Baseball Tri-Weekly: October Cover

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Rakeville Times: A moment of silence

Felix Hernandez sits at the end of the Rockets bench after losing to Quebec City in the second round of the playoffs. Hernandez, along with a majority of the team, did not speak with the media after the devastating loss.


A moment of silence
By Aviator McShadeless

We all knew it could happen but nobody wanted to admit it, and now no one in Rakeville can believe their beloved team is out of the playoffs. Rakeville fell to EHCC's hottest team, the Quebec City Piglets 6-4, thanks to an offensive explosion in the final day.

After the game, the Rockets locker room was closed to media for nearly an hour, and when it did open the players were as speechless as the fans.

"I just don't want to think about it right now," said Josh Beckett. "I can't think of anything I could say that would give you any insight. Everyone here feels terrible."

Many attribute the loss to a poor pitching strategy going into the series and the team's inability to hit for power. As the Piglets carry the torch into the championships, Rakeville fans will have a long offseason to analyze the team's faults.

"We all had a chance to win this game for us," said First baseman David Ortiz, who flied out with the bases loaded to end the game. "Sometimes the hitting works, and the rest of the time it doesn't. I don't think it will work this bad next year."

Jack Reed and the rest of the front office would not comment on the loss. It is the third year in a row the Rockets have lost in the second round of the Playoffs.

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By The Numbers: 2007

Every year is full of record breaking performances and 2007 was no different. With 5 single week records being either tied or broken and 4 single season records being broken or crushed, the EHCC had another historic regular season. How many records did Carl Crawford help the Green Monsters break?

By: Barry Larkin

Single Week Records:

Saves (11)
The expansion Arlington Warriors wasted no time getting their team into the EHCC record books by setting the new single week Saves record in Week 7. This was during a time that the Warriors fielded a healthy Chris Ray, now Tokyo closer Joakim Soria, Brian Fuentes, and Jose Valverde. They closed out the Peoria Cardinals that week, and ended up helping the Warriors to a 6-3-1 victory against the Cardinals.

Stolen Bases (t-14)
The Winston-Salem Green Monsters are flat out fast. The fastest team in the EHCC actually. They held the single week stolen base record since Week 8 of 2006. They tied the feet this season in Week 10 against the Arlington Warriors. This was a week when Carl Crawford stole 5 bases and Hanley Ramirez took 4 of his own. With four other Monsters helping out, the easily took the category over the Warriors, but weren't able to take the game, losing 3-5-2 to Arlington.

The second seeded Weasels, not known for their speed, jumped out of nowhere to put their team in the record books again. In Week 22 against team Shaddupu, the Weasels swiped 14 bags of their own. Weymouth pitchers weren't keeping a good eye on new Weasel Nate McLouth, who stole 5 bags of his own, or A-Rod and J-Rol, who combined for 6 stolen bases against Weymouth and Victor Martinez, who just couldn't seem to throw anyone out on the base paths. Derek Lee, Lance Berkman, and Gary Mathews Jr helped out with a stolen base each in Week 22. The Weasels went on toe win the category and the week 5-4-1.

Runs Batted In (57)
The bats were on fire in Weymouth with visiting Vegas in town during the Week 19 match up. The Doggs didn't stand a chance against team Shaddupu, as former Doggs' shortstop batted in 10 runs, and Bobby Abreu and Josh Willingham each had 8 ribbies for Weymouth. Every Weymouth batter that had at least 1 at bat against the Doggs had a part in setting the record, and 7 of the 11 hitters had 4 or more RBI's in Week 19. Weymouth ended up crushing the Doggs 57-25 in the category and won the week 7-3.

Average (.388)
Team single week average was the most surprising record to be broken this season. Many teams have come close on Saturday, but no teams have been able to hold on through Sunday. Until Week 21 of the 2007 season, when Quebec City stole the record while facing off against Tokyo in Canada. Tokyo pitchers just weren't up to par against the Piglets, allowing all but one Piglet batter (Vladimir Guerrero) to hit at least .300 in the week. Ichiro Suzuki and Mike Lowell both hit .500, while Hideki Matsui, Mark Teixiera, and Rafeal Furcal each hit above .400. The Piglets beat Tokyo obviously won the category, and took the contest 7-2-1, propelling them into the 2007 playoffs.

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Single Season Records:

Stolen Bases (173)
Winston-Salem showed at the end of the season why they're one of the fastest team in EHCC history. Not only did they tie their own single week record in the category, but crushed the former single season record with 173. The 2006 Las Vegas Doggs held the record with 135. The Monsters kept it up all season, winning stolen bases 18 of the 22 chances. Both the 2007 Doggs and 2007 Hispanics broke the previous record as well, but the Monsters were the one to hold on at the end to put their name in the record books.

Wins (124)
The Weasels weren't happy enough holding the single season record in wins in 2006. They had to one up themselves in 2007. They did so by 7 extra wins, upping the record from 117 to 124. They only lost the category four times in 2007, least int he EHCC.

Strikeouts (1580)
If you thought the Monsters crushed their record, you haven't seen anything yet. The Rockets, who held the single season strikeout record with 1398 in 2006, crushed the record in 2007 with 1580, over 110 more K's than the nearest competitor (QC - 1467).

Earned Run Average (3.81)
Though the Rockets barely missed out on setting a new single season WHIP record, they had little trouble breaking Las Vegas' ERA record from 2006 (3.87). With one of the best pitching staffs in EHCC history, Rakeville coasted in the category from week to week, winning 15 times, most in 2007.

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Rakeville Times: The Knight of Rakeville

Pedro Martinez is interviewed by the media at Reed Field in Rakeville a day after his start in ESSEC Stackerville. Martinez look healthy and primed to lead the Rockets to glory.




The Knight of Rakeville
By Aviator McShadeless, Rakeville Times

In February, months before he threw anything that resembled a pitch, Pedro Martinez found his way to the big league side of the Rockets' sprawling complex in Pensacola, Fla., and delivered a state-of-the-comeback address. "Hold 'em for me and I'll push 'em back," he said.

As the EHCC playoffs begin, Pedro held true to his word. The long-time Rakeville ace was declared eligible to play by team trainer Lance Armstrong Sunday, but rather then join the big league club during their brief, bye-week vacation, Martinez chose to take on one of the best ESSEC teams this season with the Stackerville Flames.

The first inning was a bit rocky, as the Eagle County Kobes put up two runs on Pedro. Like a veteran, Martinez struck back, pitching five innings, giving up only five hits. He struck out four including Kobes star Jay Bruce on a fastball that couldn’t break 90 mph.

"If I'm throwing between 85 and 88 [mph]," Martinez said Friday, "and I have command of my pitches, I'll get anybody out." His performance Monday supported that brash statement, and the Rockets will really need Pedro to perform as rosters expand.

"Most teams will be adding 3-5 pitchers to their rotation when they face us," said Troy O’Leary, team manager. "The advantage we’ve had all season almost dissolves in the playoffs. We have been trying to set ourselves up for this for he last month and I think Pedro is better than anyone we could bring in."

Martinez looks at it differently. He did not fight back from injury to be a supplemental player. He came back to be a leader.

"The guys have worked so hard to get us here, and now I’m here to help take them home."

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Baseball Tri-Weekly: September Cover

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Ready to Launch
By Listen Deplayohs, Baseball Tri-Weekly

Go to any bar in Rakeville, say his name, and you’ll start a chant. Fans have begun to call him Ian in discussions about the team, because just uttering the name Snell turns even the soberest patron into the most raucous Golden Arm. They have good reason to celebrate, and it’s not just Rocket all-stars that have earned the admiration of a city.

The Rakeville rotation proved to be one of the best in the history of the franchise and the league, and they have solidified their legacy as the greatest pitching staff ever seen. While this decade will be remembered for the Weymouth championship dynasty, the dominance of Rakeville hurlers over the years will be a close second. But now the question is, will pitching alone be enough to lift the Rockets to their first title?

Josh Beckett has been the headliner all season, but veteran Rockets Roy Oswalt and Javier Vazquez have quietly been guiding the team to victories. Most impressive has been the back of the rotation. Bronson Arroyo, Felix Hernandez and Rich Hill could be aces on a few teams in the league, but combine for 25 wins and over 400 strikeouts, while Jeremy Guthrie and Kevlim Escobar are having Cy Young caliber seasons.

“I can’t envision a scenario where a team can beat us by out-pitching us,” said Manager Troy O’Leary. “The front office has build this team to win, and win often. I know our playoff history is checkered with failure, but there is a new attitude to this team. We’re not taking anything for granted, but we know if everyone is healthy than we should win.”

Health is key, and Rakeville is getting healthier everyday. Team Trainer Lance Armstrong announced that Josh Hamilton and Chase Utley are ready to play when the rosters expand for the playoffs. Both have been tearing up the ESSEC over the last week in rehab games. Pitchers Pedro Martinez and Phillip Hughes are also poised to contribute but the path for them is more complicated. Still, the Rockets are fit.

“The bye will give guys like Joe Mauer and David Ortiz a chance to rest,” said O’Leary about two players battling nagging injuries. “Everyone in are rotation is fresh, and with our bullpen so deep, their arms are electric. I may vomit on my shoes I am so excited.”

The Rockets biggest obstacle is their 1-5 record in the playoffs.

“It is easy to have a losing playoff record when you look at some of the great teams we’ve seen in the EHCC, but 1-5 is unacceptable,” said General Manager Jack Reed. “We were fortunate enough to have a big lead heading into the trade deadline. It allowed us to focus on moves that will help us win games in the playoffs rather than blowing out teams in the regular season. This team has never been better equipped for postseason success.”

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