By ARNIE STAPLETON, AP Sports Writer
October 15, 2007
DENVER (AP) -- The Colorado Rockies were one strike away from not even making the playoffs. Now, they're one win away from their first World Series.
With a cold rain falling, Josh Fogg shut down Arizona's bats in his first postseason start and Yorvit Torrealba hit a tiebreaking three-run homer to fuel the Rockies' 4-1 victory Sunday night in Game 3 of the NL championship series.
MVP hopeful Matt Holliday also homered as the wild-card Rockies took a 3-0 lead with their 20th win in 21 games, a streak that has taken Colorado from afterthoughts to the buzz of baseball.
"Tomorrow we're going to come here just like we have been doing," Torrealba said. "We're going to relax, watch TV, and when it's time to play, we're going to try to get one more win."
And not think about their first World Series until then.
"No, no, no, no, I'm not thinking about that," insisted the face of the franchise, Todd Helton, whose decade of disappointment has disappeared in one of the most incredible winning streaks in baseball history.
"We're still focused on the task at hand."
About two weeks ago, the Rockies had no control over whether they'd even make the playoffs.
The San Diego Padres could've eliminated Colorado on the final Saturday of the regular season. But Milwaukee's Tony Gwynn Jr. hit a tying, two-out, two-strike triple off San Diego's Trevor Hoffman that gave the Rockies a chance.
The next day, Colorado caught the Padres. The night after that, the Rockies beat San Diego in a 13-inning, NL wild-card tiebreaker.
Since then, the Rockies have been unbeatable.
Arizona, which has scored just four runs in the series so far, must win four straight times against a Rockies team that is the first since the 1935 Chicago Cubs to win at least 20 of 21 games after Sept. 1, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
They haven't looked back, sweeping past Philadelphia and taking the first three against Arizona.
They will try to sweep the Diamondbacks on Monday night when Franklin Morales faces Arizona's Micah Owings in a matchup of rookies who have never faced each other's teams.
The Rockies, who this season set a major league record for fielding percentage, turned three double plays in the first three innings.
"When you can take the sting out of them early ... I think it helped our confidence," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said.
The 2004 Boston Red Sox are the only team to overcome a 3-0 hole to win a best-of-seven postseason series. Boston did it in the ALCS against the Yankees.
"Until they win four and we can't win four at once. We've just got to get one on the board first," Arizona manager Bob Melvin said. "That's what we've been trying to do all year."
Torrealba connected in the sixth inning, three pitches after watching one of Livan Hernandez's trademark "eephus" offerings poke across the plate for a strike -- so slow it didn't register on the stadium scoreboard radar.
Hernandez said he knew better than to throw an inside fastball to his buddy that he played with in San Francisco, but he had used all the pitches in his bag of tricks.
"It's the last pitch I want to throw," Hernandez said. "Yorvit is one of my best friends in baseball and I know he can handle the fastball inside very good. It's just the situation. I'd thrown everything: foul, foul. I know he can hit the fastball inside. Trust me, and he hit it out."
After a 60 mph bender that he fought off for a foul, Torrealba hit a fastball 402 feet into the left-field seats, then raced around the bases pumping his fists and hooting and hollering.
"He worked me really well all season long. He tried to throw me a fastball inside, and it stayed over the plate and I hit it really good," Torrealba said.
Torrealba, who is 8-for-21 in the playoffs with seven RBIs, nearly had a home run in the third when he doubled off the center-field wall. The stadium's pyrotechnics operator thought it was gone and set off some fireworks as Torrealba pulled into second base.
The real fireworks came three innings later from Torrealba, who had just eight home runs in the regular season.
"One pitch, one bad pitch all night," lamented D-backs catcher Miguel Montero.
"That's kind of been the theme of this series so far. They've gotten that one big hit where we haven't," Melvin said.
Holliday's homer in the first inning was the first by either team in this series. Hernandez fell to 7-3 lifetime in the playoffs, allowing four earned runs on eight hits in 5 2-3 innings.
Fogg, who won Game 2 of the division series over Philadelphia in relief of Morales, scattered seven hits, including rookie Mark Reynolds' solo home run in the fourth, in six stellar innings. He didn't walk a batter and struck out three.
With the gametime temperature hovering at 43 degrees -- and quickly dipping into the 30s -- and a light drizzle falling, the crowd showed up wearing fleece jackets, gloves, wool caps and scarves, looking like they were headed for the ski slopes west of Denver, where it was indeed snowing.
Even Montero wore a ski cap beneath his catcher's helmet.
It was only fitting that the Rockies sent a pitcher named Fogg to the mound to deal with the elements in the first NLCS game in Denver in franchise history. The Rockies have lost just once since Sept. 16, and this win at Coors Field was their ninth straight victory overall.
A cool drizzle fell all day and continued into the evening. The grounds crew didn't even remove the tarp until an hour before the game. In between innings, they brought out bags of dry dirt to keep the infield from getting too slick. In the fifth, the crews poured a wheelbarrow full of "diamond dust" around home plate.
The TBS broadcast mentioned how the grounds crew ran out of the quick-dry dirt and started calling around. They said they found some in a warehouse and showed a truck rolling up to the stadium with extra bags.
Holliday, with only two other hits in this series, neither of which left the infield, put Colorado ahead 1-0 in the first inning with a high drive. Left fielder Eric Byrnes crashed into the wall chasing the ball, much to the delight of the crowd that razzed him every chance they got.
Forty-eight hours earlier, Byrnes suggested the Rockies were a lucky bunch who had actually been outplayed by the Diamondbacks in this series.
Although that drew the ire of the fans, Rockies rookie shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said there was some truth to Byrnes' comments "and they can outplay us all four games. If we end up winning the series, I'll be fine with that."
Reynolds hit a 422-foot solo shot in the fourth to tie it at 1-all, sending a first-pitch breaking ball from Fogg halfway up into the left-field seats to quiet the sellout crowd of 50,137.
Jeremy Affeldt threw the seventh, Brian Fuentes the eighth and Manny Corpas the ninth for his fourth save of the playoffs. In Game 2 at Arizona, Corpas blew a save chance in the ninth inning.
The Rockies are trying for their first NL pennant in the franchise's 15-year history, and history appears solidly on their side.
"Nothing has gone our way so far," Byrnes said. "For whatever reason, that's the way it's been."
Notes
Before the Rockies, the last team to put together a 19-1 run was the 1977 Kansas City Royals, and Hurdle made his major league debut for the Royals during that stretch. ... Colorado is the second team in NL history to open the postseason with six straight wins, joining the 1976 Cincinnati Reds, which went 7-0 in the playoffs, sweeping the Phillies and Yankees.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Indians 13, Red Sox 6 (11 innings)
BOSTON (AP) -- Trot Nixon spent 13 years in the Red Sox organization trying to prove he could hit lefties.
That ought to be pretty clear to everyone now.
The longtime Boston outfielder snapped an extra-inning tie with a pinch-hit single, and the Cleveland Indians scored a record-setting seven runs in the 11th to beat the Red Sox 13-6 early Sunday and even the AL championship series at a game apiece.
"I think we all know how a player can cross over to the dark side, but I fully expect that I'm the enemy coming in here," Nixon said. "I was excited to finally get in there at 1:30 in the morning."
The anticipated pitching matchup of postseason star Curt Schilling and 19-game winner Fausto Carmona fizzled into a stalemate that lasted 5 hours, 14 minutes before Joe Borowski got Julio Lugo to ground into a game-ending double play.
The best-of-seven series moves to Cleveland for Game 3 on Monday night, when Red Sox rookie Daisuke Matsuzaka will face Jake Westbrook.
"We'll go have our workout in about 10 hours," Boston manager Terry Francona said. "It would be a nice idea if you could run through the postseason without losing. I don't know how realistic that is."
Manny Ramirez set a record with his 23rd postseason homer, and Mike Lowell followed with a shot that gave the Red Sox a 6-5 lead in the fifth and a chance to take control of the series.
Then their big bats finally went quiet, and Boston dropped to 4-1 in the playoffs.
Tom Mastny got the win and deserved it: He retired David Ortiz, Ramirez and Lowell in order in the 10th -- a task few pitchers would relish.
"I really didn't have a choice, did I?" Mastny said with a smile. "It's what we play for. It's exciting. It happened to be the heart of their order."
With Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon done after pitching two innings, Eric Gagne came in for the 11th.
The trade deadline acquisition fanned Casey Blake to start the inning, then gave up a single to Grady Sizemore and walked Asdrubal Cabrera.
Nixon, the seventh overall pick in the 1993 draft, singled to right-center off Javier Lopez.
"I didn't hit it hard, but I hit it where I needed to," Nixon said.
It was his seventh postseason hit against a lefty in 132 at-bats.
"I've struggled at times against left-handers," Nixon added. "But I felt good. I felt like the first pitch I saw, I saw real well. You know, for some reason, I just felt a calmness out there in the batter's box."
The Indians, handcuffed by Josh Beckett and the Boston bullpen in Friday's opener, weren't done.
After a run-scoring wild pitch and Ryan Garko's RBI single chased Lopez, Jon Lester came on and gave up Jhonny Peralta's RBI double and a three-run homer to Franklin Gutierrez -- the outfielder who squeezed Nixon out of the starting lineup -- that made it 13-6.
"Trot hasn't been playing much, but he's kept working hard," Garko said.
The seven runs for Cleveland were the most by a team in one extra inning in postseason history.
A career .224 hitter against lefties, Nixon was allowed to leave as a free agent last winter so the Red Sox could pursue J.D. Drew. But Drew also struggled during his first season in Boston and was replaced in the lineup for Game 1 of the ALCS against lefty C.C. Sabathia.
Nixon batted .251 with three homers and 31 RBIs this year, but didn't drive in a run after July 29 as Gutierrez took over the everyday duties. Nixon played one game in the first-round series against the New York Yankees, facing Roger Clemens and going 2-for-4 with a homer and a double.
Even when Nixon is out of the lineup, Indians manager Eric Wedge is glad he's around.
"He's taught a lot of our young players what it means to be a leader," Wedge said. "You've got to be your strongest when other people are sometimes at their weakest, and you've got to pick people up. Trot's season this year, whether he's playing or not playing, he's been very consistent in that clubhouse, on that bench."
Now, Cleveland hopes Westbrook, its No. 3 starter, can do what co-aces Sabathia and Carmona couldn't: Keep Ortiz and Ramirez off base, or at least keep Lowell from driving them in.
The third baseman, who had a career-high 120 RBIs protecting Ortiz and Ramirez in the lineup, has driven home a run in all five Boston playoff games. On Saturday, he hit a bases-loaded single in the third to knock in two runs and then joined Ramirez in back-to-back homers -- and curtain calls -- in the fifth when the Red Sox briefly took a 6-5 lead.
The Indians tied it in the sixth on Gutierrez's RBI groundout.
Ramirez's homer broke a postseason mark he had shared with former Yankees star Bernie Williams. The left fielder, who tipped his cap to the crowd when the accomplishment was noted on the scoreboard, also drew his third bases-loaded walk in two days, setting the record for one postseason.
Ortiz, who walked in the first and singled in the third, tied a postseason record by reaching base safely in 10 straight plate appearances before grounding into a fielder's choice in the fifth. But the big slugger hustled down the line to beat out a potential double play before Ramirez went deep.
Schilling made his first playoff appearance at Fenway Park since his second bloody sock outing, Game 2 of the 2004 World Series, when he took the mound with a surgically repaired ankle and allowed the St. Louis Cardinals just one unearned run in six innings.
He pitched seven shutout innings against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday in the first-round clincher.
But the Indians got to him quickly.
"Everything about this one falls on me," Schilling said. "It's about me coming up small in a big game."
Sizemore doubled leading off the game and scored on Victor Martinez's double. After the Red Sox took a 3-1 lead in the third, Peralta put Cleveland back on top with a three-run homer to center in the fourth.
Sizemore made it 5-3 with his solo shot in the fifth, then Travis Hafner and Martinez reached on consecutive singles with two outs and that was all for Schilling. It was the second-shortest postseason start of his career, and his postseason ERA went from 1.93 to 2.53.
"We put together a great inning to take a lead, and I forced our bullpen into a situation. You're asking your bullpen to put up a lot of zeros and it's not fair," Schilling said.
Carmona also was chased in the fifth. He pitched nine innings of three-hit ball in "The Bug Game," an extra-inning victory over the Yankees in the division series.
That ought to be pretty clear to everyone now.
The longtime Boston outfielder snapped an extra-inning tie with a pinch-hit single, and the Cleveland Indians scored a record-setting seven runs in the 11th to beat the Red Sox 13-6 early Sunday and even the AL championship series at a game apiece.
"I think we all know how a player can cross over to the dark side, but I fully expect that I'm the enemy coming in here," Nixon said. "I was excited to finally get in there at 1:30 in the morning."
The anticipated pitching matchup of postseason star Curt Schilling and 19-game winner Fausto Carmona fizzled into a stalemate that lasted 5 hours, 14 minutes before Joe Borowski got Julio Lugo to ground into a game-ending double play.
The best-of-seven series moves to Cleveland for Game 3 on Monday night, when Red Sox rookie Daisuke Matsuzaka will face Jake Westbrook.
"We'll go have our workout in about 10 hours," Boston manager Terry Francona said. "It would be a nice idea if you could run through the postseason without losing. I don't know how realistic that is."
Manny Ramirez set a record with his 23rd postseason homer, and Mike Lowell followed with a shot that gave the Red Sox a 6-5 lead in the fifth and a chance to take control of the series.
Then their big bats finally went quiet, and Boston dropped to 4-1 in the playoffs.
Tom Mastny got the win and deserved it: He retired David Ortiz, Ramirez and Lowell in order in the 10th -- a task few pitchers would relish.
"I really didn't have a choice, did I?" Mastny said with a smile. "It's what we play for. It's exciting. It happened to be the heart of their order."
With Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon done after pitching two innings, Eric Gagne came in for the 11th.
The trade deadline acquisition fanned Casey Blake to start the inning, then gave up a single to Grady Sizemore and walked Asdrubal Cabrera.
Nixon, the seventh overall pick in the 1993 draft, singled to right-center off Javier Lopez.
"I didn't hit it hard, but I hit it where I needed to," Nixon said.
It was his seventh postseason hit against a lefty in 132 at-bats.
"I've struggled at times against left-handers," Nixon added. "But I felt good. I felt like the first pitch I saw, I saw real well. You know, for some reason, I just felt a calmness out there in the batter's box."
The Indians, handcuffed by Josh Beckett and the Boston bullpen in Friday's opener, weren't done.
After a run-scoring wild pitch and Ryan Garko's RBI single chased Lopez, Jon Lester came on and gave up Jhonny Peralta's RBI double and a three-run homer to Franklin Gutierrez -- the outfielder who squeezed Nixon out of the starting lineup -- that made it 13-6.
"Trot hasn't been playing much, but he's kept working hard," Garko said.
The seven runs for Cleveland were the most by a team in one extra inning in postseason history.
A career .224 hitter against lefties, Nixon was allowed to leave as a free agent last winter so the Red Sox could pursue J.D. Drew. But Drew also struggled during his first season in Boston and was replaced in the lineup for Game 1 of the ALCS against lefty C.C. Sabathia.
Nixon batted .251 with three homers and 31 RBIs this year, but didn't drive in a run after July 29 as Gutierrez took over the everyday duties. Nixon played one game in the first-round series against the New York Yankees, facing Roger Clemens and going 2-for-4 with a homer and a double.
Even when Nixon is out of the lineup, Indians manager Eric Wedge is glad he's around.
"He's taught a lot of our young players what it means to be a leader," Wedge said. "You've got to be your strongest when other people are sometimes at their weakest, and you've got to pick people up. Trot's season this year, whether he's playing or not playing, he's been very consistent in that clubhouse, on that bench."
Now, Cleveland hopes Westbrook, its No. 3 starter, can do what co-aces Sabathia and Carmona couldn't: Keep Ortiz and Ramirez off base, or at least keep Lowell from driving them in.
The third baseman, who had a career-high 120 RBIs protecting Ortiz and Ramirez in the lineup, has driven home a run in all five Boston playoff games. On Saturday, he hit a bases-loaded single in the third to knock in two runs and then joined Ramirez in back-to-back homers -- and curtain calls -- in the fifth when the Red Sox briefly took a 6-5 lead.
The Indians tied it in the sixth on Gutierrez's RBI groundout.
Ramirez's homer broke a postseason mark he had shared with former Yankees star Bernie Williams. The left fielder, who tipped his cap to the crowd when the accomplishment was noted on the scoreboard, also drew his third bases-loaded walk in two days, setting the record for one postseason.
Ortiz, who walked in the first and singled in the third, tied a postseason record by reaching base safely in 10 straight plate appearances before grounding into a fielder's choice in the fifth. But the big slugger hustled down the line to beat out a potential double play before Ramirez went deep.
Schilling made his first playoff appearance at Fenway Park since his second bloody sock outing, Game 2 of the 2004 World Series, when he took the mound with a surgically repaired ankle and allowed the St. Louis Cardinals just one unearned run in six innings.
He pitched seven shutout innings against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday in the first-round clincher.
But the Indians got to him quickly.
"Everything about this one falls on me," Schilling said. "It's about me coming up small in a big game."
Sizemore doubled leading off the game and scored on Victor Martinez's double. After the Red Sox took a 3-1 lead in the third, Peralta put Cleveland back on top with a three-run homer to center in the fourth.
Sizemore made it 5-3 with his solo shot in the fifth, then Travis Hafner and Martinez reached on consecutive singles with two outs and that was all for Schilling. It was the second-shortest postseason start of his career, and his postseason ERA went from 1.93 to 2.53.
"We put together a great inning to take a lead, and I forced our bullpen into a situation. You're asking your bullpen to put up a lot of zeros and it's not fair," Schilling said.
Carmona also was chased in the fifth. He pitched nine innings of three-hit ball in "The Bug Game," an extra-inning victory over the Yankees in the division series.
Baker, Reds agree to three-year deal
ESPN.com news services
Dusty Baker has agreed to become the next manager of the Cincinnati Reds and is expected to be introduced to Cincinnati at a news conference Monday.
Baker, a former Cubs and Giants manager and current ESPN analyst, accepted a three-year deal to skipper the team, beginning with the upcoming season. He will continue to work with ESPN through this season's League Championship Series and World Series.
The 58-year-old Baker's contract wasn't renewed by the Cubs after they finished last in 2006. Lou Piniella replaced him and led the Cubs to the division title this season. Chicago was swept in its first-round playoff series against Arizona.
By choosing Baker, the Reds have broken with their recent history of picking managers with little experience. They also have hired someone with a history of handling superstars -- Baker managed Barry Bonds in San Francisco and Sammy Sosa in Chicago.
Baker managed the Giants for 10 years, leading them to the World Series in 2002. He left San Francisco after a falling out with ownership and went to the Cubs, leading them to the NL Championship Series in his first season.
Chicago had another winning record in 2004, its first back-to-back winning seasons in more than three decades. But the team unraveled in his last two years, and the Cubs let his contract expire after an NL-worst record of 66-96 in 2006.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Dusty Baker has agreed to become the next manager of the Cincinnati Reds and is expected to be introduced to Cincinnati at a news conference Monday.
Baker, a former Cubs and Giants manager and current ESPN analyst, accepted a three-year deal to skipper the team, beginning with the upcoming season. He will continue to work with ESPN through this season's League Championship Series and World Series.
The 58-year-old Baker's contract wasn't renewed by the Cubs after they finished last in 2006. Lou Piniella replaced him and led the Cubs to the division title this season. Chicago was swept in its first-round playoff series against Arizona.
By choosing Baker, the Reds have broken with their recent history of picking managers with little experience. They also have hired someone with a history of handling superstars -- Baker managed Barry Bonds in San Francisco and Sammy Sosa in Chicago.
Baker managed the Giants for 10 years, leading them to the World Series in 2002. He left San Francisco after a falling out with ownership and went to the Cubs, leading them to the NL Championship Series in his first season.
Chicago had another winning record in 2004, its first back-to-back winning seasons in more than three decades. But the team unraveled in his last two years, and the Cubs let his contract expire after an NL-worst record of 66-96 in 2006.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Mazzone ousted as pitching coach of Orioles; no replacement named
By DAVID GINSBURG, AP Sports Writer
October 12, 2007
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Leo Mazzone was fired as pitching coach of the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, less than a month after completing his second season with a struggling staff.
Mazzone worked wonders with the Atlanta Braves pitching staff from June 1990 through the end of the 2005 season but could not duplicate that success with the Orioles. Baltimore ranked 29th among 30 teams with a 5.17 ERA and yielded more walks (696) than any major league club.
"I spoke with Leo today and told him I appreciated his efforts here," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "Moving forward, I felt that we would be better served with someone else working with our young staff and that it was in his best interests and our best interests to give him an opportunity to look elsewhere now."
Mazzone, who turns 59 on Tuesday, had one year left on the three-year contract he signed before the 2006 season. He was lured from Atlanta by then-Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo, a longtime friend who was fired on June 18.
"This is just the business of baseball," Mazzone said. "I had a strong inclination that 2007 was going to be my last year in Baltimore when Sam Perlozzo was released and Dave Trembley was hired.
"While disappointed at not having the opportunity to play a role in the reconstruction of the Oriole pitcher development program, I understand and wish the team great success. I want to thank the Orioles organization for the opportunity to coach some great young talent. And I especially want to thank the fans in Baltimore who always made me feel at home."
Mazzone was proud of the work he did with starters Erik Bedard, Adam Loewen and Jeremy Guthrie, who have developed into solid major league pitchers. But he never could get through to Daniel Cabrera and some of the other pitchers on the youthful staff.
He hoped to finish what he started next year.
"I want to go until I'm 62, and I hope the rest of the way it's in a Baltimore uniform," he said during the final week of the regular season. "I mean this place, it's my home state and this is one of the greatest sports towns in the United States. All we have to do is start winning, and you'll never be able to get a ticket. These fans deserve that. They treat everybody very graciously.
"I expected to hear a few nasty things going out to the mound every once in a while. I don't hear them. They keep telling me to keep the faith, you're doing a good job. It's a wonderful place to be. Things have to be done to put this thing together."
Under Mazzone, the Braves led the NL in ERA in 12 of his final 14 seasons. He helped develop six Cy Young award winners and had 10 different pitchers named to the All-Star team, including Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz.
Updated on Friday, Oct 12, 2007 3:46 pm, EDT
October 12, 2007
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Leo Mazzone was fired as pitching coach of the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, less than a month after completing his second season with a struggling staff.
Mazzone worked wonders with the Atlanta Braves pitching staff from June 1990 through the end of the 2005 season but could not duplicate that success with the Orioles. Baltimore ranked 29th among 30 teams with a 5.17 ERA and yielded more walks (696) than any major league club.
"I spoke with Leo today and told him I appreciated his efforts here," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "Moving forward, I felt that we would be better served with someone else working with our young staff and that it was in his best interests and our best interests to give him an opportunity to look elsewhere now."
Mazzone, who turns 59 on Tuesday, had one year left on the three-year contract he signed before the 2006 season. He was lured from Atlanta by then-Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo, a longtime friend who was fired on June 18.
"This is just the business of baseball," Mazzone said. "I had a strong inclination that 2007 was going to be my last year in Baltimore when Sam Perlozzo was released and Dave Trembley was hired.
"While disappointed at not having the opportunity to play a role in the reconstruction of the Oriole pitcher development program, I understand and wish the team great success. I want to thank the Orioles organization for the opportunity to coach some great young talent. And I especially want to thank the fans in Baltimore who always made me feel at home."
Mazzone was proud of the work he did with starters Erik Bedard, Adam Loewen and Jeremy Guthrie, who have developed into solid major league pitchers. But he never could get through to Daniel Cabrera and some of the other pitchers on the youthful staff.
He hoped to finish what he started next year.
"I want to go until I'm 62, and I hope the rest of the way it's in a Baltimore uniform," he said during the final week of the regular season. "I mean this place, it's my home state and this is one of the greatest sports towns in the United States. All we have to do is start winning, and you'll never be able to get a ticket. These fans deserve that. They treat everybody very graciously.
"I expected to hear a few nasty things going out to the mound every once in a while. I don't hear them. They keep telling me to keep the faith, you're doing a good job. It's a wonderful place to be. Things have to be done to put this thing together."
Under Mazzone, the Braves led the NL in ERA in 12 of his final 14 seasons. He helped develop six Cy Young award winners and had 10 different pitchers named to the All-Star team, including Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz.
Updated on Friday, Oct 12, 2007 3:46 pm, EDT
John Schuerholz stepping aside as Atlanta Braves GM, becomes president
By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP Sports Writer
October 12, 2007
ATLANTA (AP) -- Fourteen straight division titles. Five trips to the World Series. And just one regret.
John Schuerholz stepped aside Thursday after 17 years as general manager of the Atlanta Braves wishing his team had captured more than one Series title during their unprecedented run of division titles.
Otherwise, he's perfectly content with his legacy.
"What else is there?" said Schuerholz, who will become team president and turn over the GM duties to his right-hand man, Frank Wren. "It would have been, unequivocally, the complete validation of the grand nature of this franchise. Nobody could have said anything about the Atlanta Braves and ended the sentence with the word 'but."'
After turning 67 last week and admittedly worn down by the grind of more than a quarter-century as a general manager, Schuerholz decided it was time to go.
He'll still be a key figure in the organization, but will no longer make the call on decisions such as trades, free-agent signings and deciding on the 25-man roster.
"The hardest thing for me was knowing I would have to separate myself from what I love most and what I do best," Schuerholz said. "Team building. That's working with scouts, getting judgments, analyzing reports, asking questions, listening to answers and analyzing information, all of that. I love that. I think I've done it fairly well."
Indeed, he has.
Schuerholz came to the Braves in 1991 after nine years as Kansas City's GM, taking over a last-place team that had signs of potential: pitchers John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Steve Avery were just starting their careers.
The new boss quickly flushed out the roster with established veterans such as Terry Pendleton, Sid Bream and Rafael Belliard, a combination that took Atlanta from worst to first in the NL West and all the way to a Game 7 loss of a classic World Series against Minnesota.
Even though Smoltz is the only player who's been with the Braves throughout the Schuerholz era, the general manager kept a steady flow of talent moving through Atlanta.
Greg Maddux and Andres Galarraga were signed as free agents. Fred McGriff and Gary Sheffield came to the team through trades. Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Brian McCann and Jeff Francoeur worked their way up through the farm system.
And the division titles kept coming with numbing regularity, 14 in a row with an ever-changing roster, until the streak finally ended with a third-place finish in 2005. No other major-league team in one of the four top sports has won that many division titles in a row.
"Obviously, John has done an unbelievable job with the organization," Francoeur said. "He definitely deserves to retire and enjoy what he's accomplished. It's sad, because we didn't want to see him go."
Actually, he's not going anywhere. Schuerholz signed a four-year contract and remains second in command to chairman Terry McGuirk, but will be more involved in the business side of things.
Wren, a former GM with the Baltimore Orioles, spent the past eight years working as Schuerholz's assistant and hoping to eventually replace him.
"Our styles are different," said Wren, who also got a four-year deal. "But our philosophies are very, very similar."
Wren only got word Tuesday that Schuerholz was looking to move upstairs, even though the idea was first proposed by McGuirk six months ago. Schuerholz broke the news to his successor over iced tea after they watched a developmental league game in central Florida.
"I really had no inkling this was coming," Wren said.
The 49-year-old Wren turned down an offer to become Pittsburgh's general manager a few years ago and didn't pursue a couple of similar opportunities. Now, he's got the job he really wanted.
"We're going to keep doing things the way we've been doing them," Wren said. "The Braves way. It's been working pretty well."
While Schuerholz is willing to provide advice in player matters, calling himself a "mentor" and a "sounding board," he made it clear that he won't be looking over Wren's shoulder.
Schuerholz's door will be open. He won't go knocking on Wren's unless asked.
"I let people establish themselves, do their jobs and support them," Schuerholz said.
Atlanta's only World Series title came in 1995, a six-game victory over the Cleveland Indians that gave the city its first, and still only, major sports championship.
Four other times during the streak, the Braves lost in the World Series. They also were the losing team in four NL championship series, and were eliminated four more times in the division series.
After the team's ownership passed from Ted Turner to Time Warner, the Braves began to cut payroll though they remain one of the highest-spending teams in baseball. McGuirk said Schuerholz's new role had nothing to do with another ownership change from Time Warner to Liberty Media.
This season, the Braves missed the playoffs for the second year in a row with another third-place finish in the NL East.
Still, the postseason failures and recent slide do little to diminish Schuerholz's reputation for assembling talented teams year after year, with manager Bobby Cox running things in the dugout throughout the remarkable run.
The 66-year-old Cox has a year left on his contract and hasn't made any decision about whether he'll return beyond 2008. But the change in GMs shouldn't have an impact.
"I think everything's great," Cox said when reached on his cell phone. "Frank is extremely capable and a huge part of what we've done through the years already. The good thing is both of them are still here. It's business as usual."
Updated on Friday, Oct 12, 2007 3:33 am, EDT
October 12, 2007
ATLANTA (AP) -- Fourteen straight division titles. Five trips to the World Series. And just one regret.
John Schuerholz stepped aside Thursday after 17 years as general manager of the Atlanta Braves wishing his team had captured more than one Series title during their unprecedented run of division titles.
Otherwise, he's perfectly content with his legacy.
"What else is there?" said Schuerholz, who will become team president and turn over the GM duties to his right-hand man, Frank Wren. "It would have been, unequivocally, the complete validation of the grand nature of this franchise. Nobody could have said anything about the Atlanta Braves and ended the sentence with the word 'but."'
After turning 67 last week and admittedly worn down by the grind of more than a quarter-century as a general manager, Schuerholz decided it was time to go.
He'll still be a key figure in the organization, but will no longer make the call on decisions such as trades, free-agent signings and deciding on the 25-man roster.
"The hardest thing for me was knowing I would have to separate myself from what I love most and what I do best," Schuerholz said. "Team building. That's working with scouts, getting judgments, analyzing reports, asking questions, listening to answers and analyzing information, all of that. I love that. I think I've done it fairly well."
Indeed, he has.
Schuerholz came to the Braves in 1991 after nine years as Kansas City's GM, taking over a last-place team that had signs of potential: pitchers John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Steve Avery were just starting their careers.
The new boss quickly flushed out the roster with established veterans such as Terry Pendleton, Sid Bream and Rafael Belliard, a combination that took Atlanta from worst to first in the NL West and all the way to a Game 7 loss of a classic World Series against Minnesota.
Even though Smoltz is the only player who's been with the Braves throughout the Schuerholz era, the general manager kept a steady flow of talent moving through Atlanta.
Greg Maddux and Andres Galarraga were signed as free agents. Fred McGriff and Gary Sheffield came to the team through trades. Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Brian McCann and Jeff Francoeur worked their way up through the farm system.
And the division titles kept coming with numbing regularity, 14 in a row with an ever-changing roster, until the streak finally ended with a third-place finish in 2005. No other major-league team in one of the four top sports has won that many division titles in a row.
"Obviously, John has done an unbelievable job with the organization," Francoeur said. "He definitely deserves to retire and enjoy what he's accomplished. It's sad, because we didn't want to see him go."
Actually, he's not going anywhere. Schuerholz signed a four-year contract and remains second in command to chairman Terry McGuirk, but will be more involved in the business side of things.
Wren, a former GM with the Baltimore Orioles, spent the past eight years working as Schuerholz's assistant and hoping to eventually replace him.
"Our styles are different," said Wren, who also got a four-year deal. "But our philosophies are very, very similar."
Wren only got word Tuesday that Schuerholz was looking to move upstairs, even though the idea was first proposed by McGuirk six months ago. Schuerholz broke the news to his successor over iced tea after they watched a developmental league game in central Florida.
"I really had no inkling this was coming," Wren said.
The 49-year-old Wren turned down an offer to become Pittsburgh's general manager a few years ago and didn't pursue a couple of similar opportunities. Now, he's got the job he really wanted.
"We're going to keep doing things the way we've been doing them," Wren said. "The Braves way. It's been working pretty well."
While Schuerholz is willing to provide advice in player matters, calling himself a "mentor" and a "sounding board," he made it clear that he won't be looking over Wren's shoulder.
Schuerholz's door will be open. He won't go knocking on Wren's unless asked.
"I let people establish themselves, do their jobs and support them," Schuerholz said.
Atlanta's only World Series title came in 1995, a six-game victory over the Cleveland Indians that gave the city its first, and still only, major sports championship.
Four other times during the streak, the Braves lost in the World Series. They also were the losing team in four NL championship series, and were eliminated four more times in the division series.
After the team's ownership passed from Ted Turner to Time Warner, the Braves began to cut payroll though they remain one of the highest-spending teams in baseball. McGuirk said Schuerholz's new role had nothing to do with another ownership change from Time Warner to Liberty Media.
This season, the Braves missed the playoffs for the second year in a row with another third-place finish in the NL East.
Still, the postseason failures and recent slide do little to diminish Schuerholz's reputation for assembling talented teams year after year, with manager Bobby Cox running things in the dugout throughout the remarkable run.
The 66-year-old Cox has a year left on his contract and hasn't made any decision about whether he'll return beyond 2008. But the change in GMs shouldn't have an impact.
"I think everything's great," Cox said when reached on his cell phone. "Frank is extremely capable and a huge part of what we've done through the years already. The good thing is both of them are still here. It's business as usual."
Updated on Friday, Oct 12, 2007 3:33 am, EDT
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Baseball Is Given Evidence of Player Receiving Drugs
Although baseball has come forth and introduced a somewhat stringent steroid testing policy, it still is meager and incompetent compared to that of other sporting institutions.
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT
Published: October 11, 2007
Major League Baseball has been given documentary evidence by the Albany County district attorney’s office that a player linked in published reports to shipments of performance-enhancing drugs did indeed receive a banned substance, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the case.
The district attorney’s office is leading the investigation of Signature Pharmacy, an Orlando, Fla.-based company that illegally provided clients with performance-enhancing drugs. Investigators are expected to provide baseball with evidence about other players in the coming weeks, an official affiliated with baseball said.
The law enforcement official and the baseball official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Baseball officials say they believe they need documentary evidence, thought to be shipping or pharmacy records, to ensure that an arbitrator will uphold whatever disciplinary action they take.
Major League Baseball introduced anonymous testing for steroids in 2003 and has increasingly toughened the policy since.
The periods in which the players are believed to have received drugs range from 2003 to 2006, and baseball plans to use the testing policy in place at the time a player received a shipment as a nonbinding guideline when determining discipline.
The policy in 2004 allowed a player to test positive for steroids once without being publicly identified or suspended, with only counseling being mandated. A second positive test required a suspension, but no major league player in 2004 was publicly identified with a positive test.
In 2005, the policy was toughened and first-time offenders were identified and suspended.
Although there is no reliable test for human growth hormone, the league banned its use before the 2005 season. That year the penalty for a first positive test for steroids was increased to 50 games from 10.
Three players — Jerry Hairston Jr., Gary Matthews Jr. and Rick Ankiel — reportedly received H.G.H. before 2005 and so are unlikely to be disciplined.
However, three other players could face suspensions if baseball can establish their guilt.
Orioles outfielder Jay Gibbons reportedly received six shipments of H.G.H. and two shipments of steroids between October 2003 and July 2005.
Blue Jays third baseman Troy Glaus reportedly received multiple shipments of steroids between September 2003 and May 2004, and Mets reliever Scott Schoeneweis allegedly was sent shipments of steroids between 2003 and 2004.
The identity of the player tied to the documentary evidence, one of the three players linked to the steroid shipments, is not known. None of the three have been publicly linked to a positive test.
Although baseball’s testing policy does not expressly address how a player should be penalized for having received a shipment of a banned substance, the commissioner can suspend the player based on just cause.
The players union can appeal a suspension on a player’s behalf.
Major League Baseball officials contend they can discipline a player more harshly if he is caught violating drug policy outside the testing system that was collectively bargained between the union and the league. The union’s position is that possession is less severe than a positive test; it has indicated it would likely fight harsher penalties.
None of players linked to the shipments are in the playoffs, and baseball will probably not announce any suspensions until after the World Series.
The district attorney’s office said in March that it would provide Major League Baseball and the National Football League with a list of players connected to shipments from the pharmacy. The N.F.L. was given the names of a coach, a player and a team doctor who were tied to shipments.
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT
Published: October 11, 2007
Major League Baseball has been given documentary evidence by the Albany County district attorney’s office that a player linked in published reports to shipments of performance-enhancing drugs did indeed receive a banned substance, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the case.
The district attorney’s office is leading the investigation of Signature Pharmacy, an Orlando, Fla.-based company that illegally provided clients with performance-enhancing drugs. Investigators are expected to provide baseball with evidence about other players in the coming weeks, an official affiliated with baseball said.
The law enforcement official and the baseball official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Baseball officials say they believe they need documentary evidence, thought to be shipping or pharmacy records, to ensure that an arbitrator will uphold whatever disciplinary action they take.
Major League Baseball introduced anonymous testing for steroids in 2003 and has increasingly toughened the policy since.
The periods in which the players are believed to have received drugs range from 2003 to 2006, and baseball plans to use the testing policy in place at the time a player received a shipment as a nonbinding guideline when determining discipline.
The policy in 2004 allowed a player to test positive for steroids once without being publicly identified or suspended, with only counseling being mandated. A second positive test required a suspension, but no major league player in 2004 was publicly identified with a positive test.
In 2005, the policy was toughened and first-time offenders were identified and suspended.
Although there is no reliable test for human growth hormone, the league banned its use before the 2005 season. That year the penalty for a first positive test for steroids was increased to 50 games from 10.
Three players — Jerry Hairston Jr., Gary Matthews Jr. and Rick Ankiel — reportedly received H.G.H. before 2005 and so are unlikely to be disciplined.
However, three other players could face suspensions if baseball can establish their guilt.
Orioles outfielder Jay Gibbons reportedly received six shipments of H.G.H. and two shipments of steroids between October 2003 and July 2005.
Blue Jays third baseman Troy Glaus reportedly received multiple shipments of steroids between September 2003 and May 2004, and Mets reliever Scott Schoeneweis allegedly was sent shipments of steroids between 2003 and 2004.
The identity of the player tied to the documentary evidence, one of the three players linked to the steroid shipments, is not known. None of the three have been publicly linked to a positive test.
Although baseball’s testing policy does not expressly address how a player should be penalized for having received a shipment of a banned substance, the commissioner can suspend the player based on just cause.
The players union can appeal a suspension on a player’s behalf.
Major League Baseball officials contend they can discipline a player more harshly if he is caught violating drug policy outside the testing system that was collectively bargained between the union and the league. The union’s position is that possession is less severe than a positive test; it has indicated it would likely fight harsher penalties.
None of players linked to the shipments are in the playoffs, and baseball will probably not announce any suspensions until after the World Series.
The district attorney’s office said in March that it would provide Major League Baseball and the National Football League with a list of players connected to shipments from the pharmacy. The N.F.L. was given the names of a coach, a player and a team doctor who were tied to shipments.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Extension shows Phillies' faith in manager Manuel after division title
By DAN GELSTON, AP Sports Writer
October 10, 2007
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Charlie Manuel might not be the only one earning a big contract from the NL East champs.
Now that the Philadelphia Phillies have signed their manager to a contact extension that could keep him in red pinstripes through the end of the decade, they're prepared to bump their payroll to a franchise high and ensure he has a contending team.
OK, so the payroll won't rival what the New York Yankees pay out every year, but pushing the salaries well past the nine-figure mark might be enough for the Phillies to keep All-Star center fielder Aaron Rowand and add the pitching help they need.
Team president David Montgomery said on Wednesday that the Phillies spent about $103 million in player salaries in 2007 and expects next year's figure to be "in that ballpark, or higher."
The Phillies' opening day payroll has stayed steady at about $90-95 million the last few years. But with a need to sign key free agents like Rowand and reliever J.C. Romero, MVP Ryan Howard eligible for salary arbitration, and holes at third base and in the bullpen, the Phillies will likely have to go deep past that $100 million mark to make another run at the postseason.
General manager Pat Gillick expected ownership to be aggressive.
"It just depends on the players available," he said.
Their first choice would be keeping Rowand in center. Rowand was an instant fan favorite with his diving catches and scrappy attitude, and he emerged as a perfect fit in the clubhouse. But the Phillies might not be willing to give him a deal similar to the $30 million, three-year contract extension Arizona's Eric Byrnes signed.
"We like Aaron. Aaron likes us. Where the road leads us, I don't know," Montgomery said.
If Rowand leaves, they could fill his spot by moving speedy Shane Victorino from right to center or use Michael Bourn in center. But Gillick said starting next season with an outfield combination of Jayson Werth, Bourn and Victorino would "be a stretch."
Gillick's wish list also includes an upgrade at third base over the trio of Wes Helms, Greg Dobbs and Abraham Nunez.
"We need to improve third base," Gillick said.
At least the Phillies are secure in who will manage the team.
Often ridiculed for his accent or his decision making, no one could doubt the way the Phillies responded to the folksy Manuel.
Manuel agreed to a two-year contract with a club option for 2010 on Tuesday night after he led them to their first NL East title since 1993.
"The power the manager has, the hammer, is the length of his deal," Manuel said.
Manuel was rewarded for rallying the Phillies to the division title on the final day of the season. It took a historic collapse by the New York Mets -- they became the first team in major league history to blow a seven-game lead with 17 remaining -- for the Phillies to finish one game ahead in the standings.
The Phillies were swept 3-0 by the Colorado Rockies in Philadelphia's first postseason appearance in 14 years. The Phillies won their only World Series in 1980.
"Winning the East was very big for us this year," Manuel said. "If we can improve our team a little bit, I see no reason in the world we can't finish our business."
The 63-year-old Manuel led the Phillies to an 89-73 record in his third season with the team.
"This is the best attitude, best chemistry of any team I've been around," Manuel said. "I'm very glad to be a big part of that."
Manuel, who previously managed the Cleveland Indians, is 262-224 in three years in Philadelphia. Among Phillies managers, Manuel reached 250 wins in the fewest games since Pat Moran managed the club from 1915-18.
"It never came to our mind that we'd make a change," Gillick said.
The Phillies fizzled in the playoffs and the league's highest-scoring team scored only eight runs in three games against Colorado and batted just .172 (16-for-93) with 26 strikeouts during the series.
The players, however, love Manuel, who hardly seemed bothered this season by his uncertain future. Manuel kept his team together through the slow start and injuries that decimated his staff.
The Phillies started 4-11 in April and, at one point, didn't have projected ace Freddy Garcia or Jon Lieber in the rotation and were without closers Tom Gordon and Brett Myers.
Both Garcia and Lieber went down for the season in June, and Gordon and Myers each missed two months. Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, ace Cole Hamels, Victorino and Bourn and reliever Ryan Madson also missed significant time.
Manuel knows where he wants the Phillies to spend their free-agent bucks.
"We need a big pitcher to go with Hamels, for sure," he said.
Gillick and Manuel will discuss the future of the coaching staff this week.
Updated on Wednesday, Oct 10, 2007 3:31 pm, EDT
October 10, 2007
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Charlie Manuel might not be the only one earning a big contract from the NL East champs.
Now that the Philadelphia Phillies have signed their manager to a contact extension that could keep him in red pinstripes through the end of the decade, they're prepared to bump their payroll to a franchise high and ensure he has a contending team.
OK, so the payroll won't rival what the New York Yankees pay out every year, but pushing the salaries well past the nine-figure mark might be enough for the Phillies to keep All-Star center fielder Aaron Rowand and add the pitching help they need.
Team president David Montgomery said on Wednesday that the Phillies spent about $103 million in player salaries in 2007 and expects next year's figure to be "in that ballpark, or higher."
The Phillies' opening day payroll has stayed steady at about $90-95 million the last few years. But with a need to sign key free agents like Rowand and reliever J.C. Romero, MVP Ryan Howard eligible for salary arbitration, and holes at third base and in the bullpen, the Phillies will likely have to go deep past that $100 million mark to make another run at the postseason.
General manager Pat Gillick expected ownership to be aggressive.
"It just depends on the players available," he said.
Their first choice would be keeping Rowand in center. Rowand was an instant fan favorite with his diving catches and scrappy attitude, and he emerged as a perfect fit in the clubhouse. But the Phillies might not be willing to give him a deal similar to the $30 million, three-year contract extension Arizona's Eric Byrnes signed.
"We like Aaron. Aaron likes us. Where the road leads us, I don't know," Montgomery said.
If Rowand leaves, they could fill his spot by moving speedy Shane Victorino from right to center or use Michael Bourn in center. But Gillick said starting next season with an outfield combination of Jayson Werth, Bourn and Victorino would "be a stretch."
Gillick's wish list also includes an upgrade at third base over the trio of Wes Helms, Greg Dobbs and Abraham Nunez.
"We need to improve third base," Gillick said.
At least the Phillies are secure in who will manage the team.
Often ridiculed for his accent or his decision making, no one could doubt the way the Phillies responded to the folksy Manuel.
Manuel agreed to a two-year contract with a club option for 2010 on Tuesday night after he led them to their first NL East title since 1993.
"The power the manager has, the hammer, is the length of his deal," Manuel said.
Manuel was rewarded for rallying the Phillies to the division title on the final day of the season. It took a historic collapse by the New York Mets -- they became the first team in major league history to blow a seven-game lead with 17 remaining -- for the Phillies to finish one game ahead in the standings.
The Phillies were swept 3-0 by the Colorado Rockies in Philadelphia's first postseason appearance in 14 years. The Phillies won their only World Series in 1980.
"Winning the East was very big for us this year," Manuel said. "If we can improve our team a little bit, I see no reason in the world we can't finish our business."
The 63-year-old Manuel led the Phillies to an 89-73 record in his third season with the team.
"This is the best attitude, best chemistry of any team I've been around," Manuel said. "I'm very glad to be a big part of that."
Manuel, who previously managed the Cleveland Indians, is 262-224 in three years in Philadelphia. Among Phillies managers, Manuel reached 250 wins in the fewest games since Pat Moran managed the club from 1915-18.
"It never came to our mind that we'd make a change," Gillick said.
The Phillies fizzled in the playoffs and the league's highest-scoring team scored only eight runs in three games against Colorado and batted just .172 (16-for-93) with 26 strikeouts during the series.
The players, however, love Manuel, who hardly seemed bothered this season by his uncertain future. Manuel kept his team together through the slow start and injuries that decimated his staff.
The Phillies started 4-11 in April and, at one point, didn't have projected ace Freddy Garcia or Jon Lieber in the rotation and were without closers Tom Gordon and Brett Myers.
Both Garcia and Lieber went down for the season in June, and Gordon and Myers each missed two months. Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, ace Cole Hamels, Victorino and Bourn and reliever Ryan Madson also missed significant time.
Manuel knows where he wants the Phillies to spend their free-agent bucks.
"We need a big pitcher to go with Hamels, for sure," he said.
Gillick and Manuel will discuss the future of the coaching staff this week.
Updated on Wednesday, Oct 10, 2007 3:31 pm, EDT
After strong division series ratings, championship series feature smaller-market teams
By RACHEL COHEN, AP Sports Writer
October 9, 2007
All those fans tuning into the National League division series games to see the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies received an introduction to the young, exciting teams that eliminated them.
Major League Baseball and Turner Sports executives now must hope the exposure translates into viewers for the NL championship series between two clubs with less tradition and from smaller markets: the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.
TBS's foray into televising playoff baseball drew strong ratings despite quick endings for the opening-round series. The 13 games attracted an average of 5.7 million viewers on the cable network. That was a 26 percent increase over last year's figures, which included games available to more people on over-the-air TV on Fox as well as cable broadcasts on ESPN.
"We are extremely ecstatic, if you will," Turner Sports president David Levy said Tuesday. "We didn't believe with three of the four series being sweeps that we'd get these kinds of numbers."
The division series included teams from the nation's four-largest TV markets: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia. The Yankees, Angels, Cubs and Phillies were all eliminated.
The Boston Red Sox, boasting a large national fan base and hailing from the seventh-largest market, remain. They are joined in the ALCS, which airs on Fox, by Cleveland (the No. 17 market). The Indians have the hook of not winning the World Series since 1948.
The NLCS on TBS pits the Diamondbacks (No. 12) against the Rockies (No. 18) -- both expansion franchises created in the last 14 years.
The Boston, Cleveland, Denver and Phoenix markets combine for 7.2 million households with televisions, according to Nielsen. That's fewer than the number in the New York area alone.
This year's NBA finals involving two smaller-market teams drew record-low ratings. Ratings for the Cleveland-San Antonio series were down 27 percent from the 2006 finals featuring Dallas and Miami. The Cleveland and San Antonio markets combine for 2.3 million households with televisions, compared with nearly 4 million between Dallas and Miami.
Levy is optimistic that the momentum of the division series will carry into the NLCS. He cited several factors for the strong ratings that he hopes will continue to hold true.
Later start times this resulted in fewer games being played while fans were at work. The large audiences of TBS and TNT meant that promotions for the playoffs reached a great number of viewers.
The sensitivity to scheduling is reflected in the NLCS games between two teams from the West starting at 8:37 p.m. or 10:18 p.m. EDT -- the first time baseball has scheduled West Coast night games in the LCS.
Beyond market sizes, the competitiveness of a series can make a considerable impact on ratings. An NLCS full of close finishes that goes to six or seven games would likely pull in the casual fan.
"As far as we're concerned," Levy said, "we've already hit a home run."
Updated on Tuesday, Oct 9, 2007 7:55 pm, EDT
October 9, 2007
All those fans tuning into the National League division series games to see the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies received an introduction to the young, exciting teams that eliminated them.
Major League Baseball and Turner Sports executives now must hope the exposure translates into viewers for the NL championship series between two clubs with less tradition and from smaller markets: the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.
TBS's foray into televising playoff baseball drew strong ratings despite quick endings for the opening-round series. The 13 games attracted an average of 5.7 million viewers on the cable network. That was a 26 percent increase over last year's figures, which included games available to more people on over-the-air TV on Fox as well as cable broadcasts on ESPN.
"We are extremely ecstatic, if you will," Turner Sports president David Levy said Tuesday. "We didn't believe with three of the four series being sweeps that we'd get these kinds of numbers."
The division series included teams from the nation's four-largest TV markets: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia. The Yankees, Angels, Cubs and Phillies were all eliminated.
The Boston Red Sox, boasting a large national fan base and hailing from the seventh-largest market, remain. They are joined in the ALCS, which airs on Fox, by Cleveland (the No. 17 market). The Indians have the hook of not winning the World Series since 1948.
The NLCS on TBS pits the Diamondbacks (No. 12) against the Rockies (No. 18) -- both expansion franchises created in the last 14 years.
The Boston, Cleveland, Denver and Phoenix markets combine for 7.2 million households with televisions, according to Nielsen. That's fewer than the number in the New York area alone.
This year's NBA finals involving two smaller-market teams drew record-low ratings. Ratings for the Cleveland-San Antonio series were down 27 percent from the 2006 finals featuring Dallas and Miami. The Cleveland and San Antonio markets combine for 2.3 million households with televisions, compared with nearly 4 million between Dallas and Miami.
Levy is optimistic that the momentum of the division series will carry into the NLCS. He cited several factors for the strong ratings that he hopes will continue to hold true.
Later start times this resulted in fewer games being played while fans were at work. The large audiences of TBS and TNT meant that promotions for the playoffs reached a great number of viewers.
The sensitivity to scheduling is reflected in the NLCS games between two teams from the West starting at 8:37 p.m. or 10:18 p.m. EDT -- the first time baseball has scheduled West Coast night games in the LCS.
Beyond market sizes, the competitiveness of a series can make a considerable impact on ratings. An NLCS full of close finishes that goes to six or seven games would likely pull in the casual fan.
"As far as we're concerned," Levy said, "we've already hit a home run."
Updated on Tuesday, Oct 9, 2007 7:55 pm, EDT
Rudy Giuliani - Booed By Yankees Fans
This is totally funny! Rudy Giuliani -- former New York Mayor and Presidential Candidate -- was booed at the New York Yankees game . Moreover, the blogger, as reported by FireDogLake, says that Rudy didn't seem to know the words to "God Bless America."
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
End of an era: Braves cut ties with center fielder Andruw Jones
After a disappointing and unproductive 2007 campaign, it will be difficult for Jones to receive the hefty contract that he's seeking.
By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP Sports Writer
October 2, 2007
The Atlanta Braves are cutting ties with Andruw Jones, saying they can't afford to keep the perennial Gold Glove center fielder who's spent his entire career with the organization.
General manager John Schuerholz announced the decision Tuesday, shortly after breaking the news to Jones during a one-on-one meeting at Turner Field.
While hoping to stay in Atlanta, Jones wasn't caught off-guard by the team's stance. He made $13.5 million this season and was looking for a hefty raise despite slumping badly.
"I'm fine with it," Jones told The Associated Press when reached on his cell phone. "I'm appreciative of the chance they gave me to play for Atlanta all these years. I understand the decision they have to make. That's just the way it is. It's a business."
Indeed, the move was not unexpected as the 30-year-old Jones batted only .222 in the final season of his $75 million contract. He's eligible to file for free agency after the World Series.
"It just doesn't work for us," Schuerholz said. "It doesn't demean or diminish everything he's done, and I thank him for all his contributions. We all will have fond memories of him."
The Braves plan to use the money they'll save on Jones to bolster their starting rotation -- a glaring weakness beyond John Smoltz and Tim Hudson -- and to sign first baseman Mark Teixeira, who made $9 million this year and is eligible for arbitration.
Still, it was the end of an era in Atlanta. Jones first joined the Braves as a 19-year-old, hitting two homers in his first World Series game at Yankee Stadium in 1996. He has been one of the game's greatest defensive outfielders, winning nine straight Gold Gloves with his diving catches and over-the-wall grabs in center.
Jones would have preferred to stay with the Braves, but the team had no serious talks with his agent, Scott Boras.
"I thought there would be some negotiation or something," Braves right fielder Jeff Francoeur told the AP. "I guess that's what's so weird, that it happened so quick. It's obviously sad when you lose a teammate and good friend.
Jones was one of the game's top sluggers in 2005-06, combining for 92 homers and 257 RBIs, but his production tailed off dramatically this season. He fell to his worst average since becoming a full-time starter in 1997, with 26 homers and 94 RBIs.
Schuerholz said the team got an offer from Boras last December but quickly realized it was far more than anything they would consider.
Boras withdrew the offer, believed to be in the $20-million-a-year range, over the summer when the Braves never responded, Schuerholz said.
"What that did was to signal what we could fully expect," the GM said. Asked how much Boras was asking for, Schuerholz held his right hand over his head. "I can't reach that high," he quipped.
"It was so far removed from what we could even consider doing," Schuerholz added.
Jones is only the latest longtime Braves player to cut ties with Atlanta, following Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Javy Lopez. Once one of baseball's highest-spending teams under Ted Turner, the Braves cut their budget in recent years and went through a change in corporate owners.
"We have to use our assets in the most effective way to put the best 25 people on the field," Schuerholz said.
Jones spent much of the year preparing to play elsewhere in 2008.
"I've been telling people this for a long time," he said. "It's a business. You can't take it to heart. I just have to move on and start with a new team."
When it comes to contract matters, Schuerholz normally deals only with a player's agent. But he decided to call in Jones for a face-to-face meeting.
"It was appropriate for Andruw," Schuerholz said. "He deserved that."
Associated Press freelance writer Amy Jinkner-Lloyd contributed to this report.
By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP Sports Writer
October 2, 2007
The Atlanta Braves are cutting ties with Andruw Jones, saying they can't afford to keep the perennial Gold Glove center fielder who's spent his entire career with the organization.
General manager John Schuerholz announced the decision Tuesday, shortly after breaking the news to Jones during a one-on-one meeting at Turner Field.
While hoping to stay in Atlanta, Jones wasn't caught off-guard by the team's stance. He made $13.5 million this season and was looking for a hefty raise despite slumping badly.
"I'm fine with it," Jones told The Associated Press when reached on his cell phone. "I'm appreciative of the chance they gave me to play for Atlanta all these years. I understand the decision they have to make. That's just the way it is. It's a business."
Indeed, the move was not unexpected as the 30-year-old Jones batted only .222 in the final season of his $75 million contract. He's eligible to file for free agency after the World Series.
"It just doesn't work for us," Schuerholz said. "It doesn't demean or diminish everything he's done, and I thank him for all his contributions. We all will have fond memories of him."
The Braves plan to use the money they'll save on Jones to bolster their starting rotation -- a glaring weakness beyond John Smoltz and Tim Hudson -- and to sign first baseman Mark Teixeira, who made $9 million this year and is eligible for arbitration.
Still, it was the end of an era in Atlanta. Jones first joined the Braves as a 19-year-old, hitting two homers in his first World Series game at Yankee Stadium in 1996. He has been one of the game's greatest defensive outfielders, winning nine straight Gold Gloves with his diving catches and over-the-wall grabs in center.
Jones would have preferred to stay with the Braves, but the team had no serious talks with his agent, Scott Boras.
"I thought there would be some negotiation or something," Braves right fielder Jeff Francoeur told the AP. "I guess that's what's so weird, that it happened so quick. It's obviously sad when you lose a teammate and good friend.
Jones was one of the game's top sluggers in 2005-06, combining for 92 homers and 257 RBIs, but his production tailed off dramatically this season. He fell to his worst average since becoming a full-time starter in 1997, with 26 homers and 94 RBIs.
Schuerholz said the team got an offer from Boras last December but quickly realized it was far more than anything they would consider.
Boras withdrew the offer, believed to be in the $20-million-a-year range, over the summer when the Braves never responded, Schuerholz said.
"What that did was to signal what we could fully expect," the GM said. Asked how much Boras was asking for, Schuerholz held his right hand over his head. "I can't reach that high," he quipped.
"It was so far removed from what we could even consider doing," Schuerholz added.
Jones is only the latest longtime Braves player to cut ties with Atlanta, following Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Javy Lopez. Once one of baseball's highest-spending teams under Ted Turner, the Braves cut their budget in recent years and went through a change in corporate owners.
"We have to use our assets in the most effective way to put the best 25 people on the field," Schuerholz said.
Jones spent much of the year preparing to play elsewhere in 2008.
"I've been telling people this for a long time," he said. "It's a business. You can't take it to heart. I just have to move on and start with a new team."
When it comes to contract matters, Schuerholz normally deals only with a player's agent. But he decided to call in Jones for a face-to-face meeting.
"It was appropriate for Andruw," Schuerholz said. "He deserved that."
Associated Press freelance writer Amy Jinkner-Lloyd contributed to this report.
Colorado 9, San Diego 8, 13 innings
Congratulations to the pesky and energetic Colorado Rockies.
By ARNIE STAPLETON, AP Sports Writer
October 2, 2007
DENVER (AP) -- They played as if they never wanted the season to end, and they had already gotten an extra day.
The NL wild card came down to a wild, 13-inning finish Monday night that put Matt Holliday and the Colorado Rockies into the playoffs and sent Trevor Hoffman and the San Diego Padres home weary and dazed.
Holliday raced home on Jamey Carroll's shallow fly ball, capping a three-run rally against the all-time saves leader, giving the Rockies a 9-8 win in baseball's longest one-game tiebreaker.
"It's been an incredible run from game 1 to game 163," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "This is just a snapshot of what we've been through."
After Scott Hairston's two-run homer put the Padres ahead in the top of the 13th, Colorado came back against Hoffman.
The Rockies won for the 14th time in 15 games and advanced to play at Philadelphia in the first round starting Wednesday.
Colorado trailed 8-6 when Kaz Matsui and Troy Tulowitzki, who had four hits, lined back-to-back doubles off Hoffman. Then Holliday tripled off the wall in right to tie it.
After Todd Helton was intentionally walked, Carroll lined out to right fielder Brian Giles.
Giles' throw home bounced in front of catcher Michael Barrett, who couldn't hold on as Holliday swiped the plate, then lay face-down after cutting his chin with his headfirst slide. Umpire Tim McClelland made a delayed safe call, and replays were inconclusive on whether Holliday touched the plate with his left hand or was blocked by Barrett's left foot.
Holliday said he wasn't sure if he touched the plate, although the ball bounced away anyway.
"The ump said I was safe," Holliday said. "I don't remember. But I hit my chin pretty good. I got stepped on and banged my chin. I'm all right."
Said Padres manager Bud Black: "It looked to me like he did get it."
While their MVP candidate was on the ground bleeding, the rest of the Rockies were celebrating.
Hoffman (4-5) could do little but walk off the mound with his head down. The closer, who has 524 career saves, blew his seventh chance in 49 tries this year.
On Saturday, Hoffman was one strike from clinching a playoff spot when Tony Gwynn Jr. hit a tying triple for Milwaukee, which went on to win 4-3 in 11 innings.
"I'm having a hard time expressing myself right now," Hoffman said. "I wish I could, but I can't after what happened tonight."
The Rockies won the longest game at Coors Field this season behind Holliday, the MVP candidate who clinched the NL batting title at .340. His triple also gave him the league RBI crown with 137, one more than Philadelphia's Ryan Howard.
It was sweet atonement for Holliday, who misplayed Giles' two-out flyball in the eighth inning into a tying RBI double.
"I'm glad we won or that might have haunted me for the rest of my life," Holliday said. "It worked out, and luckily I don't have to think about it."
Carroll entered as a pinch-runner in the seventh and stayed in to play third base. He got one hit before finding himself in position to hit the sacrifice fly that won it.
"I was just trying to get a ball up in the zone," Carroll said. "Had a guy at third. Matty did a great job. Matty ran his butt off. I am so happy that we get this opportunity to go on."
Ramon Ortiz (1-0) got the win. He was the Rockies' 10th pitcher, taking over after Jorge Julio gave up Hairston's homer.
"All we kept saying was 'hold 'em at two, hold 'em at two,"' Hurdle said.
The Rockies are headed to the playoffs for the first time since 1995, when they lost to Atlanta in the first round.
After stranding runners at second in the 10th, 11th and 12th off Matt Herges, the Padres broke through against Julio. Giles drew a leadoff walk and Hairston homered into the bleachers in left-center.
The Rockies didn't flinch.
Colorado and San Diego were tied at 6 in the first play-in game since the New York Mets beat Cincinnati 5-0 for the 1999 NL wild card.
In the bottom of the eighth, Holliday compounded his blunder in the field by stranding the go-ahead run at second when he whiffed against Health Bell, who relieved ineffective Padres ace Jake Peavy.
Manny Corpas went 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth, and Bell sent the game into extra innings by retiring the side in the bottom half, stranding the potential winning run at first base.
The big hit for Colorado earlier came from September callup Seth Smith, who tripled in the sixth and scored on Matsui's shallow sacrifice fly for a 6-5 lead.
Colorado went ahead 3-0 early only to watch Adrian Gonzalez erase the margin with his first career grand slam in a five-run third inning, which Peavy ignited with a single.
The Rockies came back to tie on Helton's 17th homer in the bottom half and Holliday's RBI single in the fifth off Peavy, who looked little like the Cy Young Award candidate he's been this season.
Peavy allowed six runs and 10 hits in 6 1-3 innings. He failed in his bid for his 20th win -- Boston's Josh Beckett was the only pitcher this year to achieve the feat.
Rockies starter Josh Fogg gave up five runs and eight hits in four-plus innings.
The Rockies won a franchise-best 90 games and are owners of the second-best record in the majors since mid-May.
Helton, the subject of trade rumors last winter, is heading to the postseason for the first time in his 11-year career. His 1,578 games in the majors are the third-most by any active player without a playoff appearance.
"That's the best shower I ever had in my life," a drenched Helton said in the clubhouse. "I never knew champagne could feel so good."
Notes
The Rockies thought Garrett Atkins homered in the seventh, but umpire Tim Tschida ruled it hit the yellow railing and bounced back. Crew chief Ed Montague told The Associated Press all six umpires agreed "it hit the yellow pad and came back. The yellow pad was in play. (Hurdle) said it was over. But we looked at that and there's no way it went over." ... It was the first time San Diego had a two-run lead in extras and lost since June 13, 2004, when the Padres dropped a 6-5, 12-inning decision at Yankee Stadium, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
By ARNIE STAPLETON, AP Sports Writer
October 2, 2007
DENVER (AP) -- They played as if they never wanted the season to end, and they had already gotten an extra day.
The NL wild card came down to a wild, 13-inning finish Monday night that put Matt Holliday and the Colorado Rockies into the playoffs and sent Trevor Hoffman and the San Diego Padres home weary and dazed.
Holliday raced home on Jamey Carroll's shallow fly ball, capping a three-run rally against the all-time saves leader, giving the Rockies a 9-8 win in baseball's longest one-game tiebreaker.
"It's been an incredible run from game 1 to game 163," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "This is just a snapshot of what we've been through."
After Scott Hairston's two-run homer put the Padres ahead in the top of the 13th, Colorado came back against Hoffman.
The Rockies won for the 14th time in 15 games and advanced to play at Philadelphia in the first round starting Wednesday.
Colorado trailed 8-6 when Kaz Matsui and Troy Tulowitzki, who had four hits, lined back-to-back doubles off Hoffman. Then Holliday tripled off the wall in right to tie it.
After Todd Helton was intentionally walked, Carroll lined out to right fielder Brian Giles.
Giles' throw home bounced in front of catcher Michael Barrett, who couldn't hold on as Holliday swiped the plate, then lay face-down after cutting his chin with his headfirst slide. Umpire Tim McClelland made a delayed safe call, and replays were inconclusive on whether Holliday touched the plate with his left hand or was blocked by Barrett's left foot.
Holliday said he wasn't sure if he touched the plate, although the ball bounced away anyway.
"The ump said I was safe," Holliday said. "I don't remember. But I hit my chin pretty good. I got stepped on and banged my chin. I'm all right."
Said Padres manager Bud Black: "It looked to me like he did get it."
While their MVP candidate was on the ground bleeding, the rest of the Rockies were celebrating.
Hoffman (4-5) could do little but walk off the mound with his head down. The closer, who has 524 career saves, blew his seventh chance in 49 tries this year.
On Saturday, Hoffman was one strike from clinching a playoff spot when Tony Gwynn Jr. hit a tying triple for Milwaukee, which went on to win 4-3 in 11 innings.
"I'm having a hard time expressing myself right now," Hoffman said. "I wish I could, but I can't after what happened tonight."
The Rockies won the longest game at Coors Field this season behind Holliday, the MVP candidate who clinched the NL batting title at .340. His triple also gave him the league RBI crown with 137, one more than Philadelphia's Ryan Howard.
It was sweet atonement for Holliday, who misplayed Giles' two-out flyball in the eighth inning into a tying RBI double.
"I'm glad we won or that might have haunted me for the rest of my life," Holliday said. "It worked out, and luckily I don't have to think about it."
Carroll entered as a pinch-runner in the seventh and stayed in to play third base. He got one hit before finding himself in position to hit the sacrifice fly that won it.
"I was just trying to get a ball up in the zone," Carroll said. "Had a guy at third. Matty did a great job. Matty ran his butt off. I am so happy that we get this opportunity to go on."
Ramon Ortiz (1-0) got the win. He was the Rockies' 10th pitcher, taking over after Jorge Julio gave up Hairston's homer.
"All we kept saying was 'hold 'em at two, hold 'em at two,"' Hurdle said.
The Rockies are headed to the playoffs for the first time since 1995, when they lost to Atlanta in the first round.
After stranding runners at second in the 10th, 11th and 12th off Matt Herges, the Padres broke through against Julio. Giles drew a leadoff walk and Hairston homered into the bleachers in left-center.
The Rockies didn't flinch.
Colorado and San Diego were tied at 6 in the first play-in game since the New York Mets beat Cincinnati 5-0 for the 1999 NL wild card.
In the bottom of the eighth, Holliday compounded his blunder in the field by stranding the go-ahead run at second when he whiffed against Health Bell, who relieved ineffective Padres ace Jake Peavy.
Manny Corpas went 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth, and Bell sent the game into extra innings by retiring the side in the bottom half, stranding the potential winning run at first base.
The big hit for Colorado earlier came from September callup Seth Smith, who tripled in the sixth and scored on Matsui's shallow sacrifice fly for a 6-5 lead.
Colorado went ahead 3-0 early only to watch Adrian Gonzalez erase the margin with his first career grand slam in a five-run third inning, which Peavy ignited with a single.
The Rockies came back to tie on Helton's 17th homer in the bottom half and Holliday's RBI single in the fifth off Peavy, who looked little like the Cy Young Award candidate he's been this season.
Peavy allowed six runs and 10 hits in 6 1-3 innings. He failed in his bid for his 20th win -- Boston's Josh Beckett was the only pitcher this year to achieve the feat.
Rockies starter Josh Fogg gave up five runs and eight hits in four-plus innings.
The Rockies won a franchise-best 90 games and are owners of the second-best record in the majors since mid-May.
Helton, the subject of trade rumors last winter, is heading to the postseason for the first time in his 11-year career. His 1,578 games in the majors are the third-most by any active player without a playoff appearance.
"That's the best shower I ever had in my life," a drenched Helton said in the clubhouse. "I never knew champagne could feel so good."
Notes
The Rockies thought Garrett Atkins homered in the seventh, but umpire Tim Tschida ruled it hit the yellow railing and bounced back. Crew chief Ed Montague told The Associated Press all six umpires agreed "it hit the yellow pad and came back. The yellow pad was in play. (Hurdle) said it was over. But we looked at that and there's no way it went over." ... It was the first time San Diego had a two-run lead in extras and lost since June 13, 2004, when the Padres dropped a 6-5, 12-inning decision at Yankee Stadium, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
MLB shatters attendance record
By Jason Beck / MLB.com
Eight teams set franchise records, and 15 reported increases
For the fourth consecutive year, Major League Baseball has set a single-season attendance record, drawing nearly 80 million fans to games during the regular season.
The Commissioner's Office on Tuesday announced a final attendance tally of 79,502,524, a 4.5 percent increase over last year. The previous mark of 76,042,787 was broken with one week to go in the regular season, before pennant races and home finales pushed the total even higher.
Eight teams set franchise attendance records in 2007, and 15 others reported increases over last year. Ten teams drew more than three million fans, with the Detroit Tigers doing so for the first time in the franchise's 107-year history.
"The immensity of this record is staggering," Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement, "and it serves as a perfect illustration of the passion and excitement for the game that exists across the Major League Baseball landscape. Our sport has reached heights that were unimaginable only a few years ago. By any measure, this is truly a golden age for Major League Baseball. I thank fans everywhere, and I share their enthusiasm for another memorable October."
Not only did baseball set a single-day attendance record -- with 717,478 total fans at games on July 28 -- but five of the top 15 single-day marks occurred this summer. Nearly 27 million tickets for the season were sold online at MLB.com, also establishing a single-season record.
The Tigers' mark was one of several set in the Midwest. The defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals sold out all 81 home games at the new Busch Stadium on their way to a record attendance total of 3,552,180. Cubs fans packed Wrigley Field again to watch their team rise to the National League Central Division title, drawing a record 3,252,462 in the process. Their chief division challenger, the Milwaukee Brewers, averaged more than 35,000 fans per game en route to a club-record 2,869,144.
Meanwhile, the stalwarts on the East Coast set their respective marks, too. The New York Yankees established a new American League record by drawing 4,271,083, an average of 52,729 per game, to Yankee Stadium. The Red Sox stretched their consecutive sellout streak to 388 straight games en route to receiving 2,970,755 fans at Fenway Park. The Mets' attendance of 3,853,937 was also a franchise record.
On the opposite coast, the Los Angeles Dodgers topped the National League for the fourth consecutive season with a franchise-record mark of 3,857,036, the highest total in the Senior Circuit since 1997. The Angels and San Francisco Giants also topped the 3 million mark, the Giants doing so for the eighth straight year.
In a statement, Major League Baseball credited the leaguewide popularity, in part, to competitive balance. No team finished the season with a winning percentage under .400 or above .600, and only the Red Sox and Indians topped the 95-win mark, each at 96-66.
Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Eight teams set franchise records, and 15 reported increases
For the fourth consecutive year, Major League Baseball has set a single-season attendance record, drawing nearly 80 million fans to games during the regular season.
The Commissioner's Office on Tuesday announced a final attendance tally of 79,502,524, a 4.5 percent increase over last year. The previous mark of 76,042,787 was broken with one week to go in the regular season, before pennant races and home finales pushed the total even higher.
Eight teams set franchise attendance records in 2007, and 15 others reported increases over last year. Ten teams drew more than three million fans, with the Detroit Tigers doing so for the first time in the franchise's 107-year history.
"The immensity of this record is staggering," Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement, "and it serves as a perfect illustration of the passion and excitement for the game that exists across the Major League Baseball landscape. Our sport has reached heights that were unimaginable only a few years ago. By any measure, this is truly a golden age for Major League Baseball. I thank fans everywhere, and I share their enthusiasm for another memorable October."
Not only did baseball set a single-day attendance record -- with 717,478 total fans at games on July 28 -- but five of the top 15 single-day marks occurred this summer. Nearly 27 million tickets for the season were sold online at MLB.com, also establishing a single-season record.
The Tigers' mark was one of several set in the Midwest. The defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals sold out all 81 home games at the new Busch Stadium on their way to a record attendance total of 3,552,180. Cubs fans packed Wrigley Field again to watch their team rise to the National League Central Division title, drawing a record 3,252,462 in the process. Their chief division challenger, the Milwaukee Brewers, averaged more than 35,000 fans per game en route to a club-record 2,869,144.
Meanwhile, the stalwarts on the East Coast set their respective marks, too. The New York Yankees established a new American League record by drawing 4,271,083, an average of 52,729 per game, to Yankee Stadium. The Red Sox stretched their consecutive sellout streak to 388 straight games en route to receiving 2,970,755 fans at Fenway Park. The Mets' attendance of 3,853,937 was also a franchise record.
On the opposite coast, the Los Angeles Dodgers topped the National League for the fourth consecutive season with a franchise-record mark of 3,857,036, the highest total in the Senior Circuit since 1997. The Angels and San Francisco Giants also topped the 3 million mark, the Giants doing so for the eighth straight year.
In a statement, Major League Baseball credited the leaguewide popularity, in part, to competitive balance. No team finished the season with a winning percentage under .400 or above .600, and only the Red Sox and Indians topped the 95-win mark, each at 96-66.
Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Chi Cubs 6, Cincinnati 0
By JOE KAY, AP Sports WriterSeptember 29, 2007
CINCINNATI (AP) -- They lost on the field, fought in the dugout, fell out of contention before the season's midpoint. Then, the Chicago Cubs did something that defied their long history of failure and disappointment.
Somehow, they pulled together and won the division.
Chicago's two biggest offseason investments took them the final step toward the playoffs on Friday night. Alfonso Soriano hit another leadoff homer, Carlos Zambrano kept his cool, and the Cubs clinched the NL Central with a 6-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
"Hopefully we can have a few more little parties like this," said Lou Piniella, who enjoyed a champagne shower in his first season as the Cubs manager. "They're fun."
This celebration was so unexpected.
The Cubs invested $300 million in their roster in the offseason, a big-budget solution to their last-place finish in 2006. By June, it looked like a lousy business decision. Chicago was 8 1/2 games out on June 23, with long-suffering fans ready to write them off.
On Friday night, that $300 million paid a return: 30 cases of fine California champagne, sprayed giddily on everyone and everything in the visitors' clubhouse at Great American Ball Park.
"I'm glad to be cold," said reliever Scott Eyre, soaked through with champagne. "I don't think anybody remembers last year."
Instead, the reference point is 2003, the last time the Cubs made the playoffs. They reached the NL championship series under first-year manager Dusty Baker, only to collapse when a fan interfered with a foul ball in Game 6 against Florida.
Now, they get another chance to make a run at their first World Series title since 1908.
"We're as good as anybody going into the playoffs," closer Ryan Dempster said. "We've played as good as anybody. Since the All-Star break, we've been playing great."
Lately, no one has been better than Soriano.
The outfielder was the centerpiece of the offseason splurge, getting an eight-year, $136 million deal that was the fifth-largest in baseball history. Since returning from a strained thigh that sidelined him for most of August, Soriano has gone on a tear unsurpassed in Cubs history -- 13 homers in September, matching Ernie Banks' record of 50 years ago.
"I'm very proud of myself," Soriano said. "I've never had a good September. This time, my team needed it."
The Cubs stumbled into town after getting swept in Florida, stalling their quest. Soriano got them back in high spirits by hitting the third pitch from Bronson Arroyo (9-15) into the seats in center field for his 32nd homer.
His six leadoff homers in September are the most by any major leaguer in any month -- and that's wasn't the end of it. The left fielder also threw Joey Votto out at the plate in the fourth inning, matching Hank Sauer's team record of 19 assists for the season.
From Soriano's emphatic opening homer, this one had a playoff atmosphere with tens of thousands of blue-shirted Cubs fans giving the visitors a home-field advantage.
"I'm not real happy about that," interim Reds manager Pete Mackanin said. "Nobody likes letting the opposition fans raise the roof in your own ballpark. It's a little unsettling. You'd like to quiet them down and make them a little nervous."
Nothing made Zambrano sweat. Keeping his emotions in check, the right-hander allowed six hits in seven innings and strengthened his case to start the first game of the playoffs.
In June, Zambrano was the epitome of Chicago's tumultuous start. He got into a fight with former Cubs catcher Michael Barrett in the dugout and again in the clubhouse, the low point of Chicago's early slide.
Zambrano completed the turnaround by winning on the same field where he had an emotional meltdown on opening day.
"This one was very important to me," said Zambrano (18-13). "We started the season here. Before the game, I was thinking: Here we started, and here we finish."
When Milwaukee lost to San Diego 6-3 later Friday, the Cubs got to pop some corks in the city where their volcanic manager is still revered for blowing his cork and leading the Reds to a World Series championship in 1990.
Piniella had a new look on Friday -- the customary two-day stubble was gone from his face, shaved clean after that stomach-churning visit to Florida. Piniella kept his eyes on the bigger picture: That four-month comeback to win the majors' weakest division.
"We've got some nice talent here," Piniella said. "At the same time, we got into a situation where the team in front of us gave us a chance to get back in the race. We said, 'All right,' and we got after it."
Piniella's top starter had a new way about him, too.
The Cubs gave Zambrano a five-year, $91.5 million contract extension on Aug. 17 despite one glaring flaw. The 26-year-old pitcher has tended to let the big games get to him, imploding in his last three opening day starts.
Could he handle the pressure this time?
He stayed as serene as those 30 cases of Korbel champagne stored in a room off the visitors' clubhouse, waiting to be shook up.
Notes
No team had clinched a playoff spot in Cincinnati since 1999, when the Mets beat the Reds at Cinergy Field to win the NL wild card. ... The Reds are missing all three starting outfielders to injury. Ken Griffey Jr. (groin), Adam Dunn (knee) and Josh Hamilton (hamstring) combined for 89 homers and 246 RBIs. Their replacements on Friday -- Norris Hopper, Buck Coats and Jason Ellison -- had a combined one homer and 18 RBIs. ... Griffey, who played for Piniella in Seattle, poked his head into the manager's pregame session with reporters in the dugout. "You still doing this stuff?" Griffey asked incredulously.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Cecil Cooper To Remain Houston Astros Manager
By David
Kaye
Despite going 13-15 in his first 28 games, Cecil Cooper will be named the permanent manager of the Houston Astros. Gone is the interim tag and in is the insurmountable task of rebuilding a ball club that has posted a .447 winning percentage in a below average division.
Cooper replaced Phil Garner, who was fired late last month after guiding the Astros to their only World Series appearance in 2005. Cooper's tenure with the organization began that very year as a bench coach and he held that post until being promoted to interim manager.
His hiring is significant for a plethora of reasons, but most notably because he becomes the first African-American manager in the team's 46-year history. Cooper is now the second full-time black manager in Major League Baseball.
Kaye
Despite going 13-15 in his first 28 games, Cecil Cooper will be named the permanent manager of the Houston Astros. Gone is the interim tag and in is the insurmountable task of rebuilding a ball club that has posted a .447 winning percentage in a below average division.
Cooper replaced Phil Garner, who was fired late last month after guiding the Astros to their only World Series appearance in 2005. Cooper's tenure with the organization began that very year as a bench coach and he held that post until being promoted to interim manager.
His hiring is significant for a plethora of reasons, but most notably because he becomes the first African-American manager in the team's 46-year history. Cooper is now the second full-time black manager in Major League Baseball.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Pirates hire Huntington as new GM
Exec spent past 10 years within the Indians' organization
By Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com
PITTSBURGH -- Looking for a general manager with a keen eye for evaluating talent and a scouting background, the Pirates announced early Tuesday that Indians advance scout Neal Huntington had been named to the team's vacant general manager post.
The search for Dave Littlefield's successor, which was led by new Pirates president Frank Coonelly, lasted less than two weeks. And for Coonelly, the check list of attributes was simple.
The Pirates president desired a GM with a vision of success and the tenacity to accomplish it.
The new GM was to be a baseball-minded executive, with strong leadership skills. And finally, Coonelly wanted someone with an unwavering passion for baseball and for the city of Pittsburgh.
In Coonelly's eyes, no one fit that bill better than Huntington.
"With Neal, I found all those attributes," Coonelly said alongside Huntington on Tuesday. "I felt that he was the ideal candidate, as he has had a lot of different experiences. He has been in the field, seen the players, evaluated the players and has also been in the office where the evaluation takes place and the data is analyzed."
Tuesday's announcement ended a GM search to replace Littlefield, who was dismissed from the position on Sept. 7.
Coonelly would not elaborate on other candidates considered for the position, but it is believed that Jack Reid Zduriencik, the Brewers' director of amateur scouting, and Tony LaCava, the Blue Jays' director of player development were also front-runners for the position.
Coonelly did, however, add that though the search was exhaustive, he took a narrowly tailored approach.
"I reviewed the entire baseball landscape, but really had a targeted vision for who I was looking for, and therefore didn't interview as many candidates as perhaps the media wanted me to interview," said Coonelly, who had a working relationship with Huntington in Coonelly's former position in the MLB front offices. "The individuals that I did interview were outstanding candidates, all of them, but Neal brought the most to what I was looking for to move the Pirates forward."
With Coonelly's vision of primarily building the Pirates from the farm system up, Huntington's scouting background is vital to ensuring that this type of system can be successful in Pittsburgh.
Huntington, 38, has spent the last 10 years in Cleveland in a variety of different capacities within the Indians front office. During that tenure, Huntington first served as an assistant director of Minor League operations in 1998, before being promoted to the position of director of player development.
In 2002, Huntington became an assistant to Indians GM Mark Shapiro. He then moved to the position of special assistant to Shapiro following the 2004 season.
Huntington described his most recent position within the Indians organization as one that required the native of Amherst, N.H., to wear a multitude of different hats. As a result, his credentials are broad.
As an adviser to Shapiro and vice president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti, Huntington was involved in nearly all personnel and staffing decisions, as well as trade acquisition discussions. He also spent the majority of his time evaluating talent on both the Minor and Major League level.
When asked about Huntington, Shapiro responded: "[Huntington is] one of our chief evaluators and one of our strongest voices on every level," Shapiro said.
Coonelly echoed Shapiro's praise.
"Neal comes from an extremely successful organization in Cleveland." Coonelly said. "Neal has been part of a system that is very similar to the Pittsburgh market, and they utilized all these different avenues of player acquisition, I think extraordinarily well, and Neal is to receive credit for that."
Huntington, who becomes the organization's 12th general manager, also spent six years with the Montreal Expos prior to joining the Indians' front office staff.
"I think there is a tremendous opportunity here with the Pittsburgh Pirates," Huntington said.
"We're going to change the culture. We're going to change how we do things. Every one of our decisions will be a progressive process in bringing a winner back to Pittsburgh."
Jenifer Langosch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
By Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com
PITTSBURGH -- Looking for a general manager with a keen eye for evaluating talent and a scouting background, the Pirates announced early Tuesday that Indians advance scout Neal Huntington had been named to the team's vacant general manager post.
The search for Dave Littlefield's successor, which was led by new Pirates president Frank Coonelly, lasted less than two weeks. And for Coonelly, the check list of attributes was simple.
The Pirates president desired a GM with a vision of success and the tenacity to accomplish it.
The new GM was to be a baseball-minded executive, with strong leadership skills. And finally, Coonelly wanted someone with an unwavering passion for baseball and for the city of Pittsburgh.
In Coonelly's eyes, no one fit that bill better than Huntington.
"With Neal, I found all those attributes," Coonelly said alongside Huntington on Tuesday. "I felt that he was the ideal candidate, as he has had a lot of different experiences. He has been in the field, seen the players, evaluated the players and has also been in the office where the evaluation takes place and the data is analyzed."
Tuesday's announcement ended a GM search to replace Littlefield, who was dismissed from the position on Sept. 7.
Coonelly would not elaborate on other candidates considered for the position, but it is believed that Jack Reid Zduriencik, the Brewers' director of amateur scouting, and Tony LaCava, the Blue Jays' director of player development were also front-runners for the position.
Coonelly did, however, add that though the search was exhaustive, he took a narrowly tailored approach.
"I reviewed the entire baseball landscape, but really had a targeted vision for who I was looking for, and therefore didn't interview as many candidates as perhaps the media wanted me to interview," said Coonelly, who had a working relationship with Huntington in Coonelly's former position in the MLB front offices. "The individuals that I did interview were outstanding candidates, all of them, but Neal brought the most to what I was looking for to move the Pirates forward."
With Coonelly's vision of primarily building the Pirates from the farm system up, Huntington's scouting background is vital to ensuring that this type of system can be successful in Pittsburgh.
Huntington, 38, has spent the last 10 years in Cleveland in a variety of different capacities within the Indians front office. During that tenure, Huntington first served as an assistant director of Minor League operations in 1998, before being promoted to the position of director of player development.
In 2002, Huntington became an assistant to Indians GM Mark Shapiro. He then moved to the position of special assistant to Shapiro following the 2004 season.
Huntington described his most recent position within the Indians organization as one that required the native of Amherst, N.H., to wear a multitude of different hats. As a result, his credentials are broad.
As an adviser to Shapiro and vice president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti, Huntington was involved in nearly all personnel and staffing decisions, as well as trade acquisition discussions. He also spent the majority of his time evaluating talent on both the Minor and Major League level.
When asked about Huntington, Shapiro responded: "[Huntington is] one of our chief evaluators and one of our strongest voices on every level," Shapiro said.
Coonelly echoed Shapiro's praise.
"Neal comes from an extremely successful organization in Cleveland." Coonelly said. "Neal has been part of a system that is very similar to the Pittsburgh market, and they utilized all these different avenues of player acquisition, I think extraordinarily well, and Neal is to receive credit for that."
Huntington, who becomes the organization's 12th general manager, also spent six years with the Montreal Expos prior to joining the Indians' front office staff.
"I think there is a tremendous opportunity here with the Pittsburgh Pirates," Huntington said.
"We're going to change the culture. We're going to change how we do things. Every one of our decisions will be a progressive process in bringing a winner back to Pittsburgh."
Jenifer Langosch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Championship Sunday: Angels win West
Halos head back to postseason behind Lackey, homers
By Lyle Spencer / MLB.com
ANAHEIM -- Amid a sea of red on a perfect autumn afternoon, the Angels took the first necessary step in the path toward their version of the Promised Land.
Behind John Lackey, a man with a history of responding to the big moment, the Angels put away the Mariners, 7-4, and claimed the American League West title in front of 44,234 Angel Stadium fans on Sunday.
"I take a little pride in that sort of thing," Lackey said in a clubhouse erupting with the sounds of joy and champagne corks unleashed. "I enjoy the opportunity in big games and try to make the most of it.
"I played everything growing up, and I'm pretty competitive. I like to compete in big games. This being Fan Appreciation Day makes it pretty cool. Our fans have been great to us."
Lackey, the long, tall Texan who won Game 7 of the 2002 World Series for the Halos, was up to the task after the Mariners stubbornly stalled the clincher for two days, keeping the fans on hold until the final home game of the regular season.
Going seven innings and holding the Mariners to two runs before turning it over to the bullpen, Lackey delivered a performance that could not have hurt his bid for the Cy Young Award. He has a career-high 18 wins against nine losses, and his 3.11 ERA is second in the AL to Cleveland's Faust Carmona at 3.03.
Francisco Rodriguez, Lackey's fellow rookie with the 2002 champions, closed it out with a flourish, setting Seattle down in order in the ninth for his 38th save to touch off the celebration.
This is the Angels' sixth division title and third in the past four seasons. It's the first time since 1986 that a playoff berth was wrapped up at home. Their lone Wild Card appearance was in 2002 when they went on to win the franchise's first World Series crown.
"This is what you play for," Mike Scioscia said, having claimed his 701st regular-season win as Angels manager. "All you can do is grind it out and try to keep your focus on a day-to-day basis. Last year we fell short of our goal. We're back this year, and it's only the first round."
The Angels likely won't know their AL Division Series opponent until the final day or two of the season, given how close the four clubs likely to be involved are in the chase for best overall record and home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
"We have three more of these after this one," general manager Bill Stoneman said, standing on the periphery of the celebration. "That's the objective here.
"This was an entire team effort, from Mike and the coaches through the entire roster. I don't know how many [players] we had over the course of the season up here, but it seems like they all contributed."
A total of 42 players wore the Angels uniform and appeared in a box score this season.
Scioscia lauded the play of an array of young performers who delivered handsomely, with poise and maturity, as one injury after another claimed everyday players over the course of the season -- starting with the brilliant Chone Figgins and starting pitchers Bartolo Colon and Jered Weaver out of the gate.
"The young kids really came through for them," Scioscia said, "and for us to keep this going and get to our ultimate goal, they'll have to keep doing it."
Added Stoneman: "We've got a lot of guys who are experiencing this for the first time. Hopefully, it whets their appetite."
Facing former teammate Jeff Weaver, older brother of Jered Weaver, the Angels struck early with a pair of those developing talents who excelled all summer.
Casey Kotchman launched a homer leading off the second inning, his 10th of the season, and Maicer Izturis followed with a two-run blast, his sixth, after a walk by Gary Matthews Jr.
"It was a breaking ball down and in, and I got it in the air," Kotchman said of his first homer since July 1. "I've been spoiled. I've been here since Mr. [Arte] Moreno took over, and I've been to the postseason in '04, '05 and now '07.
"To get in [the playoffs] gives you a chance. Now you want to take it as far as you can."
It was especially satisfying for center fielder Matthews and reliever Justin Speier, veteran free-agent acquisitions reaching the postseason for the first time after years of watching October baseball.
"It's everything I thought it would be," said Glove Glove candidate Matthews, who embraced Moreno in the raucous clubhouse celebration.
While Kotchman and Izturis got the Angels jump-started on Sunday, contributions came from everywhere -- notably from the irrepressible shortstop Orlando Cabrera, who delivered with his glove and bat.
Lackey, using his big-breaking curveball as the main weapon in striking out seven hitters, yielded a pair of first-inning singles, but an acrobatic double play turned by Cabrera on a throw from the pitcher helped him out of the inning.
Lackey took a shutout into the fifth, when Ben Broussard doubled and scored on Jose Lopez's single. Lackey left two runners stranded when Ichiro Suzuki went down swinging on a big curve.
"He's a guy who takes pride in getting his hits," Lackey said of hit machine Ichiro. "You kinda know he's going to swing, and you try to take advantage of it."
The Mariners made it a one-run game in the sixth when Raul Ibanez doubled and scored on Broussard's double.
Weaver departed with an injury in the sixth after Izturis singled and Howie Kendrick was hit by a pitch for the second time. After a walk to Jeff Mathis, Figgins' sacrifice fly plated Izturis, and Cabrera's single delivered Kendrick.
Loading the bases with one out against Scot Shields in the eighth, the Mariners scored when Speier recorded a strikeout of Broussard that got past catcher Mathis for a wild pitch.
The next pitch also eluded Mathis for another wild pitch, allowing a second run to score, before Speier retired Jose Vidro on a roller to Kotchman at first to quell the threat.
K-Rod came in and finished off the Angels' 54th home victory of the season, matching the club record set in 2002.
The regular season will end with three games apiece in Texas and Oakland. The Angels will be jockeying for favorable postseason position with the Indians, Red Sox and Yankees, giving importance to all of those games.
"We all know where we've been," said Moreno, the man who signs the checks. "We're pretty excited about where we're going."
By Lyle Spencer / MLB.com
ANAHEIM -- Amid a sea of red on a perfect autumn afternoon, the Angels took the first necessary step in the path toward their version of the Promised Land.
Behind John Lackey, a man with a history of responding to the big moment, the Angels put away the Mariners, 7-4, and claimed the American League West title in front of 44,234 Angel Stadium fans on Sunday.
"I take a little pride in that sort of thing," Lackey said in a clubhouse erupting with the sounds of joy and champagne corks unleashed. "I enjoy the opportunity in big games and try to make the most of it.
"I played everything growing up, and I'm pretty competitive. I like to compete in big games. This being Fan Appreciation Day makes it pretty cool. Our fans have been great to us."
Lackey, the long, tall Texan who won Game 7 of the 2002 World Series for the Halos, was up to the task after the Mariners stubbornly stalled the clincher for two days, keeping the fans on hold until the final home game of the regular season.
Going seven innings and holding the Mariners to two runs before turning it over to the bullpen, Lackey delivered a performance that could not have hurt his bid for the Cy Young Award. He has a career-high 18 wins against nine losses, and his 3.11 ERA is second in the AL to Cleveland's Faust Carmona at 3.03.
Francisco Rodriguez, Lackey's fellow rookie with the 2002 champions, closed it out with a flourish, setting Seattle down in order in the ninth for his 38th save to touch off the celebration.
This is the Angels' sixth division title and third in the past four seasons. It's the first time since 1986 that a playoff berth was wrapped up at home. Their lone Wild Card appearance was in 2002 when they went on to win the franchise's first World Series crown.
"This is what you play for," Mike Scioscia said, having claimed his 701st regular-season win as Angels manager. "All you can do is grind it out and try to keep your focus on a day-to-day basis. Last year we fell short of our goal. We're back this year, and it's only the first round."
The Angels likely won't know their AL Division Series opponent until the final day or two of the season, given how close the four clubs likely to be involved are in the chase for best overall record and home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
"We have three more of these after this one," general manager Bill Stoneman said, standing on the periphery of the celebration. "That's the objective here.
"This was an entire team effort, from Mike and the coaches through the entire roster. I don't know how many [players] we had over the course of the season up here, but it seems like they all contributed."
A total of 42 players wore the Angels uniform and appeared in a box score this season.
Scioscia lauded the play of an array of young performers who delivered handsomely, with poise and maturity, as one injury after another claimed everyday players over the course of the season -- starting with the brilliant Chone Figgins and starting pitchers Bartolo Colon and Jered Weaver out of the gate.
"The young kids really came through for them," Scioscia said, "and for us to keep this going and get to our ultimate goal, they'll have to keep doing it."
Added Stoneman: "We've got a lot of guys who are experiencing this for the first time. Hopefully, it whets their appetite."
Facing former teammate Jeff Weaver, older brother of Jered Weaver, the Angels struck early with a pair of those developing talents who excelled all summer.
Casey Kotchman launched a homer leading off the second inning, his 10th of the season, and Maicer Izturis followed with a two-run blast, his sixth, after a walk by Gary Matthews Jr.
"It was a breaking ball down and in, and I got it in the air," Kotchman said of his first homer since July 1. "I've been spoiled. I've been here since Mr. [Arte] Moreno took over, and I've been to the postseason in '04, '05 and now '07.
"To get in [the playoffs] gives you a chance. Now you want to take it as far as you can."
It was especially satisfying for center fielder Matthews and reliever Justin Speier, veteran free-agent acquisitions reaching the postseason for the first time after years of watching October baseball.
"It's everything I thought it would be," said Glove Glove candidate Matthews, who embraced Moreno in the raucous clubhouse celebration.
While Kotchman and Izturis got the Angels jump-started on Sunday, contributions came from everywhere -- notably from the irrepressible shortstop Orlando Cabrera, who delivered with his glove and bat.
Lackey, using his big-breaking curveball as the main weapon in striking out seven hitters, yielded a pair of first-inning singles, but an acrobatic double play turned by Cabrera on a throw from the pitcher helped him out of the inning.
Lackey took a shutout into the fifth, when Ben Broussard doubled and scored on Jose Lopez's single. Lackey left two runners stranded when Ichiro Suzuki went down swinging on a big curve.
"He's a guy who takes pride in getting his hits," Lackey said of hit machine Ichiro. "You kinda know he's going to swing, and you try to take advantage of it."
The Mariners made it a one-run game in the sixth when Raul Ibanez doubled and scored on Broussard's double.
Weaver departed with an injury in the sixth after Izturis singled and Howie Kendrick was hit by a pitch for the second time. After a walk to Jeff Mathis, Figgins' sacrifice fly plated Izturis, and Cabrera's single delivered Kendrick.
Loading the bases with one out against Scot Shields in the eighth, the Mariners scored when Speier recorded a strikeout of Broussard that got past catcher Mathis for a wild pitch.
The next pitch also eluded Mathis for another wild pitch, allowing a second run to score, before Speier retired Jose Vidro on a roller to Kotchman at first to quell the threat.
K-Rod came in and finished off the Angels' 54th home victory of the season, matching the club record set in 2002.
The regular season will end with three games apiece in Texas and Oakland. The Angels will be jockeying for favorable postseason position with the Indians, Red Sox and Yankees, giving importance to all of those games.
"We all know where we've been," said Moreno, the man who signs the checks. "We're pretty excited about where we're going."
Indians claim AL Central crown
Finish matches month-long span that put Tribe in position
By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com
CLEVELAND -- They clinched it the way they claimed it.
The Indians came into Sunday's game with a supreme focus on locking up the American League Central Division championship in the regular-season home finale, in front of a bustling sellout crowd of 40,250 fans.
"That's what we wanted to do," starter Jake Westbrook said. "We got some help yesterday with Kansas City beating Detroit [dropping the magic number down to one], and we just wanted to get it done today for Cleveland and the fans here."
They got it done, officially, when Rafael Betancourt struck out Mark Ellis in the top of the ninth to cap a 6-2 victory over the A's.
But the Indians' first division title since 2001 and their seventh in 13 seasons became theirs, for all intents and purposes, over the course of a month-long span in which they've beared down and played their best baseball of the season.
The division race between the Tribe and the Tigers was knotted up Aug. 15. Then the Indians turned on the jets and went 27-9 over their last 36 games.
So if they seemed a little more intense and a little more determined Sunday, don't let it fool you.
"We're always intense," center fielder Grady Sizemore said. "I don't think we ever lose that.
This is a team that never gives up."
Still, Sizemore had to admit, "We had a sense of urgency to get it done today."
They certainly showed it.
Westbrook, coming off a rough outing in a big game against Detroit, struck out a career-high nine batters over seven strong innings of work.
Sizemore, batting in the leadoff spot, turned in a four-hit performance for the fourth time this season. All the hits came off lefties.
Betancourt, sent in to relieve Rafael Perez of a two-out, two-on jam in the eighth, pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings, striking out three.
It was a game that served as representation of how the Indians got themselves into this enviable position in the first place.
"We've had a great focus for an extended period of time," manager Eric Wedge said. "You saw it again today."
Wedge always harps on how a team's performance starts with the starting pitching. And from the beginning of this game, it was clear Westbrook had his best sinker working. The crowd began to roar as he prepared to throw the game's first pitch to Shannon Stewart, and he fed off that energy to force key double-play balls in the first and second innings.
"I was throwing the ball hard and locating a lot of my pitches," Westbrook said. "It was fun to pitch today."
This season hasn't always been fun for Westbrook. He struggled in April and strained an abdominal muscle in early May, forcing him to sit for six weeks. When he came back, he looked rusty, right up until he put together an outstanding August that was instrumental in the Tribe's standings surge.
"My season had not gone the way I wanted it to, personally," Westbrook said. "But to be a part of this team and pitching in big ballgames in the second half has been great."
The Indians' offense rose to the occasion of this big ballgame, with Sizemore leading the way. His RBI single off Dallas Braden in the second inning gave the Tribe a 2-0 lead. And in the fourth, his RBI triple to the right-field corner was part of a four-run outburst begun by Casey Blake's two-run double and capped by Asdrubal Cabrera's run-scoring single to left.
Did Sizemore, who was batting just .148 over his previous eight games, feel a particular need to spark the offense on this day?
"It's not that I had to, it's that I wanted to set the tone early," he said. "I wanted to get on base and just create. We knew if we could get ahead early, with the way our bullpen's going, [the A's] wouldn't be able to get back in the game."
Sizemore was right. Westbrook worked through the seventh, with his only blemish coming when he served up a two-run homer to Daric Barton in the sixth.
In the eighth, Perez found trouble by giving up a two-out single to Stewart and a double to Barton. But Betancourt came in to fan Nick Swisher.
All that was left was to finish the job in the ninth. Betancourt, who has emerged as one of the premier setup men in all of baseball this season, kept pounding the outside edge with his trusty fastball to get Jack Cust looking at strike three. Mike Piazza then popped out weakly to second, and Ellis quickly found himself in an 0-2 count with two outs.
"I can't describe how it felt to be in that moment," Betancourt said. "Especially when I had Ellis at two strikes. I kept telling myself, 'I need just one strike.' I just threw the ball where [catcher] Victor [Martinez] wanted it. I was going with my best pitch in that situation."
His best pitch was a fastball that Ellis couldn't catch. And when Ellis swung and missed, Betancourt leapt off the mound and into Martinez's outstretched arms.
Despite all the distractions that came with injuries, April snowouts, lost off-days, reshuffled lineups and rotation adjustments, the Indians were finally champs.
After watching stadium workers raise the championship flag on a pole at the top of the scoreboard, the Indians retreated to a champagne-soaked clubhouse. It was there where Wedge reflected on a club that persevered through some unique situations to get to the promised land.
"It's about these guys," Wedge said. "You know what kind of journey it is. That's why you play so many games. Ultimately, to be a champion, you've got to overcome a lot, and our guys have."
By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com
CLEVELAND -- They clinched it the way they claimed it.
The Indians came into Sunday's game with a supreme focus on locking up the American League Central Division championship in the regular-season home finale, in front of a bustling sellout crowd of 40,250 fans.
"That's what we wanted to do," starter Jake Westbrook said. "We got some help yesterday with Kansas City beating Detroit [dropping the magic number down to one], and we just wanted to get it done today for Cleveland and the fans here."
They got it done, officially, when Rafael Betancourt struck out Mark Ellis in the top of the ninth to cap a 6-2 victory over the A's.
But the Indians' first division title since 2001 and their seventh in 13 seasons became theirs, for all intents and purposes, over the course of a month-long span in which they've beared down and played their best baseball of the season.
The division race between the Tribe and the Tigers was knotted up Aug. 15. Then the Indians turned on the jets and went 27-9 over their last 36 games.
So if they seemed a little more intense and a little more determined Sunday, don't let it fool you.
"We're always intense," center fielder Grady Sizemore said. "I don't think we ever lose that.
This is a team that never gives up."
Still, Sizemore had to admit, "We had a sense of urgency to get it done today."
They certainly showed it.
Westbrook, coming off a rough outing in a big game against Detroit, struck out a career-high nine batters over seven strong innings of work.
Sizemore, batting in the leadoff spot, turned in a four-hit performance for the fourth time this season. All the hits came off lefties.
Betancourt, sent in to relieve Rafael Perez of a two-out, two-on jam in the eighth, pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings, striking out three.
It was a game that served as representation of how the Indians got themselves into this enviable position in the first place.
"We've had a great focus for an extended period of time," manager Eric Wedge said. "You saw it again today."
Wedge always harps on how a team's performance starts with the starting pitching. And from the beginning of this game, it was clear Westbrook had his best sinker working. The crowd began to roar as he prepared to throw the game's first pitch to Shannon Stewart, and he fed off that energy to force key double-play balls in the first and second innings.
"I was throwing the ball hard and locating a lot of my pitches," Westbrook said. "It was fun to pitch today."
This season hasn't always been fun for Westbrook. He struggled in April and strained an abdominal muscle in early May, forcing him to sit for six weeks. When he came back, he looked rusty, right up until he put together an outstanding August that was instrumental in the Tribe's standings surge.
"My season had not gone the way I wanted it to, personally," Westbrook said. "But to be a part of this team and pitching in big ballgames in the second half has been great."
The Indians' offense rose to the occasion of this big ballgame, with Sizemore leading the way. His RBI single off Dallas Braden in the second inning gave the Tribe a 2-0 lead. And in the fourth, his RBI triple to the right-field corner was part of a four-run outburst begun by Casey Blake's two-run double and capped by Asdrubal Cabrera's run-scoring single to left.
Did Sizemore, who was batting just .148 over his previous eight games, feel a particular need to spark the offense on this day?
"It's not that I had to, it's that I wanted to set the tone early," he said. "I wanted to get on base and just create. We knew if we could get ahead early, with the way our bullpen's going, [the A's] wouldn't be able to get back in the game."
Sizemore was right. Westbrook worked through the seventh, with his only blemish coming when he served up a two-run homer to Daric Barton in the sixth.
In the eighth, Perez found trouble by giving up a two-out single to Stewart and a double to Barton. But Betancourt came in to fan Nick Swisher.
All that was left was to finish the job in the ninth. Betancourt, who has emerged as one of the premier setup men in all of baseball this season, kept pounding the outside edge with his trusty fastball to get Jack Cust looking at strike three. Mike Piazza then popped out weakly to second, and Ellis quickly found himself in an 0-2 count with two outs.
"I can't describe how it felt to be in that moment," Betancourt said. "Especially when I had Ellis at two strikes. I kept telling myself, 'I need just one strike.' I just threw the ball where [catcher] Victor [Martinez] wanted it. I was going with my best pitch in that situation."
His best pitch was a fastball that Ellis couldn't catch. And when Ellis swung and missed, Betancourt leapt off the mound and into Martinez's outstretched arms.
Despite all the distractions that came with injuries, April snowouts, lost off-days, reshuffled lineups and rotation adjustments, the Indians were finally champs.
After watching stadium workers raise the championship flag on a pole at the top of the scoreboard, the Indians retreated to a champagne-soaked clubhouse. It was there where Wedge reflected on a club that persevered through some unique situations to get to the promised land.
"It's about these guys," Wedge said. "You know what kind of journey it is. That's why you play so many games. Ultimately, to be a champion, you've got to overcome a lot, and our guys have."
Red Sox Clinch Playoff Berth
The first step towards solidifying a playoff berth was captured last night in Tampa as the Red Sox defeated the last place Devil Rays 8-6.
Tension and uneasiness stills reigns in Boston as the Yankees are making a late season surge at the division title for the ninth consecutive year. Boston has gone from a comfortable 14.5 game lead earlier in the season to a mere 2.5 game lead with just weeks remaining in the season. Still, they are the first team to clinch a postseason birth and they'll be playing in October for the first time since 2005.
With timely hitting and outstanding pitching it will be difficult for the Red Sox to be upended. A first-round matchup with the Indians looks to be imminent and that plays out well for the Sox.
Tension and uneasiness stills reigns in Boston as the Yankees are making a late season surge at the division title for the ninth consecutive year. Boston has gone from a comfortable 14.5 game lead earlier in the season to a mere 2.5 game lead with just weeks remaining in the season. Still, they are the first team to clinch a postseason birth and they'll be playing in October for the first time since 2005.
With timely hitting and outstanding pitching it will be difficult for the Red Sox to be upended. A first-round matchup with the Indians looks to be imminent and that plays out well for the Sox.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Public to decide fate of Bonds' record-breaking ball
By MARCUS WOHLSEN, Associated Press Writer
September 17, 2007
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The fate of Barry Bonds' record-breaking home run ball is now in the public's hands after its buyer announced Monday he was taking votes on whether to give the ball to the Hall of Fame, brand it with an asterisk or blast it into space.
Fashion designer Marc Ecko revealed himself as Saturday's winning bidder in the online auction for the ball that Bonds hit last month to break Hank Aaron's record of 755 home runs. The final selling price for No. 756 was $752,467, well above most predictions.
Ecko had not even taken possession of the ball before setting up a Web site that lets visitors vote on which of the three outcomes they think the ball most deserves. He plans to announce the final tally after voting ends Sept. 25.
"I bought this baseball to democratize the debate over what to do with it," Ecko wrote on the Web site. "The idea that some of the best athletes in the country are forced to decide between being competitive and staying natural is troubling."
The 35-year-old Ecko is known for his pop culture pranks, including an infamous Internet video that showed him apparently infiltrating an airport tarmac and spray-painting graffiti on Air Force One. The incident turned out to be a hoax.
But the auction house that handled the sale confirmed that Ecko is indeed the ball's buyer.
"This transaction is happening and is going to be done by the end of the day," David Kohler, president of SCP Auctions, said Monday.
Kohler called Ecko's decision "brilliant" and said he had already visited the Web site and voted to send the ball to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Matt Murphy, a 21-year-old student and construction supervisor from New York, emerged from a scrum with the ball on Aug. 7. He decided to sell it, he said, because he couldn't afford the tax bill that would result from holding onto the ball.
Some tax experts said Murphy would have owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes based on a reasonable estimate of the ball's value even if he had never sold it. He may also have faced capital gains taxes as the ball gained value.
"This either makes him a lunatic or a genius, one of those two," Murphy said when told of Ecko's actions. "I'm leaning toward genius."
Murphy said he planned to vote to send the ball to Cooperstown.
Ecko himself said he voted to brand the ball with an asterisk, a reference to the belief of some Bonds detractors that the Giants slugger's record is tainted by his alleged use of performance-enhancing substances. Bonds has denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs.
Ecko said what really interests him is seeing what happens when an "American Idol" approach comes together with a serious public debate over drugs in sports.
"My vote really doesn't matter," said Ecko, who identifies himself as a New York Yankees fan. "The American public will tell us what to do with it."
On the Web:
Vote 756: http://www.vote756.com
September 17, 2007
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The fate of Barry Bonds' record-breaking home run ball is now in the public's hands after its buyer announced Monday he was taking votes on whether to give the ball to the Hall of Fame, brand it with an asterisk or blast it into space.
Fashion designer Marc Ecko revealed himself as Saturday's winning bidder in the online auction for the ball that Bonds hit last month to break Hank Aaron's record of 755 home runs. The final selling price for No. 756 was $752,467, well above most predictions.
Ecko had not even taken possession of the ball before setting up a Web site that lets visitors vote on which of the three outcomes they think the ball most deserves. He plans to announce the final tally after voting ends Sept. 25.
"I bought this baseball to democratize the debate over what to do with it," Ecko wrote on the Web site. "The idea that some of the best athletes in the country are forced to decide between being competitive and staying natural is troubling."
The 35-year-old Ecko is known for his pop culture pranks, including an infamous Internet video that showed him apparently infiltrating an airport tarmac and spray-painting graffiti on Air Force One. The incident turned out to be a hoax.
But the auction house that handled the sale confirmed that Ecko is indeed the ball's buyer.
"This transaction is happening and is going to be done by the end of the day," David Kohler, president of SCP Auctions, said Monday.
Kohler called Ecko's decision "brilliant" and said he had already visited the Web site and voted to send the ball to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Matt Murphy, a 21-year-old student and construction supervisor from New York, emerged from a scrum with the ball on Aug. 7. He decided to sell it, he said, because he couldn't afford the tax bill that would result from holding onto the ball.
Some tax experts said Murphy would have owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes based on a reasonable estimate of the ball's value even if he had never sold it. He may also have faced capital gains taxes as the ball gained value.
"This either makes him a lunatic or a genius, one of those two," Murphy said when told of Ecko's actions. "I'm leaning toward genius."
Murphy said he planned to vote to send the ball to Cooperstown.
Ecko himself said he voted to brand the ball with an asterisk, a reference to the belief of some Bonds detractors that the Giants slugger's record is tainted by his alleged use of performance-enhancing substances. Bonds has denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs.
Ecko said what really interests him is seeing what happens when an "American Idol" approach comes together with a serious public debate over drugs in sports.
"My vote really doesn't matter," said Ecko, who identifies himself as a New York Yankees fan. "The American public will tell us what to do with it."
On the Web:
Vote 756: http://www.vote756.com
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Jam Packed AL Wild Card Race Heat Up
By David
Kaye
With just over twenty games remaining in the regular season, three teams in the AL are separated by 4.5 games or less for the wild card lead.
The roller coaster ride that has been the New York Yankees season has cemented them a top the AL wild card standings with a three game lead over the surging Tigers and a 4.5 game lead over the reeling Mariners. Detroit has two more games against Seattle this weekend and only faces a winning team once more this year. Their three game set September 17-19 at Cleveland will be the only difficult matchup for the defending AL champions.
Conversely, Seattle has lost twelve out of thirteen and have fallen 4.5 games off the wild card pace. With two remaining games at Comerica park, a three game set on the road against the AL West leading Angels and three games at home against the AL Central leading Indians it appears highly unlikely that the Mariners will overtake both the Yankees and Tigers.
Currently, Seattle is on a stretch where they play seventeen straight games and twenty three out of twenty-four to end the season.
Capturing the AL East crown for a tenth straight season might be out of the realm of possibilities for the Yankees, but entering the playoffs as the wild card representative is certainly in reach for the Bronx Bombers. Powered by the most productive and exciting offense in baseball, the Yankees should encounter no problems during their next 21 games, with all of their remaining series against divisional opponents.
Kaye
With just over twenty games remaining in the regular season, three teams in the AL are separated by 4.5 games or less for the wild card lead.
The roller coaster ride that has been the New York Yankees season has cemented them a top the AL wild card standings with a three game lead over the surging Tigers and a 4.5 game lead over the reeling Mariners. Detroit has two more games against Seattle this weekend and only faces a winning team once more this year. Their three game set September 17-19 at Cleveland will be the only difficult matchup for the defending AL champions.
Conversely, Seattle has lost twelve out of thirteen and have fallen 4.5 games off the wild card pace. With two remaining games at Comerica park, a three game set on the road against the AL West leading Angels and three games at home against the AL Central leading Indians it appears highly unlikely that the Mariners will overtake both the Yankees and Tigers.
Currently, Seattle is on a stretch where they play seventeen straight games and twenty three out of twenty-four to end the season.
Capturing the AL East crown for a tenth straight season might be out of the realm of possibilities for the Yankees, but entering the playoffs as the wild card representative is certainly in reach for the Bronx Bombers. Powered by the most productive and exciting offense in baseball, the Yankees should encounter no problems during their next 21 games, with all of their remaining series against divisional opponents.
