Week 18
Current Week: 6-1 (62-50 .554 / +3.0)
Next Week: 3 @ Christiana Blue Hens, 3 @ Wilmington Iron Pigs
Power Ranking: 4 (109.5, +3)
Fan Interest: 73 (+1)
Owners Mood: Good
Expectation: Close to .500
Home: 39-25 .609
Away: 23-25 .479
Runs Scored: 494 (t5th)
Avg: .262 (2nd)
HR: 131 (t6th)
SB: 40 (11th)
Runs Against: 474 (5th)
Starters ERA: 4.05 (4th)
Pen ERA: 3.80 (6th)
Def Eff: .707 (5th)
Top Performers:
Hitting: Eugene Todd: .471-1-3 (8-17), 2B, 5 R, BB, 2 HBP, .550 OBP, .706 SLG
Pitching: Jonathan Loeffler: 5 G, 5 SV, 4.2 IP, H, 2 BB, 5 K, .064 WHIP
Week 18:
Game 106: Wilmington 5, Chadds Ford 7
Ying-Hua Ji: 4.2 IP, 9 H, 5 R, BB, 3 K
Bill Summers (1-0): 2.1 IP, H, BB, 3 K
Jonathan Loeffler (SV 27): 1.0 IP, BB, K
Giovanni Smith: 2-4, 2B, HR (1), R, 3 RBI
Leon Hernandez: 1-3, HR (12), 2 R, RBI
Shunen Koyama: 3-4, 2 R
Howard Porter: 4-5, 2B
Pete Davis: 2-5, R, 2 RBI
H: 15, LOB: 7
Game 107: Wilmington 1, Chadds Ford 3
Nobukazu (3-3): 8.0 IP, 4 H, R, 9 K
Jonahtan Loeffler (SV 28): 1.0 IP, BB, K
Matt Douglas: 2-4, 2B
Naofumi Ohayashi: 1-3, HR (17), R, RBI
Eugene Todd: 1-2, HR (10), R, 2 RBI
H: 4, LOB: 4
Game 108: Wilmington 5, Chadds Ford 4
Eric Harmon (6-9): 7.2 IP, 11 H, 5 R, BB, 6 K
Pete Davis: 1-3, R, RBIK
Ricardo Bravo: 2-4, 3B, 2 RBI
Giovanni Smith: 1-2, 2B, R
H: 8, LOB: 7
Game 109: Newark 4, Chadds Ford 5
Robert Shepherd (9-10): 7.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 11 K
Jonahtan Loeffler (SV 29): 1.0 IP, H
Giovanni Smith: 1-4, 3B, R
Matt Douglas: 3-4, 2B, R
Shunen Koyama: 1-4, 2B, 3 RBI
H: 7, LOB: 7
Game 110: Newark 1, Chadds Ford 3
Gehrig Pearl (2-2): 7.0 IP, 4 H, R, BB, 6 K
Jonahtan Loeffler (SV 30): 1.0 IP, K
Leon Hernandez: 2-3, 2B, RBI
Pete Davis: 1-3, R, RBI
H: 6, LOB: 5
Game 111: Newark 4, Chadds Ford 5 (10 Innings)
Ying-Hua Ji: 7.0 IP, 6 H, R, BB, 10 K
Pedro Rivera (BS 1): 0.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER
Bill Summers (2-0): 1.2 IP, 2 BB, K
Ricardo Bravo: 1-3, 2B, R, 2 RBI
Bo Keller: 2-5, HR (1), R, 2 RBI
Eugene Todd: 2-4, R, RBI
H: 8, LOB: 6
Game 112: Newark 3, Chadds Ford 7
Nobukazu Higashi 4.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 9 K (left hurt)
Pedro Rivera (2-1): 3.1 IP, 3 H, R, 3 K
Jonathan Loeffler (SV 31): 0.2 IP, 2 K
Naofumi Ohyashi: 2-5, HR (18), R, RBI
Howard Porter: 4-5, 2 HR (10), 2 R, 3 RBI
Leon Hernandez: 1-4, HR (13), R, RBI
Hank Davis: 1-4, HR (18), R, RBI
Raul Garcia: 2-3, R
H: 15, LOB: 9
Transactions:
Demoted 2B Mu-sang Kim to Triple A San Juan.
Placed 1B Naofumi Ohayashi on the active roster.
Activated 1B Naofumi Ohayashi from the disabled list.
Eugene Todd will head back to the back-up 1B, LF and DH. He will still get his AB's, and Ohayashi will take over 1B duties. Todd is having a solid season .286-9-32 and has earned his AB's. He gives me some nice depth on the bench and good bat for the future.
Injuries:
CL Dani Rubio, torn laburm, 11-day DL, 6-weeks
OF Julio Casanes, sprained knee, 11-day DL, 6-weeks
3B Howard Porter, back stiffness, DtD, 1-day left
SP Nobukazu Higashi, diagnosis pending
**The fear flags went up when Higashi walked off the field in pain. William Blair, our trainer, meet him on the field and ushered him into the clubhouse. From there Blair decided to send him to Wilmington (DE) Hospital for a more in-depth look. The team, the fans and most of all Nobukazu are waiting for the final diagnosis. Higashi just made a comeback after a 10-month baseball-less streak with a stretched elbow tendon, so the nerves are running high... Most likely I will put him on the 11-day while we wait for the offical diagnosis. I am hoping for a 1-day injury.
Other/Roster News:
GM Notes:
We are on a hot streak and I am starting to think it is time to jump on thd bandwagon. It seems like the only thing that is going top us is injuries... last week it was Julio Casanes (possible for the season) and this week it is our #3 Higashi whose status is still unknown. We have some depth but not that much to handle too many more injuries. I would much rather Casanes in the OF than Giovanni Smith, Ricardo Bravo and Eugene Todd. Not that they are bad, but they aren't Julio.
This coming week we start off with a chance to gain a few more games as we take on the #2 team in the division the Blue Hens. And the worst part is our top probalby won't be making an appearnace with Ji pitching 2 days ago, Shepherd 4 and Higashi out. I have to hope that the bottom of our staff (and probably Juan Cuesta) can put together some quality starts. We are only up by 3 and I would love to be up by more when this week ends.
I have questioned a lot about my time here, but I feel now this team is proving to me that maybe I haven't made that many 'bad' deals. I have made some, but now look where we are? I wanted to build from within and I still think can over the next year or two. Right now we have 6 drafted players on the roster, which is pretty awesome...
We are on pace to crush our attendance record, as long as we can continue to win... we have a small market, but these guys really like to see winners. And as long as we win the fan interest will stay high... then again its not very often you see fan interest stay high when you don't win.
I am amazed by the way Robert Shepherd has pitched this year and I just hope he can make it through 2 more months. It is pretyt amazing that he has a losing record 9-10 despite posting a 2.89 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. Hopefully he will be able to pull some W's over the next 8 starts and end up in the talks for the Golden Arm Award. He deserves it he has been the ace of our team...
Fifty more games, a magic number of 48 and injuries to two of our top players... can we keep us this pace? Is it feasible? After our first month and a half I was ready to right this team off, and now here we are in the thick of things. Is this really happening? I wonder what the turn around was. Can a manager really have that much impact? Was Sweetapple really that terrible? Ever since he left the team I haven't heard any complaints so maybe he was. Crazy.
I came to Chadds Ford in 2030 with a goal to win the playoffs. I don't think we will this year, not that it isn't possible, but if we can make the playoffs that will be a HUGE step in the right direction.
How long has it been since I did a weekly write-up without complaining about something? The attitudes around here are changing.
Standings Leaders
DE Colonial: Seaford Blue Jays: 76-35 .685 (+19.0)
DE Northern: Chadds Ford Cannons: 62-50 .554 (+3.0)
DE Atlantic: Georgetown Sixteens: 69-43 .616 (+15.0)
WC: Christiana Blue Hens (DEN): 59-53 .527 (+1.5)
MV Beltway: Washington Senators: 67-45 .598 (+3.0)
MV Mountain: Richmond Cardinals: 75-36 .676 (+14.0)
MV Coastal: Norfolk Cavaliers: 65-7 .580 (+13.0)
WC: Annapolis Admirals (MVB): 64-48 .571 (+2.5)
Players of the Week:
Delaware: Oreste Pigafetta, Newark Millers: 11-22, 3 HR's, 12 RBI's
MarVa: Tyrone Jackson, Martinsburg Mountaineers: 12-21, 3 HR's, 9 RBI's
Power Rankings:
1) Seaford Blue Jays (134.2)
2) Richmond Cardinals (128.6)
3) Georgetown Sixteens (117.9)
4) Chadds Ford Cannons (109.6)
5) Norfolk Cavaliers (109.5)
News:
Baltimore Barons: 22-year-old star in the making SS Jaime Guerrero went 5-5 during a 6-0 win against the Salisbury Ports. The SS is hitting .342-1-8 in 52 games this season.
Georgetown Sixteens: OF Jason Atkins reached 400 HR's for his career. The 35-year-old was once a yearly MVP candidate, but injuries have slowed him down. Despite his struggles in 2036 he was happy to finally reach he milestone.
Annapolis Admirals: The Admirals have one of the games most powerful lineup, and it was on display this week when Leo O'Conner crushed 3-HR's against the Salisbury Ports. With those 3 HR's the Admirals now have 3 players with 30 or more HR's on the season (Pena: 25, Moore: 34).
Newark Millers: Lost SP Edward Scott for the season. The 36-year-old was shut down after he was diagnosed with a stretched elbow ligament. The Millers ace (12-7 3.35) hopes to return next season (out 9-10 months).
Salisbury Ports: There are rumors swirling around the DBL that after 20 losing seasons the Ports may 1) relocate or 2) the owner will be forced to sell. The Ports were part of the 2013 expansion have yet to accomplish a winning season. Their best season was 79 W's which they did 2 times in 2023 and 2024. Last year they lost 109 games and this season they are on pace to lose over 100 again. If they do it will the 9th time in team history. Owner Marvin Park, a Salisbury Native, has deflected all questions regarding the future of the team. No team has ever relocated in DBL history.