Did someone say 40-40? With a flurry of stolen bases last week -- six of them, in nine tries -- our man Vladimir Guerrero of the Montreal Expos now has 40 on the season. He cranked out his 38th homer of the season last week, too (on a .393 week). That puts him a couple of shots shy of his first 40-40. On the season: .336, those 38 dingers and 107 RBIs.
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Thursday-Sunday, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
This could all be moot by the time Thursday rolls around, but the thinking is that the Dodgers still will have a wisp of a hope at tying the Giants for the wild card. The Dodgers have the dregs of the NL West this week with Colorado and San Diego. The problem for the Dodgers is that they're 7-8 against the Padres this season, just 3-3 at home (L.A. is 11-6 vs. the Rockies). If the Dodgers can end the season within a game of the Giants, that will force San Francisco to play a makeup game at Atlanta next Monday. Ah, but first the Dodgers have to make sure the Rockies or Padres don't spoil things any more than they already have. (The Giants, by the way, have the Padres and Astros this week. The Giants are 12-5 against San Diego, 2-1 against Houston.)
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Because this is the last week of the Week at a Glance -- postseason coverage starts next week -- this also marks the last week of the Peanut Gallery for this baseball season.
Thanks to all those who contributed to the P-Gallery this season with thoughtful comments, strident opinions and biting humor. And, because we're feeling nostalgic, thanks to the rest of you, too.
Here are your thoughts on our final topic of the season, the manager of the year candidates.
Now, get outta here, you knuckleheads …
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Tony La Russa should be the hands-down winner in the National League for Manager of the Year. The season started with a decimated pitching staff being held together by prayers and promises. Then the entire community was saddened by the death of the great Jack Buck. Then, only a few days later, Darryl Kile died in Chicago. What did La Russa do? He emerged as the spiritual center of this wonderful and resilient team. They have had numerous players shut down all year with injuries, have faced emotional turmoil and Tony has handled everything with class, grace and dignity. An amazing job, and hopefully one that won't end until a World Series Championship banner is raised at Busch Stadium in October.
-- Chris Osborn, St. Louis
For the American League: The manager of the year definitely has to be Mike Scoscia. The Angels are having one of their great seasons ever, basically with the same team they had last year. They look like they're having fun playing in the best division in baseball. They have to play the A's, Mariners, and Rangers, and they are in the lead of the division for the time being. For the National League: The manager of the year has to be Tony La Russa. It's not because I'm from St. Louis. For a team to rise above that, credit has to fall to the team and its manager.
-- John Scognamiglio, St. Louis
NL manager has to be Tony La Russa. That this team has held together to produce a playoff-caliber team is a testament to both the players and La Russa's handling of them. AL manager pick is Mike Sciosia with the Angels. He has been the steady presence of a team that revolted against previous manager Terry Collins, and has since been reworked in the image of himself and his excellent staff (Black, Griffin, Hatcher, etc.). They've overcome a terrible start through hard play and respect for the game, and set a franchise record for wins in a season.
-- Andy Hoodward, Orange, Calif.
Manager of the year in the National League should be Bobby Cox. This is about the third or fourth year in a row that the Braves were finally supposed to come crashing back to earth. But they just keep winning. In years past Bobby hasn't gotten his due because of the great starting pitchers in Atlanta but this year the Braves will probably not have any 20-game winners. Glavine and Maddux are still quality pitchers but they certainly aren't at the top of their game anymore. Cox has used these guys perfectly to get the absolute most out of them while preserving their aging arms for the post season. And the bullpen. … Wow! These are just a bunch of kids or reclamation projects. The only star in the pen is Smoltz. Cox just keeps plugging along winning year after year. I'd love to see him get a little credit before he rides off into the sunset.
-- Wayne Jones, Roanoke, Va.
Art Howe deserves to be manager of the year. Contrary to the popular belief that Billy Beane is some kind of magician when it comes to getting bargain basement players, Art Howe is the best there is at letting them play. For three consecutive seasons now the A's are near the bottom when it comes to payroll and near the top in the standings. And, there's a simple reason behind it: Art Howe doesn't play small ball. When he's down by a run or tied with a man on first and no outs, he doesn't call for the bunt. He lets the hitter swing away. He doesn't try to kill rallies by scoring one run when he wants five. He makes the game exciting and fun to watch and his team continues to win year in and year out. Gambling on your players' abilities and showing confidence in them is what makes a manager of the year.
-- Eric Shubert, San Jose, Calif.
I feel Bob Brenly of the D'backs deserves a lot of consideration. He has
been plagued with key injuries all year to the likes of Williams, Bautista,
Finley and Durazo. These were the big power hitters for the team. He has
gotten new faces in there playing, however, at a high level (Spivey and
McCracken). On top of this, they lead the NL in runs even though NO player is among the leaders in any offensive category worth mentioning. This should be some indication of how well Brenly manages the ENTIRE team without the benefit of superstars.
-- Jason Carlaftes, Tucson, Ariz.
In the AL, the manager of the year should be either Art Howe or Mike Scioscia. The A's lost their biggest hitter in Jason Giambi, got off to a slow start, and still somehow managed to put together a 20-game winning streak and are challenging for the AL West title. The Angels, likewise, came out of nowhere after a slow start and are right there with the A's. They could very well be the two best teams in the AL, yet neither has a lot of big names on their team. In the NL, the manager of the year has got to be Tony La Russa.
-- Greg Smart, Bloomington, Ill.
Mike Scioscia is the obvious choice. He took a group of players without direction and turned them into a winning team. What makes him great is not how he has handled good and great players, but how he has turned guys like Spiezio, Kennedy, Eckstein, Palmeiro and others into highly productive role players. Even if you don't like that argument, the Angels are winning in September. That should be argument enough.
-- Jacob Leven, Huntington Beach, Calif.
There's no doubt in the American League who the manager of the year is
... hell, we should just call him manager of the century. The guy who
managed to scrape together a semblance of a team in Minnesota after
contraction threats -- and I call him that because I had to look up his name moments ago -- no doubt did the best job of taking a heretofore mediocre team and putting them over the top with what will end up as a 90-plus win season. For a team with barely one .300 hitter, two guys with 20-plus home runs (none with more than 30) and one 15-game winner on the mound, the Twins' season is remarkable regardless of what transpired during the offseason. That it happened in the shadow of that ridiculousness says even more about their manager. Oh, that guy, yeah, his name is Ron Gardenhire. In the NL, it's been 11 years since the Atlanta Braves' current run in the National League began. During more than half that time, the naysayers (mostly Mets fans) have been proclaiming that the last season -- be it '95, '96, '97, '98, '99, '00 or '01 -- as the end of the era, the day when Glavine and Maddux get old, when at least one of the two Joneses flame out or when the bullpen-by-committee that consistently failed them in the playoffs collapses, say, by July. But that never seems to happen. And it's not because they spend crazy like their N.Y. brethren, the Yankees, it's because Bobby Cox gets the most out of his players than any guy in the game. This year, more than most any other, he deserves the "manager of the year" moniker, if for anything, for convincing John Smoltz that his future lay in relief not starting ... can anyone dispute the value of that today?
-- Louis Rom, Lafayette, La.
Our tribute to the banter of baseball 
Did someone say 40-40? With a flurry of stolen bases last week -- six of them, in nine tries -- our man 
