The contestants:
Gantry (defending champ)
Lips
Rack
Potsie
Starts at 5pm, Lips should be here shortly. So fkn pumped...
Potsie was delayed so we are starting at 5:30
The match-ups have been announced:
Round 1:
Pots vs. Gantry
Lips vs. Jason
Round 2:
Pots vs. Jason
Gantry vs Lips
Round 3:
Gantry vs. Jason
Lips vs. Pots
Game 1 is in the books and I can safely say that it was the game of the tourney.
Gantry (Ca) - 25, 21 HRs
Potsie (Dt) - 24, 13 HRs
We traded 6 run first innings, I had Potsie down 10 going into the 6th and by the top of the 9th he was up two. I scored 5 in the 9th, Potsie had two on with Bergman up in a pinch hitting role. Donnie Moore, on fumes at this point, gets him to fly out to center.
I had FIVE BOPs in the game, may be a championship record.
Alright, hopefully the tourney jitters are out of the way. I came away with a victory against Jason, but it wasn't a great game played by either of us. I was playing from behind for the first six innings until Jason was done with Schiraldi and Clemens, and turned to Hurst. I then went on to hit 5 in the 7th and 5 in the 8th. Jason wouldn't give up, though and made it a 2-run game going into the 9th.
I sucked it up big time and didn't score. I was left with a tough decision, my third pitcher, King, was slowing down big time, but only had GuiMo left. I said fuck it, left CS in and got through the ninth to win by 2 (I believe 18-16).
Dee-Nee!
Standings:
Gantry (1-0)
Lips (1-0)
Pots (0-1)
Jason (0-1)
From a tight game to a slaughter in half an inning, I took Potsie down in 4:
Gantry (Dt) - 18, 17 HRs
Pots (Bo) - 8
Got 10 in the bottom of the 4th, almost all of dem came when Potsie brought in Hurst. For quite possibly the first time ever, I subbed 3 batters in the 4th inning (Madlock for Sheridan, Heath for Whitaker and Bergman for Madlock) and homered each time. Quality...
Standings:
Gantry (2-0)
Lips (1-0)
Jason (0-1)
Potsie (0-2)
Rack just struck out in straight pitch, he claims that there couldn't have been two strikes. Not only did he whiff (10 drinks) but he whiffed while "You're The Best Around" was playing. Worst at bat ever?
great news update
The people need to know...
Lips and Jason had a low scoring affair, both guys trading donuts in the 9th. Lips fouled out with Sullivan, popped out to center with Armas and grounded out to the pitcher with Burks to end the game.
Jason (Dt) - 12, 10 HRs
Lips (Bo) - 11, 10 HRs
Standings:
Gantry 2-0
Lips 1-1
Jason 1-1
Potsie 0-2
Potsie & Jason up now...
I just took out Jason 17-16. I am the fkn man.
Quote from: Gantry on 07/12/08, 07:53:59 PM
Rack just struck out in straight pitch, he claims that there couldn't have been two strikes. Not only did he whiff (10 drinks) but he whiffed while "You're The Best Around" was playing. Worst at bat ever?
Was Rack doing his pussy move (that he did against me) where he will try to foul off the first two pitches (or even purposely swing and miss) of every AB in an attempt to tire the pitcher?
Drink up buddy!
I actually didn't see the Ks, I think the first one he didn't even swing because he thought there was one strike.
Taking pitches it pretty common in straight pitch, cause you can't throw a slowball with two strikes.
Lips and I had a GREAT game:
Gantry (Dt) - 19, 14 HRs
Lips (Bo) - 18, 15 HRs
The highlight - I struck out Jim Rice with Willie Hernandez. I brought him in for one batter, as Boggs is the only lefty on Boston (who plays) - so after getting Boggs out I figure why the fuck not? Rice had three dingers on me before that so give Willie a shot. Threw a fastball with strike two and Hernandez's disparity between his fastball and regular pitch is among the best in the game. WHIFF!!
Standings:
Gantry 3-0
Lips 1-2
Pots 1-2
Jason 1-2
Needless to say the next two games are huge.
Stats from Rack and Pots' second game:
Pots (Bos) - 19, 14 HRs
Rack (Det) - 16, 12 HRs
Records thus far:
Gantry 3-0
Pots 2-2
Lips 1-2
Rack 1-3
Gantry and Lips Game 2 up now.
So that's it? Fucking deadlock? I hate you all.
Gantry went into the finals...with 4 wins.
Rack was (3-3) after regulation.
I had to battle back...and beat Potsie first. I did that somehow.
After Rack beat Gantry in straight sets, I had to beat Rack.
Dee-Fkn-Nee McLane!!!!!!!! I beat Rack in two innings
Then there was the best 2-out-of-3. It was fkn rough!!!!
Everyone deserves a chance.
Against Gantry in the first game of the finals, I was down 5 in the bottom of the 9th. But GOD BLESS bops!! I really can't remember it 100%, but I did beat Gantry in Game 1.
Gantry was pretty mad at some point and broke the power adapter. I was up, but I wasn't taking anything for advantage!! I didn't want to win with BS. I wanted to feel deserving of winning the championship. We played through it. As describe above, I won somehow...
And then in game 2, I was Detroit, and my bats came alive (I was so fkn happy), and after some X innings (I think it was 6 or 7), I slaughter Gantry for the second and deciding game. Dee-Fkn-Nee!!!!!!!!
It's been awhile since I won the championship...but it feels so fkn good to hold the belt and be the champ.
Sure, this might be BS to 50% of the readers, but trust me...to me, it's fkn huge.
I haven't been champ since 2003.
DEE-FKN-NEE, EVERYONE!!!!!!!!
Congrats Lips
Quote from: Gantry on 07/12/08, 07:53:59 PM
Rack just struck out in straight pitch, he claims that there couldn't have been two strikes. Not only did he whiff (10 drinks) but he whiffed while "You're The Best Around" was playing. Worst at bat ever?
my favorite pirate Adam LaRoche used to use "you're the best around" as his atbat music and he strikes out a lot. but i still like him.
hope that helps!
Nice work, Lips. Way to stick it to that Zettler fellow.
OK we need an update that actually makes sense. The only thing I gathered from that is that Lips won.
My mush brain is finally starting to subside... I'll post more tomorrow night, with videos.
Quote from: ChigurhSugar on 07/13/08, 11:45:40 PM
OK we need an update that actually makes sense. The only thing I gathered from that is that Lips won.
Game 1 of the finals I was up 5 runs with two outs in the bottom of the 9th. I got not one but
TWO BOPs with two outs in the bottom of the 9th off popups and I lost the game. Read that again...
To say I didn't take it well would be the understatement of the century - I dropped the NES, threatened to quit the series, threw the NES into my storm door and broke both the power & video adapters. I got off the ledge after about 20 minutes but I pretty much mailed it in during the second game. When I actually cooled down and focused on the game instead of bitching I was down either 8 or 10 runs and I couldn't come back.
Not my proudest moment, but with 15+ beers in me getting the most unfair loss in the 10 year history of this tourney took every last ounce of sanity away from me. Completely demoralized...
It wasn't Lips' fault though and he kept his composure during my hissy fit to take game two and win the series. Kudos to him...
It's the same scenario every year with me - I outplay everyone early and when I drink too much I get moody and start pouting when every pitch doesn't go my way. So if I'm in a good mood I win the whole thing but if I get a bad break or two I give up at the end. I guess that's why it ain't the sober RBI championships, but I don't have to quality for next year and that's all that matters...
I would have done much, much worse than you, Gantry. Don't feel bad.
Quote from: Gantry on 07/14/08, 10:40:59 PM
Quote from: ChigurhSugar on 07/13/08, 11:45:40 PM
OK we need an update that actually makes sense. The only thing I gathered from that is that Lips won.
Game 1 of the finals I was up 5 runs with two outs in the bottom of the 9th. I got not one but TWO BOPs with two outs in the bottom of the 9th off popups and I lost the game. Read that again...
Did you try to throw before you fielded the ball? Also did you have back up power and video adapters? The NES survived a throw into the storm door?
1) No - though I'm firmly in the nightwulf camp with regards to BOP throws, I wasn't taking any chances. Plus it was the last out of the game, no reason to throw.
2) Yes, I am well prepared for Nintendo related violence in a drinking tournament situation
3) Yup, it's a pretty hardy NES - I also attacked it with a broom one time after giving up a BOP with two outs in the bottom of the 9th against Sperling, who scored his only run of the game off that play. It would have been the first straight pitch shutout in our history, he was either Houston or Stl. We were sober...
The first batch of videos. More are on their way...
Mmmm, Ice Cream... (http://dee-nee.com/rbi/video/tourney2k8/rbi2008-1.wmv)
Winner, Loser (http://dee-nee.com/rbi/video/tourney2k8/rbi2008-2.wmv)
Nothing Beats an Open Mouth (http://dee-nee.com/rbi/video/tourney2k8/rbi2008-3.wmv)
Nothing Beats an Open Mouth, Part II (http://dee-nee.com/rbi/video/tourney2k8/rbi2008-4.wmv)
Matt Nokes for a $1 (http://dee-nee.com/rbi/video/tourney2k8/rbi2008-5.wmv)
Slow Starts (http://dee-nee.com/rbi/video/tourney2k8/rbi2008-6.wmv)
The second batch of videos. More are on their way...
Jason and Cali (http://dee-nee.com/rbi/video/tourney2k8/rbi2008-7.wmv)
Bring on the Darkness (http://dee-nee.com/rbi/video/tourney2k8/rbi2008-8.wmv)
The Bootie Mix (http://dee-nee.com/rbi/video/tourney2k8/rbi2008-9.wmv)
Jim Rice, The Goat (http://dee-nee.com/rbi/video/tourney2k8/rbi2008-10.wmv)
Let me just talk for a second, here (http://dee-nee.com/rbi/video/tourney2k8/rbi2008-11.wmv)
The final batch of videos.
Sweep the Leg (http://dee-nee.com/rbi/video/tourney2k8/rbi2008-12.wmv)
All he does is catch touchdowns (http://dee-nee.com/rbi/video/tourney2k8/rbi2008-13.wmv)
(4-0), guaranteed to be in the finals (http://dee-nee.com/rbi/video/tourney2k8/rbi2008-15.wmv)
Big, big, big, big, big game (http://dee-nee.com/rbi/video/tourney2k8/rbi2008-17.wmv)
The Drunken Champ (http://dee-nee.com/rbi/video/tourney2k8/rbi2008-18.wmv)
Dude, I'm so happy (http://dee-nee.com/rbi/video/tourney2k8/rbi2008-19.wmv)
Quote from: Gantry on Jim Rice the Goat on 07/15/08, 09:59:40 PM
...I think in all of R.B.I. Guillermo Hernandez has the biggest disparity between his fastball and his slow pitch...
Correction. The biggest are Don Robinson (200 FS, 133 SS) and Nolan Ryan (213 FS, 146 SS).
Hernandez is up there (198 FS, 146 SS), but he's not at the top. Others with bigger FS/SS gaps are McDowell, Berengeur, and Gooden. Players with the same difference as Hernandez are Bedrosian and Righetti.
So if you're only counting the standard straight pitch teams, you'd be right the Hernandez has the best fastball to change up combo, but there are other guys with better stuff on other teams.
I didn't mean slow pitch I meant normal pitch. Now recrunch the numbers!
You are correct, Hernandez does have the biggest difference between the fast pitch and standard speed (38), followed closely by Garrelts (37) and Henke (36). Nolan Ryan has the best difference of the starting pitchers (29) but it's only about 75% of the difference Hernandez has.
So in that analysis you are correct.
And yes, I'm a big enough dork to have all of the rating in a pivot table so I can answer these questions quickly.
The reason that stat is so important is because we can't throw knucklers with two strikes. Plus we only work with three teams, meaning you don't see guys close to Hernandez like henke & Garrelts. So when Hernandez goes fast-to-normal on the second strike, you can actually swing so early looking for a fastball that you whiff.
If you are looking for a fastball with a guy like Clemens you'll simply foul it off.
Quote from: Re-Peat on 07/16/08, 10:13:38 AM
And yes, I'm a big enough dork to have all of the rating in a pivot table so I can answer these questions quickly.
And that is why I love you, Internet Friend...
I don't deny that it's the difference between pitches and not the total speed that is the biggest factor. Clemens actually has a rather average (which makes it poor) difference in his pitches, but actually the only starters that beat his gap are Nolan Ryan (let's face it, he's just a competitor at every category) and Witt, who is a member of one of the three nasty teams.
To be honest I'm just not a big fan of straight pitch. I prefer curve, and I'm ok with slurve too, but straight pitch just seems silly to me so I rarely put much thought into it.