Rebuilding A Champion

[jbmagic]

i am enjoying reading your dynasty.. what does ops stand for?

thanks

[Chappy]

Thanks for the feedback, Carlton.

Originally posted by YoungEagle
No need to worry, the only way I'll get to play you would be if we meet in the series

Oh yeah. Well, I guess ALL my games against you are key games...


OPS is your On base percentage Plus your Slugging percentage. It's my favorite stat when setting lineups.

[Chappy]

Team Record: 32-41, 3rd Place in FF North, 11 games back

Last Sim: 5-5 (note: This was our second straight 10-game sim. The Locos' last off-day was May 31, giving us 23 staright game days. Luckily, we've got 2 off days in the next 10-day sim.)

GAME HIGHLIGHTS
Pennsylvania @ North Carolina - June 20, 2004 - Rookie starter Hector Moreno begins what will eventually become a 4-game winning streak by pitching seven innings of four-hit ball at North Carolina. Moreno improves to 3-0 with a 3.35 ERA in six career starts. Fellow rookie Allen Stafford (.267-1-3), a backup outfielder making a rare start, leads the offensive atttack for the Locos. Stafford went 2-for-3 with his first career HR and his first 3 big league RBIs. Every starting batter had at least one hit for the Locos, except for the struggling Sidney Sedgwick, who went 0-for-4 to fall to .199 on the season.

WHO'S HOT
P - Gerald Johnson - 2-1, 2.42 in his last 3 starts.
RF - Miguel Cortes - 6-for-15, .400, 2 HR, 7 RBI in his last 6 games.
P - Robert Jones - 2-1, 1.86 in his last 4 starts.
C - Jose Espina - 7-for-19, .368, 2 HR, 8 RBI in his last 7 games.
P - Hector Moreno - 2-0, 2.84 in his last 3 starts.

WHO'S NOT
LF - John Pucci - 3-for-18, .167, 0 HR, 0 RBI in his last 5 games.

TRANSACTION NEWS
No moves yet, but stay tuned. I am currently in trade negotiations with 2 different teams...

UPDATED LINEUP

1. John Pucci -LF- .343 OBP
2. Miguel Cortes -RF- .324 OBP
3. Darius Mosqueda -3B- .681 OPS
4. Anthony Pooler -C- .639 OPS
5. Jeffrey Clow -CF- .637 OPS
6. Sidney Sedgwick -1B- .597 OPS
7. Armand Manning -2B- .547 OPS
8. Clinton Lewis -SS- .462 OPS

Congrats to Manning for pulling his OPS from .507 to .547 in the past 10 games. Cortes is hot as well, and may end up as the best hitter on the team.

UPDATED ROTATION

1. Christopher Kearns - 2-5, 3.36
2. Tracey Northrup - 5-4, 3.64
3. Robert Jones - 2-6, 3.89
4. Gerald Johnson - 7-7, 3.25
5. Hector Moreno - 3-0, 3.35

MR Michael Garrard - 0-0, 4.64
MR Ralph Harden - 3-3, 4.75
SU David Aquilar - 2-1, 2.27
SU Vincent Marguez - 2-2, 3.10

CL Frank Scull - 17 Saves, 2.51

Not a bad staff... Especially when you consider Northrup, Moreno, Garrard and Aquilar are all rookies and Jones had only 10 starts prior to this season.

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT
It is hard to ignore the numbers Marcellus Antunez is putting up at AAA Allentown. The 28-year-old CF is batting .338 with 9 HR. However, scouts give him low ratings and question his value as an everyday player. Locos CF Jeffrey Clow won't win any awards, but is putting up good enough numbers to keep the surging Antunez in the minors for the time being.

NEW!!! TEAM LEADERS NEW!!!

I thought I'd add this little section, so you can see who leads the Locos in various categories...

AVG- Clow - .243
HR - Cortes - 7
RBI - Sedgwick - 27
RUNS - Mosqueda - 33
SB - Sedgwick - 14
OPS - Mosqueda - .681

note: Cortes is batting .295 and Pooler is batting .266, but they do not have enough at-bats to qualify.

ERA - Johnson - 3.25
WINS - Johnson - 7
SAVES - Scull - 17
K'S - Johnson 59

[Chappy]

One of my goals when I first took over the Locos was to improve the team's defense. When I looked at the team, I noticed there was a lot of talented pitching, but the ERAs all seemed high.

When I looked at the defense, there were a lot of holes. The SS at the time was in his late thirties and had an 'E' in range, so I picked up free agent Clinton Lewis, a player who couldn't hit but boasted a 'B' in range and a fielding % over .990. There was a similar situation at 2B, but I was able to find a suitable replacement within the organization. I also benched some outfielders in favor of guys that covered more ground.

Here is a look at the Pennylvania Locos starting defenders:

C Anthony Pooler is 2nd in the NPBL with 24 RTO. Louisianna C Alex Rivera leads all catchers with 26. Pooler, however, has thrown out 37.5% of attempted base-stealers, which leads all catchers with 50 or more attempted steals.

1st Baseman Sidney Sedgwick leads all 1B (in both leagues) in putouts, and has posted a solid .992 fielding %.

2nd baseman Armand Manning, who has struggled with the bat all year, is in the top 5 in most defensive categories. 3rd in PO, 5th in A, 4th in PCT.

3B Mosqueda hasn't fared so well. He's fourth of the 24 starting 3B in PCT, and as made 11 errors so far this season.

SS Clinton Lewis may only be hitting .170, but he's been a wizard on the feild. Lewis has commited only one error in 30 games at SS, posting a league-high .993 fielding percentage.

Pucci has been awful in LF, posting a .972 fileding PCT. He has logged one assist.

Clow has made 3 errors in CF. That's not terrible, but I don't like to see any errors from my outfielders. He also has one assist.

Cortes has been worse than Pucci, posting 5 errors and no assists in 47 games in RF. (.944 %)


Synopsis
I'm glad I wrote this report, because I hadn't realized how bad my outfield was. When I took over the team, I focused on improving the middle-infield, and neglected the outfield. I like my outfielders to have 5-10 assists and make 0-2 errors. It looks like I may have some guys make 0-2 assists and make 5-10 errors instead. I'll have to address this issue.

[Chappy]

Days after hitting his first career big league HR, Allen Stafford has been reassigned to Allentown.

After evaluating my outfield situation, I realized Allentown CF Marcellus Antunez, who has been ripping it up at AAA, is a fine defender with a cannon for an arm.

Clow will be a utility outfielder for the time being.

Antunez will be inserted into Clow's spot in the lineup (batting 5th) for the time being.

[Chappy]

Team Record: 35-46, 4th place FF North, 14.5 GB

Last Sim: 3-5

GAME HIGHLIGHTS
6/24 off day
6/25 5-3 loss vs Florida (Atunez -cf- 2-for-4 with an RBI in his debut)
6/26 3-0 loss vs Florida
6/27 7-4 win vs Florida
6/28 off day
6/29 3-1 win vs Mass
6/30 10-9 loss vs Mass (blew 5-0 lead)
7/1 9-2 loss vs Mass
7/2 7-3 loss @ NY
7/3 3-2 win @ NY

WHO'S HOT
3B Darius Mosqueda - 6-for-18, .333 with 1 HR and 3 RBI in his last 5 games.
C Jose Espino - 8-for-14, .571 with 2 HR and 5 RBI in his last 6 games.
C Matthew Finck - 6-for-17, .353 with 0 HR and 6 RBI in his last 5 games.
2B Armand Manning - 6-for-18, .333 with 0 HR and 3 RBI in his last 5 games.

WHO'S NOT
P Christopher Kearns - 0-3 with a 5.85 ERA in his last 3 starts.
1B Sidney Sedgwick - 3-for-19 (.158) with 1 HR and 2 RBI in his last 5 games.
SS Clinton Lewis - 2-for-20 (.100) with 1 HR and 2 RBI in his last 6 games.

TRANSACTION NEWS
Our team leader in wins, Gerald Johnson, pulled his bicept and will miss 5 weeks. 35-year-old Jose Valvodinos has been called up to take his spot. Jose is 1-3 with a 3.66 ERA in 4 big league starts this season. In AAA Allentown, he went 6-3 with a 2.44 ERA in 10 starts.
Brenton Handel has been sent down to Allentown.
Kevin Knickerbocker has been called up from Allentown.

UPDATED ROTATION

SP Tracey Northrup - 5-6, 3.63
SP Robert Jones - 2-7, 4.46
SP Christopher Kearns - 2-7, 4.13
SP Hector Moreno - 3-0, 3.35
SP Jose Valdovinos - 1-3, 3.66

MR Michael Garrard - 0-0, 4.17
MR Ralph Harden - 4-3, 4.70
SU David Aquilar - 3-1, 1.95
SU Vincent Marguez - 3-2, 4.18

CL Frank Scull - 19 saves, 2.27

UPDATED LINEUP
John Pucci -LF- .232-2-11 (.345 OBP)
Darius Mosqueda -3B- .245-6-27 (.315 OBP)
Miguel Cortes -RF- .274-8-25 (.759 OPS)
Anthony Pooler -C- .274-1-18 (.655 OPS)
Sidney Sedgwick -1B- .205-5-30 (.595 OPS)
Armand Manning -2B- .218-4-25 (.560 OPS)
Marcellus Antunez -CF- .250-0-2 (.519 OPS)
Clinton Lewis -SS- .163-3-8 (.480 OPS)

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT
Scouts are recommending LF Kevin Knickerbocker get a shot at the bigs, so I've called him up and sent the struggling Brenton Handel down to Allentown. Handel was batting just .198, and Knickerbocker can't do much worse. I'll have to re-assess the outfield situation in 2 weeks when Brandon Hollingshead is healthy again. Not much other news on the minor league front.

TEAM LEADERS

AVG - .245 - Mosqueda
HR - 8 - Cortes
RBI - 30 - Sedgwick
RUNS - 39 - Mosqueda
SB - 15 - Sedgwick
OPS - .689 - Mosqueda

ERA - 3.25 - Johnson
WINS - 7 - Johnson
SAVES - 19 - Scull
K's - 67 - Northrup

In my original analysis of the team, I commented that catcher was my deepest position. Well, although none of them have enough at bats to qualify, the top three averages on my team belong to catchers:

Matthew Finck - .351 in 148 AB
Jose Espino - .308 in 52 AB
Anthony Pooler - .274 in 175 AB

Also batting .274 is Miguel Cortes, who is having a fine season (though not an all-star season by any means) with a .274-8-25 line in 197 at bats.

[Chappy]

Update coming soon... I'm dealing with Isabel right now (no real damage, but my yard is a mess!).

[HolyCow98]

I grew up in FL so I know what you mean....glad no major damage though.

Love your dynasty thread...this type of thing can be contagious I think...in a good way.. Hope you keep it going.

[Chappy]

Thanks for the comments, Holy Cow. I actually grew up in Florida too (I lived there until I was 16), in Delray Beach. Oddly enough, I think I've been through more hurricanes in my 13 years in NC than I had in my 16 years in Florida.

Okay... Since I didn't get around to doing a report last sim, this one is a combo of two sims. The one I missed actually included the All-Star break (in case you're wondering, no Locos made the All-Star team), so it wasn't a full set of games anyway.

TEAM RECORD: 41-55, 4th Place in FF North, 19 GB

Last 2 Sims: 6-9

GAME HIGHLIGHTS
7/4 LOSS 6-2 @ NY
7/5 WIN 5-4 @ MASS (12 innings)
7/6 LOSS 7-4 @ MASS
7/7 LOSS 5-4 @ MASS
7/8 LOSS 16-1 v CONN (ouch!)
7/9 WIN 3-2 v CONN
7/10 WIN 5-2 v CONN
7/11LOSS 5-2 v CONN
7/12 OFF
7/13 OFF
7/14 OFF
7/15 OFF
7/16 LOSS 4-3 @ MASS
7/17 LOSS 12-2 @ MASS
7/18 WIN 6-5 @ MASS
7/19 OFF
7/20 WIN 4-2 v NY
7/21 LOSS 9-4 v NY
7/22 LOSS 9-4 v NY
7/23 WIN 7-2 @ CONN

WHO'S HOT
SP Jose Valdovinos - 2-1, 3.32 in his last 3 starts
SP Christopher Kearns - 2-0, 2.66 in his last 3 starts
LF Brandon Hollingshead - 11-for-26 (.423), 0 HR and 6 RBI in his last 9 games
And, Believe it or not...
SS Clinton Lewis 4-for-13 (.308) with 0 HR and 4 RBI in his last 5 games

WHO'S NOT
3B Darius Mosqueda - 2-for-14 with 0 HR and 0 RBI in his last 5 games
SP Robert Jones - 0-4 with a 10.29 ERA in his last 4 starts
SP Tracey Northrup - 0-3 with a 7.45 ERA in his last 3 starts

Okay, so half of my staff is on fire, and the other half is ice cold! It's great to have Hollingshead back in the mix.

TRANSACTION NEWS
Hollingshead was activated, and Kevin Knickerbocker was assigned to Allentown.

DL UPDATE
SP Gerald Johnson - 2-3 weeks, pulled bicept
SP Blaine Titsworth - Full Season, torn back

UPDATED LINEUP
Okay! Mosqueda has a concussion, so Lewis moves to 3rd and Robert Williams will play SS. With Hollingshead back, Clow is out and the top of the order should see a spark. But they'll need more than a spark, look at the averages of the 5-8 hitters.

1. CF B. Hollingshead .282-2-14 (.391 OBP)
2. LF J. Pucci .229-2-16 (.347 OBP)
3. RF M. Cortes .278-9-33 (.765 OPS)
4. C A. Pooler .282-1-19 (.669 OPS)
5. 1B S. Sedgwick .232-6-36 (.661 OPS)
6. SS R. Williams .232-3-17 (.629 OPS)
7. 2B A. Manning .219-4-28 (.541 OPS)
8. 3B C. Lewis .164-3-12 (.471 OPS)

UPDATED ROTATION

1. C. Kearns 4-7, 3.73
2. T. Northrup 5-9, 4.24
3. R. Jones 2-10, 5.33
4. H. Moreno 4-1, 3.81
5. J. Valdovinos 2-4, 3.77

MR R. Harden 4-3, 4.66
MR V. Marguez 3-2, 4.06
SU D. Aquilar 4-2, 3.71
SU M. Garrard 1-0, 3.86

CL F. Scull 23 Saves, 2.08

Nice job, Moreno!

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT
There's nothing real exciting going on in minor-league-ville. Are top pitching prospects are all having lukewarm seasons, and #2 hitting prospect Brick Horizon is still on the DL. He should be back in two weeks. #1 Prospect Carmelo Fons is having an average year at A ball, hitting .258 with 4 HR.

TEAM LEADERS

AVG - Mosqueda - .236 (
HR - Cortes - 9
RBI - Sedgwick - 36
RUNS - Mosqueda - 44
SB - Sedgwick - 18
OPS - Sedgwick/Mosqueda - .661

ERA - Johnson - 3.25
WINS - Johnson - 7
SAVES - Scull - 23
K's - Northrup - 81

[Chappy]

Well... The trade deadline is approaching fast, so look for Darius Mosqeuda and Sidney Sedgwick to be moved soon.

Unfortunately, neither of these guys is hitting very well this year. If they had put up .280-8-50 lines they'd already be gone, but I'm having trouble convincing other owners they're worth as much as I think they are. They've got decent ratings and lead my team in OPS, but they are both hitting around .230.

I'm going to send out a round of offers to the 1st and 2nd place teams to see if they're interested, and then I'll see where I sit.

The only other guy who may move is Titsworth, but it's more likely he'll be dealt on draft day since he's out for the year. He's a top-notch starter who has been sorely missed.

Frank Scull is a hell of a closer, but there seems to be little demand for relief pitching, so I probably won't get an offer worth his weight.

So, we'll sit tight this last week in July and see what happens. August 1st may see a very different Locos lineup.

[HolyCow98]

I lived in Pensacola, FL my first 24 years(30 now)...then moved to Derry, New Hampshire, and now Temple, GA...20 Minutes west of Atlanta. My memories of Hurricanes...were that they would either hit the East coast or get sucked into the Gulf of Mexico. Pensacola being just about in the center of the GoM...we would always get hit pretty good even if the eye was hitting East Texas. Luckily the worse damage we ever had was some tool sheds that were completely blown away...I can't remember which Hurricane, I want to say Opal, it knocked out the power for 85 % of the City. We were without power, and more importantly that time of year, without air conditioning for about six days...that was hell....lol...

[Chappy]

Having no AC in Florida is bad.... I'm looking forward to facing you in the NAFA!


LOCOS ACQUIRE VETERAN INFIELDER

In a strange turn of events, the Pennsylvania Locos have acquired veteran 2B/SS Robert Kidder from the Connecticut Marines.

The 36-year old does not have a lot of big league experience, but is instantly the best hitter on the Locos. Here are his career numbers:

Year    G  AB  H 2B 3B HR RBI  R BB  K SB CS  AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS Teams 
2000  107 171 33  6  1  7  23 17  7 26  5  2 .193 .225 .363 .587 NY/CON 
2001   13  14  3  1  0  0   1  2  1  4  1  0 .214 .267 .286 .552  CON 
2002   80 162 38  6  0  9  23 26  8 28 12  2 .235 .271 .438 .709  CON 
2003   25  42 10  1  0  0   0  5  1 11  3  0 .238 .256 .262 .518  Con 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 225 389 84 14  1 16  47 50 17 69 21  4 .216 .249 .380 .629

When I pulled the trigger on this trade, I was more interested in Kidder's ratings than his stats:

Batting Hits Doubles Triples Homeruns Walks Strikeouts 
Overall   4     6       6        7      4        5 
vs. LHP   5     6       6        8      4        4 
vs. RHP   4     6       6        7      4        5 
Talent Average Average Good    Good  Average   Good

I know he's 36, so these ratings won't last long, but it will be nice to have one bat in the lineup. Also of note, he's an average defender with average speed but an A in stealing bases...

Also in the deal, I will recieve Connecticut's 3rd round draft pick.

We gave up Donn Fagan, a decent pitching prospect. He's a former first round pick, but his talent in avoiding hits has since dropped to fair.

[Chappy]

Team Record: 42-60, 4th place, 21 GB

Last Sim: 1-5 (ouch)

Game Highlights:
7-24 7-2 LOSS @ Conn (Kidder 2-4, 2B, 1 run, 1 RBI in debut with Locos)
7-25 3-2 LOSS @ Conn
7-26 OFF
7-27 8-2 LOSS v Mass
7-28 4-3 LOSS v Mass
7-29 5-4 LOSS v Mass
7-30 3-2 WIN v NY (Hector Moreno improves to 5-1)

Who's Hot
2B Armand Manning: 9-for-18 (.500) with 0 HR and 3 RBI in his last 6 games.
SP Hector Moreno: 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA in his last 3 starts.

Who's Not
SP Robert Jones: 0-3, 10.43 ERA in his last 3 starts.
SS Robert Williams: 2-for-17 (.118) with 0 HR and 2 RBI in his last 5 games.
SP Tracey Northrup: 0-3 with a 10.20 ERA in his last 3 starts.

Transactions and Injuries
Staff ace (I use that word lightly) Christopher Kearns went down with bone chips in hiss shoulder. He'll miss 6 weeks. Gordon Bedard, a 31-year-old who has never pitched in the bigs gets the call-up. Bedard is 5-11 with a 4.80 ERA in AAA. I thought about bringing up a hot prospect, but decided they were all too young.

Lineup:
1 CF Hollingshead .270-2-14
2 LF Pucci .225-2-16
3 2B Kidder .421-0-3
4 RF Cortes .271-9-34
5 C Pooler .278-1-20
6 1B Sedgwick .230-6-36
7 3B Mosqueda .234-6-33
8 SS Lewis .162-3-12

Rotation:

Northrup 5-10, 4.51
Jones 2-11, 5.40
Moreno 5-1, 3.51
Valdovinos 2-5, 4.27
Bedard 0-0, 0.00

MR Harden 4-3, 4.36
MR Marguez 3-2, 4.00
SU Aquilar 4-4, 4.05
SU Garrard 1-0, 3.55

CL Scull 24 saves, 1.91

Leaders:
AVG - Mosqueda - .234
HR - Cortes - 9
RBI - Sedgwick - 36
RUNS - Mosqueda - 45
SB - Sedgwick - 21
OPS - Sedgwick - .654
ERA - Johnson - 3.25
WINS - Johnson - 7
SAVES - Scull - 24
K's - Northrup - 82

How sad is it that Johnson has been out for over a month and still leads the Locos in wins?

How sad is it that Mosqueda leads the team with an average of .234?

How sad is it that I haven't been able to move any more players?

Deadline is tonight, I'll be making some calls...

[Chappy]

The good news?

Well, thanks to earlier trades we will have:

2 first round picks
1 second round pick
3 third round picks
2 fourth round picks
-------------------------
8 new Locos!!!

[Chappy]

Team Record: 46-65; 4th in FF North, 21.5 GB

Last Sim: 4-5

Game Highlights
7/31 14-8 Loss v NY
8/1 5-4 WIN v NY
8/2 5-4 WIN @ Ken (Gordon Beddard: allows 3 runs in 8 innings and wins big league debut)
8/3 6-3 Loss @ Ken
8/4 6-1 Loss @ Ken
8/5 Off Day
8/6 4-3 WIN v Mass (11 innings: PH Jeffrey Clow singles in Pucci for win)
8/7 5-2 Loss v Mass
8/8 5-3 Loss v Mass
8/9 3-2 WIN @ NY

Who's Hot?
RF Miguel Cortes: Last 5 games: 7-21, .333, 1 HR, 5 RBI
CF Jeffrey Clow: Last 5 games: 6-17, .353, 1 HR, 2 RBI

Who's Not?
SP Jose Valdovinos: Last 3 games: 0-3, 8.64 ERA
SP Robert Jones: Last 5 games: 0-5, 8.22 ERA
SP Tracey Northrup: Last 5 games: 0-3, 6.75 ERA
2B Armand Manning: Last 5 games: 2-13, .154, 0 HR, 1 RBI

Transactions and Injuries
SP Gerald Johnson will be back soon. However, since his injury his scouting report has dropped to the dreaded 'clearly past his prime'. Oh well, when you have 3 starters on the 'who's not' list, there's not much further downhill to go.

Lineup
1 CF Brandon Hollingshead - .257-2-15
2 C Anthony Pooler - .287-1-24
3 1B Sidney Sedgwick - .232-6-38
4 2B Robert Kidder - .333-2-8
5 RF Miguel Cortes - .274-10-41
6 LF John Pucci - .225-2-18
7 3B Darius Mosqueda - .229-7-35
8 SS Clinton Lewis - .162-3-12

Rotation
Tracey Northrup - 5-10, 4.38
Robert Jones - 2-13, 5.50
Hector Moreno - 6-2, 3.96
Gordon Bedard - 1-0, 3.38
Jose Valdovinos - 2-7, 5.13

Richard Harden - 4-3, 4.20
Victor Marguez - 3-2, 4.15
David Aquilar - 4-4, 4.41
Michael Garrard - 3-0, 3.54

Frank Scull - 25 SV, 2.12

[Chappy]

Team Record: 49-70; 4th in FF North, 23.5 GB

Last Sim: 3-5

Game Highlights:
8/10 - 4-2 WIN @ NY
8/11 - 3-1 WIN @ NY (1st sweep of season!)
8/12 - OFF DAY (There goes the momentum!)
8/13 - 4-1 Loss @ Mas
8/14 - 4-3 Loss @ Mas
8/15 - 4-3 Loss @ Mas
8/16 - OFF DAY
8/17 - 4-2 Loss v NY
8/18 - 4-3 Loss v NY (10 Innings; Robert Jones actully pitched well!)
8/19 - 3-2 WIN v NY

Who's Hot?
SP Gerald Johnson - Hasn't actually played recently, but before he went on the DL he went 2-0, 2.13 in 3 starts.

Who's Not?
3B Darius Mosqueda; Last 6 games: 3-23, .130, 1 HR, 1 RBI
SS Clinton Lewis; Last 5 games: 1-16, .063, 0 HR, 1 RBI

[b]Transactions[b]
Jose Valdovinos is sent down to AAA as Gerald Johnson is activated from the DL. Valdo will be back up in 11 days.

Updated Lineups
CF B Hollingshead .248-2-15
C A Pooler .290-1-26
2B R Kidder .291-3-11
RF M Cortes .274-10-43
1B S Sedgwick .239-6-40
LF J Pucci .220-4-23
3B D Mosqueda .224-8-36
SS C Lewis .160-3-13

Rotation
T Northrup 6-11, 4.31
R Jones 2-14, 5.28
H Moreno 7-3, 4.03
G Johnson 7-7, 3.25
G Bedard 2-1, 3.00

R Harden 4-4, 4.14
V Marguez 3-2, 3.98
S Aquilar 4-4, 4.27
M Garrard 3-0, 3.51

F Scull 28 Sv, 1.96

[Chappy]

Okay....So I've been slack recently. Actually the opposite is true; I've been so busy that I haven't been able to do any write-ups.

It is now September and rosters have been expanded. I basically just called up the oldest players in my minor league system. I'm not really trying to get any of my young guys killed.

Current Record: 60-91, 30 GB and still last in the FF North.

Good News:

Miguel Cortes now has enough at-bats to qualify, and leads the team with a .261 batting average. He hasn't hit well of late, but
it's nice to have your team leader batting more than .240.

Sidney Sedgwick must not have wanted to be traded. He was hitting a pathetic .230 when the deadline hit. Then, in August, he hit .330 with 20 walks (.450 OBP/.890 OPS) and in September he's pounded 5 HR in 63 at-bats (he has just 11 in 498 at-bats on the year). His season average is up to .245.

A couple of rookie starters, Hector Moreno and Gordon Bedard, are hardly Mark Prior and Dontrelle Willis but they have been effective nonetheless. Moreno is 8-6 and Bedard is 3-2; not bad when you play for a last place team.

36-year-old 2B Robert Kidder is a perfect 11-11 in stolen base attempts. He's driven in a career-high 25 RBI in 50 games with the Locos. Not bad for an old man.

Bad News:

Just about every other aspect of this season is bad news.


Riding the Waves

As we head towards the end of the season, I'm already excited about the draft. I'd say we're still two or three years from being good, but given the number of picks we have in the next draft there will be a lot to watch.

[HolyCow98]

Good luck in the draft....

I love building a team up from the scrap heap...especially through my own system...so good luck with the draft....hang in there.

[Chappy]

One of the reasons I kept my starters in rather than playing some youngsters after the September 1st call-ups was because I didn't want to be accused of sandbagging it if my team performed poorly.

Well, I kept my starters in and still lost my last 10 games. Yup, 10 in a row. The good news is I went from about #6 to #2 in the draft. The bad news is some folks might get suspicious. But the truth is my team was just that bad. Actually, judging by the Pyth record we were even worse.

FINAL STANDINGS

Founding Fathers League 
 
North 
 
team           w   l  pct   gb    pyt. diff  home  away x.inn. 1run mag# streak last10 
New York      97  65 .599    - 103-59  -6   44-37 53-28  8-13 31-32   *     L1  6-4 
Connecticut   86  77 .528 11.5  84-79   2   40-41 46-36 11-4  27-23   -     W2  6-4 
Massachusetts 75  87 .463 22.0  72-90   3   36-45 39-42  6-9  25-26   -     W2  4-6 
Pennsylvania  61 101 .377 36.0  54-108  7   29-52 32-49 10-5  28-32   -    L10  0-10

BATTING
(out of 24 teams)
Batting AVG: .225 (21st)
Homeruns: 95 (22nd) A hot 2nd half by Sedgwick and the addition of Kidder kept me out of last place in this category.
Walks: 455 (9th)
Stolen Bases: 175 (7th)
Runs Scored: 540 (22nd)

Locos with 100 or more at-bats
 
Name             G   AB  H  2B 3B HR RBI R  BB  K   AVG  OBP  SLG 
M. Finck        104 262  86 20  1  1  26 25 19  47 .328 .378 .424 
J. Espino        69 147  42  9  0  9  23 17 12  28 .286 .342 .531 
R. Kidder        63 226  60 15  2  8  30 26 12  48 .265 .303 .456 
M. Cortes       144 473 123 20  6 11  53 46 33 124 .260 .313 .397 
A. Pooler       109 336  85 15  1  2  31 29 13  76 .253 .289 .321 
S. Sedgwick     158 534 132 19  3 13  58 69 86 107 .247 .349 .367 
A. Manning      127 335  80 11  1  4  34 26 10  69 .239 .266 .313 
B. Hollingshead 110 274  62 22  2  4  20 28 17  90 .226 .309 .365 
J. Clow         128 359  81 19  4  4  20 37 33  74 .226 .296 .334 
R. Williams     115 246  55  8  0  8  29 16 13  44 .224 .265 .354 
J. Pucci        149 464 103 13  2  6  34 54 80  93 .222 .337 .297 
G. Piccirillo    76 162  35  4  0  2  18 12  9  41 .216 .264 .278 
D. Mosqueda     153 533 115 22  1 11  46 63 45 114 .216 .283 .323 
B. Handel        90 181  35  8  4  0  20 16 16  20 .193 .258 .282 
C. Lewis         81 227  35  9  1  3  17 16 14  73 .154 .206 .242

My #2 and #3 catchers were my best hitters on the year. Starting catcher Pooler was good all year but fell at the end.

PITCHING
(out of 24 teams)
Pitching ERA: 4.30 (23rd)
Opponents AVG: .264 (24th)
HRs Allowed: 158 (19th)
Walks Allowed: 477 (15th)
Runs Allowed: 766 (23rd)

Locos with 10 or more appearances

Name           G GS W  L SV  ERA  IP    HA  R   ER BB  K 
G. Johnson    24 24 8 12  0 3.68 173.2 160  87  71 38  87 
H. Moreno     24 24 8  9  0 4.68 134.2 157  75  70 46  86 
T. Northrup   33 33 8 17  0 4.02 226.0 226 112 101 38 136 
D. Aquilar    71  0 5  4  2 3.93  71.0  61  32  31 32  64 
R. Harden     66  0 5  5  1 4.18  75.1  73  36  35 25  44 
R. Jones      26 26 5 17  0 4.85 182.0 201 112  98 82  60 
C. Kearns     21 21 4 12  0 4.46 133.1 121  70  66 55  86 
G. Bedard     11  8 4  3  0 5.87  53.2  65  37  35 26  48 
M. Garrard    70  0 3  1  3 3.78  78.2  77  39  33 15  65 
V. Marguez    42  0 3  2  1 3.66  46.2  43  19  19 15  26 
F. Scull      64  0 2  3 36 2.44  70.0  63  21  19 12  59 
J. Valdovinos 11 10 2  7  0 4.91  66.0  70  45  36 36  63 
A. Meyerson   15  0 0  1  0 5.63  16.0  18  11  10  3  17

Will Frank Scull earn his second straight team MVP? We'll see.

THE FUTURE
Top Ten Prospects. Top 3 are all 3rd basemen. I was training Horizon at 2B when he got hurt. Fons is the only decent fielder so I'm keeping him at 3B.

Batters 
 
#  Name             Age Pos     Hits Homeruns     Walks Speed Range Level AVG HR RBI 
1  Carmelo Fons      21 3B Brilliant  Average Brilliant   C     B      A .267  6  47 
2  Bick Horizon      22 3B   Average     Good   Average   D     D     AA .300  4  21 
3  Manuel Talamantez 23 3B   Average  Average   Average   D     D    AAA .252  8  48 
5  Manuel Rodriguez  23 2B   Average     Fair      Good   D     E      A .267 12  57 
7  Michael Hanson    24 LF   Average     Fair   Average   D     D     AA .336  7  24 
8  Bernard Lust      23 RF   Average     Fair   Average   D     C     AA .283  4  21 
 
Pitchers 
 
#  Name           Age Role  Hits    Homers     Walks     K's  Level Rec  ERA    IP  HA BB   K 
4   Gus MacDonald  25 SP Average   Average   Average Average     AA 7-9 5.13 124.2 128 62 117 
6   Joel Salguero  21 MR Average Brilliant      Good Average      A 3-3 3.90  62.1  60 28  55 
9   Francisco Soto 24 SP Average   Average      Fair Average Majors 0-0 0.00   4.2   4  3   3 
10  Michael Spitz  22 MR    Fair      Good Brilliant    Good     AA 1-2 4.05  13.1  14  3  19

[Chappy]

Here's the order for tonight's NPBL draft:

pick  1st  2nd  3rd  4th
  1   Nev  Ill  Ill  Ill
  2   Pen  Pen  Pen  Pen
  3   DC   DC   DC   DC
  4   Kan  Kan  Kan  Kan
  5   Lou  Lou  Lou  Lou
  6   Cal  Cal  Cal  Cal
  7   Min  Min  Uta  Uta
  8   Mas  Mas  Mas  Mas
  9   Ten  Ten  Ten  Ten
 10   Ken  Ken  Ken  Ken
 11   NM   NM   NM   NM
 12   Ore  Ore  Ore  Ore
 13   Mry  Mry  Mry  Mry
 14   Was  Was  Was  Was
 15   Tex  Tex  Min  Tex
 16   Fla  Fla  Fla  Fla
 17   Ill  Nev  Nev  Nev
 18   Con  Con  Pen  Con
 19   Cal  Cal  Col  Col
 20   Pen  Mis  Pen  Pen
 21   NY   NY   NY   NY
 22   Min  Min  Min  Min
 23   Wis  Wis  Mas  Mas
 24   NC   NC   NC   NC

I don't want to give away any info on my draft strategy yet, but there are some very talented players available, 2 or 3 who could even start for my team next season. After the draft I'll let you know the scoop.