Scoring, round 2.

Last night I made a second attempt a scoring a ballgame during the series finale between the Yankees and the Jays. My scorecard can be found here. I used a different card that was much more detailed and I included hitting charts for each at bat. Last night's attempt was better than my first, but I did make one small mistake. This particular scorecard included pitch counts for each pitcher in the form of strikes-total. I mistakenly did not score each hit toward the pitcher's strike count, as it should have been. So, on my card, strike counts for the starters are off, but I did start scoring properly for all relievers.

There were a few things that I didn't like about the card: my entries for pitch counts were in a much too small font and were incorrectly placed for triple digit numbers; and the pitcher statistics did not include hits allowed or runs (earned runs was on there but I find it interesting to see how many runs crossed the plate while a particular pitcher was on the mound as well). I modified the card to fix these issues and I also added a 'game stats' and a 'game notes' section at the bottom of the score card; the former to include things like team records, winning, losing, and save pitchers; and the latter to include additional information about the game, e.g ejections, balks, et cetera.

Going to try the new card out for tonight's game. Hopefully the R and ER entries are large enough for Rzepczynski.

Happy trails to you, 'till we meet again.

Yesterday, in an attempt to seek a replacement for Danny Heatley, the Ottawa Senators signed unrestricted free agent Alexi Kovalev to a two year $10 million deal. Despite the rally waged by Canadiens fans on Sunday, Bob Gainey decided to not even negotiate a new contract with the right winger.

Good fucking riddance.

Kovalev has some type of magical power that makes people not care that he's a fucking bum. News flash, Kovalev is a fucking bum. Alexei Kovalev is a brilliant hockey player—27% of the time. Alexei Kovalev is the most skilled player in the NHL—if you don't count 73% of games where he's more useless than tits on a nun. Alex Kovalev brings veteran leadership to the dressing room—if you don't consider his lack of heart, tenacity, and dedication.

My favourite Kovalev moment had to be in the '04 playoffs when he was slashed by Travis Greene, grabbed his wrist like he'd been shot, proceeded to then run into Sourey creating a breakaway on which Boston scored and eventually won the game. Not the first time Kovalev feigned and injury in the playoffs:

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Happy trails to you number 27. Take your $10 million to the bank.

Jason Frason explained

Jason Frasor stared the season as the Jays' best and most consistent relief arm. Through April and May, Frasor boasted a minuscule ERA, a very respectable WHIP and rock-solid dependability. However, Frasor's numbers began to slide around the end of May and have continued on a downward trend.

This was very puzzling to me, so I decided to do some research. I believe the key to Frasor's demise is best illustrated in graphical form:



I have concluded that Jason Frasor's collapse can be directly correlated to being picked up by team Neverland Lost Boys (by owner Joseph Van der Jagt) on May 20 in my fantasy baseball league. In a league that rewards innings pitched, wins, and saves, Jason Frasor had no idea how to contribute. This confusion clearly lead to Frasor's performance plummeting into oblivion. There was one bright spot; an injury to Scott Downs gave Frasor a glimmer of hope: he could contribute in the save category. This bliss was short lived, as Frasor realized he was by no means a closer.

Fuck you Van der Jagt; it's science, and you can't argue with science.