Desert Dogs are AFL Champs

The Desert Dogs beat the Rafters yesterday in the AFL title game in Scottsdale.

The Box Score is here and it states that Stansberry went 1 for 3 and struck out 2 times and committed a fielding error.

Walker did not play and, considering it was a title game and he was a number 1 draft pick for the Pirates, you have to wonder if he is ok or if he was held out because of his poor receiving skills (which is more likely).

Walker hasn't looked 100% since his injury this summer so a month off won't hurt him a bit. Yet Stansberry, who the Pirates are grooming to be a utility player, did play (2 K's and an E on defense, but hey, he played). And Brad Eldred, who was the subject of a wonderful article on his being in the groove for the championship series at pirateball.com, cut a groove on the pine.

Go figure.

David Davidson (Hickory) pitched an inning and a third in relief walking one, striking out three, and allowing one hit. Unfortunately, Davidson allowed two inherited runners to score.

Jesse Chavez (Indy) pitched one-third of an inning and recorded an out on the only player he faced, stranding the runner he inherited.

Pre-game game notes are here (PDF file) and for Pirate fans, the notes say this about Jesse Chavez:

"Jesse had possibly the best fall of any pitcher, going 3-0 with 4 saves and recording a 0.64 ERA in 14.0 IP. He yielded only 1 ER and allowed a total of 6 hit, while striking out 11."

Kudos to Chavez for a job well done! His stock certainly shot up with his outstanding performance.