HOF All Stars 4, NASOMA All Stars 2

A pitching duel. Who woulda thunk it? Hank Aaron gets the MVP. Apart from the two "Last" pitchers, only Martin Prado and Craig Kimbrel didn't play. But when Miguel Cabrera came up in the 9th as the tying run, both were prepared to come in for the bottom of the 9th.

HOFL All Star Game Rosters

Tomorrow is the HOFL All Star Game. I've been kicking around ideas for how to do this. The plan is to use the All Star team that the fans voted for (via the SOM game) with a handful of worthy backups and play a game against the 2013 NASOMA All Star team, as voted on by you.

Both teams will have a 9-man starting lineup, 5 bench players (picked by me), and 7 pitchers for a total of 21 players. One pitcher on each team will be designated as *LAST PITCHER, and is reserved for extra innings only. The game will take place at Wrigley Field using the 12/12 numbers that all HOFL teams use. The HOFL All Stars will be the home team.

The HEAD INMATE, NASOMA Manager of the Year, was initially tabbed to manage the NASOMA All Stars, but 3 pitchers immediately went on the DL when the plan was leaked, so that idea was scrapped.

The lineups/rosters...

HOFL

Starting Lineup
1. A.Rodriguez, 3b (STL)
2. J.DiMaggio, cf (PHI)
3. B.Ruth, lf (NY)
4. W.McCovey, 1b (CHI)
5. R.Hornsby, 2b (NY)
6. L.Gehrig, DH (NY)
7. H.Aaron, rf (BRK)
8. M.Piazza, c (STL)
9. E.Banks, ss (BRK)

Bench
J.Bench (CIN)
S.Musial (PHI)
M.Mantle (BRK)
L.Boudreau (PHI)
R.Alomar (BOS)

Pitching Staff
SP- D.Drysdale (BRK)
D.Sutton (CHI)
S.Koufax (BRK)
B.Feller (PHI)
C.Young (NY)
D.Eckersley (BOS)
Last- C.Mathewson (NY)

NASOMA 2013

Starting Lineup
1. A.McCutchen, cf (VZP)
2. R.Cano, 2b (RHI)
3. M.Cabrera, 3b (VZP)
4.Y.Molina, c (PIG)
5. D.Ortiz, DH (GPB)
6. E.Encarnacion, 1b (PIG)
7. J.Hamilton, lf (SPG)
8. G.Stanton, rf (DV)
9. E.Aybar, ss (NAD)

Bench
M.Prado, PIG
J.Mauer, SSW
A.Beltre, INM
M.Trout, FUN
E.Andrus, MAV

Pitching Staff
SP- A.Wainwright, PIG
K.Lohse, SPG
C.Kershaw, FUN
M.Cain, MAV
C.Kimbrel, SSW
F.Rodney, PIG
Last- J.Weaver, DV

HOFL Reaches Midway Point

At the halfway point of the season, the New York PreThirties have surged ahead to a commanding lead. NY had two 3-game sweeps in this set sandwiched around ANOTHER series loss to Boston. There's just something about a New York/Boston series.

The St. Louis LeftOuts are hanging onto 2nd place despite ending the first half with a 6-game losing streak.

Other highlights of this set of games:
Eddie Cicotte of St. Louis threw a 2-hit shutout over Philadelphia. The LeftOuts followed up that pitching gem by losing their next six games. Ernie Banks (BRK) and Willie McCovey (CHI) both had a 3-homer game, and both LOST those games.

Here are some statistics at mid-season:

HOFL Update

The PreThirties finally had their streak of winning series stopped by Boston, but they then responded by winning their next series 2-1 and then sweeping Brooklyn.

The game of the week was a match-up of Walter Johnson (NY) and Sandy Koufax (BRK). Lou Gehrig led off the top of the 2nd inning with a HR off Koufax, and that was the only run scored in the game. I believe this is the first 1-0 game of the year. Both starters allowed 5 hits. Johnson walked 1, Koufax didn't walk anyone.

There were a number of shutouts this cycle, including a 2-hitter by Jim Bunning. Tom Glavine shut out NY, the best offense in the league. I thought maybe, with the Glavine and Koufax success against the PreThirties, that they might have a weak link vs lhp, but upon further review, NY is 18-8 vs lh starters.

Al Kaline, invigorated by his new Tiger uni, had a 5-6, 3 homer, 9 RBI game to start this 9-game cycle. Unfortunately, he went 5-29 over the next 8 games.

Some stat updates...

And the 1st place New York PreThirties...

 

Killer Bees 3, Mavs 2

Bees take 3 of 5 as the Mavs begin planning for the draft.

5/4:  A back and forth slugfest with five lead changes.  The Mavs came out on top when a harmless two out pinch walk by Heyward became important as Howard Kendrick tattered on the next pitch, one of three homers by each club.  Holland got a shaky save getting the last out with runners on first and third.  Howie wins the Grumpy’s Bail Bonds Player of the Game (thanks to the Tweeners for the new sponsor).  Grumpy’s where our motto is “When you ring, we spring”.  Mave 8-7

5/5:  The Mavs stay in the game despite the Bees cranking out 17 hits because the Bees leave 14 and make two errors.  Werth wins the Grumpy’s Bail Bonds Player of the Game going 3 for 4 and not dropping the ball.  Gattis goes 3 for 3 with a walk in a losing cause.  Bees 6-4.

5/6:  Evan Gattis wins the Betty’s Brothel Blow of the Game with the game winning two run homer off of Cliff Lee.  Lee strikes out 11 in 7 1/3 in a losing cause.  Lucroy goes 3-4 as the Mavs get away with playing two catchers.  Mavs win 7-3.

7/28:  The Bees crack out 15 hits including three homeruns winning a laugher 13-5.  The Grumpy’s Bail Bonds player of the game goes to Soriano who went two for five with a homer and 3 RBI’s. 

7/29:  Omar Infante gets the Grumpy’s Bail Bonds Player of the Game going 4 for 5 including the game winning homer as the Bees come from behind to win 6-5.

NY PreThirties Surge into First

New York has won 2 of 3 in seven straight series to take over first place. St. Louis looked strong, sweeping Chicago in the big series in Wrigley, but followed that up by being swept at home by last place Pittsburgh. The St. Louis squad called a team meeting after their last game. A source inside the clubhouse says the overriding goal of the meeting was ARod, Bonds, and Mac trying to convince Alan Trammell to get on the juice - that his lack of offense was hurting the team. Biggio defended Trammell's choice to refrain from using. Pete Rose laid odds that Trammell would give in, while Shoeless Joe replied, "I don't know what you guys are talking about, but count me in."

When you have such lineups as these, with outstanding hitters throughout, sometimes the offense begins to snowball. Having practically no bullpen doesn't help. Here's an example. I don't think I'd ever seen a game where every hitter on a team has a multi-hit game. Come to think of it, how about Lefty Grove giving up 6 homers and still getting an easy win? Perhaps even more amazing is Ted Williams and Jimmie Foxx, who hit back-to-back in the lineup, getting a 3-run homer and a grand slam (respectively) IN THE SAME INNING!

Joltin' Joe's Hitting Streak stopped at 30

The St. Louis Leftouts have won 4 in a row and 7 of the last 8 to take over first place.

Philadelphia ThirtyForties' centerfielder Joe DiMaggio had an interesting week. In a game in Pittsburgh, he homered 3 times, but all of the homers were solo shots and represented his team's entire offense in a 9-3 loss. A few days later, he was shut down by Sandy Koufax and saw his 30-game hitting steak come to an end.

Koufax, Dizzy Dean, and Bob Feller all threw 3-hit shutouts in the past week.

Paul Molitor had a career game, going 4-5, driving in 9 and hitting for the HOFL's first cycle. His team, Boston, lost the game (of course) to Philadelphia 12-10 in 12 innings.

In homage to the Fungoes, after the games on May 30th, Pittsburgh and Detroit, both giving disappointing showings in the standings, traded centerfielders. Al Kaline is now a Detroit Idol and Lloyd Waner is with the Pittsburgh Heroes. Rumor has it that a "League of Their Own" kind of sibling skirmish between the Waner brothers prompted the move.

Here are the stats of the league-leading St. Louis LeftOuts:

HOFL Update

The Legends continue to win. They are currently on a 4-game win streak including a sweep of Brooklyn. Mays and Mantle and friends just could not solve Chicago's pitchers.

Here is the stat page for the 1st place Chicago Legends (I hope it's legible):

Here's a current stat I found interesting:

The * means it's a current hitting streak. Interesting.

Zaps 3, Goofs 2

Zaps go 3-2 with the Super Goofs.

 

Game 1: GOOFS win: 6-3

Game 2: ZAPS win 6-0 

Game 3: ZAPS win 3-2

Game 4: GOOFS win 1-0 

Game 5: ZAPS win 6-5 in 13 innings

Goofs 3, FFTs 2

Goofs go 3-2 with FFTS

Game 1: FFT's win 4-3 in 10 innings

Game 2: FFT's win 6-2 in 10 innings 

Game 3: Goofs win 3-2 

Game 4: Goofs win 3-2 

Game 5: Goofs win 5-3 in 10 innings

Goofs 3, DVs 2

Goofs go 3-2 with DV's

Game 1: Goofs win 4-3 in 14 innings

Game 2: DV's win 5-1 

Game 3: DV's win 8-1 

Game 4: Goofs win 6 - 1 

Game 5: Goofs win 3-2 

Computer Managing

Something I like: The schedule includes off days so every team isn't on the same number game. That adds some realism, I think.

Something I don't like: Hal LOVES the hit and run. And it doesn't matter which setting you put for the H&R, Hal is still going to use it maybe 4-5 times a game between the two teams. If the leadoff batter reaches first, and the next hitter is a H&R B, it's a guarantee. At first I thought it was Hal's way of trying to offset the quality pitcher on the mound, but I tried it in a game between two old Warpig teams. With a crappy pitcher on the hill, Hal still attempted the H&R in the first inning with a .343 hitter at the plate. I would say Hal just stereotypes the #2 hitter, but I saw him hit and run with Ted Williams in the 3 hole WITH ONE OUT! And this was using Teddy Ballgame's 1941, .406 card. I just don't get it.

Something I did wrong: Half of the teams have only 6 pitchers. This was mostly out of necessity, as I used every available HOF pitcher except one. (Herb Pennock, whose election into the HOF is a mystery to me. Even though he pitched for Murderer's Row, he only won 20 games twice and ALWAYS gave up more hits than innings pitched.) There were also a handful of HOF pitchers from before 1900, and I don't have those seasons. I'm not even sure they exist in SOM. But to my point, a team with only 6 pitchers has a dilemma. Hal appears to be going with primarily a 5-man rotation, leaving only 1 guy to relieve. And on a couple of these teams, the 1 guy is a true reliever. I watched Dennis Eckersley go 8.1 innings today after Randy Johnson got lit up in the 1st. The teams with 7 pitchers don't have this dilemma. I'm going to remove the 5th SP from the CM and see if Hal goes with a 4-man rotation, leaving 2 guys to relieve.

HOFL Update with Stats

The LeftOuts and the FiftySixties are in a tie for first, 1 game ahead of the NinetyAughts.

Some individual highlights: Gaylord Perry (CIN) tossed a 2-hitter against Chicago in a 5-2 win. Randy Johnson (BOS) struck out 15 in a 5-1 win over Chicago, but then got hammered by St. Louis, giving up 1st inning, back-to-back-to-back homers to Bonds, McGwire, and ARod. Ironically, this happened on Steroid Day at the ballpark.

Jackie Robinson (BAL), well known for his power, had a 3-homer game, one of which was a grand slam. Warren Spahn (BRK) and Vic Willis (PGH) both tossed complete game shutouts.

Here are some stats...

Early Season Jitters

Thru the first 18 games of the HOFL season, the surprise team at the top of the standings is the Chicago Legends, who have won their last 6, sweeping both the NY PreThirties and the Philadelphia ThirtyForties.

Let me explain quickly how I approach the games. I pick one of the five games each day to watch and set the other four games on auto. Then I choose the spectator option and just let the game go. I've tried to watch some of all the teams. I got to see Mays and Mantle homer in the same inning. In fact, except for missing a 1-12 BP HR, Aaron would have matched them in the inning. I was also watching when Philly's Hal Newhouser loaded the bases in the top of the 9th against Chicago with the score tied at 5. The last batter's walk tired Newhouser, but Hal (our Hal) decided to let him stay in to face McCovey. Big mistake. McCovey hit a grand slam. But the best game I watched was such typical Strat. Brooks Robinson of the Baltimore Stars (3b-1e14) made 3 errors in 1 game, including TWO in the top of the 10th inning, allowing 2 unearned runs. Brooks was saved in the bottom of the 10th when Reggie (Reggie! Reggie!) Jackson hit a walk-off 3-run homer.

There are some game events that will automatically save the box score of a game when they occur. In one game I wasn't watching (although the out of town scoreboard let me know), Chicago came back from an 11-3 deficit with an 11-run 8th inning to beat Philly. Dizzy Dean, Bob Lemon, and Lefty Gomez allowed 12 consecutive hits or walks in that inning. In another game, Boston lost a game 13-6 despite getting 20 hits. Harmon Killebrew of Detroit had a 3-homer, 7 RBI game against Boston (all off of Tom Glavine) and lost because Rickey Henderson went 5-6 with 3 homers of his own.

The offensive numbers are staggering. The pitchers are having a tough time keeping up. Of course, they're working without a bullpen for the most part. The bigger problem might be the setting of "deadball", which keeps the SP in longer. At some point in the season, I may have to consider some setting adjustments. Here's an example:

For now, I think I will look to do some small team adjustments every 36 games or so. Things like seeing if the batting order could use an adjustment... Seeing if some pitcher is being under- or over-used.

More tomorrow.

HOFL is Under Way!

The first set of games have been played, and the St. Louis LeftOuts and Brooklyn FiftySixties have jumped into the lead. They are followed closely by the Chicago Legends and the New York PreThirties, who started off 6-1 before dropping their last 2 games to Philly.

The LeftOuts lost their first 2 games - including suffering a 4-hit shutout by Chicago's Don Sutton - but came back to win 7 straight. The LeftOuts have been led by Edgar Martinez's .515 batting average, Barry Bonds' 6 homers, and Mike Piazza's 19 RBI. All of those lead the league. Piazza's RBI total might be even better, but he also leads the league in times grounded into a DP.

The LeftOuts beat Pittsburgh on the 14th by a score of 15-7 while hammering out 22 hits. Pete Rose and Edgar Martinez both went 5-6 (as did Pittsburgh's Nap Lajoie). Bonds hit 2 homers in that game and went 4-6.

Despite all the offense, there were a number of shutouts. In addition to the Sutton masterpiece, Roger Clemens of St. Louis and Warren Spahn of Brooklyn both tossed 3-hit shutouts, and Juan Marichal of Pittsburgh topped them all with a 2-hit shutout over Cincinnati.

Steve Carlton of Cincinnati has already struck out 24 batters in only 2 starts. He's followed closely by Brooklyn's Sandy Koufax (23 Ks) and Boston's Randy Johnson (22) in what should be an interesting race for HOF Strike Out King.

Something of note is the atrocious e-ratings of the early guys. Consider the starting infield for NY: Sisler 1b-1e18, Hornsby 2b-2e38, Traynor 3b-1e31, and Wagner ss-1e50. Even Cobb in cf is a 1e19. As time went by, and the equipment improved, the error ratings steadily dropped.

In the next batch of games, St. Louis travels to New York for three important early-season games against the PreThirties. Check back tomorrow.

Hall of Fame League

Beginning tomorrow, a Strat-O-Matic league consisting of 10 teams begins play. Each team (except one) is made up of Hall of Fame members (with three ringers added, which I'll explain later).

The teams have 9 batters and 6-7 pitchers on their roster, so the outcomes won't be based much on managing ability (sorry, Hal) but on the talent on the field.

The only "managing" I did was creating a batting order and a pitching rotation. The pitcher usage was set at "deadball" for all teams. If a pitcher had SP/RP on his card (as ALL the old guys do), then I marked them to relieve "as needed." If they were SP-only, I marked them to relieve "sometimes." A few teams have a RP-only guy, but some don't. There just aren't that many relievers in the Hall of Fame. For those teams, I changed the setting to "maximize" closer.

They will play a 162-game schedule, using the DH. Every team will use a ballpark of all 12's. I chose the best year's card for each player (although there are a few years I don't own: 1902, 1912, 1913, and 1924 - Hornsby was ticked).

I began by making HOF teams from decade groups. There's a team for 1900-1930, a team for 1930-1950, one for 1950-1970, one for 1970-1990, and one for after 1990. The card I chose for each player determined which team he was on. I also wanted a team of HOF snubs (Rose, Shoeless Joe, Bonds, Clemens, etc. - I even included ARod, because when he becomes eligible, he WILL be a snub). After making these 6 teams, I realized there were enough HOF players left over to roster 4 more teams. Those teams are NOT divided up by years, but just randomly put together - although I tried to balance them. Theoretically, those 4 teams should not be as strong as the original ones, but when you only take a guy's BEST year, sometimes that year is way better than the guy's overall career - so it might balance out. There are a number of HOF'ers who still didn't make a roster (Jim Rice and Lou Brock, for example).

Choosing a player's best year wasn't always easy. Some were, but lots of them gave me several equally worthy options. If it helped make a roster easier with regards to position or year, I took that into consideration. There are a few guys playing a little out of position. Frank Robinson, for example, will start at 1b for the FiftySixties. But then, breaking into an outfield of Mantle, Mays, Aaron, and Snider is tough to do. But hey, at least Robby has 1b on his card. He's even a 3! Duke Snider is the only player who will be playing a position that is not on his card. Since he and Mays and Mantle all played CF-only on their respective cards, I put Mantle at DH and Snider in LF.

The only exception to my HOF rosters is the NinetyAughts team. There just weren't enough HOF pitchers who pitched after 1990 to fill out a team. All I could come up with were Ryan (91), Eckersley (90), Maddux (95), and Glavine (92). So, to fill the roster out, I added two ringers: future shoe-in HOF'ers Randy Johnson (95) and Pedro Martinez (00). I also gave them Ken Griffey, Jr., who will be elected in 2016 but was needed to fill out this team.

Now, while I could play the entire league's schedule in a matter of seconds, that wouldn't be a lot of fun. So, my plan is to play a handful of games every day and blog the results. Here are the dates:

• Monday, July 7th - Opening Day
• Tuesday, July 15th - End of the first half of the season
• Wednesday, July 16th - The All Star Game of All Star Games
• Thursday, July 17th - Beginning of the second half of the season
• Friday, July 25th - End of regular season
• Saturday, July 26th - Playoff series between the 2nd and 3rd place teams
• Sunday, July 27th - The HOF World Series. This is also MLB's 2014 HOF Induction Ceremony day.

Below are the teams. I hope you enjoy reading thru these great names as much as I do.

DH/C/1B/2B/3B/SS/LF/CF/RF/P

New York PreThirties: L.Gehrig(27), M.Cochrane(30), G.Sisler(22), R.Hornsby(25), P.Traynor(30), H.Wagner(08), T.Speaker(22), T.Cobb(11), B.Ruth(21), J.McGinnity(04), C.Young(08), C.Mathewson(09), W.Johnson(15), P.Alexander(15), D.Vance(28)

Philadelphia ThirtyForties: J.Foxx(32), B.Dickey(36), S.Musial(48), C.Gehringer(36), G.Kell(49), L.Boudreau(48), A.Simmons(31), J.DiMaggio(36), T.Williams(41), L.Grove(31), D.Dean(34), L.Gomez(34), H.Newhouser(45), B.Feller(46), B.Lemon(48)

Brooklyn FiftySixties: M.Mantle(56), R.Campanella(53), F.Robinson(66), N.Fox(57), E.Mathews(54), E.Banks(58), D.Snider(54), W.Mays(54), H.Aaron(59), W.Spahn(53), E.Wynn(54), W.Ford(64), D.Drysdale(64), S.Koufax(65), B.Gibson(68)

Cincinnati SeventyEighties: G.Brett(80), J.Bench(70), R.Carew(77), J.Morgan(75), M.Schmidt(81), O.Smith(87), C.Yastrzemski(70), K.Puckett(88), A.Dawson(87), T.Seaver(71), S.Carlton(72), G.Perry(72), F.Jenkins(74), J.Palmer(75), R.Fingers(81)

Boston NinetyAughts: P.Molitor(94), C.Fisk(90), F.Thomas(94), R.Alomar(01), W.Boggs(91), B.Larkin(90), R.Henderson(90), K.Griffey(94), T.Gwynn(94), D.Eckersley(90), N.Ryan(91), T.Glavine(92), G.Maddux(95), R.Johnson(95), P.Martinez(00)

Baltimore Stars: J.Mize(39), R.Bresnahan(03), E.Murray(82), J.Robinson(49), B.Robinson(64), C.Ripken(91), J.Medwick(37), R.Ashburn(58), R.Jackson(69), M.Brown(06), C.Bender(10), R.Marquard(11), B.Grimes(20), T.Lyons(27), R.Ruffing(39), R.Roberts(54)

Chicago Legends: H.Wilson(30), G.Hartnett(37), W.McCovey(69), R.Sandberg(84), R.Santo(64), J.Cronin(38), B.Williams(72), L.Doby(50), H.Heilmann(23), J.Chesbro(04), A.Joss(08), R.Waddell(08), J.Haines(27), J.Bunning(67), D.Sutton(72), B.Sutter(77)

Detroit Idols: R.Kiner(51), Y.Berra(50), H.Greenberg(38), E.Collins(11), H.Killebrew(61), L.Appling(36), D.Winfield(84), L.Waner(28), P.Waner(36), E.Walsh(08), E.Plank(09), S.Coveleski(17), W.Hoyt(27), P.Niekro(67), H.Wilhelm(67), J.Hunter(72)

Pittsburgh Heroes: W.Stargell(73), G.Carter(82), B.Terry(30), N.Lajoie(01), F.Lindstrom(30), R.Yount(82), M.Ott(36), A.Kaline(59), R.Clemente(69), K.Nichols(04), V.Willis(06), E.Rixey(16), R.Faber(21), C.Hubbell(33), J.Marichal(66), R.Gossage(77)

St. Louis LeftOuts: E.Martinez(95), M.Piazza(97), M.McGwire(98), C.Biggio(97), A.Rodriguez(05), A.Trammell(87), B.Bonds(01), J.Jackson(11), P.Rose(69), E.Cicotte(17), J.Kaat(66), L.Tiant(68), J.Morris(81), L.Smith(83), C.Schilling(92), R.Clemens(05)

Have a great 4th of July!

Inmates 3, Zaps 2

All games via CM at the Baptist Bowl:

 

Inmates 6 – Zaps 4: Inmates scored three in 3^rd and 7^th, while Greinke sucks. Cargo tatered for comedic effect.

 

Inmates 4 – Zaps 0: Salazar tosses a 4-hit shutout; Pierzynski homers.

 

Inmates 4 – Zaps 2: Zaps continue to not hit, getting only two. Lackey takes a tough-luck loss.

 

Zaps 11 – Inmates 8: Everyone hits in this game, but the game-icer is a Goldschmidt Grand Salami in the 5-run Zap 8^th.

 

Zaps 4 – Inmates 1: Lackey pitches great while Chacin doesn’t. Jones taters for the Inmates to avoid the shutout.

 

The HEAD INMATE

Buckeyes 6, Inmates 4

Rolling dice at the Baptist Bowl…

 

Inmates 8 – Buckeyes 4 (Baptist Bowl): Inmates get seven runs and twelve hits off of Feldman, then hang on for the win.

 

Buckeyes 5 – Inmates 4 (Baptist Bowl): The Shriveled Testicle Gang get all of their runs in the 3^rd off of Chacin. Cargo hit a 3-run tater in the 5^th to make it close, but the Inmates never get closer.

 

Buckeyes 8 – Inmates 7 (10 innings – Baptist Bowl): Beltre hit two 2-run homers, but Furbush gave up a homer to some nameless bastard in the 10^th to lose it for the Inmates.

 

Buckeyes 6 – Inmates 5 (Buckeye Dome): The LDMF score four in the 9^th to make it look close, but Chacin took it up the poop chute early on to give the B’s the win.

 

Inmates 17 – Buckeyes 6 (Buckeye Dome): An 8-run Inmate 3^rd was just the start of the laugher. Six taters, four stolen bases and twenty-four hits later the Inmates had an impressive victory.

 

Inmates 7 – Buckeyes 4 (Baptist Bowl): A 4-run Inmate 1^st was enough even for Chacin to win.

 

Buckeyes 5 – Inmates 2 (Baptist Bowl): Parra doubled and Drew homered off of the first two pitches thrown by Feldman, and that was all the offense for the LDMF.

 

Inmates 15 – Buckeyes 2 (Buckeye Dome): Jones homered twice and had five RBI, Beltre had four ribbies, and the route was on.

 

Buckeyes 6 – Inmates 3 (12 innings – Buckeye Dome): Simon surrenders a 3-run walk-off homer to blow the game (and himself).

 

Buckeyes 7 – Inmates 4 (Buckeye Dome): Straily allows three homers in five innings, then wonders why he was traded to a little league team for six Popsicles and a box of Depends. A 4-run Inmate 6^th gave the Chicklets something to cheep about for a brief period of time, but the last ten Inmates went down without a wimper.

 

Inmates outscored the Buckeyes 75-53 and out-homered them 18-15. Unfortunately, most of the offense came in two games.

 

The HEAD INMATE

Rhinos 4, Wahoos 2

Details to come.

Zaps 3, Inmates 2

Game 1- The Zaps score nine runs in the third and fourth innings, outhit
the Inmates 16 to 8, and win the opener 10-5.
Game 2- Quintana silences the Zaps bats on four hits and cruises to a 4
to 1 triumph.
Game 3- Cole Hamels goes the distance backed by a 15 hit attack as the
Zaps take the third game 12-4.
Game 4- Utley has two solo shots and Miggy a three-run tater to back
Greinke strong start in a 5-1 Zaps victory.
Game5- In a wild getaway game the Inmates score two in the top of the
12th and hold off the home team in the bottom of the frame to head out
of town with a 12-11 nail biter.

Rhinos 5, FFTs 5

Rhinos and FFTs fought to a 5 - 5 season series tie today.  All games played via pc manager.

At Rhinoland

April 18:

Carlos Gomez slammed 2 homeruns and had 4 RBI and Chris Archer pitched a complete game as the RHINOS beat the reeling FFT'S 9 to 5.  Gomez enjoyed a fine evening at the plate.  He bombed a two-run dinger in the 3rd inning and clubbed a two-run home run in the 4th inning.  The victory was credited to Archer, who went the distance, allowing 5 runs. The loss was charged to Martin Perez.  He served up 3 gopher balls in 6 innings. 

April 19:

Second baseman Aaron Hill smashed 2 homeruns and had 3 RBI and Yusmeiro Petit delivered 6 solid innings as the FFT'S beat the RHINOS by the count of 5 to 0.  Hill had a good evening at the plate.  He blasted a two-run home run in the 2nd inning and smashed a bases-empty 'big-fly' in the 9th inning.  The FFTs had 6 hits for the game while the Rhinos had only 2.  The victory went to Petit who went 6 innings, allowing no runs. The losing pitcher was Matt Garza.  He served up 3 gopher balls in 9 innings.

April 20:

Tim Hudson dominated striking out 10 FFT batters and Troy Tulowitzki blasted 2 homeruns as the RHINOS won a dandy over the woeful FFT'S, 5 to 3.  The Rhinos had the winning rally in the bottom of the 9th inning plating 2 runs

using 2 hits.  Alex Gordon kicked off the action when he delivered a single.  Two outs later Robinson Cano came to bat and blasted a two-run home run making the Rhinos the victors to the delight of the home town faithful.  The win went to Hudson who allowed 3 runs in the game. Blake Parker was hit with the loss in relief.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the performance of Hudson - except the FFT batters.  FFT manager lamented, 'He just was 'on' tonight.

He was keeping our guys off balance all game.  A fine game by a good strikeout pitcher - makes it a fun game for the hometown fans - unfortunately we were the S&*$%#@*&$G visitors!'

At FFT GLP (Globe Life Park)

May 2:

Carlos Gomez cracked a homer and had 3 RBI at GLP as the RHINOS beat the FFT'S in 10 innings 6 to 3.

The game was deadlocked at 3 after nine full innings.  Gordon Beckham led off the 10th inning and started the rally when he laced a base-knock.  Joey Votto next to the plate and he banged out a single.  Two outs later Gomez came to bat and launched a three-run homer.  Alex Gordon came up and he delivered a one-base hit.  Matt Dominguez struck out, unable to help the rally.  Both teams finished the game with 11 hits.   Tyler Thornburg was the winner allowing no runs in 1 and 1/3 innings.  Fernando Rodney took the loss in relief.  His ERA ballooned from 1.93 to

2.50 as he allowed 2 runs in 4 innings.

May 3 Double Header:

Game 1

The FFT'S defeated the RHINOS by a score of 6 to 2 at the GLP.  The FFTs went ahead for good in the bottom of the 3rd inning scoring a single run on 2 hits.  That early scoring held up.  The FFTs managed 12 hits in their

victory.  Mike Leake got credit for the victory, pitching 7 innings and allowing 2 runs. Chris Capuano got the save, his 1st.  Trevor Cahill was given the loss.  He got hammered (during, and then after, the game), allowing 12 hits and 5 walks in 8 innings. 

Game 2:

Mike Napoli hit 2 doubles as the FFT'S swept the double header from the RHINOS winning game the night cap 3 to 2 at the GLP!  The FFTs delivered all the runs required in the 6th inning when they came up with 3 runs on 4 hits.  The key offensive moment was provided by Aaron Hill who made the crowd happy when he hit a single plating two runs.  

The win was credited to Chris Capuano who went 1 and 1/3 innings allowing no runs. Mariano Rivera recorded his 2nd save.  Matt Garza was hit with the loss.  He pitched 8 innings giving up 7 hits and 2 walks.

At Rhinoland:

June 13

Aaron Hill blasted a homerun and had 3 RBI at Big Horned Field as the FFT'S beat the RHINOS by the count of 6 to 1.  The FFTs took the lead for good in the 4th inning plating 2 runs using 3 hits. After an out was recorded, Mike Napoli initiated the scoring spurt when he doubled.  Hill came to the plate and blasted a two-run home run.  Jimmy

Rollins then singled.  Rollins then stole second base.  David Freese followed, but he was set down on strikes.  

Hiroki Kuroda got credit for the victory, pitching 5 and 2/3 innings and

allowing 1 run. The loss was charged to Trevor Cahill.  

June 14

Third baseman Matt Dominguez launched 2 homeruns and had 3 RBI and Tim Hudson pitched a complete game as the RHINOS beat the lifeless FFT'S by a score of 6 to 4.  Dominguez enjoyed a fine evening at the plate.  He smashed a solo-shot out of the park in the 2nd inning and lifted one out of the park for a two run home run in the 5th inning.  The game was a wild affair with the lead changing hands 5 times.  The victory was credited to Hudson who went the distance, allowing 4 runs. The loss was charged to Jeremy Hellickson.  

At FFT GLP

August 26

The FFT'S readily handled the RHINOS by a score of 7 to 3 at the GLP.  Jeff Samardzija delivered a fine performance for the FFTs.  He allowed 4 hits and 6 walks in 6 and 2/3 innings.  Samardzija racked up 9 strikeouts.

C.C. Sabathia took the loss.  He surrendered 9 hits and 2 walks in 7 innings.

August 27

At the GLP the RHINOS easily handled the FFT'S by the score of 7 to 3. Tim Hudson earned his pay with a solid performance.  He went 7 and 2/3 innings and surrended up 11 hits and 2 walks.  Both teams ended up with 11 hits on the night.  Tyler Thornburg got the save, his 1st.  Vin Mazzaro absorbed the loss in relief.  He was unable to retire a batter and surrendered 3 hits and no walks.  

Fungoes 11, Rhinos 3

These games played by Fungoman via computer manager.

First four games played at the Rhinodome:

Game 1:

Fungoes win 3-1.  Hosmer, Trout and Votto all homered.  Holland picks up the win and improves to 6-3 on the year. Robertson picked up his 5th save.  Archer takes the loss.

Game 2:

Fungoes win 4-3.  David Price picks up his 9th win for the Fungoes while Garza takes the loss.  Perkins picks up the save for the Fungoes.  Hosmer and Trout homer again for the Fungoes while Dominguez goes yard for the Rhinos.

Game 3:  

Rhinos score 5 in the third and 2 in the fourth and win it easy 7-2.  Hudson picks up the complete game win while Medlen takes the loss for the Fungoes.  Votto and Tulo both homer for the Rhinos.

Game 4:

Fungoes take and early 4-1 lead and hold on to win it 5-4.  Sabathia absorbs the loss for the Rhinos allowing 11 hits over 7 innings.  Redmond starts for the Fungoes but doesn't make it out of the 5th inning.  Santos goes 2 innings for the win.  Baker homers for the Fungoes while Votto, Cano, Gomez and Dominguez all hit solo homers for the Rhinos.

Games 5 - 7 are played at WTF.

Game 5:

Rhinos and Fungoes play all day and finally, in the 15th inning, Fungoes Daniel Murphy doubles in Brett Gardner for the 6-5 win.  Robertson throws 3 innings for the win while Thornburg goes 6 and 2/3 and takes the hard luck loss. Gomez finished up the scoring for the Rhinos with a 5th inning grand slam.  Trout homered for the Fungoes.

Game 6:

Fungoes win 6-4.  Price gets the win for the Fungoes while Cahill thakes the loss.  Robertson picks up the save. Votto mashes another homer for the Rhinos.

Game 7:

Fungoes score 4 in the 2nd inning, 5 in the 7th inning and 3 in the 8th a breeze to a 12-4 win.  Kershaw picks up his 12th win.  Cole takes the loss.  Salvador Perez hits the only homer of the game for the Fungoes.

Fungoes are now 55 - 22.

At Rhino Liner Park

Game 1:

CC Sabathia shuts down the Fungoes while throwing a complate game 5 hit shutout.  Rhinos win it 5-0.  Medlen takes the loss for the Fungoes.  Rhinos got all the runs they would need in the first.  Cano opened the inning for the Rhinos with a walk.  One out later, Votto hits a doubleplay ball to Zimmerman at 3rd.  Zimmerman throws the ball into rightfield for a 2-base error.  One pitch later, Tulo hits a grounder to Zimmerman who throws the ball into the stands allowing two runs to score.  Rhinos score two more to win it 4-0.

Game 2:

Fungoes score early and late to support Kershaw and win it 6-1.  Kershaw inproves to 13-2.  McCallister takes the loss for the Rhinos.  Carlos Quentin goes yard for the Fungoes.

Game 3:

Fungoes score 5 in the 1st inning and coast to an 8-5 win.  Price gets the win improving to 11-4.  Hudson takes it up the um, I mean, takes the loss for the Rhinos.  Trout, Rajai Davis, Tulo and Ellis all homer.

Games 4-7 played at WTF

Game 4:

911 game is all Fungoes as they win it 7-1.  Kershaw gets the win and is now 14-2.  Cahill takes the loss for the Rhinos.  Hosmer and Zimmerman both homer for the Fungoes.

Game 5: 

Fungoes pour it on winning 8-3.  Cishek picks up his first win in relief for the Fungoes.  Perkins gets the save. Hudson takes the loss.  Cano and Tulo both homer for the Rhinos.

Game 6:

Rhinos turn it around and beat up on Price winning 8-3.  McCallister gets the win for the Rhinos.  Trout hits his 12th homer for the Fungoes.

Game 7:

Last game of the season on the schedule is a good one for the Fungoes.  Medlen picks up a win improving to 9-4.  Cishek gets his 5th save.  CC Sabathia gets the loss.  Fungoes win it 8-4.  Votto homers in a losing effort.

Fungoes improve to 60 - 24 on the season.

Warpigs 6, Rhinos 4

Cards and dice...

@ Rhino Reserve

Gm1 - Warpigs win 5-4. Adam Wainwright gives up 3 homers, but is bailed out when Matt Wieters hits a 3-run homer in the 6th.

Gm2 - Warpigs win 3-2 in 12 innings. It was a rare extra inning win from the Pigs when Darwin Barney shocked the Rhinos with a 2-out, run-scoring single in the 12th. Tyler Lyons got the win, and Casey Fien recorded the save. Scott Van Slyke homered.

@ The BallPork

Gm3 - Warpigs win 4-1. The Rhinos made an uncharacteristic 4 errors, and Adam Wainwright shut down the Rhino bats, holding them to 2 hits. Melky Cabrera went 2-4 with a triple and an RBI.

Gm4 - Warpigs win 2-1. Stephen Strasburg overcame a solo homer by Carlos Gomez to get the win. The go-ahead run scored in the bottom of the 8th when Melky Cabrera hit another triple, this time scoring Barney, who led off the inning with a single. Casey Fien got another save.

Gm5 - Warpigs win 2-1. Fernandez over Sabathia. Yoenis Cespedes hit a BP HR (1-4) in the 1st inning.

@ Rhino Reserve

Gm6 - Rhinos win 10-8. To keep from sacrificing Zack Wheeler to the Rhino bats, Jake Odorizzi made a spot start - his first of the year. The result wasn't that different. The two teams combined for 25 hits. And while the Pigs had more hits, the Rhinos had more runs.

Gm7 - Warpigs win 4-1. Fernandez wins again. Van Slyke hit a homer.

Gm8 - Rhinos win 12-2. The Rhino bats woke up, scoring 12 runs on 16 hits. Two Pig errors contributed to the problem. For the Pigs, Scott Van Slyke just missed a reverse cycle. He homered in the 1st, tripled in the 3rd, and doubled in the 6th. He needed a roll of 4-8 for the single in the 8th, but rolled 4-6.

@ The BallPork

Gm9 - Rhinos win 1-0 in 10 innings. A great pitching duel between Adam Wainwright and C.C. Sabathia.

Gm10 - Rhinos win 5-2. Two more Pig errors spelled doom for Strasburg.

Tweakers 3, Nads 2

Tweakers manage to win 3 of 5 vs. Hal and his Nads at the Hooverdome.
June 9 – Tweakers 6, Nads 4.  Shane Victorino had 2 doubles, a triple, and executed a successful squeeze bunt.  Gio left with the lead but couldn’t make it through 5.  Scorer’s decision gave the win to Dane de la Rosa, Avilan got the save, Miley the loss.
June 10 – Nads 3, Tweakers 2 (10 innings).  Tweakers could not solve Marco Estrada, and went to the 9th inning down 2-0.  We loaded the bases with 2 outs and Ryan Howard doubled to CF.  The dogpile was averted when Marlon Byrd was thrown out trying to score from 1st on a 1-11 chance.  All this so that Oswaldo Arcia could role the 1 and connect on the BP HR in the 10th.  W – Balfour, L – Smyly, S – Collmenter.
June 11 – Nads 4, Tweakers 2.  Another BP HR for the Nads (Dozier) but the key hit was a 2-out, 2-run double by Todd Frazier in the 8th.  Kuma actually outpitched Wilson, but neither factored in the decision.  W – Lecure, L – Avilan, S – Balfour.
August 23 – Tweakers 6, Nads 5 (12 innings).  Back and forth affair finally ended on a Ben Zobrist 2-out single.  Howard homered.  Dane de la Rosa picked up another win, Collmenter took the loss.
August 24 – Tweakers 5, Nads 3.  A total of 26 strikeouts, 14 of which notched by Iwakuma.  Byrd went 3 for 4 with 2 homers.  Dozier homered again.  W – Kuma, S – Gray, L – Wilson.

Tweakers 2, Warpigs 1

Netplayed. All games at the Hoover Dome.

Gm1 - Tweakers win 3-1. Gio over Strasburg.

Gm2 - Warpigs win 2-1. Fernandez over Iwakuma. Yonder Alonso singled in the winning run with 2 outs in the top of the 9th. Brandon "Babe" Crawford homered again.

Gm3 - Tweakers win 4-3 in 10 innings. Shane Victorino hit a pinch hit 3-run homer in the 8th inning to tie the game. The Warpigs fall again in extra innings.

Sidewinders 5, Warpigs 0

Netplayed...

Gm1 - Snakes win 7-0. Chris Sale is good. The Pigs are not.

Gm2 - Snakes win 6-5 in 12 innings. Another extra inning loss for the Warpigs. Getting to extra innings was pretty improbable in the first place. Down 5-1 in the 8th, Ryan Flaherty homered to make it 5-2. Craig Kimbrel came on in the 9th for the save, but Brandon Crawford (of all people) hit a 3-run homer off of him to tie the game.

Gm3 - Snakes win 5-3. Dominic Brown hit a 3-run HR in the 1st, and Jay Bruce hit the game-winning 2-run HR in the 8th. In between, Michael Wacha threw 6 shutout relief innings for the Pigs, allowing only 2 hits.

Gm4 - Snakes win 6-1. Whatever.

Gm5 - Snakes win 3-0. Three unearned runs off of Adam Wainwright was enough.

The Inmate Wedding (and a trade!)

This blog is not letting me successfully add photos right now, so I have added them to the NASOMA home page. The wedding was nice. At one point, I'm pretty sure Steve was referred to as "the wife" by the pastor. He misspoke, obviously. (Or did he?)

The FFTs, Fungoes, and Warpigs (and their better halves) were in attendance. And if I'm not mistaken, the wedding guest book indicates there may have been a handful of current and former Inmate players there, as well. Jeff Cermin - formerly the Necks - was the best man, but more importantly, got to meet the owner who took over his team (and renamed it the Fungoes) when he left NASOMA in 1988.

The Fungoes and FFTs made the first ever "Wedding Day Trade". The Fungoes sent Michael Choice to the FFTs for Sean Rodriguez.

Warpigs 2, Tweakers 0

Netplayed. Both games at The BallPork

Game 1 - Warpigs win 2-1. An excellent pitcher's duel between Shelby Miller and Adam Wainwright came down to another pitcher - Stephen Strasburg - stealing the spotlight. Miller had the Pigs shut out going into the bottom of the 8th, but Brandon Crawford led off the inning with a walk. Miller was replaced by Luis Avilan, but pinch hitter Cody Ross greeted him with a triple, tying the game. After an out, Strasburg was sent up to the plate where he executed a squeeze bunt, scoring Ross with the go-ahead run. Casey Fien finished off the Tweeners in the 9th for his 10th save. Pablo Sandoval homered for the Tweakers.

Game 2 - Warpigs win 5-1. Wily Peralta (7-13) went the distance, allowing only 3 hits. Yadier Molina went 3-4 with a pair of doubles and 2 RBI. MadBum took the loss. Brandon Crawford tied a team record with 3 sacrifice bunts.

Wahoos 2, Warpigs 2

Cards and Dice. All games played at the BallPork.

Game 1 - Warpigs win 2-1. With the help of a couple of timely double plays, Wily Peralta (6-13) goes 7 strong innings for the win. Casey Fien recorded his 9th save. Melky Cabrera went 3-3 and drove in both Pig runs.

Game 2 - Wahoos win 2-1 in 13 innings. Dustin Pedroia doubled home the winning run off of Tyler Lyons (0-2). Stephen Strasburg and Dillon Gee both ended up with no decisions after strong outings. Strasburg allowed only 2 hits in 9 innings, but one of them was a leadoff triple by Ian Desmond in the 5th.

Game 3 - Wahoos win 2-1 in 10 innings. Third straight 2-1 game between these two offensive juggernauts. Michael Bourn homered to lead off the bottom of the 1st, but the Pigs never came close to scoring again. Jose Fernandez, like Strasburg last game, allowed only 2 hits in 9 innings but didn't get a decision. Jordan Zimmermann pitched even better for the Wahoos, but also came away empty handed. The winning run scored on a ballpark homer (HR1-4) by Desmond off of Tommy Milone, who falls to 1-7. For those of you scoring at home, the Warpigs are now 0-10 in extra inning games.

Game 4 - Warpigs win 9-2. This game was 1-0 in the 5th and looked exactly like the first three games. But Bourn hit a 2-run homer in the 5th, and then the Pigs exploded for 6 runs in the 7th, capped off by a pinch hit grand slam by Austin Jackson. Adam Wainwright (12-4) was the beneficiary of the unusual run support. He struck out 11 in 6.2 innings. Michael Wacha got him out of a jam in the 7th when the score was still 3-2, and then hung around for his 7th save of the year.

Tweakers 4, Nads 1

Tweeners go 4-1 at NADS – game files, box scores and NAD CM attached – starters for NADS @ Tweeners below

 

Game 1 - TWEENERS bested the NADS 5 to 2 The biggest moment was provided by Chris Carter who deflated the crowd as he clubbed

a two-run home run.  For the game TWEENERS out-hit NADS 8 to 5. 

 

Game 2 - TWEENERS got by the NADS by the score of 4 to 1.TWEENERS jumped on top of NADS in the 2nd inning

scoring one runner.  That was all the offense they were to need.  TWEENERS out-hit NADS for the game, 10 hits to 5.

 

Game 3 - Hisashi Iwakuma came through with a solid 9 innings as the TWEENERS beat the NADS by a score of 2 to 1.

 

Game 4 - Miguel Montero went yard as the NADS beat the TWEENERS 4 to 3.

 

Game 5 - TWEENERS readily handled NADS by a score of 8 to 4 The key offensive moment was provided by Chris

Carter who deflated the spirits of the home town crowd when he lost the ball over the fence for three runs.