The
Toledo Mudhens of the
TSTBL have become available. In the 10+ years of league play, the Mudhens have put together a run unparalleled in the league's Eastern Division.
From 2003 through 2011, the Hens averaged 105 wins per season and were the EL North champs 8 times. During that span, the only season the team didn't win the North, they were the EL wildcard representative. During that 9 year playoff run the Hens won 3 EL pennants and a pair of World Series titles.
While previous management had built a juggernaut, the prevailing feeling is that they did it at the expense of the organization's future.
None of their 9 positional players or 4 starting pitchers are under the age of 30.
Currently, the team is 41-27 (3rd place), and 5 games behind the division-leading Long Island Ducks.
First and foremost, we are looking for the right owner to keep the streak intact. Do you think you can guide the Hens to their 10th consecutive postseason appearance? And more importantly, can you keep this proud franchise from become a laughingstock?
In the short-term, you won't be without weapons. The team is currently .295, the best mark among the league's 24 teams. The team's pitching staff also ranks in baseball's top-four in ERA (2nd, 3.33), opponent's average (4th, .254), HR's allowed (1st, 31), walks allowed (1st, 140) and runs allowed (2nd, 270).
The pitching staff is headed by Ricardo Rodriguez (12-3, 2.43), the league's all-time leader in career wins. With his hot start this season, Rodriguez has pushed his career mark to 180-72 and is well on his way to his 5th twenty-win season.
Supporting Rodriguez are Dan Haren (8-4, 2.80), a key off-season free agent acquisition, Franklin Nunez (8-4, 3.73) and Francesco Santoro (6-7, 3.59). Swingman Freddy Garcia (4-2, 2.26) has started 6 of his 20 appearances, and threw the league's first perfect game last season.
Offensively, the team has plenty of firepower at it's disposal.
Cristian Guzman, the league's 5th all-time leader in career batting average, is off to a sizzling start, hitting .419 through the first 2.5 months of the season, .069 higher than anyone else in baseball. Guzman is seeking to tie a TSTBL record with a fourth league batting title, and set a record by leading the majors in hitting for a third time.
Twenty-twelve has also seen a resurrgence by Albert Pujols, a four-time Most Valuable Hitter and six-time Silver Slugger. Through 67 games, Pujols is hitting .307 with 13 homers and 63 RBIs, a sharp contrast to the .224-25-111 he posted last season. Pujols also needs a mere 37 RBIs over the last 3.5 months to become the only player in league history with 100+ RBIs in 11 consecutive seasons.
Catcher Joe Mauer (.245-9-32) is off to a slow start, and should be expected to approach his .288-20-98 averages of the previous three seasons. Just 31, the two-time all-star should still have plenty of game left in him. Mauer's back-up, Nicholas Trzesniak (.386-5-21) has been very productive and remains one of the league's best second-stringers.
Although their power numbers are down, both Corey Patterson (.299-3-49) and Timothy Loza (.249-8-40) should be expected to continue to drive in runs.
Hitting a career-low, 36-year-old Luis Padron (.300-0-23) remains the spark-plug of the squad, scoring 57 times in the team's first 65 games. A career .316 hitter, Padron is poised to help push the team to the postseason one more time.
Gold Glove 1B Sakahiko Maresuke (.272-2-23) and super-sub Jack Hanrahan (.310-1-14) help flush out the squad. Hanrahan displays outstanding range at four different positions.
Dancing around the league's $80 million salary cap, the team will be able to shed $10.5m in salary after this season and $16m after next to create some flexibility.
Guiding this team will not be easy, but if you're the type who really relishes a challenge, you couldn't ask for a much more difficult one.
Please send me an
e-mail if you're interested if you're interested in getting your hands dirty.