the first pitch and grounds a hit up the middle and both runners score... 5 to 3, Sycamores. The next three make outs.

Bottom of the Third:
Leander Gooding walks on 4 pitches and then steals 2nd and then goes to 3rd on a deep fly ball. Cal Doty swings at a 3-2 pitch and flies out to deep center and Gooding trots home. 5 to 4, Sycamores.

Top of the Fourth:
Bill Crystal grounds a hit to center. The Bullpen is up. P Mackie Reed is tied for the team lead in wins with the dearly departed Victor Espinoza (36-R), but he cannot get anybody out anymore.... Pia! A train ticket! A wild pitch sends Crystal to 2nd. The next three make outs! Yes, I still want the train ticket. He has given up 9 hits and 5 runs for goodness' sake!

Bottom of the Fourth:
With 2 outs, Frank Roadman lines a hit to left center and then steals 2nd. Bobby Scrogham grounds a hit up the middle and Roadman beats the throw home! Tie Game: 5 to 5!

I look at the sheet to see who is available to pitch in relief today and I see RP Barry Finney (26-R) listed.... Pia! I though we bought him a train ticket yesterday! Turns out she did buy him a train ticket but, I never gave it to him... We will rectify that tonight....

Bottom of the Fifth:
On the Hill: Pete Graham (32-L), after getting the final out of the 4th. Leander Gooding swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds a hit to right. Joe Roberts grounds into a force at 2nd, 3-6. Cal Doty pops one up to shallow right that everyone stands around watches drop for a hit! Garrett Bender lines a hit to left center and Roberts beats the throw home! 6 to 5, Jays! The next two make outs.

Bottom of the Seventh:
With 2 outs, Cal Doty beats out an infield hit, but is hurt.... He dove in head first and 1B Don Bruns whacked him real hard on the back with the tag.

Top of the Ninth:
On the Hill: Bill Grant (30-L), after two scoreless innings. The Bullpen is ready to go. Top of their order up. Bil Crystal strikes out on 3 pitches! Frank Bates swings at an 0-2 pitch and lines a hit to center. Don Bruns takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4.... Lee Dean, a lefty and the reason P Grant was not pulled, swings at a 3-2 pitch and lines a hit to right and Bates beats the throw home.... Tie Game: 6 to 6. Call to the Bullpen: Gary Adamson (35-R). Junior Danielson (30-R) is in to play short in a double switch. Leander Gooding moves to 2nd. Jeff Garrigus is pulled down. PH Octavio Garcia (25-S), who was 2 for 5 with a run and an RBI yesterday, strikes out! Okay, we are on to the bottom of the 9th! What? Only 2 outs? Crud.... I sure just jinxed it.... Buddy Elliott, 4 for 4 on the day, clears the bases with a double over the 3rd base bag.... 8 to 6, Sycamores. Dave Bess swings at a 3-2 pitch and flies out to deep center.

Bottom of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Ron Hutchins (30-R), their All-Star closer, with 20 SV and a 1.43 ERA in 75.2 IP. Bobby Scrogham grounds a double over the 3rd base bag! Junior Danielson grounds a hit to right! Leander Gooding grounds into a force at 2nd, 6-4, and Scrogham scores. 8 to 7, Sycamores. Gooding steals 2nd! Joe Roberts takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. LF Mike Volkman (33-L) hits one to deep right! But it is caught... Gooding tags up and goes to 3rd. A wild pitch, please! Garrett Bender rips a liner back through the box, but P Hutchins spears it somehow...

Lost - 8 to 7

We are officially eliminated from the pennant race.

We had 10 hits and made no errors
Syracuse had 15 hits and made no errors

Mackie Reed went 4 innings, allowed 5 runs, 9 hits, 1 walk and struck out 2. He threw a WP.
RHP Roger Wallace went 2 scoreless innings, allowed 2 hits and struck out 2.
LHP Bill Grant (L 4-3, BS 4) went 2.1 innings, allowed 3 runs, 3 hits, 1 walk and struck out 3.
RHP Gary Adamson got 2 outs and gave up a hit and struck out 1.

Jim Hosack went 3.2 innings, gave us 5 runs, 4 hits, 2 walks and struck out 3. At bat, he had a hit.
LHP Benny Martineau (W 5-8) pitched a perfect inning with 1 strikeout.
RHP Ron Hutchins (SV 21) went 1 inning, gave us 1 run, 2 hits and 1 walk.

SS/2B Leander Gooding had 2 hits and a walk, stole 3 bases, scored 2 runs and had an RBI. LF Cal Doty went 2 for 2 with a walk, scored a run and had an RBI. C Garrett Bender had 2 hits with a double, scored a run and had 3 RBI. 3B Bobby Scrogham had 2 hits with a double, scored a run and had an RBI. PH Frank Wendell drew a walk, but got caught stealing. SS Junior Danielson had a hit in his only at bat.

For Syracuse, C Lee Dean had 3 hits with a double, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBI. SS Buddy Elliott went 5 for 5 with a double, scored a run and had 4 RBI.

Trudy's report on Cal Doty is a bruised back that should bother him for about a week.

By the way, opponent pitchers hit .250 in August with 10 runs scored and 8 RBI in 76 AB. They are hitting .231 on the season....

[Questdog]

Monthly Awards for August, 2001
Player of the Month: Frank Bates, CF, Syracuse (29-R) .336/.398/.664 107 AB, 4 2B, 2 3B, 9 HR, 11 BB, 15 SO, 4 SB, 1 CS, 24 R, 23 RBI in 28 G (25 GS)
Pitcher of the Month: Bill Cortright, rhp, Ottawa (33-R) 4-0 0.22 ERA 6 GS, 41.2 IP, 28 H, 1 HR, 8 BB, 30 SO
Rookie of the Month: Bruce Conway, lhp, Louisville (30-L) 4-1 3.54 ERA 6 GS, 40.2 IP, 38 H, 4 HR, 12 BB, 16 SO

Monthly Awards for July, 2001
Player of the Month: Al Graves, RF/CF, Louisville (24-L) .367/.457/.531 98 AB, 5 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 16 BB, 17 SO, 7 SB, 5 CS, 20 R, 8 RBI in 26 G
Pitcher of the Month: Jim Riggs, rhp, Providence (31-R) 4-1 1.69 ERA 6 GS, 42.2 IP, 35 H, 3 HR, 9 BB, 27 SO
Rookie of the Month: Terry Wilson, rhp, Columbus (29-R) 3-2 2.65 ERA 6 G, 5 GS, 37.1 IP, 30 H, 3 HR, 6 BB, 21 SO

Monthly Awards for June, 2001
Player of the Month: Keith Meyer, 2b, Memphis (26-L) .366/.443/.598 112 AB, 7 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 15 BB, 13 SO, 4 SB, 2 CS, 22 R, 23 RBI in 26 G
Pitcher of the Month: Sammy Brumley, lhp, Richmond (24-L) 4-1 1.80 ERA 6 GS, 45 IP, 31 H, 1 HR, 15 BB, 28 SO
Rookie of the Month: Dave Lutes, rhp, Charlotte (26-R) 2-0 2.78 ERA 5 GS, 35.2 IP, 25 H, 4 HR, 13 BB, 18 SO

Monthly Awards for May, 2001
Player of the Month: Dennis Fuller, lf, Rochester (27-L) .385/.441/.719 96 AB, 4 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 12 BB, 7 SO, 2 SB, 3 CS, 21 R, 23 RBI in 27 G (24 GS)
Pitcher of the Month: Paul Gaughan, rhp, Birmingham (32-R) 6-0 1.24 ERA 6 GS, 43.2 IP, 32 H, 1 HR, 6 BB, 31 SO
Rookie of the Month: Dennis Farmer, rhp, New Orleans (23-R) 2-1 1.18 ERA 5 GS, 38 IP, 29 H, 2 HR, 13 BB, 19 SO

Monthly Awards for April, 2001
Player of the Month: Mickey Lynn, lf, Buffalo (28-L) .337/.436/.717 92 AB, 5 2B, 0 3B, 10 HR, 16 BB, 14 SO, 2 SB, 1 CS, 21 R, 24 RBI in 25 G
Pitcher of the Month: Ramiro Huerta, rhp, Birmingham (28-R) 5-0 1.93 ERA 6 GS, 42 IP, 37 H, 1 HR, 12 BB, 20 SO
Rookie of the Month: Buford Nolan, rhp, Ottawa (24-R) 3-0 2.93 ERA 4 GS, 27.2 IP, 28 H, 0 HR, 14 BB, 13 SO

If these pitching statistics do not break your heart, you have not got one...

[Questdog]

Saturday, September 1, 2001

We are in the home stretch of this dismal season!

Editor's Note: In over 20 years of playing OOTP, I have never, ever played out a full season with a worse team than this!

P Mackie Reed (29-R) and RP Barry Finney (26-R) were sent packing to Daytona (A). P Spencer Shuff (33-R) and RP Barry Short (32-R) were recalled.

Syracuse Sycamores (78-56 .582 1.5 GB in 2nd place in the Northern Division) at
Jacksonville Jays (44-88 .333 31 GB in 8th (last) place in the Southern Division)

SYR: Eli Kyzar (29-R) (14-7 2.30 ERA 172.1 IP, 137 H, 10 HR, 29 BB, 99 SO) All-Star vs.
JAX: Mike Gaddis (32-R) (5-12 5.58 ERA 121 IP, 152 H, 16 HR, 33 BB, 67 SO)

We have not faced the All-Star, Kyzar, before. He is 9-1 in his last 10 starts with 3 shutouts. My money is on him getting his 6th shutout of the season today....

Believe it our not, Gaddis is 3-1 in his last 5 starts. Last time out, he won with 1 run allowed on 7 hits, 1 home run and 2 walks with 6 strikeouts in a CG.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
SYRACUSE
1: 2B Bill Crystal (27-S .230-282-9-33-.655-17-B+)
2: CF Frank Bates (29-R .273-513-26-75-.847-30 C) All-Star
3: 1B Don Bruns (31-R .308-442-9-57-.798-7 C+)
4: 3B Octavio Garcia (25-S .215-396-11-51-.650-3 B)
5: C Lee Dean (28-L .258-395-9-56-.754-0 C)
6: SS Buddy Elliott (31-R .278-338-6-45-.745-1 B)
7: LF Jeff Garrigus (32-R .245-507-16-62-.736-19 A)
8: RF Javier Perez (25-L .304-135-5-26-.862-0 B) Rookie
9: P Eli Kyzar (29-R .310-58-0-5-.667-0 C) All-Star

JACKSONVILLE
1: SS Leander Gooding (30-R .281-285-0-27-.676-16 B)
2: RF Mike Volkman (33-L .277-357-5-51-.701-1 D+)
3: LF Joe Roberts (30-L .297-434-1-41-.709-28 B+)
4: C Garrett Bender (27-R .258-302-5-42-.703-0 B+)
5: 1B Tony Becerra (32-L .235-353-13-41-.678-5 A+)
6: CF Danny Stewart (30-L .211-90-0-11-.528-2 C+)
7: 2B Frank Roadman (26-R .214-370-5-29-.569-35 B)
8: 3B Bobby Scrogham (25-R .230-126-1-8-.641-3 C) Rookie
9: P Mike Gaddis (32-R .211-38-0-1-.421-0 F)

Game Start: 2:05 PM
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Weather: 92 F, Clear Skies, with a 10 MPH wind blowing out to right
Attendance: 5,190

Top of the First:
Bill Crystal triples to left center and then thumbs his nose up in my direction... Frank Bates grounds out to 3rd and Crystal stays put. Don Bruns swings at the first pitch and doubles to left center and Crystal scores... 1 to 0, Sycamores. Octavio Garcia swings at the first pitch and grounds out to 1st, unassisted, and Bruns goes to 3rd. Lee Dean, batting .400 against the Jays this season, grounds out to 2nd!

Bottom of the First:
Leander Gooding grounds out to 2nd. Mike Volkman draws a walk. Joe Roberts grounds into a force at 2nd, 5-4. Garrett Bender drives one to deep center, but Frank Bates runs it down...

Top of the Second:
With 2 outs, Javier Perez hits a home run to left center... 2 to 0, Sycamores.

Top of the Third:
Bill Crystal draws a walk. With 1 out, he steals 2nd and goes to 3rd when C Garrett Bender throws yet another ball into center field... With the infield in, Don Bruns grounds out to 2nd and Crystal holds at 3rd. Octavio Garcia flies out to deep center!

Bottom of the Fourth:
Garrett Bender hits a home run to left center! 2 to 1, Sycamores.

Top of the Ninth:
On the Hill: Gary Adamson (35-R), after a perfect 8th. Buddy Elliott grounds a hit up the middle and Danny Stewart overruns the ball for an error... Jeff Garrigus lines a 3-2 pitch to left for a hit. A wild pitch scores Elliott.... 3 to 1, Sycamores. The Bullpen is up... Javier Perez swings at a 3-2 pitch and doubles to right center and Garrigus scores... 4 to 1, Sycamores. We walk PH Don Czachor (30-L) intentionally. Call to the Bullpen: Bob Craig (23-R). Bill Crystal strikes out! Frank Bates grounds out to 1st, unassisted, and the runners move up. If P Craig can get the next batter out, I will start to have a little confidence in him. Don Bruns flies out to center!

Lost - 4 to 1

We had 7 hits and made 2 errors
Syracuse had 11 hits and made no errors

Mike Gaddis (L 5-13) went 7 innings, allowed 2 runs, 8 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk, 1 HBP and struck out no one.
RHP Gary Adamson went 1+ innings, allowed 2 runs, 3 hits and 1 walk (INT).
RHP Bob Craig faced 3 batters and got them all out with 1 strikeout.

Eli Kyzar (W 15-7) went 8 innings, gave us 1 run, 5 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 3. At bat, he had a hit.
RHP Ron Hutchins (SV 22) pitched a scoreless 9th and gave us 2 hits.

SS Leander Gooding hit a double. C Garrett Bender had 2 hits with his 6th home run of the season. 3B Bobby Scrogham had 2 hits.

For Syracuse, RF Javier Perez had 3 hits with a double and his 6th home run and 2 RBI.

[Questdog]

Sunday, September 2, 2001

Our last chance to win our first game ever against the Sycamores this season.

Syracuse Sycamores (79-56 .585 0.5 GB in 2nd place in the Northern Division) at
Jacksonville Jays (44-89 .331 32 GB in 8th (last) place in the Southern Division)

SYR: Tom Peterson (30-R) (17-10 3.11 ERA 199.2 IP, 210 H, 11 HR, 35 BB, 81 SO) All-Star vs.
JAX: Dalton Hartman (24-R) (2-7 5.76 ERA 70.1 IP, 93 H, 9 HR, 24 BB, 26 SO) Rookie

Peterson leads the League in wins. He beat us with a CG in June, giving us 4 runs (1 earned), 6 hits, 1 home run and 1 walk with 4 strikeouts.

Hartman is 0-4 in his last 5 starts.. Last time out, he lost with 6 runs allowed on 4 hits, 1 home run and 4 walks with 1 strikeout in 2 whole innings.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
SYRACUSE
1: CF Frank Bates (29-R .272-518-26-75-.843-30 C) All-Star
2: LF Jeff Garrigus (32-R .245-511-16-62-.734-19 A)
3: 1B Don Bruns (31-R .306-447-9-58-.796-7 C+)
4: 3B Octavio Garcia (25-S .212-400-11-51-.644-3 B)
5: C Lee Dean (28-L .258-399-9-56-.751-0 C)
6: SS Buddy Elliott (31-R .279-341-6-45-.746-1 B)
7: RF Dave Bess (25-R .241-474-4-50-.640-6 B+)
8: 2B Sal Esquivel (33-R .198-328-11-51-.595-4 B+)
9: P Tom Peterson (30-R .141-71-0-1-.296-0 F)

JACKSONVILLE
1: 2B Leander Gooding (30-R .280-289-0-27-.677-16 B+)
2: CF Danny Stewart (30-L .213-94-0-11-.527-2 C+)
3: LF Joe Roberts (30-L .297-438-1-41-.707-28 B+)
4: C Garrett Bender (27-R .261-306-6-43-.716-0 B+)
5: 1B Tony Becerra (32-L .233-356-13-41-.674-5 A+)
6: RF Dennis Brown (27-L .228-189-5-25-.609-0 C) Rookie
7: 3B Bobby Scrogham (25-R .238-130-1-8-.651-3 C) Rookie
8: SS Junior Danielson (30-R .211-166-0-9-.508-11 C+)
9: P Mike Gaddis (32-R .211-38-0-1-.421-0 F)

Game Start: 2:05 PM
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Weather: 81 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 7 MPH wind blowing out to right
Attendance: 5,084

Top of the First:
Frank Bates, just named the Player of the Month for August, flies out to right. Jeff Garrigus strikes out! Don Bruns swings at a 3-0 pitch and lines a hit to right. Octavio Garcia walks on 4 pitches. Lee Dean flies out to deep center!

Bottom of the First:
Leander Gooding grounds out to short. Danny Stewart strikes out on 3 pitches.... He has been useless this season... He has been a fine player in the past. Joe Roberts swings at a 3-2 pitch and lines out to center....

Top of the Second:
Buddy Elliott walks on 4 pitches... Dave Bess hits a home run to left center... 2 to 0, Sycamores. With 2 outs, Frank Bates takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. He steals 2nd and, yes, C Garrett Bender throws the ball into center... Jeff Garrigus grounds one to 3rd and Bobby Scrogham boots it and Bates scores... 3 to 0, Sycamores.

Top of the Fifth:
With 1 out, Don Bruns hits a home run to left. 4 to 0, Sycamores. Octavio Garcia grounds a hit up the middle. With 2 outs, a passed ball moves him to 2nd. Buddy Elliott swings at a 3-2 pitch and bloops a hit to right and Garcia scores... 5 to 0, Sycamores.

Lost - 5 to 0

Swept.
Outscored 27 to 8 in the 4 games.
We finish the season series with Syracuse 0-8.

We had 2 whole hits and made 2 errors
Syracuse had 11 hits and made no errors

Dalton Hartman went 6 innings, allowed 5 runs (4 earned), 9 hits, 2 home runs, 3 walks and struck out 3.
RHP Barry Short went 3 scoreless innings, allowed 2 hits and struck out 1.

Tom Peterson (W 18-10) pitched 9 shutout innings (CG), gave us 2 hits, no walks and stuck out 6. 97 pitches. At bat, he had a hit. Game Score of 89, the highest against us this season. And we have had a lot of high ones!

2B Leander Gooding hit a double.

For Syracuse, 1B Don Bruns had 3 hits with his 10th home run of the season.

Down in the Bushes: Jim Baucom (20-L) of Jackson made his last start of the season today. He pitched 8 shutout innings, allowed 2 hits, 4 walks and struck out 6. He finishes the season 15-5 with a 2.09 ERA. 30 starts, 220 IP, 133 H, 9 HR, 66 BB, 197 SO. He leads the Southern League (B) in ERA, IP, SO, K/BB and WHIP. He will be pitching for Jacksonville next season, unless we somehow manage to catch New Orleans for 7th place in the division. They are losing games like there is no tomorrow, but they are still 8.5 games ahead of us. Only two things not to love about him and that is that his stamina is not real high, but it is high enough, and he is a lefty. Our park is not kind to lefties, but it will be a plus on the road in a lot of places. He also cannot hit a lick, so I guess that's three things. Also, I am waffling a bit on the idea of going all in on pitchers in the draft. There are some real fine hitters that I would love to see suit up in a Jay uniform. We'll see. I still have 4 months to think about it....

[Questdog]

September 3, 2001

Monday Morning Report
Player of the Week - Bill Jacobson, 1B, Indianapolis (23-R .325/.365/.460) Had 12 hits with 2 HR, 1 BB, 2 SO, 7 R and 6 RBI in 6 G

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

August 27 - New Orleans lost at Richmond, 4 to 3, for their 10th loss in a row.
August 28 - Cesar Rodriguez (27-R) of Birmingham pitched a 5 hit shutout at home versus Orlando. He walked 2 and struck out 8. He leads the League with 6 shutouts. He is now 12-7 with a 2.37 ERA in 25 starts (26 G). The Barons won, 5 to 0. RF Stan Stephens (23-R) went 2 for 4 with a walk, stole a base and scored a run to become the 1st player in League history to have a 20 game hitting streak.
August 30 - Stan Stephens (23-R) of Birmingham went 0 for 4 at Providence, ending his hitting streak at 20 games. He was lifted in the 8th inning, with the Barons up, 3 to 1, for a defensive replacement who got an at bat in the 9th.
August 31 - Bill Cortright (33-R) of Ottawa pitched a 3 hit shutout at home versus Richmond. He walked 1, hit a batter and struck out 8. It is his 3rd shutout of the season. He is now 13-9 with a 2.20 ERA in 26 starts. The Otters won, 2 to 0.
August 31 - Matt Nielson (31-L) of Buffalo pitched a 5 hit shutout at home versus New Orleans. He walked 1, hit a batter and struck out 7. At bat, he had a hit. It is his 2nd shutout of the season. He is now 9-10 with a 3.56 ERA in 27 starts. The Bombers won, 2 to 0. It is the Pelicans' 13th loss in a row.
August 31 - Rick Cox (30-R) of Charlotte pitched a 1 hit shutout at home versus Columbus. He walked 2 and struck out 7. At bat, he had a hit, scored a run and had an RBI. The 1 hit was a 2 out double in the 4th. It is his 2nd shutout of the season. He is now 11-6 with a 2.04 ERA in 29 starts. The Hornets won, 8 to 0.
September 1 - Richmond lost All-Star SS Ray Holloway (27-R) for the rest of the season with a cracked rib. He was hitting .272 with 12 HR and 87 RBI and 18 SB.
September 1 - New Orleans won at Buffalo, 3 to 2, ending their 13 game losing streak.
September 2 - Orlando lost CF Ricky Perez (22-L), the #1 prospect this Spring, for the rest of the season with a pulled hamstring. He hit .285 with 5 HR and 28 RBI in 221 AB with 5 SB.
September 2 - Jim Hower (33-R) of Ottawa pitched a 4 hit shutout at home versus Richmond. He walked 1 and struck out 5. 88 pitches thrown. At bat, he had 3 hits with a double, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBI. It is his 2nd shutout of the season. He is now 12-10 with a 2.88 ERA and 5 SV in 23 starts (34 G). The Otters won, 10 to 0.

[Questdog]

Monday, September 3, 2001

Today is Dalton Hartman's 25th birthday!

The Buffalo Bombers are here to finish our season series with 4 games. We lost 3 of 4 in Buffalo, May 24-27. They won 3 of 4 at home versus New Orleans over the weekend. They are 2nd in scoring with 4.65 runs per game (Jacksonville is still #15 with 3.51). The Bombers lead the League in BA (.273) and are 2nd in HR (133) and lead in BB (490) and are 2nd in 2B (240). We are last in BA (.243), tied for last in HR (49), 2nd to last in BB (363) and tied for last in 2B (189) They are 12th in fewest runs allowed with 4.26 per game (Jacksonville is last with 5.33). At this point, I think we can not give up another run this season and still finish last. It'd be close... Buffalo's run differential is +54 and ours is -244.

Our scout, Skip, has informed me that he thinks Junior Danielson (30-R) has lost some range and that he is not the best option at short anymore...

Buffalo Bombers (72-64 .529 8.5 GB in 3rd place in the Northern Division) at
Jacksonville Jays (44-90 .328 32 GB in 8th (last) place in the Southern Division)

BUF: Danny Belsky (28-R) (9-10 3.53 ERA 160.2 IP, 156 H, 17 HR, 48 BB, 111 SO) vs.
JAX: Blair Montgomery (29-R) (1-0 2.57 ERA 21 IP, 15 H, 2 HR, 7 BB, 8 SO) Rookie

Belsky beat us with a CG in May, giving us 3 runs on 7 hits, 1 home run and 2 walks with 4 strikeouts. He has lost his last two starts, both Quality outings.

Montgomery pitched a 5 hit shutout last time out with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts. He became the first pitcher other than the dearly departed Victor Espinoza (36-R) to pitch a shutout for the Jays.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
BUFFALO
1: CF Duane Keepers (25-S .223-403-14-58-.698-10 D+)
2: 3B David Rodriguez (29-R .270-244-8-36-.786-2 C)
3: RF Ivan Moreno (30-L .265-339-18-63-.838-0 C)
4: LF Mickey Lynn (28-L .290-510-39-106-.946-10 B) All-Star
5: 2B Dave Lloyd (28-R .272-449-13-60-.753-0 B+) All-Star
6: SS Jose Cuenca (29-R .247-312-9-44-.667-1 C+)
7: 1B Tom Pratt (29-R .100-20-0-1-.343-0 A) Rookie
8: C Phil Ebel (34-R .235-328-5-28-.695-1 B) All-Star
9: P Danny Belsky (28-S .204-54-0-4-.481-0 C)

JACKSONVILLE
1: SS Leander Gooding (30-R .280-293-0-27-.678-16 B)
2: CF Danny Stewart (30-L .204-98-0-11-.506-2 C+)
3: LF Joe Roberts (30-L .295-441-1-41-.703-28 B+)
4: C Garrett Bender (27-R .259-309-6-43-.710-0 B+)
5: 1B Tony Becerra (32-L .231-359-13-41-.669-5 A+)
6: RF Dennis Brown (27-L .229-192-5-25-.610-0 C) Rookie
7: 2B Frank Roadman (26-R .211-374-5-29-.563-35 B)
8: 3B Junior Danielson (30-R .207-169-0-9-.499-11 B)
9: P Blair Montgomery (29-R .333-6-0-0-.929-0 C) Rookie

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Weather: 84 F, Clear Skies, with a 17 MPH wind blowing out to right
Attendance: 3,694

That wind is going to help the team with 133 HR more than the team with 49.... and the fella with 39 home runs more than anyone on our team...

Top of the First:
Duane Keepers swings at the first pitch and grounds out to 2nd. David Rodriguez strikes out looking! Ivan Moreno grounds out to 1st, unassisted! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the First:
Leander Gooding grounds out to short. Danny Stewart grounds out to 3rd. Joe Roberts swings at the first pitch and flies out to deep left. Wrong direction for the wind to help...

Top of the Second:
With 1 out, Dave Lloyd grounds a hit to right. Jose Cuenca hits a home run to left center... 2 to 0, Bombers.

Bottom of the Second:
The wind cannot help you if you cannot hit the ball.... P Danny Belsky strikes out the side in order...

Bottom of the Third:
Frank Roadman grounds a hit up the middle. With 1 out, he steals 2nd. P Blair Montgomery grounds a hit to left and Roadman beats the throw home and P Montgomery takes 2nd! 2 to 1, Bombers. Leander Gooding lines out to short and they double P Montgomery off at 2nd...

Top of the Fourth:
With 1 out, Dave Lloyd hits a home run to left... 3 to 1, Bombers.

Top of the Fifth:
With 1 out, P Danny Belsky his a home run to right... 4 to 1, Bombers.

Lost - 4 to 1

We had 4 whole hits (all singles) and made no errors
Buffalo had 5 hits (3 home runs) and made no errors

Blair Montgomery (L 1-1) went 6 innings, allowed 4 runs, 5 hits, 3 home runs, 1 walk and struck out 3. At bat, he had a hit and knocked in our only run.
RHP Roger Wallace went 3 scoreless innings, allowed 1 walk and struck out 4.

Danny Belsky (W 10-10) went 8 innings, gave us 1 run, 3 hits, no walks and struck out 7. At bat, he hit a home run.
RHP Billy Temple (SV 19) pitched a scoreless 9th, gave us 1 hit and struck out 2.

Nobody qualifies for a mention today....

[Questdog]

Tuesday, September 4, 2001

RP Jim Kenzy (33-R) has served his time on the DL, so we activated him and sent RP Bob Craig (23-R) back to the Daytona (A) roster.

Buffalo Bombers (73-64 .533 8.5 GB in 3rd place in the Northern Division) at
Jacksonville Jays (44-91 .326 32 GB in 8th (last) place in the Southern Division)

BUF: Marty Hunter (33-R) (8-9 4.31 ERA 163 IP, 169 H, 18 HR, 54 BB, 105 SO) vs.
JAX: Marco Gonzalez (27-R) (3-13 4.98 ERA 137.1 IP, 155 H, 10 HR, 67 BB, 69 SO)

We hit Hunter well in May, scoring 5 runs on 6 hits, 1 home run and 1 walk with 3 strikeouts in 3.2 innings, but he escaped with a no decision and we lost the game.

Gonzalez has lost his last 3 starts, allowing a total of 16 runs on 17 hits, 3 home runs and 10 walks with 12 strikeouts in 17.2 innings. That's an 8.15 ERA. Another shellacking today and he will get a train ticket. Well, actually, he won't, because Daytona's (A) season is over, but you get the drift.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
BUFFALO
1: CF Duane Keepers (25-S .221-407-14-58-.691-10 D+)
2: 3B Bernie Jones (31-L .252-123-1-10-.668-0 B+)
3: RF Ivan Moreno (30-L .262-343-18-63-.828-0 C)
4: LF Mickey Lynn (28-L .288-514-39-106-.939-10 B) All-Star
5: 1B Frank Cohen (25-R .310-297-8-33-.818-3 C+) All-Star
6: 2B Dave Lloyd (28-R .274-453-14-61-.762-0 B+) All-Star
7: SS Jose Cuenca (29-R .248-315-10-46-.679-1 C+)
8: C Dick Lyles (35-R .233-129-1-15-.697-0 C)
9: P Marty Hunter (33-S .273-55-0-5-.554-0 F)

JACKSONVILLE
1: SS Frank Roadman (26-R .212-377-5-29-.564-36 C+)
2: CF Danny Stewart (30-L .196-102-0-11-.486-2 C+)
3: LF Joe Roberts (30-L .292-445-1-41-.696-28 B+)
4: 1B Tony Becerra (32-L .229-362-13-41-.664-5 A+)
5: RF Dennis Brown (27-L .226-195-5-25-.601-0 C) Rookie
6: 3B Bobby Scrogham (25-R .233-133-1-8-.637-3 C) Rookie
7: 2B Junior Danielson (30-R .203-172-0-9-.491-11 B+)
8: C Bert Swope (29-S .212-146-0-12-.559-0 B)
9: P Marco Gonzalez (27-R .200-35-0-0-.451-0 F)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Weather: 92 F, Clear Skies, with an 8 MPH wind blowing out to center
Attendance: 2,641

A new attendance low...

Top of the First:
Duane Keepers grounds out to 1st, 3-1. Bernie Jones strikes out! Ivan Moreno grounds out to 3rd! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the First:
Frank Roadman grounds out to 3rd, but 3B Bernie Jones is hurt. New 3B: Johnny Brown (23-R), a rookie, who was the #10 prospect this Spring. He is batting .393 (all singles) in 28 AB with 1 RBI. Danny Stewart pops out to 1st. This guy was a fine player over the past few years, but when he hits the ball now, you don't even see a chance that it might be a hit... Joe Roberts grounds out to short...

Top of the Second:
Mickey Lynn grounds a double over the 1st base bag. With 1 out, Dave Lloyd lines a double to left and Lynn scores.... 1 to 0, Bombers. Jose Cuenca swings at the first pitch and lines a hit to right and Lloyd beats the throw home and Cuenca takes 2nd... 2 to 0, Bombers. The next two, including the pitcher with 2 outs and a runner in scoring position, make outs!

Top of the Third:
Duane Keepers leads off with a home run to right center... 3 to 0, Bombers. With 1 out, Ivan Moreno hits a home run to left center... 4 to 0, Bombers.

Top of the Sixth:
New Pitcher: Jim Kenzy (33-R), who has not pitched in 15 days. With 1 out, Dave Lloyd doubles to center. Jose Cuenca gets beaned. Dick Lyles draws a walk to load the bases up with 1 out. The Bullpen gets up. P Marty Hunter grounds into a force at home, 4-2. Duane Keepers grounds out to 2nd!

Top of the Seventh:
Johnny Brown does not have all singles now... He leads off with a double to right. The Bullpen is back up. Ivan Moreno lines a hit to right. Mickey Lynn strikes out! Frank Cohen grounds a hit to center and Brown scores and Moreno beats the throw to 3rd... 5 to 0, Bombers. Call to the Bullpen: Barry Short (32-R). Mike Volkman (33-L) is in to play right in a double switch. Dave Lloyd strikes out. Jose Cuenca grounds out to the pitcher!

Lost - 5 to 0

3 shutouts in the last 6 games...
2 total runs in the last 4....
11 hits total in the last 3....
Yeah, I am waffling on the all-in on pitchers plan...

We had 5 whole hits (all singles) and made no errors
Buffalo had 14 hits and made no errors

Opponent pitchers have hit more home runs in September, so far (1), than they have struck out (0 in 14 AB).

Marco Gonzalez (L 3-14) went 5 innings, allowed 4 runs, 7 hits, 2 home runs, 1 walk and struck out 4. At bat, he had a hit. We will give him one more start.
RHP Jim Kenzy went 1.1 innings, allowed 1 run, 4 hits, 1 walk, 1 HBP and struck out 1.
RHP Barry Short went 2.2 scoreless innings, allowed 3 hits and struck out 2.

Marty Hunter (W 9-9) pitched 9 shutout innings (CG), gave us 5 hits, 1 walk and struck out 6. 108 pitches. At bat, he had a hit.

Once again, no one qualified for a mention....

For Buffalo, RF Ivan Moreno had 3 hits with a triple and his 19th home run of the season.

The Bombers announced that 3B Bernie Jones had a stiff back that they expect to be fine in 3 or 4 days.

[Questdog]

Wednesday, September 5, 2001

Buffalo Bombers (74-64 .536 8 GB in 3rd place in the Northern Division) at
Jacksonville Jays (44-92 .324 32.5 GB in 8th (last) place in the Southern Division)

BUF: Matt Nielson (31-L) (9-10 3.56 ERA 182 IP, 197 H, 12 HR, 48 BB, 112 SO) vs.
JAX: Spencer Shuff (33-R) (1-10 7.59 ERA 61.2 IP, 92 H, 11 HR, 20 BB, 16 SO)

Nielson beat us in May, giving us 2 runs on 10 hits and no walks with 2 strikeouts in 8 innings.

Shuff last started for the Jays on August 21 and lost, allowing 7 runs (4 earned) on 8 hits, 1 home run and 2 walks with no strikeouts in 4.1 innings. But he has had 2 good starts for Daytona (A) since, so we are giving him one more shot. But that is all.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
BUFFALO
1: CF Duane Keepers (25-S .223-412-15-59-.700-10 D+)
2: 3B David Rodriguez (29-R .266-248-8-36-.775-2 C)
3: RF Lee Brand (26-L .289-135-5-21-.784-0 D+)
4: LF Mickey Lynn (28-L .287-519-39-106-.936-10 B) All-Star
5: 2B Dave Lloyd (28-R .276-457-14-62-.770-0 B+) All-Star
6: C Phil Ebel (34-R .233-330-5-28-.693-1 B) All-Star
7: 1B Johnny Brown (23-R .375-32-0-1-.851-1 B+) Rookie #10 prospect
8: SS Jerry Sensenig (33-R .000-1-0-0-.000-0 B) Rookie
9: P Matt Nielson (31-L .138-58-0-3-.322-0 F)

JACKSONVILLE
1: SS Leander Gooding (30-R .279-297-0-27-.676-16 B)
2: CF Frank Wendell (33-R .216-125-0-10-.515-12 C+)
3: 1B Ismael Gonzales (33-R .299-127-3-17-.743-0 D+)
4: C Garrett Bender (27-R .259-313-6-43-.707-0 B+)
5: 3B Bobby Scrogham (25-R .235-136-1-8-.638-3 C) Rookie
6: LF Joe Roberts (30-L .292-449-1-41-.695-28 B+)
7: 2B Frank Roadman (26-R .213-381-5-29-.564-36 B)
8: RF Mike Volkman (33-L .273-363-5-51-.691-1 D+)
9: P Spencer Shuff (33-R .067-15-0-1-.258-0 C+)

Game Start: 12:35 PM
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Weather: 75 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 9 MPH wind blowing out to right
Attendance: 2,619

And another new attendance low...

Top of the First:
Duane Keepers flies out to deep left. David Rodriguez grounds out to 1st, unassisted. Lee Brand grounds one to 1st, but P Spencer Shuff drops the toss from Tony Becerra... Mickey Lynn doubles down the right field line and Brand scores... 1 to 0, Bombers. Dave Lloyd flies out to very deep center!

Bottom of the First:
Leander Gooding grounds a hit to right. He gets caught stealing... Frank Wendell strikes out... Ismael Gonzales lines a hit to center. That raises his batting average over .300! Why is he not starting every day? Two reasons: 1) he cannot field and 2) he has an OPS of .558 against right-handers. Garrett Bender grounds out to 3rd.

Top of the Second:
Phil Ebel doubles off the wall in left center... With 1 out, Jerry Sensenig, the 33 year old rookie, in his second Major League at bat, lines a hit to right... P Matt Nielson strikes out. Duane Keepers grounds out to 2nd!

Bottom of the Third:
Mike Volkman draws a walk, gets bunted to 2nd, goes to 3rd on a ground out and scores on a hit up the middle by Frank Wendell! Tie Game: 1 to 1.

Top of the Fourth:
With 1 out, Phil Ebel hits another double, this one down the right field line. A wild pitch sends him to 3rd. Johnny Brown lines a 3-2 pitch to right for a hit and Ebel scores... 2 to 1, Bombers. Jerry Sensenig draws a walk... P Matt Nielson bunts the runners up. Duane Keepers beats out an infield hit and Brown scores... 3 to 1, Bombers. David Rodriguez lines a hit to center and Sensenig scores... 4 to 1, Bombers.

Bottom of the Fourth:
Garrett Bender grounds a hit up the middle. Bobby Scrogham draws a walk. Joe Roberts swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds into a 5-4-3 double play and Bender goes to 3rd... Frank Roadman flies out to left...

Bottom of the Fifth:
With 2 outs, Leander Gooding and Frank Wendell hit back to back doubles! 4 to 2, Bombers.

Top of the Seventh:
With 1 out, David Rodriguez draws a walk. The Bullpen gets up. Lee Brand pokes a hit to right and Rodriguez beats the throw to 3rd. Mickey Lynn grounds out to 3rd and Brand goes to 2nd and Rodriguez holds at 3rd. Dave Lloyd lines a hit to center and Rodriguez scores... 5 to 2, Bombers. Phil Ebel takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4 to load the bases up with 2 outs. Call to the Bullpen: Gary Adamson (35-R). Junior Danielson is in to play 2nd in a double switch. Johnny swings at the first pitch and sends a blast to deep left, but it is caught on the warning track!

Bottom of the Seventh:
With 2 outs, Leander Gooding lines a double to right. A passed ball sends him to 3rd. Frank Wendell walks on 4 pitches. Ismael Gonzales grounds one to 3rd, but David Rodriguez boots it and Gooding scores! 5 to 3, Bombers. Garrett Bender lines a hit to right and Wendell beats the throw home! 5 to 4, Bombers. If I was not so greedy, hoping that P Spencer Shuff could make it through one more inning, we might be tied up now...

Top of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Bill Grant (30-L). With 1 out, Lee Brand bloops a hit to center. With 2 outs, Dave Lloyd doubles to center and Brand scores... 6 to 4, Bombers.

Bottom of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Billy Temple (24-R), their closer, who got the Save on Monday with a scoreless inning. Junior Danielson grounds out to 3rd. Leander Gooding strikes out... PH Danny Stewart (30-L) grounds out to 3rd...

Lost - 6 to 4

7 losses in a row...

We had 8 hits and made 1 error
Buffalo had 11 hits and made 3 errors

Spencer Shuff (L 1-11) went 6.2 innings, allowed 5 runs (4 earned), 9 hits, 3 walks and struck out 3. He threw a WP.
RHP Gary Adamson faced 4 batters and retired them all.
LHP Bill Grant went 1 inning, allowed 1 run, 2 hits and struck out 1. He threw a WP.

Matt Nielson (W 10-10) went 7 innings, gave us 4 runs (2 earned), 8 hits, 3 walks and struck out 3.
RHP Billy Temple (SV 20) pitched a perfect 9th with 1 strikeout.

SS Leander Gooding had 3 hits with 2 doubles and scored 2 runs. CF Frank Wendell had 3 hits with a double and a walk, scored a run and had 2 RBI. C Garrett Bender had 2 hits and an RBI.

[Questdog]

Thursday, September 6, 2001

P Spencer Shuff (33-R) was sent back to the Daytona (A) roster and P Frank Cook (35-R) was recalled.

Buffalo Bombers (75-64 .540 8 GB in 3rd place in the Northern Division) at
Jacksonville Jays (44-93 .321 32.5 GB in 8th (last) place in the Southern Division)

BUF: Jose Lopez (28-R) (7-4 3.70 ERA 99.2 IP, 105 H, 10 HR, 43 BB, 60 SO) vs.
JAX: Mike Gaddis (32-R) (5-13 5.41 ERA 128 IP, 160 H, 17 HR, 34 BB, 67 SO)

We beat Lopez in May, scoring 4 runs on 8 hits, 1 home run and 1 walk with 6 strikeouts in 6 innings.

Gaddis lost last time out, but only gave up 2 runs on 8 hits, 1 home run and 1 walk with no strikeouts in 7 innings.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
BUFFALO
1: CF Duane Keepers (25-S .223-417-15-60-.696-10 D+)
2: 3B David Rodriguez (29-R .266-252-8-37-.773-2 C)
3: RF Ivan Moreno (30-L .266-349-19-64-.845-0 C)
4: LF Mickey Lynn (28-L .286-524-39-107-.933-10 B) All-Star
5: 1B Steve Wadhams (28-S .218-87-4-12-.648-0 C)
6: 2B Dave Lloyd (28-R .277-462-14-64-.772-0 B+) All-Star
7: SS Jose Cuenca (29-R .248-318-10-47-.681-1 C+)
8: C Phil Ebel (34-R .237-334-5-28-.704-1 B) All-Star
9: P Jose Lopez (28-R .375-32-0-2-.739-0 B)

JACKSONVILLE
1: SS Leander Gooding (30-R .285-302-0-27-.691-16 B)
2: RF Mike Volkman (33-L .270-366-5-51-.688-1 D+)
3: LF Joe Roberts (30-L .289-453-1-41-.689-29 B+)
4: C Garrett Bender (27-R .262-317-6-44-.710-0 B+)
5: 1B Tony Becerra (32-L .230-366-13-41-.662-5 A+)
6: 2B Frank Roadman (26-R .211-384-5-29-.559-36 B)
7: CF Danny Stewart (30-L .187-107-0-11-.464-2 C+)
8: 3B Bobby Scrogham (25-R .230-139-1-8-.629-3 C) Rookie
9: P Mike Gaddis (32-R .205-39-0-1-.410-0 F)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Weather: 82 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 7 MPH wind blowing out to right
Attendance: 2,581

And yet another new attendance low...

Top of the First:
Duane Keepers swings at a 3-2 pitch and lines out to center. David Rodriguez grounds out to 1st, unassisted. Ivan Moreno strikes out looking! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the First:
Leander Gooding lines a hit to center. Mike Volkman pops out to short. Gooding steals 2nd. Joe Roberts lines a hit to left and Gooding heads home....Safe! 1 to 0, Jays! Roberts steals his 30th base of the season! Garrett Bender swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds out to 3rd. Tony Becerra walks on 4 pitches. Frank Roadman clears the bases with a double to left!! 3 to 0, Jays! Danny Stewart flies out to center.

Bottom of the Third:
Mike Volkman and Joe Roberts lead off with back to back hits. Garrett Bender grounds a hit to left and the bases are loaded with no outs. Tony Becerra swings at a 3-2 pitch and doubles to left center and 2 runs score!! 5 to 0, Jays! That does it for P Jose Lopez. New Pitcher: Larry Boulier (31-R), with a 2.52 ERA in 35.2 IP. Frank Roadman grounds out to 1st, unassisted, and both runners advance. 6 to 0, Jays! Danny Stewart grounds out to short and Becerra scores. 7 to 0, Jays!

Top of the Eighth:
Phil Ebel grounds a hit up the middle. The Bullpen gets up. P Ken Natale (29-R) doubles to center and Ebel, a slow-footed old catcher, scores from 1st... 7 to 1, Jays. The next three make outs!

Won - 7 to 1

We finish the season series with Buffalo 2-6.

We had 13 hits and made no errors
Buffalo had 6 hits and made 1 error

The best thing about this series was that LF Mickey Lynn came to town with 39 HR and leaves town with 39 HR!

Mike Gaddis (W 6-13) went 9 innings (CG), allowed 1 run, 6 hits, 1 walk and struck out 6. He threw a WP. 107 pitches. His 2nd CG in in his last 3 starts! If you told me, after he started the season 0-4 with an ERA over 12 and got sent to Daytona (A), where he was 0-5 in 5 starts, that he would end up being our #1 pitcher on the season, I would have thought you were nuts!

Jose Lopez (L 7-5) went 2+ innings, gave us 7 runs, 7 hits, 1 walk and struck out 2.

SS Leander Gooding had 2 hits with a double, stole a base and scored a run. Since coming back from the DL after missing 7 weeks, he is 17 for 51 (.333) with 5 2B! RF Mike Volkman had 2 hits and scored a run. LF Joe Roberts had 2 hits, stole his 30th base of the season, scored 2 runs and had an RBI. C Garrett Bender had 3 hits and scored a run. 1B Tony Becerra hit a double, drew a walk, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBI. 2B Frank Roadman hit a double and a triple and had 3 RBI.

The Bombers announced that RP Larry Boulier (31-R), injured during the game, is done for the season with shoulder inflammation.