Week 8: Memorial Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey All,

Well, it may be Memorial Day weekend, but the Longball League kept rolling along. Yes, there has been another shuffling of the standings and another tie for first place this week between the Invisible Hands and The Thunder Mountain Lightning.

This week's Three Things from the big leagues...

1. In case you didn't notice, the Phillies beat the Reds in a 19 inning game last week. What isn't important wasn't the fact that the Phillies won the game, 5-4. What is important is that Wilson Valdez, normally a second baseman by trade, earned the win for the Phightin' Phils as their pitcher. He worked a scoreless top of the 19th, then got the win when his squad scored in the bottom of the inning. With the win, he became the third position player since 1968 to earn a pitching victory.

2. From the "You've go to be kidding me?!" department, Bartolo Colon has officially resurrected his career. Pitching for the Yankees on Memorial Day, Colon threw a four-hit shutout to lead his squad to a 5-0 win over the Athletics.

3. The Angels picked up power bat Russell Branyan this past week. Halo management maintains that they picked up Branyan to help mentor young power bat Mark Trumbo. I think they picked him up to cover up for Vernon Wells' nightmare season.

Trivia: I had a friend at work this past week ask me why sports reporters say a pitcher has been "knocked out of the box" when he pitches poor enough to be taken out of a game. I thought I'd share the answer with you all. Way back when, in the early days of the game, the 1870s or so, pitchers didn't have a mound to stand on, they had a little area that was a box to stand in. The "Pitching Box" was a lined with the same chalk as they baselines. The pitcher could only deliver the ball from that box. So, when the pitcher was doing badly and replaced by his manager, it was said he was "knocked out of the box" by the opposing team.

Baseball Card of the Week: In honor of his pitching win for the Phils, Here's Wilson Valdez's 2011 Topps Card.

Until next week folks, remember that Vernon Wells is still on the disabled list.

-The Commissioner

Week 7

Hey All,

As the big leagues keep rolling along, so does the Longball League. The standings have flipped again with the Thunder Mountain Lightning taking their turn atop the heap. Meanwhile, the rest of the league is nipping at their heels. Maybe I should just copy and paste this paragraph each week? Hahahaha!

Three Things about this week in the Major Leagues:

1: Seriously, just how do you win a game in which you make five errors? On Saturday night, the Arizona Diamondbacks overcame five errors to beat the Minnesota Twins, 9-6. The Diamondbacks scored six runs in a wild eighth inning that featured a grand slam by Arizona's Kelly Johnson. Meanwhile, the Twins rotten season continues as they fell to 15-29 on the season with the loss.

2. Interleague play is upon us again. I have to say I do like it, but some matchups I could do without. I don't think we need to see Houston go to Toronto or Minnesota take on Arizona.

3. Diamondbacks-Twins Redux: In that wild game I mentioned earlier, I saw one of the worst bunts ever executed in the big leagues. Diamondbacks' LF, Gerardo Parra turned to lay down a bunt in the eighth inning. He made contact so poorly that he popped it up. However, he hit it so hard that it went over the head of the the third baseman who was charging in at the time. It fell in for the cheapest infield single I'd ever seen.

Trivia: I was fooling around on the BaseballReference.com website and decided to look at their list of players who made it to the majors and played in only one game. Coming into the 2011 season, 1,480 players played in only one game in their big league careers. I see now that Moonlight Graham has plenty of company in the annals of baseball.

Baseball Card of the Week: In honor of all those guys who played just one game in the bigs, here's a look at a fan-made card of Moonlight Graham.

Until next week folks, remember that Vernon Wells is still on the disabled list.

-The Commissioner

Week 6

Hey All,

Another week, another shake-up in the standings. The winning combo in the Longball League this week was to have slugger Jose Bautista and pitcher Roy Halladay. That combo enabled the Tax Dodgers to vault to the top of the standings. On the other hand, it was Mark Teixeira's poor week that helped the Tax Dodgers make their move. Also, we still have a logjam at the top with a couple of teams poised to make a move of their own.

Three things about this week in the Majors:

1. The Cardinals and the Reds are developing some real hatred between them. Could most of the tension between the two squads be coming from Cards skipper Tony La Russa who is trying to fire up his underachieving ballclub? I think so.

2. Looking ahead to the Cubs trip to Boston this week, I wonder how many times will Steve Bartman and Aaron Boone be mentioned? After all, these two teams were the World Series matchup a lot of people were hoping to see in 2003. The matchup didn't happen as both teams lost and we got the Marlins-Yankees instead.

3. Can anybody in the AL or NL west hit with runners in scoring position? This past weekend was pretty bad in that respect.

Trivia: The last time the Chicago Cubs visited Fenway Park was back in the 1918 World Series. It was game six to be exact. Cub Right Fielder Max Flack's error in the bottom of the third inning allowed two Red Sox runs to score. Those two runs would be all the Red Sox needed as they won the game, 2-1 and the series, 4 games to 2. The Cubs lone run came when first baseman Fred Merkle singled in Flack in the top of the fourth. Yes, that Fred Merkle. The Fred Merkle whose own base running error cost the New York Giants the 1908 pennant was on the field for another key error in baseball history. It's funny how Flack's error didn't make it into the lore of the game like Merkle's or Bill Buckner's in 1986.

Baseball Card of the Week: In honor of his big error, here's a look at Flack's 1916 M101-4 card.

It was a card given out at a local Chicago department store with a purchase of baseball equipment.

Until next week folks, remember that Vernon Wells is on the 15 day disabled list with a pulled groin.

-The Commissioner

Week 5

Hey All,

Wow, what a week in the major leagues! Justin Verlander hurls the season's second no-hitter and Andre Ethier had his hitting streak end at 30 games. This week also had a big impact on the Longball League standings. Let's take a look...

What a logjam at the top! The Invisible Hands are back on top, but the Sierra Vista Coachwhips, Mighty Mollusks, Thunder Mountain Lightning, and Tax Dodgers are all within 10 points of the lead. Then, behind them lie the San Pedro Sea Monkeys, Demis, and 'Vettes, who are all poised to make a run. Unfortunately, the AngelSox are still in the cellar. The pennant race has never been this tight and shows no sign of loosening up in the near future.

Three things about this week in the majors:

1. The Dodgers' Andre Ethier deserves a big salute for his 30 game hitting streak. It's the second longest one in Dodger history and one of the longest in over 20 years.

2. Another big round of applause for Justin Verlander for throwing the second no-hitter of his career. Only a single walk kept this no-no from being a perfect game.

3. A final round of applause goes to Angels Manager Mike Scioscia for picking up his 1,000 win as Halos chief. He's easily the best skipper the Halos have ever had and one of the biggest mistakes ever made by the Dodgers for not hiring him back in 2000.

Trivia: In honor of Mike Scioscia's 1000th win, here's a bit of trivia about Scioscia's first win as the Halos skipper. The win came on April 4, 2000. The Angels dropped their first two games, but came out swinging against the New York Yankees in game three. Darrin Erstad went 4 for 5 with a home run and five RBIs to lead the Anaheim Angels to a 12-6 win at the Big A. The winning pitcher for the Halos was Scot Schoenweis. The loser was David Cone. The Halos lineup included Tim Salmon, Troy Glaus, Garret Anderson, and Mo Vaughn.

Baseball Card of the Week: In honor of Mike Scioscia's achievement, here we see the skipper pictured on his 2003 Topps card #262.

Until next week folks, remember that Vernon Wells is still hitting only .179,

-The Commissioner

Week 4

Hey All,

We are one month into the season and we have another flip-flop in the standings in the Longball League. Some of it is due to a few teams that had some bats come alive and some of it is due to me correcting a few errors that were made in last week's totals. One thing is clear after looking at this week's scores. This pennant race will come down to the last day of the season with several squads in the hunt for the flag.

Three things about week four in the major leagues...

1. I don't believe Jered Weaver had the flu today. I think Angels' skipper Mike Scioscia just pushed Jered's start back a day so he could pitch at Boston Monday night.

2. The Dodgers' Andre Ethier extended his hitting streak to 26 games on Sunday. Hitting streaks are fun to watch because they rarely happen and they are incredible feats of consistency. Funny thing is that as impressive as Ethier's streak is he's still two games away from being halfway to Joe DiMaggio's epic streak hitting streak of 56 games.

3. It's May 2nd and the best team in baseball is...the Cleveland Indians!?! Yes folks, the Erie Warriors are 19-8 and have a 4 1/2 game lead over the Kansas City Royals in the AL Central. Can they keep this up for the whole year? we'll see.

Trivia: The Cleveland Indians are currently riding a 13-game home winning streak. The longest home winning streak in baseball history belongs to the 1916 New York Giants. From September 7 through September 30 of 1916, the Giants rattled of a 26 game home winning streak. The funny thing is that earlier in the year, the Giants had a 17-game road winning streak. So, how did these streaky giants do in 1916? They finished in fourth place, seven games back of Brooklyn.

Baseball Card of the Week: In honor of those 1916 Giants here the T-311 Turkey Red Cabinet Card of NY outfielder Fred Merkle. He Hit a blistering .237 for the fourth place G-Men.

Until next week folks, remember Vernon Wells is still only hitting .170.

-The Commissioner