1986 Mid-Season Reports

[Lintyfresh85]

I blame myself for Boyd flaming out. Shouldn't have pushed the kid so hard.

[Spectre]

Catcher
Clint Lance has done more than I asked of him, hitting .272 with a .393 OBP. Sure, he's not driving in runs like he used to, but he's still playing great. He's also throwing out 62% of basestealers.

First Base
The rookie Doug West has struggled this year but I'm sticking with him to see if he turns it around. My scouts still think he can hit for some power.

Second Base
Wayne Deel was doing great until he, as usual, got hurt. Duncan Riddleberger has struggled. Deel will come back soon and hopefully will bring some nice leadership to the team in the stretch run as he was hitting .295 when he got hurt.

Third Base
Rodger Gallegos has struggled after having one of his best years in 1985. He's heating up slowly and is hitting .345 in July so far. Production from him would be helpful.

Shortstop
Ed Munce, as usual, started off slow but is starting to pick it up. He's still doing his thing on the field and is competing for another Glove Wizard award. In my weak lineup, he's hitting in the middle of the lineup and is being asked to be a run producer which I'll hopefully fix in the future. Either way, I'm happy to have him for the next few years.

Left field
Benigno Ramos is what he is- he won't hit for power at all but he will get on base and play solid defense. He's got a solid OBP and is signed for virtually nothing for the next five years. A .370 OBP for 500,000 a year? I'll take it. Let's hope he stays healthy.

Center field
Lucero Basala did admirably in fill in duty when the struggling Dave Balloun got hurt. However, I went out and got Tim O'Fay and he's hitting near .300 and doing stuff you want from your leadoff hitter... problem was, he wasn't batting leadoff and he's not happy. I'm going to try to make him happy by putting him leadoff, I hope he's happy. He could be a big part of the team if happy.

Right field
So far, the trade that I made that was panned by almost every single person in the league looks pretty good in my favor. Not only did I get a top 10 draft pick, but I also got Justin Chewning who is hitting .282 and has struck out 7 times in 220 at bats... while walking 11 times. He's on pace to drive in over 100 runs despite being on pace to only have 400 AB.

DH
Italo Cossa is not your prototypical DH but this was the way I went when Lance fell into my lap. He's doing his thing and is hitting after a slow start. I also signed him to an extension knowing full well that Clint Lance would be tough to keep. He's got a Mike Piazza arm behind the plate, but he's better than what was on the FA market next year.

Rotation
Has been up and down all year. The rotation started off like gangbusters but has been mediocre for a while now. Unlike previous years, the starters are horses and are keeping the team usually in the games.

Bullpen
Troy Sisk has been awesome. Rookie Pat Richmond is now the closer of the team and it will be interesting to see how he does. Fuentes has been inconsistent as has Scherer. Jaureguy has been bad but I traded for him mainly to have an arm for next season given my lack of bullpen depth in the minors.

Minors
Curt Dodson is hitting like a top pick, hitting above .350 every month except May. He's developing real nicely... Don Leonard had a ridiculous first start in AA but has had some ups and downs and AA seemed like the right place to start him as he's sporting a 1.16 WHIP and 49 strikeouts in 39 innings... Jerry Ferrell had a rough June but he's still only 22 and doing well in AA with 7 wins (though he hasn't won a game in a while)... Colt Guinane has 2 HR since debuting but Clarence Smythe has struggled (as I expected)... Sammy Homer was doing excellent in AA before getting hurt with a 1.08 WHIP in his first test at AA, hopefully he'll be able to continue doing his thing next year
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All in all, we're five and a half games out with two weeks before the trading deadline. The next two sims are huge for this squad and will define what happens to this team at the trading deadline. Hopefully, things go well. Otherwise, I'm fully ready to be a seller as I have some very valuable pieces for some contenders.

[Guest]

You didn't really give John much of a chance. He was doing OK for his first BLB action, IMO.

He was batting under .200

EDIT: Alright, .213, but his OPS was sub-.700

[Pat]

He was batting under .200

EDIT: Alright, .213, but his OPS was sub-.700

After just 25 games...