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!!!
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.
The Chicago Champions record stood at 56-22 heading into July, mostly due to beating the teams in the West, we were below .500 (8-10) against Eastern teams. This did not bode well facing the Three Rivers Gamblers, with the most explosive lineup in the IAL.
Things didn’t look good when their ace, C.C. Sabathia, beat our ace, Tim Lincecum, 3-0 in game one. A 4th inning bases loaded sacrifice fly off the bat of Jason Bay provided the only run, until rookie Matt Wieters belted a 7th inning two run shot off fellow rookie reliever Ryan Perry, to give the Gamblers some insurance, C.C. went the distance, allowing four hits, striking out nine.
Jimmy Rollins gapped a two out 3rd inning triple to plate Carlos Lee all the way from first base and Josh Beckett made that run stand up, winning game two, 1-0. J.B. matched Sabathia, allowing four singles, K’ing 13, and the series was even.
In the 3rd contest Matt Cain took a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the 9th. Jeff Francoeur scored twice & Jason Monroe, aka Justin Morneau, knocked two solo shots into orbit, to account for the four Champ tallies. But trouble came a knocking in the bottom of the 9th, pinch-hitter Magglio Ordonez laced a two basehit, Shane Victorino drew a base on balls, and Dustin Pedroia cut the lead in half with a double to the gap, plating two. Cain’s night was through when Ryan Braun singled & stole second, putting the tying runs at 2nd & 3rd, with nobody out. Prince Fielder trotted to firstbase, after taking four wide ones from Ryan Perry. Jose Valverde induced Derek Jeter into a 6-4-3 DP, now the potential tying run was just 90 feet away. Righthanded reliever Sergio Romo, a C* XY, was summoned to replace Valverde, an A* XY, playing a little APBA here, to face Jason Bay, who cooperated with a 55-8 to end the ball game, 4-3, 2-1 Chicago series advantage.
Rookie Brad Bergesen out dueled Mark Buehrle, going the distance, for a 6-0 Gambler victory, knotting the series at two. Prince Fielder provided the only offense Three Rivers would need, with a 1st inning two run Monster Blast! Then a walk & five singles, would plate four more runs in the 5th to chase Buehrle to the showers.
Jason Marquis was the beneficiary of an offensive explosion in the 5th contest, cruising to a 13-3, complete game victory. Jason Monroe knocked in six, launching two balls into orbit in the process. Fielder hit a two run bomb in a losing effort. Aaron Laffey was rocked! Champs were up 3-2, heading to Crackerjack Park.
In a repeat of the 1st game matchup, C.C. was again facing The Freak, things looked bleak, as Chicago trailed 3-0 heading into the bottom of the 5th. In the 2nd inning, Prince & Garrett Jones hit back-to-back pokes to set off the fireworks. In the bottom of the 5th Miguel Olivo joined the fun with a three run, pinch, bomb to tie the game at three. Ryan Perry was called on to quell the Gamblers offense, holding Three Rivers scoreless for a couple of frames. Another pinch-hitter, this being rookie, Alcides Escobar, came off the pines, ripping a single & a steal, to plate Felipe Lopez, who doubled with two outs in the bottom of the 7th. Hidecki Okajima & Jose Valverde held the Gamblers scoreless over the final two innings, to make the slim lead stand up. Chicago had a 4-2 series advantage, with three games to play.
The Champions overcame an early two run first inning deficit, ripping three long balls, one by Josh Beckett (1st of the year for my pitchers), Carlos Lee, and a two run two out shot in the 7th off the leftfield foul pole by rookie Gordon Beckham. The two 7th inning runs game Beckett some breathing room, boosting the lead from a one-run margin to a three-run cushion. Chicago hurlers made it stand up, 6-3 win, 5-2 lead, with two to play.
Matt Wieters provided a clutch RBI single in the 6th to break a two all tie. Brian Sanches was called on in the 8th to face Alex Rodriguez with the tying run on 2nd, Sanches did his job, stranding the runner, and preserving the 3-2 victory. Jason Marquis was the hardluck loser for Chicago. Heading into the series finale, the series lead was down to 5-3.
A 5th inning error & another in the 6th, contributed to seven runs, off Aaron (I’m not Laughing) Laffey. Jeff Francoeur lined a 2-RBI bases loaded single and Jimmy Rollins drove in three with a double & a sac fly. Matt Cain went six, while Clay Zavada & Sergio Romo threw three scoreless innings for a 7-3 finale winner, closing out the series, Champs 6 – Gamblers 3.
This series was played over SKYPE on a sunny day, with me in Waupaca & Todd in Pittsburgh. It was supposed to be a rainy Monday, Rainy Days & Mondays always get me down, but the weather men were wrong (like my Dad says, 50-50 chance of rain). But I was glad to get the series in and am so thankful for SKYPE, it makes long distance APBA seem like you’re playing in the same room, minus the aroma often times provided by Papa Bunch, which isn’t a bad thing, in my opinion, hopefully SKYPE never adds the smell feature, don’t know if there would be that much of a demand for it anyway.
The White Sox played the Buccos in Pittsburgh in interleague play this year, but truth be told, I wasn’t really following my boys all that closely at the time, the series kind of snuck up on me, as I’d pretty much written them off, and was waiting for GM Kenny Williams to mercifully pull the plug on this boring baseball team. But then something happened, the boys started winning, and I really can’t explain it, it’s more than playing weak National League teams (Pirates, Cubs, & Nats, cuz we also beat the Braves). And I don’t think it has much to do with Omar Vizquel taking over for injured Mark Teahen at third, although the 43 year old has definitely provided a spark. No, it seems to be more about pitching, quality starts & not just three runs over six innings, and lights out relief pitching has really done the trick. I have to tell you, I was a skeptic when in the offseason we jettisoned Jim Thome & Jermaine Dye in an effort to get faster, because we also got rid of speedsters Scott Podsednik & Chris Getz, replacing Scotty with leadoff man Juan Pierre. But I didn’t see how bringing in Andruw Jones & Omar Vizquel would add to our team speed. But now I am a believer, of course the team still hits home runs, Alex Rios, Paul Konerko, & Carlos Quentin are still playing in this bandbox of a ballyard. The homers are flying out of here, but this club is also playing defense & taking the extra base. I don’t know where the White Sox will end up, especially losing Jake Peavy for the year, but I’m a believer and very excited about watching the Good Guys in Black play a little baseball, they’ll cut your heart out, LET’S GO WHITE SOX!!!
Two people with very full schedules were able to coordinate a Friday night early in April in which to play shum APBA. Keith Smith would be bringing his Kentucky Kernels to Crackerjack Park for a nine game series, our first in-area series of the year. Keith had just sent an e-mail to the league, stating, he’d never beaten me in APBA, which was the kiss of death, we were beaten before the dice hit the table. Due to crazy traffic, almost three hours from O’Hare, Keith said that three lanes were closed down because of an accident, so rather than getting to my house about seven; it was almost eight when he arrived. We chowed down on some Angelo’s grub, lasagna for Keith and eggplant parmagiana for me. Zip-zip, we were off & rolling by 8:30 and in snappy series, we were all done about half passed midnight.
The Champions outscored the Kernels by eight, out homered Kentucky by two, and yet dropped a close series 5-4. Champion hurlers notched their 9th & 10th shutouts in just 39 games played. Last year was a high point, 1st place finish & a World Series Championship, and we got out of the gate in fine shape this season, winning 23 of the first thirty games. Who would have thought it would all go downhill so quickly? Gravity is a bitch! Losing our first series, possibly ever to Keith, makes me really pause to reassess my life, APBA, what’s it all about? Is it all about lucky dice? When people’s lives go to shit, is it all because of bad dice? I can’t roll any friggin numbers!
Actually it was a fun series, even though I lost. Keith is always good to play, never changes expression, whether he wins or whether he loses. With the team he has put together, I don’t think this will be the last series in which the Kernels best the Champions. We won the first game 6-0 behind a Tim Lincecum shutout. Dropped the next four, by a total of five runs, two games went extra innings. The Champs rebounded to take the next three, Lincecum by a score of 8-2, with 2 outs Jeff Francoeur walked on a 13-40 walk with the bases the bases loaded against a Z pitcher in the bottom of the 10th for a walkoff 6-5 winner, and Matt Cain combined with two relievers for a 5-0 shutout. Kentucky took the rubber game for a series win. AROD clubbed six long balls, driving in 13, batting .375, 12 for 32 against KK.
Repeating is never easy, but the Champions have gotten out of the gate quickly, going for their 12th World Series Championship, and their 3rd straight first place finish. It won’t be easy, despite their 23-7 record, this team has its work cut out for them. Last year’s World Series opposition retooled in the offseason, bringing in Adam Wainwright, Aaron Hill, Mariano Rivera, J.D. Drew, & J.A. Happ. That doesn’t mean the Champions are conceding anything to the Rising Bamm Beanos, or anyone else for that matter.
The Champions have retooled a little bit themselves, although the team’s core is still the same & pretty solid. Gone from last year’s championship squad are future HOF’er Greg Maddux, Postseason MVP Ryan Doumit, starting outfielder B.J. Upton, strike throwing reliever Matt Capps, hard hitting outfielder Matt Joyce, backup shortstop Bobby Crosby, and bullpen aces Joey Devine & Cory Wade. A new face in the rotation will be Jason Marquis, who attempts to do the impossible, replace Greg Maddux. Jeff Francoeur will see plenty of action. Hideki Okajima & his fellow Japanese countryman Daisuke Matsuzaka in the Champs bullpen. Daisuke provides some insurance, if Marquis should falter. There are four rookies on this year’s team. Power hitting infielder Gordon Beckham & hitting machine Alcides Escobar will be groomed as the DP combo of the future. Hardthrowing Ryan Perry & handlebar mustached Clay Zavada will provide bullpen depth.
Nick Swisher & Victor Martinez return to the starting lineup. They will be joined by Carlos Lee, Alex Rodriguez, Jimmy Rollins, Felipe Lopez, Justin Morneau, & Grady Sizemore. Miguel Olivo & Ian Stewart are slated to see alot more action off the bench. Pinch hitter deluxe, Jose Guillen, brings his magic wand.
Four fifths of the rotation returns, Tim Lincecum, Josh Beckett, Matt Cain, & Mark Buehrle are as good as they get. Brett Myers was brilliant as a long reliever last year, and returns to that role again this season. Jose Valverde moves from setup to closer, he’s done it before, he’ll do it again.
Newcomer Francoeur leads the club with a .348 batting average, 39 hits, 12 doubles, and is 2nd with 21 RBI’s behind Martinez, who leads with 23 knocked in. Victor has a .309 average, 10 doubles, and 20 runs scored. Lopez is hitting .339, leading with 21 runs. In limited action Sizemore leads with 7 homers, followed closely by part-timer Olivo with six. Marquis has been Maddux-like, 6-0, with a 2.38 ERA, 2 shutouts. Cain’s 1.10 ERA leads the way, three shutouts, and a 5-1 record. Lincecum is sporting a nifty 1.48 ERA and a 3-0 mark. Not to be out done, Beckett sports a 2-0 record, 2.84 ERA. Last, but not least, Buehrle is 4-2, two shutouts, and an impressive ERA of 3.24. Romo has yet to be scored on. Rookie flame thrower Perry has a 1.59 ERA. Closer Papa Grande Valverde already has six saves and an ERA of 1.80.
The drought is over, the Champs are once again Champions of the IAL. Chicago had won ten championships in the first twenty two years, then there were a dozen years (six years no playoff berth) with no rings. There were only two other years in team history when the Champs did not qualify for postseason play. Fourteen years the Champions have either finished first or won the World Series. But they have never had a 100 win campaign. It was great to win it all again, in a season in which the franchise achieved it’s 3,000 victory (ending the 2009/10 year with 3,063 total wins. Speaking of milestones, future Hall of Fame hurler Greg Maddux announced he would be hanging it up when postseason play ended, with a league record of 354 career wins.
PLAYOFFS
Game 1: Featured a matchup of aces, C.C. Sabathia for the Three Rivers Gamblers, opposed by Chicago Champions phenom Tim Lincecum. The Gamblers opened the scoring in the 4th when Derek Jeter scored, after reaching base on an error, on a Dustin Pedroia double. Justin Morneau went yard & Ryan Doumit clubbed a two run shot in the bottom of the 4th to put Chicago up two. Another error led to another unearned run off The Freak, a walk & an error put runners at the corners, a doubleplay produced the fifth inning run that cut the lead to 3-2. Rookie Matt Joyce, pinch hitting for B.J. Upton, nailed a two run triple in the bottom of the 7th, then scored on a Jimmy Rollins base knock to put the Champs up four. In the top of the 8th, with runners on 2nd & 3rd and only one out, Lincecum gave way to Joey Devine. Pedroia got one in with a sac fly and Ryan Braun followed with a run driven in on a single & a steal. A double by Felipe Lopez in the bottom of the 8th expanded the lead to three, who knew that one run would prove to be the difference. Cory Wade was called on to close it out after Devine, feeling a little jittery, walked Jason Bay to open the 9th. Big Hurt, Frank Thomas (also a future HOF’er calling it quits at postseason’s end) came through with a two out two run monster blast to cut it to one. But it wasn’t to be, when Jeter bounced out the game was over, 7-6 Champs.
Game 2: Scott Kazmir didn’t have it for the Gamblers as the Champions got to him for five first inning runs. Giving Greg Maddux a five run cushion, is like money in the bank. In the 2nd, after Troy Glaus hit a two out solo blast off the leftfield foul pole, Chicago responded scoring a run to keep the lead at five. A two run shot by Doumit in the 7th, 4 RBI’s on the day, put the game officially on ice, as Maddux allowed only the one run over six innings. Thomas hit another pinch homer in the 8th, but it was much too little, far too late, 8-2 Champs.
Game 3: Rookie Armando Galarraga took the hill for the Gamblers, facing elimination. Chicago took an early 1-0 1st inning lead when an error by Maggs Ordonez, with 2 outs, allowed JRoll to score, it would be a foreshadowing of things to come. With runners on 2nd & 3rd, nobody out, against a tiring Galarraga, pinch hitter Matt Joyce stepped in, team trailing by two. Joyce lined a basehit to left, when Ordonez airmailed his throw plateward, far too late, two runners scored, two tie the game, and the potential winning run moved into scoring position. Armando got back to work, retiring the next three Champ batters in order, and when Prince Fielder’s moonshot came down to earth, far into the night, the Gamblers manager was off the hook for not replacing Maggs with a defensive replacement, 4-3 Gamblers.
Game 4: When Matt Joyce clubbed a two run homer in the 4th, Chicago was in front 3-0, but Three Rivers was not done yet, coming up with three runs of their own in the bottom of the frame, courtesy of a two run Jason Bay longball & a Prince RBI single. It quickly became a battle of the bullpens, still knotted at three, heading into the 9th. Pinch hitter Miguel Bombon Olivo connected on a high Jensen Lewis fastball & drove it high over the centerfield wall for a two run homer, and when Jose Valverde pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th, it was time to get ready for the World Series, 5-3 Champs.
World Series
Game 1: The Champs would score four runs off Daisuke Matsuzaka in the 2nd thanks to a Ryan Doumit two run longball & a 2-RBI single by Jimmy Rollins, just like that Tim Lincecum was staked to a four to zip lead. Dan Uggla would cut the lead to two in the sixth, when his deep drive landed on the righfield foul line for a 2-RBI triple, moments later scoring an a Brian Giles sac fly to left. Back to back doubles by The Freak & JRoll in the bottom of the 6th, put Chicago up by a couple. The Rising Bamm Beanos, in their 1st World Series appearance, were not done yet, tying the game at 5 in the eighth. In the bottom of the tenth, El Caballo facing a tiring Brad Lidge (entering his 3rd inning of work), and sent the home humans home happy by hitting a walkoff homer, 6-5 Champs (in extras).
Game 2: Jair Jurrjens had a one run lead on Greg Maddux, thanks to a two out RBI double off the bat of senior citizen, Giles. Rookie Ian Stewart tied into one in the bottom of the 5th to tie the ballgame at one. Former Champion outfielder Matt Kemp came up with one out, runners on 2nd & 3rd, & battled Joey Devine for a sac fly as Alex Gordon was able to slide in just ahead of the throw by B.J. Upton, and the Bamm Beanos took that one run lead into the bottom of the 9th. Jonathan Papelbon was trying for a two inning save, Grady Sizemore lined a single to right, followed by a one out single by Carlos Lee (Bobby Crosby was sent in to run for the big man), & Crosby would score on a 2-run game winning double off the bat of ARod, 3-2 Champs.
Game 3: Alex Rodriguez started over where he left off, turning around a 3-0 fastball with two on in the first off rookie starter Chris Volstad (Datslov backwards), staking Josh Beckett to a three run lead. Mark Teixeira lined an RBI single in the 4th to close the gap to two, not long after Beckett was lifted for a pinch hitter and the game was turned over to the bullpen. Champ hitters exploded for 5 runs off Volstad in the 6th, 2-run doubles by Lee & Doumit. They scored another five spot in the 8th, Grady Sizemore with a 3-run bomb, 13-3 Champs.
Game 4: Doumit’s RBI double provided The Freak with a 1-0 2nd inning lead over The Ageless Wonder Jamie Moyer. Garrett Anderson, the Little Dog BEING the Big Dog, lined a homer to right in the 6th to tie it at one. Neither starter would answer the 8th inning bell. Moyer was lifted for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 7th. Victor Martinez was called on to bat for Lincecum with the go ahead run on 3rd with one out, but was given an intentional pass, Felipe Lopez went in to run, and up stepped JRoll. Jimmy ripped a single to leftcenter off Lidge, putting the Champs up one, with runners still at the corners. Lidge fanned Sizemore, before Justin Morneau knocked the stuffing out of one, for a three run blast, the game, and the World Series Championship, 5-2 Champs!
Ryan Doumit was the postseason MVP, going 5 for 15, with three doubles & two homers, 7 RBI’s & 4 runs in the playoffs, and 5 for 14, with three doubles & a homer, & five ribbies in the World Series.
The Chicago Champions ended the regular season strong, finishing with 99 wins on the year. Never in the history of the IAL have the Champions reached the coveted century mark. Ace Greg Maddux, the all time winningest pitcher in league history won his 19th game in his second to last start, a one hit shutout. The veteran failed to win in his final start before the playoffs, missing the 20 win plateau by one win. Some other notable achievements are as follows, leadoff man Jimmy Rollins stole 56 bases, scoring 112 times, with power numbers of 41-12-12, to go along with a .282 batting average, all the while playing Gold Glove caliber shortstop. Grady Sizemore was the #2 hitter for the Champs, all he did was score 118 runs & drive in 109, with 47 steals, walking 80 times, with big time power of 35-6-35, a batting average of .250, he was an excellent fielder in the outfield, if there was a chink in his armor it was the fact that he fanned 134 times. Answering the bell everyday for Chicago at Firstbase was Justin Morneau, Paul Bunyan led the team in ribbies with 124 knocked in on 49 doubles, five triples, & 17 home runs, often times shortening up his swing on the hit & run. El Caballo, Carlos Lee was injured much of the season, but really turned it loose down the stretch, taking over the cleanup spot, launching 30 long balls in only 113 games played, he even held his own with the glove in the outfield. ARod provided the big stick in the middle of the order, leading the ballclub with 44 homers, driving in 111, scoring 100 runs, hitting a respectable 284, with 76 bases on balls, for a nearly .400 on base percentage of .397. The catching tandem of Ryan Doumit & Miguel Olivo provided solid production, with 55 doubles & 27 long balls, with a batting average above .250. B.J. Upton was the third member of the outfield, the youngster didn’t disappoint, as the speedster had 48 SB’s to go along with 31 doubles, patiently walking 75 times, batting .250, scoring 67 runs. Newcomer Felipe Lopez turned it up as the season wore down, ending the year with a .220 batting average, after batting below the Mendoza line for much of the campaign. Buckeye Nick Swisher was often the first man off the bench and the switch hitter used his good eye to walk 40 times, although his batting average was just .193, he did manage 11 doubles & five home runs in 171 at bats, with an onbase mark of .346. Rookies Ian Stewart & Matt Joyce combined for good power, filling in at third & the outfield respectively, with power numbers of 26-6-18. Victor Martinez was relegated to bench duty by a series of nagging injuries throughout the season, but that didn’t stop this veteran from batting .310 in very limited action. Jose Guillen brought his potent bat to the plate, when a home run or a double was in order, he notched 3 of each in 76 at bats, driving in 14 runners. Bobby Crosby was the team’s pinch runner, along with playing shortstop when JRoll needed a blow.
In addition to Maddux, his mound mates were stellar when their turns came to toe the rubber. Tim Lincecum, assumed the #1 spot in the rotation, striking out 234 men in 227 innings, with a mark of 17-6, and an ERA of 2.74, allowing only 140 base hits. Following The Freak was lefthander Mark Buehrle, who narrowly finished above .500 with a record of 15-14. Righthanded hard throwing Matt Cain won nearly twice as many games as he lost, finishing with 17 wins against nine defeats, striking out 170 men. The aforementioned Maddux held down the 4th spot in the rotation. That left the five hole to be plugged by the talented Josh Beckett, who won 15 while losing seven. Rookie relievers Joey Devine & Cory Wade shared the closer’s role, saving 38 ballgames. Jose Valverde brought the heat to the setup role, fanning 66 out of the pen. Another rook, Sergio Romo joined Matt Capps in middle relief. Last, but not least, was Brett Allen Myers, known by his teammates as BAM, who pitched magnificently in long relief, coming up big with an ERA of 3.67, logging 162 innings, almost exclusively out of the pen, starting one ballgame.
So now it’s time for the second season to begin, while the postseason has not been kind to the Champions in recent years, there’s not the same sense of angst or urgency that has been there for many Chicago teams of the past. The Champions have shown themselves to be a quality baseball team, over the long haul of a 162 game season. Anything can happen in the playoffs, still the Champions are looking for more, a fitting end would be to be crowned with the IAL Championship, #11 for the Champs, still it has been a long time, and they’re not taking anything for granted & will certainly savor victory, if it were to come over the painful sting of defeat.
chicago champions | Tedd Mallasch July 22, 2011 | 
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