Cadaco All Star Baseball

Mudhens Look For Boost Against Fleas

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Joe

Tonights Game @ McCall :: National League

McCall Mudhens

VS.

Westport Fleas

McCall – The McCall Mudhens look to again take control of the National League and return to their winning ways tonight as they face the visiting Westport Fleas at McCall Memorial in a three game set that will set the tone for the second half of the season. The 4-2 Hens’ are hoping to continue their domination of the pitching of the 1-5 Fleas as try to take a big first step toward fending off the charging Merrimack Owls and earn an automatic birth in the championship series of the Holiday Baseball League.

The heavily favored Mudhens charge into tonights games with a 3-0 season mark in head-to-head contests against Westport and boast HBL leading stats in hits, doubles, home runs, total bases, and runs. The previous three games tilted heavily in McCall’s favor as the Hens’ scored 53 of their 81 runs in the series and dominated the Fleas pitching.

“There is no doubt that the Fleas got flat-out embarrassed in their own park,” ASB personality Joe Gordon said. “I think there’s going to be a lot of pressure on both of these managers tonight. Herzog has to keep his guys loose against a team that they should beat; and O’Neill needs to start a win streak if he hopes to get on a run before the playoffs start.”

Do the fish want to swim?
“No comment” is the official word out of the McCall Memorial grounds crew on wether they have been ordered to apply extra water to the field before game-time to cut back on the amount of bad hops that have caused shaky defense by the Hens’. “They hit like crazy here, but also commit a lot of errors. If I am them I make it a little swampy round second base,” Gordon said.

Team Batting (6 games)
Team	BA	Hits	2B	BB	HR	TB	Runs	OBP
Mudhens	.400	102	23	45	20	187	81	.484
Fleas	.356	79	21	44	6	118	55	.452

Posted in All-Star Baseball blog, Holiday Baseball League, McCall Mudhens | Comments Off

Questions at Midseason

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Joe

With the mid season break upon us, it’s time to look at a few of the questions facing teams around the league.

Questions:
	Merrimack Owls Can slow and steady win the race? With two series victories in as many attempts the Owls should be in a strong position for the post season, but a first game stumble by a usually reliable Owls pitching staff against the Westport Fleas, they are locked into a tie atop the division with the Hens’. The Owls will more than likely need a repeat of the first half to have a shot at the automatic birth in the NLCS and that means (for a second time) slowing down a potent Mudhens lineup and a hungry Fleas team… With the second highest OBP and runs, the Owls are a formidable opponent that might be able to right the slow and steady approach into the playoffs.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
	McCall Mudhens Can they keep up the offensive pace? The Mudhens quite simply have been the class of the HBL when it comes to hitting. McCall charges into the second half with a 4-2 season mark and boast HBL leading stats in hits, doubles, home runs, total bases, and runs. One early indicator is how they do in their first series after the break against the 1-5 Westport Fleas. The previous three games tilted heavily in McCall’s favor as the Hens’ scored 53 of their 81 runs in the series and dominated the Fleas pitching. If they can repeat that feat in the second series they will position themselves for the post-season.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
	Westport Fleas Can they wake-up in time? With a disappointing first half of the season, the Westport Fleas look to go on a run in the second half. They are near the bottom of several offensive categories and Buck O’Neill will more than likely look to shake up his lineup in the second half in hopes of generating more runs to right the sinking ship. Other questions are weather it is too late to catch the two teams ahead of them and does it matter if they can get on the same kind of run that as the Boggstown Boilers did last year during their championship run.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
	Boggstown Boilers Can the champs repeat? The Boggstown Boilers have looked like champions during the first half of the season. With Ty Cobb leading the way, they lead the league in batting average and on-base percentage and have shown that their offense is up to the task. With Robin Roberts boasting a 2-0 record and a minuscule 6.48 era, the pitching has been formidable as well… Can the Boilers continue their march toward greatness by winning back-to-back HBL titles? It’s looking good in Boggstown.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
	Fogelberg Falcons Can the pitching hold up? While looking over the offensive stats it is puzzling how this team is locked into a first place tie with a 4-2 record. The Falcons have posted the lowest offensive totals in batting average, hits, walks, on-base percentage, and runs. On the flip side, Johnny Podres and the Falcons pitching staff had allowed fewer runs (56) than any other team in the American League. The Falcons have to be considered a major wild card heading into the second half as they seem to still be looking for their offensive stroke. One constant for Don Zimmer and this franchise is finding a way to win. Look out if they can keep pitching the way they have and find some clutch hitting.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
	Joplin Crawdads Can the draught continue? After a scorching start to the season and a 20-16 win against the Boilers, the Joplin Crawdads offense has steadily declined into the cellar with 21 runs scored in their previous 3 games combined leading up to the break. The lack of clutch hitting by single season juggernaut Rogers Hornsby has been a notable story in the first half (1-5) for the Dads’ as has the remarkable pitching of tough luck pitcher Charlie Liebrandt (1-1). One stat that manager Dave Duncan has to be looking at is total bases. The Dads’ posted the second highest total in the HBL with 147. If they can get a few base runners on ahead of the natural power in the lineup then a recovery in the second half is inevitable.

Posted in Holiday Baseball League | Comments Off

Sweeney and J.C.

Posted on October 1, 2009 by capn

Westport – To the folks in Westport, the lifetime duo of Mike Sweeney and Joe Cronin have become a famous tandem. They challenge each other in a way that few lifetime pairs have been able to match. Some will argue that Sweeney is the driving force behind Cronin, while others insist that Cronin is the cog that turns Sweeney’s wheel. Sweeney himself gives all the credit to JC, but it’s not Joe Cronin.

“Jesus Christ, he gives me the strength to do what I do. He’s there for me during the good times as well as the bad. Joe (Cronin) is good, don’t get me wrong, but JC is Great,” gleamed Sweeney when asked about his recent offensive success. Sweeney entered the halfway point of the HBL with a scorching .520 batting average, miles ahead of his struggling lifetime counterpart Cronin. “Croney kind of does his own thing, win or lose. I sat him down after the last series and invited him to pray with me. He wasn’t too keen on it. Last night I left a Gideon Bible in his locker, with a few passages highlighted that I thought would help him. I walked by an hour later, after some BP, only to find that Croney was using the book as a beer coaster. He did the same thing with one of my Amy Grant CD’s. Seriously, how many coasters does a guy need? I guess I’m just glad I could help”, quipped Sweeney.

Fleas manager Buck O’Neil is happy to see the results from Sweeney thus far in the season, but would still like to see some changes in the Christian’s on-field persona. “Michael is a great asset to our team. He works hard everyday and sets a great example. Sometimes, I’d like to see him get mean, though. I joke around with him because I hear him back behind the plate yappin’ to guys, asking how their family is and so forth. I have to remind him ‘Hey, we’re not selling girl scout cookies out here. We’re trying to beat those guys.'”

Even if it means risking a choir boy image, perhaps O’Neil should send the rest of his squad to church with Sweeney. The Fleas are struggling overall and have only been able to average a measly 9 runs per ball game, resulting in a 1-5 start. “It’s a tough league, and if you let down or have a bad game, teams will eat you up, and that’s what’s happening to us out there. The break has been good though, I say let’s go get hot for the playoffs.”

While O’Neil didn’t want to take any credit away from a religious icon, he may have summed up the Fleas’ scenario perfectly when he said jokingly, “Guys can worship whoever they want. I thank God for what he’s given us, and if Michael gives all the credit to Jesus Christ, then that’s great too. I’ll be quick to point that out to management if we don’t make a push in the playoffs this season. Don’t blame me.”

Posted in All-Star Baseball blog, Holiday Baseball League, Westport Fleas | Comments Off

Midseason Update

Posted on October 1, 2009 by Joe

American League: Standings
Team	Win	Loss	GB
Boggstown Boilers	4	2	–
Fogelberg Falcons	4	2	–
Joplin Crawdads	1	5	3

American League: Team Batting
Team	BA	Hits	2B	BB	HR	TB	Runs	OBP
Boilers	.416	94	20	50	4	132	65	.503
Falcons	.338	79	18	33	7	128	54	.410
Crawdads	.336	79	20	40	12	147	55	.422

National League: Standings
Team	Win	Loss	GB
Merrimack Owls	4	2	–
McCall Mudhens	4	2	–
Westport Fleas	1	5	3

National League: Team Batting
Team	BA	Hits	2B	BB	HR	TB	Runs	OBP
Owls	.374	86	14	61	4	120	68	.490
Mudhens	.400	102	23	45	20	187	81	.484
Fleas	.356	79	21	44	6	118	55	.452

Top Performers: Batting
Player	BA	Hits	2B	BB	HR	TB	Runs	OBP
Cobb (BB)	.680*	17*	7+	10	0	26	10	.771*
Appling (BB)	.567	11	2	4	0	19	11	.600
Foxx (FF)	.375	9	1	8	2	16	6	.531
Heilmann. (FF)	.448	13	2	2	0	19	5	.484
Morgan (JC)	.400	8	2	13*	3	19	7	.636
Hornsby (JC)	.440	11	3	9	0	18	9	.588
Sweeney (WF)	.520	13	5	5	2	24	6	.581
Kiner (WF)	.368	7	1	12	1	11	7	.576
Brouth. (MO)	.533	16	1	6	2	23	12*	.595
Cochr. (MO)	.440	11	1	10	0	14	9	.600
Gehrig (MM)	.364	8	2	11	3	19	10	.576
Aaron (MM)	.406	13	3	1	5*	31*	11	.424
* League Leader, + Tied for League Lead

Top Performers: Pitching
Player	Win	Loss	ERA
Roberts (BB)	2	0	6.48
Hubell (FF)	1	1	6.92
Liebrandt (JC)	1	1	11.08
Glavine (MO)	2	0	5.93
Shantz (WF)	1	0	9.00
Breechen (MM)	1	1	7.20

Posted in Holiday Baseball League | Comments Off

Pitching Lifts Falcons To Sweep

Posted on September 30, 2009 by Joe

Joplin – The word of the night in Joplin was “pitching” as the Fogelberg Falcons swept the Joplin Crawdads at Broyles Field on a chilly night when offense was hard to come by and pitchers dominated. The Falcons could only muster 26 runs in the three games to out pace the Dads’ and their 19.

The lone offensive outbreak came from lifetime player Don Mattingly in game 1 as he earned the game MVP with 2 home runs, 8 RBI, 2 runs scored, and a sacrifice fly in his 6 at-bats. “It was nice to come up there with an opportunity to get the job done and execute against a really tough pitcher (Nolan Ryan),” Mattingly said after the game. “We were all having a hard time picking up the ball out of his hand, but he was right around the plate and I got a decent look at a couple of pitches.”

All three Falcons starters earned the win in pitchers duels as Andy Messersmith won game 1, Carl Hubbell in game 2 and staff ace Johnny Podres in an 8 inning performance in game 3.

“I’ll tell you what, Charlie Liebrandt really gave our guys all they could handle,” Carl Hubbell said of the Crawdads ace. “I barely had a chance to sit down before I was back out there… That was about as gutsy performance as I have seen. Charlie is really making a name for himself in this league.”

With the wins the Falcons pushed their record to 4-2 and are now locked in a first place tie with the Boggstown Boilers (who own the tie-breaker). The Falcons will visit Boggstown to open the second half of the American League as both teams look to take the upper hand in the crucial series.

Duncan on hot-seat in Joplin

The Joplin Crawdads dropped to 1-5 for the season Tuesday night and their manager, Dave Duncan can most certainly feel the pressure of floundering early in the season.

“If I’m him I’d be worried,” ASB analysts Joe Gordon said after the losses. “You can tell that Dave has the fire when it comes to the pitching staff, but this team is not hitting and has not won in a long time… This start might be the thing that really forces managements hand and pushes him out the door. If they don’t win a couple games in the next series I wouldn’t be shocked to see Will Clark take the team till they can find someone permanent.”

American League:
Date	VS	Score	WP	SV	MVP
09/29/09	Crawdads vs Falcons	9-13 (FF)	A. Messer.		D. Mattingly
	D. Mattingly: 2 HR, 8 RBI, 2 Runs, Sac – A Messersmith: 7 IP, 5 earned
09/29/09	Crawdads vs Falcons	4-5 (FF)	C. Hubbell	L. Smith	C. Hubbell
	C. Hubbell: 7 IP, 4 earned – L. Smith: 1 IP, 0 earned, Save
09/29/09	Crawdads vs Falcons	6-8 (FF)	J. Podres	L. Smith	J. Podres
	J. Podres: 8 IP, 4 earned – L. Smith: 1 IP, 1 earned, Save

Posted in All-Star Baseball blog, Fogelberg Falcons, Holiday Baseball League | Comments Off

AL Rivalry Renewed

Posted on September 29, 2009 by Joe

Tonights Game @ Joplin :: American League

Joplin Crawdads

VS.

Fogelberg Falcons

Joplin – The oldest rivalry in the American League will be renewed tonight as the Joplin Crawdads face the Fogelberg Falcons for three games at Broyles Field in Joplin. After a week off both teams are itching to get back to the business of baseball and officially complete the first half of the Holiday Baseball League.

“I am not going to lie. It feels like it’s been a long time,” Falcons manager Don Zimmer said. “We did some simulated games on Wednesday of last week so I hope they are ready… They better be ready, especially the pitchers, this Joplin team is full of guys that can take you out of the yard.”

A lot will be on the line during the first meeting of the season between these two AL powerhouses as each team looks to keep pace with the first place Boggstown Boilers.

“These are big games,” Falcons lifetime player Don Mattingly said. “Gotta have at least two of three tonight or you are pretty much locking yourself into a battle during that first round of the playoffs… If we can take two… or sweep, we can at least give ourselves a shot at catching Boggstown.”

Holiday Baseball League: Rosters
Joplin Crawdads:	Fogelberg Falcons:
J. Morgan A. Trammell* R. Hornsby* K. Griffey, Jr.* H. Greenberg J. Jackson G. Hartnett J. Sewell R. Clemente A. Kaline O. Cepeda D. Porter C. Ripken, Jr.	T. Speaker P. Molitor* J. Foxx* D. Mattingly* H. Heilmann H. Wagner A.J. Belle R. Ferrell R. Carew D. Allen C. Biggio T. Fernandez M. Tettleton

Posted in All-Star Baseball blog, Holiday Baseball League | Comments Off

Contrasting Styles During Off Week

Posted on September 25, 2009 by Joe

Joplin – The Holiday Baseball League took a week off after playing a rare double header of three game sets last week. WIth plenty of down time and a rare bit of rest, the players have been spotted around local night spots and restaurants.

“It is definitely weird to have the time off during a season like this,” Fogelberg Falcon Don Mattingly said via cellular phone from a coffee shop in Fogelberg. “Zimm’s, Fisky and I had dinner a couple of nights ago, but for the most part we have tried to spend some time with our families and friends.”

“It’s kind of wild to go out in this town when you are a Falcon,” longtime McCall Mudhen and current Falcon Honus Wagner said while running into the local nightclub ‘Bunker’. “I will always love my time in McCall, but I am happy to be a part of this team and hopefully be a part of something really special here in Fogelberg.”

The Falcons resume play next week in Joplin against the Crawdads as they complete the first half of the HBL season with a three game set at Broyles Field.

On the other end of the spectrum sits the Joplin Crawdads and the work ethic of manager Dave Duncan. Under the helm of Duncan the Crawdads have had little down time as they prep for the Falcons.

“The Crawdads have been nothing but business during this break. Remember, they are just starting their season and I think that Duncan feels they have a bit of work to do to jell as a team,” ASB analysts Joe Gordon said. “Duncan has always been a more ‘nose-to-the-grindstone’ kind of guy, where Zimmer is more likely to give his guys some off-time.”

The first place Boggstown Boilers (4-2) will be watching the action next week with great anticipation as they will have a long 3 week layoff between games.

“Old Man McKeon always gets those guys ready to play… That guy is so intense that he could get water to boil if he starred at it long enough.”

One mood is constant across all of ASB, “LET’S PLAY BALL!”

Posted in All-Star Baseball blog, Holiday Baseball League, Joplin Crawdads | Comments Off

10 Things To Do During An Off Week

Posted on September 21, 2009 by Joe

10. – Go over your lineup
9. – Think ahead to the ASB Classic
8. – Brainstorm
7. – Make new players
6. – Review stats
5. – Add to the website
4. – Add to stadiums
3. – Plug your mind back into your work
2. – Relax
1. – Sleep

Posted in All-Star Baseball blog | 1 Comment

ASB’s Dream Team

Posted on September 20, 2009 by Joe

I was going through my old emails today and came across this one form Sammy… Here is the best possible player at each position in ASB.

P – Bob Carothers (1887) Also played RF
24,6,3,2,18,0,53

C – Fred Carroll (1889)
22,7,4,1,27,8,61

1B – Frank Thomas (1994)
17,9,0,10,27,15,63

2B – Rogers Hornsby (1924)
27,8,3,5,17,6,60 (1924)

3B – John McGraw (1899)
35,3,1,0,31,0,70

SS – Arky Vaughan (1935)
26,7,2,4,19,4,58

LF – Ted Williams (1941)
25,7,1,8,32,6,73

CF – Mickey Mantle (1957)
22,6,1,7,31,16,67

RF – Babe Ruth (1923)
20,9,3,8,33,18,73

Posted in All-Star Baseball blog | Comments Off

Boilers Win 2

Posted on September 18, 2009 by Joe

Boggstown – The Boggstown Boilers took two games against the Joplin Crawdads Wednesday night at Lightfoot Field to improve their record to 4-2 at the half-way point in their season. The Crawdads record stands at 1-2 as they look to entertain the Fogelberg Falcons as both teams close out the first half of the season at Broyles Field.

Posted in All-Star Baseball blog, I-70 Baseball Classic | Comments Off