The Excellence Project

[Nick Soulis]

Season 7
August



Awards
Batter of the month AL: Eric Chavez (2006 Athletics)
Batter of the month NL - Joe Harris (1919 Indians)
Pitcher of the month AL - Rich Harden (2006 Athletics)
Pitcher of the month NL - Stan Coveleski (1919 indians)

Injuries
Ray Herbert(1963 White Sox) - hamstring - 3 Weeks
Dioneer navarro (2005 Dodgers) - knee - season

American League East
Lead by the ageless Frank Thoms, the 2006 Athletics all put the division away this month with 19 wins and now a 10 game lead with a magic number under 20. Thomas is hitting .305 with 17 home runs while Eric Chavez has smashed 25. Rich Harden won his 19th game and has a real shot at the Cy Young with his 239 K's and 2.98 ERA. Huston Street is among the best closers in the business with 33 saves. Tony Pena lead the 2003 Royals to a winning month but they couldnt handled head to head with Oakland. Still nine games under .500 the pitching hasnt been up to par. Carlos Beltran has 95 RBI and is a deer in center while Mike Sweeney has his average up to .336. The 1921 Red Sox have lost 43 games away from Fenway and didnt have the bats to make things work. The starters had a 3.27 ERA lead by 16 game winner Bullett Joe Bush but other then Del Pratt who is hitting .343, the offense has been on snooze. The 1933 White Sox lost 20 times in the month and have wasted an MVP type year from Al Simmons (.341/32/112). Baseball is not a man sport.

American League West
Cruising to 100 wins the 1963 White Sox have made their point. Gary Peters has 21 wins and Juan Pizzaro 19 for a staff that makes it look easy. The offense is first in runs and has a .761 team OPS lead by the MVP favorite Pete Ward who has driven in 111. It will be fascinating to see if the Sox take take it all the way through the post season. The 1974 Twins seem to have lost hope and are not playing great baseball. The club has scored runs and hung tough but the defense has been poor of late and the pen has lost its way. Tough to play knowing that September is without real meaning. The 1986 Ddogers wont quick but Tommy Lasorda never did figuire out the bullpen issues. The club has depended too much on the home run and has not manufactured runs in a park that favors low scoring games. The 2009 Orioles were never in the race and never will be. The record is not all that bad but they find themselves at the bottom of the division. Adam Jones is a five tool player that has had a fine year but starting pitching has been hit hard and a lack of any real consistency other then losing has been the story of this team.

National League East
Poising themselves for the postseason, the 1919 Indians won two more awards in the month of August and are playing as well as they have all season. Tris Speaker is up to .385 and what we have seen from him the past two seasons should reinforce him as one of the all time greats. They are 8-2 in extra innings and 25-12 in one run games; this team knows how to get the job done. Pete Richert has pitched well of late for the 1967 Senators who have played good ball this year. A second place finish and Frank Howard deserves a shoutout for his big year slugging .586. Pitching for the 1969 Braves has been a headache and the club lacks any real speed to manufacture runs. Orlando Cepeda went 1 for 23 to end the month proving that Hank Aaron had little to no help this season. The 1969 Expos look up and are 43 games out of first and surely will be well over 100 losses. Rusty Staub had a good year but the club is last in most all offensive categories having more steals then home runs. Expos have won only 6 times against left handers and 53 losses away from Jary Park.

National League West
The final race is in the West where the top three teams are separated by 4.5 games. The 1972 White Sox are doing their darndest to hang on and Tom Bradley has been on fire since the all star break and now has 17 wins and a 3.23 ERA. Dick Allen has drive in 100 RBI and Bill Melton provides support in the order. The Sox host the 1975 Expos and the 2005 Dodgers for three each in the final month. The Expos won 18 games in August and are the hotter club at the moment. The have 184 steals and Gary Carter hit .412 in the month. Steve Rogers has also found his form with a 1.10 ERA in his last 2 starts and 17 wins overall. The 2005 Dodgers will face off for four games to end the season with the Expos but still seem to believe. This LA team is the best in the league on defense while Jeff Kent and Milton Bradley are seeing the ball well. Brad Penny is the ace and has 17 wins but will need a strong September and should feel confident as the Dodgers have a lights out pen. The team that was suppose to be there in the end, the 1979 Brewers, will do their best to be spoilers and end with some dignity after a shocking season. Ben Oglive has 31 home runs as the Crew does lead the league with 152 long balls.

[Nick Soulis]

SEASON 7
Final



American League Championship Series



2006 Oakland Athletics (87-75) vs 1963 Chicago White Sox (103-59)

The American League East lagged behind the AL West for most of the season but as the playoffs get ready to commence, none of that really matters. The 1963 Chicago White Sox won 103 games and ended with the best record in the game. Gary Peters and Juan Pizzaro both won over 20 games as the Sox allowed the fewest runs and scored the most with a 195 run differential. Pete Ward drove in 123 runs while hitting .340 to takr the league by storm while Floyd Robinson and Ron Hansen played above expectations in the middle of the order. These Sox dont have the household name, but the way they played this season leaves them as heavy favorites against the Athletics. Rich Harden went 22-5 for Oakland and was matched with 22 wins by Esteban Loaiza. thirty eight year old Frank Thomas looked like his younger self driving in 100 runs and hitting .301, a performance that came out of nowhere. Eric Chavez hit 29 home runs and drove in 94 and with his all around play may have been the real MVP of this team. Huston Street and the A's pen is really a strength as Street had 41 saves with a 2.87 ERA. The series would seem to favor Chicago but the two clubs are actually quite similar in style and numbers. Its time for both of them to play some very meaningful baseball after running away with their respected divisions.

National League Championship Series



1919 Cleveland Indians (97-65) vs 1972 Chicago White Sox (98-64)

Another South side club will also be making it to the postseason as the 1972 Chicago White Sox took their race with the 1975 Expos down to the final week but prevailed playing much better in the end. Tom Bradley leads the rotation that allowed the fewest runs in the league and was first in FIP. The Sox also played good defense and have team speed stealing 159 bases. Dont let the steals fool you however as they hammered 173 home runs lead by over 30 from Dick Allen and Bill Melton. Allen had 111 RBI and Carlos May contributed with 95. Walt Williams hit .327 and scored 109 runs at the top of the order. Chuck Tanner has this team ready for the battle of the post season and the 1919 Cleveland Indians await. The tribe wrapped up their division soon after the all-star break and will have to turn up their intensity in a hurry. Tris Speaker had a magical season winning the battng title at .376 and driving in 109 runs. Speaker hit a historical 70 doubles fo the season, an alltime record for anyone. Elmer Smith drove in 128 runs with 35 home runs and was the muscle in the order and Joe Harris was the third player with over 100 RBI. Stan Coveleski was brilliant as team ace winning 23 games with a 127 ERA+ but the Indians pen could be an issue if trusted upon with a 5.07 ERA. Cleveland was 55-26 at home and 30-15 in one run games proving the pen wasnt really used late in games. The series should be a great contrast of generations, while watching Tris Speaker shine should be a focal point for both teams good and bad.

Leaders



Batting Champion



Tris Speaker
(.376, 222 Hits, 70 doubles)