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07-01-2021, 02:14 PM
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#101 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Seattle
Posts: 2,255
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July 1st, 2021
Moving past the halfway mark now…
Some monthly awards… George Springer, that old battle-ax plying his trade with the Toronto Blue Jays, hit .368 with 7 homers, 25 RBI, and 25 runs in June to earn Player of the Month honors in the AL while New York Mets 1B Pete Alonso took home the honors in the National League with a .244 AVG, 13 DING DONGS, 26 RBI, and 26 runs for the month. Meanwhile, and this is IMPORTANT, Seattle’s own MARCO GONZALES took home the Hurler of the Month trophy for his work in June – he finished 4-0 in 5 starts with 30 Ks, a 1.50 ERA, and held opposing hitters to a paltry .202 average. Tejay Antone, of the Cincinnati Reds, took home the trophy in the NL – he finished 5-0 in June with a 1.89 ERA and 22 Ks. Seattle Mariners (57-24, .703, 1st AL West, 1st IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD) @ Toronto Blue Jays (46-33, .582, 1st AL East) 82 of 162: Aaron Sanchez (7-0, 2.02) @ Simeon Woods Richardson (5-0, 3.08) Win, 8-3. Sanchez returned from the IL in the image and the style that you’re used to… he gave us 6.1 hard-scrabble innings, allowed 6 hits, 2 earned, 3 free passes, and fanned 6 in his return to the fold to pick up his 8th double-u on the year. Wong went off with a 4 for 4 day that included a two-bagger, a jack, and 2 runs, we also got DING DONGS from K-Lew and Triple-B (Big Bat Bobby Dalbec, if you’re nasty), a double (and three total hits) from Kelenic, a SAC FLY from Hedges, a swiped bag from Fletch, and a tasty double QP with cheese styled, Fletcher-Wong-Dalbec, double-play. Sweep city, folks… we’ll head back to Seattle with our heads held high, on the type of high you can only get by mixing hard-earned confidence with equally hard-earned results. Elsewhere: Pittsburgh’s Adam Frazier, went 4 for 5 with 3 doubles, 4 RBI, and a run during the Pirates dominant 11-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. With the win, the Pirates improve to 39-41 on the year and are now only 10 games off the pace being set by the St. Louis Cardinals… I mean, look, this is much better than we thought they’d do and it could be worse – they could be the 28-53 Chicago Cubs… Record: 58-24, .707, 1st EVERYWHERE THAT MATTERS Up Next: We’re boarding a direct flight from Buffalo - New York’s “Queen City” (which makes it, coincidentally, one of 30 U.S. Cities with that moniker) – to Seattle, where we’ll meet up with the Texas Rangers for a 3-game, winner-takes-all, series of rock ‘em sock ‘em robots. Dibs on the blue one! |
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07-01-2021, 04:44 PM
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#102 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Seattle
Posts: 2,255
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So, because this thread has hit 100 posts, and because I honestly didn’t think that I’d even make it this far (I’ve tried to do these “game a day” threads before and quickly lost steam) – I decided to go back through the posts and found that I make a ton of references in these daily entries. I should note that for each post, I write them up, usually before work, in word and post them almost immediately – so, it’s sort of funny to me that I make so many weird, extremely dated, stream-of-consciousness pop culture references in my posts. Anyway, because I’m bored, I started noting each reference I spotted as I read through the entries and have come up with quite the list of movies, music, TV, book, and other references that I’ve made so far through the first half of the season… I’m resolved to finish this thing out, to hit my goal of a post per day, in as close to real-time as I can muster, throughout the entirety of the 2021 campaign… at this point, I have to believe that I’m nearly out of, off the cuff, stream-of-consciousness pop culture references. Or not. Only time will tell. Anyways… for anyone who might be interested in or get a kick out of my list of all the dumb, hackneyed pop culture references made in this thread so far… this is for you. Thanks for reading along.
Note: Some of these references are easier to spot than others... but, each, when reading back through the posts, were pretty obvious to me... Movies
Music A Spotty Playlist of all these songs
Books
TV
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07-03-2021, 01:58 PM
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#103 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Seattle
Posts: 2,255
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July 2nd, 2021
Texas Rangers (26-55, .320, 5th AL West) @ Seattle Mariners (58-24, .707, 1st AL West)
It’s been established earlier in this thread that the Texas Rangers are mired in a rebuild that is more likely to permanently alienate their fanbase than it is to produce any real, World Series level results within the next 5 years… and, as is to be expected, primarily because they really just started this tanking effort in 2021, they haven’t made any progress yet. However, what they have done is found a way to be ranked 15th, also known as dead last in the AL West, in 8 statistical categories and 14th in 6 more. That’s not a recipe for disaster – it’s a recipe for catastrophe, a tragic calamity of mythic proportions, and one that, ultimately, may rival the tanking/rebuilding effort employed by the Houston Astros before they turned to cheating for the push to immortality. This isn’t an opportunity to get some wins per se, no, it is our duty to smash this club, to show that no matter the level of our opponent we will remain professional enough to stay focused and present our best selves to the fans who made it out to the park. Anything less than a sweep would be unacceptable, embarrassing, and grounds for termination. 83 of 162: Kyle Gibson (1-4, 6.34) @ Logan Gilbert (6-0, 3.34) Win, 3-2. Logan stays perfect, boasting a 7-0 record after giving us 7 rock-solid innings where he’d allow only 2 hits, 1 earned run, and 3 walks while fanning 11, and Kolton Wong was a hustling dynamo, giving us a 2 for 4 day with a two-bagger and a run scored. Listen, if I’m honest, this wasn’t the shellacking it should have been – to squeak by with a 1-run win, at home, is low-key unacceptable. We’ll push it under the rug – do our best to forget about the lackadaisical effort we put on display – and focus on the positives… two stolen bags (one each for Moore and Kelenic) and a snappy double-play in the 5th while doing our level best to not dwell on the fact that we only secured 5 hits, that we left 9 runners stranded, and that we were likely buoyed by the Rangers’ two unforced fielding flubs and the fact that Khris Davis and Josh Jung both earned Golden Sombreros. Elsewhere: Milwaukee’s Travis Shaw put two balls over the fence and tallied 5 total RBIs to guarantee victory for the Brewers over the Pirates by a score of 6-5 while all but erasing Pittsburgh’s Gregory Polanco’s Herculean 2 for 2 effort that included a GRAND SLAM in the loss. Also, Javier Baez, of the lowly Chicago Cubs, put two out against Cincinnati to lead his club over one of their division rivals by a score of 8-3. Interestingly, or not (I don’t know what you’re into), one of his two jacks was a GRAND SLAM with the other being a solo shot. Record: 59-24, .710, 1st AL West Up Next: We’ll continue to sleepwalk our way through this home set against, arguably, the worst team in baseball. |
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07-03-2021, 02:22 PM
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#104 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Seattle
Posts: 2,255
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July 3rd, 2021
File under WEIRD: The Padres have reached a deal with Tampa Bay, sending 28-year-old LHP Blake Snell to the Rays in exchange for 17-year-old minor-league SS Carlos Colmenarez and 22-year-old minor league LF Zach Huffins. Reports had been hinting at a deal in recent days but weren't confirmed until this afternoon. His record for the year is 1-6 in 10 starts and Snell has a 4.86 ERA.
Funny thing about San Diego – in each of my saves based in 2021, they end up selling off some of the talent they had accrued during the offseason. Texas Rangers (26-56, .317, 5th AL West) @ Seattle Mariners (59-24, .710, 1st AL West) 84 of 162: Dane Dunning (3-5, 5.56) @ Jon Duplantier (5-1, 3.06) Win, 4-1. We’d tether our 6th win in a row to the string of good fortune we’ve put together recently and find a way to get it done despite a focused, stylishly bespectacled Dane Dunning giving us the business over 7 innings of work where he’d allow only 3 hits and 2 runs… Inspector Duplantier did the bare minimum required to secure the conviction here with a 5.2 inning performance with 5 hits against, 0 earned, 3 free passes, and 7 Ks on the day while Dylan (pronounced Die-Lawn) Moore spit da hot fiah and led the offense with a 2 for 3 effort that included a double, a solo homer, and 2 runs. Haniger put his 12th ball over the fence, a 2-run shot off Texas’ Leclerc, Kolten hit his 17th double (sounds like a lot – BUT… Mookie Betts leads the Majors in that category at 26 which is, in fact, a lot by comparison), we turned a crafty Wong-Fletcher-Dalbec double play and managed to win another tight one despite committing two fielding flubs of our own to even things up with Texas in that category for the series. Elsewhere: New York’s Marcus Stroman hurled a complete-game, 3-hit shutout with 8 K’s in a 5-0 win over the New York Yankees to lead the Mets to their 45th victory of the season while keeping the Yankees from doing the same as they fell to 44-38 on the year. Record: 60-24, .714, 1st AL West – we’re the first club to reach 60… by a nice margin as well as the Atlanta Braves, the next best team in baseball, only has 56 wins so far. Up Next: We’ll attempt to secure a home sweep against what looks more and more like a Men’s 30+ city league team every time we take the field against them. Last edited by pauwoo; 07-03-2021 at 03:29 PM. |
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07-04-2021, 01:16 PM
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#105 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Seattle
Posts: 2,255
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July 4th, 2021
Trade Proposal from the Minnesota Twins: Thad Levine proposes the following trade - The Minnesota Twins would send 29-year-old C Willians Astudillo to Seattle Mariners, getting 26-year-old RHP Wyatt Mills and 24-year-old minor league RHP Ljay Newsome in return. Assistant GM Michael Scott says: "I think we should jump on this trade offer." I don’t know, man… I do need an upgrade at Catcher and Willians can provide some nice offense from the position – the problem, however, is that he’s not that great at playing the position. Arm is so-so, ability is decidedly pedestrian.
Instead, I inquired with STL about C Christian Vazquez – initially, it was a no-go… they laughed me off as a prank caller and didn’t look at me as someone who is serious about doing business. The only thing they’d accept (or, I should say the only thing I FOUND that they’d accept) is Joc Pederson and David Fletcher for Vazquez… so, yeah, given the makeup of my roster, I won’t be doing that. Also, I found that Arizona would part with C Carson Kelly (retaining 15%) for Joc… seems like King Joc is in demand. Might have to explore that some more. 85 of 162: Kyle Cody (0-1, 6.58) @ Marco Gonzales (10-4, 2.46) Win, 5-0. Our plans at T-Mo Park today included a flyover, a massive Independence Day celebration to open the festivities, an attempt to set the record for most entrants into a potato salad taste test competition, and to send our freedom loving fans off to party it up tonight with a win. Marco made sure we completed the latter with a complete game, 3-hit shutout that included 13 Ks and, while we missed setting the Guinness World Record for potato salad entrants into a taste test competition, we did manage to show our fans a great time for the 7th game in a row. Triple-B went 3 for 3 with an RBI and a run, Kelenic went 2 for 4 with an RBI and 2 runs, Haniger, Fletcher, and Moore brought additional men across, we burgled two bags, and put two Fletcher-Wong-Dalbec DPs on the board – a little bit of everything in this one like a hot dog with mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, onions, and sweet relish for those who just can’t decide on a flavor profile and go full ‘murica instead. We are in a good way right now… and when you factor in that we’ll have a day off tomorrow before welcoming the New York Yankees to town, it’s easy to get excited about our short-term prospects. Elsewhere: Marco took home the Player of the Day honor after his masterful day on the mound, so we’ll take a pass on this one today and instead revel at the fact that in this fake run through the 2021 campaign, our own soft-tossing, always smiling, happy-go-lucky ACE is putting it down something fierce… Record: 61-24, .717, 1st AL West Up Next: A day off before welcoming a Yankees to town… |
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07-05-2021, 03:27 PM
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#106 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Seattle
Posts: 2,255
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July 5th, 2021
Weekly Awards…
American League: 2B Jose Altuve (HOU) – 12 for 24 (.500), 2 dingers, 9 RBI National League: 1B Pete Alonzo (NYM) – 10 for 26 (.385), 4 DING DONGS, 7 riblets, 7 runs Weekly Team Power Rankings: Teams (Total Points, Tendency) 1) Seattle Mariners (144.2, +) 2) Los Angeles Dodgers (119.0, +) 3) Atlanta Braves (113.0, o) 4) St. Louis Cardinals (113.0, +) 5) Oakland Athletics (107.6, ++) 6) Los Angeles Angels (104.9, --) 7) Minnesota Twins (104.6, +) 8) Cincinnati Reds (103.8, ++) 9) New York Mets (101.8, ++) 10) Chicago White Sox (101.0, --) TB 11th, MIL 13th, HOU 15th, NYY 16th, SD 23rd, CHC 28th ATL making some moves…
Elsewhere: New York’s Francisco Lindor went 3 for 5 with 2 JACKS, 6 RBI, and 4 runs during the Mets’ 12-3 home win against the Milwaukee Brewers to further cement their Wild Card positioning. Starter, and all-around goon, Noah Syndergaard went 7.1 with 3 hits, 3 earned, 10 Ks, and a double at the plate to help secure the win. Meanwhile, Tommy Pham, of the formerly re-tooled San Diego Padres, helped his team usher in a much-needed, 11-8 win over the Washington Nationals with a 3 for 4 day at the plate, a dinger, 2 RBI, and 3 runs. Record: Unchanged… 61-24, .717, 1st in the WORLD Up Next: We’ll engage in a full-throttle, bare-knuckle brawl with the Bronx Bombers to start 6 straight home games prior to the All-Star game… |
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07-10-2021, 03:47 PM
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#107 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Seattle
Posts: 2,255
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July 6th – 8th, 2021
New York Yankees (44-39, .530, 3rd AL East) @ Seattle Mariners (61-24, .718, 1st AL West)
The Yankees are a good team mired in a better division who are coming into town on a 2-game skid and with a 5-5 record overall over their last ten tilts. The offense has been humming along – 1st in OBP, OPS, wOBA, and HRs – and looks to be worth every penny the organization has paid to assemble this collection of bashers. It’s the pitching, however, where things have not been wonderful… 12th in Starters ERA, 11th in RA, 9th in Bullpen ERA, and a middling 7th in FIP. Here we have a tale of two cities – one a rip-roaring, home run hitting, crotch-grabbing collection of ne'er-do-wells bent on embarrassing your pitching staff and the other a polite, eager to appease, group of hurlers that are more than willing to serve up a few meatballs to keep their opponents fed, fat, and happy… our mission here, should we choose to accept it, is to pitch them tough enough to keep the bottom of the order from beating us while lining up to the buffet their staff serves us like a group of seafaring scallywags who haven’t been fed for days. 86 of 162: Corey Kluber (5-2, 6.78) @ Matthew Boyd (7-7, 4.43) Loss, 4-3. A real heartbreaker here… we were doing the dirt early, plying our trade like a tightly knit unit fresh out of trade school until New York’s Luke Voight, who had been hitless in three attempts, approached the plate in the top of the 9th, with the bases-loaded, and met the moment head-on with a moonshot, MUSTARD, AND RYE-BREAD worthy GRAND SLAM that would, ultimately, spell our doom. Weird day for Boyd – he gave us 5.1 innings of 1-hit, 0 earned ball while doling out 8 free passes to pair with his 5 Ks – and a rough day at the plate for Kyle Lewis who was afforded every opportunity to make something happen for us but ultimately left 7 runners stranded over the course of the contest. Elsewhere: Jurickson Profar, of the Orange County Angels, went 3 for 4 with 2 jacks, 3 riblets, and 2 runs in his crews dominate 9-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Angels Starter, Andrew Heaney, also came out smelling roses in this one as he gave the Halos 8 innings of 4-hit, 0 earned filth to keep them in a position to grab the victory. 87 of 162: Deivi Garcia (2-6, 7.50) @ Aaron Sanchez (8-0, 2.10) Loss, 3-1. Suddenly our offense is anemic, and their pitching staff is putting it down like the baseball punditry thought they would at the beginning of the season… for our part, we could only muster 4 hits and 1 run that came on an early-ish Kolten Wong solo shot. And, again, the Yanks got to us late, charging 2 runs to Darwinzon Hernandez’s account during the top of the 8th frame before handing the ball to Aroldis Chapman who registered his 300th save as a major leaguer. Also, Meetch strained his oblique during the game… off to the IL with him for the next 10 days… TnT returns to the fold in his stead. Elsewhere: Isiah Kiner-Falefa, PT Bronze Tourney Team superstar and current SS for the Tejas Rangers, went 3 for 4 with a two-bagger, a jack, 3 RBI, and 2 runs for his club as they thoroughly dismantled the beleaguered Detroit Tigers by a score of 9-3. 88 of 162: Gerrit “Sticky Fingers” Cole (4-8, 4.60) @ Logan Gilbert (7-0, 3.11) Win, 5-4. We managed to eke this one out and held on to our lead late as Logan went 8 strong for us while allowing 4 earned and recording 10 Ks… JOC came alive too – 2 for 3, 2 DING DONGS, 4 RBI, and 2 runs for everyone’s favorite good-time boy. He’d earn our PoTG distinction and now has 19 dingers on the year… Wong drove in our only other run, we swiped 2 bags as a unit, and David Robertson added his 20th save to the permanent record. We’ll take it – anything to avoid getting swept at home. Elsewhere: Bobby Witt Jr, of the Kansas City Royals, did his best JOC PEDERSON impression today during his club's 6-2 win over the representative from Cleveland. During the contest, the young man went 2 for 4, put two balls over the fence, drove in 3 runs, and scored three times. With the win, KC improves to 47-40 on the year and are still very much in the WC race, jogging a mere 2 games off the pace set by the Orange County Halos… Record: 62-26, .704, 1st AL West Up Next: I Will likely post the complete set against OC tomorrow to get myself caught up on this thing… Last edited by pauwoo; 07-10-2021 at 06:01 PM. |
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07-11-2021, 03:17 PM
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#108 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Seattle
Posts: 2,255
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July 9th – 11th, 2021
Los Angeles Angels (52-36, .591, 2nd AL West) @ Seattle Mariners (62-26, .704, 1st AL West)
Operating a scant 10 games off the pace we’ve set so far, the Los Angeles Angels are formidable. Their rent gets paid on defense, where they rank 2nd in runs against & defensive efficiency, and pitching, where their serviceable staff (5th in Starters ERA) and lights out bullpen (ranked 1st) keep opposing hitters off balance and always leave their team in a position to get the W. The offense, however, has left a little to be desired – they rank 9th overall in the AL – and if there is any department where we shine when compared to them, it’s at the plate. This will, undoubtedly, be a tough set… OC is coming in on a 2-game winning streak, has been the 5th best road team in the AL, and have played us tough so far with a 3-4 head-to-head record already in the books. Let’s hope that the Trout-Ohtani-Rendon show will be on hiatus while they’re in town over the next three days… 89 of 162: Griffin Canning (7-4, 3.76) @ Jon Duplantier (6-1, 2.83) Loss, 11-9. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before - two teams with dominant pitching staffs meet in a pitcher’s park and… here we have an offensive outburst piloted by two teams that have established themselves as mid-table offensive units. Orange County managed to put 4 jacks on the board, including homers from, you guessed it, Rendon (11th), Ohtani (16th), and Trout (18th)… meanwhile, Trammell hit his 2nd DING DONG for the good guys. Kelenic went 3 for 4 with a two-bagger, an RBI, and a couple of runs, and Kyle Lewis drove two in on 2 for 3 hitting. It, unfortunately, was not enough, however, as Inspector Duplantier only lasted 2.1 innings (he left with a forearm strain, but we’d probably pulled him at the end of the frame anyway), saw 5 runners score (only 1 earned though), and gave up two of the Halos’ 4 homers. Elsewhere: Dane Dunning, Rec Specs spokesperson and 3rd in the rotation for the Tejas Rangers, was seeing 20/20 out on the mound and used that sweet, sweet clarity to twirl an 8-inning, 3-hit shutout that included a very charitable two free passes and 7 Ks. His performance propelled the Rangers to their 14th 1-run victory over the Oakland Athletics by a score of, well, 1-0. Also, because they just aren’t stacked enough, the Los Angeles Dodgers managed to pry LHP Eduardo Rodriguez from the Red Sox for reliever Brett De Geus and some minor league fodder. The AI out here in a red Buick laying down an intense cover of Randy Newman’s I Love L.A. – it’s like they have “LA must dominate” embedded in the game code. Okay, you’re right – I’m exaggerating, but if the Dodgers win it all in this sim I’m going back to Earl Weaver Baseball. 90 of 162: Patrick Sandoval (5-4, 2.96) @ Marco Gonzales (11-4, 2.29) Loss, 4-2. Things were going smoothly, we’d put a couple on the board before the 6th, gave one back in the 7th, and, all things considered, we were looking pretty good – the engine was humming, our car was sticking to the track & seemed perfectly attuned to our driving style. It’d be a late pit stop during the top of the 9th that’d be our undoing – our crew struggled to replace our tires and couldn’t get the car off the jack in time for us to bring this one home. Instead, after Marco gave us a lights-out 7.2 innings of work where he allowed a mere 4 hits and 1 run, former Mariner, and my IRL #1 main man, J.P. Crawford sent a 3-run homer over the fence to put the Angels up for good. I mean, look, if we must lose – I’d rather have J.P. sending the game-winner over the fence than Ohtani, Trout, or Rendon… so, there is that. Elsewhere: Nick Ahmed, of the Arizona D’backs, went 3 for 4 with TWO DING DONGS, 4 RBI, and 3 runs to lead his club over the Los Angeles Dodgers by a score of 7-5. With the win, Arizona is now firmly established as the #2 team in the NL West and now find themselves a scant 12.5 games off L.A. propers pace. Also, because it came at the expense of Houston, New York’s Brett Gardner went 2 for 3 with 2 dingers, 3 RBI, and 2 runs during the Yankees 15-5 win over the struggling Astros. 91 of 162: Shohei Ohtani (4-5, 4.67) @ Matthew Boyd (7-7, 4.23) Win, 4-3. Finally, we managed to get a win in this series – on a walk-off during the bottom of the 12th inning as Big Bat Bobby Dalbec put on out of the park to seal the deal. Good stuff from Boyd – 7.1 IP, 3 hits, 2 earned, 6 K’s – RBIs for Fletcher and Moore (in addition to Triple-B’s game-winner), a SAC BUNT from JOC, and a double for Fletch would round out the highlights in this one. All told we sent 7 hurlers to the bump to earn this one and now head into the All-Star break looking to rest and steel ourselves up to quest for immortality. Elsewhere: MacKenzie Gore, of the San Diego Friars, twirled the 1st No-No of the season (that’s refreshing all things considered) against the Colorado Rockies to lead his squad to a 7-0 victory at home… 9 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 Ks for the youngster in only his 12th start as a hurler in the show. Kid looks like a keeper. Record: 63-28, .692, 1st AL West Up Next: A much-needed respite from the grind, with a return to action on the 16th down in Orange County with a chance to exact some revenge against the Halos. |
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07-14-2021, 11:30 AM
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#109 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Seattle
Posts: 2,255
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All-Star Break
I have no plans to take this save beyond the 2021 season and, as such, I let the AI complete the Ammy Draft... here's what it did...
Round 1 Round 1, Pick 1 - Pittsburgh Pirates: SP Kumar Rocker, age 21 out of college (Vanderbilt University; Nashville, TN) Round 1, Pick 2 - Texas Rangers: SS Jordan Lawlar, age 18 out of high school (Dallas Jesuit; Dallas, TX) Round 1, Pick 3 - Detroit Tigers: SS Marcelo Mayer, age 18 out of high school (Eastlake; Chula Vista, CA) Round 1, Pick 4 - Boston Red Sox: C Adrian Del Castillo, age 21 out of college (University of Miami; Miami, FL) Round 1, Pick 5 - Arizona Diamondbacks: 3B Brady House, age 18 out of high school (Winder-Barrow; Winder, GA) Round 1, Pick 6 - Kansas City Royals: RF Judson Fabian, age 20 out of college (University of Florida; Gainesville, FL) Round 1, Pick 7 - Colorado Rockies: SS Kahlil Watson, age 18 out of high school (Wake Forest High School; Wake Forest, NC) Round 1, Pick 8 - Los Angeles Angels: SS Edwin Arroyo, age 17 out of high school (Arecibo Baseball Academy; Arecibo, ARE) Round 1, Pick 9 - New York Mets: 2B Matt McLain, age 21 out of college (UCLA; Los Angeles, CA) Round 1, Pick 10 - Washington Nationals: 3B Alex Binelas, age 21 out of college (University of Louisville; Louisville, KY) Round 1, Pick 11 - Seattle Mariners: CF James Wood, age 18 out of high school (IMG Academy; Bradenton, FL) Round 1, Pick 12 - Philadelphia Phillies: CF Tyree Reed, age 18 out of high school (Tecumseh; Tecumseh, OK) Round 1, Pick 13 - San Francisco Giants: SS Alex Mooney, age 19 out of high school (St. Mary Prep; Orchard Lake, MI) Round 1, Pick 14 - Milwaukee Brewers: C Ian Moller, age 18 out of high school (Wahlert; Dubuque, IA) Round 1, Pick 15 - Houston Astros: C Henry Davis, age 21 out of college (University of Louisville; Louisville, KY) Round 1, Pick 16 - Miami Marlins: C Joe Mack, age 18 out of high school (Williamsville East; East Amherst, NY) Round 1, Pick 17 - Cincinnati Reds: RF Joshua Baez, age 18 out of high school (Dexter Southfield; Brookline, MA) Round 1, Pick 18 - St. Louis Cardinals: SS Cody Schrier, age 18 out of high school (JSerra Catholic High School; San Juan Capistrano, CA) Round 1, Pick 19 - Toronto Blue Jays: SP Jack Leiter, age 21 out of college (Vanderbilt University; Nashville, TN) Round 1, Pick 20 - New York Yankees: SS Noah Smith, age 18 out of high school (Marist; Chicago, IL) Also... the AL beat the NL in the All-Star game, 8-5. Eloy Jimenez took home the MVP honor off a 2 for 2 performance that included a double, a jack, and 2 RBI... Whoa Nellie Cruz and Pete Alonzo also hit trucks. |
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07-16-2021, 09:52 AM
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#110 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Seattle
Posts: 2,255
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July 16th, 2021
Seattle Mariners (63-28, .692, 1st AL West) @ Los Angeles Angels (54-37, .593, 2nd AL West)
After the (vast) majority of our motley crew of swashbuckling barnstormers spent the last several days engaging in some super-necessary rest & relaxation – bagging some rays, recreational boating, hanging out in the parking lot of a Gas ‘n’ Sip on a Saturday night completely alone drinking beers with no women anywhere – there’s a sense of déjà vu, that the mid-season break was just a dream, when you look across the diamond and see that the Halos are looking back at you. Only the sadists in charge of the MLB schedule would bookend the all-star break with back-to-back sets against Orange County – one of only two teams that boast a winning record against us so far in 2021 (LAA has bested us 6 out of 10 so far and NYY has cribbed 2 of 3 off us this season)… it’s almost like going out on vacation for a couple of weeks only to return to your project to find that the person you left in charge of it didn’t so much as move the ball forward an inch in your absence. The Angels are the same club they were when we last met – like a high school prom queen who saunters into her 20-year high school reunion looking as bodacious as she ever did – they still possess a lights out staff, pair it with a rock-solid defense, and boast an offense that, while underperforming so far this year, is capable of giving any club fits. This is an opportunity to exact some small measure of revenge for how they treated us in our park, prior to the break, and to show our classmates that we, despite those nasty yearbook predictions, made something out of ourselves after all. Elsewhere: I wasn’t going to highlight the Red Sox – Yanks game, but Boston’s Rafael Devers had other designs… your boy went 4 for 6 with THREE DING DONGS, 5 RBI, and 3 runs to lead the charge (and to crack the top 10 of the Individual Game Performance Rankings) in what would be a raucous 8-7 win over the Bronx Bombers in their park. Starter Nathan Eovaldi laid it down something fierce with a 7.2 IP. 3 H. 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K line and would have taken home his 3rd win of the year (he’s 2 – 10 thus far) had his friends in the pen not given up 5 runs during an ill-fated rally attempt from New York in the bottom of the 9th… Concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there's nothin' you can't do… well, almost nothing. 92 of 162: Marco Gonzales (11-4, 2.23) @ Andrew Heaney (9-6, 4.45) Loss, 4-2. No matter what we do, no matter how hard we try – we just can’t seem to figure out how to beat the Orange County Halos – Marco’s 11th straight quality start was overshadowed by Andrew Heaney who came back from the break rested and ready for action with an 8-inning, 2-hit, 1 earned masterpiece, while Tony! Toni! Toné! Rendon sent his 12th ball over the fence, a 3-run game-winner, early in the contest. We’d get jacks from Dalbec (his 24th) and Kelenic (his 11th), and a double from Trammell, but were unable to put anything substantive together in this one, and instead of embarking on another winning streak, we picked things up right where we left them – on the wrong side of a tilt against a division rival with a boring color-scheme, stupid mascot, and location blindness (is that a thing? It should be). Elsewhere: New York’s Pete Alonso, the pride of Tampa, came back from the break ready to go on a tear with a 4 for 4 performance that included a two-bagger, TWO DING DONGS, 3 RBI, and 3 runs to lead his Mets to a rip-roaring, scorched earth, 10-0 win over Pittsburgh, who looks less like a Professional Baseball Club and more like a loose collection of misfit toys with each passing day. Record: 63-29, .684, 1st AL West Up Next: Fear, foreboding, and gut-check time in Tragic Kingdom… we’re 5-5 for our last 10 – it seems like our ship is suddenly a rickety old schooner with a rudder that hasn’t worked right since the last big storm. We’ll be lucky to make it back to shore at this rate… hell, we’ll be lucky to make it close enough to shore to even see the lighthouse at this rate. |
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07-17-2021, 01:17 PM
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#111 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Seattle
Posts: 2,255
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July 17th, 2021
I sort of get the sense that all this living we’ve been doing on borrowed time has come due and that, as we attempt to close this thing out in spectacular fashion, we’ll need to dig deep to be anything near the team we were during the first half of the season. I mean, look, on paper we’re not supposed to be where we are – the best record in baseball, the 2nd best rDiff in the majors, and on most pundits short list for World Series contention… these are not things you’d ever, save maybe waaay back in 2001, associate with the M’s. The question might not be if we are for real – it might, instead, just be ‘can we play at a level solid enough to not completely squander all the good fortune we’ve amassed in the 1st half of the season’. Here, nestled deep within the crimson red heart of Orange County and against a club that has had our number so far, we’ll attempt to answer those and a litany of other questions our phenomenal, and nearly unbelievable, start has saddled us with.
93 of 162: Matthew Boyd (7-7, 4.13) @ Shohei Ohtani (4-5, 4.40) Win, 4-3. 2021’s IRL Golden Boy, and this saves Osmium Boy, came mostly correct over 5.1 innings of work – Ohtani only allowed three runs and managed to walk away from this loss with a no decision and largely unscathed – but was no match for our own Mr. Boyd who gave us 6 strong, allowed 3 hits and 3 earned while doling out 6 free passes to go with his 6 Ks. Kinda meh… for sure, but he walked away (get it?) with the win here as our offense managed to cobble enough together to secure the win in Anaheim. Kolten Wong was almost the whole show offensively – he went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI – and Dylan Moore found a way to contribute to the cause with a run-scoring single of his own. We’ll take it – any win is a good win in my book – and we’ll relish the chance to earn a rare series victory against the Millionaire Boys Club from Southern California. Elsewhere: Kyle Seager, former Mariner mainstay & current Tiger, went 2 for 3 with TWO HOMERS, FOUR RBI, and TWO RUNS to lead the charge for Detroit in their 10-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins. Kyle has been one of the, if not THE, best player on a pitiful team in the Motor City so far and is hitting .286/.361/.475 with 14 JACKS, 37 RIBLETS, and a 3.2 WAR on the year. Here’s hoping he’ll either get traded to a contender this season for the stretch run or that he finds somewhere fierce to ply his trade in 2022 while the motor is still turning over and on time. Record: 64-29, .688, 1st in the AL West Up Next: Once more into the breach dear friends as we attempt to crash Arnold Schwarzenegger’s favorite country club for some free brunch and a dip in the pool. |
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07-18-2021, 07:25 PM
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#112 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Seattle
Posts: 2,255
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July 18th, 2021
As has been established, Orange Couty has fared better against us than any of the other opponents we’ve faced and currently own a 7-5, head-to-head, record against us. Here we’ll have an opportunity to close the gap a bit and to earn our second series victory against these guys…
94 of 162: Logan Gilbert (8-0, 3.27) @ Rick Porcello (4-10, 5.13) Win, 8-4 (12). Nothing worth doing is easy… at least that’s what I’ve been told. Here we’d take the scenic route in Anaheim (to the degree that there is one) and push our takeoff time back a smidge as we battled, tooth and nail, with the Halos to secure a hard-earned series win in their park. We looked good early – put a couple of bad ones on Porcello during the top of the 4th, touched him up a couple more times in the 6th and 7th, and had it knotted up heading into the 8th. We’d trade zeroes with the home team for a while, playing the next four frames out like an ill-fated bout of Rochambeau where whatever they threw on three, we’d match with the same. It was all rock-rock, paper-paper, scissors-scissors – until, in the top of the 12th frame, BIG BAT BOBBY DALBEC stepped to the plate with two runners on and put a TWO RUN DOUBLE on the board against Alex Claudio that put us up for good. Pretty solid stuff from the Ms all the way around – we’d hit two, two-baggers (Dalbec & TnT), two triples (Kelenic & Wong), and a jack (TnT… he’s DYNOMITE) as a club, secure both a SAC BUNT and a SAC FLY, and dole out two GOLDEN SOMBREROS (1 each for Ohtani & Profar) on the day. Elsewhere: Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena went 3 for 5 with a double, TWO DINGERS, 5 RBI, and 2 runs in the Rays’ dominant 10-6 win over the NL leading Atlanta Braves. As a club Tampa bashed 5 doubles (Walls, Randy, K2 (with two), & Tsutsugo), a homer (Randy), and even did their best Mariners impression with a SAC BUNT & a SAC FLY during the game. Record: 65-29, 1st AL West Up Next: We’re gonna relax – chill, if you will – and take a quick breather before picking things back up again in Denver where we’ll try to run up the score like a tilted G n’ R pinball machine. Hopefully, our hurlers will be able to acquit themselves nicely in that thin mountain air and not get styled on during the 2-game parlay. |
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07-20-2021, 04:06 PM
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#113 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Seattle
Posts: 2,255
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July 19th, 2021
3B Rafael Devers, of the Boston Red Sox, took home the Player of the Week hardware in the American League after hitting .471 with 4 jacks and 9 RBI over the last 7 days… New York’s 1B Pete Alonso did the same in the National League… he hit an astounding .615 with 8 RBI and 6 runs for the Mets last week.
Weekly Power Rankings: Teams (Total Points, Tendency): 1) Seattle Mariners (126.5, o)... whatcha know 'bout it?!? 2) Chicago White Sox (118.4, ++) 3) Atlanta Braves (113.1, -) 4) New York Mets (109.5, -) 5) St. Louis Cardinals (108.2, +) 6) Minnesota Twins (105.3, +) 7) Los Angeles Dodgers (104.0, --) 8) Los Angeles Angels (103.3, -) 9) Toronto Blue Jays (102.7, +) 10) Kansas City Royals (99.8, ++) Milwaukee 14th, NNY's 16th, SD 17th (on a come up?!?)... Elsewhere: So close but yet so far for Tampa Bay’s Michael Wacha who pitched a complete game, 1-hit shutout for the Rays during a 6-0 win over the hapless Orioles of Baltimore that included only one measly walk and 10, count ‘em, TEN Ks. Also, Boston’s Rafael Devers celebrated his PoTW award by going 4 for 5 with TWO JACKS, 3 RBI, and 3 RUNS to lead his club to a hard-earned 4-o victory over the Toronto, by way of Buffalo, Blue Jays. Record: Unchanged… duh. Up Next: Our least favorite kind of silliness – interleague silliness – in the mile high city. Last edited by pauwoo; 07-20-2021 at 05:00 PM. |
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07-20-2021, 04:57 PM
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#114 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Seattle
Posts: 2,255
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July 20th, 2021
Seattle Mariners (65-29, .691, 1st AL West) @ Colorado Rockies (34-60, .362, 5th NL West)
While the AL’s Boston Red Sox have been worse (30-64, .319, LAST IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD), that is no consolation to the Colorado faithful whose unwavering love and support may begin wavering after the dust settles on 2021… like panning for gold and coming up with nothing more than a handful of diseased Rocky Mountain Oysters, the Rockies’ season ticket holders could make a good case that the U.S. Surgeon General ought to mandate that a warning label be affixed to each and every ticket indicating that, while they will grant you access to Coors Field, the side effects could include constipation, dermatitis, bleeding from the eyeballs, dizziness, uncontrollable flatulence, dry mouth, and an abnormal desire to throw things on the field. Colorado should be a patsy for us – their pitching, especially at home, has been nothing short of tragic, and their offense, even with the aid of altitude, has been middling at best and nearly as tragic as their pitching at worst. I mean… guys… they don’t even have Trevor Story anymore. It’s all Charlie Blackmon or bust. 95 of 162: Aaron Sanchez (8-0, 2.02) @ Williams Perez (1-3, 3.19) Win, 13-4. Sanchez handled the thin air & altitude of Coors field with dignity and aplomb - 7 innings of work, 4 hits against, 2 runs, 4 walks, and 10 Ks for our starter – and the offense raked as Trammell, Fletch, and K-Lew each secured three hits, Hedges put a 3-run truck out of the park, and Kelenic & Dalbec each drove one in on a double. We did most of our damage in short bursts – 6 in the 5th, 5 in the 9th – and really managed to spread the hits out a bit today… three doubles, two triples, two jacks, and no need to sacrifice our way into anything as the much-maligned Colorado pitching staff was serving up meatballs with a nice, flavorful, and aromatic puttanesca sauce on the side all night… we’re talking anchovies, capers, olives… the whole nine. Elsewhere: It was the 2 HR club today with KC’s Salvador Perez, LAD’s Gavin Lux, Houston’s Jose Altuve, SD’s Wil Meyers, and Milwaukee’s Hunter Dozier all getting in on the action. Also, Chicago’s Jake Arrieta hit his 2nd DING DONG of the season, the game-winner here during the top of the 5th, against the Cardinals to lead his club to a much-needed 2-1 victory on the road. Record: 66-29, .694, 1st AL West Up Next: One more chance to run it up in Denver… we had the machine on tilt tonight, so we’ll make sure to stock up on tokens and give it one more go before jetting out of town tomorrow night. |
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07-21-2021, 09:28 AM
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#115 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Seattle
Posts: 2,255
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July 21st, 2021
Some trades…
One more in Colorado before we head back home for a 7-game, divisional home stand… facing off against the Oakland Athletics for four games followed by a 3-game set against the Houston Astros. That’ll be quite the slog… 96 of 162: Marco Gonzales (11-5, 2.37) @ Antonio Senzatela (3-8, 5.75) Win, 8-4. Mini sweep! Jared Kelenic had his best day as a Major Leaguer in this one… 3 for 4 with THREE HOMERS, 5 RBI, and 3 runs for the once and future king of Seattle. With that line, he’ll push his way into the top ten on the Individual Game Performance rankings at #9, nestled nicely between Tommy Edman of St. Louis and New York’s Giancarlo Stanton. Marco was also fierce in this one – he’s put a nearly unbelievable season on the board so far in this save – and went 7 innings, allowed 6 hits, and only 3 runs while fanning 7 for the good guys. Wong drove in a run, Dylan Moore hit a 2-run shot, and Marco secured a hit of his own (1 for 3 with a run scored). If only we could play against Colorado every day… am I right? Yeah, I’m right. Elsewhere: Speaking of Tommy Edman, currently ranked at #9 on the Individual Game Performance rankings for a game he laid down on 6/21… your boy went 3 for 4 with a GRAND SLAM and 4 total runs during the Cardinals 14-1 dismantling of the Chicago Cubs. Nolan Arenado also drove in 4 during the game with 3 of those coming on a 3-run moonshot during the bottom of the very first frame. Record: 67-29, .697, 1st AL West Up Next: A 4-game stretch against the 52-45 Oakland Athletics, in our park, in front of our families, our wives, girlfriends, and mistresses… it should, if nothing else, be an interesting homestand. We’ll likely get a sneak peek into our mettle as a club – this stretch ain’t going to be no picnic. |
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07-23-2021, 08:46 AM
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#116 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Seattle
Posts: 2,255
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July 22nd, 2021
First, some bad news… SP Max Scherzer is out for at least 7 weeks after suffering a strained hamstring in a game against the Miami Marlins… 19 starts so far this season for Mad Max – he went 3-5 with a 4.04 ERA for Washington in 2021. The 43-53 Washington Nationals weren’t going anywhere with him in the rotation and are unlikely to go anywhere without him.
Oakland Athletics (52-45, .536, 3rd AL West) @ Seattle Mariners (67-29, .698, 1st AL West) The Athletics are low-key formidable – they are a well-built club who, at 52-45 on the year, are performing at, or a little above, their preseason expectations. They came into the season knowing that, if they were to make any real noise, they’d need a couple of the youngsters to take that next step and a few of the vets to lay it down like yesteryear one more time. They, save lately, have got exactly that out of the roster they’ve constructed for 2021… it’s been the pitching for them mostly – 4th in RA, 2nd in Starters ERA, 6th in Bullpen ERA, and 1st in FIP – but the offense can crack if you’re not careful and they have the 3rd best base running team in the AL when they manage to get on. We’ll get them in our park for 4 straight games here… they’re coming in cold, 3-7 over their last 10, and will, undoubtedly, be looking to get back up in time to put some bad ones on us. 97 of 162: Jesus Luzardo (6-5, 3.45) @ Jon Duplantier (6-2, 2.86) Win, 4-1. Inspector Duplantier did the dirt for us here – 5 innings, 5 hits, 5 K’s… 1 earned – and Ty “Parlez-vous” France went 2 for 4 with the game-breaking, 2-run homer in the bottom of the very first frame. Fletcher & Murphy would drive in the additional runs, we’d get a couple of doubles (Fletch & Wong), the aforementioned homerun, and would get to sit back and enjoy the cool comedy stylings of Darwinzon Hernandez who, in only throwing 10 total pitches, earns his 7th save on the year with a perfect top of the 9th. Elsewhere: Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna went 3 for 4 with 2 DING DONG’S, 5 total RBI, and 2 runs during the Braves’ rip-roaring, let’s not even act like we are going to spare the women and children, 12-3 shellacking of the woefully inept Philadelphia Phillies. Also, in other action, the Yanks put a bad one on the Sox, dispatching their rival by a score of 12-6 – New York was led by the incorrigible (from a Boston fan perspective) Aaron Judge who went 2 for 4 and hit a GRAND SLAM off SP Nick Pivetta during the very first inning. That’s called, “setting the tone”. Record: 68 (and I’ll owe you one)-29, .701, 1st in the whole wide world Up Next: We’ll face off against the 10-3, Oakland ACE 1A, Chris Bassitt and look to sample more of that sweet, sweet home cookin’ en route to victory. I mean, that’s what we will be trying to do. Last edited by pauwoo; 07-23-2021 at 11:11 PM. |
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07-23-2021, 09:06 AM
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#117 | |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Seattle
Posts: 2,255
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July 23rd, 2021
Putting our 5-game winning streak on the line against the floundering Athletics… obviously, this is a good opportunity to exact some small measure of revenge for all those wonderful Oakland A’s teams that have come through town and dispatched us with ease over the years and to throw another dub up into that lifetime h2h record…
98 of 162: Chris Bassitt (10-3, 3.91) @ Matthew Boyd (8-7, 4.14) Win, 4-1. Third verse, same as the first… we’d run our streak up to 6 here, improve to 7-1 on the year against these Bay Area brigands, and got to sit back and enjoy a stellar performance from Boyd who gave us 6.1 hard scrabble innings of work while allowing only 2 total hits and a run while fanning 10 hapless hitters over the course of the contest. Babyface Pederson hit his 20th truck of the season off Bassitt during the 5th, Wong & K-Lew recorded two-baggers (1 each, respectively), TnT went 3 for 4 (improving his average to .252) and hit a triple, and Hernandez converted his 8th save in 9 tries with another stellar, 10-pitch 9th… this time, however, he’d strike out the side while showing Oakland the door. Your boy is on something of a hot streak… Elsewhere: St. Louis’ Nolan Arenado went 3 for 5 with a 3-run jack, and 4 runs during the Cardinals’ back-and-forth, give-and-take, push-and-pull, 12-10 win over the Cincinnati Reds… big series here for the two clubs as the Cards are trying to maintain their 6 game lead in the NL Central while the Reds are trying to make up some ground while cementing their position as a likely wild card entrant into the postseason. Record: 69 dudes-29, .704, 1st AL West Up Next: Hopefully we’ll get some more of the same against Oakland tomorrow as we look to continue our dominant season against our rivals from the Golden State. Oh, and how about this for some AI tomfoolery... HE HATE ME, man, HE HATE ME Quote:
Last edited by pauwoo; 07-23-2021 at 09:09 AM. |
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07-24-2021, 02:42 PM
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#118 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Seattle
Posts: 2,255
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July 24th, 2021
We’ll try to secure our 70th win in 99 tries against the Athletics, putting our league best home record up against Oaklands less than glossy away record… also, this is a battle of streaks as we are going for our 6th straight while the Bay City Rollers are trying to stave off their 6th loss in a row.
99 of 162: Sean Manaea (6-6, 5.89) @ Logan Gilbert (8-0, 3.46) Win, 5-3. Another hard-earned victory against the less-than-hard-charging Oakland Athletics… Logan turned in yet another masterful performance – 7 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, and ZERO FREE PASSES while fanning 11 – and David Fletcher did the dirt offensively with a 2 for 4 performance that included a 2-run DING DONG. We’d also see Petty Officer David Robertson return to action, earning his 21st save, and Ty France send his 5th ball out of the park on the year. We’re in a good way folks, chalk up another one for the good guys. Elsewhere: Houston’s Aledmys Diaz went buck for the ‘Stros as they dealt their instate rivals a heavy blow during a 7-1 shellacking at home. For the game, Diaz posted a 2 for 3 line that included TWO JACKS, 3 RBI, and 2 RUNS. Altuve and Correa also brought men in for the home team, each on homers – Jose’s was a 2-run shot, his 20th on the year, and Carlos put his 23rd out of the park with a solo shot off Foltynewicz during the 3rd frame. With the win Houston remains right in the mix in the AL West, operating 18 games off our pace and only 6 games off the 2nd Place Angels pace – they are, as of now, still sitting on the outside looking in as they are 2 games behind the Twins for the 2nd Wildcard spot. Record: We are the first team in the Majors to reach 70 wins… it’s something special. I could run this same sim 1000 times and never come close to achieving this record again. 70-29, .707, 1st AL West Up Next: We’ll look to earn our 8th straight victory, a sweep over the A’s, and to saddle them with their 7th straight loss before pivoting a tighter corner than Ross Gellar ever could in turning our attention to the suddenly resurgent Houston Astors who will be in town beginning on Monday. Last edited by pauwoo; 07-24-2021 at 09:02 PM. |
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07-25-2021, 11:37 AM
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#119 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Seattle
Posts: 2,255
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July 25th, 2021
On paper we have the makings of a pitching duel on tap to close out this 4-game parlay against the Oakland Athletics… our guy, Aaron Sanchez, has been lights out for us – he went 7 strong his last time out and tied his season high with 10 Ks. If he can just go par for the course here, we’ll find ourselves in a stellar position to complete the 4-game sweep…
In other, “this game hates me”, news… SP Kevin Gausman was traded by the GIANTS to their most-hated rival, the DODGERS, for LHP prospect Robinson Ortiz and LHP non-factor, will likely never make it to the show type of guy, Octavio Becerra. This save really, really wants to set up Los Angeles for success. That’s my, umm, hot take, if you will. 100 of 162: Frankie Montas (9-6, 2.64) @ Aaron Sanchez (9-0, 2.07) Loss, 8-7. Well for our 100th game of the season, arbitrary milestone that it is, we did not come through for the hometown faithful… we did, however, give it the ol’ college try with a 2-run rally during the bottom of the 9th, but, in the end, it was too little, too late as the Athletics found a way to dig deep and leave town with some semblance of their dignity intact. Sanchez was saddled with the L, his first of the season, as he gave up the 2 runs that put Oakland up for good – another 4 would come across on his watch, however, those were charged to Bobby Dalbec’s permanent record on account of his fielding malfeasance. K-Lew was big for us – he went 3 for 4 with a couple of runs, Dylan Moore hit a 2-run homer in the 7th, and Wong hit his 22nd double of the year… we had what it takes, just not enough in the tank to really get started in this one. Elsewhere: It was the battle of GRAND SLAMS in San Francisco today as Pittsburgh’s Adam Frazier hit a GRAND SLAM during the top of the 9th, part of a 5-run frame for the Pirates, that put them to within 2 runs of the Giants… unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as Alex Dickerson’s GRAND SLAM during the bottom of the very first frame was enough to put the Giants up for good in this one as they would never relinquish that early lead over the course of the contest. A fun little game for those in attendance – it’s always nice when a tough man competition breaks out during a Sunday game… all haymakers and bad intentions. Record: 70-30, .700, 1st AL West Up Next: The Houston Astros, winners of their last two, will saunter in to town on a mission to upend our run of immaculate form and position themselves as a WC favorite in the AL. |
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07-26-2021, 09:30 AM
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#120 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Seattle
Posts: 2,255
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July 26th, 2021
Some housekeeping, if you will… 3B Rafael Devers, an absolute dynamo plying his trade in Boston, took home the AL Player of the Week award after hitting .478 with 3 trucks and 7 RBI, and Atlanta’s SS Dansby Swanson laid it done tough last week with a .444 average, 5 DING DONGS, and 13 RBI to snag the PoTW award in the NL.
Weekly Power Ranking Teams (Total Points, Tendency): 1) Seattle Mariners (131.0, o) – top of the pops, baby… like Oasis in their prime 2) Los Angeles Dodgers (128.6, ++) 3) Atlanta Braves (120.0, o) 4) Chicago White Sox (116.1, -) 5) St. Louis Cardinals (107.9, o) 6) Los Angeles Angels (107.2, +) 7) Arizona Diamondbacks (104.2, ++) 8) Toronto Blue Jays (104.0, +) 9) Kansas City Royals (103.2, +) 10) New York Mets (100.8, --) NYY in 11th, HOU 14th, SD 22nd, Philly 24th…. Houston Astros (53-47, .530, 3rd AL West) @ Seattle Mariners (70-30, .700, 1st AL West) With a 53-47 record so far, and winning at a 53% clip, the Houston Astros would seem to be a solid, playoff-caliber club. Their offense is humming – ranked 1st in the AL overall with 560 runs scored so far, a .267 average as a club, and a tip-top OPS of .815 – but the pitching has left a bit to be desired. Their hurlers are, nearly to a man, struggling through off years, and despite their reputation earned in years past have not inspired the kind of anxiety they have become known for. And, with us looking like the belle of the ball, and Orange County looking like a suitable alternate to make an appearance on the homecoming court, it would seem that Houston, on the outside looking in, may have gotten all dressed up for nothing. At 3 games off the wildcard pace, if the Astros are going to make a move, it really needs to start now – of course, we’re in our park for this set, have been on a nice 8-2 run over our last 10, and despite dropping a heartbreaker to Oakland our last time out, were on a 7-game unbeaten stretch before that. 101 of 162: Jake Odorizzi (8-6, 4.92) @ Marco Gonzales (12-5, 2.44) Win, 7-6 (12). After running it up, 6-0, early against the ‘Stros struggling staff – a run-scoring triple from Joc, run-scoring doubles from Wong & Hedges – we took our foot off the gas and nearly paid for it as the Houston offense came to life in the top of the 6th, clawed all the way back with the usual suspect, Correa and Altuve, doing the dirt to knot it up. From there we would treat the fans to 5 frames of gutter balls until, during the bottom of the 12th, K-Lew at the plate with a chance to pick up the spare, loops a run-scoring single through the infield and scores Kelenic from 3rd. Marco had himself something of an off day – he allowed all 6 of the Houston scores to get across – we fielded two, boom/bap double-plays, got an OF assist from JOC, and even saw your boy, Jared Kelenic, swipe his 12th bag of the season. We like it, we love it, we want some more of it… Elsewhere: Boston’s Enrique Hernandez finished 2 for 4 with TWO TRUCKS, 5 RBI, and 2 RUNS during the Red Sox hard-earned victory over the Toronto Blue Jays by a score of 13-7. The contest featured 8 total home runs with 2 each for Hernandez & Marwin Gonzalez (both with BOS), and one jack each for Jeter Downs (BOS), Rene Rivera (TOR), Marcus Semien (TOR), and George Springer (TOR – his 20th). And in a tale of two streaks, the Artful Dodgers of Los Angeles have won 7 straight tilts, while the Baltimore Orioles have lost 7-straight contests, with the last three coming at home against the Washington Nationals… yikes. Record: 71-30, .702, 1st AL West Up Next: We’ll play the 2nd of 3 against the Astros and do our level best to not look too forward to our day off on the 29th… everybody’s working for the weekend. |
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