OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Heartland Baseball League: 1984 and Beyond

HerbD · 04-01-2013, 01:36 AM

VS

The History
This will be the first time that either South Bend or Evansville make an appearance in the Heartland Series. The Silver Sox only other above .500 finish was in the Heartland Baseball League's first season when they managed to win 74 games but only finished fourth in the North League. Since then they have had five consecutive losing seasons. The Twisters have had just a little more success than their opponents having two winning seasons before this year. 76 wins in 1978 garnered them a second place finish in the South and 73 wins in 1981 put them in a tie for second place just one game out of the postseason.

Each team boast a few postseason veterans most notable are South Bend's Leonard Boyd who has appeared in the Heartland Series three times, each with Canton, and has an HBL Championship on his resume. Enrique Ortiz and Sislau Nicolescu were also on that championship team in Canton. Robinson Velazquez has had great success in his only postseason appearance. The Evansville outfielder was named the Heartland Series MVP after hitting .452 and leading Cedar Rapids to the 1978 title.

Silver Sox OF Joe Jackson
Offense
South Bend's batting average and on base percentage is slightly higher than Evansville's but the Twisters boast a higher slugging percentage and OPS to make up for it. Evansville's 88 more extra base hits, including 49 more homers, more than offsets the 156 stolen base advantage of the Sox. South Bend has so many good outfielders they are playing them in the infield just to get tehm in the batting order. Joe Jackson(.356, 24 HR, 94 SB) won his first batting title this year at the age of 23 and Steven Evans(.338, 35 EBH, 52 SB) finished third. The Twisters' Doug Sullivan(.307, 32 HR, 106 RBI) is by far the best hitting catcher in the HBL while Velazquez finished with 30 homers in what would be considered a down year for him on the slash line.

Silver Sox Ace Sislau Nicolescu
Starting Pitching
Each team has four starters with ERAs under four with 42 year old Nicolescu(18-9, 2.92 ERA, 206 IP) having his best season and Tommy Shelton(11-6, 2.58, 167) winning the North League ERA title for South Bend. Walt Dundee(12-13, 3.68, 230) and Kelly Boyd(14-9, 3.89, 211) are very good three and four spot options. The Twisters have a slightly higher starter ERA with their top four a bit closer together in talent. Jose Garcia(17-8, 3.46, 213) is clearly the staff ace while Butch Oliver(15-14, 3.98, 255) is the innings eater. Aaron Kline(15-7, 3.55, 236) and Jesus Deleon(15-7, 3.70, 226) are very good at the back end. It could come down to who is rested enough to take the mound in game one with South Bend fighting with Rochester down to the last game of the season.

The Bullpens
Evansville has a clear advantage hear with a bullpen ERA almost a half a run better than the Silver Sox. Each team has a reliable closer with both Bill Davis(26 saves) and Walt Adams(37) blowing just four saves on the season. The Twisters have Bryan Murray(2.57), Alex Taylor(2.38), and Dave Johnson(3.56) to bridge the gap between starters and closer while Glenn Estes(2.83) and Ward Jones(3.82) are the only two reliable options for South Bend.

Twisters' catcher Doug Sullivan
Defense
South Bend fields a much better defensive team than their opponent with Steve Evans at first base the only real liability but the sacrifice is made to get his bat in the lineup and it's well worth the trade off. Jackson(+15.5 ZR) is one of the best in the HBL at getting to balls in the outfield and Walt Spence(+12) may be the best fielding catcher we've seen. Velazquez(+7.6) can still run'em down with the best of them and 1B Matt Stover(+8.6) is solid in the infield with Paul Frey(+6.8) and Dave Downing(+6.4) but Sullivan(-13) and OF Brian Jackson(-14) are among the worst in the league. Sullivan committed 23 errors, allowed 10 passed balls, and threw out only 26% of stolen base attempts making him a huge liability against a run happy South Bend squad.

Injuries
Both teams are missing an infielder for the series due to injury but South Bend will miss Ron Gordon more than Evansville will miss Gary Schneider. Gordon boast a +7 zone rating at short to go along with 49 XBH and 74 runs scored. Schneider was much less productive at third with a negative zone rating and 37 XBH.

Prediction
Although the experts believe the Silver Sox will run wild on Sullivan the inability of South Bend to win the division before the last day of the season caused them to pitch their two best starters in the last two games meaning neither will be ready for game one or two of the series. Keeping this in mind I predict Evansville in six games as the difference in their rotation from one to four is not as far as a drop in talent as it is for their opponent.
Twisters in SIX

04-01-2013, 01:36 AM	#50
HerbD All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Indiana Posts: 978	September 12, 1984: Heartland Series Preview VS The History This will be the first time that either South Bend or Evansville make an appearance in the Heartland Series. The Silver Sox only other above .500 finish was in the Heartland Baseball League's first season when they managed to win 74 games but only finished fourth in the North League. Since then they have had five consecutive losing seasons. The Twisters have had just a little more success than their opponents having two winning seasons before this year. 76 wins in 1978 garnered them a second place finish in the South and 73 wins in 1981 put them in a tie for second place just one game out of the postseason. Each team boast a few postseason veterans most notable are South Bend's Leonard Boyd who has appeared in the Heartland Series three times, each with Canton, and has an HBL Championship on his resume. Enrique Ortiz and Sislau Nicolescu were also on that championship team in Canton. Robinson Velazquez has had great success in his only postseason appearance. The Evansville outfielder was named the Heartland Series MVP after hitting .452 and leading Cedar Rapids to the 1978 title. Silver Sox OF Joe Jackson Offense South Bend's batting average and on base percentage is slightly higher than Evansville's but the Twisters boast a higher slugging percentage and OPS to make up for it. Evansville's 88 more extra base hits, including 49 more homers, more than offsets the 156 stolen base advantage of the Sox. South Bend has so many good outfielders they are playing them in the infield just to get tehm in the batting order. Joe Jackson(.356, 24 HR, 94 SB) won his first batting title this year at the age of 23 and Steven Evans(.338, 35 EBH, 52 SB) finished third. The Twisters' Doug Sullivan(.307, 32 HR, 106 RBI) is by far the best hitting catcher in the HBL while Velazquez finished with 30 homers in what would be considered a down year for him on the slash line. Silver Sox Ace Sislau Nicolescu Starting Pitching Each team has four starters with ERAs under four with 42 year old Nicolescu(18-9, 2.92 ERA, 206 IP) having his best season and Tommy Shelton(11-6, 2.58, 167) winning the North League ERA title for South Bend. Walt Dundee(12-13, 3.68, 230) and Kelly Boyd(14-9, 3.89, 211) are very good three and four spot options. The Twisters have a slightly higher starter ERA with their top four a bit closer together in talent. Jose Garcia(17-8, 3.46, 213) is clearly the staff ace while Butch Oliver(15-14, 3.98, 255) is the innings eater. Aaron Kline(15-7, 3.55, 236) and Jesus Deleon(15-7, 3.70, 226) are very good at the back end. It could come down to who is rested enough to take the mound in game one with South Bend fighting with Rochester down to the last game of the season. The Bullpens Evansville has a clear advantage hear with a bullpen ERA almost a half a run better than the Silver Sox. Each team has a reliable closer with both Bill Davis(26 saves) and Walt Adams(37) blowing just four saves on the season. The Twisters have Bryan Murray(2.57), Alex Taylor(2.38), and Dave Johnson(3.56) to bridge the gap between starters and closer while Glenn Estes(2.83) and Ward Jones(3.82) are the only two reliable options for South Bend. Twisters' catcher Doug Sullivan Defense South Bend fields a much better defensive team than their opponent with Steve Evans at first base the only real liability but the sacrifice is made to get his bat in the lineup and it's well worth the trade off. Jackson(+15.5 ZR) is one of the best in the HBL at getting to balls in the outfield and Walt Spence(+12) may be the best fielding catcher we've seen. Velazquez(+7.6) can still run'em down with the best of them and 1B Matt Stover(+8.6) is solid in the infield with Paul Frey(+6.8) and Dave Downing(+6.4) but Sullivan(-13) and OF Brian Jackson(-14) are among the worst in the league. Sullivan committed 23 errors, allowed 10 passed balls, and threw out only 26% of stolen base attempts making him a huge liability against a run happy South Bend squad. Injuries Both teams are missing an infielder for the series due to injury but South Bend will miss Ron Gordon more than Evansville will miss Gary Schneider. Gordon boast a +7 zone rating at short to go along with 49 XBH and 74 runs scored. Schneider was much less productive at third with a negative zone rating and 37 XBH. Prediction Although the experts believe the Silver Sox will run wild on Sullivan the inability of South Bend to win the division before the last day of the season caused them to pitch their two best starters in the last two games meaning neither will be ready for game one or two of the series. Keeping this in mind I predict Evansville in six games as the difference in their rotation from one to four is not as far as a drop in talent as it is for their opponent. Twisters in SIX