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reds1 · 04-01-2016, 06:15 PM

1943 Offseason: All Quiet – Except in Cambria

Further upheaval took place this off-season when nearly 50 players forsook the ballfield for the battlefield by enlisting in the Armed Forces. That brings the total number of players having left the United Leagues due to the War, whether by choice or by expulsion, to almost 175 since 1941. With no end to the World War yet in sight, there may be more making the sacrifice in the ensuing months.

Despite the disruptions and distractions, the 16 teams set about preparing for the upcoming 1943-44 season. But for the most part, the teams choose to look for in-house solutions to replace their players lost to the war effort. There were very few significant trades consummated this offseason. One notable exception was the Cambria Cannons, who completed two major transactions, no doubt in hopes of returning to the playoffs after a one-year absence.

[NOTE: After simming to August 31, OOTP crashed. This happened when I attempted to click on the scouting report tab of a retired player’s page (because he had been involved in an earlier trade). When I re-opened OOTP, it had reverted back to July 1. I do regular back-ups, but this happened just before I did that. Also, the War Gained table below doesn’t reflect the September 21 trade, as I failed to take an updated screenshot after the crash. Note to self: don’t click on a retired player’s scouting report – OOTP doesn’t like it.]

Here are the noteworthy trades this offseason:

April 19:

The Cambria Cannons received 26-year old OF Nicky Willis (73/80) from the Wolseley Unions.

In return, the Unions received five minor leaguers:

21-year old LF Tim Poff (22/28);
22-year old 3B Jarrod Pearce (Retired May 10 – serving in Armed Forces);
20-year old C Hyang-nam Pae (21/44);
22-year old SS Carlos Féliz (23/28);
22-year old CF Edgardo Alomar (22/23).

Knee-jerk reaction: Willis, a former 2nd round pick from 1937-38, joins a playoff contending team after toiling for a mediocre team for the past four seasons. Willis is a 3-time all-star and won a Top Fielder Award a few seasons ago. He is coming off his best season yet and at 26-years of age, is entering his prime. He now becomes part of the United Leagues’ most impressive outfield; with Willis in leftfield, 4-time all-star Clint Jones in centerfield and 4-time all-star, 1-time Babe Ruth Award winner Ron Westmacott in right (18.1 WAR between them last season).
As for Wolseley, well who knows what they’re trying to achieve? While they did lose Pearce when he later enlisted, none of the players were/are projected to make much of an impact, whether short-term or long-term. Another squandered opportunity to rebuild for the future.

-----------

May 1:

The Stratford Barons acquired 27-year old CF Brian Ilderton (61/65) from the Pulberry Trolleys.

In return, the Trolleys received two minor leaguers:

19-year old 1B Craig Diprose (21/46) and
22-year old C Enrique Orue (22/23).

Knee-jerk reaction: With the enlistment of OF Steven Winstanley into the Braeland Armed Forces, one of the United Leagues best players, the Barons made a move to fill the void, acquiring Ilderton from the Trolleys. Ilderton is nowhere near the hitter Winstanley was, but he is a very good defender in all outfield positions and has solid speed. A former 12th overall pick in 1938-39, he has not made much of an impact in the United Leagues as yet.
Evidently Pulberry gave up on him, getting Diprose, a second round pick from last season. Nothing about Diprose or Orue suggest that they will have much impact at the major league level.

-----------

May 29:

The Balmoral Giants traded for33-year old RHP In-san Ahn (65/65) from the Cobourg Red Stockings in exchange for 23-year old minor league C Kyle Moorhouse (23/47).

Knee-jerk reaction: The Giants look to beef up their bullpen with the acquisition of Ahn, who joins his fourth team since 1937. Ahn has bounced between the rotation and bullpen over the years, but he will be a fixture in the Giants’ bullpen after starting for Cobourg last season. All-in-all, he is a decent but not great pitcher.
In return, Cobourg gets a catcher that projects to spend his career in the minors, as he is a below average hitter, defender and runner. Not a good combination.

-----------

July 10:

The Cambria Cannons traded for 27-year old IF Wenceslas Jasmin (74/74) from the Pulberry Trolleys.

In return, the Trolleys received three minor leaguers:
21-year old CF Nick Giblett (21/23);
24-year old 2B Everton Weddell (23/23) and
20-year old C Irving Steur (22/23).

Knee-jerk reaction: To compensate for the loss of 3B Thomas Murphy (who enlisted), Cambria went out and acquired former 1st overall pick SS Wenceslas Jasmin, who enjoyed his best season last year. He will move to 1B, his strongest position defensively.
Once again, a team gets practically nothing in return. In this case, Pulberry gets a couple of players that may one day serve as platoon players - maybe. (Sigh, I sure hope OOTP17 will see more equitable trades when its time to move from OOTP16, because these sure stink.)

-----------

September 21:

The Kingston Pelicans acquired 27-year old OF Rovilson Valdevieso (55/55) from the Brunswick Legends. The Legends received 30-year old CF Daniel Martin (35/35) and 20-year old RF Sze Fang (21/42).

Knee-jerk reaction: The Legends depart with Valdevieso, who has been in decline since his 1939-40 season, when he batted .398, (the highest batting average in the United Leagues to date) and accumulated 6.1 WAR. This past season, the three-time all-star accumulated only 1.2 WAR. He is a liability on defense and it appears he won’t be in the Opening Day starting lineup for Kingston.
Brunswick, meanwhile, gets a couple of useful players in Martin and Fang. After one season with Kingston, where he accumulated 3.6 WAR as a starter, Martin will play back up to 25-year old CF Laroya Quindiagan, a second round pick from 1939-40, who will attempt to step into the lineup as an everyday starter. Fang, a third round pick this past season, has some offensive abilities, especially as a power hitter, but his work ethic is a concern.

-----------

The Cambria Cannons finished head and shoulders over their competitors this offseason in terms of War Gained. The acquisitions of OF Nicky Willis (5.1 WAR) and IF Wenceslas Jasmin (5.0) put them at the head of the class. Now it remains to be seen whether those moves will translate in a return to the playoffs.

As mentioned earlier, the table below does not reflect the September 21 trade between the Brunswick Legends and Kingston Pelicans. If it did, it would show Brunswick with +2.4 WAR and Kingston with -2.4 WAR, as a result of exchanging Rovilson Valdevieso (1.2) and Daniel Martin (3.6).

But all-in-all it was a quiet offseason, in terms of significant transactions. The big news was the loss of players to the war effort – and it may not be quiet on that front just yet.

04-01-2016, 06:15 PM	#245
reds1 Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2002 Location: Winnipeg Posts: 3,929	1943 Offseason: All Quiet – Except in Cambria Further upheaval took place this off-season when nearly 50 players forsook the ballfield for the battlefield by enlisting in the Armed Forces. That brings the total number of players having left the United Leagues due to the War, whether by choice or by expulsion, to almost 175 since 1941. With no end to the World War yet in sight, there may be more making the sacrifice in the ensuing months. Despite the disruptions and distractions, the 16 teams set about preparing for the upcoming 1943-44 season. But for the most part, the teams choose to look for in-house solutions to replace their players lost to the war effort. There were very few significant trades consummated this offseason. One notable exception was the Cambria Cannons, who completed two major transactions, no doubt in hopes of returning to the playoffs after a one-year absence. [NOTE: After simming to August 31, OOTP crashed. This happened when I attempted to click on the scouting report tab of a retired player’s page (because he had been involved in an earlier trade). When I re-opened OOTP, it had reverted back to July 1. I do regular back-ups, but this happened just before I did that. Also, the War Gained table below doesn’t reflect the September 21 trade, as I failed to take an updated screenshot after the crash. Note to self: don’t click on a retired player’s scouting report – OOTP doesn’t like it.] Here are the noteworthy trades this offseason: April 19: The Cambria Cannons received 26-year old OF Nicky Willis (73/80) from the Wolseley Unions. In return, the Unions received five minor leaguers: 21-year old LF Tim Poff (22/28); 22-year old 3B Jarrod Pearce (Retired May 10 – serving in Armed Forces); 20-year old C Hyang-nam Pae (21/44); 22-year old SS Carlos Féliz (23/28); 22-year old CF Edgardo Alomar (22/23). *Knee-jerk reaction:* Willis, a former 2<sup>nd</sup> round pick from 1937-38, joins a playoff contending team after toiling for a mediocre team for the past four seasons. Willis is a 3-time all-star and won a Top Fielder Award a few seasons ago. He is coming off his best season yet and at 26-years of age, is entering his prime. He now becomes part of the United Leagues’ most impressive outfield; with Willis in leftfield, 4-time all-star Clint Jones in centerfield and 4-time all-star, 1-time Babe Ruth Award winner Ron Westmacott in right (18.1 WAR between them last season). As for Wolseley, well who knows what they’re trying to achieve? While they did lose Pearce when he later enlisted, none of the players were/are projected to make much of an impact, whether short-term or long-term. Another squandered opportunity to rebuild for the future. ----------- May 1: The Stratford Barons acquired 27-year old CF Brian Ilderton (61/65) from the Pulberry Trolleys. In return, the Trolleys received two minor leaguers: 19-year old 1B Craig Diprose (21/46) and 22-year old C Enrique Orue (22/23). *Knee-jerk reaction:* With the enlistment of OF Steven Winstanley into the Braeland Armed Forces, one of the United Leagues best players, the Barons made a move to fill the void, acquiring Ilderton from the Trolleys. Ilderton is nowhere near the hitter Winstanley was, but he is a very good defender in all outfield positions and has solid speed. A former 12<sup>th</sup> overall pick in 1938-39, he has not made much of an impact in the United Leagues as yet. Evidently Pulberry gave up on him, getting Diprose, a second round pick from last season. Nothing about Diprose or Orue suggest that they will have much impact at the major league level. ----------- May 29: The Balmoral Giants traded for33-year old RHP In-san Ahn (65/65) from the Cobourg Red Stockings in exchange for 23-year old minor league C Kyle Moorhouse (23/47). *Knee-jerk reaction:* The Giants look to beef up their bullpen with the acquisition of Ahn, who joins his fourth team since 1937. Ahn has bounced between the rotation and bullpen over the years, but he will be a fixture in the Giants’ bullpen after starting for Cobourg last season. All-in-all, he is a decent but not great pitcher. In return, Cobourg gets a catcher that projects to spend his career in the minors, as he is a below average hitter, defender and runner. Not a good combination. ----------- July 10: The Cambria Cannons traded for 27-year old IF Wenceslas Jasmin (74/74) from the Pulberry Trolleys. In return, the Trolleys received three minor leaguers: 21-year old CF Nick Giblett (21/23); 24-year old 2B Everton Weddell (23/23) and 20-year old C Irving Steur (22/23). *Knee-jerk reaction:* To compensate for the loss of 3B Thomas Murphy (who enlisted), Cambria went out and acquired former 1<sup>st</sup> overall pick SS Wenceslas Jasmin, who enjoyed his best season last year. He will move to 1B, his strongest position defensively. Once again, a team gets practically nothing in return. In this case, Pulberry gets a couple of players that may one day serve as platoon players - maybe. (Sigh, I sure hope OOTP17 will see more equitable trades when its time to move from OOTP16, because these sure stink.) ----------- September 21: The Kingston Pelicans acquired 27-year old OF Rovilson Valdevieso (55/55) from the Brunswick Legends. The Legends received 30-year old CF Daniel Martin (35/35) and 20-year old RF Sze Fang (21/42). *Knee-jerk reaction:* The Legends depart with Valdevieso, who has been in decline since his 1939-40 season, when he batted .398, (the highest batting average in the United Leagues to date) and accumulated 6.1 WAR. This past season, the three-time all-star accumulated only 1.2 WAR. He is a liability on defense and it appears he won’t be in the Opening Day starting lineup for Kingston. Brunswick, meanwhile, gets a couple of useful players in Martin and Fang. After one season with Kingston, where he accumulated 3.6 WAR as a starter, Martin will play back up to 25-year old CF Laroya Quindiagan, a second round pick from 1939-40, who will attempt to step into the lineup as an everyday starter. Fang, a third round pick this past season, has some offensive abilities, especially as a power hitter, but his work ethic is a concern. ----------- The Cambria Cannons finished head and shoulders over their competitors this offseason in terms of War Gained. The acquisitions of OF Nicky Willis (5.1 WAR) and IF Wenceslas Jasmin (5.0) put them at the head of the class. Now it remains to be seen whether those moves will translate in a return to the playoffs. As mentioned earlier, the table below does not reflect the September 21 trade between the Brunswick Legends and Kingston Pelicans. If it did, it would show Brunswick with +2.4 WAR and Kingston with -2.4 WAR, as a result of exchanging Rovilson Valdevieso (1.2) and Daniel Martin (3.6). But all-in-all it was a quiet offseason, in terms of significant transactions. The big news was the loss of players to the war effort – and it may not be quiet on that front just yet. Last edited by reds1; 07-06-2017 at 02:02 AM.