1943 Oklahoma Sixshooters (est. 1900)

[polydamas]

Brook Engle, reporter for the newly founded Sixshooter report:
"Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to get to interview you for our magazines first edition of the Sixshooter Report."

Jim Smith, 63, GM/Manager of the Oklahoma Sixshooters for the past 14 years, an 11 time World Series winner with the Sixshooters and the Blazers:
"I'm contractually obligated to give you this interview."

Engle: "Eh-hem, uhh, first question, how is the team doing this season?"

Smith: "Fantastic I would say. We are 75-28 with a .728 win percentage. We are 2nd in runs scored, 1st in OBP, 1st in Runs Against, and 1st in Bullpen Era. It is the highest win percentage we've had since 1936."


Engle: "So what do you think your chances of making the World Series is?"

Smith: (confused silence) "High."

Engle (obviously new to reporting): "Umm, so what do you value most in a player?"

Smith: "Well I could say hard work, intelligence or determination, but I'll be honest, I'm looking for results."

Engle: "Do you have any statistic that you prefer?"

Smith: "Above all, I strongly favor a good wOBA."

Engle: "And what is that exactly?"

Smith: "It's very similar to OBP, but it takes into account how many bases you get as well."

Engle: "Is there a player on your team that exemplifies this stat?"

Smith: "There a number obviously as I have handpicked nearly all of the current players. I would have to say that Bill Anderson embodies wOBA. He has a .424 lifetime wOBA, which is fantastic, he actually ranks 4th all time behind a future Hall of Fame, Bryan Wilson [.428] of my former team [the Denver Blazers], and two Hall of Famers, Juan 'Chuckwagon' Munoz [.438] and my favorite former player from when I first started managing, Fransisco Zavala [.431]."

Engle: "So is Bill your current favorite player?"

Smith: "I don't want to name names, but I'd say he is top 5."

Engle: "Could you give us, say, two more names?"

Smith: "I really admire Elliot Sutherland in his ability to comeback from injury and play with renewed vigor [currently injured for 5 weeks-strained abdominal, he has started 66% of games the past 5 seasons]. He is a true warrior. And I also really enjoy watching Myron Conley pitch. He has the stuff of legends with a knuckleball and a knucklecurve. He may very well be the best pitcher I've ever had the honor of managing [Conley leads in win percentage all-time with 80%]."

Engle: "So how is..."

Smith: "I only agreed to 8 questions in my contract. Come back in a month... or never."

Engle: "Well thank you for your..."

Smith: [Leaves the room]

[polydamas]

Before I get too far in, here are the players I created. I went through a phase where I wanted to see how my created players would fare. I made most of them pretty fair, except for the Fresh Prince, he's a monster. Jon Snow is pretty good, but he wasn't when I created him. William Thatcher (Heath Ledger) came out of nowhere. My scout still thinks he is average, but he has been performing well. Joe Jackson is still ****ty after editing him numerous times. I'm going to give it another go this offseason. I want to see what Shoeless Joe could actually do in a full career. I'm going to really decrease his fielding ability though as he is unrealistically good.

Edit: If anyone would like to see the Fg. I can also release a file with the facegens used. I guess I could make a little guide to who's who.

Wayne Joseph= Jon Stewart
Aziz Pierce= Aziz Ansari
Tom Forrest= Tom Hanks
Brad Light= Brad Pitt
Henry "Indy" Jones= Harrison Ford
Brady Pike= Tom Brady
Michael Walker= Michael Caine

[polydamas]

Get to Know Your 1943 Sixshooters
The Rotation

#1 Myron Conley

Acquired: Originally a 2nd round draft pick in 1933 by the Denver Blazers, he was traded to the Omaha Pioneers along with Mike Newell (-0.1 career war and 40 PA with the Omaha) for Kelly Wilson (2.8 career war, 187 PA with Denver; later returned to Omaha after two years on the Blazers). Omaha promptly traded Conley to the European League's Prague Talons after 24 days. He was traded with Thad Womack (2.3 Eur career war, 2.4 APBL war, he spent only 1 season with Prague) for Jamie Wheeler (-1.3 career war, pitched 22 innings with Omaha). After being named the #2 prospect in the Euroleagues he was purchased by the Sixshooters.


Comments:
Conley has only two pitches, but they are the hardest to hit in the league. Myron broke the single season strike out record in 1939, but was outdone by the Phoenix Scorpions Fransico Santos (468 to 429, Conley later broke his personal record with 451 in 1941). Myron currently holds the all-time record for win percentage at 80%.



#2 Jose Ornelas

Acquired: Signed as an internation free agent out of Cuba.

Comments: Jose started off strong with 25 wins and a 150 ERA+ in his first season in the American Professional Baseball League, but has since regressed. Ornelas was one of the 5 pitchers injured in the disasterous 1942 season (the Sixshooters were signing guys off the streets to pitch, none of whom remain on the APBL roster today; the team also lost the starting 1B, 3B, 2B, LF, and closer).



#3 Daniel Johnston

Acquired: Former 1st round pick (#19) of the San Francisco Flyers he was traded to Raleigh for Joaquin Chapa, a top prospect now in his rookie season, and one other prospect. Jim Smith traded for Johnston at the beginning of this season for star 1B Harry Morgan (career 33.4 war), William Collins (2.0 war) and 3 prospects.

Comments: Johnston has filled the #3 spot reasonably well (111 ERA+), but there is certainly room for improvement.




#4 Henry "Indy" Jones

Acquired: A second round pick (51st overall) by the Denver Blazers, he was claimed off of waivers by the Savannah Storm. The Sixshooters traded former 20 game winner Dong-Joon Kim (15.8 war), Manuel Bermudez a solid career backup catcher (5.3 war), and the organizations #1 prospect Connor Weaver.


Comments: Indy has really been underwhelming (88 ERA+), however his K/BB ration is better than what was expected.



#5 Matt Hooker

Acquired: Former 51st overall Dallas General's draft pick. Hooker was cut after a severe arm injury that threaten to end his career. Oklahoma took Hooker on as a flyer with a minor league contract.

Comments: Matt has really outperformed expectations (127 ERA+). He has a fantastic Fastball, Slider combo.

[polydamas]

lol Johnston must be Trump supporter

[polydamas]

Get to Know Your 1943 Sixshooters
The Bullpen

Stopper/Closer Zhi-Qiang Khoo

Acquired: As an international free agent from Taiwan.

Comments: Khoo is an absolutely great closer. He's got the nastiest changup in the game. He's led the league in games pitched (1940, 1941), saves (1941 with 44), and Runs allowed (1940, 1941). He has a career whip of 1. He is a 4 time allstar and a 3 time Andrew Dew award winner (closer of the year).



Setup Ramon Perez

Acquired: Initially played Euroball and was the leagues #5 best prospect in 1936. He was signed by the St. Louis Riverhawks and played in their minor league system for a season before hitting free-agency. Signed as a flyer at the end of 1939 at age 27.

Comments: Perez has been a pleasant surprise as a setup-guy. He has a fantastic fastball and a sweet curve. He is currently having the best season of his career.



Bullpen/Setup Robert Neighbour

Acquired: Traded from the New York Knights for 9 year vet Bobby Fitzgerald (8.7 career war) and $17,000.

Comments: Some still wonder if the trade was worth it, but to manager Jim Smith there is no question about it. He has really shown up this season with an ERA+ of 182.




Bullpen-Legend Tomas Ortiz

Acquired: Traded for possible Hall of Famer Kevin Bancroft (63.3 war) at the latter end of his career along with two prospects (who didn't pan out).

Comments: Tomas is a legend in Oklahoma even if there has been a severe drop-off in production after a couple of arm injuries. He has 212 career saves and 100 wins. He is a likely Hall of Fame candidate. He ranks 42 for saves. He could be the 5th Hall of Fame closer. He is the current leader in Sixshooters history for saves and is 4th for wins.

[polydamas]

Just a heads up, steroids are legal in this universe.

[polydamas]

Get to Know Your 1943 Sixshooters
The Infield

Catcher Bernado Vasquez

Acquired: Bernado came into the league as an international free agent and was signed to a minor league deal. After becoming a free agent two seasons ago, he signed a massive $680,000 contract with the Sixshooters.

Comments: With a war of 88.2 he ranks second all-time for catchers. He is a lock for the Hall of Fame. He led the league last season with 377 total bases, 54 home runs, and 141 rbi's. He isn't the best fielder, but he is a dominant homerun hitter with a fantastic eye.



1B Bill Anderson

Acquired: A former 1st round pick (23 overall) by the Memphis Bulldogs. Anderson was acquired by the Sixshooters as a prospect in perhaps the most busted trade in history. He was traded along with Hall of Famer Kerry Ogelthorpe who was in the twilight of his career (86.5 career war; 4.2 war for the Oklahoma) for Henry Hopper (13.9 career war; 1 for Long Beach), Elmwood Davis (16.5 career war; 11.1 with Long Beach), Mark Smithin (15.7 career war; 4.1 with Long Beach), Larry Jenkins (15.5 career war; 3.4 with Long Beach), and starter Martin “Flamethrower” Gonzalez (26.7 career war; 9.3 with Long Beach). The net war for the trade was 67.8 career war in favor of Oklahoma (156.1 vs. 88.3) and a team net war of 39 for the Sixshooters (73.8 to 28.9). Anderson was previously traded from Memphis to Jackson with a 1.2 war player for a 25.6 war player. He was then traded to Long Beach with a 22.5 war player for 20.7 war player before being traded to the Sixshooters. Anderson was one of the most frequently underrated player in his early days. He was rated at 13/16/12 by the team scout in 1930, the year Oklahoma traded for him. He is currently rated at 13/19/18.

Comments: Anderson is virtual lock for 1st ballot Hall of Fame. He ranks 27th for all-time home runs and 40th for rbi's at age 34. He holds the record for most runs in a season with 163 and is second for home runs in a season with 74 behind the Greek God of Home runs Elio Arndighi. Bill holds the Sixshooters career records for slugging percentage, OPS, runs, total bases, doubles, rbi's, walks, and is two home runs away from tying Mac Carter's record of 579.



2B Luis Beltre

Acquired: Via trade along with a sub-20 war player who was quickly traded (for very little) in exchange for three prospects none of whom had a career war greater than 7. He entered the league from the Domican Republic as a prospect.

Comments: Scouts were expecting a bit more out of Beltre than the team got (31 war), but Luis has been a solid addition to the lineup.He has a lifetime OBP of .380 despite a BABIP of .281. Beltre is one of the slowest middle infielders in the game. He is having one of the best seasons he's had in a while. “I can't believe this guy is 35, I feel like I just traded for him a season or two ago,” Jim Smith.



3B Peter Woods

Acquired: A former 21st round pick (747th overall) selected by the San Francisco Flyers out of Oklahoma City. He was signed to a massive contract in 1941 by the Sixshooters.

Comments: After suffering a horrible ruptured MCL last season, he has really responded well with a bounce back season. He has a career war of just over 40. He lead the league twice in walks in 1938 (121) and 1941 (133). He ranks 4th on the active roster for career wOBA and 6th for war. He ranks 7th all-time for career team war, 5th for games played, 6th for runs, 8th for hits, 2nd for doubles, and 1st for HBP.



SS Lorenzo Castro

Acquired: He entered the league as a international prospect in 1932 and was signed to a minor league contract by the Jacksonville Gators. He was traded to the Sixshooters in 1938 for John Barry (current backup catcher for Gators; was once a top prospect), Hector Rea (started two season in New York, but overall a bust), Alberto Prado (still trapped in the minors at age 25), and converted pitcher James McKibben (still starting for Jacksonville; was projected as a 15/15/13 prospect at the time of the trade).

Comments: Castro has been a stopgap at shortstop despite high expectations. He has slowly regressed since 1939. He has a 13.5 career war. He is a good basestealer. He has been on and off the bench this season depending on who was healthy.

[polydamas]

Get to Know Your 1943 Sixshooters
The Outfield and Designated Hitter

LF Jon Snow

Acquired: A 1st round, 3rd overall pick by the Richmond Hitmen he declined to play with the team and was drafted at the same spot the next year by the Columbus Conquest. He was traded to the Seattle Express for stellar LF Mark Price who lead the league in 1941 for runs, rbi's, obp, slugging, ops, and war. He had a fantastic 190 ops+. The next season he was traded in a blockbuster deal for Javier Castillo (22.2 career war), superstar Aaron Gutherie (55.9 career war), closer Haywood Hooker (this season he has 22 saves, a 1.42 era, .95 whip, and an era+ of 339), top prospect Axel Re (bust; was projected as 9/10/15), and career backup infielder Jose Balina (1.3 war for Seattle in 1 season). Overall, not a horrible trade for either team, GM Jim Smith was reported as calling the trade a “cash dump” at the time.

Comments: Snow was projected as a 15/5/12 guy with superb defensive skills, but he has really outperformed expectations. He is currently 4th this season for team wOBA. He is one of the most exciting defensive players in the league. He has very little power, but he gets on base often and can steal bases with ease.



CF Juan Luis Garcia “God's Hammer”

Acquired: Signed as an international amateur for an obscene, completely unheard of 73,000 bonus after an intense bidding war.

Comments: Garcia is not as good as he was projected to be, but he is still an excellent, versatile fielder with a good bat and superior speed. He does tend to strike out a lot (he has the single-season record for strikeouts). After hitting 42 homeruns his rookie season, he has had dropped off a bit in power. His projected 5.6 war this season will be greater than any season before. He was projected as a 17/20/20 player, but is currently projected as 11/15/17.



RF Larry “Lar-dog” Wilson

Acquired: A 3rd round (33 overall) draft pick by the Austin Lone Stars. He was traded in 1928 a few months into Jim Smith's tenure as GM. He was traded for Javier Rivera (49.4 war), Jack Evans (12.8 war), Ken Shelton (-1.9 war), and David Hunter (was traded to the Euro leagues- 3.5 war there). He was projected as an 11/15/13 guy at the time of the trade, but blossomed to 13/17/15 in his prime.

Comments: A possible Hall of Famer with 78.2 career war. He is an all-time legend in getting on base. Even at 39 years old, Lar-dog is still producing. He ranks 4th for Sixshooter all-time career batting average, 3rd for obp, 1st for war, 1st for games played, 3rd for runs, 1st for hits, 1st for singles, 3rd for home runs, 3rd for rbis, and 2nd for walks. He is still a fantastic fielder despite his advanced age. Larry is a 4 time world series MVP.



DH Bruno “Da Vinci” Bonaiuncta

Acquired: A 3rd round (45th overall) pick in the Euro league by the Vienna Sabercats he was traded to the Savannah Storm for Carl Johnson (6.7 war in two season with Vienna). Oklahoma traded ace Eddie “Nutso” Weaver (36.7 career war) for him.

Comments: This is the Italian's first season in the APBL and he is really making it count. He appears to be the next coming of Larry Wilson based on scouting reports. He is hitting for a .333 woba this season. He started the year in AAA and was expected to play the whole season there until injuries hit.

[polydamas]

Getting to know your 1943 Sixshooters
Bench/Spot Starters and DL

Backup C/LHB Starter Jesus Avila

Acquired: Discovered in Colombia by the Virginia Beach Hornets in 1934. Named #45 best prospect in 1939. Traded to the Sixshooters for Ramon Valencia (minor league free agent, never hit SA), Riso Sykora (current VB starting catcher, was once heralded as the future Sixshooters catcher; 1.5 ABPL war), Steve Schmidt (currently getting his cup of coffee), and George Parsons (AA starter).

Comments: Jesus is a fantastic catcher and has serious power. He looks like a career platoon catcher/starter against LHP (.321 wOBA against RHP; .406 against LHP).



Utility Backup Juan Marquez

Acquired: Discovered in Cuba by the Massachusetts Minutemen in 1934. Traded to the SF Flyers (1939) with Jeff Morgan (-1.3 war) for Ryan Lindsey (14 war in almost 900 games). Traded to the Sixshooters (1941) for would be superstar prospect Ben “Highlander” Wallace (a rookie starter with SF; once a 15/4/15 prospect).

Comments: Juan was a 9/5/19 prospect when acquired. He is Jim Smith's dream utility player. He will likely start sometime in the future when he is fully developed and when Lar-dog retires.



Legendary Backup Fernando “Cash” Corral

Acquired: A 1st round (3rd overall) pick by the Salt Lake City Cougars. Signed as a free agent for a record contract that made him the highest paid player in 1931 ($135,000).

Comments: Cash is now 40 years old! He has a career war of 45.5. Corral has been playing backup since 1937, but has seen starting time due to injuries. He still has a great eye and he does not strike out often.



DL/Starting LF Elliot Sutherland

Acquired: 1st round (12 overall) pick by the Indianapolis Roadrunners in 1932 he was traded later that year for starting 1B Felix Bustamente (23.6 career war, starter for 13 seasons, 7 with Indy), Winston Riddle (18.7 war, currently in the amateur leagues- Jacksonville Jesters), and Francisco Pinto (11.9 career war).

Comments: The often injured Sutherland is a fan favorite. He is a solid overall player, a 5 time allstar, 3 time Silver Slugger (Elio Thrash Award), and a World Series MVP. He is currently the highest paid player in the league by $200,000 (he was given a heavily frontloaded deal, he will make $60,000 in 1946 and $50,000 in his last two seasons which are team options).



DL/Former Ace Antonio Dominguez

Acquired: A 1st Round (5th overall) pick by the San Diego Sharks in 1930. Was traded with Carlos Tovar (-0.2 career war) to the Chicago Railhawks in exchange for Augusto Arellano (28.2 career war) in 1931. In 1939, he was traded to the Sixshooters for starting pitcher Marcus Starks (50.1 war), Dave Lewis (0.6 war), top prospect Dave Smith (0.7 war at 27 years old), Mike Adams (minor leaguer), and starter John McGruder (13.6 war).

Comments: The trade for Dominguez was a blockbuster deal that seemed like a great idea for the Sixshooters at the time, however Marcus “The Wizard” Starks will end up having a better career due to the near-career ending torn flexor tendon injury the 36 year old Dominguez suffered at the end of last season. Antonio has won 56 games for Oklahoma City, but the recent injury looks to have put an end to his days as an ace. Many fans are disappointed, but GM Jim Smith insists he would not take the trade back even with the former ace's injury. He will likely be a free agent after the season.

[polydamas]

Conley strikes out 17 Montgomery Marauders!

[polydamas]

Indy tops Conley with 20 strikeouts!

[polydamas]

Sixshooters Report
August 18, 1943

Bruno "Da Vince" Bonaiuncta strains hamstring, out 3 weeks. Sixshooters call up prospects Terry Francis (1939 2nd round pick, 84 overall; #64 best prospect, 1st and really the only prospect in the organization) and John Harrison (1935 2nd round, 91st overall pick).

[polydamas]

Sixshooters Report
August 22, 1943

Ace Jose Ornelas has ruptured a tendon in his finger and will be out 4 months. He was on pace for 16 wins this season and with a team option (with a buyout of $44,000 of his $77,000 contract) it is looking this will be his last season with the team.

GM Jim Smith has called up Canadian Serge Lefebvre (1-9 in AAA this season) who won 10 games during last season when all 5 starters were injured. He is a former San Francisco Flyer starter who has 3.8 career war.

Manager Jim Smith has announced that the team will be using a 4 man rotation with Lefebvre as a spot starter.

[polydamas]

Sixshooters Report
August 31, 1943

Fan favorite Elliot Sutherland comes off DL! Manager Jim Smith says he will take over DH duties from Bill Anderson who will move back to first replacing Juan Marquez. Elliot says he is "thrilled" to be back and looks forward to leading the team to the promised land.

[polydamas]

Bill Anderson wins player of the month! It's his 10th Player of the Month award.

[polydamas]

Sixshooters Report
Notable Prospect

Cristo Menia

Acquired: Signed as an international amateur coming out of Cuba for $18,000.

Comments: Cristo looks like trade bait for Jim Smith who has a reputation of depleting his farm system in favor of a strong APBL roster. Menia is a borderline genius and is pitching well this season in short-season A.

[polydamas]

Sixshooters Report
Roster Expansion

Today is the day when the 26 man active roster expands to 32 men and GM Jim Smith in response has called John Harrison back up (after he was sent down to make room for Sutherland) and Buddy Clarke. Let's take a closer look at Buddy Clarke. Buddy was initially drafted back in 1927 in the 4th round (152 overall) by the Denver Blazers in Jim Smith's final season before being fired. Buddy has been a serviceable backup since making the majors and he has been a starter in 3 seasons with the Blazers. After bouncing from the New Orleans Diablos to the New York Knights, Buddy was traded to the Las Vegas Gamblers of the American Amateur Coalition (AAC) for two minor leaguers who never made the majors. Clarke was purchased by the Los Angeles Gladiators of the APBL, but was released the following year after spending a year in AAA at the age of 30. Buddy was signed by the Atlantic City Aces of the AAC. Clarke played two fantastic years in the AAC before being purchased by the Sixshooters after as an emergency backup. Clarke is loved by all of his teammates and is known as a very respectable, gregarious person with a quick smile and a kind heart.

[polydamas]

Sixshooter's Report
Davis returns from DL, Sixshooters clinch division

Ken Davis, a free agent reliever picked up this last offseason, has returned to shore up the bullpen. The Sixshooters have secured the division and our own Brook Engle was allowed to ask some questions of czar Jim Smith.


Engle: "You've clinched the division, what are your feelings about that?"

Smith: "Good, but there is a lot of baseball left and I don't intend to take the foot off the gas, we still need to secure that first round bye, it is very important to get that extra rest."

Engle: "So far, who has been the MVP of the season?"

Smith: "Our rotation has been shaky with the loss of Ornelas and Dominguez [last year], so I'd have to say our MVP is Myron Conley. He is on pace for one of the best pitching seasons in history with a ERA+ of 193. I'm really excited for him, he has really earned this after the hardwork he put into developing that wicked knuckleball of his. You should have seen Vasquez's face the first time he tried to catch Myron's knuckle earlier this year. He told me he felt like a rookie again, he had never seen anything like it. He walked away from the practice he claims with more bruises that he's had from pitches since his sophomore year of high school when he switched from third to catcher!"

[polydamas]

Sixshooter's Report
Injuries Strike and Rumors Abound

Henry "Indy" Jones out for 2-3 months with elbow inflammation. Rumors are floating about that czar Jim Smith is looking to replace him with the washed up ghost of the once highly sought after former #25 overall prospect, Augusto Sosa. Additionally, another interesting rumor about Jim Smith's future has been making ways throughout the baseball world.


Engle: Is there any interest in Augusto Sosa?

Smith: Uhh, well, we are exploring our options for our rotation after Indy's injury. We can't rule anyone out.

Engle: Is there anyone in the farm system that you might call up?

Smith: Not really to be blunt. None of our AAA starters has an era below 5. We considered [Michael] Cunningham (11-9-13) and [Rod] Everson (7-9-20), but we just don't think they can handle starting in the APBL.

Engle: Are you worried that might get shell-shocked?

Smith: I'm worried that will have era's above 6 like they currently have in the minors.

Engle: What about Pedro Ortiz (9-13-9) or Criso Mencia (11-10-5)?

Smith: Both are too raw and I am worried that theywould be shell-shocked. Besides neither one of them has been tested at AAA. The best options are outside of our system. AAC, Euro-league, or free agency, we will need to find someone to fill the gap. Currently we have Serg Lefebvre starting in our 4th spot and we are only using 4 men.

Engle: Any possible targets?

Smith: We are past the APBL trade deadline, so unless we can get someone through waivers, we are going to have to look elsewhere. Earl Collins of the Prague Talons is an option. He is 38 and a former 16 game winner with the Seattle Express and the San Francisco Flyers. He has a solid change-up still, but I worry that the AAC and the Euro-league may have made him soft. The better option is Dani Bernal of the Las Vegas Gamblers (AAC). He is a high character guy that will fit in great with our team. We are currently working out terms with the Gamblers. We will likely buy his contract for $10,000 later today.

Engle: That's exciting! What should fans expect out of him?

Smith: He has excellent control and good movement (8-14-16). He is only 24 though and he has been in the Independent Leagues since he was recruited out of the Dominican Republic in 1935 by the San Antonio Storm (AAC).

Engle: As we wrap up, I was wondering about a certain rumour that you may have heard about.

Smith: Of course.

Engle: Are you planning on retiring when Bill Anderson retires?

Smith: I'm probably not supposed to talk about this, but what are they going to do? Fire me [laughs]? I've considered it. I've also considered waiting for God's Hammer to retire as well, but he's only 20 and I'm 63, so I'd be about 80 when he retired, which I don't think will happen. We'll see. Baseball is all I know, all I've ever known, it is life to me, as essential as eating or breathing. I don't think I can walk away from the sport. I'll probably always be in a front office til I the day I die.

[polydamas]

Sixshooter's Report
Breaking News

Dani Bernal purchased from the Amateur Coalition! Sixshooter's czar Jim Smith says he will be in the 5th spot in the rotation.