The Classic Battle, CBA Playoffs, Round 2

Skokie vs. Limoilou, October 2007

No one knew what to expect of the Wolfmen in the playoffs this year.  The Wolfmen tried as best they could for this season to correct some deficiencies from the past which resulted in bowing out from Round 1 of the playoffs in 2005 and 2006.  So was this version of the Staub finals really with the best two teams in the conference as coming in to the playoffs Skokie had the worse record of all playoff teams?  But the Wolfmen knew from the beginning of the season (even though in the early days Allentown was kicking their butt and was in first for a time) that they had an excellent chance finally to win the division outright without too much trouble as they had just lost out on the last day of the season in the past two years. (What is better: To be fighting all year for the division or win it fairly easily with no competition?)  This is not a boastful comment at all but just in studying the other teams in the division and based on our simulations, it was a good guess and  turned out to be true.  Again, we always honor and respect the other managers, as we each do our best to find a way to be successful. We never know who’s year will it be.  Also it is my hope, via this report, to be able to provide some interesting insights for others about what it takes to create a playoff-bound and possibly championship team.    Anyway, when a team knows they will comfortably make the playoffs, before the playoffs begin, they need to think about ways to prepare their team and how to make themselves stronger, so they can be very competitive in a short series.

For the 2007 CBA season, starting pitching was hard to come by and drove many managers mad.  For Skokie this was also true, we really had to scramble via the draft and trades as if you look at the starters we are using in the playoffs, only Clemens began on our team. (T. Hudson and Wang via trade, L. Hudson a nugget in the draft.)  If you scan the yearly stats of all of our starting pitchers, we really didn’t have a dominating pitcher for this season as we have had in the past although Clemens has a pretty good card and thank god (ha ha) he pitched over 100 innings (so really we saved him for the playoffs as he didn’t have a Clemens year). In the last two seasons we had two good 3-day starters each but this year we had to use a makeship squad.  Tim Hudson won 13 games for the Wolfmen but he received one of the best run supports in the league, he really was pretty inconsistant.  Only Luke Hudson pitched somewhat well for our squad.  So Skokie desperately needed a more dependable starter during the middle part of the season (again planning for the playoffs) and a pitcher who didn’t give up the long ball so much as in the Wolfmen’s stadium, long balls are the name of the game (via the 276 diggers we hit during the season and 230 bombs that left our park by both teams).  So the trade to obtain Wang with Maine was a trade preparing for the playoffs and is probably one of the main reasons why Skokie could have any chance at all in the playoffs.  The idea was if we had a 3 day starter like Wang and the ability to pitch Clemens twice, for five out of the seven games Skokie could have a fairly decent pitcher going who didn’t give up the long ball. This is a situation we couldn’t have done during the regular season but could in the playoffs.  So working with Luke (of Star Wars fame), this might give Skokie a chance to be very competitive with a fairly strong starting staff to go along with the various relief specialists we have and finish with Heilman and Nathan waiting in the wings.  As Skokie entered the playoffs, we were curious if this strategy could really work for our pitching staff.

In our first series verse San Diego, the four games we won involved four quality starts by our starting pitchers.  In two of these victories we blew out the Surf but the other two games were won by one run which means that series could have gone the other way if the Surf were hitting a bit more.  Skokie got blown out two games in San Diego but we expected to see this from time to time as going with only 9 pitchers also left a whole in our relief staff if our starters didn’t last at least six innings.  But it had to be this way to play to our strengths.

So as Skokie approached their first ever, conference championship series with Limoilou, we knew we would be facing one of the best teams in the CBA, with a very capable manager who has the record for World Series wins and appearances.  Limoilou is a very similar team to Skokie and perhaps even has a bit more balance and strengths as Skokie was gambling their defense at the corners and the poor throwing arm of the Pizza Man wouldn’t cause too many problems.  Skokie came into this series with a total reverse of the situation from their dramatic seven game playoff with Limoilou in 2005.  In 2005, Skokie had the better record, the home field advantage and had thrashed Limoilou during the regular season.  Limoilou was a wild card team.  For 2007, it was reserved, Limoilou had beat Skokie 11 out of 15 games, and had the best conference record with the home field advantage.  Could the tables be reversed?  And can Skokie win in Limoilou? The Wendigos had easily eliminated Longue Pointe in the first round so it seemed they were ready to make another appearance in the CBA World Series.  Could the Wolfmen stop them with all this history?

So here are the keys to this historic series as we review each game and discuss were the factors leading to each team’s success and failure:

------------------------------

Game 1: Skokie at Limoilou (Wang vs Schmidt)

Wolfmen......... 3 2 1  0 0 0  1 0 1  -  8 10  0

Wendigo......... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 3  -  3  8  1

The Wolfmen started game 1 off up and running as Piazza, who could be the team MVP knocked in four runs.  He singled with the bases loaded in the 1^st for Skokie first run followed by a 2 run shot by Edmonds.  Remember Edmonds was acquired from Wendigo in 2006 for Beltrans, showing the younger star up.  Again Piazza struck in the 2^nd inning knocking in 2 more with a base hit and finished the game with a homer in the 9^th.  The quick start by Skokie was too much for the Wendigos who finally broke through against Wang in the 9^th when Thome hit a 3 run shot.  Could this game be an example of how the series would go?  With this win, Skokie took away the home field advantage from the Wendigos and showed they had come to play and that they really intended to go to their first World Series.  Skokie was hoping in this series their starters could go long and welcomed the complete game by Wang. Also surprised to have had such success against Schmidt who dominated them in the 2005 series.

Game 2: Skokie at Limoilou (L. Hudson vs Schilling)

Wolfmen......... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  0  3  0

Wendigo......... 0 1 0  1 0 0  1 0    -  3  6  0

In Game 2, a game which the Wendigos really needed to win, Schilling came to the rescue.  He was un-hittable and stopped cold the Wolfmen.  L. Hudson pitched a good game in the losing cause.  The great closer of Limoilou, Saito came in and shut the door down to ensure the series was tied going on to Skokie, where the Wolfmen play very tough.  Glaus and Hall homered for the Wendigos to provide the needed runs.  Series tied 1 game a piece with a great pitching matchup coming up for Game 3, Johnson vs. Clemens.  (Note: Skokie missed three ball park home runs in this game of futility).

Game 3: Limoilou vs Skokie  (Johnson vs. Clemens)

Wendigo......... 0 0 2  0 3 5  0 0 0  - 10 11  0

Wolfmen......... 0 2 0  0 1 1  0 0 5  -  9  7  2

This game was expected to be a pitchers duel but Limoilou came out to play and take back the home field advantage. In the 5^th inning, the Wendigos knocked Clemens out as the frustrated Wendigo bats suddenly came to life.  After Skokie had taken an early 2-0 lead on a two run shot by Edmonds, Limoilou tied it in the third and in the fifth and six inning, everything that Limoilou hit had eyes – it didn’t matter who Skokie sent to pitch, it was like they were throwing big lollies to hit.  Limoilou had 4 stolen bases, Thome hit another homer and Thome, Murton and Glaus each had 3 RBIs.  By the bottom of the 6^th, Limoilou had a commanding 10-3 lead – but Skokie wasn’t ready to give up.  Rheinecker came in to pitch and somehow (not one of our best pitchers) was able to shut down the Wendigos the rest of the way. Skokie scored one run in the 6^th and then trailing 10-4 going into the bottom of the 9^th, came alive against Johnson and Weathers as Matthews double in 2 runs in the 9^th for a 10-6 lead and then Valentin hit his second homer of this series, a 3 run shot and all of a sudden it was 10-9.  But unfortunately Saito, the great closer of the Wendigos, shut Skokie down and the Wendigos barely escaped alive with a 10-9 win.  What this meant is that Limoilou now took back home advantage and finally handed Skokie their first home lost in the playoffs.  Could we be seeing a repeat of the 2005 series?  Game four would feature a repeat of the first game starters.  Could Skokie beat again Schmidt one of the toughest pitchers in the league? 

Game 4:  Limoilou at Skokie (Schmidt vs. Wang)

Well just as Game 2 was a key game for Limoilou, as the series momentum had shifted to the  Wendigos, Skokie couldn’t afford to lose another one at home.  The Wolfman handed Wang the game ball and asked him to keep them in the game.  Well the Wendigos continued where they left off in Game 4 and quickly scored two times in the first to take a 2-0 lead.  Again Lofton was a key to generate the runs as he was unstoppable on the basepaths stealing at will.  But Skokie answered with a run in the bottom of the 1^st as Valentin launched his third homer, 2-1.  Limoilou picked up a run in the fifth to go up 3-1, and Schmidt was looking very tough.  The fans in Skokie were praying for a miracle.  But the Wolfmen, who in prior playoff games have had a very difficult time in the playoffs coming from behind, awoke in the bottom of the 6^th as their aged homerun leader, Barry Bonds (not having a truly good post season), launched a 2 run digger, his 2^nd of the playoffs to tie it at 3 a piece.  This apparently ignited the Wolfmen as in the 7^th with the bags juiced, Bonds walked in a run for a 4-3 lead and then Chipper Jones who had been silent for the playoffs, electrified the crowd and cemented the game with a grannie to give the Wolfmen an overwhelming 8-3 lead late which really was a shocker for the Wendigos as they went quietly down in the 8^th and 9^th as super closer Joe Nathan came in to ensure the series was tied at 2 games a piece.  So Skokie had showed in Games 3 and 4, they were hungry and had the ability to come from behind if they


had too.  Was this a sign of what was to come and would it spell trouble for the Wendigos?  Wang got his second victory in the series and the Wolfmen (thanks to the Strat Gods), were very happy they could engineer to bring Wang to Skokie!!

Game 5:  Limoilou at Skokie (Schilling vs T. Hudson)

Wendigo......... 0 0 0  0 1 1  0 0 0  -  2  6  1

Wolfmen......... 0 0 0  0 0 1  0 3    -  4 11  0

Game 5, was the key game of the series to decide who would go to the CBA Cup. While T. Hudson was the leader in victories for Skokie, he had a very rough season and had been bombed on a number of occasions including in game 5 of the San Diego series.  But Skokie had to trust he could do the job.  On the other hand, Skokie wasn’t looking forward to facing Schilling who shut them out in Game 5.  So the odds were not good for Skokie but the game had to be played!!

Again Lofton, the Skokie killer knocked in the games first run in the 5^th and Thome’s homer in the 6^th put Limoilou ahead 2-0.  Schilling again was unhittable but the Pizza man, was able to break through with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to make it 2-1.  The bases were loaded with two outs continuing on in the inning, but Skokie just couldn’t break through to tie it.  Again in the 7^th, the bases were loaded for Skokie with two outs but Speizio choked via Saito.  With the score 2-1, bottom of the 8^th, the series on the line, Edmonds singled off Saito and Itzuris, the backup shortstop, doubled (4-6 on Saito’s card).  With runners on 2^nd and 3^rd and no one out, up came Heilman the pitcher.  Skokie selected Grudzalenek, who was having a strong series to pinch hit and he amazed the Skokie crowd with a clutch pinch hit homer, 3 run shot (2-4 on his card) as Skokie led 4-2.  Another come from behind game.  Nathan was called upon again to nail down the victory and pitched a perfect 9^th.  Skokie was now one win away from being in their first World Series appearance. But could the Wolfmen beat the touch Wendigos in their home park and break their jinx??

Game 6:  Skokie at Limoilou (L. Hudson vs Wakefield)

Wolfmen......... 3 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 - 8 9 0

Wendigo......... 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 1 1 - 6 8 1

For this game, history was on Limoilou’s side.  Skokie has had a seven game jinx the past two years and the Wendigos have played in the World Series several times before. They were also at home.  Well Skokie was to show the world that they had come to play and Mr. Wakefield had an awful time getting the Wolfmen out of there.  In the first evening the first six batter all reached base including two runs scored via walks.  Once again Piazza knocked in the first run.  In the 2^nd featuring a two run shot by the Pizza Man, Skokie forged ahead 6-0, a repeat of game 1.  Edmonds stealing a rare base, then scored on a ground ball by Wilson for a 7-0 lead in the 3^rd.  Finally in the 5^th, the Wendigos came to life and knocked out L. Hudson who was sailing along.  The Wendigos scored 4 runs in the bottom of this inning using timely hitting and stolen bases to make the game close at 7-4. The Wolfman thought, “Oh Jesus, (wait I am jewish, Oh Christ, oh God – yes), here we go again with that wildly Dennis and his comebacks …” Anyway, Sherill was brought in and was finally able to shut down the Wendigos in the 5^th.  But the Wendigos can never be counted out.  In the top of the 7^th, super-sub Spiezio, in for defense at first base, hits a towering blast against Weathers to put the Wolfmen back on top by four at 8-4 but in the bottom of the 8^th, Beltran, who has been relatively quiet in the series doubled in a run to make it 8-5.  Going into the 9^th, the Wolfman decides to come in with Mr. Dependable, his ace closer Nathan to seal their first conference championship and to go to the World Series. Once again Lofton knocks in Denorfia for an 8-6 score but then Nathan shuts the Wendigos down the rest of the way and Skokie, unexpectedly and unsureally becomes the 2007 Staub champ. So, the jinx is broken –

… and the Wolfman sheds a tear in joy as finally in his third attempt, he is able to bring his boys to the finals for the CBA championship.  The players know how hard the Wolfman has worked on their behalf over the best few years, via trades and draft picks -- trying to bring together the right group of players – Barry Bonds who is not such an emotional guy, goes up to the chief and gives him a big hug and Clemens, Edmonds, Piazza with the younger players lift the Wolfman high up over the shoulders and carry him out on to the field where the Skokie Fans and even the Limoilou fans pay tribute to this fiery competitor, known for his early day exploits as a strat player and creator of SOM Conventions … this is the first time the Wolfman, since his return to Strat in 2005 is able to be in a league championship series.  The Wolfmen, all bow their head and smile finally happy to help their chief achieve this goal.  So now the question is, do the Wolfmen have what it takes to win it all? Can they beat the hot Philly team which no one seems able to stop?

Analsysis of the Series

For Skokie the key for this series was the middle three games in their home park.  First in game 3 after being down 10-3, that they could almost come back to tie it showed their fans that they have the ability and drive to do the impossible or what it takes to win even under insurable odds.  This could have been a sign to Limoilou of what was to come as Skokie won the final three games.  Then, the come from behind wins in Game 4 and 5 really gave the Wolfmen the momentum they needed especially with the 3 run blast by Grudzalenek in Game 5 .. a surprise and unexpected hero.  All year long the 2B tandem of Valentin and Grudzalenek was a key for the Wolfmen.  In games 1, 4 and 6, the Wolfmen scored 8 runs which they had never done in the past post-season years, so the inability of Limoilou to shut down the hitting of Skokie (via their starters and relief staff) was Limoilou’s undoing.  Also Saito was not able to stop the Wolfmen either in key moments.  Nathan picked up two more saves in this series. 


Hitting stars: Skokie prides itself in that they like to use all of their players and at any time there can be a different Hero.  Piazza certainly was one of the Skokie stars, Valentin and Edmonds did surprising well.  Skokie seemed to be able to come up with a good lineup vs. the Wendigo starters, able to score accept against Schilling who was very tough.  And also the Skokie starters did a great job to hold the explosive Wendigos hitters down to 3 runs or less in four of the six games.  This was also a key factor in the San Diego series and maybe the real reason for Skokie’s success in the post season. The Skokie starters were able to pitch far into the games so the relief staff could be used effectively.  But also what happened in the three games (two with San Diego and once with Limoilou) where the starter was knocked out early as the pitching staff was bombed, showed a glaring weakness that Skokie has to figure out. Anyway, the starting staff had become a kind of strength in the post season and was key to why Skokie had a chance to win it all.  Including the San Diego series, the Skokie starting pitchers gave 8 quality starts out of the 12 games played.  But as stated before, Wang went 3-1 along with great starts by Clemens (2), L. Hudson (2) and one good start by T. Hudson in game 5.

There is no doubt the key two games of the series were Game 3 with the comeback by Skokie plus the dramatic 8^th inning home run by Grudzalenek in Game 5.  As we saw in Game 1 and Game 6, if Skokie goes out to a big lead, its really hard to catch them as they will bring in their good relievers and defense late to preserve their lead.

Heilman also had a great series for the Wolfmen as he gave up no runs in relief.  As a team the Wolfmen hit 11 homers in the six games.  So perhaps what is proven is that if you have a team with speed versus a team with sluggers, the team with sluggers can still score more effectively and quickly. 

One of the things Skokie desperately tried to improve upon for 2007 was to have more hitters with a good on-base percentage as there are many Strat managers who believe this is one of the keys for success.  Anyway, this was not an easy series at all – games 4-6 could have gone the other way too.

We wish to salute the whole organization at Limoilou and also hats off to Jeff Boutet for a great season and building a championship team.  Coming into this series we did not expect an easy time and it was a real battle.  We weren’t able to fully relax until the final out of Game 6.  A special acknowledgement to Dennis Concepcion as the very worthy and capable proxy manager for Limoilou.  Having played Dennis live via Netplay on a number of occasions, he always has the ability to orchestrate comebacks.  This is why he is one of the former champions of the CBA in 2005.  He had us nervous all the time and he propensity to hit and run can drive anyone insane.  Dennis did a great job to manage Limoilou and make the series another memorable one in the history of the CBA.

Finally, I have to admit, when the season started I really didn’t believe we could be competitive enough in the playoffs as there were so many strong teams in our league.  We had a lot of holes to fill at the start of the season.  I wasn’t sure playing with Bonds and Piazza, who are poor defensively, that this could work or if Chipper’s defense would also hurt us.  But Bonds (even in a bad year for him) can help any team and Piazza (we tried to get Posada from Allentown originally – on foresight was this a blessing from God it didn’t work out?) was really the only catcher we could come up with as Matheny had an injured season. Also picking up Chipper Jones to solidify us at 3B was a gamble of sorts with his defense but we knew his bat would do well in Skokie park and that he is the type of player that can quickly put the other team out of the game.  Although Chipper didn’t have the numbers we hoped for during the season, his grand slam in game 4 was crucial to the Skokie success.

Sometimes as a SOM manager you have to go with your hunches. You have to try your best to field the best team you can and see which players might be available.  I observed in the Star Tournaments that the people with the championship teams generally went with good hitting teams with poor defense at the corners.  So in the 2007 version of the Skokie Wolfmen, with starting pitcher hard to find we tried our version of this.  While we didn’t have any hitters who set the league on fire individually, I feel collectively we were able to put together a good combination of players that could be competitive against any type of pitcher and could support each other.

Skokie’s philosophy is we like to use every player we have and to platoon.  To use each player  to their highest potential.  And I think via the post-season you can see how this can make a huge difference.  You never know who will be the hero (Game 1 victory – Piazza and Wang; Game 4 victory – Jones;  Game 5 victory – Grudzalenek; Game 6 victory – Piazza but a team effort really)

So it’s a good feeling to finally be there for the World Series, as you never know when you can get this chance again.  Now lets look briefly at the final 2007 CBA Matchup between the Fantastics of Philly and the Wolfmen of Skokie.

The World Series – will it be the 2^nd Championship for Philly or will 2007 be the HOWL of the Wolfmen??

In my opinion, there are a lot of similarities between Philly and Skokie.  Both teams struggled during the season with their pitching but had success to overcome this via their ability to score runs and hit the long ball.  Philly finished with a better season record (by five games) and play a bit more balanced as they won both on the road and at home. Skokie had more trouble winning on the road.  Philly was the 2^nd best hitting team in the league and 3^rd in runs scored with Skokie 4^th (but Skokie didn’t have the DH accept for inter-conference games).  Skokie was 2^nd in Home Runs and Philly was fourth.  If Skokie has an edge, it will be that they have a slightly better pitching staff which doesn’t give up the long ball.

It is said in a short series, it is usually decided by pitching when all else is equal.  To get to the playoffs Philly won their last 5 season games.  In the playoffs they demolished Brooklyn, the favorite to win it all in 5 games and shutdown the Brooklyn scoring machine. Verse the former CBA champions, the Redbirds they constantly came from behind with late inning heroics.  Definitely Philly has momentum and in all sports, who has the momentum generally wins. 

Although Skokie is more of a hitting team, in the playoffs they won also due to quality starts and their ability to score runs (Skokie was shutout once but in all the other games they scored 3 runs or more, scoring 8 or more runs five times for which they were 4-1 in those games). 

Skokie hasn’t faced many left handed starters as their lineup is stronger verse right handed pitchers and Philly will have two lefties facing Skokie.  Philly has some good base speed, will they be able to take advantage of Piazza’s arm and Skokie’s inability to hold runners on base? Will the fielding at the corners be Skokie’s undoing.  Can Skokie stop the Philly sluggers of Berkman, Lee, Utley, Rolen, Thames?

Will Philly be able to hit Skokie’s starters and score runs or blow out their relief.  Can the Philly starters stop Skokie from scoring early or hitting so many home runs? 

As always, it just depends which team is the hottest. On paper even though Philly had a better record, Skokie might be a slight favorites due to their pitching.  But Brooklyn and Indiana had better pitching then Philly and they couldn’t stop them so it might mean nothing.

This one is a hard one to call.  It should be a very close series.  So we will have to see if the CBA might have a new champion manager or if Philly, after losing a heartbreaker to Longue Point in 2005 in 7 games can rebound and take their second CBA championship.  Only the Strat Gods know what will happen.  In any case, it should be another nail-bitter, exciting series to highlight the excitement found within the CBA.  Stay tuned!!

Flash =- Skokie Reporter

late this evening -- as game six was underway
in the classic Skokie - Limoilou series

Skokie was out for revenge after losing (when in
Montreal) in seven games to the Wendigos

well Skokie started out as a house  on fire
, the Piazza man again showing the league
why he is the Skokie VP

Skokie led 7-0 after 3 and held on for an
8-6 win Piazza 2 run shot and 3 RBIs leading
Skokie to their first appearance in the World Series

after 3 years of trying -- and a very hard fought
series with Limoilou Skokie is prepared to
represent the Carter Conference and see
if they can bring the CBA crown back to Carter

they now wait to see who they will face

So the new from Limoilou, there is a new
face in the series .... who would have believed
Skokie, who struggled all year long betting on
their aged veterans could do it??

It shows when it comes to the playoffs
a teams record doesn't mean anything

now the question is, can the Wolfmen
handle the big bats of Staub??

stay tuned

The people in Skokie are shouting
from their homes this night

Wolfmen - Wolfmen - Wolfmen - Wolfmen

To conclude we had a word with the
Skokie Wolfman

Wolfman, what was the keys for your team
to make it to the Series this year?

Wolfman: Well in the past two years we had
problem scoring in the playoffs -- so we decided
this year to go after the veteran big bombers
(Piazza, Bonds, Jones -- also Spiezio came through
in the  clutch, hit a key homer for us today) and between
these four guys they over 100 homers for us as we
set  a club record

we hoped even though defensively this would be
a deficit that our hitting and good defense and
relief could hold us late and that is what  happened
in our champion game today

Nathan with the save -- well he's great that is
why we grabbed him last year and although he
gave up the 2 run homer to Suzuki last week
in game 7, this year he redeemed himself

but who really came through this year
was the Pizza Man, we had a big whole at
catcher and although we gave up a lot of
stolen bases, Piazza did the job -- we give
him the MVP to get us to the series
with 4 Homers and 13 RBIs in 12 games

When we started this season I was
sure we could finally win the division but
in the other division were three very very
good teams -- I think after beating both
San Diego and Limoilou in 6 games
we showed what we are capable of.

But even though we finally made to the series
we got a big job -- if we don't win it then the
season means nothing and whether Philly
or Indy win, they both got big sticks over
there -- so it will take a great job of manuever
to do it.  We expect Wang to go in game 1
followed by the Rocket in Game 2 and then
we see from there

the other key for us was our starters who had
a lot of challenges in the season came through
-- yes we got blown out a few games but overall
they did a great job and the trade for Wang
during mid-season was the reason we are here,
we needed one more quality starter and although
we had to give up Hill who is going to be a premier
pitcher one day -- we had to take the chance

also Delucci and Gambi helped us with 21 HRs, 60 RBIs
together in 300 AB.

so we tried to make the right moves, tried to have
the right squad to compete in the playoffs and it really
worked out.

I am not sure if this is the best squad we have had
in the 3 years but at playoff time it is more about
momentum and our boys are ready to give the
call of the Wolfmen --- Ha---ooooh!!!!

OK Fellows, we got work to do to see who we
will face in the series -- we don't expect a cake walk
at all -- the key again will be pitching and both teams
have probably better starters then us (who we could face)

good night and lets see  if this is the  year of the Wolfmen

===================================

so that is the report from Limoilou as finally Skokie
breaks the jinx and for the first time heads for the
CBA World Series ... can they do it?

Let us know who you are rooting for!!
 

BOXSCORE: 2007 Skokie Wolfmen At 2007 Limoilou Wendigo 10/4/2007

[1] Wolfmen AB R H RBI AVG Wendigo AB R H RBI AVG
G.Matthews Jr RF 4 1 0 0 .345 J.Bartlett SS 2 0 1 0 .381
M.Grudzielanek 2B 5 2 1 0 .333 D-J.Barfield 2B 2 0 0 0 .600
B.Bonds LF 1 1 0 0 .111 K.Lofton RF 4 1 2 0 .364
A-M.Bradley LF 2 1 1 0 .200 C.Beltran CF 3 0 0 0 .185
M.Piazza C 5 2 3 4 .333 J-C.Granderson PH 1 1 1 0 .333
H-M.Matheny C 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Thome 1B 4 1 2 3 .313
C.Shelton 1B 2 0 0 0 .333 T.Glaus 3B 4 0 1 0 .308
E-J.Giambi PH 1 0 0 0 .133 B.Hall LF 4 0 0 0 .167
F-S.Spiezio 1B 0 0 0 0 .250 E.German 2B 1 0 0 0 .182
C.Jones 3B 2 0 0 0 .375 C-F.Lopez PH,SS 3 0 1 0 .200
B-R.Aurilia 3B 2 0 1 1 .143 R.Hernandez C 3 0 0 0 .083
J.Edmonds CF 4 1 3 3 .391 J.Schmidt P 2 0 0 0 .000
J.Wilson SS 4 0 1 0 .190 J.Walker P 1 0 0 0 .000
G-J.Valentin PH 1 0 0 0 .188 C.Ray P 0 0 0 0 ----
I-C.Izturis SS 0 0 0 0 .400 R.Betancourt P 0 0 0 0 ----
C.Wang P 3 0 0 0 .000
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
[1] Totals 36 8 10 8 Totals 34 3 8 3

A-Subbed Defensively (LF) For Bonds In 4th Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (3B) For Jones In 5th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For German In 5th Inning
D-Subbed Defensively (2B) For Bartlett In 6th Inning
E-Pinch Hit For Shelton In 7th Inning
F-Subbed Defensively (1B) For Giambi In 7th Inning
G-Pinch Hit For Wilson In 9th Inning
H-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Piazza In 9th Inning
I-Subbed Defensively (SS) For Valentin In 9th Inning
J-Pinch Hit For Beltran In 9th Inning

Wolfmen......... 3 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 - 8 10 0
Wendigo......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 - 3 8 1

[1]Wolfmen (5-2) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET
C.Wang WIN(2-1) 9 8 3 3 0 2 1 109 5.87 A1
[1]Totals 9 8 3 3 0 2 1

[1]Wendigo (4-3) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET
J.Schmidt LOSS(2-1) 6 1/3 7 7 6 4 3 1 122 4.66 A1 D4
J.Walker 1 2/3 1 0 0 1 2 0 15 0.00 D5 E2
C.Ray 0 2/3 1 1 1 1 0 1 17 11.57 E3 E6
R.Betancourt 0 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 6 0.00 E7
[1]Totals 9 10 8 7 6 6 2

ATTENDANCE- 50,429 DATE- Thursday, October 4th 2007 TIME- Day WEATHER- Average
UMPIRES- Gary Darling, Lazaro Diaz, Derryl Cousins, Fieldin Culbreath
T- 3:15
LEFT ON BASE- Wolfmen: 9 Wendigo: 4
DOUBLE PLAYS- Wolfmen: 1 Wendigo: 0
ERRORS- E.German
DOUBLES- R.Aurilia(1st), T.Glaus(1st)
HOME RUNS- M.Piazza(3rd), J.Edmonds(3rd), J.Thome(2nd)
STOLEN BASES- M.Bradley(1st)
SACRIFICE HITS- C.Wang
WALKS- G.Matthews Jr, B.Bonds-2, S.Spiezio, C.Jones, J.Edmonds
HIT BY PITCH- C.Shelton
STRIKE OUTS- B.Bonds, M.Piazza, J.Giambi, C.Jones, J.Valentin, C.Wang, J.Thome,
J.Schmidt

Chien-Ming Wang tossed a complete game at Minute Maid Field where the Skokie
Wolfmen beat the Limoilou Wendigo by the score of 8 to 3.

Mike Piazza was a seemingly constant irritant to the hometown fans as he
provided much of the offense for the visitors. He smacked a single plating a
run in the 1st inning, lined a one-base hit bringing in two baserunners in
the 2nd inning and smashed a solo-shot out of the park (his 3rd of the
season) in the 9th inning. Skokie banged out 10 on the afternoon.

Wang(2-1) was the winner allowing 3 runs for the game. Jason Schmidt(2-1)
suffered the loss. He gave up 7 runs in 6 and 1/3 innings of work.

BOXSCORE: 2007 Skokie Wolfmen At 2007 Limoilou Wendigo 10/5/2007

[1] Wolfmen AB R H RBI AVG Wendigo AB R H RBI AVG
G.Matthews Jr RF 4 0 1 0 .333 J.Bartlett SS 2 0 1 0 .391
J.Valentin 2B 4 0 0 0 .150 A-J.Barfield PH,2B 2 0 0 0 .500
B.Bonds LF 4 0 0 0 .091 K.Lofton RF 3 1 1 0 .360
C.Jones 3B 4 0 0 0 .321 E-C.Denorfia RF 0 0 0 0 .000
M.Piazza C 3 0 1 0 .333 C.Beltran CF 3 0 0 0 .167
J.Giambi 1B 2 0 0 0 .118 J.Thome 1B 2 0 1 1 .333
J.Edmonds CF 3 0 1 0 .385 T.Glaus 3B 4 1 1 1 .300
J.Wilson SS 3 0 0 0 .167 B.Hall LF 4 1 1 1 .179
L.Hudson P 2 0 0 0 .200 E.German 2B 2 0 0 0 .154
C-C.Shelton PH 0 0 0 0 .333 B-F.Lopez SS 1 0 0 0 .167
D-D.Dellucci PH 1 0 0 0 .000 R.Hernandez C 4 0 1 0 .107
A.Heilman P 0 0 0 0 ---- C.Schilling P 3 0 0 0 .250
T.Saito P 0 0 0 0 .000
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
[1] Totals 30 0 3 0 Totals 30 3 6 3

A-Pinch Hit For Bartlett In 5th Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (SS) For German In 6th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Hudson In 8th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Shelton In 8th Inning
E-Subbed Defensively (RF) For Lofton In 9th Inning

Wolfmen......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 3 0
Wendigo......... 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 - 3 6 0

[1]Wolfmen (5-3) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET
L.Hudson LOSS(1-1) 7 6 3 3 5 6 2 126 2.25 A1 D5
A.Heilman 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0.00 D6
[1]Totals 8 6 3 3 5 6 2

[1]Wendigo (5-3) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET
C.Schilling WIN(2-1) 7 1/3 2 0 0 2 8 0 86 3.37 A1 C8
T.Saito SAVE(3rd) 1 2/3 1 0 0 1 3 0 27 1.50 C9
[1]Totals 9 3 0 0 3 11 0

ATTENDANCE- 46,135 DATE- Friday, October 5th 2007 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average
UMPIRES- Jocko Conlon, Bruce Froemming, Brian Gorman, Jeff Nelson
T- 3:04
LEFT ON BASE- Wolfmen: 6 Wendigo: 8
DOUBLE PLAYS- Wolfmen: 0 Wendigo: 0
DOUBLES- J.Edmonds(1st)
HOME RUNS- T.Glaus(3rd), B.Hall(3rd)
STOLEN BASES- R.Hernandez(1st)
WALKS- M.Piazza, J.Giambi-2, K.Lofton, C.Beltran, J.Thome-2, F.Lopez
STRIKE OUTS- G.Matthews Jr, J.Valentin, B.Bonds, C.Jones-2, J.Giambi,
J.Edmonds-2, J.Wilson, L.Hudson, D.Dellucci, T.Glaus-2, B.Hall,
E.German, R.Hernandez, C.Schilling
PASSED BALLS- M.Piazza
WEB GEMS- Bot 8th: Jack Wilson robbed Ramon Hernandez of a base hit.

Curt Schilling pitched 7 and one third strong innings at Minute Maid Field
where the Limoilou Wendigo beat the Skokie Wolfmen 3 to 0.

Limoilou jumped on top to stay in the 2nd inning scoring one runner. That was
all the runs Schilling(2-1) needed. For the game Limoilou out-hit Skokie 6
to 3.

Takashi Saito was credited with his 3rd save. Luke Hudson(1-1) took the loss.
He pitched 7 innings giving up 6 hits and 5 walks.
 

BOXSCORE: 2007 Limoilou Wendigo At 2007 Skokie Wolfmen 10/7/2007

[1] Wendigo AB R H RBI AVG Wolfmen AB R H RBI AVG
J.Barfield 2B 5 0 0 1 .353 G.Matthews Jr RF 5 1 1 2 .316
K.Lofton RF 5 2 2 0 .367 J.Valentin 2B 5 1 3 4 .240
C.Beltran CF 2 2 1 0 .188 C.Jones 3B 5 0 0 0 .273
J.Thome 1B 2 2 1 3 .350 B.Bonds LF 4 0 0 0 .077
T.Glaus 3B 3 2 1 3 .303 J.Giambi 1B 2 2 1 1 .158
M.Murton LF 5 0 2 3 .273 M.Piazza C 3 1 0 0 .303
F.Lopez SS 5 0 1 0 .182 J.Edmonds CF 3 2 1 2 .379
R.Hernandez C 5 1 2 0 .152 J.Wilson SS 4 1 1 0 .179
J.Johnson P 4 1 1 0 .167 R.Clemens P 1 0 0 0 .167
D.Weathers P 0 0 0 0 ---- A-D.Dellucci PH 0 0 0 0 .000
T.Saito P 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Heilman P 0 0 0 0 ----
J.Rheinecker P 1 0 0 0 .000
B-S.Spiezio PH 0 1 0 0 .250
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
[1] Totals 36 10 11 10 Totals 33 9 7 9

A-Pinch Hit For Clemens In 5th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Rheinecker In 9th Inning

Wendigo......... 0 0 2 0 3 5 0 0 0 - 10 11 0
Wolfmen......... 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 5 - 9 7 2

[1]Wendigo (6-3) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET
J.Johnson WIN(1-1) 8 2/3 5 6 6 4 11 2 125 5.17 A1 D8
D.Weathers 0 1 2 2 1 0 0 6 18.00 D9 E1
T.Saito SAVE(4th) 0 1/3 1 1 1 0 1 1 4 2.84 E2
[1]Totals 9 7 9 9 5 12 3

[1]Wolfmen (5-4) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET
R.Clemens LOSS(1-1) 5 5 5 4 4 1 1 96 3.27 A1 C7
A.Heilman 0 2/3 3 5 5 2 0 0 29 7.11 C8 D5
J.Rheinecker 3 1/3 3 0 0 0 0 0 58 10.38 D6
[1]Totals 9 11 10 9 6 1 1

ATTENDANCE- 47,759 DATE- Sunday, October 7th 2007 TIME- Day WEATHER- Good
UMPIRES- Ted Barrett, Wally Bell, Joe Brinkman, C.B. Buckner
T- 3:41
LEFT ON BASE- Wendigo: 9 Wolfmen: 3
DOUBLE PLAYS- Wendigo: 1 Wolfmen: 0
ERRORS- G.Matthews Jr, C.Jones
DOUBLES- K.Lofton(3rd), M.Murton(2nd), G.Matthews Jr(8th), J.Wilson(3rd)
HOME RUNS- J.Thome(3rd), J.Valentin(2nd), J.Giambi(2nd), J.Edmonds(4th)
STOLEN BASES- K.Lofton(3rd), T.Glaus(1st), F.Lopez(1st), R.Hernandez(2nd)
CAUGHT STEALING- R.Hernandez
SACRIFICE FLIES- J.Barfield, T.Glaus
WALKS- C.Beltran-2, J.Thome-2, T.Glaus, J.Johnson, J.Giambi, M.Piazza,
J.Edmonds, D.Dellucci, S.Spiezio
HIT BY PITCH- C.Beltran, J.Thome, J.Giambi
STRIKE OUTS- J.Barfield, G.Matthews Jr, J.Valentin-2, C.Jones-2, B.Bonds-2,
J.Edmonds-2, J.Wilson, R.Clemens, J.Rheinecker
GIDP- C.Jones
WEB GEMS- Top 7th: Jack Wilson robbed Josh Barfield of a base hit.

Josh Johnson mowed down 11 Skokie batters as the Limoilou Wendigo beat the
Skokie Wolfmen by a score of 10 to 9.

Johnson(1-1) pitched a solid game. He was reached for 5 hits and 4 walks in 8
and 2/3 innings and served up 2 'big flies'. Skokie had a chance in the 9th
but they came up short.

Takashi Saito recorded the save, his 4th. Roger Clemens(1-1) was the loser.
'Everything felt great' Johnson said. 'I had a good fastball, I felt I could
throw it by everybody today.'
 

BOXSCORE: 2007 Limoilou Wendigo At 2007 Skokie Wolfmen 10/8/2007

[1] Wendigo AB R H RBI AVG Wolfmen AB R H RBI AVG
K.Lofton RF 4 1 3 1 .412 G.Matthews Jr RF 4 0 0 0 .286
J.Barfield 2B 4 0 0 0 .286 J.Valentin 2B 3 3 2 1 .286
C.Beltran CF 4 1 2 1 .222 B-M.Grudzielanek 2B 0 0 0 0 .333
J.Thome 1B 3 0 1 0 .348 B.Bonds LF 3 2 1 3 .103
T.Glaus 3B 4 0 2 1 .324 C-M.Matheny C 0 0 0 0 .000
B.Hall LF 3 0 0 0 .161 C.Jones 3B 3 1 2 4 .306
G-C.Granderson PH 1 0 0 0 .250 D-R.Aurilia 3B 0 0 0 0 .143
F.Lopez SS 2 0 1 0 .231 M.Piazza C 4 0 3 0 .351
H-C.Iannetta PH 1 0 0 0 .000 A-M.Bradley PR,LF 0 0 0 0 .200
R.Hernandez C 4 1 0 0 .135 J.Giambi 1B 4 0 0 0 .130
J.Schmidt P 2 0 0 0 .000 E-S.Spiezio 1B 0 0 0 0 .250
J.Walker P 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Edmonds CF 4 0 1 0 .364
R.Betancourt P 0 0 0 0 ---- J.Wilson SS 3 1 1 0 .194
F-C.Izturis SS 1 0 0 0 .333
C.Wang P 1 1 0 0 .000
J.Nathan P 1 0 0 0 .000
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
[1] Totals 32 3 9 3 Totals 31 8 10 8

A-Pinch Ran For Piazza In 7th Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (2B) For Valentin In 8th Inning
C-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Bonds In 8th Inning
D-Subbed Defensively (3B) For Jones In 8th Inning
E-Subbed Defensively (1B) For Giambi In 8th Inning
F-Subbed Defensively (SS) For Wilson In 8th Inning
G-Pinch Hit For Hall In 9th Inning
H-Pinch Hit For Lopez In 9th Inning

Wendigo......... 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 3 9 0
Wolfmen......... 1 0 0 0 0 2 5 0 - 8 10 0

[1]Wendigo (6-4) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET
J.Schmidt LOSS(2-2) 6 1/3 8 5 5 2 5 2 114 5.26 A1 D1
J.Walker 0 2 3 3 2 0 1 13 16.20 D2 D5
R.Betancourt 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 0.00 D6
[1]Totals 8 10 8 8 4 5 3

[1]Wolfmen (6-4) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET
C.Wang WIN(3-1) 7 2/3 9 3 3 2 4 0 108 5.28 A1 D4
J.Nathan 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 2 0 15 0.00 D5
[1]Totals 9 9 3 3 2 6 0

ATTENDANCE- 49,264 DATE- Monday, October 8th 2007 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average
UMPIRES- Fieldin Culbreath, Gary Darling, Lazaro Diaz, Derryl Cousins
T- 2:43
LEFT ON BASE- Wendigo: 5 Wolfmen: 4
DOUBLE PLAYS- Wendigo: 1 Wolfmen: 2
DOUBLES- M.Piazza(3rd)
HOME RUNS- J.Valentin(3rd), B.Bonds(2nd), C.Jones(2nd)
STOLEN BASES- K.Lofton(4th)
SACRIFICE HITS- J.Schmidt, C.Wang
WALKS- J.Thome, F.Lopez, J.Valentin, B.Bonds, C.Jones, C.Wang
STRIKE OUTS- J.Barfield, T.Glaus, B.Hall, R.Hernandez, J.Schmidt-2,
G.Matthews Jr-2, J.Valentin, J.Edmonds-2
GIDP- T.Glaus, R.Hernandez, J.Giambi
WILD PITCHES- J.Schmidt

Chipper Jones cleared three ducks from a very crowded pond with a grand slam
at Citizen's Bank Park where the Skokie Wolfmen beat the Limoilou Wendigo by
the score of 8 to 3.

Chien-Ming Wang(3-1) had a solid outing for Skokie. He allowed 9 hits and 2
walks in 7 and 2/3 innings. Skokie had a total of 10 hits for the game.

The losing pitcher was Jason Schmidt(2-2). Josh Shapiro was just happy to get
a win, 'We've had such a bad streak of games -- boy, it's great to get the
monkey off our back. Now maybe we can relax a little and play the kind of
baseball of which we are capable.'