Party like it's 499

Dick Caruso sits upon the precipice of a Second City milestone. After hitting #'s 497 and 498 in Colorado (do they really count there?), Caruso failed to go yard in a 4 game set in Houston. However, he did go 9 of 18, score 4 runs and knock in 5 for the series. Suspicious fans are already wondering if Richmond owner szasza23 told Caruso to hit 'em on the ground in Houston, setting up a monster draw for the home series against Philadelphia. Caruso loves the crowd too, pounding out #499 in the first home game.

Hardball Dynasty's

Dick Caruso

Second City commissioner jwendt has ordered that all balls used in Richmond games be marked with special invisible dye to eliminate the possibility of the wrong ball ending up in the Second City Hall of Fame, set to open next year. Treasure hunters are clamoring for tickets to the The Diamond. However, because The Diamond has no OF seating, fans are paying upwards of $300 for parking passes, then arriving at 8AM to vie for a parking spot just beyond the OF wall. Richmond police commissioner Gordon says his staff is stretched to its limit trying to police the lot and prevent a riot when Caruso gets #500.

Sixto Lezcano Winner: Lazy Berry Profile

The winner of the final preliminary bracket is Monterrey 1B/OF Lazy Berry. Berry, a 'Quista since season 3, has been quite successful as a part-time player, hitting .296 over his career. True to his name, he's too lazy to run, actually going 0-10 lifetime stealing bases, all of them pick-offs.

Lazy Berry Monterrey Conquistadors Age: 29 B/T: R/R Born: Santa Clarita, CA Position(s): 1B/LF/DH View Hardball Dynasty Profile

So what parent in their right mind would name their child, Lazy Berry? Well, it's a complicated story. You see, Lazy's mom Caroline Staw never took her husband, Bobby Boysen's last name. So, when Lazy, their first child came along, there was some disagreement as to how he should be named. Caroline didn't like that he wouldn't share her name and Bobby also wanted his family name carried on. So, the couple compromised and agreed that their son should take what they had in common for a last name. After the protracted argument was settled, there was little time to consider a first name. Seeing as how the boy was conceived at Knott's Berry Farm in California on Bigfoot Rapids, Bobby insisted on calling him Bigfoot. Caroline hated the ride (pun intended) and insists on calling it the lazy river. Hence, Lazy was christened and we have our final finalist.

Voting in the finals will be open for several days. See the poll to your left to choose your favorite.

Incidentally, Lazy has 4 siblings, a sisters Boo and Raz, and a brothers Goose and Pomegranate. All share his last name, Berry.

Introducing the 1st HBD Olympics!

In spirit of the Olympic Summer Games, we have created our own version of which country has produced the best baseball talent in Second City. The Games will consist of tracking four major stats (homeruns, stolen bases, strikeouts, saves).
These stats were chosen because they are simply counting stats, involve different skill sets, and are largely non-team dependent. The top 3 players in each stat at the end of the Olympics (Aug 24th midnight) will be awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals. There will also be overall country medals given to the top 3 countries in total medal count.
Here are the contenders or the Top 25 in each stat as of 8-10-08.

Power Rankings - Checkpoint #1

Hello everyone,

Here is the first checkpoint of our power rankings. This is simply a combined standings table sorted by expected win percent as found in the Advanced Standings.
The Expected Win Percent is based on a formula or RS (Runs Scored) and RA (Runs Allowed). It serves as interesting take as to who maybe playing above or below their potential. The highest and lowest values in each category are colored-coded for clarity. Hope you like it. - Darren

Dick Pole Profile (no this isn't porn): Bonk Remlinger

Bonk Remlinger of Terre Hill, PA has a long and largely undistinguished HBD career. That is until now. Bonk was the runaway winner of the Dick Pole bracket, scoring 10 first place votes to double up Fonzi Becker. This places Bonk into the Final Four.

Bonk Remlinger Detroit Crimson Age: 33 B/T: R/R Born: Terre Hill, PA Position(s): P (SP4) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

So, what's the story with Bonk? He was born in tiny Terre Hill, population 1,237, a largely German, Mennonite dominated village between Harrisburg and Philadelphia. Bonk first came to fame when he played the goblin in the annual Terre Hill Haunted Trail, the best damn Mennonite haunted train in all of Pennsylvania. Bonk didn't play high school baseball due to the wishes of his Mennonite parents. But, famous Indiana-based HBD scout, Woody Boyd happened through Terre Hill. A rainy day postponed the evening contests so Woody wondered over to the Haunted Trail, having heard that it was in fact the best damn haunted trail in all of Pennsylvania. When he started to cross Goblin Bridge, Bonk threw a cursed watermelon over his the bridge, as was his job as a goblin. Woody's jaw dropped in amazement. You see, Bonk's dad (pictured to the left), donated unsold watermelon's to the Trail ever year, and they weren't small. "Bonk was throwing 10-12 lb. melons 40 and 50 yards. I knew then that the kid could throw."

But's Bonk's parents wouldn't let him sign or even play. Finally Woody convinced Bonk of his opportunity, with the help of local cashier Mabel Klopfstein (seen below). Bonk snuck out in the middle of the night, learned his craft in the amateur and minor league ranks, and went on to a truly unremarkable career, posting 23-41 record, and 4.94 career ERA in 8 different big league cities for five organizations.

Coco Crisp Snap, Crackle, and Profile: Footsie Wall

In another exciting race, Footsie Wall (6 votes) narrowly defeated heavy favorite, Stuffy Brunette (5 votes), to take the Coco Crisp bracket.

Footsie Wall Burlington Bulldogs Age: 25 B/T: L/L Born: New York, NY Position(s): P (SP6) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Footsie, a 25-year old pitcher for the Burlington Bulldogs, was drafted with the 6th pick of the 1st round in Season 3. Footsie is the 2nd winner from the state of New York, hailing from New York City, which of course begs the question: How the hell do these New Yorkers come up with names. One popular story has it that Footsie's father, Paul Wall, when asked how big his baby boy was, replied to fellow rapper, Slim Thug, "about a foot". Thug said, "What do you mean?" The proud papa held his foot up next to the newborn and said "foot, see?" A passing nurse market it down, and hence, Footsie Wall was named. To this day, former partner, Chamillionaire busts Paul's for the name choice.

As a player, Footsie has lived up to his draft status. He debuted in the majors in season 7 with an impressive 15-4 performance. He was moved to the bullpen for the playoffs where he threw 14 effective innings. He threw another effective 180 innings last season, posting a 4.34 ERA while winning 11.

On the Road Again, Just Can't Wait to get on the Road Again

In Second City, as is the case with any baseball world, the reward for achievment is the idea of home field advantage. The players sleep in their own beds, play in front of their own crowds. It is long held that being at home is something that is of great importance. Frankly, I wish I had a trite Murray Chass column to deconstruct FJM style, but alas, the writers covering the Second City league for the Chicago Tribune and Washington Post are not nearly prolific enough. But enough of the small talk. What got me thinking about this study was the crazy home-road splits we have been seeing very early on in the season. (sample size alert!) So far, only 6 of the 16 NL teams, and an 3(!) of the AL teams have winning hone records (or home records, if you know how to type). How have these splits compared with the past? Obviously you would expect that this gap will close as the season evolves, but looking at the first eight seasons of home records:

Season 1: 1277-1315 (49.3%)
Season 2: 1283-1309 (49.5%)

Season 3: 1260-1332 (48.6%)

Season 4: 1254-1338 (48.4%)

Season 5: 1327-1265 (51.2%)

Season 6: 1268-1324 (48.9%)

Season 7: 1256-1336 (48.5%)

Season 8: 1309-1283 (50.5%)

Total: 10234-10502 (49.4%)

Season 9 to date: 111-145 (43.4%)

Obviously small sample size alert for Season 9, but the trend has been interesting. Certainly very little statistical evidence exists for a home field advantage, despite the punditry saying otherwise.

Archi Cianfrocco winner's profile: Stubby Rivers

Thirty-seven year old Stubby Rivers has toiled in the Nashville Harmonies bullpen for each of the franchise's 9 seasons. Working primarily as a specialist against lefties, Rivers has amassed 27 saves, 33 victories (against 23 defeats) while compiling a 4.25 career ERA. The control specialists walks a batter just once every 5 1/2 innings or so.

Stubby Rivers Nashville Harmonies Age: 36 B/T: L/L Born: Queens Village, NY Position(s): P (LHS) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Stubby was born and raised in Queens, NY. His parents named him Stubby after he was born with abnormally short toes. In fact, Stubby has the smallest feet of any pitcher in the league, wearing a size 6 shoe despite his 6'3 frame.

Stubby is the first contender to move the Final Four. He staged a furious comeback after Howard Stern promoted his campaign on his Sirius Radio show. Howard has since pulled back his support after learning the true reason for Stubby's name.

The Elite - CONTACT

Here is the next installment of THE ELITE focusing on Contact this time.
As you can see from the table below only one player in the entire HBD Second City World including all levels has a 100 Current Contact rating. Another interesting point is Memphis Shores has 3 players in this Elite group with one of them being in AA at this time. Lastly the ML average is calculated at 62 with an all levels average at 43. Hope you like it.

Top 5 Centerfield Prospects - Season 9

Top 5 Centerfield Prospects

For the second year in a row, Guy Montague from the San Francisco Dolphins tops the Centerfield prospects list. Our highest-ranking newcomer is William Miyakazi, who was just signed out of Japan by Monterrey. Miyakazi is a unique player, with almost no power and a 0 contact rating, but he is blessed which a top batting eye and the ability to drive the ball versus both lefties and righties. He also projects to near 100 speed and 80+ base running, so he could be cause major problems if he gets on base enough. He will certainly be an interesting player to watch develop.

Hardball Dynasty's

Guy Montague

#1 – Guy Montague
San Francisco – AAA
Age – 21
Drafted Season 7, Round 1, Pick 12 by dspahlinger (Honolulu now San Fransisco)
Prospect Rating Score – 29

#2 – William Miyakazi
Monterrey – Low A
Age - 20
International Signing Season 9 for $2.8M by kmueller (Monterrey)
Prospect Rating Score – 29

#3 – Juan Alarcon
Helena – AA
Age – 23
Drafted – Season 7, Round 4 Pick 118 by drennantom (Nashville)
Traded to Helena in Season 8
Prospect Rating Score - 24

#4 – Felix Root
Sioux Falls – Low A
Age 20
Drafted Season 7, Round 2, Pick 69 by jwendt (Sioux Falls)
Prospect Rating Score – 21

#5 – Andruw Leach
Detroit – AA
Age 21
Drafted Season 6, Round 2, Pick 57 by Natic_Empire (Buffalo – now Detroit)
Prospect Rating Score –19