IAL action: Hitmen pick off my Thunderchickens

Last night, I started the long slog of the intra-division action of our Illowa APBA League.  These are the series that we play that don’t occur during our weekend get-togethers.  These series are nine-games long.

So, Chuck Lucas and logged on to Skype and played all nine games with a few five minute breaks.  It took us six hours but bear in mind that Chuck and I like to talk when we play. 

And that’s okay. When we all gather together to play, there is a schedule to keep so we kind of have to play at a certain speed. When it’s one-on-one, there isn’t a particular time frame and we can roll our dice at a more leisurely pace.

A few of the topics we hit on during our series

• Kurt Bergland’s YouTube channel (Chuck is a big fan!)
• The book “The Mind of Bill James” by Scott Gray
• Dick Allen and how we both think he’s underappreciated
• The high cost of being a MLB fan
• …and so much more. 

Chuck is a good conversationalist and a great friend so I don’t mind dedicating six hours of my time to playing APBA baseball with him.  I do wish my Twin City Thunderchickens had scored more.  We got enough hits but weren’t able to drive them home. 

Chuck’s Northside Hitmen won six games out of nine with his efficient scoring.  He drove home the point with a 19-3 drubbing in Game 8. 

Nonetheless, the Thunderchickens are playing better than they did at the beginning of the season.  After winning five of the first 24 games, we can now claim victory in six of our last fifteen.  Our current record going into May’s series with the Montana Ospreys is 11-28. 

A side note: Chuck has Randy Arozarena aka “A-train” in his outfield.  Every time I face him, I think of this video featuring him and Kevin Kiermaier (also in our league). 

The video is a from last year, but it cracks me up every time I run across it.  Chuck, I’m hoping you watch this. 

Question for APBA fans

When you play against someone, do you talk about non-APBA stuff during your games?  If so, what topics do you cover?