EMBED-Spiderman Style Baseball Catch – Watch more free videos

Guess what, readers? I love the Hiroshima Carp. This amazing catch against the BayStars makes me love them more.

The old Shea home run apple. I hate this thing.

My friend Lee has somehow got his girlfriend into baseball, probably by pure force of will. This would be great, except she’s a Mets fan now and she loves to trash talk each time the Mets beat the Marlins. Thanks, Lee.

4 June

NPB
Softbank Hawks (4) at Hiroshima Carp (5). A huge fourth inning, including two RBIs by Eric Stults, puts Hiroshima just far enough ahead to win the game.

Rakuten Eagles (12) at Yokohama BayStars (0). Rakuten’s bats awoke in a BIG way, with four home runs, three of which were solo shots, off of Yokohama.

MLB
Boston Red Sox (11) at Baltimore Orioles (0). Didn’t I already recap this game? Oh yeah, this is an MLB game. Juan Samuel’s managerial debut didn’t seem to go very well at all.

Cincinnati Reds (2) at Washington Nationals (4). Liván Hernández pitches what should have been a win, but the offense doesn’t pick up the pace until the 7th.

Florida Marlins (3) at New York Mets (4). Anibal gives up one too many and that was all the Mets needed.

Tampa Bay Rays (6) at Texas Rangers (9). Seems like every time Wade Davis gets above 0.500 with his record, he’s gotta lose one to make up for it. It’s not all that bad, though. Longo homered.

5 June

NPB
Hawks (9) at Carp (3). Takahiro Aoki had a tough day, giving up five in 3.2, dooming the Carp.

Eagles (5) at BayStars (4). A much more respectable effort by Yokohama. Also a surprisingly weak start by Iwakuma that is won thanks to a Randy Ruiz blast in the 9th.

MLB
Marlins (1) at Mets (6). The less said about this start the better. I wish Nate Robertson could only pitch against the Phillies.

Rays (1) at Rangers (6). The Rays slide continues. Lucky them that New York is having some difficulties too, but Boston is playing Baltimore. They need to step it up.

Red Sox (8) at Orioles (2). I’m only upset about this because it helps the Sox look respectable against the Rays.

Reds (5) at Nationals (1). Man, everyone had trouble today, didn’t they. It’s just a guess, but I think Atilano isn’t long for this rotation starting Tuesday when Strasburg comes up.

6 June

NPB
Eagles (10) at Yomiuri Giants (4). I always take great pleasure in seeing the Giants stomped, even if Ma-kun gave up an unprecedented three runs. This win streak is also great for a team that needs to start winning if it doesn’t want the NPB to fire all of its American coaches. Their record improves to 25-29-1. I can almost smell 0.500!

Orix Buffaloes (6) at Carp (1). So much for capitalizing on opportunities when the Giants lose. This disappointing loss puts their record at 21-31-1. 0.500 baseball is a long way off.

MLB
Marlins (6) at Mets (7). The Fish manage to screw up yet another Ricky Nolasco start and give the Mets a sweep and Yin something to goad about to me. Nice work, Marlins. You are now 28-30 in fourth.

Red Sox (3) at Orioles (4). Nick Markakis gets the walk-off win to salvage this series for Baltimore whose abysmal record improves to 16-41.

Reds (5) at Nationals (4). An extra innings loss. The Nats normally get much better relief work from Capps, but he’s been human the past few starts. They are in last with a 27-31 record.

Rays (9) at Rangers (5). Not Garza’s best stuff, but it gets the job done. Their record improves to 37-20, but New York and Boston are knocking on their door if they can’t hold it together.

After embarrassing the team, acting like a primadonna, insulting the manager, and making everyone involved look bad, Hanley Ramirez either apologized to his teammates or the team has decided not to make a fuss about it, because he was back in the lineup last night doing fairly well. Thank god that’s over. The Marlins are rarely in the news, but I don’t want them in there because of this.

19 May

NPB
Hiroshima Carp (8) at Orix Buffaloes (2). Eric Stults notches his first win as the Carp manage to come out of their ten-games-under-0.500 hole for a day. Their record rises to 17-26-0 at a manageable 10.5 games back. That was sarcasm.

Yokohama BayStars (3) at Rakuten Eagles (2). Darrell Rasner actually tosses a great game against Yokohama, but the runs he gives up are just enough to combine with an unearned for the loss. Rakuten falls to 19-26-0, tying them with the 19-26-1 Fighters.

MLB
Tampa Bay Rays (10) at New York Yankees (6). Wade Davis and the powerful Rays offense combine to push this game increasingly out of New York’s reach. The lead rises to four games as Tampa Bay moves to a 29-11 record.

New York Mets (3) at Washington Nationals (5). Liván Hernández continues his dominant streak as he holds down the Mets for Drew Storen to come in for the win for Washington, boosting them out of their five game losing streak. The Nats record increases to 21-20 in third place.

Baltimore Orioles (3) at Texas Rangers (4). Guthrie puts together quite the game, but the Orioles bullpen can’t hold on, giving them their 28th loss.

Florida Marlins (5) at St. Louis Cardinals (1). The back-to-back shutout is prevented, but that doesn’t mean that Aníbal Sánchez didn’t have electric stuff last night. Florida’s off-field woes stayed off-field as Hanley went 3-5 with an RBI and the rest of the team contributed as well. Florida’s 22-19 record is good enough for second, but with the Nats breathing down their necks can they hold on against Adam Wainwright tonight?

I love this shot of Abe

Josh Johnson tosses a shutout and the Rays win, but the red teams I love (Eagles, Carp, to a certain extent, the Nats) lose.

18 May

NPB
Hiroshima Carp (2) at Orix Buffaloes (11). Somehow I don’t think Hiroshima is going to win the Interleague title. The Carp drop to 16-26-0 in fifth. Their only saving grace is that the Swallows have been absolutely sucking recently, keeping them out of last.

Yokohama BayStars (7) at Rakuten Eagles (5). Marty Brown and the Eagles are having a real tough go of the season. If they want to go to the Climax Series, they’re gonna have to step it up, but they’re also gonna need serious pitching. Rakuten drops back into fifth with their 19-25-0 record.

MLB
Arizona Diamondbacks (0) at Florida Marlins (8). It sure is nice to see Josh Johnson dominate a team, even one so mediocre as Arizona. JJ threw seven glorious innings, allowing us to forget about all the Hanley Ramirez drama from last night. Florida’s record improves to 21-19, four games behind the Phillies.

Cleveland Indians (2) at Tampa Bay Rays (6). A game the Rays should never lose. They don’t disappoint. Their first place lead rises to three games with their 28-11 record.

Kansas City Royals (3) at Baltimore Orioles (4). Another win eludes Greinke, but this time it’s kind of his fault. The Orioles offense notches two against the guy, proving that he is human. Baltimore’s record improves to 13-27. They’re only seven games away from the fourth place Red Sox.

Washington Nationals (2) at St. Louis Cardinals (3). Chris Carpenter does what he does best and limits the Nats to two. Clippard has an uncharacteristically bad moment and surrenders a homer to Ryan Ludwick. That’s all it takes to lose a game. The Nats are in third with their 20-20 record after a heartbreaking five-game skid.

The Lions went and slaughtered my precious Golden Eagles, leaving them with something to think about over the next two off days. It was not a great day for my favorite baseball teams.

05 May

NPB
Rakuten Eagles (3) at Seibu Lions (19)! The Lions really dished out some punishment. Rakuten is still miraculously in fourth place with its 16-21-0 record, but that’s no real consolation since there’s a three-way tie for first 6.5 games up.

Hiroshima Carp (4) at Yokohama BayStars (5). Tough losses to the ‘Stars push Hiroshima back two games. Why can’t Maeda start every day? The Carp are now 14-20-0 in fifth.

MLB
Baltimore Orioles (5) at New York Yankees (7). They came so close to winning this, but it just wasn’t enough. The Orioles record is such a joke at 7-21 that I almost don’t want to mention it any more. Suffice it to say that they’re in last.

Atlanta Braves (7) at Washington Nationals (6). Matt Capps notches his first loss in extras (still no blown saves) in a hard fought game against Atlanta. Washington’s 14-13 record is good enough for third.

San Francisco Giants (3) at Florida Marlins (2). Barry Zito pitches himself a great game and the Marlins just don’t have the bats to win. When Hanley goes 0-4, what can you expect?

Tampa Bay Rays (8) at Seattle Mariners (2). A pitchers duel that somehow ends with Cliff Lee getting tagged for four just goes to show how potent the Rays offense is. Tampa had to win to maintain their lead with their 20-7 record.

I get to experience good weather at Nats Park for the first time since Opening Day above.

Who would have expected Liván Hernández to have a sub 1.00 ERA and one of the best records in baseball at this point in the season?

Why do the Marlins seem to drop the first game of every series?

Will either of these trends end? I hope one definitely does!

04 May

NPB
Rakuten Eagles (5) at Seibu Lions (6). Not a good habit to get into (losing to the Lions). Rakuten falls to 16-20-0 with the next highest place (3rd) 5.5 games ahead of them.

Hiroshima Carp (5) at Yokohama BayStars (6). Speaking of teams that you don’t want to keep losing to, Hiroshima drops yet another game and falls behind the BayStars in the standings with their 14-19-0 record.

MLB
Baltimore Orioles (1) at New York Yankees (4). Déjà vu. 7-20 is a mighty big hole to dig out of.

Atlanta Braves (3) at Washington Nationals (6). I get to see the Nats win for the first time this season. Good times. Wasghington is 14-12 in third.

San Francisco Giants (9) at Florida Marlins (6). Florida miraculously ties up the game started by Tim Lincecum, but they can’t break the tie and secure the win. They finally lose it in the 12th thanks to the Marlins relief. Florida falls to 13-13 and is in fourth.

Tampa Bay Rays (5) at Seattle Mariners (2). Longoria hits himself another home run as the Rays comfortably win behind Jamie Shields. It’s Matt Garza against Cliff Lee tonight and this could be an exciting pitching duel. In the meanwhile, the Rays have a one game lead on the Yankees with their 19-7 record.

Dave's trying to do the same pose as Slicky in the bottom right corner.

Rainout makeups, but an otherwise uneventful day for baseball.

3 May

NPB
Rakuten Eagles (5) at Seibu Lions (4). It brings me great joy to see my least favorite Pacific League team, the Lions, lose. Keep up the good work, Rakuten (16-19-0, 4th)

Hiroshima Carp (3) at Yokohama BayStars (1). Another solid win for Hiroshima, who has had some problems with the BayStars this year. They’re now tied for fourth with Yokohama at 14-18-0, but that will change tomorrow since they play again.

MLB
Baltimore Orioles (1) at New York Yankees (4). No one expected the win streak to continue against Sabathia. The Orioles are now 7-19 in last.

I did a search for "blooper" in Flickr to express my frustration and this unexpectedly came up. Not what I had in mind, but it relieves some of the stress.

My PS3 decided to stop reading discs correctly for the second time in its lifespan, temporarily halting my video game NPB season with the Carp just about to widen the gap between third and fourth by beating the Swallows. Hopefully I get the system back before next week, but it’s leaving me at a loss for stuff to play this week. Looks like L4D2 and Sam & Max will be getting my attention.

30 April

NPB
Chunichi Dragons (0) at Hiroshima Carp (9). Nothing like a solid, blowout, shutout win to get the weekend started.

Orix Buffaloes (1) at Rakuten Eagles (2). Winning the close ones is key. Rakuten’s weekend rotation is among the strongest in the NPB, so it’s nice to see them get wins.

MLB
Boston Red Sox (4) at Baltimore Orioles (5). The only thing better than the Sox losing to the Orioles in a game is being there in person to witness it (which I was).

Washington Nationals (7) at Florida Marlins (1). What happened Ricky?

Kansas City Royals (3) at Tampa Bay Rays (2). Probably the only time all year KC’s bullpen will outduel anyone. There’s a reason Maddon is riding the starters hard in Tampa. Still, it was a strong effort by Jeff Niemann, yet again.

1 May

NPB
Dragons (12) at Carp (6). Chunichi gives back as hard as it took.

Buffaloes (1) at Eagles (2). Two nights in a row!

MLB
Royals (4) at Rays (2). Another late inning loss despite solid pitching by David Price.

Red Sox (9) at Orioles (12). Daisuke Matsuzaka’s first start back doesn’t go quite like he hoped, giving up six earned (seven total).

Nationals (1) at Marlins (7). This is what I like to see. Way to go Volstad, who throws a complete game gem against the Nats and finally gets his stuff together this season.

2 May

NPB
Buffaloes (2) at Eagles (3). Whoa! Series sweep! This puts the Eagles tied for fourth with their 15-19-0 record!

Dragons (3) at Carp (4). Hiroshima takes the rubber game and holds on for the series win. 13-18-0 has them a game behind Yokohama and half a game up on the Swallows.

MLB
Nationals (3) at Marlins (9). Another solid win for Josh Johnson who was not as sharp as last time, but sharp enough. Both Florida and Washington end their weekend at 13-12, tied for third, 1.5 back from first.

Red Sox (2) at Orioles (3). Another sweep for the weekend. These three wins put Baltimore at 7-18. They’re still in last, but now they’re only 9.5 games back.

Royals (0) at Rays (1). An old fashioned pitching duel between Greinke and Davis ends with Wade on top. The Rays go into this week still in first with an 18-7 record and a 1.5 game lead.

New Arizona laws state that he might have to prove that he can legitimately be in the state at any time.

Here at IBNttT we do not support Orwellian laws designed to penalize native born or immigrant Latino populations. I don’t support boycotting the Diamondbacks over this, but I do support moving the All-Star game out of Arizona until this law is repealed.

29 April

NPB
Rakuten Eagles (0) at Softbank Hawks (4). Another series sweep, but the bad way. Rakuten is having an awful season (but not as bad as the Fighters!) and falls to 12-19-0 in fifth.

Yokohama BayStars (8) at Hiroshima Carp (0). Another series lost to a Yokohama team that has a lot more life than last year’s. Hiroshima takes another hit to 11-17-0, putting it in last place below the Swallows.

MLB
New York Yankees (4) at Baltimore Orioles (0). At least the Orioles didn’t get swept. The series went exactly as I predicted, dropping Baltimore to 4-18, a staggering 10.5 games back from first in April.

Kansas City Royals (1) at Tampa Bay Rays (11). The Rays are on a tear right now. Granted, beating up on the Royals is like beating up on the Orioles, everyone’s doing it thanks to a terrible bullpen. Tampa Bay’s record rises to 17-5, putting them 2.5 ahead of the Yankees in first.

No matter how poorly my teams did or didn’t do today, nothing can match my disappointment in the Washington Capitals for losing Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs. Way to suck, guys.

28 April

NPB
Yokohama BayStars (2) at Hiroshima Carp (1). These close losses are the most heartbreaking ones. The Carp fall to 11-16-0 in fifth. At least the Swallows lost too.

Rakuten Eagles (2) at Softbank Hawks (13). This team really has a hard time winning on non-Tanaka and non-Iwakuma days. They’ve got a similar record, but I find myself more disappointed in them, for some reason. 12-18-0 in fifth.

MLB
San Diego Padres (6) at Florida Marlins (4). Another disappointing loss to the Friars. Florida goes on to face the Nationals this weekend. The Fish are actually in fourth place now with their 11-11 record.

Washington Nationals (3) at Chicago Cubs (2). Luis Atilano’s second outing goes well too. The Nats are now in third place with their 12-10 record, half a game back.

New York Yankees (8) at Baltimore Orioles (3). We knew they couldn’t beat CC. They don’t disappoint. 4-17 in last.

Oakland Athletics (3) at Tampa Bay Rays (10). Another stellar performance by Tampa Bay. This team is on a real roll this month. 16-5 in first with the Yankees 2.5 behind.