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TABLE OF CONTENTS
March 25, 2002 | Volume 96, Issue 13
For the O's to improve, the kids have to keep up with ageless Jeff Conine
Orioles leadoff batters hit. 192 with a .287 on-base percentage last season, both major league lows.
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Orioles
with defensive ratings
An out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new plan offers hope—just not for this year
Devil Rays pitchers open the season on a major-league-record run of 152 straight starts without a complete game.
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Devil Rays
with defensive ratings
Good young arms plus scary veteran bats add up to a team to be reckoned with
Frank Thomas remains the major leagues' active career leader in on-base percentage, at .438, though it has fallen .014 since the end of the 1997 season.
an opposing team's scout sizes up the White Sox
with defensive ratings
They smoothly field questions about their future—and every ball hit their way
During Tom Kelly's 15-plus years as Twins skipper, 124 managers were hired by other clubs; 13 teams hired at least five.
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Twins
with defensive ratings
With a dropoff in firepower, this Tribe won't be lighting it up in the postseason
Cleveland and Anaheim have gone 27 years without a 20-game winner. Gaylord Perry and Nolan Ryan were the last for each team, respectively.
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Indians
with defensive ratings
There may be less bickering in Detroit, but not more bang from a popgun offense
The 2001 Tigers were just the second team since 1980 to hit 60 triples in a season. (The '84 Blue Jays had 68.)
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Tigers
with defensive ratings
The embattled manager is all smiles and yuks this spring. Why, exactly, is a mystery
In the past 11 years, 11 hitters have led the Royals in RBIs. The most ever is 12, by the 1913-24 Pirates.
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Royals
with defensive ratings
They won't win 116 games again, but that's O.K.—they've got bigger things in mind
Last season's Mariners were the first team since the 1993 Tigers to lead the majors in both runs scored (927) and runners left on base (1,257).
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Mariners
with defensive ratings
Even after losing its big stick, this club gets plenty of bang for its limited bucks
Last year Miguel Tejada (31) and Eric Chavez (32) became the first shortstop-third base combo in major league history to each hit 30 home runs in the same season.
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Athletics
with defensive ratings
Nothing would be more heavenly than a return to form by two pivotal sluggers
The 2001 Angels were 65-0 when leading after eight innings, the best such mark since the 1999 Astros (82-0).
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Angels
with defensive ratings
March 25, 2002 Sweet 16Sarah Hughes is a real girl with genuine family values, the kind of role model that youths need. I cried watching her skate to victory. She was so happy that she seemed to soar without...
March 25, 2002 Letters
An unpredictable staff, a volatile clubhouse and a Murderers' Row—things won't be dull
The Rangers have not had a Rookie of the Year since Mike Hargrove in 1974, the longest American League drought.
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Rangers
with defensive ratings
The addition of a renowned Sheff adds much-needed spice to a bland offense
Gary Sheffield has a career batting average of .457 against the Mets' projected starting rotation.
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Braves
with defensive ratings
No team made more changes this winter, but will they turn out to be for the better?
Rey Ordoñez had a career-high 31 extra-base hits last year despite having none in June (82 plate appearances).
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Mets
with defensive ratings
This talented young bunch needed a leader. They got themselves a Rock
The Marlins lost more games (24) in their opponents' last at bat than any other team in the majors last season.
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Marlins
with defensive ratings
Last year was nice, but the status quo won't be enough for Philly to move up
The Phillies were the only team in the majors without an RBI from a designated hitter in 2001 (32 at bats).
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Phillies
with defensive ratings
A team teetering on the brink of extinction is pondering what might have been
The last team to draw fewer fans at home in a nonstrike year than the 2001 Expos (619,451) was the 1979 A's (306,763).
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Expos
with defensive ratings
The Redbirds lost a megastar, but there might just be an MVP waiting in the wings
Edgar Renteria and Fernando Viña topped the Cardinals with 17 stolen bases each last season, St. Louis's lowest team-leading total in a nonstrike year since Julian Javier's 11 in 1961.
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Cardinals
with defensive ratings
A suddenly younger team will count on a superb staff and that old offensive pop
After he's hit by two more pitches, Craig Biggio will move past Frank Robinson (198) and into third on the all time list.
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Astros
with defensive ratings
Will baseball's longest championship drought finally end? Don't count on it
Batters in 2001 hit for a lower average (.202) against Kerry Wood than any other pitcher in the major leagues.
an opposing teams scout sizes up the Cubs
with defensive ratings
Wanted: a spark at the top of the order and power in the middle of the lineup
The 2001 Brewers were the first major league team whose batters had more strikeouts (1,399) than hits (1,378).
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Brewers
with defensive ratings
How bad are the Reds? Two years ago their ace was a minor leaguer—in Japan
Jason Larue threw out 60.9% of would-be base stealers last year. He was the only regular NL catcher with a success rate of better than 45%.
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Reds
with defensive ratings
Brian Giles is a superstar, but the naked truth is: The rest of this team stinks
Reacquired reliever Mike Williams's 29 career wins are the most of any active Pirates pitcher.
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Pirates
with defensive ratings
An aging squad insists last year's magic was no last hurrah. They might be right
The Diamondbacks will attempt to join the 1907-08 Cubs, 1921-22 Giants and 1975-76 Reds as the only National League teams to repeat as World Series champs.
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Diamondbacks
with defensive ratings
Signs of change for the better still may not get last year's runner-up back to the top
Dusty Baker needs 79 victories to move into second place alltime among Giants managers. He trails John McGraw (2,604) and Bill Terry (823).
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Giants
with defensive ratings
Who's on third? It could be a long season if Adrian Beltre doesn't have a big year
In 2001 Shawn Green became the first Dodger to hit 40 or more homers and steal 20 or more bases in a season.
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Dodgers
with defensive ratings
Think there's nowhere to go but up for the NL's worst defensive team? Think again
Last season the Padres were no-hit twice and shut out a major-league-high 16 times, yet wound up sixth in the NL in runs.
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Padres
with defensive ratings
Bank on more cost cutting if a pair of aces fails to rebound from a poor 2001
On May 19 the Rockies were defeated 1-0 (by the Marlins) for only the second time in their nine-year history.
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Rockies
with defensive ratings
March 25, 2002 We ranked the position players in the major leagues from 1 (the best) to 400 and the pitchers from 1 to 350 based on our projections of their statistical production this season. The categories...
Talk about a rebuilding year. The New York City Fire Department football team starts its National Public Safety League season next week missing seven starters, 12 alums and two coaches. But the...
Tournament upsets Rendered in couplets? Beware the March muse, For Madness ensues
don't miss
Detroit Tigers radio voice Ernie Harwell, 84, announced last month that this will be his final season broadcasting major league games after 55 years, 42 of them with the Tigers.
Actor Dennis Quaid won't knuckle under to our heat
The online auction item of the weekWinning Bid: $158.90DESCRIPTION: This painting on the cover of a 1954 calendar portrays the notorious misanthrope Ty Cobb looking positively avuncular while...
A former big leaguer and author of the groundbreaking Ball Four explains what the Ruben Rivera incident was really about
Rivera isn't the first sports figure who's been connected to missing objects. Here's a look at two recent examples.
March 25, 2002 | Don Yaeger Last May, SI recounted the story of a mouse that was genetically altered by a team of researchers at Penn's Department of Physiology (SI, May 14, 2001). He-man, as we dubbed him, had been injected...
March 25, 2002 In anticipation of Sunday's Oscars ceremony, we handicap some of the top categories according to an important criterion that Academy members fail to take into account: What's the best choice for a...
March 25, 2002 | Don Yaeger 3,000Euros, or about $2,600, the sum that the German Hockey League fined Berlin Polar Bears forward Scott Levins for calling a referee a Nazi during an on-ice dispute; Levins, a U.S. citizen,...
Warriors center Adonal Foyle believes more athletes would become politically active except, he says, "most people who approach them with a political agenda don't explain the issues. All they want...
March 25, 2002 | Amy Ruth Levine When I was in third grade, I wore my skate key on a red shoelace around my neck. It was 1976, and a skate key was a badge of honor: It told the world I'd mastered the knee-skinning, elbow-bruising...
March 25, 2002 Blocked•By hundreds of U.S. companies, employee access to online sports sites during the NCAA basketball tournament. Companies including Travelers Insurance and several banks were responding to...
March 25, 2002 Build your own field of dreams. Sign up now and join one of our two free baseball fantasy games or run your own league at cnnsi.com/fantasy.
Forward Chucky Brown, who on Monday signed with the Kings for the rest of the season, has played for an NBA-record 12 teams in his 13-year career
March 25, 2002 From HBO—the network that has brought you shows about dysfunctional families (The Sopranos), sexually empowered women (Sex and the City), and empty-headed sports figures (Arli$$)—comes Baseball...
March 25, 2002 Former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes, 52, has agreed to a 10-round bout against onetime Toughman champ and novelty act Butterbean.
March 25, 2002 TODD MACCULLOCHNets center and University of Washington alum, on the 20 friends who came to watch a New Jersey game in Seattle even though he sat out with an injury: "It would have been less if...
A monster move in the Florida Derby gave focus to a fuzzy Kentucky Derby picture
No MLS team benefited more from the league's contraction than New England
Who's the favorite to win the MLS Cup? We rank the teams from top to bottom:
For Donnie MacMillan, there is nothing finer than to be Carolina's king of ice
March 25, 2002 Jennie Finch, LA MIRADA, CALIF.SoftballFinch, a senior righthanded pitcher at Arizona, shut out Louisiana-Lafayette 1-0 to win her 56th consecutive game, an NCAA record. She struck out 12 in the...
Each team in the NCAAs measures success differently. Here's our take on the Week One winners and losers
CREIGHTONTerrell Taylor's trey to beat Florida in double OT was defining moment of first week of these NCAAs
CONFERENCE USAFancies itself power conference but is still just underachieving Cincinnati and not much else
DUKECarnage in South leaves open path for Dookies to Final Four, their standard of success
March 25, 2002 HandywomenTennessee's Gwen Jackson (13) and Shyra Ely get high-handed in pursuit of a rebound as Notre Dame players watch helplessly during the Lady Vols' 89-50 win in the NCAA tournament.
With spring in the air and the Masters nearing, Tiger Woods shook off his winter doldrums and won at Bay Hill for the third straight year
"I came here to see if we can pitch it around in the NFL. I don't see why we can't..."
March 25, 2002 The NBA
The 'I' in ClippersContract worries and their owner's stingy ways have L.A.'s players thinking selfishly
Keith Van Horn sent a note of support last week to former Nets teammate Jayson Williams, who has been charged with manslaughter and obstructing the law in the Feb. 14 fatal shooting of limousine...
On Grizzlies rookie Shane Battier, who through Sunday was averaging 14.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.70 steals:
Two ingredients in Troy Hudson's emergence for the Magic: oil and rap
Wily CoyotesBy trading expensive stars for younger and cheaper players, Phoenix has risen quickly
Maxim AfinogenovRW SABRESThe 22-year-old Muscovite had 34 points and a career-high 20 goals through Sunday. In three NHL seasons the 6-foot 195-pounder had averaged .50 points per game.
Don't be surprised to see the Flyers cut down on the playing and practice time of defenseman Kim Johnsson, who is beginning to wear down. Johnsson was averaging 23:14 per game through Sunday and...
Armed with better tools and new techniques, today's batters have taken over the game. Pity the pitchers
It has taken an overhauled stance—and gobs of extra-thick pine tar—to turn Arizona's Luis Gonzalez from spray hitter to feared slugger
March 25, 2002 PREMIUM VINTAGE LUMBER
March 25, 2002 Pride. Possessiveness. Passion. A belter can have a welter of feelings for his most important professional partner. Just listen to these sluggers
Carving a new niche in maple, a Canadian woodworker gave hitters an alternative to ash and unleashed the boutique bat business
Many hitters believe maple gives them extra pop, but an exclusive test suggests that a bat's bark may have scant effect on its bite
March 25, 2002 Playoff Predictions
Who could be the breakout Yankee this year? Would you believe Mike Mussina?
Last season Mariano Rivera led the majors with 13 saves in outings longer than one inning.
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Yankees
with defensive ratings
It's shaping up as more of the same: Pray for Pedro and wait till next year
Rickey Henderson has 1,395 stolen bases since the start of the 1979 season, 13 more than his new team in that span.
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Red Sox
with defensive ratings
Once they've endured their growing pains, the New Jays should improve with age
With 34 homers and 32 steals, Jose Cruz Jr. became just the eighth AL 30-30 man and the first since 1998.
an opposing team's scout sizes up the Blue Jays
with defensive ratings
The rebirth of the LPGA's crusade to win over fans with good looks and good cheer coincided with the death of one of its most glamorous founders—and raised an age-old question
After a sleepy start the season finally awakens this week
TV never would have cut away from a playoff involving Tiger Woods, and having a cable network dis your top player—as ESPN did by pulling the plug on Annika Sorenstam on Sunday—is the ultimate...
Why does Phil Mickelson so often play second fiddle to Tiger Woods? Look no further than Lefty's reckless gamble at Bay Hill
With his victory at Bay Hill, Tiger Woods has converted 22 of 24 third-round leads....
Playing your best transcends the physical. You also need solid course management, so here's a four-step checklist for when you find yourself in an awkward position.
Stop and goWoods laid up for a one-putt birdie, while Mickelson's risky attempt resulted in a two-putt bogey.
March 25, 2002 Jesper Parnevik's nannies—a pair of fetching Swedes—have been getting a lot of notice lately, and apparently one of them, Elin, has caught the eye of golf's most eligible bachelor, Tiger Woods....
March 25, 2002 What's the most exciting par-3 on the PGA Tour: the 17th at the TPC at Sawgrass (Players), the 12th at Augusta National (Masters), the 17th at Pebble Beach (AT&T Pro-Am) or the 16th at the TPC...
Scott Hoch can live with the incongruity of being described as both a cantankerous boor and a refreshing truth-teller. What bugs him is that after all these years, his game gets no respect
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