2007 Kansas City Royals - Here we go Again

[Dauis]

6/12/2007
Game #64 – Kansas City (Z. Greinke 2-10, 7.35 ERA) at Los Angeles (A) Angels (E. Santana 5-3, 4.45 ERA)
Kansas City 6
Los Angeles (A) 7
W: S. Shields (5-2) L: J. Soria (0-2)
HR – KC: M. Teahen (13)

Ugh. What a frustrating finish. Greinke went 8 innings and gave up 4 runs on 11 hits and 1 walk and struck out 4. Not the greatest numbers, but it was enough to take a 6-4 lead into the ninth, where he handed it off to Soria. This is how the 9th went:

Quinlan walked on 4 straight. Figgins grounded out to first, advancing Quinlan to 2nd. Kendrick doubled to score Quinlan. Guerrero singled to score Kendrick and tie the game. Peralta came in to pitch to Konerko and threw a wild pitch on the 2nd pitch to allow Vlad to advance to third. Then Konerko did all he needed to do and flew out to center, and Vlad tagged up and scored the winning run.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Tampa Bay 6
Cleveland 2
W: E. Gonzalez (3-5) L: P. Byrd (6-6)
HR – TBA: G. Norton (1), T. Wigginton (11)

Eric Hinske will miss the next 2 weeks for the Devil Rays after straining his hamstring.

New York (A) 4
Boston 2
W: A. Pettitte (8-0) L: C. Schilling (5-5) S: L. Vizcaino (2)
HR – NYA: J. Damon (11), B. Abreu (9)

Minnesota 2
Seattle 4
W: J. Washburn (6-5) L: C. Silva (8-4) S: J. Putz (9)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Milwaukee 7
Pittsburgh 8
W: B. Meadows (3-1) L: D. Marte (0-3)
HR – MIL: G. Jenkins (4), P. Fielder (7), M. St. Pierre (4) PIT: J. Bautista (12), R. Paulino (7)

Los Angeles (N) 6
Atlanta 7
W: M. Gonzalez (2-3) L: R. Seanez (0-2)
HR – ATL: C. Jones (15)

[Dauis]

6/13/2007
TRADE
The Milwaukee Brewers have sent 26-year-old reliever Jose Capellan to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for 22-year-old minor league starting pitcher Chris Mason and 23-year-old minor league shortstop Sam O Slevin. An above-average pitching prospect and a shortstop prospect for a middle reliever with a 7.13 ERA? No wonder Tampa is in last and will be that way for a while.

Game #65 – Kansas City (O. Perez 5-4, 6.15 ERA) at Los Angeles (A) (J. Lackey 4-2, 4.50 ERA)
Kansas City 3
Los Angeles (A) 6
W: J. Lackey (5-2) L: O. Perez (5-5) S: F. Rodriguez (18)
HR – KCA: C. Koskie (10) LAA: G. Matthews Jr. (5), V. Guerrero (10), M. Napoli (12)

We were never in this one. Odalis only lasted 3.2 innings and gave up 5 runs. Vlad went 3-4 with a home run, a run scored, and 3 RBIs to lead the Angels.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Tampa Bay 3
Cleveland 5
W: C. Sabathia (5-8) L: J. Blanton (2-4) S: R. Betancourt (14)

New York (A) 4
Boston 7
W: D. Matsuzaka (8-7) L: C. Pavano (3-7) S: C. Hansen (10)
HR – NYA: C. Kopitzke (1) BOS: D. Ortiz (22), J. Lugo (5), H. Choi (5)

Detroit 6
Toronto 1
W: J. Mesa (2-1) L: R. Halladay (5-6)

Tigers pitcher Jeremy Bonderman will miss the next 2 weeks with back spasms.

Baltimore 6
Chicago (A) 7
W: D. Bush (7-4) L: E. Bedard (7-5) S: B. Jenks (12)
HR – BAL: M. Tejada (10) CHA: J. Dye (18), J. Crede (8), B. Jacobsen (1)

Texas 8
Oakland 0
W: K. Millwood (8-4) L: D. Haren (5-6)
HR – TEX: G. Laird (4), H. Blalock (6)

Kevin Millwood had a strong outing, holding Oakland to only 4 hits. He had 7 strikeouts and 3 walks.

Minnesota 2
Seattle 1
W: J. Santana (11-3) L: F. Hernandez (4-10) S: J. Nathan (20)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Milwaukee 1
Pittsburgh 2
W: I. Snell (3-6) L: J. Suppan (2-7) S: M. Capps (11)

New York (N) 5
Philadelphia 2
W: G. Mota (5-1) L: B. Myers (4-6) S: B. Wagner (18)
HR – NYN: J. Reyes (14), C. Beltran (8)

Florida 6
Washington 3
W: S. Olsen (2-3) L: C. Cordero (1-2) S: J. Julio (18)
HR – FLO: M. Olivo (13), M. Jacobs (16)

Cincinnati 2
Chicago (N) 5
W: C. Zambrano (11-2) L: A. Harang (8-4) S: B. Howry (14)
HR – CHN: M. Barrett (15), A. Soriano (16)

Houston 8
St. Louis 6
W: R. Oswalt (7-3) L: B. Chen (5-7) S: B. Lidge (2)
HR – HOU: C. Burke (6) STL: P. Ozuna (5)

Colorado 6
Arizona 2
W: B. Kim (3-4) L: B. Webb (4-7)
HR – COL: T. Helton (12), G. Atkins (18)

San Francisco 1
San Diego 10
W: C. Carillo (5-4) L: N. Lowry (2-9)
HR – SDN: J. Cruz Jr. (4), M. Cameron (8), K. Kouzmanoff (7)

Los Angeles (N) 4
Atlanta 2 (10)
W: T. Saito (3-1) L: C. Hammond (2-1)
HR – ATL: C. Jones (16)

[Dauis]

6/14/2007
Game #66 – Kansas City (J. Bale 3-5, 6.36 ERA) at Los Angeles (A) (J. Weaver 6-4, 4.13 ERA)
Kansas City 0
Los Angeles (A) 6
W: J. Weaver (7-4) L: J. Bale (3-6) S: S. Shields (1)
HR – LAA: J. Rivera (12), P. Konerko 2 (11)

Our offense disappeared in this one. Weaver allowed only 4 hits and struck out 10 in 7 innings of work. Paul Konerko was the player of the game, going 3-4 with 2 home runs, 2 runs scored, and 4 RBIs.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Tampa Bay 7
Cleveland 6
W: D. Miceli (1-3) L: E. Mujica (2-1) S: A. Reyes (12)
HR – TBA: T. Wigginton (12) CLE: V. Martinez (9)

New York (A) 0
Boston 11
W: J. Beckett (4-2) L: C. Wang (10-5)
HR – BOS: C. Crisp (5)

Fenway park was rocking as the Red Sox shut out the Yankees behind the pitching of Josh Beckett. He had 8 strikeouts, 2 walks, and allowed 4 hits.

Detroit 8
Toronto 1
W: N. Robertson (6-5) L: J. Thomson (1-7)
HR – DET: C. Guillen (7), C. Shelton (3), R. Raburn (8)

Baltimore 1
Chicago (A) 3
W: J. Contreras (6-4) L: J. Wright (4-5) S: B. Jenks (13)
HR – CHA: J. Crede (9)

Texas 8
Oakland 3
W: V. Padilla (8-3) L: B. Halsey (3-4)
HR – TEX: M. Byrd (4), B. Wilkerson (10), I. Kinsler (7)

Oakland outfielder Jonny Gomes will miss 4 weeks due to a pinched nerve in his neck.

Minnesota 3
Seattle 4 (12)
W: J. Mateo (2-2) L: J. Crain (1-2)
HR – MIN: J. Morneau (23) SEA: J. Guillen (7), R. Sexson (11), K. Johjima (3)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Milwaukee 4
Pittsburgh 6
W: S. Burnett (3-0) L: C. Vargas (2-9) S: M. Capps (12)
HR – PIT: J. Wilson (1)

New York (N) 0
Philadelphia 4
W: R. Madson (2-5) L: J. Maine (3-6) S: T. Harper (1)
HR – PHI: J. Rollins (14), W. Lydon (5)

Florida 2
Washington 4
W: J. Patterson (9-4) L: P. Astacio (4-6) S: L. Ayala (18)
HR – WSH: A. Kearns (8)

Cincinnati 2
Chicago (N) 3
W: S. Marshall (3-1) L: E. Guardado (3-7)
HR – CIN: R. Sanders (5), R. Freel (5) CHN: D. Ward (6)

Houston 2
St. Louis 3
W: M. Mulder (3-2) L: C. Qualls (1-3) S: B. Looper (16)
HR – HOU: M. Lamb (6)

Colorado 8
Arizona 6
W: R. Ramirez (5-1) L: L. Hernandez (4-5) S: B. Fuentes (14)
HR – ARI: R. Garko (14)

San Francisco 2
San Diego 6
W: C. Young (7-2) L: M. Cain (5-5)
HR – SFN: R. Aurilia (10) SDN: J. Bard (6)

Los Angeles (N) 6
Atlanta 4
W: D. Lowe (4-6) L: O. Villarreal (2-1) S: J. Beimel (2)
HR – LAN: R. Furcal (2), J. Kent (4) ATL: C. Jones (17)

[Dauis]

DRAFT PREVIEW
We have the 7th pick in the draft. The top 10 players ranked by SION are:
1. Benny Caminero, 16-year-old starting pitcher
2. Max Scherzer, 22-year-old starting pitcher
3. Andrew Miller, 22-year-old starting pitcher
4. Byron Weightman, 17-year-old second baseman
5. Rodrigo Saborit, 18-year-old starting pitcher
6. Carlos Hernandez, 16-year-old starting pitcher
7. Jeff Teek, 17-year-old reliever
8. Fermin Moran, 16-year-old starting pitcher
9. Luis Aboytes, 16-year-old right fielder
10. Sextus Graves, 21-year-old first baseman

ROYALS POSITIONAL STRENGTH REPORT
Catchers – 12th
First Baseman – 27th
Second Basemen – 15th
Third Basemen – 3rd
Shortstops – 2nd
Left Fielders – 1st
Center Fielders – 16th
Right Fielders – 20th
Starting Pitchers – 10th
Relievers – 23rd
Closers – 28th

These rankings are the overall rankings, which take into account both the current team and prospects. Looks like our biggest weaknesses are in the bullpen and at first base.

[Dauis]

DRAFT REVIEW
I think we had a pretty decent draft. We took 16-year-old center fielder Anastasio Turrey with our first pick. He’s a speedster who can also hit for pretty good power. With our second pick we took 16-year-old first baseman Miguel Plaza. He’s a great contact hitter with above-average power. 19-year-old catcher Max Sapp was our third selection. He has decent contact with pretty good power. Our fourth round pick was 17-year-old starting pitcher Pancho Trevino. He’s a back-of-the-rotation control guy. In the 5th round we took 18-year-old spray hitting second baseman Augusto Martinez.

POST-DRAFT POSITIONAL STRENGTH REPORT
Catchers – 15th
First Basemen – 25th
Second Basemen – 22nd
Third Basemen – 5th
Shortstops – 1st
Left Fielders – 7th
Center Fielders – 5th
Right Fielders – 24th
Starting Pitchers – 16th
Relievers – 18th
Closers – 29th

We used most of our picks on position players. I felt we could acquire pitching through trades, and felt we had quite a few decent pitching prospects as it is.

[Dauis]

6/15/2007
Game #67 – Kansas City (J. Gobble 3-5, 5.30 ERA) at Los Angeles (A) (B. Colon 1-8, 5.03 ERA)
Kansas City 14
Los Angeles (A) 3
W: J. Gobble (4-5) L: B. Colon (1-9)
HR – KC: D. Ross (11), C. Koskie 3 (13), S. Spiezio (20), C. Clapinski (1) LAA: J. Rivera (13), R. Quinlan (8)

What a game for Corey Koskie. He went 4-5 with 3 home runs, 4 runs scored, and 7 RBIs. It’s good to get one of these blowout wins every once in a while.

AMERICAN LEAGUE SCORES
Tampa Bay 4
Cleveland 5
W: J. Borowski (3-2) L: P. Maholm (3-11) S: E. Mujica (1)

New York (A) 5
Boston 3 (12)
W: S. Proctor (1-1) L: S. Strickland (1-6)
HR – NYA: J. Posada (10), T. Long (7), J. Giambi (11)

Detroit 4
Toronto 7
W: J. Towers (8-2) L: C. Durbin (1-2) S: B. Ryan (7)
HR – DET: M. Ordonez (5), C. Granderson (6) TOR: V. Wells 2 (12)

Baltimore 4
Chicago (A) 5
W: J. Vazquez (5-4) L: H. Penn (1-1) S: E. Rodriguez (1)
HR – BAL: A. Huff (8), N. Markakis (7)

Texas 3
Oakland 8
W: E. Loaiza (4-6) L: K. Loe (2-10)
HR – TEX: H. Blalock (7), M. Teixeira (12)

Minnesota 9
Seattle 4
W: R. Ortiz (3-1) L: H. Ramirez (2-6)
HR – MIN: Morneau (24), M. Cuddyer (6)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
New York (N) 1
Philadelphia 2 (11)
W: G. Geary (3-2) L: A. Burgos (1-1)

Florida 9
Washington 4
W: T. Bowyer (3-1) L: J. Williams (2-7)
HR – FLO: M. Olivo (14), J. Willingham (6), M. Jacobs (17) WSH: N. Johnson (8)

Cincinnati 5
Chicago (N) 7
W: M. Wuertz (3-3) L: J. Rauch (3-2) S: B. Howry (15)
HR – CIN: E. Encarnacion (10) CHN: A. Ramirez (15), D. Lee (10), A. Soriano (17)

Houston 8
St. Louis 5
W: W. Williams (7-2) L: G. Meche (5-4) S: D. Wheeler (13)
HR – HOU: E. Bruntlett (10), W. Young (10), L. Scott (5) STL: A. Pujols (18), J. Edmonds 2 (6)

Colorado 2
Arizona 3
W: R. Johnson (8-2) L: J. Francis (4-8) S: J. Valverde (15)

San Francisco 7
San Diego 2
W: P. Liriano (1-0) L: J. Peavy (7-7)
HR – SFN: R. Klesko (8), B. Broussard (7)

Los Angeles (N) 8
Atlanta 6 (12)
W: Y. Brazoban (4-2) L: C. Paronto (3-2)
HR – LAN: A. Ethier (3), J. Loney (6) ATL: K. Johnson (7)

Braves reliever Rafael Soriano will miss 3-4 weeks with a damaged meniscus.

[Powderguy]

Good job so far writing about your team. I'm about to start a Devil Rays dynasty thread so I will definitely feel your pain when it comes to pitching.

Also, do you play each one of the Royals games out pitch by pitch?

[Dauis]

Originally Posted by Powderguy

Good job so far writing about your team. I'm about to start a Devil Rays dynasty thread so I will definitely feel your pain when it comes to pitching.

Also, do you play each one of the Royals games out pitch by pitch?

Thanks for the compliments. Enjoy the Devil Rays. Hopefully we both lead our teams to success.

I do let each game play out pitch by pitch and "watch from the skybox." I'll watch most of it and sometimes let it run in the background while doing some other stuff.

I'm glad to hear you enjoy it. It makes it seem more like I'm writing for somebody instead of just writing to myself. Any comments, questions, suggestions, etc. please post.

[blazertaz13]

I just wanted to let you know that I have spent time lurking around and enjoy your Dynasty also.

The style you have choosen seems to make the writing less of a job and easy to want to keep up with. If I were to try and do a dynasty, I would probably model it simular to yours.

I am interested in seeing how some of my Cubbies are doing in your dynasty, as I follow the scores but I would love to see who is hot and who is not.

[Dauis]

6/16/2007
TRADE
The Arizona Diamondbacks have traded 27-year-old reliever Doug Slaten to the Washington Nationals for 20-year-old minor league outfielder Cameron Maybin and 20-year-old recent draftee starter Zi-yang Qi. I know the Nationals are only 2.5 out of the division and 2 out of the wild card, but Maybin is still a heavy price to pay for a bullpen arm, even if that arm is your only lefty in the pen. Good move by Arizona.

Game #68 – Kansas City (Z. Greinke 2-10, 7.08 ERA) at Houston (C. Sampson 4-5, 6.22 ERA)
Kansas City 4
Houston 7
W: C. Sampson (5-5) L: Z. Greinke (2-11) S: D. Wheeler (14)
HR – KC: C. Koskie (14), S. Spiezio (21) HOU: C. Lee (23), M. Lamb (7), M. Ensberg (14)

Another below average pitching performance. Greinke went 6.2 innings, but gave up 6 runs. Carlos Lee had a good game for the Astros, going 2-3 with a home run, 2 runs scored, 2 RBIs, and a walk.

INTERLEAGUE IN AMERICAN LEAGUE PARKS
Colorado 2
Texas 9
W: J. Wright (1-8) L: A. Cook (4-3)
HR – TEX: V. Diaz (2), A. Hyzdu (6)

San Francisco 0
Oakland 3
W: R. Harden (9-3) L: B. Zito (6-7) S: H. Street (16)
HR – OAK: D. Barton (2)

San Diego 2
Los Angeles (A) 3
W: K. Escobar (6-3) L: G. Maddux (5-6) S: F. Rodriguez (19)
HR – SDN: K. Greene (6) LAA: C. Figgins (3)

Arizona 3
Seattle 8
W: M. Batista (5-5) L: Y. Petit (5-7)
HR – SEA: J. Guillen (8), A. Beltre (6)

INTERLEAGUE IN NATIONAL LEAGUE PARKS
Cleveland 10
St. Louis 5
W: C. Lee (8-6) L: C. Narveson (1-2)
HR – CLE: T. Hafner (16) STL: A. Pujols (19)

Tampa Bay 6
Philadelphia 2
W: J. Capellan (2-1) L: G. Geary (3-3)
HR – PHI: P. Burrell (11), R. Howard (21)

Chicago (A) 1
Chicago (N) 4
W: R. Hill (6-5) L: M. Buehrle (6-3) S: B. Howry (16)

Minnesota 2
Pittsburgh 3 (10)
W: B. Bullington (1-1) L: J. Nathan (3-3)
HR – MIN: M. Bellhorn (7)

New York (A) 1
New York (N) 5
W: A. Heilman (3-3) L: M. Mussina (9-3)
HR – NYN: C. Delgado (14), M. Alou (11)

Baltimore 8
Florida 4
W: C. Bradford (4-1) L: M. Yourkin (0-1)

Boston 5
Washington 7
W: M. Bacsik (7-2) L: C. Schilling (5-6) S: L. Ayala (19)
HR – WSH: M. Vento (11)

Detroit 7
Milwaukee 9
W: V. Perkins (1-1) L: T. Jones (3-3)
HR – DET: I. Rodriguez (4), M. Ordonez 2 (7), O. Infante (2), C. Guillen (8) MIL: B. Hall (17), J. Estrada (2)

Los Angeles (N) 6
Cincinnati 3
W: B. Penny (5-3) L: K. Saarloos (4-6) S: T. Saito (19)
HR – CIN: M. Lawton (10)

Toronto 3
Atlanta 2
W: T. Ohka (6-3) L: M. Redman (5-2) S: B. Ryan (8)
HR – TOR: V. Wells (13), G. Zaun (8) ATL: E. Renteria (8)

[Dauis]

Originally Posted by blazertaz13

I just wanted to let you know that I have spent time lurking around and enjoy your Dynasty also.

The style you have choosen seems to make the writing less of a job and easy to want to keep up with. If I were to try and do a dynasty, I would probably model it simular to yours.

I am interested in seeing how some of my Cubbies are doing in your dynasty, as I follow the scores but I would love to see who is hot and who is not.

Thanks for the comments. I think writing this way strikes a balance between keeping up with the dynasty on a day-to-day basis while not moving so slowly to keep people from reading this.

As for your Cubs, they have the best record in the National League. They have hardly made any roster moves besides resigning Michael Barrett to that (in my mind) terrible deal. Their minor league system isn't good at all, with their 2nd best prospect being a catcher they just drafted in the 4th round.

Ted Lilly is probably the best player on the team right now. He's 7-4 with a 2.88 ERA with 95 strikeouts. Zambrano has a better record at 11-2 with a 3.33 ERA and 104 strikeouts. Those 2 are providing what I'm sure most Cubs fans were hoping for at the beginning of the season.

Soriano is by far the best bat right now. He's hitting .287 with 17 home runs and 50 RBIs. Michael Barrett is hitting .275 with 15 home runs and 45 RBIs. They need to find a shortstop though. Their current shortstop is Casey McGehee (who?) who is hitting .265 with 3 home runs and 13 RBIs. If they find a shortstop they could be dangerous in October.

Anything else, let me know, and thanks again for reading.

[Dauis]

6/17/2007
Game #69 – Kansas City (O. Perez 5-5, 6.43 ERA) at Houston (P. Barzilla 2-7, 7.26 ERA)
Kansas City 14
Houston 1
W: O. Perez (6-5) L: P. Barzilla (2-8)
HR – KC: M. Teahen (14) HOU: E. Brutnlett (11)

Another great blowout win. Of course, the win came at a severe price as David DeJesus ruptured his medial collateral ligament and will miss 13 months. Mark Teahen went 3-4 with a home run, 2 runs scored, 4 RBIs, and a walk to lead the way.

INTERLEAGUE AT AMERICAN LEAGUE PARKS
Colorado 5
Texas 2
W: J. Morillo (1-0) L: B. Anderson (5-4) S: B. Fuentes (15)
HR – COL: M. Holliday (20)

San Francisco 4
Oakland 5 (10)
W: E. Ramirez (1-1) L: A. Benitez (1-4)
HR – SFN: R. Winn (7) OAK: M. Bradley (11)

San Diego 5
Los Angeles (A) 9
W: E. Santana (6-3) L: T. Stauffer (0-1) S: F. Rodriguez (20)
HR – SDN: K. Greene (7) LAA: J. Rivera (14), P. Konerko (12)

Arizona 5
Seattle 3
W: D. Davis (2-1) L: J. Washburn (6-6) S: J. Valverde (16)
HR – ARI: R. Garko (15) SEA: R. Durham (12)

INTERLEAGUE IN NATIONAL LEAGUE PARKS
Cleveland 1
St. Louis 3
W: R. Franklin (4-1) L: P. Byrd (6-7) S: B. Looper (17)
HR – CLE: G. Sizemore (10)

Tampa Bay 6
Philadelphia 2
W: E. Gonzalez (4-5) L: T. Harper (2-4) S: A. Reyes (13)
HR – PHI: C. Utley 2 (12)

Chicago (A) 4
Chicago (N) 3 (12)
W: B. Jenks (1-2) L: S. Eyre (1-2)
HR – CHA: P. Lopez (5), T. Miller (2) CHN: A. Soriano (18)

Minnesota 4
Pittsburgh 8
W: V. Santos (6-4) L: C. Silva (8-5)
HR – MIN: T. Hunter (12) PIT: J. Gerut (1), R. Paulino (8)

New York (A) 2
New York (N) 4
W: T. Glavine (6-2) L: A. Pettitte (8-1) S: B. Wagner (19)
HR – NYA: A. Rodriguez (19) NYN: M. Alou (12)

Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano suffered a torn hip muscle and is expected to miss 4 weeks.

Baltimore 5
Florida 6
W: R. Pinto (3-1) L: S. Trachsel (5-2) S: J. Julio (19)
HR – FLO: M. Cabrera (18)

Boston 7
Washington 5
W: A. Alvarez (1-0) L: T. Redding (0-1) S: C. Hansen (11)
HR – BOS: C. Crisp (6)

Detroit 1
Milwaukee 9
W: B. Sheets (8-4) L: Z. Miner (0-1)
HR – MIL: G. Jenkins (5)

Los Angeles (N) 3
Cincinnati 4
W: E. Guardado (4-7) L: T. Saito (3-2)
HR – LAN: R. Martin (5) CIN: K. Griffey Jr (4), A. Dunn (12)

Toronto 5
Atlanta 10
W: J. Smoltz (9-5) L: A. Burnett (2-6)
HR – TOR: V. Wells (14) ATL: C. Jones (18)

This win was career win number 200 for John Smoltz.

[Dauis]

WEEKLY THOUGHTS
A so-so week, going 3-4, winning 1 against Tampa Bay, going 1-3 against the Angels, and 1-1 against Houston. We’re 21st in the power rankings, which isn’t great but it’s actually better than where I think we should be. Our pitching is slowly starting to improve, as we’ve moved up from the bottom in a couple categories. Improvement is going to be shown in baby steps, not giant leaps.

We called up Joey Gathright from Omaha to replace DeJesus. He was only hitting .250 in Omaha, so this could be rough, but we didn’t really have any other options.

AL Player of the Week
1B Travis Hafner (CLE) .456, 3 HR, 14 RBIs, 4 R

NL Player of the Week
3B Chipper Jones (ATL) .458, 3 HR, 5 RBIs, 7 R

[Dauis]

6/18/2007
CONTRACT EXTENSION
Mariano Rivera and the Yankees have agreed to a 3 year, $31.77 million extension.

Game #70 – Kansas City (J. Bale 3-6, 6.10 ERA) at Houston (R. Oswalt 7-3, 3.90 ERA)
Kansas City 5
Houston 6
W: C. Qualls (2-3) L: J. Soria (0-3) S: D. Wheeler (15)
HR – KC: R. Gload (4) HOU: T. Greene (5), M. Ensberg (15)

Ugh. Who wants a blow-by-blow account of how to take a 5-0 lead and turn it into a 6-5 loss in one inning? Well since I had to live through it I'm going to share it with you too.

Stemle came on the in bottom of the 8th to start his 2nd inning of work. His second pitch of the inning to Morgan Ensberg landed in the left field bleachers to make it 5-1. Ok. We’ve still got a 4-run cushion. Stemle works Lamb to a 1-2 count before giving up a double. Carlos Lee then flies out to center. Lamb tagged up and moved to 3rd. Buddy decided to intentionally walk Lance Berkman then brought in Joel Peralta to face Luke Scott. Scott worked a full count before getting a base hit to score Lamb and move Berkman to second. 5-2. Soria came on to face Chris Burke and got him to pop out to second. We might get out of this yet. Up by 3 with 2 outs in the 8th. Carlos Gonzalez hit a pinch hit single to load the bases for Todd Greene and I think we all know how this ends. Yep. Grand slam.

INTERLEAGUE IN AMERICAN LEAGUE PARKS
Colorado 5
Texas 3 (10)
W: B. Fuentes (2-2) L: J. Benoit (3-2)
HR – TEX: M. Byrd (5)

San Francisco 3
Oakland 5
W: D. Haren (6-6) L: N. Lowry (2-10) S: H. Street (17)
HR – OAK: D. Barton (3)

San Diego 0
Los Angeles (A) 2
W: J. Lackey (6-2) L: C. Carillo (5-5) S: S. Shields (2)
HR – LAA: J. Rivera (15)

Arizona 3
Seattle 4
W: F. Hernandez (5-10) L: B. Webb (4-8) S: J. Putz (10)
HR – ARI: C. Snyder (7)

INTERLEAGUE IN NATIONAL LEAGUE PARKS
Cleveland 7
St. Louis 2
W: C. Sabathia (6-8) L: B. Chen (5-8)
HR – CLE: T. Hafner (17) STL: Y. Torrealba (3)

Tampa Bay 5
Philadelphia 3
W: J. Blanton (3-4) L: B. Myers (4-7) S: A. Reyes (14)
HR – TBA: B. Buchanan (3), J. Blanton (1) PHI: W. Helms (6)

Chicago (A) 6
Chicago (N) 4
W: D. Bush (8-4) L: C. Zambrano (11-3) S: F. Bastamonte (1)
HR – CHA: J. Crede 2 (11), P. Lopez (6) CHN: J. Jones (13)

Minnesota 6
Pittsburgh 2
W: J. Santana (12-3) L: I. Snell (3-7)
HR – MIN: T. Hunter (13), J. Mauer (11) PIT: J. Wilson (2)

New York (A) 8
New York (N) 5
W: C. Pavano (4-7) L: T. Tucker (3-2) S: M. Rivera (20)
HR – NYA: J. Posada (11) NYN: C. Beltran (9), B. Johnson (4)

Baltimore 4
Florida 3
W: E. Bedard (8-5) L: S. Olsen (2-4) S: D. Baez (17)
HR – BAL: M. Tejada (11) FLO: T. Wilson (1), J. Willingham (7)

Boston 2
Washington 0
W: D. Matsuzaka (9-7) L: S. Hill (4-5) S: C. Hansen (12)

Detroit 3
Milwaukee 8
W: J. Suppan (3-7) L: M. Maroth (3-5)
HR – DET: M. Thames (12)

Toronto 2
Atlanta 3
W: T. Hudson (6-6) L: R. Halladay (5-7) S: B. Wickman (18)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Los Angeles (N) 2
Cincinnati 6
W: A. Harang (9-4) L: J. Lieber (5-6)
HR – LAN: J. Loney (7) CIN: K. Griffey Jr (5)

[RoyalsBlue]

Augh! That was brutal but you must remember that the Royals gave up 10 runs in the 9th to the Indians a couple of years ago, so it's definitely not unprecedented with the boys in blue. Truly grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory. Keep your chin up, Dauis.

[Dauis]

6/19/2007
TRADE
The Padres have traded 31-year-old third baseman Russell Branyan, 16-year-old minor league starting pitcher Chaz Murphy (drafted in the 10th round), and $673,000 to the Giants for 25-year-old reliever Erick Threets. Not a terrible trade for the Padres, who get a good reliever with less than a year of service time for not a whole lot.

INTERLEAGUE IN AMERICAN LEAGUE PARKS
Atlanta 6
Baltimore 5 (10)
W: B. Wickman (3-1) L: S. Williamson (2-1) S: C. Hammond (2)
HR – ATL: A. Jones (13), C. Wilson (4), J. Francoeur (8) BAL: M. Tejada 2 (13), N. Markakis (8)

St. Louis 0
Detroit 1
W: N. Robertson (7-5) L: C. Carpenter (6-8) S: T. Jones (14)
HR – DET: M. Ordonez (8)

INTERLEAGUE IN NATIONAL LEAGUE PARKS
Cleveland 5
Milwaukee 4
W: A. Fultz (1-0) L: M. Wise (2-2) S: R. Betancourt (15)
HR – CLE: T. Hafner 2 (19) MIL: R. Weeks (2)

Oakland 0
Los Angeles (N) 2
W: D. Lowe (5-6) L: B. Halsey (3-5) S: T. Saito (20)

Los Angeles (A) 8
Colorado 11
W: R. Lopez (8-5) L: J. Weaver (7-5) S: C. Wilson (3)
HR – LAA: P. Konerko (13), M. Napoli (13) COL: T. Helton 2 (14), B. Hawpe (9)

Rockies first baseman Todd Helton hit his 299th and 300th home runs today.

Toronto 8
Philadelphia 6
W: B. League (2-5) L: G. Geary (3-4) S: B. Ryan (9)
HR – PHI: W. Helms (7), P. Burrell (12), C. Utley (13)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORES
Pittsburgh 0
New York (N) 3
W: J. Maine (4-6) L: S. Burnett (3-1) S: B. Wagner (20)

[metzrule3]

Great dynasty, keep up the good work. How are the Mets doing? Also, how do you play with real, updated teams? I only know how to play with fictional players.

[Dauis]

6/20/2007
TRADE
The Florida Marlins have sent 24-year-old starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco to the Philadelphia Phillies for 21-year-old minor league third baseman Brad Harman. It’s a good deal for the Phillies, and it would be a good deal for the Marlins if they didn’t have Cabrera for a few more years.

Game #71 – Chicago (N) (S. Marshall 3-1, 3.81 ERA) at Kansas City (J. Gobble 4-5, 5.15 ERA)
Chicago (N) 5
Kansas City 4 (11)
W: B. Howry (1-1) L: J. Peralta (2-1) S: K. Wood (1)
HR – CHN: J. Jones (14), M. Barrett (16) KC: C. Koskie (15), S. Spiezio (22), M. Coolbaugh (1)

The bullpen blew a great start by Jimmy Gobble, a start worthy of player of the game recognition. He went 7.1 innings, gave up 2 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks, and struck out 9. We were up 2 in the to of the 9th when Dotel gave up a leadoff single to Aramis Ramirez and then an 0-2 home run to Michael Barrett to tie the game. In the top of the 11th, Peralta gave up a solo shot to Jacque Jones with 2 outs. Clapinski hit a 1-out double in the bottom of the inning, but we ended up stranding him at 3rd when Ross Gload struck out looking to end the game.

INTERLEAGUE AT AMERICAN LEAGUE PARKS
Atlanta 8
Baltimore 7 (10)
W: T. Sturtze (2-0) L: C. Ray (2-3)
HR – ATL: B. Williams (1), M. Diaz (4), K. Johnson (8) BAL: K. Millar (4), M. Tejada (14), N. Markakis (9)

Washington 1
New York (A) 4
W: R. Clemens (2-1) L: J. Patterson (9-5) S: M. Rivera (21)
HR – NYA: A. Rodriguez (20), J. Giambi (12)

Roger Clemens picked up career victory #350 today. He went 7 innings, allowed 8 hits and had 8 strikeouts and 4 walks.

Arizona 4
Tampa Bay 5
W: D. Miceli (2-3) L: J. Valverde (4-6)
HR – ARI: S. Hairston (2) TBA: R. Baldelli (2)

San Diego 3
Seattle 4 (12)
W: M. Lowe (3-3) L: S. Linebrink (0-2)
HR – SEA: K. Johjima (4)

Cincinnati 9
Minnesota 7
W: D. Weathers (1-0) L: P. Munro (4-4) S: E. Guardado (12)
HR – CIN: A. Dunn (13), J. Valentin (13) MIN: J. Lane (13)

St. Louis 1
Detroit 2
W: R. Colon (2-0) L: B. Looper (0-4)
HR – DET: C. Guillen (9)

INTERLEAGUE IN NATIONAL LEAGUE PARKS
Cleveland 8
Milwaukee 6 (11)
W: R. Hernandez (1-1) L: E. Dessens (4-3) S: J. Borowski (2)
HR – CLE: T. Hafner (20), C. Blake (7) MIL: P. Fielder (8)

Oakland 3
Los Angeles (N) 2
W: E. Loaiza (5-6) L: J. Schmidt (6-4) S: H. Street (18)
HR – OAK: N. Swisher (17) LAN: J. Loney (8)

Los Angeles (A) 1
Colorado 0
W: B. Colon (2-9) L: J. Francis (4-9) S: F. Rodriguez (21)
HR – LAA: V. Guerrero (11)

Boston 2
Florida 3
W: J. Frasor (1-2) L: S. Strickland (1-7) S: J. Julio (20)
HR – BOS: J. Varitek (5)

Chicago (A) 11
Houston 6
W: J. Contreras (7-4) L: J. Johnson (3-6)
HR – CHA: J. Dye (19) HOU: L. Berkman 2 (26), W. Young (11)

Texas 4
San Francisco 5
HR – TEX: M. Teixeira (13) SFN: R. Branyan (14), E. Alfonzo (13)

Pittsburgh 7
New York (N) 6
W: B. Meadows (4-1) L: C. Park (2-2)
HR – PIT: F. Sanchez (1) NYN: C. Delgado (15), M. Alou (13)

Toronto 3
Philadelphia 4
W: F. Garcia (8-2) L: J. Towers (8-3) S: T. Gordon (6)
HR – TOR: G. Zaun (9) PHI: M. Lieberthal (11)

[Dauis]

Originally Posted by RoyalsBlue

Augh! That was brutal but you must remember that the Royals gave up 10 runs in the 9th to the Indians a couple of years ago, so it's definitely not unprecedented with the boys in blue. Truly grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory. Keep your chin up, Dauis.

Oh, I know. It's going to be tough the next couple of years so I need to try and turn this team around. I just hope I don't get fired before then.

On a personal note, my dad's in town so we're going down to Kansas City tomorrow to watch the finale of the Sox series. It's perfect timing since he's a Royals fan and I'm a Sox fan. It should be a great time.

Originally Posted by metzrule3

Great dynasty, keep up the good work. How are the Mets doing? Also, how do you play with real, updated teams? I only know how to play with fictional players.

The Mets are in second in the East, a half game behind the Braves, and leading the Wild Card by a game over the Astros. Regarding getting real players in the game, I would direct you to the FAQ and the Roster Mods sections of the message board.

Thanks again to all who are reading and leaving comments. It's really appreciated!

[Dauis]

6/21/2007
Game #72 – Chicago (N) (T. Lilly 7-4, 2.88 ERA) at Kansas City (Z. Greinke 2-11, 7.15 ERA)
Chicago (N) 2
Kansas City 3
W: Z. Greinke (3-11) L: B. Howry (1-2)
HR – KC: E. Brown (6), S. Spiezio (23)

What a great start by Zack. Complete game, 2 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks, and 5 strikeouts. It was a pretty close game. We only had 1-0 and 2-1 leads. The Cubs tied it in the top of the 8th, but Emil Brown took Bob Howry’s 2nd pitch over the left field fence to win it for us.

INTERLEAGUE AT AMERICAN LEAGUE PARKS
Atlanta 4
Baltimore 3
W: M. Redman (6-2) L: J. Acevedo (6-8) S: B. Wickman (19)
HR – ATL: E. Renteria (9) BAL: M. Tejada (15)

Washington 9
New York (A) 2
W: J. Williams (3-7) L: C. Wang (10-6)

Arizona 16
Tampa Bay 7
W: C. Daigle (1-0) L: S. Kazmir (3-7) S: E. Gonzalez (1)
HR – ARI: R. Hammock (3), C. Tracy (6), C. Quentin (8), S. Drew (5) TBA: B. Buchanan (4), R. Baldelli (3)

San Diego 0
Seattle 10
W: M. Batista (6-5) L: C. Young (7-3)
HR – SEA: R. Sexson 2 (13)

Miguel Batista kept the Padres guessing, throwing a 3-hit shutout. He struck out 9 and walked 2.

Cincinnati 2
Minnesota 5
W: B. Bonser (7-2) L: S. Kim (2-5) S: J. Nathan (21)
HR – MIN: J. Morneau (25), M. Bellhorn (8)

St. Louis 6
Detroit 7
W: R. Colon (3-0) L: B. Looper (0-5)
HR – STL: A. Pujols (20)

INTERLEAGUE IN NATIONAL LEAGUE PARKS
Cleveland 1
Milwaukee 3
W: J. Westbrook (3-7) L: C. Lee (8-7) S: F. Cordero (10)

Oakland 6
Los Angeles (N) 3
W: R. Harden (10-3) L: B. Penny (5-4) S: H. Street (19)
HR – OAK: D. Barton (4)

Los Angeles (A) 4
Colorado 0
W: K. Escobar (7-3) L: A. Cook (4-4)

Kelvim Escobar threw a 4-hit shutout, striking out 2 and walking 3.

Boston 3
Florida 0
W: C. Schilling (6-6) L: D. Willis (4-5) S: H. Okajima (2)
HR – BOS: D. Ortiz (23), J. Varitek (6)

Chicago (A) 19
Houston 4
W: M. Buehrle (7-3) L: W. Williams (7-3)
HR – CHA: A. Pierzynski (5), J. Dye (20), F. Catalanotto (5), P. Lopez (7), B. Jacobsen (2) HOU: L. Scott (6)

Texas 4
San Francisco 1
W: K. Loe (3-10) L: B. Zito (6-8) S: E. Gagne (11)
HR – TEX: G. Laird (5)

NATIONAL LEAGUE SCORE
Pittsburgh 0
New York (N) 5
W: A. Heilman (4-3) L: T. Oldham (1-1)
HR – NYN: B. Johnson (5)

Pirates starting pitcher Zach Duke will be out for 1-2 weeks with dead arm syndrome.

INTERLEAGUE AT NATIONAL LEAGUE PARK
Toronto 4
Philadelphia 2
W: T. Ohka (7-3) L: R. Nolasco (7-4) S: B. Ryan (10)