Arena The Second Baseball Draft

realized that i should have more teams represented so i made a couple changes. sorry pg.

pitcher: pedro (2000)

lineup:

1. cobb, cf
2. hornsby, 2b
3. yastrzemski, lf
4. ruth, rf
5. brett, 3b
6. bench, c
7. cash, 1b
8. ripken, ss

 

it's fine it's cool Shaqie Joss only has like FIVE MORE WINS THAN ANYONE ELSE

 

The First Simulated Celebrity Softball Game

Editor's Note: The original teams scheduled to play ran into an unfortunate situation when leadoff batter Buster Bluth was frightened by the pitcher throwing a ball at him, ran into the Columbus Clipper's Mascot, and then accidentally filed a police report that resulted in the entirety of both teams being arrested. What follows is the hastily assembled replacement game.

First Inning

Roger Clemens took the mound, shaking off a bad case of the clucks, but unable to shake a bad performance. A leadoff double by Shoeless Joe Jackson turned into an early 1-0 lead thanks to an RBI single from Pie Traynor. Traynor scored on a single from Cap Anson, with a bases loaded walk to Homer providing the the third and final run of the inning.

Mordecai "Three Fingers" Brown had no such trouble in the first, getting a 1-2-3 inning.

Second Inning

Each team got a baserunner, but nothing else, with a stolen base from Jose Canseco - who reported during his on-field interview that he was desperately concerned about a fire at a local lady's house - being the highlight of the inning.

Third Inning

Roger Clemens walked Cap Anson, and gave up an RBI double to Nap Lajoie, and Brown got another 1-2-3 inning, as the scored moved to 4-0.

Fourth Inning

In the fourth inning, Roger Clemens' issues came home to roost again, as Honus Wagner got an RBI single and and Nap Lajoie a two-run double. In the bottom of the inning, Brown was threatened with a single from Ken Griffey Jr, his head resembling that of Barry Bonds, and Steve Sax (with law enforcement watching his every move) reaching on an error. But, Brown recovered to get Ozzie Smith - who looked to be lost in a black hole - to fly out, Canseco to ground out, and Don Mattingly was highly distracted by an old man heckling his non-existent sideburns and weakly grounded out to first to end the inning.

Fifth Inning

This would be the final egg laid by Roger Clemens. An error by Mike Scioscia - who looked weak from his stay at the hospital - perhaps got under Clemens' feathers, as he gave up an RBI triple to Pie Traynor that ended his night. The reliever - Albie Lopez (now that's a name I haven't heard for a long, long time) gave up an RBI double, and when Brown got another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fifth, it was 9-0 and all but decided.

Sixth Inning

Unsatisfied with their commanding lead, Gabby Street added an RBI double, Shoeless Joe Jackson an RBI single, Harry Hooper a two-run ground-rule double, and Nap Lajoie a two-run single to make it 15-0. Three Fingers Brown would finally give up a run in the bottom of the inning, thanks to an error from Homer, as a hungover Wade Boggs scored on a ground out from Steve Sax.

Seventh Inning

Homer made up for his error, doubling and scoring on a single from Brown, and Brown again got a 1-2-3 inning to end the game and finish his complete game.

Final Score: Mr. Burns' Dream Team 16, The Power Plant 1
MVP: Mordecai "Three Fingers" Brown

 

Needs more Strawberry!

"Okay, skip..."

 

Welcome to the Second Simulated All-Star Game

Tonight's Game is at Ebbet's Field. First pitch is at 7:37 pm eastern time. And there will be a temperature of 73 Degrees at first pitch.

tom's 73-win All-Stars try to get a measure of revenge for @tom as they take on Michael Bloomberg Presents: A Night at Old Shea, put together and managed by the man who beat him in the Simulated World Series, @Point Given

We went down to tom for an interview ahead of the game

Erin Andrews: tom, be honest - will you get any pleasure from beating Point Given tonight? And if so, does it take any sting out of losing the world series?
tom: *goes into a freestyle rap* i'll be perfectly honest, tonight's the night / i'd be perfectly okay with a bench clearing fight / revenge is a dish best served cold / but i'll be stewing on game seven till I'm dead and cold / but tonight if we win you know i'll celebrate / i believe beating point given is my predetermined fate / so I got me a pedro I even got two / and now you point given I'm coming for you
Erin: thank you for that, it was ... something. what do you make of the fact that Johnny Bench painted the words "the warriors blew a 3-1 lead in the finals" at the direction of his manager onto his chest protector for this game?
tom:


And, on the other side of the field, Tom Verducci caught up with Point Given

Tom Verducci: First of all, congratulations on your championship last season. How will what you learned in the playoffs last year help you tonight?
PG: It won't. It's an entirely different situation. Those games mattered. This game doesn't.
Tom: I mean, let's be honest. This game matters, its ...
PG: No. This is an exhibition. It means nothing. Obviously, we want to win - you always want to win. But a loss here is nothing more than Luke Skywalker at the end of Empire Strikes Back - I'll get a new surgically implanted hand, it'll function just fine, and tom's bullpen will blow a lead in the playoffs again, just as surely as Draymond Green will punch someone in the nuts.
Tom: I'm not sure I see the connection?
PG: You wouldn't.

And now ... to the game




tom's 73-win All-Stars got off to a scorching start. After Silver King retired Ty Cobb to start the game, Rogers Hornsby (1924 / USANAS version) smoked a solo homer to right. As Hornsby rounded third, a man in the crowd who appeared to be Shaquille O'Neal dressed up as Thumbs Down Guy was heard heckling King, shouting "Addie Joss wouldn't have given up a homer here, you bum!". King settled in from there and retired Carl Yastrzemski and Babe Ruth (1921 / formerly stsp version) to get out of the inning with just one run surrendered.

In the bottom of the first, Jackie Robinson got a leadoff single off of Pedro Martinez, and Honus Wagner hit a ball about as hard as he could without it doing any damage, as he flied out to deep right for the first out of the inning. Martinez couldn't relax, though, as Lou Gehrig came to the plate, and hammered a ball to Left Field up, deep, and over the fence for a two-run homer, and a lead for Michael Bloomberg Presents: A Night at Old Shea. Mickey Mantle then strolled to the plate and made it back-to-back homers, as he sent a Martinez fastball over the wall in center field for a 3-1 lead. Martinez recovered to strike out Ken Griffey, Jr. (2000, Shaqlot version), and get a shallow flyout from Joe Dimaggio.

Tom Verducci caught up with Griffey as he was jogging off the field.

Tom: Ken - what do you make of the first inning?
Ken: More scoring than I imagined, but with tom managing that team, he's got to be nervous seeing the 3-1 up there.
Tom: speaking for toms everywhere, that's a low blow. Anything you'd like to say?
Ken: Well, after the home run derby, I got used to playing on the field with another, younger version of myself. so it's a little odd to be the only Ken Griffey out here. But I also wish someone would have signed my dad, so we could play together. Somebody - make it happen!

Silver King cruised through the second and third inning, retiring the side in order both times. Pedro Martinez matched that in the second, but with two outs in the third, Lou Gehrig strolled to the plate again. Here's the call from Joe Buck.

"Martinez looks in, he gets the sign from Bench. He's ready and he delivers. Gehrig swings and ... home run. A Night at Old Shea has taken a lead of four to one."

Martinez recovered to get a fly out from Jackie Robinson.

Rogers Hornsby would double to lead off the fourth for tom's 73-win all-stars, snapping Silver King's streak of consecutivly retired batters at eight, but he promptly started a new streak, retiring the next three batters - Carl Yastrzemski, Babe Ruth, and George Brett - without issue.

With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Pudge Rodriguez would double, and King would single to score him, pushing the lead to 5-1. Both pitchers would work 1-2-3 innings in the fifth, and in the sixth, Silver King would finally hit a little trouble.

King retired Pedro Martinez to start the inning, but surrendered a single to Ty Cob to follow that. Rogers Hornsby would get his second RBI of the night, doubling and scoring Cobb. King would retire Yastrzemski on a shallow fly ball, but Babe Ruth would score Hornsby with the two-out single. A walk to George Brett followed, and with the tying runs on plate, Johnny Bench grounded out, with Robinson fielding the ball and getting the force at third with a toss to Boggs.

Erin Andrews caught up with Johnny Bench after the inning.

Erin: Johnny, that was a big inning and your team is back in the game. Are you disappointed to not do more?
Johnny: To tell you the truth, if Addie Joss was pitching this wouldn't be a contest.


The seventh inning would be the next time tom's 73-win all-stars had a chance to break through against King. With Cal Ripken on first, after he hit into a fielder's choice that retired Norm Cash who walked to leadoff the inning, tom sent up Barry Bonds as a pinch hitter. Bonds, representing the potential tying run, lined out to second, and King got Ty Cobb to ground out to second and end the inning.

Mariano Rivera entered the game for tom's 73-win all-stars, and he retired all four batters he faced, striking out Lou Gehrig, Honus Wagner, and Mickey Mantle on the way. Dennis Eckersly relived Rivera in the eighth, and retired both batters he faced - Griffey and Joe Dimaggio.

But that mattered little, as Silver King didn't allow a base runner in either the eighth or ninth inning on his way to a complete game victory in the All-Star Game.

Final Score: Michael Bloomberg Presents: A Night at Old Shea 5, tom's 73-win all-stars 3
MVP: Lou Gehrig



@heels1785 having just traded for Gehrig gets to count this MVP as his first victory in a Draft. Of course, it's basically the equivalent of winning the Community Shield ... but it ain't nothing!

 

Hey, uh, guys? I'm beginning to think I maybe shouldn't have traded Silver King?

 

me too, lol.

 

And now ... the calendar goes to SeptInty.

Note: Once you post lineups and/or rotations for this series of games, your roster is locked until the next - and final - transaction window.
Note: Thanks to the All-Star Break, all pitchers (even Pedro and Silver) are on full rest heading into the next game.
Note: I will allow any team that so desires to do a one-time switch to a new stadium. If you're going to do this, please clearly post that in this thread.
Note: If you were involved in tom's trade-a-palooza, please post your new roster in this thread.

On Deck ...

@heels1785 brings his first-place status, front-runner mentality, and newly acquired All-Star Game MVP with him as Every City Bandwagoners take on Let's Play two. @cubman987 got his patented home-away split way back in Aproids when the teams first met, and he'll look to do a little better this time with his team sitting just four games out of a playoff spot.

@tom and stone temple seattle pilots take their new look and revamped roster to Palm Beach as they take on @DarthTunick and the Los Angeles Palms. The Palms were swept in the first meeting, but since basically nobody remains on the pilots except Willie Mays, does that history even matter?

@anakinfansince1983 and the Lawfirm of Hornsby & Alarmo dropped five of six to @dp4m and USA Network All-Stars in Aproids. But, with trades robbing us of the coveted Don Drysdale-Silver King matchup, what will this affair bring?

@LloydChristmas and The Shaqlot were probably disappointed to drop one of six games to @AutumnLight91 and the Atlanta Rohirrim. Can Addie and the Gang get them the sweep this time?

@a star war and the Newport Beach Motherboys have a slim hope for the playoffs (see what deepee did last season), and they'll need a good result against @RX_Sith and Game of Throws to help get them going in that direction. The Motherboys did take five-of-six in Aproids, and scored 37 runs in their three games at Fenway Park, so this might be the chance they need.

And, in the main event series, it's not just a battle for Shea Stadium, it's a possible playoff preview as @Point Given and Performance Enhancers take on @AmazingB and Amazings. Performance Enhancers took four of six, but Amazings outscored them 42-28 in the series.




And .... we have yet another trade to announce.

tom is sending The Normally Reliable Willie Hernandez and Rickey Henderson to Tunes for Eric Gagne

 

Seriously?

 

inty, i'm calling up alvin davis to fill my empty roster spot. lmk if you want me to post the whole roster with all the changes. i know it's kind of a lot.

@DarthTunick

rotation:

game 1: carlton
game 2: gibson
game 3: bender
game 4: baldwin
game 5: johnson
game 6: carlton

 

trying to remember who is on my team and what their stats look like

 

doh i just saw the request for the new roster, here it is.

c: piazza (1997)
1b: foxx (1938)
2b. hornsby (1927)
ss: wagner (1908)
3b: schmidt (1981)
of: duffy (1894)
of: mays (1954)
of: speaker (1916) new year
util: olerud (1993)
util: cano (2016) new year
util: herman (1930)
util: delahanty (1902)
util: mcgee (1985)
util: davis (1984)
util: cochrane (1933)

sp: gibson (1968)
sp: bender (1910)
sp: baldwin (1886)
sp: carlton (1972)
sp: johnson (1995)
p: gagne (2003)
p: sutter (1977)
p: dell (1916)
p: fingers (1981)
p: eichhorn (1986)

 

That gif should be the new logo for the Palms.

 

Yeah, could be helpful.

 

i posted it! oh yeah, and we're moving to safeco field!

 

I'll have my lineups up later.

 

oh hang on I have an open roster spot after giving willie to tom don't I?

 

you had willie in the minors i think.

 

that's still my roster, tom

 

Yes - Willie McGee was at AAA-Buffalo or something.

 

I'm going to miss The Normally Reliable Willie Hernandez on tom's team.

@Point Given

Rotation:

Dwight Gooden, 1985
Roger Clemens, 1997
Lefty Grove, 1935
Jim Palmer, 1975
Greg Maddux, 1992
Justin Verlander, 2011

All 6:

Rogers Hornsby, 2B
Mike Trout, CF
Albert Pujols, 1B
Mel Ott, RF
Carl Yastrzemski, LF
Arky Vaughan, SS
Home Run Baker, 3B
Ivan Rodriguez, C

Amazing.