No Fehr Day in Review | June 1998

Tuesday, June 2, 1998 | Submitted by Barry (Master Batters)

The Good:

Looks like El Presidente (Master Batters, 10R) may have one final year left in his arm before he goes back to Nicaragua to go after his presidential aspirations. There would be no blown save this time as Martinez threw a shut out to improve his record to 2-2 and ERA to 3.86 He also tied the mark of 243 wins by Juan Marichal as winningest latin pitcher in MLB history. The Big Cat (Splendid Splinters, 29A) helped the Braves easily defeat the Milwaukee Braves (err...Brewers) 9-0 in the turn back the clock game. Colorado pitching continues to improve opposing batting averages as David Delucci (Batbold, 4A) went 4-4 with 3 RBI's and Karim Garcia (Opportunistic Infections, 10B) looked good in his recall from AAA as he had a homer with a couple RBI.

The Bad:

Don't you hate when you've got one of your stud pitchers coming up against the Expos and he doesn't produce. Well last night Curt Schilling (Fighting Irish, 9C) lost his third in a row as he was outpitched by Expo rookie Carl Pavano (I'm Idaho, 10B). How do you know when things aren't going to go right some nights ... Jose Vidro (Master Batters, 3A) had two hits against Schilling.

The Ugly:

Ron Gant (Opportunistic Infections, 29D) went 0-for-5 and dropped his average to .206. The Kansas City and Anaheim game highlights were very interesting. Six batters were hit by pitches, 12 players and coaches were ejected and two separate bean brawls took place in the last three innings and included Felix Martinez sucker punching Frank Bolick. Here's my editorial: Now might be a good time for a Commission, if there was one to speak of, to institute a rule like every other professional sport that players will be suspended if they come out of the dugout or bullpen to participate in a fight.

Friday, June 4, 1998 | Submitted by Doug (Harry Careys)

The Good:

Only three games yesterday, but the Cactus League Peelers (Eric) came up with plenty of offense. Greg Vaughn (6A) continues to be the steal of the draft; he hit his 20th homer against the Astros, a two-run shot that gives him 48 RBIs. Newly acquired Dante Bichette (32A) is looking like a great pick-up for the Peelers; he went 2-for-3 with a homer to improve his average to .346. Other stars: Moises Alou (Irish, 27B) hit his 12th homer, giving him 51 RBIs and a .345 average. Lastly, Andy Ashby (O'Men, 16A) improved to 7-4 (2.30 era) with a solid win over Houston; he went 8 innings, giving up just 8 hits, 1 earned run and 4 walks.

The Bad:

Most owners look forward to having their players visit Coors Field. So it's especially screwed up when they come away with nothing but an 0-fer. Last night, Arizona's Devon White (Harrys, 12A), Travis Lee (BatBold, 19A) and Matt Williams (Splinters, 30A) each went 0-for-4 against Colorado's John Thomson (free agent). John Thomson??

The Ugly:

One week he's part of a proposed deal for Randy Johnson, the next week he's probably out for the year. Todd Hollandsworth (Shepherds, 12A) will have surgery on his left shoulder next Thursday and could be sidelined for the season. Tests revealed Hollandsworth has a tear in the cartilage around the shoulder. Don't you hate it when that happens?

Monday, June 8, 1998 | Submitted by Mike (BatBold)

The Good:

Doug Jones (Oriole, 19A) got the save, and in impressive fashion. Very un-Doug Jones like. Good luck to the Connection's pitching. Maybe they can pick up Lee Smith too. Carl Everett (Irish, 1B) impresses with a boom and 4 RBI. Will Brian Anderson (Oriole, 5A)pay dividends? Is Paul Konerko (BatBold, 18A), another HR, for real? Oh, and Rick Reed's (Idaho, 5B) shutout wasn't bad either.

The Bad:

The bottom third (Guillen, Ramirez, and Collier) of the Pirates lineup went 0-9, all BatBoldians after this week. The Milwaukee staff reared its ugly head per Monday as Jeff Juden (Shepherds, 2A) gave up a lot of runs. Maybe he should stick to wrestling. He and Rodman would make a good tag-team.

The Ugly:

Henry Rodriguez (Johnsons, 17A)was 4-up 4-down, all K's. And too bad Randy Johnson isn't over in the NL yet. He's not good with the stick. Finally, the Dodger team against a guy name Blake Stein. Maybe Ramon Martinez's (BatBold, 20D) departure from the once UN staff will be their ultimate demise.

Sunday, June 14, 1998 | Submitted by Greg (Winning O'Men)

The Good:

How soon will Bill C. start shopping rookie pitcher Carlton Loewer (7A)? If my spidey-sense is correct, you'll probably be hearing about Loewer ad-nauseum in the next few days as he spun a complete game 5-hitter in his major-league debut in the Phillies 4-2 win over the Cubs. Billy Spiers (Winning O'Men, 4A) has apparently taken it upon himself to fill the void left by O'Men teammate Jeff Kent's injury. Spiers went 4-5, drove in two runs, and hit a game-winning 2-run homer in the 10th. Spiers has steadily increased his average in recent weeks to a robust .286.

The Bad:

It's not too often that Mark McGwire (I'm Idaho, 42A) would even be close to making an appearance in this section of the column, but when he has a day like yesterday, you have to jump at the chance. McGwire earned the "Golden Sombrero" with a 0-3, 3 strikeout performance against fireballer(?) Willie Blair (Harry Careys, 10A) and the D'Backs. McGwire must continue to drink and wear the sombrero until he rolls a three on one of the dice in accordance to the rules of three-man. Not to be outdone, Jeff Shaw (Harry Careys, 9B) took a beating the likes of which haven't been seen since truck-driver Reginald Denny got his head bashed in during the L.A. riots. Shaw blew the save in the ninth, then blew a chance at a win in the 10th as the Astros lit him up for 5 earned runs, 7 hits in two innings in the Reds 6-3 loss.

The Ugly:

Gregg Zaun (Winning O'Men, 7A) pegged by many to be a solid replacement for Mike Piazza has taken to the task with the same fervor as a 100-year-old man does when crossing the street. Zaun went 0-1 yesterday lowering his batting average to .168 or in rotisserie terms...absolute 0. Hey, any of you guys interested in taking him of my hands? John Hunt just had him on his Sizzlers list and as you all know, whatever Hunt says is law.

Monday, June 15, 1998 | Submitted by Mike (BatBold)

The Good:

Jose Valentin's (Irish, 24A) homerun his first day on the job will probably earn him Student of the Week honors for the Irish. His Tuesday HR (seen on WGN) proves its no fluke. J.T. Snow (Shepherds, 15B) hit a howitzer over the leftcenter bleachers in the 11th that was straight out of the College World Series. PING. Don't need to check Sammy Sosa’s (Idaho, 36A) bat (3 HRs).

The Bad:

Brett Tomko (Peelers, 5B) (2.1 IP, 6 ER) failed to anchor a Peeler staff that again failed to pick up another starter over the weekend. Here's to Jose Lima (Peelers, 1A) impersonating Cy Young the entire way. But then I guess 5th place is an improvement for some. But don't forget what that 4th place money will get you in a Pheonix titty-bar.

The Ugly:

Who/What else? besides Brewer pitching on a Monday. OK, pretend that you're Cal Eldred (Batters, 9A) (7 IP, 5 ER, 3 HRs) for a minute. The first time, you probably get pissed. The second time, you probably tip you're hat. But before there even is a third time, you have to put that guy down, or at least on first base. Well, at least Doug Jones (Oriole, 19A) (1IP, 2H, 1L) was there for the save; NOT.

Tuesday, June 16, 1998 | Submitted by Barry (Master Batters)

The Good:

Steve Yzerman wins Stanley Cup MVP (what can I say, I'm Canadian). Al Leiter (Batbold, 5A) throws another shutout and lowers his ERA to 1.53. Omar Daal (Master Batters, 7R) throws a complete game and lowers his ERA to 2.78. Denny Neagle (Splendid Splinters, 20D) looked good in throwing a four hitter against the Marlins (even though half the pitchers in AAA could do the same against the Marlins).

The Bad:

Chan Ho Park (Fighting Irish, 12C) continues to struggle as he takes his fourth loss and increases his ERA to 4.63. Tyler Green (Batbold, 6A) gave up seven runs in five innings but still didn't have to take a loss.

The Ugly:

The Pirates give up seven runs in the bottom of the ninth to lose 8-7. Ricardo Rincon (Splendid Splinters, 1A) and Rich Loiselle (Splendid Splinters, 10B) gave up all seven runnings (only three earned) in less than an inning. Pete Schourek (Harry Careys, 10R) went three innings and gave up six runs on five hits and seven walks.

Sunday, June 21, 1998 | Submitted by Greg (Winning O'Men)

The Good:

In my opinion, there are two words in the English language that best describe excitement, and no, they have nothing to do with Pontiac...they're Sammy Sosa. There's no better feeling in the world than to watch Sosa hit 21 homeruns in 22 games for a contending Cubs team as long as you own him. That lucky owner in our league is Jeff O., who paid $36A for the privilige. Sammy hit his 30th homer Sunday, drove in two runs to give him 74 and had a total of three hits to up his average to .339. Jeff O. is also the proud owner of Mark McGwire, so no matter how bad his team finishes, he'll be able to watch these two drop bombs on a nightly basis on SportsCenter.

The Bad:

Chan Ho Park (Fighting Irish, 12C), apparently distracted by his native South Korea's elimination from the World Cup, was crushed by the Rockies for 10 earned runs, eight hits, and three walks in 5 1/3 innings as the Rockies pounded the lowly Dodgers 11-6. Jeff Juden (Stanwyk Shepherds, 2A), not at all distracted by his U.S. countrymates elimination from the Cup, was similarily rocked by the Pirates. He gave up six hits, two walks, and seven earned runs in two innings as the Pirates held on to beat the Brewers 8-7. Juden's ineffectiveness might be better pinpointed to the fact that he sucks.

The Ugly:

There were some pretty good candidates for this portion of the column, but I settled on what I thought was the perfect illustration of the Marlins dismantling....their line-up on Sunday: 1. Cangelosi, 2. Renteria, 3. Berg, 4. Zeile, 5. Floyd, 6. Lee, 7. Wehner, 8. Redmond, 9. Fontenot. I've seen more potent line-ups in a little league game. Dave Berg (free agent) as you #3 hitter? C'mon, baseball needs to do something to curtail this kind of dumping from happening. Gee, that sure sounds like a familiar problem doesn't it?

Wednesday, June 24, 1998 | Submitted by Barry (Master Batters)

The Good:

Jeff Bagwell (Cactus League Peelers, 41B) is back as he had two homers and five RBI's. Bob Wickman (Winning O'Men, 2A) seems to doing well in his new stopper role. He picked up his third save in three nights pitching a perfect 1 and 2/3 innings...I knew he was going to be worth more than $2 this year, I just can't figure out why I didn't bid higher on him. I guess this could go under bad too, but Andy Ashby (O'Men, 16A) gave up only one earned run over seven innings but couldn't quite match the Big Unit as the Padres couldn't support Ashby's pitching with some timely hits.

The Bad:

You gotta love it when your guy goes six innings, gives up seven runs and still picks up the win. Well, Carlton Loewer (Opportunistic Infections, 7R) was the recipient of some good hitting from the Phillies. Cincinnati lost their 12th game in a row. Jeff Shaw (Harry Careys, 9B) pitched a perfect eighth but it’s tough to pick up a save when you’re losing.

The Ugly:

I remember when both Jeremi Gonzalez (5B) and Kevin Tapani (1B) got knocked out of the first inning of their first starts of the year. My vote for worst start of the year has to go to Mark Petkovsek (Splendid Splinters, 10R) who got one out while giving up seven hits, a walk and seven earned runs. I don't know how much longer the Splinters can stay in the race for the money the way their pitching is going. The Splinter's Kevin Millwood (5A) also was knocked around in three innings, giving up five runs and seven hits.

Thursday, June 25, 1998 | Submitted by Doug (Harry Careys)

The Good:

In his first start for the Peelers, Carlos Perez (11B) proved he may keep the Peelers in the race all season. Perez threw a CG, giving up just 5 hits and no walks. But he pitches for Montreal, so that solo homer he allowed kept him from getting the win. The Peelers also got solid outings from Brett Tomko (5B) and Hideo Nomo (19D), who went 7 innings (4 H, 2BB, 8 Ks) but didn't get a decision in the Mets' win. And then there's Pokey Reese (I'm Idaho!, 1A): As everyone knows, you just can't stop Pokey; you can only hope to contain him. Reese busted out with a 2-for-2 night, inlcuding a 2-run HR and 2 SB. Unfortunately for Idaho, he wasn't active this week. Of course, even with last night's outburst, Reese is only hitting .196, so maybe it's best to keep him on the bench. Other candidates: Livan Hernandez's (BatBold, 5B) arm may fall off soon, but he earned another sweet CG win yesterday, and Gregg Zaun (O'Men, 7R) finally got a hit yesterday. In fact, he got two, including a 2-run homer that improved(?) his average to .168.

The Bad:

Gotta start wondering about Karim Garcia (Opportunistic Infections, 10B); he went 0-for-3 last night, lowering his average to .206. Arizona's probably going to give him plenty of time, but it's starting to look like Karim's destined to be a PCL lifer.

The Ugly:

He was inactive this week for the Splinters, and maybe it's a good thing. One Cardinals pitcher (Mark Petkovsek, 10A) ruining the Splinters ERA/WHIP is enough for one week. Last night, Manny Aybar (1A) gave up 4 ER in 6 innings, ending any speculation that he'll be a mainstay in the rotation. Who needs him, anyway, when you've got Bobby Witt? Please.

Final Edition: Wednesday, July 1, 1998 | Submitted by Barry (Master Batters)

The Good:

Derek Bell (Big Johnsons, 19A), Jeff Bagwell (Cactus League Peelers, 41B) and Moises Alou (Fighting Irish, 27B) are really starting to light it up. These guys should single handedly carry the Astros to a playoff spot. Last night they added another five hits, two homers and eight RBI. Kerry Wood (Opportunistic Infections, 10R) picked up his eight win already this season while adding another 13 K's.

The Bad:

Paul Konerko (Big Johnsons, 18A) went 0-3 with three strikeouts against that all-star level pitcher Todd Van Poppel. Hideo Nomo (Cactus League Peelers, 19D) goes three innings against the Blue Jays and gives up three runs but that wasn't the worst line of the Mets staff. Mel Rojas (Irish, 22D) didn't get an out while giving up three hits and five earned runs.

The Ugly:

The Cardinals just can't seem to get a good pitching performance these days; Kent Mercker (Big Johnsons, 1B) was tagged for five earned runs in less than two innings. The Cincinatti Reds are going with that big name prospect Mike Frank (free agent) in centerfield. Frank dazzled everyone yesterday with another 0-5 dropping his AVG to .167. They sent Nunnally (Master Batters, 10B) to the minors to make room for this guy; I guess this explains a little more about Reds management. God, please let the Reds trade Nunnally to a contender!

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the GBU over the past three months