2013 Season             Edition No. 15           June 6, 2013

As I prepare to write “The Mousetrap,” I am totally overwhelmed by the task in front of me!  I am in the envious position of having to follow the “Wahoo Warrior,” whose manager can type a 500 word blog on the message board at 1:30 a.m. faster than most people can pen a page for the HSL Bullpen, then comes the “Tiger’s Tale,” whose manager has a steeltrap mind and has never forgotten a baseball stat, and then of course there is the “Master of the Pen,” Skipper, who is always entertaining.  And that is what I have to follow!   I asked and then begged Linda to write it for me but she said she was too busy running a couple of teams and preparing for next year’s draft, so I guess you get me this week.

And what a week it was!   We saw lots of offense, plenty of home runs, and more players go on the DL.  The one constant throughout the week was the Redbirds’ hold on first place, as they continue to lead the pack heading for the first turn.  The Tigers and Tribe continue their quest for second place and isn’t it fun to see those teams at the top of the leaderboard!   The next five teams are engaged in a spirited battle to stay in the top half of the standings and it is fun to watch from my position far below.

The Chelsea Warriors and Monarchs have a little tet-a-tet of their own going on just above me while the Bears and Senators battle to stay out of the cellar just below me.  The standings for the week are as follows:

One item of interest this week is not only the number of player moves but the time that these moves are taking place.   Per the chart below, you will note Screech at 3:41 a.m. on a Saturday morning, is he just getting home or is the country life just getting him up?  Or the Cubs at 2:40 a.m. Monday morning, does Jan know he is up? And Ted at 1:20 a.m. on Sunday morning, even God sleeps later than that on the Sabbath! Is it a case of insomnia or beating the competition to the punch?  Only time will tell but I can guarantee you the Bombers were soundly sleeping at those times.

 Speaking of player moves, I think some HSL members are already scouting the Triple A All-Star game and College World Series for their next FA picks.    I can’t believe all the NA and DL players that are picked up from the FA pool, which probably accounts for why I am in 11^th place, but I would love to have the time they spend on finding the next “ lightning in a bottle”.  As evidenced by the Chiefs and Bums, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.  Case in point:

1.       This week the Bums picked up St. Louis Cardinals pitching phenom, Michael Wacha, for his MLB debut and he throws a 2-hit gem against the Royals for a cool 30 points.  The Bums are beaming!

2.       Conversely, a couple of weeks ago the Chiefs picked up Baltimore Orioles pitching phenom, Kevin Gausman, for his MLB debut and weren’t quite so lucky.  In his first game against Toronto, he struggled a bit and scored a total of one point for the Chiefs.  In his next outing, Gausman was rocked by the Nationals to the tune of -13 for the Chiefs.  And in his third MLB start, Gausman finally showed his ability with a win against Detroit for a cool 22 point outing for the Chiefs.  The only problem is the Chiefs must have been gun shy, because they are never asleep at the wheel, and Gausman was not in the Chiefs starting lineup for those 22 points!

MLB Trivia to test your knowledge

          1.         Which pitcher recorded the most saves during the 1990’s?

          2.         Who is the oldest skipper to ever manage a Major League team?

          3.         Which player has the highest single-season batting average since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941?

          4.         Who are the only pair of teammates to hit three homers in the same game?

          5.         Who had the last six-hit game in the Major Leagues?

          6.         Who is the only pitcher in MLB history to throw two shutouts in one day (in a doubleheader)?

          7.         Who is the only player to win the AL Triple Crown twice?

          8.         Who is the only player to record 50 home runs in a season during which he played for two teams?

          9.         What is the longest span between no-hitters thrown by one pitcher?

        10.        Who won the most games as manager of the Red Sox?

        11.        Who is the only player to hit four home runs in a losing effort?

Mouse’s Minute:   It was quite a week in MLB featuring tons of offense as witnessed by the Bomber’s own  Ryan Zimmerman and Dioner Navarro both having three home run games on the same day.   Yet nobody took the bait and Dioner is still a FA.  Chris Davis is the first to reach the 20 home run mark!

Wow, who would have thought he would be leading the HR race?  Or Dominic Brown going yard in 9 out of 10 games!  Lightning does strike!   Is anybody else amazed at the number of players going on the DL this year?  It seems like it is hitting epidemic proportions this year or maybe it’s because it has hit my roster hard.  Sure wish we had a DL spot(s)!  Maybe these prima donnas are just turning soft.  Worse first round draft pick, maybe ever, Giancarlo Stanton!  Wimp!!

Heading for the Cheese and Crackers!

Mouse

Other Answers:  1) John Wetteland; 2) Connie Mack; 3) Tony Gwynn; 4) Richie Sexson & Jeromy Burnitz (Brewers 9/25/01); 5) San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez (8/11/09); 6) Ed Reulbach (Cubs (9/26/08); 7) Ted Williams; 8) Mark McGwire; 9) 13 years, 11 months, 16 days (Randy Johnson-6/2/90-5/18/04); 10) Joe Cronin (1,071/916 from 1935-1947); 11) Atlanta’s Bob Horner (7/6/86)