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Post Gameday Points VIII
Another
double issue hits the stands, this time because I was out of town last
week on business. I was at a convention for modern philosophers and really
didn't learn much more than San Diego is a really nice place to be. I
don't know if I could live there, but the occassional week could never
hurt.
But
I doubt most of you clicked on the article to read about my work and random
trips down south, so I'll move on. First, let me tackle the thoughts from
the games on Sunday, June 22nd.
The
Horsemen looked horrid. Two weeks after looking to have come full circle
with a return to strict domination, the men on horses looked weak, complacent,
and vulnerable. The Holy Whites, who didn't look much better themselves,
squeaked out two victories over the Horsemen, who then found themselves
on the receiving end of a 7-1 beatdown, courtesy of the Playerz. The Horsemen
combined to go only 7-43 on the day and scored only 3 runs. Seth Yoder
and Ian Byrd combined to go 2-30.
Over
at the other field, the Road Warriors swept the Playerz in a pair of games
that were more competitive than they had any right to be, and then quickly
and mercilessly shutout the Holy Whites, 3-0. The Playerz hung tough though
in their double dip, losing by relatively even scores of 9-6 and 5-3.
The main reason was the fact that Bill Rozak was hitting the piss out
of the ball (just ask Dave Cain). However, the Road Warriors pissed all
over Rozak's own offerings and essentially wore out their opposition.
Bill
Rozak and Dave Cain's bats were the stars of the day. Dave hit 6 HRs and
took the lead in homeruns from Scott. Folks, this is the first time since
1994 that Scott has not been leading the league in homeruns. This is historic.
Then
last week I cought a break when I found out all six league games would
be played at the same field. The Byrd House was preoccupied, so I got
comfortable at The Sac and prepared to watch the fireworks. And those
did come.
The
Horsemen, for one, looked much better than the week before, despite the
fact that they went 1-2. They had the Whites on the ropes until Eric decided
to suck again, and they took the "moral victory" split from
the Road Warriors. Seth Yoder looked great at the plate, picking up timely
basehits and not striking out very often. His reward was an All-Star birth.
Wiffolution
looked disgusting in their opener against the Road Warriors. Few expected
the Warriors to lose, but some may have been surprised with how easy they
made it look. They stripped Wiffolution of their dignity, beating them
into the ground 8-0. Dean Evans picked up three singles, but also walked
a pathetic eight batters and gave up five runs. At points, it looked a
bit like the second coming of Bob Banos...only less stoned. The roughest
part of the game for me occured in the bottom of the third. Down 3-0,
Dean took the mound. In the first inning, he somehow got out of a walk-the-bases-loaded-with-only-one-out
jam without a run. The third inning would not be as kind. He again walked
the bases loaded with one out. Two of those walks were to Curtis Henning,
and in both ABs, Dean quickly jumped out to an 0-2 count. He then got
Dave at 2-2, and threw a great pitch low. Players tried to decide whether
it was a ball or a strike as it hit the bottom bar. Did it hit the ground
first? They couldn't decide, so the end result was a "re-do."
The very next pitch Dave sent into left-center for a grandslam.
Wiffolution
did come back later in the night and picked up a split with the Holy Whites.
Casey's bat looked much better than it has over the past year or so and
they almost picked up a sweep. In the bottom of the third during Game
2 however, the Whites exploded for 13 runs and won, 13-2. Mike Walsh "fell
asleep" and pulled a no-show, but lucky for the Whites, John Deatrick
arrived out of nowhere and the games were played.
| Curtis
Henning
Comparison
w/greatness
|
Cat. |
Scott |
Seth |
Curtis |
IP |
29 |
28 |
32 |
OHits |
26 |
22 |
27 |
ER |
8 |
8 |
10 |
K |
58 |
47 |
56 |
BB |
7 |
5 |
5 |
HR |
7 |
7 |
9 |
BF |
120 |
110 |
128 |
OAvg |
.230 |
.210 |
.220 |
K/4 |
8.00 |
6.71 |
7.00 |
ERA |
1.10 |
1.14 |
1.25 |
W |
2 |
4 |
5 |
L |
0 |
3 |
0 |
Rat |
55.90 |
51.81 |
55.10 |
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On
the day, both Yoder and Carmichael gave up a couple runs, and now both their
ERAs are above 1.00. Quietly though, Curtis Henning has been dominating
competition, and all of the sudden, you have to think of the rookie when
you think of the Cy Young award. Last time I gave you a look at "Scott
vs. Seth." Now I feel obligated to add Henning in the mix. What do
you guys think? He doesn't lead in any category other than Wins, IP, and
Batters Faced, but he's right there in every other category. I'm not saying
we should immediately put Henning's name on the trophy, I'm just saying
that there are two pitchers in this league who need to keep one eye looking
over their shoulder.
Despite
getting his ass handed to him in that nightmarish 13-run inning, it should
be noted that Jeff, who's been having a season below standards to say
the least, clutched up enough to earn a trip to his third homerun derby.
What
are the thoughts on the All-Star Game? Joey, Scott, and Seth vs. Dave,
Curtis, John? Some people might think that one of the teams is actually
a poor man's version of the Road Warriors, but John is having himself
a season. Still, I'd put money on the tandem of Joey and Scott, who I
think will do nothing but bring out the best in one another.
| Current
Rookie Standings |
| Name |
Brnk |
Prnk |
Ornk |
| 1.
Curtis Henning |
5 |
2 |
1 |
| 2.
Matt Smith |
8 |
9 |
2 |
| 3.
Bill Rozak |
1 |
17 |
3 |
| 4.
Matt Plummer |
10 |
8 |
4 |
| 5.
Pat Plummer |
16 |
5 |
5 |
| 6.
John Robins |
13 |
13 |
6 |
Brnk
= Batting Rank (overall)
Prnk = Pitching Rank (overall)
ORnk = Overall Rank (rookies)
Ornk determined by summing both Brnk and Prnk. In the event
of a tie, player with more ABs is given priority. |
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Bill
Rozak was granted access to the Rookie Game, despite having only been
to two gamedays. I agree with that decision, especially considering the
injury to Matt Plummer. The game itself will pit Curtis Henning and Pat
Plummer opposite Matt Smith and Rozak. Road Warriors vs. Playerz. My thoughts?
I'm going to go out on a limb and pick the Road Warriors team. Pat Plummer,
assuming he can make it, made some big strides Sunday and has proven that
he can pitch with a moderate amount of talent. Also, on the 22nd, all
four of Curtis' homeruns came off Rozak. Chew on that. I will say that
it will be close.
I
think I might be looking forward to the HR Derby the most, as much as
that goes against my "old-school" tendencies. I think it would
be even more interesting had Rozak made it, but as it is, the fans should
get their money's worth. Dave Cain...man, I don't know what he has in
store.
And
even *I* don't know jack about the other events planned. I've heard rumors
that some SF guys are coming, I also heard rumors that they aren't. I've
heard their will be a Celebrity Derby and an "Old-Timers" Game,
which for some reason I won't be involved in. But really, who knows? We'll
all find out in 9 days.
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