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.

Good news is, it can only get better!

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 10^th 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 7^th, 1-0 Good Guys.  Tied at two games apiece.

A funny thing happened in the 7^th inning of game five.  With the Champs leading eight to zip, rookie lefthander Madison Bumgarner was due to hit in the top of the 7^th.  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 12^th 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 7^th 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 6^th 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 6^th 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!!!

Champions IAL Playoffs & Draft Weekend

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.

IAL TRADES

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.

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.

One of the things I like about APBA over MLB is that it’s all about the game.  APBA excludes salary negotiations, steroids, suspensions, and all of the other nonsense that goes on in the real life world of baseball.  So, I’ll ask you, what do you think of keeping a player out of the IAL HOF based on a real life incident?  Ironically, this player was voted into the MLB HOF.  What about steroids, drugs, alcohol, or personality issues?  As I’ve said about Alomar, his cardboard APBA card didn’t spit on anybody.  I’d appreciate hearing your input on this matter.

edit 1/27/11: added stats

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 4^th inning bases loaded sacrifice fly off the bat of Jason Bay provided the only run, until rookie Matt Wieters belted a 7^th 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 3^rd 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 3^rd contest Matt Cain took a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the 9^th.  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 9^th, 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 2^nd & 3^rd, 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 1^st inning two run Monster Blast!  Then a walk & five singles, would plate four more runs in the 5^th to chase Buehrle to the showers.

Jason Marquis was the beneficiary of an offensive explosion in the 5^th 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 1^st game matchup, C.C. was again facing The Freak, things looked bleak, as Chicago trailed 3-0 heading into the bottom of the 5^th.  In the 2^nd inning, Prince & Garrett Jones hit back-to-back pokes to set off the fireworks.  In the bottom of the 5^th 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 7^th.  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 (1^st of the year for my pitchers), Carlos Lee, and a two run two out shot in the 7^th off the leftfield foul pole by rookie Gordon Beckham.  The two 7^th 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 6^th to break a two all tie.  Brian Sanches was called on in the 8^th to face Alex Rodriguez with the tying run on 2^nd, 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 5^th inning error & another in the 6^th, 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!!!

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.