MVP – Mike Trout, Constantinople (2nd consecutive)
Cy Young – Jordan Zimmerman, Constantinople
Manager of the Year- Randy 

Twits Notes:  (3/14) Future Wax takes Game 1 on a 3-run Mercer ballpark homer (1-6 chance) with 2-outs in the 5^th, on the way to a 5-3 win. But Hosmer's 3-run balpark blast (1-16) in Game 2 evens it out, and Harvey and company nail down a 5-0 win.

Deja va. Future Wax hits another 3-run, 2-out ballpark homer in the 5^th inning of Game 3 (1-3 chance), this time by Aramis Ramirez. But Harold posts 3 runs as well, and the game goes into extra innings. Randy uses 8 pitchers, Harold uses 9. Harold's last two, Kuroda and Nova, surrender 3 runs in the 12^th , for a 7-4 Wax win.

Randy's ballpark homer luck went into the Twilight Zone in game 4: three BP-HR on a 1-3 chance in three attempts, for a 6-1 win. (As unbelievable as that was, if all those rolls where changed to outs, but nothing else in the game changed, Future Wax would still have won 2-1).

With his season on the line, Harvey bested Scherzer for a second time (4-0) in Game 5, to send the series back to Waxville.

In Game 6, Randy got an early lead on a – wait for it – 3-run ballpark homer from Hamilton (an easy 1-18 chance). Strausburg is gone after 2/3 of an inning. Through 4, Future Wax was up 6-0 and Bumgarner was working on a perfect game. Then the wheels fell off, and he gave up 5 consecutive hits, including homers by Soriano and Desmond, making it a 1-run game. An inning later, Cano and Desmond blasts put Harold up 8-6, but FW takes the lead back immediately (9-8) when McCutchen goes yard. Harold counters with a Sanchez double that knocks in the tying run – but also sees Mauer thrown out at the plate (on a blocking the plate roll). Just like Game 2, both teams empty their bullpens: all 17 available pitchers. But this time, Harold plates 3 in extra frames (the 14^th) – on 3 singles and a Hill error.

Game 7!! Kershaw vs. Sale for the third time, with everyone except Uehara (used up in extra innings of game 6) in the pens. Upton hits a solo shot in the 1^st. Harold ties it in the 6^th when Sanchez clubs a 2-out double with Wright on first. Wright scores when the throw home (1-15 chance) is cut off and Sanchez (1-4) is thrown out heading for 3^rd. (The roll is 18, so if the thrown hadn't been cut...)

In the bottom of the frame, Hill doubles for FW with 2 on and no outs. Hamilton scores, but Bruce is cut down at the plate (on another roll of 18) when Harold elects NOT to cut the throw. But Hill gets to third, and scores on a Ramirez single. Then, in the 8^th, Cano and Desmond homer back to back to chase Kershaw and tie the score at 3-3.

Cut to the bottom of the 9^th, two outs and Seager on first. Reyes rips an open double to CF off Fernandez (in his 3^rd inning of relief). Seager is waved around by the 3^rd base coach, (speed 13, +1 not held, +2 for two-outs, Ellsbury 0 arm) and scores the World Series winning run. Game 7 walk off for Future Wax!

(3/4) Game 1:  New Orleans 2 Constantinople 0
Game 2:  New Orleans 8 Constantinople 5
Game 3:  New Orleans 8 Constantinople 3 (14 innings)
Game 4:  Constantinople 5  New Orleans 2 
Game 5:  New Orleans 12 Constantinople 8

New Orleans wins series 4 -1.

Game 1:  In a series where New Orleans got all of the rolls when they needed them, they got out to a quick 2-0 lead after two innings and that was all that was needed as Sale (controversial first game starter), Fernandez (pitching out of the bullpen for the series) and Koji pitched a combined two hit shutout.  Ball park factor played a huge part in the victory as the Manatees missed three ballpark homeruns in NO’s massive ballpark (1-3 HR).

Game 2:  Doc Ellis’ crew gets off to another quick lead, 4-0 after three and 6-1 after four, but the pesky Manatees cut the lead to 6-5 in the top of the 7^th, but New Orleans scores two big insurance runs in the bottom half of the inning, and the Fernandez/Koji duo hold the lead for the 8-5 win.  Ballpark again played a factor as CON missed two BP home runs and NO hit one.

Game 3:  Series shifts to the Manatees bandbox, and the14 inning marathon game 3 was the turning point.  New Orleans again jumps out to a quick lead, 2-0 after three and 3-2 after six innings.  Mike Trout ties the game at 3 with a solo shot in the 8^th off of Gray.  At this point, the small park (1-19) plays very big – CON bullpen pitches 7 shutout inning of stellar relief.  The key bottom of the 13^th inning: Trout opens the inning with a single, Quentin doubles, and Adams walks – and then the Manatees proceed to have the THREE runners thrown out at the plate to keep the score tied.  This gives the dormant New Orleans bats life, and they proceed to score 5 runs in the top of the 14^th on Werth and Soriano HR’s.

Game 4:  In what was the theme of the series, the team that took the early lead won the game, and game 4 was no different as the Manatees took a 3-0 lead after three, which was more than enough for Zimmerman and three relievers to hold for the 5-2 win.  CON hit 4 HR’s in the game.

Game 5:  New Orleans bounced back quickly from the game 4 loss, scoring 8 runs in the first inning (it would have been more but Cano missed a 1-19 BPHR chance) to take an 8-0 lead after one.  The New Orleans manager, dreaming of dinner and wondering whom he’d rather play between Jeff and Randy didn’t realize there were 8 more innings to go.  In the third, Harper hits a 2 run shot to make it 8-2.  A Rasmus solo HR in the 4th makes it 8-3…a Martin solo HR in the 5^th makes it 8-4…and then Rasmus’ second HR of the game is a 2 run shot in the 6^th (off of Fernandez) to cut it 8-6 New Orleans.  But, New Orleans is able to add an unearned run in the 7^th, tack on another in the 8^th and 2 in the 9^th for the series ending win as the Fernandez/Koji duo close the series out.

——————————-

FW vs. WES: There were three pivotal moments to this series.

The first occurred midway through Game 3. Future Wax was on the ropes, having lost the first two games, at home, 6-4 and 4-2. The Wax seemed out of step, with a Seager error leading directly to the 2-run Puig homer that provided the margin in game one. Stanton potentially game-tying blast came up just short of the fence in game two, the four right-handed ballpark shot they missed in the first two games (1-6 chance). And now, in game 3, Randy trailed Jeff 4-0 going into the 7th inning. A Moss blast made it 4-1, but the game, and season, seemed to be slipping away from FW.

Then in the 8th, the tide turned. McCutchen singled to chase starter Iwakuma. Chapman came in and dispatched pinch-hitter Mercer and Aramis Ramirez, but then walked Castillo. Righty specialist Carpenter was brought in to deal with the dangerous Stanton, only to walk him to load the bases. Now the lefty Torres was summoned to face league-RBI leader Moss, only to walk a pinch-hitting Dozier, forcing in a run. Sheppers seeks the final out against Upton, to limit the damage, but Justin rips a bases-clearing double down the line, giving FW its first lead of the series. Freeman boots a Hill ground, yielding an insurance run, and suddenly FW is up 6-4. Cishek strikes out the side in the 9th, and FW is back from the brink of elimination.

The second pivotal moment came in Game 5. The series was now tied, after WES blew another 4 run lead, losing 9-7. Game 5 was a mirror image of the previous two games, with FW jumping out to a 6-0 lead, only to see it erode under the relentless pressure from WES hitters. A Stanton error, another Puig homer, 2 runs on 3 hits in the 7th, and a Holliday solo shot in the 8th, and it was a one-run game, 6-5. FW's 7th pitcher, Rosenthal, seems ready to close the deal, but a Moss error allows Jeff to load the bases with two-outs. Freeman is up, +11 in the clutch, about the best matchup Jeff could hope for -- and he strikes out.

The final pivotal moment came at the midpoint of game 6. FW is up 5-2, but WES is looking for another comeback. With 2 on and 2 out in the 4th, McCann hits a deep fly to RF (ballpark HR chance 1-18). The WES dugout goes silent, but an 18 roll means Puig (RF-1) has a bead on it (caught on 4-20), but the second roll is a 1. (At that point, the visiting WES fans threw pens on the field and headed for the exits.) Final score 8-3.

In summary, after coming within 4 outs of being down 0-3, Future Wax storms back and takes the series, 4 games to 2.

Kudos to Jeff on a great season and on putting together a solid team that could have easily advanced to the the World Series if a few pivotal moments had turned out differently.

(2/28) From Eric "I won 3 of 4, and as i said to jed, I can't tell you how disappointed I am.  In brief, all four games were decided by one run. Three went to extra innings, and the only one that didn't was a 1-0 victory by the Pierogies, with Utley hitting a solo shot in the 5th. I won game one, Jed won game two in 12 innings. but it was game three that stands out. Here's the computer's take and mine in parenthesis:

Prince Fielder hit 2 doubles and had 2 RBI at Pierogies Park where the The Pierogies Dumplings beat the Oceanus Assholes in 13 innings 6 to 5.
Both teams were tied at 3 runs apiece after nine innings (Jed led 3-1 going into the 9th, assuring Eric the 1st pick in every round. But Thornburg coughed up 2 runs--don't ask me how, I don't remember--and it was extra innings. With Jed leading 5-3, having scored 2 runs in the top of the 13th)  Yadier Molina leads off the inning with a base-hit.  After an out was recorded, Adrian Gonzalez steps up to the plate and he reaches on an error. Ryan Zimmerman then slaps a single to load the bases. Fielder is up next and doubles. Hunter Pence comes to the plate and delivers a base-hit. (The fucking game is over. 3 runs, 2 unearned.)   

So there you have it. going into the series i didn't realize that Jed has two 1st round picks...as do I. By my calculations, that means Jed and I have 6 of the 1st ten or eleven picks in the upcoming draft."

Actuall, Robin finished within 3 games of Jed, so she and Jed will have a separate rolloff for the 2nd pick, so Jed and Eric have 6 of the first 10 or 12 picks in the upcoming draft, which will be on Saturday, April 4.

(2/24) From Eric: "Harold and I split. He won games 1 and 3. Game 1 (5-0) was a gem by Sale, a 2-hit, no walk shutout. Game 2 was the series shocker, a blow-out 9-1 win for The Pierogies. what few fans were at hand at Sandover field sat numb in their seats as they watched their team score run after run, and most left disgust by the fifth inning. Harold thankfully won game three in the late innings, on a 2-run blast by Wright. Game four was a gem for The Pierogies, a combined 1-0 win (Verlander, Smith, Avilan). Adrian Gonzalez won it with a walk-off blast against Uehara. a dispiriting win for the home team, who must now lose 2 of its final 4 games against Jed's Assholes to clinch the first pick."

New Orleans finishes in 2nd place by virtue of winning its season series vs. CN, 5-3...Draft Day, Saturday, April 4.

(2/22) It was inevitable - after a close, hard fought four games, it all came down to a one-game playoff between WES and ND.  At that point, the difference in the teams was the difference in bullpen depth.  ND already had 2 of its relievers with arms having fallen off, while WES had its entire 7-man bullpen intact with plenty of innings,  This created matchup problems all game for ND (which also had 1/3 of its lineup down to 2-4 at bats due to their own playing limitations).  Extended one game too far, ND was held to 3 hits, and Jeff managed his pen to perfection.  (ND could have helped themselves with some better in-game managing as well).  In the 5-game series, WES actually scored first in every game, and in game 57, they jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Longoria's rbi in the 1st. Freeman's HR off Wainright made it a 2-0 in the 4th.  ND managed to score in the 4th against Buchholz (who had only 3 1/3 inns to start the game, but the bylaws clearly indicated he was eligible to start).  Castro's insurance homer in the 7th was all she wrote for ND, and WES squeezes into the playoffs.  

Or do they?  There is a actually a minuscule chance that New Orleans could drop into a round robin for 3rd and 4th place with WES and ND in the highly unlikely event Harold gets swept by Eric on Tuesday night.  The WES/ND one game playoff game above would then actually only be part of the required WES/ND/NO round robin...Speaking of sweeps by Eric, Robin also needs Eric to sweep Haroldand then to beat Jed 3 out of 4 on Thursday to gain entry into what would then be a three-way rolloff for the first pick.

(2/16) With a result that likely pisses off Jeff, Jed, and Robin, North Dakota swept The Pierogies to set up a final night of the season showdown for 4th place between ND and WES.  The series will essentially be a best of 5 for the (probable) right to face Randy in the playoffs. Lest anyone think it was a blowout, the scores were: 

North Dakota 1 The Pierogies 0
North Dakota 3 The Pierogies 2 (10 innings)
North Dakota 3 The Pierogies 2 (16 innings)
North Dakota 4 The Pierogies 3 (10 innings)

Game 3 was a ridiculous game featuring great bullpens torturing managers by overmatching inept offenses endlessly.  In the bottom of the 14th, Big Papi missed a bp HR (1-6) that would have ended it.  Then in the bottom of the 15th, Crisp missed a bp HR (1-6) that would have ended it.  Eric had previously asked whether any righty (bp HR "1") had hit one at ND this year, and I recalled "just one, it was Randy I think".  Bottom of the 16th, right-handed hitting JJ Hardy rolls a bp HR, and Eric says "This would be a good time for the first one", and Hardy rolls a "1" to end it.  Hilarity ensues.  (We believe it was the joint karma that did it, no double entendre intended).

In game 1, a double play in the 3rd inning scored the only run for ND, as Wainright won his 8th game, scaterring 8 hits, with Benoit and Hoechaver helping out to win 1-0.  Chacin and Masterson pitched great for Eric.

Games 2 was 2-2 after 4 innings and stayed that way until the bottom of the 10th, when Goldschmidt's walk-off double scored Pedroia.  Both bullpens (Kintzler and Smith for PR, Hoecaver, Clippard, and Kimbrel for ND) were great.

PR took a 3-0 lead in the finale, but Ramos's 2-run single in the 5th made it 3-2 and ND tied it on a double play again (see game 1) in the 7th.  In the 10th, a single and SB by Victorino against Masterson was followed by 2 outs.  Carpenter walked, and then injury callup Carlos Beltran, in likely his last SOMBILLA at bat, hit a pinch-hit walk-off single to complete the sweep and set up a wild finish to the regular season.

Draft Day, Saturday April 4.

(2/15) Future Wax solidified its hold on first place Saturday, finishing its regular season in fine fashion by opening up a 3-game lead and knocking Constantinople back into 3rd.    Meanwhile, Jeff firmed up his grip on 4th place with a two-game lead over North Dakota - now clinging to slim playoff hopes.  Bay City was eliminated after finishing up her season (though she still has an outside chance at being in the thing-off for the first pick).  An endless supply of 1-2+ foot snowstorms has wreacked havoc with scheduled games - kudos to managers for rescheduling your series...Draft Day April 4.

(2/11) Weird Winter Night (After a day of kids running under foot and roof raking)

Could have been a sweep or a split, but it averaged out to 3 out of 4 for CN to allow them to grasp hold of 2^nd place for a few days. (And close to within one game of the top spot).

Game 1 was without controversy as Jordon Zimmerman pitched a complete game 9-4 victory. Both teams showed a lack of defensive range and scored early before both starters settled down and the pasta covered cheese relievers let the game out of reach late.

Game 2 was the first controversy as CN came back to tie it 4-4 in the 8^th and tried to hold that score through the bottom of the 9^th.  Eric pinch hit for his first three batters getting a single, sacrifice and single to put men on the corner with one out.  Holland pitching gets Molina and Tulo out to put the game into extras.  Eric then realizes that he pinch hit for both his CF options….(Lucroy had pinch hit for Span with one out and a Ross on second as a lefty killer that chased Doolittle for Holland.” Both agreed that it did not seem fair to re-roll the two best Pierogies hitters after having Span face Doolittle.  So it was decided that Lucroy would go out and play centerfield as a 5eX +5 outfielder.  Well, CN never hit anything to the catcher practicing hiding in center and instead hit into a bases loaded double play with one out in the 11^th and then Molina came up in the bottom of the 11^th to drive in the winning run in a walk off…

Game 3:  After a Ballpark Homer out in a 0-0 game, Quentin hit a slow dribbler – picture this -- the control die lands on top of Eric’s stack of 9 hitters and Tom is following the thing that bounces between the two chip bowls and in his peripheral vision sees the die stop partial cocked but before he can focus on it the die rolls down and comes up a 1. Eric says it stopped originally as a 4.  Both agreed that neither side touched the table and it was just weird that it fell after “seemingly” coming to a stop. It was decided to accept the final position as a 1 since it might have been argued that it was cocked originally So it is a single. Raburn then hit a 3 run 2 out homer giving CN a 3-0 lead. Eric ties it up and then CN goes up 4-3 in the 8^th and in the 9^th with 2 outs no one on Zimmerman faces Holland and finds the only thing in the 5 column (5-11 TR 1-14) and the things says 15 for the final out, 4-3

Game 4: Verlander vs Hudson – Pierogies hit into 5 double plays, 4 double plays with 1 out to end innings and they just never get on the board as CN wins 6-0.  The cheesy ones did come up in the 9^th with the bases loaded and one out but Lucroy and Pence could not do anything with Farquhar and the series came to an end.

(2/10) North Dakota's plummet (losers of 9 of their last 12) continues, as the mamanger once again mismanaged the series and dropped 3 of 4 to lowly Oceanus. After taking a hard-fought opener, North Dakota seriously jeopardized their playoff hopes by dropping three straight against lowly Oceanus in Rehoboth.  Here are the human-generated TWITS notes.

Game 2 was a 10-3 laugher for Oceanus, who jumped out to a 10-0 lead after 5 innings and cruised from there.  Big Game James Shields got the win by pitching 7 1/3 innings and allowing only 3 runs on 5 hits.  Cliff Lee got the early hook after surrendering 5 runs on 6 hits in 3 2/3 innings.  Joey Votto, Chris Carter and Evan Gattis hit home runs for Oceanus while Goldschmidt connected on a round-tripper for North Dakota.

Contrary to popular belief, North Dakota did strike first in the third game, scoring a run in the top of the 4th as Allen Craig doubled in Edwin Encarnacion, who had walked.  But Oceanus struck right back with 3 solo shots (Jose Bautista, Carter, Adrian Beltre) in the bottom of the 4th, two in a row on the exact same roll off of Marco Estrada's card.  The split card was different each time though.  Oceanus would get another home run in the 5th (Gattis).  And that would be it for the scoring for both teams.  The much maligned Oceanus bullpen strung together 5 scoreless innings, with Edward Mujica getting the win.

In game 4 Oceanus jumped out to a 4-0 lead after 3 innings and it looked dire for North Dakota.  But they scored 3 in the top of the 4th on a Hanley Ramirez home run.  From there, Oceanus kept tacking on runs but North Dakota kept responding and going into the top of the 9th it was 6-5 Oceanus.  In came Santos, with 2 innings remaining in his season.  After retiring Goldschmidt, Encarnacion tied the game with a home run.  Oceanus could not score off of Kimbrel so on to extra innings it was.  Santos finished his season with a scoreless 10th.  Kimbrel, who was pitching his 4th inning and extremely tired, finally came apart, allowing 2 tired singles as Oceanus manufactured a run to win 7-6.  Later, manager Arnie lamented leaving Kimbrel in as Luke Hochevar had innings left.

OC outhomered ND 7-3 and outpiteched them 2.68 to 5.77...Draft Day April 4.

(2/8) A satisfying split for Bay City after dropping the first two games vs CN to stay alive in the playoff hunt.  The last game went 11 innings; Kipnis missed a 1-16 HR that would have given Tom the 10th inning lead.  Other highlights included 8 homers by CN in game 2, Yu Darvish remaining winless for BC (a no decision to remain at 0-6), Iglesias being hit 3 times in the series, Robin's injuring Raburn and Martin for games 3 &4 (contributing to her wins), and CN closer G. Holland's giving up 3 runs with no outs in game 3 (also contributing to BC win)...Draft Day April 4.

(2/6) Future Wax and New Orleans split. Kershaw gave up only 6-hits for in a complete game 6-2 win in game 1, beating Kuroda.  In game 2, Future Wax took a 2-0 lead on a Moss homer and Bruce double. But Fernandez kept NO in the game, and an Aybar error allowed the tying runs in in the 8th, and Parnell imploded (again) in the 9th, giving up a 2-run blast to Cano, giving Harold a 4-2 win.

Game 3 was all New Orleans, with Bumgarner pulled after surrendering 4 runs in the 3rd inning while in contrast Harvey gave up only 5 runs (with 12 Ks) over 8 innings, for a 9-0 win. Navarro homered 3 times. The final game had both the teams trading home runs and the lead, with Morneau and Wright going deep for Harold, and Upton and Stanton doing so for Randy. Trailing by one run, Harold got the tying run to 3rd in the 9th, but Cishek got Cuddyer out to end it, and Future Wax escaped with a 6-5 win.

Draft Day Saturday April 4.

(2/4) Bay City continued its late season surge, taking 3 of 4 from Oceanus at the Parking Lot, to move within one game of a playoff spot.  BC hit .307 for the series versus the Assholes’ .237. Oceanus did out homer BC, 5 to 4 (all Chris Davis’s). In Game 1, the Rollers tired Hernandez, who gave up an un-King-like 13 hits and 10 earned runs in 6 innings. Bay City nearly doubled its season steal total with 3 stoen bases, 2 by the un-starred Wil Myers, en route to a 10-3 victory. In Game 2, Bay City again tired the Asshole starter, scoring 5 in the 4^th off Shields and giving Cole the 6-1 win. In Game 3, the winless Yu Darvish (0-6) remained winless, twice giving up 3-run leads and allowing 3 homers among his 7 hits. Jed got the 7-6 win off Roark with a Heyward double after a Gyorko HBP in the 9^th. In Game 4, former Asshole CJ Wilson pitched 8 scoreless innings but Siegrist ruined BC's shutout in the 9^th by walking 2 and then allowing a HR to Gyorko (who hit .636 for the series with 3 HRs). Oceanus then missed a BP homer that would have tied the game, and BC held on for a 4-3 nailbiter. BC hitting stars were Davis, who batted .389 with 4 HR and 10 RBI, and Posey, who hit .421, going 4 for 5 in Game 1...Draft Day is Saturday, April 4.

(2/1)Future Wax took 3 of 4 from 7th place Oceanus to open up a 2-game lead over the pack. Future Wax lost the first game 7-1, on a typical King Felix gem and rare Kershaw dud. Next game, a two-out McCutchen double in the 9th put the Wax over the top for a 4-3 win. In the third game, FW cruised to a 7-3 win on a first inning Moss grand slam and a 6-hitter from Bumgarner. Joe Kelly served up the final game, giving up 5 runs in a third of an inning of relief work, after which a late inning rally Oceanus fell just short, 6-5. 

(1/31) Bay City knocked North Dakota back into a tie for 4th place Saturday, taking 3 of 4 games.  Bay City took the lead in every game of its series against ND and actually managed to hold on to it (or not fall behind) in 3 of the games. BC scored 3 in the 1st inning of Game 1 against Wainwright thanks to an Infante triple, Posey single, and MCab homer. That proved to be enough, as ND stranded 9 against Cole, Siegrist, and K. Jansen, losing 3-1. Anibel Sanchez failed to hold a 4-0 lead in Game 2, allowing a 3-run triple to Carpenter in a game that saw ND win in 10 on a single, steal, sac, and single against Roark. Miguel Cabrera made the first of his 2 clutch outs in this game. In Game 3, Darvish failed to record a victory for the eleventh consecutive series, but Bay City eked out a 5-4 win on a Sal Perez triple and Gomes passed ball in the ninth. C. Janssen got the win and (no relation) K. Jansen got the save. Game 4 was another close one. Bay City took another early lead on an Either single and Infante homer; ND cut the lead in half in the fifth, but BC picked up an insurance run on a Davis homer in the 7th, and ND could manage only 1 run in a tense bottom of the ninth despite back-to-back doubles by Yelich and Ortiz to tire K. Jansen. The series featured numerous foul balls and much table banging by the home team...Draft Day Saturday April 4.

(1/28) After a 2 day delay due to the blizzard of 2015, the showdown for 3rd place was not much of a contest.  Tom will send the gory details tomorrow.  By the way, Draft Day is Saturday April 4.

(1/25) New Orleans won 7 of 8 games at today's bash to leap back into 2nd place, rebounding nicely from getting swept last week.  No details of the results were forthocimbg from the shy, Twits Notes avoiding franchise.  "What Eric Said" dropped back into 5th, getting swept immediately after pulling off a stunning 7-player trade with Oceanus earlier in the week...New Orleans and "What Eric Said" are now past the post-season eligible trading deadline...Draft Day, Saturday, April 4.

(1/19) What Eric Said takes the series 3-1 to move into sole possession of 4th place.  3 1-run games and a 2-run game.  I believe one game was won on a Catcher-X and another on a LF-X.  There also was a triple play!  Anyway, here are the unedited game summaries

Game 1

In an exciting finish the What Eric Said Huh pulled out a win over the Oceanus Assholes by a score of 4 to 3 at The Ballpark. The game was decided in the bottom of the 9th inning.  After two were out Carlos Gonzalez drew a walk.  Yasiel Puig came next and he drew a walk.  Adam Jones then ripped a base-knock giving What Eric Said the victory as 41,209 happy fans celebrated wildly.  Both teams ended up with 9 hits on the afternoon. 

The victory was credited to Aroldis Chapman who went 2/3 of an inning, allowing no runs. Michael Wacha was given the loss in relief.

Game 2

Carlos Gonzalez launched 2 homeruns and had 3 RBI as the What Eric Said Huh topped the Oceanus Assholes by a score of 5 to 4 at The Ballpark. Gonzalez enjoyed a fine day at the plate.  He cracked a two-run shot in the 4th inning and blasted a solo shot in the 8th inning.  What Eric Said had a
total of 8 hits for the game.  The victory went to Tanner Scheppers who went 3 innings, allowing no runs. Cody Allen suffered the loss in relief.  He gave up 1 hit and no walks in 1 inning.

Game 3

Matt Holliday had 2 base hits at The Ballpark where the Oceanus Assholes beat the What Eric Said Huh 7 to 5. Doug Fister got the win but did not look spectacular.  He gave up 4 runs, 10 hits and 1 walk in 5 and 2/3 innings.  Fister racked up 6 strikeouts. Oceanus had 11 hits for the afternoon.  Joe Nathan earned his 1st save. Matt Garza took the loss.  He got hammered, allowing 9 hits and 4 walks in 5 innings. 

Game 4

47,337 fans watched an exciting game at The Ballpark.  The What Eric Said Huh topped the Oceanus Assholes by the slimmest of margins, 3 to 2. Hisashi Iwakuma earned his pay with a solid performance for What Eric Said.  He went 7 innings and surrended up 6 hits and 2 walks.  What Eric Said
managed 9 hits in their victory.  Tanner Scheppers got the save, his 1st. Joe Kelly suffered the loss in relief.  He surrendered 4 hits and no walks in 1 and 2/3 innings.

Highlight for Randy: Kershaw went 8 scoreless innings in game 1 for a win, giving up 4 hits and striking out 5. Big play of the game was defensive. After Kershaw, up 4-0, gave up a double to Tulo and a short single to Pence to start the 7th, Randy left Kershaw in to face Molina, who lined a pea to Seager (I think) at 3rd, who stepped on 3rd to erase Tulo then fired across the diamond to beat Pence diving back back to the bag for a triple play. I believe it is the 2nd time I've hit into a triple play in 30+ years.

Highlight for me: Henderson Alvarez faced Bumgarner in game 3, which gave Alvarez his first chance this year to bat against a lefty, whom he kills. He went 1 for 3, with 2 rbis, a double, a sac bunt, and a win (5 innings, 3 runs, and lots and lots of luck.)"

Game 1: Constantinople 3, Oceanus 1

Jordan Zimmerman pitched a dominating 8.1 innings, allowing only 2 hits and 1 run.  Oceanus scored first in the bottom of the 4th.  But Constantinople came right back with 3 runs in the top of the 5th and that was that.  Felix Hernandez only allowed 1 earned run but got the hard luck loss.  Trout, Kipnis and Martin combined to go 6 for 11 for Constantinople and account for the bulk of their offense.

Game 2: Oceanus 8, Constantinople 7

Looking back, this was the pivotal game, the one Constantinople could easily have won to take the series.  It was the proverbial seesaw battle - 2-0 Oceanus after 1, 4-2 Constantinople after the top of the 3rd but 4-4 when that inning was finished, 5-4 Constantinople after the top of the 5th but 6-5 Oceanus at the end of the 5th, tied 6-6 after 6 innings, Constantinople up 7-6 after 7 innings, tied 7-7 after 8 and finally ended by a Carlos Gomez walk-off homerun.  Neither starter (Miller for Constantinople, Medlen for Oceanus) was effective.  In the end, Edward Mujica's 1.2 innings of scoreless relief earned him a victory and Danny Farquhar was tagged with the loss.  Trout went 2 for 3 with 4 RBI for Constantinople.  Drew was 4 for 5.  Jose Bautista went 3 for 4 for Oceanus, with 5 RBI.

Game 3: Constantinople 9, Oceanus 3

It's a laugher for Constantinople.  3-0 after the 1st, 8-0 after the 5th.  The only drama was whether Homer Bailey could get a shutout.  Alas, Oceanus managed to score 3 runs (only 2 earned) in the bottom of the 9th to spoil things a little.  Still, an impressive showing for Bailey - a complete game victory allowing only 6 hits and 2 earned runs.  Trout went 3 for 5, Quentin 3 for 3 and Raburn 1 for 2 with a homerun.  Gardner went 3 for 4 for Oceanus.  Fister pitched a complete game but gave up 6 earned runs and 13 hits.

Game 4: Oceanus 6, Constantinople 3

Constantinople jumps out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st but a Bautista 3-run shot in the bottom of the 1st puts Oceanus ahead to stay.  Oceanus gets 2 more runs in the 3rd and a Gomez homer in the 7th.  Constantinople chipped away with runs in the 5th and 8th innings but Nathan shuts the door in the 9th, earning a save.  Donaldson goes 2 for 3 for Constantinople.  Both Gomez and Bautista go 2 for 4 for Oceanus, with 4 RBI total.  Lynn allowed only 1 earned run in 5 innings for the victory.  Hudson got touched up for 5 runs in 4 innings.

Well it was a busy <boring life stuff deleted>

CN was looking to finish at home strong before the New Year’s Break.  Alex Cobb who was holding onto a 3-3 tie in the 5^th when he walked the bases loaded (Trout, Harper and Rasmus while striking out Adams and Alvarez) and faced Carlos Quentin who hit a Ballpark homer (roll 19) and the ballpark propelled CN to an 8-3 win over BC.  The game went to the wire as CN tried to over manage by bringing in a lefty reliever who immediately walked Miggy (to load the bases) to face the tying run in the form of Dom Brown.  Sal Perez came in and Farquar struck him out and ended the threat.

In Game 25, the teams exchanged solo shots back and forth until they were tied at 2-2 (the Ballpark was kind to BC as both of their homers were ballpark aided) with CN having a runner thrown out at home on a 20…  Drew hit a double and eventually was driven in by a 2 out Mike Trout single.  BC again had a chance for late inning heroics but pinch hitter Donnie Murphy hit a pinch hit clutch out (Infante would have tied the game) to end the 8^th and CN held on for a 3-2 win.

Game 26 was Yu being Yu giving up 2 N-HRs on his card in the only true blow out of the series as CN wins 10-2.

Final game, the rolls started out for Bay City as Hudson gave up 5 runs over 3 innings giving up 2 2-run Ballpark homers and held on to pitch 4 innings as CN came back to get 2 unearned runs and put together an 8-5 lead going into the 9^th.  Holland came in to hold for the sweep and immediately pitched right down the two columns of Posey and Davis who doubled and homered to bring the game to 8-7.  Holland got Miggy and Marte but Wil Myers knocked him out with a double.  Gregerson came in to face Murphy in the clutch and induced the out for the sweep…

The unsatisfying split vs. Jed got off a bad start (after a brief period of computer woes) when Omar Infante was injured on his first at-bat of the series, basically putting him out of action until Game 4—Bay City had managed to stay injury-free vs. ND after injuring a player in each game of the four-game tilt vs. FW. Ani Sanchez and Felix Hernandez were locked in a pitchers’ duel until the sixth when Sanchez tired, loading the bases, and was replaced by C. Janssen, who promptly gave up a grand slam to Gattis. BC lost 5-2, despite homers by M. Cabrera and D. Murphy (2B fill-in). In fact, in the series, BC had 7 homers total,  hit by 7 players, including injury call-up Danny Espinosa in Game 2, part of a 14-5 blow-out that saw an extremely fatigued Kris Medlen (the subject of trade talk earlier in the day) allow about half a dozen tired singles among the 17 hits he gave up in 7 innings. No doubt his 200+ pitch count in this game contributed to his need for Tommy John surgery and subsequent non-tendering by Atlanta in real life. In game 3, Doug Fister and Joe Kelly stymied the Bay Cityites, and the home team trailed 3-0 in the ninth, despite a 13-strikeout performance in 7 1/3 innings from the still-winless Darvish, but Nathan blew the save, as Bay City came up with 4 runs (without the benefit of a HR) to win 4-3. Game 4 was a see-saw battle that featured both teams hitting into multiple double plays. Chris Carter was the offensive star for Jed, homering twice and knocking in 4, as CJ Wilson failed to mesmerize his former teammates with his flake-free hair. Robin did not learn anything from Game 1, putting in C. Janssen to again put a close game out of reach in the ninth, as Oceanus got 2 insurance runs and won 7-4.