OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Yet Another OOTP6 Dynasty, Year 2: One Flew Over the Pale Hose

cknox0723 · 06-30-2005, 05:17 PM

game xiv - cle (6-8) @ chw (3-10)

last year: bartender...jack. magglio walks us off the field in the bottom of the tenth after joe roa bails out p.j. bevis in the ninth. how very, very, very interesting.

p.s. - we claimed raul gonzalez off waivers at this time last year. nice pickup for 50 large, GM!

this year: j. beckett (1-1, 3.59) vs. j. rauch (0-1, 7.45)

If you're Jon Rauch, what makes you come to the stadium for a game like this? It's a foregone conclusion that we're not going to score any runs against Josh Beckett, and our six foot, ten inch friend is only so far from going back to Charlotte. An 0-2 record ain't gonna help his case much. So what can he do, except throw a no-hitter?

Apparently Rauch feels the answer is to nibble at the strike zone and keep the ball out and up, because he gets three straight fly balls out to Magglio Ordonez to make for a quick first inning, and then another two outs in the air in the second. Ordonez has five put-outs by the end of the third, and incredibly enough, Vazquez and Kennedy have singles while the whole of Cleveland's lineup doesn't. It's a trifle frustrating that their base-knocks came two innings apart, but this isn't a game we're destined to win, anyway.

But don't tell that to Jon Rauch. Two infield pop-ups make for quick outs in the top of the fourth, and then "Odysseus" Gerut bounces one to Frank Thomas. Twelve up, twelve down, and he's hardly even laboring. I can understand why centerfielder Corey Patterson or shortstop Angel Berroa might have trouble -- they're free swingers, Rauch doesn't exactly have pinpoint control, and he's standing about five stories tall out on the mound. But Shannon Stewart and Jody Gerut can both really hit, regardless of the pitcher, and this is not Greg Maddux or even an enigmatic guy like Rick Ankiel here.

But we have seen this before, down to a T -- Rauch threw five shutout innings in the first major league start of his career last May 27th, and he got credited with the win when Frank Thomas, pinch-hitting in the pitcher's spot, broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth with a jack to left. We added to that lead in the eighth inning, with the ribbies going to Joe Borchard and Miguel Olivo. Shingo Takatsu (remember him?) cleaned up Kiko Calero's mess in the ninth, getting three straight fly ball outs, and the world was introduced to the newest wunderkind. a link, for the curious and the not-so-weary.

And as Rauch faces the chance of being sent down to triple-A, he's upping his own ante some eleven months later. Ben Broussard leads off the fifth with a simple three-hopper to second. Shannon Stewart lofts a fly ball out to Magglio, who squeezes it before it strikes the green, green grass for the sixth time today.

Fourteen up, fourteen down. He's more than halfway there. Good thing he came to the stadium today, huh?

06-30-2005, 05:17 PM	#485
cknox0723 All Star Starter Join Date: May 2003 Location: NJ Posts: 1,957	the inevitability of night game xiv - cle (6-8) @ chw (3-10) last year: bartender...jack. magglio walks us off the field in the bottom of the tenth after joe roa bails out p.j. bevis in the ninth. how very, very, very interesting. p.s. - we claimed raul gonzalez* off waivers at this time last year. nice pickup for 50 large, GM!* this year: j. beckett (1-1, 3.59) vs. j. rauch (0-1, 7.45) If you're Jon Rauch, what makes you come to the stadium for a game like this? It's a foregone conclusion that we're not going to score any runs against Josh Beckett, and our six foot, ten inch friend is only so far from going back to Charlotte. An 0-2 record ain't gonna help his case much. So what can he do, except throw a no-hitter? Apparently Rauch feels the answer is to nibble at the strike zone and keep the ball out and up, because he gets three straight fly balls out to Magglio Ordonez to make for a quick first inning, and then another two outs in the air in the second. Ordonez has five put-outs by the end of the third, and incredibly enough, Vazquez and Kennedy have singles while the whole of Cleveland's lineup doesn't. It's a trifle frustrating that their base-knocks came two innings apart, but this isn't a game we're destined to win, anyway. But don't tell that to Jon Rauch. Two infield pop-ups make for quick outs in the top of the fourth, and then "Odysseus" Gerut bounces one to Frank Thomas. Twelve up, twelve down, and he's hardly even laboring. I can understand why centerfielder Corey Patterson or shortstop Angel Berroa might have trouble -- they're free swingers, Rauch doesn't exactly have pinpoint control, and he's standing about five stories tall out on the mound. But Shannon Stewart and Jody Gerut can both really hit, regardless of the pitcher, and this is not Greg Maddux or even an enigmatic guy like Rick Ankiel here. But we have seen this before, down to a T -- Rauch threw five shutout innings in the first major league start of his career last May 27th, and he got credited with the win when Frank Thomas, pinch-hitting in the pitcher's spot, broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth with a jack to left. We added to that lead in the eighth inning, with the ribbies going to Joe Borchard and Miguel Olivo. Shingo Takatsu (remember him?) cleaned up Kiko Calero's mess in the ninth, getting three straight fly ball outs, and the world was introduced to the newest wunderkind. a link, for the curious and the not-so-weary. And as Rauch faces the chance of being sent down to triple-A, he's upping his own ante some eleven months later. Ben Broussard leads off the fifth with a simple three-hopper to second. Shannon Stewart lofts a fly ball out to Magglio, who squeezes it before it strikes the green, green grass for the sixth time today. Fourteen up, fourteen down. He's more than halfway there. Good thing he came to the stadium today, huh? Last edited by cknox0723; 06-30-2005 at 05:19 PM.