Slowing Things Down Soon

Hey gang.

My schedule called for 88 days worth of games and when I started this I thought I was going to be able to keep up a pace that would see the project completed in September of 2016.

Well, that hasn’t turned out to be the case.

I know there are re-players who are hammering out 6 games a day, but that’s not me.

I tried to keep up with doing about 2 games a day across 5 days per week.

But that hasn’t always worked out.

I’m also finding that it keeps my sanity around the project a bit more if I take an occasional break from it.

I sometimes step away to any number of other re-play projects that I am enjoying (1901 MLB, 1997-98 NBA, 2004 NFL, 2012-13 NHL) and find that after a few days away from ’84 I’m back to looking forward to it.

At this point, I’ve gotten through 61 of the 88 days on my schedule, so I’m closing in on about 70% completion.

I have no doubts about finishing it.

I’m just saying that you may start seeing updates that are no longer daily.

Maybe just a few per week instead.

 

NL Day 44: Top Teams Struggling

Mets 6, Phillies 2
The 1st-place Phillies lost for a 3rd straight game, while the Mets climbed within a pair of games of them in the NL East. Walt Terrell (W 2-3) came up an out shy of the complete game, turning it over to Jesse Orosco who struck out Juan Samuel with two men on, recording his 5th save. Hubie Brooks hit his 7th homer of the season for the Mets, who torched Steve Carlton (L 3-2).

Pirates 6, Cubs 3
Once again, Chicago was unable to tie up Philadelphia in the division, falling at home to Pittsburgh. The Cubs took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the 1st, but the Bucs put a pair on the board in the 4th to tie it up and two more in the 5th to take the lead for good. Marvell Wynne had 3 hits and 2 RBI at the top of the Pittsburgh lineup while Lee Lacy had 4 hits including a pair of doubles, a walk and a stolen base further down in the order.

Dodgers 2, Padres 1
Alejandro Pena returned from a brief injury and went the distance for Los Angeles, allowing one run on six hits while improving to 3-2. For San Diego, Dave Dravecky came out of the bullpen and tossed 2.2 more shutout innings, putting him back into the ERA lead with a sterling 0.00 in 35 innings of work.

Expos 4, Braves 1 (10 innings)
Charlie Lea turned in another impressive start, allowing 1 run in 9 innings of work for Montreal. Unfortunately for him, his team’s offense had also managed just 1 run off of Atlanta starter Rick Mahler. In the 10th, Andre Dawson snapped the tie with an RBI single and Gary Carter put it out of reach with a 2-run homer (4th). Jeff Reardon picked up his 5th save with a flawless bottom of the 10th, striking out a pair. Montreal trails in the East by just 3 games while Atlanta remains 1 back in the West.

Giants 4, Astros 2
It’s an interesting division over in the West. So far, nobody seems willing to take it away. Houston fell to an even 8-8 in the division and remained just a half game back after falling in San Francisco. Jeffrey Leonard homered twice for the Giants, giving him an NL-best 10 homers and 27 RBI. Oh, and he’s a 1 over in left field.

Reds 4, Cardinals 3 (14 innings)
St. Louis lost for the third straight game, all of which have been in extra innings. 5 of their past 8 games have gone past 9 innings. As for Cincinnati, they’ve played extra in 3 straight as well, 5 of their last 6, and 8 of their last 13. It’s crazy. Onix Concepcion’s RBI single in the top of the 14th proved to be the game-winner as both team’s bullpens are looking pretty exhausted right now.

STANDINGS
=========

NL EAST                   W    L   PCT  GB    STR
Philadelphia Phillies    18   12  .600   -    L 3
Chicago Cubs             19   15  .559   1    L 2
New York Mets            16   14  .533   2    W 3
Montreal Expos           15   15  .500   3    W 2
Pittsburgh Pirates       15   19  .441   5    W 2
St. Louis Cardinals      11   19  .367   7    L 3

NL WEST                   W    L   PCT  GB    STR
Houston Astros           17   13  .567   -    L 2
Atlanta Braves           15   13  .536   1    L 2
San Diego Padres         17   17  .500   2    L 2
San Francisco Giants     16   16  .500   2    W 2
Cincinnati Reds          14   14  .500   2    W 2
Los Angeles Dodgers      15   21  .417   5    W 2

TEAM STARS
==========

     BATTER                        PITCHER                  
ATL  Dale Murphy                   Len Barker               
     .279, 5 HR, 22 RBI            3-1, 2.67               
CHC  Gary Matthews                 Steve Trout              
     .303, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 6 SB      4-1, 1.88               
CIN  Pete Rose                     John Franco              
     .295                          4-0, 3.86               
HOU  Phil Garner                   Frank DiPino             
     .365, 18 RBI                  2-1, 4 Sv, 2.13         
LAD  Pedro Guerrero                Alejandro Pena           
     .333                          3-2, 2.68, 39 K         
MON  Tim Raines                    Charlie Lea              
     .285, 16 SB                   5-1, 2.70, 37 K         
NYM  Mookie Wilson                 Jesse Orosco             
     .357, 19 RBI, 9 SB            4-2, 5 Sv, 4.21, 26 K   
PHI  Von Hayes                     Charlie Hudson           
     .398, 6 HR, 23 RBI, 13 SB     4-0, 3.22, 30 K         
PIT  Jason Thompson                John Tudor               
     .267, 9 HR, 22 RBI            5-3, 3.30, 31 K         
SDP  Tony Gwynn                    Tim Lollar               
     .364, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 14 SB     4-2, 3.83, 33 K         
SFG  Jeff Leonard                  Gary Lavelle             
     .290, 10 HR, 27 RBI           2-0, 3 Sv, 3.25         
STL  Tommy Herr                    Bruce Sutter             
     .303                          6 Sv, 0.33              

LEADERS
=======

BATTING AVERAGE
 1. Hayes, Von (PHI)               .398
 2. Garner, Phil (HOU)             .365
 3. Gwynn, Tony (SDP)              .364
 4. Wilson, Mookie (NYM)           .357
 5. Lacy, Lee (PIT)                .343
 6. Guerrero, Pedro (LAD)          .333
 7. Durham, Leon (CHC)             .321
 8. Davis, Chili (SFG)             .320
 9. Ray, Johnny (PIT)              .317
10. Brooks, Hubie (NYM)            .313

HOME RUNS
 1. Leonard, Jeff (SFG)              10
 2. Brock, Greg (LAD)                 9
    Thompson, Jason (PIT)             9
 4. Davis, Chili (SFG)                8
    Durham, Leon (CHC)                8

RUNS BATTED IN
 1. Leonard, Jeff (SFG)              27
 2. Brooks, Hubie (NYM)              23
    Dawson, Andre (MON)              23
    Durham, Leon (CHC)               23
    Hayes, Von (PHI)                 23
    Schmidt, Mike (PHI)              23

STOLEN BASES
 1. Dernier, Bob (CHC)               18
 2. Wiggins, Alan (SDP)              17
 3. Raines, Tim (MON)                16

EARNED RUN AVERAGE
 1. Dravecky, Dave (SDP)           0.00
 2. Denny, John (PHI)              1.56
 3. Trout, Steve (CHC)             1.88
 4. Hershiser, Orel (LAD)          2.08
 5. Honeycutt, Rick (LAD)          2.23
 6. LaPoint, Dave (STL)            2.29
 7. Price, Joe (CIN)               2.31
    Sanderson, Scott (CHC)         2.31
 9. Camp, Rick (ATL)               2.35
10. Carlton, Steve (PHI)           2.59

WINS-LOSSES
 1. Lea, Charlie (MON)              5-1
 2. Tudor, John (PIT)               5-3
 3. Franco, John (CIN)              4-0
    Hudson, Charlie (PHI)           4-0
 5. Trout, Steve (CHC)              4-1

STRIKEOUTS
 1. Sutcliffe, Rick (CHC)            69
 2. Valenzuela, Fernando (LAD)       62
 3. Gooden, Dwight (NYM)             55
 4. McWilliams, Larry (PIT)          48
 5. Soto, Mario (CIN)                43

SAVES
 1. Smith, Lee (CHC)                  9
 2. Gossage, Goose (SDP)              6
    Sutter, Bruce (STL)               6


SCHEDULE
========

PHI  18-12  Denny, J             (3-1, 1.56)
SDP  17-17  Whitson, E           (2-3, 3.50)

LAD  15-21  Valenzuela, F        (2-5, 3.41)
PIT  15-19  Tudor, J             (5-3, 3.30)

CHC  19-15  Sanderson, S         (2-2, 2.31)
MON  15-15  Palmer, D            (0-1, 8.79)

CIN  14-14  Soto, M              (4-3, 3.72)
ATL  15-13  Perez, P             (2-2, 3.77)

AL Day 44: Baylor’s 7th KOs Rangers

Yankees 9, Rangers 2
Don Baylor’s 3-run homer (7th) gave New York a 7-1 lead in the 6th inning, proving to be the back-breaker. Willie Randolph, Ken Griffey and Mike Pagliarulo each had three-hit nights for the Yankees, who rolled all over Texas. Marty Bystrom (W 2-2) struck out the side in the 9th to finish off a complete game.

Mariners 4, White Sox 2 (12 innings)
Mark Langston remained 1-7 on the season, going 7.2 innings with a no decision after allowing just 2 earned runs and striking out 7. In the 12th, an RBI single by Jack Perconte broke the tie and the Mariner bullpen continued to perform admirably as Mike Stanton (1.1 IP) and Edwin Nunez (3 IP) retired 13 of the 15 men they faced. Nunez (1.10 ERA), Stanton (1.54) and Salome Barojas (2.33) came into this project with a bad rap, but they’ve out-performed their cards thus far.

Indians 4, Brewers 0
Hard to figure out the Tribe and their pitching staff. Don Schulze (W 2-2) entered the game with a 7.42 ERA and lowered it almost 2 full runs after throwing a shutout against Milwaukee at home. If this season had Wild Card teams in it, Cleveland would be a hot topic. As it is, they’re stuck here with Detroit and still 5 games back in the East.

STANDINGS
=========

AL EAST                   W    L   PCT  GB    STR
Detroit Tigers           25    8  .758   -    W11
Cleveland Indians        21   14  .600   5    W 3
Boston Red Sox           18   15  .545   7    L 3
New York Yankees         17   15  .531   7.5  W 3
Toronto Blue Jays        14   18  .438   10.  L 1
Baltimore Orioles        14   19  .424   11   W 1
Milwaukee Brewers         7   25  .219   17.  L 9

AL WEST                   W    L   PCT  GB    STR
Kansas City Royals       20   11  .645   -    W 2
Oakland Athletics        19   15  .559   2.5  W 1
Seattle Mariners         17   16  .515   4    W 1
Minnesota Twins          18   17  .514   4    L 1
California Angels        15   18  .455   6    L 5
Chicago White Sox        13   19  .406   7.5  L 1
Texas Rangers            12   20  .375   8.5  L 3

TEAM STARS
==========

     BATTER                        PITCHER                  
BAL  Cal Ripken                    Storm Davis              
     .270, 16 RBI                  6-1, 1.27, 32 K         
BOS  Tony Armas                    Al Nipper                
     .284, 11 HR, 35 RBI           4-0, 1.84, 25 K         
CAL  Fred Lynn                     Ron Romanick             
     .317, 18 RBI                  2-4, 2.11               
CHW  Harold Baines                 LaMarr Hoyt              
     .310, 4 HR, 15 RBI            6-2, 2.15, 35 K         
CLE  Brett Butler                  Bert Blyleven            
     .287, 9 SB                    4-2, 1.76, 34 K         
DET  Kirk Gibson                   Dan Petry                
     .285, 10 HR, 35 RBI, 6 SB     7-1, 2.78, 36 K         
KCR  Willie Wilson                 Mark Gubicza             
     .306, 13 SB                   5-0, 1.86, 27 K         
MIL  Robin Yount                   Bob McClure              
     .258                          2-2, 2.02               
MIN  Kent Hrbek                    Mike Smithson            
     .318, 7 HR, 24 RBI            6-2, 3.76, 43 K         
NYY  Willie Randolph               Phil Niekro              
     .301                          5-2, 3.40, 34 K         
OAK  Rickey Henderson              Keith Atherton           
     .349, 4 HR, 17 RBI, 16 SB     4-1, 1.77               
SEA  Spike Owen                    Jim Beattie              
     .288                          5-1, 2.56, 37 K         
TEX  Larry Parrish                 Mike Mason               
     .311, 9 HR, 28 RBI            3-0, 1.75, 25 K         
TOR  George Bell                   Luis Leal                
     .304, 6 HR, 18 RBI            4-3, 2.09, 44 K         

LEADERS
=======

BATTING AVERAGE
 1. Henderson, Rickey (OAK)        .349
 2. Trammell, Alan (DET)           .341
 3. Griffey, Ken (NYY)             .333
 4. Lansford, Carney (OAK)         .331
 5. Buckner, Bill (BOS)            .330
 6. Puckett, Kirby (MIN)           .329
 7. Mattingly, Don (NYY)           .326
 8. Franco, Julio (CLE)            .324
 9. Johnson, Howard (DET)          .323
10. Hrbek, Kent (MIN)              .318
    Walker, Greg (CHW)             .318

HOME RUNS
 1. Armas, Tony (BOS)                11
 2. Gibson, Kirk (DET)               10
 3. Brunansky, Tom (MIN)              9
    Easler, Mike (BOS)                9
    Parrish, Larry (TEX)              9

RUNS BATTED IN
 1. Armas, Tony (BOS)                35
    Gibson, Kirk (DET)               35
 3. Brunansky, Tom (MIN)             29
 4. Parrish, Larry (TEX)             28
 5. Lansford, Carney (OAK)           27

STOLEN BASES
 1. Garcia, Damaso (TOR)             16
    Henderson, Rickey (OAK)          16
 3. Pettis, Gary (CAL)               15

EARNED RUN AVERAGE
 1. Davis, Storm (BAL)             1.27
 2. Mason, Mike (TEX)              1.75
 3. Blyleven, Bert (CLE)           1.76
 4. Nipper, Al (BOS)               1.84
 5. Gubicza, Mark (KCR)            1.86
 6. McClure, Bob (MIL)             2.02
 7. Leal, Luis (TOR)               2.09
 8. Romanick, Ron (CAL)            2.11
 9. Hoyt, LaMarr (CHW)             2.15
10. Boddicker, Mike (BAL)          2.21

WINS-LOSSES
 1. Morris, Jack (DET)              7-1
    Petry, Dan (DET)                7-1
 3. Davis, Storm (BAL)              6-1
 4. Hoyt, LaMarr (CHW)              6-2
    Smithson, Mike (MIN)            6-2

STRIKEOUTS
 1. Langston, Mark (SEA)             72
 2. Stieb, Dave (TOR)                58
 3. Witt, Mike (CAL)                 55
 4. Leal, Luis (TOR)                 44
 5. Smithson, Mike (MIN)             43

SAVES
 1. Camacho, Ernie (CLE)              8
 2. Caudill, Bill (OAK)               7
    Hernandez, Willie (DET)           7


SCHEDULE
========

OAK  19-15  Young, C             (2-3, 3.96)
SEA  17-16  Moore, M             (4-2, 4.35)

KCR  20-11  Saberhagen, B        (3-1, 2.27)
CAL  15-18  Zahn, G              (3-1, 3.49)

CLE  21-14  Heaton, N            (2-2, 7.23)
TOR  14-18  Clancy, J            (2-6, 5.18)

NYY  17-15  Niekro, P            (5-2, 3.40)
BAL  14-19  Flanagan, M          (1-5, 6.44)

MIN  18-17  Butcher, J           (4-3, 2.91)
TEX  12-20  Stewart, D           (2-2, 5.26)

MIL   7-25  McClure, B           (2-2, 2.02)
BOS  18-15  Ojeda, B             (4-4, 2.68)

NL Day 43: Bucs Halt Cubs Win Streak

Mets 6, Phillies 1
New York handed 1st place Philadelphia their 2nd straight defeat behind a strong pitching effort, this time with Sid Fernandez (3-1) going the distance and taking a 6-0 shutout into the 8th inning. Von Hayes went 0-for-4 for the Phils, dropping below the .400 mark for the first time in quite a while.

Pirates 7, Cubs 4
Chicago’s 6-game winning streak ended with Rick Sutcliffe (L 4-3) continuing to struggle. Maybe it’s better to say he hasn’t performed up to expectations. Keith Moreland’s two-RBI single in the bottom of the 8th tied the game up for Chicago, but the first three Pirates batters reached base in the 9th. Each reached by walk and each ended up scoring.

Dodgers 10, Padres 0
Jerry Reuss got a spot start with Alejandro Pena currently injured. And he came through pretty nicely, I’d say, tossing a 5-hit shutout on the road to take down a quality San Diego lineup. On offense, L.A. put 7 on the board in 6 innings from Tim Lollar, with Mike Marshall turning in a career day – two homers (6th), a triple and a double. He had a shot at the cycle, coming up with two out and nobody in the 9th, but popped up to second. The veteran Reuss entered the game with an 8.82 ERA, so who saw this coming?

Giants 4, Astros 2
An oversight on who I used out of the bullpen in their last game left me without an available San Francisco pitcher rated as a starter. Off to Baseball Reference I went to see who made a start on the ’84 Giants and there were 3 guys who made 1 start each. In comes Bob Lacey to start and, even with a 4 POW, ends up taking a shutout into the 8th inning before handing it off to Greg Minton for his 4th save. Houston keeps failing to pad their lead in the West, having now lost 3 of their last 4.

Expos 2, Braves 0 (14 innings)
In one of those games that wouldn’t end, Les Expos finally pulled through behind five straight singles off of Steve Bedrosian in the top of the 14th. Jeff Reardon pitched a flawless bottom of the inning for his 4th save. Sterling starting pitching for both Bill Gullickson (10 IP, 0 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 9 SO) and Craig McMurtry (10 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 3 SO), and neither gets anything to show for it.

Reds 9, Cardinals 7 (10 innings)
Cincinnati scored 6 runs in the 10th inning and still almost lost. The attempt to use Tom Hume (6.10 ERA) to pitch the 9th with a 6-run lead didn’t work as he allowed the first five Redbirds he faced to reach base. Enter John Franco, who struck out Willie McGee with the bases loaded to close it out.

STANDINGS
=========

NL EAST                   W    L   PCT  GB    STR
Philadelphia Phillies    18   11  .621   -    L 2
Chicago Cubs             19   14  .576   1    L 1
New York Mets            15   14  .517   3    W 2
Montreal Expos           14   15  .483   4    W 1
Pittsburgh Pirates       14   19  .424   6    W 1
St. Louis Cardinals      11   18  .379   7    L 2

NL WEST                   W    L   PCT  GB    STR
Houston Astros           17   12  .586   -    L 1
Atlanta Braves           15   12  .556   1    L 1
San Diego Padres         17   16  .515   2    L 1
San Francisco Giants     15   16  .484   3    W 1
Cincinnati Reds          13   14  .481   3    W 1
Los Angeles Dodgers      14   21  .400   6    W 1

TEAM STARS
==========

     BATTER                        PITCHER                  
ATL  Dale Murphy                   Len Barker               
     .278, 5 HR, 22 RBI            3-1, 2.67               
CHC  Gary Matthews                 Steve Trout              
     .310, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 6 SB      4-1, 1.88               
CIN  Dave Concepcion               Mario Soto               
     .255, 5 SB                    4-3, 3.72, 43 K         
HOU  Phil Garner                   Nolan Ryan               
     .366, 3 HR, 18 RBI            2-1, 2.84, 32 K         
LAD  Pedro Guerrero                Rick Honeycutt           
     .338                          3-2, 2.23               
MON  Tim Raines                    Charlie Lea              
     .280, 15 SB                   4-1, 2.98, 29 K         
NYM  Mookie Wilson                 Dwight Gooden            
     .351, 3 HR, 18 RBI, 9 SB      3-2, 2.91, 55 K         
PHI  Von Hayes                     Steve Carlton            
     .395, 6 HR, 22 RBI, 13 SB     3-1, 2.43, 31 K         
PIT  Jason Thompson                John Tudor               
     .266, 9 HR, 22 RBI            5-3, 3.30, 31 K         
SDP  Tony Gwynn                    Tim Lollar               
     .367, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 14 SB     4-2, 3.83, 33 K         
SFG  Jeff Leonard                  Gary Lavelle             
     .281, 8 HR, 24 RBI            2-0, 2 Sv, 3.38         
STL  Tommy Herr                    Bruce Sutter             
     .322, 3 SB                    6 Sv, 0.33              

LEADERS
=======

BATTING AVERAGE
 1. Hayes, Von (PHI)               .395
 2. Gwynn, Tony (SDP)              .367
 3. Garner, Phil (HOU)             .366
 4. Wilson, Mookie (NYM)           .351
 5. Guerrero, Pedro (LAD)          .338
 6. Herr, Tommy (STL)              .322
 7. Davis, Chili (SFG)             .319
    Schmidt, Mike (PHI)            .319
 9. Lacy, Lee (PIT)                .317
10. Ray, Johnny (PIT)              .316

HOME RUNS
 1. Brock, Greg (LAD)                 9
    Thompson, Jason (PIT)             9
 3. Davis, Chili (SFG)                8
    Durham, Leon (CHC)                8
    Leonard, Jeff (SFG)               8

RUNS BATTED IN
 1. Leonard, Jeff (SFG)              24
 2. Durham, Leon (CHC)               23
    Schmidt, Mike (PHI)              23
 4. Hayes, Von (PHI)                 22
    McReynolds, Kevin (SDP)          22
    Moreland, Keith (CHC)            22
    Murphy, Dale (ATL)               22
    Thompson, Jason (PIT)            22

STOLEN BASES
 1. Dernier, Bob (CHC)               18
 2. Wiggins, Alan (SDP)              16
 3. Raines, Tim (MON)                15

EARNED RUN AVERAGE
 1. Denny, John (PHI)              1.56
 2. Trout, Steve (CHC)             1.88
 3. Hershiser, Orel (LAD)          2.08
 4. Honeycutt, Rick (LAD)          2.23
 5. LaPoint, Dave (STL)            2.29
 6. Price, Joe (CIN)               2.31
    Sanderson, Scott (CHC)         2.31
 8. Camp, Rick (ATL)               2.35
 9. Carlton, Steve (PHI)           2.43
10. Barker, Len (ATL)              2.67

WINS-LOSSES
 1. Tudor, John (PIT)               5-3
 2. Hudson, Charlie (PHI)           4-0
 3. Lahti, Jeff (STL)               4-1
    Lea, Charlie (MON)              4-1
    Trout, Steve (CHC)              4-1

STRIKEOUTS
 1. Sutcliffe, Rick (CHC)            69
 2. Valenzuela, Fernando (LAD)       62
 3. Gooden, Dwight (NYM)             55
 4. Soto, Mario (CIN)                43
 5. Perez, Pascual (ATL)             42

SAVES
 1. Smith, Lee (CHC)                  9
 2. Gossage, Goose (SDP)              6
    Sutter, Bruce (STL)               6


SCHEDULE
========

PHI  18-11  Carlton, S           (3-1, 2.43)
NYM  15-14  Terrell, W           (1-3, 3.77)

PIT  14-19  McWilliams, L        (2-3, 4.58)
CHC  19-14  Eckersley, D         (2-3, 3.00)

LAD  14-21  Pena, A              (2-2, 3.02)
SDP  17-16  Hawkins, A           (1-2, 4.02)

MON  14-15  Lea, C               (4-1, 2.98)
ATL  15-12  Mahler, R            (1-1, 4.26)

HOU  17-12  Knepper, B           (2-2, 3.14)
SFG  15-16  Lerch, R             (0-0, 3.90)

CIN  13-14  Russell, J           (0-2, 4.24)
STL  11-18  Cox, D               (0-3, 4.18)

AL Day 43: Tigers Win 11th Straight Behind Morris Shutout

Tigers 10, Angels 0
Jack Morris improved to 7-1 with a 2.94 ERA, tossing a shutout in California that handed the Angels their 5th straight defeat. It was Detroit’s 11th straight win as they pounded Mike Witt and Bruce Kison to the tune of 10 runs on 15 hits, including homers by Kirk Gibson (10th), Alan Trammel (4th) and Marty Castillo (1st). Gibby went 3-for-4 with a long ball, a pair of doubles, and 5 runs driven in. He’s hitting .285 with 35 RBI in 33 games so far.

Royals 15, Red Sox 5
They can’t be stopped now, can they? K.C. won for the 11th time in their last 12 games and are 19-7 since a tough start to the season. Willie Wilson had three hits including his 2nd homer, while Hal McRae, Darryl Motley, Don Slaught and Onix Concepcion each joined the three-hit parade. Marty Barrett went 4-for-4 with a double and RBI in Boston’s loss and is hitting .325 this season.

Athletics 3, Blue Jays 2
Back to the L column for Toronto, with Doyle Alexander falling to 2-5 despite an ERA just a shade over 3. Lary Sorensen, meanwhile, improved to 4-2 with a 5.32 ERA. But Wins are a great stat for pitchers, right? Rant aside, Mike Heath went 4-for-4 with a quartet of singles for Oakland and is now almost over the Mendoza line. Rickey Henderson is now 0-for-6 with a pair of walks since returning from the DL.

Orioles 8, Twins 4
Mike Boddicker didn’t have his best stuff, allowing 4 earned runs in 8-plus innings of work, but he still improved to 3-3 on the season as the Baltimore offense roughed up Frank Viola (L 3-3). The O’s put 6 on the board in the 2nd inning and cruised from there. Kent Hrbek hit his 7th homer of the year for Minnesota in the loss, coming up a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.

Yankees 5, Rangers 3
New York nearly gave this one away, taking a 5-2 lead into the 9th and Dennis Rasmussen (W 3-1) looking for the complete game. He ran out of gas, however, and Dave Righetti was called upon with 2 out and the tying run at plate. Rags picked up his 5th save. Don Mattingly went 3-for-4 with a HR (3rd) and, after a brutally slow start, is suddenly hitting .328. Lesson learned: never trust smaller sample sizes.

Indians 6, Brewers 3
Milwaukee’s losing streak “improved” to eight games, done in by a 5-run bottom of the 7th for the Tribe. Ernie Camacho came on with 2 on and 2 out to notch his AL-best 8th save, retiring Robin Yount on a fielder’s choice. Brett Butler went 3-for-4 at the top of the Cleveland order while Mel Hall hit his 4th homer of the season. The Brew Crew are now 7-24 for a woeful .226 winning percentage. After one more game against Cleveland (20-14), they face Boston (18-15) and Detroit (25-8), so good luck with that…

White Sox 7, Mariners 6
Hey, look who picked up a win! Floyd Bannister improved to 1-6, going 5-plus innings and allowing 5 runs (2 earned), which isn’t exactly good. But he’ll take it. The offense scored 6 runs in the first three innings of work, which certainly improves your chances of picking up a W.

STANDINGS
=========

AL EAST                   W    L   PCT  GB    STR
Detroit Tigers           25    8  .758   -    W11
Cleveland Indians        20   14  .588   5.5  W 2
Boston Red Sox           18   15  .545   7    L 3
New York Yankees         16   15  .516   8    W 2
Toronto Blue Jays        14   18  .438   10.  L 1
Baltimore Orioles        14   19  .424   11   W 1
Milwaukee Brewers         7   24  .226   17   L 8

AL WEST                   W    L   PCT  GB    STR
Kansas City Royals       20   11  .645   -    W 2
Oakland Athletics        19   15  .559   2.5  W 1
Minnesota Twins          18   17  .514   4    L 1
Seattle Mariners         16   16  .500   4.5  L 1
California Angels        15   18  .455   6    L 5
Chicago White Sox        13   18  .419   7    W 1
Texas Rangers            12   19  .387   8    L 2

TEAM STARS
==========

     BATTER                        PITCHER                  
BAL  Cal Ripken                    Storm Davis              
     .270, 16 RBI                  6-1, 1.27, 32 K         
BOS  Tony Armas                    Al Nipper                
     .284, 11 HR, 35 RBI           4-0, 1.84, 25 K         
CAL  Fred Lynn                     Mike Witt                
     .317, 18 RBI                  3-4, 3.58, 55 K         
CHW  Harold Baines                 LaMarr Hoyt              
     .304, 4 HR, 15 RBI            6-2, 2.15, 35 K         
CLE  Julio Franco                  Bert Blyleven            
     .319, 26 RBI, 6 SB            4-2, 1.76, 34 K         
DET  Kirk Gibson                   Jack Morris              
     .285, 10 HR, 35 RBI, 6 SB     7-1, 2.94, 38 K         
KCR  Willie Wilson                 Mark Gubicza             
     .306, 13 SB                   5-0, 1.86, 27 K         
MIL  Robin Yount                   Bob McClure              
     .266                          2-2, 2.02, 24 K         
MIN  Kent Hrbek                    Mike Smithson            
     .318, 7 HR, 24 RBI            6-2, 3.76, 43 K         
NYY  Don Mattingly                 Phil Niekro              
     .328, 23 RBI                  5-2, 3.40, 34 K         
OAK  Carney Lansford               Keith Atherton           
     .331, 6 HR, 27 RBI            4-1, 1.77               
SEA  Alvin Davis                   Jim Beattie              
     .242, 5 HR, 19 RBI            5-1, 2.56, 37 K         
TEX  Larry Parrish                 Mike Mason               
     .322, 9 HR, 27 RBI            3-0, 1.75, 25 K         
TOR  George Bell                   Luis Leal                
     .304, 6 HR, 18 RBI            4-3, 2.09, 44 K         

LEADERS
=======

BATTING AVERAGE
 1. Henderson, Rickey (OAK)        .349
 2. Trammell, Alan (DET)           .341
 3. Lansford, Carney (OAK)         .331
 4. Buckner, Bill (BOS)            .330
 5. Puckett, Kirby (MIN)           .329
 6. Mattingly, Don (NYY)           .328
 7. Tabler, Pat (CLE)              .325
 8. Johnson, Howard (DET)          .323
 9. Parrish, Larry (TEX)           .322
10. Franco, Julio (CLE)            .319

HOME RUNS
 1. Armas, Tony (BOS)                11
 2. Gibson, Kirk (DET)               10
 3. Brunansky, Tom (MIN)              9
    Easler, Mike (BOS)                9
    Parrish, Larry (TEX)              9

RUNS BATTED IN
 1. Armas, Tony (BOS)                35
    Gibson, Kirk (DET)               35
 3. Brunansky, Tom (MIN)             29
 4. Lansford, Carney (OAK)           27
    Parrish, Larry (TEX)             27

STOLEN BASES
 1. Garcia, Damaso (TOR)             16
    Henderson, Rickey (OAK)          16
 3. Pettis, Gary (CAL)               15

EARNED RUN AVERAGE
 1. Davis, Storm (BAL)             1.27
 2. Mason, Mike (TEX)              1.75
 3. Blyleven, Bert (CLE)           1.76
 4. Nipper, Al (BOS)               1.84
 5. Gubicza, Mark (KCR)            1.86
 6. McClure, Bob (MIL)             2.02
 7. Leal, Luis (TOR)               2.09
 8. Romanick, Ron (CAL)            2.11
 9. Hoyt, LaMarr (CHW)             2.15
10. Boddicker, Mike (BAL)          2.21

WINS-LOSSES
 1. Morris, Jack (DET)              7-1
    Petry, Dan (DET)                7-1
 3. Davis, Storm (BAL)              6-1
 4. Hoyt, LaMarr (CHW)              6-2
    Smithson, Mike (MIN)            6-2

STRIKEOUTS
 1. Langston, Mark (SEA)             65
 2. Stieb, Dave (TOR)                58
 3. Witt, Mike (CAL)                 55
 4. Leal, Luis (TOR)                 44
 5. Smithson, Mike (MIN)             43

SAVES
 1. Camacho, Ernie (CLE)              8
 2. Caudill, Bill (OAK)               7
    Hernandez, Willie (DET)           7


SCHEDULE
========

NYY  16-15  Bystrom, M           (1-2, 6.33)
TEX  12-19  Darwin, D            (2-4, 5.14)

SEA  16-16  Langston, M          (1-7, 4.13)
CHW  13-18  Dotson, R            (1-4, 4.66)

MIL   7-24  Sutton, D            (0-3, 5.36)
CLE  20-14  Schulze, D           (1-2, 7.42)

R.I.P.: Andy Kaufman

A couple years ago there was a scam news article circulating that Andy Kaufman had surfaced and that his death in 1984 was, in fact, a hoax all along.

And OH MY GOD how my wife and I wanted to believe it was true.

Kaufman has become quite a bit larger in death than he was in life and his legacy looms large over the current circle of comedians.

He died on May 16th, 1984, at the too-young age of 35, a victim of lung cancer.

I don’t even want to limit this blog post to just a couple of paragraphs here and there, so instead I’d encourage you to just read his Wikipedia page from start to finish.

And this is one of the more amazing Kaufman-related interviews I’ve ever heard. Must listen.

NL Day 42: Rookie Gooden Shuts Out Phils

Mets 3, Phillies 0
Dwight Gooden fired a shutout and struck out 12 Philadelphia batters as the rookie improved to 3-2 with a 2.91 ERA. Hubie Brooks had a two-run homer (6th) and Keith Hernandez a solo shot (4th) to pace New York’s offense. MVP hopeful Von Hayes was shutdown by Doc Gooden, going 0-for-5 with 3 strikeouts, dropping his batting average to .409, which is of course still pretty damn good.

Cubs 3, Pirates 0
Chicago won their 6th straight as Steve Trout (4-1) turned in another fantastic performance, firing a 2-hitter at Wrigley Field. The Cubs picked up all 3 runs in the 6th inning with a solo homer by Ryne Sandberg (4th) and follow-up two-run shot by Leon Durham (8th). The Cubs now trail the Phillies by just a single game in the East.

Astros 7, Giants 2
Houston picked up 3 homers, including an odd one by starting pitcher Mike Scott, as he took advantage of a series of rules that allow for a guy to go yard (albeit very rarely) even if he hadn’t actually done so that season. Scott improved to 3-1, coming up one out shy of the complete game while striking out 6. Although they’re in 4th place, San Francisco had moved to within 3 games of Houston in the West before the loss.

Padres 8, Dodgers 0
Eric Show returned from his second injury of the season and went on to throw a 4-hit shutout. It was a close, 2-0 game until the bottom of the 7th when the Friars sent 11 men to the plate en route to a 5-run outburst. Steve Garvey and Graig Nettles each reached base three times in San Diego’s win.

STANDINGS
=========

NL EAST                   W    L   PCT  GB    STR
Philadelphia Phillies    18   10  .643   -    L 1
Chicago Cubs             19   13  .594   1    W 6
New York Mets            14   14  .500   4    W 1
Montreal Expos           13   15  .464   5    L 2
Pittsburgh Pirates       13   19  .406   7    L 2
St. Louis Cardinals      11   17  .393   7    L 1

NL WEST                   W    L   PCT  GB    STR
Houston Astros           17   11  .607   -    W 1
Atlanta Braves           15   11  .577   1    W 1
San Diego Padres         17   15  .531   2    W 2
San Francisco Giants     14   16  .467   4    L 1
Cincinnati Reds          12   14  .462   4    L 2
Los Angeles Dodgers      13   21  .382   7    L 3

TEAM STARS
==========

     BATTER                        PITCHER                  
ATL  Dale Murphy                   Steve Bedrosian          
     .279, 5 HR, 22 RBI            2-1, 3 Sv, 0.79         
CHC  Gary Matthews                 Steve Trout              
     .313, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 6 SB      4-1, 1.88               
CIN  Dave Concepcion               Mario Soto               
     .260, 5 SB                    4-3, 3.72, 43 K         
HOU  Phil Garner                   Nolan Ryan               
     .371, 3 HR, 18 RBI            2-1, 2.84, 32 K         
LAD  Pedro Guerrero                Rick Honeycutt           
     .341, 14 RBI                  3-2, 2.23               
MON  Andre Dawson                  Charlie Lea              
     .286, 5 HR, 21 RBI            4-1, 2.98, 29 K         
NYM  Mookie Wilson                 Jesse Orosco             
     .346, 3 HR, 18 RBI, 9 SB      4-2, 4 Sv, 4.26, 25 K   
PHI  Von Hayes                     Steve Carlton            
     .409, 6 HR, 22 RBI, 13 SB     3-1, 2.43, 31 K         
PIT  Jason Thompson                John Tudor               
     .274, 9 HR, 22 RBI            5-3, 3.30, 31 K         
SDP  Tony Gwynn                    Tim Lollar               
     .370, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 14 SB     4-1, 3.00, 30 K         
SFG  Chili Davis                   Gary Lavelle             
     .302, 8 HR, 18 RBI            2-0, 2 Sv, 3.38         
STL  Tommy Herr                    Bruce Sutter             
     .309, 3 SB                    6 Sv, 0.33              

LEADERS
=======

BATTING AVERAGE
 1. Hayes, Von (PHI)               .409
 2. Garner, Phil (HOU)             .371
 3. Gwynn, Tony (SDP)              .370
 4. Wilson, Mookie (NYM)           .346
 5. Guerrero, Pedro (LAD)          .341
 6. Ray, Johnny (PIT)              .326
 7. Schmidt, Mike (PHI)            .319
 8. Washington, Claudell (ATL)     .315
 9. Ramirez, Rafael (ATL)          .314
10. Matthews, Gary (CHC)           .313

HOME RUNS
 1. Brock, Greg (LAD)                 9
    Thompson, Jason (PIT)             9
 3. Davis, Chili (SFG)                8
    Durham, Leon (CHC)                8
    Leonard, Jeff (SFG)               8

RUNS BATTED IN
 1. Durham, Leon (CHC)               23
    Leonard, Jeff (SFG)              23
    Schmidt, Mike (PHI)              23
 4. Hayes, Von (PHI)                 22
    McReynolds, Kevin (SDP)          22
    Murphy, Dale (ATL)               22
    Thompson, Jason (PIT)            22

STOLEN BASES
 1. Dernier, Bob (CHC)               18
 2. Wiggins, Alan (SDP)              16
 3. Raines, Tim (MON)                15

EARNED RUN AVERAGE
 1. Dravecky, Dave (SDP)           0.00
 2. Denny, John (PHI)              1.56
 3. Trout, Steve (CHC)             1.88
 4. Hershiser, Orel (LAD)          2.08
 5. LaPoint, Dave (STL)            2.10
 6. Honeycutt, Rick (LAD)          2.23
 7. Price, Joe (CIN)               2.31
    Sanderson, Scott (CHC)         2.31
 9. Camp, Rick (ATL)               2.35
10. Carlton, Steve (PHI)           2.43

WINS-LOSSES
 1. Tudor, John (PIT)               5-3
 2. Hudson, Charlie (PHI)           4-0
 3. Lahti, Jeff (STL)               4-1
    Lea, Charlie (MON)              4-1
    Lollar, Tim (SDP)               4-1
    Trout, Steve (CHC)              4-1

STRIKEOUTS
 1. Valenzuela, Fernando (LAD)       62
 2. Sutcliffe, Rick (CHC)            61
 3. Gooden, Dwight (NYM)             55
 4. Soto, Mario (CIN)                43
 5. Perez, Pascual (ATL)             42

SAVES
 1. Smith, Lee (CHC)                  9
 2. Gossage, Goose (SDP)              6
    Sutter, Bruce (STL)               6


SCHEDULE
========

PIT  13-19  Rhoden, R            (2-4, 3.79)
CHC  19-13  Sutcliffe, R         (4-2, 4.17)

PHI  18-10  Koosman, J           (3-2, 2.91)
NYM  14-14  Fernandez, S         (2-1, 4.57)

LAD  13-21  Reuss, J             (2-3, 8.82)
SDP  17-15  Lollar, T            (4-1, 3.00)

HOU  17-11  Niekro, J            (2-3, 4.38)
SFG  14-16  Lacey, B             (1-0, 3.74)

MON  13-15  Gullickson, B        (1-4, 5.96)
ATL  15-11  McMurtry, C          (1-3, 4.35)

CIN  12-14  Tibbs, J             (1-1, 2.25)
STL  11-17  LaPoint, D           (0-2, 2.10)