Quarantine Board Game Suggestions (Besides Dynasty Baseball)

When functioning in the real world letting yourself get hooked on games can be considered a bad thing but when stuck in quarantine a game that can eat up time is worth its weight in gold. Now if you are a twenty something you likely don’t need a list like this, but if your fifty something and never owned a comic store in your twenty that sold board games or old Dos games it will come in handy. Here are a few suggestions some are current, most of which you’ve likely never heard of but are available for purchase on eBay. Today we do board games.

Family Business:

The Family business card game is quick and simple. You are the head of a 1920’s mob family and the object of your game is to eliminate everyone else to become the capo di tutti capi. This is done via hits, putting the finger on others etc, but watch out as the other mobs will be quick to go after you as well and might have cards ready to counter. for 3-5.

Settlers of Catan:

Simple popular game where you develop your civilization by using resource cards and getting points for doing so. Quick paced and with a million expansions it makes a great party game or is sutable for a small group.

Groo the Cardgame:

If the Groo comic series is a good one to read while in quarantine. Groo the card game is even better if you have a group of three or more locked together. The game faithfully follows the comic in the sense that you are the mayor of a town and your goal is to make Groo so somewhere else as he keeps accidentally destroying buildings, ships and killing your soldiers in frays. Get seven point of buildings up (or 10 in the long version) and keep them up by the end of a turn and you win, but with Groo nearby, it not easy at all.

Squad Leader/Panzer Leader family/upfront

If there are two of you the classic Squad Leader/Panzer leader games or the Advanced Squad Leader system will hook you bad. With the board and terrain systems you can literally re-create almost any small scale world war 2 encounter of different nationalities in any theater. This is one of the most complex and realistic game systems ever invented so be warned. If you want a less complex version the Upfront card game does the trick. The morale based system really makes the games come alive but if you’ve never played an Avalon Hill game it will take some getting used to.

Broadside:

This one you’ll definitely have to get on Ebay as it has been out of print from Milton Bradley for 40 years. For two players one commands a powerful 10 ship British fleet the other a less powerful American fleet during the War of 1812 but supported by shore guns and underwater rocks that can tear a ship open whose placement you know but the British don’t. The object of the Brits is to enter the harbor and sink a fleet of docked merchant ships, you need to sink the british fleet before they do. Defense vs Offense, a great strategy game for two.

Memoir 44 / Battle Cry (modern)

Sort of a poor man’s Squad Leader for those who aren’t into too much complexity, using terrain hexes you can recreate different world war two battles or in the case of battle cry, civil war battles. A lot less complex and cool miniatures are the advantages over squad leader and you’re not likely to get hooked spending thousands on expansions. Because of the divided game board it can be played with 2-6 rather than just head to head. WARNING do NOT confuse this modern version of Battle Cry with the Milton Bradley version that came out at the time of Broadside which is undoubtedly one of the worst board games every invented.

Solo Games

Of course if your stuck in quarantine, you are likely stuck alone here are a few excellent solo games of different complexity from the old Avalon Hill company

London’s Burning:

You are the the RAF in charge of the few and as the game runs the Lufwaffre sending waves of Bombers over England. Can you direct your meager supply of Spitfires and Hurricanes and even more meager supply of trained pilots to keep your cities airfields and radar stations safe or will the Nazi blitz be too much for you. Can be played two player.

Blackbeard: You are a pirate cruising the Caribbean , the gold cost and/ or Madagascar capturing ships, ransoming hostages and raiding towns. But you need to keep your ship/fleet in repair because kings commissioners with powerful warships are after you and the towns and ships are armed and ready for you, and of course you never know if you might find yourself in a duel. In the multi-player version you look to survive and retire with the most gold or the biggest reputation, but in the solo game you are Captain Blood with more skill than all the others and a odd resemblance to Errol Flynn and need to gain a high enough reputation score to win. Sorry Johnny Depp fans , this game predates all those movies so he’s not there.

Patton’s Best:

This is for the ASL Crowd. You are a tank commander who has survived Normandy , now you have to go day by day through the grind of battle. The system provides targets and opponents and you have to make the right decisions at the right time because if you don’t you’ll find an 88 ending your game in a hurry. Replace wounded crew members replenish your ammo and survive to be promoted, but be careful there because you never know if there is a hidden machine gun next or an enemy tank just over the next rise. This is a complex game for someone who wants to kill a lot of time.

Of course in an age of computer games and phones you might want something that will play on a PC That post will come later this week and will include a few games that are also available as board games.

Dynasty Players Choice League AL / NL Div B Report

Continuing our weekly reports on the teams in the various Dynasty leagues I run this week Division B in the all time any time great teams league

AL Div B

1968 Detroit Tigers

After a slow start the tigers find themselves at the top of the AL B standings with a game and a half over the defending AL champ Indians. Can they keep this winning pace up?

Heroes: Willie Horton is has been a one man wrecking ball with the bat with 8 HR and 22 RBI while playing an errorless left field adding an outfield assist into the mix. Denny McLain has gone 4-0 only allowing a .208 batting avg while leading the league in wins, and being top 5 in 3 other categories. Ray Oyler being perfect in the field at short is no surprise as his reputation for defense is well known but seeing him add a .364 to the mix has been a shocker.

Zeroes: Don Wert isn’t known for his bat so his .170 Avg might be forgivable but combine it with a .925 fielding percentage with as many errors as his net two teammates combined, now that’s a worry. Mickey Lolich & Earl Wilson both with 2-2 record as starters wouldn’t seem like likely candidates for this list but if their ERAs were not 6.84, and 6.17 respectively Detroit’s lead might be a lot bigger.

Wild Card: Detroit’s next three series are against teams with a combined 22-29 it’s s great chance to widen that league.

Coming attractions: The Tigers travel to Yankees Stadium for a 3 game set aginst the 2009 Yanks before heading back home for a 9 game homestand facing 1988 Oakland and the 2013 Redsox who are with striking distance before finishing the stand against the 1970 Orioles.

1954 Cleveland Indians

The defending AL champs are right in the thick of it again, a game and a half out of 1st place and currently holding a wild card spot which isn’t bad for a team that has played 80% of their games on the road to this point but can they turn on the heat on the surging Tigers?

Heroes: With a team ERA under 4 (3.97) it’s hard to name a single pitching hero but Bob Lemon with a 3-0 record and a 2.88 ERA certainly fits the bill, and that .750 batting avg in interleague play and a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage isn’t too shabby either. There are people hitting for a higher avg on the team than Larry Doby but when you are leading the team in both runs scores AND runs batted in along with HR, Slugging and OB+Slugging you are the really doing the job (oh and by the way 1.000 fielding plus two outfield assists and a range factor of 2.62)

Zeroes: It doesn’t look at that good for Billy Glynn as he both leads the team in errors and is sitting below the Mendoza line with a .195 batting avg but he has one thing going for him, at least he’s not Wally Westlake because not only is he batting a mere .184 but unlike Glynn who is hitting .286 with runners in scoring position Westlake is hitting a mere .130 when the big moment comes.

Wild Card: They only have one series against a division opponent in their next 8.

Coming attractions: the Indians bask in the glory of a brief 3 game homestand against 1st place 2015 Kansas City Royals before hitting the road agai to battle the 2005 White Sox and the 1993 Blue Jays.

2013 Boston Redsox

Boston had lost 4 series in a row before taking two of three from their arch rival New York Yankees. Will that be the spark that puts the team back on track?

Heroes: If anyone told you that after 18 games Danial Nava would lead the Red sox with a .389 average .500 OBS a .593 slugging percentage and be the only player on the team with an OPS over 1.000 1.093 while hitting only one HR you wouldn’t believe it. On the other hand John Lackey’s ERA of 2.38 and modest .264 batting avg against in 4 starts, that’s entirely believable.

Zeroes: Jon Lester was expected to be the Redsox ace but he’s so far been more akin to the twenty minuters of WW1 infamy with a 1-2 record an ERA of 6.00 a hitting against avg of .309 along with five homers, one every 5 1/3 innings. Meanwhile Mike Napoli is not only devoid of HR with only 5 RBI in 16 games but with runners in scoring position is hitting an anemic .222, .125 if there are two outs.

Wild card: Boston has only seen a left handed starter once every six games, which is a good thing because they have yet to win a game against a lefty but at 4-2 they have the best record in the American league in one run games.

Coming Attractions: A quick trip to Oakland to visit the 1988 A’s is followed by a 3 game homestand against the 1970 Orioles before going head to head with Detroit and a chance to close the distance a bit.

2010 Texas Rangers: The Rangers broke a six game losing streak in style with a sweep of the (then) 1st place Washington Senators. Is this the start of better things to come? Or will the team without a manager continue to be rudderless?

Heroes: Vladimir Guerrero‘s reputation as one of the most feared bats in the game has not been affected by the Rangers poor record. His .408 avg and 18 RBI’s talk and opposing pitchers are listening. Even though the starting rotation has been a horror the Texas Bullpen has put up good number with Michael Kirkman leading the way. In six appearances he’s held opponents to a .205 avg while striking out 17 in 11 1/3 innings with a 1.50 ERA and no homers allowed and a win to his credit.

Zeroes: While his play behind the plate has been acceptable Matt Treanor has impressed nobody with his .216 avg and .313 OBP not to mention .200 with runners in scoring position but if you want to talk Zeroes you have to talk the starting rotation with Cliff Lee’s 5.13 ERA and .347 avg (despite a 2-1 record) C.J Wilson’s 16 walks in 28 innings and 5.97 ERA and if that’s not bad enough you have Tommy Wilson who has in 18.2 innings over 4 starts struck out fewer batters (6) than he’s given up homers (7) with a horrible ERA of 7.81.

Wild Card: Rich Harden was recently promoted back to the majors after a short stint down, can he return a semblance of steadiness to a rotation with a damaged reputation?

Coming Attractions: It’s a time away from the division for Texas as they conclude an 18 game road trip with three at the 2015 Royals and 3 more vs the 2005 Chicago White Sox before heading home to welcome the 1993 Blue Jays before facing a division foe again.

1985 St. Louis Cardinals

After a 9-0 start they have returned to earth going 5-7 since. Can that early lead hold up when the month of April is over or will they cool as the weather warms?

Heroes: Tom Herr’s line is deadly .407 avg 3 HR 26 RBI 10 sb with only one caught and an OBP of .484 and an OPS 1.089. Oh and he’s been perfect at 2b in the field with a range factor of 4.59. It’s the kind of performance that makes opposing pitchers crazy. It that wasn’t bad enough for St. Louis’ foes John Tudor is 5-0 with five complete games in six starts with a 1.94 ERA to drive enemy batters absolutely nuts.

Zeroes: It’s hard to find zeroes on a team that’s performed so well but St. Louis’ Catchers sure helped me along. Darrell Porter with a .138 avg in 12 games he wasn’t doing much before his injury and has failed to catch the only person trying to steal against him. Meanwhile while he was out Tom Nieto did the job and while his .209 avg was slightly better than Porter he not only was batted .200 when men were in scoring position but allowed seven of nine people to steal off of him while committing 2 errors.

Wild Card: St Louis has been patient at the plate, their 103 walks are a full 60% ahead of the #2 team and their stolen base total of 61 is 44 greater than the current runner up. That’s likely why they also have the most hits in the league

Coming Attractions: A huge series at Brooklyn against the defending World Series Champion 1955 Dodgers is followed by the 1986 Mets at home and then they travel to Florida for a shot at the 2nd place 1997 Marlins who are itching for revenge. Can the NL Div A do what Div B could not?

1997 Florida Marlins

If the 1985 St. Louis Cardinals did not Exist Florida would have both a winning record and the lead in their division. Instead they are at .500 and if the season ended today would not even snag a wildcard. Can they manage to expand their winning ways to include the Cards?

Heroes: Felix Heredia has stood out in a staff that hasn’t with two saves in as many chances, a 1-0 record more strikeouts than innings pitched and an ERA of 1.86 while in a team full of hitting hitters Moises Alou stands above the rest hitting for avg (.378) power (7 HR) and leading the team in RBI’s Runs scored and Walks.

Zeroes: While Devon White and Luis Castillo have both been excellent in the field they are hitting .131 and .183 respectively which is unimpressive to say the least although in fairness to White his eight walks have contributed to nine runs scored. Meanwhile in a team where no starter has more than one win there are many zero candidates but the biggest has to be closer Rob Nen with two blown saves a WHIP of 1.86 and a 6.43 ERA in the most critical moments of a game.

Wild Card: With Al Lieter injured and out for at least two starts can anyone in the rotation step up?

Coming Attractions: It a visit to the NL east with series at Brooklin vs the 1955 Dodgers and the 1986 Mets before coming home to face the 2013 Arizona Diamondbacks before their big rematch with St. Louis. Will they have a permanent manager by then?

1957 Milwaukee Braves

The Braves managed to turn things around after a dismal 1-9 start, but is that turn about permanent or was their defeat by the 2005 astros in their last series a sign of things to come?

Heroes: Nobody will be surprised to see Hank Aaron at the top of this list. With a .351 Avg 5 HR and 12 RBI the advice on how to pitch pitch to him: “Make sure nobody is on when he hits it out” seems awfully accurate. The second non surprise is Warren Spahn whose 3-1 record 2.54 ERA and 28 1/3 innings in five starts have done the trick.

Zeroes: Ernie Johnson certainly has been a workhorse for Milwaukee appearing in 10 of their 18 games. Unfortunately he’s also been a disaster in the bullpen with more than twice as many hits as innings pitch and ERA of 13.50 and a .417 avg against. Many people thought it would be a fight between Frank Torre and Joe Adcock for the starting job at 1st, but Torre’s .111 avg no runs batted in and two hits on the season certainly hasn’t given anyone a reason to leave him in a lineup.

Wildcard: Bill Burton’s injury is going to keep him out of the lineup for at least the next three series forcing Aaron to play center. This means that the Braves will see more of Andy Pafko’s unimpressive bat .171 avg but steady defense (2 assists) or Wes Covington deadly bat .318 avg but lead glove .846 fielding percentage in right.

Coming Attractions: The Braves visit the streets of San Francisco to face the 1962 Giants before coming home for 9 against the 1975 Reds 2013 Arizona and Division rival 2019 Nationals.

2019 Washington Nationals

Washington has lost 10 of their last 12 and are owners of the worst record in the majors, which is kind of what was the case in 2019 before the stormed back to win 1st the Pennant and then the series. Can history repeat itself?

Heroes: There is plenty of blame to go around for Washington’s start but neither Trea Turner nor Juan Soto deserve any of it. Turner has hit .342 stolen 3 bases in 4 tries and hit three HR while scoring almost double the runs of the next leading player who would be Soto who has crushed 5 HR and walked enough to get an OBP of .405

Zeroes: Max Scherzer has been a pleasant surprise at the plate with a .400 avg and a pair of RBI’s but the nats would happily trade that for the pitcher they expected as an ace. With a 1-3 record a .347 avg against and a .887 ERA and fewer strikeouts than runs allowed 19 vs 22 it’s been a dismal start. Meanwhile don’t let the fact that Daniel Hudson owns 2 of Washington’s 5 wins fool you. in 11 appearances his ERA is 11.68 his WHIP is a solid three and he’s managed to blow two saves in as many chances.

Wild Card. Both Gerardo Parra and Anthony Rendon have spent time injured early and Washington has a new manager who took over during their losing streak. Can these three men make the difference for a team that is 1-10 against right handed pitching this season?

Coming Attractions: Home has not been where the heart is for the DC team (2-10) while they’ve played .500 ball on the road, so a trip to Cincinnati to face the 1975 Reds might just be what’s needed, then after a brief stop back home to face the 2013 Diamondbacks it’s back on the road for 3 against the 57 Braves in Milwaukee and 3 against the 2016 Cubs at Wrigley.

DaTechGuy’s AM Court Livestream 9:15 AM EST The China Syndrome Putting God to the Test and Baseball

In this morning’s podcast I talk China and the corona virus and what it means, a church in Florida looking to have services and some fantasy baseball just because I like it

If you like what you hear then consider liking the podcast or even better hitting DaTipJar

All Time Great Team League League report: AL & NL Division 1

Here is a report on one division in the All time great league for Dynasty Baseball game. A report will come out each week for one AL & NL division. Note there are still as of this writing 7 teams looking for a non-computer manager and until 3/31 Dynasty the maker of the game is offering a month free with code USA2 You can join here.

AL Div 1

2005 Chicago White Sox

The pale hose 5-4 start while not exciting is currently good enough for sole possession of 1st place albeit only by 1/2 a game. After losing their opening series vs the 1970 Orioles back to back series wins vs Toronto and Oakland have been just good enough to keep them clinging to a lead, time will tell if that can be maintained.

Heroes: Tadahito Iguchi is on a hitting tear with a .389 avg good enough for 4th in the early season while Scott Posednick’s 6 stolen bases is a tie for the league lead

Zeroes: Bobby Jenks has found his way into four of the teams 9 games and has opponents hitting .409 against him with an ERA of 9.00 Meanwhile at the plate the only nice thing you can say about Jermaine Dye’s start is that while his anemic .182 is last in the team his .229 is better than Joe Crede or Juan Uribe but without any RBI or HR RBIs.

Wild Card: The White Sox success has been despite their failure to find a permanent manager for the season can they keep it up without one and if they find one can he continue to keep them on top?

Coming attractions: It’s a trip to the NL East for 3 vs the Mets at Shea then south to Baltimore for three more.

1970 Orioles

.500 ball over their last 12 might be good enough for 2nd place in the division but new manager Joe S expects better out of the defending division champs who found themselves dropping two straight series one to Toronto and another to the Defending World Series champion Dodgers. Will the return to the DH make the difference?

Heroes: Jim Palmer is all over the leaderboards in just about every category leads the league in wins, WHIP & HR per 9 innings while Boog Powell continues to put the fear of God into the heart of every pitcher he faces.

Zeros: Dave McNally has put the fear of God in the heart of his manager with an 0-3 start and an ERA of 8.25. Meanwhile Pete Richert’s perfect record of two losses and two blown saves in two appearances is turning heads in the wrong direction.

Wild Card: It’s always odd when manager moves on to a different franchise but when he does so AFTER leading a team to a division championship it gets harder for his replacement. Can Baltimore’s new manager get his team to the series when his predecessor could not?

Coming Attractions: 9 straight home games in division starting with the 1st place White Sox followed by Oakland and Toronto will give their fans a chance to cheer their team back into first. That is if the team can rise back to their division winning ways

1988 Oakland A’s

There are few things more discouraging than staring your season blowing a 7-0 lead but twelve games in a half game out is nothing to sneeze at for a team with both Power and pitching and 2nd flock of the games in the division they are more than in a position to strike

Heroes: Dennis Eckersley, despite his opening day loss he has bounced back saving games for Nelson, Welsh and Burns before holding on against Arizona to to even his record. Dave Henderson: With a .367 avg 4 HR and a dozen RBI’s he leads the league in 3 offense categories while placing in the top 10 in 5 others.

Zeros: Jose Canseco despite a pair of Home Runs is managing only a .143 avg and a .246 OB with 19 K’s in 49 at bats. Dave Stewart In three starts opponents are hitting a solid .375 with an ERA of 9.37 a full five runs over the team avg despite only a single loss against him.

Wild Card: Nobody in their right mind would describe Doug Jennings as anything but a backup so his season ending injury might not seem big but over the course of a 162 game season his loss means one less day of rest for a player who might need it or one pinch hit or run that doesn’t happen

Coming Attractions: The A’s get a chance to jump ahead with the last place Yanks coming to town before getting a 2nd shot at the Orioles before running back for a shot at the Red Sox.

Toronto Blue Jays 1993

The Bluejays after an incredible comeback on opening day have not fared as well as they like going 4-6 and possessing the only losing record in the division. But despite this they remain only a game out of first since but despite this remain but a game out of first, more than close enough to strike.

Heroes: Roberto Alomar is hitting over .400 (.404) with an OPS of 1.100. While Rickey Henderson has combined a .311 avg and five stolen bases with three outfield assists in less that a dozen games.

Zeros: Jack Morris has managed in two starts to go 0-2 with an ERA of 8.64 with hitters pounding him at a .389 clip in less than 9 innings. Tony Fernandez, while a single error and a .979 fielding percentage at short is not bad a .200 batting avg and OB percentage is a drag a full .89 points below the rest of the team.

Wild Card: With the only turf stadium in the league will other teams struggle on the unfamiliar surface or will Toronto pay for their surface in DL trips such as Ed Sprague‘s?

Coming attractions: A win in their final game vs Cincinnati can get them back to .500 in time to face a Kansas City team on a mini losing streak and a shot a the 1st place White Sox and 2nd place Orioles on the road.

NL Div 1

1955 Brooklyn Dodgers

The Defending World Champion Dodgers picked up where they left off last year with an 8-4 start including 7-3 in their last 10 and a +24 run differential against their foes If this pace keeps up they may repeat their running away with the division but with 4 more teams and an an extra round of playoffs to deal with they’ll need that to get started.

Heroes: Gil Hodges after winning the NL MVP last season has picked up right where he left off leading the NL in batting and 2nd in OBP & OBP + Slugging. Meanwhile on the mound Karl Spooner is making up for spending most of last season on the DL with a 2-0 record without giving up a run in two starts and holding opponents to a .059 avg.

Zeros: Jim Hughes has been a workhorse working in seven games but a horse with an era of 8.59 while being responsible for a solid quarter of the homers allowed by the team. Roy Campanella has been in a slump of epic proportions hitting a mere .095 and an even more pathetic OBP of .152

Wild Card: With Karl Spooner back this season George Shuba‘s major league stint is over. Last year he spent half a season in the majors hitting .264 in limited service and .333 during the post season. He’s back in the minors and hoping for a 2nd chance and ring, will he get it?

Coming attractions: A trip to Arizona is followed by a 15 game homestand which begins with the last place mets given them a great chance to increase their lead.

Arizona Diamondbacks 2013

For a team that had no business being in an all time great league (the 2001 version was supposed to be invited) they’ve kept pace very well including a series win against the World Champion Dodgers. Their .500 start is good for 2nd place so far and with a little bit of effort 1st place can remain in reach.

Heroes: Paul Goldschmidt .396 and 4 HR have been an unpleasant surprise to pitching staffs around the league. If a .350 avg and seven RBI’s were not enough to celebrate Geraldo Para playing all three positions in the outfield without an error but with an assist would clinch it.

Zeros: Some might think this Arizona team doesn’t belong in this league and Reliever Joe Thatcher is their patron saint thanks to an era of 10.57 and a batting against avg of .441. While Cliff Pennington’s .333 avg looks good on paper a single run scored and none driven in doesn’t make up for two errors in four games.

Wild Card: JJ Putz has been an Arizona workhorse appearing in more than half of the teams game but with a serious injury that will keep him out till early or mid May can anyone else carry the load?

Coming attractions: A six game homestand gives them a chance to repeat their fine start against the Dodgers and welcome Cincinnati who is right behind them before getting another crack at the Mets this time in Shea.

1975 Cincinnati Reds

The Big Red machine did not envision themselves at 5-6 after 11 their only winning series being against a weaker Arizona team, but can their big bats and stingy pitching staff (2nd fewest runs allowed in the league) turn things around before the Dodgers get too far ahead to catch, particularly with the Defense of Caesar Geronimo out of the lineup.

Heroes: Johnny Bench with 3 homers and .340 avg remains a terror to opposing pitchers who dare throw to him. Meanwhile while there has not been a lot to cheer from the bullpen Will McEnaney’s 1.17 ERA & 1.54 AVG has been a breath of fresh air

Zeros: The bullpen has three blown saves in three chances and the worst offender has been Pedro Borbon with 2 Blown saves and a .348 avg for batters. One might forgive Tony Perez his slow start and .226 avg, but it’s hard to be forgiving with no HR only one RBI and a single extra base hit

A Wild Card: The injury of Caesar Geronimo means the possibility of more offence at the Center Field position but will such offense come at the cost of a vulnerable defense.

Coming attractions: Four games remain in Cincinnati’s 12 game homestand one more vs Toronto and 3 against the SF Giants before they head to Arizona in the hopes of getting hot.

1986 New York Mets

There is not a lot to cheer about in New York as the Mets , after starting with two wins in a row dropped six of their last seven and between Gary Carter who was injured on opening day a team that has three pitchers with ERA’s over 10.00 and a flock of bad fielding they are resembling the 67 mets more than a champion team.

Heroes: With two saves in three chances and a 2.38 ERA Roger McDowell has been the rare bright spot in a pitching staff that has been a dismal failure. Meanwhile Mookie Wilson with a pair of HR’s a .308 avg and 12 hits has managed to do what is necessary.

Zeroes: Not only has Howard Johnson not been appetizing at the plate with a .222 avg and a single solo homer but in the field his four errors and .636 fielding percentage doesn’t even rise to the level of anemic. Meanwhile on a staff with a team ERA of 6.24 there are plenty of Zero candidates but Ron Darling with his 0-2 record & 19.89 ERA rises or shall I say falls below the rest.

Wild Card: Ed Hearn was pressed into service behind the plate with the Carter injury at the bat he has been at least serviceable with a .265 Avg 1 HR and 5 RBI but behind the plate he has allowed nine of ten baserunners to steal.

Coming attractions: The bad news continues for the Mets as they face the 1st place White Sox before taking on Philly and then with Gary Carter back traveling to LA & Arizona

CNN Letter to Sean Davis (with apologies to Abe Lincoln & Horace Greeley)

There are many who seem confused by the MSM’s behavior toward China, Russia Iran and even towards the efforts to arrest the spread of the Corona / Wuhan Virus in the US. This behavior has drawn harsh responses from conservatives and confusion to those who believe the media operate in the pubic interest. For those who might be confused this letter might explain their actions:

CNN offices,
Atlanta, March 22, 2020.

Sean Davis The Federalist:
Dear Sir.

We have just read your tweet of the 21st. addressed to ourselves through that medium & previous statements through the Federalist. If there be in it any statements, or assumptions of fact, which we may know to be erroneous, We and other mainstream media do not, now and here, controvert them. If there be in it any inferences which we may believe to be falsely drawn, We do not now and here, argue against them. If there be perceptable in it an impatient and dictatorial tone, We waive it in deference to a fellow member of the media although as you are on the right you don’t really deserve such deference.

As to the policy We “seem to be pursuing” as you say, we have not meant to leave any one in doubt.

We would save the Union from Donald Trump. We would save it the shortest way under the Constitution or outside of it. The sooner the national authority of our allies in the Deep state in general and the Democrat party in particular, can be restored; the nearer the Union will be “the Union as it was.” before those horrible days of the internet, Rush Limbaugh and Matt Drudge in the days before he decided to join our noble cause.

If there be those who would not save the Union from Donald Trump, unless they could at the same time attack Communist China or Putin Iran and save the nation from the spread of the Corona Virus , We do not agree with them. If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could at the same time destroy Communist China, Putin or even Iran, We do not agree with them.

Our paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union from Donald Trump, and is not either to save or to destroy Communist China, Putin Iran or even the Corona Virus. If we could save the Union from Donald Trump without helping Communist China, Russia, Iran or even the spread of the Corona virus we would do it, and if we could save the Union from Donald Trump by directly helping Communist China, Russia, Iran and the spread of the Corona Virus we would do it; and if we could save the Union from Donald Trump, by helping Communist China, Russia, Iran and the spread of the corona virus in some cases and hindering Communist China, Russia, Iran and the spread of the Corona Virus in others we would also do that.

What we write, broadcast and report about Communist China, Russia, Iran and the Corona Virus,we do because we believe it helps to save the Union from Donald Trump; and what we forbear, we forbear because we do not believe it would help to save the Union from Donald Trump.

We shall do less to help efforts to fight the Corona Virus in the US whenever we shall believe what we are doing hurts the cause of defeating Donald Trump in November, and we shall do more to help efforts to fight the Corona Virus whenever we shall believe doing more will help the cause of defeating Donald Trump in November. We shall try to correct errors when shown to be also errors in our efforts in obtaining that goal of Trump destruction; and we shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be in aid of that effort to destroy Donald Trump.

We have here stated our purpose, shared by other members of the media on TV, online and in print according to our view of the official duty of the media to destroy conservatism in general and Donald Trump in particular; and we intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men every where could be free of Donald Trump in particular and conservatism in general.

Yours,
CNN.

If you wish to read a slightly modified version of this letter which was sent by some fellow named Abe Lincoln to a newspaperman by the name of Horace Greeley on August 22nd 1862 in response to critiques of his actions concerning fighting of the American Civil War you can read it here.

Donald Trump & Discovering the Lost 3rd Book of Reagan

This Dusty scroll was discovered hidden in the Reagan Library and explains much that has happened over the last three years.

The LORD said to Samuel: “How long will you grieve for Mitt Romney and John McCain who I have rejected and Reagan, whom I have taken back to my bosom? Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way. I am sending you to the GOP field , for I have chosen a President from among their sons and daughters to take my American Children out of the wilderness.”

But Samuel replied: “How can I go? The Media will hear of it and destroy any who I anoint?” To this the LORD answered: “Take your dismal poll forecasts along and say, ‘I have come to choose a sacrificial lamb to offer to the Clintons.’

Invite the entire potential GOP field to see who might come, and I myself will tell you what to do; you are to anoint for me the one I point out to you.”

Samuel did as the LORD had commanded him. When he entered GOP headquarters the insiders of the deep state came trembling to meet him and inquired, “Is your visit peaceful, O political seer?”

He replied: “Yes! I have come to select a candidate to sacrifice to Hillary Clinton whom the media have anointed as our next president. So cleanse yourselves and join me today for the banquet.”

As they came, he looked at Jeb Bush and thought, “Surely the LORD’S anointed is here before him.”

But the LORD said to Samuel: “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, or his fine political lineage or even his decent record as governor of Florida because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart.”

Then the party called Governor John Kasish of Ohio and presented him before Samuel, who said, “The Lord has not chosen him.”

Next the GOP presented Senators Marco Rubio & Rand Paul both worthy men, but Samuel said, “The LORD has not chosen these ones either.”

In the same way the GOP presented sons and daughters, Governor Walker, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee and more before Samuel, and even though some had found favor in the Lord’s eyes like Rick Santorum “He is my true servant but his time has past” and Ted Cruz “He is true but his time has not yet come” and Ben Carson “He is true but I shall task him to shall serve the people through the one I pick ” none of them was the one. So Samuel said to the GOP, “The LORD has not chosen any one of these.”

Then Samuel asked the GOP “Are these all the sons and daughters you have?” They replied, “There is still Donald Trump but he’s just a reality star we just keep him around for our candidates to beg for contributions. He’s in the tower.” Samuel said to the GOP elders, “Send for him; we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.”

The GOP sent for him and he entered the banquet hall descending from the tower down the escalator with his wife and family. He was an older man with odd orange hair but with strength and vigor of one who was much younger. He had never tasted wine or strong drink and he descended with a family full of youth, handsome to behold and a wife full of beauty and Devoted to the Lord and making a splendid appearance. The LORD said, “There-anoint him, for this is he!”

Then Samuel, with the horn of the votes of the people in hand , anointed him in the midst of his brothers and sisters; and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon Donald and he was determined to lead his people out of the wilderness of Obama.

A few of his brothers immediately accepted the judgement of the voters and offered to serve, others who had worked hard on their own behalf to earn that favor after much soul searching did the same but many more in the elites particularly those who had been anointed before such as John McCain and Mitt Romney openly spoke against the will of the voters and predicted the doom of the party.

The spirit of the LORD had departed from Obama, and he was tormented by the thought of his legacy going away. So the servants of the Clintons said to him: “Please! Be not tormented by the scorn of the Lord

If your lordship will order it, we, your servants here in attendance will find a candidate among the sons of the GOP who shall be easier to beat than any other. Let our media descend upon him and prop him up so they can later bring him down and the whole country will embrace your legacy and you will feel better.”

So Obama then told his servants in the media, “Find me skilled lapdogs that they might play the tune to the people and find our sacrifice to Hillary and my legacy.”

A servant spoke up to say: “I have observed that one of the sons of the GOP is a skillful entertainer before the crowds The Donald of NY is a skillful reality TV man. He is also a stalwart donor who has given us cash when needed, besides being an able speaker, and handsome. Moreover, given his past the LORD won’t be with him.”

Accordingly, Obama dispatched messengers to the media to prop up Trump above all others within the GOP flock.

Then the pundits took Trump and put his rallies on the air and interviewed him daily to raise him above the field.

Thus to Obama Trump had entered his service. The media was very fond of him, made him their rating-bearer,

and sent the GOP this message, “Allow Trump to remain in my service, for he meets with our approval as a sacrifice to Hillary.”

Whenever the spirit from God seized Hillary, The Donald would say something, and Hillary, Obama and the Democrats would be relieved and feel better, sure that he would be the sacrifice to cement her victory and the legacy of Obama for all time.

100 Word Fan Fiction “A Drop of Paint”

“Such poor copies und in wasser too.” The Gestapo man shook his head, “An establishment like yours should do better Herr Maverick.”

The elderly gambler smiled “Herr Hess solders come for the gambling & the ladies, not portraits, besides if they were too good Marshall Goering might whisk them away for his collection!”

Heis refilled his glass laughing at the quip. Maverick nodded, displaying a poker face with sixty years of practice, betraying neither knowledge of the German’s mission nor that only a thin layer of watercolor separated Heis from completing his task to recover what Goering had rightfully stolen.

Previously:

Trump impeachment leads my list of recent legendary flops

By John Ruberry

Here’s a list of great flops in recent times. Feel free to add your own in the comments section.

Here we go.

Trump impeachment.
Battlefield Earth movie.
The XFL. (Yes, a revival is planned.)
Jussie Smollett’s hate crime.
Joe Walsh’s Republican primary challenge against Trump, as well as those of William Weld and Mark Sanford.
New Coke.
Cop Rock TV show.
Watermelon-flavored Oreos.
Heaven’s Gate movie.
Bernie Madoff.
Jar Jar Binks.
The Cleveland Browns firing Bill Belichick.
ESPN becoming woke.
Theresa May’s call for a snap parliamentary election in 2017.
Cheetos lip balm.
Paris Hilton.
The Big Ten conference inviting Rutgers to join.
Anything related to Anna Nicole Smith.
Mars Needs Moms movie.
Manimal TV show.
Jeremy Corbin’s term as head of the Labour Party.
Pontiac Aztek.
The San Diego Chargers move to Los Angeles.
Beto O’Rourke’s presidential campaign, “I was born to be in it.”
Google Glass.
CNN’s decision to become the impeachment network.
Rosie O’Donnell on The View.
Michael Avenatti’s presidential run.
Enron.
Motorola Rokr phone. (I was given one of these by my employer at the time. It was truly a dreadful device.)
Heinz purple ketchup.

Now some of these debacles can also double as hoaxes, such as the “racist assault on Smollett. And of course the impeachment of Trump, which of course is stumbling along despite the lack of evidence that a crime was committed.

Witch-hunter in chief in the House, Adam Schiff, dabbles in screenplay writing. Perhaps a Schiff-scripted movie might make it on a future list.

John Ruberry regularly blogs at Marathon Pundit.

Sable/Gerbl Day 14: Yanks dissipates Texas’ Thunder, LA holds off Washington, Vikings Pillage Rivertown, Muffin Men Sweep Boston

NY 7 Texas 2

Giancarlo Stanton’s 1st inning grand slam gave the Yanks and early lead and Chad Green’s Key strikeout helped them keep it and New York managed a split with Texas with a 7-2 win at Yankee Stadium.

Stanton’s 1st inning blast would be almost the only problem Mike Clevinger (L 2-1) would have, coming off of a pair of one out singles by Gleyber Torres and Aaron Judge and a ball that nipped Didi Gregorius in the leg. He would pitch into the 7th keeping his team close and persevering a bullpen tired after yesterday’s extra innings struggle.

Meanwhile Texas slowly started to come back against Lance Lynn kept living dangerously. In the 2nd a Freddy Freeman lead off single was, after two outs followed by a single by Francisco Lindor and walks to Jackie Bradley Jr and Tucker Barnhart the latter driving in the 1st Texas run before Michael Brantley popped out to end the threat at 4-1. Lynn would issue five free passes in the 3rd and fourth putting the tying or go ahead runs on only be saved from disaster by double plays in each inning.

Finally in the 5th when, with Mike Trout on 2nd (walk, PB) Nolan Arenado trotted to 1st via the 9th walk four inning the Yanks brought Chad Green (W 1-0) from the dugout to a round of applause. He would leave the mound with the same when he struck out Baez to end the threat. And while he would give up three hits and 1 run on back to back doubles from Bradley JR and Robinson Chirinos in the 6th in his 3 1/3 innings no member of the Thunder would get a free pass.

The same could not be said for Clevinger’s replacement Rasiel Iglesias who in the 8th would load the bases on walks to Stanton and Brett Garnder sandwiching a single to Neil Walker and would then proceed to walk all three of them with free passes to Romine, Hicks and Torres which would be more than enough to secure the Yankees win.

Notes: NY’s win was their first home win of the season. Texas Catcher Tucker Barnhart left the game after being hit by a foul tip from Aaron Judge in the 3rd. Robinson Chrinos came in to replace him. He is considered day to day and not expected to go on the DL. Despite nine walks in 4 2/3 innings none of the people Lynn walked scored. After scoring 22 runs the day before the teams went a combined 2-19 with runners in scoring position (Texas 1-9, NY 1-10) After the off day Texas heads to Boston while the Yanks welcome the Juneau Muffin Men.

Los Angeles 8 Washington 5

LA hit four home runs and five pitchers managed to hold back several Washington comebacks to earn a split in their series with an 8-5 win.

It didn’t look good for Alex Wood in the 1st. Corey Dickerson and DJ LeMahieu each singled to start the game and Anthony Rendon followed suit but center fielder Corey Bellinger came up throwing to nail Dickerson at the plate for the 1st out. Trevor Story walked to load the bases but Washington came up empty when Josh Reddick hit a hard grounder to second that Kiki Hernandez turned into an inning ending double play.

The Dodgers waited but an inning to take advantage of that squander. as Yasiel Puig took Reynaldo Lopez (L 1-1) over the left field fence to lead off and Yasmani Grandal took him to right center with one out giving the Dodgers a 2-0 edge. In the top of the 3rd the Senators again put two men on without scoring and LA answered with a homer when Hernandez took one down the left field line with Bellinger on second. It was 4-0 and looking good for LA

In the fifth Alex Wood couldn’t hold Washington back any longer Dickerson singled and LeMahieu was hit by a pitch then with one out Trevor Story drilled a double to left Scoring Dickerson and sending LeMahieu to 3rd where he would score on Josh Reddick’s grounder. When Jesus Aguilar walked The Senators had the tying run on 1st and 3rd with two outs. LA opted for Ross Stripling (W 1-1) and he manged to get a two out grounder to retire pinch hitter Nick Markakis keeping the score at 4-2.

In the 6th LA widened the lead. Grandal singled off Bobby Poyner and with oe out David Freese drilled a ball to right center that rolled to the wall. Grandal scored and Freese ended up on 3rd and trotted home on Justin Turner’s pinch singe for a 6-2 lead.

But Washington wasn’t done yet. Trevor Story answered with a one out triple of his on in the 7th off Josh Fields and after a walk to Reddick scored on Jesus Aguilar grounder that erased Reddick making it 6-3. An error by Freese sent Aguilar to 3rd and put Kevin Kiemaier on 1st for Matt Wieters representing the tying run but Freese handed his grounder without incident and the lead stayed at 3 till the bottom of the inning when Gandal hit a two run shot off scoring him and Puig making it 8-3 with only two innings to go.

Washington didn’t go quietly Dickerson singled in the 8th and Rendon doubled deep to right scoring him cutting the lead down to 4 and in the 9th a pair of walks off Pat Venditte put two men on with two men out for pinch hitter Marvin Gonzalez who singled off Scott Alexander (S1) drivng in Kevin Kiermaier who reached on a fielder’s choice putting two men on and bringing the tying run to the plate int the person of Corey Dickerson who was already 5-5 for the day. Alas for Washington the law of averages finally caught up with him as he popped up in the infield to end the game.

Notes: This was LA’s first victory against Washington in 4 tries this season. Washington did not lack chances leaving 14 men on base.
Grandal’s 3-4 with 3 RBI’s and 3 runs scored raised his average over the Mendosa line at .205. Marvin Maldonado went 1-2 with a walk on his 1st day back from the DL while Kevin Kiemaiar was 0-2 with a run scored after coming in to replace Hamilton. Despite a .286 avg which equals Swihart and Wieters combined Christian Vasquez was the odd man out behind the plate. LA welcomes 1st place Rivertown next while Washington visits the Vikings.

Vikings 11 Rivertown 2

Rivertown managed only five hits of Jacob DeGrom while the King Ragnar’s boys scored early and often as the Vikings took the final game of their series 11-2

Trouble game quick for Charlie Morton (L 1-2) in the 1st when after sandwiching a pair of K’s around a Gerardo Parra single served a fat pitch to Anthonly Rizzo who it it over 400 feet to right for a 2-0 lead

Rivertown struck back at once as Jacob deGrom (W 2-1) also made a sandwich of a double to Joey Wendle with a pair of K’s when his pitch to Jose Ramirez caught too much of the plate. Ramierz drove it to right center where it rolled to the wall, Peralta scored easily and Ramirez ended up on third with the red hot Paul Goldschmidt up but on a 2-2 pitch he swung just a tad early popping up third to keep the score at 2-1.

The Vikings came right back Morton hit Wilson Ramos to start the 2nd and Eduardo Escobar launched a ball to right not as far as Rizzo’s but just as out to make it 4-1.

That would be more than enough for deGrom who after a single in the bottom half of the frame would not give up a hit till Ramirez’s solo shot in the 7th, but by then the Vikings had added 4 more runs two unearned on a Eddie Rosario double in the 5th scoring Para who singled and Juan Soto who reached on Goldschmidt’s error and two more on a Rizzo single in the 7th scoring Soto who had singled and Para who had reached on a fielder choice. Whit Merrifield’s three run shot in the 8th sealed the deal closing the curtain on Rivertown’s six game winning streak.

Notes: All but one of Rivertown’s hits off of Jacob deGrom were for extra bases. Ragnar’s Vikings hit three balls against an 18 mph wind blowing in. Paul Goldschmidt finally had a bad day going 0-4 and committing an error but still ended the game hitting .348 meaning Jose Ramirez 2-4 with 2 RBI’s only managed to bring his avg to .196. Whit Merrifield managed 3 hits and 3 RBI but was caught stealing for the 3rd time this season. Ragnar’s Vikings welcome Washington next while Rivertown travels to LA.

Juneau 7 Boston 5

After a wild nine innings where Boston and Juneau punched out 23 hits against 9 pitchers the Juneau Muffin men punched slightly harder completing the sweep of Boston with a 7-5 win.

The hit parade began quietly in the 1st when Harrison Bader led the game off with a double off Dallas Keuchel (L 1-1) he moved to 2nd on an Andrelton Simmon’s grounder to short and scored on a 2nd Grounder by Mookie Betts and it was 1-0.

In the bottom of the inning Boston began things in earnest. Jose Altuve Singled and with one out JD Martinez shot a double to right, Altuve motored home ahead of the throw to tie the game allowing Martinez to reach 3rd on the throw. but with the infield drawn in Christian Yelich’s grounder to 1st couldn’t socre JD and after a walk to Alex Bergman Jose Berrios K’d Rhys Hoskins to leave it at 1-1.

It didn’t stay there in the top of the 2nd Matt Chapman walked with two outs, Andrew Benintendi singled to center, sending Chapman to 3rd and Buster Posey doubled to right scoring them both and Bader singled to left Driving in Posey and suddenly the score was 4-1.

It wasn’t enough in the Bottom of the 3rd Ben Zorbrist and JD opened the inning with singles and Berrios walked Christin Yelich to load the bases. Alex Bregman hit the next pitch to right falling in for a double Zbrist and Martinez scored easily and Yelich beat the throw clearing the bases and sending Bergman to 3rd and Berrios to the showers.

Yoshihisa Hirano (W 1-0) came in coaxed a grounder from Hoskins to first but Joey Votto bobbled the ball allowing Hoskins to reach and Bergman to score and it was 5-4.

But Keuchel couldn’t hold it, Chapman singled to start the 4th Benintendi walked and a Posey grounder put them on 2nd and 3rd with one out. One out later Simmons singled to left scoring them both and Juneau was back on top 6-5.

Juneau had a chance to increase the lead in the 5th. Brock Holt doubled with one out and with two out Matt Chapman singled to center Holt motored around 3rd but Roland Acuna Jr came up throwing to nail Holt at the plate to keep the deficit at one.

Juneau returned the favor right away. Hoskins walked with one out and JT. Realmuto smashed a double off the wall in left Mookie Betts played bounce off the monster perfectly and Hoskins trying to tie the game was a dead duck.

Boston had another chance in the 7th. Martinez singled to open the inning and with two outs Hoskins was grazed by a Joakim Soria curve. Acuna Jr. guessed a fastball was next and drilled it to left for a single but JD remembering Hoskins fate at the hands of Betts held at third allowing Soria to get out of the inning on a curve the Realmuto missed for strike three.

Betts did more damage in the 9th when with Salvador Perez and Simmons on with a pair of singles, he plated Perez with a single of his own giving Boston a two run edge. In the bottom of the inning Martinez singled to right off Trevor Bauer bringign the tying run to the plate with nobody out but Trevor Bauer (S1) fanned Yelich and despite the speedly David Fletcher running for Martinez the Muffen men were still able to convert the 4-6-3 double play on Alex Bregman’s sharp grounder to end the game.

Notes: Despite 23 hits between the two clubs neither team was able to put a ball out, partially due to the 16 mph wind blowing in. Juneau unexpectedly lost the DH in the 4th when they pulled 2nd baseman Scooter Gennett in the top of the inning shifting Holt to 2nd and putting their DH Andrelton Simmons at short. There was speculation that Gennett might have had soreness after his atbat but Mgr Carden indicated it had nothing to do with an injury. While 7 relievers worked a combined 12 innings giving up 10 hits and a walk between them they only gave up a single run. Juneau takes their winning streak to NY while Boston hosts the Rivertown Raiders next.

Sable/Gerbl Day 13: Texas tags Tanaka, Senators blank Dodgers, Rivertown makes it 6, Holt halts Boston

Texas 12 NYY 10 (11 innings)

Michael Brantley 10th inning single off of reliever Masahiro Tanaka made a loser out of Aroldis Chapman and a winner out the the Thunder as Texas edged NY in a wild game by the score of 12-10 in or the 2nd time.

For four innings it seemed we would have a pitchers duel between Yankees lefty C. C Sabathia who would give up a solo shot in the top of the 3rd to Francisco Lindor and Kyle Freeland who after a walk to Greg Bird to start the bottom of the inning and hitting Adeiny Hechavarria with two out gave up a single to Giancarlo Stanton which tied it up.

But the Wheels started coming off in the 5th for both pitchers. Sabathia started the inning hitting back to back batters (Jackie Bradley JR and Lindor) and then turned an infield single by Yuri Gurriel into disaster when he rushed a throw to 1st in the vain hope of getting him. Bradley & Lindor scored and Gurriel ended up on 2nd. After a Nolan Arenado single sent him to 3rd she scored on a fielder’s choice that erased Arenado and put Mike Trout on 1st. He would go to 2nd when CC hit Freddie Freeman (the 3rd man hit in the inning) and would score on Ryan Brawn’s single to left making it 5-1. That was enough for the Yanks who brought in Zach Britton who closed out the 5th before the rout was on.

Freeland gave one of the four back in the bottom of the inning on a two out single by Glyber Torres that send Mike Judge who had doubled and gone to third on Hechavarria’s single but Britton gave it back when Freddie Freeman (K) would be the only man he would retire out of the seven he would face in the sixth letting Bradley JR (HBP) Lindor (Single) Gurriel (Homer 3 BI) Arenado (single) and Trout (Double) before getting that 1st out. Once Javier Baez singled in both Arenado and Trout it was 10-2 and David Robertson came in with the expectation of saving the bullpen in a rout.

That expectation vanished as having been given a 8 run lead Freeland seemed determined to give it back. Like Briton he would face seven batters in the sixth and like Britton it would be a disaster. Miguel Andujar started it with a homer and Aaron Hicks followed with a single. After Bird k’d Romine singled and Judge walked loading the bases. Heckavarra fielders choice got Judge Freeland his 2nd out (Judge) and NY its 3rd run (Hicks) but Giancarlo Stanton’s single drove in Romine and chased Freeland. Jonny Venters came in with a five run lead needing only one more out to strand the runners and preserve a five run lead.

He couldn’t He hit Torres to load the bases for Luke Volt whose grand slam turned an inning that started as a 10-2 laugher into a 10-9 battle.

He nearly lost that battle hitting Andjar and walking Hicks before Bird who k’d for the 1st out of the inning made the last with a grounder to 2nd.

Now facing a squeaker instead of mop-up time David Robertson came through retiring Texas in the sixth and when Austin Romine doubled off of Keone Kela (B1) to start the seventh and Pinch Hitter Didi Gregorius doubled him in with one out to tie the game he had the chance to be the pitcher of record for a win, but it was not to be. Kela k’ed pinch hitter Walker and retired Torres to perserve the tie if not the lead.

It would stay that way as the teams which had scored 20 runs already could only manage one hit and three walks (one intentional) through the 8th, 9th and 10th. Then in the 11th Aroldis Chapman (L 0-1) Hit Freeman with one out. Baez singled and after a fielders choice erased him and put Ryan Braun on 1st Tucker Barnhart walked to load the bases. Masahiro Tanaka came in to relieve Chapman and Michael Brantley came in to relieve Bradley Jr and poked a single into center field scoring Freemana and Brawn giving Texas a two run lead which would Felipe Vazquez (W 1-0) would hold for the win.

Notes. Other than an intentionanl walk in the 10. Felipe Vasquez would retire all six men he faced the final five by strikeout. A total of six men would be hit by pitches in this game, three by each team and Freddy Freeman twice. Both teams would go 6-16 with runners in scoring position. Texas has played in 3 extra inning games going 2-1 It’s Lance Lynn (1-1) for NY vs Mike Clevinger (2-0) in the finale.

Senators 4 Dodgers 0

DJ LeMahieu and and Corey Dickerson’s solo shots were all that Washington needed as Jose Quintana and Bobby Poyner combined on a four hit shutout blanking LA 4-0 in game of of their two game series.

LeMahieu’s shot of Hyun-Jin-Ryu (L 2-1) put LA behind to start but Ryu and the defense would keep it close spoiling repeated Washington rallies in the 2nd 3rd and in the 7th with some help from Pat Vendette. that would be more than enough as Jose Quintana (2-0) confounded the Dodgers though most of the game

LA’s best chance to tie came in the 2nd. With two out Austin Barnes drove a ball to center. Delino DeShields in his 1st start since being called up playing deep rushed in and dove for the low line drive he missed the ball, Barnes ended upon 2nd and DeShields ended up having to be helped off the field. Cody Bellinger and Ruy walked loading the bases but David Freese grounder ended the threat.

After Dickerson’s solo shot in the 5th LA next best threat came in the sixth. Machado led off with a single, went to 2nd on Christian Vasquez’s passed ball. Matt Kemp walked putting runners on 1st & 2nd with nobody out, but Quintana retired Chris Taylor on a fly and k’d Yasmani Grandal and Barnes to finish it. He would pitch 8 innings only being pulled in the 9th for a pinch hitter Nick Markakis with Billy Hamilton on 2nd after a walk and stolen base. Barnes would muff Markakis grounder which gave Corey Dickerson the chance to single home Hamilton and Rendon the chance to single home Markakis to give Washington a four rather than a 2 run lead to protect in the ninth which was more than enough.

Notes: Delino Deshields was sent for an MRI after the game and even before the results were it was announced that he would be heading for the DL. The only question is if he will be back before the September callups. Martin Maldonado was reactivited from the DL and should be able to start in tomorrow game. With two centerfielders (DeShields & Marte ) on the DL expect to see Kevin Kiermaier called up from the minors to back up Hamilton. With Maldonado becoming the 4th catcher expect to see either Matt Wieters or Christian Vasquez of Blake Swihart sent down to make room for him. Tomorrow LA will throw Alex Wood (0-1) against Washington while the Senators will answer with Reynaldo Lopez (1-0)

Rivertown 4 Vikings 3

Rivertown came back from two deficits and held off a 9th inning Viking assault to come away with a 4-3 victory over King Ragnar’s men for their sixth straight.

the Vikings stuck 1st in the 1st against Jack Flaherty (W 2-0) Whit Merrifield singled to right and immediately stole 2nd and 3rd allowing him to score on Geraldo Parra’s fly to left making it 1-0.

In the bottom of the 3rd Rivertown came back. Jack Flaherty singled to center and was replaced at 1st by Lorenzo Cain on a fielder choice. Cain who had been caught stealing in the 1st was more successful the end time around stealing 2nd and scoring on Paul Goldschmidt’s single to tie things at 1.

They didn’t stay tied for long in the top of the 4th Juan Soto singled, stole 2nd and moved to 3rd on an Anthony Rizzo grounder. After a Ramos walk Eddie Rosario singled to right scoring Soto and sending Ramos to 2nd. Mallex Smith replaced Ramso at 2nd but the Vikings could have saved the swap because Flaherty stuck out Escoba and Segura’s hard shot went right to the shortstop to leave things at 2-1.

In the 6th the Raiders broke through on Garret Cole (L 2-1) David Peralta Tripled in Jose Ramirez who walked and took 2nd on an errant pickoff throw by Cole to tie the game. Nelson Cruz followed with a single of his own and Rivertown was up 3-2. A Yadier Molina single and a Paul DeJong walk loaded the bases for Pitcher Flaherty who would face reliver Vizcaino. With the bases loaded and one out Rivertown surprisingly choose to let Flaherty bat. With everyone running he laid down a bunt in front of the plate, rather than taking the sure out at 1st Diaz dove toward Cruz with the ball but he dodged the tag with a perfect hook slide and the based remained loaded with the score 4-2 and only one out. Rivertown was unable to capitalize further. Cain’s fly to left wasn’t deep enough to score Molina and Matt Carpenter stuck out swinging to end threat. There it stayed till then 9th when Closer Edwin Diaz (S5) gave up a one out gopher to Eduardo Escobar to make it a one run game but Segura lied out and pinch hitter Ramon Laureano stuck out swinging to end the Vikings’ last chance:

Notes: The Vikings stole three bases against Flaherty and Molina while Rivertown managed only one along with a caught stealing. Every stolen base resulted in a run. Flaherty had a single to go along with his rbi fielders choice getting him to the mendoza line. Paul Goldschmidt continues hit hot streak going 2-3 with a walk and a RBI hitting .381

Juneau 5 Boston 4

German Marquez lasted just long enough for Brock Holt’s pinch hit shot to give Juneau the edge as the Muffin Men won their 3rd straight with a 5-4 win over Boston.

Juneau got started early when Jhoulys Chacin hit Andrew Benintendi to start things off. Andrelton Simmons follwed with a single to send him to 3rd and one out later Shohei Ohtani beat out a potential double play ball allowing Benintendi to score the 1st run. Two innings later Juneau again scored on an out, when Simmons grounder drove in Salvador Perez who had doubled and moved to 2nd on Benintendi’s single but once again Chacin was able to get out of the jam without further damage.

In the bottom of the 3rd Boston struck back. J.T. Realmuto led off with a single and Nick Ahmed doubled to right to send him to 3rd. German Marquez (W 1-1) managed to stike out Jose Altuve but Ben Sobrist singled to right scoring both Realmuto and Ahmed and just like that it was 2-2.

In the 4th Boston stuck again. Rhys Hoskins shot a one out single and was replaced on the bases by Ronald Acuna Jr. on a fielders choice. This was key as with two out Realmuto doubled to left and the speedy Acuna Jr motered home from 1st to give Boston a 3-2 lead but the lead didn’t last as Andrew Benintendi connected with a Chacin curve with two out in the fifth and the game was once again knotted at 3.

In the bottom of the 6th Hoskins gave Boston and Eduardo Rodriguez who spelled Chacin the lead again with a towering shot to left over everything but with two outs Benintendi was hit for the 2nd time and Rodriguez was pulled for Collin McHugh (L 0-1) and Juneau countered with Brock Holt for Andrelton Simmons whose shot while not quite as deep as Hoskins came with a man on giving Juno that 5-4 edge. Mookie Betts followed with a double but Ohtani ground out to end the threat.

Joakim Soria came in and retired six straight before walking Alex Bregman to start the 9th. Josh Hader (S1) came in to relieve Soria and with the go ahead run at the plate struck out the side for his 1st save.

Notes: Andrew Benintendi was hit twice and scored both times. Despite going 2-3 with a Home Run Manager LaFlam pinch hit for Rhys Hoskins with Kris Bryant in the 9th. The 1-3 hitters for Juneau went 7-12 with 4 runs scored and 4 RBI’s while the 4-9 hitters only manged one hit in 22 at bats. It will be Dallas Keuchel (1-0) for Boston against Jose Berrios (1-0) for Juneau.