Promote or Drown: A Look at the Midwestern League

Jythier · 04-02-2014, 11:07 PM

The Midwestern Association was formed this year, 2013, as baseball has finally become enough of a thing here to generate the interest of 40 teams. With so many teams, it would be impossible to play everyone else enough to be a single league. In order to make the league more exciting, and the games more even, five leagues were formed.

The first league, known as the Midwestern League, encompassed the entire area of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. This would be the Championship league, the league that determined the real winner of the league. The other leagues were smaller geographical areas, being the state leagues, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. These would be the feeder league, each with 8 teams, where the winners would promote to the Midwestern League in order to fight for the real title the next year.

The top three Midwestern League teams would safely stay in the league, while the other 5 slots were up for grabs. After the regular season, there would be the Association playoffs. All teams would make it, and be seeded based on their win/loss record. Whoever won the cup was also guaranteed a slot in the top league. In this way, there would always be a chance for any team to make it into the top league and vie for the championship the next year, regardless of the rest of the season.

Beneath these leagues were 5 AAA, AA, and A leagues set up in similar fashions. However they would not promote or demote, as it would be ridiculous to think that their schedules mattered. Ha.

The association would share a draft, and waivers, and free agents. The leagues were set up with 140 game schedules, 10 home and away against each other team.

But this isn't a story about a league. It's the story of a team in that league. The Sturgis Samurai, to be exact.

Coming out of Spring, the Samurai were composed of 25 players, just like any other team. Let's meet the guys.

Valentin Arce. CF. Plays like Mays, runs like Hayes. Good bat on him too, hitting out of the leadoff spot.

Nolan MacNamara. 1B. Contact and gap power. Good for getting Valentin home after he steals second.

Carl Allison. 2B. A lot like Nolan only slightly to the left. Good for getting Valentin home after Nolan strikes out.

Jose Hernandez. LF. Power guy. Supposed to clear the bases when he gets up.

Mike Ketchum. RF. Anther power guy. Takes care of anything Jose leaves.

Dale Hurst, SS. Infielder extraordinare. Fast enough to get things done on the bases, too. Not the best in the hitting department, but seems to come through when he needs to.

Fernando Moran, 3B. Infielder extraordinaire. Faster than Hurst. But can't hit as well, either. His job? Get on, steal anything Arce hasn't already run off with.

Stu Scott, C. An oversight in the draft. Lousy hitting. Great arm. Definitely an 8^th slot guy.

And that's the starting lineup!

They're backed up by Pat O'Tool, LF, pinch hitting specialist, Gideon Paget, 3B, another pinch hitter, Ignacio Vegville, pinch runner, 1B and RF, Chris Brady, CF, and Bruce Jones, mediocre catcher with good power. Plays every 5 days.

The pitching staff consists of 5 starters, 2 setup men, a closer, and 3 middle relievers and a long man.

Pedro Sanchez, king of the strikeout. Definitely the best pitcher on the team, but that isn't saying much. Fastball, slider, and changeup.

Tony Gonzalez throws a fastball, curveball, slider, and changeup, and pitches second in the rotation. Unfortunately he believes he belongs in the bullpen.

Dave Holloway. Throws a fastball, changeup, and a curve. Not much good to say about him. He gets the job done, sometimes.

Caroll Jones. He's got a forkball to throw in there, along with his fastball and changeup. Also a poor slider. Gets the job done a little less than Holloway.

Kuei-Lin Xin. The only things that batters miss is the pronunciation of his name. Fastball, changeup and a poor slider leave him with just enough to get the start.

The closer is Raul Saenz. He gets it done. Just two pitches, fast and slow. Good movement on the ball.

Cole Hodges. Sort of a backup closer, just in case you need two. His stuff even hooks. Used as a setup man mostly, and with his ability to go for a while, also as a long reliever in case something terrible happens.

Julio Santos is the other setup man, also a fast/slow kind of guy, great stuff and great movement. Also a lefty specialist, in case that sort of situation appears.

Norberto Martinez. If you need a guy to come in in the 6^th, 7^th, or 8^th, this is the guy. His devastating splitter has kept many a hopeful hitter off the bags.

Stu Cochran has good stuff, throws a hook, and is the guy to go in when Norberto is tired.

Orlando Pineda. Crap, we lost. Well, put in Orlando. He'll give us an inning. Not a lot of good to say about him, but hey. He's in the majors.

Pedro Gomez. The only thing great about him is his ability to pick people off. The rest is as mediocre as they come, and the only reason he's up in the majors is because he's a lefty. He is the long reliever if something terrible happens scorewise and there's no reason to try and hold on.

So that's the team! Games are starting now, so there should be plenty more to say about these titans of the turf. Stay tuned for game reports, trades, and manager thoughts on the OOTP 14 experience.

Jythier · 04-03-2014, 09:05 AM

Reserved for "Meet the Michigan League" post.

I don't want to meet them. :P

Jythier · 04-03-2014, 09:05 AM

The Samurai's number 1 pitcher, Pedro Sanchez, came onto the scene and pitched 8.1 solid innings of shut-out ball, and offensively got 2 hits, including hitting in the winning run. The fast, low-average center fielder, Valentin Arce, hit a double right after that to pick up 2 RBIs. He went 1 for 2 with 2 walks.

Sanchez had some problems. He walked 5 and let off 6 hits. Fortunately, he also struck out thirteen batters.

In the top of the 9th, Sanchez let off a hit with one out and the manager pulled him, after throwning 137 pitches. In came closer Raul Saenz, who immediately walked the next guy. The next batter, thankfully, grounded into a double play to end it. Sanchez with the win, Saenz with the save.

The Sturgis manager was concerned.

In an interview after the game, he stated, "I'm particularly concerned because the opponent lost their number 1 starter in the second inning to an injury and we only just barely got the win."

139 games to go.

Jythier · 04-21-2014, 10:56 AM

I've lost the will to watch the games.

Despite them being interesting, they take a long time compared to just hitting 'finish the day' and it turns out, my substitution decision do not help anyone. I'll leave those to the manager and keep myself in the front office.

The biggest contribution to this was seeing pitcher Pedro Sanchez injured and taken off the field in only his second major league start. The succession to the top spot of Tony Gonzalez was short lived, as his third start saw him injured. Now all the pitchers are very similar in their abilities, but that similarity is on the 'bad and hittable' side of things. Thirty games in, we're 12-18 ("how did we manage to win 12?" "It's a miracle, sir!"). It's not going well, and Vincent Arce, CF extraordinaire, is now out for 3 weeks. The two pitchers are out for 3 months, so I'm counting myself lucky.

04-02-2014, 11:07 PM	#1
Jythier Minors (Single A) Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 86	Promote or Drown: A Look at the Midwestern League The Midwestern Association was formed this year, 2013, as baseball has finally become enough of a thing here to generate the interest of 40 teams. With so many teams, it would be impossible to play everyone else enough to be a single league. In order to make the league more exciting, and the games more even, five leagues were formed. The first league, known as the Midwestern League, encompassed the entire area of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. This would be the Championship league, the league that determined the real winner of the league. The other leagues were smaller geographical areas, being the state leagues, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. These would be the feeder league, each with 8 teams, where the winners would promote to the Midwestern League in order to fight for the real title the next year. The top three Midwestern League teams would safely stay in the league, while the other 5 slots were up for grabs. After the regular season, there would be the Association playoffs. All teams would make it, and be seeded based on their win/loss record. Whoever won the cup was also guaranteed a slot in the top league. In this way, there would always be a chance for any team to make it into the top league and vie for the championship the next year, regardless of the rest of the season. Beneath these leagues were 5 AAA, AA, and A leagues set up in similar fashions. However they would not promote or demote, as it would be ridiculous to think that their schedules mattered. Ha. The association would share a draft, and waivers, and free agents. The leagues were set up with 140 game schedules, 10 home and away against each other team. But this isn't a story about a league. It's the story of a team in that league. The Sturgis Samurai, to be exact. Coming out of Spring, the Samurai were composed of 25 players, just like any other team. Let's meet the guys. Valentin Arce. CF. Plays like Mays, runs like Hayes. Good bat on him too, hitting out of the leadoff spot. Nolan MacNamara. 1B. Contact and gap power. Good for getting Valentin home after he steals second. Carl Allison. 2B. A lot like Nolan only slightly to the left. Good for getting Valentin home after Nolan strikes out. Jose Hernandez. LF. Power guy. Supposed to clear the bases when he gets up. Mike Ketchum. RF. Anther power guy. Takes care of anything Jose leaves. Dale Hurst, SS. Infielder extraordinare. Fast enough to get things done on the bases, too. Not the best in the hitting department, but seems to come through when he needs to. Fernando Moran, 3B. Infielder extraordinaire. Faster than Hurst. But can't hit as well, either. His job? Get on, steal anything Arce hasn't already run off with. Stu Scott, C. An oversight in the draft. Lousy hitting. Great arm. Definitely an 8^th slot guy. And that's the starting lineup! They're backed up by Pat O'Tool, LF, pinch hitting specialist, Gideon Paget, 3B, another pinch hitter, Ignacio Vegville, pinch runner, 1B and RF, Chris Brady, CF, and Bruce Jones, mediocre catcher with good power. Plays every 5 days. The pitching staff consists of 5 starters, 2 setup men, a closer, and 3 middle relievers and a long man. Pedro Sanchez, king of the strikeout. Definitely the best pitcher on the team, but that isn't saying much. Fastball, slider, and changeup. Tony Gonzalez throws a fastball, curveball, slider, and changeup, and pitches second in the rotation. Unfortunately he believes he belongs in the bullpen. Dave Holloway. Throws a fastball, changeup, and a curve. Not much good to say about him. He gets the job done, sometimes. Caroll Jones. He's got a forkball to throw in there, along with his fastball and changeup. Also a poor slider. Gets the job done a little less than Holloway. Kuei-Lin Xin. The only things that batters miss is the pronunciation of his name. Fastball, changeup and a poor slider leave him with just enough to get the start. The closer is Raul Saenz. He gets it done. Just two pitches, fast and slow. Good movement on the ball. Cole Hodges. Sort of a backup closer, just in case you need two. His stuff even hooks. Used as a setup man mostly, and with his ability to go for a while, also as a long reliever in case something terrible happens. Julio Santos is the other setup man, also a fast/slow kind of guy, great stuff and great movement. Also a lefty specialist, in case that sort of situation appears. Norberto Martinez. If you need a guy to come in in the 6^th, 7^th, or 8^th, this is the guy. His devastating splitter has kept many a hopeful hitter off the bags. Stu Cochran has good stuff, throws a hook, and is the guy to go in when Norberto is tired. Orlando Pineda. Crap, we lost. Well, put in Orlando. He'll give us an inning. Not a lot of good to say about him, but hey. He's in the majors. Pedro Gomez. The only thing great about him is his ability to pick people off. The rest is as mediocre as they come, and the only reason he's up in the majors is because he's a lefty. He is the long reliever if something terrible happens scorewise and there's no reason to try and hold on. So that's the team! Games are starting now, so there should be plenty more to say about these titans of the turf. Stay tuned for game reports, trades, and manager thoughts on the OOTP 14 experience.

04-03-2014, 09:05 AM	#2
Jythier Minors (Single A) Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 86	Reserved for "Meet the Michigan League" post. I don't want to meet them. :P Last edited by Jythier; 04-21-2014 at 10:58 AM.

04-21-2014, 10:56 AM	#4
Jythier Minors (Single A) Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 86	I've lost the will to watch the games. Despite them being interesting, they take a long time compared to just hitting 'finish the day' and it turns out, my substitution decision do not help anyone. I'll leave those to the manager and keep myself in the front office. The biggest contribution to this was seeing pitcher Pedro Sanchez injured and taken off the field in only his second major league start. The succession to the top spot of Tony Gonzalez was short lived, as his third start saw him injured. Now all the pitchers are very similar in their abilities, but that similarity is on the 'bad and hittable' side of things. Thirty games in, we're 12-18 ("how did we manage to win 12?" "It's a miracle, sir!"). It's not going well, and Vincent Arce, CF extraordinaire, is now out for 3 weeks. The two pitchers are out for 3 months, so I'm counting myself lucky.