The Champions losing streak reached ten games after losing the 1st game in Kentucky. Keith’s Kentucky Kernels had to wait in their kar for the Armageddon rain to stop. Smitty stayed ahead of the storm all the way from St. Charles, but an accident by Kimball enabled the storm to catchup. The nimble skipper had to dodge raindrops & had to leap over the raging waters which were quickly approaching the curb top.
It was a very hard fought series with Kentucky taking the first game 4-3 in ten. Game #1: Alfonso Soriano scored from third on a passed ball with two outs in the bottom of the tenth. Game #2: Three Champ longballs, 2 by Swish & 1 by V-Mart, 3-2 Chicago. Game #3: Andre Ethier crushes a Papa Grande fastball for a walkoff and another 10 inning Kentucky winner winner chicken dinner. Game #4: Champs busted out the whopping sticks, scoring 12, 5 homers (including one by Buehrle, gotta love the pitcher’s hitting card), Mark also held the Kernels scoreless till allowing a 4 spot in the 9th. Game #5: Three Kentucky first inning runs proved to be the difference in a 5-2 win as Joel Pineiro allowed 2 meaningless 9th inning runs.
Then it was time to bring it on home to Crackerjack Park. Game #6: In a marquee pitching matchup Jered Weaver outdueled Tim Lincecum in the 6th game, 2-1, and Kentucky had a two game lead with three games to play. It was time to suck it up, regroup, and grind out some wins. The Champs took a win at all costs mindset to the ballpark. Game #7: Brett Myers controlled the game for 7 innings, allowing two runs on a 4th inning Soriano big fly, the Champions scored five runs without the benefit of a home run, and won 5-2 (2 RBI’s from Fowler, 2 more from Escobar, & one from pinch-hitter Francoeur).
Game #8: This was a defining game. Chicago was dead through seven innings, trailing 3-0. Then Victor nailed a 2 run 8th inning tater off Mike Leake. Carlos Lee lined a leadoff single to open the 9th, on came Andrew Bailey, with one out Gordon Beckham doubled, sending El Caballo to third base. Head scratching time, why was Grady Sizemore not brought in to run for Lee with the tying run? Now Sizemore was called on to run, would it be too little too late? It was time for the team to pickup their manager and Alicides Escobar came through with a sac fly. In the 10th, Buckeye Nick Swisher hit a second column walkoff to knot the series at four. There was a point in this game (bottom of the 5th) when the plug was almost pulled on Matt Cain, in favor of long reliever mopup man, Josh Beckett.
In the series finale Chicago was leading 3-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh, before busting the game wide open off Ryan Madson (a double by Swish, an RBI single by A-Rod, a single by Lee, and a three run bomb by Bombon Olivo, how big was that!?! Pinch-hitter Ian Stewart tacked on another three run big fly, the Champs were signaled for piling on, and cruised behind rookie lefthander Madison Bumgarner to a 10-2 win, and a series 5-4 win, whew, that was easy!!!
I’m writing this on APBA Day, 6/6/11, Happy APBA Day to you all! Three times a year the Illowa APBA League gets together, as a whole, twice in Naperville & once in Champaign. This is when the Chicago teams play the out of Chicago teams.
I needed to get back home because I had a graduation party to attend on Sunday. So I decided to take Amtrak to Champaign & arrive 10:30 AM. My Amtrak hit a Metra as it was pulling out of Union Station, so on to Plan B. Ended up getting a ride with Rob and we arrived at John’s house at 2:30 PM.
Things were going well for the Chicago Champions as we won 13 of our first 21 games. Our record was 13 games over .500, 41-28. That’s when the roof collapsed, not literally, but you never know, that might’ve been less painful.
We dropped the next nine straight games, to finish up the weekend with a 13-17 record, 41-37 record on the year. We were outscored 59-17 and were out homered 18-5. It’s definitely time to regroup. This was a reality check and a gut check.
After dropping the last three games versus Molly Putts, things really went south for the Champs when Tim Lincecum stepped to the plate with the bases loaded, nobody out, in the 2nd inning of a 1-1 tie. I rolled a 55-23 on a squeeze, missed the bunt, two runners tagged out in rundowns, runner on first holds. We went on to lose that game 9-2, along with the next five games, for a 6-0 Upperdeckers series sweep.
Decided to fly to Pittsburgh to take on Todd Ventresca’s Gamblers. Because Todd couldn’t make it to Chicago for the IAL Playoff & Draft weekend in March, it seemed like the thing to do. On Friday after Todd picked me up from the airport & I checked into the motel, we headed over to Damon’s for dinner, and to watch hockey at the bar. On Saturday Todd umpired a doubleheader then headed over to play shum APBA.
Game #1 featured Champs ace(?) Tim Lincecum matched up against C.C. Sabathia for Three Rivers. Maggs Orodonez hit a one out first inning solo shot to give the Gamblers an early lead. Matt Wieters for them & Gordon Beckham for us, traded late game 2-run blasts. C.C. went the distance for the complete game win over The Freak, whose record stands at 0-6.
Chicago scored seven runs, without the benefit of a longball off reliever Nate Robertson (Is that you Nate? That’s the punchline to a joke, but what’s the joke?) in the 10th inning of a 2-2 game to make a winner out of last year’s Cy Young Award winner Matt Cain.
Brett Myers left game #3 trailing 3-1 after six innings to John Lannon (my favorite Beetle). Each team added five spots over the last three innings and the Gamblers had the series lead 2-1 at home.
On the bump for the Champs in the fourth game was Mark Buehrle, who threw a 2-hit shutout. Gamblers rookie Jhoulys Chacin was the tough luck loser. El Caballo squeezed home the game winner in the 7th, 1-0 Good Guys. Tied at two games apiece.
A funny thing happened in the 7th inning of game five. With the Champs leading eight to zip, rookie lefthander Madison Bumgarner was due to hit in the top of the 7th. Manager Mallasch looked down his bench, looking for a pnch-hitter, one was announced, however Manager Ventresca was good enough to let the clueless Champs skipper know his pitcher had a no-hitter going. Todd let me call back my pinch-hitter. Of course Bumgarner gave up a base-knock before retiring another batter and was lifted to get pen workhorse Josh Beckett some work. Beckett only lasted 2/3 of an inning before giving way to closer Sergio Romo. Romo pitched the rest of the way and Chicago managed to hang on to an 8-6 victory.
Game #6: A rematch of Sabathia vs Lincecum ended in the bottom of the 12th when Carlos Lee nailed a three-run bomb off Gamblers lefty Andrew Laffey, for a walk-off dinger. Big Boy Jose Mijares picked up the win.
Gamblers batters staked Brian Matusz to a first inning four to nothing lead in the 7th game, tacked on a couple more runs, and Brian went the distance shutting out the Champs 6-0. Prince Fielder launched two solo drives, Adrian Beltre added one of his own, and Shane Victorino clubbed a 2-run shot to pace the attack.
Howie Kendrick broke a 1-1 tie with a 6th inning granny off Brett Myers, Chacin was masterful, and the Gamblers evened up the series at four, with a 6-1 win.
Frenchy Francoeur broke game #9 wide open with a three-run 6th inning longball, putting the Champs up 7-2. Mark Buehrle went the distance for the victory and series win.
On Sunday we went to PNC to see the Buccos play host to the Colorado Rockies. Todd rooted for the Pirates, despite the fact that one of his APBA hurlers, Jhoulys Chacin started for the Rox. Pittsburgh lost a close one to Colorado. The weather was perfect, 80 degrees in April, can’t beat that!
Todd drove me back to the airport after the game. Special thanks go out to Todd for everything, it was a great weekend, and I highly recommend a trip to the Burgh, lotsa funn!!!
Left Orlando on a big jet airliner at 8:00 AM, flying SWA to Midway, arrived at the Naperville Best Western after a couple of stops at 1:00 PM. Unpacked my APBA stuff & unwound, laid back & relaxed, and waited for my playoff foe to arrive. After driving up from Champaign John Brandeberry unpacked his team bus, the playoff series between the Rising Bamm Beano’s & the Chicago Champions was ready to roll.
The series was a rematch of last year’s World Series, in which the Champions swept to capture their 11th title. Even though the Champions won 102 games and the Bamm Beano’s got in the last day of the season & the Champs owned Brando, John’s team was built for the playoffs. With Adam Wainwright & Jair Jurrjens in the rotation and Mariano Rivera & Jonathan Papelbon in the bullpen, anything could happen in a five game series.
It looked like the Champions were on their way after winning game #1 behind Tim Lincecum, only two more wins to go, and then it would be on to the World Series, where either Chuck Lucas’s Northside Hitmen or Keith Smith’s Kentucky Kernels awaited my arrival. But then, John got off the mat to take games #2 & #3. Russell Martin hit three homers in the first three games. Game #4, with the Champs back to the wall, Jose Valverde emerged as a monster out of the pen, going four innings for the victory, to knot the series at two.
It would all come down to one game, mano y mano, Wainwright vs Lincecum, for all the marbles, the whole ball of wax. Juan Uribe launched two three run bombs in the series, both after lengthy delays, after momentum changing timeouts. Both times Brando collected himself, called upon a higher power, maybe he was selling his soul for a quality roll of the bones, whatever it was, it worked. Bamm, it was over & Uribe was series MVP! My season was over, “Nice season Tedd”, provided little consolation.
Meanwhile the Kentucky Kernels were showing no mercy in sweeping the Northside Hitmen in three straight. Before long, Keith Smith was being fitted for his crown, after making quick work of the Bamm Beano’s. Alfonso Soriano was World Series MVP. CONGRATS KEITH SMITH!!!
The next morning it was time to draft, very strange that no trades were consummated over the weekend. Before the draft, I was thinking I’d have to make a tough choice of whether to take Jhoulys Chacin, Neftali Feliz, or Mike Stanton. Only Chacin was still there when it was my turn to pick, but Madison Bumgarner was still on the board, so it was a no brainer. Bumgarner would join fellow Giants hurlers Tim Lincecum & Matt Cain in the Champions rotation. Then we had to wait until the last pick of the extra round before taking Chris Sale over Kenley Jansen.
I was like a deer in the headlights with my new Champs squad, nothing looked right, how would this team fit together? While we were figuring it out, Marcus Bunch had his Upperdeckers rolling, taking five of six. Next it was time for some revenge against the now rebuilding Bamm Beano’s, the Champs record was above .500 after a 6-0 sweep.
Next up was Papa Bunch & retooled Green Rock Bombers. After Mike couldn’t roll any friggin dice & David Price was reduced in both of his starts, it was time for Price to fly, literally! Price was crumpled into a ball, told he wouldn’t start another game this year, and discarded onto the table. The Bombers dog house was growing as the series went on, thought the ASPCA would be called in to investigate. 4-2 Champs! The Thunderchickens bested the Champs in a late night series 4-2.
The weekend finale took place Sunday morning against the ever dangerous Molly Putts Marauders. The Marauders jumped out, taking the first two games, before the Champs woke up in time to win the last four contests. 17-13 on the weekend, after a 1-5 start, I’ll take it.
Next up, the Three Rivers Gamblers. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to check on flight schedules to Pittsburgh.
MOLLY PUTTS MARAUDERS send SS EVERTH CABRERA to the RISING BAMM BEANO’S in exchange for SS RAFAEL FURCAL. Don’t really like either player. Cabrera is younger and is likely to get older. While Furcal is older and might retire sooner. MARAUDERS 5, BAMM BEANO’S 5 – EVEN
MOLLY PUTTS MARAUDERS send 2B JEFF KEPPINGER to the GREEN ROCK BOMBERS in exchange for P CARLOS ZAMBRANO. Keppinger is a utility infielder. But this year he is a fulltime secondbaseman, the Bombers needed one of those, thus the trade. Gonna miss Papa Bunch’s swearing @ BIG Z, when Carlos walks the bases loaded. Zambrano has the talent to be a front-end starter. MARAUDERS 7, BOMBERS 3 – ADVANTAGE MOLLY PUTTS
CHICAGO HIGHLANDERS send 2B HOWIE KENDRICK & #3DC (P BRIAN MATUSZ) to the THREE RIVERS GAMBLERS in exchange for P* BRIAN SANCHES & P* CRAIG BRESLOW. Look at what Molly Putts got for a regular secondbaseman and then look at what the Highlanders got for a regular secondbaseman, and Kendrick is better than Keppinger, this one is a real head scratcher! A couple of journeyman relief pitchers for a starting secondbaseman and a starting pitcher. HIGHLANDERS 2, GAMBLERS 8 – ADVANTAGE GAMBLERS
TWIN CITIES THUNDERCHICKENS send IF JULIO LUGO & P* JOSE MIJARES to the CHICAGO CHAMPIONS in exchange for IF FELIPE LOPEZ & P* HIDEKI OKAJIMA. Julio Lugo is a better fielder than Felipe Lopez, Lopez is the better hitter of the two & he gives the T*Chix more coverage at 3B. Okajima is closer to becoming a draft pick, while Mijares, although limited, is the better pitcher. THUNDERCHICKENS 4, CHAMPIONS 6 – SLIGHT ADVANTAGE CHAMPS
GREEN ROCK BOMBERS send IF RONNIE BELLIARD to the KENTUCKY KERNELS in exchange for P DAVE BUSH. Both are bums! This is strictly a coverage trade. BOMBERS 5, KERNELS 5 – EVEN
MOLLY PUTTS MARAUDERS send SS JOSE REYES to the RISING BAMM BEANO’S in exchange for P ADAM WAINWRIGHT. This trade was made after Wainwright hurt his elbow & would miss the upcoming season with Tommy John surgery. It was also known Reyes was an alcoholic & would be an underperforming shortstop. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Reyes when he first came up, but that was long before the luster wore off. Three things I don’t understand about trading Wainwright. 1) He’ll still be a good starting pitcher when returns in a year. 2) Why not shop him around for the best offer (there are six teams competing for four playoff slots), rather than settling? 3) Why not just draft SS Starlin Castro & keeping Wainwright than trading for SS Reyes & drafting P Jaime Garcia? MARAUDERS 8, BAMM BEANO’S 2 – ADVANTAGE MARAUDERS
COLONA UPPERDECKERS send C JOHN BUCK & P* RAFAEL PEREZ to the TWIN CITIES THUNDERCHICKENS in exchange for 3B CASEY McGEHEE & OF MIKE CAMERON. McGehee was stuck behind Ryan Zimmerman with the T*Chix, while Buck was behind Mauer with the Upperdeckers. This trade was on the table for a long time, I give both teams credit for doing what was necessary to get this deal done. Perez was cannon fodder, while Cameron was dropped. This trade helps both teams. UPPERDECKERS 5, THUNDERCHICKENS 5 – EVEN
CHICAGO CHAMPIONS send P* RYAN PERRY to the COLONA UPPERDECKERS in exchange for OF DEXTER FOWLER. Recently the Champions have traded outfielders Shane Victorino, Matt Kemp, B.J. Upton, & Delmon Young, so they needed some outfield help. Fowler also gives the Champs much needed speed. Perry throws 100 MPH, so he’ll fit nicely into Colona’s pen. This trade helps both teams. CHAMPIONS 5, UPPERDECKERS 5 – EVEN
COLONA UPPERDECKERS send 3B EDWIN ENCARNACION to the NORTHSIDE HITMEN in exchange for P* MATT LINDSTROM. Lindstrom will replace Perez in the pen for Colona, while Encarnacion provides a nice bat off the bench for the Hitmen. UPPERDECKERS 5, HITMEN 5 – EVEN
DROPS
OF JACOBY ELLSBURY – TWIN CITIES THUNDERCHICKENS: Jacoby stole over 100 bases in two years, scoring over 100 runs & batting over .300 last year, besides that he’s a gold glover. Some things are a mystery, why wouldn’t you protect this guy?
OF CHRIS COGHLAN – MOLLY PUTTS MARAUDERS: Coghlan batted .311 as a rookie & he’s out of Tarpon Springs, FL. If you don’t want him, why not shop him around?
P BRANDON WEBB – GREEN ROCK BOMBERS: The Bombers protected Webb last year, after trading World Series MVP, Alfonso Soriano to get him, now he’s getting ready to pitch, why not protect him? Ryan endured his former skipper throwing his card around, he managed a 3.60 ERA over six years, averaging 33 starts & 200+ innings per season, with a disappointing record of 64-78.
1) GREEN ROCK BOMBERS: BUSTER POSEY – C/1B: Buster Posey can do it all! He hits for power, average, and is a great defensive catcher. 2) MOLLY PUTTS MARAUDERS: JAYSON HEYWARD OF: Heyward is a big, strong, line drive hitter, whose line drives, often times leave the yard. Jason is an excellent rightfielder. He is a five-tool player, who can run & will take a walk. Jason Heyward reminds me of Harold Baines. 3) THREE RIVERS GAMBLERS: MIKE STANTON OF: If you lookup POWER in the dictionary, you’ll find a picture of Mike Stanton. When he hits it, it leaves the park, any park, including Yellowstone. 4) TWIN CITIES THUNDERCHICKENS: STEPHEN STRASBURG P: No offense to the first three players taken, but if Strasburg wasn’t going to miss his sophomore season with Tommy John surgery, he would have been the first player taken. Pitchers like Stephen don’t come along everyday. This pitcher is totally dominant! He has an overpowering fastball, to go along with a nasty breaking ball. 5) COLONA UPPERDECKERS: NEIL WALKER 2B: This was a needs pick. The Upperdeckers needed a secondbaseman and Walker was the only fulltime keystoner in the draft. Walker is a line drive hitter. 6) CHICAGO HIGHLANDERS: CARLOS SANTANA C: Carlos Santana came up late and then missed time due to injury, but that couldn’t hide this gem. Santana doesn’t play a mean guitar, but he does just about everything else. Carlos is solid behind the plate. He hits for power & average from both sides of the plate. He also has an excellent eye and is willing to take a base on balls. 7) RISING BAMM BEANO’S: JAIME GARCIA P: This is the first head-scratcher of the draft. Jaime missed almost all of 2009 with Tommy John surgery. In 2010 Garcia pitched more innings, 163, than any other year of his career. This soft-tossing lefthander, 88-92 MPH, has a put away curveball. If healthy, he projects as a number three starter. 8) KENTUCKY KERNELS: STARLIN CASTRO SS: Keith Smith likes Cubs and he got a good one! Starlin Castro has tremendous talent and will define shortstop, the way Derek Jeter defined it before him. Castro has great range and a big-time arm. Starlin is a line-drive hitter, who will develop power as he matures. 9) NORTHSIDE HITMEN: NEFTALI FELIZ P*: It wasn’t that long ago that the Hitmen drafted another reliever who was moving to the rotation. I’m not saying Feliz is the second coming of Pedro Martinez, anything can happen, but he has the talent & the makeup. 10) CHICAGO CHAMPIONS: MADISON BUMGARNER P: The Champions already have two Giants hurlers in their rotation, so why not make it three? Bumgarner is an ornery competitor in the mold of Kevin Brown. Madison has good control, a mid-90s fastball, to go along with a slider. This lefthander will be even better once he masters his slider and perfects his change. I was surprised he was still there, I had him going no later than #4. 11) GREEN ROCK BOMBERS: DANIEL HUDSON P: It was really tough for me to pass on this former White Sox righthander with the 10th pick in the draft. This would be a nice pick, even if Daniel Hudson is only an A starter this year and never does anything, but that’s not the case. Although Hudson pitches in a hitter friendly ballpark, he has a put away change & tremendous makeup. 12) THREE RIVERS GAMBLERS: JHOULYS CHACIN P: This is not your Dad’s Coors Field. Some managers still avoid drafting Colorado pitchers, but not to worry. Chacin is a sinkerballer, who gets batters to swing & miss. In 2008 in the minors he had 18 wins, Jhoulys reminds me of Orel Hershiser. This is the guy I thought I’d get at ten. 13) TWIN CITIES THUNDERCHICKENS: TYLER COLVIN OF: This was the first “card” taken of the draft and I can’t blame Tom for taking him, before the draft I was tempted myself. Colvin was drafted out of Clemson in the 1st round of the 2006 MLB draft by the Cubs. Tyler reinvented himself before his breakout rookie year after four unimpressive years in the minors. He hit the weights and the results speak for themselves, 4-5-5-1. He could be this year’s Joe Charboneau. 14) CHICAGO HIGHLANDERS: JUSTIN SMOAK 1B: It’s a wonder Manager Moore couldn’t work his magic to get something for this pick and to move down in the draft. Maybe the fact that Smoak is a power hitting switch hitter, in the mold of Mark Teixeira, was too much for Rob to pass up. There were three other very talented firstbaseman in the draft (Ike Davis, Brett Wallace, & Mitch Moreland). With Michael Young moving from the hot corner to super utility infielder, it wouldn’t have surprised me if the Highlanders would’ve chosen the explosive bat of Pedro Alvarez. That said, Justin should develop into the middle of the order type of hitters that causes pitchers to lose sleep at night. 15) RISING BAMM BEANO’S: PEDRO ALVAREZ 3B: El Toro! Pedro was the 1st player taken in the 2008 MLB draft. In 2009 Alvarez finished his minor league season with 27 homers, before hitting five more for the gold medal winning USA World Cup team. He is an intelligent player out of Vanderbilt University, with a blue-collar work ethic. He is willing to take a walk and has tremendous power to all fields. Ask me about his glove & I’ll tell you about his bat. If I was able to move Ian Stewart, this was the guy I wanted. He reminds me of Manny Ramirez, only Pedro bats lefthanded & plays thirdbase. 16) KENTUCKY KERNELS: IAN KENNEDY P: As a rookie, Kennedy started 32 games, pitching 194 innings, allowing fewer hits than punchouts (163-168). It seems as though this California righthander has been around forever, yet he’s only 26 years old. He has a mid-90s fastball and was named opening day starter for Arizona. Pitching in the desert he was tagged for 26 longballs. I like Brian Matusz better at this pick. 17) GREEN ROCK BOMBERS: JONNY VENTERS P*: In 2003 he was drafted in the 30th round, then he missed 2006 with Tommy John surgery, and then elbow tendonitis limited him to 34 innings in 2008. Jonny has a lifetime minor league ERA above 4.00 and has walked nearly one batter every other inning. When Venters moved to the pen, he became lights out, he’ll likely never repeat his rookie success. This season he’ll be a workhorse lefty in the pen for Green Rock. 18) THREE RIVERS GAMBLERS: TRAVIS WOOD P: A cutter has transformed this lefthander from suspect to prospect. Travis also improved his command. In 2008 he experienced shoulder problems, but has been healthy since then. I still like Brian Matusz better at this pick. 19) TWIN CITIES THUNDERCHICKENS: JOSE TABATA OF: Tabata has a fun sounding name. Besides that, Jose is a line-drive hitter, with plus speed, and an outstanding glove. This sparkplug will be a leadoff man for the T*Chix for years to come, but why not just keep Jacoby Ellsbury and just draft Brian Matusz here? 20) THREE RIVERS GAMBLERS: BRIAN MATUSZ P: By now you probably got the idea that I like this lefty. I actually rank Matusz right up there in this draft with Jhoulys Chacin. In 2008 Brian was drafted in the 1st round out of the University of San Diego. I saw him in his professional debut in the Arizona Fall League. He ended 2009 winning five games in the bigs, then finished strong as a rookie. The O’s improved D will do nothing, but help this future star. This kid can pitch! 21) RISING BAMM BEANO’S: CRAIG KIMBREL P*: A&B* is a great way to start off a major league career, yet it doesn’t fully illustrate how dominating this kid was as a rookie. Kimbrel allowed one earned run in 20” innings pitched, striking out 40 batters, with a 4-0 record. In the minors his ERA was mostly below one, 1.62 at AAA. His fastball regularly hits 98 on the gun, he has a curveball that looks like a slider, and has been working on a changeup. He has the stuff & mentality to be a closer. 22) KENTUCKY KERNELS: MIKE LEAKE P: I love this kid’s makeup! Leake has tons of heart, he might have been rushed to the big leagues, and migh’ve been overworked. Leake suffered through a tired arm, working over 100 innings in each of his three years at ASU, 16-1 & 1.71 ERA as a senior. Mike’s only 5’11”, which might be generous. Even though he allowed twenty more hits than innings worked, he finished 8-4. I first fell in love with him when I saw him debut against the Cubs, he had a no-hitter for quite a while in that game. 23) GREEN ROCK BOMBERS: REID BRIGNAC 2B/SS: Reid Brignac provides coverage at both 2B & SS, but with him being the Rays everyday SS and Jeff Keppinger losing the starting secondbase job in Houston, the Bombers will be looking for a regular secondbaseman again next year. What you see is what you get with Brignac, a solid fielder, with decent power, a .250 average, with no real base stealing skills. 24) THREE RIVERS GAMBLERS: JOHN JASO C: John Jason has a good eye at the plate. Along with backing up starter Matt Wieters, he will provide a decent bat off the bench. Nothing flashy, he’s just a solid pick. 25) TWIN CITIES THUNDERCHICKENS: JON NIESE P: Niese is nice, I couldn’t resist. Jon possesses a 12-6 curveball, a low 90s fastball with cutting action, and a solid change. I wasn’t impressed with his rookie year, as he allowed about 20 more hits than innings pitched. The T*Chix would have been much better off had they grabbed Matusz and taken an outfielder here. 26) RISING BAMM BEANO’S: WADE DAVIS P: Wade Davis is a big pitcher, who doesn’t overpower hitters. He works hitters with his 93-94 MPH fastball and his slow 11-5 curve. I’ve never liked righthanders that don’t strike batters out, but he does throw a heavy fastball that sinks. He allowed less hits than innings pitched and had a winning record at 12-10. 27) KENTUCKY KERNELS: JASON CASTRO C: Knee surgery will force this promising rookie to miss all of 2011. Therefore, there really isn’t any reason to select Castro seeing he batted only .205. Better picks would have been Cervelli, Thole, or Kottaras. 28) GREEN ROCK BOMBERS: AUSTIN JACKSON OF: This kid can cover a lot of ground in the outfield, is lightning quick, and can steal bases. He strikes out too much and doesn’t draw enough walks. If he can cut down on his K’s by 20 and increase his walks by ten, his OBP will go up over .360. AJ is a nice value pick this low in the draft. 29) GREEN ROCK BOMBERS: CHRIS JOHNSON 3B: Can you say, he has a nice card? The last time Johnson put up good numbers was in 2008 when he was in AA. Chris had a good year as a rookie, cannot field, and is likely to be a one-year wonder. Danny Valencia was a much better pick, he had similar numbers, can field, and is likely to improve his power. 30) GREEN ROCK BOMBERS: DREW STOREN P*: Drew Storen has good stuff and might be the Nats closer, that said, I’m not impressed. He pounds the strike zone with a 92-94 MPH fastball and hard breaking balls. Drew can put hitters away, but allows a lot of hits. I don’t see him being any better than a B*. 31) GREEN ROCK BOMBERS: ALEXI OGANDO P*: Ogando has been lights out as a reliever after being brought in to pitch from the outfield. Alexi has electric stuff, he is not a one-year wonder. 32) GREEN ROCK BOMBERS: JOHN AXFORD P*: Axford is a bum, who is looking for a park bench. He was signed as an undrafted free agent, moved to the bullpen, and did the job as the Brewers closer as a rookie. John will not be long for this league. Much better relievers Ryan Webb & Wilton Lopez should have been taken over Storen & Axford. 33) GREEN ROCK BOMBERS: LOGAN MORRISON OF: Logan Morrison can flat out hit! He’s a hard worker, with a good eye, and gap power. He’s a natural firstbaseman who has been moved to the outfield. He should start turning on the ball as he matures, similar to Rafael Palmeiro, maybe not as much power without the roids. 34) MOLLY PUTTS MARAUDERS: JONATHAN HERRERA IF: Herrera is a little guy that’s as tough as nails. Jonathan has a good eye and uses his shortness to his advantage to draw walks. He’s a solid fielder who can pick it wherever he plays in the infield. He’s a real battler at the plate. 35) COLONA UPPERDECKERS: JASON VARITEK C: All of those hours of research down the drain. The Upperdeckers are going for it and decided to bring in the cagey veteran to backup Mauer, not a bad call, especially if you’re dead set against drafting a New York receiver (Thole or Cervelli). 36) NORTHSIDE HITMEN: ERIC YOUNG, JR. 2B/OF: If nothing else Young will backup Utley at 2B. He has blazing speed, if given the starting job in Colorado look out! But like the old saying goes, you can’t steal firstbase, still the upside is worth rolling the dice. 37) CHICAGO CHAMPIONS: CHRIS SALE P*: This tall lefthander was 20-4 in college, made his major league debut the same year he was drafted in the 1st round, and recorded four saves in the show. He has a good fastball, a deceptive delivery, and a nasty slider. Although this is saying a lot, he reminds me of Steve Carlton.
A CHICAGO CHAMPIONS: Bumgarner & Sale: These two lefthanders are for real! A- THREE RIVERS GAMBLERS: Stanton, Chacin, Wood, Matusz, & Jaso: Stanton, Chacin, & Matusz are great picks, and Wood & Jaso might be okay. B+ CHICAGO HIGHLANDERS: Santana & Smoak: Santana might be better than Posey and Smoak is a legitimate power hitter. B MOLLY PUTTS MARAUDERS: Heyward & Herrera: Heyward is as good as it gets and Herrera is a solid utility infielder. B- NORTHSIDE HITMEN: Feliz & Young: Feliz has a great arm, whether he’s used out of the pen or as a starter. Young can fly, if given a chance to play. C GREEN ROCK BOMBERS: Posey, Hudson, Venters, Brignac, Jackson, Johnson, Storen, Ogando, Axford, & Morrison: The good: Posey, Hudson, Jackson, Ogando, & Morrison. The bad: Venters, Brignac, Johnson & Storen. And the ugly: Axford. C- KENTUCKY KERNELS: S. Castro, Kennedy, Leake, & J. Castro: Starlin is a great young SS, but they already have Elvis, must be something in the blood to draft shortstops. Leake has grit, not really a fan of Kennedy. Jason is bad & then he’ll go away. D+ RISING BAMM BEANO’S: Garcia, Alvarez, Kimbrel, & Davis: There were so many better pitchers than Garcia! I like Alvarez & Kimbrel, but am not a fan of Davis. D Twin Cities Thunderchickens: Strasburg, Colvin, Tabata, & Niese: Strasburg has a once in a lifetime arm, yet a D grade shows what I thought of the rest of the picks. F COLONA UPPERDECKERS: Walker & Varitek: The Upperdeckers were locked into selecting a secondbaseman and a backup catcher, they got nothing of value in this draft.
OVERLOOKED ROOKIES
1) 1B BRETT WALLACE: I fell in love with this guy when I saw him in the NCAA tournament a few years back. He can MASH! 2) 3B DANNY VALENCIA: Danny reminds me of Michael Young, which ain’t bad. 3) OF PETER BOURJOS: Not only did his grandparents bring their poodle to have its hair cut by my Mom, his father Chris played little league at Horner Park, this kid can do it all, he’s a five tool player! 4) P JAKE ARRIETA: Jake & Matusz will be at the front of the O’s rotation for years to come. Arrieta is a big guy that can dominate. 5) P* KENLEY JANSEN: What’s not to like? Just like Troy Percival, he’s a converted catcher, with an arm that has plenty of life! 6) SS IAN DESMOND: Desmond put up solid numbers as a rookie and there’s no reason that he won’t continue. 7) P* RYAN WEBB: Ryan is a middle reliever, with control, lotsa B*Z innings is never bad. 8) P* WILTON LOPEZ: This reliever throws strikes, nothing can make late inning leads disappear faster than bases on balls. 9) 1B IKE DAVIS: Ike stepped up & took charge as a rookie. He can hit & he can field, the only thing he didn’t do was, take the garbage out. 10) P ALEX SANABIA: Don’t know much about this rookie righthander, but what I do know, I like.
Even though there are still a couple of weeks before pitchers & catchers report for spring training, and an additional month before my beloved Illowa APBA League kicks off its season with playoffs, the World Series, the rookie draft, & the start of another season, I’ve got baseball on the brain. So I’ve decided to do a rookie draft preview. I’ve done many draft reviews, but this is my first shot at a draft preview. It’s kind of tough to do, without tipping my hand. I’d love to hear your thoughts on my evaluation.
TOP TEN
C Buster Posey, OF Jason Heyward, P Jaime Garcia, P Daniel Hudson, P Madison Bumgarner, SS Starlin Castro, P Stephen Strasburg, OF Mike Stanton, P Jhoulys Chacin, P* Neftali Feliz
11-20
P Brian Matusz, 3B Pedro Alvarez, P Ian Kennedy, C Carlos Santana, 2B Neil Walker, OF Tyler Colvin, SS Ian Desmond, OF Austin Jackson, P Jonathan Niese, 1B Ike Davis
21-30
3B Danny Valencia, P* Jonny Venters, P* Alexi Ogando, 3B Chris Johnson, OF Jose Tabata, 2B/SS Reid Brignac, P Alex Sanabia, P Mike Leake, P Travis Wood, P Jake Arrieta
31-40
P* Wilton Lopez, C John Jaso, P Wade Davis, OF Logan Morrison, OF Lorenzo Cain, P* Ryan Webb, OF Brandon Boesch, 1B Justin Smoak, 1B Brett Wallace, P* Sergio Santos
41-50
P* John Axford, P Hisanori Takahashi, C Josh Thole, P* Kenley Jansen, P* Craig Kimbrel, P* Chris Sale, P* Zach Braddock, P Jeanmar Gomez, P* Drew Storen, P* Ernesto Frieri
OVERLOOKED ROOKIES
P* Michael Kohn, P* Michael Dunn, P Josh Tomlin, 1B Gaby Sanchez, SS/2B Jason Donald, P Mitch Talbot, P* Fernando Salas, P* Henry Rodriguez, P Jenrry Mejia, P Tyson Ross
Despite posting Hall of Fame statistics over his 17 year Illowa APBA League career with the Northside Hitmen, Roberto Alomar has failed for the second consecutive year to get the votes needed to get in, and there can only be one reason for keeping him out. The Northside Hitmen finished in first place nine times, won four titles, and won 100+ games five times, with Roberto playing secondbase. Alomar wasn’t just on the field, he was a major contributor to his team’s success, scoring more than 100 runs 6 times (including 134 in 1997), three times he hit more than 20 homers, and six times his batting average was above .300. All of these offensive accomplishments were achieved while being the best fielding secondbaseman.
Robby ranks right up there with the IAL All Time greats in several categories. He has 8,982 at bats (5th in IAL History), 1,503 runs scored (4th in IAL History), 2,455 hits (6th in IAL History), and 488 doubles (7th in IAL History).
The incident, which I believe, has kept Alomar out of the IAL Hall of Fame occurred, in real life, September 27, 1996. Roberto was called out on a pitch, he alleges, was out of the strike zone, by umpire John Hirschbeck. The two of them got into a heated argument, in which lip readers contend, Hirschbeck called Alomar a faggot. Roberto lost his cool and spit into the face of Hirschbeck.
Alomar, and other players, contend that Hirschbeck had been on edge since losing his son to ALD and learning that another son also had it. Roberto was suspended five games and required to donate $50,000 to ALD research, the two shook hands April 22, 1997, when Alomar apologized. Both Hirschbeck & Alomar took the unfortunate incident as an opportunity to raise awareness and funds to research the disease, and came to regard each other as friends. Roberto later donated an additional $252,000 to fund ALD research.
On January 5, 2011 Roberto Alomar received 90 percent of the vote required to elect him into the MLB Hall of Fame, it was his second try, after failing to get in one year ago. It is my hope that the next time Alomar is up for vote into the IAL Hall of Fame that he gets in, he deserves to be there, he’s earned it.
I have been playing APBA baseball since 1970, more than forty years, and have never reached the 100 win plateau in any format. I’ve managed the Chicago Champions in the Illowa APBA League since the 2nd season of the league, more than 35 years, and have never gotten 100 wins, until now. Two years ago the Champions finished in 1st place with 98 wins, last year we again finished in 1st place & won the World Series (our 11th title), but missed out on 100 wins, finishing with 99 victories.
This year with nine games to play, the Champs again had a strong hold on 1st place, but needed four wins to reach the century mark. Prince Fielder hit a walkoff homer with 2-outs in the bottom of the 9th of the 1st contest turning a victory for Tim Lincecum into defeat in the opener.
The Champions beat the Gamblers the next three games, and it was The Freak’s turn once again to toe the rubber for Chicago. Although he walked six men in the game, Three Rivers hadn’t a hit with 2-outs in the 9th, then the unthinkable happened, on the brink of 100 wins. Lincecum only had 8 2/3 innings left, so reliever Sergio Romo was called on to get the final out, and we finally had our 100th win. The Champs won two more games to finish the season with 102 victories, now it’s on to the postseason, and hopefully title twelve.
Manager Lucas brought his Northside Hitmen over to Crackerjack Park adding another chapter in the ongoing battle of APBA that has been going on for decades. Being a History Major, Luke remembered one of the first times he came to my place to play shum APBA, it was circa 1977, the Midwest Monarchs hosted his River Park Solons, and Ed Figueroa tossed a perfect game against us. My lineup included the likes of “Disco” Danny Ford, John “The Hammer” Milner, Rick Manning, George Brett, Jerry Remy, & Tim Foli. But that was a lifetime ago, seems surreal, almost like a dream, who were those people, were they really us???
On this day it would be a nine game set featuring the explosive Chicago Champions taking on the Hitmen of the Northside. The Hitmen wasted no time jumping out to an early lead when Alexei Ramirez hit the 1st pitch of game one off Tim Lincecum over the leftfield wall. Interesting fact pointed out by Chuck: much maligned Alexei is batting .293, with power numbers of 24, 1, 14, while the highly regarded Hanley is batting .286, 23, 2, 16, I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin’. In the bottom of the first AROD bit the hand that once fed him, giving the Freak a one run lead when he launched a two run shot, then hit another two run dinger in the 3rd, giving Chicago a three run advantage, which was upped by another when Justin Morneau, aka Jason Monroe, left the yard. Lincecum left the game after seven, despite never having to pitch from the stretch, allowing only Alexei’s first pitch bomb. Hidecki Okajima allowed a leadoff pinch double in the top of the 9th, followed by a one out walk, before giving way to “AK-47” “Papa Grande” Jose Valverde. AROD booted a ball, filling the bases for Manny Ramirez, who took care of business, just Manny being Manny, as he belted a game tying grand salami. Ryan Perry pitching in the 10th allowed two runs to give the Hitmen a hard fought game one win, despite AROD hitting a solo in the bottom of the 10th off closer Joakim Soria to make the final 7-6 Northside.
Dualing homers were the second game’s theme as the game was knotted at four thru four, courtesy of Chase Utley & Brian McCann two run homers for them and an RBI double by “Paul Bunyan” and solo shots by AROD & 2 by Grady Sizemore for us. McCann can, thank you sir, may I have another?, did it again in the 6th off Josh Beckett was the difference as the Northsiders, behind former Champ Jake Peavy, took game 2, 5-4, series two to zip Hitmen.
Matt “Raisin’” Cain held the Hitmen to one unearned run over six as “El Caballo”, Carlos Lee, put it on the board, YES!, in the 4th, a two run tater, which put Chicago up 4-1, Champs scored two more in the 7th, and cruised to a 6-1 victory. Still down in the series, 2-1.
Mark Buehrle lossed his shutout bid with one out in the 9th, but the Champions showed their power, scoring all eight of the runs playing long ball, two three run pokes, one by Victory “Hulk” Martinez, the other by “Lumberjack” Morneau, to go along with solos by G-Size & Jeff “Frenchy” Fracoeur. Series all tied up at two.
Did you ever not know what was going on until it was over, till it was too late??? This is a common phenomenon in my life, nothing unusual there for me, but in game five I switched my lineup around to take advantage of walks versus Wildman Micah Owings, who would earn another nickname after this game was through. Jason Marquis, the leader in wins took the mound for the Champs opposing Owings. The Hitmen loaded the bases against Marquis in the first, but the crafty veteran pitched out of trouble, allowing only one run. Then they nicked Jason for another in the third when Manny hit into a doubleplay with runners on 1st & 3rd. The Champs had a golden opportunity to get back into this thing in the bottom of the 5th, when Owings walked Ian “Stewie” Stewart, Miguel “Bombon’” Olivo, & Jason Marquis, but with two outs, Micah got Felipe “FILO” Lopez to ground to first. Northside batters scored another run in the 7th when Miguel Cabrera doubled home Utley. The Champions only managed two other bases on balls against Owings, outside of the 5th inning, so when Bombon’ bounced to 1st in the 9th, it was official, put it in the books, and give him a new nickname, Micah “No-No” Owings. I had no idea a no-hitter had been thrown until Chuck told me, guess that’s called focus or called, lost in a fog. A no-hitter for Owings, I can’t roll no friggin’ dice!!! I think PaPa Bunchie will be rolling better dice next year for Josh Hamilton, Evan Longoria, Adam Dunn, & Delmon Young, funny how good dice rolls seem to be pretty much aligned with having good players to roll numbers on. Now I needed to regroup, grab some water, guzzle it down, and get ready for the four games left to be played on the road in this series, trailing in the series 3-2.
“The Freak”, Tim Lincecum took the mound for the Champs, in an effort to right the ship, in a first game rematch against rookie lefthander Brett Anderson. JROLL took Anderson deep to start the game and V-Mart also went yard in the 1st, 2-0 after one. A 2nd inning sac-fly cut the lead in half. Frenchy came through with a two out RBI single to plate AROD from 2nd base in the 4th, to put us up again by a deuce. El Caballo put icing on the cake with a 7th inning big fly. Lincecum went the distance for the complete game win. Now the series was back to even with three games to be played.
Again the Champs played long ball, knocking four balls out, to pace a 10-2 win. The four amigos doing yard work for Chicago were AROD, JROLL, Lopez (2-run), & Lee (2-run). Josh Beckett hardly broke a sweat, allowing only one hit over 5+ innings, and was relieved by Dice-K, who worked the final four for a save. Hitmen’s Hurler Hiroki Kuroda was hit hard & hit often, and it could have been worse had there not been an official scorer giving him the benefit on a couple of errors where it was questionable as to whether or not RBI’s should have been denied or awarded. Advantage, Good Guys, 4-3.
Things looked bleak when things unraveled for Matt Cain in the 5th, a walk, a double, another walk, a couple of base knocks, and a 1-0 lead turned into a 3-1 deficit. Manager Luke turned the game over to his team’s best asset, his pen. With 2-outs & one on, MO, Olivo cracked one long gone, high & deep, off the leftfield foul pole off Joakim Soria, to tie this one up at three in the 8th. Two batters later, a single by C-Lee & two basehit by Stewie, and it was 4-3 Champs. Chicago’s pen was outstanding over the last four innings, making that lead hold up. But not feeling all that confident, AROD gave up a day of rest in an effort to extend the lead, pinch-hitting in the 9th, when nothing came of that decision, a one run lead would have to do. Colby Rasmus greeted Papa Grande with a basehit up the box and with 2 outs, Chase Utley walked after fouling off a dozen pitches, bringing up Cabrera. Valverde dropped to a knee, pointed to the sky, screamed in delight, after getting Cabrera to swing at a slider in the dirt for strike three, ending the game, giving Chicago a 5-3 series lead, heading into the finale.
Miguel Cabrera hit a three run 5th inning bomb off Buehrle, then Manny being Manny knocked one out himself, to put the Hitmen up four. Brad Penny held us in check, before surrendering a meaningless two out run in the 9th, when El Caballo’s ribbie double scored Morneau to end Penny’s bid for a shutout. There was some controversy when Ian Stewart, with 2nd column 11’s, appeared to steal second, on a H & R 35, but was called out. Manager Mallasch came sprinting out of the dugout, arguing the call, but to no avail. Neither the president nor the vice president could be reached during the contest. Interestingly, the vice president called after the game to say, he’d have ruled him out. While the president said, he was safe, because the board states, the runner must have a 10 or 11 on his card, not necessarily in the 1st column, to be considered safe on a 35 Hit & Run. Reading it’s such an important, necessary, skill, which is so often under utilized. Final score 4-1 Northside. But the Champions held on to capture the series 5-4.
chicago champions | Tedd Mallasch July 22, 2011 | 
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