California Dreamin' - The GUBA's California Crusaders

[mikev]

Crusaders Extend Lead, Start Eyeing Postseason?


A 6-4 record over the last 10 days is generally not going to be considered enough to put any distance between first and second place. However, when the second place team goes 3-7 over those same 10 days *and* one of those series includes losing 2 of 3 to the frontrunners, well then we see a 6 game lead stretched out to 9.

The Crusaders kept on marching towards the MBBA Pacific crown with three straight wins to open the sim - 2 over Baltimore and 1 against Birmingham before losing the next 2 against the Bandits. One could say that California was overlooking the Birmingham series, because following that was a three gamer against the second place Quakes that was going to have a huge impact on the Pacific race.

Game One couldn't have gone better for the Crusaders. Jorge Enriquez went 8 strong innings, allowing 2 runs on 8 hits while striking out 6 Quakes and walking only 2. Outfielder Carlos Garza hit his 23rd home run of the season, and Jakob Forest connected for his 25th, and the Crusaders rolled 10-2.

Game Two would see Quakes ace Tomas Gonzalez pitch 7.1 innings and give up only 3 runs, while Crusaders hurler Griz Hayagawa was knocked around for 6 runs in 6 innings, and Los Angeles evened up the series at 1.

Game Three was the Carlos Garza show. His 4th inning homer off of Gilberto Rivera erased a 2-run defecit, and his 9th inning blast off Ralph Anderton extended the Crusaders lead from 1 run to 3. The pitching combination of Arturo Fernandez, Angel Sandoval, and Hsin-ta Jin held L.A. to just 2 runs, and the Crusaders took the series 2-1 and were in command of the Pacific division.

The sim ended after 2 games of the 4 game series against Vancouver, with each squad taking a victory.

The pitching star of the sim was clearly Enriquez, who tossed a rare 10 inning complete game against the Monarchs to open the month of September, and followed that up with 8 innings against Los Angeles in the crucial opening game of the series against the Quakes.

With 21 games remaining on the schedule, it would take a fairly colossal chokejob for the Crusaders to not make the playoffs. Their magic number is 13, but the team is focused and is not going to take their foot off the gas until the Division Champion hats and shirts are actually given out.

The Next Crusade

9/11 - @ Vancouver
9/12 - @ Vancouver

9/13 - v. Louisville
9/14- v. Louisville
9/15- v. Louisville

9/17 - @ Washington
9/18- @ Washington
9/19- @ Washington

9/20 - @ Valencia

[mikev]

F**k.

Man, talk about getting the good along with the really, REALLY ****ing bad this sim.

The good: We had a 6-3 sim, pretty much beat who we were supposed to, and essentially have the division wrapped up with a 10.5 game lead over LA.

The really, really ****ing bad: Jakob Forest, the 2 time reigning Batter of the Year, was hit by a pitch in a game against Vancouver in which he'd already homered. The slugger was hit with an Esteban Rodriguez fastball directly above the bill of his helmet. Emergency medical responders were immediately dispatched to the field, as Forest lay unconscious in the batters box after the impact. In a press release issued the next morning, it was revealed that Forest had suffered a fractured skull and will miss signifigant time. Needless to say, his season is over, which is a crushing blow to the Crusaders as they prepare for their first postseason berth. Initial estimates from doctors put Forest's healing and rehab at approximately 7 months, meaning there is a chance that he will play the 2011 season in its entirety.

To replace Forest in the lineup, Kinnosuke "Sake-Bomb" Sasaki will assume first base duties after spending the year as the designated hitter, and Enrique DeJesus will take back the DH role that was given to Sasaki.

To say that losing their team leader and best hitter is going to have an effect on the Crusaders hopes of advancing in the playoffs is an understatement. It's definitely going to be rough, but Sake-Bomb is nearly equal to Forest in production this year, so if DeJesus can keep up with his career numbers it won't be the worst thing in the world. It's ****ty, but we'll have to deal. I'm just hoping that Forest doesn't suffer any talent hits, which of course will probably happen because I just gave him a gigantic contract extension.

[BoofBonser26]

Ouch, man. Ouch. I feel your pain.

[mikev]

MBBA Pacific Champions!

Finally.

In their 4th year of existance, the California Crusaders are MBBA Pacific champions and will head to the postseason for the first time. The clinching game was a Saturday night game at Las Vegas, the winning pitcher was rookie Arturo "Big Time" Fernandez, and Sake-Bomb hit 2 home runs, giving him 36 on the season (ping: JQ).

Fernandez was brilliant in the clincher, tossing a complete game. He scattered 7 hits and allowed only 2 runs - 1 earned - while striking out 10 Hustlers and issuing no walks. He would also win his second start of the sim against Los Angeles, when it didn't matter and the division was wrapped up already.

California will play the winner of the MBBA Atlantic division, which is still up for grabs with 2 games to play. Baltimore is riding an 8-2 streak and currently holds a 1 game lead over New York.

The Crusaders will use the final 2 games of the season to reset their rotation for the playoffs. Lorenzo Diaz will be given a start so that Jorge Enriquez can rest and prepare for Game 1 of the playoffs. Rumors have been swirling that Ken McKain will get the nod in the second game, while Fernandez will pitch third. If you're keeping track at home, that means reigning Golden Arm winner Henry McHaney will be the 4th starter in the playoffs. He's had a solid year, but he's just been too inconsistent to put out as the #1, while Enriquez has been flat out dominant the entire second half of the season.

The Next Crusade

Playoffs, baby! Bring On New York/Baltimore!!!

[mikev]

2010: Well, That's A Wrap

So, that's that.

The Crusaders, after beating Birmingham in six games in the Cartwright Cup (Division Series, for you non-GUBAites out there), were felled by Green Bay in the Landis Memorial Series (MBBA Championship), 4 games to 1. It was a small consolation to see the Wolves continue on and beat Mexico City in the Hemispheric Series (GUBA Championship), so at least we can say that we lost to the eventual World Champs, right?

Now, generally I subscribe to the "Playoffs are a crapshoot" theory, widely publicized by that stat guy who wrote a book about himself or something, but whatever. In this case, the best team won. Green Bay and Mexico City were pretty much the class of the MBBA and FIBB divisions, respectively. They were the winningest teams in their leagues, so it's not really a surprise that they met in the Hemispheric Series.

Heading toward the offseason, there isn't really a whole lot that needs to be done. Pedro Vargas was a more than acceptable solution for the team at shortstop in 2010, and will be expected to remain there next year. The ageless Carl Hollingsworth put together a nice season at second base, batting .301 in 126 games played. Forest will be back in time for Spring Training, and Sake-Bomb looks to have found his home with the Crusaders.

The outfield is fairly well set also, with Tony Reyes nearly duplicating his 2008 numbers in right field, Takahashi leading the team with a .311 batting average and taking centerfield, and Carlos Garza having quite possibly the worst 29 homer, 86 RBI season ever. Former leadoff hitter Francisco Mendez will return from his season ending injury to the role of 4th outfielder/platoon partner with Garza, as a season on the DL has sapped his skills a bit. That only leaves injured center fielder Jose Avila, who the team has negotiated with several times on an extension but deemed his asking price signifigantly too high.

The pitching staff will remain essentially unchanged, aside from a slight juggling of the order of the rotation. The playoff rotation of Enriquez, McKain, Fernandez, McHaney will be what California goes with in 2011, with Hayagawa rounding out the 5th starter's spot.

Budget is in good shape, attendance is high, fans love the team, and there are no big free agents leaving. Right now, things look good in California, even though getting beaten up in the Landis Memorial Series stings.

[mikev]

Crusaders Ink Minor Leaguers During Offseason

In an offseason that was likely to be quiet on the Free Agent front, the Crusaders announced that several minor leaguers have been signed by scouts to play in the minor leagues:


MR Norihisa Kobayashi

Kobayashi, a 17 year old flamethrowing right hander from Japan, already has the pure stuff to get GUBA hitters out. He will likely skip directly over Rookie and Short A ball, and start his career in Single A Glendale.


SP Fei Shui

Shui, another signing from the Far East, is a starter who will more than likely need to show some improvement to reach the big leauges. His upside right now is probably that of a #4/#5 starter or a swingman.


1B Yunosuke Sato

Scouts have been kicking ass in Japan. Now, I don't want to get too excited, but if this kid develops completely, I'd say that I have a replacement for Jakob Forest in about 5 years. He's rated 8/10/8/3/9 by my head scout.


CF Andre Cooley

Cooley is a speedster, and a doubles machine to boot. He projects as a plus fielder at all three outfield positions, so he'll likely have a job as a backup/defensive replacement type at the least. If he can work on his plate discipline in the minors, he'd have an outside shot at a starting job due to his defense.


MR Aguinaldo Apoliniro

This guy is totally getting called "AA". He's from Brazil, he throws SIX different pitches, and he's rated 5/5/10 by the scout that found him. Along with a 67% groundball ratio, I totally love this guy's talent set.

[mikev]

Crusaders Announce Biggest Trade In Team History

Crusaders GM Mike Voelker sat in front of an assembled group of media. The team had called a press conference to announce what was possibly the biggest, most blockbuster trade in team history.

With cameras and microphones fixated on him, the GM took a deep breath and started talking.

"I'm here to announce that we have traded Henry McHaney to the Sydney Roos."

There was a collective gasp heard throughout the conference room. McHaney? The 26 year old phenom, just a year removed from one of the best pitching seasons the GUBA has ever seen? The nearly unanimous 2009 Golden Arm winner? It defied logic. McHaney, along with twentysomethings Jorge Enriquez,, Ken McKain, and Arturo Fernandez were going to make up one of the best rotations in the MBBA for years, weren't they? How could this be?

One of the reporters in the back of the room finally asked the question that everybody else wanted to.

"Who did you trade him for?"

Voelker looked towards the general area of the reporter who had asked, but was unable to pinpoint who exactly it had been. With a bit of a grin beginning to show, he replied.

"Rafael Lopez."

The 25 year old FIBB All-Star shortstop was headed to the west coast. Immediately the questions began flying around the room, but were quickly silenced when the GM started speaking again.

"The bottom line is that we felt the rotation was a position of strength and middle infield was a position of need. Vargas has already been informed that he'll be moving back to second base, where he'll get the majority of playing time. The initial plan is to get Carl in there against lefties or when Vargas needs a day off. I think that it's going to be the way to put the best team out there, day in and day out. I'd like to thank you all for coming, but I've got a plane to catch. Spring Training is here and I want to go watch some baseball."

In addition to the trade, the team announced that veteran starter Javier Lugo to a one year contract. It is expected that Lugo will be the team's 4th starter, with Masahiko Hayagawa rounding out the rotation.

[mikev]

***The 2011 season has started. I missed the first sim and didn't get time to do season previews, so we'll pick up in the middle of April, 16 games into the season***


I Love My Pitching.

Nearly two weeks into the season, after a less than stellar start, the Crusaders have bounced back and are now 11-5.

The story so far has been pitching, pitching, and more pitching. Jorge Enriquez has given up one earned run in 33 innings while striking out 37 hitters. Closer Hsin-ta Jin has only allowed 1 run in his 7 appearances, earning 5 saves.

As a team, the Crusaders 2.07 ERA is the best in the MBBA. Yes, the entire team. Small sample size FTW.

Offensively, well, lets just say there hasn't been a lot to be excited about so far. It feels strange to me that I have a team with so little power (.349 team SLG, lol), but the .319 team OBP is just unacceptable.

Francisco Mendez has made a somewhat triumphant return from his year long elbow injury, with a .333 OBP and 11 stolen bases so far this season. Between Mendez and Pedro Vargas finally looking like he's putting it all together, the offense might not be too terrible. Oh, and Carlos Garza isn't starting the season in an 0-for-April slump like last year, so that's nice.

Oh, and Jakob Forest is off the DL now. I wonder if he'll help the offense at all?

The Next Crusade

4/22 - v. Jackson
4/23 - v. Jackson
4/24 - v. Jackson

4/26 - @ Los Angeles
4/27 - @ Los Angeles
4/28 - @ Los Angeles

4/29 - @ Long Beach
4/30 - @ Long Beach
5/1 - @ Long Beach

[mikev]

Offense Still Sputtering, Pitching Still Dominant

Not a bad 10 days for the Crusaders, now 23-11 and boasting a 5.5 game lead over second place Los Angeles in the Pacific division.

The team dropped their first game to Long Beach, then beat Valencia twice before losing a pair to Vancouver. They made up for the slightly embarrasing Vancouver series by sweeping Las Vegas in three games, and finished out by splitting the first two of a three game set with Green Bay.

Pitching, again, has been the name of the game for the Crusaders. Jorge Enriquez, April's Pitcher Of The Month, looked like he was vying for a second consecutive award. In his two May starts, he has a pair of complete game victories, 12 strikeouts, two walks, and has allowed only 3 earned runs on 13 hits.

Not to be outdone, Ken McKain has pitched a couple of absolute gems of his own. 8 innings, 6 hits, 1 earned run in both of his May performances. 8 strikeouts/1 walk in the first start, 2 strikeouts/2 walks in the other. So far this season, you'd be hard pressed to find a better 1-2 punch in the GUBA.

The offense has been pretty terrible so far. Jakob Forest has helped, but is only OPSing .817 as his power numbers need to come around after a late start to the season. Sake-Bomb has been flat out awful, and Francisco Mendez seems to be getting his feet back under him after a slow April.

Six weeks in, it certainly looks like this team will be capable of whatever the pitching leads them too, but something... somebody needs to start hitting the ball. The staff can only shoulder the load for so long.

The Next Crusade

5/11 - v. Green Bay

5/13 - @ New York
5/14 - @ New York
5/15 - @ New York

5/16 - @ Baltimore
5/17 - @ Baltimore
5/18 - @ Baltimore

5/19 - v. Vancouver
5/20 - v. Vancouver

[mikev]

Still in First, Offense Still Sucks

Three weeks into May, and the Crusaders have a 2 game lead over Los Angeles, and a 4 game cushion over surprising Vancouver.

The pitching continues to be absolutely stellar. California's 2.63 team ERA is the best in the GUBA, and the pitching staff is carrying the team without a doubt.

The hitting, on the other hand, has been very, very bad. Outside of Jakob Forest and his .313/.400/.465 line on the season, nobody else on the team has even an .800 OPS. Catcher Carlos Becerra is enjoying a nice resurgence with a .296/.358/.440 season so far, and Pedro Vargas (.286/.351/.435) has been solid, but that's about where the offense ends.

After a breakout 2010, Sake-Bomb is off to a horrible start, hitting only .230 with only 3 home runs. He's in serious danger of being benched in favor of Enrique DeJesus until he can figure out what the issue is.

The same can be said about Rafael Lopez. After coming out of nowhere (literally) last season to hit .305 and put up a 53.1 VORP with Sydney, and being dealt for one of the better pitchers the Crusaders have ever had, expectations are high for the wildly popular Puerto Rican, but he is not meeting them.

Crusaders GM Mike Voelker has made it known in the clubhouse that if the offense doesn't start performing up to expectations, moves will be made to aquire players from outside the organization if necessary.

The Next Crusade

5/21 - v. Vancouver
5/22 - v. Vancouver

5/23 - v. Valencia
5/24 - v. Valencia
5/25 - v. Valencia

5/27 - v. Long Beach
5/28 - v. Long Beach
5/29 - v. Long Beach

5/30 - @ Birmingham

[mikev]

Mendez Signs Extension, McKain To Follow?

In a press release issued earlier in the week, the Crusaders announced that outfielder Francisco Mendez has signed an extension that will keep him with the team until the end of the 2014 season.

The deal will pay the speedy left fielder just over $3 million per year, a savings of a bit over $2 million compared to his current contract.

"I'm glad to be staying with the Crusaders" said Mendez. "I've never played for another team, and after missing last year I wasn't sure if I was going to be here past the end of this season. It's good to know that I'm staying."

Mendez, a career .279 hitter, won the 2009 Platinum Glove award in left field and was an all star in 2008. His numbers are down this year compared to his career averages, but he's still wreaking havoc on the basepaths (21 steals, only 4 caught) and his stellar defense keeps him valuable.

Sources close to the team have reported that discussions on a long term deal with Ken McKain have also begun, with both sides coming fairly close on initial offers. The Crusaders will also need to make decisions on relievers Hsin-ta Jin and Jesus Diaz.

It's likely that pending FA position players Carl Hollingsworth, Tony Reyes, and Carlos Garza will not be offered extensions and the team will look elsewhere to fill those roster spots for the 2012 season.

[mikev]

McKain Staying Put

After announcing that Francisco Mendez had signed an extension with the Crusaders, rumors that starting pitcher Ken McKain was next.

On May 24th, that rumor came true.

The Crusaders and McKain agreed to a 4 year contract extension worth a total of $33,640,000 that locked up the 27 year old lefty possibly through the 2015 season. The contract called for a pay raise from this season's $5.5M to $7.2M in 2011, then $8.2M for '13 and '14, and finally a $10.2M team option for 2015.

McKain issued a statement through his agent: "I'm excited to stay a Crusader. They went out and got me and gave me another shot after Manhattan sent me down for whatever reason, and I'm thankful for that. I wanted to get a deal taken care of and concentrate on going out and winning every fifth day. I didn't want to let the negotiations affect my pitching, so the sooner we were able to get something done the better. Now I can keep focus on this season and winning the MBBA Pacific."

Crusaders GM Mike Voelker was equally pleased. "Kenny is a big part of our success, and keeping him around was one of the priorities this year. I wasn't going to drag out negotiations, but we were fairly close on our initial numbers which was nice. It's good to keep a guy like him around, and we didn't have to break the bank to do it."

Fans all over sports talk and the blogosphere are excited that McKain won't be lost after this season, and are also clamoring for slugging outfielder Carlos Garza to sign a contract extension. There has been little news from the California front office about him, though.

[mikev]

Lugo Out Remainder Of Season

Something didn't quite seem right.

In his June 1 start against Birmingham, Crusaders starting pitcher Javier Lugo, who had been enjoying a resurgent season, just didn't look okay on the mound. His velocity was down, barely touching 90 miles an hour when he regularly touched 95 on the gun. His pitches didn't have the bite they normally do, and he was getting knocked around. With one out in the second inning, Lugo signaled to the dugout. After a visit from the trainer, Lugo left the game.

During the post-game press conference (the Crusaders fell, 2-0), the subject of Lugo came up. The Crusader's manager had a grim look on his face. "Well, Javy was having a pretty rough spasm that he tried to pitch through -- he thought it was just a little tweak because he hadn't completely warmed up, but it never went away. He's headed out for an evaluation right now, actually, so that's really all the information that I can give you."

That night, a fantasy blog broke the news that wouldn't be announced by the team until the next day:

Javier Lugo - CAL

The San Francisco Chronicle speculates that Javier Lugo (back) "might be out for the rest of the season."
The newspaper calls it "a likely situation" due to structural damage sustained from a back spasm. So far this season Lugo is 4-4 with a 2.69 ERA and 1.05 whip.

Crusaders GM Mike Voelker was quoted in the subsequent press release that the team sent out:

"After leaving the game against Birmingham and being examined by our medical staff, we have learned that Javier Lugo's back spasms caused damage that will require surgery to repair. While the surgery itself is minimally invasive, it's also never okay to try and rush back from a back injury of any type. Team surgeons estimate a minimum of five months before any type of baseball activity can be resumed, and anywhere from six to seven for complete recovery. Obviously that puts us into the offseason, so yes Javier's season is over."

Lugo was placed on the 60-day disabled list, and 22 year old George Adams was called up to take his spot in the rotation.

[mikev]

The Offense Is Offensive

Well, that sucks.

The Crusaders had a woeful 2-6 sim and now have only a slim half game lead over Los Angeles in the Pacific.

The team got off to a bad start, dropping 2 games to Valencia before bouncing back to take 2 out of 3 from Vegas. Unfortunately, we ran into the buzzsaw that is Green Bay, and JQ took out his Romero frustrations out on me, to the tune of a 3 game sweep.

Meanwhile, the search for offense still continues. Garza is the only player on the team with double digit home run totals, and Forest is the only player hitting .300. Not good, not good at all.

Pedro Cruz has fallen off a ****ing cliff for apparently no reason whatsoever. He's been truly pathetic at the plate, but his ratings haven't changed one iota all season. It makes total sense. The same can be said about Sake-bomb, who played up to his potential last season at age 27 and should be in his prime right now. Instead, he dropped nearly 50 points of OBP and almost 150 points of SLG.

Well, hey, at least Carlos Becerra came back and is putting up solid numbers again. I love that my scout thinks he's 64/64 again now after plummeting to 48/48 last season and putting up a miserable .665 OPS. How does that even make sense?

Also in the Completely Normal Career Arc department: Rafael Lopez. Because, you know, 24 year olds who hit .305/.392/.436 as rookies and then get better during the offseason regularly come back to a .238/.305/.318 sophomore season. Happens ALL the time.

Whatever. I'm sure we'll be in 3rd place by the all star break and I'll blow up the team. I don't ****in care right now.

[mikev]

Offense Scared Into Performing

After a horrendous 2-6 sim during the middle third of June, and after a bit of a blowup about the offense from Crusaders' GM Mike Voelker, the team responded by going on a 9-1 tear to end the month.

The sim started off with a three game sweep of Des Moines, two of which came via complete game shutout - one from Jorge Enriquez and one by Arturo Fernandez.

After popping the Kernels, the offense woke up in a big, big way against Manhattan. Another three game sweep, with California tallying 26 runs and 32 hits in the series.

The only blemish during the sim came in a extra innings loss to division rival Vancouver, but the team came back the next day and earned a split with a 4-2 win.

The hated Los Angeles Quakes were in town for 2 games to finish out the sim. In the first game, the Crusaders welcomed Quakes starter Reginald de Beun to northern California to the tune of 5 runs off of 4 hits and a walk, while only recording one out. The final game of the sim was the Carlos Garza show, and the slugging outfielder went 2-4 with 2 home runs, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored to power the Crusaders to a 7-2 victory and a tidy 3 game lead over LA in the Pacific.

Rumors that the Crusaders have been shopping players who haven't been peforming up to par have been floating around the GUBA, and clearly guys have been trying to step up to remain on a team with a shot at the postseason. Insiders have reported that players like Carl Hollingsworth, Tony Reyes, and Pedro Cruz are available, and that the team is apparently interested in dealing one of Kinnosuke Sasaki or Enrique DeJesus to create some roster flexibility that is lost by having three first base/DH type players on the team. However, it is possible that the team will try to aquire an impact bat still.

The Next Crusade

7/1 - @ Long Beach
7/2 - @ Long Beach
7/3 - @ Long Beach

7/4 - v. New York
7/5 - v. New York
7/6 - v. New York

7/8 - v. Buffalo
7/9 - v. Buffalo
7/10 - v. Buffalo

[mikev]

Crusaders Cruising Into All Star Break

Heading into the All Star Break, the Crusaders sit on top of the MBBA Pacific division with a 56-33 record - 2 games better than 54-35 Los Angeles

The team is playing well, winning 8 out of their last 9 games, and 16 out of their last 19. Hopefully their momentum won't be disrupted by the All Star Game.

Speaking of the midsummer classic, the Crusaders will be represented by starting pitcher Jorge Enriquez and catcher Carlos Becerra. Both players were the leading vote getters at thier respective positions.

Recapping the last sim, the Crusaders kept on rolling. They started with a sweep of Long Beach, then took 2 of 3 from New York, and capped it off with a sweep of Buffalo. Francisco Mendez was out of his mind for the 10 day span, going 14-for-36 with 2 homers, 6 runs scored, 7 stolen bases, and a 1.185 OPS. It's good to see him doing well after a major injury cost him last season, and his OPS for the season is up to a respectable .770, with 47 steals (3rd in the MBBA) and only 9 caught.

On the pitching side of things, it's more of the same for this season. The combined team ERA (2.92) is tops in the MBBA, and the team has allowed a league best 293 runs. It seems like every sim a different starter has a great couple games, and this was no different. Masahiko Hayagawa was dominant in his 2 starts - a complete game shutout against New York, and an 8.0 inning, 3 run performance against Buffalo. Hayagawa is having the best season of his career so far, likely to set career best marks in ERA, IP, WHIP, Ks, and VORP.

Not to be outdone, Arturo Fernandez tossed a complete game of his own, against Buffalo. He allowed 1 run on 6 hits, with 5 strikeouts and only 2 walks allowed. That performance backed up his 8 inning, 1 run game against Long Beach, with 3 strikeouts and no walks. The 2 wins got Fernandez into a winning record, currently 8-7 on the season.

The Next Crusade

7/11 - 7/14: All Star Break

7/15 - @ Washington
7/16 - @ Washington
7/17 - @ Washington

7/18 - @ Jackson
7/19 - @ Jackson
7/20 - @ Jackson

[mikev]

Crusaders Aquire Veteran Offensive Help

A press release issued by the AP revealed that the Crusaders had agreed on a trade to send several players packing in exchange for some offense:

Friday, July 1st, 2011: California and Chicago Agree to Swap

The California Crusaders have parted ways with 28-year old first baseman Enrique De Jesús, 37-year old second baseman Carl Hollingsworth and 28-year old right fielder Tony Reyes, sending him to the Chicago Fire for 34-year old center fielder Joaquín López and 24-year old minor league left fielder Yukinaga Kojima. The Crusaders general manager confirmed the deal in an announcement this morning.

In what was essentially a swap of expiring contracts, save for the arbitration-eligible De Jesus and the minor leaguer Kojima, Crusaders GM Mike Voelker feels like the team addressed multiple needs by agreeing to the swap.

"I'd talked with Carl, several times, and Tony as well. They both were aware of the situation, and that if a deal came up the possibility of a trade was there. They're both true professionals, and were okay with it. They know that sometimes that's the way business works, and I'm glad I could find them somewhere that they'll be able to play every day."

Coming to the Crusaders, Joaquin Lopez is having a solid season, hitting .280/.332/.500 with 15 home runs and 43 RBI for Chicago in the first half. While it is likely that Lopez is a half-season rental, he has already contacted the team about negotiating an extension. Crusader fans throughout the blogosphere seem to feel that giving a 34 year old a long term deal probably isn't the best idea, and all indications from the front office appear to be the same. It's probably a little too soon to make assumpions, but it would seem that Edgar Herrera would be the frontrunner for a starting job in 2012, alongside Mendez and Takahashi

Lopez will assume the starting role in right field for California, with Carlos Garza moving to the full time DH slot. Sake-bomb will assume the primary backup slot for both Garza and first baseman Jakob Forest.

Kojima was temporarily assigned to Rookie League Fremont but will likely be moved to Double A Pacific Grove or Triple A Oakland

[mikev]

Quiet Trade Deadline For Crusaders

Eleven days into August, and the Crusaders find themselves with a 75-39 record, best in the MBBA Pacific and good for a 10 game lead over second place Los Angeles. The trade deadline came and went, and while the Crusaders had initial talks to make a pretty signifigant aquisition, communication seemed to fall on deaf ears and no deal was to be had. Still, I'm pretty confident with the team that we've got now, though a couple of key guys will be gone after this season.

The sim got underway with a 3 game sweep of Manhattan, then a disappointing 3 game set against Chicago resulting in 2 losses. A couple wins over Valencia were next, before taking the first of a pair from LA to finish the sim out.

The pitching continues to dominate, ranking 1st or 2nd in most team pitching stats (4th in HR allowed). Honestly, there's not a lot I can say about the staff that hasn't been said already. Arturo Fernandez was awarded the MBBA Pitcher Of The Month for May, going 5-0 with a 1.56 ERA in 5 starts.

The exciting part is that the offense seems to be on the upswing. Francisco Mendez seems to have fully recovered from his injury, and is now sporting an .831 OPS, 60 stolen bases, and a 42.3 VORP.

Recently aquired CF Joaquin Lopez continues to mash the ball, with an .883 OPS, 9 home runs, 27 RBI, and 10 doubles in 32 games with the Crusaders. His .317 OBP leaves something to be desired, but he's been more than making up for it by hitting the crap out of the ball whenever he actually does make contact.

Does it seem strange that I consider this to be a "down" year for Jakob Forest? He's hitting .323/.408/.489, but his power seems down - 14 homers and 16 doubles. He's also got 65 strikes to only 47 walks, and he's usually a lot closer to a 1:1 ratio. Looking at his splits, he seems to be suffering from a bit of a "sample size vs lefties" issue hurting his overall numbers, with a measly .704 OPS in 104 at bats against southpaws. However, he's ****ing demolishing right handers to the tune of .351/.443/.526 with 11 hrs and 10 doubles in 268 at bats. That's 30/100 production if you project it to a full season, so I guess it's just an illusion because he got injured and missed time. Considering the MBBA OPS leader is only at .920, Forest's .897 looks a lot better to me now.

Dear Carlos Garza, I know that you're going to probably hit 40 homers this year. I'm sorry, though, I'm not paying you 16 million dollars per season. Get over yourself, you barely deserve the 12M you're making now. Hell, I'm thinking of giving your money to Joaqin Lopez. At least he plays defense, too. Asshole.

The Next Crusade

8/11 - @ Los Angeles

8/12 - @ Las Vegas
8/13 - @ Las Vegas
8/14 - @ Las Vegas

8/16 - v. Greenville
8/17 - v. Greenville

8/19 - @ Des Moines
8/20 - @ Des Moines

[mikev]

Crusaders Eye Postseason; September Callups

So, September is here. The Crusaders ended the month on a 7-3 run, and currently at 88-44 have a 10 game lead over the second place Quakes. They have the third best record in the GUBA, behind Green Bay in the MBBA and Johannesburg in the FIBB.

As expected, Carlos Garza has eclipsed the 30 homer/100 RBI plateau, the first time in his career that he's been a 30/100 hitter. Also as expected, the team has shown no desire to sign him to the 16 million dollar per season extension that he is asking for. Too bad, really, because he's been a quality bat after his horrible start last season. Luckily, Edgar Herrera (.321/.379.565 in 131 ABs) seems to have figured it out, and seems like he'll be more than capable of assuming the starting RF role next year.

Speaking of milestones, Jorge Enriquez notched his 20th win of the season, his second straight 20 win campaign. Along with his 2.30 ERA, 206:40 strikeout to walk ratio, and 1.01 WHIP, Enriquez is having a Golden Arm caliber season, though it's likely that Birmingham's Chris Stevenson will beat out Enriquez in the voting.

In contract news, veteran releiver Jesus Diaz resigned at approximately a 50% discount compared to this year's 5M salary. The 36 year old who has been paid over a million dollars per inning pitched this season will make 4.7M over the next 2 seasons, a nice and affordable contract to help round out one of the elite bullpens in the entire league.

Hey, speaking of September, it's expanded roster time! As usual, the Crusaders will probably only call up a few players, mostly as defensive replacements or guys to give starters a couple extra days off as we move toward the postseason. The most likely additions:

SP Lindsay Blackley - The Australian right hander fared well enough in his three spot starts to earn himself another few starts in September. At only 21, he may be getting his big league callup just a bit early, but since we already used an option year on him we might as well get him in there.

CF Augusto Ortiz - SISA doesn't like him. He's young. He'll be lucky to hit a home run in the big leauges. Still, it's hard to argue with a .353 average with 27 doubles in 462 at bats. The fact that he's an elite defensive CF helps. The 2007 15th round draft pick (!) has clearly stepped up his game in a big way, and just appearing in a big league game would be quite the accomplishment for him.

The Next Crusade

9/1 - @ Buffalo

9/2 - v. Birmingham
9/3 - v. Birmingham
9/4 - v. Birmingham

9/5 - @ Valencia
9/6 - @ Valencia
9/7 - @ Valencia

9/8 - @ Los Angeles
9/9 - @ Los Angeles
9/10 - @ Los Angeles

[mikev]

Playoffs, Baby!

Your 2011 MBBA Pacific Division champions: The California Crusaders

Finishing with a record of 105-57, the Crusaders wrapped up their second consecutive MBBA-P division crown, as well as their third consecutive 100 win season and 4th winning season out of 5 years since the inception of the GUBA.

In a bizzare repeat of the 2010 playoffs, the Crusaders will again play host to the Birmingham Bandits in the Cartwright Cup (that's the Division Series, folks). The 2010 edition featured California beating the Bandits in six games, and we're hoping that we have more of the same in 2011.

The series will feature the two best pitching staffs in the league. Birmingham features THREE twenty game winners, led by probable Golden Arm winner Chris Stevenson, who posted a 28-6 record with a 2.29 ERA. The Crusaders will counter with Jorge Enriquez, who was 22-5 himself with a 2.98 ERA.

The teams should be a fantastic matchup, as the offenses are eerily similar (.758 vs .759 team OPS). If the series comes down to a battle of the bullpens, the Crusaders will have a slight advantage. California's bullpen was the best in the league with a 1.84 ERA, but the Bandits were no slouch at 2.94 themselves.