SIM COMPLETE - 1989 - Regular Season 7

[Clay]

What a frustrating sim. We were in every game... just couldn't pull them out.

Anyone want this one? I usually pass on the slam dunks.

[Z]

Anyone want this one? I usually pass on the slam dunks.

I would, but it would be like bringing in Mariano Rivera in the 9th inning of a 14-2 ballgame. Who is the mopup reliever of SGN?

[Pat]

After a 10-2 start, the Bats have since gone 14-18.

[Clay]

After a 10-2 start, the Bats have since gone 14-18.

[Jistic]

Still having a hard time understanding why my pitching is getting rocked so hard.

[Jake]

Are they wearing similar outfits to the chick in your avatar? I bet she's getting rocked just as hard.

[Pat]

Washington Bats (24-20) - Sim #7
1-2 @ Carolina: 1-6, 1-2, 6-5
1-2 vs. Los Alamos: 0-7, 9-12, 2-0

The Good
-Cristofor Villazon has to be the most underrated player in the BLB. An eight-inning shutout of the Bandits. On the year, Villazon is 3-1 in 8 starts, 2.53 ERA, .83 WHIP and a 40/6 K/BB split.
-How about Wes Emerson, huh? The Rule V draft pick has been one of my most consistent players of the year. Seven starts, never giving up more than three ERs in any of those starts. His current ERA of 3.05 is better than any season, at any level, in the minors.

The Bad
-This could be a long list. No one hit this week. As a team, .203 with a .611 OPS. I feel like I'm Batavia or something.
-I don't know what to do with Joe Alvarez. My scout thinks he is great, his previous years were great, but man, he is costing me a lot of games early on. He will need to get his act together soon or I will have to find someone else to close out games. Oh, yeah, Grant Lewis is out for 10 months. Fuck.

The Ugly
-According to my scout, three (Nago, Lewis and Sanchez) of my top five players, are out due to injury. That doesn't even include Brody Whiteley, R.A. Grounds or Don Elliot.

The Call-Ups
-SP Ivan Garcia made his debut: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K - WIN. Not the best, but he did get one of only two wins for my team this week.
-SS Clint Johnston also made his debut: 2/19. Bad start, but nobody hit this week. He was very slick in the field, however.

[BradZ]

Philadelphia Freedom(23-21, 1st) - Sim #7

2-1 vs Virginia
1-2 vs Davenport

Another so-so week. We just can’t get on any sort of a roll which is not unusual considering the amount of young (read: inexperienced) players we trot out on the field on a game to game basis. I’m to the point where I am happy just to see a non-disastrous sim, something just close to .500 ball. No one in the division is doing anything right now to separate themselves, either positively or negatively, and there’s a decent chance this remains a tossup race the rest of the way.

Our pitching has been top notch and is the biggest reason we find ourselves a game up in the division right now. #1 ranked starting staff and #4 ranked bullpen. Not bad considering we traded away our two best pitchers in the offseason, one which weakened the starting rotation and the other removed the anchor at the back of the bullpen.

The Alveraz trade is working out incredibly well for us (so far). We had a feeling Chad Mullen could step in and be our replacement closer and he has not disappointed. 12 saves in 13 opportunities with a sub 2.00 ERA and striking out 8.5+ batters per 9 IP. Pete Summers is providing just what we were looking for as our super-sub IFer off the bench. He’s seeing fairly consistent playing time as we try to provide more rest to Geoff Scott and Jim Newlin on a more frequent basis than recent years.

I have no delusions. The bottom could drop out at any moment and we could be in the basement at the end of the year, no doubt. But, for now, we are very pleased with our position in the standings while getting valuable experience for a handful of “green” players.

The Good

- Back to back 7-0 white-washings vs. Virginia. Joe Arredondo fell 2 outs short of getting the CG shutout in game 2 of the series and Ben Irvin showed him how it’s supposed to be done by going the distance in the game 3 shutout. Mel Woodbury went 3-11 with 1 RBI and 0 runs scored in the series. It was only 3 games, but anytime you can face him and keep a relatively clean line against him, it’s a good thing.

- The pitching staff as a whole posted an ERA of 1.83 for the week, thanks in large part to those two shutouts against VIR and another one against Davenport, our only win in that series. If we can consistently pitch like that (well, obviously not JUST like that, that would be ridiculous) I like our chances of sticking around for a bit in the Porter race.

- Geoff Scott hit 2 HR this week and batted .350 | .458 | .650 | 1.108. He hit a career high 11 HR last season. His power game appears to be reaching its potential. I think there’s a decent chance he turns into a 20-25 HR per year batter and considering the other top-notch batting attributes he shows, that may rank him in the upper echelon of players very shortly. Oh, and he just turned 24 this month.


The Bad

- A lot mediocre batting lines turned in this week from guys we really depend on. I won’t name names, but we need better production out of our established veterans on a weekly basis. Of course, facing the starting pitching brought to the table by VIR and DAV probably had a lot to do with that. Geoff Scott is the only batter with starter ABs this week that produced a solid/good line.

[Lintyfresh85]

Another week in the books... and another week that Don McGuire still has more HR's than my ENTIRE team!

[Carlos]

I think Williamson needs some more AAA time. I know he faced a very tough Maine team, but he's been too up and down with his performances. McDonald and Greene have been much more consistent and shown they belong. Williamson just needs to figure things out. He'll be back.

Until then, the California cast off is taking the fifth spot in the rotation (Erwood is heading into a mop-up role to figure things out. He hasn't been the same since his injury two years ago). 5 man rotation for Denver until after the ASB.

[Lintyfresh85]

California Kodiaks (22-22)
2-1 @ Morgantown
1-2 @ Carolina

THE GOOD

-- Double the fun - Past sim the team hit 22 doubles. Very pleased with that. Owen Gilbertson lead the charge with six. New pickup Joe Ovando even chipped in with two of his own.

-- The Kodiaks are nuts for OBP - Another week, another week where the team post a .350+ OBP. We're currently leading the IL in hits and walks so leading the league in OBP comes of course, as no surprise. Would love some more Home Runs... but when your team hits as well as the Kodiaks have... you can't really complain.

-- The Pen is mightier - Solid week for the bullpen. In 21 1/3 IP, the guys only gave up 4 ER. I'll take a 1.69 ERA every single sim.

THE BAD

-- Austin not hitting like the Six Million Dollar Man - He's not being paid 6 million a year either... But, Jared Austin put up a horrible week going 2 for 22 out of the three spot. I'm sure that's a lot of missed RBI opportunities.

THE UGLY

-- Cement Shoes - Week after week our pitching is let down by a crappy defense. BABIP for our opponents was .300 this week; you know things are bad when that actually brings down your season average.

ON-DECK

Three at Los Alamos and then four at home versus division rival Baltimore. Would love a winning sim here... but Los Alamos has played tough this year and Baltimore has an even stronger offense than I do.

[Delandis]

Baltimore Bulldogs (22-22)

0-3 vs. Los Alamos
2-1 @ Morgantown

THE GOOD

-- Gabriel Huxham (3B) has been awesome at 3rd base this year. He's not anything exceptionally special but when I can get 10/22 from anyone on your team, especially in the the bottom third of the lineup, I'm a happy camper.

-- Looks like Pat Washington (1B) did well for the 2nd consecutive week, hitting .375 with 2 bombs. A double-edged sword, he's been amazing away and sucks at home.

THE BAD

-- Amistad Cabellero (RF) has finally slowed down a bit. Though, it's more likely that we've played a lot of away games this month more than anything. Only .158 with 5 K's last week, Amistad is still fighting for that big payday. Hopefully, he'll drop his demands.

He feasts on the short right-center field in Baltimore. I'm can only hope that longtime Bulldog, Mark Mabbett (OF) will be happy with starting only away games.




ON-DECK

-- Next week 3 @ Washington and 3 @ California. We just made a trade for catcher, Romano Rodenas, that sent our best away pitcher, Dylan Lillie to Dallas. I hate the fact that I had to trade Lillie but I don't think he was going to helpful enough in Baltimore for the 7 million we were going to be paying him. This will obviously move Stafford to full-time starter and on heavy weeks such as this one, young pitcher Juan Jose Garcia will get the nod until Tommy Lang return from the DL in 3 weeks.

I will warn Dallas ahead of time, Lillie is a feast or famine pitcher. He can put together masterful days and when he's on a roll, he's a top ten pitcher. Otherwise, expect a few long balls.

[Lintyfresh85]

Andrew, what do you think of the Corrigan injury?

The guy has gone his entire career with no injuries and now he's suffered two in two years.

Is this the beginning of the end for him... or is it just a bump in the road?

[Andrew]

Andrew, what do you think of the Corrigan injury?

The guy has gone his entire career with no injuries and now he's suffered two in two years.

Is this the beginning of the end for him... or is it just a bump in the road?

I think he'll probably start to decline after this season. He has a lot of innings on his arm so it was only a matter of time before it took its toll. If he can pitch at a high level through next season I'll be happy. He's my 3rd starter at this point so no longer expecting the 20 win seasons out of him.

I'm more upset by Pete Hudder's injury last season. He was looking like the next good young pitcher in Maine but my scout is starting to sour on him and his performance has been off which strongly suggests he took a ratings hit. I like Toby Phelps and Riccardo Bollati though so I think I'll be able to fill the holes pretty well.

[Pat]

I think he'll probably start to decline after this season. He has a lot of innings on his arm so it was only a matter of time before it took its toll. If he can pitch at a high level through next season I'll be happy. He's my 3rd starter at this point so no longer expecting the 20 win seasons out of him.

I think "Four Eyes" will still be good for a few more seasons.

Joe Chavaragga, age 32-35, was a sub 2.00 ERA.
Joe Chavaragga, age 36-38, was a 3.00+ ERA.

Romano Gonzalez, age 32-34, was a 2.50 ERA.
Romano Gonzalez, age 35-38, was a 3.00+ ERA.

I think Corrigan will take a step back in performance after this season, but he can still definitely be a 200 inning, 15+ win, 3.00-3.50 ERA, type pitcher, for a few more years.