Outlaw Happy With Round 1

Can the Good Times Continue?
Outlaw Josey Wales staff is pleasantly surprised with their 27-19 Block I start and winning road record. If the season ended now, the team would beat out Springfield for the Tastes Great wild card playoff spot by 3 games.

The offense has bashed 68 long balls and plated 246 runs, both good for 2nd in NASBL. That's no surprise to management who knew the team would have no problem scoring runs. Leading the way at the plate are a resurgent Big Papi Ortiz hitting .313 with 12 HR and 34 RBI and Adrian Gonzalez at .296/10/34.

But the big shock of the year so far is the Wales 3.47 team ERA, third best in NASBL. Ryan Dempster is a surprising 7-2 with a 3.13 ERA. Jake Peavy, in his limited innings is 4-1 with a 2.98 ERA and 55 K in 45 IP.

The season has a long way to go and there are some bothersome questions keeping the team from printing out those playoff tickets. First off several players are already overused and will have to get more rest, among them Nellie Cruz, Adrian Beltre, Elvis Andrus, and Adrian Gonzalez.

But the $100 question is can the pitching staff keep up it's stellar performance over a whole season? The team has few pitchers with cards you'd call good - Hudson, Venters, and Soria. How has the pitching staff managed to excel so far?
1) Good luck?
2) Great managing (HAHAHA)?
3) The Wales all-1 infield?
4) The cavernous dimensions of Wreckin' So Field?

The team is hoping that the answer is a combination of #3 and #4 and the outstanding pitching will continue. Stay tuned because there is a lot of NASBL left this year and we're hoping for a good interesting Tastes Great race.

Project 2012 Switches Arms

Illinois Times -- How long ago was draft day? The Chows happily traded their first pick to get Francisco Liriano. Today they are back to square one - sort of - flipping Liriano for a 1st in next year's draft and adding Homer Bailey.

Liriano provided excitement in his short stint with the Chows - striking out an unprecedented 1.14 batters per inning. Liriano was on pace to break the Chows single season K mark by a wide margin and really seemed to fit in on the new club. "I am shocked. I thought I was a key member of Project 2012 and now they think they can do better in next year's draft. The good part is now I am in a pennant race instead of being mired in last place in the TGE year after year."

Sherlag explains the deal as follows, "We like what Bailey brings to the table and really thought the flexibility of a 1 next year gives us a chance to improve our offense or our pen which are likely to be our greatest needs. We really believe we are contenders next year and having some extra picks really helps fill in a contending team's roster." The long season that has begun for Chows fans will now seem a little bit longer.

Going All In

Troy, NY: After a blazing first block of games, the Haymakers are currently sitting atop the Less Filling West division with a record of 27-16. Looking to build on that early success, GM Ken Anderson traded young arm Homer Bailey and a 2012 round 1 pick for young enigma pitcher Francisco Liriano. Liriano who is 27, should give a good boost to the Haymakers rotation this season for the playoff push, but there are some questions about his consistency.

Pitching coach Doc Gooden seems to have a solution. "After looking at some video I think we know what the problem is," he said, "We have to get him to keep hitting the same release point. His slider is dead on, and if he can hit the same release point time and again his fastball will come around. His velocity seems good."

The question now is who will Liriano replace in the rotation? With uber-prospect Madison Bumgarner ready to move into the rotation the rest of the season there is a good amount of arms in Troy. One would think Clayton Richard would be the obvious answer, but Richard is currently 4-0 despite a 5.15 ERA. Brett Myers on the other hand was supposed to originally be the ace of the staff is 1-5 with a 4.19 ERA. "We have some planning to do," said the GM.

Anibal Near No-hitter

Anibal Sanchez carried a no-hitter into the 8th inning at The Dawg Pound as the Slatington Bulldogs embarrassed the Pocono Chin Music by the lopsided score of 13 to 0.

Sanchez(2-1) was indeed brilliant as he hand-cuffed the Pocono offense. He didn't allow much, just 2 hits and 3 walks in 9 innings. Sanchez mowed down 11 Pocono batters improving his ERA from 3.68 to 2.28. The right-handed Sanchez lost his no-hit bid when Asdrubal Cabrera singled with nobody out in the 8th inning. Slatington had 15 hits for the night.

Bronson Arroyo(1-3) was tagged with the loss. He allowed Slatington 11 runs in 4 and 2/3 innings of work. 'I've been working on a few things in my delivery, and I think I'm hitting a good groove.' Sanchez said after the game. 'I'm ready to start another game tomorrow!'

Danks, Hudson, 7 H, 1 ER, 20K

Is it the Year of the Pitcher Yet?

John Danks shut down the Outlaw batters on just 2 hits at Wreckin' So Field where the New Jersey Trash Heap beat the Outlaw Josey Wales 1 to 0.

Danks(1-0) was on top of his game. He was stingy on the mound, allowing just 2 hits and no walks in 9 innings. Outlaw made it exciting in the 9th, but they were unable to push the needed runs across.

The loss was charged to Tim Hudson(2-2). Despite taking the loss, he whiffed 12 batters in 7 and 2/3 innings. 'You have to give Outlaw credit, they fought us tough to the end' John Moscariello said. 'It could have gone either way, but I'm glad we pulled out the victory.'

BOXSCORE: 2011 New Jersey Trash Heap At 2011 Outlaw Josey Wales     5/28/2011

 Trash Heap         AB  R  H RBI AVG     Josey Wales        AB  R  H RBI AVG
 A.Huff LF           3  0  0  0 .200     C.Crisp LF          4  0  0  0 .200 
 J.Votto 1B          4  0  1  1 .313     E.Andrus SS         3  0  1  0 .205 
 J.Cust DH           4  0  0  0 .286   D-M.Ramirez PH        1  0  0  0 .195 
 J.Bruce CF          4  0  0  0 .167     A.Gonzalez 1B       3  0  0  0 .274 
 A.Rodriguez 3B      4  0  2  0 .231     A.Beltre 3B         3  0  0  0 .241 
 N.Swisher RF        4  0  1  0 .077     B.Boesch DH         3  0  0  0 .154 
 B.Hall 2B           3  0  0  0 .100     M.Napoli C          3  0  0  0 .211 
 J.Hardy SS          3  0  0  0 .000     A.Rosales 2B        3  0  0  0 .450 
 Y.Torrealba C       3  0  1  0 .286     M.Kemp CF           3  0  1  0 .211 
A-I.Kinsler PR        0  1  0  0 .500     J.Bay RF            2  0  0  0 .125 
B-C.Iannetta C        0  0  0  0 ----   C-N.Cruz PH           1  0  0  0 .222 
                    -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---     
        Totals      32  1  5  1                 Totals      29  0  2  0

A-Pinch Ran For Torrealba In 8th Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Kinsler In 8th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Bay In 9th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Andrus In 9th Inning

Trash Heap...... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 1 0  -  1  5  0
Josey Wales..... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  0  2  0

Trash Heap (2-1)         IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
J.Danks WIN(1-0)          9       2   0   0   0   7   0   0.00  A1
Totals                    9       2   0   0   0   7   0

Josey Wales (11-10)      IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
T.Hudson LOSS(2-2)        7 2/3   5   1   1   1  12   0   2.38  A1 D2
T.Miller                  1 1/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   1.42  D3
Totals                    9       5   1   1   1  13   0

Peavy, Buchholz, 4 H, 0 ER, 20K

Is it the year of the pitcher yet?

No one was thinking pitchers' duel when when Lehigh's Clay Buchholz squared off against Outlaw's Jake Peavy at Wreckin' So Field against hitting luminaries such as Albert Pujols, Adrian Gonzalez, Evan Longoria, Adrian Beltre, Nelson Cruz, Robinson Cano, Big Papi Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia and Vlad the Impaler of helpless pitchers. As they say, that's why they show up to play the game.

Fast forward to the 7th inning with Buchholz pitching a no-hitter. And losing. A first inning walk to Elvis Andrus and a Manny Ramirez tapper back to the mound were no big deal until Buchholz uncorked a throw into the stands that sent Elvis to third. Dustin Pedroia managed to loft a flyball deep enough into left field to score the speedy Andrus.

Jake Peavy didn't take a no-hitter into the seventh, just a one-hit, ten-strikeout shutout with Russell Martin's ringing third-inning double the only blemish on his record. The Jakester mowed down Longoria, Cano, and Vlad for an easy seventh inning.

Adrian Gonzalez led off Outlaw's seventh by ending Buchholz's no-hit bid with a no-doubt line drive single. Outlaw threatened an offensive outburst, loaded the bases, but Lehigh skipper Kevin Burns called on Matt Capps who retired the side to end the threat, keeping the score at Outlaw 1, Lehigh 0.

So with Peavy struggling with injuries does Outlaw manager Hildebrant call on his outstanding back end bullpen of Venters and Soria to secure a 1 - 0 game against division rivals with the fearsome offense, or does he stick to his habit of trusting his starters when they're going well?

Dumb question! Peavy walks to the mound in the eighth to the roar of the Wreckin' So Field crowd. Luke Scott steps up. Ring 'em up, sit 'em down. Number twelve for Jake. Russell Martin grounds out to harmlessly to first base, Peavy covering. Jose Reyes steps up. Ring 'em up, sit 'em down. Number thirteen.

Outlaw goes down in the bottom of the eighth while Mexicutioner Joakim Soria warms up in the bullpen and the top of the fearsome Iron Pigs order dreams of changing the 1 - 0 score.

But it's Peavy who walks out to the mound in the ninth to the roar of the insane, alcohol-fueled Outlaw crowd (it was nickel whiskey night). Lehigh hopes the the speedy Andres Torres can get on base to lead off the inning. Strike one. Strike two. Strike three. Number fourteen for Peavy. Chris Heisey steps up. Strike one. Strike two. Strike three. Number fifteen for Peavy.

The fearsome Albert Pujols steps up. Soria is ready but Peavy will end this mano-a-mano, the way baseball games were meant to end. Strike one. Strike two. Strike three. Notch K number sixteen for Peavy, and one of those modern-era rarities, a complete-game shutout.

Outlaw and Lehigh batters managed just one unearned run and four hits in 51 at bats, striking out 20 times. Buchholz takes a no-hitter into the seventh and gives up only an unearned run, but Peavy finishes what he starts, striking out five of the last six Lehigh batters to earn the V.

Maybe it finally is the year of the pitcher.

BOXSCORE: 2011 Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs At 2011 Outlaw Josey Wales   5/12/2011

Iron Pigs          AB  R  H RBI AVG     Josey Wales        AB  R  H RBI AVG
A.Torres CF         4  0  0  0 .254     E.Andrus SS         1  1  0  0 .214
C.Heisey RF         4  0  0  0 .258     M.Ramirez LF        3  0  0  0 .185
A.Pujols 1B         3  0  0  0 .222   A-C.Crisp CF          1  0  0  0 .250
E.Longoria 3B       3  0  0  0 .207     D.Pedroia 2B        3  0  0  1 .200
R.Cano 2B           3  0  0  0 .214     A.Gonzalez 1B       3  0  1  0 .265
V.Guerrero DH       3  0  0  0 .353     N.Cruz RF           2  0  0  0 .245
L.Scott LF          3  0  0  0 .171     D.Ortiz DH          2  0  1  0 .296
R.Martin C          3  0  1  0 .188     A.Beltre 3B         3  0  0  0 .255
J.Reyes SS          2  0  0  0 .268     R.Barajas C         3  0  0  0 .207
                                      M.Kemp CF,LF        2  0  1  0 .184
                 -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---
     Totals      28  0  1  0                 Totals      23  1  3  1

A-Subbed Defensively (CF) For Ramirez In 7th Inning

Iron Pigs....... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  0  1  1
Josey Wales..... 1 0 0  0 0 0  0 0    -  1  3  0

Iron Pigs (10-6)         IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
C.Buchholz LOSS(1-2)      6 1/3   2   1   0   4   4   0   0.65  A1 C6
M.Capps                   1 2/3   1   0   0   0   1   0   4.32  C7
Totals                    8       3   1   0   4   5   0

Josey Wales (8-7)        IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
J.Peavy WIN(1-0)          9       1   0   0   2  16   0   0.59  A1
Totals                    9       1   0   0   2  16   0

Las Vegas releases 2011 NASBL Odds

- Stringer Report, Las Vegas

Normally this time of the year yields the Burlington Free Press' annual NASBL predictions. Economy driven layoffs have forced a different approach. The Free Press contracted with a freelance writer to report the odds on the big board from the Bellagio's Sports Book.

Team Wins (Over/Under)

LCC 97
SPR 92
HHA 86
ILL 64

LVI 105
OJW 86
NJT 79
GRK 64

TRY 90
SPL 84
FRE 74
DRF 69

GCG 92
VFS 87
PCM 72
SBU 55

Odds to Make Playoffs

LCC 5/4
SPR 7/2
HHA 7/1
ILL 50/1

LVI 1/5
OJW 11/1
NJT 35/1
GRK 75/1

TRY 4/3
SPL 2/1
FRE 17/1
DFW 25/1

GCG 1/1
VFS 3/2
PCM 18/1
SBU 60/1

Odds to Win NASBL World Series

LVI 3/1
LCC 5/1
GCG 6/1
SPR 8/1
TRY 10/1
VFS 12/1
SPL 13/1
HHA 15/1
OJW 25/1
Field 50/1

Odds to Win Taste Great MVP

Albert Pujols 3/1
Carlos Gonzalez 4/1
Troy Tulowitaki 5/1
Jason Werth 8/1
Shin-Soo Choo 15/1
Adam Dunn, Paul Kornerko, Joey Votto 22/1
Field 35/1

Odds to Win Taste Great Cy Young

Jon Lester 2/1
Jered Weaver 4/1
Josh Johnson, Clayton Kershaw 5/1
Neftali Feliz 9/1
Joakim Soria, CC Sabathia, Mariano Rivera, Ted Lilly 25/1
Field 35/1

Odds to Win Less Filling MVP

Jose Bautista 4/5
Mark Teixeira 3/1
Carl Crawford 6/1
Matt Holliday 10/1
Shane Victorino 12/1
Miguel Cabrera, Torii Hunter, David Wright, Brandon Phillips 22/1
Field 35/1

Odds to Win Less Filling Cy Young

Felix Hernandez 4/1
Brian Wilson 5/1
Brett Myers 6/1
Ubaldo Jiminez 7/1
Chris Carpenter 10/1
Heath Bell, David Price, Carlos Marmol, John Axford, Zack Greinke 16/1
Field 35/1