SOM Diary: last season opener, first standings

Orioles at Yankees

Game 1: BAL 3, NYY 4
In the third inning, both catchers - both batting ninth - hit solo homers. The game continues to be close. With one out in the seventh, CC Sabathia loads the bases with a double and two HP. The second hit batsman (Pearce) even has to leave the game with an injury. However, Boone Logan can bail out Sabathia with two K's and gets some help from Robertson who keeps the Orioles to just one run in the eigth. Mariano Rivera notches his first save of the season with  clean 1-2-3 ninth.

Game 2: BAL 3, NYY 4 - Defense and bullpens decide

Both starters are solid and give up one rub each, both bullpens give up the close lead at some point. Defensive heroics keep it close (Nix with a barehanded play on a ball that deflected off Kuroda, Jones with a catch on the warning track closing in on the wall in left center, the Yankees with two double plays, JJ Hardy with a couple of highlight plays on short).

Mariano shows that he is back with the second save in as many days, albeit giving up a walk and a single on the way.

Game 3: BAL 12, NYY 8 - Down, but not out

Once again, both starters start with a few innings of solid one-run ball, scattering occasional hits and runs but not allowing any big innings. The Orioles don't play spotless defense, though - Davis lets a ball get past him on a botched backhand play for an unearned run.

Bottom of the fourth, Hammel does get into trouble, loading the bases with one out and conceding a total of five runs (incl. a two RBI single from Cano and  three run homer from Ichiro) before Tommy Hunter gets Baltimore out of the inning with a three pitch strikeout to Jayson Nix.

The Orioles' chances don't improve when Markakis is hit by a pitch and injures his ankle. However, they start a rally with a three run homer from Jones and chase Pettite from the game in the sixth. With Mariano unavailable after two straight saves, Robertson tries but fails to bring it home, giving up the tying runs.

With the game in extra innings, both bullpens run out of available relievers. Adam Warren breaks first, giving up four runs in the top of the eleventh after 2.1 solid innings. TJ McFarland gets the win with two scoreless innings after Jim Johnson kept the Orioles in the game with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Although they're basically meaningless, here are the first standings after three games:

AL West
OAK 2-1
SEA 2-1
LAA 1-2
TEX 1-2

AL Central
DET 3-0
KC    2-1
MIN 1-2
CLE 0-3

AL East
NYY 2-1
BOS 2-1
TB    1-2
BAL  1-2

Laura's Konfirmationserinnerung

Hallo alle, die nicht Laura heißen und 2014 in Deizisau konfirmiert wurde: dieser Post ist nicht direkt für Euch gedacht, Ihr dürft aber trotzdem gucken ;)

Hallo liebe Laura,

ich habe bei Deiner Konfirmation den Umschlag mit der Aufgabe gezogen, Dich im Juli an Deine Konfirmation zu erinnern. Ich möchte das gerne mit bewegten Bildern tun, daher mache ich es per Internet und nicht per Brief auf Papier (na ja, obwohl eine Postkarte auch eine Rolle dabei spielt, dass Du diesen Post entdeckt hast).

Zwei Links will ich Dir weitergeben, eins ganz allgemein zur Konfirmation: Video 1

Damit ist dann hoffentlich auch die sachliche Aufgabe erledigt, Dir nochmal den Zusammenhang der Konfirmation ins Gedächtnis zu rufen. Übrigens, obwohl der Video sonst eher ruhig und sachlich ist, musste ich einmal leise und einmal laut lachen, hast Du die Stellen auch bemerkt (Stichwort Fragebogen und Sektflasche)?

Und dann hab ich noch ein Link, dass ich allgemein sehr beeindruckend fand - die Tonspur kannst Du ruhig auf lautlos stellen (ist sowieso Englisch), die Bilder sprechen eigentlich für sich: Video 2

Viel Spaß, und viele schöne bleibende Erinnerungen an Deine Konfirmation!

Klaus

SOM Diary: Redsox salvage series at Rays after dropping season opener

Game 1: BOS 3, TB 5 - too many walks...

Boston pitchers give up total of six walks (two of them later turn into runs), 13 hits and five runs. Jon Lester takes the loss with 5 innings pitched, 3 walks, 9 hits, 4 earned runs. David Price has a strong season opener with 7+ innings, giving up 1 run on 8 hits for the win.

Joel Peralta with a 1-2-3 inning for a hold and Rodney with the save bring it home, although Mike Carp comes in as a pinch hitter against the Rays closer and manages to score a double and a run off him.

Ben Zobrist has a field day, going 4 for 5 with a 3 RBI double mixed in. So do Evan Longoria (3 for 4 and a walk), Wil Myers (1 for 3, 2 walks, run) and Sean Rodriguez (starting in left field against the leftie Lester, 3 for 4).

Game 2 BOS 9, TB 7

First innings see great defense, including several heroic feats by Zobrist and an over-the-shoulder catch on the warning track from Ellsbury.

Then the Rays pitching crumbles, as a procession of pitchers fail to do more than get out of a single inning - somehow it's all walks, hits and wild pitches as the Rays pitchers come to the mound after watching their own team bat.

The same disease affects the Redsox bullpen - Miller walks three in his second inning of work, Tazawa closes out the eigth on 2 pitches and then gives up a hit, a steal and a balk to put Zobrist on third.

Nevertheless, the Redsox pull through with Buchholz taking the win and Uehara the first save of the season.

Game 3: BOS 6, TB 5 after 10 innings - Ballpark robbery

Top of the fifth, the Redsox trail the Rays 2-4 and Ellsbury leads off. Ellsbury hits it deep to right field, just over the wall, or does he? No, what an amazing catch by the rightfielder! Joyce jumped up and reached over the wall and to his own surprize came up with the ball, robbing Ellsbury of a homerun by inches (in Stratomatic terms, Ellsbury rolled a 6 on the ballpark chart, just enough to barely scorw a homerun in Tropicana Field, and Joyce rolled the smallest possible number for a 3-rated outfielder to turn the HR into a flyout - can't have it any closer...).

However, next inning Bradley gets sweet revenge for the Redsox, hitting the ball cleanly out of the ballpark towards left field, scoring (of all possible payers) David Ortiz who had doubled to start the sixth.

The late game is a nailbiter, the tie after nine innings is broken up by classic Ortiz with a towering homer, but Miller gives up a double to the Rays' leadoff hitter Desmond Jennings who advances to third on a bobble by Carp in right field. However, Uehara comes in for the second save in two days and summarily dispatches Ben Zobrist (2 for 4 until then) with a three pitch strikeout. Reliever Andrew Bailey takes the win, and James Wright takes the loss from he hands of Big Papi.

SOM Diary: Season opener Oakland A's at Texas Rangers 2:1

The A's take their opening series against the Rangers   with two wins clearly decided by struggling Texas pitching and a loss against Texas stalwart Yu Darvish.

Game 1: Starters bad, bullpens good: A's 7, Rangers 3

OAK 005 110 000 7 10 0 8
TEX 200 100 000 3 6 0 6

Both sides in the OAK-TEX season opener display the same pattern: starters struggling to get through the first innings, giving up hits and runs aplenty, and then solid bullpens taking over and essentially freezing the game in the state after four innings.

The Rangers come out of spring training blazing away on all barrels: Holland has back to back 1-2-3 innings backed by a strong infield, while the Rangers' bats greet AJ Griffin with two solo homers in the first by leadoff Ian Kinsler and short stop Adrian Beltre.

However, in the top of the third the bottom of the A's order hit back with a single from Seth Smith and a two run homer from Derek Norris to tie the game, and the A's continue to hit nearly uninterrupted - Donaldson makes it 5-2 with a three run long ball. Bottom of the third the Rangers continue to hit, loading the bases with one out, but Griffin pitches out of trouble with a forced play 1-2 and a flyout to center. After that the offensive fireworks peter out with just a few single runs being added by either team. The bullpens take over from Holland after 4+ innings and from AJ Griffin after six, and bring the game home without any big shifts in balance anymore.

Game 2: A's 1, Rangers 3

Three solo homers by Beltre, Cruz and Moreland were all it took for the Rangers to get by the A's in the second game of the series.
Rangers starter Yu Darvish got into trouble early and often, loading the bases with no outs in the second and with two outs in the first, but was saved by timely double plays from his defense each time. He allowed one run on six hits, seven strikeouts, five walks and hit one batter in 6.1 innings. Joe Nathan got the save with a clean 1-2-3 ninth.
Jarrod Parker went seven innings for the A's, only allowed six hits and not much else but took the loss as the Rangers made the most of their hits and prevented the A's from scoring after the second inning.

Game 3: Texas pitchers are losing it: A's 9, Rangers 1

The series finale was decided by struggling Rangers pitchers and solid Oakland hitting (9 hits including three doubles, and a homerun from Brandon Moss).
Top of the fourth, Alexi Ogando is struggling with his control: with one out and rightfielder Josh Reddick on first base, catcher Norris is hit by a pitch and has to be replaced by John Jaso; Reddick advances on a flyout to left from Brandon Moss and scores on a wild pitch that also advances Jaso to second. Eric Sogard scores Jaso on an RBI single, steals second, advances to 3rd on another wild pitch and then scores on a balk from Ogando, who then gets out of the inning by inducing a lucky flyout from Coco Crisp.
In the eighth, Ross Wolf comes in for Ogando but fails to record a single out while giving up four runs on three hits and a rare two base fielding error by Texas shortstop Elvis Andrus.

SOM Diary: Opening series Angels@Mariners

Game 1: 4-0 Pitchers' duel in a pitchers' park

LAA 000 010 003 4 7 2 5
SEA 000 000 000 0 2 0 3

Both starters go deep into the game and see several long flyballs picked off just before they leave the ballpark. Iwakuma takes the loss despite  quality start of 7.2 innings, allowing just 3 hits and a run (a solo homer by the catcher Hank Conger) on 4 strikeouts and three walks.

The loss looks higher than it was because the Mariners' bullpen gives up another three runs in the top of the ninth. CJ Wilson pitches eight shutout innings, giving up just one hit and two walks with ten strikeouts for the win. Conger has a field day, going 3 for 4 with a homerun and a double.

Game 2: 6-9 Just the opposite...

LAA 120 021 000 6 12 0 8
SEA 000 251 10- 9 14 0 7

In stark contrast to game 1, both starters struggle. Thanks to better offense and an LA pitching meltdown in the fifth that sees ten batters come to the plate, Felix Hernandez comes out with a win despite giving up all six of the Angels' runs.

Jered Weaver lasts just 4+ innings and leaves a tied game in the fifth, but Hansen fails badly in an attempt to provide long relief, giving up three hits, a walk and two runs in a long fifth to come away with the loss. Tom Wilhelmsen earns a close save, recording the last two outs with back to back K's after walking two.

Both teams get two homeruns. For the Angels, Ianetta and Callaspo hit a homerun each while Hank Conger continues to be on a roll, going 3 for 4 with a walk and missing just a homerun for the cycle.
For the Mariners, Justin Smoak homers in the sixth after hitting into double plays twice in the first and third. Michael Saunders hits 3 for 4 with three RBIs and is just a single shy of hitting for the cycle.

Game 3: Mariners take the series win

LAA 000 200 200 4 11 4 7
SEA 150 000 02- 8 11 0 7

Angels starter Jason Vargas struggled mightily, ans couldn't get out of the second inning after the Mariners hit around and scored six runs (five earned). The Angels' cause wasn't helped by the four errors committed by their defense, although their bullpen was able to stop the bleeding with good performances from Richards and Kohn.

The Mariners sealed their season opening series win with back to back homers from the bottom of their order in the eighth. Hank congers hot streak continues with another homer and a single for a 667/692/1500 triple slash line after three games.

Maibaumaufstellung 2014

Wie schon sein großer Bruder vor drei Jahren, war Jakob dieses Jahr als Viertklässler beim Festumzug zur Maibaumaufstellung in Heidelsheim dabei. Hier ein paar Fotos von diesem schönen Frühlingstag - es ist echt super, in einem Ort zu leben, der groß genug ist, dass es solche Veranstaltungen gibt, und klein genug, dass sie so überschaubar und familiär sind.

Wie immer kann man auf die Bilder klicken um sie größer zu sehen.

Treffpunkt der Viertklässler mit ihren selbstgebastelten Stadtwappen

Die Bürgerwehr kommt zum Treffpunkt marschiert (die Fanfaren und Fahnenschwinger der Feuerwehr wurden gefahren ;)

Es geht los - Fahnenschwinger und Fanfaren vorneweg

die Viertklässler in Stadtfarben (na ja, das mit den gelben Hosen war doch etwas viel verlangt... auch Jakob hätte vermutlich keine angezogen, wenn ihm die Mama nicht eine mit einem BVB-Logo gekauft hätte)

Aufstellung am Marktplatz

Es ist geschafft, der Maibaum steht. Dieses Jahr kleiner als sonst, aber dafür ist das Aufstellen auch keine so wackelige Angelegenheit...

SOM diary: Royals sweep Indians to open their season

Royals sweep Indians 3-0 to start the season

1.5. DET@CLE 2-1: Pitchers' duel decided by homers
Bottom of the third, Chisenhall starts the scoring with a solo homerun. In the fourth, both pitchers put runners on base but manage to pitch put of the jams. Top of the fifth, Omar Infante ties the game with a solo homerun off Masterson, and in the eigth Miguel Cabrera hits the winning homer, again a solo, from reliever Albers who takes the loss.
Verlander tosses seven innings, gives up only one run on five hits, four strikeouts and three walks for the win. Putkonen pitches a scoreless eighth for the Tigers and Benoit notches up the first save of the season despite giving up a run in the ninth. In the bottom of the last of a nailbiter of a season opener, the Tigers get help from a fortunate out as Asdrubal Cabrera is cut down by Avila trying to advance to second on a botched hit and run by Brantley.

2.5. Game 2 of the DET@CLE series saw both starters struggle, Jimenez getting in deep trouble in the first, third and fourth and lucky to escape having given up only three runs. On the other side, Scherzer seemed to be cruising through the first three innings but hit a brick wall in the fourth when the tribe hit around and scored four runs. Jimenez left the game after five and two thirds, and in full synch Scherzer was chased from the game with two outs in the sixth by a solo homerun from Chisenhall.
In the last three innings the Indians bullpen gave up a total of five runs (four earned), the second error from 3rd base man Chisenholm (third error in total) didn't help matters and a solid Tigers bullpen brought home the 8:5 lead with Phil Coke getting the save.
DET 100 200 302 8 12 0 11
CLE 000 401 000 5 9 3 8

3.5. Game 3 Kazmir vs Fister 5-1
Kazmir struggles for 5.2 innings, giving up 11 hits, including three doubles, for four runs. While the Tigers clearly brought their bats to the game, the Indians didn't:  Fister dominates the Cleveland offense, limiting them to one run on two hits with nine Ks and 1 walk over 7.2 innings, and Putkonen gets the final four outs.