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06-10-2005, 12:21 AM
<b>Lee, Clark on record-setting pace while team nears .500</b>
LOS ANGELES -- The Brewers completed the first third of their season on Friday night, with players like Carlos Lee and Doug Davis off to great starts and others scuffling.
According to the manager, it's still too early to jump to any conclusions.
"I'm not satisfied where we are by any means," said Yost, whose Brewers were 26-28 through the season's first 54 games. "Even though Carlos is putting up great numbers RBI- and home run-wise, he's a .300 hitter and he's hitting .265. I know Carlos is going to go on a tear. I know Jenks [Geoff Jenkins] hasn't put up numbers like he's capable of doing and he's going to go on a tear. Lyle Overbay has cooled off. He can get hot.
"If those three guys can go a tear, either consecutively or collectively, we're going to put some wins on the board if our pitching stays the way it has, and I see no reason why it shouldn't."
Yost is not a slave to statistics, but the 54-game point offered a good chance to peruse the stat pack. Lee became the fastest Brewer ever to reach the 50 RBI plateau when he hit a grand slam on Saturday in his 54th game. He got there quicker than Richie Sexson, who had 50 RBIs by his 57th game in 2002, and John Jaha and Greg Vaughn, who each drove in 50 runs in their first 58 games in 1996.
At this pace, Lee will drive in 150 runs and shatter the franchise record of 126 RBIs by Cecil Cooper in 1983. Lee is also on pace for 42 home runs, which would be a career high and would set a Brewers record for a regular left fielder (Ben Oglivie, a fellow Panamanian, hit 41 in 1980). But Lee would fall short of the team-record 45 homers belted by Sexson (2001 and 2003) and Gorman Thomas (1979).
"I'm glad I'm doing what they expect me to do," said Lee, who entered Saturday's games tied with the Cubs' Derrek Lee for the Major League RBI lead.
Obviously, a lot can happen during the next 108 games. But here is a look at some other notable starts, good and not so good:
• Brady Clark is on pace for 237 hits, better than Cooper's record 219 knocks in 1980, and is batting .342, which would rank third in fracnhise history behind Paul Molitor's .353 (1987) and Cooper's .352 (1980).
• Clark and Lee are the only Brewers who have started every game this season. Three players have played 162 games: Sexson (2003), Robin Yount (1988) and Thomas (1982).
• Davis is on pace for 21 wins, which would make him the Brewers' fourth 20-game winner. Mike Caldwell holds the record with 22 wins (1978), and Jim Colborn (1973) and Teddy Higuera (1986) each won 20.
• Fellow lefty Chris Capuano is on pace for 192 strikeouts, which would tie Higuera for fourth-most all-time, and 15 wins. If he and Davis keep pace, they would increase to 22 the number of 15-plus win seasons by a Brewer.
• Jenkins is on pace for 15 home runs and 63 RBIs, which would be his lowest output since 2002, when he was limited to 67 games. Jenkins hit 20 home runs to go with 63 RBIs in 105 games in 2001.
• The Brewers are on pace to go 78-84, their first 70-plus win season since going 73-89-1 in 2000 and their highest win total since going 78-83 in 1997 as an American League club.
If you've got a notable projection, include it in an e-mail and look for it in a future story.
LOS ANGELES -- The Brewers completed the first third of their season on Friday night, with players like Carlos Lee and Doug Davis off to great starts and others scuffling.
According to the manager, it's still too early to jump to any conclusions.
"I'm not satisfied where we are by any means," said Yost, whose Brewers were 26-28 through the season's first 54 games. "Even though Carlos is putting up great numbers RBI- and home run-wise, he's a .300 hitter and he's hitting .265. I know Carlos is going to go on a tear. I know Jenks [Geoff Jenkins] hasn't put up numbers like he's capable of doing and he's going to go on a tear. Lyle Overbay has cooled off. He can get hot.
"If those three guys can go a tear, either consecutively or collectively, we're going to put some wins on the board if our pitching stays the way it has, and I see no reason why it shouldn't."
Yost is not a slave to statistics, but the 54-game point offered a good chance to peruse the stat pack. Lee became the fastest Brewer ever to reach the 50 RBI plateau when he hit a grand slam on Saturday in his 54th game. He got there quicker than Richie Sexson, who had 50 RBIs by his 57th game in 2002, and John Jaha and Greg Vaughn, who each drove in 50 runs in their first 58 games in 1996.
At this pace, Lee will drive in 150 runs and shatter the franchise record of 126 RBIs by Cecil Cooper in 1983. Lee is also on pace for 42 home runs, which would be a career high and would set a Brewers record for a regular left fielder (Ben Oglivie, a fellow Panamanian, hit 41 in 1980). But Lee would fall short of the team-record 45 homers belted by Sexson (2001 and 2003) and Gorman Thomas (1979).
"I'm glad I'm doing what they expect me to do," said Lee, who entered Saturday's games tied with the Cubs' Derrek Lee for the Major League RBI lead.
Obviously, a lot can happen during the next 108 games. But here is a look at some other notable starts, good and not so good:
• Brady Clark is on pace for 237 hits, better than Cooper's record 219 knocks in 1980, and is batting .342, which would rank third in fracnhise history behind Paul Molitor's .353 (1987) and Cooper's .352 (1980).
• Clark and Lee are the only Brewers who have started every game this season. Three players have played 162 games: Sexson (2003), Robin Yount (1988) and Thomas (1982).
• Davis is on pace for 21 wins, which would make him the Brewers' fourth 20-game winner. Mike Caldwell holds the record with 22 wins (1978), and Jim Colborn (1973) and Teddy Higuera (1986) each won 20.
• Fellow lefty Chris Capuano is on pace for 192 strikeouts, which would tie Higuera for fourth-most all-time, and 15 wins. If he and Davis keep pace, they would increase to 22 the number of 15-plus win seasons by a Brewer.
• Jenkins is on pace for 15 home runs and 63 RBIs, which would be his lowest output since 2002, when he was limited to 67 games. Jenkins hit 20 home runs to go with 63 RBIs in 105 games in 2001.
• The Brewers are on pace to go 78-84, their first 70-plus win season since going 73-89-1 in 2000 and their highest win total since going 78-83 in 1997 as an American League club.
If you've got a notable projection, include it in an e-mail and look for it in a future story.