News and Notes from
Around the League
2003


Asher - 12/11/2003 - On the record: this Andy Pettitte thing is going to be one of the most overrated deals of next season

Asher - 11/26/2003 - Linda Cohn said tonight on Sportscenter - "If Curt Schilling joins the Red Sox, they'll have two pitchers at the top of their rotation that (something incredible that I didn't hear). We haven't seen that since the 2003 Diamondbacks.

Clever.

Asher - 11/26/2003 -
Derrek Lee is a Cub!!
Derrek Lee is a Cub!!
Derrek Lee is a Cub!!
Derrek Lee is a Cub!!

Asher - 11/13/2003 - From the New York Times:

"Major League Baseball is expected to announce the results of its 2003 drug testing on Thursday. If more than 5 percent of the players tested positive, baseball will begin testing every player, and those who test positive will be identified and face disciplinary action. If fewer than 5 percent tested positive, the anonymous survey testing used this year will be repeated next season."

Let's see if we can guess how this one's going to turn out.

Asher - 11/12/2003 - It seems the Rangers are trying to trade A-Rod. Seems that whole, "Give all of our money to one guy" plan didn't pan out. A-Rod said he would wave his no-trade clause if he could play for a winner. Wait a minute. Didn't he sign with the Rangers because he thought that they were going to be a contending team? So, let me get this straight. Great players don't make winning teams, they sign with them. IDEAL SCENARIO: Yeah, let's trade ARod. Maybe to the Cubs for Kerry Wood, or to the D'Backs for Schilling. Rangers trade away one star, get one star in return, and about 18 million dollars with which to sign several solid players, and Rangers contend next year. It'll be great to watch the wake of winning teams A-Rod leaves behind allegedly in pursuit of a winning team to play for. First the Mariners, then the Rangers, then the next team and the next.

Asher - 11/12/2003 - I don't want Hideki Matsui to win the Rookie of the Year because, frankly, I hate the Yankees, but props to George Steinbrenner (that's right!) for pointing out to people who think Matsui shouldn't qualify for the R.O.Y. that Jackie Robinson was the first EVER Rookie of the Year, and the person for whom the award is named, and
he came over from the Negro leagues, which were at least as good as baseball in Japan.

Asher - 11/3/2003 - The Wagner Trade: this is a real "end of an era" type thing in Houston. I'll be telling my grandkids about watching Blly Wagner come out at Enron Field and shut down the Cubs without so much as a foul tip, yunno.

Asher - 10/24/2003 - A funny note: Since 1993, only four teams have made multiple World Series: Yankees, Braves, Indians, and Marlins. The Yankees, Braves, and Indians were the dominant teams in the 1990's. From 1995-1999, each team was in the playoffs every year, with New York and Atlanta also making it from 1999-present.

The Marlins, after winning it all in 1997, posted the following W-L records:
1998: 54-108
1999: 64-98
2000: 79-82
2001: 76-86
2002: 79-83
2003: 91-71
Of the players on the roster in 1997, only Luis Castillo remains. Jeff Conine, of course, was on that team, but left the following year and just returned this year. I'm sure you've heard, but that 1997 team was STACKED! Get a load of this:
Jeff Conine, Luis Castillo, Bobby Bonilla (in 1988, Bonilla was the better of two great young Pirate outfielders. The other was Barry Bonds), Edger Renteria, Moises Alou, Gary Sheffield, Cliff Floyd, Kevin Brown, Livan Hernandez, Robb Nen, Antonio Alfonseca (who was very good before he came to the Cubs), Al Leiter, and a young man from Louisiana just starting out by the name of Josh Booty. Point being, while the Braves and Yankees have been minorly tweaking for a decade, the Marlins have managed to
build two completely different World Series teams.

Asher and Keith - 9/22/2003 - Juan Pierre posted an amazing 34 K in 646 AB this season. Similar seasons:

Randall Simon '02 - 30 in 482
Jason Kendall '02 - 29 in 545
Orlando Cabrera '00 - 28 in 422
Nomar Garciaparra '99 - 39 in 532
Lance Johnson '94 - 23 in 412
Lance Johnson '95 - 31 in 607
Mark Grace '93 - 32 in 594
Brian Harper '92 - 22 in 502
Tony Gwynn '84 - 23 in 606
Tony Gwynn '85 - 33 in 622
Tony Gwynn '86 - 35 in 642
Tony Gwynn '97 - 28 in 592
Carney Lansford '89 - 25 in 551
Barry Larkin '88 - 24 in 588
Wade Boggs '88 - 34 in 584
Marty Barrett '86 - 31 in 635
Johnny Ray '85 - 24 in 594
Ozzie Smith '84 - 17 in 412
Mike Hargrove '80 - 36 in 589
Bob Bailor '78 21 in 621
Manny Sanguillen '74 27 in 596
Glenn Beckert '68 - 20 in 643
Glenn Beckert '72 - 17 in 474
Billy Goodman '53 - 11 in 514
Red Shoendienst '48 18 in 640
Red Shoendienst '54 22 in 610
Lou Boudreau '46 - 14 in 515
Lou Boudreau '47 - 10 in 538
Lou Boudreau '48 - 9 in 560
Luke Appling '42 - 23 in 543
Dixie Walker '41 - 18 in 531
Dixie Walker '45 - 16 in 607
Stan Hack '35 - 17 in 427
Stan Hack '40 - 24 in 603
Joe DiMaggio '38 - 21 in 599
Ernie Lombardi '38 - 14 in 489
Lloyd Waner '33 - 8 in 500
Lloyd Waner '36 - 5 in 414
Lloyd Waner '38 - 11 in 619
Bill Dickey '33 - 14 in 478
Bill Dickey '35 - 11 in 448
Charlie Gehringer '29 - 19 in 634
Charlie Gehringer '30 - 17 in 610
Charlie Gehringer '36 - 13 in 641
Mickey Cochrane '29 - 8 in 514
Paul Waner '27 - 14 in 623
Joe Sewell '25 - 4 in 608
Joe Sewell '26 - 6 in 578
Joe Sewell '29 - 4 in 578

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