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45 Year Old Jamie Moyer and 42 Year Old Greg Maddux turned back the clocks last night at Petco Park with Moyer and the Phils getting the better of the home team by a final score of 1-0. There wasn't a pitch that registered 85 the entire 7 innings that both veterans tossed before giving way to the bullpens. Maddux went back to the mound at the start of the 8TH inning where Moyer was due to lead off but the lefty was lifted for a pinch hitter. Once the PH was announced skipper Bud Black went out and took the ball from Maddux as well. Maddux finished his night with 85 pitches and 59 went for strikes as he went after win #354 for the first time. The next "W" Maddux picks up will move him into a tie with Roger Clemens but that will have to wait for another five days... I was able to take more pics than I will know what to do with and will write about the trip/game once the trip ends and we make it back to the Shenandoah Valley...

I love the old commercial with the guy from the Hair Club where he says I am not just the owner but I am a member too. I mention as often as possible that I check out things John Leonard posts at his site http://allthingsvalleyleague.typepad.com/ . I use all of the info that appears on the screen and that was never more true than last night... Back on August 9TH, John posted a story about a young man that had pitched for New Market back in 2000. Brad Ziegler was a Rebel before my time in the Shenandoah Valley so I was UN -aware of his ties to the VBL until I read John's story on his amazing start with the Oakland A's. Now fast forward to last night here on the West Coast. Our Padres game was a day game so there was plenty of time to watch all of the highlights on ESPN over and over again. You could see the Chi- Sox go yard four straight times on ESPN-News and then there was the diving catch as the lone highlight from our game. Then they show two clips from the Rays @ A's

In it's latest edition, the Page News and Courier ran a story entitled "Circuit Riders" about the Around the Valley in 60 Days promotion, as I've mentioned. I know that some of this site's readers aren't able to get the PNC so here are a few pictures of the story. They're not quite clear enough to read but if you want us to buy and save you a copy, let us know! Only $0.50!

By: Scoop Carter ATV-60 Correspondent SAN DIEGO- The beginning of the end started for the 2008 Padres when the decision to not re-sign Mike Cameron or Milton Bradley to help the offense. The team instead banked on Jim Edmonds to pick up the offensive slack but he was never healthy before leaving town. The second thing that happened to the Friars was an arm injury to staff Ace and last seasons Cy Young winner Jake Peavy . Peavy has returned to the rotation and this afternoon the righty quickly became locked into a pitchers duel with the Brewers Ben Sheets. The two starters made quick work of the opposing batters in the first six innings, allowing a TOTAL of three hits between them. Peavy (9-8) fanned 8 Brewers over the seven innings he worked but did allow one run to score in his final inning of work. Milwaukee collected their third and fourth hit of the afternoon with the RBI going to the above mentioned Cameron. In the past Cameron collecting RBI's during a Peavy start woul

We have to go back to 1984 Cubs Draft Room (1/4 century ago) to talk about the pitching match-up for Philadelphia @ San Diego Friday night... It would appear that someone had done their homework... The Cubs General Manager that season was Dallas Green. Green had two first round picks that year and selected Drew Hall and Damon Berryhill (4TH overall) The second round pick for the Cubs was a young pitcher from ValleyHigh School in Las Vegas, Nevada that most scouts stumbled across when looking at his older brother Mike. Greg Maddux was drafted in the second round and he managed to make his MLB debut on my birthday in 1986. I was turning 23 that day and I noticed this 20 year old rookie pitching for the Cubs. The story just developed from there. Older brother Mike is still wearing a big league uniform as well- as the pitching coach for the Milwaukee Brewers. The sixth round draft pick that day for the Cubs was a pitcher from St.Joseph's named Jamie Moyer . Yes, that Jamie Moyer . M

Greetings From San Diego: When I last watched Greg Maddux pitch (Last Saturday Night) it was at home on this very computer with the help of MLB .com. Maddux captured his third straight win after going 14 straight starts (5-L,9-ND) without one. His latest win put him on the door step of some more baseball history. The total is now 353 wins and the next name on the All-Time wins is Roger Clemens at 354. The Rocket (#8 overall) is the final pitcher in Greg's era to be listed above him in MLB victories. Warren Spahn (Spahn and(Johnny) Sain and pray for rain) is the only other pitcher left on the list that pitched during my lifetime. Spahn pitched until he was 47 back in 1967 and that is when he recorded win #363. I was four years old at the time that Spahn hung up his spikes so my knowledge of his career comes from reading about it. I do know that Spahn won 20 or more games in 13 different seasons! Clemens on the other hand- I was fortunate enough to meet Roger outside old Memoria

Harrisonburg Turks Harrisonburg, Virginia Stadium- Memorial Stadium Owners- Bob & Teresa Wease 2008 Record 19-25 regular season / 1-2 Post Season (Tie 5TH in playoffs) Highlight- (1)The Turks were the only VBL team to defeat the Luray Wranglers in the post season . (2) Captured the coffee mugs award for most Loopsters The Turks Nation played a huge role in our Summer long 2008 Around The Valley in 60 Days promotion! Let's start out with the 18 Turkloopsters that finished the trek and then you have to mix in Mrs. Teresa Wease . I don't know if it would be possible to have one lady that I didn't know coming into this project, have such a remarkable effect on the outcome. Not only did the Turks capture the team Spirit competition but every time that I needed to hear some kind words at the end of a long day, Mrs. Turks was always there to cheer our effort forward. There was just one area that I let the Turks nation down. When I went through my team notes to prepare for

Hi there, hello there, and how do you do? We're sitting here in the beautiful Salt Lake City International Airport on our way to San Diego (named after Saint Didacus of Alcalá, meaning "Saint James" in English). I took the liberty (I've become accustomed to having the camera with me at all times, now... it'll be a tough habit to break at school, I'm sure) of snapping off a few photos on the plane ride here. Some of them aren't my best but I hope they help you appreciate just a bit of the beauty it took this flight to help me realize. A picture from my seat on the airplane. Yeah, the 'rents sat me in scene aisle 40. Thanks, guys! A picture of Dulles' mobile lounge. That lovely piece of machinery got us to B74 in no time! I miss the money shot of her doing a little dance just a few seconds before. I'm sorry, my photographic senses tingled just a tad too late. Ahh suburbia. It's beautiful even from above, isn't it? I have this thing for cl

I am not sure if it will be one of the stories that makes it on line or not but the feature that Bill Meade just finished on Around The Valley in 60 Days came out in this weeks paper. Bill managed to talk with Sheli Rush and her family as well as Buck & Jacob Smith in addition to the Buckley family here in Luray . We will check later to see if it makes the on line cut and if it does not we will find a way to post the story from our side... Thanks to each of the Loopsters that contributed to the story and to Bill for writing it...

Covington Lumberjacks Home Park : Casey Field Covington , Virginia 2008 Record- 27W 24L (Runner Up) First Season in VBL : 8TH (2001) Championships : 2005 Ownership Group- Dizzy Garten , Gary Whitehead, Jason Helmintoller , Mark Pifer I wanted to take a look at the 12 VBL clubs from our experiences this summer. I figured a good place to start was with the Covington Lumberjacks. The Jacks are coming off a runner-up finish in the 2008 VBL season after finishing sixth overall. Our adventure took us down to Covington on five separate occasions and our paths crossed a total of 14 times over the season. During the owners meeting the Lumberjacks rotated through so while I knew each of them I didn't know any of them all that well. That changed over the 14 nights that we were in the same ball park... Trip 1- Down to Covington (Tuesday May 27TH)- Head down to give Dizzy his box of passports and was able to spend a few minutes with the principal owner at the Car Dealership he works at.

After many, many technical difficulties on this one, I can finally present this video to you! This is the last time the 2008 Luray Wranglers were announced - right after the third game against Covington to secure the title. Enjoy!

Having serious fun with John Leonard and a All Things Valley League reader by the name of Doug. The post season awards have been handed out and as it is with any set of awards- Fun to debate! The biggest thing for me though is that it keeps the VBL in sight and that is/was the main purpose for Around The Valley in 60 Days. The VBL is an amazing league, full of talented players, skilled managers and dedicated fans but it lacks in getting the word out. I check each day to see how many people are still checking in at our site and then I get caught up on everything that John has posted over at http://allthingsvalleyleauge.typepad.com . The area newspapers shut down the coverage of the VBL and each of the 12 (Yes-Lexington) clubs are in their 2 weeks shut down mode as they scatter to various points of the country to try and catch their breath. The off-season has become so small that it has turned into a battery recharging time versus a serious break in the action. The other nigh

Sabrena was in town for her 23RD Birthday so we asked Daniel to finish the first jacket. Sabrena will be taking mine and we wanted to be able to show one of them off. The view from the front displays to zipper and the matching logos. This one shows her hands in the pockets This one shows you the hoodie The ATV-60 Logo on the back... Daniel says: Wash in Cold Only and do not put in Dryer... He looks kinda scary... Her Birthday surprise... Think it made her smile... Vanna White pose...Can I buy a Vowel? Daniel has them all and will be hard at work all week long!

I wanted to have some fun with a little participation if there are folks still out there. It is an age old question that many an athlete or fan has been asked- If you were in charge of the VBL for a day: What changes would you make (Remember you are limited to how much money something can cost) I will toss out a couple of my own first- 1. Separate out the MVP award from the pitching. The only cost would be for one more plaque at seasons end. 2. Cut a deal with the Northern Virginia Daily & the Staunton News-Leader where one of the two newspapers would step up and cover the Championship Series even if none of the six combined teams they cover are playing. We can't afford to have ANY games being played in the Lineweaver Cup not be available on line... Please send your thoughts in by post or e-mail....