Russell Crowe Baseball Association

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Originally Posted by jksander

I bow to your dynasty prowess! Well done, sir

Thank you, very kind.

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Last month, it was Fitzroy’s Guy Pearce taking home the award -- and now it’s his teammate’s turn to shine. Kordus is just five home runs away from a 30/30 season and could even push for a 40/40 (he’s projected to finish with 39 home runs -- and he’s already got the steals).

He had two multi-homer games this month. We’ll highlight his performance in a loss to division rivals Preston Bears: Kordus went 2-for-3 with two walks, a stolen base, and two home runs.

If it hadn’t been for a two-run homer by Preston 2B Tony Meier in the top of the 8th, we might have been able to include a win with those accomplishments.






One month ago, the Tasman Suns were sitting fifth in the New Zealand South Division -- 39–41, seven games off the lead. Today, they’re 55–49 and suddenly a real threat.

Fleming has been the model of consistency all season -- his OPS has hovered around 1.000 the whole time. The difference is he’s now getting a lot more support, especially from 1B Everett Easton and RF Edward Campbell.

He also put together a 16-game hit streak from the 7th to the 27th of July, and he’s riding a 21-game on-base streak that started on the same day. The Suns have gone 15–7 since that run began -- and Tasman fans will be hoping both the streak and the hot form keep rolling.




Seth Fitzpatrick started his season with a two-hit shutout against the Fitzroy Bohemians -- and he’s stayed among the best pitchers in baseball since. Consider this:

April ERA: 2.37
May ERA: 2.74
June ERA: 2.20
July ERA: 2.42

He leads the Australia League in strikeouts, is tied for second in wins, and ranks third in ERA. He’s thrown two complete-game shutouts and posted two 10+ strikeout games. It’s wild that he’s only now getting this award. He’ll be a frontrunner for Pitcher of the Year.




On June 14, 2001, Kirby MacGinn stepped on the mound against the Otago Penguins. It started alright -- the first inning was over in five pitches --but over the next four, he gave up 11 hits and overthrew a pickoff throw. He departed in the top of the 5th with nine earned runs to his name.

His ERA was 5.36. Today it is 3.82. So how did Kirby turn it around?

“There was a guy in the training facility, dressed like a wizard. He came up to me and suggested I put my foot down slightly more to the right when I finish my delivery. I tried it and I liked it. I went to talk to him afterwards but he’d disappeared. No one else had seen him.”

The journalist asked him "Was it Dumbledore?"

"Who the [bleep] is Dumbledore?"

MacGinn’s most iconic game is an obvious choice: a 95-pitch, five-hit complete-game shutout against the Wellington Bees. The Knights held a 1–0 lead for most of the game until the bottom of the 8th, when Henry Patel hit an RBI single to extend it to 2–0.

"How did it feel to get a Maddux?"
"What the [bleep] is a Maddux?



(Fun Maddux fact (a CGSO with 99 pitches or less): This was the 8th Maddux of the season. and the third achieved with 2 runs of run support. Geelong's Frank Martin is the only pitcher with two this season.)

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It’s stretch time. The Newtown Jets and Manawatu Vikings have consolidated their spots at the top of their divisions, while the Fitzroy Bohemians and Bay of Plenty Magic have seen their holds weaken.

Of particular interest is the New Zealand North Division. The Waitakere Spiders actually took the lead during August, but a losing streak for them -- and a winning streak for the Magic -- restored the Magic to the position they’ve held for most of the season.

The Wild Card race will be worth watching. Multiple teams are within striking distance of the current spots, and as we move through September and the final games in October, wins will be critical if these teams want to keep playing beyond the first 162.

Australian teams toured New Zealand in the second half of August and will wrap up their tour in the opening days of September.




Our Game of the Month goes to this 15-inning battle between the St Kilda Seagulls and Newcastle Steelers.

It opened with a lead-off home run from St Kilda LF Nicky Verdun, and the hits kept coming. By the end of nine innings, it was tied 7–7. The Steelers loaded the bases with no outs in the 10th, but a shallow flyout, fielder’s choice, and another flyout wasted the golden opportunity.

The Seagulls struck in the 11th -- CF Jared Powell doubled, stole third, and was driven in by a single from 1B Tom London for an 8–7 lead. The Steelers undid that immediately with back-to-back doubles to tie it again.

In the 14th, the Seagulls loaded the bases with no outs and managed to push a run across, but the Steelers countered in the bottom half with a first-pitch solo home run by C Jy Cremeans to tie it once more.

In the 15th, St Kilda SS Logan Lomax ripped a triple down the right-field line to lead things off, and CF Jared Powell lined a single to bring him home. The Steelers got runners on the corners in the bottom half, but Seagulls reliever Dylan Barone got 1B Mike Clarke to fly out for the final out of the game. Nearly 1 a.m. -- Seagulls win.



In injury news, Waikato LF Brian Smith sprained his ankle in mid-August and looks set to return only by mid-September. A definite blow for the Morepork as they push for a playoff spot -- he’d been hitting .331/.508/.559 (196 wRC+) with 47 RBIs, 29 stolen bases, and 9 home runs.

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You know, DJ Larocca has been good this season -- but his August was unreal. Fresh off a hamstring injury in July, he doubled his home run total in a single month, jumping from 10 to 20, and arguably kept the Rams in the Wild Card hunt.




The Wellington Bees may have fallen to the bottom of the NZ South Division, but at least the fans have the antics of 2B Stuart Ellis to enjoy. The ball looks like a beach ball to this switch hitter as he picks up hit after hit.

His most memorable game of the month was against the Penrith Blues, when his solo home run tied the game in the 7th. The Bees would go on to win.






It’s been tough to score on Ropiha this month. He put together a 17-inning scoreless streak and capped the month (separate from that streak) with a CGSO against the Hawkes Bay Moonshots -- who might be getting used to being shut out, considering they suffered the same fate against the next guy too.






It’s been an incredible season for Espley so far, and he stepped it up in August with some of his most iconic games yet. First, there was a no-hitter against the Hawkes Bay Moonshots -- Espley protected a 1–0 lead, striking out 11 Moonshot hitters and walking two.



He backed that up in his next game with a CGSO against the Counties Manukau Stallions, again with 11 strikeouts.

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Back in May, this New Zealand born correspondent was devastated when the Australian teams achieved a 120-96 advantage over the New Zealand teams when they toured. HE IS NOW VINDICATED as the Australian teams went 86-130 for their tour across New Zealand.

No Australian team had a positive record in New Zealand: Newcastle, St Kilda, and Geelong can at least claim an even record.

Australia South Division leader Fitzroy had the worst record of all teams.



When asked, Fitzroy manager Rory Frankland said 'Their flat whites were [bleep]'

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One month out from the end of the regular season. The math nerds went and released their playoff odds for each team. (remembering that 4 teams from each league will make the playoffs)



Some key matchups coming up:

The Fitzroy Boehemians and Preston Bears will face off nine times before the end of the season. Including a 3-game series at the end of the season.

The St Kilda Seagulls will have six games against the Preston Bears and three against the Fitzroy Boehemians.

The Parramatta Rebels will have six games against the Newtown Jets before the end of the season. Including a 3-game series at the end of the season. They won't get any opportunity to face-off against their wildcard opponents before the end of the season.

The Hawthorn Phoenix will have six games against the Fitzroy Bohemians and three against the St Kilda Seagulls.

The Tasman Suns will have three games against the Manawatu Vikings.

The Waikato Morepork will have three games against the Bay of Plenty Magic.

The Waitakere Spiders will get six games against the Bay of Plenty Magic, including the final three games of the season.

The Canterbury Knights are in an interesting position with nine games against the Vikings, 3 against Waitakere, 3 against the Suns, and 3 against the Morepork. They are definitely in a position to provide some upsets and affect this playoff race.

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The Waitakere Spiders have swept the Bay of Plenty Magic in a three-game series and gained the lead in the New Zealand North division.

Game 1 went to extras innings and both key moments belonged to Waitakere SS Andrew Conroy who tied the game up in the 8th and then hit the walk-off RBI-double to win the game.



The Spiders then dominated the Magic for the next two matches.





With the Waikato Morepork surging with the return of LF Brian Smith from injury. This meant there was a three-way tie for the two wildcard spots in New Zealand with Waikato, Bay of Plenty, and Tasman.

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The Stallions are the first team eliminated this season.

This 12th-inning walk-off defeat to the Waikato Morepork sealed their fate.



The first RBI of the season came from right fielder Erik Ferguson. It was the top of the 1st against the Auckland Sharks -- the two hitters before him had reached base with a single and a walk. Ferguson smoked the ball to right field, and the runner on second beat the throw home. The Stallions went on to win.

Life was good for that brief moment -- and then it got bad. By July, the team had decided to trade away their expiring contracts, and Ferguson could do nothing but watch.

With eight wins, Chris Forbes led the team in pitching victories -- but he was traded to the Tasman Suns in July. In fact, the current starting rotation is almost completely different from the one they opened the season with. Butch Stockton is the only thread of consistency left, and they’ve only gotten 38 innings out of him as injuries have dominated his season.

The most iconic moment for the Stallions was 38-year-old LF John Uku hitting for the cycle against the Otago Penguins in early April. They won that game and improved their record to 4–4. That was the last time they’d sit at .500.

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We have our next victims, as the Manly Breakers and Otago Penguins are now mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.

The Manly Breakers demolished the Canberra Griffins 12–1, but wins from Preston and Newcastle that day had already sealed their fate.



LLiam O'Dwyer went 4-for-5 in that game with a home run, a double, and two singles. The 31-year-old outfielder has had a tremendous season for the Breakers, hitting .332/.432/.503 with 19 home runs and 76 RBIs. The Breakers were never really hurting for hits -- pitching, on the other hand, was a different story, as they ranked near the bottom in almost every pitching category.

Their best moment probably came in this August game against Adelaide. The previous night, the Crowes had stolen an unlikely extra-innings win. This time, the Crowes jumped out to an early 3–0 lead, but an RBI double by Liam O'Dwyer in the 5th and another RBI double by Victor Brown in the 8th got Manly within one.

In the bottom of the 9th, the first two Manly hitters made outs. Brock Brothers hit a first-pitch single, and pinch hitter Tom Kile followed with another single to move Brothers over to third. Manly sent out another pinch hitter, Pete Thomson. The count went to 0–2 quickly -- down to his final strike, Thomson smashed a ball down the third-base line that the third baseman had no chance to corral.

Brothers scored to tie it up. Kile came around from first base with eyes only for home plate. He arrived a split-second before the throw from left field, and the Breakers won.



Meanwhile, the Otago Penguins lost big to the Bay of Plenty Magic -- an emphatic way to mathematically bow out of the race.



Though it seemed Otago had no real plans to contend from day one, they did sign the exceptional Tane Reke to a one-year deal -- and then built nothing around him. He hit .334/.401/.526 with 13 home runs, 23 steals, and 71 RBIs (with 18 of those being game-winners -- Reke is tied for the lead in all of baseball in this stat).

Unfortunately, he was injured in early September with a ruptured MCL, and the lineups Otago have been putting out ever since have lacked any spark at all. Expect them to finish with a severe case of mediocrity to close out the season.

Meanwhile, the battle for the New Zealand North Division is heating up. The Waikato Morepork currently occupy the top spot but, bizarrely, none of these teams seem able to win right now. In their last 10 games, the Morepork are 4–6, while the Spiders and Magic are both 2–8. The Magic were even on a 10-game losing streak before picking off some wins from the Penguins.

The danger is clear: unless these teams start winning again, both wildcard spots could end up going to NZ South teams. It’s going to be win the division or bust.

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Let’s take a moment to check back in on the playoff odds.



Here are the series to watch over the next three days:

Fitzroy Bohemians @ Preston Bears
The Bears are watching their playoff dreams slip away, and they need to start making up ground on division leader Fitzroy. They’ll send out their #1 starter, Chance Peterson, to open the series. He’s gone 19–7 with a 2.46 ERA this season. Meanwhile, Fitzroy have just learned they’ll be without 2B Filander Robinson due to a broken collarbone. He’d been hitting .313/.427/.418 (139 wRC+) this season.

St Kilda Seagulls @ Geelong Rams
Both of these teams need every win they can get to stay alive. The Seagulls have Tucker Tutepuaki up their sleeves for the first game -- he’s gone 15–12 with a 3.42 ERA and took home July’s Pitcher of the Month award.

Waikato Morepork @ Northland Dolphins
Waitakere Spiders @ Counties Manukau Stallions
Auckland Sharks @ Bay of Plenty Magic
I’m grouping all these NZ North matchups together. The Morepork, Spiders, and Magic all need wins, and they should be the stronger side in each of these series. Let’s not rule out the Dolphins just yet, though -- they still have an outside shot at playoff glory, but it needs to start here.

Manawatu Vikings @ Canterbury Knights
Most think the Vikings have this division sewn up, but the Canterbury Knights will be looking to strengthen their wildcard position. They’ll also avoid facing the two big names in the Manawatu rotation (Fletcher Espley and Honi Paranihi), so it’s as good a chance as any.