The Herman Sports Network

Hall of Fame Class of 2012

2012-01-12T21:35:00.002-05:00

The voters have cast their ballots, and here are the results:
These players are now in the Hall:


100% Conan
87.5% Bernie Grayson
87.5% Mike Langford
87.5% Kermit Holmes
75.0% Andre Castillo
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This group did not make it, but remain on the ballot for next year


62.5% Jake Decker
37.5% Bob Robertson
37.5% Bob Zygyk
37.5% Leon Wolf
37.5% John Connor
37.5% Vern Terrell
37.5% Bono Vox
37.5% Drummond Peltier
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These others received 2 votes each, not and will not remain on the ballot:Jim Dewey, Bill Neuman, Todd Vander Meer, Steve King, Quilvio Gato, Derek Mills,Rewind, Pudge Fernandez, Jeff Tucker, Darrel Davis, Keith Grace.

Draft Rounds 3 and 4

2012-01-09T20:51:00.000-05:00

Round 3:


Team POS Player
Det 3B Bowman, Mark
Orl P Winfield, Wilson
GD C Mitchell, Howard
Tol 3B Fernandez, Rafael
Tor 3B Campbell, Evan
Flo OF Bruce, Brendt x
Lou C Delaney, Joseph
Spr C Jaros, Mike
Hol P Lujan, Jose
Bos 3B Moreno, Anthony
Ala P Garrison, Timothy
Chi P Mahoney, Scott
Cle P Morris, Dustin
LV P Brown, Newton x
Bal SS Pena, Johan
Haw 3B Leach, Luke
Stl 3B Vatcher, Anthony x
Uta OF Robbins, Michael
Mar P Mejia, Michael
LA  P Tate, David
Pho P McAuliffe, Ryan
BA P Moncrief, Brian
Cha P Murphy, Douglas
Por 1B Villalobos, Luis
NYK P Bazan, Daniel
Tex C Cesario, Julio
Phi OF Cordova, Anthony
Den 1B Green, Charles
Mia P Wright, Freddie x
NYC P Garza, Jason

Round 4


Team POS Player
Det P Gillispie, Travis
Orl P Smith, Kyle
GD P Smith, Thomas
Tol 3B Knepper, Dustin
Tor OF Hill, James
Flo OF Flores, Rogelio
Lou P Blazek, Kevin
Spr 1B Young, Kent
Hol OF Griffin, Kenneth
Bos P Alvarez, Timothy
Ala P Hogan, Warren
Chi P Quintero, Tyrone
Cle OF Kreuter, Pat
LV 2B Westerman, Greg
Bal P Carter, Taylor
Haw C Isenhart, Ryan
Stl P Gross, Roger
Uta P Sinfonte, David
Mar P Woodward, Casey
LA  OF Moore, Jesmil
Pho P Archer, Charles
BA OF Reynolds, Brad
Cha OF Hamilton, Kent
Por P Hosey, John
NYK P Numata, Eric
Tex 1B Karlsen, Patrick
Phi P Campbell, Matthew
Den P Peraza, John
Mia P Robles, Arthur
NYC P Vasquez, Barry

Drummond

2012-01-04T09:51:00.005-05:00

You've seen the names. These guys only need one name to clue you in to who they are. Conan. Holmes. Langford. Grayson. Zygyk. Pudge. Drummond.

What's that you say? Who? Drummond? Drummond. That's right Drummond. You know the stats. You know the records. What you may not know is the story. After some investigative reporting, Kenny was able to do what Kenny do. Kenny was able to find out the rest of the story. The story of Mr. Drummond Peltier...

Drummond was a tall kid with a killer fastball. Growing up in a wealthy family and practically raised by his housekeeper, he threw harder than anyone at his boarding school. After an amazing little league career where he went 47-0 (completing every game he pitched) he lit up the Jr High circuit going 33-0 in 3 seasons where, yep you guessed it, he completed every game. Drummond then pitched for the famed North Rockland High School team in the early 90s leading them to 3 consecutive Class A state championships. This time he went 52-0 over three seasons with, you guessed it, 52 complete games. North Rockland remains the only Class A team in New York state history to win 3 consecutive state championships.

After being the most successful high school pitcher in state history, Drummond went to LSU and along with Todd Walker, led the Tigers to their 2nd National Championship in 1993 going 7-0 (with 7 complete games) as a red shirt freshman. What about the rest of his college career? Drummond played through his full elligibility and led the Tigers to two more National Championships! When all was said and done he ended his career at LSU a remarkable 74-0 with 74 complete games and 3 National Championships. This is also where he got his nickname..."Mr. Drummond"

Perhaps equally amazing in this story was that Mr. Drummond was raising his daughter, Kimberly, as a single parent throughout his pitching dominance. Once he was drafted by the Chicago Winds he was called up and pitched his first and only game of his career where he won in the only way he knew how...by pitching a complete game. During his rookie season however, his beloved houskeeper Lucy took ill and passed away. Her death-bed wish was that Mr. Drummond would take care of her two sons, Willis and Arnold. In the end Mr. Drummond did what he had to do. He moved back to New York, leaving baseball behind, and became a single parent of 3 wonderful children.

Now Kenny ain't the sentimental type. Kenny don't be shedding no tears for no one. But one thing Kenny knows...Mr. Drummond is a saint. Probably the most dominant pitcher of his generation, he belongs in the Hall of Fame. There are all types of players in the Hall and remember, it takes Differn't Strokes to move the world. (rumor has it he has been recruited by King Lewis to pitch for his beer league softball team this season)

Hall of Fame Candidates 2012

2012-01-01T13:47:00.000-05:00

The 2012 Hall of Fame Candidates have been announced.

The hitters are led by the great leadoff and cleanup hitters from the mighty Ute teams. Kermit Holmes had 3327 hits in his career, won 5 world series rings with the Utes, and played great defense in center field. He has 8 gold gloves. In 1996 Holmes became the only player in league history to hit .400 in a season with at least 500 plate appearances.

His teammate, Conan, drove in the Holmes more than anyone else in history. He also had 810 homeruns and 2397 RBI, more than anyone in APBA or MLB history. Conan won 5 world series rings in his career, 4 with Utah and one as a rookie with the Penguins.

Both Conan and Holmes left Utah as the team was broken up in 1999. Ten years later they played in their final game together, Holmes back with the Utes and Conan with the New York Cobra, as Utah won the 2009 World Series.

Bob Zygyk and Leon Wolf had great years with the Utes, and for other teams after 1998. Zygyk played in a record 10 world series.

John Conner had 2875 hits, and had his best season in 2001 (.314-34-132) as Springfield won their only world series. Vern Terrell also played for that team, hitting 30 homers and driving in 120, on the way to 408 career homers.

Pudge Fernandez was one of the greatest defensive catcher, played 20 years, and won two rings with New York in 2002 and 2006.

Rewind played 26 seasons, hanging around to age 45. He began his career in the season before Microleague, and lasted throughout that and for much of the APBA era. He was at his best as the cleanup hitter for the Stars in 1992-93, winning two rings.

Mike Langford won 3 Cy Young awards as the Ace of the Utes, threw 3 no-hitters, and completed 133 games. Andre Castillo is one of only a dozen pitchers with at least 100 career wins and a .600 winning percentage. He was the long time ace for the Louisville Sluggers, who had one of the longest runs of sustained excellence without reaching a world series.

Bernie Grayson, Steve King, and Jake Decker rank 1st, 3rd, and 4th on the all time saves list. Grayson holds the single season record of 56 saves. Grayson's greatest moment came in 1997, when he prevented the Utes from eventually winning 5 world series in a row. With a one run lead, bases loaded, and Conan coming to the plate in the bottom of the 9th, Grayson got the mighty slugger to tap a weak hit back to the mound, which he turned into a series ending double play.

Drummond Peltier never pitched a game that was not a complete game win.

All the candidates can be found here:
http://www.baseballprojection.com/apba/hof2012.htm

A King by His Own Hand

2011-12-27T00:24:00.000-05:00

Salt Lake City, Utah

My first guess as to the objective of this army was proven wrong soon after it it made its way into Salt Lake City. I thought the great barbarian Conan, the greatest home run hitter in APBA history with 810, was going to overthrow the governor. But I was spectacularly wrong. First the army passed by the governor's mansion without incident. Then I noticed that Governor Herbert was clad in plate mail, and had already joined as one of Conan's lieutenants!

The true objective, all along, was the site of Conan's greatest triumphs. The Popcorn Dome, home of the Utes, and the site of Conan's greatest triumphs. And now he leads an army against it. After surrounding the dome, a messenger is sent inside with a list of Conan's demands.

Those looking forward to bloodshed would be disappointed this day, at least until the celebration feast. The Dome took less than one hour to surrender and meet all demands. Conan has claimed his place among the lords of APBA, as the new owner of the Utes!

Gary Redenbacher, grandson of original owner Orville, will remain with the team as president. Long time general manager Gary Krause is forced out, and will take the long walk into the cursed earth. Conan names Lou Zamuda as his new GM. Redenbacher is reportedly very happy with the terms of the deal, as it allows him to keep his head.

It turns out the whole plan started a few weeks ago, when his accountant asked Conan if he would be interested in being a team owner some day. He was expecting to get Conan to put up a portion of the fortune made during his playing days, and find a group of investors. But Conan would hear none of that. He decided if he would take ownership, he would do it the barbarian way. And so he did.

Big Free Agent Signing

2011-12-25T18:03:00.002-05:00

Darin Elam has agreed to terms on an 8 year $176 million dollar contract with the New York Knights. Elam was considered the best remaining OF and will anchor CF for the Knights. Texas was also in the bidding on this one, but was not willing to go that high on Mark Crawford's replacement.

The Army Moves North

2011-12-24T11:54:00.001-05:00

Castle Gate, Utah

As the army slowly moves north, all manner of creatures join it's strength. Giants, Trolls, and Ogres come down from the mountains. The smallfolk of Utah's shires pledge their slings to the king on the ride. Perhaps most unlikely of all, a passing Khalasar, 100 thousand Dothraki horsemen strong, joins to it's strength. Their Khal is a distant cousing of the riding king, it is known.

The songs of ten thousand Bards fill the air. Most are playing the same song, over and over, "I will follow him, follow him wherever he may go" A smelly band of Yoda from the swamps join the army as well. Their mocking voices are never far behind me. I have yet been able to approach the king, but I do have a chance to speak to a small, wizened old sorcerer. His head shaven clean, he wears a necklace of teeth and a coat covered will all manner of charms and talismans. He claims to be the chronicler for the king.

He is not yet willing to tell me the name of the king, or his destination. He tells me only that the king is here to claim what is his, and do so by his own hand.

A Great and Fearsome Host Gathers

2011-12-23T01:10:00.003-05:00

Canyonlands National Park, Utah

In Southern Utah a great and mismatched army gathers. Tanks and Armored Personnel Carriers ride side by side with At-At Walkers, mounted Cavalry, and common folk, walking, and armed with nothing more than pitchforks and kitchen knives. Militia men and veterans talk of the great reckoning. Brightly colored hippies sing songs of the peace soon to be at hand. Old school Mormons, with their many wives and children, speak to the greatness of "Him". Numerous cults talk of finding infinity. All move north as one great army.

In the center rides a great mobile tent that could only belong the the leader. Is this the beginning of a revolution? Where does this army ride to? Who leads it, and for what purpose? These are questions I will answer for the Herman Sports Network, if I survive.

2012 Draft Round 2

2011-12-21T23:11:00.001-05:00

The Draft continues:


1 Detroit Devils
2 Orlando Rugrats
3 Green Day Dukes
4 Toledo Mud Hens
5 Toronto Seagulls
6 Florida Penguins
7 Louisville Sluggers
8 Springfield Isotopes
9 Hollywood B's
10 Boston Beaneaters
11 Alaska Snow Sox
12 Chicago Winds
13 Cleveland Spiders
14 Las Vegas Gamblers
15 Baltimore Colts
16 Florida (from Hawaii)
17 St Louis Robins
18 Utah Utes
19 Mars Eyebiters
20 LA Shockers
21 Phoenix Autobots
22 Bay Area Bandits
23 Charlotte Hawks
24 Portland Decepticons
25 New York Knights
26 Texas Gunfighters
27 Philadelphia Grays
28 Denver Rabbits
29 Miami Stars
30 New York Cobra

Yoda Signs Extension

2011-12-20T23:28:00.002-05:00

Yoda Skywalker, star secondbaseman for the Hawaii Hounddogs signed a 6 year/$100 Million extension last night. The contract will make Yoda the highest paid player in the history of APBA as the team will pay him $40 Million for the 2013 season.

Brooks Traded

2011-12-18T20:34:00.001-05:00

Bryan Brooks, fresh off a World Series win in Miami, is headed to Hawaii to join Eddie Bird's Hounddogs. The Stars will receive veteran pitcher John Upshaw, and save 6.8 million dollars in the exchange.

Brooks was 11-12 and struck out 186 batters last season. He has a career record of 196-176.

In order to make the trade work financially, Kana Wake agreed to restructure his recent free agent contract.

Mark Crawford to Sign with Denver Rabbits

2011-12-18T16:56:00.002-05:00

Mark Crawford is leaving Texas, and will sign a 10 year contract for 300 million dollars with the Denver Rabbits. Crawford, 31, hit .323 last season with 39 homeruns, 137 RBI, scored 136 runs, and stole 37 bases. He finished 2nd in the MVP voting to Joe Young. After being swept in the World Series by the Miami Stars, the Big Cheese apparently decided to pull out all the stops to get his Rabbits back to the World Series.When asked if he'll regret paying 30 million per year to Crawford when he's 40, Big Cheese replied "I'm 77 years old. If I'm still around at the end of this contract, I'll be happy no matter what."

Baltimore Extends Myers

2011-12-18T16:25:00.001-05:00

Baltimore signs catcher Jesse Myers to a 5 year, 100 million dollar extension. Myers would have been a free agent after the 2012 season, now he'll be in Baltimore until 2017.

Big Fish about to sign?

2011-12-18T15:07:00.002-05:00

My sources say that Mark Crawford has narrowed down his search to 4 teams: Texas, Baltimore, New York Knights, and a "mystery team". A decision could be imminent, and the contract is expected to exceed Pujols' deal. Stay tuned.

Elven Pitcher to be Posted

2011-12-18T01:02:00.001-05:00

Buddy Dervish, the Cy Young winner for the North Pole Reindeers of the Elven League, is likely to pitch in APBA for the 2012 season. Dervish, 25, is the largest elf in their league's history, standing 6 foot 5 and weighing (conservatively) 230 pounds. He was discovered during a snowball fight, and taught to harness his 95 MPH fastball by legendary manager Yukon Cornelius. Buddy posted a record of 19-4 this season, with a 1.47 ERA and 288 strikeouts while walking only 31. In addition to his fastball, he throws a curve, slider, splitter, screwball, changeup, cutter, ephus, and screwball. North Pole will accept bids at the start of the 2012 free agent auction, with the final offers being made by sealed bids on a six year contract. North Pole will receive half of the final bid amount.

Transactions 12-16-2011

2011-12-17T02:29:00.002-05:00

Las Vegas extends Joe Callahan for 7 years, 133 million. This deal replaces the 2012-2013 years under his old contract, and keeps him in Las Vegas until 2018.

Las Vegas signs 2B Trent Weaver for 2 years, 7 million.

Hawaii trades Mike Solar, Andy Stewart, and the 15th pick of the 2012 draft to Boston for RHP Bo Greenwood and reliever Ryan Stokley.

This move is a salary dump for Hawaii, and sets up this next move:

Kana Wake signs with Hawaii for 1 year, 12 million. The deal includes a 4 year, 32 million dollar team option to be decided at the end of 2012, and a full no trade clause.

Then, a three way trade between Detroit, Florida, and Hawaii:

Detroit gets: SS Manuel Lugo from Hawaii and #7 overall pick from Florida.

Florida gets: #4 overall pick from Detroit, 2nd round pick from Hawaii, and Hawaii's 2013 first round pick.

Hawaii gets: Kenny Anderson Jr. from Florida.

Florida trades SS Jed Fleming to Toledo for OF Corey Stanford.

Draft Order

2011-12-16T01:37:00.004-05:00

Here is the draft order for the first round. Only one pick changed hands this year, Denver's first round pick went to Hollywood. As picks are made, post in the comments here.


1 Green Day Dukes
2 Orlando Rugrats
3 Boston Beaneaters
4 Florida (from Detroit)
5 Toronto Seagulls
6 Toledo Mud Hens
7 Detroit (from Florida)
8 Hollywood B's
9 Springfield Isotopes
10 Louisville Sluggers
11 Alaska Snow Sox
12 Cleveland Spiders
13 Chicago Winds
14 Las Vegas Gamblers
15 Boston (from Hawaii)
16 Baltimore Colts
17 St Louis Robins
18 Mars Eyebiters
19 Utah Utes
20 LA Shockers
21 Phoenix Autobots
22 Bay Area Bandits
23 Charlotte Hawks
24 Portland Decepticons
25 New York Knights
26 Texas Gunfighters
27 Philadelphia Grays
28 Hollywood (from Denver)
29 Miami Stars
30 New York Cobra

Draft order edited to reflect trades

Eddie of Hawaii

2011-12-06T01:56:00.003-05:00

Well, it's official. Eddie Bird didn't stay unemployed long. He has been signed to a 5 year, $50 Million contract to manage the Hawaii Hounddogs. Eddie will be employing a strange, never before tried strategy this season. GM Coyote said Eddie will manage half of his games using state of the art modern technology. When pressed for additional details, Coyote said Eddie will manage all home games in person but will not travel with the team during the regular season. Instead he will manage all road games from the comfort of his new home in Maui.

Eddie has also started hiring his coaching staff as Hawaii Hall of Famer Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn has been named Pitching Coach. Rumor has it one of Eddie's former Utes will be named Hitting Coach. Vaughn will be the on-field manager for road games but will take direction from Eddie who will rumoredly use new hologram technology as seen in Star Wars. Apparently this is Coyote's own personal design.

When asked about Lewis Solo Sr, Coyote said Solo would continue to be a part of the organization as the team has no idea how to get rid of him. "He shows up everyday, so what are you going to do?" Eddie is fond of the old jawa and looks forward to working with him.

When asked for a quote Eddie said, "I look forward to calling for and witnessing several of the greatest innings in the history of the Hounddogs." When asked to comment on Brad, Eddie would only say he was happy to be in Hawaii and looks forward to facing New York in the playoffs if it comes to that. Lastly Eddie was asked about the obvious rebuilding project Hawaii will require beginning in 2013 and if he was up for it considering it has been years since he built a winner. Eddie said he was more than up for the challenge as long as Lisa Marie continued to sign his checks. He also predicted it would be a very short rebuilding project and that after winning a championship this season he would win a second championship in 2014.

Kenny isn't sure what to make of all this. But one thing is certain, Hawaii is serious about winning it all this year.

The Kid Promoted

2011-12-04T10:52:00.003-05:00

For the last couple of years, when you open the Hawaii Hounddogs media guide it lists Lewis Solo, Sr. as Manager. It also lists Lewis Solo, Jr as Bench Coach. However, it is widely known that Lewis Solo, Jr has been making the on-field calls for quite some time as his father seems to have lost his marbles.

That being said, the team officially demoted Sr to bench coach and officially promoted "The Kid" to manager at the end of the season. Now it appears the Coyote has something else up his sleeve. He has promoted Lewis Solo Jr to the front office as "Special Assistant to the GM".

When asked about Lewis Solo Sr, Coyote said, "Senior's role, along with the entire coaching staff, will be up to our next manager. Though I suspect Senior will continue showing up every day regardless what we tell him."

It is widely speculated this move may be in reaction to the availability of Eddie Bird. When asked if this was the case, Wile smiled and say, "Eddie Bird is one of the, if not the, greatest manager in the history of the game. I would not be the super genius I profess to be if I did not consider a quality candidate such as Eddie. But we have not spoken to any one at this point. This move was driven strictly by our disappointing season."

It is unknown if Eddie would be interested in Hawaii where it is widely known the team will be dismantled after the 2012 season. Would Eddie be ready to make a run immediately followed by a rebuilding project? Sure Eddie is a legendary manager of great teams, but is he even capable of rebuilding a team?

Stay tuned.

Open Season on Managers

2011-12-03T16:22:00.003-05:00

With the close of the 2011 season, we usher in the inevitable, the managers who have been fired by their respective teams. Boston is saying goodbye to Junior Floyd, coming off a disappointing 75-87 season. Also not sticking around will be Springfield's Jeff McBain (74-88) and Toledo's Fausto Cruz (71-91).

Alaska has also decided not to retain interim manager Rewind. Rewind took over last year for Ryne Solo (who was promoted to GM) and went 70-75. Alaska liked what Rewind did with the team, but in the end, he did not have the right DNA to remain the manager. After announcing his retirment from baseball, Ryne Solo Jr. (El Jawa) has been named the new manager by his father. Alaska originally wanted to trade for El Jawa last season, but Hawaii was not willing to part with their backup 1B. Now that El Jawa has retired, he was free to take the job.

In the most shocking news of the day, Brad of this Nation and Eddie Bird have announced that in a mutual decision, Eddie will not return as manager next season. Brad has agreed to let Eddie step down as manager, and Eddie has agreed to terminate the contract, leaving him without a paycheck for the first time in a long time. Eddie has not decided if he will manage again next year, but if he does, the new team will not owe the New York Cobra any compensation.

Stay tuned to THSN for your source for breaking APBA news.

WS Game 4

2011-12-03T15:10:00.004-05:00

Juan Alou, RJ Duke, and Dave Lefevre enjoy time with their first World Series trophy.

Game 4

Miami quickly jumped off to a lead against Denver starter Derek Howe. After Brian Kaat and Richie Almanzar singled, Joe Young drew a walk to load the bases. Bud McNamara unloaded them with a 3 run triple and later came around to score on a Bob Abuee double.

Miami's Jason Curry allowed a 2 run homer to Alex Maldonado in the 4th but otherwise avoided trouble. Miami took a 7-2 lead to the 9th when Bob Belardi struck out George Rivera to start the inning. Otto Tingley reached on an error, and Leopold Stotch singled. Geoff Favre came up next, and bounced one to Almanzar. He went to second for one, and the throw from Concepcion beat Favre to first for a series ending double play.

RJ Duke, who guaranteed a World Series win last January, fulfills his promise and keeps his job. Joe Young came to Miami and gets the world series win he was looking for. Bud McNamara was named series MVP. He hit .500 (8-16), drove in 10 runs with 2 doubles, a triple, and a homer, and did not strike out.

Stars One Win Away

2011-12-03T02:25:00.002-05:00

Brian Kaat and Juan Alou need one more victory.

The Stars took a 3 games to nothing lead over the Denver Rabbits. Denver scored first on solo homers by Pete Renseller and Geoff Favre. Brandon Cohen hit a 2 run homer off Ruben Ramirez to tie the game, and Bud McNamara's 2 run single put the Stars up for good after an intentional walk to Joe Young. Tim Sullivan pitched 5 innings for the win, and James Rhodes, Damon Hutchinson, and Bob Belardi were perfect over the last 4 innings.

World Series Game 2

2011-11-30T23:54:00.002-05:00

Alex Maldonado gave Denver a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the first inning off Bryan Brooks. In the bottom of the inning, Brian Kaat reached on a shortstop error and then moved to third on a hit and run single by Almanzar. Kaat made a big mistake in wandering too far off third with Joe Young at the plate, and was picked off. Young grounded out, McNamara walked, and Kei Ijawa hung a curveball to Andy Moore, who put Miami up with a 3 run homer.

Ijawa gave up 2 more runs in the 2nd, and didn't finish the inning. Miami scored a few more times off the Denver bullpen, including a solo homer by Brandon Cohen. Bryan Brooks scattered 9 hits over 6 innings, allowing 2 runs for the win. Doug Lefevre pitched 2 1/3 innings of excellent relief before Ervin Russell came in for the last 2 outs.

Miami heads to Denver with a 2-0 lead and Tim Sullivan ready to pitch. Denver will counter with their ace, Ruben Ramirez.

2011 World Series Game 1

2011-11-30T00:36:00.002-05:00

Miami sends 18 game winner Tommy Vercetti to the mound while Denver goes with Clint Meyers.

Denver strikes in the first as Joey Renseller doubles and moves to third on a one out Stan Marsh single. Alex Maldonado hits a drive to the warning track for a sacrifice and a 1-0 Denver lead. Miami gets the run right back when Meyers pitches with fear against Joe Young, walking him, and Bud McNamara follows with an RBI double into the right field corner. Joe Young scores from first against the gun of Geoff Favre.

Maldonado puts Denver up in the 3rd with a 2 run homer. The Stars tie the game back up in the 4th, as Joe Young walks again and scores ahead of a McNamara homer. In the 6th, Denver goes ahead 4-3 on a Clyde Frogg homer, but the Stars answer in the 7th. Bob Abuee leads the inning off with a homer, and one out later Prince Ferreira singles. Denver goes to the bullpen and brings in John Byrd. Byrd hits #9 batter Jim Concepcion, and with Brian Kaat batting the Stars pull off a double steal. With the infield in, Kaat pops up to strand the runners.

Richie Almanzar hit next, but the Rabbits trembled to see Mighty Joe Young step into the on deck circle. Byrd left a fat pitch over the middle, and Almanzar drove on past second baseman Butters Stotch to give Miami a 6-4 lead. Young was then intentionally walked before lefty reliever Ryan Webb retired McNamara.

Damon Hutchinson allowed a leadoff double to Otto Tingley but retired the next 3 batters to hold the 6-4 lead. In the 9th Miami went to closer Bob Belardi to face the top of the order. He struck out George Rivera before allowing a bloop single to Renseller. Stan Marsh struck out, and Alex Maldonado flew to center fielder Kaat to give the Stars game 1.

Interview with World Series Managers

2011-11-26T22:06:00.003-05:00

The 2011 World Series match up of Denver vs. Miami features two of the most successful managers in league history, although neither has won a world series, a fact that will soon change for one of these jawas.

Bewis Charles "Big Cheese" Skywalker, age 76, has managed the Denver Rabbits for 26 years, winning 2198 games. Not only is this the highest total in APBA history, only 5 managers in MLB history have more, including the recently retired Tony LaRussa, Joe Torre, and Bobby Cox. The Cheese led Denver to a world series in only his 3rd season, the strike shortened 1991 year where he lost to Portland. In 1994 his Rabbits made the series again only to lose to the Orlando Rugrats. Despite having some great teams in Denver and a virtual lock on the Central Division, it took 17 years to make it through the playoffs and return. Before managing in Denver, Skywalker was rumored to be a power hitting outfielder, but his statistics are largely unknown. He sometimes jokes about writing not having been invented during his playing days.

Ronald Jefferson "R.J." Duke is 20 years younger than his counterpart. Also a power hitting outfielder whose career was cut short due to back injuries, Duke was the first jawa to ever hit 40 home runs, which he did in 1984. Duke ranks 4th in APBA history with 1564 wins. Duke began his managerial career in the second 1991 season, and quickly established himself as one of the best in the game by turning around a last place Hawaii Cubs team and leading them to 98 wins. He even built on that with 102 wins the next year, but playoff success eluded him. R.J. finally made the world series in 2006, only to lose the most dramatic 7th game ever when Joe Thomas walked off into the sunset with a grand slam. Two years later he made it back, again facing the mighty New York Cobra, and put up less resistance the second time.

Both managers are here in THSN studios for a world series interview with your host, Lyman Solo.

Lyman: R.J., you famously guaranteed a world series win before the season even started, and said you would retire if you failed to live up to that. Are you going to hold to that promise?

Duke: I'm hoping I don't have to, but let me assure you I am a jawa of my word. I said what I had to say to send a message to Joe Young that we were as serious about getting a ring here in Miami as he was. You have to understand that Joe Young cares about winning more than anything, more than his stats, his MVP awards, the money, even the bananas. Joe has been tremendous here, not only in the batter's box, but the way he plays the game with intensity, runs the bases aggressively, and leads our players off the field. Joe has been everything that we could have imagined. And if the team we have can't get Joe that ring, I will take personal responsibility, and get out of the way so that someone else can come here to Miami and partner with Joe to get that ring.

Lyman: Big Cheese, Tony LaRussa won the world series in St Louis and decided to go out on top. If the Rabbits win, will you do the same?

Cheese: Well, Lyman, unlike R.J. here I didn't make any promises. We just have to keep our focus and keep doing the things that got us here. I don't want to provide any distractions about my status. Let's just say I'm focused on the here and now. At my age you have to avoid making too many long term plans. So I'll make a decision about 2012 if and when I live to see the next spring.

Lyman: R.J., how does this Miami team rank among the great teams in league history?

Duke: This is the greatest team I've ever managed. Part of it has to do with having the greatest player I ever managed in Joe Young, but it's more than that. This team stepped up in the middle of the summer when Joe missed a month. We have so many guys who can beat you. We've got the young guys who can get on base, run, and play defense. We've got veteran hitters who can step up when they need to, like McNamara and Tugwell. Our pitching is deep, our #6 starter went 8-1 when he needed to fill in for injured pitchers. Hutchinson was almost untouchable most of the year in the pen. These guys all play the game the right way. Even the older guys like Bud can still go first to third. People thought we'd be playing station to station ball once we signed Joe, but this team has run more than I had in the past. I credit bench coach Juan Alou for a lot of that. I still prefer power, but the answer to power or speed? is "both." You win more games when you have more ways to beat people.

Lyman: Big Cheese, do you regret almost trading Joey Renseller (MLCS MVP) over the summer? Did his trade veto create any tension on the team?

Cheese: Well, I'm glad he blocked the trade now. We wouldn't be here right now without him. At the time, we were trying to add some pop to the lineup and Elvis Dixon was available. To get a player like that you have to give something up. It was never a question of being negative on Joey, just a situation where you have to make a tough choice. This isn't softball 1000, you can only play one third baseman at a time in this league. I don't blame Joey for exercising his 5 and 10 rights. He's earned those, and I can understand not wanting to leave a first place team to go to the cellar. It wasn't a problem at all once the decision was made. We simply looked at Joey as a guy who really wanted to be here. That should be a positive, and we treated it that way.

Lyman: Big Cheese, how will the DH rule affect you? RJ, how will not having it in Denver affect your team?

Cheese: We have a very deep roster and will have plenty of options to DH. We traded for Geoff Favre specifically to help in the playoffs. He's been hurt and didn't even get into a game against Portland, but you saw the kind of outfield depth we had anyway. We could use Favre at DH and stick with the outfield alignment that has worked so well, but we also have Gary Parkman around and he's a professional hitter.

Duke: We played Joe Young at first for 80 games this year, so he's ready to play the field. He's obviously going to be out there every day, which means that Tugwell and Moore will be available for pinch hitting duties.

Lyman: Thank you, and I look forward to an exciting series.

Major League Championship Series Game 6

2011-11-26T21:27:00.002-05:00

Duane Garcia vs. Ruben Ramirez. George Rivera starts the game in grand fashion with a leadoff HR for Denver. Denver then proceeds to load the bases with 2 out in the 1st, and Vinnie Jones delivers a 2 run single. Denver leads 3-0, and the fans can start to feel that a World Series trip is inevitable. In the 3rd, Portland gets 1 run back, after Zandar Dukakis (who hit a double) scores on a Shazeem Abdul Mustafa double play grounder.

The score remains 3-1 into the 6th. To start the 6th, George Kird leads off with a single. Steve Werden then hits a 2 run HR, and the game is tied just like that. The Denver crowd is silent. Ruben Ramirez leaves the game with a line of 5.2-8-3-3-3-6, and Garcia goes 6-8-3-3-6-6. In the 8th, Trevino leads off with a double off Hernandez. Clyde Frogg (playing 2B after a double switch) then singles to right center to drive home Trevino. Rivera, Renseller, and Marsh are all quickly retired to end the inning.

Denver leads 4-3 heading into the 9th. Big Cheese hands the ball to Paul Williamson, who is three outs away from sending Denver to the World Series for the first time in 17 years (1994-1 season). Cedeno grounds out to SS...1 down. Dukaksi strikes out...2 down. Dante Henderson then works a walk to extend the game. With the righty Mustafa due up, Portland pinch hits Jason Durazo, and pinch runs for Henderson with Shadow Russell. Durazo grounds to Gaedell at SS who throws to 1B, and the game is over.

Denver wins the game 4-3, and wins the series 4 games to 2. The celebration has started in Denver, since after so many years of making the playoffs, they have finally advanced to the World Series. Joey Renseller (who was nearly traded as part of the Favre trade, but exercised his 10/5 rights to void the deal) is named the Major League Playoff MVP. Renseller hit .302 - .444 -.488 with 11 walks in 12 games, and did not make an error at 3B.

Major League Championship Series Game 5

2011-11-26T21:17:00.002-05:00

Kei Ijawa vs. Roger Lewis. In the 1st, Portland takes a 4-0 lead, highlighted by a Zandar Dukakis 3-run HR. In the 2nd, Denver gets 1 back after Tingley doubles and eventually scores on a ground out. In the 4th, Dukakis drives home Roger Lewis with a double to make it 5-1. Ijawa is pinch hit for in the next inning, and leaves with a disappointing game 4-7-5-5-2-2.

The score remains 5-1 until the 8th. In the top of the 8th, Otto Tingley hits a 2-out, 3-run HR to make it a 1-run game. Roger Lewis retires the next batter, and leaves after 8 innings, going 8-7-4-4-3-8. To the 9th, Portland does not have Jake Richardson available, so they instead turn to Fernando Hernandez. Gaedell starts off the inning poorly with a strikeout. Vinnie Jones then hits a ball off the wall for a double. Keith Cerrano then pinch hits for the pitcher and flies out to CF. George Rivera then flies out to RF to end the game. Portland wins Game 5 by a score of 5-4. They avoid elimination and send the series back to Denver for Game 6. Denver will have the services of Stan Marsh for Game 6, and if necessary, Geoff Favre for Game 7.

Major League Championship Series Game 4

2011-11-26T20:58:00.002-05:00

Clint Meyers vs. Bill Drummond. Alex Maldonado gives Denver a 2-0 lead in the first with a 2 run HR. In the 4th, Maldonado leads off the inning with a triple, and scores a few outs later on an Ozzie Gaedell single. In the 5th, Maldonado hits a sacrifice fly to extend the Denver lead to 4-0. In the 5th, Portland gets on the board with a George Kird solo HR. The score remains 4-1 into the 8th. Meyers pitches a great game, going 7-3-1-1-4-6.

In the bottom of the 8th, Ryan Webb gets the first 2 batters out. Then Zandar Dukakis works a walk. With 4 outs to go, Denver goes to Paul Williamson again. Dante Henderson rips a double down the left field line, sending Dukakis to 3B. Jason Durazo then singles to RF to score both runners, and make it a 4-3 game. Cedeno and George Kird follow with singles that tie the game at 4. Denver then relieves Williamson, going to Jerry Grider, who gets the 3rd out.

To the 9th, Portland goes with Jake Richardson. Mejias leads off with a single. George Rivera then singles to right-center, and the ball is misplayed by Dante Henderson. Mejias tries to score, but is thrown out at the plate. Rivera does take 2B. Clyde Frogg pops out to 3B. With 2 outs, Joey Renseller grounds out to end the threat. Portland is scoreless in the 9th.

In the 10th, Maldonado leads off with a double. After a Tingley strikeout, Gaedell gets a 1-out single to move Maldonado to 3B. With Hamilton up, Denver puts on the suicide squeeze. The ball is bunted towards first, and Durazo is able to shuffle the ball home to get Maldonado for the 2nd out. Trevino then hits a single to LF and Denver leads 5-4. Mejias then singles to RF to make it 6-4.

In the bottom of the 10th, John Byrd shuts Portland down 1-2-3, and Denver wins Game 4 6-4. They now lead the series 3-1.

Major League Championship Series Game 3

2011-11-26T20:42:00.003-05:00

Derek Howe vs. Joel Camels. In the 1st inning, Jason Durazo hits a 2 run double to give Portland a 2-0 lead. In the 4th, Camels retires the first 2 batters, before surrendering a 2 out walk to Joey Renseller. Maldonado then follows with an RBI double. After a Tingley walk, Gaedell hits a single to tie the game at 2. The game remains that way for the next few innings. In the 6th, Camels gives us back to back singles to create a 1st and 3rd jam with 1 out. Vinnie Jones is retired by strikeout and Jose Trevino pops up to end the threat.

In the bottom of the 7th, Portland pinch hits for Camels with Jay Hendricks, who works a 1 out walk. Steve Werden hits a 2 out double to give Portland the 3-2 lead, but Werden is thrown out trying to draw the throw to 3B. In the 8th, Portland turns to Fernando Hernandez again. Renseller leads off with a double, but Maldonado strikes out. Tingley then lines out to Durazo, and he fires to 2B to try to double up Renseller. Renseller beats the throw, and remains at 2B with 2 outs. Ozzie Gaedell singles up the middle to tie the game, and takes 2B on the play at the plate. Vinnie Jones then singles to LF to give Denver the 4-3 lead.

In the 9th, Denver hands the ball to Williamson one more time. Cedeno flies out, Kird strikes out, and Dallas Knight Jr. grounds out to 2B to end the game. Denver wins Game 3 by the final score of 4-3, and leads the series 2-1.

Major League Championship Series Game 2

2011-11-26T20:26:00.002-05:00

Duane Garcia vs. Ruben Ramirez. This one is a pitching duel all the way. In the bottom of the 1st, Stan Marsh is hit by a pitch, and will be out until Game 6. Denver will substitute Clyde Frogg for rest of the game and series, but will hold the roster spot open so Stan can play if Denver reaches the World Series. Each pitcher is cruising through the first 4 innings, with no runs or hits on the scoreboard for either team. In the 5th, Shazeem Abdul Mustafa breaks up the no-hitter with a single to RF. With 2 outs, George Kird and Steve Werden work walks to load the bases. Duane Garcia then steps to the plate, and also works a walk. Portland leads 1-0. Hansel Wilson then grounds out to end the inning.

In the bottom of the 6th, Duane Garcia strikes out the side. He now has 9 strikeouts through 6 innings, and has not allowed a hit. In the bottom of the 7th, Clyde Frogg breaks up the no-hitter and the shutout with one swing, tying the game on a solo HR to right. Maldonado then walks, and Otto Tingley singes to RF to put runners at 1st and 2nd with no outs. After Gaedell strikes out, Vinnie Jones singles to LF to score Maldonado. Tingley tries for 3rd to draw the throw, and succeeds. The run scores, but Tingley is thrown out for the 2nd out. With 2 outs, Garcia is able to get P Ruben Ramirez to pop out to end the inning.

Garcia finishes the game 7-3-2-2-4-10, but leaves on a low point. Ramirez gets through the 8th, as neither team scores. Ramirez exits the game in the 9th, for Paul Williamson. Ramirez goes 8-1-1-1-3-7. Williamson pitches the 1-2-3 9th, and Denver takes Game 2 by the final score of 2-1.

Major League Championship Series Game 1

2011-11-26T19:53:00.002-05:00

Portland at Denver, Roger Lewis vs. Kei Ijawa. Denver is playing this series without starting 2B Leopold "Butters" Stotch, and will be without starting RF Geoff Favre, unless the series goes to 7 games. In the 3rd, George Kird tries to score on a fly ball to RF, but Alex Maldonado guns him down at the plate. In the bottom of the inning Portland LF Hansel Wilson returns the favor by throwing out SS Ozzie Gaedell on a single by George Rivera. In the bottom of the 4th, Denver takes the 1-0 lead on a solo HR from Stan Marsh. In the top of the 5th, Portland immediately ties it back up on a solo HR from 3B Lance Dixon.

In the 6th, Portland scores twice (first on an RBI single from Dante Henderson, and then on a Shazeem Abdul Mustafa sacrifice fly. Ijawa leaves the game going 5.2-5-3-3-2-3. In the bottom of the 6th, Denver cuts the lead to 3-2 on a Joey Renseller solo HR. In the bottom of the 7th, Denver rallies for 2 runs to take the lead. With 2 outs, Roger Lewis issues 3 consecutive walks. Stan Marsh makes him pay with a 2 run single to RF.

After 7 innings, Denver leads 4-3. In the 8th, Portland shows some life. Hansel Wilson starts things off with a single. After Cedeno and Dukakis make outs, Dante Henderson works a walk. Needing 4 outs, Denver goes to ace closer Paul Williamson, perhaps one of the two or three greatest closers in league history. Portland pinch hits for Mustafa with the lefty Jason Durazo. Durazo works a walk to load the bases. Portland then pinch hits the lefty specialist Chris Burton for Lance Dixon. Burton delivers a 2 run single to RF, and Portland takes a 5-4 lead. George Kird then steps to the plate and hits a long fly ball to RF, Maldonado goes to the fence, runs out of room, leaps, and robs Kird of a 3-run HR. Maldonado keeps Denver in the game by robbing George Kird for the 2nd time in the game.

In the bottom of the 8th, Otto Tingley leads off with a double to chase Roger Lewis. Portland brings in the lefty Mike Tarbett to face Alex Hamilton, who works a walk. Portland then goes to Fernando Hernandez to face 2B Vinnie Jones, and gets the strikeout. Ozzie Gaedell then pops up to 2B for the 2nd out. Denny Berroa then pinch hits for Williamson and pops out to Shortstop.

Portland doesn't threaten in the 9th, and in the bottom half, goes to Jake Richardson to save the game, facing the top of the Denver lineup. Richardson gets George Rivera, Joey Renseller, and Stan Marsh to strike out, and Portland wins game 1 5-4. Roger Lewis gets the win, 7-8-4-4-4-5.

Happy Birthday

2011-11-26T11:31:00.000-05:00

Happy 50th birthday to Gerald White of the Penguins. He's already the oldest position player in league history. As a birthday present, the Penguins sent Gerald an invitation to 2012 Spring Training. Gerald eagerly accepted.

SLCS Game 6

2011-11-13T11:51:00.002-05:00

New York sends Elladan Corinvar to the mound, Miami goes with Tim Sullivan. Stars catcher Bud McNamara is worn down and unable to play this one. The 38 year old catcher had caught every one of Miami's playoff games to date, and hit .375/.490/.600.

Dirk Lindros puts New York up 1-0 with a solo homer in the 2nd. In the bottom of the 2nd, Andy Moore walks, followed by a Bob Abuee double. One out later, backup catcher Dan Jernigan gets a huge 2 RBI single in his first at bat of the postseason (he had caught an inning on defense earlier).

After adding a run in the 3rd, Miami came up with 4 in the 4th. With 2 out and bases loaded, Richie Almanzar singles in two. Joe Young hits one back to the pitcher, and reliever Jay Dessau makes a throwing error to allow another run to score. Finally, a wild pitch brings in a run to give Miami a 7-1 lead.

Tim Sullivan runs into some trouble in the 6th, allowing 3 runs. Jim Gwosdz doubles in one, Almanzar makes an error to allow a second, and a sac fly brings in the third. Dirk Lindros homers in the 7th to make it a 7-5 game. Gwosdz homers off reliever James Rhodes in the 8th, and we've got a 1 run game.

Miami adds 2 insurance runs in the bottom 8th as Brian Kaat scores on a wild pitch and Almanzar score on a sac fly. Bob Belardi comes out to pitch the 9th, protecting a 3 run lead.

Mike Perry flies out to center. Vernon Coles doubles. Lindros singles, and the tying run comes to the plate. With Stuart Johnson batting, Belardi bounces a slider that gets away from Jernigan. Coles scores, but Lindros makes a spectacular baserunning blunder, trying for 3rd base despite the fact that his teams was still down two. Jernigan recovers, and throws Lindros out at 3rd. Johnson then flies to Brian Kaat, and Miami is going to the World Series.

Joe Young had 5 homers in the playoffs, but none in the final 4 games, where he went 3 for 18. The Superior League Playoff MVP goes to Richie Almanzar, who hit .440 (22 for 50) in the 12 games. He also had 7 doubles, 13 runs, and 12 RBI. With him and Brian Kaat (21-54, .389), the Stars constantly had people on base at the top of the order.

SLCS Games 4 and 5

2011-11-13T11:11:00.002-05:00

Game 4

New York started the scoring with a 2 out double by Lindros in the first. Bob Abuee tied the game at 1 with a double in the second. Brian Kaat puts Miami up 2-1 with a sac fly in the 5th, but in the bottom of the inning the game falls apart as the Knights score 7 times off Jason Curry and the bullpen.

In the bottom 5th, Jim Gwosdz reached on an error by catcher McNamara and with one out Jose Isales doubled him home. After a single by Perry, Richie Almanzar booted a ground ball that could have gotten Miami out of the inning. After a few more hits, Ernie Escobar puts New York up 8-2 with a 3 run homer. The Stars never seriously threatened after that, and New York wins 9-3.

Game 5

With 2 out in the top of the first, Bud McNamara singles to right with Joe Young on first, and Lindros lets the ball get by him for an error. Young scores and the Stars are up 1-0. Stars get a second run in the 3rd when Andy Moore knocks in Richie Almanzar. Tommy Vercetti pitches 7 1/3 innings for his best playoff start so far, giving up 8 hits, no runs, 2 walks, and 8 strikeouts. Stars lead 3-0 into the 9th, when a big inning capped by back to back homers off the bats of Moore and Brandon Cohen put the Stars up 8-0. Bob Belardi pitched a 1-2-3 9th to make that score stand up. Stars head back to Miami needed one more win to reach the world series.

SLCS Game 3

2011-11-12T23:40:00.002-05:00

Brian Kaat got Miami started against Doug Pearson with a homerun to lead off the game. In the bottom of the inning, Brian bailed out Bryan Brooks by leaping at the fence to rob Mike Perry of a 2 run homer. Brooks loaded the bases with one out in the first, but got Dirk Lindros to pop up before striking out Jose Isales.

In the second, Miami loaded the bases for Brian Kaat, who forced in a run with a walk. Richie Almanzar then unloaded the bases with a 3 run double.

Brooks pitched 7 innings for the win, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks. Miami now leads the series 2-1. Ho Chi Fat was hit by a pitch and will likely miss the rest of the series. Both teams are now playing short handed, as Miami shortstop Jim Concepcion is out as well. Neither team is willing to make a roster move though, as doing so would prevent that player from playing in a potential World Series.

Superior League Championship Series

2011-11-06T10:42:00.003-05:00

Game 1: New York 8 Miami 3

Stars scored first, with Bud McNamara driving RBI hits in the first and third innings. Tommy Vercetti though, having a terrible postseason, could not hold the 2-0 lead. New York scored 3 in the fourth and 2 more in the sixth. Ho Chi Fat homered, and Vernon Coles had 3 hits and 2 RBI.

In the eighth inning Miami wasted a big opportunity with one out when Rich Almanzar, Joe Young, and McNamara reached to load the bases. Andy Moore then sent a flyball into right center. Almanzar tagged, but Joe Young read it off the bat that it was going to fall in. As it did, Young made a terrible mistake and passed Almanzar around third. Young was called out immediately. While Almanzar did score, Moore was thrown out going to second, and the inning was over. New York scored 3 in the 9th off the Miami bullpen to put the game away.

Game 2: Miami 9 New York 4

Vernon Coles tripled in a run in the second, and scored on a sac fly to give New York a 2-0 lead. Lindros added an RBI double in the 3rd. Then the Miami bats woke up. The score 2 in the bottom 3rd, and 5 more in the 4th, with everyone in the lineup contributing. Miami only had two extra base hits in the game, but piled the runs on by running the bases loaded offense. Bob Abuee had 3 hits, and Joe Young and Brian Kaat each drove in 3.

Tim Sullivan went 7 innings for the win. Miami shortstop Jim Concepcion was injured on a HBP. X-rays on his wrist indicated it was just a bruise, but Miami will be without him unless the series goes to 7 games. Elvis Lambo will take over at short, Miami will keep Concepcion on the roster so that he will be eligible if they make the world series.

Superior League Division Series, Games 4-6

2011-11-05T23:53:00.001-04:00

Miami vs. Charlotte

Game 4

Miami starts Jason Curry, who has barely pitched in the last 45 days. Charlotte gives the ball to Dave Fitzgerald. Charlotte Strikes first in the 3rd inning, as Eddie Cedeno blasts a 3 run homer. Joe Young puts Miami on the board with a solo homer in the 4th. In the 8th inning Miami gets the first 2 runners on the corners. Brian Kaat hits into a double play, which scores one run but ends the rally. In the 9th, the Stars have one more chance to tie the game against closer Rob Porter. Bud McNamara triples with one out, and speedy Duke Jackson comes in to run for him. Andy Moore flies out to left fielder Bobby Rayburn, and Jackson tries to score. Rayburn makes a perfect throw to Tommy Miller, and Charlotte holds on to tie up the series.

Game 5

Miami knocks Charlie Zito out again in the 3rd inning. Joe Young connects for a pair of homers in the 3rd and 4th innings, and the Stars take an 8-1 lead. Tommy Vercetti struggles with his control, walking 5 and striking out 3 in 6 innings, but gives Miami a bare minimum quality start (6 innings, 3 runs). The Stars hold on for an 8-4 win, though Bob Belardi makes things interesting in the 9th, bringing the tying run to the on deck circle before getting Rayburn to fly to the warning track in left. Young had 5 RBI, and Kaat had 4 hits. Young now has 5 homeruns in the series.

Game 6

Charlotte hits Tim Sullivan hard, getting 5 runs in the second inning. The lead doesn't last for long though, as the Stars get on back in the bottom of the 3rd, and then explode for 7 in the 4th to knock out Jo-Jo Lewis, possibly pitching the final game of his career. The Stars don't let up against Orlando Baker and Tommy Klink, piling up 19 hits and 14 runs for the day. Jason D'Antonio pitches 3 scoreless innings in relief of Sullivan for the win, and the Stars take the game 14-8, and the series 4 games to 2.

New York vs. Texas

Game 4

Down 2 games to 1, the Knights take a 1-0 lead in the first on a Dirk Lindros RBI single. This would be enough, as Elladan Corinvar would go on to pitch 8 1/3 shutout innings, striking out 8 and allowing only 4 hits and 2 walks. But New York had a lot more in store, including a Lindros 2 run homer and a Jose Isales grand slam in a 7 run 6th inning. The final score was 13-0.

Game 5

Texas brought out the ace lefty in Rufus Anderson, who went the distance on a 3 hitter, striking out 9. But New York managed to scratch a run off Rufus as Ernie Escobar hit a sac fly in the 7th inning after Brandon Bergeron stole third. Doug Pearson pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, and Joe Dirte struck out the side in the 9th to give New York a 1-0 victory.

Game 6

Eddie Carey and Bjorn Frostad gave the series another great pitcher's duel. In the 7th, New York took a 2-0 lead. Jose Isales led off with a double, and Vernon Coles drew a walk. After Keith Johnson struck out, a wild pitch moved the runners up. Light hitting catcher Jim Gwosdz followed with a bloop double down the left field line for 2 RBI.
Carey was in command. He didn't allow a hit until the 5th inning, and brought a 1 hitter into the 9th. After getting the leadoff hitter out in the 9th, Don Muttonly went to the bullpen, bringing in lefty Joey Fernandez to face Mark Crawford. Crawford singled, and Muttonly went to his closer, Dirte, to try and finish the series. After back to back doubles by Billy Stanley (batting for injured Manny Ortez) and Willie Gomez, the game was tied.
Both bullpens were strong in extra innings. In the 13th, New York broke through against Charles Morrow, in his 3rd inning of relief. Ho Chi Fat led off with a walk. Ernie Escobar pinch ran and stole 2nd. Stuart Johnson hit a slow bouncer up the middle just out of the reach of both the SS and 2B, and the Knights led 3-2. In the bottom of the 13th, Joe Cerda and Jay Dessau pitched a 1-2-3 inning to give the Knights the series win. Dessau struck out Willie Gomez, the hero of inning #9, to end the game.

Philadelphia at Denver Game 6

2011-10-30T17:45:00.002-04:00

Oswalt vs. Howe: Leopold "Butters" Stotch becomes the latest player to suffer the injury bug this series, suffering a concussion on a hit by pitch in the 2nd inning. Derek Howe hits a double in the 3rd to tie the game at 1. In the 4th, he hits a 2-run single to give Denver a 4-1 lead. To the 9th, the score is 4-2, and Paul Williamson comes in looking for the save. Ruiz grounds out. PH Jake Riggs launches a ball to right but its goes foul. His next swing puts the ball over the right center fence for a solo HR. Jimmy Taylor then singles. He contemplates the steal, but would hate to be caught and never give Paul White a chance to swing the bat. Instead, Bulger pops up to the catcher for out #2. Paul white steps to the plate, and with 2 strikes, takes a close one on the corner. The umpire flails his arms in the air to indicate strike three, and the season is over for Philadelphia. Denver wins the series 4 games to 2 and will host Portland in the LCS. However, they will do so without Butters, and with Favre only available for game 7. Howe W 6.2-6-2-2-3-3, Williamson S 1-2-1-1-0-1, Oswalt L 6-7-4-4-3-4.

New York at Portland Games 3 & 4

2011-10-30T12:55:00.002-04:00

Game 3: Roscoe Savage vs. Roger Lewis. Portland scores 3 runs in the bottom of the first, and those were the only runs scored in the game. Roger Lewis follows up his clinching shutout in Game 162 with 8 shutout innings 8-6-0-0-4-6, while Jake Richardson saves it for Portland 1-0-0-0-1-2. Savage takes the loss 6-7-3-3-3-4. New York is now down 3 games to 0, and will still be without Chad White for games 4 and 5.

Game 4: Pedro Lewis vs. Joel Camels. In a desparation move, New York goes with ace Pedro Lewis on 3 days rest in lieu of usual #3 starter Steven Hyde. Lewis and Camels don't disappoint, delivering a pitching duel for the ages. Lewis is mowing everyone down, and not letting Portland even sniff a rally. Meanwhile, Camels is somewhat wild, but does not allow a base hit until he had one out in the 8th inning. However, New York is not able to score. In the 9th, Camels strikes out 2 batters in a 1-2-3 inning. He finishes 9-1-0-0-6-7. In the bottom of the 9th, Pedro Lewis is still in the game. Not surprising, given he has only faced 26 batters and the New York bullpen has been shaky in the series.

Joel Camels is pinch hit for with lefty specialist Chris Burton. Pedro promptly strikes him out for his 12th strikeout of the game.
Hansel Wilson then works a walk.
With Paul Hagan doing the catching, there is no way Portland is going to try for the steal here. Instead, Steve Werden gets the hit and run sign.
Werden grounds one into the 2nd base hole, Buckley dives and the ball boots off his glove. Wilson gets to 3B and Werden stays at first on the error.
With 1 out and runners at 1st and 2nd, New York has to play the infield in. Zandar Dukakis hits the ball deep to LF, Gehrig Bear makes the catch, but his momentum takes him towards the wall. Wilson scores easily from third on the sacrifice fly, and New York is swept out of the playoffs.

The final score is 1-0. Pedro goes 8.2.-1-1-0-2-12. Chad White never gets to make an appearance in the series. New York fails to make the LCS for the first time since 2004, when another Portland team was able to pull off the miracle. New York finishes the season with back to back shutouts, and overall, 20 consecutive scoreless innings.

Denver at Philadelphia, Games 3-5

2011-10-30T12:33:00.002-04:00

Game 3: Kei Ijawa vs. Kyle Bonderman. Denver gets a 1-0 lead in the 1st on an Alex Maldonado sac fly. The sac fly was setup by a Stan Marsh double off the leg of 3B Domingo Chavez. The leg isn't broke, but Chavez may miss the remainder of the series. Meanwhile Kei Ijawa has a no-hitter going into the 8th until it is broken up. Maldonado adds an insurance run in the 9th with a solo HR, and Ijawa finishes off the 2-0 shutout. Ijawa W 9-2-0-0-1-7, Bonderman L 7.2-4-1-1-1-4/

Game 4: Clint Meyers vs. Casey Henderson. This one was close all the way. Early on, Denver suffers a big blow, when Geoff Favre is hit by a pitch, and will be out the rest of the series. X-Rays were inconclusive, and he may even miss time in the LCS, if Denver gets there. This game is tied 4-4 going into the bottom of the 9th. Jimmy Taylor gets a leadoff walk, moves to 2nd on a groundout, and scores the winning run on a Paul White single to CF. Philly wins 5-4, and the series is tied at 2 games apiece.

Game 5: Ruben Ramirez vs. Rudy Baker. Denver turns this one into a laugher, exploding for 11 runs, 10 hits, and 8 walks. Alex Maldonando hits a big 3-run HR in the 3rd, to give Denver a 4-0 lead. Ozzie Gaedel hits a 3 run HR later to put the game well out of reach. Denver wins 11-1, and takes a 3-2 series lead as the series shifts back to Denver. Ramirez W 6-4-0-0-0-6, Baker L 4.1-5-6-6-4-2.

Superior League Division Series

2011-10-28T10:36:00.003-04:00

Miami Vs. Charlotte

Game 1 CHA 12 MIA 11

Jacen Solo started the scoring with a solo homer off Tom Vercetti. Joe Young put Miami back on top with a 2 run homer in the bottom half of the inning. The scoring didn't end there, as both Charlie Zito and Tom Vercetti failed to go past 4 innings. Miami trailed by 3 in the bottom 8th and tied the game with 3 runs on hits by Rich Almanzar, Joe Young, and Bud McNamara. Sergio Perez connected for a homer off Bob Belardi in the 9th, and Rob Porter shut down the Stars to take game 1.

Game 2 MIA 6 CHA 1

Tim Sullivan gave up a run in the first but dominated the rest of the game, pitching 9 innings, allowing 4 hits, 2 walks, and striking out 10. Young and McNamara both homered for the Stars as they evened up the series. Jojo Lewis failed to complete the 4th inning for Charlotte.

Game 3 MIA 7 CHA 3

Bryan Brooks pitched a strong 7 innings and Andy Moore connected for a 3 run homer as the Stars took the lead. Brandon Cohen also had a pair of RBI doubles.

Texas vs. New York

Game 1 NYK 5 TEX 4

Manny Ortez had two homers, and Texas took a 2 run lead to the 9th, but closer Matt King couldn't hold it. In the 9th, Dirk Lindros started things with a walk. Keith Johnson followed with a double to make it a one run game.After an Ernie Escobar infield single, light hitting catcher Jim Gwosdz hit a flyball over Mark Crawford's head to give New York the lead. Joe Dirte pitched a scoreless 9th for the save.

Game 2 TEX 11 NYC 5

Texas batted around for 7 runs in the 8th to even up the series. Manny Ortez had 4 RBI as Bjorn Frostad pitched a strong 8 innings for the win.

Game 3 TEX 3 NYC 2

Texas got 3 runs in the first 5 innnings off a wild Mike Carpenter, who walked 8 in 4 2/3 innings. Johnny Jackson pitched a strong game, with his only mistake a 2 run homer in the 5th by Mike Perry. Both bullpens were strong this time. Charles Morrow pitched the 7th and 8th, striking out 4 and allowing one hit and no runs while showing 100 MPH several times on the radar gun. Matt King recovered from his disastrous game one performance with a 3 up, 3 down 9th.

Superior League Division Series

2011-10-28T10:36:00.000-04:00

Miami Vs. Charlotte

2011 MVP

2011-10-25T21:19:00.002-04:00

Superior League

Joe Young wins his 5th MVP award and 3rd in a row. After signing a megadeal in Miami, Joe won the batting title at .365, hit 35 homers and drove in 103 runs. His OBP of .462 was second in the league, and he led with a .657 slugging percentage while leading his team to 100 wins.

Mark Crawford is used to finishing runner up to Young, and did so again. Crawford hit .323, hit 39 homers, stole 37 bases, scored 136 runs and knocked in 137. A fine lefty hitter, center fielder, and Texas fan favorite, his career might be what Josh Hamilton's would look like if he were a bit more durable and stayed away from drugs at the start of his career.

Frank Lewis (.496 OBP) finished 3rd, followed by Sam Robinson and Jacen Solo.

Major League

Wellington Gehrig Bear wins the award in his first season as a NY Cobra. The Bear hit .325 with 31 homers and 105 RBI. Finishing a close second, Miguel Cruz and his Bay Area Bandits fell just short of the playoffs. Cruz won the batting title (.330) and also hit 33 homers and drove in 115. Yoda Skywalker (.315, 27 HR, 31 SB) finished 3rd, followed by Chad White (36 HR, 121 RBI) and Hank Crowell (31 HR, 112 RBI).

Bear wins his second MVP award, and has now won the award in both leagues. He joins Conan, Jose Rubiera, and Rod Jackson as the only players to do so.

Portland at New York Game 2

2011-10-23T17:50:00.002-04:00

Rene St. Claire vs. Jaret Benser: Portland scores 3 in the 1st, on a 2 run 2B from Jason Durazo, and lead 4-0 after 2 innings. In the bottom of the 2nd, Benser helps his own cause with a bases loaded 2-out 2B to cut the lead in half. Each starter fails to go 5 innings, and by the bottom of the 7th, a W. Gehrig Bear HR ties the game at 5. In the 8th, Dante Henderson hits a solo HR off Doug Freeman to give Portland a 6-5 lead. Fernando Gonzalez gets a key double play to end the 8th for Portland. In the 9th, Papelbrad is trying to hold the 1 run lead, one day after his meltdown and subsequent temper tantrum. Hansel Wilson leads off with a 2 base error through the legs of 1B Eric "Buckner" Hollins. After Werden and Dukakis make outs, 8th inning hero Dante Henderson steps to the plate. Henderson connects for a 2 run HR to give Portland a 8-5 lead. Jake Richardson shuts down New York in the 9th as Portland takes a 2-0 series lead.

New York wii welcome Manfred Mueller back into the starting lineup for game 3. Henderson goes 3-5 with 3 runs, 4 RBI, and 2 HR. St. Claire 4-4-4-4-3-3, Drummond W 3-4-1-1-1-4 (in the Ogando role), Richardson S 1-0-0-0-0-1, Benser 3.2-8-5-5-2-2, Rocker 3.1-0-0-0-1-5 (also went 2-2 at the plate).

Major League Playoffs Portland at New York

2011-10-23T17:07:00.002-04:00

Game 1: Duane Garcia vs. Pedro Lewis. New York has their ace on the mound, but due to injuries, Manfred Mueller and Chad White will be out for the first 2 and 5 games respectively. Both teams score 1 run in the first, courtesy of RBI doubles from Dante Henderson and W. Gehrig Bear. By the 6th, New York leads 3-1. In the top of the 7th, Portland rallies for 2 runs to tie the game, and in the process, chases Pedro Lewis from the game. In the bottom of the 7th, Brett Solo gets a 2 run 2B from off Fernando Hernandez to go up 5-3. In the 9th, New York turns to Papelbrad, the games most dominant reliever to close out the game. Jason Durazo leads off with a single. Luciano Cedeno follows with a walk. Jarrett then grounds a ball of 1B Eric Hollins' glove for an error to load the bases. Dallas Knight Jr. Unloads the bases with a mammoth grand slam to right. Papelbrad is disgusted, as Portland takes a 7-5 lead. Back to back doubles and an error from Kal Chiilingworth later, Portland leads 9-5. Jetstorm finishes off New York in the 9th 1-2-3, and Portland steals game one 9-5. Pedro 6.2-7-3-3-2-4 (we may see him in game 4), Papelbrad L 0-3-5-4-1-0 (the worst game of his career).

Major League Playoffs PHI @ DEN Games 1 & 2

2011-10-23T15:14:00.002-04:00

Game 1: Rudy Baker vs. Ruben Ramirez. In the top of the first, Philadelphia RF Willie Rivera is injured on a hit by pitch, and will miss the rest of the series. In the 2nd, Denver's CF George Rivera hits a 2 run HR. Ron Foreman and Stan Marsh trade homers in the 4th, and Denver's bullpen seals it for a 4-2 win. Ramirez W 6-7-2-2-2-5, Baker L 7-7-4-4-2-8, Williamson S 1-1-0-0-0-1.

Game 2: Lee Harvey Oswalt vs. Derek Howe. Philly wins 4-1 on a strong performance from Oswalt W 7-3-1-1-4-6. Howe gets the loss, but pitched well 7-8-2-2-2-5. Devarez gets the 4-out save. Philadelphia elects to not replace Willie Rivera on the roster, so that he can remain eligible for the next round. Corey Sloan goes 2-3 in his place.

2011 Cy Young

2011-10-20T22:39:00.002-04:00

Major League:

Roger Lewis wins the award over his brother Pedro. Roscoe Savage finishes third and Jon Papelbrad fourth.

Roger led the league with an 18-8 record and 255 strikeouts. He had a 2.81 ERA in 237 innings, and pitched Portland into the playoffs with a victory on the final day of the season.

Pedro was 15-8 with a league best 2.38 ERA, his teammate Savage was 17-3 with a 2.64 ERA. Papelbrad had a 1.59 ERA, struck out 78 batters in 68 innings, and saved 47 games in 49 chances.

Superior League

Paul Finch runs away with the award. He led the league in wins (20-8, only 20 game winner in APBA this year), ERA (3.15) and strikeouts (254). Tom Vercetti (18-9, 3.41) tied for second with Douglas Pearson (18-6, 3.92). Winning Ute Alex Murray (15-5, 3.89) comes in fourth.

Rookies of the Year

2011-10-18T23:03:00.002-04:00

Major League:

Ryan Freeman of Detroit wins the award. The third baseman hit .304 in 404 at bats, and showed both power (14 homers, 36 doubles) and excellent contact skills (only 38 strikeouts, or about what Adam Dunn does in 2 weeks). While there were questions about whether he would be able to stick at third defensively, Freeman played a solid third base and looks like a future allstar.

Shane Canzler of Hawaii finished second, although he would not have been eligible to win the award anyway, since he's not a rookie. Canzler hit .256 in 414 at bats, after getting 325 AB last season. Hollywood's Willie Strickland finished third, pitching 76 innings with a 2.93 ERA.

Superior League

Charlotte first baseman Todd Lee ran away with this one, batting .328 with 19 homers, 95 RBI, 199 hits, and 35 doubles. He also played strong defense. In second place was another slick fielding first baseman, Toledo's Tino Erstad, who hit .287 with 20 homers and 70 RBI. Orlando's Stan Johnson (12-11, 3.77) finished third, and Louisville shortstop Alfredo Carillo finished 4th (.303, 13 steals).

2011 Major League West Wrap-up

2011-10-02T18:03:00.001-04:00

Portland Decepticons 88-74: The Decepticons got hot at the end of the season, and won the division from Bay Area on the final day of the season, behind a complete game shutout from Roger Lewis. Lewis led the league in wins (18-8 2.81 ERA) and strikeouts (255), and is a strong contender for the Cy Young award. Portland made some trades to shake up the team late in the season, shipping out 3B Justin Headley and 2B Jared Randolph in exchange for 2B Steve Werden and 3B Lance Dixon. The move improved the team defense and power. At the same time, longtime RF Willie Rivera was sent to Philadelphia in a deadline deal for a pitching prospect. The move primarily freed up a starting OF position for Dante Henderson, who responded with 19 HR, and a .448 SLG.

Luciano Cedeno had a great defensive year at shortstop, and contributed 9 3B and 13 HR. George Kird was his usual productive self behind the plate, belting 17 HR and 65 RBI in only 322 at bats.

Bay Area Bandits 87-75: Bay Area lost on the final day of the season, despite spending most of the year in first place. Miguel Cruz may have been the best free agent signing last winter, producing an MVP caliber season at first base. Cruz led the league in batting at .330, and also contributed 33 HR, 115 RBI, and 40 2B. Ryan Harris had a disappointing season, not really showing he was worth the big money deal he signed, but still managed to hit .301-.346-.434.

On the mound, Larry Reynolds and Derek Seitzer proved they were both worth the money in their first seasons in Bay Area. Reynolds went 12-9 2.64 ERA, 198 IP, 163 hits, 54 BB, 155 K, and Seitzer went 10-11 2.92 ERA, 197 IP, 180 hits, 40 BB, 154 K.

Los Angeles Shockers 84-78: LA has typical great seasons from Hank Crowell, Brent Johnson, and Yamil Maduro. Late in the year, they traded for Kobe Jones, who put aside a disappointing season in Baltimore to become the best Shocker once he was on the team. Had Kobe been around for the full season, LA would have won this division. Crowell hit 31 HR with 112 RBI, Johnson hit .319-.390-.504, and Maduro hit .268-.369-442 from behind the plate.

Once he joined the team, Kobe put up a monster stat line at shortstop, going .354-.396-.585 in 195 at bats. Kobe also managed 15 2B, 10 HR, and 40 RBI. Ismael Cruz had a great season as a utility player, going .312-.376-496 in 250 at bats. David Mulder was the ace of the staff, going 15-7 2.94 ERA, 211 IP, 208 Hits, 66 BB, and 182 K’s. Damon Collins was also solid, going 11-8 2.93 in 193 IP. Julio Rodriguez (J-ROD) had a disappointing season, and had to be removed from his role as the closer. J-ROD finished 3-9 5.16 ERA, 66 IP, 79 hits, 23 BB, 71 K, and 21 saves. In his place, Sam Parillo did a nice job as the closer, going 4-5 3.15 ERA, 80 IP, 79 hits, 28 BB, 59 K’s, and 18 saves.

Hawaii Hounddogs 81-81: All in all, there was not a more disappointing team in the Major League than the Hounddogs. The Dogs mortgaged the future for the next two years (both in payroll and trading away prospects) and only managed a 4th place finish. They were the worst pitching team in the league, and much of this blame has to be attributed to the disastrous decision to abandon defense for offense.

The Dogs did score runs though, as several players had career years. Bruce Berano is a DH trying to hang on in the Major League and catch a few games, but he can hit. Berano went .288-.357-.496 and 17 HR in 347 at bats. Wiki Diaz hit .304 in 326 at bats. Mike Solar hit .300-.373-.496 with 20 HR in 456 at bats. Yoda Skywalker had an MVP caliber season, and may have been the best fantasy player in the game. Yoda went .315-.380-.533 with 200 hits, 47 2B, 5 3B, 27 HR, 118 runs, 90 RBI, 68 BB, and 31 SB.

Shortstop Arnold Jimenez, known for his defense, had 33 2B, 10 3B, and 15 HR. Converted 1B Jack Collins, playing OF for the first time, hit .307-.382-.568. He tied for the lead with 36 HR. Jake Cisco also had an MVP caliber season, going .309-.406-.559, with 32 HR and 86 BB.

On the mound, Jared DeMario had a great season, going 13-5, 3.04 ERA, 198 IP, 187 hits, 37 BB, 156 K. Justin Zoolander, acquired in mid-season, did not adjust to the Major League until too late in the season. He finished 6-7 3.88 ERA, but did strikeout 157 in 146 IP. Combined with his numbers in Las Vegas, Zoolander had 218 K’s.

Hollywood B’s 74-88: Late in the season, the B’s were thrilled to acquire the #1 pick from the Denver Rabbits in exchange for the last month of free agent to be Geoff Favre. On offense, Elvis Dixon had a career year going .299-369-.478 with 24 HR. Miguel Tejawa had a down season, hitting only .251 with 24 HR. New 2B Josh Garfield helped to add power to the infield, hitting 21 HR himself. George Rivera, also traded to Denver in the Favre deal, had a great season, hitting close to .300 with over 40 2B. Veteran 1B/OF/Professional Hitter Ted Troskey had a 3 HR game and finished with 19 HR in only 290 at bats, for a .528 SLG.

On the mound, Jong-Soo Tso was a tremendous addition as a free agent. Tso went 8-8 2.73 ERA, 171 IP, 158 hits, 48 BB, and 175 K. Tso also took a perfect game into the 8th inning on the final day of the season. He finished with a 1-hit shutout. He had previously pitched a no-hitter for Portland a few years ago.

2011 Major League Central Wrap-up

2011-10-02T18:01:00.001-04:00

Denver Rabbits 93-69: Denver was expected to win the central and did so in dominating fashion, winning by 11 games. Alex Maldonado hit 30 HRs, and Stan Marsh had a fine season going .300-.381-.481. Joey Renseller had a nice season in his opt-out year, going .277-.366-.478. Late in the season, Denver made some shocking moves to try to position themselves to win the title this season. They acquired RF Geoff Favre and CF George Rivera, mainly just for this postseason.

On the mound, the aces were lefties Kei Ijawa and Ruben Ramirez. Ijawa went 14-8 2.88 ERA, with 171 IP, 153 hits, 45 BB, and 142 K’s, while Ramirez went 14-4 3.00 ERA, with 204 IP, 163 hits, 76 BB, and 143 K’s. Paul Williamson had an excellent season as the closer, finishing with 49 saves and a 3.05 ERA in 56 IP.

St. Louis Robins 82-80: All in all, St. Louis has to be happy by finishing over .500. They do have some solid young players, with more talent in the farm system. The top players were Robert The Bruce (.263 with 28 HR), Cody Fett (.304 Avg and great defense at Catcher), and Derek Tufnel (.297-.394-.399 but only 283 at bats). Fidel Duenas had a nice renaissance season, hitting .258 with 22 HR and a .472 SLG, while playing good defense at shortstop.

On the mound, Brian Hastings had a nice season, going 12-3 3.12 in 213 IP. Brad Pearce was also solid, going 9-13 3.14 ERA in 194 IP. Mark Pressley had a great year in his first season as a closer, going 1-2 2,94 ERA, 43 saves in 52 IP.

Alaska Snow Sox 76-86: Much more was expected from Alaska this season. Kana Wake was acquired to be the missing part of this team, and he did not deliver in the final year of his contract, struggling to a stat line of .240-.312-.428 and 21 HR in 538 at bats. Reggie Stocker completely regressed this year and barely slugged .400 (.235-.309-.409). George Herman Frog had a great year behind the plate, hitting .260 with 20 HR, and 68 BB. That was good for a line of .260-.375-.457.

The team MVP was without a doubt Andy Roughton. Roughton was the best pitcher on the staff, going 15-7 3.35 ERA, 193 IP, 162 Hits, 57 BB, 185 K’s. To top it off, Roughton hit 5 HR and slugged .453 in 64 at bats.

Detroit Devils 66-96: Jason Gonzalez was a find at 2B, going .292-.359-.468 with 22 HR and 37 2B. Jermaine Moore was hoping for a midseason trade to a contender that never happened, and sulked to a .225-.313-.435 season. Marcel Johnson had a terrible season at first, hitting only .258. He’s more of a single-hitting first baseman, so when he doesn’t hit for average, he isn’t helping the team. Geezer Jimmy McGuiness must have found the fountain of youth, going .302-.354-.459 in 222 at bats backing up Marcel Johnson at first base.

Rookie of the year candidate Ryan Freeman turned in the best season on the team. The 2010 draftee hit .304-.363-.507 in 404 at bats at 3B. He also had 36 2B and 14 homers. The Devils are hoping some of those doubles turn into HR’s in a few years and that he can anchor the middle of the order for some time.

Green Day Dukes 66-96: Jek Lewis was an absolute monster this season, producing a fairly unique and productive season. Jek hit .290-.368-.479, and had 47 2B, 11 3B, 14 HR, 108 runs scored, and 120 SB. BJ Lewis was awful, hitting .221 but stealing 50 bases. Ezekiel Duke had a solid season, hitting .272-.348-.455 with 15 HR and 39 SB in 393 at bats.

2011 Major League East Wrap-up

2011-10-02T17:56:00.001-04:00

New York Cobra 102-60: New York won the division with ease, thanks to offseason acquisitions W. Gehrig Bear and Roscoe Savage. Pedro Lewis had his usual dominant season (15-8 2.38 ERA, 230 IP, 236 K’s), and Papelbrad was awesome in his first full season in New York as the closer (1.59 ERA, 78 K’s in 68 IP, 47 saves). Roscoe Savage was a tremendous free agent signee, going 17-3, 2.64 ERA in 160 IP. Doug Freeman was a nice add for the post-season, going 5-0 1.64 ERA, with 22 IP, 11 H, 2 BB, 17 K.

On the hitting side, Bear had an MVP campaign, playing all 162 games (of course), signing a huge contract, and being named the team captain (the first since Joe Thomas retired). Bear hit .325 with 31 HR, 105 RBI, 119 runs, and 45 doubles. Chad White tied for the league lead with 36 HR, and led the league with 121 RBI. He also had 32 SB to again cross the 30-30 threshold. New York may have a future star at 3B in Roger Chillingworth’s son Kal. Kal hit .288 with 16 HR in 257 at bats, with a .370 OBA and .518 SLG.

Philadelphia Grays 92-70: The defending champs made the playoffs again for the 5th straight season. Rudy Baker was the ace, with 209 K’s and a 2.91 ERA. Scott Bedard pulled a Vance Worley impression going 7-1 2.31 ERA and 85 IP, 79 Hits, 23 BB, and 76 K’s. On offense, the best player was catcher Matt Bulger. He hit .314-.368-.517 with 7.4 RC/G with 41 2B. Paul White battled through some injuries but still hit .280-.366-.531. Jimmy Taylor hit 51 2B, 8 3B, and 13 HR in the leadoff spot. Late in the season, they acquired Willie Rivera to help shore up the outfield. Although he had a disappointing season, he is a real power threat from the right-hand side (which they needed), plays a great defensive RF, and is not prone to strike out as much as you would think.

Florida Penguins 72-90: This was another lost season for the flightless birds, as their payroll doesn’t quite give them the flexibility to add to their core. But a good young core is there. On the mound, ace George White had a solid season, going 14-13, 3.24 ERA, 214 IP, 186 H, 53 BB, 177 K. Doug Guzman threw a no-hitter and went 15-11 2.79 ERA, 216 IP, 187 H, 90 BB, 169 K. Bart Riley went 9-11 2.78 ERA, 188 IP, 147 H, 76 BB, 162 K.

On offense, Kenny Jr. struggled to a .270 season and only stole 66 bases. Gerald White Jr. had a great season, going .308-.366 -.500, with 48 2B and 18 HR. Conn the Barbarian hit 47 2B, 7 3B, 24 HR, and 32 SB. The biggest surprise was the play of 24 year old dwarf Mitch Oakenshield. Oaks was on the verge of being trade bait but responded to regular playing time in a big way. He hit .284-.328-.492 with 33 2B, 21 HR, in 461 at bats.

Toronto Seagulls 71-91: Toronto fans didn’t expect too much from the Seagulls this year, and they were not disappointed. John Hafner had the best season amongst the hitters, going .317-.392-424, but hit only 7 HR all year. Drew Ward was acquired for the rights to Gromit Peveto in the offseason (a top lottery pick) and managed to hit only .214 in 383 at bats. On the mound, Stephen Hamburg had a much better 2nd year than his rookie year. Due to poor run support, he finished with a record of 8-12, but did manage a 2.80 ERA, 186 IP, 139 Hits, 47 BB, and 178 K’s.

2011 Major League Season in Review

2011-10-02T17:54:00.000-04:00

No-Hitters:
• New York’s Jaret Benser threw a no-hitter 9-0-0-0-4-10 against Denver on May 11th, in a 1-0 victory.
• Florida’s Doug Guzman threw a no-hitter 9-0-0-0-4-9 against St. Louis on August 12th, in a 5-0 victory.

3 HR Games:
• Detroit’s Jermaine Moore 5-3-4-7 vs. St. Louis on June 5th.
• St. Louis’ Fidel Duenas (The Hero of Little Havana) 4-3-4-9 on June 13th vs. Toronto.
• Hollywood’s Ted Troskey 5-3-3-6 on September 24th vs. New York.

Other Freak Stuff:
• Green Day beat Hollywood 7-5 in a 21 inning game played on May 4th. In that game, Ramon Torrealba went 7-5-1-1-1-10 (all innings thrown in extra frames).
• Portland’s Hansel Wilson went 6 for 6 with 4 runs scored on June 26th (all hits were singles).
• Portland’s Roger Lewis had the season high with 16 K’s vs. St. Louis on July 7th.
• New York’s Ricky Buckley stole 5 bases off Hawaii’s Bruce Berano on August 3rd.

For the record, another pre-trade deadline deal

2011-09-24T15:49:00.001-04:00

Portland sends RF Willie Rivera to Philadelphia for minor league pitcher Delvis Winchester.

Denver gets Favre

2011-09-24T15:38:00.003-04:00

Denver upgrades their postseason roster by getting Geoff Favre and two other outfielders, George Rivera and Jose Trevino, from Hollywood. Denver also gets lefty reliever Rafael Garcia. Hollywood receives a first round pick, catching prospect Tommy Ross, and scrub outfielders Edgar Herrera and Jose Nunez.

Superior League Gold Gloves

2011-09-21T00:45:00.001-04:00

C Jesse Myers, BAL
1B Hal Glover, LOU
2B Joey Howell, PHO
SS Jim Concepcion, MIA
3B Mike Connor, CHA
OF Brian Kaat, MIA
OF Darin Elam, BAL
OF Cristobal Guillen, SPR

Superior League Season Over

2011-09-20T19:30:00.002-04:00

In the end, there were no pennant race surprises. The teams who have led for most of the season put the races away at the end. In the first round of the playoffs Miami will face Charlotte and New York will face Texas.

Standings

Tom Groovine finished his season with a complete game, 5 hit shutout despite striking out nobody. Though Groovine can no longer even throw 80 MPH with any regularity, he still finished the season 16-11, which leaves him only 7 wins short of 300 heading into 2012.

Mighty Joe Young wins the batting title with a career best .365 mark as he leads Miami to their first ever season of 100 wins. Joe also led in slugging percentage (.657), finished second in OBP (.456), and hit 35 homeruns.

Frank Lewis (352/490/598) finished first in OBP and second in batting. Mark Crawford hit .323 with 39 homeruns and led the league with 137 RBI and 136 runs scored. He also stole 37 bases.

Sam Robinson led with 47 homeruns, followed by Adama Dunn with 41. Kermit Crawford stole 71 bases, followed by Miami Stars Brian Kaat and Jim Concepcion (63). Jacen Solo had an impressive bounceback season at age 38, hitting .339 with 19 homers, 101 runs scored, and 49 steals.

Paul Finch led the league in wins (20-8) and ERA (3.15), while finishing second in strikeouts (254). Joe Callahan led in innings (246), strikeouts (267), and completed 9 games. Joe Dirte saved 43 games. Damon Hutchinson led relievers with a 1.98 ERA, with a 5-0 record, 25 holds, and 5 saves.

Head

2011-09-03T01:49:00.002-04:00

Miami was down 3-1 in the 9th inning vs Baltimore. They got two runners on with one out, and had the bottom of the order coming up, weak hitters Prince Ferreira and Jim Concepcion. Since the September roster expansion, Miami had a good supply of pinch hitters. Wayne Keller was first up, and grounded out. Next, Miami went to Richie Head. He was a combined 5 for 31 with no homers over parts of the last 3 seasons. Standing in against Colts closer Craig Haren, Head put a big swing on a high fastball, and hit a mammoth homerun to right for a 4-3 win.

Late August Trades

2011-08-27T17:36:00.002-04:00

New York Knights acquire shortstop Jose Isales from Detroit for minor league pitcher Jonny Wilson. Isales was batting .292 for Detroit and will be a free agent after the season.

Boston trades relief pitcher Doug Freeman to NY Cobra for minor league shortstop Derek Mahan. Freeman was the closer in Boston for the last three years, but struggled in 2011 and lost his job. He'll be a setup man in New York. Mahan, 19, has a strong arm, good range, and potential with the bat to become a starting shortstop. He wasn't going to knock Brett Solo out of the lineup though.

Portland trades infielders Jared Randolph and Justin Headley to Toledo for Steve Werden and Lance Dixon. This is a situation where a change of scenery may be good for all involved.

Orlando trades hard throwing reliever Rafael Baker to Bay Area for minor league 1B/OF Alonzo Zepeda.

Milestones

2011-08-21T13:27:00.003-04:00

Nine players in league history have reached 3000 hits. Jacen Solo is the next active player approaching that feat. He entered 2011 with 2667 hits, and has added 144 to go to 2811 on his career. Solo looked like he had lost something last year, when at age 37 he set career lows in batting average (.275), homeruns (11), steals (4), OBP (.341), and slugging percentage (.387).

Jacen has bounced back with a big 2011 season, hitting .339 with 17 homers and even stealing 38 bases. He has a chance to get to 3000 hits by the end of the 2012 season, but failing that almost certainly will get there in 2013, when he'll be 40. Solo's big season removes any doubt that he'll still be good enough to play a few more years.

Dirk Lindros passed the 600 homer mark earlier this season, and now stands at 612. He's still hitting for power (22 homers, .508 slugging) but age has taken a toll on his batting average (.233), OBP (.328), durability, and mobility (1 steal). It is uncertain whether Lindros, whose contract expires after the year, will return for 2012. Lindros is also the all-time walks leader, passing 2000 this year.

Mighty Joe Young, with 26 homeruns, stands 2 away from reaching 500 for his career. When he gets there he'll be the 6th player to do so.

Bubba Lewis, with 14 homers this year, has 468 for his career. Already 39 years old, Bubba may not have enough left in the tank to get to 500. His career is shaping up to resemble MLB sluggers Carlos Delgado and Fred McGriff, who fell a bit short of the 500 mark.

How many people knew that Conan was the league's all-time doubles leader in addition to his homerun crown? At season's beginning he had 654, but that was only 2 ahead of Hal Glover. Glover is the new king with 675.

In a painful record, Frank Lewis passed Kermit Holmes for the alltime HBP record. Frank trailed by 19 coming into this season, and has been plunked 26 times. The record is unofficial, however, as Holmes began his career several seasons before 1997, when the HBP records were kept for the first time.

Lou Zamuda is struggling this year, batting .207 as age (43) has finally caught him. He did set one more record however, as he passed his former teammate Conan for the all-time runs scored record. Zamuda now has 2032, Conan retired with 2000. Zamuda is also the alltime hits leader with 3,872.

On the pitching side, Jojo Lewis passed the 5000 strikeout level and threw his 4th no-hitter. Both are league records, and he trails only Nolan Ryan in both categories.

Tom Groovine, with 13 wins at age 42, is only 10 away from joining Roger Chillingworth, Lewis, and Sunsurf as the only 300 game winners in league history. After Groovine we'll have to wait awhile, the next best candidates are Don Law (223, age 37), Roger Lewis (210, age 33), and Storm Morris (age 35, 209 wins).

Troy Everett now has 580 saves, good for second place all-time after Bernie Grayson. Everett is 102 behind Grayson and 37 years old, so it is possible he can catch him if he has 3 years left as a closer. A lackluster 4.50 ERA and 22 to 21 K-W ratio suggests he might not have it in him.

Superior League Notes

2011-08-15T22:52:00.002-04:00

JoJo Lewis struck out out Springfield's Andy Hill to reach 5000 career strikeouts. Lewis won the game, his 10th of the season and 330th of his career.

Miami was swept by New York, cutting the Star's lead to 8 games. New York outscored the Stars 31-5 over the last 3 games.

Las Vegas reached the .500 mark and passed Utah to move into 4th place. Las Vegas has a 25-14 record since the beginning of July, when Boba Fett tired of playing multiple DHs and went to a more defense oriented lineup.

Return of the First Basemen

2011-08-06T13:56:00.002-04:00

Mighty Joe Young, who missed almost a month with a broken wrist, came back and showed no signs of lingering effects. Against the Utah Utes, Joe homered in his first at bat, and finished the game 4-4 with 2 homers and 6 RBI. Utah took a 7-3 lead in the 4th when they chased starter Tim Sullivan, but Miami's offense, led by Young and Brian Kaat, came back to win the game 12-8. Kaat had 4 hits himself and scored 4 runs.

Young is now hitting .357 with 20 homeruns. Utah will look for revenge in the next game, as their hard hitting first baseman Frank Lewis returns after missing two weeks. Frank is hitting .353 with a .493 OBP, and has 35 doubles, 6 triples, and 19 homers.

Trade Deadline Deals

2011-07-30T19:49:00.003-04:00

Although APBA officially allows trades until August 31st, the MLB trade deadline has motivated a few teams to make some moves.

Texas, leading the west with a 68-44 record, has the strongest offense in the league but shaky pitching. They upgraded the rotation in a big (as in 6 foot 11) way by trading for Boston's Rufus Anderson. Boston receives minor league 1B/OF Chip Atkinson. Anderson, 34, has a 7-6 record and 3.85 ERA through 21 starts. He's a free agent after the season.

Phoenix, in second place and also battling for the wild card, adds Johnny DeMario to the rotation in exchange for minor league catcher John Gourdin and pitcher Steve Jacobson. In 21 starts for Cleveland, the 37 year old DeMario is 6-8 with a 3.94 ERA.

In the biggest deal of all, the LA Shockers finally get their man by trading for Baltimore's Kobe Jones. The Shockers have been trying to get Kobe for more than a decade now, going back to his days with the Florida Penguins. Kobe and OF Gabe Kotter are going to Los Angeles, with SS Oswipe Cabrera and OF Steve Freeman going to the Shockers. In the off-season Kobe resigned with Baltimore for 4 years and 72 million, but has found life without Joe Young and Gehrig Bear to be not so fun. Steve Freeman has 16 million left on his contract over the next 2 years, so the Shockers get some salary relief by moving him in the deal. Kobe is hitting .243 with 19 homers and 61 RBI through 109 games.

The New York Knights are rumored to be interested in a shortstop upgrade as well, with inquiries made on Portland's Luciano Cedeno and Toronto's Michael Garciajawa, but no deal has yet been made.

Miami trades for Tugwell

2011-07-22T23:51:00.002-04:00

The Stars acquire Jerry Tugwell from Las Vegas in exchange for minor league pitcher Jason Bowman. Las Vegas realizes that there is no need to have 6 DHs on the roster when you can only bat one at a time. Tugwell will fill in for the injured Joe Young and then provide the team with a solid bat off the bench.

In the meantime, Joe Young's recovery is going remarkably well, and he thinks he may be back in as little as 2 weeks.

Fett Changes Approach

2011-07-17T11:13:00.002-04:00

Boba Fett decided that Las Vegas will try to win games with defense instead of a lineup of designated hitters. Jeff LaForest has been one of the team's best hitters playing left field, will see more time as the designated hitter or playing first base. Kirk Ennis, Ron Moon, Alex Young, and Mickey Tinsley all have speed and will get most of the outfield playing time. With Alvaro Samuel remaining at first base, this leaves little time for Moose Stinson, Gene Traxler, and Jerry Tugwell. All could become trade bait, although the latter two are on the disabled list. Miguel Delgado, who does not hit or field well, has been sent to the minors.

Joe Callahan, Charlie Harrell, and Darin Makowsky endorsed the plan, and have won the last three games for Las Vegas in a series against Baltimore. Las Vegas has a 42-52 record, last place in the west.

Joe Young breaks wrist, out indefinitely

2011-07-17T11:06:00.002-04:00

Joe Young was hit on the wrist by a pitch from Cleveland's Hector Ojeda. Young had to leave the game, and X-Rays revealed a break. He was immediately placed on the disabled list. The HBP happened in the 8th inning of a tie game. Miami lost in the 9th when Bob Belardi served up a grand slam to Ramon Gallia.

After the game Miami held the best record in the league at 56-35, but faces a tough stretch without their best hitter. Young had played 87 games and was hitting .349 with 18 homeruns, 63 RBI, and 69 walks for a .467 On base percentage.

Miami called up Richie Head from AAA Star City, and he will get some of Young's playing time, although manager RJ Duke said that infielders Brandon Cohen, Richie Almanzar, Greg Cardonia, as well as catcher Bud McNamara could also see time at first base.

No-hitter

2011-07-10T12:11:00.002-04:00

Jo-Jo Lewis threw a no hit game against the Utah Utes, as Charlotte won 5-0. Lewis walked 6 and struck out 9 in the complete game. At age 41, it is believed that he is the oldest pitcher in league history to ever throw a no-hitter.

Our crack statisticians were found to have been smoking crack, and were not able to research whether this was Jo-Jo's second or third no-hitter. A complete accounting of no-hitters is a project currently in the works.

Contract extensions

2011-06-05T14:41:00.002-04:00

Frank Lewis resigned with Utah for 8 years and 176 million. Lewis, 32 years old right now, is batting .412 to start the season, with a .528 OBP. He may have been able to get even more money on the open market, but wishes to remain in Utah as the team's ballpark and offensive system is ideal for accomplishing what matters most to Frank: Getting on base.

W. Gehrig Bear, 27, signed a record contract for 10 years and 253 million to stay with the New York Cobra. It is widely assumed that this will be temporary, as Mark Crawford will be in position to make himself the highest paid player in the game once the season ends.

First Big Trade of 2011

2011-06-05T12:10:00.002-04:00

Hawaii acquired Justin Zoolander from Orlando today. The 27 year old Zoolander, who can maintain a 100 MPH fastball into the 9th inning, was 3-2 through 10 starts, with a 4.65 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 62 innings. He is arbitration eligible for one more season.

Orlando picks up Floyd Brennan, a 25 year old starter with 2 arbitration years left after 2011, and minor league outfielder L.J. Burroughs, a polished hitter who some compare to Jason Foster. Brennan was 2-5 with a 5.28 ERA through Hawaii's first 52 games.

This move makes Hawaii strong favorites for a division title or a wildcard.

The Perfect Ute

2011-06-05T01:55:00.001-04:00

Chris Grimes, Utah's closer, has not allowed a run, earned or unearned, for the first two months of the season. So far he has pitched 20 innings, allowed 7 hits and 3 walks, and struck out 21 batters. He has 13 saves.

Las Vegas Clones Manager Found Dead

2011-05-02T21:57:00.002-04:00

Early Monday Morning, LVPD believed they found renowned Bounty Hunter and current Las Vegas Clones Manager Boba Fett dead of something being referred to as Kamino Saberdarts.

Later, around Noon, the team released the following strange statement seemingly confirming the report: "The Las Vegas Ball Club regrets to confirm the passing of its current manager. While the team cannot confirm the cause of death, it had become evident the team's performance has become...unsatisfactory. We respectfully extend our regrets to the Fett family. Please join us at 4pm to introduce our new field manager."

And then, in perhaps the most startling of press conferences, Boba Fett appeared to introduce his team's new manager...himself. And by "himself" Kenny means Boba said the following:

"Thank you all for joining us today. As you can see, I am alive and well. While it has been reported that I was found dead this morning, that was an exaggeration. What is true is that our manager was found this morning, his performance was subpar, I have an airtight aliby, and he was my clone. I am now pleased to introduce you to our new manager, Boba Fett XIV. Apparently XIII was unlucky but I am sure XIV will perform much better."

Then, an exact copy of Boba Fett walked out with a Las Vegas Clones' baseball cap on his head.

Kenny has seen some strange things before and Kenny has played with Boba, so Kenny knows what a bad ass he can be, but Kenny is still in shock. Later, Boba confirmed he had been managing the team until this season, but decided he had too much to do as GM and Bounty Hunter this season and has farmed out the managerial duties to his Clones. Boba was evasive when asked about any Boba Fetts numbered I-XII.

Hawaii Hounddogs Update

2011-05-01T16:37:00.003-04:00

Expectations are very high in Hawaii this year, as they assembled this years team as part of a two year plan: 1. Do everything possible to win this year, and 2. Do everything possible to win this year. Through 24 games, Hawaii has the best record in baseball at 16-8. Heres how they are doing it:

C: Bruce Berano: Only hitting .222 but has 4 HR in 72 at bats.
C: Wiki Diaz: Wiki is hitting .344 with a .417 OBA andd .469 SLG and 8.6 RC/G through 32 at bats
1B: Mike Solar is off to a monster start, .343-6-17 with 9 2B, and .446 OBA and .729 SLG and 12.3 RC/G
1B: Ryne Solo Jr.: .345-.367-414 in 29 at bats
1B: Glen Porter: 3-7 with 5 BB in 12 plate appearances.
2B: Yoda Skywalker is probably the most valuable fantasy player in the game, with his balanced contributions at a tough position. Yoda is hitting .368-6-18, with 15 runs, 7 2B, 1 3B, 7 SB, .412 OBA, .653 SLG, and 9.7 RC/G. He also has committed only 1 error. He is probably the MVP of the league so far.
3B: Andy Stewart: .179-0-3 .281 OBA, and .250 SLG. He is off to a bad start obviously.
SS: Arnoldo Jimenez: .346-4-17 6 2B, 3 3B .386 OBA, .654 SLG, and 9.3 RC/G. He also has not made an error yet, and has participated in a ridiculous 23 DP in 19 games.
LF: Jack Collins: .299-7-16, 7 2B, 2 3B, .361 OBA, .629 SLG, and 8.0 RC/G
CF: Shane Canzler: .322-.403-.424, 2 SB, 6.4 RC/G, 0 errors.
RF: Jake Cisco: .329-2-6, 14 runs, 4 2B, 17 BB, .462 OBA, .466 SLG, 8.6 RC/G
OF: Mike Christenson: .357-.441-.429 in 28 at bats.
OF: Jason Hopper: .167 in 42 at bats (may need to relinquish playing time to Christenson)

Starting Rotation:
Jared DeMario: 4-0 3.00, 39 IP, 36 H, 7 BB, 26 K
Wayne Gardella: 4-0 3.03, 32-29-8-26
Cory Schaeffer: 1-1 5.28, 29-37-14-34
Floyd Brennan: 0-2 3.73, 31-34-16-20
John Upshaw: 2-1 3.91, 25-26-6-25

Bullpen:
Troy Lewis: 3-0 1.46, 12-7-3-8 7 saves
Jerome Camp: 0-0 3.00, 3-5-1-2
Thomas Fasten: 1-0 0.87, 10-5-4-9
Carlos Garrido: 1-1 3.38, 13-14-3-12 1 save
Brian Ohman: 0-1 1.17, 7-5-2-8
Justin Van Rossum: 0-2 5.84, 12-19-4-10

Florida Penguins Update

2011-05-01T16:03:00.002-04:00

Not a lot is expected out of the Penguins in 2011. They have some good young pieces, but are still somewhat cash-strapped, and had difficulty adding complementary pieces last off-season. Through 24 games, they are 11-13 and last place in the ML East (3.5 games back). Lets take a look at this team position by position:

C: Ray Brooks is off to a great start, hitting .412 with 3 HR, 14 RBI in 68 AB.
1B: Daniel Smith is doing what he is supposed to, hitting .269-5-16 with a .526 SLG.
2B: Ruben Ressler is struggling, .214-2-7 with a .287 OBA.
3B: Rayner Perez is hitting .222 with 2 HR, 6 RBI in 54 at bats.
SS: Jed Fleming is putrid, hitting .182-1-6 with 2.2 RC/G.
LF: Conn the Barbarian is a legitimate superstar. His numbers across the board: .293, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 7 2B, 3 3B, 11 BB (4 IBB), 5 SB (0 CS), .379 OBA, .627 SLG, 8.1 RC/G.
CF: Kenny Anderson Jr. has missed some time due to injury, he is hitting .302 with 7 SB and 3 CS in 14 games.
RF: Gerald White Jr. is off to a nice start, going .326-0-5, but 8 2B, 2 3B, 15 BB, 4 SB, 7.8 RC/G and 0 errors to 4 outfield assists.

Bench:
Kimba Bartee: The 35 year old dog is hitting .190 in 42 at bats with 2 SB and 1 CS.
Mitch Oakenshield: The 24 year old dwarf splits his time at 1B, 3B, and the OF and has appeared in 20 games so far. He is hitting .324-3-11 with a .380 OBA and .563 SLG and 8.4 RC/G. Looks like a real good player.
Gerald White: The 49 year old is batting .130 in 23 at bats.

Starting Rotation:
George White: 3-2 3.55, 38 IP, 37 H, 11 BB, 27 K.
Doug Guzman: 3-2 3.41, 34-27-17-26
Clayton Lewis: 1-1 2.73, 26-20-5-15
Bart Riley: 1-1 1.88, 28-19-8-26
Peter Buchanon: 1-2 3.76, 26-26-5-16

Bullpen:
Scott Bell: 0-0 3.32, 19-16-3-11 1 save
Travis Howard: 0-1 5.19, 8-9-6-6 6 saves
David Tejada: 0-1 3.65, 12-10-6-12
Jim Bradley: 2-1 2.03, 13-10-8-15
Tyler Nelson: 0-1 7.20, 5-10-2-5

Major League Standings thru 4/24/11

2011-05-01T15:53:00.002-04:00

East
Philadelphia 14-9
New York 12-12
Toronto 11-12
Florida 11-13 (1-8 in 1-run games)

Central
Denver 15-9 (started the year 10-0, now has 6 game losing streak)
Alaska 12-12 (on 6 game winning streak)
Detroit 12-13
Green Day 11-13
St. Louis 10-14

West
Hawaii 16-8
Bay Area 14-11
Los Angeles 12-12
Hollywood 9-15
Portland 9-15

Managerial Change

2011-04-24T17:42:00.002-04:00

After a 6-11 start to the season, the Alaska Snow Sox have decided to make a move. Ryne Solo, the teams long-time manager, has been promoted to the position of team General Manager, with Darth Vader assuming the title of President of the Club. The new manager will be longtime veteran 1B (and Autobot) Rewind. Rewind (who only recently retired in 2009 at age 45) formerly played in Alaska during two stints: first in 1988 and then again from 2000-2003). Rewind has the distinction of being the last player to play in the dice era (before 1987), the MicroLeague Era (1987-1996), and APBA (1997-Present).

Rewind expressed excitement and gratitude at getting his first opportunity to manage a team. "I think the Snow Sox have the pitching and hitting to make a run at the playoffs this season. We may have the best 5-man rotation in the game today, and have the top minor league pitching prospect in the world as well. Its time for Reggie Stocker and co. to take the next steps and start playing October baseball."

After losing his debut 6-2 to Denver, Alaska has now run off 6 consecutive victories to get back to .500. With a 12-12 record, Alaska is now in 2nd place, 3 games behind Denver.

Minor Trade

2011-04-24T17:40:00.002-04:00

In a swap of reserve outfielders, the Hawaii Cubs acquire Mike Christensen from Philadelphia in exchange for Rick Cooney. Both players are fairly similar in their skill set, with the primary difference between the two being witch side of the plate they swing from. Cooney, the lefty swinger is a better fit for Philadelphia, and Christensen, the righty swinger, provides Hawaii with the much needed RH bat on their bench.

Managers in the Major League

2011-04-24T17:34:00.002-04:00

ML East
Philadelphia BJ Higgins
New York Eddie
Florida Wally Calhoun
Toronto Radicus Prime

ML Central
Denver Big Cheese
Detroit Willie Hayes
St. Louis Leon Wolf
Green Day Slash Dixon
Alaska Ryne Solo

ML West
Bay Area Eric Cartman
Hollywood Troy McCoy
Portland Sonic Russell
Hawaii Lewis Solo Jr.
Los Angeles Alex Hansen

Managers in the Superior League

2011-04-17T23:34:00.002-04:00

Miami RJ Duke
NY Knights Don Muttonly
Baltimore Buck Jackson
Boston Junior Floyd
Louisville Jake Taylor
Orlando Rugless Odor

Cleveland Squanto Falcone
Chicago Sylvanus Wong
Toledo Fausto Cruz
Charlotte Mark Roberts
Springfield Jeff McBain

Phoenix Jim Ferguson
Utah Battletrap
Texas Chris Berman
Mars Wedge Antilles
Las Vegas Boba Fett

Superior League Opening Day

2011-04-17T23:22:00.002-04:00

Boston 9 Louisville 6

Bean-eaters take 17 walks off Slugger pitchers in a 13 inning game. Ruben Carter homers for the Sluggers, and Brady Robinson has 4 hits.

Knights 7 Baltimore 4

Vernon Coles has 3 hits including a homer, Dirk Lindros drives in 3 runs to spoil Buck Jackson's managerial debut.

Orlando 8 Utah 6

Rugrats knock out Utah starter David Burke with 6 runs in the first. Utes respond with a Lou Zamuda grand slam, but fall short.

Chicago 5 Miami 3

Joe Young homers in his 2nd Miami at bat, but Stars bullpen can't hold a 3-2 lead in the 8th. Luke Ford has 5 hits for Chicago.

Toledo 5 Springfield 3

Brett Jansen has 3 hits and a homer, Springfield drops the first game of rookie manager Jeff McBain.

Charlotte 5 Las Vegas 2

Charlie Zito outduels Joe Callahan.

Texas 6 Cleveland 1

Cleveland can't get the bats going for rookie manager Squanto Falcone, which is becoming a trend. Experience pays in the manager seat. Bjorn Frostad pitches 5 innings, allowing 5 hits, 1 walk, no runs, and strikes out 8.

Phoenix 12 Mars 0

Wedge Antilles, formerly of Cleveland, loses his debut as Mars manager. Rookie left fielder Fernando Gonzalez takes 3 walks, scores 3 runs, and hits a grand slam. Tyler Aberson strikes out 8 over 6 innings for the win.

2011 Major League Opening Day

2011-04-10T12:16:00.002-04:00

New York 13-1 over Bay Area: Pedro Lewis goes 7 strong for the win, W. Gehrig Bear goes 2-4 with a double off the wall in his first at bat, and reigning MVP Brett Solo goes 3-5 with a HR and 5 RBI's to power New York to the win.

Philadelphia 8-2 over Green Day: Oswalt gets the win, Bulger goes 3-5 with a HR, and the defending champs open up with a win.

Florida 10-4 over Alaska: George White gives up 4 runs in 7 innings, but gets the opening day win anyway. Conn the Barbarian goes 4-5 with 2 Homeruns, and Dan Smith and Mitch Oakenshield also hit homers. Marcus Dulkowski hits 2 homers in the loss for Alaska.

Hollywood 4-2 over Toronto: General Tso gets his first opening day start and gets the win, allowing 2 runs over 6 innings. Elvis Dixon leads off the game with a HR off Stephen Hamburg. Hamburg is a victim of the long ball, allowing three solo Homers (also to new 2B Josh Garfield, and Arnie Medeiros). Jose Burrito gets the save for Hollywood.

Denver 6-3 over Portland: Otto Tingley hits a 3 run homer in the 8th off Darrel Williams who takes the loss. Roger Lewis pitches 7 strong innings, but is victimized by the defense behind him (3 errors). Lewis goes 7-3-3-0-3-5. Ruben Ramirez gets the opening day nod from Big Cheese, and goes 5.2-4-3-3-3-5 and gets the no-decision.

St. Louis 5-3 over Los Angeles: Cody Fett hits a 3-run HR in the 8th off J-ROD to give St. Louis the win. Chris Hamilton also hits a HR, despite solid pitching from LA's Eric Rodriguez in the loss (7-7-2-2-1-5).

Hawaii 5-2 over Detroit: Jared DeMario is strong in another opening day start, getting the win with a 8-6-2-2-2-2 performance, with Troy Lewis pitching a perfect 9th to get the save. Jack Collins and Mike Solar provide the brunt of the offense, each connecting for homers. Collins goes 2-3 with 3 runs and a walk.

Ziggy

2011-02-22T23:39:00.001-05:00

Former 1st round draft pick and THE player that marked a major shift in the Penguins’ philosophy toward pitching-first, Fred “Ziggy” Zeigenheimlich has announced his retirement from APBA. Ziggy, the player Dan Patrick knew he wanted when hired by the Penguins, was the first piece in the Penguin renaissance that ultimately lead to the “Year of the Penguin” in 2000. In 1995, the Penguins were coming off a legendary year with current hall of famers Wally Calhoun and Kenny Anderson along with still active great players like Gerald White, Jerry Tugwell, and Jason Baret. But they wanted more. They wanted to build toward something greater. So they drafted one of the shortest players in league history, Ziggy. Shortly after, the Penguins shifted to a 4 man rotation with Calhoun, Bryan Brooks, Ziggy, and Storm Morris culminating in their magical 2000 90 win season. Eventually Ziggy switched to the bullpen and became one of the game’s best closers in 2009 posting a 2.77 ERA with 25 saves for the 69 win Penguins. But Ziggy will always be remembered as a winner. He leaves the game with 170 wins. While he may not make the Hall of Fame, he certainly lived up to the career of his childhood hero, Dan Curry. Ziggy will immediately be inducted into the Penguins’ ring of honor and become the Penguins’ pitching coach. Kenny got to see Ziggy up close for many years and Kenny loves that little man. Shorty is one of the coolest cats Kenny ever met.

Charlotte gets Baker

2011-02-22T08:25:00.002-05:00

The Charlotte Hawks shore up their bullpen by acquiring Orlando Baker from the Sluggers in exchange for pitcher Cameron Miller, shortstop Alfredo Carillo, and outfielder Carlos Quagmire.

Carillo immediately becomes the frontrunner for a starting shortstop job in Louisville. Quagmire gives the Sluggers a prospect to compete for a spot in their thin outfield.

Charlotte completes their offseason signings with veteran backups Bobby Rayburn (1.75 million) and Mateo Ozuna (1 million.)

The Sluggers sign Damon Nkik for 1 year, 1 million, as he attempts to prove he can still play after a terrible year in Miami. Louisville offers Nkik the best chance for playing time.

Valentine's Day signings

2011-02-14T22:23:00.002-05:00

Anakin Solo resigns in Charlotte for 2 years and 20 million. He left some money on the table, but the chance to keep playing with his brother, for a team that just played in the world series was too much to pass on.

Wile E. Coyote, Super-Genius, put together a plan to land a big bat for Hawaii. He courted the biggest bat left on the market, Jack Collins. Collins was looking for a similar pay day to his teammate Ryan Harris, who got 7 years and 119 million. Hawaii was prepared to offer big bucks, but only for two years (the Coyote has a 2 year plan of domination.)

Collins was intrigued by the initial offer, and invited to the Island to discuss further options. He was greeted by Jake Cisco, and the Hawaii team held a Luau in his honor. They toured the Island, and Cisco showed Jack a 14 million dollar home for sale in his beachfront neighborhood. Later, the team roasted a pig in Jack's honor. After two days, Jack was scheduled to fly back to the mainland to compare offers from Bay Area, but the Coyote handed him a suitcase with an extra million dollars in cash if he signed immediately.

Collins signed, for 2 years and 37 million dollars. He'll play left field for the Hounddogs, and with Cisco and Mike Solar forms one of the most imposing middle of the orders in the game. Early predictions have Hawaii as favorites for the tough Major League West division.

Transactions 2-13-2011

2011-02-14T00:30:00.002-05:00

Hawaii trades OF Carlos Merejo, pitcher Clint Kennedy, and a 2nd round 2012 draft pick to Green Day for outfielder Mike Dickerson. The move is primarily a salary dump for Hawaii, as they won't have to pay Merejo 6 million dollars next year.

Hawaii uses the savings to sign catcher Bruce Berano to a 2 year, 14 million dollar contract. Berano was mostly a DH last year, and really can't throw anymore, but he is still considered a solid handler of pitchers.

New York Cobra has announced that Jaret Benser, the team's top reliever for the last 3 seasons, will move back into the rotation for 2011. This leaves the closer job in the hands of either Jon Papelbrad or Rudiger Rocker. Both are cross-eyed, retarded Brad-like extraterrestrials.

Hawaii has been rumored to have made a contract offer to Anakin Solo as well, but no deal is imminent.

Free Agent Signings 2/12/11

2011-02-12T18:22:00.000-05:00

Just a few signings today:

Kobe Jones $72/4 Baltimore
Michael Kelso $39/3 Springfield

Brugalmesh bashes Mighty Joe Young

2011-02-12T16:41:00.002-05:00

Baltimore Team Chairman and General Manager Brugalmesh had some not so kind words for recently departed 1B/DH Mighty Joe Young. In an open letter to the fans of Baltimore published in today's newspaper, he stated the following:

"I am disappointed in the way Joe held our team and the league hostage with his "decision". Over the last several years, Baltimore has experienced unparalleled success, and has built our team into a perennial powerhouse. For Joe to leave our organization and take a pay cut in the process says a lot about his lack of character, and faith in both his former teammates, and our organization. Joe's reason for leaving is that the team has failed to win a World Championship. That's ridiculous. Winning a title is not a "right", and many times comes down to good old fashioned luck. Our "failure" to win a World Championship in the last 3 years is a fate that 27 of the 30 teams in the league have had to come to terms with. The truth is, our "failure" to win a World Championship is just as much attributable to Joe's lack of performance in the clutch as it has to do with bad luck. Look it up - Joe failed in several key moments in last years playoff run. Although I didn't say anything about it at the time, I had a feeling that Joe had already "checked out" on our team, when we were trailing in the series.

Mark my words, Baltimore will win a World Championship before Mighty Joe Young and the Miami Stars win one.

Sincerely,
Brugalmesh
Chairman, GM Baltimore Colts

Huge Trade

2011-02-12T16:25:00.002-05:00

A shocking trade was completed today, between two of the best teams in the league of the last several years. The Baltimore Colts, who just lost Mighty Joe Young via free agency to the Miami Stars, have made a big splash. Joining them at the pool is the New York Cobra, themselves no strangers to unprecedented offseason acquisitions. Here is the deal:

Baltimore sends OF W. Gehrig Bear, OF Parker Brouthers, and P Jason Baret to New York in exchange for P Suzuke Mazdahonda, 3B Chris Phillips, and P Mark Shields.

Bear is one of the greatest hitters in the game today, and won the 2008 MVP award. Although Bear did not request a trade, it was rumored that after the loss of Mighty Joe Young, it would be difficult for Baltimore to retain his services past this season, when he is scheduled to become a free agent. Brouthers is included in the deal as a pure salary dump. Jason Baret, coming off a 20 win season in Baltimore's high profile offensive system, will be New York's #3 or #4 starter. New York Manager Eddie of Utah, is thrilled to have Baret in his rotation, as he is "a winner".

Going to New York is Mazdahonda, who has been one of the leagues dominant starting pitchers ever since coming over from the Elven leagues in 2007. He is signed until the 2012 season. 3B Chris Phillips disappointed in part time play last year, but is still relatively young and skilled (and cheap). He may play some at 1B for Baltimore. Mark Shields may be the key to this deal however. Shields is a 24 year old rookie who with a 9Y rating, may be destined to become a front of the order starting pitcher.

This move immediately shifts the focus of the fantasy sports talk world away from Miami, and towards New York again. This may have been one of the motivations for the trade. One wonders if the trade had been made a few days ago, would Joe Young have opted to sign in New York? We can only wonder.

Clearly, the big winner in this trade is Eddie of Utah. Eddie has been lobbying Brad for a number of years to abandon the dominant and expensive power pitching that Brad had built the Cobra foundation upon in favor of a more dominant offensive team. Eddie believes that he can build a winning pitching staff "on the cheap", but truly elite hitting talent can only be acquired at a high cost.

Pitchers and catchers report in just 3 days!

The Joe Young story

2011-02-12T00:18:00.002-05:00

The Joe Young you see on the field today is the best all around hitter the league of APBA baseball has ever seen. But baseball is only a small part of the story of Joe Young, a story of triumph over trajedy, of friendship, and above all, an unfulfilled desire to win at the highest level.

Joe was born in Africa, and while an infant lost his mother to a murderous poacher. A human girl, Jill Young, also lost her mother in the attack (she was trying to save the gorillas), and ended up raising the baby gorilla, giving him the name Joe Young. After Joe had grown to tremendous size, they moved to Los Angeles, but found trouble across the seas, fought the evil poacher again, and eventually returned to a nature preserve in Africa. Joe, however, could not leave aside one thing he found in the United States: His love for baseball. Joe and Jill returned to California in 1994, where Joe accepted a baseball scholarship to the University of Southern California. After his junior year where Joe hit .484 with 57 homers in 73 games, he was considered the top prospect in the land. His team, however, had fallen just short of the college world series. So Joe would have to make APBA wait. Returning for his senior year, Joe brought a championship to coach Mike Gillespie.

Joe spent the 1999 season in the APBA minors, and then was drafted #1 overall by the Las Vegas Gamblers. He was 24 years old as a rookie, a bit old for the debut of such a super talented ballplayer, but won the rookie of the year award by hitting .315 with 35 homers and 105 RBI, while throwing out 37 percent of opposing basestealers. Las Vegas, however, won only 73 games, and manager Roberto Ramos was fired after the season. Little do people realize how close the devastated Joe Young was to calling it quits, returning to Africa, and leaving the sport as one of the greatest one hit wonders of all time. Enter the new manager, Juan Alou.

Juan was a extraterrestrial bird who despised losing more than anything else. His first act as manager was to sit down with Joe Young, and convince him to stay. Juan helped Joe understand that the journey would not be easy, but together they could find a way to stop losing. And when they did that, it could mean only one thing: They would win. It sure wasn't easy. In 2001, Joe improved his numbers, hitting .328 with 38 homers, but the team was even worse, losing 105 games. Joe kept hitting the next 3 years, and the team kept improving, from 77 to 81 to 86 wins. While they had a winning record in 2004 finally, ownership had given up. They felt that they would never be able to surround Joe with the talent he needed to win a championship unless they dealt some veterans to bring in more young talent. And the biggest trade chit they held was none other than Joe Young. During the winter meetings, a trade was agreed to that would sent Joe to the Baltimore Colts in a blockbuster deal. Juan Alou would not have it though, he went to ownership, resigned on the spot, and said "if he goes, I go." Startlingly, his demand was agreed to, and a swap of managers became part of the deal, Juan going to Baltimore and Boba Fett taking over in Las Vegas.

In Baltimore, the now 29 year old Joe Young gave up catching. Baltimore had a promising young catching prospect in Jesse Myers, and convinced Joe that playing first base and DH would allow him to stay in the lineup more often. The move worked wonders. Freed from the nagging injuries that all catchers suffer, Joe set career highs with a .331 average and 46 homeruns. He won his first MVP award. He followed that with an even better year in 2006, .340 with 47 homers and 133 RBI, winning his second MVP award. Still, not all was right. Baltimore did not have losing records in his first 3 years there, but with no more than 85 wins each year, failed to make the playoffs. The 2007 season was especially frustrating as their 85 wins fell one short of the division leader.

This would change in 2008. Everything came together for Baltimore. Young outfielder Wellington Gehrig Bear won an MVP himself, teaming with Joe to produce the game's most fearsome 3-4 hitters. With slick fielding, power hitting shortstop Kobe Jones and 20 game winner Storm Morris, Baltimore won 106 games and cruised to a division title. In the playoffs, they disappointed, losing the SLCS to the Miami Stars. For 3 years running, the results were the same: the most dominant offense in the league, an easy division win, and a quick exit from the playoffs. Joe Young's game reached new heights, he hit .351 with 55 homers and 153 RBI in 2009, then .334 with 49 homers, 143 RBI in 2010. He won MVP honors each year, becoming the first four time MVP in league history. Joe had signed a free agent megadeal after the 2009 season, but had included the right to opt out if he failed to win the world series title.

He did so, and searched for a new place to show his talents, and above all, finally win a ring. Several teams have tried to make cases for him. The New York Cobra are always in contention for a world series, and have the highest payroll and most star studded roster in the sport. Bay Area, winners of the Major League west division, have a ton of young talent and the resources to be a league power. The Utah Utes have the history as the greatest multiyear championship run ever, and still have the talent to win another as they hope to team Joe with Frank Lewis in Battletrap's bases loaded offense. The Miami Stars have reached 2 of the last 5 world series and manager RJ Duke is convinced they are headed back.

Now we bring you live to The Herman Sports Network studios:

Joe Young, what's the decision?

Joe: I'm taking my talents to South Beach.

The deal is reported as a six year contract for 145 million dollars. Here to answer a few questions about his newest player is RJ Duke:

RJ, how do you like your team's chances for the world series next year?

RJ: We're going to win it. I guarantee it. If I'm wrong, then I will retire as manager. Joe Young is the greatest hitter I've ever seen.

Buck Jackson to manage in Baltimore

2011-02-08T23:35:00.003-05:00

Our sources tell us that Joe Young is close to a free agent deal out of Baltimore, and that Juan Alou is looking to follow Joe wherever he goes. Baltimore has not been a factor in the Joe Young bidding, and has chosen to move forward and hire a manager to replace Juan.

Buck Jackson, 42, was a dual sport star in baseball and football. With the 1995 Stars he hit 42 homers, stole 52 bases, and struck out 209 times. During the offseason, he sustained a hobby related hip injury while playing football for the Los Angeles Razors. Buck was put back together, but lost his speed and was not the same baseball player for the next two years. He retired in 1998. After a decade staying home with his family, Buck felt the need to get back into the sport, and most recently managed Baltimore's top minor league affiliate, the Baba Bowie Colts.

Buck says he can turn the Baltimore playoff woes around with or without Joe Young. He intends to bring a tougher, football mentality to the team. We are sure he'll get along with center fielder Darin Elam, who once was a punter. At a pre-season fan meetup, the Baltimore fans were excited to welcome Jackson, saying we must respect the Buck, and the team will no longer just be Bucking around.

Free Agent Signings 2/7/11

2011-02-07T21:56:00.000-05:00

Today, two more big signings were announced.

1. Ryan Ballard resigns with Utah for a 2-year deal valued at $25 million total. Ballard will DH for Utah, a role he has excelled in the past few seasons. This signing officially takes Utah out of the Mighty Joe Young sweepstakes.

2. Ryan Harris resigns with Bay Area for $119 million over 7 years. This is the same contract that Alex Maldonado received from Denver earlier in the offseason.

3. Over the weekend, Jacen Solo resigned with Charlotte for 3-years and $36 million.

MJ Young Update:
Our sources tell us its now down to 5 teams: New York Cobra (who our source says is in the lead - thanks, Brad!), Miami Stars, Baltimore Colts, Bay Area Bandits, and a mystery team.

Free Agent Signings - February 5, 2011

2011-02-05T14:29:00.000-05:00

Today, there was finally some movement with some of the big name free agents, plus some other teams making roster adjustments. Here are the signings:

Miguel Tejawa resigns with Hollywood for $138 Million over 6 years. Miguel is now the leagues highest paid player on a per year basis.

Utah makes a series of moves to solidify their infield for next season:
Previously signed legend Lou Zamuda will most likely shift to 2B next season. To fill the shortsop gap for one season (while the team awaits the arrival of future all-star SS Chad Richardson), the team signed longtime winner Kurt Scherman to a one year, $2 Million dollar contract.

To fill the 3B role, Utah turns to longtime Ute Doug Dodson, resigning him to a 6 year contract valued at $90 Million dollars.

Utah still has some money left and not too many holes to fill. My sources tell me that sooner rather than later, they will reach out to free agent Joe Young to see if he is ready to sign. If he does not commit, the source says Utah will move on and resign Ryan Ballard. Ballard is receiving numerous contract offers but would prefer to stay in Battletrap's offense in Utah. However, Ballard has said that he cannot sit on the sidelines all offseason waiting for Joe Young.

Also resigining some of their own players was the reigning World Series Champion Philadelphia Grays. The Grays resigned 2B and leadoff man Jimmy Taylor, for 4 years and $40 million. Philadelphia also retains the services of platoon OF Corey Sloan. Sloan inks a 2 year, $8 million dollar contract.

In other moves, the Mars Eyebiters purge a little bit of payroll by trading 3B Kana Wake (1 year left at $19 million) to the Alaska Snowsox in exchange for RP Luther Trautwein (owed $16 over the next 2 years) and 3B Oscar Martinez (league minimum salary). Martinez is a solid if unspectacular player, and will play 3B for Mars. Alaska is hoping to make a big push for the division title next year with Kana Wake completing their infield. Wake will provide a bigger bat in the middle of the lineup, and is also the best defensive 3B in the game today.

Hall of Fame Welcomes Chillingworth, Sanders, and Ramos

2011-01-04T19:08:00.002-05:00

The ballots are all in. Leading the way with 8 votes were Roger Chillingworth and Dee Sanders.

Chillingworth, with 421 wins, 7 World Series rings, and 4280 strikeouts, easily passes the Hall of Fame test. Sanders became the 5th player in league history to reach 3000 hits, and also set a league record with 13 gold gloves.

With 87.5 percent of the vote, Cesar Ramos joins them in the hall. Ramos hit 411 homeruns in his career, along with 2639 hits. Ramos was never better than in 1999, when he hit .347 with 41 homers and 155 RBI while earning MVP honors for the Louisville Sluggers.

Just missing induction with 62.5 percent of the votes were Vern Terrell and Bob Zygyk. Terrell hit 408 homers and drove in 1523 runs, Zygyk was a regular participant in the world series, reaching the season finale 10 times with 4 different teams and winning 7 of them.

With 50% of the votes, Bono Vox, Quilvio Gato, Leon Wolf, and Drummond Peltier will be on next year's ballot. Peltier pitched in only one game during his career, but it was a complete game victory. An annual write-in drive has gotten him votes for several years, but this is his best showing. If two more voters convert to his cause, he will reach the Hall of Fame.

Derek Mills earned 3 votes and will remain on the ballot as well. Todd Allen, with 2, and Jack Johnson with 1, will not remain on the ballot. Butch Coolidge, Vernell Hightower, Bob Donovan, and Brett Wagner did not receive any votes.

2010 World Series Game 6

2010-12-26T15:16:00.002-05:00

So far through 5 games, the home team is 0-5. Philadelphia has the momentum, and is looking to snap that streak and become the 2010 World Series Champion. This game is a rematch of the Game 3 starters, Joseph Smith Langford vs. Roscoe Savage. In the first inning, Jimmy Taylor leads off with a single, steals second, and scores on a throwing error by Charlotte SS Orlando Veras, to give Philly the 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the 2nd with 2 outs, Charlotte has runners at 1st and 2nd, but unfortunately, Langford is the batter. Langford ignores the fact that pitchers can't hit and drives a single into the gap to tie the game at 1.

In the bottom of the 2nd, Chris Gruber hits a solo HR to make it 2-1 Philadelphia. In the bottom of the 4th, Langford gets the first 2 Philadelphia batters out. Then, trouble strikes:

Gruber: Walk
Chavez: ground ball up the middle, bobbled by Veras for his 2nd error of the game. Runners at 1st and 3rd.
Ruiz: Double that bounds to the Centerfield wal, 2 runs score, Ruiz advances to 3B on the throw to the plate. Score is 4-1.
Savage: Walk
Taylor: Ground ball to SS, dives, can't make a play anywhere. Infield single. Score is 5-1.
Bulger: Strikes out to end the inning, finally.

Neither teams scores in the 5th. In the top of the 6th, Charlotte makes it interesting:

Kelso: Single
Connor: Strikeout
Perez: Double, runners to 2nd and 3rd.
Miller: Single to RF, 1 run scores, runners to 1st and 3rd.
Carillo: Line out to 1B.
PH Jackie Garrison (lefty)
Philadelphia goes to the mound, replacing Roscoe Savage with Lefty Chuck Rader.
Charlotte counters by pinch hitting Richie Jefferson for the PH Jackie Garrison.
Jefferson: Doubles to the base of the centerfield wall, 1 run scores, runners to 2nd and 3rd. Score is 5-3.
Cedeno: Ground out to 2B to end the inning.

Both bullpens settle down, and put up zeros in the bottom of the 6th, and 7th, and 8th innings.

We go to the top of the 9th, Philadelphia leads 5-3 and is bringing in their ace closer Alex Devarez, and speedy LF Reggie Winters for defense. They will face the top of the Charlotte lineup, who will be without any reserve position players for the rest of the game.

Cedeno: Walk
J. Solo: Hit and Run single to RF. Runners to 1st and 3rd. Yes, Charlotte opts for the un-conventional hit and run even though they are down by 2 runs.
A. Solo: Grounder to 2B, over to SS, over to 1B...4-6-3 Double Play. Cedeno scores to make it 5-4, but now there are no runners on base and Charlotte is down to their final out.
Kelso: Double off the right-center field fence.
M. Connor: Walk

Runners on first and second, 2 out, score is 5-4:
S. Perez: Fly ball to centerfield, caught by Rocky Balboni! Philadelphia wins the World Series!

Philadelphia wins the game 5-4, and wins the series 4 games to 2, after losing the first 2 games of the series. Savage gets the win, 5.2-7-3-3-3-3, Devarez gets the save, 1-2-1-1-2-0. Langford takes the loss, 4-4-5-1-2-4. Jerry Ruiz is named the MVP of the series, after missing the final 6 games of the Major League Championship series. Ruiz batted .286 with 2 HR's in the series, and had several big hits. However, he wins this award for his work with the glove, making 42 successful chances in 6 games, along with several DP's.

2010 World Series Game 5

2010-12-26T15:02:00.002-05:00

Philadelphia goes with game 2 starter, Lee Harvey Oswalt and Charlotte opts for Larry Patterson, he of the 11Y rating, in lieu of going with Game 2 starter Dave Fitzgerald who pitched well in the Game 2 win. In the 1st inning, Philly loads the bases with nobody out for cleanup hitter Rocky Balboni. Balboni singles to make it 1-0, and the bases remain loaded. After a Corey Sloan strikeout, Ron Foreman connects for Grand Slam, on a homerun that is just beyond the reach of 5'-8" tall Jim York in left field (starting in place of the usual LF, 6'-1" tall Jackie Garrison who also has a 37" vertical leap). After the big HR, Charlotte pulls Patterson and brings in Game 2 starter Dave Fitzgerald.

With a 5-0 lead, Oswalt just needs to hold on and not do anything stupid. Charlotte scrapes together 1 run in each of the 1st, 5th, and 6th innings, highlighted by Homeruns from Mike Kelso and Tommy Miller. In the bottom of the 9th inning, Philadelphia turns to ace closer Alex Devarez. Devarez gets the first out, then surrenders a solo HR to Jim York, to make it 5-4. Richie Jefferson then pops out for the second out. Down to their last out, Eddie Cedeno is able to smack a single to centerfield. Cedeno then successfully steals 2nd base. With the tying run on 2B with 2 outs, Jacen Solo rips a ball into the hole between SS and 3B, but Jerry Ruiz makes a lunging grab, turns and throws in one motion, and just gets Jacen Solo at first base for the final out of the game.

Philadelphia wins Game 5 by a score of 5-4. Oswalt gets the win, 6.2-9-3-3-1-6, Rader gets the hold, 1.1-0-0-0-0-2, Devarez gets the save 1-2-1-1-0-0. For Charlotte, Patterson takes the loss, 0.1-4-5-5-1-0, Fitzgerald pitches a superhuman game in relief, going 8-4-0-0-2-6 (yes, Charlotte wishes they could hit the "undo" button on that call).

2010 World Series Game 4

2010-12-26T14:55:00.002-05:00

Since neither pitcher worked extensively in Game 1, this will be a rematch with Charlie Zito taking on Rudy Baker. Philadelphia scores the first 2 runs of the game in the 4th, on a Rocky Balboni bases loaded double. In the 6th, Ron Foreman hits a 2 run 2B to make it 4-0. In the 7th, Philadelphia blows the game wide open with a 4-run inning, highlighted by a Paul White 3-run HR off "lefty specialist" Brian Torres.

Philadelphia wins Game 4, by the score of 10-4, and ties the series at 2 games apiece. Baker gets the win, 7-6-1-1-2-5, Zito gets the loss, 5.1-4-4-4-4-4. Paul White, Rocky Balboni, Jerry Ruiz, and Tommy Miller hit HR's in the game.

2010 World Series Game 3

2010-12-26T14:43:00.002-05:00

The series shifts to Charlotte where the DH rule will be in effect. This one is a matchup between veteran Roscoe Savage and youngster (with pedigree) Joseph Smith Langford. Philadelphia scores 2 quick runs in the first, and leads 6-0 after the top of the 6th inning. Meanwhile, Roscoe Savage is mowing down the Charlotte batters. In the bottom of the 6th, Charlotte cuts the lead to 6-2 on RBI hits from the Solo brothers.

In the bottom of the 8th, Savage strikes out Garrison and Jim York to get the first 2 outs of the inning (his 12th & 13th K's of the game). Cedeno then singles, and after a Jacen Solo double to left, tries to score on Chris Gruber's arm. Despite Cedeno being a fast runner and getting the running start with 2 outs, Gruber nails him at the plate to end the inning, on a bang bang play. After the collision at the plate, Cedeno leaves the game. Chuck Rader shuts down the Hawks in the 9th inning, and Philadelphia wins Game 3, by the score of 6-2.

Savage gets the win, 8-6-2-2-0-13, Lanford gets the loss 4.1-9-5-5-2-2. Corey Sloan hits a 2 run HR for Philadelphia.

2010 World Series Game 2

2010-12-26T14:16:00.002-05:00

Charlotte (Dave Fitzgerald) at Philadelphia (Lee Harvey Oswalt). This one is a good pitching duel with scoring at a premium. In the 4th, Charlotte strikes first, putting a mini rally together with a Cedeno leadoff single, stolen base, and then moves over to 3B on an infield single from Jacen Solo. Anakin Solo then singles to right to make it 1-0. Oswalt limits the damage by getting the next 3 batters to pop out, strikeout, and strikeout.

The lead is short lived however, as Philadelphia ties it in the bottom half of the inning. Foreman starts the inning with a hit by pitch and then advances to 3B on a Domingo Chavez 2B. Jerry Ruiz then hits a sacrifice fly to tie the game. Thats the way the score stayed until the top of the 6th, when Jacen Solo hits a solo HR to make it 2-1.

Philadelphia threatens again in the 7th, when Paul White singles to put runners on 1st and 3rd with 1 out off Brian Torres (for those keeping score at home, White is now 2-2 with a HR against the "lefty specialist"). However, the inning ends as quickly as it starts on a Matt Bulger 4-6-3 DP. In the bottom of the 9th, Charlotte leads 2-1 and brings in ace Rob Porter to try to nail down the win. The first batter he faces, Jerry Ruiz, hits a solo HR to tie the game. After a Chris Gruber ground out, Jimmy Taylor hits a ball of the centerfield fence for a triple.

Charlotte manager Mark Roberts then goes with a risky strategy: He intentionally walks Ron Foreman and Paul White to load the bases. He then plays the infield in against Matt Bulger. Bulger hits a sharp grounder to 2B, and Jacen Solo briefly bobbles it, but is able to make a strong throw to the plate to get the second out, and keep the game alive. Corey Sloan then hits a deep fly to right, but Sergio Perez makes the running catch at the wall to send the game to extra innings.

Both bullpens clamp down, and the 10 inning is scoreless. In the 11th, Jacen Solo leads off with a double off lefty James Willits. After two non-runner advancing outs, a wild pitch sends Solo to 3B. Mike Connor then bloops a single to right to make it 3-2. In the bottom of the 11th, Tommy Klink records a 1-2-3 inning to get the relief win. Fitzgerald goes 6-5-1-1-3-0 and Klink goes 2-0-0-0-0-3 for the win. For Philadelphia, Oswalt goes 6-6-2-2-1-4. Jacen Solo is the player of the game with his 3-5 performance, hitting a double, homer, scoring the winning run, and cutting off the game winning run with a defensive stop in the bottom of the 9th.

2010 World Series Game 1

2010-12-26T13:53:00.002-05:00

Game 1 Charlotte at Philadelphia. This matchup pits 2010 Superior League Cy Young winner Charlie Zito, against the team that originally drafted him and let him walk last year as a free agent, against Rudy Baker. Charlotte gets off to a 4-0 lead after the top of the 6th, thanks to some good small ball play from Eddie Cedeno and Jacen Solo (3 SB and hit and runs). Baker leaves the game with a line of 5-9-4-4-5-3 and Philadelphia is wishing they had started regular season ace Lee Harvey Oswalt instead.

In the bottom of the 6th, Philly makes it interesting. With one out, Alex Gallaway gets a pinch hit single. Then, Jimmy Taylor and Ron Foreman are hit by the pitch to load the bases for the Big Show, Paul White. White works the bases loaded walk to make it 4-1. Matt Bulger then hits into a force at second, but the score is now 4-2. Balboni then singles to right to make it 4-3, before Zito is able to get out of the inning.

In the 7th, Kelso gets a single for Charlotte. With 2 out and Kelso on first, Sergio Perez is hit by a Chuck Rader pitch. The umpire decides to exert some control over the situation (3 hit batters in a span of one inning), and ejects Rader. Tommy Miller then singles to left to make the score 5-3. Thats the way it stayed until the 8th inning, when Charlotte brings in their lefty specialist Brian Torres to face Paul White. The Big Show responds with a Big Fly, and the lead is cut to 5-4.

But the comeback was not to be. In the bottom of the 9th, Rob Porter shuts down the Philadelphia lineup 1-2-3 and Charlotte wins Game 1 5-4. Zito gets the win, 6.1-5-3-3-1-2 and Porter gets the save, 1.2-1-0-0-0-0.

2010 Major League Championship Series Game 7

2010-12-24T15:58:00.003-05:00

Game 7 Rematch for all the marbles. Philly sends Roscoe Savage to the mound to face Suzuki MazdaHonda. New York takes a short lived 1-0 lead in the 2nd, courtesy of a Paul Hagan hit and RBI. In the 3rd, Jimmy Taylor hits a solo HR to tie the game. It stayed that way until the 5th, when Philadelphia jumped all over MazdaHonda.

After a Jimmy Taylor leadoff single, Moochie Henson then bunts him to 2nd base. Paul White then grounds out to shortstop for the 2nd out. So far, the inning is almost over and is harmless for New York. Thats when trouble struck. Bulger singled to make it 2-1. After a Corey Sloan single, Balboni singled to center to score Bulger, and Balboni advances to 2nd on the play at the plate. Gruber then follows with a single and its 5-1. New York is reeling and panicking at this point. They get Chavez to make the 3rd out without any more damage being done, but Philly is up 5-1 with only 4 innings left in the season.

New York never threatens, and Philadelphia wins the game 6-1, despite not having Jerry Ruiz for the final 6 games of the series. Savage gets the win, going 7-7-1-1-0-5, and Devarez closes out the 9th with 2 strikeouts. MazdaHonda takes the loss, going 5-8-5-5-2-4.

Philadelphia wins the Major League Championship Series 4 games to 3, and advances to the World Series to face the Charlotte Hawks. This will be the first time since 1998 that the Major League is represented by a team other than the Portland Decepticons (99, 04, 05) Florida Penguins (00, 01), or New York Cobra (02, 03, 06, 07, 08, 09). Its the first time since 1994-1 that the World Series won't feature either a human-managed team or the Utah Utes (1994-1 World Series Orlando Rugrats defeat Denver Rabbits).

2010 Major League Championship Series

2010-11-28T14:51:00.002-05:00

Game 1 Philadelphia at New York:
Rudy Baker (4.2-5-4-4-5-6) vs. Pedro Lewis (6-9-6-6-0-9). Neither pitcher does well and Paul White hits a big HR to give Philadelphia the 6-5 win. Late in the game, Pedro throws inside to SS Jerry Ruiz, causing him to have to leave the game. After the game, Philadelphia learns that the injury to Ruiz is severe enough that he will not be able to play again in the series. For New York, Ricky Buckley will be eligible to return in Game 6. Until then, Manfred will continue to play 2B.

Game 2 Philadelphia at New York:
Philly jumps off to a 3-0 lead in the first, and leads 4-2 in the 8th. Oswalt is much better in this start going 7-7-2-2-0-5. New York cuts the lead in half in the 8th, as Devarez gets the final out with 2 runners on.

To the 9th:
Peter Gibson singles.
PH Dallas Knight Jr. Bloops one to left, SS Jimmy Taylor and LF Mendoza collide, forcing both players to leave the game.
Manfred walks to load the bases.
Keith Lee singles to left to score 2 runs and win the game 5-4.

Game 3 New York at Philadelphia:
Mendoza has been removed from the postseason roster, and is replaced by OF Alex Galloway. Jimmy Taylor will be out until Game 6. Philadelphia patches Mootchie Henson at SS and moves converted LF Ron Foreman back to his original position at 2B. Chris Gruber, normally a 3B will play LF.

Mazdahonda pitches his 3rd straight outstanding game (7-6-2-1-2-6) to improve to 3-0 in the postseason. Roscoe Savage gets shelled (2-7-5-5-0-1) as New York wins 6-3. Chad White and Miguel Cruz HR for NY.

Game 4 New York at Philadelphia:
This was a back and forth game. Chad hits a 2-run HR in the 3rd to take a 2-1 lead. New York rallies for 3 in the 6th, but Philly gets 2 back in the bottom half. Miguel Cruz homers in the 7th to give NY a 6-4 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Philly ties it with the help of a Corey Sloan HR. In the 8th, NY scores to take a 7-6 lead. In the bottom half, Moochie Henson hits a 2 out single, and scores on a Corey Sloan double. No one scores in the 9th, and in the bottom of the 10th, the same 8th inning heroes get it done again. Henson leads off with walk off Benser, and Corey Sloan hits a walk-off HR to win 9-7.

Game 5 New York at Philadelphia:
Pedro Lewis redeems himself for his poor Game 1 performance, and pitches a complete game (9-3-1-1-2-8) to lead New York to the 5-1 win. Chad White and Manfred Mueller hit HRs for New York.

The series returns to New York, with the Cobra having the 3-2 lead. Jimmy Taylor and Ricky Buckley will return to each teams lineup in game 6.

Game 6 Philadelphia at New York:
Oswalt (8-4-1-1-2-6) vs. Steven Hyde (7-8-1-1-1-7).
No score until the 6th, when Rocky Balboni doubles home Sloan with 2 outs. In the 8th, Rudiger Rocker walks the bases loaded with no one out. NY sticks with him, and Balboni hits into the 4-6-3 DP and gets Gruber to pop out to end the inning. However, Philadelphia takes a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the 8th.

In the 8th, Manfred walks and PH Dallas Knight Jr. doubles to put runners at 2nd & 3rd with no outs. Peter Gibson then flies to LF for the 1st out. Manfred comes home to score, but Knight Jr. tries to advance to 3B but is thrown out. Oswalt then gets the 3rd out. The score is 2-1 going into the bottom of the 9th, Devarez to face the top of the NY lineup:

Buckley: ground out to 2B
Lee: fly out CF
Solo: double to LF
White: fly out to LF

And for the 3rd straight year, there will be a Game 7.

2010 Major League Division Series

2010-11-28T14:04:00.002-05:00

Game 1 Bay Area at New York:
Due to late season injuries, Bay Area will be playing the first few games without LF Darryl Brown and 3B Leon Mercado, while New York will be without IF Mateo Ozuna until the World Series and will also be without SS and league MVP Brett Solo for game 1. For 1 game, New York elects to play regular 1B Manfred Mueller at SS (he has the strongest throwing arm in the entire league).

New York is able to win game 1 7-1, behind the pitching of Cy Young winner Pedro Lewis (8-8-1-1-2-6), and a 3-4 game with a HR from Chad White. Manfred does not commit an error and helps to turn 2 DP's in the game.

Game 2 Bay Area at New York:
New York annihilates Bay Area 12-1, getting HRs from Brett Solo and Manfred. Mazdahonda goes 6-4-1-1-2-3 for the win.

Game 3 New York at Bay Area:
New York leads 8-3 going into the bottom of the 6th, and then proceed to blow the lead. With 2 outs and the bases loaded, Dustin Chavez hits a bases clearing double to make it 8-7. New York adds 1 in the 8th to make it 9-7. In the bottom of the 8th, Bay Area gets a runner on 2nd with 2 out and Papelbrad on the mound. Chavez works a walk, and after a wild pitch, Optimus Minor bloops a single to RF to tie the game.

Both teams fail to rally in the 9th, and after escaping a New York threat in the 10th, New York brings in their closer, Jaret Benser for the 10th. Don Meyers walks and Khalid Kent comes in to run for him. Kent steals 2nd base. After Fred Lewis flies out to LF, Kent steals 3rd. Mercado then lays down the suicide squeeze and Bay Area wins 10-9.

Game 4 New York at Bay Area:
Bryan Curtis pitches on 3 days rest and helps his cause, hitting a the game tying solo HR off Stuart Coppolla in the 5th inning. With 2 outs in the inning, Jack Collins hits a single to left center that gets by Chad White. The error allows Ryan Harris to score from first. The 3-2 lead holds up, and Bay Area wins Game 4.

Game 5 New York at Bay Area:
Pedro Lewis pitches a solid game (7-9-1-0-4-9) and New York wins Game 5 5-1. Late in the game, Ricky Buckley and Keith Lee collide on a bloop hit. Lee is OK, but Buckley will be sidelined for about 11 days.

Game 6 Bay Area at New York:
With 2B Buckley out and no backup IF on the roster, Manfred Mueller plays just a bit further from the 1B bag, and DH type hitter Ted Troskey plays 1B. It's all moot as Mazdahonda pitches shutout ball for 8 innings (8-3-0-0-1-4) and even hits a 2 run HR as well. Brett Solo and Manfred also hit homers as New York wins 5-0. Manfred again plays flawless defense at a foreign position.

New York wins the series 4-2, and will play Philadelphia for the 2nd straight year in the LCS (New York won in 7 games last year).