#57---COL @ CLE, 3/1/2009

Here I tried a similar approach to trace the diamond--trace a square. I did this just for the sake of experiment, not out of any particular affinity for the square as a means to trace the runner’s progress. I prefer open spaces to diamond diagrams anyway, and the square eliminates the aesthetic pluses of using a diamond.

As you can see, I marked reaching first base with the bottom line of the square, and went from there. You may also notice that some of the squares are more like rectangles, and wonder what the distinction is. The answer is that there is none; my artistic skills are so non-existent that even drawing a square can be a challenge. Of course, you could make a sheet with preprinted squares or dots mapping out the four corners if you wanted to make them look nice. But for me, this was just a one-time trial to mix things up.

#56---Dominican Republic v. Venezuela, 2/5/2009 (Caribbean Series)

For this game, I decided to attempt to trace baserunner progress with diamonds, despite not having any diamonds or dots pre-printed on the sheet. A lot of people do this all the time, but I’m not much of an artist (nor do I really like the diamond trace method anyway), and so I naturally don’t usually score that way. You can see from the Venezuela runs in the bottom of the third that my completed diamonds were that in name only.

With this win, Venezuela improved to 4-0 in the Caribbean Series and eliminated the now 1-3 Dominican Republic from contention. They would go on to clinch the series the next day by defeating Mexico.

#55---Venezuela v. Dominican Republic, 2/2/2009 (Caribbean Series)

This opening day Caribbean Series matchup was the first game I had the opportunity to watch and score in 2009. Venezuela starter Brad Knox pitched 6 1/3 no-hit innings, albeit with five walks. After the fifth walk, he had made 88 pitches and was removed. His replacement Yohan Pino promptly served up a game-tying homer to Ronnie Belliard.

In the ninth, though, Venezuela recaptured the lead as Luis Maza improved his day at the plate to 4-5, and Francisco Butto struck out the Dominican side in order to close out the game.

#54---Japan v. Cuba, 3/20/2006 (World Baseball Classic final)

Japan won the first WBC title with two four-run innings; in the first they established command of the game, and in the ninth they managed to take a commanding 10-5 lead after Cuba had chipped away. Daisuke Matsuzaka started and allowed just one run in four innings while striking out five. After Frederich Cepada’s two run homer in the eighth brought Cuba back into the game, Akinori Otsuka was summoned, and while he allowed a run in the ninth, he fanned Cuba’s last two hitters (including star Yulieski Gourriel for the final out) to clinch the title.

And the rest of the semi-free world rejoiced (or at least this fan did).

#53---United States v. Korea, 3/13/2006 (World Baseball Classic)

After the US opened the second round of the WBC by scratching out a win over Japan, one could have been forgiven if they viewed the loss to Canada as just a hiccup. But this game against Korea gave American fans serious cause for concern. Starter Dontrelle Willis labored, making 58 pitches in three frames while walking four, hitting a batter, and surrendering three runs.

It was in the fourth that the Wheelers came off. With two outs, Dan Wheeler surrendered a double to second baseman Kim. At this point, Buck Martinez decided it was a good idea to walk the red-hot Seung-Yeop Lee intentionally. Korea brought up a major leaguer (Hee Seop Choi) as a pinch-hitter, and his three run blast to right essentially ended the game right then and there.

#52---Puerto Rico v. Cuba, 3/10/2006 (World Baseball Classic)

This opening round game caused a lot of people, myself included, to downplay Cuba’s chances to advance deep into the WBC. Oops.

Puerto Rico simply had their way with Cuba in front of a friendly crowd in San Juan, getting two-run shots from Bernie Williams, Alex Cintron, and Carlos Beltran. The short leash granted to the Cuban pitcher was on display as Gonzalez was pulled after walking the bases loaded with two down in the first, and three pitchers were used in the fourth inning alone. Things got a little chippy in the seventh as Jose Santiago hit Cuban batter Moreno with two outs, getting himself and manager Jose Oquendo tossed. In the end, though, Cuba would get the last laugh as they would beat Puerto Rico in the second round.

#51---United States v. South Africa, 3/10/2006 (World Baseball Classic)

After the US lost to Canada, their final first round game against South Africa was an absolute must-win. South Africa was actually competitive against Canada, but still there was little tension, and for good reason. Roger Clemens gave up just one hit (a groundball up the middle) in 4 1/3 innings of work while striking out six, and the US unleashed an offensive assault, putting up crooked numbers in the first three frames. Ken Griffey led the barrage, going 4-4 with two homers, three runs scored, and 7 RBI, while Derrek Lee chipped in at 3-4 with a homer, three runs, and 4 RBI. The mercy rule ended the game after five.

#50---Cuba v. Panama, 3/8/2006 (World Baseball Classic)

This opening round game in San Juan is, as of this moment, the only extra inning game in WBC history. Surprisingly, Panama was able to take Cuba to eleven before falling 8-6.

While this was a big surprise in retrospect, perhaps only matched on an individual game level by South Africa’s near-miss against Canada, it had not yet reached that status as Panama had yet to be no-hit by The Netherlands and some observers (myself among them) still doubted Cuba as a championship contender. It took two Cuban runs in the seventh to pull the game even at four, and they would take the lead in the top of the ninth on Yulieski Gourriel’s two-run, two-out homer. But Panama fought back in the bottom of the ninth, loading the bases with none out, getting a one-out single from Olmedo Saenz to push one across, then tying the game when Agnoly was hit with two outs. Ruben Rivera had a chance to win it, but he popped to second.

In the eleventh, Cuba staged a two-out rally, and in the bottom of the frame, Carlos Lee flew to left on a 3-1 pitch as the potential tying run.

A Review of “John Dewan’s Stat of the Week Baseball Scorebook”

Let me preface this review by saying that I like John Dewan’s work, particularly on fielding metrics, and with one exception, everything I’ve ever purchased from ACTA Publications has been great (this includes Dewans’ Fielding Bible, The Bill James Handbook, The Bill James Gold Mine, The Hardball Times Baseball Annual, and The Hardball Times Season Preview). Unfortunately, the one exception is the product I’m reviewing today.

This is without a doubt the worst scorebook I have ever purchased. I will quote from the product description, as it provides a decent framework for explaining why I didn’t like it:

Printed on sturdy cardstock with perforated sheets

This is true; it will become redundant for me to keep saying that, so let me assure you: the good folks at ACTA did not lie in describing their product. While it is printed on sturdy people and has perforated sheets, it doesn’t have any sort of outside backing at all. You’re going to have to take the sheet out and use a clipboard or something.

this practical scorebook will quickly become your preferred way to score a baseball game

Probably not, but you have to try to sell it.

It includes twelve Stats of the Week from baseball statistician John Dewan, owner of Baseball Info Solutions.

Big dummy that I am, I did not realize that having 12 Stats of the Week would equal have 12 scoresheets. I guess I should have figured that out; but they also could have told you that there were only 12 scoresheets in the thing.

The Scorebook also allows users to score both teams in a game on one sheet of paper, allowing them to pull it out of the Scorebook and keep it for years to come.

True again, but don’t most scorebooks? How many scorebooks have you had that needed two sheets, or one sheet front and back, to score one team?

Of course, there are twelve scoresheets, and you need both sides to score one game, so this book can only score six games. Even at $5, that’s 83 cents a game, one of the least cost effective scorebooks of all-time.

John Dewan’s Stat of the Week Baseball Scorebook™ also includes directions for John Dewan's own personal scoring method

It does, and Mr. Dewan is free to score games however he’d like. Again, it’s probably my fault for assuming too much, but I assumed that since Mr. Dewan was involved with Project Scoresheet, his personal scoring method would have some interesting touches to it. I’m sorry to report that the most unique thing about is that he doesn’t really track baserunner movement at all, instead just making dots in their boxes if they happen to score (and noting when an advance occurs on a non-PA outcome (steal, wild pitch, etc.)). Otherwise, it’s basically the standard system described in every ballpark scorecard in the last century.

Now if you like to score games like that, great. I’m not going to tell you not to use that system, or any other scoring system. But please don’t sell it to me as his “personal scoring method” (again, this is not a lie, as everyone’s system has some personal flair to it) when it is pretty milquetoast.

The scoresheet itself is as bland as it gets…the stat of the week takes up a good sixth of the page on the left margin, and then there are boxes for each batter in twelve innings. If you like boxes to record stats at the end of the game, you will like the fact that there are big roomy boxes for AB, R, H, RBI, W, K, SB/CS, and other. There is plenty of room to record R, H, E, and LOB at the end of each inning. There is room for six pitchers plus their decision, IP, R/ER, W, K, and Other, and a spacious box for notes. And of course there are places to record the basic game data like date and time.

What has always bothered me about these kind of boxes is that they eat up space on the page, and leave you with tiny scoreboxes. And that’s exactly what this scorebook has--tiny scoreboxes with little room to keep a detailed account of the game. The net result is that if you are only concerned with the amount of space to record the actual game account, you are hardly better off with this scorebook than with the standard ballpark programs, unless it is a really bad one.

So, in summary:

* expensive (~ 80 cents a game)
* not a lot of room to score
* requires front and back to score a complete game
* good if you like a very basic account with lots of room for stats

By all means, support the good folks at ACTA and buy some of their books. I particularly recommend The Hardball Times Baseball Annual, but any of the aforementioned books are also worth picking up. But I’d pass on the Stat of the Week Scorebook.

#49--Puerto Rico v. Netherlands, 3/8/2006 (World Baseball Classic)

This was a first round game from the San Juan pool which also included Cuba and Panama. The Dutch rallied from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game after 5, but Puerto Rico added two in the sixth. When Ivan Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran hit back-to-back homers to lead off the seventh, Dutch skipper Robert Eenhorn snapped and was tossed.

Note the presence of a young reliever for the Dutch team who was not well-known at the time: Jair Jurrjens.

#48---Canada v. United States, 3/8/2006 (World Baseball Classic)

If any notion that the US would cakewalk through the WBC survived the opener against Mexico, it was shattered when Canada jumped to a 8-0 lead going into the bottom of the fifth. Although the US tallied six in the bottom of the frame, capped by Jason Varitek's grand slam, they would not score again, and 8-6 would be the final. The US would need a win over South Africa and some inexplicable but perfectly feasible combination of events in the Canada/Mexico game to advance to the second round.

Note Adam Stern's inside-the-park homer to lead off the fifth inning for the Canadians.

#47---Mexico v. United States, 3/7/2006 (World Baseball Classic)

This was the first game played by the US and Mexico in the WBC. It was a pitcher's duel, with solo homers from Derrek Lee and Chipper Jones accounting for the only runs. Looking at the substitutions, you can see that Buck Martinez and the Americans were treating it much more as an all star-type game, although in fairness they had much more depth to substitute, and while Jones came in for ARod, he hit a key homer.

#46---Dominican Republic v. Venezuela, 3/7/2006 (World Baseball Classic)

This may have been the most anticipated game of the first round of the WBC as it matched two top powers. Of course, in the end neither of these teams would make it to the championship round, but this game didn't really disappoint.

Neither Bartolo Colon (DR) or Johan Santana (Ven) were able to get deep into the game (nor were they expected to), but Colon got the better of it with 3 shutout innings versus Santana's two runs allowed in 3 1/3. Adrian Beltre's three-run homer in the fifth off Carlos Zambrano seemed to put the DR in charge at 6-1, but Venezuela got four runs over the next three frames, highlighted by Miguel Cabrera and Edgardo Alfonzo circuit clouts.

In the top of the ninth, though, both David Ortiz and Beltre hit their second homers of the game, each two-run shots, to put Venezuela away.

#45--China v. Korea, 3/3/2006 (World Baseball Classic)

This was the first World Baseball Classic game I had the opportunity to score (this was on the second day of the tournament); it was actually played on March 4 but I put it down as March 3 as the time zone situation slipped my mind.

It was no contest as Korea pounded China. Seung Yeop Lee continued his WBC of terror by going 4-4 with two homers and five RBI.

I don't mean to sound flippant at all, but it is a real pain to write down the lineup for a 100% Korean team. There were five Lees, three Kims, and two Parks. I think next time I might try using first names. Westerners reverse the Korean naming convention, but there's something to be said for Park Chan-ho.

#44---HOU @ CLE, 3/2/2008

This was the first game I scored in 2008, which is always an exciting occasion (mostly because it also by definition is the first game I had an opportunity to watch/listen to/attend, not so much because of the scoring). There isn’t too much of interest here other than that the Astros did not get a hit until the sixth and the Indians battered them in the late innings.

#43---CHN v. SEA, 3/30/2007

I am going to go with a Spring Training theme for the next two weeks before turning my attention to the World Baseball Classic. This game was played in Las Vegas between the Cubs and the Mariners, and I kept this sheet on a dot scoresheet I use. It looks a lot cleaner from a zoomed out view than it does up close or when it is on the page in front of you.

One note is that I did not specify which Chicago team it was. This was an oversight on my part; I have a protocol for the two team cities which I simply did not follow in this case. A game between Chicago and Seattle would usually not have any specification, because I would assume that it was the White Sox since they are in the AL. If it was the Cubs, I would usually identify them as “Chicago N”. However, if it was a World Series game between those two teams, I would just use “Chicago” as the note that it was a World Series game would indicate that it must be the Cubs.

If the Dodgers played the Mets, I would call them “Los Angeles N” and “New York N” because one could just as easily assume that it was the Angels and the Yankees.