California Dreamin' - The GUBA's California Crusaders

[mikev]

100 posts! Woot! Thanks for reading!

Crusaders Back Into First Place

Over the first 10 days of June, the Crusaders enjoyed a 6-4 sim that very well could have been 7-3 or 8-2 if Millsy didn't cheat and give Jackson a 3 game sweep with a pair of 1-run victories.

Anyway, we started off with a 10-4 beatdown of Birmingham backed that up with a 14-6 thrashing, and completed the sweep with a 3-1 victory in 12 innings. After that was the totally out of nowhere but completely on the up-and-up sweep at the hands of Jackson - in California, no less.

Whatever, putting that behind us, we took a trip down the I-5 and visited the Quakes for a 4 game set to end the sim. Things actually looked a little bleak after we dropped the first game 9-2 and had dropped four in a row at that point, but then the bats woke up and we tore off 7-5, 11-2, and 6-2 wins to finish off the sim.

The good news is that the Flash In The Pans had a subpar 3-7 sim, bringing us back into a tie for first place in the MBBA Pacific. Suck it, p4fvnuhf15 (what is this, ****ing AIM? Pick a goddamn name and use it!)

Ken McKain is still pitching well, Lindsay Blackley is a hell of a surprise, and Jorge[/b] seems to be returning to form - he tossed a complete game against LA his last time out and has a 50:8 K:BB this year.

The offense is still playing well, and we lead the league in runs scored (364) and OBP (.359), mostly due to Forest - though an off sim saw his OPS drop below 1.000 :jamest:

Down on the farm, the team has started the process of converting #1 prospect Robinson Leyva from second base to third. The 24 year old with 4/3/4/4/3 talents and currently 6/6/4/4/5 ratings overall will likely spend the rest of the 2012 season getting the hang of the hot corner and will be groomed to take over as soon as Opening Day, 2013. Along with Leyva, starting pitcher Fei Shui and his 3/4/3 talents will also be getting an extended look as possible 2013 starters.

The Next Crusade

6/12 - v. Las Vegas
6/13 - v. Las Vegas
6/14 - v. Las Vegas

6/15 - @ Chicago
6/16 - @ Chicago
6/17 - @ Chicago

6/19 - v. Green Bay
6/20 - v. Green Bay

[mikev]

Tribute TN - Please Excuse The Foul Language Just This Once

Sh*t.

Starting Catcher Carlos Becerra - 3 time all star, 2011 Platinum Glove winner: .579 OPS.

F*ck.

Pedro Vargas - 21.9 VORP, 31 years old, still arby eligibile. Career Ending Injury.

Piss.

All over the ball. That's what Sake-Bomb did last sim, going 10-29 with 5 doubles, 3 homers, 8 RBI, and a 1.234 OPS.

****.

Becerra had a 1.265 OPS last sim, going 10-20 with a homer and a double.

Cocksucker.

Fu-Quan Ng must think I'm one, and I think he knew I was looking for a 3B to replace him so he hit .389/.621/.611 last sim :O

MotherF*cker.

Big Time lumped a few sims back. He's 2/3/3 talents now. Seriously, this development engine is just plain wacky.

Tits.

That's what George Adams was, getting 2 wins with 16 innings pitched last sim, a 1.65 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. Opponents hit a mere .182 off the guy. Sweet.

RIP George. You were a pioneer.

The Next Crusade

7/13 - @ Washington
7/14 - @ Washington
7/15 - @ Washington

7/16 - @ Louisville
7/17 - @ Louisville
7/18 - @ Louisville

7/19 - @ Valencia
7/20 - @ Valencia

[mikev]

Team Calls Up #1 Prospect

With the career ending injury suffered by Crusaders second baseman Pedro Vargas, the team has announced that #1 prospect Robinson Leyva has been promoted from Class AAA Oakland to the major leagues.



He is scheduled to make his debut on July 13th.

Leyva is a 24 year old switch hitter from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. He had an .803 OPS last season as a 23 year old in AAA, but his numbers dropped a bit this season as he was being asked to learn third base. He will switch back to second and take over as the starter for California, with incumbent third baseman Fu-quan Ng remaining at his position, as he was in danger of being relegated to the bench with Leyva switching to third base.

On the trade front, it appears that the search for a third baseman will probably continue if Ng's numbers don't pick up, but the real hole in the lineup has been catcher Carlos Becerra. He's not getting on base, he's not hitting for power, he's just about worthless. The really sad part is that the catchers in the league as a whole are so bad that Becerra's .579 OPS is only worth -1.3 VORP. That's a sad state of affairs for catchers.

[mikev]

Takahashi Extension, Draft Recap



Slightly under the radar in Crusader land was the extension signed by centerfielder Tagashashi Takahashi that will keep him with the Crusaders for 3 more seasons at a cost of $6.2 million per year.

Takahashi, a career .293/.345/.388 hitter, has been nothing short of fantastic in his 3 years with the Crusaders since being traded for Jeff Ladner. He's hit over .300 every year, stolen about 50 bags, and led the GUBA with 52 doubles in 2011. Currently on pace for yet another great season, and only 27 years old, the Crusaders are looking forward to having Takahashi at the top of the order for the future.

Oh hey, the draft came and went! You already know about Zorg, Ortiz, and Canseco, Tetreault, and Gonzo, so here's the rest of the draft quickly recapped:

R5 (175 overall) - MR Cary Lind - 2/3/3 talent, throws 95, possible future as a setup guy

R6 (211 overall) - SP Christian Leclerc - 2/2/3 talent, decent endurance, good GB ratio, possible back of the rotation guy at best

R7 (247 overall) - SS Jose Costa - 3/3/1/2/2 talent, fantastic defensive ratings at all 4 IF spots, possible bench player/defensive replacement one day

R8 (283 overall) - SP Matthew Brandon - 2/2/2 talent, has 2 first names, throws a knuckle-curve, needs bumps to play in the bigs

R9 (319 overall) - SS Francisco Rosales - 3/3/1/2/2 talent, good D at the middle infield positions, didn't we just draft this guy in R7?

R10 (355 overall) - MR Hector Sanchez - 3/1/3 talent, throws 90s, lefty, he could be nice if his movement bumps. Keeping an eye on him and crossing my fingers

R11 (391 overall) - SS Vicente Nieves - 2/3/2/3/2 talent, great D, how many freaking latin shortstops do I need in my organization?

R12 (427 overall) - C Jayson Todd - 2/3/2/2/2 talent, good defensive catcher, also 2 first names, please please please let him bump 6 or 7 times. I need a catcher. Bad.

R13 (463 overall) - SS Ruben Borquez - 2/3/1/2/2, awesome another Latin shortstop. Oh wait, this guy is from Minnesota. WTF?

R14 (499 overall) - MR Augusto Collazo - 2/3/3 talent, throws 92, this far down in the draft a guy that's 2/3/3 is a pretty good pick. We'll take it.

R15 (535 overall) - SS Patrick Robinson - 2/2/1/2/2 talent, I now have like 8 shortstops in rookie league. Thanks AI.

R16 (571 overall) - MR Tonito Ballena - 2/2/3 talent, throws hard, throws a splitter, basically has no redeeming qualities

R17 (607 overall) - 3B Takuro Sato - 2/1/1/2/1 talent, why the hell is the AI drafting infielders still?

R18 (643 overall) - CL Nelson Marroquin - 4/1/2 talent, holy **** a guy with 4 stuff and a 96 mph fastball in the 18th round? Sold.

R19 (679 overall) - MR Orlando Garcia - 2/2/3 talent, fastball-slider pitcher who throws 94 and is 18 years old. Not a bad 19th round pick

R20 (715 overall) - MR Blake "Blockhead" Mitchell - 2/2/3 talent, Knudlen has a theory that players with nicknames will be awesome. We'll put it to the test with Blockhead.

[mikev]

Catcher Aquired At Trade Deadline

After a great deal of speculation, rumors, and unanswered phone calls, the California Crusaders finally issued a press release announcing that they have agreed to a trade with the Buffalo Bisons.

The deal involves minor league pitchers Fei Shui, the Crusaders' #1 ranked pitching prospect according to SISA, and California's first round pick this year Zorg 'Deuce' Göbelbecker, an 18 year old closer with an extremely high ceiling.

In exchange for the two pitchers, the Crusaders will receive 23 year old C Tommy Aucoin. Aucoin, a rookie currently batting .260/.292/.363 for Buffalo, is expected to be given the starting catcher position immediately, as the team has been looking to replace Carlos Becerra (.217/.287/.263) for quite some time, as his contract expires at the end of the year and he's been putting up pretty horrible numbers this season - he's ranked last in the GUBA Positional Ranking.

Aucoin projects out as a well above average hitting catcher, with a 4/4/3/4/5 talent set. A line of .300/.375/.450 isn't out of the question for him if his plate discipline continues to develop, but he's holding his own now as a rookie and (as pointed out by RoyalPJ) is a right handed pull hitter playing in a park where a certain other pull hitting righty is on his way to the hall of fame.

No, I'm not saying Aucoin is the next Forest. It would be nice, sure, but I'll be happy if he gives me a .750 OPS for the next 4 or 5 seasons.

[mikev]

Injuries! Get Your Injuries Here!

It appears that I missed a sim recap ops:

The Crusaders went 5-4 to start the month of August... and then 5-4 over the middle 10 days. Weird.

Anyway, we're still in first place, tied with Los Angeles at 67-49, 3 games ahead of Vegas.

Oh, speaking of missed recaps, we made a second deadline trade. Javier Gallegos and his 13M annual salary through next year were aquired for a draft pick and this guy. We really needed some more pop against lefties, and Gallegos' 7/8/8/8/9 ratings against LHP seemed to be just the ticket, as he's gone 16-44 with 6 walks and only 2 strikeouts in his first 17 games as a Crusader, with a nice .954 OPS.

The injury bug has continued to hit California (**** you, Millsy) as well. After the career ender to Pedro Vargas started things off, 3B Fu-quan Ng was hurt and out for a month (one week remaining till he's back), Takahashi is out for 3 weeks (2 weeks left), and then Blackley and Forest both had bumps-and-bruises types of injuries, but nothing requiring a DL trip. So, my starting 2B, 3B, CF, and then #3 starter and HOF first baseman all injured over 2 months. Wonderful.

Well, at least Leyva, Vargas' replacement, is absolutely killing it - .340/.373/.475, 10 XBH, and a VORP of nearly 14 in only 34 games. So I guess he was ready for a callup. I love me some Leyva.

Also because of the Ng injury, we've been forced to put Gallegos at third base. Not cool, because he's an absolute butcher, but there wasn't a whole lot I could do (aside from apologize to all the pitchers and hope they induce a lot of flyballs).

To replace Takahashi, Herrera will be starting in centerfield, and Nick Cox was pulled back from waivers and will be the defensive replacement/4th outfielder for a couple more weeks.

The Next Crusade

7/21 - @ Long Beach
7/22 - @ Long Beach

7/24 - v. Valencia
7/25 - v. Valencia
7/26 - v. Valencia

7/28 - @ Buffalo
7/29 - @ Buffalo
7/30 - @ Buffalo

[mikev]

Oh Look, More Injuries

Well... crap

Not only did we have a bad last sim and drop to 2 games behind LA and into second place in the Pacific, but then I was perusing the News and Injuries and what do I see?

Sunday, September 9th, 2012
California Crusaders: J. Enríquez was injured while pitching. The Diagnosis: torn rotator cuff muscle. He's expected to miss about 2-3 months.

****.

So, now that's Enriquez gone, Takahashi was hurt for 3 weeks, Fu-quan Ng was hurt for a month, oh and there was the career ender to Vargas. All that over 2 months. No wonder we came back to the pack.

Well, now Enriquez is out and Arturo "I was awesome at age 23 and 24 and then took a huge talent hit but it makes total sense because lumps are based on performance" Fernandez is back in the rotation.

Needless to say, I'm not really keeping my hopes up for the division, which means that the postseason is pretty well out of the question as well since the wild card is likely to come out of the Central.

Urge to write = low.

The Next Crusade

9/11 - v. Birmingham
9/12 - v. Birmingham
9/13 - v. Birmingham

9/14 - @ New York
9/15 - @ New York
9/16 - @ New York

9/18 - @ Valencia
9/19 - @ Valencia
9/20 - @ Valencia

[mikev]

Crusaders Storm Back Into First, Mad 10 Game Dash To Finish

Well, the team apparently responded to the Enriquez injury by coming together and ripping off an 8-1 sim, sweeping Birmingham and New York before taking 2 of 3 from Valencia - the end result is a 90-62 record and a 1 game lead over Los Angeles and a 4 game lead over Vegas with 10 games to play.

With the last 7 games of the season against the Hustlers and the Quakes, this team definitely controls its own destiny. I hate to say it, but California is the only team of the three with a series against Long Beach, too - but that probably won't have much of an effect considering the Vegas and LA series.

It's gonna be an exciting finish, that's for sure.

The Next Crusade

9/21 - v. Long Beach
9/22 - v. Long Beach
9/23 - v. Long Beach

9/24 - v. Las Vegas
9/25 - v. Las Vegas
9/26 - v. Las Vegas

9/28 - v. Los Angeles
9/29 - v. Los Angeles
9/30 - v. Los Angeles

[mikev]

Crusaders Claim MBBA Wild Card

So, a pretty lackluster 5-5 sim to finish the season: 2/3 from Long Beach, 1/3 from Vegas, and a 2-2 split with Los Angeles. End result: 95-67 on the season, but LA has pretty much been out of their minds and finished at 97-65 to take the division.

Thankfully, the Crackheads were unable to make up enough to pass us in the Wild Card standings, so the Crusaders will be making their third consecutive postseason appearance.

Looking ahead, we get the "Best Record In The GUBA" Baltimore Monarchs, featuring the best offense in the league (.823 OPS as a team. Jesus.)

The bad thing is that our ace, 22 game winner Ken McKain started the last game of the season, making him unavailable until game 3 at the earliest. The rotation has been shuffled around so that George Adams will take Game 1 and Lindsay Blackley will pitch game 2, with McKain going on short rest for the 3rd game. Sucks, and I'm not sure why the aren't more off days before the start of the playoffs so that teams can get their rotations set properly, but oh well. I'm kinda figuring on another first round exit because of it.

[mikev]

Another Playoff Exit

Well, they playoffs ended just as quickly as they started for the Crusaders. For the third year in a row, the Crusaders underperformed in the playoffs and this time dropped the Cartwright Cup in 6 games to the Baltimore Monarchs

Game 1: BAL 8, CAL 1

When your Game 1 starter is Arturo Fernandez (no, I'm not calling him Big Time. He was Big Time, but after fantastic age 23 and 24 seasons, he all of a sudden lumped twice and sucks. Realistic!), sporting a 5.04 ERA on the season -- when actually I had my rotation set up so at least George Adams (14-10, 3.33, 1.26 WHIP) would start Game 1, but the schedule was somehow wrong. I dunno, whatever. Fernandez got beat like, well, like something that gets beaten really bad. A meaningless Aucoin homer kept us from being shut out.

Game 2: CAL 4, BAL 3

Adams goes 8 strong innings, and Vargas gets the save even though he walked 3 guys and gave up a run. Again, TOTALLY normal performance from Vargas here. I love the playoffs.

Game 3: CAL 2, BAL 0

Lindsay Blackley was flat out dominant, allowing only 2 hits over 8 innings with 5 strikeouts and no walks. Vargas picked up his second save, with a slightly better performance.

Game 4: BAL 6, CAL 2

Ken McKain this season: 22-7, 2.37 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 79.9 VORP. He'll be in the running for pitcher of the year. Naturally, he gives up 6 runs on 10 hits over 7 innings. **** the playoffs.

Game 5: BAL 8, CAL 3

Sadly, Arturo Fernandez had to pitch again. It's really not even worth talking about how bad he was, not even making it through the 5th inning and completely destroying any chance the Crusaders would have, given how solid Baltimore's Hernandez pitched.

Game 6: BAL 3, CAL 2

Close game, good pitching, Adams was okay and limited damage given that he allowed 10 hits. The season ended when Vargas allowed back to back doubles with 2 outs in the bottom of the 10th inning. Thanks for nothing.

In short, the offense was completely shut down and the pitching was equally as bad. Scoring 14 runs in 6 games is entirely unacceptable, and this team is clearly not in the upper echelon of the MBBA. Good thing the minor league system completely sucks.

The Next Crusade

OFFSEASON

[mikev]

2012 Regular Season Awards

So, we'll do an end of year award thingy I guess. I'm still a little on the fence about this team, it's a pretty solid mix of youth and a couple of key vets here and there, but the pitching was a big disappointment for me.

Hitter Of The Year



1B Jakob Forest

.309/.414/.550, 33 hr, 137 RBI (MBBA leader), 37 doubles, 105 walks, 76.1 VORP.
Pretty obvious choice here. Forest is the key to the offense, and it was no coincidence that his bad playoff series led to the team's early exit.

Pitcher Of The Year



Ken McKain

22-7, 2.37 ERA, 285 IP, 263 K, 53 BB, 1.02 WHIP, 79.9 VORP (MBBA leader)
Another easy choice. McKain anchored the California staff all season after injury took last year's ace Jorge Enriquez down a notch for most of the season. McKain should be getting a good amount of consideration for the Golden Arm award this year, but he's not quite a name as sexy as Ware, Hasegawa, or Arias.

Reliever Of The Year



Angel "Dog" Sandoval

7-5, 3.10 ERA, 3 SV, 104.2 IP, 85 K, 15 BB, 1.16 WHIP, 20.4 VORP

With the closer role on the team split between Jin and Vargas all season, Sandoval didn't complain and instead just went out and pitched over 100 innings and bridged the gap between the starters and the closing tandem with remarkable efficiency. The 24 year old is likely to get a pretty big pay raise via arbitration, and the team is planning on an long term extension during the offseason.

Rookie Of The Year



2B Robinson Leyva

.343/.370/.466, 7 HR, 33 RBI, 10 2B, 15 SB, 26.5 VORP

Leyva was called up shortly after the all star break, due to a career ending injury to incumbent second baseman Pedro Vargas. Leyva had spent most of the season in Triple A Oakland preparing to switch to third base, but plans changed and he was thrown into the fire at his natural position. He didn't disappoint, and would have finished second in the MBBA in hitting if he would have qualified. While losing Vargas hurt, Leyva softened the blow pretty significantly. Rumor has it that the team may even give him a Crusaders jersey for next season.

Biggest Surprise



OF Vincente Gonzalez

.310/.378/.477, 21 HR, 112 RBI, 34 2B, 65 BB, 52.0 VORP

Gonzalez, the 36 year old veteran brought in as a bit of a flyer, was nothing short of outstanding for the Crusaders. He provided stability in the lineup, protection for Jakob Forest, and was a legit power threat. For just a tick under $5M, he's got to be one of the highest ROI free agents from the last offseason.

Biggest Disappointment



SP Arturo Fernandez

11-9, 5.04 ERA, 24 GS, 168 IP, 106 K, 38 BB, -5.3 VORP

"Big Time" obviously did something to piss off the OOTP gods last offseason. After averaging about 240 innings of 3.40 ERA pitching for his first couple big league seasons, Fernandez lumped and regressed horribly to the point of being a fringe starter at best. His 3/4/4 talents are now 2/3/3, he lost velocity on his fastball, and basically just isn't good anymore. Thanks OOTP. I didn't need a 24 year old #2 starter or anything.

Season Review

I'm on the fence. I'm half tempted to tear **** down and start over. The minor league system is horrible, but I look at it and realize it's because all the youngsters are on the big league team. The infield ages are 24 (C), 30 (1B), 24 (2B), 26 (SS), and 35 (3B) with Gallegos at 3B the only guy past his prime. Mendez (31) and Takahashi (27) should be fine in the outfield for at least 2 or 3 more years, leaving just one starting OF slot to be filled by a free agent - and not even until 2014 because Gonzalez is signed through next year anyway.

With a ton of money available, I may just look to go for one or two big name free agents for short term deals and see where it takes me. Who knows. I'm just tired of making the playoffs and losing.

[mikev]

Brief Offseason Recap To-Date

2/1/2013

Rule 5 Draft

We didn't take anybody, we didn't lose anybody. Blah.

Free Agency

In what's been called a pretty mediocre free agent season, the California Crusaders made a couple of offers for players, but ended up with nothing.

Third baseman Javier Ramirez decided he wanted to take less money to play for Las Vegas, a team that finished behind California in the MBBA Pacific last season. I'm pretty sure he was enticed with hookers and blow.

After missing out on Ramirez, the team offered aging slugger Roberto Colon a one year deal for just over $15M, but he opted for the 3 year deal presented by Santo Domingo. Not a huge deal for us, but his bat would have been nice.

Trades

Well, since we couldn't get anybody with money, we might as well get a guy or two by paying with other players, huh?

The first deal was part shedding salary, part talent aquisition for the future. 1B/DH Kinnosuke Sasaki was traded to the London Spitfires in exchange for an 18 year old starter with a ton of upside, Mario Garcia. His numbers suck, but his talent ratings are very good. At only 18, he's got plenty of time to develop and there is no pressure on him.

Next up, a trade with the Chicago Black Sox was announced. After being a total dick and not trading me Trujillo, Pliny asked me if I would take Barro and his gigantic salary off his hands. I told him I would, but I wouldn't actually give up any players to get him, and he'd probably have to include a decent prospect. We settled on Sanchez, a 25 year old AAA shortstop with a pretty good talent set, but a little underdeveloped. Good enough, as Barro will probably be the regular 2B this season with Leyva moving over to third (please, please raise your rating during ST!) as planned last season before the CEI to Pedro Vargas.

So that just about caps off the offseason for California. I don't really anticipate much else, but we could probably use another starter. Hell, I dunno, we could probably use two. We'll see.

[railroad_ross]

Even though I am not in the league anymore it is awesome to see this still going. Nice work Mike!

[mikev]

Note: In the GUBA, we did a Team Preview swap, and the Crusaders 2013 preview was written by Manhattan Myst owner James Tedesco. For your enjoyment, I'm posting it here:



2013 California Crusaders Preview

2012: 95-67, 2nd place MBBA - P, 2 gb, Wild Card Winners (Knocked out in 1st round)
813 rs, 650 ra

Other than the GUBA's inaugural season, the Crusaders have been an elite team, winning 93+ games for 5 straight seasons. They certainly have a few winning seasons left in the tank.

Key Additions: Yoelbi Barro, DH

Key Losses: Kinnosuke Sasaki, DH

Pitching Staff

Starting Rotation

1. Ken McKain LHP
2012: 22-7, 2.37, 285 IP, 263 K, 53 BB, 1.02 WHIP, 79.9 VORP

29 year-old McKain is in his prime, coming off his best season by far in the GUBA. He has the endurance to be an ace, proving it last season with 285 IP, but he also hit his ceiling, and maybe busted through it. He'll be great again in 2013, but expecting him to do this again is unrealistic.

2. Jorge Enríquez, RHP
2012: 8-12, 4.07, 172 2/3 IP, 141 K, 30 BB, 1.30 WHIP, 14.1 VORP

Another huge endurance starter rounds out the top two for Cali. Injuries in 2012 to his tricep muscle and rotator cuff cost him 8-10 starts, and his numbers were down - his worst season for ERA (4.07 - career 3.19) and WHIP (1.30 - career 1.17). Given that his abilities have been untouched, and barring more serious injuries in 2013, expect Jorge to rebound in 2013 and give the Crusaders a push towards first place in their division.

3. Lindsay Blackley, RHP
2012: 15-10, 4.01, 204 1/3 IP, 102 K, 39 BB, 1.26 WHIP, 18.0 VORP

Lindsay is a very solid #3 starter and in fact may be the team's #4 - this is not clear. He has razor-sharp control and not much in terms of endurance, but that's OK for a control pitcher. He could easily continue to develop further into his 2-3-5 talents, and it's a bit scary to think how much better his control can potentially get. A sub-4.00 ERA in 2013 is a strong possibility.

4. George Adams, RHP
2012: 14-10, 3.33, 219 IP, 157 K, 46 BB, 1.26 WHIP, 36.8 VORP

George is probably better than Blackley, but it may actually help the team to place him at #4, in particular for times in which Lindsay struggles and needs significant bullpen help. With a #1 and #2 and #4 that can go deep into games, it may make sense to throw the low endurance guy in the middle of the pack. Adams had a stellar 2012 season, allowing just 13 HR in 219 IP. He may not equal that performance in 2013, but he'll probably be in the ballpark.

Masahiko Hayagawa
2012: 2-6, 4.33, 81 IP, 57 K, 15 BB, 1.25 WHIP, 4.1 VORP

After three straight sub-4.00 ERA seasons, Hayagawa didn't pitch nearly as much for the Crusaders in 2012 and his performance dropped off in-turn. He definitely has a tendency to give up the long-ball (132 HR in 961 IP), but does a decent job keeping runners off base (1.15 career WHIP). Hopefully he will rebound in 2013, but without consistently starting in the rotation this may not happen.

Bullpen
MR - Jesus Diaz, Angel Sandoval, Jorge Cisneros
SU - Sandoval, Hsin-ta Jin
CL - Luis "Beast of Burden" Vargas

It is hard not to love Vargas as Cali's closer - in his first season in that role, he saved 22 games with a 3.36 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. He will likely improve on those numbers in 2013. Jin and Sandoval make a terrific R/L setup combination. After that, nothing here to really get excited about, but with quite a few long-duration starters, these three will see the brunt of the work.

Offense

Probable Lineup

1. Francisco Méndez, LF
2012: .291/.350/.414, 13 HR, 13 triples, 124 runs, 95 sbs, 49.2 VORP

Fransisco is a very solid leadoff hitter - not solely for his OBP and steals, but also for his slugging - .432 for his career. Having a guy like this at the top of the order really defines the Crusaders - no huge power, but power everywhere. Also a plus defensive player in LF.

2. Yoelbi Barro, DH
2012: .266/.351/.406, 14 HR, 29 sb, 16 cs, 26.3 VORP

Yeolbi is a terrible defensive player, but that's what the DH was made for. At 36, he can still mash a bit and swipe a base, though he needs to be kept in check in that regard. He kills lefties and can still hit vs. RHP, and health problems have never been a major issue. Probably won't bat 2nd, given Takahashi's numbers, but this is what Mikey gave me so I'm going with it.

3. Jakob Forest, 1B
2012: .309/.414/.550, 37 doubles, 33 HR, 137 RBI, 76.1 VORP

Jakob was drafted in the 1st round of the inaugural GUBA draft, and he has proved his worth. With a career .957 OPS and 438.2 total VORP, he has been one of the best hitters in the GUBA for 6 years running. He recently had a small lump to his contact talent and gap power, but nothing that should prevent him from continuing to put up similar numbers for the next few seasons - unless this is the start of a trend.

4. Vicente Gonzalez, RF
2012: .310/.378/.477, 34 doubles, 21 HR, 112 RBI, 52.0 VORP

Vicente at 36 years of age had one of his top two seasons in the GUBA after a steady downward trend for 5 seasons straight. He rebounded from his 2011 .639 OPS by gaining over 200 points - .855. His abilites are still rock-solid and he should have another great season in 2013, though his numbers from previous seasons are a concern. His other weakness is a mediocre defense in RF, including a weak arm - he needs to make up for this with a very strong offense.

5. Javier Gallegos, 3B
2012: .272/.355/.436, 36 doubles, 18 HR, 82 RBI, 34.2 VORP

Javier is a weak defender with a pretty good arm. After joining Cali in a 2012 trade with Paris, he hit .312/.399/.524. He is unlikely to repeat those numbers in a ballpark that isn't the most favorable to hitters, but he'll drive in his share of runs.

6. Rafael Lopez, SS
2012: .270/.336/.401, 26 doubles, 7 triples, 12 HR, 77 RBI, 30.1 VORP

Rafael is an above average to good defensive SS with a cannon of an arm. He is just 27 years old and has room to grow in the gap power/power department.

7. Robinson Leyva, 2B
2012: .343/.370/.466, 10 doubles, 7 HR and 15 sb in 283 AB, 26.5 VORP

Robinson burst into the scene in 2012 with far better numbers than he had ever achieved in AAA - clearly this is a player who lives for the big show. He has decent speed, a huge upside (5-star talent, 4-3-4-4-3), and he plays a fair 2B - pretty good ratings and a great sense to complete the double play. I don't think he'll hit .343 in 2012, but an .800+ OPS is possible once more.

8. Tommy Aucoin, C
2012: .237/.277/.344, 13 doubles, 11 HR in 427 AB, 2.6 VORP

Tommy's first season was rather embarrassing offensively - he was terrible and played even worse in Cali after being brought over from Buffalo before the trade deadline. However, he has very strong offensive talent, and barring a lump he could become one of the better catchers in the league, at least in terms of offense. He is a below average to bad catcher defensively, with a 5 arm and ability.

9. Tagashashi Takahashi, CF
.304/.369/.421, 31 doubles, 10 triples, 46 sb, 15 cs, 94 runs, 37.3 VORP

OK, so given these numbers, Takahashi will probably be the #1 or 2 hitter - I had him this low in the lineup after looking at his low discipline rating (4). Either way, he'll be an awesome hitter, after three consecutive .300 seasons since joining the Crusaders back in 2010.

Bench

Infield - Pai, C, Ng, 1B/2B/3B, K Takahashi, 1B/2B/3B/SS

Outfield - Herrera (CF), Edwards (LF/RF)

Nothing to get worked up over here, though Edwards still has the potential to grow into a slugger. Takahashi will probably get a lot of defensive innings late in games, and Ng/Edwards can both provide some pop off the bench.

Team Outlook

The MBBA Pacific has never been an easy division to win, and its only going to get harder a few seasons down the road when the Long Beach Tankers join the fray. They won 95 games in 2012, and if a few players on offense can repeat their 2012 performances, this team may win a few more games. Jorge Enriquez should have a better season as the team's #2 starter, and that will certainly help their cause.

Long Beach will be bad again in 2013, and that will help teams in the MBBA-P once more, but they may take a few more games if they actually allow those AAA guys to play at the GUBA level. What will hinder them as usual is the inevitable success of Los Angeles and Las Vegas hanging in there.

Prediction: 96-66, 1st/2nd in MBBA-P

[mikev]

Sim 1 Recap: 4/11/2013

The Crusaders started off the season with a solid 6-3 sim, highlighted by a 3-1 series victory over the natural disasters.

The season opening series, a 2-1 series win over Long Beach, featured an extra inning W in game 1, then an 8-4 loss and an 8-2 victory to take the series.

Bookending the LA series, the Crusaders split the first two (of three) against Vegas, losing game 1 in 14 innings before rebounding with a 5-3 victory.

Small sample size, but the Yoelbi Barro second base experiment has started off okay - the 36 year old made one error over the first 9 games.

Jakob Forest started off the season by going totally crazy at the plate, with a .452/.468/.976 line. Yes, he slugged nearly 1.000, drove in 21 runs in 9 games and has 41 total bases. God I love this guy.

On the mound, Lindsay Blackley got off to a solid start, earning wins in both of his starts. The left handed control specialist tossed 14.1 innings, gave up a total of 5 runs (all earned), and allowed only 13 hits and 2 walks. Also, special shout out to closer Luis Vargas, who earned a win and notched a save in his 4 appearances, not allowing a run in his 9.1 innings while striking out 9 batters and walking only 2.

However, on a bit of a down note, Griz seems to have - finally - proven that he's not the caliber of pitcher that belongs in the Crusaders rotation. He'll likely be moved to a spot start/mopup role, and the team will utilize a 4 man rotation as they for the majority of last season.

The Next Crusade

4/11 - @ Las Vegas

4/12 - v. Green Bay
4/13 - v. Green Bay
4/14 - v. Green Bay

4/16 - v. Louisville
4/17 - v. Louisville
4/18 - v. Louisville

4/19 - @ Baltimore
4/20 - @ Baltimore

[mikev]

2013: April Comes To A Close

One month down, and the MBBA Pacific is pretty much shaping up as expected.

It's pretty much a 3 team race, with the Crusaders and Los Angeles sharing 18-9 records to set the pace, with Vegas only 1 game back.

The Crusaders have used a pretty balanced attack to go along with fantastic pitching. Reigning Golden Arm winner Ken McKain is off to a solid start, going 4-1 with a 2.86 ERA and 0.95 WHIP to start 2013. McKain shut out Valencia in his last start, tossing a complete game 3-hitter with 8 strikeouts and only 2 walks.

After McKain, former ace turned #2 starter Jorge Enriquez has been nearly as good as McKain. Jorge, also sporting a 4-1 record, has a 2.98 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. He doesn't have as many strikeouts as McKain does, and has the triva question "Who has thrown 10 innings in a single game and not gotten a decision" with his April 12th start against Green Bay.

The big surprise, however, is 3rd starter George Adams. Adams has only made 4 starts, one of them a forgettable 2.1 inning, 4 run outing against Vegas in which the offense saved him and he was awarded a no-decision. His other three starts? 25 innings, 2 earned runs, 17 strikeouts, 4 walks. Hey, that's pretty good, and his 1.98 ERA leads the team.

Fourth starter Lindsay Blackley has struggled, but the offense is helping him out so he's got a 4-2 record, but the control artist is expected to turn things around.

On the offensive side of things, well, Forest is a monster, so nothing new to report there.

Vincente Gonzalez has a .475 OBP, and is somehow slugging .568 with only 9 extra base hits.

Yoelbi Barro appears to really love being traded, as he's currently sporting a .938 OPS with the Crusaders and has been solid at second base with a .975 fielding percentage and 3 errors.

Tommy Aucoin: 8/7/6/4/9 ratings, but a .694 OPS. Does not compute. I expect him to finish around .750 or so when it's all said and done.

In all, the team is shaping up to be pretty good again this year. If Blackely continutes to falter, another pitcher could be in order. The offense has been solid, but a defensive reshuffle may be on the horizon if Robinson Leyva doesn't start getting the hang of third base a bit quicker.

The Next Crusade

5/1 - v. Vancouver
5/2 - v. Vancouver

5/3 - v. Las Vegas
5/4 - v. Las Vegas
5/5 - v. Las Vegas

5/7 - @ Manhattan
5/8 - @ Manhattan
5/9 - @ Manhattan

5/10 - @ Des Moines

[mikev]

Draft Day Trade for Crusaders

In what was described as a very, very deep draft in 2013, the Crusaders made several attempts to move up and aquire a top pick.

When a potential deal with Sydney fell through (the Crusaders were in talks to aquire the 5th overall pick in exchange for taking on the contract of Ed Clements) because Sydney had forgotten about their previous trade with Taipei.

The end result? California was unable to move up in the round, and stayed at pick #30 overall.

The team had a small list of players that they hoped to be available when their selection came up. The #1 player on that list, slugging third baseman Jonne Turtola, looked like he was going to fall to the Crusaders until he was taken at 29 by Moscow. GM Mike Voelker's heart sank. When your primary selection gets that close, it hurts to fall back to anybody else on the list.

That fallback was William Lampron, a corner outfielder with huge power potential and decent talents all around. Only a teenager, Lampron certainly has the potential, but with a first round pick I kinda would have wanted somebody at a more premium position or somebody more developed.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Moscow GM UsualSuspect sent me a message asking about my pick (turns out the message was sent before my pick was made, but I didn't see it in time). My reply was that he took the guy I wanted at 29, and we came up with a deal that would send Lampron to Moscow and allow Turtola to become the newest member of the Crusaders organization.



You have to consider it a solid draft if you get the #1 guy on your board who would realistically be available at pick 30. ickles:

Now, about Turtola. His talents are 4/3/4/4/3. I love that, even if he's a bit underdeveloped for a 21 year old. Hell, he's Hungarian, it's not exactly a baseball hotbed in Budapest, is it? Anyway, his defense is already passable, and he plays a position that is a bit of a black hole in the league. Premium third baseman are kinda hard to find, which is why the guy was the only player we seriously targeted with our pick.

In Round 2 (pick 66 overall) California went for a "decent" skillset but a premium position with C Kenkichi Sugiyama. Defensively, the 19-year-old Japanese backstop could play in the GUBA right now. His 3/3/3/3/4 talent potentials compare favorably to Brito The Douchewhore, so if this guy ends up with a .700 OPS and solid defense, that's a pretty damn good second rounder since it's basically All Star caliber at catcher in this league.

The rest of the draft will be on auto, I'm not even sure when my next pick is.

[mikev]

Crusaders Falling Out Of Contention; Trade To Bolster Defense

June 1, 2013. The Crusaders have dropped to 11 games behind the Quakes, who share the GUBA's best record (40-15). Also in front of the Crusaders are the Las Vegas Hustlers, at 34-21 they're 5 games ahead of California.

A quick persusal of the team stats shows that our .757 team OPS is good for 4th in the MBBA. We're not the powerhouse offense of the league, but we can hold our own. The bullpen, as usual, is stellar. A 2.33 ERA is good for 2nd in the league.

The problem is the starting pitching. The starters' 4.63 ERA is 14th in the MBBA. 14th! This is a staff that has the reigning Golden Arm winner Ken McKain and 2011 All Star Starter Jorge Enriquez. Those two have been good enough, with ERAs around 3.50 between the two of them. The weak links have been George Adams and Lindsay Blackley, who sport ERAs of 5.00 or worse.

Adams, after a fantastic start to the season, has been flat out terrible. His WHIP has risen from 1.17 to nearly 1.60, his VORP has plummeted from nearly 10 to almost negative 3. His BABIP is an awful .368, which probably has something to do with his horrible numbers, but still... It's ugly.

Blackley has been worse. I don't even want to get into the stats, because it's awful.

Now, a good portion of the blame has to be put on the pitchers, sure. At the same time, the defense behind them needs to do something. Robinson Leyva has been Ryan Braun-esque at third base, with a .942 FP and a fairly awful 2.76 range. Yoelbi Barro has been okay at second base, but his 8 errors in 53 games is a lot more than I'd like to see out of a middle infielder.

Enter shortstop Antonio Alvarado.

Avarado, aquired from Valencia in exchange for three minor leaguers, should allow the infield to be reshuffled to greatly improve team defense.

With the trade, the team will likely move Leyva back to his more familiar second base position where he is above average defensively. We're also hoping that the frustration of trying to learn a new position will allow him to get going with the bat, as his dropoff from an .830 OPS in limited time last year is a little concerning. Yoelbi Barro, after an admirable attempt to remain an infielder, will move to become the primary DH.

Incumbent shortstop Rafael Lopez will switch to third base, where we feel he will become an above average third baseman in short time, allowing Alvarado to anchor the infield defense with his world-class D at short.

Is this a trade expected to vault the Crusaders back into contention? Probably not. Still, I think we're a better team than what's been out there on the field so far this season, and I think you'll see the Crusaders begin to claw their way back into the MBBA Pacific race.

The Next Crusade

6/1 - v. Washington
6/2 - v. Washington

6/3 - @ New York
6/4 - @ New York
6/5 - @ New York

6/6 - v. Valencia
6/7 - v. Valencia
6/8 - v. Valencia
6/9 - v. Valencia

[mikev]

Crusaders Aquire Starter At Deadline

The California Crusaders have announced a trade with the Manila Volcanoes to bring pitcher Francisco Reynoso to the team.

Reynoso, a 6'6" Cuban monster and the winner of the 2009 Golden Arm award, is expected to solidify a starting rotation featuring Ken McKain, Jorge Enriquez, and George Adams. It's assumed that incumbent 4th starter Lindsay Blackley, by far having the worst season of his career, will be relegated to a mopup/spot start role with the team.

Reynoso's 7-10 record for the season is misleading, as his 3.32 ERA was the best in Manila, along with his 1.24 WHIP. With solid endurance (Reynoso has averaged 7.1 innings per start in 2013), Reynoso is a pitcher the team will be able to rely on for the stretch run as the Crusaders attempt to gain ground on Wild-Card leading Las Vegas.

Heading to Manila will be Triple-A Catcher Kenny Coleman, a 24 year old backstop who plays above average defense and, given his recent talent bumps, projects to be at worst a serviceable backup in the big leagues, at best a decent-to-above-average starter. Along with Coleman, the Crusaders will send a conditional draft pick to Manila - if California makes the playoffs it's a 2nd round pick, if they don't it's a 3rd rounder.

"We had a couple options when we sent out some feelers for starters," said GM Mike Voelker. "We felt like Francisco was the best fit for us, he's having a good season in Manila and he's been there, done that before. There's no reason he shouldn't continue to perform at a high level for us the rest of the season, if not longer."

Information on whether or not the team will extend a new contract offer to Reynoso was hard to come by. The 36 year old appears to have several good seasons left in him, so it stands to reason that the deciding factor will be how much money the veteran will want and for how many years.

[mikev]

Crusaders Pick Up Slugger In Second Deadline Deal

In another deadline deal, the Crusaders and the New York Knights got together to bring some much needed power to California.

Coming to California is slugger Michel Frechette, a 34 year old corner outfielder. Frechette's overall numbers for 2013 are down (.239/.291/.463) compared to his career figures (.266/.323/.500), but they appear very skewed because he's been utterly horrific against left handers - .155/.184/.274, that's a .458 OPS. Against righties he's a much better .265/.323/.523, with 19 of his 22 homers this year. Pair those numbers up with the .329/.409/.493 vs LHP from Javier Gallegos, and the Crusaders all of a sudden have an .875 OPS, 35 home run tandem at DH. We'll take it.

In addition to Frechette, California received Triple-A outfielder Fernando Fuentes, a 26 year old who could probably step in as a major league backup right now, but will likely remain in the minors and start the 2014 season in the majors.

To aquire these two, the Crusaders gave up Triple-A outfielder Marc McDonald, ranked as the #3 prospect in the California system. He's put up a .750 OPS in the minors this year, and was primed to compete for a starting job as early as next season, or at least be a backup. With his departure, Flores and Mark Edwards will likely compete for the job, and that's assuming that incumbent right fielder Vincente Gozalez isn't signed to a contract extension - the 37 year old slugger is still one of the better hitters on the team.

The odd man out in this situation is seemingly Yoelbi Barro, who has been a solid DH but doesn't possess the home run power to make a real difference in a lineup. He's still got value, he's got a ton of stolen bases and is still crushing lefties, so if need be he'll be put back at second base and Robinson Leyva will be benched against lefties.

Stay tuned, folks, the Crusaders aren't quite done yet this season and could still make a big push for a wild card berth.