Round 2 and Extra Innings! (8/26 update)

Before we get rolling with the tournament, I wanted to provide a link to the entry I wrote regarding my first Indians ballgame: http://poppedinmyhead.blogspot.com/2008/08/1st-tribe-game.html. The game started off an hour and a half late due to a rain delay. Before the rain delay, Nashville Star winner Melissa Lawson sang the National Anthem! It was great! The Rangers came out and withing the first few innings had racked up a sizable lead after scoring 6 runs in one inning. But, the Tribe came back and scored 6 of their own! Then, late in the game, the Indians grabbed another run and held on to win! Now, THAT'S how to spend the first game you see of your favorite team! :-) I took a lot of pics, and not just Tribers. After all, when you've got Hamilton, Blalock, Young, and the other Ranger heroes, you HAVE to capture those guys, too! My kids had blast, and the woman in front of us threw her guts up. Does it get any better than that? (Pics are here)

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We've got quite a tournament going on here! One game is still in first round action, as we enter the bottom of the fourth inning. We also have two Round Two games getting under way tonight. Don't go anywhere folks, We Live For This! :-) (to borrow from the MLB...)

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Round 1, Match 5 - Erin and Voltaire have battled hard with Erin's Orioles fighting to bring the game to a tie. So far, she hasn't been able to push past the tie, but her team has not given up yet. Voltaire is ready to bat and bring in the run that will take his team to the next round of play. Let's see what happens!

Erin's pitcher readies herself to take on Number 15. She looks tired, but hopefully still has plenty of gas left to go the distance. She throws, and the batter pops the ball up to the shortstop for the first out. Can the Brewers get one passed the Orioles? Number 16 thinks he can do it. The pitcher delivers and this one is sent high into the air to the center fielder - another pop out recorded. Two down and Number 30 steps up to the plate. Can he keep things alive in extra innings, or will he give Erina another shot at breaking the tie? He swings. The ball rockets toward right and drops in there. The batter rounds second as the fielder misplays the ball. Coming in to third, the batter slides in there for a triple!

Two outs, a runner in scoring position, and the Brewers are on the verge of winning the game! Can they do it? All Erin can do is hope that Voltaire doesn't pick an advancing spot. Brewers fans are on their feet. The Orioles fans who have made the trip here are waving their orange towels.

Voltaire keeps the inning alive with that triple! Pick three more players: 01, 02, 03, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32

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In the second round, players can choose to keep the same team that got 'em here or they choose to play as another team. Tot choice is theirs completely!

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Round 2, Game 1 - Chris(M) vs. Joey - Chris(M) decides to break out the big guns early in hopes to lead things off to a powerful start. Joey has no intentions of letting anything major happen here, so when Number 24 (Willie Mays) steps up, the pitcher doesn't even bat an eye. He hauls off three perfectly placed pitches and gets Twenty-Four hitting nothing but air, striking out the batter in one fell swoop. Joey's hometown fans erupt in approval. Unwavering, Chris(M) chooses Number 8 (Joe Morgan) to face the pitcher next. This pitcher is on FIRE! In just three more pitches, he sends Number Nine back to the dugout on three strikes. That's six strikes on six pitches. Two down and Number 23 (Tito Fuentes) comes in to get things started for his team. HOLY SMOKES! Three more pitches and this batter is sent packing. Three up and three down - nine strikes in nine pitches! Could this pitcher be heading for a no-no?? He's got two more innings to try, and Chris(M) has two more innings to shut it down.

Joey, your boys are up to bat in the first inning. Pick any of the 32 spots EXCEPT for 8, 23, and 24.

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Round 2, Match 2 - Madding vs. Dayf - In a pre-game interview, Madding let it out that he'll be using a "Cardinalcentric" selection method for his batters. Now that the players can choose their teams, it seems evident that he'll choose to be the Cardinals in this round. But, you never know... As we wait to see which uniform his players put on, Madding picks Number 8 (Troy Glaus) to lead things off. Glaus smacks the ball to the wall, churning out a stand-up double. Dayf's defense is unphased by the opening hit as they prepare for the next batter. In Madding's own words, the next player up is "5 (duh)." Can Number Five move that runner? The pitcher just can't find the plate with Pujols standing there, and he walks him. That's now runners on the corners with no one out. I'm thinking Dayf likes to build the suspense. Let's hope it doesn't come back to haunt him. Madding sends up Number 11 (Jose Oquendo) to see if he can be the first to show some points on the board. The pitcher shakes his head, gives the batter a smirk, and promptly sends the batter down swinging.

We've got one out and two runners on base (1st and 3rd) in the top of the first inning.

Madding, with only one out, you've got more players to pick! Choose from any of the 32 spots EXCEPT 5, 8, or 11.

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Round 2, Match 3 - ChrisB has his team warming up as they wait to see what happens in the last game of Round 1. Or maybe his players are in the clubhouse having drinks. I'm not sure which...

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Remember, ALL ROUND TWO PLAYERS, please respond, letting me know which team you'd like your players to represent!

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