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Tuesday, September 12 | |||||||||||
Don't be fooled, Yanks are for real Special to ESPN.com | |||||||||||
Around baseball, the feeling is that the New York Yankees have come back to the pack, that the gap has been closed in the American League, that there's no clear favorite as October approaches.
In other words, the belief is that the Yankees' mini-dynasty, which has seen them dominate play and win three of the last four World Series, is over.
Incredibly, there has yet to be a manager fired since the start of the season. Not since 1942 has an entire year come and gone without a manager losing his job. That will change in October, when general managers and owners could make up for lost time with a slew of changes. In talks with baseball personnel, the consensus is that as many as seven managers in the National League will be fired as the season winds down or soon after. The endangered ones: Montreal's Felipe Alou, Philadelphia's Terry Francona, Cincinnati's Jack McKeon, Pittsburgh's Gene Lamont, Houston's Larry Dierker, Los Angeles' Davey Johnson and Arizona's Buck Showalter. That list doesn't include Bobby Valentine, who could get axed if the Mets don't pull out of their late-season slide. All the firings will begin a series of musical chairs, with Alou rumored to be heading to Los Angeles to take a job he had accepted temporarily two years ago, only to back out at the last minute and stay with the Expos. In the American League, Lou Piniella's contract is up and he may want to leave Seattle after eight seasons. Reportedly Piniella would like to return East. There may be the perfect situation for him in Tampa -- where he lives in the offseason. The Devil Rays are expected to fire Larry Rothschild, opening a spot for Pineilla in his own backyard. News and notes Howe Sports reports that the Seattle Mariners' minor-league affiliates had the best cumulative winning percentage of any organization in 2000. The six Mariners clubs combined to post a .577 winning percentage. Philadelphia finished second at .568 and Oakland was third at .551. Bringing up the rear were the Angels' affiliates, who were a collective .426. San Francisco was next-to-last at .444. ... Despite a gruesome ankle injury a year ago, Pittsburgh catcher Jason Kendall is about to become the first catcher to have three 20-steal seasons in his career. He stole 26 in 1998 and 22 in 1997. John Wathan, Ray Schalk and Johnny Kling are the only others to have two 20-steal seasons. ... The Dodgers thought pitching would be a strong point, and it has -- but only to an extent. The first three starters in their rotation -- Kevin Brown, Chan Ho Park and Darren Dreifort -- are a combined 38-23. But there's a big dropoff after that, with all their other starters going 8-25. ... Only two players -- Pokey Reese and Al Martin have successfully stolen a base against the Braves' Terry Mulholland in the last four years. ... Ken Griffey Jr. is about to become only the third player to have seven seasons with 40 or more homers. Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth are the others. On the rise: Chicago White Sox It was the end of August. The Cleveland Indians, invigorated by some trading deadline deals, were sending signals that they were ready to assume their usual spot atop the AL Central. After five months of inconsistent play and injuries, the Indians were going to make the move and knock the White Sox from their first-place perch. But somebody forgot to tell the White Sox. Just when it seemed like they were vulnerable, the White Sox began playing the kind of baseball they played in the first three months of the season. Chicago has won 9-of-12 and four-of-five, giving itself a healthy eight-game lead with 19 games to play. The Indians' last chance came over the weekend in a three-game showdown. But the two teams split the first two and had the third rained out, leaving the Indians to focus on the wild card. The White Sox may yet struggle in the postseason, as some forecast, because of their defensive lapses (shortstop Jose Valentin has committed 34 errors) or their inexperienced starting rotation. But barring a major slide in the final 2½ weeks, they'll finish with the best record in the American League and have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Having taken the Tribe's best shot and survived, you can say they earned their position. On the fall: Chicago Cubs ... And then there's the team on the North Side. The Cubs actually looked respectable for a time in August. For a time, they were within six games of .500 and some wild-card standings actually included the Cubs. But that was then and this is now. Now is horrible; the Cubs have dropped four straight and 10 of their last 11 to sink to the bottom of the NL Central, below season-long bottom-feeders like Houston and Pittsburgh. You name it and the Cubs are struggling with it: 14th in hitting, 11th in runs scored, last in ERA, 13th in turning double plays, etc, etc, etc. Since Aug. 2, the Cubs are a woeful 10-28. The only thing interesting about the Cubs, of course, is Sammy's home run total. He's about to have his third straight 50-homer season. That and the cold beer is about the only reason fans keep showing up at Wrigley. And show up they do -- the Cubs are, almost inexplicably, on pace to attract about 2.8 million paying customers this season. Babe Ruth Award: Richard Hidalgo There's not been much good news out of Houston this season. After three straight NL Central titles, the Astros are 20 games out of first. Jose Lima has had a nightmarish season, Craig Biggio missed most of the second half with a blown-out knee and Ken Caminiti checked himself into a clinic to battle substance abuse. But Hidalgo has enjoyed a breakout season. Last week alone, he hit .552 (16-for-29) with five homers and 14 RBI. He's had a hot September so far (.444) to help erase a disappointing August (.235 for the month). He's about to join teammate Jeff Bagwell as the only Astros to reach 40 homers in a season (he's currently at 38). "I never imagined that I would hit these many homers," gushed Hidalgo recently. "I'm just feeling real comfortable right now at the plate." Sean McAdam of the Providence Journal writes a major-league notebook every Tuesday for ESPN.com. | ALSO SEE Klapisch: Pedigree is in the pinstripes Gammons: Yanks as good as ever |