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By Mel Antonen, USA TODAY
The season is only two weeks old, but home runs are leaving parks at the fastest pace ever.
And, it's not the usual culprits doing the damage.
Chris Shelton, first baseman for the Detroit Tigers, is tied for the major league lead with eight home runs while Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants and the Boston Red Sox's Manny Ramirez have yet to hit a home run.
Starting play Monday, teams have hit an average of 2.48 home runs a game this year.
Sunday, St. Louis' Albert Pujols hit three in the Cardinals' 8-7 win vs. the Cincinnati Reds, giving him eight. And the Cincinnati Reds' Bronson Arroyo has two homers. And he's a pitcher who spent the last three seasons in the designated-hitter American League.
Also Sunday, the New York Yankees hit four home runs against the Minnesota Twins.
Teams hit 2.06 home runs a game in 2005. The highest average was in 2000 (2.34).
Shelton, 23, hit a home run against Cliff Lee at Comerica Park on Sunday to give the Tigers a 1-0 win against the Cleveland Indians.
"I can't really tell you why it went out of the ballpark," Shelton said, "but it did. I wasn't trying to go up there and hit a home run. I was just trying to hit it hard."
Shelton is one of the building blocks in the Tigers' rebuilding process. He started last season at Class AAA Toledo (Ohio) and was promoted to the Tigers after the first two months of the season. He hit 18 home runs while averaging .299 in 107 games for the Tigers.
Bonds, who has bone chips in his elbow, is 4-for-23 with no home runs in nine games.
His longest home-run drought to start a season is 12 games in 1998. Bonds has 708 career home runs, six short of tying Babe Ruth for second on the all-time list.
Ramirez, who has at least 30 home runs in eight consecutive seasons, didn't hit a home run Sunday, so now he's dealing with an 11-game drought, longest of his career, says Elias.
Last season, Ramirez, who led the American League with 43 home runs in 2004, didn't hit his first home run until his 11th game.
Monday, April 17, 2006
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Marlins Owner Jeff Loria Says Willis Trade Rumors Are Not True
Loria: No truth to trade rumors
BY CLARK SPENCER
cspencer@MiamiHerald.com
Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera aren't going anywhere.
So said Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, who tersely dispelled growing speculation that the team might soon be looking to trade its two biggest stars.
''They are so unfounded as to be ridiculous,'' Loria said Friday of the rumors, which have surfaced in recent days on television and in print.
``We are not shopping players. We're rebuilding a team here.''
Loria, speaking just hours before Willis took the mound to face the Washington Nationals, said he doesn't normally comment on trade rumors. But he told The Miami Herald that he thought it was necessary to make an exception in this case, calling the rumors false and ``irresponsible.''
Willis, who finished second in the National League Cy Young Award voting last season after setting a franchise mark with 22 wins, is making $4.35 million, which represents more than a fourth of the team's majors-low on-field payroll of about $15 million.
Cabrera is making $472,000 but is expected to see a large pay increase next season when he becomes eligible for arbitration for the first time.
RED-LETTER DAY
Scott Olsen was told toward the end of spring training to circle April 15 on his calendar.
With that day finally having arrived, the left-hander is anxious about joining the rotation and making his first start for the Marlins this season.
''The days have gone real slow,'' said Olsen, scheduled to take the mound tonight against the Nationals. ``I was working out up in Jupiter when the team left for Texas, everybody was gone pretty much, I was in a hotel room by myself, and I had nobody to talk to.''
Olsen is back among friends and teammates now and said his goal is to remain with the club all season.
''It's going to be a year to develop, and I think and hope I can remain up here and grow,'' the 22-year-old pitcher said.
Olsen made his major-league debut with the Marlins last season, receiving four starts and going 1-1. But less than a week after being sent back to Double A Carolina on July 22, Olsen was shut down for the rest of the season because of discomfort in his left elbow.
''I was only up [with the Marlins] for 29 days and everything happened real quick,'' he said. ``Now I've got a chance to soak it up a little bit, enjoy my time and work hard.''
BY CLARK SPENCER
cspencer@MiamiHerald.com
Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera aren't going anywhere.
So said Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, who tersely dispelled growing speculation that the team might soon be looking to trade its two biggest stars.
''They are so unfounded as to be ridiculous,'' Loria said Friday of the rumors, which have surfaced in recent days on television and in print.
``We are not shopping players. We're rebuilding a team here.''
Loria, speaking just hours before Willis took the mound to face the Washington Nationals, said he doesn't normally comment on trade rumors. But he told The Miami Herald that he thought it was necessary to make an exception in this case, calling the rumors false and ``irresponsible.''
Willis, who finished second in the National League Cy Young Award voting last season after setting a franchise mark with 22 wins, is making $4.35 million, which represents more than a fourth of the team's majors-low on-field payroll of about $15 million.
Cabrera is making $472,000 but is expected to see a large pay increase next season when he becomes eligible for arbitration for the first time.
RED-LETTER DAY
Scott Olsen was told toward the end of spring training to circle April 15 on his calendar.
With that day finally having arrived, the left-hander is anxious about joining the rotation and making his first start for the Marlins this season.
''The days have gone real slow,'' said Olsen, scheduled to take the mound tonight against the Nationals. ``I was working out up in Jupiter when the team left for Texas, everybody was gone pretty much, I was in a hotel room by myself, and I had nobody to talk to.''
Olsen is back among friends and teammates now and said his goal is to remain with the club all season.
''It's going to be a year to develop, and I think and hope I can remain up here and grow,'' the 22-year-old pitcher said.
Olsen made his major-league debut with the Marlins last season, receiving four starts and going 1-1. But less than a week after being sent back to Double A Carolina on July 22, Olsen was shut down for the rest of the season because of discomfort in his left elbow.
''I was only up [with the Marlins] for 29 days and everything happened real quick,'' he said. ``Now I've got a chance to soak it up a little bit, enjoy my time and work hard.''
Jackie Robinson Day! - On This Day On April 15th 1947, He Became The First Black Man To Play In Major League Baseball
A special day for Jackie at Shea - MLB.com
Pregame tribute kicks off Jackie Robinson Day across baseball
NEW YORK -- The words faded in and out on Shea Stadium's video board like torches illuminating a road out of darkness.
"Courage ... Determination ... Teamwork ... Persistence ... "
As the pillars of Jackie Robinson's life framed a video tribute to the baseball pioneer and emancipator, Brewers and Mets players spilled out of their dugouts and made their slow way to the third- and first-base foul lines, respectively.
"... Integrity ... Citizenship ... Justice ... "
Josh Groban's powerful voice, belting out "You Raise Me Up," escorted the powerful images of Robinson's odyssey from signing a contract with the Dodgers through carrying out his contract with America.
And, still, the testimonials kept coming.
"... Commitment ... Excellence ... "
Shea Stadium public address announcer Alex Anthony greeted a house full of sun-splashed Mets fans to a brief pregame ceremony to honor someone who was "a beacon of hope and inspiration to Americans in all corners of the country."
And so fans stood in ovation to welcome Rachel Robinson, Jackie's widow, as she strolled to the middle of the infield between her escorts, Bob DuPuy, the president and chief operating officer of Major League Baseball, and Mets manager Willie Randolph.
Mrs. Robinson waved her response to all sections of the park, then made way for Adriana Lee, a Jackie Robinson Foundation scholar at Rutgers University, to deliver the ceremonial first pitch to Carlos Delgado.
Then four members of the Christ Tabernacle Youth Gospel Choir delivered an acappella national anthem -- and it was over.
Ceremonies marking the third annual Jackie Robinson Day, observed throughout MLB on Saturday and focused on Queens, were as subdued as the event it celebrates.
When Robinson played in his first Major League game on April 15, 1947, everyone recognized the occasion as groundbreaking. Yet no one could foresee the extent to which one man's noble bravery would revolutionize the sport.
Fifty-nine years later, the extent is evident and was reflected in that pregame video montage. Featured were not only African-Americans who have since endowed the game, but also images of Ichiro Suzuki taking bows and Manny Ramirez sprinting with a mini-flag and glimpses of others in the MLB melting pot.
"He opened a lot of doors," said Mets outfielder Cliff Floyd. "Especially at a time that had to be most difficult to play. It had to be really tough on him.
"I think it's great for baseball to now take the time to embrace someone like that, to let people know why this is someone they should appreciate."
As decreed three years ago by Commissioner Bud Selig, Jackie Robinson Day commemorates the man who carried baseball across the color line, with the entire country gradually to follow.
Given the breadth of Robinson's influence, baseball actually has shriveled to a small part of the day held in honor of his legacy. Sport has receded into the background to the Jackie Robinson Foundation, which has aided meritorious scholars for 33 years, and to social progress in the general population.
Thus, the Shea Stadium ceremonies included "silent partners," who seldom hear the overt cheers they deserve.
Such as members of the Tuskegee Airmen, that legendary squadron of 994 African American pilots who helped execute World War II air raids. Three days ago, President Bush awarded to them the same ultimate civilian award presented last year to Jackie Robinson -- the Congressional Gold Medal.
Also attending were Negro League survivors Robert Scott, who pitched for the New York Black Yankees in 1945-50, and infielder Armando Vazquez, who played eight years in the league through 1952.
The mission of Jackie Robinson Day is mainly to recognize, both where we were and where Robinson led us, but also to educate new generations for whom his deed had been faded by time.
For people like Floyd, who is testament that the tributes are working.
Floyd had grown up in Chicago knowing Robinson simply as the man for whom the Little League field on which he played had been named.
"You'd think the coaches would tell you what he had done," Floyd recalled. "But, no, they never said anything. So I really didn't know much about his part in history.
"That's the great thing about this day. It makes people take a new look at what he did, and I think that's important."
Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Barry Bonds - Security Rep Visits Dodgers In Effort To Protect Bonds - SF Chronicle
Baseball security chief visits L.A. as he keeps track of how teams are protecting Bonds
Henry Schulman - SF Chronicle
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Los Angeles -- The first Giants series in Los Angeles prompted a visit from Major League Baseball's security chief, Kevin Hallinan, who revealed he met privately with Barry Bonds each of the last two springs to discuss his safety as he pursues the home-run record.
"I promise these players every year in spring training, I take responsibility for their security and their families' security," Hallinan said. "It's good to have a working relationship with all of them. When one of them is going for a record or is in some way in prominence, they'll get special attention, absolutely."
However, for all the talk of beefed-up security for Bonds in light of the steroids scandal, Hallinan said baseball and the teams Bonds visits are not necessarily flooding ballparks with more cops. Instead, Hallinan is having the teams' operations people talk with one another. For instance, he debriefed the Padres' security folks and asked what they might have done better when the Giants were there last week. Hallinan then had the Padres pass their answer to the Dodgers' people, who in turn will talk to Diamondbacks security ahead of Monday's game in Phoenix.
Hallinan would not divulge specific numbers of security personnel but said, "There's a way of moving people around from a timing standpoint. Sometimes it's good to do a good commercial at the front gate, showing a lot of (security) people. Those are the same people appearing at certain parts of the ballpark. Many times it isn't the number of people, it's how you use them.
"It's like a good shortstop. He knows how to position himself. It's the same with security guards. You've got to know how to position them."
Hallinan will not change his game plan based on the headlines, such as Thursday's revelation that a federal grand jury is investigating Bonds for alleged perjury.
"You try not to let the news of the day dictate what you're going to do or not going to do," he said. "I don't allow what's being alleged in the media and what's happened to impact that. I try to be consistent in my planning process across the board."
More on 25: In a scene sure to be repeated in every city, Los Angeles reporters tried to get manager Felipe Alou to discuss the allegations against Bonds. Alou made it clear he will not answer. When asked for the thousandth time if this was a distraction for the team, Alou said, "We don't have time to give it time here."
General manager Brian Sabean, speaking with Giants beat reporters, was asked if he had any contingencies in case the team lost Bonds for reasons not related to injury. He responded, "We've already done that. We've deepened the team the best we can, whether he's in the lineup or out of the lineup."
LA Angels Spring Training Home Attendance Down From 2005
Angels' home draws raves, fewer fans
JJ Hensley
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 15, 2006 12:00 AM
Spring training put a spring in the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim's step, even if attendance was down this year.
The club drew 94,739 fans this year at the renovated Tempe Diablo Stadium, down from more than 106,000 a year ago. But with the club playing two fewer games and competing for fans with the World Baseball Classic, the Angels brass found the silver lining.
"We think it was a great spring training," said Tim Mead, the Angels' vice president of communications. "With the (World Baseball Classic) event there, there were a lot of people worried about how that was going to affect Cactus League play, but we think there was plenty of baseball to go around for everybody."
Overall numbers from the Cactus League back that up.
The league eclipsed the million-fan mark for the third consecutive year, drawing 1,169,030 for the 12 teams in the league. The World Baseball Classic drew more than 90,000 fans in Arizona.
The numbers league-wide and for the Angels would have been higher but a string of rainouts and a split-squad game on the final weekend of play kept some fans away, Mead said.
Still, he said, the club's revenues were up. Spring 2006 also was memorable as the year the club unveiled the redone stadium, which received a $20 million face lift in less than a year.
Mead said officials with teams throughout Major League Baseball were impressed with the club's facility, which allowed the team to move its minor leaguers into a shared facility with the big-league club.
"The people it probably meant the most to were the kids coming into the minor league camp," he said. "For them, it was, 'We're in the big leagues now.' "
And Tempe is in the big leagues, too, if only for a month.
Mead said the club has always seen a lot of the Angels' trademark scarlet hue in the stadium, but with the new facility, the team has started to create a real connection with Tempe.
"The interest is there," he said. "We've started to reach that point where we start establishing a quote-unquote, home base."
Retailers, restaurants and bars in Tempe and along Mill Avenue are getting used to seeing the effects of spring training at the cash register, too.
"Business is always great during March," and this year was no different, said Sarah Krajnak, manager of The Library,a Mill Avenue bar.
The reason, Mead said, is simple. Between the scouts and the fans, the Cactus League and the World Baseball Classic, "There was probably not a better place in the country to watch baseball than in Arizona."
JJ Hensley
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 15, 2006 12:00 AM
Spring training put a spring in the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim's step, even if attendance was down this year.
The club drew 94,739 fans this year at the renovated Tempe Diablo Stadium, down from more than 106,000 a year ago. But with the club playing two fewer games and competing for fans with the World Baseball Classic, the Angels brass found the silver lining.
"We think it was a great spring training," said Tim Mead, the Angels' vice president of communications. "With the (World Baseball Classic) event there, there were a lot of people worried about how that was going to affect Cactus League play, but we think there was plenty of baseball to go around for everybody."
Overall numbers from the Cactus League back that up.
The league eclipsed the million-fan mark for the third consecutive year, drawing 1,169,030 for the 12 teams in the league. The World Baseball Classic drew more than 90,000 fans in Arizona.
The numbers league-wide and for the Angels would have been higher but a string of rainouts and a split-squad game on the final weekend of play kept some fans away, Mead said.
Still, he said, the club's revenues were up. Spring 2006 also was memorable as the year the club unveiled the redone stadium, which received a $20 million face lift in less than a year.
Mead said officials with teams throughout Major League Baseball were impressed with the club's facility, which allowed the team to move its minor leaguers into a shared facility with the big-league club.
"The people it probably meant the most to were the kids coming into the minor league camp," he said. "For them, it was, 'We're in the big leagues now.' "
And Tempe is in the big leagues, too, if only for a month.
Mead said the club has always seen a lot of the Angels' trademark scarlet hue in the stadium, but with the new facility, the team has started to create a real connection with Tempe.
"The interest is there," he said. "We've started to reach that point where we start establishing a quote-unquote, home base."
Retailers, restaurants and bars in Tempe and along Mill Avenue are getting used to seeing the effects of spring training at the cash register, too.
"Business is always great during March," and this year was no different, said Sarah Krajnak, manager of The Library,a Mill Avenue bar.
The reason, Mead said, is simple. Between the scouts and the fans, the Cactus League and the World Baseball Classic, "There was probably not a better place in the country to watch baseball than in Arizona."
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Friday, April 14, 2006
Barry Bonds: The Witch Hunt Gets Deeper - Feds Investigating Perjury Charge - CNN
They're determined, but I'd be surprised if anything comes of this chapter in the race to get Barry Bonds to admit the use of steroids, even when he's not tested positive. There's still the matter of Victor Conti's recent claims that he never gave Bonds steroids.
Sources: Grand jury looking at whether Bonds lied about steroid use
From Ted Rowlands
CNN
Friday, April 14, 2006; Posted: 2:30 a.m. EDT (06:30 GMT)
SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- A federal grand jury is considering whether to indict San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds for perjury because of testimony he gave to another grand jury in 2003, CNN has learned.
Bonds told the first grand jury in December 2003 that he was clean. The new panel has been hearing testimony for a month about whether the baseball superstar lied about his steroid use during the hearing, several sources said.
"This is extremely bad news for Barry Bonds," said CNN senior legal analyst Jeff Toobin, "because a federal prosecutor doesn't start looking into perjury unless he has a pretty good idea he's going to find perjury at the end of the day."
The U.S. Attorney's office would neither confirm nor deny the report. Grand jury proceedings are generally kept secret.
Bonds' legal team is unaware that a grand jury convened to hear the case, said Harry Stern, a spokesman for the attorneys
On December 4, 2003, Bonds and other athletes testified in the BALCO case, which targeted Greg Anderson, a trainer and longtime friend to Bonds, and Victor Conte, founder of the Bay-Area Laboratory Co-Operative, a sports nutrition center alleged to have created designer steroids.
During the hearing, prosecutors asked Bonds if he had used steroids, and when the man who is seeking to become baseball's all-time home run king emerged from the hearing, his attorney Mike Raines told reporters:
"Barry testified truthfully to the grand jury. Barry Bonds is clean."
Conte spent four months in jail after pleading guilty to distributing steroids, and Anderson was sentenced to three months on the same charge.
Bonds and his colleagues were offered immunity for their testimony. The deal was simple: Tell the truth, and you draw a walk; lie and go down for perjury.
Raines has long said that the federal government is out to get his client. And without admitting any wrongdoing on his client's behalf, he has suggested that prosecutors, with their immunity deal, are setting a familiar snare for Bonds.
"Look no further than Martha Stewart. The trap is perjury," Raines said. "You offer immunity and you get him in there and then you ask them questions and you get them on lying to federal officers.
"That's the trap. That's exactly what they got Martha for."
Raines also has suggested that prosecutors are going after his client because of his name and notoriety, not the allegations leveled against him.
Toobin said that wouldn't surprise him.
"Prosecutors are supposed to go after the big fish. It's those kind of prosecutions that tell everyone that it's not OK to lie to prosecutors or to a grand jury," the legal analyst said.
A House committee considered perjury charges against Baltimore Oriole Rafael Palmeiro when he failed a drug test for steroids following congressional testimony in March 2005 that he had never used them. The committee decided in November not to pursue the charges, citing "confusing and contradictory" information, according to The Washington Post.
"We couldn't find any evidence of steroid use prior to his testimony," committee chairman Rep. Thomas A. Davis III was quoted in the paper as saying. "That's not a finding of innocence, but it's a finding that we could not substantiate perjury."
Bonds' repeated and adamant denial that he knowingly used steroids came under new scrutiny when "Game of Shadows" -- billed as an expose -- hit bookstore shelves last month. The book claims Bonds used steroids he obtained from Anderson during the 1998-2003 seasons. That time span includes the 2001 season in which Bonds swatted 73 homers, surpassing Mark McGwire's single-season record.
Major League Baseball did not begin testing for steroids until 2003. Since the league began testing, the MLB has never reported that Bonds failed a drug test.
Raines has issued a statement saying Bonds has no intention of reading the book. "Barry regards this as an unfortunate distraction to his friends and teammates at the San Francisco Giants, and to the good name and the great players in Major League Baseball," read the statement on Bonds' Web site.
It further stated that the allegations have "misled the public in the interest of financial and professional self promotion."
After the book was published, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig appointed former U.S. Senator George Mitchell to oversee an investigation into steroid use in baseball. (Full story)
Bonds missed most of last season with knee problems and had three surgeries to repair the knee. With 708 career home runs, Bonds trails Babe Ruth by six homers and Hank Aaron, the all-time leader, by 47. He has yet to hit a home run this season.
Sources: Grand jury looking at whether Bonds lied about steroid use
From Ted Rowlands
CNN
Friday, April 14, 2006; Posted: 2:30 a.m. EDT (06:30 GMT)
SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- A federal grand jury is considering whether to indict San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds for perjury because of testimony he gave to another grand jury in 2003, CNN has learned.
Bonds told the first grand jury in December 2003 that he was clean. The new panel has been hearing testimony for a month about whether the baseball superstar lied about his steroid use during the hearing, several sources said.
"This is extremely bad news for Barry Bonds," said CNN senior legal analyst Jeff Toobin, "because a federal prosecutor doesn't start looking into perjury unless he has a pretty good idea he's going to find perjury at the end of the day."
The U.S. Attorney's office would neither confirm nor deny the report. Grand jury proceedings are generally kept secret.
Bonds' legal team is unaware that a grand jury convened to hear the case, said Harry Stern, a spokesman for the attorneys
On December 4, 2003, Bonds and other athletes testified in the BALCO case, which targeted Greg Anderson, a trainer and longtime friend to Bonds, and Victor Conte, founder of the Bay-Area Laboratory Co-Operative, a sports nutrition center alleged to have created designer steroids.
During the hearing, prosecutors asked Bonds if he had used steroids, and when the man who is seeking to become baseball's all-time home run king emerged from the hearing, his attorney Mike Raines told reporters:
"Barry testified truthfully to the grand jury. Barry Bonds is clean."
Conte spent four months in jail after pleading guilty to distributing steroids, and Anderson was sentenced to three months on the same charge.
Bonds and his colleagues were offered immunity for their testimony. The deal was simple: Tell the truth, and you draw a walk; lie and go down for perjury.
Raines has long said that the federal government is out to get his client. And without admitting any wrongdoing on his client's behalf, he has suggested that prosecutors, with their immunity deal, are setting a familiar snare for Bonds.
"Look no further than Martha Stewart. The trap is perjury," Raines said. "You offer immunity and you get him in there and then you ask them questions and you get them on lying to federal officers.
"That's the trap. That's exactly what they got Martha for."
Raines also has suggested that prosecutors are going after his client because of his name and notoriety, not the allegations leveled against him.
Toobin said that wouldn't surprise him.
"Prosecutors are supposed to go after the big fish. It's those kind of prosecutions that tell everyone that it's not OK to lie to prosecutors or to a grand jury," the legal analyst said.
A House committee considered perjury charges against Baltimore Oriole Rafael Palmeiro when he failed a drug test for steroids following congressional testimony in March 2005 that he had never used them. The committee decided in November not to pursue the charges, citing "confusing and contradictory" information, according to The Washington Post.
"We couldn't find any evidence of steroid use prior to his testimony," committee chairman Rep. Thomas A. Davis III was quoted in the paper as saying. "That's not a finding of innocence, but it's a finding that we could not substantiate perjury."
Bonds' repeated and adamant denial that he knowingly used steroids came under new scrutiny when "Game of Shadows" -- billed as an expose -- hit bookstore shelves last month. The book claims Bonds used steroids he obtained from Anderson during the 1998-2003 seasons. That time span includes the 2001 season in which Bonds swatted 73 homers, surpassing Mark McGwire's single-season record.
Major League Baseball did not begin testing for steroids until 2003. Since the league began testing, the MLB has never reported that Bonds failed a drug test.
Raines has issued a statement saying Bonds has no intention of reading the book. "Barry regards this as an unfortunate distraction to his friends and teammates at the San Francisco Giants, and to the good name and the great players in Major League Baseball," read the statement on Bonds' Web site.
It further stated that the allegations have "misled the public in the interest of financial and professional self promotion."
After the book was published, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig appointed former U.S. Senator George Mitchell to oversee an investigation into steroid use in baseball. (Full story)
Bonds missed most of last season with knee problems and had three surgeries to repair the knee. With 708 career home runs, Bonds trails Babe Ruth by six homers and Hank Aaron, the all-time leader, by 47. He has yet to hit a home run this season.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Oakland A's Continue Flirtation With Fremont On New Stadium - It Will Never Work
You've read it here first. By the time the City of Fremont adds the costs required to make the Cisco lot a really viable location for a new baseball stadium, the cost will be so high they'll punt on the entire effort, or be forced to by the city's residents. The traffic needs and environmental and access problems -- not to mention the lack of population density there -- make the site less than acceptable barring a $100 million expenditure on top of the stadium cost.
Just watch.
The other problem is that the A's are darting here and there like a high school girl who just realized boys like her. My read is the team's continuing to play "set up" -- if a deal's not quickly done, then they can say "The Bay Area just doesn't work." Or say, "change the Major League Agreement so we can move to San Jose." I reallly think the A's have adopted that strategy. I'm certain of it. They're moving way too fast and making too many errors in the process.
Here's the Trib article.
A's see a strong pitch in Fremont
Team, Cisco hashing out deal for 143 acres that ultimately could spell end to pro baseball in Oakland
By Chris De Benedetti, STAFF WRITER, OAKLAND TRIBUNE
FREMONT -- Oakland A's co-owner Lew Wolff is close to completing negotiations with Cisco Systems Inc. for a 143-acre parcel, a deal that could clear a major hurdle in allowing the team to move to Fremont, City Manager Fred Diaz said.
"I think we are the lead candidate for the new home of the A's," Diaz said. "If there's a deal to make for both the A's and the city of Fremont, then we'll find it and make that happen."
The Fremont city manager's comments came after Wolff briefly met April 3 with Fremont City Council members and staffers, including Diaz and Daren Fields, Fremont's economic development director.
Some city officials also were at a March 29 meeting in which Wolff told more than 200 people he is serious about pursuing a new ballpark on Fremont land.
If a deal between Cisco and the A's is completed, the next step would be for the team to submit a development application for the site, adjacent to Interstate 880 and just south of the Pacific Commons shopping center. An environmental impact report for the land then would be issued; that would take about 12 months.
Talks have progressed so far that only a few issues, such as stadium naming rights, remainunresolved, Diaz said: "That is my understanding through (talking with) Lew Wolff."
But Diaz said he does not rule out the possibility of the A's staying in Oakland or moving to San Jose or another city.
"I have never underestimated the competition ... in this race to attract the A's," he said.
Both Wolff and a Cisco spokeswoman have declined to comment on the negotiations.
When asked about Fremont sites, Wolff said last week, "You can close your eyes and picture that part of the Bay Area 10 years from now. It's going to be a growth area."
Wolff said Fremont has land that could fit "our idea of a baseball village. It will be more than just a ballpark."
In fact, it could include a hotel connected to the ballpark, thousands of houses and a major retail complex. The A's could use money from the mixed-use development to finance the stadium and avoid touching public funds, Wolff said.
Cisco leased the 143-acre property in 2000, and the San Jose tech company has an option to buy the land between 2007 and 2010. Cisco prepaid about $100 million in rent and also paid infrastructure costs on the parcel, Fields said.
Even if Cisco and the A's complete an agreement, there are many details to be worked out. Access to the Pacific Commons site is a potential problem. The Fremont BART station is about five miles from the site, so traffic could cause problems.
By comparison, AT&T Park in San Francisco provides access for fans through a combination of nearby Caltrain and Muni rail line stations, a ferry stop behind the stadium and BART lines several blocks away on Market Street. Oakland's McAfee Coliseum features nearby BART and Capitol Corridor stops. But those details can be worked out, Wolff said.
"Everybody is looking for the negative here," he said. "There are lots of issues, and we'll deal with all of them. I don't have all the answers this minute."
Wolff, a Los Angeles developer, co-owns the team with billionaire John Fisher, son of Gap founder Don Fisher. Wolff has turned to Fremont because he believes the team needs a new ballpark to replace its current, 40-year-old Oakland home.
A Fremont ballpark would allow the A's to tap into the corporate dollars of Silicon Valley without invading the South Bay territorial rights that belong to the San Francisco Giants. In Fremont, the team also would stay close to the East Bay suburbs along the Interstate 680 corridor.
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Monday, April 10, 2006
Oakland A's Top Seattle Mariners 6-4
A's nearly throw lead away but hang on to top Mariners
By Joe Roderick
Knight Ridder
Talk to other A's fans in our forum
SEATTLE - Oh sure, there was some good-natured ribbing going on among relievers Justin Duchscherer and Huston Street in the afterglow of the A's 6-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday.
But no one found any humor -- at least not those wearing green and gold -- when Street's underhand lob in the ninth inning to Nick Swisher was high, pulling the first baseman off the base and prolonging a game that was quickly becoming a slapstick routine.
``It wasn't very comfortable sitting on the bench that last out,'' Manager Ken Macha said.
Street, after his miscue, induced Jose Lopez to ground out to shortstop Bobby Crosby, mercifully ending this one. It was remarkable that the game came down to the wire after the A's took a 6-0 lead into the eighth, with starter Rich Harden having allowed just two hits.
With an absence of the customary postgame music -- players were riveted to the Masters on the big screen -- reporters approached Street, who first had to hear it from his buddy and fellow reliever.
``Softball, underhanded lollygagging,'' is what Duchscherer called Street's toss on a smash hit by Ichiro Suzuki. ``We get on Huston, but he knows we're just joking. He always does that when he fields a ball. Ichiro's speed might have shocked him.''
Actually, replays showed Swisher touched the base a split-second before Suzuki. The two then collided, bringing the potential go-ahead run, in Lopez, to the plate.
``It looked ugly,'' Macha said. ``He's got to get his feet under him. He ran halfway over there and threw a grenade.''
Said Street, ``I like to run the ball over there. I thought I had more time. I didn't realize how fast Ichiro is. He hit the ball hard and I still didn't have time.''
The way Harden was comporting himself, Street -- and everyone else at Safeco Field -- thought he wouldn't get anywhere near the mound.
``I think the gun here is off,'' Street said. ``He was throwing a lot harder than that.''
When told Harden was touching 97 mph on the scoreboard clock, Street said, ``Those were probably 100.''
Harden retired the first 14 batters before Adrian Beltre singled to left-center with two out in the fifth. He allowed a seventh-inning double to Richie Sexson, then Beltre walked and Jeremy Reed singled to begin the eighth. As Harden said, ``I was out of gas.''
The A's streak of 27 scoreless innings -- two away from tying the team's second-longest stretch -- was intact until Duchscherer hit Lopez on a 1-2 count with the bases loaded in the eighth. (The club record of 37 consecutive scoreless innings was set in 1983.)
``I didn't want to be the guy to end the consecutive-shutout streak,'' Duchscherer said. ``I threw him a front-door slider and it stayed in and hit him on the elbow.''
Harden wouldn't allow thoughts of a no-hitter to seep into his conscience.
``If you start thinking about that stuff out there you're going to try to change,'' he said. ``You have to keep doing what you're doing and not change. I didn't think about it.''
The A's scraped together enough runs, though the lead was precarious at the end. Mark Ellis, who was hitting .158 and had Saturday off, returned to leadoff and went 3 for 4.
Eric Chavez gave the A's a six-run lead with a seventh-inning home run, his third in seven games. Chavez didn't hit his third homer last season until May 17.
By Joe Roderick
Knight Ridder
Talk to other A's fans in our forum
SEATTLE - Oh sure, there was some good-natured ribbing going on among relievers Justin Duchscherer and Huston Street in the afterglow of the A's 6-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday.
But no one found any humor -- at least not those wearing green and gold -- when Street's underhand lob in the ninth inning to Nick Swisher was high, pulling the first baseman off the base and prolonging a game that was quickly becoming a slapstick routine.
``It wasn't very comfortable sitting on the bench that last out,'' Manager Ken Macha said.
Street, after his miscue, induced Jose Lopez to ground out to shortstop Bobby Crosby, mercifully ending this one. It was remarkable that the game came down to the wire after the A's took a 6-0 lead into the eighth, with starter Rich Harden having allowed just two hits.
With an absence of the customary postgame music -- players were riveted to the Masters on the big screen -- reporters approached Street, who first had to hear it from his buddy and fellow reliever.
``Softball, underhanded lollygagging,'' is what Duchscherer called Street's toss on a smash hit by Ichiro Suzuki. ``We get on Huston, but he knows we're just joking. He always does that when he fields a ball. Ichiro's speed might have shocked him.''
Actually, replays showed Swisher touched the base a split-second before Suzuki. The two then collided, bringing the potential go-ahead run, in Lopez, to the plate.
``It looked ugly,'' Macha said. ``He's got to get his feet under him. He ran halfway over there and threw a grenade.''
Said Street, ``I like to run the ball over there. I thought I had more time. I didn't realize how fast Ichiro is. He hit the ball hard and I still didn't have time.''
The way Harden was comporting himself, Street -- and everyone else at Safeco Field -- thought he wouldn't get anywhere near the mound.
``I think the gun here is off,'' Street said. ``He was throwing a lot harder than that.''
When told Harden was touching 97 mph on the scoreboard clock, Street said, ``Those were probably 100.''
Harden retired the first 14 batters before Adrian Beltre singled to left-center with two out in the fifth. He allowed a seventh-inning double to Richie Sexson, then Beltre walked and Jeremy Reed singled to begin the eighth. As Harden said, ``I was out of gas.''
The A's streak of 27 scoreless innings -- two away from tying the team's second-longest stretch -- was intact until Duchscherer hit Lopez on a 1-2 count with the bases loaded in the eighth. (The club record of 37 consecutive scoreless innings was set in 1983.)
``I didn't want to be the guy to end the consecutive-shutout streak,'' Duchscherer said. ``I threw him a front-door slider and it stayed in and hit him on the elbow.''
Harden wouldn't allow thoughts of a no-hitter to seep into his conscience.
``If you start thinking about that stuff out there you're going to try to change,'' he said. ``You have to keep doing what you're doing and not change. I didn't think about it.''
The A's scraped together enough runs, though the lead was precarious at the end. Mark Ellis, who was hitting .158 and had Saturday off, returned to leadoff and went 3 for 4.
Eric Chavez gave the A's a six-run lead with a seventh-inning home run, his third in seven games. Chavez didn't hit his third homer last season until May 17.
New York Yankees Beat LA Angels
Posada stars as Yankees trounce Angels
Anaheim, CA (Sports Network) - Jorge Posada hit his first two home runs of the season while knocking in five runs, as the New York Yankees avoided a sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels by posting a 10-1 win at Angel Stadium.
Robinson Cano plated a pair of runs on three hits and Alex Rodriguez also posted three hits, including his second home run of the season for the Yankees, who halted a four-game losing streak.
Mike Mussina (1-0) turned in a strong start by allowing just one run and five hits over six innings. He also struck out five and walked two to grab his first win of the season after getting a no decision in his first start against Oakland.
Chone Figgins drove in the lone run for the Angels, who had a modest two-game winning streak halted. Los Angeles was trying for a home sweep against the Yankees for the first time since 1995.
Bartolo Colon (0-1) hardly looked like the reigning Cy Young award winner as he was torched for eight runs - seven earned - on seven hits in just two-plus innings of work. He also received a no decision in his first start of the season.
After plating 15 runs in their first game of the season against Oakland, the Yankees had scored just 10 runs over their last four games, including just three over their two games against the Angles. New York, though, broke out of their slump in a hurry with a five-run second inning.
Rodriguez, who has always hit Colon well in his career, started the barrage. He came into the game with seven home runs and 16 RBI in 43 at bats against the right-handed hurler and his first at bat of the day was no different as he drilled a 1-0 pitch over the center field wall.
The flood gates opened from there as Jason Giambi singled and Hideki Matsui reached on an error before Posada took Colon deep for a three-run homer that made it a 4-0 game with no outs.
Cano followed with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Miguel Cairo, and, after Johnny Damon walked, scored on Derek Jeter's double down the right field line.
Colon didn't make it out of the third as he opened up the inning by walking Giambi before allowing a single to Matsui and a double to Posada that plated Giambi.
The spelled the end for Colon and he was replaced by Esteban Yan, who promptly allowed a two-run double to Cano for an 8-0 Yankees lead before settling down to get out of the inning.
Los Angeles got on the board in the bottom of the third on Figgins' run- scoring single that plated Jeff Mathis to make it 8-1. The Angles had the bases loaded with two outs, but Tim Salmon flied out to the warning track in left field to squander the chance.
Posada led off the fifth inning with a solo blast to right field to make it a 9-1 contest. In the sixth, Matsui put New York in double digits after his single to center scored Rodriguez. The Yankees had the bases loaded in the inning, but Cano grounded into a force out to end the threat.
Anaheim, CA (Sports Network) - Jorge Posada hit his first two home runs of the season while knocking in five runs, as the New York Yankees avoided a sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels by posting a 10-1 win at Angel Stadium.
Robinson Cano plated a pair of runs on three hits and Alex Rodriguez also posted three hits, including his second home run of the season for the Yankees, who halted a four-game losing streak.
Mike Mussina (1-0) turned in a strong start by allowing just one run and five hits over six innings. He also struck out five and walked two to grab his first win of the season after getting a no decision in his first start against Oakland.
Chone Figgins drove in the lone run for the Angels, who had a modest two-game winning streak halted. Los Angeles was trying for a home sweep against the Yankees for the first time since 1995.
Bartolo Colon (0-1) hardly looked like the reigning Cy Young award winner as he was torched for eight runs - seven earned - on seven hits in just two-plus innings of work. He also received a no decision in his first start of the season.
After plating 15 runs in their first game of the season against Oakland, the Yankees had scored just 10 runs over their last four games, including just three over their two games against the Angles. New York, though, broke out of their slump in a hurry with a five-run second inning.
Rodriguez, who has always hit Colon well in his career, started the barrage. He came into the game with seven home runs and 16 RBI in 43 at bats against the right-handed hurler and his first at bat of the day was no different as he drilled a 1-0 pitch over the center field wall.
The flood gates opened from there as Jason Giambi singled and Hideki Matsui reached on an error before Posada took Colon deep for a three-run homer that made it a 4-0 game with no outs.
Cano followed with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Miguel Cairo, and, after Johnny Damon walked, scored on Derek Jeter's double down the right field line.
Colon didn't make it out of the third as he opened up the inning by walking Giambi before allowing a single to Matsui and a double to Posada that plated Giambi.
The spelled the end for Colon and he was replaced by Esteban Yan, who promptly allowed a two-run double to Cano for an 8-0 Yankees lead before settling down to get out of the inning.
Los Angeles got on the board in the bottom of the third on Figgins' run- scoring single that plated Jeff Mathis to make it 8-1. The Angles had the bases loaded with two outs, but Tim Salmon flied out to the warning track in left field to squander the chance.
Posada led off the fifth inning with a solo blast to right field to make it a 9-1 contest. In the sixth, Matsui put New York in double digits after his single to center scored Rodriguez. The Yankees had the bases loaded in the inning, but Cano grounded into a force out to end the threat.
New York Yankees Beat LA Angels
Posada stars as Yankees trounce Angels
Anaheim, CA (Sports Network) - Jorge Posada hit his first two home runs of the season while knocking in five runs, as the New York Yankees avoided a sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels by posting a 10-1 win at Angel Stadium.
Robinson Cano plated a pair of runs on three hits and Alex Rodriguez also posted three hits, including his second home run of the season for the Yankees, who halted a four-game losing streak.
Mike Mussina (1-0) turned in a strong start by allowing just one run and five hits over six innings. He also struck out five and walked two to grab his first win of the season after getting a no decision in his first start against Oakland.
Chone Figgins drove in the lone run for the Angels, who had a modest two-game winning streak halted. Los Angeles was trying for a home sweep against the Yankees for the first time since 1995.
Bartolo Colon (0-1) hardly looked like the reigning Cy Young award winner as he was torched for eight runs - seven earned - on seven hits in just two-plus innings of work. He also received a no decision in his first start of the season.
After plating 15 runs in their first game of the season against Oakland, the Yankees had scored just 10 runs over their last four games, including just three over their two games against the Angles. New York, though, broke out of their slump in a hurry with a five-run second inning.
Rodriguez, who has always hit Colon well in his career, started the barrage. He came into the game with seven home runs and 16 RBI in 43 at bats against the right-handed hurler and his first at bat of the day was no different as he drilled a 1-0 pitch over the center field wall.
The flood gates opened from there as Jason Giambi singled and Hideki Matsui reached on an error before Posada took Colon deep for a three-run homer that made it a 4-0 game with no outs.
Cano followed with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Miguel Cairo, and, after Johnny Damon walked, scored on Derek Jeter's double down the right field line.
Colon didn't make it out of the third as he opened up the inning by walking Giambi before allowing a single to Matsui and a double to Posada that plated Giambi.
The spelled the end for Colon and he was replaced by Esteban Yan, who promptly allowed a two-run double to Cano for an 8-0 Yankees lead before settling down to get out of the inning.
Los Angeles got on the board in the bottom of the third on Figgins' run- scoring single that plated Jeff Mathis to make it 8-1. The Angles had the bases loaded with two outs, but Tim Salmon flied out to the warning track in left field to squander the chance.
Posada led off the fifth inning with a solo blast to right field to make it a 9-1 contest. In the sixth, Matsui put New York in double digits after his single to center scored Rodriguez. The Yankees had the bases loaded in the inning, but Cano grounded into a force out to end the threat.
Anaheim, CA (Sports Network) - Jorge Posada hit his first two home runs of the season while knocking in five runs, as the New York Yankees avoided a sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels by posting a 10-1 win at Angel Stadium.
Robinson Cano plated a pair of runs on three hits and Alex Rodriguez also posted three hits, including his second home run of the season for the Yankees, who halted a four-game losing streak.
Mike Mussina (1-0) turned in a strong start by allowing just one run and five hits over six innings. He also struck out five and walked two to grab his first win of the season after getting a no decision in his first start against Oakland.
Chone Figgins drove in the lone run for the Angels, who had a modest two-game winning streak halted. Los Angeles was trying for a home sweep against the Yankees for the first time since 1995.
Bartolo Colon (0-1) hardly looked like the reigning Cy Young award winner as he was torched for eight runs - seven earned - on seven hits in just two-plus innings of work. He also received a no decision in his first start of the season.
After plating 15 runs in their first game of the season against Oakland, the Yankees had scored just 10 runs over their last four games, including just three over their two games against the Angles. New York, though, broke out of their slump in a hurry with a five-run second inning.
Rodriguez, who has always hit Colon well in his career, started the barrage. He came into the game with seven home runs and 16 RBI in 43 at bats against the right-handed hurler and his first at bat of the day was no different as he drilled a 1-0 pitch over the center field wall.
The flood gates opened from there as Jason Giambi singled and Hideki Matsui reached on an error before Posada took Colon deep for a three-run homer that made it a 4-0 game with no outs.
Cano followed with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Miguel Cairo, and, after Johnny Damon walked, scored on Derek Jeter's double down the right field line.
Colon didn't make it out of the third as he opened up the inning by walking Giambi before allowing a single to Matsui and a double to Posada that plated Giambi.
The spelled the end for Colon and he was replaced by Esteban Yan, who promptly allowed a two-run double to Cano for an 8-0 Yankees lead before settling down to get out of the inning.
Los Angeles got on the board in the bottom of the third on Figgins' run- scoring single that plated Jeff Mathis to make it 8-1. The Angles had the bases loaded with two outs, but Tim Salmon flied out to the warning track in left field to squander the chance.
Posada led off the fifth inning with a solo blast to right field to make it a 9-1 contest. In the sixth, Matsui put New York in double digits after his single to center scored Rodriguez. The Yankees had the bases loaded in the inning, but Cano grounded into a force out to end the threat.
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Sunday, April 09, 2006
Chicago Cubs Sweep St. Louis Cardinals - Michael Barrett Homer Keys 8-4 Victory
CHICAGO (AP) -- Michael Barrett couldn't conceal his joy, or his pain and relief.
Barrett hit a grand slam off Jason Isringhausen in the eighth inning, and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-4 Sunday night to complete a three-game sweep.
That concluded arguably his best weekend on the diamond and one of his worst away from it.
He caught 319-game winner Greg Maddux in Friday's opener, hit a game-tying pinch-hit homer on Saturday, and a go-ahead grand slam on Sunday.
"Wow, I don't know what's going on," Barrett said, a smile stretching across his face.
Off the field, Barrett had problems though.
A tornado sent a tree ripping through the side of his house in his hometown Atlanta, taking out a deck and a living room window. His parents didn't tell him until Saturday night.
"That's just God saying, 'You'd better stay humble; I'll find you," Barrett said, adding no one was in the house.
With St. Louis leading 4-3, Ricardo Rincon walked Todd Walker to open the eighth inning. Isringhausen (0-1) relieved and walked Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez on eight pitches to load the bases for Barrett, who homered for the second straight day.
It was Barrett's second career grand slam, and it made a winner out of reliever Scott Williamson (1-0), who pitched a scoreless inning. The Cubs scored another run on a wild pitch by Josh Hancock.
"I had bad mechanics (against) the first two guys," Isringhausen said. "I thought I could get in on him with my best pitch, get a ground ball and try to get a double play. I didn't get in there far enough."
Fans chanted "Sweep!" after Barrett's shot, and the Cubs did just that, finishing their first three-game sweep of the Cardinals at Wrigley Field since June 2001.
The win was also the 1,100th for Cubs manager Dusty Baker.
Barrett had a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the seventh inning to tie Saturday's game as the Cubs rallied for a 3-2 victory.
Scott Rolen hit a two-run homer in the first inning, and Albert Pujols singled in two in the fifth to give the Cardinals 4-3 lead.
Sidney Ponson allowed three runs on seven hits in five innings in his first start since signing with the Cardinals in the offseason but did not figure in the decision.
His lone mistake was a three-run homer by Jacque Jones -- his first hit as a Cub.
Chicago starter Sean Marshall allowed four runs and four hits in 4 1-3 innings in his major league debut. He left with a 3-2 lead and the bases loaded in the fifth.
Michael Wuertz, making his first appearance this season, relieved and allowed a two-out, two-run single to Pujols that put the Cardinals ahead.
The 23-year-old Marshall, who had never pitched above Double-A, started the game by retiring David Eckstein and Juan Encarnacion on grounders. He then walked Pujols and Rolen hit a 3-2 pitch to left for his second homer.
Marshall retired 10 of the next 11 batters before running into trouble in the fifth.
"He showed me a lot today," Barrett said.
Jones gave the Cubs a 3-2 lead in the fourth with his homer after two-out singles by Ramirez and Barrett.
Booed after a second-inning grounder that made him 0-for-13 on the season, Jones won the fans over when he lined a 3-2 pitch from Ponson into the shrubs beyond the center-field wall.
"It's just a relief to get that first hit out of the way," he said after going 2-for-4.
Chicago's Ronny Cedeno had four hits, including a double.
Ponson wasn't spectacular, but he was effective after a disastrous ending last season in Baltimore.
He started 5-1, but lost his last seven decisions to finish at 7-11 before going on the disabled list with a strained right calf and getting released on Sept. 1.
And he was headed to a victory -- until the eighth.
"The one thing I like about this team is as great as it was, as funs as it was, there's no real celebrating what happened today," Barrett said. "It means we're focused and moving on."
Barrett hit a grand slam off Jason Isringhausen in the eighth inning, and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-4 Sunday night to complete a three-game sweep.
That concluded arguably his best weekend on the diamond and one of his worst away from it.
He caught 319-game winner Greg Maddux in Friday's opener, hit a game-tying pinch-hit homer on Saturday, and a go-ahead grand slam on Sunday.
"Wow, I don't know what's going on," Barrett said, a smile stretching across his face.
Off the field, Barrett had problems though.
A tornado sent a tree ripping through the side of his house in his hometown Atlanta, taking out a deck and a living room window. His parents didn't tell him until Saturday night.
"That's just God saying, 'You'd better stay humble; I'll find you," Barrett said, adding no one was in the house.
With St. Louis leading 4-3, Ricardo Rincon walked Todd Walker to open the eighth inning. Isringhausen (0-1) relieved and walked Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez on eight pitches to load the bases for Barrett, who homered for the second straight day.
It was Barrett's second career grand slam, and it made a winner out of reliever Scott Williamson (1-0), who pitched a scoreless inning. The Cubs scored another run on a wild pitch by Josh Hancock.
"I had bad mechanics (against) the first two guys," Isringhausen said. "I thought I could get in on him with my best pitch, get a ground ball and try to get a double play. I didn't get in there far enough."
Fans chanted "Sweep!" after Barrett's shot, and the Cubs did just that, finishing their first three-game sweep of the Cardinals at Wrigley Field since June 2001.
The win was also the 1,100th for Cubs manager Dusty Baker.
Barrett had a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the seventh inning to tie Saturday's game as the Cubs rallied for a 3-2 victory.
Scott Rolen hit a two-run homer in the first inning, and Albert Pujols singled in two in the fifth to give the Cardinals 4-3 lead.
Sidney Ponson allowed three runs on seven hits in five innings in his first start since signing with the Cardinals in the offseason but did not figure in the decision.
His lone mistake was a three-run homer by Jacque Jones -- his first hit as a Cub.
Chicago starter Sean Marshall allowed four runs and four hits in 4 1-3 innings in his major league debut. He left with a 3-2 lead and the bases loaded in the fifth.
Michael Wuertz, making his first appearance this season, relieved and allowed a two-out, two-run single to Pujols that put the Cardinals ahead.
The 23-year-old Marshall, who had never pitched above Double-A, started the game by retiring David Eckstein and Juan Encarnacion on grounders. He then walked Pujols and Rolen hit a 3-2 pitch to left for his second homer.
Marshall retired 10 of the next 11 batters before running into trouble in the fifth.
"He showed me a lot today," Barrett said.
Jones gave the Cubs a 3-2 lead in the fourth with his homer after two-out singles by Ramirez and Barrett.
Booed after a second-inning grounder that made him 0-for-13 on the season, Jones won the fans over when he lined a 3-2 pitch from Ponson into the shrubs beyond the center-field wall.
"It's just a relief to get that first hit out of the way," he said after going 2-for-4.
Chicago's Ronny Cedeno had four hits, including a double.
Ponson wasn't spectacular, but he was effective after a disastrous ending last season in Baltimore.
He started 5-1, but lost his last seven decisions to finish at 7-11 before going on the disabled list with a strained right calf and getting released on Sept. 1.
And he was headed to a victory -- until the eighth.
"The one thing I like about this team is as great as it was, as funs as it was, there's no real celebrating what happened today," Barrett said. "It means we're focused and moving on."
