Embedded Files
Circuit Clouts
Aug. 1, 1996 • All-Star Edition
Aug. 1, 1996 • All-Star Edition
East W L GB Last R RA
Manhattan 66 43 - 16-9 4 2
Toronto 61 48 5 14-11 2 12
Keystone 59 50 7 15-11 5 11
Brooklyn 56 53 10 14-11 9 8
Boston 56 53 10 12-13 7 14
Havana 53 55 12½ 15-11 12 6
Washington 49 60 17 8-17 15 10
Florida 45 63 20½ 15-10 18 9
Montreal 45 64 21 12-13 14 18
West W L GB Last R RA
Atlanta 65 43 - 16-8 3 1
Cleveland 64 45 1½ 14-11 6 4
Chicago 62 47 3½ 11-14 1 13
St. Louis 60 49 5½ 14-11 11 7
Los Angeles 57 52 8½ 11-14 10 3
Denver 56 53 9½ 12-13 8 5
Minneapolis 47 62 18½ 12-13 13 15
Detroit 40 68 25 6-18 16 17
Seattle 38 71 27½ 8-17 17 16
TOP STORIES
Wil Cordero became the second reigning League MVP to win All-Star Game MVP, driving in all three East runs in a 4-3 loss decided by a walk-off beanball by Norm Charlton.
Kelly Downs got his second no-hitter of the season, a UL first, and Atlanta's pitching vaulted them atop the West Division with a 16-8 record in July.
INJURIES
ATL SS Jose Valentin (5 wk)
CLE 3B Alex Rodriguez (4 wk)
MAN SS Tony Graffanino (2 mo)
MAN SS Robin Yount (4 wk)
MON SP Jim Abbott (10 mo)
STL CF Michael Tucker (season)
SEA SP Joey Hamilton (season)
TOR C Benito Santiago (8 mo)
Cordero Double-MVP
Keystone SS Stars in East Loss
West Wins With Walk-Off HBP
FRIDLEY, Minn.—Keystone shortstop Wil Cordero homered, doubled, and drove in all three East runs in a 4-3 defeat that was decided by the first walk-off hit batsman in All-Star history.
The East led 3-1 after Cordero's solo homer in the second and two-run double in the third. The West halved the lead in the fifth on back-to-back doubles by Alan Trammell and Albert Belle, and handed the ball to Toronto closer John Smoltz in the ninth to lock down the 3-2 lead. Instead, the former Hilltopper walked the first two batters he faced and gave up a game-tying double to Tim Raines. With no outs and the score tied 3-3, the East walked the bases loaded to set up a force play at the plate, then brought in Keystone's Norm Charlton to clean up the mess. Instead, Charlton plunked Denver catcher Rick Wilkins with his first pitch, forcing home the game-winning run.
The win gives the West a 6-1 record in Midsummer Classics in the '90s, 11-4 since 1981, and 21-12 overall. Cordero become just the second reigning League MVP to win All-Star MVP, after Orlando Cepeda in 1974.
The 1997 game will be hosted by the Florida Flamingos' Ponce de Leon Stadium and the 1998 game will be in St. Louis for the third time.
Doubling Downs
Atlanta Hurler Gets Second No-Hitter of the Year
Atlanta's fifth starter—who is having a subpar season even by his standards—turned in a rare feat on July 14. Just three days after an All-Star Game to which he was not invited, Kelly Downs authored his second no-hitter of the season.
Downs, a 34-year-old righthander, handcuffed the Brooklyn Superbas, striking out eight and allowing four walks. Downs notched his first no-no in his first start of the season on April 4, holding the Florida Flamingos to two walks, while also striking out eight.
Downs joins Hall of Famers Larry Dierker and Bob Moose on the list of pitchers with more than one no-hitter—and is the only to pitch two in the same season.
Atlanta is the first club in UL history to have four straight no-hitters. Pedro Martinez pitched a perfect game and Ed Whitson followed it up with a no-no in 1994.
Toppers on Top
Atlanta's pitching was red-hot in July, leading the Toppers to a 16-8 month as they overtook both Cleveland and Chicago to jump from 3rd to 1st.
Downs was 3-0, 0.92 in four starts, Fernie Valenzuela was 4-0 with 33 Ks in five, and Pedro Martinez continues to lead the league in both ERA (2.58) and strikeouts (181). The Cy Young race is likely to come down to Pedro vs. Fernie, who is 15-3 with a 3.04 ERA
King of Pain!
It’s All Right, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)!
by Sean Holloway, UL Beat Reporter
May we discuss injuries? I know no one likes to discuss this topic, but it is one that should be broached. As it stands, the only topic in UL that can cause more grief, heartache and pain is ARB. To quote a great songwriter whose masterpiece “The Battle of Can He Score?” I featured in my last article on MAN: “The pain of ARB cannot exceed the woe of the financial mess”. While this is true, it’s also true that the majority of UL GMs would state that in many cases, a bad ARB result could be better than an injury, as at least the guy can play with a bad ARB result. Few players can play with a bad injury.
And injuries can and do impact the UL, be it through games won and lost to the more serious issues of career-ending ones that can completely gut a team to potential fiscal issues of having an expensive and key player on the DL, only being good at soaking at up cap space. Few people apart from a UL GM know the pain of looking at one’s line-up card and discovering that one of your best guys is not there. He was there yesterday, but today he’s gone – suddenly and swiftly.
Likely the only thing more annoying than an injury is a stupid injury, and the UL has seen those over the years, from falls in the kitchen to cuts from knives and scissors to the totally insane, four of which we’ve seen this season:
TOR SP Brian Holman – fell down the stairs (three months)
MON C Ivan Rodriguez - injured while attempting to close his garage door that was stuck (one week)
TOR C Benito Santiago - injured while attempting to tear a phonebook in half (11-12 months)
SEA SP Joey Hamilton - injured while racing his teammate on the highway (nine months)
While these injuries are frustrating enough, sometimes Iron Mike takes things to the extreme and repeatedly decides to beat on one GM for no apparent reason. The latest example of this is GM Charlie Qualls of CLE, who’s seen 4/8 of his starting line-up knee-capped, starting with Robbie Alomar and recently having to deal with 3B Alex Rodriguez, CF Jim Edmonds, and OF/1B Carlos Delgado all going on the DL at the same time.
As such, Qualls has reportedly lost his voice due to the number of inspiring speeches he’s given, exhorting his healthy players to not give up and keep fighting. Insiders at CLE leaked that Qualls has also lost a significant amount of money, as he has been hiring private archeological mercenaries to find as many artifacts as possible a la something out of an Indiana Jones movie (well, before the movies sucked). One source stated. “He paces the stadium, repeatedly mumbling ‘bad juju’ and crossing himself repeatedly.
While no one knows if this will work, CLE is still hanging tough at the moment, and in honor of Qualls’s efforts and on behalf of every GM who’s been effed over due to injuries, let’s all join hands and sing along to a little ditty known as the “King of Pain."
There's a little red “OUT” by his name today
There was no red there only yesterday
I’ve got half my team that are in post-op
Don’t know what to do and the hurt won't stop
I have stood here before – my rage uncontained
With the Doc’s prognosis running 'round my brain
I guess I'm always hoping that it’s just a strain
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain
There's a little red “OUT” by his name today
(Now my guy’s not there)
There was no red there only yesterday
(Now my guy’s not there)
I’ve got half my team that are in post-op
(Now my guy’s not there)
Don’t know what to do and the hurt won't stop
(Now my guy’s not there)
I have stood here before swearing words profane
With the Doc’s prognosis running 'round my brain
I guess I'm always hoping that it’s just a strain
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain
Graffanino’s hand was broken in a fall
(Now my guy’s not there)
Luis Gonzalez couldn’t even throw a ball
(Now my guy’s not there)
Michael Tucker went out and really banged his head
(Now my guy’s not there)
Shawn Estes is sick; he really needs his meds
(Now my guy’s not there)
I have stood here before – my rage uncontained
With the Doc’s prognosis running 'round my brain
I guess I'm always hoping that it’s just a strain
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain
Holman fell downstairs what an ungraceful lout
Ivan’s garage door got stuck now his back is out
There’s Benito tearing what should be read
There’s Joe Hamilton racing…Oh! He really should be dead!
King of pain
Charlie’s line-up is wrecked; will he lose the pack?
(Now my guy’s not there)
A-Rod, Jim and Carlos – when will they be back?
(Now my guy’s not there)
There's a little red “OUT” by his name today
There was no red there only yesterday
I have stood here before swearing words profane
With the Doc’s prognosis running 'round my brain
I guess I'm always hoping that it’s just a strain
But it's my destiny to be the king of pain
King of pain X 3
I'll always be king of pain X 7
West Division
West Division
East Division
East Division
Pedro Martinez (9-3, 2.58) suffered a back strain on July 20 and has been listed as day-to-day since... The Red Blobs should get SS Jose Valentin back just in time for the late pennant push. Jose hit .273-32-83 with an 8.6 WAR last year and has been out since Apr. 6.
The Gray Sox were 16-9 in July, led the East by as many as seven games, and own the league's best record at the two-thirds mark. Manhattan extended 2B Damian Easley, 1B Cecil Fielder, and 1B Ed Sprague in late July.
With Jim Edmonds (.317-17-48) and Carlos Delgado (.357-21-65) back, and A-Rod (.314-14-70) due back in September, don't count the Barons out not only for then pennant but also the President's Trophy.
Eric Karros (.315-30-99) is an MVP candidate. He leads the league with 99 RBI and is tied for the lead with 30 home runs. The 28-year-old 1B is on track for his fourth straight 40 HR/100 RBI season.
The Colts were 11-14 in July and slipped from 1st to 3rd, despite Chicago batters winning three straight Players of the Week (Belle, Olerud, and Sheffield).
Last year's top-ranked offense has dropped to 5th, but the Murmuring still sits in the top three and is well-poised for a repeat playoff appearance. This year's batting leader has been Jeff Bagwell (.326-23-80, 1.030).
Barry Bonds has locked up his 8th 30/30 season, which must be some kind of record... Ace Bret Saberhagen (8-6, 3.45) has his lowest ERA since 1992 with Washington.
Brooklyn is just three games out of third, but could make the jump if Ken Griffey Jr gets hot and Matt Williams emerges from his season-long slump. Griffey missed a month to injury and Matty is batting just .249 with a .797 OPS, down 140 points from last year's 144-RBI campaign.
The Outlaws 11-14 July skid finds them five games out of third place, putting their 15-year playoff run in jeopardy... Frank Thomas (.342-30-90, 1.071) is putting up MVP numbers and co-leads the league in RBI.
The streaky Feds started the month 3-9 and finished it 9-4. LF Ellis Burks has taken well to his move to Fenway (.296-26-90, .957), with his finest batting figures since 1992, the year after his MVP campaign in Toronto.
Denver extended ace SP Joe Magrane for five years, including a player option for 2000, at his current pay rate of $6 million.
Sean Bergman (5-0, 2.29) was the second Havana pitcher in a row to win POM honors, following Shane Reynolds' award in June... The Leones were 15-11 for the month, but still sit 5.5 games out of the playoff zone.
Bobby Abreu (.330-6.25) won Rookie of the Month, making him the first position player in franchise history to win the award since Gerald Young in 1988.
The Mons faltered to a 8-17 month and continue struggling to score runs, with the second lowest team batting average of .261...
Omar Vizquel (.314, .360 OBP) has batted well since joining from Denver in mid-June.
Detroit will have its first losing season since 1989 and with a .370 winning percentage could be on track for its worst season since 1977. No players personify the season-long slump more than Dave Nilsson (.230, down from .300) and Alex Fernandez (3-10, down from 16-7).
Bernie Williams (.291-6-20) won Batter of the Month, just the second in club history after Ivan Calderon in Sept. 1993.
Rookie SP Dave Telgheder—who only got a callup because of the season-ending injury to ace Joey Hamilton—leads the staff with seven wins.
Pudge Rodriguez (.317-17-64, .901 OPS) is having his breakout year at age 24. He is on pace to shatter his previous high OPS by 70 points and clock a 6-WAR season.
League Leaders
League Leaders
Batting Average
Tony Gwynn ATL .385
Albert Belle CHI .346
Juan Gonzalez TOR .345
Frank E Thomas LA .342
Dion James CLE .337
G. Anderson MPS .335
Gary Sheffield CHI .329
+Darin Erstad DEN .329
+Mark Grace DEN .328
Tim Raines DEN .326
RBIs
Eric Karros TOR 99
Ellis Burks BOS 90
Gary Sheffield CHI 90
Frank E Thomas LA 90
Tim Salmon KEY 88
Ed Sprague MAN 81
Matt Williams BRO 81
+Jeff Bagwell KEY 80
+Barry Bonds STL 80
Jim Thome BOS 80
Infield Zone Rating
Benji Gil SEA 22.6
Rey Ordonez BOS 19.1
Tony Batista STL 17.4
Tony Graffanino MAN 15.3
Craig Grebeck CLE 14.5
Home Runs
Barry Bonds STL 30
Eric Karros TOR 30
Gary Sheffield CHI 30
Frank E Thomas LA 30
Juan Gonzalez TOR 29
Matt Williams BRO 28
Ryan Klesko DET 27
Ellis Burks BOS 26
bWAR
Barry Bonds STL 5.6
Gary Sheffield CHI 5.2
Jim Thome BOS 4.7
Juan Gonzalez TOR 4.6
Frank E Thomas LA 4.5
+Jeff Cirillo LA 4.5
+Albert Belle CHI 4.5
Mike Piazza BOS 4.5
+Jeff Bagwell KEY 4.3
+Darin Erstad DEN 4.3
Outfield Zone Rating
F.P. Santangelo MAN 17.6
Darin Erstad DEN 17.5
Stan Javier LA 16.3
Andruw Jones WAS 16.3
Michael Tucker STL 10.9
Earned Run Average
Pedro Martinez ATL 2.58
F. Valenzuela ATL 3.04
Kevin Brown BRO 3.15
+Greg W Harris MAN 3.23
+Dave Beard HAV 3.25
Greg Swindell LA 3.30
John Smoltz TOR 3.36
B. Saberhagen STL 3.45
+Greg Hibbard FLO 3.51
Darryl Kile ATL 3.51
Strikeouts
Pedro Martinez ATL 181
Fern Valenzuela ATL 145
Steve Cooke CHI 139
Mike Mussina FLO 131
Floyd Youmans LA 130
Aaron Sele KEY 126
Shane Reynolds HAV 119
Bruce Hurst LA 118
+J Isringhausen MPS 117
Jon Lieber BOS 117
+Darryl Kile ATL 115
B. Saberhagen STL 115
Wins
Fern Valenzuela ATL 15
+Steve Cooke CHI 13
Greg Swindell LA 12
+Floyd Youmans LA 12
+Britt Burns STL 11
Jose DeLeon KEY 11
+Kelly Downs ATL 11
Jim Gott STL 11
+Darryl Kile ATL 11
Aaron Sele KEY 11
Julian Tavarez BOS 11
pWAR
Pedro Martinez ATL 5.2
Fern Valenzuela ATL 5.0
Greg Swindell LA 3.6
Jon Lieber BOS 3.5
Bret Saberhagen STL 3.5
Shane Reynolds HAV 3.4
+Sean Bergman HAV 3.3
Butch Henry KEY 3.1
+Scott Sanderson CLE 3.0
+J Isringhausen MPS 2.9
Awards
Awards
Batter of the Month
APR Carlos Delgado CLE
MAY Juan Gonzalez TOR
JUN Barry Bonds STL
JUL Bernie Williams FLO
AUG
SEP
Pitcher of the Month
APR Pedro Martinez ATL
MAY JM Robinson CHI
JUN Shane Reynolds HAV
JUL Sean Bergman HAV
AUG
SEP
Rookie of the Month
APR N. Garciaparra ATL
MAY J. Allensworth CHI
JUN Brant Brown TOR
JUL Bobby Abreu MPS
AUG
SEP
Player of the Week
4/8 Carlos Delgado CLE
4/15 Frank Thomas LA
4/22 Jon Nunnally MAN
4/29 Mike Piazza BOS
5/6 Junior Felix CHI
5/13 Tim Raines DEN
5/20 Eric Karros TOR
5/27 Ryan Klesko DET
6/3 Barry Bonds STL
6/10 Jim Thome BOS
6/17 Carlos Baerga KEY
6/24 Mark Grace DEN
7/1 Marty Cordova BRO
7/8 Tim Salmon KEY
7/15 Albert Belle CHI
7/22 John Olerud CHI
7/29 Gary Sheffield CHI
8/5
8/12
8/19
8/26
9/2
9/9
9/16
9/23
9/30
Google Sites
Report abuse