Jacksonville Hickories: Talkin' softly, but carrying big...

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Fri Oct 25, 2013 4:02 pm

Yup! I drafted pitchers that have that level of stamina and some even had faster fastballs, but I've never had a 90+ mph picture with that high stamina and for breaking pitches, one being level 4 and another being level 3. Not even in the first round.

Power Pros 27 · **Posted:** Sat Oct 26, 2013 9:54 am

ERISA Dude wrote:

DRAFT ANNOUNCEMENT - 2008

The Jacksonville Hickories won the coin toss with the other expansion team - the Sacramento Dukes - giving the Hickories the 1st position in the draft. From that spot, Jacksonville Picked the following players:

Pick 1: Enochs (age 21) SS D8 E98 D8 D9 D9 D8 – one
Pick 2: Manzanilla (age 22) P 92 149 108 SL – 2, 2SF-1, CB – 4, FO – 3

Reporter question to Hickories GM: "Since the Hickories already have a sold shortstop, who is defensively gifted, is batting over 300 and is a good base stealer, shouldn't the Hickories have picked 2 pitchers, since that has been their weakest position all year long?"

GM: although pitching has been a weaker spot for us, we thought we could get better value with a position player in the 1st and a pitcher in the second, and we are thrilled with how things turned out.

Reporter: So...will there be a battle at SS?

GM: every player is always playing for their job every day. That being said, Enochs is not likely to be brought up this year. We see a lot of offensive and defensive potential here. A complete player who will play solid defense, get on base, and use his speed in both phases. However, right now, he does not have the range or arm that Cool, Jr has, and defense at short is a priority.

Reporter: Will we see Manzanilla this year?

GM: You are more likely to see Manzanilla this year, but that will be the coach's decision. And while pitching failures have cost us some games - both from the starters and the relievers - we've seen solid improvement in all phases.

Reporter: can you elaborate? I mean, starters still aren't consistently getting to the 7th inning.

GM: We expect 5 solid innings from our starters. They're still young and need to be stretched out, and we actually made a decision to focus on breaking ball improvement over stamina at this point. David Cohen is consistently getting to the 6th inning; Gabe Kotter generally gives us a solid start; and Sid Fernandez threw a complete game.

Reporter: and relief? The Hickories' closer still has more blown save opportunities than any other closer in the league.

GM: He also has a lot of saves! Montoya's a rookie, just like most of our team, and there will be a learning process. Take Mickey Shuler for example. He struggled mightily early on, so we sent him down, but since getting called up, he's been a great lead-in to Montoya. Plus, we recently picked up Joe Smith, and expect good things from him. Anybody we picked up in the draft would be a rookie and likely would need time to develop. The guys on our staff since day one have had a little more time, and regardless of what position we drafted, we did not expect them to immediately replace any of our starting players.

GM: Thank you. That's all the questions I'll be taking at this time.

Wow, wow, wow, wow, what a great draft!

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Sat Oct 26, 2013 9:55 pm

2008 DRAFT REPORT: This was considered to be a weak draft, with only a handful of position players thought to be worthy of a major-league team. We take a look at the first round of this draft

Grading the 1st 6 Picks

Hickories SS DEDD9 D9 D – one

Sacramento Dukes RF ED109 EEFF – two

Rays CF FFEEDF – two:

Kansas City RF EEDEFE – three:

Orioles SS DFEEDE – two

1st Round Winners

Giants SS DEED9 DF – two

Rangers 3B FDGEFE – three

Twins 3B FD106 GEFE - three:

1st Round Losers

Padres LF FF67 FEFF – two

Rockies P85 DD SL – one, KNC – one

Cubs 1B FEFFFE – three

Braves CF FFEFEF – two

Mariners RF FFFEFF

Mets 1B GEGFFF – two

Indians 2b FFFGEF – two

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Mon Oct 28, 2013 4:58 pm

June summaries

6/3–11/2008: the Hickories were thoroughly enjoying interleague play, taking on the best the NL East had to offer, and grabbing two of three from the Phillies (although they only outscored the Phillies by three runs over the course of the series), two of three from the Mets (holding the powerful Mets lineup to an average of three runs per game), and sweeping the Marlins (winning each game by a single run).

6/13/08: After flying out west and winning the first game of their series against the Dodgers, who boast five starting position players with power level B, five with contact level C, and five with run speed of level B or higher, the Hickories McLain faced off against a Dodgers pitcher who was normally a middle reliever, but while the odds seemed to favor McLain, each pitcher had a two hit shutout entering the fifth, when Buck Rogers led off with a homerun that the Dodgers Russell Martin matched in the bottom of the fifth. McLain tired in the seventh, allowing a single and then walking Matt Kemp after starting him off 0–2. Joe Smith was brought in to record the third out of the inning, but gave up a go-ahead single to a Dodgers pinch-hitter that would stand as the winning run. Final score: two – one, Dodgers

6/14/08: the hickories David Cohen (98 GB 2SF – one, HSL – two, SCB – one, CCH – one) went toe to toe against the Dodgers Derek Lowe (92 BA CU – two, CB – two, CH – two, HSK – five), with both pitching very strongly and taking a one – one tie into the seventh when Buck Rogers hit a solo homerun that sent Lowe to the showers. Matt Kemp tied the game with a homerun against a tiring Cohen in the bottom half of the inning. The score remained tied, with each team threatening, but failing to score against the relievers. In the bottom of the 11th, the Dodgers loaded the bases with no one out with the help of two infield singles. Mickey Shuler was brought in and retired the next batter before Matt Kemp hit a walkoff single to the opposite field. Final score: 3–2, Dodgers

Awards: players for the week ending 6/15/08 were announced. No Hickories were named, but there were some chuckles in the Hickories clubhouse when they learned that one of the NL MVPs was Hanley Ramirez from the Marlins. "How much of an MVP could he be if we swept them?" Was a comment heard in the Hickories locker room. Turns out, the Marlins lost five of six that week, but their one win was a 19–1 victory over the Angels. We don't know how well Ramirez did in that game, but it does seem surprising for a player to be awarded MVP for a week in which his team only won a single game.

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Tue Oct 29, 2013 9:00 pm

June Yankees Series

6/17/08: in their first game of the series against the Yankees, the Hickories came back in the 9th against Marriano Rivera to take game 1. Banner keyed the victory with his two out single and stolen base in the 9th. Final score: 3–2, hickories

6/18/08: the Yankees storm back with a vengeance, as the Yankees Karl Pavano kept the Hickories off-balance and would have pitched a complete game if he didn't develop elbow trouble in the 9th. Final score: 7–2, Yankees

6/19/08: the Yankees Chien Wang was pitching very well, although David Banner tagged him for a solo homerun in the bottom of the second. The Hickories Kotter (92 GB 2SF – two, HSL – two, VSL – three, CCH – two) was similarly effective until the third, when the Yankees bunched together six hits, including three infield singles, and scored four times. That was all the Yankees would need. Final score: five – one, Yankees

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Thu Oct 31, 2013 10:42 am

June summaries

HICKORIES-CUBS

6/20/08: the Hickories were completely shut down by Cubs starter Sean Marshall, representing one of the few times the surprising Hickories offense has struggled against mediocre pitching. Marshall, who can barely reach 90 mph with his fastball on a good day, and his cutter, curve, and change that move very little in the strike zone, did a good job of moving his pictures all around, shutting out the Hickories over four innings until he developed elbow trouble and had to be removed. In the meantime, McLane settled in after a disastrous first thing in which people wonder whether some of the blame should be placed on centerfielder Mays Hayes or the coaching staff for failing to have their centerfielder play his normal, extra deep positioning against a fast, powerful hitter like Alfonso Soriano. Instead of hitting a harmless, deep fly ball, Soriano led off the first inning with a triple and by the time the Hickories recovered, three Cubs crossed the plate. The Hickories put runners at second and third with no out the bottom of the first, but failed to score. They threatened again in the second and fourth innings, but also failed to score. Blame can also be placed on the normally-productive Jack Cust, who was at bat with runners at second and third in the first inning when he weekly ground out to short and failed to bring in a run when he came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with the tying runner on base and popped out to short, and the one other time he batted earlier in the game with a runner in scoring position but failed to bring him in, as he went 0/5 on the day. Final score: four – two, Cubs

6/21/08: The Hickories received a trade offer from the Rockies, who are offered short reliever Taylor Buckholtz (95 BE SL – two, CB – two, CH – three – fastball – four; poise – two; fat pitch) in exchange for minor-league outfielder Geordie LaForge (GCCDEE clutch – five; power hitter; good infield hitter; push hitter; steal – four; baserunning – four). The Hickories rejected the trade, saying that they are comfortable with their current short relief situation and view LaForge as a player who will develop into a five tool talent once he starts making better contact at the plate.

6/22/08: the Hickories looked much more comfortable at the plate today, building a six run lead with the help of a three run homerun from light hitting second baseman Robert Plant. The Cubs' strong hitting pulled themselves back to within 2 runs before a double into the gap from Fields brought in two runs, but the Cubs scored again in the next two innings, tying the game. In the bottom of the ninth, Jack Cust led off the double and Fields followed with the winning RBI single. Final score: 12–11, Hickories

HICKORIES-ORIOLES

6/23/08: the Hickories take an early 4–0 lead over the last place Orioles, but end up requiring a walkoff homerun from Buck Rogers in the bottom of the ninth. Final score: 5–4, Jacksonville

6/24/08: Mike Pelfrey's first start for the Hickories is a success. Final score: 7–4, Hickories

6/25/08: A 485 foot home run from Josh Fields highlighted a big first-inning against some mediocre pitching from the Orioles Burres (90 DD SL – one, CB – two, CH – two). The Orioles had a big inning of their own in the sixth, but the Hickories scored a run in the bottom of the inning, and then a three run homerun from Vandalay in the seventh proved sufficient for the win. Final score: 11–7, Jacksonville

6/26/08: another big first inning from Jacksonville, this time against Orioles starter Daniel Cabrera (98 D.A. SL – one, CB – three, CH – two), who allowed four runs before recording the first out, and left before recording the second out. Final score: 10–4, Jacksonville

HICKORIES-CUBS

6/27/08: Roy Hobbs, the Hickories opening-day starter who was sent down to the minors to work on his mechanics, was given the start today, but after a four-run inning (due in part to some shoddy defense), Hobbs settled down, shutting down the Cubs for the next three innings while the Hickories grabbed the lead with two runs in the second and three in the fifth. Hobbs tired in the bottom of the fifth and left with one out and the bases-loaded, in part due to an error on first baseman Buck Rogers, but Joe Smith, who has become the Hickories "go to" reliever in the early innings with runners in scoring position, came in and retired the side on a shallow flyball and a strikeout, maintaining the Hickories one run lead. The Hickories scored a run with the help of a Cubs error, which was important because when the Cubs scored a run in the following inning, they remained behind instead of tying to game, and never threatened again. Final score: 7–5, Jacksonville

Note: Mike Pelfrey, who the Hickories recently obtained in a trade with the Mets, was the most impressive pitcher on the mound today, allowing one hit in the final three innings, and completely shutting down the Cubs offense while recording seven strikeouts. The Cubs could be in trouble if theire scheduled starter for tomorrow has not recovered in time to pitch at least six or seven innings, as they used all but one of their pictures who are not in gray condition. The Hickories are in a similar position, except that one of their long relievers only pitched one inning today, and should be ready to go tomorrow, and one of their starting pictures should be in blue or yellow condition for tomorrow's game. Also, Pelfrey was in pink condition today and might be available tomorrow.

6/28/08: Cubs starter Jason Marquis (93 CA SL – two, CB – two, CH – two, SFB – one) was able to start in the yellow condition, while the Hickories Syd Fernandez (88 EB HSL – TWO, DCB – ONE, SP – TWO, HSH – TWO) was forced to start in purple condition. Fernandez had very little movement on his pitches, but moved the ball around the zone well and kept the Cubs off the scoreboard until he was removed in the third inning for a pinch hitter. A solo homerun from Soriano in the third was offset by a two run shot from Cust in the fourth. Buck Rogers, who has been on a nice hitting streak lately, followed with his 18th homerun of the season, and then Fields hit his 16th homerun for a trifecta. The Cubs threatened in the bottom of the fourth, putting runners at first and second with no one out, but failed to score. They did score in the seventh against reliever Joe Smith, but the Hickories scored three against the Cubs tiring reliever, including another two run shot from Jack Cust. Final score: 7–2, Jacksonville

6/29/08: Final score: 4–3, Cubs

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Sun Nov 03, 2013 3:37 pm

June 2008 in review

Record

Hickories are 45 and 36 for the season

Hickories won 18 games this month and lost only 8

Awards

Shortstop Way Cool Junior was named player of the week

first baseman Buck Rogers, who batted 413 with 7 homeruns and 7 RBIs

Offense

Jacksonville Hickories scored 136 runs in June

lead the American League in team homeruns with 114

123 stolen bases by the team leads all of baseball

Robert Plant (385), Jack Cust (362), and Cool Junior (352) are second, fifth, and ninth, respectively in league-wide batting average. Plant leads the league in hits, with 137, and Cust leads the league and homeruns with 43

Cust's 93 RBIs is second to the Cardinals Albert Pujols, with 102

Mays-Hayes, who missed over one month of the season with a broken collarbone, has 32 steals; Robert Plant, whose base stealing tapered off since he shifted back to second in the batting order, has 31 steals and Cool Junior is tied for third in the league with 29

Pitching

110 runs allowed was the fewest they allowed all season by more than 20

staff has allowed the most hits, by far (more than 200 more hits then the next team in their division), they've allowed the fewest homeruns and second fewest runs scored in their division

David Cohen is tied for fifth with eight wins

closer Montoya is tied for fifth with 16 saves

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Tue Nov 05, 2013 6:37 am

JULY YANKEES SERIES

Yankees win, 10–8

Yankees winning 7-2

Hickories winning seven – one

TIGERS SERIES

Final score: 7–3, Jacksonville

Final score: 6–4, Jacksonville

Final score: 10–4, Tigers

7/6/2008 All-Star voting results: the final tabulation for the 2008 All-Star game is in, and Robert Plant will be starting at second base, having received about 35,000 more votes than Carrol from the Indians. Other starters include Joe Mauer at catcher, Travis Hafner at first base, Alex Rodriguez at third, and Derek Jeter at shortstop. Jacket Cust will be a starting outfielder, alongside Manny Ramirez and Bobbie Abreu. 1b Buck Rogers will be attending as a coach's selection.

For the week ending July 6, Jack Cust was one of the players of the week named. During this week, he batted 407 with 5 homeruns and 13 RBIs

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Tue Nov 05, 2013 10:34 am

The AL won the 2008 All-Star game, 5–0. Justin Verlander started the game, pitched three innings, and was named MVP. Chien Wang, Andy Pettite, Mariano Rivera, and Francisco Rodriguez also pitched. The AL hit four solo homeruns, two by Jack Cust. The only run of the game scored without a HR happened when Hickories second baseman Robert Plant singled, stole second, and then scored on a base hit from Derek Jeter.

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Wed Nov 06, 2013 6:57 am

Internal meeting

Owner representative: So…what do you think of the team so far?

GM: we've got a lot of guys that seem likely to develop into top end players. Our SS will be a top defensive SS with another year of seasoning, and he's doing a good job of putting the ball in play and swiping basis. Our second baseman is a play maker and an all-star, and our first baseman already has 20 homeruns.

Owner representative: there has definitely been more positive than negative, but Vandelay seems to have fallen short of expectations, and while Crash Davis is hitting way better than we expected, and is doing a great job of helping our pitchers get past the 5th inning, I expected him to do much better at throwing out base runners with his level C arm.

GM: I agree on both counts. It's too early to call Vandalay a "bust" – but he lost his starting spot for a reason. Actually, we think he learned from riding the bench that he can't count on being a homerun hitter yet. With Davis, there is no doubt he will be a top catcher in this game, But I've spoken with the coaching staff and while we want him to continue focusing on his batting during the season, we will probably have him focus on defense in the off-season. In fact, the thinking is that we may want a lot of players to focus on defense training during the off-season.

Owner Rep.: the trade deadline is at the end of this month – are you looking to make any moves?

GM: I do have a few feelers out there. It seems that Ryan Braun from the Brewers could be had in exchange for players that would be "quality depth." I anticipate we need to give up Jack Cust, Josh Fields, and one of our young pictures with level B stamina[/color].

Owner representative: Braun is the top young hitter in the game, I think, but that would still be a steep price.

GM: I agree. While I don't think losing a pitcher like that will hurt us this year or in the next few years because we have so many promising young pitchers, we are probably better off this year having both Cust and Fields, instead of just Braun.

Owner representative: so…Why are you looking at this?

GM: Jack Cust is on target to break the homerun record. We've had discussions with his agents and we are not comfortable that we could re-sign both he and Josh Fields. While we might be better off with both of those players this year, if we can only sign one next year, we are better off bringing in Braun and using our money to sign him to a longer-term deal than having to choose whether to re-sign Fields or Cust this off-season. Braun is younger than Fields and Cust – he is almost 2 full years younger than Fields. He is also more powerful than Cust, a better contact hitter than either of those guys, and is faster. In fact, I suspect that if he is open to training his speed and baserunning skills, he could become a pretty good name stealer.

Owner representative: Will we really be better off with Braun over Fields? Fields is solid at both left field and third-base, while Brawn struggles in left.

GM: That is probably why the Brewers would consider this deal. Braun is definitely a player who is better suited for an AL team, so he can DH a good amount of times. This will also result in Vandelay being put back in the lineup, but I think with his time sitting on the bench, he's matured some and could get back to just trying to put balls and play instead of falling in love with the homerun ball.

Owner representative: anything else you might be looking at?

GM: if we make this type of deal for Braun, our trading is probably done because I don't think we could lose anymore people (that our trading partners would be interested in) without hurting our chances at fielding a competitive team this year. However, if the Braun deal does not go through, I am looking to bring in a young, top flight pitcher like Tim Lincecum.

Owner representative: that would really be a boon to our pitching – a true stopper. What would be the cost?

GM: Josh Fields would probably need to be included in the deal, as well as our back up 1B/3b Remington Steele, and maybe one of our pitchers, as well. It would leave us very thin at 3rd.

Owner representative: I do have a concern about giving up and everyday player of Fields' caliber for a pitcher who won't take the field more than once every five games.

GM: true, although having ace like Lincecum might increase our ability to try to get into the postseason this year as a wildcard team. Also, since I don't think we can re-sign Cust and Fields this off-season, I want to get some value for at least one of them this season.

Owner representative: okay, well, you definitely should go ahead and try to get the Braun deal done. As for pitching, don't make a deal just for the point of making headlines, but use your own judgment.

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Wed Nov 06, 2013 5:17 pm

7/11/08: trade announcement

The Jacksonville Hickories and the Milwaukee Brewers announced a trade, in which the Hickories will receive 24-year-old leftfielder Ryan Braun (CA215 D9 EFG1, TR – four; lefty – five), who will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season. The Brewers receive 24-year-old pitcher Oscar Madison (92 FB119 2SF – one, SCB – one, FOS – three, SK – two; fastball – four, spin – four, recovery four, good pick, good deliver, consistency – four), 26-year-old 3B/LF Josh Fields (EBFBFD, TR – three, left – four, baserunning – two), and Jack Cust (DA183 FCEG3, TR – four, first ball hitter, base run - two), all of whom will be restricted free agents at the end of the season.

Analysts looking at the Brewers lineup disagree on whether this was a good deal for the Brewers. On one hand, they question the trade on the basis that the Brewers are giving up one of the best young hitters in the game for solid, but lesser players. Proponents of the trade say that although Fields is a downgrade offensively, he still has 18 home runs on the season, and it is a significant upgrade defensively while only being a few years older, making the exchange of leftfielders a "push," such that the throw in of Oscar Madison is a bonus, and the inclusion of Jack Cust makes this a coupe for the Brewers. Of course, it is not every day that a team can bring in a player leading the league in homeruns, and all analysts agree that Cust will be a big asset to the Brewers as they battle with the Cardinals for the Central division championship in the National League. Some analysts say that this is a big win for the Brewers this season, and is a worthwhile deal as long as they are able to re-sign two of these players during the off-season.

Analysts looking at the Jacksonville Hickories are happy with this trade, as the Hickories get a premier bat who is only 24 years old. Losing Cust and Fields is steep, so we may need to wait a year or two to see if this was a good deal for the Hickories, as if third baseman Jeff Lebowski becomes an above average offensive and defensive third baseman and Art Vandelay returns back to the form he showed the first month of the season when he batted over 300 with nine homeruns while manning LF, then this trade is a clear win for the Hickories since Cust, Fields, Lebowski, and Vandelay would have been four players vying for three spots (including DH), likely impeding the development of the youngsters. Part of this may have been"Risk management," with the hickories feeling more secure about re-signing one player who will certainly demand a large contract (Braun) instead of two players demanding large contracts after doing so surprisingly well that it is unclear whether this season is an aberration or a sign of what they will do in future years (Fields and Cust).

The loss of Oscar Madison is not viewed as significant, since the Hickories have a number of players in their system with solid starting pitching potential.

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Thu Nov 07, 2013 12:05 pm

RANGERS SERIES

7/11/08: Ryan Braun was in the Hickories starting lineup for the game against the Texas Rangers and Kevin Millwood. Down 2–0, he failed to bring home Willie Mays Hayes, who was ultimately stranded at third, but he hit his first home run for the Hickories in his next at bat (his 16th HR of the season) before David Banner hit a towering 478 foot 2-run home run to right field and Jeff Lebowski homered to left. Three batters later, Way Cool Junior (E6 E91 contact and power) hit his 2nd homerun of the season – this one a two run shot 2 dead center that went 439 feet. Braun later hit a second homerun when the Rangers started trotting out pitchers in gray condition, and a third homerun when the Rangers finally put in a short reliever in decent condition in the eighth, which made up for some shoddy pitching from Hickories relievers Indiana Jones and Glass Joe. Buck Rogers finally got into the act in the eighth, with his own home run two batters before Lebowski hit his second homerun of the day. Braun's fourth homerun traveled 478 feet to dead center field in his next at bat. Final score: 16-10, hickories

Note: the players most affected by the Ryan Braun trade were Braun, Lebowski (who is now more secure a third) and Art Vandelay (who is now the regular left fielder). Those three individuals went a combined 11/16 with six homeruns, eight RBIs, and 10 runs scored.

7/12/08: in his second game as a Hickory, Ryan Braun hit a two run homerun measured at 478 feet to give the Hickories a lead. Shortly thereafter, David Banner, Jeff Lebowski, and Crash Davis hit back to back to back home runs. Final score: 9–4, Jacksonville

After hitting 5 homeruns in the last two games before the All-Star break, Ryan Braun was named AL player of the week for the week ending July 13. He batted 444 with 6 homeruns and 9 RBIs in that week.

Standings: with their winning last week's series against the Orioles (winning two games of three games) and their three game sweep of the Rangers, the Jacksonville Hickories have taken sole possession of second place in the AL east. They are 11 games behind the division leading Yankees, one game ahead of the Red Sox and two games ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays.

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Sat Nov 09, 2013 10:39 pm

GAME SUMMARIES

7/17/08: another game, another homerun from Ryan Braun. This one in the first inning that tied the game against the Rays Niemen. Two innings later, he singled home the go-ahead run. The Rays lineup was very tough, and Cohen had an unusually difficult time finishing betters off after going up to strikes on them, ultimately allowing back to back singles from paying you and Upton before giving up a homerun to their shortstop Great Kennedy, after he was down 0–2. Braun hit another homerun in the eighth, but it was not enough. Final score: 7–5, Rays

7/18/08: this game, in which the Hickories Gabe Kotter faced off against the Rays J.P. Howell, was quite a pitching duel, with the Hickories leading two – one from the second through the sixth inning when Braun extended the Hickory's lead with a homerun, only to have Great Kennedy tie the game with a two run home run in the seventh. The Rays went ahead by a run the following inning and that was enough for the win. Final score: 4–3, Rays

With this loss, the Hickories have fallen to third place in their division, one game behind the Red Sox and 13 games behind the Yankees

7/20/08: in a tough pitching duel against the Yankees Wang, who had great movement on all his pitches, the game entered the fourth inning with the Hickories up 1–0, and they were fortunate to double their runs when Jeff Lebowski hit a pitch off the end of his bat that "knuckled" through the infield so slowly that it allowed David Banner to score from second, even though it was weakly hit. The Hickories seemed to have Wang on the ropes later that inning, loading the bases with one out, and ultimately came away with two more runs. Alex Rodriguez tripled home two runs and Giambi single home Rodriguez, narrowing the Hickories lead to a single run. Rodriguez tied the game with a homerun in the sixth. Two innings later, a Hideki Matsui homerun gave the Yankees a one run lead. They held that lead until a disastrous inning by the Hickory's relievers. Final score: 9–4, Yankees

detroittigers15 · **Posted:** Sat Nov 09, 2013 10:55 pm

Ouch, tough games there. Admittedly I haven't checked in in a while, so I'll say this three days late: Nice move for Ryan Braun!

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Sun Nov 10, 2013 7:15 am

Thanks for the comment re Braun. The guy is a beast in this game! Oddly, the Brewers gave my trade of Fields and Madison 4 stars, but when I added Cust, it dropped to 0!!! It just did not seem right to do that deal and keep Cust, so after I traded Braun for Fields & Madison, I tried to trade the Brewers Cust for owner points. They rejected Cust for 100 points - had to lower my price to 1 point for it to go through.

And, yeah, I'm in a frustrating offensive slump right now 'cause I'm facing pitchers in red and pink condition following the All-star break. Even level 1 breaking pitches are tough for me when the pitcher is in red or pink condition.

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