Champions League

The Tampa Bay Rays continued their improbable march towards a championship last week as they marched into Minnesota and pulled out 2 straight games to win the series. Game3 was an epic of Shakespearean proportions as 2 lefties took the hill for their respective clubs - Kazmir for the Rays and Johan freaking Santana for the Twins. Johan was on fire out of the gate striking out 2 in the 1st frame. His team’s offense wasn’t bad either as former Hairys Torii Hunter went DEEP with a 2 run shot to make it 2-0 Twins just like that.

Both pitchers then got locked in as 13 straight batters were retired between the two of them. The streak was broken in the 4th when BJ Upton took a 2-2 pitch deep to right center to make it 2-1 Twins. Torii the Torrid immediately countered with a solo shot down the line to make it 3-1 and with Santana dealing like he was, things were looking bleak. The bottom of the Ray order started to work some magic, though, and bleak soon became blessed as Aki walked to lead off the 5th, Navarro singled, Kazmir bunted them both over and Carl Crawford scored them both with a super-clutch single - tie game.

Things got really intense in the 6th with new pitcher Neshek on the mound. Wigginton got a one-out single and then Aki hit a grounder straight to Prince Fielder who began the 3-4-3 double play….by tossing his throw into the outfield and in so doing tipped the scales of this entire series. THAT was the key play, right there. Instead of being out of the inning unscathed, there are now 2 men on and Ockey sends in Raul “Big Sexy” Casanova who hits a 3-run pinch-hit yakker that turns this game on its head. Apparantly Prince isn’t much of a “Fielder” after all *cue rimshot* Come on - you know Berman would totally say that.

Anyway, this thing wasn’t done yet as Torii continued to give the finger to Ray pitchers as he doubled to lead off and was brought home by Cuddyer who moved to 2nd on a Crawford error for good measure. Fielder tried to start redeeming himself with an RBI single to make it 6-5 and that’s when Ockey had had enough. Enter the Joba. Inning over. The Rays went down meekly in the 7th and then ANOTHER huge play. In very un-Joba like fashion, Chamberlain allowed a lead-off single to Castillo then a double to Mauer. Castillo went for home, but was gunned down by Johnny Gomes and Ray fans everywhere breathed a sigh of relief. Velandia hit a solo to make it 7-5 in the 8th and a combo of Switzer and Salas held on for the save and a humongoid win.

Game 2 wasn’t quite as close. It was just one of those games where everything goes right for one guy (me in this case) and wrong for the other (Bri, unfortunately). This was a big win because it gave me a chance to rest my pitchers and avoid having to face Chris Young in Game 5. Silva started for the Twins and got roughed up pretty good as he gave up 2 doubles, a walk, a single and a grand slam to Wigginton while recording only one out. That would all for Mr. Silva. Meanwhile, Andy Sonnanstine continued to be the best 5.85 real life ERA pitcher ever as he went 8.1 very strong innings. Only after he’d been left in way too long by Ockey did he give up runs. But before that happened, he threw 7 shutout innings in a gutsy performance to say the least. The Rays got some more hits and runs as BJ Upton continued to be scalding hot going deep and Casanova hit another 2-run bomb himself. Prince hit a big 2-run triple in the 9th, but by that time it was too little too late and he was left spend the offseason doing this:

Thanks so much to Bri for a hard-fought series that came down to some really unlucky breaks, really. I pretty much got super-lucky.

Wow.
We beat Webb.
5-1.
A 4-run 5th inning where we loaded the bases and kept bringing them home via RBI walks and singles did the trick.
Escobar followed up his game 2 2-hit complete game shutout with a 3-hit, no walk, one-run complete game. THAT is clutch. For those of you that don’t add well…and that would be Jerry, and Brian… in his two starts in the series he goes 2-0, pitching 18 innings, allowing only 5 hits and 5 walks, and just allows one run.
Incredible.
3 double plays helped in this one.
My boys got thrown out running 4 times in the game. I apparently am a HORRIBLE base coach.
Utley hits .368 in the series and Morneau .417.
I’m in the series, can’t wait to play one of you goons.
It’s my 9th straight playoff series win in the Champions league.

K, they killed me. My starter got lit up for 10 hits and 7 runs in 2 measly innings. Dick. Millwood pitched well enough for them. Now I’m in trouble. Game 5 vs. Webb. Suck.

Game 1 - Cards go into 9th up by a run and lose. Karren had big decision on fielders choice in the inning that didn’t work out. Should have won this game. 4-3 Rangers.

Game 2 - Escobar, perhaps the best pitching performance in playoff PTP history? 2-hit complete game shutout. 6-0 Cards.

Game 3 - Ankiel and Morneau hit big homers for Cards. Bullpen holds on. Computer manager pulls boner by not pitching available Millwood or Webb. 5-4 Cards.

The Rays have been a roll lately. Srsly. They pulled out a couple squeakers and then just flat-out made it RAIN on their rival Reds. Here’s how it went:

Game 1 vs. Nats - Sonnanstine vs. Hill. My #5 starter continues to impress moving to 3-1 on the year with 7.2 respectable innings where he gave up 4 runs on 5 hits. The Hairys got a nice lead thanks to a big 2nd inning where Pena led off with a solo (of course) bomb. That is the FOURTH straight game in which Pena has gone deep. So awesome. Then with 2 outs, Delmon Young homers and Iwamura and Upton both get infield singles for a 4-0 lead. Wigginton solo shot makes it 5-0 where it stays until the 7th when the Nats work a serious 2-out rally. Walk, double, walk, single, single makes it 5-4 and scary all of a sudden. Scary except for the fact that I’ve got Joba. Here’s how he wrapped this game up:
Chamberlain now pitching
5-4 2 — 22 Fick struck out (CBCBFC)
************** Bottom of the 9th inning, Nationals batting
Navarro now playing catcher
5-4 0 — 12 Schneider struck out (BSFS)
5-4 1 — 12 Lopez struck out (BCFS)
5-4 2 — 22 Kearns struck out (SBCBFFFS)

That’s 4 straight K’s, holmes. SICK.

Game 2 vs. Rangers - Carmona fails to impress AGAIN. He puts 15 men on base in 6.1 innings and the Hairys are in serious trouble in the 7th. The Rangers tie the game and still have men on 2nd and 3rd with one out when I bring Joba in to stop the bleeding. I get REAL lucky as he throws a wild pitch but slow of foot Teixeira gets tagged out trying to score. I escape that jam with the tie intact but then the unthinkable - Sammy Sosa, who hits for .220 vs R goes yard off Joba in the 8th and I’m down 5-4. WHAT??!!?? That did not just happen. My squad refuses to let Joba take the loss, though as I load the bases in the 9th and Aki comes through with a GW single. RAD.

Games 3 & 4 vs the Reds. Holy crap. I throw up some serious football scores against my rival and just ROLL. I get 35 runs in 2 games on 39 hits (7 of which were bombs). Lost in this is the disturbing fact that Shields got torched in Game 1. I was down 8-2 at one point. Yikes. Anyway, those games were really fun - check the boxscores if you don’t believe me.

We beat Marlins 6-3 as we jumped out to an early lead - I’m seriously not used to playing with a lead, but we held it - got another 18 runners on base, to keep that sweet trend going. Looper pitched well enough to give us the win but was pulled early for super-reliever Johnson, who pitched 3.1 strong shutout innings to keep our lead. They threatened mean in the 9th, but Cabrera and Ross couldn’t drive guys home. I win.

Royals up next. I had a depleted staff. Escobar got pounded early. We’re down 3-1 in the 2nd. We scored all of our runs in the 4th, still down 3, as Eckstein walked and scored on an Utley triple, then Pujols groundouted him in, then Edmonds homered, then with the score tied… this…

here’s Rick Ankiel again
bounced out his last time up
the 1-0 offering
this ball is well hit to center
DeJesus goes back
back
but he won’t get it
DeJesus chases it down
Ankiel rounds third
trying to score
here’s the throw
safe!
an inside the park homerun!

That ruled. Can’t remember the last time that happened. But it gave us a 1-run lead, and neither team scored the rest of the way, as Percibal got the final out with the tying run on 2nd. 4-3 Cards.

21st win. With the Nationals losing nightly, and with theirs and the Giants 20th losses, I clinched anticlimatically. All 3 of us in our division were at 15-14 with 10 games to go, and both of those guys laid a 4-6 egg from that point on, mostly because the played St. Louis a lot. SO good to be back in the playoffs, even though I’ll have to face a tough Texas team and pitching staff that took all 3 games from me during the season.

Have you ever thought you might be able to sweep a team, then minutes later really wonder if you’ll even be able to salvage a split?

Game 1 - Pineiro vs. Lincecum. Cards drive Lincecum from game in 4th, and score in 5 straight innings, from the 2nd to the 6th, but the Giants keep coming back. Homers by average power Giants Ortmeier and Alfonzo keep them in the game. I was up 6-3 in the 7th when my bullpen fell apart. They took a 7-6 lead when Pujols hit his 2nd clutch 9th inning homer in as many games, this one to tie it. But, in their half of the 9th, Bonds went yard off Percival to win it for San Fran 8-7.

Game 2 - I have few pitchers who aren’t fatigued. I start Wellemeyer against Cain, and in this one he gives up 3 singles, a walk, and a homer in the first INNING. That’s pretty much where it stopped for the San Fran offense, though, as I told the dude to settle down and that he’s not coming out of the game, and he goes all the way through 6 innings only giving up 4 runs. Giants only got 3 hits after the 1st inning. Meanwhile, I’m clawing back. My backup catcher Bennett hits his 1st homer of the year, pinch hitter Edmonds hits his 1st homer of the year, and Pujols hits a homer for the 3rd game in a row. I score the last 6 runs of the game and win going away, with relief pitcher Flores pitching his best outing of the season, 3 IP, 1 hit, 3 k’s, and zero runs, for the save. Eckstein and Bennett each get 3 hits, and both are batting over .340. Morneau and Shumaker also batting .340 or better. Utley, Pujols, Ryan and Ludwick all around .300. In the last 5 games, I’ve had between 14 and 20 batters get on base every time. Man, with that offense, why am I just barely clinging to a lead in my division with 4 games to go?

In a crucial division race when the Rays just can’t afford to lose to bad teams, that’s precisely what they did against Florida. And badly, at that. Well, they did win one game, but the other was verrrry forgettable. Here’s what went down:

Game 1 - Jackson vs. Kim. In a battle of chumps sporting 6+ ERA’s, Jackson gets the better of Kim with a respectable 3 runs in 6 2/3’s. Kim gets blasted in the face right off the bat (ha ha - get it?? bat?? that works on so many levels) as the absolutely torrid B.J. Upton hits a 2-run bomb in the first. We trade sac fly for RBI ground-out to make it 3-1 Cody Ross hits a solo jack in the first of several bombs against me (WHY does it seem like certain guys just pound me?? it’s really getting annoying - Cust, Keppinger, Ross all these guys just go OFF with multi-HR games and crap. Lame. Oh well.) and it’s 3-2. Carlos Pena goes yard (yep, a solo) to make it 4-2 and things are looking good (Ps what is Carlos Pena’s nickname? cuz with the year he’s having, he seriously needs one. and a GOOD one.) Jackson helps his cause with an RBI single and Pena draws a bases-loaded walk to make it 6-2. My bullpen cracks, but doesn’t implode and we hold on 6-5. Of note: Al Reyes pitches an inning without giving up a homer.

Game 2 - Hudson vs. Kazmir. I’m feeling great as Velandia hits a 3-run yakker in the 1st. Sadly we would only score one more run the entire game while the Marlins go all rabid dog and hang a 12-spot on me. Yikes. Stupid Ross hits 2 bombs, Hanley hits one too as the Marlins collect their 12 runs on 16 hits. My bullpen (save Joba) has been terrible all year, but now my starters are getting killed. This is troubling. At this point, I’ve given up at least 5 runs in SEVEN straight games. Not great. Not great at all. Upton/Pena watch: BJ goes 2-5 and Pena the one bomb.

The Rays entered a HUGE series against the hated Reds after a fantastic Colorado excursion refreshed and invigorated. Things looked even better when Ockey realized he wouldn’t have to face Peavy OR Hamels. NICE. Too bad his 1-2 pitchers were just as awful as Cincy’s 4-5’s. Tampa’s once proud starters have really been taking a huge dump lately. It’s sad. Thankfully the Ray offense continues to excite.

Game 1 featured “ace” Carmona against Belisle who was 3-0 despite his near six ERA. Money in the bank, right? Well yeah, except for the fact that Carmona gave up 13 hits and 6 runs. This one was back and forth all night. Rays load the bases in the 2nd and come up emtpy then Carmona gives up 3 straight singles to start the bottom half. He gets a GDP, but a run still scores to make it 1-0 Reds. Rays tie it as Crawford singles, steals (he’s doing this a lot, BTW) and scores on an RBI double by Upton (he’s doing that a lot, too - check the league RBI lead and current 21 game hitting streak - yowza!!). Phillips RBI double gives Reds the lead back 2-1. Sixth inning is magical for Tampa - Iwamura single followed by Casanova 2-run bomb, then Crawford walk/steal and Upton walk lead to two more as Pena doubles them in and scores himself on a Harris single. It’s now 6-2 Rays. Awesome. Not awesome: Carmona’s next half-inning. Hatteburg gets his third straight hit to lead off then an HPB, Griffey RBI double, RBI ground-out, and RBI single by serious thorn in my side Keppinger and my comfy 4 run lead is down to one measley run. I get it going in the 8th, though as Young singles then Upton doubles and I’m in great shape - men on 2nd and 3rd no out. But then Pena lines out and Harris K’s and Wigginton hits a shallow fly and I’m screwed until it’s DROPPED and both runs score. YES! Those runs were huge, too, as in came Reyes. Reyes does what he always does - give up a nut-squashing bomb - this time a 2-run job to effing Keppinger to make it 8-7. Casanova hits his 2nd of the game to lead off the 9th, though, and we win 9-7.

Game 2 is Shields vs. Livingston. They’re both dreadful in this one. Shields more so, giving up 9 hits and 6 runs. Of those 9 hits, 6 were for extra bases with 3 of them being bombs. Solid effort, James. At this poing, I don’t have a single pitcher on my roster with an ERA under 4 except Joba. Thank HEAVENS I drafted THAT guy. Anyway, this one was kind of back and forth as well. Upton opens with a 2-run bomb which is immediately countered by the same from Hamilton. I get an RBI double from Navarro, but egg-hole Keppinger hits ANOTHER 2-run bomb. Seriously. Keppinger. WTF.

I tie it with an Iwamura solo shot then take the lead on a Crawfod RBI single 5-4. Shields is still in in the 7th when he implodes for good - Phillips goes yard to lead off and tie the game then it’s single to Griffey, double to Votto and Keppinger gets plunked (not hard enough though, if you ask me). Kazmir comes on in relief and gets a K and for the first out. Then he does the unthinkable and walks in the go-ahead run. He gets a GDP to end it, but I’m still down 6-5. Dohmann comes in and gives up ANOTHER 2-run bomb to Phillips that breaks my back. Pena makes a valiant effort with a serious bomb to dead-center, but as has been the sad case all season, it’s just a solo and I lose 8-6. Seriously, you’d think a guy with 16 bombs would have a lot more RBI’s. I’m not complaining - it’s just been really bad luck. Pena is still an animal, though.

The Twins clinched the Southern Division Pennant early Monday morning. Santana was the star, throwing a complete game 6 hitter and allowed 2 Earned Runs. Exciting: Santana is only 9 K’s away from the single season record, and in this league that is truly saying something. Do I rest him for the playoffs? Or do I let him get the record?