The 2012 Strat-O-Master League Chat Room

Friday, 11-21-14:

Wow! It comes down to this. 7 out of 12 teams vying for 4 playoff spots going into the last 3 games of the season. On opening night I wrote: "Are you ready for some baseball?" Well, are you ready? Because here we go. It's for a one in four chance to win the coveted title of "Strat-O-Master".

LAST NIGHT:

In the East, misslonlyhearts moved to within 1 game of Pollard by winning 2 of 3 from the Kangaroos.

Eastbound swept 5th Avenue. The Down are now tied with misslonlyhearts for 2nd place in the East - 1 game behind Pollard. The 4th place Green Team is out of playoff contention.

In the Central, Ballwin held onto 1st place by taking 2 out of 3 from the District. But the Gators now share the top spot with BOSTON. The 4th place Arsenal are not in the playoff picture.

BOSTON swept Small Ball to move into a 1st place tie with Ballwin in the Central. The 3rd place Wonders have been eliminated from the playoffs.

In the West, Pittsburg went 3-0 against Havana. The Cigaros are still on top, but their lead has been narrowed to just 1 game. The 3rd place Cubs Nats A's 2 will not participate in the playoffs.

NKP downed ARIZONA 2 games to 1. The Zorros are now 1 game behind Havana. The 4th place DESERT will play their last 3 games tonight.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM LAST NIGHT:

ARIZONA pounded out 24 hits in a 21-3 victory in game 1 of their series with NKP.

Erik Kratz of ARIZONA homered twice in each game of his team's series with NKP. The 6 home runs give him a total of 38 for the season.

Pollard's Adam Laroche took sole possession of the home run lead by blasting number 54.

Felix Hernandez became the leagues only 20 game winner. He has lost 10 times.

Ballwin's Aroldis Chapman recorded save number 42 giving him a tie for the league lead in that category.

TONIGHT'S DO-OR-DIE GAMES:

East Division

Eastbound is at Pollard. The Down are 1 game behind the Kangaroos. Eastbound has an 11-10 edge in the series.

5th Avenue plays at misslonlyhearts. nate's west also trails Pollard by 1 game. misslonlyhearts have won 11 and lost 10 against the Green Team.

Central Division

Ballwin travels to BOSTON. Both teams are tied for 1st place. The BEES lead the series 12 games to 9.

West Division

NKP is on the road at Havana. The Zorros are within 1 game of the Cigaros. Havana has taken 11 of 21 thus far.

Sunday, 11-23-14:

What a finish to the regular season. Here's how it ended.

FRIDAY NIGHT'S DECIDING GAMES:

Eastbound - a powerhouse in the East all season long - came into Friday night tied for 2nd place with misslonlyhearts. The Down had won their last six series. They were 1 game from the top spot and playing Pollard - the team ahead of them. Eastbound would pitch 17 and 20 game winners in games 1 and 3 of the series. However, their aces would lose those games, as Eastbound was only able to take game 2. Consequently, the Down fell to 3rd place and out of the playoffs. The Kangaroos - a team that has held 1st place for nearly the entire season - ended up with the best record in the league at 88-74. Pollard now moves on as the number 1 seed in the playoffs and deservedly so.

misslonlyhearts - an underdog playing in the tough East Division - came into Friday night tied for 2nd place with Eastbound and 1 game behind mighty Pollard. nate's west managed to take 2 of 3 from last place 5th Avenue and capture a wild card spot in the playoffs. This team has been flying under the radar throughout the season, but they are high profile now.

Holding 1st place in the Central for most of the season was Small Ball, but they faltered badly at season's end and fell out of contention. BOSTON and Ballwin had been on a season long roller coaster ride. Up and down they went in the standings. But now - with Small Ball out of the way - they found themselves tied for the top spot and playing each other in the last series of the regular season. When the coaster ride ended, the BEES could be seen at the crest of the hill - as they won 2 out of 3 from the Gators. BOSTON now moves on. Ballwin's season ends.

In the West, Havana powered its way into 1st place during the middle part of the season and would not relinquish their hold on the top spot. NKP started out well but then began to tank losing series after series. However, during the last quarter of the season, the Zorros righted their ship. Coming into Friday night, NKP found themselves 1 game behind the Cigaros who they were scheduled to play. The Z's swept the series and now enter the playoffs as a huge underdog. Havana's season comes to an unexpected and abrupt end.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM FRIDAY'S GAMES

Pollard's Adam Laroche belted 3 home runs to finish with a league high of 57.

Edwin Encarnacion of Havana went deep 3 times. He ended up with 56.

misslonlyhearts' Jake Peavy won ending his season at 19-11.

Kris Medlen of BOSTON picked up win number 18 against 12 losses.

District's Mat Latos lost for the 20th time. He had 12 wins.

Aroldis Chapman of Ballwin recorded his 43rd save to lead the league in that category.

THE CUBAN BOMBERS - E & W BOYS:

Reminiscent of the 1961 Bronx Bombers' M & M boys - Roger Maris (61) and Mickey Mantle (54), Havana's Edwin Encarnacion slugged 57 home runs while his teammate Josh Willingham blasted 50.

BATTING LEADERS:

Batting Average -

(MIS) Andrew McCutchen .339
(HAV) Melky Cabrera .339
(5TH) Mike Trout .318
(DIS) Miguel Cabrera .316
(HAV) Edwin Encarnacion .316

Home Runs -

(POL) Adam Laroche 57
(HAV) Edwin Encarnacion 56
(BOS) Josh Hamilton 52
(ARI) Adrian Beltre 52
(HAV) Josh Willingham 50

Runs Batted In -

(HAV) Edwin Encarnacion 125
(MIS) Corey Hart 123
(POL) Adam Laroche 120
(MIS) Andrew McCutchen 116
(DIS) Miguel Cabrera 115

On Base Percentage (OBP) -

(NKP) Joey Votto .435
(HAV) Edwin Encarnacion .414
(MIS) Andrew McCutchen .407
(POL) David Ortiz .398
(5TH) Mike Trout .391

Slugging Percentage (SLG) -

(HAV) Edwin Encarnacion .658
(HAV) Garrett Jones .634
(MIS) Andrew McCutchen .621
(POL) David Ortiz .619
(5TH) Mike Trout .613

On Base Plus Slugging Percentage (OPS) -

(HAV) Edwin Encarnacion 1.072
(MIS) Andrew McCutchen 1.028
(POL) David Ortiz 1.017
(5TH) Mike Trout 1.004
(NKP) Joey Votto .985

PITCHING LEADERS:

Wins -

(EAS) Felix Hernandez 20
(MIS) Jake Peavy 19
(BAL) Kris Medlen 18
(NKP) R.A. Dickey 17
(EAS) Clayton Kershaw 17

Saves -

(BAL) Aroldis Chapman 43
(5TH) Jonathan Papelbon 42
(POL) Jim Johnson 38
(SMA) Joe Nathan 37
(DIS) Jose Valverde 37

Earned Run Average (ERA) -

(BOS) Erasmo Ramirez 2.88
(SMA) Neftali Feliz 2.92
(BAL) Kris Medlen 3.29
(BOS) Brandon Beachy 3.37
(POL) Ryan Dempster 3.45

Walks Plus Hits Per Inning Pitched (WHIP) -

(BAL) Kris Medlen 1.09
(BOS) Erasmo Ramirez 1.14
(5TH) Justin Verlander 1.16
(NKP) R.A. Dickey 1.18
(BOS) Chris Sale 1.18
(SMA) Neftali Feliz 1.18

MY PRODIGAL SON?

One thing I learned about Golden Tongue this season. You'll never get the last word - so why bother.

But what he said is true. Let's have fun in the playoffs. We worked hard to get there.

PLAYOFF BASEBALL:

We'll talk about the games tomorrow.

I'll close by saying that I'm happy for the teams that made it to the playoffs: Pollard, misslonlyhearts, BOSTON and NKP. It will be difficult for the second season to match the excitement that we had during the regular season.

I also feel for the owners that were REALLY close but didn't make it: Eastbound, Ballwin, Havana and Small Ball. They were fierce competitors who had playoff worthy teams. It just wasn't in the dice for them this time.

Monday, 11-24-14:

It's playoff baseball time in the inaugural season of the Strat-O-Master League. Only four master strategists are still standing after persevering through the grind of a hotly contested 162 game regular season. They are:

akw8319 of the NKP Zorros
FALCON29 of the Pollard Kangaroos
GARYCOOK of the BOSTON BEES
mitcho of misslonlyhearts nate's west

One of the above four master strategists will be crowned the reigning "Strat-O-Master". He shall retain that title unless otherwise dethroned by a different winner of the next - yet unannounced - season of Strat-O-Master League baseball.

MY MEANINGLESS SEEDING OF THE PLAYOFF TEAMS:

Prior to the end of the season, I seeded the eight teams that were in contention for the playoffs. At that time, Pollard was seeded #1; BOSTON #4; misslonlyhearts #7; and NKP #8. Now that the playoffs have arrived, I have reseeded the qualifying teams as follows:

1. Pollard (POL) 88-74 - 1st place/East Division
2. BOSTON (BOS) 86-76 -1st place/Central Division
3. misslonlyhearts (MIS) 87-75 - 2nd place/East Division
4. NKP (NKP) 87-75 - 1st place/West Division

TEAM RUNS SCORED:

POL - 843 - 5.20 per game
MIS - 793 - 4.90 per game
NKP - 785 - 4.85 per game
BOS - 754 - 4.65 per game

TEAM RUNS AGAINST:

BOS - 697 - 4.30 per game
NKP - 714 - 4.41 per game
MIS - 745 - 4.60 per game
POL - 811 - 5.01 per game

TEAM RUN DIFFERENTIALS:

NKP +71
BOS +57
MIS +48
POL +32

TEAM LONGEST WINNING STREAKS:

BOS 9
NKP 8
POL 8
MIS 7

TEAM LONGEST LOSING STREAKS:

POL 5
BOS 6
MIS 6
NKP 6

TEAM BATTING AVERAGES:

MIS .270
NKP .256
POL .255
BOS .249

TEAM HOME RUNS:

POL 333
BOS 309
NKP 225
MIS 197

TEAM ERAs:

BOS 4.06
NKP 4.17
MIS 4.41
POL 4.60

TEAM WHIPs:

BOS 1.26
NKP 1.26
MIS 1.28
POL 1.44

TONIGHT'S PLAYOFF GAMES:

Pollard will host BOSTON in games 1 and 2. The Kangaroos finished the season winning 17 of their last 30. The BEES closed at 19-11. In head-to-head play, each team won 6 times.

NKP is at home for 2 games against the wild card team - misslonlyhearts. The Zorros won 20 and lost 10 to end the season. nate's west finished at 17-13. Against each other, they were 6-6.

Tuesday, 11-25-14:


SEMI-FINALS ACTION FROM LAST NIGHT:

It was a good night for the home teams who won all 4 of the games played.

Pollard took 2 from BOSTON. Below are some game highlights:

Game 1: Starter Mike Fiers of the Kangaroos struck out 12 in 6 innings of work.

Game 1: The BEES were held to just 3 hits.

Game 2: In the bottom of the 3rd inning, Pollard's Matt Kemp, Justin Ruggiano and Adam Laroche all went deep.

NKP went 2-0 against misslonlyhearts. Below are some game highlights:

Game 1: Reliever Evan Scribner of the Zorros worked 4 innings allowing 1 hit, no runs, striking out 3, and walking none.

Game 1: With 1 out In the bottom of the 10th inning, NKP's Matt Dominguez singled in the winning run from 3rd base.

Game 2: Brandon Moss of NKP slugged 2 home runs and had 4 RBI.

Game 2: misslonlyhearts' outfielder Coco Crisp was injured for 10 games.


INJURED POSTSEASON PLAYERS:

BOSTON outfielder Michael Saunders (3.74M) is out through game 1 of the finals.

misslonlyhearts outfielder Coco Crisp (3.71M) is out through game 4 of the finals.

NKP infielder Chase Utley (4.11M) is out through game 5 of the semi-finals.


POSTSEASON PLAYERS WHO RANKED IN TOP 10 FOR THE BELOW LISTED OFFENSIVE CATEGORIES DURING REGULAR SEASON:

Batting Average (BA):

MIS Andrew McCutchen (1st) .339
NKP Joey Votto (7th) .306
POL Justin Ruggiano (7th) .306
NKP Kevin Frandsen (10th) .304

Home Runs (HR):

POL Adam Laroche (1st) 57
BOS Josh Hamilton (3rd) 52
MIS Andrew McCutchen (9th) 44

Runs Batted In (RBI):

MIS Corey Hart (2nd) 123
POL Adam Laroche (3rd) 120
MIS Andrew McCutchen (4th) 116
BOS Josh Hamilton (6th) 112

On Base Percentage (OBP):

NKP Joey Votto (1st) .435
MIS Andrew McCutchen (3rd) .407
POL David Ortiz (4th) .398
MIS Joe Mauer (6th) .387

Slugging Percentage (SLG)

MIS Andrew McCutchen (3rd) .621
POL David Ortiz (4th) .619
POL Adam Laroche (9th) .590
BOS Josh Hamilton (10th) .568

On Base Plus Slugging Percentage (OPS)

MIS Andrew McCutchen (2nd) 1.028
POL David Ortiz (3rd) 1.017
NKP Joey Votto (5th) .985
POL Justin Ruggiano (9th) .920

Tomorrow we'll list the postseason pitchers who ranked in the top 10 during the regular season.

Some of the biggest busts for the buck:
Doug Fister, ARI ($5.41M) 6-3, 6.31 ERA, 1.61 WHIP
David Price, ARI ($7.39M) 13-13, 5.59 ERA, 1.41 WHIP
Austin Jackson, EAS ($9.28M) .274, 17 HR, 56 RBI, 1 SB, 5 CS
David Wright, EAS ($9.02M) .266, 10 HR, 76 RBI
Dustin Pedroia, ARI ($7.88M) .234, 20 HR, 52 RBI, 7 SB, 8 CS

Wednesday, 11-26-14:


SEMI-FINALS ACTION FROM LAST NIGHT:

Pollard split with BOSTON - the BEES taking game 3 and the Kangaroos coming back to win game 4. Pollard holds a 3-1 series lead.

Game 3: BOSTON overcame a 5-0 deficit to beat Pollard 7-5 and win their first game of the series.

Game 4: The Kangaroos came back with a vengeance scoring 16 runs on 13 hits in a 16-8 win over the BEES.

Game 4: Pollard had two 7 run innings. In the 9th inning, they did it with just 3 hits.

Game 4: Neil Walker and David Ortiz each had 4 RBI.

NKP and misslonlyhearts split. nate's west won game 3. The Zorros victors in game 4. NKP leads the series 3 games to 1.

Game 4: Kevin Frandsen lined into a triple play. In his next at bat, he lined a run scoring triple.


NEW INJURIES:

Pollard's Matt Kemp (5.6M) is out through game 5 of the semi-finals.

Mark Ellis (2.09M) of NKP is out through game 5 of the semi-finals.


POSTSEASON PLAYERS WHO RANKED IN THE TOP 10 FOR THE BELOW LISTED PITCHING CATEGORIES DURING REGULAR SEASON:

Earned Run Average (ERA):

BOS Erasmo Ramirez (1st) 2.88
BOS Brandon Beachy (4th) 3.37
POL Rick Dempster (5th) 3.45
POL Mike Fiers (9th) 3.92

Walks Plus Hits Per Innings Pitched (WHIP):

BOS Erasmo Ramirez (2nd) 1.14
NKP R.A. Dickey (4th) 1.18
BOS Chris Sale (4th) 1.18
BOS Brandon Beachy (8th) 1.23
POL Rick Dempster (10th) 1.26

WINS:

MIS Jake Peavy (2nd) 19
NKP R.A. Dickey (5th) 17
BOS C.C. Sabathia (6th) 16
POL Rick Dempster (6th) 16
POL Mike Fiers (6th) 16


Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. May God bless you and yours tomorrow and always!

Thursday, 11-27-14:


GAME 5 SEMI-FINALS ACTION:

BOSTON stayed alive by beating Pollard 9-7. In this one, the BEES led the Kangaroos 9 to 1 after 3 innings of play. Pollard scored the next 6 runs but fell 3 short at games end. Josh Hamilton of BOSTON hit his 5th home run in the post season. There were 7 bombs in all - 4 by the BEES and 3 by the "Roos". Pollard leads the series 3 games to 2 and returns home for game 6 tonight.

misslonlyhearts prevailed to play another day by edging NKP 3-1. In contrast to the 7 HOME RUNS hit in the other semi-finals game, there were only 8 HITS in this one - and none left the ballpark. The "Z's" - who were held to just 3 hits - return home tonight with a 3-2 series lead.


WHAT DID YOU THINK?

Did you really believe that Pollard and NKP would waltz into the finals after they both took a 3 to 1 series lead in the semi-finals? BOSTON and misslonlyhearts are battle tested. They went through the crucible experiencing many trials and tribulations during the regular season. These teams weathered the highs and lows with distinction and persevered in the end. There is no quit in master strategists GARYCOOK and mitcho. It's game on and FALCON29 and akw8319 better be ready to rumble or they'll be watching the finals as spectators.


WAS I JINXED?

Yesterday FALCON29 listed "biggest busts for the buck". He included misslonlyhearts' infielder David Wright as a player who has not earned his high salary.

Well thanks for waking him up. Last night Wright went 2 for 3 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI in a 3 to 1 win over NKP.


DIFFERENT STYLES OF PLAY:

In one semi-finals, hitting is the name of the game.

Pollard's Post Season Pitching Staff - 6.28 ERA - 1.58 WHIP

BOSTON's Post Season Pitching Staff - 8.17 ERA - 1.77 WHIP

In the other semi-finals, pitching is the name of the game.

NKP's Post Season Pitching Staff - 3.27 ERA - 1.25 WHIP

misslonlyhearts Post Season Pitching Staff - 4.26 ERA - 1.20 WHIP


PLAYOFF RBI LEADERS:

NKP Brandon Moss - 9
BOS Josh Hamilton - 8
POL Justin Ruggiano - 7


INJURIES:

BOSTON's Michael Saunders (3.74M) is out through game 1 of the finals.

Coco Crisp (3.71M) of misslonlyhearts is out through game 4 of the finals.


REGULAR SEASON SAVE LEADERS PITCHING IN THE POST SEASON:

Last night we inadvertently failed to list those pitchers with "save" totals that ranked in the top 10 during the regular season and who are now pitching in the playoffs:

POL Jim Johnson (3rd) 38
BOS J.J. Putz (7th) 34
MIS Koji Uehara (8th) 26

Friday, 11-28-14:


GAME 6 SEMI-FINALS ACTION:

Sound the bell for BOSTON. They've been KO'd by Pollard who won last night by a score of 6 to 4. The BEES didn't go down without a fight. Trailing 3-1 after 7 innings, BOSTON homered in the 8th and 9th to tie the game at 3. The BEES would score again in the 10th inning to put them up by one. BOSTON brought in J.J. Putz to close out the game. But the Kangaroos' Carlos Ruiz would sting the BEES' ace reliever with a 1 out - 2 run homer - to win the game. It was a "2-4" roll of the computer dice - a legitimate "1 to 19" home run - that ended the season for BOSTON. Pollard moves on to face a yet undetermined opponent in the finals.

misslonlyhearts has now come back from a 3 to 1 deficit and evened their series with a resounding 9-4 win over NKP. nate's west never trailed scoring 3 runs in 3 separate innings. misslonlyhearts plated the 9 runs on just 9 hits. Tonight's game will determine who meets Pollard in the finals.


FALCON29 AND THE MIGHTY POLLARD KANGAROOS:

Kudos to FALCON29 who has led the Pollard Kangaroos to the finals. He built a great team that has dominated the league throughout the season. Once taking over 1st place early on, Pollard pretty much held it until the end. Master strategist FALCON29 now has a 50-50 chance to become the first ever "Strat-O-Master". Well, it's more like 90-10 if he plays NKP and 80-20 if it's misslonlyhearts.


PLAYOFF HOME RUN LEADERS:

BOS Josh Hamilton - 5
NKP Brandon Moss - 5
BOS Chris Davis - 3
POL Adam Laroche - 3
POL Justin Ruggiano - 3


TONIGHT'S DECIDING SEMI-FINALS GAME:

misslonlyhearts will play at NKP. The series is tied at 3 with nate's west winning the last 2. The Zorros have scored a total of 27 runs thus far, while misslonlyhearts touched home 25 times. Matt Cain of nate's west will face NKP's R.A. Dickey. Cain won 15 and lost 15 during the regular season. Dickey was 17-9. In game 3 of the semi-finals, Cain bested Dickey 2-1.

Saturday, 11-29-14:


GAME 7 SEMI-FINALS ACTION:

NKP is packing their bags as they were sent home by misslonlyhearts after losing by a score of 7 to 5. The night started out poorly for the Zorros as Matt Joyce led off the game with a home run for nate's west. He would bat again with the bases loaded and 2 outs in the 2nd inning and blast a double plating 3 more runs. NKP would battle back closing to within 1 run after 8 innings. Down 7-5 with 2 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd in the bottom of the 9th, the "Z's" Jason Kubel grounded out to end the game. Matt Cain (2-0) was the winner. R.A. Dickey (0-2) took the loss.

For the series:

(MIS) David Wright hit .346 with 7 doubles and 1 home run.
(MIS) Alex Gordon hit .333 with 4 doubles, 1 home run and 8 RBI.
(MIS) Martin Prado hit .348 in 23 at bats.

(NKP) Brandon Moss hit .357 with 5 home runs and 13 RBI.
(NKP) Jimmy Rollins hit .333 with 5 doubles and 3 home runs.


MITCHO AND MISSLONLYHEARTS NATE'S WEST:

I'll always remember him as the third person to signup for the inaugural season of the Strat-O-Master League. The one who hung in there when there was not much interest in playing the 2012 cards and it was questionable if the league would ever get off the ground. I'll also remember him as the person who apparently does not believe in using upper case letters when spelling out proper nouns. Lastly, I'll remember him as the person who knocked me out of the playoffs.

Congratulations master strategist mitcho. It was a remarkable comeback for misslonlyhearts who overcame a 3 to 1 deficit in the semifinals - winning the last 2 on the road in a ballpark that did not favor their offense. nate's west will now travel to Pollard for game 1 of the finals.


Joey Votto:

Although it was not a factor in game 7 of the semi-finals, NKP's Joey Votto sustained a 4 game injury in the 9th inning. It marked the 10th time this season that his "2-9" injury number was rolled.


MISSLONLYHEARTS NATE'S WEST VS. POLLARD KANGAROOS:

Prior to the end of the season, I seeded the eight teams that were still in contention for the playoffs. Pollard was pegged as the number 1 seed. misslonlyhearts was number 7. The Kangaroos have to be considered a heavy favorite to win the championship based on the way they cruised to the finals. Below are some regular season comparisons concerning the two teams:

Each team has won 12 times in head-to-head play.

BA/OBP/SLG/OPS
POL - .255(9th)/.327(5th)/.494(2nd)/.821(2nd)
MIS - .270(3rd)/.341(2nd)/.439(9th)/.779(7th)

HR
POL - 333(1st)
MIS - 197(12th)

ERA/WHIP

POL - 4.60(8th)/1.44(10th)
MIS - 4.41(6th)/1.28(4th)

RS/RA/DIFF
POL - 843(1st)/811(8th)/+32(6th)
MIS - 793(5th)/745(6th)/+48(5th)

Clearly, it's Pollard's hitting pitted against misslonlyhearts' pitching. Who truly was the master strategist in putting together their team? Whose grand design is worthy of making them the first ever "Strat-0-Master"? Was it FALCON29's emphasis on power hitting and playing in a "band" box of a ballpark? Or was it mitcho's emphasis on pitching and playing in a cavernous stadium? We'll soon find out.


INJURIES:

misslonlyhearts' Coco Crisp (3.71M) is out through game 4 of the finals.

Sunday, 11-30-14:


GAME 1 FINALS ACTION:

Pollard smashed 3 home runs en route to a 4-1 victory over misslonlyhearts. nate's west left 14 runners on base as they failed to go deep in the game. Meanwhile, all 4 runs tallied by the Kangaroos scored via the long ball. Joe Mauer of misslonlyhearts went 4 for 4 but did little damage with his 1 RBI and 0 runs scored.


GAME 2 FINALS ACTION:

Pollard went up 2 games to none by beating misslonlyhearts 7-6. The Kangaroos' Matt Kemp blasted 3 home runs. The game was tied in the bottom of the 9th when Neil Walker homered with nobody out giving Pollard the walk off win. Kemp ended up 4 for 4 with 4 RBI and 3 runs scored for the night. It was Walker's 2nd bomb of the series.


INJURY:

Pollard's Carlos Ruiz was injured and will be out through game 3 of the finals.


ROBBED:

Michael McKenry of Pollard replaced the injured Carlos Ruiz in game 2 of the finals. In the bottom of the 8th inning with 2 outs and the score tied at 6, McKenry came up to bat. There was a runner on 1st base. The computer rolled a "3-9" - ballpark home run 1 to 19/fly out the rest. McKenry didn't get the bomb. Instead, poor mitcho got beat by the next Babe Ruth - 2nd baseman Neil Walker who hit a homer in the bottom of the 9th to win the game for the Kangaroos. It was the mighty slugger's second dinger in two nights.


THAT'S REMARKABLE:

Looking at the cards of Matt Kemp and Neil Walker against right handed pitching - they're okay. Nothing exceptional. Many others like them. Kemp with a good "1" column. Walker with a good "2" column. It's remarkable how players like these have been so successful for FALCON29 this season. He picked them and they're doing it. FALCON29 - you truly are a master strategist - worthy of being named "Strat-O-Master".


SUPERSTAR:

Matt Kemp is 6 for 8 in the finals with 4 home runs, 2 doubles, 6 RBI and 4 runs scored. All that for 5.6 million dollars. I'm promoting FALCON29 to "senior" master strategist.


RAY OF HOPE:

It may comfort mitcho to know that, in his ballpark, he went 7 and 5 against Pollard. misslonlyhearts plays the next 3 games at home.