An MLB Collaborative TL: Piece of Cake: The Cubs win Game 6 in '03

[NyQuil]

April 20th 2005: Nomar Garciaparia and Ichiro for the Mariners set at batting .600 for the season as baseball writers and reporters start to separate if this is the year for the first time in 1941 that a player will hit .400 or more in a season and that if it’s possible 2 players can do it

April 22nd 2005: Reds slugger Ken Griffey Jr who in 2004 hit 38 home runs and 118 RBIs in his full first full season since 2000 which also saw him hit his 500th home run becomes the fastest player in modern MLB history to hit 500 home runs and drive in 1,500 RBIs and the first to do it since Babe Ruth

April 25th 2005: The Marlins still show they are the team to beat after a 17-4 start to the season which becomes the best start to a MLB season for a team in 20+ years

 

[NyQuil]

June 2nd 2005: Former USC defensive lineman Manuel Wright announces that he will join the Central Valley Coyotes of the Arena Football 2 League and will be promoted to their active roster as the team’s chase for the playoffs begins

June 4th 2005: Former Miami quarterback Kyle Wright announces he will use the emergency portal to transfer to Alabama

June 5th 2005: Another former Miami quarterback Kirby Freeman announced that he will transfer to play at UCLA

June 9th 2005: After failing to find a new home in the the spring former 49ers and Cardinals quarterback Jeff Garcia continues his career in the NFC West as he signs a 1 year deal with the Seattle Seahawks as they hope for him to be the guy that 1st round draft pick Jason Campbell develops under

 

[NyQuil]

May 2nd 2005: Barry Bonds makes his 2005 season debut on the road in Arizona where he is greeted to a bunch of boos and chants labeling him as a cheater

Bonds flies out and a hits a RBI single in his first game back as the Giants win 3-1

May 4th 2005: The Red Sox are hit by a season ending injury by shortstop Omar Vizquel as top prospect for the team Hanley Ramirez is expected to get the call up to replace him for the season

May 6th 2005: Barry Bonds plays his first home game in San Francisco against the Expos in the season as he goes 2-4 as he hits a double along with a intentional walk and hits his first home run of the 2005 season as he hits his 711th home run just 4 more home runs till he ties Babe Ruth all time in a 4-2 win for the Giants

 

[NyQuil]

May 7th 2005: The Rangers pitcher Roger Clemens throws his first career no hitter against the Cleveland Indians in a 3-0 win at home which is also the first no hitter of the 2005 MLB season

The 42 year old does it with his baseball idol Nolan Ryan in attention as he continues to defy father time as he starts out the 2005 season with a 4-1 record and a ERA below 1.00

May 8th 2005: Marlins closer Eric Gagne becomes the fastest relief pitcher ever to reach 200 saves after closing out a 3-2 victory against the Rockies

May 10th 2005: Glen Taylor the owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves announced that he will form a group that would start a path towards bringing a MLB back to Minnesota

 

[ILPD45]

What should the new Minnesota baseball team name be? The Twins again, the Millers (the name of the Giants’ former minor-league affiliate in Minneapolis), or something else?

 

[Nivek]

What should the new Minnesota baseball team name be? The Twins again, the Millers (the name of the Giants’ former minor-league affiliate in Minneapolis), or something else?

umm depends, there a team with an aging stadium could use a whole market for themselves

 

[NyQuil]

May 11th 2005:After seeing 2 stars suspended already for violating the new MLB drug policy several key figures call for Bud Selig to step down as the commissioner of Major League Baseball including announcer Bob Costas in a New York Times Op-Ed

“Mr Selig failed to do what he promised to towards the United States Congress as even with the new drug testing system players are still be caught left and right. Bud please do the right thing for the game of baseball and step down”

May 15th 2005: It is announced in the summer that a confidence vote will take place to determine if Bud Selig will hold onto the job of MLB commissioner

May 17th 2005: Around the controversy surrounding him Barry Bonds hits his 714th career home run tying him with Babe Ruth 2nd all time in the all time career home run list

*BROADCAST OF THE CALL FROM DUANE KIPER AND MIKE KURKOW ON THE GIANTS RADIO STATION*

“0-2 to pitch to Bonds and he’s gonna hit that would high and deep it’s going going no one is gonna come and try to catch that ball it’s too far ITS OUTTA HERE! 714th! Bonds ties “The Babe” for 2nd all time in home runs with his 5th of 2005 and the Giants tie down the game now at 1-1!”

Bonds would also walk for the 10th time already in the season and hit a single as the Giants would win the game 8-6

After the game in a press conference Bonds finally lashes out at the press when asked about his connections with Greg Anderson and BALCO

“You guys keep asking me the same thing over and over again don’t you get tired of it? Find something new and then we can talk”

 

[NyQuil]

May 18th 2005: The city of Montreal announces they have struck a deal to bring a new stadium for the Expos by the year 2009 that will be located in the heart of the city next to the Bell Centre called “Moslon Field” and that future baseball in Montreal has been saved

May 20th 2005: Barry Bonds in a game against the Oakland A’s despite be the 3-2 loss Barry Bonds passes Babe Ruth on the all time home run list list with his 715th home run to be 2nd all time in career home runs

*BROADCAST OF THE CALL FROM DUANE KIPER AND MIKE KURKOW ON THE GIANTS RADIO STATION*
“3-0 is the count Bonds can be walked for the 20th time already this season if he gets another ball… here’s the pitch from Harden and Bonds hits it it’s a big drive towards the left wall Kotasy is heading to the track he think he has the edge as he leaps over the wall to get it and….. HE DIDNT GET IT IT SQUEAKS OUT OF THE BALLPARK AND ITS OUTTA HERE FOR 715T!!!!!!! BONDS PASSES BABE RUTH FOR 2ND ALL TIME IN HOME RUNS!! The Giants are now in the board in a 2-1 ballgame!”

Bonds would give a tip of the helmet to the cheering San Francisco crowd though the reaction to Bonds passes The Babe would be mixed

While there would be praises for Bonds a good amount of people a good amount of people felt sorrow as a controversial player like Barry Bonds would pass the wildly celebrated and American icon known as Babe Ruth including MSNBC anchor and former ESPN and Fox Sports analyst on his show “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” he would dedicate a special segment on it

*SEGMENT FROM COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN BROADCAST ON MAY 23RD 2005*

“We start out today’s show with a special non political segment on this show as over the weekend the celebrated and one of the best players if not best player to ever play the game of baseball and help make it a national pastime Babe Ruth until Friday was baseball’s 2nd all time in career home runs but then on Friday a player who reportedly showed up Spring Training back in 2000 “Almost a different person” and throughout the past 2 years has found himself involved in the investigation of the San Francisco based BALCO company but the point is that one of the most celebrated accomplishments in not just baseball the all time home run record is on the verge of being broken by one of the biggest cheaters this game has seen since the Black Sox of the 1920s and when it happens because it will it will be one of the darkest days in baseball history
And before I end this segment Barry Bonds if/when you are watching this or even you care to even do so I ask you this
The Babe did it with hot dogs and beer Hank Aaron did it with class but how did you do it Barry? Bonds must come clean about this whole thing or else.”

May 23rd 2005: The struggling Royals who one again start out with the worst record in the AL deal one of the few remaining stars the team has 1st Base/DH Mike Sweeney to the Chicago Cubs who need a solid 1st baseman as they start to compete for the NL Central again for minor league prospects Angel Guzman and Ricky Nolasco

 

[stratonapba]

May 29, 2005: And so after years and years of Male Dominance, Danica Patrick has finally done it in which she became the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 becoming the 3rd rookie to win the Indianapolis 500.

 

[NyQuil]

JUNE 7th 2005
2005 MLB DRAFT DAY 1 RESULTS AS METS TIGERS AND ROYALS ROUND OUT TOP 3
MLB. COM

The 2005 MLB Draft got off on a high note when the Mets took with the first overall pick Phil Hughes a Right Handed Pitcher from Santa Clara University

Hughes was drafted last year by the Yankees out of high school in the 1st Round however he didn’t sign and opted to play at college as that seemed to pay out as he was seen as the best pitcher in college baseball winning the “Roger Clemens Award” this season

The Mets hope for him to be the future ace they need to drive the franchise

With the 2nd overall pick the Detroit Tigers took Alex Gordon a 3rd baseman from Nebraska University as the team hopes to build on a promising farm system

Gordon was the 2005 Golden Spikes and Dick Howard award winner and hopes his award winning player is key to getting the Tigers out of the bottom of the league

With the 3rd overall pick the Kansas City Royals took Ryan Braun a 3rd Baseman from Miami University as he looks like it will be the own to replace the recently traded Mike Sweeney in a few as either their cornerstone 3rd or 1st baseman or DH within a few years

With the 4th overall pick the Montreal Expos took Troy Tulowitzki a Shortstop from Long Beach State University

Tulowizki was seen as the best infielder in this draft class a 5 tool talent he had been compared to both Alex Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra as the Expos look for that future next big star to help Montreal be a contender

With the 5th overall pick in the draft the Milwaukee Brewers took Rickey Romero a Left Handed Pitcher from Cal State Fullerton

Romero was seen as the best Left Handed Pitcher in the draft and led the Cal Fullerton to a 2004 College World Series title and now look like he will bring them to another try for the title

With the 6th overall pick the Tampa Bay Devil Rays took Jeff Clement a Catcher from the University Of Southern California

Little bit of a stunner here but the Devil Rays get the highest ranking catcher of the draft

With the 7th overall pick the Los Angeles Dodgers took the first High School player in the draft Justin Upton a Shortstop from Great Bridge High School in Chesapeake Virginia

Upton is the brother of 2002 MLB Draft 2nd overall pick BJ Upton who was taken by the Devil Rays

Upton a 5 tool outfielder compared to Carlos Beltran was seen as the best High School player for a reason as they hope for him to be the next big star in Dodger blue

With the 8th overall pick the Cincinnati Reds took Ryan Zimmerman a 3rd Baseman from the University of Virginia

Zimmerman goes a lower than expected but many scouts believe that Zimmerman has the best power out of anyone in this draft

With the 9th overall pick in the Pittsburgh Pirates took Cameron Maybin a Center Fielder from T.C Robinson High School in Asheville North Carolina

Maybin was seen as the 2nd best high school bat in this draft as Pittsburgh hopes he is the future of their outfield

With the 10th overall pick the Houston Astros took Jay Bruce a Center Fielder from West Brook Senior High School in Beaumont Texas

The Astros hope his power is enough for him to be the solid replacement for Bagwell and Berkman as he rounds out the top 10 of this draft

Other notable picks in the first round were at Pick 12 the San Diego Padres taking Andrew McCutchen a Center Fielder from Fort Meade Middle High School as people were shocked by the fact that he didn’t go in the top 10

Where in the outfield McCutchen will play is now is up for debate

Also at pick 15 the Washington Senators took Dexter Fowler a Right Fielder from Miami University who was drafted in the 14th round last year by the Rockies but decided to return to college and ends up being a 1st round pick with that decision

At Pick 19 the Atlanta Braves took Nick Adenhart a Right Handed Pitcher from the University of North Carolina as Adenhart was also drafted in 2004 by the Angels but decided to play college ball at UNC as he would the ACC player of the year for 2005 as he finished with a ERA almost under 1.50

Adenhart hopes to the Braves future ace with Glavine and Maddux both no longer with the team

At Pick 22 the Seattle Mariners took Jacoby Ellsbury a Center Fielder from Oregon State University who ironically received many comparisons to Mariners star Ichiro and could very well be with him in the future within the next 2 to 3 years

The Chicago Cubs at pick 25 would take Matt Garza from a Right Handed Pitcher from Fresno State as they hope for him one day to be the next big ace on the North Side

In the Compensation Round

The Yankees in a pick there received from the Rangers when they signed Roger Clemens went ahead and took Clay Buchholz a Right Handed Pitcher from Angelina Community College in Lufkin Texas

Buchholz was seen as one of the best pitchers past the first record and he ends early on in this round

The Cardinals a few picks later would take Wade Davis a Right Handed Pitcher from Florida University
Davis was drafted by the Devil Rays in the 3rd Round of the 2004 MLB draft but declined the offer and went ahead to go play at Florida University where he became the SEC pitcher of the year in 2005

A good amount of people had him in 1st round range so what a steal from the Cardinals

A couple other notable picks from this round are the Diamondbacks taking Mark Trumbo a power hitting 1st baseman who declined to join the Angels after they drafted him in 2004 and went ahead and played college baseball at USC in 2005 in which he would end up leading not just the PAC 10 but the whole NCAA in home runs

Towards the end of that round the Astros took their potential replacement for Craig Biggio at 2nd base with Jed Lowrie from Stanford University

And the final pick of that round the White Sox took Chase Headley a 1st baseman from Tennessee University though he very well replace Frank Thomas eventually as the team’s designated hitter

In the 2nd Round which was kicked off with the New York Mets taking Brett Gardner a Center Fielder from College of Charleston as they hope to find that offense force in that lineup

The next pick the Tigers took Jeremy Hellickson a pitcher from Hoover High School in Des Moines Iowa but there is a debate on if he will sign with Detroit or stick with his commitment to The University of Iowa

Other notable picks of the 2nd round

Devil Rays-RHP Travis Wood Bryant High School in Little Rock Arkansas

Dodgers-Nick Hundley Catcher Arizona University

Reds-Kevin Slowey RHP Winthrop University

Orioles-Yunel Escobar Matires de Barbados High School in La Habana Cuba

Cubs- Justin Maxwell Center Fielder University of Maryland

White Sox-Justin Thomas Pitcher Youngstown State

The 2 Compensation of the 2nd Round to end day 1 of the draft was the Brewers taking Pitcher and Hitter hybrid Micah Owings from Tulane University but if it’s unknown if he will be pitching or hitting if he signs

And the final pick of Day 1 was the Montreal Expos taking Marco Estrada a Pitcher from Cal State University Long Beach

And that is the wrap on Day 1 of the 2005 MLB First Year Player Draft and check back tomorrow as we recap Day 2

 

[Nivek]

great update

 

[NyQuil]

great update

Hopefully Tulo stays healthy in this timeline

 

[mrcubfan415]

The Chicago Cubs at pick 25 would take Matt Garza from a Right Handed Pitcher from Fresno State as they hope for him one day to be the next big ace on the North Side

Hopefully he's not as sexist ITTL.

The next pick the Tigers took Jeremy Hellickson a pitcher from Hoover High School in Des Moines Iowa but there is a debate on if he will sign with Detroit or stick with his commitment to the University of Iowa

FTFY

 

[NyQuil]

JUNE 8th 2005
2005 MLB DRAFT DAY 2 RECAP
MLB. COM
The 2nd and final day of the 2005 MLB Draft as we get ready to recap it by sharing the most notable picks of the day

In the 3rd Round
Rockies-Lance Lynn from Brownsburg High School in Brownsburg Indiana

A’s-Jemile Weeks from Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs Florida

Cubs-Michael Brantley from Fort Pierce Central High School in Fort Pierce Florida

White Sox-Doug Fister from Merced College in Merced Cailforina

Giants-Peter Bourjos from Notre Dame Preparatory High School in Scottsdale Arizona

In the 5th Round

Reds-Pat White from Daphne High School in Daphne Alabama

Padres-Austin Jackson from Billy Ryan High School in Denton Texas

Diamondbacks-Gaby Sánchez from Brito Miami Private School in Miami Florida

Rockies-Matt Joyce from Florida Southern University in Lakeland Florida


In the 8th Round

Tigers-Josh Tomlin from Angelina College in Lufkin Texas

Expos-Josh Outman from St. Louis Community College–Forest Park in St Louis Missouri

Blue Jays-Jake Arrieta from Weatherford Junior College in Weatherford Texas

Rangers-Koby Clemens from Memorial High School in Houston Texas

Red Sox-Pedro Álvarez from Horace Mann School in The Bronx New York

In the 17th Round

Mets-Andrew Bailey from Wagner College in Staten Island New York

Diamondbacks-Chris Carter from Sierra Vista High School in Spring Valley Nevada

In the 23rd Round
Giants-Aaron Rodgers from Pleasant Valley High School in Chico Cailforina

Expos-Logan Morrison from Northshore High School in Slidell Louisiana

In the 26th Round

Yankees-Sergio Romo from Mesa State College in Grand Junction Colorado

In the 32nd Round
Rangers- Matthew Stafford from Highland Park High School in Dallas Texas

In the 48th Round
Braves-Darren McFadden from Oak Grove High School in Little Rock Arkansas

In the 50th Round
Devil Rays-Brett Boggs from Wharton High School in Tampa Florida

 

[NyQuil]

*TSN COVERAGE OF THE 2005 NHL DRAFT LOTTERY MAY 25th 2005*

Bob McKenzie: It looks the Sidney Crosby sweepstakes will now come down to 10 teams the Islanders,Penguins,Blue Jackets,Mighty Ducks,Oilers,Blues,Coyotes,Capitals,Blackhawks and the Sabers
Here’s the commissioner Gary Bettman to announce the were things will be when it’s all said and done

“The 10th pick of the 2005 NHL Draft goes to the St Louis Blues
The 9th pick of the 2005 NHL Draft goes to the Chicago Blackhawks
The 8th overall pick of the 2005 NHL Draft to the New York Islanders
The 7th overall pick of the 2005 NHL Draft goes to the Edmonton Oilers
The 6th pick of the 2005 NHL Draft The Washington Capitals”

Bob McKenzie: So the number 1 pick will come down to the Mighty Ducks,Coyotes,Penguins,Sabers and Blue Jackets

*Later on*

“The 5th overall pick of the 2005 NHL Draft goes to the Columbus Blue Jackets
The 4th overall pick of the 2005 NHL Draft goes to the Phoenix Coyotes
The 3rd overall pick of the 2005 NHL Draft goes to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
And the 1st overall pick of the 2005 NHL Draft goes to……
The Buffalo Sabers
Which means the 2nd overall pick of the 2005 NHL Draft goes to the Pittsburgh Penguins

Bob McKenzie: And there you have it The Buffalo Sabers take home the number 1 pick of the 2005 NHL Draft and likely have the keys to take Sidney Crosby in next month’s draft!

 

[KingSweden24]

Hell yeah! Go Buffs!

 

[NyQuil]

*ESPN BROADCAST OF THE 2005 NBA DRAFT LOTTERY ON MAY 22nd 2005*

Stuart Scott: Welcome back to the live coverage of the 2005 NBA Draft lottery we are now down to the 10 teams to see who will get the number 1 pick of next month’s NBA Draft
Anyways here it goes! Onto commissioner Stern at center stage!

“Thank you very much
The 10th overall pick goes to The Golden State Warriors
The 9th overall pick goes to The Utah Jazz
The 8th overall pick goes to The Portland Trail Blazers
The 7th overall pick goes to The Los Angeles Clippers
The 6th overall pick goes to The Charlotte Bobcats
The 5th overall pick goes to The Atlanta Hawks
The 4th overall pick goes to The Minnesota Timberwolves
The 3rd overall pick goes to the Chicago Bulls
The 2nd overall pick goes to the New York Knicks
Which means the 1st overall pick of the 2005 NBA Draft will go to the Orlando Magic!”

Stuart Scott: Wow what a shocker! So the Magic who finished 2nd in the draft lottery last time jumps ahead of the Bulls and Knicks this time to get the 1st overall pick of this draft!

Let the debate on who they should take number 1 begin

 

[Inferno60]

May 12th, 2005: USC superstar Reggie Bush makes his decision. He sits at a table, with his family, and says: "I'm gonna bring a ring to a place that never had one, a place where I can excel, and a place where I can be a legend. I'm purple baby, I'm a wildcat." So Bush goes to Kansas State, where he will hopefully bring a title to Manhattan and join the Snyder Family.

You need to trademark this @Looper.

 

[NyQuil]

May 23th 2005: In a makeup game between the Rangers and Mariners we see a highly anticipated pitching matchup as for the 1st time since the 2001 World Series between Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson the 2 pitchers with the most Cy Young Awards in MLB history

It’s Roger Clemens however that gets the best of this matchup as he wins a 3-1 game for the Rangers as he throws 5 shutout innings and 8 strikeouts

May 24th 2005: Manny Ramirez once again gets into it with Red Sox manager Grady Little as rumor starts to go ahead that Manny is unhappy with Boston and wants to be out of the team by the deadline

May 26th 2005: Sammy Sosa returns to Wrigley Field for the first time as a member of the Rockies and to play against the Cubs for the first time in his career

In that game however Sosa can’t get anything going as he goes 0-3 as the Cubs led by the bats of newly acquired Mike Sweeney and Shawn Green and the lights out pitching of Tim Hudson end up winning 4-2 as the Cubs start to give the Marlins a run for their money when it comes to the best record in the NL

May 27th 2005: Led by the 2 of the biggest free agent signings last season Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado both homer twice as the Astros beat the team with the worst record in the NL the Brewers 12-0 meawhile Marlins pitcher Dontrelle Willis becomes the first pitcher since Rick Wise in 1971 to have a 2 home run game as the Marlins continue to be the team to beat in the NL 8 to 4

May 29th 2005: The NFL announced that the 2005 International Bowl game that will open up the 2005 Preseason will be in Sydney Australia and will feature the Miami Dolphins play the San Francisco 49ers

 

[NyQuil]

June 2nd 2005: The NCAA announces 2 new international bowl games for the 2005-2006 bowl season and beyond

One being the KIA Maple Leaf Bowl which will take place on December 28th and will be a team from the Big East vs a C-USA team in Toronto Ontario

The other one being on January 2nd which will be a ACC vs Big East/Independent bowl game set to take place in Tokyo Japan called the Coca Cola Japan Bowl

The NCAA soon hopes to expand regular season games internationally

June 5th 2005: Former Auburn running back and 2004 Heisman Trophy winner is named the Cadliac Williams alongside former Michigan receiver and Heisman winner Desmond Howard the cover athletes of NCAA Football 06