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

cknox0723 · 11-13-2005, 09:04 AM

It's a Wednesday in the game, but it may as well be a lonely Friday night, 'cause that's how we're left feeling after this one. A matchup of Esteban Loaiza and Cleveland's southpaw ace Clifford Bartosh would have only been described as ugly based on last year's stats (8-16, 5.32 ERA for Esteban; 20 wins and a mark just over two runs per nine frames for "Big Red Clifford"), but this year they're much more even, in that Esteban doesn't suck quite as much. And what is, all in all, a pretty good pitching matchup turns out to be exactly that.

Problem is, we're on the short end once someone finally gets on the board. Joe Crede (remember him?) leads off the fifth by blasting a fat slider into the cheap seats in left putting the first tally of the game on the board in Cleveland's column. Center fielder Corey Patterson goes yard two batters later to make it 2-0, Bad Guys. That's all the give Esteban's got, but we never muster anything against Bartosh, who about drives this puppy all the way home. After twenty-six outs, three hits, and a lone walk are on the board for our side, Bartosh gets a pat on the butt (not that there's anything wrong with that) and a jump start on a hot shower, and Raffy Betancourt comes out of the 'pen to tackle Eric Munson pinch-hitting, our last hope. His first pitch flies past Victor Martinez back to the screen, but the next pitch is so straight and true, it's as if that first inappropriate offering never happened. Munson doesn't swing at that second pitch and first strike, presumably because he didn't expect Betancourt to hit the strike zone after such a poor first pitch. He should have. Quickly forced into a two-strike hole simply by the intertwining laws of physics and probability, "The Munson Burner" is forced to swing at something much less than a hitter's pitch, a 2-2 slider on the outside half. He's not aiming to put that sort of pitch in play, just keep the A.B. alive, but the sphere caroms off his hunk of wood and flies harmlessly in the air out to center field, where Corey Patterson bags it like the speediest of cashiers (ha! oxymoron alert!) with a gallon of milk. Back to the home clubhouse we trudge, still waiting for that hit and that rally that just never came. See, now there's the problem with waiting for late comebacks.

11-13-2005, 09:04 AM	#605
cknox0723 All Star Starter Join Date: May 2003 Location: NJ Posts: 1,957	two by two It's a Wednesday in the game, but it may as well be a lonely Friday night, 'cause that's how we're left feeling after this one. A matchup of Esteban Loaiza and Cleveland's southpaw ace Clifford Bartosh would have only been described as ugly based on last year's stats (8-16, 5.32 ERA for Esteban; 20 wins and a mark just over two runs per nine frames for "Big Red Clifford"), but this year they're much more even, in that Esteban doesn't suck quite as much. And what is, all in all, a pretty good pitching matchup turns out to be exactly that. Problem is, we're on the short end once someone finally gets on the board. Joe Crede (remember him?) leads off the fifth by blasting a fat slider into the cheap seats in left putting the first tally of the game on the board in Cleveland's column. Center fielder Corey Patterson goes yard two batters later to make it 2-0, Bad Guys. That's all the give Esteban's got, but we never muster anything against Bartosh, who about drives this puppy all the way home. After twenty-six outs, three hits, and a lone walk are on the board for our side, Bartosh gets a pat on the butt (not that there's anything wrong with that) and a jump start on a hot shower, and Raffy Betancourt comes out of the 'pen to tackle Eric Munson pinch-hitting, our last hope. His first pitch flies past Victor Martinez back to the screen, but the next pitch is so straight and true, it's as if that first inappropriate offering never happened. Munson doesn't swing at that second pitch and first strike, presumably because he didn't expect Betancourt to hit the strike zone after such a poor first pitch. He should have. Quickly forced into a two-strike hole simply by the intertwining laws of physics and probability, "The Munson Burner" is forced to swing at something much less than a hitter's pitch, a 2-2 slider on the outside half. He's not aiming to put that sort of pitch in play, just keep the A.B. alive, but the sphere caroms off his hunk of wood and flies harmlessly in the air out to center field, where Corey Patterson bags it like the speediest of cashiers (ha! oxymoron alert!) with a gallon of milk. Back to the home clubhouse we trudge, still waiting for that hit and that rally that just never came. See, now there's the problem with waiting for late comebacks.