Daily Baseball Update: 9/28

Historical Individual Seasons: Mariano Rivera 2008
Stat Line: 6-5, 1.40 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 39 SV, age 38.
It's hard picking out Mariano's best season because he had so many.  In 2004, he saved 53 games.  In 2005, he posted a 1.38 ERA.  I ultimately chose 2008, where he posted a 1.40 ERA and a career best 0.67 WHIP.  Opponents batted just .165 and he walked only six batters in 70.2 innings.  He actually didn't give up a run until May 13th and didn't walk anyone until May 27th.  On June 4th, his ERA for the season was down to 0.35 and he carried a 0.50 WHIP.  In the All Star Game at Yankee Stadium, he pitched 1.2 innings and struck out Ryan Ludwick (37 HR, 113 RBI, .299 AVG) and Nate McLouth (26 HR, 94 RBI, .276 AVG) as well as retiring Dan Uggla (32 HR, 92 RBI, .260 AVG) on a double play ball.  The Yankees finished the season 89-73 and six games out of the Wild Card, so Mariano didn't pitch in the postseason.  However, his season was a success.  His 1.40 ERA was third best in baseball among pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched, and his 0.67 WHIP topped the majors in that category.  He also lead the majors (min 50 innings) in opponents' on base percentage (.190), opponents' OPS (.423), walks per nine innings (0.76), and strikeouts to walks ratio (12.86).  He finished fifth in the AL Cy Young voting, behind Cliff Lee (22-3, 2.54 ERA), Roy Halladay (20-11, 2.78), Francisco Rodriguez (2.24 ERA, 62 SV), and Daisuke Matsuzaka (18-3, 2.90).  The only reason he didn't claim any relief awards was because Francisco Rodriguez set a major league record with 62 saves.

News
All six divisions have been clinched: The Red Sox won the AL East, the Tigers the Central, the A' the west, the Braves the NL East, the Cardinals the Central, and the Dodgers the West.
The NL Wild Cards have been clinched as well, with the Reds and Pirates claiming them.  The race is still open between the Rays, Indians, and Rangers in the AL.
Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschimdt extended his hitting streak to 17 games.
The Orioles' Manny Machado tore a ligament in his knee (not the ACL) and will need six to eight weeks to recover, which means he will be ready for Spring Training.
The Astros have lost their 13th straight game and clinched the worst record in baseball for the third straight season.
The Indians won their 8th straight game.

Game Scores
Nationals (85-75) beat the Diamondbacks (80-80) 8-4.
Red Sox (97-63) beat the Orioles (83-77) 12-3.
Yankees (83-77) beat the Astros (51-109) 3-2.
Braves (95-65) beat the Phillies (72-88) 1-0.
Blue Jays (73-87) beat the Rays (90-70) 6-3.
Dodgers (92-68) beat the Rockies (72-88) 11-0.
Cardinals (95-65) beat the Cubs (66-94) 7-0.
Marlins (60-100) beat the Tigers (93-67) 3-2.
Top Scorer: Red Sox beat the Orioles 12-3 and Indians beat the Twins 12-6.

Standings (*clinched playoff berth, **clinched division)
AL East: Red Sox** (97-63, .606 WPCT).  AL Central: Tigers** (93-67, .581).  AL West: A's** (95-65, .594).
NL East: Braves** (95-65, .594).  NL Central: Cardinals** (95-65, .594).  NL West: Dodgers** (92-68, .575).
AL Wild Cards: Rays and Indians (90-70, .563).  NL Wild Cards: Pirates* (92-68, .575) and Reds* (90-70, .563).
Bottom Team: Astros (51-109, .319).  Longest W Streak: Indians, 8 games.  Longest L Streak: Astros, 13 games.

League Leaders
Offensive: AVG: Miguel Cabrera (Tigers), .347 (191-551).  Home runs: Chris Davis (Orioles), 53.  RBI: Chris Davis, 138.  Stolen bases: Jacoby Ellsbury (Red Sox), 52.
Pitching: Wins: Max Scherzer (Tigers), 21.  K's: Yu Darvish (Rangers), 269.  ERA: Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers), 1.83 (236 innings, 48 earned runs).  Saves: Craig Kimbrel (Braves), 50.

Top Performers
Offensive: Juan Perez (Giants): 3-4, double, home run (1), 2 RBI, 2 runs, AVG up .024 from .244 to .268, hitting streak to 1 game (3-4, .750 AVG).
Pitching: Kris Medlen (Braves): Win (15-12), 8 shutout innings, 2 hits, 2 walks, 7 K's (157), ERA drop: 0.13 runs from 3.24 to 3.11.
Worst Pitching Performance: Scott Feldman (Orioles): Loss (12-12), 2.1 innings, 8 earned runs, 8 hits, 1 walk, 1 K (132), ERA jump: 0.35 runs from 3.51 to 3.86.

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Teams followed in this update: Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers
If your team is not included, please leave a comment.
HR: home runs.  RBI: runs batted in.  AVG: batting average.  SB: stolen bases.  ERA: earned run average. WHIP: walks/hits per innings pitched.  K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage
Zack Silverman