AROUND THE DIAMOND IN THE ABL WEEK 7 5/8/20
BIG STORY (By Bruce Keilin): Spring Slam. 6 series. 24 games. Or, as Joe calls it: Bye Week. There were winners as Chesapeake Bay, Dexter, Garden State, and Ocracoke won 3 each. And there were winners-lite as Crown Heights, La Jolla, Oceanside, and Tallahassee each came away with a single victory.
Injuries were a few big injuries: Contreras (ALB, 4 games), Encarnacion (Titusville, 4) and Mike “Sunshine” Clevinger (GS, rest of season), . There was a 3 crazy play inning between Dexter and Tally but miraculously everyone came out of it intact.
In playing action, Ketel Marte hit 3 of the Cats’ record-tying 7 homers in game 1. Cole went the distance striking out 17 in game 2 for the CG-W. Bogaerts had a 2-run homer game, Giolitto earned a bittersweet CG-L notching 15 Ks. Kris Bryant had a 2 homer game with a Spring Slam slam. Albany scored 15 for Stroman but he fell 1 out shy of the CG. Mike Minor earned the walk of shame as he came out in the 7th, the only Geese pitcher to not throw a CG. Greinke and Verlander’s efforts were CGSOs, so you could say Scherzer’s 13K effort was the 3rd best start of the slam for Dexter. Buehler threw a consolation, 8-inning CG for the Terriers. Pitching was also key in the Warriors/Kings series as the teams combined for a paltry 20 runs in 39 innings. Neither team led by more than 2 runs until the 8th inning of the 4th game.
2020 ABL STANDINGS
NATIONAL W L GB PCT RS RA AWAY HOME DIV VS AD Titusville 12 4 -- .750 103 66 7-1 5-3 5-3 7-1 Chesapeake Bay 11 7 2 .611 113 69 7-3 4-4 7-5 4-2 Crown Heights 8 6 3 .571 77 72 7-1 1-5 4-6 4-0 Clayton 9 7 3 .563 67 70 6-2 3-5 4-6 5-1 Oceanside 7 11 6 .389 88 133 3-7 4-4 5-5 2-6 Garden State 6 12 7 .333 81 94 5-3 1-9 5-5 1-7
AMERICAN W L GB PCT RS RA AWAY HOME DIV VS ND Dexter 11 5 -- .688 91 60 6-2 5-3 9-3 2-2 Long Beach 11 7 1 .611 118 95 4-2 7-5 9-7 2-0 Tallahassee 7 7 3 .500 56 53 3-5 4-2 2-4 5-3 Albany 6 8 4 .429 76 85 3-5 3-3 4-4 2-4 La Jolla 7 11 5 .389 73 94 2-8 5-3 5-7 2-4 East Bay 6 10 5 .375 71 105 3-3 3-7 4-6 2-4 Ocracoke 5 11 6 .313 68 86 2-6 3-5 3-3 2-8
X-Playoff Spot Y-Division Z- Tied for Playoff Spot
DEADLINES: Play Week begins May 8th Recap and Score Sheets due May 18th 8 p.m. eastern
SCORES: CH 3 GS 2 11 Inn. GS 1 CH 0 GS 4 CH 3 10 Inn. GS 5 CH 2 CLY 7 TV 6 CLY 5 TV 4 TV 5 CLY 3 TV 4 CLY 1 CB 14 OCN 2 CB 11 OCN 3 OCN 3 CB 2 CB 13 OCN 6 DEX 10 TA 2 DEX 6 TA 0 DEX 4 TA 0 TA 2 DEX 0 ALB 15 LBI 5 LBI 5 ALB 2 LBI 14 ALB 4 ALB 7 LBI 4 OC 6 LJ 0 LJ 4 OC 1 OC 3 LJ 1 OC 6 LJ 2
2020 ABL TEAMS AND MANAGERS: National Division Chesapeake Bay Channel Cats (31st Season) Scott Allen Titusville Perfectos (13th Season) Lenny Saaf (Defending Champions) Oceanside Leprechauns (5th Season) Casey Allen Crown Heights Kings (3rd Season) Chris Marcello Clayton Steamships (2nd Season) Wayne Scott Garden State Warriors (2nd Season) Bruce Keilin
American Division Tallahassee Terriers (30th Season) Don Allen Jr. Long Beach Island Starfish (18th Season) Skibby Bomysoad Dexter thunder Geese (16th Season) Jason Cupelo Ocracoke Blackbeards (13th Season) Duran Allen La Jolla Juggernaut (6th Season) Kevin Waters Albany Lo-Sox (4th Season) Michael Saaf East Bay Grease (3rd Season) Joe Parisi
ABL 2020 IP’S Tallahassee 15 Dexter 15 Chesapeake Bay 15 Albany 15 East Bay 15 Crown Heights 15 Clayton 15 Titusville 14 Long Beach Island 14 Garden State 13 Ocracoke 12 La Jolla 10 Oceanside 10
ROLLING DICE?? ( Q and A with Game Play Notes) (PLEASE TAKE NOTE) (Italic are present in the current charts)
1. If an emergency pitcher is used in a game, do you have to roll for injury after the appearance?
ANSWER: Yes. Per the ABL playing instructions: You must have an available position player on the bench and the player must have an injury rating of 2 or higher. You must be down by at least eight runs in the 8 th inning or later to use in a blowout. Each emergency pitcher cannot pitch more than two innings. After every two innings or each outing, you must check for injury using a -1 adjustment of the player's injury rating.
2. A speedster gets on 3 rd base; can you move your right fielder with a better throwing arm to play center and then move him back to right next inning and continue that strategy as fast runners reach 3 rd base?
ANSWER: No. Per the Diamond Chart: As an example, If RP comes up and you move your VG defense to left and then a LP comes up and you move him back to RF and so on for each batter. This strategy isn’t allowed in the ABL. You are allowed to only switch positions once in a game without substitution.
3. Infield Range Play: Diving Stop up the middle and the infield is in. If there is a runner on 1 st , is it a double play with the infield in?
ANSWER: No. If the infield is playing in, defense has the option to throw home or take the out at first. The Double Play attempt is ignored if the infield is in.
ABL ALL-STAR GAME VOTING: Since it was so popular, once again ABL managers will have a say on who plays in the ABL All-Star Game. Nominate a player for each position unless noted using the ABL Stats file and Leaderboard. The Commish will break all ties and select backups where needed to ensure every team is represented. You may vote for one division, both divisions, or only one position. Your choice. Any questions, please let me know. Please have all ballots in by Friday May 15th at 8 p.m. eastern for your votes to count towards selecting the teams. Each ABL manager is required to vote for their division starters at a minimum per the Rulebook.
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 if an opening is available or request to put added to the expansion team waiting list. 6. Finally, the new perspective manager should pay the $60 operational fee once their ABL Expansion Application is approved.
TRANSACTION REPORT: 4/23 TAXI TEAM: Crown Heights sent down Eloy Jimenez and called up Daniel Norris.
TAXI TEAM: Clayton sent down Max Fried and called up Gabriel Ynoa.
4/26 TAXI TEAM: Ocracoke sent down Anthony DeSclafani and called up Julio Urias.
4/27 FREE AGENT: Garden State picked up Asher Wojciechowski(SP) and dropped Domingo Santana(LF).
4/29 TAXI TEAM: Titusville sent down Zack Britton, Chris Sale, Edwin Encarnacion, Starlin Castro and called up Spencer Turnbull, Aristides Aquino, Kolten Wong, Eddie Rosario.
5/1 TAXI TEAM: Garden State sent down Asher Wojciechowski, Mike Clevinger, Jeff Samardzija, Trevor Bauer and called up Brad Hand, Tim Hill, Miguel Castro.
5/3 TAXI TEAM: Long Beach Island sent down Carlos Carrasco, Jose Leclerc and called up Colin Poche, Jimmy Cordero.
5/4 TAXI TEAM: Crown Heights sent down Josh VanMeter and called up Amed Rosario.
5/7 FREE AGENT: East Bay picked up Marwin Gonzalez(RF), Tyler Naquin(RF) and dropped David Dahl(LF), Tyler Mahle(SP).
TAXI TEAM: East Bay sent down Zack Wheeler, Sandy Alcantara, Brad Keller and called up Andrew Benintendi, Adalberto Mondesi.
TAXI TEAM: Albany sent down Marcus Stroman, John Brebbia and called up Joey Lucchesi, Jake Diekman.
5/8 TAXI TEAM: Chesapeake Bay sent down Pedro Baez and called up Tony Gonsolin.
TAXI TEAM: Tallahassee sent down Harrison Bader and called up Clint Frazier.
TAXI TEAM: East Bay sent down Lance Lynn and called up Brad Keller.
INJURY REPORT: PLAYER TEAM GAMES ACTIVE WEEK? OFF/IR J. Gallo DEX 17 GM-145 10 M. Clevinger GS OUT 2021 2021 E. Encarnacion TV 4 GM-123 9 V. Caratini DEX 2 GM-114 8 W. Contreras ALB 4 GM-118 8
RECAPS OF ABL BASEBALL: Clayton at Titusville Game One (87) Clayton 7 Titusville 6
Both starters were dumpster fires. Clayton’s Boyd gave up two in the first frame, then Encarnacion and Grandal hit back-to-back homers in the third. Titusville’s Jon Gray was equally shaky. A leadoff error by Kiké Hernandez led to two unearned runs in the third, then Josh Bell pounded a three-run homer in the fourth. The game-winner came in the fifth, when David Bote knocked in Kepler for a 7-6 lead. That was all the scoring, as both bullpens combined for ten innings of scoreless ball. The Perfectos put the potential tying run on second in the bottom of the ninth, but could not bring him home.
R H E LOB CLA 002 410 000 7 8 0 7 TVL 204 000 000 6 14 1 11
TITUSVILLE PITCHING Gray 5 (LOSS) Lugo 2 Workman 1 Harris 1
CLAYTON PITCHING Boyd 3 Alexander 2 (WIN) Oberg 1 Kintzler 1 Kahnle 1 Vazquez 1 (SAVE)
INJURIES: none
Game Two (88) Clayton 5 Titusville 4
Game two was a close affair with many lead changes. Clayton took advantage of a shaky Titusville defense in the seventh, when they hit on four range plays to plate three and take the final lead. Titusville had their chances in the bottom of the ninth. Machado hit a one-out homer to pull within one. Then followed two Deep rolls to Anderson (3 power) and Castro (5 power). Neither roll made it to the teens, so the Perfectos fans were disappointed again.
R H E LOB CLA 000 200 300 5 9 1 10 TVL 001 003 001 4 10 0 8
TITUSVILLE PITCHING Hendricks 6 Harris 1 (LOSS) Workman 1 Guerra 1
CLAYTON PITCHING Ynoa 3 Alexander 2 (WIN) Wittgren 1 Kintzler 1 Oberg 1 Vazquez 1 (SAVE)
INJURIES: none
Exciting games, Wayne. Good luck in the second half.
Ocracoke at La Jolla Juggernaut! Juggernaut! Juggernaut! Juggernaut! Such was the chanting of “The Faithful”. Ocracoke and La Jolla square off on the front end of a 4 game set. La Jolla to combat that curse of the Blackbeards. We are playing with house money baby!!
This season’s mantra “ The point is, ladies and gentlemen, that Juggernaut , for lack of a better word, is good. Juggernaut is right, Juggernaut works. Juggernaut clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. ” Tonight’s episode, “We can’t score runs”. Woodruff shuts things down.
A cool and clear day. Woodruff vs Pena. The Blackbeards start things off with a 2 run shot by Devers. He abused the ‘h’ symbol on Pena’s card. As it would turn out that was all they would need. Sanchez hits a solo shot in the top of the 2 nd . Meanwhile Woodruff would allow only 8 singles. Ocracoke would get 2 more runs in the 5 th and then complete the scoring with another solo blast by Cruz in the 9 th . Blackbeards win 6-0
R H E LOB
Ocracoke 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 6 8 0 9
La Jolla 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 0 9
Pitching
Ocracoke W Woodruff 8.1
Anderson .2
Injuries
None
Pitching
La Jolla
L Pena 7
Dyson 1
Smith 1
Injuries
None
Kershaw, where have you been?
Game 2 and it is a warm and clear. Kershaw vs opener Sadler. This time La Jolla gets on the board 1 st . Edman would triple on a range play and is brought in by Ohtani. Voit would launch one into the afternoon sky to tie the score at 1. Kershaw would hunker down and allow only 3 more hits through the rest of the game. La Jolla would scrape together 3 more runs in the 4 th , 5 th , and 6 th . Kershaw holds on for the complete game win 4 to 1. R H E LOB
Ocracoke 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 1 5
La Jolla 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 2 4 10 0 10
Pitching
Ocracoke
L Sadler 4
Urias 2
Green 1 Buttrey 1
Injuries
None
Pitching
La Jolla W Kershaw 9
Injuries
None
Notes that maybe only interesting to me: Bottom of the 8 th of game 2, La Jolla rolled 3 straight potential errors but Ocracoke handled all cleanly. Total playing time for both games were less than 90 minutes, because Duran would simply not shut up. ;) Tons of women showed up looking for Duran Duran and singing songs like Rio, Bad Boys and Hungry like the wolf.
Jimi Hendricks played the national anthem
Boris and Natasha chased moose and squirrel between games.
Notable attendees:
George of the jungle
Tom Slick
Secret Squirrel
El Kabong Good rolling with you Duran. Good luck the rest of the way as long as you let me sweep the next two games. LOL
Crown Heights at Garden State
Crown Heights at Garden State Game 83: Nevah Lost meets Nevah Won
Spring Slam week began with the Crown Heights Kings bringing their 6-0 away record to Montclair to face the Warriors who were 0-8 at home. Nola vs. The Shark. Dubs struck in the bottom of the first with 4 straight singles to jump out to a 2-0 lead. Those would be the only hits they’d get off Nola who went 4, striking out 5. Kings scratched out single runs in the 3rd (VanMeter RBI-GCF) and the 5th (Torres E4 and a pinch-hit FC from Walker) to tie it up. The bullpens shut everything down for 5 innings until the Kings ignited a two-out rally against Bedrosian. Judge singled, Freeman walked and an Aledmys Diaz pinch-hit single produced the go-ahead run (in a 5.35 LI situation!). A two-out rally hurt somebody as both streaks remained intact. The game featured 19 singles and 1 double. 23 strikeouts and 3 walks. Two caught stealings (both 8s going to 2nd) and two runners nailed at the plate (both Warriors, in the 6th and 7th).
Lines of the game: Samardzija 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K Castro 2-4, double, RBI
123 456 789 01 R H E CHK 001 010 000 01 3 9 0 GSW 200 000 000 00 2 11 1
Crown Heights Pitching Nola 4 Harper 1.1 Ottavino .2 Ryan 1 Lorenzen 2 Melancon 1 (W) Gonzalez 1 (S)
Garden State Pitching Samardzija 7 Drake 2 Garcia 1 Bedrosian 1 (L)
HRs: CHK: None GSW: None
Injuries: None Crazy Plays: 863 wind died down in 3rd; 239 Narvaez catches a foul ball with his groin. Stays in the game.
Crown Heights at Garden State Game 84: The streaks (and Clevinger’s season) ended
The teams went right back at it with Flaherty taking on Clevinger. The Dubs would again jump out to an early lead with the Polar Bear leading off the 2nd with a double and racing home on Gleyber’s first hit in six tries on the day. It would remain 1-0 after 4 with Clevinger scattering 3 hits and a walk while striking out 7. In the 5th, however, Mr. Sunshine would plunk VanMeter leading off the inning. Hilarity ensued in the form of a bench-clearing brawl. When it was all over VanMeter would be tossed from the game and Clevinger would be tossed to the hospital by Aaron Judge. What looked bad on the field was confirmed later by the coroner: Clevinger’s season is over.
Meanwhile, on the field, it was boys batting and men pitching. The teams combined for 12 singles and the aforementioned Alonso double to go along with 8 walks and 2 HBPs (RIP, Mike). None of those who reached based after the 4th Dubs hitter of the game would score. 21 of them would be stranded on the basepaths. The Warriors pen, lead by Maeda, would shut the door on the Kings for 5 innings. Just for fun, Green would misplay Fletcher’s potential double play come-backer to put two on with no outs in the 9th. With the home team slightly favored and the leverage index nearing 6, Green would retire Garcia, Diaz and Laureano to nail down the save. The Dubs would get their first home ‘W’ in 10 tries, the Kings would fall on the road for the first time in 8 games, but the celebration by the home fans was muted as they mourned their fallen ace.
123 456 789 R H E CHK 000 000 000 0 5 0 GSW 010 000 00x 1 8 1
Crown Heights Pitching Flaherty 5.1 (L) Ottavino .2 Melancon .1 Ryan .2 Gonzalez 1
Garden State Pitching Clevinger 4 (RIP) Maeda 3 (W) Garcia 1 Bedrosian 0 Greene 1 (S)
HRs: CHK: None GSW: None
Injuries: Clevinger (CP 10) plunked VanMeter both tossed; Clevinger OUT for rest of season
Tale of the tape CROWN HEIGHTS GARDEN STATE Runs 3 3 Hits 14 19 XBH 0 2 TB 14 21 LOB 16 19 Relief IP 9.2 9 Relief RA 0 1
These were two of the tightest, nerve-wracking games I’ve ever played Chris. It was a pleasure doing battle with you. Thanks for being patient with me while I was trying to figure it all out. I’m guessing we both felt like we could’ve won both of them, so a split seems like the right outcome. Sorry you made Mari cry when you tied up game 1, but as the father of a daughter, I know you have to let her follow her heart:)
P.S. I’m super impressed by your body hardening results. Don’t forget to send Joe the nudes he requested.
Tallahassee at Dexter DIFFERENT YEAR SAME OLD OUTCOME!!!
Scherzer would dominant yet again going the distance giving up 6 singles and 1 ER to go along with his 13k. Dexter bats smack Plesac around as he gave up 8 runs in 4 1/3ip on 10 hits. Yelich, Rendon, Thames, Goldy, Seager and Caratini combined 14 for 28 6 doubles 1 triple 1 HR 9 runs and 6 RBIs. Murders row ain't got nothing on these guys. Final 10-2
Tallahassee Pitchers Plesac 4 1/3 ip loss Givens 1 ip Diaz 1 2/3ip Colome 1ip
Dexter Pitchers Scherzer aka "Peanut Dick" 9ip Win
No Injuries although Dexter did roll 3 CP all in one inning. Beaty in 4th diving catch into the stands ali Jeter. came out ok. Reynolds in the 4th runs into the right field wall why I don't know maybe he didn't want his batting average to dip anymore having to face peanut dick and Mrs. Upton. Terrier Manager went out told him to grab a straw and suck it up you ain't going no where kid. 3rd CP was a line out to 3rd for as many outs as possible too bad there was already 2 outs.
READ THE HEADLINES FROM GAME 1
Verlander goes the distance getting a shutout though this time giving up 6 hits 9k. Buehler gave up 6 runs but went the distance to save the pen and he did strikeout 16. Caratini and Rendon went yard for the Boom Geese. It all started in the 1st when Dexter sent 9 batters to the plate scoring 3 runs. Just to show how dominant Dexter two aces were in 18 innings not 1 single walk allowed and only 1 extra base hit and that didn't happened until the 9th inning of game 2. Final 6-0
Tallahassee Pitchers Buehler 8ip Loss
Dexter Pitchers Verlander 9ip Win
HR Rendon, Caratini
No Injuries
Dexter at Tallahassee DIFFERENT LOCATION SAME RESULT.
Greinke picked right up where Verlander left off in game 2. Going the distance and blanking the Terriers for a 9 inning complete game shutout. Only difference between game 2 and 3 Tally recorded its 1 extra base hit in the 1st inning of game 3 vis the 9th inning of game 2. Greinke 6hits 10k zero walks.. So I'm Starting to think either Dexter pitching owns the Terriers or their pitching is just that damn good or the Terrier offensively sucks or all of the above. Dexter score 2 in the 2nd and 2 in the 4th all small ball as Teheran could not keep the Boom Geese of the base path. Teheran pitched 5 innings somehow giving up 5 hits and 6 walks and throw in a HBP to Garcia. Do you think he has control problems? Final 4-0
Dexter Pitchers Greinke 9ip Win
Tallahassee Pitchers Tehran 5 ip Loss Givens 1ip Chirinos 2ip Diaz 1ip
No HR NO EXTRA base hits in this one
No Injuries
TERRIERS SOMEHOW SLIP THE LOCAL WATER INTO THE BOOM GEESE LOCKER ROOM COME AWAY WITH VICTORY
Folty and company would go 9ip spreading 11 hits through out the game but not breaking nor giving up a run. Some Dexter players were over heard after the game complaining about the heavy taste in the drinking water and Gatorade coolers. Not sure what they' re referring to water around here taste just like bingo tap water gives your teeth a little tingle when you drink it. Terrier's bat still were quite although they did manage to score 2 runs and get 2 extra base hits in the same game for the first time in the series. Final 2-0
Dexter Pitchers Minor 6 1/3ip Loss Barnes 1ip Jimenez 2/3ip
Tallahassee Pitchers Folty 5 1/3 ip Win Givens 2/3ip Chirinos 2ip Colome 1/3ip Chapman 2/3ip Save
No HR
Injuries Alberto was out for the remainder of the game due to running through the stop sign at 3rd base. This was due to never before knowing to look at the 3rd base coach heck he probably didn't even know he was on his team until that moment. Anyway he collides at home plate with Caratini. Caratini would have to come out of the game and will miss game 1 of his next series as well.
Great time Coop catching up and talking about life sports. Not a great time watching peanut dick and Mrs. Upton manhandle me for like the 3rd time in a row I believe peanut dick has an extra one for the playoff game last year. Good luck the rest of the way. I forfeit to save myself from the frustration of having to play a one game playoff again year if its against you. legend
Albany at Long Beach Island Oh it's a warm day game here in South Jersey, and everyone is ready for the based balls. The visitors have quite the cheering section from the ol' Manahawkin days, as there's no bad blood from the hometown faithful after the move.
Game 1 Stroman vs. Freeland - Both pitchers were struggling coming in, so OF COURSE this one is a pitching duel. Because you can't predict baseball. Freeland bends but doesn't break, giving up 1 run in four innings (his first time past the 3rd this season), and Stroman was dominant. The normally stout LBI bullpen would both this one up pretty good, as in the 5th Leclerc gives up back to back bombs to Alvarez and a Panda, then Noe didn't get the "NO" message across and would give up a two run bomb to Magic Mitch (moving going straight to digital this fall!). The home crowd would welcome longtime ace Carlos Carrasco back after holding cancer at bay to a loud welcome, but he apparently left his stuff at the hospital, and would give up an 8 spot in the 8th. KB would get LBI on the board in the 5th with a leadoff solo shot. In the 9th the 'fish would attempt the rare 15-1 comeback. Baez would hit a ball to left that...it reaches the track and Alvarez THINKS he got it, but runs into the wall and drops the ball. Then he tries to recover, and throws the ball AS HARD AS HE CAN to make the play at third, but winds up throwing the ball into the third base stands, over the head of his onlooking teammates. This would lead to a 2 out single from NIKO to chase Stro, and then Markakis would notch his first dinger of the season. Marshall would get Trout to ground out the short to end this one. Final Score Albany 15 LBI 5
Pitching Albany
LBI Freeland 4.0
No Injuries
Game 2 - Odorizzi vs. Gray - Starfish killer Pablo Sandoval would be first across the plate in game 2, being driven in off a gcf from EE. Pablo would be winded for a moment. Who am I to judge? I would be too! Eggs would think he'd get out of the inning unscathed, but Yordan would commit a 2 base error, I want to believe he was trying to get Mejia out at first and sailed the ball into the first base seats. Playing with borrowed at bats, Javy would launch one in the cheap seats for a 2-1 lead. Gray be cruisin to the 7th when he'd give way to the bullpen. Liriano would allow an inherited runner to score, but Soria would come in and clean up the mess. All tied 2-2. In the bottom of the 7th, LBI would threaten, but Pressley would get a BIG 2 out strikeout of Dancing Man to leave unscathed. Not unscathed however were LL's pills. He'd take a foul ball off the pill bottle and would have to leave for...an MRI? Ultrasound? I don't know how one assesses testicular damage. COOP!!! LEGEND!!! How do they assess nut damage at the hospital?? Soria would get a clean 8th, while Brebbia would K a guy, walk a guy, K a guy, and walk a guy. Not one to see if he'd K another guy, in comes Gott and he would get Gott by Javy, who would hit his 2nd round tripper, this time a three run bomb to break the tie. The Duffmeister would come in and K the 9th in order to preserve the win, and a split of the first half of the series. Final Score LBI 5 Albany 2
Pitching Albany Odorizzi 6.0 Pressley 1.0
LBI Gray 6.0 Liriano 0.1 Duffey 1.0
Injuries Albany - Contrares takes one to el nuts, out four games. LBI - Markakis dives for ball, out one game.
Michael, excellent series, and it truly is wonderful to hear everyone is doing well. Good luck next week and enjoy the all-star break!
Oceanside at Chesapeake Bay Cats launch seven bombs to tie ABL single season record Game # 1 Means vs. Robles Marte leads off the bottom of the first with a solo bomb to center for an early 1-0 lead. Bottom of the 2 nd inning and Kelly plates Gio Urshela on a RBI single to extend the lead. Ketel Marte goes deep again in the 2 nd inning this time to left for a 3 run jack and 5-0 Cats lead. Bottom of the 3 rd and Soler and Urshela go back to back belly to belly for a 7-0 lead. Alex Avila broke up the shutout in the 5 th with a solo shot for Oceanside. Hunter Dozier countered with a 2 run jack to make it 9-1 Cats. George Springer would send one deep off Jose Urquidy for the Leprechauns 2 nd solo bomb. Jorge Soler would hit his 2 nd round tripper in the 7 th as Marte added his 3 rd in the 8 th inning off Tommy Pham’s knuckle ball. Ketal Marte’s 3rd home run tied an ABL single season team record with 7 bombs. Final Score: C-Bay 14 OCN 2
Pitching Oceanside L Means 5.0 Anderson 2.0 Pham 1.0
Injuries: Pham hurt his arm after tossing to nine batters. Out for 4 games (9 th )
C-Bay W Robles 5.0 Urquidy 3.0 Baez 1.0
Injuries: None
Cats use timely hitting and Cole’s 17K’s for the win Game # 2 Gallen vs. Cole Trey Mancini went deep for a solo shot in the 2 nd for an early 1-0 lead. Cats responded with 2 runs as Gerrit Cole singled in two for a 2-1 lead. Bottom of the 3 rd and Cats explode for six runs as a Luis Arraez error aided the inning. Cole helped himself with a 2 RBI double and Ketel Marte kept his hot bat going with a 2 RBI double of his own. Oceanside would score two more runs as Moustakas went deep and Springer went deep again. All five runs in the series for Oceanside came via the long ball and were of solo variety. Cole spread the three solo shots through nine innings walking zero batters with 17 K’s. Still 6 off the single game record set by Satchel Paige in 1994. Final Score: C-Bay 11 OCN 3
Pitching Oceanside L Gallen 4.1 Lopez 1.0 Shaw .2 Kennedy 1.0 Peacock 1.0
Injuries: None
C-Bay W Cole 9.0
Injuries: Will Smith took a ball to the nutz and was lost for 3 games. (3 rd )
Casey, nice time rolling and talking baseball. Good luck and have fun the rest of the year.
Commish
Long Beach Island at Albany
The splits just keep on coming, Albany and Long Beach exchange wins and losses
Game 3
Long Beach Island 14 Albany 4
[Soroka vs. Pineda]
Albany was glad to be home, but uneasy about facing Mr. BR Soroka. Of course, when you're facing an ace, you wanna hang around and get to the pen, so the Lo-Sox shit the bed early and often. Pineda didn't survive the 3rd and Marshall gave up a key, 2-out, 2-RBI gcf to bust it open 7-1. Albany posted single tallies in the 3rd, 4th and 5th, but when LBI sodomized Garcia in the 7th, it was all over. Along the way, Kris Bryant had a grand slam and a 2-run shot. Never really a game. Soroka is good. BTW, Albany's lone catcher, Magic Mitch fouled a ball off his toe, so Hunter Renfroe had to sub-in as a WK/1/+3/1. Renfroe gave up one WP, but caught a foul out to everyone's surprise.
Line(s) of the game:
JOYCE 4-2-3-4 2B
BRYANT 6-2-2-6 HR, Grand Slam
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LBI 3 2 2 5 2 14 18 0 ALB 1 1 1 1 4 9 1
LBI Pitching Soroka 8 (W)
Liriano 1
ALB Pitching
Pineda 3+ (L)
Marshall 2
Brebbia 1
Garcia 1
Romo 1
Gott 1
INJURIES:
Garver out rest of game
CRAZY PLAYS:
#395 - Batter fouls ball off toe, check for injury. Garver injured.
Game 4
Albany 7 Long Beach Island 4
[Castillo vs. Marquez]
In the series ender, Albany ace Castillo took the hill and the home fans looked for some solid innings before the shaky pen was called into action. Castillo was very good for five innings, but wavered in the 6th. Albany brought in Pressly, who allowed one of Luis' baserunners to score, tied 1-1. Alvarez led off the bottom and found one he liked, 2-1 Lo-Sox. Marquez gave way to Bummer in the 7th, and it was...a bummer. A walk to Garver, double by Alvarez, another walk to Arenado loaded the bases for Escobar. Eduardo rolls 191 - triple bummer! 6-1 Sox. The Starfish roared back with 2 runs on doubles from Joyce and Baez and a gcf from Adrianza, 6-3 Albany. The Sox got an insurance run in the 8th when Alvarez walked with the bases drunk and they would need it, because LBI was not done scoring. Trout leads off with a double, chasing Garcia, Martinez in to try and save it. Carlos did his typical gas can job, giving up two hits and bringing the tying run to the plate. Bryant flies out and Mejia whiffs - ball game. Hurrah! Lo-Sox prevail, 7-4.
Line(s) of the game
ALVAREZ 4-2-4-4 2B, HR, BB
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LBI 1 2 1 4 11 0 ALB 1 1 4 1 7 13 1
LBI Pitching
Marquez 6+ (L)
Bummer 1
Soria 1
ALB Pitching
Castillo 5+
Pressly 2 (W)
Romo 1
Garcia 0
Martinez 1 (S)
INJURIES:
None.
CRAZY PLAYS: #528 - Batter fouls out to thirdbaseman, who crashed into stands, check for injury. Arenado uninjured.
SERIES - TALE OF THE TAPE
LBI ALB
Runs 28 28
Hits 42 46
EBH 9/0/6 10/1/7
LOB 36 31
Relief IP 11 12.1
Relief RA 19 14
Skibby - Always a pleasure rolling with you. Stellar bullpen work! Stay safe!
Garden State at Crown Heights Gm 85: The Kings head home after a road split to face the Warriors for the second half of Spring Slam. Bieber would start for the bad guys while Berrios would start for the good guys. The Dubs would strike first as Donaldson and Alonso would go long back to back in the top of the 1 st . The Kings would even it up thanks to a VanMeter 2-run bomb, but that didn’t last long. Both teams traded another run to keep it tied through the 10 th . (L)orenzen would serve up a meatball for Donaldson in the top of the 10 th , and JD didn’t miss. 4-3 Dubs. Yimi would immediately strike out the top of the Kings lineup in order to end it. Final Score: Warriors 4 – Kings 3 in 10 Innings GS: Bieber – 6 Drake – 1 Stephenson – 1 (W) Garcia – 2
CH: Berrios – 7 Harper – 1 Ottavino - .2 Ryan - .1 (L)orenzen – 1 No Injuries
Gm 86: It was Father Time Morton versus E-Rod in the night cap. The Kings would get out first on a Birthday Boy (Judge) solo bomb in the bottom of the 1 st . The Dubs added 2 thanks to a string of hits highlighted by a Phegley double in the top of the 4th to take over, 2-1. Crown Heights added one more to tie it in the bottom of the 7 th on a Birthday Boy GCF. Then it happened…. Laureano booted a throw in the top of the 8 th , and Harper gave up a single before giving way to (L)orenzen. Lorenzen would give J-Ram a free pass before allowing 3 runs to cross the plate to give the Dubs the victory. Final Score: Warriors 5 – Kings 2 GS: Morton – 6.1 Drake - .2 (W) Bedrosian – 2
CH: Rodriguez – 4 Melancon - .2 Gonzalez – 1.1 Harper – 1 (L)orenzen – 1 Norris – 1 No Injuries Bruce, congrats on winning a well fought series. Sorry about Clevinger, but you did not let his sacrifice go in vein. Best of luck the rest of the way!!
Chesapeake Bay at Oceanside Game 3 Strasburg vs Canning
Oceanside would get the first run across the plate via a Trey Mancini gcf single. The Oceanside pitching decided to not suck ass this time as it took Cbay 6 innings to score their first run by a Conforto single scoring Marte. Oceanside would take the lead back with a leadoff home run in the 6 th by Winker. In the 8th Jorge Soler would hit a mooooooon shot home run tying the game. Once again Oceanside would take the lead back with another leadoff home run by Avila. In the 9 th Anderson decided to be good for once in a while and would get the save and end the losing streak. Oceanside wins 3-2
Pitching Cbay Strasburg 7ip L-Gallegos 1ip
Oceanside Canning 5.1ip Lopez 1ip Shaw 1ip W-Peacock .2ip S-Anderson 1ip
Home runs Winker, Avila, Soler
Injuries None
Game 4 Smeltzer vs Miley
Cbay brought their bats back for game 4 and started it early in the 1 st via a 2 run double by JT. Oceaside took the lead back in their half via a rbi single by Springer and a 2 run double by Moustacos. Donavan Solano and his mighty 6 home run range actually came into effect as the Coomish rolled a 304 and hit a home run causing great fear and nightmares for me… Thanks. Oceanside took the lead via a Luis single scoring Vergy. In the 4 th Cbay Exploded scoring 3 runs lead by a 2 run single by Ketel. In the 6 th Cbay broke the game open and out of hand plating 6 runs with a lot of walks, singles and dribbling in some doubles. Cbay would win game 4 13-6
Pitching Cbay Smelt 1.2ip W-Baez 1.1ip Urqidy 3ip Taylor 1ip Giles 1ip Hendricks 1ip
Ocn L-Miley 3.2ip Shaw.1ip Hale 2ip Anderson he really decided to suck again turing back into his normal self 2ip 7 fing runs. Honeslty he deserves the L for the entire season. Kennedy 1ip
Home runs Solano
Injuries None
Commish good luck the rest of the way, Had a blast rolling and talking retro
Titusville at Clayton Game 1
The Steamships head home on a 6 game winning streak!! The fans are fired up!! Alex Young finally gets his 3 rd start of the season. He surrendered two homeruns, a two run shot to Santander in the 4 th and a solo shot to Machado in the 6 th . A quality start again! Perdomo would give the Perfectos 3 great innings allowing only 2 hits and 0 runs. Ponce De Leon would come on in the 4 th with a 2-0 lead and he had trouble finding the strike zone. He would walk 3 in the inning and give up a single surrendering a bases loaded single to put Clayton on the board. Back to back K’s, however, ended that threat. Maybin would lead off the bottom of the 5 th with a solo shot to tie this game up at 2! In the top of the 6th Machado would regain the lead for T’Ville with a leadoff solo shot of his own. Clayton would respond in the bottom half with a lead off double by Bote and a pinch hit double by Hoskins would tie this game again. The Perfectos would take the lead on an RBI double by Lowe, who came in for the injured Encarnacion in the bottom of the 1 st . That would turn out to be the winning knock as Yates would come out and escape a two on, no out jam to secure the win 5-3. Final Score : Titusville 5 – 3 Clayton .
PITCHING
Titusville Perdomo – 3 Ponce De Leon – 2.1 Britton - .2 Lugo – 2 W Yates – 1 S
Clayton Young – 6 Kahnle – 1 Wittgren – 1.2 L Oberg - .1
Homeruns Machado Santander Maybin
Injuries Encarnacion – 4 Games (Crazy play 940)
Game 2
With the winning streak over at 6, the Steamships turned to ace Giolito to earn a series win and get them back on the win train. Anibal Sanchez would go for a series split for T’Ville. We fast forward to the 5 th inning! A Hernandez single would plate Grandal, who leadoff with a double to give Titusville a 1-0 lead. Then in the 7 th , a two out double by Gardner would plate 2, and a single by La Stella would make the score 4-0. Clayton would get a solo bomb from Kepler to lead of the bottom of the 9 th . Sanchez would go 6 scoreless for the win. Giolito would throw a complete game, striking out 15 in the loss. Final Score: Titusville 4 – Clayton 1
PITCHING
Titusville Sanchez – 6 W Workman – 1 Harris – 1 Yates – 1
Clayton Giolito – 9 L
Homeruns Kepler
NO INJURIES
Note: LaCastro was hit by a pitch 3 more times in the series.
Good series Len! Hope to catch ya in the playoffs for another exciting one!! Sorry about Encarnacion ☹
La Jolla at Ocracoke Gm3 Fiers vs Montas Acuna gets this one started with a two run blast in the 1st. Bregman would boot one in the 3rd allowing a run to score. Beards pitching was cruising until the 9th. Hader came in and gave up a solo shot to Ryan Braun to break up the shutout. Not much else was going on in this one as the Beards win 3-1. Final LJ 1 OC 3
Pitching La Jolla L- Fiers 6 inn Hardy 1 inn Dyson 1 inn
Ocracoke W- Montas 6 inn Anderson 1 inn Buttrey 1 inn S- Hader 1 inn
No injuries
Gm4 Gonzalez vs Bumgarner The beards start again in the 1st with a two run Cruz missile. La Jolla responds in the 2nd this time with a Bogaerts solo bomb. Beards get it back in the bottom half with a Perez solo shot. Devers would launch a two RBI double in the 5th. Bogaerts would launch another solo bomb in the 6th. The beards finish up scoring in the 8th with another Cruz missile. Final score LJ 2 OC 6
Pitching La Jolla L- Gonzalez 4 1/3 inn Hembree 1 inn Hughes 1 inn Dyson 1 inn Hardy 2/3 inn
Ocracoke W- Bumgarner 7 1/3 inn Estevez 1 2/3 inn
No injuries
ABL PITCHING STATUS: See Crown Heights Kings Manager - Chris Marcello’s Pitching Status Spreadsheet
A LOOK AHEAD IN THE ABL: By Skibby Bomysoad
WEEK 8 MAY 8 - MAY 17 RESULTSD.M./V. MGR SITE MGR NL/AL D/N 107 LONG BEACH CROWN HEIGHTS SKIBBY CHRIS NL N 108 LONG BEACH CROWN HEIGHTS N 109 LA JOLLA TITUSVILLE KEVIN LENNY NL N 110 LA JOLLA TITUSVILLE N 111 EAST BAY OCRACOKE JOE DURAN AL N 112 EAST BAY OCRACOKE N 113 CLAYTON DEXTER WAYNE COOP AL N 114 CLAYTON DEXTER N 115 CHESAPEAKE BAY TALLAHASSEE COMMISH DON JR. AL N 116 CHESAPEAKE BAY TALLAHASSEE N 117 OCEANSIDE ALBANY CASEY MICHAEL AL N 118 OCEANSIDE ALBANY N BYE GARDEN STATE
Week 8 - Here Comes the All-Star Break!!
I don’t know about all of you but hoo boy am I glad the all-star break is almost here. Running around constantly, never ending social engagements, going around and meeting new and interesting people...it’s exhausting I tell ya.
Also, it’s a big fat lie. I mean, hurray for the all-star break (vote for JD Davis), because it’s usually a good time to unwind and watch some baseball. Of course, for the time being, it’s KBO baseball. Ya know what though? Baseball is baseball, it doesn’t matter who’s playing the games! And maybe this will get everyone a little time to soften to the KBO playoff rules before it gets submitted again.
Internet sources have stated there is a plan to get baseball going again. Of course, first to report that was Trevor “floofy” Plouffe, so I’m not sure if I believe it or not. How reliable can someone I’ve nicknamed “floofy” really be? Phil Hughes I think had it second, which has its own set of issues I don’t even want to unpack right now. If the plan is true though, it looks like Spring Training 2: The Revenge will start on June 2nd, with a July 1st Opening Day. I would imagine we’re going to get some sort of modified schedule, or else we get a few days of baseball, and then the MLB All-Star Break, and who needs that at this point?
I’m torn on this for several reasons. For one, I’m not sure if they will allow fans. Which I would think is amazing, because listening to that Orioles game without fans (the one that didn’t allow fans in, not the 80 OTHER Orioles games without fans) was so much fun to listen to. For two, how will that affect the ABL next season (I haven’t listened to the most recent Commish Chat yet...naughty naughty skibby)? For three, honestly I wanted some ‘86 magic batting around Mike Trout. I’m not saying that Lenny Dykstra was better than Mike Trout, but I’d put some Nails out in CF and see what he could do!!
So last week was Spring Slam. I felt like some teams made statements, and some struggled a bit more than I expected. It was a competitive week nonetheless, and hopefully everyone had a little fun.
Also, Max Scherzer will now, and forever more, be known as Peanut Dick in these previews. Thanks Legend!!!
So without further ado, let the previews commence!!
Series 1 - Long Beach Island Starfish (11 - 7) vs. Crown Heights Kings (8 - 6)
I started talking shit for this one over a month ago. Back on March 29th. As of right now, the ‘fish are still undefeated against the Kings. I do not have faith that will hold true after this week. Going to give it our all though! So far no one has scored more than the ‘fish, and it’s no thanks to The Fish, who is struggling mightily so far. We can thank JDizzle (Seriously, JD Davis for all- star team) amongst others who are carrying the team. Of course, we’ve given up the 3rd most runs so far this season. So you too can score a lot of runs against LBI!
The Kings left slam losers of 3 out of 4 games, which the good news is that they can’t finish worse than .500 going into the all-star break. The bad news is it could have been so much better. So which Kings team will show up to face the ‘fish? I mean, besides the home team, as they are this week. A determined Kings manager will show up for this one I’m sure!
Series 2 - La Jolla JUGGERNAUT (7 - 11) vs. Titusville Perfectos (12 - 4)
There’s been no public shit talkin here. Both teams performed a bit under my expectations at slam (though I suppose a split in a slam is a welcomed thing). The Perfectos are still on top in the NL, they still have some breathing room, so there’s no panic yet down south in F.L.A.
The Jugs have been a little up and down this year. Losing 3 outta 4 at slam hurts. On the bright side, California is sunny, for once isn’t on fire (but the Florida panhandle is), and are not far behind in the standings at all. A solid series here and the JUGGERNAUT are primed and ready for the second half!
Series 3 - East Bay Grease (6 - 10) vs. Ocracoke Blackbeards (5 - 11)
So Duran started talking a little shit, saying they’re going to welcome a “rusty” East Bay team in the last week before the break. Ocracoke had a big series at slam, and with a sweep here will be out of the basement to start the second half! Ocracoke has gone on big runs in recent history, so don’t sleep on the dark bearded ones just yet.
Surprising no one, the Grease will be well lubed for this one according to a fellow west coast manager. If the Grease can translate beating the entire ABL during the off week into something positive this week, watch out! The Grease can be a tough team to take down. Also Hunter Pence is a dick.
Series 4 - Clayton Steamships (9 - 7) vs. Dexter Thunder Geese (11 - 5)
There was a part of me that had doubts about the Steamships and their recent good run heading into slam. Based on what I saw on Twitter, their manager wasn’t thrilled how the last two games went, but splitting a 4 game set with the defending champs / 10 - 2 team coming in is a pretty big damn deal.
So, I’m sure everyone knows this, but Geese are assholes. They are mean, they shit green, they travel in large packs, don’t get off of sidewalks or out of the way of cars. They are just a fucking menace. But God sent Murder Hornets, and has Sodomy Geese on standby. They might be the only kind of goose more terrifying than an electrified, sparkling goose.
And the readily available Thunder Geese are led by the one and only, Peanut Dick.
Series 5 - Chesapeake Bay Channel Cats (11 - 7) vs. Tallahassee Terriers (7 - 7)
Two storied franchises facing off. I love matchups like these. They’re just fun to think about. About how many games have been rolled in the past. About how many times one has threatened the other (or is that just me and Coop?). The home runs, the victory dances, the big moments. And maybe most importantly, that after all these years they still have fun doing it.
So the ‘Cats have quietly made a move up the standings, and may have found their mojo in dumping a pitcher for a Squirrel. At least the Squirrel eats cookies like a normal damned human being!
It was a rough go for the Terriers at slam, losing 3 of 4. However, out of that pain was born a new nickname for a rival player, and he will be forever referred to as Peanut Dick in these previews. Still in the playoff hunt, the Terriers would like to solidify they’re spot in the standings as the jackals behind him are ready to pounce.
Series 6 - Oceanside Leprechauns (7 - 11) vs. Albany Lo-Sox (6 - 8)
Pretty sure the Leprechauns pitching staff has been less than lucky this year. They like to give up double digit runs and then talk long walks on a hot beach in flip flops with socks on. These guys are just not in style, and need to maybe reign in the amount of runs given up. Despite giving up many much runs, the Leprechauns are still pretty close to being in the race.
Albany got a big split at slam, and look to carry that momentum forward. The offense clicked, the bullpen hung tight, and a big series here could put them back at .500 at the break. It will be a whole new season, and I just spent a little too long trying to figure out if I put an extra period up there, or if my screen is really fucking dirty.
Spoiler alert, it’s really fucking dirty.
Bye Week - Garden State Warriors (6 - 12)
The Warriors just have no luck this year. They just lost their ace, and now have to spell Wojciechowski for the rest of the year. Yes, I had to look up how to spell that.
In former manager style, maybe they need to find an old, creepy shaman lady and buy some lucky sticks from her. Seriously, what could it hurt at this point??
ABL TAXI TEAMS: Chesapeake Bay Posey Baez Stanton Mercado James
Titusville Encarnacion Sale Britton McHugh Castro
Oceanside Perez Senzel Hudson Reddick Kluber
Crown Heights Jimenez Nimmo VanMeter Lopez Newcomb
Clayton Littell Marte Sandoval Fried Anderson
Garden State Clevinger Bauer Samardzija Wojciechowski Castillo
Tallahassee German Diaz Manaea Riley Bader
Long Beach Island Carrasco Camargo Adames Leclerc Cuthbert
Dexter Gallo Calhoun Iglesias Astudillo Cabrera
Orcacoke Martin DeSclafani Glasnow Peralta Pujols
La Jolla Buxton Chavez Moreland Gordon Quantrill
Albany Chatwood Mikolas Brebbia Stroman Reyes
East Bay Wheeler Alcantara Andujar Snell Lynn
Enjoy Week 8 Contributors to Around the Diamond: Scott Allen, Skibby Bomysoad, Michael Saaf, Bruce Keilin, Chris Marcello, Casey Allen, and Don Allen Jr.