BLB at the Half 2007

[Jistic]

I like Carlos more than you right now. And most of the time honestly.

[umd]

I like Carlos more than you right now. And most of the time honestly.

He is lovable. Just not in pizza parlors late at night.

[Carlos]

Hey, the pizza parlor is how I proved my innocence!


Sent from my mobile device.

[Delandis]

Who do you like in the second half in the IL/DL?
DVS, Baltimore, Davenport, Batavia (WC)
Cleveland, LA, Dallas, Pittsburgh (WC)

What players/teams have surprised or disappointed?
I'm definitely surprised by the play Kunihiro Inouye. There is no way I thought he would be this good. I'm also impressed by the play of Travis Krummen. I knew he had talent but he's really been a great addition to what we wanted to do this year in Baltimore.

What teams made (or should make) moves before the waiver deadline?
Dallas, Philly
-Both of these teams could make moves for a WC or Division with a bold move to add offense.

What do you predict for you own team?
I think we'll continue to play relatively well. We probably could use another starter to round out our rotation before the break though. We've got a ton of young pitchers and that doesn't bode well for a decent performance if we make the playoffs.

Who should we look out for on your team now or in the future?
Terumoto Chiba

-He was somehow selected for the All-Star team this year, but I don't think he's even playing at full potential yet. Right now, he platoons at first with Dave Willis but will eventually be an everyday first baseman for us. If he doesn't mash more in the second half of 2007, expect to see him in the upper echelon of hitters in 2008.

[funclown]

Pawtucket at the half:

First Half: Somehow this lineup managed to go 40-48 including a winning June and so far July. Its a gritty bunch, but woefully lacking talent. Pat Marlin with his 15hrs and .873OPS (now traded) and SP Enrique Andujar 10-2 2.18 ERA (Rookie Allstar) pretty much put this team on its back the past 6 weeks. Special mention also to RP Ivan Bojorquez who took over nicely for Victor Rivera in the closer spot and not skipping a beat.

Second Half: Top 100 prospects C Todd Robideau & 2B Tony Infante came up weeks before Allstar and predictably with mixed results. This is pretty typical of rookie players who need to take they're lumps for awhile as they build experience points. Pat Marlin as mentioned traded so not sure where our power is going to come from. Also as great as he's been I wouldnt be shocked to see Enrigue hit a wall specially as the team fades further. Overall we won't be as bad as last season, but I suspect a poor second half resulting in 60-65 wins.

Future: Currently holding 6 top 100 prospects right now and one or two players that fringe on and off the list. We also have a mind blowing 14 additional picks coming in the next 3 seasons. Do we expect to draft 14 additional players?? Probably not, but it gives us options galore. Summary: as long as we draft smart the next decade should be a good one.

League observations: Seems salaries are escalating quiet a bit now. This was expected with the arbitration rule put in place. Hopefully we can keep our payroll down next few seasons while we rebuild our stadium then pick up some a nice veteran or two when we start to make our move again. In the meantime, spend away boys!!!!

Good times.

[umd]

Who do you like in the second half in the IL/DL?

DL - CLE, LA, DAL, PIT*

IL - WAS, WC, BAT, DAV*

What players/teams have surprised or disappointed?

DL Surprises:

Cleveland - all the pieces of Andrew's on the fly transition this offseason have worked. They've opened a 5 game lead on PIT (new GM, yes) that I didn't really expect with all of PIT's talent.

Tom Cole (TOR), Yoshi Tameike (DEN), Enrique Andujar (PAW), and YoYo (CLE) have all had under the radar first halves.

Denver will be good soon. I expect them to start buying in the offseason to make a run at that division with IND breaking up the band, SYR about to have a financial meltdown, and DAL building and tweaking.

DL Disappointments:

I thought Maine would be better. Is it another case of Title Hangover? It's not injuries this season. Enrique Zurita is the only regular to be hurt and it was a month.

Pittsburgh is absolutely loaded. 3 Sub 3.00 ERA pitchers, hitters up and down the roster, a bullpen with one reliever over 3.00 ERA. Yes, new GM, but still expected them to keep their lead.

IL Surprises:

No one really. Los Alamos got off to a fast start and cooled. Davenport going blow for blow with Windy City doesn't really surprise me too much.

DL Disappointments:

I think we're a pretty disappointing team. Everyone (Cash, Ramirez, Santoyo, DiMaggio, Kroyer) have been injured, we traded away some major players (Perales and Watts are DL allstars and Manhos has a 3.33 ERA), and we let a few glue guys (Reed, Marlin) walk. Despite that, I expected to be about 5 games over .500. Coma's sophomore slump has been a stumbling block. If he or Wences don't have amazing second halves to complement Lindsey, we're going to continue to be just average.

I thought Washington would run away from this thing by now, so I'm surprised they've played so poorly with so few injuries.

What teams made (or should make) moves before the waiver deadline?

DL

DAL added Big Jon, but I still think they need another guy at the top of the order to set the table for their power hitters.

LAD traded for DuFour, but I still think they are a quality rotation arm short for the stretch run and the playoffs.

DEN could look to add a long-term vet (or two) at the non-waiver (or even waiver) deadline, with an eye towards making a move next year.

IL

Even a small move could alter the races in each division, but I think if Davenport brought in a big time veteran bat, it could change that entire line-up and put it on a new level.


What do you predict for you own team?

I think we play much better baseball in the second half and make a run at this division. With BAL/BAT, WC/DAV there's really no shot at a wildcard. Last season we won 97 games and weren't even close.

The problem is that WAS always seems to win the important coin flips. I expect this season to be no different and wouldn't be surprised if a major injury derails us or some midnight deadline move from Pat changes things.


Who should we look out for on your team now or in the future?

Adding Jimmy Jones gives us what we lost with Watts (a switch hitting top of the order guy) and Perales (power). He's going to be an important piece to this plan.

We traded our whole draft for him, but there's still a lot to like in our system and they're all ready to start hitting The Show. I think we'll be able to compete in this division for several years, while integrating the young guys in as we go.

As far as starting pitchers go, lefties Pulido and Bell will be here as early as this season and no later than next Spring Training. Angulo should be ready in 2-3 seasons to fill out the staff. Manny Ochoa and Chris Navarrette are going to be ready for our bullpen next season, giving us an opportunity to trade some bigtime bullpen arms (Manning? Fajardo? Bonilla?) to replenish our system.

RF Dave Bryan is going to be a top flight hitter in this league and will be up within the next 2 years - giving us the ability to move an OF for more assets. Same with Tony Garza, he looks like the heir apparent in LF, so that'll give us some more flexibility going forward. Alex Gomez should be ready for his shot at 3B next spring and will probably hit a ton of homeruns and do little else. C Dave Richardson should be ready the season after.

My core is still very young, with every critical piece under 30.

[Z]

DL Disappointments:

I thought Maine would be better. Is it another case of Title Hangover? It's not injuries this season. Enrique Zurita is the only regular to be hurt and it was a month.

It kind of is injuries, but not in the way you'd think.

Danny Lebron was a 3 WAR second baseman, an All-Star as a rookie, who's suffered 15 different injuries since I drafted him. He held on gamely for years, OPSing .892 in 55 regular season games last year, but now he's a 28 year old with a .502 OPS and minor league ratings.

Jerrod Dapson was a 3 WAR center fielder, who's had 10 different injuries since I got him in 2002. He's on pace for 0.6 WAR this year.

I'm paying Jerry Brown handsomely, and be it age (32) or the annual 1-2 injuries he's suffered since I got him, he simply can't play against lefties anymore. 4 WAR -> 2 WAR right there.

And as you mentioned, Enrique Zurita, the only infielder I had left who was hitting consistently for most of the season, suffered a season-ending broken elbow in June.

Meanwhile, Robby Shumway signed with Davenport to make room for Voodoo Davila, who despite 6/5/7/5/4 ratings per my scout, is OPSing only .686.

Steve Suarez, a career .280 hitter with an established track record, is hitting only .209 against right-handed pitchers this year.

It's been a combination of extended injuries and a couple big slumps.

But we added Mulcahy, Clarkson, and Ashley in-season, and with Jerry Brown likely off the books, and likely Hernandez and Romarigues pay cuts, we'll have financial opportunities to reload.

[umd]

Mulcahy was a nice get. As for funclown's players... Buyer Beware.

[Delandis]

There is only one Alex Gomez in this league. All others are pretenders.

[Z]

Mulcahy was a nice get. As for funclown's players... Buyer Beware.

Taylor Clarkson looks pretty good to me. Very good defender at third, solid ratings, decent track record so far.

Ashley is probably a utility infielder, and maybe a very good one. Guys like that who aren't throwing tantrums about coming off the bench are a rarity in this league.

I want to add that I'm very grateful I won a title with this group of players when I did.

[funclown]

I want to add that I'm very grateful I won a title with this group of players when I did.

All you need to say really. No need for any explanations.

[tomr1962]

Hoping my team plane will crash

[Guest]

Hoping my team plane will crash