Random thoughts

OK, since no one uses the blog to post game results AND because I am in a Stratomatic holding pattern (as seemingly everyone is), I thought I would pass along some random thoughts:

Last weekend, I made my first trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Wow. Almost religious like. Not quite like the first time I stepped into Wrigley, but close.

• For some reason, I found the coolest thing to be THE glove worn by Willie Mays when he made THE catch. It really struck me.

• Lots of Iowa references at the Hall. First, at the beginning you can visit a theater for an impressive multimedia/movie experience. In one part the narrator talks about where baseball can be found and to paraphrase he says something like "From the streets of New York to Fenway Park to a warm autumn night in Iowa...." Then, they have a small exhibit displaying baseball movies and the clip playing was from Field of Dreams. And, there were lots of Bob Feller items, each of them mentioning his Iowa upbringing.

• They have Barry Bond's home run ball on display, but certainly not proudly. You have to search for it. It is found in a room devoted to the current game and is in a display that faces the back wall with several other items in it. They have a card that explains the asterick and mentions that the museum does not condone such action. I didn't realize the asterick was atually carved in the leather.

• Some other cool items: Curt Schilling's bloody socks, and an exhibit on baseball board games from America's history. I was dissapointed that Strat was not among the displayed BUT it was mentioned on a item that listed 10 or so important dates in baseball gaming history.

The visit also gabe me another of my wild ideas. Wouldn't it be the ultimate trip for all of us to meet in Cooperstown, visit the hall and then draft. The whole town is baseball. Memorabilia shops galore, baseball taverns, you name it. AND, in a weird way it would be the ultimate experience to stay in what appears to be a complete dive motel that sits next to the museum. It is an old memorabilia shop, complete with old wood plank floors, on the first floor with a small desk in a middle with a sign that says "Hotel check in." Anyway, put it on your calendar for somewhere in the future. And bring your glove so we can throw around on Doubleday Field...

To Greg's point, I have thought about the idea that HAL is in control of the games but in my naive and optimistic mind, I don't think it is. Very true that odd things happen and in improbable ways, but the Cubs can score four runs off the Brewers' closer with two outs in the ninth to tie a game in real life. I think if you seriously tracked the rolls, it would all even out. However, I have certainly felt that way at times and have been on both sides of the "luck." But, in the end Chad always wins and HAL don't know Chad from Harry Carry so I can't see that he decides the games to any degree.

I now have 49 different batting helmets in my strat room, two catchers masks, 13 wood bats (my Hank Aaron model is my favorite), 15 baseball gloves (tie betweent the Mickey Mantle and Ron Santo model for my favorite), many soft hats and miniature helmets as well as various other memorabilia. My wife calls in clutter. I call it amazing and keep looking for more.

I have bored you enough - someone play me in strat please.......

Three Quick Reports

Round 19:
Harrison Bullpen Lets Sweep Slip Away, Split With After The Snow Results

Game 1: After 6, Harrison 3
W-J.Lackey (6-5), L-A.Burnett (6-6), S-H.Street (10)
Burnett was cruising until the 7th. When Ron Villone and Joel Zumaya were called on to stop the bleeding, neither retired a batter and Zumaya surrendered a pinch-hit grand slam to Emil Brown.

Game 2: Harrison 5, After 4
W-D.Matsuzaka (6-3), L-D.Haren (5-6), S-R.Perez (17)
Daisuke managed to work eight innnings around a three-hit game from Ichiro and home runs by Dan Johnson and Raul Ibanez. The scoring was nickel and dime off Haren as eight Cougar starters had at least one hit.

Game 3: Harrison 4, After 0

W-C.Durbin (2-3), L-J.Washburn (5-5), S-J.Zumaya (1)
Durbin had his best outing of the year, allowing no runs and only three hits in 7 innings. Washburn wasn't bad either, striking out eight in the defeat.

Game 4: After 5, Harrison 2

W-D.Moseley (3-2), L-R.Perez (0-4), S-H.Street (11)
The kind of game that makes you want to give up Strat. James Shields can't get any support on the rare occasions that he does pitch well, like this game as his 8 1/3 shutout innings were rendered moot by another five-run outburst from The Snow and Perez's third blown save. Emil Brown was heroic again with a pinch-hit two run triple which tied the game.

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Round 20:
Loblaw Takes Two From Amigos

Game 1: Bob 3, Santa Poco 1
W-J.Tavarez (6-4), L-E.Santana (3-6), S-M.Delcarmen (18)
Miguel Tejada's two-run homer in the 6th was the only moment worth mentioning in this one. Tejada had three hits.

Game 2: Bob 5, Santa Poco 4
W-C.Sabathia (7-5), L-G.Meche (3-6), S-M.Delcarmen (19)
Sabathia was awesome, taking a no-hitter into the 8th. The score only appears close because of HAL, allowing Travis Buck to hit a three-run homer off a fatigued Sabathia in the 9th.

Game 3: Santa Poco 7, Bob 1

W-J. Garland (6-6), L-T.Wakefield (4-6)
Wakefield was battered around including Marco Scutaro's first bomb of the year. Scutaro also had a web gem. Garland tossed a CG four-hitter for the win.

Game 4: Santa Poco 2, Bob 0

W-Z.Greinke (5-3), L-C.Schilling (5-8), S-J.Putz (16)
Another unexpectedly good pitching performance as Greinke lowers his ERA to 5.52 after this three-hit, 10 strikeout outing. Putz tossed the final two hitless frames for the save. Injury replacement Ryan Shealy had his first productive game of the season, 2-for-3 with a solo HR.

---

Round 20:
Harrison Shows Life Taking Three From Kinnicks

Game 1: Clean-Sweep 4, Harrison 2
W-B.Bonser (4-4), L-D.Cabrera (8-2), S-F.Rodriguez (11)
Despite stacking every limited lefty in the lineup, the Cougars could not crack through against Bonser. A trio of relievers secured the victory including a two-inning save by K-Rod. Ramon Vazquez had three hits for the Kinnicks.

Game 2: Harrison 8, Clean-Sweep 3
W-A.Burnett (7-6), L-J.Santana (6-6)
Santana was damaged in a five-run 5th as Pudge Rodriguez and Jason Michaels had back-to-back 2 RBI hits. Burnett went the distance scattering nine hits in the win.

Game 3: Harrison 11, Clean-Sweep 0

W-D.Matsuzaka (7-3), L-J.Vazquez (6-7)
Daisuke didn't need all that offense as he tossed a complete game three-hit masterpiece. Vazquez couldn't come close to matching his previous one-hit outing as Matt Stairs took him deep twice, including a grand slam.

Game 4: Harrison 9, Clean-Sweep 2

W-C.Durbin (3-3), L-M.Batista (1-11)
Miguel Batista tries to rival Joel Pineiro for least effective regular starter in JKSA history, falling to 1-11 after allowing eight runs in less than four innings in this one. Every Cougar starter had at least one hit, while Magglio had three hits and 2 RBI.

FTC extends East lead

A three-game set in a hitter's park ended up with Finer Things Club (Chad East) taking two of three from Army of Steamrollers (Scott East) in a trio of pitching duels.

Game 1: Finer 4, Army 2
W-Westbrook (4-1), L-Sonnastine (1-3), S-Chamberlain (3)
Frank Thomas hit his 10th home run of the season, and Jake Westbrook danced around his five walks in 5 1/3 innings as the Club escaped a winner. Scott Downs was the game's hero, going 2 2/3 scoreless innings against the Steamrollers' lefty-dominated lineup while striking out five. Army managed just four hits.

Game 2: Finer 4, Army 3
W-Verlander (7-4), L-Bedard (3-6), S-Betancourt (11)
Justin Verlander and Erik Bedard matched each other with 10 strikeouts apiece, but the Verlander allowed fewer runs in a pitcher's duel. Finer jumped out early with Mike Lowell's two-run single in the first, and Thomas later added his 11th homer of the year. Bedard-killer Robinson Cano batted 3-for-3 and scored twice for FTC. Franklin Gutierrez made it interesting, going deep off Downs in the eighth in a pinch-hitter spot for Curtis Granderson to cut it to 4-3. But part-time closer Rafael Betancourt worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 11th save.

Game 3: Army 6, Finer 3
W-Guthrie (8-3), L-Halladay (7-4), S-Wolfe (2)
Granderson hit a pair of ballpark two-run homers (each on 1-8 rolls), helping Army avoid the sweep. The game got very interesting in the ninth, when Finer loaded the bases with two out in a 6-3 game, but Brian Wolfe got all-or-nothing pinch-hitter Raul Casanova to tap out to end the game.

Up next:
Bob Loblaw (26-28) at Finer Things Club (34-20)
Surly Nausicians (27-24)* at Army of Steamrollers (28-26)

Wild card drama ahead ...

We've got a heckuva wild-card race going on. The new rule to include the best two non-division winners (rather than both division runners-up) has created some drama that surely will continue to unfold over the next 30 or so games.

In the East, Finer Things Club (32-19) has pulled in front by three games and the Big Hebs (30-21) have a two-game edge out West despite Greg missing the Ganza. Biv's Harrison Cougars (29-22) have the best non-leading record. Let's look at the standings for the wild cards (top two advance):

Team .......................... W-L .... GB
Harrison (Biv) ................... 29-22 .... --
Hawaiian (Chad) ............... 28-23 .... 1
Surly (Brian) ..................... 26-22 .... 1.5
Army (Scott) ..................... 25-23 .... 2.5
Bob (Paul) .......................... 26-25 .... 3
Santa Poco (Biv) ................ 25-26 .... 4
Clean-Sweep (Kyle) .......... 23-28 .... 6

At least two of these teams will notch a playoff spot by season's end, and even the division leaders are not safe by a long shot. The team to watch right now is the Surly Nausicians. Seemingly riding a wave of good health and good fortune, Brian's lone squad has won eight in a row behind the beastly performance of David Ortiz (league-leading 17 homers and 45 runs scored).

Meanwhile, the Clean-Sweep Kinnicks have taken a turn for the worse and need to rebound soon. Kyle, already playing against a stacked deck by being in the West, got off to a fast 13-6 start and hung on to be 16-10 and in first place at one point. But since, the Kinnicks have slipped considerably, winning just seven of their last 25 games -- including a sweep last night at the hands of the red-hot Hebs, who have won five in a row and 10 of their last 11.

The Hebs were 11-13 after the Ganza, but an even-worse 7-12 at one point -- but have gotten their players out of the hospital and onto the diamond and are a stirring 23-9 since.

Another team on the downturn is the Santa Poco Amigos, who are 7-14 in their last 21 (.333).

Some big out-of-division games in Rounds 19-20 will surely be huge in crafting the wild-card push ... will a West team actually rise into the mix? Or will we get two East teams as expected? A big series between Army and Surly is scheduled for Wednesday night. A sweep by either one of them could present a worthy East challenger to FTC and Harrison.

Also: In the words of Frank "The Tank" Ricard .... "Keep on truckin'."

We're on a really nice pace now, so let's not lose it. I think we can tidy up this AL season by early July with some good effort, which means getting our NL season started in mid- to late-July, which puts us on target for a November finish. Keep scheduling your series one or two steps ahead so we don't get caught in any ruts. Great job so far.

Who's with me? Can we get this done?

Leistikow teams rebound, win 2 of 3

You won't hear much complaining from me, except in the heat of the moment, because HAL has always been looking kindly upon my teams. But for a stretch, HAL was taking me behind the woodshed.

Chad-owned teams lost their ninth game out in 10 on yet another unbelievable roll -- a 1-19 "safe" roll that was missed with a 20, followed by a 1-14 "safe" roll for blocking the plate that came up 15 -- but finally bounced back to get on track with the Hawaiian Organ Donors (Chad West) taking the last two from Santa Poco Amigos (Biv West) and two of three with Finer Things Club (Chad East) vs. Bob Loblaw (Paul East).

Game 1 West: Amigos 3, Donors 2
W-Garland (5-4), L-Escobar (6-3), S-Soria (5)
Let's go straight to the bottom of the ninth, where Joakim Soria continued into his third inning of work with a 3-2 lead. Paul Konerko led off with a single for the Donors, and Luis Terrero (a 1-14 runner) was beckoned to pinch-run. Billy Butler, another piano-carrying runner, then executed a hit-and-run to put men on the corners with none out. That brought up newly acquired Josh Fields, who produced a flyball RF(b)?. That made the speedy Terrero a 1-19 prospect to score and Butler a 1-7 chance to move up if the throw was cut. The Donors decided to hold Butler at first, which is when the 20 was rolled ... giving Kurt Suzuki an improbable chance to block the plate. But, only 30% effective on plate blocks, Suzuki managed to secure the ball and make the tag for a 9-2 double play. Danny Richar flew out to center to end the contest as Soria notched a 2 1/3-inning save.

Game 2 West: Donors 11, Amigos 3
W-Baek (3-0), L-Grienke (4-3)
Cha Seung Baek continued his sparkling efforts as a limited starting pitcher. Despite a card ERA of 5.15, Baek improved to 3-for-3 in starts, going the distance for an 11-hitter. Konerko his hit eighth homer for Hawaiian, who got the benefit of playing against a very banged-up Amigos squad which got even more banged-up for Game 3. Baek has one start remaining in his Hawaiian season.

Game 3 West: Donors 5, Amigos 2
W-Baker (5-4), L-Garza (2-2), S-Jenks (14)
As Biv said after the series, "I was just lucky not to get swept." Consider these lineup anomalies for the Amigos' starting nine: Marco Scutaro was batting fifth behind Justin Morneau, and the last two hitters were minor-league scrap-heapers in Adam Melhuse (3B) and light-hitting Josh Rabe (DH). Konerko went deep again to help the Donors' cause, and Michael Young had three hits. Travis Buck was Santa's star, going 3-for-4 and upping his BA to .322.

========

Game 1 East: Finer 3, Loblaw 1
W-Halladay (7-3), L-Wakefield (3-4), S-Chamberlain (2)
Roy "K-a-day" Halladay pitched well, going seven innings with three Ks, and Joba Chamberlain locked up his first save since being lit up for two homers by the Surly Nausicians in his last appearance. Mike Lowell's two-run homer in the first was all that FTC needed -- that and several missed homer rolls from Bob, including a 1-14 shot for Miguel Tejada.

Game 2 East: Loblaw 5, Finer 3
W-Schilling (4-6), L-Ohka (0-1), S-Delcarmen (13)
Tomo Ohka was called up to make a spot start for FTC, and it was likely his last. He scattered 10 baserunners in five innings, and Bob took advantage with five runs and it could've been much worse. Bob got four in the first, and Curt Schilling coasted after giving up a homer to leadoff man Jorge Posada.

Game 3 East: Finer 7, Loblaw 6
W-McGowan (4-3), L-Tavarez (5-4), S-Betancourt (10)
Sorely missed B.J. Upton returned from a four-game injury -- a span in which FTC went 1-3 -- and got on base four out of five times to spark Finer's series victory. Posada (10th) and Lowell (7th) homered for the winners, while Brian Roberts had a homer (8th) and three RBIs for Bob, which suffered another hard-luck loss with two unearned (cheap) runs.

Up next:
Hawaiian Organ Donors (28-23) at Huge Mistakes (14-34)*
Big Hebs (30-21) at Santa Poco Amigos (25-26)
======
Army of Steamrollers (25-23)* at Finer Things Club (32-19)
Long Ball Larry (17-34) at Bob Loblaw (26-25)

Amigos Get Back To .500

In the unprecedented second Strat competition in one weekday for Biv, the visiting Santa Poco Amigos took the first and last games to claim a series victory over Clean-Sweep Kinnicks.


Game 1: Santa Poco 10, Clean-Sweep 8
W-C.Bootcheck (2-1), L-O.Perez (5-2). S-J.Putz (13)

Before the game even started, two comments were made:

• Kyle: "I can't beleive that Odalis Perez's ERA is that low."
• Biv: "This team is really awful offensively since Jack Cust is injured."

Well.....Odalis got knocked out in the 2nd inning after allowing 9 earned runs to the lefty-bashing Amigos lineup, capped off by Travis Buck's 2-run homer (5). Kyle didn't give up however as Amigos starter Matt Garza was chased in the 4th after allowing six earned runs on nine hits, including a three-run bomb by Adrian Beltre.

Things started to settle in when with two runners on in the bottom of the 6th, Joakim Soria entered the game to escape the jam. But HAL decided to show his ugly face again when Soria became fatigued with two outs in the 9th and allowed three straight doubles, making the score 10-8. J.J. Putz had to be called on to record the final out.

Game 2: Clean-Sweep 7, Santa Poco 2
W-M.Myers (1-0), L-E.Santana (3-4), S-S.Casilla (1)
A 2-2 tie in the 7th inning was blown open by two Amigos errors, the first by Alex Cintron and the back-breaker by Scott Podsednik. Boof Bonser's quality start helped the Kinnicks to victory while Shannon Stewart had three hits.

Game 3: Santa Poco 7, Clean-Sweep 0
W-G.Meche (3-4), L-J.Santana (5-4), S-J.Putz (14)
This pitchers duel featured Gil Meche scattering 4 hits over 6 2/3 innings versus Johan Santana's six strikeouts over the first 7 frames. But the 1-0 game came unraveled in the 8th after Shannon Stewart's error allowed two runs to score. Three batters later, Mark Grudzielanek hit a three-run homer to make the game seem more lopsided than it really was.

Next up:
Santa Poco Amigos (24-24) vs. Hawiian Organ Donors (26-22)
Clean-Sweep Kinnicks (23-25) vs. Big Hebs (27-21)

7 Is The Winning Number In Harrison Victory Over Loblaw

In a rare weekday series for Biv, the winning team scored seven runs in each game as Harrison took two of three Loblaw.


Game 1: Bob 7, Harrison 3
W-J.Tavarez (5-3), L-C.Durbin (1-1), S-C.Janssen (3)
Cougars starter Chad Durbin should have taken a seat after a season-high 7 innings, but instead took the hill for the 8th and provided the stage for Loblaw to seal the game. Vernon Wells two-run double highlighted the three-run 8th frame and the Loblaw CF also homered earlier in the game. In a strange twist, light hitting defensive specialist Rocco Baldelli committed a critical error in the 2nd inning which allowed two runs to score, but did go 3-for-4 at the plate including his 1st HR.

Game 2: Harrison 7, Bob 1
W-D.Cabrera (7-1), L-E.Jackson (0-1)
Daniel Cabrera pulled into a tie for the league lead in wins with a complete game six-hit performance, striking out 8 Bobs. The required run support was required by Pudge Rodriguez, who (despite his paltry .219 batting average) clubbed his team-high 8th home run, a three-run shot in the 2nd inning. Edwin Jackson went the distance for Loblaw in defeat, finishing with an appropriately round ERA of 7.00.

Game 3: Harrison 7, Bob 5

W-A.Burnett (6-4), L-C.Sabathia (5-5), S-J.Lewis (1)
An early Harrison hit barrage proved to be enough to withstand a late inning rally by Loblaw in the rubber match. The Cougars pounded 15 hits off Loblaw ace C.C. Sabathia in his 6 2/3 innings, while Harrison starter A.J. Burnett took a no-hitter into the 5th. But Burnett got into trouble in the later innings, as back-to-back homers by Alex Rodriguez and Delmon Young in the 8th cut the margin to 2 runs. With a desire to save the innings of closer Rafael Perez and a slew of right-handed bats due up, Biv called on reliever Jensen Lewis to make his JKSA debut. The gamble worked, as Lewis worked around two base runners to finish the game and earn the save.

Next up:
Harrison Cougars (28-20) vs. Long Ball Larry (14-31)*
Bob Loblaw (25-23) vs. Finer Things Club (30-18)

The Big Hebs - Livin' on a Prayer

How does a team with a mediocre .250 batting average, a rather pedestrian 4.63 team ERA, who has spent the better part of the season under siege with injuries manage to post a 25-20 record? I humbly believe it's not all good luck, but really more a combination of solid defense and timely hitting. The team's leading RBI man, Vladimir Guerrero, hasn't posted numbers that would set the world on fire (.297-9-40), but what the stat sheet doesn't show is his affinity for the big hit. Having won five games in his team's final at-bat this year, Guerrero seems to personify a team that has found its way to the big hit on countless occasions.

After the Big Hebs' fabulous dramatics, perhaps the team's biggest story this year has been a crippling amount of injuries. Just off the top of my head, I can think of ten occasions in which a Heb player has been lost for three games or more, including three times by Gary Matthews Jr and two stints of seven games-plus for Jared Saltalamacchia and Jack Hanahan.

The Big Hebs' pitching staff has been anything but spectacular, but much like their hitting counterparts, have seemed to find a way to get that big out when they need it the most. Brian Bannister leads the staff in wins and ERA among starters (6, 4.13), helping to overcome disappointing first halves from would-be ace Jered Weaver (4-2, 5.32) and would-be closer Joaquin Benoit (1-3, 7.03).

How the Big Hebs have done it so far is unclear. Whether it's fate, fortune, or amphetamines is not what's important. What is important is whether they can keep it up for another 35 games...and if so, will they have enough high drama left in the tank to make a difference in the playoffs?

Offensive Leaders - through 45 games
Batting Average - Jim Thome (.356)
At-Bats - Orlando Cabrera (198)
Hits - Vladimir Guerrero (49)
Runs - Orlando Cabrera (27)
Doubles - Vladimir Guerrero (12)
Triples - Three with 2
Home runs - Vladimir Guerrero and Jim Thome (9)
RBI - Vladimir Guerrero (40)
K's - Jose Guillen (36)
Stolen Bases - Jerry Owens (16)
Errors - Three with 4

Defensive Leaders - through 45 games
Wins - Brian Bannister (6)
Losses - Four with 3
ERA; Starter - Brian Bannister (4.13)
ERA; Reliever - Boone Logan (1.46)
Complete Games - Kevin Millwood and Brian Bannister (4)
Strikeouts - Kevin Millwood (52)
Saves - Justin Speier (5)

Long Ball Larry - aka Hot Carl and the Shits

Long Ball Larry was a team named in relation to the moniker Leon Black gave Larry David in the most recent season of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, but halfway through the 2007 season, it's looking like this group hasn't been appropriately named. Built for speed and power, this is a team that has a plethora of shortages and would probably be more aptly titled Hot Carl and the Shits. See, 42 games into the season, fans of LBL have been treated to the star power of LF Carl Crawford, but after his exploits, really just a bunch of smelly, under-performing fecal matter.

Through 42 games, Crawford has led the team in hitting (.351), runs (30), doubles (13), triples (7), extra-base hits (24), and stolen bases (26), but is legitimately alone in terms of regular starters who have lived up to the billing their STRAT card promised. Behind him, not only in the lineup, but also in performance, are Gary Sheffield (.227), Carlos Pena (.250), Bobby Abreu (.264), Dustin Pedroia (.262), and Corey Patterson (.208), all of whom are hitting substantially lower than they did in the actual 2007 MLB season. But beyond the vexing lack of hitting, the most frustrating and befuddling part of this team has been its year-long struggles with the 20-sided die. Despite having two AA and two A stealers in the regular lineup, LBL has managed to only successfully nab 42 bases in 79 attempts (53%). Patterson has been the ring-leader of this gang of unsuccessful smugglers as he has found a way to be "caught like a thief in the night" an amazing TEN TIMES in FIFTEEN ATTEMPTS! Beyond that, of the six players who have attempted a steal this season, only Hot Carl has a SB% higher than 50 percent.

As bad as the hitting has been for LBL, the pitching staff has likely under-performed every bit as much. Mike Timlin (0.63) and closer Jon Papelbon (1.17) have been the lone bright spots of the pitching staff, but thanks to putrid starting pitching and the lack of offensive success, they have been largely hidden under a bushel. Papelbon has been pretty much unhittable, yet has only three saves and one victory in nine outings. LBL's ace, Scott Kazmir, while having pitched below expectations (4.33), certainly has performed better than his amazing 1-9 record would indicate. Kazmir and occasional starters Roger Clemens and Kenny Rogers have combined to post an unbelievable 1-19 record!

Even the most positive of politicians and witch doctors couldn't spin LBL's 2007 in any kind of positive light as they will spend the final 13 series playing out the string. With only the role of spoiler left to gain, the last question that remains is whether any team will be the victim of said spoiler and find themselves on the business end of a juicy Hot Carl and the Shits.

Offensive Leaders - through 42 games
Batting Average - Carl Crawford (.351)
At-Bats - Carl Crawford (185)
Hits - Carl Crawford (65)
Runs - Carl Crawford (30)
Doubles - Carl Crawford (13)
Triples - Carl Crawford (7)
Home runs - Carlos Pena (11)
RBI - Carlos Pena (27)
K's - Troy Glaus (50)
Stolen Bases - Carl Crawford (26)
Errors - Troy Glaus (7)

Defensive Leaders - through 42 games
Wins - Sean Marcum (5)
Losses - Scott Kazmir (9)
ERA; Starter - Phil Hughes (3.86)
ERA; Reliever - Mike Timlin (0.63)
Complete Games - Scott Kazmir (6)
Strikeouts - Scott Kazmir (77)
Saves - Jon Papelbon (3)

PHIL guides suddenly fortunate Big Hebs to surprising sweep

As a perpetual doormat for Chad's teams, he and I have often joked of HAL's disdain for me when our teams meet. Whenever a rare dose of positive fate falls upon my team, we jest that the more Detter-friendly PHIL has momentarily wrested away the controls of the master Strat board in Glen Head, NY. If this is true, a steroid-laced PHIL made a surprise appearance at Strat headquarters tonight and kicked sand in the face of his more dominant counterpart, guiding the Big Hebs (Detter West) to a shocking sweep of the homestanding Hawaiian Organ Donors (Chad West). The Big Hebs were forced to come from behind in every game, and in doing so, pulled into a two-way tie with the Donors for first place in the AL East. Now for the quick report:

GAME 1: HEBS: 2 DONORS: 1
WP: Jer. Weaver (4-2)
LP: M. Buehrle (1-5)
Sv: J. Benoit (2)

Jack Hanahan remained red-hot by blasting a solo homer in the fifth inning to tie the game at 1-1, but the decisive blow in this one was delivered by Orlando Cabrera's two-out RBI single a few batters later. Jered Weaver, again not exactly treated to a cornucopia of runs, earned his fourth win of the season, going 7.1 strong. Joaquin Benoit twirled the final 1.2 in shutout fashion to pick up his second save. Chad missed two HR 1-5 or out rolls in the game's final innings that would have made the game much different.

GAME 2: HEBS: 6 DONORS: 3
WP: B. Bannister (6-3)
LP: J. Gobble (1-1)

Four Big Heb long balls accounted for all six of their runs in a game in which they erased an early 3-0 deficit. Starter Brian Bannister permitted three runs in as many innings to start the game, but settled in and enjoyed the onslaught en route to his team-best sixth victory. Vladimir Guerrero erased the entire deficit in the fourth with the first of his two homers in the game, this one a three-run shot off of Donors starter, Kelvim Escobar. The game remained knotted into the eighth when southpaw reliever Jimmy Gobble was called on to face Jim Thome, who promptly led off the Big Heb half of the frame with a clean homer. Guerrero followed with his second shot of the game, and later that same inning, Jared Saltalamacchia dialed long distance as well. Bannister went the distance, allowing just three hits along the way.

GAME 3: HEBS: 3 DONORS: 2
WP: D. Oliver (2-1)
LP: P. Neshek (3-1)
Sv: J. Speier (5)

In a series that saw all the breaks go the route of the Hebs, this was the cheapest win of them all. With two outs in the top of the ninth of a tie-game, the Hebs scored the tie-breaking run on back-to-back LF-X plays gone awry. The first of which, an error on Mark Teahen, put Mark Ellis on second base, leading to the second, yet another game-winner for Vladimir Guerrero. Darren Oliver's 2.2 innings of scoreless work earned him the win, while Justin Speier retired the game's final batter with two on and two out for his fifth save.

Pitchers rule in Block 4 debut

Finer Things Club (Chad East) took two of three from the Harrison Cougars (Biv East) in a late-night battle of the top two teams in the division.

The brisk 50-minute series featured fine pitching all around:

Game 1: Finer 3, Harrison 2
W-Verlander (6-3), L-Burnett (5-4), S-Chamberlain (1)
Justin Verlander took a shutout into the ninth, where the Cougars, down 3-0, made it interesting. With two outs and a man on second, Jorge Velendia delivered a pinch-hit double to make it 3-1. Joba Chamberlain entered to face pinch-hitter deluxe Timo Perez, but the hitter stroked an RBI single off his card for a 3-2 score. But Joba got Matt Stairs to roll out to short to end the game. FTC's three runs came in the third in cheap fashion. B.J. Upton converted a 1-6 single, Jorge Posada reached on a curious infield hit to Placido Polanco (2e0) and Frank Thomas rolled low on a ballpark homer (1-7) for a three-run shot against A.J. Burnett.

Game 2: Finer 6, Harrison 3
W-Halladay (6-3), L-Shields (2-3), S-Downs (3)
Marcus Thames launched a clean three-run shot in the second, and leadoff man Upton followed with a (clean) solo smash (his team-high 12th) to give FTC all it needed. But the game got tense before Scott Downs entered to record the final five outs for his third save. Interesting stat: The top eight hitters in the Cougars' lineup each had at least one hit, but only Polanco (two) had more than one.

Game 3: Harrison 3, Finer 0
W-Matsuzaka (5-1), L-McGowan (3-3)
This one was all about Dice-K, who went 8 2/3 scoreless innings for his fifth win. Harrison got all three of its runs in the sixth, with the big blow a two-run double by Sean Casey. Rafael Perez retired Ryan Garko, who represented the tying run, on a flyout to center to end the game and record his JKSA-best 14th save.

Up next:
Surly Nausicians (18-20)* at Finer Things Club (30-15)
Harrison Cougars (26-19) at Bob Loblaw (22-20)

Finer Things Club melts Snow

Finer Things Club (Chad East) piled up 34 runs and 52 hits in a key four-game series, winning three against After The Snow (Scott West).

FTC jumped to the league's best mark, at 25-13, and built its home-run total to a JKSA-leading 55.

The series wrap:

Game 1: Finer 5, After 3
W-R.Betancourt (2-1), L-Contreras (2-2)
Frank Thomas and Hideki Matsui homered, Joba Chamberlain bailed out starter Jake Westbrook by getting two big outs, and Rafael Betancourt got the final eight outs to get credited with the win.

Game 2: Finer 12, After 4
W-Verlander (5-2), L-Lackey (3-4)
Matsui had four of FTC's 19 hits, which included long balls from B.J. Upton and Jorge Posada, and Justin Verlander racked up his fifth win. Snow starter John Lackey was fatigued via a five-run second.

Game 3: After 5, Finer 4
W-Haren (3-3), L-R.Betancourt (2-2), S-Sherrill (3)
Snow rallied from a 4-0 deficit, scoring twice each in the seventh and eighth innings to win. Brad Wilkerson homered (1st) and lifted the go-ahead sac fly.

Game 4: Finer 13, After 3
W-Halladay (5-2), L-Washburn (4-3)
Jarrod Washburn's ERA inflated from 2.81 to 4.02 as FTC stroked 17 hits and rolled. Ryan Garko was 4-for-4 and Ryan Raburn drove in four runs for the winners.

Up next:
Finer Things Club (25-13) vs. Clean-Sweep Kinnicks (20-18)
After The Snow (19-19) vs. Surly Nausicians (18-20)

Teahen cycle, series sweep cap 12-2 surge for first-place Organ Donors

The Hawaiian Organ Donors (Chad West) could be renamed Smoke and Mirrors after its recent surge into first place in the AL West.

The Donors won 7 of 8 games over the weekend -- winning three from Long Ball Larry (Greg East) and sweeping Bob Loblaw (Paul East) -- to make it 12 of 14 overall and build a three-game lead in the West. This despite a season ledger of 194 runs scored and 203 runs against (-9).

A 13-6 mark in one-run games has been the difference, with Bobby Jenks logging 13 saves while burning well over half his available innings before the All-Star break.

Quick game summaries:

Game 1: Donors 7, Larry 4
W-Neshek (3-0), L-Rogers (0-3), S-Jenks (9)
Michael Young had three hits and Mike Napoli's three-run double keyed Hawaiian's five-run first.

Game 2: Donors 4, Larry 3
W-Escobar (5-2), L-Kazmir (0-8), S-Jenks (10)
David DeJesus, Young and Paul Konerko hit back-to-back-to-back doubles in a four-run third that proved to be enough to keep Scott Kazmir winless.

Game 3: Larry 9, Donors 0
W-Wang (4-3), L-Buehrle (0-4)
Chien-Mien Wang spun a four-hit shutout, and Larry finally got some stolen-base rolls (going 6-for-7) to take out some frustration. LBL's Carl Crawford laced four hits.

Game 4: Donors 4, Larry 3
W-DiNardo (1-0), L-Hughes (2-1), S-Jenks (11)
Chone Figgins' two-run single in the sixth put Hawaiian ahead, and Bobby Jenks went two perfect innings for his third save of the series. Figgins had four hits.

=============

Game 1: Donors 5, Loblaw 4
W-J.Wright (2-1), L-Tavarez (4-3), S-Jenks (12)
Konerko's two-out, two-run double in the eighth was the difference. Kendry Morales blasted two solo homers for the winners in a rare start at DH.

Game 2: Donors 4, Loblaw 3
W-F.Hernandez (3-4), L-Tallet (1-1), S-Jenks (13)
Felix Hernandez went eight strong innings, striking out 10 in his final performance for Hawaiian. He is being traded to Huge Mistakes (Paul West). Jenks, who entered despite being fatigued with two outs in the ninth, notched his fifth save in six games.

Game 3: Donors 5, Loblaw 2
W-Escobar (6-2), L-Sabathia (5-4)
Kelvim Escobar's fourth complete game of the season notched his sixth win. DeJesus roped two doubles with two RBIs.

Game 4: Donors 11, Loblaw 5
W-Buehrle (1-4), L-Schilling (3-6), S-J.Wright (1)
Mark Teahen hit for the cycle -- with a three-run double in the first, a two-run homer (1st) in the third, an RBI single in the fifth and a triple in the seventh -- and finished with six RBIs. Young added four more hits from the 3-hole, giving the shortstop 56 for the season.

Up next:
Big Hebs (22-20) at Hawaiian Organ Donors (25-17)
Bob Loblaw (22-20) at Army of Steamrollers (20-18)*

Putz suffers three harsh losses as Finer Things Club sweeps Santa Poco

You'd be hard-pressed to find a more dehabilitating series loss than the one Biv suffered early Wednesday morning. His Santa Poco Amigos (Biv West) lost all four games to Finer Things Club (Chad East) with closer J.J. Putz suffering the losing decision in three of the contests.

The outcomes shot FTC into first place in the East -- past Biv's Harrison Cougars -- and drove the Amigos out of first in the West. And that doesn't even include the torment of losing leadoff man Reggie Willitts for five games to come.

That said, Finer did get the job done throughout the series, piecing together 38 hits and 20 walks in the four contests and getting clutch pitching when it needed to.

Game 1: Finer 5, Santa 4
W-Downs (2-0), L-Putz (0-1)
The first of four blown saves in the series occurred when the Amigos, down 4-2, got three straight hits off FTC closer Rafael Betancourt with two outs in the top of the ninth: an Alex Cintron double, a Reggie Willitts single (on a 2B X roll to 2e5 Alex Cora) and a two-run double by Joey Gathright. But FTC answered in the bottom half on Tike Redman's two-out RBI single off J.J. Putz to score Ryan Garko, who had doubled.

Game 2: Finer 6, Santa 3
W-McGowan (3-2), L-Garland (2-3), S-Betancourt (8)
Joba Chamberlain sustained his longest outing of the season -- one inning, though it involved facing only two batters after the Amigos put two on with no outs in the eighth. Chamberlain came in to fan Justin Morneau, then got Travis Metcalf to roll into a double play to preserve a 6-3 lead in the eighth. Ryan Raburn's go-ahead pinch-hit single keyed FTC's three-run seventh. Joba has now used up four innings (in eight appearances) of his available 17.

Game 3: Finer 5, Santa 4
W-Halladay (4-3), L-Putz (0-2), S-Downs (2)
Ridiculousness ruled in this game, as the Amigos' bullpen stoppers twice blew saves and suffered a crushing defeat. Joakim Soria was the first to get back luck, letting a 2-1 slip away in the seventh. But after Santa plated two runs off Roy Halladay in the bottom half to go up 4-2, Soria was removed in the eighth after yielding a leadoff walk to Jorge Posada. That brought in Putz, who had no luck as he served up a two-run Mike Lowell home run -- on a HR 1 or double 2-20 roll. But the unlucky 20-sided roll proved somewhat moot, as FTC laced three more hits off Putz after that to take a 5-4 lead, and a short-handed bullpen held on from there. Jack Cust bombed his league-best 11th home run in the loss for Santa.

Game 4: Finer 3, Santa 2 (10 innings)
W-Grilli (1-0), L-Putz (0-3), S-Betancourt (9)
Robinson Cano's RBI double in the top of the 10th off Putz was the winner, scoring Garko, who had singled and moved to second on a passed ball. The Amigos looked to be in line to avoid the sweep, but Putz couldn't hold a 2-1 lead in the eighth. He entered with Hideki Matsui on first and got two quick outs, but Raburn again came through with a pinch-hit (this time a double) to tie things at 2-2. To add salt to the wound, Santa's leadoff man, Willitts, was hurt and will miss the team's next 5 games. The Amigos managed just three hits off four FTC pitchers.

Up next:
Finer Things Club (22-12) vs. After The Snow (18-16)
Santa Poco Amigos (18-16) vs. Huge Mistakes (8-26)

Injuries, extras, and intrigue highlight Big Hebs series victory

An easy Sunday afternoon quickly became one of high drama and tension as an injury and extra-inning filled series went to The Big Hebs (Detter West) as they took three of four from the Surly Nausicans (AL East) in a split series. In addition to the strain three extra-frame contests put on the teams' bullpens, the two clubs lost a combined SIX players to injury, including four more to the constantly banged up Hebs. Three more Heb starters will miss at least three games as Jack Hanahan is lost for seven, Jared Saltalamacchia for six, and Gary Matthews Jr. for three. Matthews is lost for the third time this season, while Saltalamacchia misses at least six for the second time. Hanahan splits time with Eric Chavez at 3B, who also was injured in the series, but only missed one game.

The summaries:

Game 1 -- Nausicans 3, Big Hebs 2 (11 innings)
W - Okajima (3-0); L -Benoit (0-3)
A much anticipated battle of the aces went to the Nausicans thanks to a walk-off homer by Victor Martinez, who wins a game in his final at-bat for the second time in three contests. The game was tied in the 11th after Hideki Okajima survived a situation that saw him put runners at the corners with one out for Vladimir Guerrero, preserving his perfect ERA. By the time the series was in the books, Okajima had pitched three times in four games and had gone 19 innings this season without surrendering a run. Nausican ace Fausto Carmona seemingly out-dueled Jered Weaver, tossing nine innings, but gave up a pair of first inning unearned runs, costing him a shutout victory.

Game 2 -- Big Hebs 6, Nausicans 4
W - Bannister (4-2); L - Beckett (2-4)
Brian Bannister gutted out a complete game victory, preserving the Big Hebs bullpen - a move that would prove huge in the next two games - and fixing a HAL glitch. Five of the six Big Hebs runs came on long balls off of Nausican starter, Josh Beckett - a three-run bomb by Matthews and a two-run shot by Jim Thome. Melky Cabrera went 4-for-4 for the Nausicans, who fell short in their quest to come back from a 6-1 deficit.

Game 3 -- Big Hebs 2, Nausicans 1 (12 innings)
W - Benoit (1-3); L - Bradford (0-1)
Guerrero won a game in the final at-bat for the fourth time this year, ripping a two-out, game-winning single in the 12th off of Nausican reliever Chad Bradford. The big blow came on the heels of Thome failing to win the game with one out in his 1-column and was one of four hits by the Heb DH on the day. Andy Pettite started for Surly and held a 1-0 lead into the sixth when Heb catcher Rob Bowen hit his first homer of the year in timely fashion to tie it up. Heb starter Kevin Millwood gave up just one unearned run over seven innings, but gets the no-decision. Darren Oliver went 4.1 innings in relief, but also got a no-decision as the win goes to game one loser, Joaquin Benoit.

Game 4 -- Big Hebs 6, Nausicans 5 (11 innings)
W - Speier (2-1); L - Rivera (1-3)
Spot starter Jeff Weaver was as bad as expected as nearly every out on his card is a tweener, preceder, or postceder, but a Heb rally and strong relief pitching helped them pick up the series victory. Weaver gave up 5 runs on 11 hits over 5 innings, but the Hebs charged back from a 5-2 deficit to tie the game and force extras. Joel Peralta threw 4.1 scoreless innings and Justin Speier tossed the final 1.2 in shutout fashion to salvage the game, but the real hero was Eric Chavez, whose two-out single in the 11th inning won the game and sparked the "joyous home town celebration" (HAL's words). Thome's seventh inning solo homer was his eighth of the year and tied the game, leading to extras.

Next up:
Big Hebs (19-15) vs. Army of Steamrollers (15-15)*
Surly Nausicans (15-19) vs. Santa Poco Amigos (18-12)*

Donors welcome surprising series win

Despite being outscored in the series, the Hawaiian Organ Donors (Chad West) won a surprising three games out of four against the AL's top team, the Harrison Cougars (Biv East). All three Donor wins were by one run, two of them coming in extra innings with closer Bobby Jenks picking up the W. The series recap:

Game 1: Cougars 9, Donors 3
W-Burnett (4-3), L-Escobar (4-2)
Japanese man Akinori Iwamura send a very clear message in any language Sunday afternoon, a crushing grand slam to open the floodgates of Harrison's series-opening win. Placido Polanco went 4-for-4 and Magglio Ordonez had three hits and three RBIs as Hawaiian permitted No. 1 starter Kelvim Escobar take a complete-game beating. Jason Kubel had three of the Donors' 10 hits.

Game 2: Donors 3, Cougars 2 (10 innings)
W-Jenks (1-2), L-Ray (1-2)
Paul Konerko lifted a sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th, scoring Michael Young (who was 4-for-5) with the go-ahead run for the Donors. Bobby Jenks "saved" his own win, as Hawaiian emerged ina game of failed opportunities. The teams left 16 men on base and had 21 combined hits.

Game 3: Donors 7, Cougars 6 (11 innings)
W-Jenks (2-2), L-R.Perez (0-2)
Harrison manager Biv Ayers was kicking himself for a while after letting Ron Villone pitch to Konerko in the bottom of the eighth. With the Cougars leading 6-4 and two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Ayers have Villone one more batter -- and Konerko got lucky, hitting a 1-9 HR chance and getting it to tie the score and, ultimately, force extra frames. Billy Butler provided the finishing blow, nailing a walk-off homer off ace closer Rafael Perez in the 11th on a 1-5 ballpark HR roll in what was basically a very cheap Hawaiian win. And in a continuing odd stat, Hawaiian's Lenny DiNardo remained 0-0 for the season with yet another no-decision (in six starts).

Game 4: Donors 2, Cougars 1
W-Baek (2-0), L-Lester (0-3), S-Neshek (1)
Hawaiian's series-long punch-and-judy attack netted a very Hawaiian-esque victory. Mark Teahen's RBI single in the fifth provided the difference, and Harrison's limited-AB guys (Jacoby Ellsbury, Timo Perez) could not hit their hot spots in the clutch. The Organ Donors wound up with a stunning 48 hits in the series off very good Harrison pitching, but it netted just 15 runs.

Up next:
Hawaiian Organ Donors (18-16) vs. Long Ball Larry (10-24)
Harrison Cougars (21-13) vs. Huge Mistakes (6-24)*

Amigos Forge First-Place Tie With Sweep of Mistakes

Paul's difficult West season continued on Sunday afternoon as his Huge Mistakes couldn't come from behind against the Santa Poco bullpen. The Amigos, now the winners of four straight, find themselves in a first-place deadlock with After The Snow.


Game 1: Santa Poco 6, Huge 4
W-Z.Greinke (3-2), L-J.Saunders (0-2). S-J.Putz (9)
Zack Greinke came with his best start of the 2007 campaign, allowing only two hits over a season-high 7 innings along with six strikeouts. Mike Redmond had 3 hits and 2 RBI for Santa Poco while Justin Morneau and Travis Buck contributed home runs for the Amigos. The Mistakes mounted a furious late rally with four runs off reliever Ryan Bukvich before J.J. Putz was called on to retire one batter and earn the save.

Game 2: Santa Poco 4, Huge 2
W-D.Braden (2-1), L-B.McCarthy (0-2), S-J.Soria (4)
With the tying run on 2nd for Huge with one out in the top of the 6th, the Amigos turned to workhorse reliever Joakim Soria. Soria struck out the next two batters, and then went on to earn a 3 1/3 inning save with no hits allowed. Justin Morneau hit his league-high 9th home run in the victory.

Game 3: Santa Poco 6, Huge 5

W-J.Bale (1-0), L-S.Baker (2-3), S-J.Putz (10)
With the #5 starters pitching their teams into a 5-5 tie after 6 innings, Travis Buck's RBI double in the 7th turned out to be the decisive tally. The Amigos right fielder totaled a triple, double and 3 RBI on the day. J.J. Putz tossed the final two frames to earn his 10th save.

Next up -- BLOCK 3 INTERDIVISION:
Santa Poco Amigos (18-12) vs. Finer Things Club (18-12)
Huge Mistakes (6-24) vs. Army of Steamrollers (15-15)

Big Hebs fight through injuries to claim another series win

In what amounts to a true rarity in the JKSA, a Detter led team - The Big Hebs (West) - won a three-game series from a Scott Norris led squad - After the Snow. The first place Snow club sees their first place lead narrow to one game, while the Hebs pull within two game of the AL West lead. The fact that the Hebs have been able to play above .500 ball despite teh mass of injuries is surprising in and of itself. Entering this series with Vladimir Guerrero out for a couple more games, they promptly lost 2B Mark Ellis and C Rob Bowen in the first game, both for a trio of contests. That leaves Orlando Cabrera, Jose Guillen, and Jerry Owens as the only regulars to have not missed at least three games to injury.

GAME 1 After the Snow - 6; Big Hebs - 4
WP: J. Washburn (4-1)
LP: K. Millwood (3-2)
Sv: H. Street (8)

Jarrod Washburn made yet another statement as the league's best number three starter by posting his fourth win of the season. He was cruising along with a 6-1 lead until the eighth inning when a couple baserunners chased him from the game and Jim Thome hit a pinch-hit three-run homer off of reliever Leo Nunez. The Hebs made a play to make it interesting, but without the injured Guerrero and Ellis, there wasn't quite enough punch in the lineup to overcome Jermaine Dye's two homers and four RBI. Huston Street pitched a quiet ninth for his eighth save.

GAME 2 Big Hebs - 10; After the Snow - 8
WP: W. Eyre (1-0)
LP: M. Guerrier (2-1)
Sv: J. Speier (3)

The HIGHLY maligned Gary Matthews Jr. channelled his inner father to play hero for the Hebs once again. Just three games removed from a game-winning homer against the Big Mistakes, Matthews carried his club to yet another dramatic victory. The speedy centerfielder hit a pair of homers, including a seventh inning grand slam that turned a 8-6 deficit into a 10-8 lead. Matthews' heroics helped starting pitcher Willie Eyre overcome a gruesome start that saw him give up seven runs in the first three innings - including two more homers off the bat of Dye - and pick up his first victory. A quartet of Big Heb relievers combined to throw the final four shutout innings, with Justin Speier earning the save.

GAME 3 Big Hebs - 4; After the Snow - 1
WP: K. Davies (1-1)
LP: J. Contreras (2-1)
Sv: D. Oliver (2)

It was another pitching masterpiece for the Big Hebs as they picked up their fourth straight series victory. Starter Kyle Davies surrendered only a first inning unearned run over five solid innings and handed the ball off to the bullpen, who continued its masterful work. Joaquin Benoit struck out the first four batters he faced en route to 3.2 frames of shutout baseball, while Darren Oliver retired the only batter he faced to secure his second save. Thome hit a solo blast - his sixth - as part of a pair of hits, hiking his average to .449 on the year and Jared Saltalamacchia had two hits of his own, raising his average to .360.

Series Notes:
* Benoit came into the series with a 13.94 ERA, allowing 16 earned runs over 10.1 innings. In his two outings against the Snow, Benoit threw 6 shutout innings, striking out nine, lowering his ERA to 8.82.

* After the Snow's Ichiro went 5-for-13 to raise his average to a league-best .393 while swiping four more bags to run his season total to 27, also the most in the circuit.

* Dye hit four of his nine homers in the first two games of this series.

Late-game heroics pace Big Hebs Sweep

Returning to action for the first time since the birth of Aleka (al-a-ka) Ann Detter, the Big Hebs (Detter West) rode the inspiration of their new arrival, along with some timely hitting and good fortune, to a sweep of the homestanding Big Mistakes (Paul West).

GAME 1 Big Hebs - 5; Mistakes - 4
WP: B. Logan (1-0)
LP: J. Nathan (1-1)
Sv: J. Speier (2)

Torii Hunter's three-run homer broke a tie and gave the Mistakes a 4-1 lead, but in what is becoming an all too common theme, the bullpen could not hold the lead. After starter John Danks saw his team's lead trimmed to 4-3, Paul called on Joe Nathan to preserve the victory. Nathan, who tossed 2.1 innings, was a mere two outs away from victory before Jim Thome was summoned to the plate as a pinch-hitter. The Hebs' leading hitter, Thome responded in a big way, launching a two-run clean homer to swing the pendulum again. Justin Speier pitched a spotless ninth to nail down the save for the Hebs.

GAME 2 Big Hebs - 5; Mistakes - 3
WP: B. Logan (2-0)
LP: J. Blanton (0-4)
Sv: J. Peralta (2)

Late-inning dramatics again fueled a Big Hebs victory as Big Mistakes starter Joe Blanton was unable to preserve a 3-0 lead, seeing eight innings of masterful work go to waste. Leading 3-1 in the eighth, Blanton seemed ticketed for a complete game victory, but surrendered a game-tying two-run homer to Gary Matthews (of all people) on a 1-5 roll. Lefty Boone Logan held the Mistakes at bay in the eighth and was gifted the victory for the second straight game as a Jared Saltalamacchia single was followed by four consecutive walks to give the Hebs a lead they would not surrender. Joel Peralta retired the game's final two hitters for his second save. Saltalamacchia's 4-for-4 night at the plate raised his average to .381 on the year.

GAME 3 Big Hebs - 5; Mistakes - 3
WP: B. Bannister (3-2)
LP: C. Silva (1-4)
Sv: J. Speier (3)

Game three was won by the same count as the previous, but in far different fashion. Starter Brian Bannister and the Hebs were in command from the outset, riding three hits each from Orlando Cabrera and Thome to a 5-3 win. Jose Guillen chipped in with a two-run roundtripper for the Hebs. Justin Speier hurled the final 1.2 frames to earn his third save of the year and his second of the series. The three hits by Thome raised his season average to .450, while his OB% climbed to .589.

Long Ball Larrys and Clean-Sweep Kinnicks lead to Friendly Split

After the first 4 game series of the season for both the Long Ball Larrys and the Clean-Sweep Kinnicks, the outcome was a split.

Game 1  Kinnicks 2, Long Ball 1

W: Johan Santana (4-1)  L: Scott Kazmir(0-7) S: Francisco Rodriguez(10)

This game was a great pitchers duel as indicated by the low score.  Santana went 8 1/3 innings, striking out 10.  Kazmir pitched great striking out 9 in just 5 2/3 innings.  Kazmir gave up 2 earned runs to pick up the loss.  Long Ball Larry had an impressive 14 strike outs as a team.  Francisco Rodriguez came in to close it out with 1 out in the 9th to pick up his 10th save of the year.

Game 2 Long Ball 5, Kinnicks 1

W: Chien-Ming Wang(3-3) L:Javier Vazquez(2-4)S: Mike Timlin(1)

Chien-Ming Wang(3-3) delivered a fine performance for Long Ball.  He surrendered 7 hits and 2 walks in 6 and 2/3 innings. Troy Glaus hit is 3rd homerun of the year and Carlos Pena hit his 8th.  Pena finshed the game going 3 for 4 with 2 RBIs and a run scored.  

Game 3 Long Ball 14, Kinnicks 3

W:Phil Hughes(2-0) L: Miguel Batista(1-5)

Once again Miguel Batista struggles allowing 7 earned runs in just 3 innings of work. Glaus led the offense for Long Ball. He delivered a single which was good for two runs in the 2nd inning and lofted a three-run homer (his 4th of the season) in the 8th inning. Glaus led his team with 5 RBIs in the game. Phil Hughes allowed 3 runs, only 2 earned in 5 innings. Anderson gave the Kinnicks a little bit of offense by hitting his 7th homerun of the season.

Game 4 Kinnicks 13, Long Ball 6

W: Boof Bonser (2-3) L:Shaun Marcum(4-2)

Finally the Kinnicks got a their bats working in Game 4. Boof Bonser settled into his new role as the #4 started pretty well. He went 7 1/3 innings, giving up 5 earned runs with an astonishing no walk performance. Marcum went 8 innings allowing 13 runs, and 20 base hits. Adrian Beltre went 2 for 5 with a homerun (6th), 2 runs, and 2 RBIs. Garret Anderson went 3 for 5, blasting his 8th homerun of the season. Anderson keeps his average rising, now up to .385.

Next Up:

Bob Loblaw (14-13)* @ Clean-Sweep Kinnicks (19-15)

Long Ball Larry (10-24) @ Finer Things Club (18-12)*

Steamrollers Fall To 0-6 Versus Cougars

The Army of Steamrollers luck against the Harrison Cougars didn't improve any in the teams' second meeting of the year, as Norris dropped one absurd game and two tough ones to Biv's first-place East squad.


Game 1: Harrison 9, Army 4
W-F.Rodney (2-0), L-B.Wolfe (0-2)
The first six innings between starters Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jeremy Bonderman were scoreless, but things got out of hand in the bottom of the 7th. Trailing 2-1 with two outs in that frame, the Cougars went into a rage against Steamrollers reliever Jeremy Accardo. Five consecutive batters reached base, including a two-run homer from Magglio Ordonez along with back-to-back blasts by Sean Casey and Jhonny Peralta. The 8-run outburst was enough for Fernando Rodney, who couldn't finish the game but earned his second win.

Game 2: Harrison 5, Army 4 (10 innings)
W-R.Villone (1-0), L-B.Wolfe (0-3)
Army got to Harrison closer Rafael Perez with a game-tying RBI double off the stick of Carlos Guillen in the 9th, but some extremely cheap action in the bottom of the 10th got the Cougars its second victory of the series. After Jacoby Ellsbury and J.D. Drew both succeeded with single 1-5 rolls, a passed ball put the winning run at 3rd with nobody out. Jhonny Peralta then rolled flyball-b with the outfield in to win the game.

Game 3: Harrison 1, Army 0
W-D. Cabrera (6-0), L-A.Sonnanstine (1-2), S-R.Perez (12)
In a game uncharacteristic of #5 starters, only one mistake occurred all day -- a 6th inning homer by J.D. Drew off the pitcher's card. Daniel Cabrera walked only one batter on his improbable run to 6-0, tying Army's Jeremy Guthrie for the league's highest win total. Rafael Perez tossed the final 1 2/3 to earn his league-best 12th save.

Next up -- BLOCK 3 INTERDIVISION:
Harrison Cougars (20-10) vs. Hawaiian Organ Donors (15-15)
Army of Steamrollers (15-15) vs. Huge Mistakes (11-13)*

Finer Things takes .600 clip into Block 3

The Finer Things Club (Chad East) bounced back from a sweep to take two of three from unlucky Long Ball Larry (Greg East) on Thursday afternoon to close Block 2 action for both squads.

FTC won the rubber match despite starting perhaps the worst pitcher in Strat history, Brian Burres. The unskilled lefty had one of his best outings -- giving up three runs in 3 1/3 innings -- before being hooked for the last time. He closed with a 12.10 ERA in three unimpressive starts.

The Club takes an 18-12 mark into Block 3, acceptable considering its previous series was a maddening sweep at the hands of Army of Steamrollers (Scott East). Meanwhile, LBL (8-22) is still looking for an opportunity to use Jonathan Papelbon, who has tossed only 7 2/3 innings through 30 games. Look for some heavy usage of the Red Sox right-hander in the final 50 games.

Game 1: FTC 10, Larry 1
W-Westbrook (3-1), L-Clemens (0-6)
Roger Clemens' baffling struggles continued, as Finer posted 14 hits to send the Mitchell Report star to his sixth loss without a win. Large right-handers Mike Lowell and Ryan Garko drove in three runs apiece for FTC, while Gary Sheffield homered to produce LBL's lone run. Jake Westbrook spun a five-hitter, lowering his ERA to 2.53.

Game 2: Larry 6, FTC 2
W-Marcum (4-1), L-Halladay (3-3)
Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena each smacked three hits, and Shawn Marcum pitched a five-hitter to give Larry a boost. Extremely-limited LBL catcher J.R. House rocked his '2' column for his first home run of the year. Meanwhile, Roy Halladay (5.40 ERA) continued his troubling start to the season.

Game 3: FTC 9, Larry 7
W-Downs (1-0), L-Rogers (0-2), S-Betancourt (7)
A shootout went FTC's way, as light-hitting shortstop John McDonald made the difference with three RBIs from the No. 9 hole. Marcus Thames also enjoyed a rare offensive explosion, homering and scoring three runs. B.J. Upton, Robinson Cano, Jorge Posada, Thames and Lowell each had two hits for FTC, which used Joba Chamberlain to escape a bases-loaded jam in the seventh. Chamberlain has accumulated just three innings in 30 games, but has made seven appearances.

LBL's Crawford increased his average to .344 as he searches for a new home.

Up next:
Clean-Sweep Kinnicks (17-13) vs. Long-Ball Larry (8-22)
Santa Poco Amigos (15-12)* vs. Finer Things Club (18-12)

Hawaiian Organ Donors close Block 3 at .500; Kinnicks drop two in a row

The Hawaiian Organ Donors (Chad AL West) had a rough Ganza, but blasted some of the sour taste out of their mouth by winning the final two games against the powerful Clean-Sweep Kinnicks (Kyle AL West) Sunday afternoon to complete Block 2 play 15-15.

The box scores from the Donors' previous series, a sweep at the hands of After the Snow (Scott West), are either not yet posted or submitted. But when they are, be sure to check out the play by play of Snow's final inning vs. closer Bobby Jenks.

Recapping Sunday's Block 2 finale:

Game 1: Kinnicks 5, Donors 0
W-M.Batista (1-4), L-Buehrle (0-3)
A battle of winless starters went Migel Batista's way, despite the pitcher yielding seven walks. That's because Garret Anderson had a monster night for Clean-Sweep, launching three home runs off Mark Buehrle, who gave up 12 hits over eight innings.

Game 2: Donors 3, Kinnicks 1
W-F.Hernandez (2-4), L-O.Perez (5-1), S-Jenks (8)
Hawaiian's punchless offense did just enough to hand Odalis Perez his first loss of the season, and Felix Hernandez scattered 10 baserunners in six innings to collect just his second win of the year. Anderson stayed hot for Clean-Sweep, going 3-for-4 in the loss.

Game 3: Donors 7, Kinnicks 0
W-J.Wright (1-1), L-B.Bonser (1-3)
Chone Figgins was injured on Hawaiian's first at-bat of the game, but his replacement, Donny Murphy, delivered a key RBI double and scored twice as four Donors pitchers combined on a surprising three-hit shutout. For the series, the Kinnicks -- whose average has hovered around .300 all year -- batted just .242 with 6 total runs.

Up next: Split series!
Clean-Sweep Kinnicks (17-13) vs. Long Ball Larry (7-20)*
Hawaiian Organ Donors (15-15) vs. Harrison Cougars (17-10)*

AL West Round 5: Kinnicks take 2 from Organ Donors

Game 1 Organ Donors 7, Kinnicks 2

Game 1 started off with a very weird yet amazing inning for the Organ Donors. The Organ Donors managed to score 6 runs on just one hit in the bottom of the 1st. Miguel Batista (0-3) was credited with the Loss allowing 7 runs (3 earned) in 6 1/3 innings. Felix Hernandez(1-2) recieved the win alllowing just 2 runs on 4 hits. Jason Kubel went 1 for 2 with 2 runs, 2 RBIs and a homerun (1st).

Game 2 Kinnicks 5, Organ Donors 0

Clean-Sweep Kinnicks got their first shut out of the year. Odalis Perez (3-0) picked up his 3rd win of the season with a great performance. He went 6 2/3 innings allowing just 4 hits and no runs. Jamey Wright (0-1) recieved the loss; going 8 2/3 innings allowing 5 runs with 4 earned. Yuniesky Betancourt went 3 for 4 with 2 runs, 2 RBIs, and a homerun (3rd).

Game 3 Kinnicks 5, Organ Donors 2

Boof Bonser (1-0) pitched outstanding taking a shut out into the 8th inning. However he got himself into some trouble allowing 2 runs to score and loading up the bases. Bonser went 7 1/3 innings allowing 7 hits 2 walks and 2 earned runs. He struck 8 batters. Francisco Rodriguez came in early with two outs in the 8th to pick up the save, his 5th of the year. Kameron Loe (2-1) who up to this point had seemed to be pitching really well, allowed 5 earned runs to pick up the loss. Adrian Beltre smashed his 5th homer of the season. Ian Kinsler went 2 for 4, scoring twice, and stole a pair of bases.

Next:

Huge Mistakes (3-12) @ Clean-Sweep Kinnicks (10-5)
Hawaiian Organ Doners (9-7) @ Big Hebs (6-9)

Round 5 AL West: Amigos Sweep Mistakes

Paul had no luck and no runs, as a mere three scores in the series led to his Huge Mistakes being swept by Biv's Santa Poco Amigos.

Game 1: Santa Poco 5, Huge 1
W-Z.Greinke (2-1), L-J.Saunders (0-1)
Santa Poco discovered its home run stroke, as Travis Buck and Mark Grudzielanek each hit two-run jacks. The other run was scored during garbage time in a garbage way, as minor-league injury replacement Alex Cintron found a solo shot in the 9th. Amigo reliever Joakim Soria entered the game with a runner on and nobody out in the 6th and while he allowed the inherited runner to score, he was otherwise perfect in three innings of work.

Game 2: Santa Poco 4, Huge 0
W-M.Garza (2-1), L-B.McCarthy (0-1), S-J.Putz (4)
The long ball was in effect once again as bombs by Jack Cust and Justin Morneau were more than enough to support a four-man shutout by the Amigos pitching staff. Matt Garza and John Bale tossed the first eight frames and allowed only three baserunners, while David Riske tried to blow it in the 9th before J.J. Putz earned his 4th save. Maicer Izturis was the lone bright spot for Huge with two hits and a stolen base.

Game 3: Santa Poco 5, Huge 2
W-E.Santana (1-1), L-J.Danks (1-1), S-J.Soria (2)
Game 3 took on a different character as the combatants combined for 20 hits and 23 men left on base. In the end, the Amigos bullpen led the way again as a 5+ inning effort from Ervin Santana was followed by four scoreless frames from Riske, Putz, and Soria. Alex Cintron's two-out, two-run single in the 9th provided insurance for Santa Poco.

Next up -- GANZA
Santa Poco Amigos (7-8) at After The Snow (11-4)
Huge Mistakes (3-12) at Clean-Sweep Kinnicks (8-4)*

Round 5 AL East: Cougars Sweep Steamrollers

In a Sunday/Monday split series, Scott couldn't string enough together with his East team as his Army of Steamrollers dropped a series to Biv's Harrison Cougars.

Game 1: Harrison 1, Army 0
W-D.Matsuzaka (2-0), L-J.Bonderman (1-2), S-R.Perez (6)
With one out in the 8th, Placido Polanco doubled home Pudge Rodriguez, and that's all the offense there is to talk about in this game. Daisuke produced his third quality start for Harrison but was nearly outmatched by Army's Jeremy Bonderman, who got no run support in a complete game five-hit outing. Carlos Guillen had three hits for the Steamrollers.

Game 2: Harrison 8, Army 4
W-F.Rodney (1-0), L-D.Wheeler (0-2)
A tie game was broken open by Harrison in the 9th when Steamrollers reliever Dan Wheeler not only couldn't get anybody out, he got himself injured. The game was untied when Wheeler allowed a two-run single to pinch hitter Timo Perez, and it was on this pitch that the righty hurler was damaged for 3 games. On came reliever Al Reyes, who promptly surrendered a two-run bomb to Matt Stairs. This game marked Harrison's seventh win of the season and the team's first victory which was not saved by Rafael Perez.

Game 3: Harrison 10, Army 8
W-D.Cabrera (3-0), L-J.Litsch (1-2), S-R.Perez (7)
Sean Casey's second consecutive four-hit game was accentuated by a single and two long balls from the bat of Cougars SS Jhonny Peralta. A late rally by Army was once again quelled by Rafael Perez, who recorded the final two outs for his league-leading 7th save. Placido Polanco also had four hits for Harrison, who totaled 19 base knocks on the day.

Next up -- GANZA
Harrison Cougars (8-7) at Finer Things Club (8-4)*
Army of Steamrollers (5-10) at Bob Loblaw (10-5)

All three games decide by one run

To expand a bit on Chad's report: Two exhilarating wins propelled me back to health from the flu-filled fun I had had over the past several days and jumped After the Snow's record to 5-4. Meanwhile the Hawaiian Organ Donors dropped to 5-4.

Snow 4, Organ Donors 3 (W-Street, L-Buehrle, S_Guerrier)
As Ichiro goes, so goes After the snow. The speedy outfielder grabbed three base hits and stole two bases to help fuel the win. The game was missed opportunity after missed opportunity for both teams. A combined 15 men were left on base during the contest. Mike Napoli homered for the donors and Chone Figgins swiped three bags for the Donors.


Snow 5, Organ Donors 4 (W-Washburn, L-Hernandez, S-Street)
Ichicro again paced the way with two hits, a walk and stolen base. Dan Johnson and Jermaine Dye provided the pop with home runs and Washburn was effective giving up just seven hits and no walks in 61/3. The Organ Donors threatened in the ninth and pushed one run across before Huston Street came in to slam the door shut.

Snow 7, Organ Donors 8 (W-Gobble, L-Nunez, S-Jenks)
The Donors rallied for two runs in the top of the ninth to take - and ultimately hold - the lead. In the top of the inning, situational closer George Sherrill came in to slam the door shut. However, when DH Deric Barton flew out to left field Sherrill was forced to exit the game with an injury leaving only very poor mop-up relievers to pitch. And the Donors took advantage as a Mike Napoli 2-run triple off Alan Embree sealed the deal.

Round 3 AL West: Ill Norris takes 2 of 3

Scott Norris proved that there is no better medicine than playing Strat while taking a sick day. His After The Snow (AL West) squad took down the Hawaiian Organ Donors (Chad West) in two of three games Thursday afternoon, thus completing our Round 3 games.

Both teams leave the series with 5-4 records.

Snow was in a position for the sweep before a bizarre ninth inning of Game 3 saw his closer, George Sherrill, get injured with one out, thus opening the flood-gates. Mike Napoli's two-out, two-run triple off Alan Embree's card boosted the Donors to an 8-7 win. Bobby Jenks logged his 4th save in as many chances.

Snow picked up tight wins in Games 1 & 2, and commented that the victories were healing him. More details can be found when the website is updated.

Up next:
After The Snow (5-4) at Huge Mistakes (3-6)
Santa Poco Amigos (3-6) at Hawaiian Organ Donors (5-4)

Finer Things Club plays six, wins four

The Finer Things Club (Chad East) took advantage of an open Wednesday afternoon to squeeze in a pair of series, and continued its decent play by taking two of three from both the Surly Nausicians (Brian East) and Bob Loblaw (Paul East). That puts FTC and Loblaw tied atop the AL East at 8-4.

FTC has been battling an unusual pitching staff that was thrown out of whack by a seven-game injury to #4 starter Jake Westbrook and some early shellings, but the kinks seem to be getting ironed out with a long-ball mentality. The team has 20 home runs in 12 games, all from five players -- B.J. Upton (5), Robinson Cano (5), Frank Thomas (4), Jorge Posada (3) and Ryan Garko (3).

Game 1: FTC 3, Surly 2
W-Betancourt (1-0), L-Vizcaino (0-1)
A dramatic affair saw the Nausicians get a two-out, pinch-hit homer from Shelley Duncan in the top of the ninth off Rafael Betancourt, stunning the Camden Yards faithful. But FTC answered with a BP homer from DH Frank Thomas with two outs in the bottom half.

Game 2: FTC 12, Surly 6
W-J.Lopez (1-0), L-Pettitte (0-2)
This one turned into a slugfest early, as Club poured on four first-inning runs and didn't look back. Ryan Garko paced the 15-hit FTC attack with a 4-for-4 evening. David Ortiz (4th) went deep for Surly in defeat.

Game 3: Surly 5, FTC 3
W-Byrd (1-0), L-Halladay (1-1), S-Rivera (1)
Victor Martinez carried the Nausicians, blasting his first two home runs of the season and drivin gin three runs. Kenny Lofton also returned to action after an injury for Surly, battering three hits and continuing the struggles for FTC starter Roy Halladay.

Game 4: Loblaw 6,, FTC 5
W-Snyder (1-1), L-Betancourt (1-1)
Bob Loblaw sent the Rogers Centre fans home happy with a stirring rally in the bottom of the ninth. FTC had taken a 5-4 lead in the top half on B.J. Upton's solo homer with two outs, but blew it thanks to a flurry of rolls off Betancourt. Loblaw scored two runs in the bottom half, all with none out, getting the last run on a dropped fly ball by left fielder Tike Redman. Manny Ramirez was Bob's offensive star with four RBIs.

Game 5: FTC 9, Loblaw 3
W-Verlander (3-0), L-Sabathia (2-1)
A battle of staff aces went heavily Club's way as Justin Verlander improved to 3-0 with a solid outing. He allowed only one hit through seven innings before tiring. Marcus Thames was a surprise contributor with three hits for FTC, which raced to a 7-0 lead through three innings.

Game 6: FTC 7, Loblaw 3
W-Westbrook (1-0), L-Schilling (1-2), S-Betancourt (3)
Jake Westbrook returned from his seven-game injury, having pitched just 2 2/3 innings in that one season outing, and picked up the win. The Big Hurt had the crushing blow, driving home two runs in the sixth with the infield drawn in, breaking a 3-3 tie. Joba Chamberlain made his third appearance of the season, striking out Ramirez to escape a bases-loaded, two-out jam. Both teams lost their starting catchers for one game, with the news being worse for FTC since Jorge Posada was its #1 pick. Loblaw's Alex Rodriguez struggled in the series, going 2-for-12 with no RBIs.

Up next:
Bob Loblaw (8-4) at Surly Nausicians (4-5)*
Finer Things Club (8-4) at Long-ball Larry (4-8)