(Lunenburg, September 28, 1999) Well - it's quite a September this year. Things keep changing, and with as little as a half dozen games left, there are still some pennant races. Last year had its excitement when Sosa and McGwire broke the record, and the Yanks played what may be the best season of all times. This year, the craziness has kept us off balance - often yielding the unexpected. Some examples:

1. The Reds come out of nowhere, and still have a shot at the title, or certainly wild card.

2. The Red Sox also came out of nowhere - expected to fizzle without Mo - and they pour it on in September, causing more than a few gray hairs for Yankee fans.

3. The A's came out of nowhere, making a legit run at the wild card - hanging tough until the end.

4. Oh and the Diamondbacks - they are not only the real thing, but may rattle some more established cages in the playoffs. A record for an expansion team this young!

5. Of course the Yanks - and its not a surprise that they will take the East - nor is it a surprise that they cannot compare to last year. But the way the season has gone has been plain weird - losing streaks that almost make you give up hope, and then they win a bunch, and come out with a decent record. They lose to Tampa, but have 4 guys with more than 100 RBI's. Go figure.

6. Oh, and the Mets. Not a surprise that they competed, but they really looked good for awhile. I am sad about their collapse, as they have come so close. I would have loved to see a subway series, but it is doubtful now. In August, they looked like they would knock out the Braves though.

7. It is no surprise that the Braves are coming through, although they had to overcome adversity. They have been the best team in baseball, with the exception of last year's Yanks, for many years now. What a dynasty! However, they have a tendency to lose in the post-season.

So........Hold on to your seats - if the playoffs are anything like this season, you never know what to expect. I, for one, am hoping that the Yanks are on one of their win streaks for a longer time.

(Boston, September 26, 1999) By golly, they've done it again. And they've done it in style this time around. The blossoming Mets have stalked them all year, they've been plagued by injuries (and key injuries), and Glavine and Maddux had lousy first halves. But despite all, they done good. They done real good. They will win 100+ games for the 4th time this decade. A tip of the cap is in order... well, let's not get carried away. They sent the second place Mets into a spiral last week, a death-spiral, an ugly spiral, left them spiraling spiralously downwards into a swirling cesspool into (almost certain) cessation of a successful seekage of a mere Wildcard slot. Yep.

In a related story, the Mets lost their 6th straight and the Reds won, so the Reds take the driver's seat in the Wildcard chase. Now the Mets must come up big... And you must continue to depend on me to state the obvious... --JB

... for the record ...

Year   W   L   Pct.  Place 

1990  65  97  .401    6th 
1991  94  68  .580    1st 
1992  98  64  .605    1st 
1993 104  58  .642    1st 
1994  68  46  .596    2nd 
1995  90  54  .625    1st
1996  96  66  .593    1st 
1997 101  61  .623    1st 
1998 106  56  .654    1st 
1999 103  59  .635    1st 

(Nyack, September 24, 1999) What was that Johnny was saying about a race for the N.L. East title? If the Mutts don't take at least 2 of 3 from the Phillies this weekend they will probably lose the wild card. They're certainly not going to sweep the Braves next week. They got pecaned this week.

As for the Sox, they gave it a good run but will have to settle for the wild card. I believe they and the Yanks will win the 1st round and then the real fun will begin. Yanks in six. Pedro will split his 2 starts and the Yanks will take care of business elsewhere.

Coming soon my startling plan for next years Yanks.

(Boston, September 24, 1999) Yeah, there was only rumour of a race - the Braves own the division, and have proved it in no uncertain terms. The Yankees own theirs as well, and in all honesty, these are the two finest teams in baseball. (I'm really going out on a limb here...) The Yanks have bitch-slapped Cleveland and Texas this year, but the Red Sox are 8-4 against the Bombers, so they could be the bump in the road the Yankees want to avoid. Then again, if history holds... The Yankees are the only team in the league ( maybe Baltimore next year) with a real good starting staff. Underachieving, maybe, but these guys are good.

The Red Sox need Pedro to win EVERY time out and Saberhagen to give them 5 or 6 pristine innings (which he's done this year, at least when he wasn't on the DL) to be a threat. After that it's a crapshoot and a great bullpen. These Sox have exceeded all expectations - I figgered 'em to be (at best) a .500 club. No one expected them to do shit without Mo Vaughn. The Sox were also 8-4 against Cleveland, who they may face in the first round. And who have a habit of slam-dunking them, so it's a tough road.

The Mets, well, they've been humbled. Had they heeded the timeless advice of Yogi Berra ("Don't take no wooden nickels... or Georgia quarters") they might have had a... never mind. Yogi probably never said anything like that anyway... Hats off to Chipper Jones, a ballplayer of the highest order, but it's really starting pitching that the Mets don't have. Throw a Pedro Martinez or a Randy Johnson (or Hershiser in his prime) on that staff and they'd be RIGHT there, but as it is now, their rotation seems to be a bunch of 3-4-5 guys. Good bullpen, though, and the best attack and "D" the Mets have had in years... All three division winners in the NL are impressive, and all three have a foundation of great starting pitching. Gonna be a dogfight for New York's finest.

Bitch slapped. That about sums it up. It will be fun if the Yanks and Sox end up dueling for the AL title. This rivalry has been too quiet in recent years. Baseball is better when these 2 teams are actively hating each other. -- Mikey Stew

I am now a Yankee die hard. I have given up on the sorry ass Mets. -- El Whoppo

Now is not the time to the give up on the Mets. Now is the time we find out if they have the balls to be champions. If they close out the season like last year though, I wouldn't blame you. -- JB

I couldn't believe it when I read it. El Whoppo has come to his senses and turned his back on the Mutts. Welcome aboard Mikey. We knew you had it in you. Go Yanks!!!!! -- Mikey Stew

El Whoppo WILL NOT leave the fold - even if I have to climb the Mighty Mount Erebus to convince him! The Mets will now have to show their mettle, under harsh adversity. That's what it's all about. With due respect to the Yanks, it's easy to root for Microsoft, but when you have to scratch and claw for everything, it's ultimately more rewarding. Ya gotta believe! -- JB

Yeah! Like the Mets are hurting for cash. If the Yanks are Microsoft, then the Mets are Chrysler. El Whoppo has simply come to his senses and realizes that even if they do make the playoffs, the Mets are a poorly run 2nd class organization. All hail the Director for life. He has wised up. --Mikey Stew

Hi everyone, The Whoppo family has NOT turned their backs on the METS. Stewart is starting rumors. He was at our house and sent E-mails from our house saying those bad things. Don't listen to that man behind the curtain. --El Whoppo

So El Whoppo has had another change of heart and has decided to blame his flip flop on me. He must be getting senile in his old age. I would never do something like that. --Mikey Stew

I know Stew to be an honest upstanding American, a man of integrity... oh... he's a Yankee fan? Well toss all THAT out the window! -- JB

(Lunenburg, September 26, 1999) Well - I was away for the weekend, and as I suspected, I got a lot of baseball e-mail. I also came back to the Yanks being 5 games up on the Sox. On Friday I was still worried about a fight for the division, but that is pretty much over. Not that the Bosox do not deserve credit - they made a run with a lot less than most others. But the Yanks are the better team despite that sweep a couple of weeks ago.

First - I need to respond to that Microsoft thing. I hear way too much about the payroll, etc. as a reason that great teams do not deserve credit. First, the Mets have a big payroll as well, and Piazza, Olerud, Cedeno, Ventura, ................etc, are not exactly what I would call "scratching their way to the finish". The Sox might be described that way, but not the Mets - they have spent some money over the past year.

And they have something to show for it - they are an up and coming team. I certainly hope they make it into the playoffs. At present they are choking like last year, and that is a shame. Ironic how a real underdog with a small payroll, the Reds, may knock them out. I am rooting for them, though.

The Braves are a dynasty. While they have faltered in the post season, they are incredible, and really overcame adversity this year int he form of injuries. They are the toughest competition out there. Thoughts on the other teams are:

• Diamondbacks: Sort of the Sox of the west, but with a bit more offense, (I think). They are cool, and Randy Johnson was a half step behind Martinez, although with bad luck.
• Houston: Good starting staff, and offense in Bagwell, etc. Watch them, as pitching gains more importance in a short series.
• Texas: Lots of pop, but not a lot of pitching. More relief than last year with Zimmerman, but still a few dollars short, although exciting. Have the next best thing to Bench or Fisk in Ivan Rodriguez!
• Oakland: Probably will lose out to the Sox. Too bad - good pitching and a lot of homers. Another team "scratching and clawing".
• Cleveland: Best offense over the past few years. Enough pop so that they overcome the lack of pitching. Also, good up the middle defense helps. Despite recent faltering, they may well be the team to beat.

The Microsoft reference had nothing to do with payroll - jeezus, you Yankee fans are paranoid! All of the top teams (the Reds are this years exception) are the teams with the big payrolls. 'Rooting for Microsoft' is a reference to rooting for the predictable winner, like the masses that caught onto the Chicago Bulls in the 90s. And the inference was that these same Yankee fans (as we've seen in the past) will not buy tickets when the team is going bad. I'm not (necessarily) talking about you guys, but it's easy to jump on a band wagon and be "a winner". It takes more heart to be, for instance, a Cubs fan, and these folks are in there through thick and thin. That being said, I think the Yankees (despite Big Stein) have become the class organization they were until the mid-sixties. There are 6 or 8 teams that can afford to compete regularly in today's environment, and the Yanks have spent wisely (unlike the Dodgers and O's).

According to Doc, Met fans are similar to Yankee fans - when things are not going well, they jump ship (don't attend games). The point being this: I can root for Bill Gates to make a lotta money, and at the end of the year, I can say, "See, I told ya!"

Weasel, I like your take on the other contenders. However, I think the D'Backs are more than that. They are the 'sleeping giant'. They are now a very well balanced team with superior starting pitching and one of the NL's best attacks. And the whitest team in baseball...

(Boston, September 8, 1999) Whilst flipping through the Sunday Globe, I noticed quite the range of pitching talent (a word to be used loosely in the 1990's). Pedro and the Big Unit (and maybe Mike Hampton of the Astros) are having Cy Young quality years. Maddux really has turned his season around and could very well win 20. Mikey Stew was right: Clemens really is having an awful season - his worst ever. Couldn't have happened at a better time, and with a better team, far as I can see... And his year has apparently been cloned by teammates Irabu and Pettitte, Boomer Wells, and NL Cy '98 Tom Glavine. At least their respective clubs provided them with some wins. What the heck happened to Jeff Fassero??? At least Kile has the excuse of playing half his games at Coors Light Stadium.

the Good...       W- L    ERA    BA   G GS CG GF SH SV   IP    H   R  ER HR  BB  SO

P. Martinez      20- 4   2.26  .214  26 25  3  1  0  0 179.1 142  51  45  8  34 257
R. Johnson       14- 9   2.58  .210  31 31 10  0  2  0 240.2 184  77  69 26  63 328
K. Millwood      15- 7   2.91  .202  28 28  1  0  0  0 192.0 141  71  62 20  53 169
M. Hampton       18- 3   2.92  .241  28 28  3  0  2  0 200.2 172  73  65 11  81 143
G. Maddux        18- 6   3.36  .287  29 29  3  0  0  0 195.1 222  82  73 14  30 119

the Bad...

T. Glavine       11-10   4.30  .286  30 30  2  0  0  0 203.0 224 105  97 16  76 116
H. Irabu         10- 5   4.59  .265  27 23  2  2  1  0 151.0 159  84  77 20  36 114
A. Pettitte      12-10   4.66  .286  26 26  0  0  0  0 160.1 178  88  83 15  71 107
R. Clemens       12- 8   4.69  .272  26 26  1  0  1  0 161.1 167  88  84 19  74 135
D. Wells         13-10   5.19  .272  29 29  5  0  1  0 190.2 204 118 110 28  51 149

and the Ugly...

Trachsel          6-16   5.61  .273  29 29  3  0  0  0 176.1 187 114 110 27  56 124
D. Kile           8-13   6.33  .299  30 30  1  0  0  0 180.2 214 137 127 31 102 105
J. Fassero        5-14   7.46  .326  33 25  0  1  0  0 146.0 201 130 121 34  75 105