Top 5 WAR:
1) Milford Clippers (12.9)
2) Richmond Cardinals (12.4)
3) Milton Brewers (10.1)
4) Martinsburg Mountaineers (6.5)
5) Georgetown Sixteens (5.3)
Bottom 5 WAR:
26) Chadds Ford Colonials (-13.8)
25) Newark Millers (-12.4)
24) Seaford Blue Jays (-10.0)
23) King George Royals (-6.6)
22) Dover Generals (-6.2)
Spring Training:
DE Colonial: Seaford Blue Jays: 19-9 .679 (+1)
DE Northern: Wilmington Iron Pigs: 17-11 .607 (+3)
DE Atlantic: Georgetown Sixteens: 16-11 .593 (+2)
MD Beltway: Salisbury Ports: 15-13 .536 (+2)
MD Mountain: Richmond Cardinals: 18-10 .643 (+2)
MD Coastal: Norfolk Cavaliers: 19-8 .704 (+4.5)
Spring Leaders:
AVG: Dave McGinnity, Iron Pigs: .440
Hits: Tim Burman, Sixteens: 26
HR: Tim Burman, Sixteens: 8
RBI: Dave McGinnity, Iron Pigs: 21
Runs: Michael Urbina, Blue Jays: 18
SB: Vasco Cerqueora, Express: 11
ERA: John Robertson, Cannons: 0.45
Wins: 5 tied with 4
Saves: Angel Nasquez, Cardinals: 11
K's: Chris Adkins, Cannons: 2
WHIP: Al Walker, Brewers: 0.63
Around the League:
Teams are preparing for opening day making their final roster cuts, waiving players, and trying to figure out which rookies are going to be starters and news makers. This is an important week leading up to the first pitch. Can the Mountaineers repeat? Will a team come out of no where to win the crown? Are the Salisbury Ports ready to make the playoffs, finally? This should be a fun season and as long as there is some kind of parity throughout I will be happy.
Free Agents/Signings:
Wilmington Iron Pigs: Signed 2 middle relievers Ed Davis ($970,000) and Allen Williams ($870,000) to one year deals.
The top rated free-agent available is MR Angel Rivera, at 35-years-old, he is the only 4-star player available, the only player with more than 2 actually.
There are still some aging vets available: OF Claude Bond (43), MR Bob McCord (41), 3B Michael Porter (41), MR Narcissus Kondylis (40), and OF Bob Short (36).
Trades:
Newark Millers: Dumped OF Carlos Sandoval (.193-8-34) and his $12M salary on the Ocean City Tourists for SP Jose Icaza (8-10 5.29).
Richmond Cardinals: Acquired MR Dan MacNeilage (4-1 5.14, SV) from the Seaford Blue Jays for SS Mike Wilcox (.253-7-42).
Milton Brewers: Acquired SP Blake Ballard (10-15 5.66) from the Annapolis Admirals for youngster C Palmiro Chagas (.310-16-49).
Martinsburg Mountaineers: Acquired SP Sancho Castro (8-11 5.10) from the Dover Generals for 3B Pedro Velasquez (.159-0-6).
Washington Senators: Shipped off 2B Joey Bradley (.265-6-58) to the New Castle Colonials for SP Nicholas Edgar (1-0 0.79 / 11.1 IP).
Injuries:
King George Royals: Lost MR Carl Pickett for 6-7 months with a ruptured disc. Picket pitched in 19 games last season for the Royals.
Ellicott City Epxress: SP Ward Hapgood is expected to miss the first 4-5 months of the season after suffering a torn labrum. Hapgood pitched in 3 games for the Express last season and was expected to make the rotation this year.
Harrington Ponies: Lost SP Jimmy Powers for 4-5 months with a torn back muscle. Powers went 12-13 for the Express last season.
Milton Brewers: Lost MR John Perez for 5-6 weeks with a strained oblique. Perez pitched in 70 games for the Brewers last year.
Ellicott City Express: Will be without OF Mike Johnson for 5 weeks after Johnson sprained his knee. The future Hall-of-Famer is still considered a top player in the DBL when he is healthy, but as he as aged those days have been getting numbered.
Norfolk Cavaliers: Lost OF Carlos Martinez for 6-7 months with a torn labrum. Martinez hit .214-13-38 last season.
Georgetown Sixteens: Received some bad news when Artie Bright was diagnosed with a torn flexor tendon and is expected to miss the season. Bright, 23, was looking to make some noise this season and was fighting for the #5 slot in the rotation.
My Notes
Figured I would leave this here, but I wrote it before I had the great idea of making a big deal, so here it is... I am in trouble if I dont make a deal This offense just isn't good enough and losing Ayala for 4-5 months is really going to hurt. I have to figure out what kind of deal I want to make and what exactly am I looking for. OF, IF? What do I need? More pitchign more hitting and what can I give up? I have to make something happen or it will be a long season here. I may end up dealing Phil Davis or Julio Casanes and/or David Guiterriez... But I think the big question is for whom.
After the deal I feel better, but I am still not sold we are going to be that 90-win team from the last few seasons. Just seems like too many 'holes', especially after the latest monthly progress report, which saw some of my better players drop, like Ch'on, Pearl, Shepherd, Reed, Maxwell, and Phil Davis... that doesn't bode well for the 'bright' future I thought I saw us having.
Its funny how one little thing can change your attitude towards things. I pull off this big deal and give the Cannons a solid offense, at least in my mind, as we just gained 3 starters. Now we lost one of our top prospects, but I am ok with losing Gonzalez and his 8 control... but then I get this monthly development report and there are a lot of red minus signs... and from there I am brought back down to reality.
I do feel like I have put together a solid roster from player 1 to 25 and we have a few players in the minors that really should be with the big league club. So in the regards I do like what I have done with this team. There will be a few questions that I will need answered this year, if we won't to contend or even have a shot at sneaking into the playoffs.
Questions that I am curious about heading into 2038:
1) Can Byung-Ho Ch'on hit in the DBL? Is he the real deal or a dud?
2) Can Naofumi Ohayashi repeat the season he had last year?
3) Can Mikel Wallstreet stay healthy?
4) Will Melvin Wallstreet be a clubhouse cancer?
5) Can Robert Shepherd regain his form after an 8 month layoff?
6) Are the rookies ready? Guiterrez, Adkins, James, Matos, and Sims?
7) Will Tully Maxwell cut back on his strikeouts and improve over his 2037 season?
8) Is our pitching as good as I think it is?
9) Can Juan Cuesta and Gehrig Pearl handle the rotation, as they both struggled last year.
10) And finally, which player is going to step up and surprised and carry this team?
Those are only a few that popped into my head, I am sure there are 100's of other questions. If we are getting close to the trade deadline there will be some big decisions to make. I have, yet again, a few players hitting arbitration that are going to demand big numbers. I wish we could sign some of these guys to long-term deals, but I can't go over $8 with anyone player and build a well rounded team. I don't want to invest so much in one player that I can't shape the lineup or staff. It only makes building a team harder, so I need to rely on good trades and solid youth development. So far its been successful.
I am ready to get the season going. I am ready to see how this new and improved offense works. We won't put up the power numbers we did last year, unless Matos and Ohayashi duplicate what Casanes and Ohayashi did last year, but we should put up better OBP and SB numbers... and that should translate into more runs. I have always been upset with our inability to knock in that key runner and which lead to crazy amounts of LOB numbers so I am hoping that the additional speed will help there too... you know, beating out the double play, going first to third, or second to home, should be more common place. At least that is part of my plan.
The more I type about this team the more excited I am getting about the start of the regular season. The last two seasons we started off poorly, so I am hoping that this season will change that habit... This is a well rounded team I really believe that and I believe we will contend... Day 1 is near and I am ready, hopefully the 25 on the roster are too...
Off-Season Profile:
2038 Budget: $82,000,000 (19th)
2038 Payroll: $54,634,310 (20th)
Money for Free-Agents: $5,753,238
Money for Extensions: none
Fan Interest: 66
WAR Gain/Loss: -13.8
Early Prediction: 89-73 .549 (-2 G, 2nd)
Spring Training Record: 14-14 .500, 2nd, 3 GB)
Trades:
Traded 21-year-old starting pitcher David Gutiérrez, 28-year-old left fielder Júlio Casanes, 23-year-old minor league catcher Greguorio Mocinha, 24-year-old minor league catcher Michael Martin, 21-year-old minor league starting pitcher Gilberto Arroyo, a 3rd round draft pick and a 7th round draft pick to the King George Royals, getting 22-year-old right fielder Mikel Wallstreet, 25-year-old left fielder Melvin Wallstreet, 24-year-old shortstop Chris Mildmay and 25-year-old starting pitcher Reed Davis in return.
Traded 26-year-old center fielder Armando Martínez, 21-year-old minor league center fielder Pedro Báez and 22-year-old minor league reliever Coy Baker to the Harrington Ponies, getting 23-year-old second baseman Teddy Hopkins and a 1st round draft pick in return.
I am done for now. One thing I brought in was a lot of speed, but not much power. I dealt away our "power" bat so hopefully one of these guys will stepit up.
Injuries:
SS Jose Ayala, torn ankle ligaments, 3-months, 60-day DL
SP Robert Shepherd, fractured elbow, 2-3 months, 11-day DL
MR Francisco Frano, sore shoulder, 3-weeks, 11-day DL
CL Tim Meyers, hamstring strain, unknown, 11-day DL
SP Don Stewart, tired arm, 2-weeks, not on DL (sent to AAA)
We aren't certain when Tim Meyers will get healthy, but we have him on the DL to rest his ailing leg. Right now he is listed as unknown, as we thought he'd be back in lineup by now.
Final Offense Depth Chart:
C Jose Matos / Raul Garcia
1B Naofumi Ohayashi / Ambrose Gutierrez
2B Roger Phillips / Juan Guzman
3B Tully Maxwell / Juan Guzman
SS Chris Mildmay / Brad Sims
LF Byung-Ho Ch'on / Ambrose Gutierrez
CF Mikel Wallstreet
RF Phil Davis / Ambrose Gutierrez
DH Melvin Wallstreet / Ambrose Gutierrez
The reason there isn't anyone behind Wallstreet in CF is because all my CF'ers are in the game. I don't expect him to play everday, but Ch'on and Davis are also in the lineup and they are the only ones with CF skills.
Break down of who made it and why they made it:
Catcher:
Elmilio Alba (demoted / 18 G, .184-1-10)
Raul Garcia (18, G .351-0-10)
*Jose Matos (21, G .209-2-4)
It was a tough call between Matos and Alba, but Matos started to hit the ball near the end of spring, so down went Alba. Garcia is the best defender of the bunch which is why he will stick around.
Infield:
Jesus Hernandez (demoted / 24 G, .257-2-10)
*Naofumi Ohayashi (28 G, .364-1-6)
Hector Solis (demoted / 18 G, 5-19, 3 RBI)
Juan Guzman (28 G, .294-0-6)
Mu-Sang Kim (demoted / 18 G, 6-24, HR, RBI)
*Roger Phillips (26 G, .208-0-5)
Eugene Todd (demoted / 20 G / .214-2-12)
Fernando Cirin (demoted / 10 G, 1-5, HR, RBI)
*Tully Maxwell (25 G, .167-3-6)
Jose Ayala (60 day-DL, torn ankle ligaments, 4-months / 14 G, .348-0-0, 2 2B, 2 SB)
Brad Sims (28 G, .277-1-8)
*Chris Mildway (28 G, .260-1-8)
*Melvin Wallstreet (28 G, .354-0-6)
The final cut was the toughest, as it came down to Jesus Herandez or Brad Sims and in the end I think the better player was Sims. Hernandez wouldn't have played much and maybe while in AAA he can learn LF. He isn't that agile so I am not sure how that will go, but he may end up being an important part of this team in 2038.
Outfield:
*Phil Davis (10 G, .250-1-4)
Ambrose Gutierrez (.333-2-11)
Bo Keller (wavied DFA'd / 14 G, .118-0-1)
*Byung-Ho Ch'on (28 G, .250-0-3)
Lorenzo Leal (demoted / 28 G, .184-1-7)
Giovanni Smith (demoted / 27 G,.209-1-5)
Russell Worsfold (DFA'd / 24 G, .292-0-2)
Damien Winfield (23 G, .308-0-4)
*Mikel Wallstreet (28 G, .424-4-18)
The OF was pretty easy to set, as Leal and Smith had really bad springs. I will keep an eye on them and if Winfield or Gutierrez don't do the job they will be called up. It was tough sending down Smith since he has played such a big role on this team the past few seasons. So part of me would like to see him back up here.
Final Pitching Depth Chart:
SP: Ying-Hua Ji (L)
SP: John Robertson
SP: Gregorio Costello
SP: Juan Cuesta
SP: Gehrig Pearl (L)
CL: Dani Rubio (L)
SU: Oscar Robinson
SU: Reed Davis
MR: Eric Harmon
MR: Chris Adkins (L)
MR: Gus James
I am totally surprised by Bill Patterson's late decision to move Reed Davis to the set-up role, wher Cuesta was during spring. We will see how that goes. At least its good to know I have some depth in the rotation if one of them can't get the job done.
Break down of who made it and why they made it:
Starters:
Robert Shepherd (11-day DL, fractured elbow 3-months after set-back / DNP in Spring Training)
Gregorio Costello (5 GS, 0-2 2.25)
Juan Cuesta (6 G, 4 GS, 2-0 3.24)
Ying-Hua Ji (5 GS, 1-1 3.15)
Gehrig Pearl (5 GS, 2-1 3.44)
John Robertson (5 GS, 4-0 0.45)
Dustin McNeil (demoted / 8 G, 0-0 3.68)
Don Stewart (injured, tired arm 2-weeks / 9 G, 15.2 IP, 18 H, 17 K, 1-1 6.32)
Eric Harmon (3 GS, 0-1 7.71)
Reed Davis (5 GS, 1-0 4.50)
Relievers:
Chris Adkins (5 G, 0-0 2.40, 15.0 IP, 27 K)
Francisco Franco (11-day DL, Sore Shoulder, 4 weeks / 3 G, 3.2 IP, 2 H, 5 K)
Gus James (6 G, 0-1 3.86)
Gallin Krall (demoted / 5 G, 0-1 3.27)
Jimi Morilini (demoted / 7 G, 1-0 2.87, 15.2 IP, 13 BB)
Oscar Robinson (7 G, 0-0 6.59)
Dani Rubio (11 G, 1-2 5.17, 6 SV)
Jose Santos (demoted, 4 G, 4.1 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 14.54 ERA)
Tim Meyers (11-day DL, 8 G, 1-3 5.56, SV)
Some of these cuts were tough! Gallin Grall should be with this team. I just feel like if I sent down Eric Harmon it would do him more harm... and then there is Oscar Robinson who just hasn't been that good, but has no options. This will get interesting though when Tim Meyers, Francisco Franco and Robert Shepherd return... I have a lot of pitching depth and they all seem to be 'ready' now. Gus James and Chris Adkins will be watched closely. ANy faulters then here comes the bullpen.
Coming Up:
Meet the 2038 Chadds Ford Cannons: 04/04/2036
Top Prospects: 04/05/2036
Top Minor League Systems: 04/05/2036
Final Predictions: 04/05/2036
Opening Day: 04/05/2036