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Jeffrey Wood  4/29/2002 6:02:00 PM  Email	Week 7 It is the time of year when the big games come fast and furiously, and the level of play improves weekly; the hitters catch up to the pitchers, and the pitchers must reach deeper into their bag of tricks to keep the hitters guessing… This weekend marks the halfway point in the schedule…a bittersweet thought that….and as we wrap up divisional play and head back into inter divisional games, a few basic truths emerge…none more basic than this: there are 8 teams that have very realistic chances at the regular season championship, and a handful more that could easily make a move toward that goal…if this is not parity, it is darn close. Saturday was predicted to be showery and a bit blustery….it was a tad chilly, but the sun took up residence in the skies above Chabot, and left only briefly to allow clouds to pass…not quite summer, but baseball weather nevertheless…things got underway with 2 teams fighting for a place at the big kids table…ironically, these teams were thought to be able to run the table when the season began….but the script was given the heave-ho early on, and so the Giants and Brewers both arrived needing a win…no desperation yet, but certainly this one was wanted badly by both teams…the 4-1 final does not really tell the story…the game was not a classic, but it was played pretty nose to nose, as both teams searched for the soft spots in the other's defense, and for the most part found little to exploit…the Brewers won, but the sense seemed to be that both teams cast an eye toward future meetings with even more import. For the Giants, a 3 game skid leaves them still within easy grasp of the top spot…a testament to the benefits of winning 7 straight to start the season. The Brewers remain mired in 5th place, but suddenly the top spot is not such a pipe dream…The Indians arrived at Chabot with a clear and attainable goal: knock off the Yankees and move into first place for the first time in several seasons.…only a year ago, this team had but one win at midseason, and suddenly they are the toast of the town. The Yankees' pinstripes always seem worth a run or two when they stare down a would be pursuer….How then could these Indians dare to knock the Bronx Bombers from their top spot? The Indians, though, seemed the seasoned team, as they played it loose and easy and moved into the top spot, as the Yankees tried to hit 5 run homers all day. Somehow, you get the idea that the final game of the weekend, the rematch, will be a doosey….The Rangers continue to play it close to the vest…they don't make a lot of noise, but check out the standings! They are lurking…waiting for the door to open just a bit…ready to rush in when no one is looking….The Red Sox thought this might be the one…but the Rangers turned them back with an efficient victory that kept them just a game out of the top spot…the Sox hopes for the first win would depend on the Brewers arriving at the field flat on Sunday….The afternoon game at Oakland Army Base had the hard luck Orioles, who truly need a team of medical specialists to travel with them, taking on the Angels who still have designs on something more than middle of the pack. The Halos brushed aside the Orioles, and all but doomed them to a sub .500 season. Sunday morning brought the return of divisional play, and with it, a track record of previous results to offer as comparison. The Athletics arrived to do battle with the Indians with a bit of a monkey on their back: a lot of opponents had crossed the plate of late, and now the other dugout held an Indians team with a 6 game winning streak…still, both teams were in 1st place, so I guess you call this the game of the week. The A's had won the 1st meeting, but clearly this game had a different buzz about it…but the Indians played their own version of "turn back the clock" day playing more like last year's Tribe than the team that had taken over first place only 24 hours earlier. The A's victory gave them solid control of the North top spot…particularly in light of the day's big shocker as the White Sox dropped a tough one to the Angels, who seem to win games in pairs…..the Angels can now hope that the bullies from the North can rough up the frontrunners in the South so they can climb back in the race…of course, that means the Angels must beat some of those bullies themselves, and the White Sox are a nice first step….The Royals shook off their loss last Wednesday and got right back to winning, smacking the Orioles and simply refusing to have a slump….speaking of slumps, the Giants put theirs behind them, racing to a big lead over the Rangers, before hanging on for a 10-5 victory….you didn't think they were going to let this go on too much longer, now did you?…The Brewers and Red Sox were supposed to play a baseball game Sunday afternoon…it wasn't quite that, but we will record it in the books as a 25-10 Brewer win, and suffice it to say that neither team will record the game for their highlight reel…however, the Brewer win did create a statistical oddity (or maybe it is not so odd)…check out the standings in the North!…you will find that 5 teams have won exactly 8 times….now to be fair, there are different loss totals, but I think this underscores the parity that exists among the teams in the North. With the Giants returning to the pack, it leaves a very interesting stretch drive ahead…The weekend closed out with the Yankees testing the Tiger state of mind…you may recall the Tigers lost a game they would like to have back last week….and this game promised to be an indicator of their inner strength…not to mention the Yankees, who really wanted to retake the top spot in the South, after spending the evening in 2nd place….and they played it pretty much as it was scripted, with the Yankees snatching the game away in the last inning of a pitcher's duel for the 4-3 win….. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Who's hot?…Glad you asked!….the Brewers have won 4 straight, and though once left for dead, their distant footsteps have become quite audible to the North frontrunners….that said, they are still in 5th place….the only other team with more than one win in a row is the Angels who completed a weekend sweep! In the Stat department , the defensive leaders are the Giants (34 runs allowed) followed somewhat distantly by the Brewers (49 runs allowed) and the Royals (50 runs allowed); offensively, the Brewers have now scored more than anyone, having touched the dish 90 times followed by the Athletics (89 runs scored) and the Angels (78 runs scored). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Midweek slate The Brewers play host to the Orioles, who are looking to either get someone off the DL, or perhaps check out the waiver wire. Last time out, the Brewers pulled away from the Birds for a rather handy 14-6 win, but the Orioles have some players that remember how to beat the Brewers (having been the only team to sweep them last year), so consider this game up for grabs…over at Holy Names, the Rangers will be looking to climb back above .500, but the Tigers played them tough last time out, and still present a challenge to any team…look for a close, low scoring affair…. Jeff Wood NOLL-SOLL Beat
Jeff Wood  4/22/2002 11:49:00 AM  Email	Week 6 What do you think? Was this weekend an indicator of a breakdown of the status quo, or was it in fact confirmation of a status quo where there is no clear favorite in any game, hence anything can happen…the only thing that is consistent is the number of surprising developments….note to frontrunners:…the battle has been joined…. I felt all along that this weekend would be a critical test of where things were headed, and though I was proven to be correct, I must admit, it played out in a fairly unpredictable way….but that is the glory of baseball….. In the North, the Giants saw their coronation parade take a slight detour. The Royals, apparently unaware that they were supposed to blink, stood eye to eye with the last remaining undefeated team, and rather than fold, they simply did not allow the Giants to win the game…..folks, this was a baseball game…2-1, and it was even closer than that…meanwhile, in the battle for 2nd place, the Athletics flat out thumped the White Sox, and sent the Sox to contemplate playing the Giants the day after their first loss…not an inviting prospect…The Brewers played 5 innings of great baseball, before returning to form and allowing the Tigers to crawl back into a game near the end….for the Brewers though, they had just enough in the tank to eke out a 6-4 victory…but I will say the Tigers will make some noise in the second half….this is not a "last place" team…the North has a lot of good teams, and they are learning, quickly, to play with them . Sunday found the Athletics licking their chops at the prospect of taking over 1st place following their drubbing of the ChiSox….only thing standing in their way was the Brewers, who did not get the memo and spoiled the party, handing out a drubbing of their own , dooming the Athletics stay atop the North standings to only a few hours….And for the Brewers, it meant seizing an opportunity to crawl back into the pennant race…As the White Sox took the field against the Giants, they had to think this might not be the ideal day to play the Giants, but play they did, and the White Sox, always efficient with their baserunners, got just enough offense to trip the mighty Giants, handing them their second loss of the weekend, and sending the White Sox into a tie with the Royals for 1st place….The Royals took care of their business, barely, with their 2nd 2-1 victory of the weekend, this time over the Tigers who have to be thinking that one or 2 more well timed hits this weekend and they would be singing a different tune….for the Giants, they are left to ponder things for a week, but this is clearly a sturdy vessel that just hit a patch of rough water…last season, the Giants stumbled a bit at the very end of the season, and we thought they were ripe for the taking…as it turned out however, they are the defending champions….stumbles do not always lead to falls. The report from the South does not have too much movement in the standings, but certainly things are shaping up to get pretty interesting in the next week or so….The Yankees went out, got their weekend win (after winning on Wednesday) over the Orioles, and looked in the rear view mirror and saw…."gulp"…the Indians…. (Objects may be closer than they appear!)…..The Indians have taken the mantle of "hottest team in the league" …first time I have written those words in my tenure….along with the obvious fun and satisfaction of winning, the Indians are suddenly getting respect, admiration and perhaps a bit of fear (now really, do you want to play these guys right now?)...Suddenly, more Indians are showing up at the batting cages, and hanging around the field…..winning a few games really changes the frame of mind (Note to Yankees: please deliver stencil for bullseye to Indians practice for application to backsides)….The Indians and Angels played a game that went from nail biter, to blow out, back to nailbiter, but it was the Indians collecting the 'W'…and 24 hours later, they were at it again, this time sidestepping the hard charging Red Sox, and completing the weekend sweep…and lest they be forgotten in all this, the Rangers (who also won on Wednesday) went out beat the last weekend's darlings, the Angels, who desperately wanted another big weekend. But it was the Rangers who crawled back to .500, and flashed their high beams at the Indians…can you say "pennant race"? Who's Hot….? Well, certainly the Indians qualify (5 wins in a row), and the Royals who have won 3 in a row…Stats!!!…( made a little difficult because not everyone has played and/or finished the same number of games, but still worth a look)….The defensive leaders are the Giants (25 runs allowed), the Brewers (38 runs allowed) and the Royals (39 runs allowed), while the offensive leaders are the White Sox (67 runs scored), the Yankees (66 runs scored) and the Brewers (61 runs scored) The Midweek slate Boy oh boy….a couple of great games await us on Wednesday….tell the boss you are leaving early and eat your Kentucky Fried Chicken in the bleachers, soak up a bit of late afternoon sunshine, ponder the advance of summer, and watch some talented teams go at it…..Chabot features the Tigers and Athletics….both teams are licking some fresh wounds, and I am guessing neither will want this game to get away…as I said earlier, I like the Tigers, they play good team defense, and they are scrappy a the plate…forcing their opponents to play defense…they are going to win some big games down the stretch…the A's are in the hunt for the title, so they will not go quietly!….oh, and by the way, Holy Names features a couple of teams deadlocked for first place in the North, the Royals and White Sox, both coming off emotional weekends, and I assure you neither team wants to lose this game…first place at the midpoint of the season is the brass ring they play for…both of these teams have one thing in common, and that is an uncanny efficiency in getting their baserunners home…they can beat you even if they don't get a lot of hits (though to be fair, the White Sox must get some, since they lead the league in scoring)…..I am not certain this game was on the high profile radar when the season started, but now it looms as an absolute show-stopper….( a similar description could be made about this weekend's matchup between the Yankees and the Indians)….anyway, the season approaches the halfway point, good time to get out and watch some ball….
Jeff Wood  4/16/2002 2:35:00 PM  Email	Spring has finally taken full hold of the baseball season. We played under beautiful blue skies, and even though the grass was a tad long, it sure was nice and green, and the uniforms were crisp and clean, and the baseball settled into some familiar patterns….and some trends toward parity… Starting way back last Wednesday, we opened the "evening series" in style. The Athletics and Royals headed into the game even, but the A's scored early, and then kept the Royals bats from doing too much damage, and they cruised to a 6-2 win, that put them in a second place tie with the White Sox, who were busy throttling the Brewers...as originally thought, this was assumed to be a pitcher's duel, and it was, but the Brewers gave away too many free passes, and the White Sox hit just enough to take advantage of it. The White Sox pitching, as well as defense was nearly flawless, and the only (small) comfort the Brewers can take is that the Pale Hose were going to beat most everyone on this particular night. The White Sox headed into the weekend with designs on overtaking the Giants...for the Brewers, they must play catch up....though only 1 game down in the win column, they have some work to do.... The most familiar pattern was the Giants rather workman like victory over the Tigers, who put up a good fight, but the Giants defense and their proficient batwork carried the day…the Giants move to 6-0, and have had 2 games postponed, leading the league in that dubious category…perhaps the Giants are a bit intimidating, no? Anyway, makeup games will occur, almost certainly before the season ends. The Yankees took the fun out of their game with the Rangers (for the top spot in the South!), grabbing a 6-0 lead in the 1st inning and cruising to a rather impressive, and one sided victory. By far the most entertaining game (perhaps of the year, so far!) was the Angels struggle with the Red Sox….what a game!, back and forth, lead changes, and then finally, when it appeared that the BoSox had it in the bag... a furious, somewhat unlikely comeback carried the Angels to a 10-9 victory in the bottom half of the 6th. The smiles in the Angel dugout were balanced out, sadly, by the frowns in the Red Sox dugout….such is the burden of the chase for victory #1…the Indians denied the Orioles a shot at their first victory, and their offensive output might send some tremors through the standings in the South. On Sunday, the Brewers brought their up and down game to face the Royals…as has become a dangerous pattern for the Brewers, they made the opposing pitcher look like Roger Clemens, and they allowed defensive lapses to deprive them of another victory despite showing intermittent flashes of their potential... The Royals put enough balls in play and played solid defense to push the once mighty Brewers to near the bottom of the division….we welcomed another team to the victory circle as the Orioles snuck past the Red Sox…at this point I would guess everyone is rooting for the Sox except for the team they are playing….some one will play the role of the victim, and I am guessing it won't be too long….The Angels seemed to like the feeling of winning so much so they did it again, this time handing the mighty Yankees a tough loss in extra innings. The Angels have a tidy little sweep for the weekend, and a great deal of momentum heading into their battles with the Indians and Rangers next week…speaking of sweeps…how 'bout them Indians? They deal the Rangers a 3-0 setback and in so doing leap frog the young Texans for 2nd place…the Rangers must now concern themselves with the footsteps from behind as the Angels close the gap…the footsteps the Yankees hear now are the Indians…The White Sox solidified their hold on 2nd place in North with a narrow victory over the Tigers. The Pale Hose will now get to demonstrate whether they have played over their heads or if they are the team to beat….tune in next Monday for that answer…. The mid week games will test the Yankees focus as the Red Sox will try to snatch a victory while the Bronx Bombers aren't paying attention…on paper, you think the Yankees, but these games are rarely played on paper, and the Red Sox seem to creep ever closer…the Yankees must avoid looking past this game…the Rangers will try and get well against the Orioles, and the Orioles will be trying to turn the season around here and now…that would start with a win streak!
Jeff Wood  4/4/2002 11:38:00 PM  Email	I am hopeful that the early spring break, and all the holidays that go along with it were happy for all of you. We managed to survive without baseball, though I am sure some managed to get some time in on the diamond.....we are staring down the meat of the schedule, as we head into Daylight Savings and the promise of summer, long days, warm weather, lemonade stands, sunscreen, and of course, baseball.... I wanted to advise all of you that I am well aware that the grass at Chabot is too long...do not call me to complain....here is the deal...they mow on Fridays....2 Fridays ago, it rained (no mowing), last FRiday was Good Friday (no mowing), and alas, there is some talk of rain tomorrow...if that is the case, you will need to use only tall players in the outfield, lest you lose some kids in the tall grass that is looking more and more like a meadow than a baseball field...if it is not mowed tomorrow, I may send out a message to have anyone with a lawn mower visit the field early Saturday.....check this space Friday pm.... You no doubt read my note about the umpires....I will simply restate that the teams found lacking proper numbers will be penalized...it would be a lot better just to demand that folks step up and fulfill their responsibility...enough said. OK....games ahead!!!...we head into the last weekend of inter-divisional play.....and then next week, every game will carry just a bit more weight.....but in the meantime...WOW...some great games ahead.....We start off on Saturday with the White Sox, trying to shake off the effects of a stinging loss, squaring off against the Indians who have proven to be a team that deserves notice....I think the Indians are just about to go on a long win streak...might it start here? The late game features the Tigers, who are getting better with each game, versus the RedSox who are following the same trajectory of improvement...the RedSox pick up their first win in the very near future...Tigers best be wary! (Note Orioles v Giants, postponed)... On Sunday, the first "game of the year" as the two teams atop their divisions put their record on the line as the Yankees and Giants dance....12:30 @ Chabot, good tickets still available! The Orioles and A's will match-up at Holy Names, followed by the Red Sox and Royals....The late games feature the Indians and Tigers, while the Brewers and Angels will finish up the day at Holy Names....... Please note that Sunday is the start of daylight savings time, so be sure to set the clocks on Saturday evening....(Spring Ahead!!!)...Wednesday games start next week, and along with it, everyone plays 2 games each weeks...how are those 11 year old arms? See you on the field! with no rain the last few days, field crews should plan for more time watering and grooming fields....good luck and have fun! Jeff Wood NOLL/SOLL Beat
Jeff Wood, Majors Coord.  3/27/2002 8:57:00 AM  Email	Did you notice? The games got a little better, the games were closer, and we had a few classics. As the season unfolds, the players hit their stride, the rookies become veterans, the veterans become wily, and the coaches start to see the efforts bear fruit. I caught glimpses....maybe you did too. Saturday did not seem promising. The early game was canceled and moved to this Tuesday at Chabot (Note...Orioles and Tigers share time at Holy Names accordingly)...Chabot was a quagmire....When I left, along with several other folks at around 10:30, I basically felt the whole day was a loss...if not the whole weekend. Somehow, the efforts paid off, and working from 1:30 until 3:30, the Yankees and Brewers field crews got the field not just playable, but really, really nice....maybe exceptionally nice....special thanks go to TD Passmore who figured out how to use the blade on the tractor and worked some magic with it...a quick aside here....I met TD's dad this weekend, Truman. I am a pretty smart guy, and thought OK, I have TD's name figured out, its Truman Daniel...but no...turns out, it's "Tractor Driver"....amazing how well the name captures TD's passion for digging in the dirt...ever seen a guy happier to drive a tractor? Truthfully, there were many on both sides who made this game possible, and yours truly, normally an optimist in this sort of thing, was not at all confident we would play ball. Art Simon, Yankee skipper, took a long hard look, wiped the knee deep mud from his trousers, and said, " I see no reason why we cannot play baseball here to day"...I guess he knew who he had in line to pitch..... We played a bit of baseball once we had the field in shape. The Yankees, looking every bit the top dog in the South, took a 2-1 nailbiter from the Brewers....both teams had some talent on the mound, and both teams played well enough to win, but it was the Yankee's day...though the Brewers had the tying run just 60 feet away in the 6th inning...a really good little league game.....Over at OAB, the Rangers strapped on their hitting shoes and kept them on all afternoon, handing the Royals their first defeat of the season...the Rangers should have slept in their shoes, because early Sunday they had the Brewers on their dance card...the Brewers entered the game having lost two in a row, definitely keeping the word "mighty" from being used in the same sentence as Brewer...The Rangers, looking to keep the Yankees in sight, and feeling good from their Saturday afternoon at the Army Base, had to feel confident, but the Brewers chipped away, and finally took command, en route to a 7-0 victory....Meanwhile, the White Sox and Yankees tangled at Holy Names where it was apparent that someone would have to give up the title "undefeated"....the heart attack kids, the White Sox posted another late inning comeback for a 7-6 victory....Yankees still comfortably in front of the South, while the White Sox kept pace with the Giants, who had their hands full with the Indians...yet another classic game, as good pitching and defense on both sides gave the Giants a 1-0 victory, though I am guessing it serves notice to the league that the Indians will not be taken lightly from here on out...sometimes a loss is as important as a victory...perhaps the case here? The Giants remain undefeated at 4-0.....The Angels hung tough with the Royals for a while, but the Royals did too much damage with aggressive baserunning, and the Angels were a bit too generous defensively...Angels head into the Tuesday's make-up contest with the A's still hungering for their first win, while the Royals look tough in second place in the North....I could say the same thing, exactly, about the Red Sox and Athletics....the Sox got off to an early lead, but the A's did not let their spirits drop (though oddly, they did not manage to find matching socks when they went to the drawer this morning)....the Athletics mounted a furious rally, and the Sox did not have the answer, though they seem to be creeping closer to the victory column....The Tigers and Orioles apparently got wind of the weekend's theme of tough, close games, and obliged with yet another 1-0 game, and for the Tigers, it became their second win in a row....can you say "parity"?, at least in the North, where everyone is above .500....and the North stretched it's lead over the South, posting a 7-1 weekly margin and making the seasonal totals 18-6 Make Up Game announcements....Tuesday (Chabot) the Athletics and Angels will make up Saturday's "mud-out". Thursday (Chabot) the Rangers will tangle with the White Sox in a "presheduled" game (from April 7th). So we will take a break, gather our thoughts, and come back in a couple of weeks, daylight savings, 2 games a week, dry weather, and inter divisional play...that ought to be worth looking forward to...
Pat Kime  3/25/2002 11:01:00 PM  Email	Matthew Kaufmann left his jacket Sunday (3/24) at Holy Names field. It is a grey and tan/yellow leatherlike jacket with "Aviators of America' or the like on the back, and emblem and patches. Matthew's inhaler is in the pocket. If you found it, please contact Bill Kaufmann 510-569-3829 or page him at 510-613-6911. Thanks.