No Fehr Day in Review | May 1998


Thursday, May 1, 1998

The Good:
Batbold (Mike) makes a rare appearance in the "good" section here thanks to Denny Neagle (20D), who threw a complete game in the Braves 6-0 win over the Giants. In lowering his ERA to 3.27, Neagle allowed just five hits and one walk. Runner-up: The Splendid Splinters (Bill E.) saw Andres Galarraga (29A) hit his 10th homer (25 RBIs) and improve his average to .323 by going 3-for-4 in support of Neagle.
The Bad:
The Marlins may want to recall Ryan Jackson (Batbold, 9A), after all. The Splendid Splinters' (Bill E.) Derrek Lee (10B) went 0-for-3 against the Padres to drop his average to .210. He's 0-for14 with eight strikous in his last eight games.
The Ugly:
I'm Idaho! could only watch as Lance Johnson (20A) was placed on the 15-day DL; this gives Brant Brown (hitting .357) even more playing time. Does anybody have Brown? I don't think he was selected in the auction or the reserve draft. (And now it looks like he just might earn that $15 that Eric paid for him last season.)

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Sunday, May 3, 1998

The Good:
The Harry Careys (Doug) moved atop the No Fehr standings for the first time this season thanks largely to the work of Dustin Hermanson (4B), who earned a complete game win in the Expos 4-1 victory over Arizona. Hermanson threw 114 pitches and allowed just one run, two hits and two walks while lowering his ERA to 2.79.
The Bad:
It may be time for the Stanwyk Shepherds (Jeff T.) to start worrying about new acquisition Brian McRae (21D), whose average dropped to .210 after going 0-for-2 in the Mets 5-2 win over the Rockies. Now hitting sixth in the order, McRae was caught stealing for the fourth time this season in the Mets win.
The Ugly:
It's not enough that Ken Caminiti (30A) may be headed to the DL. Yesterday the Winning O'Men (Greg) were forced to watch Pittsburgh starter Jose Silva (reserve, 3rd) give up five earned runs (six hits, two walks) in his only inning of work against the Dodgers. Silva has looked good at times this season, but yesterday's outing dropped him to 2-3 with a 5.28 ERA.
Monday special: Check the Denver Post to learn why Bruce Ruffin's (Cactus League, 22D) career might be over.

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Monday, May 4, 1998 | Submitted by Mike (Batbold)

The Good:
Batbold's (Mike) watched as Scott Winchester's (reserve, 10th) (6IP, 3H/BB, 0ER) second start turned into his first win; Idaho's (Jeff O.) Kerry Lightenberg (reserve, 8th), (Save, 1IP 2H/BB, 0ER) filled the Wohlers void; and, my sentimental favorite, the Master Batters' (Barry) Sterling Hitchcock (5B), got two base knocks and 2 ribs (we should count pitchers HRs, RBIs, and SBs).
The Bad:
Master Batters (Barry) Tim Spehr (1A) and Batbold's (Mike) Quilvio Veras (19A) (1st day on the job) got banged up; and if the Big Johnsons' (Tim J.) Garret Stephenson (8A) (3.1IP, 8H/BB, 6ER) and Cactus League's (Eric) Andy Larkin (reserve, 6th) (4IP, 10H/BB, 7ER) were bad then...
The Ugly:
A no-brainer, the Big Johnson's (Tim J.) Jose Mercedes (15A) (3.1IP, 14H/BB, 11ER) should have been late for this start too.

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Tuesday, May 5, 1998 | Submitted by Barry (Master Batters)

The Good:
Dave Mlicki (Stanwyk Shepherds, 5B) picked up his first win of the year while giving up only one run and six hits over nine innings. San Diego hitters Ed Giovonola (Splendid Splinters, 5R), Andy Sheets (Harry Careys, 7R) and Wally Joyner (Stanwyk Shepherds, 19A) went a combined 7 for 11 with two homers and eleven RBI's.

The Bad:
Both Robb Nen (Purple Starfish, 30A) and Ugueth Urbina (Oriole Connection, 15C) suffered blown saves yesterday. Both ended up with wins though. Ismael Valdes (Harry Careys, 12D) went 4 2/3 innings giving up four runs, seven hits and five walks in lowering his record to 2-4.

The Ugly:
For the second day in a row a Brewer starter was pounded. This time it was Paul Wagner (Oriole Connection, 7R) that gave up eleven runs. Barry Larkin (Harry Careys, 24A) went 0 for 5 to drop his average to .176.

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Wednesday, May 6, 1998 | Submitted by Bill E. (Splendid Slinters)

The Good:
A real homerun grandpa! I'm Idaho's Brent Mayne (2A) closed his eyes, swung real hard, and hit a monsterous grand slam to help S.F. post another comeback win. Elsewhere, in the category of "I told you so's,  Bill's favorite trade bait candidate Kerry Wood (10R), is making us all regret our scoffing.  He dominated the powerful Astros, striking out 20 with 0 BB and 1 hit.  Bill, hindsight is 20-20.  The poor kid couldn't even enjoy a beer afterwards.

The Bad:
Allright, who's been eating beans around here?  The Peelers' Jeff Bagwell (41B) whiffed 3 times against the 20 year old rookie Wood, lowering his average to .241.  The Fighting Irish's Moises Alou (27B) fared no better with 3 K's also.  Come on guys, we're making this kid look like Nolan Ryan!

The Ugly:
Speaking of Grandpa...Oriole Connection's Doug Jones (19A), gave up a game tying HR to the powerful-not-Tony Gwynn (26B, Opp. Inf), and vultured a win away from the Harry Carey's Scott Karl (9A). What is the deal with all these closers who have as many wins as saves?


Sunday, May 10, 1998 | Submitted by Greg (Winning O'Men)

The Good:
Andres Galarraga (Splendid Splinters, $29), trying to prove that his homerun production in past years wasn't just a Coors Field thing, hit his 13th of the year to pace the Braves to yet another victory. Galarraga led a four-homer attack as the Braves hit at least one homer for the 22nd consecutive game. Finishing the game for the Braves was Kerry Ligtenberg (I'm Idaho!, $7) who continued his impressive fill-in duty for Mark Wohlers by recording his 5th save in as many opportunities.

The Bad:
It wasn't all good for the Splendid Splinters. Mike Grace ($1) couldn't get out of the 4th inning despite his teammates supplying seven early runs. Steve Woodard (Fighting Irish, $4) couldn't take advantage of an injury to Jose Mercedes in his second start of the year, a 7-1 loss to the Astros. His line says it all: 4 1/3 IP, 9 hits, 7 ERs...not the way to go when you're trying to win a place in the rotation. In the great nickname dept: Hensley "Bam Bam" Muelens (free agent) struck out pinch-hitting for the Diamondbacks to lower his average to .091. Hey "Bam Bam," it might be time for a new nickname...how about Hensley "It's time to hang 'em up" Muelens?

The Ugly:
Kevin Orie (Batbold, $8) continues to struggle after an 0-2 outing against Orel Hershiser and the Giants. Orie reportedly blames his problems and .182 average on his owner Mike Lloyd of Batbold. His comments were something to the effect of "it's hard to get motivated when you play for an owner who obviously wants to blow up his team as well as the league." No comment from the Batbold camp, who were reportedly too busy working on a deal that would send the rest of his star players to the Yakult Swallows of the Japanese League for future considerations and possible accomodations in Japan.
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Monday, May 11, 1998 | Submitted by Mike (Batbold)

The Good:
Kerry Wood (Infections, reserve) continues to impress; With 2 frozen ropes he raised his BA to .231 and knocked in his 3rd run of the year. I know an opportunistic team that could sure use those RBIs. Wood also K'd 13.

The Bad:
The hot corner at Riverfront nearly exploded as Willie Greene (Batbold, 18A) and Chris Stynes (O'Men, 10B) combined for 3 errors. Manager McKeon said to be considering moving sure-handed Pokey Reese (Idaho, 1A) to 3rd.

The Ugly:
The Brewers seem to be modeling their play after their new-found National League brothers. Last week, Jose Mercedes (Big Johnsons, 15A) and Paul Wagner (Oriole, reserve) auditioned for the Colorado rotation, and, yesterday, the entire lineup put on a Dodger-like show, erupting for 2 hits. The Master Batters' Jose Valentin (24A) last seen boarding plane for Japan with soon-to-be teammate Tuffy Rhodes.

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Tuesday, May 12, 1998 | Submitted by Barry (Master Batters)

The Good:
Oriole Connection's Estaban Loaiza (9A) and Kevin Young (1B) were a dynamic duo last night as Loaiza shut down the Rockies allowing only four hits and 0 runs while Young pounded out his 10th homer as he went 3 for 3 with 3 RBI's.

The Bad:
This is getting to be like a broken record, but another Brewer pitcher got pounded as Paul Wagner (Oriole Connection, 7R) took a beating at the hands of the Cardinals. While we're on the subject of the Brewers, Jeremy Burnitz (Splendid Splinters, 26A) and Jose Valentin (Master Batters, 24A) went a combined 0 for 10 while leaving 8 runners stranded on base...maybe that move to the NL wasn't such a great idea.

The Ugly:
Felix Rodriguez (Opportunistic Infections, 9A) gets put in at the top of the 9th in tie ball game and proceeds to walk four hitters in less than an inning to score the winning run for the Cubs. Harry Caray has to be smiling up there today. Tough to get big stats from your Mets players when they're not playing any games -- They were rained out for the third time in four days and have been postponed a major league leading eight times this season. I'm sure we're all chomping at the bit to sign this free agent: "The Houston Astros Tuesday signed well-traveled veteran outfielder Pete Incaviglia to a minor-league contract and sent him to New Orleans of the Pacific Coast League (AAA)"

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Wednesday, May 13, 1998 | Submitted by Bill E. (Splendid Splinters)

The Good:
My vote for two of the best steals in the league continued to have great starts...Walt Weiss (10A) of the Master Batters went 3-4, raising his average to a lofty .369.  One of the NL's most under-rated players, Bill Mueller (4B) has helped the Purple Starfish stay near the top of the leaderboard.  His latest 2-3 effort extends his streak to 16 games, the longest in the Majors this year. This guy can flat out hit.

The Bad:
A late Cinco de Mayo celebration erupted after Bernard Gilkey (26D) earned a coveted Golden Sombrero against the Padres.  Trying to turn a negative into a positive, the Opportunistic Infections have asked the league if K's can be a new point category (Wood + Gilkey = 38).

The Ugly:
The Stanwyk Shepards may put Willie Blair (10A) on the trade block after watching him lose his seventh game (0-7).  Anyone interested?  Do I hear crickets?

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Thursday, May 14, 1998 | Submitted by Doug (Harry Careys)

The Good:
Say it ain't so: Vinny Castilla (Master Batters, 34A) is on pace to break Maris' HR record. Vinny Castilla?? In the Rocks' 9-7 loss to the Cubs, Castilla (.315) went 5-for-6 with his 16th HR. Oh, and he also stole his third base. Runner-up: Sometimes you just get lucky in the reserve draft. Exhibit one: The Fighting Irish saw Danny Darwin (reserve, 6th) improve to 4-2 (3.17 ERA) with 8 IP, 4 H and 1 BB against the Expos.

The Bad:
Too bad Jose Lima can't pitch every other day. The league-leading Cactus League Peelers took a hit to their pitching when Andy Larkin (reserve, 6th) allowed 8 ER in four innings against the Reds, raising his ERA to 7.32.

The Ugly:
How often do you see someone get outpitched by Mark Portugal (O'Men, reserve, 8th)? It happened last night for Hideo Nomo (Shepherds, 19D). Nomo threw eight strong innings to lower his ERA to 4.56, but he received no support from the Dodgers' anemic offense. Making just his fifth start since 1996, Portugal took a perfect game into the sixth and earned the win with his 8 IP, 2 H and one walk. Unfortunately for the O'Men, Portugal was inactive for last night's start.

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Sunday, May 17, 1998 | Submitted by Greg (Winning O'Men)

The Good:
Sean Bergman (Fighting Irish, $10A, reserve) continued his improbable season by shutting down the Braves on 3 hits over 8 innings to up his record to 4-2 and lower his ERA to 2.23. Reports circulating out of Houston say Bergman and fellow reclamation project Jose Lima (Cactus League Peelers, $1A) may have been two of the early beneficiaries of the new drug Viagra. How else can anyone explain the unlikely seasons of two journeyman pitchers than side effects from the ultra-popular drug. No word from their wives if their good performances have translated from the field to the bedroom. Well, it's been four long years, but Brian Jordan (Oriole Connection, $35D) may have finally reached his potential after a 5-5 game with his 8th homer and 4 RBI's. He is near the top in the N.L. in batting average with a gaudy .378 average. Of course, we all know he's about two weeks away from a season-ending back injury....sorry Robb, but hey, the Caps are in the conference finals.

The Bad:
It's been all bad news lately for Batbold. His one remaining consistent pitcher got banged around by the Astros on Sunday. John Smoltz ($24D) gave up 8 earned runs, 10 hits and 4 walks in 4 innings to get pinned with his first loss of the season. Sean Casey ($5A), also a Batboldian, went 0-2 Sunday lowering his average to .152. Casey, who many have compared to Tony Gwynn looks more to me like Jose Mendoza, except he's even 48 points below his career average.

The Ugly:
Even though the A.L. exists somewhere on the fringes of my reality, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the history making event that happened at Yankee Stadium yesterday. The Minnesota Twins went 27 consecutive hitters without a runner reaching first base allowing David Wells to record the 15th perfect game in major-league history. Wells, whose physique looks like it's based on a steady diet of Twinkies and Budweiser, was hoisted on his teammates shoulders following the game. No report yet as to the extent of the injuries to those teammates who appeared to collapse under the strain of all that weight.

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Monday, May 18, 1998 | Submitted by Mike (Batbold)

The Good:
The Stanwyk Shepherds (Jeff T.) Willie Blair (10A) posted his first victory, against 7 losses, of the year for the Stanwyk Shepherds/Arizona Diamondbacks. With 15 hits behind him, little Jimmy (or Wang-Dong) from Williamsport could have won that game too. Let's hope that Blair's brilliance lifts his team's spirits, but not too far; BatBold is only 5 points in the distance.

The Bad:
It's gotta be Brewer pitching. Is it just me?, Is it just Mondays?, or does the Brewer staff just suck? They make the Rockies look like Koufax and Drysdale every night out. And last night was a good one...Jeff Juden (2A-also the Shepherds) only gave up 7 runs and 11 hits/walks into the 5th inning. Who's next? Bob McClure?

The Ugly:
Don't get me wrong, I love Juden. But he's such a dick. Last night it was he and Pedro "Camacho" Astacio (Shepherds, 16B) getting into it. And it was typical baseball crap: Juden taunting him and Astacio acting like he's holding NUM-CHUCKS (sp) instead of a bat. At least if it was the kids from Williamsport, Wang-Dong would have known how to throw the stupid thing, and he and little Jimmy could have settled it like boys. Instead we're stuck with "the fat tub of goo."

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Tuesday, May 19, 1998 | Submitted by Barry (Master Batters)

The Good:
Is Mark McGwire (I'm Idaho!, 42A) a rotogod or what? Last night he hit three more out, and picked up six more RBI to put him on pace at my calculations for a 80 home run and 200 RBI season...All he needs to do is stay healthy! Jon Nunnally (Master Batters, 10B) finally may start paying dividends as he went 3 for 7 with two homers in the double header with the Mets. Jose Silva (Winning O'Men, 10R) is starting to show why he was considered a top notch pitching prospect with the Blue Jays several years ago as he picked up his fifth win in giving up only four hits and no runs over eight innings.

The Bad:
Brett Tomko (Cactus League Peelers, 5B) gave up seven or four innings and absorbed his second loss of the season. Chan Ho Park (Fighting Irish, 12C) continued his inconsistent pitching as he didn't make it through the fifth while giving up six run. Steve Finley (Harry Careys, 15D) dropped his average to .193 as he took another 0 for 4.

The Ugly:
Line of the day goes to Doug (Oriole Connection, 19A) Jones (W, 3-2; Bs, 5). Well, the old guy vultured another win while blowing his fifth save of the year, three of which have come while Cal Eldred (my pitcher) sat waiting to pick up a win. Jones has to be the best pitcher at getting two strikes in the league, his problem is getting the third strike. I don't know how much longer Jones is going to hold onto his closer role but I know from my view its too long already.

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Thursday, May 21, 1998 | Submitted by Doug (Harry Careys)

The Good:
One reason for the Purple Starfish's (Matt) hot start? Try Mark Grace (24A), who went 3-for-3 with his sixth homer against the Dodgers. Grace is hitting .450 (18-for-40) over his past 10 games and .347 overall. BatBold (Mike) received a nice win from Kirk Rueter (13D), who improved to 5-2 with 8 solid innings of one-hit ball against Milwaukee. And finally, I'm Idaho (Jeff O.) must love those Mets pitchers. For the second year in a row, he's got a steal from the Mets rotation. Last year it was Rick Reed (5B). This season it's Yoshii Masato (2A), who lowered his ERA to 2.25 by allowing just one run over 9 innings in a win over Cincy.

The Bad:
The Harry Careys' (Doug) pitching woes continue. Yesterday it was Scott Karl's (9A) turn. The lefty had a dsiastrous afternoon, giving up seven earned runs on 10 hits and seven walks. Ouch. I've got guys on the DL who aren't hurting me that much.

The Ugly:
Still to early to judge last April's Karim Garcia (10B, Infections)-Jeff Blauser (2B) deal, but take a look at it now. Garcia's back hammering in the PCL, and Blauser went 0-for-4 yesterday, dropping his average to .228. But the jury's still out on the trade; both could rebound by August.

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Sunday, May 24, 1998 | Submitted by Greg (Winning O'Men)

The Good:
Barry Bonds ($47B, Winning O'Men) and Jeff Kent ($16B, Winning O'Men) combined to go 6-14 with 2 HR's, 6 RBI's and 1 SB in the Giants marathon 17-inning 9-6 win over the Cardinals. Bonds' 9th inning 2-run homer tied the game and Kent's two-run homer gave the Giants a momentary 6-4 lead in the 12th before some guy named "Big Mac" hit a two-run shot to tie it again. Finally, in the 17th, Kent provided the Giants some insurance with an RBI single. I know it's impolite to toot your own horn, but hey, it's my column. Gregg Olson ($1A, Batbold) is quickly moving into bargain status with his 4th save yesterday in the D'Backs 8-5 win over the Dodgers. Maybe Batbold isn't so bad after all.

The Bad:
Chan Ho Park ($12C, Fighting Irish) continued his recent struggles failing to get out of the 3rd inning against the D'Backs. Although only 2 of the 5 runs were earned, Park saw his ERA jump to 5.43. Sources close to the Dodgers say Park was distraught upon learning countrywoman Soon Ri Pak didn't make the cut at this week's LPGA Corning Open. Cal Eldred ($9A, Master Batters) led the Brewers to their 5th consecutive defeat with a less than stellar 6 1/3 innings of work. He gave up 13 hits, 2 walks, and 7 earned runs before letting Mike Myers ($1A, Peelers) come in to throw gasoline on the fire by giving up a home run to Carlos Baerga.

The Ugly:
Weather forecasters in the greater Cincinnati area were finally able to determine the cause of strong winds that caused minor damage to trees in the area. The source of the strong breezes were pinpointed at Riverfront Stadium where the bats of Ellis Burks ($24D, Master Batters) and Mel Nieves ($1, Winning O'Men) were creating a strong low-pressure gradient which causes winds of this kind. The two combined to go 0-7 with 7 strikeouts in the Rockies 3-1 victory over the Reds. Although the winds subsided after the game ended, forecasters put out a high-wind advisory for mid-June when the Astros and J.R. Phillips (Free Agent) come to town. Phillips, well-known around the league for self-perpetuated winds, was recently called up from AAA to replace Jeff Bagwell. Talk about night and day.

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Tuesday, May 26, 1998 | Submitted by Barry (Master Batters)

The Good:
Butch Huskey (Big Johnsons, 18C) hit two homers and had 5 RBI and Ryan Jackson (Batbold, 9A) with a Grand Slam helped turn the Mets-Florida game into a slugfest. Javy Lopez (20D) also had a slam for his newly acquired owner: The Purple Starfish. Ruben Rivera (Big Johnsons, 10R) is doing his best to turn Tony Gwynn (Opportunistic Infections, 26B) into another Wally Pip as he hit his first homer and had 3 RBI. Only in Ruben's dreams!

The Bad:
Mark Grudzielanek (Infections, 11D) continued his downslide as he went 0-5 with 5 LOB. Master Batters were treated to a nice performance by their new acquisition Francisco Cordova (6C) only to see it blown away again by Rich Loiselle (Splendid Splinters, 10B) in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The Ugly:
Marc Valdes (Oriole Connection, 1A) had nearly as many base runners in one inning (5 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks) as Denny Neagle (Splendid Splinters, 20D) did over seven innings. Who can explain the current misfortune of Ismael Valdes (Harry Careys, 12D); he was crushed for another 9 earned runs while not getting out of the fifth inning ...guess who's looking for pitching help.

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Wednesday, May 27, 1998 | Submitted by Bill E. (Splendid Splinters)

The Good:
Darren Dreifort (Master Batters 10C) apparently has found his pacifier in Charles Johnson (Harry Careys 6B). The Dodger right hander is 3-0 since being re-united with his former Team USA battery mate. The "disgruntled" Rico Brogna (Opportunistic Infections 18D), has given Mr. Counts another reason to smile...a 3 for 5, 5 RBI, 1 HR performance against the Cubbies. Another first baseman, John Olerud (Opportunistic Infections 15C), is making his statement to the N.Y. management. Quietly, he has raised his average to .364, second in the league. I have this feeling Todd Hundley's (O'Men, 21D) days are numbered in N.Y.

The Bad:
Welcome to the big leagues, punk. Aramis Ramirez (Batbold, Reserve) was given a warm welcome in Milwaukee. He earned a hat trick in his very first opportunity! Great job, kid...now get your hat, get your mitt, and SIT DOWN!

The Ugly:
Doug Jones (Oriole Connection 19A) continued his habit of blown saves yesterday against Pittsburgh. He has now blown 6 saves in 17 opportunities this year. How do you spell relief? Jones spells it T-i-g-h-t-B-u-n-g.

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Thursday, May 28, 1998 | Submitted by Doug (Harry Careys)

The Good:
Not a bad week for the Opportunistic Infections (Bill C.), which had good numbers from guys like Gilkey, Brogna and Gruds. Last night the Infections' Bobby Abreu (10B) hit two HRs off I'm Idaho's Mark Clark (9C); he's now hitting .314 with 21 RBIs. Runner-up: The Big Johnsons (Tim J.) Keith Lockhart (6A) went 4-for-5 against Montreal to up his average to .310.

The Bad:
The Cactus League Peelers were hoping Dante Bichette (32A)
would add some run production to their lineup, but right now Dante's Inferno is running cool. Last night he went o-for-4 with 6 LOB. But he's still hitting .341. Also, the Big Johnsons' Mark Wohlers (30A) gave up 4 ER in his return to the closer's role, walking two and giving up three hits in less than an inning of work.

The Ugly:
Label this one under extremely ugly. Gregg Olson (Batbold, 1A) earned his 6th save last night, but not before he walked six batters in 1-and-one-third innings, including an intentional walk to Barry Bonds (O'Men, 47B) with the bases loaded.

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Sunday, May 31, 1998 | Submitted by Greg (Winning O'Men)

The Good:
You know you're in a tough division when your team wins 9 straight games to go 11 games over .500 and you're still 5 games back. Well, you can thank Ted Turner Fonda and his deep pockets for that little problem. Still, the Mets are a team with a lot of heart with guys like Edgardo Alfonso (Big Johnsons, $9B) who led the Mets to an 8-6 win over the Phillies. Alfonso went 4-5 with 4 RBI's and saw his average increase to .287. Bret "I CAN actually hit" Boone (Splendid Splinters, $14B) did his best Mark McGwire imitation by smacking 2 big flies and driving in 4 runs in the Reds come-from-behind 6-5 win over the Dodgers. Word on how that game ended is forthcoming, as painful as that might be for yours truly.

The Bad:
Sean Lowe (free agent), trying to make a good impression on the Cardinals in his first major-league start, made much better impressions on the sweet-spots of the Padres bats. He went 1 2/3 innings and gave up 6 hits, 5 earned runs and 2 walks. Looks like old Sean may need to book himself a one-way ticket to Louisville before to long. As for that Dodger game...gulp!...Scott Radinsky (Winning O'Men, $10B) blew his second consecutive save, by giving up 2 runs, 2 hits, and a walk in an ugly 9th inning. Who does he think he is?.....Rich Loiselle. Oh, but all is not lost for the Winning O'Men as you'll read below.

The Ugly:
87 year-old Doug Jones (Oriole Connection, $19A) may have finally hit the wall after a long and fruitful 64-year career. Jones and his 37 mph fastball have finally become hittable and it looks like Phil Garner is going to go with a bullpen by committee. The first beneficiary of that system is Bob Wickman (Winning O'Men, $2A), who picked up his 2nd save of the season in pitching a scoreless ninth inning lowering his ERA to 1.85. Wickman waxed philosophic after the game when discussing his mentor Jones, "I guess it was about time for old Jonesey to go when an ambulance had to deliver him and his IV hook-ups to the mound whenever he was called upon to pitch."

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