The IBL's Chicago Iron Pigs

[gehrig38]

Yep, the Iron Pigs. Just too cool a logo and name to pass up. Orcin has truly inspired me to play the game in a little different way, at least try anyway.
I'm going to GM the Iron Pigs from year one, and see if I can keep the interest.
I'm in year 29 of my other league, and have had a blast, but I thought this would be fun, as it's almost an MMO in a kind of way, a sports way, that I love.

[gehrig38]

Couple questions before I get past the point of no return.
1) I can't seem to find the button to turn on international scouting?
2) I want to keep the stats from progressing year to year, and hold them with the base modifiers from one season. I think I chose 2000 or 2002, but don't want them to update, how do I insure that?

[UKRedSox]

Originally Posted by gehrig38

Couple questions before I get past the point of no return.
1) I can't seem to find the button to turn on international scouting?
2) I want to keep the stats from progressing year to year, and hold them with the base modifiers from one season. I think I chose 2000 or 2002, but don't want them to update, how do I insure that?

Have a look at LEAGUE SETUP/STRATEGY

In the right hand pane you can tick/untick the 'automatically adjust league totals modifiers for accuracy'

Guessing unticking this option will 'freeze' modifiers

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by gehrig38

Couple questions before I get past the point of no return.
1) I can't seem to find the button to turn on international scouting?
2) I want to keep the stats from progressing year to year, and hold them with the base modifiers from one season. I think I chose 2000 or 2002, but don't want them to update, how do I insure that?

1) If you "use complete scouting system", the international free agents will show up automatically each off-season on the day that free agents file.

2) UKRedSox has the right answer. Just uncheck that box and the modifiers will stay constant. You should also uncheck the box under Progressing Options on the Options tab. I actually think both are unchecked by default in fictional leagues, but it doesn't hurt to look.

It's a matter of personal taste, but I recommend disabling storylines and league evolution also. I don't like surprises. YMMV

Good luck and I hope you enjoy your fictional league as much as I do.

[gehrig38]

I checked and unchecked the box, my game still says international scouting budget is "Disabled in World Options" and I cannot find a way to fix it.
Maybe I need a year and to have free agents actually file? I don't know. All players history and service is reset anyway, so I don't know how that's going to affect things other than I have all players under contract for awhile.

Here's the initial try at starting this thing!


A 2012 election that brought about a depressed economy and global strife, caused the meltdown of MLB, and a stop to the current season. With no end in sight and the economy crashing, a few wealthy men gathered in a back room in Chicago to bring back America’s game.

A 2 league 24 team format was decided upon. Obviously with markets spoken for and a desire to stay away from legal hassles most of the teams were put in towns that housed minor league franchises or none at all.

The league was the brain storm of a former player, Curt Schilling, and his love of the game. His only request in the initial league meeting was that he would GM the “Iron Pigs” franchise, founded in Chicago.

Chicago was bound for the Central Division of the CL, along with the Roughriders of Houston, the Corpus Christi Hooks and the Columbus Clippers. Their AAA affiliate would be the Tulsa Majestics, AA Bakersfield Speed Demons. Their two A franchises were located in Denison (the Plymouths) and the Rawhides of Belleview. The Heavener Sting would be their short season club and the Omaha Discoverers would be their rookie league club.

There was a massive pool of players to comprise the leagues first go, and the draft would go as follows.
1) Columbus Clippers
2) Dayton Dragons
3) New York Knights
4) Chicago Iron Pigs
5) Houston Roughriders
6) Michigan Battlecats
7) Buffalo Bisons
8) San Antonio Silver Stars
9) Tulsa Drillers
10) Edmonton Trappers
11) Fresno Grizzlies
12) Baltimore Railcats
13) Las Vegas 51’s
14) New Hampshire Fisher Cats
15) El Paso Diablos
16) Phoenix Greyhounds
17) Brooklyn Cyclones
18) Staten Island Yankees
19) Pittsburgh Riverhounds
20) Los Angeles Sky Sox
21) Sacramento River Cats
22) West Michigan White Caps
23) Philadelphia Freedoms
24) Corpus Christi Hooks

The draft concluded, players are being assigned, and the season is just months away. Omar Marquis, a Cuban, actually a former Cuban defector who had a HOF career in Boston for the defunct Sox franchise, owns this team. He is incredibly demanding of his people but is willing to spend for a winner. Jared Smith, on a 2 year contract, will manage the inaugural Iron Pigs season. His staff is rounded out by one of the leagues best bench coaches in Art McPhun, pitching coach Peter Hardin, Hitting Coach John Edgar and trainer Ricco Cotichini. The Iron Pigs employ legendary scout Martin Cintron, a former Az Diamondback, who’s risen to the top of the scouting world at age 45. The owners first sign was Mr Cintron, who has a 10 year contract that runs through the 2021 season.

As I wade through the setting up I note that my propensity to pick high ceiling young kids, while a boon in years to come, has left me with minimal depth. That’s only a problem if injuries rear their head (which they inevitably will. Set injuries to OOTP classic, as well as trades).

I use the 1-20 scale with 5 stars. Blue is a star (4-5), Green is a stud (3), gold is ML level, orange and red are, well, they suck.

The IBL roster, as of 1/1/2012 looks like this.
Starters-
1) Alfredo Alejandrez (RHP) 26 year old RH with a good FB (96-98) who’s pretty much reached his ceiling. He has the best control in the rotation (which isn’t saying much since it’s an 11).
2) Ken Johnson (RHP) Another 26 year old RH with a bowling ball sinker. Sits in the mid 90s all most games but has been known to drill a mascot or three from time to time.
3) Mike Davis (RHP) The 20 year old RHP who my scouts missed on, big time! He was our #1 pick, at spot 4, and was believed to be a future HoF. Apparently he’s a numbskull. Clearly has room to grow but at best he’s a 3-4 on an average team. Sits in the low 90’s, good sink, ok command.
4) Jeff Jackson (LHP) Our only LH starter. A 28 year old journeyman with decent stuff, but his command has, and will continue to be, an issue. An innings eater, he tends to (when not walking the park) get deeper into games than the rest of my rotation.
5) Francisco Salazar (RHP) A 24 year old mid to bottom of the rotation starter with average stuff and below average command.

Bullpen
With the DH in all leagues I generally like to go with a 6-7 man pen, depending on quality LH pitching. The ace here, and likely across the league, is closer Ernesto Cruz. A mid 90’s fastball with insane movement, and the ability to dot a gnats ass at 60’6” means most games will be a race to get him in the game. Bill George, a 33 year old LH, will be the 8th inning bridge, along with RHP Jose Pacheco, a 22 year old who sports the Iron Pigs best fastball. His command will be the only issue. Riley Potts, LHP Craig Frank, right handers Sib van Bodegraven and Chris Dalton round out the bullpen. They’ll be the arms I hope can get me to the back end on nights my starters can’t get into/through the 7th.

The offense and roster of position players shapes up like this.
Versus RHP
1) (L) DH Jorge Diaz-a 27 year old who pounds RH pitching. Jorge is likely to be the 1st player I put ‘on the block’ given he’s in his prime and I am unsure if I have a chance at getting to October this year. His speed rates a 15 but he doesn’t use that to steal bases much.
2) (L) CF Ernesto Gutierrez-a 25 year old above avg outfielder at all 3 positions, and a guy who makes contact. HR’s are a rare find for him but he does everything decently.
3) (S) LF Bill Alexander-24 year old switch hitter with enormous pop. He’s far more potent from the left side and per our scouting department he’s a 76 ceiling player, a ‘blue guy’. Along with catcher Eric Hudson he’s got the best strike zone discipline on the team and will anchor the lineup vs RHP.
4) (L) 1B Wes Morgan-The consummate ‘all or nothing’ cleanup hitter. His power is off the charts, when he makes contact. I’ve heard the name ‘Adam Dunn minus all the walks” mentioned, often. Wes, being only 22, hopefully will refine his approach, but for now he’s the Iron Pigs “thunder”. Wes is also rated as a gold glove defender at 1st base, as well as an above average (14) 3B, should the potential to sign/trade for a corner infielder arise.
5) (R) C Eric Hudson-The Iron Pigs 5th pick in the draft was 24 year old Gold Glove catcher Eric Hudson. A great eye with outstanding plate discipline, he presented an enormous target in round 5. Franchise catchers who can do both, very well, happen along far too infrequently to pass up.
6) (R) 3B Jean Chartier-A very intriguing player. At only 18 years old he’s one of the youngest players to don a big league uni, and brings with it a very unique skill set. He grades out, potentially, as an 80, with a HoF bat. The Canadian born Chartier is a player I am terrified of pushing too fast too soon, but who’s skill leaves no reason to be at AAA, or on my bench. Offensively he’s graded as a triple crown threat when he’s done growing, and his ability to play 2B, 3B and SS will be a huge plus as he and the team, grow.
7) (L) RF Bob Barbour-The second piece to our “Canadian Cannons” Bob is a 22 year old RF who, like his countryman, grades out as a perennial all star and potential HoF talent. While not having the 20+ power of Chartier, he rates as a potential 16+ in every offensive category. Add to that his 18 rating in RF and we have what looks to be a lineup anchor for years to come.
8) (R) 2B Greg Bartlett-Another draft day disappointment. At 30 years old we weren’t expecting a franchise cornerstone but we were hoping for a more offensively talented player. Greg plays second, third and short, being good 3B and SS, and a great 2B, and also adds a twist in that he’s an outstanding LF as well. His bad is just above average, with very little pop. But for now he’ll do. He’ll be another player we’ll gladly part with for prospects or a pick or two, should a contender come calling.
9) R SS Ignacio Ferrer-A 31 year old defensive wiz, Ingancio could win a gold glove at 2nd 3rd and SS, wherever we played him. It makes his bat, which is average at best, tolerable. A career HR total of 3 would be shocking, as he’s never hit a HR, ever…..

The bench, as you can guess with a 12 man staff, is very thin. We have some nice prospects at Catcher, unfortunately none of them are even close to major league ready. We’re stuck with Dave Lawhorn as our backup, and he does neither, hitting or catching, to anything close to resembling a major leaguer. I’m seriously hoping our talented trainer and luck prevail and we can get 90% of our starts at C from Eric, but I’ll be in the market from day 1 for a backup. Potential blue chip prospect Chris Dixon can play all three left side positions, with 2B being his forte. A potential 50 2B and 30+ HR bat, he’s years away from realizing that, but given the dearth of ML ready IF I felt the bench was a good spot for him to mature. Gonzalo Barron will back up as well. A RH hitting utility infielder, like Dixon he’s 24, and has a ways to go to realize his full potential, but I am hoping his bat is serviceable enough to spell some guys and not stop his progression. Hugh Collins is my 4th outfielder. An immense ceiling both offensively and defensively, and only 22 years old. A potential GG in Left, and maybe Center, he can also man RF in a pinch. His calling card is his bat, and his legs. A natural LHH with as pure an eye as scouts have seen. Could be a .300+, 40 2B, 25HR 100BB force if he stays healthy and on the right track. He’s a good clubhouse guy as well.
It’s likely the 12 man staff would move to 11 as I hate having such a thin bench. The DH does factor in, and I have NO idea how my rotation will do, or what that will mean as it pertains to workload on my pen.
I’ll drop a quick peek at my minor league system later.

[mpejkrm]

Very cool to see you doing this.

Make sure you have box "create and maintain hidden players" checked in player and picture options to have int. scouting.

[gehrig38]

Wow, HUGE disparity between OSA and my scout, wasn’t prepared for that. Thanks for the tip, maintaining hidden players opened up int scouting.
So here’s a stroll through my organization at franchise beginning. I only be mentioning or talking about guys that Martin has called out as big time prospects.

AAA Tulsa
A challenging roster to complete given the lack of ML depth and my desire to give my blue chips time to mature. Jeremy Calhoun is likely my first rotational call up or replacement. A 27 year old with a green ceiling, and current ratings in the gold, but I am not sure if he’s on his way up, or down. Bill Flowers, Jose Rodriguez, Kevin Smith and Mark Williams round of the AAA staff. Williams is believed to be the highest ceiling guy, at 23 he’s also the youngest. None of them projects as a top of the rotation guy.

Mike Moore is the only potential green prospect, at 21 he’s already on his way (13/13/9). 33 year old Waylon Scott will close, for now. More looking to have the team be competitive than anything. Weeding out the prospects from the suspects, and trading the latter for hopefully some of the former.

Jose Cabral and Rafael Flores will share catching duties, at 22 and 23 respectively, Cabral is the only potential marginal prospect here. The AAA infield has 1 blue chip in Alejandro Sotolo, a 21 year old second baseman who projects as a potential .310+ hitter with 35+ HR power. An incredible eye but will K a ton as well. Runs good. Need him to stay healthy and mature, though he does dabble at 3rd and SS, 2nd looks to be his permanent home. The other possible big time prospect is Raul Garcia, a 23 year old SS. Big time glove (15) with enormous gap to gap power. Looks to have a ceiling in the .290 range but with 40 2B pop. In the OF the only possible prospect is Alfonso Perez, a 24 year old RF. Big time glove (17) in RF with a .400 OBP eye. Has potential 30HR pop but likely won’t have a high AVG ceiling.

In a last day of camp move 25 year old Javier Sanchez was promoted from AA to AAA, and Mark Williams was comfortably moved down to AA, where I felt he should be starting. Sanchez is a RHP with decent potential, only knock being his lack of ‘pitch deep’ ability for a starter.

At AA the aforementioned Willams slides into the #1 slot with Carlos De La Torre the #2. De La Torre is a 22 year old RHP from Venezuela who has a decent shot to be a back of the rotation, long relief guy if he hits every projection. Two 29 year old journeyman and 22 year old Denny Walker round of the Speed Demons AA rotation.

The AA bullpen has 3 potential prospects. 22 year old Ed Thomas, 22 year old Roger Robinson and 20 year old Richard Hall. Only Thomas has potential to be a green prospect to Martin, and he’s close to AAA ready now.
We continue to look at options and search the FA market as Sergio Medina is the only Catcher on the roster. A 20 year old ‘minor leaguer’ means I need options for them in quick order.

23 year old Matt Caldwell is the starting 1B. He could start in AAA right now (9/10/9) but is able to get his feet wet while 1B at AAA is manned by serviceable players who are much older. A RHH, Matt has enormous offensive upside, with 300/30/100 and 90-100 BB potential. He’s arguably the slowest man alive, but defensively he’s already an above average ML 1B. Dudley Williams is a 21 year old switch hitting 2B with marginal upside. 3B Greg Steward, at 23, is a bit old to be labeled a AA prospect, but if the switch can go on with the bat he’s already a Gold Glove caliber defender. His big upside is XBH, has 40-50 2B power, but barely above avg as a contact hitter.

The AA OF has 3 potential prospects, 1 big time blue chipper. 20 year old Keith Todd has superstar potential. I worry AA may be too much right now, and will adjust accordingly, but this kid is a RHH (which I find I always am short on in the big leagues) with enormous offensive upside. Martin pegs his ceiling at .325+ 30+ 2B and 30-40 HRs with a decent contact bat to avoid K’s and a well above average eye if he continues progressing. Mark Murray and Ron Williams are the other two prospects. Murray as all around offensive potential, and needs seasoning, while Williams already has gold glove ability and his bat is a one trick pony. That pony happens to be HR, but a very good eye will help. My fear is he’ll just never get the hang of strike zone discipline and will eventually be a sub 200 30+ HR guy. Williams dislocated his shoulder in camp and starts the AA season on the DL for about 3 weeks.

For A ball I’ll just cover the prospects combined from both clubs. And a brief mention of the Short Season and Rookie ball guys Martin has pegged.
In the rotations from A ball Martin has pegged 3 potential prospects with big league potential. Todd Snell (22), Pablo Mercado (21) and Jorge Rodriguesz( 20) are the three SP with potential Martin believes in. Snell is likely ready to move to AA or AAA, but we’ll wait and see how the season starts out.

Carlos Vargas (19) is the only potential green prospect in either bullpen. Some other decent arms but nothing to write home about.

Harley Baker (19) is the blue chip catching prospect in A ball. A very good defensive catcher already (14), his bat projects to 40+ HR potential with a Barry Bonds eye for the strike zone. Doesn’t project to hit for much average, but a 400 OBP 40HR catcher IS something to write home about. Hoping he’s ready to handle the AB’s at A ball this year.

Kevin Nelson (19) is the blue chip 1B prospect. An above average defender already, his bat, as Martin tells me, is potentially HoF worthy. Another hitter with 40 HR power and a potential .450 OBP guy, unlike Baker though, Nelso does project to hit for a VERY high average.

The only other IF in A ball to speak to is 19 year old Artie Turner. A slick fielding 2B who has potential to be a serviceable backup 2B, with the ability to play 1st as well.

In the OF 19 year old Albert Hardin and 21 year old Ramiro Aguilera are the prospects. Hardin has power and OBP potential, combined with his blinding speed he could be something. Aguilera is the blue chip. A great glove in LF he can play the other two OF positions well. He blows scouts away with his power potential and plate discipline. A potential 50HR guy with huge OBP potential, he’ll get his AB’s in A ball and hope he moves fast. His huge K potential is a worry.

In rookie league and our Short season teams there’s not much to get excited about on the mound, and we’ll work hard to possibly get some extra picks in the draft to stockpile these rosters, but there are two prospects worth talking about.

Joreao Tio (21) and Paul Riggs (19), both SS, are the two big prospects. Tio plays both 2B and SS and has a bat that might be serviceable. He’s got 50+ SB legs though. Riggs is the one, the one everyone raves about. This kid looks to have .350+ potential with 40 2B and 100+BB potential. Decent speed, he’s a smart baserunner. There is no ceiling for this kid and he’ll be pushed carefully.

[Jabez54]

Great stuff, here, gehrig ... love your depth and insights ... will follow up your journey along, mate ... BTW, Love that movie too ... Tomas

[gehrig38]

Being able to upload pics. Like to upload logo's and what not, one of the reasons I did this was to personalize it.
Here's my team logo, and our Caps..
I used MS Paint to remove the LEHIGH VALLEY....

[gehrig38]

Here it is, now I'll likely need to work on resizing attachments.

[gehrig38]

Some other cool logos from around the league. Obviously using some cool minor league teams and I'll likely work to clean up some logo's, add some different caps and what not since most of mine have to be white to handle the logo on white background.

[gehrig38]

Tweaking and working with Paint, to try and make posting a more seamless process.
Not looking too bright for the Iron Pigs of Chicago in season 1! FYI, I play every game. I preset team and individual offensive strategies, and I handle the pitching. I use 1 pitch AB's to keep it fast, but I prefer to manage the pitching side of things and allow the AI to run the offense. I found I couldn't handle the baserunning parts of the game, SB, extra bases, as well.
In close games I'll hit in the 8th and/or 9th to make sure my bench is being utilized as best as possible.
OOps, forgot to attach the preseason predictions, here they come.

[gehrig38]

Here ya go!Of course the leagues 'best pitching' is supposed to come from my own divisions Roughriders. How about Tulsa? Projected 243 HR's and a 72 win season!!! While I won't concede a thing, I will look to start anchoring a dynasty with prospects and young long term talent. One of the HUGE take aways from Orcin's dynasty is the 'game', the $$ game he plays with his owner. I've never paid nearly that much attention, but will now. It adds a COMPLETELY new level of complexity if you play legit, which could be hugely fun.
My only concern is pace, the writing is going to take twice as long, if not more, than the playing, and I like to play. I'll likely work to refine a process to speed it up, but I also know the one thing I gleaned from him was this attachment to players I 'sorta' had with my older team, but can't even imagine how fun it will be to get invested in players like he (and I) did reading through it.

[gehrig38]

Here's the listing of projected top players. Things that jump out. 8 of the top 20 hitters are projected to be 1B! None of them mine (NO projected top hitters are mine!)
I also have no pitchers! LV is projected to have 3 of the CL's top 10 while Fresno is projected to have 3 of the top 10 hitters! Houston with 3 of their 5 SP's, can't wait to play them!
Only thing I ever loved about predictions were that they mimicked buttholes, everyone had one and they usually stunk...

[gehrig38]

There were quite a few significant injuries to prominent players, and to keep things moving I'll pass on listing them all, but as we move into the season I'll call them out where they matter. Wondering if I have enough players in my pool to handle refilling rosters or if that's going to take a few years to accumulate.

[gehrig38]

Spring Training 2012
The Pigs finished spring training 11-13, with no major injuries. Jorge Diaz was tied for 4th overall, (3rd in the CL) with 5 HR’s this spring. Barbour had 9 swipes, van Bodegraven had a 0.42 ERA.
Dan Clark of the Battlecats led all players with 9 HR’s, Bill Adams of the Clippers had 24 RBI’s and Thatcher Smith of the Greyhounds led all hitters at .427.

Week 1
Omar has informed me he’d be happy with a .500 record this year. To be honest I’ll be pissed if that’s where we end up. Season opens with a 3 game set at Baltimore followed by 4 games at Las Vegas. 7 on the road to open up! Oh, 1 RHP on opening day, followed by what looks like 4 straight lefties.

We are in an average market with very good fan loyalty and a fan interest of 65.


First few years are going to be goofy financially, given all players will start at league minimum, and move to arbitration in year 4. Problem will be the entire roster will hit arbitration together. I’ll work to get some of my studs signed before then.

Game 1
I’ll be noting firsts as well. First hit in Iron Pigs franchise history was a 1st inning single by Bill Alexander. First 2B Jorge Diaz in the 3rd inning. First run scored by Jean Chartier on 2 run single by Ignacio Ferrier. Iron Pigs drop their franchise opener 3-2 on walk off error by reliever Chris Dalton. Alejandrez goes 7.1 giving up 2 earned runs on 8 hits.
(0-1)

(Ernie Kelly throws the leagues first shutout. A 1 hitter on opening day for a 2-0 win over the Buffalo Bisons.)

Game 2
Bill Alexander hits the Iron Pigs first HR in franchise history, a three run blast in the top of the 5th to open a 3-0 lead over the Railcats. Iron Pigs drop to 0-2, losing once again on a walk off. This time a 3R HR. Starting 2B Greg Bartlett and SP Ken Johnson leave the field within a pitch of each other in the 3rd as well….Both are day to day, Bartlett with a strained rib cage for 6, Johnson with a strained back for 4. All things considered it could have been worse.
(0-2)

Game 3
3 in the 9th, 3 in the 12th and the Iron Pigs have their first franchise win! Ignacio Ferrer goes 4-5 with a 2B, HR and 4 RBI’s and Jose Pacheco picks up an already tired pen with 3 scoreless frames to get the first win! Mike Davis gives up 3 earned over 7 solid innings, K’ing 6.
(1-2)

Game 4
Jack Jackson never had it, giving up 5 in the first two but holding out for 5. Pigs actually come back to tie it at 5 in the 7th, then Riley Potts gives them 3 back in the 8th to drop it 8-5. Alexander hits HR#2.
(1-3)

Game 5
Alexander with HR#3, Pigs roll to an 8-2 win behind 8 strong innings from Salazar (2ER and 8 hits). Gutierez hits the Pigs first career 3B as well. Bartlett steals our first bag.
(2-3)

Game 6
Another walk off…loss. Sib van Bodegraven serves up a 2 out solo HR after the Pigs scored 3 in the 8th to tie. Alejandrez K’s 5 and walks 5 in 6.2 grinding innings.
(2-4)

Game 7
Down 9-2 early, Pigs battle back to make it 9-7 but give up 2 in the 8th to lose 11-8. Bill Alexander hits 2 more HR’s (5), and has 10 RBI’s through the first 7 games. Ken Johnson was wretched, walking 6 and giving up 6 hits, 7 earned runs through 2. Worried that this pace is going to crush my pen early. NONE of my relievers has enough stamina to endure this workload, except Bill George (who I had wanted to be my 8th inning bridge).
(2-5)

A 2-5 week, with concerns everywhere! My rotation scares the hell out of me, and I have no idea if they'll perk up, or if I am going to ruin 7 bullpen arms by June.

Harold Haas of the Brooklyn Cyclones wins the PotW going 10-24 with 3 HR and 7 RBI’s.

Coastal League PotW is Qi-chen Jung of the Fresno Grizzlies, going 10-20 with 3 HR’s and 10 RBI’s
.
Week 2 (home opener with 3 vs the Riverhounds of Pittsburgh and 3 vs Michigan)

[gehrig38]

Week 2 (home opener with 3 vs the Riverhounds of Pittsburgh and 3 vs Michigan)

Game 8
A 6 run first iced this one early. Thankfully Mike Davis (1-0) didn't dick around and got into the 8th yielding 3 and punching out 7. A 9-3 win. Diaz goes 2-4 with 2 runs, 2 RBI’s, Hudson 3-5 with an RBI. Potentially ominous news… Ignacio Ferrer was injured in a base running collision, team docs will let us know.
(3-5)

Game 9
A 16 inning win… Ya, only thing worse than my pen being in the game in the 3rd or 4th, is them pitching 7+ IP in an extra inning game. Jack Jackson pitches 7 strong, giving up 3 hits and 2ER in 7.2IP. Pen throws 8.1 scoreless IP. Jean Chartier hits a 2R HR to walk it off. Alexander 3-7 1 RBI.
Cintron pulls his first foreign talent find, 3B Alberto Rivera out of Puerto Rico, and we’re working to sign the kid now.
(4-5)

Game 10
Over before it started. An 11-3 drubbing as SP Francisco Salazaar had nothing. 4 Pittsburgh HR’s as Salazar yielded 8 ER in 4.1 IP. Alexander did hammer his 6th. Jorge Diaz is heating up after a little slump in the seasons first week. Gonna have to manage the crap out of my pen, another 4.2 IP today.
(4-6)

Game 11
A 10-3 drubbing as Chicago hammers Michigan in their first ever meeting. Bill Alexander continues to crush the ball, going 2-4 with 5 RBI’s and hitting HR’s 7 and 8! Morgan and Barbour added solo shots in the 14 hit attack. Alfredo Alejandrez (1-0) gave us 7.2 solid IP for his first win. Chartier was 3-5 with his 5th 2B.
(5-6)

DL NEWS
After the game Ignacio Ferrer was placed on the 15 day DL with a strained hammy. Docs think it’ll be 3-4 weeks at least for the 33 year old SS. 24 year old 3B Sean Parker was called up and added to the 40 man roster.

Game 12
A 4-2 win and 6 serviceable IP by Ken Johnson (1-1) kept him in the rotation, for now. Bill Alexander hammers HR#9, collecting 3 hits and driving in 3. Making his player of the month bid for sure with a line of 379-9-21 through the seasons first 12 games. Ernesto Cruz FINALLY gets his first save.
(6-6)

GAMES
34 year old LF Denny Rios of the Tulsa Drillers had the leagues first ever 3 HR game. Going 3-5 with 3 HR and 3 RBI’s in a 6-5 Driller win.

The Iron Pigs of Chicago move to 6-6, .5 game up on Corpus Christi and Columbus.

Game 13
Mike Davis battled through 6.2 IP yielding 3 ER on 9 hits, punching out 7. 2 in the 7th and 1 in the 8th sealed a 5-3 win for Chicago and their first day over .500 in team history. A 3 game sweep of Michigan! Backup C Dave Lawhorn was 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBI’s (which I thought would be season totals honestly).
(7-6)

INJURY NEWS
1B Wil Morgan went down with an apparent injury while running the bases and we learned after the game he had separated his shoulder! He’ll be out at least 5 weeks.

WEEK 2 RECAP
Denny Rios wins the FL PotW going 7-22 with 5 HR’s and 8 RBI’s

Chicacgo’s own Bill Alexander captures our first ever PotW award going 12-26 with 6 HR’s, 13 RBI’s and 7 Runs scored.

[gehrig38]

Quick snapshot at the end of week 2.

[gehrig38]

Just to get a glimpse at the Org, here is the prospect rankings after the first week of minor league games. Paul Riggs is my Roy Hobbs!!!

[gehrig38]

Week 3
3 vs the Sky Sox in LA and 3 vs the Grizzlies in Fresno (Starting a string of 16 straight with no off days, need my rotation to get it done)

DL NEWS
Wil Morgan went on the 15 day DL, Don Weaver was called up from AAA to man 1B. Not much there in the way of a bat or D, but he promptly lines a 2 run single in his first ML at bat…..

Game 14
Ken Macintosh was handed a 4-0 lead after the third. 6 runs and 2 outs later he’d squandered that. Ended up yielding 6 ER on 10 hits in 3.2 IP. C Eric Hudson popped his first career HR in a 3-4 day. Mac started the game with a 3 pitch first inning btw. LA 8 CH 6 LOSS
Bill Hill of the Dayton Dragons had the leagues 2nd 3 HR day going 3-4 with 3 HR’s and 5 RBI’s.
(8-6)

Game 15
Frankie Salazar (2-1) yields 2 over 6 IP and Craig Frank bails out a tired bull pen with 2.1 scoreless, hitless IP. Sean Parker hammers a 3R HR in a 5 run 7th and Eric Hudson stays hot going 3-4.
CH 5 LA 2 (9-6)

Game 16
Alfredo Alejandrez (2-0) becomes the first Pigs starter to enter the 9th inning, and working on a shut out to boot! Hitting the first batter and obviously fatiguing, I couldn't push him. Riley Potts came in, induced a DP and we have our first shutout! Alejandrez was fantastic, punching out 8 and yielding only 4 hits. He’s clearly making his case as the Ace of this staff. Gonzalo Barron was 3-3 with a run scored.
CHI 5 LA 0 (10-6)

INJURY NEWS
Catcher Eric Hudson was injured mid way through this game, but he talked afterwards about being fine, a rib cage that could be a problem for a few days, but no more. Escaped a huge potential injury there!

Game 17
Ken Johnson (2-1) keeps his hold on a rotation spot with 7.2 innings of 2 run ball. 6 hits and 5 walks kept it a tight rope, Bill George came in to give up 1 of Kens runs in the 8th but a 3 run top of the 9th sealed the ballgame. AAA call up Donald Weaver went 4-5 with 5 RBI’s, including his first IBL HR. Serious surprise given our expectations when he arrived. Ernesto Guitierrez had a 3-5 day to up his avg to .315, also stealing his 3rd base. Eric Hudson’s 2-4 day moved him to .351 on the season.
CHI 7 FRE 3 (11-6)

Game 18
Bill Alexanders 10th HR and 2 runs over 7 by Mark Davis were not enough as an unearned run in the bottom of the 9th gave Fresno a 3-2 win. Eric Patterson went the distance for Fresno scattering 9 hits.
The Bisons GM Carlos Rosales came calling today. They’re looking to move 27 year old 3B Birger Kjorsvik, and were asking Bill George and a blue chipper in return….
FRE 3 CHI 2 (11-7)

Game 19
Ernesto Guitierrez showed up with a 102 degree fever and a viral infection today, so we sent him home and assumed he’d be unavailable for a few days.
Bill Alexander triples and Jorge Diaz hit a 2 R HR in the first, and that was pretty much it. The staff allowed Fresno to claw back in, and win another walk off game. Jackson battled through 6 yielding 4 ER on 4 BB and 7 hits, Pacheco gave up the GW hit making Dalton (0-2) the loser.

Bill Alexander was also HURT as he slid into 3rd? Ya, waiting to hear back on that one now.
FRE 5 CHI 4 (11-8)

A 3-3 week but injuries are mounting.

WEEK 3 RECAP
Bill Hill of the Dayton Dragons wins the FL PotW going 9-22 with 6 HR’s and 11 RBI’s

Miguel Miranda of the LA Sky Sox wins the CL PotW going 11-25 with 2 HR’s and 6 RBI’s