First place is on the line, as every team in the Gladys Division is 17-19. The Pelicans, winners of a season-high four straight (after the now aborted fire sale was announced), play their rivals from Tupelo, a team they match up very well against but still have done very poorly against.

Day 44 -- Haynes v. Ortiz
Robin Ventura's grand slam capped off a five-run 9th inning for the Pelicans, who were losing 10-0 going into the bottom of the 9th. How did THIS happen!?

Simple. Russ Ortiz pitched the worst outing of any Pelican starting pitcher this season (Schilling's ejection and suspension after 1/3 of an inning not withstanding), and Jimmy Haynes had somehow managed to shut down the Pelicans on three hits through 8 innings.

Jimmy Fucking Haynes!?

AET 210 303 100 -- 10 13 0
NOP 000 000 005 -- 5 7 0

Eagles info:
Pitching -- Haynes (W) 8.1 IP, Heredia .2
Catching -- Santiago 9
HR -- Santiago (2 on, 2 out in 6th)
Injuries/Suspensions/Ejections -- Nyet.
Limits -- None

Pelicans info:
Pitching -- Ortiz (L) 3.2 IP, Mecir 2.1, Mulholland 2, Borbon 1
Catching -- Kendall 9
HR -- Ventura (grand slam, 1 out in 9th)
Injuries/Suspensions/Ejections -- Double nyet.
Limits -- None

Player of the game -- Jimmy Haynes isn't getting this, no way. He had NO BUSINESS pitching a three-hitter through eight innings. His 9th inning (infield single, single, single, walk, homerun, flyout, walk) is how it SHOULD HAVE BEEN a hell of a lot earlier. Therefore, the credit will go to Nomahhhh, 3-for-5 with three doubles and three ribbies.

Anti-player of the game -- Conversely, Russ Ortiz can't get this either. Oh sure, he was wretched (his line: 3.2 7 6 6 1 1, plus a pair of HBP's), but anybody who has to wait until game #37 to get their first truly awful start from their pitcher should be happy. Therefore, the bottom four in the Pelican lineup get the honor; they were a combined 1-for-14 with a pair of walks (the walks coming in the 9th inning). The whole lineup hit like a bunch of drunk lesbians for 8 innings but the top five guys at least got hits in the 9th.

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Day 45 -- Benson v. Rueter
The last time the Pelicans faced Benson he did a Jimmy Haynes on them, much to the very loud, vocal, and profane chagrin of Notch. Well, imagine Notch after Cy Benson retires the first six guys in order...............

They did get it together in the 3rd though. Highlighted by RBI doubles from Vina and Junior, not to mention the two-run homer by Burrell, the Pellies get five across and cruise.

Byung-Hyun Kim's agent thanks the Eagles for scratching together a couple of runs to make it a save situation so his client can pad the stats.

AET 000 011 000 -- 2 7 0
NOP 005 000 00X -- 5 6 0

Eagles info:
Pitching -- Benson (L) 3 IP, Van Poppel 1, Paronto 3, Powell 1
Catching -- Santiago 8
HR -- Nomahhhhh (solo, 2 out in 6th)
Injuries/Suspensions/Ejections -- None
Limits -- None

Pelicans info:
Pitching -- Rueter (W) 6.2 IP, Hasegawa 1.1, Kim (Sv) 1
Catching -- Kendall 6, Blanco 3
HR -- Burrell (1 on, 2 out in 3rd)
Injuries/Suspensions/Ejections -- None
Limits -- None

Player of the game -- Vina (2-3, 2B, RBI) and Rueter (6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER) stand out for the homeboys, with Santiago (3-4, 2 2B) providing almost half the offense for the Eagles.

Anti-player of the game -- Kevin Mench was 1-for-4 with a run scored but he also hit into 2 DP's.

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Day 46 -- Carpenter v. Schilling
Imagine again Notch's chagrin when Chris Carpenter (with the opponents' .320 BA v. LHB) faced a lineup with seven lefty batters and retired the first nine Pelicans faced. This after the Eagles manufactured a run in the first on a Jeter error and a sac fly.

Well, apparently the second time through the order does the trick. Trailing 2-0 in the 4th, the Pellies tie it with a single, double, single, and non-RBI but run-scoring 4-6-3. Ichiro and Junior had back-to-back "down the line 1B" infield range plays to the F-rated Vaughn, who actually held Junior to an infield single. Vina doubled ("down the line 1b" infield range) and scored to give them the lead in the 5th. Sac fly by Robin in the 6th gives the Pelicans a 4-2 lead before they bust open with three more in the 7th thanks to a couple of walks, a Jeter RBI single and a two-run triple by Ichiro.

The Pelicans take two of three and sit in first place! Depending on the outcome of the Satika-Collin County series, they will either be tied for first or one game back in sole possession of second place.

AET 100 100 100 -- 3 9 0
NOP 000 211 31X -- 8 9 1

Eagles info:
Pitching -- Carpenter (L) 6 IP, Santana .1, Van Poppel .1, Heredia 1.1
Catching -- Santiago 8
HR -- T-Long (solo, 1 out in 4th)
Injuries/Suspensions/Ejections -- Santana had arm trouble in the 7th and had to come out. He will not be able to return until Day 48.
Limits -- None

Pelicans info:
Pitching -- Schilling (W) 7, Yan 2
Catching -- Zaun 6, Blanco 3
HR -- Burrell (leadoff in 9th)
Injuries/Suspensions/Ejections -- None
Limits -- Zaun 2 AB v. R, Merloni 1 AB v. R

Player of the game -- Even though the top three in the Pelican lineup (Jeter, Ichiro, and Junior) went a combined 6-for-10, you may note that Esteban Yan entered the game in the 8th inning and a 7-3 lead. The final score was 8-3. Esteban Yan pitched two scoreless, uneventful, boring, incident-free, wonderful innings in relief.

Anti-player of the game -- Nobody was really that bad...........uh, okay, how about this? Matt Williams and Jermaine Dye each were 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts. Carpenter didn't pitch that bad, so that's the best we can do.

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The Gladys Division leaders (meaning the Pelicans at 19-20) travel to Missouri to play the soon-to-be-dethroned two-timers. Oh yeah, and they also sent Jason Kendall there in exchange for Mike Piazza and Omar Infante as part of a deadline deal. The playoffs are in effect underway for the Pelicans.