The Scorpions Win! The Scorpions Win!

Finally! After dropping seven straight, the Scorpions have a win and can we assume, without jinxing, that the monkey is finally off the Scorpions' backs? (BTW, that marmoset in the pic is Olivia. I know what it's like to have a monkey on my back, both literally and figuratively, so I can sympathize!).

After a 15-0 loss Monday last at Chico (the worst loss of the season) I thought the death knell had tolled for the local boys and things couldn't get any worse. I'm pleased to report that that appears to have been the case as I continue to see some improvement with the local nines.

To recap the past few games, the club was badly embarrassed Monday when they dropped their first game at Chico by a score of 15-0. The team suffered another loss (4-1) to Chico Tuesday but that loss wasn't nearly as dramatic (traumatic?) as Monday's. Wednesday the club lost a real heartbreaker (3-2) in the bottom of the 9th, but they allowed less runs to be scored on them, and they themselves scored more runs than Tuesday so I was hopeful that the club was showing some signs of life. At that pace I figured it was only a matter of time before the boys chalked up a win, and that came Friday at Reno when the boys claimed a 6-3 victory. Perhaps a day off (Thursday), and a new locale (not in Chico, where the team was swept!), was what was needed. Time will only tell.

This evening Chico hosts Orange County, first and second in the standings, respectively. I'm going to hope the Flyers, the lesser of the two evils, claim a win. I think Chico is on a real tear, and they do have home field advantage, so I think OC is going to have their hands full. However, OC didn't make it easy for the Outlaws last evening as it took ten innings for Chico to scratch out a 6-5 win.

I'm off to the driving range to improve my swing (truly a lost and hopeless cause) and then I believe I'll spend some time on the river. The Yuma-at-Reno series continue this evening, with game two starting at 7:00 p.m. Remember, no radio reception on the water so I won't be tempted to listen to the game. I'm pretty superstitious; when I listen the club loses, when I don't listen they win. I think someone is trying to tell me something.

Y'all have a safe, super weekend!

Peace and Tranquility

Ah, peace and tranquility. Can't you feel it? When I awoke this morning I was actually okay with last night's loss, perhaps because it wasn't a complete drumming. Yes, you read it right people, my total Type-A, take-no-prisoners mentality was okay with a loss. I must be getting daft.

The boys dropped their sixth straight last night at Chico, losing 4-1 and putting their record at 12-8 (.600) and third in the standings, but they only gave up four runs! Only four runs! I'm practically rejoicing! Perhaps this is the sign that the defense is stepping it up and things may yet turn around. Now we just need to rekindle the fire of the wood. We are only a game and a half back so there is time to turn this around.

Now most baseball fans probably wouldn't be too pleased with their club if they had accomplished what I described above (Oh! I just had a flashback of my Nats of last year and this year and, honestly, for more years past than I can recollect!). But we must take into account a few things with the Scorpions:

1. The Yuma Scorpions exploded out of the gate, starting the season at 6-0 before dropping one on the road to Long Beach. The club then won five straight, taking them to 11-1. Another loss (road), another win (OC), and a 12-2 record. I now realize that we were being set up for a grave disappointment. As my financial guy likes to remind me, often, when I freak out, 'What goes up must come down. Be patient and ride out the storm.' Well, even he knows that the adjective 'patient' has never been used in the same sentence with my name so it's hard to convince me otherwise.

2. The loss of Langlois and Gipson struck a blow. Langlois was in his second season with the club, was a fixture in the Yuma community, and I'd like to think he was sort of the 'captain' of the club, along with Calderon and Saucedo, the only three players to have stayed with the team. Oh, and Langlois was, really, a pretty decent pitcher.

3. I blogged about how terrific the club was doing and once I began doing that the never-to-end slide into baseball oblivion began. Truly, I think I may have jinxed the team!

But fear not as I do have a solution to #3. I shall listen to tonight's and Thursday's games (and likely post a comment or two). Whether they win or not won't change my itinerary. Naturally, I'd like to see the boys win, but I figure to have a three-day weekend on the river. Sun, fun, perhaps some libations and a bit of fishing and skiing, and NO AM radio on the dial. And no blogging. I am going to de-stress this weekend! Right, we'll see how long that lasts; probably about as long as the Scorpions' best record in independent baseball! One day.

TTFN!

Miscellaneous Pre-Game Thoughts (S. O. S.)

Hello Scorpions fans.

I believe in my previous post (prior to yesterday's first pitch) you may have picked up on just how distraught I am with the club's performance of late (and I know I cannot possibly be alone in my misery). Specifically, the past five road games in four days, in which we have gone 0-5 and the boys have been outscored 44-15. This is not the sort of stat that impresses! When are things going to turn around?

Please pardon me as I hop down from my soapbox momentarily.

I'd like it to be known right here and right now that I am a Scorpions fan, win or lose. It's easy for those of us in the stands to know (or to think we know) what ails the club, and perhaps offer some tips (all of which are probably misguided) on how to correct the situation(s).

It's easy for those of us not on the field to offer advice and to pick apart and evaluate and critique every decision Marshall, Hunt and Whisler make. But at the end of the day it's Marshall, Hunt and Whisler on the field and the decisions they make, while we may not agree with them, we have to accept. We may not like it, but we aren't getting paid to be in the pressure-cooker, putting our decision-making necks on the line. Until we've walked a mile in their shoes...yada, yada, yada.

I have wondered over the past week, since instituting this blog, if I've been a bit too harsh on the boys. Baseball managers, coaches and players must have thick skins to be barraged daily with the opinions of everyone who, really, doesn't have a clue. If we did have a clue we wouldn't be blogging and reading blogs and commenting on blogs, we'd be on the field, wouldn't we?

So I'd just like to say that even though the club is stumbling a bit now I can appreciate the jobs the coaches and players do to entertain us (although lately, to be honest, there's been more cursing on my part than entertaining on their part). Yuma is not a large city with tremendous entertainment options, and the fact that we have a ball team here pleases me no end. Sure, it's nice to get to San Diego and Phoenix to catch an occasional game, or hit the river and the lake, or drops a few dollars in Vegas, but really - if you consider baseball life, like I do, then there's nothing like rooting on, and supporting, the hometown club.

There. I've freshened my drink, come back to my senses, and I think I've returned to being my usual ornery, opinionated self.

So, now I'll get on my soapbox and say (again) that pitching is the key to baseball success. Can we, boys and girls, all agree that p-i-t-c-h-i-n-g is what determines the W-L numbers? Of this I have absolutely no doubt. I can only hope that Marshall is burning up the phone lines, making arrangements to get some pitchers in here who can get the job done. That the bullpen lacks depth is obvious when position players are being recruited to throw, and pitchers become position players.

Last night's 15-0 fiasco was the worst yet. With each run scored I contributed a bit to the Moscow State Wine Warehouse No. 1's (aka Stolichnaya) Relief Fund, in the spirit of giving, of course (pun intended). Either the team wins one game - puh-leeze boys, just one game on the road before this trip from hell concludes! - or I'm going to have to soon take advantage of my employer's Employee Assistance Program.

I'm signing off for the evening. Nothing like sitting by the pool on a cool (!) evening, fresh drink within easy reach, eyes on Burns' Baseball - Murderers' Row* - and ears on the AM dial following the local nines.

*Not the greatest team of all time.

Damned if I do, damned if I don't

Good evening, baseball fans! Welcome to Hell!

Alright, that may be a bit of a stretch. After all, I'm fortunate enough to still be living and breathing and entertaining myself endlessly with this typing, so I don't have an idea of what Hell is actually like.

But (1) I do believe in Hell and (2) I think it's safe to assume it's pretty dang close to what we Scorpions fans have been living for the past three days. Now I know what all of those Yankees fans have been going through and feeling this season (not that I sympathize)! And, no, I'm not a Yankees fan (see previous post on my disgust with the Nats - but that's a whole different kind of Hell. At least the Yanks have a chance! And kindly keep your comments about my beloved Nationals to yourself!).

I don't need to remind you Scorpions fans that the boys have dropped four games over the past three days, so I won't. No sense in reliving a past you cannot change. And there is no point in also reminding you that their lead has been trimmed to a mere 1/2 game. Actually, after the next few games any one of the four top teams could be in the top spot! Orange County is 1/2 gb, followed by Chico at 1 gb and LB at 1 1/2 gb. This week, I believe, we will see the 'real' picture on how the teams of the GBL are built. There could be some shuffling going on in the standings. Fingers crossed that our Yuma boys remain in the top spot (I say 'fingers crossed' because obviously the term 'knock wood' isn't working so I'll try another superstition. I'm not ready to wear the same Scorpions shirt day in and day out, unlaundered, until they win one (and neither are my colleagues) so I'll stick with 'fingers crossed' for now. That may change tomorrow!).

Frankly, I think I'd feel a whole lot better about this downward spiral if I were able to contribute to the club more. I blog positive comments - the Scorpions lose. I use reverse psychology and predict they lose - they do nothing to shatter the prediction - and the Scorpions lose. Damned if I do, damned if I don't. Am I the only one who feels completely and utterly powerless to stop this trainwreck?

I'd much rather be positive than negative (not counting the above comments), so I'll venture a guess and state that I believe the Scorpions are going to win this evening, their first of three games at Chico. Chico, as you will recall, is only one game back (third place in the standings) so it is crucial, absolutely crucial, that the Scorpions win tonight and tomorrow and Wednesday and the days that follow.

As far as my theory on what is ailing the Scorps: In a word, pitching (well, pitching and bad play-calling by the umps and too many uncalled for ejections (also by the umps) of Scorpions players and managers).

Pitching, as we all know (well, granted, there are a few hardheads out there that don't accept this), is the true and real source of baseball success.

I was speaking with my friend Steve today about the local nines. Steve is not only a terrific guy and a great friend, but he really and truly knows the game of baseball and keeps up on everything related to what happens on the diamond. Steve is one of those rare male specimens who actually watches and enjoys SportsCenter. I know, I know, a man that follows baseball (and every other sport including lacrosse and rowing and curling) on SportsCenter is a true endangered species but, believe me ladies, there are still a few out there so hurry and find one before they are all gone! (And no I won't give you Steve's number.)

Anyway, Steve and I were discussing the Scorpions' performance of the past few games. (I think he could sense my distress over the e-mail.)

Being a girl, and a blonde, I'd say something like this about the game of ball: The team that is going to win is going to be the team that scores more runs than the other team. Short and sweet and true!

Steve, being a true, passionate baseball fan (not that I'm not a true, passionate fan, but he's got a whole lot more knowledge of the game than yours truly) had this to say: "There are times when teams just seem to get in a pitching funk. They really just need a pitcher to step it up a notch and pitch a good game. It could also be that with all the run support they get too comfortable with their pitching and don't make quality pitches. Seems like they are stuck in a rut right now. Ya, all those runs you put up really don't mean anything if your pitcher can't keep the other team from putting them up."

(Boy, Steve's comments eerily remind me of my Fantasy Baseball team!)

I'd also say something like, "The team is really sucking right now."

Steve would counter with something similar to his above comment, and say it very diplomatically. Perhaps Steve should have become an attorney instead of an engineer.

As far as cold, hard stats go, the Scorpions are 12-6 (as I type this, very near to Monday's game time). With the 12 wins the Yuma side has scored an average of 9.5 runs and held the opponent to 4.4 runs. When the Yuma team loses they've scored an average of 3.5 runs, with the winning opponent scoring an average of 6.2 runs. What does all of this mean? Beats me, my major wasn't mathematics.

But I'm smart enough to know you don't win baseball games when the other team scores more runs!

I'm Done Making Predictions!

Saturday's Yuma-OC double-header results:

Game 1 ~ Yuma on top 5-0, gives up nine unanswered runs. Lose 9-5.

Game 2 ~ Yuma never recovers from being down 3-0, Maydew beans opposing batters indiscriminately, he and Marshall tossed. Lose 3-1.

I thought a few solid hours of sack time would improve my mood. Wrong. I'm still ticked at the outcome of yesterday's Yuma-OC double-header. The Scorpions have dropped three straight and I'd like to see this type of behavior come to a screeching halt. Right now. This type of nonsense is simply unacceptable.

Yesterday afternoon's (pre-game) blog detailed how the Scorpions owned the best W-L percentage in independent baseball. Well, that sure didn't last long, did it?

While Yuma still maintains a slim lead over Orange County and Chico (both 10-6, .625, 1 1/2 gb) in the GBL, a quick peek at yesterday's results across the eight independent leagues I've been watching show that Yuma is now tied for 6th (of 66 teams). Still not too shabby, but the local nines need to right this ship.

The Frontier League's Windy City ThunderBolts club improved to 24-7 (.774) giving them the top spot that was, until yesterday's miserable double-header, held by the Scorpions. The second through fifth spots are held by the American Association's Saltdogs (.744, dropped a game), followed by the SCL Peanuts (.733), the Can-Am League's Jackals (.714) and the Frontier League's Grizzlies (.710) all of whom claimed victories yesterday. Tied at 6th are our own Yuma Scorpions and the Northern League's Gary Railcat's (winner), both at .706.

Yesterday I also boldly predicted that Yuma would take both games from the Flyers.

I think I need to start making ' opposite' predictions. For instance, tonight I think the Yuma club is going to have their hats handed to them in their final game of the series at OC. There, now maybe they'll win. I cannot believe I just typed that.

A friend told me after yesterday's games that I shouldn't carry on so when the Scorpions lose. He calmly said, "It's only a game." I'm glad he pointed that out to me. I've lived my entire life thinking baseball is life!

I'd have breakfast now but my appetite is shot. Is it five o'clock somewhere?

Don't make me come over there...

The Yuma Scorpions are on the road, we all know this. Road trips can be pretty tough, this we also know. But what the hell happened today (Saturday)? This is simply not acceptable!

I have a Saturday off and I listen to not one, but two games! We drop both?! Marshall got booted in the second.

I'm sure he's about as happy as I am right now.

I'm pretty tired so I'm not going to stay out of bed rehashing this right now. But you can take it to the bank that I'm going to have some words on this come tomorrow.

This. Is. Ridiculous.

A Saturday Stroll through the Indy Leagues

I spent entirely too much time playin' on the lake last weekend so while I've been 'recovering' (and working my tail off at my day job) through this past week I've been thinking about the Scorpions' explosive start to the season. Specifically, I was curious about Marshall's season-to-date record and how it compared to other indy teams around the country. Yuma fans, I think we have some reason to brag. Knock wood.

Even though the Yuma nines dropped a game to OC last evening to fall to 12-3 (.800), it appears that they have the best percentage of all independent teams. Folks, that's 66 teams across eight leagues! I didn't realize just how impressive this stat was! I would like to point out that the GBL season starts later so the six teams in this league haven't played as many games (and probably haven't suffered as many injuries), but the statistic I am focusing on is W-L percentage. I'm still impressed.

(And before I go any further, the Yuma-OC series is split at one win each. A double-header today, beginning at 5:05 p.m., will give Yuma two wins to extend their lead, however Chico is now ahead of OC by 1/2 game, so it's starting to get bunched up a bit.)

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball: Ten teams, divided in to North and South divisions. In the North, Lincoln sits atop the standings at an impressive 29-9 (.763). El Paso leads the South, 22-17 (.564). I'd like to point out that the second and third place teams in the North (Sioux Falls, 29-9, .625 and St. Paul, 23-16, .590) are ahead of South leader El Paso. Perhaps the Diablos shouldn't have been so quick to retire Marshall. Not that I'm complaining! Their loss is our gain.

Scorpions fans will recall that the Saltdogs (not to be confused with the Salty Dog libation) were the team that Benny Castillo attempted to peddle Juan Lebron to during the 2005 season. The question has to be asked: Would Lincoln have an even larger lead in the North if LeBron were on the roster? A lot of things could be said of LeBron, but having a weak bat certainly wasn't one of them; he was a homer-hitting machine.

You've all heard of the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? Well, in the baseball community I believe it's more like four degrees of separation. Example: Yuma's skipper through the 2005 and 2006 seasons, Benny Castillo, played for the Sioux Falls Canaries. Ironically, I lived in Sioux Falls in 1996 and 1997 and watched him play there many times. Less than ten years later he and I were working together for the Scorpions. The baseball community is, indeed, a small one.

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball: Eight teams, North and South divisions. Long Island and Bridgeport are tied in the North at 28-18 (.609), and Camden leads the South with a 27-19 record (.587). In the North, the Road Warriors are an amazing 15 games back. Barring a miracle I'd say they are playing for pride, because the chances of hardware appear slim. But in all fairness I should point out that the Road Warriors are homeless this 2007 season (like the GBL's traveling Japanese team in 2005, and my hapless Nationals once were - but the Nats have no excuse now, do they? Do they?!).

Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball (aka Can-Am League): Ten teams, one division. New Jersey sits atop the standings with a 19-8 record (.704). However, Quebec is only 1 1/2 games back at 18-10 (.643).

Frontier League of Professional Baseball: Twelve teams split into three divisions: East, Central, West. Washington leads the East at 17-12 (.586), Windy City leads the Central 23-7 (.767) and Gateway leads the West, 21-9 (.700).

Golden Baseball League: Six teams, one division. As we all know, Yuma sits alone at the top with a 12-3 record (.800).

Northern League: Eight teams, North and South divisions. Calgary leads the North with a 19-14 record (.576) and Gary leads the South at 23-10 (.697). In the North, Winnipeg is only 1/2 game back. It isn't even close in the South; Gary is at the top and Kansas City, Joliet and Schaumburg are nine, nine and ten games back, respectively. Former Scorpion Kevin Cheppenko was dealt to Joliet in 2006. Cheppenko was signed in 2007 by the Sioux Falls Canaries of the American Association, Castillo's former club. Remember I mentioned the degrees of separation? Oh, and I just noticed that the Canaries are facing the Diablos tonight (I don't know why this is relevant.). Many consider the Northern League the Cadillac of independent baseball leagues.

South Coast League of Professional Baseball: Six teams, one division. The South Georgia Peanuts sit on top with a 21-8 record (.724). Former GBL'er Kash Beauchamp is now with the SCL, as is Desi Wilson, as Field Manager for the Anderson Joes. Wilson's Joes club is last in the standings, with a dismal 6-24 (.194) record. Ouch.

United League Baseball: Six teams, one division. Rio Grande sits on top with a 24-18 record (.571). Alexandria at 24-19 (.558) is only 1/2 game back.

There you have it: Yuma's club tops 65 other clubs across eight independent baseball leagues with a 12-3 (.800) record. This is a good thing for Yuma (everyone loves a winner!), but the flip side is that when you are on top you only have one way to go - down! The pressure must be unbelievable, and I'm sure there are an inordinate number of spectators (particularly opposing fans) waiting and watching to see if the Scorpions will go down in flames. Misery loves company, so they say. Time will tell if Yuma's record-breaking start is a fluke, or if Marshall really is cooking up some magical brew in the clubhouse. I, for one, cannot wait to see how this season plays out. Of course, I'm not known for my patience (I always read the last chapter of every book first!), I hate surprises and any type of suspense kills me. Can we just get to the final game already?!

I'm signing off. The pool is beckoning and there's a game of baseball to be listened to on the AM dial.