SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2005
THE TIMES-PICAYUNE
C-17
SPORTS: WEB EDITION
AP PHOTO
Boston designated hitter David Ortiz, right, leads the major leagues with 140 RBIs, and leads the American League with 46 home runs. He is 17th in the league in batting average at .298, and has two walk-off homers this season.
AP PHOTO
Houston Astros’ relief pitcher Mike Burns, left, is congratulated by Lance Berkman after winning the game against the Chicago Cubs on Saturday. The Astros beat the Cubs 8-3.
Who’s the AL MVP? Debate heating up
Red Sox’s Ortiz, Yankees’ A-Rod having big years; Pujols, Jones battling in NL
From staff, wire reports
Astros’ home park spared by storm
Red Sox tie Yanks for lead in AL East
From staff, wire reports
The Houston Astros will have their home field for the playoff run, after all. The Astros, who at 51-26 have the best home record in the National League, will be able to finish the regular season at Minute Maid Park as scheduled, general manager Tim Purpura said Saturday. Houston was largely spared by Hurricane Rita, and Purpura said the ballpark wasn’t damaged in the storm. “It really came through well,” Purpura said before the Astros played the Chicago Cubs. “We never even lost power and all of our systems are working. So we really came through better than we could have expected.” The Astros lead the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League wild-card race by 1 1⁄2 games after beating the Chicago Cubs 8-3 Saturday. They travel to St. Louis for games Tuesday and Wednesday, and are scheduled to host the Cubs for a four-game series to end the regular season. They also expect to have ace starter Roger Clemens back this week. Clemens did not pitch Saturday because of a hamstring injury. The Phillies finish the weekend at Cincinnati, play Monday through Wednesday at home against the New York Mets, and finish with a three-game series at the Washington Nationals. T h e F l o r i d a M a r l i n s , 4 1⁄ 2 games behind the Astros, finish the weekend at Atlanta, play host to the Nationals on Monday through Wednesday and host the NL-East leading Braves next weekend. In other races: NL EAST: The Braves lead the Phillies by four games, and play the next five at home — this weekend against Florida, and Monday through Wednesday against the Colorado Rockies — before finishing with three at Florida. Atlanta is 50-26 at home this season.
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Los Angeles’ Bartolo Colon is the league’s only 20-game winner, and has the league’s fourth-best ERA at 3.34. The Angels lead the Oakland Athletics by 31⁄2 games in the American League West.
NL CENTRAL: At 96-59, the Cardinals have clinched the best record in the National League and home-field advantage throughout the National League playoffs. N L W E S T: T h e S a n D i e g o Padres lead the San Francisco Giants by five games, but are only one game better than .500. The teams meet in a four-game series in San Diego beginning Monday. The Giants are 7-1 since Barry Bonds returned to the lineup; Bonds has 707 career home runs, seven shy of Babe Ruth for second all-time. AL EAST: With a 4-3 victory Saturday at Baltimore, the Boston Red Sox pulled into a tie with the New York Yankees for the division lead. But New York, which lost 7-4 to Toronto on Saturday, has won 12 of the past 15. The Yankees and Red Sox meet each other at Fenway Park in the final three games of the season. The Yankees play four games at Baltimore next week, and Boston plays a four-game series at home vs. Toronto. And the Red Sox may be shorthanded; closer Keith Foulke was sent to a specialist in Arizona on Friday for further examination of his injured knees. Though manager Terry Francona would not declare Foulke out for the year, he did say “signs are pointing to that he may not pitch again.” AL CENTRAL: The Chicago White Sox, who once held a 15game lead, now lead the Cleveland Indians by a game, but the Indians have won 16 of the past 18. The Indians may have the schedule advantage; they host Tampa Bay on Tuesday through Thursday, and host the White Sox for the final three games. The White Sox play four games at Detroit next week. AL WEST: The Los Angeles Angels have won seven consecutive games and lead the Oakland Athletics by 31⁄2 games. The A’s defeated the Texas Rangers 7-6 Saturday. The Angels and A’s square off in a four-game series Monday through Thursday in Oakland. AL WILD CARD: The Indians lead the Red Sox and Yankees by 11⁄2 games in the wild-card race.
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Baseball’s postseason awards are always cause for debate, and this season is no different. At issue this season: Can a designated hitter be picked as a league MVP? What about a batting champ with 44 homers, but no impact in the playoff race? Can a starting pitcher who finishes third on his team in wins be awarded a Cy Young? What about a reliever? The American League MVP award has the added dimension of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. Boston designated hitter David Ortiz leads the major leagues with 140 RBIs, and leads the American League with 46 home runs. He is 17th in the league in batting average at .298, and has a flair for the dramatic walk-off homer (two this season). But New York third baseman Alex Rodriguez also has a strong argument for the award. On Saturday he tied Ortiz in homers, has 124 RBIs, is fourth in the league in batting at .317 ñ and he also plays in the field. The fact that Ortiz doesn’t play defense should not be a deterrent, said Boston teammate David Wells. “David (Ortiz) right now is in a league all by himself,’’ Wells told the Boston Herald on Thursday. “There’s no (expletive) question what he means to this team. (The MVP) is David Ortiz. The guy’s as humble as (expletive). . . . if we’re going to talk about defense, let’s talk about (clubhouse contributions), too. He’s not going to say that he’s working out before everyone else wakes up in the morning. If they’re going to do that and personality comes into play, he’s got it unanimously.’’ The AL Cy Young Award may be easier to pick. Anaheim’s Bartolo Colon is the league’s only 20-game winner, and has the league’s fourth-best ERA at 3.34. Yankees closer Mariano Rivera has a 1.32 ERA and 41 saves in 45 opportunities. But since 1974, only nine relievers have won Cy Young Awards. Their top competition may be Minnesota’s Johan Santana, second in ERA at 2.98 but six wins behind Colon, or Chicago’s Mark Buehrle, who has 15 wins and a slightly better ERA than
AP PHOTO
St. Louis first baseman Albert Pujols is batting .335, trailing only the Chicago Cubs’ Derrek Lee (.341) in the batting race. He has hit 39 homers and 109 RBIs this season.
Colon at 3.24. But the Angels are close to clinching the AL West title, and the White Sox are locked in a battle with the Indians in the Central and may not make the playoffs. The Twins have not been a factor. Angels manager Mike Scioscia is speaking up for his ace. “He’s a special pitcher,’’ Scioscia said of Colon. “If you look at what he’s accomplished from the middle of last year ‘til now, I don’t think there’s a pitcher who can match what he’s done.’’ The NL MVP award is a tossup. Atlanta Braves center fielder Andruw Jones leads in homers with 50 and leads the league with 126 RBIs. He’s won seven consecutive gold gloves in center field ñ but he’s hitting .267. St. Louis first baseman Albert Pujols may be a more complete choice. At .335, he trails only Chicago’s Derrek Lee (.341) in the batting race. His power numbers don’t match Jones, but they are impressive ñ 39 homers and 109 RBIs. And the Cardinals haven’t been challenged; they clinched the division title with two weeks to play, and have the NL best record with more than ’s a week remaining. Chicago’s Lee leads the NL in hitting and has 44 homers, but the Cubs have not threatened this season, making Jones and Pujols more likely choices. Cardinals shortstop David Eckstein spoke up for Pujols this week with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “When you have a guy like (Pujols) who every single night comes out and . . . has the average he has, the homers he has, the RBIs he has . . . and plays defense the way he plays defense, that’s (the MVP),” Eckstein said. “It’s not even a question.” Houston’s Roger Clemens, who won his record seventh Cy Young Award last season, would seem like a logical choice for his eighth this season. He leads the majors with a 1.89 ERA, the best mark since Pedro Martinez’s 1.74 mark in 2000. But he has only 12 victories; teammate Roy Oswalt has 18, and Andy Pettitte has 17. If Clemens doesn’t win the award, Florida’s Dontrelle Willis would be a popular choice. The 2003 NL Rookie of the Year is second in the majors with a 2.44 ERA, and leads the majors with 22 wins. St. Louis’ Chris Carpenter has also had an outstanding season, with 21 wins and a 2.71 ERA. But after a 21-4 start, Carpenter is 0-1 with a 9.77 ERA in his past three starts. “I don’t care about the award, if I come to the end of the season and I win it, I win it,” Carpenter told SI.com. “I just have to get myself ready for the playoffs and accomplish the ultimate goal of a championship.” Willis isn’t campaigning for the honor. “If I did have a vote, I wouldn’t vote for myself,” Willis told SI.com this week. “I never thought I’d be mentioned in the same sentence. Chris Carpenter, Roger Clemens . . . Dontrelle Willis? It kind of sounds like a bad joke. “Clemens is bar none the best pitcher in the history of baseball. He’s definitely changed the game and is a face of our game. But I’d have to vote for Carpenter. He hasn’t given up a homer in like a year and a half. No offense, Roger, I love you, but you can give up one.”
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