Saxmania
07-08-02, 06:22 PM
As promised. Am I good to you guys or what?
Ruth Division (40-25)
DiMaggio Division (30-35)
Mantle Division (28-38)
Results
Babe’s Piano Playaz defeated West Haven Yankees by 336 – 243 points
Bambino’s Ghost lost to Lords of Flatbush by 268 – 322 points
Bad News Bears lost to YankeesRule2002 by 281 – 284 points
Saxmania’s Swingers lost to Cunning Linguists by 234 – 455 points
FP Balloon Knots defeated YRMbombers2002 by 229 – 202 points
Italian Ice lost to German Gold Gloves by 263 – 358 points
Buckeye Bombers lost to Junior’s Bashers by 249 – 315 points
Team of the Week: Cunning Linguists (455 points)
Luckiest team of the week: FP Balloon Knots (won with 229 points)
Unluckiest team of the week: Bad News Bears (lost with 281 points)
Match-up of the week: Bad News Bears vs. YankeesRule2002 (3 points' difference in the result)
Standings
Ruth Division
Lords of Flatbush (11-2; 312.5 point average)
Cunning Linguists (10-3; 268.7)
West Haven Yankees (9-4; 294.2)
YankeesRule2002 (7-6; 261.4)
YRMbombers2002 (3-10; 242.4)
DiMaggio Division
Michigan Wolverines (10-3; 306.8 point average)
Junior’s Bashers (8-5; 303.1)
German Gold Gloves (5-8; 275.2)
Buckeye Bombers (5-8; 249.1)
Italian Ice (2-11; 227.9)
Mantle Division
Bad News Bears (7-6; 260.1 point average)
Babe’s Pianbo Playaz (6-7; 278.9)
Bambino’s Ghost (6-7; 265.4)
Saxmania’s Swingers (5-8; 253.2)
FP Balloon Knots (4-10; 259.4)
Match Reports
Linguists smash revolutionary total as Swingers get a feeling of déjà vu
Already the franchise with the lowest-ever weekly total of 132 points, the Cunning Linguists shattered the record for highest-ever score this week with a mammoth total of 455 points. The win places them just one game behind the Lords of Flatbush, and extends their winning run to 6 games. Complete games from Mulder, Moyer, and Pettitte, not to mention 51 points from a locked-in Lance Berkman and some nice clutch hitting by Scott Rolen, left the Linguists gazing down on the other fourteen franchises, and the winning margin of 221 points over the Swingers is the highest in league history. All in all, a week that the Linguists will remember for a long while, keeping them happy through the barren All-Star week.
The Swingers would just as soon forget this week’s events, having been handed a reminder of the spirit of the first week of July. More red faces than red coats were in evidence, with no pitcher totalling more than five Ks, and five hitters collected less than two extra-base hits. With an anaemic offense and a mediocre pitching staff, the sixth loss in a row equals the league record – another fact to forget – and sends the Swingers into the All-Star Break dropping towards the bottom of the Mantle Division with all the levitating power of an overfed rhino. Things can only get better, or, in this case, less bad for the Swingers.
West Haven can’t get clutch against hard-working Playaz
A Playaz comeback has set the Mantle Division pennant up as a three-horse race, after a stirring win against the West Haven Yankees. Two wins in a row have lifted the ivory tinklers up the stagnant Mantle Division, and they have their starters to thank, after three of the five managed two outings in the past week. Vincent Padilla threw over seven shutout innings, while the rest of the rotation recorded three wins and a complete game, with a pair of saves from Mariano Rivera thrown in. Add in a consistent line-up (each hitter getting on base at least five times) led by Larry Walker with three homers and nine RBIs, and you’ve got the second-highest score of the year for the Playaz.
Poor performances in the key spots hurt West Haven, who have now lost two of the last three. Not only did Chipper Jones and A.J. Pierzynski each fail to drive in any runs, but the bullpen had trouble nailing down saves – Jason Isringhausen allowed six runs during the week, while Jose Jiminez let three score. Poor outings from Livian Hernandez and Tom Glavine (twice) were the final straw, dropping the Yankees out of second spot as the Linguists won. From the giddy heights of the early season, West Haven have now gone four weeks without a score above 300, and will seek to prove that they are not fading down the stretch when the league returns in Week 16.
Rulers scrape through while Bears bemoan leaving Weaver
Three points was the difference between the 4th place Rulers and the Mantle Division-leading Bears this week, with the Rulers moving over .500 once more. A tidy bullpen helped, with five saves closed out in seven-plus innings, although Mark Buehlre was the only starter to depart victorious. There was consistent contact hitting from the Rulers, with Aaron Boone and Gary Sheffield doing their bit, and the Rulers have now won three in a row, spelling danger for the intradivision match-ups coming soon to the Ruth Division.
With only the slimmest margin of defeat in this week’s game, the Bad News Bears will be frustrated by the Yankees’ latest foray into the trade market. Jeff Weaver may or may not prove a stalwart of the New York rotation for years to come, but his absence this week may well have cheated the Bears of the four points they needed to end their four game losing streak. Johan Santana and Jason Marquis labored hard in the rotation, and there was heavy hitting from Jeff Bagwell, Brian Giles, and Adam Dunn, but with the team’s best performer on the bench in the shape of Eric Milton (17IP, 2W, 1CG, 11K), the Bears were struggling to put together an effective rotation. Perhaps the final weeks of the season will see a reversal in fortunes.
Schilling can’t be moved from the mound for Lords, Ghosts are busted without staying power
With a week off for the MidSummer Classic, the Flatbu................es will be praying that their form does not desert them after this confident performance against a contending team. Strengthening their new win streak, now at four games, Curt Schilling was once again the lynchpin, providing two complete game wins to total 94 points on the week – a B-B.com League record. His sixteen strikeouts and ten baserunners allowed in 18 innings was enough for any opponent, and with hot-hitting Raul Ibanez joining the Lords for the final five games of the regular season, few would bet against the Flatbu................es being a force to contend with in the postseason this year.
Converting starters for closers may be the name of the game in Los Angeles and Atlanta, but it hasn’t worked out well for the Ghosts this week. Stocking their pitching staff with no fewer than three relievers, the Bambino found five saves and two wins from the pen, but the rest of the staff were less confident, and their peripheral stats hurt the Babe. Hitting was also in demand, with a lack of extra-base hits a major issue, and the lack of patience from Shea Hillenbrand and Shannon Stewart is frustrating the Ghosts. The Mantle Division is wide-open for the taking, however, and plenty of time remains for everyone’s favorite spook.
European clash ends with Germans thanking Martinez and Piazza, Ice can’t lean on Smoltz
Going one better than their defeated soccer relations, the German Gold Gloves triumphed in a pseudo-Continental clash this week by defeating the Italian Ice comfortably. Two scoreless outings for Pedro Martinez, including 22 strikeouts, added 71 points to the Gloves’ total, while Mike Piazza finally appears locked in for the year, blasting three 3-run shots in seven days. The return of Woody Williams and four saves for the pen made sure the margin of victory was comfortable. Moving into third in the DiMaggio Division, the pennant appears out of reach for the Germans, but respectability for the season has already been achieved.
A second good performance by the improving Ice, but one that failed to topple the overwhelming Gloves’ pitching staff. The middle of the rotation is to blame, as James Baldwin and Estaban Loiaza each allowed 17 hits in two starts, neither leaving with any wins. Tino Martinez appears to have found his feet in St. Louis, and plated eight, but the cooling down of Brian Jordan and Derek Jeter has detracted from his efforts. John Smoltz, however, was as dominating as ever, winning one and saving three – but with no saves for Hoffman, the pen was starved of points. Still time for the Ice to play spoiler for the rest of the division, as their line-up on paper commands respect.
Bashers stop streaking Buckeyes with succession of starts
With four straight victories under their belt, Junior’s Bashers might have been forgiven for showing nerves at their Week 14 fixture. However, the end result was guaranteed by a series of impressive outings by the Bashers’ rotation. Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon, Scott Erickson, Joel Piniero, Paul Byrd, and Ben Sheets all produced quality starts, and pushed the Bashers over 300 for the eighth time this season – one occasion during which the bullpen chock full’o starters appears to have worked well for Junior’s team. Which is just as well, since the hitters seemed to be in a hurry to get back to the dugout this week – no hitter went yard more than once, and few were on base consistently. But, hovering just two games behind the rested Wolverines, the Bashers could make the run-in very interesting indeed.
The opposite phenomenon scuppered the Buckeyes’ attempt to win five on the trot, with plenty of power hitting from I-Rod and Jim Thome, who appears nearly unaffected by the speculation surrounding his next team. But Tim Hudson was the only starter to end the week without much room for improvement, with a complete game win and 16 innings pitched, and the bullpen was efficient but innocuous, with just one save recorded. Dropping beneath the German Gold Gloves on points average, the Bombers can fight their way up the table if this latest setback proves no more than that.
Knots only team to play constantly, win through against slowing Bombers
As the last team to arrive at their bye week, the Balloon Knots are the only franchise to have played fourteen games in fourteen weeks. It doesn’t seem to have worn them down, as they took care of the YRMbombers to creep closer to the door out of the Mantle Division basement. A couple of timely wins for Roy Oswalt and Kevin Millwood, plus a sizeable contribution from Eddie Guardado, was enough to hand over to the hitters. Magglio Ordonez threw in enough run support to make the difference, plating seven with six walks and a couple of homers, while Orlando Cabrera and Todd Walker were each seen chatting to their first-base coaches eight times this week. Just one win shy of the fourth-place Swingers, and three behind the Bad News Bears, the Balloon Knots could still make the difference in the Mantle Division.
After some giant-killing performances during the earlier weeks of the league, the YRMbombers are having difficulty keeping their momentum going. Their third straight week with declining points totals, the Bombers also suffered due to the Weaver trade, with Ted Lilly not pitching this week, and Matt Clement’s 20 strikeouts would have been more useful to his team had he not allowed just as many baserunners in his two starts. Juan Gonzalez got the bat on the ball well enough, hitting singles, doubles, homers, and a triple, but he was the lone bright spot in a somnambulant offense this week. A week off may be the tonic the Bombers require, as they fight to ruse back into the midst of the Ruth Division.
Record Books
Cunning Linguists’ 455 is the highest ever weekly score in the league, beating the previous best of 403 by the West Haven Yankees. Their margin of victory, 221 points, is also a new high, displacing the previous record of 198 by the Wolverines against the Linguists.
The 94 points scored by Curt Schilling for the Lords of Flatbush is a new record for a starting pitcher, and for any player, in the league, beating the previous best of 67 points by Bartolo Colon.
Fixtures
No fixtures – All-Star Break week
Notes
Well, that’s it until the week after next. I get a weekend off to drink copiously, argue the relative merits of European Monetary Union, and nod off with Royksopp on the stereo. I tell ya, the pace around here would kill a lesser man.
Be seeing you,
Saxmania
Ruth Division (40-25)
DiMaggio Division (30-35)
Mantle Division (28-38)
Results
Babe’s Piano Playaz defeated West Haven Yankees by 336 – 243 points
Bambino’s Ghost lost to Lords of Flatbush by 268 – 322 points
Bad News Bears lost to YankeesRule2002 by 281 – 284 points
Saxmania’s Swingers lost to Cunning Linguists by 234 – 455 points
FP Balloon Knots defeated YRMbombers2002 by 229 – 202 points
Italian Ice lost to German Gold Gloves by 263 – 358 points
Buckeye Bombers lost to Junior’s Bashers by 249 – 315 points
Team of the Week: Cunning Linguists (455 points)
Luckiest team of the week: FP Balloon Knots (won with 229 points)
Unluckiest team of the week: Bad News Bears (lost with 281 points)
Match-up of the week: Bad News Bears vs. YankeesRule2002 (3 points' difference in the result)
Standings
Ruth Division
Lords of Flatbush (11-2; 312.5 point average)
Cunning Linguists (10-3; 268.7)
West Haven Yankees (9-4; 294.2)
YankeesRule2002 (7-6; 261.4)
YRMbombers2002 (3-10; 242.4)
DiMaggio Division
Michigan Wolverines (10-3; 306.8 point average)
Junior’s Bashers (8-5; 303.1)
German Gold Gloves (5-8; 275.2)
Buckeye Bombers (5-8; 249.1)
Italian Ice (2-11; 227.9)
Mantle Division
Bad News Bears (7-6; 260.1 point average)
Babe’s Pianbo Playaz (6-7; 278.9)
Bambino’s Ghost (6-7; 265.4)
Saxmania’s Swingers (5-8; 253.2)
FP Balloon Knots (4-10; 259.4)
Match Reports
Linguists smash revolutionary total as Swingers get a feeling of déjà vu
Already the franchise with the lowest-ever weekly total of 132 points, the Cunning Linguists shattered the record for highest-ever score this week with a mammoth total of 455 points. The win places them just one game behind the Lords of Flatbush, and extends their winning run to 6 games. Complete games from Mulder, Moyer, and Pettitte, not to mention 51 points from a locked-in Lance Berkman and some nice clutch hitting by Scott Rolen, left the Linguists gazing down on the other fourteen franchises, and the winning margin of 221 points over the Swingers is the highest in league history. All in all, a week that the Linguists will remember for a long while, keeping them happy through the barren All-Star week.
The Swingers would just as soon forget this week’s events, having been handed a reminder of the spirit of the first week of July. More red faces than red coats were in evidence, with no pitcher totalling more than five Ks, and five hitters collected less than two extra-base hits. With an anaemic offense and a mediocre pitching staff, the sixth loss in a row equals the league record – another fact to forget – and sends the Swingers into the All-Star Break dropping towards the bottom of the Mantle Division with all the levitating power of an overfed rhino. Things can only get better, or, in this case, less bad for the Swingers.
West Haven can’t get clutch against hard-working Playaz
A Playaz comeback has set the Mantle Division pennant up as a three-horse race, after a stirring win against the West Haven Yankees. Two wins in a row have lifted the ivory tinklers up the stagnant Mantle Division, and they have their starters to thank, after three of the five managed two outings in the past week. Vincent Padilla threw over seven shutout innings, while the rest of the rotation recorded three wins and a complete game, with a pair of saves from Mariano Rivera thrown in. Add in a consistent line-up (each hitter getting on base at least five times) led by Larry Walker with three homers and nine RBIs, and you’ve got the second-highest score of the year for the Playaz.
Poor performances in the key spots hurt West Haven, who have now lost two of the last three. Not only did Chipper Jones and A.J. Pierzynski each fail to drive in any runs, but the bullpen had trouble nailing down saves – Jason Isringhausen allowed six runs during the week, while Jose Jiminez let three score. Poor outings from Livian Hernandez and Tom Glavine (twice) were the final straw, dropping the Yankees out of second spot as the Linguists won. From the giddy heights of the early season, West Haven have now gone four weeks without a score above 300, and will seek to prove that they are not fading down the stretch when the league returns in Week 16.
Rulers scrape through while Bears bemoan leaving Weaver
Three points was the difference between the 4th place Rulers and the Mantle Division-leading Bears this week, with the Rulers moving over .500 once more. A tidy bullpen helped, with five saves closed out in seven-plus innings, although Mark Buehlre was the only starter to depart victorious. There was consistent contact hitting from the Rulers, with Aaron Boone and Gary Sheffield doing their bit, and the Rulers have now won three in a row, spelling danger for the intradivision match-ups coming soon to the Ruth Division.
With only the slimmest margin of defeat in this week’s game, the Bad News Bears will be frustrated by the Yankees’ latest foray into the trade market. Jeff Weaver may or may not prove a stalwart of the New York rotation for years to come, but his absence this week may well have cheated the Bears of the four points they needed to end their four game losing streak. Johan Santana and Jason Marquis labored hard in the rotation, and there was heavy hitting from Jeff Bagwell, Brian Giles, and Adam Dunn, but with the team’s best performer on the bench in the shape of Eric Milton (17IP, 2W, 1CG, 11K), the Bears were struggling to put together an effective rotation. Perhaps the final weeks of the season will see a reversal in fortunes.
Schilling can’t be moved from the mound for Lords, Ghosts are busted without staying power
With a week off for the MidSummer Classic, the Flatbu................es will be praying that their form does not desert them after this confident performance against a contending team. Strengthening their new win streak, now at four games, Curt Schilling was once again the lynchpin, providing two complete game wins to total 94 points on the week – a B-B.com League record. His sixteen strikeouts and ten baserunners allowed in 18 innings was enough for any opponent, and with hot-hitting Raul Ibanez joining the Lords for the final five games of the regular season, few would bet against the Flatbu................es being a force to contend with in the postseason this year.
Converting starters for closers may be the name of the game in Los Angeles and Atlanta, but it hasn’t worked out well for the Ghosts this week. Stocking their pitching staff with no fewer than three relievers, the Bambino found five saves and two wins from the pen, but the rest of the staff were less confident, and their peripheral stats hurt the Babe. Hitting was also in demand, with a lack of extra-base hits a major issue, and the lack of patience from Shea Hillenbrand and Shannon Stewart is frustrating the Ghosts. The Mantle Division is wide-open for the taking, however, and plenty of time remains for everyone’s favorite spook.
European clash ends with Germans thanking Martinez and Piazza, Ice can’t lean on Smoltz
Going one better than their defeated soccer relations, the German Gold Gloves triumphed in a pseudo-Continental clash this week by defeating the Italian Ice comfortably. Two scoreless outings for Pedro Martinez, including 22 strikeouts, added 71 points to the Gloves’ total, while Mike Piazza finally appears locked in for the year, blasting three 3-run shots in seven days. The return of Woody Williams and four saves for the pen made sure the margin of victory was comfortable. Moving into third in the DiMaggio Division, the pennant appears out of reach for the Germans, but respectability for the season has already been achieved.
A second good performance by the improving Ice, but one that failed to topple the overwhelming Gloves’ pitching staff. The middle of the rotation is to blame, as James Baldwin and Estaban Loiaza each allowed 17 hits in two starts, neither leaving with any wins. Tino Martinez appears to have found his feet in St. Louis, and plated eight, but the cooling down of Brian Jordan and Derek Jeter has detracted from his efforts. John Smoltz, however, was as dominating as ever, winning one and saving three – but with no saves for Hoffman, the pen was starved of points. Still time for the Ice to play spoiler for the rest of the division, as their line-up on paper commands respect.
Bashers stop streaking Buckeyes with succession of starts
With four straight victories under their belt, Junior’s Bashers might have been forgiven for showing nerves at their Week 14 fixture. However, the end result was guaranteed by a series of impressive outings by the Bashers’ rotation. Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon, Scott Erickson, Joel Piniero, Paul Byrd, and Ben Sheets all produced quality starts, and pushed the Bashers over 300 for the eighth time this season – one occasion during which the bullpen chock full’o starters appears to have worked well for Junior’s team. Which is just as well, since the hitters seemed to be in a hurry to get back to the dugout this week – no hitter went yard more than once, and few were on base consistently. But, hovering just two games behind the rested Wolverines, the Bashers could make the run-in very interesting indeed.
The opposite phenomenon scuppered the Buckeyes’ attempt to win five on the trot, with plenty of power hitting from I-Rod and Jim Thome, who appears nearly unaffected by the speculation surrounding his next team. But Tim Hudson was the only starter to end the week without much room for improvement, with a complete game win and 16 innings pitched, and the bullpen was efficient but innocuous, with just one save recorded. Dropping beneath the German Gold Gloves on points average, the Bombers can fight their way up the table if this latest setback proves no more than that.
Knots only team to play constantly, win through against slowing Bombers
As the last team to arrive at their bye week, the Balloon Knots are the only franchise to have played fourteen games in fourteen weeks. It doesn’t seem to have worn them down, as they took care of the YRMbombers to creep closer to the door out of the Mantle Division basement. A couple of timely wins for Roy Oswalt and Kevin Millwood, plus a sizeable contribution from Eddie Guardado, was enough to hand over to the hitters. Magglio Ordonez threw in enough run support to make the difference, plating seven with six walks and a couple of homers, while Orlando Cabrera and Todd Walker were each seen chatting to their first-base coaches eight times this week. Just one win shy of the fourth-place Swingers, and three behind the Bad News Bears, the Balloon Knots could still make the difference in the Mantle Division.
After some giant-killing performances during the earlier weeks of the league, the YRMbombers are having difficulty keeping their momentum going. Their third straight week with declining points totals, the Bombers also suffered due to the Weaver trade, with Ted Lilly not pitching this week, and Matt Clement’s 20 strikeouts would have been more useful to his team had he not allowed just as many baserunners in his two starts. Juan Gonzalez got the bat on the ball well enough, hitting singles, doubles, homers, and a triple, but he was the lone bright spot in a somnambulant offense this week. A week off may be the tonic the Bombers require, as they fight to ruse back into the midst of the Ruth Division.
Record Books
Cunning Linguists’ 455 is the highest ever weekly score in the league, beating the previous best of 403 by the West Haven Yankees. Their margin of victory, 221 points, is also a new high, displacing the previous record of 198 by the Wolverines against the Linguists.
The 94 points scored by Curt Schilling for the Lords of Flatbush is a new record for a starting pitcher, and for any player, in the league, beating the previous best of 67 points by Bartolo Colon.
Fixtures
No fixtures – All-Star Break week
Notes
Well, that’s it until the week after next. I get a weekend off to drink copiously, argue the relative merits of European Monetary Union, and nod off with Royksopp on the stereo. I tell ya, the pace around here would kill a lesser man.
Be seeing you,
Saxmania