Hey All! After a good 10 days or so of vacation, it's time to catch up with both MLB and the Longball League. Let's look at the standings.
What you're seeing is not a misprint. The San Pedro Sea Monkeys are in first place as we come into the last few days of June. Albert Pujols is the reason they are there. His 28 homers and 74 RBIs are the best in the whole league.
Sitting in second place only four points out are the Vacuous Vipers. Chase Utley's weak play is at the heart of the Phillies' June swoon. His bad June has really put a hurt on the Vipers. We'll have to see how well Utley plays now that interleague play is over.
The SoCal Capuchins are firmly sitting in third place. Chase Utley is hurting the Capuchins as well.
Down in fourth place are the Sierra Vista Coachwhips. Raul Ibanez has been injured and hasn't played since June 17th. However, he has been cleared for batting practice as of today and could be back in the lineup soon. He was on a tear before his injury. The 'Whips hope he can come back strong off the DL.
The Invisible Hands are sitting in fifth place. The big reason for this is Adrian Gonzalez. The Padre slugger has only two homers and four RBIs since being picked up by the Hands on June 8th. If the Hands can get a big bat, they will vault to the top of the standings.
Hey, the Keen Koalas are tied for 5th place and are only 25 points out of first with three months left in the season!!!!! The Koalas' pick ups of Adam Dunn and Albert Pujols have enabled the little marsupials to get back in the race.
Baseball Card of the Week: For just tearing the cover off the ball in the last few weeks, Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals gets a shoutout from The Commissioner. He's pictured here on his 2008 Topps Heritage card. It must be fun to be him right now.
Trivia: Home Runs are always aboout the big guys who can hit the longball. At least I thought so until I looked at the list of the smallest guy ever to hit 30 or more homers in a season. At the top of that list is Hack Wilson of the Chicago Cubs. In 1930, Hack hit 56 homers for the Cubbies. Hack Wilson was 5-6, 190 lbs. Little guys can hit too.
Until next time folks, keep hitting 'em where they ain't.
-The Commissioner
Monday, June 29, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Week 10
Hey All! Last week was the start of the last round of interleague play for the 2009 season. It's been fun and exciting. It was especially exciting for me last Friday when I was able to see the Angels demolish the Padres 11-6 en route to a three game series sweep of the Friars over the weekend. It was a truly fun, family night in our favorite seats in the first row behind the bullpens at the Big A. Let's look at this week's standings in the Longball League.
Their lead is ever-shrinking, but the Vacuous Vipers are still holding on to first place. The Vipers can look to Chase Utley as the reason why they are still on top. Another good sign for the Vipers is that Evan Longoria is starting to heat up again. Maybe his hamstring problems are behind him.
Sitting in second are the Sierra Vista Coachwhips. Mark Teixeira has been absolutely awesome lately for the Yankees. He along with recent pick up Raul Ibanez of the Phillies are reasons why the defending champs are back in the thick of the race.
Picking up Joe Mauer may have helped, but Albert Pujols is the big reason why the San Pedro Sea Monkeys have climbed back up into third place this week. Phat Albert had a 4 homer, 6 RBI week for the Monkeys. Monkey's manager, Lee Ursich wishes there were more men on base when Albert hit his homers last week.
The SoCal Capuchins have slipped to fourth place this week. However they are only 10 points out of first place. Adam Dunn didn't have a great week against Tampa Bay pitching. That's a big key to why the Caps are down a bit this week.
Bad Luck hit the Invisible Hands this week when they picked up Adrian Gonzalez of the Padres. Gonzalez came into last week as the major league leader in home runs. Then he ran into the Dodger and Angel pitching staffs last week. Adrian put a big zero up on the board for the Hands last week. That's a zero in both HRs and RBIs.
And last, but still really last are the Keen Koalas. They've got the pieces in place to make a run, but sitting 38 points out of first in mid June isn't good. It would be a great story if they can get back into the race.
Trivia: This week's trivia come from a question posed by Mo Lenker while we were sitting behind the bullpens at the Big A last week. She asked, "Why is it called the bullpen?" Well Mo, here's your answer. During the civil war, soldiers that were taken prisoner were put in small fenced in enclosures that were tabbed bullpens by their captors. The name was then carried over to baseball to describe the enclosures where the relief pitchers sit during a ballgame in the earliest days of baseball. Then, the term came into widespread use during the early part of the twentieth century when the Bull Durham Tobacco Company put up large billboards over those areas that featured a picture of a large bull on them. The billboards were in every big league park right over the bullpen. So, the term became synonymous with relief pitchers and chewing tobacco.
Baseball Card of the Week: Since we were talking about bullpens, I thought I'd salute one of the best players to ever make the walk from the bullpen to the mound, Rich "Goose" Gossage. The Goose finally made into the Hall of Fame this year. In my mind, he was one of the toughest guys to ever take the mound. He was a true fireball throwing closer. Just his stare alone was intimidating. His fastball wasn't bad either. The Goose is pictured here on his 1979 topps card #225.
Well folks, until next week keep hitting 'em where they ain't.
-The Commissioner
Their lead is ever-shrinking, but the Vacuous Vipers are still holding on to first place. The Vipers can look to Chase Utley as the reason why they are still on top. Another good sign for the Vipers is that Evan Longoria is starting to heat up again. Maybe his hamstring problems are behind him.
Sitting in second are the Sierra Vista Coachwhips. Mark Teixeira has been absolutely awesome lately for the Yankees. He along with recent pick up Raul Ibanez of the Phillies are reasons why the defending champs are back in the thick of the race.
Picking up Joe Mauer may have helped, but Albert Pujols is the big reason why the San Pedro Sea Monkeys have climbed back up into third place this week. Phat Albert had a 4 homer, 6 RBI week for the Monkeys. Monkey's manager, Lee Ursich wishes there were more men on base when Albert hit his homers last week.
The SoCal Capuchins have slipped to fourth place this week. However they are only 10 points out of first place. Adam Dunn didn't have a great week against Tampa Bay pitching. That's a big key to why the Caps are down a bit this week.
Bad Luck hit the Invisible Hands this week when they picked up Adrian Gonzalez of the Padres. Gonzalez came into last week as the major league leader in home runs. Then he ran into the Dodger and Angel pitching staffs last week. Adrian put a big zero up on the board for the Hands last week. That's a zero in both HRs and RBIs.
And last, but still really last are the Keen Koalas. They've got the pieces in place to make a run, but sitting 38 points out of first in mid June isn't good. It would be a great story if they can get back into the race.
Trivia: This week's trivia come from a question posed by Mo Lenker while we were sitting behind the bullpens at the Big A last week. She asked, "Why is it called the bullpen?" Well Mo, here's your answer. During the civil war, soldiers that were taken prisoner were put in small fenced in enclosures that were tabbed bullpens by their captors. The name was then carried over to baseball to describe the enclosures where the relief pitchers sit during a ballgame in the earliest days of baseball. Then, the term came into widespread use during the early part of the twentieth century when the Bull Durham Tobacco Company put up large billboards over those areas that featured a picture of a large bull on them. The billboards were in every big league park right over the bullpen. So, the term became synonymous with relief pitchers and chewing tobacco.
Baseball Card of the Week: Since we were talking about bullpens, I thought I'd salute one of the best players to ever make the walk from the bullpen to the mound, Rich "Goose" Gossage. The Goose finally made into the Hall of Fame this year. In my mind, he was one of the toughest guys to ever take the mound. He was a true fireball throwing closer. Just his stare alone was intimidating. His fastball wasn't bad either. The Goose is pictured here on his 1979 topps card #225.
Well folks, until next week keep hitting 'em where they ain't.
-The Commissioner
Monday, June 8, 2009
Week 9
Hey all! We're into the second week of June and while the Angels bullpen continues to let me down, the race in the Longball League hasn't. Things are getting tight, let's look at the standings.
Those Vacuous Vipers are suffering from Evan Longoria's recent drop off in production. Longoria's bad right hamstring has flared up again. he played in only three games last week and went scoreless for the week. Rays Manager Joe Maddon says he'll be back in the lineup tonight, but will he contribute?
Tied for second place are the Sierra Vista Coachwhips and the SoCal Capuchins. They've been trading the second slot off and on here for awhile, so you knew a tie would happen one week. The Coachwhips dropped the injured Josh Hamilton and replaced him with Raul Ibanez of the Phillies. His two homer, eight RBI week was a good boost for the snakes. As for the Caps, they keep rolling along behind the awakened Ryan Howard. He's on a roll and so are the Caps.
Sitting in fourth just four points out of second are the Invisible Hands. Ryan Howard and Justin Morneau are in a groove for the Hands. They may be just four points out of fourth, but they have team hot on their trail. The San Pedro Sea Monkeys are just one point behind the Hands and only 15 points out of first. Yes folks, the top five teams are separated by a mere 15 points. The Monkeys did make their move and went after Joe Mauer of the Twins. He looks like he'll fit in nicely with Ryan Howard and Albert Pujols on the Monkey's squad.
The Keen Koalas are in last place, but they did finally swap out Matt Holiday for Adam Dunn. Maybe he can get the Koala's back into contention.
Trivia: On April 22, 1959, the Chicago White Sox score 11 runs in the seventh inning en route to a 20-6 drubbing of the Kansas City A's. The big fact about the inning is that the White Sox scored their 11 runs on one hit! Yes folks, one hit. The A's gave up one hit, walked 10 and committed three errors in the inning.
Baseball Card of the Week: This week's card is 1959 Topps #119- Johnny Callison. He's the man that had the only hit for the White Sox in that weird seventh inning. It was a single that was misplayed into a two base error that allowed the first two runs of the inning to score.
Until next time folks, keep hitting 'em where they ain't.
-The Commissioner
Those Vacuous Vipers are suffering from Evan Longoria's recent drop off in production. Longoria's bad right hamstring has flared up again. he played in only three games last week and went scoreless for the week. Rays Manager Joe Maddon says he'll be back in the lineup tonight, but will he contribute?
Tied for second place are the Sierra Vista Coachwhips and the SoCal Capuchins. They've been trading the second slot off and on here for awhile, so you knew a tie would happen one week. The Coachwhips dropped the injured Josh Hamilton and replaced him with Raul Ibanez of the Phillies. His two homer, eight RBI week was a good boost for the snakes. As for the Caps, they keep rolling along behind the awakened Ryan Howard. He's on a roll and so are the Caps.
Sitting in fourth just four points out of second are the Invisible Hands. Ryan Howard and Justin Morneau are in a groove for the Hands. They may be just four points out of fourth, but they have team hot on their trail. The San Pedro Sea Monkeys are just one point behind the Hands and only 15 points out of first. Yes folks, the top five teams are separated by a mere 15 points. The Monkeys did make their move and went after Joe Mauer of the Twins. He looks like he'll fit in nicely with Ryan Howard and Albert Pujols on the Monkey's squad.
The Keen Koalas are in last place, but they did finally swap out Matt Holiday for Adam Dunn. Maybe he can get the Koala's back into contention.
Trivia: On April 22, 1959, the Chicago White Sox score 11 runs in the seventh inning en route to a 20-6 drubbing of the Kansas City A's. The big fact about the inning is that the White Sox scored their 11 runs on one hit! Yes folks, one hit. The A's gave up one hit, walked 10 and committed three errors in the inning.
Baseball Card of the Week: This week's card is 1959 Topps #119- Johnny Callison. He's the man that had the only hit for the White Sox in that weird seventh inning. It was a single that was misplayed into a two base error that allowed the first two runs of the inning to score.
Until next time folks, keep hitting 'em where they ain't.
-The Commissioner
Monday, June 1, 2009
Week 8
Hey all! With the calendar turning to June and thoughts of summer, the baseball season is 1/3 over and the race for the Longball League pennant is getting tighter. Let's look at the standings.
Don't look now folks, but the Vacuous Vipers lead is shrinking. It was 23 points two weeks ago, but it's down to a 15 point lead today. Evan Longoria's recent slowdown and Chase Utley's poor week have brought the Vipers back to the pack a bit.
The Sierra Vista Coachwhips are taking their turn back in second place again with a two point lead over the SoCal Caps. Ryan Howard finally woke up with a big week. His 4 homer, 10 RBI week was just what the Coachwhips needed.
Sitting in third are the SoCal Capuchins. Yes, they've been trading second place with the SVC's on a regular basis, but now they have another squad hot on their heels. However, they are the only squad with Adam Dunn on the roster. If he keeps hitting, they will be in this race to the end.
Now, not so quietly making noise are the Invisible Hands. They are only 6 points out of second place. Justin Morneau and Ryan Howard are now carrying this squad. Look out, League! The Hands are starting to make a move towards the top of the standings.
Speaking of moves, the San Pedro Sea Monkeys are announcing here that as of 6-1, they are dropping Carlos Pena and adding The Twins' Joe Mauer to the roster. The Monkeys hope he's the missing piece they need to get back into the race.
So what can we say now about those not so Keen Koalas? Our baseball insider, Lee Ursich, thinks the Koalas need to drop Matt Holliday if they want to try to get back into this thing.
Baseball Card of the Week: We salute Harvey Haddix for a heroic feat that occurred 50 years ago this past week. Haddix pitched 12 perfect innings against the Milwaukee Braves only to lose the game 1-0 on a Joe Adcock homer in the bottom of the 13th. No pitcher before or since has thrown that many perfect innings in one game. "Hard Luck Harvey" as he would be known ever since that game, is pictured here on his 1959 topps card #184. The card didn't keep up with Haddix's acquisition by the Pirates and shows him with Cincinnati.
Trivia: We all know about mythical slugger Roy Hobbs' ballpark busting blasts in the movie The Natural, but did you know that one of Hobbs' epic shots was based on a real life homerun? In 1946, Bama Rowell of the Boston Braves hit a home run that broke the Bulova clock that sat atop the right field scoreboard at Ebbets Field. That homer became the inspiration for Roy Hobbs' clock shattering shot in movie. One last note about Bama Rowell's dinger. Bulova watches had promised to give a new watch to any player who actually hit the clock in a game. It took awhile for the company to pay off. Rowell hit the homer in 1946. He didn't get that free watch until
1987.
Until next time folks, keep hitting 'em where they ain't.
-The Commissioner
Don't look now folks, but the Vacuous Vipers lead is shrinking. It was 23 points two weeks ago, but it's down to a 15 point lead today. Evan Longoria's recent slowdown and Chase Utley's poor week have brought the Vipers back to the pack a bit.
The Sierra Vista Coachwhips are taking their turn back in second place again with a two point lead over the SoCal Caps. Ryan Howard finally woke up with a big week. His 4 homer, 10 RBI week was just what the Coachwhips needed.
Sitting in third are the SoCal Capuchins. Yes, they've been trading second place with the SVC's on a regular basis, but now they have another squad hot on their heels. However, they are the only squad with Adam Dunn on the roster. If he keeps hitting, they will be in this race to the end.
Now, not so quietly making noise are the Invisible Hands. They are only 6 points out of second place. Justin Morneau and Ryan Howard are now carrying this squad. Look out, League! The Hands are starting to make a move towards the top of the standings.
Speaking of moves, the San Pedro Sea Monkeys are announcing here that as of 6-1, they are dropping Carlos Pena and adding The Twins' Joe Mauer to the roster. The Monkeys hope he's the missing piece they need to get back into the race.
So what can we say now about those not so Keen Koalas? Our baseball insider, Lee Ursich, thinks the Koalas need to drop Matt Holliday if they want to try to get back into this thing.
Baseball Card of the Week: We salute Harvey Haddix for a heroic feat that occurred 50 years ago this past week. Haddix pitched 12 perfect innings against the Milwaukee Braves only to lose the game 1-0 on a Joe Adcock homer in the bottom of the 13th. No pitcher before or since has thrown that many perfect innings in one game. "Hard Luck Harvey" as he would be known ever since that game, is pictured here on his 1959 topps card #184. The card didn't keep up with Haddix's acquisition by the Pirates and shows him with Cincinnati.
Trivia: We all know about mythical slugger Roy Hobbs' ballpark busting blasts in the movie The Natural, but did you know that one of Hobbs' epic shots was based on a real life homerun? In 1946, Bama Rowell of the Boston Braves hit a home run that broke the Bulova clock that sat atop the right field scoreboard at Ebbets Field. That homer became the inspiration for Roy Hobbs' clock shattering shot in movie. One last note about Bama Rowell's dinger. Bulova watches had promised to give a new watch to any player who actually hit the clock in a game. It took awhile for the company to pay off. Rowell hit the homer in 1946. He didn't get that free watch until
1987.
Until next time folks, keep hitting 'em where they ain't.
-The Commissioner
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