Virtual Baseball Season/Franchise Updates

I know nobody else is still posting, wondering if anyone's still playing.  I wasn't playing much until recently (reading a lot of books actually), but just got started up again and I hope you're still reading because we had an AMAZING stretch of games...

Almost out of it, we need to win most of our remaining games to have any chance at a playoff spot.  Further, we need to win a lot just to record our first .500 season.  Lastly, please realize that in 8 seasons of this franchise we almost NEVER come from behind in the 9th inning, or have walk-off wins.

OK, coming off our win against the A's (who lead the West division) we had another game against them at Fenway.  Joe Kennedy pitched well for us, but gave up 4 in a big inning and we were down 5-2 to the seventh.  We came up with a run in the 7th and another in the 8th to make it 5-4.

Last of the 9th, Bobby Brown is on first with no out, the count goes 3-2.  I send the runner, but it's a good pitch and it's fouled off.  So I send the runner again -- and they pickoff throw to first and have him in a pickle, eventually tagging him out.  I felt SO stupid for not paying attention for this, it was a great play and I felt like it lost me the game.

Amazingly, we somehow get a walk and a hit so now it's still first and third one out.  And the pitcher BALKS, and the tying run scores!  The next guy gets a hit and Cristian Guzman comes home and we win it 6-5 in an amazing rally!  Between the pickoff and the balk and the swing of emotion it was amazing.


Next game: playing the Angels, who are decent but not great.  John Garland (our 5th starter) hangs in there and our relief is pretty solid, but we enter the last of the 9th down 5-3.  One on, two out, Carl Crawford up (who's having a career year and has been incredible).  He smashes a double to right-center.  Now it's 5-4, Crawford on second, and Mike Sweeney up.  Sweeney was great in 2010, but he's showing his age in 2011, hitting around .240 with only 3 HR.  Amazingly, he goes over the Green Monster for our first walk-off HR this season, and maybe ever.  Another 6-5 win, both come-from-behind in the last of the ninth!

With the 3-0 homestand, we're now 19-21, 4.5 GB in the East but only 3.5 back in the Wild Card Race.  Next game is at Texas, the wild-card leader.  With only 8 games left in the season.  So it's arguably as big a game as we've had in the entire 8-season career-mode so far.


Jose Loftus our #1 starter who has been struggling this season pitches great.  We get 2 in the top of the 3rd, they answer with 1.  The game is completely tense and stays 2-1 for a long time.  We are repeatedly threatening, but cannot get another run home, leaving 2 men on base 3 times between the 4th and the 7th.  Loftus is pitching great, shutting down the two top hitters in the AL who bad 3rd and 4th for Texas -- but is a little wild and throwing a ton of pitches.  Last of the 7th, 1 on, 2 out, Loftus tiring and losing control.  I leave him in to face their two top hitters -- which is 2 batters too long.  A walk and a Homer, and Texas leads it 4-2.

Top of the 8th, their relief is a little shaky but getting the job done.  They rob a sure HR with a jumping at-the-wall catch, I haven't seen this happen for us or against us in ages.  Brown (our CF) then hits a no-doubter and it's 4-3.

Top of the 9th, 2 out, man on first.  The red-hot Crawford comes up.  He hits a long fly down the left-field line...couldn't tell if it was going to be a HR, off-the-wall, or caught for the final out...it hits the wall for a run-scoring double and it's 4-4!  Now Sweeney to try to give us the lead in the 9th again, but this time he grounds out.

Last of the 9th...Scott Stewart our strong lefty in the pen gives up a no-doubt blast home run to their #2 hitter and we lose 5-4.


3 incredible endings in a row...usually our games are not nailbiters, what a sequence.  Even the loss, while it stung bad, was an incredible gaming experience.


The bad news is we REALLY needed that win at Texas.  We're now 4.5 back in the Wild Card with only 7 to play, so the playoff dream is looking bleak.

So we're 3 games under .500 -- 6 of our final 7 opponents are under .500, so with continued good play we still have a shot at our first .500 season. 

(Hopefully I'll have time to keep playing after college football gets going, but we'll see.)

Sorry about this but had to post...REAL LIFE baseball thing...

Got hme tonight, put kids to bed, etc., didn't get to eat dinner 'til about 10PM.  Flipping channels, I noticed MLB Network showing the end of Phillies at Padres.  Last of the 9th, bases loaded, 2 outs, Padres at bat trailing by 1 run.

The broadcast was picked up from the San Diego local broadcast.  The SD-homer announcers said something like "We need a hit batter....a walk....a curveball to bouce in the dirt and get by the catcher..."

I jokingly said to myself "...or a balk, just like in High Heat a couple of nights ago."

Moments later, Billy Wagner BALKED and the tying run trotted home!  Just like in my recent High Heat game a couple of posts above this.

I couldn't believe it...

so close!

Off to a good 5-4 start in 2012.  Pitching has been really good, save for one horrible 13-10 loss.

Had a great game against Oakland, the defending AL champ, last night.  My pitcher Pete Whiteside struggled early, and we went down 2-0.  Larry Henderson my star 3B who had been slumping hit a 3-run blast in the 2nd and followed it with another 2-run blast in the 4th and we were up 5-2.  Whiteside struggled the whole game, getting into trouble every inning, but most of the time managing to come through with limited or no damage.  Meanwhile their relief was awesome and we were going out 1-2-3 every inning, doing absolutely nothing more.  They got one in the 6th to make it 5-3, but a DP kept it there.  Then they got 2 on in the 7th but couldn't score.  They managed another run in the 8th to make it 5-4, but left two on again.  We probably should have been down 8-5 or so, but were somehow hanging on, never giving up the key hit once men were on base.  Then in the 9th, Scott Stewart comes in to get out their lefties and gives up a Homer and it's 5-all.  They load the bases with one out, but somehow still don't score again.  In the last of the 9th we got a walk, stolen base and finally a single to win it, it was like we completely stole the game.

Tied for first in the AL East, 3-game set against Baltimore next then a 3-game set with the Yankees.

Interesting side note: The crowd audio behaved super-weirdly through the game and caused the game to hiccup often, I had to turn it off.  I have never noticed this before in probably over 1,000 High Heat games, I hope it's not that the CD got scratched or something.

Since there's so much World Series talk on this board, I just wanted to make sure everyone saw Colby Lewis' awesome 2-run performance in 7+ innings for the Rangers only win of the series so far. :-)

As for High Heat: My team is on fire, 6 game win streak and first place in the East.  But it's still early in 2012, and my gaming time is very limited right now.