Baseball Dreams

I have had a reoccurring baseball dream through out the last year.

I would be playing for the Blue Sox, usually at first base, sometimes pitching, like that ever happened and I pitched good in my dreams. I would be having a good game and everything was fine until I had to catch the ball. I could not open my glove. I would have to stop the ball with my glove and then pick it up and finish the play. It was very frustrating even though it was a dream. I would wake up pissed.

Funny how things in real life sneak into your dreams.

I have had similar problems with my left hand for the last 8 months. If I had to play ball I would not be able to open my glove.

I have done physical therapy, occupational therapy, cortisone shots, steroids, chiropractic visits, and acupuncture. Nothing has fixed the problem.

So last week I went under the knife. I had surgery on my spine. It was a multilevel decompression and foraminotomy procedure. Kind of like Justin Mourneau, if I waited much longer there was a chance of permanent damage.

As far as surgeries and hospital stays go, it went very well. Although a 2 1/2 hour procedure ended up being 4 hours long. I guess there was a lot of bone to scrape.

My surgeon says I have other issues that will need to be addressed with hardware and fusion down the line, but we will deal with it when my symptoms get worse. Yeah!

So I'm at home resting now for the next 3 or 4 weeks. Waiting for someone to call me with a decent trade offer. Any takers?

Usages

We are half way through the season and it is time to pay attention to your usages.

If you use a guy up before the play-offs he is not eligible for the play-offs.

If you continue to use a guy beyond his eligibility you could lose that player to the player pool. Read our rulebook. We voted for this rule.

Sleepless In Seatle

Heilman was a nice pick up!

Strat-O-Matic Report

---

BOXSCORE: 2011 Anchorage Icemen At 2011 Seattle Pilots              6/15/2011
 
  Icemen             AB  R  H RBI AVG     Pilots             AB  R  H RBI AVG
  S.Choo RF           6  2  3  4 .312     J.Jay CF            3  0  1  0 .127  
  J.Heyward LF        3  2  0  0 .274     R.Davis LF          4  0  1  0 .292  
  J.Hamilton CF       3  3  2  0 .359     F.Sanchez 2B        4  0  0  0 .327  
  D.Ortiz 1B          2  2  0  1 .290     R.Ibanez 1B         4  0  1  0 .257  
  A.Beltre 3B         4  0  2  4 .322     H.Pence RF          3  0  1  0 .289  
  O.Vizquel SS        4  1  0  1 .265     J.Herrera 3B        3  0  0  0 .188  
  D.Eckstein 2B       5  1  1  2 .233     M.Tejada SS         3  0  0  0 .251  
  J.Kendall C         5  1  2  1 .282     M.Wieters C         3  0  0  0 .262  
  C.Pavano P          4  1  1  0 .185     J.Lackey P          1  0  0  0 .174  
                                        A-A.Gonzalez PH       1  0  0  0 .316  
                                          P.Moylan P          0  0  0  0 .000  
                                          A.Heilman P         0  0  0  0 ----  
                                          S.Romo P            0  0  0  01.000  
                                        B-A.Pagan PH          1  0  1  0 .259  
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      36 13 11 13                 Totals      30  0  5  0
 
A-Pinch Hit For Lackey In 6th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Romo In 9th Inning
 
Icemen.......... 2 1 0  0 3 0  7 0 0  - 13 11  0
Pilots.......... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  0  5  0
 
Icemen (38-23)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
C.Pavano WIN(3-6)         9       5   0   0   0   5   0 120   4.67
Totals                    9       5   0   0   0   5   0
 
Pilots (32-29)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
J.Lackey LOSS(3-5)        6       7   6   6   4   5   0 115   3.99
P.Moylan                  0       0   3   3   3   0   0  16   6.56
A.Heilman                 0 2/3   2   3   3   1   1   0  23  20.25
S.Romo                    2 1/3   2   1   1   1   4   1  50   3.93
Totals                    9      11  13  13   9  10   1
 
ATTENDANCE- 35,328 DATE- Tuesday, June 15th 2011 TIME- Day WEATHER- Good
T- 2:52
LEFT ON BASE- Icemen: 7  Pilots: 4
DOUBLE PLAYS- Icemen: 1  Pilots: 1
DOUBLES- A.Beltre(14th), J.Kendall(1st), C.Pavano, R.Ibanez(4th)
HOME RUNS- S.Choo(9th)
SACRIFICE HITS- C.Pavano
WALKS- J.Heyward-3, J.Hamilton-2, D.Ortiz-3, O.Vizquel
HIT BY PITCH- A.Beltre, J.Jay
STRIKE OUTS- S.Choo-3, J.Heyward, D.Ortiz-2, A.Beltre, O.Vizquel, D.Eckstein,
             J.Kendall, F.Sanchez-2, J.Herrera, M.Tejada, A.Gonzalez
GIDP- A.Beltre, F.Sanchez
WILD PITCHES- A.Heilman
2-out RBI- A.Beltre-2, S.Choo-4
 
Carl Pavano went 9 strong innings as the Anchorage Icemen clobbered the
outmatched Seattle Pilots, 13 to 0.
 
Shin-Soo Choo had a big day at the plate.  He delivered a base-hit which
scored a run in the 2nd inning, laced a single in the 5th inning and lofted a
three-run 'big-fly' in the 7th inning.  Anchorage finished with 11 hits in
the victory.  
 
It was the 2nd shutout of the year for Pavano(3-6). John Lackey(3-5) absorbed
the loss.  He allowed 6 runs and 7 hits in 6 innings.

• Go to Strat-O-Matic Homepage

You Don't Have To Be Good To Win In Strat

Below is the boxscore of the week. Scott Kazmir gets his first win of the year.

Strat-O-Matic Report

---

BOXSCORE: 2011 Dacula Wreckers At 2011 Vancouver Mounties           6/12/2011
 
  Wreckers           AB  R  H RBI AVG     Mounties           AB  R  H RBI AVG
  M.Ordonez LF        4  0  1  0 .260     B.Abreu LF          4  0  1  0 .257  
  C.Guillen SS        2  1  0  0 .252     C.Figgins 2B        5  0  1  2 .269  
  J.Bautista 3B       3  1  1  2 .198     C.Guzman SS         4  0  1  0 .239  
  J.Werth CF          4  0  1  0 .294     J.Thome DH          3  0  0  0 .260  
  A.Huff 1B           4  0  1  0 .272     C.Gomez RF          4  2  1  0 .259  
  B.Zobrist 2B        2  0  0  0 .200     A.Rowand CF         4  1  3  1 .241  
  J.Damon DH          4  0  1  0 .296     R.Doumit C          4  1  3  1 .271  
  R.Winn RF           3  0  0  0 .171     R.Furcal 3B         0  0  0  0 .240  
A-M.Kotsay PH         1  0  0  0 .000     J.Peralta 1B        3  0  0  0 .252  
  J.Thole C           4  0  0  0 .281                                          
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      31  2  5  2                 Totals      31  4 10  4
 
A-Pinch Hit For Winn In 9th Inning
 
Wreckers........ 2 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  2  5  0
Mounties........ 0 1 0  2 1 0  0 0    -  4 10  0
 
Wreckers (23-42)         IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
F.Garcia LOSS(2-7)        6 1/3   8   4   4   6   4   0 128   5.84
K.Farnsworth              1 2/3   2   0   0   2   0   0  25   3.63
Totals                    8      10   4   4   8   4   0
 
Mounties (28-35)         IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA
S.Kazmir WIN(1-3)         7 1/3   4   2   2   3   3   1 128   4.60
N.Robertson HOLD(3rd)     0 2/3   1   0   0   1   0   0  13   4.15
J.Axford SAVE(7th)        1       0   0   0   1   2   0  16   5.28
Totals                    9       5   2   2   5   5   1
 
ATTENDANCE- 39,976 DATE- Saturday, June 12th 2011 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average
T- 3:13
LEFT ON BASE- Wreckers: 7  Mounties:13
DOUBLE PLAYS- Wreckers: 1  Mounties: 1
DOUBLES- M.Ordonez(6th), A.Huff(11th), C.Gomez(6th)
HOME RUNS- J.Bautista(17th)
STOLEN BASES- C.Gomez(5th)
SACRIFICE HITS- R.Furcal
WALKS- C.Guillen-2, J.Bautista, B.Zobrist-2, B.Abreu, C.Guzman, J.Thome-2,
       R.Furcal-3, J.Peralta
HIT BY PITCH- C.Gomez
STRIKE OUTS- C.Guillen, J.Bautista, B.Zobrist, J.Damon, J.Thole, J.Thome,
             C.Gomez-2, R.Doumit
GIDP- J.Werth, B.Abreu
PASSED BALLS- J.Thole
2-out RBI- C.Figgins-2, R.Doumit
 
In a two run game the Vancouver Mounties got by the Dacula Wreckers by the
score of 4 to 2.
 
In the bottom of the 4th inning Vancouver scored 2 runs when they had 3 base
hits.  The key at-bat was by Chone Figgins who brought the crowd to their
feet when he banged out a single bringing in two baserunners.  Vancouver
finished with 10 hits while Dacula ended up with 5.  
 
The victory went to Scott Kazmir(1-3) who went 7 and 1/3 innings, allowing 2
runs. Kazmir got relief help from John Axford who gained credit for his 7th
save.  Freddy Garcia(2-7) was given the loss.  
 

Over and Under?

Big week in Tucson, they might reach double digits in wins. At this rate the Heat may win about 45 games. It is hard to win only that. It's like playing that Keno game in Las Vegas where you try not to get the numbers.

I look at the roster and don't think they are that bad. Perhaps an occasional line up change would help?

I'm going to go out on a limb and say they win more than 69.

Draft Day and Girl on Girl Action

Draft day has come and gone.

There were just four of us in person, Scott, Jerry, Jeff, and Tom. We did have electronic communication from Cliff, Larry, Dave and Bob. Jon and John left lists with other managers.

Maybe I should have mentioned that The Nabisco Classic was in town that week end. There was girl on girl action all over the place! I'm sure John would have hopped on a plane for that. :)

Even though we didn't have a lot of guys on hand, I felt like there was more participation than in recent years. Most teams did a good job addressing needs and should be able to meet their usage demands this season.

Free agents were also selected for next year's winter meeting. I will work on getting that posted soon.

Check out the season stats link. It is the Strat-O-Matic web builder that comes with the game. It has most of the stats provided by the game. Click on a player or team and check out how they are doing this season. Good to look at if you don't have the computer game.

Next Stop Anchorage

Toro has a facility in Birmingham Alabama, home of the Badgers.

Every year golf course ssuperintendents around the country are invited to stay there and learn about what Toro is currently doing in the golf course industry.

None of the superintendents at PGA West are available this year. So guess who gets to go? Yours truly.

Unfortunately I won't be able to stay for the free NASCAR at Talladega that week end.

It's cool that I get to represent the company, but I'm excited about visiting Birmingham too.

Maybe it should be a Micro League rule that you can't have a team in a town that you haven't been to.

OK, I'm A Little Slow

Yesterday was our "Winter Meeting." It was for the most part held on-line, but Jeff and I were at my house running the free agent draft. The results of the draft are posted in "League Stuff."

We did decide a date for the rookie draft, Saturday April 2. I was thinking Sunday might be better for the guys with kids in Little League. Speak up now if that is so. We didn't pick a site either. My house would be fine, but if another SoCal guy really wants to do it, speak up now too.

Yesterday we also met the new GM of San Pedro, Randy Whitecotton. Welcome Randy.

The first thing Randy does is make The Micro League an international league, by moving his team to Ambu Laynce. Where the hell is that! His e-mail said something about Mumbai and the middle east. So I start to Google this place. Then it hits me. His team name is the Chasers, and he is a lawyer. Duh.

Hopefully his team won't have to do much chasing. They shouldn't, the Metro sucks! Hopefully there is such a place as Ambu Laynce. Hell, I'm not sure there is a Dacula. And hopefully I wasn't the only one who didn't get the joke. But I didn't get the Halifax Machine at first either!

Did They Play Strat-O-Matic In Rock N Roll High School?

Las Vegas got a new GM today, Jon Bourdon.

Jon's first move as GM was to move from Las Vegas to Southern Ohio and rename the team, the Southern Ohio Ramones. I guess there are so many cool cities to choose from in Ohio so he just took the whole southern part of the state. :)

Jon said he discovered Stat-O-Matic while searching for porn under his dad's bed. He now has 6 kids. I think he learned the sex thing. We will find out what he knows about Strat-O-Matic. :)

Welcome to the league Jon. Pick Chris Davis in the first. Ooops scratch that, I already did it.

Free Agents

The 2011 free agent draft is Saturday the 19th. I you can't make it make a wishlist and we will pick accordingly. Here are available free agents and the teams they came from.

ANC                  Omar Vizquel, LaTroy Hawkins, David Eckstein, Freddie Sanchez, Conor Jackson

BIR                  Willy Tavares, Jason Varitek, Noah Lowry, Adrian Beltre, Ryan Garko

CHR                  Nate Robertson, Khalil Greene, Dan Wheeler, Vladimir Guerrero, Brian Schneider

TBS                  Scott Eyre, Marcus Thames, Milton Bradley, Brandon League, Rudy Seanez

SEA                  Mike Sweeney, Justin Speier, Scott Rolen, Mark Grudzielanik, Brian Giles

BRB                  Mike Redmond, Mark Kotsay, JJ Putz, Braden Looper, Miguel Batista

LAL                  Alex Gonzalez, Randy Wolf, Bobby Crosby, Tanyan Sturtze, Jarrod Washburn

VAN                  Tim Wakefield, Mike Pelfrey, Jerry Hairston Jr, Marcus Giles, Roger Cedeno

DAC                  Craig Counsell, David Newhan, Jerome Williams, Ron Villone, Julio Lugo

TUC                  Brad Penny, Jimmy Gobble, Kaz Matsui, Ramon Hernandez, Keith Foulke

MEM                  Damaso Marte, Hideki Matsui, Emil Brown, Ray Durham, Ronny Paulino

TOW                  Chad Bradford, Mike Lowell, Gary Mathews Jr, Jake Westbrook, Bronson Arroyo

SPR                  Laynce Nix, Edgar Gonzalez, Jose Lopez, Jamie Moyer, Matt Stairs

DET                  Travis Hafner, Greg Zaun, Brian Fuentes, Chris Capuano, Damion Easley

LVG                  Mark Mulder, David Ortiz, Placido Polanco, Jason Marquis, Jose Valverde

PON                  Wade Miller, Marlon Byrd, Jason Isringhausen, Oscar Villareal, Mark Teahen

Looking for New GMs

The Micro League is looking for few good men, or women.

The San Pedro Rush and the Las Vegas Gamblers have vacant GM positions. 

San Pedro is the 2010 Metro Division champs. While Las Vegas came in third in the tough Continental Division with a winning record of 82-80.

San Pedro features the talented Josh Johnson, Paul Konerko, and fan favorite Shinn-Soo Choo.

Las Vegas is lead by the freak, Tim Lincecum, wife beater Miguel Cabrera, and Mr. Hustle, Hanley Ramirez.

All applicants will be considered.