1995 Atlanta Braves Retrospective

selmaborntidefan

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September 23, 1995
Montreal Expos 5 (W: Martinez, 14-9; SV: Rojas, 29)
Atlanta Braves 2 (L: McMichael, 7-2)
87-51
1st place
19 games ahead

EXPOS BEAT ATLANTA PEN; UNIT WINS 16TH AS SEATTLE PULLS AHEAD;
ANGELS LOSING STREAK REACHES 9;
PEREZ ARRESTED FOR RAPE AFTER LOSS VS BRAVES


The one positive Atlanta can take from the game is that Steve Avery pitched well, and it wasn't his fault the Braves lost.

The Braves got off to a quick start when Marquis Grissom tripled to open the game and then scored on a walk by starter Pedro Martinez after he'd walked one batter and hit another and then - probably wisely - walked David Justice with the bases loaded to give the Braves a 1-0 lead. Avery made it stand up until he gave up a solo home run to Wil Cordero that tied the game at one in the top of the fifth, but the Braves got it back when Marquis Grissom doubled to right and Mike Devereaux, who replaced Grissom as a pinch-runner, scored on Fred McGriff's double to give Atlanta a 2-1 lead. But in the seventh, Avery hurt his own cause.

With one out, rookie Yamil Benitez drew a walk, and Sean Berry singled through the pitcher's box to put runners on first and second. Both runners advanced when Avery threw a wild pitch, and the Braves intentionally walked Cordero to load the bases. Cox opted to let Avery stay in the game to get the two outs needed, and Avery struck out Mike Lansing for the second out of the inning. But he then drilled Mark Grudzielanek with a pitch, which tied the game, although Avery then struck out Darrin Fletcher to get out of the jam with the score tied at two. But when Greg McMichael took over in the eighth, he gave up what turned out to be the game-winning home run by Rondell White for the Expos. Montreal added two more cosmetic runs, and Mel Rojas shut the door on the Braves for a 5-2 win.

The Mariners went with their best, Randy Johnson, and played their best. Seattle raced out to a four-run lead in the bottom of the first, a three-run bomb by Jay Buhner serving as the key blow. Buhner later homered again while Johnson gave up four hits while striking out 15 batters and lifting his record to 16-2. The Angels came up in the top of the second with the game as good as over after Texas raced out to a 5-0 lead courtesy of long bombs by Juan Gonzalez and Mickey Tettleton; the game ended 5-1, California's ninth straight loss. The Yankees swept their first doubleheader in three years with victories of 5-2 and 3-1 over Detroit, John Wetteland getting saves in both to run his season total to 29. The Red Sox won the opener of their doubleheader as Roger Clemens struck out five in six innings for a 5-0 win, but the Blue Jays won the nightcap, 8-6, as Tim Wakefield lost for the sixth time. Albert Belle golfed two home runs and Dennis Martinez won his 11th game as the Indians beat the Royals, 7-3. Newcomer Jimmy Haynes won his second game as a major league pitcher by giving up just three hits while Baltimore slammed four homers in a 9-3 rout of the Brewers. The White Sox banged out 20 hits and 14 runs against three Twins pitchers that ended in a 14-4 laugher and lifted Chicago to an 8-0 record against Minnesota this year.

The Colorado Rockies have scored more runs than any team in the National League; they've also been shut out 11 times, second most in the majors. The 11th shutout came tonight, a 2-0 loss at the hands of the Giants that saw Colorado only able to muster a total of two hits against four San Francisco pitchers. Chris Gwynn's walkoff two-run bomb in the ninth beat his brother (Tony's) team, San Diego, 4-2, a win that leaves the Dodgers just 1/2 game behind the Rockies. Jose Hernandez hit a tie-breaking home run in the sixth, and Mark Grace added a two-run single in the ninth, but the ending of the Cubs-Pirates game was scintillating enough to earn Randy Myers his 36th save in 42 chances. The Cubs took an 8-4 lead into the ninth, but when Anthony Young - yes, the same one who holds the MLB record for 27 consecutive losing decisions - gave up a single to Midre Cummings and a walk to Al Martin, Myers got the call to save the day. He retired the first two batters - but walked the next two, forcing in a run and bringing Nelson Liriano to the plate as the winning run. Naturally, Liriano struck out and the Cubs escaped the lackluster Pirates, 8-5. The Reds and Phillies had to go 13 innings before Philly prevailed on a bases loaded walk to Mark Whiten, 3-2. Dave Magadan drove in two runs while Donnie Wall won his third straight start in Houston's 7-3 win over the Cardinals. Gary Sheffield's solo homer broke up a 3-3 tie in the seventh, and the Marlins held on for a 4-3 win over the Mets in the ongoing battle for "Who Will Finish Last This Year in the NL East?" Only five games separate last place from second in the NL East.

Will Dallas Green return to the Mets? He's noncommittal, and the Mets improved last year but perhaps not this year. A formal announcement is expected next week.

Will Barry Bonds return to baseball at all? The 31-year old Giants leftfielder says he's getting tired of getting blamed because his team isn't any good, and to be fair, he does have a point. Bonds has appeared in every game this season and will lead the NL in On Base Percentage as well as walks, and he's accomplished those numbers despite the absence of slugger Matt Williams to protect him for ten weeks of the season. My assumption is that Bonds is disappointed because his team was in pennant races the previous five seasons and now they aren't. The Giants have a plethora of problems, but Bonds's hitting isn't one of them. Watch for Bonds to return and, if the Giants aren't any good next year, demand a trade to some place he can win a World Series.

And a tragic story out of Atlanta as Carlos Perez has been accused of rape, which puts his loss in last night's game with the Braves into perspective. Perez apparently met a 20-year old woman in an Atlanta bar after the game last night and is accused of forcing the woman into a taxi and back to his hotel room, where he is accused of raping her. Details will be forthcoming as they are known.

The Braves send Kent Mercker to the hill tomorrow for their final regular season game at Fulton County Stadium this year. He will be opposed by Tavo Alvarez of the Expos. After a travel day, the Braves will close out the season with five straight road games against the Phillies and Mets. A reminder that Mark Belanger of the Dodgers made up the schedule.
 

selmaborntidefan

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September 24, 1995
Atlanta Braves 5 (W: Borbon, 2-2)
Montreal Expos 4 (L: Leiper, 0-2)
10 innings
88-51
1st place
20 games ahead


DEVEREAUX DESTROYS DEJA VU;
ANGELS END 9-GAME LOSING STREAK - AND HEAD TO SEATTLE;
MATTINGLY'S LAST HOME GAME?


On Saturday night, Greg McMichael came on in a 2-2 game and gave up a two-run eighth inning homer that wound up costing the Braves the game and saddling McMichael himself with a loss. About sixteen hours later, McMichael came on in a 2-2 game and gave up a solo eighth inning home run that threatened to end with the same resuts as Saturday. But thanks to an Atlanta newcomer who has performed well since coming over from the White Sox, Mike Devereaux destroyed deja vu, twice in fact. With the Braves trailing, 3-2, Devereaux opened the ninth inning with a leadoff double and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Mike Kelly, tying the game at three. Then, after reliever Pedro Borbon Jr gave up a leadoff double to Rondell White - whose homer beat Atlanta last night - White scored on a single by Yamil Benitez to give Montreal a 4-3 lead. Reliever Dave Leiper got two quick outs and had Rafael Belliard at first with the tying run. But Atlanta's other bench newcomer, Luis Polonia, doubled to left, and Devereaux sliced a single that drove both runners home and gave the Braves their 88th win, tops in the NL, and extended their lead over the long gone Phillies to 20 games. Borbon, on the hook for the loss, wound up with his second career win in the comeback.

Their lead long gone, the California Angels finally put out the raging fire with the always inspirational Jim Abbott, who won his 11th game by pitching a complete game three-hit shutout, 5-0, as the Angels head for Seattle for a two-game series...trailing by two. That was the end of their heavenly luck, though, as Seattle overcame a 6-3 fifth-inning deficit to edge Oakland, 9-8, thanks to two bombs by Tino Martinez - the second a two-run walkoff in the bottom of the ninth - and yet another collapse by Dennis Eckersley, his 9th blown save this year as his days as Mr. Automatic are long gone. Eckersley wasn't the only big collapse on Sunday. Yankee rookie Andy Pettite took a 3-0 lead into the seventh inning before giving up a triple (yes, I said a triple) to slow-footed Cecil Fielder, who scored on a Phil Nevin single, cutting the lead to 3-1. Pettite imploded in the eighth, Detroit chasing seven runs across the plate for an 8-3 Tigers win that, combined with the Seattle and California wins, drops New York 1/2 game behind in the wildcard race. The most touching moment was what may prove to be the final Yankee home game for Don Mattingly, whose contract expires at the end of this season and is not expected to be re-signed. Mattingly has never played in the post-season and will need New York to make the division series if he is to play at Yankee Stadium again. Kansas City finally beat Cleveland for the first time in nine tries, 4-2, as Kevin Appier won his 15th game and combined with Jeff Montgomery on a five-hitter. With two outs in the ninth, rookie Brian Giles slammed his first big league home run, a two-run shot that gave Cleveland their only runs of the game. Pinch-hitter Carlos Delgado's ninth-inning sacrifice fly scored Joe Carter, and Mike Timlin navigated a rough ninth inning for the save in Toronto's 2-1 win over Boston. Matt Merullo's bases loaded single scored Chuck Knoblauch to give the Twins a 4-3 win over the White Sox. Steve Sparks allowed only three hits in 7.1 innings as the Brewers topped the Orioles, 5-1, thanks largely to a four-run second inning.

The NL West has the only race remaining in that league, and the Rockies are still 1/2 game ahead of the Dodgers. Hideo Nomo notched his 12th win in the Dodgers's 6-2 triumph over San Diego, and Colorado survived a scare at the hands of the Giants to escape at home with a 3-1 win. Playing his last game of the season, Deion Sanders led off the ninth with a single and moved to second on a walk to David McCarty. Barry Bonds came to the plate with a chance to win the game, but Bruce Ruffin struck him out and Bonds was subsequently ejected for arguing balls and strikes with plate umpire Wally Bell. With two sluggers coming to bat and two shots left, the Rockies watched as both Matt Williams and then Mark Carreon hit shots to the warning track that were flagged down as outs and helped the Rockies maintain their narrow lead in first. The Dodgers trail in the division, but they lead Houston in the wildcard. The Astros kept pace with a scintillating 1-0 win when Milt Thompson scored on Rich DeLucia's throwing error in the tenth. Brian McRae's walkoff home run in the tenth lifted the Cubs to a 3-2 win over the Pirates. David Wells pitched eight innings and Mariano Duncan drove in four runs in Cincinnati's 6-4 in over Duncan's old club, Philadelphia. Alex Ochoa lost two fly balls in the sun, leading to all of Florida's runs in their 4-3 win over the Mets.

The Braves are off tomorrow as there are only eight games scheduled.
 
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selmaborntidefan

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September 25, 1995
Off day
88-51
1st place
20 games ahead


KARROS HR LIFTS LA INTO FIRST;
CASTILLO FALLS ONE STRIKE SHORT OF NO-NO;
JUDGE UPHOLDS RAPE CHARGES AGAINST PEREZ


A two-run home run by Eric Karros turned a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 margin that the Dodgers held onto until the end of the game as Ramon Martinez, notching his 17th win, combined with Todd Worrell, who earned his 31st save, to scatter eight Colorado hits and give the Dodgers a 1/2 game lead in the NL West race with only five games left (six for the Rockies).

The Astros tore out to a 6-0 lead over the hapless Pirates - and then nearly blew the game. Pittsburgh closed the gap to 6-5 before Houston rallied for four runs to put away a 10-5 win. Frank Castillo got within one strike of the first Cubs no-hitter in 23 years only to see Bernard Gilkey triple to ruin his effort. Castillo wound up with a one-hitter and a complete game shutout, 7-0, over the Cardinals. Jose Vizcaino scored on a wild pitch moments before the game was stopped by rain and never able to resume. The result was a 2-1 Mets win over the Reds. Wil Cordero hit two home runs as the Expos beat the Marlins, 9-0, before 16,000 fans, the smallest home attendance in the three-year history of the Florida franchise. The Padres beat the Giants, 7-4, as Trevor Hoffman got his 28th save.

Travis Fryman's second grand slam of the season - both against the Red Sox - was the key blow in a six-run third inning that gave Detroit an early insurmountable lead over Boston in a game they won by a final score of 7-4. Chuck Knoblauch stole three bases and scored his 100th run while Pat Meares hit his 12th home run in Minnesota's 6-1 win over the White Sox.

Montreal Expos pitcher Carlos Perez posted bond and walked out of jail, but a judge refused to dismiss rape charges against him. The 24-year old rookie pitcher was arrested hours after losing a game to the Atlanta Braves after picking up a 20-year old on a blind date in an Atlanta bar and allegedly forcing her to have sex with him in his hotel room in Atlanta. The testimony already threatens to enter the land of "he said, she said," and there is no telling where it goes from here. The guy is either a cretin who raped a woman, or she's a cretin who falsely accused him. Details as they become available.

The Braves head to Philadelphia for a two-game series and then finish the year with a three-game series in New York against the Mets. The Braves will likely rest the regulars to a certain degree. And we'll have all the details of the wild races in both the AL and NL Western divisions.
 

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September 26, 1995
Atlanta Braves 5 (W: Smoltz, 12-7)
Philadelphia Phillies 1 (L: Quantrill, 11-11)
89-51
1st place
21 games ahead


SMOLTZ, NEWBIES BEAT PHILS;
M'S UP 3 WITH 5 LEFT


After losing six straight decisions to the Philadelphia Phillies, John Smoltz finally got a break. Chipper Jones and Ryan Klesko socked first-inning homers that provided the tall righty with a quick four-run cushion and after navigating a rough first inning where he walked three of the game's first four batters and gave one back, Philly got nothing more. Smoltz and four relievers scattered three hits while striking out 13 batters in a 5-1 Braves win that leaves the Phillies needing to sweep the season's final four games to finish at .500. Atlanta continues to play well despite having already clinched the NL's best record for 1995. The excitement lies elsewhere.

The excitement is percolating in Seattle, where the Mariners have gone from 13.5 games behind just six weeks ago into a three-game lead after roaring out to a 5-0 lead and holding on for a 10-2 wipeout of the Angels in the Kingdome. Jay Buhner socked his 38th home run of the season while Andy Benes raised his Mariner record to 7-1. A Seattle win tomorrow would clinch a tie for the division title while an Angels win is necessary to at least prolong the agony if not provide for a sensational comeback in the season's final week. But don't hold your breath; the Mariners have won 7 in a row. That other team in Los Angeles is more famous but facing their own scrappy underdogs, who are now in first place again. Bret Saberhagen pitched just well enough to earn the win as Larry Walker's two home runs lifted the Rockies to a 7-3 win over the Dodgers that leaves the Rockies with a 1/2-game lead. Five relievers stitched together effective enough pitching for Colorado to hold on and win. And the Dodgers are being squeezed by the Houston Astros, whose 2-0 win over Denny Neagle and the Pirates has them just 1/2 game behind LA. If the Astros fail to make the post-season, they will forever curse the injury that took last year's MVP Jeff Bagwell out of the lineup for a solid month and decimated their offense. And there's the thorny question of what will happen in the AL wildcard race as well.

It is entirely possible that the Angels may lose the pennant while making the playoffs. Ditto for the Rockies or Dodgers. But that chance got less likely tonight when the Yankees held on for a 5-4 win over the Brewers that saw John Wetteland earn his 30th save while Paul O'Neill socked his 21st home run. The Yankees are 1.5 ahead of the Angels, meaning the Angels not only have to win but the Yankees have to lose for a fallback option. The Cubs remained alive - barely - in the NL wildcard after rallying from a 2-0 deficit in the fifth for a 3-2 win on Mark Grace's 15th home run. The Rangers, like the Cubs, remain mathematically alive after Mark McLemore's eighth-inning single broke the last tie as the Rangers topped the Athletics, 7-6, in a game that saw the team's combine for five errors and Mark McGwire go deep twice to run his season home run tally to 38.

None of the other contests affects the playoff scenarios.

Expos 5 Marlins 4 - Wil Cordero drives home the winning run with two outs in the ninth. Carlos Perez missed his start due to rape allegations.

Padres 6 Giants 3 - Andy Ashby won his third straight start while Trevor Hoffman got his 29th save.

Orioles 5 Blue Jays 0 - Mike Mussina won his 18th game with a complete game five-hit shutout.

White Sox 7 Royals 0 - Alex Fernandez had a 6-0 lead before taking the mound and pitched a complete game shutout for a career high wins total.

Red Sox 5 Tigers 1 - Zane Smith pitched eight innings in his last effort to earn a spot on the team's post-season roster while John Valentin went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs.

Twins 13 Indians 4 - Albert Belle smashed his 47th home run, but the Tribe was routed by Minnesota.

Reds-Mets was rained out and will be made up tomorrow as part of a doubleheader
 
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selmaborntidefan

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September 27, 1995
Atlanta Braves 6 (W: Maddux, 19-2)
Philadelphia Phillies 0 (L: Mimbs, 9-7)
90-51
1st place
22 games ahead


THE INCREDIBLE MADDUX DOES IT AGAIN;
ANGELS TOP SEATTLE TO KEEP HOPES ALIVE


We are running out of adjectives to describe the greatness of Atlanta pitcher Greg Maddux, but efforts will be made in today's column to not go overboard with hyperbole while accurately recording history. The greatest baseball pitcher of the last 75 years, who for all the world looks like an accountant, made his last case for a fourth straight Cy Young Award today with a stellar effort, going 6 innings and striking out four while (again!) walking nobody and extending his scoreless innings streak to 21. He won his 19th game in 21 decisions, leading the National League and doing so in an abbreviated 144-game campaign. If you're wondering why he came out of a game where he had a three-hitter going and a 5-0 lead, well, no need to waste pitches with the inevitble post-season coming soon. Maddux even had a hit and scored a run - one more than the Phillies did - as Atlanta clinched their season series with Philly with their seventh win in 13 head-to-head contests by a final count of 6-0. It is also his 18th straight win on the road. Maddux ends the season leading the league in complete games (10), wins (nobody else has more than 17 with only three games remaining), is tied with the league lead with three shutouts, is third in strikeouts (only a phenomenal day by Shane Reynolds could displace him), and finishes with a not-to-be-believed ERA of 1.63. You read that correctly - 1.63. Maddux will, without question, win his fourth straight Cy Young Award, the only question remaining is whether he will net all 28 votes from the writers. His main competition will come from Pete Schourek, teammate Tom Glavine, and rookie phenom Hideo Nomo. The day secures Atlanta's 90th win of the season, a truly phenomenal accomplishment in only 144 games. (The 1991 Braves, who won the pennant, netted "only" 94 wins with 18 extra chances).

This game all but ended on the second batter when Mark Lemke slammed a solo home run with one out in the top of the first to give Maddux a 1-0 lead. The Braves added to the lead in the top of the second when David Justice walked, moved to third on a Charlie O'Brien single and then scored on a passed ball to make it 2-0, Braves. When Marquis Grissom led off the third with his own solo shot for a 3-0 Atlanta lead, the game was over for sure with Maddux on the mound. But in their third time at bat, the top three hitters in Atlanta's batting order chased Philly starter Mike Mimbs. Grissom singled, scored on a Lemke double, and Lemke scored on a Chipper Jones triple to extend the lead to 5-0 and send Mimbs to the showers. Maddux scored the game's final run when he singled, raced to third on a Mike Devereaux single, and scored on Lemke's second double, which gave the short second baseman three RBIs for the day. Greg McMichael got an inning, and the Braves decided to take a closer look at Jason Schmidt, who pitched the final two innings and retired six of the eight hitters he faced, surrendering only a hit and a walk.

While the Braves have no pennant race - unlike the last 3 seasons - there's a barn burner going on in the AL West. A loss today would have all but ended the season for the California Angels and sealed their fate as the team with the most monumental collapse in baseball history. A leadoff walk to Tony Phillips, a ground out that moved him to second, and two out hits by Tim Salmon and Chili Davis gave Chuck Finley a 2-0 lead before he took the mound. In a must-win game, Finley got to the seventh inning by allowing just three hits and no runs before he was pulled in favor of setup man Troy Percival. With two on and one out, and the go-ahead run at the plate, Percival retired Rich Amaral and Doug Strange to get out of the jam. Lee Smith came on in the ninth and set the Mariners down in order to seal a 2-0 Angels win that leaves them two games behind with four left to play. The Angels head home to face the Athletics in a four-game series to close the season while the Mariners head to Texas to face the Rangers in a four-game series finale, which may be interesting (or not) since the Rangers are (at the moment) still alive for the wildcard. They will need a lot of help, but unless they sweep Seattle, their season is over anyway. And facing Randy Johnson in the opener only makes that hill an even steeper climb. Texas did their part today with an 11-0 pasting of Oakland for Kenny Rogers's 16th win thanks to bombs by Will Clark, Mickey Tettleton, and Rusty Greer. David Cone won his 18th as the Yankees continue their pursuit of a wildcard berth with a 6-3 win over Milwaukee. New York leads the wildcard race by 1.5 games, so as long as they keep winning they will be fine. The Yankees drew the lucky ace, an off day tomorrow and a three-game series in Toronto to close the season. Albert Belle and Eddie Murray both homered twice, Belle running his season total to 49, as the Indians routed the Twins, 9-6. Murray drove in his 75th run, which ties him with Hank Aaron as the only player to drive in 75 runs or more in 19 straight seasons. Scott Erickson pitched a three-hit shutout as Toronto, who have clearly shut it down for the year, endured their second straight complete game shutout loss to Baltimore, 7-0. Barry Lyons drove in a career-high five runs and Mike Sirotka got his first MLB win as the White Sox trounced the Royals, 6-0. Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield had his third sraight bad outing at precisely the wrong time as the Red Sox were beaten, 7-5, by Detroit. Boston is not hitting the playoffs in stride.

There's also a pennant race in the NL West, though it has less cache' due to the likelihood the loser will still make the playoffs. Despite blowing an early 3-0 lead, the Dodgers regained the lead, the game, and first place in the Western division when Eric Karros AGAIN homered late to life LA to a 7-4 win over Colorado in the Dodgers's final regular season home game in front of nearly 54,000 paying customers on a Wednesday night. The Dodgers got an assist from the Astros when a 3-run Pirates 11th inning was the difference in Pittsburgh's 6-3 triumph over Houston that leaves the Astros a game behind the Rockies heading into their final series of the year - and wouldn't you know it, it's against the Chicago Cubs, who are still mathematically alive if they can sweep Houston at home and get some help. The Cubs helped themselves today as Kevin Foster struck out a career-high 13 batters and Luis Gonzalez homered in Chicago's 5-3 win over St Louis. Jeff Conine drove in four runs to raise his season tally to 101 RBIs as the Marlins thumped the Expos, 9-3. Conine is the first Marlins player to exceed 100 RBIs. Fernando Valenzuela concluded his 15th major league season with a 4-2 Padres win over the Giants, his 8th of the year. Though he will turn 35 in the off-season, the portly part-time starter is looking forward to another year in San Diego. The win runs his career record to 158-133. The Mets, playing for pride, and the Reds, phoning it in, played a doubleheader today, and the Mets swept both games, topping John Smiley, 5-4, and Dave Burba, 9-2.

The Pirates have reached a tentative deal to sell the team to Kevin McClatchy; MLB will review the contract before it is implemented. Dallas Green received an extension and will be back to manage the Mets next year. Jack McDowell has not thrown in six days, but a bone scan shows no stress fracture. It is still debatable whether McDowell will be able to pitch in any post-season games. The Cardinals clinched MLB's worst road record for the season (23-47) and, as is custom with St Louis, had the rookies wear ballerina outfits on the flight home from the last road trip. Bobby Bonilla extended his hitting streak to 17 games for Baltimore tonight. Fans of the Boston Red Sox named Roger Clemens's 20-strikeout performance in 1986 the "most all-time special moment" in team history, and it will be recognized in the "Red Sox Hall of Fame" when it opens on November 1. These contests pretty much always demonstrate recency bias from fans who weren't around for such things as Ted Williams being baseball's last .400 hitter or (yikes!) even Carlton Fisk's game-winning home run in the World Series, which was only 20 years ago next month or even Jim Lonborg's one-hitter in Game Two of the 1967 World Series. Then again, what would living Red Sox fans even know about a post-season other than pain anyway, right?

Sparky Anderson, who drew fire from management for his refusal to manage replacement players, suggested tonight's contest at Fenway Park will be his last at the venue. It has been suspected much of the season that Sparky is going to retire from managing - but Sparky also hints he might be in the National League next year, too. We'll see. And then there's the always despicable Bud Selig, team owner and baseball comissioner. Bud's latest whine is that there's an upcoming election in the state assembly to raise taxes to build Bud and his lackluster Brewers a new $250 million stadium with a retractable roof and 75 luxury boxes - because, you know, fans in Wisconsin who haven't sniffed a pennant race since Rollie Fingers was still pitching, need luxury boxes to see baseball games. Otherwise, Selig says he'll move the team. Doesn't this guy have a labor agreement he's supposed to be helping settle?

There are only eight games tomorrow - but four have a direct bearing on the post-season, and we'll be here to cover them.
 

selmaborntidefan

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September 28, 1995
Off day
90-51
1st place
22 games ahead

ANGELS, MARINERS WIN - 2 UP, 3 TO PLAY
CUBS STILL ON LIFE SUPPORT, FAN ATTACKS MYERS
PUCKETT'S JAW BROKEN ON MARTINEZ PITCH

Ken Griffey Jr
took matters into his own hands tonight in Arlington, and while it didn't settle the pennant race, it did end the post-season hopes of the Texas Rangers (uh, what else is new?). With the score tied at two in the eighth inning, Griffey faced Roger Pavlik with the bases loaded and two outs and launched a grand slam alongside the right field foul pole (see 3:05 in the video below) to lift the Mariners to a 6-2 win and drive the home the final blow in the Rangers's post-season hopes for 1995. Randy Johnson won his 17th game while striking out 7 and made only one bad pitch, which Mickey Tettleton drilled into the left field bleachers for his 29th home run. Jay Buhner also went deep for Seattle. Because of the time difference, the pressure was now on the Angels to continue the race, and they responded like champions.

California took a 1-0 lead into the seventh, but Terry Steinbach drove in Mark McGwire to both tie the game and give the catcher his 1,000th career RBI. Moments later with a chance to put the Angels away, Stan Javier launched a sinking drive towards center that Jim Edmonds ran down with one of his many fine catches, and the game remained tied at one. In the bottom of the inning, the Angels took the lead when Chili Davis singled, J.T. Snow walked, and Oakand pitcher Doug Johns threw wildly on a bunt by Garrett Anderson that scored both lead runners and gave California a 3-1 lead. They added another run, and Lee Smith closed out the contest to keep the Angels two games behind Seattle with only three to play. New York's travel day meant that California has also closed the wildcard race to a one-game deficit. Three games remain, three teams are alive - and only two spots.

There are also four teams (technically) alive in the NL for only two spots, and three were in action tonight, two against each other. The most relevant result was San Francisco pulverizing the Rockies, who sold out their 48th straight game, by racing out to a quick 9-0 lead and holding on for 12-4 win in the House of Horrors known as Coors Field. How bad was it for the Rockies? Rookie pitcher Bryan Rekar was called up in late July and won his first three major league starts (two against then contending Philly) and got off to a 4-1 record, but he has imploded in September and was the losing pitcher in the 17-0 blowout at the hands of the Marlins in his last start. Tonight, he gave up seven earned runs in just four innings of work. You expect Barry Bonds to slam his 33rd home run of the season, and you expect Matt Williams to rip his 22nd, particuarly in the high altitude in Denver. But you don't expect September callups like Rich Aurilia to go 4-for-5 with two RBIs and his first career home run or Marvin Benard to get three hits. The Rockies are in a pennant race and folded like a lawn chair after the fireworks show tonight. But the Rockies held serve in the wild card, holding onto their one-game lead, when the Astros lost a wild one to the Cubs at Wrigley, 12-11, as they rallied from a 5-2 deficit and then blew leads in the sixth, seventh, eighth, tenth, and eleventh innings, the last when Doug Jones entered the game with an 11-10 lead and the only batter he retired was Jose Hernandez on a sacrifice bunt. The Cubs rallied for two runs, the winner on a single by Mark Parent. The two teams combined for 33 runs, 36 hits, 8 stolen bases (4 by Brian Hunter), six comebacks, and used 18 total pitchers in a desperate attempt for both teams to salvage the season with a playoff berth. On top of all that insanity, the game was marred by an incident after Cubs closer Randy Myers gave up a go-ahead home run to James Mouton in the eighth. No, Myers did not plunk Brian Hunter with a retaliation pitch; a 27-year old bond trader named John Murray jumped out of the stands from the first base side and raced to assault Myers (see 4:39 in the video below). Murray was apparently unaware that Myers is skilled in martial arts, and he saw the fan approaching. Myers let his glove go and dropped the fan with a quick forearm and restrained him until law enforcement arrived. Myers, who is 6'1" and 230, had little trouble with the 6'1", 185-pound Murray, who spent the evening in the county lockup. The most amusing aspect - assuming there can be one - is Murray's wife learing on television that her husband - described by commentators as "some stupid fan" - had been arrested. Murray's brother attended the game with him and said that John Murray had declared, "If he gives up another home run, I'm going to run out there and give him what for." There is no report whether Murray had been drinking, but which is worse - a fan so drunk he attacked probably the one guy on the team who could kill him with his bare hands or a sober fan acting that way? While I get the frustration of fans, Murray knows full well the Cubs haven't won the World Series since the last two passings of earth by Halley's Comet. You'd think he'd expect it by now. In a note unrelated to the fan attack, Brian McRae is gone for the season.

There was another, more tragic result in the Metrodome (see 6:49 in the video below). Cleveland routed the Twins, 12-4, but Kirby Puckett is also gone for the season after Dennis Martinez broke Puckett's jaw with an inside pitch in the bottom of the first. Martinez hit the game's first batter, Chuck Knoblauch, and Puckett, hitting third. Minnesota immediately "retaliated" by plunking Albert Belle, which wound up with Indians coach Mark Wiley ejected when he protested that Twins hurler Frankie Rodriguez should have been tossed for hitting Belle. Cleveland rallied for three quick runs in the top of the second, and the game was never close. If they can win every remaining game, the Indians will achieve the 100-win mark in only 144 games, an incredible accomplishment. And, of course, where there's someone throwing at a hitter, you can bet Roger Clemens is going to be there. Clemens took the mound with a 4-0 lead and proceeded to hit Fernando Vina, Milwaukee's leadoff hitter. It was Clemens's 14th batter hit this year. And it's easy for him because he never has to dig in and face an opponent who will actually hit him. Bob Scanlan retaliated by hitting Luis Alicea in the foot, and give Boston credit: they responded with consecutive home runs against Scanlan from Duane Hosey and John Valentin en route to an 11-6 Red Sox win. Note that when Clemens was winning Cy Young Awards or finishing high in the voting, he rarely hit anyone. But in the last three seasons, he's 30-25 and has hit 29 batters in that time, largely because he can no longer intimidate solely with his pitching. Not so coincidentally, Martinez is second in the league with 12 hit batters (the NL leader is Mark Leiter with 17). Let me be clear to Boston: you're already in the playoffs, and you have everything to lose by getting into a brawl with a team going nowhere. Drop the machismo and get to the post-season with your roster intact.

And there were also two games completely unrelated to the playoff picture. The Reds beat the Expos, 9-7, as Pete Schourek won his 18th game, the highlight being Montreal reliever Greg Harris pitching ambidextrously in the ninth, the first modern major league pitcher to do so. It has been known for years that Harris can throw well with both arms, but he has been forbidden to do so by his teams. Why not entertain the crowd who stayed for nine innings to watch a meaningless game? And the Royals ended their scoreless innings streak at 23 with a shutout of their own as Mark Gubicza went the distance in a KC's 4-0 triumph over the White Sox for his 15th career shutout. Gubicza is one of only three members of the 1985 Kansas City Royals who are still on MLB rosters a decade later, the other two being Danny Jackson and Bret Saberhagen. Both Gubicza and Wilson Alvarez went the distance, and the game only took 2:11 to play. Let's see more of that.

There are three games to go with seven teams fighting it out for four spots. This is what the wildcard advocates wanted, and they got it.



 
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September 29, 1995
New York Mets 6 (W: Jones, 10-10; SV: Franco, 28)
Atlanta Braves 3 (L: Glavine, 16-7)
90-52
1st place
22 games ahead

GLAVINE ENDS SEASON WITH LOSS; M'S CLINCH TIE FOR 1ST
YANKEES WIN FIRST 9TH INNING COMEBACK OF SEASON

Tom Glavine
suffered another bout of first-inning woe, giving up five runs and putting the Braves in a hole out of which they could not climb as the home runs of Fred McGriff and Ryan Klesko were not enough to overcome the early lead as the Braves fell to the Mets, 6-3, in Glavine's final start of the regular season. The southpaw went four innings and gave up six runs and eight hits while walking three. Brian Jones got his tenth win of the year, ending both Atlanta's three-game win streak and New York's four-game losing streak.

Seattle is now closer than they've ever been to a first-place finish. Despite giving up 14 hits to the Rangers, the Mariners rallied for a 4-3 win when Edgar and Tino Martinez hit back-to-back sacrifice flies to plate two runs and give Seattle the lead. Norm Charlton, experiencing a sudden career revival, saved his 14th game for the M's. The win clinches a tie for the pennant, and the Mariners for all of 1/2 inning appeared to be on the verge of winning it outright when the Athletics took a 6-4 lead against the Angels in the top of the fifth. But an error, three hits, and a walk in the bottom of the fifth gave California the lead they never relinquished as Lee Smith got his 37th save in 41 opportunites in a 9-6 Angels win. The Angels are in "win and hope" mode now, a situation made worse when the Yankees accomplished what they've been unable to do all season.

New York entered the ninth inning in Toronto trailing 3-0 and with a huge weight on their shoulders: not only were they three runs done, but the Yankees were 0-55 when trailing after eight innings, a streak that reaching back to July 1994 is 0-61. But after Don Mattingly singled and Jim Leyritz walked, Randy Velarde hit what appeared to be a routine ground ball double play to Alex Gonzalez at short, but the ball skipped through his legs, scoring Mattingly and sending Leyritz to third, where he scored to make it 3-2 on a sacrifice fly by Tony Fernandez. With Velarde on first and one out, Pat Kelly drilled a two-run shot just over the left field wall to give the Yankees an improbable 4-3 lead (see 3:05 in the video below) , and John Wetteland came on and retired the Blue Jays in order for his 31st save. The win keeps the Yankees ahead of the Angels by one game.

In the NL playoff chase, the Rockies were three outs away from clinching a tie for first when Matt Williams singled and Mark Carreon homered to tie the game at 7 at Coors. Five batters later, rookie Marvin Benard drilled a three-run shot with two on and two out for his first career homer that gave the Giants a 10-7 lead, which is how the game ended. LA maintained their one-game lead even though they blew a 5-2 eighth inning lead by allowing a rare home run to Tony Gwynn and then watching San Diego chase two more runs across the plate on a Marc Neufield double for a 6-5 win. Of the utmost concern for the Dodgers is that Raoul Mondesi was carried off on a stretcher with a strained knee. As if that wasn't enough, the Astros took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth and blew the lead in the ninth and the game in the tenth, losing 4-3, which prevents the Astros from tying for first for the wildcard but keeps the Cubs mathematically alive because they won and everybody else lost.

In the games that don't affect the final outcome:

Florida beat Philly, 5-2, on a three-hitter that keeps their hopes for a runner-up finish alive. The two worst teams in the NL squared off to end the season as Donovan Osborne won his fourth game of the month, 3-2, in a rapid one-hour, 58-minute contest. Cincinnati raced out to a 13-0 lead (see beginning of video below) after three innings - enough even for Mark Portugal to get a win - and held on for a 14-9 football score win over the Expos, who scored nine runs in the seventh and eighth innings. Kevin Brown scattered five hits and Bobby Bonilla drove in three runs as Baltimore beat the Tigers, 6-0, for Brown's tenth win of the season and another complete game shutout. The White Sox fell behind 3-0, rallied to tie it, and walked it off when rookie Chris Snopek's single scored Lance Johnson for a 4-3 triumph over the Twins. Orel Hershiser scattered four hits and struck out seven in seven complete innings while Paul Sorrento homered twice and Eddie Murray also went yard as Hershiser won his 16th game and Cleveland their 98th in a 9-2 rout of the Royals. In attaining his 16th win on the season, Orel won 15 or more games for the fifth time in his career (and he had 14 wins one other time). Erik Hanson got his 15th win and Rick Aguilera his 32nd save as Boston beat the Brewers, 11-9.

And what will happen to the Mariners? No, not the pennant chase but the great stadium chase. Threatening to leave the city, the Mariners watched as the proposed tax increase to fund a stadium lost at the ballot box by 1,082 votes in an election of over 1/2 million cast. Washington Governor Mike Lowry has called for a sports summit in hopes of meeting the already set deadline of October 30 to, well, get blackmailed into building a new stadium for a team that hasn't contended the entire 18 years they've been in the Emerald City. The Mariners owners, however, are not so much playing hardball threatening to leave as they are saying they will offer the team for sale and allow someone else to either keep the team in Seattle or move it to greener pastures elsewhere. The Mariners' ownership - Nintendo for those of you who may not know - is saying that the 19-year old Kingdome is ill-equipped to help the owners turn a profit, lacking enough good seats, luxury boxes, and expensive club seats. Ownership claims they've lost $30 million this year and $67 million over the last three years since taking over the team. Well, you had a player's strike two of those years on a lousy team in an area of the country not known for being baseball fans. And your big draw, Ken Griffey Jr. missed much of the season due to injury. Ownership agreed with Lowry, however, to extending the deadline to see what can be achieved. Attendance at games is down almost everywhere because fans were emotionally hurt by the strike combined with the fact that if a team's payroll is in the bottom half of the league, you aren't going to do very much. Kansas City, one of the best baseball towns in the country when the Royals were winning the division regularly, had their lowest average attendance this year since 1975 - and remember, they were still in the hunt until just two weeks ago.

Braves lowlights begin at 6:53.

 

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September 30, 1995
New York Mets 8 (W: Minor, 4-2; SV: Franco, 29)
Atlanta Braves 4 (L: Schmidt, 2-2)
90-53
1st place
21 games ahead

DODGERS CLINCH NL WEST; ROCKIES AND YANKS ASSURE PLAYOFF
ANGELS 1 DOWN WITH 1 TO GO;
BELLE HITS 50TH


Seven teams needed a win, five got one, and the 1995 baseball season comes down to the season's last day - or perhaps one more. We'll start with the clean and then explain the complicated.

Raoul Mondesi, carried off on a stretcher last night, belted a two-run shot in the seventh of a 1-1 game, and Mike Piazza did the same in the eighth to lift the Dodgers to a 7-2 win over the Padres and the Dodgers to their first division title since they last won the World Series in 1988. Rookie of the Year candidate Hideo Nomo struck out 11 batters en route to his 13th win. The win clinched the division title because even if the Dodgers wind up tied with the Rockies at the end of tomorrow's games, the Dodgers won the season series, 9-4. The Rockies assured they will play at least one post-season game as Bill Swift, pitching with a frayed shoulder that will require surgery after the season, allowed ten hits in 5.2 innings but got his ninth win while Ellis Burks drove in two and Larry Walker slammed his 35th home run while also driving in two runs. The Houston Astros - for the third time in three days - raced to an early lead and blew it, but they rallied to beat the Cubs, 9-8, eliminating Chicago and setting up a final day of the season that is easy to describe: if the Rockies win or Astros lose tomorrow, Colorado will play the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, October 3, in a best-of-five division series. If the Astros win and the Rockies lose, Houston will meet Colorado in a one-game playoff to determine the wild card winner in Colorado on Monday. By virtue of their division title, the Dodgers will host the first two games of their division series with NL Central winner Cincinnati while the wild card winner gets the "reward" of playing the Braves. In the kind of mind-boggling decision only Major League Baseball could make, the Braves (90 wins) and Reds (84 wins) have far and away the two best records in the NL but will have to open on the road against the two best pitchers of teams who won somewhere between 7 and 13 fewer games. And as confusing as that sounds, let's now look at the American League.

Seattle, of course, is in the driver's seat, but it didn't help them tonight. After Ken Griffey Jr singled and scored on an Edgar Martinez double to give the Mariners a quick 1-0 lead, Texas unloaded on starter Andy Benes for seven runs in the first two innings and cruised to a 9-2 win behind two Mickey Tettleton home runs. The Angels rallied twice from deficits of 1-0 and 3-1 to topple Oakland, 9-3, behind home runs from Jim Edmonds, Chili Davis, J.T. Snow, and Rex Hudler. And it took the Yankees just three batters into the game for Paul O'Neill to smash a three-run homer that all but assured New York their 6-1 win over Toronto as Scott Kamienecki went the distance, giving up just four hits and striking out 3. Thus, the setup for tomorrow is as follows:

1) If the Angels lose, the Mariners and Yankees both make the playoffs.
2) If the Mariners win, they win the AL West
3) If the Yankees win, they clinch the wildcard berth
4) If the Angels win and the Yankees lose, the two teams meet Monday at Yankee Stadium
5) If the Angels win and the Mariners lose, the two teams meet Monday at the Kingdome
6) If all three teams finish with identical records, the Yankees get the wildcard, and the Angels meet Seattle in the Kingdome Monday

The key issue here is that if the Angels lose, it is over; if the Angels win, they also need one of the other teams to lose to set loose any sort of chaos. We already know that Mark Langston will pitch for California if there is a game Monday; we also know the Yankees are saving David Cone for such a scenario while Seattle will have Randy Johnson - who was once traded for Langston - on the hill if there is a playoff Monday.

In the games that don't really matter......

Steve Avery
's bad luck continues for the Braves. Well, sort of. The positive news for Atlanta is that he has pitched well down the stretch. Avery left after five innings with a 3-0 lead today and struck ot six only to see rookie Jason Schmidt face six batters and give up five hits and watch David Justice drop a fly ball as the Mets turned a six-run inning into an 8-4 win. Just for kicks, Mets Manager Dallas Green was ejected for visitng the mound twice during the same batter. Philadelphia beat Florida, 3-2, assuring the Marlins cannot finish second. Montreal shelled David Wells with six runs in the first two innings to win a 6-1 laugher. The Cardinals beat the Pirates, 5-1, to saddle Paul Wagner with his 16th loss while giving Tom Henke his 36th save.

Albert Belle hit his 50th home run, and Carlos Baerga's 10th inning RBI single gave Cleveland their 27th win in the last at-bat while running their total to 99 for the season in a 3-2 win over the Royals. With a win tomorrow, the Tribe will have 100 wins in a season for only the second time in history, the first being their last World Series appearance in 1954. Mike Maddux is not his brother, but he struck out four in five innings and left with a 6-1 lead en route to a 9-1 Red Sox win over the Brewers. The Twins and White Sox had three wild innings to start the game that saw Minnesota hold a 7-6 lead. Incredibly, neither team scored another run the rest of the way as Jason Bere went down to defeat for the 15th time this season for Chicago. Ben McDonald and two relievers allowed Detroit just two hits as the Orioles routed the Tigers, 12-0.

Sparky Anderson is expected to announce his resignation as Detroit Tigers manager on Monday, but the three-time world champion also says he expects to be managing somewhere in 1996. In 27 seasons as a manager, Anderson has finished first 7 times and second 7 times while winning the World Series in 1975, 1976, and 1984 and is the only manager in MLB history to win the World Series in both leagues. Dave Winfield has been informed that he will not be on Cleveland's post-season roster, a decion that disappoints the future Hall of Famer but one he says he understands. Winfield has been limited to 45 games by a sore shoulder during which he hit just .193.

We'll have coverage tomorrow of the season's final day, a commentary on the season, and - if necessary - an extra day of coverage for any wild card playoff games that may occur on Monday.
 
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October 1, 1995
New York Mets 1(W: Walker, 1-0)
Atlanta Braves 0 (L: Wade, 0-1)
90-54
1st place
21 games ahead

144 DOWN - AND ONE TO GO


Why is baseball the national pastime even if not the country's #1 sport? Because no sport better reflects the country as a whole with all of its fine points and flaws quite like baseball. Baseball gives you summer nights of joy and emotion mixed with intellectual ju-jitsu, where the decisions one makes affects an entire team or even at times entire city. It has racial issues, labor conflict, capitalism, excellence, failure, and some of the old ballparks hang around long enough to be considered ancient cathedrals by American standards. And only baseball can give us what we now have staring us in the face tomorrow: two generally mediocre franchises will play one game tomorrow afternoon that matches their best pitchers, who just happend to be traded for one another six years ago. You'll never see an NBA winner-take-all contest entry into a limited selection of teams with two stellar centers who were traded for one another, NHL, either. In football, you can have a Super Bowl like the time former Cowboy Craig Morton faced current Cowboy Roger Staubach, but even a quarterback is not as in control of what happens with the funny-shaped ball as a major league pitching ace.

It was a truly wild day in MLB, befitting the time. California and Seattle will now square off in baseball's eighth regular season playoff after the Mariners blew a two-game lead with two remaining while California, who looked like baseball's most consistent team for about six weeks in July and August, finally had a game where they tore out of the gate early, taking a 5-1 lead after three and cruising to an 8-2 win for Chuck Finley's 15th victory. Seattle, meanwhile, gave up three runs in the first and had to face 16-game winner Kenny Rogers, who gave up three runs on home runs to Jay Buhner (his 40th) and Mike Blowers but got substantial offensive support in a 9-3 Texas win. This sets up a battle of aces between California's Mark Langston and Seattle's Randy Johnson, and how amazing is that? Langston won 17 games his rookie season in Seattle (1984) and later had 15 and 19-win seasons. Stuck in a terrible situation - a good pitcher on a bad team - Langston wanted out of Seattle so badly that in 1989, he turned down a three-year, $7.1 million dollar deal while the Mariners needed pitching so badly they turned down substantial offers from other teams to net three of them: Johnson, Brian Holman, and Greg Harris. At the time of that trade, the Expos were three games out of first and thought a guy who had topped 15 wins in Seattle three times with pedestrian offenses could win them a pennant. It didn't happen, and Langston left for the Angels in free agency that fall (which, of course, is why Seattle traded him). Johnson showed great promise in 1990, had a breakout year two years ago, and has arguably had the best season of any AL pitcher. Indeed, the Cy Young Award may well be riding on the outcome of the game since Langston has 15 wins himself. Langston is doubtful since there are many other solid candidates, including Mike Mussina, Jose Mesa, Tim Wakefield, and David Cone, but he has a statement game uninterrupted by other contests.

There's a lot to cover on the season's final day.

1) Don Mattingly is finally going to the post-season.

The New York Yankeees last went to the post-season when they lost the 1981 World Series; Mattingly became a major leaguer in 1982, and has come up short time after time on a number of decent Yankees teams that just weren't good enough to win the division. Add the wildcard and voila! And Mattingly homered in New York's 6-1 win over the Blue Jays that assures them of a division series berth against the winner of tomorrow's game.

2) The Cleveland Indians won their 100th game.

And with a vengeance, too. The Royals will finish in second a good 30 games behind Cleveland after the Tribe raced out to a 6-0 lead in the first and an 11-0 lead at the end of the second as they won their 100th game of the season for only the second time in franchise history - and the first since their last post-season in 1954. Cleveland heads to Boston for the division series, and I'll have much more to say on that subject in tomorrow's review.

3) The Astros made a sensational comeback.

Houston needed to win and have Colorado lose, and three innings into the game it appeared the Astros were dead when the Cubs raced out to a 6-0 lead. But the Astros pecked away at the lead and tied it in the sixth. In the eighth, Jeff Bagwell walked, moved to third on a single, and scored on a sacrifice fly to give Houston the 8-7 lead which wound up the final score.

4) But so did the Rockies

How close were we to TWO play-in games tomorrow? The Giants led the Rockies, 8-2, after just 2.5 innings in the House of Horrors. But Colorado, like Houston, overcame a six-run deficit with two four-run innings and, like Houston, eked out a one-run victory at the end, sending to them to the division series, unlike Houston. The Astros will spend the off-season cursing the fates that cost them slugger Jeff Bagwell's bat for the entire month of August. Houston had a winning record every complete month except August, while Bagwell was out, when they went 9-20 and lost 11 games in a row. The Astros lost six one-run games and three two-run games during Bagwell's absence; they would only needed to have won two of those nine games to make the playoffs. There is NO QUESTION the injury to Jeff Bagwell cost Houston a shot at the post-season. No question at all.
 

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5) New York's win over Atlanta means the Mets finish in second place in the NL East.

And how quickly things can change. Philadelphia dominated the NL East for most of the first half of the season until Atlanta got hot after the All-Star Break. Philadelphia imploded so badly that the Mets entered today needing a win and a Phillies loss to finish as the runners-up. It took 11 innings and 9 Atlanta Braves pitchers plus having the game-winning run thrown out at home in the 11th. But a walk with the bases loaded ends the regular season for both teams. Braves Manager Bobby Cox has been holding his post-season pitching staff to five innings, and he used today to check out (and get some work in) John Smoltz, Kent Mercker, Alejandro Pena, Brad Woodall, Brad Clontz, Greg McMichael, Pedro Borbon, Terrell Wade, and Brad Woodall. Wade got the loss in his first major league decision.

6) Mike Mussina's fourth shutout ends Sparky Anderson's managerial career...maybe.

"The Moose" gave a performance sure to net him some Cy Young votes as he gave up a scant two hits while pitching a complete game shutout in Baltimore's 4-0 snooze-fest over Detroit. The game is expected to be the last for Tigers Manager Sparky Anderson, the American League's most senior member having managed the same team since June 1979. Anderson insists he will manage next year, maybe even in the National League. Since it's known Davey Johnson is gone from the Reds, wouldn't it be something if Sparky got hired to rekindle the magic of the Big Red Machine? A pipe dream to be sure; can any of you even imagine Sparky trying to work for Marge Schott? In a touching note, longtime second baseman Lou Whitaker played his last game in the majors. Perhaps - perhaps - the Hall of Fame awaits.

7) Tim Wakefield probably blew any chance he had at the Cy Young Award with his loss today.

It's unlikely Wakefield would win it anyway as a knuckleball pitcher, but he assured he has no chance at the award with his performance since mid-August. Wakefield at one point in the season was 14-1 with a 1.65 ERA. Those are Greg Maddux numbers and in the American League, thus, more impressive. But over his last nine starts, Wakefield has lost 7 times and saw his ERA jump as high as 2.99. If the award had been given on August 15, Wakefield would have bee a more certain winner than Maddux will be. Today, Wakefield gave up a three-run homer to Dave Nilsson in the first after an error prolonged an inning, and the game was as good as over. Boston pulled every starter except for Tim Naehring and Willie McGee as Milwaukee closed out the season with an 8-1 win.

8) The 1991 pennant winners have all collapsed except Atlanta.

The three worst records in baseball belong to Minnesota and Toronto at 56 wins and Pittsburgh at 58. All three teams finished first just four years ago, Pittsburgh as recently as three years ago, and Toronto won the World Series just two years ago. All finished last, and all are entering rebuilding phases likely to take years, particularly if no salary cap is adopted to offset the league's competitive imbalance. The Pirates were the only 1991 division winner to triumph Sunday as they routed the Cardinals, 10-4. Toronto, as noted, lost to the Yankees, and Minnesota dropped a 2-1 extra innings contest to the White Sox. The Dodgers (1988 champs), Reds (1990 champs), and Marlins all won their final contests on the year.

PROJECTED AWARD WINNERS

MVP
NL - Greg Maddux
AL - Mo Vaughn

Cy Young
NL - Greg Maddux
AL - Randy Johnson

Rookie of the Year
NL - Chipper Jones
AL - Marty Cordova
 

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The Case for Greg Maddux for MVP

Greg Maddux should win the 1995 National League Most Valuable Player Award. He will not win it, of course, because there's a large enough contingent among sportswriters who hold the notion that a pitcher is somehow not as valuable as an every day player when it comes to awards. Others hold to the notion that "the pitchers have their award with the Cy Young, and the hitters have their award." Fine - but if that's your standard you need to change the name of it to the Babe Ruth or Ty Cobb Award and explicitly exclude pitchers. If pitchers are not excluded based on the name of the award then they are eligible. And besides, let's spare ourselves the nonsense shall we? In a recent span of 11 years, FOUR American League pitchers won the Cy Young Award - and three of those winners were relievers. If a starting pitcher like Maddux doesn't merit consideration because he's a part-time player, how in the world can a closer who comes on with a three-run lead and gets three outs against players who have spent the last two-plus hours sweating get any consideration whatsoever? Roger Clemens won the award in 1986, but other than the won-loss record (hell, including the won-loss record), compare the two:

Clemens 1986: 24-4, 2.48 ERA, 10 CG, 1 SHO, 254 IP, 238 K, 67 BB
Maddux 1995: 19-2, 1.63 ERA, 10 CG, 3 SHO, 209.2 IP, 181 K, 23 BB

And then remember - Maddux has more shutouts and just as many complete games in a season that is 18 games shorter due to the strike. He doesn't have as any innings pitched, partly because he missed an already shortened spring training with chicken pox and, oh yeah, they don't tend to pinch-hit for a pitcher in a league with a DH. And then take into account that Maddux LEADS THE LEAGUE in wins, ERA, complete games, shutouts, and innings pitched. Clemens only led in wins and ERA. Of course, there's an immediate counter-argument that concerns the fact Maddux is competing against the 1995 NL players and not Clemens. That's a fair point, I'm only pointing out that Maddux's 1995 in context is far superior to the most recent starting pitcher who did win the MVP, which has to be a point in his favor. But let's consider some other things.

1) Maddux faced 785 batters this year while Craig Biggio had the most plate appearances with 673.

In essence, Maddux "went to the plate" in the field more than did any opposing player. Every single one of those batters potentially could score runs and beat Maddux's team. Of the 785 batters he faced, Maddux:

18.7% got a hit of some sort (only 8 were home runs)
3.4% either walked or reached by HBP
1.2% had sacrifice hits

Madddux retired the other 76.3%.

Looks a little different when you look at it that way.

2) Maddux hit .173 at the plate.

The argument "against" pitchers is that all they do is pitch, they don't do anything with the bat. But what did Willie Hernandez or Rollie Fingers or Dennis Eckersley - or Roger Clemens - do with the bat? Not one of them went to the plate in the years they won the MVP.

And using that argument, what contribution does an every day player make towards what pitch is made to the opposition? Sure, he might tell a pitcher a batter's weakness, especially if he's a catcher, but that's not the same as throwing it. But that leads to another point.

3) Maddux made no errors and will win yet another Gold Glove this year.

In the field, Maddux had 18 putouts, and his 53 assists was most among pitchers in the majors. Now ask yourself what fielding contribution a left fielder tends to make in terms of fielding. He catches fly balls, and he plays left field because he's fast but doesn't have a good enough arm to play in center. My point is not that Maddux is Ozzie Smith in the field; my point is that he contributes in the field as well as on the mound.

4) His team finished first, and one can argue he was the main contributor.

In the 14-team National League, the Braves were 9th in runs scored. Throw in the AL - admittedly a tad unfair - and the Braves were outscored by 20 of baseball's other 27 teams. The last place Giants outscored the Braves, they just didn't have (wait for it)....Atlanta's pitching. Only two teams (Montreal and St Louis) had fewer plate appearances than the Braves. Atlanta's team batting average was .250, with only Detroit and St Louis doing poorer. The Braves' OBP was 24th in a 28-team league. And only three teams left fewer runners on base, largely because the Braves didn't have as many baserunners as most other teams. Indeed, Atlanta's offensive stats this season continually rank right alongside Montreal (last), St Louis (next-to-last), and Detroit (next-to-last). All of those teams have records well below .500, but the Braves have the second-best record in baseball despite having an offense that ranks with the also-rans. So how do you explain their success since it clearly isn't cranking out ten-run games? What's left?

Pitching and defense.

The Braves only allow 3.75 runs per game, far and away the best in baseball. They're fourth in the NL at converting balls put into play into outs. But here's the kicker: the Braves converted fewer double plays than all but one team in baseball, the Mariners. In other words, this was not a case of runners reaching base and a ground ball pitching staff getting out of a jam with a double play; this was a pitching staff simply not allowing the opposition to get on base.

Who did that best? Maddux.

Ask yourself this question: if you were doing an expansion draft today and could choose any player you wanted on any team, which player would you take from the Braves? David Justice is hurt too much, Marquis Grissom is inconsistent, and while Chipper Jones might be the real deal, he's still a rookie we have to see adjust to the adjustments of the opponent. Ryan Klesko is basically a younger and slightly thinner (right now) Greg Luzinski, Mark Lemke and Rafael Belliard can't hit, Jeff Blauser can't field, and Javy Lopez is too young, too.

5) Maddux should not be punished simply because he does play for a good team.

Some will look at the standings and figure that even if you subtract Maddux's 19 wins from the Braves, they still win the division. I beg to differ. Maddux pitched 28 games. If he had pitched complete games every single time, he would have pitched 252 total innings. He led the league with 209.2, meaning he missed only 42.1 innings of a full season. Remember this - the Atlanta Braves' pitching beyond the starters is not the stuff of legend. The Braves gave up 540 runs on the season. The starting five gave up 356 runs while the bullpen surrendered 184. But those 184 runs came in only 375 innings, while the starters' 356 was in 916 innings. Mark Wohlers pitched 64 innings and gave up 16 runs while earning 25 saves, meaning Atlanta's middle relief gave up 168 runs in 311 innings, which is terrible. Maddux gave immense value to his team by NOT LETTING THE MIDDLE RELIEVERS come into the game and give up a run every 1.85 innings when he pitched.

In other words, his value in the context of one game served Atlanta in others by keeping middle relievers fresh enough to pitch better than if they were tired.

6) Maddux accounted for 21.1% of Atlanta's total wins.

Maddux himself had 19 of Atlanta's 90 wins. The Braves won 3 more games where he started and did not get the decision (they were 3-4 in those games), meaning Maddux played a role in 24 of the team's 90 wins (26.7%). What would make this interesting would be to microanalyze the other competitors to the award and see the actual contribution. The contributions of hitters are ASSUMED to have value, but do they really? If Barry Larkin, who figures to get a lot of votes for MVP, hits two home runs in a game but the Reds lose a blowout, what value is there in that? And, in fact, that happened against the Braves this year. Don't get me wrong, Larkin is one of the finest players in the game, but if he hits 49 home runs in a season and his team loses most of those games and finishes last, would he deserve the MVP? That's not a rhetorical question; Andre Dawson did that in 1987. Besides, is Larkin even the most valuable player on his own team? It would be an interesting argument, but it was Ron Gant who hit 29 homers to Larkin's 15 and drove in 88 runs to Larkin's 66 and drew more walks. Larkin, of course, struck out far less and hit much better (.319 to .276) while stealing a bunch more bases (which, in turn, increased Gant's RBI total)

We didn't used to have this hangup. In 1968, the MVP in both leagues was a pitcher for a pennant winner. And I have no problem with those who want to say that a pitcher can deserve consideration for the MVP but must have a truly spectacular, once-in-a-lifetime kind of year like Ron Guidry did in 1978 (25-3, 1.74 ERA). Then again - Guidry didn't win the MVP, either.
 

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October 2, 1995
Seattle Mariners 9 (W: Johnson, 18-2)
California Angels 1 (L: Langston, 15-7)

MARINERS WIN FIRST DIVISION TITLE EVER AS ANGELS COMPLETE EPIC COLLAPSE


It's just too bad the game was overshadowed by the announcement that there is a verdict in the O.J. Simpson case that will be announced tomorrow, but baseball has set themselves up to play second fiddle even in the event of a winner-take-all game.

The Seattle Mariners, an expansion term born in 1977 and easily the worst baseball franchise of the 1980s, finally crossed the threshold into the post-season for the first time in their 19 seasons as a franchise this afternoon with a 9-1 win over the California Angels, completing what (depending upon your point of view) is either one of baseball's greatest comebacks or most epic collapses. The 1964 Philadelphia Phillies and 1978 Boston Red Sox are now joined in history with the 1995 California Angels, a team that on August 15 had a 10.5 game lead over the Texas Rangers and a 12.5 game lead over the Seattle Mariners only to implode so badly that they fell out of first place in a span of just 38 days, recovered to force a one-game playoff, and then matched Seattle pitch-for-pitch until Seattle struck for four runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to put the game away, assisted by an error by Angels' starter Mark Langston. Seattle starter Randy Johnson went the distance, surrendering only three hits and walking only one while striking out 12. At the time of Seattle's pull away in the seventh inning, Johnson had allowed only one hit, and in what must be the cruelest of ironies for California, Johnson is a Mariner because he was once traded for Langston.

It will not be remembered up there with the 1978 playoff epic where the Yankees edged the Red Sox, 5-4, and had the tying run at second with two future Hall of Famers (perhaps Jim Rice and definitely Carl Yastrzemski) having opportunities to tie or win the game, but until the seventh inning stretch, the game was baseball at it's (pitching) best. Johnson was perfect through five innings, including striking out the power-hitting trio of Tim Salmon, Chili Davis, and J.T. Snow to complete the fifth. In the bottom of the fifth, Johnson got the only run it appeared he would need albeit with a little trouble. Tino Martinez led off the inning with a single, but a botched bunt attempt by Dan Wilson retired Martinez at second and put the slow-footed Wilson on first. Joey Cora then singled to right, moving Wilson to second. Vince Coleman, the former base stealing phenom and late season acquisition then sliced a single to left that scored Wilson ahead of the throw and gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead. But Langston was not out of it as he then induced Luis Sojo to ground into an inning-ending double play and keep the game at 1-0. Rex Hudler finally got California's first hit with two outs in the sixth and promptly stole second, putting him in scoring position, but Johnson fanned Tony Phillips to keep Seattle ahead. Then in the bottom of the seventh, the Kingdome roof (figuratively) fell in on the Angels.

Mike Blowers led off the inning with a single, and with Johnson shutting down the Angels, the Mariners opted to play for one run by having Tino Martinez bunt Blowers to second. Attempting to cut down the lead runner, Langston grabbed the ball and bobbled it, but he still had time for a play at first. But Hudler was not paying attention, and Martinez was safe, putting runners at first and second with nobody out, and the Kingdome crowd roaring louder with each passing second. With the opportunity to put the game away, Seattle bunted again as Wilson moved both runners into scoring position for the first out of the inning. Langston then unintentionally hit Cora with a pitch - not the worst move as it loaded the bases and set up a potential double play to end the inning. Coleman, who had the game's lone RBI, had another opportunity and hit a sinking liner to right, but Salmon scooped the ball for second out and fired a strike home that would have probably nailed Martinez, but he stayed at third. With the season on the line, Sojo, who had had into the double play to kill the previous rally, came to bat. Sojo lined a sort of "oops" grounder that bounced off Hudler at first, scoring two runs. But the play wasn't over yet because the ball stuck under the bench in the Seattle bullpen in foul territory, where Salmon retrieved it and relayed it to Langston. Confusion reigned with the Angels - was the ball dead or not? Mariners continued circling the bases, and Langston's relay to home went past catcher Andy Allanson, and Sojo scored, clearing the bases and giving Seattle an insurmountable 5-0 lead with Johnson on the mound. Langston was pulled, perhaps one batter too late, and at that point it was nothing but waiting for the game to end. Seattle scored four more runs against the Angel bullpen in the eighth to put the game away. On the verge of a shutout, Johnson gave up a solo home run to Phillips in the ninth, but Seattle prevailed, 9-1, to win the American League West and set up a playoff series with the Yankees, baseball's most prestigious franchise against its most moribund.

California's collapse will be examined and analyzed for years, but the reality is that they have more in common with the 1964 Phillies, an overachieving team that fell two weeks short of a pennant, than they do the 1978 Red Sox, a team full of superstars that benefited from early season injuries to another team full of superstars and still won 99 games. The Angels were neither as good as they played in the month after the All-Star game nor as poor as they appeared to be in the six weeks afterward. The Angels have a team of solid players, and the key moment that will be recalled for years to come is how the Angels collapse occurred right after an injury that took Gary DiSarcina out of the lineup for a month. And it is also probable that unless the Mariners wind up winning the World Series that this collapse will be less remembered than those others, where the teams that overcame the huge deficit were champions, both because of the eventual outcome and the fact the pennant race occurred on the West Coast and didn't really register back East. And would Seattle have been so far behind had Ken Griffey Jr not missed half the season with an injury? Probably not.

Playoff baseball is here for the first time in two years. And fans battered and tired by the labor problems can't wait.
 
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BASEBALL HAD ONE JOB - AND NATURALLY, THEY SCREWED IT UP

There are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and baseball will make the dumbest decision possible when it comes to, well, everything. Naturally, they did it again when it comes to baseball's post-season and the first year (technically) of a wildcard playoff. Amazingly enough, baseball messed up the last time this chance presented itself, and it's clear they learned nothing.

In 1981, a mid-season strike interrupted the season, and baseball came up with a post-season plan that included an extra round of playoffs. There were two main reasons for that plan: 1) the Dodgers and Yankees had finished first in the first half and were thus assured of making at least one round of playoffs; 2) starting the season afresh would allow even bad teams to start over and might possibly result in increased fan attendance due to the reset pennant races. The end result was a monumental disaster: the Cincinnati Reds and St Louis Cardinals wound up with the two best records in all of baseball and sat at home watching lesser teams play for a pennant. Furthermore, baseball set itself up for teams to throw games by declaring that if a team won both halves, the team that finished second in the second half would make the playoffs. They revisited the subject and amended it - and still had to consider the possibility that a team might intentionally lose to keep a team ahead of themselves so they'd finish second and make the playoffs. While the Reds and Cards sat at home and seethed, the Kansas City Royals, who had lost the 1980 World Series, fired their manager and got hot in the second half and wound up in the playoffs despite a 50-53 overall record simply because they'd won the second half of the season.

And by comparison with what baseball is now doing, that was sane.

The Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds have the two best records in the National League. No matter, though, both teams will open the playoffs with their first two games on the road against teams with lesser records. Yes, you read that correctly: the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers will get the advantage of starting their two best pitchers AT HOME. The Braves won 22 games more than Colorado, the Reds won 7 more than the Dodgers but no matter. The Braves, in particular, are in a precarious position because let's just say that Coors Field had revealed itself this year to be one of the more bizarre attempts at opening a new home field, the most preposterous setup since the Metrodome opened in 1982. The Braves have the best record and are probably the best team in the National League. Their reward for that best record is to go into Coors Field against a team that is 16 games above .500 at home and six below on the road. Granted, teams tend to have a somewhat better home record than road record, but the Dodgers are six games above .500 both at home and on the road. The Braves are 16 above at home and 20 above on the road, and the Reds are also 16 above at home while only 10 above on the road. The Braves are the best road team in the majors, but they didn't play all 72 of those games in Coors Field, either. The type of team the Braves face in Colorado will be completely different than the one they face at home, and consider the possibilities. Suppose Greg Maddux pitches well, but so does Bret Saberhagen, and Atlanta's anemic offense doesn't do well. Colorado hangs close, gets the shaky Atlanta bullpen into the game, and wins the contest against the middle relief thanks to a fly ball everywhere else that becomes a home run. Of course, that could happen anyway but surely there's an obvious difference between getting games at home and getting them with your best pitcher against their best pitchers, removing them from the equation and perhaps putting the Braves or Reds in a 2-0 hole largely due to the venue. The win totals between the teams are so preposterous that there ought to be some sort of reward for the team that performs the best. This is not quite the issue with Chavez Ravine as it is with Coors Field, but it's hardly fair. And it's not just the National League, either; Seattle won their division, the Yankees got in via the wildcard because they did not win their division. Guess who gets the home field for the first two games? Is it really fair that a team that essentially backs into the playoffs because they didn't finish first still gets to start out with the advantage? At least in this case, though, the two teams have essentially the same record, so one can at least make the argument that New York deserves it.

As ridiculous as this sounds, it's not even the biggest screw-up baseball pulled off this year.

The Baseball Network is a joint venture between ABC and NBC regarding how to divide games. We have now doubled the playoff games available in that first round and their solution? To play all four games at the exact same starting time and show REGIONAL coverage of the teams. So guess what Ohio fans? If you love both the Indians and the Reds, you're going to get to see whichever game the Baseball Networks shows in your area. If you're a Cleveland fan in the Cincinnati area who has waited 41 years to see your team in the post-season, too bad. You're gonna see the Reds and they'll cut into the Indians' games or give you updates of highlights. Your only hope is that the Cleveland series is extended while the Reds sweep the Dodgers. However, you will get to see them in the ALCS - if they make it.
 
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PLAYOFF PREVIEW: BOSTON VS CLEVELAND

Cleveland has been waiting since the Eisenhower administration for a post-season game, and Jacobs Field will be rocking in the two opening games as the 100-win Tribe sets their sights on how far they can go. Boston has been waiting since right after the end of World War I for a World Series championship, and they quietly compiled baseball's third-best record behind the Indians and Braves without fanfare. They also did it without a solid season from Roger Clemens, who will start game one. Cleveland edged Boston, 7-6, in the season series and outscored them overall by 2 runs at home and 3 runs on the road. With their focus streamlined onto one opponent, look for the Tribe to prevail in four games, three of which should be relatively close and exciting contests.

NEW YORK VS SEATTLE

The Mariners are on cloud nine as they head to New York. Baseball fans, too, who have longed to see New York's classy Don Mattingly in the post-season, finally get their wish. It will surprise the casual fan to learn the Mariners have absolutely owned the Yankees of late, winning 9 of 13 games this year, including a 6-1 record at home. Randy Johnson's appearance in the extra playoff game is a benefit to the Yankees as the Big Unit will not be able to start until Game Three, which may prevent him from more than one start, though it does not preclude him from coming in late if a Game Five occurred. This swings the series in the Yankees' favor - if George Steinbrenner can keep his mouth shut. That's a big "if." Yankees in four.

ATLANTA VS COLORADO

Every team in baseball but one "wants" to win the World Series; one team "has" to, the Atlanta Braves. Looking to validate their climb from the cellar to the penthouse, the Braves have an extra round of playoffs in the most macabre venue possible, Coors Field. Bobby Cox is opting for a three-man starting rotation for the first round, meaning Steve Avery will be available for long middle relief. This may serve as an advantage if the Braves have trouble scoring runs. The Braves have won five of seven in Colorado already, and they have owned the Rockies in the three years they've been in the league. With a well-rested pitching staff of starters and a mission, look for the Braves to take out the Rockies in four games. I'd say three, but Colorado is likely to win one of the home games.

CINCINNATI VS LOS ANGELES

This has the potential to be a classic. Cincinnati won 4 of 7 games from LA during the season, but which Reds team will show? The Reds started the year 1-8 and went 9-9 in their last 18 games, which included a shocking sweep at home against the Braves. The Dodgers have substantially better starting pitching, especially since Tom Candiotti won't have to function as fourth or fifth starter. This should be the best and most competitive matchup of the first round, so look for it to go five games. Since the Reds get three at home, give it to the Reds just so long as Davey Johnson doesn't attempt to actually match wits with Tommy Lasorda.
 
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October 3, 1995
Atlanta Braves 5 (W: Pena, 1-0; SV: Wohlers, 1)
Colorado Rockies 4 (L: Leskanic, 0-1)
Braves lead series, 1-0

CHIPPER RALLIES BRAVES WITH BAT AND GLOVE


If you had told fans of the Colorado Rockies that in their opening contest with Greg Maddux, the game's best pitcher would walk two batters, give up nine hits in only seven innings, and not strike out a single hitter while giving up three runs, you would figure your chances of beating the Atlanta Braves were about as good as they could possibly be. And maybe if you had a manager who had a clue how to manage, you'd be celebrating your first playoff win this morning, but as it is, you're stuck with Don Baylor. Oh, and doesn't that young rookie look like he's gonna be a great one at third base for the Braves?

On a day when the shocking "not guilty" verdict in the O.J. Simpson trial reopened long festering racial wounds and animus, baseball's playoffs began with multiple chances to demonstrate excellence. But
Maddux has not been the same pitcher in his post-season starts that he proves himself to be during his four straight Cy Young campaigns, either. In fact, in his last post-season start, the superstar was called upon to help the Braves avoid elimination in the 1993 NLCS, and Maddux flopped, giving up six runs (five earned) in less than six innings as Philadelphia eliminated the Braves in game six. The only grand slam Maddux has ever surrendered in his career came to Will Clark in Game One of the 1989 NLCS, but it's hardly fair to compare that above average at best Cubs team with these Braves. Still, Maddux was not his sharp self tonight, and the Braves had a number of problems, all of which they overcame to escape with a narrow 5-4 win despite doing nearly everything possible to give the Rockies a game they absolutely needed to win. And it was a Brave in his first post-season game with the high profile who saved the day. Colorado will view tonight's game as a wasted opportunity: the Rockies managed to load the bases with one out in the seventh and ninth and two out in the eighth - and failed to score a single run against either Maddux or the shaky bullpen.

Atlanta got their first break when Colorado, given an undeserved home-field advantage, had to bypass their two best pitchers, who are also the most likely to induce fly ball outs at Coors Field, Bret Saberhagen and Bill Swift, because they clinched a wild card spot on the final day of the seaon. The Rockies sent the pitcher with the most starts to the mound, Kevin Ritz. In the top of the second, the Braves began to stir when David Justice singled with one out. That's when Ryan Klesko hit a dribbler back to the mound that bounced off of Ritz, who threw wildly past first. Klesko crossed first and while he never committed to attempting to race to second, making a stutter motion instead, Andres Galarraga tagged Klesko, who was called out by first base umpire Jerry Layne, which sent Braves Manager Bobby Cox, he of the innumerable ejections, racing to first base to protest. The call was minimally defensible at best, not as bad as Don Denkinger's call but certainly ticky tack in a game of this magnitude. Atlanta now had a runner at third but two outs, and Ritz got out of the inning. He wasn't as fortunate the next inning as Marquis Grissom scored the first run of the playoffs when he slammed a solo shot with two outs, giving the Braves a 1-0 lead. After getting one hit each of the first three innings against Maddux, the Rockies finally put it all together in the fourth.

Dante Bichette grounded out to start the inning, but Maddux uncharacteristically walked Larry Walker (if you'll pardon the pun). Galarraga singled Walker to third, and he scored to tie the game on a sacrifice fly by Ellis Burks, who is hitting over .400 against Braves hurlers this season. That's when Vinny Castilla, the former Brave who should be part of an infield combination with shortstop Chipper Jones - were it not for baseball's expansion draft, drilled a two-run bomb off of Maddux that gave Colorado their first lead of the series, 3-1. As a reminder, in his last 20 road starts, Maddux is an incredible 18-0 with a 0.99 ERA. As another reminder, this is the House of Horrors, too.

The Rockies kept their two-run lead until the sixth, when Chipper led off the inning with his first-ever post-season home run, closing the gap to a single run. Justice then walked and went to third when Klesko singled and Burks made a fielding error that allowed him to advance the base. Baylor pulled Ritz in favor of Steve Reed (no, not Superman). That's when Cox began making his moves designed to win the game. Newcomer Luis Polonia was sent up to pinch-hit for Maddux's personal catcher, Charlie O'Brien, and scored Justice on a fielder's choice ground out that forced Klesko at second, tying the game at three. Polonia then stole second, which enabled Baylor to walk Jeff Blauser, he of the .211 batting average right after getting the big contract, to force Cox into his decision: pull Maddux for a pinch-hitter or go for the go-ahead run. Cox stuck with his pitcher, who struck out to end the inning but took the mound with the game tied. Colorado responded with two hits off of Maddux in the bottom of the sixth, but the double play that he induced between the two singles erased the potential disaster. Grissom then led off the seventh with a double, so Cox opted for the bunt, which ended in disaster for Atlanta when Grissom was gunned down at third. Then in the bottom of the seventh, Cox's faith in Maddux was rewarded when he bailed out the Braves in a serious jam.

Castilla opened the bottom of the seventh with a ringing double off Maddux, and the faster Trent Hubbard replaced him as a pinch-runner. Maddux - again uncharacteristically - hit Walt Weiss with a pitch, putting runners at first and second with nobody out. The strategic decision was obvious as Jason Bates laid down his bunt, but rookie Chipper gunned down Weiss at second to set up runners at the corners and one out. The Braves then walked Eric Young to load the bases with the pitcher coming up in an effort to get him out of the game. John Vander Wal came on with the chance to be a hero, but Maddux tore the heart right out of the Rockies by inducing a 1-2-3 double play that left Colorado reeling and still tied. But not for long.

With two outs in the eighth, three straight singles scored Klesko and gave the Braves a 4-3 lead. Cox engaged a triple switch and put in his defensive replacements and reliever Greg McMichael to hold the lead through the eighth. He walked Bichette then gave up a single to Walker, the slow-footed Bichette taking third on an error by Justice. Galarraga then hit a shot to Jones at third, who forced Walker at second while holding Bichette at third. Alejandro Pena came on and promptly gave up a double to Burks that tied the game and put the potential winning run and go ahead runs in scoring position with only one out. Pena then knuckled down and struck out Jayhawk Owens, walked Weiss intentionally to load the bases, and got Bates to pop out to center to end the inning, but Colorado's plan to win the game late was still in vogue as the ninth inning began. Curt Leskanic retired the first two Atlanta hitters in the ninth, sending rookie Chipper to the plate, who had already homered. After working a 2-0 count, Jones slammed a home run that put the Braves ahead, 5-4, and brought out new closer Mark Wohlers with his first chance for a post-season save in 1995.

As incredible as it sounds, this dramatic game still wasn't over.

After retiring Young on an infield ground out, Wohlers gave up singles to both Mike Kingery and Bichette, bringing Larry Walker to the plate with one out and an extra-base hit sufficient to win the game. Walker walked (again!), loading the bases of Galarraga. Needing only a fly ball to tie the game and a hit to win it, "The Big Cat" struck out. And now the Rockies had a problem.

In an effort to not overuse his pitchers, Colorado Manager Don Baylor put 12 on his 25-man post-season roster. Naturally, he ran out of pinch-hitters, leaving him to send pitcher Lance Painter to the plate to strike out and end the contest. The game featured a lot of everything: Maddux struggling, the Atlanta newbies sizzling (Jones and Klesko were a combined 5-for-9 with 2 HRs and scored three of Atlanta's five runs while post-season rookie Grissom homered) , and the closer prevailing. It also produced this reality: the Rockies are probably done for this year.

You have a team with a mediocre road record that now has to win two of three games in Atlanta against the best pitching staff in baseball on a team that has owned you at every turn while being managed by a chronic over-manager against one of the best. Their odds of winning the series are about the same as "The Dukes of Hazzard" becoming a prime time hit again.
 

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October 3, 1995
Cincinnati Reds 7 (W: Schourek, 1-0)
Los Angeles Dodgers 2 (L: R. Martinez, 0-1)
Reds lead series, 1-0

REDS CRUISE TO EASY WIN OVER LA


The Reds tore out to a four-run first inning en route to a 7-0 lead against starter Ramon Martinez and cruised to a 7-2 victory to take a 1-0 lead in the NLDS in Los Angeles. Pete Schourek scattered five hits over seven innings while striking out five and walking three to get the win. The key blows in the game were a two-run double by Hal Morris in the first inning, a two-run shot by Benito Santiago (also in the first), and a two-run double in the fifth by Jeff Branson.

New York Yankees 9 (W: Cone, 1-0)
Seattle Mariners 6 (L: Nelson, 0-1)
Yankees lead series, 1-0

TWO GRIFFEY HRS NOT ENOUGH AS WILD CARD TEAM WINS FOR FIRST TIME EVER

Don Mattingly
finally made it to the post-season. So, too, did the Seattle Mariners, who have been trying even longer than Donnie Baseball. And though current superstar Ken Griffey Jr slammed two home runs and drove in three runs while scoring three in a 3-for-5 night, the Yankees to a 1-0 lead in the series againt the Mariners by scoring first and then scoring again every time Seattle tied or got close, the key to victory a four-run seventh inning keyed by Ruben Sierra's two-run bomb. David Cone got the win while Jeff Nelson got the loss.

Cleveland Indians 5 (W: Hill, 1-0)
Boston Red Sox 4 (L: Smith, 0-1)
13 innings
Indians lead series, 1-0

BASEBALL'S ROYAL SCREW-UP SHUTS FANS OUT OF HIGH DRAMA


When you've waited 41 years for a post-season game, what's another 41 minutes? OK, it was measured at 39 minutes, but rain delayed the beginning of Cleveland's first post-season contest since 1954, which may have served only to build the anticipation of the fervent crowd. Naturally, most of the country didn't see the most dramatic game on this most dramatic day. And even fewer saw the game end at 2 am on the East Coast in dramatic fashion, when Tony Pena smashed a solo home run in the bottom of the 13th off reliever Zane Smith to give the Tribe a 5-4 win over Boston and the early lead in the series.

For starters, only the Cleveland and New England areas got to see the game live. To make matters worse, highlights of the game are unavailable to ESPN or other networks until after the completion of the games. To make matters significantly worse, you cannot go tune in multiple games in that new venue of choice "the sports bar" because the signals are scrambled for all but the game in your area. Last year baseball ensured that nobody got to see the post-season by cancelling it; this year, they're ensuring nobody sees it by playing it but not letting you see it. What's next year, MLB, playing it live from Antaractica with a first pitch during the morning coffee break only to tape delay the game for those west of the Mississippi?

The Reds-Dodgers game was boring and over in the first inning. The Mariners-Yankees game was very good. The Braves-Rockies game was incredibly good. And the most dramatic and exciting game of all was at Jacobs Field, and featured baseball's best pitcher of the late 80s (Roger Clemens) against a longtime journeyman who will retire with over 200 wins (Dennis Martinez).

The Indians won the longest night game in postseason history, a game that ran 13 innings and took one minute longer than five hours. (Only the 16-inning daytime thriller between the Mets and Astros lasted more innings). The Indians also continued their unbeaten string in extra innings this year, running it to 14-0, and this was their tenth win via a walkoff home run. But nobody expected Pena, who hit only five bombs during the season, to come up so big.

Boston took an early 2-0 lead on a John Valentin home run, but Cleveland quickly regained the lead thanks to a two-run double by Albert Belle, and a single by Eddie Murray that scored Belle to give Cleveland the lead. Boston tied the game in the eighth on a solo shot by Luis Alicea, and the game remained tied at three until the 11th. Tim Naehring homered to give the Red Sox the lead, but Belle drilled a game-tying shot off of closer Rick Aguilera, that elicited controversy when umpires at Boston's request confiscated Belle's bat for examination. Belle, who has been accused of corking bats, flexed his muscles to mock the Red Sox and seemingly uttered profanity in the process. Cleveland botched a chance to win the game in the 12th when they got runners at first and second and nobody out only to see Kenny Lofton forced at home, but Pena sent everyone in Jacobs Field home happy with his game-ending shot.
 
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selmaborntidefan

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October 4, 1995
Atlanta Braves 7 (W: Pena, 2-0; SV: Wohlers, 2)
Colorado Rockies 4 (L: Munoz, 0-1)
Braves lead series, 2-0

4-RUN 9TH PUTS ROCKIES AWAY


This game looked so much like last night's game, I had to make sure I wasn't watching a tape of it.

The playoff schedule says there are as many as three games remaining in the NLDS, but don't you believe it. This series is over, and the Braves may as well start packing their suitcases tomorrow for the first two games of the NLCS, probably in Cincinnati. Colorado has about as much chance of coming back and beating the Braves in this series as the Astros do - and the Astros are already home hardening their bats in tar over the winter.

The Braves put together three separate runs tonight before blasting their bullpen for a four-run ninth in taking a seemingly insurmountable 2-0 games lead over the Rockies that appeared to crush the spirits of their fans, team, and city. Everyone knows Colorado, one of baseball's worst road teams, is not going into Atlanta and sweep a three-game series from the likes of John Smoltz, Greg Maddux, and Tom Glavine. The Rockies themselves know it even if they won't say it. But this one is over.

Atlanta took a 1-0 lead when Marquis Grissom, not exactly a power hitter, slammed his second homer in as many nights, this one leading off the game. Mark Lemke scored Atlanta's second run in the third with some typical station-to-station baseball, and Grissom homered again in the fourth for a 3-0 lead that with Tom Glavine on the mound appeared to be enough. But this is the House of Horrors - and it wasn't. Colorado delievered the comeback with two outs in the sixth when Larry Walker smashed a game-tying three run homer that rendered the rest of Glavine's nigh for naught. Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox then sent a serious psychological message to the Rockies when he sent Steve Avery out for the eighth inning - win tonight, or you're going to have to beat both Maddux and Glavine in Atlanta. Avery's appearance means he will not be starting game four. Avery gave up a double to Dante Bichette and after striking Walker out for the second out of the inning, Cox put Alejandro Pena in to retire Andres Galarraga. For those - who like Cox apparently - don't recall last night's game, Pena came on in relief and gave up a game-tying double to Ellis Burks. Tonight, Pena managed to do even worse by giving up a go-ahead double to "The Big Cat." Curt Leskanic took the mound needing only to get three Braves out to win the game and tie the series. Leskanic's first hitter was Chipper Jones, who went deep on him last night. One swing later, Chipper had two home runs off of Leskanic, and the Braves had a tie game. But it wasn't over. Mike Munoz came on in relief, and the Braves hit three singles which, combined with an error, scored three more runs and sent Mark Wohlers out with a 7-4 lead to close out the second game. Wohlers retired the side in order, and the teams head back to Atlanta with the Braves up, 2-0.

It's hard to determine the most remarkable player so far. Grissom has three home runs, going 4-for-11 with 3 RBIs. Jones has three home runs as well, including one that tied a game and one that won it. But the most amazing of all has to be Pena, who has faced seven hitters while giving up one hit that tied a game and one that gave the Rockies the lead - but has been the winning pitcher in both games.

Don't be fooled. Colorado might win game three, but this one is over.

Cincinnati Reds 5 (W: Burba, 1-0; SV: Brantley, 1)
Los Angeles Dodgers 4 (L: Osuna, 0-1)
Reds lead series, 2-0

REDS TAKE COMMANDING 2-0 LEAD AND HEAD HOME

Eric Karros
homered with one out in the ninth to narrow the gap to a single run, but the Dodgers failed to rally and fell to the Reds, 5-4, putting Cincinnati in the driver's seat, 2-0, as the teams head back to Riverfront. The key moment in the game may have come when Raoul Mondesi was ejected on his way back to the field with the game tied at two in the seventh. Mondesi was in the on deck circle when Delino DeShields fouled out to end the inning and apparently said something sufficient that umpire Bob Davidson gave him the heave-ho.

New York Yankees 7 (W: Rivera, 1-0)
Seattle Mariners 5 (L: Belcher, 0-1)
15 innings
Yankees lead series, 2-0

LEYRITZ WALKOFF GIVES YANKS 15-INNING WIN FOR 2-0 LEAD THAT MOST DON'T SEE


That Indians-Red Sox game that lasted a record 5:01 last night held the record for less than 24 hours.

Jim Leyritz, who was hit in the face by a Randy Johson pitch on May 31, vowed retribution, and while Johnson wasn't on the mound tonight in Yankee Stadium, he delievered. Leyritz, who as also hit by a pitch after back-to-back Yankee homers gave them the lead, launched a 3-1 Tim Belcher delivery over the fence for a game-winning two-run home run that gave the Yankees a 7-5 win and a 2-0 series lead as the teams fly across the country for at least one game in Seattle. And guess who's starting that game on Friday night? Johnson, of course.

Belcher was on tap to pitch game three and come back with a fully rested Johnson if the Mariners won, and after Ken Griffey Jr. homered off closer John Wetteland in the 12th, Seattle was only three outs away from tying the series. But with one out in the 12th, Jeff Nelson walked Wade Boggs, who gave way to pinch-runner Jorge Posada, and Seattle skipper Lou Piniella yanked Nelson in favor of Belcher getting the last two outs. After walking Bernie Williams, Belcher got Paul O'Neill to pop out, leaving Seattle one out from victory. But Ruben Sierra, whose home run clinched last night's game and whose earlier homer tied the game, ripped a double to left that scored Posada to tie the game. Williams raced home with the game-winning run but was gunned down with a pefect relay from Alex Diaz to Luis Sojo to Dan Wilson.

Realizing this game might last until Thanksgiving, Piniella kept Belcher in the game, and because he had a game to give, Yankee Manager Buck Showalter let rookie Mariano Rivera fling heat for three-plus innings. Rivera faced 12 batters, striking out 5, and giving up but two hits and got the win when Leyritz connected.

Don Mattingly hit his first-ever post-season home run, a solo shot that gave the Yankees the lead.1C5B930C-AE27-4D60-A808-11373B73E70B.jpeg
Dan Wilson tags Bernie Williams, whose run would have won the game in the 12th.

Cleveland Indians 4 (W: Hershiser, 1-0; SV: Mesa, 1)
Boston Red Sox 0 (L: Hanson, 0-1)
Indians lead series, 2-0


After an incredibly long game, the Tribe and Sox played a rapid one.

Erik Hanson pitched eight complete innings and only allowed four hits, but it was still enough to beat him and the Red Sox. Orel Hershiser, channeling postseasons gone by, went 7.1 innings and gave up only 3 hits and no runs as the Indians prevailed, 4-0, to take a 2-0 lead in the series as the teams head back to Boston. Eddie Murray went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer in the eighth that put the game out of reach.
 
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October 4, 1995
BASEBALL HAS REACHED A NEW LEVEL OF STUPID


MLB is hoping the fledgling Fox Network and a new labor agreement will save them from the results of their own mind-boggling stupidity. Once again, all four playoff games were available only on a regional basis. Once again, fans could only watch the game baseball decided they should see. Last year, of course, this same thing happened when they simply didn't have a post-season - and I was supposed to blame the players for striking.

Which players negotiated this insanely stupid TV contract?

I live in Arkansas. Fortunately for me, the St Louis Cardinals were terrible this year, and I've gotten to see both Braves games against the Rockies, both good games. But if the Cardinals (rather than the Reds) were playing the Dodgers, I'd get those games instead - the end. MLB already knows they have a disaster on their hands, and they have an even bigger one: there are no games AT ALL on tomorrow night!! Yes, instead of showing one of the games and staggering the schedule, baseball went Full Moron with their schedule. On Friday night, all eight teams will be back at it yet again.

And I'll only see one game until some of the playoff rounds end. Then I'll get to see - once again - whatever they want me to see. And their looking at FOX as some sort of savior is woefully misguided. This is a network that has turned NFL coverage into a cartoon version of reality, and I can't wait until the first thing those idiots do is sign Tim McCarver on as an analyst. The guy is a smart baseball man, no question. Problem is, Tim wants you to see up close how smart he is and doesn't seem to realize that his constant explaining of strategy ticks everyone off. It ticks off fans who are knowledgable about baseball because they already know whatever his strategy is. It ticks off fans who don't because he's a condescending bore with an ever-rising voice, and they won't know any more after he shuts up than they did before he begins talking.

Just think: FOX will get the World Series and impose McCarver on us while making it a cartoon.

And you thought things couldn't get worse.


NIPPY JONES, 70, DIES; HIS SHOE WON THE BRAVES THE '57 WORLD SERIES

Vernal "Nippy" Jones appeared in 412 big league games, hit all of 25 home runs, and batted .267 in a career spanning separate big leage appearances between 1942 and 1957, but it was what happened in his last plate appearance in the major leagues that establishes his legacy. Jones died yesterday at age 70 in Sacramento, California as the obscure name to a rather infamous trivia question elicited by his final game 38 years ago this week.

The Yankees led the Milwaukee Braves, 2 games to 1, in the 1957 World Series when the Braves took a 4-1 lead into the ninth with Warren Spahn, generally considered baseball's greatest-ever left-handed pitcher, on the mound. The Yankees had gotten only six hits, and with the Braves only one out from tying the series, Yogi Berra and Gil McDougald singled, and backup catcher Elston Howard slammed a three-run game-tying home run off Spahn. An inning later, Spahn again got two outs before giving up a single to Milwaukee native Tony Kubek and a triple to Hank Bauer that scored Kubek and put the Braves on the threshold of a 3-1 deficit (it is worth nothing that in 1957 only one team - the 1925 Pirates - had ever come back from 3-1 down). With Spahn due to lead off the tenth, Braves Manager Fred Haney sent Nippy Jones to bat, and he was hit by a pitch from Tommy Byrne.

But not according to home plate umpire Augie Donatelli.

The ball hit the backstop behind Berra and bounced back to Jones, who grabbed the ball and showed a fresh mark of shoe polish to Donatelli while insisting the ball had hit him. Donatelli reversed his call and sent Jones to first. Felix Mantilla, a much faster runner, replaced Jones and moved to second when Red Schoendienst bunted him over. Braves shortstop Johnny Logan then ripped a double that scored Mantilla with the tying run. Logan then scored the winning run when future Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews belted a game-winning walkoff home run that won the game, 7-5, and tied the series at two.

It is probable that without the quick thinking of Nippy Jones, the Milwaukee Braves never win the 1957 World Series (they won it in seven games), and the current Braves are looking at an 81-year drought rather than a 38-year drought. But the shoe polish play is still remembered as the turning point in that series.

Jones spent a few years in the minors after the 1957 World Series, and he later made a living as an insurance salesman. In recent years, he has been in failing health. Yesterday, he suffered a heart attack while sitting in his favorite chair and died.
Furious, Jones located the ball and showed Donatelli a fresh mark of shoe polish
 

selmaborntidefan

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October 5, 1995
Off day

LEAGUE LEADERS, FREE AGENTS, AND BASEBALL'S BLOWN OPPORTUNITY


In one of the most myopic decisions made by people with an unbroken history of making myopic decisions, there are no post-season baseball games today. None. Nada. Zip. Yes, instead of the entire nation getting to see the exciting Seattle Mariners in the early afternoon and the even more exciting Cleveland Indians in the evening trying to close out a series at Fenway Park, baseball continues to screw the few fans who have remained by not showing baseball games.

You know, kinda like when they had that strike that wiped out the end of last season and the start of this one. You can't see the exciting Colorado Rockies square off with the dynasty in waiting Atlanta Braves today, either. And you have a great baseball town, Cincinnati, preparing to close out another great historical franchise (the Dodgers), but baseball is gonna baseball it seems.

Game Seven of the 1967 World Series was played in the early afternoon and drew 40 million TV viewers in a nation of 197 million. Three years ago, Game Seven of the NLCS started just after 7pm in prime time on a Wednesday night and drew less than that in a nation of 256 million. The sport is sacrificing its future right now. Nothing like telling the long-suffering Yankee fans across the country "you don't get to watch your team in their first playoff berth in 15 years. You've waited to see Don Mattingly? Tough!"

All four series' will resume tomorrow night, and at least two are likely to end then. With all four leaders ahead 2 games to 0, it is possible that all four will end tomorrow night. That'll help.

Not.

FINAL LEAGUE LEADERS


Because the season ended with an additional play-in game, we have not covered the league leaders for the season, so they are now published for posterity.

BATTING
Plate Appearances
NL - Craig Biggio, 673
AL - Chad Curtis, 670

At Bats
NL - Brian McRae, 580
AL - Lance Johnson, 607

Runs
NL - Craig Biggio, 123
AL - Albert Belle and Edgar Martinez, 121

Hits
NL - Dante Bichette and Tony Gwynn, 197
AL - Lance Johnson, 186

Doubles
NL - Mark Grace, 51
AL - Albert Belle and Edgar Martinez, 52

Triples
NL - Brett Butler and Eric Young, 9
AL - Kenny Lofton, 13

Home Runs
NL - Dante Bichette, 40
AL - Albert Belle, 50

RBIs
NL - Dante Bichette, 128
AL - Albert Belle and Mo Vaughn, 126

Walks
NL - Barry Bonds, 120
AL - Frank Thomas, 136

Intentional Walks
NL - Barry Bonds, 22
AL - Frank Thomas, 29

Strikeouts
NL - Andres Galarraga, 146
AL - Mo Vaughn, 150

Hit By Pitch
NL - Craig Biggio, 22
AL - Ed Sprague, 12

Sacrifice Hits
NL - Brian Jones, 18
AL - Tom Goodwin, 14

Sacrifice Flies
NL - Jeff Conine, 12
AL - Frank Thomas, 12

Stolen Bases
NL - Quilvio Veras, 56
AL - Kenny Lofton, 54

Caught Stealing
NL - Quilvio Veras, 21
AL - Otis Nixon, 21

Grounded Into Double Plays
NL - Charlie Hayes, 22
AL - Paul O'Neill, 25

Batting Average
NL - Tony Gwynn, .368
AL - Edgar Martinez, .356

On Base Percentage
NL - Barry Bonds, .431
AL - Edgar Martinez, .453

Slugging Pct
NL - Dante Bichette, .620
AL - Albert Belle, .690

Lowest Batting Average (Starters Only)
NL - Jeff Blauser, .211
AL - Benji Gil, .219

PITCHING

Appearances
NL - Curt Leskanic, 76
AL - Jesse Orosco, 65

Complete Games
NL - Greg Maddux, 10
AL - Jack McDowell, 8

Shutouts
NL - Greg Maddux and Hideo Nomo, 3
AL - Mike Mussina, 4

Games Finished
NL - Rob Nen and Heathcliff Slocumb, 54
AL - Roberto Hernandez, 57

Saves
NL - Randy Myers, 38
AL - Jose Mesa, 46

Wins
NL - Greg Maddux, 19
AL - Mike Mussina, 19

Losses
NL - Paul Wagner, 16
AL - Jason Bere, 15

Innings Pitched
NL - Greg Maddux and Denny Neagle, 209.2
AL - David Cone, 229.1

Hits Surrendered
NL - Denny Neagle, 221
AL - Pat Hentgen, 236

Home Runs Surrendered
NL - Kevin Foster, 32
AL - Brad Radke, 32

Runs Allowed
NL - Esteban Loaiza, 115
AL - Pat Hentgen, 129

Earned Runs Allowed
NL - Esteban Loaiza, 99
AL - Pat Hentgen, 114

Walks
NL - Ramon Martinez, 81
AL - Al Leiter, 108

Intentional Walks
NL - Doug Jones, 17
AL - Joe Boever, 12

Strikeouts
NL - Hideo Nomo, 236
AL - Randy Johnson, 294

Hit Batsmen
NL - Mark Leiter, 17
AL - Roger Clemens, 14

Wild Pitches
NL - Hideo Nomo, 19
AL - Al Leiter, 14

Balks
NL - Hideo Nomo, 5
AL - Brian Anderson, 3

ERA
NL - Greg Maddux, 1.63
AL - Randy Johnson, 2.48

Highest ERA
NL - Terry Mulholland, 5.80
AL - Kevin Gross, 5.54

Most Ejections
Player - Tony Phillips (3)
Managers - Cito Gaston (6)
Umpires - Harry Wendelstet (8)

DECLARED FREE AGENTS
Jerald Clark
Dave Eiland
Kevin Elster
Matt Grott
Rudy Pemberton
Mo Sanford
Mike Sharperson
Gary Varsho
 
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October 6, 1995
Colorado Rockies 7 (W: Holmes, 1-0; SV: Thompson, 1)
Atlanta Braves 5 (L: Wohlers, 0-1)
10 innings
Braves lead series, 2-1

ROCKIES LATE RALLY STIFLES BRAVES' CELEBRATION PLANS


The Colorado Rockies apparently found the Achilles heel of the Atlanta Braves: just so long as you don't let them actually win the game in the ninth inning, you can beat them in the tenth. For the third time in three games, the Atlanta Braves scored runs ini the ninth inning and, in fact, had the clinching run for the Division Series in scoring position with two outs and Marquis Grissom (6-for-15 with three home runs) at the plate. Grissom grounded into a force out of Luis Polonia at second, and the game went into extra innings. That's when Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox moved all of his chips to the center of the table and placed his bet on closer Mark Wohlers, and when Wohlers got the first two Rockies out in the tenth, the Braves were sitting pretty. Unfortunately, their fans may have been counting their money while sitting at the table.

Dante Bichette, a mediocre major league player until he damned near won the Triple Crown in the batting stat escalating environment of Coors Field, then doubled off the big reliever. The ever dangerous Larry Walker was given an intentional pass, bringing up Andres Galarraga with two on and two out - and possibly their last chance to stave off elimination. But "The Big Cat" delivered, a single that scored Bichette for the lead and sent Walker to third. Vinny Castilla, the former Brave lost to the expansion draft in 1993, followed with a single that scored Walker, and the Rockies suddenly had a two-run lead. Wohlers was pulled after the fiasco and Kent Mercker came on to retire Joe Girardi, but the Braves could get nothing going and went 1-2-3 in the ninth, setting up a Game Four that matches three-time Cy Young winner (and he'll surely win it again this year) Greg Maddux against former two-time Cy winner and 1985 World Series MVP Bret Saberhagen. The final outcome was interesting because the Rockies again blew a lead - two, in fact - and nearly went home without even one post-season win.

The Rockies to a 1-0 lead in the first off starter John Smoltz when Eric Young walked, went all the way to third on a bunt, and scored when Smoltz threw one of his signature wild pitches. Two innings later, Young again torched Smoltz, this time for a two-run homer with Walt Weiss aboard that extended the Colorado lead to 3-0. Bill Swift got through the Atlanta lineup the first time giving up only a hit to Grissom to lead off the game and a walk to Fred McGriff, but in the fourth inning, the Braves tied the game and quickly.

Singles by McGriff and Javy Lopez sandwiched around a walk to David Justice and a Ryan Klesko double tied the game at three. It might have been more, but the Braves finished the fourth inning with a "strike him out and throw him out" double play when Jeff Blauser struck out and Lopez was gunned down at second. To make matters worse, Blauser left the game with an ankle injury and may not return for the rest of the post-season.

Castilla ripped a two-run bomb with two outs in the sixth, the end of the line for Smoltz who gave way to Brad Clontz. Klesko then began the seventh with a single and scored on a Mike Mordecai double to cut the lead to one. The little utility infielder has two at-bats and has contributed mightily both times. But Mordecai also ran the Braves out of an inning, setting the stage for a dramatic ninth. With one out, Klesko got his third hit (another single), moved to third, and tied the game when Polonia's looper fell into left field for a single. That set the stage for the exciting tenth, and the two teams will square off again tomorrow night in Fulton County Stadium.

Cincinnati Reds 10 (W: Wells, 1-0)
Los Angeles Dodgers 1 (L: Nomo, 0-1)
Reds win series, 3-0

LEWIS GRAND SLAM HIGHLIGHTS REDS ROUT AND SWEEP; SCHOTT CONFUSED, GANT TALKS

Mark Lewis
managed to do something no other player since the playoffs began in 1969 has ever done: come off the bench and hit a pinch-hit grand slam home run. His bomb off of Mark Guthrie lifted the Reds to a 7-1 lead en route to a 10-1 wipeout of Hideo Nomo and the Dodgers. Combined with Colorado's win over Atlanta, the happy circumstance sets up the Reds to host Game One of the NLCS in Cincinnati on Tuesday night - and even should they face Atlanta, they will not see Greg Maddux in the opener.

The Reds dominated the series, outscoring the Dodgers (22-7) despite having fewer hits. The Reds only trailed for the first three innings of Game Two; otherwise, they were either tied or in the lead every single half-inning of the series.

With the Reds, of course, comes the hot mess known as Marge Schott, and she was in fine form tonight after the game. The same woman who wished peace to our troops in the "Middle West" during the 1990 post-season (it was the Middle East, of course) and who was once suspended for making racially insensitive comments, did not have the first clue what her baseball team had done last night. Watching her players hug one another celebrating another post-season sweep, Schott asked a companion, "What did I win? Did I win another championship?" It was a sight for sore eyes to put it mildly. Then there's the controversial case of Ron Gant, who did what you're just not supposed to do: he made it clear he wants to face the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS. Gant, of course, has reason for his choice: after the speedy outfielder was injured in a motorcycle accident during the 1994 pre-season, the Braves released him rather than fork over millions for a guy who wasn't going to play. It was a business decision that Gant takes personally, which is also understandable. He did, after all, come up through the Braves system and converted from infielder to outfielder as he became one of baseball's 30-30 guys.

Gant figures to be a central figure should Atlanta make the NLCS, but here's something you're not going to hear but is true: Ron Gant has contributed as much to Atlanta's tales of playoff woe as any reliever or even Lonnie Smith. The man is not a very good hitter when runners are in scoring position, and that's not just PTSD from the 1993 NLCS speaking, it is borne out in the statistics. Gant has played in the last four post-seasons, three times with the Braves, consisting of 20 NLCS games and 13 World Series games plus the three Division Series games. Wanna know how Gant does with runners in scoring position in those 33 games? Try 5 for 38. In the 1991 World Series, Gant is the one who came to bat with runners at second and third after Lonnie Smith failed to score - and he popped it straight up. In 1992, Gant was benched in favor of Deion Sanders, who hit .533. And in the 1993 NLCS, Gant came up 15 times with runners on base, 9 times with runners in scoring position...and got one hit.

And as a reminder, Atlanta's pitching staff is a whole lot better than any Gant has already faced. Gant is a competitor, and there's likely also the thought that if the Reds lose, he'd love to see his old teammates win that elusive ring. But Gant is going to have to hit better when he has opportunities than he has in the past, too.
 

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