NORTH PARK LEAGUE: NPL - 6 Weeks To Go.

Haven’t posted here since before I went on vacation, so let’s take stock of what is going on in the NPL… Has it ever seemed like you’ve been busy, but when you look back, you wonder busy doing what? That’s me. And geez, with two fantasy football drafts just around the corner. Am I ready for football? Heck no. In fact, I don’t even think I could score a 10 on the Wonderlic Test right now. But speaking of football, one of our owners said they were at a wild and crazy Steelers party for the televised game on Saturday night. They e-mailed me a picture from this party, which is posted at the end of this message. But to honor their wishes, they wanted to remain anonymous…

Regarding baseball, I came across this story and it’s one that is worth sharing. As Lanny would say…. “No doubt about it.”…. If you didn’t think PETE ROSE was a Jackass before, you’ll definitely call him that now after reading the story in the link below. What else can you say about an idiot that would spew obscenities during a speech at a youth baseball camp?

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070802/COL05/708020317/1090

And this past week was the 40th anniversary (08-16-67) of The Red Sox TONY CONIGLIARO’s beaning in the face by Jack Hamilton. As a Tony C fan at the age of 13 back then, I remember this very clearly. But just don’t ask me what I had for lunch yesterday! Conigliaro was a superstar in the making who made his major league debut in 1964 at the age of 19. He was never the same after that night in August ’67, and in 1990 at the age of 45 he passed away.

Bizarro Baseball.
Okay, it is a little surprising to see Rajai Davis play like he is for the Giants, although he has escaped the Jim Tracy regime. But what the heck is going on in Baltimore?? Tike Redmon and J.R. House have started games and are contributing to wins over there. Bizarro indeed…

NPL – Down the home stretch…… A team-by-team look….

10th Place: 69’ERS.
The Niners were in 4th place after week #9, and then went into a tailspin that they are now starting to climb out of. Having a good week in period #20, and they are chasing the Bombers for the escape from the cellar. 25 points away from an invasion of The War Room. Says thanks to Harv for Raul Ibanez. In 35 Niner At-Bats he is hitting .485 with 4 HR and 11 RBI. In this wacky season of movement in the standings, it’s not inconceivable that Piff can start a come back.

9th Place: H-BOMBS:

It may have been a sign of things to come when #2 overall pick Chris Carpenter went on the DL early on. With only the 4 extra September moves available and 400 points to gain the top division, it will be a tough task for young Mr. Schoming. But he would still love to pass the Big O. The good news is Miguel Cabrera. At .328 the Florida Marlin is hitting his weight and possibly playing himself into a permanent 1st baseman. Have you seen this kid’s waistline lately?

8th Place: PITTSBURGH O’s:

Brandon Webb is a GOD!!! In this era of pitchers not finishing games, how fortunate is it to have a guy on roll like he is? Webb was selected by Larry in the 3rd round. I took Dice-K just ahead of that pick. Way to go Slappy!! The O’s are making a strong push, and this team is definitely in the hunt for a money spot.

7th Place: KOOPERSTOWN KIDS:

Was solidly in 5th just a week and a half ago, then suddenly the wheels have fallen off. The starting pitching just can’t get it together. In fact, everyone seems to be getting a laugh out of my squad these days.

6th Place: BULLDOGS:

As Tony enjoys Hawaii, Eddie has the Dogs barking. Tony and Ed talked over strategy last week as Eddie rode with Tony to the airport.

Here’s an odd fact….. They’re the #1 team in hitting points and the #10 team in pitching points. Will old timers Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez be able to pull it out for the BD’s? How about Magglio Ordonez? Not taken until the 15th round!

5th Place: LOCKHORNS:

Harv is on that bubble spot of 5th place. It’s been kind of an up and down season for the Horns in 2007 and Harv has had moments where he has cussed out Bucco Jason Bay. Consider that back on June 1st, Bay was hitting .314 while his counterpart in the heart of the order, good ole Adam LaRoche was hitting a paltry .215. As of this morning, Bay is at .254 while Red-Beard is at .259. Harv is going to add Canadians to his ethnic shit list……..

4th Place: ALABAMA SLAMMERS:

The Slammers really turned up the heat a few weeks ago and on August 7th, had come to within 25 points of 1st place. A tough pace to keep up and now Al is trying to catch the Owls for 3rd while holding off Harv, T&E, etc. for 4th. The Slammers used all available moves until September to “get them over with”, as the start of the NFL season looms near. But will this come back to haunt them down the stretch? In any event, great individual seasons by 6th round pick SS Hanley Ramirez who may claim the NL Batting Crown off of Go Freddy Go, and Erik Bedard is looking like the K-King of MLB.

3rd Place: OWLS:

As mentioned in the website story, Mr. Consistent of the NPL in 2007. A definite threat to take a run at the title in ’07. The hitting has been solid all season and John will cross his fingers with the pitching. The Owls have those old Pirate locker room favorites of Kendall and Giles. Has even coaxed 3 HR’s out of Kendall this year and what was going on in week 19? Giles has only 7 HR’s all season, but he hit 5 of them for the Owls in week 19!! I think JF had some of Giles’ favorite steroids shipped to San Diego and Giles thought it was 2001 all over again.

2nd Place: ROCK CATS:

Now that the Cats are back on-line, can we expect a rash of roster moves this Wednesday? Interesting season for the Raven. Held 1st place from week 2 thru 8, then 2nd place from week 10 thru 15, then a dip to 3rd but now back in 2nd. The Rock Cats are all about good starting pitching. They have 6 SP’s who have 10 Wins or more and they lead the NPL in the Wins category. And in a bit of irony, the Cats are last in the Saves category. On the other hand, the Bulldogs are just the opposite. 1st in Saves and last in Wins. Of course, I have no freakin idea what any of that means. It’s just my job to report it.

1st Place: THE BIG TRAIN:

The Train has held the top spot for the last 10 weeks and like the Cats, they have good pitching. J.J. Putz is the 2nd best scoring pitcher in the NPL, with only Brandon Webb ahead of him in points. Like Magglio, Prince Fielder was also not taken until that 15th round. Anything can happen in the final 6 weeks but Bob has got to be sure that Justin Morneau will soon start to hit again. The BT has held on despite a terrible stretch by the 2006 A.L. MVP.

And on an unrelated note, I feel like I jinxed the Big Train’s weekend trip to Altoona…. Earlier this week Bob mentioned they were going to Altoona for the Curve game (Doubleheader) on Saturday. I said….. “Yeah, just your luck McCutcheon and Walker will get sent up to Indianapolis before Saturday.” And on Friday that is exactly what happened!! Sorry Bob!

And on Wednesday, September 5th which is a big fantasy football draft night, BOB will be handling NPL e-mails or phone calls for the moves……

Now, onto that Steelers party news…… I’m sworn to secrecy as to which NPL owner enjoyed the game, the party, and had “tons of fun”, but here is a picture from that shindig on Saturday night.