SIM COMPLETE - 1992 - SIM 5

[funclown]

I keep waiting for Sammy Gaines to wake up and realize that he's Sammy Gaines and not Pete Kellum. It hasn't happened yet. Season OPS sits at 1.083.

Which is good, because Rex Morgan is OPSing only .605.

Morgan was a one hit wonder?

[Pat]

Washington Bats - SIM 5 - (16-16; 3rd)
2-1 vs. Philadelphia: W 6-5, L 1-3, W 4-3
2-1 @ California: W 6-3, L 3-8, W 4-3
Hey Zabel, two outta three. Feels like old times..... Pretty solid sim for DC. Philly and Cali are solid ball clubs and we won both series. Hard fought. Good stuff.

The Good
I think Mike Murdock likes playing first instead of catcher. The seventh-year-vet is on pace for a career year and it might because of less stress on his knees. Z can attest to the stress of being in the squatting position for long periods of time. Murdock is now rated as the 6th best hitter in the BLB.

The Bad
Multiple hitters are having slow starts to the year. MAP, Grounds, Abbott, etc, are all struggling at the plate. The impending Free-Agency could be looming over both Grounds and MAPs respective heads.

The Injured
Son of a bitch! Clint Johnston is out three weeks! The young SS was on pace for a career year. Hopefully no set backs.

Shaw Barnes is still out for a few more weeks, but Free-Agent signee Larry Headington returns this week after two weeks on the DL.

What's Next?
Three @ Chicago, three @ Batavia....should be a pretty good test for the .500 Bats.

[Jake]

I swear we're not this bad. 1-5 sim. I'm just kind of laughing. We can't get anyone on the same page week to week... it's uncanny. One week the bottom of the lineup hits, the next its the top. Then the middle after that.

One bright spot is our bullpen. They've really been solid.

As far as Wilkerson, I think he's fine. He had a really bad first week - but since then he's been good including three straight starts where he posted a cumulative .93 WHIP. But, like you said, a couple un timely bombs have his ERA looking a little rough. He'll calm down, I think / hope.

[funclown]

I swear we're not this bad. 1-5 sim. I'm just kind of laughing. We can't get anyone on the same page week to week... it's uncanny. One week the bottom of the lineup hits, the next its the top. Then the middle after that.

One bright spot is our bullpen. They've really been solid.

As far as Wilkerson, I think he's fine. He had a really bad first week - but since then he's been good including three straight starts where he posted a cumulative .93 WHIP. But, like you said, a couple un timely bombs have his ERA looking a little rough. He'll calm down, I think / hope.

You spent alot of money on this team. Bang for buck???

[Jake]

You spent alot of money on this team. Bang for buck???

Can't take it with ya!

[Carlos]

Can't take it with ya!

Exactly. Might as well spend the cash if it's going to vanish.

[Sully]

Wildcats are a fun group to watch. I'm enjoying this team, and what I've got for the future.

[funclown]

2.) For another lopsided stat check out stolen bases. Virginia had 35, Pawtucket had 1.

Oh yeah! After last week make that FOUR! Tied for 11th on the DL.

Suck it monthly media!

[Matt]

4-2 (17-15 overall)

2-1 vs. Carolina
2-1 vs. Davenport

I guess this week we owe our record to our POTW...OF Hsuang-tsung Nan. He won game one vs. Carolina with a walk off solo HR in the 10th, he won game two vs. Carolina with a bottom of the 9th two run single. Overall it was nice to see this team finally hitting, all though Ednams is still in a huge slump hitting .228 with 1 HR so far this year.

On the pitching side Gonzales got shelled the one game, and newly called up Tanner did another. Tanner only gave up 4 hits...but 3 of them were HR's. We are hoping for a better showing this week vs. Morgantown. The bullpen is shaky with Basil still posting a 5.74 ERA. Bayer is playing like Bayer again though with 9 saves and a 1.17 ERA to date.

[Delandis]

Baltimore Bulldogs (22-10, 1st in Porter)

0-3 vs. Davenport
3-0 vs. Carolina

Wow, definitely underestimated the Brawlers as they came into our house with a broom in hand. Disappointingly, we lost all three games by one run.
We'd like to thank Davenport for allowing us to salvage our week by using that same broom against Carolina in the following series.

The Week in Review

- Louis and Billy Ray: For our pitching staff, our strength is usually our starters ability to keep runs off the board. This past week, the bullpen and rotation traded places as the starters kept putting our relievers in harms way, allowing 21 of the 28 total earned runs given up by our team.

- Under the Belt: Dani Saucido started his first big league game and got a win last week. He went seven innings, allowing 8 hits, 3 earned runs, and racking up 7 strikeouts. Obviously not a world beating stat line, but I believe Salcido will become a very solid #3 pitcher in our rotation with the potential to lead the IL in strikeouts.

-Stop Rushing Me: We are going against all conventional wisdom have decided to promote top BLB prospect, Victor Escamilla. Unfortunately, (OF) Coy McPherson's ego was interfering with his on field performance. I'm about 95% sure Escamilla, who is a much better talent than Coy, will at least appreciate the opportunity to play at the highest level and put in the effort to make a positive impact on the game.


The Injured
None(thank you BLB Gods or alternatively named, Mr. CFO)

Next
We head on a road trip to face the team with the 2nd best record in the IL, the Virginia Colonials. After that, we continue the Stout theme by heading to Wilmington for three games.


Predictions: 1-2 at Virginia / 2-1 at Wilmington

[BradZ]

Philly Freedom (16-16; 6.0 GB)
1-2 @ WAS: L: 5-6,W: 3-1, L: 3-4
1-2 vs WIL: W: 3-1, L: 2-4, L: 1-2

Our Pythagorean record projects to a 19-13 record based on run differential, but our shaky bullpen (last in the IL in ERA) is undermining the successes we are seeing elsewhere (our rotation leads the league in ERA, albeit via smoke and mirrors).

The Good

- Doug Miles - He’s bound to get frustrated soon by the bullpen mucking up his efforts. He’s 2-1 on the year despite leading the IL in ERA, QS’s, K’s and WHIP. Too many times already in this short season the bullpen has wasted fine efforts from our Ace.

- Denny Erwood - Picked up a victory in his start. 8IP | 7H | 1ER | 6K. I like Erwood. He’s easy on the budget and he gives a decent effort out of the bottom of the rotation. Quality guy.

- Joe Arredondo - He’s on his last legs, so I need to give him props when he goes out and gives this kind of effort: 8IP | 4H | 1ER | 1K. He’s off to a really good start considering his advanced age, so we’ll appreciate whatever he is able to give us this year, his last season with us and probably final season before hanging up his spikes.

The Bad

- Joe Orozco - We lost 4 games this week and Orozco lost three of them. He’s unhappy that he’s in the pen and that may be impacting his performance . . . or he may just suck. He’s got a few weeks to prove one way or the other before he gets shown the door.

- We had a 2.83 ERA as a team this week and won 2 games. Our bullpen is a bit more of a dumpster fire right now than what we envisioned. I knew we’d give games away throughout the year because they weren’t expected to perform as well as Freedom bullpens past, but this is not good. We’ll be mixing, matching, and plugging holes to try to find some combination that is at least respectable.

What’s Next

3 @ CAR; 3 vs. LAM

[Sully]

Like Pat on a Saturday night, this thread desperately needs more penis.

[Clay]

I fear for the BLB when my team actually starts playing well.

[Pat]

Like Pat on a Saturday night, this thread desperately needs more penis.

I get the joke...but why does this thread need more penis?

[Sully]

I fear for the BLB when my team actually starts playing well.

Sadly, I agree. Your pitching could be better, especially the pen, and yet you're still ranked 4th or better in the IL in most pitching categories. O'Hegarty and Phillips are struggling to find their stroke, yet your offense is still ranked Top 2 in nearly every offensive category.

Baltimore looks like your closest competition, however, it's unfortunate Gil O'Moore can't pitch every game. Washington will come around, and probably presents your toughest competition just because their staff looks to be better than the Bulldogs. I guess the two teams everyone thinks should compete with you have too many holes. Maybe one catches fire like Pawtucket did last year and gives you your money's worth in the playoffs, but I think we're heading towards another season of Colonial domination.