Saturday, August 4, 2012

Illinois has Good Block III & Makes First Deal for Next Year










Illinois Times:  

In the world of NASBL it is possible to work on two seasons at the same time.  It was a busy Saturday morning for Chows GM Brad Sherlag as Illinois solidified its play-off position by going 13-4 in the Block III home games.  "We are very excited to look ahead to our first ever postseason birth.  We worked hard to get into this position, making a lot of offseason deals to bolster our offseason.  While Outlaw is definitely the team to beat, anything can happen in short series.  Through Three Blocks, the club has performed well and we are in a strong position to make it in."

Shortly after finishing the Block, Sherlag completed his first deal for next season.  "No matter what happens this year, next year is shaping up to be a usual rebuilding year for the Chows.  We are looking to add a lot of good young talent - and one of the talented under 25 year old players became available.  The price was high - but we had to pull the trigger and part with one of our two remaining original Chows."

The deal sends Roy Halladay and Brandon Beachy to the Bulldogs for Justin Upton and Jon Lester.  "Upton was really the key to the deal for us.  While it was hard to pull the trigger, getting a player who has hit 100 home runs in MLB before his 25th birthday was something we couldn't resist."  Upton's position is RF, so fans are wondering if the other original Chow, Carlos Beltran will also be switching uniforms next season.

Over the years, there have been a plethora of offers for Halladay - time will tell if the Chows picked the right time and right deal to trade Doc.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

TG Cy Young Wannabes Duel At Outlaw Pond

Outlaw Pond on a sweltering August day.

Clayton Kershaw, 14 wins - 5 losses, 2.85 ERA, 163 strikeouts.
Justin Masterson, 15 wins - 1 loss, 2.32 ERA, 109 strikeouts.


Both gunslingers swagger into Wreckin' So Field at High Noon looking to enhance their Cy Young creds. 

Only one will walk out a winner.


Kershaw and Lake Champlain draw first blood, as cannibals are wont to do, in the bottom of the second when a Punto sacrifice fly plates McCann.

Konerko wounds Outlaw further by firing a blast over the centerfield fence in the third.


Outlaw takes the hit, staggers, but never says die.  Pedroia singles home Andrus to get one back in the bottom of the third.


A Beltre error opens the door for the Cannibals in the fourth and Lake Champlain take full advantage and scores twice for a 4-1 lead.


Masterson settles down ant throws bullets the rest of the way, but is it too late?

Matt Kemp blasts a two-run shot off Kershaw in the seventh to close the gap to one, but Kersaw and Hanrahan  shut the door the rest of the way.

The wounded Masterson and the Wales limp off the field vowing to live to fight another day.

BOXSCORE: 2012 Lake Champlain Cannibals At 2012 Outlaw Josey Wales  8/11/2012

  Cannibals          AB  R  H RBI AVG     Josey Wales        AB  R  H RBI AVG
  F.Freeman 1B        4  0  0  0 .300     J.Bay LF            5  1  1  0 .224 
  C.Granderson LF     4  0  0  0 .233     D.Pedroia 2B        3  0  1  1 .253 
  P.Konerko DH        3  1  1  1 .282     M.Kemp CF           5  1  3  2 .331 
  M.Joyce RF          4  0  0  0 .307     N.Cruz RF           4  0  0  0 .274 
  B.McCann C          4  2  1  0 .218     A.Beltre 3B         4  0  1  0 .271 
D-M.Treanor C         0  0  0  0 .340     D.Ortiz DH          3  0  0  0 .311 
  O.Hudson 2B         4  1  1  0 .209     M.Napoli C          4  0  0  0 .282 
  D.Murphy 3B         3  0  2  1 .308     A.Gonzalez 1B       3  0  2  0 .312 
A-R.Zimmerman 3B      1  0  0  0 .238     E.Andrus SS         3  1  1  0 .304 
  N.Punto SS          2  0  0  1 .282   B-L.Berkman PH        1  0  0  0 .280 
  R.Sweeney CF        3  0  1  0 .307   C-D.Descalso SS       0  0  0  0 .242 
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---     
         Totals      32  4  6  3                 Totals      35  3  9  3

A-Subbed Defensively (3B) For Murphy In 8th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Andrus In 8th Inning
C-Subbed Defensively (SS) For Berkman In 9th Inning
D-Subbed Defensively (C ) For McCann In 9th Inning

Cannibals....... 0 1 1  2 0 0  0 0 0  -  4  6  1
Josey Wales..... 0 0 1  0 0 0  2 0 0  -  3  9  1

Cannibals (63-41)        IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
C.Kershaw WIN(15-5)       7       8   3   3   5   9   1   2.93  A1 D6
C.Martinez HOLD(6th)      1       1   0   0   0   0   0   3.51  D7 E1
J.Hanrahan SAVE(14th)     1       0   0   0   0   1   0   0.30  E2
Totals                    9       9   3   3   5  10   1

Josey Wales (84-31)      IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
J.Masterson LOSS(15-2)    6       5   4   2   1   4   1   2.34  A1 C6
J.Affeldt                 2 2/3   1   0   0   0   1   0   3.51  C7 D6
H.Rodriguez               0 1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   2.56  D7
Totals                    9       6   4   2   1   5   1

ATTENDANCE- 47,768 DATE- Tuesday, August 11th 2012 TIME- Night
T- 2:58
LEFT ON BASE- Cannibals: 3  Josey Wales:10
DOUBLE PLAYS- Cannibals: 2  Josey Wales: 1
ERRORS- C.Granderson, A.Beltre
DOUBLES- D.Murphy(22nd), J.Bay(8th)
HOME RUNS- P.Konerko(20th), M.Kemp(35th)
STOLEN BASES- E.Andrus(30th)
SACRIFICE FLIES- N.Punto
WALKS- P.Konerko, D.Pedroia-2, N.Cruz, D.Ortiz, A.Gonzalez
STRIKE OUTS- C.Granderson-2, P.Konerko, M.Joyce, O.Hudson, J.Bay, D.Pedroia-2,
             M.Kemp, N.Cruz-2, A.Beltre, D.Ortiz-2, M.Napoli
GIDP- N.Punto, A.Beltre, M.Napoli
2-out RBI- P.Konerko