Week 16

Hey All,

I, The Commissioner, am back after a good summer vacation where I relaxed in Lake Tahoe for a few days, then spent some time with some old friends in northern California. One of the highlights of the trip was a 48 hour period where I packed in 38 innings of baseball ranging from low A ball to Triple A to the Major Leagues. It was a blast!!! As for the Longball League we can see that the standings remain the same, but some significant separation has occurred in the league. The SV Coachwhips and the Invisible Hands look to be firmly entrenched in the upper echelon of the league this year.

This week's three things from the Major Leagues...

The Seattle Mariners are done. A franchise record 15-game losing streak and a .260 hitting Ichiro spells doom for the Safeco boys.

The Pirates are hanging in there, but will they fade down the stretch? Could they be this year's version of last year's Padres? Only time will tell.

Upon further review, the Oakland Coliseum is just a bad ballpark. After my last trip there, I'm pretty sure it is the worst park in the majors. It has no soul.

Trivia: The Mariners need to lose eight more straight to tie the Modern MLB record of 23 losses in a row that was set by the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies finished in last place, 46 games behind the NL Champion Cincinnati Reds.

Baseball Card of The Week: For the first time ever in this blog, I will honor a player with a second appearance as the BBCOTW. It is the one and only Clarence Choo Choo Coleman. Here we see Clarence on his 1961 Topps card as a member of that awful 1961 Phillies team. Coleman's first appearance here was on a card as the representative of the 1962 New York Mets. Yes folks, Coleman played for two of the worst MLB teams ever assembled in back-to-back seasons.

Until next wee folks, remember Vernon Wells hit a grand slam this week off the Baltimore Orioles.

-The Commissioner

Week 13

Hey All, I hope everyone had a great Independence Day weekend! After several weeks of the standings growing ever tighter in the Longball League, this week saw the point spread open up a bit. Also, we have a new leader. The Sierra Vista Coachwhips are in first place this week by one big point over the Invisible Hands. Also, we see the Tax Dodgers have made a move and are now in third place. It's been a great first half as the league rolls into the All-Star Break at the end of the week.

This week's three things from the Major Leagues

1. The San Diego Padres walked away with a 1-0 win over the Seattle Mariners the other night. What makes this result so unusual is that the Padres lone run scored after originally reaching base on three ball walk. Yes, a three ball walk. The scoreboard showed a 3-2 count on Padre Cameron Maybin. So, when the next pitch was a ball, the umpire, Phil Cuzzi, awarded Maybin first base. Only the count was really 2-2 and the umpire, and both teams missed it. The official scorer had it right, but he was never consulted. Maybin later scored the game's only run in the inning on an Alberto Gonzalez single. Wow.

2. Two games were won in walk-off fashion on the 4th of July without a hit being recorded. In Washington D.C., the Nationals won when Jason Werth scored on a wild pitch thrown by the Cubs' Carlos Marmol. Later in the day, the Chicago White Sox won when A.J. Pierzynski was balked home by Kansas City pitcher Aaron Crow. Is that called a balk-off win instead of a walk-off win?

3. Thank you, and good-bye. Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Vance Worley pitched seven strong innings to lead the Phigten' Phils to a 1-0 win over the Florida Marlins. So, how was he rewarded for his effort? He was sent down to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Phillies' management said that with their rotation set for the next 10 days, they wanted Worley to remain hot and keep pitching eve if that meant another stint at the Triple-A level.

Trivia: Here's a neat bit of trivia for this weekend. On July 4, 1929 the New York Giants became the first team to use an electric public address system. Until then, only starting lineups were introduced, then you had to rely on the scoreboard and your mind to remember who was up to bat. Pretty scary, Huh? hahahah.

Baseball Card of the Week: Here's to Cameron Maybin and his three ball walk. I honor Cameron by showing him on his 2011 Topps card.

Until next week folks, remember Vernon Wells is up over the Mendoza line, hitting .215

-The Commissioner