LINCOLN (LP) - On another epic summer's day, DR Field saw a game riddled with controversy, injuries, and offensive explosions. The home team irked out a 27-21 victory behind the hot bats of El Guapo and Lon Ichiro. Lon Ichiro earned the prestigious player of the game award on the strength of 9 RBIs and 2 dings. El Guapo walked away with the win while notching 7 strong K's.

Before the first pitch was even thrown, Claudio was sent off to the ER with a chin wound that would require stitches. He would miraculously return from the hospital with the all clear to play. He certainly earned the admiration of fans and players alike. Not only did he return from injury, but he did so knowing that he had an 8 hour drive to Maryland ahead of him directly following the game. Some people truly do this "for the love of the game". My hat is off.

Tensions were running high in the first inning as the teams argued a ground out opportunity. The issue at hand was whether the play with two outs on a ground ball with runners on would be to the mound or to home. It was concluded that with two outs any play on a ground ball should be to home. The game saw the first call strike on a player leaning into a pitch. Incidently Jon earned another nickname as a result. Another rule clarification was that a double moves the runners two bases, meaning a runner on second would score on a double. Up for debate is whether a mercy inning is 7 runs only or the total runs accumulated. Example being if a team hits a 3 run homer with 6 current runs in the inning, do they get credited 7 runs or the full 9 runs.

As I actually remembered my camera this time, here is the recap in photos. As always the full scorecard is attached for your detailed examination.

Pregame prep at DR Field. The wind was consistently blowing in from the West and out to the leftfield wall. Any ball in the air had a chance at making it out of the park.

Player of the Game, Lon Ichiro, pitching to Trot Thompson. Lon Ichiro wowed the crowd with an acrobatic homerun trot that included a cartwheel and a front flip. It is unclear if his contract prohibits such injury inducing behavior. Trot was traded midway through the game for the infamous player to be named later and two Labatt Blues.

The summary tells the story, 9 total homeruns, 2 grand slams, back to back homers by both Jon and El Guapo, 48 runs, all in a shortened game.

Winning pitcher, El Guapo, throws to Shoeless JonBoy Howard Wingman Howell (currently leading the league in total nicknames and hit by pitch strike-outs)

Wiffle injury. You can't keep a good wiffler down. The game was so long that Claudio was able to hit the emergency room and make it back in time for the fifth inning.

Dominic "Claudio" Frank battles El Guapo after returning from the emergency room with fresh stitches. Claudio provided an emotional and offensive lift upon his return, hitting a 3 run homer and two doubles.

With three homeruns in today's marathon, El Guapo owns the plate at the Friendly Confines, you simply borrow it.

Starting next week, there will be a minimum at bats and innings pitched to make the leaders board.

Just got a few more shots of us playing wiffle while on the Mongol Rally last summer. Claudio in the Ukraine, Hot Rod in Russia.

If you want to read more about our adventure check out the website at badcolonies.org/rally.html

These are the stats through last Sunday's game. I am trying a new method of updating. Hopefully it will make it a bit easier. I will add in Tuesday's game as soon as I get the scorecard.

Stats and the recap will be up by tomorrow morning from today's wiffle. In my short career, this was one if not the best Sunday wiffle. Did anyone mistakenly pick up a Canon digital camera? I did a sweep and could not find mine.

Cheers - Hot Rod

Now that the website has been live for a bit, I am going to tweak it a bit for look and usability. As a reminder, there are certain things you can only see if you are logged in. Currently comments can always be seen, but I may revert to only when logged in.

So far I have added a few features:Read more

1. You can now post google and youtube videos by simply putting the url address in a post. On a youtube page the URL is typically just to the right of the video, above the Embed code and below the tags.

Here is a great article from ESPN on the late great Rod Beck. The full article is available here.
The mullet is gone, replaced by a shiny bald dome that glistens with sweat. But the Fu is still there. And so is the personality. Despite the travel delays and the doubleheaders so common in the minors, Beck is having just as much fun off the field as he's having on it.

His wife Stacey and their two daughters are back in Arizona, but he isn't alone. For it isn't uncommon for Beck to leave the clubhouse, walk home and find strangers hanging out at the RV, curious if the rumors that have spread across Iowa's capitol are true. Does Rod Beck really live here? Does he really sign autographs after games? Is he really down to earth enough that he'll offer a Coors Light and tell old baseball stories to just about anyone who stops by?

Yes.Read more