Well, well... it's been quite a long time since I had to pop into this thread! Over half a year, to be exact. All kinds of fun things have been happening since then, not the least of which being a move to a brand-new and considerably faster server (which necessitated relinking this entire thread). The new Charleston owner carried his team to an extraordinary 111-win season last year. The new Arlington owner has brought a plethora of technical advancements to our league. Oh, and the 'Crats just shipped off ace
Víctor "Alibi" Matos to the Statesmen for 3B prospect
Ralph Gunther, both players featured earlier in this thread.
We've been fortunate to have an extremely stable base of ownership (not to mention a wonderful group of guys). Today, though, we finally have an opening. Before I get to it, I should note that the PEBA is still an OOTP 9 league and will remain so at least until our upcoming offseason. I know we've got some OOTP X-only candidates on our waiting list; we'll be waiting for you upon conversion.
The Badgers are just a game out of first
Our opening is with the
Kalamazoo Badgers franchise. Kalamazoo is a team that's perpetually been on the cusp of big things but hasn't quite been able to make the push into big-time success. In their inaugural season, they won 100 games but were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. The Badgers slid to 92 wins in 2008, not good enough to qualify for the postseason. They again missed the playoffs last year despite winning 89. This year they sit at 35-33; only a .515 winning %, yet only 1 game behind Great Lakes Division-leading
Crystal Lake.
Clearly there's talent on this roster. Without a doubt, the headliner is SP
Er Hang. This brilliant Taipei native signed as a foreign free agent prior to the 2008 campaign. He had made the big league club by season's end, breaking in as a member of the bullpen. In 2009 he took over a starter's role and never looked back. His record since becoming a starter is 24-12, with an ERA near 3.00.
On the offsensive side of things, 1B
John Collins and 2B
Brett Hurst lead the way. SS
Raúl García is a darling of the scouts and possesses blazing speed but hasn't yet turned himself into a big-time big leaguer. And then, of course, there's the monster-in-waiting: big, bad 2B
Joel Swedlove, passing time at AAA
Grand Rapids by terrorizing
Global Baseball Brotherhood pitchers. With Hurst entrenched at second, Swedlove may have to break in at third base. One way or another, his time has just about come.
There will be some holes to fill. A rash of injuries has just struck the Badgers. RF
Álex Martínez, DH
Sixto Rodríguez and backup OF
Luis Flores have all recently been lost to injuries that will sideline them for extended periods of time. An incoming owner will have to tap the farm system, explore various trade avenues and/or hit the free agent market to cover for these losses. Luckily, with the PEBA being a large and active league, there are a number of possible courses for you to take.
To get started with your application,
contact me through our website. I will send you a mailing explaining our league and how you can get involved.