Millennial League Baseball, est. 2001

[Westheim]

All this team needs is four more Jim Baucoms and like five competent hitters and then it's off and the sky's the limit!

[Questdog]

Saturday, July 12, 2003

Yesterday's game was rained out, so we will try to play a doubleheader today, our first of the season.

Ottawa Otters (46-39 .541 6.5 GB in 3rd place in the Northern Division) at
Jacksonville Jays (37-46 .446 14 GB in 7th place in the Southern Division)

Game 1
OTT: Tim Hill (25-L) (4-1 0.67 ERA 53.2 IP, 32 H, 2 HR, 12 BB, 27 SO) All-Star vs.
JAX: Del Warwick (28-L) (6-8 3.23 ERA 122.2 IP, 128 H, 12 HR, 35 BB, 64 SO) Gold Glove

Hill was 9-10 with a 2.45 ERA in 223.2 IP last year. He is 25-16 with a 2.06 ERA in his career. He does not have a decision in 2 starts against us in his career. 2.70 ERA, 13.1 IP, 13 H, 0 HR, 2 BB, 8 SO. He has 4 shutouts in only 8 starts this season.... Please! Let's not make in 5 in 9....

Warwick gave up 3 runs on 9 hits, 1 home run and 2 walks with 3 strikeouts in 6 innings last time out in a loss.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
OTTAWA
1: 3B Wes Fitzgibbons (27-R .332-241-1-22-.799-16 A) All-Star(01)
2: CF Tim Bidwell (28-R .258-283-0-27-.644-11 B)
3: RF Ed Yeager (28-L .267-292-6-38-.678-1 C+) Silver Slugger(01)/All-Star(2: 01-02)
4: 2B Tom Van Diest (29-R .237-279-8-30-.734-15 B+)
5: C Joe Tomlinson (28-R .199-256-9-34-.620-1 C)
6: LF Tom Beyke (35-R .165-97-4-11-.627-1 B)
7: 1B Mike Hughes (28-R .250-156-2-12-.683-0 B) All-Star(01)
8: SS Dave Behm (26-R .199-286-5-27-.554-9 A)
9: P Tim Hill (25-R .167-18-0-0-.333-0 C+) All-Star

JACKSONVILLE
1: SS Bart Daw (31-R .221-217-4-25-.598-22 B+)
2: 2B Charlie Faber (32-R .202-109-0-4-.562-5 B+)
3: 1B Dave Thompson (27-R .278-72-1-4-.694-0 C+) Rookie
4: 3B Marty Eades (32-R .284-289-12-49-.822-2 C)
5: RF Ray McDonald (23-L .280-300-5-38-.773-9 B+)
6: C Don Kern (26-R .200-90-4-13-.665-3 B) Rookie
7: LF Cal Doty (26-L .268-302-2-23-.677-18 B+)
8: CF Gary McKellar (33-R .225-89-1-8-.578-0 B)
9: P Del Warwick (28-L .156-32-0-1-.308-0 C) Gold Glove

Game Start: 1:05 PM
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Weather: 84 F, Partly Cloudy, with an 11 MPH wind blowing out to right
Attendance: 7,791

Top of the First:
Wes Fitzgibbons beats out an infield hit... Tim Bidwell grounds into a force at 2nd, 6-4. Ed Yeager pops out to 1st. Tom Van Diest lines out to center!

Bottom of the First:
Bart Daw lines a hit to left! He steals 2nd! Charlie Faber lines out to 2nd and they double Daw off base.... Dave Thompson swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds out to short...

Bottom of the Second:
With 1 out, Ray McDonald bloops a hit to left and steals 2nd. With 2 outs, Cal Doty bloops a hit to left center and McDonald scores! 1 to 0, Jays! No shutout!

And then nothing much happened for a while....

Top of the Ninth:
P Del Warwick is at 113 pitches. The Bullpen is ready. 2-3-4 up for the Otters. PH Wilson Partida (26-R), a rookie batting .248 with 2 HR and 12 RBI in 105 AB, walks on 4 pitches... Ed Yeager grounds into a 4-6-3 double play!! Tom Van Diest grounds out to 2nd and THIS Ball Game Belongs to the Jays! Back to back shutouts!

Won - 1 to 0

We had 5 whole hits and made no errors
Ottawa had 3 hits and made no errors

15 total hits in our last 4 games...
5 total runs in our last 5 games....

Del Warwick (W 7-8) pitched 9 shutout innings (CG), allowed 3 hits, 2 walks and struck out 5. 124 pitches. His first shutout as a Jay and 5th of his career.

Tim Hill (L 4-2) went 7 innings, gave us 1 run, 4 hits, 1 walk and struck out 3.

SS Bart Daw had 2 hits with a double.

Game 2
OTT: Jim Hower (34-R) (5-7 3.85 ERA 121.2 IP, 117 H, 3 HR, 33 BB, 72 SO) All-Star(2: 01-02) vs.
JAX: Mike Marsh (22-R) (1-1 4.15 ERA 13 IP, 11 H, 2 HR, 7 BB, 2 SO) Rookie

We beat Hower in June, scoring 6 runs on 9 hits, 1 home run and 2 walks with 7 strikeouts in 7.1 innings. In his last start, he went 10 innings and only allowed 1 run in a no decision that the Otters won.

Marsh gave up 4 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits and 5 walks with 1 strikeout in 6 innings last time out in a loss. If he does not have a decent game today, he will go back to Daytona (A) for more seasoning.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
OTTAWA
1: 3B Wes Fitzgibbons (27-R .331-245-1-22-.794-16 A) All-Star(01)
2: CF Tim Bidwell (28-R .255-286-0-27-.637-11 B)
3: RF Ed Yeager (28-L .267-296-6-38-.679-1 C+) Silver Slugger(01)/All-Star(2: 01-02)
4: 1B Phil Shumate (30-S .290-217-13-36-.885-2 C+)
5: LF Tom Beyke (35-R .170-100-4-11-.628-1 B)
6: 2B Tom Van Diest (29-R .233-283-8-30-.724-15 B+)
7: SS Dave Behm (26-R .197-289-5-27-.548-9 A)
8: C Wally Johnson (27-R .196-46-1-5-.610-0 B) Rookie
9: P Jim Hower (34-R .171-35-0-2-.437-0 F) All-Star(2: 01-02)

JACKSONVILLE
1: LF Cal Doty (26-L .269-305-2-24-.677-18 B+)
2: CF Danny Stewart (32-L .242-194-1-11-.592-4 C+)
3: RF Ray McDonald (23-L .281-303-5-38-.772-10 B+)
4: 3B Marty Eades (32-R .282-291-12-49-.819-2 C)
5: 1B Jack Washburn (21-L .228-250-8-20-.689-14 B)
6: 2B Ed Diskin (39-R .248-206-3-36-.678-1 C+)
7: SS Bart Daw (31-R .226-221-4-25-.609-23 B+)
8: C Bert Swope (31-S .176-136-0-11-.476-0 B)
9: P Mike Marsh (22-R .333-3-0-0-.667-0 B+) Rookie

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Weather: 95 F, Clear Skies, with a 7 MPH wind blowing left to right
Attendance: 7,939

Top of the First:
Wes Fitzgibbons takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4.... Tim Bidwell plunks one and we get the force at 2nd, 2-4. Bidwell tries to steal and we have a pitchout on and C Bert Swope throws him out! Ed Yeager hits a home run to right... 1 to 0, Otters. Phil Shumate swings at a 3-2 pitch and misses!

Bottom of the First:
Cal Doty pops out to center. Danny Stewart grounds a hit to right. Ray McDonald pops out to right. Marty Eades pops out to center...

Top of the Third:
Wally Johnson, the sub-.200 hitter, swings at the first pitch and lines a hit to right. P Jim Hower bunts him to 2nd and he goes to 3rd on a ground out. Tim Bidwell swings at the first pitch and lines a hit to right and Johnson scores... 2 to 0, Otters.

Bottom of the Third:
With 1 out, P Mike Marsh grounds a hit up the middle. Cal Doty lines a hit to right. Danny Stewart walks on 4 pitches to load the bases up with 1 out. Ray McDonald draws a walk to force in a run! 2 to 1, Otters. Marty Eades flies out to near the warning track in center and Doty trots home. Tie Game: 2 to 2!

Bottom of the Sixth:
Ray McDonald grounds one to 2nd, but Tom Van Diest makes a bad throw for his 14th error of the season! Marty Eades lines a hit to left. Jack Washburn bunts the runners up... Ed Diskin fouls out to 1st... Bart Daw strikes out...

Top of the Seventh:
Phil Shumate lines a hit to left... The Bullpen gets up. Tom Beyke walks on 4 pitches... They send in a pinch-runner for Shumate at 2nd: Wilson Partida (26-R). With 1 out, Dave Behm flies out to center and Partida tags up and heads to 3rd, but Danny Stewart throws him out!!

Bottom of the Seventh:
With 1 out, PH Dennis Brown (29-L) hits a home run to left center! 3 to 2, Jays! Cal Doty swings at the first pitch and lines a hit to right, but gets caught stealing for the second time today... We are 0 for 3 trying to steal on rookie C Wally Johnson... Danny Stewart grounds a hit up the middle. Ray McDonald doubles to right and Stewart scores! 4 to 2, Jays! Marty Eades hits a home run to left center!! 6 to 2, Jays! More runs than we scored in the last 5 games combined!

Top of the Eighth:
New Pitcher: Johnny Groom (25-R). Wally Johnson draws a walk... PH Ron Bylina (27-L), batting .189 with 4 HR and 8 RBI in 106 AB, grounds a hit up the middle and Johnson beats the throw to 3rd... That is 2 straight sub-.200 hitters to reach base, for those of you counting... The Bullpen hops up. Wes Fitzgibbons beats out an infield hit and Johnson scores... 6 to 3, Jays. Tim Bidwell clears the bases with double to right center and ends up on 3rd... 6 to 5, Jays. Call to the Bullpen: All-Star Bill Grant (32-L). Ed Yeager grounds a hit up the middle and Bidwell scores... Tie Game: 6 to 6. 1B Wilson Partida, who drew a walk in the first game, flies out to near the warning track in center and then the next two make outs, with one more fly ball to the warning track.

Top of the Ninth:
7-8-9 up for the Otters. Dave Behm strikes out! PH Johnny Brown (25-R), batting .300 with 2 HR and 7 RBI in 60 AB, takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. The Bullpen gets up. PH George Johnson (34-R), 0 for 1 in the first game, swings at a 3-2 pitch and misses! Brown tries to steal 2nd, but C Bert Swope throws him out!

Bottom of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Larry Domino (34-L), their closer, who won the Rolaids Relief Man Award with Providence last year. He is 3-1 with 16 SV and a 1.89 ERA and only 3 BB in 38 IP. Top of our order up. Cal Doty grounds out to short. PH Gary McKellar (33-R), who will stay in to play center, if needed (and I am sure he will be needed), grounds out to 2nd. Ray McDonald swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds out to 3rd...

Extras!
For once, we have a well-rested Bullpen!
Which means the game will end quickly....

Top of the Tenth:
Top of their order up. The Bullpen is ready. Wes Fitzgibbons doubles down the left field line... Call to the Bullpen: Dave Nini (25-L). He has had great control of late, but now that the game is on the line, he, of course, walks Tim Bidwell on 4 pitches... Ed Yeager grounds into a 3-6-1 double play and Fitzgibbons goes to 3rd!! We walk Wilson Partida intentionally. Not smart when your pitcher is wild... Tom Beyke swings at a 3-2 pitch and misses! I hereby decree that P Dave Nini is now our closer!

Bottom of the Tenth:
PH Don Kern (26-R) grounds out to 3rd. PH Dave Thompson (27-R) grounds out to short. 2B Leander Gooding (32-R) grounds a hit to left. Bart Daw grounds out to short.

Top of the Eleventh:
New Pitcher: Robbie Hopley (29-R). With 2 outs, C Joe Tomlinson (28-R), 0 for 6 with a walk and 3 strikeouts this series, lines a hit to right center. PH Mike Hughes (28-R), 0 for 5 with a walk this series, takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. The Bullpen gets up. Wes Fitzgibbons pops out to 2nd!

Bottom of the Eleventh:
New Pitcher: Dave Hedrick (29-L), who is 2-1 with a 2.29 ERA in 39.1 IP. One of his wins was against us. We go down in order...

Top of the Twelfth:
Tim Bidwell grounds one to short and Bart Daw boots it... Ed Yeager grounds a hit up the middle and Bidwell beats the throw to 3rd... The Bullpen is up. Wilson Partida walks to load the base up with no outs.... Tom Beyke pops out to 1st. Call to the Bullpen: Roger Wallace (28-R), because his control is much better than the tiring P Robbie Hopley..... So, of course, Tom Van Diest walks on 4 pitches to force in a run.... 7 to 6, Otters. Dave Behm walks on 4 pitches to force in another run.... 8 to 6, Otters. Unreal... Pia! A train ticket! Make that two! Joe Tomlinson takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4 to force in another run... 9 to 6, Otters. Call to the Bullpen: Dave Buchalter (25-R), who has horrible control, but it can't be any worse than P Wallace.... P Dave Hedrick, who is 5 for 11 (.455) in his career and has never struck out, swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds into a force at home, 3-2. Wes Fitzgibbons plunks one and is out, 2-3!

Bottom of the Twelfth:
We go down in order....

Lost - 9 to 6.

That one hurts....

We had 13 hits and made 1 error
Ottawa had 12 hits and made 1 error

Mike Marsh went 7 innings, allowed 2 runs, 5 hits, 1 home run, 3 walks and struck out 5. At bat, he had a hit and scored a run. He left the game with a 4 run lead.... I think he earned himself at least one more start.
RHP Johnny Groom did not get an out, allowed 4 runs, 3 hits and 1 walk.
LHP Bill Grant (BS 5) went 2 scoreless innings, allowed 2 hits, 1 walk and struck out 2.
LHP Dave Nini went 1 scoreless inning, walked 2 (1 INT) and struck out 1.
RHP Robbie Hopley (L 1-1) went 1.1 innings, allowed 3 runs (2 earned), 2 hits and 2 walks.
RHP Roger Wallace did not get an out and walked 3.
RHP Dave Buchalter faced 2 batters with the bases loaded and got 2 outs without allowing a run to score. We tied our team record by using 7 pitchers in the game.

Jim Hower went 6.2 innings, gave us 6 runs, 11 hits, 2 home runs, 2 walks and struck out 4.
LHP Dave Hedrick (W 3-1) pitched 2 perfect innings and struck out 1. 2 wins now against us this season.

LF Cal Doty had 3 hits and scored a run, but was caught stealing twice. CF Danny Stewart had 2 hits and a walk and scored a run and threw a runner out at 3rd. RF Ray McDonald hit a double, drew a walk, scored a run and had 2 RBI. 3B Marty Eades had 2 hits with his 13th home run of the season and 3 RBI. 2B Leander Gooding was 2 for 2. PH Dennis Brown his his 6th home run.

For Ottawa, CF Tim Bidwell had 2 hits with a double and a walk, scored 2 runs and had 3 RBI. RF Ed Yeager had 3 hits with his 7th home run, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBI.

[Questdog]

Sunday, July 13, 2003

RP Johnny Groom (25-R) and RP Roger Wallace (28-R) were both sent to Daytona (A). RP Mike Moore (25-R) and P Jose Azamar (25-R) were called up.

Ottawa Otters (47-40 .540 7 GB in 3rd place in the Northern Division) at
Jacksonville Jays (38-47 .447 14.5 GB in 7th place in the Southern Division)

OTT: Bill Cortright (35-R) (8-5 2.90 ERA 102.1 IP, 84 H, 9 HR, 27 BB, 70 SO) vs.
JAX: Dale Gilchrist (24-R) (4-6 3.01 ERA 71.2 IP, 61 H, 3 HR, 23 BB, 45 SO)

Cortright was 9-10 with a 3.30 ERA in 191 IP last year. He is 2-1 in 4 starts against us in his career with a 2.10 ERA. 30 IP, 28 H, 0 HR, 7 BB, 18 SO.

Gilchrist has lost 3 starts in a row. He gave up 2 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks with 5 strikeouts in 6 innings last time out, but we were shut out.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
OTTAWA
1: 3B Wes Fitzgibbons (27-R .332-250-1-23-.803-16 A) All-Star(01)
2: 1B Wilson Partida (26-R .245-106-2-12-.707-6 B) Rookie
3: RF Ed Yeager (28-L .272-302-7-40-.695-1 C+) Silver Slugger(01)/All-Star(2: 01-02)
4: LF Tom Beyke (35-R .162-105-4-11-.606-1 B)
5: C Joe Tomlinson (28-R .201-259-9-35-.625-1 C)
6: 2B Tom Van Diest (29-R .229-288-8-31-.714-15 B+)
7: SS Dave Behm (26-R .197-294-5-28-.548-9 A)
8: CF Bob McCord (34-R .190-100-2-11-.560-0 C+)
9: P Bill Cortright (35-R .206-34-0-1-.441-0 C)

JACKSONVILLE
1: LF Cal Doty (26-L .273-311-2-24-.683-18 B+)
2: CF Danny Stewart (32-L .249-197-1-11-.606-4 C+)
3: RF Ray McDonald (23-L .279-308-5-40-.772-10 B+)
4: 3B Marty Eades (32-R .286-294-13-52-.833-2 C)
5: 1B Jack Washburn (21-L .229-253-8-20-.689-14 B)
6: 2B Ed Diskin (39-R .244-209-3-36-.668-1 C+)
7: SS Bart Daw (31-R .222-225-4-25-.599-23 B+)
8: C Don Kern (26-R .191-94-4-13-.638-3 B) Rookie
9: P Dale Gilchrist (24-R .167-24-0-2-.327-0 C+)

Game Start: 2:05 PM
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Weather: 84 F, Clear Skies, with an 9 MPH wind blowing out to right
Attendance: 7,727

Top of the First:
Wes Fitzgibbons flies out to deep center. Wilson Partida strikes out looking! Ed Yeager hits a home run to right center.... 1 to 0, Otters. His 8th home run of the season and 3 are against us.... Tom Beyke strikes out.

Bottom of the First:
Cal Doty lines one to the left side, but 3B Wes Fitzgibbons makes an amazing diving catch.... Danny Stewart lines one hard to deep center, but Bob McCord goes horizontal and snags it.... Ray McDonald grounds out to 1st, 3-1....

Bottom of the Fourth:
Ray McDonald doubles to right center. Marty Eades walks on 4 pitches. Jack Washburn, with all that power in his bat, bunts the runners up.... Ed Diskin flies out to right and McDonald tags up and scores. Tie Game: 1 to 1!

Top of the Sixth:
With 1 out, Wes Fitzgibbons grounds the Otters' second hit of the game to right. With 2 outs, Ed Yeager hits his second home run of the game to left... 3 to 1, Otters. 3 hits, 3 runs.... 9 home runs now for Yeager and 4 against us in 8 games... Tom Beyke lines a hit to left... The Bullpen gets up. Joe Tomlinson swings at the first pitch and doubles to center and Beyke scores... 4 to 1, Otters. Tom Van Diest gets beaned.... Call to the Bullpen: Mike Moore (25-R), making his MLB debut. He was 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA in 26 IP for Daytona (A). Dave Behm lines out hard to left!

Bottom of the Sixth:
With 1 out, Ray McDonald draws a walk and steals 2nd. Marty Eades lines a hit to center and McDonald beats the throw home! 4 to 2, Otters. The next two make outs.

Top of the Ninth:
On the Hill: Dave Nini (25-L), after a scoreless 8th. Dave Behm hits a monster home run to straight away center.... 519 ft. 5 to 2, Otters. Bob McCord grounds a hit to right. P Nini has to take his lumps as there is no one even remotely fresh enough to pitch in the Pen.... With 1 out, Wes Fitzgibbons lines an 0-2 pitch to left center for a hit. With 2 outs, Ed Yeager grounds a hit to right and McCord scores... 6 to 2, Otters.

Lost - 6 to 2

We finish the season series with Ottawa, 4-4.
Better than the 3-5 of last year and the 0-8 of 2001!

We had 6 hits and made no errors
Ottawa had 9 hits and made 1 error

Dale Gilchrist (L 4-7) went 5.2 innings, allowed 4 runs, 5 hits, 2 home runs, 1 walk, 1 HBP and struck out 4.
RHP Mike Moore, in his MLB debut, faced 4 batters and got them all out!
LHP Dave Nini went 2 innings, allowed 2 runs, 4 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 4. 52 pitches.

Bill Cortright (W 9-5) went 8 innings, gave us 2 runs, 6 hits, 2 walks and struck out 3. He threw a WP.

LF Cal Doty had 2 hits with a double. RF Ray McDonald hit a double, drew a walk, stole a base and scored 2 runs. 3B Marty Eades had a hit and a walk and an RBI.

For Ottawa, RF Ed Yeager had 3 hits with 2 home runs and a walk and 4 RBI.

The All-Star rosters were announced today and the Jays are sending 3 players, the same as last season and two of the same players we sent last year: P Jim Baucom and RP Bill Grant are repeating their trips of a year ago. The 3rd player sent last year was RF Glen Lewis, who is going again this year, but as a 1st baseman for Rochester. Old friend P Victor Espinoza was also named to the team, but he is hurt and will not participate. The first timer going for the Jays this season is 3B Marty Eades! None of the Jays were voted in as starters.

[Questdog]

July 14, 2003

Monday Morning Report
Player of the Week - Steve Shauer, LF, Columbus (27-L .295/.349/.365) Had 16 hits (22 AB - .727!!) with 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 BB, 2 SO, 3 SB, 3 CS, 5 R and 2 RBI in 5 G

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

July 8 - Rookie Ralph Williams (23-L) of Rochester pitched a 5 hit shutout at Buffalo. He walked 1, hit a batter and struck out 6. At bat, he had a hit and 2 RBI. He is now 6-3 with a 2.29 ERA in 14 starts. He did not pitch at all in the past two seasons because of an operation in 2000. The Roosters won, 11 to 0.
July 10 - Tom Peterson (32-R) of Syracuse pitched a 3 hit shutout at New Orleans. He did not walk a batter and struck out 8. At bat, he had a hit and scored a run. It is his 3rd shutout of the season. He is now 7-6 with a 2.16 ERA in 16 starts. The Sycamores won, 9 to 0.
July 12 - LF Mickey Lynn (30-L) of Buffalo went 4 for 4 with a double and 2 home runs, drew a walk and had 6 RBI at Orlando. The Bombers won, 7 to 5.

[Questdog]

Tuesday, July 15, 2003

All-Star Game

The game was in Charlotte.

Voted Starters: (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
NORTHERN DIVISION
C Mike Moen, Hartford (32-R .336-226-4-29-.822-2 D) (3-time AS/2nd start)
1B Gabriel Beltran, Columbus (34-R .325-323-18-66-.970-2 C+) (2-time AS/1st start)
2B Leon Wooten, Indianapolis (32-R .273-231-4-22-.739-9 B+)
3B Wes Fitzgibbons, Ottawa (27-R .333-255-1-23-.803-16 A) (2-time AS/1st start)
SS Frank Bates, Syracuse (31-R .266-331-18-52-.820-12 B) (3-time AS/2nd start)
LF Mickey Lynn, Buffalo (30-L .244-320-20-52-.805-2 B) (2-time AS/2nd start)
CF Mike Fox, Hartford (24-L .290-352-10-33-.802-30 B+)
RF Ivan Moreno, Buffalo (31-L .341-270-20-61-1.042-1 C) (2-time AS/2nd start) injured
P Ron Hutchins, Syracuse (32-R 10-3 1.50 C+) (3-time AS/1st start)
RP Brent Webster, Indianapolis (36-R 3-1 0.75 17 SV F) (3-time AS/2nd start)

SOUTHERN DIVISION
C Dick Pavlov, Louisville (35-L .261-276-4-35-.696-0 B+) (3rd start)
1B Nestor Gonzalez, Memphis (29-L .246-321-16-52-.756-1 A) (3-time AS/2nd start)
2B Terry Wolf, Charlotte (31-L .333-333-21-71-1.001-1 B) (2-time AS/1st start)
3B Keith Meyer, Memphis (28-L .353-331-13-46-.991-20 C+) (3rd start/1 at 2B)
SS Stan Stephens, Birmingham (25-R .375-360-3-37-.847-28 D+) (2-time AS/1st start)
LF Jerry Rafanello, New Orleans (32-S .276-210-2-19-.718-0 D) (2-time AS/2nd start/1 at 1B)
CF Jose Vazquez, Richmond (30-R .312-340-1-24-.760-10 B+) (3-time AS/2nd start)
RF Gil Weaver, Orlando (25-L .309-337-13-56-.857-14 C) (3-time AS/2nd start)
P Rick Cox, Charlotte (32-R 11-7 2.19 F) (3-time AS/2nd start)
RP Jack Barber, Richmond (29-R 1-2 1.87 21 SV C+) (3rd start)

Ivan Moreno was the top vote getter.

The Southern Division won, 7 to 3.
They now lead the series, 3 to 0.

Stan Stephens led off the bottom of the 1st with a singe and with 1 out, Keith Meyer hit a home run. After 2 innings, the South was up, 5 to 1, and cruised to a victory.

Mike Moen hit a home run. Mickey Lynn hit 2 doubles, drew a walk and had an RBI. Stan Stephens had 2 hits with a triple, scored a run and had an RBI. Jerry Rafanello had 3 hits with a home run and scored 2 runs. CF Jose Vazquez had 3 hits and an RBI. Keith Meyer was the MVP. He went 2 for 2 with a home run, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBI.

Syracuse led all teams with 6 players in the game. Richmond and Birmingham each sent 5 players. Every team sent at least 2 players this year, except for Rochester, who only had 1.

The 3 Jays all played. RP Bill Grant pitched a perfect 3rd inning. P Jim Baucom pitched a perfect 6th. 3B Marty Eades relieved MVP Keith Meyer in the 4th and hit a triple and struck out in 2 at bats with an RBI.

The American Association (A) also had their All-Star Game today. P John Lombardi was the only player from Daytona (A) to make the team, but he did not pitch. The Toledo Mud Hens led all teams with 7 players. The North Division won, 5 to 1. 2B Roger Davis (28-R) of Fort Wayne went 2 for 3 with a triple and a walk and scored 2 runs to win MVP honors.

[Questdog]

Thursday, July 17, 2003

The Hartford Whalers are here to finish up our season series with 4 games through the weekend. They split 4 games at home with Birmingham last weekend. We split 4 games with them in Connecticut, April 10-13. 3 of the 4 games went to extra innings. They are 6th in scoring with 4.00 runs per game (Jacksonville is #15 with 3.52). The Whalers are 15th in fewest runs allowed with 4.79 per game (Jacksonville is #11 with 4.21). Their run differential is -68, 3rd worst in the MLB, and ours is -59, 4th worst.

Hartford Whalers (37-49 .430 16 GB in 7th place in the Northern Division) at
Jacksonville Jays (38-48 .442 14.5 GB in 7th place in the Southern Division)

HART: Franklin Garcia (33-R) (4-7 3.34 ERA 107.2 IP, 85 H, 4 HR, 41 BB, 65 SO) vs.
JAX: Mike Marsh (22-R) (1-1 3.60 ERA 20 IP, 16 H, 3 HR, 10 BB, 7 SO) Rookie

Garcia is their #1 starter. We faced him in April and scored a run on 2 walks with 1 strikeout in 2.2 innings, but he had to leave early with an injury. We ended up winning the game in 12 innings.

Marsh gave up 2 runs on 5 hits, 1 home run and 3 walks with 5 strikeouts in 7 innings last time out, but but are Bullpen blew a 4 run lead and we lost the game.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
HARTFORD
1: CF Mike Fox (24-L .290-352-10-33-.802-30 B+) All-Star
2: 3B Roberto Lopez (27-L .312-282-11-54-.811-0 C+) Trade from Buffalo 5/14
3: LF Joel Yost (24-L .205-205-3-20-.575-10 B) Rookie #33 prospect
4: RF Robbie McFarland (25-L .267-225-13-34-.859-1 B+) All-Star
5: C Mike Moen (32-R .336-226-4-29-.822-2 D) All-Star(3: 01-03)
6: 2B Charlie Mackey (29-R .215-302-8-34-.689-15 B)
7: SS Raul Parez (34-L .214-131-0-12-.527-4 C+)
8: 1B Ray Dallas (21-R .259-158-0-11-.624-0 B+) Rookie #3 prospect
9: P Franklin Garcia (33-R .486-37-0-6-1.000-0 F) 18 hits 1 SO

JACKSONVILLE
1: 2B Leander Gooding (32-R .279-43-0-3-.642-4 B)
2: LF Cal Doty (26-L .276-315-2-24-.690-18 B+)
3: RF Ray McDonald (23-L .280-311-5-40-.776-11 B+)
4: 3B Marty Eades (32-R .286-297-13-53-.833-2 C) All-Star
5: 1B Jack Washburn (21-L .230-256-8-20-.689-16 B)
6: CF Danny Stewart (32-L .244-201-1-11-.594-4 C+)
7: SS Bart Daw (31-R .224-228-4-25-.600-23 B+)
8: C Bert Swope (31-S .170-141-0-11-.460-0 B)
9: P Mike Marsh (22-R .400-5-0-0-.800-0 B+) Rookie

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Weather: 78 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 7 MPH wind blowing right to left
Attendance: 5,398

Top of the First:
Mike Fox lines out to right. Roberto Lopez draws a walk... Only his 8th of the season... Joel Yost swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds a double play ball to short, but Bart Daw boots it.... That's the way to get the second half started right! Robbie McFarland flies out to left. So far, P Mike Marsh has gotten the 2 All-Stars out and no one else.... Mike Moen, another All-Star, swings at a 3-2 pitch and pops out to short!

Bottom of the First:
Leander Gooding, who is taking over as our starting 2nd baseman for a while, at least, lines out to center. Cal Doty draws a walk. He tries to steal, but they have a pitchout on and he is out... Only the 15th runner C Mike Moen has caught in 75 tries (20%). Ray McDonald swings at a 3-0 pitch and grounds out slowly to short....

Top of the Second:
Charlie Mackey, not an All-Star, hits a home run to right... 1 to 0, Whalers.

Top of the Third:
Mike Fox draws a walk... With 1 out, he steals 2nd and goes to 3rd when C Bert Swope throws the ball into the outfield.... Joel Yost flies out to left and Fox tags up and scores. 2 to 0, Whalers on 1 hit... Robbie McFarland hits a home run to right... 3 to 0, Whalers.

Bottom of the Third:
With 2 outs, Ray McDonald grounds our first hit of the game up the middle. Marty Eades swings at the first pitch and hits our second hit of the game over the wall in left center!! 3 to 2, Whalers.

Top of the Fourth:
Raul Parez swings at the first pitch and bloops a hit over the shortstop. Ray Dallas grounds into a 6-4-3 double play!! P Franklin Garcia grounds a hit to right... He has been eating his Wheaties! Mike Fox doubles to right center and P Garcia scores, but we throw Fox out at 3rd, 9-3-5! 4 to 2, Whalers. The 13th assist by RF Ray McDonald!

Bottom of the Fourth:
With 1 out, Bart Daw beats out an infield hit. He steals 2nd and 3rd on consecutive pitches! Bert Swope grounds out to 3rd and Daw stays put.... PH Dennis Brown (29-L) swings at the first pitch and fouls out to 1st...

Bottom of the Fifth:
Leander Gooding beats out an infield hit and then P Franklin Garcia balks him to 2nd. With 1 out, Ray McDonald swings at the first pitch and lines a hit to right and Gooding beats the throw home and McDonald takes 2nd! 4 to 3, Whalers. Marty Eades grounds a hit to left and McDonald scores! Tie Game: 4 to 4! The next two make outs...

Bottom of the Seventh:
New Pitcher: Marty Beck (26-R), their closer, who is 0-2 with 4 SV and a 3.99 ERA in 56.1 IP with 2 starts. Both of his losses were in relief to us. Mike Tyra (27-R) is in to catch in a double switch. Leander Gooding bloops a hit to right. With 1 out, he steals 2nd. They walk Ray McDonald intentionally. Marty Eades grounds a hit to left and Gooding beats the throw home! 5 to 4, Jays! The next two make outs...

Bottom of the Eighth:
Bart Daw swings at the first pitch and hits a home run to left center! 6 to 4, Jays! Bert Swope takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. PH Dave Thompson (27-R) grounds a hit up the middle. But the next three make outs....

Top of the Ninth:
We decreed that P Dave Nini (25-R) was now our closer, so here he is. But the Bullpen is ready, just in case... 9-1-2 up for the Whalers. Mike Tyra swings at a 3-2 pitch and misses! Mike Fox draws a walk... Roberto Lopez lines a hit to left... Joel Yost lines a hit to center and the bases are loaded with 1 out... Robbie McFarland swings at a 3-2 pitch and misses! PH Billy Ness (29-L), batting .259 with 1 HR and 19 RBI in 170 AB, swings at a 3-2 pitch and beats out an infield hit and a run scores... 6 to 5, Jays. Charlie Mackey, who hit a home run earlier, strikes out and THIS Ball Game Belongs to the Jays!

Editor's Note: I made a major flub this game and got lucky.... After Joel Yost got a hit to load the bases up, I originally wrote that I went to the Bullpen and brought in 2-time All-Star Bill Grant. But then I forgot to actually put him in the game. I finished the game thinking he was pitching, but it was Dave Nini still in there.... I was so proud of Grant that I reinstalled him as our closer and then when I went to look at the box score, his name was nowhere to be seen.... So, I guess Nini is still our closer, with major reservations....

Won - 6 to 5

We had 10 hits and made 3 errors
Hartford had 8 hits and made 1 error

Mike Marsh went 4 innings, allowed 4 runs, 5 hits, 2 home runs, 2 walks and struck out no one.
RHP Jose Azamar, who we promised a trial as a reliever, went 2 scoreless innings, walked 2 and struck out 1.
RHP Robbie Hopley (W 2-1) went 2 scoreless innings, allowed 2 walks (1 INT) and struck out 2.
LHP Dave Nini (SV 2) went 1 inning, allowed 1 run, 3 hits, 1 walk and struck out 3.

Franklin Garcia went 5 innings, gave us 4 runs, 6 hits, 1 home run, 3 walks and struck out 1. He balked. At bat, he had a hit and scored a run. He is now 19 for 39 (.487) on the season. Before this season, he was 20 for 89 (.225) for his career.
RHP Marty Beck (L 0-3) went 2 innings, gave us 2 runs, 4 hits, 1 home run and 2 walks. All 3 of his losses are to us.

2B Leander Gooding had 2 hits, stole a base and scored 2 runs. RF Ray McDonald had 2hits and a walk (INT), scored 2 runs and had an RBI and an outfield assist. 2B Marty Eades had 3 hits with his 14th home run of the season and 4 RBI. SS Bart Daw had 2 hits with his 5th home run and stole 2 bases. C Bert Swope drew 2 walks. PH Dave Thompson had a hit.

[Questdog]

Friday, July 18, 2003

Hartford Whalers (37-50 .425 17 GB in 7th place in the Northern Division) at
Jacksonville Jays (39-48 .448 13.5 GB in 7th place in the Southern Division)

HART: Bill Wilson (34-R) (6-3 4.05 ERA 120 IP, 128 H, 17 HR, 42 BB, 98 SO) vs.
JAX: Del Warwick (28-L) (7-8 3.01 ERA 131.2 IP, 131 H, 12 HR, 37 BB, 69 SO) Gold Glove

We faced Wilson in April and he shut us out for 9 innings on 6 hits and 2 walks with 7 strikeouts, but had a no decision. We lost the game, 1 to 0, in 15 innings.

Warwick is 3-1 in his last 4 starts. He pitched a 3 hit shutout last time out with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
HARTFORD
1: LF Billy Ness (29-L .263-171-1-20-.653-5 B) His 1 HR was off Warwick
2: 1B Ray Dallas (21-R .253-162-0-11-.609-0 B+) Rookie
3: 3B Roberto Lopez (27-L .311-286-11-54-.809-0 C+)
4: RF Robbie McFarland (25-L .266-229-14-35-.868-1 B+) All-Star
5: 2B Charlie Mackey (29-R .216-306-9-35-.698-15 B)
6: CF Mike Fox (24-L .290-355-10-34-.807-31 B+) All-Star
7: C Mike Tyra (27-R .256-117-3-15-.773-0 B)
8: SS Raul Parez (34-L .215-135-0-12-.527-4 C+)
9: P Bill Wilson (34-R .268-41-0-5-.585-0 F)

JACKSONVILLE
1: 2B Leander Gooding (32-R .292-48-0-3-.658-5 B)
2: LF Cal Doty (26-L .273-319-2-24-.683-18 B+)
3: RF Ray McDonald (23-L .283-315-5-41-.780-11 B+)
4: 3B Marty Eades (32-R .292-301-14-57-.851-2 C) All-Star
5: 1B Jack Washburn (21-L .227-260-8-20-.678-16 B)
6: CF Danny Stewart (32-L .240-204-1-11-.589-4 C+)
7: SS Bart Daw (31-R .228-232-5-26-.619-25 B+)
8: C Don Kern (26-R .186-97-4-13-.619-3 B) Rookie
9: P Del Warwick (28-L .143-35-0-1-.282-0 C) Gold Glove

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Weather: 77 F, Overcast, with an 8 MPH wind blowing left to right
Attendance: 7,008

Top of the First:
Billy Ness strikes out! Ray Dallas flies out to deep center. Roberto Lopez flies out to deep center! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the First:
Leander Gooding grounds out to 1st, unassisted. Cal Doty lines a hit to center. Ray McDonald lines a hit to right and Doty gets thrown out at 3rd by Robbie McFarland.... McDonald steals 2nd. Marty Eades swings at a 3-2 pitch and misses...

Bottom of the Third:
With 1 out, Leander Gooding grounds a hit up the middle and steals 2nd. With 2 outs, Ray McDonald swings at the first pitch and grounds a hit up the middle and Gooding scores! 1 to 0, Jays!

Bottom of the Fourth:
With 1 out, Danny Stewart gets beaned. Bart Daw grounds one to 3rd, but Roberto Lopez makes a bad throw to 2nd for and error! Don Kern walks on 4 pitches to load the bases up with 1 out. P Del Warwick strikes out looking... Leander Gooding takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4 to force in a run! 2 to 0, Jays! Cal Doty swings at a 3-2 pitch and beats out an infield hit and Daw scores! 3 to 0, Jays!

Top of the Seventh:
Roberto Lopez swings at the first pitch and grounds a hit to right, the first of the game for the Whalers.... The Bullpen gets up. But the next three make outs!

Won - 3 to 0

Back to back shutouts for Del Warwick!

We had 6 hits (all singles) and made 1 error
Hartford had 2 hits (both singles) and made 1 error

Del Warwick (W 8-8) pitched 9 shutout innings (CG), allowed 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 HBP and struck out 7. 105 pitches.

Bill Wilson (L 6-4) went 7 innings, gave us 3 runs (1 earned), 6 hits, 4 walks, 1 HBP and struck out 3. 121 pitches.

2B Leander Gooding had a hit and a walk, stole a base, scored a run and had an RBI. LF Cal Doty had 2 hits and an RBI. RF Ray McDonald had 2 hits, stole a base and had an RBI.

[Questdog]

Saturday, July 19, 2003

Hartford Whalers (37-51 .420 17 GB in 7th place in the Northern Division) at
Jacksonville Jays (40-48 .455 13.5 GB in 7th place in the Southern Division)

HART: Angel Gomez (23-R) (5-6 4.35 ERA 109.2 IP, 111 H, 18 HR, 37 BB, 52 SO) Rookie vs.
JAX: Jim Baucom (22-L) (8-4 2.13 ERA 139.1 IP, 113 H, 5 HR, 27 BB, 121 SO) All-Star(2: 02-03)

We faced Gomez in April, in his MLB debut, and scored 4 runs on 7 hits, 1 home run and 2 walks with 4 strikeouts in 6 innings in a no decision that we won in 10 innings.

Baucom is 6-1 in his last 7 starts. He pitched a 2 hit shutout last time out with 4 walks and 7 strikeouts, his 2nd shutout in a row. His last outing actually was a perfect inning in the All-Star Game.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
HARTFORD
1: 2B Charlie Mackey (29-R .214-309-9-35-.692-15 B)
2: 1B Ray Dallas (21-R .248-165-0-11-.602-0 B+) Rookie
3: 3B Roberto Lopez (27-L .311-289-11-54-.807-0 C+)
4: RF Robbie McFarland (25-L .263-232-14-35-.858-1 B+) All-Star
5: C Mike Moen (32-R .329-231-4-29-.805-2 D) All-Star(3: 01-03)
6: CF Mike Fox (24-L .288-358-10-34-.801-31 B+) All-Star
7: LF Roy Zimdahl (32-R .170-135-4-13-.508-1 C+)
8: SS Raul Parez (34-L .210-138-0-12-.516-4 C+)
9: P Angel Gomez (23-R .192-26-0-2-.415-0 D+) Rookie #57 prospect

JACKSONVILLE
1: 2B Leander Gooding (32-R .294-51-0-4-.670-6 B)
2: LF Cal Doty (26-L .276-323-2-25-.687-18 B+)
3: RF Ray McDonald (23-L .285-319-5-42-.783-12 B+)
4: 3B Marty Eades (32-R .289-304-14-57-.845-2 C) All-Star
5: 1B Jack Washburn (21-L .225-262-8-20-.676-16 B)
6: CF Danny Stewart (32-L .237-207-1-11-.584-4 C+)
7: SS Bart Daw (31-R .229-236-5-26-.617-25 B+)
8: C Bert Swope (31-S .168-143-0-11-.464-0 B)
9: P Jim Baucom (22-L .243-37-0-4-.563-0 C) All-Star(2: 02-03)

Game Start: 2:05 PM
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Weather: 83 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 9 MPH wind blowing out to left
Attendance: 7,836

Top of the First:
Charlie Mackey pops out to center. Ray Dallas swings at the first pitch and grounds out to short. Roberto Lopez swings at the first pitch and grounds a hit up the middle... Robbie McFarland strikes out!

Bottom of the First:
Leander Gooding swings at a 3-2 pitch and pokes a hit to center. Cal Doty pops out to short. Gooding steals 2nd! Ray McDonald takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. A passed ball moves the runners up! Marty Eades beats out an infield hit and Gooding scores! 1 to 0, Jays! Jack Washburn flies out to deep center and McDonald tags up and scores. 2 to 0, Jays!

Top of the Second:
Mike Moen and Mike Fox lead off with back to back ground balls to left for hits... But the next three make outs!

Bottom of the Second:
Bart Daw swings at the first pitch and hits a home run to left! 3 to 0, Jays! With 1 out, P Jim Baucom swings at the first pitch and grounds a hit up the middle. Leander Gooding grounds a double over the 3rd base bag! Cal Doty grounds a hit to left and both runners score!! 5 to 0, Jays! Ray McDonald pops one up to shallow left, but SS Raul Parez cannot find the ball and it drops for a hit! That does it for P Angel Gomez. New Pitcher: Alex Rosales (30-L), who is 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in 7 IP. We pull off a double steal, which is cool, but they will now walk Marty Eades... No, they do not! And he lines a hard one to right, but Robbie McFarland makes a sliding catch and Gooding, halfway to home, has to hustle back to 3rd and cannot tag up.... Jack Washburn is allowed to bat, since we have a lead and Rosales is the only lefty they have in their Pen. He swings at the first pitch and grounds out to 2nd...

Bottom of the Fourth:
With 2 outs, Ray McDonald draws a walk. Marty Eades swings at the first pitch and lines a double to the left field corner and McDonald scores! 6 to 0, Jays!

Bottom of the Sixth:
Jim Baucom grounds his second hit of the game up the middle. Leander Gooding doubles to right center! Cal Doty takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4 to load the bases up with no outs! Ray McDonald strikes out looking on 3 pitches... Marty Eades grounds into a 5-4-3 double play...

Bottom of the Seventh:
With 1 out, P Alex Rosales walks the bases full. Gary McKellar, Bart Daw and PH Dave Thompson (27-R). But P Jim Baucom grounds into a 6-4-3 double play....

Bottom of the Eighth:
New Pitcher: Bill Sanders (31-R), who is 1-0 with a 2.36 ERA in 34.1 IP. With 1 out, Cal Doty hits a home run to right center! 7 to 0, Jays! Ray McDonald hits a home run to left!! 8 to 0, Jays!

Won - 8 to 0

Back to back shutouts!
THREE straight shutouts for Jim Baucom!!!
Baucom and Del Warwick have 5 shutouts in their last 5 starts!!!!!

We had 13 hits and made no errors
Hartford had 8 hits and made no errors

Jim Baucom (W 9-4) pitched 9 shutout innings (CG), allowed 8 hits, no walks and struck out 4. 113 pitches. At bat, he had 2 hits and scored a run.

Angel Gomez (L 5-7) went 1.1 innings, gave us 5 runs (4 earned), 7 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk and struck out no one.

2B Leander Gooding had 3 hits with 2 doubles, stole a base and scored 2 runs. LF Cal Doty had 2 hits with hid 3rd home run of the season, drew a walk, stole a base and had 3 RBI. RF Ray McDonald had 2 hits with his 6th home run, drew 2 walks, stole a base and scored 3 runs. 3B Marty Eades had 2 hits with a double and 2 RBI. PH/CF Gary McKellar had a hit and a walk. SS Bart Daw hit his 6th home run and drew a walk. PH Dave Thompson drew a walk.

For Hartford, CF Mike Fox had 3 hits.

[Questdog]

Sunday, July 20, 2003

Hartford Whalers (37-52 .416 18 GB tied for 7th (last) place in the Northern Division) at
Jacksonville Jays (41-48 .461 12.5 GB in 7th place in the Southern Division)

HART: Billy Keller (24-R) (3-4 4.60 ERA 3 SV 43 IP, 38 H, 5 HR, 24 BB, 25 SO) vs.
JAX: Dale Gilchrist (24-R) (4-7 3.26 ERA 77.1 IP, 66 H, 5 HR, 24 BB, 49 SO)

Keller, who is really a rookie, but technically not, because he spent all of 2002 on the Major League DL, is making his 5th career start. He was the Whalers' 4th round pick in the 2002 B Leagues Draft. We have never faced him as a starter. Editor's Note: In real life, DL time does not affect rookie status, but in OOTP it does....

Gilchrist has lost his last 4 starts. 2 were decent outings and 2 were not so decent. Last time out was not so decent. He gave up 4 runs on 5 hits, 2 home runs and 1 walk with 4 strikeouts in 5.2 innings.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
HARTFORD
1: CF Mike Fox (24-L .293-362-10-34-.808-31 B+) All-Star
2: 3B Roberto Lopez (27-L .311-293-11-54-.803-0 C+)
3: LF Joel Yost (24-L .208-207-3-21-.583-11 B) Rookie
4: RF Billy Ness (29-L .261-176-1-20-.646-5 B)
5: 2B Charlie Mackey (29-R .214-313-9-35-.690-15 B)
6: C Mike Moen (32-R .328-235-4-29-.800-2 D) All-Star(3: 01-03)
7: SS Raul Parez (34-L .206-141-0-12-.505-4 C+)
8: 1B Ray Dallas (21-R .249-169-0-11-.606-0 B+) Rookie
9: P Billy Keller (24-R .000-5-0-0-.167-0 D+)

JACKSONVILLE
1: 2B Leander Gooding (32-R .321-56-0-4-.750-7 B)
2: LF Cal Doty (26-L .278-327-3-28-.702-19 B+)
3: RF Ray McDonald (23-L .289-322-6-43-.801-13 B+)
4: 3B Marty Eades (32-R .292-308-14-59-.850-2 C) All-Star
5: 1B Jack Washburn (21-L .222-266-8-21-.665-16 B)
6: C Don Kern (26-R .182-99-4-13-.614-3 B) Rookie
7: SS Bart Daw (31-R .230-239-6-27-.633-25 B+)
8: CF Gary McKellar (33-R .229-96-1-8-.584-0 B)
9: P Dale Gilchrist (24-R .154-26-0-2-.302-0 C+)

Game Start: 2:05 PM
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Weather: 84 F, Partly Cloudy, with an 11 MPH wind blowing out to center
Attendance: 7,164

Top of the First:
Mike Fox strikes out! Roberto Lopez grounds out to short. Joel Yost doubles off the wall in center... Billy Ness swings at the first pitch and pops out to 2nd!

Bottom of the First:
Leander Gooding flies out to left. Cal Doty swings at a 3-2 pitch and pokes a hit to right. Ray McDonald lines a hit to left and Doty goes to 3rd. Marty Eades grounds into a 4-6-3 double play....

Bottom of the Second:
Jack Washburn swings at the first pitch and lines a rope to right for a hit. With 1 out, he tries to steal 2nd, but they have a pitchout on and he is out... Bart Daw swings at a 3-2 pitch and hits a home run to left! 1 to 0, Jays! Daw has 3 HR in the last 4 games!

Bottom of the Third:
With 2 outs, Ray McDonald grounds a hit up the middle. Marty Eades doubles to right center and McDonald scores! 2 to 0, Jays!

Top of the Fourth:
Joel Yost takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4 and steals 2nd... With 1 out, he goes to 3rd on a ground out. Mike Moen takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4, the 3rd walk by P Dale Gilchrist already.... Raul Parez grounds out to 2nd!

Bottom of the Fourth:
Don Kern walks on 4 pitches and steals 2nd! Bart Daw takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. Gary McKellar takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4 to load the bases up with no outs! With the infield in, P Dale Gilchrist grounds a hit through the left side and 2 runs score!! 4 to 0, Jays! Leander Gooding grounds into a force at 2nd, 6-4, and McKellar goes to 3rd. Cal Doty swings at a 3-2 pitch and flies out to center and McKellar tags up and beats the throw home. 5 to 0, Jays!

Top of the Fifth:
With 1 out, PH Robbie McFarland (25-L), the All-Star, who is 1 for 10 with a HR this series, doubles to left, only the second hit of the game for the Whalers. Mike Fox takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. With 2 outs, Joel Yost grounds one to short, but Bart Daw boots it and the bases are loaded with 2 outs... Billy Ness clears them with a double to left center.... 5 to 3, Jays. The Bullpen gets up. Charlie Mackey swings at the first pitch and doubles to right center and Ness scores.. 5 to 4, Jays. Gilchrist can be unhittable for a while, but when he loses it, he loses it big time.... Mike Moen pops out to short!

Top of the Eighth:
Om the Hill: 2-time All-Star Bill Grant (32-L), after a scoreless 7th. Mike Moen takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. The next two strike out! PH Leotha Kelley (31-R), batting .293 with 1 HR and 17 RBI in 99 AB, draws a walk... Mike Fox walks on 4 pitches to load the bases up with 2 outs... The Bullpen gets up. A wild pitch scores Moen and 2-time All-Star Bill Grant has another Blown Save....Tie Game: 5 to 5. So we walk the lefty, Roberto Lopez intentionally.... Joel Yost, the .208 hitter, bloops a hit to left and 2 runs score... 7 to 5, Whalers. Call to the Bullpen: Robbie Hopley (29-R). Roy Zimdahl grounds one to 2nd, but Leander Gooding makes a bad throw for his 2nd error today and the bases are loaded with 2 outs... Charlie Mackey gets beaned to force in a run... 8 to 5, Whalers.

Lost - 8 to 5

We finish the season series with Hartford 5-3.
Not as good as the 6-2 of last year.

We had 10 hits and made 3 errors, all of them costly
Hartford had 6 hits and made no errors

Dale Gilchrist went 6 innings, allowed 4 unearned runs, 5 hits, 4 walks and struck out 3. At bat, he had a hit and 2 RBI.
LHP Bill Grant (L 2-5 BS 6) went 1.2 innings, allowed 4 runs (3 earned), 1 hit, 4 walks (1 INT) and struck out 3. He threw a WP.
RHP Robbie Hopley got 1 out and beaned a batter.
RHP Mike Moore pitched a perfect inning.

Billy Keller went 4 innings, gave us 5 runs, 8 hits, 1 home run, 3 walks and struck out no one.
RHP Bill Sanders (W 2-0) went 3 scoreless innings, gave us 1 hit, 1 walk and struck out 2.
RHP Marty Beck (SV 5) pitched a scoreless 9th, gave us 1 hit and 1 walk.

RF Ray McDonald had 3 hits and scored a run. 3B Marty Eades had 2 hits with a double and an RBI. SS Bart Daw hit his 7th home run, drew 2 walks and scored 2 runs. CF Gary McKellar had a hit and a walk and scored a run. C Bert Swope drew a walk in his only trip to the plate.

For Hartford, RF Billy Ness hit a double, scored a run and had 3 RBI.

The Whalers announced that P Marty Beck injured himself making the last pitch of the game and had a mild calf strain and should be fine in a few days.

[Questdog]

July 21, 2003

Monday Morning Report
Player of the Week - Jay Kegler, 1B, New Orleans (34-L .270/.339/.463) Had 8 hits (16 AB) with 2 HR, 2 BB, 0 SO, 0 SB, 1 CS, 7 R and 5 RBI in 4 G

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

July 17 - Frank Cane (27-R) of Syracuse pitched a 3 hit shutout at home versus Richmond. He walked 1 and struck out 3. 89 pitches thrown. He is now 4-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 11 starts. The Sycamores won, 3 to 0.
July 17 - Tim Hill (25-L) of Ottawa pitched a 4 hit shutout at Memphis. He walked 1, hit a batter and struck out 5. At bat, he had a hit and scored a run. He is tied for the MLB lead with 5 shutouts, though he has only made 9 starts! He is 5-2 with an 0.65 ERA. The Otters won, 8 to 0.
July 17 - Bad news in Buffalo. All-Star RF Ivan Moreno (31-L), who was expected back in about 3 weeks, has had surgery on his shoulder and will miss the rest of the season. He was 3rd in BA and 1st in HR and RBI when he got hurt.
July 18 - Rick Potts (24-R) of Memphis pitched a 3 hit shutout at home versus Ottawa. He walked 1 and struck out 12. It is his 4th shutout of the season. He is now 8-1 with a 2.18 ERA in 15 starts. The Mules won, 3 to 0.
July 19 - 1B Jay Kegler (34-L) of New Orleans had 3 hits with 2 home runs and a walk, scored 4 runs and had 3 RBI at home versus Providence. The Pelicans won, 13 to 10.
July 19 - RF Tim Brantley (29-L) of Columbus had 3 hits with 2 home runs and 2 walks, scored 3 runs and had 3 RBI at Charlotte. 2B Rusty Dexter (31-L) had 3 hits with a home run and 5 RBI. The Explorers won, 13 to 8. 2B Terry Wolf (31-L) of the Hornets hit 2 home runs and had 5 RBI.
July 19 - Clark Davis (25-R) of Orlando pitched a 3 hit shutout at Rochester. He walked 3, hit a batter and struck out 6. It is his 2nd shutout of the season. He is now 11-2 with a 3.35 ERA in 18 starts. The Juice won, 2 to 0, and only had 4 hits themselves.

[Questdog]

Monday, July 21, 2003

We go all the way from Jacksonville to Providence to finish our season series with the Steamrollers in 4 games. Then we have to be back in Jacksonville for the weekend. Providence split 4 games in New Orleans over the weekend. We split 4 games with the Steamrollers in Jacksonville, May 8-11. They are 9th in scoring with 3.95 runs per game (Jacksonville is #15 with 3.61). They are last in the MLB with 48 SB and we are 2nd with 104. Rochester leads with 107. The Steamrollers are 10th in fewest runs allowed with 4.12 (Jacksonville is #11 with 4.17). We have each allowed 375 runs, but they have played one more game than we have. Their run differential is -16 and ours is -50.

Jacksonville Jays (41-49 .456 12.5 GB in 7th place in the Southern Division) at
Providence Steamrollers (43-48 .473 13.5 GB in 5th place in the Northern Division)

JAX: Dave Buchalter (25-R) (2-2 4.47 ERA 48.1 IP, 44 H, 9 HR, 26 BB, 29 SO) Rookie vs.
PROV: Norm Kent (36-R) (3-4 4.53 ERA 87.1 IP, 90 H, 8 HR, 30 BB, 30 SO)

Buchalter allowed 3 runs on 4 hits, 2 home runs and 3 walks with 4 strikeouts in 6 innings in his last start in a loss. He got 2 outs in relief in his last outing, 9 days ago. A bum start today will earn him a ticket to Daytona (A).

We beat Kent in May, scoring 8 runs on 9 hits and 4 walks with 1 strikeout in 6.1 innings.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
JACKSONVILLE
1: 2B Leander Gooding (32-R .295-61-0-4-.692-7 B)
2: LF Cal Doty (26-L .278-331-3-29-.699-19 B+)
3: RF Ray McDonald (23-L .294-327-6-43-.806-13 B+)
4: 3B Marty Eades (32-R .294-313-14-60-.852-2 C) All-Star
5: 1B Jack Washburn (21-L .223-269-8-21-.665-16 B)
6: CF Danny Stewart (32-L .234-209-1-11-.579-4 C+)
7: SS Bart Daw (31-R .232-241-7-28-.653-25 B+)
8: C Bert Swope (31-S .166-145-0-11-.467-0 B)
9: P Dave Buchalter (25-R .235-17-0-1-.513-0 C) Rookie

PROVIDENCE
1: CF Jimmy Reed (25-R .308-250-8-38-.843-11 C+) All-Star
2: SS T.R. Hunter (26-R .302-331-4-31-.737-8 B+) All-Star(2: 02-03)
3: 1B Gus Milam (35-R .246-313-15-51-.757-0 C+) All-Star(2: 01-02)
4: RF Tom Spiess (26-L .192-224-9-26-.674-7 C)
5: C Doug Bowers (28-R .233-275-5-23-.647-0 C)
6: LF Carter Bates (34-S .290-107-3-14-.836-0 B+)
7: 3B Andy Povich (27-L .264-129-0-12-.627-1 A) Gold Glove(2: (2B)01-02)
8: 2B Kim Byrne (27-R .225-267-1-14-.569-8 A)
9: P Norm Kent (36-R .179-28-0-3-.421-0 C)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Providence Stadium
Weather: 75 F, Rain, with a 9 MPH wind blowing out to right
Attendance: 7,791

Top of the First:
Leander Gooding, who is hitting well, but playing horrible defense and is on a short leash, swings at the first pitch and grounds a hit up the middle. Cal Doty flies out to left. Ray McDonald grounds into a force at 2nd, 4-6. Marty Eades swings at the first pitch and lines a hit to right and Gooding beats the throw to 3rd. Jack Washburn grounds out to 2nd...

Bottom of the First:
Jimmy Reed takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4... T.R. Hunter swings at the first pitch and lines out to 2nd. Reed tries to steal 2nd, but C Bert Swope throws him out! THAT is why we are putting up with his horrible batting average! He has thrown out 43% of the runners this year! Gus Milam strikes out looking!

Top of the Third:
Cal Doty lines a hit to left center. Ray McDonald lays down a bunt, but 3B Andy Povich, the 2-time Gold Glover, throws the ball away for a 2 base error! Marty Eades takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4 to load the bases up with no outs! Jack Washburn strikes out... Danny Stewart doubles to left center and 2 runs score!! 2 to 0, Jays! Bart Daw swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds a hit to left and both runners score!! 4 to 0, Jays! Daw gets caught stealing...

Bottom of the Third:
With 1 out, Jimmy Reed hits a home run to left... 4 to 1, Jays. That is now 10 home runs allowed by P Dave Buchalter in 50.2 IP....

Bottom of the Sixth:
Gus Milam lines a double to left, but is hurt. Pinch-runner: Ricky Sanchez (31-L). The Bullpen gets up. With 1 out, Doug Bowers lines a hit to right and Sanchez scores. 4 to 2, Jays. Carter Bates lines a hit to right and Bowers beats the throw to 3rd.... Call to the Bullpen: Mike Moore (25-R). Andy Povich strikes out! That is the first strikeout for Moore in his career! Kim Byrne grounds out to short!!

Top of the Eighth:
New Pitcher: Lonny Green (31-L), a rookie, who is 1-0 with a 2.92 ERA in 24.2 IP. Marty Eades takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. Pinch-runner: Charlie Faber (32-R), who will stay in to play 3rd. PH Danny Thompson (27-R), who will stay in to play 1st, takes another 3-2 pitch for ball 4. PH Gary McKellar (33-R) who will stay in to play center, flies out to center. It starts to rain.. Let it rain! Hard! Right now! Bart Daw swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds into a force at 2nd, 6-4, and Faber goes to 3rd. PH Ed Diskin (39-R) flies out to deep right...

Top of the Ninth:
C Don Kern (26-R) doubles to left center and goes to 3rd on a ground out. Cal Doty draws a walk. He steals his 20th base of the season! Ray McDonald strikes out on 3 pitches... Charlie Faber strikes out on 3 pitches....

Bottom of the Ninth:
On the Hill: Dave Nini (25-L), after a perfect 8th. 6-7-8 up for Providence. Carter Bates grounds out to 1st, unassisted. Andy Povich swings at the first pitch and grounds out to short. Kim Byrne swings at a 3-2 pitch and plunks one and is out, 2-3, and THIS Ball Game Belongs to the Jays!

Won - 4 to 2

We had 10 hits and made no errors
Providence had 8 hits and made 1 error

Dave Buchalter (W 3-2) went 5.1 innings, allowed 2 runs, 7 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 2. At bat, he had a hit. He has earned another start.
RHP Mike Moore (H 1) went 1.2 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit and struck out 1.
LHP Dave Nini (SV 3) pitched 2 perfect innings and struck out 1.

Norm Kent (L 3-5) went 7 innings, gave us 4 runs (3 earned), 9 hits, 1 walk and struck out 2.

LF Cal Doty had a hit and a walk, stole his 20th base of the season and scored a run. 3B Marty Eades had a hit and 2 walks and scored a run. PH/1B Dave Thompson drew a walk. CF Danny Stewart hit a double, scored a run and had 2 RBI. SS Bart Daw had 2 hits and 2 RBI, but was caught stealing twice. C Bert Swope had 2 hits and threw out the only runner who tried to steal. C Don Kern had a hit in his only at bat.

The Steamrollers announced that 1B Gus Milam had a quadriceps strain that they expected to bother him about 3 weeks. He will try to play through it as it only should affect his running and he cannot run anyway.

[Questdog]

Tuesday, July 22, 2003

Jacksonville Jays (42-49 .462 12.5 GB in 7th place in the Southern Division) at
Providence Steamrollers (43-49 .467 13.5 GB in 5th place in the Northern Division)

JAX: Mike Marsh (22-R) (1-1 4.50 ERA 24 IP, 24 H, 5 HR, 12 BB, 7 SO) Rookie vs.
PROV: Larry Bowling (25-R) (8-5 3.27 ERA 124 IP, 124 H, 7 HR, 34 BB, 90 SO)

Marsh allowed 4 runs on 5 hits, 2 home runs and 2 walks with no strikeouts in 4 innings last time out in a no decision that we won. P Danny Coreano is ready to come back, so either Marsh or P Dave Buchalter will head back to Daytona (A) after this game.

Bowling is their #1 starter. We faced him in May and scored 2 runs on 6 hits and 1 walk with 6 strikeouts in 5.1 innings in a no decision that we won.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
JACKSONVILLE
1: 2B Leander Gooding (32-R .288-66-0-4-.671-7 B)
2: LF Cal Doty (26-L .278-335-3-29-.698-20 B+)
3: RF Ray McDonald (23-L .290-331-6-43-.797-13 B+)
4: 3B Marty Eades (32-R .295-315-14-60-.857-2 C) All-Star
5: 1B Jack Washburn (21-L .221-272-8-21-.658-16 B)
6: CF Danny Stewart (32-L .236-212-1-13-.585-4 C+)
7: SS Bart Daw (31-R .237-245-7-30-.659-25 B+)
8: C Don Kern (26-R .186-102-4-13-.631-4 B) Rookie
9: P Mike Marsh (22-R .333-6-0-0-.667-0 B+) Rookie

PROVIDENCE
1: CF Jimmy Reed (25-R .312-253-9-39-.863-11 C+) All-Star
2: SS T.R. Hunter (26-R .299-335-4-31-.729-8 B+) All-Star(2: 02-03)
3: RF Billy Brown (28-R ..307-231-12-38-.880-0 D-) All-Star(2:02-03) Bruised finger
4: 1B Gus Milam (35-R .250-316-15-51-.769-0 C+) All-Star(2: 01-02) Quadriceps strain
5: 3B Israel Villegas (33-R .198-207-9-26-.685-1 C+) All-Star(02)
6: C Doug Bowers (28-R .233-279-5-24-.645-0 C)
7: LF Juan Duarte (24-R .284-225-0-19-.695-5 B) Silver Slugger(CF-02) Blurred vision
8: 2B Ken Yockey (23-R .333-108-0-17-.845-1 A+)
9: P Larry Bowling (25-R .268-41-0-2-.578-0 C)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Providence Stadium
Weather: 74 F, Clear Skies, with a 7 MPH wind blowing out to center
Attendance: 9,378

Top of the First:
Leander Gooding grounds one to 3rd, but Israel Villegas throws it away for a 2 base error! Cal Doty walks in 4 pitches. Ray McDonald lines out to left. Marty Eades lines a hit to center and Gooding heads home, but gets thrown out by Jimmy Reed... Jack Washburn grounds out to short...

Bottom of the First:
Jimmy Reed pops out to left. T.R. Hunter takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4... Billy Brown doubles off the wall in center and Hunter scores... 1 to 0, Steamrollers. Gus Milam flies out to right. Israel Villegas walks on 4 pitches... Doug Bowers doubles to right and Brown scored and Villegas heads home, but he is out, 9-4-2! 14 assists for RF Ray McDonald! Villegas is hurt... 2 to 0, Steamrollers.

Bottom of the Third:
Billy Brown walks on 4 pitches... The Bullpen gets up. With 2 outs, Doug Bowers takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4... 5 walks for P Mike Marsh. Pia! A train ticket! Juan Duarte swings at the first pitch and clears the bases with a double to left... 4 to 0, Steamrollers. Call to the Bullpen: Jose Azamar (25-R). Dave Thompson (27-R) is in to play 1st in a double switch. Ken Yockey lines a hit to right and Duarte scores... 5 to 0, Steamrollers. P Larry Bowling lines a hit to right... Jimmy Reed swings at the first pitch and grounds a hit up the middle and Yockey scores... 6 to 0, Steamrollers. Pia! Two tickets! P Azamar needs to take his lumps...

Top of the Fourth:
Danny Stewart and Bart Daw lead off with back to back hits. We now have 6 hits and no runs.... Don Kern, of course, grounds into a 6-4-3 double play and Stewart goes to 3rd.... Dave Thompson lines a hit to right and Stewart scores. 6 to 1, Steamrollers.

Bottom of the Fifth:
With 1 out, Gus Milam hits a home run to left... 7 to 1, Steamrollers. 3B Andy Povich (27-L) lines a double to right.... Doug Bowers grounds one to 3rd, but Marty Eades makes a bad throw for an error... Juan Duarte gets beaned to load the bases up with 1 out... Ken Yockey beats out an infield hit and a run scores... 8 to 1, Steamrollers. P Larry Bowling lines out to left and Bowers tags up and beats the throw home... 9 to 1, Steamrollers. Cal Doty is hurt... He needs to just quit making throws altogether... He either throws it to the backstop or hurts himself.... Dennis Brown (29-L) goes in to play right and Ray McDonald moves to left. Jimmy Reed grounds out to 3rd.

Bottom of the Fifth:
New Pitcher: Robbie Hopley (29-R). T.R. Hunter doubles to left center... But the next three make outs.

Top of the Eighth:
Ray McDonald grounds one to 3rd, but 2-time Gold Glover Andy Povich makes a bad throw for an error. Marty Eades plunks one and grounds into a force at 2nd, 2-4. PH Ed Diskin (39-R) grounds into a force at 2nd, 4-6. Danny Stewart grounds a hit to left. Bart Daw swings at the first pitch and beats out an infield hit t load the bases up with 2 outs. Don Kern pokes a hit to center and 2 runs score!! 9 to 3, Steamrollers.

Top of the Ninth:
P Larry Bowling is at 107 pitches. Leander Gooding and Dennis Brown lead off with back to back hits. Ray McDonald doubles off the wall in left and Gooding scores! 9 to 4, Steamrollers. 4 more doubles and we tie the game! Marty Eades, now playing 1st base, doubles to left and both runners score!! 9 to 6, Steamrollers. Only 3 more doubles needed! That does it for P Bowling. New Pitcher: Jim Gibson (31-R), their closer, who is 1-7 with 16 SV and a 4.34 ERA. 3B Ed Diskin plunks one and C Doug Bowers throws the ball away for a 2 base error and Eades scores! As good as a double! Only 2 more, fellas! Danny Stewart grounds out to short... Bart Daw strikes out... Don Kern takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. PH Bert Swope (31-S) (I know;'tis very sad to be down to him in the pecking order...), takes a 3-2 pitch for strike three....

Lost - 9 to 7

We had 16 hits and made 1 error
Providence had 12 hits and made 3 errors

Mike Marsh (L 1-2) went 2.2 innings, allowed 5 runs, 4 hits, 5 walks and struck out no one. At bat, he had a hit.
RHP Jose Azamar went 1.1 innings, allowed 4 runs (3 earned), 6 hits, 1 home run and 1 HBP.
RHP Robbie Hopley went 3 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit and struck out 3.
LHP Bill Grant went 1 scoreless inning, allowed 1 hit and struck out 2.

Larry Bowling (W 9-5) went 8+ innings, gave us 7 runs (4 earned), 16 hits, 1 walk, 1 HBP and struck out 4.
Jim Gibson (SV 17) pitched a scoreless inning, gave us 1 walk and struck out 2.

2B Leander Gooding had 2 hits and scored a run. RF/LF Ray McDonald his 2 doubles, scored a run and had an RBI and another outfield assist. 1B/1B Marty Eades had 3 hits with a double, was hit by a pitch, scored a run and had 2 RBI. CF Danny Stewart had 3 hits and scores 2 runs. SS Bart Daw had 2 hits. C Don Kern had a hit and a walk and 2 RBI.

For Providence, 2B Ken Yockey had 3 hits, scored a run and had 2 RBI.

The Steamrollers announced that 3B Israel Villegas had a hip flexor strain that should bother him for 5 or 6 days.

Trudy's report on Cal Doty is another finger blister... Big whoop! She says it should be fine in a few days. What a wuss!

[Questdog]

Wednesday, July 23, 2003

P Jose Azamar (25-R) and P Mike Marsh (22-R) were sent to Daytona (A). P Danny Coreano (24-L) and RP Hal Bradford (27-L) were recalled.

Jacksonville Jays (42-50 .457 12.5 GB in 7th place in the Southern Division) at
Providence Steamrollers (44-49 .473 13.5 GB in 4th place in the Northern Division)

JAX: Del Warwick (28-L) (8-8 2.82 ERA 140.2 IP, 133 H, 12 HR, 38 BB, 76 SO) Gold Glove vs.
PROV: Jim Riggs (33-R) (9-6 2.87 ERA 131.2 IP, 119 H, 8 HR, 33 BB, 88 SO) Hurler(01)/All-Star(2: 01-02)

Warwick is 4-1 in his last 5 starts. He has tossed 2 straight shutouts, a 3 hitter and a 2 hitter last time out with 1 walk and 7 strikeouts.

Riggs, the 2001 Hurler Trophy winner, is 5-0 in his last 5 starts with 2 shutouts. He was 9-13 with a 3.16 ERA in 207.2 IP last year. He is 3-0 in 4 starts against us in his career with a 1.99 ERA. 31.2 IP, 31 H, 2 HR, 4 BB, 21 SO.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
JACKSONVILLE
1: 2B Leander Gooding (32-R .296-71-0-4-.680-7 B)
2: LF Cal Doty (26-L .277-336-3-29-.698-20 B+) Finger blister
3: RF Ray McDonald (23-L .292-336-6-44-.803-13 B+)
4: 3B Marty Eades (32-R .301-319-14-62-.869-2 C) All-Star
5: 1B Jack Washburn (21-L .219-274-8-21-.653-16 B)
6: CF Danny Stewart (32-L .244-217-1-13-.598-4 C+)
7: SS Bart Daw (31-R .240-250-7-30-.661-25 B+)
8: C Bert Swope (31-S .174-149-0-11-.481-0 B)
9: P Del Warwick (28-L .135-37-0-1-.267-0 C) Gold Glove

PROVIDENCE
1: CF Jimmy Reed (25-R .311-257-9-40-.859-11 C+) All-Star
2: SS T.R. Hunter (26-R .298-339-4-31-.731-8 B+) All-Star(2: 02-03)
3: 1B Gus Milam (35-R .249-321-16-52-.773-0 C+) All-Star(2: 01-02) Quadriceps strain
4: RF Billy Brown (28-R .306-235-12-39-.881-0 D-) All-Star(2:02-03) Bruised finger
5: 3B Israel Villegas (33-R .198-207-9-26-.689-1 C+) All-Star(02) Hip flexor strain
6: LF Tom Spiess (26-L .193-228-9-26-.671-7 A)
7: C Doug Bowers (28-R .233-283-5-25-.649-0 C)
8: 2B Andy Povich (27-L .263-137-0-12-.627-1 A) Gold Glove(2: 01-02)
9: P Jim Riggs (33-S .091-44-0-0-.202-0 F) Hurler(01)/All-Star(2: 01-02)

Game Start: 12:35 PM
Ballpark: Providence Stadium
Weather: 77 F, Rain, with an 11 MPH wind blowing in from right
Attendance: 8,763

Top of the First:
Leander Gooding grounds out to short. Cal Doty beats out an infield hit. Ray McDonald flies out to the warning track in center. Doty tries to steal, but they again catch us with a pitchout....

Bottom of the First:
Jimmy Reed grounds a hit to right. T.R. Hunter beats out an infield hit... And the Steamrollers have already matched the number of hits Warwick gave up in his last game... Gus Milam grounds into a 5-4-3 double play and Reed goes to 3rd!! Billy Brown lines a hit to left and Reed scores... 1 to 0, Steamrollers. Israel Villegas grounds out to 2nd.

Bottom of the Sixth:
With 1 out, Billy Brown grounds a hit to right. Israel Villegas lines a 3-2 pitch to right for a double and Brown tries to score from 1st, but is out, 9-4-2! 15 assists for RF Ray McDonald!

Bottom of the Seventh:
P Del Warwick strikes out the side in order!

Top of the Eighth:
Bart Daw lines a hit to right. Bert Swope lays down a bunt, but 1B Gus Milam tosses the ball past the pitcher for a 2 base error! His second error of the game. With the infield in, PH Mike Volkman (35-L) grounds one through the right side for a hit and both runners score and Volkman ends up on 2nd!! 2 to 1, Jays! Leander Gooding grounds a hit up the middle and Volkman beats the throw home and Gooding takes 2nd! 3 to 1, Jays! With 1 out, they walk Ray McDonald intentionally. I would not mind a double steal attempt here.... But we do not and the next two fly out...

Bottom of the Eighth:
New Pitcher: Dave Nini (25-L). Charlie Faber (32-R) is in to play 3rd and Marty Eades moves to 1st. With 1 out, T.R. Hunter doubles to right center... Gus Milam hits a home run to left... Tie Game: 3 to 3. The Bullpen gets up. Billy Brown takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4... Israel Villegas hits a home run to left... 5 to 3, Steamrollers. Call to the Bullpen: Hal Bradford (27-L). Tom Spiess, the sub-.200 hitter, doubles to left center... We walk Doug Bowers intentionally. Andy Povich grounds a double play ball to 2nd, but Leander Gooding boots it and the bases are loaded with 1 out... Pia! A train ticket! Gooding will never play for the Jays again.... P Jim Riggs strikes out. Jimmy Reed grounds out to 3rd.

Top of the Ninth:
P Jim Riggs is at 107 pitches. 6-7-8 up for us. Danny Stewart strikes out looking... Bart Daw strikes out looking... PH Dennis Brown (29-L) grounds out to short....

Lost - 5 to 3

We had 6 hits (all singles) and made 1 error
Providence had 11 hits and made 2 errors

Del Warwick went 7 innings, allowed 1 run, 7 hits, 1 walk and struck out 6. At bat, he had a hit.
LHP Dave Nini (L 1-1, BS 1) got 1 out, allowed 4 runs, 3 hits, 2 home runs, 1 walk and struck out 1. He is not our closer anymore....
LHP Hal Bradford got 2 out, allowed 1 hit, 1 walk (INT) and struck out 1.

Jim Riggs (W 10-6) went 9 innings (CG), gave us 3 runs (2 earned), 6 hits, 1 walk (INT) and struck out 9. 117 pitches.

PH Mike Volkman had a hit, scored a run and had 2 RBI.

For Providence, SS T.R. Hunter had 3 hits with a double and scored a run.

[Questdog]

Thursday, July 24, 2003

2B Leander Gooding (32-R) was sent to Daytona (A). Junior Danielson (32-R) was recalled.

Jacksonville Jays (42-51 .452 13.5 GB in 7th place in the Southern Division) at
Providence Steamrollers (45-49 .479 12.5 GB in 4th place in the Northern Division)

JAX: Jim Baucom (22-L) (9-4 2.00 ERA 148.1 IP, 121 H, 5 HR, 27 BB, 125 SO) All-Star(2: 02-03) vs.
PROV: Juan Estrada (29-L) (8-7 4.71 ERA 128 IP, 132 H, 13 HR, 54 BB, 95 SO)

Baucom is 7-1 in his last 8 starts. He has tossed 3 straight shutouts. Last time out, he allowed 8 hits and no walks with 4 strikeouts.

Estrada beat us in May, giving us 3 runs on 8 hits and 1 walk with 5 strikeouts.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
JACKSONVILLE
1: 2B Charlie Faber (32-R .188-117-0-4-.526-5 B+)
2: SS Bart Daw (31-R .240-254-7-30-.659-25 B+)
3: 1B Dave Thompson (27-R .275-80-1-5-.691-0 C+) Rookie
4: 3B Marty Eades (32-R .297-323-14-62-.859-2 C) All-Star
5: RF Ray McDonald (23-L .289-339-6-44-.798-13 B+)
6: C Don Kern (26-R .189-106-4-15-.632-4 B) Rookie
7: LF Cal Doty (26-L .276-340-3-29-.696-20 B+) Finger blister
8: CF Gary McKellar (33-R .232-99-1-8-.593-0 B)
9: P Jim Baucom (22-L .268-41-0-4-.604-0 C) All-Star(2: 02-03)

PROVIDENCE
1: SS Ken Yockey (23-R .348-112-0-19-.867-1 B+)
2: 2B Kim Byrne (27-R .225-271-1-14-.568-8 A)
3: 1B Gus Milam (35-R .252-325-17-54-.784-0 C+) All-Star(2: 01-02) Quadriceps strain
4: RF Billy Brown (28-R .311-238-12-40-.889-0 D-) All-Star(2:02-03) Bruised finger
5: 3B Israel Villegas (33-R .204-211-10-28-.713-1 C+) All-Star(02) Hip flexor strain
6: LF Tom Spiess (26-L .194-232-9-26-.672-7 A)
7: CF Juan Duarte (24-R .285-228-0-21-.701-5 C) Silver Slugger(02) Blurred Vision
8: C Bill Forsyth (32-S .176-34-0-2-.428-0 C)
9: P Juan Estrada (29-L .128-39-0-2-.329-0 C)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Providence Stadium
Weather: 74 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 9 MPH wind blowing in from right
Attendance: 10,320

Top of the First:
Charlie Faber swings at the first pitch and flies out to deep center. Bart Daw strikes out on 3 pitches... Dave Thompson swings at the first pitch and bloops a hit to right. Marty Eades, our hope for runs today, swings at the first pitch and pops out to center...

Bottom of the First:
Ken Yockey strikes out on 3 pitches! Kim Byrne swings at the first pitch and bloops a hit to right... Gus Milam grounds into a 6-4-3 double play!!

Top of the Second:
Ray McDonald bloops a hit to left and goes to 2nd on a wild pitch. With 1 out, he goes to 3rd on a ground out and then scores on another wild pitch! 1 to 0, Jays!

Bottom of the Second:
Billy Brown takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4... With 1 out, Tom Spiess grounds out to 1st, 3-1, Dave Thompson making a nice play, and Brown goes to 2nd. Juan Duarte, he of the blurred vision, grounds a hit to left and Brown scores... Tie Game: 1 to 1.

Bottom of the Third:
P Juan Estrada, a .128 hitter, swings at the first pitch and doubles to right center.... With 1 out, Kim Byrne doubles to right center and P Estrada scores... 2 to 1, Steamrollers. Their #3 and #4 hitters make outs.

Bottom of the Fourth:
With 1 out, Tom Spiess, the sub-.200 hitter, triples to right center... Juan Duarte pops out to right, but Spiess tags up anyway and beats the throw... 3 to 1, Steamrollers.

Bottom of the Sixth:
Gus Milam doubles to right.... The Bullpen gets up. By the way, even though it looks like P Jim Baucom is taking all the abuse in this game, we have outhit them. But whenever we needed a hit with 2 outs, we struck out... Billy Brown grounds out to 2nd and Milam goes to 3rd. We walk Israel Villegas intentionally. Tom Spiess obliges with a 4-6-3 double play!!

Top of the Seventh:
PH Ed Diskin (39-R) grounds out to short. With 2 outs, Bart Daw swings at the first pitch and grounds a hit up the middle and then steals 2nd. Dave Thompson swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds a hit to right and Daw scores! 3 to 2, Steamrollers.

Top of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Jim Gibson (31-R), their closer, who got the Save on Tuesday with a scoreless inning. 8-9-1 up for us. PH Mike Volkman (35-L) grounds one to the hole on the left side, but new SS Andy Povich (27-L) makes a diving stop and throws him out... PH Dennis Brown (29-L) flies out to deep right... PH Jack Washburn (21-L) strikes out....

Lost - 3 to 2

We finish the season series with Providence 3-5.
The same as last year, but better than when we went 0-8 in 2001.

We had 10 hits and made no errors
Providence had 6 hits and made no errors

Jim Baucom (L 9-5) went 6 innings, allowed 3 runs, 6 hits, 2 walks and struck out 5.
LHP Hal Bradford pitched 2 perfect innings.

Juan Estrada (W 9-7) went 8 innings, gave us 2 runs, 10 hits, 1 walk and struck out 7. He threw 2 WP. At bat, he hit a double and scored a run. Someday lefties are going to quake in fear of our lineup, but right now, they just giggle at us...
RHP Jim Gibson (SV 18) pitched a perfect 9th with 1 strikeout.

SS Bart Daw had 2 hits, stole a base and scored a run. 1B Dave Thompson had 3 hits and an RBI. RF Ray McDonald had 2 hits, stole a base and scored a run. C Don Kern hit a double. CF Gary McKellar hit a double and was walked intentionally.

[Questdog]

Friday, July 25, 2003

We are back home to play the defending MLB champion Richmond Robins a 3 game series over the weekend. They just lost 3 of 4 in Hartford and ended a 5 game losing streak yesterday with an extra-inning win. We are 2-4 against them on the season and split a pair of games the last time they visited, May 19-20. They are 14th in scoring with 3.65 runs per game (Jacksonville is #15 with 3.63). They are last in the MLB with only 27 HR. The 2nd worst team has 45. We have 55 and are 13th. The Robins are 1st in fewest runs allowed with 2.80 per game (Jacksonville is #10 with 4.19). Their run differential is +81, the best in the League, and ours is -53, still 4th worst.

Richmond Robins (55-40 .579 1 GB in 2nd place in the Southern Division) at
Jacksonville Jays (42-52 .447 13.5 GB in 7th place in the Southern Division)

RICH: Leroy Chandler (34-R) (8-9 2.31 ERA 132.1 IP, 111 H, 7 HR, 35 BB, 77 SO) All-Star vs.
JAX: Dale Gilchrist (24-R) (4-7 3.02 ERA 83.1 IP, 71 H, 5 HR, 28 BB, 52 SO)

Chandler was 15-9 with a 3.72 ERA in 229.2 IP last year. This is the first time we have faced him this season. He is 3-2 in 5 starts against us in his career with a shutout and a 3.34 ERA. 35 IP, 34 H, 2 HR, 15 BB, 22 SO.

Gilchrist is 0-4 in his last 5 starts. Last time out, he allowed 4 unearned run on 5 hits, and 4 walks with 3 strikeouts in 6 innings in a no decision that we lost.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
RICHMOND
1: CF Jose Vazquez (30-R .313-371-1-26-.755-11 B+) All-Star(3: 01-03)/Gold Glove (2: 01-02)
2: 1B Vince Depew (23-L .303-155-3-17-.752-11 C+)
3: 2B Ray Holloway (29-R .261-329-5-42-.683-7 A) All-Star(01)
4: LF Andres Borges (35-S .270-263-4-35-.733-2 C+) All-Star(2: 02-03)
5: RF Andy Schaeffer (39-R .253-83-2-12-.703-0 C+)
6: 3B Ray Montgomery (33-L .249-217-4-30-.730-5 B+)
7: SS Brian Bowden (26-R .239-276-2-29-.603-14 A+) Gold Glove(02) Strained oblique
8: C Larry Slattery (27-R .190-205-0-13-.507-1 C)
9: P Leroy Chandler (34-L .317-41-0-5-.659-0 C) All-Star

JACKSONVILLE
1: LF Cal Doty (26-L .276-344-3-29-.694-20 B+) Finger blister
2: CF Danny Stewart (32-L .244-221-1-13-.597-4 C+)
3: RF Ray McDonald (23-L .292-343-6-44-.800-14 B+)
4: 3B Ed Diskin (39-R .236-216-3-37-.647-1 C)
5: 1B Jack Washburn (21-L .215-279-8-21-.642-16 B)
6: SS Bart Daw (31-R .244-258-7-30-.664-26 B+)
7: 2B Charlie Faber (32-R .182-121-0-4-.509-5 B+)
8: C Bert Swope (31-S .172-151-0-11-.474-0 B)
9: P Dale Gilchrist (24-R .179-28-0-4-.351-0 C+)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Weather: 92 F, Clear Skies, with a 5 MPH wind blowing right to left
Attendance: 6,940

Top of the First:
Jose Vazquez grounds out to 3rd. Vince Depew swings at the first pitch and bloops a hit to left... Ray Holloway strikes out! Andres Borges grounds out to 3rd!

Bottom of the First:
Cal Doty flies out to deep center. Danny Stewart grounds one to 2nd, but Ray Holloway throws that ball away for a 2 base error! Ray McDonald beats out an infield hit. Ed Diskin lines an 0-2 pitch to left for a hit and Stewart scores and McDonald beats the throw to 3rd! 1 to 0, Jays! Jack Washburn flies out to deep center and McDonald trots home. 2 to 0, Jays! Bart Daw strikes out.

Bottom of the Third:
Ray McDonald and Ed Diskin lead off with back to back hits and we have runners at the corners with no outs! Jack Washburn grounds into a force at 2nd, 4-6, and McDonald scores. 3 to 0, Jays! Bart Daw grounds into a force at 2nd, 6-4. Charlie Faber lines a hit to right center and Daw goes to 3rd. Bert Swope beats out an infield hit and Daw scores! 4 to 0, Jays!

Bottom of the Fourth:
Cal Doty takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4 and steals 2nd! Danny Stewart walks on 4 pitches. Ray McDonald lines out to the pitcher and they double Stewart off at 1st...

Bottom of the Fifth:
With 1 out, Bart Daw grounds one to short, but Gold Glover Brian Bowden boots it! Daw steals 2nd and goes to 3rd when C Larry Slattery throws the ball away! With the infield in, Charlie Faber swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds out to short, Bowden make a great stop. Bert Swope grounds one to 2nd, but Ray Holloway boots it for the third error of the inning and Daw scores! 5 to 0, Jays! P Dale Gilchrist grounds a double over the 3rd base bag and Swope scores from 1st! 6 to 0, Jays! Cal Doty swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds a hit up the middle and P Gilchrist scores! 7 to 0, Jays!

Top of the Seventh:
Andy Schaeffer leads off with a home run to right center... 7 to 1, Jays.

Won - 7 to 1

We had 14 hits and made no errors
Richmond had 8 hits and made 5 errors

The 5 errors sets a record for a Jay opponent in a 9 inning game
It ties the 5 made by Rochester in 11 innings on April 8, 2001, in the first win ever for the Jays!

Dale Gilchrist (W 5-7) went 9 innings (CG), allowed 1 run, 8 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk and struck out 3. 113 pitches. At bat, he had 2 hits with a double (the only XBH of the Jays), scored a run and had an RBI.

Leroy Chandler (L 8-10) went 4.2 innings, gave us 7 runs (2 earned), 10 hits, 2 walks and struck out 2.

LF Cal Doty had 2 hits and a walk, stole a base and had an RBI. CF Danny Stewart drew 2 walks and scored a run. RF Ray McDonald had 3 hits and scored 2 runs. 3B Ed Diskin had 2 hits and an RBI. 1B Jack Washburn had 2 hits and 2 RBI, though neither RBI came off a hit. SS Bart Daw had no hits or walks, but stole a base and scored 2 runs. 2B Charlie Faber had 2 hits. C Bert Swope had a hit and a walk, scored a run and had an RBI. That's everyone who played in the game getting a mention!

[Questdog]

Saturday, July 26, 2003

Richmond Robins (55-41 .573 1 GB in 2nd place in the Southern Division) at
Jacksonville Jays (43-52 .453 12.5 GB in 7th place in the Southern Division)

RICH: Brian Brenner (34-R) (5-6 3.51 ERA 123 IP, 124 H, 2 HR, 36 BB, 68 SO) vs.
JAX: Danny Coreano (24-L) (3-3 2.90 ERA 40.1 IP, 29 H, 1 HR, 11 BB, 24 SO)

Brenner is 0-1 in 3 starts against us this season with a 3.20 ERA. 19.2 IP, 18 H, 0 HR, 6 BB, 12 SO.

Coreano last started for the Jays on May 11, 2 and a half months ago. He has had 2 warm-up starts for Daytona (A) and hopefully can recapture the magic he started the season with.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
RICHMOND
1: CF Jose Vazquez (30-R .309-375-1-26-.747-11 B+) All-Star(3: 01-03)/Gold Glove (2: 01-02)
2: SS Brian Bowden (26-R .239-280-2-29-.601-14 A+) Gold Glove(02) Strained oblique
3: 1B Mike Sammon (24-R .324-182-0-17-.721-4 B)
4: 2B Ray Holloway (29-R .258-333-5-42-.675-7 A) All-Star(01)
5: LF Bob Cline (25-R .238-261-1-21-.601-8 B+)
6: RF Dave Brooks (25-L .292-120-3-12-.810-10 D) Rookie #41 prospect
7: C Larry Slattery (27-R .191-209-0-13-.512-1 C)
8: 3B Ray Montgomery (33-L .245-220-4-30-.723-5 B+) 4 for 6 w/2 HR vs Coreano
9: P Brian Brenner (34-R .029-34-0-1-.183-0 F)

JACKSONVILLE
1: LF Cal Doty (26-L .279-348-3-30-.699-21 B+)
2: CF Danny Stewart (32-L .241-224-1-13-.595-4 C+)
3: RF Ray McDonald (23-L .296-348-6-44-.806-14 B+)
4: 3B Marty Eades (32-R .294-327-14-62-.849-2 C) All-Star
5: 1B Jack Washburn (21-L .219-283-8-23-.646-16 B)
6: C Bert Swope (31-S .174-155-0-12-.479-0 B)
7: 2B Junior Danielson (32-R .267-45-0-2-.571-4 B)
8: SS Charlie Faber (32-R .190-126-0-4-.520-5 C+)
9: P Danny Coreano (24-L .250-12-0-1-.500-0 F)

Game Start: 2:05 PM
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Weather: 76 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 9 MPH wind blowing out to right
Attendance: 7,469

Top of the First:
Jose Vazquez grounds out to short. Brian Bowden walks on 4 pitches... Mike Sammon strikes out! Ray Holloway grounds out to short!

Bottom of the First:
Cal Doty takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. He tries to steal, but gets thrown out... Danny Stewart grounds out to 1st, unassisted. Ray McDonald hits a home run to left! 1 to 0, Jays! Marty Eades swings at the first pitch and grounds out to short.

Top of the Second:
Bob Cline hits a home run to left center... Tie Game: 1 to 1.

Bottom of the Second:
With 1 out, Bert Swope walks on 4 pitches. Junior Danielson doubles to right center! Charlie Faber lines a hit to left and both runners score!! 3 to 1, Jays! P Danny Coreano bunts Faber to 2nd. Cal Doty grounds a hit to right and Faber scores! 4 to 1, Jays!

Bottom of the Third:
Ray McDonald grounds a double over the 1st base bag! Marty Eades grounds a 3-2 pitch to left for a hit and McDonald scores! 5 to 1, Jays! With 1 out, Bert Swope grounds into a 4-6-3 double play...

Bottom of the Fifth:
Cal Doty walks on 4 pitches. That does it for P Brian Brenner. New Pitcher: Mickey Steger (33-R), who is 5-0 with 2 SV and a 1.95 ERA in 32.1 IP. Doty steals 2nd! But the next three make outs...

Bottom of the Seventh:
Charlie Faber grounds a hit to left and gets bunted to 2nd by P Danny Coreano. Cal Doty lines a hit to right center and Faber scores! 6 to 1, Jays! The next two make outs.

Top of the Ninth:
P Danny Coreano is at 104 pitches. The Bullpen is ready. Bart Daw (31-R) is in to play short, Charlie Faber moves to 2nd, Junior Danielson moves to 3rd and Marty Eades moves to 1st. Mike Sammon doubles to left... Call to the Bullpen: Mike Moore (25-R). Ray Holloway grounds out to 3rd and Sammon moves over. Bob Cline grounds out to 2nd and Sammon scores. 6 to 2, Jays. Dave Brooks walks on 4 pitches... Larry Slattery pops out to center and THIS Ball Game Belongs to the Jays!

Won - 6 to 2

We had 9 hits and made no errors
Richmond had 6 hits and made no errors

Life is so much more fun when your team is hitting a little!

Danny Coreano (W 4-3) went 8+ innings, allowed 2 runs, 6 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks and struck out 3.
RHP Mike Moore pitched a scoreless 9th with 1 walk.

Brian Brenner (L 5-7) went 4+ innings, gave us 5 runs, 6 hits, 1 home run, 3 walks and struck out 1.

LF Cal Doty went 2 for 2 with 2 walks, stole a base and had an RBI. RF Ray McDonald hit a double and his 7th home run and scored 2 runs. C Bert Swope drew 3 walks and scored a run. 2B/3B Junior Danielson had 2 hits with a double and scored a run. SS/2B Charlie Faber had 2 hits, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBI.

Down on the Farm: Fun Fact: The Daytona (A) Tortugas have the best winning percentage this season that they have ever had, but still have the worst record in the American Association....

[Questdog]

Sunday, July 27, 2003

Richmond Robins (55-42 .567 1 GB in 2nd place in the Southern Division) at
Jacksonville Jays (44-52 .458 11.5 GB in 7th place in the Southern Division)

RICH: Greg Sinclair (25-R) (4-5 3.25 ERA 74.2 IP, 64 H, 6 HR, 27 BB, 42 SO) vs.
JAX: Dave Buchalter (25-R) (3-2 4.36 ERA 53.2 IP, 51 H, 10 HR, 28 BB, 31 SO) Rookie

Sinclair missed the 1st 2 months of the season because of a torn rotator cuff suffered last August. We have not faced him this season. He was 8-8 with a 3.08 ERA in 21 starts and 143.1 IP last year. He is 4-1 in 5 starts against us in his career with a 3.34 ERA. 35 IP, 36 H, 0 HR, 16 BB, 15 SO.

Buchalter gave up 2 runs on 7 hits, 1 home run and 2 walks with 2 strikeouts in 5.1 innings last time out in a win.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
RICHMOND
1: CF Jose Vazquez (30-R .307-378-1-26-.743-11 B+) All-Star(3: 01-03)/Gold Glove (2: 01-02)
2: 3B Skip Dunkin (24-S .306-278-0-34-.732-31 A)
3: LF Dave Brooks (25-L .293-123-3-12-.811-10 D+) Rookie
4: 2B Ray Holloway (29-R .255-337-5-42-.668-7 A) All-Star(01)
5: 1B Ray Montgomery (33-L .251-223-4-30-.736-5 B+)
6: RF Bob Cline (25-R .238-265-2-23-.611-8 B)
7: SS Brian Bowden (26-R .240-283-2-29-.604-14 A+) Gold Glove(02) Strained oblique
8: C Larry Slattery (27-R .188-213-0-13-.503-1 C)
9: P Greg Sinclair (25-R .182-22-0-0-.432-0 F)

JACKSONVILLE
1: SS Bart Daw (31-R .240-263-7-30-.652-27 B+)
2: CF Danny Stewart (32-L .237-228-1-13-.585-4 C+)
3: LF Ray McDonald (23-L .298-352-7-45-.819-14 A)
4: 3B Marty Eades (32-R .293-331-14-63-.845-2 C) All-Star
5: 1B Jack Washburn (21-L .216-287-8-23-.637-16 B)
6: CF Danny Stewart (32-L .237-228-1-13-.585-4 C+)
7: 2B Charlie Faber (32-R .200-130-0-6-.534-5 B+)
8: C Bert Swope (31-S .173-156-0-12-.489-0 B)
9: P Dave Buchalter (25-R .250-20-0-1-.536-0 C) Rookie

Game Start: 2:05 PM
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Weather: 88 F, Clear Skies, with a 7 MPH wind blowing out to right
Attendance: 9,006

Top of the First:
Jose Vazquez pops out to left. Skip Dunkin grounds out to 2nd. Dave Brooks lines a hit to right... Ray Holloway flies out to deep right!

Bottom of the First:
Bart Daw fouls out to the catcher... Danny Stewart beats out an infield hit, but comes up lame.... Pinch-runner: Cal Doty (26-L), who will stay in to play left and Ray McDonald will move to center. Doty gets caught stealing... Ray McDonald grounds a hit up the middle. Marty Eades hits a home run to left center!! 2 to 0, Jays. That is 2 runs in 2 games Doty has cost us by getting caught stealing in the first inning.... But maybe that is our good luck charm to hit home runs! Jack Washburn strikes out... He could use a trip to Daytona (A), maybe....

Top of the Second:
Ray Montgomery beats out an infield hit. Bob Cline bloops a hit to right... Brian Bowden grounds into a 6-4-3 double play!!

Bottom of the Third:
P Dave Buchalter doubles to left center! With 2 outs and P Buchalter on 3rd after a ground out, Ray McDonald gets beaned with the first pitch..... But no one seems too angry, but me. Marty Eades strikes out...

Top of the Fourth:
With 2 outs, Ray Montgomery doubles to left center. Bob Cline grounds a hit to left and Montgomery scores.... 2 to 1, Jays.

Top of the Sixth:
Dave Brooks walks... The Bullpen gets up. Ray Holloway grounds a double over the 3rd base bag... Ray Montgomery clears the bases with a double high off the screen in right... 3 to 2, Robins. Call to the Bullpen: Robbie Hopley (29-R). Bob Cline lines a hit to right... Brian Bowden grounds into a force at 2nd, 4-6, and Montgomery scores. 4 to 2, Robins. Larry Slattery grounds into a 6-4-3 double play!!

Bottom of the Sixth:
With 1 out, Marty Eades takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. Jack Washburn lines a hit to right. Dennis Brown pokes a hit to right and the bases are loaded with 1 out. PH Mike Volkman (35-L) grounds a hit to left and 2 runs score!! Tie Game: 4 to 4! Bert Swope lines out hard to left... PH Ed Diskin (39-R), who will stay in to play 2nd, strikes out...

Bottom of the Eighth:
With 1 out, Dennis Brown lines a hit to right. That does it for P Greg Sinclair. New Pitcher: Loren Brooks (34-R), the reliever who won 14 games last year and is pitching better this year. He pitched 1.1 scoreless innings on Friday, but gave us 2 hits and 2 walks. PH Dave Thompson (27-R) flies out to center. Bert Swope swings at a 3-2 pitch and pokes a hit to right and Brown goes to 3rd. Ed Diskin lines a double to left and both runners score!! 6 to 4, Jays!

Top of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Dave Nini (25-L), Gary McKellar is into play center and Ray McDonald moves to right. The Bullpen is ready. 8-9-1 up for the Robins. Larry Slattery swings at the first pitch and grounds out to the pitcher! PH Andy Schaeffer (39-R), who is 2 for 5 with a home run this series, draws a walk... C Bert Swope picks Schaeffer off at 1st!! Jose Vazquez walks on 4 pitches... Skip Dunkin swings at the first pitch and grounds out to 1st, unassisted, and THIS Ball Game Belongs to the Jays!

Won - 6 to 4

Sweep of the MLB Champs!!!

We had 12 hits and made no errors
Richmond had 11 hits and made no errors

Dave Buchalter went 5+ innings, allowed 4 runs, 8 hits, 1 walk and struck out 1. At bat, he hit a double.
RHP Robbie Hopley went 1 scoreless inning and allowed 1 hit.
LHP Bill Grant (W 3-5) went 2 scoreless innings and allowed 2 hits and 1 HBP.
LHP Dave Nini (SV 4) pitched a scoreless 9th and walked 2.

Greg Sinclair (L 4-6) went 7.1 innings, gave us 5 runs, 10 hits, 1 home run, 2 walks, 1 HBP and struck out 6. 129 pitches.

CF Danny Stewart had a hit in his only at bat. LF/CF/RF Ray McDonald had 2 hits, was hit by a pitch and scored a run. 3B Marty Eades hit his 15th home run of the season, drew a walk, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBI. RF Dennis Brown had 3 hits with a double and scored a run. PH Mike Volkman had a hit and 2 RBI. PH/2B Ed Diskin hit a double and had 2 RBI.

For Richmond, 1B Ray Montgomery went 4 for 4 with 2 doubles, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBI. RF Bob Cline went 3 for 3, was hit by a pitch and had an RBI.

Trudy's report on Danny Stewart is a bruised hand and he will not be able to play for 3 or 4 days.

[Questdog]

July 28, 2003

Monday Morning Report
Player of the Week - Mickey Lynn, LF, Buffalo (30-L .263/.346/.512) Had 12 hits with 1 3B, 3 HR, 3 BB, 1 SO, 0 SB, 1 CS, 6 R and 9 RBI in 6 G (2nd career PoW)

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

July 21 - Bob Stephens (26-R) of Charlotte pitched a 4 hit shutout at Ottawa. He walked 4, hit a batter and struck out 3. It is his 2nd shutout of the season. He is now 10-5 with a 2.47 ERA in 18 starts. The Hornets won, 1 to 0.
July 21 - Robin Morris (29-R) of Memphis pitched a 4 hit shutout at Syracuse. He walked 2, hit a batter and struck out 8. At bat, he had a hit.It is his 2nd shutout of the season. He is now 5-1 with 2 SV and a 2.65 ERA in 6 starts (18 G). The Mules won, 1 to 0.
July 22 - Antonio Perez (28-L) of Orlando pitched a 4 hit shutout at Columbus. He walked 2 and struck out 5. At bat, he had 2 hits and scored 2 runs. It is his 2nd shutout of the season. He is now 5-5 with a 2.70 ERA in 13 starts. The Juice won, 8 to 0.
July 22 - Don Young (35-R) of Birmingham pitched a 2 hit shutout at home versus Indianapolis. He did not walk a batter and struck out 7. At bat, he hit a double and scored a run. It is his 2nd shutout of the season. He is now 7-5 with a 2.05 ERA in 18 starts. The Barons won, 3 to 0, and only had 5 hits themselves.
July 23 - CF Mike Fox (24-L) of Hartford had 3 hits with a home run, scored 2 runs and had 5 RBI at home versus Richmond. The Whalers won, 11 to 4.
July 23 - Rick Potts (24-R) of Memphis pitched a 3 hit shutout at Syracuse. He walked 1, hit a batter and struck out 7. He is now tied for the MLB lead with 5 shutouts. He has not allowed a run in his last 4 starts. 3 CG shutouts and a game where he had to leave early with an injury. 9 total hits allowed in those 4 games. He is now 9-1 with a 2.01 ERA in 16 starts. The Mules won, 2 to 0.
July 24 - LF Mickey Lynn (30-L) of Buffalo had 3 hits with 2 home runs and a walk, scored 4 runs and had 6 RBI at home versus New Orleans. The Bombers won, 16 to 3.
July 26 - Terry Luckett (28-L) of Columbus pitched a 5 hit shutout at home versus Rochester. He walked 1, hit a batter and struck out 7. At, bat he had 2 hits and an RBI. It is his 3rd shutout of the season. He is now 8-9 with a 2.71 ERA in 21 starts. The Explorers won, 5 to 0.

[Questdog]

Tuesday, July 29, 2003

We sent 1B Jack Washburn (21-L) to Daytona (A) for more seasoning and called up C Jim Hess (33-R).

The Birmingham Barons are here to play a short 2 game set. They won 2 of 3 against New Orleans at home over the weekend. We are 5-4 against them on the season and split a pair of games the 1st time they visited us, May 26-27. They lead the League in scoring with 4.69 runs per game (Jacksonville up to #14 with 3.71). They have only scored 104 more runs than we have.... The Barons are 14th in fewest runs allowed with 4.47 per game (Jacksonville is #10 with 4.13). They lead the League with 99 HR allowed and we are 3rd with 82. Their run differential is +21 and ours is -41.

Birmingham Barons (49-50 .495 8 GB in 6th place in the Southern Division) at
Jacksonville Jays (45-52 .464 11 GB in 7th place in the Southern Division)

BIRM: Paul Gaughan (34-R) (8-6 3.96 ERA 131.2 IP, 142 H, 12 HR, 31 BB, 77 SO) All-Star(2: 01-02) vs.
JAX: Jim Baucom (22-L) (9-5 2.10 ERA 154.1 IP, 127 H, 5 HR, 29 BB, 130 SO) All-Star(2: 02-03)

Gaughan is 0-1 in 3 starts against us this season with a 4.12 ERA. 19.2 IP, 21 H, 2 HR, 3 BB, 15 SO.

Baucom gave up 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks with 5 strikeouts in 6 innings last time out in a loss, after he had pitched a shutout in each of the three previous games..

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
BIRMINGHAM
1: SS Stan Stephens (25-R .368-402-3-39-.834-32 D+) All-Star(2: 01,03)
2: LF Bob Marks (25-R .210-309-3-30-.608-11 A+) Rookie #9 prospect
3: CF Sergio Acevedo (29-R .225-356-26-74-.822-20 B+) Silver Slugger(01)/All-Star(3: 01-03)
4: 1B Jim Montgomery (32-R .260-366-23-70-.816-0 A) All-Star
5: 2B Rick Halverson (27-L .258-151-1-16-.724-3 B) All-Star(01)
6: 3B Gerald Young (30-R .309-178-7-36-.886-0 B)
7: RF Ken Kelly (25-S .246-378-9-42-.666-23 B+) All-Star(02)
8: C Bob Marcuson (32-R .174-155-1-9-.454-0 C+) All-Star(01)
9: P Paul Gaughan (34-R .189-37-0-2-.427-0 F) All-Star(2: 01-02)

JACKSONVILLE
1: LF Cal Doty (26-L .280-353-3-32-.703-22 B+)
2: RF Dennis Brown (29-L .270-122-6-15-.786-1 C)
3: CF Ray McDonald (23-L .301-355-7-45-.825-14 C)
4: 1B Marty Eades (32-R .293-334-15-65-.854-2 C) All-Star
5: 3B Ed Diskin (39-R .242-223-3-40-.657-1 C)
6: SS Bart Daw (31-R .235-268-7-30-.640-27 B+)
7: 2B Charlie Faber (32-R .198-131-0-6-.535-5 B+)
8: C Bert Swope (31-S .175-160-0-12-.489-0 B)
9: P Jim Baucom (22-L .256-43-0-4-.577-0 C) All-Star(2: 02-03)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Weather: 90 F, Clear Skies, with a 7 MPH wind blowing in from left
Attendance: 7,909

Top of the First:
Stan Stephens beats out an infield hit... Bob Marks takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4... Stephens steals 3rd... Sergio Acevedo grounds into a force at 2nd, 5-4, and Stephens scores... 1 to 0, Barons. Jim Montgomery pops out to right. Rick Halverson strikes out.

Bottom of the First:
Cal Doty grounds one to 3rd, but Gerald Young makes a bad throw for an error! Doty steals 2nd! Dennis Brown swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds out to 2nd and Doty goes to 3rd. Ray McDonald flies out to left and Doty tags up and scores. Tie Game: 1 to 1! Marty Eades swings at a 3-2 pitch and hits a monster home run to center! 462 ft! 2 to 1, Jays! Ed Diskin grounds out to 2nd.

Bottom of the Second:
Bart Daw takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4 and steals 2nd! With 2 outs, P Jim Baucom grounds a hit to left and Daw scores! 3 to 1, Jays! Last year, P Baucom hit .137 and struck out in over half of his at bats and did not draw a walk. This year, he is now hitting .273 with 3 walks and only 7 strikeouts in 44 AB!

Bottom of the Third:
With 1 out, Ray McDonald pops one up to shallow left that should be caught easily, but no one does and he has a hit! He steals 2nd! Marty Eades pokes a hit to center and McDonald heads home, but gets thrown out by Sergio Acevedo... Eades takes 2nd on the throw. Ed Diskin hits a home run to left that JUST clears the fence!! 5 to 1, Jays!

Top of the Fourth:
With 2 outs, Gerald Young grounds a hit to left and Cal Doty overruns the ball for an error... Ken Kelly grounds a hit up the middle and Young beats the throw home... 5 to 2, Jays.

Won - 5 to 2

We had 8 hits and made 1 error
Birmingham had 8 hits (all singles) and made 1 error

Jim Baucom (W 10-5) went 7 innings, allowed 2 runs, 7 hits, 1 walk and struck out 7. 103 pitches. At bat, he had a hit and an RBI.
RHP Robbie Hopley (SV 2) pitched 2 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit and struck out 1.

Paul Gaughan (L 8-7) went 4 innings, gave us 5 runs, (3 earned), 5 hits, 2 home runs, 1 walk and struck out 1.

LF Cal Doty hit a double, stole a base and scored a run. 1B Marty Eades had 2 hits with his 16th home run of the season and scored 2 runs. 3B Ed Diskin had 2 hits with his 4th home run and 2 RBI. 2B Charlie Faber had a hit and a walk.

[Questdog]

Wednesday, July 30, 2003

Birmingham Barons (49-51 .490 8 GB in 6th place in the Southern Division) at
Jacksonville Jays (46-52 .469 10 GB in 7th place in the Southern Division)

BIRM: Cesar Rodriguez (29-R) (7-5 3.73 ERA 130.1 IP, 132 H, 14 HR, 41 BB, 86 SO) All-Star(01) vs.
JAX: Dale Gilchrist (24-R) (5-7 2.83 ERA 92.1 IP, 79 H, 6 HR, 29 BB, 55 SO)

We faced Rodriguez in May and scored 4 runs on 10 hits, 1 home run and 2 walks with 4 strikeouts in 7.2 innings in a no decision that we lost.

Gilchrist gave up 1 run on 8 hits, 1 home run and 1 walk with 3 strikeouts in a CG win last time out.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
BIRMINGHAM
1: SS Stan Stephens (25-R .369-406-3-39-.836-34 D+) All-Star(2: 01,03)
2: RF Ken Kelly (25-S .249-382-9-43-.669-23 B+) All-Star(02)
3: CF Sergio Acevedo (29-R .222-360-26-75-.813-20 B+) Silver Slugger(01)/All-Star(3: 01-03)
4: 1B Jim Montgomery (32-R .259-370-23-70-.813-0 A) All-Star
5: 2B Rick Halverson (27-L .252-155-1-16-.706-3 B) All-Star(01)
6: 3B Gerald Young (30-R .308-182-7-36-.878-0 B)
7: LF Bob Marks (25-R .215-312-3-30-.617-11 A+) Rookie
8: C Shigeru Nagata (25-R .220-182-7-25-.643-0 C+) Rookie
9: P Cesar Rodriguez (29-R .262-42-1-5-.589-0 F) All-Star(01)

JACKSONVILLE
1: LF Cal Doty (26-L .280-357-3-32-.704-23 B+)
2: SS Bart Daw (31-R .232-271-7-30-.636-28 B+)
3: RF Dennis Brown (29-L .266-124-6-15-.774-1 C)
4: 1B Marty Eades (32-R .296-338-16-66-.864-2 C) All-Star
5: 3B Ed Diskin (39-R .247-227-4-42-.676-1 C)
6: C Bert Swope (31-S .173-162-0-12-.484-0 B)
7: 2B Charlie Faber (32-R .201-134-0-6-.543-5 B+)
8: CF Gary McKellar (33-R .235-102-1-8-.617-0 B)
9: P Dale Gilchrist (24-R .212-33-0-5-.448-0 C+)

Game Start: 12:35 PM
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Weather: 83 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 9 MPH wind blowing out to right
Attendance: 6,849

Top of the First:
Stan Stephens strikes out looking! Only his 10th strikeout of the season! Ken Kelly lines one to right side and 2B Charlie Faber makes an incredible catch! Sergio Acevedo strikes out! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the First:
Cal Doty beats out an infield hit. Bart Daw grounds out slowly to 3rd and Doty moves to 2nd. Dennis Brown lines a hit to center and Doty scores! 1 to 0, Jays! Marty Eades strikes out... Ed Diskin flies out to right.

Top of the Second:
With 1 out, Rick Halverson lines a hit to right center. Gerald Young pokes a hit to center and Halverson heads to 3rd. The throw by Gary McKellar is into the dugout for an error and Halverson scores... Tie Game: 1 to 1. First error for McKellar on the season... Bob Marks draws a walk... But the next two make outs!

Top of the Fifth:
P Cesar Rodriguez grounds a hit up the middle. Stan Stephens lays down a bunt and beats it out for a hit.... The Bullpen gets up. But the next three make outs!

Bottom of the Sixth:
Marty Eades bloops a hit to right. Ed Diskin grounds into a force at 2nd, 6-4. Bert Swope grounds a hit to right and Diskin beats the throw to 3rd. Charlie Faber flies out to the warning track in left and Diskin trots home. 2 to 1, Jays!

Top of the Seventh:
Shigeru Nagata swings at the first pitch and hits a home run to left center... Tie Game: 2 to 2.

Bottom of the Eighth:
Marty Eades draws a walk. Ed Diskin bloops a hit to right and Eades beats the throw to 3rd! That does it for P Cesar Rodriguez. New Pitcher: Arvel Ivey (34-L), who is 6-3 with 7 SV and a 2.38 ERA in 53 IP. He is pitching with a sore hand. PH Dave Thompson (27-R) grounds a hit up the middle and Eades scores and Diskin heads to 3rd, but gets thrown out by Sergio Acevedo... 3 to 2, Jays! Charlie Faber swings at a 3-2 pitch and triples to right center and Thompson scores! 4 to 2, Jays! With the infield in, Gary McKellar grounds out to short and Faber holds... PH Don Kern (26-R), who will stay in to catch, grounds out to 3rd. P Ivey is hurt.

Top of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Dave Nini (25-L). Ray McDonald is in to play right. The Bullpen is ready. 8-9-1 up for the Barons. Shigeru Nagata lines a 3-2 pitch to right for a hit.... PH Al Chase (31-R), batting .288 with 5 HR in 59 AB, swings at the first pitch and grounds into a 6-4-3 double play!! Stan Stephens draws a walk... PH Benny Dreher (25-R), who was 0 for 1 yesterday, strikes out looking and THIS Ball Game Belongs to the Jays!

Won - 4 to 2

Mini-sweep!
5 wins in a row!

We had 11 hits and made 1 error
Birmingham had 9 hits and made no errors

Dale Gilchrist (W 6-7) went 8 innings, allowed 2 runs, 8 hits, 1 home run, 3 walks (1 INT) and struck out 5.
LHP Dave Nini (SV 5) pitched a scoreless 9th, allowed 1 hit, 1 walk and struck out 1.

Cesar Rodriguez (L 7-6) went 7+ innings, gave us 3 runs, 9 hits, 2 walks and struck out 4. At bat, he had 2 hits.

SS Bart Daw had a hit and a walk and stole a base. RF Dennis Brown had 2 hits and an RBI. 1B Marty Eades had a hit and a walk and scored a run. C Bert Swope had 2 hits with a double. PH Dave Thompson had a hit, scored a run and had an RBI. 2B Charlie Faber hit a triple and had 2 RBI.

The Barons announced that RP Arvel Ivey had bone chips in his elbow and would require surgery and he is done for the season.