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

2011 AJC Predictions

Following last season's lame predictions the AJC polled Roadkill Nation for the upcoming NASBL season. After watching ST at GRK's complex at Lake Buena Vista, FL it was unanamious that The 'Kill would repeat with a top 5 pick in the '12 draft.

TG MVP Joey Votto NJT

LF MVP Jose Bautista TRY

TG CY Clayton Kershaw LCC

LF CY Brett Myers TRY

TG FOY Neftali Feliz LVI

LF FOY Brian Wilson GCG

TG ROY Clay Buchholz LVI

LF ROY Jason Heyward "J-Hey" DFW

PLAYOFFS

TGE Div Champ LCC over WC SPR

TGS Div Champ LVI over LCC

LFW WC VFS over Div Champ TRY

LFC Div Champ GCG over VFS

World Series LVI over GCG in 6

"Iron Pigs Win...Iron Pigs Win...Iron Pigs Win" and bring the title back to TGS!!

Prince Albert named WS MVP with 4 bombs & 12 Ribs

Quest for Posey Part # 4

Illinois Times - An anonymous source close to the Chows tells us they were in on the Posey Derby as well. Illinois is purported to have made 4 separate offers - but came up way short in the end.

ILL #1, Scherzer and ILL #4

Brett Anderson and ILL #3

ILL #1 and ILL #2 and ILL #4

ILL #1, Scherzer and Volquez

ILL #1, ILL #2 and Volquez

Was Illinois lucky to be turned down? Time will tell if the collection of Liriano, Scherzer, Hawpe and Robertson top Posey or not. Illinois believed that the only offer being considered was the one that included Scherzer, the 1 and the 4. The Posey Derby is turning out to be the most interesting derby this side of Kentucky as information continues to trickle out from various leaguewide sources.

Quest for Posey 3

The Griz play to win no matter what the costs.

While the only Buchholz the Griz's 1st round pick probably would have netted would have been a Buccholz named Taylor and not Clay - the Griz offers would have given any team a formidable group to work with if they are good and lucky.

I too would to have loved to have Clay Buchholz, but Trevor Cahill, and other parts could be determined to be equal or better in the eye of some beholders.