2001 PLAYOFF PREVIEW ROUND 1 Arizona Thunder (99-63, Ruth Division Pennant Winners) vs. California Coneheads (90-72, RY Conference Wildcard) The last time these two teams duked it out in the playoffs was in 1996, when it was the big bat of Mark McGwire for the Thunder vs. the bats of 1B Frank Thomas, a young 3B Jim Thome, and a trio of Cy Young calibre pitchers. California was heavily favored to win that series, but the Thunder (then based in Rivendell .. quite a commute!) battled to a 7 game first round series win. Fast forward to 2001. Mark McGwire is winding down his stellar career on another team, as is Frank Thomas, and California's trio of pitchers has changed. The only "constant" is Jim Thome, who was traded from the Coneheads after the 1996 season and re-aquired before the 2001 season (for, ironically, Frank Thomas). And now, 5 years later, Arizona is the favorite coming into this series. The Arizona Thunder enjoyed a fair amount of success with McGwire in their lineup. With McGwire's contract not renewed after the 2000 season, there was concern that this might be a rebuilding year without Big Mac's big bat. Not to worry. The Thunder obtained OF Luis Gonzalez in an off-season deal, 1B Mike Sweeney in another, and both were big contributors. Gonzalez simply bashed 64 homers, scoring 143 runs and drove in 158 RBI while hitting .359. Sweeney hit 33 dingers with 111 runs and RBI. CF Mike Cameron jacked 41 homers while OF Juan Pierre stole 41 bases. Roy Oswalt was a Cy Young candidate early in the year before burning out, finishing at 14-3 with a 3.19 ERA. Norm Charlton is a legit fireman of the year candidate, finishing 3-3 with 30 saves and a 2.67 ERA. The Thunder pitching staff finished 3rd in the league with a 4.08 ERA. If the Thunder were leading after 7 innings in the regular season, fuggedaboudit. They were 74-1 after 7, best in the league. Some teams would sell their dog to have the kind of success the Coneheads had this year. California won 90 games and finished a wild playoff race with the RY conference wildcard. Yet, for a team that's used to 110 win seasons, 2001 has been a bit of a bummer. Can't blame the hitters, though. Thome was pretty darn effective on his 2nd tour of California, hitting 53 homers with 112 runs and 109 RBI. Mainstay Mike Piazza was as good as ever, hitting 45 homers with 128 RBI. Juan Gonzalez and 3B Scott Rolen hit 30+ homers with 100+ runs and 110+ RBI's. 2B Bret Boone was a disappointment early in the season, and was traded for Mark McLemore and Aaron Sele. McLemore was just what the Coneheads needed, hitting .345 with a .460 on base average and 25 stolen bases in 82 games. Randy Johnson was effective again this season, going 16-6 with a 3.59 ERA. Aaron Sele was 12-6 in 22 starts. Closer Mariano Rivera saved his usual 32 games. So why only 90 wins? 5 words. Freddy Garcia and Tim Hudson. These youngsters were supposed to win 20 games each this year, but struggled, only winning a combined 22 games with ERA's above 5. Arizona won the regular season series 6 games to 3, and have home field advantage. Still, Garcia and Hudson have to be considered the wildcards. If they perform in the post-season the way they should have done in the regular season, Arizona will have their work cut out for them. ******************************************************************* GAME ONE -- Coneheads (Johnson) at Thunder (Oswalt) The post-season is among us, and Roy Oswalt is back in the rotation, at home, starting game one of the first round series between the California Coneheads and the Arizona Thunder. First batter up was Mark McLemore, who singled. Oswalt kept the pressure on McLemore, seemingly throwing to first as often as to the hitter at the plate. Still didn't help. McLemore (who led the league in steals) stole second and scored on a single by Jim Thome. 1-0 California. Mike Piazza would single, scoring Thome and putting California up 2-0 in the first. In the bottom of the 1st, Randy Johnson started out his post-season by plunking Juan Pierre. California recovered nicely and the score remained 2-0 after 1. In the bottom of the 3rd, Arizona had another go at it, when Roy Oswalt singled, and up came Juan Pierre. What happened? You guessed it, he got plunked again. But the Thunder couldn't capitalize, and the score remained 2-0 after 3. In the bottom of the 4th, Mike Cameron of the Thunder hit a 0 out double, and eventually scored on a 2 out single by Brook Fordyce. 2-1 California. In the bottom of the 5th, Johnson grazed Pierre's uniform with the ball, awarding him his 3rd HBP base of the game ... and being the trooper that he is, Pierre didn't even attempt to charge the mound. Still, nothing happened, and the score was still 2-1 California. In the bottom of the 8th inning, with Keith Foulke on the mound for California, Luis Gonzalez walked. The next batter, Mike Cameron, grounded to 2nd, where Gonzalez was forced out, but Cameron made it safely to first. The next batter, Mike Sweeney, was hit by the pitch (4 HBP's by California and not one bench clearing brawl? Where's the fisticuffs managerial tendency!). Arizona pulled a double steal, putting runners at 3rd & 2nd. Vinny Castilla hits a sacrifice fly, scoring Cameron and tying things up at 2. The top of the 9th saw Buddy Groom pitch for the Thunder. First up, Jim Thome, struck out. Second batter, Juan Gonzalez, flied out. Next up was Mike Piazza, who was 3-3 for the game. What would the 4th at bat bring? Just simply a solo shot to put California up 3-2. The Thunder would go to the bottom of the 9th down a run and would have to face Mariano Rivera. Up first was pinch hitter Luis Lopez, who struck out. Next up, pinch hitter Corky Miller, who struck out as well. It was now up to Eric Byrnes, who had previously subbed for Juan Pierre. Would the hitter who had all of 25 at bats in the regular season come through? Nope. Byrnes flied out, ending the game. California wins a close one, by a score of 3 to 2. CONEHEADS LEAD 1-0. 10/5/2001, CAL01-ARZ01, game 1, Bank One Ballpark 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 2001 Coneheads 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 9 0 4 2 2001 Thunder 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 6 0 8 1 Coneheads AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB McLemore 2b 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .250 4 3 0 0 Rolen 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 1 0 0 Thome 1b 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 6 0 0 0 Gonzalez rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .250 1 0 0 0 Piazza c 4 1 4 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 10 0 0 0 Bennett c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 2 0 0 0 Everett lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 Foulke p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 0 Clayton ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 0 0 0 0 Rivera,M p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Valentin ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 3 0 0 Erstad cf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 2 0 0 0 Johnson p 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 O'Leary lf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 0 0 0 0 34 3 9 3 0 0 1 0 8 1 1 0 0 0 0 27 8 0 0 Thunder AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Pierre rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Byrnes ph 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 0 0 0 0 Jackson 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 3 4 0 0 Gonzalez lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 3 0 0 0 Cameron cf 4 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 .250 4 0 0 0 Sweeney 1b 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .500 7 1 0 0 Castilla 3b 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 0 0 0 0 Fordyce c 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 8 1 0 0 Johnson ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 Rollins ss 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 0 3 0 0 Lopez ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Oswalt p 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 0 0 0 0 Groom p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 Miller ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 30 2 6 2 1 0 0 2 12 2 0 0 4 0 1 27 9 0 0 Coneheads INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Johnson 6.2 6 1 1 1 10 113 75 28 0 0 3 0 2 1.35 Foulke BS 1, W 1-0 1.1 0 1 1 1 0 28 16 6 0 0 1 0 0 6.75 Rivera,M S 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 10 8 3 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 9.0 6 2 2 2 12 151 99 37 0 0 4 0 2 Thunder INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Oswalt 7.1 7 2 2 0 7 104 69 27 0 0 0 0 1 2.45 Groom L 0-1 1.2 2 1 1 0 1 23 13 7 1 0 0 0 0 5.40 9.0 9 3 3 0 8 127 82 34 1 0 0 0 1 CAL: O'Leary inserted at lf in the 7th Clayton batted for Foulke in the 9th Bennett inserted at c in the 9th ARZ: Byrnes batted for Pierre in the 7th Byrnes moved to rf in the 8th Johnson batted for Fordyce in the 8th Johnson moved to c in the 9th Lopez batted for Rollins in the 9th Miller batted for Groom in the 9th GWRBI: Piazza Temperature: 90, Sky: clear, Wind: out to right at 13 MPH. ******************************************************************* GAME TWO -- Coneheads (Sele) at Thunder (Lieber) -- The Thunder got their nose tweaked in game one, and they came out swinging in game two. In the bottom of the first, Juan Pierre hit a 0 out double. Adam Kennedy walked. Luis Gonzalez nearly killed the rally by hitting into a double play, but Mike Cameron put the Thunder on the board with an RBI double. Mike Sweeney walked to put 2 runners on for Vinny Castilla. Castilla took Sele deep, and gave Arizona a 4-0 lead in the first. The Coneheads scored in the 2nd with a Darin Erstad single, but the Thunder answered back in the bottom of the inning, when Mike Cameron hit a 2-RBI bases loaded double. Sele only lasts 2 innings, and the game was never in doubt. Arizona wins game 2 by a score of 6 to 2, and the series is now tied. SERIES TIED 1-1. 10/6/2001, CAL01-ARZ01, game 1, Bank One Ballpark 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 2001 Coneheads 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 9 1 8 3 2001 Thunder 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 x 6 6 1 4 1 Coneheads AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB McLemore 2b 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .143 3 4 0 0 Palmer ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Rolen 3b 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .143 3 3 1 0 Thome 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125 12 0 0 0 Everett lf 4 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286 2 1 0 0 Gonzalez rf 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .375 0 0 0 0 Piazza c 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .625 2 1 0 0 Valentin ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 2 5 0 0 Agbayani ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Erstad cf 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 0 0 0 0 Glanville ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Sele p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Colome p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 O'Leary ph 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 0 0 0 0 Darensbourg p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Mateo ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 0 0 0 0 35 2 9 2 1 1 0 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 24 14 1 0 Thunder AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Pierre rf 2 2 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 2 0 0 0 Kennedy 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 5 0 0 Gonzalez lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 2 0 0 0 Cameron cf 4 1 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .375 6 0 0 0 Sweeney 1b 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .667 9 0 0 0 Castilla 3b 4 1 1 3 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .143 1 3 0 0 Rollins ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 1 1 1 0 Wagner p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Pena c 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 5 0 0 0 Lieber p 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 0 Jackson ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 27 6 6 6 2 0 1 6 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 27 10 1 0 Coneheads INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Sele L 0-1 2.0 5 6 4 3 0 42 18 14 1 0 1 0 1 18.00 Colome 4.0 0 0 0 3 2 46 25 14 0 0 0 0 1 0.00 Darensbourg 2.0 1 0 0 0 0 19 16 6 0 0 0 0 1 0.00 8.0 6 6 4 6 2 107 59 34 1 0 1 0 3 Thunder INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Lieber W 1-0 8.0 8 2 2 1 4 113 82 33 0 0 0 0 1 2.25 Wagner 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 18 12 4 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 9.0 9 2 2 1 5 131 94 37 0 0 0 0 1 CAL: O'Leary batted for Colome in the 7th Agbayani batted for Valentin in the 9th Glanville batted for Erstad in the 9th Mateo batted for Darensbourg in the 9th Palmer batted for McLemore in the 9th ARZ: Jackson inserted at ss in the 9th GWRBI: Cameron Temperature: 79, Sky: cloudy, Wind: left to right at 16 MPH. ******************************************************************* GAME THREE -- Thunder (Rapp) at Coneheads (Garcia) -- Mark McLemore was definitely a good mid-season pickup for the Coneheads. In the 1st inning, McLemore walked and stole 2nd. Scott Rolen singled, and McLemore attempted to score from 2nd. Only problem is, the ball went home well before McLemore did. McLemore tried his best anyways, plowing into catcher Mark Johnson to knock the ball loose. Didn't work, and McLemore is out (the Coneheads are mighty aggressive this series!) Despite that, Jim Thome walked, and the Coneheads put some damage on a different way .. with a 3-run Carl Everett homer. 3-0 Coneheads after 1. In the 2nd inning, Vinny Castilla and Mark Johnson walked for the Thunder. Early test of Freddy Garcia here. Jimmy Rollins hit a single to make it 3-1 Coneheads. But, with runners at 1st & 3rd and 2 outs, Garcia managed to catch Rollins off-guard on the base paths, getting him into a rundown and eventual out. In the bottom of the 3rd inning, McLemore singled, moved to 3rd on a Jim Thome single, and scored when Carl Everett hit into a potential double play (Everett was safe at first, McLemore was safe at home). Juan Gonzalez hit an RBI double for a 5-1 California game. A Jim Thome solo home run in the 5th made it 6-1. The game was slowly getting out of reach for Arizona, and the 4 run California 7th just made it official. California wins game 3 by a score of 10-2. CONEHEADS LEAD 2-1. 10/7/2001, ARZ01-CAL01, game 1, Edison Field 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 2001 Thunder 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 5 2 5 0 2001 Coneheads 3 0 2 0 1 0 4 0 x 10 10 0 4 2 Thunder AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Pierre rf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 3 0 0 0 Kennedy 2b 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 2 0 0 Lopez ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Gonzalez lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 3 2 0 0 Cameron cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 1 0 0 0 Sweeney 1b 4 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .571 3 1 1 0 Castilla 3b 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .100 2 2 0 0 Johnson c 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 8 0 1 0 Rollins ss 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .250 2 1 0 0 Randa ph 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 0 0 0 0 Jackson ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 0 Rapp p 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Reitsma p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Piatt ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Cruz p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 1 0 0 29 2 5 2 2 0 0 5 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 24 10 2 0 Coneheads AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB McLemore 2b 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .273 2 5 0 0 Rolen 3b 5 2 2 2 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 0 5 0 0 Thome 1b 3 2 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .273 10 1 0 0 Everett lf 4 2 1 4 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .273 3 0 0 0 Gonzalez rf 4 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .417 1 0 0 0 Piazza c 3 1 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .545 5 0 0 1 Clayton ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 0 0 0 0 Valentin ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 1 0 0 Bennett c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 3 0 0 0 Erstad cf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .111 2 0 0 0 Garcia p 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 2 0 0 Baez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 0 0 0 0 33 10 10 9 1 0 4 4 7 1 0 0 0 1 0 27 14 0 1 Thunder INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Rapp L 0-1 5.0 6 6 5 3 5 90 54 24 2 0 0 0 0 9.00 Reitsma 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 12 9 3 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Cruz 2.0 4 4 4 1 1 39 26 11 2 0 0 0 0 18.00 8.0 10 10 9 4 7 141 89 38 4 0 0 0 0 Coneheads INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Garcia W 1-0 6.2 3 2 2 4 5 107 59 25 0 0 0 0 1 2.70 Baez 2.1 2 0 0 1 2 37 24 9 0 0 0 0 1 0.00 9.0 5 2 2 5 7 144 83 34 0 0 0 0 2 ARZ: Randa batted for Rollins in the 7th Piatt batted for Reitsma in the 7th Jackson inserted at ss in the 7th Lopez batted for Kennedy in the 8th Lopez moved to 2b in the 8th CAL: Clayton inserted at ss in the 8th Bennett inserted at c in the 8th GWRBI: Everett Temperature: 61, Sky: partly cloudy, Wind: right to left at 4 MPH. ******************************************************************* GAME FOUR -- Thunder (Batista) at Coneheads (Hudson) -- The Thunder wanted to even the series, the Coneheads wanted to give themselves some breathing room. Who would get their wish? Thunder starter Miguel Batista got into trouble early. In the bottom of the 1st, Jim Thome walked, Juan Gonzalez walked, and Durazo drove in the 1st run of the game with a single. Mike Piazza made it a 3-0 game with a single of his own. In the top of the 2nd, Mike Cameron and Mike Sweeney walked. The duo performed a double steal to put runners at 3rd & 2nd. Mark Johnson hit a sacrifice fly to make it a 3-1 Coneheads game. In the top of the 3rd inning, Juan Pierre singled, stolen 2nd, moved to 3rd on a wild pitch, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Adam Kennedy. Piazza would give up 4 stolen bases for the day. 3-2 Coneheads. In the bottom of the 8th inning, Billy Wagner was pitching for the Thunder. Scott Rolen walked. Jim Thome singled, moving Rolen to 3rd. Juan Gonzalez hit into a potential DP ball, but managed to get to 1st in time, and Rolen scored. 4-2 California. Durazo singled. Royce Clayton singled to drive in another run. 5-2 California. In the top of the 9th inning, the Arizona had to overcome a 3 run deficit facing Mariano Rivera on the mound. Didn't happen. Rivera gets them out 1-2-3, and the California Coneheads win game 4 by a score of 5-2. California is just 1 win away from the RY conference finals. CONEHEADS LEAD 3-1 10/8/2001, ARZ01-CAL01, game 1, Edison Field 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 2001 Thunder 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 3 1 2001 Coneheads 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 x 5 6 0 6 0 Thunder AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Pierre rf 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .222 5 0 0 0 Kennedy 2b 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 2 1 0 0 Gonzalez lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 2 0 0 0 Cameron cf 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 .214 3 0 0 0 Sweeney 1b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 .400 4 0 0 0 Castilla 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .077 0 1 0 0 Johnson c 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .167 8 0 0 0 Rollins ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .182 0 2 0 0 Wagner p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Batista p 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 0 Lopez ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 26 2 1 2 0 0 0 4 8 4 0 0 0 0 2 24 5 0 0 Coneheads AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB McLemore 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 1 3 0 0 Rolen 3b 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .214 1 1 0 0 Thome 1b 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .308 9 0 0 0 Gonzalez rf 3 2 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .400 2 0 0 0 Durazo lf 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 0 0 0 0 Piazza c 4 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .467 7 0 0 0 Rivera,M p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Valentin ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 4 0 0 Clayton ss 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 0 0 0 0 Everett cf 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231 3 0 0 0 Glanville ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Erstad cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .100 3 0 0 0 Hudson p 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 0 Agbayani ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Foulke p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Bennett c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 29 5 6 5 1 0 0 6 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 9 0 0 Thunder INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Batista L 0-1 6.0 3 3 3 5 5 99 51 25 0 0 0 0 1 4.50 Wagner 2.0 3 2 2 1 3 39 26 10 0 0 0 0 0 6.00 8.0 6 5 5 6 8 138 77 35 0 0 0 0 1 Coneheads INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Hudson W 1-0 7.0 1 2 2 4 7 109 62 26 0 0 0 1 0 2.57 Foulke H 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 7 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 3.86 Rivera,M S 2 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 15 10 3 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 9.0 1 2 2 4 8 131 76 32 0 0 0 1 0 ARZ: Lopez inserted at ss in the 7th CAL: Glanville batted for Everett in the 7th Agbayani batted for Hudson in the 7th Clayton inserted at ss in the 8th Erstad inserted at cf in the 8th Bennett inserted at c in the 9th GWRBI: Durazo Temperature: 76, Sky: clear, Wind: none. ******************************************************************* GAME FIVE -- Thunder (Oswalt) at Coneheads (Johnson) -- Round 2 between the master and the learner. In the bottom of the 2nd, Juan Gonzalez put the Coneheads in the lead with a solo shot. In the 3rd inning, Oswalt found some trouble, loading the bases with 1 out. The batter at the plate was Juan Gonzalez. Luckily for Oswalt, lightning didn't strike twice, and a Gonzalez foul fly ball was caught. 2 outs. Next up, Erubiel Durazo. Durazo wouldn't go quietly, or even with a normal volume level. Durazo cranked it all the way up to 11, taking Oswalt deep for a grand SLAM! 5-0 Coneheads. California adds another run in the 6th inning to make it a 6-0 game. In the top of the 7th inning, Randy Johnson found himself in a bases loaded situation of his own. 2 outs, and Damian Jackson was at the plate. Jackson doesn't go deep, but his single causes damage all the same. 2 runs score, 6-2 ballgame. Luis Gonzalez follows up with an RBI double. 6-3. Adam Piatt walks to reload the bases, and Johnson is chased from the game. Up comes reliever Keith Foulke, who get California out of the tight spot by getting Mike Sweeney to pop out. Thome adds to California's lead in the bottom of the inning with a solo shot. The score would remain 7-3 going into the top of the 9th. It was do or die time for Arizona. Fail to make up the difference here, and their run was over. Danys Baez was on the mound for California. Juan Pierre, the first batter up, walked. Damian Jackson struck out for out #1. Luis Gonzalez reaches base. Mark Johnson singled. Bases loaded, with 1 out. In comes Mariano Rivera, with the series on the line. Mike Sweeney at the plate. First baseman Mike Sweeney, facing his 2nd bases loaded situation of the game. First baseman Mike Sweeney, replacing the great Mark McGwire at first base this season, and the tying run at the plate, facing Mariano Rivera. Does Sweeney erase years of Thunder history with one swing of the bat? No quite. Sweeney hits a double, and 2 runs come home. 7-5 Coneheads. Next up was Vinny Castilla. Strikeout. 2 outs. Arizona's future this year rested on the shoulders of Roger Cedeno. Roger "I got only 7 at bats this year" Cedeno. So what happens? Cedeno grounds it to Valentin, who throws to Thome at first for the final out. California wins game 5 by a score of 7-5, and advance to the RY conference finals. CONEHEADS WIN 4-1. 10/10/2001, ARZ01-CAL01, game 1, Edison Field 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 2001 Thunder 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 2 5 9 0 11 2 2001 Coneheads 0 1 4 0 0 1 1 0 x 7 8 1 6 0 Thunder AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Pierre rf 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .167 1 0 0 0 Jackson 2b 5 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .111 4 3 0 0 Gonzalez lf 4 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .056 2 0 0 0 Cameron cf 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .235 2 0 0 0 Reitsma p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 0 Piatt ph 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Cruz p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Johnson c 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286 0 0 0 0 Sweeney 1b 5 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 6 1 0 0 Castilla 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .118 0 2 0 0 Fordyce c 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 8 0 0 0 Lopez ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 0 0 0 0 Cedeno rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Rollins ss 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 0 2 0 0 Oswalt p 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .400 0 1 0 0 Byrnes cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 0 0 0 0 Randa ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 0 0 0 0 Groom p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 37 5 9 5 3 0 0 5 14 0 0 0 1 0 0 24 10 0 0 Coneheads AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB McLemore 2b 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .158 0 1 0 0 Rolen 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 0 1 0 0 Thome 1b 3 2 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .313 7 0 1 0 Gonzalez rf 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .389 4 0 0 0 Durazo lf 3 1 2 4 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .571 1 0 0 0 Piazza c 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .444 10 1 0 0 Clayton ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 0 0 0 0 Valentin ss 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 2 0 0 Bennett c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 3 0 0 0 Everett cf 4 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .294 2 0 0 0 Erstad cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .100 0 0 0 0 Johnson p 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .333 0 0 0 0 Foulke p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Palmer ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Baez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Rivera,M p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 29 7 8 7 1 1 3 7 8 0 0 0 0 1 0 27 5 1 0 Thunder INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Oswalt L 0-1 5.0 7 6 6 5 7 101 59 27 2 0 0 0 0 5.84 Reitsma 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 6 4 2 0 0 0 0 1 0.00 Cruz 1.0 1 1 1 2 1 21 11 5 1 0 0 0 1 15.00 Groom 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 8 6 3 0 0 0 0 0 3.38 8.0 8 7 7 7 8 136 80 37 3 0 0 0 2 Coneheads INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Johnson W 1-0 6.2 6 3 3 4 11 115 73 31 0 0 1 0 0 2.70 Foulke H 2 1.1 1 0 0 0 1 21 14 5 0 0 0 0 0 2.45 Baez 0.1 1 2 1 1 1 14 9 4 0 0 0 0 0 3.38 Rivera,M S 3 0.2 1 0 0 0 1 9 7 3 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 9.0 9 5 4 5 14 159 103 43 0 0 1 0 0 ARZ: Byrnes inserted at cf in the 6th Piatt batted for Reitsma in the 7th Lopez batted for Fordyce in the 8th Randa batted for Byrnes in the 8th Johnson inserted at c in the 8th Cedeno inserted at rf in the 8th Pierre moved to cf in the 8th CAL: Clayton inserted at ss in the 8th Bennett inserted at c in the 8th Palmer batted for Foulke in the 8th Erstad inserted at cf in the 9th GWRBI: Gonzalez Temperature: 67, Sky: clear, Wind: left to right at 2 MPH.