Chasing the Dream - A RTTS Dynasty (MLB '09 The Show)

Sun Tzu · 06-20-2009, 08:36 PM

The date is May 23rd, 2017 and I'm a Starting Pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. I just finished pitching in a game against the Yankees where I had a very strong outting. I allowed only 3 hits over 7 innings, and one earned run (inherited and given up by the Pen). I didn't get the win, but it's not the end of the world because not only is it still early in the season, but I'm noticing improvements in my game everytime I'm on the bump...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not all stories start out at the beginning. Some stories do start at the beginning, and work their way to the end. Some stories start at the end, and work backwards. My story starts somewhere in the middle. However, just so you have a little bit of background on how I got to to this place, here's a narrated flashback. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(All-Star difficulty, default sliders)

Feel free to make comments throughout my career

Sun Tzu · 06-20-2009, 08:37 PM

I started out as a high school kid in a small town in Ohio. I dominated the division and we wound up going state. I decided to forego college and was drafted by the Pittsburg Pirates and immediately signed a 3 year deal worth just under 100k. They invited me to Spring Training right off the bat (so to speak) to see what I was made of. I had a few strong outtings and was starting to get my confidence up, but then we played against the Yankees and I got a taste of what the Big Leagues is about. I got shelled, and subsequently got shelled again over and over until Spring was over. Still, they liked what they saw and said they'd like to give me a spot in the starting rotation with their AA club, the Altoona Curve. I accepted, and immediately starting working with the coaches down there learning a couple new pitches. Now I'm not a power pitcher, nor am I a quirky pitcher with a rising fastbal or a knuckle-curve. What I do have is great control over my current stable of pitches, and a knack for killing rallies before they start. Coming in I had a respectable fastball that topped out around 93, a changeup, and a curve that would keep hitters honest. Coach told me that the best pitches to compliment my style were a slider and a hard sinker to get hitters to ground into double plays. We would work on these over the next several months before I would use them regularly.

I was successful very fast in AA, and wound up making the All-Star team as a starter. I was 10-3 before I hit a cold spell and couldn't seem to get hitters out. Still, I finished the year in AA with the following line.

10-9, 3.63, 22 GS, 11 QS, 93 K, 32 BB, 1.39 WHIP.

I led the league in HR's allowed with only 3 all year, as well as total walks. I knew if I kept this up, I'd be called up to AAA in no time.

Sun Tzu · 06-20-2009, 08:37 PM

In 2010 I wasn't invited to Spring Training and was a bit let down. I decided I was going to make a statement on the field. Eight starts into the year I was 3-1 with an ERA around 3.30. In my ninth start I pitched my first career complete game. I was 1 out away from a shutout but the runner scored from about a half second after the guy behind him got caught trying to stretch a double into a triple. That night I went out to celebrate, and when I came home I had a message on my machine. It was the coach for the Indianapolis Indians, and he said that I had just been promoted to his AAA club and given a spot on his starting rotation. On top of all this, my salary was going to increase from a measley 35k all the way to 95k! Woohoo! Back out to celebrate!

AAA was a real eye openner for me. I came in thinking I was hot shit, and wound up getting blasted in my first couple starts. I was worried that I was going to get demoted but I worked with the pitching coach and straightened up my game before it came to that. I didn't make it to the All-star game that year, in fact I didn't even have a winning record. I had hoped for a september call-up, but deep down inside I knew that if I did get called up to the show that I just wouldn't be ready. I did improve accross the board in my mechanics, but my stats weren't stellar. My final AAA stat line for 2010 was as follows.

4-7, 4.40, 19 GS, 11 QS, 45 K, 24 BB, 1.26 WHIP

Sun Tzu · 06-20-2009, 08:37 PM

In 2011 I was invited to Spring Training, but I didn't do so well. I didn't mind though, because to me it was just a sign that the club was really starting to take an interest in me. I started 2011 very much like I started last year in AA. I felt like I had something to prove and I went out trying to prove it during every outting. I pitched very well, and though I didn't make the All-star game again, that was partially due to my inflated ERA (I had one or two very, very bad games), along with my club just flat out not giving me any run support. 3/4 of the way through the season I was 3-4 with an ERA just above 4.00. In early July I took the hill feeling like I really had my stuff. I guess I was right, because that day I threw my first career shutout. I was so dialed in that I didn't even realize that one of the representatives from the big league club was in the stands watching me. After the game he came to me and said he had made a call to the pitching coach up in the bigs about this game and that I might get my shot pretty soon. Apparently pretty soon was very soon, because before my next start I got a call from the Pirates Manager and he told me that there was a plane waiting for me at the airport. There was even someone was at the PNC park waiting to measure me out for my new uniform. We talked for a bit and he said that his team was playing very poorly and he felt lke he needed some fresh blood in the clubhouse. He told me that the Pirates were buying the remaining years of my minor league contract, and I was going to make over 300k each of the next two years! On top of that, I was going to be the #5 starter! I had finally made it to the Big Leagues! Lets celebrate baby!

Sun Tzu · 06-20-2009, 08:49 PM

Playing in PNC Park for the first time was amazing. It was obviously built very recently, and it just completely towered above those shitty hole in the wall minor league parks I had been playing in. Sure I had been to some pro games, but that was watching from the stands. When you're standing there on the mound it's completely different...the park dwarfs you.

I didn't start out like I had hoped with the Pirates. I wound up losing 4 of my first 5 starts. I didn't pitch horribly, but I pitched bad enough to have an ERA somewhere around 6. I was 0-4 and really needed to start improving my game or I was going to be demoted. I worked hard over the next couple months and got in some really good starts. In fact I put together a small winning streak of 3 games and had several official "quality starts". Unfortunately the Pirates were the lowest scoring team in the league, and by a very large margin, so a good outting on the hill paired with run support was hard to come by. In late August I was flailing again on the hill. I had lost a couple more games, and my ERA was still around 6...I was in a slump. Coach brought me in and I expected the worst. He said he was dissapointed in my production, but he didn't think that I should be sent back down. Instead he was taking me out the rotation and giving me shorter outtings out the bullpen. I was just happy not being demoted. I had gotten too used to the royal treatment that you get when you're up with the Pro's. I didn't want to go back to riding buses to and from road games, wearing uniforms that were dirty from the game before, and only playing in front of a few thousand fans. I mean, we were barely attracting 10-15k fans each game, but at least during the weekends there would be families and the stadium would somewhat fill up.

The move to the pen really worked for me, and I wound up winning another game, and even getting my first career save. We finished dead last and were only a few away from losing 100 games when the season ended. This depressed a lot of the guys in the locker room, and it was somewhat depressing to me, but everything was still so shiney and new to me that it didn't effect me as much as most. My final MLB stat line for 2011 was as follows.

4-7, 4.70, 13 GS, 6 QS, 56 K, 15 BB, 1.43 WHIP

Sun Tzu · 06-20-2009, 09:00 PM

In 2012 I was invited to Spring Training again, but this time as a starter that worked in long relief out of the pen. I was dissapointed by this, and probably even had a bit of an attitude. I think they noticed, because after Spring Training was over, they optioned me back down to Indianapolis. Not only that, get this...they didn't even give me my old spot back in the starting rotation. They said they saw how good I had pitched out of the pen in the Bigs, and they wanted to try me as their setup man in AAA. Sonufabitch.

So I did what they told me to do. I came in usually in the 7th or 8th innings when the games were close or when we were winning (which wasn't often mind you), and I pitched fairly well. About 2 months in I had pitched in 37 games, posted a 2-0 record, had an ERA of 3.70 and I was leading the league in Holds with 11. I got a call from someone who called themselves the coach of the Pirates, only it was a different voice. The old coach had apparently been replaced early in the season and this new guy was letting me know that they were bringing me back up to the Bigs. Excellent news! When I got there I asked about the starting rotation and explained my situation, but he said that my rookie ass was going to be the long reliever again, and he walked away grumbling something about FNG's.

In the bigs, once again, I did what they asked me to do. We lost most of our games, again almost losing 100 of them. The shitty thing about long relief is the majority of the games you come into are blowouts, and on the wrong end. You have very few chances to rack up wins, plus the other team usually has some hot bats going so you really have to be on your game or they'll light you up, just like they lit up the starter that you replaced. By years end I had the following statline.

2-4, 5.37, 31 K, 5 B, 1.37 WHIP

Sun Tzu · 06-20-2009, 09:14 PM

In 2013 once again I was invited to Spring Training, and once again I was told that I would be working as the setup man for the Indianapolis Indians in AAA. This was getting old, and I was getting frustrated. I knew they could see it, but what was I going to do?

I pitched the first part of the season like a man possessed. We were an absolutely horrible team that year, so it was rare for me to get into the game...but when I did I was on. In 11 appearances I had yet get a win, or loss, but my ERA was 1.69, I hadn't blown a single potential save for the closer, and I had a couple holds to my credit as well. I had yet to give up a single longball, and I had only walked one person. I got a call from the new skip again up in the bigs, and once again he said I was coming up. I didn't discuss specifics with him since I was so used to it, so I got the details on where the plane was and when it was leaving, packed my shit, and said my goodbyes...hopefully for the last time.

When I arrived I was told that one of the starters had sprained his shoulder and that he was out for a couple months...and that I was going to be his replacement. Back in the starting rotation baby! Celebration!

I didn't exactly pick up where I left off in AAA...in fact, like the last time I was a starter up here, I got shelled. Over and over I got shelled. I was worried they were going to demote me or put me back in the pen but I guess they didn't have anyone to replace me, so I kept plugging away. I worked with the pitching coach on my mechanics and started to show some improvement. I started collecting some wins...in fact if it weren't for our completely lack of offensive product I think I would have been back up to .500. The guy I replaced came back in very late July, and I was told that I was going to be put in a middle relief role. This was both good news and bad news to me. Good news because I couldn't stand that long relief spot...that was like being the bitch of the pitching staff. You're not really a reliever, but you're not a starter either. It was bad news because I was no longer a starter, and I was stuck on a team with zero offensive production that didn't seem to be going anywhere. I thought it over, and looking at the calendar I realized there were still a couple days before the trade deadline. After very careful consideration, I decided to talk to the coach about possibly being traded. He said he'd talk to the guys upstairs and let me know by the days end. Sure enough, right before dinner I got a call from the coach telling me that there was a plane waiting for me in Pittsburg, and that I was being traded to the Baltimore Orioles. The O's were looking to fill some holes in their staff for a possible run at the wild card. I was going to a potential contender! If I had only known what was waiting for me.

Sun Tzu · 06-20-2009, 09:19 PM

The New York Yankees. The Boston Red Sox. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Toronto Blue Jays.

Ho-Ly-Shit. How could these guys possibly think they were going to win the wild card? They didn't have nearly enough talent on their roster to beat out most of the teams in their own division, let alone take the wild card spot to the playoffs. I mean sure they had more talent then the Pirates, but hell who didn't? I was relegated to the middle relief spot again, but I was really not ready for these batters. Every outting was like a nightmare, and we lost a few games because of me. I was put into several games where we were up by 1 or 2, or it was tied, and the Yankees or Red Sox would just pummel me until my spirit was completely broken. I got very little sleep that year. Needless to say we didn't make the wild card spot, we didn't even finish with a record above .500. My final statline for 2013 was as follows.

7-12, 5.19, 20 GS, 7 QS, 70 K, 24 BB, 1.55 WHIP

This was also my first contract year. Yeah...not good.

Sun Tzu · 06-20-2009, 09:36 PM

The Orioles re-signed me to a 3 year deal for 1.5 million dollars. It was exciting signing a contract that had 7 figures on it...I have to admit. I knew it wasn't much compared to everyone else on the team, but christ common, most of my buddies were either still in college or were making 30-40k fresh out of college. I was making over 10 times that.

It was in 2014 that I started getting a taste for winning. I wanted to be on a winning team, and I wanted to finish with a winning record...badly. I wanted to play in a game with playoff implications. I wanted to feel the electricity of the crowd and know that an entire season could be decided on my next pitch. The Orioles had let a lot of their talented players go during the offseason, and were apparently picking up a good amount of cheap and young talent. This might work in the future...maybe...if the talent pans out, but for now it spells the cellar of the AL East. Not where I wanted to be.

I kept these feelings to myself, and I even pitched decently to start out the year. I worked hard, and wound up getting a nice amount of wins added to my resume too. The Orioles would bring me in during a tie game, and then get some clutch hits late...lucky for me this became a trend. By mid-June I was 6-1 with an ERA in the mid 3's. I decided that now was the time to talk to the Coach about wanting to be on a contender, and he said he understood how I felt. Just like the old Pirates coach, he said he would talk to the big wigs upstairs and let me know what they said.

Again, just before dinner, I recieved a phone call. He told me that I was being traded to a contender, in fact I was being traded to a the defending World Series Champs! I was now a member of the Red Sox organization! A plane was waiting for me at BWI airport in Baltimore and I was headed north. I couldn't believe it...I was barely 23 years old and I was getting a shot to play in the playoffs, and maybe even the World Series.

After arriving in Boston and meeting with the coach there, I was high on life. I didn't care where they stuck me, as long as I got to put on that Red Sox uniform and pitch in some meaningful games.

And that's exactly what I got to do...which was not good news for the Red Sox. Once again, I got lit up. Oh boy did I get lit up. I saw my record drop from 6-1 to 6-5...and every one of those games was against either the Rays, who led the division, or the Yankees who we were battling against for the Wild Card. Ugh...what the hell. But the Red Sox stayed classy and didn't point any fingers. They never said anything negative, they just kept trying to coach me up while they watched their playoff chances get slimmer and slimmer. The trade deadline came and went, so I figured they wanted to keep me around. They didn't demote me, but...

It was late august when I had a message on my voicemail. It was a guy who's name sounded familiar but he didn't say what he did, or where he was from, he just said to call him and to do it asap. So I did. It was the GM of the Red Sox, and he was letting me know that he didn't want to demote me back to AAA because I was too good, but he couldn't keep me around anymore because of my lack of production, so I was being placed on waivers. Shit.

Sun Tzu · 06-20-2009, 09:41 PM

The Minnesota Twins claimed me the next day. On the plane ride I looked them up in that Baseball newspaper you find in airports, and saw that they were on pace to lose 110 games. Jesus, really? 110 games? What the hell kind of club was I going to?

When I got there I was told that even though my production was lacking in Boston, they liked what they saw in Baltimore and in Pittsburg, and that I was immediately going to be their setup man in the bullpen. Well I guess that's good news, but if they're losing so often how am I ever going to see any innings? Well, I didn't get to see much at all. I pitched in a handful of games and we lost a rediculous 119 games. My final statline for 2014 (split between Balt/Bost/Minn) was as follows.

7-6, 5.64, 56 K, 21 BB, 1.63 WHIP

Goods news = I finished with a winning record. Bad News = I was on the worst team in the League and my confidence was absolutely shot.

Sun Tzu · 06-20-2009, 09:52 PM

in 2015 I pitched well in Spring Training. Very well in fact. So well that they told me that if I continued at that pace thru April that they would give me a spot on the Starting Rotation. So, I continued at that pace. by the end of April I had a sub 2.00 ERA (in very limited work mind you), and I was given the #5 spot in the Rotation just like they said.

Now I knew there was no way, absolutely no way that I was going to win a good chunk of games pitching for the Twins, but at the same time I knew that I just wasn't ready, talent wise, to be on a contender and pitching in playoff implication games. So, I stuck it out the year with Minnesota. I had some great months, and I had some terrible months. I would go several starts in a row pitching 6-7 innings and only allowing one or two runs, then I would mix in some awful starts where I would allow 5-6 runs and be pulled early. Minnesota wasn't quite as bad as they were the year before, but they still stunk to high heaven. I was given a promotion to the #3 spot in July. I was placed on the trade block by GM (without me asking), and the deadline came and went. I was given another promotion to the #2 spot in August after a string of solid starts. Then, in September, I was named the staff Ace. Yes...YES! I was a staff Ace. I didn't care that it was on a team that won all of 43 games last year, I was an Ace baby. The go to guy. We finished out the year losing ONLY 95 games, a shitty but still improved year over the year before. Hey, maybe we'll sign some studs in the offseason and make some moves...who knows right?

Wrong.

Well...my stats were at least somewhat respectable. Here was my final statline for 2015.

7-11, 4.52, 25 GS, 14 QS, 103 K!!!, 22 BB, 1.50 WHIP

I was the league leader in Walks allowed, granted I wasn't a starter the entire year. Still I qualified, and it was something to be proud of.

Sun Tzu · 06-20-2009, 10:08 PM

In 2016 I came into the year as the Staff Ace. There were articles about me in the Newspaper and in ESPN the magazine. I did an interview with Sports Illustrated, and even shot some commercials for local companies. I didn't tell anybody that I had no intention of staying with the Twins beyond July. They just weren't making any moves to get better, and I was feeling confident and improving fast. I felt like if I were on a contender that I could make a difference now, I mean...how could I not? I'm the Ace of a pro Ball Club.

Then it happened. In the third inning of my first start...I felt it. It shot down my arm all the way to my hand, and suddenly I could move my arm at all...well at least not without excruciating pain. I waited overnight for the MRI results and...oh have you ever been in one of those things. Loud, long, and unnecessary. Do they HAVE to be that loud? I mean really? Anyways, I had apparently torn my deltoid...aka my shoulder muscle. That meant that I was going to be out for two months and placed on the 60 day Disabled List. Shit on toast.

When I healed up in early June, Minnesota did something I never thought they would do. They must have sensed that I didn't want to stick around through the year, because I was placed in the Bullpen. The Bullpen!?!?!? I was the top guy on your starting rotation and now you're relegating me to middle relief? That's an insult...now I'm going to enjoy telling the coach that I want to be traded...but not yet.

I wanted to wait until the last minute...wait until a contender really needed me and until the Twins think they've got me. So...on July 30th I march into the coaches office and tell him I'm sick and tired of them turning my requests to be a part of the rotation again down, and that I want out. I wanted out asap, and I wanted to be part of a "real" organization who actually wanted to win some games.

They traded me...back to the team that they had originally claimed me off of waivers from. I was once again a member of the Red Sox Organization.

Celebration!

Sun Tzu · 06-20-2009, 10:29 PM

After arriving in Boston, the coach again told me that I was going to be a member of the Bullpen. I didn't care...they were in first place in the AL East by 2.5 games over the Blue Jays, The Yankees were 1 game behind them for the Wild Card spot, and I was in the thick of a playoff race! He told me he had hoped there was no hard feelings left over from putting me on waivers a couple years back, and I assured him that I understood that it's a business. I was 1-1 with an ERA in the mid 4's upon arriving, and I was really looking forward to pitching in some bigs games in the upcoming months.

I did, and this time I was good. Not stellar, just good. I jumped my record up to 6-1 by mid August, and my ERA had dropped to the low 3's. We were still leading the AL East by 2 games and things were going great. That's when the coach asked me to come into his office. Shit, what now? I'm pitching fine, I've won several games, I was even named player of the game once after pitching into the 14th inning and only allowing 1 hit and no runs...against the Yankees. He told me not to sit down for my own good...ok here goes. He was making me the #5 Starter. No shit? A member of the Boston Red Sox Starting Rotation! Hell yeah! Completely out of the blue...talk about a confidence booster. My fist start was going to be in 3 days against the Blue Jays in an important divisional matchup. Celebration again!

So I pitch a strong game, in fact I get a "Quality Start" for going 6 innings and only giving up 3 runs (and only 2 Earned), but I get nothing for run support. Nothing...we lose 3-0. My next start doesn't go so well...I lose again but this time my bullpen lets some inherited runners score. My next start I lose again. The start after that I also lose. This is becomming a trend, and it's late September. I'm 0-4 in September and I really need to fix this losing streak...I'm pitching decent but I'm getting nothing for run support. In fact going into my last start, on the last day of september, with only 2 game remaining after this, we're only up in the Wild Card Standings by 1 game over the Yankees. We're finishing up the season with a 3 game series against the O's, and they've been hot lately. So, I take the mound, I take a deep breath, and I let the ball fly. I pitch a very strong game...in fact I go 7 innings and only allow 1 earned run. The only problem is, as usual, we have a big goose egg on the scoreboard until the 6th and all we're able to muster up then is one lousy run. I leave the game in the 8th after allowing a single, and hoping the pen can hold this thing together. They don't. They allow that run to score, and then another, and then five more in the ninth. We lose, and the Wild Card standings are tied. Unbelievable.

We win out against the O's, and we take the Wild Card spot by 1 game over the Yankees. To the Playoffs! In September we played less than .500 ball, so we really need to step it up if we're gunna go to the World Series. The ALDS we're playing against the Angels, and the only way I'm going to pitch is if it goes all the way to game 5. Well...we win games 1 and 2, but lose 3 and 4. Here we go. So, just like I did in my last start against the Orioles, I pitch a strong game. A very strong game. I allow 2 runs right off the bat in the 1st, but I pitch another 6 innings and hang zeros on them. Unfortunately, we still have yet to get on the board. So they tell me after the 7th that they're pulling me, and I watch us lose the game 2-0. Pack your bags, you've got a 6 hour flight from L.A. to Boston ahead of you. Gooooodnight.

The Royals of all teams won the World Series, sweeping the Phillies. My final statline for 2016...

6-6, 5.88, 5 GS, 2 QS, 1 SV, 6 HLD, 64 K, 19 BB, 1.41 WHIP

This was my contract year.

Sun Tzu · 06-20-2009, 10:50 PM

7 Months ago I signed my first major-medium sized contract with the Red Sox. They decided they wanted me to stay, and offered me 2 years for 7.5 million dollars in the MLB Rotation. I countered with 2 years for 9.9 million, and they counter that with 2 years for 9.5 million. I accept!

3 of their starters retired in the offseason, and we lost Youk. I was promoted to the #3 spot, and to replace Youk we picked up my old teammate Justin Morneau (2 years/18m). We also signed Ian Kinsler (5 years/53m) to replace the departed Dustin Pedroia. Last year they signed Even Longoria (5 years/55m). To replace the starters who retired (Rich Hill and C.C. Sabathia are the notables), the Sox signed stud David Price (3 years/51m).

The Rotation looks like this...

David Price
Josh Beckett
Me
Jon Lester
Daniel Bard

CL - Papelbon

Our Lineup looks like this

LF - Abdul Morneau - contact hitter with blazing speed...never lets anything get by him
DH - Howie Kendrick
3B - Evan Logoria
2B - Ian Kinsler
1B - Justin Morneau
RF - Alex Rios - Gold Glover
C - Geovany Soto - awful...awful arm accuracy
CF - Jacoby Ellsbury - absolutely blazing speed...also never lets anything get by him
SS - Chris Burke - we need an upgrade here, and fast

Our defense is stellar with our Outfield being the strong point. They are all very fast and rarely let anything get into the gaps. Our infield is good, but out middle infield has quirky issues. Kinsler is great with the glove, but his arm accuracy on a scale of 1-10 is a 2 at best. Chris Burke is just awful. He will bobble almost 1 grounder per game, and blows DP's on a regular basis.

Starting out the season I pitch strong games over and over, but in my first 3 starts I get a total...a total of zero runs of support. One of these games is a loss, but thankfully in the other two games we were able to put a couple runs on the board after I was pulled. Starting out my fourth game, I take the hill in Detroit with a very surprising 2 run lead. This nearly puts me into a state of shock, and I wind up pitching my first career professional shutout. Allowing 5 hits and striking out 5, walking none and getting my first win of the year. Woohoo! Afterwards my coach tells me that he's moving me ahead of Josh Beckett on the rotation...promotion! Woohoo again! In my next start I go 7 innings, allowing only 1 run and 3 hits against the Yankees. Unfortunately we are only able to put up 1 run on the board too...and again I get a no decision.

48 games into the year...here we are. We are feeling the loss of our starters, while still trying to build some kind of identity on offense. We are 2 games under .500, sitting 4.5 games behind the Rays in the AL East. Our record is 23-25, and I'm getting no decisions left and right due to our lack of offensive production. Here is my current statline...

3-1, 4.17, 10 GS, 5 QS, 1 SHO, 30 K, 6 BB, 1.22 WHIP

Sun Tzu · 06-20-2009, 10:55 PM

On 5/23 we lose to the Yankees 0-2

On 5/24 we beat the Yankees 7-6

On 5/26 we lose to the Rays 1-2

On 5/27 we beat the Rays 9-4

Hot Players on the year so far
Ian Kinsler - .291, 9 HR, 36 RBI
Geovany Soto - .296, 7 HR, 28 RBI

Josh Beckett and I are the only starters with winning records.

I'm taking the hill tomorrow (sunday) against the Rays in the final game of a 3game series. We are now trailing them by 5 games.

Rays - 29-21
Orioles - 5 GB
BoSox - 5 GB
Jays - 5.5 GB
Yankees - 7 GB

Sun Tzu · 06-20-2009, 11:32 PM

Today I'm pitching against the Rays who are starting Jake Peavy. Peavy is 5-2 on the yaer with an ERA of 3.47. I'm hoping we can mount some kind of an offense here. The game is in Boston in front of a crowd of 34k.

TB - A high heater sits the leadoff man (Vizcaino) down on strikes. Bauer crushes a ball to left but it hits off the monster for a double...not a good start. Osuna swings, and misses at a high fastball for the second out. Their cleanup hitter belts a liner to right which drops in front of our RF (Rios), who then guns down their runner trying to score for the third out.

RS - Even Longoria belts a 2 run homer in the bottom of the first! That brings up Kinsler...who belts a solo shot of his own! Back to back! up 3-0.

TB - Their #6 man fans at a sinker low and outside for the 2nd out. 1-2-3 second.

RS - Burke hits a leadoff double and ellsbury singles him in to increase the lead to 4!

TB - Kouzmanoff hits a single to right to lead off the third. Figgens hits a chopper and gets tagged out, but Kouz advances to second. Next man hits a liner right to longoria for #2. Bauer back up but he grounds to longoria for the third out.

TB - shipman with a single to right after Osuna grounds out. Guiel spanks one to the short porch in right field, and it bounces over the wall for a GRD...thank god. Shipman has to hold at third. 2nd and 3rd with 1 out. Grounder to Kinsler for out #2 but shipman scores to make it 4-1. Colon grounds to morneau for the third out.

RS - Holy crap. Evan Longoria hits another 2 run homer, Ellsbury knocks in 3 runs on a bases loaded double, and both Kendrick and Burke knock in runs of their own. We put 7 runs on the board in the bottom of the 4th. 11-1 now

TB - ground to longoria...1 down. Figgins squirts a single up the middle after a 12 pitch at bat. Good riddance. Vizcaino out on strikes looking. next man pops up and that's 3 outs.

RS - Fowler and Morneau add two more runs...13-1

TB - Struck Guiel on a changeup for out #2...the next man singles up the middle...and they pull me! Oh well...Garko comes in to replace me and gives up the inherited run...rediculous.

We put up another 4 while they score 1 more. Final score 16-3. That's the biggest run output i've ever had in support.

Line - 5.2, 7 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO...1 out away from a QS. My record is now 4-1 and I have a 4 game win streak.

Sun Tzu · 06-20-2009, 11:35 PM

5/30 we lose to the Angels 6-10

5/31 we lose to the Angles 6-9

6/1 we beat the Angels 6-4

6/2 we lose to the White Sox 1-7

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 12:01 AM

I am starting in the second game of a 3 game series against the ChiSox. Ryan Rowland-Smith is on the hill for them, and he is 2-5 with an ERA of 5.62

We are 27-30, they are 35-19 and in first place in the Central. It's a beautiful Saturday day game in Boston.

Barker pounds a ball to the warning track in center, but ellsworth brings it down. Murphy goes down swinging for out #2. Bouncer to third gets the last out. top 1st done

Casto Pops up to lead off the second. My control goes wacky and I walk Utley on 4 pitches. rosas grounds into a beautiful DP to end the second

liner about takes my headoff for a leadoff single in the third...but I pick him off at first! Second man goes does swinging...and so does the third to end inning no 3

RS -Ian Kinsler knocks an run in on a sac fly to put us up 1-0

base hit to center with one out...Hanley Ramirez pops behind the plate for the second out...a double down the right field line, uh oh. The runner rounds third base and the throw from right field is extremely weak. run scores...game tied. utley follows that with another double bringing in the go ahead run...ouch. Grounder to morneau for the third out.

fly to left for one, fly to center (warning track) for two, last man goes down chasing a heater out of the zone for 3. still down 1-2 after 5 innings

My control is all over the place again...a very rare second walk of the game to leadoff the 6th...but we try a pitchout and catch him running! grounder to morneau for 2, Hanley Ramirez doubles in the gap...but high heat takes the last man down to end the 6th.

I get pulled after that, and we lose. The ChiSox put up 3 in the 7th, but we put up 4 to tie it...only to give up a run in the top of the 10th and lost 6-5.

My line - 6.0, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, QS, no decision.

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 12:08 AM

6/4 we beat the ChiSox 8-3

6/5 we beat the Rangers 9-3

6/6 we lose to the Rangers 2-4

6/7 we lose to the Rangers 0-8

We are now last in the AL East with a record of 29-33. The good news is, we're still only 3.5 games out of first place.

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 12:42 AM

I am starting in the last game of a 4 game series against the Rangers. Derek Holland is on the hill for them, he is 3-5 with an ERA of 4.74.

The game is being played in Arlington.

Juaquin Arias leads off and lines to Kinsler for the first out. The career thorn in my side, Matt Holliday slaps a single to left field. FC grounder to first to move holliday over. Whoops...I boink the next batter. what's going on with my control? Josh Hamilton hits a deep grounder into the left infield hole, but Burke our SS digs it out...a VERY weak throw to first which allows him to reach safely. bases loaded with two away...grounder to morneau to get out of the jam unscathed

RS - Kendrick knocks in 2 with an RBI single and Ellsbury knocks one in of his own...we go up 3-0 in the top of the second inning

damn...solo homer by Gavin Philips to right to start out the bottom of the second. Good recovery as the rest of the inning goes 1-2-3

RS - Longoria doubles and Morneau drives him in to put us back up by 3.

Thorn in my side Holliday grounds to longoria...ha! one out single to left but the next batter grounds into a pretty DP.

RS - Morneau belts his 8th homer of the year to put us up 5-1

Josh Hamilton grounds to longoria for one...saltalamachia with a one out single...philips checks his swing but goes too far for out number two...teagarden with a double to left but the runner stays at third...Aybar grounds to Kinsley for the third out...out of the jam again

Holliday with a one out single up the middle, bastard...hard grounder to longoria and they turn the DP to end the 5th inning...love it

1-2-3 6th inning as the ball doesn't leave the infield

surprisingly they let me pitch into the 7th as I'm usually pulled after 6. one out single to center...easy grounder to burke, over to kinsler, then to morneau for yet another beautiful DP to end the 7th.

I'm pulled after the 7th and we put up another 4 runs to their 1, making the final score 9-2. A very impressive win.

My line - 7.0, 8 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1 QS and I get my 5th win in a row.

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 12:48 AM

Stud David Price has been put on the Trading Block. His hefty pricetag doesn't match his production right now. He's 3-4 with a 5.67 ERA while making 16.1 mil. Ouch...

6/9 we beat the Mets in interleague play 5-4

6/10 we lost to the Mets 3-4

6/11 we lost to the Mets 5-9

6/13 we lost to the Marlins in interleague play 1-13

Aparently I am given the day off for my next start, and Josh Beckett has gone on the 15 day DL.

6/14 we lose to the Marlins 5-6

6/15 we lose to the Marlins 3-6

6/16 we lose to the Phillies in interleague play 8-9

6/17 we lose to the Phillies 4-8

We are now on a 7 game losing streak...ouch

We are 31-40 and 6.5 games behind first place

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 01:28 AM

I am starting the last game of a 3 game series against the Phillies. On the hill for them is Carl Crawford who is 4-3 with an ERA of 3.27. Crawfords statistics are impressive but he has walked more batters than he has struck out. The game is being played on a beautiful saturday in Philadelphia, which means I will get to bat for the first time since my days with the Pirates.

routine fly to ellsbury in center for the first out...then a ground to burke...Ryan Howard absolutely CRUSHES an 0-1 pitch, but it's foul...charlie sawyer calls a very obvious strike three a ball on the outside corner...and Howard goes down swinging

1 out double into the gap by curtis granderson...dioner navaro pops to shallow center and granderson stays at second...weak line drive right to burke for the third out of the second inning

RS - I'm leading off in the top of the third...I make crawford throw 7 pitches before I popup

leadoff single by herrera which brings up the pitcher...who I'm sure will bunt...which he does and he moves herrera over...single up the middle which scores the run easy, and the throw is WAY off when it comes home so the runner moves up to second...chopper right to me for out number 2...and Ryan Howard goes down swinging again! that ends the inning but we go down 0-1

leadoff single up the middle again...I try a pickoff move and he gets back safely...but then he steals second easily as our catcher has one of the worst arms in the league...next pitch the catcher has go by him (passed ball) and he gets it fast enough to gun the guy down at third, but as is the norm the throw is several feet off the target and the third baseman has to dive off the bag to get it...lazy fly to right to score the runner on a sac fly...next two batter fly out to center and then shortstop. down 0-2 after 4

RS - I'm leading off in the top of the 5th...my plan is to just make him throw as many pitches as possible since he's already up to 73 pitches. OH!!!! He plunked me in the head! I stumble down to first...single to left moves me to 2nd base...justin morneau is up common baby get me over at least...line drive to left field right to him...dammit I stay at second...now longoria is up...popped up to shallow center so I stay at second some more...Kinsler us up...and he grounds out to third...awesome

yet another leadoff single...got the pitcher to popup his bunt to the catcher...a drive deep to right field aaaand it's off the top of the wall for a double...2nd and 3rd with one out...grounder to kinsler brings home the run...two down man on third...Ryan Howard goes down again! three strikeouts for Howard this time it's looking at a backdoor slider...but we're down 0-3 after 5

Jason Werth slaps a fly ball to right field right along the line and Rios dives...but it bounces off his glove. He gets up, fires a beautiful throw to the cutoff man, who then fires an ass ugly throw to third base and Werth gets in safely. That's it and they pull me. Jose Aradondo comes in to relieve me, and though he has a 2.14 ERA I'm sure he'll give up the inherited run...

Which he does, and we manage to score a juggernaut 2 runs in the top of the 8th. Not enough as we lose our 8th straight, and I fall to 5-2.

My line - 5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, and the loss

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 01:30 AM

6/20 we beat the Cardinals in interleague play! Losing streak ended

6/21 we beat the Cardinals again

6/22 we sweep the Cards!

6/23 we beat the Marlins in interleague play

The 4 game win streak just may be the longest one of the year! Very exciting...

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 02:01 AM

I'm starting against against the Marlins in the second game of a 3 game series. Starting for them is Jackson Mims, who is 6-5 with an ERA of 5.30. The game is being played on a saturday in Boston so the DH will be in effect. The Marlins are by far the slowest team in the majors with a total of 28 stolen bases...compared to the league leader who has 170.

It looks like Kinsley has been given the day off and Adam Everett (a gold glover) is his replacement. Hopefully we wont miss his bat, because I know we wont miss his glove.

leadoff single down the left field line...Adrian Gonzales swings at strike three in the dirt, which gets away from the catcher...but the runner doesn't advance...next batter goes down looking at an inside heater...cleanup hitter grounds weakly to longoria for out number three

Uggly Dan Uggla grounds to longoria for one...so does the next guy...hermedia strikes out on a curve to end the top of the 2nd

RS - Rios gets plunked, and then Ellsbury hits an RBI double, and then gets caught trying to steal 3rd...but we're up 1-0!

leadoff double off the monster...struck the next guy out on a low change...next guy grounds to longoria who holds the runner at 2nd before throwing to morneau, single through my legs scores the runner from second...fly out to left to retire the side. it's tied 1-1

RS - Burke nails a triple and then Adam Everett singles him in to put us back up...2-1

Ground to Burke for 1...uggly uggla grounds to everett for 2...several pitches that even the announcers felt were strikes were called as balls as I walk the next batter...hermedia breaks his bat on a easy pop to longoria for the third out to end the top of the 4th inning

lazy fly to left for one...grounder to burke for two...struck the third guy out looking at a low and away heater...

Adrian Gonzales goes down swinging for the first out...routine fly to right for the second out...single down the line in left...uggly uggla groundsn to longoria for the third out...lets see if they pull me after a strong 6 innings. I feel like I still have a lot in me...

pitching into the 7th inning...weak grounder for the first out...everett goes VERY deep to get a grounder up the middle but the man reaches on an infield single...here comes coach and I'm out of here. Arredondo is replacing me again, hopefully he can hold the runner...

and he does!

Arredondo pitches an inning, William gets the last two outs of the 8th via strikeouts, and Papelbon gets into trouble allowing two hits but shuts the door with a big K. We win 2-1!

My Line - 6.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 QS, and I get my 6th win!

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 02:45 AM

6/25 we beat the Marlins 11-3 for the sweep!

6/26 we lose to the Orioles 4-9

6/27 we lose to the Orioles 3-5

6/28 we avoid the sweep and beat the Orioles 4-1 (David Price is really coming around)

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 02:45 AM

I am starting the first game of a 4 game series against the Blue Jays. Starting for the Jays is the AL strikeout leader Rich Harden. Harden is 4-5 with an ERA of 3.86 and he has 99 Strikeouts already. This is the last game during the month of June. This game is being played in Toronto...the Jays have the same record as us on the year.

RS - Harden strikes out the leadoff hitter but then gives up back to back singles, followed by three straight walks. We take a 2-0 lead before I even take the mound!

I strike out the leadoff hitter too on three pitches...chopper to me for out number two...Joe Mauer with a slow grounder up the middle but Burke guns him out for the third out

grounder to morneau who takes it himself for the first one...one out single up the middle...lazy fly to right for the second out...very slow grounder down the left side turned into an infield single...grounder to longoria to end the second inning

weak liner to center and ellsbury races in to catch it...inside fastball catches Andrus looking for out number two...routine grounder to Kinsler to end the third inning

RS - Kendrick with a RBI double in the top of the 5th to put us up 3-0!

hard grounder to the right but morneau snags it and takes it to first himself...baaaaah their cleanup hitter hits a solo shot to left...grounder to longoria for out number two...dammit! another solo shot on a 3-2 pitch and this one was crushed into the second deck...single to first on a line drive to the gap that ellsbury races to get...I dunno what's going on with my control but my pitches are all over the place...I try to hold the man on first with a pickoff AND a pitchout, but he goes on the next pitch anyway...naturally my catcher throws the ball into center field and he takes third base too...I throw three straight balls taking the count to 3-0...what the hell is going on? single to center scores the run to tie it up...OMG two run shot to left jesus christ this is rediculous I'm getting hammered...all of my pitches are just drifting right down the middle to every single batter and I allow another single to right...all of this mind you with two outs...the runner takes second and I might as well just walk anybody with half way decent speed down to second with this catcher who couldn't throw my grandmother out on a pitchout...my 1-2 pitch boinks the guy in the back to put a man on 1st and 2nd with 2 outs...single up the middle scores the run...why am I still in this game? and as if on queue I get pulled...absolutely unbelievable two out rally.

We lose 5-6 as the relief allows both of the inherited runners to score as well, giving me the loss.

My Line - 3.2 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 2 SO, un f'ing believable game

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 10:03 AM

7/1 we lose to the Jays 3-4

7/2 we beat the Jays 7-1

7/3 we lose to the Jays 3-5

7/4 we beat the Orioles 6-4

We are now 40-46 and 5.5 games out of first place in the East.

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 10:28 AM

I am starting in the second game of a 3 game series against the Orioles. On the bump for the O's is youngster Kosuke Kobayashi, whoi s 3-9 with an ERA of 5.51. I'd really like to bounce back strong after my last showing. This will be my last start before the All-Star break. The game is being played on a wednesday evening in Baltimore.

first batter pops to ellsbury...ground to the right side barely gets past morneau for a one out single...the runner steals second thanks to a throw that was off target...struck out Chris Davis on a low change...great stop by longoria on a shot down the line and he hits morneau for the third out

longoria can't stop this one as it skips over the bag for a leadoff single...seeing eye single to the right...struck out the next batter on 3 pitches...single to left and it's a beautiful throw to get the guy heading home...but longoria jumps and cuts it off for the relay?!?!?! WHY? Runner scores by a quarter of a second...another seeing eye single to right to load the bases with one out...grounder to burke who takes too long to get it out of his glove so they can't turn the DP, which allows another run to score...my defense is falling apart along with my confidence...liner to left to end the inning. down 0-2

Davis grounds to longoria for one...again I'm having trouble spotting pitches on the corners...grounder to kinsley for the second out...single off the wall down the right field line but the runner tries to stretch it into two, the throw is WAY off line and the second baseman has to run to get the ball which makes it a double...and naturally the next batter puts the first pitch into the left field bleachers for a 2 run homer...sent the next guy back to the dugout looking to end the inning...down 0-4

we are being 1 hit

popup to kinsley for out number one...another grounder to kinsley for out number two...and grounder number three to burke ends the inning...

leadoff hitter crushes an 0-2 pitch to right center for 410 feet...routine single to burke turns into an infield single due to his inability to get the ball off again...which brings out the coach who pulls me. good riddance

Kobayashi throws a 2 hit shutout as the O's completely dominate us for the win 0-5.

My line - 4.0 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, and the loss. My ERA has jumped a full point since my last two starts.

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 10:43 AM

7/6 we lose to the Orioles 6-7

7/7 we beat the Yankees 4-2

7/8 Josh Beckett is back off the DL and gets the win against the Yankees 7-5

7/9 we complete the sweep of the Yankees by a score of 2-1 to climb out of last place!

I am not elected to All-Star team thanks to my last two rotten starts. Boston All-Stars include...

Evan Longoria ~ .278, 20 HR. 53 RBI
Justin Morneau ~ .271, 12 HR, 63 RBI
Clay Buchholz ~ 6-5, 4.01, 93 K, 46 BB

The highest batting average on our team is .286. Our overall team batting average is .265 which is good for 25th in the laegue. It seems that we are an all-or nothing team, tied with the Padres for 7th in Home Runs and 8th in total runs scored. Either we go long or go home. We are 27th in the league in OBP. Our defense is stout however, only committing 66 errors good for 5th in the league, and Jacoby Ellsbury has yet to commit a single error in center field.

Notables at the break...

Aldo Gaston, SS of the Stros is batting .369 to lead the league
Radhames Navarro, 3B of the Padres is leading the league with 27 HR
Claudio Gonzalez, LF of the Reds is leading the league with 79 RBI's

John Danks is 11-3 with a 3.59 ERA, and he shares the league lead in wins with Cole Hamels (now pitching for the Yankees) who is 11-1 with a 2.25 ERA.

My statline at the break

6-4, 4.50 ERA (ugh), 17 GS, 8 QS, 1 SHO, 55 K, 9 BB, 1.29 WHIP

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 10:46 AM

The Red Sox traded our defensive replacement catcher (great) for a new starting SS in Clint Barmes. Barms is hitting .265 with 13 HR. His fielding ability is average, arm strength is very good, but is extremely innacurate. Now we have two big arms in the middle infield who couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat

. Barmes will bat 9th in the day to day lineup.

Coach came to me and told me that if I don't start hitting my spots...well...I had better start hitting my spots. I guess I can't say I wasn't warned.

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 11:25 AM

I'm starting in the first game of a 3 game series against the Division Leading Devil Rays. Starting for them is Andy Sonnanstine who is 7-6 with an ERA of 3.62. I hoping that the 9 days since my last start has been enough to calm me down. The game is being played on a Friday evening at old Fenway.

First pitch of the game is a clear strike only to be called a ball, don't start with me already...pops back behind the catcher for the first out...line drive off the monster for a single, and he tries to stretch it to a double, Ellsbury with the throw and ugh, again it's waaay off line as the kinsler has to come off the bag to get the ball...man on 2nd with one out...another liner off the monster which brings in the run, and another throw several feet offline bringing kinsler off of second, giving the runner a double...strike out the cleanup hitter on an akward swing with low inside heat...doc bryant is *really* squeezing the strike zone on me early on...rocket single gets past kinsler to the right and surprisingly the runner rounds third heading home, not surprisingly the throw home is WAY off target and the catcher has to run down the first base line to get the ball, so another run scores...what is going on with my outfield...routine fly to ellsbury to end the inning. down 0-2 on only 3 hits and 3 awful throws from the men in the outfield

one hopper to morneau who takes it himself...pop to rios in right field for the second out...a 1-2-3 would be great if I can get the next guy...and he grounds to kinsler for the out...excellent and I feel my nerves dying down

another leadoff grounder to morneau for one...Doc Bryant seems to be giving me the outside corner so I'm going to take advantage of it...Kinsler takes a grounder in for the second out...Barmes takes his first grounder for us and fires the man out to end the inning...1-2-3 again...

RS - Kendrick brings home a runner with an RBI double, which brings Longoria up to bat who then pokes one out of the Park! I jump up out of my seat after that one. We're up 3-2 after 3

soft grounder which Soto picks up from the catcher spot for one...single past barmes who dives but can't come up with it...single past kinsler who dives for it but misses, and the runner is rounding second, uh oh ellsbury up with the throw, and it's in time! two down...got him waving at a slider trailing away to end the inning...

Doc Bryant with a very inconsistent strike zone today...colon with a leadoff groundout on a full count to kinsler...bloop to right for a single...single right past barmes and the runner rounds second with blazing speed, far too fast for ellsbury to throw him out, and the throw was offline anyways...first and second with one out...the ball is destroyed to right, but foul...line drive right to barmes who pulls it in for the second out...routine fly to rios in right for the third out, crisis averted!

RS - Our leadoff man (the LF also named Morneau) hits a triple into right center, and Longoria knocks him in with a single and his third ribbie of the night...we're up 4-2 after five innings!

first pitch was supposed to be a fastball on the outside corner but it wound up going right down the pipe, and then it goes over the short porch in right for a solo shot...deep breath...grounder to kinsler's right but he nabs it and fires the man out deep from the outfield...liner right past me for a single...will the coach let me try to get him to ground into a DP or pull me? He leaves me in...hard grounder down the line to third but longoria backhands it and ignores the man going to second to get the sure out at first...2 outs with a man in scoring position...my control is really starting to falter as my pitch count approaches 100...grounder into the hole on the right side but kinsler does it again, and hits morneau for the final out of the inning...

I'm almost positive that's all the work I'll get on the day, and I'm right. The coach pats me on the back and tells me to let the bullpen do the rest, and they do! Soto, Barmes, and Kendrick knock in a few more runs as we win 7-3!

My line - 6 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1 QS, and a much needed win

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 11:29 AM

7/15 we beat the Rays again 4-2 to tighten the gap between us and first place

7/16 we lose to the Rays as Peavy shuts us out 0-4

7/18 we beat the Royals 4-3

7/19 we lose to the Royals 7-9 as David Price gets rocked again

We are now 46-50 and 4 games behind the Rays for first place. The division standings look like this.

Rays ~ 49-45
Jays ~ 47-50 3.5 GB
Sox ~ 46-50 4 GB
O's ~ 45-51 5 GB
Yanks ~ 44-50 5 GB

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 11:55 AM

I'm starting the third and final game of a series against the Royals. Starting for them is Boof Bosner, who is 5-2 with an ERA of 4.64. The game is being played on a thursday at Fenway during the day. Historically I have done very well against the Royals, both as a member of the Twins and the Red Sox.

The ump once again squeezes the plate on the first at bat, leading me to throw several obvious strike threes that were called balls en route to a leadoff walk...grounder to barmes who hits kinsler quickly, who turns the DP!...liner down the left field line gets into the corner and bounces around, and he slides in under the tag for a double...their cleanup hitter waves at a fastball low and away for the third out

RS - Ellsbury leads off with a walk, and two batters later Longoria knocks it out for his 22nd homer of the year...we're alredy up 2-0!

popup to kinsler for one...routine pop to short right and rios takes it in for two...routine pop right above me and I take it in to end the inning

pop to shallow left for out number one...routine fly to left again for out number two...I am really hitting my spots again as I get the last batter swinging at a backdoor slider...my confidence soars

leadoff single past kinser...grounder to morneau who throws to second for one, but they can't get it back to me in time enough to get two...single right through my legs and the speedy runner advances to third easily...1st and 3rd with one away...hard grounder right to kinsler, who then fires to barmes, who taps second and turns two to end the inning...clutch!

strike out the first batter waving at a curve in the dirt, and he gets tagged for the confirmed K...very hard liner but barmes reaches to his right and grabs it for out number two...high fly to left down the line, but it's only to the warning track...1-2-3 fifth inning

leadoff single to left...hard liner past my head for another single, ellsbury holds the runner at second...seeing eye single into left and the runner scores easily...1st and 2nd with nobody out...ball rocketed to right field for a single...bases loaded with nobody out for their cleanup hitter...liner right to barmes! here's a chance to double them up, but it bounces off his glove! no! UGH they're pulling me after that. Arredondo gives up an inherited run...

we score another two before the game is out to tie it up, but we lose in 10. I don't get the loss, but it's still a bad outting after 5 very promising innings...

My Line - 5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, no decision.

i'm giving up a very high number of hits lately

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 12:03 PM

7/21 we beat the Orioles 6-5

7/22 we beat the Orioles 6-5 yet again

7/23 we sweep the O's with a 4-3 win, three straight 1 run games

7/24 David Price shuts down the Mariners and we win our 4th straight game 2-0

We are now 1 game away from .500, and are alone in second place in the East. We're 3.5 back from the Rays who like us are 7-3 in their last 10 games.

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 12:28 PM

I'm starting the second game of a 3 game series against the Mariners. On the hill for them is Greg Smith who is 6-2 with an ERA of 4.03. The game is being played on a tuesday night in Seattle. Despite my rocky 6th inning last week, my confidence is returning and I'm looking forward to a strong outting against the M's. Adam Everett is a defensive replacement for Barmes at SS today...which makes me happy.

RS - Our leadoff mnan singles, and works his way over to third. Rios knocks him in on a two out single to put us up 1-0 before I even taken the mound!

first pitch strike for the first time in 4 games, followed by a grounder to longoria who puts him away for the first out...struck out the next batter on a nasty slider low and away...their #3 hitter launches one to left field but it hangs at the warning track for the third out

RS - Ellsbury leads off with a triple! Burke gets him in with a sac fly to put us up 2-0

My curve is looking absolutely wicked today...single poked thru the right side to leadoff...two straight pitchouts as I don't want this guy to steal second...he takes off but it's a hit and run, the batter pops a high fastball behind the catcher for the first out...a few pickoff attempts to hold him...the runner goes anyway and of course steals second due to, you got it, a throw that was offline...routine fly to left for the second out...kinser takes a grounder in for the 3rd out

hard shot down the line in left that longoria just can't quite get for a leadoff single...the entire Mariner team seems to have lightning speed...high fly to center that ellsbury gets for the first out...the runner takes off and a bad throw, yeah I think you get the idea...I walk the next batter who fouls off several attempts to strike him out...hard grounder right to kinsler who flips it to everett, they turn the DP and I get out of a potential jam

a high heater takes down the leadoff man...grounder to everett who guns him out for #2...my confidence is soaring yet again...skied to shallow center and ellsbury makes the third out to end the 4th inning

RS - Morneau hits a bases loaded double which clears the bases! We take a 5-0 lead, and I can just smell the victory now.

one hopper to morneau who misplays the ball! it bounces up and over him and into right, they score it a hit...hard grounder to longoria who fires it to kinsler, and off to morneau for a close DP!...high popup right over morneau who takes it in for the 3rd out

grounder to morneau for the first out...uh oh after a hard fastball on the outside corner for a strike I feel something hurting on my throwing hand, I try to shake it off but it's just too painful so I come out of the game. Hopefully an MRI will show it's nothing. I watch us light up their bullpen from the clubhouse and we drop 13 runs on them. Our pen holds the shutout and we win 13-0! We get back to .500 on the year!

My Line - 5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, and I get the win!

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 12:38 PM

The MRI reveals nothing and I'm fine, however the pain still lingers and the doctors say I should rest it for a few weeks. I'm not placed on the DL, and we have two days off between now and my next slated start so I'm not going to miss any time.

There are only 3 days left before the trade deadline, and the Sox are only shopping one player. David Price finally started heating up so they took him off the block, and now we're only shopping around a young SS. It looks like we're in the market for a new Catcher, which would make me oooooh so happy. I keep my fingers crossed as the deadline approaches.

7/28 we lose to the A's 4-7

7/29 we lose to the A's 4-9

7/30 we get swept as the A's beat us 4-6

The deadline comes...and goes. We don't make any trades for a Catcher

My finger is still sore when my next start comes so it's pushed back a few more days.

8/1 we lose to the Blue Jays 2-3

8/2 we get swept in a 2 game series by the Jays, losing 5-10

We have now lost 5 straight after winning 6 straight. So much for being above .500

We are now 52-56 and 5.5 games out of first place in the East. The Royals lead the Wild Card race with a record better than the first plays Devil Rays in our Division. We need to win the East to earn a playoff spot this year.

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 01:09 PM

I am starting the first game of a 3 game series against the Yankees. On the hill for the Bronx Bomers is Breslow, who was a reliever earlier in the year. He is 4-3 on the year with an ERA of 3.49. This game is being played on a Friday night at Fenway Park.

After three straight fastballs in the low to mid 90's, the first batter waves at a changeup low in the zone for out number one...I accidentally hang a fastball over the middle and the next guy belts it into the stands in right field...oh no, I do it again on the first pitch and Texiera absolutely crushes it to right for 417 feet, a good 20 rows into the stands...Sizemore destroys a 3-2 changeup, but thankfully it curves foul...I walk him as my control is understandably shaken...Sizemore runs on a first pitch fastball and Soto throws an accurate ball to second! Sizemore gets tagged easily for the second out...I get a very generous strike three call on an inside curve to end the inning...well hopefully I can get some run support since we're already down 0-2

RS - Our leadoff man walks to start the game, and Kendrick singles him over to third. 2 batters later Kinsler steps up and launches a 3 run homer over the wall! YES! Justin Morneau is the next batter and he turns on one and belts it out for back to back homers! Talk about run support, we're up now 4-0! Rios and Soto both single after that, and Ellsbury moves them over, but Barmes can't drive either of them in and the first inning is over.

hard liner to lead off the first bounces off the monster, and the LF tries to jump up against the wall to get it but he can't, so it turns into a stand up double...next batter pops to longoria for the first out...high fly to left that stops just in front of the warning track for out number two...liner to left and once again our LF tries to jump up against the wall and misses it, the run scores easily and it's the second stand up double I've allowed this inning...a single to left brings the runner around third to home, and the throw is 15 feet offline as the catcher sprints up the first base line to catch it, now we're tied...I walk the next batter as I'm having problems placing my curve now...Texiera knocks a ball off the monster and the LF plays ring around the rosey with the ball for a few second before picking it up and hitting the cutoff man, two runs score...I strike out Sizemore looking only the ump says it's a ball, and then I try to slip a backdoor slider past Sizemore and he lifts it over the monster for an opposite field 2 run bomb UUUGH...please take me out...and I'm still in...the next batter looks at strike three on two straight pitches, both of which were clearly in the zone but called a ball...single into left field...this has to be the worst 2 innings of my career, and the umps aren't helping me out any...routine groundout to barmes to stop the profuse bleeding...we're down 8-4 as I give up 6 runs

surprisingly I'm left in the game...weak grounder to morneau for one...one hopper to longoria for two...could I really go 1-2-3 after that last inning?...routine groundout to longoria and I start to breath again...

lineshot to the right side and kinsler lays out, but he can't quite get it...and that leads the coach to pull me...it's about time!

Hopefully we can score some runs. Eduardo Gmoes relieves me and he has done wonderful so far this year. in 79.2 innings pitched he has posted a 1.47 ERA...well Gomes allows the inherited runner to score and then gives up another 2 runs.

We don't score again until the 9th, and it's too little too late. The Yankees blow us out and we lost 6-11. This actually was the worst start of my career.

My Line - 3 IP, 9 H, 9 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO...my ERA is starting to soar to unsafe heights.

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 03:28 PM

The next day Coach tells me to come into his office. He says he has been noticing my performance steadily declining over the last month, and lately my control has been awful. He was hoping it would right itself but he thinks this last game against the Yankees was a wake-up call. He thinks I need to mix things up a little bit, and that I need to take a short break. He's moving me to the pen in the long relief spot so I can sure my game up without costing the team some much needed wins. This is very damaging to my confidence, and almost eliminates any chance of me having a strong second half of the year. He told me that if I work hard over the next 6 series and get my mechanics back in order, that he'll put me back into the starting rotation without a second thought. I leave, and most certainly do celebrate.

How embarassing to get demoted from #2 starter down to long relief...

Over the next 3 games pitched, I find myself improving little by little. My first outting I pitched 3 innings, and gave up 2 ER. My second outting I pitched 2.1 innings and allowed no runs on one hit. The outting after that I pitched 3.1 innings and again gave up no runs on one hit. I'm not striking guys out like I was early in the year, but that's never been my strong suit. I've always been a corners guy, getting people to pop up and ground out during crucial moments.

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 07:53 PM

Today is September 3rd. Over the last 4 weeks we have won 12 games and lost 10. It's better than what we've been doing, but unfortunately it hasn't been enough as the Yankees went on an absolute tear. Our record currently sits at 65-70, and we are 5.5 games out of first place in the East. Outside of us ripping through the month of September, the playoffs are not very likely for us this year. I am still pitching out of the bullpen. I have been moved to Middle Relief which I guess is an improvement from the long relief spot, but it's not a spot in the starting rotation. My stats since joining the pen are stellar, and read as follows.

1-1, 21.2 IP, 1.88 ERA, 17 K, 2 BB.

I have really found a grove in my delivery, and I'm reading batters better than I have since the year started. I'm currently sitting at 9-6 on the year, and I'm tied with David Price for the most wins. Price is 9-8 with an ERA 0.10 points below mine.

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 07:56 PM

Two days later...Coach asks me into his office and I sit down. He tells me that Jon Lester just got injured, and the starting rotation is down a man. He's moving me into that spot while he's out. He knows I've earned it but he didn't want to mix things with the rotation while we were winning. Lester is only listed as being out for a week, so I'm going to have to make the best of my spot start this coming weekend.

We split a 4 game series at home against Cleveland, and then travel to Minnesota to face off against my old team the Twins. We win the first game 6-4.

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 08:28 PM

Tonight I'm starting in the Metrodome for the first time since being in a Twins uniform. I'm going for my 10th win of the year which would really mean a lot for me. On the hill for the Twins is Renato Durazo, who is 9-6 just like me, and also shares an identical ERA at 4.43...how about that! I have recorded 8 more strikeouts than him. Amazingly the Twins have a winning record, but are in worse playoff shape than we are, as the White Sox are cruising on route to a possible 90+ win season.

I'm excited to pitch against my former team.

leadoff batter skies a 3-2 fastball to shallow right for the first out...second batter grounds a VERY slow ball down the third base line that he beats out for a hit...popup to right for out number two...line to right for a single...men on first and second with two away...popup to the catcher to end the first inning

I walk Delmon young on 4 pitches, all of which could have been called strikes...high fly to deep left but it's foul and playable for the first out...another popup in foul territory but playable for out number two...groundout to short to end the inning

bloop to center but ellsbury races in to catch it, one down...hard liner back up the middle for a single...check swing and they say he didn't go around on ball four...grounder back to me and I get the man at second, but they can't turn two...men at 1st and 3rd with two away...slow grounder down the first base line and longoria comes in barehanded, but he airmails it! the runner scores...dammit...unfuckingbelievable a curveball gets by Soto and he completely loses it, he runs around with no idea where the ball is and the runner crosses the plate before he even picks the ball up...grounder to barmes to end the inning...we're down 0-2 going into the 4th

RS - Morneau comes to bat with 2 men on and crushes it into the bleachers! His 24th home run of the year and 107th, 108th, and 109th RBI's give us the lead 3-2!

struck out the leadoff man with a 3-2 change...pop to center for the second out...struck the last guy out with a hard inside heater

grounder to short for one...pop to left for two...fastball CRUSHED to right but it curves foul...liner to right and Rios sprints to take it in...5th inning over and we're still up

RS - Morneau knocks in his 4th RBI of the game to put us up by 2!

routine grounder to kinsler and he lobs it over morneaus head for an error...

Uh oh when I attempt a pickoff move I feel a twinge in my shoulder...I can't keep pitching witht he pain and they have to bring in Arredondo. Hopefully the pen can hold the lead...

They can't, in fact Arredondo gives up the inherited run along with another one and blows the lead right off the bat. We retake the lead in the top of the ninth but then Papelbon blows that in the bottom of the ninth. Finally we re-retake the lead in the top of the 11th and Buchholz, a starter, comes in to close the game out. We get the Win! But I wind up leaving too early for both the Quality start as well as the W.

My line - 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO, no decision thanks Arredondo...

I have an MRI immediately after the game ends...hopefully the results will be fine.

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 08:32 PM

Ooooh man, I have separated my shoulder. That puts me out for the year...so much for getting that 10th win. I'll be watching the rest of the games this year from the dugout it looks like, as coach lets me know that they're putting me on the 60 day DL. It doesn't matter much anyway, as I would have been out of commission for 2-3 months regardless.

The win put us at 70-72 for the year, but we aren't gaining any ground on the Yankees because they are on a serious roll.

The big question now is, what kind of role are they going to give me when I finally heal up?

Sun Tzu · 06-21-2009, 08:48 PM

9/10 we beat the Twins by a score of 7-2

9/11 we complete a 4 game sweep of the Twins with a 3-2 win

9/12 we travel to Toronto and beat the Jays 4-2 for our 6th win in a row

9/13 we sweep the Rays in the 2 game series with a 12-4 win...7 wins in a row! That's a season high

We're now 74-70 but still 6 games out of first...The Yankees are 9-1 in their last 10 games. We have closed the Wild Card gap to 4 games though, with the Royals leading the way, followed by the Rays at 2.5 back, and then the Rangers at 3.5 back.

9/15 we beat the Orioles in Camden Yards 9-3 to win 8 straight

9/16 we make it 9 straight against the Orioles with a 14-5 win

9/17 we finally lose 5-9

3.0 back in the Wild Card, and 5 back in the East. Up next is a HUGE 3 game series against the Yankees...god I wish I could play in one of these games.

9/18 we lose the first game 1-2

9/19 we win the next game 7-3, and David Price collects his 11th win of the season

9/20 we lose the third game which realistically eliminates us from the East race

now we are 3.5 back in the Wild Card

We host the Mariners in a big 4 game series, and get swept...losing 2-3, 1-3, 6-7, and 8-11. We are now 5.5 games back in the Wild Card race with only 6 games to play. The Yankees are 1 win away from clinching the Division.

We get swept by Tampa too, and wind up losing 12 of our last 14 games. Good thing we weren't especially close to making the playoffs, or heaven forbid, actually in the lead. That would have been one hell of a collapse.

Sun Tzu · 06-22-2009, 08:23 PM

In the AL

The Yankees win the East with a record of 88-74.
The White Sox win the Central at 90-72.
The Mariners Surprisingly take the West by 2 games over the Rangers, with a 87-75 record.
The Devil Rays sneak into the playoffs as the wild card, going 85-77.

In the NL

The Mets take the East and have the Leagues best record at 101-61
The Reds win the Central with a 93-69 record
The Giants win the West! They go 90-72 and nobody is close to them
The Phillies win the wild card with a better record than any team in the AL, they finish 94-68

The Playoff Bracket looks like so...

CHW
TB

NYY
SEA

NYM
SF

CIN
PHI

The White Sox win in 4 games.
The Mariners win in 5 games.
The Mets win in 5 games
The Reds win in 4 games

nobody sweeps in the first round.

The ALCS pits the White Sox and the Mariners, while the NLCS pits the Mets and the Reds.

The White Sox beat down the Mariners and sweep them in 4 games.
The Mets take the series to 7 games and beat the Reds.

The Mets face off against the White Sox in the World Series. The White Sox win the first two games, but then lose 3 straight, only to tie it up at 3 games a peice and force a game seven in New York. John Maine would pitch 6 innings for the Mets and only allow 1 run, while youngster Dante Walton would give up 4 runs before he was pulled in the 5th...the Mets win the Championship!

Walton Bankston wins the WS MVP batting .500 with no homeruns but 5 RBI.

Cladio Gonzales of the Reds wins the NFL MVP, hitting .304 with 36 bombs and 146 RBI's

Wiley Couture of the ChiSox wins the AL MVP batting .276 with 41 bombs and 119 WBI

Eldridge Hermansen of the Marlins wins the NL Cy Young going 18-7 with a 3.04 ERA...surprising. He only struck out 62 batters and had a 1.26 WHIP

Latroy Prince wins the AL MVP with a 20-5 record and a 2.11 ERA...he finished with a stellar 1.05 WHIP

Boston Players to win awards...

Justin Morneau took home another Gold Glove
Evan Longoria took home a Gold Glove of his own

My final line of the year looks like this...

9-6, 147.1 IP, 4.34 ERA, 22 GS, 9 QS, 1 SHO, 79 K, 18 BB, 1.28 WHIP, .288 H vs RH, .299 H vs LH

Sun Tzu · 06-22-2009, 08:43 PM

Notable Retirements in the offseason...

Adam Everett...damn
Jeremy Guthrie
Cole Hamels
Chase Utley
Kerry Wood
Barry Zito
Josh Hamilton
Jorge Cantu
Dan Haren
Adam Wainwright

Pedro Martinez was inducted into the Hall of Fame. His career record was 236-121 with an ERA of 3.06

Red Sox Free Agent Losses...

3B josh Fields
SP Clay Buchholz
CF Dexter Fowler
SS Clint Barmes
CP Jonathan Papelbon (damn)
RP Daniel Bard
SP Jon Lester

Papelbon signs with the Indians for 5 years/62m

the Indians also sign 1B Adrian Gonzales for 4 years/34m

The Tigers resigned Tim Lincecum to a 5 year/100m deal

The Rangers signed Nick Markakis to a 3 year/17.37m deal

The Reds signed SP Zack Greinke to a 4 year/90.28m deal

The Giants spent about 100m and resigned all of their big talent Pitchers to long term deals

The Giants also re-signed Pablo Sandoval to a 3 year/16.44m deal

We re-signed Jon Lester to a 2 year/12.6m deal

We traded SP Michael Bowden away to the Nats for SP Sean Marshall

We Signed an all star CP to replace Papelbon, Erwin Guidry to a 2 year/6.02m deal

We signed RF Corey Hart! It will be nice to have another quality bat in the lineup. 3 years/19.44m

We re-signed SP Clay Buchholz to a 2 year/6.88m deal

Sun Tzu · 06-23-2009, 09:55 AM

Our lineup remains the same this season, the only exception being Corey Hart playing in the outfield.

LF - Abdul Morneau - Last year this speester finished strong with 23 HR and 74 RBI in the leadoff spot despite not having much power
C - Geovany Soto - I was really hoping for an upgrade here...he has a very strong arm but he just can't corrall it
3B - Evan Longoria - He is good for 30 jacks and 100 RBI, plus his glove is outstanding
2B - Ian Kinsler - Another strong bat, but his arm is very innacurate
RF - Corey Hart - Should be good for 20 jacks and 70-80 RBI, plus he's speedy and has a great arm in right field
1B - Justin Morneau - Definitely our strongest offensive weapon. Morneau finished last year with 28 HR, 128 RBI, a .297 AVG, and a gold glove
DH - Alex Rios - Last years RF moves to DH with the addition of Hart. Rios will hit 15-20 bombs and around 80 RBI's.
SS - Howie Kendrick - Last years DH moves over to SS (thank god). Burke was our biggest hole in the infield, and Kendrick is great with his glove.
CF - Jacoby Ellsbury - Jacoby is a near .300 hitter and is far and away the fastest player on the team. His reaction time in CF after the ball comes off the bat combined with his speed is a very valuable asset. I love this guy

Our Starting rotation is identical to last year.

I have been given my spot back as the #2 starter!

David Price
Me
Josh Beckett
Jon Lester
Clay Buchholz

Hopefully Price and Beckett can put together quality seasons this year. Without those two performing like they are capable, we have no chance at making the playoffs.

Sun Tzu · 06-23-2009, 01:03 PM

In the Spring we go 20-15 which hopefully means something. We finish with the second best record in the grapefruit league. I go undefeated in my best Spring ever, finishing 6-0 with a 2.66 ERA. This is a contract year, so hopefully it's a sign of things to come.

Sun Tzu · 06-23-2009, 01:07 PM

The 2018 Regular Season has started!

We open the season with a 3 game series in Boston against the Devil Rays. David Price is pitching in the openner against Jake Peavy.

4/2 we beat Tampa 4-1 as Price pitches 8 innings only allowing 1 run, while Morneau and Ellsbury both go long.

I celebrate my 27th birthday!

Sun Tzu · 06-23-2009, 01:42 PM

I am starting this evenings game against the Devil Rays. There are 34,533 fans in attendance tonight. The opposing pitcher is a fellow 27 year older Cam Hanigan.

Defensively we are starting Burke at SS instead of Kendrick for...well I'm not sure why. Hopefully Burke will play solidly.

after a 10 pitch at bat, I get their leadoff man to groundout to longoria for the first out...another groundout to longoria for the second out...routine fly to ellsbury in center for the final out...1-2-3 to start the game

struck out the leadoff man with a slider...liner to left that abdul runs down for the second out...groundout to burke to end the second...1-2-3 again

struck out the leadoff man with a nasty curve...hard low liner back up the middle for their first hit, after I threw two very obvious strike threes that were called balls...liner to hart in rightfield to takes it in for the second out...routine fly to ellsbury for the third out

RS - Abdult Morneau whacks a leadoff solo shot in the bottom of the third, and Just Morneau drives in Evan Longoria who walked his way on base later on. 2-0 lead

I walk the leadoff man after a few breaking balls get away from me...next batter hits a hard grounder right to burke who turns a 6-4-3, two down...hard liner right back at me but I don't react fast enough, two out single...hard grounder into the hole in left but burke snags it, though he can't quite get the guy out at first...1st and 2nd with two away...liner to left that morneau dives for, and just can't quite get, so a run scores...liner right back up the middle and ellsbury is damn near back at the warning track so two runs score now, this is an awful 2 out rally they've got going...routine grounder to burke to end the inning, but I blow the lead. We're down 2-3

routine fly to Hart in right for the first out...I've been getting squeezed on the corners on nearly every batter so the counts have gone very high. i've already thrown 81 pitches...grounder towards the hole on the left side but longoria snags it on the run and throws the man out...grounder to morneau to takes it to first to end the inning..1-2-3 but a lot of high counts again

RS - Ian Kinsler with an RBI double in the bottom of the 5th to tie it back up, 3-3

I'm at 89 pitches before the inning starts, so i'm almost positive this will be my last inning...slow grounder to longoria who fires him out for the first out...groundout to kinsler for out number two...hard grounder back up the middle for a two out single...easy grounder to kinsler for the final out

I get pulled as expected after 6 innings and 109 pitches, and the coach pats me on the back for a good effort...

In the bottom of the inning Geovany Soto doubles to leadoff, and after Ellsbury moves him over, Burke singles Soto in to take the lead.

Arredondo pitches the 7th and gives up no hits, William pitches the 8th and does the same, and our new closer Guidry shuts them down with a perfect ninth for his first save of the year! We win 4-3!

My line - 6 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 2 SO, 1 QS, and I get a win in my first start!

Sun Tzu · 06-23-2009, 01:46 PM

4/5 - we sweep the Rays to start out the year as Josh Beckett pitches a strong game, we win 3-1.

4/6 - we start out a 3 game series against the Blue Jays by losing a close one in the late innings 2-3

4/7 - we win this one in the late innings as our bullpen pitches over half the game giving up zero runs. final score 6-4

4/8 - the Jays win the third and final game of the series, blowing up David Price and our bullpen, 2-16

06-20-2009, 08:37 PM	#4
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	In 2011 I was invited to Spring Training, but I didn't do so well. I didn't mind though, because to me it was just a sign that the club was really starting to take an interest in me. I started 2011 very much like I started last year in AA. I felt like I had something to prove and I went out trying to prove it during every outting. I pitched very well, and though I didn't make the All-star game again, that was partially due to my inflated ERA (I had one or two very, very bad games), along with my club just flat out not giving me any run support. 3/4 of the way through the season I was 3-4 with an ERA just above 4.00. In early July I took the hill feeling like I really had my stuff. I guess I was right, because that day I threw my first career shutout. I was so dialed in that I didn't even realize that one of the representatives from the big league club was in the stands watching me. After the game he came to me and said he had made a call to the pitching coach up in the bigs about this game and that I might get my shot pretty soon. Apparently pretty soon was very soon, because before my next start I got a call from the Pirates Manager and he told me that there was a plane waiting for me at the airport. There was even someone was at the PNC park waiting to measure me out for my new uniform. We talked for a bit and he said that his team was playing very poorly and he felt lke he needed some fresh blood in the clubhouse. He told me that the Pirates were buying the remaining years of my minor league contract, and I was going to make over 300k each of the next two years! On top of that, I was going to be the #5 starter! I had finally made it to the Big Leagues! Lets celebrate baby! __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon. Last edited by Sun Tzu : 06-21-2009 at 04:03 PM.

06-20-2009, 09:14 PM	#7
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	In 2013 once again I was invited to Spring Training, and once again I was told that I would be working as the setup man for the Indianapolis Indians in AAA. This was getting old, and I was getting frustrated. I knew they could see it, but what was I going to do? I pitched the first part of the season like a man possessed. We were an absolutely horrible team that year, so it was rare for me to get into the game...but when I did I was on. In 11 appearances I had yet get a win, or loss, but my ERA was 1.69, I hadn't blown a single potential save for the closer, and I had a couple holds to my credit as well. I had yet to give up a single longball, and I had only walked one person. I got a call from the new skip again up in the bigs, and once again he said I was coming up. I didn't discuss specifics with him since I was so used to it, so I got the details on where the plane was and when it was leaving, packed my shit, and said my goodbyes...hopefully for the last time. When I arrived I was told that one of the starters had sprained his shoulder and that he was out for a couple months...and that I was going to be his replacement. Back in the starting rotation baby! Celebration! I didn't exactly pick up where I left off in AAA...in fact, like the last time I was a starter up here, I got shelled. Over and over I got shelled. I was worried they were going to demote me or put me back in the pen but I guess they didn't have anyone to replace me, so I kept plugging away. I worked with the pitching coach on my mechanics and started to show some improvement. I started collecting some wins...in fact if it weren't for our completely lack of offensive product I think I would have been back up to .500. The guy I replaced came back in very late July, and I was told that I was going to be put in a middle relief role. This was both good news and bad news to me. Good news because I couldn't stand that long relief spot...that was like being the bitch of the pitching staff. You're not really a reliever, but you're not a starter either. It was bad news because I was no longer a starter, and I was stuck on a team with zero offensive production that didn't seem to be going anywhere. I thought it over, and looking at the calendar I realized there were still a couple days before the trade deadline. After very careful consideration, I decided to talk to the coach about possibly being traded. He said he'd talk to the guys upstairs and let me know by the days end. Sure enough, right before dinner I got a call from the coach telling me that there was a plane waiting for me in Pittsburg, and that I was being traded to the Baltimore Orioles. The O's were looking to fill some holes in their staff for a possible run at the wild card. I was going to a potential contender! If I had only known what was waiting for me. __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon. Last edited by Sun Tzu : 06-21-2009 at 04:14 PM.

06-20-2009, 09:19 PM	#8
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	The New York Yankees. The Boston Red Sox. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Toronto Blue Jays. Ho-Ly-Shit. How could these guys possibly think they were going to win the wild card? They didn't have nearly enough talent on their roster to beat out most of the teams in their own division, let alone take the wild card spot to the playoffs. I mean sure they had more talent then the Pirates, but hell who didn't? I was relegated to the middle relief spot again, but I was really not ready for these batters. Every outting was like a nightmare, and we lost a few games because of me. I was put into several games where we were up by 1 or 2, or it was tied, and the Yankees or Red Sox would just pummel me until my spirit was completely broken. I got very little sleep that year. Needless to say we didn't make the wild card spot, we didn't even finish with a record above .500. My final statline for 2013 was as follows. 7-12, 5.19, 20 GS, 7 QS, 70 K, 24 BB, 1.55 WHIP This was also my first contract year. Yeah...not good. __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon.

06-20-2009, 09:36 PM	#9
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	The Orioles re-signed me to a 3 year deal for 1.5 million dollars. It was exciting signing a contract that had 7 figures on it...I have to admit. I knew it wasn't much compared to everyone else on the team, but christ common, most of my buddies were either still in college or were making 30-40k fresh out of college. I was making over 10 times that. It was in 2014 that I started getting a taste for winning. I wanted to be on a winning team, and I wanted to finish with a winning record...badly. I wanted to play in a game with playoff implications. I wanted to feel the electricity of the crowd and know that an entire season could be decided on my next pitch. The Orioles had let a lot of their talented players go during the offseason, and were apparently picking up a good amount of cheap and young talent. This might work in the future...maybe...if the talent pans out, but for now it spells the cellar of the AL East. Not where I wanted to be. I kept these feelings to myself, and I even pitched decently to start out the year. I worked hard, and wound up getting a nice amount of wins added to my resume too. The Orioles would bring me in during a tie game, and then get some clutch hits late...lucky for me this became a trend. By mid-June I was 6-1 with an ERA in the mid 3's. I decided that now was the time to talk to the Coach about wanting to be on a contender, and he said he understood how I felt. Just like the old Pirates coach, he said he would talk to the big wigs upstairs and let me know what they said. Again, just before dinner, I recieved a phone call. He told me that I was being traded to a contender, in fact I was being traded to a the defending World Series Champs! I was now a member of the Red Sox organization! A plane was waiting for me at BWI airport in Baltimore and I was headed north. I couldn't believe it...I was barely 23 years old and I was getting a shot to play in the playoffs, and maybe even the World Series. After arriving in Boston and meeting with the coach there, I was high on life. I didn't care where they stuck me, as long as I got to put on that Red Sox uniform and pitch in some meaningful games. And that's exactly what I got to do...which was not good news for the Red Sox. Once again, I got lit up. Oh boy did I get lit up. I saw my record drop from 6-1 to 6-5...and every one of those games was against either the Rays, who led the division, or the Yankees who we were battling against for the Wild Card. Ugh...what the hell. But the Red Sox stayed classy and didn't point any fingers. They never said anything negative, they just kept trying to coach me up while they watched their playoff chances get slimmer and slimmer. The trade deadline came and went, so I figured they wanted to keep me around. They didn't demote me, but... It was late august when I had a message on my voicemail. It was a guy who's name sounded familiar but he didn't say what he did, or where he was from, he just said to call him and to do it asap. So I did. It was the GM of the Red Sox, and he was letting me know that he didn't want to demote me back to AAA because I was too good, but he couldn't keep me around anymore because of my lack of production, so I was being placed on waivers. Shit. __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon. Last edited by Sun Tzu : 06-22-2009 at 11:44 AM.

06-20-2009, 09:41 PM	#10
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	The Minnesota Twins claimed me the next day. On the plane ride I looked them up in that Baseball newspaper you find in airports, and saw that they were on pace to lose 110 games. Jesus, really? 110 games? What the hell kind of club was I going to? When I got there I was told that even though my production was lacking in Boston, they liked what they saw in Baltimore and in Pittsburg, and that I was immediately going to be their setup man in the bullpen. Well I guess that's good news, but if they're losing so often how am I ever going to see any innings? Well, I didn't get to see much at all. I pitched in a handful of games and we lost a rediculous 119 games. My final statline for 2014 (split between Balt/Bost/Minn) was as follows. 7-6, 5.64, 56 K, 21 BB, 1.63 WHIP Goods news = I finished with a winning record. Bad News = I was on the worst team in the League and my confidence was absolutely shot. __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon. Last edited by Sun Tzu : 06-20-2009 at 09:53 PM.

06-20-2009, 08:49 PM	#5
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	Playing in PNC Park for the first time was amazing. It was obviously built very recently, and it just completely towered above those shitty hole in the wall minor league parks I had been playing in. Sure I had been to some pro games, but that was watching from the stands. When you're standing there on the mound it's completely different...the park dwarfs you. I didn't start out like I had hoped with the Pirates. I wound up losing 4 of my first 5 starts. I didn't pitch horribly, but I pitched bad enough to have an ERA somewhere around 6. I was 0-4 and really needed to start improving my game or I was going to be demoted. I worked hard over the next couple months and got in some really good starts. In fact I put together a small winning streak of 3 games and had several official "quality starts". Unfortunately the Pirates were the lowest scoring team in the league, and by a very large margin, so a good outting on the hill paired with run support was hard to come by. In late August I was flailing again on the hill. I had lost a couple more games, and my ERA was still around 6...I was in a slump. Coach brought me in and I expected the worst. He said he was dissapointed in my production, but he didn't think that I should be sent back down. Instead he was taking me out the rotation and giving me shorter outtings out the bullpen. I was just happy not being demoted. I had gotten too used to the royal treatment that you get when you're up with the Pro's. I didn't want to go back to riding buses to and from road games, wearing uniforms that were dirty from the game before, and only playing in front of a few thousand fans. I mean, we were barely attracting 10-15k fans each game, but at least during the weekends there would be families and the stadium would somewhat fill up. The move to the pen really worked for me, and I wound up winning another game, and even getting my first career save. We finished dead last and were only a few away from losing 100 games when the season ended. This depressed a lot of the guys in the locker room, and it was somewhat depressing to me, but everything was still so shiney and new to me that it didn't effect me as much as most. My final MLB stat line for 2011 was as follows. 4-7, 4.70, 13 GS, 6 QS, 56 K, 15 BB, 1.43 WHIP __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon. Last edited by Sun Tzu : 06-21-2009 at 04:07 PM.

06-20-2009, 09:00 PM	#6
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	In 2012 I was invited to Spring Training again, but this time as a starter that worked in long relief out of the pen. I was dissapointed by this, and probably even had a bit of an attitude. I think they noticed, because after Spring Training was over, they optioned me back down to Indianapolis. Not only that, get this...they didn't even give me my old spot back in the starting rotation. They said they saw how good I had pitched out of the pen in the Bigs, and they wanted to try me as their setup man in AAA. Sonufabitch. So I did what they told me to do. I came in usually in the 7th or 8th innings when the games were close or when we were winning (which wasn't often mind you), and I pitched fairly well. About 2 months in I had pitched in 37 games, posted a 2-0 record, had an ERA of 3.70 and I was leading the league in Holds with 11. I got a call from someone who called themselves the coach of the Pirates, only it was a different voice. The old coach had apparently been replaced early in the season and this new guy was letting me know that they were bringing me back up to the Bigs. Excellent news! When I got there I asked about the starting rotation and explained my situation, but he said that my rookie ass was going to be the long reliever again, and he walked away grumbling something about FNG's. In the bigs, once again, I did what they asked me to do. We lost most of our games, again almost losing 100 of them. The shitty thing about long relief is the majority of the games you come into are blowouts, and on the wrong end. You have very few chances to rack up wins, plus the other team usually has some hot bats going so you really have to be on your game or they'll light you up, just like they lit up the starter that you replaced. By years end I had the following statline. 2-4, 5.37, 31 K, 5 B, 1.37 WHIP __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon.

06-20-2009, 09:52 PM	#11
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	in 2015 I pitched well in Spring Training. Very well in fact. So well that they told me that if I continued at that pace thru April that they would give me a spot on the Starting Rotation. So, I continued at that pace. by the end of April I had a sub 2.00 ERA (in very limited work mind you), and I was given the #5 spot in the Rotation just like they said. Now I knew there was no way, absolutely no way that I was going to win a good chunk of games pitching for the Twins, but at the same time I knew that I just wasn't ready, talent wise, to be on a contender and pitching in playoff implication games. So, I stuck it out the year with Minnesota. I had some great months, and I had some terrible months. I would go several starts in a row pitching 6-7 innings and only allowing one or two runs, then I would mix in some awful starts where I would allow 5-6 runs and be pulled early. Minnesota wasn't quite as bad as they were the year before, but they still stunk to high heaven. I was given a promotion to the #3 spot in July. I was placed on the trade block by GM (without me asking), and the deadline came and went. I was given another promotion to the #2 spot in August after a string of solid starts. Then, in September, I was named the staff Ace. Yes...YES! I was a staff Ace. I didn't care that it was on a team that won all of 43 games last year, I was an Ace baby. The go to guy. We finished out the year losing ONLY 95 games, a shitty but still improved year over the year before. Hey, maybe we'll sign some studs in the offseason and make some moves...who knows right? Wrong. Well...my stats were at least somewhat respectable. Here was my final statline for 2015. 7-11, 4.52, 25 GS, 14 QS, 103 K!!!, 22 BB, 1.50 WHIP I was the league leader in Walks allowed, granted I wasn't a starter the entire year. Still I qualified, and it was something to be proud of. __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon.

06-20-2009, 10:08 PM	#12
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	In 2016 I came into the year as the Staff Ace. There were articles about me in the Newspaper and in ESPN the magazine. I did an interview with Sports Illustrated, and even shot some commercials for local companies. I didn't tell anybody that I had no intention of staying with the Twins beyond July. They just weren't making any moves to get better, and I was feeling confident and improving fast. I felt like if I were on a contender that I could make a difference now, I mean...how could I not? I'm the Ace of a pro Ball Club. Then it happened. In the third inning of my first start...I felt it. It shot down my arm all the way to my hand, and suddenly I could move my arm at all...well at least not without excruciating pain. I waited overnight for the MRI results and...oh have you ever been in one of those things. Loud, long, and unnecessary. Do they HAVE to be that loud? I mean really? Anyways, I had apparently torn my deltoid...aka my shoulder muscle. That meant that I was going to be out for two months and placed on the 60 day Disabled List. Shit on toast. When I healed up in early June, Minnesota did something I never thought they would do. They must have sensed that I didn't want to stick around through the year, because I was placed in the Bullpen. The Bullpen!?!?!? I was the top guy on your starting rotation and now you're relegating me to middle relief? That's an insult...now I'm going to enjoy telling the coach that I want to be traded...but not yet. I wanted to wait until the last minute...wait until a contender really needed me and until the Twins think they've got me. So...on July 30th I march into the coaches office and tell him I'm sick and tired of them turning my requests to be a part of the rotation again down, and that I want out. I wanted out asap, and I wanted to be part of a "real" organization who actually wanted to win some games. They traded me...back to the team that they had originally claimed me off of waivers from. I was once again a member of the Red Sox Organization. Celebration! __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon.

06-20-2009, 10:29 PM	#13
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	After arriving in Boston, the coach again told me that I was going to be a member of the Bullpen. I didn't care...they were in first place in the AL East by 2.5 games over the Blue Jays, The Yankees were 1 game behind them for the Wild Card spot, and I was in the thick of a playoff race! He told me he had hoped there was no hard feelings left over from putting me on waivers a couple years back, and I assured him that I understood that it's a business. I was 1-1 with an ERA in the mid 4's upon arriving, and I was really looking forward to pitching in some bigs games in the upcoming months. I did, and this time I was good. Not stellar, just good. I jumped my record up to 6-1 by mid August, and my ERA had dropped to the low 3's. We were still leading the AL East by 2 games and things were going great. That's when the coach asked me to come into his office. Shit, what now? I'm pitching fine, I've won several games, I was even named player of the game once after pitching into the 14th inning and only allowing 1 hit and no runs...against the Yankees. He told me not to sit down for my own good...ok here goes. He was making me the #5 Starter. No shit? A member of the Boston Red Sox Starting Rotation! Hell yeah! Completely out of the blue...talk about a confidence booster. My fist start was going to be in 3 days against the Blue Jays in an important divisional matchup. Celebration again! So I pitch a strong game, in fact I get a "Quality Start" for going 6 innings and only giving up 3 runs (and only 2 Earned), but I get nothing for run support. Nothing...we lose 3-0. My next start doesn't go so well...I lose again but this time my bullpen lets some inherited runners score. My next start I lose again. The start after that I also lose. This is becomming a trend, and it's late September. I'm 0-4 in September and I really need to fix this losing streak...I'm pitching decent but I'm getting nothing for run support. In fact going into my last start, on the last day of september, with only 2 game remaining after this, we're only up in the Wild Card Standings by 1 game over the Yankees. We're finishing up the season with a 3 game series against the O's, and they've been hot lately. So, I take the mound, I take a deep breath, and I let the ball fly. I pitch a very strong game...in fact I go 7 innings and only allow 1 earned run. The only problem is, as usual, we have a big goose egg on the scoreboard until the 6th and all we're able to muster up then is one lousy run. I leave the game in the 8th after allowing a single, and hoping the pen can hold this thing together. They don't. They allow that run to score, and then another, and then five more in the ninth. We lose, and the Wild Card standings are tied. Unbelievable. We win out against the O's, and we take the Wild Card spot by 1 game over the Yankees. To the Playoffs! In September we played less than .500 ball, so we really need to step it up if we're gunna go to the World Series. The ALDS we're playing against the Angels, and the only way I'm going to pitch is if it goes all the way to game 5. Well...we win games 1 and 2, but lose 3 and 4. Here we go. So, just like I did in my last start against the Orioles, I pitch a strong game. A very strong game. I allow 2 runs right off the bat in the 1st, but I pitch another 6 innings and hang zeros on them. Unfortunately, we still have yet to get on the board. So they tell me after the 7th that they're pulling me, and I watch us lose the game 2-0. Pack your bags, you've got a 6 hour flight from L.A. to Boston ahead of you. Gooooodnight. The Royals of all teams won the World Series, sweeping the Phillies. My final statline for 2016... 6-6, 5.88, 5 GS, 2 QS, 1 SV, 6 HLD, 64 K, 19 BB, 1.41 WHIP This was my contract year. __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon. Last edited by Sun Tzu : 06-22-2009 at 12:08 PM.

06-20-2009, 10:50 PM	#14
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	7 Months ago I signed my first major-medium sized contract with the Red Sox. They decided they wanted me to stay, and offered me 2 years for 7.5 million dollars in the MLB Rotation. I countered with 2 years for 9.9 million, and they counter that with 2 years for 9.5 million. I accept! 3 of their starters retired in the offseason, and we lost Youk. I was promoted to the #3 spot, and to replace Youk we picked up my old teammate Justin Morneau (2 years/18m). We also signed Ian Kinsler (5 years/53m) to replace the departed Dustin Pedroia. Last year they signed Even Longoria (5 years/55m). To replace the starters who retired (Rich Hill and C.C. Sabathia are the notables), the Sox signed stud David Price (3 years/51m). The Rotation looks like this... David Price Josh Beckett Me Jon Lester Daniel Bard CL - Papelbon Our Lineup looks like this LF - Abdul Morneau - contact hitter with blazing speed...never lets anything get by him DH - Howie Kendrick 3B - Evan Logoria 2B - Ian Kinsler 1B - Justin Morneau RF - Alex Rios - Gold Glover C - Geovany Soto - awful...awful arm accuracy CF - Jacoby Ellsbury - absolutely blazing speed...also never lets anything get by him SS - Chris Burke - we need an upgrade here, and fast Our defense is stellar with our Outfield being the strong point. They are all very fast and rarely let anything get into the gaps. Our infield is good, but out middle infield has quirky issues. Kinsler is great with the glove, but his arm accuracy on a scale of 1-10 is a 2 at best. Chris Burke is just awful. He will bobble almost 1 grounder per game, and blows DP's on a regular basis. Starting out the season I pitch strong games over and over, but in my first 3 starts I get a total...a total of zero runs of support. One of these games is a loss, but thankfully in the other two games we were able to put a couple runs on the board after I was pulled. Starting out my fourth game, I take the hill in Detroit with a very surprising 2 run lead. This nearly puts me into a state of shock, and I wind up pitching my first career professional shutout. Allowing 5 hits and striking out 5, walking none and getting my first win of the year. Woohoo! Afterwards my coach tells me that he's moving me ahead of Josh Beckett on the rotation...promotion! Woohoo again! In my next start I go 7 innings, allowing only 1 run and 3 hits against the Yankees. Unfortunately we are only able to put up 1 run on the board too...and again I get a no decision. 48 games into the year...here we are. We are feeling the loss of our starters, while still trying to build some kind of identity on offense. We are 2 games under .500, sitting 4.5 games behind the Rays in the AL East. Our record is 23-25, and I'm getting no decisions left and right due to our lack of offensive production. Here is my current statline... 3-1, 4.17, 10 GS, 5 QS, 1 SHO, 30 K, 6 BB, 1.22 WHIP __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon. Last edited by Sun Tzu : 06-22-2009 at 12:38 PM.

06-20-2009, 10:55 PM	#15
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	On 5/23 we lose to the Yankees 0-2 On 5/24 we beat the Yankees 7-6 On 5/26 we lose to the Rays 1-2 On 5/27 we beat the Rays 9-4 Hot Players on the year so far Ian Kinsler - .291, 9 HR, 36 RBI Geovany Soto - .296, 7 HR, 28 RBI Josh Beckett and I are the only starters with winning records. I'm taking the hill tomorrow (sunday) against the Rays in the final game of a 3game series. We are now trailing them by 5 games. Rays - 29-21 Orioles - 5 GB BoSox - 5 GB Jays - 5.5 GB Yankees - 7 GB __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon.

06-20-2009, 11:32 PM	#16
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	Today I'm pitching against the Rays who are starting Jake Peavy. Peavy is 5-2 on the yaer with an ERA of 3.47. I'm hoping we can mount some kind of an offense here. The game is in Boston in front of a crowd of 34k. TB - A high heater sits the leadoff man (Vizcaino) down on strikes. Bauer crushes a ball to left but it hits off the monster for a double...not a good start. Osuna swings, and misses at a high fastball for the second out. Their cleanup hitter belts a liner to right which drops in front of our RF (Rios), who then guns down their runner trying to score for the third out. RS - Even Longoria belts a 2 run homer in the bottom of the first! That brings up Kinsler...who belts a solo shot of his own! Back to back! up 3-0. TB - Their #6 man fans at a sinker low and outside for the 2nd out. 1-2-3 second. RS - Burke hits a leadoff double and ellsbury singles him in to increase the lead to 4! TB - Kouzmanoff hits a single to right to lead off the third. Figgens hits a chopper and gets tagged out, but Kouz advances to second. Next man hits a liner right to longoria for #2. Bauer back up but he grounds to longoria for the third out. TB - shipman with a single to right after Osuna grounds out. Guiel spanks one to the short porch in right field, and it bounces over the wall for a GRD...thank god. Shipman has to hold at third. 2nd and 3rd with 1 out. Grounder to Kinsler for out #2 but shipman scores to make it 4-1. Colon grounds to morneau for the third out. RS - Holy crap. Evan Longoria hits another 2 run homer, Ellsbury knocks in 3 runs on a bases loaded double, and both Kendrick and Burke knock in runs of their own. We put 7 runs on the board in the bottom of the 4th. 11-1 now TB - ground to longoria...1 down. Figgins squirts a single up the middle after a 12 pitch at bat. Good riddance. Vizcaino out on strikes looking. next man pops up and that's 3 outs. RS - Fowler and Morneau add two more runs...13-1 TB - Struck Guiel on a changeup for out #2...the next man singles up the middle...and they pull me! Oh well...Garko comes in to replace me and gives up the inherited run...rediculous. We put up another 4 while they score 1 more. Final score 16-3. That's the biggest run output i've ever had in support. Line - 5.2, 7 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO...1 out away from a QS. My record is now 4-1 and I have a 4 game win streak. __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon. Last edited by Sun Tzu : 06-22-2009 at 02:52 PM.

06-20-2009, 11:35 PM	#17
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	5/30 we lose to the Angels 6-10 5/31 we lose to the Angles 6-9 6/1 we beat the Angels 6-4 6/2 we lose to the White Sox 1-7 __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon.

06-21-2009, 12:01 AM	#18
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	I am starting in the second game of a 3 game series against the ChiSox. Ryan Rowland-Smith is on the hill for them, and he is 2-5 with an ERA of 5.62 We are 27-30, they are 35-19 and in first place in the Central. It's a beautiful Saturday day game in Boston. Barker pounds a ball to the warning track in center, but ellsworth brings it down. Murphy goes down swinging for out #2. Bouncer to third gets the last out. top 1st done Casto Pops up to lead off the second. My control goes wacky and I walk Utley on 4 pitches. rosas grounds into a beautiful DP to end the second liner about takes my headoff for a leadoff single in the third...but I pick him off at first! Second man goes does swinging...and so does the third to end inning no 3 RS -Ian Kinsler knocks an run in on a sac fly to put us up 1-0 base hit to center with one out...Hanley Ramirez pops behind the plate for the second out...a double down the right field line, uh oh. The runner rounds third base and the throw from right field is extremely weak. run scores...game tied. utley follows that with another double bringing in the go ahead run...ouch. Grounder to morneau for the third out. fly to left for one, fly to center (warning track) for two, last man goes down chasing a heater out of the zone for 3. still down 1-2 after 5 innings My control is all over the place again...a very rare second walk of the game to leadoff the 6th...but we try a pitchout and catch him running! grounder to morneau for 2, Hanley Ramirez doubles in the gap...but high heat takes the last man down to end the 6th. I get pulled after that, and we lose. The ChiSox put up 3 in the 7th, but we put up 4 to tie it...only to give up a run in the top of the 10th and lost 6-5. My line - 6.0, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, QS, no decision. __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon. Last edited by Sun Tzu : 06-21-2009 at 12:06 AM.

06-21-2009, 12:08 AM	#19
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	6/4 we beat the ChiSox 8-3 6/5 we beat the Rangers 9-3 6/6 we lose to the Rangers 2-4 6/7 we lose to the Rangers 0-8 We are now last in the AL East with a record of 29-33. The good news is, we're still only 3.5 games out of first place. __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon.

06-21-2009, 12:42 AM	#20
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	I am starting in the last game of a 4 game series against the Rangers. Derek Holland is on the hill for them, he is 3-5 with an ERA of 4.74. The game is being played in Arlington. Juaquin Arias leads off and lines to Kinsler for the first out. The career thorn in my side, Matt Holliday slaps a single to left field. FC grounder to first to move holliday over. Whoops...I boink the next batter. what's going on with my control? Josh Hamilton hits a deep grounder into the left infield hole, but Burke our SS digs it out...a VERY weak throw to first which allows him to reach safely. bases loaded with two away...grounder to morneau to get out of the jam unscathed RS - Kendrick knocks in 2 with an RBI single and Ellsbury knocks one in of his own...we go up 3-0 in the top of the second inning damn...solo homer by Gavin Philips to right to start out the bottom of the second. Good recovery as the rest of the inning goes 1-2-3 RS - Longoria doubles and Morneau drives him in to put us back up by 3. Thorn in my side Holliday grounds to longoria...ha! one out single to left but the next batter grounds into a pretty DP. RS - Morneau belts his 8th homer of the year to put us up 5-1 Josh Hamilton grounds to longoria for one...saltalamachia with a one out single...philips checks his swing but goes too far for out number two...teagarden with a double to left but the runner stays at third...Aybar grounds to Kinsley for the third out...out of the jam again Holliday with a one out single up the middle, bastard...hard grounder to longoria and they turn the DP to end the 5th inning...love it 1-2-3 6th inning as the ball doesn't leave the infield surprisingly they let me pitch into the 7th as I'm usually pulled after 6. one out single to center...easy grounder to burke, over to kinsler, then to morneau for yet another beautiful DP to end the 7th. I'm pulled after the 7th and we put up another 4 runs to their 1, making the final score 9-2. A very impressive win. My line - 7.0, 8 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1 QS and I get my 5th win in a row. __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon.

06-21-2009, 12:48 AM	#21
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	Stud David Price has been put on the Trading Block. His hefty pricetag doesn't match his production right now. He's 3-4 with a 5.67 ERA while making 16.1 mil. Ouch... 6/9 we beat the Mets in interleague play 5-4 6/10 we lost to the Mets 3-4 6/11 we lost to the Mets 5-9 6/13 we lost to the Marlins in interleague play 1-13 Aparently I am given the day off for my next start, and Josh Beckett has gone on the 15 day DL. 6/14 we lose to the Marlins 5-6 6/15 we lose to the Marlins 3-6 6/16 we lose to the Phillies in interleague play 8-9 6/17 we lose to the Phillies 4-8 We are now on a 7 game losing streak...ouch We are 31-40 and 6.5 games behind first place __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon. Last edited by Sun Tzu : 06-21-2009 at 12:54 AM.

06-21-2009, 01:28 AM	#22
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	I am starting the last game of a 3 game series against the Phillies. On the hill for them is Carl Crawford who is 4-3 with an ERA of 3.27. Crawfords statistics are impressive but he has walked more batters than he has struck out. The game is being played on a beautiful saturday in Philadelphia, which means I will get to bat for the first time since my days with the Pirates. routine fly to ellsbury in center for the first out...then a ground to burke...Ryan Howard absolutely CRUSHES an 0-1 pitch, but it's foul...charlie sawyer calls a very obvious strike three a ball on the outside corner...and Howard goes down swinging 1 out double into the gap by curtis granderson...dioner navaro pops to shallow center and granderson stays at second...weak line drive right to burke for the third out of the second inning RS - I'm leading off in the top of the third...I make crawford throw 7 pitches before I popup leadoff single by herrera which brings up the pitcher...who I'm sure will bunt...which he does and he moves herrera over...single up the middle which scores the run easy, and the throw is WAY off when it comes home so the runner moves up to second...chopper right to me for out number 2...and Ryan Howard goes down swinging again! that ends the inning but we go down 0-1 leadoff single up the middle again...I try a pickoff move and he gets back safely...but then he steals second easily as our catcher has one of the worst arms in the league...next pitch the catcher has go by him (passed ball) and he gets it fast enough to gun the guy down at third, but as is the norm the throw is several feet off the target and the third baseman has to dive off the bag to get it...lazy fly to right to score the runner on a sac fly...next two batter fly out to center and then shortstop. down 0-2 after 4 RS - I'm leading off in the top of the 5th...my plan is to just make him throw as many pitches as possible since he's already up to 73 pitches. OH!!!! He plunked me in the head! I stumble down to first...single to left moves me to 2nd base...justin morneau is up common baby get me over at least...line drive to left field right to him...dammit I stay at second...now longoria is up...popped up to shallow center so I stay at second some more...Kinsler us up...and he grounds out to third...awesome yet another leadoff single...got the pitcher to popup his bunt to the catcher...a drive deep to right field aaaand it's off the top of the wall for a double...2nd and 3rd with one out...grounder to kinsler brings home the run...two down man on third...Ryan Howard goes down again! three strikeouts for Howard this time it's looking at a backdoor slider...but we're down 0-3 after 5 Jason Werth slaps a fly ball to right field right along the line and Rios dives...but it bounces off his glove. He gets up, fires a beautiful throw to the cutoff man, who then fires an ass ugly throw to third base and Werth gets in safely. That's it and they pull me. Jose Aradondo comes in to relieve me, and though he has a 2.14 ERA I'm sure he'll give up the inherited run... Which he does, and we manage to score a juggernaut 2 runs in the top of the 8th. Not enough as we lose our 8th straight, and I fall to 5-2. My line - 5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, and the loss __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon.

06-21-2009, 01:30 AM	#23
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	6/20 we beat the Cardinals in interleague play! Losing streak ended 6/21 we beat the Cardinals again 6/22 we sweep the Cards! 6/23 we beat the Marlins in interleague play The 4 game win streak just may be the longest one of the year! Very exciting... __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon.

06-21-2009, 02:01 AM	#24
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	I'm starting against against the Marlins in the second game of a 3 game series. Starting for them is Jackson Mims, who is 6-5 with an ERA of 5.30. The game is being played on a saturday in Boston so the DH will be in effect. The Marlins are by far the slowest team in the majors with a total of 28 stolen bases...compared to the league leader who has 170. It looks like Kinsley has been given the day off and Adam Everett (a gold glover) is his replacement. Hopefully we wont miss his bat, because I know we wont miss his glove. leadoff single down the left field line...Adrian Gonzales swings at strike three in the dirt, which gets away from the catcher...but the runner doesn't advance...next batter goes down looking at an inside heater...cleanup hitter grounds weakly to longoria for out number three Uggly Dan Uggla grounds to longoria for one...so does the next guy...hermedia strikes out on a curve to end the top of the 2nd RS - Rios gets plunked, and then Ellsbury hits an RBI double, and then gets caught trying to steal 3rd...but we're up 1-0! leadoff double off the monster...struck the next guy out on a low change...next guy grounds to longoria who holds the runner at 2nd before throwing to morneau, single through my legs scores the runner from second...fly out to left to retire the side. it's tied 1-1 RS - Burke nails a triple and then Adam Everett singles him in to put us back up...2-1 Ground to Burke for 1...uggly uggla grounds to everett for 2...several pitches that even the announcers felt were strikes were called as balls as I walk the next batter...hermedia breaks his bat on a easy pop to longoria for the third out to end the top of the 4th inning lazy fly to left for one...grounder to burke for two...struck the third guy out looking at a low and away heater... Adrian Gonzales goes down swinging for the first out...routine fly to right for the second out...single down the line in left...uggly uggla groundsn to longoria for the third out...lets see if they pull me after a strong 6 innings. I feel like I still have a lot in me... pitching into the 7th inning...weak grounder for the first out...everett goes VERY deep to get a grounder up the middle but the man reaches on an infield single...here comes coach and I'm out of here. Arredondo is replacing me again, hopefully he can hold the runner... and he does! Arredondo pitches an inning, William gets the last two outs of the 8th via strikeouts, and Papelbon gets into trouble allowing two hits but shuts the door with a big K. We win 2-1! My Line - 6.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 QS, and I get my 6th win! __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon. Last edited by Sun Tzu : 06-22-2009 at 03:02 PM.

06-21-2009, 02:45 AM	#25
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	6/25 we beat the Marlins 11-3 for the sweep! 6/26 we lose to the Orioles 4-9 6/27 we lose to the Orioles 3-5 6/28 we avoid the sweep and beat the Orioles 4-1 (David Price is really coming around) __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon.

06-21-2009, 10:03 AM	#27
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	7/1 we lose to the Jays 3-4 7/2 we beat the Jays 7-1 7/3 we lose to the Jays 3-5 7/4 we beat the Orioles 6-4 We are now 40-46 and 5.5 games out of first place in the East. __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon. Last edited by Sun Tzu : 06-21-2009 at 10:04 AM.

06-21-2009, 10:28 AM	#28
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	I am starting in the second game of a 3 game series against the Orioles. On the bump for the O's is youngster Kosuke Kobayashi, whoi s 3-9 with an ERA of 5.51. I'd really like to bounce back strong after my last showing. This will be my last start before the All-Star break. The game is being played on a wednesday evening in Baltimore. first batter pops to ellsbury...ground to the right side barely gets past morneau for a one out single...the runner steals second thanks to a throw that was off target...struck out Chris Davis on a low change...great stop by longoria on a shot down the line and he hits morneau for the third out longoria can't stop this one as it skips over the bag for a leadoff single...seeing eye single to the right...struck out the next batter on 3 pitches...single to left and it's a beautiful throw to get the guy heading home...but longoria jumps and cuts it off for the relay?!?!?! WHY? Runner scores by a quarter of a second...another seeing eye single to right to load the bases with one out...grounder to burke who takes too long to get it out of his glove so they can't turn the DP, which allows another run to score...my defense is falling apart along with my confidence...liner to left to end the inning. down 0-2 Davis grounds to longoria for one...again I'm having trouble spotting pitches on the corners...grounder to kinsley for the second out...single off the wall down the right field line but the runner tries to stretch it into two, the throw is WAY off line and the second baseman has to run to get the ball which makes it a double...and naturally the next batter puts the first pitch into the left field bleachers for a 2 run homer...sent the next guy back to the dugout looking to end the inning...down 0-4 we are being 1 hit popup to kinsley for out number one...another grounder to kinsley for out number two...and grounder number three to burke ends the inning... leadoff hitter crushes an 0-2 pitch to right center for 410 feet...routine single to burke turns into an infield single due to his inability to get the ball off again...which brings out the coach who pulls me. good riddance Kobayashi throws a 2 hit shutout as the O's completely dominate us for the win 0-5. My line - 4.0 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, and the loss. My ERA has jumped a full point since my last two starts. __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon.

06-21-2009, 10:43 AM	#29
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	7/6 we lose to the Orioles 6-7 7/7 we beat the Yankees 4-2 7/8 Josh Beckett is back off the DL and gets the win against the Yankees 7-5 7/9 we complete the sweep of the Yankees by a score of 2-1 to climb out of last place! I am not elected to All-Star team thanks to my last two rotten starts. Boston All-Stars include... Evan Longoria ~ .278, 20 HR. 53 RBI Justin Morneau ~ .271, 12 HR, 63 RBI Clay Buchholz ~ 6-5, 4.01, 93 K, 46 BB The highest batting average on our team is .286. Our overall team batting average is .265 which is good for 25th in the laegue. It seems that we are an all-or nothing team, tied with the Padres for 7th in Home Runs and 8th in total runs scored. Either we go long or go home. We are 27th in the league in OBP. Our defense is stout however, only committing 66 errors good for 5th in the league, and Jacoby Ellsbury has yet to commit a single error in center field. Notables at the break... Aldo Gaston, SS of the Stros is batting .369 to lead the league Radhames Navarro, 3B of the Padres is leading the league with 27 HR Claudio Gonzalez, LF of the Reds is leading the league with 79 RBI's John Danks is 11-3 with a 3.59 ERA, and he shares the league lead in wins with Cole Hamels (now pitching for the Yankees) who is 11-1 with a 2.25 ERA. My statline at the break 6-4, 4.50 ERA (ugh), 17 GS, 8 QS, 1 SHO, 55 K, 9 BB, 1.29 WHIP __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon.

06-21-2009, 10:46 AM	#30
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	The Red Sox traded our defensive replacement catcher (great) for a new starting SS in Clint Barmes. Barms is hitting .265 with 13 HR. His fielding ability is average, arm strength is very good, but is extremely innacurate. Now we have two big arms in the middle infield who couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat . Barmes will bat 9th in the day to day lineup. Coach came to me and told me that if I don't start hitting my spots...well...I had better start hitting my spots. I guess I can't say I wasn't warned. __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon. Last edited by Sun Tzu : 06-21-2009 at 10:48 AM.

06-21-2009, 11:25 AM	#31
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	I'm starting in the first game of a 3 game series against the Division Leading Devil Rays. Starting for them is Andy Sonnanstine who is 7-6 with an ERA of 3.62. I hoping that the 9 days since my last start has been enough to calm me down. The game is being played on a Friday evening at old Fenway. First pitch of the game is a clear strike only to be called a ball, don't start with me already...pops back behind the catcher for the first out...line drive off the monster for a single, and he tries to stretch it to a double, Ellsbury with the throw and ugh, again it's waaay off line as the kinsler has to come off the bag to get the ball...man on 2nd with one out...another liner off the monster which brings in the run, and another throw several feet offline bringing kinsler off of second, giving the runner a double...strike out the cleanup hitter on an akward swing with low inside heat...doc bryant is really squeezing the strike zone on me early on...rocket single gets past kinsler to the right and surprisingly the runner rounds third heading home, not surprisingly the throw home is WAY off target and the catcher has to run down the first base line to get the ball, so another run scores...what is going on with my outfield...routine fly to ellsbury to end the inning. down 0-2 on only 3 hits and 3 awful throws from the men in the outfield one hopper to morneau who takes it himself...pop to rios in right field for the second out...a 1-2-3 would be great if I can get the next guy...and he grounds to kinsler for the out...excellent and I feel my nerves dying down another leadoff grounder to morneau for one...Doc Bryant seems to be giving me the outside corner so I'm going to take advantage of it...Kinsler takes a grounder in for the second out...Barmes takes his first grounder for us and fires the man out to end the inning...1-2-3 again... RS - Kendrick brings home a runner with an RBI double, which brings Longoria up to bat who then pokes one out of the Park! I jump up out of my seat after that one. We're up 3-2 after 3 soft grounder which Soto picks up from the catcher spot for one...single past barmes who dives but can't come up with it...single past kinsler who dives for it but misses, and the runner is rounding second, uh oh ellsbury up with the throw, and it's in time! two down...got him waving at a slider trailing away to end the inning... Doc Bryant with a very inconsistent strike zone today...colon with a leadoff groundout on a full count to kinsler...bloop to right for a single...single right past barmes and the runner rounds second with blazing speed, far too fast for ellsbury to throw him out, and the throw was offline anyways...first and second with one out...the ball is destroyed to right, but foul...line drive right to barmes who pulls it in for the second out...routine fly to rios in right for the third out, crisis averted! RS - Our leadoff man (the LF also named Morneau) hits a triple into right center, and Longoria knocks him in with a single and his third ribbie of the night...we're up 4-2 after five innings! first pitch was supposed to be a fastball on the outside corner but it wound up going right down the pipe, and then it goes over the short porch in right for a solo shot...deep breath...grounder to kinsler's right but he nabs it and fires the man out deep from the outfield...liner right past me for a single...will the coach let me try to get him to ground into a DP or pull me? He leaves me in...hard grounder down the line to third but longoria backhands it and ignores the man going to second to get the sure out at first...2 outs with a man in scoring position...my control is really starting to falter as my pitch count approaches 100...grounder into the hole on the right side but kinsler does it again, and hits morneau for the final out of the inning... I'm almost positive that's all the work I'll get on the day, and I'm right. The coach pats me on the back and tells me to let the bullpen do the rest, and they do! Soto, Barmes, and Kendrick knock in a few more runs as we win 7-3! My line - 6 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1 QS, and a much needed win __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon.

06-21-2009, 11:29 AM	#32
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	7/15 we beat the Rays again 4-2 to tighten the gap between us and first place 7/16 we lose to the Rays as Peavy shuts us out 0-4 7/18 we beat the Royals 4-3 7/19 we lose to the Royals 7-9 as David Price gets rocked again We are now 46-50 and 4 games behind the Rays for first place. The division standings look like this. Rays ~ 49-45 Jays ~ 47-50 3.5 GB Sox ~ 46-50 4 GB O's ~ 45-51 5 GB Yanks ~ 44-50 5 GB __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon.

06-21-2009, 11:55 AM	#33
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	I'm starting the third and final game of a series against the Royals. Starting for them is Boof Bosner, who is 5-2 with an ERA of 4.64. The game is being played on a thursday at Fenway during the day. Historically I have done very well against the Royals, both as a member of the Twins and the Red Sox. The ump once again squeezes the plate on the first at bat, leading me to throw several obvious strike threes that were called balls en route to a leadoff walk...grounder to barmes who hits kinsler quickly, who turns the DP!...liner down the left field line gets into the corner and bounces around, and he slides in under the tag for a double...their cleanup hitter waves at a fastball low and away for the third out RS - Ellsbury leads off with a walk, and two batters later Longoria knocks it out for his 22nd homer of the year...we're alredy up 2-0! popup to kinsler for one...routine pop to short right and rios takes it in for two...routine pop right above me and I take it in to end the inning pop to shallow left for out number one...routine fly to left again for out number two...I am really hitting my spots again as I get the last batter swinging at a backdoor slider...my confidence soars leadoff single past kinser...grounder to morneau who throws to second for one, but they can't get it back to me in time enough to get two...single right through my legs and the speedy runner advances to third easily...1st and 3rd with one away...hard grounder right to kinsler, who then fires to barmes, who taps second and turns two to end the inning...clutch! strike out the first batter waving at a curve in the dirt, and he gets tagged for the confirmed K...very hard liner but barmes reaches to his right and grabs it for out number two...high fly to left down the line, but it's only to the warning track...1-2-3 fifth inning leadoff single to left...hard liner past my head for another single, ellsbury holds the runner at second...seeing eye single into left and the runner scores easily...1st and 2nd with nobody out...ball rocketed to right field for a single...bases loaded with nobody out for their cleanup hitter...liner right to barmes! here's a chance to double them up, but it bounces off his glove! no! UGH they're pulling me after that. Arredondo gives up an inherited run... we score another two before the game is out to tie it up, but we lose in 10. I don't get the loss, but it's still a bad outting after 5 very promising innings... My Line - 5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, no decision. i'm giving up a very high number of hits lately __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon.

06-21-2009, 12:03 PM	#34
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	7/21 we beat the Orioles 6-5 7/22 we beat the Orioles 6-5 yet again 7/23 we sweep the O's with a 4-3 win, three straight 1 run games 7/24 David Price shuts down the Mariners and we win our 4th straight game 2-0 We are now 1 game away from .500, and are alone in second place in the East. We're 3.5 back from the Rays who like us are 7-3 in their last 10 games. __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon.

06-21-2009, 12:28 PM	#35
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	I'm starting the second game of a 3 game series against the Mariners. On the hill for them is Greg Smith who is 6-2 with an ERA of 4.03. The game is being played on a tuesday night in Seattle. Despite my rocky 6th inning last week, my confidence is returning and I'm looking forward to a strong outting against the M's. Adam Everett is a defensive replacement for Barmes at SS today...which makes me happy. RS - Our leadoff mnan singles, and works his way over to third. Rios knocks him in on a two out single to put us up 1-0 before I even taken the mound! first pitch strike for the first time in 4 games, followed by a grounder to longoria who puts him away for the first out...struck out the next batter on a nasty slider low and away...their #3 hitter launches one to left field but it hangs at the warning track for the third out RS - Ellsbury leads off with a triple! Burke gets him in with a sac fly to put us up 2-0 My curve is looking absolutely wicked today...single poked thru the right side to leadoff...two straight pitchouts as I don't want this guy to steal second...he takes off but it's a hit and run, the batter pops a high fastball behind the catcher for the first out...a few pickoff attempts to hold him...the runner goes anyway and of course steals second due to, you got it, a throw that was offline...routine fly to left for the second out...kinser takes a grounder in for the 3rd out hard shot down the line in left that longoria just can't quite get for a leadoff single...the entire Mariner team seems to have lightning speed...high fly to center that ellsbury gets for the first out...the runner takes off and a bad throw, yeah I think you get the idea...I walk the next batter who fouls off several attempts to strike him out...hard grounder right to kinsler who flips it to everett, they turn the DP and I get out of a potential jam a high heater takes down the leadoff man...grounder to everett who guns him out for #2...my confidence is soaring yet again...skied to shallow center and ellsbury makes the third out to end the 4th inning RS - Morneau hits a bases loaded double which clears the bases! We take a 5-0 lead, and I can just smell the victory now. one hopper to morneau who misplays the ball! it bounces up and over him and into right, they score it a hit...hard grounder to longoria who fires it to kinsler, and off to morneau for a close DP!...high popup right over morneau who takes it in for the 3rd out grounder to morneau for the first out...uh oh after a hard fastball on the outside corner for a strike I feel something hurting on my throwing hand, I try to shake it off but it's just too painful so I come out of the game. Hopefully an MRI will show it's nothing. I watch us light up their bullpen from the clubhouse and we drop 13 runs on them. Our pen holds the shutout and we win 13-0! We get back to .500 on the year! My Line - 5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, and I get the win! __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon.

06-21-2009, 12:38 PM	#36
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	The MRI reveals nothing and I'm fine, however the pain still lingers and the doctors say I should rest it for a few weeks. I'm not placed on the DL, and we have two days off between now and my next slated start so I'm not going to miss any time. There are only 3 days left before the trade deadline, and the Sox are only shopping one player. David Price finally started heating up so they took him off the block, and now we're only shopping around a young SS. It looks like we're in the market for a new Catcher, which would make me oooooh so happy. I keep my fingers crossed as the deadline approaches. 7/28 we lose to the A's 4-7 7/29 we lose to the A's 4-9 7/30 we get swept as the A's beat us 4-6 The deadline comes...and goes. We don't make any trades for a Catcher My finger is still sore when my next start comes so it's pushed back a few more days. 8/1 we lose to the Blue Jays 2-3 8/2 we get swept in a 2 game series by the Jays, losing 5-10 We have now lost 5 straight after winning 6 straight. So much for being above .500 We are now 52-56 and 5.5 games out of first place in the East. The Royals lead the Wild Card race with a record better than the first plays Devil Rays in our Division. We need to win the East to earn a playoff spot this year. __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon.

06-21-2009, 01:09 PM	#37
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	I am starting the first game of a 3 game series against the Yankees. On the hill for the Bronx Bomers is Breslow, who was a reliever earlier in the year. He is 4-3 on the year with an ERA of 3.49. This game is being played on a Friday night at Fenway Park. After three straight fastballs in the low to mid 90's, the first batter waves at a changeup low in the zone for out number one...I accidentally hang a fastball over the middle and the next guy belts it into the stands in right field...oh no, I do it again on the first pitch and Texiera absolutely crushes it to right for 417 feet, a good 20 rows into the stands...Sizemore destroys a 3-2 changeup, but thankfully it curves foul...I walk him as my control is understandably shaken...Sizemore runs on a first pitch fastball and Soto throws an accurate ball to second! Sizemore gets tagged easily for the second out...I get a very generous strike three call on an inside curve to end the inning...well hopefully I can get some run support since we're already down 0-2 RS - Our leadoff man walks to start the game, and Kendrick singles him over to third. 2 batters later Kinsler steps up and launches a 3 run homer over the wall! YES! Justin Morneau is the next batter and he turns on one and belts it out for back to back homers! Talk about run support, we're up now 4-0! Rios and Soto both single after that, and Ellsbury moves them over, but Barmes can't drive either of them in and the first inning is over. hard liner to lead off the first bounces off the monster, and the LF tries to jump up against the wall to get it but he can't, so it turns into a stand up double...next batter pops to longoria for the first out...high fly to left that stops just in front of the warning track for out number two...liner to left and once again our LF tries to jump up against the wall and misses it, the run scores easily and it's the second stand up double I've allowed this inning...a single to left brings the runner around third to home, and the throw is 15 feet offline as the catcher sprints up the first base line to catch it, now we're tied...I walk the next batter as I'm having problems placing my curve now...Texiera knocks a ball off the monster and the LF plays ring around the rosey with the ball for a few second before picking it up and hitting the cutoff man, two runs score...I strike out Sizemore looking only the ump says it's a ball, and then I try to slip a backdoor slider past Sizemore and he lifts it over the monster for an opposite field 2 run bomb UUUGH...please take me out...and I'm still in...the next batter looks at strike three on two straight pitches, both of which were clearly in the zone but called a ball...single into left field...this has to be the worst 2 innings of my career, and the umps aren't helping me out any...routine groundout to barmes to stop the profuse bleeding...we're down 8-4 as I give up 6 runs surprisingly I'm left in the game...weak grounder to morneau for one...one hopper to longoria for two...could I really go 1-2-3 after that last inning?...routine groundout to longoria and I start to breath again... lineshot to the right side and kinsler lays out, but he can't quite get it...and that leads the coach to pull me...it's about time! Hopefully we can score some runs. Eduardo Gmoes relieves me and he has done wonderful so far this year. in 79.2 innings pitched he has posted a 1.47 ERA...well Gomes allows the inherited runner to score and then gives up another 2 runs. We don't score again until the 9th, and it's too little too late. The Yankees blow us out and we lost 6-11. This actually was the worst start of my career. My Line - 3 IP, 9 H, 9 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO...my ERA is starting to soar to unsafe heights. __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon. Last edited by Sun Tzu : 06-21-2009 at 01:10 PM.

06-21-2009, 03:28 PM	#38
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	The next day Coach tells me to come into his office. He says he has been noticing my performance steadily declining over the last month, and lately my control has been awful. He was hoping it would right itself but he thinks this last game against the Yankees was a wake-up call. He thinks I need to mix things up a little bit, and that I need to take a short break. He's moving me to the pen in the long relief spot so I can sure my game up without costing the team some much needed wins. This is very damaging to my confidence, and almost eliminates any chance of me having a strong second half of the year. He told me that if I work hard over the next 6 series and get my mechanics back in order, that he'll put me back into the starting rotation without a second thought. I leave, and most certainly do celebrate. How embarassing to get demoted from #2 starter down to long relief... Over the next 3 games pitched, I find myself improving little by little. My first outting I pitched 3 innings, and gave up 2 ER. My second outting I pitched 2.1 innings and allowed no runs on one hit. The outting after that I pitched 3.1 innings and again gave up no runs on one hit. I'm not striking guys out like I was early in the year, but that's never been my strong suit. I've always been a corners guy, getting people to pop up and ground out during crucial moments. __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon. Last edited by Sun Tzu : 06-21-2009 at 03:33 PM.

06-21-2009, 07:53 PM	#39
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	Today is September 3rd. Over the last 4 weeks we have won 12 games and lost 10. It's better than what we've been doing, but unfortunately it hasn't been enough as the Yankees went on an absolute tear. Our record currently sits at 65-70, and we are 5.5 games out of first place in the East. Outside of us ripping through the month of September, the playoffs are not very likely for us this year. I am still pitching out of the bullpen. I have been moved to Middle Relief which I guess is an improvement from the long relief spot, but it's not a spot in the starting rotation. My stats since joining the pen are stellar, and read as follows. 1-1, 21.2 IP, 1.88 ERA, 17 K, 2 BB. I have really found a grove in my delivery, and I'm reading batters better than I have since the year started. I'm currently sitting at 9-6 on the year, and I'm tied with David Price for the most wins. Price is 9-8 with an ERA 0.10 points below mine. __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon.