The teams split the first two very close, back and forth games (Clemens knocked out in the 8th inning in game 1) and both games end with the losing team leaving the tieing and/or winning runs on base.
New Orleans pitching (7 pitchers) yields just 5 hits to win game 3 in ND. Clemens pitches a strong game 4, with ND breaking it open late.
In game 5, ND carries a 4-2 lead going into the top of the 9th with Shaw pitching. A pinch-hit double for Bagwell, a one-out hbp by Biggio and S. Alomar's pinch-hit single make it 4-3. Rey Sanchez, in at SS, then boots E. Martinez's grounder to tie the game. A 4-6-3 ends further damage. In the bottom of the 9th, after a one out single, Fullmer (2 AB for the series) comes in to pinch-hit for Gilkey against D. Jones. In the playoffs, Randy elected to intentionally walk Fullmer in the 9th with a runner on 1st and second-guessed himself when ND tied it and won it in extra innings. In the 9th inning of game 2, Harold issued a pass to Fullmer with two out and two on (while up 4-2. J. Reed singled to make it 4-3, but Lankford flew out to end the game). Here, with ace Doug Jones on the mound, Harold elects to face Fullmer. Fullmer (who was 1 for 16 with 2 rbi's in the regular season), crushes the first pitch for the pinch-hit game winning homer.
Unfazed, Harold pounded out 15 hits to win game 6 going away and force a game 7. Full report in the summer newsletter...Draft Day, Saturday April 3.
(3/7) The pivotal game in the ND-FW series was game 4. FW was set to knot the series at 2 apiece, up 4-1 going into the bottom of the 9th with Pedro Martinez pitching a 3-hitter. A leadoff homer by Lankford made it 4-2, but Martinez got two quick outs. O'Neill walked. Brad Fullmer (2 at bats available) pinch-hit for B. Williams (losing the DH as Lankford, the current DH, would have to play CF) and was intentionally walked. Klesko then pinch-hit for Rolen, and hit a two-run double to tie it. Segui's 12-inning rbi hit won it. In game 5, FW blasted out to a 6-0 lead to knock R. Johnson out of the game in the 3rd, with Maddux on the mound. 5 hits and 4 runs for ND in the bottom of the third made it 6-4, and Rolen and Alomar cracked 2-run shots in the 5th to tire Maddux for the unlikely comeback as the ND relief held FW scoreless over the last 6 innings...In the NO-MW series, the home team won each game for the first time in league history...A full report on both series will be in the summer newsletter. New Orleans, which will have the home advantage for the World Series, is 23-9 (.719) at home, counting the post-season...Pack your luggage for Marblehead next weekend.
(3/3) Still waiting for final stats from all teams. Forward your final stats to get on the post-season award ballot (and posted on the website!)...I am still working on the list of eligible draftees and their basic ratings. In fact, they were almost set for release when I realized that they did not include any Fla, Col, or Det players! I now anticipate distributing them via an e-mail Excel spreadsheet within the next 7 days...The draft day agenda, including ballots, rule change discussions and other issues should be distributed about a week after that...If you're planning ahead, draft day will begin at 11:30 (a bagel brunch will be available) in Holliston, with the actual draft beginning no later than 1:30 ET...Draft Day, Saturday April 3, 1999.
(2/28) After Robin beat Matt 2 games to 1 on Saturday, she needed just 1 win in her Sunday 4-game series against New Orleans to clinch a 1-game playoff, and a series split to clinch 4th place outright. Instead, she watched in dismay as her team, Bay City, boasting a .270 average coming in, "stopped hitting" and a surpised North Dakota backed into the playoffs thanks to Harold's sweep of Bay City...New Orleans was not finished, however, as Harold swept the Quahogs in the nightcap to top-off an impressive 8-0 last day of the season and a strong second place...Bunghole's 0-4 showing enables Jed & Clint to have a shot at the coin flip for 1st pick overall, despite Clint's winning 3 of 5 from Kakania, which finished as the 2nd worst team in SOMBILLA history (missing the record by one win)...Constantinople's sweep and Bay City's choke means that the two teams will flip for the 4th pick in the draft...Forward your final stats to get on the post-season award ballot (and posted on the website!)...Draft Day, Saturday April 3, 1999.
(2/21) Future Wax kncoked North Dakota back into 5th, winning 3-2 (Maddux over Clemens in 10 innings), 8-7, and 8-6. North Dakota becomes the first team to finish the regular season (final stats will be posted on the website in a few days - send me your final stats when you finish), and is in danger of missing the playoffs despite winning 30 games. Robin needs to win 4 of her final 7 next weekend against Matt and Harold to make the playoffs, while Harold needs to win 3 of 8 against Clint and Robin. A bright note in an otherwise underwhelming ND season was when Clemens broke Dwight Gooden of Future Wax's 13-year old single season strikeout record...against Future Wax. The record-setting K was against ------ Aaron Ledesma (there's one for you trivia buffs). Clemens finished with 155. Future Wax's P. Martinez also broke the old record and finished with 151, and tied Maddux's win record, finishing 11-2. Piazza, who extended his homer record to 29, enters his final 4 games (against Jeff) batting .399...Eric needs to win 2 games in his final 5 makeup games against Clint to not have the worst record of all time...Draft Day April 3, 1999.
(2/18) A bad night for Bay City as Metrowest's 5-run 9th inning capped an amazing comeback for Jeff against Eric. When Eric won game 2 on Jay Buhner's 9th inning game-winning grand slam, it meant Kakania had won 3 of it's last 5 games. Jeff, with 14 wins in 18 games, has not yet clinched a playoff spot...Meanwhile, North Dakota took over 4th place, with some fine pitching by Randy Johnson (4-hitter, 11 k's). Johnson was forced to bat when Bernie Williams suffered the team's record 10th injury and was out for the series, forcing DH Ray Lankford to play center. (Johnson went 0 for 2). In game 2, Bunghole was up 6-3 going into the bottom of the 9th, but ND scored 2 and had the bases loaded with 2 out. But Helling got Rolen to ground out for the win. Wetteland's old-time 3-inning save (1 hit, 0 bb) sealed game 3, 5-3...A reader asks:
What about the hockey? I tuned in anxiously awaiting detailled analysis on the backyard hockey contest, and all I get is cards and dice.
Disappointed puck fan
Here is the detailed analysis: Alas, the ice conditions were not so good. Only 1/3 of the ice was skatable due to the warm temperatures of the previous days. Harold didn't bring skates, and Jeff fell through the ice while I was busy getting Jinny dressed (Robin was sick all day and couldn't play Harold let alone help me with the kids). Matt skated with Rachel for a little bit, but came in went I went out with Jinny. I did not skate. (Although, in general the rink's been pretty good - we have had plenty of good skating days)...Draft Day April 3.
(2/15) Metrowest swept into 2nd place, pounding North Dakota 10-5, 8-5 and 12-4, the last against that pesudo-pitcher, Roger Clemens. Mo Vaughn (8 for 12, HR, 6 rbis) and L. Walker (2 HR, 8 rbi) were unstoppable. Walker hit 2 3-run homers in consecutive innings off Clemens. North Dakota's demoralized manager actually wrote in Walker's 2nd 3-run homer on the scoresheet before it was even rolled. Jeff has now won 12 of his last 15...Dante Bichette's homer on a HR 1, out otherwise, won game 2 and the series for Matt against Harold, who lost 2 series to the bottom teams in one week...Draft Day - Saturday April 3.
(2/11) Thome's had a pinch-hit 3 run home run was the key blow in game one for the Wax, although CN gamely came back to close to 7-6 in the 9th after Deshield's 7th triple of the year and Alfonzo rbi ground out. But two batters later Burks stuck out ending Con's hopes. In game 2, trailing 6-4 in the tiop of the 9th, Huskey and White hit sharp singles and then Todd Greene hit a pinch hit 3 run home run to take the lead 7-6. FW tied the game on Gonzo's rbi and with runners on second and third one out, Nen came in to face Griffey with the infield and outfield in. Suddenly Con's manager changed his mind and gave the smiling left hander an intentional walk and bought his ace closer Osuna in. The corners and outfield were in with the middle infielders back looking for an inning ending double play when Galarraga (a defensive replacement) hit a game ending ballpark homerun/grand salami. The last game saw Pedro confidently take the mound looking for a sweep, but he blew a 4-0 lead and Joyner's 2-run majestic homerun gave CN a 7-6 the 7th. Radinsky, Urbina, and Nen closed the door for CN...Makeup games are piling up - remember, all games must be played by the end of the month...Draft Day - Saturday April 3.
(2/8) Twits Notes: Bay City came up big on Sunday, winning 6 of 7 (and has now won 9 of her last 11) to make it a 4-team race for the last 3 playoff spots. Interestingly, all 4 teams now have 27 wins. Bay City was led by David Cone, who pitched a 2-hit shutout, and hot-hitting Tino Martinez...Meanwhile, Tom's season effectively ended on the same day...The first annual Strat-O/ice hockey day is tentatively scheduled for Sunday (weather permitting)...Three teams are not tracking their limits. While it would be hard to argue they are receiving an unfair advantage based on the standings, they are unfairly influencing the playoff race by potentially overusing certain players against certain teams. It is a requirement of articipation in this league to track your limits...Draft Day - Saturday April 3.
(2/4) The MetroWest team bus arrived late to BQ and couldn't shake off the road fatigue for game 1. MW committed 4 errors and dropped the first game in extra innings 9-8. After such an abysmal start MW recovered to keep playoff hopes alive by winning the next three. Led by Larry Walker 7-15 (.467) 2 HR, 7 RBI, 1 SB and Rusty Greer 9-19 (.474) 1 HR and 4 RBI. It's now a wild scramble for 2nd place with 1/2 game separating 3 teams. Meanwhile, it's looking tougher and tougher for Robin or Tom to claim a playoff spot. Sunday is a big day for both teams...The Folders finally came to life (as do most teams against Eric) and swept into 7th place. Kakania needs to win 6 of its last 16 games to avoid the ignominy of breaking North Dakota's 17-year old record for worst season...Draft Day - Saturday April 3.
(2/1) In a huge 4th place showdown with Constantinople, Metrowest swept into 4th place. Larry Walker came out of his "coma", batting 11 for 16 (.688 average) in the four games with 2 HRs and 9 RBIs. Included in that performance was a 5-5, 1 HR and 6 RBI game. In addition, Pat Hentgan pitched a nine inning shutout as Metrowest keeps the dream alive for it's first playoff appearance in 6 years (and, counting Joel and Dave, the 2nd franchise appearance in the last 15 years)...Down 10-5, Bay City stormed back to win game 3 against the Quahogs, 12-11, on Ben Grieve's pinch-hit 2-run double in the bottom of the 9th to keep pace. Bay City, which pounded the Bunghole staff for 40 runs in the series, was led by Tino Martinez's 4 homers and 8 rbi's, as well as the amazing Jeff Frye (8 for 20, 7 rbi's), who is now hitting .330 on the season and 3rd on the team in runs and rbi's...Randy has acknowledged a Piazza milestone gaffe - "When I was looking up my computer stats this morning, I noticed that Piazza had 25 homers going into the series with Eric (one more than I remembered). Therefore, it was his homer in the FIRST inning (same game)off Burkett that broke the record. The one in the third was his 28th." Randy also noted that PIazza is 3 shy of McGwire's rbi record of 70, and is ahead of his own average record of .387...Draft Day - Saturday April 3.
(1/24) Mike Piazza made league history with his 27th homerun, to break E. Davis and A. Belle's league record of 26, when he homered off Kakania's Greg McMichael in the 4th inning of game 3 between FW and KK. McMichael was already pitching in relief as FW was beginning its 3rd consectuive rout against Eric, outscoring him 27-3 in the first three games. Amazingly, Eric pulled his pants up for the last game, and won 5-1 (and finish 1-13 against FW and ND)...Speaking of ND, Randy Johnson broke his own record for strikeouts in a game against New Orleans (across the table from Piazza's homer [in Eric's kitchen]) with 20, also in game 3. He was almost pulled in the 9th inning, up 7-5, when Hundley walked with 2 out, but he struck out E. Martinez to end the game for number 20...Jeff was all set to leave with a 3-1 series win to close to within 1 game of 4th place Tom, as he was up 1-0 in the 9th inning of game 4. But T. Martinez and P. Rodriguez homered for Bay City to steal the game and the split as a stunned Metrowest manager drove home...Draft Day - Saturday April 3.
(1/22) The Folders took the first two games of the series on the strength of brilliant pitching by starters Radke and Brown, and excellent relief anchored by M. Jackson. The Wax offense was held to only 3 runs over two games at home. Fuel was added to the growing league beaning controversy when FW reliever Garrett Stephenson hit and injuried Mark McGwire in the 7th inning of game 2. Though it appeared that the pitch simply got away from Stephenson, on-deck hitter Albert Belle none-the-less charged the mound, resulting in both benches milling about the field for several minutes. Game three featured another masterful pitching performance, as FW ace Pedro Martinez (9-1) hurled a 3-hitter. Ken Griffey's 3rd inning grand slam (HR #20) reignited the home team offense, and Mike Piazza broke out of a 2 for 18 slump with his 24th homer. Albert Belle's three home runs in the final game were not enough against the reawakened Waxers. Piazza connected again, placing him just two long balls short of the league record with 16 games to go
(1/18) The BQ's made a suspenseful series against FW by holding each of the three games close with the exception of the second where FW won 9-2. The Clint "bad sportsmanship" controversy from last year once again reared it's ugly head. With game 3 tied at 4 in the bottom of the 9th, BQ's manager in an attempt to spark a turn-around was thrown out of the dugout by his own team after a vicious verbal tirade. He was replaced by Nolan who led the team to victory on the back of a Tony Gwynn two out, bases empty homer. Asked to comment following the game, Nolan Moon was apparently speechless with the overwhelming emotion of his first victory at the helm of the up and coming BQ's...Huge kudos and brownie points to Tom, who drove two hours through a snow and ice storm out to Holliston to avoid cancelling against the Commissioner. (Tom: "I figured you were fanatical enough to do the same thing, right?" Arnie: "Absolutely. But she (gesturing toward the Bay City GM) probably would've made me stay home".) After ND pounded CN 11-2 and 10-6 in the first two games, Tom was second-guessing his decision. But the drive home was made more palatable after Neagle oudueled Clemens 5-2 in game 3 and T. Greene's grand slam off Magnante led the way in game 4 to gain the split...The same storm caused a cancellation of the big 5-game series between BQ and KK when Eric's car became encased in a block of ice...It appears that 3 teams are not doing their stats or tracking their limits...Draft Day Saturday April 3.
(1/10) North Dakota took over 2nd place over the weekend, knocking off Bay City 3 out of 4. In game 1, BC was went up 5-1. ND chipped away and was down 5-4 with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the 9th. Segui grounded into a double play to end the game. Immediately thereafter, the song 'Loser' by Beck came on 'FNX. In Segui's next at bat, the first inning of game 2, he hit a grand slam. In game 3, Roger Clemens ran his record to 7-3 with a 5-hitter. He added 11 K's and now has 117 through 10 starts. He has 4 more starts to break Dwight Gooden's 13-year old record of 149. In game 4, ND capitalized on rolling 4 RF(X)'s to Cliff Floyd (3e11), before Floyd finally injured himself for 3 games...Draft Day, Saturday April 3.
(1/7) In the first game of CN's sweep last night (won by Tom 21-8), Wally Joyner went 6 for 7. Ellis Burks hit a grand slam, double, and a 3 run home run. That was enough for the Quahogs who then intentionally hit him twice hard enough to cause injury. (Luckily he had been injured earlier in the season). Rondell White hit 2 HRs in the second game to give Neagle his 5th win as Neagle went the distance allowing 2 runs. Ellis Burks was HBP with intent to injure 3 times, and Constantinople has called for the Commissioner to look into the headhunting practices of the Bungholes. Burks hit .545 for the series going 6 for 11, 7 R, double, 3 HRs, 9 RBIs and 3 HBPs. White hit .429 for the series going 6 for 14, 2 R, triple, 2 HRs, 9 RBIs...In the other series, Manila's Rick Reed (yes, the pitcher) had a pinch hit suicide squeeze bunt to drive in an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th in game 3 (MF went on to score 5 more runs after that)...Trade Update: Metrowest acquires Mike Stanley from Kakania in exchange for Pokey Reese and a 7th round pick...North Dakota trades Albie Lopez, Jeff Cirillo, and an 8th round pick to Manila Folders for Jeff Shaw..Draft Day, Saturday April 3.
(1/3) North Dakota tied Future Wax's and Sardukar's league record of 11 wins in a row before being stopped by the Folders' Brad Radke and McGwire in game 4 to avoid a sweep. In game 2 of the series, North Dakota's David Segui hit 4 home runs - it is believed to be a league first for a 9-inning game. Matt coined a new phrase, noting that he has had an "akharmic" season...Meanwhile, Future Wax made easy work of 2nd place New Orleans. Piazza's 4 homers give him 23, just 3 shy of the league record with 21 games to go. Harold's frustration culminated in his ordering Piazza beaned (by Glavine, who was tired and losing 9-0)...On a bright note, Erickson ran his record to 6-0 for New Orleans.
(12/20) Despite another injury (this one to R. Alomar) to tie the team's record of having 4 players injured at once, North Dakota took over sole possession of third place by sweeping Kakania. Despite outmanaging North Dakota, Kakania was done in by untimely errors, poor relief pitching, and an anemic offense. North Dakota has now won 8 in a row, the last 7 coming against Eric...Happy Holidays to the league - see you in '99!
(12/16) Monday, after New Orleans' Erickson beat K. Brown for his 5th win (5-0), Schilling pitched an 8 inning 1 hitter (the Folders' only hit was a Belle double in the 1st) with 11K. D. Jones came in and struck out the side in the 9th for his 8th save for Harold...OK, it's time to ask the tough question: What the heck is with the Folders (pre-season 4th place pick)?
(12/14) Bay City became the first team to defeat Future Wax in a series this year. Robin's Cliff Floyd capped a remarkable game 3 come-from-behind win with a two-run pinch-hit triple in the bottom of the 9th to win 15-14, after Randy had stormed back from an early 7-1 deficit with 12 runs to lead 13-7...Piazza now has 19 homers...Robin and Randy actually played faster than Harold & Jeff. Randy has sped way up from the early days despite what Mr. A. Nonymous says...Last week's TWITS Notes received a lot of responses. Here's one: "With all due respect for "anonymous", Randy deserves a little better. Sure, he waltzed into a golden situation, and sure, he can seem a little less than humble about his good fortune, but he has picked up his play, is managing well, and I can recall a few FW teams coached by Andrew that had champions written all over them, who failed to make the playoffs. However, banning Tsuan and Andrew from GMing in next years' draft is worth serious consideration."
(12/10) From an anonymous league member: "Playing Future Wax is like playing the New York Yankees. First of all, like the Yankees, they have this ownership with the deepest resources in the league. Tsuan and Andrew do nothing all year but scout the major and minor leagues. It's like a full-time job for them. They don't worry about managing. Then, when it comes to the day to day managing, they turn to Randy "Marathon Man". This guy, unlike the rest of us, has never paid his dues. He's never had to work with a shitty team. It's bad enough that T&A have stocked this team to the hilt, but then they sic Randy on the rest of the league to aggravate us to death by dragging out each game until eternity (and bragging about it - eg - "hey counting last year, I've now beaten you 8 in a row!!"). We small market owners, who must juggle managing, general managing, ticket sales, etc. can't compete with this conglomerate. It's time to break them up. Or maybe revenue sharing - like we all get to borrow Tsuan for one draft or something. I don't know. They just suck. Like the Yankees."
(12/6) In Eric's series with Clint, Lieberthal, in his first AB of the game, was HBP and injured. He was replaced by Stanley, who, in his first AB, was HBP and injured. With no catchers remaining, Eric used emergency catcher Robin Ventura, who, in his first AB, struck out and was injured. E. Davis, Eric's last available player, came in to catch and miraculously avoided a similar fate. No team has ever had 3 injuries in to the same poistion in consecutive at bats in the SOMBILLA.
HOME
AWAY
Randy 12-3 .800 Randy 8-2 .800
Robin 8-5 .615 Tom 8-2
.800
Jeff 6-5 .545 Harold 7-4 .636
Harold 9-4 .538 Arnie 6-4 .600
Clint 6-6 .500 Jeff 9-9 .500
Arnie 8-9 .471 Robin 5-9 .357
Matt 3-4 .429 Eric 5-12 .294
Tom 7-11.389 Clint 4-10 .286
Eric 4-8 .333 Matt 3-11 .214
--------------------------------------
TOTALS: 63-55 .534 55-63 .466
(12/2) Future Wax outscored Kakunia 31 to 6 over three games to sweep the series. In the second game, Eric's team took a 5 run lead into the 6th inning, but 2 errors led to 3 unearned runs and a Galarraga grand slam. Pedro Martinez (5-1) hurled a 3 hit shutout in the final game, bringing his ERA down to 2.25 and upping his strike-out total to 68. Gonzalez's 4 homers and Piazza's 2 brought their totals up to 14. But Griffey also belted out 2, raising his total to 16, and signalling that his assault on the single-season HR record is building momentum.
(11/24) Bunghole is starting to show some pride. The team came from behind in the final two games to win the series 2 games to 1. Smoltz pitched a 3 hitter allowing one run in game two. Dwight Gooden made his debut in game three filling a big hole in the rotation left by Mussina. Gooden went 5 2/3 innings allowing 2 runs. Burba and Powell combined for the balance of the game with Powell getting the win. Following the series Matt from the Folders had this to say, "How bout those Patriots!!!!!!"...Happy Thanksgiving!!
(11/20) KK won two games on unearned runs by booted balls by MW's 1's and 2's on defense. Not to mention a missed ballpark 1-16 (18 roll) and a throw out at the plate 1-14 (16 roll). The bright part of KK was a stellar pitching performance by Nomo who in game four pitched a 3 hit, one walk, 16 strike out shutout gem. Looks like a mad scramble for third and forth place...7 teams are now at the roster freeze.
(11/19) North Dakota incurred 4 more injuries last night, a league record for most injuries at once. Larkin (6 games), Santiago (6 games), O'Neill (2 games), and Justice (2 games) all were injured during or for the 3rd game. ND would have had 2 more injuries (Segui, C. Hernandez), but they've already been injured. Despite missing 4 players, ND won 10-1, thanks to Ray Lankford's (who was injured for the entire Future Wax series) 3 homers and 7 rbi's. The team has incurred 30 man-games worth of injuries...Kakania, on the other hand has been shut out 4 times, and scored just one run in 4 other games. They are batting .194 as a team.
(11/15) Griffey and Thomes each hit 4 home runs for Future Wax; Griffey now has 14. And Piazza's 2 homers gives him 12...Innings usage and limited at bats usage are now due from Future Wax, Constantinople, New Orleans and North Dakota. If received, they will be posted by week's end.
(11/10) Hudson MA-API- MetroWest management has called a press conference today to take place at 11:00 AM est. Although management hasn’t disclosed the nature of the press conference, inside sources contend that they will be announcing a trade that will bring Bunghole Quahogs fireballer Mike Mussina to the home town of the commonwealths governor. When asked for comment GM and manager Jeff would not specify details but claim that the organization is committed to make all efforts to make a playoff run.
GM Jared (Jed) stated “Mussina is PFG (pretty f**king good). He's better than Smoltz, on the whole. With Mussina and Valdes (and Pettitte and Hentgen) (MetroWest) has got a damned good rotation! And I already thought (their) offense was excellent so I think (they) really will have a good shot! Baseball analyst Patrick Gummums “If they do land Mussina it likely to result in the loss of a big fish at the end of the season, that (being ) said a third place finish is truly a win for the franchise who hasn’t made the playoffs in some time. On the other hand a forth place finished just sets one up to be waxed in four games”.
(11/8) The game after Jeff pounded North Dakota's Clemens 10-6, Tom kicked Randy Johnson's ass 10-7. Chili Davis (4-5, 4 rbi's) and Todd Greene (3-4 3 rbis) were the primary reason the mediocre pseudo-stars, Clemens and Johnson, are spending the week in the freezer. In game 2, CN capitalized on the latest ND injury, this one to Segui a 2e8 at 1b, as Klesko's error led to an unearned 8th inning 3-run Ellis Burks homer and a come-from-behind 6-5 win...After smooth sailing for the first 5 weeks of the season, a plethora of cancellations has games backed up. Although it is the primary responsibility of the cancelling party to try to reschedule the series, there is nothing in the bylaws preventing the other party from taking the initiative to reschedule (as anyone who has ever cancelled with ND knows, I will hound you and hunt you down until we have rescheduled). Just do it.
(11/4) Tom lost his first series of the season, and, in doing so, got knocked out of first place. Bagwell missed a 1-19 HR chance to tie the one game New Orleans lost, or it could have been a sweep. Harold's 3 starred starters each pitched complete games - a remarkable feat for New Orleans...North Dakota becomes the first team to hit the roster freeze on Sunday...Remember, at 20 games, each team owes me their innings and limited player usage, which will be posted on the Website. Of course, you can submit all of your stats, not just innings.
(10/28) After Mike Magnante saved North Dakota's 500th win, Blauser and Larry Walker helped Metrowest outlast ND, 8-7 and 9-8. Then Mo Vaughn teed off on Clemens for two 3-run homers and Metrowest pounded him 9-4. The league's pre-season favorite is reeling. The league's most dissapointing team is racked by injuries, dissension, and charges of managerial incompetance. It is believed to be the first time Jeff has won a series from North Dakota...Speaking of which, North Dakota is the answer to following question posed by a reader: "What was the worst team in league history"? Way back in '80-81, North Dakota finished with a record of 14-36, an impressive .280 winning percentage that has stood the test of time. That team batted .197 and featured 1980 Cy Young winner Steve Stone going 0-12. With the league's current 56-game schedule, a team would have to finish 15-41 (.268) to break it.
(10/25) It was a long drive back to the North Shore as Harold was unsuccesful in his "Western swing", losing 4 of 6 in Holliston. Pudge Rodriguez and Jeff Frye (hitting close to .400 on the season) led Bay City, while Randy Johnson stopped a 4-game losing streak and Roger Clemens survived a pinch-hit grand slam from Todd Hundley to win his game, 6-4. Clemens now has 50 strikeouts in 4 starts and is on pace to shatter Dwight Gooden's 13-year old record for strikeouts in a season (149).
October 21, 1998
New Orleans
In the first inning of tonight's game against New Orleans, Bunghole's
ace John Smoltz reared back to throw his trademark 95-MPH fastball. He
whipped his arm forward and with a sickening pop it flew into the stands
behind third base. Although several fans were spattered with blood, no
one was injured. Quahogs trainer Mo Lusk hastily reattached the arm but
after a few warmup tosses Smoltz decided it wasn't going to work. Unbelievably,
though, Quahogs manager Clint decided to leave Smoltz in the game! "Gotta
save innings" said Clint after the game. He clammed up when asked further
questions. Smoltz pitched 6 more innings underhanded until he was mercifully
removed 31 hits and 27 runs later. "After my arm fell off, I was baked"
an enraged Smoltz said after the game. "Clint can get stuffed" he added.
Reportedly, in a closed-door meeting, Clint tried to butter up Smoltz.
Nevertheless, the beleaguered pitcher continued to stew over the incident.
"You could see he was fried" Tony Gwynn said of Smoltz. "He looked like
he reached a boiling point but Smoltzie wouldn't crack." Bunghole fans
clearly aren't digging the Quahogs this season. "I watched the first inning
on tv and when Smoltz's arm came off, it made me puke" said lifelong Bunghole
supporter Lawrence "Larry" Whelk. "Smoltz got a raw deal." Showing his
resilience, Smoltz seemed upbeat about starting against Future Wax next
week. "I'll be cooking with gas" he said, and seemed to open up a bit.
(10/22) The odds that three 3-game series will all end in a sweep, assuming each team has a 50% chance to win each game (which is not necessarily true of course) are one in 64...Harold tied Randy's 8-month old record for most runs in a game by stomping CLint 29-3 in the first game. Smoltz pitched 6 2/3 innings, yielding 31 hits and 27 runs (At one point last year, ND's offer of 2 first round picks, a 4th round pick, and Albie Lopez [who had a decent '98] was turned down). Harold outscored Clint 47-13 for the series...Juan Gonzalez' pinch-hit 3-run homer on a 1-6 roll won game 1 for Future Wax 7-6. Cy Young winners Clemens and P. Martinez dueled in game 2. In a 3-3 game, each pitcher struck out the side in the 9th, FW hanging on to win in 11 innings. Despite winning 3 in a row from the pre-season favorite, Randy falls to 3rd place...Lance Johnson hit two late inning game-winning homers and Mondesi hit .467 going 7 for 15, 3 R, 2HR, 4 RBIs to lead Constantinople to a stunning sweep of Matt as Tom retains first place...Robin reportedly turned down an offer from Matt of Kevin Brown stright up for Sammy Sosa. The two teams have never traded with each other.
(10/18) Barry Bonds smoked four home runs, going 9 for 15 in the series vs. Metrowest to lead Randy. Griffey added 3 homers to give him a total of 7 in 11 games. He's on pace to hit 36...Nomo pitched a 3-hitter for Eric...This year's World Series roster winners: A tie between the Manila Folders (Sheets, K. Brown, Ashby, Knoblauch, J. Nelson, and Stanton) and New Orleans (R. Rivera, Langston, Posada, M. Rivera, Mendoza, Irabu) with 6 each. It marks the second year in a row Harold has had the most players in the World Series (or tied for most). Last year he had seven. The fewest? RAT, er, Future Wax, with just one - J. Hamilton.
(10/15) Last night, Larry Walker led Metrowest to a stunning turnaround of opening night fortunes, going 7 for 15 (.467), with 3 HRs 10 RBIs. Due to an injury, John Olerud made his catching debut (giving up 0 SB or overthrows) and went 2 for 3 w/ 1 HR and 3 RBIs. In addition the introduction of the intentional balk was discussed...In the other series, after NO won game 1 in 13 innings, it lost game 3, leaving an amazing 16 runners on base (losing 8-2).
(10/10) Bob Tewksbury, cut by Jed & Clint and picked up in the 8th round by Bay City, outdueled Roger Clemens (with late-inning help by Dreifort, McElroy and Embree) to win game 1, 2-1. In that game, North Dakota's Carlos Hernandez was making his SOMBILLA debut, catching and batting ninth. It had been five years since he was drafted as a prospect, then kept in the 'minors' for 3 years, cut in '96, then redrafted this past year when the team needed a 3rd string catcher. Finally, after years of 10-hour bus rides, he made it to the big "SOMBILLA show". He finally came up in the third inning with a man on first. He struck out and was injured for three games.
(10/7) McGwire made his season debut and had two home runs and only one IBB for Matt; he's now on a pace to hit 28 for the season (the league record is 26. Kakania, the hitless wonders, went 18 2/3 innings against the Folders without a run, from the 8th of game 1 into the 9th of game 3. Eric notes that his team "positively sucks" - Jay Buhner started the season 0 for 25, but broke out with a three-run homer in the ninth inning of the fourth (and eigth overall) game (which Eric lost anyway). So he is now 1 for 26....Rookie Tom continued his rampage through the league on the back of Raul Mondesi who went 9 for 15, with 3 HRs, 6 RBI, 5Runs, SB, BB, and a double against Clint. The schedule now toughens for the fearless rookie as he travels to Manila in two weeks for his first big test.
(10/4) Harold's pitching and defense shut down Metrowest, winning 3 one run games. In game one, Biggio made 4 spectacular plays (Jeff rolled a '1' on 4 gb 2B X's). Erickson pitched 7 shutout innings in game 4 and D. Jones added 2 saves for New Orleans...In the other series, Randy declared his team to be the "greatest hitting team in SOMBILLA history", then continued where he left off last year, by wearing down an unfortunate opponent (Robin this time) hour-after-hour in yet another marathon series...First controversy of the season occurred Thursday, when the Commissioner blew a call allowing Eric to score an undeserved run against Tom. Tom had his corners in and Eric hit a gb3B. The charts say that with infield back or corners in, the runner on third scores. A check of the official rules notes that if there's a runner on 3rd, corners are in, and you hit a gbA,B, or C to 1st or 3rd you refer to infield in - which makes sense since the fielder is actually poistioned in. Eric's runner should have been nailed at home instead of scoring! Luckily, Tom still won the game, so the game won't have to be played over or anything like that.
(10/2) Laughter and hijinks aplenty as the SOMBILLA began another
season last night. Rookie manager Tom ripped off 3 straight to open the
season in first place. Constantinople received outstanding starting pitching
from Neagle (4-hit complete game shutout) and B. Jones (8 1/3 inn, 0 ER,
4 hits)...Meanwhile, in the other opening series, Jeff Reed homered in
his first three at bats in the first game (and was then removed from the
game), and Clemens fanned 16 to set ND's tone for the rest of the series...It
was noted that pitchers are no longer all "2"s on defense. So, remember
to check. Also, the question came up about whether you can do a hit and
run with men on 1st & 3rd. It used to be stated in our bylaws somewhere
that you could do this, but the runner on third holds. This was an old
Tsuan rule. The rule seems to have disappeared from our bylaws and 'old
rules worth repeating' - unless anyone objects, I'll stick it back in...Eric
has changed his team's name to Kakania.