Ratings Challenge, Season II (The Rematch)

[Jablowmi]

i'll see what i can do, joe

[ADRIANGABRIEL]

The "Dope Fiends" (our loyal fanbase) are none too pleased after the events of last night. Rioting and looting ensued after news of a Refugees' sweep. Picketers are clutching signs that read "The End Is Near" and "Repnet". Adrian is being burned in effigy. Teen pregnancy is up. Literacy is down.
Will the Dope Show inject some hope into the veins of the Dope Fiends? Tune in tomorrow.

By the way, news of Denny McLain's "dope sickness" were completely untrue. Yes, Denny became ill after leaving game one . However, Denny contracted food poisioning from one of Pinetar's better eating establishments.

[joethejet]

:lol: Too funny.

Meanwhile, we lost 2 of 3 to put Excel up by four over both us and the Dopers.

First game we leave 12 OB while he's hitting 3 HRs. Guess we didn't do a good enough job of getting our HR bats ready. Didn't help that Dickey was out. :( We managed 1 HR to his 8! It's not like we have no power (Alou, Ott, White, Dickey for one game

Then, Rixey throws a 4 hitter at us while Aguilera, facing only 2 LHB, gets ripped for 9 base runners in 4.2 IP. :roll: Guess he didn't have his good stuff. Course, the way Rixey was going, it wasn't going to matter much.

With our backs against the wall, our bozos find their cajones and pull out a win. Dean (4.51 ERA :roll:) gets his 19th win, but gives up 6 runs in 5 IP. Lucky for us, Podbielan and Miller shutout the rest of the way. I had hoped that Dean would, SOMETIME this season, begin to pitch to his card, but it just hasn't happened. :evil: :cry: That's been a big factor in our performance. Maybe if we make the playoffs! ;)

Meantime, Big pulls into a 1 game lead over both Dope and us. Despite Gabriel's protestations, he's very much in the race.

We have our final home games tonight and HAVE to take 2 or, probably, sweep to have a realistic chance. The suddenly hot Refugees are flying in and we're hoping to cool them down somehow. We have to face Norwood in game 3 and he's given us fits. Hopefully Hurst is up for the challenge.

Jet
p.s. jablowmi, any help is appreciated!!!

[bigmahon]

Well, I managed to avoid a [b:3575580dfc]HUGE Jablowmi[/b:3575580dfc] last night, taking 2 of 3 from my divisional nemesis, and more importantly taking pole position in the WC race.

It could have been a sweep, were it not for an characteristic blown save and bullpen loss in Game 1. Reggie Harris did the honors, giving up a carefully crafted 3-1 lead in the bottom of the 7th. :cry:

On the plus side, hard hitting Frankie Crosetti took one away from his former club, providing a home run and triple among his 3 hits. Sure I wanted Koufax and Wheat, but when the opportunity came up to acquire Crosetti, I jumped at the chance. :wink: :lol:

9 more to go!

[joethejet]

[quote:d69f492cce="bigmahon"]when the opportunity came up to acquire Crosetti, I jumped at the chance[/quote:d69f492cce]

:lol: :lol: 8)

[joethejet]

Well, we lucked our way into a sweep of Pinetar to at least give us a chance on the 6 game road trip coming up. That's something we pretty much HAD to do. I give my bozos credit for pulling that out. Now we'll see if they have anything left for the road!

Heck, we even beat Norwood with Hurst!

Big three with the Dopers tonight. Have to win that series and hope to get some help from Jablowmis and Roadkill however as we're tied with Big for the WC. Course, I guess we're only 2 back of Excel so we might get a miracle there if the Refugees can sweep them.

Fasten your seat belts boys! 8)

Jet

[ADRIANGABRIEL]

Central Shenanigans

Holy crap! Chico vaults into a wild card tie and moves to within two games of first with a sweep of the Refugees. Meanwhile, the Dopesters are taking two of three from first place Cherry Hill.

Denny McLain lost a heartbreaker. Leading 1-0 with a 2 hitter, going into the bottom of the ninth, he gives up back-to-back jacks to Mantle and Aaron. He was devastated, of course. The Yogi Method has worked brilliantly. Denny's been doing really well. We decided to send up a couple of hookers to, you know, cheer him up.

Three teams, three games, one spot--maybe two. The fun continues tonight as Chico visits "The Crack House" also called "The House that Dope Built." Cherry Hill visits the Refugees (watch out for OT's Crab Shack).

[Proverbial Psalms]

East
Ruritania Roadkill edbazo 84 72 .538 ---
Diamond Kings bigmahon 82 74 .526 2.0

Ruritania Roadkill... @legionnaires, vs. roadkill
UK Diamond Kings... vs. jablowmis, @roadkill

Central
Excel-er-raters by wjanssen 84 72 .538 ---
Wonder Boys II jet/wineman 82 74 .526 2.0
Diamond Dope Show agabriel 79 71 .527 2.0

Excel-er-raters... @refugees, @ dope show
Dope Shows... vs. wb too, vs. exceleraters
Wonder Boy II... @dope show, @refugees

The following is also the up-to-date tiebreaker status... if you do not wish to know this information... and would rather be surprised by the ending (similar to a suspense novel, or thriller movie), then do not read any further :)

Ruritiania Roadkill...
--------------------------------
7-14 vs. UK Diamond Kings
8-4 vs. Diamond Dpe Show
8-4 vs. Wonder Boys Too
6-6 vs. Excel-er-aters

UK Diamond Kings...
--------------------------------
14-7 vs. Ruritiania Roadkill
5-4 vs. Diamond Dope Show
5-7 vs. Wonder Boys Too
6-6 vs. Excel-er-aters

Diamond Dope Show...
--------------------------------
9-12 vs. Wonder Boys Too
7-14 vs. Excel-er-aters
4-8 vs. Ruritania Roadkill
4-5 vs. UK Diamond Kings

Chico Wonder Boys Too...
--------------------------------
12-9 vs. Diamond Dope Show
11-13 vs. Excel-er-aters
4-8 vs. Ruritania Roadkill
7-5 vs. UK Diamond Kings

Cherry Hill Excel-er-aters...
--------------------------------
14-7 vs. Diamond Dope Show
13-11 vs. Wonder Boys Too
6-6 vs. Ruritania Roadkill
6-6 vs. UK Diamond Kings

Much like traces of white powder spotted occassionally in Denny McLain's locker, these tiebreakers statistics are not a good sign for Diamond Dope Show faithful, as they lose the head-to-head tiebreaker with everybody :roll: :?

In the east, bigmahon's Diamond Kings hold the tiebreaker advantage over edbazo's Roadkill, with a 14-7 season long advantage with 3 games remaining.

In the central, Excels hold the tiebreaker advantage over both Wonder Boys and Dope Show... and jet/wineman's Wonder Boys would win via tiebreaker over adrian's Dope Show.

Any wildcard tie is less clearcut... even a 3-way tie could occur (perhaps), so keep the above table handy in event of two or more teams ending up tied for the fourth playoff spot (and the opportunity to visit Munich in the winter :wink:)

[ADRIANGABRIEL]

Chico takes two of three from the Dopesters. There's a special giveaway tonight at "The Crack House." The first 20,000 fans get a week's dosage of Xanax.

Denny McLain's newest friends, "The Crack Whores" as they've been dubbed, are despondent along with the rest of the Dope Fiends. However, Denny threw his league-leading eighth shutout. He continues to share the league lead in losses. Way to go Denny!

Cherry Hill, who swept, visits tonight. After the final game, fans will be treated to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Anyone dressed in drag will get in for half price.

[joethejet]

Well, our boys have shown their mettle so far, they have one more test to prove they are playoff worthy. (If they are!)

McClain proved too much for us in the final game (3 hitter), but we came close to a sweep with some breaks in game 2. Dean earned his keep in game 1 by battling to a win. Lonborg continued to be our ace out dueling Hubbell in game 2.

We have to face our nemsises, Norwood and Speer tonight so it's not going to be easy. If we can win 2, we force Big to sweep and eliminate Dopers, but winning two on the road isn't going to be easy.

Fortunately, both Excel and Roadkill have something to play for. Excel to clinch first and the home field advantage in the first round and Roadkill needs to eliminate Big and also attempt to wrestle the home field from Excel. They split their series so I guess it would come down to run differential if they end up tied.

It's been a heck of a ride. I just hope my bozos have enough to get them over the top on the road against the Refugees! 8)

Jet