The Federal Baseball League: Rebirth of a Franchise

[Loompa17]

Very nice stories.

I love having Chambers on my team. This season has been a blast so far. BUT, Chambers needs a little bit of perspective adjustment here. The season's barely halfway over, and he almost talks like KC has won the championship already. We have not accomplished anything yet. What's with this championship talk?

[ifspuds]

Originally Posted by Loompa17

I love having Chambers on my team. This season has been a blast so far. BUT, Chambers needs a little bit of perspective adjustment here. The season's barely halfway over, and he almost talks like KC has won the championship already. We have not accomplished anything yet. What's with this championship talk?

He did say "if". You can't blame a guy for looking forward, can you?

[ifspuds]

Some general stat rundowns for the Rainiers:

Batting Stats:

Average:          .284 (2nd)
OBP:              .365 (2nd)
Slugging:         .419 (6th)
OPS:              .784 (5th)
Runs Scored:       453 (5th)
Hits:              759 (4th)
Extra-Base Hits:   212 (6th)
Home Runs:          57 (15th)
Walks:             344 (6th)
Strikeouts:        380 (11th)
Stolen Bases:      154 (4th)

Pitching Stats:

Team ERA:         3.84 (4th)
Starter ERA:      4.01 (6th)
Bullpen ERA:      2.97 (2nd)
Runs Allowed:      354 (6th)
Opp. Average:     .255 (8th)
BABIP:            .275 (7th)
HR Allowed:         79 (14th)
Walks:             282 (7th)
Strikeouts:        404 (7th)

Fielding Stats:

Errors:             63 (3rd)
Fielding%:        .979 (T-4th)
Caught Stealing%: 29.0 (3rd)

Funny how your perceptions change when you look league-wide. My impression was that we were a terrible defensive team. The number of games we've lost due to truckloads of unearned runs really stick in my mind, but apparently we're on the receiving end of those gifts far more often. We turn out to be a pretty good defensive team by these admittedly flawed metrics. Other than that, we come in just about where I'd expect in most stats.

We're just not a power-hitting team. I knew that going in, and in fact, I built the team in the draft in just that way. Looking at the Rainiers' pre-sim history in the PBPL, it was never a slugging team, more a flood the bases and run sort of team, and I thought it'd be fun to continue that tradition. It's especially glaring how few home runs we've hit considering that the league leader in home runs, Denny Chambers, has just 18 homers less than we do as an entire team. Our stolen base ranking has dipped lately -- we've been in first place league wide for parts of the season, but we're still #1 in stolen base percentage, swiping 82.7% on the season. The teams in front of us are all in the 80s as well. While we don't hit many home runs at all, our doubles and triples are making up for some of that discrepancy, which is exactly what I'd hoped for.

Pitching-wise, our starters have been up and down. We looked a lot better before Ryan Carson hit his slump, but some very nice work from the supporting cast has helped weather some of those issues. Taking Bob Ford out of the closer's spot has not only helped the staff numbers, but it seems to have helped him quite a lot as well: he didn't allow a single run all of June and gave up just 2 hits and a walk in 8.1 innings of work.

Where are we deficient? Well, it's hard to argue too much with the results. We have the 2nd best record in the league, which would suggest we're not too deficient anywhere in particular. I'd like a little better work out of our starters. Ryan Carson is much better than what he's shown recently. We're lucky to have some outfield depth on the bench, with Tracy Jones out and prone to injury to boot. Speed and average are going to continue to carry this team. We have to concentrate on winning the division, since the race for the one wild card spot is going to be extremely muddled. Akron currently holds the lead in that regard with a 51-28 record, and after that we've got Baltimore and Buffalo tied atop the East with 50-29 records... which also happens to be Salt Lake's record. A 2-game cushion in the division is too close for my comfort, but it's better than being two games down.

[ifspuds]

Sadly, it appears that this may be the end of the road for the Federal Baseball League, as the commissioner has to step down due to real life, which unfortunately happens to us all. If someone else takes up the reins of the league, this will restart. Otherwise, I hope you've enjoyed reading about the Seattle Rainiers.

[jdettbarn]

Thanks for doing this Jeff. It was a great addition to the league.

Yes, real life has taken priority, as it seems we'll have quite the instant family come this summer. My hands will be full with 3 girls under 1 1/2 yrs old.

Very sad day for me, since I just passed the 6 real year mark for the JOBL/FBL... we'll see what the future brings, but I am hanging up my commish cleats for the time being.

[ifspuds]

Good news! An owner has stepped forward to take the commisioner reins and the league has returned to regular action.

Gaining Ground

A strong week led into a crucial 4-game series with second place Salt Lake, which started on a high note with an opening win.

Completion of Dallas Series
Seattle 12, Dallas 3

Bob Pollock's 3-run first inning homer started things off with a bang, and the offense kept pouring on runs. Meanwhile, Edward Thompson threw 6 innings of 2-hit ball and the Rainiers coasted to the easy win. Stephen Kent and Travis Murphy also contributed homers, and Randall Adams had three hits and three runs scored.

Twentieth Series
Columbus 1, Seattle 6
Columbus 2, Seattle 1
Columbus 0, Seattle 7
Columbus 6, Seattle 12

Ryan Carson was brilliant in game 1, tossing a complete game 5-hitter with 11 strikeouts against his former club. Bob Pollock homered -- a pinch hit job -- for the second straight game, and Ramon German and Henry Warren also got in to the act with longballs. No one player had more than 1 hit, but the offense was spread throughout the lineup.

A tough luck outing for David Wheeler in game 2 -- a complete game 4-hitter -- resulted in a 2-1 loss. Columbus's Jim McDonald (who came in with an ERA in the high 6's) was even better, allowing 3 hits in 8 and two-thirds, and the 6 walks allowed didn't come back to haunt him. Seattle had the tying run at 2nd with no outs in the bottom of the 9th, but stranded him.

Michael Hawks pitched a 4-hit shutout in game 3, striking out 4 in the gem. Cesar Encarnacion scored 4 runs and stole 2 bases (62 on the season) and even hit a home run, just his 2nd of the season. Not that Hawks needed a lot of support.

A 16-hit barrage clinched the series sweep for the Rainiers in game 4. The top 4 in the lineup combined to go 11-18 with 4 doubles, 7 RBI and 6 runs scored. Edward Thompson wasn't terribly sharp, giving up 10 hits and 3 earned runs in 5.1 innings, but he got his 8th win of the season to up his record to 8-1. Jim Stephens went 2-5 with a homer and 3 RBI, and Thompson went 2-2 at the plate.

Twenty-First Series
Seattle 9, Salt Lake 7

The Rainiers went into the Salt Lake series guaranteed of coming out at least tied for first, as they'd built their division lead to 4 games. They came out strong in game 1, relying on offense to carry a shaky Ryan Carson. Jim Stephens and Stephen Kent each hit 3-run homers, a quality more typical of the slugging Strikers, and each of the top 7 hitters in the lineup had at least one hit. With the win, the Rainiers upped their West Division lead to 5 games.

-----

July 2, 1950
Sim Record: 6-1
Overall Record: 58-28, 5 games in front of Salt Lake. After months of watching Salt Lake dog us relentlessly, a hot streak has coincided with some tough luck and a tougher schedule for Salt Lake.

I'm behind on sim reports, so I don't have Top Hitter and Top Pitcher news. This regular feature will return when I'm caught up.

[ifspuds]

Pulling Away

A loss in game 2 of the Salt Lake series brought Seattle back to earth for a moment, but it sparked a 6-game winning streak that pushed the division lead to a season-high 8 games.

Completion of Salt Lake Series
Seattle 4, Salt Lake 6
Seattle 9, Salt Lake 7
Seattle 9, Salt Lake 5

No box scores are available for games 2 and 3 of the series.

In game 4, Edward Thompson got his 9th win thanks to big offensive outings from Bob Pollock and Tracy Jones, who each hit home runs, and Jim Stephens, who hit two triples. Generally considered the weaker offensive team, Seattle nonetheless scored 9 runs in 3 of the 4 games in the series.

Twenty-Second Series
Louisville 2, Seattle 3
Louisville 4, Seattle 9
Louisville 1, Seattle 8
Louisville 2, Seattle 3

Ryan Carson picked up a complete-game win, his 14th win of the season, and the Rainiers won despite being outhit 8-4. Randall Adams had two of those hits, a double and a homer, and Stephen Kent pitched in a longball as well, knocking off Louisville ace Cole Reiff.

Nines were wild once again, as the Rainiers put 6 on the board in the 3rd inning to complete their scoring. David Wheeler went the distance this time, earning his 12th win, and even went 2-4 at the plate. Dan Vincent hit a 3-run double as part of that 6-run 3rd, and backup catcher Luis Garcia hit a 3-run homer.

Another big outing for Michael Hawks in game 3. He allowed a 1st inning single to Morgan Barnes, and then didn't allow another hit the entire game, walking 4 and striking out 6 for his 14th win. Randy Davies hit a solo shot and Travis Murphy a 3-run bomb to support the fantastic outing.

Edward Thompson keeps rolling along, going to 10-1 with 7.2 strong innings, striking out 7 and allowing 5 hits. Since getting roughed up by Buffalo on June 3rd, Thompson has won 9 straight decisions and has lowered his ERA to 3.55.

-----

July 9, 1950
Sim Record: 6-1
Overall Record: 64-29, 8 games in front of Salt Lake. After we took 3 of 4 against Salt Lake, the Strikers dropped two of four to San Francisco, which enabled us to extend the division lead.

Still behind on sim reports, so I don't have Top Hitter and Top Pitcher news. This regular feature will return when I'm caught up.

[ifspuds]

Riding High

An undefeated week pushes the Seattle win streak to 12. The Rainiers have won 13 of their last 14 and 18 of their last 20 and now have a double-digit division lead over Salt Lake.

Twenty-Third Series
Seattle 17, Worcester 3
Seattle 9, Worcester 0
Seattle 13, Worcester 2
Seattle 12, Worcester 3

The Rainiers came into Worcester already riding some offensive highs, and left town blowing the cover off the ball.

Ryan Carson was the beneficiary of the game 1 outburst, as Carson tossed another complete game win, his 15th of the season. Randy Davies was the big hero, doubling twice and hitting a grand slam while notching 8 RBI in his 4-6 day. All told, the Rainiers hit 8 doubles in the game. Randall Adams went 2-5 with 2 walks and 3 runs scored, and Jim Stephens went 3-3 with 2 walks and 4 runs scored.

David Wheeler was on fire in game 2, throwing a 3-hit shutout at the Whalers. Cesar Encarnacion went 3-4 with 3 RBI and 3 steals, and Tracy Jones went 3-5 with a triple at the plate. Henry Warren added a 2-5 with a triple as well.

Another double-digit win in game 3 in support of Michael Hawks, who didn't allow an earned run in 8 innings. Tracy Jones was the big star this time out, hitting a bases-loaded triple in the 9th and knocking in 6 in the game. Randall Adams went 3-6 to raise his team-leading average to .360.

Edward Thompson won another decision, going six strong for his 11th win. Bob Pollock went 3-6 and Dan Vincent walked 4 times, scoring 3 runs. Cesar Encarnacion drove in 4 runs from the leadoff spot to go with his 3 walks. All told, Seattle drew 15 walks in the game.

After the game it was announced that Seattle had signed Randy Davies to a contract extension that will keep the catcher in Rainiers for three more seasons. Worth $133,500 a year, incentives are included for reaching certain plate appearance milestones and any Batter of the Year awards Davies might earn.

Twenty-Fourth Series
Providence 0, Seattle 6
Providence 4, Seattle 5

Ryan Carson was up to his old ways again in game 1, tossing 8 innings of 2-hit shutout ball with five strikeouts. Randy Davies and Cesar Encarnacion homered for the Rainiers, and Encarnacion went 3-4 in the game. The Reds committed 4 errors in the game, leading to 3 unearned runs for Seattle.

A solo homer in the top of the 9th brought the Reds to within 1 of the Rainiers, but David Wheeler (14-9) polished off a complete-game win nonetheless. Randy Davies hit another home run, a 2-run shot in the 3rd, and Bob Pollock and Jim Stephens also contributed homers in the win. Cesar Encarnacion stole his 69th and 70th bases of the season.

-----

July 16th, 1950
Sim Record: 6-0
Overall Record: 69-29, 10 games in front of Salt Lake. This is a hot streak unlike almost anything else I've ever had in an online league. We've taken over the best record in the league, a game in front of Kansas City (68-30), who we'll face at the end of the month in a 4-game home set.

Top Hitter: Randy Davies is living up to his newly minted contract extension already: .368/.500/.947 with 3 homers and 12 RBI. 3 homers has been typical of an entire month for Davies thus far in 1950.

Top Pitcher: David Wheeler went 2-0 with an 0.50 ERA, striking out 9 in 18 IP with 3 walks and 11 hits allowed. Honorable mention to Ryan Carson (2-0, 1.06, 13 K in 17 IP)

Injury News: None of note.

Development News: None of note.

[Loompa17]

Originally Posted by ifspuds

We've taken over the best record in the league, a game in front of Kansas City (68-30), who we'll face at the end of the month in a 4-game home set.

Looking forward to this series. I've opened up a little lead in my division too, but this should be a good measuring stick for both of us.

[ifspuds]

Back to Earth

Another big win against Providence pushed the Seattle winning streak to 13. Unlucky 13, as it happened, as the Reds took game 4 of the series. A series win against Jersey City followed, before the Rainiers dropped the first of four in Birmingham.

Completion of Providence Series
Providence 2, Seattle 10
Providence 8, Seattle 2

Another solid outing from Michael Hawks, who settled down after allowing 2 first-inning runs. The Rainiers quickly erased that deficit, going ahead 3-2 in the 2nd, and blew it wide open with 4 in the 8th. Dan Vincent had three hits, Jim Stephens hit a solo homer, and six players stole bases, including 2 for Cesar Encarnacion.

Someone finally got to Edward Thompson. A 6-run 6th for Providence broke a 2-2 tie and sent Thompson to his first loss in over a month. Bob Pollock was 2-4 with an RBI. All of Providence's runs in the fateful 6th came with 2 outs and 1 on.

Twenty-Fifth Series
Jersey City 2, Seattle 4
Jersey City 1, Seattle 3
Jersey City 3, Seattle 4
Jersey City 7, Seattle 6

Randy Davies was 2-3 with a double, homer and 2 RBI, and Ryan Carson picked up his 17th win with 8 strong innings. The Rainiers were outhit 9-4, but drew 7 walks and managed the win despite committing 3 errors.

David Wheeler was brilliant in game 2, allowing a single run on Joey Smith's leadoff homer in the 9th. Wheeler got plenty of support from Jim Stephens and Dan Vincent, who each hit solo homers.

Despite outhitting Jersey City 14-6 and benefitting from 3 Industrials errors, the Rainiers needed 16 innings to finally put this one away. The winning run scored in the bottom of the 16th on a botched infield pop after Travis Murphy doubled and moved to third on a sac bunt. Cesar Encarnacion sent the ball sky high over the pitcher's mound, only to have the ball pop out of the pitcher's glove, allowing the speedy Murphy to race home with the winning run.

Edward Thompson was once again not sharp, and Jersey City took advantage, touching him for 6 runs in 6 innings. A 9th inning comeback, sparked by Randy Davies's 2-out, 2-run homer, fell a run short. After 16 innings the day before, there were probably few players disappointed to see this end in 9.

Twenty-Sixth Series
Seattle 2, Birmingham 6

The previous game's pitching woes infected Ryan Carson, who allowed 5 runs in 7 innings of work. The anticipated pitcher's duel between aces Carson and Jose Rivera never materialized, with Rivera going the distance and allowing just 6 hits and 2 walks.

-----

July 23rd, 1950
Sim Record: 4-3
Overall Record: 73-32, 8 games in front of Salt Lake. A little disappointing after the brilliant first half of July, but I shouldn't complain.

Top Hitter: Randall Adams, 3B. Been a while since we've seen Adams in this spot, but he earns it by virtue of a .333/.517/.524 mark last week. 8 walks against 1 strikeout gives him a BB:K ratio of 57:25 on the season. On the season, he's .353/.430/.500 with 37 steals in 44 attempts.

Top Pitcher: David Wheeler is again your winner, at least partly because everyone else got knocked around a little and Wheeler's only start last week was a gem: complete-game 6-hitter, 1 run allowed.

Injury News: None of note.

Development News: None of note.

[ifspuds]

You Win Some, You Lose Some

A stumble against Birmingham led into a big home series against the Central Division leaders, the Kansas City Outlaws. Despite bullpen woes, the Rainiers headed into July 30th's series finale having won 2 of the 3 games.

Completion of Birmingham Series
Seattle 3, Birmingham 4
Seattle 6, Birmingham 4
Seattle 3, Birmingham 6

Game two went to the bottom of the 9th knotted at 2 apiece, but David Wheeler walked the leadoff man, Denis Buchanan, who raced around with the winning run one out later on Lorenzo Lopez's double. Wheeler struck out 9, but couldn't keep the Nationals off the board in the key situation. Randy Davies tripled as part of a 3-5 game and Randall Adams went 2-5 with a homer.

Cesar Encarnacion went 3-5 and stole a base, and Bob Pollock doubled and drove in 2 to support Michael Hawks. A 5-run 6th proved to be the difference in the game, and Bob Ford held down the fort for the final 1.2 innings.

A game four loss sent the Rainiers to the first series loss in a month. Edward Thompson was saddled with the loss, but 2 unearned runs made his day look worse than it was. Randall Adams went 3-4 and Randy Davies went 2-3, but Bob Pollock left 6 men on base from the cleanup spot, which proved to be Seattle's undoing.

Twenty-Sixth Series
Kansas City 9, Seattle 7
Kansas City 9, Seattle 10
Kansas City 5, Seattle 8

The Outlaws notched 3 runs in the top of the 9th to send the game to extra innings, where Ricardo Mejia's 2nd homer of the game -- a 2-out, 2-run shot -- put Kansas City ahead to stay in the top of the 13th. The Outlaws hit 5 homers off Seattle pitching, 4 of them off Ryan Carson. Tracy Jones homered and drove in 4 for Seattle, and Dan Vincent went 3-4 with 3 walks, but the Rainiers left 17 men on base as a team. Game One of the division leader showdown goes to Kansas City.

The streaky Bob Ford -- who gave up the go-ahead homer in Game One -- appears to be on another bad streak, but this time his team escaped nonetheless. The Rainiers took an 8-3 lead to the top of the 8th, only to see Kansas City tie it with a 5-spot. The home run was again the problem for Seattle, as the big blow in the 8th was a 2-out grand slam by Outlaws first baseman Joe Boyd. Seattle broke the tie in the bottom of the 8th thanks to RBI singles from Randy Davies and Tracy Jones. Things got scary, however, in the top of the 9th. Bob Ford started well, striking out the leadoff man, but a single, double and a walk loaded the bases. Ford got Mike Barraclough -- the league's leading hitter at .380 -- to pop to third, but another walk forced home a run to make it 10-9. Adam Webber came in and, on his first pitch, got Stu Boone to fly harmlessly to Tracy Jones in left.

Another tough outing for the bullpen in game 3, and another escape for the Rainiers. With an 8-2 lead headed to the 9th, Seattle sent mopup man Bruno Campbell to the hill. 3 hits, 3 walks and 3 runs later, it was 8-5 and the bases were loaded. Pinch hitter Rob Richards worked a 2-1 count, and the Seattle fans were getting mighty restless once again. Campbell, who throws a heavy sinker, got Richards to plunk a grounder out in front of the plate, where Randy Davies pounced on it and threw to first for the game-ender. With this much drama, you can guarantee Waterfront Field be jam-packed with raucous Rainiers rooters for the series finale tomorrow.

-----

July 30th, 1950
Sim Record: 3-3
Overall Record: 76-35, 7 games in front of Salt Lake. The Birmingham series was disappointing, but the Nationals aren't a bad team, just 5 games out of the lead in the East Division. It's a good thing I don't get to watch these games play out. My bullpen would've given me a heart attack these last three games.

Top Hitter: Holy cow, was Dan Vincent on fire. 11-20, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 8 walks and 4 K. If you're scoring at home, that's a .550/.679/1.100 line. A very underrated player, I think. He's at .279/.438/.465 for the season.

Top Pitcher: Michael Hawks wasn't lights out, but by comparison to much of the staff, he was nearly unstoppable. Hawks went 2-0 with a 3.60 ERA last week, but struggled with control (9 walks, 2 K).

Injury News: Right-handed center field platooner Travis Murphy pinched a nerve in his neck diving to make a play in game three of the KC series. He's day-to-day for a week.

Development News: None of note.

[ifspuds]

Short But Sweet

A two day sim led up to the trade deadline, and you can read below about how it went.

Completion of Kansas City Series

The unstoppable Denny Chambers (.357, 52 HR, 119 RBI), who tormented Seattle for ten years of PBPL action as the star of the San Diego Suns, did it to the Rainiers once again in the first inning, driving an Edward Thompson fastball deep into right center for a two-run homer to give the Outlaws the early 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the second, Bob Pollock and Dan Vincent sandwiched walks around a 4-6 fielder's choice, and Jim Stephens brought two home with a liner down the left field line for a double. The Rainiers had a chance to break the tie, as Travis Murphy walked and both runners moved up 90 feet on a sac bunt by Edward Thompson, but Cesar Encarnacion grounded out to second to end the inning with the 2-2 tie intact.

It didn't last long, though, as three straight singles loaded the bases in the top of the 3rd, and Mike Barraclough brought in a run with a sac fly. Edward Thompson worked out of the jam nicely, getting Rob Boyd on a short fly ball to left and struck out Eugene Younger swinging at a 2-2 changeup.

The game stayed 3-2 until the bottom of the ninth when, for a change of pace, the Outlaws suffered their own bullpen woes. Bob Pollock got things started with a bang, smacking a long flyball into the right-center gap for a leadoff double. With the fans on their feet, Tracy Jones followed promptly with a single through the right side of the infield. With Pollock breaking instantly, he was able to race around third and chug home unchallenged to score the tying run. The red-hot Dan Vincent came up next and cleared the bases... but not in a good way, bouncing harmlessly into a 4-6-3 double play. Stephen Kent pinch hit for Jim Stephens, but grounded to third to send the game into extra innings.

With Harris Meyners on the hill for the 10th, the Outlaws sent Ricardo Mejia, Denny Chambers and Mike Barraclough -- a veritable Murderer's Row -- to the plate. Mejia and Chambers lived up to their part of the bargain, with each picking up singles, but Barraclough, held relatively in check by Rainiers hurlers in the series, bounced into a 6-4-3 twin killing. Rob Boyd followed with an easy grounder. The Outlaws would put two on in both the 11th and 12th, and get their leadoff man aboard in the 13th as well, but each time the Rainiers' relief corps kept them away from home.

In the bottom of the 13th, backup infielder Phil Mueller led off with a single, but two outs later, he remained standing at first. Randy Davies drew a two out walk to bring 9th inning hero Bob Pollock to the plate. Pollock worked the count full, which meant the runners would be off with the pitch. Dave Peterson's 24th pitch was the final one of the game, as Pollock ripped a liner up the middle to score Mueller easily from second. As the fans roared, the team poured out of the dugout to celebrate a hard-fought series win.

Twenty-Seventh Series
Seattle 6, Portland 4

Ryan Carson took the hill and was razor-sharp early on, but the Timbers got to him late for 4 runs over the 7th, 8th and 9th. Luckily, by then the Rainiers already had a 5-0 lead and pushed it to 6-3 in the top of the 9th before the Timbers tacked one more on. Adam Webber relieved Carson with 1 down in the 9th, after two singles and a groundout put runners at 2nd and 3rd. Webber induced a 6-3 groundout for the 2nd out, allowing Portland to score their 4th run, but fanned pinch-hitter Lynn Dixon for out #3. The Rainiers notched 9 hits, including Dan Vincent's 15th homer of the year, a 9th-inning solo shot, but drew 10 walks against just 2 strikeouts off Timbers pitching. Tracy Jones singled three times and drove in 2 runs.

-----

August 1st, 1950
Sim Record: 2-0
Overall Record: 78-35, 7 games in front of Salt Lake. Not much of a sim, but it was certainly successful. The series against Kansas City came out in our favor, with a 3-1 series win, and each game had its share of excitement. Could be a playoff preview, with the Outlaws holding an 8-game division lead over Akron.

Top Hitter: We'll stick with Dan Vincent, who won player of the week honors in the FBL for his .550 average, 3 homers and 10 RBI.

Top Pitcher: We'll give the award to long reliever Harris Meyners, who tossed 3.2 innings of scoreless relief in the 13-inning epic against Kansas City. Meyners hasn't gotten a ton of work since Edward Thompson came off the DL, so it's good to see him turn in a nice outing.

Injury News: None of note.

Development News: None of note.

[ifspuds]

FBL Standings - August 1, 1950

FBL East
Team                      W   L   PCT   GB
Baltimore Lords          68  45  .602   --
Buffalo Dogs             67  46  .593    1
Birmingham Nationals     63  50  .558    5
Richmond Grays           55  58  .487   13
Jersey City Industrials  54  59  .478   14
Providence Reds          44  69  .389   24
Worcester Whalers        24  89  .212   44

FBL Central
Team                      W   L   PCT   GB
Kansas City Outlaws      79  34  .699   --
Akron Black Knights      71  42  .628    8
Dallas Lone Stars        66  47  .584   13
Louisville Steamboats    59  54  .522   20
Indianapolis Arrows      51  62  .451   28
New Orleans Mudbugs      41  72  .363   38
Columbus Explorers       37  76  .327   42

FBL West
Team                      W   L   PCT   GB
Seattle Rainiers         78  35  .690   --
Salt Lake Strikers       71  42  .628    7
San Francisco Missions   61  52  .540   17
Portland Timbers         50  63  .442   28
San Diego Suns           47  66  .416   31
Los Angeles Quake        44  69  .389   34

The Whalers have been just plain bad all year long. They were 4-23 in June and at one point between June and July lost 26 straight before taking the final two games of a 4-game series with New Orleans in late July. They finished July strong, by comparison, winning 7 of 11 to close out the month.

The only real division race going right now is over in the FBL East, where five games separate the top three teams. Baltimore remains on top, but struggled to stay above .500 in the month of July, going 15-14 overall and dropping 3 of 4 series in the first half of the month before righting the ship. Luckily for the Lords, the Buffalo Dogs couldn't take advantage, as they posted the reverse of Baltimore's July, winning 9 of 13 in the first half of the month, and losing 11 of 13 immediately after that before closing out the month with three straight wins.

The Central Division appears to belong to the Kansas City Outlaws, who won 21 of 25 in the month of July before dropping 3 of 4 to the West Division leading Seattle Rainiers. The Black Knights of Akron are in a dogfight for the one wild card spot, though, neck and neck with the West's Salt Lake Strikers, who trail Seattle by seven games. Akron gets a steady dose of top teams to start August, finishing a series with Baltimore before getting something of a break against San Diego. That series is followed by four with Buffalo and four with Seattle. The Buffalo series may go a long way toward deciding the wild card, with the Dogs four games out of that race as well.

Seattle has a cushion in the west on the basis of all-around solid play from both hitters and pitchers. The San Francisco Missions have overcome a dismal start to charge above .500 on the strength of a 22-6 July, but it might be too little too late. Salt Lake is the top offensive team in the FBL, boasting six players with more home runs than any one player on the team they're chasing in Seattle, but their pitching has been dismal, keeping them from making ground on the division. In comparison to Akron, the Strikers have an easier go of it in August, save for a four game set with Kansas City late in the month, but the Black Knights and Strikers will go head-to-head for four games in Salt Lake to end the regular season. A number of playoff spots could come down to that final series.

[ifspuds]

Heading Down The Stretch

A couple series against West Division rivals Portland and Los Angeles started off the month of August with a bang.

Completion of Portland Series
Seattle 1, Portland 4
Seattle 8, Portland 3
Seattle 12, Portland 7

Seattle managed just 5 singles off Portland's Joe Hughes and David Wheeler suffered from the lack of support as he dropped to 15-11. Portland's Tom Foster was the offensive star, doubling and homering, driving in all 4 Timbers runs in the process.

By comparison, game 3 of the series was a veritable explosion for the Rainiers. 12 hits and 9 walks led to 8 runs, led by three hits apiece from Cesar Encarnacion and Bob Pollock. Dan Vincent hit a 3-run homer in the 5-run 4th. Tracy Jones walked 3 times in the game. Michael Hawks picked up his 19th win despite walking 8 batters in 6 innings.

The Rainiers ran wild in the series finale: Henry Warren stole 2 bases, Randall Adams swiped three, but the crowning effort was Cesar Encarnacion's FIVE steals, and not a single runner was caught stealing. Randy Davies drove in 5 runs on 3 hits, and more often than not was bringing home Encarnacion and Adams: Cesar scored 3 times and Adams 4. In addition to their 15 hits, Seattle drew 13 walks. Edward Thompson stopped his slide, riding the run support to his 12th win.

Twenty-Eighth Series
Los Angeles 4, Seattle 2
Los Angeles 3, Seattle 4
Los Angeles 1, Seattle 3
Los Angeles 2, Seattle 3

Ryan Carson had one bad inning -- a 3-run 7th -- and the Rainiers left their offense in Portland as they could only muster 2 runs, both of which scored in the bottom of the 9th. Seattle had the tying run on 1st with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th, but couldn't move those runners along. Backup Pedro Fonseca had a career game, doubling and tripling and figuring in both Rainiers runs.

Seattle staked David Wheeler to an early 4-run lead, and he had just enough to make it hold up, tossing a 4-hitter with Foster Ferguson's 2-run homer the only blemish on his line. Dan Vincent stays hot, going 3-4 and driving in 2, and each of the top 6 hitters in the lineup each had at least 1 hit.

Michael Hawks became the Rainiers' first 20-game winner in the FBL behind 8 terrific innings. Tracy Jones's 2-run homer with 2 down in the 6th was the deciding blow, as Seattle only managed 5 hits in the game and scored all three runs in that 6th inning rally.

Tracy Jones led the Rainiers to another win in game 4, hitting a solo homer as part of a 2-3 game, and scored 2 runs as well. Edward Thompson allowed 4 hits in 8.1 innings of work before handing it over to Adam Webber, who nailed down the final two outs.

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August 9th, 1950
Sim Record: 5-2
Overall Record: 83-37, 9 games in front of Salt Lake. I'll be honest... I thought this would be a good, competitive team, but I never envisioned a .692 winning percentage a week into August. The offense has been better than expected, with terrific contributions from Tracy Jones and Dan Vincent, players that were question marks coming in. But the really pleasant surprise has been Bob Pollock. There were other first basemen I had my eye on first in the draft, but I thought Pollock had a shot to be a really solid player. He's exceeded my expectations and then some: .318/.391/.470 despite taking a talent hit early in the season. He's still only 25, and I'm hopeful the talent will come back to match his performance.

Top Hitter: Pollock is our Top Hitter of the week, going .440/.588/.640 with 3 extra base hits and 4 RBI. He also scored 6 times. I love this kid, and I hope he keeps up the great work for seasons to come.

Top Pitcher: Let's give the shoutout to Michael Hawks, who went to 20-5 on the season during this sim. It's worth noting that young Mr. Hawks is all of 22 years old and leads the team with a 3.25 ERA. He walks too many guys (109 in his 221.2 IP) but he strikes out a healthy number as well (140) and that should only improve as he gets older.

Injury News: None of note.

Development News: None of note.

[ifspuds]

Taking Control

A hard-fought series win against the Richmond Grays leads into a 4-game set with the wild-card competitors of Akron. But we'll have to finish the month without one of our top performers of the late summer, Dan Vincent.

Twenty-Ninth Series
Seattle 1, Richmond 4
Seattle 9, Richmond 4
Seattle 11, Richmond 7
Seattle 5, Richmond 4

Another up-and-down outing for Ryan Carson, whose struggles have lasted much of the second half of the season. Richmond tagged him for 3 runs in the 7th, and Carson took his 9th loss against 18 wins. On the offensive side, Randall Adams, Tracy Jones and Jim Stephens each had 2 hits, but the team only drew a single walk, well below their usual output in that category.

The Rainiers tied the game in the 6th and blew it open in the 7th, scoring 7 runs across the two innings. Tracy Jones hit a 2-run homer as part of a 2-4 day, but Jim Stephens did him one better, popping a 3-run shot. Cesar Encarnacion stole his 90th base of the season, and Henry Warren swiped a pair (42 for the season). David Wheeler wasn't terribly sharp, but went 7 innings with 9 strikeouts for his 17th win.

Another big game for the offense, with Cesar Encarnacion missing the cycle by a double and contributing a 4th inning grand slam. Jim Stephens went 3-5 and missed the cycle by a triple, and Tracy Jones added another homer as well. Michael Hawks allowed 6 runs in 6 innings of work, but the run support got him his 21st win of the season. Adam Webber gave up a 9th inning homer to Cris Bullinas, but by then the Rainiers were already up 11-6. The one negative to the game was an injury to Dan Vincent, who came up lame while running the bases.

After 8 brilliant innings, Edward Thompson went out to start the 9th up 5-1, but walked the first two batters and gave up an RBI single before recording the first out. After walking the next batter, Adam Webber came in and gave up a 2-run single to put the score at 5-4 Seattle. An infield single reloaded the bases, and things were looking grim. Webber got pinch hitter Robert Frazier to pop to short left field, and Jeff Edgar struck out looking to end the game. Tracy Jones homered for the 3rd straight game, a 3-run shot in the 6th. Unusually, four of the five Seattle runs came via the longball, including Stephen Kent's solo shot.

Thirtieth Series
Akron 7, Seattle 8
Akron 7, Seattle 3

The Central Division's Black Knights journeyed to Seattle to start an important 4-game series. Akron is in the thick of the wild card race, battling Buffalo and Salt Lake for the 4th postseason spot. Game one went to the home team in 10 innings after a seesaw battle in the late innings. Akron tied the game 6 all in the 7th on Vincente Rodriguez's solo homer, but Seattle took the lead back in the 8th when Cesar Encarnacion scampered home all the way from second on the third baseman's throwing error. Akron tied it back up in the top of the 9th on a bunt hit, a sac bunt, a wild pitch and a sac fly. The bottom of the 10th began with Henry Warren's infield single. Warren moved to second on a sac bunt and brazenly swiped third on the first pitch to Cesar Encarnacion. Encarnacion brought Warren home four pitches later on a line drive single through the left side of the infield.

In game 2, it was Akron that came up with the late-inning magic, taking advantage of uncharacteristic wildness from Willard Williams, who gave up 3 hits, 3 walks and 4 runs in the top of the 9th, which broke up a 3-3 tie. The 9th inning collapse overshadowed a great game for Stephen Kent, taking advantage of the opportunity to start for the injured Dan Vincent. Kent popped a pair of homers, numbers 17 and 18 on the season, and drove in all three Rainiers runs.

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August 15th, 1950
Sim Record: 4-2
Overall Record: 87-39, 10 games in front of Salt Lake. It's looking good for a division title, with our magic number sitting at 17 and 26 games remaining.

Top Hitter: With all due respect to Stephen Kent, who has 3 homers in his last 6 official at-bats, Tracy Jones is the hottest hitter right now. Jones last week hit .474/.560/1.263 with 5 homers, 11 RBI and 8 runs scored. And this week -- in 5 official at bats -- is .600/.778/.800. That's 4 walks against no strikeouts.

Top Pitcher: We'll give it to Edward Thompson, even though no one was particularly good. Thompson went 2-0 with a 3.24 ERA in 16.2 IP last week.

Injury News: Dan Vincent has a strained thigh muscle that should keep him out until the last week of August. It initially had me pretty worried, but we've got a pretty dependable couple of backup outfielders in Stephen Kent and Travis Murphy.

Development News: Our backup infielder Pedro Fonseca is struggling pretty badly at the plate. The 24-year old just doesn't look like he's going to be a long-term solution even as a backup.