Your Expansion Seattle Mariners!!!

[BoilerRocketScientist]

OMG, game 2 of my series with Baltimore was even crazier than the first ... and just as devastating!

Baltimore jumped on my starter Don Gullet with 5 runs in the first inning but Gullet calmed down after that until he got chased in the bottom of the 6th when the Orioles added 3 more runs to take a 8-1 lead. At that point, we had managed only 1 run on 3 hits off of Baltimore starter Charlie Leibrandt. We entered the top of the 9th trailing 8-1. A Ruppert Jones ground out was followed by a Greg Walker strikeout to give us our last out in the game. Then, it was like we flipped a switch.

We responded with 8 straight hits, scoring 7 runs in the top of the 9th to tie the game at 8-8 and silencing the Baltimore crowd. So, we scored 7, 2-out runs on 7 straight singles and a final double by Ruppert Jones before Baltimore reliever Bryn Smith recorded the final out.

In the top of the 9th, we sent out reliever Enrique Romo to pitch the 9th. Up to this game, Romo had made 22 appearances and had been masterful, posting a 1.35 ERA in 40 innings and striking out 30. Batters have posted a .200 average against him. Well, you guessed it, after getting the lead-off out, Romo gave up a walk-off homer to Eddie Murray to earn his first loss of the season.

So, that's 2 straight walk-off losses. We've scored 18 runs in the last 2 games ... and lost both. I think I need some TUMS.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

A third straight loss where we were done in by a big inning. This time, we were done in by the unlikeliest of heroes. Baltimore scored all 4 of their runs off of starter Bruce Kison in the 2nd inning. In that inning, Kison gave up a 3-run homer to Kiko Garcia (his only homer of the season) and a solo homer to Kevin Bell (only his 2nd all season). Garcia has killed my Mariners this season earning 10 of his 27 RBI's against us while hitting over .350. Ugh, done in by scrubs.

Meanwhile, Dennis Martinez cooled off my bats to the tune of 1 run over 8 innings, giving up only 3 hits.

Three straight losses have dropped my lead to 4 games.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

Huzzah, huzzah! It was tense but we finally held on and beat Baltimore, holding on to a 5-4 victory.

The hero of the game (in this alternative universe) was my third baseman Cal Ripken who went 3/4 with 4 RBI's including a 3-run homer in the 2nd. Floyd Bannister (9-7) earned the win and was cruising until he gave up 4 runs on a pair of homers in the 5th. The big blast was by Larry Harlow who's 3-run shot was his first of the season. We seem to be giving up a lot of "first-homers" this season.

Relievers Steve Foulcault, Buddy Schultz, and Tom Gorman (Save #16) combined to pitch 3.2 innings of hitless relief ... a big accomplishment after the past 3 losses.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

Sorry for the many posts. I just needed to vent about my losses to a, hopefully, understanding audience. I'll now return to my regularly scheduled updates every month of the season.

Meanwhile, rookie Tony Gwynn (NYM) has now hit in 31 straight games and is hitting .386 for the season.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

INJURIES!!!

We endured 2 injuries in a 11-2 loss to Cleveland, our 3rd straight loss. We're still in first place with a 62-38 record, good enough for a 7-game lead in the AL West.

First, lefty reliever Sheldon Burnside was lost in the 8th inning. Burnside leaves with a 0-1 record, 2 saves, and a 4.08 ERA in 35.1 innings, 32 appearances. He had been pitching very well but in July he's had troubles 0-0, 2 saves, 10.29 ERA in 8 games, 7 innings.

The bigger loss occurred in the 9th inning when Bill Buckner got injured running the bases. Buckner leads the team with a .325 ERA (6th in AL), 129 hits (2nd in AL), 71 RBI's (5th in AL), 200 TB (3rd in AL) and 26 2B's, 15 HR's.

Both Burnside and Buckner are out pending diagnoses. I have some arms in AAA to replace Burnside but Buckner's numbers will be harder to replace. I fear for the worst but hope for the best.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

Injury Update

After getting through almost 100 games without any major injuries, we've been hit hard at the end of July.

Sheldon Burnside: The medical report shows a minor hamstring injury. He'll spend time on the 15-day DL and will be back in August.

Bill Buckner: The doctor's report a more serious hamstring tear for Buckner and he'll be out for 3 months, effectively ending his season. He was hitting .325 and on pace for 205 hits, 24 HR's, and 113 RBI's.

Cal Ripken: Two days after Burnside and Buckner were injured, Cal Ripken was injured in the first inning of a 6-4 loss to Minnesota. The diagnosis is a torn labrum and he'll be gone for 6 weeks. Ripken leaves with hitting .259 with 6 HR's and 26 RBI's in 89 games. He may return in mid-September.

So, that's 3 main injuries in 2 days and we're in the midst of a 5-game losing streak.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

JULY (13-14): It was a tough month for the team but we enter the dog days of August with a 5.5 game lead over the White Sox. It was a tough month for both sides of the ball.

The pitching staff still leads the AL in team ERA (3.61) but it rose over a half run this month. The starters’ ERA (3.89) is 2nd and the relievers’ is 3rd. Fifth starter Burt Hooton was our best starter in July in posting a 3-0 record with a 3.79 ERA in 6 starts this month. My other starters (Gullet – 1-0, 4.33 in 6 starts; Bannister – 3-2, 4.96 in 5 starts; Kison – 1-3, 6.96 in 5 starts; and Witt – 1-2, 7.11 in 6 starts) didn’t fare as well this month. As for the relievers, only closer Tom Gorman (1-1, 5 saves, 1.29) posted an ERA less than 4.00 for July. The overall team ERA for July was 5.26.

On the offensive front, we’ve lost to injury the top 2 batters for July – Bill Buckner (.322, 2 HR’s, 14 RBI’s) and Cal Ripken (.314, 1 HR, 10 RBI’s). Andre Thornton and Richie Zisk each slugged 6 HR’s for the month. Ruppert Jones led the team in July with 19 RBI’s despite hitting .214 and shortstop Dave Stapleton knocked in 18 himself. Overall, the team is in the middle of the pack in most offensive categories though they are 2nd with 102 home runs for the season.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

All the division leaders remain the same and the race remains tight in the AL East. In the NL East, the New York Mets have picked up 6 games on second place Philadelphia for a comfortable lead. The Mariners' lead dropped a couple of games but a big jump was made by Minnesota whose 19-8 record for July netted them 6 games in the standings. Meanwhile, in the NL West the Padres dropped 7.5 games in the standings from 2nd to 5th.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

The Chicago White Sox were feeling confident after a big 5-run bottom of the 7th to take a 8-4 lead over the Boston Red Sox. Then, things got crazy. The Red Sox responded in the top of the 8th with 4 big runs to tie up the game at 8 a piece. After holding the White Sox scoreless in the bottom of the 8th, the Red Sox doubled their 8th inning output by hanging up 8 more runs in the top of the 9th to take a 16-8 lead. The White Sox did manage to put up 2 runs in the 9th but it wasn't enough and they blew a 4-run lead and ended up losing 16-10, giving up 12 runs in the last 2 innings.

Overall, the Red Sox scored 16 runs on 16 hits while the White Sox scored 10 runs on 14 hits. This pitcher's nightmare was accomplished without giving up any home runs! Boston only used 3 pitchers while the White Sox sent five up to the hill. The most victimized was Chicago's Jesse Orosco who faced 8 batters - he only recorded 1 out, gave up 3 hits, walked 4, and was charged with 6 runs in 1/3rd of an inning.

No single batter had an explosive game. Boston's star was Rowland Office who was 3/6 with 4 RBI's while German Barranca led Chicago with his 3/5, 4 RBI performance.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

It's August 11 and injuries keep cropping up. After going through almost all of July without seeing any major time lost to the DL, I've had to add Burt Hooton (leading the team with 12 wins from his 5th starter position) and John Stearns (starting catcher) to the DL. Hooton will likely be back within 2 weeks but Stearns was lost for 4-5 weeks with a torn hamstring but he may make it back by the end of September. The team called up Greg Harris from AAA to take Hooton's place in the rotation and Dan Firova from AA to serve as the backup catcher.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

The Yankees outlasted the White Sox today in taking a 3-2 victory in 20 innings! Each team sent 6 pitchers to the hill with New York's Ricky Wright (5-4) earning the win and Dick Drago the save while Chicago's Randy Jones (1-1) took the loss. Chicago managed to tie the game up in the bottom of the 9th but that ended the scoring until the top of the 20th when Toby Harrah hit a solo homer (8) off of Jones. Drago got Jack Perconte to fly out to center for the final out to earn his 3rd save. Chicago pitchers held New York to only 11 hits in the 20 innings while Chicago could only manage 2 runs on their 18 hits. Hosken Powell of Chicago led all batters with 4 hits in his 9 at-bats. In a record for futility, Chicago's Amos had a 0/9, 5 strikeout day.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

AUGUST (18-9): Despite some serious losses due to injuries (Buckner, Ripken, John Stearns, and Burt Hooton for 2 weeks), we had a very successful month and increased our lead over Chicago to 8.5 games. It’s time to start about our Magic # and going into September it’s at 23. At the bottom is a chart showing the team's AL West lead. We had surged as high as a 10-game lead after winning 9 of 10 in the middle of the month before dropping 3 of 6 to finish the month.

With the loss of Bill Buckner, Dave Stapleton stepped his game up by batting .331 with 2 HR’s, 16 RBI’s, and 16 runs. Richie Zisk has come alive leading the team with 6 HR’s in August. Zisk’s 21 HR’s for the season is just behind Andre Thornton’s team leading 23 dingers. Rookie Greg Walker has fit in well in place of Buckner. Walker is hitting .320 for the season with 8 HR’s and 21 RBI’s in 150 at-bats. He is also sporting a .420 OBP and a .968 OPS.

The pitching staff continues to be strong. Mike Witt was 2-0 with a 2.62 ERA in 5 starts this month. Greg Harris filled in admirably during Burt Hooton's absence. He posted a 2.93 ERA in his 15 innings as a replacement starter and the team won all 3 of his starts though he didn’t earn a decision in any of them. Closer Tom Gorman earned 8 saves and a win in his 10 appearances. Overall, the team ERA of 3.55 is still tops in the AL.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

AL East: Baltimore increased their lead from 1 to 5 games over 2nd place Detroit. The Orioles have one of the top offenses in the AL and their pitching staff is near the top as well.

AL West: Seattle increased their lead by 3 games to 8.5 games over 2nd place Chicago.

NL East: The New York Mets continue their surprise season and hold a strong 6 game lead over 2nd place Philadelphia.

NL West: The Cincinnati Reds are running away with the division increasing their lead over Houston by 8 games to give them a 18-game lead.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

Bad news came in today with the diagnoses of ace Mike Witt's injury. The doctor's reported that Witt will be out 2-3 months with elbow inflammation, effectively ending his season. Witt leaves the team with a 13-6 record and a 3.78 ERA. Witt's 13 wins is tied with Burt Hooton for the team lead. Greg Harris will move up to the starting staff just like he did when Hooton was lost for 2 weeks in August.

Witt goes down with the team holding a 7-game lead over the White Sox with 23 games to go in the season.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

With a 6-2 win over Atlanta, the Cincinnati Reds clinch the NL West by virtue of their 21-game lead over Houston. The Reds manage to take the NL West crown by September 12 a very early time to be popping champagne corks. It remains to be seen if Cincinnati can stay focused through the end of their season and try to win their 2nd World Series title in 3 years.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

The Baltimore Orioles got bad news when they learned they'd be losing star outfielder Joe Lefebvre for 3-4 weeks with elbow soreness. Lefebvre was a leading candidate for the AL MVP award this season - he's currently winning the second place Triple Crown hitting .329 with 32 homers and 120 RBI's. He's leading the majors in OPS (1.016) and WAR (7.4).

This comes at a bad time for Baltimore who have lost 7 of their last 10 games and are now in a first place tie with Detroit who have won 8 of their last 10 games. There's only 13 games left in the regular season. We'll see how Baltimore responds with losing their star for the rest of the season.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

That "beep beep beep" was the sound of Seattle backing into the AL West crown (their 2nd straight). The day began with a 5-game lead over California with 5 games to go and only a total collapse could prevent Seattle from repeating as AL West champions. Despite being in a 3-game skid, Seattle was at Comiskey Parking leading Chicago 1-0 going into the bottom of the 8th inning. Bruce Kison was cruising with a 2-hit shutout before giving up a 1-out hit. Manager Darrel Johnson brought in lefty Buddy Schultz to pitch to Chicago's lefties. Chicago countered with pinch hitter Amos Otis who promptly doubled in German Barranca tying the game, ending the shutout, and giving a no decision to Kison. Schultz followed that up by giving up 2 straight hits and gave way to Rich Gossage who promptly gave up 2 straight hits as well before getting an out. Gossage yielded to Sheldon Burnside for the final out. The 5-run 8th inning sunk the Mariners. Seattle did manage 2 runs in the top of the 9th before White Sox closer Bob Apodaca closed the door for his 39th save. The loss is Seattle's 4th straight as they've limped through September with a 12-14 record.

Going into the clubhouse, a despondent Mariners ballclub was greeted with good news as they heard that California had lost in Kansas City giving them the AL West crown. The celebration was bittersweet and the team celebrated with some Pabst Blue Ribbon opting to save the champagne showers for future celebrations. Seattle has 1 game remaining in Chicago before closing out their season in Toronto. They'll use the remainder of the season resting their starters and positioning the starting pitching for the playoffs.

Seattle joins NL West winner Cincinnati as playoff qualifiers. The AL East is almost decided as the Baltimore Orioles have floundered after losing star outfielder Joe Lefebvre. Baltimore has lost 8 of 10 while being passed by Detroit who've won 8 of 10 giving Detroit a 4-game lead with 5 games to go. Meanwhile, in the NL East, the Philadelphia Phillies are tied with the New York Mets with 5 games to go. Philadelphia has 2 games against 4th place Montreal while the Mets have 2 games against last place Chicago. Ultimately, the series will be decided in the last 3 games when the Phillies host the final 3 games of the season against the Mets.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

[September 29, 1982]

The Detroit Tigers put the reeling Baltimore Orioles out of their misery defeating them 4-2, clinching the AL East crown. Detroit is on a 8-2 run which mirrors Baltimore's 2-8 run during the same time. Detroit was 5 games back of Baltimore entering the month of September but their roles have been reversed. The Tigers have had a scorching 18-8 September while Baltimore has struggled with an opposite 8-18 mark. A 4-2 victory over Baltimore gives Detroit a 5-game lead with 4 to go and sets up an ALCS match-up between the Tigers and the defending champion Mariners.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

The Philadelphia Phillies enter October with a 1-game lead over the New York Mets with 3 games to go at Veterans Stadium.

The projected matchups are

October 1
NYM: LaMarr Hoyt (11-8, 3.49)
PHI: Steve Crawford (10-19, 4.08)

October 2
NYM: Pascual Perez (13-15, 4.35)
PHI: Santo Alcala (5-8, 5.61)

October 3
NYM: Jack O'Connor (10-9, 3.49)
PHI: Dave Stewart (8-7, 5.36)

[BoilerRocketScientist]

The New York Mets finished the season sweeping the Philadelphia Phillies and won the NL East crown on the final day of the regular season. The Mets won the first two games and found themselves in first by 1 game over Philadelphia and (I had missed this) St. Louis. However, the Mets defeated the Phillies 4-2 behind Atlee Hammaker (15-7) and a homer by catcher Dan Graham (35).