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SmoothPancakes
07-31-2014, 03:34 AM
The RTTS Career of Goose Anderson


Career History


Yearly Recaps




Season
Year
OVR at Start
Potential
Perception
Level
Team
Record
Div. Rank
Playoffs
MLB WS Champs


1
2014
57
A
Top Prospect
Double A
Tulsa Drillers
22-31
4th
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1
2014
71
A
Top Prospect
Triple A
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
44-47
2nd






Career Statistics (Double A)



Category
Stats

Category
Stats


Overall
59

Walks
3


Potential
A

Strikeouts
14


Games Played
45

Slugging %
.575


At Bats
181

On Base %
.333


Average
.326

OPS
.908


Hits
59

Total Bases
104


Runs
30

Sacrifice Flies
2


Doubles
13

Sacrifice Hits
0


Triples
4

GIDP
2


Home Runs
8

Hit By Pitch
0


RBI
26

Assists
90


Stolen Bases
11

Putouts
21


Caught Stealing
1

Errors
7


Stolen Base %
.917

Fielding %
.941






Awards and Accomplishments

Division Titles




Level
Season
Team


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League Pennants



Level
Season
Team


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World Series Championships



Season
Team
Opponent
Result


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Playoff Series Results



Level
Season
Round
Team
Opponent
Result


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MVP Voting



Year
Team
Position
Place


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Awards



Year
Team
Position
Award


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All Star Selections




Year
Team
Position
Starter/Bench


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Game Records



Record
Team
Season
Amount
Opponent


Batting Average
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
2014
1.000 (3-3)
New Orleans


Hits
Tulsa Drillers
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
2014
---
---
4
Springfield
Iowa
Iowa


Runs
Tulsa Drillers
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
2014
---
---
3
Midland
Iowa
Iowa


RBIs
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
2014
5
Iowa


Singles

Tulsa
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
2014
---
3
Springfield
Iowa


Doubles
Tulsa Drillers
Tulsa Drillers
Tulsa Drillers
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
2014
---
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2
San Antonio
San Antonio
NW Arkansas
Oklahoma City


Triples
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
2014
2
Iowa


Home Runs
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
2014
---
2
Salt Lake
Tacoma


Stolen Bases
Tulsa Drillers
Tulsa Drillers
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
2014
---
---
---
2
Springfield
Frisco
New Orleans
Reno


Caught Stealing
---
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---
---


Walks
Tulsa Drillers
Tulsa Drillers
Tulsa Drillers
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
2014
---
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---
1
Arkansas
NW Arkansas
Frisco
New Orleans
Iowa


Strike Outs
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
2014
4
Omaha


Hit By Pitch
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
2014
1
Tacoma


Errors
Tulsa Drillers
Colorado Springs
2014
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2
San Antonio
Salt Lake




Season Records



Record
Team
Season
Amount


Batting Average
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Hits
---
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Runs
---
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RBIs
---
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---


Doubles
---
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Triples
---
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Home Runs
---
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Stolen Bases
---
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Caught Stealing
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Walks
---
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Strike Outs
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Hit By Pitch
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Errors
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SmoothPancakes
07-31-2014, 10:47 AM
Prospect: Goose Anderson
Age: 18
Born: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Primary position: SS
Secondary position 3B
Preferred number: 15

Throw: Left
Bat: Left


18 year old prospect Goose Anderson arrived at the Topps Amatuer Showcase hoping to make himself known to the scouts in the stands. After a standout high school career in Indiana, it was time for Goose to find out if he had what it takes to try and break into professional baseball, or if he was destined for a college career.

The first game of the Showcase pitted the Central Region team up against the squad from the West Region. Despite batting last in the lineup, Goose would make the most of his first at-bat in the second inning, roping a single into center field to move the runner from first to second. Unfortunately his time on base would be short lived as the next guy up would ground a ball to the shortstop, with a simple toss to second base enough to get Goose out for the final out of the inning. His second at bat, with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, would see Goose fly out to right field. Coming up with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning and a runner on first would also end through the air, as a fly out to left field would bring the inning to a close. Stepping into the box with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning and runners on first and second, Goose would get some redemption as he would take a first pitch strike and send it up the gap into right field. Unfortunately the runner on second would try to take a shallow single and turn it into a two base run, getting tagged out at the plate after the throw beat him by a mile, bringing the inning to an end. The game would end up being a drubbing as the West Region smacked around the Central Region 14-4. For Goose's final stats, he ended up going 2-4 with two singles, having three good rated at-bats out of four plate appearances. Despite batting .500 for a team that gave up 14 runs and lost by 10, Goose was still projected to be drafted in the middle rounds.

The second game of the Showcase saw the Central Region play host to the East Region. Despite going 2-4 last game, a game that saw the Central Region get drubbed 14-4, Goose was still stuck batting dead last in the order. Leading off the bottom of the third inning, Goose stepped into the batter's box, but it would be a short, and poor at-bat, as he would go fishing on the second pitch and hit a soft grounder straight to the second baseman for an easy out. Returning to the plate with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning, Goose would rope a fastball down the first base line and into right field for a single. It would be another short trip on the bases as Goose was thrown out at second on the ground ball by the next batter, but he was at least able to break up the double play. Coming up to bat once more to lead off the bottom of the seventh, Goose would rope a first pitch strike down the first base line once more for another single, putting the lead runner on for the inning. A single into center field by the next batter would see Goose advance to second base. A double play to the third baseman would see all of the other bases end up empty, but Goose would remain alive at third base. He would ultimately make it to within 10 feet of home plate, but would not get to score as the final out was recorded on a hit back to the pitcher. Goose would get one last chance to impress the scouts at the plate, coming up to bat with no outs and a runner on first base in the bottom of the ninth inning. The at-bat would be a disaster as he would softly ground a pitch back to the pitcher for a double play. Central would go on to lose the game to the East Region 4-1. For Goose's final stats, it was another .500 day, going 2-4 with two singles, having two good rated at-bats out of four plate appearances. Despite the consistency of two straight .500 games, it wasn't enough to impress the scouts as Goose remained projected for a middle round draft pick.

The third and final game of the Showcase, and Goose's last chance to improve his draft stock, would see the Central Region visit the stars from the International Region. Goose came up for his first at-bat with two outs in the top of the 2nd inning and a runner on second. He would end up carrying a second pitch strike deep into center field for the third out. He would get another shot at the plate to lead off the fifth inning, but it would be short lived as he'd crack a pitch right back at the pitcher for an out. Goose would return to the plate with one out in the top of the seventh inning and a runner on first for quite possibly his last at-bat of the Showcase. If it was his last at-bat, it was a good one as he lined a pitch just over the second baseman's head for a single. The next batter would hit into a double play however and the inning would come to an end. Goose would end up getting one last shot, coming up to bat with one out in the top of the ninth inning. He would rope one down the right field line, rounding first and trying to stretch it into a double, but the right fielder would rifle the ball into second to beat Goose to the bag for the second out. Ultimately, it was ruled a single for that final at-bat, so Goose's final stats ended up .500, going 2-4 with two singles, all four at-bats were rated good.

The final stats for the Showcase, first the Central Region ended up swept, going 0-3 for the Showcase. For Goose, he would end with a .500 average for the entire Showcase, going 6-12 at the plate with six singles. The consistency must have finally paid off as Goose was given a final draft projection of a second round draft pick.

SmoothPancakes
07-31-2014, 01:22 PM
The second round of the 2014 draft got underway, the round that Goose Anderson was projected to be drafted in. It was clearly a pitcher heavy draft from the onset as the first 7 picks were made on pitchers. Some shortstop needy teams would proceed to pass on Anderson, as Miami would get in on the run of pitchers with a starting pitcher from the Central Region, as would Minnesota with a reliever from the West Region. Philadelphia would also pass on finding a potential replacement for the aging Jimmy Rollins and choose a reliever from the West.

The first position player to go in the draft was Central Region right fielder Homer Duncan, a new member of the Toronto Blue Jays organization. The New York Mets, another team in need of a shortstop would instead pick the second straight right fielder from the Central Region in Anthony Burkett. Milwaukee would go with a first baseman while Colorado would draft a reliever. The Padres, who could use some depth at shortstop elected to take a catcher. The next shortstop needy team was the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 15th pick, would end up drafting a second baseman from the Central Region.

The first shortstop of the draft (not named Goose Anderson) would be selected with the 16th pick by the Baltimore Orioles, Cliff Macias from the East Region. The New York Yankees would pick up a third baseman from the International Region while the Kansas City Royals would grab a catcher from the West. After a pitcher was selected by Washington, the Cincinnati Reds were the next team on the clock, and with the 20th pick of the second round of the 2014 MLB draft, the Cincinnati Reds would select Central Region shortstop Goose Anderson.

Goose faced a tough choice, signing with the Reds and potentially end up riding the pine behind Zack Cozart for the better years of his career, or head off to a 2-year junior college and try his luck again in two years.

In the end, after seeing Cincinnati take a second shortstop a couple of rounds after him, instead of having a potential position battle right from the start of his professional career, as well as potentially dealing with battling Zack Cozart for a starting spot in the future, Goose decided to head off to a two-year junior college and try and get drafted into a more favorable position. Was it a gamble, turning down a second round draft selection from the Cincinnati Reds, a team almost always in the hunt for the playoffs each season? Absolutely. But Goose had high sights for his career and was willing to gamble big for a small gain.

jaymo76
07-31-2014, 02:00 PM
Too bad on that. I would have loved to have been drafted by the Reds. However, I get what you are saying about position battles. My long-term hopes for the Padres seem unlikely as their is a log-jam at 3rd base within the organization.

SmoothPancakes
07-31-2014, 02:08 PM
Too bad on that. I would have loved to have been drafted by the Reds. However, I get what you are saying about position battles. My long-term hopes for the Padres seem unlikely as their is a log-jam at 3rd base within the organization.

Yeah, it would have been fun playing with the Reds, but the future for my player would have been too muddled. Cozart probably isn't going anywhere in the majors anytime soon, they already have a similarly rated shortstop in Double A so I would have been battling for time in the lineup from the very start, plus throw in that second shortstop they drafted a couple of rounds later. It would have been a three-way fight just to get at-bats and time on the field while trying to use my first years as a Double A rookie to get training points and build up my stats.

I'll have to see how I do in this second trip through the Showcase. I used all of the training points that I had gained from the first Showcase, plus those I got from going to two-year junior college, and dumped them all into Plate Vision and Contact vs. R/L, so I should better this time around. I should be able to get better contact and make better hits.

SmoothPancakes
07-31-2014, 05:10 PM
Taking his second shot through the Topps Amateur Showcase, Goose Anderson returned from a two-year junior college, where he saw marked improvement in his plate vision and his contact versus both left- and right-handed pitchers. Hopefully those two years of training and extra games will help Goose play better this time around.

The first game would see the Central Region once again play host to the prospects from the West Region. Despite the improved skills, Goose was only able to climb two spots in the batting order, hitting seventh this time around. He came up to bat for his first time in the bottom of the second inning with one out. Despite working a couple of balls out of the pitcher, it would be an unproductive at-bat as Goose roped a pitch deep to the center fielder for an out. After an UGLY third inning that saw the West Region score 8 runs, Goose came up for his second at bat in the bottom of the fourth inning of an 11-1 drubbing. Batting with one out in the inning, Goose would pick up where he left off two years ago as he drove a first pitch strike up the gap and into center field for a single. A wild pitch to the next batter would allow Goose to advance to second base. After a strikeout, a two out single to left field would advance Goose to third base to leave runners on the corners. The very next batter, he would do something he never did last time in the Showcase, he would score a run on a ground ball into center field to cut the deficit to 11-2. Goose would return to the plate to lead things off in the bottom of the sixth inning, unfortunately his at-bat would be short lived with a weak grounder back to the pitcher for the first out. He would get his last chance at the plate with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, but it would end up as a piss poor pop-up to the catcher. The Central Region would proceed to get molested to the tune of 15-2. Final stats for Goose, he ended up a poor 1-4 with a single and one run scored. His finished with at-bat ratings of two good, one neutral and one bad. Despite the poor showing, Goose's first evaluation had him projected to be drafted in the early rounds.

The second game of the Showcase saw the Central Region host the East Region on a rainy, crappy day for baseball. Unfortunately Goose was bumped down to the eighth spot in the batting order after the previous game. He would come up for his first at-bat with two outs in the bottom of the second inning. Despite a couple of close pitches, Goose would lay off all of them and draw a four pitch walk off of the pitcher. He would get no further than first base however as a line drive at the shortstop by the next batter would end the inning. After a pair of walks and a single, Goose would come up for his second at bat in the bottom of the fourth inning, stepping into the box with the bases loaded and one out. After holding off of two pitches for a 2-0 count, he would unload on a pitch and send it to deep right field for a sac fly, drawing in an RBI and moving the runner from second over to the third to give the Central Region a 3-0 lead. Goose's third at-bat would come in the bottom of the sixth inning, stepping in with a runner on base and no outs after a leadoff walk. Despite holding off a first pitch fastball for a ball, Goose would ultimately end up striking out after chasing a curveball low and outside. Goose would come up for his final at-bat of the game in the bottom of the eighth inning, still looking for his first hit of the game as his scoreline officially read 0-1 with a walk and sac fly. He would step in with no outs and a runner on first. Chasing a pitch outside the box, he would drive it deep to left field for a fly out. After five tries, Goose would finally be on a winning team as the Central Region handed the East Region a 5-2 defeat. Final stats for Goose, he ended up 0-2 with a walk and a sac fly, driving in one RBI. Three of his four at-bats were rated good. Despite ending with no hits in the game, the four pitch walk (as well as drawing multiple 2-0 counts during his other at-bats) and the sac fly to drive in the RBI were enough to impress the scouts and keep his draft stock high in the early rounds.

The third and final game of the Amateur Showcase would pit the Central Region against the stars of the International Region. Goose was able to jump back into the seventh slot in the batting order. He would step in for his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning with two outs and a runner on first and would make the most of the opportunity as he'd drive a first pitch strike all the way to the wall of left-center field for a stand up double and an RBI. Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning, leading off the inning for the home team, but he would end up striking on of a full count pitch thrown on the upper edge of the box. Goose's third chance at the plate would come in the bottom of the sixth inning with one out, but he would lift a first pitch strike up high to center field for a fly out. That would be Goose's last chance of the day as the game would end before he could bat in the ninth inning, as the Central Region would improve to 2-1 with a 5-1 win over the International Region. Goose's final stats for the day was 1-3 with an RBI double. Of his three at-bats, one was rated good, one neutral and one bad.

The final stats for the Showcase, first the Central Region ended up finally tasting victory, going 2-1 in the Showcase. For Goose, he would end with a .250 average for the entire Showcase, going 2-8 with a single, a double, one run, two RBIs, a sac fly, two strikeouts and one walk. Despite the so-so performances, it would turn out that Goose made the right call to head to two-year junior college and take a second crack at the draft, as his final evaluation before the draft gave him a projection of being an early first round draft pick.

SmoothPancakes
07-31-2014, 05:27 PM
Thanks to a better overall showing (despite the step back in batting average and hits), Goose Anderson was able to improve his prospects from a 20th pick in the second round two years ago, to an early first round draft projection this time.

The first round of the draft got underway, as the Houston Astros used the first overall pick to select Fernando Peralta, a catcher from the West Region. The Miami Marlins would go with Daniel Tejeda, a first baseman from the West. The West would continue sweeping the picks as the Chicago White Sox picked West Region shortstop Robb McGowan and the Minnesota Twins selected right fielder Michael Linn. Apparently the West Region was LOADED this year as the Chicago Cubs used the fifth pick on West Region relief pitcher Charles Warren. It would continue to be a sweep of West Region picks as the Seattle Mariners selected relief pitcher Diego Rosales, the Philadelphia Phillies selected closing pitcher Henry Munoz and the Toronto Blue Jays selected center fielder Phil Fagan. Unbelievably, the run on West Region players would continue as the New York Mets used the ninth pick on West Region starting pitcher Koki Yamazaki and the Milwaukee Brewers selected West Region starting pitcher Manny Pena. The West Region would completely sweep the first ten picks of the draft. The eleventh pick would finally be a non-West player, as the Colorado Rockies would select Central Region shortstop Goose Anderson.

While Colorado may be a favorite team of this writer and an overall great landing place for an RTTS player of this writer, it is a horrible landing spot for Goose Anderson. Goose may end up having to demand a trade sometime down the road as any chances of a major league career are probably dead in the water. With Troy Tulowitzki the starting shortstop for the Rockies, rated 95 overall with A potential and only 29 years old, any chances Goose has of making it to the majors at shortstop are slim. If anything, his only hope would be for the Rockies to call him up and stick him at third base. Despite the very poor career outlook for Goose (even worse than what he was facing with Zack Cozart at Cincinnati two years ago), after jumping from a 2:20 draft pick to a 1:11 draft pick, Goose Anderson just couldn't take the chance on another one or two year trip to university and risk having his status drop and end up going worse in the next draft. He'd have to have an incredible third Showcase to improve on being taken 1:11.

For the record, the West region would proceed to then dominate five of the next six picks after Goose. In all, the West Region accounted for 15 of the first 20 picks and 17 of all 30 picks in the first round.

All of the Colorado Rockies draft picks in the draft were as follows:

1:11 - Goose Anderson, Shortstop, 20 years old, Central Region
2:11 - Andres Navarro, Starting Pitcher, 18 years old, Central Region
3:11 - Pedro Bautista, Catcher, 21 years old, Central Region
4:11 - Clay Grady, Starting Pitcher, 18 years old, East Region
5:11 - Tom Baek, Starting Pitcher, 21 years old, International Region
6:11 - Harold Calderon, Right Fielder, 20 years old, Central Region
7:11 - Victor Castilla, Starting Pitcher, 20 years old, International Region

steelerfan
07-31-2014, 06:22 PM
I got traded in my first year and again in the first month of year 2 without ever asking to be moved. I wouldn't get too caught up on whoever drafted you, chances are you will not break into the Majors with them.

SmoothPancakes
07-31-2014, 06:28 PM
I got traded in my first year and again in the first month of year 2 without ever asking to be moved. I wouldn't get too caught up on whoever drafted you, chances are you will not break into the Majors with them.

Sounds good to me! :D

My chances of usurping Troy Tulowitzki from the shortstop throne in Colorado is essentially nil. However I would make great trade bait. Using the training points from the two showcases and what I got from going to two-year Junior College, I'm currently rated at 57 overall and have an A potential with a Top Prospect perception. So I would make a great prospect addition to any trades the Rockies might try and pull off.

Sent from my Droid Maxx using Tapatalk because I'm a lazy ass

SmoothPancakes
08-02-2014, 04:01 PM
After two tries through the Amateur Showcase and a two year detour to junior college, the time had finally arrived for Goose Anderson to take his first step toward a professional baseball career, as he suited up for his first game with the Tulsa Drillers. His first opponent in Double A, would be the Corpus Christi Hooks, and it wouldn't take long for Goose to get his first taste of Double A ball as he would be the lead off batter.


http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/SmoothPancakes/MLB%2014%20The%20Show/RTTS/10549660_584498599440_5214033240548828715_o.jpg

After an uneventful top of the first inning, Goose would step into the batter's box for his first Double A at-bat.


http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/SmoothPancakes/MLB%2014%20The%20Show/RTTS/10562552_584498509620_2819581138572255124_o.jpg

Despite falling behind 0-2, he would manage to foul a couple of close pitches of and work a couple of balls out of the pitcher, before ending his at bat with a 6 pitch ground out to the pitcher. After getting an infield assist on a double play in the top of the third inning, Goose would return to the plate for his second at bat in the bottom of the inning. It would end poorly however as he'd swing at a first pitch strike and immediately ground out to the first baseman for the second out of the inning.

Coming up to bat in the bottom of the fifth inning, Goose would finally taste success as he'd swing at a first pitch strike and loft the ball into short left field for a single, his first career Double A hit.


http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/SmoothPancakes/MLB%2014%20The%20Show/RTTS/10560465_584498459720_1773605390304440305_o.jpg

He would replicate that success in the bottom of the seventh inning, as he'd hit a single just out of the reach of the second baseman and into right field. Goose would manage to make his way over to third base after a walk and a wild pitch. Unfortunately he would end up stranded at third as a ground out to the pitcher would end the inning.

Goose would get one last chance in the bottom of the ninth inning, but he would proceed to ground out to record the second out of the inning. In the end, the Hooks would taste success as the Tulsa Drillers got drilled 10-2 after a 7 run sixth inning turned the game into a laugher. For Goose's final stats, in his Double A debut, he went 2-5 for a .400 average with two singles, making it as far as third base after his second hit.


http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/SmoothPancakes/MLB%2014%20The%20Show/RTTS/10575195_584497950740_1088781523056659755_o.jpg

jaymo76
08-02-2014, 04:12 PM
Good first game and that's a nice inclusion of visuals. You going to do any streaming of your rtts Smooth?

SmoothPancakes
08-02-2014, 04:17 PM
Good first game and that's a nice inclusion of visuals. You going to do any streaming of your rtts Smooth?

Thanks! I haven't decided yet just how I'm going to go about this, if I'm gonna make individual comments (not necessarily in their own individual post) about each game or if I'll do something like you do, and basically condense and summarize an entire series into one post.

As for streaming, I'm going to try. I haven't had the greatest of luck streaming on Xbox One, couldn't get a good, unlaggy stream even on low settings a couple months ago. I tried to stream a Play Now game of The Show a couple of weeks ago, and it wasn't bad on medium settings. A couple half or one second hangups here and there, but for the most part it seemed smooth. I may try it again now being in RTTS in a minor league as opposed to a major league stadium, less graphics on the screen.

SmoothPancakes
08-02-2014, 04:27 PM
The second game of Goose's Double A career would suffer greatly. Leading off for the Drillers, his first at bat would be drilled deep to center field, but caught for a fly out. Coming up with one out in the bottom of the third inning, he would swing at a first pitch strike and send it right back at the pitcher for a lineout. It would be the exact same ending in the sixth inning as Goose would rocket a pitch back at the pitcher, bouncing off Mark Appel's leg and deflecting up in the air, where Appel would catch it for the out. The final at bat for Goose would end with a hard hit groundout down the line to the first baseman.

Goose's final stats for the game, 0-4 to drop his season average to .222.

It would also turn into another blowout for the Drillers. Despite scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 2-1 lead, Tulsa would immediately give the lead right back in the seventh inning as Corpus Christi scored twice to take a 3-2 edge. The Hooks would then again pile on the Tulsa pitchers in the top of the ninth inning, scoring an absurd 8 runs in the inning to turn a 3-2 game into another ass whooping, an 11-2 final.

SmoothPancakes
08-02-2014, 05:05 PM
The last game of the Corpus Christi series would see Goose remain the leadoff batter for the Drillers. Today he would not go hitless as he turned on the third pitch he saw and roped a single into right field down the first base line. Unfortunately a lack of support would see Goose left standing at first. Leading off the bottom of the fourth inning, it would be a short at bat for Goose as he would unload on a first pitch strike up in the box, sending it to deep center field for a fly out. Goose would return to the plate with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning, but it would be another short lived at bat as he would sent a pitch over the middle on the ground right at the second baseman for a groundout. Goose would get one last shot at the plate with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning. He would send a first pitch strike into the gap in right field for a single. The inning would end before a single pitch was thrown to the next batter as the pitcher was able to sneak a move on Goose and pick him off at first base.

Goose's final stats for the game, he went 2-4 for a .500 average, bookending his four at-bats with two singles. He would also be on the receiving end of a pickoff in his last at bat.

His final stats for the three game series against Corpus Christi, he ended with a .308 average after going 4-13 at the plate with four singles. Tulsa meanwhile gets off to a very rocky start to the season, dropping all three games to Corpus Christi by the combined score of 26-4. The next series for Goose and the Drillers will see them welcome the San Antonio Missions to town. Hopefully Goose can find some better action from his bat in that one.

SmoothPancakes
08-02-2014, 05:07 PM
I have no guarantees that a stream will work well and look good with my connection, but I am going to attempt streaming the San Antonio at Tulsa series, specially for Jaymo so he can watch as Goose and the Drillers layeth the smack down on those spawns of Satan. :)

jaymo76
08-02-2014, 05:27 PM
I have no guarantees that a stream will work well and look good with my connection, but I am going to attempt streaming the San Antonio at Tulsa series, specially for Jaymo so he can watch as Goose and the Drillers layeth the smack down on those spawns of Satan. :)

Nice! :D

SmoothPancakes
08-02-2014, 05:41 PM
:D I'll let you know when I'm about to start streaming. It'll probably be a bit later tonight, dinner will be ready in a little bit, so I doubt I'll start it before then.

SmoothPancakes
08-02-2014, 07:25 PM
Planning on starting up the San Antonio series here in the next 15-30 minutes. Gonna take a little batting practice while streaming, see how the stream turns out.

jaymo76
08-02-2014, 07:41 PM
Planning on starting up the San Antonio series here in the next 15-30 minutes. Gonna take a little batting practice while streaming, see how the stream turns out.

Just multi-tasking but I will try to check it out and report on your streaming quality. Do you know your upload speed? I avg. about 2.55 and I can stream on high.

SmoothPancakes
08-02-2014, 07:52 PM
Well, I ran two test streams of batting practice, one on medium, one on high. The medium, other than one or two hiccups, ran pretty smooth. High, it had a lot of places and times where it would start lagging and fragmenting. So high probably is out of the question for now.

I ran three straight speed tests, getting the following results:

14.83 down/1.10 up/35 ping
16.06 down/1.17 up/38 ping
15.66 down/1.20 up/36 ping

Me thinks I'm gonna have to spend some time chatting with Time Warner this week, find out why our upload speed sucks so much.

So, I guess I'll try to stream the San Antonio series here shortly on Medium, hopefully it goes well.

steelerfan
08-02-2014, 07:55 PM
Does TGT have you set up in the ON AIR feature? I'm not home so I figured I'd watch, if I can find it there.

SmoothPancakes
08-02-2014, 08:09 PM
No, I need to ask in the Feedback thread. I'll post a link here when I start streaming.

SmoothPancakes
08-02-2014, 08:14 PM
Alright, going to be starting the stream shortly.

http://www.twitch.tv/smoothpancakes1

SmoothPancakes
08-02-2014, 09:14 PM
Well, the big anticipated showdown between Goose Anderson and the San Antonio Missions went from a fireworks show to a sparkler. The scores of the three game series:

Tulsa 6, San Antonio 4
Tulsa 7, San Antonio 3 (thanks to a 5 run 8th inning and all 7 runs coming in the 7th and 8th innings)
San Antonio 3, Tulsa 2

As for Goose, almost a no show this series. Goose ended up sitting the bench in the first game of the series, coming off to pinch hit for the pitcher in the 5th inning. Stepping in as the leadoff batter for the Drillers in the inning, Goose would take a swing at the second pitch, sending it high and deep to center field, but it would end up caught for an out just ahead of the warning track. That would be Goose's only at-bat in the game, ending 0-1 for the day.

Goose would return to the starting lineup at shortstop and leadoff batter for the second game of the series. A second pitch swing would result in a groundout to the second baseman, getting the day off to a slow start. Returning to the plate in the bottom of the third inning, after working his way to a 2-0 count with both pitches just off the plate, Goose would take a crack at a pitch down the middle of the plate, but he would end up flying out to deep left field for the second out of the inning. Returning with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, it would be a one pitch fly out to the left fielder to end the inning, leaving Goose hitless through three at-bats.

His next chance would come in eighth inning as he would lead things off. After working another 2-0 count out of the pitcher, Goose would rocket a pitch back at the mound, ricocheting the ball of the pitcher's ankle and toward the first base line. Goose would reach first base before the catcher could get to the ball, good for an infield single. A one out walk to Corey Dickerson would advance Goose to second base and put two runners on for David Dahl. He would send the first pitch through the gap to right field for a single to load the bases with one out. After a pitching change, Drew Garcia would step in, he would send a 1-2 pitch into right center field for a two RBI single, scoring Goose and giving Tulsa a 4-3 lead.

A single by Rafael Ynoa would score Dahl from third. Following a fly out by Ryan Casteel, Jayson Langfels was able to draw a two walk from the new pitcher to load the bases once more. Brandon Barnes would pinch hit for the pitcher, singling to center field to score both Garcia and Ynoa and extend Tulsa's lead to 7-3. Goose would come up for the second time of the eighth inning as Tulsa successfully batted around the order. Goose led off the inning and would proceed to end the inning as he'd get caught chasing a slider outside to commit his first strikeout of his career. That would be Goose's last at-bat of the game, ending 1-5 for the day with a single and a run scored.

The third game of the series would also see Goose riding the bench for the game, coming off the pine in the bottom of the seventh inning with runners on first and third and one out. Unloading on a first pitch strike, Goose would send it deep to left field for a sacrifice fly to score the tying run from third to even the score up at 2-2 before Tulsa would give the lead back in the top of the ninth inning. Goose officially ended the game 0-0 at the plate with a sac fly and an RBI.

For the series as a whole, Goose would end up with a .167 average, going 1-6 with a single, a sac fly, one run scored and an RBI, along with one strikeout. Thankfully, Goose will be seeing San Antonio again in just a couple days as Tulsa hits the road for a pair of three game series, with stops at Corpus Christi and at San Antonio.

The video of the entire three game series: http://www.twitch.tv/smoothpancakes1/b/553971674

jaymo76
08-02-2014, 09:51 PM
I tried to warn you Smooth. That San Antonio Missions pitching staff is solid. :D As for the stream it was very clear with no drops. You should have no problem using that setting moving forward.

SmoothPancakes
08-02-2014, 10:26 PM
I tried to warn you Smooth. That San Antonio Missions pitching staff is solid. :D As for the stream it was very clear with no drops. You should have no problem using that setting moving forward.

:D

Hey now, I did have some pretty good shots against those guys! If I had my power rating up a bit more, that pinch hit shot in the first game very well could have gone out for a home run. My second at bat in the second game could have had a chance as well. And my pinch hit at bat in the third game had a shot of going out if I had a higher power rating. So I could have unloaded on them if I had more power behind my bat. I'm looking forward to the trip to San Antonio in a couple days. Goose should be much stronger by then. :)

It's sad that San Antonio and Tulsa are in opposite divisions. They play twice in two weeks the first two weeks of the season, then place twice after the All-Star break, at the end of July and a week later in early August. And that's it. Those are the only games they have against each other.

Edit - And sounds good about the stream! I think in that case I'll go ahead and stream each series then. I'll post beforehand that I'm streaming the series and still give the text recap of the series, but I'll also include a link to the stream video afterwards in the series recaps for anyone who couldn't watch it live.

steelerfan
08-02-2014, 11:40 PM
Missed the stream, unfortunately. I'll have to add you as a Follow so I can check it out at some point.

I do like that you guys are using the pics to help tell the story. I've just been too lazy at this point and I'm so close to finishing the full 162 in my first season of my Franchise that I just want to play the damn games. :)

That said, hopefully I'll un-lazy myself enough to post some pics.

SmoothPancakes
08-03-2014, 04:51 PM
Missed the stream, unfortunately. I'll have to add you as a Follow so I can check it out at some point.

I do like that you guys are using the pics to help tell the story. I've just been too lazy at this point and I'm so close to finishing the full 162 in my first season of my Franchise that I just want to play the damn games. :)

That said, hopefully I'll un-lazy myself enough to post some pics.

Yeah, after seeing JB use some pics in his RTTS, I wanted to do the same, at least for my first game if anything, get a pic of my first career at-bat, my first career hit, etc. I'll probably try to snap some pics of my first career double, home run, all that good stuff.

As for my RTTS, I'm hoping to kick off my series with Corpus Christi here in an hour or so. Need to run over to my sister's place real quick, maybe by 7pm EST, 8pm at the latest I hope to have the series kicked off. I'll be streaming it again, so I'll post the link when I go live. Since Jaymo said the stream ran pretty good last night on medium settings for the San Antonio Series, I plan on streaming each series. I'll probably do what I did last night, keep the stream live for the entire series, from the first game to the last game, then shut the stream down until my next series. Keep the videos split up from series to series for easy watching.

SmoothPancakes
08-03-2014, 06:40 PM
And away we go! Time to see if Tulsa can improve on their 2-4 record with a three game series at Corpus Christi.

http://www.twitch.tv/smoothpancakes1

SmoothPancakes
08-03-2014, 09:18 PM
Next up for Goose and the Tulsa Drillers, were the Corpus Christi Hooks. The Hooks feasted on the Drillers last time, sweeping the opening series and dominating Tulsa by the score of 26-4. Tulsa would put up a better fight this time, but it would still be the Hooks prevailing in the end.

Corpus Christi 7, Tulsa 0
Tulsa 5, Corpus Christi 2
Corpus Christi 3, Tulsa 2 F/10

Goose would return to the starting lineup this series after sitting on the bench for two of the three games the previous series against San Antonio. Leading off the order in the first game, Goose would start things off in the top of the first, sending a 1-1 pitch back toward the mound and up the gap into center field for a single. After a strikeout by Jason Pridie, Corey Dickerson would step in and send an 0-2 pitch at the shortstop for an easy double play to end the inning. Returning to the plate with two outs in the top of the third inning, Goose would fall behind 0-2 early on, eventually working his way back to a 2-2 count before popping the ball straight up in front of the pitcher's mound. His next chance would come in the top of the sixth inning, again falling behind 0-2 before flying out to deep left field in the corner. Goose would lead things off in the top of the eighth inning, but he would pop up a first pitch strike to the shortstop for a quick, uneventful at-bat. Goose's final stats for the game, he would end up 1-4 with a single.

The bad performance in the first game would cost Goose as he would get knocked out of the top spot in the lineup, instead batting fifth in the order for the second game of the series. He would step in for his first at-bat in the top of the second inning, sending an 0-2 pitch flying down the right field line for a lead off, stand up double, the first double of his career. Drew Garcia would send a pitch up the middle, with a diving shortstop the only thing keeping it from going into center field. Garcia would beat out the throw to first while Goose would advance to third to put runners on the corners with no outs. After an out by Brandon Barnes that would leave runners on second and third, Harold Riggans would dig in but proceed to strikeout, leaving two outs in the inning. The inning would end without event as Jackson Williams would fly out to left field. Returning to the plate in the top of the fourth inning with a runner on second and no outs, Goose would send an 0-1 pitch down the first base line just out of reach of the first baseman, good for an RBI single as the runner from second would come around to score, evening the game up at 1-1. Drew Garcia would draw a full count walk to move Goose over to second, putting two runners on with no outs. Brandon Barnes would return to the plate, working a 3-0 count from the pitcher, before fouling off multiple pitches. He would eventually work out a full count walk on a controversial checked swing, loading the bases with no outs. Harold Riggans would come up to bat and unload on a 1-1 pitch to send it down the third base line into deep left field, clearing the bases with a three RBI double to give Tulsa a 4-1 lead. The Drillers would score another run and take a commanding 5-1 lead. Returning to the plate in the top of the fifth inning, Goose would step in with one out, but would ground out to the first baseman on the second pitch. Goose's next at-bat would come in the top of the eighth inning as he would lead things off. After falling behind 0-2 in the count, Goose would battle back before popping out to the third baseman on the fifth pitch of the at-bat. That would be the end of the day at the plate for Goose, as he would end with a .500 average, going 2-4 with a double and a single, one run and an RBI.

The rubber match of the series would see Goose return to the lead off spot in the batting order. Coming to the plate in the top of the first inning, Goose would take a first pitch strike and send it back at the pitcher's head and on up the middle into center field for a single to open the game. A five pitch walk to Jason Pridie would move Goose over to second base and put two runners on to start the game. Corey Dickerson would fly out to deep center field, Goose tagging up and taking off for third base to put runners on the corners with one out. Unfortunately Goose would be responsible for the inning ending, as David Dahl would line out to the shortstop on a 2-0 count. Goose thought the ball was going to go over the shortstop's head and didn't get back to third base in time after the catch, caught off the base for a double play to end the inning. Returning to the batter's box in the top of the second inning with two outs and runners on first and second, Goose would be unable to capitalize as he would send a 1-1 pitch on the ground at the second baseman for the final out. Goose's next at-bat would lead off the top of the fifth inning, but he would ground out to the shortstop on the second pitch for an out. Goose would get another shot in the top of the seventh inning, stepping in with a runner on first and one out, but he would send a 1-0 pitch to straight away center field for a fly out. His final at-bat would come in the top of the ninth inning, coming to the plate with one out and runners on second and third in a tied 1-1 ballgame. Unloading on a first pitch strike, Goose would send it to deep left field for a sacrifice fly, scoring the runner from third and giving Tulsa a 2-1 lead.

Unfortunately, instead of bringing in the game-winning RBI, our pitching staff would let the team down as Tyler Matzek came in to close in the bottom of the inning. After getting the first two batters out, Matzek would walk Enrique Hernandez before giving up an RBI double to Delino De Shields, tying the game back up and sending us to extra innings. Corey Dickerson and David Dahl would both go two up and two down with strikeouts to start the tenth inning, before a pair of singles by Drew Garcia and Brandon Barnes would put runners on first and second with two outs. Harold Riggans would force a walk out of the pitcher to load the bases, but Ryan Casteel would be unable to drive any runs in, called out on strikes to end the top half of the inning. Leading off the bottom of the inning for the Hooks, M.P. Cokinos would draw a walk, advancing to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Jiovanni Mier. Preston Tucker would put runners on the corners after singling to center field and only one out in the inning. Tucker would be responsible for the second out as he attempted to steal second base, only to get thrown out, leaving just Cokinos standing at third. It wouldn't much matter as Tyler Heineman would step in at the plate with two outs and send the ball into left field for an RBI double, giving Corpus Christi the extra innings win. Final stats for Goose, he ended up going 1-4 with a single and an RBI off of a sacrifice fly.

Final stats for Goose in the entire series, he ended up going 4-12 for a .333 average, hitting three singles and a double, had a sacrifice fly, scored one run and drove in two RBIs.

That sets up the next series for the Tulsa Drillers, a road trip to take on the San Antonio Missions. Both teams are off to poor starts to the season as they both enter with 3-6 records.

The video of the entire three game series: http://www.twitch.tv/smoothpancakes1/b/554291893

SmoothPancakes
08-03-2014, 10:34 PM
Hoping to start the San Antonio series in the next hour or two. Also hoping to get through a couple of series tonight. Have a three game series at San Antonio, then Tulsa start's division play at home with a four game series against NW Arkansas, the last place team in the TL North. Hoping to get through both series tonight, that'll get me up to an off day on Sunday, April 20th.

SmoothPancakes
08-03-2014, 11:25 PM
And away we go! Tulsa travels to take on those spawns of Satan, the San Antonio Missions.

http://www.twitch.tv/smoothpancakes1

SmoothPancakes
08-04-2014, 03:02 AM
After a dominating first game that saw an absolute explosion of offense, the Tulsa Drillers would go back into their shell for games 2 and 3, resulting in them losing their second straight series and third of their first four series to start the season.

Tulsa 17, San Antonio 5
San Antonio 4, Tulsa 2
San Antonio 6, Tulsa 2

For some reason, the manager really has a hard on for keeping Goose out of the lineup against San Antonio. He would end up riding the bench in game one, coming off to pinch hit for the pitcher in the top of the eighth inning. After taking a first pitch strike, fouling off two pitches and taking a third pitch ball, the pitcher would get Goose to take a swing on an inside pitch for a 5-pitch strikeout. Final stats for Goose, 0-1. No idea how the runs were scored, but Tulsa unloaded all over San Antonio, scoring 5 runs in the fourth inning, 3 in the fifth inning, 2 in the sixth inning, 3 in the eighth inning and 4 in the ninth inning for a 12 run ass whooping.

The second game of the series would see Goose return to the lineup in the lead off position. Strolling up to the plate for his first at-bat, Goose would line an 0-2 pitch up the middle into deep center field for a stand up double. His time on base would be short however as Jason Pridie swung at the first pitch and flied out to center field. Goose tagged up and tried to take third base, but a rocket to the cut-off man and a quick throw to third base would just barely beat Goose to the bag for a double play. Returning to the plate in the top in the third inning with two outs and no one on, Goose would swing at a first pitch strike and send it down the first base line into right field for a sliding double, his second of the game. Jason Pridie would send a 2-2 pitch up the middle, the second baseman diving and stopping the ball, but unable to make the throw to first to leave runners on the corners, Goose standing at third. Corey Dickerson would come to the plate next, working his way to a 1-2 count with a couple of foul balls mixed in. Unfortunately the base running miscues would bite Goose in the ass again, as he would get caught taking a little bit too big of a lead, ending up picked off by Matt Wisler at third base for the final out of the inning. Goose's next at-bat, leading off the top of the sixth inning, would see him send a 1-0 pitch back at the pitcher as a softly hit ground ball for the first out.

Goose would return to the plate for his final at-bat of the game, leading off the top of the ninth inning. Despite falling behind 0-2 after swinging and missing at a 12-6 curveball and taking a fastball high and on the outer edge for a strike, Goose would find a way to get on base as he would send a 1-2 pitch back at the pitcher's mound and into center field for a single. Jason Pridie would send the first pitch he saw into shallow left field for a single, moving Goose up to second base. Corey Dickerson would draw a six pitch walk out of Wisler to load the bases, Wisler clearly suffering from fatigue after throwing 110 pitches into the ninth inning. That would be the end of the day for Wisler, as San Antonio would go to the bullpen. Bobby LaFromboise would come on to relieve Wisler, but David Dahl would immediately pounce on him, sending the first pitch down the third base line and into left field for a two RBI single. That would be all the Drillers would get however as Rosell Herrera would strike out and Rafael Ynoa would ground out to the first baseman to end the game. Final stats for Goose, 3-4 with two doubles and a single, his first ever three hit game, as well as one run. Terrible day on the bases however as he got thrown out while trying to take third after tagging up on a fly ball in the first inning, and got picked off at third to end the third inning.

The rubber match of the series would see Goose moved down in the order, now batting third in the lineup. It is unknown at this time if the coaches are just taking advantage of the great previous game at the plate and putting Goose into a slot to create potential RBIs, or if they are punishing him for his horrible performance on the bases last game. Goose would get off to a rough start in the game, coming to the plate in the first inning with two outs, sending a first pitch strike to deep left center for a fly out. Last game Goose made multiple miscues on the bases, this game those miscues would come in the field, starting in the bottom of the second inning, as Goose would field a slow rolling two out ground ball but fail to get a throw off to first base until after the runner had already crossed the bag. The scorer would tag Goose with an error on the play and the inning would remain alive. Returning to the plate to lead off the fourth inning, Goose would again fly out as he would send a 1-1 meter to deep right field for the first out of the inning. Bottom of the fourth inning, it would be another miscue in the field for Goose with no outs and a runner on first, as a potential double play would be ruined when Goose would fail to release the ball on a throw to second base, resulting in a second error in the game on Goose and runners on first and second with no outs. *Editor's note - After this second error, the game was paused and Throw Cancelling was officially turned off* Unfortunately it wouldn't help on the next play as Goose would fail to properly grab a slow rolling ground ball in the grass with his glove, allowing the bases to load up with one out, though thankfully it didn't result from an error. Those mistakes by Goose would come back to bite Tulsa as a single into right field by Alex Dickerson would bring home two runs to give San Antonio a 5-0 lead.

Coming back up to bat in the top of the sixth inning, Goose would send a first pitch strike into the gap in right-center field, the ball bouncing all the way to the wall to give Goose a stand up double. The cut-off man would fail to catch the throw in from the center fielder, the ball bouncing off his glove and back onto the field, allowing Goose to take off running and advance to third base on the error. David Dahl would send a pitch into center field for a fly out, but Goose didn't have enough time to tag up and run home before the throw came in, forced to stay on third base and wait. Drew Garcia would stand in next, lining a 2-2 pitch into left-center field for an RBI double, scoring Goose from the third to make the score 5-1, eventually 5-2 before the end of the inning. Goose would return to the plate the very next inning, stepping into the box with one out in the top of the seventh, curving a 1-2 pitch down the left field line, the ball rolling all the way into the corner in foul territory, for a sliding double. A fly out by David Dahl would leave Goose still stuck on second base with now two outs. Drew Garcia would step in next. After taking a ball with the first pitch, the 1-0 throw would get behind the catcher, allowing Goose to take third base on the wild pitch. After fouling off multiple pitches with a full count, Garcia would eventually ground out to the second baseman, leaving Goose stranded at third. Goose would step in for his final at-bat of the series with one out in the ninth inning and a runner on first, blooping a 1-0 pitch into shallow left field for a single. David Dahl would end the game however as he would send the first pitch he saw to the second baseman for a game-ending double play. Final stats for Goose, 3-5 with two doubles and a single, one run scored and two errors committed.

Series stats, the Drillers lose another series, dropping two of three to the Missions. Thanks to a 17 run first game win, Tulsa would outscore San Antonio for the series, 21-15. Final series stats for Goose, he went on a hot streak at the plate, ending 6-10 for a .600 average, hitting four doubles and two singles and scoring two runs. On the negative side of things, he would get thrown out trying to take third base after tagging on a fly ball and he'd get picked off at third during the second game, and he'd commit two errors in the field during the third game.

Next up for the Drillers, it's the start of intradivision games as the Drillers return home to face the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. Both Tulsa and NW Arkansas are tied for last in the division with matching 4-8 records.

The video of the entire three game series: http://www.twitch.tv/smoothpancakes1/b/554370500

SmoothPancakes
08-05-2014, 09:28 PM
The Tulsa Drillers would start intradivision play against the NW Arkansas Naturals. It'd be a rough series for the Drillers and a short series for Goose.

NW Arkansas 3, Tulsa 1
Tulsa 3, NW Arkansas 1
NW Arkansas 8, Tulsa 2
NW Arkansas 9, Tulsa 8

The first game of the series would go by without an appearance by Goose, as he would sit out of the game for a day of rest.

The second game of the series, Goose would return to the lineup, but batting fifth this time. Goose would step in for his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning with two outs and runners on first and third. Despite the RBI opportunity, Goose would send an 0-1 pitch to deep left field for a fly out to end the inning. Returning to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out, it would be a very poor at-bat, as Goose would foul off two straight pitches, before swinging and missing at a knuckle curve to strike out for the second out of the inning. Batting with two outs and a runner on first in the bottom of the sixth inning, but he would ultimately ground out to end the inning. Goose would step in for his last at-bat of the game in the bottom of the ninth inning with no outs and a runner on first. He would drive a 1-0 pitch into center field for a single. Jason Pridie advanced to second on the hit and started to round to go to third, but abruptly pulled up and returned to second base. Failing to catch the hold up by Pridie, Goose didn't see that second base was still occupied until already around first and on his way to second. Goose quickly put on the brakes and tried to retreat to first base, but a strong and accurate throw by the cut-off man would see Goose end up gunned down at first base for an out. Despite the screw up by Goose, Tulsa would still pull out a win with a three run home run by Taylor Featherston for the 3-1 win. Final stats for Goose, a pitiful 1-4 with a single and a strikeout.

The third game of the series would see Goose return to the lead off spot in the lineup. Coming to bat in the bottom of the first inning, Goose would pick up where he left off last game, grounding an 0-2 pitch in the gap on the right side and into right field for a single. His time on base would be short lived however as Jason Pridie would send a first pitch strike on the ground at the first baseman, resulting in Goose being thrown out at second base. Goose's next at-bat would lead off the bottom of the third inning, but he would end up flying out to right field. He would step in next with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning, but it would be a quick at-bat as he would send a first pitch ground ball straight at the second baseman for the second out. Goose would return to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning and a runner on second. It would be a poor at-bat for Goose as he would end the inning with a 5 pitch strikeout, swinging and missing at a change-up. That would be Goose's final at-bat of the game as he would watch the game end in the bottom of the ninth inning from the on-deck circle. Final stats for Goose, he would end with another poor 1-4 performance, ending with one single and a strikeout.

The fourth game would see another no show by Goose as he would get another day off to rest.

Final series stats for Goose, playing in just two out of the four games, his hot streak would clearly come to an end as he would end a pitiful 2-8 for a .250 average with two singles and two strikeouts.

The video of the entire four game series: http://www.twitch.tv/smoothpancakes1/b/554763387

SmoothPancakes
08-06-2014, 12:04 AM
Looking to start the next series, a road trip against the Arkansas Travelers, sometime in next 15 minutes.

As always, it'll be streamed live. http://www.twitch.tv/smoothpancakes1

SmoothPancakes
08-06-2014, 04:11 AM
Tulsa would hit the road for a late April trip to take on the Arkansas Travelers. It would be a horrible series for Tulsa and a poor series for Goose.

Arkansas 7, Tulsa 3
Arkansas 4, Tulsa 3
Arkansas 10, Tulsa 5
Arkansas 10, Tulsa 9 F/13

The first game of the series, Goose would lead things off as he would draw a first pitch ball. After fouling off three straight pitches and taking a ball high and inside for a 2-2 count, Goose would lay on a change up down the middle of the strike zone and send it flying out to right-center field, the ball carrying out of the yard for Goose's first career home run. He would return to the plate in the top of the second inning, stepping in with one out and runners on first and second. Swinging at a second pitch strike, Goose seemingly hit into an inning ending double play with a grounder at the second baseman, but the shortstop would rush his throw to first and throw it high over the first baseman's head, giving Goose first base after an official ruling of a fielder's choice. Goose would step in at the plate again in the top of the fourth inning with two outs and a runner on second. He would send a first pitch strike through the gap and into left field for a single, but the inning would come to an end as the runner on second got thrown out trying to score at home on the play. Coming up for another at-bat in the top of the seventh inning, it would be a poor at-bat for Goose as he would send an 0-1 pitch down the first base line for a groundout. His last at-bat, with one out in the top of the ninth, would be equally as bad, popping out to the third baseman. Final stats for Goose, he'd end up 2-5 with a home run and a single, as well as an RBI and a run scored.

The second game of the series, Goose would step in to lead things off once more. It would be an unproductive at-bat as he would send a 1-1 pitch at the shortstop for the first out. Returning to the plate in the top of the third inning with one out, Goose would swing at a first pitch strike and proceed to fly out to the left fielder at the warning track. Top of the fifth inning with no outs, Goose would enter the batter's box, driving an 0-1 pitch into the gap in right-center field, the ball rolling all the way to the wall. Despite having a stand up double, Goose would try and stretch it into a triple, only to get gunned down at third as the center fielder and cut-off man would both throw accurate rockets to get the ball in and beat Goose to the bag. He would officially end up with a double, thrown out trying to advance in the scorer's book. Batting with two outs in the top of the seventh inning, Goose would pop out to the pitcher to end the inning. Goose would come up for his last at-bat of the game, stepping in with two outs and the bases loaded, Tulsa trailing 3-2. This would not be a storybook at-bat, as Goose would swing at a first pitch strike and send it up the middle, the shortstop able to kill the ball at the edge of the outfield, but he was unable to pick it up, allowing Goose to reach first base and bring in the RBI from third. The scorer would officially rule the play an error on the shortstop with an RBI for Goose. Despite still having the bases loaded, Jason Pridie would line out to the first baseman to end the top of the ninth, and Arkansas would go on to score the winning run in the bottom of the inning. Final stats for Goose, 1-5 with a double and an RBI hit on an error in the ninth. Goose would also end with an error after a bad throw to first on a ground ball in the bottom of the sixth inning would pull the first baseman off the bag.

The third game of the series would see Goose open things up with another career first, this time drawing his first ever walk on four straight pitches as the starting pitcher for Arkansas was a little wild early on. To be fair, the pitcher did get shafted by the umpire on the fourth ball call, as the pitch ended up well inside the outer bottom corner of the strike zone. But nonetheless, it was a lead off walk. After an 8 pitch strikeout by Jason Pridie, Corey Dickerson would step in and draw a full count walk to put runners on first and second with one out. David Dahl would hit a ground ball to the second baseman, resulting in Dickerson being thrown out, but Dahl would beat the throw to first to leave runners on the corners with two outs. Brandon Barnes would come to the plate next and send a full count pitch into right-center field, just out of the reach of the diving right fielder for a two RBI triple, scoring both Goose and Dahl. It would be a terrible inning for Arkansas' starting pitcher as he would end up throwing 31 pitches in the first inning alone. Goose would return to the plate in the second inning, stepping in with two outs and no one on base, but he would line out to the first baseman to end the inning. Coming back up to bat in the top of the fifth inning with no outs and a runner on second, Goose would ground out to the second baseman. Goose would step back in with two outs and a runner on first in the top of the seventh inning. Despite hitting what should have been a single into right field, the play was judged an error on the right fielder after he failed to catch the ball at his ankles, costing Goose a hit. Jason Pridie would then ground out to end the inning. Getting one last chance at the plate in the top of the ninth inning with no outs and no one on, he would end up flying out to the left fielder on the warning track on a hit that came within feet of going yard. Thanks to the should have been single ruled an error, Goose would end up officially hitless for the game and would lose his six game hitting streak. Final stats for Goose, 0-4 with a walk and a would-be single ruled an error on the right fielder.

The final game of the series, Goose would be moved out of the lead off spot and instead bat fifth this game. Coming up to bat in the first inning with two outs and a runner on first, Goose would send the first pitch he saw into right-center field for a single that would move Dahl from first to third. Nothing would come of it however as Rafael Ynoa would ground out to the shortstop. Returning to the plate in the third inning with two outs and a runner on first, Goose would end up flying out to left field to end the inning. Coming back to bat the very next inning, stepping in with two outs and runners on first and third in the top of the fourth, Goose would lay down a soft dribbler right in front of home plate, the catcher rushing out, picking up and winging the ball to first. Instead of it being the final out of the inning, the catcher would make an errant throw that would pull the first baseman off of the bag, allowing Goose to reach base safely, and also allowing the runner from third to score for an RBI, the play officially ruled an error on the catcher. Inexplicably, that would be the second RBI of the series for Goose on a two out play that came via an error by Arkansas. Goose would make it to second base after a hit up the middle by Rafael Ynoa, but a groundout by Brandon Barnes would end the inning. Tulsa would explode for 6 runs that inning, taking a 7-2 lead. Unfortunately, Tulsa's crap pitchers would instantly erase that lead as Arkansas would score four runs in the bottom of the fourth to cut the lead to 7-6. Goose would lead off the sixth inning, but would pop out to the first baseman in foul territory. Leading off the top of the eighth inning in a tied 7-7 ballgame, Goose would send a first pitch strike over the pitcher's head and into center field for a lead off single. Rafael Ynoa would come up next and send an 0-1 pitch down the left field line. Taking the gamble, Goose would round second and head for third, just beating the throw from the left fielder to the bag, while Ynoa would end up with a double, putting runners on second and third with no outs. A full count walk to Brandon Barnes would load the bases. Harold Riggans would step in next, sending a 2-1 pitch at the shortstop and grounding into a double play, but it would be enough to score Goose from third and give Tulsa an 8-7 lead. A two out home run by Corey Dickerson in the top of the ninth would make that lead 9-7, but our pitchers would screw us over again, giving up a two out, two RBI single to tie the game and send us to extra innings. Goose would lead off the top of the tenth inning, but would fly out to left field. After both teams squandered scoring chances in the eleventh inning, Goose would return to the plate with one out in the twelfth inning, but he would fly out to center field for the second out. After going into the bottom of the thirteenth inning, a one out, bases loaded single would be the game winner for Arkansas, as Tulsa again pissed away victory and dropped their sixth straight game, falling to 5-15 on the season. Final stats for Goose, he would end up going 2-7 for a .286 average, hitting two singles, driving in an RBI on an error by the catcher and scoring one run.

Final stats for Goose over the entire series, he would end up going 5-21 for a less than pedestrian .238 average. He would end with three singles, a double and a home run, scoring three runs and a driving in three RBIs. He would also commit his third error of the season. Goose would see his batting average plummet this series. Going into the Arkansas series, Goose was sitting on a .347 average. It would hit a high water mark of .365 after the home run, the fielder's choice and the single. By series end, his average would plummet 46 points to end at .314 after going 3-16 over the last three games of the series.

Goose, and the Drillers as a whole, certainly hope to get back on track as they begin a split four game series against NW Arkansas, playing the first two games at home, then switch and finish the final two games on the road.

The video of the entire four game series: http://www.twitch.tv/smoothpancakes1/b/555072031

(Warning: The video of this series may be laggy. Either my internet tonight sucked and the stream ended up crappy with a bunch of moments of lag and fragmenting, or Chrome is just plain being a piece of crap for me tonight and causing the replay of the series on Twitch to play like crap for me, including multiple hang ups and no sound.)

SmoothPancakes
08-06-2014, 04:23 AM
Goose watching the ball fly out for his first career home run.


http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/SmoothPancakes/MLB%2014%20The%20Show/RTTS/10551621_584774576380_4826074915677292618_o.jpg

Smacked it right into Arkansas' bullpen in right-center field.


http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/SmoothPancakes/MLB%2014%20The%20Show/RTTS/10530503_584774546440_5264292253814499967_o.jpg

Rounding third and coming home.


http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/SmoothPancakes/MLB%2014%20The%20Show/RTTS/1889062_584774651230_6528190923839472885_o.jpg

Home plate is touched and the celebration can begin.


http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/SmoothPancakes/MLB%2014%20The%20Show/RTTS/10517299_584774611310_5327452076594212041_o.jpg

SmoothPancakes
08-06-2014, 04:37 AM
The video highlight.

http://www.twitch.tv/smoothpancakes1/c/4832316

steelerfan
08-06-2014, 04:38 AM
Nice!

SmoothPancakes
08-06-2014, 04:41 AM
Nice!

Thanks! It was a total shock when I hit it. I figured it was going to be another fly out near the wall, then it just kept going and disappeared into the bullpen as I was on my way to second. It ended up being a complete surprise to have it be a home run, it wasn't one of those shots that you know is gone the moment you hit it.

SmoothPancakes
08-06-2014, 04:57 AM
Look for the next series against NW Arkansas probably sometime Wednesday afternoon.

SmoothPancakes
08-06-2014, 07:01 PM
Alright, about to fire up my next series against Northwest Arkansas, a split four game series, two at home, two away.

To try and work around these stupid new policies by Twitch (since I save my broadcasts and link to the videos at the end of each series summary), I've killed all music in the menus, turned the music volume slider down to zero, turned off music reverb in the stadium and switched all walk-up music for my player to None. Hopefully that will get around the issue. If not, then I guess you guys will have to try and catch all broadcasts live to hear any sound.

http://www.twitch.tv/smoothpancakes1

SmoothPancakes
08-06-2014, 08:01 PM
Alright, I don't know how instantaneous this whole audio copyright muting crap is, but my past broadcast video of the NW Arkansas series just a few minutes ago still has audio, so at least for now, turning off all music in the game did the trick. I suppose I'll know for sure later tonight or by tomorrow, if it still has audio or not, whether it worked for sure or not.

SmoothPancakes
08-06-2014, 09:13 PM
It was another rough couple of games for Tulsa. Facing NW Arkansas over four games in a pair of two game series, split home and away, Tulsa would claim victory in the first game, but go on to drop the next three.

Tulsa 8, NW Arkansas 7
NW Arkansas 10, Tulsa 3
NW Arkansas 4, Tulsa 0
NW Arkansas 4, Tulsa 1

It would be another short series for Goose, as he would sit out the first game against the Naturals.

Returning to the lineup in the second game, Goose would find himself batting fourth in the order. He would step in to lead off the bottom of the second inning, getting in the hole early after swinging and missing at a fastball down the middle and a change up on the bottom outside corner. After fouling off a pitch low and away and taking a ball in the dirt, Goose would end up choked on a 1-2 pitch and pop out to the third baseman. Goose would return to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning but he would ground out to the first baseman to end the inning. He would make his third appearance at the plate to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning, sending a 1-0 pitch into right-center field for a lead off single. A 2-1 double into center field by Jason Pridie would move Goose over to third base to put runners on second and third with no outs. Tyler Featherston would ground out to the shortstop, forcing Pridie to remain at second, but it would allow Goose to score from third to make it 6-1. The suck of the pitching staff would strike again in the top of the eighth, giving up four runs, all with two outs, to turn the game into a 10-1 blowout. Goose would get one last at-bat in the bottom of the eighth inning, stepping in with two outs and a runner on first. He would unload on a first pitch fastball down the middle, sending it high and deep to right-center and over the wall for a two run home run to make it 10-3. Final stats for Goose, he would end up batting .500, going 2-4 with a single and a two run home run, scoring two runs and a driving in two RBI.

The third game would again see Goose sitting out of the game for a day off.

Goose would return to the lineup for the fourth and final game against NW Arkansas, leading off the batting order this time. Opening up the game in the top of the first, Goose would swing at the first pitch of the game and send it into left-center field for a stand up double. Goose would advance to third base on a ground out to the second baseman by Jason Pridie. Corey Dickerson would end up grounding out to put two outs on the board, leaving Goose stuck at third. David Dahl would send a pitch to the left-center warning track for a double, driving Goose in for the go-ahead run. Goose's next at-bat would come in the second inning with two outs and runners on first and third. After working a 3-0 count out of the pitcher, he would take a swing at a pitch over the middle of the zone, only to ground out right to the first baseman for the final out of the inning. Goose would step back in with two outs in the top of the fifth inning, sending a first pitch strike off the wall in center field for a stand up double. Goose would end up stranded on second however as Jason Pridie would strikeout to end the inning. Goose's last at-bat of the game would come with two outs in the top of the seventh inning. Swinging at a first pitch strike right down the middle, he would end up flying out to the center fielder to end the inning. Final stats for Goose, he would end up with another .500 game, going 2-4 with two doubles and a run scored (Tulsa's only run of the game).

Final series stats for Goose, he would see action in just two of the four games against NW Arkansas, batting .500 for the series as a whole, going 4-8 with a single, two doubles and a two run home run, driving in two RBIs and scoring three runs.

The video of the entire series: http://www.twitch.tv/smoothpancakes1/b/555333183

SmoothPancakes
08-06-2014, 09:42 PM
With just two games remaining in April (part of a four game series against Arkansas that stretches into the first two days of May), I'll go ahead and do an end of month stats update now.

Through 24 games:

Goose has played in 20 games, going 26-78 at the plate for a .333 average with 81 total plate appearances. He has 16 singles, 8 doubles, 0 triples, 2 home runs and 2 sacrifice flies. He's scored 10 runs and driven in 8 RBIs. He hasn't attempted to steal a base yet (not fast enough), he has drawn one walk and struck out four times. He's got a .513 slugging %, .333 OBP, .846 OPS and he's touched 40 total bases.

In the field, he's recorded 39 assists and 11 put outs. He's committed 3 errors to knock his fielding % down to .943.

He's played a total of 150.2 innings. He has drawn his average dead even for both left and right-handed pitchers, hitting .333 against both. He's only batting .143 with runners in scoring position, and he's better on the road as he is hitting .362 on the road versus .290 at home.

Breaking it down, against right-handed pitchers, Goose is 21-63 with 5 RBI. Against left-handed pitchers, he's 5-15 with 3 RBI. With runners in scoring position, he's 2-14. At home, he's 9-31 with 3 RBI. On the road, he's 17-47 with 5 RBI. Goose has hit one home run both at home and on the road, and one each against a left-handed and right-handed pitcher.

Getting into metrics, Goose's At-Bats per Home Run stat is 39.000. His Walks per Plate Appearance stat is .012. And his Walks per Strikeout stat is .250.

Taking a look at the standings, Tulsa is floundering, Springfield is scorching.


http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/SmoothPancakes/MLB%2014%20The%20Show/RTTS/10448502_584840519230_2901611185617657916_o.jpg

http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/SmoothPancakes/MLB%2014%20The%20Show/RTTS/10572151_584840484300_3303203410228947358_o.jpg

jaymo76
08-06-2014, 09:47 PM
Stats are looking good. The only downside is your team is absolute crap. I know you are only 9 games back but the first half of the season may already be a lost cause. Hopefully Tulsa can come out of the gate in the 2nd half to earn a playoff spot.

Q. Which teams have you hit best/worst against?

SmoothPancakes
08-06-2014, 10:21 PM
Stats are looking good. The only downside is your team is absolute crap. I know you are only 9 games back but the first half of the season may already be a lost cause. Hopefully Tulsa can come out of the gate in the 2nd half to earn a playoff spot.

Q. Which teams have you hit best/worst against?

Yeah, this team is literally worthless. I don't know how the hell they made the playoffs in your RTTS. This team, specifically these pitchers, suck.

As for teams, it's an incomplete list as I've only faced the Missions, Hooks, Naturals and Travelers thus far, but breaking it down:

Missions (7 games) - .437 on 7-16 hitting, 3 singles, 4 doubles, 1 RBI, 2 strikeouts and 1 sacrifice fly
Naturals (4 games) - .375 on 6-16 hitting, 3 singles, 2 doubles, 1 home run, 2 RBI and 2 strikeouts
Hooks (6 games) - .320 on 8-25 hitting, 8 singles, 1 double, 2 RBI and 1 sacrifice fly
Travelers (4 games) - .238 on 5-21 hitting, 3 singles, 1 double, 1 home run, 3 RBI, 1 walk and 1 fielder's choice

steelerfan
08-07-2014, 12:31 AM
Jaymo is using different rosters than you, to explain the difference in team performance.

SmoothPancakes
08-07-2014, 12:35 AM
Jaymo is using different rosters than you, to explain the difference in team performance.

I didn't think about that. If memory recalls, I think I'm using OSFM v2 for both my RTTS and Rockies franchise.

Sent from my Droid Maxx using Tapatalk because I'm a lazy ass

jaymo76
08-07-2014, 02:29 PM
Jaymo is using different rosters than you, to explain the difference in team performance.


I didn't think about that. If memory recalls, I think I'm using OSFM v2 for both my RTTS and Rockies franchise.

Sent from my Droid Maxx using Tapatalk because I'm a lazy ass

Yeah I used the most recent MLB rosters. HOWEVER, I believe they do NOT include accurate farm teams, only the Bigs. That being said, San Antonio is the defending AA Texas League Champion and in my RTTS they were beastly in year one. They have tanked in year two though. I notice they are not doing very well in Smooth's RTTS.

SmoothPancakes
08-07-2014, 11:56 PM
Yeah I used the most recent MLB rosters. HOWEVER, I believe they do NOT include accurate farm teams, only the Bigs. That being said, San Antonio is the defending AA Texas League Champion and in my RTTS they were beastly in year one. They have tanked in year two though. I notice they are not doing very well in Smooth's RTTS.

Yeah, I went with the OSFM rosters to get accurate farm systems, primarily for my franchise. Hopefully Tulsa can find a way to turn it around though. God know I'm gonna quickly get tired of having our asses handed to us every game.

That said, time for a little late night streaming as Tulsa takes on the Arkansas Travelers.

http://www.twitch.tv/smoothpancakes1

steelerfan
08-08-2014, 12:49 AM
Don't get too worried about Tulsa. You'll probably be in AAA before the end of the season. :up:

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A

SmoothPancakes
08-08-2014, 01:05 AM
I gotta stop sucking myself first. :D. Started the Arkansas series going 0-5 in the first game. :fp:

Sent from my Droid Maxx using Tapatalk because I'm a lazy ass

SmoothPancakes
08-08-2014, 03:20 AM
Desperately in need of some wins, the Tulsa Drillers would find some as they welcomed the Arkansas Travelers to town. Unfortunately, the wins would come at the cost of Goose's batting average as he performed horribly against his worst opponent.

Tulsa 8, Arkansas 5
Tulsa 7, Arkansas 4
Arkansas 10, Tulsa 2
Tulsa 8, Arkansas 7

First game of the series and batting fourth in the order, Goose would step in for his first at-bat with two outs in the bottom of the first inning and runners on first and second. He'd take a first pitch ball and watch a second pitch strike just nibble the bottom of the zone. After fouling off two pitches, Goose would get choked on the inside and pop out on an infield fly rule to end the inning. Returning to the plate with one out in the bottom of the third inning, Goose would foul off the first pitch before grounding out to the first baseman. Stepping in with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, flying out to deep right field to end the inning. Goose would lead off the bottom of the seventh inning, but it would be another poor outing as he would again ground out to the first baseman. He would come up for one last at-bat with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning and a runner on first. It would be one of his worst at-bats of his career as he would send a 2-2 pitch at the second baseman and ground into his first ever double play, ending the inning. Final stats for Goose, a miserable 0-5.

Second game of the series and still batting fourth, Goose would come to the plate in the bottom of the first inning with two outs and a runner on first. He would foul off three straight pitches before getting choked inside to pop out to the first baseman and end the inning. Going back to his last at-bat of the NW Arkansas series, Goose has now going hitless in his last seven at-bats. Corey Dickerson would hit a home run to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning, so Goose would step in with no outs and the bases empty. He would yet again ground out to the first baseman, extending the streak to eight at-bats. Top of the fifth inning with no outs and a runner on second, Goose would end up tagged with an error as he tried to make a play on a ball hit up the middle, only to have it bounce by his glove and go right past him into center field for the error, allowing the runner to score from second and tie the game up. Stepping up to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning of a 3-1 game with two outs and a runner on second, Goose would send a 2-0 pitch down the third base line all the way to the corner wall for a stand up RBI double, finally breaking his hitless streak. The throw in from the left fielder would sail over the cut-off man's head and past the second baseman, allowing Goose to take off running for third before the catcher, of all people, could get the ball and throw it to third base, leaving Goose standing on third with two outs. Jason Pridie would draw a walk to put runners on the corners, and that would be it for Arkansas' starting pitcher. It would be a rough welcome for the reliever as Rosell Herrera would send a 1-2 pitch to the right-center field wall for a two RBI double, followed by an RBI single by Rafael Ynoa to cap off a six run inning and give Tulsa a commanding 7-1 lead. Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on first. He'd swing at the first pitch and break his bat in the process, resulting in a very soft ground ball toward the second base side of the pitcher's mound. The first baseman would charge the ball while the pitcher ran to cover first, but Goose would just beat the throw from the first baseman by a hair for an infield single. Jason Pridie would deflect a hit off of the shortstop for an infield single to load the bases, unfortunately Herrera would be unable to reproduce his results from the previous inning, grounding out to the first baseman to end the inning. Goose would get one last chance at the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning of a 7-4 game, stepping in with one out and a runner on first, but he would hit a ground ball at the first baseman to ground into his second career double play. Final stats for Goose, he would end up 2-5 with an infield single and a double, driving in one RBI and scoring one run. Goose's final average for the month of April, .318.

Third game of the series, Goose would end up sitting out, presumably for a day of rest. Tayler Featherston would take over shortstop for the day.

Fourth game of the series, Goose would return to the lineup, batting fourth in the order. Goose would come up for his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning with two outs and a runner on first. He would swing at a first pitch strike and send a line drive down the third base line, only to end up getting robbed by the third baseman, Kaleb Cowart, who would make an impressive web gem earning high leaping catch to snag the line drive out of the air over his head. Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out and no one on base, bouncing a 1-0 pitch off the wall in right-center field for a double. He would end up stranded at second however as Brandon Barnes would fly out to shallow center field. After a drawn walk by Taylor Featherston, Harold Riggans would fly out to deep left-center field to end the inning. After falling behind 3-0 in the second inning, Tulsa would plate a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth to close the gap. Goose would come up to bat in the bottom of the fifth with two outs and a runner on second, but he would fly out to deep left field to end the inning. Of course, our pitching staff would put us right back in a hole, giving up four runs in the top of the sixth to extend Arkansas' lead to 7-2. We would manage to plate three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to make it 7-5, before Goose would step in with one out and a runner on first. Goose would swing at an 1-0 pitch and send that thing ricocheting right off of the pitcher's left ankle and towards the shortstop. They would get the runner out at second but Goose would beat the throw to first for a fielder's choice. Despite showing a very visible limp, the pitcher would remain in the game and get Brandon Barnes to fly out to deep right field to end the inning and the scoring. Tulsa would manage to make a comeback in the bottom of the eighth inning as Harold Riggans and Ryan Casteel would both hit one out singles to put runners the corners. Jayson Langfels would drive a two RBI double to right field, making the tying the game at 7-7. David Dahl would give us our first and only lead of the day, scoring Langfels on what would be the game winning with a single to center. The inning would end when Raimel Tapia grounded into a double play, leaving our lead at just a single run. Tyler Matzek would come in to close, but Arkansas would put their first batter on after a throwing error by second baseman Taylor Featherston. The runner would move to second base on a sacrifice bunt, but would end up stranded there as a ground out to the pitcher would pick up the second out. After a walk put runners on first and second, Matzek would get the next batter to ground out to Featherston at second for the final out of the game. Final stats for Goose, 1-4 with a double and an infield hit for a fielder's choice.

As shown in the end of April stats vs. teams a couple posts ago, Goose has performed the worst against Arkansas, and that trend continued with this series. Goose would end up going 0-7 to start the series (0-8 if you count his last at-bat against NW Arkansas) before he would finally record his first hit. In the end, he'd go a miserable 3-14 for a .214 average with two doubles and an infield single, along with a fielder's choice, an RBI and one run.

Goose's high water mark for batting average came back on April 21st in his first game against Arkansas. After hitting his first career home run, a single and a hitting into a fielder's choice, his batting average reached a career high of .365. Ever since then, over the last 11 games, his batting average has been in complete and total free fall, currently sitting at .315 as of the completion of this series.

It doesn't look like it'll get any better for Goose. Up next for the Drillers, it's back on the road for their first series of the season against the division leading Springfield Cardinals, who sit at 17-11 on the season, a full 8 games better than the 9-19 Drillers. The 8-game road trip then continues with a four game swing through Arkansas. Tulsa returns home for four games against Springfield then has another split series with NW Arkansas, playing two games on the road and two games at home. After that, it's back to facing opponents from the South Division with a stretch of three game series against both Frisco and Midland, three games on the road against both, then three games at home against both to wrap up the month of May.

The video of the entire series: http://www.twitch.tv/smoothpancakes1/b/555751869

jaymo76
08-08-2014, 11:43 AM
I gotta stop sucking myself first. :D. Started the Arkansas series going 0-5 in the first game. :fp:

Sent from my Droid Maxx using Tapatalk because I'm a lazy ass

From what I can tell streaks are a huge part of this game. Right now I am in a career drought. I can't hit anything and out of desperation I am swinging at everything. That makes the problem even worse.

SmoothPancakes
08-08-2014, 11:48 AM
Yeah, I did horrible to start that Arkansas series. 0-8 drought if I include the end of the NW Arkansas series. Even after I got a hit, I didn't do great, going 3-14 in the series as a whole.

I'm doing the same thing, I get impatient and am trying to break the slump, so I end up swinging at pitches I normally wouldn't swing at, only to end up popping out or grounding out.

Sent from my Droid Maxx using Tapatalk because I'm a lazy ass

SmoothPancakes
08-08-2014, 09:29 PM
The Springfield series won't be getting played until at least Saturday night. I was hoping to maybe squeeze it in tonight, but got stuck at work later than I planned. As it's now 10:30pm EST and I have to be up at 2:30am EST for work, there's no time to get a game in before I have to hit the sack.

SmoothPancakes
03-31-2015, 11:34 PM
Alright, time to fire this baby back up with MLB 15. Like I posted in one of the MLB threads, I won't be streaming right away, as I'm dealing with some issue (either Time Warner being douchebags, the wiring in this place sucking, or my router/modem being crap) that is causing my upload and download speeds to go from anywhere between 100% of what they should be and 1/100th of what they should be. Therefore, I'm just going to go the text route for now, similar to what Steelerfan is doing. Hopefully down the road I'll be able to start streaming again.

To give a recap of the action, we have just begun the month of May in Double A. The Tulsa Drillers are currently sitting at a miserable 9-19 on the season, good enough for dead last in the Texas League North, 2 games behind third place Arkansas Travelers (11-17), 6 games behind the second place Northwest Arkansas Naturals (15-13) and 8 games behind the first place Springfield Cardinals (17-11).

We had just wrapped up a home series with Arkansas, taking two of three in the series. Goose Anderson was finally starting to put together some consistency. His batting average over the last five games were .500 (against NWA), .500 (against NWA), .000 (against Arkansas), .400 (against Arkansas) and .250 (against Arkansas). Goose would be in for a test as Tulsa hit the road to start May for a four game series at Springfield. It would be the first time playing Springfield this season, so Goose would be going up against new, unfamiliar pitchers in each game.

So far, on the season as a whole, Goose is batting .315 with .489 slugging. In 92 at bats, he has 29 hits, 10 doubles, 2 home runs, he's scored 11 runs and driven in 9 RBI. He's also walked once and struck out four times as well as grounding into two double plays. Fielding, hie has made 13 putouts and made 42 assists. He's committed four errors to knock his fielding percentage down to .932.

SmoothPancakes
04-01-2015, 12:42 AM
Hitting the road to start the month of May, it was off to take on the division leading Springfield Cardinals. Trailing by 8 games in the division, a four game sweep would be a HUGE boost to our division hopes. Unfortunately, the four game sweep would end up being for Springfield instead.

Springfield 3, Tulsa 1
Springfield 8, Tulsa 1
Springfield 3, Tulsa 2
Springfield 6, Tulsa 4

First game of the series and batting third in the order, Goose would step in for his first at-bat in the top of the first inning with one out and a runner on first. It would be a poor one as he would proceed to strikeout on three pitches. Returning to the plate in the top of the third inning with two outs and a runner on second. After taking a first pitch ball, Goose would end up grounding out to the second baseman to end the inning. Goose would get his next chance in the top of the sixth inning, batting with one out and no one on. Swinging on a first pitch strike down the middle, Goose would unload on it and send it deep to center field. Unfortunately it would be short of a home run, caught at the wall for the second out. Goose would come up likely for his last at-bat of the game in the top of the eighth inning with one out and a runner on first. Goose would finally break into the hit column, roping a first pitch strike over the head of the second baseman and into shallow left field for a single, advancing the runner all the way to third to put runners on the corners. Goose would make that runners on second and third as he would get a hell of a jump on the first pitch, easily beating the throw to steal second base. A sac fly to right field would put us on the scoreboard, making it 3-1 with two outs and Goose still on second. Another successful steal, this one just barely beating the throw from the catcher, would put Goose on third base. A five pitch walk to Rosell Herrera would put runners on the corners. Unfortunately Rafael Ynoa would ground out to second to end the inning. And that would be all as Springfield would go on to claim the 3-1 win. Final stats for Goose, he would go 1-4 with a bloop single to shallow left field, a strikeout and two stolen bases.

Second game of the series, Goose would be out of the starting lineup for the game. He would come in to bat as a pinch hitter for the pitcher to lead off the top of the sixth inning. Swinging at a first pitch strike, Goose would launch the ball into the gap between right and center field. While he had a great chance at legging out a triple, the ball would proceed to land on the warning track and bounce over the wall to limit him to a ground rule double. Goose would make it over to third on the next at-bat as Rafael Ynoa dropped a single into center field. Unfortunately Goose missed the go signal from the third base coach and lost any chance he had at making the plate, having to dive back to third base to avoid the throw by the cut-off man. That would be runners on first and third and no outs with Jason Pridie batting next. A ground out to second base by Pridie would see Goose score the first run of the game for Tulsa. That would be the end of Goose's day, going 1-1 with a ground rule double and a run scored in an 8-1 drubbing from Springfield.

Third game of the series, Goose would be back in the lineup, again batting in the third position. He would come up for his first at-bat in the top of the first inning with two outs and no one on. Swinging at a first pitch strike, Goose would absolutely unload on it, sending it screaming down the right field line. Unfortunately it go just foul to rob Goose from a home run. That would be the highlight of the at-bat as he would end up popping out to end the inning. Goose's next at-bat would come with two outs and no one on in the top of the fourth inning. It would be another uneventful trip to the play with a fly out to left field to end the half inning. Goose would get his next crack at the plate in the top of the sixth inning with two outs and no one on. Despite working a 2-2 count out of the at-bat, it would still be for nothing as a ground out to second base would bring the top half of the inning to a close. Goose would come up for his last at-bat of the game with one out and no one on in the top of the ninth inning. Goose's first swing of the game unloaded on a first pitch strike that saw a home run sail just foul. Goose's last swing of the game unloaded on a first pitch strike that would see that ball stay inside the right foul pole for a towering home run. It wouldn't be enough however as Springfield would take game three 3-2. Final stats for Goose, he would go 1-4 with a home run, run scored and one RBI.

Fourth and final game of the series, Goose would remain third in the batting order. His first at-bat would come in the top of the first inning with one out and a runner on third after a triple by Rosell Herrera. Goose would drive the lead run in with a triple of his own, putting us up 1-0 early on with one out and another runner on third. A ground out to second by Jason Pridie would drive Goose in to put us up by two runs. That lead would disappear in the second thanks to a three run homer, putting us behind 3-2. Goose would lead off the top of the fourth inning, but he would end up grounding out to shortstop to end the at-bat. Goose would next appear to lead off the top of the seventh inning. It would be another short at-bat as Goose would send the second pitch right at the first baseman for a quick out. Goose would come up to bat for his final appearance of the game, stepping in with no outs and runner in first in the top of the ninth inning. A soft grounder up the middle would see the lead runner thrown out at second, but Goose would manage to beat out the throw at first base for a fielder's choice. Goose would turn that into one out with a runner on second as he would take off on the first pitch, successfully stealing second base thanks to a high throw by the catcher. A missed diving catch by the center fielder on a crack up the middle by Jason Pridie would advance Goose to third base and put runners on second and third with one out. A two run triple by Rafael Ynoa would score both Goose and Pridie and close the gap on the scoreboard to just two runs. Unfortunately, two straight strikeouts by the closer would bring this one to an end with a 6-4 Springfield victory, and we would get swept right out of the four game series to drop us 12 games back of Springfield. Final stats for Goose, he would go 1-4 with a triple, two runs scored, one RBI and a stolen base.

Final series stats for Goose, he would see action in all four games, start in three of them. It would be a mediocre series however as he would end the series batting .308, going 4-13 with a single, a double, a triple and a home run, four runs scored, two RBIs, three stolen bases and one strikeout.

Next up, the Tulsa Drillers close out their 8 game road trip with a four game series at the Arkansas Travelers. Goose will need to step his game up if he wants to do better than the first two series against Arkansas. So far lifetime against the Travelers, Goose is batting .229, going 8-35 with four singles, three doubles, one home run, four RBIs and a walk. He has twice gone hitless against Arkansas, ending 0-4 back on April 23rd and 0-5 on April 29th.

SmoothPancakes
04-03-2015, 01:23 AM
Finishing up our 8 game road trip, the Tulsa Drillers would head to Arkansas to take on the Travelers. In the previous two series against Arkansas, it has been good and bad. The first series we got swept in four games, the second series we took three out of four. This series would end up being split, as Arkansas would take the first and last games, while Tulsa would steal the middle contests.

Arkansas 5, Tulsa 4
Tulsa 4, Arkansas 1
Tulsa 2, Arkansas 1
Arkansas 2, Tulsa 1

First game of the series would see a change for Goose Anderson, as he would get bumped up to the lead off position. Sort of surprising, but hopefully it'll mean better results. Coming up in his first at-bat to lead off the game, unfortunately it would be an at-bat to forget as he would strikeout swinging in the dirt. Goose would return to the plate in the top of the third inning with no outs and a runner on first. Goose would unload on the first pitch and send it deep to center field, but not deep enough as it would be caught at the warning track. Goose's next chance at the plate would come in the top of the sixth inning, leading off the inning. He would finally break into the hit column, sending a pitch right back up the middle and through the gap into center field for a stand up single. Goose would make it to second base on a steal, before being driven in to score a batter later on a single to right field by Corey Dickerson. The Drillers would score three runs that inning to take a 4-0 lead, only to blow it in the bottom of the inning as our pitcher Ryan Casteel would give up a grand slam to see the game tied back up. Goose would come back up to bat in the top of the seventh inning with one out and no one on, but he would get caught frozen on a hanging slider for a called third strike, his second strikeout of the game. Goose would walk to the plate for his final at-bat of the game, coming up to lead off the ninth inning. He would rip a ball down the first base line, but the first baseman would manage to dive and trap the ball, quickly scrambling to step on the base and get Goose out. Final stats for Goose, a miserable 1-5 with a single, a run scored and two strikeouts.

The second game of the series would see Goose still leading off. Coming up to bat to lead off the game, Goose would end up hitting a pop up to center field for another poor start. Goose would make his next plate appearance in the top of the third inning with no outs and a runner on first. Goose would come through this time, rocking a first pitch strike into right field for a single, putting runners on first and second. Goose would never make it to second base as the next batter, Jason Pridie, would ground back to the pitcher and into a double play. Goose would return for his next at-bat in the top of the fifth inning with no outs and a runner on first. Unfortunately it would end in a pop out to right field to send Goose back to the dug out. Goose would get his next shot in the top of the seventh inning with one out and no one on. While Goose would make great contact on a pitch, he would end up lining it straight at the second baseman for an easy throw out. Goose would come up for his final at-bat in the top of the eighth inning with two outs and the bases loaded. Goose would have a massive opportunity to shake off his recent struggles and make a statement here. However, instead of going out with a roar, Goose would go out with a whimper, grounding out to the first baseman. Final stats for Goose, he would again go 1-5 with a single his lone hit of the game to go along with a pair of ground outs and a pair of fly outs.

The third game of the series would apparently see the lead off experiment end, as Goose would be moved back to his normal third slot in the lineup. He would come up for first at-bat in the top of the first inning with no outs and runners on first and third thanks to a fielding error on the previous play. Goose would end up grounding out to the second baseman, but it would be enough to drive in the runner from third, so at least a semi-successful at-bat. Goose would return to the plate in the top of the third inning with one out and a runner on first. Swinging on a hit and run, Goose would end up grounding out to the second baseman once again, but he would successfully move the runner up to second base. Naturally nothing would come of the inning, but hey, at least Goose was being a team player. Goose would get his next crack in the top of the sixth inning, coming up with one out and no one on. Goose's struggles would continue as he would ground out to the first baseman to end another at-bat. Goose would get one last chance at the plate, coming up in the top of the eighth inning with one out and the bases loaded, another chance to go out with a roar. It wouldn't necessarily be a roar, but Goose would go out with a single in the gap into right field, scoring the runner from third and leaving the bases loaded for the next batter, Corey Dickerson. Nothing would end up coming of the inning, and we would leave the bases loaded to end the inning. Somehow our pitching would come through and we would hang on for the win. Final stats for Goose, he would end 1-4 with a single and two RBIs.

The final game of the series would see Goose remain in the third slot in the lineup. Swinging the pink bat for this Mother's Day battle, Goose would come up for his first at-bat in the top of the first inning with one out and no one on following a lead off home run by David Dahl. Swinging at a fastball down the middle, Goose would send it up the gap into right field, somehow increasing his hitting streak to an improbable 10 games, thanks to his being a one-hit wonder. Goose would make it to second base a couple pitches into the next at-bat, racking up another steal on the season. Unfortunately Goose would end up being the second out of a double play, as the next batter would send a line drive right to the short stop, the ball quickly thrown to second for the out before Goose could tag up in time. Goose would make his next at-bat in the top of the third inning with two outs and a runner on first. A ground out to second base would be all Goose would manage. Goose's next shot would come leading off the top of the sixth inning. A soft chopper back to the pitcher would be all Goose could manage out of the at-bat, thrown out at first base. Goose would get his final chance this game, coming up in the top of the eighth inning with two outs and no one on. A fly out to left field would end the top half of the inning and end Goose's night. Final stats for Goose, he would rack up yet another 1-4 night, ending with a lone single in the first inning and a stolen base.

Final series stats for Goose, he would start all four games, spending the first two games leading off and the final two games back at third in the batting order. Goose would end up batting a paltry .222 for the series, going 4-18 with four singles, two RBIs, two stolen bases and two strikeouts.

Next up for the Tulsa Drillers, it's back home for a four game stretch with Springfield, then a split four game series against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, playing the first two games on the road and the last two games at home. Thankfully Tulsa didn't lose any ground after splitting with Arkansas, remaining 12 games back of first place Springfield.

Taking a look at some early season All-Star voting, Goose Anderson is currently coming in second in voting for shortstop in the Texas League with 197k votes. Addison Russell of the Midland Rockhounds sits in first place with 291k votes. And rightly so. Looking at stats, Goose has the better batting average (.301 over .275), but Addison destroys Goose in home runs (9 to 3) and RBIs (26-13), while also leading in Hits (39-37). Goose leads in stolen bases (5 to 4). So it's hard to complain there based on stats. Hopefully Goose can start pulling it together and maybe make a run at Addison in the second half of May and first half of June.

jaymo76
04-07-2015, 08:53 PM
I don't get the logic of where the cpu puts human players for hitting. I am always 3rd or cleanup but I don't have the power to back it up.

SmoothPancakes
04-08-2015, 12:07 AM
Yeah, a move down the roster for me probably wouldn't hurt. at least right now while I'm sucking. I'm definitely not lead off material. Goose has the power to bat third, but he doesn't have the consistency and isn't getting the hits needed from that spot.

#TheScriptIsDead

SmoothPancakes
04-10-2015, 03:25 PM
Back home for a four game series against Springfield, Tulsa would again be in control of their fate as they would need to start reeling of some wins to get back into the division picture. This time around, the bats would come alive this series as the Drillers would steal three games from the Cardinals and close the gap in the division to just 10 games.

Tulsa 7, Springfield 3
Springfield 2, Tulsa 1
Tulsa 9, Springfield 4
Tulsa 9, Springfield 2

First game of the series would see Goose in his normal third slot in the batting order. Goose would come up for the first time in the bottom of the first with two outs and no one on, where he would end up grounding out to the shortstop to end the inning. Goose would get his next chance in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out and no one on. After smoking a change up left hanging high down the right field line, unfortunately foul, Goose would settle for a line drive up the gap into center field for a single. A single up the first base line by Corey Dickerson would advance Goose to third base to put runners on the corners with one out. Unfortunately a strikeout and a ground out would end the inning and strand Goose at third. Goose would get his next chance at-bat in the bottom of the sixth inning with one out and a runner on first. Another line drive, this time in the gap into right field, would give Goose his first two-hit game since April 30th against Arkansas (a 10 game, 12 day span between two hit games) and would put runners at first and second. Some sloppy pitching would see Corey Dickerson walked next, loading the bases with one out for Rosell Herrera. A huge line drive single up the first base line would score the run from third as well as Goose and move the runner on first over to third. We would explode offensively that inning and drive in two more runs before the final out could be gained. Goose would get back to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs and no one on base. Unfortunately a ground out to the first baseman would end the inning. That would end up being his final at-bat as the Drillers wouldn't need to bat in the bottom of the ninth. Final stats for Goose, 2-4 with two singles, a run and stolen base.

The second game of the series would find Goose riding the bench, presumably for a day of rest. Goose would come on as a pinch hitter to lead off the bottom half of the seventh inning in a tied game. Goose would make the most of his chance with a shot through the gap into left field to put the lead off runner on. A bunt by Rafael Ynoa would advance Goose to second base, although picking up the first out of the inning. Jason Pridie would end up flying out to left field, but a sprint by Goose would be the throw in, leaving Goose standing on third base with two outs for Corey Dickerson. Goose would end up stranded on third as Dickerson would proceed to strikeout to end the inning. That would be all for Goose today as he would end 1-1 with a single.

The third game of the series would see Goose return to the lineup, batting third in the order. Goose would get his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning with two outs and no one on. Goose would unload on a first pitch fastball left high, NEARLY sending it out of the park, instead bouncing it off of the very top of the center field wall. Thanks to the ball bouncing off and going past the center and right fielders, as well as thanks to the slow throw-in to the cut off man, Goose was able to turn a double into a triple. Two straight walks to Corey Dickerson and Rafael Ynoa would load the bases, leaving it in the hands of Brandon Barnes to drive Goose in. Unbelievably, Goose would end up being to blame for the end of the inning as he would get picked off at third base after a failed catch by the catcher, Goose briefly take a couple steps towards home before trying to retreat upon seeing that the ball didn't get behind the catcher, only to have the throw from home to third beat him. That is one that will haunt Goose and end up on the blooper reels, especially considering Barnes lead off the next inning with a double. :fp: Goose would get his next chance in the bottom of the third inning, coming up with no outs and runners on first and second thanks to back to back singles to lead off the inning. A solid hit into center field would result in an RBI single, driving in the first run of the game and still leaving runners on first and second. The spree of singles would continue as Corey Dickerson would also send a pitch into center field, scoring Rosell Herrera from second, advancing Goose to second and leaving runners at first and second with no outs for Rafael Ynoa. Ynoa would blast a pitch off the right-center field wall for a two RBI triple, scoring Goose from second and opening the floodgates for a 5 run third inning. Thanks to the huge third inning that saw us bat around for the entire order, Goose would come back up to bat in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out and no one on. Goose would luck out with an infield single after bouncing the ball off of the pitchers right ankle. Thanks to some luck, that would give Goose his first three hit game since April 15th against San Antonio (a 22 game, 29 day span between 3 hit games). A stolen base would advance Goose to second. A single into center field by Corey Dickerson would see Goose sprint from second to score his second run of the game to further pad our lead. In a day of absolute offensive power, Goose would return to the plate for the third inning a row, this time the bottom of the fifth inning with the bases loaded and one out. Goose would come, Goose would see, Goose would CONQUER with a first pitch line drive single into center field, driving in two runs and leaving runners at the corners, giving Goose his first four hit game of his baseball career. Corey Dickerson would fly out to center field, deep enough to score the runner from third to leave two outs and Goose the lone runner at first base. In a continuation of the poor day on the bases, Goose would get picked off at first base by the pitcher, ending the fifth inning. Despite the streak of consecutive innings ending, Goose would still get back up to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning, coming up with two outs and a runner on third. Unfortunately, Goose's day of perfection at the plate would come to an end as he would bite on a low change-up to strike out to end the inning in his final at-bat. Final stats for Goose, an explosive day would see him go 4-5 with three singles, a triple and a strikeout, score two runs, drive in 3 RBIs and pick up a stolen base (to go along with the negative of being picked off twice), earning Goose player of the game honors.

The fourth and final game of the series would see little change as Goose would again bat third in the order. Goose would come up for his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning with one out and a runner on first. Maybe suffering a bit of a post game hangover from the previous night, Goose would pop out to the third baseman for an uneventful at-bat. Goose would lead off the bottom of the third inning, but he would continue to struggle today with a pop out to the shortstop. Goose would get his next chance at the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning, coming up with two outs and no one on, only to proceed to pop out to the catcher. :fp: Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on second. Goose would finally end his struggles today with a ground ball single through the gap into right field, good enough to score the runner from second. A ground out to first by Jason Pridie would end the inning. Unfortunately, that would be the final at-bat for Goose in the game, as he would end up watching Brandon Barnes strikeout to end the eighth inning from the on-deck circle. Final stats for Goose, he would go 1-4 with a single and popouts to third, to shortstop and to the catcher. He would also end with an RBI

Final series stats for Goose, he would start three games of the series, batting third in the batting order in all three starts. Goose would find his groove to bat .571 for the series, going 8-14 with seven singles and a triple, three runs scored, four RBIs, two stolen bases and a strikeout, as well as earning player of the game honors in the third game of the series for his massive 4 for 5 performance.

Next up for the Tulsa Drillers, it's a split series with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, playing the first two games on the road and the last two games at home, then we take a break from division play with two three game series (away then home) against both Frisco and Midland. Thanks to those three wins, Tulsa would pull within 10 games of first place Springfield, and get within four games of third place Arkansas.

SmoothPancakes
04-12-2015, 02:01 PM
Just a quick note, semi-related/semi-off topic. I'm planning on reviving my Colorado Rockies franchise.

Unfortunately it got left behind last year as I went on a bit of a gaming hiatus in the last summer and never picked it back up. However, only having gotten two games into the season, I think I'm gonna restart it as a new franchise on MLB 15. It sounds like there have been some potential bugs or issues with year to year saves, so still being at the very beginning, screw it, I'll just restart fresh.

I'm gonna drop the individual game summaries (if I hope to play multiple 162 game seasons, I'm gonna have to go more steeler's route of entire series summaries.

I'll probably be reviving it on the coming days or weeks. I'm debating on using the OSFM rosters or waiting and using the OS Hybrid rosters. Haven't made up my mind yet. If I just use OSFM, I'll probably revive it by mid-week, otherwise it'll be a couple weeks yet while waiting on the Hybrid rosters to be released.

#TheScriptIsDead

jaymo76
04-12-2015, 04:43 PM
Just a quick note, semi-related/semi-off topic. I'm planning on reviving my Colorado Rockies franchise.

Unfortunately it got left behind last year as I went on a bit of a gaming hiatus in the last summer and never picked it back up. However, only having gotten two games into the season, I think I'm gonna restart it as a new franchise on MLB 15. It sounds like there have been some potential bugs or issues with year to year saves, so still being at the very beginning, screw it, I'll just restart fresh.

I'm gonna drop the individual game summaries (if I hope to play multiple 162 game seasons, I'm gonna have to go more steeler's route of entire series summaries.

I'll probably be reviving it on the coming days or weeks. I'm debating on using the OSFM rosters or waiting and using the OS Hybrid rosters. Haven't made up my mind yet. If I just use OSFM, I'll probably revive it by mid-week, otherwise it'll be a couple weeks yet while waiting on the Hybrid rosters to be released.

#TheScriptIsDead

What bugs have you head about? The only issue I have heard is the retired players issue being replaced by generics.

Q. 2... The Rockies again or are you going to switch it up?

SmoothPancakes
04-12-2015, 07:03 PM
What bugs have you head about? The only issue I have heard is the retired players issue being replaced by generics.

Q. 2... The Rockies again or are you going to switch it up?

There was that (which according to the developers, that was because of their contract with MLB and the licenses determining who is part of the player's association and what not), there was an issue with carried over saves rewriting your 15 profile with your 14 profile, an issue with end of year awards. For the OSFM rosters, when the guys are making them, they put injured players (as of opening day) in Single A on the roster, then you can make any moves as needed in your franchise. There appears to be an issue with Y2Y saves where players like Aroldis Chapman and others, who started the season in Single A due to injury on the OSFM rosters, may end up replaced with random created players in 15, so Single A players may not carry over.

Some other issues that have been noted (may not necessarily be solely because of Y2Y saves, but possible ties to them include default weather always being clear skies (never any variation, forcing the user to manually pick different weather options if they want them instead of the game randomly deciding). There is also a random bug that some people have had with every game being presented as the Opening Day game, and someone hitting a home run and it being presented as their first career home run in their first career game (despite having over 150 home runs in their career). Also mentioned has been people still having Petco Park as the site of the 2015 All-Star Game, not Great American Ballpark. They would also get an email after the home run derby congratulating them on winning it, despite not even getting out of the first round.

A lot of it could be characterized as minor things and some may or may not be caused directly by Y2Y saves, but all of it added up, sort of ruins the immersion of the franchise. And since I was only two games in, it's not like it'll be a bunch of effort lost restarting.

As for what team, Rockies are still on the list, but I am thinking about maybe switching teams. Similar to NCAA, going outside my comfort zone and running with new and unfamiliar teams sort of adds to the franchise for me on a personal level. Makes it more interesting trying to learn the new players, the new team, the new skills, etc. If I do go with someone other than the Rockies, just based on teams that I would or wouldn't want to play as, plus I want a team with at least a decent farm system so I can work on building them up over the years as well as having trade bait.

If I stay in the National League, I'd probably roll with the Chicago Cubs, as there's not too many others I'd want to play as. I really couldn't care less about the Giants, Diamondbacks, Marlins, Brewers, Mets, etc, you're with the Padres in RTTS, Cardinals, Nationals, Braves, etc are too good for my interest, I want someone who is up and coming or worse.

If I go American League, maybe the Cleveland Indians (decent team that is missing one or two players for a playoff run, with some stars and some future big name players on the farm system), the Detroit Tigers (a team with aging stars and a barren dustbowl for a farm system, who may have reached their peak for playoffs/World Series a year or two ago and now will be headed downhill until they enter rebuilding) or the Toronto Blue Jays (a team also with some aging stars, but some good young players and a couple good prospects to either help build up or use as trade bait).

JeffHCross
04-12-2015, 08:34 PM
The Braves are not too good, especially with the moves they just made. They're projected by most to be 5th in their division.

steelerfan
04-12-2015, 10:27 PM
The Braves are not too good, especially with the moves they just made. They're projected by most to be 5th in their division.
Yeah. The Braves are in full-on rebuild. They're tearing it down work the goal of getting good again when they move into their new park.

SmoothPancakes
04-13-2015, 05:50 AM
Huh, I was under the impression they would have a chance at contending this year, of course I really haven't paid too close of attention to the Braves or NL teams outside of the Rockies.

Alright, so I'll include the Braves as an option as well. If I don't stick as Rockies, the Cubs or Braves in the NL and the Blue Jays, Indians or Tigers in the AL are the teams under consideration.

#TheScriptIsDead

SmoothPancakes
04-13-2015, 10:44 AM
Alright, so I've taken a bit closer look at things. Using the OSFM v1 rosters, I can probably eliminate the Blue Jays. They have an overall rank of 10th, rank 7th in power (though they suck in most other rankings), and have a yearly goal of winning division and a contact goal of winning the world series. So I must have been underestimating the Blue Jays in terms of where their team is at.

I'm also going to eliminate the Tigers. While they rank 26th overall, they have stat rankings of 6th in contact, 22nd in power, 16th in speed, 7th in fielding and 5th in pitching, with a yearly goal of winning the division and a contract goal of winning the division series. While their farm system does suck as pretty much one of the most barren in baseball, they are still too much of a power team in the majors.

And sort of surprisingly, the Rockies are at least ranked well in a lot of things, ranked 9th overall, 1st in contact, 3rd in power, 22nd in speed, 11 in fielding and a crappy 29th in pitching, with a yearly goal of reaching the postseason and a contract goal of winning a league pennant, so I think I will go ahead and cross the Rockies off the list.

While the Cubs are only ranked 13th overall, with unimpressive ratings of 17th contact, 21st power, 18th speed, 24th fielding and 19th pitching, they do have a yearly goal of reaching the postseason and a contract goal of winning a division series, so even the game recognizes the beast of a farm system they have. That's sort of the thing putting me off the Cubs, they have what is widely considered the top farm system in all of baseball, if not number one, a very close number two. I have a feeling it'd get too easy a season or two down the road as those prospects start to rise in talent and come up to the major league roster.

So that pretty much leaves me deciding between Atlanta (who seriously dropped off a bloody cliff faster than I realized) and Cleveland.

Atlanta is ranked dead last, 30th overall franchise in the game, 22nd contact, 29th power, 6th speed (so I'd have to play a lot of small ball most likely) 6th fielding and 28th pitching. They have a yearly goal of finishing over .500 and a contract goal of reaching the postseason. Pitching, despite being ranked 28th pitching by the game, they actually look decent. For Starters, Julio Teheran (24, 84 OVR/A POT), Alex Wood (24, 82 OVR/B POT), Shelby Miller (24, 80 OVR/B POT), Trevor Cahill (27, 72 OVR/C POT), Cody Martin (24, 70 OVR/B POT) and Mike Foltynewicz (23, 76 OVR/B POT). Go even further down into double A and single A, there's Matt Wisler (22, 75 OVR/A POT) and Mike Minor (27, 81 OVR/B POT). Relief pitching will be the killer. Only two good relievers in the organization, Luis Avilan (25, 75 OVR/C POT) and Shae Simmons (24, 71 OVR/B POT), everyone else blows.

Position players, a lot of aged players like AJ Pierzynski (38 YO) with some questionable backups at catcher, Johnny Gomes (34, 71 OVR/C POT) with absolutely no suitable backups/replacements in left field, an aging Eric Young Jr (29, but only 77 OVR/C POT) with against no real replacements in center field and Nick Markakis (31, 81 OVR/B POT) with no one in a hope's dream of replacing him in right field. Basically the three aging starters in the outfield are all I would have. There is pretty much no suitable replacements for them and I would have to completely rebuild an outfield via either trades, free agency or the draft. The good for Atlanta in terms of stars is pretty much only Freddie Freeman (25, 84 OVR/ A POT) and Adrelton Simmons (25, 84 OVR/B POT).

Cleveland is ranked the 28th overall franchise in the game, 15th contact, 15th power, 20th speed (so I have options between small ball or going for power hits), 13th fielding and 21st pitching. They have a yearly goal of finishing over .500 and a contract goal of reaching the postseason. Pitching definitely blows. Only true good starters are Corey Kluber (28, 90 OVR/B POT), Carlos Carrasco (28, 82 OVR/C POT), Trevor Bauer (24, 77 OVR/B POT), and Danny Salazar (25, 81 OVR, B POT). Everyone else is in their 30s, mid-70s or lower and pretty much only C or D potential ratings. Bryan Shaw is pretty much the only good long term relief pitcher (27, 76 OVR/C POT), everyone else is really low OVR and horrible potential.

Position players, got some good bats and some guys that I can get at least a couple years out of (Carlos Santana, Nick Swisher, Jason Kipnis, Yan Gomes, Francisco Lindor and Michael Brantley). Farm system is a little dryer than I thought, a LOT of low 60s and 50s OVR players with a lot of C and D potentials that may or may not be any use a couple seasons down the road.

JeffHCross
04-13-2015, 11:29 AM
Have to admit I don't understand Cleveland's rankings at all. You are talking about the 15 rosters, right? Or are you looking at 14 and they were just terribly underrated last year ... because this year they're projected to win the Central (http://grantland.com/the-triangle/2015-mlb-preview-al-central-indians-tigers-white-sox-royals-twins/).

If you like small ball, what about the Royals?

SmoothPancakes
04-13-2015, 11:54 AM
Yeah, some of these definitely seem off. Cleveland was a good team last year, so having a goal of reaching .500 seems strange. This is using OSFM rosters in MLB 15.

Of course, looking at that Grantland article, the game may not still be too far off from real predictions. Even Grantland is only predicting them to go around 84-78 this year. 3 games over .500 still fits in with MLB 15 having a yearly goal of reaching .500.

Being the 28th overall franchise though, that seems way out of place.

#TheScriptIsDead

steelerfan
04-13-2015, 12:11 PM
Have to admit I don't understand Cleveland's rankings at all. You are talking about the 15 rosters, right? Or are you looking at 14 and they were just terribly underrated last year ... because this year they're projected to win the Central (http://grantland.com/the-triangle/2015-mlb-preview-al-central-indians-tigers-white-sox-royals-twins/).

If you like small ball, what about the Royals?
Some are picking Cleveland as a World Series team (that's a bit hasty, imo). They definitely have the starting pitching.

jaymo76
04-13-2015, 08:15 PM
All I know is that if you want a team that is crap in THE SHOW, choose the Padres. Man they are awful in this game!

steelerfan
04-13-2015, 08:46 PM
All I know is that if you want a team that is crap in THE SHOW, choose the Padres. Man they are awful in this game!
They completely overhauled their roster over the winter. They made more moves than any other club. I'm quite certain the look alot different on 15. ;)

JeffHCross
04-14-2015, 08:39 AM
Some are picking Cleveland as a World Series team (that's a bit hasty, imo). They definitely have the starting pitching.Agreed on the series, though the AL doesn't seem to have any real dominant teams this year ... but if they can win the Central then they obviously have a chance.

SmoothPancakes
04-14-2015, 01:01 PM
Alright, after thinking about it, since it looks like Cleveland is projected to be better in real life this year than the game projects, I'll go ahead and go with the worst of the two. So, I'll be restarting my Franchise with the Atlanta Braves. This ought to be interesting. :D

I'll shoot for getting it started maybe this weekend, as soon as I can decide on which rosters I feel like using.

SmoothPancakes
04-14-2015, 02:19 PM
This next series, against Northwest Arkansas, is actually being considered two separate series in the game, a two game series on the road and a two game series at home. For simplicity's sake, I'll be combining all four games into a single series in this post.

Sitting 10 games back on the Springfield Cardinals, after taking three of four against them in the previous series, the Drillers would now get a chance to not only hopefully close the gap further, but also screw up Northwest Arkansas' hopes as they sit just four games back of Springfield entering the game. Despite taking the first two games of the series, Northwest Arkansas would return the favor in the final two games, and we would be right back to the beginning, 10 games behind Springfield, as if nothing had changed.

Tulsa 3, Northwest Arkansas 2
Tulsa 6, Northwest Arkansas 3
Northwest Arkansas 10, Tulsa 1
Northwest Arkansas 5, Tulsa 4

First game of the series would be a no show for Goose as he would get a day of rest, watching the entire game from the bench.

The second game of the series would find Goose back in the lineup, batting third in the order. Goose would come up for his first at-bat in the top of the first inning with two outs and the bases empty. After swinging and missing at a slider low and outside, Goose would manage to keep the bat on his shoulder as he would watch four straight balls for a walk. Unfortunately Goose would end up stranded at first. Goose would return in the top of the third inning with two outs and no one on. Goose wouldn't make it on base this time, grounding out to the first baseman to end the top of the inning. Goose's next at-bat would come in the top of the sixth inning with one out and no one on. It would be a short lived at-bat as he would unload on a first pitch strike left up in the zone, only to fly out to the center fielder. Goose would come up for his last at-bat in the top of the ninth inning with no one out and a runner on first. Goose would get his first hit of the game in crowd silencing fashion, sending a first pitch fastball rocketing out of the stadium in right field for a two run home run to break a 3-3 tie and send us onto victory, as well as pushing Goose's hitting streak to 15 games. Unfortunately Ryan Casteel would steal player of the game honors over Goose thanks to his own home run and 3 RBIs. Final stats for Goose, he would go 1-3 with a home run, a walk, a run scored and two RBI.

The third game of the series would see Goose remain third in the batting order. He would get his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning with two outs and no one on. Goose would get on base after dropping a bloop single right in front of the left fielder. Unfortunately the next batter would hit to the shortstop to cause the force out at second to end the inning. Goose would come up next in the bottom of the third inning with one out and no one on, a drastically different game after Northwest Arkansas would score 5 runs in the top of the inning, thanks to our crap pitching giving up five bloody walks in the goddamn inning. Despite working a couple balls out of the pitcher, Goose would end up sending a high fastball into right field for a fly out. Goose would get his next chance in the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs and no one on, but would end up striking out to end the inning. Goose would get his final at-bat in the bottom of the eighth inning with one out and no one on, and despite working a good 7 pitches out of the pitcher, he would end up striking out on a change up. Miserable final stats for Goose, 1-4 with a single and two strikeouts.

Side note, our pitchers SUCK! 10 goddamn walks issued by three pitchers this game. They all only lasted 3.0 innings, the first two gave up 5 runs each. Then you look at Northwest Arkansas' pitcher, he pitched a complete game, gave up 7 hits, one run, two walks and 5 strikeouts. We either need some new pitchers or I need a new team. :fp:

The fourth and final game of the series would see little change as Goose would again bat third in the order. Goose would come up in the bottom of the first inning with one out and a runner on first. Goose would send a high fastball into right field for an easy single, putting runners on first and second, but a strikeout and a pop out would end the inning. Goose would get tagged with an error in the field in the top of the second inning, throwing the ball over the first baseman's head on a put out attempt at first. Thankfully a double play would get us out of the inning without any damage. Goose would return to the plate leading off the bottom of the fourth inning. Goose would get things off to a great start with a stand up double off the right field wall to put the lead runner on for the inning. After a strikeout by the next batter, a ground out to the third baseman would see Goose advance to third on the play. Third base would be as far as Goose would get as a second ground out to third would end the inning. Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning with one out and a runner on first. A pop up in the infield would end Goose's at-bat. Goose would get his final chance in the game in the bottom of the eighth inning, coming up with one out and a runner on first. Northwest Arkansas' starting pitcher was still in the game, approaching 110 pitches thrown. Goose would make the manager regret that decision as he would unload on a fastball left hanging in the middle of the zone, sending it straight into the gap between right and center field, all the way to the wall, giving Goose a stand up triple and one RBI. An infield single by Corey Dickerson would be enough to score Goose from third. Despite our best efforts, putting up four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, we would end up one run short of tying the game. Final stats for Goose, 3-4 with a single, a double and a triple, one run scored and one RBI.

Final series stats for Goose, he would play in the final three games of the series, starting and batting third in the batting order in all three games. After a slow start, Goose would breakout in the third game. He would bat .455 for the series, going 5-11 with two singles, a double, a triple, a home run, a walk, two runs scored, three RBIs and two strikeouts, along with a fielding error in the third game.

Next up for the Tulsa Drillers, it's a break from division play as we spend the next 12 games against the Frisco Roughriders and the Midland Rockhounds. We start with a three game series on the road against both Frisco and Midland, before returning home to play a three game series against both to close out the month of May.

jaymo76
04-14-2015, 09:15 PM
Alright, after thinking about it, since it looks like Cleveland is projected to be better in real life this year than the game projects, I'll go ahead and go with the worst of the two. So, I'll be restarting my Franchise with the Atlanta Braves. This ought to be interesting. :D

I'll shoot for getting it started maybe this weekend, as soon as I can decide on which rosters I feel like using.

Wow! In real life Atl has come flying out of the gate. 6-1... nice start! So their game rank is a lot lower huh? Well good luck buddy. Looking forward to the updates. Let us know if you do any streaming.

SmoothPancakes
04-14-2015, 09:18 PM
Wow! In real life Atl has come flying out of the gate. 6-1... nice start! So their game rank is a lot lower huh? Well good luck buddy. Looking forward to the updates. Let us know if you do any streaming.
Well, to be fair, so has Colorado, and we all know how that usually pans out most seasons. :D

#TheScriptIsDead

SmoothPancakes
04-17-2015, 01:04 PM
Well, now I'm starting to have some second thoughts. I'm not sure what I'm going to do now. I've been thinking about it for the past couple days, and looking through the Atlanta organization to get a feel for their players and farm system, and there's just not really any pull there. I'm looking through their 40 man rosters, their AAA and AA teams and depth charts, and I'm just not finding any care for their players, for the team, etc. I don't really care much for the team, the players, even the jerseys and uniforms just, meh.

Even the rivals, I couldn't care less about. I don't know a single thing about Miami and don't care about them one way or the other, don't really care about the Nationals or Phillies (other than following Chad Billingsley) unless it's Colorado playing them. Even the Mets, I actually very loosely follow the Mets because Jon Niese, a pitcher for them, I went to school with and played baseball with growing up, so I loosely follow the Mets just to see how Niese does throughout the season (same thing, previously with the LA Dodgers and now with the Phillies, with Chad Billingsley, though I hate the Dodgers as an organization).

There's just not that love/hate thing with Atlanta and their rivals. I mean, if I get swept by the Mets, yeah, I'll be upset because I got swept, but I wouldn't feel a thing and probably couldn't care less if the Mets swept the Braves. With the Rockies, I'd be pissed off if I got swept by the Dodgers or the Giants, the Padres or the Diamondbacks.

For NCAA Football, I can get away with not playing as Navy, because the rosters change so much. The roster will change 100% over a four year period, and with most teams, with juniors and seniors likely making up a big portion of your starters or your big named stars, you'll see different names, different players, different stars every 1-2 years as juniors and senior graduate and freshman and sophomores replace them.

With baseball, the rosters really don't change that drastically. The key players, the star players will likely still be there from year to year, the top prospects will likely still be there from year to year, and with needing 6 years of MLB service to become a free agent, the only way a bunch of players will change from season to season is if I go nuts on trades. So I'd be sitting there trying to do a franchise with a roster full of players that I know absolutely nothing about and that I really couldn't care much about.

I don't know. There's a thread over on OS that asks what are the most exciting teams for franchise mode, and over and over, I repeatedly keep seeing the Rockies being mentioned as one of the teams, and every time I see the Rockies mentioned, it keeps making me second guess not staying with the Rockies for my franchise. Even if I were to stick with Atlanta, I'd almost have to have a background franchise with the Rockies running for me to play through. And if I'm going to stretch myself into trying to run two franchises (the Braves posted on here and the Rockies just being run for my own entertainment), I almost may as well just make the Rockies my main, and sole, franchise.

So I don't know, I'll have to think on this some more. I think I sort of rushed into it too quickly, both in regards to eliminating the Rockies and picking the Braves. It'll still be a bit before I get the franchise up and running, I'm still trying to decide whether I'm going to use a 40-man version of the OSFM v1 rosters, wait for the official 40-man OSFM v2 rosters (hopefully out in a week or two) or wait for the full blown Hybrid rosters to be released, god knows when, maybe in 2-3 weeks if they get things knocked out fast. So while I decide on which rosters I want to use, I'll keep thinking about whether I'll stick with the Braves (if I can work myself up into actually caring about their players and their rivals) or if I'll go back to the Rockies as I originally had intended on.

SmoothPancakes
04-17-2015, 04:25 PM
Still remaining 10 games back on the Springfield Cardinals following our series split with Northwest Arkansas, we would step out of division play for our next 12 games, starting with a three game series on the road at Frisco, followed by a three game trip to Midland. Seeing as this would be our first games against both teams, our hopes for some good games against the unknown opponent would turn out answered, as we would sweep the Rough Riders.

Tulsa 10, Frisco 7
Tulsa 7, Frisco 3
Tulsa 7, Frisco 2

First game of the series would see a shuffling in the batting order as Goose would be bumped up to first in the lineup. If batting practice were to be an indication, this could be a long game for Goose. He would make his first appearance at the plate, leading off the top of the first inning. Maybe batting practice wouldn't be an indication of anything, as Goose would turn on a 1-1 fastball and send it launching high as hell into right-center field. The wind blowing in from center field kept it from being a home run, but neither the center field nor the right fielder were able to come down with the catch, as it landed in the dirt between them and the wall. Thanks to the high trajectory the ball took and Goose's speed, he was able to turn the hit into a triple before the Rough Riders could get the ball back into the infield. One batter later, Goose would score the first run of the game thanks to a single down the first base line by Jason Pridie. Goose would return to the plate leading off the top of the third inning. Unfortunately this time it would end with little fanfare in a fly out to the center fielder. Goose would get his next chance in the top of the fourth inning, stepping in with two outs and a runner on first, but he would end up striking out to end the top half of the inning. Goose would come up next in the top of the sixth inning with one out and the bases empty. Despite working a 3-1 count out of the pitcher, the at-bat would ultimately go for nothing as Goose would fly out to the right fielder at the warning track. Goose would get his final chance at the plate in the top of the eighth inning with one out and a runner on first base. It would be another poor at-bat as he would hit into a fielder's choice at first base, the lead runner thrown out at second base while Goose would just beat the potential double play throw to first to get on base for the second time today, at the cost of the second out of the inning, but the next batter would ground out to send it back onto the field. Turns out I was wrong, thanks to a two run home run by Frisco in the bottom of the ninth inning, we would head into extra innings, where Goose would come up to the plate in the top of the tenth inning with one out and runners on second and third. Apparently Frisco was afraid of Goose, as well as wanting to make home plate a force out, as they intentionally walked him to load the bases with one out and Jason Pridie coming up to the plate. That decision would come back to bite the Rough Riders as Pridie would deflect a ground ball off of the shortstop for a single, scoring the go ahead run and leaving the bases loaded, Goose now standing on second base with Corey Dickerson at the plate and a new pitcher on the mound. Goose would find home plate once more as Dickerson would send a 2-2 pitch into center field for a two RBI single and we would go on on to victory. Final stats for Goose, he would go 1-5 with a triple, a walk, a strikeout and two runs scored, along with a stolen base.

The second game of the series would see things return to normal, as Goose would move back to his traditional third slot in the batting order. Goose would come up for his first at-bat in the top of the first inning with no outs and runners on first and second. It would be an unproductive at-bat for Goose as he would go golfing on a curveball and fly out in shallow right field. Goose would get his next chance leading off the top of the third inning. Goose would make up his bad first at-bat, sending a fastball off the right field wall for a stand up double. Jason Pridie would ground out to the pitcher in the next at-bat, but it would be enough to move Goose up to third base with only one out. Goose would end up trotting home as Brandon Barnes would send a 1-2 pitch screaming out of left field for a home run off the scoreboard as we continued to rack up runs early on. Thanks to our batting coming alive this series, Goose would return to the plate the very next inning, leading off the top of the fourth inning as the Drillers proceeded to bat around the order in the third. Goose would again get on base to lead off the inning, this time sending a weak shot into shallow right field for a single. Because the pitcher decided to try and pick off Goose before even throwing a first pitch to the next batter, Goose decided to one up him and would end up stealing second base two pitches later. Thanks to a very unintentional button press, Goose would also steal third base during the next batter's at-bat, catching me entirely by surprise when he suddenly took off sprinting during the delivery. So, that would leave Goose standing on third base, one out and Brandon Barnes at the plate (the home run hitter of the previous inning). Barnes would fly out to right field, Goose tried to beat the throw, but he would end up being about three steps too late, tagged out at home plate to end the top half of the inning thanks to the rocket of an arm on the right fielder. Goose would return to lead off the top of the sixth inning, only to fly out along the right field line. Goose would get his likely final chance at the plate in the top of the eighth inning with no outs and a runner on first, but it would be another piss poor at-bat, popping out to the second baseman. Final stats for Goose, 2-5 with a single and a double, a run scored and two stolen bases.

The third game of the series would see Goose taken out of the line up for a night off.

Final series stats for Goose, he would play in just the first two games of the series. Goose would bat .300 for the series, going 3-10 with a single, a double, a triple, a walk, a strikeout, three runs scored and three stolen bases.

Next up for the Tulsa Drillers, it's back on the road for another three game series, this time against the Midland Rockhounds.

SmoothPancakes
04-17-2015, 05:19 PM
Coming off a great three game stretch against the Frisco Rough Riders, it would be back into action on the road as our Texas swing continued against the Midland Rockhounds, taking two of three out of the series.

Tulsa 4, Midland 2
Tulsa 8, Midland 2
Midland 8, Tulsa 6

First game of the series would see Goose return to the lineup, batting third in the order. With such an absurdly low wall in right field, no more than one or two feet off the ground, there would be little doubt Goose would be pushing for at least one home run to right field this series, at the very least a ground rule double. Goose would get his first at-bat of the game in the top of the first inning with one out and a runner on a first, but Goose would end up walking back to the dugout following a fly out to center field. Goose would walk into the exact same situation in the top of the third inning, stepping in with one out and a runner on first base, but the pitcher would get Goose swinging at a change up for a strikeout. Goose would come up next to lead off the top of the fifth inning, but the at-bat would end with another fly out to center field. Goose would step in next in the top of the seventh inning with one out and no one on. This time Goose would not be denied, unloading on an 0-2 fastball low and inside for a no doubt solo home run, blasted deep into the right field stands, Goose's fifth home run of the season. Goose would come back up for his final at-bat in the top of the ninth inning with one out and no one on base. Despite making great contact on the 1-1 pitch, he would end up flying out to deep center field. Final stats for Goose, he would go 1-5 with a home run, a strikeout, an RBI and a run scored. That home run would end up barely saving Goose's hitting streak, now at an incredible 20 games.

The second game of the series would find Goose again batting third in the lineup, also the same batting order slot as his counterpart, and likely future superstar, Addison Russell. Thanks to a two run home run by Jason Pridie, Goose would be stepping up to the plate in the top of the first inning with no outs and no one on base in an already 2-0 game. Goose would swing on a first pitch fastball and send it through the gap into right field for a single. Taking off on the second pitch, Goose would slide in well ahead of the throw from home plate for a successful steal of second base, though that apparently didn't please the pitcher as he instantly tried to pick Goose off. Nevertheless, Goose's time on base would be short lived thanks to a stand up double down the left field line to score Goose from second, on our way to a four run first inning. Naturally our pitching would be a let down as Midland would get two runs right back in the second inning. Goose would get his next chance at the plate in the top of the third inning, coming up with no outs and a runner on first. Despite fouling off about 5 straight pitches, Goose would again end up finding the gap into right field for a second single to put runners on first and second with no outs. Corey Dickerson would again drive Goose in for a run, this time with a bases clearing three run home run to right field to extend our lead to five runs. Goose would get his next at-bat in the very next inning, coming up in the top of the fourth inning with one out and Jason Pridie on first base. Thanks to a pitching change that would bring in a guy throwing literally nothing but junk balls, Goose would end up flying out to right field this time around. Goose would get his next change in the top of the sixth inning, coming in with two outs and runners on the corners, and Mr. Junk Ball still standing on the mound. Goose would again be unable to get a clean hit against the crap thrown, grounding out to the first baseman to end the inning. After escaping out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh inning, thanks to Goose initially an inning ending double play, he would make his final at-bat of the game in the top of the ninth inning with one out and no one on base, and thankfully a new pitcher on the mound. Swinging at an 0-1 fastball down low, Goose would send that ball sailing out of the park to right-center field for a solo home run, his sixth of the season. Thanks to his three hits and the solo home run, Goose Anderson would be named the player of the game. Final stats for Goose, he would go 3-5 with two singles and a home run, an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base, good enough to earn him player of the game honors.

The third game of the series would see Goose remain third in the batting order. Goose would step in for the first time in the top of the first inning with one out and a runner on second. Unfortunately Goose would fly out to center field. Thanks to a huge showing by the rest of the Drillers, Goose would return to the plate in the top of the second inning with no outs and a runner on first base in a now 4-0 game. Goose would send a 1-0 fastball launched into right field. It was a close one, with the right fielder leaping at the wall, but he wouldn't be tall enough as the ball would land just out of reach on the other side of the tiny right field wall for a two run home run to cap off a 6 run second inning. Goose would return in the top of the fourth inning with one out and no one on base. Despite sending another fast ball rocketing high and far into right field, this one wouldn't have the carry, caught by the outfield on the warning track for a fly out. Goose would get his next at-bat in the top of the sixth inning, stepping in with one out and a runner on first, the game now drastically different as we trailed 7-6 thanks to our crappy pitching giving up 7 runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings. The Rockhounds would again call on the goddamn junkballer to carry them in relief, resulting in Goose missing badly on two pitches before lining out to the second baseman. Goose would get his final chance at the plate, leading off the top of the ninth inning while trailing 8-6. While the junkballer was no longer on the mound, it wouldn't matter as Goose would still end up striking out on a splitter low and away, killing our chance at a sweep. Final stats for Goose, he would go 1-5 with a home run, a run scored and two RBI along with a strikeout, as well as a throwing error in the eighth inning.

Final series stats for Goose, he would play and start in all three games of the series. Goose would bat .333 for the series, going 5-15 with two singles, three home runs, two strikeouts, five runs scored, four RBis and one stolen base.

Next up for the Tulsa Drillers, it's back home for another three game series against both Frisco and Midland.

Looking at the standings, having that 5 game winning streak broken killed us as everyone else in the division won their final games. Essentially we made up no ground, remaining nine games back of the Cardinals, three games back of the Naturals (who are six games back of the Cardinals) and two games back of the Travelers (who are seven games back of the Cardinals and one game back of the Naturals). Any playoff hopes we have will likely have to come in the second half of the season. While we do still have 26 games remaining in the first half of the Texas League season, trying to make up nine games against our division opponents will be tough.

steelerfan
04-17-2015, 07:46 PM
I understand your quandary with picking the club to go with for your Franchise. The main thing, to me, is to just make a decision and go. With 162 games to play, there isn't time to mull it over.

I would suggest that you make a choice (go with Colorado if it will help keep your interest) and that you keep your recaps brief. The amount of detail that you give in NCAA is going to be a huge anchor around your neck, in my opinion, assuming you plan to play a full season each year when the new game is released.

I know that it is possible to play a partial season and then carry it over on the next year's version of The Show. However, for me, if I played 50 games a year and was 4 years behind 6 years from now, well I KNOW I would lose interest.

Anyway, just some things to think about. Whatever you decide, I'll be checking in to keep up. :)

SmoothPancakes
04-17-2015, 08:39 PM
I understand your quandary with picking the club to go with for your Franchise. The main thing, to me, is to just make a decision and go. With 162 games to play, there isn't time to mull it over.

I would suggest that you make a choice (go with Colorado if it will help keep your interest) and that you keep your recaps brief. The amount of detail that you give in NCAA is going to be a huge anchor around your neck, in my opinion, assuming you plan to play a full season each year when the new game is released.

I know that it is possible to play a partial season and then carry it over on the next year's version of The Show. However, for me, if I played 50 games a year and was 4 years behind 6 years from now, well I KNOW I would lose interest.

Anyway, just some things to think about. Whatever you decide, I'll be checking in to keep up. :)

Yeah, with NCAA, I prefer the play by play game recaps because it lets the reader feel the ups and downs of the games and when it comes to close games, they can they feel the tenseness of each play. Sure, it may take 3-4 hours per game, between playing the game, the play by play recap, the stats, the weekly recap, etc. But I enjoy doing it so it's not a problem. Plus the short seasons.

RTTS, I already have been able to cut things down. I stick pretty much solely to batting and base running for my recap posts. Between having time to type up what happens between pitches while on base, and while the rest of the game is quick simming while I'm not batting or on base, I can knock out entire series in around an hour. It only took two hours, maybe less, to get through both the Frisco and Midland series today.

For Franchise, I'm going to do something similar to your franchise, give the pitching match-ups before the series, playing an entire series at once (or at most spread it out over a day or two if time is an problem) and give a full series recap at once (instead of game by game like I originally had tried to do), giving the runs/hits/errors box score of each game, give a couple sentences on the top two or three hitters for the team, maybe how the starting pitcher did, how the relievers or closers did if they blew the game for us, etc.

With NCAA, only having 12 game seasons (14 if including a CCG and bowl game), I can get away with such long game recaps and taking so long with games because the seasons are so short, allowing me to get through multiple seasons in short time. With a 162 game season in baseball, I'm going to be going the much shorter and condensed route for recaps similar to how you do them, so I can get through games and series much faster.

jaymo76
04-17-2015, 08:45 PM
I understand your quandary with picking the club to go with for your Franchise. The main thing, to me, is to just make a decision and go. With 162 games to play, there isn't time to mull it over.

I would suggest that you make a choice (go with Colorado if it will help keep your interest) and that you keep your recaps brief. The amount of detail that you give in NCAA is going to be a huge anchor around your neck, in my opinion, assuming you plan to play a full season each year when the new game is released.

I know that it is possible to play a partial season and then carry it over on the next year's version of The Show. However, for me, if I played 50 games a year and was 4 years behind 6 years from now, well I KNOW I would lose interest.

Anyway, just some things to think about. Whatever you decide, I'll be checking in to keep up. :)


Well, now I'm starting to have some second thoughts. I'm not sure what I'm going to do now. I've been thinking about it for the past couple days, and looking through the Atlanta organization to get a feel for their players and farm system, and there's just not really any pull there. I'm looking through their 40 man rosters, their AAA and AA teams and depth charts, and I'm just not finding any care for their players, for the team, etc. I don't really care much for the team, the players, even the jerseys and uniforms just, meh.

Even the rivals, I couldn't care less about. I don't know a single thing about Miami and don't care about them one way or the other, don't really care about the Nationals or Phillies (other than following Chad Billingsley) unless it's Colorado playing them. Even the Mets, I actually very loosely follow the Mets because Jon Niese, a pitcher for them, I went to school with and played baseball with growing up, so I loosely follow the Mets just to see how Niese does throughout the season (same thing, previously with the LA Dodgers and now with the Phillies, with Chad Billingsley, though I hate the Dodgers as an organization).

There's just not that love/hate thing with Atlanta and their rivals. I mean, if I get swept by the Mets, yeah, I'll be upset because I got swept, but I wouldn't feel a thing and probably couldn't care less if the Mets swept the Braves. With the Rockies, I'd be pissed off if I got swept by the Dodgers or the Giants, the Padres or the Diamondbacks.

For NCAA Football, I can get away with not playing as Navy, because the rosters change so much. The roster will change 100% over a four year period, and with most teams, with juniors and seniors likely making up a big portion of your starters or your big named stars, you'll see different names, different players, different stars every 1-2 years as juniors and senior graduate and freshman and sophomores replace them.

With baseball, the rosters really don't change that drastically. The key players, the star players will likely still be there from year to year, the top prospects will likely still be there from year to year, and with needing 6 years of MLB service to become a free agent, the only way a bunch of players will change from season to season is if I go nuts on trades. So I'd be sitting there trying to do a franchise with a roster full of players that I know absolutely nothing about and that I really couldn't care much about.

I don't know. There's a thread over on OS that asks what are the most exciting teams for franchise mode, and over and over, I repeatedly keep seeing the Rockies being mentioned as one of the teams, and every time I see the Rockies mentioned, it keeps making me second guess not staying with the Rockies for my franchise. Even if I were to stick with Atlanta, I'd almost have to have a background franchise with the Rockies running for me to play through. And if I'm going to stretch myself into trying to run two franchises (the Braves posted on here and the Rockies just being run for my own entertainment), I almost may as well just make the Rockies my main, and sole, franchise.

So I don't know, I'll have to think on this some more. I think I sort of rushed into it too quickly, both in regards to eliminating the Rockies and picking the Braves. It'll still be a bit before I get the franchise up and running, I'm still trying to decide whether I'm going to use a 40-man version of the OSFM v1 rosters, wait for the official 40-man OSFM v2 rosters (hopefully out in a week or two) or wait for the full blown Hybrid rosters to be released, god knows when, maybe in 2-3 weeks if they get things knocked out fast. So while I decide on which rosters I want to use, I'll keep thinking about whether I'll stick with the Braves (if I can work myself up into actually caring about their players and their rivals) or if I'll go back to the Rockies as I originally had intended on.


In my RTTS I knew nothing about the Padres. I am fascinated with my progress but I still don't follow/care about the Padres organization in real life. Their unis suck but they do have a beautiful park. I find though that with this game the season is so long that you do actually connect with your players far better than say Madden. I find in general that I know/follow baseball a lot less so I have to work a lot harder to keep up-to-date with baseball. If you are like me, football is my native tongue while baseball is a 2nd language.

For my personal choice, I am a Jays fan and I like the players this year much more than last season. However, if I had to choose another team I would probably go with the Angels. Great ball park, great unis, great division, good talent. Just my .02c

steelerfan
04-17-2015, 09:50 PM
Yeah, with NCAA, I prefer the play by play game recaps because it lets the reader feel the ups and downs of the games and when it comes to close games, they can they feel the tenseness of each play. Sure, it may take 3-4 hours per game, between playing the game, the play by play recap, the stats, the weekly recap, etc. But I enjoy doing it so it's not a problem. Plus the short seasons.

RTTS, I already have been able to cut things down. I stick pretty much solely to batting and base running for my recap posts. Between having time to type up what happens between pitches while on base, and while the rest of the game is quick simming while I'm not batting or on base, I can knock out entire series in around an hour. It only took two hours, maybe less, to get through both the Frisco and Midland series today.

For Franchise, I'm going to do something similar to your franchise, give the pitching match-ups before the series, playing an entire series at once (or at most spread it out over a day or two if time is an problem) and give a full series recap at once (instead of game by game like I originally had tried to do), giving the runs/hits/errors box score of each game, give a couple sentences on the top two or three hitters for the team, maybe how the starting pitcher did, how the relievers or closers did if they blew the game for us, etc.

With NCAA, only having 12 game seasons (14 if including a CCG and bowl game), I can get away with such long game recaps and taking so long with games because the seasons are so short, allowing me to get through multiple seasons in short time. With a 162 game season in baseball, I'm going to be going the much shorter and condensed route for recaps similar to how you do them, so I can get through games and series much faster.
Yeah. What you do with NCAA is really impressive. I don't have the patience to do that but I respect what you do. It's a big commitment and it can be very engaging.

Baseball is a whole other animal.

SmoothPancakes
04-18-2015, 01:48 AM
Yeah. What you do with NCAA is really impressive. I don't have the patience to do that but I respect what you do. It's a big commitment and it can be very engaging.

Baseball is a whole other animal.
Exactly, which is why I'm not even going to try the same with baseball. Gonna keep it to short, simple recaps with the big play, the top hitters and starter's numbers and move on. Not about to start getting into multiple paragraphs per game, or I'll never finish the season.

#TheScriptIsDead

steelerfan
04-18-2015, 11:17 AM
Exactly, which is why I'm not even going to try the same with baseball. Gonna keep it to short, simple recaps with the big play, the top hitters and starter's numbers and move on. Not about to start getting into multiple paragraphs per game, or I'll never finish the season.

#TheScriptIsDead
:up:

I'm looking forward to it.

SmoothPancakes
04-21-2015, 12:20 PM
Still fighting to make a comeback in the first half of the Texas League season, we would be returning home for our final six games of May, starting off with a three game series against Frisco. If we could sweep Frisco, it may get us closer to Springfield and give us a fighting chance in the final weeks of the first half. Those hopes would disappear in the first inning of the very first game as our pitching reverted to crap and our hitting also crapped the bed. It would take a home run in the bottom of the 10th inning of the final game just to avoid being swept ourselves.

Frisco 9, Tulsa 2
Frisco 5, Tulsa 1
Tulsa 3, Frisco 1

First game of the series would see Goose batting third in the order. He would step in for his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning with two outs and no one on, but a strikeout would end the inning. Goose would get his next chance in the bottom of the third inning with two outs and runners on the corners. Unfortunately Goose would never get to finish his at-bat, as a pitch would get past the catcher mid at-bat. The runner at first would successfully steal second, while the runner at third for some reason decided to try to steal home, only to end up tagged out by the catcher to end the inning. Goose would return to the plate to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning, only to fly out to center field. Goose would get his next chance in the bottom of the sixth inning, stepping in with one out and no one on base. Facing a 2-2 count, Goose would swing at a fastball left high and outside, and despite seemingly destined for a fly out, the ball would end up sailing over the left field wall for Goose's eighth home run of the season. Goose would make his final appearance at the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning, coming up with one out and no one on, but he would uneventfully ground out to the second baseman. Final stats for Goose, he would go 1-4 with a home run, a strikeout, a run scored and one RBI.

The second game of the series would go by without an appearance by Goose, presumably for a day of rest.

The third game of the series would see Goose return to the starting lineup, batting third once more in the order. Goose would step up for his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning with one out and a runner on third base. He would ground out to the second baseman, but it would be enough to drive in the RBI from third. Goose would come up next in the bottom of the third inning with two outs and a runner on first, but he would end up grounding out to the first baseman to end the inning. The next chance at the plate would come in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and no one on, but another ground out to the first baseman would end the inning. Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning with one out and a runner on second, the game deadlocked at 1-1. Goose would need a hit here to preserve his hitting streak and potentially drive in the game winning run. Goose would unload on a running fastball, only to have it go foul at the last moment. He would end up grounding out to the first baseman, moving the runner up to third, but the next batter would strikeout to end the inning. A two run home run by Brandon Barnes in the bottom of the 10th inning would win the game for us, and also seal the fate on Goose's 23 game hitting streak. Final stats for Goose, 0-4 with one RBI.

Final series stats for Goose, he would play and start in the first and third games of the series. Goose would bat .125 for the series, going 1-8 with a home run, a strikeout, a run scored and two RBIs. Goose would see his 23 game hitting streak blown up in the third game thanks to an 0-4 performance.

Next up for the Tulsa Drillers, we close out the month of May with a three game series at home against Midland. Thankfully we didn't lose any ground in the standings thanks to Springfield going on a two game losing streak, but we need to start cranking out wins or kiss our hopes goodbye.

SmoothPancakes
04-21-2015, 12:44 PM
In a shocking announcement, especially after such a poor performance against Frisco, just before the start of the first game against Midland, Goose Anderson received word that he was being officially called up to Triple A to join the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. He would play his first ever Triple A game in the final game of a four game series against the Nashville Sounds on May 30th.

It would be a little bit better of a situation in Triple A. Current standings as of May 30th, the Iowa Cubs sit in first place in the PCL American Conference, North Division with a 28-27 record. Next is the Omaha Storm Chasers with a record of 24-31, four games behind the Cubs. The Sky Sox sit third with a 23-32 record, five games behind the Cubs and one game behind the Storm Chasers. And the Oklahoma City Dodgers sit in a tie with the Sky Sox with a 23-32 record, also five games behind the Cubs and one game behind the Storm Chasers.

Final Double A states for Goose, he played in 45 games, batting .326 in 181 at-bats. He finished with 59 hits, 30 runs scored, 13 doubles, 4 triples, 8 home runs and 26 RBIs. He had 11 stolen bases, got caught stealing once to finish with a SB% of .917. He had 3 walks and 14 strikeouts. He finished with a slugging % of .575, an on-base % of .333, OPS of .908. He had 104 total bases, 190 total plate appearances, 2 sac flys and grounded into two double plays. Fielding, Goose recorded 90 assists and 21 putouts while committing 7 errors to end with a .941 fielding %.

Goose will be thrown right into the fire, listed on the depth chart as the starting shortstop for the Sky Sox (in fact, he's the ONLY shortstop on the Sky Sox roster) and he will be thrown in at his usual spot of third in the batting order. As for any hopes of making the Major League roster this season, unless something changes between now and September, Goose will be remaining in Triple A for a while as he has not been added to the team's 40-man roster, which means Triple A is as far as he is going for now until some shuffling of the 40-man roster is done by the front office.

Probably the only negative in all of this, Goose was on track for a spot on the All-Star roster in Double A before this promotion. At least check, he was sitting second in voting, only trailing Addison Russell by 7k votes (down from almost 50k a couple weeks earlier). With only a month and a half until the Triple A All-Star game, there is almost no chance of Goose putting up good enough stats to leap his way up the list.

SmoothPancakes
04-21-2015, 01:04 PM
Thrown to the wolves in his first ever game in Triple A, Goose would get the start at shortstop and bat third in the order in the final game of a four game series against the Nashville Sounds.

Colorado Springs 1, Nashville 0
Nashville 14, Colorado Springs 3
Colorado Springs 3, Nashville 0
Nashville 2, Colorado Springs 1


Obviously, Goose made no appearances in the first three games as he wasn't called up until the morning of May 30th, just hours before the final game of the series.

The fourth game of the series would see Goose make his Triple A debut with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, starting at shortstop and batting third in the order. Goose would step in for his first ever Triple A at-bat in the top of the first inning with one out and no one on following a lead off home run by center fielder Drew Stubbs. It would be a horrible start to his Triple A career as Goose would send up a slider up high for a pop out to the first baseman in foul territory. Goose would make his next appearance leading off the top of the fourth inning. Goose would end up biting on an UNGODLY slow curveball for a strikeout. Goose's next chance would come in the top of the sixth inning with one out and no one on. After getting nothing but fastballs that were constantly fouled off, the pitcher would switch up with a slider on a 1-2 count and cause Goose to ground out back to the mound for the second out. Goose would get his likely final at-bat in the top of the eighth inning with one out and a runner on first base. Goose would make great contact with a fastball this at-bat, sending it flying into center field, but the ball would have too much hang time, making for a very simple catch by the center fielder to end the inning. Final stats for Goose, a miserable 0-4 with a strikeout.

Final series stats for Goose, he would play and start in the final game of the series. Goose would bat .000 for the series, going 0-4 with a strikeout, leaving him still looking for his first Triple A hit.

Next up for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, we end the last day of May and open June with a four game series at home against the New Orleans Zephyrs out of the South Division.

SmoothPancakes
04-24-2015, 02:41 PM
The very next night would see Goose open up his first full series in Triple A, as the Sky Sox returned home for a four game stint with the New Orleans Zephyrs. Sitting 5 games back in the division, a sweep here would leave us in great shape before heading back into division play against first place Iowa later in the week. Unfortunately we wouldn't get the sweep, and once again, that single lost game would keep us from making up any ground in the division.

New Orleans 8, Colorado Springs 2
Colorado Springs 11, New Orleans 5
Colorado Springs 2, New Orleans 1
Colorado Springs 4, New Orleans 0


First game of the series would see Goose batting third in the order. Goose would step in for his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning with two outs. Goose would kick things off with spectacular fashion, unloading on a first pitch fastball up in the zone, sending it flying down the right field line and carrying out of the park for a home run. With that swing of the bat, Goose would collect his first ever Triple A hit, his first Triple A home run, his first Triple A run scored and his first Triple A RBI all with a single swing. The next at-bat would come leading off the bottom of the fourth inning, ripping a pitch down the first base line and into the outfield for a single. Just to continue this game of firsts, Goose would add his first Triple A stolen base two pitches into the next batter's at-bat. Unfortunately two strikeouts and a ground out would leave Goose stranded on the bases. Goose would come up next in the bottom of the sixth inning with one out and no one on base, only to end up striking out. Goose would make his final at-bat leading off the bottom of the ninth inning, but he would end up grounding out to the second baseman to end his night. Final stats for Goose, 2-4 with a single and a home run, one run scored, one RBI, a strikeout and a stolen base.

Second game would find Goose once more third in the batting order. He would make his first appearance at the plate in the bottom of the first inning with two outs, but would end up popping out to the catcher to end the inning. Goose would get his next at-bat in the bottom of the second inning with the bases loaded and one out, the Sky Sox having batted around the order and scored four runs so far in the inning. He would make some great contact, including a shot down the right field line that would have been a double, only to go just foul, but he would ultimately end up striking out on a slow ass change up. Regardless, a couple more walks and some hits would see the Sky Sox bring another five batters up following Anderson and plate another four runs in the inning for an 8 run second inning. Thanks to all that, Goose would return for the third inning in a row, coming up in the bottom of the third inning with two outs and a runner on first, but a ground out to the second baseman would end the inning. Goose would make his next at-bat in the bottom of the fifth inning, stepping in with one out and no one on base. He would rope a fastball into shallow right field for a single. Taking off runner two batters late, Goose would steal second base with ease thanks to a great jump, and then, thanks to the catcher throwing the ball past the second baseman and into the outfield, Goose was able to jump up and quickly advance to third before the throw could get in. Despite two walks to load the bases, a ground out to the first baseman would leave Goose stranded at third to end the inning. Goose would get his next shot in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out and no one on. Despite going up against a pitcher throwing nothing but a sinker, a slider and a change up, and appearing to be on his way to striking out, Goose would launch on a 1-2 slider left hanging and send it out of the park to left center field for a solo home run. Goose would nearly get back up to bat, but would watch from the on-deck circle as the final out ending the eighth inning. Final stats for Goose, 2-5 with a single and a home run, one run scored, one RBI, a strikeout and a stolen base (talk about consistency).

Just a side note, that second game seemed to be one of those where the game code just falls flat on its face. For whatever reason, New Orleans committed 6 fielding or throwing errors during the game and the New Orleans pitching staff (five different pitchers) walked us 9 times. It was a very odd game with the way walks and errors kept racking up. New Orleans never committed a single error in the other three games, and their pitchers combined for 8 total walks combined in the entire rest of the series. So it must just have been one of "those" games where the shit just hit the fan when it came to the coding and errors/walks.

The third game of the series would see Goose pulled out of the starting lineup, presumably for a day of rest. He would however see action as he would get the call to pinch hit with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning in a 1-0 game. Unfortunately a fly out to center field would end the inning as we would pull out a victory with two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Final stats for Goose, 0-1 with a fly out to center field in pinch hit action.

The fourth game of the series would see Goose return to the starting lineup, batting third in the order. Goose would make his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning with two outs. Swinging at a 1-2 pitch, Goose would jack it deep to left center field, bouncing it off the wall over 400 feet out for a stand up triple. Goose would make it home this time as Kyle Parker would send a line drive into left center field, the ball rolling all the way to the wall in almost the exact spot that Goose's ball landed, giving Walker an RBI triple. Goose would get his next at-bat in the bottom of the third inning, against stepping in with two outs and no one on. Four pitches into the at-bat, Goose would send a slider straight up the middle and into center field for a single. A smooth move by the pitcher would nearly leave Goose standing around at first with his balls hanging out, but a wild throw over the first baseman's head would save Goose's giblets and allow him to advance to second, surprisingly being given credit for a stolen base. It would matter little however as a ground out to third base by Kyle Parker would end the inning. After an amazing diving catch by the left fielder in the top half of the inning, Goose would come up to the plate to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning for the Sky Sox. Goose would pick up another single this at-bat, sending a fastball into the gap into left field. Taking off on the second pitch to the next batter, Goose would manage to steal second base thanks to a high throw by the catcher. A one out single by Ryan Wheeler would move Goose up to third base to put runners on the corners. Goose would never reach home plate as strikeout and a fly out at the wall would end the inning. Goose would get his next chance at the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs and a runner on second. Goose would never get to swing the bat however as the Zephyrs would choose to intentionally walk him and take a chance at Kyle Parker. And Parker wouldn't let them down as a ground out to the second baseman would end the inning. Goose would nearly get back up in the eighth inning, but come up just one out short of reaching the plate. Final stats for Goose, he would go perfect today, finishing 3-3 with two singles and a triple, an intentional walk, a run scored and two stolen bases.

Final series stats for Goose, he would bat in all four games of the series and start in three games. Goose would bat a remarkable .538 for the series, going 7-13 with four singles, a triple and two home runs, an intentional walk, two strikeouts, three runs scored, two RBIs, and four stolen bases.

Next up for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, we continue on into June with a four game series against the first place Iowa Cubs, looking to pull back within one or two of the division leaders. Iowa went on a three game winning streak the same time as we did, so because of our first game loss to New Orleans, we made up no ground in the division race. Iowa remains in first with a record of 31-29. Omaha is second (four games back of Iowa) with a 27-33 record, Colorado Springs remains five games back of Iowa (one game back of Omaha) with a 26-34 mark and the Oklahoma City Dodgers are in last, seven games behind Iowa and two games behind Colorado Springs, with a record of 24-36.

jaymo76
04-25-2015, 10:16 PM
Wow Smooth! AAA already? That's quick. Are you there for injury or is this a promotion?

SmoothPancakes
04-25-2015, 10:40 PM
Wow Smooth! AAA already? That's quick. Are you there for injury or is this a promotion?
Yeah, I was shocked when I got the pop up saying I was being promoted. It was a straight promotion, there is only a single injury in the entire Rockies organization and it's a relief pitcher on the 15 day DL.

I was sort of hoping to play out the entire season in Double A. Especially the first half of the season as I was in second place in All-Star voting, only 7,000 bloody votes behind Addison Russell for first place at SS.

Not entirely sure if it's earned though. There has been a lot of comments on various RTTS related threads on OS about how promotions from Double A and Triple A still happen too fast in the game.

#TheScriptIsDead

SmoothPancakes
04-27-2015, 01:12 AM
After wrapping up the non-division series against New Orleans, it was now time to set our sights on the #1 team in our division, the Iowa Cubs. While first place would be impossible, as we trail Iowa by five games and are only playing a four game series, three wins or even a series sweep would put us right behind the Cubbies. It would be a tall task as we would have to earn those wins on the road.

Colorado Springs 10, Iowa 8
Colorado Springs 9, Iowa 1
Colorado Springs 6, Iowa 2 F/11
Iowa 3, Colorado Springs 2


First game of the series would see Goose batting third in the order as normal. Goose would make his first at-bat in the bottom of the first with two outs, but he would end up grounding out to the first baseman to end the top of the inning. Goose would get up next in the top of the fourth inning with one out and no one on base. Swinging at a fastball high and very inside, a swing that would look better in a cricket field would see the ball drop for a lucky single in shallow right center field. Getting a much needed great jump on a 1-2 count, Goose would manage to steal second base just ahead of the throw, before a fly out to deep center field would see Goose tag up and advance to third on the play. Goose would trot across home plate on the very next pitch thanks to a two run home run by Ryan Wheeler to clear the bases. The next at-bat for Goose would come in the top of the sixth inning with no outs and a runner on first base. Turning on a 1-1 fastball, Goose would send it flying into deep right field, bouncing it off the wall for a stand-up RBI double, scoring the runner all the way from first. A 2-0 pitch in the dirt would get away from the catcher during the next at-bat, allowing Goose to quickly advance to third base, still no outs in the inning. After a walk to put runners on the corners, Ryan Wheeler would again bring Goose in for a run thanks to a single through the gap into left field as we would go on to tack on four runs that inning and take command of the game. The very next inning, top of the seventh, would see Goose step into the exact same situation, coming up to bat with no outs and a runner on first base. Turning on a 1-0 fastball, Goose would make great contact, only to line out directly to the first baseman. Regardless, we would still plate another three runs that inning to continue piling on. Goose would get step up to the plate for the third straight inning, coming up in the top of the eighth inning with one out and a runner on first. Goose would send a slider deep down the left field line, but it would come up about 10 feet short of the wall for a fly out. Naturally, our pitching would fall flat on its face, giving up SEVEN bloody runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Thankfully it wouldn't be enough as we'd hang on for the opening win. Final stats for Goose, he'd go 2-5 with a single and a double, an RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base.

The second game would be much the same as Goose would remain third in the lineup. The first at-bat would once again come in the top of the first with two outs. Swinging at a low 0-2 slider, Goose would get very lucky as he would send a weak fly ball into left center field. The center fielder would dive to try and make the catch but would miss the catch, resulting in the ball rolling all the way to the wall before the right fielder could retrieve it. Thanks to that missed catch, what would have been a fly out turned into a triple for Goose. Unfortunately he would never make it off the bases as a ground out by Kyle Parker would end the inning. Goose would get his next chance in the top of the third inning with two outs and runners on first and second. Swinging on an 0-2 fastball, Goose would clear the bases as he would again send a ball to the right center field wall for a two RBI triple, his second straight three bagger, to put the first runs of the game on the board. An RBI double down the right field line by Kyle Parker would let Goose trot his way across the plate for a run as we would explode for four runs in the inning. Goose would return to the plate in the top of the fourth inning with two outs and a runner on second. For the third at-bat in a row, Goose would achieve the impossible, sending an 0-2 two-seam fastball to deep right center field, where the center fielder would fail to catch the fly ball, Goose quickly rounding the bases for what was believed to be his third straight triple. Unfortunately, because the center fielder failed to catch the ball (it bounced off his glove), the play was officially ruled a fielding error on the center fielder, robbing Goose of both an official hit and an additional RBI. A single into right field by Kyle Parker would see Goose once again cross home plate. Goose would step up next in the top of the sixth inning with one out and a runner on first base. Despite a great hit into right field, this time the ball would be caught by the right fielder for an out. Stepping up to the plate for what appeared to be his final at-bat of the game, Goose would dig in with one out and no one on base in the top of the eighth inning. A bloop fly ball into right field would give Goose his official third hit of the day (technically his fourth if not for that error), a one out single. After a pitch out early in the next at-bat, Goose would make the pitcher and catcher pay two pitches later, taking off on a 2-1 pitch and stealing second base. It would matter little as the pitch on the stolen base was a ball and the next pitch would miss for a walk. The pitcher would nearly get the last laugh during the following at-bat, trying to pick off Goose before throwing the first pitch of the at-bat. It would have worked, but the shortstop missed Goose with the tag, allowing him to dive back on the base safely. A second straight walk would send Goose on to third base and would load the bases with one out for Ben Paulson. Despite nearly giving up a third straight walk, the set up man for Iowa would eventually get Paulson to fly out in foul territory to the third baseman. Despite having bases loaded, we would never get anyone in as a ground out to the first baseman by Charlie Culberson would end the top half of the inning. Goose would get one last chance at the plate, stepping up in the top of the ninth inning with two outs and runners on first and second. Goose would once again clear the bases, this time by unloading on a 2-1 slider up in the zone for a no doubt three run home run to right center field, sending the ball completely out of the park. A monster of a day at the plate would EASILY earn Goose player of the game honors. Final stats for Goose, he would go 4-6 with a single, two triples and a home run, three runs scored, a big five RBIs and a stolen base to earn player of the game honors.

The third game of the series (normally the game resulting in a rest day) would see Goose remain in the starting lineup and batting third in the order. The first at-bat would come in the top of the first inning with two outs, but Goose would end up striking out on a circle-change low in the zone. Goose would get up next in the top of the third inning with two outs and no one on, but he would end up grounding out to the second baseman, Goose clearly still hung over from his massive success the night before. Goose would get his next chance in the top of the sixth inning with one out and a runner on first base, only to end up popping out to the catcher on a curveball. Goose would step up to the plate next in the top of the eighth inning, coming up with two outs and runners on first and second in a tight one run game. A fly out to deep center field would ruin our chances to increase our lead. Thanks to our relief pitching giving up a home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, we would end up playing into extras, where Goose would return to the plate in the top of the eleventh inning, stepping in with no outs and a runner on first. Goose would choose the biggest moment of the night to get his first hit of the ball game, smacking a slider deep into right center field, all the way to the wall, for a stand up RBI triple to give us the go-ahead run. Thanks to the second baseman attempting to throw Goose out at home on a ground ball, upon which Goose quickly retreated back to third base, Kyle Parker was safe at first base for a single to put runners on the corners with no outs. A past ball would advance Parker to second, leaving runners at second and third, followed by a walk one pitch later to load up the bases for Ben Paulson, still no outs in the inning. A ground ball to the second baseman would again leave the Cubs in trouble as Goose would beat out the throw to home plate, scoring the run and leaving the bases loaded with no outs. We would go on to put up four runs in the inning on our way to a third straight victory over Iowa and our sixth straight victory overall. Final stats for Goose, 1-5 with a triple and a strikeout, a run scored and one RBI.

The huge fourth game of the series, as we would go for the back breaking sweep of the Cubs, would again see Goose batting third in the order. For the fourth straight game, Goose would step up to the plate in the top of the first inning with two outs, and for the second game in a row, Goose would strike out to end the top half of the inning. Also for the second game in a row, Iowa would score on a home run in the bottom of the first inning, only for us to put up a home run of our own and score two runs in the top of the second. This was shaping up to potentially be another tight battle. Goose would get his next chance at the plate in the top of the third inning with one out and no one on base, only to ground out to the first baseman for the second out. The next chance for Goose would come in the top of the fifth inning with two outs and a runner on first in a still one run ball game, but a curveball low would see Goose strikeout for the second time today. Goose would return to the plate next leading off the top of the eighth inning, still hanging on by one run, but a ground out to the second baseman would end his at-bat. As would be typical, our closer would blow the game by giving up a two run home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, destroying our hopes of a clean sweep and killing the ground we had made up in the standings. Final stats for Goose, 0-4 with two strikeouts.

Final series stats for Goose, he would end up starting all four games. Goose would bat a solid .350 for the series, going 7-20 with two singles, a double, three triples and one home run, three strikeouts, six runs scored, seven RBIs, and two stolen bases.

Next up for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, we return home for a non-division four game series against the Las Vegas 51s out of the Pacific South. This would actually kick off four straight series, 16 games, against teams from the Pacific Conference, with four game series against the Las Vegas 51s, the Salt Lake Bees, the Tacoma Rainiers and the Reno Aces.

Had we won the final game and swept Iowa, we would have been sitting just one game back of the division leaders. However, because of that blown game, we instead are now three games back of the Cubs. While we did shave two games off our deficit, four games would have been more preferable, no thanks to our relief pitching. Iowa remains in first with a record of 32-32. Omaha is second (two games back of Iowa) with a 30-34 record, Colorado Springs sits three games back of Iowa (one game back of Omaha) with a 29-35 mark and the Oklahoma City Dodgers are in last, seven games behind Iowa and four games behind Colorado Springs, with a record of 25-39.

SmoothPancakes
04-27-2015, 02:34 AM
Returning to non-division action, this time against Las Vegas out of the Pacific Conference, we would again need a strong showing as we hoped to keep whittling away at Iowa's lead atop our division. We would face a very stiff test against the 51s, who enter the game with a record of 37-27, good enough for first place in the Pacific South.

Las Vegas 4, Colorado Springs 3 F/13
Las Vegas 7, Colorado Springs 1
Colorado Springs 7, Las Vegas 2
Las Vegas 10, Colorado Springs 8


First game of the series would see Goose batting third in the order as normal. Goose would come up for the first time in the bottom of the first inning with one out and a runner on second, but would end up flying out to center field. Goose would return in the bottom of the third inning with two outs and a runner on first, driving a single through the gap into right field to put runners on first and second. A four pitch walk to Kyle Parker would advance Goose to second base and load the bases for Ryan Wheeler, who would end up grounding out to second base to end the inning. Goose's next chance would come in the bottom of the fifth inning with one out and a runner on first, sending a sweeping curve up the middle into center field for a single. Unfortunately the runner on first would get greedy and try to advance to third base, only to be thrown out for the second out. It wouldn't matter much other than a lost run as Kyle Parker would drive Goose in with a no doubt shot to left field for a two run home run to open up the scoring in the game. Goose would step up to the plate to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning in a tie game. After sending a fastball down the middle for what should have been a home run to right field, if it had stayed fair, Goose would turn on the very next pitch and this time drive it 415 yards to straight away center field for an actual solo home run to break the tie. Naturally, our pitching would give up that lead in the very next inning. That would lead to Goose returning to the plate to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning, stepping in with the game tied once more, but this time Goose would fly out to right field. Heading into extra innings, Goose would get an extra at-bat in the bottom of the eleventh inning with one out and a runner on first, but Goose would fly out to the left fielder this time. After having the game winning run thrown out at home plate in the bottom of the twelfth inning, Las Vegas would smack a solo home run in the top of the thirteenth to take the one run lead. Our hopes of a win would rest in Goose's hands as he would come up to bat in the bottom of the thirteenth inning with two outs and no one on base. Our hopes would be shattered into a million pieces as Goose would ground out to second base to end the game. Final stats for Goose, 3-7 with two singles, a home run, a run scored and an RBI.

The second game would see Goose taken out of the starting lineup. He would see brief action however, coming in to pinch hit with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, Las Vegas leading 3-1. Goose would give a fastball a hell of a blast to right field, but it wouldn't be deep enough, caught for the final out of the inning. We would end up getting trounced in the eighth inning on the way to a blowout loss. Final stats for Goose, 0-1.

The third game of the series would see Goose return to the starting lineup and batting third in the order. Goose would make his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning with two outs, bouncing a line drive off the right field wall for a stand up double to at least give us a little life early on. A bloop single into left field by Kyle Parker would put runners on the corners, followed by a weak ground ball by Ryan Wheeler into right field to score Goose from third. We would end up plating 5 runs in the bottom of the inning thanks to a grand slam two batters later by Charlie Culberson to take a solid lead early on. Goose would get his next chance at the plate leading off the bottom of the third inning, but he would end up flying out to deep right field. Goose's next at-bat would come in the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs and a runner on first, driving a slider back at the pitcher and up the middle into the outfield for a single to put runners on first and second, followed by a five pitch walk to Kyle Parker to load the bases, Goose standing on second base. Ryan Wheeler would come up to bat against a new pitcher, only to end up flying out to left field to end the inning. Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning with no outs and a runner on first. Goose would end up grounding the ball to the first baseman, the runner thrown out at second base, while Goose would just barely inch out the double play throw to first base for a fielder's choice play. Taking off runner on the second pitch of the next at-bat, Goose would successfully steal second base, and then take off for third thanks to a wild throw by the catcher that would end up in the outfield. Goose would score from third two pitches later thanks to a single up the middle by Ryan Wheeler to add on to our lead, a lead we would never surrender. Final stats for Goose, 2-4 with a single, a double, two runs scored and a stolen base.

The fourth game of the series would find Goose again batting third. Goose would step up for his first at-bat in the bottom of the first with one out and a runner on first. Swinging at an 0-1 fastball, Goose would send it bouncing off the right field wall for a stand up RBI double, scoring the run from first to give us the early lead. Goose would go no further as a strike out and a fly out would end the inning. After two innings of suck by Jorge De La Rosa handed Las Vegas the lead with five runs scored in the second and third, Goose would come back up to bat in the bottom of the third inning with no outs and a runner on first, only to fly out to the second baseman. A grand slam in the fifth inning would turn this into an ass whooping by the time Goose got back to the plate, returning in the bottom of the fifth inning with one outs and no one on base, fighting off five straight foul balls before a mistake by the pitcher would leave a fastball hanging, tattooed by Goose to right center field for a solo home run. Goose would return in the next inning, stepping in in the bottom of the sixth with two outs and runners on first and second, Las Vegas' lead cut to four thanks to a two run home run earlier in the inning. Goose would make good contact with a fastball, line driving it into right field, unfortunately right at the right fielder for the final out of the inning. Three more runs in the bottom of the seventh (along with one Las Vegas run), and we would cut the lead down to two as Goose would come up to bat in the bottom of the eighth inning with one out and no one on base. Goose would unload on an 0-1 fastball, but would fly out to deep center field for out number two. With that, we would never get those last two runs, dropping our third game of the series. Final stats for Goose, 2-5 with a double and a home run, a run scored and two RBIs.

Final series stats for Goose, he would bat in all four games of the series and start in three games. Goose would bat a solid .412 for the series, going 7-17 with three singles, two doubles and two home runs, five runs scored, three RBIs, and one stolen base.

Next up for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, we continue against Pacific Conference opponents with a four game home stand against the Salt Lake Bees. Thanks to dropping three out of four against Las Vegas, we officially lost all progress we made against Iowa. The Cubs remains in first with a record of 35-33. Omaha is second (one game back of Iowa) with a 34-34 record, Colorado Springs remains five games back of Iowa (four games back of Omaha) with a 30-38 mark and the Oklahoma City Dodgers are in last, seven games behind Iowa and two games behind Colorado Springs, with a record of 28-40.

Just a note of interest on the Tulsa Drillers, since Goose's departure. The Drillers proceeded to lose two out of three games against the Midland Rockhounds in the series immediately after Goose was promoted. Including the loss in the last game of the Midland series, Tulsa lost eight straight games as they were then swept by Northwest Arkansas and lost the first three games against Springfield. Tulsa has since won two in a row, taking the final game against Springfield and the first game of a four game series against Arkansas. Thanks to that eight game slide, Tulsa now sits with a record of 25-40 and trails first place Springfield by 13.5 games. So Tulsa is officially done and dead in the water for the first half of the Texas League season. Their only hope of making the playoffs now is to turn it around and win the North Division in the second half of the season. Needless to say, Goose clearly was an offensive power on that team, as they have gone straight off a cliff since his departure.

SmoothPancakes
05-06-2015, 03:57 PM
Coming off the series loss to Las Vegas, we would need a big turn around against the Salt Lake Bees to re-close the game against Iowa. While we would get off to a great start in the first half of the series, the pitching would let us down BIG time in the final two games.

Colorado Springs 4, Salt Lake 2
Colorado Springs 5, Salt Lake 2
Salt Lake 4, Colorado Springs 2
Salt Lake 8, Colorado Springs 7


First game of the series would see Goose batting third in the order as normal. The first at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the first inning with two outs. After fighting off and fouling away seven straight pitches, Goose would make contact on a fastball left hanging over the middle of the plate. Despite a weak crack off the bat and it seemingly slowly carrying into center field, somehow the ball would get enough distance to just get over the center field wall for a solo home run. Goose would get his next crack in the bottom of the second inning with the bases loaded and only one out. Goose would only manage a weak ground ball that wouldn't even get half way back to the pitcher's mound. Regardless, it was enough to at least score the run from third before the pitcher could get to the ball, Goose ending up thrown out at first for the second out. The bottom of the fifth inning would see Goose return to the plate, stepping in with no outs and a runner on second. Goose would end up grounding out to the first baseman for the first out, but it would at least move the runner over to third, who would later score. Goose would make his next appearance in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on first base. Goose would give a first pitch fastball one hell of a ride, but it would end up caught at the wall by the right fielder to end the inning. Goose would never get another at-bat, he would watch the eighth inning end standing in the on-deck circle. Final stats for Goose, he would go 1-4 with a solo home run, a run scored and two RBI.

The second game would remain the same, Goose batting third. Stepping in with one out in the bottom of the first inning, despite facing a 2-0 deficit right off the bat thanks to our pitchers, it would be instantly made into a brand new ball game with back to back solo home runs by Tim Wheeler and Goose. Goose would get his next at-bat in the bottom of the third inning with two outs and a runner on first, only to fly out to the center fielder to end the inning. The next chance at the plate would come in the bottom of the sixth inning with one out and no one on base, but Goose would end up popping out to the catcher. Goose would get his likely final at-bat of the game leading off the bottom of the eighth inning, sending a first pitch fastball sailing over the wall in right center field for a no doubt solo blast, Goose's second of the game. Thanks to those two solo shots, Goose would receive player of the game honors. Final stats for Goose, 2-4 with two solo home runs, two runs scored and two RBI, earning him player of the game.

Just of note, for that second game, it was the game of the solo home runs for Colorado Springs. Four of our five runs came on solo homers, two by Goose, one by Tim Wheeler and one by Ryan Wheeler. If not for those four home runs by the three team leaders, we would have likely lost this game 2-1.

The third game of the series would find Goose again batting third. Stepping up in the bottom of the first inning with one out and a runner on first, Goose would end up getting a junk hit off the handle of the bat into shallow right field for a lucky single. An RBI single by Ryan Parker would score the run from second and advance Goose over to second base. Taking a chance on a 1-2 count during the following at-bat, Goose would take off running for third, resulting in a very hurried throw by the catcher that would sail over the third baseman's head and into left field. Thanks to the error by the catcher, Goose was able to quickly jump up from his slide into third and take off for home plate to score a run. Coming up in the bottom of the third inning with two outs and no one on base, after our pitching screwed our lead, Goose would end up flying out to right field to end the inning. Goose would get his next shot in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and the bases empty in a tied ball game, driving a slider over the right fielder's head for a stand up double. He would never get off second however as the next batter would strikeout looking at a beautiful pitch down the middle to end the inning. Naturally pitching would kill us in the late innings, and any hopes we had of winning were dead. Goose would get his final at-bat in the bottom of the ninth inning with no outs and a runner on first, only to fly out to center field. Final stats for Goose, 2-4 with a single, a double, a run scored and a stolen base along with one fielding error.

The fourth game of the series would remain the same with Goose batting third. Goose would get his first crack in the bottom of the first with two outs, grounding out to the second baseman to end the inning. Next chance for Goose would come in the bottom of the fourth inning with no outs and a runner on first. During the at-bat, a pitch in the dirt would get behind the catcher, allowing the runner on first to steal second base. The throw from the catcher to second would end up sailing into center field, causing the runner to try and also take third base. However, the thrown from center to third would be on the money and the runner would end up thrown out at third base, putting the first out on the board in the middle of Goose's at-bat. He would add the second out a few pitches later with a weak ground out to the first baseman. As is almost always the case, our pitching would screw it as Salt Lake would score EIGHT goddamn runs in the sixth inning alone. Goose would come up in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on first, at this point just playing for stats. He wouldn't even get that as a fly out to left field would end the inning. Goose's next at-bat would come in the bottom of the eighth inning with one out and runners on first and second. After being shut out for 7.1 innings of work by Salt Lake's starter, Goose would finally put us on the boar with a three run no doubt about it shot to right center field. That home run, coupled with a single the next batter after would finally chase the starter for Salt Lake from the game. Amazing we would go on a tear, blowing up the scoreboard for 7 runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Goose would step with the entire game hanging on the line, coming up in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs and the bases empty, trailing Salt Lake by one run. It wouldn't be meant to be, as Goose would send a line drive straight at the right fielder to end the game. Final stats for Goose, 1-5 with a three run home run, one run scored and three RBI, along with two throwing errors charged against Goose.

Final series stats for Goose, he would start in all four games. Goose would bat a solid .353 for the series, going 6-17 with a single, a double and four home runs, five runs scored, seven RBIs, and one stolen base. Negatively, Goose would get hit with one fielding error and two throwing errors in the series.

Next up for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, we continue against Pacific Conference opponents, this time against the North Division, with an eight game road trip, playing a pair of four game series against the Tacoma Rainiers and the Reno Aces. Thanks to dropping two of four against Salt Lake, we remain five games back of Iowa. The Cubs remains in first with a record of 37-35. Omaha is now tied with Iowa for first place with a 37-35 record, Colorado Springs remains five games back of Iowa and now Omaha with a 32-40 mark and the Oklahoma City Dodgers have tied with the Sky Sox for last in the division with a record of 32-40, the Dodgers having won six straight games.

SmoothPancakes
05-11-2015, 09:10 AM
After hitting the stumbling block in mid-June, having lost three of our last five games and six of our last nine, we would need a strong showing on the road against the Tacoma Rainiers if we hoped to keep up with Iowa and Omaha in the division chase. Unlike the Salt Lake Bees, our next opponent would not be a bottom dweller, as the Rainiers were in the middle of a stellar 45-27 season, good enough for first place in the Pacific North and the second best record in ALL of Triple A baseball, only one game worse than the Memphis Redbirds out of the American South. Surprisingly, our pitchers would have probably their best series all season as we would keep Tacoma under three runs each game and steal three out of four from the Rainiers.

Colorado Springs 6, Tacoma 3
Tacoma 1, Colorado Springs 0
Colorado Springs 4, Tacoma 2
Colorado Springs 3, Tacoma 1


First game of the series would see Goose batting third in the order as normal. The first at-bat for Goose would come in the top of the first inning with one out and a runner on first, hitting a weak grounder past the first baseman for a single, however the runner would attempt to advance from first to third, only to be gunned down at third base by the right fielder thanks to the shallow ground ball. Despite stealing second base mid at-bat, a strikeout by Kyle Parker would leave Goose stranded to end the top half. The next at-bat for Goose would come in the top of the third inning with two outs and the bases empty, with a fly ball to right field somehow dropping just past the reach of the outfielder's glove, giving Goose a second straight single. Goose would be to blame for the end of the top half of the inning, as he would get caught sleeping at first base and picked off during the late dive back to the base. Goose's next chance would come in the top of the sixth inning with one out and no one on base, but he would end up grounding out to the second baseman for the second out. Goose would return in the top of the eighth inning, stepping in with one out and runners on first and second. After a slider in the dirt would advance the runners to second and third, Goose would take one for the team, literally, as he would get beaned in the upper back by an 0-2 fastball, loading the bases for Parker, who would proceed to foul off five straight pitchers before sending a ball up the gap into right field for an RBI single. Ryan Wheeler would come up next, again with the bases loaded and one out. Wheeler would draw a full count walk on the edge of the zone to bring in the game tying run, moving Goose up to third base and again leaving the bases loaded with still one out. Understandably, the pitcher who originally took over on the mound for Goose's at-bat, was already pulled after three batters saw two runs scored and the bases loaded up three consecutive at-bats. Those bases would be cleared as Ben Paulsen would smack a fastball down the third base line and all the way into the left field corner for a bases clearing 3 RBI double, turning a 3-1 deficit into a 6-3 lead with a 5 run eighth inning. Final stats for Goose, 2-3 with two singles, a hit by pitch, a run scored and a stolen base.

The second game would see Goose given a day off for rest, not even seeing any action as a pinch hitter.

The third game of the series would find Goose back in the lineup batting third. His first at-bat would come in the top of the first inning with one out and a runner on first. Swinging at an 0-1 change-up left high and inside in the zone, Goose would rock it down the first base line and curve it around the foul pole for a two run home run. Goose would step into the same situation in the top of the third inning, coming up with one out and a runner on first. After fouling off a couple pitches, Goose would send a line drive at the first baseman, who would be unable to snag it and let the ball get into right field for a single, the runner advancing from first to third. Kyle Parker would drive the runner in from third with a fly out to left field, though Goose would be unable to make the advance to second base and would remain at first. Taking off on a 2-1 pitch, Goose would get a great jump and easily beat the throw from the catcher to steal second base, also drawing a ball from the pitcher on the hurried pitch in the process. Ultimately the batter would fly out to shallow right field and Goose would be left stranded on base. Goose would make his next at-bat in the top of the fifth inning, coming up with no outs and runners on first and second, only to end up lining out to the shortstop for the first out. Outs by the next two batters and we would squander a perfect chance to add multiple runs. That would potentially bite us in the ass as Goose would step in for his next at-bat, leading off the top of the eighth inning in a now one run ballgame, but he would end up striking out. The batters after Goose would manage to get one run in during the inning, before we would escape the bottom of the eighth with runners on first and second thanks to a two out ground out to Goose. Goose would come up for his final at-bat of the game in the top of the ninth inning with one out and again runners on first and second. Goose would give the ball a ride, but it end in a fly out to the left fielder at the warning track. Thankfully despite the poor batting by Goose with runners on, we would hold on for the victory. Final stats for Goose, 2-5 with a single and a home run, two RBI, a run scored and a strikeout. Thanks to that home run and those two RBI, Goose would manage to earn player of the game honors.

The fourth game of the series would remain the same with Goose batting third. Goose would get his first crack in the top of the first with two outs and the bases empty, unloading on an early fastball, but it would die at the warning track in right field for a fly out. The next at-bat for Goose would come leading off the top of the fourth inning, just sneaking a inside 2-seam fastball over the right center field wall for a solo home run and the first run of the game. Goose would return to the plate in the top of the fifth inning with two outs and a runner on first, but he would end up losing the duel with the pitcher this time around, striking out on a slider low and away. Goose would make his next at-bat in the top of the eighth inning with one out and a runner on first base, still a 1-0 game as this game has been a pitcher's duel. Facing a reliever with nothing but junkball pitches, Goose would line drive an inside sinker off the right field foul post for a two run home run, extending our lead to 3-0. Thanks to his two home runs, two runs scored and accounting for all three RBI, it would be an easy decision for player of the game honors to go to Goose. Final stats for Goose, 2-4 with two home runs, two runs scored, three RBI and one strikeout, earning player of the game honors for the second straight game.

Final series stats for Goose, he would start and play in three games. Goose would bat an insane .500 for the series, going 6-12 with three singles, three home runs, a hit by pitch, four runs scored, five RBIs, two stolen bases, two strikeouts and two player of the game honors.

Next up for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, we finish off our road trip against Pacific Conference opponents with a four game series at the Reno Aces out of the North Division. Despite taking three out of four against Tacoma, we still remain five games back of Iowa as the Cubs did enough to keep their lead. The Cubs remains in first with a record of 40-36. Omaha is now in second place, two games back of Iowa, with a 38-38 record, Colorado Springs remains five games back of Iowa and three games behind Omaha with a 35-41 mark and the Oklahoma City Dodgers remain tied with the Sky Sox for last in the division with a record of 35-41, the Dodgers having won 9 of their last 10 games.

SmoothPancakes
05-11-2015, 10:36 AM
Coming off a series win over a very tough Tacoma team, it was the end our long road trip at least, as we tangled with the Reno Aces, who were having a decidedly less stellar season, coming into the series at 34-42 and only winning four of their last 10 games. With Iowa facing off against a good Albuquerque squad, there was hope we could close the gap with either three or four wins against Reno. Instead, we would majorly shit the bed.

Colorado Springs 4, Reno 2
Reno 4, Colorado Springs 3
Reno 5, Colorado Springs 4
Reno 3, Colorado Springs 1


First game of the series would see Goose batting third in the order as normal. The first at-bat for Goose would come in the top of the first inning with two outs and the bases empty, but he would end up striking out on a curveball to end the top half of the inning. Goose would get up next in the top of the third inning with two outs and a runner on first, turning on a fastball and lining it into right field for a single to put runners on first and second before a ground out by Kyle Parker would end the top of the inning. After saving our pitcher's ass with multiple double plays during the in-between innings, Goose would return to the plate to lead off the top of the sixth inning, sending a 1-1 fastball over the right fielder's head and to the wall, Goose racing around the bases and sliding into third. Ultimately, the scorer would rule the play a fielding error on the right fielder, so Goose would get no credit for the hit. A single by Kyle Parker would drive Goose in for the tying run. After a botched double play attempt, Goose would get back up to the plate in the seventh inning with two outs and runners on the corners. Goose would come, Goose would see, Goose would swingeth his big stick with a no doubt three run home run to give us a 4-1 lead. Despite giving up a run and having runners on second and third in the bottom of the ninth inning, we would get the job done. Final stats for Goose, 2-4 with a single and a three run home run, two runs scored, three RBI and a strikeout, good enough to earn Goose player of the game honors.

The second game would see Goose once again given a day off for rest. However, this time he would end up coming in as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning of a tied 2-2 ballgame. Leading off the top of the seventh inning, Goose would dig in as a pinch hitter against Reno's starter. Swinging at the very first pitch, Goose would do more than the coaches could have hoped for, unloading on a meatball by the tired pitcher (his 98th pitch of the game) and sending it out of the park to right field for a solo home run, giving us a 3-2 lead and ending the day for Reno's starter. As would be typical of our pitching staff, they would give the lead right away in the bottom of the seventh inning, as we would go on to lose in the bottom of the ninth. We seriously need some new goddamn pitchers. :fp: Final stats for Goose, 1-1 in pinch hit action with a solo home run, scoring one run and one RBI.

The third game of the series would find Goose back in the lineup batting third. His first at-bat would come in the top of the first inning with one out and a runner on second, eventually sending a ground ball into shallow left field for a single to put runners on the corners. Running on a 1-1 pitch, Goose would steal second base without even so much as an attempted throw by the catcher. A fly out to deep center field by Kyle Parker would score the run from third and advance Goose to third base after tagging up. A couple pitches into the next at-bat, a ball would get past the catcher, with Goose taking off running for home plate, but thanks to the ball bouncing off the brick backstop and right back to the catcher, a simple toss to the pitcher at home plate was enough to beat Goose by a mile for the third out. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the top of the third inning with one out and a runner on first, only to pop out to the catcher on the first pitch. Goose would get his next chance at the plate in the top of the fifth inning with two outs and no one on, only to end up striking out to end the top half of the inning. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the top of the seventh inning, digging in with two outs and runners on first and second, a brand new reliever on the mound. A ground ball at the first baseman would squirt into right field for an RBI single, scoring the runner from second and advancing the man from first to third, putting runners on the corners. Taking off running on the first pitch, Goose would successfully steal second base, giving us two runners in scoring position for Kyle Parker, who would end up striking out to end the top of the inning. After watching a three run lead collapse over the bottom of the seventh and eighth innings, Goose would return to the plate in the top of the ninth inning with one out and a runner on first base in a tie ballgame, promptly flying out to right field for the second out. Despite loading the bases, we would fail to get any runs in and would head for extra innings, where two straight singles and two straight walks by our shitty pitching staff would gift wrap the game to Reno in the bottom of the tenth. Final stats for Goose, 2-5 with two singles, an RBI, two stolen bases and a strikeout.

The fourth game of the series would remain the same with Goose batting third. Goose would get his first crack in the top of the first with two outs, quickly grounding out to the second baseman to end the top half of the inning. Goose would get up next in the top of the fourth inning with one out and the bases empty, only to ground out to the second baseman yet again. Goose's next at-bat would come in the top of the seventh inning with one out and no one on base, ending the at-bat with a strikeout. Thanks to Tim Wheeler getting us only our second team hit of the entire game, Goose would get one last at-bat in the top of the ninth inning with one out and a runner on second, but Goose would end up flying out to left field as we would suck it up against Reno. Final stats for Goose, 0-4 with a strikeout.

Final series stats for Goose, he would start in three games and see action in all four. Goose would bat a decent .357 for the series, going 5-14 with three singles, two home runs, three runs scored, five RBIs, two stolen bases, three strikeouts and one player of the game honor.

Next up for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, we return home for an 8 game home stand and resume division play with a four game series against the Iowa Cubs and a four game showdown against the Oklahoma City Dodgers. This will be the last time we play the Cubs the rest of the season. Thanks to us shitting the bed against Reno, we are now in last place in the division and have fallen six games behind Iowa. The Cubs remain in first with a record of 42-38. Omaha is in second place, two games back of Iowa, with a 40-40 record, the Oklahoma City Dodgers have jumped Colorado Springs for third place in the division, five games back of Iowa and three games behind Omaha, with a 37-43 record, and Colorado Springs now sits dead last, six games behind Iowa, four games behind Omaha and one game behind Oklahoma City, with a record of 36-44 as we are sitting on a three game losing streak and have now lost 6 of our last 10 games.

SmoothPancakes
05-15-2015, 04:12 PM
After dropping three out of four to Reno, we would return home for probably our biggest series left on our schedule, a four game visit from the Iowa Cubs. Trailing the first place Cubs in the division race by six games, we would absolutely need a sweep to keep our division title hopes alive. Anything less than winning three out of four games in the series would be a disaster. With the Cubs playing well enough to keep from going on multiple game losing streaks, and us being unable to put together anything more than two or three wins in any given series, any hopes we would have of making up ground against Iowa and staying in the division race would be decided here and now in this series, the final time we would face the Iowa Cubs for the rest of the season. While we would start out strong in the first two games, we would fall apart in the last two games and our division hopes were likely shot now with no remaining games against Iowa to help us make up our six game gap between first and last.

Colorado Springs 5, Iowa 4 F/11
Colorado Springs 8, Iowa 4
Iowa 1, Colorado Springs 0
Iowa 4, Colorado Springs 3 F/10


First game of the series would see Goose batting third in the order as normal. The first at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the first inning with two outs, unloading on a first pitch meatball for a no doubt solo home run to straight away center. Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out and the bases empty, ultimately grounding out to the second baseman. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the sixth inning, stepping in with two outs and runners on first and second, but instead of coming through in the clutch, Goose would pop out to the second baseman to end the inning. Goose would get his final chance at the plate leading off the bottom of the ninth in a one run game. It would be a weak hit, but the ball would find the gap into right field for a single to put the lead off runner on. A sacrifice bunt by Kyle Parker would move Goose up to second base, before Goose would successfully steal third to put the tying run just 90 feet away with only one out. A deep fly out to left field by Ryan Wheeler would be enough as Goose would tag up and cross home plate without a throw to tie the ball game. Just as quickly as we tied it up, our pitchers would give it right back up in the top of the tenth. Ben Paulsen would be a hero in the bottom of the tenth inning with a solo home run to save our bacon. After getting off the field without any damage, Goose would come to the plate in the bottom of the eleventh inning with one out and the bases empty. Swinging on an 0-1 fastball, Goose would send it flying off the wall to right center field, the right fielder wiping out on the wall in the process. Thanks to that, Goose would make it all the way to third base for a stand up triple with just one out, the winning run just one base hit or deep fly ball away. Kyle Parker would end up hitting a ground ball to the first baseman, the throw going straight home to force Goose back to third and allowing Parker to reach on a fielder's choice. Unfortunately, that would leave a potential double play ball wide open. Ryan Wheeler almost cost us as he would hit a ground ball to the first baseman. While the first baseman was able to make the throw to second for the force out, Wheeler was able to cross first base before the return throw from second on the fielder's choice, allowing Goose to cross the plate with the game winning run. Final stats for Goose in a wild one, 3-5 with a single, a triple and a home run, three runs scored, one RBI, one stolen base and player of the game honors.

The second game would see Goose batting third. The first at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the first inning with two outs, hitting a sinker up the middle and into center field for a single. A bloop single by Kyle Parker into shallow right field right along the baseline would advance Goose from first to third, though Goose would blow through the stop sign and nearly end up thrown out by the catcher while diving back into third base. Ryan Wheeler would come through huge with a stand up double into the left field corner, scoring both Goose and Parker to give us an early lead. Naturally, a late throw to first by our third baseman would result in a two out single, followed by a two run home run and our lead was gone the very next inning. Goose would lead off the bottom of the third inning, only to ground out to the second baseman for the first out. Goose would make his next at-bat in the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs and a runner on first, sending a line drive into right field for a single to put runners on first and second. A Kyle Parker single into left field would score the run from second, advancing Goose to second and leaving runners on first and second. Taking off stealing two pitches into the next at-bat, Goose would beat the throw from the catcher, as a double steal would put runners on second and third, before a full count walk by Ryan Wheeler would load the bases for Ben Paulsen, who would bloop an RBI single into shallow right field to score Goose and reload the bases before Drew Garcia would strikeout to a reliever to end the inning. Thanks to some timely hits in the next inning, Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on first, only to quickly ground out to the first baseman to end the inning. Naturally, ANY lead would not be safe from our pitchers as our reliever would walk FOUR STRAIGHT FUCKING BATTERS, along with a single, to gift wrap Iowa two free runs and still leave the bases loaded for the next pitcher. Thankfully our bats would stay alive in the bottom of the seventh inning as we would add on three more runs to re-secure our lead. Goose would make his likely last at-bat in the bottom of the eighth inning, stepping up with one out and the bases empty, ultimately lining out to the first baseman to end his at-bat before he would even leave the batter's box. Final stats for Goose, 2-5 with two singles, two runs and a stolen base.

The third game of the series would find Goose remaining third in the batting order. Goose's first at-bat would come in the bottom of the first inning with two outs, quickly popping out to the catcher to end the inning. Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out and the bases empty, stepping into the middle of a pitcher's duel as both teams only had one hit thus far. Goose would end up striking out in his at-bat, as Iowa's pitcher dominated us with a repertoire of a running fastball, a splitter, a sinker, a slurve and a cutter. It was ultimately going to come down to who would make the first mistake. And naturally, that would be us as our pitching staff would give up two hits and one run in the top of the seventh inning. Goose would step up to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out and the bases empty, the entire team still being one hit thus far. Goose would fight his best at the plate, but would ultimately strike out. We would finally record another hit in the bottom of the eighth inning and another in the bottom of the ninth, as Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning, two outs, a runner on third base and Iowa holding a 1-0 lead. This would be the biggest moment of Goose's career, his chance to be a hero or a goat. More like, Goose would never get the chance as Iowa would opt to intentionally walk him to put runners on the corner and bring up Kyle Parker. Despite being intentionally walked, Goose would still end up deciding the outcome, and he would choose goat, as he would get picked up at first base before even a single pitch had been thrown to Parker, ending the game for Iowa and likely ending our division hopes. Final stats for Goose, 0-3 with two strikeouts, an intentional walk and getting picked off at first base to end the game.

The fourth game of the series would remain the same with Goose batting third in a foggy, rainy game with the rain coming down at a moderate rate. Goose would get his first crack in the bottom of the first inning with two outs, lining a slider into the right field gap for a single, but a pop out by Kyle Parker would strand Goose on the bases. This was likely going to be a long day as our pitching started sucking right from the first at-bat, with Jorge De La Rosa issuing walks like candy and having already surpassed the 50 pitch mark in the first TWO innings. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the third inning with two outs and runners on first and second, hitting a grounder to the first baseman and ending up tagged out halfway to first to end the inning. Goose's next chance would come in the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs and a runner on first, slapping a two-seamer off the right field wall for what should have been a stand up double, but Tim Wheeler would get thrown out at the plate trying to swipe a run, ending the inning in the process. In regards to the epitome of suck, aka Jorge De La Rosa, he would last just five innings, giving up eight hits, two runs and four walks, racking up a pitch count of 85 pitches in that time, 50 of those pitches coming in the first two innings of the game. Goose would make his next appearance at the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out and runners on first and second, driving a first pitch fastball into straight away center for an RBI single, scoring the run from second to tie the game and leaving runners at first and second, but a strikeout by Kyle Parker and a ground out by Ryan Wheeler would be the end of our scoring threat. Once again, nine innings would not be enough, and once again, our pitchers would screw us as they would promptly give up a two run home run in the top of the tenth inning. Goose would lead off the bottom of the tenth inning, as we faced a two run deficit. Sending a curveball into the gap in right center field, the ball would go all the way to the wall, allowing Goose to slide into third base for a lead off triple. Kyle Parker would put up the first out with a five pitch strikeout, followed by a ground ball to the pitcher by Ben Paulsen that would somehow result in a single to put runners on the corners for Ryan Culberson. A soft chopper to third would score Goose from third and move the base runner from first to second, but we would come up one run short as a two out ground out to the shortstop would end the game. Final stats for Goose, 4-5 with three singles and a triple, one run scored and one RBI.

Final series stats for Goose, he would start in all four games. Goose would bat a solid .500 for the series, going 9-18 with six singles, two triples, one home run, an intentional walk, six runs scored, two RBIs, two stolen bases, two strikeouts, once picked off on the bases and one player of the game honor.

Next up for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, we wrap up our home stretch with a four game series against the Oklahoma City Dodgers before heading back on the road for seven games. Thanks to our second half series collapse, absolutely nothing changed in the division standings. We remain in last place in the division and six games behind Iowa. The Cubs remain in first with a record of 44-40. Omaha is in second place, two games back of Iowa, with a 42-42 record, the Oklahoma City Dodgers have jumped Colorado Springs for third place in the division, five games back of Iowa and three games behind Omaha, with a 39-45 record, and Colorado Springs now sits dead last, six games behind Iowa, four games behind Omaha and one game behind Oklahoma City, with a record of 38-46 as we are sitting on a two game losing streak and have split our last 10 games.

SmoothPancakes
05-16-2015, 07:41 PM
Failing to make up any ground against Iowa after our series with the Cubs, we kept right at it with the final four games of our stretch at home against the Oklahoma City Dodgers. This would be uncharted territory for Goose, as Colorado Springs thus far had pretty much faced only non-division opponents. Outside of 8 games against Iowa, Goose had yet to play a single game against the Omaha Storm Chasers and just now would be facing OKC for the first time. With 25 of the remaining 60 games in the season coming against Omaha and OKC, Goose would have to find his mojo against his division rivals.

Oklahoma City 5, Colorado Springs 2
Colorado Springs 7, Oklahoma City 3
Colorado Springs 5, Oklahoma City 1
Colorado Springs 7, Oklahoma City 2


First game of the series would see Goose batting third in the order as usual. His first at-bat would come in the bottom of the first inning with one out and a runner on first, but it would be a very uneventful at-bat with a pop out to the third baseman. The next at-bat would come in the bottom of the third inning with one out and runners on first and second, trailing OKC 2-0, but while he seemingly had a hit down the right field line, despite appearing to land fair, the first base umpire would rule it a foul ball, with Goose promptly striking out on a change up the very next pitch. Goose would get his next chance in the bottom of the sixth inning, stepping up with one out and the bases empty, this time managing to find base a with a bloop single into shallow right field. A full count walk to Kyle Parker would move Goose up to second base, before Ryan Wheeler would hit a single into right field. Goose would round third without even a hesitation and try to leg out the throw to home. Even though Goose easily beat the throw to the catcher, incredulously, the umpire would call Goose out at the plate, despite clearly beating the tag. Goose would get his chance at redemption in the bottom of the seventh inning, coming up to the plate with two outs and runners on first and second against a new pitcher, but while Goose would foul off six consecutive pitches, the reliever would get him swinging at an inside fastball for a strikeout. Goose would get one last chance in the bottom of the ninth inning, digging in with two outs and a runner on first base, trailing OKC 5-2 after a three run top of the ninth. Naturally, Goose would ground out to the first baseman to end the game. Final stats for Goose, 1-5 with a single and two strikeouts.

The second game would see Goose given the day off for a day of rest.

The third game of the series would find Goose back in the lineup batting third. He would get his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning with two outs, grounding out to the second baseman to end the inning. Next chance at the plate would see Goose leading off the bottom of the fourth inning. Goose would find the bases this time around with a flair single into shallow center field. Kyle Parker would take a 1-1 pitch square in the back, moving Goose up to second base on the hit by pitch, followed by a full count walk to Ryan Wheeler that would move Goose over to third and load the bases with no outs for Ben Paulsen. Paulsen would need just one pitch to rocket a line drive into left center field to score two runs and give us the lead. Goose would get back up to the plate in the very next inning, coming up in the bottom of the fifth inning with one out and runners on first and second, sending a slider down the right field line and to the wall for a stand up RBI double. A Kyle Parker line drive up the gap into center field would be all it would take to drive in the runner from third as well as Goose from second, as the throw in from the outfield would get cut off by the shortstop and Goose would score unchallenged to break the game open. Goose would get his next at-bat in the bottom of the seventh inning, coming up with no outs and a runner on second base, but Goose would end up striking out on three straight pitches to end his at-bat. Final stats for Goose, 2-4 with a single, a double, two runs scored, one RBI and a strikeout.

The fourth game of the series would remain the same with Goose batting third in the order. Goose would make his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning with two outs, roping an 0-2 slider down the left field line for a stand up double, but he would never make it off second base as Kyle Parker would ground out to the third baseman to end the inning. Goose would get his next shot in the bottom of the third inning, stepping up with no outs and a runner on second following Time Wheeler's bases clearing three run double. Goose would keep the action going with a line drive into right center field for an RBI stand up double, his second double of the game. Goose would advance to third base on Kyle Parker's ground out to the second baseman, followed by a strikeout by Ryan Wheeler to leave two outs in the inning. Ben Paulsen would come through in the clutch with a two out infield single, the shortstop unable to come up with the sharp hit grounder, driving in Goose for our fifth run of the game. The next at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the fifth inning with one out and the bases empty, ultimately popping out to the catcher for the second out. Goose would get his next chance in the bottom of the seventh inning, stepping in with two outs and the bases empty, flying out to the right fielder to end the inning. Final stats for Goose, 2-4 with two doubles, one run scored and one RBI.

Final series stats for Goose, he would play in three games. Goose would bat a solid .385 for the series, going 5-13 with two singles and three doubles, three runs scored, two RBIs and three strikeouts.

Next up for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, it's back on the road with a three game series against Omaha, followed by a four game road trip against the Round Rock Express. Thanks to taking three games against OKC, we are back in third place in the division and sit seven games behind Iowa. The Cubs remain in first with a record of 48-40, in the middle of a six game winning streak and having won eight of their last ten. Omaha is in second place, dropping six games back of Iowa thanks to a five game losing streak, with a 42-46 record, Colorado Springs climbed back into third place in the division, seven games back of Iowa and one game behind Omaha, with a 41-47 record, and Oklahoma City now sits dead last, eigth games behind Iowa, two games behind Omaha and one game behind Colorado Springs, with a record of 40-48.

The stats aren't perfect, with three July games and one game from May added in, but, roughly, the final June stats for Goose, in his first full month of Triple A action, Goose would play in 31 games, batting a hot handed .406 with 52 hits on 128 at-bats with 24 singles, 7 doubles, 6 triples and 15 home runs, scoring 35 runs and driving in 33 RBIs as well as being hit by a pitch once. On the bases, Goose would successfully steal 14 bases, never getting caught for a perfect 1.000% stolen base percentage, though Goose would get picked off a couple times at first base. Goose managed to draw two walks and struck out 16 times, ending with a .906 slugging %, .420 on base % and a 1.326 OPS. Goose would finish the month in the field with 77 assists, 9 putouts and three errors to give him a fielding % of .966.

While Goose had a massive first month in Triple A, the biggest question would be, could he sustain it? Of Goose's 16 strikeouts thus far, 10 of them have come in his last 13 games, along with increased pop outs, fly outs and ground outs.

SmoothPancakes
05-16-2015, 09:14 PM
Coming up against the Omaha Storm Chasers for the first time as a member of the Sky Sox, Goose and the rest of the team would have a chance to potentially jump into second place in the division if we could keep up the good play and pick up a series win. We would do exactly that as we would survive a 13 inning affair and pull a pair of ninth inning comebacks out of our asses to sweep the Storm Chasers.

Colorado Springs 3, Omaha 2 F/13
Colorado Springs 8, Omaha 7
Colorado Springs 7, Omaha 5


First game of the series would see Goose batting third in the order as usual. His first at-bat would come in the top of the first inning with two outs, quickly flying out to the right fielder to end the inning. Goose would get his next chance in the top of the fourth inning with one out and the bases empty, dropping a hit right in front of the right fielder for a single. Goose's time on the bases would be short lived as Kyle Parker would ground into a double play to end the inning. The next at-bat for Goose would come in the top of the sixth inning with two outs and the bases empty, grounding out to the first baseman to end the inning. The presumed final at-bat for Goose would come in the top of the ninth inning, stepping in with one out and no one on base, ending his day with a strikeout. However, instead of that being his final at-bat, Goose would end up seeing action in extra innings, as Omaha would score the tying run in the bottom of the ninth inning. With that, Goose would return to the plate in the top of the tenth inning with two outs and runners on first and second, ultimately striking out for his second straight at-bat and ending the top half of the inning. Goose would get another chance as he would return to the plate in the top of the twelfth inning with one out and a runner on first. Goose would hit a weak grounder back to the pitcher, the base runner thrown out at second base, but Goose able to beat out the double play throw to first thanks to a high throw to second by the pitcher. With that, Goose would take over at first base, now with two outs for Kyle Parker at the plate. A full count walk to Parker would move Goose up to second base and put runners on first and second for Ryan Wheeler, who would strikeout to end our half of the inning. Going to the thirteenth inning, we would pick up one run in the top of the inning, before a one out 6-4-3 double play initiated by Goose would seal our victory. Final stats for Goose, 1-6 with a single, two strikeouts and a throwing error.

The second game would see Goose remain in the lineup, third in the batting order. He would make his first at-bat in the top of the first inning with one out and a runner on second, hitting a weak grounder up the first base line, tagged out by the pitcher midway to first base. Goose would make his next at-bat in the top of the third inning with one out and the bases empty, chasing a curveball low and away for a strikeout. Next chance for Goose would come in the top of the fifth inning with two out and a runner on first, hitting a bloop single into left field to put runners on first and second for Kyle Parker, who would fly out to right field to end our half of the inning. Goose would return to the plate in the top of the seventh inning with two outs and no one on base, sneaking a ground ball past the second baseman and into center field for a single. A line drive double by Kyle Parker down the right field line would roll all the way to the wall, giving Goose enough time to sprint home and score all the way from first base. Goose would get his next at-bat in the top of the ninth inning, coming up with no outs and a runner on third following a two run triple by Tim Wheeler that would pull us within two runs of the Omaha. With a chance to cut the gap to one or even tie the game, Goose would opt for the latter, smoking a slider into the seats to right field for a 401 foot two run home run to even the game at 7-all. Kyle Parker would add a home run of his own, and with a 5 run ninth inning, we would complete the improbable comeback, knocking off Omaha in our final three outs of the game. Final stats for Goose, 3-5 with two singles, a home run, two runs, two RBI and a strikeout.

The third and final game of the series would find Goose in his usual three spot in the lineup. First at-bat for Goose would come in the top of the first inning with one out and a runner on first, striking out on a 12-6 curveball for the second out of the inning. Next chance for Goose would come in the top of the third inning with one out and a runner on first base, striking out swinging at a 12-6 curveball for the second straight at-bat. Goose would return to the plate in the top of the fifth inning with one out and the bases empty, as we now trailed by three runs, completing the hat trick by striking out for the third straight time today on that damned 12-6 curveball. Goose's next chance would come in the top of the seventh inning with one out and the bases empty, flying out to the right fielder in foul territory. While it was another out, at least Goose finally managed to make contact with the ball! Goose would get one last chance at the plate in the top of the ninth inning with no outs and a runner on first base and a new pitcher on the mound. While it wouldn't be on a 12-6 curveball, Goose would still end up earning the Golden Sombrero, striking out swinging on a slider outside. Miraculously, for the second straight game, we would make a comeback in the ninth inning, plating four runs, all of them with two outs in the inning, to knock off Omaha yet again at the very end of the game. Final stats for Goose 0-5 with four strikeouts, earning him the Golden Sombrero!

http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/SmoothPancakes/sombrerotime_r1_zpsjlfi4npw.jpg

Final series stats for Goose, he would start in all three games. Goose would fall off a cliff, batting a pedestrian .250 for the series, going 4-16 with three singles, a home run, two runs scored, two RBIs and count 'em out, one, two, three, four, five, six, SEVEN strikeouts, along with one throwing error.

http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/SmoothPancakes/Preview_zpsmhyjjl1m.jpg

Next up for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, we wrap up our road trip with a four game series at the Round Rock Express, before returning home for a three game series against Omaha and then into the All-Star break. Thanks to sweeping the three games against Omaha, we are in unfamiliar territory, sitting in second place in the division, still seven games behind Iowa. The Cubs remain in first with a record of 51-40, courtesy of an ongoing nine game winning streak. Colorado Springs is in second place, seven games behind Iowa, thanks to our current six game winning streak, with a 44-47 record, Omaha dropped into third place in the division thanks to a current eight game losing streak, nine games back of Iowa and two games behind Colorado Springs, with a 42-49 record, and Oklahoma City sits dead last on a six game losing streak, eleven games behind Iowa, four games behind Colorado Springs and two games behind Omaha, with a record of 40-51.

SmoothPancakes
05-16-2015, 11:40 PM
Coming off the worst game of his career, and one of the worst series of his career, Goose would need to figure out a way to turn things around as Colorado Springs wrapped up their road trip with a four game series against Round Rock. Despite the poor results from Goose, the Sky Sox still found ways to pull out victories and sweep Omaha to claim second place in the division. Now, riding a six game winning streak, Colorado Springs would be poised to take stranglehold of second place and maybe even cut down Iowa's lead if the Sky Sox could sweep Round Rock and the Cubs happened to drop one or two (or three) games. With the Express having a matching 44-47 record, there was plenty of hope.

Colorado Springs 4, Round Rock 3
Round Rock 4, Colorado Springs 3


First game of the series would see Goose batting third in the order as usual, one bad game not enough to dislodge him from his spot in the lineup. His first at-bat would come in the top of the first inning with one out and a runner on first, swinging at the first pitch and bouncing it off the right field wall for a stand up double. Tim Wheeler, the runner on first, would try to go from first to home, getting tagged out a the plate in the process. Goose would advance from second to third during the tag out at home plate to leave two outs and Goose standing 90 feet from home. A five pitch walk to Kyle Parker would put runners on the corners with Ryan Wheeler coming to the plate, who would strikeout to end the top of the inning. The next at-bat for Goose would come in the top of the third inning with two outs and a runner on first, Goose again unloading on an early count pitch and bouncing it off the wall in right center field for a stand up triple, this time successfully scoring the runner from first base to cut Round Rock's lead in half. Unfortunately, Kyle Parker would ground out to the shortstop and Goose would be left stranded on base. Goose would return to the plate in the top of the fifth inning, digging in with two outs and runners on first and second, but Goose would end up grounding out to the second baseman to end the top of the inning. The next at-bat for Goose would come in the top of the seventh inning with one out and runners on first and third. Facing a fresh new pitcher, Goose would unload on a fastball left hanging up in the zone, smashing it off the right field foul post for a three run home run, giving us a 4-3 lead. Goose would make his final at-bat in the top of the ninth inning, coming up with one out and the bases empty, unfortunately popping out to the first baseman to ruin any chance he had of hitting for the cycle. Final stats for Goose, 3-5 with a double, a triple and a three run home run, one run scored, four RBI and player of the game honors.

The second game would see Goose remain in the lineup, third in the batting order. He would make his first at-bat in the top of the first inning with one out and a runner on second, only to strike out swinging at a curveball low and inside. Goose would return to the plate in the top of the third inning with one out and runners on first and second, but would get caught by a curveball inside for his second strikeout of the game. Goose would come up next in the top of the fifth inning with one out and a runner on first base, grounding a slider back to the pitcher for the force out at second base, though Goose would beat the double play ball to first to leave two outs and a runner on first for Kyle Parker, who would walk on four straight pitches. Ryan Wheeler would step up next with runners on first and second, who would be the recipient of a full count walk to load the bases for Ben Paulsen. Despite loading the bases, nothing would come of it as Paulsen would ground out the the shortstop to end the top half of the inning. The next at-bat for Goose would come in the top of the seventh inning with two outs and the bases empty, going golfing on a fastball low and down the middle, only to air mail it to the right fielder for the third out. Goose would come up for his likely final at-bat in the top of the ninth inning, stepping in with one out and a runner on first base, trailing 3-1 on the scoreboard. Facing a junk baller for Round Rock's closer, Goose would fight off a couple 0-2 pitches before roping a sinker into left center field for a stand up double, putting runners on second and third for Kyle Parker. Parker would send a pitch flying to the right center field wall, driving in both runs and while he would get thrown out trying to turn a double into a triple, the damage would be done and the game was tied. That would be until our bullpen would piss themselves and blow it in the bottom of the ninth, and with that, our seven game winning streak was gone. Final stats for Goose, 1-5 with a double, a run scored and two strikeouts.

Before the third game was played, the Rockies front office completed a trade with the Kansas City Royals. Colorado received starting pitcher Miguel Almonte (placed in AAA, 20 years old, 63 overall, B potential), closing pitcher Thomas Hara (placed in AAA, 18 years old, 56 overall, B potential) and right fielder Elier Hernandez (placed in AAA, 19 years old, 53 overall, B potential) in return for right fielder Michael Cuddyer (starting RF, 34 years old, 85 overall, B potential).

Along with the trade, the Rockies officially purchased Goose's contract from Triple A Colorado Springs and have added Goose as a member of the 40-man roster. And in a shocking move, upon being added to the 40-man roster, Goose was immediately called up to the Show, joining the Rockies for their next game on July 9th in the last of a three game series against the San Diego Padres. Thanks to the call up to the majors, Goose's pay was increased to the league minimum $500,000/year.

So, instead of playing the third game of a four game series against Round Rock, Goose would now prepare himself for his first major league game.

Final series stats for Goose, he would only play two games of the series before being called up to join the big club. Goose would bat a solid .400 for the series, going 4-10 with two doubles, a triple, a home run, two runs scored, four RBIs and two strikeouts, along with player of the game honors in the first game.

So, doing a sooner than expected recap of Goose's results in Triple A, he would play in 36 games during his time at Colorado Springs, batting .390 with 60 hits in 154 at-bats, finishing with 27 singles, 9 doubles, 7 triples and 17 home runs, scoring 39 runs and driving in 39 RBIs. Goose would end up a perfect 14-14 in stolen bases for a 1.000% stolen base percentage. Goose would draw two walks (both intentional walks) and was hit by a pitch once, while striking out 25 times, all but about 5 of those strikeouts coming over his last 10-15 games. He would finish with a .870 Slugging %, .401 On Base % and a 1.271 OPS. Fielding, Goose would finish with 88 assists and 9 putouts while committing four errors, to leave his final fielding % at .960.

Doing a full organization standings recap, in Double A, the Springfield Cardinals ended up taking the Texas League North Division in the first half of the season. Second half of the year, the Tulsa Drillers are currently tied with Northwest Arkansas for second with a 5-7 record while Springfield leads the division with an 8-4 record. In Triple A, Colorado Springs Sky Sox remain in second place in the PCL American North with a 45-48 record, trailing the first place Iowa Cubs (52-41) by seven games.

And in the Major Leagues, the Colorado Rockies are currently in fourth place in the NL West with a record of 43-49. Looking at the entire NL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks are tied for first place with 54-38 records, the San Diego Padres are in third and are six games behind the Dodgers and Diamondbacks with a 47-43 record, Colorado is fourth with a 43-49 record, sitting eleven games behind the Dodgers and Diamondbacks and five game behind the Padres. And the San Francisco Giants are in last place with a 41-50 record, sitting twelve and a half games behind the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, six and half games behind the Padres and one and a half games behind the Rockies.

I'll have a full rundown of the Major League standings in four games following the last game against San Diego and the completion of a three game series with the Minnesota Twins. That will take the season into the All-Star break and at that time I'll run down the full standings.

The biggest question right now, is what would happen to Goose. While the trade with the Royals involved right fielder Michael Cuddyer (which currently leaves us with NO right fielders on the MLB roster and only two outfielders in total on the MLB roster (Charlie Blackmon and Carlos Gonzalez), Goose now finds himself in the midst of a three man platoon at shortstop in the big leagues, with team superstar Troy Tulowitzki the starting shortstop, presumably Goose now the backup shortstop as well as previous backup shortstop Trevor Story, a 21 year old kid rated 66 overall with a C potential.

Although, maybe Goose will be given playing time in right field or another position, as currently, looking at the Player Comparison window, both Troy Tulowitzki and Goose both have their roles listed as MLB Starter and Trevor Story's role is still MLB Bench, so someone may be playing out of position.

One quick look at the current lineup, and those suspicions were confirmed. Tulowitzki is still the starter at shortstop, while Goose is being plugged in as the starting third baseman. To make room for Goose, D.J. LeMahieu has been booted from his DH role and is now the new starting right fielder, utility infielder Jordan Pacheco, often a backup at third base, has been made the new DH and normal third baseman Nolan Arenado has been kicked out of the lineup altogether.

And looking at the lineup, it appears Goose will be batting seventh in his first ever major league game, a distinct departure from his usual three spot in the batting order.

jaymo76
05-17-2015, 12:01 AM
You made it to the majors already??? Wow! That is crazy. Well, good luck. I played one full season in the minors. I was expecting 2-3. I didn't feel like I earned a spot but rather the game just promoted me. Do you deserve the shot this early?

SmoothPancakes
05-17-2015, 12:04 AM
Nope! I was terrible these last couple games. On a whole, I was doing great in Triple A, but having only played 36 games in Triple A, not a chance in hell I deserved to be promoted yet. This promotion appears to be because of the trade the Rockies did in sending Michael Cuddyer to Kansas City, because I'm being made the starting third baseman, even though I have never played third base on any level. So it appears to be a game of musical chairs in the aftermath of that trade that resulted in the promotion.

#TheScriptIsDead

SmoothPancakes
05-17-2015, 12:23 AM
Alright, so, instead of finishing out the four game series with Round Rock (and preparing for a potential Triple A All-Star selection), Goose would instead find himself thrown to the dogs in the big leagues as Colorado wrapped up a three game series with the Padres. A bit of a rough run right now for Colorado (possibly while Goose was called up so soon), as the Rockies have lost five straight games and 11 of their last 15 games. Goose would have to suddenly acclimate himself to playing in the big leagues and facing MLB starting pitchers.

San Diego 8, Colorado 3
San Diego 2, Colorado 1
San Diego 3, Colorado 2


Obviously nothing from the first two games as Goose didn't get called up until the day of game three.

The third and final game of the series would see Goose making his Major League debut with the Colorado Rockies. It was expected that Goose was going to start at third base, but the coaches apparently changed their minds, as Goose would only see action as a pinch hitter, entering the game in the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs and the bases empty, San Diego leading 3-2. Scratch that, Goose wouldn't even bat. Instead Goose came on as a pinch runner on first base, in action just long enough to watch Michael McKenry fly out to center field. Final stats for Goose, what stats?

Final series stats for Goose, he would pinch run in the final game and that would be it.

Next up for the Colorado Rockies, we host the Minnesota Twins for a three game weekend series before hitting the All-Star break.

(Stealing steeler's Probable Starters preview, I'll probably post this for each series from here on now that we're rolling with the major league club and most pitchers will be known names instead of the randoms from the minors)

Minnesota Twins (40-51) vs Colorado Rockies (43-50)
July 11-13, 2014
Coors Field - Denver, Colorado

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 6:40 PM
Phil Hughes (1-6, 4.76) vs Christian Friedrich (6-6, 4.06)

Game Two - Saturday 2:10 PM
Mike Pelfrey (2-1, 4.74) vs Rob Scahill (5-10, 4.79)

Game Three - Sunday 2:10 PM
Trevor May (3-8, 5.31) vs Rex Brothers (0-1, 4.97)

steelerfan
05-17-2015, 01:30 AM
Not stealing. Using what you find useful. :up:

Good luck. Hopefully you don't get called up to sit.

SmoothPancakes
05-17-2015, 04:55 AM
Not stealing. Using what you find useful. :up:

Good luck. Hopefully you don't get called up to sit.
Appreciate it!

And it doesn't look like I'm gonna be sitting. Other than that one game against San Diego when I came off the bench to pinch run, I have been made the starting third baseman as of the Minnesota series. The Rockies played some serious musical chairs with their starters following that Michael Cuddyer trade, and now I'm thrown into a position that I have never played before in this game.

That's why I told Jaymo, I think this was more a promotion of need and situational opportunity than it was one that I earned. Seemingly nowhere near being called up, especially after that awful performance against Omaha, not even on the 40-man roster, and then as soon as that Cuddyer trade is made with the Royals, I'm added to the 40-man and promoted to the majors, our DH becomes our new right fielder, our backup 3rd baseman becomes our new DH, our starting 3rd baseman becomes a bench player and Goose is made the new starting 3rd baseman beside Tulowitzki, who remains the starting SS.

I'm under the assumption and the belief that if not for that Cuddyer trade to Kansas City, I would still be in Triple A.

Now, I have played two of three games in the Twins series (was falling asleep with the controller in my hand so had to put game 3 off until today) and Goose has produce a little bit at the plate, but damn reading pitches at the MLB level is a challenge. I'm swinging at stuff I should never swing at all of a sudden. Any pitcher with high control and decent speed of a 12-6 curveball, splitter, cutter, sinker, palmball or changeup, and I am screwed. I feel like Pedro Cerrano from the movie Major League. "Straightball I hit it very much. Curveball, bats are afraid."

#TheScriptIsDead

jaymo76
05-17-2015, 02:23 PM
Not stealing. Using what you find useful. :up:

Good luck. Hopefully you don't get called up to sit.

That was the first half of my MLB season. I would play every 5-7 games and pinch hit when needed. It sucks but the season sure passes quickly.

SmoothPancakes
05-17-2015, 03:03 PM
Heading into the final series the weekend before the All-Star break, Goose would finally see his first real taste of major league action, as this time Goose really would be made the starter at third base and would be batting seventh in the order. Needless to say, Goose was feeling butterflies as he went from being a shark in a pond in AAA to a minnow in the ocean in the majors and there was no doubt the Twins wouldn't take it easy on him just because it was his first ever games and series in the majors. With the Rockies likely already out of the division race, sitting 11 games back in mid-July, likely the Rockies would be going into sell mode and the Michael Cuddyer trade may very well end up being just the tip of the iceberg, so at this point, it would be playing for stats and ratings to help solidify Goose as a future franchise player of the Rockies and avoid becoming a bench player or becoming bait as part of a multiple player trade.

Colorado 9, Minnesota 2
Colorado 5, Minnesota 2
Colorado 1, Minnesota 0


First game of the series would see Goose batting seventh in the order. He would make his first ever major league at-bat with two outs in the bottom of the second inning. He would make good contact on an 0-1 pitch from Hughes and send it deep to center field, but it would die before the warning track for a simple fly out. Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning with two outs and a runner on second base, somehow turning on a 1-0 slider and sending it down the left field line just inside the chalk for a stand up RBI double into the corner and his first major league hit, first major league double and his first major league RBI. Two pitches later, Goose would score his first ever major league run as Josh Rutledge would double to right field to drive Goose in from second base. Goose would make his next appearance at the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning with no outs and a runner on first base, sending a 1-2 slider up the middle and into center field for a single to put runners on first and second for Rutledge. Rutledge would proceed to hit a ground ball to the shortstop, causing Goose to be forced out at second base. Goose would make his final appearance in the bottom of the eighth inning with no outs and runners on first and second. Catching the infield off guard, Goose would put down a drag bunt that would roll and perfectly die halfway down the third base line for a single to load up the bases for Rutledge. Rutledge would go beast mode and clear the bases in one fell swoop, sending a 3-2 pitch to right center field for a grand slam. Final stats for Goose, in his major league debut, he would go a very impressive 3-4 with two singles (one via bunt), a double, two runs scored and an RBI.

The second game would see Goose remain seventh in the order. He would make his first at-bat in the bottom of the second inning with two outs and the bases empty, hitting a cutter up the middle for a weak single into shallow left field, but the inning would end next at-bat as Josh Rutledge would ground out for the final out. Goose would get his next shot in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out and the bases empty. Swinging at a slider left up in the zone, Goose would set another career first, hitting his first major league home run with a 420 foot shot to left center field to tie the game at 2-2. Goose would come up next in the bottom of the sixth inning with no outs and no one on base, but it would be a decidedly less stellar at-bat, striking out in four pitches. Goose would return to the plate for his final at-bat of the game leading off the bottom of the eighth inning, but he would ground out to the second baseman to end his day. Final stats for Goose, 2-4 with a single, his first career home run, one run scored, one RBI and one strikeout.

The third and final game of the series would find Goose remaining in the seventh spot in the lineup on a dark and very rainy afternoon. Side note: If postponed games because of weather, make-up games and double headers are ever added to this series, this game would have been one of them as it was pouring rain from start to finish. First at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the second inning with no outs and a runner on first, proceeding to pop out to the third baseman for the first out. Goose's next at-bat would see him leading off the bottom of the fifth inning, going down swinging on a two-seam fastball for a strikeout and the first out. Next shot for Goose would come in the bottom of the sixth inning, stepping in with two outs and the bases loaded, and Goose would promptly strike out on a circle-change for his second strikeout of the game, killing our chance to increase our one run lead. Goose would reach the on-deck circle in the bottom of the eighth, but the inning would end before he would reach the plate, and with that, his day was over as we would hold on for the win in the ninth. Final stats for Goose, 0-3 with two strikeouts.

Final series stats for Goose, he would start in all three games. Goose would start hot and finish cold, batting .455 for the series, going 5-11 with three singles, a double, a home run, three runs scored, two RBIs and three strikeouts.

With that, we have hit the All-Star break, sitting at 46-50 on the season. The National League would end up winning the All-Star game 8-5 to claim home field advantage in the World Series.

Next up for the Colorado Rockies, we make a brief three game road trip to Pittsburgh over the weekend and then return home for an early week three game series against Washington.

Colorado Rockies (46-50) vs Pittsburgh Pirates (49-46)
July 18-20, 2014
PNC Park - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 7:05 PM
Franklin Morales (10-6, 3.29) vs Gerrit Cole (10-8, 3.10)

Game Two - Saturday 7:05 PM
Brett Anderson (6-5, 5.38) vs Francisco Liriano (9-8, 3.33)

Game Three - Sunday 1:35 PM
Christian Friedrich (7-6, 3.93) vs Brandon Cumpton (4-6, 5.68)

SmoothPancakes
05-17-2015, 03:16 PM
As we are at the All-Star break, here's a look at the current standings to catch up on where things currently are.

American League

East
New York Yankees - 52-43
Tampa Bay Rays - 52-45 (1.0 GB)
Baltimore Orioles - 51-44 (1.0 GB)
Boston Red Sox - 51-44 (1.0 GB)
Toronto Blue Jays - 42-54 (10.5 GB)

Central
Detroit Tigers - 52-42
Kansas City Royals - 51-44 (1.5 GB)
Cleveland Indians - 45-51 (8.0 GB)
Minnesota Twins - 40-55 (12.5 GB)
Chicago White Sox - 39-58 (14.5 GB)

West
Los Angeles Angels - 54-41
Texas Rangers - 53-42 (1.0 GB)
Seattle Mariners - 45-50 (9.0 GB)
Houston Astros - 45-51 (9.5 GB)
Oakland Athletics - 44-51 (10.0 GB)

AL Wild Card

Texas Rangers - 53-42
Tampa Bay Rays - 52-45
Kansas City Royals - 51-44 (---)
Baltimore Orioles - 51-44 (---)
Boston Red Sox - 51-44 (---)
Seattle Mariners - 45-50 (6.0 GB)
Houston Astros - 45-51 (6.5 GB)
Cleveland Indians - 45-51 (6.5 GB)
Oakland Athletics - 44-51 (7.0 GB)
Toronto Blue Jays - 42-54 (9.5 GB)
Minnesota Twins - 40-55 (11.0 GB)
Chicago White Sox - 39-58 (13.0 GB)



National League

East
Atlanta Braves - 54-41
Philadelphia Phillies - 51-44 (3.0 GB)
Washington Nationals - 47-48 (7.0 GB)
Miami Marlins - 41-54 (13.0 GB)
New York Mets - 39-56 (15.0 GB)

Central
St. Louis Cardinals - 53-44
Pittsburgh Pirates - 49-46 (3.0 GB)
Milwaukee Brewers - 49-47 (3.5 GB)
Chicago Cubs - 42-53 (10.0 GB)
Cincinnati Reds - 39-56 (13.0 GB)

West
Los Angeles Dodgers - 58-39
Arizona Diamondbacks - 57-39 (0.5 GB)
San Diego Padres - 49-46 (8.0 GB)
Colorado Rockies - 46-50 (11,5 GB)
San Francisco Giants - 42-54 (15.5 GB)

NL Wild Card
Arizona Diamondbacks - 57-39
Philadelphia Phillies - 51-44
San Diego Padres - 49-46 (2.0 GB)
Pittsburgh Pirates - 49-46 (2.0 GB)
Milwaukee Brewers - 49-47 (2.5 GB)
Washington Nationals - 47-48 (4.0 GB)
Colorado Rockies - 46-50 (5.5 GB)
Chicago Cubs - 42-53 (9.0 GB)
San Francisco Giants - 42-52 (9.5 GB)
Miami Marlins - 41-54 (10.0 GB)
New York Mets - 39-56 (12.0 GB)
Cincinnati Reds - 39-56 (12.0 GB)

SmoothPancakes
05-17-2015, 04:45 PM
Following the sweep of Minnesota and the All-Star break, it was right back into the swing of things as we kicked off the unofficial second half of the season with a three game road trip to Pittsburgh, which some have claimed is as about as exciting as going to the moon (10 bonus points to those who can name the reference). While Goose started hot in his first two games in the majors, he quickly hit ice in the third game of the Minnesota series. Hopefully a trip east would help him out.

Pittsburgh 6, Colorado 2
Pittsburgh 5, Colorado 3
Colorado 13, Pittsburgh 2


First game of the series would see Goose batting seventh in the order. Before even getting to bat, Goose would end up committing a fielding error in the bottom of the first inning, as he would fail to cleanly field a ground ball, bobbling it off his mitt, a mistake Pittsburgh would take advantage of for an early run. He would make his first at-bat leading off the top of the third inning, hitting a soft grounder back to the pitcher for the first out. Goose would get his next shot in the top of the fifth inning with one out and the bases empty. Amazingly, despite fouling off seven straight pitches, Goose would make contact on a fastball left high and send it into right center field, where it would just clear the outfield wall by a couple feet for a very unexpected solo home run. Goose's next at-bat would come in the top of the seventh inning with one out and the bases empty, this time bouncing a curveball into the dirt right in front of home plate for a very easy grab and throw to first by the catcher for the out. That would be all for Goose as he would watch the end of the game from the on-deck circle, as our relief pitching imploded on us late in the game. Final stats for Goose, 1-3 with a solo home run, one run scored and one RBI.

The second game would see Goose promoted to sixth in the batting order. The first at-bat for Goose would come in the top of the second inning with one out and the bases empty, squeaking a fastball up the middle and just out of reach of the diving shortstop for a single. Justin Morneau would fly out to center field for the second out, followed by a line out to the second baseman by Josh Rutledge to end the top half of the inning. Goose would return to the plate to lead off the top of the fourth inning, turning on an 0-2 fastball inside and for the second straight at bat sending up the middle into the gap into center field for a single, but the time on the bases would be short lived as Morneau would ground into a double play. Goose would make his next appearance in the top of the sixth inning with no outs and runners on first and second following back to back singles by Carlos Gonzalez and Wilin Rosario, proceeding to hit into a double play of his own to leave Gonzalez on third and two outs, which would see our rally die an early death. The likely final at-bat for Goose (barring extra innings) would come in the top of the eighth inning with one out and Gonzalez standing on first base, upon which Goose would strikeout on a cutter low and inside. Final stats for Goose, 2-4 with two singles and a strikeout.

The third and final game of the series would find Goose demoted back into the seven hole in the order. Hopefully an omen would not be set, as Goose would have a TERRIBLE batting practice before the game, failing to get even a single ball out of 10 pitches beyond the grass of the infield. Goose would make his first at-bat in the top of the second inning with one out and runners on the corners with Carlos Gonzalez standing at third and Justin Morneau at first. Goose would proceed to kill our run scoring opportunity by grounding into a double play at shortstop.

It didn't take long to see what kind of day this was going to be. Batting in the bottom of the second inning with two outs, Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer would proceed to lay down a bunt down the third base line. Pitcher Christian Friedrich would beat Goose to the ball, only to end up throwing the ball over the first baseman's head and into foul territory in right field, allowing Mercer to advance to second. Then, right fielder D.J. LeMahieu, picking up the ball while Mercer was halfway to second, would wing the ball in from near the first base stands and promptly throw the ball over the second baseman's head and into left field. Thank god, Mercer did not try to advance from second to third, as left fielder Carlos Gonzalez charged in and grabbed the loose ball, quickly throwing it over to Goose at third, nearly sending the ball AGAIN flying free over Goose's head this time, a ballerina leap being Goose's only defense to try and snag the ball and keep it from going into the third base dugout.

Returning to a bit of normalcy, Goose would get his next at-bat in the top of the fourth inning, coming up with two outs and the bases empty, promptly grounding out to the catcher with a soft bouncer in front of home plate. The next at-bat for Goose would come in the top of the sixth inning, digging into the batter's box with no outs and two runners on base with Rosario at second and Morneau standing at first. Goose would play the support role and in doing so crack the hit column and lay down a perfect drag bunt down the third base line, legging it out to first base for a single before the pitcher could get a throw off, loading up the bases with no outs for Josh Rutledge. Rutledge would hit a grounder to the shortstop, causing Goose to be forced out at second base, while Rutledge would beat the throw to first for an RBI fielder's choice. Amazingly, pitcher Christian Friedrich would help his own cause as he would smack a bases clearing, two RBI triple into the corner in right field and would eventually score via a sac fly by Charlie Blackmon as we would explode for four runs in the inning. Goose would make it back up to bat in the top of the seventh inning with one out and the bases empty following a solo home run by Rosario and a ground out by Morneau, only to end up striking out on a slider. Goose would get one final chance at the plate in the top of the ninth inning with no outs and Morneau standing on first base, sending a fastball into right field for a single. A single into center field by Rutledge would advance both Goose and Morneau up a base, loading the bases for starting pitcher Christian Friedrich, who was apparently going for a complete game with no pinch hitter in sight, a mistake as he would end up striking out for the first out. D.J. LeMahieu would get the next crack, flying out to very shallow center field to leave all three runners stuck and two outs with Charlie Blackmon next at the plate. Blackmon would come through with a ground ball single into center field, scoring both Morneau and Goose and leaving runners on first and second. Those runners would come in to score as well as Troy Tulowitzki would smack them home with a two RBI double, leading us onto a double digit ass whooping of the Pirates. Final stats for Goose, 2-5 with two singles, a strikeout and a GIDP.

Final series stats for Goose, he would start in all three games. Goose would struggle throughout the series, though flashing a couple of good moments, batting .417 for the series, going 5-12 with four singles, a home run, two runs scored, one RBI, two strikeouts, one GIDP and a fielding error.

Next up for the Colorado Rockies, we immediately turn right around and head back home to kick off a three game series the very next day against Washington. Wrapping up that series on Wednesday, we get Thursday off and then meet the Pirates once again, this time for a three game weekend series at home.

Washington Nationals (49-49) vs Colorado Rockies (47-52)
July 21-23, 2014
Coors Field - Denver, Colorado

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 6:40 PM
Taylor Jordan (5-9, 4.87) vs Rob Scahill (6-10, 4.51)

Game Two - Tuesday 6:40 PM
Stephen Strasburg (9-5, 1.85) vs Rex Brothers (0-1, 4.40)

Game Three - Wednesday 1:10 PM
Doug Fister (5-0, 1.87) vs Franklin Morales (10-6, 3.28)

SmoothPancakes
05-17-2015, 04:46 PM
I'm fucked...

Facing Stephen Strasburg and Doug Fister in back to back games in the Washington series...

I'm fucked... :fp:

SmoothPancakes
05-17-2015, 06:26 PM
After avoiding the series sweep by the Pirates thanks to that huge offensive showing in game three, it was back home with no rest of the weary, thanks to a first pitch start against Washington just 24 hours after wrapping up our series in Pittsburgh and then jetting it back to Colorado. While Goose again flashed great moments against the Pirates, he also proved himself ever the rookie with some boneheaded moments at the plate and in the field. Hopefully Goose would be able to start pulling it together, though he would be truly challenged every step of the way with games against top pitchers Stephen Strasburg and Doug Fister coming up.

Washington 7, Colorado 3
Washington 7, Colorado 0
Washington 6, Colorado 1


First game of the series would see Goose batting seventh in the order. Goose would make his first at-bat in the bottom of the second inning with one out and the bases empty, blooping a fastball into center field for an aggressive double, Goose sliding into the bag just ahead of the throw from center. Taking off running on a ground ball to third by Josh Rutledge, Goose would make the third baseman hesitate long enough while deciding to try for the tag or throw to first, allowing Rutledge to successfully reach first base ahead of the throw for a single while Goose would advance to third to put runners on the corners for starting pitcher Rob Scahill. Scahill would swing at the first pitch and send it into center field for a sacrifice fly, Goose tagging up on the play and scoring the tying run from third. The next at-bat for Goose would see him leading off the bottom of the fourth inning, hitting a grounder towards the first baseman, forcing him to dive to stop the ball and failing to field it cleanly. While the first baseman would eventually manage to pick up the ball and wing it toward first base to the pitcher, Goose would just beat out the throw by a half a foot for a lead off single. Goose would then come home next batter as Rutledge would drive a fastball into right center field, the ball rolling all the way to the wall in the deepest part of the stadium for a stand up double, allowing Goose to sprint from first all the way home to score the go-ahead run. Naturally, that lead would die as our shit pitching would give up four runs in the top of the sixth inning, and we went from a one run lead to on the verge of getting blown out. Goose would make his next appearance at the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning, coming up with one out and the bases empty and promptly popping out to the third baseman for an uneventful at-bat. Goose would make his final at-bat in the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs and the bases empty. Swinging at a slider low and away, Goose would make weak contact for a fluke grounder up the third base line, beating out the slow retrieval and throw to first from the pitcher for a lucky single. Much like his woes in Double A and Triple A, Goose would again dick things up on the bases, getting picked off at first base during Rutledge's at-bat, not that it would matter much with the score at the time. Final stats for Goose, 3-4 with two singles, a double, two runs scored and getting picked off on the bases.

The second game would see massive shuffling occurring, seemingly as some players got a day of rest. Goose would find himself starting today at shortstop and batting fifth in the order, Troy Tulowitzki would become the starting right fielder today and Nolan Arenado would return to the lineup to start at third base. First at-bat for Goose today would see him leading off the bottom of the second inning, fighting off a 1-2 curveball only to fly out to the center fielder. Next trip to the plate would find Goose leading off the bottom of the fourth inning this time, blooping a slider into shallow left field for a single. For the second straight game, Goose would dick things up on the bases, being picked off at first base for the second time this series. At this rate, the coaches are gonna start pinch running for Goose. :fp: Goose would get his next crack in the bottom of the sixth inning with no outs and Carlos Gonzalez on first base, only to hit a ball at the shortstop and ground into a double play. :fp: Goose's final at-bat of the game would come leading off the bottom of the ninth inning, Strasburg shooting for a complete game shutout. He would move one step closer to it as Goose would strike out on three straight pitches, followed by two pop outs to go the distance on the mound for Washington. Final stats for Goose, 1-4 with one single, one strikeout, one GIDP as well as getting picked off at first base for the second straight game.

The third and final game of the series would see pretty much everything remain the same, Goose starting at shortstop and batting fifth, Tulowitzki starting at right field and Arenado starting at third. One change from yesterday, Jordan Pacheco would take over at first base, giving Justin Morneau the day off to rest. Goose's first at-bat would come in the bottom of the first inning, stepping up to the plate with one out, Carlos Gonzalez on first and Tulowitzki on second, Goose proceeding to ground into a double play and end the inning. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out and Gonzalez standing on first, only to end up striking out on a sinker. Once again, our pitchers would destroy us, giving up five runs between the fifth and seventh innings. Goose would make his next at-bat in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out and the bases empty, just legging out what should have been a single that was hit to first, instead it would be ruled a fielding error on the first baseman. Un-freaking-believably, Goose would AGAIN end up picked off at first base, making that three games in a row he would get made to look like a bitch by the Washington pitching staff. Final stats for Goose, 0-3 with a strikeout, a GIDP and third straight game being picked off at first base after reaching base on an error.

Final series stats for Goose, he would start in all three games. Goose would struggle throughout the entire series, making this one truly one to forget, batting .364 for the series, going 4-11 with three singles, one double, two runs scored, two strikeouts, two GIDP and THREE times being picked off at first base, getting picked off once in all three games of the series.

Next up for the Colorado Rockies, we get a day off, giving Goose a chance try and recollect himself, before opening up a weekend series at home with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Meanwhile, all eyes will be focused towards the front office in these final days of July as we approach the trading deadline. With the Rockies already completing one trade earlier in the month, and with any hopes of competing for the division and likely the wild card already shot, would the Rockies go into sell mode this year?

The biggest question, what would be done about the logjam at shortstop? With franchise player Troy Tulowitzki and future star Goose Anderson already fighting for time at their natural position, plus Trevor Story riding the bench as backup shortstop, then Juan Nugent and Rosell Herrera stuck in limbo in Triple A and Double A, the Rockies could very well start doing some selling to uncluster the shortstop position in the organization. But, who would be shipped out? Would the Rockies dare to trade their franchise player in Tulowitzki? Would they dare to trade their future projected franchise player in Goose Anderson? Or would they trade, by now, career backup Trevor Story and try to continue finding space for both Tulowitzki and Anderson on the field at the same time? If that happens, it could well come at the expense of third baseman Nolan Arenado, who originally found himself riding the bench for the Minnesota and Pittsburgh series while Goose was made the starter at third. That changed against Washington when Arenado returned to his spot at third and Goose was given shortstop, forcing Tulowitzki out of the infield and into right field.

Things would get thrown even more into doubt as early signs pointed to Goose being removed from the field in American League parks. When batting with a DH, Goose would be removed from the field and made the DH, leading off at the top of the order, Tulo would start at shortstop, Arenado would start at third and Jordan Pacheco would start in right field. When batting without a DH, Goose would start at shortstop, still batting first in the order, Tulo would start in right field, Arenado would start at third and Pacheco would head to the bench. Needless to say, all these questions and never ending changes at every turn of the batting order would be enough to give many people a blinding headache just reading all of this and trying to make any sense of it. About the only thing that can be done at this point, just sit back and wait and see what unfolds as the trade deadline approaches and passes.

Pittsburgh Pirates (52-49) vs Colorado Rockies (47-55)
July 25-27, 2014
Coors Field - Denver, Colorado

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 6:40 PM
Francisco Liriano (9-8, 3.20) vs Brett Anderson (6-5, 5.26)

Game Two - Saturday 6:10 PM
Brandon Cumpton (4-7, 5.67) vs Christian Friedrich (8-6, 3.81)

Game Three - Sunday 2:10 PM
Jeff Locke (4-8, 7.02) vs Rob Scahill (6-11, 4.62)

steelerfan
05-17-2015, 07:08 PM
That was the first half of my MLB season. I would play every 5-7 games and pinch hit when needed. It sucks but the season sure passes quickly.
The point of that stage of your career is to play and improve. Sitting doesn't get it done.

SmoothPancakes
05-20-2015, 05:01 PM
As July wound down, it was pretty much to the point that we were playing for pride, as we continued to fall further and further behind in the wild card race (we were already as good as dead in the division race), no thanks to losing 5 out of our last 6 games in series against Pittsburgh and Washington. It wouldn't get much better as we would again face off against Pittsburgh, though this time we would be in the friendly confines of home. Would that make a difference? No, no it would not as we would repeat our results against the Pirates, winning just one game in the series, though that win would at least end what had become a five game losing streak.

Pittsburgh 7, Colorado 2
Pittsburgh 6, Colorado 5
Colorado 9, Pittsburgh 6


First game of the series would see some changes as Goose would now be the starting shortstop and would also see Goose thrown into the number one spot in the batting order. Whether or not that would be a mistake remains to be seen. It wouldn't take long for our pitching to screw us, giving up two runs in the first inning, with the potential for many more thankfully averted. Goose would lead off the bottom of the first inning, only to ground out to the second baseman. Through two innings on the mound, starter Brett Anderson had already thrown 58 pitches. Through three innings, he was up to 79 pitches. This would be a long day for our relievers. :fp: Goose would make his next at-bat in the bottom of the third inning with one out and the bases empty, and while he would give a slider one hell of a ride, it would be caught at the wall in left field for the second out. Starter Brett Anderson would see his day come to an end after just four innings on the mound, racking up 91 pitches thrown in those four innings. God help us with quality relievers. Goose would return to the plate next leading off the bottom of the sixth inning, the at-bat ending in a line out to the second baseman, Goose still unable to figure out how to hit against Francisco Liriano. Goose would make his final at-bat leading off the bottom of the eighth inning and Liriano still on the mound, which would result in another poor at-bat for Goose as he would strike out on a slider outside, Liriano clearly having Goose's number at the plate. Final stats for Goose, 0-4 with a strikeout, making Goose 0-7 in his last two games, 1-11 in his last three games.

The second game would see Goose remain the lead off batter and continue as the starter at shortstop. Goose would lead off the bottom of the first inning, only to end up grounding out to the third baseman on a sinker for the first out. Goose would make his next at-bat in the bottom of the second inning, coming up with two outs and the bases loaded. Looking to break his cold streak, Goose would instead go glacial as he would ground out to the second baseman to destroy the great scoring opportunity. The next at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the fifth inning with one out and the bases empty, getting a very lucky bouncer up the middle, the shortstop diving and stopping it but unable to get a throw off in time to give Goose a single, his first hit in his last 12 at-bats. A fielding error would see Goose advance to second base and Charlie Blackmon safely reach first, leaving runners on first and second for Troy Tulowitzki, who would promptly clear the bases with a full count three run jack to left field to give us the lead. That is until a two run home run the next inning gave the lead right back to the Pirates. Goose would return to the plate leading off the bottom of the seventh inning against a new pitcher, ending his at-bat quickly with a ground out to the first baseman. Goose would make his final at-bat in the bottom of the ninth inning with no outs and runners on first and second. Swinging at a 2-0 change-up left hanging right in the middle of the zone, Goose nearly shattered the ice of his cold hitting streak, launching a bomb down the right field line. Only at the very last second would it curve outside of the pole for a foul ball, robbing Goose of a potential game winning home run. After a 10 pitch at-bat, Goose would get robbed as he would send a full count fastball deep to right field, just missing a home run by a matter of feet, instead bouncing the ball off the way just inches above the right fielder's glove. Because the base runners had held up, they were late making their moves, resulting in Nolan Arenado somehow getting called out on a tag at home plate to screw us out of the game tying run and screw Goose out of an RBI. That would leave Goose at first base, Michael McKenry on third base and one out for Charlie Blackmon, who was still looking for his first hit today. Taking off hauling ass on a 1-0 pitch, Goose would actually end up taking off running just as the pitcher went to throw to first base. Thanks to the delay of the throw to first and the first baseman's throw to second being high, Goose was able to successfully steal second base. It wouldn't matter much as Blackmon would draw a four pitch, loading up the bases for Troy Tulowitzki, who has already jacked a three run home run back in the fifth inning. However, instead this time Tulo would end up frozen looking at a called third strike, leaving two outs and the bases loaded for Carlos Gonzalez, who was hitless for the game. After fouling off two straight pitches, Carlos would manage just a weak grounder to the first baseman, who would immediately throw to home for the force out to end the game, as we would royally screw multiple scoring opportunities in that final inning. Final stats for Goose, some life at last, 2-5 with two singles, one run scored and a stolen base.

The third and final game of the series would see pretty much everything remain the same, Goose starting at shortstop and batting lead off. Leading off the bottom of the first inning, Goose would smoke a high fastball down the third base line and into left field for a stand up double to open things up. A four pitch walk to Charlie Blackmon would put runners on first and second for Troy Tulowitzki, who would rope a single into center field to score Goose from second to give us the opening lead. Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the second inning, coming up with one out and runners on first and second, going down swinging on a knuckle-curve for the second out. The next at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out and a runner on second. Five pitches into the at-bat with a 2-2 count, the pitcher would end up throwing a wild pitch, allowing the runner to advance to third base. Due to the runner on third, Goose would try to lay down a bunt to bring the runner home, but the bunt would end up going down the third base line. Regardless, Goose would manage to sprint down to first before the catch could retrieve the ball to put runners on the corners and chase starting pitcher Jeff Locke from the ballgame. Getting ballsy, Goose would advance from first to third on an RBI single by Blackmon, just beating the throw from center field into third base to leave runners at the corners for Tulowitzki. A single by Tulo straight up the middle, almost exactly the same as Blackmon's, would result in an RBI single to score Goose from third. Goose would get his next at-bat in the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs and a runner on first, only to end up striking out on a curveball to end the inning. Because our pitching sucks ass, we would watch a 6-0 lead destroyed as the Pirates proceeded to plate five runs in the sixth inning. Thankfully, our bats would respond in the bottom of the sixth and we would score three more runs to build back out to a four run lead. Leading off the bottom of the seventh inning, Goose would crack a cutter back up the middle and into center field for a single, putting the lead off runner on for Blackmon, would would promptly hit a ground ball to the first baseman, Goose forced out at second. Final stats, 3-5 with two singles, a double, two runs scored and two strikeouts.

Final series stats for Goose, he would start in all three games. Goose would struggle early on but find some life in the second half, batting .357 for the series, going 5-14 with four singles, one double, three runs scored, one stolen base and three strikeouts.

Next up for the Colorado Rockies, we got no chance to rest as we jet east to open up a four game series against the Chicago Cubs the very next evening, again, all eyes focused at that trade deadline just four days away as every player in the clubhouse waits to see who may be the next to get shipped out, if the front office does indeed go into fire sale mode due to our poor record.

Colorado Rockies (48-57) vs Chicago Cubs (45-59)
July 28-31, 2014
Wrigley Field - Chicago, Illinois

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:05 PM
Rex Brothers (0-2, 4.53) vs Jake Arrieta (5-8, 5.78)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:05 PM
Franklin Morales (10-7, 3.43) vs Jeff Samardzija (5-10, 2.40)

Game Three - Wednesday 7:05 PM
Brett Anderson (6-6, 5.46) vs Travis Wood (8-7, 3.37)

Game Four - Thursday 1:20 PM
Christian Friedrich (8-7, 4.01) vs Edwin Jackson (7-6, 3.62)

SmoothPancakes
05-20-2015, 09:40 PM
Rolling along into the final four days of July, those four days would be spent in the windy city as the Rockies traveled east for a four game series with the Chicago Cubs. Colorado still was searching for a heartbeat this season, having been on a very rough stretch for the last two weeks. While the Rockies were already essentially eliminated from the division race and all but dead from the wild card race at this rate, they were at least still within shooting range of .500. Meanwhile, Goose had found a bit of a swing in the final two games against Pittsburgh, but still on a largely cold streak over his last 5 games, including going hitless in two straight games, he still needs to find his stroke if he is to cement himself into the big league club's lineup.

Chicago 4, Colorado 3
Chicago 11, Colorado 7
Colorado 3, Chicago 2
Colorado 6, Chicago 2


First game of the series would see some changes once again as Goose would remain the starting shortstop, but this time he would find himself batting fifth in the order instead of leading off as he did against Pittsburgh. Maybe Goose's struggles are coming because of all this moving around. In his short few weeks in the majors, he has gone from seventh to fifth to seventh to first to fifth in the batting order. Goose would come up for his first at-bat leading off the top of the second inning, knocking a fastball into center field for a lead off single. He wouldn't get very far however as a strikeout by Justin Morneau and a pop out to third base by Nolan Arenado created two quick outs, before a strikeout by Michael McKenry would end the inning. Leading off the top of the fourth inning, Goose would come up and go back down swinging on a slider low and inside for a strikeout. After back to back doubles by Josh Rutledge and Troy Tulowitzki, followed by a bases clearing triple by Carlos Gonzalez, Goose would return to the plate in the top of a three run fifth inning with two outs and Gonzalez on third and end up being the rally killer as he would strikeout swinging on a 2-2 fastball inside. Next chance for Goose would be in the top of the eighth inning with two outs and the bases empty, but would end up striking out on a slider low and away for the third out. Final stats for Goose, 1-4 with a single and three strikeouts.

The second game would see Goose remain fifth in the batting order. Goose would make his first at-bat in the top of the first inning with two outs and a runner on second base, continuing to go glacial in hitting at the plate with a strikeout on a splitter. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the top of the third inning with two outs and runners on first and third, shattering the ice with a no-doubt three run BOMB to right field to give us the three run lead, that would instantly disappear over the next two innings thanks to our joke of a pitching staff. Goose would lead off the top of the sixth inning, our three run lead by Goose now turned into a one run deficit. Facing a 1-1 count, Goose would end up getting a free base as a fastball would take aim at his shin for a hit by pitch. Following a strikeout by Wilin Rosario, Goose would advance to second base courtesy of a wild pitch during Justin Morneau's at-bat. Once pitch later, a double into the left field gap by Morneau would drive Goose home from second to score the tying run. Goose would dig in at the plate next leading off the top of the eighth inning, this time with a three run deficit, thanks to our crap pitching, only to ground out to the first baseman. Final stats for Goose, 1-3 with a three run home run, two runs scored, three RBI, a hit by pitch and one strikeout.

The third game of the series would see Goose out of the lineup, presumably for a day of rest. He would end up seeing action in the game, coming on to pinch hit in the top of the eighth inning with no outs and a runner on first base, trailing 2-0. Laying down a bunt down the third base line, Goose would just beat out the throw to first base for a single, chasing starter Travis Wood off of the mound and putting runners on first and second with no outs for Nolan Arenado, also coming up as a pinch hitter. Unfortunately Arenado would hit a blooper in-between first and the pitcher's mound, making for a very easy pop out to the pitcher and one out. Surprisingly, D.J LeMahieu would come up as the third straight pinch hitter. Apparently Goose pinch hit for the cold batting Charlie Culberson (who was starting shortstop), Arenado pinch hit for the cold hitting Trevor Story (who was starting third baseman) and LeMahieu was the actual pinch hitter for the previous pitcher. Despite LeMahieu hitting a crack shot down the first base line for a single, Goose would only advance to second base as the runner ahead of him held up while waiting for the ball to land, leading to him only making it to third base instead being well on his way to home as he should have been. That would load the bases with one out for Charlie Blackmon, hitting a grounder to the second baseman to result in LeMahieu forced out at second base, but Blackmon would beat the double play throw to first base to leave runners on the corners, Goose standing at third, and one run scored on the play to cut Chicago's lead to one. So, with two outs and runners on first and third, Jordan Pacheco would come up next, hitting a blooper through the gap into right field for an RBI single, Goose bringing across the game tying run. With that, Goose would end up taking over shortstop and the seventh slot in the batting order from Culberson. Goose would come up for another at-bat in the top of the ninth inning with two outs and the bases empty, drawing a walk on four straight balls to get on base. That would be as far as Goose would get as Arenado would fly out to right field to end the top of the inning. Amazingly, our pitching wouldn't blow it. Final stats for Goose in limited action, 1-1 with a single, a walk and a run scored.

The fourth and final game of the series would Goose return to the starting lineup, starting at shortstop and making another change, back to batting first in the order. Leading off the top of the first inning, it would be a very poor at-bat for Goose as would end up striking out to start the game. Goose would come up next leading off the top of the third inning, sneaking a grounder past the third baseman and into left field for a lead off single. Goose would never make it off first however as Charlie Blackmon would fly out to left field and both Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez would go down swinging to end the top half of the inning. Goose's next at-bat would come in the top of the fifth inning with one out and a runner on second base, quickly grounding out to the second baseman for the second out. Leading off the top of the eighth inning, Goose would come up against a new pitcher, reliever James Russell. Goose would make Russell pay as he left a 1-0 fastball hanging over the middle of the plate, and Goose promptly sent it to the right field bleachers for a solo home run to tie the game up. Three Cubs pitchers would combine to probably have their worst inning of the season. Following Goose, Charlie Blackmon would draw a walk, after which Troy Tulowitzki would take Russell yard for the second time this inning with a two run shot. Kenny Larkin would come in to replace Russell on the mound, but he would do even worse. After walking Carlos Conzalez, he would hit Wilin Rosario with a pitch and give us an RBI single into center by Justin Morneau to score Gonzalez. Larkin would then proceed to walk Josh Rutledge and that would be the end of his day. Carlos Villanueva would come in next to replace Larkin, promptly hitting Nolan Arenado with a pitch to force in a run and leave the bases loaded. Jordan Pacheco would pinch hit for pitcher Tommy Kahnle and would unfortunately fly out to center field, but it would take the Cubs three pitchers and nine batters to get the FIRST out of the inning. Because of all of that, Goose would be back up to bat for a SECOND time in the top of the eighth inning, returning to the plate with only one out and the bases loaded! Unfortunately Goose would not get a chance at a grand slam as he would proceed to hit a dribbler in front of home plate for a fielder's choice, leaving Morneau hanging with his balls out on the play at home while Goose would safely make it to first base, leaving the bases loaded with two outs for Charlie Blackmon. Sadly our amazing rally would end as Blackmon would fly out to center field to end the top of the eighth inning. Final damage in that eighth inning alone, 11 batters as we batted around the order, putting eight batters up before the Cubs would record a single out, scoring five runs courtesy of a solo home run, a three run home run, an RBI single, three walks and two hit by pitches, one of them scoring a run due to the bases being loaded at the time. Definitely an inning to remember, and one for the Cubs to forget, one that would help us split the four game series. Final stats for Goose, 2-5 with a single and solo home run, one run scored, one RBI and one strikeout.

Final series stats for Goose, he would start in three games, see action in all four. Goose would have his moments this series, both good and bad, batting .385 for the series, going 5-13 with three singles, two home runs, one hit by pitch, one walk, four runs, four RBIs and five strikeouts.

It would appear the trade deadline came and passed without any trades occurring in Colorado. I can't say if any trades happened elsewhere in MLB as you can't find out crap about the rest of the league and transactions in RTTS, but nothing popped up about any trades happening involving the Rockies and nothing seems to have changed among our MLB roster.

Since the Chicago series officially wrapped up July, here's the recap of Goose's July stats in the majors. He would play in 17 games, batting .396 with 24 hits on 61 at-bats. He would have 17 singles, three doubles, zero triples and four home runs, scoring 14 runs and driving in 7 RBIs. Goose has successfully stolen one base on one attempt for 1.000% stolen base %, he's drawn one walk and struck out 15 times. Goose has .639 slugging %, .413 on base %, 1.052 OPS, no sacrifice hits, no sacrifice flies, he's grounded into a double play four times, he's been hit by pitch once and has been picked off numerous times. Fielding, Goose has 28 assists and 5 direct putouts, committing one fielding error to have a .971 fielding %.

At the end of July, the Rockies are fourth in the NL West standings with a record of 50-59, 15.0 games behind the co-first place Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks. Because of that tie, the Dodgers and Diamondbacks also both currently hold the top two spots in the Wild Card, so the Rockies are considered 15 games back. Technically, the Rockies are only 7.5 games out of the second Wild Card slot as they sit 7.5 games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates (57-51) who would end up being the second Wild Card team if the season ended today.

Next up for the Colorado Rockies, we head 4 1/2 hours to the east to visit Comerica Park and the Detroit Tigers for a three game weekend series.

Colorado Rockies (50-59) vs Detroit Tigers (61-46)
August 1-3, 2014
Comerica Park - Detroit, Michigan

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 7:08 PM
Rob Scahill (7-11, 4.73) vs Drew Smyly (11-3, 3.98)

Game Two - Saturday 7:08 PM
Rex Brothers (0-2, 4.61) vs Justin Verlander (9-6, 3.25)

Game Three - Sunday 1:08 PM
Franklin Morales (10-7, 3.74) vs Max Scherzer (7-6, 3.76)

SmoothPancakes
05-20-2015, 11:31 PM
Hoping to keep up the heat into August, we rolled into Detroit for a three game stint with the Tigers. Goose caught some fire during the Chicago series, but now he would need to work on consistency, as he basically lacked any. Good news for the team at least, despite our questionable pitching, we would steal two of three against the AL Central leaders, though it really should have been a sweep if not for said crap pitching blowing game two for us multiple times.

Colorado 7, Detroit 2
Detroit 3, Colorado 2 F/12
Colorado 11, Detroit 5


First game of the series would see the changes continue as Goose would be taken out of the field and made the designated hitter, batting fourth in the order. One big unknown, was Troy Tulowitzki still around as he was nowhere to be seen in the lineup, though no trade notifications had ever popped up during the trade deadline. Hopefully he was just out for a day of rest. Goose would get up for his first at-bat in the top of the first inning with two outs and a runner on first, but pitcher Drew Smyly would make him ground back to the mound for an easy force out at first. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the top of the third inning with two outs and runners on first and second, only to go down swinging on a high fastball for a strikeout. Goose would return to the plate in the top of the fifth inning with one out and a runner on second after a bases loaded double by Carlos Gonzalez would score three runs. Goose would send a fastball deep to center field, but come up about 50 feet short of the warning track for a fly out. Goose would come up to bat for the second inning in a row thanks to a second straight three run blitz that would chase Smyly from the game, digging in in the top of the sixth inning with two outs and runners on first and second, but while he would give a fastball a good ride, it would die in left field for another fly out. Goose would make his final at-bat in the top of the ninth inning with one out and the bases empty, but Jabba the Hutt, Joba Chamberlain, would get him to ground back to the mound for an easy throw to first fto record the second out. While Goose wouldn't get the job done, the guys behind him would as Justin Morneau would triple to left followed by an RBI single by Josh Rutledge and a single by Nolan Arenado to chase Joba from the game. Final stats for Goose, a pitiful 0-5 with a strikeout.

The second game would see Goose remain the designated hitter, but he would drop one spot from fourth to fifth in the batting order. Thankfully, no unannounced trades had occurred, instead merely a day of rest, as Troy Tulowitzki returned to the starting lineup at shortstop for game two. Goose would see his first at-bat in the top of the first inning with two outs and runners on first and second, only to go chasing on a change-up and ground out to the first baseman to end the threat. Goose would return to the plate in the top of the third inning with two outs and runners on first and third, striking out on a circle-change to end the top half of the inning for the second at-bat in a row. Goose would come to bat next in a tied game in the top of the fifth inning with two outs and the bases empty, smoking a nearly neck high fastball back at Verlander and into center field for a single, only for Wilin Rosario to pop out to third base to end our half of the inning. Goose would come back up to the plate in the top of the eighth inning with no outs and a runner on first base, going down with a swinging strikeout on a change-up by reliever Phil Coke. Heading into extra innings tied 1-1, Troy Tulowitzki would hit a two out double, followed by an RBI single from Carlos Gonzalez to give us a 2-1 lead, bringing Goose to the plate with two outs and Gonzalez standing at first, with Goose promptly grounding out to the first baseman. The game would not end there however as LaTroy Hawkins would give up a two out solo home run and on we went. Goose would come up for another at-bat in the top of the twelfth inning of a 2-2 ball game with two outs and runners on first and second. Goose would give a fastball a good ride into left center field, but it would hang in the air long enough to let the center fielder catch it for the third out. And with that, we would end up losing as Miguel Cabrera would jack a two out solo home run in the bottom of the twelfth to end the game. Final stats for Goose, 1-6 with a single and two strikeouts.

The third and final game of the series would see Goose remain the designated hitter, but move back up from fifth to fourth in the order. Goose would make his first at-bat in the top of the first inning with two outs and Carlos Gonzalez on first base. Swinging at an 0-1 fastball from Max Scherzer, Goose would hit a moon blast, sending that thing flying deep into the stands in right field for a two run home run to give us an early 2-0 lead, only for our pitching to naturally piss away the lead in the second inning. Goose would return to the plate in the top of the third inning with one and a runner on second, smacking a fastball deep to left center field and bouncing it off the wall just in front of the Tigers bullpen, sliding into third base and just barely beating the thrown from the outfield for an RBI triple, driving in the game tying run. Wilin Rosario would send a pitch high and deep to right center for a fly out to the center fielder, Goose tagging up and easily beating the throw home for the go-ahead run. Again, our lead would disappear as our pitching would give up two solo home runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to give the lead back to the Tigers. :fp: Goose would return to the plate in the top of the fifth inning with one out and the bases empty, slinging a fastball to deep center field for a fly out. Goose would dig in at the plate next in the top of the seventh inning against reliever Al Alburquerque, coming up with one out and the bases empty after a solo home run by Carlos Gonzalez that would return the one run lead back to us. Goose would get great contact and send a pitch screaming down the line into right field, but right fielder Adam Lind would make a hell of a play to run the hit down and get the second out. Surprisingly, despite there being two outs in the inning, we would go on an absolute tear following Goose's at-bat, as Wilin Rosario and Justin Morneau would hit back to back singles, causing the Tigers to bring in Luke Putkonen to replace Albuquerque. Josh Rutledge would then hit a two RBI double, followed by an RBI single by Nolan Arenado, who would be followed by an RBI double by Trevor Story to bring us back around to the top of the order before Charlie Blackmon would pop out to end the inning. We would end up batting around the entire order in the seventh inning, starting with Jordan Pacheco (second in the order) and ending with Charlie Blackmon (first in the order), scoring five runs on six hits, with all but one run and one hit (coming on Gonzalez's solo home run) coming with two outs in the inning. Thanks to that mega seventh inning, Goose would return to bat the very next inning, coming up in the top of the eighth inning with two outs and the bases empty, blooping a change-up into center field. While Goose should have stopped at first for a single, he got ballsy, rounded first and hauled ass towards second, sliding in safely for a double thanks to a high and wide throw from the outfield that would force the second baseman off the bag and out of position to catch the ball. Goose would end up stranded on base however as Wilin Rosario would strike out to wrap up our half of the eighth. Final stats for Goose, he would go 3-5 in a MLB career day with a double, a triple, a two run home run, two runs and three RBI, earning him player of the game honors.

Final series stats for Goose, he would "start" as the designated hitter in all three games. Goose would be cold as hell, batting 1-11 in the first two games, before unleashing and unloading in the third game, batting .250 for the series, going 4-16 with one single, one double, one triple and a two run home run, scoring two runs, driving in three RBIs and striking out three times, as well as earning player of the game honors for game three.

Next up for the Colorado Rockies, we get to return home to Denver and finally get a day off on Monday, before kicking off a 13 game, 13 day stretch with a three game home series against the Chicago Cubs, followed by a three game weekend series at the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Chicago Cubs (49-62) vs Colorado Rockies (52-60)
August 5-7, 2014
Coors Field - Denver, Colorado

Probable Starters:

Game One - Tuesday 6:40 PM
Travis Wood (8-7, 3.33) vs Brett Anderson (6-6, 5.20)

Game Two - Wednesday 6:40 PM
Edwin Jackson (7-6, 3.53) vs Christian Friedrich (8-7, 3.97)

Game Three - Thursday 1:10 PM
Jason Hammel (4-9, 4.61) vs Rob Scahill (8-11, 4.58)

SmoothPancakes
05-20-2015, 11:48 PM
After 12:30am, probably too late to try and squeeze in the Cubs series, so I'm gonna give a quick update on the minors before calling it a night and watching a bit of TV ahead of bed.

Since Goose left Triple A Colorado Springs, the Sky Sox have gone apeshit in his absence.

Following the game two loss to Round Rock before Goose was called up, they would end up taking the final two games 10-0 and 2-1 to take three of four from Round Rock. They then took 2 of 3 from Omaha ahead of the All-Star break. Coming out of the All-Star break with a four game series against the Memphis Cardinals, the Sky Sox would drop the first game before sweeping the rest of the games to take three of four. They would split a four game series with Nashville, lose the first game of a four game series with Round Rock before reeling off five straight wins, taking three of four from Round Rock and the first two of a four game series against Nashville, before losing two straight to split with Nashville for a second straight series. Early August, they've hit a bit of a rough stretch as they followed those two losses to Nashville with two losses at Oklahoma City to go on a four game slide.

So in the games to date since Goose left, the Sky Sox have gone 14-9.

Coupled with a 7-16 collapse by the Iowa Cubs, that would see them lose three of four to Omaha, two of three to Oklahoma City, get swept in four games by Round Rock, lose three of four to New Orleans and split a four game series against Memphis before slightly recovering with a three of four games series win over New Orleans. Since then, Iowa has lost the first two of a four game series against Omaha.

So, thanks to Colorado Springs finding life and Iowa falling off a bloody mountainside in their collapse, along with Omaha continuing to tread water a couple games under .500 and Oklahoma City continuing to just suck, somehow, the Sky Sox have come storming back and are currently in a first place tie with the Iowa Cubs in the division with 59-57 records. It's a close one though as the Sky Sox are 21-15 in the division, the Cubs 20-16 thus far. Sky Sox are on a four game losing streak, the Cubs on a two game slide. Despite a two game winning streak, Omaha remains 4.0 games back, and Oklahoma City sits 8.0 games back even with a three game winning streak.

It's gonna be a race as the Sky Sox and Cubs both have 28 games remaining in the Triple A regular season, with it shaping up to be a race to the very end for the division title.

In Double A, it looks like the Drillers will be sitting at home this postseason. The Springfield Cardinals (26-12) took the first half of the Texas League season and they are running away with the second half, holding a 9.0 game lead over second place Arkansas Travelers. Tulsa is sitting in dead last with a 15-23 record, leaving them 11.0 games behind the Cardinals with only 26 games remaining in the Double A season.

SmoothPancakes
05-25-2015, 09:25 PM
After getting a much needed day of rest on Monday August 4th, it was back into the grind as we kicked off another 13 games in 13 days stretch with a three game series at home against the Chicago Cubs. With the chance for a .500 record slowly slipping away with each new loss, we would need to rack up some wins in this series if we were ever going to get a push kick started. Instead we would lose the series and Goose would have the worst series of this baseball career.

Chicago 6, Colorado 2
Colorado 6, Chicago 1
Chicago 8, Colorado 6 F/11


First game of the series would see the changes continue as Goose as he would return to the field as starting shortstop and would end up the lead off batter at the top of the order. Leading off the bottom of the first inning, Goose would rope a 1-2 slider into right center field, sliding into second base for a double thanks to the throw in from the outfield being off the mark. Goose would advance to third on a single by Charlie Blackmon, only to get gunned down at home plate after taking off from third thanks to a bobbled ball by the shortstop and late throw to first. Instead of scoring, Goose would get beat by about three steps for the first out. Goose would return in the bottom of the third inning with one out and the bases empty, going down swinging on an outside fastball for a strikeout and the second out. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the fifth inning with one out and runners on first and second, only to strikeout on three straight pitches thanks to two slow as hell slider and an absolutely slow as all hell change-up. The next at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out and a runner on first, but Goose would end up striking out for the third straight at bat, chasing a change-up low for the second out. Goose would get one last chance at the plate, digging in in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs and a runner on first, but a splitter in the dirt would get Goose swinging for his fourth straight strikeout to end the ball game. Final stats for Goose, 1-5 with a double and four strikeouts, earning Goose the Golden Sombrero!

http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/SmoothPancakes/sombrerotime_r1_zpsjlfi4npw.jpg

The second game would see Goose remain the lead off batter and starter at shortstop. Leading off the bottom of the first inning, Goose would smack a fastball to deep right center field, the ball coming down behind the center fielder's glove and bouncing off the wall and away from the fielder. Goose was hauling ass around the bases and was already on his way to third before the center fielder could even pick up the ball and throw it in. Feeling incredibly ballsy, Goose tried for the rarity and went for the inside the park home run, but he would get too greedy and realizing that he was about to bite off more than he could chew, he would stop half way to home plate and try to retreat to third base, only to be thrown out at third by the catcher. Despite all of that, ultimately the play was called a ground out on an error (:confused:) and was ruled an 8-4-2-5 E8 ground out. Despite that, we would end up batting around the order in the first inning. Thus, Goose would end up leading off the bottom of the second inning at the plate, only to end up striking out on a slider below the knees for the first out. Goose's next chance would come in the bottom of the fourth inning with two outs and a runner on first, ultimately grounding out to the second baseman to end the inning, as other than that first inning hit that was actually an error that was supposedly a ground out, Goose couldn't find an answer to Jason Hammel's pitching. Thankfully Goose wouldn't have to as Hammel would be pinch hit for in the top of the sixth inning. So, Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and runners on first and second, coming up against reliever Carlos Villanueva, who would promptly make Goose look like an idiot at the plate with his curveball, Goose striking out for the second time today to end the inning. Final stats for Goose, 0-4 with two strikeouts.

The third and final game of the series would see Goose dropped from the lead off spot, now batting fifth in the order for this game. First at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the first inning with two outs and the bases empty following a two run home run by Carlos Gonzalez. Goose would not follow in Gonzalez's footsteps, instead striking out yet again thanks to Jake Arrieta's ugly 12-6 curveball that Goose has never figured out how to hit on any level. Goose would come up to bat next in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out and the bases empty, that goddamned 12-6 curveball rearing its ugly head once again to freeze Goose for a strikeout looking. Next chance for Goose would come in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on first. This time Goose would refuse to strikeout, sending a slider screaming into the gap in left center field for a stand up RBI triple to break his streak of suck and record his first hit since his first at-bat of the first game of the series. An RBI single by Josh Rutledge would drive Goose in to score and cut the Cubs' lead to just one run. At least it would be a one run gap until our set-up man would screw up and let Chicago regain a run. Goose would come up to the plate for his next at-bat in the bottom of the eighth inning, digging in with two outs and Troy Tulowitzki standing on second. A 1-2 blooper into shallow center field would be enough to score Tulo from second, closing the gap once again to just one run and leaving Goose on first for Josh Rutledge. After a full count walk to Rutledge to advance Goose to second base, Nolan Arenado would unfortunately fly out just feet from the wall in the right field corner to end the inning. Somehow we would survive thanks to a single and a walk to start the inning, before a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third. Despite a ground out by Jordan Pacheco, Tulowitzki would hit a two out double to score Michael McKenry and tie the game up. Unfortunately Charlie Culberson would try and score the game winning run on the same play, only to be thrown out at home plate to end the inning and send us into extras. Despite letting two batters on base, we would get through the top of the tenth inning without any damage. Following a lead off strikeout by Gonzalez, Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the tenth inning with one out and the bases empty, unfortunately Goose would be unable to do anything, grounding out to the second baseman on a slider high and inside for the second out, followed by a strikeout by Rutledge to move on to the eleventh inning. A two out single by Nate Schierholtz and a throwing error by Goose would ultimately fuck us as Chicago would score twice on three hits in the top of the eleventh inning, all of it with two outs, and go on to win by two runs, making Goose pretty much responsible for fucking us out of a potential win. Final stats for Goose, 2-5 with a single, a double, one run scored, two RBI, two strikeouts and a throwing error.

Final series stats for Goose, he would rack up his worst series of his entire career, topping even the horrible Omaha series back in Triple A when he went 4-16 and struck out seven times. This time, Goose would end up hitting rock bottom, batting a miserable .214 for the series, going 3-14 with one single, one double and one triple, scoring one run, driving in two RBIs and striking out a career high EIGHT times, earning the Golden Sombrero in game one, as well as getting tagged with a throwing error in the eleventh inning of game three, which Chicago would end up exploiting to win.

Next up for the Colorado Rockies, thank god, we get back on the road (where Goose seems to play his best) with a six game road trip, spending the weekend in Arizona for a three game series against the Diamondbacks, followed by an early week stopover against the San Diego Padres.

Colorado Rockies (53-62) vs Arizona Diamondbacks (67-48)
August 8-10, 2014
Chase Field - Phoenix, Arizona

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 6:40 PM
Rex Brothers (0-2, 4.38) vs Brandon McCarthy (13-7, 2.72)

Game Two - Friday, 5:10 PM
Jhoulys Chacin (4-12, 4.64) vs Bronson Arroyo (11-7, 3.56)

Game Three - Sunday 1:10 PM
Christian Friedrich (8-7, 3.97) vs Wade Miley (15-4, 2.32)

SmoothPancakes
05-25-2015, 10:14 PM
After playing literally the worst three games of his entire baseball career, Goose would need to find a lifeline soon if he didn't want to keep falling down the batting order, as well as potentially lose his starting spot if his woes at the plate kept up, batting just .279 over his last 10 games. Unfortunately it wouldn't be an easy fix for Goose as he would face three very difficult pitchers, going up against Brandon McCarthy (13-7 record and a 2.72 ERA), Bronson Arroyo (11-7 record and a 3.56 ERA) and the worst for last, Wade Miley (a 15-4 record of utter domination with an also dominant 2.32 ERA). Somehow Goose would have to overcome his struggles against pitchers ten times better and stronger than what he faced against Chicago. We would manage to steal two out of three games against the NL West leaders (and nearly had the sweep), but Goose would still struggle mightily at the plate.

Colorado 9, Arizona 4
Colorado 9, Arizona 5
Arizona 4, Colorado 3 F/13


First game of the series would see Goose remain fifth in the batting order. Goose would come up for his first at-bat in the top of the first inning, already thrown into a high pressure situation with one out and the bases loaded. Somehow Goose would luck out of the at-bat with a dead ball single in the infield, scoring the runner from third and reach first base safely for an RBI single before either the pitcher or catcher could retrieve the ball. Unfortunately we would only get a single run as Wilin Rosario would ground into a double play to end the top of the inning. Goose's next at-bat would come in the top of the third inning with two outs and a runner on first, striking out on a sinker low and away for the third out. The next chance at the plate for Goose would come in the top of the fifth inning with one out and a runner on first base, McCarthy already out of the game after just three innings of work, either because of giving up 9 hits and four runs in those three innings, or because of injury, unsure of which. It would turn out the Diamondbacks would get last laugh as Goose would strikeout on a change-up by the slow as hell Josh Collmenter for the second out. Goose would return to the plate in the top of the seventh inning with two outs and the bases empty following a solo home run by Carlos Gonzalez. Goose would end up being the anti-Gonzalez, hitting a single into right field, only to get thrown out trying to advance to second base during a fielding bobble by the right fielder. Following the second solo home run of the game by Carlos Gonzalez, Goose would come up for his final at-bat in the top of the ninth inning with two outs and the bases empty. Goose would try to be like Carlos, but instead would fly out to deep right field to end our half of the inning, little though it would matter at that point of the game. Final stats for Goose, 2-5 with two singles, one RBI and two strikeouts.

The second game would see Goose get a free pass against Bronson Arroyo as Goose would be given the day off for rest and would watch the entire game from the bench.

The third and final game of the series would see Goose return to the starting lineup, batting fifth in the order once again. Goose would get his first at-bat leading off the top of the second inning, only to end up striking out on an outside slider. Wade Miley was every bit the pain in the ass he was expected to be, not giving up his first hit of the game until Carlos Gonzalez scored a single off him in the top of the fourth inning to ruin Miley's early no-hitter. With that, Goose would come up to the plate in the top of the fourth with two outs and Gonzalez standing on first, promptly grounding out to the second baseman for the third out. It may not be as great as a no-hitter, but Miley would carry a one-hitter into the top of the seventh inning, completely shutting down our entire lineup at the plate. Goose would get his next at-bat in the top of the seventh inning with two outs and the bases empty, ultimately striking out on a fastball low and away for the third out. Finally, in the eighth inning, would we break Wade Miley, as Michael McKenry got a single for just the third hit of the game against Miley, followed by a game-tying pinch hit two run home run by Wilin Rosario. While Arizona would regain the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, courtesy of a solo home run by Paul Goldschmidt, we would tie it right back up as Carlos Gonzalez would crack a two out solo home run in the top of the ninth inning. With that, Goose would come up to the plate in the top of the ninth with two outs and the bases empty and the game all tied up, ultimately chasing a change-up in the dirt to strikeout for the third out. Despite Arizona loading up the bases with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, we would survive and head to extra innings. Goose would return to the plate in the top of the twelfth inning with one out and the bases empty, only for Goose to strikeout on a 77 MPH slider for out number two. A lead off triple by Didi Gregorius would be the nail in the coffin as a sac fly by Miguel Montero would win it for the Diamondbacks in thirteen innings. Final stats for Goose, a miserable 0-5 with four strikeouts, earning him, ANOTHER GOLDEN SOMBRERO!

http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/SmoothPancakes/sombrerotime_r1_zpsjlfi4npw.jpg

Final series stats for Goose, he would see action in only the first and third games, batting a lowly .200 for the series, going 2-10 with two singles, one RBI and six strikeouts, earning Goose the Golden Sombrero in game three.

Next up for the Colorado Rockies, we wrap up our six game road swing with a visit to the San Diego Padres for three games in an early week series.

Colorado Rockies (55-63) vs San Diego Padres (57-59)
August 11-13, 2014
Petco Park - San Diego, California

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:10 PM
Jordan Lyles (0-0, 0.00) vs Andrew Cashner (11-8, 3.38)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:10 PM
Juan Nicasio (0-0, 7.71) vs Lewis Peoples (8-7, 3.05)

Game Three - Wednesday 3:40 PM
Franklin Morales (12-7, 3.92) vs Eric Stults (5-3, 3.00)

SmoothPancakes
05-25-2015, 11:08 PM
As the struggles continue, Goose's next chance at turning things around would come with a visit to the San Diego Padres. At this point, 13 games out of the division and 9 games out of the Wild Card, we would just be playing for positioning at this rate, and with only a three game gap between us and San Diego, a sweep would pull us into a tie for third in the division, which would definitely be something worth playing for, if anything to get away from the baseman of the division. Thankfully for Goose, we would be moving away from the giant Chase Field and into the nice small cozy Petco Park, with the bleachers just a mere 322 feet down the first base line, making for a favorable home run hitting park for Goose (a dead pull hitter) if he could actually make solid contact for a change.

Colorado 4, San Diego 2
San Diego 2, Colorado 1 F/10
Colorado 5, San Diego 1


First game of the series would see Goose remain fifth in the batting order. Goose would come up for his first at-bat in the top of the first inning with one out and Carlos Gonzalez on first base, surprisingly facing Lewis Peoples, who seemed to jump up a game and start game one instead of Andrew Cashner. That would be an okay change for Goose as he would send the first pitch from Peoples back up the middle for a ground ball into center field for a double to put runners on second and third. A sac bunt by Wilin Rosario would score Gonzalez, moving Goose over to third base for Nolan Arenado, who would promptly ground out to the pitcher to leave Goose stranded. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the top of the third inning with two outs and the bases empty, going down swinging on a curveball to strikeout for the third out. Next chance for Goose would come in the top of the sixth inning with one out and the bases empty. Three straight fastballs outside of the zone by Peoples would leave him in a dangerous position, and Goose would take full advantage of it, slapping a 3-1 fastball down the middle and sending it screaming to right center field for a solo home run, Goose's first home run in sixgames (31 at-bats and 15 strikeouts in between if you're counting) and his sixth of the season, to increase our lead to 4-2. Coming up for his final at-bat, Goose would lead off the top of the ninth inning, going down swinging this time on an inside slider to open the ninth with a strikeout. Final stats for Goose, 2-4 with one double, a solo home run, one run scored, one RBI and two strikeouts. Somehow, those stats would earn Goose player of the game honors.

The second game would see Goose remain fifth in the order, this time against Eric Stults. Andrew Cashner for some reason got passed over on his scheduled start (he's not on the DL) and the rest of the San Diego rotation got bumped up a game, making Tyson Ross (6-7, 4.33 ERA) the new game three probable starter. So, with a slight deviation in the San Diego pitching rotation, Goose would come up for his first at-bat leading off the top of the second inning, going down swinging on a sweeping curveball to strikeout for the first out. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the top of the fourth inning with two outs and the bases empty, flying out to the center fielder right at the wall for the third out. Goose would get his next chance in the top of the seventh inning with one out and Troy Tulowitzki standing on second base, only to again strikeout on that damned sweeping curveball for the second out. Goose would return to the plate in the top of the ninth inning with one out and Troy Tulowitzki on first base in a 1-1 ballgame. Goose would end up hitting a bouncer at the first baseman for a fielder's choice, resulting in the force out at second base while Goose would just beat the throw to first base to leave one on and two outs for Wilin Rosario. Taking off running on a 2-0 count, Goose would successfully steal second base. One pitch later, the Padres would choose to intentionally walk Rosario on a 3-0 count, putting runners on first and second for Charlie Culberson, who entered as a pinch runner in the eighth inning, and would pop out to the catcher on one swing to end our scoring threat. In the bottom of the ninth, we would manage to get the third out with a runner on second base and head into extra innings. Despite loading up the bases with two outs in the top of the tenth inning, Carlos Gonzalez would strikeout for the third out and probably our best chance to win was blown. After getting the first two batters on, a sac bunt by Everth Cabrera would put runners on second and third with just one out for the Padres, with a Cameron Maybin single driving in the game winning run as Goose would try to mow down the runner advancing to home, only to end up beaning said runner in the back of the head with an off-track throw coming out of fielding the ground ball. Final stats for Goose, 0-4 with two strikeouts.

The third and final game of the series would again see Goose sitting out of the lineup.

Final series stats for Goose, he would see action in only the first and second games, batting .250 for the series, going 2-8 with one double, a solo home run, one run scored, one RBI, four strikeouts and player of the game honors in game one.

Next up for the Colorado Rockies, we return home for a four game series against the Cincinnati Reds, kicking off a 9 game home stand against the Reds, the Kansas City Royals and the Miami Marlins.

Cincinnati Reds (52-68) vs Colorado Rockies (57-64)
August 14-17, 2014
Coors Field - Denver, Colorado

Probable Starters:

Game One - Thursday 6:40 PM
Mat Latos (7-9, 3.94) vs Christian Friedrich (8-7, 3.97)

Game Two - Friday 6:40 PM
Homer Bailey (9-8, 3.55) vs Rob Scahill (9-11, 4.31)

Game Three - Saturday 6:10 PM
Johnny Cueto (7-6, 3.62) vs Jordan Lyles (1-0, 3.60)

Game Four - Sunday, 2:10 PM
Tony Cingrani (7-14, 4.39) vs Juan Nicasio (0-0, 3.86)

SmoothPancakes
05-26-2015, 10:22 PM
After sitting out of the final game of the San Diego series, it would be right back to the grind for Goose going into a four game series against the Cincinnati Reds. The biggest question, with Goose being given a day off twice in so few games, was it because he was just tired out as we hit mid-August, was it because the coaches were trying to give more playing time to some of the bench players, or was it because the coaches were starting to lose faith in his bat as his struggles continued at the plate? Meanwhile, our hopes for a .500 record would pretty much come to an end as we would get our asses swept right off the field by the Reds

Cincinnati 2, Colorado 1
Cincinnati 4, Colorado 1
Cincinnati 4, Colorado 2
Cincinnati 6, Colorado 5 F/10


First game of the series would see Goose return to the starting lineup, batting fifth in the order. Goose would make his first at-bat in the bottom of the second inning, coming up with no outs and the bases empty following a lead off solo home run by Carlos Gonzalez. Goose would make some great contact during his at-bat against Mat Latos, but would end up grounding out to shortstop for the first out. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the fourth inning with two outs and Troy Tulowitzki standing on first base. After fouling off four straight pitches, Goose would end up popping out to the catcher behind home plate to end the inning. Next chance for Goose would come in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out and the bases empty. Still pitching for the Reds, Latos would get Goose to fly out to center field for the second out. Final stats for Goose, a lousy 0-3.

The second game would see Goose remain fifth in the order. First at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the second inning with one out and the bases empty, striking out on a knuckle-curve for the second out. Goose would get his next chance in the bottom of the fourth inning with two outs and the bases empty, but Goose would bounce a fastball into the dirt right in front of home plate, making for a very easy ground out to the catcher. Goose would lead off the bottom of the seventh inning, but a high splitter by Homer Bailey would result in a fly out to shallow center field. Goose would get one last chance at the plate, coming up in the bottom of the ninth inning with one out and the bases empty, Homer Bailey just two outs away from throwing a complete game shutout. Instead, he could kiss that shutout goodbye as Goose would unload on an 0-2 fastball up in the zone and send it into the bullpens in right center field for a solo home run, Goose's seventh of the season. Homer Bailey would still get the complete game, but thanks to Goose, he wouldn't get the shutout. Final stats for Goose, 1-4 with a solo home run, one run scored, one RBI and one strikeout.

The third game of the series would again see Goose batting fifth in the lineup. Goose's first at-bat would come in the bottom of the second inning with no outs and the bases empty following yet another lead off solo home run by Carlos Gonzalez. Goose would make that back to back solo home runs as he would jack an 0-2 slider into the Reds bullpen in right center field, pretty much the exact same spot that he hit his home run in the previous game. Next chance for Goose would come leading off the bottom of the fourth inning, but this time Johnny Cueto would win the battle at the plate with a two strike change-up, causing Goose to strikeout swinging. Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on first base, hitting a blooper into shallow left field for an easy pop out to the shortstop to end the inning. Goose would make his final at-bat in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs and the bases empty, down by two runs. While Goose would give it his best effort at the plate, Cincinnati's closer would get him swinging at a curveball low and away, striking out to end the game. Final stats for Goose, 1-4 with a solo home run, one run scored, one RBI and two strikeouts.

Just a side note, this was a game of home runs. Every single run was scored via home run. Cincinnati scored on a two run homer by Billy Hamilton in the first inning, a solo home run by Bruce Phillips in the sixth inning and a solo home run by Todd Frazier in the ninth inning, while both of our runs came on back to back solo home runs by Carlos Gonzalez and Goose in the second inning. Seeing as Cincinnati only managed four other hits and Colorado only managed two other hits for the entire game, a home run was pretty much the only chance either team had to score today.

The fourth and final game of the series would Goose taken out of the lineup, instead coming in as a pinch hitter in place of starting shortstop Trevor Story, with two outs and a runner on first base in the bottom of the eighth inning, trailing Cincinnati 5-3, going up against fresh reliever Manny Parra. Goose would make the most of his at-bat, sending a fastball through the gap into right field for a single to put runners on first and second for Jordan Pacheco, pinch hitting for pitcher Adam Ottavino. Another change would be made as Josh Rutledge would be brought out to pinch run for starting first baseman Justin Morneau on second base. It would all pay of huge as Pacheco would rope a pitch down the third base line, coming down just inside the foul line just feet away from the left field wall, scoring both Rutledge from second and Goose from first with a stand up two RBI double, tying the game up at 5-all. Despite getting through the top of the ninth without anyone getting past first base, we would be unable to capitalize in the bottom of the inning and we would head into extra baseball. We would end up getting absolutely fucked in the top of the tenth inning. With runners on first and second and only one out, a ground ball to the second baseman would get flipped to Goose for the second out, who would throw to first in attempt for the double play. Not only would the runner be called safe, but for some reason, the first baseman would take a couple steps trot away from first toward the first base dugout, while the runner from third would run home without so much as an attempted throw by the first baseman, letting Cincinnati score what would be the game winning run while we all just stood around on the field with our thumbs up our asses. So we basically got fucked out of a potential win because of some shit glitch or animation that decided to not let us do a damn thing while the runner at third snailed his way home. Final stats for Goose, 1-1 with a meaningless single and a meaningless run scored thanks to be fucked up the ass by the game.

Final series stats for Goose, he would start in the first three games but only pinch hit and field for two innings in the final game, batting .250 for the series, going 3-12 with one single and two solo home runs, three runs scored, two RBIs and three strikeouts.

Next up for the Colorado Rockies, we finally get a break as we get Monday off before hosting the Kansas City Royals for a brief two game series.

Kansas City Royals (63-61) vs Colorado Rockies (57-68)
August 19-20, 2014
Coors Field - Denver, Colorado

Probable Starters:

Game One - Tuesday 6:40 PM
James Shields (8-13, 4.36) vs Franklin Morales (13-7, 3.75)

Game Two - Wednesday 6:40 PM
Jason Vargas (13-5, 3.25) vs Christian Friedrich (8-8, 3.92)

SmoothPancakes
05-26-2015, 10:50 PM
Here's the video of that play in the top of the 10th, when the game decided to screw us and basically cheat Cincinnati to a win.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QULxYShL4h8

steelerfan
05-26-2015, 11:26 PM
I've seen that once before, myself. Pretty aggravating but whatever. Nothing you can do.

SmoothPancakes
05-27-2015, 12:19 AM
I've seen that once before, myself. Pretty aggravating but whatever. Nothing you can do.
Yeah, I think since it was such a bang-bang play at first, even though the ump called safe, the first baseman went into an animation or something acting like it was the third out, as I've seen him do numerous times after throwing to first for the third out, which then pretty much gave the runner at third a free ticket to waltz home.

The biggest thing that pisses me off there is that it cost us the game. Not that we got screwed out of the out, but that in that situation, Cincinnati was literally gifted a free run that they had no business scoring right there and won because of that "glitch".

#TheScriptIsDead

steelerfan
05-27-2015, 12:26 AM
Understood. The only thing I've been able to do to cope (lol) is to make something up in my head that happened to cause the run to score.

SmoothPancakes
05-27-2015, 12:31 AM
Coming out of a four game sweep from the Reds and a brief day off, we returned to Coors Field to kick off a short two game series with the Kansas City Royals. Goose found a little bit of his stride, hitting two solo home runs against Reds pitchers, but he still struggled overall for the series, racking up multiple strikeouts and not doing much at the plate outside of a couple decent at-bats. Unfortunately, it would get even worse this series, as we stumbled to a six game losing streak.

Kansas City 6, Colorado 2
Kansas City 6, Colorado 4


First game of the series would see Goose return to the starting lineup, thrown back into the lead off spot in the batting order, for some ungodly reason. Goose would make his first at-bat leading off the bottom of the first inning, only to promptly ground out to the first baseman. Leading off the bottom of the fourth inning, Goose would go down swinging on a knuckle-curve for a strikeout. Kansas City pitcher James Shields carried a perfect game into the bottom of the sixth inning, completely shutting us down at the plate, until he would give up a lead off solo home run to Josh Rutledge. With that, Goose would end up batting in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and the bases empty, but would end up striking out on a change-up to end the inning, Shields going right back to dominating on the mound with three straight outs following that lead off home run. We would finally start to crack Shields in the bottom of the seventh inning with back to back singles by Charlie Blackmon and Troy Tulowitzki, followed by a one out single by Wilin Rosario to load the bases, but a ground ball by Justin Morneau to cause a force out at the plate and a fly out by Josh Rutledge would get Shields out of the inning unscathed. Shields would continue into the bottom of the eighth inning, striking out Nolan Arenado and forcing pinch hitter Jordan Pacheco to pop out. That would bring up Goose for his final at-bat in the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs and the bases loaded. Shields nearly had his 11th strikeout victim of the game, but Goose would foul off a couple of pitches and force Shields to make a mistake, leaving a fastball hanging in the middle of the zone. Goose would send that ball into the upper decks in right field for a solo home run. Final stats for Goose, 1-4 with a solo home run, one run scored, one RBI and two strikeouts. But the player of the game would be James Shields, going eight innings on the mound for KC, taking a perfect game into the bottom of the sixth inning, ultimately racking up ten strikeouts on five hits and giving up two runs on solo homers by Goose and Josh Rutledge.

The second game would see Goose remain first in the batting order. Goose would make his first at-bat leading off the bottom of the first inning, only to end up striking out on a nasty dropping curveball low and away. Goose's next at-bat would come in the bottom of the second inning with one out and runners on first and third, but another curveball with a wicked drop on it would get Goose to strikeout for the second time today. Next chance for Goose would come in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out and the bases empty, that damned curveball of Vargas' resulting in a third straight strikeout. Despite having a 4-0 lead early on, our pitching would blow it for us, as Kansas City would use a three run fifth inning as part of a three inning stretch to take a 5-4 lead. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and runners on first and third, and despite building up a 2-0 count, Goose would earn the Golden Sombrero with his fourth straight strikeout thanks to that goddamned curveball. As bad luck would have it, Goose would end up returning for a fifth and final at-bat in the bottom of the ninth inning with one out and the bases loaded, striking out on a 2-2 slider inside. With that, Goose would wrap up his worst day of his career, setting a new career high at the plate and earning the PLATINUM SOMBRERO with FIVE strikeouts!

http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/SmoothPancakes/PLAT_zpsb1dlzuuq.png

Final series stats for Goose, he would start in both games, batting a horrendous .111 for the series, going 1-9 with a solo home run, one run scored, one RBI and seven strikeouts.

Next up for the Colorado Rockies, we get another day of rest with Thursday off, before closing out our nine game home stand with a three game visit from the Miami Marlins.

Miami Marlins (63-64) vs Colorado Rockies (57-70)
August 22-24, 2014
Coors Field - Denver, Colorado

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friay 6:40 PM
Tom Koehler (3-10, 3.50) vs Rob Scahill (9-12, 4.37)

Game Two - Saturday 6:10 PM
Nathan Eovaldi (8-6, 3.95) vs Jordan Lyles (1-1, 4.09)

Game Three - Sunday 2:10 PM
Kevin Slowey (7-12, 4.49) vs Juan Nicasio (0-0, 4.86)

SmoothPancakes
05-27-2015, 12:32 AM
Understood. The only thing I've been able to do to cope (lol) is to make something up in my head that happened to cause the run to score.

Lol, yeah, I'll have to remember to do that if it ever rears its ugly head again. This series is damn fun and well worth every penny I spent buying my PS4, MLB 14 and MLB 15 (along with all the other PS4 games I've bought over the past 12 months), but damn it definitely has some issues and bugs that really can screw you over if they arise at the worst time possible.

steelerfan
05-27-2015, 12:34 AM
Lol, yeah, I'll have to remember to do that if it ever rears its ugly head again. This series is damn fun and well worth every penny I spent buying my PS4, MLB 14 and MLB 15 (along with all the other PS4 games I've bought over the past 12 months), but damn it definitely has some issues and bugs that really can screw you over if they arise at the worst time possible.
Yeah. I lost a game on a foul ball home run. :(

SmoothPancakes
05-27-2015, 01:05 AM
Yeah. I lost a game on a foul ball home run. :(
Ouch. I've heard about that bug. Haven't seen it myself, thank god. I suppose I'm lucky. All of the bugs seen and mentioned over at OS, and I really haven't had any of them pop up on me, so I'm fortunate there.

#TheScriptIsDead

steelerfan
05-27-2015, 03:06 AM
Ouch. I've heard about that bug. Haven't seen it myself, thank god. I suppose I'm lucky. All of the bugs seen and mentioned over at OS, and I really haven't had any of them pop up on me, so I'm fortunate there.

#TheScriptIsDead
Me too. I've never seen most of them. Even the ones I've seen are quite rare. I'm more than 130 games into my Franchise so I've played alot (not a small sample size).

SmoothPancakes
05-27-2015, 03:43 AM
Me too. I've never seen most of them. Even the ones I've seen are quite rare. I'm more than 130 games into my Franchise so I've played alot (not a small sample size).
Yeah, I'll have to just chalk it up to one of "those moments" and let it go and keep trucking along. It's just about the only time I've had an issue or any sort of bug pop up during my RTTS games, so it could always be worse.

#TheScriptIsDead

SmoothPancakes
05-27-2015, 10:44 PM
Mired in the middle of a 6 game losing streak, we would wrap up our nine game home stand, still looking for our first victory of the home stand, with a three game visit from the Miami Marlins. Hopefully we'd be able to put together a couple wins this series. Meanwhile, Goose would have to start figuring out and learning how to hit curveballs, change-ups, cutters and sinkers. In his last 15 games, Goose has racked up 30 strikeouts in 64 at-bats. Meanwhile, he has only managed 15 hits in that same stretch, so he has struck out double the amount of hits that he has managed. 5 of those 15 games, Goose was held hitless for the entire game, twice he has struck out four times in a game and once, his most recent game in game two against the Kansas City Royals, he struck out a career high FIVE times in the game. Needless to say, he has since gone from that hot start he had right after being called up, to just straight plummeting off the side of a cliff, going from a nearly .400 batting average in those first dozen games or so all the way down to a current .300 average. And if he doesn't get out of this hitting funk soon, that average will end up WELL into the .200s. Not only would we destroy our 6 game losing streak by sweeping the Marlins, but Goose would find a heartbeat at the plate at last!

Colorado 7, Miami 1
Colorado 10, Miami 7
Colorado 15, Miami 6


First game of the series would see Goose moved back into the lead off spot in the batting order. Why this brain dead manager repeatedly insists on making Goose the lead off batter, I'll never know. He sure as hell hasn't hit his way into the lead off spot. Goose would lead off the bottom of the first inning, dropping a blooper right in front of the right fielder for a lead off single. After a fly out by Charlie Culberson, Troy Tulowitzki would draw a four pitch walk to move Goose up to the second base and put runners on first and second for Carlos Gonzalez. Gonzalez would hit a bouncer up the middle, the shortstop diving and stopping the ball, but unable to get a grab on it as the ball would end up behind him at the edge of the outfield. That would allow Goose to round third and break for home while the ball was still loose, crossing home plate long before the throw to home to score the first run of the game. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the second inning with two outs and the bases empty, and finally making contact on a curveball in god knows how long, Goose would again rope another weak blooper into right field just in front of the outfielder for another single. Charlie Blackmon would end up hitting a dribbler that would barely make the grass in front of the catcher, but he would beat out the throw to first, moving Goose up toe second base and putting runners on first and second for Troy Tulowitzki. Unfortunately Tulowitzki would fly out to center field at the wall, ending our scoring threat. Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning, stepping in with one out and Nolan Arenado on second base. Goose would swing at an early pitch slider, hitting a weak roller up the third base line, the ball rolling almost similar to a bunt. The third baseman would charge in and try to bare hand the ball, but he would be unable to make a clean grab, giving Goose his third single of the game and putting runners on first and third for Blackmon. Blackmon would hit a ground ball to the second baseman with the ball deflecting off of his glove during the play. While Blackmon would be thrown out at first base for the second out, the deflected ball would ruin any chance at a double play, allowing Goose to slide safely into second base while Arenado would score from third, leaving Goose the lone runner at second base for Tulowitzki. With a swing of the bat, the bases would be cleared as Tulowitzki would send a ball screaming into the left field stands for a two out, two run homer. Goose would make his next at-bat leading off the bottom of the sixth inning, but Goose's perfect day at the plate would unfortunately come to an end, as a reliever for Miami would get Goose to strikeout swinging on a curveball. Goose would make his final at-bat in the bottom of the eighth inning with one out and starting pitcher Rob Scahill on first base following an RBI single, Scahill shooting for a complete game on the mound. But Goose would go down swinging on curveball once again for his second straight strikeout. Final stats for Goose, 3-5 with three singles, two runs scored and two strikeouts.

The second game would see Goose remain first in the batting order. Goose would make his first at-bat leading off the bottom of the first inning. Goose would swing at the first pitch he saw, smacking it into left center field for a double, then advancing to third base thanks to a delay by the outfielder getting the ball in. So while it would only be officially a double, Goose would end up standing at third base with no outs for Charlie Blackmon. Goose would score one pitch later as Blackmon would bloop a single into shallow center field to drive in the run. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the second inning with no outs and pitcher Jordan Lyles on second base, following a lead off home run by Nolan Arenado. Unfortunately Goose would ground out to the first baseman, but it would move Lyles up to third base on the play, who would score two batters later on a single by Troy Tulowitzki. Goose would make his next at-bat in the bottom of the third inning, coming up to bat three innings in a row to start the game, with one out and runners and second and third following a sac bunt by pitcher Jordan Lyles. Only bottom of the third inning and we had already chased Miami's starting pitcher from the ball game thanks to a pair of three run innings in the first two innings of the game, plus a great start to the third inning. Sadly Goose would fail to contribute for the second inning in a row, striking out in seven pitches for the second out. A pop out by Blackmon would bring our great three inning stretch at the plate to an end. Goose's next chance at the plate would come in the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs and runners on first and third, our 6-0 lead after two innings now cut in half to 6-3 following a three run fifth inning by the Marlins. However, Goose would fly out to center field to end the inning. Goose would surprisingly get back up to bat in the bottom of the sixth inning, thanks to a hit by pitch on Blackmon, a fly out by Tulowitzki, a walk by Gonzalez, a two RBI double by Jordan Pacheco, an RBI double by Justin Morneau, a walk by Josh Rutledge and a single by Arenado, before a bases loaded RBI sac fly by pinch hitter D.J. LeMahieu would drive in Morneau from third base. The final damage, four runs on three hits, two walks and a hit by pitch. That would leave Goose coming up to bat in the bottom of the sixth with two outs and runners standing on first and second. And the typical would happen, Goose would ground out to the second baseman to once again kill a rally. Final stats for Goose, 1-5 with a double, a run scored and one strikeout.

The third and final game of the series would see Goose stay first in the batting order. Goose would make his first at-bat of the game leading off the bottom of the first inning. Swinging at an 0-1 fastball, Goose would give it a hell of a ride, but it wouldn't have the distance, ending up caught in deep right field for the first out. Next at-bat for Goose would come in the bottom of the third inning with two outs and the bases empty. This time Goose would just cover the distance, sending an 0-1 fastball into the first row of the right field stands for a solo home run, his tenth homer of the season. Thanks to two walks, a dropped throw error and three singles, Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out and runners on first and second, four runs already having crossed the plate this inning to give us a one run lead. Goose would be unable to drive the runs in, instead chasing a fastball low and inside to strikeout for the second out. Regardless, an RBI double by Blackmon and an RBI single by Tulowitzki would give us two more runs to make it 7-4. Naturally the Marlins would cut it to 7-6 with a two run rally of their own in the fifth inning, but a two run home run by Josh Rutledge in the bottom of the fifth inning would re-extend our lead to 9-6. With that, Goose would make his next at-bat leading off the bottom of the sixth inning, going up against a fresh new pitcher for Miami, who would welcome Goose to the plate by making Goose his bitch with a three pitch strikeout thanks to a nasty curveball and a wicked slider. Goose would return to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning thanks to a pair of RBI doubles to get us through the lineup, coming up with two outs and Josh Rutledge standing on second base, facing another new pitcher this time. And this time, it would be Goose would make this pitcher HIS bitch, sending an 0-1 fastball 384 feet into the right field stands for a two run home run, Goose's second homer of the game, his first two home run game of his career, and with that, the rout was officially on. Final stats for Goose, 2-5 with two home runs, one solo and one a two-run shot, two runs scored, three RBIs and two strikeouts. Both Goose and Tulowitzki would end with two home runs today (along with one homer by Josh Rutledge), and Goose, Tulowitzki and Rutledge would all end tied for the lead with three RBIs each.

Final series stats for Goose, he would start in all three games, batting a solid .400 for the series, going 6-15 with three singles, a double, and two home runs, five runs scored, three RBIs and five strikeouts.

Next up for the Colorado Rockies, we jump right into it the very next day as we kick off a seven game road trip with a four game series at San Francisco, followed by a three game trip to Arizona.

Colorado Rockies (60-70) vs San Francisco Giants (53-77)
August 25-28, 2014
AT&T Park - San Francisco, California

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:15 PM
Franklin Morales (13-8, 3.82) vs Matt Cain (6-11, 4.09)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:15 PM
Christian Friedrich (8-9, 4.10) vs Tim Hudson (11-8, 3.52)

Game Three - Wednesday 7:15 PM
Rob Scahill (10-12, 4.17) vs Tim Lincecum (4-11, 4.83)

Game Four - Thursday 12:45 PM
Jordan Lyles (2-1, 4.50) vs Kyle Crick (2-0, 4.40)