MBL GAME OF THE WEEK - TB @ BOS, May 19, 2014

In our second installment of GOTW, the Boston Beaneaters host the visiting Tampa Bay Stone Ponys.  This was the third game of their three game series.  The teams split their first two games.  In their meeting the day before, the Stone Ponys pushed across three runs in the 10th to win the game 9-6 in extra innings.  After that victory, Tampa's record stood at 19-25.  They sit seven games behind the Miami Panthers in third place in the Classic League's Southeast Division.  Boston sits atop the Metro Division with a 26-18 record, four games on top of their closest rival coming into play.

Darren Dreifort opens on the hill for the Stone Ponys.  He enters action with a 5-3 record despite posting an ERA of 6.10 in ten starts.  He's opposed by Tom Glavine for the Beaneaters.  Glavine enters action 6-4 with an ERA of 3.92 in 75.2 innings spanning 11 starts.

These are the top two home run hitting teams in the Classic League.  Tampa Bay enters action leading the league with 61 long flies, with the Beaneaters right behind with 54.  These are also two of the top scoring teams in the Classic League heading into the contest.  Boston leads the league, scoring 258 runs (5.86 runs/game).  Tampa bay has pushed across 236 runs in their 44 games (5.36).  Boston is hitting .276 as a team, good for second in the league.  Tampa Bay comes into town third from the bottom in team hitting, getting hits at a .249 clip.  The big difference between the two teams is pitching.  The Beaneaters enter action with a 4.46 team ERA, almost a full run better than the Stone Ponys 5.34 mark.

Let's see how it all played out.
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Boston got the scoring started in this one when Mitch Meluskey took Darren Dreifort deep wtih a 421 foot blast to left to put the Beaneaters into and early 1-0 lead.

Boston Beaneaters - Bottom of 2nd	Score
Darren Dreifort pitching for Tampa Bay Stone Ponys	TB	BOS
Geoff Jenkins popped out to first.	0	0
Moises Alou grounded out to pitcher.	0	0
Mitch Meluskey homered to left (421 feet).	0	1
Tomas de la Rosa struck out swinging.	0	1
1 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors

The Beaneaters struck again in the 4th inning.  Eric Chavez opened the stanza with a single to right.  A walk to Geoff Jenkins put Chavez in scoring position, and he was knocked home when Moises Alou singled to left.  Dreifort got Meluskey to ground into a double play and Tomas de la Rosa to fly out to end the inning without further damage.  After four innings, Boston leads 2-0.

Boston Beaneaters - Bottom of 4th	Score
Darren Dreifort pitching for Tampa Bay Stone Ponys	TB	BOS
Eric Chavez singled to right.	0	1
Geoff Jenkins walked, Eric Chavez to second.	0	1
Moises Alou singled to left, Eric Chavez scored, Geoff Jenkins to second.	0	2
Mitch Meluskey grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Geoff Jenkins to third, Moises Alou out at second.	0	2
Tomas de la Rosa flied out to left.	0	2
1 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors

And now, ladies and gentlemen, we are about to enter the Twilight Zone (and the Highlight Zone if you're a Stone Pony fan).  Tom Glavine, the staff ace of the Beaneaters, has been cruising along through four innings, having not allowed a run and only two hits.  He began the 5th inning by getting Adrian Beltre to ground out to third.  And that's when the wheels fell off.

The next batter, Ramon Hernandez blasted a homer to left.  Remember his name because it will come up again later.  The next seven batters all reached base, three by the way of doubles, scoring another six runs in the process.  Not until Adrian Beltre came up again was another out recorded.  He grounded out to third for the second time for the second out of the inning.  Hernandez then walked, pushing Jeff Bagwell to second.  Orlando Cabrera then singled home Bagwell for Tampa's eighth run of the inning.  Pitcher Dreifort mercifully flew out to deep right to end the inning.  Stone Ponys now lead 8-2.

Tampa Bay Stone Ponys - Top of 5th	Score
Tom Glavine pitching for Boston Beaneaters	TB	BOS
Eli Marrero at catcher	0	2
Adrian Beltre grounded out to third.	0	2
Ramon Hernandez homered to left (425 feet).	1	2
Orlando Cabrera singled to left.	1	2
Darren Dreifort walked, Orlando Cabrera to second.	1	2
Delino DeShields doubled to left, Orlando Cabrera scored, Darren Dreifort to third.	2	2
Magglio Ordonez singled to third, Darren Dreifort scored, Delino DeShields to third.	3	2
Barry Bonds walked, Magglio Ordonez to second.	3	2
Carl Everett doubled to deep left, Delino DeShields scored, Magglio Ordonez scored, Barry Bonds to third.	5	2
Jeff Bagwell doubled to deep left, Barry Bonds scored, Carl Everett scored.	7	2
Adrian Beltre grounded out to third.	7	2
Ramon Hernandez walked.	7	2
Orlando Cabrera singled to left, Jeff Bagwell scored, Ramon Hernandez to second.	8	2
Darren Dreifort flied out to deep right.	8	2
8 runs, 7 hits, 0 errors

The next inning, Tampa Bay continued where they left off the inning prior, plating five more runs on only two hits.  Delino DeShields led off the inning with a walk.  He moved to second when Barry Bonds was walked as well.  After Carl Everett grounded out to Glavine to move the runners up a base, Jeff Bagwell was intentionally walked to load the bases.  Adrian Beltre then singled to center to score DeShields.  Up stepped our guy again, Hernandez, who promptly blasted his second homer of the game, this time a grand slam to make the score 13-2 Stone Ponys.

Tampa Bay Stone Ponys - Top of 6th	Score
Tom Glavine pitching for Boston Beaneaters	TB	BOS
Delino DeShields walked.	8	2
Magglio Ordonez flied out to center.	8	2
Barry Bonds walked, Delino DeShields to second.	8	2
Carl Everett grounded out to pitcher, Delino DeShields to third, Barry Bonds to second.	8	2
Jeff Bagwell intentionally walked.	8	2
Adrian Beltre singled to center, Delino DeShields scored, Barry Bonds to third, Jeff Bagwell to second.	9	2
Ramon Hernandez homered to left center (406 feet), Barry Bonds scored, Jeff Bagwell scored, Adrian Beltre scored.	13	2
Orlando Cabrera struck out swinging.	13	2
5 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors

As if an 11 run lead wasn't enough, Tampa Bay continued their onslaught in the 7th scoring six more times.  Glavine, despite already surrendering 13 runs, opened the inning on the hill for the Beaneaters.  He was unable to retire a batter, giving up singles to both Tom Goodwin and DeShields.  Eddie Guardardo was finally called in to send Glavine to the showers.  The first batter he faced, Magglio Ordonez, struck out.  Barry Bonds then doubled to score both runners.  The next batter, Carl Everett, then homered to make it 17-2.  Tampa was not done yet though.  Bagwell struck out to record the second out of the inning, but Guardardo then walked Beltre, who then scored when Hernandez launched his third home run of the game.  Unbelievably, the Stone Ponys have a 19-2 lead heading into the stretch.

Tampa Bay Stone Ponys - Top of 7th	Score
Tom Glavine pitching for Boston Beaneaters	TB	BOS
Sandy Alomar Jr. at catcher	13	2
Shane Andrews at first base	13	2
Jason McDonald in right field	13	2
Tom Goodwin hit for Darren Dreifort	13	2
Tom Goodwin singled to left.	13	2
Delino DeShields singled to center, Tom Goodwin to third.	13	2
Eddie Guardado relieved Tom Glavine	13	2
Magglio Ordonez struck out looking.	13	2
Barry Bonds doubled to right, Tom Goodwin scored, Delino DeShields scored.	15	2
Carl Everett homered to left (436 feet), Barry Bonds scored.	17	2
Jeff Bagwell struck out swinging.	17	2
Adrian Beltre walked.	17	2
Ramon Hernandez homered to center (419 feet), Adrian Beltre scored.	19	2
Orlando Cabrera lined out to shortstop.	19	2

The drubbing continued into the 8th inning.  Tampa scored two more runs before the first out of the inning was recorded.  They plated three more before the inning was over.  Five more runs to push the score to a remarkable 24-2.  

Tampa Bay Stone Ponys - Top of 8th	Score
Eddie Guardado pitching for Boston Beaneaters	TB	BOS
Deivi Cruz at shortstop	19	2
Quilvio Veras hit for Doug Henry	19	2
Quilvio Veras walked.	19	2
Delino DeShields doubled to left center, Quilvio Veras scored.	20	2
Magglio Ordonez doubled to deep left, Delino DeShields scored.	21	2
Barry Bonds walked.	21	2
Carl Everett struck out swinging.	21	2
Jeff Bagwell walked, Magglio Ordonez to third, Barry Bonds to second.	21	2
Adrian Beltre walked, Magglio Ordonez scored, Barry Bonds to third, Jeff Bagwell to second.	22	2
Ramon Hernandez safe at second on error by first baseman Shane Andrews, Barry Bonds scored, Jeff Bagwell scored, Adrian Beltre to third.	24	2
Orlando Cabrera struck out swinging.	24	2
Quilvio Veras flied out to deep center.	24	2

Mercifully, the Stone Ponys went down without incident in the 9th.  The final numbers were unbelievable.  Tampa scored 24 runs on "only" 18 hits.  They were aided by drawing a remarkable 13 base-on-balls.  Barry Bonds drew four walks alone.  He also crossed the plate four times in the game, as did teammate DeShields.  Ramon Hernandez had the game of a lifetime, belting three homers and knocking in eight runs.  He entered the game hitting only .176 on the season with five homers in 130 at-bats.  His eight RBI pushed his season total from 16 to 24.  Tampa was 10-18 with runners in scoring position.  The 24 runs were all scored within a four inning span from the 5th-8th innings.  Boston actually led the game 2-0 heading into the 5th.

For Boston, the defeat was an ugly one for Glavine, Guardardo and the staff ERA in general.  Glavine, who saw 13 runs cross the plate, saw his ERA jump from 3.92 to 5.29.  Guardardo fared even worse, seeing his ERA go from 7.30 entering the game to 10.67 after.  The team ERA took a half run hit, going from 4.46 entering play to 4.87 after.

Darren Dreifort picked up the win for Tampa Bay, his sixth on the year.  He only allowed those two early runs in six innings of work.  Doug Henry and Mike James tossed the last three innings when the game was clearly already in hand.

For comparison's sake, I decided to look and see what Glavine's worst game was in the year 2000.  Seeing as he finished 2nd in the Cy Young vote that year, he didn't have many poor outings.  His worst was probably a game from August 9th in Cincinnati where he only lasted four innings, giving up nine hits and eight earned runs.  His ERA that day rose from 3.52 to 3.86.  I didn't want to take the time and go through his entire 682 game pitching portfolio, but it's hard to imagine any game in his Hall-of-Fame career as bad as the one that was witnessed on this day in Boston.

Tampa Bay Stone Ponys at Boston Beaneaters May 19, 2014   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9   R H E Tampa Bay Stone Ponys (20-25) 0 0 0 0 8 5 6 5 0   24 18 1 Boston Beaneaters (26-19) 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0   3 7 1 W: D. Dreifort (6-3)   L: T. Glavine (6-5) Tampa Bay Stone Ponys Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO AVG D. DeShields 2B 5 4 3 2 2 1 .350 M. Ordonez RF 7 2 2 2 0 1 .287 B. Bonds LF 3 4 1 2 4 0 .253 C. Everett CF 6 2 2 4 0 1 .238   B. Anderson CF 1 0 0 0 0 0 .333 J. Bagwell 1B 4 3 1 2 2 1 .241 A. Beltre 3B 4 2 2 2 2 0 .302 R. Hernandez C 5 3 3 8 1 0 .193 O. Cabrera SS 6 1 2 1 0 2 .255 D. Dreifort P 2 1 1 0 1 0 .154   a-T. Goodwin PH 1 1 1 0 0 0 .235   D. Henry P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000   b-Q. Veras PH 1 1 0 0 1 0 .187   M. James P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 45 24 18 23 13 6 a-pinch hit for Dreifort in the 7th b-pinch hit for Henry in the 8th BATTING 2B: D. DeShields 2 (18, T. Glavine, E. Guardado), C. Everett (8, T. Glavine), J. Bagwell (7, T. Glavine), B. Bonds (8, E. Guardado), M. Ordonez (8, E. Guardado) HR: R. Hernandez 3 (8, 5th inning off T. Glavine 0 on, 1 out; 6th inning off T. Glavine 3 on, 2 out; 7th inning off E. Guardado 1 on, 2 out), C. Everett (12, 7th inning off E. Guardado 1 on, 1 out) RBI: D. DeShields 2 (13), M. Ordonez 2 (35), B. Bonds 2 (33), C. Everett 4 (36), J. Bagwell 2 (32), A. Beltre 2 (34), R. Hernandez 8 (24), O. Cabrera (4) 2-out RBI: A. Beltre, R. Hernandez 6, O. Cabrera GIDP: R. Hernandez Tampa Bay Stone Ponys RISP: 10-18 (D. DeShields 1-1, M. Ordonez 2-3, B. Bonds 1-1, C. Everett 2-4, J. Bagwell 1-1, A. Beltre 1-2, R. Hernandez 1-2, O. Cabrera 1-2, D. Dreifort 0-1, Q. Veras 0-1) Team LOB: 7 FIELDING E: C. Everett (3) DP: 1 (D. DeShields-O. Cabrera-J. Bagwell) Tampa Bay Stone Ponys Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR BF ERA D. Dreifort (W, 6-3) 6.0 5 2 2 2 7 1 24 5.82 D. Henry 1.0 0 0 0 2 1 0 6 4.02 M. James 2.0 2 1 1 1 2 0 9 0.55 Totals 9.0 7 3 3 5 10 1 39 PITCHING WP: D. Dreifort Managed By: stephen h (fox lake, WI) Boston Beaneaters Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO AVG A. Brown CF 3 0 1 0 2 1 .288 R. Klesko 1B 3 0 0 0 0 1 .254   S. Andrews 1B 2 0 0 0 0 1 .229 E. Chavez 3B 5 1 2 0 0 0 .340 G. Jenkins LF 3 1 1 0 1 1 .277 M. Alou RF 3 0 1 1 0 1 .385   J. McDonald RF 0 0 0 0 1 0 .344 M. Meluskey C 2 1 1 1 0 0 .429   E. Marrero C 0 0 0 0 0 0 .056   a-S. Alomar Jr. PH-C 2 0 0 0 0 0 .317 T. de la Rosa SS 2 0 0 0 0 1 .308   b-D. Cruz PH-SS 2 0 0 0 0 0 .314 J. Hairston Jr. 2B 4 0 1 1 0 2 .214 T. Glavine P 2 0 0 0 0 2 .250   E. Guardado P 1 0 0 0 1 0 .000 Totals 34 3 7 3 5 10 a-pinch hit for Marrero in the 6th b-pinch hit for de la Rosa in the 7th BATTING HR: M. Meluskey (6, 2nd inning off D. Dreifort 0 on, 2 out) RBI: M. Alou (43), M. Meluskey (21), J. Hairston Jr. (15) 2-out RBI: M. Meluskey, J. Hairston Jr. GIDP: M. Meluskey Boston Beaneaters RISP: 2-10 (R. Klesko 0-1, S. Andrews 0-1, E. Chavez 0-1, M. Alou 1-1, M. Meluskey 0-1, S. Alomar Jr. 0-1, T. de la Rosa 0-1, D. Cruz 0-1, J. Hairston Jr. 1-1, E. Guardado 0-1) Team LOB: 9 FIELDING E: S. Andrews (2) DP: 1 (T. de la Rosa-J. Hairston Jr.-R. Klesko) Boston Beaneaters Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR BF ERA T. Glavine (L, 6-5) 6.0 13 15 15 7 2 2 37 5.29 E. Guardado 3.0 5 9 8 6 4 2 21 10.67 Totals 9.0 18 24 23 13 6 4 58 PITCHING IBB: J. Bagwell (by T. Glavine) Managed By: Matt B. (Newton, MA) GAME INFORMATION Stadium: Fenway Park Game Time: 1:05 PM Weather: 73 degrees, partly cloudy Wind: 19 mph right to left Umpires: Home - Wegner, First Base - Diaz, Second Base - Reed, Third Base - Clark

WELCOME TO THE NEW MILLENNIUM

A little background to begin.  The Millennium League is a simulation baseball league using Dynasty League Online Baseball as its platform.  Dynasty League Baseball is from the designers of the classic baseball board game Pursue the Pennant.  This is the inaugural year of the league.  There are 24 teams in the league from all across the United States, with one team being managed from the United Kingdom.  The kicking off point is the year 2000.  All players who were carded were eligible to be drafted.  Teams drafted 30 players per squad and are allowed to keep 20 players from year-to-year.  Draft was serpentine.  Following is a list of how the 1st round shook out: 

Round One 

Alex Rodriguez, on the phone with
New York Bombers manager BennyP,
who gave him the news that he had
been selected with the 1st overall
pick in the inaugural MBL draft.

1  New York Bombers - Alex Rodriguez (SS/3B)
2  Brooklyn Broken Arrow Bums - Randy Johnson (SP)
3  Tampa Bay Stone Ponys - Barry Bonds (OF)
4  Toronto Redcoats - Pedro Martinez (SP)
5  San Francisco Quakers - Mike Mussina (SP)
6  Miami Panthers - Sammy Sosa (OF)
7  Houston Buffaloes - Manny Ramirez (OF)
8  Colorado Briar Jumpers - Greg Maddux (SP)
9  Minnesota Millers - Derek Jeter (SS)
10 Pittsburgh Crawfords - Bernie Williams (OF) 
11 Baltimore Stouts - Todd Helton (1b)
12 Milwaukee Phantoms - Carlos Delgado (1b)
13 Cincinnati Red Stockings - Curt Schilling (P)
14 New York Rippers - Kevin Brown (P)
15 Atlanta Stonecutters - Vlad Guerrero (OF)
16 Oakland Osprey - Jorge Posada (C)
17 Detroit Buckeyes - Roger Clemens (SP)
18 Seattle Lightning - Chipper Jones (3B)
19 San Diego Vipers - Bobby Abreu (OF)
20 Arizona Apaches - Jeff Kent (2b)
21 Cleveland Rock 'N Rollers - Jason Giambi (1b)
22 St. Louis Sliders - Mark McGwire (1b)
23 Boston Beaneaters - Tim Hudson (P)
24 Washington Senators -Jim Edmonds (OF)

Top of the draft went pretty much as expected.  First four picks go Alex Rodriguez, Randy Johnson, Barry Bonds and Pedro Martinez.  Hard to argue with any of those.  First "surprise" came with the 10th pick when the Pittsburgh Crawfords selected Bernie Williams.  Obviously Bernie Williams is an excellent player, but his 2000 was nothing special, and he only has a couple more "good" years left in him.  To each his own I guess.

Another head scratcher was Mark McGwire by the St. Louis Sliders with the 22nd selection.  Home team pick maybe?  McGwire played in only 89 games in 2000 (albeit with a 1.229 OPS), then another 97 in 2001 before retiring.

The best picks in my estimation were Vlad Guerrero by the Atlanta Stonecutters at 15, Chipper Jones at 18 by the Seattle Lightning, and Jeff Kent to the Arizona Apaches at pick 20.  Kent was MVP in 2000 and has a decided positional advantage at 2B among his peers in this draft.  Guerrero has an OPS above 1.0 for three of the next four years BEFORE winning the MVP award in 2004.  Chipper, coming off his MVP in 1999, has an OPS above 1.0 for four of the next nine years, only dropping below .900 once in that span.