[Highlander]

Weekly Report

Current Record- 13-4

Place in the Standings- 1st Place, 1 game ahead of Toronto

Actual Record of the 1998 Yankees- 9-5

A 6-0 week and an overall 11 game winning streak! Definitely a surprise to sweep the Angels with how hot they had been and the Tigers didn’t put up much of a fight. Let’s see how long this streak can last!

Highlights for the Yankees this week include…..

- Jon Lieber got his first win as a Yankee, as he pitched 8.1 innings and gave up just 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks with 9 Ks.

- The 3rd game of the Angels series was a 10-4 win that had a few great games for Yankee players. Derek Jeter went 2-4 with a walk, a HR and 4 RBI. Jorge Posada went 3-4 with 2 HR, 3 R and 4 RBI. Ramiro Mendoza threw 3 shutout innings in relief of El Duque who was still a little tired from pitching on both days of that split game against the A’s last week.

- The last game of the week against the Tigers was a bittersweet one. It was a 12-3 victory with strong games from Derek Jeter (3 RBI), Chili Davis (2-4, 1 walk, 1 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI) and Scott Brosius (3-5, 1 HR, 3 RBI). David Wells picked up his 4th win of the season with 7 strong innings, but he was forced to exit the game due to an issue with his elbow. His diagnosis is still pending, but elbow issues are rarely minor things and Wells has been our best pitcher this season. All of our fingers are definitely crossed!

- Despite all our wins and pretty high run totals, the Toronto Blue Jays have actually scored more runs that the Yankees to this point in the season. They have 120 to our 115. We have allowed 8 runs less, however.

- On the League Leaders lists, Bernie Williams has moved to 2nd in WAR at 1.2. David Wells is still 2nd in ERA at 1.93 and now leads the league in wins with 4…..hopefully that elbow is going to be OK! Mariano Rivera is tied for first in saves with Mike Timlin of Seattle at 6.

Down on the Farm

The Clippers in AAA have stayed almost as hot as the parent club, as they now stand at 8-3. Offense is definitely their strength…..Homer Bush is hitting .375 with 6 steals, Shane Spencer is at .343 with 4 HR and 10 RBI, Clay Bellinger is hitting .368 with 4 steals, Mike Lowell has 3 HR and 10 RBI, and Mike Figga leads the team with 12 RBI. Pitching-wise, Esteban Loaiza is up to 3 wins with a 1.64 ERA, so if Wells has to go on the DL, he will hopefully be able to step in.

The Norwich Navigators got their season started in AA and sit at 3-3. Gabby Martinez, who can play most anywhere, is off to a sizzling start. He is hitting .542 with 11 steals in the 1st 6 games so far! Not surprisingly, he was named Player of the Week in their league.

The Tampa Yankees are also 3-3. They had a great performance by 2B Eric Knowles, who hit for the cycle in the very first game of the season. He ended up 5-7 with 5 RBI.

The Greensboro Bats are currently the polar opposite of the Yankees, as they have started out 0-6.


Around the League

Carlos Delgado of the Blue Jays was the AL Player of the Week, hitting .458 with 3 HR and 7 RBI.

Todd Helton of the Rockies was the NL Player of the Week. He hit .480 on the week with 4 HR and 8 RBI and 9 runs scored.

- Los Angeles Dodgers 2B Eric Young was signed to a 4-yr, 19.9 million dollar extension.

- This was a huge offensive week across baseball. Besides our own minor leaguer, Eric Knowles, both Fernando Tatis of the Rangers and Delino DeShields of the Cardinals hit for the cycle. The HR for Tatis was a grand slam! San Diego’s Greg Vaughn and Frank Thomas of the White Sox both hit 3 HR in a game and Willie Greene of the Reds had a 5-hit game. Some pretty impressive feats that may not all happen in a single season….never mind just one week!

The other teams at the top of the standings along with the Yankees are-

AL Central- Minnesota Twins at 8-9, .5 games ahead of the Royals

AL West- Texas Rangers at 12-5, .5 games ahead of Kansas City

NL East- New York Mets at 13-6, 3.5 games ahead of Atlanta

NL Central- Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals at 10-8, .5 games head of the Cubs

NL West- Colorado Rockies at 13-6, 1.5 games ahead of San Diego


This week sees the Yankees head to Toronto for a 3-game series and then go to Detroit for another 3 games with the Tigers. Another really hot team and a team looking for some revenge….could be a tough week. Especially depending on what the final prognosis is on David Wells.