Around the Majors: Braves can clinch tonight

1) Yesterday’s scores–

AL
Rangers 5, A’s 4
Yankees 7, Devil Rays 3
Indians 9, Twins 7
Whitesox 7, Royals 6
Orioles 9, Redsox 7

NL
Cubs 6, Pirates 3
Cardinals 4, Brewers 2
Rockies 7, Diamondbacks 1 (1st)
Rockies 2, Diamondbacks 1 (2nd)
Mets 4, Expos 2
Phillies 9, Marlins 8 (10)
Reds 3, Braves 2
Astros 7, Giants 3
Dodgers 9, Padres 6

2) Standings–

AL EAST         WON  LOST  PCT  GB      HOME   ROAD   EAST  CENT  WEST STREAK
y--Yankees       96   57  .627   -     54-24  42-33  47-23 17-12 22-14 WON  1
Redsox           91   61  .599   4 1/2 53-25  38-36  41-25 19-13 22-14 LOST 1
e--Orioles       71   80  .470  24     31-39  40-41  33-35 18-15 15-17 WON  1
e--Devil Rays    64   87  .424  31     37-36  27-51  23-47 16-15 10-22 LOST 2
e--BlueJays      64   88  .421  31 1/2 38-40  26-48  26-40 13-19 17-19 WON  1

AL CENTRAL      WON  LOST  PCT  GB      HOME   ROAD   EAST  CENT  WEST STREAK
x--Twins         88   65  .575   -     47-31  41-34  19-14 42-28 16-16 LOST 3
e--Whitesox      77   75  .507  10 1/2 44-34  33-41  16-16 34-32 19-17 WON  3
e--Indians       75   78  .490  13     43-35  32-43  17-15 31-36 17-19 WON  3
e--Tigers        68   83  .450  19     35-40  33-43  10-14 34-39 15-21 LOST 2
e--Royals        56   96  .368  31 1/2 32-41  24-55  12-24 30-36 08-24 LOST 1

AL WEST         WON  LOST  PCT  GB      HOME   ROAD   EAST  CENT  WEST STREAK
A's              87   65  .572   -     49-25  38-40  23-20 27-16 27-21 LOST 3
Angels           85   67  .559   2     43-35  42-32  25-18 28-15 25-23 LOST 2
Rangers          85   67  .559   2     49-25  36-42  25-18 23-20 27-21 WON  5
e--Mariners      58   94  .382  29     37-42  21-52  13-30 19-24 17-31 WON  2

NL EAST         WON  LOST  PCT  GB      HOME   ROAD   EAST  CENT  WEST STREAK
z--Braves        89   64  .582   -     44-31  45-33  46-24 16-17 19-13 LOST 2
Marlins          79   73  .520   9 1/2 42-38  37-35  39-27 15-21 18-14 LOST 4
Phillies         79   73  .520   9 1/2 37-37  42-36  34-35 16-17 20-12 WON  4
e--Mets          67   86  .438  22     35-40  32-46  27-43 13-20 17-15 WON  2
e--Expos         64   89  .418  25     34-40  30-49  25-42 17-19 15-17 LOST 2

NL CENTRAL      WON  LOST  PCT  GB      HOME   ROAD   EAST  CENT  WEST STREAK
x--Cardinals    100   52  .658   -     51-26  49-26  19-11 52-31 18-09 WON  2
d--Cubs          86   66  .566  14     43-32  43-34  14-10 49-37 15-15 WON  4
d--Astros        84   69  .549  16 1/2 42-33  42-36  16-14 50-34 11-16 WON  1
e--Reds          70   82  .461  30     39-39  31-43  18-12 32-48 15-15 WON  2
e--Pirates       68   84  .447  32     38-39  30-45  16-11 34-49 16-14 LOST 3
e--Brewers       63   88  .417  36 1/2 35-43  28-45  11-19 32-50 12-15 LOST 2

NL WEST         WON  LOST  PCT  GB      HOME   ROAD   EAST  CENT  WEST STREAK
Dodgers          87   65  .572   -     45-29  42-36  14-18 22-14 41-25 WON  1
Giants           86   67  .562   1 1/2 46-33  40-34  19-13 20-16 36-31 LOST 1
Padres           82   71  .536   5 1/2 38-37  44-34  18-14 19-17 37-30 LOST 1
e--Rockies       67   85  .441  20     38-40  29-45  11-21 10-20 38-34 WON  3
e--Diamondbacks  47  106  .307  40 1/2 25-50  22-56  09-23 13-20 19-51 LOST 3

x–clinched the division title
y–clinched a postseason berth
z–clinched a tie for the division title
d–eliminated from winning the division title
e–eliminated from winning the division title and the postseason

3) Wild card standings–

AL              WON  LOST  PCT  GB  
Redsox           91   61  .599   -
Angels           85   67  .559   6
Rangers          85   67  .559   6

NL              WON  LOST  PCT  GB  
Cubs             86   66  .566   -
Giants           86   67  .562     1/2
Astros           84   69  .549   2 1/2
Padres           82   71  .536   4 1/2
Marlins          79   73  .520   7
Phillies         79   73  .520   7

4) The Yankees clinched a postseason berth.

And this time, they really did. Yesterday’s report was wrong, since I didn’t realize that the source I was using considered clinching a tie to be the equivalent of actually clinching.

5) The Braves clinched a tie for the division title and will clinch if they beat the Marlins.

6) The Cardinals reached 100 wins for the 7th time and first since 1985.

7) The Rangers tied the Angels for 2nd place in the AL West.

8) The Phillies tied the Marlins for 2nd place in the NL East.

9) Magic numbers–

AL East–Yankees, 6
AL Central–Twins, clinched
AL West–A’s, 9
AL wild card–Redsox, 5

NL East–Braves, 2
NL Central–Cardinals, clinched
NL West–Dodgers, 9
NL wild card–Whatever happens happens. Once of these days, someone will clinch. At the moment, the Cubs are in the lead, so they have a magic number. But, in another day, the Giants could be back in the lead and they’ll have a garbage number.

A reader said it best yesterday–“One of the issues I have with magic numbers is that they’re often not true. For example, even though you have the NL wildcard magic number as 11, the Cubs would actually be the wild card winner if they win 9 games due to the Giants and Dodgers playing each other. Therefore, even if the Giants should go 11-0 to get their magic number you wrote, the Giants would win the West and the Cubs would be the wild card winner should they go 8-3 or better.”

A Hardball Times Update
Goodbye for now.

Since sometimes magic numbers are real ones, sometimes they are fake ones, I’m considering either “forgetting” to include the magic numbers for the rest of the season, or maybe just “forget” to include them for the wild card.

10) Race for the postseason seeds–

AL–The Yankees have a 8 game lead over the Twins for the #1 seed. The Twins have a 1/2 game lead over the A’s for the #2 seed.

NL–The Cardinals clinched the top seed. The Braves have a 1 1/2 game lead over the Dodgers for the #2 seed.

The Cardinals had clinched the top seed on Wednesday, due to the tiebreaker rules.

11) Today’s schedule–

AL
Twins (Johan Santana, 2.65) at Indians (Kyle Denney, 9.72), 7:05
Yankees (Mike Mussina, 4.60) at Redsox (Pedro Martinez, 3.69), 7:05
BlueJays (Josh Towers, 4.92) at Devil Rays (Scott Kazmir, 6.38), 7:15
Tigers (Jason Johnson, 5.02) at Orioles (Bruce Chen, 2.45), 7:35
Mariners (Bobby Madritsch, 2.99) at Rangers (Chris Young, 4.50), 8:05
Royals (Jimmy Gobble, 5.32) at Whitesox (Freddy Garcia, 3.86), 8:05
A’s (Rich Harden, 4.06) at Angels (Kelvim Escobar, 3.75), 10:05

NL
Phillies (Brett Myers, 5.31) at Expos (Sun Woo Kim, 4.75), 7:05
Reds (Aaron Harang, 4.94) at Pirates (Ryan Vogelsong, 6.19), 7:05
Cubs (Glendon Rusch, 3.69) at Mets (Kris Benson, 4.44), 7:10
Marlins (Ismael Valdez, 4.95) at Braves (Russ Ortiz, 4.01), 7:35
Astros (Roger Clemens, 3.00) at Brewers (Doug Davis, 3.52), 8:05
Cardinals (Jeff Suppan, 4.05) at Rockies (Jason Jennings, 5.66), 8:05
Diamondbacks (Mike Gosling, 3.77) at Padres (Brian Lawrence, 3.92), 10:05
Dodgers (Odalis Perez, 3.39) at Giants (Kirk Rueter, 4.82), 10:15

12) Yesterday’s HR–

Jim Thome–#42
Hank Blalock–#32
Brad Wilkerson–#30 & #31
Miguel Tejada–#30
Miguel Cabrera–#30
Lance Berkman–#29
Craig Wilson–#28
Geoff Jenkins–#25
Derek Jeter–#23
Aaron Rowand–#22
Bobby Crosby–#21
Alex Gonzalez (Marlins)–#21
Joe Crede–#18 & #19
David Bell–#18
Matt Stairs–#17
Mark Kotsay–#15
Chase Utley–#13
Jimmy Rollins–#12
Adam Melhuse–#11
John Flaherty–#6
Ross Gload–#5
Cesar Izturis–#4
Grady Sizemore–#3
Hector Luna–#3
Robby Hammock–#3
Gerald Williams–#3
Josh Bard–#1
Yadier Molina–#1
Lenny Harris–#1
Victor Diaz–#1

13) HR leaders–

AL
1) Manny Ramirez–41
T2) Paul Konerko–40
T2) David Ortiz–40
4) Mark Teixeira–37
5) Gary Sheffield–36
6) Alex Rodriguez–35
7) Vladimir Guerrero–33
8) Hank Blalock–32*
T9) Carlos Delgado–30
T9) Miguel Tejada–30*

NL
1) Adrian Beltre–47
2) Albert Pujols–44
3) Barry Bonds–43
T4) Jim Thome–42*
T4) Adam Dunn–42
T4) Jim Edmonds–42
-) Carlos Beltran–38 (not officially in the top 10, since 15 in the AL)
T7) Moises Alou–37
T7) Jeromy Burnitz–37
T9) Steve Finley–34
T9) Aramis Ramirez–34

*–hit 1 yesterday

14) Barry Bonds watch–

OBA–.612, Bonds holds the major league record with .582, in 2002
SLG–.830, on pace for 4th all time, Bonds holds the major league record with .863, 2001
OPS–1.442, Bonds holds the major league record with 1.381, in 2002
RCAA–149, is 6th all time, Bonds holds the major league record with 169, 2001
BB–215, new major league record
BB above average–184, new major league record
career HR–has 701, is 13 behind Ruth, is 54 behind Aaron
career HR above average–has 459, 2nd all time, Ruth holds the record with 622
career RCAA–1493, 2nd all time, Ruth holds the record with 1795

15) Yankees SS Derek Jeter hit his 150th career HR.

After 23 RCAA/.794 OPS and 24 RCAA/.844 OPS seasons, Jeter is hitting .475 SLG, .355 OBA, .829 OPS, 15 RCAA in 147 games. He has a .849 career OPS, compared to his league average of .776, and 252 RCAA in 1359 games.

16) Whitesox 3B Joe Crede hit his 50th career HR.

After -7 RCAA/.741 OPS in his first year as a starter, Crede has a .407 SLG, .397 OBA, .704 OPS, -25 RCAA in 136 games. He has a .733 career OPS, compared to his league average of .767, and -33 RCAA in 364 games.

Correction from yesterday–Yesterday’s report implied that Giants P Dave Burba is eligible for the postseason. He isn’t.


1) Dodgers 1B Shawn Green will miss Saturday’s afternoon’s due, due to Yom Kippur, but will play today’s night game that is also during Yom Kippur. It’s the equivalent of deciding that a religious holiday only applies to one game of a doubleheader.

After 42 RCAA/.944 OPS and 15 RCAA/.814 OPS seasons, Green is hitting .464 SLG, .352 OBA, .816 OPS, 8 RCAA in 149 games. He has a .865 career OPS, compared to his league average of .779, and 223 RCAA in 1506 games.

2) Reds OF Wily Mo Pena (mildly strained right hamstring) and P Danny Graves (strep throat) are both expected to miss a minimum of 5-7 days and might just be shut down for the rest of the season.

In his first year as a starter, Pena has a .527 SLG, .316 OBA, .843 OPS, 6 RCAA in 110 games. He has a .771 career OPS, compared to his league average of .777, and -5 RCAA in 203 games.

After 3.19 ERA/14 RSAA and 5.33 ERA/-20 RSAA seasons, Graves has a 3.95 ERA/1 RSAA in 68 games. He has a 3.89 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.38, and 48 RSAA in 465 games.

3) Padres P David Wells was scratched from yesterday’s start, due to a sinus infection, and will try to pitch today.

After 3.75 ERA/14 RSAA and 4.14 ERA/5 RSAA seasons, Wells has a 3.50 ERA/9 RSAA in 28 starts. He has a 4.02 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.49, and 137 RSAA in 585 games.

4) The Brewers removed minor league INF Matt Erickson from the 40 man roster.

Erickson went 1 for 6, with -1 RCAA, in his first 4 career games.

5) The Redsox activated DH Ellis Burks from the DL and released minor league P Phil Seibel.

After 27 RCAA/.903 OPS and 4 RCAA/.779 OPS seasons, Burks has a .258 SLG, .257 OBA, .515 OPS, -4 RCAA in just 10 games. He has a .874 career OPS, compared to his league average of .751, and 278 RCAA in 1999 games.

6) On Wednesday, Redsox 2B Mark Bellhorn set the team record for SO in a season.

After 25 RCAA/.886 OPS and -12 RCAA/.646 OPS seasons, Bellhorn is hitting .444 SLG, .368 OBA, .812 OPS, 7 RCAA in 129 games. He has a .764 career OPS, compared to his league average of .770, and 3 RCAA in 500 games.

The new top 10–

STRIKEOUTS                    YEAR     SO     
1    Mark Bellhorn            2004      164   
2    Butch Hobson             1977      162   
3    Tony Armas               1984      156   
T4   Mo Vaughn                1997      154   
T4   Mo Vaughn                1996      154   
6    George Scott             1966      152   
7    Mo Vaughn                1995      150   
8    Manny Ramirez            2001      147   
T9   Dick Stuart              1963      144   
T9   Mo Vaughn                1998      144   

Bellhorn is 3rd vs. the league average–

STRIKEOUTS                    YEAR     DIFF   PLAYER   LEAGUE   
T1   Jimmie Foxx              1936       76      119       43   
T1   Butch Hobson             1977       76      162       86   
3    Mark Bellhorn            2004       74      164       90   
4    Mo Vaughn                1997       64      154       90   
5    Tony Armas               1984       63      156       93   
6    Jimmie Foxx              1941       61      103       42   
7    Mo Vaughn                1995       58      150       92   
8    Manny Ramirez            2001       57      147       90   
9    George Scott             1966       56      152       96   
10   Mike Easler              1984       54      134       80   

7) Redsox CF Johnny Damon was out of yesterday’s lineup, due to a sore back and right hand, and is expected to return today.

After 24 RCAA/.799 OPS and 2 RCAA/.750 OPS seasons, Damon is hitting .468 SLG, .384 OBA, .853 OPS, 23 RCAA in 142 games. He has a .781 career OPS, compared to his league average of .775, and 70 RCAA in 1399 games.

8) Brian Roberts set the Orioles record for doubles in a season.

After -4 RCAA/.704 OPS in his first year as a starter, Roberts is hitting .387 SLG, .353 OBA, .740 OPS, -7 RCAA in 149 games. He has a .696 career OPS, compared to his league average of .768, and -27 RCAA in 374 games.

The new top 10–

DOUBLES                       YEAR     2B     
1    Brian Roberts            2004       48   
2    Cal Ripken               1983       47   
3    Cal Ripken               1991       46   
T4   Roberto Alomar           1996       43   
T4   Delino DeShields         2000       43   
T6   Cal Ripken               1996       40   
T6   Rafael Palmeiro          1996       40   
T8   Brady Anderson           1997       39   
T8   Jay Gibbons              2003       39   
T8   Melvin Mora              2004       39   

Including when the team was the St. Louis Browns, Beau Bell holds the record with 51, in 1937.


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