[Westheim]

I went ahead and manipulated the xml file so as to switch the schedules for the Raccoons and the Indians. This is a very pathetic fix which took me hours, since I messed up about a kazillion times. That’s the epic fail I am. Any suggestions for actual and less painful solutions for future seasons I would be more than just grateful. I would even send you a cookie or so. Or two.

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Finding a centerfielder suiting my wishes was not hard, but trading for him was not really easy. Eduardo Guerrero was too expensive, a few others were also a bit too highly paid, and then there was Phil Ayers of the Canadiens. He was suited for every outfield position and had some good contact ability, but without power. Still, he had a minimum contract, and I was very much interested. However the Canadiens demanded too much for a trade.

February 9 – The Scorpions dig in deep, signing Juan “Mauler” Correa (34-4 in ’77) to a 4-year, $2.23M contract. SS Beau Horn also signs with the Scorpions for $2.8M over five years. Horn is a strong shortstop hitting for average and power. He was with Salem in ’77.
February 9 – SP Guillermo Heredia, who was 6-3 with a 1.60 ERA before getting injured with the Aces, signs with the Blue Sox.
February 15 – Former Raccoon Ben Green signs with the Los Angeles Pacific for two years, making $273k per year.
February 18 – The Rebels sign Riley Simon, who had been hitting .345 for the Titans before fracturing a finger in early August that ended his season.
March 4 – The Capitals sign Japanese free agent 2B Seitaro Ine, who could be a pain to Federal League pitchers.

As March goes on I’m contemplating making an offer to Jesse Jeffries. The 36 yr old played a bit for Salem in ’77. His hitting is not too fancy, but he is a very versatile defensive sub for late innings. He would probably be an improvement compared to Hoyt Cook, whose place he would take on the roster. There are two more players of that type on the market, Cole Callender and Alberto Ruiz, but none of them is as strong defensively as Jeffries. I eventually made an offer for $75,800 for one year to him (he wanted $117,000 at first).

Brett Justice, my reliever laboring on a torn labrum, suffered a setback in his healing process, delaying his return for about another month. So he won’t join the majors again until late July (factoring in a rehab assignment).

Jeffries signed the contract offer I made him on the eve of the season, March 31. This set our roster. Three would have to go down, and these were R.J. Sanderson, Hector Mendez, and Luis Hernandez. This gave me three backup infielders and two backup outfielders, very well.

A few reports before the season starts: the Raccoons have three of the Top 10 prospects in the ABL, with SP Logan Evans (AAA) at #5, LF Daniel Hall (AA), our first pick in the ’77 draft at #7, and CF Juan Martinez (A), whom we had just kidnapped out of Mexico, at #10. Good times ahead?

Who had made the biggest jump in the off season? Sabermetricians were all in unison: the Scorpions had signed (among others) Juan Correa and Beau Horn, gaining 17.5 WAR. The Titans were +12.9, the Stars +5.6, and the Raccoons and Falcons shared fourth place at +4.0 – the Buffaloes (-7.3), Bayhawks (-8.6), and Wolves (10.8) were on the bottom of the barrel.

This leaves me with our roster for opening day (although the Raccoons would actually play on opening day):

SP Jorge Romero (15-13, 2.96, was with Tijuana in 1977)
SP Christopher Powell (14-12, 3.15, was 7-6 with both Denver and Portland, but with the Raccoons he actually had a 2.20 ERA!)
SP Juan Berrios (11-18, 3.53, the first ABL pitcher to toss a no-hitter)
SP Ned Ray (10-14, 3.93, only lefty in the rotation)

MR Bill Baker (4-3, 3.86, lefty with Richmond in 1977)
MR Wally Gaston (6-8, 2.75, has walk issues)
MR Ben Jenkins (6-3, 4.73)
MR Tony Lopez (signed as international free agent, could be a setup guy if he kicks in)
MR Jose Vazquez (2-1, 2.22, played only the last two months in the majors)
MR Bruce Wright (1-1, 1.54, like Vazquez came up late in the season, is a lefty who really surprised me)
CL Kevin Hatfield (1-2, 2.69, became the closer some way through the season, recorded 19 SV)

C Kieran Lawson (.201, 2 HR, 17 RBI with the Pacifics)
C Darryl Maloney (.239, 7 HR, 59 RBI)
1B Wyatt Johnston (.287, 15 HR, 92 RBI, last year of his contract, most likely won’t re-sign)
1B Hoyt Cook (.231, 1 HR, 11 RBI)
1B/2B/LF Jesse Jeffries (.283, 0 HR, 11 RBI in limited play with Salem)
1B/2B/3B/SS Ben Simon (.251, 21 HR, 91 RBI)
1B/2B/3B/SS/LF Ed Sullivan (.284, 20 HR, 61 RBI)
3B Freddy Lopez (.223, 0 HR, 20 RBI)
SS Greg Swift (.267, 2 HR, 57 RBI)

LF/RF Jose Flores (.277, 6 HR, 38 RBI, led team in steals with 24)
LF/CF/RF Tim Anderson (.229, 4 HR, 29 RBI)
1B/LF/CF/RF Johan Dolder (.209, 4 HR, 31 RBI, injured for much of the second half of the year)
RF Jorge Lopez (.284, 3 HR, 17 RBI)
LF/RF Pedro Sánz (.308, 17 HR, 70 RBI, injured four times in 1977)

One note: the ABL is very poor in two aspects, stealing and power hitting. Nobody had more than 26(!!) homers in 1977, and only one player had more than 30 steals. So those home run numbers are pretty good compared to the rest of the pack.

Opening day lineup:
LF Flores – 3B Sullivan – RF Sánz – 1B Johnston – 2B Simon – SS Swift – CF Dolder – C Maloney – P Romero

Titans, Aces, Falcons come to town to start the 1978 season. Let’s go!!