Around the Majors: Twins clinch the division title

by
September 20, 2004

1) Yesterday’s scores–

AL
Orioles 9, Redsox 6
Twins 8, Whitesox 2
Royals 6, Devil Rays 3
Tigers 3, Indians 1
BlueJays 6, Yankees 3
Angels 5, Mariners 2

NL
Cubs 5, Marlins 1 (1st)
Marlins 5, Cubs 2 (2nd)
Cardinals 7, Brewers 4

2) Standings–

AL EAST         WON  LOST  PCT  GB      HOME   ROAD   EAST  CENT  WEST STREAK
Yankees          94   56  .627   -     52-23  42-33  45-22 17-12 22-14 LOST 1
Redsox           89   60  .597   4 1/2 51-24  38-36  39-24 19-13 22-14 LOST 3
e--Orioles       70   78  .473  23     31-39  39-39  32-33 18-15 15-17 WON  1
e--Devil Rays    63   85  .426  30     36-35  27-50  23-46 15-14 10-22 LOST 3
e--BlueJays      63   87  .420  31     38-40  25-47  25-39 13-19 17-19 WON  3

AL CENTRAL      WON  LOST  PCT  GB      HOME   ROAD   EAST  CENT  WEST STREAK
x--Twins         88   62  .587   -     47-31  41-31  19-14 42-25 16-16 WON  2
e--Whitesox      74   75  .497  13 1/2 41-34  33-41  16-16 31-32 19-17 LOST 1
e--Indians       72   78  .480  16     42-35  30-43  17-15 28-36 17-19 LOST 1
e--Tigers        68   81  .456  19 1/2 35-38  33-43  10-14 34-37 15-21 WON  1
e--Royals        55   94  .369  32 1/2 32-41  23-53  11-23 30-35 08-24 WON  1

AL WEST         WON  LOST  PCT  GB      HOME   ROAD   EAST  CENT  WEST STREAK
A's              87   62  .584   -     49-25  38-37  23-20 27-16 27-18 WON  2
Angels           85   65  .567   2 1/2 43-33  42-32  25-18 28-15 25-21 WON  1
Rangers          82   67  .550   5     46-25  36-42  25-18 23-20 24-21 WON  2
e--Mariners      56   94  .373  31 1/2 37-42  19-52  13-30 19-24 15-31 LOST 3

NL EAST         WON  LOST  PCT  GB      HOME   ROAD   EAST  CENT  WEST STREAK
Braves           88   62  .587   -     43-29  45-33  46-24 15-15 19-13 LOST 1
Marlins          79   70  .530   8 1/2 42-35  37-35  39-24 15-21 18-14 LOST 1
Phillies         76   73  .510  11 1/2 37-37  39-36  31-35 16-17 20-12 WON  1
e--Mets          65   85  .433  23     35-40  30-45  25-42 13-20 17-15 LOST 2
e--Expos         63   87  .420  25     33-38  30-49  24-40 17-19 15-17 LOST 1

NL CENTRAL      WON  LOST  PCT  GB      HOME   ROAD   EAST  CENT  WEST STREAK
x--Cardinals     98   51  .658   -     51-26  47-25  19-11 50-30 18-09 WON  1
d--Cubs          83   66  .557  15     43-32  40-34  14-10 46-37 15-15 WON  1
d--Astros        83   67  .553  15 1/2 42-33  41-34  16-14 50-34 10-14 WON  4
e--Reds          68   81  .456  30     39-39  29-42  16-11 32-48 15-15 LOST 1
e--Pirates       68   81  .456  30     38-36  30-45  16-11 34-46 16-14 WON  2
e--Brewers       62   86  .419  35 1/2 34-41  28-45  11-19 31-48 12-15 LOST 7

NL WEST         WON  LOST  PCT  GB      HOME   ROAD   EAST  CENT  WEST STREAK
Dodgers          86   63  .577   -     45-29  41-34  14-18 22-14 40-23 WON  1
Giants           84   66  .560   2 1/2 44-32  40-34  19-13 18-15 36-31 WON  1
Padres           80   70  .533   6 1/2 36-36  44-34  18-14 19-17 35-29 LOST 1
e--Rockies       64   85  .430  22     35-40  29-45  11-21 10-20 35-34 LOST 1
e--Diamondbacks  47  103  .313  39 1/2 25-50  22-53  09-23 13-20 19-48 WON  1

x–clinched 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           89   60  .597   -
Angels           85   65  .567   4 1/2
Rangers          82   67  .550   7

NL              WON  LOST  PCT  GB   
Giants           84   66  .560   -
Cubs             83   66  .557     1/2
Astros           83   67  .553   1
Padres           80   70  .533   4
Marlins          79   70  .530   4 1/2
Phillies         76   73  .510   7 1/2

4) The Twins clinched the division title for the 3rd consecutive year.

5) The Phillies will be mathematically eliminated from winning the division title if they lose to the Marlins and the Braves beat the Reds.

6) Magic numbers–

AL East–Yankees, 9
AL Central–Twins, clinched
AL West–A’s, 11
AL wild card–Redsox, 9

NL East–Braves, 5
NL Central–Cardinals, clinched
NL West–Dodgers, 11
NL wild card–Giants, 13

7) Race for the postseason seeds–

AL–The Yankees have a 6 game lead over the Twins for the #1 seed. The Twins lead the A’s by 1/2 game for the #2 seed.

NL–The Cardinals have a 10 1/2 game lead over the Braves for the #1 seed. The Braves lead the Dodgers by 1 1/2 game for the #2 seed.

8) Today’s schedule–

AL
Indians (Francisco Cruceta) at Tigers (Gary Knotts, 5.74), 7:05
BlueJays (Roy Halladay, 4.35) at Yankees (Esteban Loaiza, 5.52), 7:05
Orioles (Rodrigo Lopez, 3.88) at Redsox (Curt Schilling, 3.40), 7:05
Royals (Zack Greinke, 4.20) at Devil Rays (Rob Bell, 4.88), 7:15
A’s (Mark Mulder, 4.13) at Rangers (Ryan Drese, 3.73), 8:05
Twins (Kyle Lohse, 5.29) at Whitesox (Jon Garland, 4.99), 8:05
Mariners (Jamie Moyer, 4.98) at Angels (Aaron Sele, 4.88), 10:05

A Hardball Times Update
by RJ McDaniel
Goodbye for now.

NL
Mets (Al Leiter, 3.12) at Expos (Livan Hernandez, 3.78), 7:05
Phillies (Cory Lidle, 5.17) at Marlins (Dontrelle Willis, 3.86), 7:05
Cubs (Kerry Wood, 3.54) at Pirates (Josh Fogg, 4.82), 7:05
Reds (Brandon Claussen, 5.85) at Braves (John Thomson, 3.92), 7:35
Cardinals (Jason Marquis, 3.66) at Brewers (Victor Santos, 4.81), 7:35
Diamondbacks (Randy Johnson, 2.74) at Rockies (Shawn Estes, 5.82), 9:05
Dodgers (Jeff Weaver, 3.77) at Padres (Adam Eaton, 4.72), 10:05
Astros (Carlos Hernandez, 5.30) at Giants (Brett Tomko, 4.26), 10:15

9) Yesterday’s HR–

David Ortiz–#39
Aubrey Huff–#28
Jose Valentin–#27
Melvin Mora–#26
Corey Koskie–#24
Torii Hunter–#21
Dmitri Young–#17
Michael Barrett–#16
Brandon Inge–#12
Henry Blanco–#10
Luis Rivas–#10
Carl Crawford–#10
Damion Easley–#8
B.J. Surhoff–#6
Calvin Pickering–#5
Russ Adams–#2

10) HR leaders–

AL
1) Manny Ramirez–41
T2) Paul Konerko–39
T2) David Ortiz–39*
4) Mark Teixeira–37
T5) Gary Sheffield–35
T5) Alex Rodriguez–35
7) Vladimir Guerrero–32
8) Hank Blalock–31
9) Carlos Delgado–30
T10) Eric Chavez–29
T10) Miguel Tejada–29

NL
1) Adrian Beltre–45
2) Albert Pujols–44
3) Barry Bonds–43
T4) Adam Dunn–42
T4) Jim Edmonds–42
6) Jim Thome–41
-) Carlos Beltran–38 (not officially in the top 10, since 15 in the AL)
7) Moises Alou–37
8) Jeromy Burnitz–36
9) Steve Finley–34
T10) Sammy Sosa–33
T10) Scott Rolen–33
T10) Aramis Ramirez–33
T10) Vinny Castilla–33

*–hit 1 yesterday

11) Barry Bonds watch–

OBA–.609, Bonds holds the major league record with .582, in 2002
SLG–.827, on pace for 4th all time, Bonds holds the major league record with .863, 2001
OPS–1.436, Bonds holds the major league record with 1.381, in 2002
RCAA–144, is tied for 6th all time, Bonds holds the major league record with 169, 2001
BB–207, new major league record
BB above average–177, new major league record
career HR above average–has 459, 2nd all time, Ruth holds the record with 622
career RCAA–1488, 2nd all time, Ruth holds the record with 1795

12) Twins 3B Corey Koskie hit his 100th career HR.

1) Angels RF Vladimir Guerrero had to leave yesterday’s game, after being hit in the head by a pitch in the first inning. X-rays were normal and he was able to return to the dugout, from the hospital, by the end of the game.

After 61 RCAA/1.010 OPS and 28 RCAA/1.012 OPS seasons, Guerrero is hitting .563 SLG, .381 OBA, .944 OPS, 42 RCAA in his first 145 games. He has a .973 career OPS, compared to his league average of .777, and 303 RCAA in 1149 games.

2) Angels 2B Adam Kennedy had to leave yesterday’s game, due to a sprained right knee, and will be reevaluated today.

After 14 RCAA/.795 OPS and 4 RCAA/.743 OPS seasons, Kennedy is off to a .406 SLG, .351 OBA, .757 OPS, -1 RCAA start in his first 144 games. He has a .734 career OPS, compared to his league average of .773, and -34 RCAA in 757 games.

3) The BlueJays will activate P Roy Halladay from the DL.

After 2.93 ERA/40 RSAA and 3.25 ERA/45 RSAA seasons, Halladay is off to a 4.35 ERA/8 RSAA start in his first 18 starts. He has a 3.90 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.61, and 92 RSAA in 162 games.

4) Redsox SS Orlando Cabrera left the team, to be with his wife while she has surgery, and is expected back tomorrow.

After -16 RCAA/.701 OPS and -7 RCAA/.807 OPS seasons, Cabrera is off to a .372 SLG, .304 OBA, .676 OPS, -22 RCAA start in his first 149 games (first 103 with the Expos). He has a .723 career OPS, compared to his league average of .778, and -115 RCAA in 950 games.

5) Royals 1B Mike Sweeney and C Benito Santiago are out for the rest of the season.

Sweeney isn’t recovering enough from a herniated disc in his back. After 39 RCAA/.979 OPS and 9 RCAA/.858 OPS seasons, he had a .504 SLG, .347 OBA, .851 OPS, 15 RCAA in 106 games. Sweeney has a .875 career OPS, compared to his league average of .775, and 132 RCAA in 1026 games.

Santiago’s been on the DL since he was hit in the hand by a pitch on June 18. After -4 RCAA/.765 OPS and -6 RCAA/.753 OPS seasons, Santiago had a .434 SLG, .312 OBA, .746 OPS, -6 RCAA in 49 games. He has a .722 career OPS, compared to his league average of .749, and -158 RCAA in 1972 games.

6) Tigers SS Carlos Guillen will have season ending surgery to repair a torn right ACL.

After -2 RCAA/.719 OPS and -1 RCAA/.753 OPS seasons, Guillen hit .542 SLG, .379 OBA, .921 OPS, 36 RCAA in 136 games. He has a .767 career OPS, compared to his league average of .769, and 18 RCAA in 624 games.

7) The Cubs activated P Kyle Farnsworth from the DL.

After 7.33 ERA/-17 RSAA and 3.30 ERA/8 RSAA seasons, Farnsworth is off to a 4.95 ERA/-3 RSAA start in his first 66 games. He has a 4.81 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.42, and -21 RSAA in 337 games.

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