GAME OF THE WEEK (Week 6)

NOTE:

You will notice on the right hand side of the page that the All-Star roster is being posted.  The team has been picked and we will post names as people are notified and accept.  Look for a new name every day or two.  They will be posted in no particular order.

You will also notice two marquee scrolls at the top of this page.  The first one runs the current weeks scores and the second one has "news" and "stats leaders".  Hope you find them helpful.  

GAME OF THE WEEK

Last week when I first looked at this game it appeared on the surface to be a rags and riches game. The Hurtin' Units, "the rags" were sitting as the league's only team without a win, having a 0-4-1 record; while the Dodge City Rounders, "the riches" had a 5-1 mark and were sitting a game out of first place.

But the last game of last week saw these two teams face off and lo and behold, the rags beat the riches.  There's always so much more to this league than standings.  That's why we actually play the games and don't award championships in June.

The Hurtin' Units were a pretty competitive team even before their lone win.  Consider that through their first 5 games they are a -16, which means that they are averaging 3 run differential per game.  The bottom line is they are close.  Actually, three of their losses have been by a solitary run.  In those games a single hit or out would have made a difference.  Its not crazy to say that they could easily be a 4-1 team if not for the odd bounce going for them instead of against them.  

The Units come into this game being led by Jamie Allen (.864, 8), Cam Clark (.810, 10), Anicete Goncalves (.783, 12), Clayton Avery (.783, 14) and Rob Rumboldt (.773, 5). 

The Dodge City Rounders, who had been dominant until the Hurtin' Units game, have a number of stars on offense.  Al Fry (.889, and league leader with 20 runs scored), Scott Peters (.815, 13), Henry Lukassen (.731, 5) Scott Mason (.720, 14), Luc Schryer (.704, 4) and Keith Beechey (.704, 8) have all had remarkable starts to the year.

For Dodge, this is a rebound game.  For the Units its a chance to move from dead last to (potentially) a tie for 10th in just two short games.

The game started with tight defense.  The Units counted one in the 1st inning with Anicete Goncalves plating on a Clayton Avery RBI triple.  Undaunted, the Rounders got that run back in the bottom of the first when league Runs leader Al Fry walked and cam around on a Luc Schryer single.  The inning was highlighted by Al Hayward making a breathtaking stop on line drive scalded off the bat of Keith Beechey.

The Hurtin' Units went quietly in the 2nd stranding Rob Rumboldt with his lead off single.  The Dodge City Rounders then jumped ahead to a 3-1 lead with Tom Enright and Al Nicholl (Bones) scoring on an RBI single by Wayne Bickford and a sacrifice fly from Scott Mason.

Going into the 3rd, this had all the signs of a low scoring defensive affair.  It wasn't to be.  The Hurtin' Units half of the frame opened with an Al Hayward singe, followed by a Gord Robertson opposite field single, followed by a James Taylor single up the middle.  Anicete would then single followed by Jamie Allen forcing out James Taylor at third.  Gord Robinson then singled.  When the dust settled, 4 runs were in, 2 runners on, 1 out and Rob Rumboldt at the plate.  Rob then hit a veritable moon shot into the tennis courts to make it a seven run inning on those last 3 RBI.  Dodge initially looked like they were going to respond when Peters and Beechey led of with singles, but the inning quickly fizzled without a run crossing the plate.

Being down 8-3 would be as close as Dodge City would get on this night.  The Hurtin' Units continued to pull away and would ultimately win this one 19-10.

It was an odd game in a few ways.  Dodge City actually played some great defense in this one.  They gave up one the 1st; none in the 2nd; none in the 4th and 1 in the 5th.  But that 7 run 3rd killed them and they couldn't recover.  And the Hurtin' Units were amazing on "D".  Through the first 6 innings they gave up 1, 2, 0, 1, 1 and 0.

Notables:

• Al Hayward's stab off of Beechey.  
• Al Fry 3/4 with 3 more runs scored.  
• Scott Peters 3/4 and drove in a run with a sac fly in his only out. 
• Anicete Goncalves was 4/4 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI.
• Clayton Avery was 4/4 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI.
• Rob Rumboldt was 4/4 with 3 runs scored and 6 RBI!
• Gord Robertson was 4/4 with 3 runs scored and an RBI.  

 Players of the GAME;     

I'm the judge and jury on these and I don't always get them right.  But its a feel thing, not just a stats thing.  I say that because I didn't pick Rob Rumboldt and now I'm feeling a little guilty.

For the Hurtin' Units:  Gord Robertson, for the 4/4 and 3 runs but also the great play at 3rd base and the on the field chatter that keeps everyone alert and in the game.

For the Dodge City Rounders:  Al Fry.  Al's demeanor doesn't change up 10 or down 10; if he's scoring 3 runs a game or grounding out 3 times in a game.  He keeps everyone around him loose.  That plus the 3/4 night and extending his league lead in runs scored gets him the nod.

Things to check out:

Check out the Donini Three Stars of the game here ==> STARS
Check out the Dislocated Joints game notes from DTBB & Terry Doucet ==> JOINTS
Check out the Tap Master's game notes from Jason Bowers ==> Tapped Out
Check out the Hurtin' Units BLOG from Jimmer ==> Hannibal Lecter
The League's Official Website ==> League