Days 141-150: Monterrey, Rocco take over first place in their divisions! Mark McGwire's 74th sets a new MLB record!!!!

The Backwoods Bastards have dominated the East for a long time, but a sibling rivalry has developed and now Andy and his Rocco's Replicas have the upper hand.  They are now 1/2 game above the Bastards, and are riding a nine-game win streak.  Henderson started out strong but has been very average for a while now.  Monterrey has taken advantage and now is firmly in first place in the Central, by a game and a half.  PED-Co remains the sole thing we can all count on, far away in first place in the West.  Backwoods leads the wild card race, with Fort Wayne a game behind them, and Henderson one more game away. 

We will welcome an unlikely Player Of The Block, PED-Co's Matt "Ass Hammer" Stairs!  The well-traveled slugger (he played for more major-league teams than any position player in major league history) put together a 18 for 39 stretch (.462 average) with four home runs.  Mark McGwire's .370 with 4 homers actually is a cooling off period for him!  Greg Maddux had two dominant wins for Rocco.

 

Day 141  Midland's Dean Palmer blasted 2 HRs and had 5 RBIs.  John Smoltz and B.J. Surhoff star for Jimmy in their 3-1 win over Brooklyn.  Verona topped Henderson 4-3, as Sal Fasano is the hero with a 2 run homer.  Sammy Sosa hit homers #56 and #57 in the Juicers win over Monterrey.  Fort Wayne used two Robin Ventura home runs in a 14-2 romp over the Bastards, their seventh straight win!  Dublin topped the Fremonts to give Steve Woodard his 10th win. 

Day 142  Brooklyn's Carlos Perez goes the distance and holds Jimmy to just 1 run.  Rocco's Albert Belle hit his 51st homer in a win over Midland.  Monterry tops PED-Co on a Jeff Cirillo walk-off, extra-inning triple.  The Bastards gave Fort Wayne's Shiggy Hasegawa his first loss when Juan Gonzalez hit a 9th inning home run.

Day 143  Verona's Javy Lopez knocked in four in a 6-5 win over the Juicers.  Rocco's Greg Maddux earned his 16th win and Albert Belle cranked his 52nd homer.  Dublin topped the Rickeys 9-6, despite Ray Lankford's two home runs.  Fort Wayne nipped Las Vegas 3-2, with all three runs coming from Mark McGwire's 72nd round-tripper.  The Goombies rallied late to top Jimmy 5-3. 

Day 144  Crazy game at PED-Co as the Juicers and Verona battled.  It was 4-2 Verona until PED-Co scored three in the bottom of the eighth to take the lead, then they relinquished the lead when Verona scored 4 in the top of the ninth, then retook the lead by scoring four of their own in the bottom of the ninth!  Jim Thome's three-run triple ended it in favor of PED-Co.  Andres Galarraga had 2 homer for Rocco.  Randy Johnson struck out 12 Fremonts and Fort Wayne wins 6-3.  Dubliners were all over the Rickeys, 13-1.  Sandy Martinez had three extra-base hits and four RBIs.  JImmy got with it in an 8-3 win over Midland. 

Day 145  Only one game tonight.  Verona ripped the Juicers 9-4.  Henry Rodriguez had two home runs, and Matt Stairs hit his 31st for PED-Co. 

Day 146  Fremonts only get two hits, but beat PED-Co 2-1.  Rocco wins their fourth in a row, 10-4 over the Goombies.  Matt Williams had 3 hits and 4 RBIs for Rocco.  Getting Jimmy beat Brooklyn 3-1, with Chuck Knoblauch racking up 2 hits and 2 RBIs (and presumably successfully making all throws to first base).  Verona sent the Rickeys down to defeat again, with home runs from John Olerud and Travis Fryman.  Dublin rocked Monterrey 7-1, Greg Vaughn with his 41st home run.  Fort Wayne  beat Backwoods and Shiggy Hasegawa picks up his first win.  Mark McGwire eclipsed Barry Bonds real-life record with his 74th homer!!!

Day 147  Rusty Greer drove in three for Brooklyn, Neifi Perez lifted Verona over Henderson,  Darin Erstad powered Monterrey past Dublin, Backwoods edged Fort Wayne 3-2, and Edgardo Alfonso's two hits helped PED-Co past Las Vegas.  Rocco's Matt Williams joined the select company of those who have hit 3 HR's in a single game this year, when he turned the trick in a win against the Goombies!

Day 148  Six in a row for Rocco, 3-1 over Midland.  Getting Jimmy's David Segui had two dingers to get past Brooklyn.  Jeff Fassero and Billy Wagner combined for Verona to blank the Rickeys.  Backwoods starter Hideo Nomo did even better, tossing a one-hit shutout at Fort Wayne!

Day 149  Another day, another win for Rocco!  They edge Midland 6-5.  Brooklyn gets a two-run homer from Jeff Kent in the top of the ninth to beat Jimmy.  Verona owns Henderson again, defeating them 8-6 this time. Jeff Bagwell's HR propelled Dublin past Monterrey.  The Bastards again top Fort Wayne, 6-2 this time.  Nomar has 4 hits and scores 3 runs. 

Day 150   Rocco wins its eighth in a row as Henderson loses their seventh in a row! Brooklyn's Chipper Jones has 4 RBIs, the Dubliners get 16 hits and top Fort Wayne 8-4.  Verona beat PED-Co with a big second inning, and is 8-2 over the last ten games.  Rocco's Greg Maddux took over the league lead in wins with his 17th.  Barry Larkin hit 2 HRs for Monterrey.

Days 131-140 - Fort Wayne and Rocco go 8-2, full fledged playoff chase is underway!

Fort Wayne skipper Guy Fieri and his bench coach
 reflect on Fort Wayne's recent hot sreak

Fort Wayne and Rocco's Replicas both vaulted into contention with 8-2 records in this block of games. The Frosted Tips bested their arch-rivals the Juicers a few times, but PED-Co remains in charge of the West with an 8 game lead.  Fort Wayne is now just 1 game behind wild card leader Monterrey, and is riding a six game winning streak!  Rocco moved into second in the East, just a game and a half behind the Backwoods Bastards, and two games out of the wild card themselves.  32 more days remain in this season, and a thrilling finish is sure to follow!

The Home Run Chase is a one-man contest right now.  Mark McGwire connected on six more home runs this set, and is now at the 70 he hit in real life this year!  And he still has 31 more games to go!

Randy Johnson is as happy as
a schoolgirl to get the award!

Player of the Block honors go back to Fort Wayne, to one very large man named Randy Johnson!  The Big Unit picked up three wins against zero losses over the last 10 games.  His 22 innings yielded
28 strikeouts, just 10 hits allowed, and an ERA of 2.04.

Special mention must go to Rocco's Ugueth Urbina, who accumulated three wins AND three saves this set, and teammate Edgar Martinez, who batted a smoking .480 over the last 10 games

Day 131  Fort Wayne rolls over the Juicers 7-4, McGwire with a homer and Randy Johnson with the win.  Rocco defeated the Fremonts 3-2 on a Ray Durham sac fly. adding Greg Maddux to the top of the list with other 15-game winners Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling, and Chan Ho Park.  Dublin's Francisco Cordova  ("Francisco, that's fun to say") throws a four hit shutout.  Mo Vaughn's power and Tom Candiotti's, um, 'craftiness' get Midland over Monterrey.  Getting Jimmy with It has what it probably the greatest comeback of the season:  Trailing the Bastards 6-2 in the  bottom of the 9th, Jimmy improbably rallies for six runs, punctuated by Todd Helton's three-run game-winning homer!!!!

Day 132  Jose Canseco slugs two HRs for the Bastards, Sterling (Silver) Hitchcock gets his 11thw in and adds 10 K's to his season total, Rocco tops the Fremonts in 13 innings by putting up a six spot in the top of the 13th!  Old Man Al Leiter pitches the Rickeys over the Buttheads, and Mike Mussina goes the distance in yet another Goombie win.  Tis the season for big last innings, as Dublin, trailing Verona 8-2 somehow puts up EIGHT runs in the bottom of the 9th to win it!  Scott Rolen's three run HR was the winner there!

Day 133  Two homers from Larry Walker give Goombies another win, Dubliner top Fort Wayne 6-4, Verona's Justin Thompson gets his 9th win of the year, Brooklyn powers past Monterrey 9-5, and Jimmy bests Rocco in a classic 'Lima Time' performance.  After suffering a devastating loss the other night, the Bastards rebound with 9th inning HR's from Jose Canseco and Nomar Garciaparra to top Vegas. 

Day 134  The Rickeys rally for four in the ninth to top Midland, Brian Moehler's solid outing gives the Dubliners another win,  Craig Biggio's hits propel Verona Ridge over PED-Co.  It was a huge game for The Kid, as Ken Griffey Jr. hit two home runs and drove in SEVEN!  Brooklyn's bats exploded for 11 runs to go over Monterrey, and Rocco topped Jimmy 8-5. 

Day 135  Big day for Henderson's Alex Rodriguez, who goes for 5 hits and 4 RBIs.  Mark McGwire's 66th pushed Fort Wayne over Dublin, Jeff Fassero extended the Roadrunner's winning streak to three games. Las Vegas' Brett Tomko only allows three hits to the Bastards, and Rolando Arrojo tossed seven shutout innings for Brooklyn. 

Day 136  Slammin' Matt Stairs hit two home runs and the Juicers rolled up 17 hits and 10 runs against Dublin.  Curt Schilling gets his 16th win of the season to stand alone on top of the league leaders for now.  Roger Clemens K'd 10 Fremonts and earned his 12th win for Jimmy.  Henderson tops Brooklyn in a 11-10 slugfest.  Fort Wayne's Kevin Millwood stopped Verona, and Mike Bordick cranked two HRs for the victorious Replicas. 

Day 137  Tim Wakefield is now 2-0 for PED-Co, Cal Ripken homers and drives in three in a Vegas win over Jimmy, and Carlos Perez of Brooklyn baffles the Rickeys.  Scott Hatteberg had three hits for the Aztecs in their 6-1 win over Midland, and Barry Bonds  29th homer helped the Bastards beat arch-rival Rocco.  Fort Wayne's Woody Williams is now 5-2 as the Tips topped the Roadrunners 5-3. 

Day 138  Sammy Sosa's 54th HR of the year lifts the Juicers over the Dubliners, Albert Belle's two home runs are the difference in Rocco's 8-7 win over Backwoods, and Brooklyn eked past the Rickeys 3-2.  Las Vegas Fremont Ken Griffey's 53rd was a highlight in the win over Jimmy.  Frosted Tips' slugger Mark McGwire connected for #68 in a 7-4 win over Verona.  Monterrey smashed Midland as Scott Hatteberg continued his little hot streak with 2 doubles and 3 RBIs. 

Day 139 Getting Jimmy and Brooklyn were locked in a scoreless game when Jimmy exploded for 5 runs in the top of the 9th.  Derek Jeter's grand slam accounted for most of those runs.  Carl Everett had three hits, including the walk-off,  as the Replicas beat the Goombies in extra innings.  Sammy Sosa hit #54 in the Juicers win over the Aztecs.  Randy Johnson struck out 12 Bastards and Mark McGwire smashed historic homers #69 and #70!!!

Day 140   Mark Grace's two-run shot aided Brooklyn in their win against Getting Jimmy, and the Rickeys scraped past Verona 5-4.  Rocco snuck past Midland 3-2, and Vegas trounced Dublin 8-3.  Kevin Millwood tossed a four-hit shutout for red-hot Fort Wayne.  Lot of runners left on base south of the border as Monterrey edges the Juicers 4-3, despite  a combined 28 hits!  The Aztecs won in the bottom of the 12th when PED-Co reliever Scott Service threw a wild pitch!

Days 121-130: McGwire passes Roger Maris!!! PED-Co continues to own the league, Monterrey takes over the Central!

Ped-Co and Monterrey topped all teams this set with 7-3 records.  PED-Co is running away with the West, their lead now up to 12 games.  Still a two-horse race in the Central, as Monterrey now owns a 1.5 game lead over once-mighty Henderson.  Backwoods is now 4 games ahead of Las Vegas in the East



Trevor Hoffman adds five saves to his total this week

Player of the Block honors go to Trevor Hoffman of PED-Co!  As long as I have been doing these replays, I've never seen a reliever get 5 saves in a 10 game stretch!  Hoffman got in 13 innings to rack up those saves, with a 2.07 ERA and 18 strikeouts.  Rocco's Albert Belle hit .326 with 7 HRs, and teammate Mike Bordick hit .370 in 27 at bats.  Jamie Moyer went 2-0 for Monterey, with a 0.56 ERA. 


 

 

 

Day 121  Fort Wayne's Mark McGwire pops homer #60 in a 3-1 loss for the Frosted Tips to the Juicers.  Chan Ho Park recorded his 14th win of the year against just 1 loss.  Goombies get two homers from Roberto Kelly, Tom Glavine of Monterrey throws a four-hit shutout of Replica.  

Day 122  Two fifteen inning games highlight this day's activities.  Jimmy rallies for two in the top of the 15th to edge PED-Co 12-10.  Sammy Sosa hits HR's # 47 and #48. Brooklyn tops Las Vegas 9-8 on a walk-off wild pitch from one Albie Lopez!   In a good old fashioned nine-inning battle,  Dubliners win behind Homer Bush's three hits and 3 RBIs, Aztecs romp over Roadrunners 1-0. 

Day 123  Greg Maddux dominates with a 4 hit shutout  of Dublin.  Bastards rally for two in the top of 9th to give Mike Maddux the win, making the brothers a combined 20-6 this year!  Derek Jeter put up 4 hits in a narrow Getting Jimmy victory.  Barry Larkin drove in 5 for the Aztecs.  Mark Grace had two homers as Brooklyn puts up 14 runs.

Day 124  Monterrey gets two homers and six RBIs from Darin Erstad as they edge Verona 8-7.  Rocco beat Dublin as Andres Galarraga gets two home runs of his own.  Juicers beat Jimmy 2-1 as Kerry Wood accumulates 13 strikeouts.  Tony Gwynn had four hits for the Fremonts, and Tony Womack had four for Midland.  Mike Mussina struck out 14 Bastards in that win for the Goombies.

Day 125  Juan Guzman continued his second half surge with 10 K's in a win over Midland.  Bill Mueller had two hits and two RBIs as Getting Jimmy got by PED-Co.  Kevin Young and Rick Helling led Las Vegas over  Brooklyn. 

Day 126  Mark McGwire does it, cracking home runs #61 and #62 to break Roger Maris' record!!!  And it is only August 3rd, no telling where Big Mac ends up now.  Rocco beat the Bastards 4-1 despite being outhit 11-10.  Kenny Rogers gives the Fremonts a shutout victory.  Dublin gets five hits, two home runsm and five ribbies from Scott Rolen! Getting Jimmy explodes for 5 runs in the top of the ninth to upend the Rickeys. 

Day 127  Scott Rolen follows up with 4 more hits (9 hits in two days!) as Dublin puts 11 runs and 19 hits on the Buttheads.  Henderson gets a walkoff hit from Willie Greene, Curt Schilling goes all nine for his 15th win, Bastards edge the Replicas 7-6, and Monterrey's Bernie Williams hits 2 HRs and gets 5 RBIs against Fort Wayne.   Verona edges Vegas 2-1 when Damion Easley singled in John Olerud in the bottom of the ninth.

Day 128  Willie Greene continues his out-of-nowhere heroics for Henderson, Tim Wakefield gets a win in his Retro League debut with the Juicers,  Brooklyn holds on to top Dublin 6-5, and Backwoods get HR's from Barry Bonds, Juan Gone, Palmeiro, and Nomar to crush Rocco 10-4.   Mark McGwire hit his 63rd homer, but that was it for the Frosted Tips as Monterrey beats them 7-1. 

Day 129  B.J. Surhoff leads the Jimmy offense to a 11-7 win over Henderson.  PED-Co was exceptionally juiced up today, romping over the Goombies 17-5.  Jim Edmonds had three hits, including a grand slam!  Matt Lawton had three hits for Dublin, and Brian Jordan and Mark McGwire homered to lift Fort Wayne over Monterrey.  The Fremonts used three hits from Tony Gwynn to top Verona.  It was a Willnus Brothers matchup, however, that stole the show tonight.  Rocco's Replicas and the Backwoods Bastards were knotted at 7 apiece until the Replicas rallied in the bottom of the 9th.  Mike Bordick singled, and the Big Cat Andres Galarraga doubled him home for the win!

Day 130   PED-Co is now riding a five-game winning streak after dispatching Fort Wayne 8-4.  Rick Helling goes all nine, only allowing one run to put Vegas over Rocco.  Verona Ridge's Chris Carpenter held Dublin to just 1 run and 4 hits.  Midland, down 3-2 to Monterrey in the bottom of the ninth, had Ron Gant single and steal second.  Gary Sheffield followed with a two-run, walkoff homer!

Waiver Wire Frenzy to add to Fire for heating up rivalry in West Division

Waiver Wire Frenzy,

Arnold, quite happy with his teams first place performance thus far into the season adds some more "Juice" to his already potent line-up.

Waiver Wire Drops:

Dave Veres RP
Vic Darensburg-Relief
Brad Radke RHP
Yorkis Perez-RHP Relief

Additions:
Magglio Ordonez-OF
Tim Wakefield SP
Ramon Martinez Relief/Starter pitcher.
Trever Miller Relief Pitcher


New Rotation:
1.) Curt Schilling
2.) Chan Ho Park
3.) Kerry Wood
4.) Ramon Martinez
5.) Tim Wakefield

New Lineup for both lefties and righties. Maggs preferred Pinch Hitter for all situations.

1.) Todd Walker-forget position. 2B?
2.) Vlad Guerrero-LF
3.) Sam Sosa-RF
4.) Jim Edmunds-CF
5.) Matt Stairs-DH
6.) Dan Wilson-C
7.) Jim Thome-1B
8.) Mark Loretta-forget position either 2B or SS
9.) Edgardo Alfonzo-3B


Closer: Still Trevor Hoffman
Set up Man: Trever Miller.

Waiver Wire Wild Card Push

The Frosted Tips would like to announce they are buzzing Scott Radinsky and Darren Dreifort off their team and signing relievers Jeff Tabaka and Shigetoshi Hasegawa. That is all!

Days 111-120 - Mark McGwire in Beast Mode, Backwoods gets 1st no-hitter of the year!

WHAM!  Another homer!

Mark McGwire compiles the most powerful ten-day stretch of the season so far, batting .417 with 11 home runs and 21 RBis in just the last 36 at bats!!!  The big man is now at astonishing 59 home runs, with 47 games left to play!   It is only July 28th in this replay, Roger Maris is a foregone conclusion at this point.  McGwire is now on pace for  83 home runs and 162 RBIs!!!  Will be fun to see where this ends.  Not coincidentally, Fort Wayne went 7-3 this stretch to crawl into the wild card race with Monterrey and Las Vegas. 

Rocco's Replicas are the hottest team in the league now, going 8-2 and getting to  .500 in the very competitive East Division.  Backwoods went 7-3 to continue to pad their lead there.  Backwoods starter Juan Guzman tossed the first no-hitter of the year, blanking the Buttheads for 0 hits, 0 runs, 5 walks, and 12 K's!

Henderson and Monterrey continue to fight tooth and nail in the Central, with the Rickeys clinging to a 1/2 game lead. 

Our two leading home run hitters

Hate to have a repeat winner of the Player of the Block award, but I just cannot deny McGwire for this set of games.  Others worthy of note:  Rocco's Ugueth Urbina with 4 saves in 8 shutout innings, Kevin Brown of Brookline with 2 wins and a 1.00 ERA in 18 innings and 27 K's, Barry Bonds of Backwoods with a .390 average, Fort Wayne's Kevin Millwood with 2 wins and 0.56 ERA, and Brooklyn's Chipper Jones at .438 with 6 home runs.



This Bugs Bunny clip makes for a good soundtrack
to this steroid steason!

Day 111  After giving up two runs in the top of the 9th to lose their lead, Monterrey rallies for two more to turn back the Dubliners 8-7.  The Bastards thrash the Goombies 12-1, Fernando Vina with three hits.  Bill Mueller knocks in three for Jimmy as they beat the Fremonts 5-3.  Jeff Fassero holds the Juicers to 1 run, and David Cone wins his elevenths as the Replicas beat the Buttheads.  Mark McGwire hits two homers, and his second one (#50 for the year) was a walk-off as Fort Wayne beats the Rickeys 12-10!

Day 112  Cliff Floyd and Juan Gonzalez homer for the Bastards in a 7-6 win over Midland. Aztecs top the Dubliners with John Rocker getting his 4th save,   Shawn Green continued to pound the ball, blasting two HRs for Vegas.  Ken Griffey hit his 40th that game as well.  Randy Johnson whiffed 12 Rickeys and Mark McGwire had ANOTHER two HR night!  PED-Co's Kerry Wood held Verona to two hits, and Brooklyn's J.D. Drew cranks a walk-off HR against Rocco. 

Day 113  Monterrey gains ground by beating Henderson, Carlos Delgado has 2 HRs and 4 RBIs while Kevin Brown tosses a two-hit shutout for the Buttheads.  Three more hits for Backwoods 2B Fernando Vina as they roll past the Fremonts, Verona's Chuck Finley slows down the Frosted Tips, limiting Mark McGwire to 0 home runs.  Rocco got past Jimmy 7-5, Carl Everett homered and drove in three. 

Day 114  Big day for A-Rod, two home runs and 5 RBIs as Henderson drops Monterrey.  PED-Co beats Dublin 9-7 on Matt Stairs' two-run walkoff homer.  LV's Kenny Rogers (Chicken) outduels Backwoods Hideo Nomo in that rarest of treats this year, a 1-0 victory.  Only 8 combined hits in that one!  Kevin Millwood dominates Verona in Fort Wayne's 6-1 victory. 

Day 115  Rick Reed (wasn't he the father in the Brady Bunch?) goes the distance for Monterrey as they eke past the Rickeys.  Las Vegas gets past the Bastards 4-3, Cal Ripken driving in the game-winner.    Midland gets a walk-off walk to beat Brooklyn in 13 innings.  Verona's Aaron Sele helped shut out mighty Fort Wayne.  Mike Simms drove in three as Rocco topped Getting Jimmy 6-5. 

Day 116  Midland's Pedro Martinez earned his league-leading 15th win, the Buttheads beat the Rickeys in a back and forth game, PED-CO used Sammy Sosa's 44th homer to top Verona Ridge, Edgar Martinez had three hits and 3 RBIs for Rocco, and Brian Moehler gets the win as Dublin beats Fort Wayne 4-3.  Bombs blasting in Backwoods as they get two HRs in the bottom of the ninth to beat Getting Jimmy (Barry Bonds hit the first, Rafael Palmeiro the second)! 

Day 117  Quite a few one-sides games today.  Brooklyn stomps the Rickeys 9-2, PED-Co wallops Verona Ridge 11-1, Rocco beat Las Vegas 92, and Fort Wayne thrashed Dublin 16-3!  Mark McGwire hit his 54th, but Ellis Burks was the main man for the Frosted Tips with 2 HRs and 5 RBIs. There was a close on in Midland as the Goombies beat the Aztecs 11-10 on a Carlos Hernandez walk-off home run. 

Day 118  Mark McGwire has just another day at the office, smashing two HRs against Dublin.  Henderson gets 4 in the 9th to beat the Buttheads, the Juicers Curt Schilling got his 14th win in an 11-5 win over the Roadrunners.   Rocco' 'replicated' 15 runs and 16 hits against Vegas.  Denny Neagle K'd 15 for Midland.  David Wells shut out Jimmy as Backwoods rolled 8-0.  Juan Gonzalez belted his 40th home run of the season. 

Day 119  Backwoods Bastard starter Juan Gonzalez recorded the first no-hitter of the year, dominating Brooklyn.  A performance like that deserves the box score's full quote...

It took a while to pry Guzman away from his teammates as they all wanted to show their appreciation and joy.Finally, however, Steve Willnus got to offer his own congratulations with a big bear hug and the comment, 'That was one of the best pitched games I have seen in all my years in baseball - Guzman was masterful out there tonight!'

Henderson scored 5 runs in the last two innings to top Midland, Tony Saunders of Vegas held Getting Jimmy to just one run, Scott Hatteberg had three hits and Scott Erickson 11 K's for Monterrey, and Verona wins on a walk-off error!  Biggest non-Guzman news of the day, though, was Mark McGwire with yet another two home run game - his 9th this season!

Day 120   Verona wins with a walk-off HBP when Frank Thomas was drilled with bases loaded in the bottom of the 13th inning.  Chipper Jones homered twice and knocked in 5 to get Brooklyn past the Bastards.   McGwire struck again, clouting homer #59 in Fort Wayne's 5-1 win over the Juicers.   Rocco got a home run from Albert Belle and fine pitching from David Cone to top the Aztecs. 

Days 101-110 - Fort Wayne rising but PED-Co keeps rolling!

Fort Wayne has a nice 7-3 record this block to move past Dublin and into second place in the West, but division rival PED-Co did even better, going 8-2 to extend their lead to 10 games now.  Backwoods and Henderson retain their leads in the East and Central. 



Player of the Block again? Sweet!

Player Of The Block Award goes to Mark McGwire, whose .364 average, 7 HRs, and 13 RBIs led all others.  Big Mac had three straight games of 2 home runs this set.  Amazingly, he has now belted 48 home runs and has not yet hit more than two in a single game.  McGwire's teammate Mike Jackson gets special recognition as well, throwing 8 scoreless innings and racking up four saves!  Mo Vaughn hit .500, and Larry Walker hit .514.  PED-Co's Todd Stottlemyre got two wins and allowed just 1 run in 17 innings.   

 

 

The Home Run race has been fascinating with McGwire coming out firing right out of the blocks, fending off various challengers like Ken Griffey, Albert Belle, and Manny Ramirez.  Sammy Sosa has quietly climbed right up there now, as the below chart illustrates.  The cream has risen to the top, will be interesting to watch how this ends up!



Click here to see the details of the Great '98 Home Run Chase!

Rocco's Edgar Martinez has his own
entrance to the ballpark

Day 101  David Wells dominated in his home-town Dueling Banjos Field, topping Monterrey 7-1.  Midland rallies for 3 runs in the ninth to top Vegas 4-3.  Dante Bichette "Happens" powered Verona over Dublin. Jim Edmonds had 3 hits and 4 RBIs for victorious PED-Co.  Edgar Martinez had two homers as Rocco pummeled Henderson 13-3.  Fort Wayne's Sterling Hitchcock won his 9th against just two losses. 

Day 102  Mike Mussina gives Midland a win over Las Vegas, Sammy Sosa's 40th home run puts the Juicers over Jimmy, Ray Lankford's second home run of the game was a walkoff winner for Henderson. "The Big Hurt" Frank Thomas cracked two homers for Verona in their 6-2 win over Dublin. 

Day 103  ,It's a new record for the most runs scored in one game as the Aztecs top the Goombies 19-15!  Bernie Williams had 4 hits, including a grand slam.  The Fremonts beat Jimmy on a Ken Griffey Jr. walkoff home run.  Todd Stottlemyre throws a shutout for the Juicers.  Dublin edges Fort Wayne 5-4.  The Bastards score two in the 9th against the Replicas to send it to extra innings, and then Rocco's Jim Mecir threw a wild pitch in the 10th that allowed Brad Ausmus to come home with the winner.    It's a pitchers duel in Brooklyn as Fort Wayne's Mike Hampton shuts out the Buttheads, giving hard-luck Kevin Brown a loss despite his fine pitching. 

Day 104  Kerry Wood brought the pitching (10 K's) and the Juicer's hitters brought the offense (11 runs, 16 hits) in a big win over the Roadrunners.  Midland knocked off Monterrey to give Pedro Martinez his 13th win.  Robin Ventura's HR was the difference for the Frosted Tips.  Jimmy's Tony Saunders and C.J. Nitkowski held Vegas to just 1 run.  Greg Zaun(bie) knocked in four for the Rickeys.  Bastard hurlers Hideo Nomo and John Johnstone (with a last name ripped right out of the Flintstones) teamed up on a four-hit shutout of the Replicas. 

Day 105  A combined eight home runs were hit, but the Goombies overwhelm the Aztecs 12-6.  Damon Buford and Garry Sheffield hit 2 apiece.   Roger Clemens got his 11th win and added 10 strikeouts to his total for Jimmy.  Fort Wayne's Woody Williams carried a no-hitter into the 6 inning, but the Dubliners eventually got to him.  Luckily for the Frosted Tips, Tim Salmon and Mark McGwire's home runs gave them a 10-7 win.  Curt Schilling gets a shutout for the Juicers.  Carlos Delgado blasts 2 HRs and gets 5 RBIs for the Buttheads of Brooklyn. 

Day 106  Brooklyn ekes past the Goombies 7-6. Bastard Juan Gonzalez hit 2 HRs and Matt Morris K'd 10 Fremonts.  Red-hot PED-Co topped Fort Wayne as Matt Stairs gets his 21st home run. Dublin scores three in the top of the 9th to top Verona, and Jose Offerman smacks 2 homers for Henderson.  Jimmy got with it in a 6-1 win over Rocco, featuring Carl Everett going yard.    

Day 107  Kevin Brown dominates the Goombies, throwing a 5 hit shutout. Monterrey's Andy Ashby one-ups him by throwing a 4 hit shutout of the Rickeys.   Las Vegas wins in the 12th as Michigan native Chad Curtis singled in the winning run and sends the Bastards down to defeat.    Big day for free-swinging Vladimir Guerrero, who racked up 4 of PedCo's 19 hits, including a walkoff homer to give the Juicers the win over the Frosted Tips 7-6.   Dubliners rack up 15 runs and 19 hits to smash Verona 15-2. It's Lima Time again as Jose Lima gets his 11th win of the year. 

Day 108  Pedro Martinez won his league-leading 14th game for Midland, Fort Wayne topped PED-Co 6-1 as Mark McGwire hit his 48th.  Henry Rodriguez had two homers as the Roadrunners outslugged the Dubliners 9-6.  Monterrey's Jeff Cirillo had a HR and 4 RBIs in a big win over the Rickeys.  Rocco beat Jimmy 9-4, as Greg Maddux moves to 12-4. 

Day 109  Midland holds on to beat the Bastards despite giving up 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th.  Dublin edges Monterrey on a Jeff Cirillo sacrifice fly.  Mike Stanley had 2 HRs and all 4 RBIs for Vegas in their win against Jimmy.   Kevin Millwood and Mike Piazza star in the Frosted Tips 5-4 win over Henderson.  Todd Stottlemyre limits Verona Ridge to just 3 hits while Slammin' Sammy Sosa hits HR # 42 and Trevor Hoffman gets his 28th save of the year.  More excellent pitching in Brooklyn as Rocco starter Dustin Hermanson took a no-hitter into the 9th inning and ended up surrendering just 1 hit, a Bob Abreu home run. 

Day 110   Dublin's Shane Reynolds blanks the Aztecs, while Ismael Valdez of Las Vegas does the same to Jimmy.  Rafael Palmeiro, Jose Canseco, Juan Gone and Barry Bonds all homer as the Bastards overpower the Goombies.  Fort Wayne's Jon Lieber moves to 11-5 in a win over Henderson, Verona's mighty mite Neifi Perez gets 3 hits and 2 RBIs in a win over PED-Co.  Brooklyn wraps up this set with a thrilling rally to nip Rocco's Replicas.  Down 2-1 in the bottom of the 9th, Carlos Delgado and Rusty Greer walked, Jeff "Survivor Contestant" Kent sacrifice bunted, and then Jay Bell singled in the tying run.  Ugueth Urbina then balked in the winning run.  Local law enforcement agencies were alerted after the angry Urbina left the ballpark. 

Days 91-100 - East Division race is a dead heat right now! Vegas, Jimmy, Bastards all within a half game of each other!

Wow, what a race is developing in the East Division!  The Fabulous Fremonts remain atop the division but those Backwoods Bastards and now Getting Jimmy With It are only 1/2 a game behind.  Rocco's Replicas are far from out of it as well, just 4.5 behind with about 65 or so games left. 

It's business as usual in the other division as Henderson maintains a slim lead over Monterrey, and PED-Co still has a 6.5 game lead over Dublin. Getting Jimmy With It, the Fort Wayne Frosted Tips and the Henderson Rickeys all have the best record over the last 10 games, at 7-3.  The Midland Goombies suffered through a 1-9 stretch. 

Our Player of the Block is the Jimmy's own Roger Clemens!  The Rocket went 2-0 with 18 innings, 20 K's, and just 8 hits allowed and 3 earned runs given up (1.50 ERA).  Juan Gonzalez was a strong contender, with a hefty .412 average and 5 homers.  Randy Johnson was very similar to Clemens, 16 innings, 23 K's, and only 2 earned runs but only 1 victory. 


Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte 'needling' each other

Roger has added the Levitation Pitch to his arsenal

 

Day 91  What a set of games to start the block!  Dublin and Midland go to extra innings, with the Goombies tallying a run in the top of the 11th.  However, Dublin got a single and then Delino Deshields cracks his second home run of the day, a two-run walkoff, to give the Dubliners the 8-7 win!  Getting Jimmy is getting 11 runs and 17 hits as they outslug Monterrey 11-9.  Fort Wayne outlasts Henderson in 14 innings, on Tim Salmon's 20th homer.  The Fremonts get their own extra-inning victory 7-6 over league-leading PED-Co.  The Always Angry One, Carl Everett, powered Rocco and David Cone (now 10-5) to victory. A montage of some of Everett's anger issues is at the bottom of the post. 

Day 92  The drama continues as three more extra-inning classics unfolded!    Verona Ridge rallies in the 10th to eke past Fort Wayne, and Dublin's Shannon Stewart worked the squeeze play (of all things!) to perfection to get their own extra-inning victory.  Ray Lankford's 14th inning double drove home the winning run for Henderson.  Getting Jimmy's Tony Saunders throws a four-hit shutout.  Monterrey held a thin 3-2 lead over Rocco going into the 9th, but racked up five runs in the frame to eventually top the Replicas 8-5. 

Day 93  ,Fort Wayne's Woody Williams took a no-hitter into the 7th as the Frosted Tips blank Verona Ridge 4-0.  Johnny Damon doubled home the winning run in the 9th for Dublin, Todd Helton and Lima Time were too much for Backwoods, Albert Belle blasts two HRs for Rocco, and somehow light-hitting Bill "Hey, dude, it's not a" Haselman gets 4 hits and 5 RBIs for the Rickeys.

Day 94  Only two games today, and both winning teams score 11 runs!  As This Week in Baseball's Mel Allen would say, "How about that?"  Fort Wayne's other pitching acquisition shined as Kevin Millwood goes the distance and Mike Piazza gets 6 RBIs!  Roger Clemens dominates for Jimmy, striking out 10 Bastards. 

Day 95  Wow, hadn't noticed this until now, but Getting Jimmy is on an epic 10 game winning streak!  Jimmy wins 10-6, with Derek Bell accumulating 4 hits and 4 RBIs.  Tino Martinez and Ray Lankford each homered in a 2-1 win for Henderson.    It's a bloodbath in Fort Wayne as the Frosted Tips take apart the Goombies 16-0.  SS Royce Clayton hit 2 homers, and Mike Hampton goes all nine for the shutout.  PED-Co is back with an 8-4 win featuring two HRs from Vladimir Guerrero (that's a lot of vowels for just one man, Vladdie).  Curt Schilling got the win and is now tied with Midland's Pedro Martinez for the league lead with 12. 

Day 96  Verona Ridge ends Jimmy's streak just about as soon as I noticed it.  Chuck Finley held the Jimmies to just 1 run.  Tony Gwynn clubs his 9th homer as Las Vegas defeats Henderson in the "Battle For Nevada".  Mark McGwire used a new strategy, hitting doubles instead of home runs, to lead Fort Wayne to victory.  Rocco's Replicas bash the Bastards 8-2 as Mike Simms hits 2 home runs.  The Juicers beat division rival Dublin 4-2, Sammy Sosa cracked his 38th homer!

Day 97  It's another rare sighting of a 1-0 game in 1998.  This time it's the Rickeys defeating interstate rival Vegas, and Al Leiter pitched a dominant 1 hit shutout!  The Bastards get the better of Rocco in their back-and-forth series, this team 4-2 and Nomar's two-run HR was the difference.  It's Lima Time again!  Jimmy is back on the winning track and so is Jose Lima, who gets his 10th win of the season.  The Big Unit struck out 15 Goombies to tie three others (Sterling Hitchcock, Pedro Martinez, and Roger Clemens) for the league record, and Mark McGwire crunched home run #40!

Day 98  Henderson throws another nine-innings of shutout ball at Vegas, this time it's Masato Yoshii doing the honors.  Fort Wayne wins their sixth in a row, 6-5.  Midland intentionally walked Brian Jordan to pitch to Orlando Cabrera with the bases loaded, but Cabrera ripped a single to foil Manager Vanaman's strategy.  Verona topped Jimmy 4-3.  John Olerud got three hits and raised his average to .314.

Day 99  Las Vegas goes home and finds its offense again, topping Midland 7-4.  The Roadrunners get a two-run walkoff homer from Scott Mallon's favorite player of all time, Sal Fasano.  Kerry Wood is all over Jimmy, giving up just 1 run and 4 hits.  He had a no-hitter going until Todd Helton tripled in the 6th inning.  Rafael Palmeiro hits two homers and Matt Morris shuts out the Aztecs. 

Day 100   Vegas defeats Pedro Martinez and Midland, Verona gets a two-run walkoff homer from Raul Mondesi, Roger Clemens hurls a two-hitter in a 4-1 win for Jimmy over the Juicers, Rocco smashes Henderson 8-3, and Brooklyn's very grown-up sounding Bob Abreu was just a triple shy of the cycle against Fort Wayne.  Game of the day was Monterrey outlasting the Bastards in 11 innings, 8-7, despite being outhit 15-11.  The Aztecs used a groundout from big Tony Clark to bring in Hall of Famer Barry Larkin with the winning run!  



As mentioned in the Day 91 writeup, please enjoy the lighter side of Carl Everett's shining personality with this virtual montage!  

All-Star Rosters!

We are now just a little past the halfway point, so time to declare our 1998 All Stars!




PED-Co has the most all-stars, with five.  Henderson was next with four, and Getting Jimmy and Rocco had three each

 

Leading Manager of the Year Candidate:
Arnold Schwarzeneggar of PED-Co

Days 81-90: Monterrey and Henderson continue to go neck-and-neck in the Central!

Monterrey and Henderson are dead-locked in first place.  Backwoods extends their lead to 1.5 games over Jimmy, with a 7-3 record lately.  Getting Jimmy With It also went 7-3, and are sneaking towards the top.  PED-Co remains 7.5 games over Dublin in the West.



Mo might have added some weight in his
later career, but it didn't affect his standout
defense, as proven by the picture above

Mmm, Mo wants Mo'!

Player of the block?  It is Midland's Mo Vaughn!  The menacing slugger went 21 for 39, a .538 average with 4 HRs and 17 RBIs.  Other contenders include Bastard Tom Gordon, who recorded four saves in five shutout innings, and B.J. Surhoff who hit .372 with 7 HRs.

Day 81  Backwoods continues to win, getting 2 Dean Palmer HR's today.  Chipper Jones 2-run homer lifted Brooklyn over PED-Co, B.J. Surhoff hit 2 homers for Jimmy.  Game of the day features Rocco defeating Henderson on a walk-off wild pitch from Henderson's Gregg Olson

Day 82  Fort Wayne blew a 3-1 lead in the 9th when the Fremonts pieced together a rally featuring a Ken Griffey home run, hit by pitch, double, and finally (mercifully?) a Cal Ripken single.  Verona Ridge tops Dublin 5-4, Mo Vaughn's 3 hits help the Goombies beat Jimmy, and Backwoods wins their 5th straight game.  The Juicers put up 5 runs in the second and seventh innings to win 11-10 over the Buttheads.

Day 83  Backwoods wins again, six in a row!  Both Juan Gonzalez and Fernando Vina knocked in three runs.  Pedro Martinez wins again for Midland, striking out 10 and moving to 11-4 on the season.  Steve Woodard (Avenue) went the distance for Dublin, and the Rickeys were able to beat Greg Maddux and the Replicas (great name for a band, man).

Day 84  Aztecs break the Backwoods winning streak, but Las Vegas is on a streak of their own.  They beat Fort Wayne again and take back first place from the Bastards.  Johnny Damon racked up three hits for Dublin, and Jimmy's Brian Anderson outdueled Midland's Mike Mussina.

Day 85  Only two players had hit three HR's in a single game so far this season, but today two more joined them as Verona's Henry Rodriguez and (of course!) Shawn Green of Las Vegas each went yard three times!!! Several others had strong performances - Monterrey's Jeff Cirillo had 4 hits and 6 RBIs, and PED-Co's Sammy Sosa went 4 for 5 and hit his 31st home run.    Fort Wayne edged Verona Ridge 7-6 in 12 innings, on a Robin Ventura walk-off sacrifice fly.  Greg Swindell won his 4th for Midland, and the Bastards got a combined shutout from Mark Gardner and Tom "Flash" Gordon. 

Day 86  Buttheads explode for 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th, highlighted by a Carlos Delgado walk-off grand slam!  Fort Wayne got 4 runs in the top of the 9th to top Verona Ridge, Juicers beat Dublin as Chan Ho Park improves his record to 11-1.  Aztecs eke past Henderson 4-3 to tie again for first place.  Jimmy gets 3 hits and 3 RBIs from B.J. Surhoff. 

Day 87  Tim Salmon belts 2 HRs and racks up 4 RBIs for Fort Wayne, Goombies beat the Buttheads in a slugfest featuring a combined 17 runs, 27 hits, and 7 HRs! Vlad Guerrero hits a 2-run homer to push PED-Co over Dublin.  Chuck Knoblauch gets 4 hits for JImmy, Juan Gone's three-run homer lifted Backwoods over Rocco, and Monterrey topped Henderson to take sole possession of first place in the Central. 

Day 88  Fort Wayne wins their 4th in a row, Dublin's Jeff  Bagwell knocks two out of the park, and Nomar gives the Bastards a homer and four ribbies.  Jimmy wins on a B.J. Surhoff walk-off homer, Juicers get 2 HRs from Sammy Sosa and edge Vegas 7-6.  Rocco beats Verona 8-7 when Albert Belle lofts a 2 run homer in the bottom of the 9th!

Day 89  Another day, another walk-off from Rocco's Albert Belle! Dublin gets three hits apiece from Will "The Thrill" Clark and Johnny Damon.  Todd Helton and red-hot B.J. Surhoff combine for seven RBI's for the Juicers, Chipper Jones HR is the difference for Brooklyn, Kerry Wood is lit up for three homers by Las Vegas.  Fort Wayne wins #5 in a row!

Day 90   Todd Helton with a walk-off HR for Jimmy, Goombies get 2 taters from Mo Vaughn and another outstanding performance from Greg Swindell.  Barry Bonds belts two HRs for the Bastards, and Juan Gonzalez and Nomar Garciaparra added one each.  The Rickeys stopped Fort Wayne's reign of terror, 10-9.  Curt Schilling gets win #11 for the Juicers, and Verona Ridge ace Justin Thompson gets his 7th win of the year

Shane Andrews no longer getting Jimmy with it

Shane Andrews was cut by Jimmy and replaced by Bill Mueller

Days 71-80 - Those Bastards! Backwoods takes over first place!

There really hasn't been much movement in the standings for a while, but Backwoods now has finally knocked Las Vegas out of first place in the East.  Henderson continues to battle Monterrey in the Central, leading the Aztecs by just one game.  PED-Co's biologically-enhanced sluggers continue to widen their lead in the West, now up to a seven and a half game advantage over Dublin.

Shawn Green shows up in the 'Who's Hot' listings more often than Brad Pitt.  The Fremont star makes what I think is his fourth straight appearance in this listing, hitting .452 with 6 HRs and 17 RBIs, and putting together a 14 game hitting streak.  However, his contributions were not enough to knock the coveted Player of the Block award from PED-Co's Sammy Sosa.  Sammy got off to a slow start this season despite his team's overall fine play, but he blistered pitching for a .400 average and slugged 8 homers over the last 10 days (along with three more in the games played live in Fort Wayne).  Shawn Green may have slightly better numbers, but Sammy has better pictures and videos for me to use, so he gets the belt...

Nice work, PED-Co training staff!

You're going to have to pay for that, Sammy!

Day 71  Slammin' Sammy Sosa wakes up and belts two home runs as the Juicers drub the Dubs, Moises Alou collects 2 homers and 5 RBIs for Brooklyn, Mark Gardner tosses a complete game, allowing only 1 run despite giving up 10 hits, Verona Ridge's Neifi Perez goes 4 for 4!

 

Kerry Wood with a win for PED-Co!

Day 72  Greg Swindell moves to 3-0 for the Midland Goomies, and new reliever Stan Belinda (Carlisle) records his second save, so a couple of roster moves by Bill Vanaman look to be working out.  Jimmy beats Verona Ridge 10-9 as Chuck Knoblauch and B.J. (and the Bear) Surhoff each hit two-run HRs.  Edgardo Alfonzo gets two homers for PED-CO as they smash the Dubliners 12-0.  Kerry Wood and Trevor Hoffman combine for the shutout.  Monterrey gets a 2-Run walkoff homer from Jeromy "Spoke in class today" Burnitz.  Verona's Javy Lopez smacks 2 HRs. 

Day 73  Henderson starting pitcher and Nintendo character Yoshii holds the Goombies to 1 run,  Brooklyn gets 12 K's from Kevin Brown to top the Aztecs, Juicers Todd Stottlemyre limits the Dubliners to 1 run, Jose Lima goes to 7-4 for the year as Getting Jimmy With It sends the Las Vegas Fremonts to their 6th straight loss.  Greg Maddux ties Pedro Martinez with his 10th win of the season, and Fort Wayne edges Verona Ridge 4-3.  Tim Salmon with two home runs and Sterling "Heights" Hitchcock whiffs 10 batters and is now 5-1 on the season.

Day 74  Mike Mussina goes the distance in the Goombies win, Rocco's Replicas beat Fort Wayne when Ray Durham homered and hit a game-winning double in the 9th.  Brooklyn's Carlos Perez 4 throws a four-hit shutout, and Monterrey takes down Jimmy 6-3.  The Fremonts break their losing streak in a big way, with a 14-1 rout of Dublin.  Sammy Sosa hits two more taters and the Juicers barely hold on for a win against the Bastards.  PED-Co was up 6-0 in the top of the 9th but the Backwoods Bastards rallied for 5 runs and had the potential tying run on second when Barry Bonds strode to the plate.   Bonds lined out, however, to end the game. 

Day 75  Midland romps 11-4 over Verona Ridge, John Smoltz gets a CG and a win for Jimmy against Monterrey, Ken Caminiti has 2 HRs and 4 RBIs for the Rickeys, Vinny Castilla's 19th HR propels Dublin past Vegas,  and the Bastards beat the Juicers (only in this league can you get team names like that!) 6-4.  Fort Wayne's offense came alive in a 17-7 win over the Replicas.  Mike Piazza went nuts, going 3-4 with a homer, 4 runs, and 5 RBIs!  Mike Hampton struck out 12 for the Frosted Tips, while Rocco's Joey Hamilton drops to 1-11 for the season.

Day 76  Verona drops Midland 4-2, the Replicas exact revenge on the Frosted Tips 5-3, the Buttheads beat the Rickeys 4-3 as Paul Shuey pitches 4 innings of shutout ball with just 1 hit and 6 K's.  Kenny Rogers blanks Dublin as the Fremonts win 13-0, Tony Gwynn had a HR and 5 RBIs.  Roger Clemens and Robb Nen combine to blank the Aztecs, only allowing 2 hits.   Sammy Sosa continued his hot pace with 2 more homers and 4 RBIs.

Day 77  Brooklyn thumps Henderson 15-3.  Jeff Kent had 5 RBIs and a home run.  Mo Vaughn hit three homers in a losing effort for Midland.  PED-Co clouted 5 homers in a 5-1 win over Backwoods.  Dublin's Greg Vaughn hit #22 and #23 for the year in a win over Las Vegas.  Fort Wayne ekes out a win over Rocco in the 10th inning when Robin Ventura reached base on an error, pitch runner Orlando Cabrera stole second, then Mickey Morandini singled him home!

Day 78  Henderson's outlast the Aztecs 5-4 in a 15 inning affair.  Sterling "Alfred" Hitchcock uncorks a two-hit shutout of Dublin, and the Frosted Tips collect 17 hits and 9 runs.  Vladimir Guerrero's two run homer was the difference in a game with Verona, Goombie's Tom Candiotti gets the win against Brooklyn, and Tony Womack has 2 doubles and 2 RBIs.  And, finally, another big day from Vegas slugger Shawn Green - 2 HR's, 3 RBIs. 

Day 79  Bastards crawl to within a half-game of the Fremonts when they beat Jimmy 7-6.  Jose Canseco's two run HR in the 9th was the difference in that contest.  The Fremonts dropped a game to Rocco's, who racked up 10 runs and 16 hits.  Mike Mussina goes all nine in a win for Midland.  Kerry Wood K's 11 and gets the win for PED-Co, Monterrey's Jeromy Burnitz gets 4 RBIs, and Dublin beats Randy Johnson and his band of frosted tipped teammates, 6-3. 

Day 80   Backwoods Bastards take over first place in the East!  Rafael Palmeiro hit two homers and Scott Brosius' 9th inning dinger won it for those Bastards.    Rocco dropped the Fremonts 7-4, Edgar Martinez leading the way with 2 HR's, including a grand slam.  Fort Wayne scored 3 in the bottom of the 8th to get by Dublin, and Chan Ho Park moved to 9-1 for the Juicers. 


Michael Walter visited PJ in Fort Wayne this weekend, and the two played seven games head to head!  Michael and his PED-CO Juicers won 4 of the 7, and surprisingly in such a close series, every game was a blowout.  One of the players photos caught their eye, it was two-sport star Brian Jordan, whose card I include below.....

Sports: Baseball & Football
Career Years: Football (1989-1991) Baseball (1992-2006)

Though Brian Jordan only spent three full seasons in the NFL, he earned a rare distinction being named to an All-Star team in two professional sports. He earned a Pro-Bowl selection as an alternate in 1992 for his play as a safety with the Atlanta Falcons and was voted to the 1999 National League All-Star game while playing as an outfielder on the Braves

Days 61-70: Greg Maddux up, Cal Ripken down

Bill Marx's Monterrey Aztecs have the best run here, going 7-3 lately and are now locked atop the Central Division with the Henderson Rickeys.  Backwoods Bastards and Las Vegas both brought up the rear, with 3-7 records lately.  Just noticed the Bastards are 3-15 in one-run games, so I will refer to them as the 'hardluck' Bastards as often as I can!  Getting Jimmy With It is 0-6 in extra inning games so they too can get the 'hardluck' treatment.

For those following the HR chase (and I have been posting the Top 10 on the right side of this site after every ten-day set), you will need to be aware that seven games between the Fort Wayne Frosted Tips and the PED-Co Juicers were put on hold so that the two cousins can play them 'live' this weekend.  Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa are 7 games behind everyone else right now, so you can expect their totals to go up once those games are played and the teams catch up to the schedule.  By the way, Mr. Sosa, this is your wake-up call - your presence in the Great Home Run Chase of '98 is welcome, please join us soon!



Greg Maddux got no time for no haters!
 

Like always, there were great performances this set.  Shawn Green continued to bash the ball (.364, 4 HRs), Vinny Castilla heated up (.300 with 3 HRs and 11 RBIs), Tom Gordon starred in relief (2 saves, 1 win, and 6 shutout innings), Todd Walker is riding a 16 game hitting streak, but we will give Rocco's Greg Maddux the belt as Player Of This Block.  Maddux went 2-0, tossing 17 innings and only allowing 3 runs and 12 hits while striking out 15.  The control specialist also only walked 1 batter!

Vegas' Cal Ripken has had a bad stretch lately (4 for 35, .114)
 and appears to hit rock bottom here



 

Day 61  Goombies get a great debut from Greg Swindell and down the Rickeys, Mike Bordick gives Rocco a pair of doubles, The Big Hurt Frank Thomas slugs Verona to victory, and the Bastards clobber Jimmy 15-6.  Juan Gonzalez had a single, double, and home run, with 3 runs and 4 RBIs

Day 62  Bill Vanaman is a pitching genius as his other new starter, Tom Candiotti, shuts down the Rickeys, Greg Maddux holds the Fremonts to 1 run and 7 hits, Andy Ashby goes the distance for Monterrey, and the Bastards outlast Jimmy 3-2 in 13 innings.  Backwoods new acquisition Jose Canseco singled in the bottom of the 13th and stole third after a Brad Ausmus walk, finally coming home with the victory for his new mates after Fernando Vina ripped a single. 

Day 63  Vinny Castilla racked up 4 hits and 4 RBIs for the Dubliners, Bastards got homers from Juan Gone and Nom-ah to get past LV, and Jimmy Got With It to beat the Replicas 5-4

Day 64  Level-headed, sane John Rocker throw two shutout innings for Monterrey to earn his first win of the year, Greg Vaughn hits 2 dingers for Dublin, Vegas gets revenge on the Bastards 8-3, and John Smoltz threw a 5 hit shutout against Rocco to give Jimmy a 1-0 victory (a rare score indeed in this era!)

Day 65  David Justice impresses young Halle Berry with 2 mammoth home runs in a 12-10 slugfest that gave the cerebral John Rocker his second win, Mark McGwire goes deep for FW in their win over Dublin, Shawn Green has 4 RBIs as Brett Tomko and Jason Christianson blank the Bastards.  Always good to celebrate Lima Time as the colorful hurler struck out 13 as Getting Jimmy walloped Rocco 17-3.   21 hits for Jimmy, including 4 for 9-hole hitter Darren Lewis!

Day 66  J.D. Drew goes yard twice to give the Brooklyn Buttheads a much-needed win, Pete Harnisch tosses a three-htter for Henderson, Shannon Stewart knocks in four for Dublin,

Day 67  Goombies survive a Butthead comeback, Roger Clemens throws a three-hitter, Ken Griffey gets 4 hits for Vegas, and little used SS Craig Wilson from Monterrey goes wild, with 5 hits in 5 at bats, 3 runs, 2 HRs, and 5 RBIs!!!

Day 68  Brooklyn hurler Kevin Brown K's 13, Kelly Stinnett's 4 hits lead the Bastards to a win, Greg Maddux moves to 9-2, and Verona Ridge explodes for 4 runs in the 9th to defeat Monterrey 8-5!  The Roadrunners weren't the only club to stage an exciting comeback, the Backwoods Bastards were trailing Jimmy 7-6 with just one out left, when Jason Giambi homered, Cliff Floyd singled, stole second, and came home on a Kelly Stinnett hit!  

Day 69  Aztecs' Tom Glavine K'd 11 Roadrunners, Barry Bonds had three hits for Backwoods, and Midland tops Brooklyn 7-3.

Day 70  Monterrey's Andy Ashby went to 7-3 for the year, Albert Belle leads Rocco's offense in the 11-5 win over the Fremonts, and it was drama in the middle of Michigan as the Midland Goombies win in 10 innings, as Damon Buford lined a walk-off double scoring Dean Palmer!

More transactions!

Mike Myers back in the league.....SCCCHWWWINGGG!

Midland Goombies drop  Dwight Gooden, Andy Pettitte, Jeff Tabaka, and Billy Taylor.  They pick up, in Bill's words,  Stan "Not The Man" Belinda and Mike "Party Time Excellent" Myers, as well as starters Greg Swindell and Tom Candiotti.

The (Un)Natural!  Jose is back in the
league and ready to unleash those
pythons on the rest of the teams!

The Backwoods Bastards announce the signing of free agent Jose Canseco and drop Ramon Martinez.   Canseco continues to make news even today with a series of strange and amazing events....

http://fansided.com/2015/02/22/jose-canseco-painted-turtle-like-iron-man/


On a side note, all team now have 'real 'names.  Andy has chosen to call his team 'Rocco's Replicas' in honor of his brother due to his team being full of former Michigan Mammoths, well known for their big bats and lead gloves.  Rocco/Bob Willnus never met a 4e8 home run hitter he didn't love!

I've also chosen to use my Bud Selig powers to give both John and Bill Marx team names, both names they have used in other league.  If you guys, want something else, please let me know but for now, the Monterrey Aztecs are Bill's team, and the Dublin Dubliners are John's team.

St Patty's Day is coming, and so are the Dubliners!



Frosted Tips hit the Free Agents, looking for trades

The Fort Wayne Frosted Tips must begin making moves for the upcoming playoff chase and have decided to let Andy Benes and Jason Schmidt go. Taking their place will be Kevin Millwood and Woody Williams.

Hopefully Fort Wayne will never have to see Benes dance on the mound again with his awful 6.15 ERA through 13 starts.

If anyone is looking to make a deal, I'd be more than willing to talk. Almost everyone is available (yes that includes Piazza and Randy Johnson) so if you're looking for one more big piece to your team, comment below!

Days 51-60- Bill Marx and Getting Jimmy make their moves!

This was an outstanding block for Bill Marx's ballclub as they won 9 in a row before dropping the last game of this set.  Getting Jimmy With It went 7-3, narrowing the distance between them and the Las Vegas Fremonts.  The once-all-powerful Henderson Rickeys have lost the last six in a row.  Damn Law of Averages!

Shawn Green's sweet swing lifts the Fremonts again!

We hereby anoint Shawn Green of Las Vegas as the Player Of This Block.  Green hit .371 with 6 HRs and 16 RBIs.  Green had several very strong seasons for the Dodgers, but not many know that he holds the all-time record for most total bases in a single game!  He once went 6 for 6 in one game, with 4 HRs, a double, and a single!  He also drove in seven runs that day.  The good folks at that bastion of journalistic integrity Bleacher Report, dubbed it the fourth greatest single game stat line of all time! Read more here...

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1221020-fantasy-baseballs-12-greatest-single-game-statlines-ever/page/11

Others had strong stats as well.  Tony Gwynn is doing his best to make Chuck the General Manager of the Year (every year!) by hitting .478 with 11 hits in 23 at bats, and surprisingly belting three home runs after his recent pickup.  Manny Ramirez had a nice set of games, with a .382 average and 5 homers.  Some of the 'not so hot' players?  John Wisely would nominate Johnny Damon, whose lowly average of .105 was not quite what was expected.  Andy's Dustin Hermanson was shellacked, giving up 14 hits, 5 HRs, and 12 earned runs in just six innings.

 

Day 51  Todd Helton has 4 hits for Jimmy, Travis Fryman's HR gets Verona past Fort Wayne, and PED-Co's Sammy Sosa had 4 hits, 5 RBIs, and 1 HR!   Backwoods wins on a 9th inning run scored off of a passed ball.

Day 52  Matt Stairs clobbers the ball, with 2 HRs and 5 RBIs for PED-Co, Verona sends Fort Wayne to their 7th consecutive loss, and Bartolo Colon moves to 7-0 for Henderson despite a hefty ERA of 4.30. 

Day 53  Getting Jimmy wins their sixth in a row, Matt Stairs connects again for a homer, Andy Ashby goes the distance for Bill, and Mark McGwire  has a double and a grand slam for Fort Wayne.

Day 54  Fort Wayne gets back on track thanks to a dominant pitching performance by Jason Schmidt.  "Juan Gone" Gonzalez hits 2 HRs for Backwoods, and Bill Marx gets a walk-off hit from Jeff Cirillo.  Game of the day however, was Andy's 14-11 win over Las Vegas.  They tied the season record for most combined hits with 36 (19 for Andy, 17 for Vegas).  Albert Belle clouted two dingers in that game.

Day 55  Roberto Alomar hits a walk-off homer for the Fremonts.  Pedro Martinez tossed a tidy three-hitter at the Rickeys and gave the Goombies a much-needed win.  Barry Bonds (Backwoods), Shawn Green (Vegas) and Tony Clark (Bill Marx) each had two home runs. 

Day 56  Andy's Gabe White only allows 2 hits and Mike Bordick had two hits, Jose Lima only gives up 1 run and 4 hits for the Jimmys, Juicer's Walt Weiss knocks in both runs in a 2-1 win over Verona, and Jeff Cirillo has his second walk-off hit in three days for Bill Marx. 

Day 57  Brooklyn finally gets a win when Bob "Apparently I was Not Known as Bobby This Year" Abreu hit a HR and scored three runs. Greg Vaughn and Will Clark homered for John Wisely, and the greatly named Turk Wendell secured his second save of the year.  Todd Walker's three hits helped PED-Co edge Verona 8-7. 

Day 58  Bill Marx won his 11th straight game, 4-3 over the Midland Goombies.  David Wells and the Backwoods Bastards blank Andy, Verona returns the favor and edges PED-Co 3-2, and Las Vegas sets a new record for most runs in a game by destroying Getting Jimmy 20-1.

Day 59  Vegas gets a three-hit effort from Ismael Valdes, and 2 hits and 3 RBIs from Roberto Alomar, Backwoods Bastards beat brother Andy 4-3, and Chan Ho Park went to 7-1 as the Juicers had their third consecutive one-run game with Verona Ridge.  Game of the day was Henderson Rickeys and John Wisely.  Henderson notched 2 in the top of the 10th inning, but Matt Lawton's three-run homer in the bottom of that inning gave John the win!

Day 60  The Brooklyn Buttheads are the surprising choice to end Bill Marx's reign of terror, final score was 6-5 Brooklyn.  Dean Palmer cracked two homers for the Goombies, and Brian McRae did the same for the Roadrunners.  Paul Byrd (CAW! CAW!) three-hitted the Bastards for Getting Jimmy with It!