Monday, June 24, 2013

Last Place Update - June 24

Welcome to this week's Last Place Update. Here's an odd one for you. Who would have thought that the bottom three teams would do as well or have a better ten game stretch than nine of the top ten teams in MLB? Let's get the fun started.

   Even with all this winning, the defending Kings of the Cellar Champion 29-48 Houston Astros have closed the gap on this week's Kings of the Cellar, the 25-50 Miami Marlins to three games. The 30-42 New York Mets bring up the rear at six games behind Miami. Each team went 6-4 in their past ten games, a rarity at this level. Over that stretch, the bottom three performed better than the MLB leading 47-29 St. Louis Cardinals, who went 4-6, and the AL leading 44-32 Texas Rangers, who went 5-5. Of the top ten teams, only the 46-30 Pittsburgh Pirates fared better, going 7-3 during that stretch.

   Since the last update, Miami went 4-3, Houston went 3-4, and the Mets went a respectable 5-3. Each of these teams have had a bit of a turnaround. Is this a sign of how things will be or is it an apparition? Only time will tell.

   This week's honorable mention goes to the 44-34 Oakland A's. They are 3-7 in their last ten games, losing four of their last five games. The A's have an interleague homestand this week, hosting the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals. Oakland should do some winning this week, but that could go either way.

   So how are the Marlins doing against the 1962 Mets and 2003 Tigers? After 75 games, the '62 Mets were  21-54 and the '03 Tigers were at a miserable 18-57. The Marlins are four and six games ahead respectively at this time and are on pace to keep those records safe for another year.

Other Stuff...

   Hats off to the 38-36 Toronto Blue Jays for winning 11 straight games.They are also 14-2 since June 5, when they had a 24-34 record. The streak will probably end in Tampa this week, but it is still a great accomplishment.

   Congrats the Miami Heat for winning their second consecutive NBA championship and third overall.

   On to drum and bugle corps trivia. Today in 1972, the Santa Clara Vanguard won the California American Legion State Championship in San Jose, CA, with a score of 78.50. The Stockton Commodores came in second (60.15), followed by the Velvet Knights (56.00), LA Chinese (51.95), and the Royalaires (CA), who scored a 47.75. Of these corps, only the Santa Clara Vanguard is still active. The Stockton Commodores, LA Chinese, and Royalaires stopped competing after the 1976 season. The Velvet Knights stopped competing after the 1996 season, but came back for one season in 2011.

   Today in 1999, the Blue Devils won the DCI contest in Normal, IL, with a score of 75.70. The Cavaliers came in second (73.90), followed by the Glassmen (70.20), Blue Knights (68.20), Phantom Regiment (64.90), Colts (62.70), and Pioneer (53.20). Every corps in this contest is still active today.

How long will the bottom three teams' winning ways continue? Will there be a collapse or will other teams supplant them as Kings of the Cellar? Who will threaten the '62 Mets and '03 Tigers records of futility?

Stay tuned. Have a great day!!!

 

Monday, June 17, 2013

Last Place Update - June 17

Welcome to this week's Last Place Update. The 1899 Cleveland Spiders' all-time worst record of 20-134 is safe for the 114th year in a row.

   The 21-47 Miami Marlins continue to be Kings of the Cellar, leading the 26-44 Houston Astros by four games. The 25-39 New York Mets bring up the rear at six games behind the Marlins. Miami is still the only team in MLB to have less than ten road wins. Will they go over the top this week?

   Since the last update, Miami went a respectable 3-3, Houston went an even more respectable 4-2, and the Mets represented the bottom by going 2-4. The Marlins are now 5-5 in their last ten games and 8-6 since May 31. The American League's newest team, the Astros,  are 4-6 in their last ten games, winners of their last four. They are also 12-8 since May 27. And then there are the Mets. They are 3-7 in their last ten games, but are 8-10 since May 26.

   This week's honorable mention goes to the 38-31 Texas Rangers. The Rangers are 2-8 in their last ten games, losers of their last six games. They are also 6-14 since May 26. Texas faces Oakland and St. Louis this week and the Rangers could find themselves here again next week. Or they could do some winning, like last week's honorable mention, the Cleveland Indians, and win themselves out of the Mention.

   Although the 1899 Spiders' record is safe, the 1962 Mets and the 2003 Detroit Tigers are still out there. The Marlins are faring better than their counterparts of the past right now. The '62 Mets were 19-49 after 68 games. The 2003 Tigers were doing even worse, at 17-51.

Other Stuff...

   The San Antonio Spurs had an impressive win against the Miami Heat last night. However, Miami will win Game 6. Game 7 and the NBA Championship will go to whoever wants it more.

   Today in 1984, the Phantom Regiment won the DCM contest in Grand Rapids, MI with a score of 81.10. This was the first year of the all build-up judging. The Cavaliers came in second (73.40), followed by Pioneer (41.20), Glassmen (32.10), Royal Grenadiers (26.00), and Saginaires (17.00).

   Today in 1972, the 27th Lancers won the Shriner's International contest in Hamilton, ONT, Canada with a score of 81.50. The Blue Stars came in second (78.50), followed by Blue Rock (77.30), Kilties (76.10), Garfield Cadets (75.50), De La Salle Oaklands (74.65), CMCC Warriors (73.70), and Toronto Optimists (68.75).


Will Miami continue to win or will there be an epic collapse? Will the defending Kings of the Cellar Champion Houston Astros overtake the Marlins? Will the Mets continue their losing ways?

Stay tuned. Have a great day!!!

Monday, June 10, 2013

Last Place Update - June 10

Welcome to this week's Last Place Update. The gap is closing.

   The defending Kings of the Cellar champion 22-42 Houston Astros nudged a little closer to this week's Kings of the Cellar, the 18-44 Miami Marlins. The Marlins now lead by three games. Miami is three wins away from keeping the 1899 Cleveland Spiders record of futility safe for another year. The 23-35 New York Mets bring up the rear by trailing the Marlins by seven games.

   Since the last update, Miami went a respectable 2-3, winning their last two games. However, in true Kings of the Cellar fashion, Houston went 2-5, losing their last four. The Mets supplanted the Milwaukee Brewers by going 4-6 in their last ten games, losing their last two. The Brewers did a little winning and went 4-3, winning their last three games.

   This week's honorable mention goes to the 30-32 Cleveland Indians. Cleveland is 2-8 in their last ten games, losers of their last seven. They are also 4-15 since May 21. With the Texas Rangers and Washington Nationals on the horizon, the Indians may end up here again next week.

  So how are the Marlins doing against some of the worst teams ever? Again, the 1899 Spders' record should be safe for another year. They were 12-50 after 62 games. The Marlins did put a little distance between their record and the 1962 Mets. The '62 Mets were 17-45 after 62 games. The 2003 Detroit Tigers were 16-46 after the same number of games.

Other Stuff...

   Miami and San Antonio are now tied at 1-1. As the Spurs did, the Heat should take at least one game in San Antonio. If Miami wins both games, the series will end when it returns to Miami.

   Today in 1962, the Mets split a double-header with the Chicago Cubs, getting one of their 40 wins that season.

   The Marlins are on pace for a 47-115 record. Their all-time worst season prior to this year (in a non-strike year) was as the Florida Marlins in 1998. They went 54-108 after winning the World Series the year before.

   Today in 1989, in a low scoring contest, Pioneer won the Drum Corps Midwest show in Three Oaks, MI. They scored a 36.00, beating the Belleville Black Knights (27.20), Coachmen (21.00), Joliet Kingsmen (17.00), and the Racine Scouts (11.30). Of this group, only Pioneer and the Racine Scouts still compete today.

Will Miami continue their winning ways and open the door for Houston to repeat? Or will the Marlins collapse and replace the 2003 Tigers or 1962 Mets with their own record of futility?

Stay tuned.  Have a great day!!!

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Today in 1958 - Kansas City A's vs Washington Senators

It's been far too long since I did one of these, so let's get started.

   Today in 1958, the Kansas City Athletics invaded Griffith Stadium in our nation's capital to take on the Washington Senators. Ralph Terry of the A's would face off against Camilo Pascual of the Senators.

   It was a defensive struggle throughout. In the bottom of the first, Washington had a man on third, with two outs, but Jim Lemon hit a line drive to deep center field, which Bill Tuttle caught for the third out.

   In the bottom of the third inning, Washington again had a runner in scoring position with two outs, but Roy Sievers grounded out to end the inning. The Senators had a runner in scoring position again in the bottom of the fourth, this time with one out. However, Ken Aspromonte hit into a double play to end the inning. The game was still scoreless after four innings.

   Kansas City finally gets a runner into scoring position in the top of the eighth inning, when Vic Power hit a single and Frank House executed a sacrifice bunt. However, Pascual struck out Woodie Held and Bill Tuttle to end the inning.

   The Senators had a runner in scoring position again in the bottom of the eighth inning. With one out, Albie Pearson hit a double to right field and Sievers hit a sacrifice fly to right field to advance Pearson to third. Then Clint Courtney grounded out to end the inning. The ninth inning went three up and three down for both sides. The game was going to extra innings tied 0-0.

   In the top of the 10th inning, the A's had men on first and second with one out, but hit into a double play to end the inning. In the bottom of the 10th, Pascual hit a triple, with one out, and Terry intentionally walked the next two batters, filling the bases. However, Sievers hit into a line drive to shortstop Joe DeMaestri.

   In the top of the 13th inning, Kansas City threatened again. Vic Power hit a single and House executed a sacrifice bunt, sending Powers to second. Held finally gets his first hit of the game, by hitting a home run. Pascual gets the next two batters out to end the inning. The A's hang on in the bottom of the 13th to defeat the Senators, 2-0.

   Both starting pitchers pitched all 13 innings. Ralph Terry got the win, striking out 7, and going to 3-5. Camilo Pascual struck out 10, but fell to 3-4. Kansas City improved to 23-19, but were still 7 games behind the AL leading New York Yankees. Washington went to 21-25, 6th in the AL. They were 11 games behind the Yankees and a half game behind the 5th place Cleveland Indians.

  Although they had a winning record at this date, the A's finished the season at a disappointing 73-81, 7th in the American League. The Senator finished the season at 61-93 and were 1958's Kings of the Cellar.

Trivia

  • There were no Hall of Famers playing or managing in this game:
  • This was Harry Craft's second season managing the A's. He managed the team from 1957-59. He also managed the Chicago Cubs from 1960-61 and the Houston Colt .45's (now Astros) from 1962-64.
  • This was Cookie Lavagetto's second season managing the Senators. He managed the team from 1957-60. His best season as manager was in 1960, when the Senators finished at 73-81, 5th in the AL. He also managed the Minnesota Twins in two separate stints in 1961.
  • This was Craft's best season as manager at 73 wins. His next best record was 66 wins with the A's in 1959 and the Colt .45's in 1963.
  • Craft played for the Cincinnati Reds from 1937-42.
  • Lavagetto played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1934-36) and the Brooklyn Dodgers (1937-41, 1946-47). He missed the 1942-45 season due to his military service in World War II.
  • Billy Hunter of the A's went on to manage the Texas Rangers from 1977-78.
  • Jim Lemon went on to manage the Senators in 1968. His team had a record of 65-96.

Complete game stats can be found at Baseball-Reference.com on the box score page at Kansas City A's vs Washington Senators - June 5, 1958 .

Have a great day!!!

Monday, June 3, 2013

Last Place Update - June 3

Welcome to this week's Last Place Update. Now it gets interesting...

   The 16-41 Miami Marlins have taken a commanding lead over the defending Kings of the Cellar Champions, the 20-37 Houston Astros. The Marlins lead Houston by 4 games and the third place 21-34 Milwaukee Brewers by 6 games. However, the Marlins swept the New York Mets this weekend. Houston is also on a winning tear, by winning five straight. Milwaukee bucks this winning trend by going 3-7 in their last ten games and 4-10 since May 19.

   This week's honorable mention goes to the 23-31 Kansas City Royals. The Royals are 2-8 in their last ten games and 3-14 since May 17. Kansas City has a homestand against last week's honorable mention, the Minnesota Twins and the defending champion Astros.

   After their three game win streak, Miami put some distance from the 1899 Cleveland Spiders record. The Spiders were 10-47 after 57 games. However, the Marlins are even with the 1962 Mets at 16-41 after the same number of games. And let's not forget a more recent abysmal record of futility, the 2003 Detroit Tigers. They were also 16-41 after 57 games.

Other Stuff...

   Who will win Game 7 tonight between the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers? It's Miami's game to lose and they're my pick.

   At one time, this was the first week of competition in drum and bugle corps. The 2013 season kicks off on June 19.

   To stay on topic with drum and bugle corps, today in 1978, the Phantom Regiment won the Illinois Drum Corps Association show (69.95), beating the Guardsmen (60.20), Pioneer (43.95), CapitolAires (35.25), and Phantom Regiment Cadets (26.45). The Phantom Regiment and Guardsmen went on to compete at DCI Finals in Denver, CO. Today, only the Phantom Regiment and Pioneer still compete from those who competed in this show.


Is this the turning point for Houston and Miami? Can they put the 1899 Spiders, 1962 Mets, and 2003 Tigers in the rear view mirrors? Or will they have an epic collapse and break one of these records?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!.