Last Place Update - August 12

This is getting to be fun. What was a dominating performance is now a real competition. The current Kings of the Cellar, the 45-69 Philadelphia Phillies, is only half a game in front of the collapsing 45-68 Miami Marlins. The Phillies are on a two game losing streak, but Miami is keeping it interesting by going on a two game winning streak. The AL's worst team right now, the 50-63 Boston Red Sox are no threat to either team by being 5.5 games behind Philly.

Today's honorable mention goes to the New York Jets. Yeah, I know it's not baseball related, but how often does a 6th round draft pick from last season seal his fate by breaking the jaw of the starting quarterback? Geno Smith will be out for six to ten weeks. An honorable mention also goes to the New Orleans Saints' defensive staff for its personnel assignment woes during the Black & Gold scrimmage. If that continues, a 7-9 record may be the least of their worries.

Okay, die-hard baseball fans, today's honorable mention also goes out to two teams. The 61-50 New York Yankees and the 61-53 Houston Astros are sporting matching four game losing streaks. The Astros are 3-7 in their last ten games while the Yankees are 4-6 in their last ten.

The defending Kings of the Cellar Champion, the 56-56 Arizona Diamondbacks, host Philly tonight. The Phillies lead the series 64-57 and are 3-2 against Arizona this season. However, the Diamondbacks won the last two games. They first met on May 7, 1998 and the Phillies won 4-1. These two teams never met in the postseason. They went to extra innings 14 times, with Philly going 6-8. Speaking of extra innings, their longest game went to 18 innings on August 24, 2013. Arizona won that game 12-7. The most runs the Phillies scored on the Diamondbacks was on August 20, 2009, when they won in a rout 12-3. The most runs Arizona scored on Philly actually happened over the last two days. The Diamondbacks spanked the Phillies 13-3 on Monday and 13-1 yesterday.

Will Philly hang on to the beer in the cellar? Will Miami take over? Will Boston continue to stand outside the door as an also-ran?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

MLB All-Time Records, et al

With Opening Day coming this weekend, baseball returns to the national spotlight. Hopefully my Atlanta Braves will fare better this season than last. Also, thank you Readers, for checking out my past Today In posts.

I'm on mcubed.net MLB page and am having a little fun here. My Braves come into the 2015 season at with an all-time record of 10,382-10482. There are only 7 teams with a win total greater than 10,000: Chicago Cubs (10,503-10,277), Cincinnati Reds (10,307-10,109), Los Angeles Dodgers (10,156-9,368), New York Yankees (10,255-7,895), San Francisco Giants (10,876-9,514), St. Louis Cardinals (10,597-9,969), and the Braves. The Yankees have the MLB best winning percentage (56.5) and the the Giants have the NL's best percentage (53.3).

There are only two teams with more than 100 playoff game (including World Series) wins. The obvious and correct first guess is the New York Yankees. They have the most wins and a playoff record of 224-154. The other team is the St. Louis Cardinals, with a playoff record of 129-114. Now the Los Angeles Dodgers broke 100 in a different way. Their playoff record is 82-105 and 37 of those losses came at the hands of the Yankees.

The 14-61 New York Knicks are still Kings of the Cellar. They are 2-10 since my last post and are sporting an 8 game losing streak. The 16-59 Minnesota Timberwolves are nipping at their heels. Today's honorable mention goes to the 37-38 Milwaukee Bucks. They're 3-7 in their last ten games, but at least they're 3-2 since March 24.

I'm waiting on one more set of edit notes before putting the final touches on The Curse. Once I get them, the process should be quick. I also finished the first edit of Justice and will start the draft my inner circle will see. So far, the final checks of Second Chance look good. Someone is designing a cover, but until it's ready, I'll use a more generic cover.

Camp NaNoWriMo has started. For those of you who don't know, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month, which is in November. The Camp NaNoWriMo months occur in April and July. Although I participated in all three last year, I will not be participating in the camps this year. There's a ton of editing to be done from last year's camps, not including other works that need editing. However, this is subject to change.

Until next time...

Have a great day!!!

Finishing Drafts, Doing Edits, and Enjoying Some Trivia

It's done. I finally finished the first draft of Timewatch. It took six weeks versus the thirty days of Camp NaNoWriMo, but it's done. When I finished, the tune that came to mind was I'm Free by The Who. I posted a link to the song from YouTube on my Facebook author and Google+ pages. The final first draft word count came short of 60,000, making it to 59,441.

Now that the first draft is done, Timewatch is better defined as a follow up to Rickshaw, New Mexico rather than a sequel. The writing process was a pantser's nightmare. I didn't know who the bad guy was until the story neared the end. That was good in a way, because it affected how the story unfolded. The second draft will probably be a higher word count than the first, because now I can fill in certain blanks, such as plot holes and descriptions. Now Timewatch gets to sit for a long while, because, there are three books ahead of it.

Speaking of...

I finished my review of The Curse and my ideal reader is now taking a crack at it. She finished her review of the latest draft of Second Chance and now it's in my grubby paws. When I finish editing Second Chance, hopefully the next draft will be the last one, but we all know how "last drafts" work.

And then there's Justice, the working title for my April Camp NaNoWriMo project. I haven't done anything with it since then, but when The Curse and Second Chance are done, it will be next in the editing process. As with Timewatch, Justice needs holes filled in and descriptions added. I have my work cut out for me for the next few months.

Now let's get to some sports trivia.

The 49-77 Texas Rangers are enjoying the beer in the fridge, because they are today's Kings of the Cellar. They are 4-6 in their last ten games, but on a positive note, the Rangers are 2-1 in their last three games. The 50-76 Colorado Rockies trail Texas by a game, but on a positive note (again), the Rockies are 4-2 in their last six games.

Today's honorable mention goes to the 53-74 Arizona Diamondbacks, who are 2-8 in their last ten games, losers of their last five. They are also 5-13 since August 1. With all the winning Texas and Colorado are doing, Arizona could take over the cellar and have the beer all to themselves.

Today in 1953, the St. Louis Browns and Cleveland Indians went to extra innings knotted up at 2-2. In the bottom of the 12th inning, Bill Glynn hit a double and Bobby Avila scored from first base, giving Cleveland the win, 3-2. Something you never see today, WP Dave Hoskins and LP Harry Brecheen pitched a complete game. Each pitcher only struck out two batters, but Dick Kokos of the Browns and Al Rosen of the Indians each hit a homerun.

Today in 1963, an RBI single by Bob Aspromonte was all the Houston Colt .45's needed to beat the Cincinnati Reds 1-0. WP Don Nottebart struck out nine batters, while LP Jim O'Toole struck out six.

Today in 1983, the California Angels and New York Yankees went scoreless into the top of the 9th inning, when Doug DeCinces hit in Daryl Sconiers to take the lead 1-0. In the bottom of the 9th, Ken Griffey hit a single, bringing in Bert Campaneris and Willie Randolph, to give the Yankees the win 2-1. WP Dave Righetti struck out five batters.

Today in 2003, a five run fourth inning was not enough, as the Detroit Tigers continued their losing ways, falling to the Anaheim Angels 10-7. The Angels led 7-6 in the top of the 9th and added three runs to put the game out of reach.

Until next time...Have a great day!!!

NBA & MLB Trivia, and Rickshaw, New Mexico

Wow! Three posts in a week. It's been a while. Camp NaNoWriMo is less than three weeks away and I'm still undecided about which story to write. A couple of nights ago, I wrote a second scene, this one dealing with the fallout from Rickshaw, New Mexico. More on Rickshaw in a bit. If this continues, Return To Origin may once again, go to the back burner.

Now what's going on with Rickshaw, New Mexico? From today until June 17, Rickshaw will be free for the Kindle. The link will be posted after the trivia. Speaking of...

Here's some NBA trivia...

Today in 1993, the Phoenix Suns beat the Chicago Bulls in triple overtime, 129-121. Michael Jordan led all scorers with 44 points. Dan Majerle led the Suns with 28. The Suns improved to 1-2 in the series, but the Bulls went on to win the NBA Championship 4-2.

Today in 1997, the Chicago Bulls defeated the Utah Jazz 90-86. Michael Jordan led all scorers with 39 and Karl Malone led the Jazz with 21. With this win, Chicago won the NBA Championship 4-2.

Today in 2001, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 100-86. Allen Iverson led all scorers with 35 points. Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers with 34. Los Angeles improves to 3-1 in the series and would win the NBA Championship 4-1.

And for some MLB trivia...

Today in 1975, the Big Red Machine got into a slugfest with the Chicago Cubs. By the seventh inning, the Cubs led the Cincinnati Reds 8-6, but the bottom fell out in the eighth. The Reds went on a 12-3 run and won the game 18-11. Johhny Bench and George Foster each hit a homerun for the Reds and  Jerry Morales hit a homerun for the Cubs.

Today in 1988, the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets took a 1-1 game into 12 innings. In the bottom of the 12th, Lee Mazzilli hit an RBI single to win the game 2-1. Darryl Strawberry hit a solo homer to get the Mets on the board. Bob Horner hit an RBI single to account for the Cardinals' score.

Today in 2006, a solo homerun by Robinson Cano was all the New York Yankees needed to defeat the Cleveland Indians 1-0. In a respectable effort, LP Paul Byrd struck out six batters.

If you want to explore more trivia and see the box scores, go to Basketball-Reference.com and Baseball-Reference.com.

So what's going on with Rickshaw?

Starting today, my ebook, Rickshaw, New Mexico is free until June 17. Click the link, download your FREE copy today, and please spread the word.

Have a great day!!!

Last Place Update

Welcome to this week's Last Place Update. The 35-68 Houston Astros are making their move the repeat as Kings of the Cellar champions. The last team to do that was the Washington Nationals in 2008 and 2009. And where are the Nationals today? They're 61-40, tied with the Cincinnati Reds for the best record in MLB.

   The Astros are 3.5 games ahead of the 37-63 Colorado Rockies and seven games ahead of the AL worst 41-60 Kansas City Royals. The Astros are 1-9 in their last ten games and 3-25 since June 28. The Rockies are 2-8 in their last ten games and 4-11 since July 13. The Royals are 2-8 in their last ten games and 6-21 since June 30.

   The former neck and neck contenders, the 43-60 San Diego Padres and the 42-58 Chicago Cubs, are off the radar for now. Good job Cubs and Padres!

   This weeks honorable mention goes to the New York Yankees. They're 3-7 in their last ten games after poor showings against the Oakland A's and Boston Red Sox.

   The 1962 New York Mets were 26-77 and the 2003 Detroit Tigers were 28-75 after 103 games. Houston is still a safe distance from these records.

   Will Houston put more distance from the pack? Will one of the contenders stumble or fumble into last? Will the Astros collapse further and threaten the modern records of futility?

  Stay tuned. Have a great day!!!

Today in 1988 - Detroit Tigers vs New York Yankees

September 11, 1988 – Today in 1988, the Detroit Tigers visited Yankee Stadium to take on the New York Yankees.

The Tigers got on the board first in the top of the 2^nd inning with an RBI double by Tom Brookens.  The Yankees answered in the bottom of the second with a 2 run homerun by Jack Clark.  New York led 2-1.

The Yankees increased their lead with an RBI double by Dave Winfield.  The Yankees now led 3-1.

But Detroit refused to give up.  Fred Lynn hit an RBI single in the top of the 6^th and Alan Trammell hit a solo homerun in the top of the 7^th inning.  The game went to extra innings tied 3-3.

The game went tied until the top of the 18^th when Torey Lovullo hit an RBI single.  The Tigers now led 4-3.

All Detroit had to do was to close out New York.  Willie Hernandez faced Rickey Henderson and walked him.  Then Claudell Washington came to the plate and hit a two run homerun.  The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers 5-4.

Steve Shields got the win for the Yankees.  He struck out 2 and went to 4-4.  Willie Hernandez was charged with the loss.  He struck out 2 and fell to 5-5.

Detroit fell to 76-67 with the loss.  They were tied for second in the AL East with the New York Yankees, who improved to 75-66.  Both teams were 3.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox.

Notables

• There were 3 Hall of Famers playing or managing in this game: manager Sparky Anderson for Detroit, and Rickey Henderson and Dave Winfield for New York.
• Sparky Anderson was in his 10^th season managing the Tigers.  He managed the team from 1978-95 and led them to a World Series title in 1984.
• Lou Piniella was in his 3^rd and last season managing the Yankees.  His next assignment came two years later when he managed Anderson’s old team, the Cincinnati Reds, from 1990-92.  Piniella led the Reds to a World Series championship in 1990.  Anderson managed the Reds from 1970-78 and led the team to 2 World Series championships.
• Tiger great Alan Trammell went on to manage the team from 2003-05.  Yes, it’s the same 2003 Detroit Tigers whose record was 43-117.
• Don Mattingly is currently the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.  This is his first season as a manager.
• Willie Randolph went on to manage the New York Mets from 2005-08.

Game stats and other data can be found on Baseball-Reference.com at Detroit Tigers vs New York Yankees - September 11, 1988.

Today in 1952 - Detroit Tigers vs New York Yankees...Worst versus First with a Twist

August 25, 1952 – Today in 1952, the lowly Detroit Tigers visited the mighty New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York.

It was a case of last place versus first place, an easy Yankee win.  But Detroit had something to say about that. 

Going into the 6^th inning, the only hit either team could muster was a single by Tiger catcher Matt Batts.  That was in the 2^nd inning and he was left on base.  In the 6^th, Detroit’s Walt Dropo hit a double into left field.  Then Bud Souchock hit a single down the left field line and Dropo scored.  Tigers led 1-0.  Yankee pitcher Bill Miller was able to finish the inning making Detroit leave men on base.

Tiger pitcher Virgil Trucks had a no-hitter going into the bottom of the 9^th.  He had to face the top of the Yankee order, which meant slugger Mickey Mantle was up first and...Trucks struck Mantle out.  Joe Collins was next.  He hit a line drive to center field and Johnny Groth caught it for the second out.  Hank Bauer was Trucks’ last obstacle for a no-hitter.  Bauer hit a grounder to second baseman Al Federoff, who threw Bauer out at first.  Game over.  The last place Detroit Tigers beat the first place New York Yankees 1-0, a no-hitter by Virgil Trucks.

Trucks went to 5-15 with the win.  He struck out 8 and batted 0-2.  Bill Miller went to 3-5 with the loss.  He struck out 7 and batted 0-1, with a sacrifice hit.

The Detroit Tigers improved to 42-81.  They were 29 games behind the Yankees, deep in last place in the American League.  The New York Yankees fell to 72-53 with the loss and were a game ahead of the second place Cleveland Indians. 

Notables

• There were 5 Hall of Famers playing or managing in this game, all with New York: Players Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto, Johnny Mize, and manager Casey Stengel.
• Virgil Trucks pitched his second no-hitter of the season that day.  The first one was on May 15 against the Washington Senators.  Those would be his only two career no-hitters.
  
• This was Fred Hutchinson’s first year managing the Tigers.  He was there as a player/manager.  He managed the team until 1954.  Hutchinson would lead the Cincinnati Reds to the NL Pennant in 1961 and a World Series loss to the New York Yankees.
  
• Hutchinson played for the Tigers from 1939-53.
  
• This was Stengel’s fourth season managing the Yankees.  He led the team to a World Series victory that year over the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Stengel managed the Yankees from 1949-60 and won 7 World Series titles (5 in a row) and the AL Pennant every year of his tenure there, except two (1954, 1959).
  
• Hank Bauer went on to manage the Baltimore Orioles from 1964-68.  In 1966, he led the team to a World Series championship over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

• Johnny Pesky went on to manage the Boston Red Sox from 1963-64, and again in 1980.

• Yogi Berra went on to manage the Yankees in 1964, 1984-85.  He led the team to the AL Pennant in 1964, losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.  He also managed the Mets from 1972-75, leading them to the NL Pennant in 1973.  The Mets lost to the Oakland A’s in the World Series.
  
• Billy Martin had a colorful career as a player and a manager, most of it well known.  He managed the Yankees off and on from 1975-88, getting hired and fired multiple times in the process.  He led the team to an AL Pennant in 1976, getting swept by Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine in the World Series, and a World Series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1977.  He led the Oakland A’s from 1980-82 and introduced “Billyball”, the aggressive style of play that brought the A's from pretenders to contenders.
  

Game stats and other data can be found on Baseball-Reference.com at Detroit Tigers vs New York Yankees - August 25, 1952