Final SOMBILLA Standings 2004-2005
W L Pct GB
Future Wax
36 20 .643 --
Constantinople
36 20 .643 --
Area 51
31 25 .554 5
North Dakota
29 27 .518 7
Swarzluna 27 29
.482 9
Bay City
26 30 .464 10
Manila Folders
24 32 .429 12
Montreal
15 41 .268 21
World Series (March 12):
Constantinople 7 Future Wax 2
Constantinople 9 Future Wax 4
Future Wax 14 Constantinople 2
Future Wax 14 Constantinople 1
Constantinople 11 Future Wax 6
Constantinople 8 Future Wax 6
Constantinople wins World Series 4 games to
2
Playoffs (March 1):
Area 51 5 Constantinople 3 (10 innings)
Constantinople 6 Area 51 2
Constantinople 8 Area 51 3
Constantinople 4 Area 51 2
Constantinople 5 Area 51 3
Constantinople wins series 4 games to 1
Future Wax 14 North Dakota 9
Future Wax 9 North Dakota 6
Future Wax 6 North Dakota 3
North Dakota 6 Future Wax 4
(March 3)
North Dakota 7 Future Wax 3
Future Wax 7 North Dakota 4
Future Wax wins series 4 games to 2
League Leaders
Team Stats
Full Schedule
Ballparks
MVP – Jim Edmonds, Future Wax
Cy Young – Jason Schmidt – Constantinople
Manager of the Year- Tom
Twits Notes: (4/27)
New SOMBILLA records set this year:
Best first half record: Tom 23-5 (old record Yoknapatawpha 22-6 ‘89-90)
Most runs, team: Future Wax 482 (old record New Orleans '01-02
475)
Most rbi’s team: Future Wax 476 (old record New Orleans '01-02 454)
Fewest errors, team: Area 51 17 (TTFKA Bay City '03-04 18)
Most strikeouts, pitchers: Future Wax 505 (old records Area 51 '02-03 505*
(in 57 games); North Dakota '98-99 497)
Fewest stolen bases, league leader: Podsednik, North Dakota 10 (old
record D. Sanders, CN '95-96 ; Suzuki, MF '02-03 16)
Worst ERA, team leader: North Dakota 5.01 (old record Moose Jaw '01-02
4.86)
Highest on-base percentage, league: .354 (old record '97-98 .353)
Most consecutive seasons, playoffs: Future Wax 1993-2005 12
SOMBILLA records tied this year:
Most runs: Bonds, FW 74 (ties his own record in ‘02-03)
Most triples: Garciaparra, FW 7 (ties DeShields, CN '98-99; Beltran
BC '02-03 7)
Closest to .500 home/away, league: 113-111 (ties '03-04)
Final Home/Away stats:
AWAY W-L Pct HOME
W-L Pct
Randy 17-11 .607 Tom
20-8 .714
Tom 16-12 .571 Randy
19-9 .679
Arnie 15-13 .536 Jeff
16-12 .571
Matt 15-13 .536 Arnie
14-14 .500
Jeff 15-13 .536 Eric
13-15 .464
Eric 14-14 .500 Robin
12-16 .429
Robin 14-14 .500 Matt
9-19 .321
Harold 7-21 .250 Harold
8-20 .286
Totals 113-111 .504 Totals 111-113 .496
(3/12) Constantinople (and Tom) wins its (his) first Woold Series.
It also means that 6 different managers (and teams) have won the championship
in the last 6 years.In white out conditions the Manatee Bus headed North
to the Wax home of Natick, a trip necessitated because they had lost home
field advantage in a devastating sweeping at the hands of the dread Waxites.
The coach harangued the team for weeks about their lack of timely hitting
and left handed power in the Wax Dome as well as posting the statements
from the first round of the playoffs. Randy assuring Arnie that it
was unlikely that he would blow them out since they only blow out the Manatees.
Now, Game 1:
It was Wood vs. Hudson and after three scoreless, the Manatees opened
up a lead on a leadoff walk to Captain Varitek and a 2 run shot by Matt
Stairs. Two outs later, trade acquisition Hidalgo misplayed a Ensberg
liner and it was off to the races as a walk and a 2Bx single and a HBP later
saw Wood leave the game for Schoenweiss. Giambi was yanked for Nevin,
and the roll had the Manatee manager cursing as Giambi would have kept the
inning alive. Wax pointed out that it was a Nevin grand slam....7-0.
Barry Bonds reached base in every at bat including a solo shot which with
Chavez similar result lead to a 7-2 Manatee suprise victory.
Game 1: Manatees 7, Wax 2 Hudson (CG W), Wood (L)
Game 2: Schmidt versus exciting trade acquisition Brown. It
looked like defense would decide the game early as Mora kicked a ball and
threw it into the dugout to allow Edmonds on two outs to end up on 2B.
After an intentional walk to Bonds, Thome cracked a 3 run homer (it would
have been a Bonds out for his first out of the series). Giambi would
have 2 errors before the game was over, but it was decided in inning 4 when
Stairs lead off with a homer, and then 4 batters later with 2 walks, K and
a single saw Brown leave the game early for Santana. Abreu hit a grand
slam to chase Brown and put CN up to stay 5-3. A triple by would bring
the Wax to 6-4 (after an A. Rod solo shot) in the bottom of the fifth, but
Schmidt would leave the game and 5 relievers would hold Wax to no runs.
Abreu and Stairs had two homers each and 8 RBIs to pace the attack. Bonds
reaches base all but once out of 9 tries.
Game 2: Manatees 9, Wax 4 Schmidt (W), Brown (L)
Game 3: Pedro took the mound and the Wax bats erupt scoring 14 runs
with Bonds reaching base all six PA’s with 4 walks, 3 run shot and a single.
Helms and Berkman also added 3 run homers. Varitek took ex battery
mate Pedro for a solo shot and Nomar kicked a ball for an unearned run.
Game 3: Wax 14, Manatees 2 Pedro (W), Redman (L)
Game 4: Conteversy erupts as CN continues to believe that Piazza
is limited to 17 PA’s. The Commissioner was unavailable, but it was
the opinion of CN that when it said 1/15 of AB + BB it meant AB + BB from
the front of the card and not AB + BB + HBP. Even though, the league
allow managers to report BB as BB + HBP in stats. The player limits
for the regular season now is .42*AB + BB + HBP, but the postseason has not
changed. It was hoped that one PA would not be the difference ....
Hudson and Wood match up again. This time in the third after a 2
base error by Andruw Jones lead to 4 unearned runs, the Wax bats just found
their strides and next thing CN knew it was 11-0 with Hudson taking one for
the team as everything fell right for Wax. Bonds reached on only 3
out of 6 PA’s, but homers by Hidalgo, Thome, and Berkman (2) paced Wax by
CN 14-1. Wax celebrated Woods CG 2 hitter (1B and A. Rod solo shot)
and 15 Ks.
Game 4: Wax 14, Manatees 1 Wood (W), Hudson (L)
Game 5: Looking at a home shutout Schmidt took the mound against
Brown. Early it was the Varitek show as he hit two ball park homers
with Abreu on first to give CN a 4-0 lead. Bonds scoring a run after
a double and then an RBI single to bring Wax to 4-2 as he was 2 out of 5
PA’s. But CN game back to score 6 to put it out of reach. Schmidt
was shaky in the 8th as Wax scored 4, but it was not enough as CN wins 11-6.
Game 5 Manatees 11, Wax 6 Schmidt (W), Brown (L)
Game 6: Back in Wax Dome, Redman versus Pedro. CN went
up 2-0 as Abreu lead off the game with a Ballpark homer and Varitek hit a
triple off Pedro’s card and Stairs a double (same source) before A. Rod hit
a clutch out to end the first. Wax came back to score 2 in the first
without the benefit of a hit. (BB, BB, HBP, 2Bx GO, FO SAC no PA for
Piazza, and a LO.) Wax got Pedro his lead 5-2 knocking Redman out
in the 2nd inning. Giambi got CN back to within one with a 2 run shot
5-4 in the top of the 3rd. Wells held Wax scoreless for 2 innings and
handed the game to Dotel in the 5th. The top of the 7th saw three straight
singles load the bases and drive a tired Pedro from the game. Mora hit
a ground ball RBI to tie the game 5-5 and Dotel continued scoreless relief
through 7. Top of the 8th, saw a pinch hit 2 run shot by Jose Guillen
with 2 outs putting up CN 7-5. Capuano came in to start the 8th to get
Chavez and Bonds. Urbina came in to induce Berkman to ground out.
CN pushed an insurance run through in the top of the 9th and Urbina in his
first outing came out to get the save and the series victory for CN.
Ryan the Mutant came in to PO on a C-X, but then Thome doubled, Nomar walked
and Edmonds flew out to bring up Giles. Urbina through a fastball and
Giles drilled an open double to center. Nomar held up at third as Andruw
Jones came up firing. The tired Urbina is pulled for trade acquisition
Aquilino Lopez. Lopez versus Phillips .... Strikeout ... Season over.
CN wins its first World Series.
Game 6: Manatees 8, Wax
6 Dotel (W), Santana (L), A. Lopez (SV)
(2/27) On Wednesday, Eric (Swarzluna) took 3 of 4 from Jeff (Area
51) to close to within 2 games of North Dakota, setting up a potential
'nerve-wracking' experience for Arnie (as Eric put it), given that ND was
at Future Wax while Eric merely had to play league doormat Harold.
All 4 series had something at stake as Robin and Matt held onto outside
chances for the playoffs, Tom & Randy had to settle first place, and
even Jeff needed to cement 3rd place. When Eric and Robin (Bay City) both
won against Harold and Tom (NO and CN) to stert the night, things looked
interesting. But ND came from behind to beat Randy (FW) and hang onto
a 2 game lead with 3 to play. FW came back to win game 2, but Eric
couldn't capitalize, falling to Harold to remain 2 games out with 2 to go.
Robin beat Tom again to stay alive to also remain 2 games out. Matt,
meanwhile was eliminated early on, but still seemed to enjoy himself.
Robin was next to be eliminated, falling to Tom in game 3. After
Eric won game 3 against Harold, all eyes were on Arnie and Randy. A
win by Arnie in game 3 would clinch it. ND was up 4-0, but FW scored
3 in the 7th on Nomar's double to make it 4-3. A 9th inning insurance
run made it 5-3 and when Izzy struck out Lew Ford in the bottom of the 9th,
ND clinched the playoffs. All that remained was game 4 of FW/ND to
determine 1st place and the playoff matchups. The game dragged on
(naturally) as Tom, Jeff, and Matt stuck around for the 11-inning affair,
won on Jeff DaVannon's walk-off bases loaded walk.
(2/21) It was a good night for the Pollinger/Perlow household.
Bay City kept her slim playoff hopes alive, winning 3 of 4 from
Eric who was heard saying "I don't even want to make the playoffs. I
mean, I'll do it if I have to, but..." In game 1 Robin went up 10-0,
and the only way Eric could score was when he enlisted Rachel to roll for
him. She promptly scored 5 runs, but then was more interested in
reading her book "The Meanest Doll in the World", and Eric had no chance
after that. Prior pitched a CG 4-hitter in game 2 to win 5-1. Eric
won game 3, 13-3, but game 4 was a masterpiece of a game, scoreless after
9 innings. A Beltran homer in the 10th was the game winner for Robin.
Accross the table, ND solidified its claim on 4th place. Game
1 was the best. MF went ahead 3-0, 4-3, and 7-4 only to see ND
tie it up each time. It was 10-9 going into the bottom of the 9th.
A two out pinch-hit single by Klesko on a 1-6 roll tied it. Shefiield's
homer in the bottom of the 10th (his 2nd HR and 6th rbi of the game)
won it.
The regular season wraps up this Sunday with all teams in action...Draft
Day Sunday April 3.
(2/18) Future Wax took over first place last night (based on the
tie-breaker against CN winning the season series 5-3), beating the Folders
3 of 4 games. Future Wax took the first three games of the series, 4-0,
7-3, and 12-7. Desparate to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Folders
battled back from an 8-4 deficit in the final game. A 3-run Furcal homer
in the 8th brought them close enough for a walk-off, 2-run shot by Lopez
to win it, 9-8.
(2/13) It took 12 long months of frustration for Matt
and Arnie to extract revenge on the ice, but after an exhusting 15
minutes of action, (bolstered by replacement player callup Tom), they
finally eeked out a victory over Harold and Jeff, 3-2.
The ice was pristine early in the morning when Harold's family
arrived, but with the blaring sun, temps climbing into the high 30's
and 6 kids feverishly skating up and down the rink for 3+ hours, conditions
had deteriorated to slush and divots by the 1:30 game time.
Nevertheless a crowd of spouses and children provided the
extra adrenoline for the five aging gladiators to put on a show. The
best action was provided during the first half of the game which remained
scoreless as fresh legs focused on defense at all costs. Jeff broke
free and finally scored the first goal, but a nice feed from Tom to Matt
tied it up. Fast and furious action then produced a wild scramble
in front of the net, and Arnie ("Espo") whacked in a loose puck from the
side of the net to make it 2-1. A defensive breakdown left Jeff alone
in front for the tying goal, 2-2. A barely perceptible, but clearly
audible, sigh of relief was heard at the announcement of "next goal wins".
The extra man proved to be the difference as Harold and Jeff were
spread too thin to prevent some nice passing from the trio, leaving Arnie
alone in front to poke in the winning goal. The crowd applauded,
the players collapsed on the ice, and the dog barked, and this year's SOMBILLA
hockey challenge drew to a close.
On the table, Robin nearly swept Harold in the morning, only
losing in extra innings in the finale, as Prior and Halladay pitched
as advertised. Matt stunned first-place Tom, helping Randy
close to within one game of first and drawing comparisons of Tom's
team to the '64 Phillies. Matt's and Robin's Sunday success also
potentially set up an interesting Monday night next week (depending
on the results of any makeup games this week) with 4 teams battling head
to head for 4th place...Draft Day Sunday April 3.
(2/11) Tom and I split last night. If we were a couple, this
could be devastating news. Fortunately, I don't go for guys with beards,
and we're still friends.
As unremarkable
as any split is, especially in this seasons of splits, one game stood
out and deserves recognition, because it may the longest game I've
ever played (other than those played against Randy*): seventeen innings.
Tom took a 7-4
lead into the bottom, but Sanders tied it with a one-out 3-run homer
off closer Ugie Urbina. It was Sanders second 3-run dinger of the game.
Having used all my relief to that point with the exception of the severely
limited Soriano and a tired Tavarez, I put in Soriano hoping for a quick
end. He did great, going 2.3 innings of no-hit ball. But so did Ugie
after the homer, and Aquilino Lopez, and then finally lefty Capuano. Fearful
of Soriano's tender shoulder, I pulled him for the tired Tavarez, who pitched
a spectacular 5 innings, giving up a solo shot to Steroid Boy (I'm so sorry
for cheating) Giambi in the top of the 16th. But with 2 down in the bottom
of the 16th, Sanders cracks a solo shot off Capuano to tie it up again,
and on we go. With both pens depleted, both pitchers tired, Tavarez went
1-2-3 in the 17th, and then suddenly I knew how to roll once again, and
the first 3 batters of the innings went single/double/double and the nightmare
was over.
Then, Tom and
I shared a peace pipe, the next two games went....sort offfff.......like....th-th-th-thisssss......but
with lots of laughs.
* A completely
unfair characteristic of Randy, who has been playing as quick as anyone
this year, even when he scored 56 runs against me in 4 games. I shouldn't
have even said it, but couldn't resist. I hope you'll forgive me, Randy.
(2/5) White hot Future Wax travelled to Bay City
with hopes of continuing their late surge towards first place.
The first game of the series was a classic. Edmonds homered
twice to put the Wax up by 2. Beltran homered in the 7th to close
the gap. Then Pudge tied it in the 8th on a clutch double that scored
one, but ended the inning when Thomas was thrown out at the plate. Robin
escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the 9th, by getting a force at
home with a drawn in infield, then coming up on the out side of ballpark
single and homer rolls (each 1-11 chance). Karma swung the other way in
the 10 when Floyd was injured for 4 games (and stuck out to boot), which
required her to send a pitcher to the plate in the 12th. The game was
finally decided in the 13th, when Thome smashed a long-single past Mueller
(shifted to 2B after the 1-defense Castilla was pinch-hit for earlier).
An insurance run on a force out followed, and Valverde (FW's 7th pitcher)
held on for the 4-2 victory.
In the second game, Bonds and Edmonds each homered twice,
and Nomar fell just short of hitting for the cycle for a second time
this season (with a HR, T, and 3 singles). Future Wax cruised to a 17-9
victory. Robin responded by knocking the good-on-paper Brown around
in the next game for 7 runs in 5 innings on the way to an 11-7 victory
to take game three.
In the final game, Zambrano gave the Wax 8 strong innings,
for a 6-2 victory. With this victory, Future Wax has won 13 of their
last 16 games, and moved to within 2 games of first place.
(2/4) Jason Kendall's 2-run single in the 8th inning off
Gagne propelled Area 51 to a 4-3 win in the pivotal 4th game in
the showdown for 3rd place. Jeff Kent's homer in the bottom
of the 7th for ND put them up 3-2 and with Gagne in, a split had
appeared likely, until the 8th inning as Area 51 closed to within 3 games
of 2nd place...Over in Arlington, "it was another of Matt's dull splits,
with a bit of twist, a throw-back to yesteryear. I didn't bring my dice,
and Matt only had three six-sided's. So we had to resort to a split-deck.
Took us awhile to find the rhythm, but eventually we got the hang of
it. Red was high, and I picked too many. Close games, low scoring,
Soriano and Smoltz each had two saves"...Remember you can call up a 26th
man before game 45. Draft Day Sunday April 3
.
(1/30) Forget the all-time record. Tom
will now be focused solely on finishing first, as his once-insurmountable
lead suddenly became a 3-game lead after 2nd place Future Wax
went 7-1 on Sunday, including a sweep of the high-flying Manatees.
Also on Sunday, Area 51 and North Dakota (which ahd previously
lost 12 of its last 13 games to Eric) put stakes on 3rd and 4th respectively...Draft
Day Sunday April 3 .
(1/25) In the words of Vice Commissioner Matt
Phelps, another unsatisfying split.
In Game 1, after descending from the heavens
into the Wax Home, Area 51 pounded 3 homers to jump out to an
early 8-4 lead. The Wax whittled the lead down to 9-8 after
Bonds was intentionally walked with the bases loaded, but Donnelly
then struck out Wilson for the save.
In game 2, Future Wax built a 7-2 lead on two
homers by Griffey (called up to replace the injured Edmonds)
and a pinch-hit Ryan homer. Jeff tied the game in the 9th on a
pinch-hit 3-run homer by Matsui, then took the lead on a Guerrero
homer (making a HR-1, else out roll). But it was all for naught, as
Mr. Donnelly blew yet another save as he coughed up hits
to the first three batters he faced in the bottom of the inning, culminating
in a Giles walk-off homer for an 10-8 Wax victory.
Kevin Brown strengthened his bid for most over-rated
pitcher in the league by giving out a grand slam to Delgado
in the 1st inning of game 3. Despite Griffey's 3rd homer in 8
at bats, the rest of the Wax offense was stymied by Nomo, giving
Jeff a 10-3 victory (dropping Brown's record to 1-6).
Edmonds and Hidalgo homered in the first for
4 runs, but Wilson and Jones counter-blasted for 5 runs a half
inning later. After the third time Bonds was intentionally walked,
a disrespected Thome finally made Jeff pay by breaking the game open
by going yard for 3, securing a 9-6 Wax victory.
(1/20) In an epic upset on a snowy night
between two teams with record-setting on their minds, Montreal
took one out of 4 from Constantinople last night. CN was
the first to arrive and after the obligatory press conference where
the monotonous Manatee manager droned on about the best right handed
hitter in baseball (Manny Ramirez) and the most dynamic bullpen in
Sombilla, they got down to the series.
The sleep deprived Manatee manager decided
to change up his outfield defense as Matt Stairs looked like
you'd expect he would look playing outfield defense. The Manatees
announced that Andruw Jones would play center moving Everett to
right, replacing Jose Guillen. One batter later, CN noticed that
Guillen had been DHing implying that four outfielders were in the
field on the previous play (a ground out). Everett was sent
to the bench, the DH was lost and well...they still pulled out the
game.
Having rolled a 1-3 (4) for the weather
roll and with snow threatening they moved the remaining games
to the ND field (whatever you call that white rolling surface)
after it was learned that Eric had forgotten to show up. (Truth
be told, Eric seemed a lot more upset about it than Harold, Tom or
Arnie who was more bemused than anything). In game 2,
Dontrelle Willis pitched masterfully for Montreal, giving up only one
run over 5 and building up an 8-1 lead over the tired Schmidt (am I
sure he is my best pitcher?). Contreras came on and it started
to look good for CN as Stairs and A Rod stroked hits to bring up Giambi
with men on 2nd and 3rd and no outs. A steroid aided fly ball looked
fated to bring the score to 8-4, when Gerut leaped and brought it down
(a 20 for a ball park homer). The disheartened CN batters failed
to push anyone else across that inning and in a general funk was mastered
by that dynamic bullpen to be held to a 8-3 loss.
In game 3, the starters let CN down allowing
5 runs, but Montreal trade call up Washburn had his own problems
allowing CN to pull out a 16-5 victory.
Game 4 started badly as CN found itself
down early for the third straight game, but they rallied
to tie it at 3 after 3 and then go up 5-3 after 4. Then Harold
came back to go up 7-5 over Redman, but CN matched the 4 spot in
the bottom of the 5th to go up 9-7. 5 relievers and a Bagwell
homer later, CN gets by in a 11-8 squeeker.
The MVP was Varitek who hit .529 with .556
OBP and a 1.000 Slugging scoring 5 runs hitting 2 homers and
driving in 8.
(1/16) North Dakota clawed
its way back to .500 and into a 3-way tie for 3rd place by
winning 3 of 4 from arch-nemesis Bay City over the weekend. Game
1 was over early as Luis Gonzalez's 3-run homer on the first
paved the way for a CG 7-2 win by L. Hernandez Friday night
to run ND's modest winning streak to 6 games. Saturday
afternoon, BC came back with an 8-1 pounding led by Bill Mueller's
3 hits and 4 rbis to even the series. Saturday night, ND came
right back with an 11-2 shellacking as Pujols 3-run shot in the 2nd
was part of a 5-run inning. On Sunday, the finale was the only
close game as the teams were tied 4-4 into the 8th. Juan Rivera's
rbi double scored the pinch-hitting David Ross; this was followed by
a 2-run homer by Podsednik off Gordon and ND held on to win 7-5...Draft
day Sunday April 3rd.
(1/14) Matt won the first two
games 5-1 and 6-1, but Robin came back to win the final
2, 13-1 and 6-5. It was as Matt put it "an unsatisfying
split"...In the always exciting battle for 6th place, the two
"Couch of Woe" teams put on an amazing display of mediocrity, again
splitting their series. In Game 1, Halladay fell to 1 and 6, well
on his way to equaling his 2003 record of 1 and 9, as Bay City managed
only 5 hits (and only 1 for
extra bases). In Game 2, Matt got multiple
doubles and triples off Prior, while Frank Thomas's solo
homer accounted for BC's only run. In Game 3, soon-to-be-former-Red
Sox pitcher B. H. Kim gave another strong performance, as his
teammates beat up on the lefty Zito, with rookie M. Cabrera going
5 for 6 with a HR and 5 RBIs. Game 4 actually was exciting, as Wakefield
gave up 4 runs early, then settled down and was picked up by strong
relief from Gordon, Mota, and Mahay as BC rallied for 4 runs in the 7th
to take a 6-4 lead. In the 5th inning, Sammy (BALCO? who me? I get my
steroids in the Dominican) Sosa finally hit his first HR of the season.
He needs just one more to tie noted slugger Luis Castillo's HR total.
(1/9) Future Wax outscored SZ 59-15
(18-1, 14-7, 20-3, and 7-4) in the battle for 2nd place as
Nomar had 12 rbi on 3 HR, 2 TR (including hitting for the
cycle and a grand slam). Chavez and Thome each had 4 HR (and
combined for 17 rbis). Eric had a chance in the finale,
as the game was tied 4-4 in the 9th until Thome hit a 3-run HR off
R. Soriano for the sweep. There was talk of the "curse of
trading with Harold" as Eric's team skidded after acquiring K. Brown
a la North Dakota's 11-game losing streak after getting Loiaza...In
the other series, after losing game 2 on a 9th-inning error and
game 3 on a 12th-inning error, Harold was all set to salvage game 4,
being up 9-1 in the 9th. But, remarkably, ND scored 10 runs in
the 9th inning (capped by a 3-run Kent HR) off M. Rivera, a tired Wagner
and a tired Contreras for the sweep. Other series hilites included
Livan Hernandez being called on to play RF for ND in the 12th inning after
Sheffield was injured with nobody left on the ND bench. And in game
2, Harold lost his DH pinch-hitting in the 3rd inning, and pulled two double
switches during the game. New Orleans needs to scrape together 4
more wins to finish 12-44 (.214), which would just beat out the Folders'
11-41 (.212) all-time worst record.
(1/2) North Dakota's losing
streak reached 11 games, 2 short of the league's all-time
record, before winnning the finale against CN as offers continue
to pour in for Loiaza. More series details from Tom to follow...Remember
that all teams have a day of rest after game 28...Draft Day Sunday
April 3.
(12/25) Eric, who will write
the gory details, was complaining that now that he's in
2nd place, he'll have to do his stats...North Dakota, 12-8 just
2 weeks ago, has lost 8 in a row....All I can say is that you couldn't
find a better way to spend your Christmas Day. Last year at the
Pollinger's, before Robin fed me spaghetti, she let me win all four
games. Wouldn't you know, but it was the same this year, except
this time it was Arnie who took me into his bosom, showed me the
true meaning of Christmas. Even if it wasn't intentional. For my
part, I wish I could have given Arnie what he gave me: a game or
two wrapped in utter frustration. The root of Arnie's frustration
was, as it turned out, a
lack of players who could manage
a hit in their "two" columns, for that seemed to be where
Arnie rolled all night. In fact, the best offense of the evening
was supplied by Rachel, who rolled on her dad's behalf for several
innings and brought the night's only drama to the table, all the
way back in game one. But as Rachel was also watching a movie
in the other room, her call's away from the table cost Arnie several
rallies. Later on, Rachel kept
returning to the kitchen to ask
her dad "are you winning?", to which he could only repeat
"no...no...no." Arnie was behind the entire series. And though
none of the games were blowouts, as each one wore on their outcome
seemed, like last year in the playoffs, inevitable. After the
series Robin served lasagna, and then we all went into the other
room to watch the new Sox dvd produced by NESN. I was given the chair
of honor, and Clover the cat
honored me further by laying in
my lap and falling asleep. So yes, it was a grand day all
around, and I am blessed to have such great friends. Now,
if only Tom would do my stats...
(12/20) Congratulations
to Tom for breaking Eric's 14-year old record for best
first half in league history. Does Land know?
(12/19) Bay City shocked the
league (and especially the Commissioner) by sweeping
North Dakota in a low-scoring series marked by some outstanding
pitching performances (but not by Gagne, who is to Bay City
what M. Rivera is to the Red Sox). Game 1 saw Halladay
get the hard-luck no decision, throwing 11 scoreless, 1-hit,
4-walk, 11-k innings as the game was scoreless through 12 innings.
Gordon picked up the win in the 13th, as BC pinch-hitters
M. Cabrera & Cintron knocked in a run each. ND's rally
in the bottom of the 13th falls short as Cormier strikes out ph Kent
with 2 on and 2 out and BC wins 2-1.
ND was hurt in the series by
an injury to L. Gonzalez in Game 1 and to Pujols in the
first inning of Game 2 as BC pitchers threw at their neighbors
to the Northwest. During that same inning the BC manager
blasted Bruce Springsteen from her radio, infuriating the
ND manager who used his fury to lead off the game with a single
and HBP. But then the speedy Scott Podsednik was thrown
out at third on a 1-18 shot by the steroid-impaired arm of Sammy
Sosa by rolling a 20. The game stayed scoreless until a solo
HR by the steroid-filled Sheffield off Prior (8 inn, 3 hits) in the
7th, but BC came back with 3 in the 9th, highlighted by a 2-run HR
by V. Wells off Gagne. Arnie could score only one more as Mahay
got the save, 3-2.
Game 3 marked the only time
either team reached double-digits in hits (or scored more
than 3 runs) as a variety of attractive BC hitters beat up
on the recently acquired Loaiza and Remlinger. Oswalt went
7 solid 3-hit, 1-run innings for an 8-2 win. It looked
like Arnie might pull off a victory in game 4 when he scored
on a double by O. Cabrera & a single by the Pod in the 3rd. The
1-0 lead held up until the 8th when Robin scored 2 (again against
Gagne) on 3 walks, an error by Alomar & a squeeze by Castillo. Kim
(how many pitchers are the Sox going to acquire to avoid using him?)
went 7 3-hit, 1-run innings for the win. ND scored a total of
6 runs on 16 hits & BC finally made it to .500.
(12/13) The league still
has a slight road advantage:
AWAY
HOME
Tom 10-2
.833 Tom 9-3 .750
Arnie 5-3 .625
Arnie 7-5 .583
Matt 9-7 .563
Jeff 7-5 .583
Eric 8-8 .500
Randy 7-5 .583
Jeff 7-9 .437
Eric 4-4 .500
Robin 3-5 .375
Robin 5-7 .417
Harold 3-5 .375
Harold 5-11 .313
Randy 4-8 .333
Matt 3-9 .250
------------------
-----------------
Total 49-47 .510
47-49 .490
(12/8) It was a split,
but an amusing one. SL won game one without a fuss.
Harold was in "tank" mode, and I remarked that the first game
was a bit like New England playing Cleveland. Bad choice of words,
as it turned out. The next game rates, for me, as one of the all-time
bizarro 10 innings. Harold scored no less than 10 unearned runs,
all courtesy of 3 errors committed by Mike Bordick in a span
of two innings. At that point Harold led 10-2. Then, against what
is arguably the best all-around bullpen in the league, SL chipped away
at the lead, tied it in the 9th with 3 runs, and won it in the tenth.
The comeback was a lesson in how to score when your opponent gives
up walks and singles, ballpark singles, and passed balls, of which
Posada made two critical miscues. Final: 11-10. So, I'm still up 2
games to none, but Harold took games 3 and 4 fairly easily, and even though
he has his sights on next year's draft, he's still a gamer, and does
not want that worst-ever record, which Arnie still holds dear to his heart.
(Commissioner correction: Matt holds the mark for worst-ever
record, set 4 years ago: Manila Folders '00-01 10-43 (.189)).
Oh, also, Edgar Martinez ended his storied career with Montreal
by crushing two homers, including a two-run shot in his final at-bat.
(12/5) Tom at 19-5
has streaked to the 2nd best 24 game start in league
history. Per the archives, back in '89-90 North
Dakota had an amazing 20-4 record by 12/18, with Yoknapatwapha
close behind at 18-6, setting up a big 4-game series in Gackle
Park. The Yoks swept the series, pitching 3 shutouts and holding
ND to 2 runs to set the mark for best first half (22-6). Tom needs
to win 3 of his next 4 to tie Eric, who went on to destroy the rest
of the league for an alltime best phenomenal record of 44-12...
As luck would have it,
the two teams involved in this week's arms race, courtesy
of the Montreal Fire Sale, were immediately matched up against
one another. In Game 1, FW jumped out to a 5-1 lead in
the 7th as Wood was sailing along. But ND's bench scored
3 off the FW bullpen in the 7th to claw back to 5-4 and it stayed
that way until the bottom of the 9th. Then David Ross slugged a
ballpark homer (1-4) off Nathan to tie it up. Then, the usual
sure-handed Edmonds made a 3-base error. Pujols was intentionally
walked to face Juan Rivera. Klesko pinch-it. Mantei relieves
and with the outfield in and infield in, Klesko's sac fly (F2
on the fielding chart) wins it 6-5.
In Game 2, ND jumped all
over new acquisition Kevin Brown to go up 5-1. But
in the 8th, homers by Bonds and Thome off Shields brought
FW back to a 5-4 deficit. Gagne comes in and closed the
door pitching the final 6 perfect outs (5 K's) for the save.
In Game 3, Esteban Loaiza
(who will become the first SOMBILLA pitcher with 16
starts) threw 7 shutout innings and took a 2-0 lead into the
8th. But Marcus Giles hit a 2-run homer off Loaiza's card
to tie it. ND went ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the 8th on
Nomar's 2-out bases loaded error. Gagne comes in for the
9th. He gives up his first 3 hits of the year, including a
2-run triple by the redeemed Nomar to blow the save and FW takes the
4-3 lead into the bottom of the 9th. Leading off against Mantei,
Orlando Cabrera smacks a ballpark HR (yes, the 2nd game for an ND
1-4 bp homer in the bottom of the 9th) to tie it up. J. Cabrera
walks, J. Michaels singles and Pujols is intentionally walked to
face Ortiz as lefty Schoenweiss is in. D. Ross pinch-hits,
so F. Cordero comes in to face him. Klesko pinch-hits
for the pinch-hitter and with the outfield and infield in, Klesko's
hot shot to RF is too hard for Lew Ford to handle and the error wins
the wild game for ND.
A pissed-off FW routed
Sidney Ponson (now 0-4, 14.70) 20-7 in game 4 as Edmunds,
Chavez and Nomar each had 4 hits.
(12/2) Constantinople
opened up a phenominonal lead of 5 games as they've
raced out to one of the best starts in league history.
The sun was shining
bright (rain out roll of 11) as the strange Area 51
team came to play in Southwest Florida. As game 1 was
about to start, the sun suddenly was blocked by a great spinning
pie plate. The lights came on and then blew out in a
cascade of sparks. Then a blinding shaft of light illuminated
the hard yellow seats in the 3rd base grandstand pinning the
hapless Florida fans in fearful place. When the crowd's
eyes had adjusted, the sun was back in a clear blue sky but all
the fans in the 3rd base grandstand were gone and in their place
sat row upon row of lazyboys with silver skinned 3 foot beings
brandishing black staves that sparked with electrical discharge.
They shouted opening their impossible small mouths fill of sharp
needle teeth emitting an eerie high pitched noise that caused the
dolphins and porpoises behind the right field plexiglass wall to swim
frantic circles. (Note: A later translation was "We will
use these walking surface dust removers to propel Area 51 into 1st
place!!!!)
Redman and the Manatees
had other plans as they defeated the aliens 10-2 in
Game 17. Everyday Curt Schilling started the next
game for the angry aliens, but he failed to record an out
as the Manatees went up 5-0 in the first and then 6-0.
However, the overconfident Sea Mammals let up after Hudson
hit Renteria knocking him out rest of the series as they gave
up several unearned runs on the way to a 12-6 loss. The
Aliens retaliated knocking Melvin Mora out for the series.
With Schilling taking
the mound again the Aliens were feeling like momentum
was on their side, but the Manatees had figured out Schilling
and he gave up 16 runs to perserve the overused bullpen
in a 16-5 loss. The only bright point was a 2 out ball
park homer with bases loaded that Everett did not quite get all
of as Vladimir pulled it in to keep the Manatees from scoring 20.
The rubber game saw
Kip Wells pitch a complete game 9-4 victory to give
the Manatees a 3-1 series edge. Giambi and Stairs remained
hot hitting 5 homers and 15 RBIs during the series.
Trade update: North
Dakota acquires Estaban Loaiza from Montreal in exchange
for a 1st
and a 7th round pick
in the 2005 draft. Matt Morris and Adam Eaton immediately
broke their hands punching the clubhouse wall in order to
avoid having to pitch for ND's minor-league
affiliate, Moose Jaw.
(11/29) Monday night
Strat-O! But no naked women jumped on the Strat-O
managers before the first roll. At Gackle Park,
L. Hernandez scattered 6 hits through 8 before tiring, as
Gagne came in to strike out Bagwell with 2 on and 2 out for
the save, 5-2. Matt Morris pitched 6 shutout innings
in game 2 as Gagne picked up another save, (4-2) striking out
the side in the 9th. Harold then announced that if he lost
game 3, Loaiza would be traded. He immediately fielded
trade offers from both Jeff and Arnie. Podsednik, Pujols,
and Papi Ortiz opened game 3 with 3 straight extra-base hits off Loaiza,
and after Pujols' rbi double in the 2nd made it 3-0 ND, Loaiza's
packed bags were seen in the dugout. After Ortiz's 3-run blast
made it 6-1, Harold got a faxed trade offer from Tsuan, a pager trade
from Tom, and more trade offers from Arnie and Jeff. (Matt, pleading
ignorance, said simply "you'll have to talk to Terry Francona, er, Jed.
I know nothing").
Loaiza spent the
last game (won by Harold 2-1 won by Colon over Ponson
in the "Battle of the Bulge") on display in the chip bowl
as opposing GM's tripped over their own drool battling each
other to obtain the erstwhile ace.
(11/21) It's true
- only one team is over .500 as the Year of Tom's Twits
Notes continues...Speaking of Tom, our league statistician,
please submit your stats to him...Happy Thanksgiving
from the SOMBILLA turkey himself....Well, it was a
Sunday afternoon bash and many of you were there so you need
no description, but ...
There was ice water,
beer, orange coffee, beer, a black squeeky rat, beer,
chips, beer, delivery pizza (Digiorno sp.), and well beer.
Oh yeah, and there was Strat. Primarily it was
a .500 day as three series went 2-2, and Wax was 4-4 on the
day. The Manatees tried out their new park designed by
the Randiesque Ballpark Design Staff, and found that it was death
for the starting pitchers.
Eric came out and
scored 5 runs within the first 3 innings of each game
jumping out to leads over the slow South Floridians.
But the Manatee offense was relentless as they came back
each time. They fell short in support of Tim Hudson,
but were able to come back in the other three games. The
games were close and three different relievers recorded saves
with Giambi and Stairs hitting over .500 with a combined 4 homers
and 9 RBIs.
Wax decided the
best way to beat up on the Manatees was to just blow
them out and Kerry Wood supported by 13 Wax runs did just that.
After 4 or 5 scoreless innings, the Manatees tried to come
back but fell short scoring 10 runs in a losing start.
The Manatees decided that the best way to defeat Wax is to
injure Bonds and Thome. The two Wax sluggers did not
show up in
the same starting
lineup against CN. Hudson came back for a complete
game win and then the two teams went into dogfight mode.
The next game was an 11 inning mess in which CN used 6 pitchers
and Wax used four and the game ended as Jason Bay (walked)
scored on an open double hit by A. Rod. The final game
was a one run victory for CN after Davanon and Edmonds hit back
to back homers to come ever so close to the split. Mora
hit .600 for the series
with 3 homers and
scoring 7 runs, and Jason Bay lead off with a .533
On Base, 5 runs and 2 lead off homers to carry the Manatees.
During one of the
games in which 5 or more pitchers pitched, CN manager
agreed to BC extortion and gave up a 5th round pick for
Aquilino Lopez.
Quotes: "Support
my kids' school, renew or purchase a Magazine Subscription."
"I may be a crotchety
old man, but even when I was young Bashes were hard.
Just too much strat in one day." "Manny for
a PTBN next year who will be A. Rod." or "I would trade Manny,
but I am saving him for A. Rod.?" "Why isn't Clint here to help
the old man." "Water, coffee, What?!? We used
to show up drunk for strat from the night before ready for more."
and Curt on the
Car Phone phoned in "The Manatees have been wicked
lucky!"
From Eric: Well,
I'm not entirely sure how deserving I am of the crotchety
old man
moniker, I don't
think Tom had issues with me (of course not, he won
3 of 4), but Jeff sure did (an ugly split), and I'd be lying
if I said it's all a bad rap, I'm the image of a youth in bloom...
But I thought I was fairly gracious getting pounded
the last two games
of the night. By
that last one, I just wanted to get it over with...
That said, it's certainl no fun gettin' Jeff pissed off
at you, like I did. So, Jeff, thanks for hosting, the pizza,
the beer, the finger food, the indoor plumbing, the music,
the cat, the Reese meister...and I'm sorry if I didn't make the
best playing companion. Arnie, I wouldn't advise scheduling
me for another bash,
unless it's a playoff series.
And I'm sorry I gave Robin good natured shit for not
doing her own
scoresheets...And
I'm sorry that I called Harold a loser (actually
I said no such
thing, but I'm doing
so now, and I'm sorry..) And I'm sorry I can't follow
directions, and get lost every time I leave Jeff's home.
Along the roads around his house I feel like a rat in a maze...
A black rat...
So maybe I am gettin' old. I'm sorry for that, too.
But aren't we all. Well, maybe not everyone. I thought
Randy look kind of boyish. Must be that good, clean living
in Natick. Must be that Minnesota blood. Must be...steroids?....
(11/15) The
surprising Folders continued playing .500 ball, splitting
with Bay City. All were "relatively close, low scoring
games. Tim Wakefield and BK picthed great"...The
Road advantage: Through the first 7 series, visting teams
have won 20 games while home teams have won just 8, a
.714 winning percentage. You have to go back over 20 years
for the record. Back in '83-84 road teams went 83-66
for a .557 pct.
(11/13) The Manatees,
hung over from their sweep in Puerto Rico, stumbled
into North Dakota and Ben Sheets pitched 8 innings where he
did not get tired, but he did give up 10 earned runs in the
first five innings. However, he did injure both Scott Rolen
and Jeff Kent for two games. Luis Gonzalez hit triples
on consecutive at bats and Matt Stairs got three LFx hit to him yielding
a triple, double and catching a shallow liner. The Manatees
put
together 4
solo homers, but stalled out at 10-7 after nine and
ND won game 1.
Game 2 saw
Adam Eaton give up 7 quick runs over three to the Manatees
as his makeshift defense could not field infield grounders.
However, Hudson looked just as bad giving up 5 runs over
the same 3 innings. Borowski came in and immediately
gave up the 2 runs to tie and became tired himself. But then
solo shots by A. Rod and Giambi put CN up to stay and they
held
onto a 9-7
victory for the tired Borowski who pitched 3 scoreless
after becoming tired.
In Game 3,
Schmidt, Dotel and Wunsch combined to allow 1 run
in a 3-1 victory hilighted by a bases clearing Andruw Jones
double. Mulder was masterful for ND striking out
8, but he was let down by the bats.
Game 4 was
for the bragging rights and CN came out limping, getting
caught stealing and then loading the bases withou scoring
as ND came back to go up 1-0 in the 1st. CN again
loaded the
bases in the
second after a leadoff Andruw Jones homer, but came
across with only one run on a sac fly (rolling a BP Homer
7) and never looked back. They piled on to go up
9-2 and won it 9-4.
The Manatees
never saw Gagne while Stairs, A. Rod and Giambi combined
for 7 homers and 17 RBI to take the series 3-1.
(11/2) Opening
Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Two Gulf
Coast teams faced off as Constantinople travelled
to face the fearsome New Orleans Whatevers. The
Hurricanes had taken a toll forcing the Manatees to start
the season on the road and the Whatevers to play their
games in sunny Puerto Rico. Manatee Stadium has
been renamed Buidling 19 Park, and the renovations will
be done any day and all ballpark effects
happen
on a 19 with high fences.
The battle
began in a classic pitching matchup of Kevin 'Lefty'
Brown versus Jason Schmidt. Stringing some hits together
the Manatees went up 3-0. But Nick "New Guy" Johnson
hit a lead-off homer to bring the game to 3-1. Schmidt looked
like he was going to make that work until Mora kicked a routine
grounder and Bags (replaced and wallowing on the bench)
worked a pinch-hit walk and then Byrd found the one (6-2) ball
park on Schmidt's card to give the crackers (crackheads?) a
4-3 lead. They went into super bullpen mode and it looked bad for
the Manatees. Wagner came into the ninth with two outs and
one man on to face Giambi. CN jumped at the opportunity to
string Burks, A. Jones and Nevin up against the unstoppable
stopper and Burks came through with a walk and Jones just missing
a home run hit a big double that scored both Mora and Burks. Nevin
whiffed, because as Jeff would say "He just is not that good."
But the Manatees were up 5-4 and Urbina went 1-2-3 for the first
save of the season.
The next
two games were all CN hitting and pitching.
Hudson and Redman went complete games giving up one
run each to win 11-1 and 8-1.
The final
game would be the nail-biter. The New Orleans'
manager was pissed and decided he had had enough and
sent the large mound of Colon out start the game off
by hitting A. Rod. The benches cleared and in the confusion,
Jason Varitek decked A. Rod putting him out for that game
and the next one. Abreu took his glove out to SS to try and
see what it was like to play infield. CN would support Wells
to a quick 2-0 lead on a homer by Guillen and a number of hits
that left two men on when all was said and done in the 2nd.
In the 5th, Posada's 3-run homer put NO up 3-2.
In the
6th inning, Stairs hit a 2-run homer to put CN back
up 4-3. However, Gerut lead off the bottom
of the 6th with a ballpark homer. Not to be outdone
by the NO CF, Andruw Jones led off the top of the 7th with
ballpark homer for a 5-4 lead. The bottom of the
7th saw World Series hero Manny Ramirez hit a solo ballpark
homer to tie it up 5-5.
Two scoreless
innings sent the teams to extra frames. The
10th started with two straight singles for CN followed
by a walk to load the bases with no outs. A K
and a short single later saw them go up 6-5. Urbina
started the bottom of 10th with a little revenge, plunking
Posada and putting him out two games as the benches cleared
again. A half hour later, without managers, the game
continued and a single and another pitch (a slow breaking
ball) that still somehow put Bagwell out for a game and then a
bases loaded walk tied the whole thing up again. This time
6-6.
NO was
now forced to put Kevin Brown in as Catcher and Dontrelle
Willis at 1B for the 11th. Wagner was out there
again, this time facing the best anti-lefty hitters that
CN had in Nevin, Burks, White, Guillen, Durham, and Ensberg.
The Manatees were scrappy against the dominant lefty and
the long and short of it was that Durham came up with two on
and a chance to be a
hero.
He delivered a big two run double against Wagner
giving the Manatees an 8-6 lead.
The bottom
of the 11th had Manny hitting his 2nd homer of the
game to bring it to 8-7, but Kevin Brown and Byrd could
not come through as CN survive the extra innings 8-7 for
a sweep....
(from Jeff)
Randy's second to last roll fouled the thing down
the hall and awoke not so little Jinny Lou-Who and disrupted
her dreams of sugar plum Doritos on the Strato-table.
She walked into the room, thing in hand, and saw me scouring
the floor searching for the die. She then softly spoke
"why are you still in our house.... why"?
I quietly
removed the thing from her hand and said "now tot,
it is opening night and I have Randy to play". As
the truth resonated in the bright little tot I got her a
cup of water and sent her back to bed while Randy poured over
his bench to see if he could do anything to
salvage the
final gem by A51 pitching. Marte (S) combined
with Ryan and Vazquez (7.67 IP, 1 hit 2 walk 13 SO)
for a one hitter to even the series 2-2.
When it finally
ended, I turned out the light, silently slipped
out of the Pollinger household, not wanting to wake Arnie
sleeping on the couch due to his inappropriate earlier
in the evening question "so Robin who is the first pick next
year"?
As I drove
into the sunrise, lawn sprinklers sprang to life washing
the landscape. I arrived home and was handed
the newspaper by the delivery boy, thinking yes another
opening day and a handful of endless nights.
A51 and FW
split 2-2 (6-9, 8-9, 8-7 and 1-0). Either team
could have won every game. ..
In case you
missed it, three teams have changed their name within
the past 24 hours. Eric, who announced a name
change from Gawd B to Swartzluna on opening night, has further
refined it to Schwarzluna-C.
TTFKA
Bay City has now reverted back to just plain old Bay
City. And Harold has also announced that his team
is moving from New Orleans and will now be playing in
Montreal and be known as the 'Montreal Ellis'. He notes
"A last place team needs a last place city. Doc Ellis
still our advisor."
On another
matter, Tsuan can feel free to insult me - Gary Sheffield
was 10 for 18, with 5 homers and 10 rbis in his first
4 games.