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December 19, 2011
Deadline Fever Rips Through BDBL
SALEM, NH - The entire league contracted a nasty case of Deadline
Fever on Sunday night, as teams scrambled around frantically to
consummate deals before the final winter trading deadline. A
total of 11 trades were made on Sunday, with many big names (and big
salaries) changing hands.
Among the more frantic
GM's was New York's Jim Doyle, who traded Joey Votto for
Mike Moustakas earlier this winter, and then traded
Moustakas on Sunday in exchange for Zack Greinke...and
then traded Greinke to Southern Cal for Josh Reddick and
Julio Iglesias. (In other words, Doyle turned Joey
Votto into Julio Iglesias.)
After a quiet (too
quiet) winter of inactivity, New Milford villain Anthony
Peburn made a pair of deals on Sunday, ultimately
acquiring Adrian Gonzalez at the expense of his entire
farm system. And the St. Louis winter trading
frenzy officially ended on Sunday when GM Bobby
Sylvester added Dan Haren to a starting rotation that
already includes Cliff Lee and Jared Weaver.
December 1, 2011
McGowan Lands a Few Punches
CORONA, CA - After a quiet off-season, Corona GM Ed McGowan
delivered the two biggest shockers of the off-season, all in one
night. First, he added MVP candidate Joey Votto in a trade
with the New York Giants (sacrificing Billy Butler and Mike
Moustakas.) Then, he acquired future BDBL first-ballot Hall of
Famer Albert Pujols from the St. Louis Apostles (as well as Mariano
Rivera) in exchange for Joe Mauer, Mark Trumbo and Allen Craig.
Pujols, who has spent his entire career as a member of the Apostles
franchise, will be moving to third base to accommodate Votto.
With that one-two punch batting in the middle of the Corona lineup,
the Confederates now have to be considered instant contenders
(though they still have a little work to do.)
December 1, 2011
Superstar Shuffle
SALEM, NH - We're just a week into the 2012 trading season, and
already several big names have traded hands. The Sylmar
Padawans added Matt Holliday, Chicago acquired Starlin Castro, Akron
swapped Logan Morrison for Corey Hart and Jason Motte, Salem has
added Ubaldo Jimenez, Jair Jurrjens, Yadier Molina and Michael
Cuddyer, Allentown picked up Josh Beckett, and New York traded Gio
Gonzalez and the great Phil Humber to St. Louis for Chris Carpenter
and Jesus Montero.
November 23, 2011
Atlanta Wins!
ATLANTA, GA - The Atlanta Fire Ants fought off the Los Altos
Undertakers in six games to capture the 2011 BDBL championship on
Wednesday afternoon. Atlanta's pitchers held the powerful
Undertakers lineup in check throughout the series, holding Los Altos
to just 19 runs on 45 hits. Atlanta's 9-2 win in Game Six came
on the heels of a 12-inning marathon, which was won by Los Altos.
Despite nagging usage issues, the Fire Ants clinched the series with
help from starter Clay Buchholz, who allowed just two runs on seven
hits in 6+ innings.
November 19, 2011
World Series Primed for Pitchers
Duel
SALEM, NH - The 2011 BDBL World Series will feature two of the
greatest pitching staffs in league history when the Atlanta Fire
Ants square off against the Los Altos Undertakers. Atlanta is
no stranger to pitchers duels, as they captured their first Eck
League title by defeating the Great Lakes Sphinx in a series filled
with pitchers duels. The two pitching staffs combined to hold
the opposition to just 42 runs in 6 games, and a .230/.289/.392
average. Atlanta pitchers whiffed 62 batters in just 54
innings in that series, while issuing only 15 walks.
The road to the World
Series was much easier for the Undertakers, who captured
their second Ozzie League championship with an easy
sweep of the lackluster New Milford Blazers. Los
Altos outscored New Milford 24-14 in the series.
November 8, 2011
Cheesetastic
NEW MILFORD, CT - The New Milford Blazers, and their roster full of
pinch hitters and guys your wife has never heard of, won the OL
Division Series on Tuesday, setting up an OLCS matchup against the
Los Altos Undertakers.
Three of the five games
in the series were decided by one run, including the
final two games. In the end, San Antonio's vaunted
pitching staff proved to be no match for the
high-powered Blazers offense, led by series MVP Wilson
Betemit. (You'll have to explain to your wives who
he is.)
November 6, 2011
Undertakers Overtake Mississippi
LOS ALTOS, CA - The Los Altos Undertakers have advanced to the OL
Championship Series for the fourth time in franchise history after
defeating the Mississippi Meatballs in five relatively uneventful
games. Los Altos pounded the Meatballs for 14 runs in Game
One, and easily won Game Two by a score of 7-2. Mississippi
eked out a one-run win in Game Three, but Los Altos then took the
lead in the first inning of Game Four, and didn't surrender that
lead the rest of the series. C.C. Sabathia closed out the
final game with a complete game six-hit shutout.
November 5, 2011
Fire! Fiiiiire!!
ATLANTA, GA - The Atlanta Fire Ants are heading to the EL
Championship Series after a six game series victory over the St.
Louis Apostles on Saturday afternoon. The Fire Ants won the
first two games of the series despite losing their Game One starter,
Clay Buchholz, to a stiff arm following a third inning rain delay.
When the series shifted to St. Louis, the Apostles evened the series
with two straight wins -- one by one run, and another a 2-0 win.
Atlanta then took the
series lead once again with a 4-0 Game Five win behind
the stellar pitching of Buchholz. The Fire Ants
then wrapped up their second-ever ELDS victory with a
convincing 11-1 win in Game Six. Atlanta will now
face the Great Lakes Sphinx in the ELCS.
November 1, 2011
Sphinx Advance!
GREAT LAKES - It took the Great Lakes Sphinx franchise 12 years to
get to the BDBL post-season, and they're in no hurry to leave the
party. On Tuesday night, the Sphinx upset the Kansas Law Dogs
four games to one in the EL Division Series to advance to the ELCS.
Great Lakes pitching held the stacked Kansas offense to just a
.190/.237/.335 average, with only 13 runs scored. The Great
Lakes offense pummeled Kansas pitching, and posted a .516 slugging
percentage in the series, with 16 doubles, 8 home runs and 28 runs
scored.
October 29, 2011
That's a Wrap
SALEM, NH - The 2011 season officially came to an end at 9:42pm on
Friday night. The St. Louis Apostles needed to win one game in
their final series in order to secure a tie for the division lead,
but instead won three of those games to clinch the final spot in the
playoffs outright.
The Apostles will now
face the Atlanta Fire Ants in the EL Division Series,
while the Kansas Law Dogs will face their division
rivals, the Great Lakes Sphinx, in the other EL Division
Series.
In the OL, the Los
Altos Undertakers and Mississippi Meatballs will square
off in one OL Division Series, and the New Milford
Blazers and San Antonio Broncs will battle in the other.
October 28, 2011
Meatballs Roll into Playoffs
MISSISSIPPI - The Mississippi Meatballs went just 15-13 in Chapter
Six, but it was good enough to capture the Benes Division. On
Thursday night, the penultimate night of the 2011 season, the
Meatballs swept the Bear Country Jamboree to overtake the Las Vegas
Flamingoes and clinch their third division title in franchise
history. It is the first division title for Nic Weiss, who
took over the franchise in 2008.
October 25, 2011
Ryan Glander Joins BDBL
SALEM, NH - Ryan Glander, the 15-year-old son of Commissioner Mike
Glander, was officially announced as the newest owner of the
Buckingham Badgers franchise. Glander will take over
immediately as the GM of the team, and will begin managing in 2012.
To honor both the franchise's legacy and his "Uncle Geisel," Glander
renamed his team the "Granite State Lightning", which was the
franchise's original name.
October 24, 2011
Badger Resigns
SALEM, NH - Citing difficulties with his schedule, Tony Badger
resigned from his position as owner of the Buckingham Badgers
franchise. Badger joined the BDBL in June of 2009, taking over
the hallowed Litchfield Lightning franchise from one of the BDBL's
founding fathers, Phil Geisel. Geisel led the Lightning
franchise to three straight OL wild card wins in the league's first
three seasons, but then let the franchise rot into a state of
disarray. By the time Badger took over, Litchfield was en
route to a 99-loss season with no hope for the future.
Incredibly, however,
Badger's franchise (which was aptly named after his
hometown of "New Hope") reeled off an 89-win season in
his first full year, barely missing the playoffs by just
two games. After a 79-win season in 2006, Badger
then performed another miracle, winning 95 games and
capturing the OL wild card in 2007. That season,
New Hope's MVP David Ortiz hit a BDBL record 79 home
runs, and Badger won both the OL GM and Manager of the
Year awards.
Unfortunately, it was
all downhill from there. Work and family consumed
most of Badger's time, and the franchise suffered as a
result, going just 189-291 (.394) over the next three
seasons. This season, Buckingham is just 52-96
(.351) with 12 games remaining.
October 24, 2011
Apostles Take Over
ST. LOUIS, MO - We've been waiting all season long for the St. Louis
Apostles to finally make their move. The pre-season favorites
to win the Person Division have struggled this season, often
appearing in last place in the ever-shifting four-team race for the
division title. All four teams were separated by just one game
heading into the final chapter of the season, with three teams tied
and the Apostles in last place by one game. But since the
start of the chapter, St. Louis is 9-3, including three wins in a
crucial series against their division rivals, the SoCal Slyme.
St. Louis now owns a
two-game lead in the division. But in true Eck
League style, each team in the Person Division has at
least eight games remaining in the season, with just
four days left in the season. So it is still very
much anyone's division at this point.
October 20, 2011
#9 for Los Altos (But Who's
Counting?)
LOS ALTOS, CA - The Los Altos Undertakers have officially clinched
their NINTH division title by splitting a series with the San
Antonio Broncs on Wednesday night. Those nine titles represent
a new BDBL record, as the Undertakers were previously tied with the
Salem Cowtippers in that department.
October 19, 2011
Broncs Capture the Wild Card
SAN ANTONIO, TX - For the fifth time in franchise history, the San
Antonio Broncs are heading to the playoffs as the OL wild card
winners. The Broncs officially clinched their spot on
Wednesday night in dramatic fashion. Leading the wild card
race by just one game over the Salem Cowtippers, San Antonio faced
their division rivals, the Los Altos Undertakers, who had owned the
Broncs all season long with a 10-2 record in head-to-head match-ups.
At the same time, the Cowtippers were playing their final series of
the season as well -- a home series against the 60-84 Corona
Confederates.
Both the Broncs and
Cowtippers took the first games of their series, and
both teams then lost the second game. Salem took
Game Three of their series with Corona, which gave them
a virtual tie for first in the wild card race when San
Antonio fell to Los Altos in their third game. It
all boiled down to Game Four. A Salem win would
result in either a tie for the wild card (if San Antonio
won their fourth game) or a wild card victory (if San
Antonio lost.)
But there was one thing
stopping Salem from taking that victory lap: Lou Marson.
Corona's backup catcher, who sports a 488 OPS against
righties, was mysteriously placed in the #2 spot in the
Corona lineup for Game Four against right-hander John
Lackey. Marson's final line on the day: 4-for-4
with a walk, TWO triples and a home run. Each of
Marson's four hits came with two outs, and he plated
four runs all by himself. As a result, Corona
walked away with an 8-5 win.
The San Antonio dugout
erupted in cheers when the Salem score was announced.
With the score tied at 1-1 in their final game of the
season, the Broncs knew a win would clinch their spot in
the post-season. Tyler Colvin then broke that tie
in the 7th inning with a two-run homer, and the San
Antonio bullpen nailed down the win, sparking a massive
mid-field celebration. The Broncs will now likely
face the New Milford Blazers in the OL Division Series.
October 13, 2011
Flamingos Soar into First
LAS VEGAS, NV - The Las Vegas Flamingos took three out
of four from the front-running Mississippi Meatballs to
capture first place in the Benes Division with just
three weeks left in the season. Vegas pummeled
Mississippi pitching in the final three games of the
series, scoring 17 runs in Game Three and 15 runs in
Game Four. Aubrey Huff and Delmon Young each
crushed three homers in the series, and Huff drove home
10 runs in just 4 games.
September 30, 2011
Locks Make Their Move
NIAGARA - It seems as if we've waited all season long for somebody
in the Person Division to make a move toward the top of the
division. That moment finally arrived in Chapter Six, as the
Niagara Locks have gone 6-2 in their first eight games, capturing a
two game lead in the division with a little less than four weeks
left to play in the season.
September 29, 2011
Swapping Sweeps
SALEM, NH - On September 23rd, the Salem Cowtippers
swept the Sylmar Padawans to take over the OL wild card
lead from the San Antonio Broncs for the first time this
season. Four days later, San Antonio returned the
favor by sweeping the Benes Division leading Mississippi
Meatballs to retake the lead. That series not only
helped the Broncs, but it put the Las Vegas Flamingos
just one game out of the Benes Division lead.
Two days later, the
Cowtippers faced the Bear Country Jamboree, and once
again it resulted in a series sweep, putting Salem back
in the driver's seat by one game. The Cowtippers
have 16 games remaining against the Los Altos
Undertakers, New Milford Blazers, Corona Confederates
and Buckingham Badgers. San Antonio also has 16
games remaining, and will face the Blazers, Ravenswood
Infidels, Undertakers and Jamboree.
September 15, 2011
Person of Interest
SALEM, NH - It is perhaps the most exciting pennant race in BDBL
history. With just one chapter remaining in the 2011 season,
the entire Person Division is locked in a virtual tie. Three
teams (Southern Cal, Niagara and South Carolina) share the top spot
with a record of 67-65, while the pre-season favorite St. Louis
Apostles trail by just one game. Oddly enough, the Apostles
are the only team in the division that have outscored their
opponents this season (+45).
September 14, 2011
Atlanta Clinches!
ATLANTA, GA - The Atlanta Fire Ants officially clinched
the Hrbek Division title on Wednesday, becoming the
first team in the BDBL this season to do so. It is
the third straight division title for Atlanta, following
a BDBL record 118 losses in 2008.
September 14, 2011
One More to Go
SALEM, NH - Chapter Five of the 2011 season officially
came to an end Wednesday night. The New Milford
Blazers were on fire last chapter, going 22-6 to build
their lead in the Butler Division to a
all-but-insurmountable six games. The Great Lakes
Sphinx (19-9), Salem Cowtippers (18-10), Kansas Law Dogs
(18-10) and Atlanta Fire Ants (18-10) all had successful
chapters as well. At the other end of the
spectrum, the Bear Country Jamboree went just 6-22.
Salem's Matt Holliday
(.374/.425/.678) and Niagara's Josh Hamilton
(.369/.432/.631) were the Hitters of the Chapter, and
Sylmar's Jonathan Sanchez (4-1, 1.28 ERA,
.121/.228/.236) and Great Lakes' Jered Weaver (1.75 ERA,
.193/.254/.351) were named Pitchers of the Chapter.
September 7, 2011
Races Heating Up
SALEM, NH - With less than seven weeks remaining in the 2011 season,
the races for the final spots in the playoffs are really beginning
to heat up. In the Ozzie League, the wild card race is now a
virtual tie between the San Antonio Broncs and Salem Cowtippers.
And in the Eck League, the Person Division is also deadlocked in a
virtual tie between the SoCal Slyme and St. Louis Apostles.
The two other teams in that division trail by just three games each,
and the Las Vegas Flamingos also trail their division by three
games.
August 21, 2011
Blazers Gain Ground
NEW MILFORD, CT - Thanks to a four-game sweep of the Ravenswood
Infidels, the New Milford Blazers have opened up a three-game lead
in the Butler Division over the Salem Cowtippers. And thanks
to a four-game sweep of the Las Vegas Flamingos by the San Antonio
Broncs, Salem now trails in the wild card race by three games as
well.
August 20, 2011
BDBL Parties in DC
SALEM, NH - The 12th annual BDBL Weekend festivities
took place in Washington, DC on the weekend of August
20th, with eight members of the BDBL (and one aspiring
member) attending. The group took in the sights of
our nation's capitol, visited a couple of museums, ate
lots of unhealthy food, took in a ballgame, and busted
relentlessly on Jim Doyle. Good times.
Full recap
August 2, 2011
Another Chapter in the Books
SALEM, NH - Just a few short months after the New Milford Blazers
threw in the towel and placed all of their players on the chopping
block, New Milford finished with the league's best record (17-7) in
Chapter Four, capturing sole possession of first place by two games
over the sputtering Salem Cowtippers (12-12 in the chapter.)
The Los Altos
Undertakers (17-7), Kansas Law Dogs (16-8) and Atlanta
Fire Ants (16-8) continue to dominate this season, while
the Bear Country Jamboree (6-18), Corona Confederates
(7-17) and the "defending champion" Allentown Ridgebacks
(7-17) continue to stink up the joint.
New Milford's Robinson
Cano (.421/.475/.692) and Niagara's Josh Hamilton
(.433/.493/.896) were your Hitters of the Chapter (each
leading his division in all three triple-slash
categories.) And New Milford's Clayton "Asswipe"
Kershaw (1.26 ERA, .129/.216/.161 against) and Akron's
Jhoulys Chacin (1.74 ERA, .200/.271/.267) were the
Pitchers of the Chapter.
August 1, 2011
Deadline Deals
SALEM, NH - Perhaps the most unexciting Chapter Five
trading deadline passed on Monday night with the
slightest shrug of the league's collective shoulders.
The biggest moves were made by the fire-selling Chicago
Black Sox, who dealt away aces Cliff Lee (to Great
Lakes) and Zack Greinke (to St. Louis) in a continuation
of John Gill's all-or-nothing strategy.
In the Benes Division,
the first place Mississippi Meatballs added C.J. Wilson
and Wandy Rodriguez to their rotation, while the
second-place Las Vegas Flamingos picked up Hiroki Kuroda
and Freddy Garcia. Otherwise, all was quiet in the
most inactive trading deadline in league history.
July 31, 2011
Blazers Back on Top
NEW MILFORD, CT - It's the feel-good story of the year.
Their ace is a guy whose name is banned from the BDBL
message boards. Their #2 pitcher bats cleanup.
And their lineup is filled with superstars like Wilson
Betemit, Casey Blake, Russell Branyan, Miguel Cairo,
Jack Cust, Matt Diaz, Jim Edmonds, Tony Gwynn, Bill
Hall, Wes Helms, Ronny Paulino and Andres Torres.
Ladies and gentlemen, these are your first-place New
Milford Blazers.
July 18, 2011
The Division No One Wants to Win
SALEM, NH - The Person Division this year has been both the tightest
divisional race in the league this year and the least exciting.
With Chapter Five just two weeks away, only four games separate all
four teams in this division. But in Chapter Four so far, none
of those four teams owns a winning record on the chapter. And
the team currently in first place? The white-flag-waving SoCal
Slyme. Could this be Bob Sylvester's second unintentional
division title?
July 7, 2011
Out: Arbitrage; In: Going For It
MISSISSIPPI - After spending the past two and a half seasons
practicing the art of arbitrage, perpetually building toward success
at some undefined point in the future, Mississippi Meatballs GM Nic
Weiss finally appears to be in "go for it" mode. This past
week, Weiss has added aces C.J. Wilson and Wandy Rodriguez to a
pitching staff that currently ranks 10th out of 12 Ozzie League
teams in ERA.
Despite their poor
performance on the mound, and despite trading away star
impact players like Cole Hamels, Mariano Rivera and
Andre Ethier earlier in the season, the Meatballs
currently hold a four-game lead in the Benes Division.
Mississippi owns a .575 winning percentage this season
despite being outscored by 16 runs.
July 2, 2011
Benes Fit to be Tied
NEW MILFORD, CT - Thanks to a four-game sweep of the
Manchester Irish Lame-Asses, the New Milford Blazers are
now tied with the Salem Cowtippers atop the Butler
Division. The Blazers are now 22-10 -- a .688
winning percentage -- since they "threw in the towel"
after two chapters of play.
June 14, 2011
Halfway Home
SALEM, NH - The 2011 season is officially half over. As the
all-star break approaches, the Salem Cowtippers and Mississippi
Meatballs each own a three-game lead in their divisions, while the
Los Altos Undertakers are six games ahead of the wild-card-leading
San Antonio Broncs.
In the EL, the Kansas
Law Dogs are running away with the Higuera Division with
a 54-26 record (tied with the Undertakers for
second-best in the BDBL) that is 11 games better than
the EL wild-card-leading Great Lakes Sphinx. The
Atlanta Fire Ants own the best record in the BDBL at
57-23 (.712), and own a 22-game lead in their division.
And in the Person Division...we have a THREE-WAY TIE for
first place between the SoCal Slyme, Niagara Locks and
South Carolina Sea Cats!
In Chapter Three, the
Broncs and Fire Ants each led the way with 18 victories,
with the Sea Cats (17-7) and New Milford Blazers (13-8)
also racked up the W's. At the other end of the
spectrum, the Buckingham Badgers and Cleveland Rocks
each lost 17 games, while the Las Vegas Flamingos not
only lost 16 games, but the Benes Division lead as well.
In interleague play,
the Eck League once again bested their superiors for the
third year in a row, by a tally of 99-93. Salem's
Matt Holliday (.385/.430/.648) and Kansas' Jose Bautista
(.357/.464/.900) were the Hitters of the Chapter, and
Salem's Barry Zito (3-1, 2.48 ERA, .171/.279/.243
against) and Villanova's Trevor Cahill (3-1, 1.67 ERA,
.182/.239/.264 against) took home Pitcher of the Chapter
honors.
June 6, 2011
Niagara Locks Up First
NIAGARA - In the hotly-contested Person Division, the Niagara Locks
have emerged as the latest team to claim sole possession of first
place thanks to a 12-8 start to Chapter Three. Niagara now
owns a one-game lead over the white-flag-waving SoCal Slyme, who are
10-10 on the chapter.
Despite their
towel-throwing, the Slyme are now tied with the Great
Lakes Sphinx for the EL wild card lead, as the Sphinx
are just 9-11 this chapter thanks to a 5-7 spanking by
the Ozzie League in interleague play.
Speaking of
white-flag-waving, the New Milford Blazers are now 14-6
after their manager threw in the towel last chapter
before issuing an Emily Litella statement
to the press. They now trail the Cowtippers by just three games.
April 30, 2011
Chapter Two in the Book
SALEM, NH - The second chapter of the season officially closed on
Saturday. It was a great chapter for the Atlanta Fire Ants,
who went 21-7 to open up an 11-game lead in the division. The Kansas
Law Dogs (19-9), Los Altos Undertakers (17-11), Las Vegas Flamingos
(17-11) and Salem Cowtippers (17-11) all had successful chapters as
well. The Corona Confederates (9-19)? Not so much.
Los Altos slugger
Adrian Gonzalez (.409/.496/.634) and Chicago's Miguel
Cabrera (.369/.414/.796) won the Hitter of the Chapter
honors, while the Undertakers' C.C. Sabathia (3-0, 1.75
ERA, 40 K) and Atlanta's Clay Buchholz (5-1, 1.21 ERA)
were the Pitchers of the Chapter.
April 30, 2011
Big Deals
SALEM, NH - Several major trades were made at the Chapter Three
deadline, as some teams begin to wave the white flag, some load up
for the stretch run, and others simply practice the latest fad to
sweep the league: arbitrage.
In the first category,
the Allentown Ridgebacks dealt no fewer than a dozen
players this chapter, unloading a ton of unwanted salary
and getting several possible 2012 stars in exchange.
The Corona Confederates added one of the best prospects
in baseball, Mike Moustakas, in addition to young first
baseman Billy Butler. And the SoCal Slyme traded a
couple of stars in exchange for potential 2012 stars
Alex Gordon, Kyle Lohse and Tsuyoshi Nishioka.
In the second category,
the Kansas Law Dogs added Cole Hamels, Shin-Soo Choo,
Michael Young, Anibal Sanchez and Adam LaRoche to a team
that was already beyond-stacked. The Los Altos
Undertakers added Martin Prado and Luke Scott to an
already ridiculous starting lineup. The San
Antonio Broncs added Brett Myers to an already strong
rotation. And the St. Louis Broncs added Carlos
Marmol to an already strong bullpen.
And in the last
category, the wild-card-contending Mississippi Meatballs
added Victor Martinez while sacrificing Hamels, and the
Great Lakes Sphinx made five trades, acquiring Marcus
Thames, Kelly Johnson and Heath Bell (among many others)
while sacrificing Brett Myers and Martin Prado (among
many others.)
April 16, 2011
Spanking
SALEM, NH - The Salem Cowtippers swept their most hated rivals, the
New Milford Blazers, this week to establish a six-game lead in the
Butler Division. All four games were won by just one run,
leading Blazers GM Anthony Peburn to post a towel-throwing post on
the Selling forum. New Milford now owns a sub-.500 record
(23-25) on the season.
April 15, 2011
Kansas Adds Another Ace
KANSAS - The Kansas Law Dogs are off to a 32-16 (.667) start this
season, led by four aces: Roy Oswalt, Matt Cain, Tim Hudson and
Travis Wood. But apparently, that wasn't enough, as the 'Dogs
just added a fifth ace in Cole Hamels. In exchange for Hamels
(who is under contract through 2014, at a salary well below market
value), Kansas sent three prospects to the Mississippi Meatballs,
and dumped the contract of Luke Hochevar (who is under contract
through 2015) in the process.
The Meatballs are just
one game behind in the OL wild card race, and were
expected to run away with their division this season.
But Hamels got off to a slow start (a 6.31 ERA in a
dozen starts), and with Hochevar now replacing Hamels'
innings in the rotation, the Meatballs now seem destined
for the cellar.
April 12, 2011
SoCal Firesale
SOUTHERN CAL - Following a disappointing 8-12 start to the second
chapter, the SoCal Slyme have officially thrown in the towel.
The defending Person Division champs are now 21-27 on the season,
but just four games behind the division-leading Niagara Locks and
St. Louis Apostles (who are virtually tied with records of 15-13 and
17-15, respectively.)
March 30, 2011
Statement
ATLANTA, GA - Arguably, the two best teams in the BDBL this season
squared off head-to-head this week when the Kansas Law Dogs (now
30-14 on the season) hosted the Atlanta Fire Ants (25-11) for a four
game set. No one could have expected the outcome, though, as
Atlanta swept the series with relative ease.
In the first game,
Atlanta threw their #5 starter, Jason Hammel, against
Roy Oswalt. Atlanta's circus clowns invaded the
field during a four-run sixth inning, giving the Fire
Ants a 6-3 victory. In Game Two, Atlanta handed
the ball to Mat Latos, who tossed 7 1/3 scoreless
innings despite walking five batters. The Fire
Ants scored a run in the first, second and third
innings, giving them a 3-0 win.
In Game Three, it was
Clay Buchholz's turn to shut down the Kansas offense.
Through seven innings, Buchholz allowed just one earned
run on six hits and no walks, with seven K's.
Meanwhile, Kansas starter Tim Hudson was pounded for
five runs through eight innings. Atlanta then
completed the sweep behind the stellar pitching of John
Danks (5.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K), who earned his
fourth win of the season before handing the ball to five
relievers who held the Law Dogs hitless the rest of the
way.
March 13, 2011
One Done
SALEM, NH - The first chapter of the 2011 season officially ended
Saturday night, with the Los Altos Undertakers not unexpectedly
sporting the best record in the BDBL at 21-7. The Kansas Law
Dogs (20-8), Atlanta Fire Ants (18-10) and the surprising Las Vegas Flamigos (18-10) have also
enjoyed a hot start to the season. At the other end of the
spectrum, the Bear Country Jamboree and (shockingly) Chicago Black
Sox have each stumbled out to a 9-19 start.
A pair of third
basemen, Los Altos' Evan Longoria (.354/.403/.735, 9 HR,
40 RBI) and SoCal's Kevin Youkilis (.365/.446/.865, 11
HR, 28 RBI) took home the Hitter of the Chapter honors.
The Undertakers' Brian Duensing (4-0, 1.29 ERA,
.185/.232/.261 against) and Kansas' Travis Wood (5-0,
2.53 ERA, .216/.262/.310) are the Pitchers of the
Chapter.
February 25, 2011
More Arbitrage in Mississippi
MISSISSIPPI - Nic Weiss is at it again. Less than four weeks
into the season, the Mississippi Meatballs have jettisoned star
outfielder Andre Ethier to their favorite trading partners, the St.
Louis Apostles, getting only a middle reliever and prospects in
exchange. The Meatballs are currently two games behind the
surprising Las Vegas Flamingoes in the Benes Division, and wrapped
up the chapter with a record of 15-13 -- despite being outscored by
40 runs so far this season.
February 16, 2011
Cancel the Parade
NEW YORK - The question on everyone's mind this winter was: is this
the year that Jim Doyle will finally assemble a winning team and
enjoy some semblance of success in the BDBL? And the answer,
after 24 games, is a definitive: NO.
Doyle's "New York
Giants" have stumbled out to a 6-18 start to the 2011
season, and have been outscored by their opponents by a
whopping 45 runs. They are hitting just
.232/.314/.361 as a team, and their pitching staff owns
a 5.00 ERA and is averaging 4.6 walks per nine.
January 29, 2011
Play Ball!
SALEM, NH - The 2011 season officially opened on Saturday night,
with the Salem Cowtippers taking three of four games from the New
Milford Blazers. Rookie sensation Stephen Strasburg lost the
first game to a lineup filled with eight left-handed batters.
In Game Two, Salem's winter free agent pick-up Colby Lewis struck
out 13, but didn't get the decision, as Salem had to come from
behind three times to get the win. In Game Three, the newest
Cowtipper, Francisco Liriano, helped the Cowtippers cruise to a 2-0
shutout win. And in Game Four, Salem overcame New Milford's
cheestastic strategy of batting Yovani Gallardo out of the leadoff
spot by clinching the series victory with a thrilling
come-from-behind win.
January 21, 2011
It's Over!
SALEM, NH - And with the 295th pick of the 2011 free agent draft,
the Cleveland Rocks selected someone named Lucas Herrell. And
thus ended the longest draft in BDBL history. (Or, at least,
it seemed like it.) On deck: Opening Day!
January 10, 2011
SoCal Adds a King
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA - The defending Person Division champion SoCal
Slyme have landed a Cy Young candidate this week by adding Felix
Hernandez from the Salem Cowtippers, along with #4 starter Scott
Baker. In exchange, the Slyme parted with all-star third
baseman Ryan Zimmerman and #5 starter James Shields.
Newly-acquired free
agent Kevin Youkilis will take over for Zimmerman at the
hot corner, while another free agent signing, Paul
Konerko, takes over at first base. And yet a third
free agent pick-up, Adam Dunn, is slated to play out of
position in left field.
January 5, 2011
Oswalt Goes to Kansas
KANSAS - The Kansas Law Dogs made a huge splash in the free agent
market this winter by signing ace Roy Oswalt to a $15 million
salary, which will pay him a minimum of $45 million over three
years. Oswalt joins a rotation that already includes Matt Cain
and Tim Hudson. The 2007 BDBL champions are looking to return
to the playoffs for the first time since 2009, when they won their
fourth Higuera Division title.
January 3, 2011
New Milford Wins Cano Sweepstakes
NEW MILFORD, CT - In the first day of the 2011 free
agent auction, the New Milford Blazers walked away with
the biggest prize of the season in second baseman
Robinson Cano. And they paid a mind-boggling sum
to do so: a $15 million salary, and a guaranteed $45
million over three years.
It is the highest
salary awarded to any hitter since 2005, and the largest
three-year contract ever awarded to a hitter in league
history.
December 23, 2010
A-What?
BEAR COUNTRY, USA - The Bear Country Jamboree re-acquired former
franchise mainstay Alex Rodriguez on Wednesday, following the winter
trading deadline. In exchange for the 34-year-old, $14 million
slugger, Bear Country sacrificed 20-year-old lefty phenom Madison
Bumgarner.
As if that weren't
dubious enough, Bear Country also announced that they
have signed Rodriguez to a ten-year, $140 million
contract. This contract (a new BDBL record)
virtually ensures that A-Rod will remain a Jamboree
through age 43. It also virtually ensures that
Bear Country won't be making the playoffs at any point
over the next decade.
December 19, 2010
Trading Suspended for the Holidays
SALEM, NH - The 2011 winter trading deadline officially passed at
10:00pm on Sunday night. A total of 51 trades were made this
winter -- 7 more than last winter. A few big names swapped
uniforms over the closing weeks prior to the deadline, including
Josh Willingham (twice, ending up in Los Altos), Rickie Weeks (now a
Black Sock), C.J. Wilson (the newest ace of the Apostles staff),
David Wright (also traded twice, ending up on the Sphinx) and Zack
Greinke (now a Black Sock.)
Cutdown Day is
scheduled for Thursday, the 23rd. Cutdown Day
forms should be posted by Monday night.
December 6, 2010
And the Winners Are...
SALEM, NH - The annual BDBL post-season awards gala was held this
afternoon. Black-tie affair, $1,000 a plate, celebrity guest
speakers, yada yada. There were few surprises. St. Louis
slugger Albert Pujols took home his first-ever BDBL MVP award and
second Babe Ruth award. Allentown's Tim Lincecum was the only
unanimous winner of the evening, walking away with his first EL Cy
Young award.
The Sylvester family
once again swept the GM and Manager of the Year
categories, with the old man winning his FOURTH straight
EL MOY award, and junior winning the GM of the Year
prize.
Over in the OL,
Corona's Joe Mauer won both the MVP and Babe Ruth awards
after becoming the first player in BDBL history to hit
.400 on the season. (The biggest shocker of the
day was that he didn't win both awards unanimously.)
Jon Lester became the fourth Los Altos Undertaker in
league history to win an OL Cy Young. Mike Glander
walked away with his fifth OL GM of the Year trophy (the
only trophy he'll ever win in this league.) And Ed
McGowan won his first OL Manager of the Year award.
November 30, 2010
This Just In: 2011 OL Champion
Crowned
LOS ALTOS, CA - The 2011 season officially became a formality at
4:00 on Tuesday afternoon. At that precise moment, Los Altos
GM Jeff Paulson giddily strode to the microphone and announced that
he has acquired Hanley Ramirez (along with another closer, of
course) from the Southern Cal Slyme in exchange for Matt Wieters,
Matt Garza and three others.
The Undertakers will
now feature an infield of Adrian Gonzalez, Rickie Weeks,
Hanley Ramirez and Evan Longoria. Yee-ha.
November 25, 2010
Trading Season Begins
SALEM, NH - With another season in the books, the first transactions
of the 2011 season have already been reported. A total of six
trades have been made thus far, with the most significant being the
trade of Joey Votto from the Mississippi Meatballs to their division
rivals, the Kansas City Monarchs of Manchester.
November 24, 2010
Allentown Wins #4
ALLENTOWN, NJ - For the fourth time in BDBL history, champagne is
flowing in the Allentown clubhouse. Tonight, the Ridgebacks
tied the BDBL record for championship trophies, defeating the Salem
Cowtippers (yet again) in six games.
Allentown's relentless
offensive attack proved too much for Salem's vaunted
pitching staff, and Salem's offense managed to score
just one run through the first 22 innings of the World
Series against Allentown's pitching.
As expected, Tim
Lincecum dominated the Cowtippers in Games One and Four.
Unexpectedly, Felix Hernandez was unable to go on short
rest in Game Four, prompting a controversial decision to
start lefty Jorge de la Rosa. de la Rosa allowed
TWELVE runs and FIVE homers in just four innings,
putting his team in a deep hole.
Salem managed to push
the series to six games despite de la Rosa's "effort,"
but Dan Haren continued his season-long slump in Game
Six, and the Cowtippers' offense couldn't take up the
slack.
November 20, 2010
An All-Too Familiar BDBL World
Series Match-up
SALEM, NH - For the fourth time in nine years, the BDBL World Series
will feature a match-up of the Allentown Ridgebacks against the
Salem Cowtippers. The Cowtippers overcame a three-games-to-two
deficit in the OLCS to win their fourth Ozzie League title, despite
being outscored by Ravenswood in the series.
Allentown, of course,
won all three of their prior match-ups against Salem in
the World Series, and are heavily-favored to win their
fourth league championship trophy in 2010.
November 14, 2010
Ridgebacks in the World
Series...Again
ALLENTOWN, NJ - For the fifth time in the past nine years, the Eck
League's representative in the BDBL Championship Series will be the
Allentown Ridgebacks. Allentown earned their BDBL-record fifth
league title by defeating the St. Louis Apostles in six games in the
ELCS on Sunday.
The vaunted Allentown
offense punished St. Louis pitching throughout the
series, scoring 43 runs with 12 homers in the six games.
The Ridgebacks will now shoot for their fourth BDBL
championship, which would be a non-asterisked BDBL
record.
November 5, 2010
Playoffs Upset!
SALEM, NH - The Salem Cowtippers extended their Cinderella story for
one more series after upsetting the heavily-favored Los Altos
Undertakers in the OL Division Series. Salem pitching kept the
powerful Undertakers offense on its heels throughout the series, and
emerged with a stunning series sweep.
The Cowtippers will now
face the Ravenswood Infidels in the OL Championship
Series, as the Infidels easily defeated the Corona
Confederates earlier in the week.
Over in the other
league, the SoCal Slyme were defeated in seven grueling
games by the St. Louis Apostles in the All-Sylvester
Series, while the Allentown Ridgebacks hardly broke a
sweat en route to their fourth championship, sweeping
the Atlanta Fire Ants in four easy games.
October 28, 2010
That's a Wrap
SALEM, NH - The wild and crazy 2010 season officially came to a
close on Thursday, with the Allentown Ridgebacks (23-5), Los Altos
Undertakers (22-6) and Salem Cowtippers (22-6) enjoying the best
performances of Chapter Six.
Corona's Joe Mauer
(.452/.529/.589) and St. Louis' Justin Upton
(.415/.488/.698) won the final Player of the Chapter
honors, while New Hope's Andy Pettitte (1.45 ERA,
.173/.279/.212 against) and Great Lakes' Ubaldo Jimenez
(1.72 ERA, .174/.246/.242) took home the Pitcher of the
Chapter (virtual) trophies.
The BDBL post-season
officially kicks off on Monday, with Los Altos and Salem
going head-to-head in the OLDS, along with Ravenswood
and Corona. In that other league, Allentown will
face Atlanta, while the Sylvester household will play
the other ELDS.
October 27, 2010
Greatest. Comeback.
Ever.
NEW MILFORD, CT - The Salem Cowtippers made BDBL history tonight by
winning the OL wild card despite being seven games behind in that
race earlier this month. No team in BDBL history has ever come
from so many games behind so late in the season to win a spot in the
playoffs. And only one team (the 1999 Massillon Tigerstrikes)
have ever come from more games behind at ANY point in the season to
win a spot in the post-season.
Salem needed just one
win in their final series against the New Milford
Blazers to clinch the wild card, and ended up winning
three out of four to finish with a record of 95-65 --
one game behind the Corona Confederates in the Butler
Division. After two chapters of play, Salem
trailed Corona by 12 games in that race, so they were
able to make up 11 games in just four chapters.
Of course, all this
means is that Salem now gets the honor of losing to Los
Altos in the OL Division Series.
October 27, 2010
Ravenswood Breaks Record
RAVENSWOOD, IL - The Ravenswood Infidels wrapped up their phenomenal
2010 season with a split against the Los Altos Undertakers, giving
them a record of 110-50 -- 11 wins better than their previous
franchise high.
In the process,
Ravenswood shattered a long-standing BDBL record by
posting a 3.10 team ERA this season. The previous
mark of 3.26 had been held by the Los Altos Undertakers
since 2002. Earlier this month, Ravenswood joined
Los Altos in becoming the only franchises in BDBL
history to feature three 20-game winners in their
starting rotation, as Javier Vazquez (22-6) joined Wandy
Rodriguez (23-7) and Mark Buehrle (21-8.)
Ravenswood will face
the Corona Confederates in the OL Division Series.
October 26, 2010
Back-to-Back in Atlanta
ATLANTA, GA - After finishing in last place in their division eight
times in nine seasons (from 2000-2008), including a BDBL record 118
losses in 2008, the Atlanta Fire Ants have turned it around in a
big, big way. On Monday, Atlanta officially clinched the Hrbek
Division title -- their second consecutive title. They will be
facing the Allentown Ridgebacks in the Division Series, while father
and son Sylvester will be facing each other in the other EL Division
Series.
October 25, 2010
Blazers Swept!
NEW MILFORD, CT - Trailing by one game in the OL wild card race, the
New Milford Blazers were unexpectedly SWEPT by the last-place New
Hope Badgers in their penultimate series of the season. They
now head into their final series against the Salem Cowtippers on
Wednesday needing a sweep in order to win the wild card.
October 20, 2010
Salem Takes the Lead!
SALEM, NH - In the history of the BDBL, no team has ever come from
seven game behind in the final chapter of the season to take the
lead in a pennant race...until now.
On September 28th, the
Salem Cowtippers trailed the New Milford Blazers by
seven games in the Butler Division standings.
Since then, Salem has gone on a tear, winning 14 out of
16 games to take a one game lead in the wild card.
The Cowtippers have just one series remaining -- against
the Blazers. New Milford has three series
remaining, against New Hope, Mississippi and Salem.
October 18, 2010
Formula .409!
CORONA, CA - It's official: Joe Mauer is now the only
player in BDBL history to bat .400 in the BDBL.
Not only did Mauer manage that feat, but he left no
doubt about it whatsoever, finishing the season with a
.409 average! Mauer enjoyed the greatest season by
a catcher in BDBL history, hitting .409/.498/.654 with
50 doubles, 28 homers, 134 runs scored, 116 RBI's and
184.4 runs created.
Mauer, Shin-Soo Choo,
Kendry Morales and Chone Figgins accounted for over 67%
of Corona's runs created this season. The
Confederates wrapped up the 2010 season with a 96-64
record. With a magic number of four, they are
simply waiting for the New Milford Blazers and Salem
Cowtippers to wrap up their final series to claim the
division title.
October 18, 2010
St. Louis is Wild
ST. LOUIS, MO - The St. Louis Apostles wrapped up the
Eck League wild card this week, and will likely face
their division rivals, the SoCal Slyme, in the Eck
League Division Series. This will mark just the
second time in BDBL history that Bob Sylvester, Sr. and
Jr. will face each other in the playoffs. (Well,
the third time, if you count the 1999 ELCS, when Jr.
managed the Oakville Marauders.)
October 13, 2010
20/20/20
LOS ALTOS, CA - The Los Altos Undertakers became the first team in
BDBL history to have three 20-game winners in their starting
rotation when Matt Garza (20-9) joined Jon Lester (21-5) and C.C.
Sabathia (21-9) in the 20-win club after a series against San
Antonio on Wednesday.
Before all is said and
done, the Ravenswood Infidels could join that exclusive
club, as Javier Vazquez (19-6) needs just one more win
to join Wandy Rodriguez (22-7) and Mark Buehrle (21-6.)
Not coincidentally, the
Undertakers (107-45) and Infidels (105-45) own the best
records in the BDBL, and are battling for the #1 seed in
the playoffs.
October 13, 2010
Mauer Still Holding Steady at .400
CORONA, CA - Corona MVP Joe Mauer is still holding
steady with a .400 batting average, with just two weeks
(and two series) remaining in the 2010 season. The
current single-season record for batting average (.396)
was set by Albert Pujols of the Wapakoneta Hippos back
in 2004.
Another single-season
record may be in jeopardy, as the Ravenswood Infidels
pitching staff owns a 3.10 team ERA with a dozen games
remaining on their schedule. The all-time record
of 3.26 was set by the Los Altos Undertakers in 2002,
and was nearly broken (by less than .001 of a point) by
the Salem Cowtippers in 2008.
October 9, 2010
One Race Remaining
SALEM, NH - With only 19 days remaining in the 2010 season, only one
true race remains to determine the final spot in the playoffs.
Ravenswood, Los Altos and Allentown have captured their divisions,
and Corona and Southern Cal own comfortable leads in theirs.
And the St. Louis Apostles are just days away from capturing the EL
wild card.
That leaves only the
Butler Division and, by extension, the OL wild card, to
be decided. Corona has held the division lead all
season, and remains three games ahead of the New Milford
Blazers. And on Friday night, the Salem Cowtippers
pulled within three games of New Milford in the wild
card race.
September 23, 2010
Allentown Clinches Higuera Title
ALLENTOWN, NJ - After a brief one-year hiatus, the Allentown
Ridgebacks are returning to the BDBL playoffs after officially
clinching their fifth Higuera Division title this week. The
Ridgebacks currently sport the best winning percentage in the Eck
League (.664), and have outscored their opponents by an impressive
260 runs.
September 22, 2010
Yawn...Another Los Altos No-Hitter
LOS ALTOS, CA - A little more than two weeks after the New Milford
Blazers threw the first multi-pitcher no-hitter in BDBL history, the
Los Altos Undertakers did the same, shutting down the Bear Country
Jamboree in the final game of a meaningless series. Jon Lester
combined with four of the Undertakers' countless closers to deliver
the franchise's second no-hitter this year, and third in the past
two years. Lester also tossed a no-hitter in 2009, though he
did that one all by himself.
Full box score
September 14, 2010
BDBL: The Final Chapter
SALEM, NH - Five chapters are now officially in the books, and
several races look to be played out right down to the wire. In
the wild-and-wooly Butler Division, the Corona Confederates are
tenaciously clinging to a three-game lead over the New Milford
Blazers (who themselves own a four-game lead in the OL wild card
race.)
In the EL, just three
games separate the first-place SoCal Slyme and the St.
Louis Apostles, with the loser of that division most
likely becoming the EL wild card winner.
The Ravenswood Infidels
led the way in Chapter Five, with a league-best 23-5
record. They also own the best record overall this
season, at 95-37 (.720). The surprising Cleveland
Rocks (20-8) owned the second-best record last chapter,
and Los Altos and Allentown unsurprisingly went 19-9.
Your Hitters of the
Chapter were SoCal's Jacoby Ellsbury (.405/.431/.552)
and (surprise, surprise) Corona's Joe Mauer
(.394/.500/.657.) Pitcher of the Chapter honors
went to SoCal's Josh Beckett (5-1, 0.91 ERA) and
Undertaker Jon Lester (4-0, 0.55 ERA.)
September 14, 2010
Ho-Hum...Los Altos Wins Another
Division Title
LOS ALTOS, CA - Chapter Six has not yet begun, yet the
Los Altos Undertakers have already secured the Griffin
Division title. As expected, the defending
champions have dominated their division once again, and
hold a commanding 32-game lead in the division
with just 28 games remaining. This is the eighth
division title for Los Altos -- a mark that ties the
BDBL record held by the Salem Cowtippers.
September 6, 2010
A Team Effort
SALEM, NH - Pitching against a lineup that murders left-handed
pitching, in a ballpark that also punishes lefties, lefty Clayton "Asswipe"
Kershaw combined with FIVE suck-ass middle relievers to no-hit the
Salem Cowtippers in the fourth and final game of a pivotal series
between the OL's two wild card contenders.
That win made it a
split series and preserved New Milford's four-game lead
in the wild card over Salem. It also closed out
the chapter for both teams, who finished with identical
16-12 records.
Box score
August 30, 2010
One Game Away
NEW MILFORD, CT - The New Milford Blazers unexpectedly swept the
Bear Country Nine on Monday, putting them just one game out of first
place in the Butler Division. New Milford's cavalcade of stars
(including Landon Powell, Maicer Izturis, Skip Schumaker, Ryan
Roberts, Everth Cabrera, Dioner Navarro and the great Eli Whiteside)
are now 13-7 on the chapter, and sport an overall winning percentage
of nearly .600.
August 22, 2010
The "JA" Stands For Just Awesome
CORONA, CA - JA Happ became the 14th pitcher in BDBL history, first
this year, and second in Corona franchise history to throw a
no-hitter, which he did on Saturday evening against the San Antonio
Broncs. Happ (now 8-9 with a 4.55 ERA on the season) walked
three and struck out ten. His stellar effort helped Corona pad
their lead in the Butler Division to five games.
Full box
score...
August 2, 2010
BDBL Weekend, 2010
DENVER, CO - BDBL Weekend, 2010, took place in Denver this year,
with eight BDBL GM's (and one future GM) participating in the
festivities. The game between the Rockies and Cubs was
highlighted by a walk-off home run by Carlos Gonzalez (which
completed the cycle), and the day was highlighted by a total of nine
trades involving 56 players, including some huge names such as Evan
Longoria, Justin Upton and Zack Greinke.
Read all about
it.
July 26, 2010
Pulling Ahead
ATLANTA, GA - The Atlanta Fire Ants began this chapter tied with the
Akron Ryche atop the Hrbek Division. But thanks to a 12-6
start to Chapter Four, coupled with a 11-13 performance by the Ryche
this chapter, the Fire Ants now own a comfortable four-game lead.
July 26, 2010
Spinning the Wheels
SALEM, NH - The Salem Cowtippers wrapped up Chapter Four
with a 16-8 record, and are playing .646 baseball since
the start of Chapter Three. Yet, because New
Milford (.591 during that time) and Corona (.568) refuse
to stumble, the Cowtippers remain eight games back in
the division with just two chapters left to play.
July 6, 2010
C.C. No No
LOS ALTOS, CA - Los Altos ace C.C. Sabathia became the 14th player
in BDBL history to toss a no-hitter with a stellar effort against
the Corona Confederates on Monday. It was the third no-hitter
thrown by a Los Altos pitcher in franchise history. It was
also the only win of the series (a 1-0 victory, won on a walk-off
homer by Adrian Gonzalez) for the Undertakers in the series, as the
Corona Confederates' stunning roll toward a division title continues
unabated.
June 20, 2010
All-Star Festivities Celebrated
SOUTHERN CAL - The 12th annual BDBL All-star game took place on
Father's Day, with Papa Glander managing the Ozzie League all-stars
to a 17-6 win over the EL stars. The OL's 17 runs scored and
22 hits are a new BDBL all-star record.
Read all about it.
June 17, 2010
Halftime
SALEM, NH - The 2010 season has officially reached its halfway
point, with the conclusion of Chapter Three. The big winners
of the chapter were the always-dominant SoCal Slyme (19-5),
Allentown Ridgebacks (17-7), Ravenswood Infidels (16-8) and Los
Altos Undertakers (15-9.) The surprising Salem Cowtippers also
managed a 15-9 record for the chapter, as did the Atlanta Fire Ants.
The final tally for
interleague play was a 101-91 victory by the Eck League,
thanks in no small part to the woeful performances by
Kansas City (3-13) and New Hope (2-14.)
Hitters of the Chapter
were Corona's Joe Mauer (.404/.500/.649) in the OL and
Allentown's Ryan Braun (.398/.495/.634) in the EL.
Salem's Felix Hernandez (surprise!) won the OL Pitcher
of the Chapter award, thanks to a 4-0 record and 1.44
ERA, and Allentown's Scott Baker (4-0, 1.01 ERA) took
home EL honors.
June 1, 2010
The Russian is Cut!
SOUTHERN CAL - For the past year and a half, the Los Altos
Undertakers have rolled over the opposition unlike any team in
league history. But for one day, at least, the mighty
Undertakers met their match in the Southern Cal Slyme. Backed
by pitching from guys with names like Stammen and Jabubauskas, the
Slyme held the powerful Los Altos offense to just seven runs in four
games, sweeping the Undertakers right out of town, and handing them
their first series defeat of the season.
The Undertakers and
Slyme now own identical 49-23 (.681) records on the
season. While Los Altos' lead shrunk to "just" 13
games over the second-place Padawans, the surprising
Slyme now own a formidable seven-game lead over the
heavily-favored St. Louis Apostles.
May 4, 2010
Two-Thirds to Go
SALEM, NH - For the second chapter in a row, the Ravenswood Infidels
dominated the BDBL with a 21-7 record. Division rival
Mississippi (19-9) was right on the Infidels' heels, and the SoCal
Slyme (20-8) dominated in that "other" league.
Corona's Shin-Soo Choo
(.400/.512/.700) and South Carolina's Nick Swisher (14
HR, 27 RBI) won the Hitter of the Chapter awards, while
Ravenswood's Javier Vazquez (5-1, 2.70 ERA) and
Allentown's Tim Lincecum (4-1, 1.97 ERA) took home
Pitcher of the Chapter honors.
May 3, 2010
Cleveland Loading Up
CLEVELAND, OH - Trailing by one game in the Hrbek
Division, Cleveland Rocks GM Mike Stein has been the
most active GM of the season thus far. This past
chapter, Stein made a total of four trades, adding Manny
Ramirez, Phil coke, Bronson Arroyo, Mike Lowell, Leo
Nunez and Mark Lowe in an effort to overtake the
first-place Akron Ryche.
April 19, 2010
Like Father, Like Son
SOUTHERN CAL - Don't look now (okay, go ahead and look), but the
Southern Cal Slyme are once again sitting on top of the Person
Division with a three game lead over the St. Louis Apostles.
The Slyme, you may remember, won the division in 2008 with the best
record in BDBL history. But they then lost in the Division
Series, while the Apostles (who won the wild card) also lost in
seven games.
In 2009, St. Louis won
the divison, and was heavily favored to win the EL
title. But they, too, lost in the Division Series,
while SoCal took the wild card and rode it all the way
to the BDBL World Series.
This year, the Apostles
were expected to run away with the division. But
after an 18-8 chapter, the Slyme sit atop the division
roughly one-third of the way into the season.
April 8, 2010
Ravenswood on a Roll
RAVENSWOOD, IL - 35% of the precincts have reported, and we are now
calling this race. The Ravenswood Infidels have won the Benes
Division. The Infidels have followed up their 20-8 first
chapter with a 21-7 record in Chapter Two. They now sit 15
games ahead in first place, with a runs differential of 131.
The next best record in the division belongs to the 18-22 Meatballs,
who own a differential of -11.
April 8, 2010
Salem Continues to Slide
SALEM, NH - The worst record in the BDBL in Chapter Two
belongs to the Salem Cowtippers, who are now 4-14 on the
chapter. Salem is now 15 games behind in the
division, with a winning percentage of .391 despite
being outscored by just one run so far this season.
The Cowtippers lineup,
which includes the likes of Mark Teixeira, Matt
Holliday, Chipper Jones, Brian Roberts, Matt Kemp and
Josh Willingham, is batting just .242 on the season,
with a .328 OBP and .379 slugging percentage.
Felix Hernandez owns an ERA of 5.31, and has allowed 11
homers in 12 starts. Dan Haren owns a 4.55 ERA,
with a whopping 21 homers in a dozen starts. And
Jeff Niemann has posted a rosy 6.04 ERA in 10 starts.
March 25, 2010
Who's #1?
SALEM, NH - The eleventh annual BDBL Farm Report has arrived.
This year, the #1 overall spot is shared between two players:
Salem's Stephen Strasburg and Los Altos outfielder Jason Heyward.
The #1 overall farm system? You'll have to
click the link to find
out...
March 13, 2010
One Done
SALEM, NH -Chapter One officially came to a close on Friday night,
with the surprising Corona Confederates leading the way with a 21-7
record. Ravenswood and Los Altos each went 20-8 on the
chapter, and Akron went 19-9. At the other end of the
spectrum, the woeful New Hope Badgers went just 5-23.
The OL Hitter of the
Chapter award is a no-brainer, as Corona's Joe Mauer
(.479/.536/.677) completely dominated the competition.
In the EL, just about any one of the St. Louis Apostles
could have won the award. Eenie, meenie, miny...Nick
Markakis (.396/.431/.673).
On the mound,
Ravenswood's Wandy Rodriguez (7-0, 2.14 ERA) was just
about perfect, while in the EL, Allentown's Tim Lincecum
(7-0, 1.26 ERA) was even...errr...more perfect.
March 7, 2010
A-Rod Clubs #500
SYLMAR, CA - Sylmar star Alex Rodriguez joined an exclusive club on
Sunday night when he hit his 500th career home run in a game against
the Manchester Irish Monarchs. After being stuck at 499 for
several games, A-Rod then launched #501 and #502 shortly thereafter.
He now sits 57 home runs away from #2 on the all-time list, Manny
Ramirez (445.)
March 5, 2010
An Historic Start for New Hope
NEW HOPE, PA - The New Hope Badgers are off to an historic
start...but not in a good way. Through their first 16 games,
New Hope is sporting a record of 1-15. The Badgers are hitting
.210 as a team, own a 6.11 ERA, and have been outscored by their
opponents by a margin of 75 runs (114-39) -- that's a difference of
nearly five runs per game!
March 1, 2010
The .700 Club
SALEM, NH - With two weeks remaining in the first chapter, several
teams are standing heads and shoulders above the rest with winning
percentages north of .700. The Corona Confederates lead the
BDBL with an .800 mark (16-4), while Ravenswood (17-7, .708) and Los
Altos (15-5, .750) have been equally dominant. In the Eck
League, the 19-9 Akron Ryche currently own the best record in the
league, just missing the .700 mark at .679.
February 7, 2010
Break Up The Confederates
CORONA, CA - The Corona Confederates have gotten off to a
blazing-hot 10-2 start to the 2010 season, including two series
victories against division rivals New Milford and Salem. The
Corona pitching staff has carried the team thus far. They own
a 2.19 team ERA, and have allowed just 74 hits and only 3 homers in
107 innings. And Joe Mauer has been a one-man wrecking machine
offensively, as he is hitting .500/.540/.727 overall, with 4
doubles, a pair of homers, 11 runs scored and 9 RBI's.
January 26, 2010
Are You Ready for Some Baseball?
SALEM, NH - With the selection of Garrett Olson at 8:48pm on
Saturday night, the 2010 free agent draft finally came to a
conclusion. Opening Day is now just around the corner, which
means the annual Season Preview is
here!
January 10, 2010
Black Sox Bonanza
SALEM, NH - The Chicago Black Sox went into the free agent auction
with a BDBL-high $52.1 million to spend, and GM John Gill has taken
advantage of that position by signing six players in the auction:
Ryan Dempster, Cliff Lee, Paul Maholm, Victor Martinez, Carlos
Zambrano and Jose Reyes. Incredibly, the team still has more
than $9 million left to spend, and only a dozen roster spots left to
fill.
January 3, 2010
Halladay Falls to Niagara
SALEM, NH - The Niagara Locks made huge waves in the free agent
market on Sunday night when they signed the #1 free agent available,
Roy Halladay, to a $19 million salary. Halladay will join a
starting rotation that includes Kyle Lohse, Vicente Padilla, Ian
Snell and David Price. (And yes, that is just the first of many
corny headline puns you'll be seeing this season about the Locks
franchise.)
January 1, 2010
Draft Day Has Arrived
SALEM, NH -The 2010 draft officially kicked off at 8:50am Eastern
when Tony DeCastro of the South Carolina Sea Cats made Cuban
refugee/phenom Aroldis Chapman the first pick of the farm draft.
Starlin Castro, Simon Castro, Jameson Taillon, Wil Myers, Chris
Withrow and Jarred Cosart then followed with the next six picks.
December 23, 2009
Flurry of Deadline Deals
SALEM, NH - Wednesday night's winter trading deadline resulted in a
flurry of trades, capped by the Chicago Black Sox dealing their MVP
third baseman (and two relievers!) to the St. Louis Apostles in
exchange for three minor league prospects.
The Apostles had a busy day, as that was
just one of four trades made by GM Bobby Sylvester
during the final day of winter trading season. In
another deal, Sylvester added all-star catcher Brian
McCann from the Villanova Mustangs. With a lineup
filled with the likes of Albert Pujols, Longoria,
McCann, Nick Markakis and Dustin Pedroia, the Apostles
are nearly a lock to score 1,000+ runs for the second
season in a row. It will indeed by a merry
Christmas (and happy birthday) for Sylvester this year.
December 6, 2009
And the Winners Are...
SALEM, NH - The Sylvester family dominated the 2009 BDBL awards
balloting, as father Sylvester won his fourth Manager of the Year
award, and third GM of the Year award, and son Bobby finished second
and third (respectively) in the voting for each award. The
younger Sylvester also dominated the EL MVP balloting, as the three
top vote-getters, including the winner, Dustin Pedroia, are all St.
Louis Apostles. Pedroia also captured the EL Babe Ruth award,
while Atlanta ace Ervin Santana won the EL Cy Young award.
In the Ozzie League,
the voting for Manager of the Year ended in a tie for
the first time in league history, with division rivals
Greg Newgard and Jeff Paulson sharing the honor.
Newgard does have the GM of the Year award all to
himself, however. Los Altos ace C.C. Sabathia, who
set a new BDBL record with 29 wins in 2009, was the
runaway winner of the Cy Young award, while New Milford
overachiever Jack Cust took home both the MVP and Babe
Ruth awards.
Full balloting
results...
December 2, 2009
Blazers Also Add an Ace
NEW MILFORD, CT - After watching their division rivals add an ace at
the trading table this week, the New Milford Blazers did the same,
adding Gavin Floyd from the Great Lakes Sphinx at the expense
of...Martin Prado?? Really??
Really.
November 30, 2009
Cowtippers Add an Ace
SALEM, NH - The Salem Cowtippers made a pair of announcements today
to kick off the 2010 trading season. In the first trade, Salem
added ace Dan Haren from the San Antonio Broncs, along with Brian
Roberts and John Baker, in exchange for prospects Brian Matusz,
Aaron Hicks and others. In another deal, Salem offloaded Josh
Beckett's $17 million salary to Southern Cal, getting closer Trevor
Hoffman in exchange.
Full story...
November 29, 2009
Undertakers are Your 2009 BDBL
Champions
SALEM, NH - All too rarely, the team that is supposed to win
actually wins in the end. But in 2009, the Los Altos
Undertakers fulfilled all pre-season expectations by defeating the
Southern Cal Slyme in the BDBL World Series.
Los Altos jumped out to a
two-games-to-none lead in the series, but then lost two out of three
in Southern Cal. When the series shifted back to Los Altos for
Game Six, former Salem Cowtipper Justin Duchscherer took the hill
and shut down the dangerous SoCal offense for five-plus innings.
The stellar Undertakers bullpen then took over and did what they
have done all season, stifling the opposition to close out the
Undertakers' 125th win of the season, clinching Jeff Paulson's
long-overdue first BDBL championship trophy.
Full details available on the
Playoffs page...
November 27, 2009
Slyme Advance to World Series
SALEM, NH - Ten years after their first BDBL World Series
appearance, the Southern Cal Slyme are returning to the big stage
after defeating the Atlanta Fire Ants in the ELCS in five games.
The Slyme pummeled Atlanta ace
Ervin Santana for 11 runs on 17 hits in his two starts, and
outscored the Fire Ants by a margin of 23-18. SoCal will now
face the Los Altos Undertakers for the 2009 BDBL championship
trophy.
November 25, 2009
Undertakers Clear Another Hurdle
SALEM, NH -After losing two of the first three games of the OLCS to
the woeful New Milford Blazers, the Los Altos Undertakers won the
next three games of the series to advance to the BDBL World Series
for the first time in franchise history.
Los Altos accomplished this feat
despite hitting just .241/.288/.414 as a team, and despite
outscoring the Blazers in the series by a margin of just 28-26.
Thankfully, another BDBL tragedy was averted when pinch hitter Ryan
Shealy launched a walk-off, grand slam home run off of Brian Bruney
in Game Six. It seems we all have something to be thankful for
this Thanksgiving.
November 9, 2009
Stage is Set for LCS
SALEM, NH - The Los Altos Undertakers breezed past the Las Vegas
Flamingos in four games in the OL Division Series, setting the stage
for an OLCS match-up against the New Milford Blazers. Los
Altos outscored Las Vegas 32-15 in the series and hit .329/.404/.527
with 18 extra base hits in the four games.
November 8, 2009
Tragedy Strikes the BDBL
SALEM, NH - The New Milford Blazers have defeated the San Antonio
Broncs in the OL Division Series. After taking a
three-games-to-two lead in the series, the San Antonio offense
simply failed to show up for the final two games. They were on
the losing end of a 1-0, one-hit shutout in Game Six, and were then
destroyed in the seventh game by a score of 10-2.
San Antonio hit just .220/.272/.313
in the seven games, with just four home runs, 19 runs scored and 15
walks. New Milford's hitting (.229/.346/.330, 25 runs, 5 HR,
38 BB) wasn't much better, but in the end it was enough.
The Blazers now head to the OLCS
for the second time in franchise history. Once again, we're
reminded that there is no such thing as justice in the BDBL.
November 6, 2009
ELCS Match-up is Set
SALEM, NH -On Thursday night, both the Atlanta Fire Ants and
Southern Cal Slyme completed a four-games-to-one Division Series
victory, sending the two teams into the EL Championship Series.
Atlanta defeated the favored St.
Louis Apostles, as the Fire Ants' vaunted pitching staff stymied the
powerful Apostles offense. Although St. Louis scored over
1,000 runs during the regular season, they were held to just 17 runs
in five games, as Atlanta's stellar pitching held them to a
.207/.272/.348 batting line as a team.
Southern Cal's Division Series
pitching performance was every bit as impressive, as the Slyme
posted a 2.60 ERA in the series, and held Kansas hitters to just 13
runs in five games and a batting line of .229/.299/.318.
The Fire Ants and Slyme will meet
in the ELCS for the second time in league history. Their first
meeting came during the league's very first season in 1999, back
when the Fire Ants were known as the Oakville Marauders.
October 29, 2009
It's Over, Johnny
SALEM, NH - At long last, the 2009 season is officially over.
The season ended on Thursday night, with two races being decided on
the final day of the season. The Las Vegas Flamingos
officially clinched the Benes Division after sweeping the Marlboro
Hammerheads in their final series of the season, and the St. Louis
Apostles officially clinched the Person Division after sweeping the
South Carolina Sea Cats in their final series of the season.
The BDBL post-season is now set.
Please see the 2009 Playoffs
page for all post-season match-ups and results.
October 27, 2009
Atlanta Out in Front, Vegas One
Step Closer
ATLANTA, GA - The Atlanta Fire Ants took a major step toward the
playoffs by taking three of four from the Chicago Black Sox on
Tuesday night to take a one game lead in the division with just one
day remaining in the season. Each team has four games left to
play.
In other news, the Las Vegas
Flamingos have taken a commanding lead in the Benes Division, and
now lead by three games over the Marlboro Hammerheads. The two
teams face off for one final series, and Marlboro must sweep that
series in order to win the division.
October 25, 2009
Lester No-hits San Antonio
LOS ALTOS, CA - On Sunday night, Los Altos ace Jon Lester became the
13th pitcher in BDBL history -- and the first this season -- to
pitch a no-hitter. Lester's no-no came in the fourth game of a
series against the San Antonio Broncs, giving Los Altos the series
victory. It was the final game of the season for the Broncs,
who wrapped up a remarkable year with a record of 102-58. Los
Altos, at 109-47, have four games remaining.
October 25, 2009
Wade Breaks Saves Record
SAN ANTONIO, TX - San Antonio Broncs closer Cory Wade fulfilled his
year-long pursuit of the BDBL single season saves record, notching
#63 on the season with a win over the Los Altos Undertakers.
The record was formerly held by Undertakers legend Eric Gagne.
October 24, 2009
Go 'Dogs Go
KANSAS - The Kansas Law Dogs wrapped up their fourth division title
on Friday, after a 10-6 start to Chapter Six. If the season
ended today, Kansas would face the Eck League wild card winner
(currently Southern Cal) in the EL Division Series. But with
several games left to play over the next week, the situation is far
from decided.
October 24, 2009
Los Altos Captures the Flag
LOS ALTOS, CA - The Los Altos Undertakers officially clinched their
seventh division title on Friday night after taking three of four
from the New Hope Badgers. In Game One of the series, the
Undertakers' $22 million investment from last winter, C.C. Sabathia,
won his 27th game of the season, setting a new BDBL record.
Three of the four spots in the
Ozzie League playoffs are now set, with only the Benes Division
remaining undecided. The Las Vegas Flamingos and Marlboro
Hammerheads are deadlocked in that division race with identical
71-81 records. The winner of that division will then face the
Undertakers in the Division Series.
October 22, 2009
One Week to Go
SALEM, NH - Only one week remaining in this god-awful season, and
there are a couple of interesting races still to be resolved.
In the Benes Division, the Marlboro Hammerheads own a slim one-game
lead over the Las Vegas Flamingos. Vegas has a dozen games
remaining, while Marlboro has 16 left on the schedule.
In the Person Division, the SoCal
Slyme and St. Louis Apostles are deadlocked with identical 93-55
records atop the Person Division. With the EL wild card all
wrapped up, the only thing at stake here is pride, with father and
son battling for the title. Both teams have a dozen games
remaining.
And in the Hrbek Division, the
Atlanta Fire Ants trail the Chicago Black Sox by one game, with a
dozen games remaining for Chicago and 16 left for Atlanta.
October 5, 2009
Hey, Way to Go, Asshole!
NEW MILFORD, CT - The New Milford Blazers officially clinched their
first division title on Monday night, taking three of four from the
Las Vegas Flamingos. With a dozen games remaining in the
season, New Milford owns an 88-60 record, which virtually assures
that they will face the San Antonio Broncs in the OL Division
Series. Have fun, Greg.
September 27, 2009
First (Err...Second) One Into the Pool
SAN ANTONIO, TX - The San Antonio Broncs clinched a spot in the BDBL
post-season after an 8-4 start to Chapter Six. The Broncs own
a 92-52 record overall (eight wins away from a new franchise
record), and sit six games behind the Los Altos Undertakers in the
Griffin Division.
In other important San Antonio
Broncs news, closer Cory Wade now has 57 saves on the season, and
needs just six more (in 16 games) to surpass Los Altos legend Eric
Gagne for the all-time BDBL single-season saves record.
September 15, 2009
BDBL 2009: The Final Chapter
SALEM, NH - Chapter Five officially came to a close on Sunday night,
with the Kansas Law Dogs (22-6), St. Louis Apostles (21-7) and Los
Altos Undertakers (20-8) enjoying a big chapter. With one
chapter of the season remaining, the Marlboro Hammerheads are
clinging to a two-game lead in the Benes Division, the Apostles have
opened up a three-game lead in the Person Division, and the Chicago
Black Sox and Atlanta Fire Ants are all tied up in the Hrbek
Division.
Corona's Joe Mauer (.441/.512/.631)
won the OL Hitter of the Chapter award, as he gears up for what is
certain to be a monster 2010 season. St. Louis' Aubrey Huff
(.417/.461/.774) won the EL award for the chapter.
On the mound, C.C. Sabathia (5-0,
3.18 ERA) and Carlos Zambrano (6-1, 2.79) are your Pitchers of the
Chapter.
September 5, 2009
All Tied Up
SALEM, NH - With just seven weeks remaining in the 2009 season, no
fewer than three divisions are currently tied. In the Benes
Division, the Las Vegas Flamingos and Marlboro Hammerheads sport
identical 58-70 records atop the division. In the Person
Division, the St. Louis Apostles (76-44 overall) have caught up with
the Southern Cal Slyme (68-36) in a virtual tie for first. And
in the Hrbek Division, the Chicago Black Sox (67-49) and Atlanta
Fire Ants (65-47) remain virtually tied atop the division.
August 20, 2009
Hot Pink
LAS VEGAS, NV - After a 9-7 start to Chapter Five, the Las Vegas
Flamingos have captured a share of first place in the Benes
Division. With the Marlboro Hammerheads losing three of four
against the Salem Cowtippers, Vegas owns a share of first despite an
overall record of 55-65.
August 2, 2009
We Left Our Hearts (and Our
Bellies, and Our Livers) in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - The tenth (yes, tenth) annual BDBL Weekend
festivities were held in Oakland and San Francisco this past
weekend, featuring nine BDBL owners, two MLB ballparks and countless
trades.
Full story...
July 29, 2009
Put It In the Books
SALEM, NH - Chapter Four officially came to an end on Tuesday night,
and for most teams in the BDBL it was a mediocre chapter. 15
of the 24 teams in the league finished the chapter with 11, 12 or 13
wins in the chapter. Only the Los Altos Undertakers (20-4)
enjoyed a dominant chapter, while the Sylmar Padawans (7-17) and
South Carolina Sea Cats (7-17) brought up the rear.
Hitters of the Chapter were
Jermaine Dye (BCJ, .406/.423/.740) and Manny Ramirez (NAS,
.362/.439/.777), and Pitchers of the Chapter were A.J. Burnett (MAN,
5-1, 1.76 ERA, .186/.232/.297 against) and Andy Sonnanstine (ATL,
2.62 ERA, .197/.227/.339 against.)
With 56 games remaining in the
season, plenty of playoff spots are still wide open, with only the
Butler Division (where the New Milford Blazers have opened up an
11-game lead after seeing that lead dwindle to just five games
earlier in the chapter) and Higuera Division (where Kansas owns an
8-game lead over Allentown) seemingly decided at this point.
The Marlboro Hammerheads cling to a two-game lead in the Benes
Division, Los Altos has taken a three-game lead over San Antonio in
the Griffin Division, St. Louis has closed the gap to four games
behind the SoCal Slyme, and the Hrbek Division is all tied up
between the Chicago Black Sox and Atlanta Fire Ants.
July 28, 2009
Sylvester (Sr.) Bulks Up
SOUTHERN CAL - The SoCal Slyme have enjoyed a commanding lead in the
Person Division throughout the season, but with the St. Louis
Apostles nipping at his heels, SoCal GM Bob Sylvester made a major
move today to keep that division lead intact. In exchange for
top prospect Carlos Santana and two others, the Slyme have added ace
Jake Peavy to the starting rotation, and relievers Will Ohman and
Carlos Marmol to the bullpen.
Ridgebacks GM Tom DiStefano, who
announced his desire to scrap his team less than 48 hours ago, has
unloaded several superstar impact players in a very short amount of
time, significantly altering several of the division races.
July 28, 2009
Broncs Get Hudson
SAN ANTONIO, TX - In their quest to keep pace with the world-beating
Undertakers of Los Altos, the San Antonio Broncs announced today
that they have acquired pitcher Tim Hudson from the Allentown
Ridgebacks, along with three others. In exchange, San Antonio
has parted with five players, including a couple of prospects and a
couple of middle relievers. San Antonio currently trails Los
Altos by three games in the Griffin Division race.
July 27, 2009
Atlanta Makes Their Move
ATLANTA, GA - With the Atlanta Fire Ants losing their lead in the
division and falling into a tie with the Chicago Black Sox, many
were wondering whether Atlanta GM Gene Patterson would loosen the
grip on some of his good, young talent and acquire enough firepower
to propel the team to its second playoffs appearance in the
Patterson Era. That question was answered today when Patterson
acquired Carlos Beltran, Oliver Perez and three others from the
white-flag-waving Allentown Ridgebacks in exchange for Gary
Sheffield and four others (including recently-injured Kevin Slowey.)
UPDATE: Due to VORP cap rules, this
trade has been nullified, but is currently being reworked.
July 14, 2009
Undertakers On Top (For Good?)
LOS ALTOS, CA - It took a lot longer than most people expected, but
the Los Altos Undertakers officially captured first place in the
Griffin Division after sweeping the Salem Cowtippers on Monday
night. The Undertakers easily won all four games against
Salem, giving them a one-game lead over the San Antonio Broncs.
The Broncs, who are 10-10 so far this chapter, held onto the
division lead with the best record in the BDBL throughout the first
half of the season.
July 8, 2009
Hrbek Fit to be Tied
CHICAGO, IL - The Chicago Black Sox have slugged their way into a
virtual tie with the Atlanta Fire Ants atop the Hrbek Division after
taking three of four from the Great Lakes Sphinx this week.
Newcomers Ichiro Suzuki and Geovanny Soto hit a combined 18-for-28
(.643) in the series, with three homers and 15 RBI's. Atlanta
continues to thrive on its pitching, but the team is just 15-13
since the start of Chapter Three (the third-best record in the
division.)
June 14, 2009
Another New Owner for the Funk
SALEM, NH - Mike Ranney, a 53-year-old veteran of Diamond Mind
Baseball, was introduced today as the new owner of the Nashville
Funkadelic franchise. Ranney takes over for Ryan Melosi, who
came into the BDBL less than a month ago.
June 12, 2009
Halfway There
SALEM, NH - The 2009 season officially reached its halfway point on
Friday afternoon. The Eck League crushed the Ozzie League in
interleague play during Chapter Three, going 106-86 against their
league rivals. The SoCal Slyme and San Antonio Broncs were
once again the winningest teams in the BDBL with 17 wins in the
third chapter, with Kansas going 16-8 and Akron and Chicago each
going 15-9.
On the flip side, the South
Carolina Sea Cats and Las Vegas Flamingos (8-16 each) were just
plain awful. Jack Cust (.359/.510/.962) and Albert Pujols
(.385/.475/.626) took home the Hitters of the Chapter awards, while
Wandy Rodriguez (1.13 ERA, .170/.236/.207 against) and Shaun Marcum
(1.62 ERA, .202/.267/.286) earned the Pitcher of the Chapter awards.
The always-thrilling Chapter Four free agent pick-up will take place
Saturday night at 9:00pm ET.
June 3, 2009
Chicago Hope
CHICAGO, IL - Chicago Black Sox GM John Gill made a pair of trades
this week to help erase the two-game deficit he faces in the Hrbek
Division. In a trade with the Sylmar Padawans, the Black Sox
added Ichiro Suzuki and Geovanny Soto, costing the team top prospect
Cameron Maybin, Jeremy Hermida and others. Then, less than an
hour later, Gill announced that he'd also acquired Jimmy Rollins
from the Marlboro Hammerheads in exchange for prospect Josh Reddick
and others.
Chicago owns a .574 winning
percentage this season, yet trails the underdog Atlanta Fire Ants.
The Black Sox are 8-4 this chapter, while Atlanta is 7-5.
May 25, 2009
The Emperor Has No Clothes
ALLENTOWN, NJ - Tom DiStefano has lost his ever-loving mind.
That is the only explanation for the trade he made on Sunday night
with the New Milford Blazers, whereby he sent one of the top young
pitchers in the game of baseball, Yovani Gallardo, to New Milford in
exchange for a collection of 29-year-old pinch hitters.
DiStefano, who is currently nine games behind in his division,
believes this collection of pinch hitters (and a #5 starter) will
make up the ground necessary to get back into the Higuera Division
race. Good luck with that.
May 20, 2009
Out Goes the Funk
SALEM, NH - After seven seasons at the helm of the Nashville
Funkadelic, GM/owner Steve Osborne has stepped down. Osborne,
who entered the league in 2002 as the owner of the New York Knights,
compiled a career record of 556-566 (.496) in the BDBL, and won a
Person Division title in '02 and another in 2007. Best known
for his love of Ty Cobb and for masterminding some of the best
practical jokes in league history, Osborne will be missed.
The league also announced on
Wednesday that Osborne's replacement as GM/owner of the Funkadelic
will be Bobby Sylvester's college roommate, Ryan Melosi.
Melosi is a long-time follower of the BDBL and a self-described
"baseball nut" who will now be competing in the same division as his
roommate.
May 20, 2009
Salem Reaches Nadir
SALEM, NH - It's been a bad week for the Salem Cowtippers. On
Sunday, Salem lost three of four to the Southern Cal Slyme to fall
nine games behind in the Butler Division race. Less than three
hours later, newly-acquired "ace" Ryan Dempster was sent packing to
the Manchester Irish Rebels in the first of what is expected to be
several "firesale" trades. After being roundly panned by the
BDBL press for the trade, Glander then watched in horror as the
20-40 South Carolina Sea Cats took three of four from Salem on
Tuesday night.
The Cowtippers, who were
universally predicted to win their division in the pre-season, are
now 6-10 on the chapter and 33-39 on the season -- 10 games behind
the Blazers.
May 1, 2009
Onto Chapter Three
SALEM, NH - The San Antonio Broncs and Los Altos Undertakers led the
way in Chapter Two, each sporting 20-8 records, while the St. Louis
Apostles (18-10) also enjoyed a successful chapter. At the
other end of the spectrum, the Villanova Mustangs (8-20) and Corona
Confederates (9-19) stunk up the joint.
San Antonio's newest rent-a-stud,
Alex Rodriguez, took home the OL's Hitter of the Chapter award,
after leading the league in average (.380), OBP (.496), slugging
(.860) and several other categories in Chapter Two. In the EL,
it was a toss-up between St. Louis teammates Albert Pujols
(.400/.455/.740) and Dustin Pedroia (.368/.429/.658.)
On the mound, Sylmar's Jonathan
Sanchez (0.94 ERA, .159/.238/.212 against) won the OL Pitcher of the
Chapter award, while Atlanta's Ervin Santana (1.51 ERA,
.168/.238/.289) took home the EL honor.
April 28, 2009
Halladay! Celebrate!
NEW MILFORD, CT - The feel-good story of the 2009 season continued
today when the New Milford Blazers acquired Roy Halladay from the
Ravenswood Infidels, parting with several budding superstars in
exchange. The Blazers are riding high after another stellar
chapter, in which they finished 16-12. They now enjoy a
comfortable seven-game lead in the Butler Division, which will
undoubtedly grow even healthier thanks to the addition of their new
ace.
April 28, 2009
Flamingos Back on Top
LAS VEGAS, NV - Despite a .500 chapter (14-14), the Las Vegas
Flamingos still remain atop the Benes Division by a one-game margin
over the Marlboro Hammerheads. Marlboro went 16-10 in Chapter
Two, but is just 26-30 on the season.
April 16, 2009
Allentown in the Dog House
ALLENTOWN, NJ - Despite pre-season predictions of greatness and a
roster filled with the likes of Tim Lincecum, Jake Peavy, Ryan
Braun, Justin Morneau and Carlos Beltran, the Allentown Ridgebacks
are wallowing in last place in the Higuera Division with a record of
15-25. After a 3-9 start to the second chapter, Allentown now
trails the division-leading Kansas Law Dogs by six games.
April 10, 2009
Parity Like It's 2009
SALEM, NH - Just five games separate all four teams in three
different divisions in the BDBL, here in the middle of April.
The Benes, Higuera and Hrbek Divisions are all up for grabs, as five
games or less separates the top team from last place.
Incredibly, only three teams in the Ozzie League own a record above
.500, while the Hrbek Division includes three teams above the .500
mark. Interleague play (which begins in Chapter Three) should
prove interesting.
April 3, 2009
Just When You Thought It Was
Safe...
MARLBORO, NJ - After a 12-4 start to Chapter Two, the Marlboro
Hammerheads now own sole possession of first place in the Benes
Division. Marlboro (22-22 overall) is the only .500 team in
the division, and the only team that has outscored their opponents.
In other news, the San Antonio
Broncs (14-6 this chapter) continue to win, as their lead over the
Undertakers now stands at three games. And on the flip side of
that coin, the Corona Confederates are off to a miserable 1-11 start
to the chapter, and have now fallen 11 games out of first in the
Butler Division.
March 13, 2009
One Away
SALEM, NH - The first chapter of the 2009 season mercifully came to
an end on Friday with the SoCal Slyme in the familiar position of
owning the best record in the league at 20-8. The San Antonio
Broncs (19-9), Atlanta Fire Ants (18-10) and New Milford Blazers
(18-10) also enjoyed successful chapters. On the flip side,
the South Carolina Sea Cats have gotten out to a miserable 6-22
start to the '09 season, and have scored just 87 runs (an average of
3.1 per game.)
Allentown's Tim Lincecum led the EL
in ERA (2.33) and strikeouts (53), and captured the coveted EL
Pitcher of the Chapter award. Marlboro's Tim Hudson
(.158/.234/.257 against, and a 2.57 ERA) took home the OL honors.
At the plate, the Hitter of the
Chapter awards for the OL and EL, respectively, went to Los Altos
3B/RF Kevin Youkilis, who led the league in all three triple-slash
categories (.400/.461/.791), and SoCal's surprising Ryan Zimmerman
(.420/.473/.667), who nearly did the same.
March 11, 2009
San Antonio Swept
LOS ALTOS, CA - In the most anticipated match-up of the season so
far, the pre-season favorite Los Altos Undertakers faced the red-hot
San Antonio Broncs in a Griffin Division match-up that may be a
preview of the OLCS.
Los Altos starter Ryan Dempster has
been a disappointment throughout the season, but he finally put it
all together in Game One of the series, tossing seven shutout
innings en route to a 3-0 Los Altos victory. Undertakers
slugger Josh Hamilton hit a walk-off homer in extra innings to give
Los Altos the win in Game Two. After another one-run win in
the third game, and a 12-6 laugher in the final game, the
Undertakers walked away with a sweep.
Los Altos wrapped up the first
chapter with a record of 18-10 -- one game behind the Broncs.
March 10, 2009
A-Robbed
SAN ANTONIO, TX - Alex Rodriguez played for the same BDBL franchise
for ten seasons. But for the third time in the past three
months, Rodriguez has been traded. On Tuesday, San Antonio
Broncs GM Greg Newgard happily announced that he had just acquired
the all-star third baseman as part of a nine-player trade with the
Marlboro Hammerheads.
"We're giving up a lot here,"
stated Newgard (who really didn't give up a lot), "but we feel like
we're getting the best bat in the league and will be a key piece in
keeping us in the thick of the playoff hunt. [A-Rod] is the
biggest name we've acquired since I've been here, and we can't wait
for [Chapter Two] to start so we can see this team in action."
The Hammerheads were expected to
win the Benes Division this year, but after a disappointing 10-18
start to the season (despite a league-leading +16 runs
differential), Marlboro GM Nic Weiss has announced that he has begun
looking toward the future.
"At the start of the season, I
didn't think I'd be trading away my best player," stated Weiss, "but
a 10-18 chapter forced me to begin thinking toward next season.
This trade still allows me to compete this season, while getting
building blocks for next season."
March 6, 2009
BDBL Farm Report
SALEM, NH - The tenth annual
BDBL Farm Report has
arrived. And you'll never guess which player ranks #1, and
which BDBL team he plays for!
March 4, 2009
Look Who's Back
SOUTHERN CAL - Guess who has the best record in the Eck League at
20-8? Yep, it's the same team that set a new BDBL for wins
last season: the Southern Cal Slyme. With two weeks remaining
in the chapter, other top performers include San Antonio (19-5) and
Atlanta (12-4.)
March 4, 2009
Cheesing Their Way to Victory
NEW MILFORD, CT - With their collection of #4 starters, part-time
middle relievers, fourth outfielders and career pinch hitters
leading the way, the New Milford Blazers are once again off to a hot
start, going 18-10 in the first chapter. New Milford now holds
a 5-game lead over the 9-11 Cowtippers in what has become the most
pathetic division in the BDBL.
February 16, 2009
Dogs On the Hunt
KANSAS - The Kansas Law Dogs have kicked off the season with an Eck
League-best 13-7 record after taking three of four from the division
rival Allentown Ridgebacks this weekend. The Ridgebacks are
now just 2-6 on the season -- tied with the Great Lakes Sphinx at
the bottom of the Higuera Division.
February 14, 2009
Broncs Bust Out of the Gate
SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Broncs own the best record in the BDBL
at 15-5 after taking three of four from the Marlboro Hammerheads
this week. As expected, their pitching has carried them.
In a year where the average BDBL team ERA is 4.67, the Broncs own a
stellar 3.19 team ERA (second only to the Ridgebacks, who have only
played four games thus far.) San Antonio pitchers are allowing
just 7.4 H/9 and 2.8 BB/9, and closer Cory Wade has already saved 11
games.
February 7, 2009
Hot Start for SoCal
SOUTHERN CAL - The Southern Cal Slyme, who set a record for wins
last season, are off to another hot start in 2009. Through
their first dozen games, the Slyme are 9-3, and have outscored their
opponents by a league-high 20 runs. The only other teams in
the BDBL sporting a record above .500 at this point are the
Ravenswood Infidels (5-3), San Antonio Broncs (8-4) and Kansas Law
Dogs (5-3.)
February 4, 2009
The Emperor Hires a New Apprentice
ALLENTOWN, NJ - BDBL defending champion Tom DiStefano (man, am I
tired of typing that phrase) hired a new apprentice on Wednesday,
announcing Kyle Mayes as his team's new manager, effective
immediately. Mayes, a 21-year-old industrial engineering
student at the University of Missouri, is the second long-time
friend of Bobby Sylvester's to join the BDBL over the past year.
January 22, 2009
Gearing Up for Opening Day
SALEM, NH - With the selection of Boone Logan in the 37th round of
the free agent draft, the 2009 draft officially came to an end on
Thursday afternoon, setting the stage for another exciting BDBL
season.
Read all about it in the
2009 Season Preview!
January 8, 2009
Chicago Loads Up
CHICAGO, IL - After signing Vladimir Guerrero to a surprisingly low
$7 million salary tonight, and Brandon Webb to an $18 million salary
earlier this week, the Chicago Black Sox have positioned themselves
to compete for another division title in 2009. Webb becomes
the ace of a rotation that includes Roy Oswalt, Carlos Zambrano and
Jeff Francis, and Guerrero joins a lineup filled with the likes of
Miguel Cabrera, Evan Longoria, Placido Polanco and Alex Rios.
January 4, 2009
And Johan Santana Goes To...Great
Lakes??
GREAT LAKES - Scott Romonosky, GM of the Great Lakes Sphinx, is
apparently tired of competing every single year without making it to
the playoffs. In an effort to bring that ten-year streak to an
end, Romonosky has spent $20.5 million on one player: Johan Santana.
Is Santana enough to push the Sphinx into the playoffs? Time
will tell.
January 3, 2009
Paulson Sets Another Record
LOS ALTOS, CA - Jeff Paulson has made a habit out of setting new
BDBL records, and he did it again today by paying $22 million for
C.C. Sabathia on the first day of the BDBL auction. Sabathia's
$22 million salary tops Johan Santana's single-season record by $1
million, and his guaranteed three-year/$66 million contract (with no
escape clause!) also sets a new BDBL record. Sabathia joins an
Undertakers rotation that already includes Ryan Dempster, Matt
Garza, Jon Lester, Shaun Marcum and Joba Chamberlain.
December 31, 2008
Atlanta Robs the Cradle
ATLANTA, GA - The Atlanta Fire Ants selected 16-year-old phenom
Bryce Harper with the #1 pick of the 2009 farm draft on Monday.
At 16 years and 76 days, Harper becomes the youngest US-born player ever
selected to a BDBL roster, beating Justin Upton's record by 53 days.
December 18, 2008
A-Rod Sent Packing Again
MARLBORO, NJ - After ten seasons of playing for the same BDBL
franchise, Alex Rodriguez was traded for the second time this
winter, landing on the Marlboro Hammerheads squad. Rodriguez was
acquired along with Colby Rasmus, Mat Gamel and numerous other
former St. Louis Apostles prospects in exchange for Aubrey Huff,
Chris Ianetta, Chris Perez and Eric Hurley.
December 9, 2008
Three Ain't Enough
ALLENTOWN, NJ - Less than a month after winning his third trophy in
seven seasons, Allentown Ridgebacks GM Tom DiStefano made a major
move toward trophy #4, acquiring Carlos Marmol, Carlos Lee and
Arthur Rhodes from the Great Lakes Sphinx in exchange for Cody Ross
and six prospects.
November 19, 2008
Sylvester Stocks Up
ST. LOUIS, MO - St. Louis Apostles GM Bobby Sylvester made the
biggest splash of the winter trading season thus far by announcing
three major trades today. In all, the Apostles added Alex
Rodriguez, Kyle Lohse, Vernon Wells, Wily Mo Pena, Adam Wainwright,
J.J. Hardy and Hunter Pence at the expense of several young stars
including Joba Chamberlain, Julio Teheran, Hiroki Kuroda and Desmond
Jennings.
November 15, 2008
Trading Season Has Begun
SALEM, NH - Just a few hours after the 2008 season ended, the 2009
season began when a series of trades were formally announced.
The Salem Cowtippers announced three deals -- in one of which, they
reacquired former franchise player Mark Teixeira and two others at
the expense of Miguel Cabrera and top prospect Cameron Maybin.
The Los Altos Undertakers announced
their acquisition of ace relievers Scott Downs and Billy Wagner,
plus catcher Mike Napoli. The Great Lakes Sphinx added Jered
Weaver from the Undertakers at the expense of Napoli. And the
San Antonio Broncs managed to unload Austin Kearns' contract while
sacrificing Jeremy Guthrie.
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