8:11 I know i haven't posted in forever...sorry. Im not sure where I want to go with this blog in the near future.
Nevertheless, for the second year in a row I am liveblogging the HR Derby!
I am again facing off against my buddy Toots and we each have drafted four of the competitors to batt off in a number of categories. We drafted last night and I ended up with
Papi,
Ramierez,
Holiday,
and Young.
Toots has
Cabrera,
Wells,
Swisher,
Hart.
Im not terribly confident with my squad, I first picked Papi in what could have been an iffy pick.
Anyways, the five categories include:
Winner of Derby
Most HR in a Round by one batter
Least HR in a Round by one batter
Most HR when combining all squad members
Longest HR
Most HR hit on the 10th out (Golden HR)
Lets get this started!
8:18 Chris Young's up first, lets set a good tone!
He hits one HR after 3 outs and now has 7. Maybe He'll whiff and be a pretty tough beat for the least in a round?
8:21
Chris Young
Total HR's = 1
Golden HR's= 0
Farthest HR= 410ft
Up next is Vernon Wells
8:23 In his first 7 swings Vernon hits zero balls out of the park. One, however, is assisted by a fan and ruled a HR. Alrighty, with 8 outs he pounds a 428ft bomb. lets see if he can crush the golden ball now. Nope, a long drive to left and lands just short of the wall.
Vernon Wells
Total HR's = 2
Golden HR's= 0
Farthest HR= 428ft
Coming up after the break is Corey Hart,
8:31 Corey Hart is the first batter to find a groove. He has 5HR and only one out so far!
8:33 A slight breeze barely carries Harts ball out of the yard. He instantly hits a 464ft bomb and has 9HR with 4 outs! Make it 10! Hart Hart's the first to hit a Golden HR and ends the rd with a total of 13.
Corey Hart
Total HR's = 13
Golden HR's= 1
Farthest HR= 464ft
8:46 Nick Swisher's up next. He starts off strong with 2 quick HRs after an out and then misses 4 times. Swisher busts a 426ft blast followed quickly bt a 440fter. Swisher goes cold and still has 4 for the gold ball. He hits it to deep center and cant get it over the 400ft wall. Hes done.
Nick Swisher
Total HR's = 4
Golden HR's= 0
Farthest HR= 440ft
After the break we have Holiday, Papi, Ramierez and Cabrera. My boys have to hit some blasts and advance themselves to the next round now!
8:53 Ugh. Holliday really couldn't get anything started but just nailed a Golden Ball to get up to 2 hr lets see if he cant get anything going....Theres Another! And 3 in a row! 4! He's into second place now, behind Corey Hart and ends with 5 bombs! With his longest hr at 497 ft! He is now the leader in the Golden ball and longest HR category,
Matt Holliday
Total HR's = 5
Golden HR's= 4
Farthest HR= 497ft
8:59 Papi's up! lets see what he can do! His first good chance did not look like it was going out but it just scoots out of the wall. He follows that up with a nice 440ft jack over the right field wall. Ortiz is hitting well and knocks a 375fter into right field. He now has 4 HR and 3 outs. he needs 2 more to advance. Ortiz keeps hitting them over to right field, some are crushed and some cant quite make it over the wall. He needs one more in the next 4 swings to secure a spot in the next round. Right field again! and we will see Papi again in the next round.
David Ortiz
Total HR's = 8
Golden HR's= 0
Farthest HR= 440ft
9:11 Hanley Ramierez is up now and needs 6 to secure a shot in the final 4 and nails one over the wall in his first swing.
9:17
Hanley Ramierez
Total HR's = 9
Golden HR's= 2
Farthest HR= 472ft
So we're down to the final batter, Miggy Cabrera. He needs a total of 6 HRs to advance. Toots needs him to step up here and help the team. Currently I have 3 of the 4 finalists which would be crushing for Toot's chances
9:30
Miguel Cabrera
Total HR's = 7
Golden HR's= 0
Farthest HR= 476ft
So, heading into Rd 2 we have Cabrera, Papi, Hanley, and Hart in that order.
Currently Holliday has the longest HR at 497 ft
Hart has the most in a round with 13
Young has the least in a round at 1.
Holliday has the most Golden HR with 4
My squad has a combined 23 HRs.
Toots team has 26Hrs.
9:36 In a last second switch Papi is going to bat first to give Cabrera a break. Papi is on a roll and keeps pounding them to right/right-center and has 5 bombs so far including a 476 bomb with only 2 outs...and he curves one just around the pole! followed by another crushed rainbow to give him 7 with 2 outs. lets go Papi!!! Papi manages to crush 13 homeruns tying him for the most HR in one round with Hart.
9:45
David Ortiz
Total HR's = 13 (21)
Golden HR's= 0
Farthest HR= 474ft
9:47 Miggy is up now after a quick rest and lets see what he can do! he needs 7 to catch Hart and have a chance. MIggy hits our first foul HR of the night but is doing well and having a sold round so far. Theres another foul. He might be swinging a tad to early? Miguel ends up with 5 HRs giving him 12 total, not enough to catch Hart and hes done for the night.
Miguel Cabrera
Total HR's = 5 (12)
Golden HR's= 0
Farthest HR= 485ft
9:53 Hanley Ramierez is next and needs 4 HRs to force Hart to take the plate. Hes going to need a few more to actually advance to the finals. Hanley crushes 9 including a 465 foot gold ball! He had 5 straight outs followed by 5 straight HR in this at bat. There goes another gold ball! ANother that goes 454ft to left field! Another to the same spot in left. He is just mirroring Papi! One more HR and hes in the finals for sure. He lines out and finishes with 21 HR. He is tied with Papi.
Hanley Ramierez
Total HR's = 12 (21)
Golden HR's= 4
Farthest HR= 476ft
10:00 Corey Hart has been sitting for about 2 hours. He now needs to come back and smash 8 Home Runs to force a bat off for the finals. Any less than 8 and hes done. His first hit is a line out. Hes going to need to get in some kind of rhythm. Hes missed on 4 now without getting one to go out. Theres his fifth out. Hart needs 8 bombs in his next 5 outs or else hes done. This one makes it to the outfield but cant get out. Here's his 7th out....Hart could make a run at an 0-fer and win the least in a round category. Heres his 8th out. 9th out and this is it. The golden ball isnt going to make it and thats that.
Corey Hart
Total HR's = 0 (13)
Golden HR's= 0
Farthest HR= 0 ft
10:12 Ok, the finalists are Papi and Ramierez. Since they are both mine I am going to win the winner, most team combined, most Golden HR and longest HR (currently held by Holliday with 495ft). If either of the finalists whiff and get zero I'll chop the least in a round which is currently held by Hart. If either finalist smacks 14 homeruns I'll take the most HR in a round bet. Currently that is being chopped. Here we go.
Im going to cease liveblogging now, going to watch the end in another room. Peace.
