Power Pros Forum

go and get em Edgey

September 25th, 2015
7:05 PM
Honolulu, HI

Johnny Rivera threw the first pitch of the game, a fastball at the knees of Terry Delaney, at exactly 7:05.

"HUWAH!" the umpire signaled strike one, and the crowd let out a thunderous applause. Rivera followed it up with a curveball, which Delaney yanked to shortstop. Jose Medrano made the easy play, and the first out was recorded. The crowd cheered.

"Home field advantage in full swing tonight, huh?" asked Marcus McElroy next to me. I nodded.
"Looks that way."

Chico Romez lined a single to center, but Sylvester Coddmeyer III grounded into a double play, ending the inning.

In the bottom half, with one out, Danny Millwood smoked a double to center field, and Matt McCarthy brought him around with a single, opening the scoring at 1-0 Gunmen. Johnny Rivera worked a 1-2-3 second, and Hong-Chic Kuo worked out of a jam in the bottom half. After a couple of groundouts to begin the third, Rivera served up a double to Bobby Canfield. Terry Delaney then jumped on the first pitch he saw and lined it to left field, scoring the speedy Canfied easily and tying the game at one.

With two outs in the bottom of the third, Derek Wayne and Patrick Warr put together back to back singles. A wild pitch advanced them to second and third, and Roy Schapp hit a clutch single to score them both, putting us back in the lead 3-1. In the fourth, with a runner on first and two outs, three straight hits - a single from Millwood, a double from McCarthy, and a single from Wayne - scored three more runs, making it 6-1 Gunmen and sending the boisterous crowd into a frenzy.

Both teams went down 1-2-3 in the fifth, but in the sixth, three of the first four Dolphins batters singled, loading the bases up with one out. I called for time and headed out to the mound.

"How you feeling, Johnny?"
"Great, sir. They just got some lucky hits."
"You going to work out of this?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good."

Satisfied, I headed back to the dugout. Johnny and I made eye contact as I returned to my post on the steps, and he nodded before stepping back onto the rubber. Dolphins first baseman Yuri Dotzen stepped up to the plate. Johnny fired the first pitch.

"HUWAH!"

Strike one. Johnny, working quickly, fired another fastball.

"HUWAH!"

Strike two. Johnny reached back and fired a third straight fastball, this one at the letters. Dotzen swung and lofted it high into the air.

"Mine!" Matt McCarthy threw his mask to the side and stepped towards the screen behind home plate. Tracking the ball with every move, he drifted left, then right, then back towards the infield as the ball settled into his glove.

"Out!"

The crowd cheered. Two outs. In stepped Danny Walker, the Dolphins' star shortstop. An excellent fielder and by no means shabby at the plate, he was certainly a threat.

Johnny started him with a two-seam fastball on the inside edge before missing with a slider away. A curveball at the knees brought the count to 1-2, and the crowd rose to its feet at the prospect of escaping the jam unscathed. Johnny stepped onto the rubber and nodded at the first sign McCarthy put down. He kicked and threw, snapping off a wicked curveball. Walker was clearly fooled, and he swung and missed violently.

"HUWAH!"

The crowd went berserk, and Johnny's cool face for the television cameras crept into a smile as he got closer to the dugout. High fives went all around, and Johnny received enough ass-slaps for a life time.

Each team managed just one hit in the final three innings, and as Paul Casey got Stu Fletcher to ground out to second base to end the game, the score remained as it had been since the fourth.

Final Score:
Sacramento Dolphins - 1
Honolulu Gunmen - 6

Box Score
Win: Johnny Rivera (5-9)
Save:
Loss: Hong-Chih Kuo (0-9)
HR:

J. Medrano - 0-4, .299
D. Millwood - 2-4, 2B, 2 R, .295
M. McCarthy - 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R, .298
D. Wayne - 2-4, 2 RBI, R, K, .316
P. Warr - 1-4, R, .249
R. Schapp - 1-4, 2 RBI, K, .228
D. Wilde - 0-4, R, .273
S. Bernard - 2-4, R, .273
C. Raines - 2-3, .228

J. Rivera (W) - 7 IP, 7 H, ER, 3 K, 3.14
V. Trieu - IP, H, 0 ER, 2.68
J. Hampson - 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 4.04
P. Casey - 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 5.12
___________________________________________

Playoff Race

AL West Standings
1(t). Sacramento Dolphins - 90-67
1(t). Honolulu Gunmen - 90-67

AL Wild Card Standings
1. Boston Red Sox - 92-65
2(t). Sacramento Dolphins - 90-67
2(t). Honolulu Gunmen - 90-67

[insert excited screaming]

also, #McCarthy4MVP

September 26th, 2015
7:06 PM
Honolulu, HI

With Michael Davis facing off against Sacramento ace Koby Caplin, each pitcher held the other scoreless for two. Sacramento catcher Manny Griffin then started the third with a screamer up the middle. Bobby Canfield then blooped a ball to left, and Terry Delaney hit a grounder past Steve Bernard at second. It was hit hard enough for Wayne's arm to scare the slow-footed Griffin into staying at third, loading the bases with nobody out.

Davis looked to be stressing out a bit on the mound, so I sent pitching coach Manuel Cortés out to talk to him. Chico Romez dug into the plate, and Davis worked ahead of him 1-2 before he smoked a ground ball right to Juan Hernandez. Hernandez picked it and fired home, saving a run in the process. One down.

In stepped the dangerous Sylvester Coddmeyer. Davis started him with a changeup, and Coddmeyer rolled it weakly towards short. Jose Medrano charged it and fired it to McCarthy, getting Canfield by a step. Two down.

Davis pitched aggressively to Ryan Church, getting ahead 0-2. He then threw a curveball in the dirt, and it went right through the legs of McCarthy and to the backstop. McCarthy hustled to it, but it was no use. Delaney scored, putting the Dolphins ahead. Luckily, Davis got Church to ground out on the next pitch.

The score stayed at 1-0 until the bottom of the fifth, when Donnie Wilde got a hold of one and put it in the left field bleachers, ting the game at one. With Davis still on the mound in the seventh, the first two batters reached on a walk and a single, so I pulled him for Adam Wilson. Stu Fletcher singled off of Wilson, loading the bases with nobody out for the second time in the game. Adam Wilson dialed back, however, and got a fielder's choice, a popout, and a strikeout to escape the jam.

In the bottom half, Steve Bernard sent a line drive off the left field foul pole, giving us a 2-1 lead. We added another on a single, steal, double combo, and Rick Allen put them away in the ninth 1-2-3.

Final Score:
Sacramento Dolphins - 1
Honolulu Gunmen - 3

Box Score
Win: Adam Wilson (6-2)
Save: Rick Allen (41)
Loss: Nicky Canelo (5-5)
HR: Donnie Wilde (11), Steve Bernard (14)

J. Medrano - 1-4, .298
M. McElroy - 3-4, R, K, SB, .262
J. Hernandez - 2-4, 2B, RBI, .273
M. McCarthy - 0-4, K, .296
D. Wayne - 1-3, BB, .316
P. Warr - 0-4, .247
D. Wilde - 1-3, HR, RBI, R, .273
S. Bernard - 1-3, HR, RBI, R, .273
C. Raines - 0-3, .226

M. Davis - 6 IP, 6 H, R, 0 ER, 2 K, 2 BB, 3.53
A. Wilson (W) - IP, H, 0 ER, K, 2.53
M. Colyer (HLD) - IP, 0 H, 0 ER, K, 2.68
R. Allen (SV) - IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3.63
___________________________________________

Playoff Race

AL West Standings
1. Honolulu Gunmen - 91-67
2. Sacramento Dolphins - 90-68

AL Wild Card Standings
1. Boston Red Sox - 92-66
2. Sacramento Dolphins - 90-68

[insert excited screaming]

also, what the *(censored)*, McCarthy?

September 27th, 2015
2:54 PM
Honolulu, HI

It was now the seventh inning of game three against the Dolphins, and we, holding a one game division lead, were being made to look like fools by Bill Bailey.

Through six innings of work, he racked up six strikeouts and was two thirds of the way to a perfect game. Luckily for us, Cesario Castillo was having a day of his own, striking out five in seven innings of shutout ball. Leading off the seventh, Danny Millwood stepped in, 0 for 2 with a strikeout and a foul popout. Bill Bailey started him with a cutter up and in, and Millwood was obviously looking for it.

"Oh, that's gone!" Steve Bernard shouted from the on deck circle as the ball sailed into left-center. Sylvester Coddmeyer gave it a look, but it was way out. Millwood rounded the bases and Bernard gave him a double high five as a he crossed home plate. Gunmen one, Dolphins zero.

Bailey looked a bit rattled by the home run, and maybe he was tiring a little bit. With the count at 2-1 on Bernard he grooved a fastball, and Bernard got every piece of it. It sailed to left-center and carried over the wall almost exactly where Millwood's had just minutes earlier. Bernard pumped his fast Kirk Gibson style as he ran, and the crowd went into a frenzy. Johnathan Grey walked slowly to the mound, and Bailey shoved the ball into his hand and walked away in a huff. Nicky Canelo trotted in from the bullpen to relieve him, but just four pitches removed from a perfect six innings, he had little time to prepare. Juan Hernandez chopped a single past the second baseman, but Matt McCarthy grounded into a routine 4-6-3 double play, and Derek Wayne popped out to end the inning.

All eyes now turned to Castillo on the mound, who was working on a three hit game. He struck out Danny Walked after a foul ball that was almost a double, and then got a double play after allowing a single. When he returned to the dugout, I approached him.

"What's your status?" I asked.
"Good."
"You can finish this out?"
"Yes."
"All right then. Show me what you got."

I suspected his was tiring, so I had Manny Cortés call the bullpen and have Rick Allen and Mike Colyer to get loose. Canelo retired our 6-7-8 hitters in order, sending the game into the ninth at 2-0.

Bobby Canfield, the Dolphins' speedy nine-hitter, was to lead off. Castillo worked him outside with a pair of fastballs, missing with one. He then missed with a changeup before coming inside with a fastball. Canfield turned on it but hit it right to Javier Soriano, who threw to first for the first out.

Left fielder Terry Delaney, 0 for 3 on the day, then stepped in. He swung and missed at a first pitch fastball and then ducked out of the way of a second one up and in. He glared at Castillo, but Castillo didn't acknowledge him. He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead and stepped back onto the rubber. Delaney watched a fastball over the plate and then took a knuckle-curve away. Castillo shook off McCarthy's 2-2 sign and delivered a changeup at the knees. Delaney was caught out in front, and swung through it for the second. out.

The crowd rose to its feet as Chico Romez dug in. Castillo was clearly tiring, but he didn't care. Romez swung at a first pitch fastball and grounded deep into the hole behind second base. Bernard ranged far to his left, fielded the ball, jumped and threw to first.

"OUT!"

The crowd erupted into cheers and Castillo looked up to the heavens as Juan Hernandez gave him a hug. I smiled. Another win would clinch the division,

Final Score:
Sacramento Dolphins - 0
Honolulu Gunmen - 2

Box Score
Win: Cesario Castillo (9-10)
Save:
Loss: Bill Bailey (12-5)
HR: Danny Millwood (12), Steve Bernard (15)

D. Millwood - 1-3, HR, RBI, R, K, .295
M. McElroy - 1-3, HR, RBI, R, .273
J. Hernandez - 1-3, .273
M. McCarthy - 0-3, 2 K, .295
D. Wayne - 0-3, .314
P. Warr - 0-3, .246
D. Wilde - 0-3, E, .272
C. Raines - 0-3, K, .225
J. Soriano - 0-3, 2 K, .000

C. Castillo (W) - 9 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 7 K, 3.42
___________________________________________

Playoff Race

AL West Standings
1. Honolulu Gunmen - 92-67
2. Sacramento Dolphins - 90-69

AL Wild Card Standings
1. Boston Red Sox - 92-67
2. Sacramento Dolphins - 90-69

tbh McCarthy should be designated for assignment

0 for his last 7 with 3 strikeouts is unacceptable !!! #DFAMcCarthy

Did you give up for 6 players on hitting or what. You took the bats out of the 4,5,6,7,8, and 9 hitters.
M. McCarthy - 0-3, 2 K, .295
D. Wayne - 0-3, .314
P. Warr - 0-3, .246
D. Wilde - 0-3, E, .272
C. Raines - 0-3, K, .225
J. Soriano - 0-3, 2 K, .000

no it's actually because McCarthy is so bad that he negatively affects anyone batting behind him in the order, in addition to sucking of his own accord

oh bby, gettin close

September 28th, 2015
2:53 PM
Honolulu, HI

"Did you hear?"

I looked up from my papers to see Claire standing in the doorway to my office.

"Cicotte's been scratched. Jimmie Todd's on the mound."
I looked at the clock. It was only 22 minutes to game time.
"What happened?" I asked. Claire shrugged.
"He's AWOL. Some sort of dispute about his contract. Either way, good news for us."

I nodded. She was right. Cicotte had given us fits all year, and Todd was mediocre at best.

"Thanks, Claire. I'll let everyone else know."

Forced to go to their swing man with the division on the line... and against our ace too. Preston must be fuming.

Ayyy nice to see this back

Beat them Dolphins bby

I love how you added that update because of MLBPP's awful pitcher stamina recovery system lol

He has 200 stamina and Recovery 4, I really don't know what more can be done.

September 28th, 2015
4:02 PM
Honolulu, HI

Perhaps having prepared to face a knuckleballer had an adverse effect on our hitters, because through four innings of play, the score was knotted at zero. Brendan Bikowski had yet to give up a hit, but that changed quickly when Yuri Dotzen doubled on a high fastball with one out in the fifth. Danny Walker followed that up with a single to right, but Derek Wayne got the ball in quickly, keeping Dotzen at third and putting runners at the corners with one out for Stu Fletcher.

"Do you want to go talk to him?" I asked Manny Cortés. He shook his head.
"No, let him work it out."

Fletcher stepped in and swung on top of a first pitch cutter, grounding it weakly to short. Medrano charged it hard, and Dotzen saw that it was hit too slowly and retreated to third. Medrano flipped to second for the force, keeping runners at the corners with now two away. Brendan started the next batter, catcher Manny Griffin, with a palmball, and he rolled it to shortstop for an easy fielder's choice to end the threat.

One inning later, in the bottom of the sixth, Colin Raines slapped a line drive to right field for a single. I gave the sign for him to steal on the first pitch and he slid in safely, but he didn't get up. The crowd went quiet as Colin called for time. I ran out with our head trainer.

"What happened?"
Colin pointed to his right ankle, his boyish face writhing in pain. Our trainer poked around a bit.
"Does this hurt?"
It was clear that it did.
"I can feel some swelling. Can you walk on it?"
The trainer helped him up, and he tentatively put some weight on his right foot. He hobbled around at first and slowly returned to more normal walk.
"I'm okay," he announced.
"You can run?" I asked him. He nodded. The trainer looked at me.
"It's probably just a sprain," he told me.
"All right, we're good." We headed off the field. The crowd cheered for Colin as he continued to walk around.

When play resumed, Jose Medrano stepped in with an 0-1 count and the go-ahead run on second. Todd missed with the next two pitches and then grooved a fastball, and Jose hit it deep to left field.

"Get up! Get out!"

Dolphins left fielder Terry Delaney retreated to the warning track, looking up. He put his hand out and made the catch just in front of the wall.

"Damn it."

Apparently that was all the Dolphins' manager needed to see, and he came out to relieve Todd. In came Joey Gallagher, a hard throwing righty, to face Marcus McElroy. With the count at 2-2 he threw a fastball up and away that Marcus thought was outside.

"Steeerike three!"

Marcus disagreed, and he turned to let the umpire know before throwing his helmet on the ground in disgust. We headed into the 7th, still tied at zero.

Two of the first four batters for the Dolphins singled, and Stu Fletcher came through in the clutch with a line drive to left field, scoring Ryan Church from third and giving the Dolphins a 1-0 lead. Brendan got the next batter to ground out to second, ending the inning.

"That's all for you today," I told him when he got to the dugout. "Good pitching."
He mumbled a "thanks," but I could tell he wasn't happy.

The Sacramento lead didn't last very long, as Juan Hernandez turned on the first pitch of the bottom half and sent it over the right field bleachers for an absolute moonshot of a game tying home run. The crowd whipped itself into a frenzy, and suddenly it felt as if momentum was on our side.

The tie continued into the bottom of the 9th, when Jose Medrano hit a leadoff single. Marcus McElroy worked the count to 3-2, and I signaled for Jose to steal. Just as he was taking an extra step off the bag, Joey Gallagher spun and picked to first. Jose dove back, but he had no chance, and was called out, killing our rally before it even got started.

The game went to extra innings, with Colyer throwing the 10th and Allen the 11th. In the 12th, Rick got two strikes on Danny Walker and then tried to sneak a high fastball by him, but Walker saw it all the way. He turned on it and sent it deep over the left-center field wall, giving the Dolphins a 2-1 lead. I pulled him in favor of Evan Lorrier, who closed out the inning.

The submariner closer, Bernie Shantz, came in to face McElroy, Hernandez, and McCarthy in the bottom of the 12th. With some of our best hitters due up, I was hopeful, but those hopes were quickly dashed as Shantz shut them down 1-2-3.

With two games to play, the Dolphins' playoff hopes remained alive.

Final Score:
Sacramento Dolphins - 2
Honolulu Gunmen - 1

Box Score
Win: Art Colt (5-2)
Save: Bernie Shantz (36)
Loss: Rick Allen (6-8)
HR: Juan Hernandez (26), Danny Walker (16)

J. Medrano - 2-5, E, .299
M. McElroy - 0-5, 2 K, .260
J. Hernandez - 1-5, HR, RBI, R, .272
M. McCarthy - 0-5, K, .292
D. Wayne - 2-4, 2B, .315
P. Warr - 0-4, K, .244
D. Wilde - 0-4, 2 K, .270
S. Bernard - 0-4, .271
C. Raines - 1-4, 2 K, SB, .225

B. Bikowski - 7 IP, 6 H, ER, 3 K, 2.61
A. Wilson - IP, H, 0 ER, K, 2.50
M. Colyer - 2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2.61
R. Allen (L) - IP, H, ER, K, 3.71
E. Lorrier - IP, H, 0 ER, 1.74
___________________________________________

Playoff Race

AL West Standings
1. Honolulu Gunmen - 92-68
2. Sacramento Dolphins - 91-69

AL Wild Card Standings
1. Boston Red Sox* - 93-67
2. Sacramento Dolphins - 91-69
*clinched