National League Pitcher of the Week – Bruce Sutter – Coastline Bobcats
1-0 record, 4 saves, 6.1 innings pitched, 0.00 ERA, 0 hits allowed, 4 strikeouts, & 1 walk
American League Pitcher of the Week – Tommy Bridges – Kansas City Blues
2-0 record, 16.2 innings pitched, 1.62 ERA, 7 hits allowed, 12 strikeouts, & 7 walks
National League Player of the Week – Andre Dawson – Nags Head Surf Sox
.478 avg / .913 slg, 11 for 23, 4 doubles, 2 home runs, 3 runs, 8 RBIs & 2 walks
American League Player of the Week – Rogers Hornsby – Jack Street Hustlers
.444 avg / .963 slg, 12 for 27, 2 doubles, 4 home runs, 8 runs, 11 RBIs, & 7 walks
Around the League
If nothing else Week 7 proved to be one where teams like Detroit, Motown, and Hollywood honed their skills while Madison East and Climax sharpened their axes.
Detroit, Motown, and Hollywood are the league’s hottest teams coming out of the action of the last week. Detroit and Motown are a cool 8-2 in their last 10 games while the Zombies appear to have been resurrected after a series against Iowa and are 9-1 in the same span including nine straight wins and counting. Hollywood’s streak has leapfrogged them over Fire Lake and Iowa into 6th place in the NL West, but like the almost as hot Motown Yankees, they are in a mad dash over the league’s best team so far – The Clockwork Heros who have won 35 of 48 games this season and hold a 5.5 game lead over another very good team in the Hoboken Zephyrs.
Detroit meanwhile has advanced rapidly in the NL East moving into a tie for 2nd place with the Virginia Cavaliers and four games behind division-leading Coastline Bobcats (33-16).
Jack Street (34-15) and Lewisberry (30-19) are ahead of the pack in the AL East with the Las Vegas Pirates next but a distant 10 back, but the Hustlers and Country Blumpkins have proved to be human after all in this past couple of weeks so who knows what will happen?
The Fort Worth Cats and Cincinnati Knights are leading the AL West – a division that has centrifuged itself into .a pack of .500-plus teams that also includes Menomonee, Purry and New Westminster and three teams that have sadness and sub-.350 records (Madison East, KC Blues, Wrigleyville) who are if anything relieved at not having to play their division rivals again for a while.
The Madison East Purgolders and Climax Cougars have had some aneurysm-inducing homestands of late that have resulted in their managers getting the ax with Kent Williams and Buck Miller both taking a ride on the ebola train out of town. Both managers complained have filed grievances after pointing out that in fact they are just being used as scapegoats for their teams home managers being the real problem (Madison East’s home record of 9-19 is actually worse than its 8-13 road record while the same is true for Climax who are 12-16 at home and 11-10 on the road).
Buck Miller didn’t waste any time in finding work as he is the new manager in Madison East while Climax reached deep into the discount bin for the virtual unknown, Dan Murphy.
Special Feature: Plate Appearances and Usage
The usage topic has been getting some airplay recently with some email exchanges privately and league-wide citing the perils of trying to field the best team possible while trying not to lose good players on multi-year contracts as a result of not getting in their 50% of actual plate appearances.
One suggestion made has been to reduce the overall plate appearance requirement to 40% for both the NL and AL, but Mr. Paul Roe’s thoughtful and mathematical approach pointed out while pitchers in both leagues have roughly the same total innings to play with to meet their usage requirements, that same equality does not exist for batters.
As a result of pitchers not batting in the AL, the average Designated Hitter spot in the AL batting order gets about 684 plate appearances to spread around its hitters while in the NL these plate appearances are lost on the pitcher’s spot in the order. Even assuming that 1/2 of these late appearances in the NL are taken by pinch hitters it still leaves over 300 extra plate appearances per AL team (I tested this with a few NL teams in the 2019 season and it proved to be reasonable as the Arizona Diamondbacks pitchers, for example, had 330 plate appearances).
This definitely supports having a split PA % between the AL and NL.
Mr. Roe has proposed that the AL PA threshold be reduced from 50% to 40% and the threshold in the NL goes from 50% to 30%. For a player with 600 plate appearances, this means in the AL a player would need to record 240 plate appearances to avoid becoming eligible for free agency while in the NL it would be 180 plate appearances.
| Jack Street @ Las Vegas Pirates | |
| Series Preview: | I’ve been looking forward to playing Jack St. since the league started. Joe has an extremely dangerous team & has a tremendous season going. I hope I’m worthy of playing this elite team. Joe & I played 5 of the 7 games head to head on “team viewer”, which added to the enjoyment. |
| Game #1: | This was one of the 2 games I DIDN’T play head to head & regretted it. Everyone on the Hustler’s lineup got at least one hit each. Rogers Hornsby waited until the 4th to get his hit, & it was a Grand Slam. Also hitting a HR, was Bob Meusel. On the defensive side Tom Glavine again proved he is a candidate for Pitcher of the Year. He went 7 innings of 4 hit ball & 0 walks! On the other side Bob Buhl was trying to give away the game as early as the 2nd inning, but finished giving it away in the 4th with 7 ER’s. FINAL SCORE: Hustlers 12, Pirates 0 |
| Game #2: | This is where we began our head to head play. It proved to be memorable. The lead changed hands 3 times. Both Sonny Siebert & Howie Camnitz pitched excellently into the 5th. The Pirates scored first when Prince Fielder drove in Bill Madlock then nothing until the 5th when Jack St. scored on an Edgar Martinez 2B followed by a Rogers Hornsby single. in the 6th Larry Hisle drove in Rafael Palmeiro for the go ahead run 2-1. That held up until the 9th, when the Pirates PH for Willie Stargell with little known Bibb Falk, who drove the first pitch off ace reliever Jeff Brantley, into the bleachers to tie the game at 2. Then the Pirates put their faith in their ace reliever, Mariano Rivera. In the 11th inning Dave Cash drove in Prince Fielder with the winning run. FINAL SCORE: Pirates 3, Hustlers 2 |
| Game #3: | This game started out with Hornsby hitting a solo HR in the 1st. This was followed by 2 runs in the bottom of the 1st, driven in by the Fielder gang. After adding one to their lead, Pirate pitching went a little sour, with starter Dean Chance giving up 3 more & reliever Doug Bair doing the same, finishing with Jeff Kent’s 2 run HR. The Pirates tried to make it close off of Cy Young, when Bibb Falk came through witha 2 run single in the 9th. FINAL SCORE: Hustlers 7, Pirates 5 |
| Game #4: | In this game spot starter, Frank Viola, outshined Warren Spahn. Viola went 8 innings giving up only 5 hits & 2 walks, While Spahn gave up 5 ER’s in the first 3 innings & shut the door after that. Way to late, as Jack St. used the power of Bob Meusel’s, as he hit his 1st, & the Hustlers 2nd Grand Slam of the series in the 3rd. Spahn also gave up an earlier HR to Larry Hisle in the 2nd. FINAL SCORE: Hustlers 5, Pirates 1 |
| Game #5: | This game the Pirates started out down 1-0 on yet another Hornsby knocker in the 1st. After that the bats went silent until the 3rd. That’s when the Pirates woke up. Everyone in the Pirate lineup, with the exceptions of Willie Davis, who had one hit, & Glen Beckert who had none, everyone else had at least 2 hits against Dan Haren, Bob Locker, & Craig Lefferts. From the 3rd to the 7th, the Pirates scored all 13 of their runs. Assisted by HR’s by Bill Madlock, Joe DiMaggio, & 2 by Willie Stargell. Madlock also going 4 for 5. with all this hitting it almost went unnoticed that Mike Cuellar went the distance & only gave up 2 solo HR’s, to Hornsby & Meusel. FINAL SCORE: Pirates 13, Hustlers 2 |
| Game #6: | This game pitted 2 aces against each other. Howie Camnitz took a nice 2.95 ERA against Tom Glavine & his all star season. Glavine stayed on point while Camnitz came unravelled. In his 2 plus innings, Howie gave up 7 runs on 7 hits & 3 walks. In this barrage, Hornsby, Medwick, & McGwire, each drove in 2 runs apiece. Medwick finished the game with 3 doubles. When Camnitz left in the 3rd, little used John Candelaria finished the game with 7 scoreless innings while Glavine lowered his ERA to a sharp 1.58. FINAL SCORE: Hustlers 7, Pirates 3 |
| Game #7: | This was a game we both enjoyed. Jack St. opened up AGAIN with Hornsby hitting another dinger for an opening 1-0 lead. In the 2nd, Joe DiMaggio led off with a solo HR, & Don Kessinger finished the inning driving home Prince Fielder with the go ahead run. After the Hustlers tied the game in the 4th, the Pirates took control in the 5th. The seldom hitting of Glen Beckert & Don Kessinger got the inning rolling & broke the tie for good, as the Pirates scored 4 in the inning. Dean Chance picked up his 2nd win of the season, while going 8 innings & giving up 3 runs. Rivera saved his 6th here. FINAL SCORE: Pirates 6, Hustlers 3 |
| Series Summary: | This was a great series, with a little of everything. The only 2 downers for the Pirates was Roberto Clemente’s injury in game 3, & King (Cecil) Fielder’s lack of power in the series. Other than that, I won’t miss Rogers Hornsby’s opening games with a HR or even a hit. I will miss the playing of the best team in the LEG, plus playing most games head to head. I’m looking forward to our next series against each other. Until then, we’ll both have to rely on beating other teams. It’s time to play the WEST!!! FINAL: Jack ST. 4, Las Vegas 3 |
| Middle Channel Sturgeons @ Lewisberry Country Blumpkins | |
| Series Preview: | The Middle Channel Sturgeon washed ashore Mud Run in North Lewisberry looking to take the Blumpkins to school and swim up the standings…. |
| Game #1: | Babe Ruth hurls a CG 2hitter as a 3run 4th and a 5 run 7th carries Lewisberry. Country Blumpkins 10 Sturgeon 1 |
| Game #2: | Gil Hodges’ 3run blast for the Blumpkins in the bottom of the 1st breaks a 1-1 tie and Bernie Williams’ 3run dinger in the 4th leads Lewisberry to victory. Panik hits a solo shot for MCS. Country Blumpkins 11 Sturgeon 4 |
| Game #3: | Bernie’s solo Hr in the 1st and Sax’s RBi 1B in the 3rd was just enough to hold off the Sturgeon. Britton picks up his 9th Save. Country Blumpkins 2 Sturgeon 1 |
| Game #4: | Lewisberry jumps out to a quick 3-0 lead then takes a nap. Sturgeon’s 4run 6th, highlighted by Frank Thomas’ 3run bomb seals the win for MCS. Sturgeon 5 Country Blumpkins 3 |
| Game #5: | Boggs, Brock and Williams all drive in runs while Britton gets Save #10. Country Blumpkins 3 Sturgeon 1 |
| Game #6: | Sturgeon tie it up with 2 runs in the 6th and Sal Perez’s solo Hr in the 7th wins it. Sturgeon 3 Country Blumpkins 2 |
| Game #7: | Boggs 2RBI 2B in the 2nd ties it at 2 and the Blumpkins would score at will from there. Hodges hits a bases clearing 2B and Betts adds a 2run HR for Lewisberry. Country Blumpkins 12 Sturgeon 2 |
| Series Summary: | Lewisberry Country Blumpkins win series 5-2. No real standouts for Pitcher or Batter of the Week. Backups Malarcher and Philley played well while Turner and Wills took the series off. The attached Ffile is incorrect. Correct Ffile will be emailed around 4:30 EDT |
| Indiana Indians @ Kansas City A’s | |
| Series Preview: | Indiana (17-25) at Kansas City A’S (19-23) |
| Game #1: | Alexander Vs. Cicotte: Cicotte goes the distance and Bobby Doerr triples and homers for a 3-1 KC win. Frederick broke up the shutout with a 9th inning homer for Indiana. W- Cicotte (4-4) L- Alexander (3-3) |
| Game #2: | Drysdale Vs. Mort Cooper: Kansas City wins 6-2 led by homers by Aaron, Doerr and Bill white. Jose Abreu hit a 2 run shot for Indiana’s only runs. W- M. Cooper (1-1) L- Drysdale (3-5) S -Dick Hall (4) |
| Game #3: | Pettitte Vs. S. McDowell: Indiana gets an easy 8-1 win as Pettitte throws 7 innings of no run ball. W- Pettitte W -(4-3) L – McDowell (1-6) |
| Game #4: | Kerry Wood Vs. 3 Finger Brown: Game is tied 6-6 going to the bottom of the 9th when Walker Cooper hits a 3 run walk off homer off Jonathan Broxton. Hal Morris was the hitting star going 4-4, with a double and homer, driving in 5 runs. W- Wade Davis (3-0) L- Broxton (1-2) |
| Game #5: | David Price Vs. Fergie Jenkins: Jenkins throws a 3 hit shutout in a 3-0 Kansas City win. W- Jenkins (6-3) L- Price ( 0-5) |
| Game #6: | Alexander Vs. Cicotte: Alexander goes the distance allowing 2 unearned runs in a 4-2 Indiana win. W- Alexander ( 4-3) L – Cicotte (4-5) |
| Game #7: | Drysdale Vs. Mort Cooper: Indiana wins 5-2 as Jose Abreu is injured for 5 days. W- Drysdale ( 4-5) L- Cooper (1-2) S- Casey (3) |
| Series Summary: | Kansas City wins 4 of first5 before Indiana salvages the last 2 games. KC wins series 4 games to 3. |
| Boston Braves @ Chicago Nine | |
| Series Preview: | Two of the teams in the lower half of the American League East show up in the Windy City for a seven-game series. |
| Game #1: | Boston explodes for 10 Runs, with Adrian Gonzalez having 6 RBI’s & Eddie Matthews 3 RBI’s as the Braves club the Nine.
Final Score: Boston 10 – Chicago 2 Win: Pedro Martinez 4-3 (2.15) |
| Game #2: | Eddie Matthews & Jim Rice both homer as Billy O’Dell goes the distance for Boston.
Final Score: Boston 6- Chicago 4 Win: Billy O’Dell 3-5 (3.25) |
| Game #3: | Chicago reverses the score from Game #1 as the Nine get 3 RBI’s each from Brooks Robinson & Ken Griffey Jr.. J.R. Richard pitches 8 strong & Joe Beggs closes it out for Chicago.
Final Score: Chicago 10 – Boston 2 Win: J.R. Richard 5-3 (3.63) |
| Game #4: | Herb Pennock throws a solid complete game allowing nothing except 4 Hits & 1 Walk to the Braves. Jayson Werth Homers & had 3 RBI’s for the Nine.
Final Score: Chicago 8 – Boston 0 Win: Herb Pennock 2-5 (4.78) |
| Game #5: | Roger Clemens goes 7.2 & Jeff Nelson cleans it up for Chicago. Big John Mayberry does the damage on offense with 2 Home Runs & 3 RBI’s for Chicago.
Final Score: Chicago 4 – Boston 1 Win: Roger Clemens 3-3 (4.55) |
| Game #6: | Gene Conley goes the distance allowing only 2 runs while striking out none. Jeff Cirillo has 2 RBI’s from the 9 hole to lead the way for the Braves.
Final Score: Boston 4- Chicago 2 Win: Gene Conley 2-4 (4.76) |
| Game #7: | Ivan Rodriguez has 2 Hits in 4 trips & 2 RBI’s as “The King” goes 7 solid before Jeff Nelson locks down the door.
Final Score: Chicago 5 – Boston 3 Win: Felix Hernandez 5-3 (2.74) |
| Series Summary: | Chicago takes the series 4 games to 3, which proves the standings are just about right & that both teams both stink. |
| Cincinnati Knights @ Fort Worth Cats | |
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| Series Summary: | Cats take 5 of 7 to tie the Knights for first place at 31-18. Scripts available upon request. |
| New Westminster Salmonbellies @ Menomonee Minutemen | |
| Series Preview: | Welcome friends to American Standard bowl for this week’s contest between the 23-19 New Westminster Salmonbellies and the 26-16 Minutemen of Menomonee in the highly contested AL West division where the top 5 teams are within 6 games of each other with 120 games left to be played. Many of you are wondering why are we not playing at Bud-Weiser Field, well last week a gambling boat ran aground and knocked over the seating in the right field. Sadly the lincoln log-built stadium was built to close to the water and when the ship hit the right-field bleachers the whole stadium just fell over. I’m not sure what 4 years old built it but apparently there was no oversight by an adult. Never the less ownership found a place to play while we find a 6 yr old to put the stadium back together. American Standard stadium is usually home to the Walnut log Growlers but they have kindly stepped aside for this L.E.G. contest. New Westminster enter the series with a 3.77 ERA and Team slash line of .259/.324/.420, those are good for 19th and 5th in the league respectively. The Minutemen of Menomonee enter the series with a 4.32 ERA and a team slash line of .275/.349/.477 which is good for 27th and 1st in the league. So it’s fair to say we are going to see some scoring and whoever pitches the best will win. |
| Game #1: | NWS Dutch Leonard 22XYZ vs MEN Jim Scott 15YZG The game starts clean through 2, in the bottom of the 3rd MEN Adcock hits a solo shot to the Charmin seats in LF, Bonds comes up next and then hit a solo shot of his own into the Schlitz beer pen for back to back HRs. In the top of the 4th, NWS Beltran hits a solo shot to dead center and bounces it off the batter’s eye. In the top of the 7th, Wynn singles, Kuhel moves him to 2nd, May gets intentionally walked, warbler moves them to 2nd and third, then Bassler hits a double and drive them both in, NWS now leads 3-2. In the 8th Wynn drives in Dihigo to make the score now NWS 4-2. In the bottom of the 8th MEN does it again. Seybold drills the ball for a solo shot to Left Center and Jones follows it up with one of his own again to the Charmin seats in Left for a second set of back to back HR’s tying the game at 4-4. The game stays tied till the bottom of the 10th with NWS still having Leonard in the game Bonds walks, Jundich tries to move him over but instead grounds into a FC that takes out the lead runner. Next up Seybold drills a pitch to the Schlitz Beer pen for the walk off 2 run HR. FINAL SCORE NWS 4 MEN 6 |
| Game #2: | NWS Jef Tesreau 22YH vs MEN Waite Hoyt 14ZH The Minutemen jump on Tesreau early as Altuve singles, Goldschmidt walks, then Seybold drives in Altuve with a double. Bonds lines out to SS, Jones walks to load the bases with 1 out. With Jundich at bat, the Minutemen fans were excited, so excited that there was “a little delay in the action as a fan is running around the field, must be one of those APBA fans on the Juice. Here comes security to hogtie him, they’re chasing him down, still chasing and he is safe! He escapes back into the crowd, lets play some baseball! Jundich step back in and promptly drives a ball to right scoring Goldy and Seybold, the score is now 3-0 MEN. Appling is the next to bat and Tesreau drills him loading the bases once again with only 1 out. Griffey hits into an infield fly, Burgess then comes to the plate and he gets walked scoring a run. Altuve at the plate for his second at bat and he gets walked scoring another run, Goldy at the plate and he flys out to end the inning. In the top of the second Bassler singles, Conception singles then Gilliam doubles scoring 2 runs. Clark then singles in Gilliam making the score 5-3 MEN. In the bottom of the 2nd Seybold leads off with a double then Bonds singles scoring Seybold and that’s when Tesreau gets lifted from the game. With Jones on first after an FC applying doubles and then Abernathy throws a wild pitch allowing Jones to score and applying to third the score is now 7-3 MEN after 2. in the third Bonds singles in Goldy and Jones singles in Seybold to add to the MEN lead. In the bottom of the 4th Altuve hit a 2 run bomb, making the score now 11-3 MEN. Both teams added 1 more run down the stretch but it did not make any difference FINAL SCORE NWS 4 MEN 12 |
| Game #3: | NWS Dwight Gooden 17YZ vs Tim Hudson 14YZG NWS starts the scoring in the second after they loaded the bases Clark drove in Bassler to take 1-0 lead. In the thrid Wynn adds to the NWS lead by hitting a solo shot into the corn hole pit just outside the LF foul pole as the ball wrapped around the pole. MEN finally get off the schnide whne Griffey Sr. hits a solo shot to RF and it lands in the Clorox 2nd deck seats. In the bottom of the 4th MEN ties the game up when Jundich doubles in Jones. NWS takes the lead in the 5th on a 2 base error that scores Clark. In the bottom of the 6th Seybold walks then Bonds sends one out of the stadium giving MEN the 4-3 lead. In the bottom of the 8th Gooden walks Seybold again and Bonds send another in to the right field seat for his second HR of the game giving MEN the 6-3 lead. In the top of the 9th Jansen comes in gives up 2 runs giving NWS a chance then finally closes out the game FINAL SCORE NWS 5 MEN 6 |
| Game #4: | NWS Sam Leever 17ZG vs Marv Grissom 14YG NWS starts the scoring once again as Wynn Hits a 2 run bomb in the 1st. Seybold matches Wynn as he hits a 2 run shot of his own tying the game at 2 each. In the top of the 3rd NWS takes the lead as Clark hits a solo shot. In the 5th Dihigo doubles scoring 2 giving NWS the 5-2 lead. In the 6th Weber single in Kuhel, then Mays drives in Werber and Campanella, Clark then drives in Gilliam giving NWS the 9-2 Lead. Nothing happens in the last 3 innings and so FINAL SCORE NWS 9 MEN 2 |
| Game #5: | NWS Dizzy Trout 11YZG vs Tommy John 14YZG Bottom of the first Bonds singles in Altuve after his double giving MEN the 1-0 lead. Bottom of the 2nd Griffey unleashes a 2 run dinger giving MEN the 3-0 lead. Top of 3rd Clark hits solo job. Bottom of 4, Burgess singles in Appling, 4-1 MEN. Bottom of 5, Seybold doubles then Bonds doubles scoring Seybold, Then Judich drills one for a 2 run HR, 7-1 MEN. MEN then add 5 more runs in the bottom of the 6th making the score now 12-1 MEN. John then goes the distance FINAL SCORE NWS 1 MEN 12 |
| Game #6: | NWS Dutch Leonard 22 XYZ vs Jim Scott 15YZG Round 2 In the 1st Dihigo goes yard putting NWS up 1-0 early. In the second off some quality hitting, NWS adds 3 more runs making it 4-0 NWS. 3rd Wynn doubles in Beltran, score 5-0 NWS. NWS adds 2 more in the 5th and sixth and another in the 8th making the score 10-0. MEN finally gets on the board in the last of the 8th when Adcock hit a 2 run blast but that’s not enough to make up a 10 run lead. FINAL SCORE NWS 10 MEN 2 |
| Game #7: | NWS Jef Tesreau 22YH vs MEN Waite Hoyt 14ZH In the bottom of the 1st MEN strikes as Altuve singles, Goldy singles then Jones doubles them in, 2-0 MEN. NWS gets on the board in the 6th as Wynn hits a solo HR cutting the lead in half 2-1 MEN. In the 7th NWS ties, the game as Concepcion singles gets moved to second then Clark drives him home. Then a Beltran double scores Clark giving NWS the 3-2 lead. Bottom of the 7th Appling singles, Griffey moves him over, then Burgess drives him in to tie the game at 3. Bottom of the 9th Jundich walks, the manager puts on the hit and run for Appling and he calmly slaps one down the right side moving Jundich to third. Now its 1st and 3rd with no outs for Griffey Sr. Crisp then pinch runs for Jundich, Griffey Sr strikes out. Then Burgess strikes out, and Altuve flys out. Weber Sac fly in the 10th gives NWS the 4-3 Lead. In the last of the 10th Goldschmidt singles then Seybold doubles scoring Goldy tying the game back up at 4. Top of the 13th Concepcion drives in Mays to take the 5-4 lead. Then Clark hits a 3 run dinger to take an 8-4 lead. MEN then goes down in order to end the game. FINAL SCORE NWS 8 MEN 4 |
| Series Summary: | MEN wins the series 4-3 on the backs of their tremendous hitting, and NWS takes 3 with their huge arms and at times great hitting. This seres only shows me one thing. The teams that make it out of the AL West will have earned it. |
| Purry Cowpokes @ Wrigleyville Whales | |
| Series Preview: | |
| Game #1: | Weimer v Welch. Nine of the 10-runs scored in game happened in first 5-innings with Whales coming out on top 7-3. Welch (4-4-, 3.84) allowed 3-runs on 5-hits and Rudolph (1.50) earned his 6th save. Red Smith drove in 4-runs with 2-1B’s and 2-2B’s. Whales Ritchey (2) hit games lone homer.
FINAL Whales 7 Cowpokes 3 |
| Game #2: | Cueto v Mays. Carl Mays (3-4, 5.63) hurled a 2-hit, 3-0 Shut-out as Whales make it 2-straight over Cowpokes. Wrigleyville scored their 3-runs in 1st inning off of Cueto, who allowed only 4-hits over 6.2-innings but walked 8. FINAL Whales 3 Cowpokes 0 |
| Game #3: | Radcliffe v Quinn. Purry was being blanked through 6-innings but Quinn (4-3, 3.47) fell apart in 7th. Barfield drove in 2-runs with a 2B and Cowpokes plated 4-runs in the inning. Quinn lost his cool and was ejected after he hit his 3rd Cowpoke. Radcliffe (4-3, 2.55) scattered 6-hit over 6-innings and picked up the win with Purry’s impressive bullpen blanking Whales over final 3-innings in 4-1 victory!
FINAL Cowpokes 4 Whales 1 |
| Game #4: | Blue v Koufax. Vida was too much for Whales, as he blanked them 2-0 on a 5-hitter. He only faced 29-batters as his defense turned 3-DP’s. Sandy (0-10, 5.59) gave up 2-runs 1-earned on only 4-hits in his CG loss. He walked 5 and K’d 9.
FINAL Cowpokes 2 Whales 0 |
| Game #5: | Weimer v Ruether. In a hard fought game, the Cowpokes scored 4-runs in 9th to pull out a 7-5 win! Rickey, Speaker & Glen Davis (HR-5) drove in 2-runs apiece. Banks (3) and Lollar (4) slugged HR’s for Wrigleyville. Weimer gave up only 2-runs on 2-hit, walking 5 and striking out 7. Wagner (2-1, 2.31) earned “W” and Howry (2) the save.
FINAL Cowpokes 7 Whales 5 |
| Game #6: | Vazquez v Welch. Purry scored 5-runs in 1st and went on to win 8-5. Bailey (7) and Easter (9) hammered HR’s off of Welch (4-5, 4.37) and Rickey ran wild, stealing 3-bases (16) and scoring 2-runs. Musial (2) and Yaz (1) cracked HR’s for Whales.
FINAL Cowpokes 8 Whales 5 |
| Game #7: | Cueto v Mays. O’Doul (2) and Ritchey (3) launched Grand Slams in back-to-back innings (1st and 2nd) off of Johnny Cueto & Hamilton and Whales rolled to a 12-7 win! No shortage of hits, as Whales outhit Cowpokes 15-12. G.Davis (4th-HR & 4-5 day) also pounded a homer and Earle Combs went 4-5.
McCovey (6) and Bailey (8) ripped HR’s for Cowpokes, with Willie leading their offense, going 3-5 with 3-RBI. FINAL Whales 12 Cowpokes 7 |
| Series Summary: | Purry wins series 4-3. Teams scored 33-runs each. Cowpokes pen hurled 18.2-IP and had a 2.93-ERA. Whales highlights were Grand Slams in 1st and 2nd innings of Game-7, 12-7 win. |
| Kansas City Blues @ Madison East Purgolders | |
| Series Preview: | Madison East hosting the Kansas City Blues and probably not only bailing them out of the basement but watching them pass us in the standings if recent results are any indication. |
| Game #1: | Zach Grienke vs. Hooks Wiltse. The Hookster has seen his ERA plummet to 7.96 recently, and has a stronghold on the most improved player in the league after week 1. Although Hookie lowers that bad boy down to a minuscule 7.43, the bad guys pull it out in 12, 6-4. Rico Carty enjoys Ebbets Field the two bombs. |
| Game #2: | Tommy Bridges and Dock Ellis lock horns in this epic battle that has been circled on the schedule for hours… Although Dock was flying high for this one, lowering his ERA to 3.03, he still figures out how to give up runs in the 8th and 9th to lose the game 3-2. |
| Game #3: | Al Benton brings his 11.43 ERA to Ebbets in hopes of an intervention involving the broomsticks the Purgolders seem to use instead of Lousiville Sluggers…. Art Bush is our sacrificial lamb for this one. Benton will probably be on the trading block by sunrise tomorrow after giving up 5 in the first to the Bad News Rats, but fear not as the Blues chipped away to tie the game at 6 only to watch the Mighty Purgolders walk it off in the bottom of the ninth, winning 7-6. Rumors of a players only meeting for Kansas City after this debacle were probably true… |
| Game #4: | Madison East gets Todd Helton back from his injury stint over a vicious paper cut on his shin (Don’t ask, don’t tell), and Mark Buerhle stoked to face a highly vulnerable grade 15 Jerry Koosman. This feels like doubling down on 11 against a 5…. And so it was. Cargo, Jason Bay and Helton all go deep. I actually had this threesome in a real league about 15 years ago and they were this deadly then too. Koosman doesn’t make it out of the 4th and Buerhle goes the distance because Kent Williams still doesn’t understand that the phone can call for other pitchers to come in. Purgolders 6-1. Posada gets injured for two weeks, probably a ruptured ear drum from the crack of the bats he was forced to endure. |
| Game #5: | Jacob deGrom is about to atone for the recent goings on. Surely Bret Saberhagen will not be standing in the way. 7-3 Blues, the world is back to normal. |
| Game #6: | Grienke makes his return to the mound to face Art Nehf. Last week Madison East made Clayton Kershaw the pitcher of the week. Can we do it again with Grienke? Hell NO! I don’t even know where to begin…. Nehf got injured before throwing a pitch. Is Pre-PTSD a thing? I’m saying yes. Lucking, Williams feels it prudent to use Tom Burgmeier for THRITY-NINE batters in relief, which is hilarious because I have four SP in my pen…. The Purgolders win 11-6, scoring in six of the eight innings they bat. Art Nehf does not see his ERA rise as we felt surely would happen. We may have found a secret to our pitching stats… early game injury! |
| Game #7: | Somehow we have a rubber game. I realize KCB is in the basement of our division but that is only because they haven’t been able to pad their win total at our expense yet…. Tommy Bridges at Hooksie…. Not quite Game 7 of the ’75 series but the dozens who had no better plans than to show up seemed excited during that National Anthem. Turns out this epic battle wouldn’t be decided until the 9th, and of course Wiltse poops in the Wheaties as the once Mighty Purgolders get snapped in a trap and lose 2-1. Williams again lets Wiltsie go for 41 batters faced, and he masterfully scattered ten hits. There is nothing more tragic than watching someone who keeps betting against the odds, only to not quit until they have no money left, or dignity. I am very confident that Williams has probably managed his last game for the Purgolders, watch the next c-file. |
| Series Summary: | The Blues take the series, but only 4-3. They partied in the visiting clubhouse, and the bill for damages are forthcoming. The damages in the home clubhouse will not be repaired because this is a common reaction of the players and staff…. |
| Coastline Bobcats @ Climax Cougars | |
| Series Preview: | Coastline rolls into Climax for a live series played over Teamviewer with the hometown Cougars anxious to make up some ground on the first place Bobcats. |
| Game #1: | Our first steps towards making up some ground on the Bobcats are into quicksand. The Bobcats Matt Kemp homered in the 2nd inning … once of those grand slam things … and quieted/killed all enthusiasm in the hometown crowd (who were jazzed for a second while they led 1-0) and it never really rekindled as Coastline took the opener 5-2. Cal (Creepy Eyes) Ripken Jr. had two hits and drove in the other Bobcats’ run. Chuck Finley allowed one earned run over seven innings to improve to 7-1. Bruce Sutter tossed a perfect 9th for his 14th save. The grand slam ended a nice shutout streak that Sid Fernandez had been enjoying pitching out of the pen and also landed him his first loss of the season. Chief Meyers singled and doubles and drove in the lone earned run for Climax. |
| Game #2: | Now this was more like it. The Climax Cougars exhibited inhuman patience with Coastline starter Dave Stieb and it resulted in the former Blue Jay ace giving up seven runs on five hits and EIGHT walks in just five innings in a 8-3 ship-righting win for the home team. Spud Chandler improved to 7-1 with the win while Stieb fell to 6-2. Bobcats mashman Hack Wilson clonked his 14th homer of the season in the first inning off Chandler while Josh Gibson (2) returned the favor for Climax with a solo shot off Jesse Orosco in the 7th. |
| Game #3: | The Cougars mounted a valiant comeback with 4 runs off Kevin Brown and Matt Albers in the 8th inning to send it into extra innings, but resident evil jerk Hack Wilson and his thundering bat did them in in the 11th with a solo blast off Greg Harris to give the Bobcats a 7-6 win. This game marked the start of the Bobcats slapping the living crapola out of Cougars’ pitching. They had 16 hits in this contest with pretty much all of them coming from the top of the order with Geoff Jenkins getting 3 (two singles and a double), Cal (Psycho) Ripken Jr. with 4 (all singles + 1 RBI), Wilson with 3 (two singles to go with his HR and 2 RBIs) and Elston Howard getting two singles which drove in two runs. Buck Leonard hit his 4th homer of the season for Climax. Yay. Mike Marshall picked up his 2nd save of the year by pitching a scoreless bottom of the 11th. |
| Game #4: | Seventeen hits in this one for Coastline as they took a 3-1 lead with a 9-6 win over Climax. Beals Becker went apeshit at the plate with a nifty 5/5 day, scored four times and drove one in. He missed the cycle by a triple and his home run was his 5th of the season. Geoff Jenkins joined in the carnage with a triple and a home run (#5) and drove in four runs. Hack Wilson added another four hits just for the hell of it including his 16th homer run and drove in two runs. Not to be forgotten, Elston Howard had three hits and an RBI. Bill Swift gave up six runs in his 4-1/3 on the mound for the visitors, but no matter as the bullpen remained pristine and allowed just two hits and a walk and no runs over 4.2 innings with Bruce Sutter capping it off with his 15th save. Ellis Kinder’s appearance was just plain tragic. He fell to 3-1 on the season with a big clunker of a relief stint in which he got just one out but not before allowing four runs on five hits. His one one was a strikeout so hurrah for him. Chief Meyers (2) and Jose Bautista (12) wasted homers for the Cougars. |
| Game #5: | And the gap widens further … Coastline rumbled to a 8-2 win with until now silent Bill Skowron (2) and Matt Williams (13) launching homers off Rube Waddell (3-3). That Ripken kid (hard to call him a kid as he looked 60 when he was in his 20s) had three hits again and scored twice but it was a big day for Skowron who topped him with four hits, three runs and as many RBIs. Again, missing the cycle by a triple. Sam Crawford (4) homered for the Cougars in feeble protest. Chuck Finley moved to 8-1 striking out 10 and walking five over 8 innings. |
| Game #6: | See Game 5. Cal Ripken (10), Bill Skowron (3) and Matt Williams (14) all went deep for Coastline in this 7-2 laugher. Dave Stieb (7-) gave up both runs in six innings of work in which he fanned six and walked two. He gave up six hits including a two-run homer by Jose Bautista (13). Big deal. Williams had three hits (two doubles and a homer) for the Bobcats and drove in three runs and Bruce Sutter nailed down his 3rd save of the series with the final four outs. Sid Fernandez (0-2) was replaced after only 4 innings when in a clutch situation his spot in the order came up and john Kruk came through with a strike out. Fine managerial move by me there. |
| Game #7: | This game had a close score of 3-1 for Coastline, but Kevin Brown’s biggest danger was falling asleep on the mound as the punchless Cougars scuffled through and managed just three hits in the contest. Sadly for Spud Chandler (7-2) he got the L when it should have gone to his defence which committed two errors leading to all three Bobcats’ runs. Hack Wilson and Elston Howard each had two hits for the winners. Jim Fregosi had 2/3 of the Climax hits. |
| Series Summary: | Making up some ground is something the team apparently didn’t understand as it stepped right off a fricking cliff in this series triggering a typical knee-jerk reaction from the team’s owner and likely a frenzy of tossing bodies on the block. |
| Virginia Cavaliers @ Pigtown Bombers | |
| Series Preview: | Pigtown comes back home after firing all the coaches, equipment managers (for failing to properly doctor the balls) and concession vendors (for serving crappy light beer to the players and especially the manager during games) to play the 2nd place Virginia Cavaliers. Pigtown’s owner spent his formative years in Charlottesville, so it is, to quote Bono, A Sort of Homecoming. |
| Game #1: | Newly activated, John Tudor, made the start for Pigtown’s and it was obvious that the team loved the fact that Buckshot Williams was canned. Tudor throws a complete game, 3-hit shutout and the home team wins 3-0. Jackie Robinson hit a 2-run HR and Mike Schmidt hit a solo homer to account for all of the scoring. PIG 3: VIR 0 |
| Game #2: | Ed Reelbach (Virginia) faced off against Luis Tiant in Game 2. Both pitchers pitched well. Tiant gave up only 5 singles and 1 double in 5 innings, but unfortunately for him, they were all in the same inning. Virginia scores 5 in the 3rd and goes on to win 5-1. Two RBIs each for Alan Trammel and Al Rosen. VIR 5: PIG 1. |
| Game #3: | Lefty Grove pitched magnificently for Virginia going 7 innings and giving up only 1 hit. Jim “Slot Machine” Abbott pitched well too, giving up 4 hits in 7.2 IP. There were a total of 3 solo HRs in the game which accounted for all of the scoring. Rosen and Albert Pujols hit ones for Virginia, while Jim Edmonds hit one for Pigtown. VIR 2: PIG 1 |
| Game #4: | Preacher Roe (Virginia) did not get an AMEN and instead got rocked for 6 runs in 5 IP. Hank Greenberg hit a 3-run HR in the bottom of the 1st and Manny Ramirez hit two 2-run HRs to pace Pigtown to the win. PIG 8: VIR 3. |
| Game #5: | Game 5 was a close one. Luis Tiant (4-3) started for Pigtown on short rest and Bob Turley (3-4) took the mound for Virginia. Manny Ramirez hit another 2-run HR which was matched by Virginia’s Andruw Jones. The teams’ traded runs and Pigtown had a 4-3 lead after 6 innings. Miraculously, Pigtown’s bullpen went 3 perfect innings to seal the win. PIG 4: VIR 3. |
| Game #6: | WOW. Pigtown is up 3-2 in the series and has a chance to win its first series of the year. The crowd was roaring with excitement. The hero of Game 1 (a shutout performance), John Tudor, took the mound again for Pigtown with the intention to deliver a series victory. Juan Guzman took the start for Virginia. Both pitchers were magnificent. Tudor pitched 8 innings of 3 hit ball and gave up 0 runs (Pitcher of the Week Performance?) and Guzman 8 innings and game up only 4 hits and 0 runs. In the top of the 10th, Virginia’s Al Rosen smacked a 3-run homer to lead the Cavaliers to the victory. VIR 3: PIG 0 |
| Game #7: | The rubber match and another opportunity for Pigtown to win its first series of the year. Virginia sent out Jimmy Key against fellow southpaw, Jim Abbott. Key was nothing short of awesome. He went 7 innings and only gave up 1 hit, leaving with a 1-0 lead. Abbott was just a little shorthanded (pun intended), but pitched very well going 7 innings and giving up only 5 hits and 1 run. Frank Robinson added an insurance HR off Roy Halladay and Virginia wins the game 3-0, destroying the hopes and dreams of a generation of Bombers’ fans VIR 3: PIG 0 |
| Series Summary: | Virginia wins the series 4-3. Star of the week:
John Tudor (1-0) – 17 IP, 6 Hits, 0 runs, SHO (0.00 ERA) No hitter stood out. Rosen went 5-20 and had 2 HR, 7 RBI. Manny Ramirez went 4-22 with 3 HR and 6 RBI |
| Detroit DeLoreans @ Fantomz Force | |
| Series Preview: | An NL East division showdown between the third-place 24-18 Detroit Deloreans and fourth-place 23-19 Fantomz Force was played at Force Field. The Force are hoping to gain some ground and equal Detroit by series’ end |
| Game #1: | Game 43 – String Bean Williams ’20 (3-4) v. Stan Coveleski ’23 (0-5)
Detroit 6-2: Fantomz starting pitcher Stan Coveleski carried in his winless record in the series opener, hoping for a reversal of fortune. Billy Herman tripled home Nap Lajoie in the 1st inning, so the shutout was quickly gone. The Force rallied for two runs during the bottom half; the only runs Williams allowed all game. The Deloreans scored four unanswered runs, with Williams himself plating two runs and earning the complete game victory. Fantomz’ Larry Doby doubled twice during his 3-for-4 night. W – Williams (4-4) L – Coveleski (0-6) |
| Game #2: | Game 44 – Slim Sallee ’19 (4-2) v. Chris Weilman ’14 (5-4)
Detroit 4-2: The Force looked better in game two, scoring lone runs in the 2nd and 4th innings by Don Mattingly and Honus Wagner, respectively. Detroit waited until the late innings to make some noise. The Deloreans went ahead on Lajoie’s 8th-inning two-run single and added a 9th-inning insurance run. J.C. Romero struck out two during a scoreless ninth for the save. W – Sallee (5-2) L – Weilman (5-5) SV – Romero (3) |
| Game #3: | Game 45 – Hippo Vaughn ’14 (5-3) v. Satchel Paige ’41 (7-2)
Detroit 7-6 (21): The Fantomz Force are unquestionably providing their fans with some exciting and marathon-like baseball. The Force has already played two 16-inning games, so why not top that feat? In a matchup of staff aces, the teams were deadlocked 5-5 when the bullpens arrived. In the 13th, the Deloreans threatened with bases loaded and Lajoie at the plate, but he grounded out. Both teams threatened in the late teens’ innings, but nobody broke through. Finally, in the 21st inning, Ripper Collins ripped the cover off a Brad Ziegler offering for a two-run dinger. Fantomz pulled within one when Mickey Cochrane hit a solo shot. Shin-Soo Choo walked and moved to second on Ziegler’s sacrifice bunt. With two outs and the tying run in scoring position, Larry Doby grounded out to send the team into their respective locker rooms. Collins homered twice during a 4-for-10 afternoon while Billy Herman banged out four hits as well. The Force were limited to a pathetic eight hits over 21 innings, but one moral victory was throwing out four Delorean would-be basestealers. W – Overall (4-1) L – Ziegler (1-1) |
| Game #4: | Game 46 – Cy Morgan ’10 (3-5) v. Gaylord Perry ’74 (5-3)
Fantomz 2-1 (13): What better way to follow-up a 21-inning game with another extra-inning contest? Fantomz struck first this time when Choo scored on a 1st-inning Doby groundout. In the 7th inning, Chuck Klein’s solo shot tied the score. The next frames were all zeroes as the bullpens took over once again. The Force finally snatched a victory when Cochrane scored on Doc Wiley’s sacrifice fly to deep center. Harder earned his first victory with four scoreless innings. W – Harder (1-2) L – Brewer (0-1) |
| Game #5: | Game 47 – Stan Williams ’68 (0-0) v. Stan Coveleski ’23 (0-6)
Detroit 5-3: Detroit quickly responded to Fantomz’ victory, as they were not interested in playing a third straight extra-inning game. Yogi Berra delivered a three-run 2nd-inning longball to give Detroit an early 3-0 lead. Although the Force gained back a run in the following fame, the Berra hit his second homer and Billy Herman singled home an insurance run. Doby’s two-run 8th-inning triple cut Detroit’s lead in half, but Overall came in for a scoreless ninth. W – Williams (1-0) L – Coveleski (0-7) SV – Overall (1) |
| Game #6: | Game 48 – Game 37 – Slim Sallee ’19 (5-2) v. Chris Weilman ’14 (5-4)
Fantomz 4-0: Doby’s 1st-inning sacrifice fly gave Fantomz an early 1-0 lead. Donaldson homered in the next inning, then added a two-run clout two innings later. Weilman delivered the best starting pitcher performance in the series, a two-hitter with two strikeouts and two walks. Wiley tripled, doubled, and scored twice W – Weilman (6-5) L – Sallee (5-3) |
| Game #7: | Game 49 – Hippo Vaughn ’14 (5-3) v. Satchel Paige ’41 (7-2)
Detroit 2-1: The teams exchanged first-inning runs. In the 2nd inning, Klein singled and came around to the score the game-winning run. Vaughn and Paige silenced hitters from that point onward. The normally mild-manner Honus Wagner was tossed during the 9th inning when he argued that he successfully picked off Lajoie, but the umps didn’t share his views. Lajoie doubled twice for Detroit. |
| Series Summary: | Detroit won 5 of 7. Most games were close, with only two games have a winning margin more than two runs. Both teams scored early with the bullpens taking over during the late innings. Detroit’s stellar infield tuned in several key double plays to squash Force rallies. Fantomz’ offensive troubles continued, suggesting additional batting practice is on this week’s agenda. Detroit joined the upper tier in the NL East with Coastline and Virginia while Fantomz is hanging with Climax outside the top three teams.
Player of the Week nominee: No nominations this week; nearly all position players dropped in batting average over the course of the series though there were a couple daily standouts. Pitcher of the Week nominee: No nominations this week; no starting pitcher delivered two solid starts though Fantomz’s Mel Harder received a tip of the cap for pitching 6 2/3 scoreless innings with a win. |
| West Michigan Retrogrades @ Nags Head Surf Sox | |
| Series Preview: | West Michigan (19-23) at Nags Head (17-25)
2 teams in the bottom half of the N.L. East battle it out. |
| Game #1: | Curt Davis (4-3 3.31) vs. Joaquin Andujar (2-6, 6.90)
Top 1 – Heavy Johnson and George Sisler single and score, assisted by a HOJO throwing error, to put the Retrogrades up 2-0 early. Bottom 3 – Gary Carter scores on a Ryne Sandberg RBI single to cut the WM lead in half. WM 2-1 Bottom 6 – Jimmie Foxx’s solo HR ties the game 2-2 Top 7 – Heavy Johnson – 2 run homerun scores Cano, putting WM back on top 4-2 Bottom 7 – Andre Dawson solo homerun gets the Sox back within a run. WM 4-3 Stanley and Linzy each toss 1-2-3 innings to wrap it up for the Retrogrades. WM 4/7/0 |
| Game #2: | Hal Schumacher (4-3 6.71 vs. Zane Smith 0-1 3.38)
Top 1 – WM gets on the board early again as Heavy Johnson leads off the game with a double and comes around to score on a Beltre RBI single. WM 1-0 Bottom 1 – NH loads the bases with no outs but can only manage to score 1, on a Dawson SAC fly, to tie the game 1-1 Bottom 4 – HOJO solo HR gives the Sox the 2-1 lead Bottom 5 – Andre Dawson’s RBI double plates Sandberg and Hayes upping the Sox lead to 4-1 Top 7 – Heavy Johnson 2 run triple scores Dickey and Menke to draw WM within 1, 4-3 Sox Top 8 – Bill Dickey RBI double scores Beltre to tie the game. Duke Snider follows with a single to right, but Andre Dawson throws out Dickey trying to score to keep the game tied 4-4 Bottom 11 – Sox load the bases with no outs and win it on an RBI single by Von Hayes that scores Jeter with the winning run. Bill Dickey had 3 hits, 2 of which were doubles, and Heavy Johnson had 2 hits and 2 RBIs for the visitors. Andre Dawson led the Sox with 4 hits and 3 RBIs, Sandberg had 3 hits and scored twice. WM 4/12/0 |
| Game #3: | Urban Shocker (4-6 2.81) vs. Mike Mussina (2-4 3.07)
Top 1 – Johnson walks, Sisler doubles to put runners at 2nd and 3rd to start the game. Johnson comes home on a Mussina wild pitch. Sisler scores on a Tommy Davis SAC fly. For the 3rd straight game WM scores in the 1st inning. WM 2-0 Top 3 – Tommy Davis solo homerun ups the Retrograde lead to 3-0 Bottom 3 – Larry Bowa hits a lead off double and comes around to score on a Juan Samuel RBI single. Samuel moves to third on a Von Hayes single and scores on a Jimmie Foxx SAC fly. NH cuts the WM lead to 3-2 Top 4 – WM gets a run back when Bobby Wallace grounds into a double play that scores Duke Snider WM 4-2 Top 5 – Tommy Davis 2 run homerun – WM leads 6-2 Bottom 7 – Sox load the bases with one out. HOJO pinch hits for Slocumb and promptly grounds into a rally killing double play, the third of the game for WM. Top 8 – Retrogrades break the game open on a 3 run homerun by Beltre – WM 9-2 Duke Snider goes 4 for 5 in this one, scoring twice, while Tommy Davis collects 3 hits and knocks in 4 with his 2 homeruns and a double. Larry Bowa led the Sox with a 3 for 3 performance. Shocker goes the distance for WM, winning his 5th. WM 9/12/0 |
| Game #4: | Willie Foster (3-5 2.54) vs. Nolan Ryan (2-4 3.71)
Bottom 2 – consecutive singles by HOJO, Winfield, and Carter put the Sox up 1-0, bringing Jeter to the plate, and he delivers with his 1st homerun of the season. Later in the inning Ryne Sandberg connects for a solo HR. NH 5-0 Top 4 – Beltre 2 run homerun cuts the NH lead to 5-2 Top 7 – Heavy Johnson’s 2 run single puts WM within a run. NH 5-4 Bottom 7 – Dave Kingman pinch hit solo HR gets a run back. Sox then load the bases on CJ Wilson and score 2 on a Bobby Wallace error. HOJO’s RBI single plates Foxx. Winfield delivers a SAC fly and when all is said and done 5 Sox runs score for a 10-4 lead. Duke Snider had a 3 for 4 day and Cano went 2 for 3 for the visitors. Jeter led the way for the Sox going 2 for 3 with 3 RBIs. Sandberg, Foxx, and HOJO each had 2 hits apiece. Extremely long hook by manager Dodger Brett may have let this one get away, C.J. Wilson was downgraded twice before he was finally removed. WM 4/ 9/1 |
| Game #5: | Curt Davis (5-3 3.36) vs. Cole Hamels (2-3 3.74)
Bottom 1 – Dawson RBI double scores Foxx for an early 1-0 NH lead. Top 2 – Retrogrades tie the game when Bobby Wallace scores on a fielder’s choice ground out. Jeter tags Dickey out at second but is injured on the play and lost for 5 days. A Menke single plates Snider and WM has the lead 2-1. Bottom 3 – Von Hayes RBI double ties the game and he comes home on a Kingman RBI single putting NH back in front 3-2. Bottom 4 – Hayes’ second double of the game scores Bowa – 4-2 Sox. Bottom 5 – Kingman blast, his 7th of the season, puts NH up 5-2 Top 7 – Kingman delivers with his arm, throwing out Tommy Davis at the plate for the inning’s final out. Heavy Johnson has another big game for WM, going 3 for 5 with a double, Wallace has a pair of hits. Kingman and Hayes each have 2 hits and 2 RBIs for the Sox. Cordero saves his 10th and lowers his ERA to 0.51 on the season. WM 2/9/1 |
| Game #6: | Hal Schumacher (4-3 6.65) vs. Joaquin Andujar (2-7 6.32)
Bottom 2 – Juan Samuel RBI single scores Tim McCarver with the game’s 1st run – NH 1-0 Bottom 3 – McCarver RBI double score Dawson – NH 2-0 Top 4 – It’s Heavy Johnson … again … solo HR – NH 2-1 Top 6 – Tommy Davis grand slam turns the game around for WM – WM 5-2 Bottom 6 – Juan Samuel’s 2 run single cuts the Retrograde lead to 1 – WM 5-4 Top 8 – Beltre RBI single scores Snider – WM 6-4 Top 9 – Johnson delivers an RBI double, Max Carey socks a 2 run double, and Bill Dickey clubs an RBI double to put the game away WM 11-4 Heavy Johnson’s 3 for 4, 2 runs scored, 2 RBI day leads WM to the victory. WM 11/11/0 |
| Game #7: | Series comes down to a game 7 …
Urban Shocker (5-6 2.72) vs. Zane Smith (0-1 3.77) Bottom 1 – Jimmie Foxx’s 9th homerun of the season, a 2 run shot, puts NH up 2-0. Giancarlo Stanton walks, and one out later HOJO clubs his 3rd homerun of the year – NH 4-0 after 1 Top 3 – WM loads the bases with no outs, but Smith gets Beltre to fly out to shallow left and Johnson to ground into the inning ending double play. … finally got Johnson out! Bottom 3 – Andre Dawson delivers with a 3 run homerun – 7-0 Sox Top 4 – 3 straight singles by Davis, Sievers, and Snider put WM on the board. Retrogrades pick up 2 in the inning – NH 7-2 Bottom 4 – Sox get both runs back on a Sandberg double, Foxx RBI single, thrown out trying to stretch it into a double, and a Stanton solo HR – NH 9-2 The team’s exchange zeroes the rest of the way. Davis, Sievers, and Snider each get 2 hits for WM. Shocker has an off day, allowing 7 runs in 2 1/3 innings. Jimmie Foxx leads the charge with 3 hits, 2 runs scored and 3 RBIs. WM 2/9/0 |
| Series Summary: | Heavy Johnson had a BIG series for WM! Sox bounce back after a horrendous series last week, to eke out a 4-3 series victory. |
| Wainwright Wranglers @ Clockwork Heros | |
| Series Preview: | Clockwork went all in the draft and their first selection was Christy Matheson, even though hitters seemed the popular first round selections. So far the pan has work as the Heros hold onto 1st in the tough NL West. Wainwright was in town to slow The Clockworks. |
| Game #1: | Wow Blyleven was not bad 2 in 8 but Gromek was awful int he 9th as he gave up homers to Manush, Encaracion and Puckett. Grove allowed only 1 run and easy Wainwright win 6-1. |
| Game #2: | Matheson was amazing again had a no hitter until 1 out in the 9th when pinch hitter Encarnacion doubles. But he locked down the 4-0 Clockwork win. |
| Game #3: | Tony Fernandez homers off Uhle but Clockwork with a Bradley homers wins it 3-2 as Tekulve gets the save his 11th. |
| Game #4: | Vaughn and Terry homer and Donovan was a solid 1 in 7 a Daulton homer. Clockwork wins 4-1 Tekulve his 12th save. |
| Game #5: | Blyleven hammered again as Grove wins though he did allow four runs in the 7-4 Wainwright wins as Ward gets his 6th save. |
| Game #6: | Matheson continues his great pitching allowing 2 in 9 and getting his 8th win 3-2 as Watson htis the walkoff. 3-2 clockwork |
| Game #7: | An easy 7-3 win for Clockwork as Terry homers as Uhle gets the win, Terry homered |
| Series Summary: | A 5 games to 2 Clockwork series win. Matheson goes 2-0 1.00 era 18 innings 17 strikeouts 1 walk 10 hits. Santop hit .400 (8 for 20) with 6 runs scored and 3 steals. |
| Fire Lake Segers @ Hoboken Zephyrs | |
| Series Preview: | Nobody is quite sure where Fire Lake actually exists but the Segers(17-24) travel to Hoboken(24-18) for a National West showdown |
| Game #1: | Noodles Hahn(7-4, 2.00) takes a 1-0 lead into the 9th to have Johnny Bench tie the game with a clutch blast. Jim Bottomley came on to pinch hit with one out in the bottom of the 9th. He promptly ended the game with a two-run blast of his own to give Gary Lavelle(0-4, 3.12) the tough road loss. Hoboken 3 Fire Lake 1 |
| Game #2: | Eppa Rixey(1-0, 3.70) earned his first win of the season taking a 5-0 lead into the 9th before allowing a two-run homer to Stan Spence. Vada Pinson and Jose Cardenal led the attack with two hits and two runs scored each. Hoboken’s first round pick, Tom Seaver, had a rough start dropping to 7-2, 3.55. |
| Game #3: | Hoboken jumped on Davd Cone (2-5, 3.77) for 7 runs in the first two innings cruising to an easy 9-1 win. Jered Weaver improved to 6-2,3.03 with Steve Blass picking up his second save in 3.1 mop up innings. Eddie Yost and Stan Spence led the Zephyr attack with big home runs. |
| Game #4: | Mike Garcia(1-2, 2.28) won his first start of the season after yielding two in the first. He went on to hold the Segers scoreless the remaining 8 innings. Hoboken scored 3 in the bottom of the first frame and never relinquished the lead. Bill Dahlen and Stan Spence led the way with two RBIs each. Ron Guidry(3-7. 5.46) took the loss for Fire Lake. |
| Game #5: | Red Faber(6-4, 2.54) pitched a three-hit shutout gem to outduel Denny McLain(3-5, 3.71). Jeff Heath’s solo homer in the second proved to be enough to secure the victory. |
| Game #6: | Noodles Hahn(8-4, 1.90) pitched a solid 4-hitter to outduel a committee of Seger pitchers 2-1. Jeff Heath delivered a key solo blast in the Hoboken win. |
| Game #7: | Tom Seaver(8-2, 3.58) earned his 8th win as David Cone(2-6, 4.45) got knocked out in the 2nd inning. Hoboken’s 15-hit attack resulted in a 12-4 win. Jeff Heath and Wally Schang led the attack combining for 7 RBIs. |
| Series Summary: | Hoboken takes 6 of 7 from Fire Lake led by their overstocked pitching staff. Noodles Hahn led the way winning two in 18 innings of work allowing 9 hits and 2 earned runs. |
| San Tan Valley Moonrakers @ Motown Yankees | |
| Series Preview: | Two middle of the standings teams hoping to make a surge and get in the playoff race |
| Game #1: | Watty Clark brings his 3-3 record to Motown to take on the 5-2 Adam Wainwright. Great pitchers duel through 6, with both pitchers trading zeroes. STVM puts a 3 spot on the board in the top of the 7th, with Piazza knocking in 2 with a 2 bagger, but Stan Hack knocked in Dixie Walker following a Walker double and John Olerud blasted a PH 3R HR to provide an insurmountable lead. Uehara closes for his 4th save of the season – Yanks win 5-3. |
| Game #2: | Not much of a discussion here except for Randy Johnson’s dominance – he twirls a CG 3 hit shutout for his 4th win of the season – STVM wins 2-0. |
| Game #3: | Motown’s Dave Brown returns the “no runs allowed here” favor with his own 6 hit shutout, moving his record to 7-5. Dixie Walker leas the way for Motown with 3 hits and 2 doubles. Motown takes game 3, 3-0. |
| Game #4: | Yanks bang out 11 hits taking game 4 by the score of 5-3. Steve Mingori picks up his 3rd win against no losses with Uehara pitching a clean 9th for his 5th save. |
| Game #5: | Motown jumps out early with a bottom 1st Dixie Walker 2R HR and a bottom 2nd Biz Mackey 2R HR – Carl Hubbell scatters 3 hits over 7, along with 2 ER, and Uehara earns his 3rd save of the series, and 6th on the campaign, dropping his ERA to 1.17. Virgil Trucks took the loss, dropping his record to 2-5. Motown wins game 5 5-2. |
| Game #6: | Clark v. Wainwright, part 2. STVM jump out to the early lead, with Elliott racking a 1 out triple and scoring on a Trosky FC in the Top of the 1st, and Vern Stephens making it 2-0 with a solo shot in the top of the 4th. Clark couldn’t make it stand, with Stan Hack providing the deciding blow with his own 2R HR, giving Wainwright all the support he needed in winning his 7th game in CG style. Motown takes game 6 3-2. |
| Game #7: | The most lopsided game in the series. Addie Joss clearly was not himself, giving up back to back singles in the 1st and watching Vern Stephens put one over the left field wall for a quick 3-0 SVTM lead. Joss was removed after the blast, lasting 1/3 of an inning and injuring his wrist, taking him out of action for the next 10 days. On the other side, Randy Johnson continued his dominance this series with his 2nd CGSO, SVTM winning game 7 by the score of 4-0 |
| Series Summary: | While Motown is happy winning the series 5-2, no player stood as tall as Randy Johnson, literally and figuratively. RJ tossed 2 CG shut outs, allowing only 7 hits with 15 K’s, certainly deserving of consideration for Pitcher of the Week honors. |
| Iowa Giants @ Hollywood Zombies | |
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| Series Summary: | Hollywood is not the worst team in their division anymore. They miraculously sweep Iowa to move out of the cellar. Hollywood starters yielded 4 runs in the series which included 3 shutouts and a bullpen game. Steve Rogers should be considered for Pitcher Of the Week as he pitched 17 innings, giving up 7 hits and 1 run. |