Things are winding down, and short of a complete collapse, Motor City will again
be in the playoffs. While the Madmen's pitching staff outside of John Smoltz
has been a disappointment, the offense has been superb.
The Lineup
Leadoff 2B Fernando Vina and Craig Counsell. Vina, who faces RHP, is batting
.294, scored 97 runs, hit 21 homers and stole 30 bases. Counsell, who faces
lefties, has scored 33 runs and is batting .283 after a late season slump.
LF Curtis Pride is batting .326 and has a good chance of having 30HR and 60SB by
the end of the season, as he already has 29HR and 58SB to go together with his
135 runs, 87RBI and errorless play.
1B Ellis Burks has been amazing hitting third. He's scored 116 times and knock
119 runners home with his .325 average and 41 doubles, 5 triples, and 40 home
runs. 19 SB round off his amazing stats.
Cleanup CF Ken Griffey, Jr. leads the team with 124RBI and has scored 112 times
himself. Hitting .308 with 46 doubles and 41 homers, he has also stolen 25
bases.
Cannon armed RF Sammy Sosa has knocked in 109 runs and will probably score 100
himself, as he already has 95. Sosa has stolen 16, doubled 27 times, and put
the ball out of the yard 37 times.
3B Willie Greene has protected the middle of the lineup well with a .281 average
and 27HR, scoring 71 runs and bring 85 runners across the plate with his bat.
C Terry Steinbach and Charlie O'Brien have platooned and both have played a lot
of late inning DH. Steinbach, who faces RHP, is batting .263 with 22HR, 56RBI,
and scored 50 times, all in 452AB. O'Brien is even more impressive, having
batted .279 and hit 16HR in only 262AB. He has also scored 36 times and knocked
in 40.
DH Arthur Bernard and Ernie Cheeves have done surprisingly well. In 311 AB,
Bernard is hitting .251 and has 9 triples! He has scored 41 times and knocked
in 21 to go with his 25 doubles, 3HR, and 14SB. Cheeves is hitting .317 and hit
4HR in only 120AB. He has scored 23 runs, has 13RBI, and stone 11 bases.
All that adds up to a team batting average of .290 and slugging of .499, to go
along with 179SB and 252HR.
