Radical Baseball - Page 2

darkcloud4579 · 09-21-2007, 01:38 PM

2000 WORLD SERIES
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The Philadelphia Blue Jays (91-71, 2nd place East) will face off against the Pittsburgh Pirates (104-58, 1st place East) for the 2000 World Series crown.

The Blue Jays knocked off the LA Dodgers in 4 games and then swept the Chicago Cubs to advance to the Fall Classic, while the Pirates knocked off San Jose in four games, only to face a tough challenge in a pesky Atlanta A's squad, that took them the distance (7 games) before finally going down.

This is the Blue Jays first playoff appearance since 1981 and they've never won a World Series. The Pirates meanwhile clinched their fourth Eastern Division title in five years this season, but won their only World Series title in 1974.

darkcloud4579 · 09-21-2007, 01:53 PM

If nothing else, this format has yielded some of the most intriguing and interesting World Series matchups you could ever hope to see.
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Quote:

PAST WORLD SERIES MATCHUPS
(* team has since moved)
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1969: BOSTON DEF. CHI. CUBS 4-2

1970: BALTIMORE ORIOLES* DEF. KANSAS CITY 4-3

1971: KANSAS CITY DEF. BOSTON 4-3

1972: MILWAUKEE BRAVES* DEF. KANSAS CITY 4-3

1973: MILWAUKEE* DEF. SAN FRANCISCO 4-1

1974: PITTSBURGH DEF. KANSAS CITY 4-2

1975: BOSTON DEF. SAN DIEGO 4-3

1976: BOSTON DEF. CHI. CUBS 4-3

1977: ST. LOUIS DEF. SAN DIEGO 4-2

1978: COLORADO DEF. CHI. WHITE SOX 4-1

1979: SAN DIEGO DEF. HOUSTON 4-2

1980: HOUSTON DEF. CHI. CUBS 4-3

1981: NEW YORK METS DEF. ST. LOUIS 4-3

1982: CHI. WHITE SOX DEF. HOUSTON 4-3

1983: SAN ANTONIO DEF. COLORADO 4-2

1984: CHI. CUBS DEF. PHOENIX 4-1

1985: SAN ANTONIO DEF. WASHINGTON 4-3

1986: SAN ANTONIO DEF. CHICAGO WHITE SOX 4-2

1987: WASHINGTON DEF. CHI. WHITE SOX 4-1

1988: ST. LOUIS DEF. NEW YORK METS 4-2

1989: SAN ANTONIO DEF. COLUMBUS 4-2

1990: CUBS DEF. WHITE SOX 4-3

1991: WHITE SOX DEF. SAN FRANCISCO 4-2

1992: SAN FRANCISCO DEF. SAN ANTONIO 4-1

1993: ST. LOUIS DEF. WASHINGTON 4-1

1994: WASHINGTON DEF. CLEVELAND 4-2

1995: SAN ANTONIO DEF. BOSTON 4-2

1996: TORONTO DEF. PHOENIX 4-0

1997: METS DEF. BROOKLYN 4-3

1998: METS DEF. PITTSBURGH 4-0

1999: SEATTLE DEF. PITTSBURGH 4-1

darkcloud4579 · 09-21-2007, 02:51 PM

MLB OWNERS MEET AT WORLD SERIES, HAMMER OUT NEXT SEASON'S SETUP

PHILADELPHIA -- MLB owners met and officially voted 27-5 to contract the Jacksonville Braves from MLB. The Braves owners received a settlement payment and all of the players on the team will become free agents as of the official filing date. The Braves will be folded officially and the owners of the old club will sell their interest to a new club, an expansion CL club called the Richmond Braves, that will begin play next season.

They welcome the Salt Lake City Bees to the MLB fold after their win in the MLB Challenge Series against the Chicago White Sox and formally seated the White Sox with the Continental League teams for 2001.

"We're not going to take this sitting lightly. We're going to work and we'll be back next year," said White Sox GM Gene Lamont. The White Sox, the 1982 and 1991 World Series champs, will have a challenging task getting back. First, they'll need to navigate the Continental League's salary structure, where there is a salary cap of $32.5 million for 2001. The league has strict revenue sharing requirements and ticket prices are mandated to be no higher than at a certain level.

Needless to say, this could kill a franchise if it stays down too long.

"We're not going to let it kill our proud franchise or its proud history," said owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who was one of the owners who opposed the Challenge Series plan in the first place. "We'll be back at the big table soon."

The Hartford Red Sox of the Continental League folded. But will return in the form of an expansion club based in Riverside, California, near Los Angeles, called the Riverside Red Sox. The team will be owned by internet mogul Mark Cuban, who said he grew up a huge baseball fan and "can't wait to get his hands on the new team and this exciting new city."

Baseball's old boy network weren't necessarily thrilled at the sight of the young mogul at first, but money talks more than anything and he was allowed to purchase the right to the new ballclub.

Other changes:

Southern Division renamed the National Division
Central Division renamed the American Division
Washington Nationals (MLB) formally became the Washington Diplomats
Orlando Manatees (CL) moved to St. Petersburg, Florida to play at Red Lobster Park. To become the Tampa Bay Rays.
Rolled back active rosters back to 25 and secondary roster size to 40-man. Ended the September call-up period.

Salt Lake City and Chicago swapped minor league affiliates (because the leagues are different), while Riverside will acquire Jacksonville's prospects.

darkcloud4579 · 09-21-2007, 06:51 PM

PHILADELPHIA BLUE JAYS UNVEIL NEW JERSEYS
[B]Before 1969, the Philadelphia Blue Jays were originally the Philadelphia Colonials. Former owner R.J. Bohland, was responsible for the swap and since that time, the team has operated under that name. But after Bohland died two years ago and left the team to his grandson to run, he's mulled over returning to the old name.

"I grew up as a Colonials fan. And I always asked my granddad what his logic was in changing the name and he said, "oh well I thought we needed a change." I love him and wish he were here, but I think that I've talked to enough people over the past two years that I'm going to go with my gut and return to the old name."

With that, he dispatched an artist to come up with a revived look for the team and they unveiled a retro look/feel for the 2001 season.

darkcloud4579 · 09-21-2007, 11:07 PM

Here are the Box Scores from Games 1-6 of the World Series won by....well, I guess you'll need to look? I have Game Logs saved too, but given that I wasn't sure if anyone would bother with these, I won't upload those too unless someone tells me they want to see.

The first four games were split by the two teams, with each game being decided by 1 run. Then one team came back and Games 5 and 6 to capture the entire series.

GAME 1
GAME 2
GAME 3
GAME 4
GAME 5
GAME 6

darkcloud4579 · 09-21-2007, 11:35 PM

SEEKING AN EDGE, BIG CITY TEAMS START THEIR OWN MINOR LEAGUE
November 23, 2000
NEW YORK -- The relegation of the Chicago White Sox was a warning shot to the large market teams throughout baseball, that the new system is here and that it's not going anywhere.

"If nothing else, they're not going to get rid of it before the White Sox can come back anyway," said baseball writer Tim Richards of the Palm Springs Post.

MLB owners in six cities (New York, Los Angeles and Chicago) decided they needed an "edge" and started an eight-team minor league to supplement the Double-A level teams that they already have.

But the new minor league will be based somewhere other than the US of A. That's right, it's going to be based in the Dominican Republic.

"It's brilliant for them to have the foresight to look to develop and sign young players right there in the Caribbean," said Paul McCoy, a columnist for Baseball America.

The total cost of the league is estimated at $5 million, but that will be split by the six teams participating.

The Comets, Mets, Bombers, Dodgers, Angels and Cyclones have all opted to participate. The Cubs opted against it, though they were invited.

The league will feature players from age 16 to age 19 and is likely to be mimicked by other teams in the future.

"I think this is the wave of the future for sure. No doubt about it," said McCoy.

darkcloud4579 · 09-22-2007, 01:01 AM

THE WORST TEAM TO EVER MAKE THE PLAYOFFS
Well, we're running an unorthodox schedule by some standards and so, I guess I wondered after my first season, what the worst teams that made the playoffs did, because I wanted to know if the single-league, eight team playoff alignment resulted on average to have "better" teams (e.g. better regular season record) winning the World Series more often than not.

So, I went back in history and took a look at the World Series champions record and to see what the worst team that make the playoff's record was.

And upon my research, I discovered that the 1975 Boston Yankees were the worst team to ever win a World Series.

Because I wasn't running the team then, I don't have a running box score account of HOW they managed to get into the playoffs.

But here's what it looked like:

Boston (87-76)
St. Louis (87-76)
Kansas City (86-78)

Boston and St. Louis got in, Kansas City didn't. I'm guessing there was some sort of three way tie in which all three teams were 86-76 and so, they both beat Kansas City and earned the #7 and #8 spot in the playoffs, with KC being the odd team out (imagine how happy the fans in St. Louis were to not just make the playoffs but the keep the Royals out!)

So, the Yankees were technically the #7 seed, since Chicago had the best record (107-55) and played the Cardinals and dispatched them in three straight games.

Meanwhile, Boston won their five game series against the Eastern division champion Philadelphia Blue Jays, before facing off against the Cubs and beating them in six games. Needless to say, they were on a mission. After that, they played San Diego, who won 92 games and won the Western Division and it took seven games, but they went through all of that and became the first sub-90 win team to win a World Series.

Since then, only one team has won the World Series after a regular season of less than 90 wins and that's the 1996 Toronto Blue Sox.

But...to get into the playoffs on a whim, only to advance and have to play the top three seeds in the playoffs and to beat them all, you probably deserve it.

darkcloud4579 · 09-22-2007, 01:21 AM

HONORING THE PAST
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of back-to-back World Series champion Boston Yankees teams of 1975 and 1976, I'm going to go through the register of former Yankees and induct some of them into a Yankee Hall of Fame, as well as retire their numbers.

I think it'll be a great opportunity to talk about where the ballclub has come from, because you can't know where you're going, if you don't know where you came from.

darkcloud4579 · 09-22-2007, 01:46 AM

WINTER MEETINGS
December 2, 2000

NEW ORLEANS -- MLB announced today a partnership with Guinness Brewing that would replace the Shea Cup with a new championship called the Guinness Cup Series.

"We're pretty excited about this new partnership," said Interim Commissioner Bud Selig, who will be stepping down from his post after these winter meetings to resume running his car dealership after doing his best not to wreck baseball despite a penchant for ruining everything in his sight.

"This new partnership will be just one of the many new exciting innovations coming to baseball in recent years."

In addition to Guinness Cup play, a second-tier Triple-A classification league will begin play in 2002. The new "Republic League" will be a Triple-A, second division that will feed into the Continental League. Both the Republic League and Continental League playoffs will be called the Guinness Cup Series.

The eight-team circuit will announce the locations of its teams during next summer's All-Star game.

"For the first time in baseball history, it will be possible for a team playing in cities across America to dream about being a major league city," said MLB owners in a statement.

That said, cities would have to have stadiums that are at least 30,000 seats to qualify for the majors, even if they manage to navigate from the RL to the CL to MLB.

darkcloud4579 · 09-22-2007, 02:19 AM

YANKEE HALL OF FAME
The first player inducted into the Yankee Hall of Fame is #35 Jerry Martin

darkcloud4579 · 09-22-2007, 02:42 AM

Along with him, inducted on the same day was #4 Tex Ryan.

Those are the only two inductees this season. I don't forsee anyone else getting their number retired in the near future, but my hope is we can create a successful legacy and have a bunch of guys from this era be able to replicate or surpass what the guys early in the team's history did.

darkcloud4579 · 09-22-2007, 03:23 AM

STRATEGY
It's always a challenge when your team is rebuilding, to figure out what's the best course of action to take in terms of approaching free agency.

We've got a bevy of kids that I'm extremely excited about coming up in the next 2-3 years and maybe sooner. But the bottom line is, this next season would be another one that we'll be woefully understaffed compared to our peers. The thing is, I don't want to leave the cupboard too threadbare or else, we'll be fighting it out for the right NOT to play in the Challenge Series.

I think the key component to any championship team is having solid veterans who get the job done on the field to complement your youth.

So rather than just run through another year and say, stay on the cheap and hope 'wait' for the kids to develop, I'm going to be a bit more active about trying to acquire talent that can help us perhaps slip into a playoff spot or at least, be part of a foundation that we'd like to have in place going into 2-3 years down the line.

Speaking of long-term guys, we decided to sign a few guys to long term deals.

M.A. Charbonneau hit .275 with 24 HR and 92 RBI in his first season in MLB after spending the first four years of his career in the Continental League with Portland.

At just 24-years old, he already resonates with fans and is someone that I think will have a long future with us.

We signed him a 4-year extension worth $47.7 million that will start after next season.

darkcloud4579 · 09-22-2007, 02:44 PM

2001 SEASON PREVIEW
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I don't really know how to put a spin on the worst season in franchise history. I suppose we can take solace from the fact that we didn't spend much last year and that I dealt off a lot of our talent for players that I thought could help us down the line.

Our farm system is restocked and while we did anything but go crazy this off-season, we did retool the roster extensively.

We're 12th in MLB in payroll at $55 million. Pittsburgh leads the majors at $88 million and the LA Angels are 32nd at $25.8 million.

With any new team, the guy coming in needs a year to assess things and then bring in 'his' people and I think my team and I have done a good job of that for this season. I think we're very young and that could be disconcerting, especially if we get a rash of injuries.

But we're in a much better place this year than we were last year.

PITCHING
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We've retooled the rotation extensively. The ace of the staff is 28-year old righthander Brennan Atkins. He spent the past five years in Chicago with the White Sox, but being in the last year of his contract, I knew there might be a chance we could cherry pick him given he's making over $6 million this year.

He went 9-15 last year with a 3.49 ERA in 34 starts. I think he's just what the doctor ordered for us at the top of the rotation.

Mike Lewis is a 29-year old righthander who spent the first five years of his career in Orlando (now Tampa) of the Continental League and was traded during the off-season in a three-team deal that included the Detroit Tigers.

He began his career in the bullpen, but last year was his first full season in the rotation and he went 14-9 with a 3.54 ERA in 28 starts.

I think there used to be some concern among GMs that Continental League players would have adjustment issues in the majors. But I've seen no real evidence of that so far and I don't think Lewis will have any problems adjusting either.

The guy I'm most excited about on our pitching staff is 21-year old starter Luis Manuel Morales. I dealt two top prospects for him, along with two other guys, but the main difference for me was he's already ready and those guys still needed a few years of seasoning.

He came up with Milwaukee of the Continental League and has gone 23-13 in his first two major league seasons. Young, top-flight pitching is something of a premium in this league and so I felt it was in our best interest to pick him up when it seemed clear he might be available.

Ralph Oliver and Jeremy Thompson round out the rotation and were both here last year in bit roles as youngster. Their workload will increase this season and it'll be interesting to see how they handle it.

The other notable addition to the bullpen side of the house is our new closer. We signed former Jacksonville closer Francisco Ortiz to a 2-year deal worth $15.7 million this off-season. In eight years with Jacksonville, he went 31-36 with 151 saves. The hope is, if we do end up in close games, we won't blow them with him on the backend.

New additions on the offensive side include 26-year old catcher Vic Ross who was dealt from Columbus after Herman Woods -- who came over in the deal from Tampa -- requested to be dealt from Boston before the season started.

Ross hit .262 last year with 28 HRs and 83 RBI.

We made it a priority to shore up our defense and the free agent signing of three-time Gold Glove winning second baseman Sergio Moran should help that cause. The 28-year old journeyman played one season in LA for the Dodgers and hit .247 with 12 HR and 74 RBI. He last won the Gold Glove in 1999.

The most critical signing made by the team -- in that, it was most crticized by fans -- was the acquisiton of Tom Keough. The third baseman spent five years as a starter in Jacksonville and hit .288 last year with 11 HR and 77 RBI. He's also swift on the basepaths, registering 44 steals last year and an OBP of .371. But the Yankees signed him to a 4-year $40.5 million deal, making him the highest paid player on their team on a team with only five guys making $5 million dollars or more this year.

"We're going to stand by our decision and I think the fans will be pleased with the progress we'll make this year," said GM D.C. Daly about the team going into the 2001 season.

With the team talking about possibly replacing Yankee Field by 2005 with a new ballpark on the Boston Harbor, success is going to be critical component of whatever the team does between now and then.

Whether D.C. will be around to see it though, is anyone's guess.

darkcloud4579 · 09-22-2007, 04:48 PM

REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS
May 1, 2001

Code:

Eastern Division	W	L	PCT	GB
New York Mets		28	7	.800	-
Pittsburgh Pirates	26	8	.765	1.5
Toronto Blue Sox	22	14	.611	6.5
Brooklyn Cyclones	19	17	.528	9.5
Boston Yankees	18	17	.514	10.0
Philadelphia Colonials	15	20	.429	13.0
Cleveland Indians	14	21	.400	14.0
New York Bombers	12	24	.333	16.5

American Division	W	L	PCT	GB
Chicago Comets		22	13	.629	-
St. Louis Cardinals	22	13	.629	-
Chicago Cubs		20	16	.556	2.5
Detroit Tigers		19	16	.543	3.0
Kansas City Royals	19	18	.514	4.0
Columbus Clippers	18	18	.500	4.5
Minnesota Twins		14	22	.389	8.5
Colorado Rockies	13	23	.361	9.5

Western Division	W	L	PCT	GB
San Diego Padres	21	14	.600	-
San Francisco Giants	20	15	.571	1.0
Los Angeles Dodgers	19	16	.543	2.0
Seattle Mariners	19	17	.528	2.5
Los Angeles Angels	18	18	.500	3.5
Riverside Red Sox	15	19	.441	5.5
Salt Lake City Bees	11	24	.314	10.0
San Jose Captains	10	24	.294	10.5

National Division	W	L	PCT	GB
Atlanta Athletics	19	15	.559	-
Texas Rangers		20	16	.556	-
San Antonio Aviators	18	18	.500	2.0
Arizona Diamondbacks	17	18	.486	2.5
Washington Diplomats	16	18	.471	3.0
Florida Marlins		16	19	.457	3.5
Houston Astros		12	22	.353	7.0
Cincinnati Reds		12	24	.333	8.0

WILD CARD LEADERS
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Pittsburgh
Chicago Comets
St. Louis
Toronto

darkcloud4579 · 09-22-2007, 06:59 PM

A LOVE-FEST? EVALUATING A DEAL
May 22, 2001
When Yankees General Manager traded ace starting pitcher Michael Love along wtih reliever Diego Cruz and starter Eric Williams, no one is precisely sure if he knew what was doing giving up one of the most popular players on the team and won 20 games two years in three years and a Cy Young.

Well in a new year, taking a look at the guys from New York and see how they're doing for the first place Mets.

Michael Love (10-2, 1.02 ERA with 91 K)

Eric Williams (7-2, 3.01 ERA in 11 starts, 34 K 25 BB)

Diego Cruz (2-0, 0.00 ERA in 19 innings, 13 K 4 BB)

Meanwhile, the players that the Yankees recieved in the deal are plodding along in their own way.

Ralph Oliver (5-3, 3.48 ERA, 77 K)

Doran Genovelis (3-0, 1 SV in 9 games in Double-A)

Jacob Snow (.253, 5 RBI in 33 games this season.)

When asked about how well Love was doing in New York, D.C. Daly said that he expected him to do well.

"I don't wish him any ill will. Sure, he's a competitor now. But I'm more than happy with what we got out of that deal. Ralph [Oliver] has been clutch for us so far this year and [Jacob Snow] the Snowman is going to for sure be a factor for us down the line. I said when we made that deal that it was about our future. And I stand by that."

Only time will tell whether that turns out to be true or not.

JB1983 · 09-23-2007, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkcloud4579

Here are the Box Scores from Games 1-6 of the World Series won by....well, I guess you'll need to look? I have Game Logs saved too, but given that I wasn't sure if anyone would bother with these, I won't upload those too unless someone tells me they want to see.

The first four games were split by the two teams, with each game being decided by 1 run. Then one team came back and Games 5 and 6 to capture the entire series.

GAME 1
GAME 2
GAME 3
GAME 4
GAME 5
GAME 6

Those first four games were real nailbiters. I never ceased to be amazed at the realism of this game.

JB1983 · 09-23-2007, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkcloud4579

YANKEE HALL OF FAME
The first player inducted into the Yankee Hall of Fame is #35 Jerry Martin

Wow! These look real! HOW DID YOU MAKE THEM?!?

Also how are you planning to compete with the other big market teams that started their own minor league? Seems to me that would be a pretty big advantage and if you do not get in on it that it might hurt you.

Huh?

darkcloud4579 · 09-23-2007, 06:30 PM

July 14, 2001

MLB CHALLENGE SERIES TO BE NEUTRAL SITE
In an event being billed as "The Baseball Showcase presented by Holiday Inn" MLB officials today that the MLB Challenge Series between the last place team in MLB and the winner of the newly named Guinness Cup will be played a neutral site starting this season.

"We think this is an excellent opportunity to give fans more 'bang' for their buck," said one MLB spokesman close to the deal.

Bidding will commence and it's likely to be decided that the game will be played in a warm weather city.

"We want this to be a showcase event and we felt putting it on the road was the best way to do that."

The host city for the 2001 MLB Challenge Series will be announced late this month.

darkcloud4579 · 09-24-2007, 01:01 AM

YANKEES GET LATE BUY-IN IN DDL TABLE
July 16, 2001

BOSTON -- After initially not choosing to participate in the "big market" minor league called the Dominican Development League, Yankees officials made an eleventh hour call to DDL officials to see if there was any way they could get a team in the league.

They were told "yes" as long as they could convince another team to participate.

D.C. Daly called up the Chicago Cubs Vice President for Player Development J.B. Chenault, an old college friend and told him of the dilemma.

"You know, we weren't too sure about that thing. But if you guys are gonna do it. Let...Let me make a call."

After the call, Chenault said the Cubs were in and the DDL now has 8 teams.

"We're pretty happy about it. As it turns out, we had some prospects that we wanted to see play everyday and so, the one team thing wasn't working out for us as well as we'd have liked," said D.C. about the team's interest in the new minor league.

He said it doesn't deter the team's interest in aggressively pursuing foreign markets, but it was a "step in the right direction."

darkcloud4579 · 09-24-2007, 01:23 AM

LORD'S CRICKET GROUND TO HOST MLB CHALLENGE SERIES
Baseball is coming back to England in grand fashion. The MLB Challenge Series will take place in England, as the famed cricket oval - Lord's - will be the host of the 2001 MLB Challenge Series between the winner of the Guinness Cup Series of the Continental League and the bottom finisher in the MLB standings.

Here are a few Q&A's about the MLB Challenge Series @ Lord's in 2001.

Q: Are you concerned that the MLB Challenge Series will be viewed as an inferior product?
"Actually, part of the reason that London actually lobbied for this event when we were considering making this event as part of our international outreach, is because English fans understand what promotion and relegation is all about. American fans are still trying to understand how their team can get demoted out of the majors. It's a huge barrier for the casual fan and yet, it's been a huge success for MLB to do this setup going into the 2nd year. We think going overseas is going to be a huge hit."

Q: Would MLB ever consider a neutral site World Series
No. It's not something that baseball could do. We believe that home-field advantage and being able to play in front of one's fans after a long season is critical. In this particular instance, we thought it wasn't as much of a factor. Some home fans are not as likely to come out to a game to watch their team possibly lose to a 'lesser' team and the fans from the city that's just won the Guinness Cup should be able to bask in the glory of that accomplishment. We thought subjecting them to the home defeat might be a bit unfair.

Plus, the setup of two doubleheaders for the challenge series with a decisive fifth game was a big complaint among the players on both sides after last year.

Q: Will the game be in London every year? Or will it rotate?
We liked the fact that in London, that we could schedule the games that would still allow everyone to watch and the games wouldn't have to be shown as really odd times. But that being said, games have been played in Japan before and people understand that it's just how it is. Getting TV time at 3 or 4 in the morning isn't exactly that difficult either, so it kinda helps us to some degree. So could we see the game being played somewhere else down the road? I'd say yes. But we're just focused on London in 2001 right now.

09-21-2007, 02:51 PM	#23
darkcloud4579 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 8,712	MLB OWNERS MEET AT WORLD SERIES, HAMMER OUT NEXT SEASON'S SETUP PHILADELPHIA -- MLB owners met and officially voted 27-5 to contract the Jacksonville Braves from MLB. The Braves owners received a settlement payment and all of the players on the team will become free agents as of the official filing date. The Braves will be folded officially and the owners of the old club will sell their interest to a new club, an expansion CL club called the Richmond Braves, that will begin play next season. They welcome the Salt Lake City Bees to the MLB fold after their win in the MLB Challenge Series against the Chicago White Sox and formally seated the White Sox with the Continental League teams for 2001. "We're not going to take this sitting lightly. We're going to work and we'll be back next year," said White Sox GM Gene Lamont. The White Sox, the 1982 and 1991 World Series champs, will have a challenging task getting back. First, they'll need to navigate the Continental League's salary structure, where there is a salary cap of $32.5 million for 2001. The league has strict revenue sharing requirements and ticket prices are mandated to be no higher than at a certain level. Needless to say, this could kill a franchise if it stays down too long. "We're not going to let it kill our proud franchise or its proud history," said owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who was one of the owners who opposed the Challenge Series plan in the first place. "We'll be back at the big table soon." The Hartford Red Sox of the Continental League folded. But will return in the form of an expansion club based in Riverside, California, near Los Angeles, called the Riverside Red Sox. The team will be owned by internet mogul Mark Cuban, who said he grew up a huge baseball fan and "can't wait to get his hands on the new team and this exciting new city." Baseball's old boy network weren't necessarily thrilled at the sight of the young mogul at first, but money talks more than anything and he was allowed to purchase the right to the new ballclub. Other changes: Southern Division renamed the National Division Central Division renamed the American Division Washington Nationals (MLB) formally became the Washington Diplomats Orlando Manatees (CL) moved to St. Petersburg, Florida to play at Red Lobster Park. To become the Tampa Bay Rays. Rolled back active rosters back to 25 and secondary roster size to 40-man. Ended the September call-up period. Salt Lake City and Chicago swapped minor league affiliates (because the leagues are different), while Riverside will acquire Jacksonville's prospects. Last edited by darkcloud4579; 09-21-2007 at 07:04 PM.

09-21-2007, 06:51 PM	#24
darkcloud4579 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 8,712	PHILADELPHIA BLUE JAYS UNVEIL NEW JERSEYS [B]Before 1969, the Philadelphia Blue Jays were originally the Philadelphia Colonials. Former owner R.J. Bohland, was responsible for the swap and since that time, the team has operated under that name. But after Bohland died two years ago and left the team to his grandson to run, he's mulled over returning to the old name. "I grew up as a Colonials fan. And I always asked my granddad what his logic was in changing the name and he said, "oh well I thought we needed a change." I love him and wish he were here, but I think that I've talked to enough people over the past two years that I'm going to go with my gut and return to the old name." With that, he dispatched an artist to come up with a revived look for the team and they unveiled a retro look/feel for the 2001 season. Attached Images

09-22-2007, 02:42 AM	#31
darkcloud4579 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 8,712	Along with him, inducted on the same day was #4 Tex Ryan. Those are the only two inductees this season. I don't forsee anyone else getting their number retired in the near future, but my hope is we can create a successful legacy and have a bunch of guys from this era be able to replicate or surpass what the guys early in the team's history did. Last edited by darkcloud4579; 09-22-2007 at 02:50 AM.

09-21-2007, 01:38 PM	#21
darkcloud4579 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 8,712	2000 WORLD SERIES --- The Philadelphia Blue Jays (91-71, 2nd place East) will face off against the Pittsburgh Pirates (104-58, 1st place East) for the 2000 World Series crown. The Blue Jays knocked off the LA Dodgers in 4 games and then swept the Chicago Cubs to advance to the Fall Classic, while the Pirates knocked off San Jose in four games, only to face a tough challenge in a pesky Atlanta A's squad, that took them the distance (7 games) before finally going down. This is the Blue Jays first playoff appearance since 1981 and they've never won a World Series. The Pirates meanwhile clinched their fourth Eastern Division title in five years this season, but won their only World Series title in 1974.

09-21-2007, 11:07 PM	#25
darkcloud4579 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 8,712	Here are the Box Scores from Games 1-6 of the World Series won by....well, I guess you'll need to look? I have Game Logs saved too, but given that I wasn't sure if anyone would bother with these, I won't upload those too unless someone tells me they want to see. The first four games were split by the two teams, with each game being decided by 1 run. Then one team came back and Games 5 and 6 to capture the entire series. GAME 1 GAME 2 GAME 3 GAME 4 GAME 5 GAME 6

09-21-2007, 11:35 PM	#26
darkcloud4579 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 8,712	SEEKING AN EDGE, BIG CITY TEAMS START THEIR OWN MINOR LEAGUE November 23, 2000 NEW YORK -- The relegation of the Chicago White Sox was a warning shot to the large market teams throughout baseball, that the new system is here and that it's not going anywhere. "If nothing else, they're not going to get rid of it before the White Sox can come back anyway," said baseball writer Tim Richards of the Palm Springs Post. MLB owners in six cities (New York, Los Angeles and Chicago) decided they needed an "edge" and started an eight-team minor league to supplement the Double-A level teams that they already have. But the new minor league will be based somewhere other than the US of A. That's right, it's going to be based in the Dominican Republic. "It's brilliant for them to have the foresight to look to develop and sign young players right there in the Caribbean," said Paul McCoy, a columnist for Baseball America. The total cost of the league is estimated at $5 million, but that will be split by the six teams participating. The Comets, Mets, Bombers, Dodgers, Angels and Cyclones have all opted to participate. The Cubs opted against it, though they were invited. The league will feature players from age 16 to age 19 and is likely to be mimicked by other teams in the future. "I think this is the wave of the future for sure. No doubt about it," said McCoy.

09-22-2007, 01:01 AM	#27
darkcloud4579 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 8,712	THE WORST TEAM TO EVER MAKE THE PLAYOFFS Well, we're running an unorthodox schedule by some standards and so, I guess I wondered after my first season, what the worst teams that made the playoffs did, because I wanted to know if the single-league, eight team playoff alignment resulted on average to have "better" teams (e.g. better regular season record) winning the World Series more often than not. So, I went back in history and took a look at the World Series champions record and to see what the worst team that make the playoff's record was. And upon my research, I discovered that the 1975 Boston Yankees were the worst team to ever win a World Series. Because I wasn't running the team then, I don't have a running box score account of HOW they managed to get into the playoffs. But here's what it looked like: Boston (87-76) St. Louis (87-76) Kansas City (86-78) Boston and St. Louis got in, Kansas City didn't. I'm guessing there was some sort of three way tie in which all three teams were 86-76 and so, they both beat Kansas City and earned the #7 and #8 spot in the playoffs, with KC being the odd team out (imagine how happy the fans in St. Louis were to not just make the playoffs but the keep the Royals out!) So, the Yankees were technically the #7 seed, since Chicago had the best record (107-55) and played the Cardinals and dispatched them in three straight games. Meanwhile, Boston won their five game series against the Eastern division champion Philadelphia Blue Jays, before facing off against the Cubs and beating them in six games. Needless to say, they were on a mission. After that, they played San Diego, who won 92 games and won the Western Division and it took seven games, but they went through all of that and became the first sub-90 win team to win a World Series. Since then, only one team has won the World Series after a regular season of less than 90 wins and that's the 1996 Toronto Blue Sox. But...to get into the playoffs on a whim, only to advance and have to play the top three seeds in the playoffs and to beat them all, you probably deserve it.

09-22-2007, 01:21 AM	#28
darkcloud4579 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 8,712	HONORING THE PAST To commemorate the 25th anniversary of back-to-back World Series champion Boston Yankees teams of 1975 and 1976, I'm going to go through the register of former Yankees and induct some of them into a Yankee Hall of Fame, as well as retire their numbers. I think it'll be a great opportunity to talk about where the ballclub has come from, because you can't know where you're going, if you don't know where you came from.

09-22-2007, 01:46 AM	#29
darkcloud4579 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 8,712	WINTER MEETINGS December 2, 2000 NEW ORLEANS -- MLB announced today a partnership with Guinness Brewing that would replace the Shea Cup with a new championship called the Guinness Cup Series. "We're pretty excited about this new partnership," said Interim Commissioner Bud Selig, who will be stepping down from his post after these winter meetings to resume running his car dealership after doing his best not to wreck baseball despite a penchant for ruining everything in his sight. "This new partnership will be just one of the many new exciting innovations coming to baseball in recent years." In addition to Guinness Cup play, a second-tier Triple-A classification league will begin play in 2002. The new "Republic League" will be a Triple-A, second division that will feed into the Continental League. Both the Republic League and Continental League playoffs will be called the Guinness Cup Series. The eight-team circuit will announce the locations of its teams during next summer's All-Star game. "For the first time in baseball history, it will be possible for a team playing in cities across America to dream about being a major league city," said MLB owners in a statement. That said, cities would have to have stadiums that are at least 30,000 seats to qualify for the majors, even if they manage to navigate from the RL to the CL to MLB.

09-22-2007, 02:19 AM	#30
darkcloud4579 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 8,712	YANKEE HALL OF FAME The first player inducted into the Yankee Hall of Fame is #35 Jerry Martin

09-22-2007, 03:23 AM	#32
darkcloud4579 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 8,712	STRATEGY It's always a challenge when your team is rebuilding, to figure out what's the best course of action to take in terms of approaching free agency. We've got a bevy of kids that I'm extremely excited about coming up in the next 2-3 years and maybe sooner. But the bottom line is, this next season would be another one that we'll be woefully understaffed compared to our peers. The thing is, I don't want to leave the cupboard too threadbare or else, we'll be fighting it out for the right NOT to play in the Challenge Series. I think the key component to any championship team is having solid veterans who get the job done on the field to complement your youth. So rather than just run through another year and say, stay on the cheap and hope 'wait' for the kids to develop, I'm going to be a bit more active about trying to acquire talent that can help us perhaps slip into a playoff spot or at least, be part of a foundation that we'd like to have in place going into 2-3 years down the line. Speaking of long-term guys, we decided to sign a few guys to long term deals. M.A. Charbonneau hit .275 with 24 HR and 92 RBI in his first season in MLB after spending the first four years of his career in the Continental League with Portland. At just 24-years old, he already resonates with fans and is someone that I think will have a long future with us. We signed him a 4-year extension worth $47.7 million that will start after next season.

09-22-2007, 02:44 PM	#33
darkcloud4579 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 8,712	2001 SEASON PREVIEW ---- I don't really know how to put a spin on the worst season in franchise history. I suppose we can take solace from the fact that we didn't spend much last year and that I dealt off a lot of our talent for players that I thought could help us down the line. Our farm system is restocked and while we did anything but go crazy this off-season, we did retool the roster extensively. We're 12th in MLB in payroll at $55 million. Pittsburgh leads the majors at $88 million and the LA Angels are 32nd at $25.8 million. With any new team, the guy coming in needs a year to assess things and then bring in 'his' people and I think my team and I have done a good job of that for this season. I think we're very young and that could be disconcerting, especially if we get a rash of injuries. But we're in a much better place this year than we were last year. PITCHING --- We've retooled the rotation extensively. The ace of the staff is 28-year old righthander Brennan Atkins. He spent the past five years in Chicago with the White Sox, but being in the last year of his contract, I knew there might be a chance we could cherry pick him given he's making over $6 million this year. He went 9-15 last year with a 3.49 ERA in 34 starts. I think he's just what the doctor ordered for us at the top of the rotation. Mike Lewis is a 29-year old righthander who spent the first five years of his career in Orlando (now Tampa) of the Continental League and was traded during the off-season in a three-team deal that included the Detroit Tigers. He began his career in the bullpen, but last year was his first full season in the rotation and he went 14-9 with a 3.54 ERA in 28 starts. I think there used to be some concern among GMs that Continental League players would have adjustment issues in the majors. But I've seen no real evidence of that so far and I don't think Lewis will have any problems adjusting either. The guy I'm most excited about on our pitching staff is 21-year old starter Luis Manuel Morales. I dealt two top prospects for him, along with two other guys, but the main difference for me was he's already ready and those guys still needed a few years of seasoning. He came up with Milwaukee of the Continental League and has gone 23-13 in his first two major league seasons. Young, top-flight pitching is something of a premium in this league and so I felt it was in our best interest to pick him up when it seemed clear he might be available. Ralph Oliver and Jeremy Thompson round out the rotation and were both here last year in bit roles as youngster. Their workload will increase this season and it'll be interesting to see how they handle it. The other notable addition to the bullpen side of the house is our new closer. We signed former Jacksonville closer Francisco Ortiz to a 2-year deal worth $15.7 million this off-season. In eight years with Jacksonville, he went 31-36 with 151 saves. The hope is, if we do end up in close games, we won't blow them with him on the backend. New additions on the offensive side include 26-year old catcher Vic Ross who was dealt from Columbus after Herman Woods -- who came over in the deal from Tampa -- requested to be dealt from Boston before the season started. Ross hit .262 last year with 28 HRs and 83 RBI. We made it a priority to shore up our defense and the free agent signing of three-time Gold Glove winning second baseman Sergio Moran should help that cause. The 28-year old journeyman played one season in LA for the Dodgers and hit .247 with 12 HR and 74 RBI. He last won the Gold Glove in 1999. The most critical signing made by the team -- in that, it was most crticized by fans -- was the acquisiton of Tom Keough. The third baseman spent five years as a starter in Jacksonville and hit .288 last year with 11 HR and 77 RBI. He's also swift on the basepaths, registering 44 steals last year and an OBP of .371. But the Yankees signed him to a 4-year $40.5 million deal, making him the highest paid player on their team on a team with only five guys making $5 million dollars or more this year. "We're going to stand by our decision and I think the fans will be pleased with the progress we'll make this year," said GM D.C. Daly about the team going into the 2001 season. With the team talking about possibly replacing Yankee Field by 2005 with a new ballpark on the Boston Harbor, success is going to be critical component of whatever the team does between now and then. Whether D.C. will be around to see it though, is anyone's guess.

09-22-2007, 06:59 PM	#35
darkcloud4579 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 8,712	A LOVE-FEST? EVALUATING A DEAL May 22, 2001 When Yankees General Manager traded ace starting pitcher Michael Love along wtih reliever Diego Cruz and starter Eric Williams, no one is precisely sure if he knew what was doing giving up one of the most popular players on the team and won 20 games two years in three years and a Cy Young. Well in a new year, taking a look at the guys from New York and see how they're doing for the first place Mets. Michael Love (10-2, 1.02 ERA with 91 K) Eric Williams (7-2, 3.01 ERA in 11 starts, 34 K 25 BB) Diego Cruz (2-0, 0.00 ERA in 19 innings, 13 K 4 BB) Meanwhile, the players that the Yankees recieved in the deal are plodding along in their own way. Ralph Oliver (5-3, 3.48 ERA, 77 K) Doran Genovelis (3-0, 1 SV in 9 games in Double-A) Jacob Snow (.253, 5 RBI in 33 games this season.) When asked about how well Love was doing in New York, D.C. Daly said that he expected him to do well. "I don't wish him any ill will. Sure, he's a competitor now. But I'm more than happy with what we got out of that deal. Ralph [Oliver] has been clutch for us so far this year and [Jacob Snow] the Snowman is going to for sure be a factor for us down the line. I said when we made that deal that it was about our future. And I stand by that." Only time will tell whether that turns out to be true or not. Last edited by darkcloud4579; 09-22-2007 at 07:00 PM.

09-23-2007, 06:30 PM	#38
darkcloud4579 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 8,712	July 14, 2001 MLB CHALLENGE SERIES TO BE NEUTRAL SITE In an event being billed as "The Baseball Showcase presented by Holiday Inn" MLB officials today that the MLB Challenge Series between the last place team in MLB and the winner of the newly named Guinness Cup will be played a neutral site starting this season. "We think this is an excellent opportunity to give fans more 'bang' for their buck," said one MLB spokesman close to the deal. Bidding will commence and it's likely to be decided that the game will be played in a warm weather city. "We want this to be a showcase event and we felt putting it on the road was the best way to do that." The host city for the 2001 MLB Challenge Series will be announced late this month.

09-24-2007, 01:01 AM	#39
darkcloud4579 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 8,712	YANKEES GET LATE BUY-IN IN DDL TABLE July 16, 2001 BOSTON -- After initially not choosing to participate in the "big market" minor league called the Dominican Development League, Yankees officials made an eleventh hour call to DDL officials to see if there was any way they could get a team in the league. They were told "yes" as long as they could convince another team to participate. D.C. Daly called up the Chicago Cubs Vice President for Player Development J.B. Chenault, an old college friend and told him of the dilemma. "You know, we weren't too sure about that thing. But if you guys are gonna do it. Let...Let me make a call." After the call, Chenault said the Cubs were in and the DDL now has 8 teams. "We're pretty happy about it. As it turns out, we had some prospects that we wanted to see play everyday and so, the one team thing wasn't working out for us as well as we'd have liked," said D.C. about the team's interest in the new minor league. He said it doesn't deter the team's interest in aggressively pursuing foreign markets, but it was a "step in the right direction."

09-24-2007, 01:23 AM	#40
darkcloud4579 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 8,712	LORD'S CRICKET GROUND TO HOST MLB CHALLENGE SERIES Baseball is coming back to England in grand fashion. The MLB Challenge Series will take place in England, as the famed cricket oval - Lord's - will be the host of the 2001 MLB Challenge Series between the winner of the Guinness Cup Series of the Continental League and the bottom finisher in the MLB standings. Here are a few Q&A's about the MLB Challenge Series @ Lord's in 2001. Q: Are you concerned that the MLB Challenge Series will be viewed as an inferior product? "Actually, part of the reason that London actually lobbied for this event when we were considering making this event as part of our international outreach, is because English fans understand what promotion and relegation is all about. American fans are still trying to understand how their team can get demoted out of the majors. It's a huge barrier for the casual fan and yet, it's been a huge success for MLB to do this setup going into the 2nd year. We think going overseas is going to be a huge hit." Q: Would MLB ever consider a neutral site World Series No. It's not something that baseball could do. We believe that home-field advantage and being able to play in front of one's fans after a long season is critical. In this particular instance, we thought it wasn't as much of a factor. Some home fans are not as likely to come out to a game to watch their team possibly lose to a 'lesser' team and the fans from the city that's just won the Guinness Cup should be able to bask in the glory of that accomplishment. We thought subjecting them to the home defeat might be a bit unfair. Plus, the setup of two doubleheaders for the challenge series with a decisive fifth game was a big complaint among the players on both sides after last year. Q: Will the game be in London every year? Or will it rotate? We liked the fact that in London, that we could schedule the games that would still allow everyone to watch and the games wouldn't have to be shown as really odd times. But that being said, games have been played in Japan before and people understand that it's just how it is. Getting TV time at 3 or 4 in the morning isn't exactly that difficult either, so it kinda helps us to some degree. So could we see the game being played somewhere else down the road? I'd say yes. But we're just focused on London in 2001 right now.