(Valley Cottage, August 21, 1999) BALTIMORE -- Right-handed pitcher Ricky Bones, who failed to win a game with Baltimore and appeared to be losing the zip on his fastball, was released by the Orioles on Friday night. Bones, 30, played the past two seasons with Kansas City before signing with Baltimore as a free agent in December. He had a 1.62 earned-run average through April, but he was placed on the disabled list on July 2 with right arm fatigue and never again showed the form he displayed early in the season.
"He's a quality kid, a great worker," Orioles manager Ray Miller said. "But statistically, he wasn't getting it done. The first month he looked outstanding, then his velocity went down and so did his effectiveness."
Bones was given two starts this month after Baltimore traded Juan Guzman to Cincinnati, but Bones lost at Oakland on Aug. 3 and was ineffective against Detroit on Aug. 8. He was 0-3 with 5.98 ERA and opponents were hitting .322 against him. Miller said his fastball was clocked at under 90 mph.
"I'm surprised. No one likes to be in this position, but somebody has to go," Bones said. "They were supposed to make a move, and they were looking around, and it was me. There's no question I can go somewhere else and pitch. I know I'm healthy; even last night I pitched and got two of three guys out," Bones said. "I'll stick around here a couple days, and see Baltimore from a different sight. Then in a couple days I'll go home and see my family."
(Valley Cottage, August 19, 1999) It's getting scary. The no-name Cincinnati Reds are in a flat-footed tie with the red-hot Houston Astros for the NL Central division lead, winning consistently and making a strong run at the post-season. They've been a .500 team at home, but have been playing incredible baseball on the road, and have the easiest remaining schedule of all four NL contending teams.
So who are these Reds? Let's take a closer look at their key players:
While this is a spunky team, with some good emerging players, there are seemingly too many chinks in the armor to think that they can win a wildcard berth over the Braves, Mets, or Astros. At .273, they're sixth the league in hitting and ahead of the Braves and Astros in that category (the Mets (.282) are second). They have good team speed (4th in NL in stolen bases) and good power, but are free-swingers that strike out a lot, walk not enough, and score less often than their wildcard competitors.
Because of their lower on-base percentage, over-their-heads pitching, and mediocre team defense, it will be hard for the Reds to get to the post season in 1999 -- unless, of course, they are one of those miracle Cinderella teams bent on showing up the other better-paid, star-studded contenders.
(Boston, August 6, 1999) Tony Gwynn singled up the middle in the top of the first for hit number 3,000. He is the 22nd player to reach this milestone, and did it in grand style, collecting another 3 hits tonight in the Padres' 12-10 win over the Expos. A bloated crowd of 13,540 turned out for this moment in history in Montreal, baseball's premier city. Wade Boggs remains 3 hits away. Mark McGwire hit homerun #500 and 501 last night when the Cardinals lost to the Padres. He became the 16th player to accomplish this. He now has 44 blasts in 2/3 of the '99 season, two ahead of Sammy Sosa. Same as it ever was...
(Boston, August 9, 1999) The day after Gwynn got his, Wade Boggs homered in his hometown of Tampa for hit #3000. He went 3 for 4 with a walk and 4 RBI, and kissed home plate on the clincher. There was never any doubt about his ability to hit. Boggsy could flat-out work magic with the bat. But he seemed to alienate many teammates and fans in Boston. Many of us (as meaningless as it may seem) were pulling for Gwynn to get there first. Perhaps this statement from Win Boggs, Wade's dad, might give us some insight into the Chicken Man's makeup: "This Gwynn guy snuck right up on him and 3,000. It's New York's fault. Joe Torre could have played Wade every day. Wade says it don't matter to him, but I don't need no Tony Gwynn getting there first. We worked too hard to get there."
As a fan, I sure would have liked to hear that old cliche ...'what a shame it was we lost the game'... (Tampa Bay got spanked by the Indians 15-10) but I suppose that's the nature of baseball - individual performances within a team concept. I have no doubt that Boggs was burning to win ballgames and many a game was won in Boston by this man. He captured 5 batting crowns here, stands as one of the game's finest hitters, .328 lifetime, and will enter the Hall of Fame 5 years after his retirement. Not quite Tony Gwynn, but that's nothing to be ashamed of...
(Boston, July 30, 1999) In the AL, the Yankees have reclaimed their throne as the best in baseball: 61-39 for a .610 percentage, passing the Indians (61-40, .604). Texas Rangers lead the West with a 60-41 record, (.594). The Red Sox (at .535) and Blue Jays (at .538) are the leading Wild Card contenders at present.
The Houston Astros are top dog in the NL (62-41, .602), but the Big Road Machine is hanging tough, only 2 1/2 games back. The Cards, despite McGwire's 37 McGwires are 51-51 (pitching injuries and relief pitching has them bamboozled again) and 10 games back. The Amazin' Mets have matched the Mighty Braves with a 62-42 (.596) record in the East, with the surprising (and talented) Phillies 10 games over and 5 back. The second-year D-Backs (.553) have a game and a half over the Giants, but Bonds (out 2 months) is catching fire... Same as it ever was...
The JBŠ half-assed analysis produces the following: the Colorado Rockies have a .282 team average (best in the NL) and a 6.20 (!!!) ERA (about a run or so beyond the Cubbies, next worse ERA in the NL). Word is the light air affects breaking pitches as well as fly balls. Hence, the Rockies stand at 45-57. Rightfielder Larry Walker is (no doubt) amongst the best players in the game, a Triple Crown contender and a star in any park. But I would love to see what he does in a "real" park... Then it's the D-Backs, Giants, and Phillies, all in the hunt and hitting up a storm. Houston, Arizona, Atlanta (surprise!) and the Reds all have team ERAs below 4 at this point in time.
In the NL, the Mets have proven themselves worthy - this is the finest team they've fielded in some time. Around the horn, with Olerud, Alfonzo, Ordonez, Ventura, and Piazza, well, that's about as good as it gets. Add Hall of Famer Ricky Henderson and burner Roger Cedeno, and the Mets are a Pedro Martinez away from nirvana...
Team AVG G AB R H Tb 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO Colorado .288 102 3588 564 1032 1675 184 24 137 536 305 523 Milwaukee .283 100 3479 530 983 1561 187 20 117 508 420 658 Philadelphia .279 102 3522 551 982 1563 201 28 108 525 390 665 Arizona .275 103 3626 568 997 1644 193 26 134 545 367 657 New York .275 103 3482 528 956 1510 187 11 115 508 462 622 Pittsburgh .271 101 3480 531 943 1517 199 24 109 500 375 696 San Francisco .271 102 3502 554 949 1474 195 12 102 527 447 621 Cincinnati .270 100 3454 515 934 1528 190 25 118 486 335 689 Houston .269 103 3488 521 938 1492 202 17 106 496 444 738 Atlanta .267 104 3600 536 961 1573 194 17 128 507 373 600 Chicago .267 99 3359 486 897 1480 151 24 128 465 353 696 Florida .265 103 3530 455 934 1402 174 30 78 432 298 705 St Louis .265 102 3540 512 937 1504 183 18 116 478 386 764 Los Angeles .264 102 3521 483 929 1479 165 14 119 464 365 655 Montreal .263 98 3355 411 882 1410 204 27 90 387 252 580 San Diego .258 101 3348 440 864 1354 167 10 101 418 389 733
Team SB CS SH SF HP SLG% OBP% Colorado 41 27 42 26 28 .467 .346 Milwaukee 47 22 58 37 36 .449 .362 Philadelphia 78 27 47 20 25 .444 .353 Arizona 91 20 40 34 34 .453 .344 New York 104 43 39 37 32 .434 .361 Pittsburgh 70 29 48 29 42 .436 .346 San Francisco 84 36 46 31 42 .421 .358 Cincinnati 103 35 45 29 24 .442 .337 Houston 120 50 46 32 35 .428 .354 Atlanta 83 43 42 31 32 .437 .338 Chicago 45 26 41 27 24 .441 .339 Florida 45 30 29 37 40 .397 .326 St Louis 76 35 48 25 33 .425 .340 Los Angeles 93 42 47 30 31 .420 .336 Montreal 42 34 38 15 35 .420 .320 San Diego 109 48 26 28 24 .404 .337
NL PITCHING
Team W L ERA G CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO Houston 62 41 3.90 103 10 5 32 922.1 946 425 400 81 262 738 Arizona 57 46 3.91 103 9 5 23 937.0 900 449 407 112 371 775 Atlanta 62 42 3.93 104 6 6 24 939.0 913 446 410 87 353 747 Cincinnati 58 42 3.99 100 3 9 32 899.1 804 443 399 121 412 664 San Diego 49 52 4.15 101 3 5 29 887.1 889 452 409 116 327 680 New York 61 42 4.34 103 0 3 36 919.1 887 456 443 110 385 736 Philadelphia 56 46 4.36 102 11 5 21 912.0 906 480 442 123 342 634 Pittsburgh 49 52 4.53 101 5 2 17 894.2 933 511 450 96 406 670 San Francisco 55 47 4.55 102 4 2 27 923.0 906 517 467 127 409 705 Los Angeles 45 57 4.65 102 2 3 23 918.1 928 516 474 136 366 675 Montreal 37 61 4.81 98 5 2 21 867.1 905 523 464 79 344 609 St Louis 51 51 4.87 102 2 2 27 919.0 978 545 497 103 420 623 Milwaukee 48 52 4.95 100 2 4 23 888.2 997 522 489 134 371 591 Florida 40 63 4.98 103 4 3 18 909.0 1026 545 503 103 404 612 Chicago 47 52 5.32 99 4 2 24 863.0 1006 556 510 135 312 549 Colorado 45 57 6.20 102 6 1 20 898.1 1097 668 619 157 469 645
Team HB WP BK OPP AVG Houston 27 38 0 .268 Arizona 32 28 6 .256 Atlanta 20 25 3 .248 Cincinnati 32 34 3 .236 San Diego 17 48 4 .265 New York 31 26 2 .257 Philadelphia 38 46 5 .259 Pittsburgh 35 34 6 .266 San Francisco 25 44 5 .256 Los Angeles 47 28 5 .266 Montreal 42 28 6 .274 St Louis 35 40 5 .279 Milwaukee 29 40 6 .281 Florida 40 29 9 .289 Chicago 15 37 1 .289 Colorado 37 45 2 .308
Team AVG G AB R H Tb 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO Cleveland .295 101 3540 638 1043 1676 189 24 132 603 460 674 Kansas City .289 101 3577 578 1032 1607 199 35 102 534 349 570 Baltimore .285 101 3537 550 1008 1640 183 13 141 525 410 535 Seattle .283 101 3554 591 1006 1724 178 15 170 567 380 631 Chicago .282 100 3510 490 989 1552 180 28 109 469 307 500 New York .282 100 3393 541 958 1512 175 20 113 508 428 558 Texas .282 101 3495 574 987 1591 192 14 128 545 394 595 Boston .278 101 3481 504 968 1567 215 27 110 489 355 565 Toronto .278 104 3601 571 1001 1620 219 8 128 550 392 691 Tampa Bay .276 102 3536 504 976 1502 175 21 103 477 362 652 Minnesota .274 100 3494 460 957 1394 186 19 71 425 303 597 Detroit .260 102 3466 487 900 1521 183 21 132 462 284 668 Anaheim .258 100 3406 430 879 1360 155 13 100 408 312 617 Oakland .246 101 3411 533 840 1456 182 13 136 500 458 672
Team SB CS SH SF HP SLG% OBP% Cleveland 88 34 32 45 31 .473 .376 Kansas City 74 26 27 37 37 .449 .355 Baltimore 70 27 29 36 33 .464 .361 Seattle 74 28 21 28 22 .485 .353 Chicago 69 36 23 26 22 .442 .341 New York 67 37 13 41 36 .446 .365 Texas 81 31 16 42 18 .455 .354 Boston 49 28 16 33 31 .450 .347 Toronto 92 31 19 32 60 .450 .356 Tampa Bay 53 37 21 35 36 .425 .346 Minnesota 67 36 15 32 32 .399 .335 Detroit 75 43 20 26 53 .439 .323 Anaheim 38 28 21 26 30 .399 .324 Oakland 46 22 24 27 47 .427 .341
Team W L ERA G CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO Boston 55 46 4.26 101 4 8 33 893.1 891 459 423 106 302 664 New York 61 39 4.31 100 4 7 31 885.2 864 462 424 95 342 655 Oakland 51 50 4.68 101 3 5 30 896.2 969 519 466 89 356 586 Chicago 48 52 4.73 100 5 2 23 894.0 985 524 470 124 337 583 Anaheim 43 57 4.79 100 3 4 24 879.2 913 507 468 111 370 518 Toronto 56 48 4.86 104 7 7 26 929.1 1021 545 502 110 366 636 Cleveland 61 40 4.98 101 1 2 26 906.0 936 545 501 125 408 694 Baltimore 46 55 4.99 101 11 6 17 892.0 933 535 495 125 415 604 Texas 60 41 5.08 101 2 3 35 893.2 1009 535 504 119 326 590 Tampa Bay 43 59 5.25 102 3 3 28 906.2 1031 605 529 114 445 657 Minnesota 42 58 5.26 100 4 4 23 895.1 1029 554 523 139 308 581 Detroit 42 60 5.31 102 3 3 18 901.0 974 569 532 139 382 621 Kansas City 42 59 5.56 101 4 0 18 893.2 1011 593 552 131 398 491 Seattle 48 53 5.94 101 1 3 22 892.1 1071 627 589 132 447 595
Team HB WP BK OPP AVG Boston 34 17 0 .254 New York 36 31 3 .251 Oakland 38 34 4 .283 Chicago 38 38 5 .280 Anaheim 34 38 3 .270 Toronto 32 34 3 .282 Cleveland 36 37 1 .269 Baltimore 23 36 4 .276 Texas 26 28 1 .292 Tampa Bay 51 29 5 .284 Minnesota 17 39 6 .285 Detroit 49 24 3 .277 Kansas City 42 38 4 .276 Seattle 47 46 3 .304
