The Birth of the Syracuse XPress

silvernblack · 04-21-2005, 06:12 PM

Back at after and 1 1/2 years away from the real world. Missed the game greatly and decided to start a fantasy league of 32 teams, in which I took over the Syracuse XPress. Completely redrafted.

Sluggish start for newstart XPress

year: 2004 games: 1-10

The newly formed Syracuse XPress of the also newly formed Natural Baseball League started out sluggishly winning just 4 out their first 6 games. Offensively, the XPress rank near the bottom in Average (.248) and homeruns (7) but have stolen 11 bases, which is 8th best. B. Shepardson has started out hot, hitting .349 with 2 homers, 5 ribbies and 3 stolen bases. S. Villanueva is batting .333 with 2 round trippers. Starter L. Garr has lead the rotation in his 3 starts, with a 2.01 ERA, 2 wins and a league leading 23 strikeouts. G. Dolan has also been decent in 2 starts with a 3.45 ERA in 15.1 innings of work. The Xpress was active in the waiver wire as they claimed Joshua Ware, Luis Munoz and Max Symonds, all relief pitchers. "Not the way we wanted to start the season. Hopefully we can get the bullpen fixed. Lets remember it's still early." stated Manager Chris Jones.

http://www.naturalsports.net/ootp/xpress.htm

silvernblack · 04-21-2005, 09:45 PM

Pitching keys XPress rise

year: 2004 games: 11-20

The Syracuse Xpress jumped back into the Federal League Northern race by winning 7 times in 10 tries and currently sit 2 games back of front running Seattle, thanks in large part to the pitching. With a team 3.90 ERA, which ranks 6th, while allowing just a .238 average (3rd best). L. Garr continues to lead the way for the starters, but was joined by W. Sousa. Garr is 4-1 with a 1.60 ERA with 37 strikeouts. Sousa has a 1.88 ERA in 4 starts. R. Cavallo, who will retire at the end of the season, is among the league leaders with 8 saves and has a 2.79 ERA. S. Villanueva leads the batters with a .315 average and also leads the team with 5 homers and 13 runs batted in , along with 4 stolen bases. "The pitching was great. Pitching wins games and we surely had plenty of that lately. Lets hope it stays". stated Manager Chris Jones.

silvernblack · 04-22-2005, 12:21 PM

Xpress stays close, still two back

year: 2004 games: 21-30

The Syracuse Xpress ran into some problems over the last 10 games, winning only 5 of them. However at 16-14 they remain tied for 2nd place in the Federal League's Northern Divison and sit 2 games back of Seattle. They still have problems offensive, hitting just .245 with 22 homeruns but have used their speed (32 stolen bases) to get runs across the plate. Thirdbaseman Samuel Villanueva is still the star with a .303 average, 5 homers and 18 runs batted in , all team highs. Secondbaseman Bill Shepardson is hitting .298 with 3 homers and a team high 8 stolen bases. Larry Garr has helped lead a team that is amongst the league's best with a 3.86 team ERA and a .244 team average allowed. Garr is 6-1 with a 1.83 ERA. William Sousa has a 2.66 ERA to aid Garr in the starting rotation. Randall Cavallo has done very well as the XPress closer with 11 saves, which is among the league leaders, and a 2.84 ERA. "Things are going well for us. Pitching is the big factor so far. If the bats heat up we could turn some heads." stated Manager Chris Jones.

silvernblack · 04-22-2005, 02:21 PM

Tough times in Syracuse

Year: 2004 Games: 31-40

The Syracuse Xpress had hit the bottom, losing nine of their last 10 games. Pitching and batting both are trouble spots. Sitting at 17-23 and 5 games back in the Federal League North. Hitting .240 with 31 homeruns and 155 runs scored, all rank at the bottom or near the bottom of the league. Outfielder Oscar Hernandez leads the team with a .301 average and has 18 runs batted in and 8 stolen bases. Samuel Villanueva has 6 homers and 22 ribbies, both team highs. The pitching went bottom also, the team ERA rose to 4.13, which is 10th best. But ace Larry Garr lost both of his starts and is now 6-3 with a 2.39 ERA and William Sousa has a 3.14 but a 2-1 record. Closer Randall Cavallo still has 11 saves and a 3.57 ERA but a horrible 0-4 record. James Sinclair has pitched well from the bullpen with a 1.02 ERA in 17.2 innings of work. " We will work our way out of this. We couldn't expect things to be great all the time. Although it certainly would of been nice." stated Manager Chris Jones.

silvernblack · 04-22-2005, 08:21 PM

Nothing doing as XPress keeps slipping

Year: 2004 Games: 41-50

The Syracuse Xpress have won just 3 games out of their 20 games. Its so bad that they have slipped to nine games out of first place in the Federal League's Northern Division. They rank dead last in batting average (.240), homeruns (32) and runs scored (190), while the team ERA is steadily rising at 4.54. Samuel Villanueva leads the team with 6 home runs and 28 runs batted in, but is hitting just .249. Oscar Hernandez is probably their biggest star, hitting .333 with 20 ribbies and 9 stolen bases. Larry Garr is one of the few bright spots in the rotation with a 7-3 record and a impressive 2.41 ERA. William Sousa has a 3.96 ERA with 3 wins. James Sinclair and Carlos Fonseca have been solid in a shaky bullpen with 2.28 and 3.41 ERAs respectively. "I wish I could answer why we just can't win, but I'm dumbfounded. Either we blow leads late in the game or we simply just get pounded." stated a visibly upset Manager Chris Jones.

silvernblack · 04-23-2005, 09:07 AM

Losing is becoming a way of life in Syracuse

Year: 2004 Games: 51-60

The Syracuse Xpress have won just 4 games out of their 30 games. Thats right folks and unreal 4 and 26 record. Hard to Imagine anybody losing that much as the Xpress now owns the worst record in baseball at 20-40. The batting has been horrible with a team .242 average with 41 homers. The lone bright spot for the batters was been Oscar Hernandez. Hernandez is hitting .347 with 5 homers and 24 runs batted in along with 12 stolen bases. The pitching has been nothing pretty either, with a 4.62 team ERA. Larry Garr continue to lead a below average starting rotation with a 7-5 record and a 2.63 ERA. James Sinclair(3.33), Carlos Fonseca (2.97) and Vincent Alberto (3.86) have been respectable from the bullpen, which is 2-8 overall. "I'm out of answers, we just can't hit, can't field and can't pitch. Thats what I've narrowed it down too." stated Manager Chris Jones.

silvernblack · 04-23-2005, 01:13 PM

Syracuse showing signs of life

Year: 2004 Games: 61-70

The Syracuse Xpress showed signs of snapping out of a month long drought as they won 5 of their last 10 games. Thats more wins in 10 games than they had in their previous 30 games (4-26). Syracuse still has the worst record in the Natural Baseball League at 25-45, but things are getting somewhat better as both the team's batting average (.245) rose and their ERA (4.37) dropped. Oscar Hernandez continues to excel batting .342 with 6 homers , 29 runs batted in and 13 stolen bases. Samuel Villanueva leads the team with 8 home runs and 34 ribbies. Larry Garr lost both of his starts but is still 7-7 with a 2.52 ERA and is by far the best starter in Syracuse. The big three of James Sinclair (2.90), Carlos Fonseca (2.72) and Vincent Alberto (2.35) continue to excel in the bullpen and Closer Randall Cavallo has recorded 15 saves. "It was actually nice to win for a change. It was a weird feeling winning 3 straight games, hell thats almost as much as we won all last month." stated Manager Chris Jones.

silvernblack · 04-24-2005, 09:37 AM

XPress back to norm

Year: 2004 Games: 71-80

The Syracuse Xpress went back to the only thing they have known this dreadful season, losing. Its sad to say, but we might as well face the music. The team stinks. They lost 7 times in 10 tries, dropping to a league worst 28-52 and a 100 loss season seems surely in store. On the bright side, the team average rose to .249, which is 27th in the NBL. Rightfielder Oscar Hernandez continues to excel with a .345 average and 16 stolen bases. Samuel Villanueva cracked his team high 10th homerun. Larry Garr continues to be the only starting pitcher worth mentioning, with a 7-9 record, a 2.47 ERA with 132 strikeouts in 142 innings. Carlos Fonseca leads the bullpen with a 2.59 ERA and James Sinclair has helped with a 3.22 ERA. Randall Calvallo has 17 saves , which is pretty amazing considering the team has only 25 wins. "Time to start thinking about the future. Maybe some of the younger guys will get a chance now." stated Manager Chris Jones.

silvernblack · 04-25-2005, 11:16 AM

No All-Stars for the XPress

Year: 2004 Games: 81-90

The Syracuse Xpress looked at the All-Star and realized that no members of their current roster was elected, but did they actually think any would be? After losing 6 of their last 10 games the Xpress dropped to NBL worst 32-58. Of any players possibly worth getting voted in would of been Right Fielder Oscar Hernandez or starting pitcher Larry Garr, Hernandez leads a team that is batting just .254, with a .339 average, a team high 13 home runs and 54 runs scored. He has also stolen 19 bases, batted in 44 runs and walked 33 times. Garr meanwhile has been the only solid starter in the Xpress' rotation, which besides him the next lowest ERA in 4.15. Garr has started 21 games, completed 5 of them with a 8-9 record, fanned 139 batters in 151 innings and boasts a 2.68 ERA while allowing only a .205 average. "At the halfway point of the season and I'm wishing to god everyday that it just ends. " stated Manager Chris Jones

silvernblack · 04-26-2005, 01:58 PM

XPress stays along in the cellar

Year: 2004 Games: 91-100

The Syracuse Xpress has accumulated a 36-64 record through 100 games this season and is the unprecedented cellar dwellar, holding the worst record in baseball. Nothing to be proud of that's for sure. Rightfielder Oscar Hernandez continues to play solid baseball despite the XPress' record. Hitting .332 with 16 homers, 48 runs batted in and 22 stolen bases. Samuel Villianueva has 15 round trippers and a team high 50 ribbies. Ace starter Larry Garr is 9-10 with a 2.77 ERA with 151 strikeouts as the only legimate ace on the XPress staff. Reliever and setup man Carlos Fonseca has a 2.64 ERA in 61.1 innings of work and is a big reason why Closer Randall Cavallo has 20 saves despite a high 4.84 ERA. Minor league Closer Joshua Ware was recently promoted from AAA to replace the struggling Vincent Alberto. Alberto was demoted to AAA. "You know the old say - you can't win 'em all. Well, we changed that to you can't win anywhere close to 'em all." stated Manager Chris Jones.

silvernblack · 04-27-2005, 12:51 AM

Syracuse showing some late life

Year: 2004 Games: 101-110

The Syracuse Xpress won 7 of their last 10 games and currently are no longer the doormat of the NBL. They won their first 5 games and then made some shocking moves. Closer Randall Calvallo, who had 21 saves, was put on waivers and then signed by Washington. Relief pitcher Corey Widman was later signed off of free agency. The XPress is currently 43-67 and 12 games behind Cedar Rapids in the Federal League North. Samuel Villaneuva showed some heart by playing injured and is tied with the team lead in home runs with 16 and has a team high 58 runs batted in. Oscar Hernandez also has 16 jacks and a team high .329 average. Larry Garr won his 10th game and has a starting staff best 2.81 ERA. Carlos Fonseca and his 2.58 ERA was moved into the closer role for the departed Calvallo. Larry Peavey was promoted from AAA and has made 2 appearances without allowing any hits. "We were losing games late. The bullpen needed some changing. Hopefully we can have a solid end to a otherwise forgetful season." stated Manager Chris Jones.

04-21-2005, 06:12 PM	#1
silvernblack Minors (Double A) Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 118	The Birth of the Syracuse XPress Back at after and 1 1/2 years away from the real world. Missed the game greatly and decided to start a fantasy league of 32 teams, in which I took over the Syracuse XPress. Completely redrafted. Sluggish start for newstart XPress year: 2004 games: 1-10 The newly formed Syracuse XPress of the also newly formed Natural Baseball League started out sluggishly winning just 4 out their first 6 games. Offensively, the XPress rank near the bottom in Average (.248) and homeruns (7) but have stolen 11 bases, which is 8th best. B. Shepardson has started out hot, hitting .349 with 2 homers, 5 ribbies and 3 stolen bases. S. Villanueva is batting .333 with 2 round trippers. Starter L. Garr has lead the rotation in his 3 starts, with a 2.01 ERA, 2 wins and a league leading 23 strikeouts. G. Dolan has also been decent in 2 starts with a 3.45 ERA in 15.1 innings of work. The Xpress was active in the waiver wire as they claimed Joshua Ware, Luis Munoz and Max Symonds, all relief pitchers. "Not the way we wanted to start the season. Hopefully we can get the bullpen fixed. Lets remember it's still early." stated Manager Chris Jones. http://www.naturalsports.net/ootp/xpress.htm

04-21-2005, 09:45 PM	#2
silvernblack Minors (Double A) Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 118	Pitching keys XPress rise year: 2004 games: 11-20 The Syracuse Xpress jumped back into the Federal League Northern race by winning 7 times in 10 tries and currently sit 2 games back of front running Seattle, thanks in large part to the pitching. With a team 3.90 ERA, which ranks 6th, while allowing just a .238 average (3rd best). L. Garr continues to lead the way for the starters, but was joined by W. Sousa. Garr is 4-1 with a 1.60 ERA with 37 strikeouts. Sousa has a 1.88 ERA in 4 starts. R. Cavallo, who will retire at the end of the season, is among the league leaders with 8 saves and has a 2.79 ERA. S. Villanueva leads the batters with a .315 average and also leads the team with 5 homers and 13 runs batted in , along with 4 stolen bases. "The pitching was great. Pitching wins games and we surely had plenty of that lately. Lets hope it stays". stated Manager Chris Jones.

04-22-2005, 12:21 PM	#3
silvernblack Minors (Double A) Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 118	Xpress stays close, still two back year: 2004 games: 21-30 The Syracuse Xpress ran into some problems over the last 10 games, winning only 5 of them. However at 16-14 they remain tied for 2nd place in the Federal League's Northern Divison and sit 2 games back of Seattle. They still have problems offensive, hitting just .245 with 22 homeruns but have used their speed (32 stolen bases) to get runs across the plate. Thirdbaseman Samuel Villanueva is still the star with a .303 average, 5 homers and 18 runs batted in , all team highs. Secondbaseman Bill Shepardson is hitting .298 with 3 homers and a team high 8 stolen bases. Larry Garr has helped lead a team that is amongst the league's best with a 3.86 team ERA and a .244 team average allowed. Garr is 6-1 with a 1.83 ERA. William Sousa has a 2.66 ERA to aid Garr in the starting rotation. Randall Cavallo has done very well as the XPress closer with 11 saves, which is among the league leaders, and a 2.84 ERA. "Things are going well for us. Pitching is the big factor so far. If the bats heat up we could turn some heads." stated Manager Chris Jones.

04-22-2005, 02:21 PM	#4
silvernblack Minors (Double A) Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 118	Tough times in Syracuse Year: 2004 Games: 31-40 The Syracuse Xpress had hit the bottom, losing nine of their last 10 games. Pitching and batting both are trouble spots. Sitting at 17-23 and 5 games back in the Federal League North. Hitting .240 with 31 homeruns and 155 runs scored, all rank at the bottom or near the bottom of the league. Outfielder Oscar Hernandez leads the team with a .301 average and has 18 runs batted in and 8 stolen bases. Samuel Villanueva has 6 homers and 22 ribbies, both team highs. The pitching went bottom also, the team ERA rose to 4.13, which is 10th best. But ace Larry Garr lost both of his starts and is now 6-3 with a 2.39 ERA and William Sousa has a 3.14 but a 2-1 record. Closer Randall Cavallo still has 11 saves and a 3.57 ERA but a horrible 0-4 record. James Sinclair has pitched well from the bullpen with a 1.02 ERA in 17.2 innings of work. " We will work our way out of this. We couldn't expect things to be great all the time. Although it certainly would of been nice." stated Manager Chris Jones.

04-22-2005, 08:21 PM	#5
silvernblack Minors (Double A) Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 118	Nothing doing as XPress keeps slipping Year: 2004 Games: 41-50 The Syracuse Xpress have won just 3 games out of their 20 games. Its so bad that they have slipped to nine games out of first place in the Federal League's Northern Division. They rank dead last in batting average (.240), homeruns (32) and runs scored (190), while the team ERA is steadily rising at 4.54. Samuel Villanueva leads the team with 6 home runs and 28 runs batted in, but is hitting just .249. Oscar Hernandez is probably their biggest star, hitting .333 with 20 ribbies and 9 stolen bases. Larry Garr is one of the few bright spots in the rotation with a 7-3 record and a impressive 2.41 ERA. William Sousa has a 3.96 ERA with 3 wins. James Sinclair and Carlos Fonseca have been solid in a shaky bullpen with 2.28 and 3.41 ERAs respectively. "I wish I could answer why we just can't win, but I'm dumbfounded. Either we blow leads late in the game or we simply just get pounded." stated a visibly upset Manager Chris Jones.

04-23-2005, 09:07 AM	#6
silvernblack Minors (Double A) Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 118	Losing is becoming a way of life in Syracuse Year: 2004 Games: 51-60 The Syracuse Xpress have won just 4 games out of their 30 games. Thats right folks and unreal 4 and 26 record. Hard to Imagine anybody losing that much as the Xpress now owns the worst record in baseball at 20-40. The batting has been horrible with a team .242 average with 41 homers. The lone bright spot for the batters was been Oscar Hernandez. Hernandez is hitting .347 with 5 homers and 24 runs batted in along with 12 stolen bases. The pitching has been nothing pretty either, with a 4.62 team ERA. Larry Garr continue to lead a below average starting rotation with a 7-5 record and a 2.63 ERA. James Sinclair(3.33), Carlos Fonseca (2.97) and Vincent Alberto (3.86) have been respectable from the bullpen, which is 2-8 overall. "I'm out of answers, we just can't hit, can't field and can't pitch. Thats what I've narrowed it down too." stated Manager Chris Jones.

04-23-2005, 01:13 PM	#7
silvernblack Minors (Double A) Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 118	Syracuse showing signs of life Year: 2004 Games: 61-70 The Syracuse Xpress showed signs of snapping out of a month long drought as they won 5 of their last 10 games. Thats more wins in 10 games than they had in their previous 30 games (4-26). Syracuse still has the worst record in the Natural Baseball League at 25-45, but things are getting somewhat better as both the team's batting average (.245) rose and their ERA (4.37) dropped. Oscar Hernandez continues to excel batting .342 with 6 homers , 29 runs batted in and 13 stolen bases. Samuel Villanueva leads the team with 8 home runs and 34 ribbies. Larry Garr lost both of his starts but is still 7-7 with a 2.52 ERA and is by far the best starter in Syracuse. The big three of James Sinclair (2.90), Carlos Fonseca (2.72) and Vincent Alberto (2.35) continue to excel in the bullpen and Closer Randall Cavallo has recorded 15 saves. "It was actually nice to win for a change. It was a weird feeling winning 3 straight games, hell thats almost as much as we won all last month." stated Manager Chris Jones.

04-24-2005, 09:37 AM	#8
silvernblack Minors (Double A) Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 118	XPress back to norm Year: 2004 Games: 71-80 The Syracuse Xpress went back to the only thing they have known this dreadful season, losing. Its sad to say, but we might as well face the music. The team stinks. They lost 7 times in 10 tries, dropping to a league worst 28-52 and a 100 loss season seems surely in store. On the bright side, the team average rose to .249, which is 27th in the NBL. Rightfielder Oscar Hernandez continues to excel with a .345 average and 16 stolen bases. Samuel Villanueva cracked his team high 10th homerun. Larry Garr continues to be the only starting pitcher worth mentioning, with a 7-9 record, a 2.47 ERA with 132 strikeouts in 142 innings. Carlos Fonseca leads the bullpen with a 2.59 ERA and James Sinclair has helped with a 3.22 ERA. Randall Calvallo has 17 saves , which is pretty amazing considering the team has only 25 wins. "Time to start thinking about the future. Maybe some of the younger guys will get a chance now." stated Manager Chris Jones.

04-25-2005, 11:16 AM	#9
silvernblack Minors (Double A) Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 118	No All-Stars for the XPress Year: 2004 Games: 81-90 The Syracuse Xpress looked at the All-Star and realized that no members of their current roster was elected, but did they actually think any would be? After losing 6 of their last 10 games the Xpress dropped to NBL worst 32-58. Of any players possibly worth getting voted in would of been Right Fielder Oscar Hernandez or starting pitcher Larry Garr, Hernandez leads a team that is batting just .254, with a .339 average, a team high 13 home runs and 54 runs scored. He has also stolen 19 bases, batted in 44 runs and walked 33 times. Garr meanwhile has been the only solid starter in the Xpress' rotation, which besides him the next lowest ERA in 4.15. Garr has started 21 games, completed 5 of them with a 8-9 record, fanned 139 batters in 151 innings and boasts a 2.68 ERA while allowing only a .205 average. "At the halfway point of the season and I'm wishing to god everyday that it just ends. " stated Manager Chris Jones

04-26-2005, 01:58 PM	#10
silvernblack Minors (Double A) Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 118	XPress stays along in the cellar Year: 2004 Games: 91-100 The Syracuse Xpress has accumulated a 36-64 record through 100 games this season and is the unprecedented cellar dwellar, holding the worst record in baseball. Nothing to be proud of that's for sure. Rightfielder Oscar Hernandez continues to play solid baseball despite the XPress' record. Hitting .332 with 16 homers, 48 runs batted in and 22 stolen bases. Samuel Villianueva has 15 round trippers and a team high 50 ribbies. Ace starter Larry Garr is 9-10 with a 2.77 ERA with 151 strikeouts as the only legimate ace on the XPress staff. Reliever and setup man Carlos Fonseca has a 2.64 ERA in 61.1 innings of work and is a big reason why Closer Randall Cavallo has 20 saves despite a high 4.84 ERA. Minor league Closer Joshua Ware was recently promoted from AAA to replace the struggling Vincent Alberto. Alberto was demoted to AAA. "You know the old say - you can't win 'em all. Well, we changed that to you can't win anywhere close to 'em all." stated Manager Chris Jones.

04-27-2005, 12:51 AM	#11
silvernblack Minors (Double A) Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 118	Syracuse showing some late life Year: 2004 Games: 101-110 The Syracuse Xpress won 7 of their last 10 games and currently are no longer the doormat of the NBL. They won their first 5 games and then made some shocking moves. Closer Randall Calvallo, who had 21 saves, was put on waivers and then signed by Washington. Relief pitcher Corey Widman was later signed off of free agency. The XPress is currently 43-67 and 12 games behind Cedar Rapids in the Federal League North. Samuel Villaneuva showed some heart by playing injured and is tied with the team lead in home runs with 16 and has a team high 58 runs batted in. Oscar Hernandez also has 16 jacks and a team high .329 average. Larry Garr won his 10th game and has a starting staff best 2.81 ERA. Carlos Fonseca and his 2.58 ERA was moved into the closer role for the departed Calvallo. Larry Peavey was promoted from AAA and has made 2 appearances without allowing any hits. "We were losing games late. The bullpen needed some changing. Hopefully we can have a solid end to a otherwise forgetful season." stated Manager Chris Jones.