Okay, maybe Shoecraft is a stretch since he was actually a cager, not a gridder, but since he is the Mayor of Lincoln or was some type of prominent, high brow, big wig politician in the Star City, I wanted to weave him in. My point is, I desperately want us both to be relevant again, and 2015 gives us a new chance.

So my best Husker analogy is that the Skipjacks have come to the proverbial quarter pole, through the non conference part of the schedule, at 4-0, with wins over Maine, Southern Miss, Arkansas St., and Troy. Impressive indeed. Our goals are still intact, even though the latest HSL poll (BCS) has us just slightly behind Dartmouth.

And yes, I do realize that my team’s early HSL success has been built on a gross over inflation of innings pitched, and an incredibly lucky ratio of Wins to Quality Starts, but as stated, our goals are intact! Maybe Tulo will start to hit at some point, so that he is not the 16th best shortstop and under performing the likes of Danny Espinosa, Freddy Galvis, and Adeiny Hechavarria. Just a wish on my part….just a thought….Troy? Troy?

Okay, some very random thoughts:

Screech….repeating as Champ is impossible…”heavy is the head that wears the crown”… It just cannot be done. Don’t feel bad; it is not entirely due to your mismanagement, it just cannot be done

Dallas Keuchel is a witch. For a guy that came into the season with a lifetime 21-27 record and an ERA around 4.00, some reversion to the mean may be in order…but I do think the guy is legit, ever since he went James Harden with that beard.

Speaking of reversion to the mean, I am gonna speculate that Dee Gordon will not be hitting .400 this year. Maybe it’s just me and my lack of affinity for “Stolen Base Guy” (don’t count Billy Hamilton against me, who I picked up off Shamu’ s scrap heap; he is hitting for power), but I can’t see Flash Jr. hitting above .390

Jim Ed….why have you had such a difficult time assembling a roster ever since Chili Davis retired?

Mouse….impressive run so far, especially with the losses of Tanaka, Wainwright, and Holland…just imagine if one day things went your way… like maybe next year. Go away.

Darin Erstad says “grind” a lot

Jorge Soler might be the only guy I have seen that swings harder than Vladdy.

Shamu was stoked when he saw the following players available:  DeShields, McCullers, Drabek, and Guerrero. He later found out that these are all offspring of the players he drafted as recently as two years ago…we’re getting old, fellas. The only other thing that  could generate this type of disappointment for Charles is a malfunctioning soft serve machine

I cannot even stand to look at ARod and that manufactured scowl he brings to every at bat. He is a despicable human, perhaps the biggest narcissist who ever lived… Go kiss yourself in the mirror, AFraud

Bartolo Colon has an amazing physique. In his career, he has faced 11,957 batters and only 29 weighed more than he did. And yes, all 29 were Dmitri Young.

In 40 games this year, my good friend Bryce Harper has hit 15 home runs and has 38 RBI for the Chiefs, both totals are greater than he had for the Skipjacks for the entire 2014 season, when my top pick played 100 games. Love you Bryce. That’s a clown season, bro.

In his career, Phillies reliever Ken Giles has faced a total of two Yasmani’s (Grandal and Tomas). Both homered off him in their only at bat.

Some guys I can just never quite “completely buy into” and they continue to prove me wrong….Edwin Encarnacion, Todd Frazier, Adam Jones, Josh Donaldson….point getters they are…stupid am I

Have you guys ever thought about considering a DL rule where we wouldn’t have to get rid of good players that are on the actual DL but could stash them on our roster? We should talk about that

Linda Koftan gets way less recognition than she deserves. She has been the “glue” of the Hot Stove League for years, toiling in obscurity. Thank you Linda for all you do.

Which starting rotation would you have picked on Draft Day:

Kershaw, Sale, Kluber, Lester

or

Odorizzi, Burnett, Keuchel, Harang

Liar….the first group has compiled 592 points, thanks to Kluber’s recent resurgence, while the second group has amassed 787 points, led by Keuchel’s 212.

This only happens to me!!!

One of the joys of managing your team is the nightly ritual of checking box scores, checking stat tracker, and hoping to rack up that elusive 150 point night. But oh, how those emotions sway when a single play, umpire call, or manager decision generates that big swing in points that render the 150 point night impossible. Most of you probably don’t know what I am talking about, because I am quite sure that I am the only guy that these things have ever happened to. Ever. You know, when:

1.) Your pitcher has gone 5 2/3 innings, on the cusp of that Quality Start when he gets yanked because his pitch count hit 100

2.) Your pitcher goes 6 solid, gives up 2 ER, his team ahead 3-2 with the Quality start and a win “in the bank.” He starts the 7th, and the first 2 guys get on when one gets hit by a pitch on an 0-2 count, and the next guy gets an infield single off a cue ball. Joba (or some other journeyman middle reliever) comes on and promptly let’s these two guys score. There goes the QS(5), the Win (6) ,another (-4) for the two earned runs, picked up (-4) for the loss, not to mention the hit. Your 33 point outing just turned into a 13 pointer…two thoughts occur at this time:

a.) Joba you suck

b.) Manager, why the hell didn't you pull my starter after the 6th?? You suck

3.) Your Closer’s team leads 4-1 heading to the top of the 9th. With 2 outs in the top, your Closers pinch hitting, 226 hitting utility player teammate launches his first homer in 2 years, putting them up 5-1. Since your Closer is already warmed, the manager decides to go ahead and “give him some work”. With the focus “not quite there” because of the non save situation, your Closer promptly walks the bases loaded and gives up the game tying granny. Your 10 point save just turned into a -15. Oh and by the way, that was your starters Win that he coughed up. Note to all major league managers…..do not put Closers in non save situations. It’s like asking Mitch to putt with no money on the line.

4.) Those two guys that you have, you know, the ones that bat 4th and 5th for the same team that just scored 16 runs. But lo and behold, when you peer a little deeper into that box score, they together contributed a walk and a sac fly to the romp.

5.) You pick up Matt Garza for a spot start.

Okay, attention deficit has kicked in and there’s a Lifetime movie coming on where the husband cheats on the wife and she murders him to get even…sounds like a really good plot line; I’m gonna have to see that one.

Best of luck to all of you for relevance and an injury free roster as we move toward the backstretch. Let’s get that HSL junket mapped out and have a little fun for once in our lives. We owe it to ourselves!