Nads at Sidewinders

Snakes 4, Nads 1

Snakes go 4-1 at home against the NADS

Gm 1 – Hal wrote on the boxscore – “Jonathan Sanchez(1-0) and Bronson Arroyo(6-6) dueled it out with Sanchez and the VINCE SIDEWINDERS coming out on top of the awful DAVE NADS by the scoreof 4 to 0.” Awful is an understatement!!

Gm2 – Nads lose yet another one run game – Snakes win 4-3

Gm3 – Nads are shutout AGAIN!!!! Nuf said snakes win 4-0

Gm4 – Hal wrote “The VINCE SIDEWINDERS readily handled hapless DAVE NADS by a score of 5 to 1 at Dodger Stadium.” Hapless my ass, NADS SUCK

Gm5 – Nads avoided a sweep as Ryan Dempster dominated striking out 10 VINCE batters and Dan Uggla knocked 2 homeruns and had 4 RBI as the DAVE NADS topped the VINCE SIDEWINDERS by a score of 6 to 1 at Dodger Stadium.

Nads at Rhinos

Rhino Nads

Rhinos 3, Nads 2

Gm1 – 2-2 tie until top of 8^th – A. Gonzalez went deep.Nads enjoyed a one run lead until the bottom of the 9^th when the Rhinos scored 2 for the win 4-3

Gm2 – Rhinos shutout the Nads 4-0 – Nads suck!!!

Gm3 – 2-2 tie after 9 innings. Saito pitched lights out ball as he retired 13 straight Rhinos. JD Drew homered in the top of the 13^th and that was enough – Nads won 3-2

Gm4 – Nads scored 8 runs in the top of the 2^nd inning and go on to win 12-5

Gm5 - Rhinos win 6-5  Nad bullpen gave up 3 runs in the bottom of the 8^th and then one more in the bottom of the 9^th.

Game files, boxscores and stats attached

Wahoos at Zaps

Zaps 3, Wahoos 2

Wahoos salvaged the final two games of their series with the Zaps in Zapperville.

 

Game 1: Zaps win 5-3.

Game 2: Wahoos had a chance but Jose Reyes wins it with a walkoff homer. Zaps 5-4.

Game 3: Zaps do it again, 4-3.

Game 4: Jed Lowrie snaps a 1-1 tie with a 2-run homer off Scott Downs. Marmol hangs on for the save. 3-2.

Game 5: Zaps score in the first then get quiet. Youkilis hit a pinch grand slam off Downs or Kuo -- can't recall who -- and the Marmol hangs on for the save. 4-1.

Wild Card Update

Winding down... We'd have a clearer picture if THE WAHOOS WOULD PLAY SOME DAMN GAMES!

But as it stands now, the Braves, er, Bees took a huge hit closing out the regular season getting swept on the Zapper's computer. He needs a lot of help, and the best he can hope for is that last seed. The DVs eliminated any hope the Fungoes had of sneaking in, while at the same time putting himself in good position to get a playoff spot - barring a hot finish to the season from either the Rhinos or the Mavs. The Mavs need to go 6-3 down the stretch to tie the DVs. The Rhinos, who lost 4 of 5 against Buster Posey and the Drillers, need an 8-2 finish. The Wahoos, with 26 fucking games still left to play, could finish anywhere from BUD champs (they are 1.5 back of the Warpigs) to out of the playoffs completely. Hell, mathematically, the Wahoos could still win the #1 overall seed.

Here are the standings:

B.U.D.	W	L	%	GB	Remaining Games
Wahoos	74	62	.544	--	26
DVs	85	77	.525	2.0	0
Bees	84	78	.519	3.0	0
Mavs	79	74	.516	3.5	9
Rhinos	77	75	.507	5.0	10

Fungoes at DVs

DVs 4, Fungoes 3

A spirited 7 game netplay series saw the DVs take 4 of 7 in the DiamondVision home park.

Game 1 – DVs 6 Fungoes 5. A seesaw battle that saw Zimmerman homer in the 7^th to tie, then Fowler homers in the 8^th to put the DVs up a run. Fungoes play small ball with a sac fly in the top of the 9^th to tie the game as the DVs can’t score after loading the bases with one out which sends the game to extra innings. Finally Aramis Ramirez sends the DV faithful home happy with a walk off homer in the bottom of the 12^th.

Game 2 – Jon Garland is smoking with a 3 hit shutout as the Fungoes take the game 3-0.

Game 3 – Kia’ahue hits a pinch hit home run in the 7^th to provide the difference in a 5-4 DV win

Game 4 – DVs prevail 8-7 in a game that saw 5 lead changes and the DVs score 3 in the bottom of the 8^th after Zimmerman’s error allows 2 unearned runs to open the floodgates.

Game 5 – DVs lead 7-2 going into the 9^th, only to see the bullpen completely meltdown as the Fungoes plate 5 runs, with Nelson Cruz’ grand slam being the big blow. Mike Stanton walks off with a homer in the bottom of the 10^th to secure the DV win at 8-7.

Game 6  - Fungoes win 8-4 behind the strength of a Zimmerman grand slam in the 7^th

Game 7 – Fungoes win 8-4 behind Garland as the Fungoes knock Halladay out in the fourth inning. Fungoes stole something like 4,000 bases in the series and made McCann’s life a living, breathing hell.

Zaps at Killer Bees

Zaps 3, Bees 0

Zaps Sweep the Bees.

 

Game 1 Johnson outduels Hanson 5-1 backed by two-run taters by McCutchen and Fielder.

Game 2 Greinke throws a complete game four-hit 7-1 win.

Game 3 Dunn ties the game with a grand slam off Benoit in the bottom of the 8^th, but Bautista taters in the 10^th for a 6-5 triumph.

Games Remaining

Four teams (FFTs, Goofs, Buckeyes, Drillers) have completed their seasons. Three of those (not the Drillers) have already submitted their final stats, which you can see by clicking on their team names on the standings.

Here are the remaining games to be played:
Warpigs vs Wahoos 5 (1@Wahoos, 4@Warpigs)
Rhinos vs Nads 5 (@Rhinos)
Rhinos vs Inmates 5 (@Rhinos)
Wahoos vs Mavs 5 (@Wahoos)
Wahoos vs Inmates 7 (3@Wahoos, 4@Inmates)
Wahoos vs Zaps 5 (@Zaps)
Wahoos vs Tweeners 4 (2@Wahoos, 2@Tweeners)
DVs vs Fungoes 7 (@DVs)
Fungoes vs Nads 5 (@Fungoes)
Mavs vs Inmates 4 (@Mavs)
Nads vs Sidewinders 5 (@Sidewinders)
Inmates vs Sidewinders 5 (3@Inmates, 2@Sidewinders)
Killer Bees vs Zaps 3 (@Killer Bees)

The @ indicates the HOME team, not the team responsible for playing mail games. Stupid fucking rule.

Total Games Left:
Warpigs 5
Wahoos 26
Rhinos 10
DVs 7
Fungoes 12
Mavs 9
Inmates 21
Nads 15
Zaps 8
Killer Bees 3
Tweeners 4
Sidewinders 10

Fungoes at Drillers

Fungoes 4, Drillers 3

Fungoes at Drillers

 

June 18:

 

Fungoes   1

Drillers      2

 

Jon Garland takes the hard luck complete game loss despite throwing a 4 hitter.  Fungoes run themselves completely out of the game and set a club record by being caught stealing 8 times, including 3 caught stealing for Nellie Cruz!  With a 1 for 3 A J Ellis batting average vs the Fungi pitching swooned to .500!  Hammel gets the win for the Drillers.   Brian Wilson earned the save. 'He gutted it out' Driller's manager said of Hammel.  'I was very impressed by his tenacity.'

 

June 19:

 

Fungoes    3

Drillers       0

 

Myers and Rodriguez combine for a five hit shutout for the Fungoes.  Rodriguez picks up his first save of the season.  Gardner and Cruz Homer for the Fungoes.  A J Ellis goes 0 for 3 dropping his Fungo-killing average to .448.  Lincecum is tagged with the hard luck loss.

 

June 20:

 

Fungoes    5

Drillers      6

 

Drillers display some 'walkoff' magic winning this one 6-5 in 10 innings.  The score was knotted at 4 after nine innings.  The Drillers came out the victor in
the 10th inning.  After two outs Peter Bourjos keyed the rally when he doubled.  Evan Longoria followed next and he slapped a base-hit.  Longoria
stole second with some aggressive base running.  Brian Roberts followed and he drew a walk.  Darnell McDonald stepped into the box and doubled.  SHAWN
totaled 11 hits on the afternoon.   The winning pitcher was Pedro Feliciano(1-1) who allowed no runs in 2/3 of an inning. Joel Zumaya(1-2) absorbed the loss in relief.  He was unable to retire a batter and surrendered 2 hits and 1 walk.  The Fungo manager was heard mumbling 'shitfuck' to himself after this one slipped away.  AJ Ellis pulls another 0 for 3 dropping his Fungi crushing average to .400.

 

September 13:

 

Fungoes    3

Drillers       2

 

The Fungoes edged the Drillers at AT&T Park by the score of 3 to 2.  DEREK came up with 2 runs in the top of the 7th inning when they came up with
3 base hits.  The critical plate appearance was by Nelson Cruz who quieted the crowd when he doubled bringing home two baserunners.  Joel Zumaya pitched
a perfect ninth and was credited with his 3rd save.   The victory was credited to Francisco Rodriguez(1-1) who went 1 and 1/3 innings, allowing no runs. Dan Haren was tagged with the loss.

 

September 14:

 

Fungoes    4

Drillers       3

 

Clayton Kershaw delivered a fine performance for the Fungoes.  He allowed 7 hits and 3 walks in 7 innings.  The Drillers had a chance to come back in the 9th
but they came up short.   Joel Zumaya gained credit for his 4th save.  Ricky Romero was charged with the loss.  He gave up 7 hits and 3 walks in 7 innings.

 

September 15:

 

Fungoes    7

Drillers       1

 

Ryan Zimmerman homered and had 2 RBI and Jon Garland tossed a complete game as the Fungoes defeated the Drillers 7 to 1 at AT&T Park.

The Fungi brought 5 runs across the plate in the 4th inning when they came up with 5 base hits.  The biggest moment was provided by Ramon Santiago who silenced the stadium when he doubled bringing home two baserunners.  The Fungoes banged out 16 hits in their victory.   Garland was the winner allowing 1 run for the game. Jeff Niemann was given the loss.  He got hit hard, allowing 10 hits and 2 walks in 4 and 1/3 innings.  Konerko and Longoria on the floor made things a bit more difficult for the Driller offense.  Add to that AJ Ellis' continued swoon at the plate dropping his average vs the Fungoes all the way down to .341.

 

September 16:

 

Fungoes    1

Drillers       3

 

Darnell McDonald touched them all and had 2 RBI as the DRILLERS bested the FUNGOES 3 to 1 at AT&T Park in the season finale.  The win went to Jason Hammel who allowed no runs in 6 and 1/3 innings.  Brian Wilson earned his 3rd save.  Brett Myers was hit with the loss.  AJ Ellis finished up with a sparkling .349 average in the series. 

Zaps at Sidewinders

Sidewinders 4, Zaps 0

The Snakes dominate the Zaps. 

(Editor's note: The Snakes self-imposed, draft-position-palooza tanking is dealt a severe blow. Take THAT, Snakeman!)

Game 1 Snake get on top early and hang on 4-3.

Game 2 Snakes score the game winner of Benoit in the bottom of the 9^th.

Game 3 Snake blow open a 0-0 game with 2 in the 7^th and 5 in the 8^th.

Game 4 Snakes blow out the Zaps 7-1 to sweep the series.

 

Later, Zapper

Drillers at Fungoes

Fungoes 5, Drillers 2

Drillers at Fungoes

May 7:

Drillers       2

Fungoes    0

Lincecum and Brian Wilson combine on a six hit masterpiece/shutout.  Wilson picks up the save.  Konerko drives in both runs as Jon Garland takes the complete game loss.

May 8:

Drillers      2

Fungoes   3

Zimmerman hits a walkoff Homerun in the bottom of the 12th propelling the Fungoes to the win.  Dessens picks up the win in relief while the loss goes to Slowey.  Konerko Homered for the Drillers and again drove in both runs.

May 9:

Drillers      8

Fungoes   9

This was one of those games where the Drillers should have stayed home and played with themselves!  Drillers jump to a 6-0 lead scoring 6 in the first on 3 Fungodickhead errors!  Fungoes tie the game in the 7th and it stays tied until the 10th.  Drillers score 1 in the top of the 10th to take a 8-7 lead.  Then with two outs and bases empty the madness begins; Nelson Cruz started the rally when he delivered a one-base hit.  Brett Gardner next to the plate and he lashed a single.  Chone Figgins then drew a walk to load the bases.  Lance Berkman drew a walk to tie the score.  Zimmerman came up to bat next and ripped a walkoff single!  Zumaya picked up the win while Brian Wilson was tagged with the loss.

May 10:

Drillers     5

Fungoes  6

Drillers suffer a third consecutive walkoff loss!  Fungoes come to bat in the bottom of the ninth trailing 5-2.  The Fungoes scored the decisive runs in a big bottom of the 9th inning as they scored 4 runs on 4 base hits.  The highlight belonged to Ryan Zimmerman who made the Fungo fans a happy lot when he slapped a walkoff single plating two baserunners.  Both teams finished the game with 11 hits.  The victory went to David Robertson who went 3 and 1/3 innings, allowing no runs. Pedro Feliciano was tagged with the loss in relief.

'That was exciting!,' Berkman said.  'I would have paid money to watch this one.' 

July 30:

Drillers     7

Fungoes  1

Driller bats break open a 1-1 game with a four spot in the top of the 6th inning.  2 more runs in the 7th close out the scoring and hand Porcello the loss.  The win goes to Niemann.  McDonald lad the Drillers with two Homers and three RBIs.

July 31:

Drillers      2

Fungoes   5

Fungoes win this one 5-2.  David Price picks up the complete game win while Hammel takes the loss.  Lance Berkman Homered for the Fungi.

August 1:

Drillers      4

Fungoes   7

At Pac Bell Park the Fungoes plated 4 runs in the 6th inning and outscored the rillers 7 to 4.  4 runs crossed the plate for the Fungoes in the 6th inning when they came up with 3 base hits.  The biggest moment was provided by Coco Crisp who made the crowd come alive when he ripped a one-base hit scoring two baserunners.  The Fungi finished with 11 hits in the victory.  Brett Myers went 7 innings allowing 4 runs for the win. Jonathan Papelbon gained credit for his 4th save.  Tim Lincecum suffered the loss.  He was touched for 10 hits and 4 walks in 7 and 2/3 innings.  Coco Crisp ran wild on the base paths stealing 5 bases including 2 steals of home plate! 

I wonder what Cliff Lee was doing last night...

Good thing he chose the Phillies so he'd have a better chance to get back to the World Series. By the way, the vaunted Phillie rotation of Halladay, Lee, Hamels, and Oswalt combined to win 59 games this year. The Rangers' top four (Wilson, Holland, Lewis, Harrison) won 60.

2011 American League Champions!

The Texas Rangers, 2011 American League Pennant winners

Thoughts on Usage...

NASOMA has operated successfully for over 30 years with a lot of what we do based on the honor system. I'm referring to stats, mainly. Since the days when all 162 games - even the mail games - were played with dice, we have been responsible for our own stats. And responsible, too, for putting together a team where each position had enough at bats to cover the season. Innings, too. Careful consideration goes into making sure you have enough at bats and innings to get through the season.

It hasn't always been easy. I remember my first wake up call came at my first draft. I had taken over a team early in the season the year before, and never had a player with an AB/IP issue. Then, while playing games at the draft the following year, Terry commented that at the rate we were scoring runs, we'd have some at bat issues before the season was over. It had never dawned on me until then that there might be a problem. My whole starting lineup had been regulars the year before and had tons of at bats. But the Warpigs scored a bunch that year, and we did have to eventually rest most of them. I also remember watching Ab's team, with some of his best hitters batting 8th or 9th in the lineup. I thought that was odd until I realized it was to lengthen their seasons because they didn't have a full complement of at bats.

The only time we have openly had an issue with overuse (that I know of), was the Cletes going over on several players the year he won the Series. It didn't help that he had also circumvented the starting pitcher rotation rule that year. So the Cletes were basically shown the door, and the whole episode was deemed a "Clete" problem, and that was that.

But maybe it's time to establish some accountability in this area. One of our teams has announced that, with a dozen or so games remaining, they have run out of at bats at a certain position. We have no consequences in place, but obviously something has to be done. Glenn has addressed this situation, and it is being taken care of, but we need something in place for next time.

So what's the answer? You can't just force them to forfeit the games because when you're angling for draft position, losing games is an advantage. Plus, it's not fair to the teams you faced earlier in the season.

I played in a short-lived league one year where the powers that be said the consequence for overusage was losing the rights to the player the next year. Well hell, if you have Greg Pirkl or Shane Spencer, what do you care about "next year"? I told them I was going to use my "Greg Pirkl" every game and bat him third. They quickly realized that they needed to adjust their rule.

So what's the answer? Garth's other league has a couple of rules I like. One is that each case is considered on its own merit. Was it this owner's first time to have this problem? How many AB/IP was it? Was it a playoff team? Was it accidental or negligence? Questions like those are taken into consideration before fines are levied. Owners have lost draft picks, had their draft picks moved back, been limited as to how many players they could protect, and even lost players (and not Greg Pirkl types, but real players).

Another rule of theirs concerning ABs is that any batter with 550+ at bats on their card is allowed an unlimited number of ABs that season. They don't add 10% like we do, but I love the unlimited AB rule.

The other issue with this brings the "honor" into it. Since we do our own stats, what - besides honor - keeps an owner from just making the stats "fit"? Who among us hasn't, at one time or another, secretly questioned the scruples of another owner?

Is the answer turning in your game files to a central person, who then enters them into a league? Many other leagues already do this. But then, what do we do with the dice games?

Anyway, this is something we probably need to think about and talk about. And it's too big an issue to wait until the draft to bring up. So... I'm bringing it up now. I hope it starts some dialogue, so that by the draft we have a better handle on what we want to do.

What are your thoughts?

Drillers at Rhinos

Drillers 4, Rhinos 1

Drillers win 4 games to 1 vs. the Sultan’s Rhino.

 

April 28 Drillers take it on the chin, 9 – 5.  Romero loses to Cecil.  It was a tight game until the 2^nd inning!

April 29 A six-run top of the third lead to a cake walk Driller 7 – 5 victory.  Slowey tried to piss down his leg, giving up 4 in the bottom of the ninth, but held them off!

April 30 We somehow manage to hang on for a 5 – 4 win.

September 5 The critical plate appearance was by Buster Posey who silenced the stadium

when he cleared the fences for a two-run home run. Drillers take it 6 – 4.

September 6 

DRILLERS........ 0 1 3  0 1 2  0 1 3  - 11 13  0

RHINOS.......... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 1 0  -  1  5  0

Tweeners at Sidewinders

Sidewinders 3, Tweeners 1

The soothing chatter of dice was sufficient to offset the agony of defeat as the Nats, er, Tweeners dropped 3 of 4 to the Astros, er, Sidewinders at the Church Lot.  The highlight for the Tweeners was game 3, when Dan Hudson hit the wall, er, floor after 7.1 shutout innings, but the Tweeners' 'pen was up to the task for the combined 1-0 shutout.  Otherwise the Tweeners' batters phoned it in, scoring a total of 8 runs in 4 games, and it's a wonder we did not get swept.  The new Corey Hart bobblehead doll was a complete bust, as he went 0 for 15 in the series.  At least we can say we won the season series against the Snakes.  Where are the fucking cards?

State of the Association

There are only a few games remaining to be played in the 2011 regular season, and 3 of the 4 divisions are all sewn up.

With 93 wins and 12 to play, the Zaps have run away with both the Ab Wheeler Division and the overall #1 seed. The Buckeyes, who have completed their season, have clinched the Millard Fillmore with 91 wins and will probably be the #2 seed and get the other bye. The FFTs, in the club house with 88 wins, are one DV loss away from winning the NERDD. Only the Bob Uecker Division, with three teams still in contention, has yet to be decided. The Warpigs lead the Wahoos by a slim 1.5 games and the Rhinos by 5. The Wahoos still have 26 games to play, including the 5 face to face games looming at the end of the season with the Pigs.

The wild card picture is, well, wild. The teams in competition for the 2 playoff spots are the DVs, the Killer Bees, the Mavs, and whoever finishes 2nd and 3rd in the BUD. Currently, the wild card standings are:

Wild Card	W	L	%	GB	Remaining Games
Wahoos	74	62	.544	--	26
Bees	84	75	.528	1.5	3
DVs	81	74	.523	2.5	7
Rhinos	76	71	.517	3.5	15
Mavs	79	74	.516	3.5	9

The playoffs will hopefully be in November. Check in with the Buckeyes concerning which weekends are good (or bad) for you.

In other news...

Based only on meeting the "games played" deadline each month, here are the current demerit totals for the season:

Wahoos 3 (43gp at the 50g mark; 60gp at the 75g mark; 132gp at the 140g mark)
Inmates 3 (49gp at the 50g mark; 67gp at the 75g mark; 130gp at the 140g mark)
Sidewinders 2 (16gp at the 20g mark; 59gp at the 75g mark)
Fungoes 2 (63gp at the 75g mark; 136gp at the 140g mark)
Warpigs 1 (46gp at the 50g mark)
Rhinos 1 (37gp at the 50g mark)
Nads 1 (64gp at the 75g mark)
Zaps 1 (64gp at the 75g mark)
Bees 1 (68gp at the 75g mark)
Mavs 1 (119gp at the 120g mark)

Since no one has more than 3 demerits, there's no one scheduled to have their pre-draft rosters limited. Here are the consequences we agreed on:

0-3 demerits: no consequence
4 demerits: you are limited to a max of 20 players at the March cut down.
5 demerits: you are limited to a max of 19 players
6 demerits: you are limited to a max of 18 players
7 demerits: you are limited to a max of 17 players
8 demerits: you are limited to a max of 16 players
9-14 demerits: you are limited to a max of 15 players
15 or more demerits: you are limited to a max of 14 players

And here are the remaining deadlines for the year:

November 1 - 162 games
November 26 - Final stats submitted. Failure to turn in your stats on time earns you 5 demerits.

Wahoos at Inmates

Wahoos 1, Inmates 0

Yep, one game. I'd explain, but... I don't want to.

ALCS 2011 - Game 1

MavMan talks to WTFungo before the start of the game.

To quote the DVs, it was a "veritable NASOMA party" last night at the Rangers/Tigers game 1. As usual, the Rhinos and Mavs were there. But also in attendance were the Warpigs, the Fungoes, and the Wahoos. I'm not sure if there were other NASOMA managers, but it's possible.

Sidewinders at Wahoos

Wahoos 2, Snakes 1

7/7/11 Jimenez pitches into the 9th but loses the shutout on Morneau ph 2 run HR.Feliz saves it
Torres homers twice for snakes. SSWs4 Hoos 2
7/8/11Danks loses no hitter in the 7th and Feliz loses the game in the 8th. Youk hits 3 run HR. Hoos 6 snakes 4
7/9/11 Carmona and Fuentes combine for 2 hit shutout and Wahoos win 3-0. Damon hit a 2 run HR.

SSWS (Losing on purpose to improve your draft position shouldn't be this easy!)

Inmates vs Mavs

Mavs 7, Inmates 3

Via netplay:

 

LDMF continue their sub-mediocre ways. Results too painful to recap.

 

The HEAD INMATE