(AP-Pensacola, FL)
TML Biff Barnes Highlight Reel - September 2009
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Heat is On in the Steinmetz & Gehrig!

For the third consecutive season, there is a
potential for a tie in the Gehrig, as current
leader Rocky Mountain (15-13 in September) saw
their lead diminish to only 1 game over both
Toxic Waste (18-10) and Lake Wobegone (16-12).
The Toxins have a slight schedule advantage in
that the other two square off in a season-
ending 7-game series! In the Steinmetz, a
late-season surge by 'Skayuna (19-9) and
Mudville (16-12) closed the gap on division
leader Valparaiso (15-13). Only 2 games
separate all three contenders! Valparaiso
has a strong schedule advantage, as the
other two play each other in the final
October series *and* Valparaiso plays the
bottom two teams in the division.

In the Gatto, both Rensselaer (19-9) and
Beverly (19-9) are heading to post-season.
It's just a matter of which one wins the
division. The playoff race has been long
over in the Ruth, as Walla Walla (24-4) and
Danny Way (20-8) remain well out in front.
Walla Walla, with 114 wins, has a shot at
the all-time TML regular season wins mark
of 121, set by Penscola (Danny Way) in 1993.
Ironically, Walla Walla may end up breaking
the record *at* Danny Way in October!

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Toxic Waste's Mark Teixeira went into his first
slump of the season, hitting only .233 in his
28 September games. This ends any chance at the
"Triple Crown," though he still leads the TML
in RCs by a fair margin, with 149. The latest
batting leader is Cheticamp's Aubrey Huff at
.338, only 4 points ahead of Oklahoma's Magglio
Ordonez. Teixeira is 3rd at .331. The HR lead
was taken over by Arkansas' Ryan Ludwich with
39 HRs. Burleigh's Mannny Ramirez is only 1
behind. And, the RBI lead was taken over by
Walla Walla's David Wright at 123, one ahead
of Teixeira. Madison's Ichiro Suzuki leads
the TML with 201 hits. Ichiro has now posted
200+ hits in *every* one of his 8 TML seasons!
Brandon's Ryan Braun hit for the cycle in an
8-3 win at Rocky Mountain.

In pitching, Walla Walla's A.J. Burnett still
leads the TML with a 23-5 record and a 2.76
ERA. Joining him in the "20-win Club" are
teammates Cliff Lee (21-4, 2.77) and Ryan
Dempster (20-4, 2.47). Jeremy Guthrie (18-4)
and Cole Hamels (17-9) need to win all their
remaining starts to give Walla Walla an
unprecedented five (5) 20-game winners! A
lot of their success rides with "Ace" closer
Jonathan Papelbon (39-39 SVO, 0.77). Rocky
Mountain's Tim Lincecum still leads in whiffs,
with 264. The ERA leader is Valparaiso's
Ben Sheets at 2.37. Lake Wobegone's Brian
Fuentes (1.25) has a big lead in SVs with 47.
Mudville's Mike Mussina tossed 4 shutouts in
September to take over the season lead with
6. Toxin Greg Maddux posted his 10th victory
of the season, giving him 10+ wins in *every*
one of his 21 TML seasons! Maddux leads the
TML in career wins with 372.

There were two team 1-hitters in September,
one by Cheticamp and the other by Oklahoma.
There were 5 2-hitters during the Stretch!

Below are some awards and tid-bits from
September 2009 in the TML American.

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** Player of the Month **

(RS) Carlos Pena
.329, 25-76, 5-1-10, 62 TB,
21 R, 29 RBI, 24 BB, 33 RC






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** Pitcher of the Month **

(RM) Tim Lincecum
7-0, 2.24, 8 GS, 56.1 IP, 45 H,
2 HR, 20 BB, 64 K, .218 OAVG




Honorable Mention: Mike Mussina (M9) who
went 4-1, 1.60, with four (4) CG-shutouts!
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** Best Pitching Performance of the Month **

Pitcher of The Month Tim Lincecum teamed up
with closer Joe Nathan to combine on a 4-hit,
1-0 shutout of the River Rats. This salvaged
a 2-5 series for the Chinooks and kept them
in 1st place by 1 game. This also served to
keep frustration high for Greg Maddux, who
has suffered more losses against the Chinooks
throughout his career than to any other TML
team.

9/16/2009, TX08-RM08, Metrodome
______________1_2_3__4_5_6__7_8_9____R_H_E
River Rats____0_0_0__0_0_0__0_0_0_-__0_4_1
Chinooks______0_0_0__0_0_1__0_0_x_-__1_7_0

River Rats_______IP__H__R_ER_BB__K___ERA
Maddux_L_7-12___8.0__7__1__1__2__5___4.49

Chinooks_________IP__H__R_ER_BB__K___ERA
Lincecum_W_16-8_8.0__4__0__0__4_10___2.94
Nathan_S_38_____1.0__0__0__0__0__2___1.45
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** Best Offensive Performance of the Month **

Diamond Cat Brian Buscher belted a GRAND SLAM,
capping a 7-run 9th inning, leading his team
to a 15-11 come-from-behind victory on the
road at the Avalanche! Buscher drove in
nearly half the D-Cats runs!

9/15/2009, PC08-AV08, Fenway Park
______________1_2_3__4_5_6__7_8_9_____R__H_E
Diamond Cats__2_1_2__3_0_0__0_0_7_-__15_14_3
Avalanche_____0_0_3__5_0_0__0_3_0_-__11_16_2

Diamond Cats________AB__R__H__BI___AVG
Buscher 3b___________6__3__3___7___.281

1st:_2-RBI-HR;_2nd:_K;_4th:_RBI-1B;_5th:_E4;
8th:_K;_9th:_GWH-GS-HR!
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** Overtime Game of the Month **

The longest extra-inning game of the month
saw the BigWeezMachine score a run in the
top of the 18 inning and retired the Super-
cells in order in the bottom half. The
'Machine had scraped up a pair of runs to
tie the game in the 9th off Supercell
closer Bobby Jenks.

9/16/2009, BZ08-OS08, AT&T Park
_________123_456_789_012_345_678___R__H_E
'Machine_000 002 002 000 000 001 - 5 16 0
S-cells__110 100 010 000 000 000 - 4 16 1

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** The At Bat Saver Game of the Month **

In the see-saw battle of the year, the Thunder
Cats finally held off the Haymakers and posted
a thrilling, yet tiring, 15-inning, 15-14 win!
The game ended when Haymaker Curtis Granderson
was thrown out at home plate on a 2-out double
by Andy LaRoche! The two teams combined for
29 runs, 51 hits and totaled 138 at bats!

9/20/2009, DT08-GL08, Camden Yard
______________123 456 789 112 345____R__H_E
Thunder Cats__200 070 100 211 001 - 15 24 1
Haymakers_____002 313 100 211 000 - 14 27 0

Thunder Cats________AB__R__H__BI___AVG
Quintanilla__ss______7__3__5___4___.294
Hoffpauir__rf________8__1__5___1___.386

Haymakers___________AB__R__H__BI___AVG
Granderson__cf_______7__2__6___1___.245
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Up next ...October highlights and post-season
preview!

Staff Columnist - Biff Barnes