Immaculate Grid

[Splitter24]

Would've been an OK score, except that Tony Armas apparently was not one of the 5 A's to have won a SS.

[Amazin69]

More catch-up. The Oriole/Ray try from Thursday that I blanked on was Roberto Alomar, because I remember the pics I have of him in D-Rays garb from Spring Training in 2004. Of course, plenty of people go to Spring Training and don't make the team. (Galarraga with the Mets, Kaat and Tenace in Pittsburgh, Bob Boone in Seattle, etc.)

Saturday:



The teamless grid was a twist, but I did enjoy getting to answer GG questions with Mets, whom I actually know. Not to mention giving HoJo a shout.

But for the 40/3000 question, I blanked on Yaz and of course I really should put Beltre beneath Beltran, for symmetry's sake. So after taking too much of an Obvious Answer Penalty on Hank, I really didn't want to take one for Willie Mays. So I went back to "Old Reliable" Ken Williams, but apparently the OG 30/30 guy did not get to 200 hits in 1922, even though he hit .337 and was in the lineup often enough to knock in 155 runs. And while he had even higher BAs in 1921 and 1923, a few missed games kept him short then, too. 190, 194, 198…not getting it done. Blergh.

So after that, I took a swing at Eric Davis, but no to him, too. Blergh again.

However Sunday was better, if hardly spectacular:



Rarity 40. I expected a ding for Hanley, but I didn't think that Giambi would be twice as harsh. Or that Andrew Miller would be costly.

Still, it's lovely to use the hardly-lovely (facially or personality-wise) Coates as well as Hinton and Kopf and Met Hero Gardner. (I know, I know, if I'm going to cite the trade of Gardner to the A's, I should use the other pitcher in the deal [I had forgotten the Yanks got Felipe Alou in return], but Gardner is a Met Hero, and those weren't exactly thick on the ground in 1966. And he was a .009 originally; it's only that the score went up before I finished the grid.)

[Amazin69]

Yay, Senators!
Yay, Brownies!
Yay, Dave Lemanczyk!

And then some shmo managed to mix up Dean Chance's 1964 CYA in Chavez Ravine with Dean Chance's big 1967 season in Bloomington, and forgot that Lonnie beat Chance on the field and at the Awards banquet, as well. Rarity 145.



I wonder who is the secret sauce for the Toronto trophy-winner? Hmm.

[pilight]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

I wonder who is the secret sauce for the Toronto trophy-winner? Hmm.

I'm guessing it is Hentgen, but it could very well be Robbie Ray. It is definitely not Duane Ward...

[Splitter24]

Rarity 31. Lots of non-choices in this one.

[Splitter24]

Rarity 3. 2 of it from Tommy Harper.

[Amazin69]

It's almost comical how I find new ways to wreck these. Almost.



So I go through eight boxes, only mildly annoyed at falling back on Bahnsen when I know there are better options. (Double-checked one later on. Ah, well.) And then I get to the Astros thieves.

I convince myself that using answers that were give the last time we had this category would be like cheating, because I'd only be using other people's work. (I never limit myself this way. No idea what I was thinking.) Then I sorted through various 1980s and before options, but I chickened out because I was all "am I REALLY sure, though? (I should have been. One had a 40 SB year.)

Finally, I decided to be a complete coward and plop for Cedeno. Then I flashed on ROGER Cedeno, whom we threw into the Mike Hampton trade that I hated.

(Albeit that was mostly about Hampton turning around after only one year as a Met and running out on a pennant-winning team and the Pitchers' Paradise that was Big Shea to get his Rocks knocked off in Coors, for nothing but some cheap cash, Hamp's lame attempt to blame his decision on That FABULOUS Denver School System aside. Still a sore spot, obviously.

[Even though the compensation pick we got was used to draft David Wright, so clearly Hamp did us a mountain of a favor.])

Roger stole 66 bases one year, I recalled! However I failed to recall that the 66SB were with us, and Rog broke his hand in Space City, holding him to a mere half season and 25 thefts. (He rebounded to steal 55 more in 2001, but he'd left Houston by then.)

And so 4 becomes 104. GAAAAA! KHAAAAAAAAN!!!!

[pilight]

Rarity 34

Damn Garret Anderson anyway

[Splitter24]

Rarity 6. Alex Johnson saved me, apparently.

[pilight]

Rarity 53

[Splitter24]

Rarity 58. Some slim pickings in that 3000 K category.

[Splitter24]

Rarity 47. Another low player pool category on this one.

[pilight]

Rarity 31

[Westheim]

Turns out, Rusty Staub was not an All Star with Texas... (nor the Mets).

[Splitter24]

Rarity 6. And it's all Jeff Burroughs. After looking at the answers, I think that might have been the lowest score you could get on this grid.

[Amazin69]

After a series of flubs too long to recount, at least I was back in the groove on Friday:



Rarity 44. Glad I recalled that Winnie was the Secret Sauce for the center square, but annoyed I forgot Happy Jack. (And probably someone in the 1940s…Raschi?)

So could I make it two in a row?



Of course not. The curse of Hank Sauer. Not only was his 1952 MVP season one of a disgusting amount of Cubbie awards (lot of damn plaques for 108 years without a title) that I couldn't recall before taking the Obvious Answer Penalty for Banks, but because I blanked on that season, I thought Frankie Baumholtz would be a good All-Star pick, since he was the 1952 NL Batting Champ runner-up and all. (Musial won, and on the final day of the season Stash took the mound to defend his lead against Frankie, still pitching as well as before he hurt his arm back when.)

But no, only one Scrub on the team, I guess, and Sauer was it. Bye-bye Frankie, bye-bye game.

Then I determined to make up for that by cleverly tabbing Goody Rosen, on the basis of his excellent 1945 season. (.325, 197 hits etc.) Two small problems…Rosen was still a Dodger in 1945, not being sent across the East River until the next season, and there was no 1945 ASG, as it was cancelled due to travel restrictions.

(Rosen did make the all-NL team chosen by The Sporting News at year's end, but that's hardly Goody enough for this. Feh.)

[Amazin69]

This is better. Rarity 33.



I believe I paid at least one Obvious Answer Penalty on the Pads (if Tim Flannery knocked in 101 in 1983, I will be saddened), but the NL East scores are nice.

And I know there are better answers than Kingman (Barry Evans?), but I wanted to salute Sky King's frantic 1977. (Four teams, one from each then-division.) 0.3 isn't too much to pay for sentiment, I say.

[Splitter24]

Rarity 10.

[Splitter24]

Rarity 4.

[Amazin69]

Rarity 206



Say what? How could you mess this up, Amazin? You know plenty of fleet Pale Hose, and several glove men, too.

Yes, but…I was so thrilled to get to use Our Beloved Jesse Jefferson (one of his sons posts in the pictures sub-forum) that I managed to get blinded by the Jay on Jesse's cap and tried to fill out that row with TORONTO SBs and GGs. Yoicks.

I mean, they were correct Jays, but still.

(And Jesse probably scores better as an Angel, anyhow. Sigh.)