ceez makes some crazy trades...

also I don't think his team has been so bad that he has been able to get a lot of top 5 picks (Griffey Jr. and Delgado were both #2 overall picks for my team).

Fair enough. Nice team you've put together.

who's that, your little brother, Kerm?

Someone who shares my poor scouting skills, at any rate.

Or at least your love for handed power hitters.

Game 33: The Spectres score a run in the first, then do nothing at the plate the rest of the night. Montreal collects eight hits and seven walks but manages only the single run, losing 4-1. Dave Burba has another decent outing but falls to 2-2. Greg Gagne strands nine runners by himself.

Game 34: Montreal commits four errors (two by Tony Phillips, giving him 16 for the season) but Chuck Finley allows only one hit in seven innings of work and the damage is limited to a single unearned run. Though the Spectre bats are little improvement from LA's, they manage to scrape two runs together to even the series with a 2-1 decision.

Game 35: Scott Erickson authors his second straight competent start, dropping his ERA to 9.07, but falls to 0-5 as the Spectres are outmatched by Kevin Gross in a 4-1 loss.

More interleague play next as the Spectres face Minnesota, then Milwaukee.

Game 36: After watching the '95 edition of the Spectres blunder their way through the season, I guess it should be no surprise that the same cast of characters is completely incapable of playing winning baseball in '96. Playing at home against Minnesota, Alex Fernandez is outpitched by John Burkett and the offense once again proves helpless to score other than by home run. MallRats win, 4-2.

Game 37: Montreal snaps a 2-2 tie with a three-run eighth inning, but gives all three back in the bottom half (Bob Wickman and Omar Daal), then loses it in the ninth on John Valentin's single. Montreal loses 6-5 and drops to 3-7 in one-run games.

Game 38: Montreal faces a winless pitcher in Milwaukee's Erik Hanson, and, surprisingly, defeats him, 7-3, hitting four doubles (but no home runs) among 10 hits and drawing seven walks. Chuck Finley walks six but strikes out seven and evens his record at 4-4.

Game 39: Scott Erickson regresses a bit, allowing five runs in five innings, and Omar Daal has a somewhat rare bad relief appearance as the Krauts destroy the Spectres 12-5, leaving Montreal 1-3 in this interleague swing.

The schedule doesn't let up any as 26-13 Orange County will visit Olympic Stadium next.

Game 40: The OC bullpen is overworked, but that doesn't stop them from tossing 5.1 scoreless innings against the pathetic Spectres. Ken Caminiti's eighth inning error eventually leads to three unearned runs when Jeff Bagwell smashes a three-run homer off Willie Blair, and the Choppers take a 7-3 victory in the series opener.

Game 41: No offense again for the Spectres; Ismael Valdez strikes out 11 Spectres and pitches a complete-game four-hitter as the Choppers roll, 8-1.

Game 42: SWEEEEEPPPPPPTTTTTT! Kevin Brown tosses a three-hitter and the Choppers outscore the Spectres 19-5 in the series as they win the finale 4-1.

Montreal heads west to face the equally successful 69ers of San Francisco (29-13).

Game 43: Montreal gets a number of unlikely run-scoring singles in the sixth, rallying from a 5-1 deficit to tie the game, and Ken Caminiti homers in the next inning to give the Spectres a lead. Willie Blair, Scott Sanders, and Robb Nen pitch four innings of shutout ball to preserve the lead and Montreal snaps their skid with a 7-5 win at 3Com.

Game 44: Montreal rallies late again; Edgardo Alfonzo's two-run triple caps a four-run eighth and the Spectres hold on for a 7-5 win. Omar Daal gets the win in relief, his third of the season.

Game 45: Frisco, 17-6 at home prior to this series, suffers the indignity of a SWEEEEEEPPP!!!!! by the Spectres, as Bret Boone hits his first home run of the year to break open a close game. Scott Sanders throws three scoreless innings for his second win and Robb Nen gets a save for the third straight day, his 10th of the season.

Montreal returns home to face the Bootleggers.

Game 46: Chuck Finley gets a three-run home run from Jay Buhner to support seven shutout innings, during which he strikes out 10 batters. The bullpen is shaky in the eighth, but Robb Nen gets a save for the fourth straight game as the Spectres win the opener 6-4 over Chicago.

Game 47: Chicago's bullpen outperforms Montreal's in game 2; the Bootleggers score three times in the ninth while Montreal can answer with only one. Chicago wins 8-6 and snaps the Spectres' four-game winning streak. Ken Griffey Jr. is 0-5 and his average drops to .253.

Game 48: Chicago scores five in the first off Alex Fernandez, but today it's the Spectres who have the last laugh; consecutive homers by Greg Gagne and John Wehner in the eighth inning break a 6-6 tie; Robb Nen pitches the ninth for his 12th save as the Bootleggers fall, 9-7.

Montreal has interleague sets next with two of the PL's top teams: Kansas City (39-9) and Boston (29-19)

Game 49: KC's William van Landingham mystifies the Montreal lineup, allowing only a solo home run by Brady Anderson, and the Blue Devils win at Montreal, 3-1. Dave Burba allows only two hits in five innings, but walks six batters.

Game 50: Leadoff man Tony Phillips gets walked SIX times, second batter Brady Anderson draws three free passes, the Blue Devils walk 14 in all, and the Spectres score early and often on the way to a 10-4 win in Kansas City. Chuck Finley survives a shaky outing for the win, with Scott Sanders throwing three scoreless innings in relief. Ken Griffey Jr. hits Montreal's only home run, his 15th.

Game 51: Scott Erickson has one of his "special" performances, allowing seven runs in the first inning (two unearned). He lasts through four, but the damage is done. Boston rolls, 12-1, with Montreal's only tally coming on a solo homer from Carlos Delgado.

Game 52: Dave Burba pitches six one-hit innings and exits with a 3-1 lead, but Scott Sanders chokes it all away in the eighth; Boston rallies for a 5-4 win. Jay Buhner hits his second home run of the day in the bottom of the ninth, but Carlos Delgado grounds into a double play with the tying run on first base to end it.

Montreal has nine more straight games at home, starting with Houston.

Game 53: Montreal shows some of the power they're reputed to have, blasting five home runs in the opener against Houston, including two by Ken Griffey Jr. Though Scott Sanders has another horrible outing, the Spectres hold on for a 10-6 victory.

Game 54: Chuck Finley gets shelled (Houston's Charlie O'Brien has four hits), Jeff Shaw pitches 2.2 shutout innings against the Spectres, and a ninth-inning rally falls several runs short as the Lone Stars crush Montreal 10-7.

Game 55: Montreal comes out on fire, scoring four in the first, four more in the second, and three in the third. Ken Griffey Jr. hits his 18th home run, and new fifth hitter Greg Gagne hits his sxith. It's enough support even for Scott Erickson, who wins his first game of the season after an 0-7 start.

It's time for the second round of divisional play; the division race has tightened up recently, with all four teams within three games of each other. Philadelphia visits Montreal first.

Game 56: Montreal has only three hits, and three of them are from Ken Caminiti; but Jay Buhner hits a two-run homer, an RBI grounder, and draws a bases-loaded walk to drive in four runs and the Spectres get a brilliant performance from Dave Burba in a 5-1 win.

Game 57: Montreal gets a two-run home run from Jay Buhner to cap a four-run first, then a two-run blast from Brady Anderson in the second, and the Spectres cruise to a 9-1 victory from there. Alex Fernandez strikes out eight batters and improves to 7-4.

Game 58: Montreal gets 21 hits, Brady Anderson and Ken Caminiti contributing four each, and completes a sweep of Philadelphia with a 19-6 victory. Three players drive in four runs and Brady Anderson scores five times. Scott Erickson can't get through the fifth, so Rick Aguilera gets the win in relief.

This 10-game homestand ends with a visit from the division leading Cosmos.

Game 59: Montreal and New York are tied for the division lead as we enter the series. Game 1 pits New York's Mark Thompson against Chuck Finley. Montreal scores first, on an error by Dave Nilsson, and takes a 4-2 lead after four innings. New York rallies for two in the fifth, however, and hits two homers in the sixth to take a 6-4 lead. Brady Anderson answers with a homer to make it 6-5 but Kevin Seitzer picks up his fourth RBI of the game in the top of the ninth, singling off Eddie Guardado. Tony Phillips leads off the bottom of the ninth with a homer but that's as close as Montreal gets. Ken Griffey Jr. draws a two-out walk but pinch hitter Carlos Delgado grounds out to end it.

Game 60: Monteal outhits New York 15-11 but the Cosmos blast four home runs (two each off Dave Burba and Scott Sanders) to win 9-6. Montreal's inability to win big games is starting to show.

Game 61: New York rallies from a 4-1 deficit to tie the game in the eighth, but the Spectres answer with two runs of their own in the bottom half, with hot-hitting Greg Gagne scoring the lead run on Eddie Taubensee's single. Robb Nen sets the Cosmos down in order in the ninth and the Spectres win 6-4, avoiding a sweep and keeping within a game of the division lead.

Montreal heads to Pittsburgh next.

Game 62: Jay Buhner hits two home runs to account for all of Montreal's scoring and Scott Erickson pitches six one-hit(!!) innings as the Spectres win at Pittsburgh, 4-2. Erickson walks six batters but manages to prevent any from scoring.

Game 63: Chuck Finley actually pitches pretty well, but an error by Greg Gagne leads to two unearned runs; Pittsburgh ties the score at four in the seventh. It stays that way through the eighth. With two down and one on base in the ninth, Carlos Delgado blasts a pinch hit homer off Dan Naulty. Robb Nen allows a leadoff single in the bottom half but retires the next three to save a 6-4 win.

Game 64: Another good performance from Dave Burba is wasted as Ken Griffey Jr. drops a fly ball in the ninth and Robb Nen fails to retire a batter; the Melons rally from a 3-1 deficit for a 4-3 win.

Montreal ends this round of divisional play with a 5-4 record and is two games back of New York. Next up is a quick interleague set with the Rynomacs, New York's PL team, before heading to St. Louis.