First Round Preview

The Rhinos and Drillers are scheduled to face off Sunday morning, November 9th via netplay. Here are the tentative starting pitchers:
Game 1 - Drillers (Aaron Cook) at Rhinos (Kelvim Escobar)
Game 2 - Drillers (Tim Lincecum) at Rhinos (Matt Garza)

Game 3 - Rhinos (A.J. Burnett) at Drillers (Dan Haren)
Game 4 - Rhinos (Ben Sheets) at Drillers (Josh Beckett)
*Game 5 - Rhinos (Escobar) at Drillers (James Shields)

*Game 6 - Drillers (Cook) at Rhinos (Garza)
*Game 7 - Drillers (Lincecum) at Rhinos (Burnett)

The Inmates and Sidewinders will start on Wednesday, November 12th via netplay. The expected starting pitchers:
Game 1 - Sidewinders (Jake Peavy) at Inmates (Johan Santana)
Game 2 - Sidewinders (Ted Lilly) at Inmates (John Smoltz)

Game 3 - Inmates (Javier Vazquez) at Sidewinders (Carlos Zambrano)
Game 4 - Inmates (TBA) at Sidewinders (Ubaldo Jimenez)
*Game 5 - Inmates (Santana) at Sidewinders (Peavy)

*Game 6 - Sidewinders (Lilly) at Inmates (Smoltz)
*Game 7 - Sidewinders (Zambrano) at Inmates (Vazquez)


* - if necessary

Gold Gloves and Strat

It might be time for Strat-O-Matic to divorce itself from the Gold Glove voting. There have always been questionable GG winners (Palmeiro w/26 games at 1b, Abreu, Jeter...), but the number of odd calls is growing larger each year. Nate McLouth? He was largely considered one of the worst defensive outfielders of 2008. Michael Young? His range is almost as bad as his arm. Adrian Gonzalez? As long as the GG voters are looking at nothing but number of errors, it makes no sense for SOM to gauge range by the GG vote - that's what the e-ratings are for.

Growing Old

It was one thing to have the retirement of the last MLB player older than me, but now I'm going to be older than the President of the United States.

Playoff Pairings and Draft Order

Round 1:
(5) Sidewinders at (4) Inmates
(6) Drillers at (3) Rhinos

Round 2:
Rhinos or SSW/Inmate winner at (2) DiamondVision
Drillers or SSW/Inmate winner at (1) Killer Bees

This year's cast sets a record (I think) for fewest combined titles. The Drillers with two championships and the Sidewinders with one are the only former winners in the post season this year. That's what we needed: some new blood.

Good luck to all of you.

You guys need to talk about how this is going to get done. Only 1 playoff team is from the Dallas area, but you're still welcome to stay here at the Pigsty if you decide to come here to play. I think the DVs are planning on sending out an email about all this.

The non-playoff draft order is now official.
1. Warpigs
2. FFTs
3. Mavs
4. Fungoes
5. Oilers
6. Tweeners
7. Nads
8. Zaps
9. Wahoos
10. Buckeyes

Final 2008 Standings

B.U.D.	W	L	%	GB
Rhinos	89	73	.549	--
Wahoos	85	77	.525	4.0
Oilers	69	93	.426	20.0
Warpigs	60	102	.370	29.0
M.F.D.	W	L	%	GB
Inmates	88	74	.543	--
Buckeyes	87	75	.537	1.0
Nads	77	85	.475	11.0
Mavs	65	97	.401	23.0
A.W.D.	W	L	%	GB
Killer Bees	102	60	.630	--
Sidewinders	97	65	.599	5.0
Zaps	81	81	.500	21.0
Tweeners	74	88	.457	28.0
N.E.R.D.D.	W	L	%	GB
DVs	95	67	.586	--
Drillers	95	67	.586	0.0
Fungoes	69	93	.426	26.0
FFTs	63	99	.389	32.0

Year of the Inmate

The Inmates defeated the Buckeyes in game 11 of their 14 game set to clinch their first ever MFD title.

From The HEAD INMATE...
Inmates lose last three of the year, but it didn’t matter as they held on to win the first game at the Baptist Bowl to clinch the MFD.

From the Buckeye...
Inmates and Buckeyes go 7-7. Year of the Inmate.

DVs Outlast Drillers!

DVs 2, Drillers 1 in 16 innings.

From DVboy...
Ludwick hits ballpark home run to open the bottom of the 16^th off of Soriano. Jenks was the winning pitcher.

DVs only manage 9 hits, Drillers 7- their only run a Bonds BP home run off of John Maine. DVs scored in the first off an Utley single, a steal of second and then an Ordonez double. From there, the defensive struggle ensues.

Let’s get these netplay playoffs started!

BOXSCORE: 2007 SHAWN DRILLERS At 2007 BRYAN DIAMONDVISION           9/22/2007

  DRILLERS           AB  R  H RBI AVG     DIAMONDVISION      AB  R  H RBI AVG
  J.Ellsbury CF       5  0  0  0 .000     C.Utley 2B          6  1  1  0 .167  
  D.Jeter SS          6  0  0  0 .000     M.Ordonez RF        7  0  3  1 .429  
  Y.A DH              4  1  2  1 .500     T.Helton 1B         6  0  2  0 .333  
B-A.Cabrera PR,DH     2  0  0  0 .000     M.Holliday LF       5  0  0  0 .000  
F-P.Konerko PH        1  0  0  0 .000     K.Griffey Jr DH     7  0  0  0 .000  
  J.Posada C          6  0  1  0 .167     M.Lowell 3B         5  0  0  0 .000  
  V.Guerrero RF       7  0  1  0 .143     B.McCann C          6  0  1  0 .167  
  C.Duncan LF         3  0  2  0 .667     R.Ludwick CF        6  1  1  1 .167  
C-C.Lee PH,LF         3  0  0  0 .000     O.Vizquel SS        2  0  0  0 .000  
  A.Laroche 1B        6  0  0  0 .000   A-M.Scutaro PH,SS     1  0  1  01.000  
  S.Rolen 3B          6  0  0  0 .000   D-J.Hannahan PH       1  0  0  0 .000  
  M.Loretta 2B        6  0  1  0 .167   E-J.McDonald SS       2  0  0  0 .000  
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      55  1  7  1                 Totals      54  2  9  2

A-Pinch Hit For Vizquel In 7th Inning
B-Pinch Ran For A In 8th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Duncan In 8th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Scutaro In 9th Inning
E-Subbed Defensively (SS) For Hannahan In 10th Inning
F-Pinch Hit For Cabrera In 16th Inning

DRILLERS........ 0 0 0  0 0 1  0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  0 -  1  7  0
DIAMONDVISION... 1 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  1 -  2  9  1

DRILLERS (0-1)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
J.Beckett                 6 1/3   6   1   1   3   5   0   1.42  A1 D1
M.Guerrier                0 1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   0.00  D2 D2
M.Delcarmen               1       0   0   0   2   0   0   0.00  D3 D7
J.Nathan                  3       1   0   0   2   5   0   0.00  D8 F1
R.Soriano LOSS(0-1)       4 1/3   2   1   1   1   4   1   2.08  F2
Totals                   15       9   2   2   8  14   1

DIAMONDVISION (1-0)      IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
J.Maine                   7       4   1   1   2   4   1   1.29  A1 D2
B.Tallet                  0 2/3   1   0   0   0   1   0   0.00  D3 D5
B.Jenks WIN(1-0)          8 1/3   2   0   0   0   3   0   0.00  D6
Totals                   16       7   1   1   2   8   1

ATTENDANCE- 45,288 DATE-  TIME- Day 
T- 4:26
LEFT ON BASE- DRILLERS:10  DIAMONDVISION:15
DOUBLE PLAYS- DRILLERS: 0  DIAMONDVISION: 1
ERRORS- M.Lowell
DOUBLES- J.Posada(1st), V.Guerrero(1st), C.Duncan(1st), M.Ordonez-2(2nd),
         M.Scutaro(1st)
TRIPLES- Y.A(1st)
HOME RUNS- Y.A(1st), R.Ludwick(1st)
STOLEN BASES- C.Utley(1st), R.Ludwick(1st)
WALKS- J.Ellsbury, D.Jeter, C.Utley, T.Helton, M.Holliday-2, M.Lowell-2,
       B.McCann, R.Ludwick
HIT BY PITCH- J.Ellsbury, J.Posada
STRIKE OUTS- Y.A, J.Posada-3, C.Duncan, C.Lee, A.Laroche-2, C.Utley-2, T.Helton,
             M.Holliday-3, K.Griffey Jr-2, M.Lowell-2, B.McCann-3, J.Hannahan
GIDP- J.Ellsbury

Magglio Ordonez hit 2 doubles and Bobby Jenks delivered 8 and one third solid
innings as the BRYAN DIAMONDVISION defeated the SHAWN DRILLERS in 16 innings
bY A score of 2 to 1 at Pro Player Stadium.

The game was deadlocked at 1 after nine full innings.  BRYAN came out on top
in the 16th inning.  Ryan Ludwick smashed a solo-shot out of the park (his
1st of the season) giving BRYAN the win much to the delight of the home town
crowd.  BRYAN managed 9 in their victory.  

Jenks(1-0) allowed no runs in 8 and 1/3 innings, and picked up the victory.
Rafael Soriano(0-1) was the losing pitcher in relief.  He pitched 4 and 1/3
innings giving up 2 hits and 1 walk.

Games

So far... Inmates 6, Buckeyes 4

From The HEAD INMATE...

The Inmates are up 3-1 after the first 4 at Buckeye Dome.

Game 1 was all Buckeyes, 6-1 over Smoltz.

Game 2 Inmates score game winner in top of 9^th after Beltre singles, moves to 2^nd on PB, and Hudson singles/

Game 3 Santana throws 3-hitter. Inmates win 2-0.

Game 4 Vazquez gives up 2 solo taters, but complete game win 4-2.

More later – we now have three at the Baptist Bowl.

Game 5 at the Baptist Bowl: Buckeyes blast Inmates 7-1. Villanueva pitches like poo.

Game 6: Santana prevails 7-3.

Game 7: Vazquez takes after Villanueva, Inmates are pounded by Buckeyes 9-1.

Inmates are 4-3 so far.

Game 8 at the Buckeye Dome: Inmates score three in the 9^th to win 4-3. The game winner is a SF by Loney.

Game 9: Howard and Guillen tater, Vazquez pitches great, Inmates win 8-3.

Game 10: Inmates score 3 in the first, then don’t score again. Buckeyes score one with 2-outs in bottom of the 9^th to tie, then walk-off tater in bottom of the 11^th wins it 5-3 for the Shriveled Testicle Gang.

Four games remain at the Baptist Bowl, to be played either later tonight or Monday night. Inmates’ magic number is 1.

Trade

The Wahoos traded Chase Headley to the Mavs for Brian Fuentes.

Draft Order and Playoff Seeding

The draft order for the non-playoff teams...

1. Warpigs
2. FFTs
3. Mavs
4. Fungoes (The Fungi and Oilers tied, but the Fungoes pick #4 based on their 2-8 record in head to head games.)
5. Oilers
6. Tweeners
7. Nads
8. Zaps*
9-10. To be determined from among Wahoos/Buckeyes/Inmates

As for the playoff pairings, we need to get the Inmate/Buckeye series AND the Driller/DV 1 game playoff completed. All we know for sure right now is this:

• The Killer Bees will have the #1 seed and a first round bye.
• The Sidewinders will be the #5 seed and start on the road in round one.
• The Rhinos will host a first round series.

The winner of the Driller/DV game will get the #2 seed* and the loser the #6.

In the big Inmate/Buckeye series, the Inmates need to win 7; the Buckeyes must win 8 to advance. Thankfully, they cannot end tied. The winner will be either seed #3 or #4 and host a first round series.

Remember to complete your stats and send them to the Chief. They are due by Thanksgiving weekend, but I bet he wouldn't mind them earlier.

If you are missing stats/game files from anybody, check with them ASAP. Let me know if there's a hold up anywhere.


* A 14 game sweep by the Buckeyes or Inmates would foul up a couple of seemingly sure things, but the odds are pretty much against that. Still, if I don't point it out, some other asshole will.

Games

Nads 3, Sidewinders 2

Zaps 6, Nads 4

This wraps up the regular season of games with the exception of the Inmate/Buckeye showdown. Those 14 games are scheduled for Sunday at Buckeye Park.

Games

Tweeners 4, Inmates 1

From the Tweeners...
Not exactly what we had in mind, but Tweeners embraced the role of "spoiler". Smoltz pitched a strong game 5 to avoid a sweep. Tweeners finish at 74-88. Wish I could be a spectator for the big Inmates/Buckeyes showdown.

The Inmate losses lifted the Buckeyes into first place in the MFD by half a game with a just over one day left in the regular season. Yep, those last 14 head-to-head games should be fun. The winner will have the home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs; the loser is finished.

Just got another update...

Inmates 5, Nads 2
Still waiting on the Nads to confirm. The Inmates leapfrog back into first. They lead the Buckeyes by 1 with just the 14 head-to-head games remaining.

Rhinos 5, Zaps 5
The Rhinos clinch the BUD. They will host a first round series.

And finally...

Warpigs 4, Oilers 3 at the BallPork

Game 1: Pigs 17, Oilers 7 - The Warpigs pounded out 7 homers, 5 of them off of Braden Looper, and scored in every inning. Vic Martinez went 4-5 with 7 RBI.

Game 2: Pigs 4, Oilers 3 - Albert Pujols hit 2 solo homers, including a game-winning walk off homer in the 9th. Mark Ellis had 3 hits and a homer.

Game 3: Oilers 6, Pigs 4 - The Oilers scored early off of Jake Westbrook, and then held on. Hunter Pence homered for the second straight game. Pujols went 3-4 with another homer.

Game 4: Oilers 3, Pigs 1 - Four Oiler pitchers combined on a 1-hitter. The one hit was yet another Pujols home run. Xavier Nady hit a 3-run double in the third for all of the Oiler runs.

Game 5: Oilers 5, Pigs 2 - Shawn Hill went 8 innings in the win. Jason Varitek homered and Eric Chavez had 3 hits. Pujols' homer streak came to an end.

Game 6: Pigs 7, Oilers 5 - The Pigs erased a 5-0 deficit with 5 runs in the 4th inning. The big blow was a 3-run home run by Garrett Atkins. Nady and Chavez both had 3 hits for the Oilers.

Game 7: Pigs 1, Oilers 0 - Mark Ellis hit a homer in the bottom of the 8th inning and Felix Hernandez threw a complete game 5 hitter. He walked 2 and struck out 11. Both walks were intentional passes to Jim Thome. A quandry was narrowly avoided in the sixth. Oiler starter Shawn Marcum had a no-hitter entering the inning, which was to be his last inning of the year. I had already made up my mind that Marcum should be allowed to continue pitching if his no-hitter was intact, especially considering this was the last game ever for the historic Oilers. A single by Kelly Johnson with 1 out in the 6th made the decision moot.

Free Taco

Between 2-6 today at Taco Bell. Tell 'em Jason Bartlett sent ya.

Games

Tweeners 2, Sidewinders 2

From the Snakeman... The "highlight"was 2 homeruns by the rarely used Mark DeRosa for a 2-1 win in game 2 for the Snakes.

The Killer Bees have clinched the AWD, but the Snakes have clinched a playoff berth and with one more win (they have 5 games left) they will lock up the #5 seed.

Games

Wahoos 7, Oilers 1

The Wahoos end their season at 85-77. They are 2 Rhino wins away (the Rhinos have 10 games to play) from being officially eliminated from a post season.

Reminder

Today is the last weekend day of October. Halloween is Friday. All games should be played by then, and there a quite a few remaining. By my record, we are still waiting on results for...
Oilers vs Warpigs 7
Oilers vs Wahoos 8
Zaps vs Rhinos 10
Zaps vs Nads 10
Sidewinders vs Tweeners 4
Sidewinders vs Nads 5
Tweeners vs Inmates 5
Buckeyes vs Inmates 14
Nads vs Inmates 7

Get on the phone and sort things out.

U2

In 2004, the Warpigs used a reserve pick to take B.J. Upton, and then later used a 12th round pick to select Chase Utley. They were going to be my U2 Double Play Combo for years to come.

Before 2005 started I had traded Utley to the DVs for Dewon Brazelton (I also convinced him to let me throw in a 9th round pick).
Before the 2007 season I threw the disappointing Upton into a deal with the Rhinos. I had to put on the hard sell to get him to let me include Upton in the deal.

[sigh]

Now they're both on the big stage in the 2008 World Series.

That would be the 2008 MLB World Series. They have yet to play in a NASOMA Series. Maybe one of them can this year.

Leave it to a Pig

Jason Bartlett's 5th inning steal of 2b in game 1 of the World Series earned everybody in America a free taco at Taco Bell.

Visit a participating Taco Bell on October 28th between 2 and 6 and get your free Pig Taco.

Games

Oilers 4, Warpigs 3 all at Oiler Field

Game 1 - Oilers 8, Pigs 6 - Casey Blake hit a 2-run, walk off homer in the 9th for the win.

Game 2 - Oilers 3, Pigs 2 - Both teams scored 2 in the first. Jason Varitek hit a solo home run in the 2nd for the Oilers, and the Oiler bullpen did the rest.

Game 3 - Pigs 4, Oilers 1 - Jesse Litsch went 7 innings for the win, and Vic Martinez went 4-4 with three doubles.

Game 4 - Pigs 3, Oilers 2 - Delmon Young's clutch single in the 9th drove in the winning run.

Game 5 - Oilers 7, Pigs 6 - The Oilers led 4-2 with 2 outs in the top of the 9th when Jason Bartlett hit a 3-run homer. Joba Chamberlain came in to save it... and couldn't. Jimmy Rollins took him deep to tie the game. In the 10th, Vic Martinez homered for the Pigs and again Joba (trying to use his last third of an inning for the year) couldn't hold it. Jason Varitek hit a 2-out, 2-run homer for the Oiler win.

Game 6 - Pigs 5, Oilers 2 - Curtis Granderson went 3-4 with a double and homer for the Pigs.

Game 7 - Oilers 3, Pigs 2 - Shawn Marcum got the win over Chad Gaudin. Xavier Nady homered.

The Warpigs clinched the worst record in the league. Anybody want to trade up to #1? David Price is looking good.

Trade

The Wahoos traded their 7th round pick to the Killer Bees for Damaso Marte.