Let's Play Two.....

Hey dudes. Carlo and I got together Sunday and ripped off six games while our Mrs. Got massages (likely by dudes who look like Dan Uggla). Here’s the short and skinny…

Game 1: Kershaw @ Kuroda

We started the day off with a wild and crazy game. Carlo built himself a commanding 6-1 lead in the top of the 8th based largely on the strength of Tulo and Kelly Johnson. Things unraveled for him in the bottom of the 8th, however, thanks to a 3 run inning coming off 4 doubles (Carlo has some holes in the outfield ya’ll). I set the noose firmly around my neck Brooks Hadley-style when McCutcheon showed some rare power, leading the top of the 9th off with a homerun for Carlo and extending his lead to 7-4. I managed to rally in the bottom of the 9th though, thanks to a leadoff double by Garrett Jones, homerun by Han-Ram, and a two-out double by Holliday, and triple (on a bizarre, no less) by Drew Stubbs. The game went to the bottom of the 11th before Hanley knocked his second homerun in a row to send the fans home happy.

On a side note, Carlo’s catcher Ramon Hernandez was hit by a pitch in the 8th and injured for 15 games, leaving him with some problems behind the plate for a few series.

Keith wins 8-7 (11)

Game 2: Arroyo @ Sanchez

Keith took a 3-1 lead into the top of the 7th before Carlo blew the hell up, highlighted by 3 RBI’s by Neil “Sky” Walker and two by the veteran Kelly Johnson.

Carlo wins 9-3

Game 3: Dempster @ Westbrook

Tulo led off the game with a HR before Keith rallied back in the 5th on a 2-run single by Holliday and a 3-run bomb-ski by Adam Dunn-ski. Car grabbed two of those runs back the following inning on a Tulo’s 2nd HR of the game, leaving Keith nursing a 5-3 lead going into the 9th. Poor bullpen management (and one too many Hinterland Luna Stouts) delayed Brian Wilson’s entry into the game, and Carlo resiliently clawed back with a 3-run 9th to shock the San Diego faithful and steal a 6-5 win.

Carlo wins 6-5

Carlo Wins Series 2-1

Game 1: Halladay @ Nolasco

Neither pitcher would last long in this one. Han-Ram and Corey Hart homered in the top of the 1st for Keith, and Halladay was chased after 4 in a game that saw 3 homeruns, 2 triples and 6 doubles. When the dust cleared, Corey Hart had collected 5 RBI’s and the Big Donkey had 4.

Keith wins 13-8

Game 2: Jimenez @ Lincecum
Now here was a pitching matchup. Ubaldo helped his own cause by sacrificing Yadier in the top of the 2nd, and a Big Panda HR matched a Johnson RBI single following a Tulo leadoff triple and a Neil Walker RBI. Freddy “Mole Face” Sanchez knocked in the game-winning RBI in the top of the 9th and Jimenez pitched the complete game.

Keith wins 3-2

Game 3: Kuroda @ Kershaw

Keith smelled a sweep heading into Game 3 of the second series, but the big lefty was having none of it. Car’s southpaw pitched a complete game shutout, getting plenty of offensive support as Carlo ended the day with a no-doubter and a series salvaging butt-whoopin.

Carlo wins 7-0

Keith Wins Series 2-1

Dan Uggla – The Most Timely Hitter in all of PTP - Bad Taste in T-Shirts

Torto at Fish

Game 1
W. Rodriguez at M Latos

Fish jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Carlos Beltran hit a single with the base loaded, scoring Dan Uggla, however Al Pujols was nailed at the plate for the 3rd out (put out by Jason Heyword). From there the bats would be held quiet until the bottom of the 8th when Nyger Morgan singled, Chipper Jones walked, and Colby Rasmus scored Morgan on a base hit; Hanigan then loaded the bases with a walk, and Danny Uggla blew open the doors with a base hit scoring two runs. Sean Marshall surrendered a two run home run to Zimmerman in the top of the 9th, and Billy Wagner came on for a one out save. Fish wins 4-2.
Winning Pitcher – Latos
Losing Pitcher – Rodriguez
Save – Wagner
HR’s – Zimmerman

Game 2
J Cueto at T Wood

Torto scored in the top of the 1st when a fielder’s choice got Fowler on base, then was scored by a Ryan Zimmerman double. In the bottom of the 3rd, Travis Wood had a leadoff double and was scored by Ryan Hanigan to tie the game. In the top of the 5th, four straight batters would get on base: Cueto (FC), Utley (double), Fowler (single and an RBI) and Zimmerman (single and an RBI). The lead was cut to 3-2 in the bottom of the 5th when Hanigan doubled and was scored on a base hit by Uggla. The bottom of the 6th was Torto’s undoing; with the left hander Baumgardner in the ball game, he proceeded to give up back to back doubles (Edmonds and Reyes), and was pulled before retiring a batter. Nyjer Morgan would squeeze in Reyes to take the lead. Marmol would come on to close out the game for a save. Fish wins 4-3.
Winning Pitcher – Franklin
Losing Pitcher – Baumgardner
Save – Marmol


Game 3
J Garland at C Silva

Pitching would again be at a premium in this game. With the usual early exit by Silva in the second (he had to go eat lard and Keith’s coleslaw in the clubhouse) the game was turned over to Peralta. Mike Stanton would make Peralta pay in the top of the 4th, with a two run home run. On the next batter, Peralta’s arm stiffened up on him and was put on the shelf for 10 games. Dan Uggla would come back in the bottom of the frame to hit a solo home run. He would hit another solo home run in the bottom of the 6th to tie the score. The score would remain tied until the top of the 9th when Thole walked and Castillo tripled off of Billy Wagner to take the lead. Bliele came on for the save in the 9th. Torto wins 3-2.

Winning Pitcher – Romo
Losing Pitcher – Wagner
Save – Bliele
HR’s – Stanton, Uggla (2)
Injuries – Peralta 10 games

Dan Uggla Stole Paynter's Shirt!

Looking for a reliever not named Frazor

Keith's Bad Day

And it continued......

Game 1

Silva at Washburn

Keith jumped out to kick lead scoring 2 runs in the bottom of the 1st with an RBI double from JOHN JAY JOHN JAY and scored with a single from Matt Holliday. With this rough inning from Silva, that would be it for his day. The top of the 3rd would be another story however; it started with three consecutive single by Morgan, Hanigan and Pujols, with additional singles by Chipper Jones and Jimmy Edmonds. 4 runs would score in the frame. Fish added another run in the top of the 7th with a double from Hanigan and an RBI single from Pujols. Keith quickly tied the game in the bottom of the 8th with a base clearing double by the Big Panda. However, playing inspired because he was jeered like McNabb when drafted, hit the go ahead solo jack in the top of the 9th. Ryan Madson finished the game for a save. Fish wins 6-5.
Winning Pitcher: Peralta
Losing Pitcher: Rhodes
Save: Madson
Home Runs: Uggla

Game 2
De la Rosa at Halladay

With a matchup of two of the pitchers in the game, it was going to be a difficult task for both offenses. Keith again struck quickly in the bottom of the 1st with 5 singles from Crawford, Holliday, Paulino, Sanchez and Tejada, scoring two runs. Cory Hart hit a solo jack in the bottom of the 2nd to give Keith a 3-0 lead. Dan Uggla would again come up clutch, hit a 3-run home run in the top of the 3rd to tie the game. Fish would take the lead for good in the top of the 8th with consecutive singles from Rasmus and Uggla, and a base clearing double from Edmonds. A couple more insurance runs were scored by Fish in the top of the 9th. Fish wins 7-3.

Winning Pitcher: Marmol
Losing Pitcher: Halladay
Save: Franklin

Game 3

Cain at Jimenez

This was truly a pitching classic. Fish grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the top of the 3rd on a Chipper Jones solo home run. Jimenez helped his own cause in the bottom of the frame with a leadoff double, and was scored by Holliday. The lead would be secure until the top of the 6th, when Jim Edmonds doubled and scored on a Montero base hit. Marmol would come on to finish the game for his second save. Fish wins 3-1
Winning Pitcher: Cain
Losing Pitcher: Jimenez
Save: Marmol

Stats Update:
J. Reyes .417 24 AB
Chipper Jones .391 23 AB
R Hanigan .368 19 AB
N Morgan .350 20 AB4
Uggla 2 home runs 8 RBI’s
M Cain 2 wins
C Marmol 2 wins, 2 saves

Bringing Order and Balance Back to PTP - Darth Vader Style

Thank God for PTP!

Game 1

Lackey at King Felix

Welcome to the 2009 PTP AL Championship. Game 1 featured an excellent pitching match-up, Felix Hernandez vs. John Lackey. Game 1 got out to a quick start for Fish with an Eric Aybar single, stolen base, and an RBI single from Ichiro. The inning continued with an uncharacteristic error by Placido Polonco, which plated another run. Keith answers in the top of inning 2 with a double from Morales and an RBI single from Josh Hamilton. It was apparent the Hamilton was on “the good stuff” this evening , as he had a solo home run in the 4th and the 6th, for a game high 3 RBI’s. However, with a 4-3 lead, Keith trusted Jason Frazor to get him to his closer, a choice that would haunt him all series long. In the bottom of the 8th, with back to back deep drive rolls, post season heroes Bobby Abreu and Jorge Posada hit back to back jacks to take the lead. Felix would stay in for a complete game win. Fish wins 5-4.
Winning Pitcher: Hernandez
Losing Pitcher: Frazor
Home Runs: Hamilton (2), Abreu, Posada

Game 2

Beckett at Floyd (a collect call for Mr. Floyd)

Game 2 was all about Keith. He scored a run in the top of the 1st with a Carl Crawford leadoff single, plated by Kendry Morales. I came back with 2 runs in the bottom of the 1st with a leadoff triple from Chone Figgons, base hit by Aybar, and RBI single from Ichiro. Then, the flood gates opened in the top of the 3rd inning: it started with a leadoff home run by Crawford, followed up by consecutive base hits by Markakis, Youkilis, and Morales, which was cleaned up with a 3-run home run by the big headed Polanco, the inning would plate 5 runs. Beckett cruised through 7 and 2/3 innings, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits and 11 strike outs. Keith wins 7-3.
Winning Pitcher: Beckett
Losing Pitcher: Floyd
Home Runs: Crawford, Polanco

Game 3

FELDMAN at NIEMANN

A match-up of two of the most average pitchers baffled the bats on both Keith and Fish’s squads. Both teams were held scoreless until the bottom of the 6th when Keith broke through with a run by Morales, plated by Weiters. The game was tied in the top of the 7th with a leadoff single from A-Rod and a triple from Granderson, Keith would gun down Granderson on a play at the plate later that inning. With the score tied in the top of the 8th, Chone Figgons led the inning off with a solo home run to take the lead. An insurance run was added when Granderson walked, stole a base and was plated by Posada. Nathan came on for a shaky save, giving up a run in the bottom of the ninth. Fish wins 3-2.
Winning Pitcher: Fuentes
Losing Pitcher: Frazor
Save: Nathan
Home Runs: Figgons

Game 4

Burnett at Gaudin

This game was all Fish from the outset. Erick Aybar tripled in the top of the 1st, then scored by A-Rod; later in the inning Bobby “I must” Abreu drove in A-Rod for a quick 2 run lead. In the bottom of the third, Yukes tripled in Carl Crawford to bring the game to 2-1. The game got out of hand in the top of the 4th with consecutive doubles by Konerko and Posada, walk by Figgons, and a base clearing double by Aybar. Later, the unlikely of sorts, Clifford Pennington, hit a two run home run, to bring the game to 6-4. Two insurance runs were added in the top of the ninth with a walk by Aybar, triple by Ichiro, and single by A-Rod. Carl Crawford added a solo home run in the bottom of the 9th. Fish wins 8-4.
Winning Pitcher: Burnett
Losing Pitcher: Gaudin
Home Runs: Crawford

Game 5

Felix at Lackey

An exceptional pitching match was apparent in this game. There was no scoring into the 7th inning; the virgin scoring column was broke through with a solo home run by Jorge Posada. Bobby Abreu hit a solo home run against his favorite pitcher Frazor in the top of the 8th. That was more than enough for King Felix, who pitched a shutout and was named the Championship MVP with two complete game wins.
Winning Pitcher: Hernandez
Losing Pitcher: Lackey
Home Runs: Posada, Abreu

Fish Wins the Series 4 Games to 1

Not your mommy's Carpenter!! Spencer @ Nick

Game 1 Chris Carpenter @ Hank (Homer) Bailey

This game between heated rivals was over in the 2nd inning, as Spencer scored five runs on RBIs from Ryan Braun, Ryan Howard and Chris Carpenter's RBI double. Carpenter would drive in another run in the 6th inning, oh...and he pitched a 2-hit, complete game shutout. Spencer wins 6-0.

WIN - Carpenter CG, 2H, 2BB, 10K

LOSS - Bailey 3.0, 6H, 5ER, 2BB, 7K

** Spencer lost Andres Torres for the next game and lost Jimmy Rollins for 6 more games as Rollins collided with Nick's pitcher Santiago Casilla at 1st base. Casilla was injured for the series.

Game 2 Brett Meyers' Wife Beater Inc. @ Roy "I own a dumptruck" Oswalt

Spencer took an early 2-1 lead on Brandon Phillips' 2-RBI double in the 2nd. Nick would take the lead in the 4th as Andrea Ethier drove home Prince and Dave Wright-Nevicosi drove home Ethier.

Spencer would take the lead for good thanks to a pinch-hit RBI double by Dee Lee. Tim Stauffer scattered two hits over the final three innings to pick up his 2nd 3-inning save of 2011. Spencer wins 5-3.

W - Brett Meyers (2-0) 6.0, 6h, 3er, bb, 4k

L - Oswalt 7.0, 13h, 5r, 4er, 2w, 7k

Save - Tim Stauffer (2) 3.0, 2h, k

Game 3 "Oscar" Jaime Garcia @ Tom Hanson

Spencer once again jumped out to an early lead as Jay Bruce socked his 3rd HR of the year and a Alfonso Soriano error led to Humberto Quintero driving in Scott Rolen. Nick would answer back hard in the 3rd inning as RBI's from Carlos Gonzalez, Erik Hinske, Dave Wright, and Sarlin Castro made it 5-2 Nick.

Humberto Quintero's solo HR in the 4th made it 5-3 Nick. Geovany Toko and Hinske scored runs in the 5th and 7th innings to make it 7-3 Nick after 7 innings. Spencer would score three runs in the 8th innning off Nick's gay lover, Steve Strasburg, to make it close, but Luke Gregerson closed that door. NICK WINS 7-6. SPENCER TAKES SERIES 2-1.

W - Hanson 6.2, 4h, 3er, bb, 7k, 2hr

L - Garcia 3.0, 6h, 5er, bb, 2k

S - Gregerson 1.0ip

**TORTO**** stat updates

jay bruce - 9-22 (.409) 2HR 7RBI

ryan braun 2HR

andres torres 2SB

scott rolen 8-24 (.333)

josh johnson 19K

heath bell 3SV

2011 Astros boast leagues largest "cocks" and horsecocks.

pitchers

1. josh johnson
2. chris carpenter
3. brett myers
4. jaime garcia
5. derek lowe

bullpen

1. heath bell
2. tim stauffer
3. takashi saito
4. hisanori takahashi
5. jon venters
6. barry zito

lineup

c- ivan rodriguez, humberto quintero

1b - ryan howard, derek lee

2b - brandon phillips, ryan theriot

ss - jimmy rollins, ryan theriot

3b - scott rolen, juan uribe

lf - ryan braun, pat burrell

cf - andres torres, jose tabata

rf - jay bruce, pat burrell

In Dickey We Trust - Marlins Sweep the Dodgers Out of Town



Robert Alan Dickey is 3 and 0 this season, with a 0.75 ERA. And his hair was perfect.

Thursday night, plucky league newcomer Goldy, hosted my squad of fighting Marlins at his abode for a mid-week PTP roll-up.  After taking 2 or 3 from Keither, Mr. Goldsworthy was feeling pretty solid about his squad.  By the end of the evening, he was ready to toss me out into a snow bank.  And rightly so, for the rolls were coming up Torto all evening, and every jam/on/off/clutch, etc seemed to go my way.

Game 1:  J.Sanchez @ J.Garland
Things got ugly in this game, as my squad had the eye for pitches out of the strikezone, with Sanchez issuing 8 walks in 3 IP, along with a Ryan Zimmerman 2-run bomb.  With Sanchez out, the walks still kept coming, with a combo of J.A.Happ, O'Flaherty, and Ramon Ramirez issuing another 9 free passes in total.  17 walks in only 8 innings.  Obviously this was the root of Ben's problems, and it led to 9 runs.  Dexter Fowler and Adrian Gonzalez alone each walked 4 times.  With this lead Garland got the win. 
Torto wins 9-4.

Game 2:  M.Pelfrey @ C.Billingsley
A 3-run shot from Dick Weeks in the top of the 2nd got Ben fired up again for a spell, but it was quickly quelled by a Adrian Gonzalez Grand Slam in the 5th, followed up immediately by a Mike Stanton solo HR. A-Gone struck again in the 6th with another homer, this time a 3-run shot.  A 2-run Joey Votto HR came in the 8th, but it was too little, too late.  The A-Gone show carried the game.
Torto wins 9-5

Game 3:  T.Hudson @ R.A.Dickey
With Ben's ace on the mound, the chances of avoiding the sweep seemed likely.  But my crafty knuckleballer, Robert Alan Dickey would have none of it.  Dominant in his first two starts, Dickey picked up right where he left off, scattering 3 hits and 3 walks over 7 innings.  Much to Goldy's dismay, Dickey excercised the 'OFF' early and often, saving himself those pesky leadoff baserunners.  Both pitchers dueled deep into the game, but the 0-0 tie was finally broken in the bottom of the 5th, when Dickey helped his own cause, slapping a 2-out RBI single to score Mike Stanton.  An insurance run was picked up in the 8th, on a Zimmerman RBI single.  Daniel Hudson picked up the hold, and Sergio Romo got the save (albeit rocky again).  
Torto wins 2-0

That sweep marks 6 straight wins for my squad.  Might be about time to come back down to reality.  Fish, when do you want to play?

LADLA Kick Off Inaugural Season With a Series Win

After taking this photo I am going to go out and throw down a sick windmill dunk against the Bucks!

Los Angeles - In the battle for Southern California PTP supremacy, the expansion Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles took two out of three games from the downtrodden San Diego Padres this weekend. The Dodgers (2-1) were thrilled to win their first series of PTP play. "I think we were really helped out by the Padres manager deciding to break open a bottle of wine in the middle of game 2." said rookie Dodgers skipper Ben Goldsworthy. "Plus, the pretzel M&Ms that Mario was serving up really motivated my team." Goldsworthy added. Padres (3-6) manager Keith VanLanduyt declined to comment following the series but was later seen dazed and confused in a local watering hole wearing a newly procured Bud Light hat.

Lets go to the game recaps:

Game 1 - Jimenez @ Hudson
This game was all Ubaldo all the time. A complete game 3 hitter was enough to spur the Padres on to victory. Matt Holliday hit a solo shot and added another RBI to pace the Padres offense. The Dodgers failed to take full advantage of 7 walks issued by Jimenez. The Dodgers looked to tie the game in the 8th after a long shot off the bat of Brian McCann initially looked like a game tying bomb, but was later revealed to be a long fly out thanks to "the jam".
Keith wins 4-2

Game 2 - Kuroda @ Hamels
Lot going on in Game 2 of this series. The Padres jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second thanks to back-to-back solo shots by Tejada and Davis. The Dodgers countered with a Dick Weeks grand slam in the bottom of the inning. Hamels gave one back after giving up a solo shot to Corey Fucking Hart and was so pissed about it, he decided to get ejected in the bottom of the third after arguing balls and strikes following a strike out. This all happened after Hart committed a 3 base error that allowed in two runs to cap off a 4 run inning. J.A. Happ replaced Hamels and did a good job of holding the Padres down. Fast Forward to the top of the 9th and with 2 outs, Adam Dunn comes to the plate as the tying run for the Padres but K-Rod manages to strike him out, preserving the Dodgers' first victory.
Ben wins 8-5

Game 3 - Farnsworth @ Hernandez
A real pitchers battle here. Farnsworth, with a spot start for the suspended Sanchez, is outstanding. The exact opposite of his real life self. 87 year old Livan Hernandez faced the minimum through 7 innings in his first start of the season. At one point the veteran Cuban, who may be Castro's father, retired 17 batters in a row, tying a SE Wisconsin PTP record. The only run of the game came on a Jason Werth solo shot in the bottom of the 8th. Keith got the first two runners on in the 9th but K-Rod was able to slam the door shut for his second save of the season.
Ben wins 1-0