Week Six (April 24, 2001)
Slugging It Out At The Top
The Arkansas Golden Falcons, on the strength of a 4-2 week, finally caught up to the Vatican City Cardinals this week. The defending Morris Division champions finished the week with a three-game winning streak to move into a first-place tie... Still within shouting distance are the Vancouver Iron Fist and Kentucky Hillbillies, the only other Morris teams playing winning baseball.
Another classic pennant drive is already shaping up in the Hanover Division -- and it's not even May 1st! The Newark Sugar Bears and Matthew's Mighty Men of Stanhope are separated by just a half-game and each posted 4-2 records last week. All eyes will be on Stanhope Monday as the rivals face off for a three-game series... The Hoboken Cutters have rebounded strongly from their slow start, and after a four-game winning streak are back at the .500 mark and in third place.
McDonald, Maddux, Martinez: How About Jimenez?
Greg Maddux, 5-1 with a 2.95 ERA and a league-leading 64 IP and 3 complete games, is used to competition for the Ben McDonald Award from Pedro Martinez, 4-3 with a 2.37 ERA and a league-leading 79 Ks and 8 quality starts. But Maddux also could lose votes to teammate Jose Jimenez, 3-0 with 1 SV and a 1.86 ERA in 14 relief apperances this year. "He's my MVP," Maddux said. "We could split the McDonald -- I'll take the first eight pieces and he can have the ninth." Jimenez could be forcing a tough decision for manager Bud Black, as closer Armando Benitez ballooned his ERA by over a run after allowing 2 HRs in his first loss and third blown save on the season.
Arkansas's Rick Ankiel was handed his first loss of the season, leaving Stanhope's Dave Burba (4-0) as the last starter with a perfect record. But Burba hasn't had a decision in his last three starts and has reached the 7th inning in just one start this year... Carolina's Mike Sirotka, 0-6, seemed guaranteed his first win after throwing 8 shutout innings against Stanhope. But the Mudcats couldn't push across a single run either, and reliever Bob Wickman blew the game in the top of the 10th... Hoboken's Billy Koch, leading the league with 11 saves, picked up two more last week, allowing just one baserunner and 0 R in three appearances. Hot on his heels is Stanhope's Mariano Rivera, a perfect 3-for-3 in saves last week.
What a week for Vancouver DH Edgar Martinez, who has 16 hits, 6 HR, 7 R and 12 RBI in his last five games. "That's a great month," quipped Vatican City SS Alex Rodriguez, no slouch with 9 hits, 7 walks and 7 runs scored last week... Arkansas's Will Clark had just four hits last week -- two HRs and a double, good for 7 RBIs... Stanhope's Derek Jeter who went 2-for-19 with six strikeouts and dropped his batting average all the way down to .220, was bumped to the bottom of the lineup in favor of second baseman Ray Durham.
Doctors Take The Week Off
For the first time this season, no serious injuries were reported this week. Even the malaria epidemic has quieted down, though two victims are still on the DL. Barring more injuries, every team could be back at full strength this week as players return to active duty: Vatican City's Todd Hundley (4/25), Newark's Tyler Houston (4/23), Woody Williams (4/27) and Carl Everett (4/28), Carolina's Barry Zito (4/26) and Arkansas's Randy Wolf (4/26), leaving just the comatose Scott Spiezio on the shelf. Harrison's Gary Sheffield is elligible for activation and will probably be active at the time of this writing.
Catcher Jeff Reed, a veteran who played all but 11 games of his five-year career in a Newark uniform, said he wanted to play one last game for the Sugar Bears before hanging up his spikes. In Hoboken on Monday, Reed got his wish, going 2-for-5 with two runs scored against the Cutters and helping Newark to a 11-8 win. "Nobody wants to retire with 'Hillsborough Destroyers' as the last team on the back of the baseball card," Reed said after the game. "I just want to thank (Newark GM) Butch (Garretson) for this opportunity." Reed, now a bullpen coach for the Sugar Bears, finished his career with a .270 batting average, 182 runs scored, 44 HRs and 193 RBIs. Although his agent said he'll entertain bids from other teams, Reed said it will take "one hell of an offer" to coax him out of retirement.
TWIB may have Ozzie Smith, but we have the better Smith! Zane Smith, former pitcher for the San Antonio Slingers and Sacramento Seahawks, now writes this column exclusively for the Diamond Mind Baseball League. Click Here for past articles.