Baseball Tri-Weekly: ATB Week 22

Winston Salem's Kason Gabbard pitches during a game against Arlington. Gabbard and company were pounded by Warriors pitching, and now the Green Monsters find themselves on the outside looking in.



Around the Bases: Week 22
By Listen Deplayohs, Baseball Tri-Weekly

August has been a month of horrors for the Green Monsters, and a new dawn for the farm dwellers. A return of the status quo for Weymouth, and a return to brotherly curse that grips the Rockets.

Winston-Salem had been flying high at the end of July, securely in a playoff spot and quietly eyeing a bye and the division crown. After a brutal east coast swing, the Monsters swept through three Western Division teams, beating Tijuana, Golden and Santo Domingo by a combined 25-4. Things looked bright for the nicotine kings.

Conversely, their lone remaining rival hiccuped their way back into the playoff picture. The Piglets looked dismal in their East Coast trip. They lost terribly to Rakeville and Weymouth. After a few trades, they showed signs of a turnaround, only to squeak out a tie against poor Golden club. The momentum heading into the pivotal division matchup was clearly in Green Monsters favor.

“The team was down,” said Piglets pitcher Jake Peavy. “I had never seen it this bad. Guys were hanging their heads in the first inning. It was tough to go out there and pitch when the team behind me as already defeated.”

Somehow, Peavy overcame the despair. Instead of collapsing under the weight of failure, he stepped up and pitched two stellar games for Quebec City, earning two wins, 10 strikeouts while only giving up two runs.

“It was huge to see Jake carry this team on his back,” said fellow pitcher Justin Verlander. “He left it all on the field that game. After seeing that, the rest of the team found new energy.”

Three Piglets, Cain, Kazmir and Marcum, threw shutouts. Newly aquired pitcher Tim Lincecum struckout 16 batters and Greg Maddux posted a .67 Whip. Combine, Quebec City had one of the best pitching games of the season, earning a 2.26 ERA and a 1.12 Whip, netting them four of five pitching categories.

Winston-Salem’s staff tried to fight back, but an overwhelmed Daniel Cabrera, and Paul Maholm were battered by the late revival of Piglet bats.

“It was a turning point for our team,” said Peavy. “It was our first must win of the season. It was really the only game that was really all or nothing. We had to win. We had to come together.”

The win sent both teams careening in different directions. Winston Salem Then travelled to Bridgewater, but were no match for the Weasels. Next was a game with national exposure against the Arlington Warriors.

“I can’t imagine what was going through their heads when we beat them,” said Warrior infielder Derrick Jeter. “You could see how angry they were. I would have felt the same way. After being so strong all season, to let go at the end must have been devistating.”

The 7-2 loss sent the Green Monsters below the yellow line, and allowed Quebec City, who destroyed Arlington the week before and clinched the division in a win over Tokyo, into the playoffs.

Out east, the team everyone expected to be floating around the yellow line was suddenly back in the race. Weymouth meandered to a tie against Tokyo, and looked dead in the water in their matchup against Las Vegas to start the month. Yet, a record-breaking week from the Shaduppu bats quickly turned the tide in their favor. Miguel Tejada, Josh Willingham and Bobby Abreu drove in 26 runs combined on the way to 57 total RBIs. The Doggs stuck with their strengths, and found themselves on the losing end of a 7-3 game.

Weymouth kept rolling, beating Tijuana and Santo Domingo elbowing out a half-game lead for the fourth spot.

“We weren’t kidding when we said we were going to earn a home game,” said Shaduppu pitcher Carlos Zambrano. “These teams we are playing are not as good as us. It is a joke that we were not winning games. That has changed. We have changed. Nobody will want to face us now.”

A team that wouldn’t hesitate to face Weymouth is Rakeville, if it meant they wouldn’t have to play Bridgewater. The Rockets were one win away from gain a shot at Las Vegas for the Eastern Division crown, but the furry little beasts that have plagued them for the past three seasons struck again. Up 6-3 in the last day, Bridgewater surged back thanks to five Rakeville players missing the game to see a movie. In the end, Rakeville was one point in batting average away from a playoff game and their second division crown in three years.

Since 2005, Rakeville has a slight edge on the brother-series, going 3-2-1 against Bridgewater. Still, The Weasels dashed the Rockets championship dreams in 2005 with a second round win in the playoffs, and now they’ve kept them from winning the Price Trophy.

“At some point you just want to beat them with your baseball bats like Jose Offerman,” said Ian Snell. “Snell likes beating, not losing.”

Matchups

Only Rakeville has clinch it’s spot in the playoffs. Las Vegas and Bridgewater are in a dog fight for the final bye spot, and Arlington, Weymouth and Quebec City are hoping they don’t have to take on the loser of that battle in the first round.

The best of the east and west square off in the final game of the season, and the implications will certainly effect the playoff seeds. It is hard to believe that even with a big loss Quebec City will find themselves out of the playoffs, considering Winston-Salem’s opponent (Rakeville), but they will definitely see the most difficult route to the playoffs if they can’t pull off a win.

Las Vegas is a game and a half out of the bye and every Dogg understands the value in having a weeks rest. In their two championship runs, Las Vegas held the top spot in the regular season, and every championship appearance was coupled with a bye. Even worse, the Doggs have gone 1-3-1 against the three teams below them, meaning a first round appearance could very well mean a first round upset.

I suck at making predictions, but I pick the Piglets to win. I have no doubt they will prove me wrong though.

Their first match up ended in a 4-4 tie, and both teams wouldn’t mind a similar result if they can’t pry away a win. Weymouth is looking down at Arlington who has a relatively easy game against Tokyo. I doubt Shaduppu can outplay Bridgewater enough to hang onto the fourth spot, but as long as they don’t blow this game they should stay in the sandwich playoff game rather than face Bridgewater or Las Vegas again.

The Weasels are in the same boat as the Green Monsters, riding high all season only to find themselves playing until the last day to stay alive. Bridgewater haven’t lost a game in a month, but two close wins and two close ties have them walking a tight rope. With Alex Rodriguez’s surge no longer carrying them to easy wins, they will have to use their entire roster. They haven’t been pitching well, yet set a season record for wins. Weymouth will have to take there shots there if they want to win.

The big question here is who will make it the most obvious? Peoria and Santo Domingo square of in the most disappointing match up of the season. The White Devils lead the league in inactive players, while Peoria has the most productive bench in the EHCC. What player will have a surprisingly good game and fuck over the rest of his team?

My money is on Peoria losing this one. Not only are they unashamed of their poor play, but they are also incredibly skilled at starting the worst possible players. Because of Santo Domingo’s thin bench, it is hard for them to make the moves needed to lose.

Transactions

-- A big surprise for everyone in the media was Bridgewater’s signing of Josh Barfield. “We didn’t see the press release until after he was signed.”

League Notes

-- Midway through their game with Tijuana, the Peoria events crew set off fireworks to celebrate the injury of Cole Hamels. The party went on well after the 6-3 loss, with fans burning down the Chris Shelton Robot and replacing it with a wooden sculpture of Hamels in a cast.

-- The Quebec Freeze Press reported that Josh Barfield has a drug problem, but the Brockton Enterprise conducted a sting operation soon after his arrival to Bridgewater. “We offered him every drug he could find, but he turned us down. He likes titties though.”

-- In an effort to bring a more diverse crowd to the ball park, Tijuana has installed skate ramps in the area around the team’s ballpark. Nelly Furtado was the first to use the ramp, but the singer fell and broke her leg.