THIS. IS. SPARTA! Pt. II

[T 980]

21 pages is long enough so I decided to start a Part 2 thread so people can pick up right away without scanning through pages and pages of things....unless they want to. If you do, go here...

1998: A Baseball Experiment...if you will

We left the Spartans celebrating their first World Series victory in their 10 Years of existence. Everyone is rejoicing, young players get their first world series ring, and Dennis Emigh is already looking forward to next year, and defend their newly won world title.

[T 980]

November 15th, 2008
Sacramento, CA
9:15 a.m. PST

"We need to get rid of some of these minor league players. We are at an overload on talent and most of them aren't getting the one on one practice they need." Dylan sits across from me as I look over the minor league roster sheet. We had an overflow of infielders and starting pitchers. Most of them had the potential to be a star on the team, but a few of them wouldn't make it past the Chico Heat (AA).

"I think we outta sell them outright, and not worry about trading any of them." I set the sheet down and look across at him.

"Why is that?" I ask.

"We don't need anymore talent. For god sakes, 99% of our World Series Championship team is returning, and we still have a lot of players who are itching to at least sit on the bench with these guys. We don't really need anymore, but we can always use more money." I look at the sheet on the desk, looking over the pitchers we have and thinking about what he said. For a few of these prospects, we could get an awesome major league pitcher, or maybe a better catcher.

"Take this sheet and go see if anyone wants to buy some pitchers." I slide the sheet over to him. "Don't go over board though, just sell a few off."

"Alright..." He takes the sheet, gets up and heads for his office. I decided to take care of the fielders. With all the prospect we've piled up over the years, we could feed half the major leagues with prospects. I pull over my phone and flip through my address book, looking for the numbers of a few GM's.

---

A few hours later, we are over $10 million richer.

Raul Cavez for $3.3 Mil to Brewers
Randall Merritt for $2.1 Mil to Orioles
Ramon Buenavidez for $4.9 Mil to Brewers
Sean Wigan for $3.8 Mil to White Sox
Alex Cintron for $1.7 Mil to Tigers
Joe Vinyard for $4.2 Mil to Tigers
Stephen Drew for $2.5 Mil to Orioles

We also decided to release 4 players who have just been sitting in either Red Bluff or Chico for the past few years and not making any progress.

Jeffrey Dillon, LF
Freddy Sandoval, 3B
Tony Giarratano, SS
Tim Olson, 3B

---

"Free Agents?" I ask Dylan after he gives me a list of what pitchers he ended up selling.

"What do you think?" He asks back.

"None, and not for a while." I snicker as I put the paper away.

"I jacked the budget for everything up. After all the sales, we have the best scouting, farm system, and medical in all of baseball. We'll still lose a bit of money, but I think it will be worth it for the upcoming season. Oh, and here's a fun fact. In all of Major League Baseball, our Team Payroll is 27th in all of baseball. Our World Series Team Payroll." That was shocking news.

"Well...that just goes to show you that you don't need to buy a world series team, you just have to play hard and have the right chemistry."

"That is so true." He leans back in his chair.

"Lets call it a day. We've been here damn near 8 hours trying to sell half of our minor league staff." Dylan stood up as I said this and stretched his back.

"I agree. I'll give you a call sometime this week to go over a few things." He swings his jacket around his shoulder and heads out of the office. "Don't have too much fun later." He laughs as he heads for the elevator.

See, I told you it was going to be a good post-season...

[T 980]

Febuary 28th, 2009
Sacramento, CA
8:27 p.m. PST

I think I got off at the wrong stop. The numbers don't even match up with the number I have on this paper I wrote the address down. On top of that, it was getting harder to see with all the rain hitting it. I shove the paper back into my rain coat pocket and knock on the bus door before he takes off.

"Yea?" The driver opens the door back up, somewhat annoyed that I even ask.

"Which way is 7688?" I ask somewhat loud. It was hard to hear with all the rain hitting my full rimmed black hat. He points forward and then shuts the door to head towards the next stop. I must not be that far away if he pointed in the general direction of where it was.

I try and keep my head down with my hands in my pocket, trying to keep the rain out of my face and let the hat and jacket take the abuse from the water falling from the sky. It was already dark and there were already puddles forming on the ground beneath my feet as I sloshed towards the next street corner. For such a big neighborhood, it was relatively quiet, with little to no cars driving by, other then the occasional one. When I get to the next street corner, I look at the house I'm standing next to to make sure I'm still heading the right way. 7700. That's a good sign, the numbers were still going down and from the looks of it, I had about a block to go before I got to the house I was searching for.

I finally got to a house that was a two story, tan color, and a black Ford Focus sitting out front. It looks just as it was described to me over the phone. I jog up to the front porch where finally I was out of the rain. I took my hat off, pushed the water off of it and then put it back on. I took a deep breath before ringing the door bell.

---

Ashley and I relaxed on the couch, finally being able to watch the Dark Knight, in full Blu-Ray HD with 7.1 surround sound. It was perfect, and even better with the lights fully off. Today was a somewhat rough day, mainly because of a meeting I had with part owner and GM, Dylan Peters. We discussed both of our duties and how we should change the front office up to make things easier on everyone. One thing I insisted on was bringing in a person to be our CFO. Dylan knew how to work the money within the Spartan Organization, but I wanted a professional to work the budget for now on. What the most stressful thing about that meeting was trying to reassure Dylan that this was under the best of intentions and that we needed to look more professionals now that, for the year, represent the MLB around the world. After a few hours of hashing things out between each other, we decided that I would interview someone who had experience with handling money with a corporation and then afterward we'd both take another vacation before Spring Training. Suddenly, there was a ring at the door. I pushed myself out of the couch, turned the light on and opened the door. The man on the other side took his hat off and offered me a hand shake.

"Mr. Emigh? I'm Ruben Vargas, the person you spoke to over the phone about the CFO job?" He sure was a big man. He was at least 6'5, pure mexican, and I'd say roughly 250lbs.

"Yes, Ruben. How do you do?" I shook his hand and had him come inside. "Follow me to the kitchen and we can get started." As he followed, he greeted Ashley who was still on the couch watching the Dark Knight. We both made it to the table as we sat opposite of each other. "Ok Ruben, why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself?" I felt weird giving an interview in my own home while relaxing in loose basketball shorts and a Spartans jersey. Ruben on the other hand was wearing a nice suit underneath what looked to be a wool rain coat with a Teflon coating.

"Well, my name is Ruben Vargas. My parents migrated from Mexico before having me. I received my MBA in Financial Management and have worked for a few upstart companies, with a temporary job at a major corporation. I'm sorry, I can't say who. Anyways, I absolutely love baseball and when you got a hold of me about this job, it was like a dream come true so I'm trying my hardest not to screw this up." He gives a nervous laugh while I snick and lean forward.

"Well don't worry, you are the only one I am interviewing. I would have given you the job over the phone but I always like to meet people in person before I hire them. You know, because I don't want to work with a hard ass." I lean over the table to grab a paper and I hand it over to Ruben. "Basically, this job just requires you to keep me updated on our expensive, how our bank account is looking, and to a lesser extent, contract negotiations. My partner and I will be taking care of the higher end contracts and players who are up for renewal while you'll be taking care of players in the minor leagues, such as Rookie Ball, A, and AA. But that won't come until later. I do need you to fill out that paper before you leave here tonight. It's just an application so I can put it on file, just in case."

"Thank you Mr. Emigh. Thank you SO MUCH!"

"By the way, you can call me Dennis. I'm not an old ******* like some other owners that demand you call them Mr.. That's not me. I mean, if you WANT to I won't stop you..." We both laugh for a moment. "Oh yea, before I forget, where do you live at the moment?"

"Well, I was born in Gerber, CA, but at the moment I am living in Texas. I flew up here the moment I hung up with you." As he answered, his head sort of shrunk into his shoulders, as if he were trying to avoid that question.

"Ok, so we'll be needing a few thousand to relocate you up here to Sacramento. I can get a house set up for you within a day. How does that sound?"

"Great! Believe it or not I'm just rooming up with a friend down there." His head came out again, like a turtle.

"Well then it shouldn't be a problem. I'll give my Realtor a call tomorrow and we'll go from there. Do you have any questions for me before we call it a night?" He shook his head, so I began to stand up. "Well, it was great meeting you. Can I contact you through the same number tomorrow?" I ask, shaking his hand.

"Yes sir. It's my cell so I have it on me 24/7."

"Good. We'll have to get you a better phone though, one you can receive emails and such, but we'll go over that as the season draws near." I walk him towards the door.

"Have a good night, Ruben!" Ashley says as we pass by.

"You too, ma'am." Ruben was extremely polite. I think this was going to work out just fine. I shut the door behind him, turn out the lights, and join Ashley back on the couch, where the Joker just blew up the tumbler...

---

That was one of the easiest interviews I've ever done in my life. I sit down and a minute later, I have a job working for a major league team!

The rain was still coming down hard, so I put my hat back on. I take a deep breath before heading back out into the rain. My watch says it's only about 8:45, so I still have time to make it to the bus stop where I was dropped off. I start to jog through the rain, with the water splashing up each time my big foot drops into a puddle. After a few blocks I finally get to the stop, where I can see the bus down the road, heading for me.

[T 980]

March 1st, 2009
Sacramento, CA/Tuscon, AR
2:06 p.m. PST

"So basically you just went ahead and hired someone without even asking me first?" He sounded extremely irritated. Lucky for me, he was down in Arizona with the Spartans, watching them practice.

"Yea, I told you I was just going to hire someone. Like I said the other day, we need to get some stress off of our backs. We have the money so why not expand our office a little bit?" Before Ruben, it was just Me, him, Ashley, a just a hand full of others who helped run the office.

"Yea, but you're taking away one of my duties as GM and giving it to some guy who went to college."

"Yea, I am giving one of your duties to a guy who went to college. I told you, Dylan, I want the front office to look a bit more professional. We are the World ****ing Champions and I think we can afford to spread the wealth. I don't know why you're getting so upset because you don't get to do the budget anymore. It's not like I'm cutting you out of the entire process. You still have your say, just as I had mine when you took it over from me those few years ago." He didn't say anything, but he was still there. "Either way, you still hold power and if you really want to, we can just tell Ruben that his services are no longer needed. Do you want to fire someone you haven't even met yet?" He was silent again, but finally said something.

"Fine. When you come down here, bring him with you so I can give him my own interview. Deal?"

"Deal. I'll see you in a few days. Good luck."

"Yep..." We both hung up. I don't know why he's taking this so hard. Maybe he'll calm down once he meets him.

[T 980]

April 3rd, 2009
Tokyo, Japan
Hotel/Lounge

The Spartans showed up in Japan the same day the Padres did. Our first game of the season would, again, be taking place in Japan against the San Diego Padres, only this time we were the away team. I always like going to another country to represent Major League baseball in some way or another, but being World Champions and representing the MLB was something much different. It had a different feel to it then the last time we were here taking on the SF Giants.

As we check into the hotel, the clerk on the other side of the desk hands me a letter. "This was left for you today from someone from the earlier team." I take the letter from him and begin to open it.

"Thank you." I said, giving him a slight smile. It was a letter from Padres owner John Moores.

"Mr. Emigh,

I would like to meet you in the lounge later on tonight to talk about a few things. Please be alone, I don't want anything getting out.

-John"

I folded the letter and stuck it in my pocket. Since Ashley and I were to last to check in today, I saw across the lobby that the Spartans were heading towards the bus to go over to the Tokyo Dome where they would take some batting practice and gear up for the first game of the season.

"Whats wrong?" Ashley asks.

"Nothing. The Padres owner wants to meet me in the lounge later on, like in about an hour or so..." I look at the note and see there is a number under his name. "Well, I'll give him a call when we get up to our room."

A few minutes and an elevator ride later, we finally make it to the floor where our room is. Once inside, I grab the phone, sit down, and call John.

"John? This is Dennis Emigh. How are you?" I ask in a cheerful voice.

"Good, good. So I take it you got my letter?"

"Yea, right here in my pocket. When did you want to meet?" I ask.

"In about an hour. That ok?"

"Perfect. I'll see you then." I hang up the phone and take off my jacket. "I'm gonna meet him in an hour down in the lounge." I run up to her and pull her into a hug. "Are you going to be ok without me?" I ask in a sarcastic tone. She playfully hits my chest.

"I think I'll survive, bigfoot." She laughs as he falls on the bed. The flight took a toll on everyone, and that's why the players are heading to the field now, to try and work off some of the jet lag.

---

An hour later I head down to the lounge, where John Moores was sitting in a corner booth, sipping on a beer.

"John?" I ask as I approach.

"Ah, Dennis, come sit and have a drink with me." He slides over a glass of budlight. "Yes, I know you like that. The internet these days can give us great intel." We both laugh for a moment as I take a sip of my drink.

"So what's on your mind?" I ask, wanting to get straight to the point.

"Well, I've been hearing rumblings about something major within the MLB. Something that was bearly touched on during these last winter meetings. A few MLB owners and the MLB itself has been exploring possibilities about another expansion."

"That's not so bad..."

"But this won't be just another expansion such as yours was. This one was going to shake up the divisions in such a way that Major League Baseball would have to be called something like International Major League Baseball or something along those lines." I leaned forward, as he did. "They've been talking about expanding into Japan and Mexico, replacing one division in both the NL and AL. Now, this means that established teams would be moved to another country or put in another division." I wasn't sure how to take this news.

"How did you find out about this?" I ask.

"Because when you understand the politics that happen among owners, you tend to make friends and hear things. Some owners don't like this, while others feel it would help Major League Baseball as a whole." He relaxed his back against the seat, taking a drink of his beer.

"So if this were to happen, when do you think it would?"

"At the soonest, next year. It just depends on whether or not it will be brought up this year at the summer meetings or not." He pauses for a moment to cough. "I gotta ask though. If they bring it up, how do you feel about it?"

"I'm all for expanding the MLB out more. The only problem I see with it is traveling. Because you know that, lets say they expand with only two teams, that Japan would fall into either the NL or AL West, and the Mexico team would fall into NL or AL Central. Mexico isn't that bad, but if I have to travel a few times a year to Japan just for a three game series, that's going to put some strain on our teams in our division." I sat silent for a moment. "But to be honest, I'd have to think about it."

"Well son, that's why I'm telling you now, so you can think on it." He sips on his beer. "I like you, and I want you to go far as an owner. You're one of the youngest owners to take a team to the World Series and win, and you're only half my age. If you learn how the politics work in the MLB, you'll go far. But for now, think about what I said, because whatever you decide, you're going to need to back it up pretty damn hard."

[T 980]

April 4th, 2009
Tokyo, Japan/Sacramento, CA

"Ok, I'm here." I set my Blackberry storm down on the table in front of me and switched it to speaker phone. I was alone in this room while Ashley was laying on the bed, watching TV in the bedroom part of the suite.

"Good." Dylan said from the other end of the phone.

"Quick roll call." I ask, just making sure everyone is there.

"Dylan Peters, GM."

"Ruben Vargas, CFO."

"Maria Lopez, Administrative Assistant to Mr. Peters."

"Nathan Partida, Sacramento Spartans Public Relations and Sound Technician."

"Jordan Belton, Attorney."

"Ok, good, everyone is here. Now I'd like to turn the floor over to Mr. Vargas." I could hear him stand up and to the front of the table.

"It took me about a month but I was finally able to go over your records and somewhat fix them. The books for the Spartans were a mess and I couldn't believe you guys got away with it. From this point on, I am requiring that any use of the Spartans credit card or any business expense must have a receipt with it." He looks down at some papers he brought with him. "The reason why I am requiring this is because there are a lot of expense that are going unaccounted for, so we have holes EVERYWHERE! Right now I am attempted to clog all leaks with the money and get everything back on track. Mr. Emigh..." He looked down at the speaker phone. "If you were to receive an audit from the IRS, this team would have gone under a LONG time ago. So this year, all expenses must go through myself, Mr. Peters or Mr. Emigh. If there are no receipts then you will be fined $1,000 on the spot. By the end of the month everything should be in order." Ruben sat back down.

"Thank you Ruben. Ok everyone, lets keep moving on. Mr. Belton, the floor is yours." He stands up and fixes his jacket.

"Mr. Emigh, we've decided to settle with the lady who fell down in the stands during the World Series out of court." He said with his Australian accent.

"How much are we settling for?" I ask.

"Well, since the only injury she received was...well, a boo boo on her elbow, we are settling at $50,000." There was a slight giggle.

"Ok, just pay it and get it over with. Nate..."

"Yea?" He replies.

"Give the lady and her family season passes this year and during one of the home games, they can go down to the field and meet the players. Got it?"

"No problem, boss." He begins to write it down as Jordan sat down.

"Well, that was somewhat of a short meeting. If any of you think of anything you wanted to ask me, send me an email and I'll reply back to you as soon as I can. It's late over here so I'm going to hit the bed. I'll see you guys after the game." I hung up, I was ready for bed.

I pushed myself out of the chair I was sitting in and slowly shuffled over to the bedroom door. As I got into the bedroom, I saw that Ashley had fell asleep in an awkward pose and was even drooling. I started laughing real hard as I shut off the tv and climbed into bed with her. I threw the covers on her funny pose and slowly drifted off to sleep.

[T 980]

April 5th, 2009
Tokyo, Japan
Nippon Professional Baseball
ESPN.com

Yomiuri Giants pull out of 2009 NPB Season!

In a surprising move today, Yomiuri Giants have pulled out of the regular season of play. The decision was made earlier this morning by Giants officials. When asked why, they replied pretty quickly.

"The NPB has un-fairly put a salary cap on us simply because we are too rich and too successful. So from here on out, we have officially pulled out of the 2009 NPB Season until our demands are met." Said a Yomiuri Spokesperson.

Representatives refused to comment on the situation at this time. We'll keep you updated on this breaking story.

[T 980]

April 6th, 2009
Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo Dome

@

Tokyo Dome Opening Day

The Padres ended the Spartans 7 year long streak of winning their first game of the season. We caught up with Spartans Manager Will Clark after the game.

"Losing a game is always a hard thing to do, but losing a game in another country representing Major League Baseball as the World Champions is extremely hard. There's something about the Padres that we always have a hard time with. We'll get 'em back though."

Box Score:

Sacramento Spartans at San Diego Padres
April 6, 2009

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
      Spartans (SAC) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0    1  7  0
        Padres (SDP) 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 x    3  6  1

SACRAMENTO           ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
A. Jones (RF)         4  0  0  0  0  0  2  0    .000
J. Reed (CF)          4  1  0  1  1  1  0  0    .250
J. Guillen (LF)       4  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .000
A. Rodriguez (SS)     4  1  0  0  0  0  2  0    .250
K. Kouzmanoff (3B)    3  1  0  0  0  0  1  0    .333
P. Sandoval (1B)      4  0  0  0  0  0  2  0    .000
T. Hunter (DH)        4  2  0  0  0  0  1  0    .500
J. Barfield (2B)      4  1  0  0  0  0  3  0    .250
T. Hall (C)           2  1  0  0  0  0  1  0    .500
 K. Millar (P)        1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 B. Schneider (P)     0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 J. Spivey (P)        1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
TOTALS               35  7  0  1  1  1 13  0

   3B:  T. Hall (1)
   HR:  J. Reed (1)
   HBP:  K. Kouzmanoff

      SACRAMENTO   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
     J. Karstens  6.2  5  1  1  3  3 11 136   4.05
      M. Ekstrom  1.1  1  0  0  0  0  2  26   0.00
          TOTALS  8.0  6  1  1  3  3 13 162

SAN DIEGO            ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
J. Hamilton (CF)      4  1  0  1  0  0  2  1    .250
J. Votto (1B)         4  1  0  1  1  1  3  0    .250
P. McAnulty (DH)      4  1  0  1  0  1  2  0    .250
J. Rivera (RF)        4  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .000
R. White (LF)         3  1  0  0  0  1  0  0    .333
E. Gonzalez (2B)      3  1  0  0  0  0  2  0    .333
B. Conrad (3B)        3  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
L. Carlin (C)         2  0  1  0  0  0  2  0    .000
M. Lopez (SS)         3  1  0  0  0  0  1  0    .333
TOTALS               30  6  1  3  1  3 13  1

   2B:  E. Gonzalez (1), M. Lopez (1)
   HR:  J. Votto (1)

       SAN DIEGO   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
    P. Dumatrait  7.2  5  0  1  1  1 11 152   1.17
        D. Reyes  1.1  2  0  0  0  0  2  35   0.00
          TOTALS  9.0  7  0  1  1  1 13 187

     WP: P. Dumatrait (1-0)
     LP: J. Karstens (0-1)
     SV: D. Reyes (1)

     Temperature: 60F
     Wind: Calm
     Attendance: 42,500
     Time: 3:42

Game Recap:

Sacramento Spartans at San Diego Padres
April 6, 2009

TOP OF THE FIRST
Phil Dumatrait takes the mound for the Padres.
Adam Jones grounded to short. <--->
Jeremy Reed popped up to second. <--->
Jose Guillen flied out to right. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the first, the game is tied at 0.

BOTTOM OF THE FIRST
Jeff Karstens takes the mound for the Spartans.
Josh Hamilton singled back through the middle. <--1>
The Padres put on the hit and run.
Josh Hamilton stole second. <-2->
Joey Votto struck out. <-2->
Paul McAnulty singled down the first base line, scoring a run. <--1>
The Padres put on the hit and run.
Jeff Karstens threw a wild pitch. <-2->
Juan Rivera popped up to second. <-2->
Rondell White singled to center, scoring a run. <--1>
Edgar Gonzalez doubled in the left field gap. <32->
Brooks Conrad flied out to right. <32->
2 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, and 2 left on base.
At the end of the first, San Diego leads 2 to 0.

TOP OF THE SECOND
Alex Rodriguez struck out. <--->
Kevin Kouzmanoff grounded to short. <--->
Pablo Sandoval flied out to center. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the second, Sacramento trails 2 to 0.

BOTTOM OF THE SECOND
Luke Carlin struck out. <--->
Mendy Lopez struck out. <--->
Josh Hamilton struck out. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the second, San Diego leads 2 to 0.

TOP OF THE THIRD
Torii Hunter struck out. <--->
Josh Barfield singled to right. <--1>
The Spartans put on the hit and run.
Toby Hall struck out. <--1>
Adam Jones struck out. <--1>
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the third, Sacramento trails 2 to 0.

BOTTOM OF THE THIRD
Joey Votto homered to left-center. <--->
Paul McAnulty struck out. <--->
Juan Rivera struck out. <--->
Rondell White flied out to left. <--->
1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the third, San Diego leads 3 to 0.

TOP OF THE FOURTH
Jeremy Reed homered over the center field fence. <--->
Jose Guillen popped up to second. <--->
Alex Rodriguez singled to center. <--1>
Kevin Kouzmanoff struck out. <--1>
Pablo Sandoval struck out. <--1>
1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the fourth, Sacramento trails 3 to 1.

BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH
Edgar Gonzalez struck out. <--->
Brooks Conrad flied out to left. <--->
Luke Carlin struck out. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the fourth, San Diego leads 3 to 1.

TOP OF THE FIFTH
Torii Hunter popped up foul down the first base line. <--->
Josh Barfield struck out. <--->
Toby Hall tripled to deep center field. <3-->
Adam Jones struck out. <3-->
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the fifth, Sacramento trails 3 to 1.

BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH
Mendy Lopez popped up to the second baseman. <--->
Josh Hamilton struck out. <--->
Joey Votto struck out. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the fifth, San Diego leads 3 to 1.

TOP OF THE SIXTH
Jeremy Reed popped up to the third baseman. <--->
Jose Guillen struck out. <--->
Alex Rodriguez struck out. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the sixth, Sacramento trails 3 to 1.

BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH
Paul McAnulty grounded to short. <--->
Juan Rivera popped up to second. <--->
Rondell White popped up to short. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the sixth, San Diego leads 3 to 1.

TOP OF THE SEVENTH
Kevin Kouzmanoff was hit by a pitch. <--1>
Pablo Sandoval lined out to right. <--1>
Torii Hunter hit an infield single to the second baseman. <-21>
Josh Barfield struck out. <-21>
Kevin Millar pinch hit for Toby Hall. <-21>
Kevin Millar popped up to short. <-21>
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 2 left on base.
In the middle of the seventh, Sacramento trails 3 to 1.

BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH
Brian Schneider came in to play Catcher. <--->
Edgar Gonzalez struck out. <--->
Brooks Conrad flied out to center. <--->
Luke Carlin walked. <--1>
Michael Ekstrom came in to pitch for the Spartans. <--1>
Mendy Lopez doubled into the right field corner. <32->
Josh Hamilton flied out to right field. <32->
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 2 left on base.
At the end of the seventh, San Diego leads 3 to 1.

TOP OF THE EIGHTH
Adam Jones popped up to second. <--->
Jeremy Reed grounded to the third baseman. <--->
Jose Guillen reached second on a throwing error by the third baseman. <-2->
Dennys Reyes came in to pitch for the Padres. <-2->
Alex Rodriguez grounded to second. <-2->
0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the eighth, Sacramento trails 3 to 1.

BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH
Joey Votto struck out. <--->
Paul McAnulty struck out. <--->
Juan Rivera grounded to first. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the eighth, San Diego leads 3 to 1.

TOP OF THE NINTH
Kevin Kouzmanoff singled to right. <--1>
Pablo Sandoval struck out. <--1>
Torii Hunter singled to left. <-21>
Josh Barfield struck out. <-21>
Junior Spivey pinch hit for Brian Schneider. <-21>
Junior Spivey grounded to the pitcher. <-21>

PADRES WIN: 3-1

[T 980]

April 10th, 2009
ESPN.com

MLB Comments on NPB/Giants Situation

"All of Major League Baseball is saddened that another baseball league has to go through a situation like this. MLB did the same back in 1994. In order to help out the NPB, we have selected 25 minor league players and have offered to build a team from them to fill the void that the Giants have left. We are currently awaiting their response but we hope we can help." Said Commissioner Bud Selig this morning during a press conference. "Making a schedule for a number of teams can be quite a daunting task and if one team where to not play, that leaves A LOT of holes in the schedule and throws everything out of whack. We hope by sending our United States team we can help them get through this with as little pain as possible.

NPB, again, has no comment on at this time. For up to the minute news on this situation, tune into ESPN and ESPN.com.

[T 980]

April 13th, 2009
Sacramento, CA
Mt. Dew Park

The crowd stood up and cheered as I walked out to the pitchers mound with a microphone in my hand. They knew what was coming. They knew what happened last season. I stood out on the mound for a moment, taking in all the cheers as the players jogged out to center field, where the giant Mt. Dew bottle was hidden under a long tarp.

"Well, I think you know why we are here today, other then a game..." The crowd starts cheering again as I continue. "Today, we are here to hang, or rather in our case, reveal, a banner that has been eluding most teams for ages, but only took us 10 years to finally achieve." I turned to the players in the outfield, who were holding rope that would pull off the tarp. "Alright boys, take it off!" They all pulled to reveal a newly redone Mt. Dew bottle that read "2008 World Champions of Baseball." The crowd exploded again as fireworks started firing behind the bottle.

"Now here to sing the National Anthem before tonight's game against the San Francisco Giants is Leann Rimes!"

She walks out of the dugout, waving towards the fans and heading towards home plate. I jog over to meet her and hand over the mic. The Giants line up on the 3rd base line as the Spartans in the outfield jog towards the 1st baseline. In a complete surprise right before Leann started singing, Military Men and Women came from behind the outfield wall and pulled tight a giant American flag...

[T 980]

April 13th, 2009
Sacramento, CA
Mt. Dew Park

@

Mt. Dew Park Opening Day

Box Score:

San Francisco Giants at Sacramento Spartans
April 13, 2009

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
        Giants (SFG) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0    0  9  0
      Spartans (SAC) 3 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 x    7  8  0

SAN FRANCISCO        ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
T. Hulett (2B)        4  2  0  0  0  0  0  0    .345
A. Shabala (LF)       4  2  0  0  0  0  0  0    .333
F. Pie (CF)           4  1  0  0  0  0  1  0    .296
W. Aybar (3B)         4  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .200
J. Baker (C)          3  0  1  0  0  0  0  0    .296
C. Rivera (1B)        4  1  0  0  0  0  0  0    .308
J. Bruce (RF)         4  3  0  0  0  0  0  0    .208
S. Costa (DH)         4  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .000
B. Harris (SS)        3  0  1  0  0  0  0  0    .080
TOTALS               34  9  2  0  0  0  3  0

   GIDP:  C. Rivera, W. Aybar

   SAN FRANCISCO   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
      J. Beckett  3.1  7  3  2  7  7  2  90   8.68
         J. Hall  4.2  1  0  0  0  0  6  56   3.52
          TOTALS  8.0  8  3  2  7  7  8 146

SACRAMENTO           ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
A. Jones (DH)         4  3  0  0  0  1  1  0    .241
J. Reed (CF)          3  0  1  1  0  0  0  0    .276
J. Guillen (RF)       3  0  1  1  0  0  0  0    .172
A. Rodriguez (SS)     4  2  0  2  1  2  0  0    .300
K. Millar (LF)        4  1  0  1  1  3  3  0    .200
P. Sandoval (1B)      3  0  1  1  0  0  1  0    .259
J. Barfield (2B)      4  0  0  0  0  0  2  0    .097
T. Hall (C)           3  1  0  1  0  0  0  0    .400
S. Kazmar (3B)        3  1  0  0  0  1  1  0    .214
TOTALS               31  8  3  7  2  7  8  0

   2B:  S. Kazmar (1), A. Jones (1)
   HR:  A. Rodriguez (5), K. Millar (1)

      SACRAMENTO   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
         J. Lima  9.0  9  2  0  0  0  3 153   0.00
          TOTALS  9.0  9  2  0  0  0  3 153

     WP: J. Lima (1-0)
     LP: J. Beckett (0-1)

     Temperature: 54F
     Wind: 3 MPH (left to right)
     Attendance: 30,448
     Time: 3:17

Game Recap:

San Francisco Giants at Sacramento Spartans
April 13, 2009

TOP OF THE FIRST
Jose Lima takes the mound for the Spartans.
Tug Hulett singled back through the middle. <--1>
Adam Shabala singled to left, advancing the runner to third. <3-1>
Felix Pie struck out. <3-1>
Willy Aybar grounded to short for a double play (6-4-3). <3-->
0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the first, the game is tied at 0.

BOTTOM OF THE FIRST
Josh Beckett takes the mound for the Giants.
Adam Jones singled to right. <--1>
Adam Jones went for an extra base and was thrown out at second. <--->
Jeremy Reed walked. <--1>
The Spartans put on the hit and run.
Jose Guillen flied out to center. <--1>
Alex Rodriguez singled down the right field line, advancing the runner to third. <3-1>
Kevin Millar homered over the left field fence for three RBIs. <--->
Pablo Sandoval flied out to left. <--->
3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the first, Sacramento leads 3 to 0.

TOP OF THE SECOND
John Baker popped up to the second baseman. <--->
Carlos Rivera singled to center. <--1>
Jay Bruce singled to left. <-21>
Shane Costa struck out. <-21>
Brendan Harris grounded to the third baseman. <-21>
0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, and 2 left on base.
In the middle of the second, San Francisco trails 3 to 0.

BOTTOM OF THE SECOND
Josh Barfield flied out to right. <--->
Toby Hall grounded to third. <--->
Sean Kazmar grounded to second. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the second, Sacramento leads 3 to 0.

TOP OF THE THIRD
Tug Hulett popped up to the shortstop. <--->
Adam Shabala singled down the first base line. <--1>
Felix Pie singled to left. <-21>
Willy Aybar struck out. <-21>
John Baker lined out to second. <-21>
0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, and 2 left on base.
In the middle of the third, San Francisco trails 3 to 0.

BOTTOM OF THE THIRD
Adam Jones struck out. <--->
Jeremy Reed grounded to third. <--->
Jose Guillen walked. <--1>
Alex Rodriguez homered down the left-field line for two RBIs. <--->
Kevin Millar struck out. <--->
2 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the third, Sacramento leads 5 to 0.

TOP OF THE FOURTH
Carlos Rivera popped up to second. <--->
Jay Bruce flied out to right. <--->
Shane Costa flied out to left. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the fourth, San Francisco trails 5 to 0.

BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH
Pablo Sandoval walked. <--1>
Josh Barfield flied out to center field. <--1>
Toby Hall singled to left field. <-21>
Sean Kazmar doubled to left-center, scoring a run. <32->
Adam Jones singled to center, scoring a run. <3-1>
Josh Hall came in to pitch for the Giants. <3-1>
Jeremy Reed popped up to second. <3-1>
Jose Guillen grounded to third. <3-->
2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
At the end of the fourth, Sacramento leads 7 to 0.

TOP OF THE FIFTH
Brendan Harris walked. <--1>
Tug Hulett flied out to right field. <--1>
Adam Shabala grounded to the pitcher, forcing the runner at second. <--1>
Felix Pie grounded to third. <--1>
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the fifth, San Francisco trails 7 to 0.

BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH
Alex Rodriguez flied out to left. <--->
Kevin Millar struck out. <--->
Pablo Sandoval struck out. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the fifth, Sacramento leads 7 to 0.

TOP OF THE SIXTH
Willy Aybar lined out to left. <--->
John Baker walked. <--1>
Carlos Rivera grounded to second for a double play (4-6-3). <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the sixth, San Francisco trails 7 to 0.

BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH
Josh Barfield struck out. <--->
Toby Hall flied out to left. <--->
Sean Kazmar struck out. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the sixth, Sacramento leads 7 to 0.

TOP OF THE SEVENTH
Jay Bruce singled to right. <--1>
Shane Costa popped up to short. <--1>
Brendan Harris popped up to second. <--1>
Tug Hulett singled through the hole. <-21>
Adam Shabala flied out to center. <-21>
0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, and 2 left on base.
In the middle of the seventh, San Francisco trails 7 to 0.

BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH
Adam Jones doubled down the left field line. <-2->
Jeremy Reed grounded back to the pitcher. <-2->
Jose Guillen flied out to center. <-2->
Alex Rodriguez lined out to right. <-2->
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
At the end of the seventh, Sacramento leads 7 to 0.

TOP OF THE EIGHTH
Felix Pie flied out to center. <--->
Willy Aybar flied out to center. <--->
John Baker lined out to left. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the eighth, San Francisco trails 7 to 0.

BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH
Kevin Millar struck out. <--->
Pablo Sandoval grounded to second. <--->
Josh Barfield struck out. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the eighth, Sacramento leads 7 to 0.

TOP OF THE NINTH
Carlos Rivera flied out to right. <--->
Jay Bruce singled to center. <--1>
Shane Costa lined out to right. <--1>
Brendan Harris flied out to right. <--1>

SPARTANS WIN: 7-0

[T 980]

April 15th-16th
ESPN.com

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
        Giants (SFG) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3    3  7  2
      Spartans (SAC) 0 3 0 4 0 0 1 0 x    8 13  0

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
        Giants (SFG) 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0    1  6  1
      Spartans (SAC) 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 x    5  9  0

April 17th-19th

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
       Dodgers (LAD) 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0    6  5  3
      Spartans (SAC) 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 x    7  9  0

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
       Dodgers (LAD) 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0    3  9  0
      Spartans (SAC) 2 0 4 0 3 0 2 0 x   11 15  1

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
       Dodgers (LAD) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0    0  7  1
      Spartans (SAC) 0 0 1 0 4 2 0 0 x    7 11  1

[T 980]

April 20th, 2009
npb.or.jp

Nippon Professional Baseball has decided internally with a 9-2 vote that the Yomiuri Giants have no right to pull out of a season, regardless of protest. It is our duty to provide baseball entertainment to its fans. Therefore, we have decided in another vote 10-1 that we accept the offer from Major League Baseball to provide us with an American team until this dispute is settled. This does not mean we are banning the Giants from the season, but we are moving forward with the season and all wins and losses will be recorded under the Yomiuri Giants if the dispute is settled within the season

[T 980]

April 21st-23rd
SacSpartans.com

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
      Spartans (SAC) 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0    3  9  0
       Rockies (COL) 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 x    5 10  0

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
      Spartans (SAC) 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0    4 10  0
       Rockies (COL) 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 1    5 12  1

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
      Spartans (SAC) 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1    6 15  0
       Rockies (COL) 1 0 0 3 2 0 1 0 x    7 10  0

April 24th-26th

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
      Spartans (SAC) 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1    4  7  0
       Dodgers (LAD) 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 3 x    8  9  2

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
      Spartans (SAC) 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 3 0    5 10  0
       Dodgers (LAD) 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1    4  5  0

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
      Spartans (SAC) 2 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0    6  9  1
       Dodgers (LAD) 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 3    5  7  1

April 27th-29th

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
      Spartans (SAC) 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1    5 11  0
        Giants (SFG) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0    3  8  1

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
      Spartans (SAC) 0 0 0 7 1 1 0 0 0    9 11  0
        Giants (SFG) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1    3  9  0

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
      Spartans (SAC) 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0    4  6  1
        Giants (SFG) 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0    3 11  1

[T 980]

April 30th, 2009
Sacramento, CA
4 Inning vs. Padres

"I'm sorry, at the moment I don't have anyone I could lend for the team over there. I'm hit with the injury bug so any player who is even ready for the show is already called up on my roster." I was on the phone up in my office as Ruben slide his giant figure through the door and slightly shut it behind him. "I realize that I'll be paid back but the fact of the matter is is that if I send anyone, they just won't be ready. I realize that we are trying to help out the NBP but if we start sending high school kids over there, they are going to think the MLB is a big joke." Ruben sat on the couch holding a folder in his arms. He knew who I was talking to and why. It was about sending players over as a replacement team in place for the Giants. "I'll look through again and I'll send someone over if I have anyone, ok? Alright, have a good day." I set the phone back down on the receiver. "So Ruben, whats up?" I ask as he heads towards the chair in front of my desk.

"Well, I'm almost finished with everything, so it should all be caught up by the end of today. I do have a question about a certain reoccurring payment that seems to be going out throughout the season and a few months in the off season." He slides the papers over to me. "It's the highlighted ones. I realize that $400 a month isn't all that bad, but over time it builds and I have zero records or anything resembling a record for it. There isn't even a name next to it." I scan over it, puzzled. Something isn't right. I wouldn't authorize something like this without knowing every detail on it.

"I have no idea what this is. I'd suggest calling the insurance company or just anything else that would require payments to be set up automatic like this. If all else fails, go straight to the bank and work with them." I slide the folder back to Ruben. "I'll also check around my side of the desk and see if I can turn up anything." We both stand up and shake each others hand.

"I'll keep in contact, Mr. Emigh."