Buckeyes 2, Skyscrapers 1

Buckeyes and Skyscrapers got together to test out Team Viewer. All worked well.

Buckeyes go 2-1 at the home ballpark.

April 13 - Scrapers 6 Buckeyes 4 - Greinke goes 6 for the win. 10 runs scored were all 1 run innings.  Hernandez, Machado and Bautista homer for Scrapers. Turner and Gattis homer for Buckeyes.

April 14 - Buckeyes 5 Scrapers 3 - Maeda goes 5 and pitches just well enough to get the win. Smith comes in to get the last 2 outs and the save. Kluber goes all the way for the Scrapers and takes the loss. Sanchez emerges from an early season slump to hit 2 homers.

April 15 - Buckeyes 7 Scrapers 5 - Kinsler hits a 2 run walk off homer in the 9th off Z. Duke for the win. Phelps picks up the win in relief of E. Santana.

Skyscrapers 4, FFTs 1

Scrapers 4 FFT 1

JUNE 3RD

Second baseman Jason Kipnis hit 2 doubles and had 2 RBI as the New York Skyscrapers outscored the Dallas FFTs 7 to 6. Cole Hamels(1-0) was not on his game tonight, but the New York offense bailed him out. He gave up 5 runs, 8 hits and 3 walks in 5 innings and surrendered 2 'round-trippers'. New York had 11 hits for the night. Ryan Dull gained credit for his 1st save. Drew Pomeranz(3-3) was the losing pitcher. He was touched for 7 hits and 3 walks in 4 and 2/3 innings. 'He gutted it out' New York's manager said of Hamels. 'I was very impressed by his tenacity.' 

JUNE 4th

First baseman Miguel Cabrera blasted 2 homeruns as the Dallas FFTs staged a dramatic comeback over the New York Skyscrapers by a score of 6 to 5 at The Grove. Dallas came up with the deciding runs in the 9th inning scoring 2 runs. Adrian Beltre started the inning off right when he reached on an error. Yadier Molina followed next and he was hit by a pitch. After an out was recorded, Troy Tulowitzki then tripled making Dallas the winners and sending the 48,474 fans home happy. Overall Dallas out-hit New York 11 to 6. The victory went to Derek Law(1-0) who went 1/3 of an inning, allowing no runs. Ryan Dull(0-1) was the losing pitcher in relief. He gave up 1 hit and no walks in 1/3 of an inning.

JUNE 5TH

Paul Goldschmidt left the yard and had 3 RBI at The Grove where the New YorkSkyscrapers beat the Dallas FFTs by the score of 11 to 5. Dallas found themselves trailing quickly as the New York bats came through in the first inning when they came up with 3 runs on 2 hits. The big moment was provided by Goldschmidt who quieted the home crowd when he lofted a three-run bomb. For the game New York out-hit Dallas 15 to 11.Zack Greinke(1-0) got the win allowing 5 runs in 5 innings. Ryan Dull recorded the save, his 2nd. Gio Gonzalez(1-2) absorbed the loss. He got hammered, allowing 8 hits and 2 walks in 4 and 1/3 innings. 

AUGUST 12TH

The New York Skyscrapers cruised to a 8 to 3 victory over the Dallas FFTs at The Grove.Kevin Gausman(1-0) earned his pay with a solid performance for New York. He went 6 innings surrendering 7 hits and no walks reducing his ERA from 6.00 to 3.00. New York dominated offensively as they scored in 6 different innings. Steve Cishek was credited with his 1st save. Gio Gonzalez(1-3) was charged with the loss. He was touched for 9 hits and 2 walks in 5 and 2/3 innings. 

AUGUST 13TH

Manny Machado smacked 2 homeruns and 3 RBI and Zach Duke went 3 strong innings at The Grove as the New York Skyscrapers beat the Dallas FFTs by the count of 6 to 2.Machado had a big day against Dallas. He popped a two-run clout over the fence in the 3rd inning and cracked a solo homerun in the 8th inning. Zack Greinke(2-0) got relief help from Duke who was excellent in relief and gained credit for his 1st save. Mike Leake(0-4) was the loser. He was touched for 3 homeruns in his 7 innings of work.

Fungoes 9, Rhinos 5

Fungoes and Rhinos played 14 via TeamViewer:

April 16 at WTF:

Archer starts for the Horned Hippos while Santiago gets the nod for the Fungi.  This one is knotted at 4 after 9 innings:  

Greg Garcia walks it off in the 10th with a 3-run Home Run for the Fungoes!  Cam Bedrosian absorbs the loss while 

Shawn Kelley picks up the win.  All the Home Runs went to the Fungoes in this one as Trout and Carpenter also connected

April 17 at WTF:

Rhinos score 3 in the 1st and 6 more in the 4th to cruise to a 9-4 victory.  Wisler picks up the complete game victory while 

Matt Boyd takes the loss in his Big League Fungo debut.  A variety of Rhino Bashers wreaked havoc on Fungo hurlers!

Wisler was pleased with his performance and noted, "I had great command of all of my pitches.  Just as important, my

location was right on."

April 18 at WTF:

Fungoes break open a close game with 7 runs in the bottom half of the 7th inning.  Devenski takes the loss while Shawn 

Kelley picks up the win in relief.  Arcia, Bryant and Betts all Homered on the night while Betts finished with 4 RBIs.

April 19 at WTF:

Rhinos break out with 4 in the first.  Fungoes plate 6 in the 2nd and the Rhinos tie it up in the 4th.  Fungoes plate 5 more 

in the bottom half of the 5th inning for an 11-6 lead.  Rhinos score 1 in the 8th and 3 more in the ninth but the Fungoes hold 

on to win it 11-10.  Hard to believe that Kershaw started this one for the Fungoes.  While Kershaw allowed 6 runs, only 2

were earned.  Kershaw improves to 2-0 on the season with Kelley picking up a save.  Lopez takes the loss allowing 10 hits 

and 8 earned runs in 4 2/3 innings.  Kemp, Flores and Myers all Homer for the Rhinos while Trout hits a Grand Slam and 

drives in 5 for the Fungoes.

April 20 at WTF:

This one is tied 2-2 at the end of 9 innings.  Rhinos score a run in the 11th and hold on to win it 3-2.  Fungoes enjoyed a big

day at the plate until runners found 2nd base as the Fungoes picked up 15 hits and stranded 18 runners!  Through 8 2/3 innings 

Archer allowed only 2 runs while giving up 12 hits and 11 walks!  Diaz picks up the win for the Rhinos while Torres takes the loss

for the Fungoes.  Devenski collects the save for Col. Rhino!

May 30 at Rhino Reserve:

In a close game the Fungoes hold off the Rhinos winning it 5-4.  David Price evens his record at 2-2 while Archer takes the loss

for the Rhinos.  Will Harris picks up his first save of the season for the Fungoes.  Napoli, Story and Bryant all went "yard".

May 31 at Rhino Reserve:

Rhinos erase an early 3-0 lead and come back to win it 6-3.  Straily gets the loss for the Fungoes while Cole gets the win with 

Devenski claiming the save.  Odor, Buxton and Story all hit Home Runs in the game.

June 01 at Rhino Reserve:

Nola shuts the Fungoes down allowing the Rhinos to win a close one 2-1.  Santiago takes the loss while Devenski picks up another 

save for the Rhinos.  Fungoes are held to 3 hits.  Flores Homers for the Rhinoman!

August 7 At Rhino Reserve:

Kershaw goes 6 strong innings and is part of a combined shutout, Fungoes win it 9-0.  Syndergaard gets hit hard and is tagged 

with the loss for the Rhinos.  Daniel Murphy hits a Grand Slam and drives in 5 for the Fungoes.  Rhinos are held to 6 hits with Torres

and Bruce Rondon sharing the shutout with Kershaw.

August 8 at Rhino Reserve:  

Rhinos stampede out to a 7-1 lead and then hold on to win it 7-5.  Price takes the loss falling to 2-3 on the season.  Sanchez gets 

the win while Nate Jones collects the save.  Story and Buxton both deliver Home Runs for the home team.

August 9 at Rhino Reserve:

Fungoes win a close pitcher's duel 2-1.  Straily gets the win for the Fungoes while nola takes the loss.  Will Harris picks up save number 2 

on the year.  Contreras hits the only Homer in this contest.  

August 10 at Rhino Reserve:

Hector Santiago throws a complete game 3-hitter as the Fungoes win it 8-1.  Cole takes the loss for the Rhinos.  Murphy, Betts and Hosmer

each collect 2 RBIs for the Fungoes.

September 18 at WTF:

Fungoes win this one 10-1 with McCullers picking up the complete game victory.  Wisler is hit hard in the "take one for the team" loss for the Rhinos.  

Trout and Carpenter both Homer for the Fungoes.  Trout drives in 3 while Carpenter and Betts both collect 3 hits in the contest.  

September 19 at WTF:

Game 162 on the schedule goes to the Fungoes as they race out to a 4-0 lead behind Kershaw and then hold on to win it 4-3 after Kershaw retires 

for the day after allowing 2 hits in 7 innings.  Archer takes the loss for the Rhinos and Will Harris collects his 3rd save for the Fungoes.  

Votto, Trout and Sal Perez all hit Home Runs.  Perez hits a big 3-run blast in the 4th to complete the Fungo scoring.

Fungoes were on fire most of the series outscoring the Rhinos 82 - 56.  These games were all played from Firehouse #7 in GP (at least on this side 

of TeamViewer) with the only interruption being the Pizza delivery!

Derek

Warpigs 3, Buckeyes 2

Cards and dice.

April 24 @ Buckeye Park - Warpigs win 4-1. The Warpigs got to J.A. Happ for 4 early runs, knocking him out of the game after only 3.1 innings. That was enough to make a winner of Garrett Richards, making his first appearance of the season. He went 6 innings, allowing only 2 hits although he did walk 5. Alex Wilson went the last 3 innings to earn his first save of the year. The two teams combined to hit into 6 double plays.

April 25 @ Buckeye Park - Buckeyes win 12-6. The Pigs scored 5 runs in the top of the 1st inning, capped off by homers from Chris Carter and Mitch Moreland. But the Buckeyes pounded Adam Wainwright for SIX homers over the next 6 innings, rolling to an easy win. Waino compounded his woes by walking 5. He was asked to stay in and take one for the team with the promise that he'd get to bat later on in the series.

June 6 @ The BallPork - Buckeyes win 8-1. The Pigs knocked out Happ in the 2nd inning this time, but the second weird x-chart result* in the first two innings kept them from scoring more than 1. Then the Buckeyes put together a couple of big innings to put the game away.

June 7 @ The BallPork - Warpigs win 5-4 in 11 innings. It was looking like the Buckeye bulldozer was on cruise control. After two straight blowout wins, the Buckeyes took a shutout into the 7th inning of game 4. But the Pigs had 3 straight 2-out singles in the 7th to score their first run. Then Jake Lamb led off the 8th with a homer, cutting the score to 3-2. Francisco Cervelli singled and J.T. Realmuto doubled to put the tying run at third and the go ahead run in scoring position. Up stepped pinch-hitter Adam Wainwright. With the corners in to defend the squeeze, Waino took a full cut, singling to tie the game. Now the Buckeye infield came in all the way, and Mallex Smith slapped a +hit past them for the lead. In the top of the 9th, the leadoff hitter reached on a single and error and scored on a double to tie the game. With one out in the bottom of the 11th, Matt Duffy singled and scampered to 3rd on a hit and run single by Hunter Pence. Mitch Moreland sent the Pig faithful home happy by singling in Duffy to end the game.

June 8 @ The BallPork - Warpigs win 6-2. Adam Wainwright, whose embarrassment from his last start had been quelled some by his big pinch hit in yesterday's game, pitched well for 7 innings, shutting down the powerful Buckeye bats. Logan Forsythe and Starlin Castro both hit 2-run homers off of Junior Guerra. Alex Wilson got the same, his 2nd.

* - Catcher-x chance with nobody on. a P/F with rare play results in catcher's interfence. Meaning a catcher can make an error even if he's an e0. (I'm not saying my guy was an e0, but it could happen.)
* - Shortstop-x with runners on the corners and 1 out and the infield in. The ss is a 3, and the roll is 9 -which just misses the #single**. Instead it's a G3... which results in the runner at third getting caught in a rundown.

Those two plays happened in back-to-back innings. Throw in a few plus-hits, a couple of clutch hits, pitchers pinch-hitting (and even getting 2 at bats in one game), a H&R single, an error by a 1b-1e3, and an error by a cf-1e5, and you have a very full 5 game series.

Fungoes 3, Warpigs 2

Games played with dice and cards.

May 2 @ WTF Field - Warpigs win 7-5. Someday, the young lads in attendance at this game will be able to tell their grandkids that they witnessed a duel between Joe Musgrove and Anthony DeSclafani. Save those ticket stubs, kids! Sadly, the Pig hitters (as it were) found Musgrove to their liking. Even Starlin Castro got 3 hits, doubling his season total. Jake Lamb went yard. DeSclafani went 5.1 innings and somehow hung on for the win. Francisco Liriano, who has no business even being on a NASOMA roster, got his first save because there was no one else to turn to. He had to intentionally walk 2 batters just to find someone he could get out. Sal Perez and Matt Carpenter both homered for the Fungoes.

May 3 @ WTF Field - Fungoes win 5-4. The Warpigs scored 4 runs in the 3rd inning thanks mainly to a rare Chris Carter 3-run homer. The Fungoes battled back with 3 in the 5th and the tying run in the 6th (all this despite going thru four different 20-sided dice over the two innings). After scrambling (unsuccessfully) to score in the top of the 9th, the Pigs took 10 minutes trying to decided how to field a team. After all that, Francisco Liriano came on to give up a lead off, walk-off  homer to Daniel Murphy to end the game in the bottom of the 9th.

May 4 @ WTF Field - Fungoes win 8-1. For the Warpigs, it was "Pick Your Pitcher Out of the Stands" Day. Unfortunately, the promotion was scheduled during a road game. Local farmers Daniel Norris and Luis Severino combined to give up 8 earned runs over 7.1 innings. When Severino came out of the outfield bleachers to pitch, the Fungo management challenged the migrant worker's citizenship status. After seeing him pitch, the Warpig management made the same challenge. Mike Napoli went deep off of Norris in the 5-run first inning. Dan Straily went 5.2 innings for the win. The Warpigs were held to 4 hits for the game.

June 14 @ The BallPork - Warpigs win 3-2. The Pigs hammered Straily for 3 runs and 4 hits - including a 3-run homer by Yasmany Tomas - in the first inning. They managed only 2 more hits over the rest of the game, but it turned out to be enough. Carlos Rodon and three relievers kept turning away the Fungo advances, including a triple play to turn the tide in the top of the 7th. Liriano again earned the save, this time despite giving up a 2-out, 9th inning RBI triple.

June 15th @ The BallPork - Fungoes win 5-1. Well... it coulda been worse. The Fungoes went thru a stretch of 6 batters at one point where 5 of them got hits (one a double), and even though there was no double play or caught stealing involved, managed to only score 1 run. It's not an easy thing to do.

Goofs 3, Warpigs 2

TeamViewer games.

July 26 @ The BallPork - Warpigs win 3-2 in 12 innings. J.T Realmuto singled home Ender Inciarte with 1 out in the 12th inning for the Pig win.

July 27 @ The BallPork - Goofs win 4-1. Eduardo Rodriguez went the distance in the 3-hitter. The Goofs plated 3 in the 2nd inning against Archie Bradley. This would have been a pretty boring and unforgettable game, except for the lone Pig run. Looking to save an at bat, Adam Wainwright was called on to pinch hit. He rolled 2-3 for a solo homer to avoid the shutout.

September 5 @ The Magic Kingdom - Goofs win 2-1. The Goofs walked it off in the bottom of the 9th. After a single and a double play started the inning, Angel Pagan singled and came around to score on a double by Shin-Soo Choo. Masahiro Tanaka got the complete game win.

September 6 @ The Magic Kingdom - Warpigs win 2-1 in 11 innings. Jake Lamb hit a home run in the top of the 11th inning for the Pig win. Anthony DeSclafani went 10 innings for the win, getting help from Raisel Iglesias, who earned the save. For the Goofs, reliever Luis Cessa entered the game in the 5th inning, and pitched the final 6.1 innings. He took the loss.

September 7 @ The Magic Kingdom - Goofs win 6-1. Yunel Escobar went 3-4 with a homer and 3 RBI. Jacob deGrom struck out 11 in the complete game win.

In 31 Warpig games so far, 24 have been played in HR-0 parks (and more are coming in the morning against the Fungoes). The other 7 have been at the Skyscrapers (2/5) and the Drillers (8/8). Not exactly homer parks.

Rhinos 3, Warpigs 2

Games played on TeamViewer. By the way, update your TeamViewer to version 12. I don't know if it was the update or what, but the microphone connection was better than it's ever been. Clearer than talking on the phone, with no echo or feedback. Plus, both teams have to have the same version of TeamViewer in order to connect.

All games played at The BallPork (due to some weird scheduling shit that has us playing the first 5 at the same park.)

Game 1 (Opening Day) - April 4 - Rhinos win 4-2. Chris Archer went the distance for the win. D.J. Lemahieu drove in 2 runs for the Rhinos. Ender Inciarte homered for the Pigs.

Game 2 - April 5 - Rhinos win 4-2. Trevor Story pinch hit a 2-run triple in a 3-run 4th inning. Matt Wisler got the win; Nate Jones saved it. Yasmany Tomas homered for the Pigs.

Game 33 - May 7 - Warpigs win 5-4 in 16 innings. Inciarte's only hit of the game was a 16th inning single driving in pinch runner Andrew Toles. Michael Wacha earned the win. Cam Bedrosian took the loss for the Rhinos.

Game 34 - May 8 - Rhinos win 2-1. Nate Jones came in with runners at the corners and 1 out in the 9th and quenched the fire, earning the save. Matt Wisler was the winning pitcher. Wil Myers homered for the Rhinos. Andrew Toles went deep for the Warpigs' only run.

Game 35 - May 9 - Warpigs win 8-6. Nate Jones wasn't quite as effective this game. He gave up a 2-out, 3-run, walk-off homer to Yulieski Gurriel to send the fans home happy. The Warpigs had scratched together 3 runs in the 7th to close a 6-2 deficit to 6-5.

Rule Updates

We voted on several rule change proposals at the Draft. All but one were defeated.

To recap...

1. Defensive Shift Rule (SOM) - The defense may call for a defensive shift any time that the bases are empty and the batter is rated N-power. When the shift is on, the result of the AB is based on the offense's decision to "Swing Away" or "Beat the Shift." Then a 20-sided die is rolled and a chart is referred to. Complete instructions can be found here or in the package with your cards.
FAILED. SOM's new defensive shift rule was defeated 16-0. Enjoy the moment; the last time this league unanimously agreed on anything was Esque winning Queen of the Draft in 1989.

2. Allowable AB/IP for the Playoffs (Warpigs) - The proposal (detailed here) would limit all players to 10% of the AB/IP on their card per playoff series. We currently use 33% for the entire playoffs.
PASSED. Each of the 25 players on a team's playoff roster will be allowed 10% of his AB/IP for each series. This takes affect immediately, beginning with the 2017 playoffs.

3. Starting Pitchers Used in Relief in the Playoffs (Inmates) - A SP used in relief in the playoffs would become tired after recording 3 outs (detailed in the comment section here). Currently, the one SP you designate to relieve can throw 3 innings before becoming tired.
FAILED. Turns out the rule already puts the "SP in relief" guy's POW at 1. 

4. No SP Can Relieve in the Playoffs (Sidewinders) - Only pitchers with RP on their cards can relieve in the playoffs (detailed in the comment section here). Currently, a team can designate one SP-only pitcher to be a reliever.
FAILED. The rule will remain as written. One SP-only may be used in relief in the playoffs.

5. Once Carded, Always Carded (Warpigs) - An uncarded player who has had a card in the past can be retained on a team's 30-man roster (even though he could not appear in a game) without the use of a Reserve Pick. (detailed here)
FAILED. Whatever, fuckers.

6. Eliminate Limited-AB/IP Cards (Drillers) - The proposal (detailed in the comment section here) states that all batters with fewer than 100 at bats and all pitchers with fewer than 50 innings be considered uncarded.
FAILED. No minimums. You either have a card or you don't.

7. Increase Roster Size (Fungoes/FFTs) - Change rosters to 31+2 (or larger) to compensate for the need for relief innings.
FAILED. Rosters stay at 30. Got a problem with relief innings? Stop drafting guys with 30 innings.

2017 Draft Numbers

There were 228 (legitimate) draft picks made in the 2017 NASOMA Draft. There was one pass.

Here's the breakdown...

There were 210 carded players drafted. 115 were pitchers; 95 were hitters.

There were 18 uncarded players drafted. 3 were pitchers; 15 were hitters. Only 17 of those were kept. The Bees drafted and cut Sean Newcomb.

There were 48 Lightning Round picks. The Wahoos picked a previously drafted player with their first pick, knocking them out. The Drillers and FFTs did the same thing on their 5th and final pick (although the FFTs' twice-picked guy wasn't discovered until later).

Of those 48 LR picks, 7 were kept on rosters - one each by the Tweeners, Rhinos, Skyscrapers, Warpigs, Buckeyes, Fungoes, and Killer Bees.

The latest a player was picked and then kept was LR pick Fernando Rodney by the Bees at pick 203. There were three players chosen in the 60's who were later cut: Teoscar Hernandez by the FFTs at pick 68, Ryon Healy by the Mavs at pick 62, and the earliest a player was drafted and cut: Jerry Blevins by the Fungoes at pick 61.

Of the 33 reserved players, 29 are uncarded and 4 are carded (Shelby Miller, Kyle Schwarber, Matt Harvey, and Lucas Duda).

There were 18 players (9 hitters, 9 pitchers) protected pre-Draft but then cut post-Draft. The Warpigs and Skyscrapers each cut 3.

Deadline for Games Played

By the end of March, you must have played and reported at least 20 games. The deadline is Sunday, April 2nd.

When you play games, click on the "Input Wins and Losses" link on the webpage and put in both your wins and losses for the games you played. Also, send me an email letting me know to update your record. If the games were played on the computer, just include me in the CC when you send the game files to your opponent. If possible, include game stories to be posted here in Big Innings.

Here is the list of "Games Played" deadlines for the 2017 season. Each month's games are due by the first Sunday after the month ends...

March games (April 2) - 20
April games (May 7) - 40
May games (June 4) - 65
June games (July 2) - 90
July games (August 6) - 115
August games (September 3) - 140
September games (October 1) - 162

Trades Made During Draft Weekend

If you made a trade at the Draft that isn't recorded below, let me know.

The FFTs traded picks 79 & 83 to the Fungoes for their 4th and 6th round picks in 2018, and picks 169 & 173.

The DVs traded Bradley Zimmer to the Skyscrapers for Tom Murphy.

The DVs traded Anthony DeSclafani to the Warpigs for the 2018 DV 5th rounder.

The Inmates traded Collin McHugh to the FFTs for Marcus Semien.

The Fungoes traded Rubby De La Rosa to the Wahoos for pity's sake.

The Warpigs traded Josh Harrison to the FFTs for Logan Forsythe.