October 27:
This is it. This is our entire season, compressed into one final regular-season series. Given our very long history against both Greg Newgard and this Flagstaff Peaks franchise, it seems appropriate that the fate of the 2024 season rests on the outcome of this series. We need two wins to clinch a playoffs spot. We need four wins to clinch the division. Greg needs to win this series in order to clinch that final playoffs spot. Something's gotta give.
Game 1: Shohei Ohtani vs. Zach Eflin
During this game, I described it to Greg as "two heavyweight champions standing in the middle of the ring trading roundhouses." Greg insisted that his team was only throwing jabs, but those jabs stung, man!
Home runs by Bryan Reynolds (solo) in the first and Lane Thomas (2-run) in the second gave Florida three runs in the first two innings. Flagstaff countered with four runs in those two innings via three singles, a double, and two sac flies. It proves it doesn't matter how you score runs, so long as you score them!
Florida tied the score in the fifth inning with an RBI double by Reynolds. They then blew the game wide-open in the sixth by scoring four runs -- two on a bases-loaded walk by a guy (Chris Stratton) who didn't walk that many batters in MLB '23.
That was about all there is to say about that one.
Final score: Florida 8, Flagstaff 4
Game 2: Nathan Eovaldi vs. Johan Oviedo
A matchup between two pitchers with the most vowels in their names in all of baseball. Back-to-back doubles by the first two batters in Florida's lineup set the stage before fannies ever hit the seats in the first. But Flagstaff responded in a big way in the bottom half of the first with a two-run homer by Mookie Betts followed by an RBI double by Mark Canha.
Flagstaff's 3-1 lead didn't last long. With only one out in the second inning, Peaks starter Oviedo left the game with an injury. Bowden Francis has been, arguably, Flagstaff's best pitcher this season. But he wasn't great in this game. He faced just six batters and allowed four of them to reach base, resulting in three runs. That gave Florida a 4-3 lead.
A sac fly in the fourth inning gave the Mulligans a little cushion. Then it turned into a bullpen game. Stephen Wilson, Jake Diekman, Aroldis Chapman, Hunter Harvey, and David Bednar were all spectaular for Flagstaff, pitching seven shutout innings. Florida's bullpen (Ian Hamilton and Robert Stephenson) were equally good.
Final score: Florida 5, Flagstaff 3
This win locked up Florida's spot in the playoffs, via the OL wildcard. Now, the only question was whether they could win two more to secure the division title and the #1 seed in the Ozzie League.
Game 3: Michael Lorenzen vs. Clarke Schmidt
A single, double, and RBI single by Shohei Ohtani gave Florida the lead in the top of the first. Although Lorenzen was spectacular in his last few starts, the magic seemed to evaporate in the second inning. Flagstaff's first three batters reached base, resulting in two runs, giving the Peaks a 2-1 lead.
A solo home run by Rafael Devers tied the score in the fourth inning. Devers then un-tied the score in the sixth inning with yet another solo homer.
Robert Stephenson has been money against both righties and lefties all season. But he allowed a solo homer by Corbin Carroll in the seventh inning to tie the score at 3-3. The following inning, Matt Strahm recorded the second out of the inning on a strikeout, before allowing a bloop RBI single by Mauricio Dubon, putting Flagstaff in the lead.
Jay Jackson then took the ball in the top of the ninth to lock it down. And he did just that, retiring three of Florida's best hitters -- Adley Rutschman, Brandon Belt, and Bryan Reynolds -- in order.
Final score: Flagstaff 4, Florida 3
Congratulations to the Darien Blue Wave for winning the McGowan Division title.
Game 4: Kutter Crawford vs. DeSclafani
A game of utter irrelevance. The only thing on the line was Flagstaff's head-to-head bragging rights against Florida this season. And they got their wish with a decisive 6-1 win.
Final score: Flagstaff 6, Florida 1
Florida finishes the season with 104 wins and the OL wildcard. Flagstaff (103 wins) becomes the first team in BDBL history to win 100+ games and not make the postseason. The Mulligans will now face the Akron Ryche in the OL Division Series, with Akron getting the home field advantage. The Darien Blue wave will host the Los Altos Undertakers.
October 23:
It has been almost a month since our last series. I reminds me of the way that MLB is trying to ice down the hot bats of the Yankees heading into the World Series. FIVE games off? Seriously, Manfred??
Game 1: Sonny Gray vs. Shohei Ohtani
The game was scoreless until the third, when Brandon Belt connected with a two-out RBI double. Darien took the lead in the fifth on a pair of singles and an RBI double by Edman made it a 2-1 game.
The score remained 2-1 until the 7th inning, when Jason Heyward connected for a two-run RBI single. Three batters later, Adley Rutschman delivered a two-run double, making it a 4-2 game.
In the ninth, the Blue Wave tried to make it a game by scoring a run to make it 4-3. They then managed to load the bases with two outs. But Robert Stephensen shut it down.
Final score: Florida 4, Darien 3
Game 2: Justin Steele vs. Nathan Eovaldi
Jose Altuve's solo homer in the top of the first drew first blood for the Blue Wave, but Florida answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning.
I won't bore you with the details. Florida scored 13 runs in this game. Darien scored four.
Final score: Florida 13, Darien 4
Game 3: Andrew Abbott vs. Michael Lorenzen
Lorenzen owned the Blue Wave in his last start. Not so much in this one: 5 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 2HR.
Darien stuck first with an RBI single by Trout in the first, but the Mulligans took a commanding 4-1 lead after three innings. Lorenzen then coughed up that lead, allowing three in the top of the fourth to tie it up.
Jose Altuve's homer in the fifth inning put Darien in the lead, 5-4, but the Mullligans then put up a three-spot in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 7-5 game.
Darien fought back, scoring two in the eighth to make it a 7-7 game. They then took the lead in the top of the ninth, making it an 8-7 game with an RBI double by Jose Altuve.
Bottom-9. Backs against the wall. Down by one.
With one out, Paul DeJong doubled home the tying run off of Felix Bautista. The next batter, Adley Rutschman, delivered a walk-off two-run homer.
Final score: Florida 10, Darien 8
Game 4: Lucas Gilbert vs. Kutter Crawford
The Mulligans took a 5-0 lead after two innings, and seemed to be in complete control. But the Blue Wave fought back with one run in the third and three more in the fifth, to make it a 5-4 game.
After seven innings, the Mulligans owned a lead of 9-7. Then, in the top of the ninth, Darien loaded the bases. With one out, Robert Stephensen was asked to close it out for Florida. Instead, he allowed a two-run single to tie the game and force it into extra innings.
The game remained tied until the 11th inning, when, with two outs, Yordan Alvarez hit a two-run homer. And that was the end of that.
Final score: Darein 11, Florida 9
So...basically...we have one series left against the Flagstaff Peaks. That is their last series as well. If we win two of those games, we win the OL wildcard. If we win one game, then we'll be the first team in BDBL history to win 100+ games without making the postseason.
September 29:
We managed to stay in the race by taking three of four from the Undertakers -- all by the skin of our teeth. If not for some incredibly bad luck and horrendous clutch hitting on the Los Altos side, we could have easily been swept.
In Game One, Shohei Ohtani was limited to four innings, so we had to jump out to an early lead to have a fighting chance. Fortunately, we did just that, jumping all over Max Scherzer for three runs in the first three innings, and then a fourth in the sixth inning.
After Ohtani left, I was forced to somehow scrap together the bare bones of what's left of our bullpen, just to get through the game. Clinging to a two-run lead heading into the bottom of the ninth, Ian Hamilton allowed the first two batters to reach base on singles. I then handed the ball to Dauri Moreta, who walked the bases full. A sac fly made it a one-run game. Then, with the tying run standing 90 feet away, Moreta whiffed Cedanne Rafaela for a HUGE out. Parker Meadows then flew out to end the game.
After that nail-biter, our offense then ran into a buzzsaw in Game Two, in the form of Bailey Ober, of all people. Los Altos scored a first inning run, and that 1-0 score stood for six innings, as our offense couldn't get anything going against Ober. Finally, once Ober left the game in the seventh, we managed to get on the board thanks to Jason Heyward's two-run double.
In the bottom of the eighth, Jesse Chavez loaded the bases with one out. Ian Hamilton then came into the game and whiffed the only two batters he faced. We eventually won by a score of 3-1.
Our Game Three and Game Four starters were MacKenzie Gore and JP Sears, so we absolutely had to win those first two games to stay in the race. Gore was his usual awful self in Game Three, allowing three runs on eight hits and two walks in less than four innings before I couldn't take it anymore and yanked him out of there.
I was very concerned about facing Dustin May, given his dominant numbers, but surprisingly we managed to touch him up for four runs in four innings (eight hits, four walks.) For the third game in a row, our beleaguered bullpen managed to hold that lead. We won by a score of 5-3.
JP Sears gives up a lot of home runs. I mean A LOT. Game Four was no different. He managed to serve up two homers in only five innings, allowing four runs in the process. I used my best lineup in this game, knowing that we would need to score a lot of runs to make up for Sears' awfulness. It didn't work. We scored just two runs on six hits. Final score: 7-2.
This series win puts us one game behind Flagstaff. Up next is South Carolina. Then, we face the big boys. I have managed usage as best I can. Hopefully it's enough.
September 25:
Thankfully, we swept the West Chester Blooms last night. Anything less than a sweep would have been catastrophic. Unfortunately, it doesn't matter, because the Flagstaff Peaks somehow swept the Akron Ryche yesterday morning. The Ryche are on pace to win 99 games this year and yet the Peaks trounced them like a steamroller.
It's beginning to feel very much like the Peaks are the Team of Destiny in 2024. I had this same exact feeling about the Ryche in 2022 and that feeling proved to be prescient. We are now 8-4 on this chapter, and yet it's only the second-best record in the division. Flagstaff has won eleven out of twelve. Absolutely insane.
It's beyond disheartening to know that we will finish this season with one of our best records in franchise history...and we'll finish in third place. Current division leaders Akron, Los Altos, South Philly, and Chicago would be last-place teams in the McGowan Division. What a waste of a tremendous season.
September 24:
When it comes to the BDBL, I tend to focus on the negative. Even when I win three of four in a series, I obsess over that one loss. Such is the case with my series against Bear Country last night. Three of the four games were won rather easily: 11-3, 10-3, and 10-5. But that one goddamn game, Game Three, is the one that irritates me.
Two-out rallies piss me off, and that game featured one of those in the second inning. Walk, single, single. Like being poked on the forehead over and over again. Piddly little shit. Irritating.
We were losing 4-0 to Freddy Peralta, a guy who has been very hittable all season long. We clawed our way back into the game with one run in the sixth, one in the seventh, and one in the eighth. Down by just one run in the ninth, the bottom three hitters in our lineup couldn't get on base. Not one of them. 4-3 loss.
We've now lost three one-run games this chapter, and we've only played eight games. That stings. We're now two games behind Flagstaff, and seven behind Darien. We have played .643 baseball this year and it isn't good enough. What a fucking waste.
September 17:
It always sucks to lose three out of four. It sucks even worse to lose three out of four at home. And it sucks ten times as much to lose three out of four to a team that is incredible beatable. That is exactly how our final chapter began last night.
Shohei Ohtani is supposed to be our ace. Instead, he has been the most inconsistent pitcher on our staff all season long. You never know which version of Ohtani you'll get when he takes the hill. He has now made 22 starts for us this season. He has allowed two or fewer runs in thirteen of those starts, and he has allowed six or more runs in five starts. Last night was one of the latter.
It's bad enough that he allowed nine runs (eight earned) in six innings, but what really irritates me is that six of those runs were scored in the same inning -- all with two outs. And it happened against the bottom half of a lineup that is below league average in each of the three triple-slashes.
That lineup features Xavier Edwards in the leadoff spot. Edwards owns a sub-.300 OBP for the season (.333 vs. RH). This is their leadoff hitter. Their table-setter. Seriously. Shea Langeliers is the cleanup hitter. He is hitting .222/.291/.433 this season. Seriously. I'm not making this up. Drew Waters (.248/.292/.431) offers "protection" for Langeliers in the #5 spot. And it only gets worse from there.
Shohei Ohtani, one of the best pitchers in the game, coughed up SIX runs -- all with two outs -- against Erika Baddoo, someone named Triolo, Josh Lowe, Edwards, Jorge Soler, Francisco Lindor, and Langeliers.
Five straight batters reached base, all with two outs: walk, single, single, walk, double, single.
Fucking ridiculous. And that was just Game One.
In Game Two, we faced Dane Dunning. Dane Dunning, with the lifetime 4.39 ERA. Mister Mediocrity. Our lineup is filled with top-50 hitters: Ohtani, Rafael Devers, Bryan Reynolds, Adley Rutschman, Brandon Belt, Wilmer Flores, etc. We managed all of SIX hits against Dane Fucking Dunning. One run. Lost by a score of 2-1 to Dane Fucking Dunning.
Game Three required a miracle come-from-behind walk-off win because Kutter Crawford couldn't hold the mighty Furies offense to fewer than six runs. In a preview of what's to come in 2025, he allowed THREE home runs to this wretched offense. One of them was hit by Mike Moustakas, if you can believe it. I thought that guy died about a decade ago.
Then, just to rub some more salt into the wound, we lost yet another one-run game in Game Four. Alex Cobb -- Alex Fucking Cobb -- blanked our offense for seven innings. Not a single run. Just three hits. Against Alex Fucking Cobb.
We finally scored two in the eighth and two more in the ninth, but it wasn't enough because the mighty Furies once against brought out their big lumber, stroking two homers off of JP Sears.
Not only did we lose three of four, but I used my "A" lineups in all four games, wasting the usage of the players we'll need to beat the better teams in this league. Meanwhile, Bart didn't even play his best hitter (Wander F'ing Franco) in three of those games. He didn't need to. Tom Murphy (.571/.625/1.143), Erika Baddoo (.333/.333/1.000), Someone Named Triolo (.500/.750/.500), and Drew Waters (.231/.375/.769) picked up the slack.
What a stupid fucking game.
