BLB @ 1/2 - 2022

[Pat]

Expectations?

Predictions?

Surprises?

Disappointments?

[funclown]

Pawtucket at the Break


Expectations: To be competitive , but realistically win or be even with the mediocre ballclubs and get hammered by the elite teams. Keep developing young talent. Getting very much into the micro manage phase of some prospects at the AA & AAA level. Least one of our 3 rookie starting pitchers to show some signs of becoming a BLB quality player.

Predictions: Team should win between 72-74 games. Be nice to see a winning month in September. Like to see both Lynn & Lawrence make the playoffs ,but Lynn is struggling at the moment. SP- Sloper , 2B R.J. McGlashing, 3B/1B , 3B Johnny Schara will be up in September with the hopes of playing full-time in 2023. Former 2nd rounder SS Alex Velez will also get a look.

Surprises: Despite 3 top 40 call-ups fall off, having a top5 farm system. C Tom Padgett has been a pleasant surprise as he replaced Dave P a living legend. How terrible SP Zack Cook has been.

Dissapointments: When your 8 games below .500 there is usually many, but none more then watching Marco Carrasco, J.D. Einhorn & Dave Sloper fare so poorly as rookies. I get it, they don't come up and dominate like they use to, but had a simple idea one would be stable, one would be eh and come on as the season progresses and one would struggle. At the break Sloper is back in AAA , Einhorn is WILDLY inconsistent from start to start and Carrasco just seems lost and probably best in the bullpen. I could actually have all 3 back down to AAA, but someone has to start for this team!! Minor shout out to the bullpen also. We actually made a few trades this offseason and even signed a guy or two. As I stated earlier this year I no longer get bullpen hence why we drafted three potential set-up/ closers...least from what my scout said.

Overall: This team keeps you busy for sure.

[Pat]

Seattle at the Break


Expectations: Our owner set a target of "playing close to .500" ball. At 42-40, his current mood is still unhappy. I thought with the additions in the off-season and the growth of a young team, .500 was our goal. I thought we would likely play competitive baseball throughout the season but didn't expect this to be a playoff team in 2022.

Predictions: I think Seattle keeps the current pace and finishes as the 6th seed in the IL playoffs. Baltimore, Phoenix, Washington, Batavia and Windy City have more talented clubs at this point, and I think Seattle is similarly rated to Philly, New York and Denver. The difference will be late in the year when the schedules switch to 100% divisional games.

Surprises: Can I say Ulloa? He's currently on pace to shatter the home run record and might end the season as the BLB's #1 hitter. I kinda lucked into this one. I didn't even offer Ulloa in FA Sim #1. Sorry Liquid.

Disappointments: The defense. I know we weren't going to be near the top of the league but I've lost count of how many games we botched by having multiple errors. We have a few good defenders on the club but majority are subpar at their position and it adds up.

Overall: Seattle is 20-10 over it's last 30 and just swept the RoadRunners and Riders on back to back sims. The lineup is deadly and the bullpen has emerged as top 5 in the IL. If the rotation and defense can be slightly better in the 2nd half, we might actually be a threat come playoff time.

[PaulC]

Seattle at the Break

Seattle is similarly rated to Philly, New York and Denver. The difference will be late in the year when the schedules switch to 100% divisional games.

Surprises: Can I say Ulloa? He's currently on pace to shatter the home run record and might end the season as the BLB's #1 hitter. I kinda lucked into this one. I didn't even offer Ulloa in FA Sim #1. Sorry Liquid.

To steal from you...

#parkfactors

home 0.403/0.463/0.849 with 21 home runs
road 0.288/0.335/0.545 with 11 home runs

Hopefully Seattle gets a home game, or Albert Pujols Ulloa turns into Mike Napoli Ulloa.

[Pat]

To steal from you...

#parkfactors

home 0.403/0.463/0.849 with 21 home runs
road 0.288/0.335/0.545 with 11 home runs

I've mentioned this numerous times and therefore I agree. Almost every IL park is anti-RH HR. Seattle is the outlier.

[liquidcrash]

Washington Bats - 49-32, 2nd in Stout

Expectations- With our current group, the expectation is to compete for the Stout title every season and be among the "favorite" teams to win the whole thing. That might not always be the case, but there's enough talent on this team to think they are at minimum a safe bet to make the playoffs. So far, we're on track to do that even if Baltimore is going to be difficult to beat out for the division this season. If we can duplicate the first half record and finish with 98 wins, it would be a very good season.

Surprises- CJ Turnbow. I wanted Ulloa badly this offseason, but bidding got slightly too high for me (clearly I was wrong). Thankfully, my in-house option at 1B, Turnbow, has put together a great first half to take some of the sting away from losing out on the BLB's greatest ever player. Turnbow ranks 4th in the IL in OPS, and is on pace to set career highs in most offensive categories. He's been a key reason we lead the IL in runs scored at the halfway point.

Disappointments- The pitching staff hasn't done the job they did last season. A repeat performance of last season's record shattering performance was never going to happen, but I didn't this kind of fall off coming, especially from the bullpen. Jaylen Mitchell opted out and Dave Honea was lost for the year, so the back of the rotation was a big question mark, though hopefully the recent addition of Calligan will help fix that issue. But my bullpen has been poor, ranking 10th in the IL. Israel Rodriguez is clearly not the same player he has been throughout his career, while JP Lawrence and Frank Rico have also not lived up to expectations, though I'm optimistic things will improve. In the lineup, Dave Seibert has lost all ability to hit.

Prediction - I don't think this team has what it takes to win the Stout this season. Baltimore has the upper hand, particularly with their pitching depth. But, I think this team can be the top wildcard. Hopefully we'll save some wins for the postseason, where we usually collapse.

Overall - It's hard to complain too loudly with a 49 win opening half of the season. We're still in the thick of the race, even if this team isn't quite at the level last year's was. If Calligan can solidify the rotation and some relievers start playing up to their abilities, we should stay in contention for a 4th consecutive Stout title.

[funclown]

I've mentioned this numerous times and therefore I agree. Almost every IL park is anti-RH HR. Seattle is the outlier.

I still remember Batlimore paying a visit to Pawtucket back during interleague.

[Spear]

Toronto Canadians- 49-34, 2nd in Ale

Expectations- Division Title. We had a horrible start to the year but the team has finally taken shape and we're chasing Pittsburgh. Gaining ground every SIM.

Surprises- Aidan Gay. He's returned to his stellar 2017 - 2019 form that he had in Death Valley. We are getting great value out of his 1 year deal $560K and you better believe Gay is looking for a big deal in the offseason. We are negotiating but we might let him walk as our rotation will look different next year with Ron Robertson back in the mix.

Disappointments- Bullpen. We know it was going to be an area of weakness. We've been able to band aid the pen for now and Chet Linseman has been a nice surprise back there. But this is something we need to improve on in the offseason.

Prediction - I think we'll fight with Pittsburgh back and forth for the rest of the year and we'll end up winning the division in the last weekend of the season.

Overall - Funclown called us an elite team. What an honor from the clown himself. It's been a long frustrating few years during our rebuild. We're enjoying every SIM and happy to be finally playing productive BLB baseball. It's so much sweeter after a rebuild, watching this core come through the system and now reach their full potential.

[funclown]

Toronto Canadians- 49-34, 2nd in Ale


Overall - Funclown called us an elite team. What an honor from the clown himself. It's been a long frustrating few years during our rebuild. We're enjoying every SIM and happy to be finally playing productive BLB baseball. It's so much sweeter after a rebuild, watching this core come through the system and now reach their full potential.

In today's world rebuilding is frowned upon.

[Pat]

In today's world rebuilding is frowned upon.

Winners only win.

[funclown]

Winners only win.

"Losers always whine about trying they're best. Winners come home and fuck the prom queen"

[umd]

In today's world rebuilding is frowned upon.

Tank to a title.

[funclown]

Tank to a title.

Lol, remember you saying that. Had to admit, 5 year plan worked like a charm.

[Guest]

Winners only win.

We're gonna have so much winning that everyone's gonna get tired of it

[Delandis]

Bulldogs at the Break


Expectations:Our expectation this year, is to win the Stout. Last year we were a very good team and in my opinion, I think we are even more dangerous in 2020. We now have three pitchers on the Top 20 List as 25 year old hurler, Jerrod Blick has reappeared to join his teammates, SP Willie Fajardo and SP Alex Dominguez. Our pitching is just filthy right now as we lead the BLB in ERA and K's while just trailing the Blues in WHIP and HA.

Predictions: As usual, the Stout will come down to the final weeks but this time, I think we have what it takes to win the division.

Surprises: Our biggest surprises this year has been the play of our young call-ups. Whether it is 3B Pat Femrite becoming an everyday third baseman, OF Dave Haba exceeding all expectations as a rookie, rookie pitcher Geoff Marlor making me happy that so many teams passed on him in trade negotiations, or IF Bobby Preston rekindling the power stroke he showed at Baylor, I couldn't be more happy with what these young guys are bringing to the table.

Dissapointments: I don't have many because the team is just playing exceptionally well but if I had to choose, it would be the play of infielder Pat Bryan. I had such high hopes for Pat and when he played well in 2020 I thought he'd finally turned the corner and would be our everyday second baseman going forward. Then he struggled at the plate in 2021 and has been even worse this year. He'll find himself in Annapolis for the second half of 2022 as he's had more chances than most to play more consistently.

Overall: I think we have the talent to make it out of the IL this year. We just need to stay healthy and catch a few lucky breaks.