2019 @ The Break

[Pat]

2019 @ The Break

Team:
-Who is your MVP?
-Who/what is your biggest surprise?
-Who/what is your biggest disappointment?
-What are your 2nd half expectations?
-What has been your best/worst transaction?

League:
-Biggest surprise in BLB?
-Best team in each league?
-Award leaders?
-What are your 2nd half predictions?
-Who has done the best GM job?

[BDub]

2019 @ The Break

Team:
-Who is your MVP?
Marques Edwards, our only All Star. I think Milledge come in a close second though.

-Who/what is your biggest surprise?
Dave Santa winning the starting catcher job. The guy has played pretty well thus far.

-Who/what is your biggest disappointment?
The team. I know we are better than our record.

-What are your 2nd half expectations?
We turn the ship around and make a run at a playoff spot. Obviously the Wild Card variety

-What has been your best/worst transaction?
Worst transaction is Dusty McKay. I brought him in to be the starter behind the dish but hasnt panned out. He has lost the starting job to Dave Santa.

[Pat]

Seattle Pilots @ The Break

Team MVP = SP Jamie Coffman (10-4, 2.68 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 100.2 IP, 71 K) - Coffman currently leads all BLB SPs in GO% at 74.2%.

Biggest Surprise = The teams record since Dave Dunham was lost for the season and the "fire sale" took place. On June 25th, the Pilots were 4th in the Bock with a 36-34 record, good for 8th best in the IL. Since then Seattle has gone 13-3 and now sit in first place in the Bock and just two games back of Batavia for the IL's best record.

Biggest Disappointment = OF Ethan Stuart (.187 AVG, .550 OPS, -0.4 WAR) - I actually entered the season with high expectations for Stuart. Last season the 33-year-old, when on the field, was actually really good: .820 OPS, 136 OPS+ and 1.6 WAR in just 52 games. In Spring Training, he should no rust at all mashing a team best .944 OPS. I knew he was likely to spend some time on the disabled list again this year but when he has played, he has been poor. He is still a fan favorite but for $27M, he's probably the least valuable player in the BLB right now.

Second Half = I don't see how we can keep this up. We have a lot of depth with average talent but a lot of this team is AAAA-types and have been pretty lucky. At 49-39 Seattle only has to go 33-41 to finish above .500 for the season. Not a lofty goal but our owner wants a winning record and that is our top priority at this point. Anything above that, is gravy.

Worst Transaction = Signing 37-year-old Jamie McInturf for $8.5M and thinking he could be our every day catcher. Something he hasn't done since 2009.

BLB @ The Break

Biggest Surprise = Pawtucket at 39-49.

Best Teams = Wilmington and Washington.

Award Leaders = Maybe later.

2nd Half Predictions = DL Playoffs = WIL*, DAL*, MAI, PIT, TOR, HAR. IL Top 6 = WAS*, WC*, BAT, NY, PHI, DVS

Best GM = JJLinn - Indy finished 63-99 last season and had some tough decisions to make at the end of last season with multiple players headed to Free-Agency. JJ hasn't been in the BLB in ages, but somehow has the Clowns at 45-44 at the break. I don't think anyone saw this coming.

[liquidcrash]

Team:

Who is your MVP?

Tristan Moody. He's been fantastic at the plate for us since Opening Day and has carried the lineup. Moody's a big reason why our lineup ranks so highly and that's kept us near the top of the Stout.

-Who/what is your biggest surprise?

Dave Schneider. I came into this season not knowing who would start in LF. Schneider had to beat out a couple of other contenders in Spring Training for the job, but he's seized the opportunity. Now he's probably the leader for IL New Brew and is looking more like a guy to build around going forward.

-Who/what is your biggest disappointment?

My starting rotation, particularly the back end of it. Lippert's been a rock and Robertson has also done very well. After those 2, it's been a season of inconsistency. Villasenor hasn't built on his solid rookie year, Garton is on the brink of losing his spot. Ed Carroll has been hurt. There's too much talent here to rank in the bottom half of the IL in Starter ERA.

-What are your 2nd half expectations?

I'd love to say that we're going to win the Stout, but Batavia is ahead of us and Philadelphia and New York aren't going anywhere either. I expect us to make the playoffs and have home field for the Wildcard round.

-What has been your best/worst transaction?

This season? Hopefully trading for Herrington will be something I look back on as a positive. The minor FA signings of Mao, Roberts and Fajardo look pretty good so far. Signing Tom Smith isn't doing much for me. It was a quiet offseason here, so not much going on so far. Maybe something bigger can still come my way.

League:

-Biggest surprise in BLB?

Seattle still leading the Bock, maybe. I thought they might be 4th in this division, really. I should have known better. I also thought Pawtucket still had enough star power to be a playoff team and they've really struggled.

-Best team in each league?

Wilmington and Batavia.

-Award leaders?

Without looking too closely:
Stout Slugger- Surmeier (WIL) and Gosser (BAL)
Pale Ale- Driggs (DAL) and Osborn (NYK). These are both really tough to call, lots of guys in the mix.
New Brew- Anderson (TOR) and Schneider (WAS)

-What are your 2nd half predictions?

I expect the best teams in their league to flex their muscles a bit. I still think Pawtucket has a run in them to at least make it interesting.

-Who has done the best GM job?

Me. Duh. Besides that, I like what Spear has done to get some good players around his young stars. It's hard to argue with the success Wilmington has had this year. I never really know who to pick for this award, sometimes the best moves just take a couple seasons to pan out.

[Delandis]

2019 @ The Break

Team:
-Who is your MVP?
That's an easy one, D.J. Gosser. His play this season has even surprised me, even though I thought he could be this type of player coming out of Oklahoma. The amazing thing to me is he's doing it with pretty much no help and while we are terrible. If he goes on to win SS, I'd bet this would be the first time the IL SS winner comes from a team in last place.

-Who/what is your biggest surprise?
Our biggest surprise is also our biggest disappointment: our pitching staff.
No one pitched well during the 1st half of the season and I have no idea why. We should have been better.

-What are your 2nd half expectations?
I think we can be better and it looks like we may be trending to a better second half. Our ERA for July has been the best monthly ERA to date. If we could get some type of help for Gosser from guys like D. J. LaRossa and Malik Roberson, we could finally see a month with a winning record again.

-What has been your best/worst transaction?
Easily our trade for Romero. I get bit in the ass with one of these bailout transactions once every decade or so when we are grasping for anything to remain relevant. I didn't expect Romero to be so pissy about leaving Dallas. I think he still has a role to play at the BLB level, but he'll have to get his attitude together first and realize that he's not a star anymore before that happens. He can do all of that in Annapolis.

League:
-Biggest surprise in BLB?
-I'm going to go with the Mohawks. I thought they would take a step back this year but they are just chugging along with a lot of players like Thomas and Bound having pretty good years. It is nice to see.

-Best team in each league?
Wilmington/Washington

-Award leaders?
-Surmeier/Gosser
-Toste/Evans
-Mercado/Bauer
-Sisson/Schneider

-What are your 2nd half predictions?
-I think WC goes on a bit of a 2nd half run to take the Bock, while Batavia runs away with the Stout and the best record in the IL. I think Pitt keeps it close but Wilmington wins the Ale, while the Sharks are just waiting for those few days of rest for winning Lager.

-Who has done the best GM job?
I'd have to go with Z. That was another team I didn't think could maintain their success going forward, but he proved me wrong.

[Z]

2019 @ The Break

Maine Guides:

Who is your MVP?

It's Voodoo Davila, like it almost always is. What more is there to say?

Who/what is your biggest surprise?

Diego Flores, at 38 years old, is giving us a .289/.406/.458/.864 split and a ton of valuable veteran leadership.

Honorable mention to Hector Feliciano and his .381/.458/.619/1.022 split.

Who/what is your biggest disappointment?

The God of Injuries? Everyone's been banged up. It sucks.

Shane Burrows is on a death spiral right now. If I had to pick a player, it's him. He might be on his way out.

What are your 2nd half expectations?

I still harbor hopes we can catch Wilmington. A top-two Wild Card spot is probably a more reasonable goal.

What has been your best/worst transaction?

Signing Flores for $6 million looks terrific.

I'm usually pretty harsh on myself but I don't think I made a bad move. In hindsight, I might not have traded for Feliciano. The unpredictable slew of injuries since his arrival means it would have been nice to have more financial wiggle room, which his bloated contract no longer allows us. But I'm not going to beat myself up for it.

Brewers League Baseball

Biggest surprise in BLB?

That Los Alamos is bad surprises me. I expected them to compete for the Bock title.

Best team in each league?

Certainly Wilmington in the Domestic League and Batavia in the Import League. It looks clear to me who the best teams in the first half were.

What are your 2nd half predictions?

PAIN.

Who has done the best GM job?

I tip my cap here to JJLinn and liquidcrash.

[Spear]

-Who is your MVP?
Dylan Owens - continuing to prove he's a top player in the league.

-Who/what is your biggest surprise?
DH - Joey Folland. Started the year in AAA Ottawa. Robby O'Neal got off to a slow start in the first two weeks, Folland replaced him and hasn't looked back. O'Neal on the other hand is tearing up AAA and knocking on the door now.

-What are your 2nd half expectations?
Keep hovering a few games over .500 and sneak into the playoffs!

-What has been your best/worst transaction?
All of our transactions to get relievers in the offseason. We traded with Pat to get some bum, he's gone to Pawtucket now I think. Likewise, got Shimada from California, he's gone.

We've had to replace all of them with RJ Manning and Chaz Landis.

Trading Palmer for Michie was a bad trade but we got Palmer back and he's succeeding.

League:
-Biggest surprise in BLB?
-NY Knights. Spectre has turned that team around from a year ago. Their staff is carrying them to a nice first half.

-Best team in each league?
Wilmington/Batavia

-What are your 2nd half predictions?
I think everything will stay the course except for maybe an IL stout team tailing off. Not sure who it would be.

-Who has done the best GM job?
JJ - it's tough coming in and turning around a team that had a losing record the year before.

[Cory]

Team:
-Who is your MVP?

Jimmy Gray. We've been a winning club since we traded for him last year. He has given us stability in CF, and turned our weakest defensive position into our best. He's also batting well. He's not tearing it up, but a guy that plays lights out defense in a position as important as CF and is an asset at the plate is something I can build a team around.

-Who/what is your biggest surprise?

Kaleb Marlow. He started the year in AAA after losing his starting spot to Jayden Rogers last season. When Tressler went down in May, Marlow got another call to the show with Rogers filling in at SS. Again, he's not a guy that's tearing it up, but he's added 60 points to his BA and 150 points to his OPS over last season's numbers. He's earned back his spot in the starting lineup, and Rogers has returned to his backup role.

-Who/what is your biggest disappointment?

Fred Ratley. I think I just pushed this guy through the system too quickly. I'm still holding out hope that he becomes something worthwhile, but I was really disappointed that he regressed from last season. He's a liability in the field and at the plate.

-What are your 2nd half expectations?

We've always been a second half team, and I expect that to continue. Our record has improved each month of the season so far. At this point I expect to win the Bock, though Pat and UMD aren't going to make that easy.

-What has been your best/worst transaction?

By far our best move was trading for Johhny Talley. This deal makes me wish that this game supported conditions on trades. I was hesitant to pull the trigger on Talley because he had the ratings, but not the stats. Since his move to Chicago he's got a 1.76 ERA and 0.65 WHIP. His pitching has improved significantly in every single metric. I feel like I stole from Delandis on this one.

Our worst move has to be trading away Kelsey. He didn't have a spot anymore with Tressler winning the SS job, so it made sense at the time. I also liked getting free of one of the last pieces of the Jistic legacy. However, when Tressler struggled to start the season and then went out for a month we were left scrambling. It worked out, with Marlow panning out at 2B and Tressler rebounding in a big way after coming back from his injury. However, I'd love to have that Kelsey safety net at both positions right now. Hopefully my youngsters keep progressing and this never comes back to bite me.

League:
-Biggest surprise in BLB?

Los Alamos and Seattle. I really thought we'd be seeing the Amigos at the top of our division and the Pilots at the bottom. Instead it's the opposite. On paper, Los Alamos looks tough, and with Dunham going out Seattle doesn't. I guess that's why we play the games.

-Best team in each league?

For the DL it has to be Wilmington. They are easily the best offensive club in the BLB and arguably the 2nd best defensive club in the DL.

The IL is a little tougher. I'm going to say Batavia. They're 1st in runs allowed and 2nd in runs scored. It's hard to go against a team that can be top 2 in both of the only two stats that really count.

-Award leaders?

SS - Owens and Gosser
PA - Driggs and Talley. Would have been Dunham if he didn't get injured.
NB - Sisson and Schneider. Toss up between Sisson and Anderson from Toronto.

-What are your 2nd half predictions?

I think Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Washington and Windy City all make runs to at least compete for their respective divisions. I think that Seattle and Philadelphia will show their age and wear down over the second half. I expect Denver to be back in the mix once Healey comes back.

-Who has done the best GM job?

Pat. He's got Seattle in 1st going into the break despite losing his Ace pitcher for the season. I've been thoroughly impressed with his ability to make an expansion team competitive and remain competitive. I'll be interested to see how he fares in the second half of the season, but so far I think he's done the most with the least.


I have to say that this was really fun to do. It's shown me how little I follow what's happening in the DL, which I think is a good thing. I could easily come up with opinions on each team in the IL, and most of their starting players. In the DL it took some research to figure out who was doing what. This is the way baseball should be. Reminds me of the break between the AL and NL when I was growing up. I'm loving the decision to restructure and do away with interleague play.

[mike]

2019 @ The Break

Team:
-Who is your MVP?
Jamie O. 25 dingers and 78 ribs at the break.

-Who/what is your biggest surprise?
Vickers becoming Jose altuve

-Who/what is your biggest disappointment?
That I can't complete a trade for a rh outfielder


-What are your 2nd half expectations?
We get hot

-What has been your best/worst transaction?
I still think Zhang is going to be a stud

League:
-Biggest surprise in BLB?
LOS alamos

-Best team in each league?
Wilmington and Batavia

-Award leaders?
-What are your 2nd half predictions?
Someone will win their divisions

-Who has done the best GM job?
Sneaky vote for rob here, he's managed to keep his team in the mix after losing a bunch of key pieces, he's intergrated his youth and his vets have been solid. That's a scary team.

[Delandis]

-What has been your best/worst transaction?

By far our best move was trading for Johhny Talley. This deal makes me wish that this game supported conditions on trades. I was hesitant to pull the trigger on Talley because he had the ratings, but not the stats. Since his move to Chicago he's got a 1.76 ERA and 0.65 WHIP. His pitching has improved significantly in every single metric. I feel like I stole from Delandis on this one.

You shouldn't.

Most times when I make deals to move guys, it is usually at or below market because I'd rather just have guys moved rather than sitting on an asset and let their value continue to plummet.

For all the crap I get about my stadium, it is just plain tough to find pitchers who can pitch in Phillips Field successfully. Unfortunately, I don't think Talley has the make up to do so. He gets rattled pretty easily it seems and Phillips Field is not the park to be shaky after you give up a home run to someone.

I'm happy to see him have success. I truly think that with the confidence he's gained from going to The Mansion, he will help push you past DVS and Seattle.

[Delandis]

Someone will win their divisions

-Who has done the best GM job?
Sneaky vote for rob here, he's managed to keep his team in the mix after losing a bunch of key pieces, he's intergrated his youth and his vets have been solid. That's a scary team.

I agree. I tend to kind of overlook NO but they are quietly consistent like LA.

[Guest]

-Who is your MVP?

Izzy Briseno and Robby Scriber. Briseno has provided stability to my offense while a bunch of other guys have struggled or haven't lived up to expectations. Scriber has been unreal and is the main reason why we're so good in one-run/extra inning games.

-Who/what is your biggest surprise?

Pat Beckel. Started the year in AA and wasn't really on my radar, but I brought him up after Morales and Zhao were injured and he's done nothing but hit, just as he did in the minors.

-Who/what is your biggest disappointment?

R.J. Cheek and Joey Maurer. I was going to mention Cardona as well, but I think he's finally starting to click.

I thought Cheek was going to be a good all around 3B...wasn't going to hit above .250, but I figured he'd be a walk machine who could play good defense and hit 15-20 homers/steal a few bases. Unfortunately, it seems like he completely forgot how to hit.

As for Maurer, he was very good in AAA this year, but got completely demolished when I called him up. I was hoping he'd be able to give me some decent innings and at least keep the ERA below 5, but he was completely overmatched. Gave up 10 homers in 7 starts.

-What are your 2nd half expectations?

I'm hoping we can sneak into the playoffs, but I'll take 82-80.

-What has been your best/worst transaction?

Best were trading for Kayden Walker and signing Scriber, although the OF I traded to Pittsburgh looks promising. Worst was probably giving Zhao 5 years, but I still think he's going to be a good player.


Best Teams: Wilmington and Batavia
Stout Sluggers: Surmeier (WIL) - Gosser (BAL)
GM doing best job: Pat keeping Seattle afloat post-Dunham is pretty damn impressive.