AROUND THE DIAMOND IN THE ABL

WEEK 14

8/24/18

BIG STORY: Usually it seems this time of year we are discussing the league has had another season of great parity with an exciting playoff chase down the stretch. This year has been no different as ten of the twelve teams are still in the playoff hunt with only four games left on the slate. Last year it was very similar but a minor difference as two teams in the National Division in Chesapeake Bay and Titusville had clinched playoff spots with two play weeks left on the schedule. The big story this week was Mudville sweeping past the Chesapeake Bay Channel Cats to tighten up the National Division race even more. Another series with impact was La Jolla sweeping past the Long Beach Island Starfish keeping their slim playoff hopes alive. Plus, there was three exciting games that went extra innings with one ending with a position player tossing the last inning. This season is starting to shape like a normal one as a one game showdown is looking more and more likely as we head down the stretch. Enjoy the excitement of ABL baseball as the playoff drive comes down to the final two play weeks. ABL baseball at its best during the stretch drive!

2018 ABL STANDINGS

NATIONAL W L GB PCT RS RA AWAY HOME DIV VS AD

Titusville 19 13 -- .594 168 156 7-7 12-6 10-8 9-5

Mudville 18 14 1 .563 137 117 9-5 9-9 12-6 6-8

Chesapeake Bay 18 14 1 .563 175 141 5-9 13-5 7-11 11-3

Crown Heights 16 16 3 .500 148 157 6-10 10-6 9-9 7-7

Orlando 16 16 3 .500 110 129 8-8 8-8 9-9 7-7

Tallahassee 13 19 6 .406 128 134 6-10 7-9 7-11 6-8

AMERICAN W L GB PCT RS RA AWAY HOME DIV VS ND

X-Albany 19 13 -- .594 159 125 11-7 8-6 12-6 7-7

X-Dexter 19 13 -- .594 161 143 11-7 8-6 11-7 8-6

Long Beach 17 15 2 .531 184 160 7-9 10-6 10-8 7-7

East Bay 14 18 5 .438 140 170 6-10 8-8 9-9 5-9

La Jolla 13 19 6 .406 128 145 6-10 7-9 7-11 6-8

Ocracoke 10 22 9 .313 138 199 6-12 4-10 5-13 5-9

X-PLAYOFF SPOT Y-DIVISION

Z- TIED FOR PLAYOFF SPOT, ONE GAME SHOWDOWNS

DEADLINES:

Play Week begins August 24th

Recap and Score Sheets due September 3rd 8 p.m. eastern

SCORES

MUD 5 CB 4

MUD 4 CB 3 11 Inn.

TV 5 CH 1

CH 7 TV 6

ORL 1 TA 0

TA 8 ORL 5 15 Inn.

ALB 8 EB 1

EB 7 ALB 3

LJ 8 LBI 3

LJ 4 LBI 3 10 Inn.

OC 9 DEX 1

DEX 11 OC 3

2018 ABL TEAMS AND MANAGERS:

National Division Chesapeake Bay Channel Cats(27th Season) Scott “Commish” Allen Tallahassee Terriers(28th Season) Don “Legend” Allen Jr. Orlando Sharks(17th Season) Greg “Buck” Dietzen Titusville Perfectos(11th Season) Lennart “Lenny” Saaf Mudville Nine(4th Season) Casey "The Kid" Allen Crown Heights Kings(Expansion Season) Chris Marcello American Division Long Beach Island Starfish(16th Season) Jim “Skibby” Bomysoad Syracuse Hazard(14th Season) Jason “Coop” Cupelo Ocracoke Blackbeards(11th Season) Duran “Stole” Allen (Defending Champions) La Jolla Juggernaut(4th Season) Kevin “Eradicator” Waters Albany Lo-Sox(2nd Season) Michael Saaf East Bay Grease(Expansion Season) Joe Parisi

ABL 2018 IP’S

Mudville 15 Dexter 15 Crown Heights 15 Albany 14 Orlando 14 Ocracoke 14 Chesapeake Bay 14 Titusville 13 East Bay 12 Long Beach Island 12 La Jolla 12 Tallahassee 10

ROLLING DICE?? (Q and A with Game Play Notes) (PLEASE TAKE NOTE)

(Italic are present in the current charts)

1. Can a batter bunt for a hit if the bases are loaded?

ANSWER: No. Batters can only bunt for a hit with no runner on first. All other bunt attempts are

considered sacrifices. Bunt ratings are reduced one additional grade when attempting a suicide squeeze

with less than 2 outs.

TEAM NEWS:

Announced on twitter this past week was the news a new manager will be joining the ranks of the ABL in 2019. Wayne Scott completed the developmental plan and is expansion application has been accepted. Wayne will become the 37th manager in ABL history when he rolls his first game next February. Wayne will set up camp in Clayton, New York and his club will be known as the Clayton Steamships playing their home games in pitcher friendly San Diego’s Petco Park. Wayne hails from Endicott, N.Y. and enjoys the purity of the sport. Hitting a ball, fielding eh ball, and running out a grounder. The Steamships already have an identity with their logo located below.

Announced on twitter later this past week was the news a 2nd new manager will be joining the ranks of the ABL in 2019. It’s our 2nd expansion team slated to begin play next season. Bruce Keilin completed the developmental plan and is expansion application has been accepted. Bruce will become the 38th manager in ABL history when he rolls his first game next February. Bruce will set up camp in Montclair, New Jersey and his club will be known as the Garden State Warriors playing their home games in very hitter friendly Colorado’s Coors Field. The Warriors logo is currently in the preliminary stages of design by ABL resident logo artist Chris Marcello. If any manager plans on not participating in the ABL next season, please let the Commish know as soon as possible for planning purposes. Please leave the league in good standing so you may return in the future if you desire to do so. If a former manager is considering returning to the ABL for next season, please request an expansion application to reactivate your franchise before November 15th. Your franchise will officially be re-activated once the league fee is paid in full.

ABL 2018-2019 OFF-SEASON VOTING: Send in your proposals for rule changes to be voted on in the off-season. Please remember the process for adding new rule ideas to the voting agenda.

Each manager may petition for rule changes or additions as amendments to this rulebook by submitting

proposals to the Commish. The Commish will decide to add the proposal to the agenda as a Commish

sponsored proposal or reject the proposal based on the best interest of the league clause.

An amendment requires:

1. A petition (proposal) by one manager that is approved by the Commish.

2. All submitted proposals must be submitted by October 15th at 8 p.m. eastern.

3. Once the off-season voting agenda is finalized, any new proposal must be voted in by 66% or

more of the managers including the Commish otherwise the vote reverts back to the previous rule.

4. Any new rule proposal vote that is deciding the “type” of change must be voted in by 51% or

more of the managers including the Commish otherwise the vote reverts back to the previous

rule.

5. The Commish reserves veto power on all rules unless it is voted in by more than 75% of the

managers.

ABL 2018 YEARBOOK:

I'm beginning to work on the ABL Yearbook for 2018. I'm again looking for articles from fellow ABL managers and fellow tabletop baseball fans to spice up the Yearbook. It can be a statistical analysis (Lenny) or a story about a day playing wiffleball as a kid. A story about a particular series or fun baseball excursion you took recently or while growing up. Anything related to baseball or tabletop baseball. Please have all articles in by Friday November 9th.... You can check out last year's yearbook here in case you missed it: http://www.lulu.com/shop/scott-allen/abl-2017-yearbook-ebook/ebook/product-23422701.html

RULES OF THE GAME:

By Scott Allen

Last play week this segment was dedicated to discussing some possibly major rule changes having an impact on changing the trading rules in the league. After consulting with some of the league’s mangers who willing provided feedback and several other league’s leadership I’ve come to a resolution. At first it might seem like a major change but in reality, it’s truly minor. It seems through our history the league’s most successful changes are usually minor tweaks vs. major overhauls. This line of thinking led me to this final conclusion. In last week’s article I focused on limiting trading early in the season and limiting trading draft picks during the month of July. Limiting trading earlier in the season would have been a major change. Instead I opted to make the smaller change. The Commish change going into effect for the 2019 season involves a restriction on trading away draft picks and a more streamlined approach on how many draft picks a team can acquire. I found several league’s use this rule and it seemed right for the ABL to give it a try. Credit goes to Skibby Bomysoad for the basis of the change that he devised back in 2016. Clip from the draft version of the 2019 ABL Rulebook: Trade restrictions are in place for the in-season trading period and are not applied to the off-season

trading period prior to the draft. Teams have no trade restrictions on trades of draft picks in Round 7

through Round 20. For draft picks in Round 1 through 6, the following restrictions are in effect:

Teams may trade Round 1 or Round 2 but not both picks. Teams may trade two draft picks in Round 3

through Round 6. No team may trade away more than three of its own draft picks in those first six

rounds. This applies regardless of how many draft picks a team has in Round 1 through 6. Teams

can’t acquire more than five draft picks in trades for the upcoming draft during the in-season trading

period regardless how many draft picks that team traded away.

As I mentioned last play week, if these restrictions were in place in 2018, 81% of the trades would have still been completed as agreed. In 2017, the number jumps to 93%. Minor impact to the overall trading in the ABL. Another change I’m going to make is more clerical in nature to help the league office handle the approval of trades coming through during play weeks. Clip from the draft version of the 2019 ABL Rulebook: All trades must be submitted for approval by Wednesday at 8 p.m. eastern before the play week.

Otherwise the trade must be resubmitted once the teams involved have completed their series for the

play week. The series recap must be sent in to the league office or the series results have been revealed

on twitter prior to the trade to be considered for initial approval.

This will avoid the situation of teams making trades in the middle of the play week and causing havoc in the league office and potentially messing up a manager’s scouting effort on a team. We used a similar rule for several years in the early years of ABL play. Hopefully this will allow for things to run a little smoother and less scrambling in the league office. Another change to close a loop hole that we discovered this season is below. Credit goes to the Legend for this change and its purpose. Clip from the draft version of the 2019 ABL Rulebook: All players acquired in a trade are assigned automatically to the active roster and must stay on your

team’s 30 player roster for at least ten games. Players can be traded to another team before the ten

games has elapsed but can’t be dropped as a Free Agent. This rule closes a loop hole of trading a player away and to allowing a team to get them as a Free Agent. In conclusion, I understand change can be difficult at times especially for the veteran managers. I never try to make any “Commish Changes” without a league vote unless I feel strongly the change will help the league moving forward. I heard enough feedback that a tweak was needed. Honestly the majority of feedback was pushing for a bigger more impactful change on the trading front discussed last play week. Those managers still have the option of submitting a rule proposal the league can vote on in November. I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to our 30th season of tabletop baseball as we continue to inject new blood into this fun hobby.

FUTURE ABL MANAGERS: Reminder to all managers that if you find someone interested in baseball let’s get them started in the ABL Developmental Plan playing practice games. Contact the Commish for a sample set of cards/charts and start teaching the ABL’s next Billy Martin the excitement of tabletop baseball. ABL Developmental Plan Guidelines: At a minimum new perspective managers, must complete the following:

1. Two practice games with an ABL Manager with score sheets. 2. One practice game with an ABL Manager on the dice roller. 3. Submit one recap of one of the practice games to be included in Around the Diamond.

4. Total of three practice games must be completed with ABL Managers. 5. Then the new perspective manager should request an ABL Expansion Application. 6. Finally, the new perspective manager should pay the $60 operational fee once their ABL

Expansion Application is approved. RECAPS OF ABL DEVELOPMENTAL PLAN BASEBALL:

Recaps written by ABL Developmental Manager: Bruce Keilin

Rochester (Len) at Binghamton (Bruce) Walk of Shame The Binghamton Bulldogs played their second exhibition game hosting the Rochester Rebels on a warm, wet and breezy evening. Charlie Morton took the hill for the home side and Trevor Bauer started for the visitors. Both pitchers dominated early. Morton surrendered a home run to Jason Kipnis in the second but limited the Rebels to only three other hits through 7, racking up 9 strikeouts along the way. Bauer retired the first seven Bulldogs, but was touched for a run in the 5th when Bradley Zimmer doubled home Trea Turner and another in the 6th on a lead-off homerun that was absolutely crushed by Adam Lind. Bauer gave up consecutive singles to Starlin Marte and Ramirez after the bomb and his night was over. Morton tired in the 8th, hitting the leadoff hitter Mike Zunino, and was off to the showers. Osuna came on in relief and blew a save opportunity when he surrendered a pair of singles, with Nelson Cruz’s knocking in the tying run. The Rebels would strand a runner at second in both the 9th and 10th innings. In the bottom of the 10th the Bulldogs had two on with two out, thanks to singles by Josh Donaldson and Marte, but failed to walk it off when Donaldson was gunned down at the plate by Josh Harrison after Ryan Haniger blooped a single into short rightfield. Andrew Miller retired the side in the top of the 11th, setting up a two-out rally for Binghamton. Brian McCann drew the first walk of the game off of Joaquin Benoit. For reasons that will remain mysterious, McCann, who represented the potential winning run, was allowed to run for himself. Zimmer followed with his third hit of the night sending McCann to second. Adam Frazier stepped up against Benoit and knocked a solid single to center, bringing home McCann and giving the Bulldogs an exciting walk-off! 123 456 789 01 R H E ROCHESTER 010 000 010 00 2 8 1 BINGHAMTON 000 011 000 01 3 14 0

Pitchers Rochester Bauer (5) Madson (2) Clippard (1) Devinski (2) Benoit (.2) L Binghamton Morton (7) Osuna (1) BS Rivero (1.1) Miller (1.2) W No Injuries

Rochester (Skibby) at Binghamton (Bruce) Bulldogs launch four home runs in 9-6 rout as Bruce completes his developmental plan.

TRANSACTION REPORT:

8/10 TAXI TEAM: Chesapeake Bay sent down Brandon Belt and called up Dexter Fowler. 8/18 TAXI TEAM: Orlando sent down Logan Forsythe and called up Jacob Barnes(2nd).

INJURY REPORT:

PLAYER TEAM GAMES ACTIVE WEEK? OFF/IR

Y. Cespedes TV OUT 2019 2019 M. Bumgarner OC 17 PLAY-1 RD1-GM1 M. Fulmer DEX 4 GM-202 15 G. Sanchez CH 3 GM-205 16

RECAPS OF ABL BASEBALL:

By ABL Managers

Mudville at Chesapeake Bay

Godley wins match up of former Terrier pitchers Game # 1

Godley vs. Cobb Cats start the scoring I the bottom of the first inning on a bases loaded HBP off Ozuna’s leg and a RBI ground out by Cano. The 2-0 lead lasted till the top of the 4th inning when Tomlinson reached 2nd base on a 2-base error by Justin Turner and then the flood gates opened up. After a two out single by Rojas and walk to Reddick the bases were juiced. Tommy Pham cleared the bases with a RBI double in the gap for a 3-2 lead. The Bine added another run with a Justin Bour single up the middle for a 4-2 lead. All four runs were unearned due to Justin’s throwing error. Nine added another run in the 4th off starter Alex Cobb after Kelby Tomlinson singled in Avila for a 5-2 lead. Cobb would pitch the first batter in the 5th and allow a single. He was them removed from the Cats bullpen. The C-Bay bullpen retired the next 15 batters in a row to finish the game. Cats did make a game of it by starting a rally with two outs in the 8th with back to back singles. Chad Green was chased and Adam Warren stepped in and allowed a 2 RBI double to Cano to make it a 4-2 game. Cano reached 3rd on a Warren wild pitch but he settled down to retire Posey on a fly ball. Bottom of the 9th was quiet as Warren shut down the Cats 1 ,2 3 to nail the save in place of Greg Holland and preserve the Godley win! Line of the game:

Warren 1.1-IP 1-H 0-ER 1-S R H E LOB

MUD 004 100 000 5 7 0 4

C-Bay 200 000 02X 4 6 1 6

Pitching Mudville W Godley 6.0 Green 1.2 S Warren 1.1 Injuries: None

C-Bay L Cobb 4.0 Shreve 1.0 Neshek 1.0 Lyons 1.0 Delgado 1.0 Morrow 1.0 Injuries: None Nine sweep Cats in extra innings thriller as Bour blasts one high and far Game # 2 Wood vs. Tanaka Scoreless till the top of the 3rd and Pham and Reddick smack back to back doubles for a 1-0 lead. Nine add two as Cats manager makes a mistake and let’s Shreve face Springer with a runner on and Springer puts it into the seats in left center for a 3-0 lead. Cats held scoreless while they hit into four double plays before the 9th inning. Chris Iannetta and Buster Posey hit one out singles to start the rally. After a fly out and Justin Turner due up, Casey calls in Blake Parker for the save. Cats counter with Matt Olson as a

pinch hitter and Olson smacks a single for the first Cats run. Pinch hitter Cano is summoned and is plunked in the head by Parker and Cano charged the mound. All-out brawl ensues and Cano and Parker are both ejected. Cano was also injured for two games after the body slam by Parker. Craig Kimbrel comes in the game to pinch run for Cano since he would be getting the ball on the bump next inning. Bases loaded and tying run is at 2nd base and the last Nine relief pitcher Anthony Swarzak is in. Cats call the final bat off the bench in Brett Gardner and hit smacks a gcf single up the middle to score two and the game is tied at 3-3. Olson had to play 2nd base since Cano was tossed. Kimbrel gets through the top of the 10th as Swarzak navigates the bottom of the 10th. Justin Bour leads off the top of the 11th with a long bomb to Eutaw St. off Kimbrel and the Nine lead 4-3. Bottom of the 11th, Posey reaches with a single but the theme of the game happens next as Ozuna hits into the 5th twin killing of the game to erase Posey. Olson draws the free pass and pinch hitter Zach Greinke comes off the bench for the Cats and sends a high fly ball caught by former Fish Pham for the Nine sweep! Line of the game:

Swarzak 1-W 2.1-IP 2-H 0-ER 1-BB 3-K R H E LOB

MUD 001 002 000 01 4 7 1 6

C-Bay 000 000 003 00 3 13 0 9

Pitching Mudville Wood 6.0 Belisle 1.0 Bleier 1.2 Parker 0.0 W Swarzak 2.1 Injuries: Parker – Ejected for fighting and injured 1 game (9th)

C-Bay Tanaka 5.0 Shreve 1.0 Neshek 1.0 Robertson 1.0 Delgado 1.0 L Kimbrel 2.0 Injuries: Cano– Ejected for fighting and injured (Out for two Games) (9th) Casey, Nice time rolling, two exciting nail-biting games. Commish

Crown Heights at Titusville

Game One Titusville 5 Crown Heights 1

Titusville starter Chris Sale dominated Game One and led the Perfectos to an efficient 5-1 win. Sale gave up a late home run, but other than that, it was only two singles and a walk to go with 14 punch-outs. Titusville scored only two through six, but Matt Adams doubled in two in the seventh to provide a cushion. R H E LOB CRH 000 000 010 1 3 1 3 TVL 010 100 30x 5 8 1 8

TITUSVILLE PITCHING Sale 9 (WIN) CROWN HEIGHTS PITCHING Nola 6.1 (LOSS) Bradley 0.2 Kahnle 1 INJURIES: none Game Two Crown Heights 7 Titusville 6 Game Two was quite different from the first. Three crazy plays occurred, one that sent Gary Sanchez falling into the dugout and injuring himself and Titusville ace, Chris Sale. Titusville starter Kyle Hendricks pitched four scoreless innings with only one hit. Unfortunately, he also pitched a stinker of an inning in the third, when the Kings batted around and plated five. The Perfectos began to scratch back with a two-run homer from Yasmani Grandal in the fourth. T-Ville cut the lead to one in the next inning when Gennett and Harper went yard back-to-back against Crown Heights starter, Luis Severino. The Kings got two invaluable insurance runs in the eighth and ninth from the two Aarons (Hicks & Judge). That left the Perfectos down by three going into the bottom of the ninth against closer Brad Hand. Titusville sent three pinch-hitters to the plate, all of whom singled, including a two-RBI GCF from recent pick-up Nick Hundley to cut the deficit to one. However, with runners on first and second and one out, Matt Adams grounded into a double play to end the ballgame. R H E LOB CRH 005 000 011 7 9 0 5 TVL 000 220 002 6 12 1 7

TITUSVILLE PITCHING Hendricks 5 (LOSS) Senzatela 1 Edwards 1 Hildenberger 1 Harris 1 CROWN HEIGHTS PITCHING Severino 6 (WIN) Strop 1 Bradley 1

Hand 1 (SAVE) INJURIES: TVL: Sale 1 game. CRH: Sanchez 3 games. Chris, thanks for lunch! LS

Tallahassee at Orlando

Bellinger HR is the only run Sharks win game 1

Game 185 in Orlando Theheran vs Lackey. IT was a pitchers duel all the way. Lackey was almost perfect with only 2 hits, no walks and 9 strikeouts. Cody Bellinger hits a solo blast in the 2nd off of Terehan and then the Sharks only muster up 2 more hits of there own. Not much here unless you like pitching, final score Orlando 1 Tally 0 TAL 000 000 000 0 2 0 ORL 010 000 000 1 3 1 PITCHING TALL Teheran 5ip (L) Mcgee 1ip Pettit 1ip Chapman 1ip ORL Lackey 9ip (W) HR Bellinger (orl) SB Hamilton, Hernandez (ORL) Inciarte (tally) Simmons error No injuries 15 inning affair ends with Forsythe on the mound.

Game 186 was a different story, Arrieta for the Terriers and Anderson for the Sharks Davis hits a solo shot in the 3rd to start it off 1-0 Tally. Orlando answers back in the bottom of the 3rd with a 2 out Suzuki hr. 1-1. Bottom of the 6th and Orlando plays Buck ball. Hamilton 1b, steals 2nd Hernandez gcf and it’s 2-1 Orlando. Brantley Ph double in th top of the 7th and a triple by Inciarte who tries to stretch it to an In the park and is thrown out by Hamilton at home. Next batter, Davis hits a solo blast his 2nd. (could have been a 2 run bomb) but Tally goes up 3-2. Bottom of the 8th we go and the Sharks answer back, a walk to Upton and a double by Taylor, Gimenez gets the gcf to score both, (note the pitchers spot with 6 different hitter went 5 for 7 with 3 doubles and 2 rbis...) Sharks up 4-3. Tally tries to put it away as Whitley and Kintzler choke and give up 2 in the top of the 9thallowing 8 men to come to the plate. Bottom of the 9th, Sharks need 1 to tie, Hamilton base hit, steals 2nd, then after a strikeout by Hernandez he steals 3rd, Martinez k, but Bellinger gets the double and the rbi. We have free baseball. Bush pitches 4 perfect innings before he HAS to come out. Top of the 15th only Logan Forsythe is left to pitch, yeah he plays

infield…. 9 men go to the plate for the Terries they leave the bases loaded but score 3, 8-5 Tally. Can the horror end?? With 2 outs Forsythe doubles, Suzuki gets a base hit and that brings up Hamilton, hits a rg ss and ends the game … Tally in 15 8-5 TAL 001 000 202 000 003 8 18 1 ORL 001 001 021 000 000 5 14 1 PITCHING Tally Arrieta 5ip, Givens 1ip, Pettit 1ip, Baez 1ip, Colome 1ip, McGee 4ip (W) Chapman 1ip (S) ORL Anderson 5ip, Hunter 1ip, Reed 1ip, Abad 1ip, Whitley 1/3ip, Kintzler 0ip, Scott 2ip, Bush 4ip, Forsythe 1ip (L) HR Davis 2 Suzuki 1 SB Hamilton 3 Error DeJong 1, Hernandez 1 No injuries. WOW Legend, what a series, about what I expect from us. If Forsythe hadn’t had to pitch we might still be playing…LOL Good luck the rest of the way.

Albany at East Bay

August 11, 2018 Games 187, 188

AL-S vs. EBG Game 1 AL-S 8 EB 1 4th inning does in EB in what seemed like a closer game Saaf arrived on time at Grease Municipal Stadium, but a little paranoid. He refused any offer of a Bloody Mary, a cup of Jo or even a glass of water. And, he insisted on setting up in a chair that guaranteed his back would not face any openings to the room. I think some Italian stereotyping going on - I felt as if Phil Leotardo had come over to roll in my North Caldwell, New Jersey man-cave. Absolutely no trust. Nonetheless, I agreed on communal use of Saaf’s charts which are strange colors and on particle board and contain a lot of white out. Maybe I’m too trusting. Clearly, I’m diverting and deflecting from the fact that the LoSox kicked our ass in the first match. The game featured Cashner against Lynn. The first 3 innings saw few hits and no runs. It had a nice pitching groove. Then the 4th struck. Rosario led off with a double. It seemed ok as next two guys got out. Then Arenado doubled, Valaika (I still hate him) tripled when Cain defied great odds by letting the ball be out

of his range. Votto homered to highlight the five run outburst. Lynn stayed in and pitched three consecutive scoreless innings. However, he again fell apart, this time in the 8th when with two outs Arenado blasted a three-run bomb over Cain’s head. Grease’s only run came on a walk followed by two fielder’s choice/choices(?) and a wild pitch. Managerial genius going on somewhere in that run. The game was quick and unambiguous as to who was the superior squad. Cashner was brilliant. R H E LOB

ALS 000 500 030 8 10 0 9

EBG 000 000 010 1 8 0 11

ALS Pitching (W) Cushner 8 1/3 Barraclough 2/3 EB Pitching (L) Lynn 7+ Kelly 1 Avilan 1 GWRBI: Valaika Best line of game: Cushner, 8 ⅓, 1 ER, 4Ks; Arenado, 2 for 4, HR, 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI Worst line of game: Schoop, 0 for 4, 1 DP Injuries: In the 8th, Contreras took a foul to the left testicle but stayed in the game.

Game 2 EB 7 TT 3 EB knock Pomeranz around to earn split Pomeranz squaring off against Chacin. A scoreless game became 2-1 Grease after 3. Carpenter knocked in Rosario, which was answered by some RBI singles from recent additions, Phillips and Dickerson. In the 4th things broke a bit open to the Grease’s benefit. Hosmer led off with a single. This was followed by several walks and a two-RBI single from Dickerson. After 4, it was 5-1 Grease. Pomeranz was gone. Saaf would later regret not pulling the plug sooner, but the consensus on talk radio the next day was that he can’t be to blame for this one. Rosario hit a solo shot in the 6th to make it 5-2. Grease answered with a run in the bottom of the inning. In the 8th, Williams hit a deep solo shot to make it 7-2. Grease’s skipper was still not relaxed as the Lo-Sox are just too good and potent to be knocked unconscious. Sure enough, Arenado homered off Soria with 1 out. 7-3 Grease. Votto singled, as did Blackmon. 2 out, 2 on and in came Rodney to face Contreras and his bruised nut. Not a good roll and Cain found himself gloving an easy fly. Whew! Game over. R H E LOB

ALS 001 001 001 3 8 0 9

EBG 010 101 00X 7 12 0 8

ALS Pitching (L) Pomeranz 3 2/3 Garcia 1 Suter 3 1/3 EB Pitching (W) Chacin 6 1/3 Hernandez 1 Alexander 1 Soria 1/3 (S) Rodney 1/3 GWRBI: Dickerson Best line of game: Chacin: 6 ⅓, 2 ER, 7Ks Worst line of game: Pomeranz: 3 ⅔, 9 hits, 5 ER Best line of series: Arenado: 4 for 8, 5 RBI, 3 R, 2 HR, 1 2B Injuries: None No errors in this series

Series recap ABL EB Runs 11 8 Hits 18 20 EBH 5/1/4 2/0/1 LOB 18 19 BB 11 7 Relief IP 5 4 2/3 Relief RA 2 2 Michael, such an honor to host you. You are my mentor and the reason I’m in this mess. You are a challenging, astute, consistent, calm, organized and well-mannered opponent. Thanks for being a great example. See you soon and good luck.

Long Beach Island at La Jolla

Juggernaut! Juggernaut! Juggernaut! Juggernaut! Such was the chanting of “The Faithful”.

LBI comes to town. Juggernaut is giddy over getting 10 wins and beating Kluber. To show his absolute

and complete mercy, “The Eradicator” allowed for perpetual taxi team members, Anderson, Beltre,

Nerris, and Alther to breathe big league air. The first three would play a hand in this weeks adventure. So

on with the show

The season mantra? “Again for 10”

Tonight’s episode, “Playoffs!?”.

We beat Carrasco! Season is done.

Leiter vs Carrasco. It was a cool evening giving both pitcher some extra stamina. LBI was feeling pretty

good. Carrasco has had La Jolla’s number. Juggernaut didn’t care if they won another game. Bottom of

the 1st and Gordon gets a double off of Carrasco’s card. Abreu would bring him in to give Juggernaut the

early lead. There was a 75 minute delay as the crowd and the team celebrated the run scored off of

Carrasco. LBI would bounce back when Finding Nimmo doubles and Barnes brings him in to tie the

score at 1. Bottom of the 3rd and Shaw connects for a 2 run shot. 3 to 1 home team. Leiter keeps dealing.

Not sure what got into him. Bottom of the 5th and it is Abreu’s turn to go deep. This time is a 3 run bomb.

6 to 1 Juggernaut. Bottom of the 6th and Almora, Solarte and d’Arnaud get back to back to back hits that

result in 2 more runs. 8 to 1 Juggernaut. Meanwhile, Leiter is still on the mound for the home team top of

the 9th Trout walks and Conforto blasts one into the night time sky. In order to save the bullpen Leiter is

allowed to try and get the last out. Goldschmit takes his fatigued offering deep and it is run down at the

warning track by Almora. Leiter gets the complete game and the win. 8 to 3

R H E LOB

LBI 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 5 0 10

La Jolla 1 0 2 0 3 2 0 0 8 12 0 5

Pitching

LBI

L Carrasco 6

Mike Montgomery 1

Tuivailal 1

Injuries

None

Pitching

La Jolla

W Leiter 9

Injuries

None

We beat Carrasco!!!!!!!!!!!! I know it was game one but WE BEAT FRIGGING

CARRASCO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do we really need to play the rest of the season?

Game 2 and it is Gausman vs Al Bundy’s illegitimate son. This time LBI draws 1st blood. Trout goes yard

with a solo shot in the 1st. Both pitchers would hold serve until the bottom of the 4th when Puig gives one

a ride. 1 to 1. Bottom of the 5th and Abreu comes up clutch with a 2 out single driving in Solarte and La

Jolla is up 2 to 1. LBI keeps getting runners on but is unable to score any runs. Top of the 9th and Jansen

comes in to save the game. Panik at the disco takes him deep and needing a 94 or better naturally gets a

95. Scores is tried and 2. Bottom of the 9th and d’Arnaud walks. Mr. Anderson comes in to pinch run gets

the jump to steal 2nd and is promptly thrown out trying steal. Top of the 10th and in comes Neris. Bryant is

so excited he jacks a solo shot. 3 to 2 LBI. Infante would come in to close out the inning. Bottom of the

10th and Evil Knebel comes in to save the day for the visiting team. Abreu doubles, Shaw walks, Jay

walks. Bases loaded with no outs. Up is Beltre who had yet to get a hit and has stuckout 5 times in the

series. LBI brings the runners in and Beltre gets a game winning gcf single to win the game. 4 to 3 La

Jolla.

R H E LOB

LBI 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 12 0 14

La Jolla 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 4 9 0 10

Pitching

LBI

Bundy 6.2

Butcher .1

O’day 2

L Knebel

Injuries

None

Pitching

La Jolla

Gausman 7

Cischek 1

Jansen 1

Neris .2

W Infante .1

Injuries

None Things that may only be interesting to me. Goldy was held hitless. Trout was walked a lot, I mean A LOT. LBI drew 11 walks. LBI had the bases loaded twice and scored no runs. One time they had the bases loaded after scoring a run but got no more. All three runs in game two were solo shots for LBI. For the first time ever La Jolla beat both Kluber and Carrasco in the same season let alone back to back. (MIC DROP) Beltre’s 1st hit as a Juggernaut was a walk off single. He personally fathered 5 kids afterwards. All kids born on this day are Adrian. PLAYOFFS!?!?!? You kidding me? I just hope we win another game. Good rolling with you Skibby. Good luck the rest of the way Ocracoke at Dexter

The Blackbeards search for solace from the stormy seas in the northern seaside town of Dexter. But there was a storm a brewing this night and these pirates soon found themselves face to face with a gander of Thunder Geese! BLACKBEARDS PILLAGE DEXTER

Rodriguez v. Verlander Both pitchers would get through the first three innings with limited struggle. In the 4th Verlander would give up a solo shot to Valbuena and a 3-run tater to Max Kepler to put Ocracoke up 4-0. In the bottom half Joey Gallo would get angry and go all "JOEY SMASH" on a Rodriguez offering to pull the Geese within 4-1. They wouldn't get closer as the Beards would add on in the 6h with a Matt Chapman solo bomb, a Corey Spangenberg sac fly, set up by the signature defensive play of a Jason Cupelo run team, the outfield error. Jay Bruce would then drive in Arcia with a double to push the lead to 7-1. In the top of the 9th Verlander would give up his final shot, this one to Kyle Schwarber capping the great northern massacre at 9-1. PIT OCR Rodriguez - W - 8 IP Duffey - 1 IP DEX Verlander - CG - L - 9 IP HR OCR Valbuena Kepler Chapman Schwarber DEX Gallo No injuries GEESE BRING THE THUNDER FOR GAME 2 ANYTHING THEY CAN DO YU CAN DO TOO Foltyniewicz v. Darvish Dexter would start at it a little earlier this game with a solo shot from the Baddest Man in Maine Eric Thames. Thames would drive in another run in the 3rd following a Corey Seager double. In the bottom of the 4th Joey Gallo would continue to show Ocracoke what they gave up on with a solo shot and Manuel Pina Coladas would rock a 2 run dong to make it a 5-0 Dexter lead. Darvish would enter the 5th with a 5 run cushion Yu would walk the bases loaded and would strike out Mark Reynolds for the 2nd out before Valbuena would double in 2 runs. To respond, in the bottom of the 5th Joey Gallo would keep dropping bombs. In the 6th Corey Seager would get a hold of one with Altuve on board to push it to a 8-2 lead. In the 7th Spangenberg would lead off with a double, move to 1st on a groundout and then Yu would uncork a wild pitch allowing Spongebob to score. The Geese were back at it in the 8th, Seager would lead off with a blast and Rendon and Mauer would both knock in runs via groundouts to push the Dexter lead to 11-3. Darvish would go the distance and earn the split. PIT OCR Foltywitzki, or something like that - L - 5 IP Fister - 2 IP Wilson - 1 IP

DEX Darvish - CG - W - 9 IP HR OCR none DEX Thames Gallo (2) Pina Seager (2) No injuries Great time rolling with you Duran! Talk to you at the meetings

ABL PITCHING STATUS:

Chesapeake Bay Strasburg Rest 1 game Greinke Rest 2 games Cobb Rest 3 games Tanaka Rest 4 games Hill Rested Bullpen: Kimbrel must REST in game one Delgado must rest in game two if he pitches in game one Neshek must rest in game two if he pitches in game one Shreve must rest in game two if he pitches in game one Robertson pitched in one game

Tallahassee Archer Rest 1 game Volquez Rest 2 games Teheran Rest 3 games Arrieta Rest 4 games Porcello Rested Bullpen: McGee must REST 3 games Colome must REST in game one Chapman must rest in game two if he pitches in game one

Petit must rest in game two if he pitches in game one Baez pitched in one game Givens pitched in one game

Orlando Pineda Rest 1 game Ray Rest 2 games Lackey Rest 3 games Anderson Rest 4 games Corbin Rested Bullpen: Bush must REST 3 games Scott must REST in game one Reed pitched in one game Abad pitched in one game Whitley pitched in one game Kintzler pitched in one game Hunter pitched in one game

Titusville Santana Rest 1 game Chatwood Rest 2 games Sale Rest 3 games Hendricks Rest 4 games Faria Rested Bullpen: Senzatela must rest in game two if he pitches in game one Edwards pitched in one game Hildenberger pitched in one game Harris pitched in one game

Mudville Anderson Rest 1 game Kluber Rest 2 games Godley Rest 3 games Wood Rest 4 games Nelson Rested Bullpen: Swarzak must REST in game one and game two Bleier must REST in game one Parker pitched in one game Belisle pitched in one game

Crown Heights Cole Rest 1 game Walker Rest 2 games Nola Rest 3 games Severino Rest 4 games deGrom Rested Sabathia Rested Bullpen:

Bradley must rest in game two if he pitches in game one Strop pitched in one game Hand pitched in one game

Long Beach Island Lester Rest 1 game J.Montgomery Rest 2 games Carrasco Rest 3 games Bundy Rest 4 games Gray Rested Bullpen: O’Day must REST in game one Knebel pitched in one game Butcher pitched in one game

Dexter Scherzer Rest 1 game Fulmer Rest 2 games Verlander Rest 3 games Darvish Rest 4 games Quintana Rested Hamels Rested (Taxi) Bullpen: Rested

Ocracoke Shields Rest 1 game Colon Rest 2 games Rodriguez Rest 3 games Foltynewicz Rest 4 games Newcomb Rested Bullpen: Fister must rest in game two if he pitches in game one Wilson pitched in one game

La Jolla Kershaw Rest 1 game Leake Rest 2 games Leiter Rest 3 games Gausman Rest 4 games Davies Rested Bullpen: Infante pitched in one game Cishek pitched in one game Jansen pitched in one game Neris pitched in one game

Albany Castillo Rest 1 game Gray Rest 2 games Cashner Rest 3 games

Pomeranz Rest 4 games Martinez Rested Bullpen: Suter must REST in game one and game two Garcia pitched in one game

East Bay Berrios Rest 1 game Duffy Rest 2 games Lynn Rest 3 games Chacin Rest 4 games Snell Rested Bullpen: Kelly pitched in one game Avilan pitched in one game

A LOOK AHEAD IN THE ABL:

By Michael Saaf, inspired by Skibby

Week 15 Previews - Repent! The End is Nigh!

WEEK 15 AUG 24 - SEP 2 RESULTS D.M./V. MAN SITE MGR NL/AL D/N

193 CROWN HEIGHTS LA JOLLA CHRIS KEVIN AL NIGHT

194 CROWN HEIGHTS LA JOLLA NIGHT

195 ORLANDO EAST BAY BUCK JOE AL NIGHT

196 ORLANDO EAST BAY NIGHT

197 CHESAPEAKE BAY ALBANY COMMISH MICHAEL AL NIGHT

198 CHESAPEAKE BAY ALBANY NIGHT

199 MUDVILLE OCRACOKE CASEY DURAN AL NIGHT

200 MUDVILLE OCRACOKE NIGHT

201 TALLAHASSEE DEXTER DON JR. COOP AL NIGHT

202 TALLAHASSEE DEXTER NIGHT

203 TITUSVILLE LONG BEACH LENNY SKIBBY AL NIGHT

204 TITUSVILLE LONG BEACH NIGHT

As we head into the final two play weeks, the NL is in a major dogfight for 1st. Titusville has a

slight lead, but CBay and the Nine are breathing down the Perfectos’ neck. The AL is still

anyone’s game. Three teams are jostling for 1st and two teams are still fighting to keep hope

alive. Eyes will be focused on Orlando’s first visit to the East Bay to see if either club can sweep

and make a charge for a Wild Card spot. Another matchup with strong-to-severe playoff

implications is Titusville visiting Long Beach Island. If the Starfish can get hot, they can control

their fate. The Perfectos want to hold and/or pad their lead and secure non-wild card status. But

in the words of Marty DiBergi - enough of my yackin’ -- let’s check in on #MaximumChaos!

The most absurd case of absolute chaos in the National Division was a 6-way tie for the

division. All we needed was....C-Bay and Titusville to lose out. Titusville did not cooperate,

but...Mudville can still lose out and Crown Heights can go 3-1 and Orlando can go .500 ball over

the last 2 weeks. Tallahassee split last week, so even a 4-game win streak comes up short. For

all these factors, the chaos in the NL needs to get downgraded to #MediumChaos. Sorry. I

blame the Allens. Well, some of them.

In the AL, we were looking at a possible 3-way tie for the last Wild Card spot. It’s still possible (I

think). All we need is for Long Beach Island to go 0-4, East Bay to go 3-1, and La Jolla to go 4-

0. All teams cooperated in Week 14, so reset AL chaos level for #MuchoChaos.

Series One - Crown Heights Kings (16 - 16) vs. La Jolla Juggernaut (13 - 19)

The Kings were wheeler-dealers in the second half but are just .500 since the break. None of

that will matter if the Crown Heights expansion project can sprint across the finish. With Hicks

getting on, Judge scoring runs and Albies whacking triples, this offense can offend. La Jolla on

the other hand is playing with house money, as they proved last play week when they tripped up

LBI with the broom. Will Dee Gordon steal 10 bases in two games? Who will play loose and who

will play tight?

#MediumChaos requires Crown Heights not to get swept. Jinx!

Prediction from my 16-year old daughter, based solely on team names and logos: “Definitely the

Kings, the other one is stupid.”

Series Two - Orlando Sharks (16 - 16) vs. East Bay Grease (14 - 18)

The veteran versus the new guy. The old guard versus new blood. East versus west. Aquatic

mammals versus the river that food flavor flows on. Expect Buck to attempt to get the jump.

Expect Joe to uncork some red. Expect buttons to get pushed. The Grease might have a slight

edge on offense, but the Sharks have better pitching, defense, and speed. This will come down

to who wants it more! Just kidding, the Roller Gods will likely decide this matchup with extreme

luck in each game.

#MediMuchoChaos requires no sweeps. Sounds doable!

Prediction from my 16-year old daughter, based solely on team names and logos: “This one has

a funny head (Sharks), I like it. Grease looks like a 70’s album cover. I like purple.”

Series Three - Chesapeake Bay Channel Cats (18 - 14) vs. Albany Lo-Sox (19 - 13)

Chesapeake Bay is a storied franchise with a genius manager! They have cast aside many

challengers and are feared by all! Albany is afraid, but not as much as they are of La Jolla

grabbing the 2nd Wild Card spot and starting Johnny Cueto (check the last two yearbooks).

Despite Commish’s recent laments about low-octane offense, my guess is the Cats’ bats will

come alive and provide a see-saw, high-scoring set.

#MaximumChaos does not come into play - unless my bowels count.

Prediction from my 16-year old daughter, based solely on team names and logos: “I’m not into

Chesapeake Bay. That’s like a grandpa fish. The Lo-Sox guy looks like Tintin.”

Series Four - Mudville Nine (18 - 14) vs. Ocracoke Blackbeards (10 - 22)

Trader Casey needs to stay hot against Los Barbas Negras. Muddy fried up some hot,

barbelled-mouthed fish last week and Duran is coming off a sister-kiss with the Geese. I’m not

sure who’s on Casey’s team anymore, but if you add up the entire team’s WAR, it’s probably

close to Mike Trout’s. Defending champs Ocracoke will continue to play the spoiler, which

seems kinda piratey.

#MediumChaos requires it to get #VeryBig and #VerySexy - Mudville needs to get swept.

Prediction from my 16-year old daughter, based solely on team names and logos: “I like the

purple pirates. The Mudville guy looks like Hitler.”

Series Five - Tallahassee Terriers (13 - 19) vs. Dexter Thunder Geese (19 - 13)

Dogs and geese sound like a good match up. I picture a dog running around, chasing the

geese, and the geese honking and dive-bombing the dog. The dog may take out a goose, but

I’m thinking the gaggle makes life pretty miserable for Bowser. If you give the geese miniature

bats, it gets worse. And when they’re not bashing Bow Wow with bats, they’re crapping all over

the place.

#MaximumChaos does not come into play, probably.

Prediction from my 16-year old daughter, based solely on team names and logos: “Thunder

Geese are more modern and cool. The dog looks old fashion.”

Series Six - Titusville Perfectos (19 - 13) vs. Long Beach Island Starfish (17 - 15)

Maybe saving the best for last. Titusville has hung tough despite losing Captain Heel Surgeries

for the season. Long Beach has its fate in its hands. So much to lose in this one, but my guess

is both teams will be making noise after Week 16. The Perfectos will need some love from the

Roller Gods as the LBI bats will likely benefit from the Lenny staff and the Lenny Chart. My

guess is both teams are more worried about injuries than a possible split.

#MuchoChaos requires LBI to get swept.

Prediction from my 16-year old daughter, based solely on team names and logos: “It’s a funny

little starfish guy. He’s like Patrick. They should be the Goofy Goobers! Perfectos is stupid. You

can’t be perfect. What are you gonna say when you lose?”

ABL TAXI TEAMS:

Chesapeake Bay Belt Bowman Hedges Hellickson Pennington Tallahassee Buxton Crawford Smith Manaea Lucroy

Orlando Forsythe

Wong Samardzija Lugo Walker Titusville De La Rosa Cespedes Longoria Gravemen Hanson

Mudville Perez Dunesing Bridwell Mancini Pedroia

Crown Heights Betances Margot Galvis Moncada Vazquez Long Beach Island Healy Rivera Rogers Markakis DeShields Dexter Hamels Leclerc Martinez Duda Cabrera Orcacoke Herrera Myers Bumgarner Devers Mazara La Jolla Sano Bogaerts Span Hughes Cueto

Albany Syndergaard Story LeMahieu Heyward Reyes East Bay

Semien Junis Swanson Bonifacio Dozier Enjoy Week 15 Contributors to Around the Diamond:

Scott Allen, Michael Saaf, and Don Allen Jr.