Final SOMBILLA Standings 2017-2018

MVP – David Ortiz, North Dakota and Freddie Freeman, “What Eric Said?”
Cy Young – Max Scherzer, Future Wax
Manager of the Year- Jeff 

The Road Advantage:

HOME                       AWAY

Arnie  19-9    .679        Jeff   17-11  .607
Randy  18-10   .643        Robin  17-11  .607
Jeff   16-12   .571        Tom    16-12  .571  
Harold 15-13   .536        Arnie  15-13  .536
Robin  12-16   .429        Eric   14-14  .500Tom    12-16   .429        Harold 13-15  .464
Eric    9-19   .321        Randy  12-16  .429
Jed     9-19   .321        Jed    10-18  .357
TOTALS 110-114 .491             114-110  .509

New SOMBILLA Records set this year:

·         Fewest new records set: 0Not a record, but Bryant’s 18 HR was the lowest league-leading HR total since the Manila Folders’ Carlton Fisk led the league with 16 in ’86-87

Twits Notes: (3/7)

North Dakota vs. Bay City

This was the third post-season meeting between the ancient rivals.  The last time these teams met in the post-season was in 2012 under the same circumstances, with ND in first place, BC in fourth.  That series was a 4-game annihilation by Bay City, featuring a game one 20-2 rout.

In game 1 this time around, Bay City picked up right where they left off six years ago, when 3 of the first 4 hitters singled, and then Beltre (in his first BC post-season at bat) smacked a 3-run homer to make it 4-0 before the crowd had even taken their seats.  It was the highlight of Bay City’s series.  Yelich cracked a 2-run homer for ND in the bottom of the first to make it 4-2, and in the 4^th Goldschmidt’s rbi double makes it a 4-3 game.  But Darvish, AJ Ramos, and Britton yield just one hit the rest of the way and BC takes a surprising 1-0 series lead.

Undeterred, ND strikes first in game 2 on Pedroia’s 3^rd inning rbi. A pinch-hit rbi single for Devon Travis off Kimbrel in the 5^th ties it for BC, 1-1.  (Remarkably that was one of only 3 hits BC got off ND relief in 6 games).  The North Dakota manager takes an extended bathroom break after the 5^th inning.  TMI?  Perhaps, but it was the turning point in the series.  After returning refreshed and lighter, ND plopped down 4 runs in the 6^th, thanks to a leadoff HR by Betts, a bases-loaded walk by Carpenter off Montgomery, followed by Ortiz’s bases loaded single. ND wins 5-1.
 
The series shifted to Bay City for game 3, and it was all North Dakota, which scored in six of the 9 innings, featuring a balanced attack with 6 players getting rbis to win 9-2.  Marco Estrada (6-0, 4.04 in the regular season) pitched a CG 4 hitter, saving the bullpen for the remainder of the series.

Game 4 was a nail biter.  Petey’s sac fly in the 2^nd inning held up until the 7^th, when BC’s C. Correa (2 doubles previously) scores S. Rodriguez with a sac fly to tie it 1-1.  In the 9^th, ND’s W. Ramos singles and is bunted to 2^nd by Lindor.  Fowler then singles but Ramos (1-8 to score with one out) is held up at 3^rd.  Pedroia follows with a bp single (1-10 ) to score Ramos and ND takes a 2-1 lead.  Reed and N. Jones pitch a scoreless 8^th and 9^th and ND has a commanding 3-1 series lead.

Backs against the wall, Bay City fell behind 1-0 early in game 5 on Ortiz’s solo shot in the first.  But in the 3^rd, O. Herrera drives in Posey, and then deGrom throws away a routine grounder for another run and Castellanos finishes the scoring with an rbi single to make it 3-1 BC.  Devenski and W. Davis shut down ND until the 9^th when ND manages to load the bases.  AJ Ramos comes in and strikes out Lindor.  It’s up to Wilson Ramos, and AJ wins the Ramos vs Ramos battle to end the game, and BC stays alive.

Back in Gackle Park for game 6, BC strikes first when Fowler misplays a flyball into a single and 2-base error to score 2 runs.  But Lindor’s bases-loaded single ties it 2-2.  In the 4^th, ND loads the bases with one out for Carpenter.  He doubles in two runs, but Fowler is thrown out trying to score.  Next batter up, Big Papi doubles in Carpenter and it’s 5-2.  That’s all the efficient ND bullpen would need as they close out the series, pitching the final 4 innings yielding no hits.

It needs to be said that Robin could not get any timely rolls when she needed them all series, missing quite a few 1-10 BP singles and some BP homers as well, while ND rolled fairly well in general.

Star of the series was the entire North Dakota bullpen:  2-0, 19.3 inns, only 3 hits!, 4 walks, 22K, 1 ER, 0.47 ERA, 2 saves.  The entire ND staff had a 1.73 ERA.
Honorable mention: Big Papi  .348 (8 for 23), 2 homers, 6 rbi

“What Eric Said?” and Future Wax will be playing their series next Saturday 3/10.

(2/25) ND vs. WES?

Actually, Randy was mistaken. North Dakota’s magic number against WES to clinch first place was 1. What seemed like an anti-climactic series between the top two teams became a one game playoff for first place after Jeff won 3 games 4-3, 7-4, and 2-1.

Game 4 went 10 innings. It was 2-2, when Yelich homered in the top of the 10th. The only remaining ND reliever whose arm was still attached - K. Herrera - pitches the 10th for the save.

I’ve never been happier to lose three out of four. North Dakota finishes in first place by the skin of its teeth.

OC vs. CN

An EXTREMELY unsatisfying split for Constantinople against lowly Oceanus, especially after the Manatees took the first two games.  Unfortunately for Tom, Oceanus won 1-0 in game 3 and had its best game of the season in game 4.  Thus, Bay City avoids a dreaded one-game playoff and gains the privilege of facing red-hot North Dakota in the semi-finals.  No (slightly-edited) computer-generated game summaries for some reason, so here are my notes:

Game 1: Constantinople gets 4 in the bottom of the third but the Assholes chip away with 2 in the top of the 5th.  The Manatees add an insurance run in the bottom of the 6th and that's all she wrote in a 5-2 Constantinople triumph.  Oceanus left 11 on base and just couldn't seem to get timely hits.  Both pitching staffs allowed 6 walks.  No homers in the gargantuan ballpark, but the Manatees out-double Oceanus 6-2.  Carrasco pitched well for 7.2 innings and Otero got the save.  Kluber pitched 8 mediocre innings.  Segura and Seager go 5-9 at the top of the Constantinople order, with 3 runs scored.

Game 2: A 6-0 romp for the Manatees as Pomeranz, Betances and Belisle hold Oceanus to 5 hits.  Trout went 2 for 3 with a homer and 2 walks to boot.  Kinsler added a dinger.  On the bright side for the Assholes, the trio of Inciarte, Naquin and Gardner went 5 for 8.  And Flynn did pitch 1 scoreless inning!

Game 3: Coming into this game it felt like a sweep was inevitable.  But somehow the Manatees bats went silent and Quintana, Gregerson, Maurer and Colome combined to allow just 6 hits and 1 walk.  Meanwhile, Oceanus only had 3 hits!  It was Billy Hamilton's suicide squeeze in the 8th that held up for a final score of 1-0.  Maurer got the win and Colome a two-inning save.  Martinez pitched 5 shutout innings, but Harris gave up the run in relief and was tagged with the loss.

Game 4: Oceanus jumped in front early with singleton runs in the first and second innings, including a homer by Altuve.  Constantinople cut the lead in half with a run in the bottom of the 5th but Oceanus regained the two-run advantage in the top of the 6th.  It was in the 7th, however, where it all unraveled for the Manatees.  With two outs, Tom decided to walk the extremely clutch Jose Ramirez.  What followed was a magical/nightmare Strat-O inning where everything went right for the Assholes, resulting in 5 runs.  Nothing Tom could do as roll after roll landed on the Oceanus cards.  While Constantinople plated a run in the 9th, the shaky Oceanus relief staff was able to hold on for the 8-2 win.  Pedro Baez was credited with the victory following 3 shutout relief innings (with 5 K's).  Starter Aaron Nola pitched 4 shutout innings as well.

FW vs. SB

With their backs against the wall, Future Wax secured a playoff spot by sweeping the Stone Buddha. They took full advantage of their home park, hitting 11 HR in the series (vs. 2 for Eric). Scores were 5-2, 6-0, 10-5 (scoring 7 runs in the 8th), and 12-1.

After the final out, a wild celebration ensued. Then the team retired to the clubhouse to await word of who their first round opponent will be. (If Tom sweeps Jed, FW will drop to 4th on tie-breaks and play North Dakota -- for all other outcomes they will finish 3rd and travel to Jeff's park.

NO vs. FW 

New Orleans takes 3 of 4 from Future Wax.  Gary Sanchez hitting star, 3 HR and 12 RBI for series.

Draft Day Saturday March 31.

(2/22) The trip through Boston to the North Shore during a rush hour winter weather advisory was well worth it for the surging North Dakota squad.  Theytook revenge against New Orleans, the last team to win a series against ND, knocking them two games out of 4th place, heading into the final regular season weekend.

It was back in December when G. Sanchez stunned North Dakota with a walk-off 3-run homer to win 3-2 and send the reeling Gacklonians to a 13-15 record.  This time around, Sanchez was injured for game 1.  New Orleans took a 3-1 lead on homers by Bryant and Jackie B. and it stayed that way until the 9th inning. Harold managed his bullpen to perfection with Hand, Warren, Bush, Edwards, and Jansenwinning every matchup.  Bottom of the 9th, Goldschmidt leads with a walk against Jansen.  After an out, Carpenter walks.  Big Papi casually strode to the plate.  The 400+ capacity crowd rose to its feet.  Ortiz blasts a walk-off 3-run homer (his 2nd of the game and 17th of the season).  The injured Sanchez could only tip his cap.

It was all North Dakota in game 2 as the relentless luck fueled the relentless offsense, winning 12-2, pounding out 18 hits in a balanced attack.

Season on the line, backs against the wall, New Orleans scored 5 in the top of the first in game 3, thanks to Cespedes's 3-run bomb. But North Dakota scores 3 in the bottom of the first to make it a game.  A run for NO is followed by a 2-run homer by ND's Carpeneter in the 3rd to make it 6-5, and Goldschmidt's solo homer completes the comeback to tie it 6-6 in the 4th.  It says that way until the 7th when Jackie B. drives home Hosmer and NO has the lead again 7-6.  This time, Jansen doesn't blow the save and New Orleans has life.

In the finale, Michael Fulmer carries a 3-hit shutout into the 7th with ND up 4-0 (Lindor's 2-run double the key blow).  But in the 7th, NO plates two unearned runs thanks to Yelich's error to make it 4-2 and New Orleans loads the bases with two out against Bedrosian.  He strikes out Bautista to end the inning, and then North Dakota scores 4 in the bottom of the 7th to burst the new Orleans balloon and make it 8-2.  But the balloon re-inflates in the 8th!  Harold scores 4 on a 3-run blast by - you guessed it - Jackie B and then a solo shot by Diaz and its 8-6.  But that would be it for NO hopes and A. Miller nails down his 4th save.

Star of the series?  A unanimous choice - David Ortiz .455 (5 for 11), with 2 homers and 6 rbis

Draft Day, Saturday, March 31.

(2/18) Bay City came down to Rehoboth Beach with hopes of locking up a playoff berth.  Unfortunately, they could not take advantage of lowly Oceanus, dropping the series 3 games to 1.  This sets up a wild final weekend of musical chairs, with 1 game separating 4 teams and only 2 playoff spots available.  All the games were close except for game 3, which was still not a blowout.  Here are the slightly-edited computer-generated game summaries. 

Game 1: In a close game it was the Oceanus Assholes 3, the Bay City Rollers 1 at Rehoboth Parking Lot.  Trevor Story was the hitting hero, going 3-3 with a HR. Carlos Torres earned the victory with a fine relief performance.  He did not allow a hit or a walk in his 1 and 2/3 innings.  Pedro Baez earned the save with a perfect ninth.  Cole Hamels absorbed the loss.  He allowed 8 hits and 2 walks in 6 and 1/3 innings.

Game 2:  David Price and Steven Wright dueled it out with Price and the Oceanus Assholes coming out on top of the Bay City Rollers by the score of 1 to 0. Price pitched well for Oceanus in their victory.  He allowed 3 hits and 1 walk in 5 innings.  Price whiffed an impressive total of 7 Bay City batters.  Bay City threatened in the 9th but their rally came up short. Former Bay City-ite Adam Eaton got the game winning RBI single in the 5th inning. Alex Colome recorded the save.

Game 3:  The Bay City Rollers defeated the Oceanus Assholes by a score of 5 to 1 at Rehoboth Parking Lot. Chris Devenski had a strong outing.  He didn't allow much, just 5 hits and 1 walk in 7 and 1/3 innings.  Devenski racked up 8 strikeouts.  Both teams ended up with 7 hits on the afternoon.  Jose Quintana was the losing pitcher.  He pitched 9 innings and surrendered 7 hits and 1 walk. Piscotty homered and had 4 RBI and (Melvin/BJ) Upton homered as well.

Game 4: Adam Eaton hit 2 doubles and had 2 RBI at Rehoboth Parking Lot as the Oceanus Assholes beat the Bay City Rollers by the count of 3 to 2.Brandon Maurer slammed the door shut in an excellent relief performance.  He was flawless in relief in his 2 innings.  The Bay City offense proved no trouble in the 9th.  Luke Gregerson earned his 1st save.  Zach Britton suffered the loss in relief.  He surrendered 1 run and 2 hits in 1 inning.

Draft Day March 31

 
( 2/19) Now that there's no chance of making the playoffs, Stone Buddha management no longer cares if the team starts winning. While losing has been management's top goal all season, the end of the year seems to bring out the worst in the players, who actually play to win. And that's what they did, going 5-3 in a personal bash hosted by Arnie and Robin.

The first series was an unsatisfying split against New Orleans, who took games three and four to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. For Nawlin's, Kris Bryant was the hitting star, going 4 for 5 with 3 homers and 7 rbis in game 3. Healy gets a gold star for hitting a two-run shot to in game 1 to give the Buddhas a slim 6-5 win.

Against Bay City, the Buddhas ungraciously took 3 of 4. Game one particularly stuck in Robin's craw, as ex-Bay City Roller Tanner Roark pitched a combined shutout with 3 relievers. Robin stormed back to take game 2, assisted by Budhha's Lucroy committing not one or two but three throwing errors on stolen bases. But that was it for Bay City, who dropped the next two without so much as sniffing a lead, losing 5-1 and 10-5. Verlander pitched a gem for the Buddhas, going 8.3 innings, surrendering one run on 7 hits and 3 walk

The series loss drops Robin to within 1 game of Future Wax for 4th and just 2 games ahead of Constantinople and New Orleans in 5th.  But she plays cellar-dwelling Oceanus tomorrow night.

Draft Dey, Saturday March 31.

Game 1 was the only game that wasn't close.  North Dakota won 8-1.  Johnny Cueto, who gave up 9 runs in the first inning of his last start, pitched a complete game 4-hitter.  Strat-O is weird.  Ortiz added a 3-run homer for good measure.

Game 2 was a tense, back and forth game.  CN took an early 1-0 lead in the battle of the limited lefties Rich Hill and Drew Pomeranz. N. Cruz hit a 2-run homerfor ND to take the lead in the 2nd. A HR by Werth and 2 run single by Morales gives CN a 4-2 lead in the 3rd.  Cruz hits his 2nd homer and its 4-3 CN after 4.  ND ties it in the 6th when Ramos singles in a run off Betances, but Rizzo gives CN the 5-4 lead in the 7th with a solo shot.  In the bottom of the 8th, Betts singles off Melancon with one out and steals 2nd.  Fowler singles him in to tie it 5-5.  In the 9th, CN's Werth is stranded at 2nd after a leadoff double against A. Miller.  In the bottom of the 9th, ND hits three straight singles (Lindor, Goldschmidt and Yelich)for the walkoff 6-5 win.  Yelich actually hit a triple, but under MLB rules its only a single.

North Dakota had absolutely no business winning game 3. CN took a 2-1 lead into the 7th, when Betances - great against lefties - comes on with one out to face lefty Yelich.  Yelich triples off Betances's card and then Fowler reaches on Donaldson's error to score Yelich and take a 3-2 lead.  In the 8th, Kimbreal comes in for ND and walks 3 batters and is tired.  Herrera comes in and Kinsler and Melky Cabrera single in all 3 of Kimbre's baserunners and its 5-3 CN. Bottom of the 8th, the relentless ND offense scores 3 runs on 3 hits (Carpenter and Ortiz back to back rbi doubles) and ND retakes the lead 6-5.  ND's Bedrosian strikes out the side in the 9th for his first save.

It looks like game 4 will be a blowout when the first 5 ND batters score against E. Santana.  But the tired Santana settles down and he, Neris,  Melancon, and Otero hold ND scoreless as CN slowly chips away and by the 7th its a 5-4 game.  Kimbrel comes in and walks two but they do not score! A. Reed pitches the 9th for his 3rd save to cement the sweep.

Draft Day, Saturday March 31.

(2/12) Late results from CN/FW have been reported.  Future Wax led going into the bottom of the 8th three games in a row, and lost all of them -- including one where FW retook the lead again in extra innings and still lost on a walk off.

North Dakota (14-3 in last 17 games) swept into first place on Sunday over Stone Buddha in a high-scoring close series.  Three of the games were decided by one run. 

The series began in quite silly fashion at high-scoring Sandover Field (one of only two hitter's parks in the SOMBILLA).  ND opened game 1 with 5 straight baserunners, followed by a sac fly and then a 2-run homer by Dustin Pedroia to make it 6-0 off a tired Roark in the top of the first.  Not to be outdone, Eric came back with 8 hits and two home runs (Pence's 3-run homer and Lemahieu's 2-run shot) for 9 runs of their own to tire Cueto.  9-6 after one inning.  The teams trade runs in the 2nd and ND trails by a field goal 10-7 after two innings.  ND's 3 runs on 4 hits (HR by Pedroia again) ties it at 10-10 in the third.  Finally, the tired starters are pulled and the bullpens keep it scoreless until the 7th when W. Contreras homers off D. Duffy to make it 11-10 and that's the final score, Kimbrel with the save.

In game 2, N. Cruz, Carpenter and Yelich went back to back to back in the 2nd as ND continues to roll well.  (In the series, they went 7 for 9 on lefty ballpark homers (1-12)).  3 more runs in the 4th (Lindor 2-run single)make it 6-1 ND.  It's 7-3 ND after 7 innings.  But no lead is safe at Sandover Field and A. Gonzo smacks a 2-run homer in the 8th off Nate Jones to make it 7-5.  Jones is still pitching in the bottom of the 9th and Trumbo cranks one with one out to make it 7-6.  But Jones strikes out Pence and Bogaerts to nail down the win.

Uncharacteristic defensive woes (5 errors, leading to 4 unearned runs, including one by Big Papi playing 1B) by North Dakota help stake SB to a 7-3 lead after 7 innings.  The much-maligned (by his manager) Justin Verlander is pitching a 2-hitter.  But he then gives up a single, single and 3-run HR to Carpenterand it's 7-5.  Dyson comes in, but he's irrelevant as ND rolls on their own cards and Contreras and Yelich homer (and hit the BP HR split) to tie it at 7-7.  Papi cracks his 2nd HR of the game in the top of the 9th off Blanton to give ND its first lead of the game, 9-8, and A. Miller pitches the bottom of the 9th to nail down his 3rd save.

It was all ND in the finale, as Yelich, Pedroia, and Ortiz all hits 2-run homers and they win 6-3.  (Bogarts 3-run homer is too little, too late for SB). 

Star of the series was D. Ortiz 8 for 18, with 4 homers and 7 rbis. Pedroia, Carpenter and Yelich all had 3 HR and 5 rbis. ND outhomered SB 16-7.

Draft Day, Saturday, March 31.

(2/9) A chippy series with 7 HBP and 4 1-run games including an extra inning affair to finish.  Unsatisfying split for New Orleans given it was a chance to sweep lowly Oceanus.

Game 1.  46,290 fans were treated to a fine game at the Ellis Dome as only one run separated the combatants at game's end.  The New Orleans Ellis won by the slimmest of margins, 3 to 2.  Chris Sale pitched a solid game.  He surrendered 6 hits and no walks in 8 innings.  Oceanus made it exciting in the 9th, but they were unable to push the needed runs across.  Kenley Jansen earned the save.  Corey Kluber was given the loss.

Game 2. In a startling finish the Oceanus Assholes staged a comeback then held on to win over the New Orleans Ellis by a score of 6 to 5 at the Ellis Dome.Oceanus won the game with a rally in the 9th inning scoring 4 runners on 4 hits.  The crucial at-bat was provided by Anthony Rendon who quieted the home crowd when he belted a three-run homer.  Oceanus finished with 7 hits in the victory.  Pedro Baez was the winner allowing no runs in 1 inning. Alex Colome preserved the game for Baez, recording the save.  Kenley Jansen was given the loss in relief.

Game 3. One run was the difference at the Ellis Dome as the New Orleans Ellis defeated the Oceanus Assholes 5 to 4.New Orleans brought 2 runs across the plate in the bottom of the 7th inning when they came up with 3 base hits.  The key offensive moment was provided by Kris Bryant who electrified Ellis Dome when he cleared the fences for a two-run home run.  Oceanus had a chance to come back in the 9th but they came up short.  Jeurys Familia went 1 inning allowing no runs for the win. Familia got relief help from Matt Bush who gained credit for the save.  Carlos Torres took the loss in relief. 

Game 4. Evan Gattis jacked one out of the ballyard as the Oceanus Assholes beat the New Orleans Ellis in 10 innings by a score of 5 to 4.Both teams were tied at 4 runs apiece after nine innings.  Oceanus won it in the 10th inning.  Anthony Rendon tripled.  Ender Inciarte came next and he ripped a one-base hit scoring the run.  New Orleans could do no damage in the bottom of the 10th.  Alex Colome went 2 innings allowing no runs for the victory. Ivan Nova was given the loss in relief.  He surrendered 1 hit and no walks in 1 and 1/3 innings.

The other "star" of series probably goes to Mr. Kate Upton, who pitched 8 1/3 innings, surrendering one run whilst giving up six hits and five walks but striking out 12.

Draft Day, Saturday March 31.  

(1/5) WES? swept lowly Oceanus last night to open up a 2 game lead on the pack. Jeff's relievers pitched 12.1 innings allowing only 1 run.  He hit .300 as a team.  Cain, Dahl, Andrus, Flores and Freeman combined to go 31 for 67 with 5 doubles, 2 triples, 2 HR and 9 RBI...Send your stats to Tom...Draft Day, Saturday, March 31.

(1/3) The erstwhile disappointment known as "North Dakota" swept back into contention earlier tonight at the hands of slumping Future Wax.  Oddly, the sweep at Gackle Park moved North Dakota from 6th place only into 5th place, but percentage points out of 3rd.

Game 1 was the key game, and also the only close game.  FW struck first, scoring 2 in the top of the first inning.  In fact, they scored 2 runs in the top of the first in 3 of the 4 games. A solo shot by ND's best player, Big Papi, made it 2-1 where is stayed until the 6th (Cueto and Scherzer dueling) when Yelich and Lindor went back to back with ballpark homers to give ND a 3-2 lead.  Andrew Miller (2 1/3 innings, 1 hit, 7 k's), N. Jones and Craig 'time to bite your fingernails' Kimbrel nailed down the 3-2 win.

ND scored early and often in game 2, pounding A. Sanchez, 9-3.  Every player in the lineup had at least one hit.  Yelich (2-run HR) and Ramos (3 for 4, 4 rbis) were the hitting stars.  Rich Hill lowered his league leading ERA to 2.32.

FW jumped out to a 2-0 lead in game 3, but Big Papi's 2 run blast in the bottom of the first tied it 2-2. In the third, when ND had runners on 2nd and 3rd, Randy issues an IBB to Papi to load the bases for an enraged Nelson Cruz, who hits a 2-run single to take the lead 4-2 and ND never looks back.  It's a reasonably close game at 6-3 heading into the 8th, when pinch-hitter Yelich greets Law's first pitch with a 2-run homer, and then Papi hits one out for good measure - his 2nd of the game.  Another run that inning makes the final score 10-3.

Going for a sweep against the great Kershaw would not be easy.  D. Murphy's 2-run homer stakes FW to their usual 2-0 first inning lead and Kershaw has a perfect first 3 innings.  But in the 4th, ND hits single, double, walk, double, botched squeeze, then a 3-run homer by Ramos and Kershaw is tired.  He stays in and gives up a tired hit, a single on a SShold, and ballpark rbi single to Goldschmidt.  One more unearned run in the 8th, final socre 7-2.

Star of the series was Wilson Ramos, who went 6 for 14 (.429), with 1 HR and 10 rbis (not to mention 2 missed BP homers, but I will mention it anyway).  Yelich and Ortiz each had 3 HRs.

Remember all teams have a day off at game 28.  Draft Day - Saturday March 31.

(12/29)  In the cold late afternoon glow, “WES?” team VW busses rolled into the pet infested stadium of North Dakota to face the highly ranked pre-season powerhouse North Dakota squad.  It was reported just two days earlier the alleged mistress of ND owner and CEO of Bay City was under investigation for purposely injuring “WES?” three key players in their prior series for the purpose of aiding her concubine.  Asked for further comment BC management stated that the “WES?” players hurt were just not cute enough to enter the boarders of Holliston.  As fate would have it, the replaced ugliness of “WES?” played key roles in the game one tussle. 

Game 1 – Call-ups SS Zack Cozart went 3 for 4 scoring three runs, Brandon Phillips 1 for 3, run scored and key 2 RBI double in the 6^th were the shining replacements.  The only replacement downside was Kyle Schwarber who pinched hit early in the 3^rd inning, as the “WES?” manager was playing small ball.   Schwarber had one prorated AB available and was never seen again.  The real “offensive” leader for “WES?” was Freddy Freeman who went 4 for 5, 2 2B, HR and 3 RBIs.  Tanaka went on for the game 1 win with a final score of 7-3.

Game 2- Once again a 7-3 victory for the now uglier squad as two injured players returned.  In this battle of the lefties, ND stuck first as Tomas launched a 2 run homer off Lester in the first but “WES?” came storming back with three runs in the second off the bat of catcher McCann (or as Arnie put it McCant) and two more insurance runs in the fifth to chase Hill off of the “hill”.  Lester went on for the win allowing 6 scattered hits over 7.67 innings.

Game 3 – Most all of the offensive action came in the first for both teams.  “WES?” drew first blood in the top of the first, which looked like it was going to be a bigger inning than it was as Andrus hit into a double play after singles by Realmuto, Freeman and Cano.  “WES?” scratched out 3 runs in the top half of the frame.  ND came back with two runs of their own of the bat of Big Papi’s 2 run blast; however, that was all the Dakotans could muster as Porecello settled down for 6 more innings and the win.  Chapman and Reyes closed out the last two innings as “WES?” went on to win 4-2.

Game 4 – In the series crescendo “WES?” got off to a quick 3-0 lead off the bats of Realmuto (double) followed up with back-to-back HR from Freeman and Cano.  With the inevitable sweep in sight, Mookie Betts in what might be the rite of leadership passage from Ortiz, belted a home run in the bottom of the 4^th (his first of the season!) to cap off a four run inning.  The ND reliever core of Miller, Bedrosian and Reed kept the “WES?” bats at bay and salvaged the 4-3 face saving win.

With that 2017 is OVAH – Bat drop, See ya next year !

Send your stats to Tom

Draft day – Saturday, March 31.

(12/27)  "Death roll" was the operative phrase for both teams as Future Wax salvaged a split against lowly Oceanus after dropping the first two games.  Here are the slightly-edited computer-generated game summaries:

(12/21)  The key game was game 3. North Dakota took a 2-hit 2-0 shutout into the bottom of the 9th.  Kimbrel came on for the save.  Single, walk, 3-run homer to G. Sanchez.  I have nothing else to say.

(12/17)   CN shocks Wax 3-1; 6 teams are now all within 1 game of each other.  Game 1:  CN could only muster one run in the tiny Wax Dome and missed two ballpark homers while doing so, but came up for the win when Arrieta and Otero held the Wax to goose eggs on four singles three of them in the 2^nd – single, double play, single , single and out.  Game 2:  CN continued to hold Wax to goose eggs until the 5^th when FW exploded for 3 runs and a 3-2 lead.  Rizzo homered to lead of the 7^th to tie it and they went to extra innings.  CN scored 4 runs in the top of the 10^th and they held on for a 7-3 win.

 Game 3:  Wax beating up on CN early went up 7-1 after 2 innings exhausting C Mart who stayed in to take one for the team.  CN was not done for the day though and a 3 run shot by Morales and a 2 run shot by Castillo saw the game tied at 7.  But Morales missed a ballpark homer in the 10^th and Wax ended it on a 3 run walk off for Dozier.  Game 4: Segura hit a 3 run shot in the top of the third to give CN a lead that they never relinquished.  They held on to win 4-2 and claim a 3-1 series win.

Thanks to everyone who did the sched survey...Send your stats to Tom.

Game 2 had the Manatees up 2-1 in the ninth after a clutch out ended the 8^th SB had the bases loaded in the 9^th, so Melancon came out to try get his second save.  He was greeted with an Arenado homer to tie it and then Lucroy tripled, followed by a walk off ballpark single by the pinch hitting Pederson to tie the series.

Verlander had gotten lost changing planes on the way home from North Dakota and had to phone in the game versus the Manatees. (I.e, Arnie texted a picture of Verlander’s card to Eric)  He was able to hold the sea mammals down for a 5-2 lead after 5 as another big 4 run inning was given up by a Manatee starter in the 3^rd (C Mart).  The Manatees roared back in the 6^th getting 5 runs to tire Verlander and eventually they would hold on to win 8-5.

SB’s Syndegaard came out to start game 4 and continued to use the wrong glove as he had an early error that led to a run. But the Viking was up 3-1 going into the 5^th when the wheels came off as he kicked another one in the midst of CN scoring 5 runs.  (Injury replacement Walker did not make the play on a bases loaded long single (2Bx))  CN added 2 more runs and held on for a 8-4 win to take the series.

(12/11) No Twits Notes from the reticent New Orleans manager.  All teams are now at the roster freeze.  Remember the day off at games 20 and 28.  Send your stats to Tom.  2nd half schedule surveys are due by this coming Saturday 12/16.

(12/10) Bay City swept into 5th place earlier today, as only 2 games separate the top 5 teams. Game 1 was a pitchers' duel as Hamels and Ramos triumphed over former Bay Cityite Tanner Roark, 2-1, with BC scoring on Miguel Cabrera's first homer of the season and an rbi single by Posey. Stone Buddha hit into 2 double plays in this game and 3 in game 2, which BC won 4-2 and which featured Cabrera's 2nd homer of the season. Knuckeballer Wright shut out Stone Buddha for 7 innings. Henricks was the hard-luck loser; he was followed by a parade of relievers whose last name started with "D," 

Game 3 was close for a while but frequent rolling on Verlander's 6-5 turned it into a laugher for Bay City. The final was 11-3, with all but one run in the game coming across on homers (6 for BC and 3 solo shots for SB). In game 4, the cute Syndergaard left after five with the score 1-1 and no errors committed. Bay City took the lead for good in the 6th and went on to win 6-3 in a game that featured no homers.

All teams are now at the roster freeze.  Remember the day off at games 20 and 28.  Send your stats to Tom.  2nd half schedule surveys are due by this coming Saturday 12/16.

(12/8) CN beats Oceanus 3 game 1 in the Battle of the Bottom Dwellers. In game 1, CN took a pitchers’ duel between Kluber and Arrietta.  C Seager was the difference hitting a homer to allow CN to win 2-1.  Billy Hamilton left the game with an injury while failing to run out a ground ball. In game 2, CN went up 4-0 in the cavernous Oceanus park but powered Altuve brought the game to 5-4 but CN held on to win and give Melancon his second save.  Segura was beaned early and knocked out for the series after going 2 for 6  with 2 doubles and 2 runs scored from the lead off spot.

In game 3, CN went up early and stayed up for a 7-3 win over the lefty as Donaldson and Swanson put together 5 hits for 5 rbis.

The final game was tied up for sweep as CN came back to go up 2-1 in the top of the 8^th.  Pearce hit a ballpark homer (1 that was not caught over the short fence) to put Jed up 3-2.  Donaldson hit a solo shot in the top of the ninth to force extra innings.  Oceanus was having nothing to do with it as they took the game in the 10^th after only one out was recorded on a double by Evan Gattis.

Jed and Tom are now at the roster freeze. Send your stats to Tom.

(12/4) Carlos Correas's 2-run homer off Teheran was all the support Gselleman, Ramos, and Britton would need as Sandy Leon's 9th inning pinch-hit HR was one run short for FW and BC gains the split.  Both Bay City and Future Wax are now at the roster freeze.

(12/3) Randy (5-2) and Harold (5-3) were the big winners at the 6-team bash Sunday.  The most notable thing that happened was a flock a deer that appeared in Jeff's yard..Eric notes that Syndergaard might have done a first: he committed four errors in five innings, resulting in 5 unearned runs. Two of the errors also came with singles. It's what happens when you're a 4e31...Randy had to leave for rehearsal after his 7th game, he and Robin will play the finale tomorrow...Harold and Jeff are now both at the roster freeze.  No more fucking around with your 25-man rosters, you two...Send your stats to Tom.

Game 1: Carlos Gonzalez had 2 base hits and 3 RBI as WES beat the Oceanus Assholes 6 to 4.  
Obviously without his best stuff, Kenta Maeda still hung on to pick up the win.  He gave up 7 hits and 3 walks in 5 and 1/3 innings.  Oceanus out-hit WES 10 to 6, but WES ended up with more runs.
Ryan Buchter recorded the save.  The loss was charged to Corey Kluber.  He allowed 6 hits and 5 walks in 7 innings.  Kluber's 18 inning scoreless streak was decisively ended by a 3-run WES first inning.

Game 2: No story as I fucked up by not designating it a "league game."  But it was a 7-6 win for WES.  Tanaka gave up all 7 runs in his 5 innings.  The big blow was a Justin Turner Grand Slam in the 5th that turned a 3-2 deficit into a 7-3 lead for WES. Hellickson got the win for WES, with Buchter getting a save.

Game 3: Catcher James McCann had 2 base hits as WES won a dandy over the Oceanus Assholes, 6 to 4.
WES won the game with a rally in the 9th inning plating 2 runs. After an out was recorded, Tim Anderson started the rally when he drew a walk.  Carlos Gonzalez came next and he lifted one out of the park for a two run home run making What Eric Said? victorious to the delight of the the home town crowd.  WES won despite being out-hit by Oceanus 12 hits to 8.  Note: Jeff left Cargo in despite a bad matchup and called the straight HR.  The win was credited to Brad Brach who went 1 and 1/3 innings allowing 1 run. The loss was charged to Brian Flynn in relief.

Game 4: First baseman Freddie Freeman jacked one out of the ballyard and had 2 RBI as WES defeated the Oceanus Assholes 9 to 7.WES jumped on top of Oceanus in the bottom of the 6th inning when they came up with 2 runs on 2 hits.  The crucial at-bat was provided by Elvis Andrus who made the WES fans a happy lot when he banged out a single bringing home two baserunners.  The Oceanus batters didn't put up a fight in the 9th.  The win went to Rick Porcello who allowed 7 runs in 7 and 2/3 innings. Porcello got help from Tyler Thornburg who was credited with the save.  Pedro Baez was tagged with the loss in relief.  

'I didn't have my best stuff but sometimes you just get lucky,' Porcello said, 'this was one of those times.'

In the first game, Jeff took a 5-2 lead into the 8^th. Randy closed the gap to 1. But reliever Dull was less than sharp, giving up two 2-run homers (on his own card, on the same die roll), for a final score of 10-4. Future Wax took the next game, 6-2 with Kershaw and company outdueling Lester. Game 3 had Jeff leading 5-4 after 6, until a 3-run blast by Dozier put Randy ahead for good. Final score, 7-6. In the last game, Aaron Sanchez (7-2/3 IP, 4 hits, 9 K) and Schugel shut out the WES offense. Two small ball runs were enough for the Wax to secure a 2-0 win, and 3-1 series victory.