Leading the Generals

[Nasty5037]

Just wanted to tell you thanks for sucha great read, keep up the good work.

[CecilCooper]

** Thank you Nasty for the kind words. I am learning as I go and hopefully I can keep you and others interested.

END OF APRIL



April was not as kind to the Generals as I would have hoped. The good news is we aren’t the worst team in baseball. The bad news is I just lost 2 games to the worst team in baseball, with one to go, which might make us tied with the worst team in baseball.

The Good:

Henry Hansen – He has had a MONSTER start to the season. In April he hit .327-8-16. His 8 HRs places him on the NL leaderboard.

Craig Gill – Craig is following up on his all-star campaign with another all-star start to the season. He is currently hitting .343-4-13. He also has a .460 OBP. The one issue is his strikeouts, he also has 20 whiffs on the season. The strikeouts are actually a team-wide epidemic.

Reliever Acquisitions – Lee Bell and Miguel Garcia have performed really well. Lee has a 0.75 ERA in 12 IP and a .50 WHIP. He has a 1/12 BB/K ratio. Miguel is 0-2 with 1 save and a 3.26 ERA. Miguel gave up 2 really untimely HRs but he still has a .67 WHIP after 19 IP. The bullpen is currently ranked 4th in the NL.

The Bad:

Starting Pitching – No starter has an ERA under 4.00. Darrell Stokes is having the best start of the group and he is 2-4 4.19 and a 1.40 WHIP. He has an 18/24 BB/K line. Joaquin Alonso is 3-2 4.60 with a 1.53 WHIP and is the second best starter on the staff.

Frank McDonald – Frank is having a tough time this season. He is currently fighting for his starting spot, but it seems no one wants it. Frank is hitting .177-0-6 this season. His fielding is still spot on however and that is a huge plus for him right now. Currently Frank and Craig Gill are the only General every day players with no errors on the season.

The Ugly:

The Outfield (minus Craig Gill) – We went into the season thinking the outfield was going to be overcrowded and a strong spot of the team. After one month, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Here is how bad it has been:
Orlando Navarro - .232-2-8
Bart Evans - .145-0-7
Mike Cook - .153-0-2
Rafael Mendez - .219-1-6

Those 4 are more or less rotating between CF and RF and I am waiting for someone to emerge.

Martin Mercado’s Control – Martin has not been able to find the plate this season. He has walked 18 batters in 23.1 IP and has only struck out 8 batters. He is on the verge of being shipped to AAA.

John Hayes – John Hayes was about to be shipped also, but he went and got himself hurt so he is on the DL for the rest of the season. He was 1-4 9.85 on the season. He had a 1.98 WHIP and batters were hitting .382 on him.






Opening Day
4/1 Generals 4, Knights 1
Darrell Stokes came out and was on fire in his debut as a General. He held a tough Brooklyn Knights offense to 5 hits and 1 earned run over 8.1 IP. He walked 4 and struck out 4. Pedro Castro and Henry Hansen hit solo homers and Pedro also had another hit and ended the game with 2 RBI.

Best Team Game
4/19 Generals 6, Loons 0
John Hayes knew he was pitching for his roster spot on this day and he was stellar. He threw 5 innings of 3 hit shutout ball before giving way to the bullpen. His 86 pitch performance included 2 walks and 4 strikeouts. Miguel Garcia and Barney Huddlestone combined for 4 innings of 1 hit relief work. Craig Gill went 3-4 with a walk, 2B and 2 HRs. He accounted for 5 of the team’s 6 runs with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. The other run came courtesy of a Rafael Mendez HR.

Bad Game #1
4/13 Blue Sox 12, Generals 5
John Hayes started this game and gave up 4 HR and 11 ER in 4+ IP. Chicago scored 7 runs in the bottom of the 5th to turn a 5-4 game into a 12-4 game. SS Brian Wilson of the Blue Sox went deep twice and had 3 runs scored. LF Tony St. John was 4-5 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI. RF Greg Craft went 2-4 with 2 runs score and 3 RBI. The lone bright spots for the Generals was a HR #4 from Henry Hansen and Orlando Navarro’s 3-4 2 RBI night.

Bad Game #2
4/22 Bluebirds 7, Generals 0
Hector Castro (3-1) came out and threw a gem in this game. He went the distance and gave up only 5 hits while striking out 12. RF Joseph Allen went deep twice for the Bluebirds and drove in 5 runs. 1B Greg Healy and RF Ryoichi Tanaka each hit a HR also. Doug Randolf gave up all 4 HRs in 6 innings of work.


Injuries
4/29 SP John Hayes left the game early and was diagnosed with chronic back spasms which is scheduled to keep him out for 11 months.

Transactions
4/29 SP Wilson Hernandez was claimed off of waivers from San Francisco where he was 2-1 5.79 after 3 starts. He will step right in and take over John Hayes's spot in the rotation.

Down on the Farm
OF Sy-ing Er at A level Portland was the player of the month for the organization. He is starting the year at a .364-2-22 clip.
AAA OF Steve MacNayer is leading those in the organization's minors with 4 home runs.
RL SP David Diaz is leading all pitchers with 4 wins. He has a 4.78 ERA and a 5/15 BB/K ratio.
OF Constant Esposito is nearing full recovery from his torn labrum and the scouting director thinks he is ready for AA ball.
RL 3B Sixto Lopez is getting a long look at a promotion. He is currently tearing up the Rookie League with a line of .429-0-15.
There are relievers at every level that are ready to be moved. However I am not sure there is room at AAA to start the domino effect. I am not quite ready to let go of any of the older guys that helped out last year, however if the bullpen at the CBA level continues at its pace I will have no issues letting some older guys go, since they won't be of much help to me.

[CecilCooper]

April News From Around the League

4/6 RF Pat Mayes of the Anaheim Amigos collected his 3500th hit of his career.

4/8 1B Emilio Gonzalez of the Houston Gunslingers was named Player of the Week for the AL. He hit .440-3-11 with 7 runs scored for the week.
LF Ernie Dotson of the Brooklyn Knights was named the NL Player of the week after going .474-3-9 for the week.
1B Julian Mora of the Las Vegas Aces tore ankle ligaments and is out for the season. Last season Julian hit .230-5-11 in 113 ABs.
24 year old SP Hector Rivera suffers a torn labrum which will end his career. The youngster was a top prospect climbing as high as #10 in the 2045 OSA Prospect Poll.
RP Pedro Sanchez of the Anaheim Amigos is lost for 6 weeks after straining elbow ligaments. He was 1-0 3.38 after 4 appearances this season.

4/11 CF Roberto Serrano of the New York Protectors hits for the cycle. During his 5 hit barrage he hit 2 triples, one in the first and another in the 5th. He had 4 RBI and 3 runs scored in an 11-1 win over the Tampa Bay Sun Rays.

4/12 SP Roberto Estrada of the LV Aces pitches a 5 hit shutout against the Phoenix Firebirds.

4/13 RF Tony St. John of the Chicago Blue Sox hits for the cycle in a 12-5 win over the Generals.

4/14 C Dan Hart of the San Diego Admirals hits 3 HR in a 21-2 win over the St. Louis Bluebirds. Dan drove in 9 runs.

4/15 LF John Ewing was named AL Player of the Week. The Dallas Desperado LFer hit .538-0-8 for the week.
CF Roberto Serrano of the NY Protectors was named NL Player of the Week. He hit .458-2-9 on the week.

4/20 LF Rodrigo Avila of the Anaheim Amigos has a 20-game hit streak going.

4/21 1B Roberto 'Pogo' Torres gets his 2000th hit of his career. Pogo is in his first season in Charlotte and has also played for Atlanta and Seattle in his 11+ seasons in the CBA.

4/22 1B Dave Lynch of the Dallas Desperados is named AL Player of the Week. He hit .370-4-10 for the week.
C Will Slater of the Phoenix Firebirds was named NL Player of the Week. His red-hot bat produced a .667-4-7 week.
SP Hector Castro of the St.Louis Bluebirds tosses a 5-hit shutout against the Generals. Hector also struck out 12 batters in the gem.
1B Ethan Hay of the Anaheim Amigos hits for the cycle. Ethan was signed out of nowhere in the offseason and in his MAJOR-LEAGUE DEBUT hits for the cycle. He was batting .342-1-14 in his short 73 AB AAA career before being called up to the CBA. Anaheim lost 8-4 to the Philadelphia Masons.

4/23 RF Greg Craft of the Chicago Blue Sox is injured and will miss 5-6 weeks. He had a great start to the season hitting .403 with 4 HR and 20 RBI.

4/26 SP Paco Molina of the Charlotte Racers tosses a 5-hit shutout against the Pittsburgh Bees. He struck out 9 and walked 2 during the game. In 5 starts, Paco is 1-3 7.33 so far in 2047.
LF Ignacio Perez of the Tampa Bay Sun Rays has a 20-game hitting streak going.

4/29 RF Horace Hickman of the Vancouver Loggers was named the AL Player of the Week. Horace hit .524 while driving in 6 runs and scoring 6 times during the week.
LF Ignacio Perez of Tampa Bay was named the NL Player of the Week. Ignacio is in the midst of a 20+ game hitting streak and hit .524-2-7 this past week.
C Doyle Ray of the Anaheim Amigos suffered a season-ending injury. Doyle tore a back muscle while running the bases in a game against the SF Seals. Doyle hit .278-0-6 in 79 ABs this season. He had had over 375 ABs for the Amigos since coming over from the Mpls Loons in the 2042 season.

4/30 LF Rodrigo Avila of the Anaheim Amigos goes hitless against the SF Seals and has his 28-game hit streak snapped. He currently has a .396 with 4 HRs.

[CecilCooper]

Get to Know the CBA

Occasionally I am going to add in a random post about all things CBA so we can learn more about the history, players and teams that make up the CBA.

Payroll Rankings


Meet the Capital City Ambassadors
Best Record 107-55 (2034)
Worst Record 67-95 (2033)
Playoff Appearances - 9
WS Appearances - 4
WS Championships - 2 (2044, 2046)
Fan Base Level - Extremely Loyal
Fan Interest - 100
Market Size - Slightly Above Average

The Capital City Ambassadors are the most accomplished American League team. They have made the playoffs 9 times which is tied for the most in the CBA (Hollywood Stars). They are also tied with the Houston Gunslingers and the Anaheim Amigos with 4 AL World Series appearances, however the Ambassadors have won the CBA World Series more than those other two teams (twice 2044, 2046). In fact, this team has not finished worse than 2nd in their division since they had 3 straight years of last place finishes from 2031-2033. From 2033 to 2034 they went from worst to first with a 40 game increase. 2034 was their best regular season with a record of 107-55.

The Ambassadors currently hang their hat on their pitching staff. 4 of their 5 most popular players are on the pitching staff. Their most popluar player is future Hall of Famer SP Lucas 'Voodoo' Gilbert. They currently have a very solid 1-2-3 punch in the rotation. The best in the CBA.
SP Alberto Martinez 6-1 1.97
SP Tyler Martin 6-1 2.47
SP Lucas Gilbert 5-1 3.57

Offensively they are led by LF Steven Stewart .286-9-25 and DH Stephen Warren .313-5-29.

Lucas 'Voodoo' Gilbert
Lucas Gilbert is a sure-fire future Hall of Famer. The 37 year old was originally a 1st round pick of the Phoenix Firebirds after the 2029 season. He stayed with Phoenix until after the 2038 season when he moved to Capital City. Lucas has 278 wins and is currently 2nd on the all-time wins list behind Augusto Moran (289). He ranks 13th in career ERA with a 3.13 ERA. He is also 3rd on the career strikeout list and is 66 strikeouts short of his 3000th punch out. Lucas Gilbert has been a 9-time All-Star and a 3-time Pitcher of the Year. He has 1 Glove Wizard Award and has been named Pitcher of the Month 9 times. He has also been on 5 World Series Championship Teams (Phoenix 3, Capital City 2). Lucas has 16 career shutouts with his best performance being a 1-hitter last season against the Vancouver Loggers. He is a 4-time 20-game winner with his best season performance 26-4 1.93 in 2034 with Phoenix.

Steven Stewart
Steven Stewart's name is littered all over the Capital City record books. Not bad for someone who has only been on the team for 5+ seasons. He broke into the league in 2035 and since then, he has only missed the 20 HR mark 3 times. In his 12 seasons in the CBA he has .273-295-979 career numbers. He is not only a hitter with pretty good pop, he also is nearing his 500th steal (494). Steven has 4 Glove Wizard Awards and has been named All-Star 4 times as well. He has been an integral part of both CC Championships. Steven was a 2nd round pick of the Minneapolis Loons after the 2030 season. Shortly after his CBA Debut he was traded to Charlotte and remained with Charlotte until signing a 5 year, $66 million deal with the Hollywood Stars. A year after signing that deal he was shipped to CC where he has remained.

Top Prospect
The Ambassadors currently have a poor farm system, which is fine with them if you are in a financial position to buy all of your players in FA. They are tied for last and CC only has one player in the BA Top 100 Prospects list. That person is 1B Mario Aguilar. Mario is 21 and is currently in AA Omaha. He is hitting .388-1-10 this season. Mario sits at #92 in the BA Top 100 List. He is a former 3rd round draft pick and made the A-League All-Star Team last season. He is projected to be a



Pics Above: Logo, Gilbert, Stewart

[CecilCooper]

Mid-May Report



As you can see from the above, things are still going more or less the same. One thing that is a little disheartening is that my bullpen has had a pretty horrendous start to May. There are two relievers with a 5.40 ERA and that is the lowest out of the pen.

SP Darrell Stokes has had a good start to May. He is 2-0 3.93 so far this month.

SS Matt Arrington has had a power surge to start the month. He has been batting leadoff for most of the year and has started 2 games with HR. He has had another 2 in the past 15 days as well. He had 6 in 81 games last season before being injured.

1B Henry Hansen is still continuing his torrid pace to start the year. He now has a .317-14-31 line and is #2 in the NL in Home Runs.

C Pedro Castro strained a hip muscle and was listed as day-to-day but was kept out for the better part of a week.

The bottom 5 in average for May are ALL of my outfielders including Craig Gill.

2B Frank McDonald has been hot in May and has a 14 game hit streak going. He had a 13 game hit streak in April of last season and again has put together a nice streak to help solidify his hold on the second base job.

Bad Loss # 1
5/9 Aces 13, Generals 3
The Aces jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first half-inning on a LF Jim Meany home run. We came storming back with 3 in the bottom half of the inning thanks to shaky control by Aces SP Raul Rocha. After that it was tee-off time on Joaquin Alonso. In 3+ innings he gave up 8 hits, and 5 walks that led to 8 runs before striking out the side to end the 4th. RP Barney Huddlestone also had control issues and gave up 2 hits and 4 walks in 2 innings that led to another 3 runs. Aces SS Hernan Rodriguez went 5-6 with a 2B and HR. He also scored 2 runs and drove in 5.

Bad Loss #2
5/14 Protectors 7, Generals 0
SP Joaquin Alonso was involved in a semi-pitchers' duel with SP Tsurayuki Kato. Alonso gave up a first inning solo shot to 1B Martin Hays and then gave up two more runs in the 5th. Meanwhile the Generals were being shut out by Kato. Then in the 7th, the Protectors managed to get a few guys on base and a big blast by 2B John Heller gave the Protectors their 7 run lead that they ended the game with.

Exciting Game #1
5/11 Generals 5, Sun Rays 4
SP Joe Wade made his ML Debut and went 6 innings scattering 8 hits and allowing 2 runs, both in the 2nd inning. The Generals plate a run in the 3rd, 4th and 5th innings to take a 3-2 lead. MR Lee Bell comes in and pitches 2 scoreless innings of relief and gives way to CL Edison Austin. Edison proceeds to give up a 9th inning 2-run HR to CF David Washington. In the bottom on the 9th, against Sun Rays CL Forrest Anderson, 3B Pablo Rodriguez leads off with a walk, while 1B Henry Hansen whiffs. OF Orlando Navarro singles, sending Rodriguez to second and that is followed by a CF Bart Evans strikeout. 2B Frank McDonald singles, tying up the game as Rodriguez comes around from second and the single sends Navarro to second. C Doug Lynn, playing because of the strained hip to C Pedro Castro is up and hits a single up the middle that scored Navarro and sends the Generals' Fans home happy.

Generals Notes/Injuries
As mentioned, C Pedro Castro injured his hip and was day-to-day for about a week. He started one game and pinch-hit in another one or two games while the injury lingered. Pedro has sent me a note saying he would like to work on a new deal, however he is asking for $7 million a year. I am pretty sure that is not going to be possible given the team's financial situation.

Transactions
5/6 SP Martin Mercado was sent to AAA, and SP Joe Wade was recalled from AAA.


Around the League
5/2 SP Alberto Martinez of the CC Ambassadors pitched a 5-hit shutout against the Pittsburgh Bees.

5/3 LF Ignacio Perez of the Tampa Bay Sun Rays had his 25-game hit streak snapped by the Hollywood Stars.

5/5 MR Doug Cox of the New York Protectors was injured and will miss 4 weeks. The 24 year old 1.08 ERA in 25 innings this season.
RF Manchu Hsia on Minneapolis was injured and will miss 2-3 weeks. Manchu has had a good start to the season batting .346-3-16.

5/6 1B Emilio Gonzalez of Houston was named the AL Player of the Week. Emilio hit .423-2-11 for the week.
LF Kenny Horton of the Protectors of New York was named the NL Player of the Week. The 38 year old has won the award for the 5th time, his first since 2042. He hit .550-2-4 for the week.
3B Ford Rolston of the Seattle Klondikes was injured and will miss 2-3 months with an injured tricep muscle. Ford was a FA pickup from Charlotte and had hit 20+ HRs for the last 4 seasons, including another injury-plagued year where he only played in 96 games.

5/8 SP Mike Brooks of Seattle pitched a 4-hit shutout against the Miami Beachcombers. It is the 6th shutout of his career.

5/11 LV Aces SP Roberto Estrada won his 200th game of his career in a 5-1 win against the San Diego Admirals. Roberto is 200-98 3.23 in his career.

5/13 3B George Walker of the Houston Gunslingers was named AL Player of the Week. He hit .350-3-8 for the week.
SS Hernan Rodriguez of the LV Aces had a huge week batting .519-1-7 and was named NL Player of the Week.

5/14 1B David Graham reached a contract extension with the Phoenix Firebirds. The 38 year old signs on for 2 more years at over $21 million per!! For his career David has hit 471 HR, while driving in 1529 and hitting .322. He is in the top 4 of the career leaderboard in each category.

[CecilCooper]

Meet the New York Protectors

Best Record 102-60 (2031)
Worst Record 67-95 (2044)
Playoff Appearances - 7
WS Appearances - 5
WS Championships - 4 (2031. 2034, 2041, 2042)
Fan Base Level - Extremely Loyal
Fan Interest - 68
Market Size - Big

The Protectors are the franchise with the most Championships to date. Other teams might have been in the playoffs more, however, no team can match their 4 titles. The team in its current form is heavy on the offense with enough pitching to get by.

38 year old LF Kenny Horton is leading the team with a .371 average, which is currently 4th in the league. CF Roberto Serrano and 2B John Heller are two more players that have averages over .333 this season. Their muscle comes in the form of 1B Martin Hays. He is currently leading the CBA with 22 HR.

Their pitching staff is led by CL Felix Palacios 1-1 3 SV, 1.52. At 24 years old, he could have a great career ahead of him. I know the Generals are already tired of facing him. The top 2 starters are SP Chris Dempsey 5-4 3.14 and Bill McDormand 6-2 4.22.


Martin Hays
Martin Hays is in just his 4th full season in the CBA. At 29 years old, he still has some time ahead of him. In 501, career games he has 101 HR, 368 RBI and a .309 career average. He earned his first CBA All-Star nomination last season and is well on his way to his 2nd nomination this year. Martin was originally a 1st round pick of the Vancouver Loggers and 2 trades later ended up on the Protectors.

Kenny Horton
Kenny has had a long and bumpy ride in the CBA. In his 15 years of CBA service time, he has accumulated over 1850 hits. He has a career .291-180-835 line. He was named an All-Star in 2033 and 2034 before being sent to AAA for a stint in 2039. Kenny has been named Player of the Week twice including once this season.

Tim Dooks
Tim Dooks has been a fixture in right field of CBA teams since 2035. Tim is closing in on his 2000th hit (1936) and has hit 222 HR while driving in 809 runs. He has a career average of .293. Tim is on many top 10 lists with the Protectors, even though he has only been with them since 2043. Tim does not seem to get along well with the fans and in spite of that he is a 4-time All-Star.

Protector in Hall-of-Fame
Jesse Newman
Jesse Newman was a masterful pitcher. He is 3rd on the all-time wins list with 226 (117 losses). 175 of them coming with the Protectors and is their leader. Jesse also had a 3.13 ERA during his career which lands him just outside the top 10 all-time. Jesse finished his career just shy of 3000 strikeouts. He was already pitching in top form at age 26 when the history of the CBA was started so there is no doubt he would have had better numbers if he was allowed to have a full career. As it was, he still had 50 complete games and 21 shutouts for his career. He won 20 games (exactly) 4 times and never had a year with fewer than 13 wins. Jesse is the only pitcher to have had 5 shutouts in a season. He is also the only pitcher to have had 4 in a season. He won 2 Outstanding Pitcher Awards, was a member of 8 All-Star Teams and was a member of 3 World Championship Teams (1 with Chicago) including winning one in his last season. He was 7-2 3.31 in 16 career postseason games.

Top Prospect
The Protectors have a middle of the road farm system. They have 4 players listed in the BA Top 100. The highest of which, is 1B Pedro Jacome at # 14. Pedro just got a call-up to the CBA 23 days ago when backup 1B Bob Grimes ruptured his MCL. Pedro is a good contact hitter who does not show much power. He has had 6 HR in each of the past two seasons. He was batting .310-0-17 in 113 AB at AAA prior to his call-up. I am not sure that the 23 year-old has much of a future in NY unless he moves positions, since Martin Hays will be a tough person to move off of first base.




(Logo, Hays, Horton, Dooks)

[CecilCooper]

END OF MAY




As you can see things really didn't change all that much for us in May. The team is still struggling but at least they still are not the worst in baseball. They were tied with Cincinnati a few game ago, but then we ended May taking 4 of 6 from the Hollywood Stars and Minneapolis Loons.

1B Henry Hansen had a big month going .322-10-32 and is really threatening to earn a spot on the All-Star Team. The bad thing is there is probably only one spot up for grabs as 1B Martin Hays of the Protectors pretty much has the starting role locked up.

CF Bart Evans has gone on a bit of a hot streak to end May. He ended up with a .297-3-9 line for May. He has pretty much been my CF of choice the last 2 weeks. A good part of that has to do with an injury that hit the team.

C Pedro Castro came back from his strained hip to put up a .325 average to lead the team in May and he also hit a couple of home runs.

MR Lee Bell was the only pitcher that showed up in May. He had a 1.93 ERA over 14 IP in 9 games. He did give up 2 home runs though. The next lowest ERA for the month was 4.26.

SP Luis Ramirez came back from his spring training injury. You might remember that he was a part of the Patrick Shaw trade. He has had good starts to his games, but then late he really implodes. The first game he gave up 2 runs through 5, and then had 6 come in in the 6th. Another game he had a shutout through 6 before running into issues. All that said he has had a 1-1 6.64 start to his season.

SP Darrell Stokes is now on the leaderboard for most walks allowed. He allowed 20 this past month.

CL Edison Austin is going to be watched closely. He allowed 3 HR in 9 innings and had a 7.00 ERA for the month. He might get moved out of his closer role.

Finally MR Lorenzo Zambrano is in danger of being demoted. I have a promising youngster that looks like he might be ready to move up to Boston and if Lorenzo doesn't start getting things under control he might be gone.

Best Win
Generals 4, Stars 0
SP Wilson Hernandez went 7 strong innings in his best effort as a General. He scattered 7 hits and walked 2, while striking out 4. MR Lee Bell came in for the final 2 innings. The offense was provided by long balls hit by CF Bart Evans and LF Craig Gill.

Worst Loss
Loons 9, Generals 6
The score does not indicate how lopsided this game was. SP Darrell Stokes allowed 7 runs in 3 short innings. SP Patrick Shaw of the Loons didn't do that much better allowing 5 in 2.1 innings, but the Loons were able to tack on their next runs before we were able to get our last run. 3B Parker Dawson went 3-4 with 2 HR and 5 RBI.

Exciting Game 1
Generals 2, Stars 1
SP Doug Randolf went 6 strong innings giving up 3 hits and no runs. SP Tristan Warwick of Hollywood was matching him by going 7.1 IP with no runs and 5 hits allowed. In the 7th, SP Miguel Garcia walked 2 and allowed a run to come in. Then in the 9th, C Castro and 3B Rodriguez get strikeouts courtesy of P Jose Diaz. ThenCF Bart Evans who came on earlier as a defensive sub got a hit and scored on a RF Steve MacNayer double. Next, PH Brent Wells hits a single to score MacNayer and put the Generals up 2-1. CL Edison Austin comes in and pitches a 1-2-3 ninth for the save.

Exciting Game 2
Generals 8, Loons 7
SP Robinson Perez for the Loons was shelled and sent to the showers early after giving up 6 runs in 2 innings. SP Doug Randolf let him off the hook by giving up 5 runs of his own in 6 innings. MR Bill Davis then came in and gave up a huge blast to LF Craig Evans, which was his 2nd of the game. That made the score 7-7 after 7. It stayed that way until the 11th inning when the tie was broken by SS Matt Arrington's solo blast in the good half of the inning. MR Sherwood Goodman came in and got the save while allowing 1 hit in his inning of work.





Transactions
5/17 SP Luis Ramirez was activated from the 60-Day DL and SP Joe Wade was demoted to AAA.

5/21 OF Rafael Mendez was put on the 15-Day DL and AAA OF Steve MacNayer was promoted to Boston.

Injuries
5/21 OF Rafael Mendez has a herniated disc in his back and is out for 7 weeks.

Misc.
OF Steve MacNayer was brought up because he was the best available option. I could use another outfielder since they were all struggling and Steve was the least-worst option. He is a speedster and defensive whiz so at the very least he shores up those that have to chase the ball around the field.

Around the League
5/16 One day after going 5 for 5, 2B Gabriel Flores of the Philadelphia Masons herniated a disc and is out for 6 weeks. He was hitting .338-5-28 on the season.

5/17 The injury bug hits Philadelphia again as MR Man-keung Au injured an elbow ligament and will miss 7 weeks. He was 1-4 5.46 on the season.

5/18 RF Heriberto Marvo of the LV Aces strained his PCL and will miss 8 weeks. He was hitting .300 with 2 HR and 23 RBI this season.

5/20 RF Vernon Thomas of the Dallas Desperados was named AL Player of the Week. He hit .481-2-6 this past week.
C Art Franklin of the Brooklyn Knights was named NL Player of the Week. Art hit .500-4-11 for the week!

5/21 SP In-chor Park of Atlanta damaged his meniscus and will miss 3-4 weeks. The 37 year old was 4-4 4.74 this season.
MR Jose Medina of the St. Louis Bluebirds tore a back muscle and is expected to miss the season. He finishes the year 1-0 3.52 in 18 appearances.
C Santo Spinelli of the San Fran Seals has a 20-game hitting streak going.

5/22 RF Stephen Brown of the Seattle Klondikes tore a back muscle and will miss 3 months. He was hitting .236-3-24 so far this season.
SP Antonio Torres of the Anaheim Amigos pitched a complete game 6-hit shutout. Antonio is 6-4 3.58 on the year.

5/23 C Santo Spinelli has his 21-game hitting streak snapped by Atlanta. He has a .328 average with 8 HR and 26 RBI on the season.

5/24 SP Will Davis of Seattle will miss the rest of the season with a torn tricep muscle. Will was 4-3 4.90 on the year.

5/25 The injury bug keeps making it rounds. This time it is RF Bill Evans of San Francisco who will be out for 7 weeks after fracturing his arm. Bill was a big part of the offense in SF going .289-10-33 this season.
C Dan Hart of San Diego blasted 3 HR in a game against the New York Protectors. He now has 19 HR on the season.

5/27 CF Sam Gilliland of Houston was named AL Player of the Week. Sam hit .500 and scored 7 runs while driving in 3 this week.
C Will Slater of Phoenix was named NL Player of the Week. Will hit a nice .560 with 4 HR and 6 RBI this past week.
The Capital City Ambassadors took a huge hit to their chances of repeating when SP Alberto Martinez was lost for 8 months with a ruptured tricep tendon. Alberto was a leading candidate for the Outstanding Pitcher Award as he finishes the year 8-1 2.04. Let's hope he can make a strong recovery as he is one of the game's finest.

5/28 SS Julius Alistair of the Phoenix Firebirds dislocated a shoulder and is going to miss 5 weeks. He was hitting .325-5-26 before the injury.

5/29 CF Charlie Johnston of Seattle tore a muscle in his rib cage and is going to miss 5 weeks. He was off to a nice start power-wise with 8 HR. He had not hit more than 15 in his 3 previous seasons.

[CecilCooper]

Mid-June Report




Things didn't go too well for the Generals to start off June. Frank McDonald is the only batter with an average over .259 in June (.339). Wilson Hernandez has been pitching well, and has been a nice find off of the waiver wire. In June he is 0-1 3.15 over 3 starts. Bill Davis has been the best reliever on the team these last 2 weeks. He has a 1.59 ERA and an .059 opp avg over 5.2 innings.

Lee Bell has been the worst pitcher on the team the past two weeks. He has an 11.57 ERA over 4.2 IP. Joaquin Alonso has given up 12 runs in 12 innings in June. Pedro Castro has been batting .132 in June and that has been a big issue when coupled with the injuries we have sustained so far this month.

Injuries
6/3 LF Craig Gill hyperextended a knee and will miss 2 weeks.
6/9 1B Henry Hansen fractured a hand and will miss 6 games.
6/14 3B Pablo Rodriguez was concussed and will miss 2 weeks.

Transactions
6/3 LF Craig Gill was placed on the 15 Day DL and MR Julio Vargas was called up from AAA.
6/14 3B Pablo Rodriguez was placed on the 15 Day DL and IF Brian Pitts was called up from AAA.

Unbelievable Game
6/12 Loons 5, Generals 0
For the second straight year, the Generals are on the wrong side of pitching history. This time SP Felipe Coronado not only no-hits the Generals, he also does not allow a runner to get the PERFECT GAME!! Felipe needed 111 pitches and struck out 10 along the way. C Seitaro Ichikawa and ss Christian Dube provided long balls for the Loons.

Win # 1
6/8 Generals 2, Bluebirds 0
SP Luis Ramirez turned in a spectacular performance in going the distance for the shutout. He gave up 5 hits and struck out 6 during the game. OF Steve MacNayer hit a 2 out double with 2 on in the 7th to provide the only runs of the game. SP Taek-gyon Chon of St. Louis was the other half of the duel.

Win # 2
6/11 Generals 6, Loons 4
SS Julio Huerta started the scoring by hitting a 2-run HR for the Loons in the 3rd off of SP Darrell Stokes. The Generals countered by knocking the ball around and getting 3 in the sixth. Then in the 7th, MR Miguel Garcia gave up a 2-run HR to 3B Parker Dawson to put the Loons up 4-3. OF Steve MacNayer and OF Mike Cook hit back-to-back HR as part of a 3 run 8th to put the Generals up 6-4, which ended up being the final score.

Bad Loss
6/3 Blue Sox 15, Generals 3
A truly incredible performance by 2B Jose Rodriguez is the story from this game. In his 3rd CBA game Jose goes 5-5 with 6 runs and 7 RBI. Among his 5 hits are 1 2B and 4 HR!! He also had a walk to top things off. The Blue Sox were up 11-0 in the 6th before the Generals dented the scoreboard with 3 in the 6th, including 1 by way of a Henry Hansen HR. SP Luis Ramirez was the pitcher who started off the HR barrage by Jose Rodriguez.

Exciting Game
6/2 Knights 4, Generals 3 (14)
MR Lee Bell and CL Edison Austin combine to blow a 2 run lead in the 9th to let the Knights tie the game at 3, wasting a good pitching performance by SP Wilson Hernandez, who went 7 innings allowing 1 run on 4 hits. MR Bill Davis and MR Sherwood Goodman did a grat job of keeping the Knights off of the scoreboard in the 10th through 13th innings. However MR Barney Huddleston gave up a walk and 2 hits in the 14th to allow the Knights to plate a run. The Generals made it close though by getting 2 two-out singles from 3B Brent Wells and 2B Frank McDonald before C Pedro Castro flew out to end the game.

Around the League
6/1 RF Vernon Thomas of the Dallas Desperados was named the AL Player of the Month. Vernon hit .367-6-19 and scored 24 runs during May.
SP Pantalian Coronel of the SF Seals was named AL Pitcher of the Month for May. Pantalian went 5-1 1.99 while striking out 36 in 45.1 innings.
1B Guillermo German of the Philadelphia Masons was named the AL Newcomer of the Month. Guillermo .388-2-12 and had a .456 OBP during May.
C Art Franklin of the Brooklyn Knights was named the NL Player of the Month. Art hit .479 with 8 HR and 22 RBI while scoring 23 runs during the month.
SP Felipe Coronado of the Minneapolis Loons was named the NL Pitcher of the Month for May. He was 4-1 2.44 during the month.
1B Ron Wright of the Hollywood Stars was named the NL Newcomer of the Month. Ron hit .333-3-12 for May.
SP Gary Wilson of the CC Ambassadors throws a 3-hit shutout against the Atlanta Kings. Gary struck out 9 during the game.

6/2 SP Ryuichi Tanaka of the Dallas Desperados pitches a 4-hit shutout against the Anaheim Amigos. He walked 3 and struck out 10 during the game.

6/3 LF Brian Ward of Pittsburgh was named AL Player of the Week. During the week, Brian hit .333-4-11.
CF Andres Vela of Phoenix was named NL Player of the Week. Andres hit .480-4-9 during the week.
LF Steven Stewart of Capital City hit his 300th HR of his career.
2B Jose Rodriguez torches the Generals to the tune of 5-5 with 4 HR, 1 2B, 6 runs and 7 RBI with one walk.

6/4 LF Alberto Martinez of the Houston Gunslingers will miss 4 weeks with a fractured hand. Alberto is hitting .204-9-22 so far this season.

6/7 SP Ferruccio Bergonzi of the Cincinnati Steamboats tosses a 4-hit shutout against the Minneapolis Loons.

6/8 SP Roberto Estrada of the LV Aces pitches a 1-0 4-hit shutout against the Tampa Bay Sun Rays.

6/9 SP Mike Black of the Dallas Desperados pitches a 4-hit shutout striking out 5 and walking 4 against the Pittsburgh Bees.

6/10 LF Rodrigo Avila of the Anaheim Amigos was named AL Player of the Week. He hit .391-3-8 for the week.
2B Jose Rodriguez of the Chicago Blue Sox was named NL Player of the Week. The rookie in his first week in the CBA hit .500-5-16 and scored 9 runs.
SP Eric Moore of the Miami Beachcombers pitched a 3-hit shutout against the Vancouver Loggers.

6/12 SP Felipe Coronado pitches a PERFECT GAME against the Generals. He strikes out 10 en route to perfection.
SP Tyler Martin of Capital City pitches a 3-hit shutout against the Anaheim Amigos.

6/14 RF Pat Mayes hits HR # 700 for his career.

[CecilCooper]

END OF JUNE



Taking this team to respectability is going to take a lot longer than I had thought. I think I should have taken a better look at finances before picking a team. Oh well, live and learn.

June was a horrible month. The 2nd half of June didn't go any better than the first half. CF Bart Evans was the best hitter for the team in June. He ended the month with a .294 average with 4 HR and 15 RBI. SP Joaquin Alonso was dreadful this month. He was 0-4 10.67. SP Wilson Hernandez was decent. He was 1-1 3.94 in 5 starts this month. CL Edison Austin is no longer the closer. He is now a middle reliever and MR Lee Bell has been given the assignment to close out wins.

Transactions
6/23 Activated OF Craig Gill from the DL and optioned MR Lorenzo Zambrano to AAA Austin.

Best Win
6/30 Generals 10, Blue Sox 2
SP Wilson Hernandez pitched 7 strong innings giving up 3 hits and 1 earned run. C Pablo Castro helped get things started by hitting a 2B and a 3B in his first two at-bats with 2B Frank McDonald on each time. Castro would later score in each inning so that contributed to 4 of the 5 runs through the first 3 innings. LF Orlando Navarro went deep with 1 on in the 4th and CF Bart Evans hit a bases-loaded double that scored 2. It was the first win in 12 tries against the Blue Sox.

Bad Loss #1
6/27 Blue Sox 10, Generals 1
SP Preston Bennett of the Blue Sox had a great outing in allowing only 2 hits in 6.1 innings of work. SP Joaquin Alonso was lit up and allowed 9 runs in 4 innings of work. 3B Chang-keun Chu was 3-4 with 4 RBI for Chicago. CF Bart Evans hit a solo shot in the 9th to score the only run for the Generals.

Bad Loss #2
6/23 Aces 8, Generals 2
SP Luis Ramirez had a rough outing giving up 5 runs, 4 earned in 5 innings of work. RF Craig Gill hit a HR to plate one of the two runs the Generals scored. After Ramirez left the game in the 5th, MR Barney Huddlestone and MR Edison Austin closed out the game by allowing 3 solo home runs in the last 3 innings to 3B Bubba Simon, LF Jim Meany and PH Jorge Iglesias.

Exciting Game #1
6/22 Aces 7, Generals 6
SP Joaquin Alonso gave up 1 run in each of the first 5 innings, while the Generals got 2 in the 2nd to be down 5-2 after 5. Timely hitting including a 2-out double with 2 on in the 7th by 1B Henry Hansen tied the game up at 5 after 8 innings. A 3B Brian Pitts double led off the 9th and after a fly out, that moved Pitts over and a walk, OF Mike Cook singles in the go-ahead run. The one-run lead would not last as CL Edison Austin in his last stint as the primary closer give up a walk and 3 hits in allowing the Aces to get 2 in the bottom-half of the inning to win the game. 2B Billy Cahill led the Aces with a 3-4 night with 2 RBI and 1 run scored.

Exciting Game #2
6/25 Admirals 8, Generals 7
SP Wilson Hernandez had his worst outing of the month, allowing 8 hits and 3 walks over 5 innings that led to 6 Admiral runs. The Admirals led 6 to 0 after 5. Over the next 3 innings, the Generals would storm back and tie the game at 7 after 7 and a half innings. 1B Henry Hansen 3-4 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 runs and SS Matt Arrington 2-4 1 run and 1 RBI led the way. In the bottom half of the 8th, MR Miguel Garcia would allow 3 hits and a walk to allow the Admirals to plate the go-ahead run. After a scoreless top of the 9th, the Admirals had the win.





Around the CBA
6/17 C George Dorsey of the Atlanta Kings wins the AL Player of the Week Award. George batted .636-2-7 during the week.
1B Martin Hays of the NY Protectors wins the NL Player of the Week Award. He hit .407-4-11 for the week.

6/18 MR Rick Flynn of Chicago will miss the rest of the season with a ruptured ulnar collateral ligament. Rick was moved out of the rotation earlier in the season and had a 1-2 record in 17 games, including 4 starts.

6/19 1B James Nash of the Philadelphia Masons had a 20-game hitting streak snapped today against the CC Ambassadors.

6/23 CL Paco Trevino of the Phoenix Firebirds strained his rotator cuff and will miss 6 weeks. Paco has a 1-4 record with 20 saves in 34 games and had a 4.40 ERA. He has been selected to the All-Star team 3 times.
SP David Holmes of the Vancouver Loggers pitched a 2-hit shutout against the Philadelphia Masons. Also in that game, Vancouver 2B Scott Fowler had his 2000th hit of his career.

6/24 1B Emilio Gonzalez of the Houston Gunslingers wins the AL Player of the Week Award. Emilio had a .520-3-6 line for the week.
CF Bart Evans of the Boston Generals wins the NL Player of the Week Award. Bart hit .478-2-3 for the week.

6/27 LF Pao-tzu Yang of the Pittsburgh Bees hit his 300th HR of his career. He is a 7-time all-star and at 36 years old, seems to be on the decline. Pao-tzu is batting .229-4-16 this season.

6/28 SP Tony Crespo of the Minneapolis Loons pitches a 5-hit shutout against the Hollywood Stars. The Cuban defector is having a good year and is 7-4 3.71 this season and is among the best rookie pitchers in the league this season.

6/29 SP Octavio Moreno of the SF Seals pitches a 5-hit shutout against the Dallas Desperados. Octavio is 10-5 3.25 on the season.

[CecilCooper]

END OF JULY



Another horrible month completed. Is this starting to sound like a broken record to you? We lost 11 in a row to start the month. Then we won 4 out of 5 and then we ended the month with a 10 game losing streak. That 5 game stretch gave me a good feeling and I was thinking a couple of moves I made might have steered us in the right direction, but it didn't take long for it to become evident that this wasn't the case.

2B Frank McDonald was our best performer for the month, batting .333 with 3 HR and 11 RBI. On the flip side was CL Lee Bell who had a 11.81 ERA over 5.1 IP in 6 games.

Transactions
7/2 Activated 3B Pablo Rodriguez from the DL and demoted 3B Brian Pitts to AAA Austin.

7/5 Purchased the contract of SP Octavio Rojas from AAA Austin and demoted SP Joaquin Alonso to AAA Austin.

7/18 Signed free agent SP Chris Burkett to a 1 year deal. Demoted SP Doug Randolf to AAA Austin.

7/23 Activated OF Rafael Mendez from the DL and demoted OF Steve MacNayer to AAA Austin.

Octavio Rojas was 9-6 3.62 in Austin. He had 89 strikeouts and 31 walks in 129 IP. I figured he deserved a good shot at the rotation. It wouldn't hurt.
Chris Burkett is a middle reliever by trade and I was flirting with the idea of letting Edison Austin start for me, but finding this guy in the scrap heap might be a better fit for the team.

We were shut out 3 times this month.

The first was a 5-0 loss to Cincinnati Steamboats in a 7/14 game that Jose Villalobos started for Cincinnati. Octavio Rojas was our starting pitcher and had jitters as he gave up 5 runs in the first inning of his debut and from that point on he was solid. We had 2 hits for the game.

The second was a 5-0 loss to the St. Louis Bluebirds on 7/21. Darrell Stokes was our starting pitcher and gave up 5 runs in 5 innings. Hector Castro went only 6 strong innings for St.Louis. We managed 4 hits in the game. 2B Myles Edwards and C Luis Arteaga each went 3-5 for the game.

The third shutout was part of a 2 game shutout streak. On 7/23 after a day off, we were shutout 8-0 by the Phoenix Firebirds. SP Bryan Pollock was masterful in going the distance. He struck out 12 and allowed 4 hits. SP Luis Ramirez allowed 3 runs in 6 innings before giving way to the bullpen. The Firebirds got 5 runs in the 9th off of our closer.

Our best win was a 12-6 win against the St.Louis Bluebirds on 7/19. SP Octavio Rojas allowed 5 runs, 4 earned over 6 innings. C Doug Lynn went 3-4 4 RBI. SS Matt Arrington was 3-4 with 1 2B and 3 RBI. CF Bart Evans was 3-4 with a HR, 3 runs and 2 RBI.





Around the CBA
7/1 1B Dave Lynch of the Dallas Desperados had a great day he was named AL Player of the Week and AL Player of the Month. He hit .434-3-9 for the week, while the month had him hitting .306-7-31 while scoring 20 runs.
1B Bob Rine of San Diego was named NL Player of the Week. He hit .423-3-10 during the week.
C Dan Hart of San Diego was named NL Player of the Month. Dan had a great month hitting .396-8-27 while scoring 24 runs.
SP Gary Wilson of Capital City was named AL Pitcher of the Month. Gary had a 4-0 record with a 0.66 ERA over 41 innings. He also struck out 43 and opponents hit .124 against him.
Felipe Coronado from the Mpls Loons was named NL Pitcher of the Month. In addition to his perfect game against us, Felipe was 5-1 1.16 for the month.
1B Dave Barber from the SF Seals was named AL Rookie of the Month. The 23 year old hit .311-0-15 and scored 17 times during the month.
2B Jose Rodriguez from the Chicago Blue Sox was named NL Rookie Of the Month. Jose hit .275-6-20 during June.

7/3 SP Dave Parker of Phoenix Firebirds shuts out the Hollywood Stars on a 1-hitter. He struck out 8 in the 2-0 win.

7/4 RP Martin O'Quinn from Phoenix could be out for the rest of the season. In 17 games this season Martin was 2-0 1.05 over 25.2 innings.
SP Gedeon Bourget from the Tampa Bay Sun Rays pitched a 6-hit shutout in a 1-0 win over the Brooklyn Knights.

7/7 George Johns of the Vancouver Loggers pitches a 4-hit shutout against the Houston Gunslingers.

7/8 The AL Player of the Week is 1B Davis Johnson of the Seattle Klondikes. The 23 year old hit .500-1-8 for the week.
In the NL, OF Joseph Allen from St. Louis was named the Player of the Week. Joseph hit .400-4-8 for the week.

7/9 C Will Slater of the Phoenix Firebirds goes 1-1 with a 3-run HR in the 8th inning to lead the NL over the AL 6-3.

7/12 RP Willie Sullivan from Philadelphia is out 6 weeks with a strained tricep muscle. Willie is 6-3 3.86 with 1 save in 36 games.

7/13 Capital City CF Ken King is out for the year with a dislocated shoulder. He was hitting .237-10-41 at the time of the injury.

7/15 OF Juan Perez from the Charlotte Racers was named AL Player of the Week. He hit .615 during the week.
1B Jin-u Yu of the Chicago Blue Sox was named NL Player of the Week. Jin-u hit .588-3-6 during the week.

7/16 Pittsburgh Bees OF Lyle Hatcher goes 4-5 in hitting for the cycle. Lyle scored 3 times and drove in 5 runs in the 12-1 win over the Atlanta Kings.

7/17 3B Pierre Houle signs a 4 year $34 million dollar deal to stay with the Dallas Desperados. Pierre is batting .285-9-34 this year.

7/18 Houston Gunslinger All-Star 3B George Walker is expected to miss 4 weeks with a strained bicep muscle. George has hit 24 HR and driven in 61 RBI while hitting .250 this season.

7/20 SP Won-il Yi of Dallas pitches a 5 hit shutout against the Pittsburgh Bees. The Desperados won the game 8-0.
OF Ignacio Perez of the Tampa Bay Sun Rays hits career HR # 400. The 37 year old has hit 21 of them this year and is batting .338 on the season.

7/22 1B Dave Lynch from Dallas wins his 3rd AL Player of the Week award this season. Dave hit .545-4-10 during the week.
OF Ignacio Perez of the Sun Rays wins the NL Player of the Week award. It is the 12th time in his career that he was won the award. Ignacio hit .400-4-9 for the week.

7/23 SP Jeffrey Glendenning of Chicago pitched a 4-hit shutout. Jeffrey struck out 7 and didn't issue a walk in the 7-0 win over St. Louis.
SP Bryan Pollock of Phoenix tosses a 4-hit shutout against the GENERALS. Bryan strikes out 12 in the masterful performance.

7/26 SP Antonio Torres of Anaheim pitches a 5-hit shutout against league leading Capital City. Antonio struck out 4 in the 4-0 win.
SP Anwar Mgeni pitched the Seals to a 7-0 shutout win over the Masons. Mgeni struck out 6 and allowed 5 hits.

7/29 Anaheim Amigos SS Ramiro Rosas wins the AL Player of the Week award. Ramiro hit .480-2-12 during the week.
1B Bob Rine of San Diego was the NL Player of the Week for the 2nd time this year. Bob hit .565-3-6 this past week.
Vancouver Loggers OF Rob Hempsall had his 20-game hit streak snapped against the Masons in a 4-3 loss.

[CecilCooper]

Here are the All-Star Teams for this season, with stats up to Aug 1.

American League
SP Octavio Moreno - SF Seals - 12-3 2.85
SP Roy Stewart - Pit. Bees - 14-3 3.63
SP Anwar Mgeni - SF Seals - 12-7 3.40
SP Gary Wilson - CC Ambassadors - 13-3 2.21
SP Cliff Erwin - Pit. Bees - 10-6 2.67
SP Ed MacDonald - Ana. Amigos - 10-5 3.16
SP Clint Peck - CC Ambassadors - 10-5 2.67
MR Lucas Frank - Sea. Klondikes - 3-1 1 SV, 2.51 (was 0.73 at time of ASG)
CL Robert McCune - CC Ambassadors - 2-0 30 SV, 1.19
CL Donald Glendenning - Hou. Gunslingers - 6-1 20 SV, 1.95
CL Joon-suk Choe - Sea. Klondikes - 4-5 26 SV, 2.01
C Santo Spinelli - SF Seals - .290-18-52
C Keith Settle - Pit. Bees - .254-12-53
1B Dave Lynch - Dal. Desperados - .303-30-101
1B Emilio Gonzalez - Hou. Gunslingers - .325-17-81
1B James Nash - Phi. Masons - .316-16-70
2B Scott Fowler - Van. Loggers - .299-7-48
2B Han Huie - Dal. Desperados - .277-6-42
SS Salvador Flores - Atl. Kings - .297-15-41
SS Ralph Hollis - Mia. Beachcombers - .297-3-48
SS Bernardo Rodriguez - Hou. Gunslingers - .270-13-52
3B George Walker - Hou. Gunslingers - .250-24-61
LF Rodrigo Avila - Ana. Amigos - .355-17-55
LF Steven Stewart - CC Ambassadors - .288-21-71
CF Emilio Pagan - Char. Racers - .307-10-64 20 SB
CF Sam Gilliland - Hou. Gunslingers - .303-0-37 22 SB
RF Pat Mayes - Ana. Amigos - .302-17-81 23 SB (40 years old!)
RF Tom Cook - Phi. Masons - .362-4-36


National League
SP Felipe Coronado - Mpls. Loons - 15-4 2.44
SP Roberto Estrada - LV Aces - 14-3 2.43
SP Preston Bennett - Chi. Blue Sox - 11-8 3.08
SP Bill Johnston - Brk. Knights - 12-6 3.09
SP Chris Dempsey - NY Protectors - 11-7 3.63
SP Harry Curtis - Holl. Stars - 10-7 3.23
SP Dave Parker - Phx. Firebirds - 11-3 3.98
MR Marty Gibbs - Mpls. Loons - 4-1 4 SV, 1.27
CL Jeffrey Green - SD Admirals - 2-2 21 SV 0.21
CL Maikel Boudewijn - LV Aces - 4-3 20 SV 1.69
CL Felix Palacios - NY Protectors - 2-2 18 SV 1.24
CL Bob Nichols - Chi. Blue Sox - 3-2 27 SV 2.09
C Art Franklin - Brk. Knights - .372-16-54
C Will Slater - Phx. Firebirds - .347-23-69
C Dan Hart - SD Admirals - .306-35-91
1B Martin Hays - NY Protectors - .294-39-103
1B Jorge Iglesias - LV Aces - .358-24-75
2B John Heller - NY Protectors - .345-14-69
2B Billy Cahill - LV Aces - .303-13-49
SS Vicente Lestof - Cin. Steamboats - .317-6-42
SS Paco Lopez - Holl. Stars - .304-6-46
LF Eduardo Lopez - Phx. Firebirds - .32-26-90
LF Ignacio Perez - TB Sun Rays - .338-21-77
CF Andres Vela - Phx. Firebirds - .312-24-60
CF Ryan Davis - Holl. Stars - .292-16-64 29 SB
CF Leon Cruz - SD Admirals - .355-6-37 37 SB
RF Jose Lozano - Phx. Firebirds - .326-22-88

[CecilCooper]

END OF AUGUST




August started off just like the rest of the months, but then it turned around towards the end. Believe it or not, our pitching was really decent this month, but our bats are what kept up from winning more games. We had a nice 6-game winning streak at the end of the month and a bullpen blowup is what snapped the streak. We were up 4 in the top of the 8th, and 2 runs in the 8th, 2 in the 9th and 5 in the 10th ended the streak.

In 11 of our 17 losses this month we scored 2 runs or less. SP Wilson Hernandez was HOT for the month. He was 1-2 1.80 over 40 innings during the month. SP Chris Burkett was even 1-2 3.73 over 31 innings during August as well. Our worst starting pitcher (of those that finished the month with the team) was SP Octavio Rojas and he was 0-3 4.31 during the month. We made some moves with our rotation and we are still trying to find that 5th starter for the team, but things were looking up at the end of August after we made the move to get rid of SP Darrell Stokes.

2B Frank McDonald hit well, going .339-1-5 for the month. OF Craig Gill found some power during the month hitting 5 HR and 1B Henry Hansen came on late and finished the month with 9 HR, with most of them coming in the last week and a half. OF Caleb Newsome who was called up after an injury, hit .375-0-6 in 48 ABs. He'll probably have to play his way out of the lineup for the rest of the year. Another move that was made was C Doug Lynn took over the starting catcher job from C Pedro Castro. After Pedro's 13th throw into the outfield, I was thinking it might be time for a change. So I have let Doug take things over and see how he handles it. Pedro will not be back with the team next season so this is a good chance to get a better idea of where we are at without him.

Transactions
8/6 OF Orlando Navarro is placed on the DL and OF Caleb Newsome is brought up from AAA. Caleb was hitting .285-2-27 in Austin and was playing better than the other option Steve MacNayer who was called up earlier in the year.

8/11 Released SP Darrell Stokes and added MR James O'Halloran to the 40-Man Roster/Called him up from AAA. Darrell was not pitching well at all and he isn't in the plans for next season so I just cut him loose. He was walking as many as he was striking out and things really turned the corner once he was gone. James was making a case to be brought up all year. He was 4-4 with 27 SV and a 4.50 ERA, but most of that was a few bad innings just before being called up, which I probably should have paid more attention to, but I didn't. It cost me a game or two afterward. Oops.

8/24 Demoted OF Mike Cook to AAA and removed OF Orlando Navarrofrom the disabled list. Mike Cook was just dreadful this year. Caleb Newsome really deserved to stay with the team and Mike had no business being in the CBA with the way he was playing this season.

Let's take a look at the 6 game win streak.

8/25 Generals 1, Admirals 0
SP Wilson Hernandez pitches 7 innings of 4 hit ball, before giving way to Miguel Garcia and Lee Bell. Lee Bell made things difficult by walking a batter and giving up a hit before getting the 3rd out. IF Brent Wells who got a spot start and was giving a rest to 1B Henry Hansen singled in CF Bart Evans for the game's only run. SP Luis Mateo
gave up 5 hits in 6.1 IP and allowed an unearned run in getting the loss.

8/26 Generals 9, Bluebirds 1
SP Luis Ramirez pitches a complete game, giving up 9 hits and 1 run while striking out 7. 1B Henry Hansen responds to his day off by going 5 for 5 with a 3B and Grand Slam. He had 3 runs and 5 RBI on the day. CF Bart Evans went 2 for 5 and drove in 3, 2 of which came in on a 3B.

8/27 Generals 5, Bluebirds 4
SP Edison Austin made his first start ever. He went 5.1 innings and gave up 3 runs, 1 earned while striking out 5. He allowed 3 hits and did not walk a batter. 1B Henry Hansen did it again with a 3-run blast in the first inning. SS Matt Arrington brought in the other 2 with a 2-run double in the 4th. MR Miguel Garcia and CL Lee Bell closed the game out for the Generals.

8/28 Generals 3, Bluebirds 2
SP Chris Burkett went 6 innings and allowed 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4 and not allowing a run. MR James O'Halloran gave up 2 runs in the 7th that tied the game before RF Craig Gill hit a solo shot in the bottom of the 7th to provide the winning run. MR Bill Davis and MR Julio Vargas closed out the game.

8/29 Generals 6, Protectors 5 (10)
All-Star CL Felix Palacios was rocked for 3 runs in 1+ innings to allow the Generals to come back and tie and later win a game that the Protectors had all sewn up. The Protectors had a 5-3 lead after 6 thanks to a 3B and HR with 3 RBI by LF Antonio Deleon. He also had 3 runs to account for the remaining runs for the Protectors. 1B Henry Hansen hit a solo shot in the 4th. 4 singles in the 9th are what allowed the 2 runs to score. And then in the 10th, a solo shot by 3B Pablo Rodriguez sent the Boston faithful (the REAL faithful) home happy.

8/30 Generals 9, Protectors 8 (10)
Once again All-Star CL Felix Palacios gets roughed up at the hands of the worst team in the CBA. The game was tied at 4 after 7 innings. 1B Henry Hansen started things off for Boston with a 3-run HR in the 1st. The Protectors got HRs in the 6th by LF Howard O'Noonan and Big Bopper 1B Martin Hays. In the 8th LF Rafael Mendez hits a 3B with one on to break open the tie. He later comes in also to give the Generals a 2 run lead. In the 9th, with Julio Vargas pitching an error by SS Matt Arrington prolonged the inning and allowed rookie 3B Gary Goulder to come in and hit a grand slam to put the Protectors up by 2 in the 9th. A lead off triple by OF Caleb Newsome started the bottom half off on the right foot for the Generals. He came in when the next batter (Gill) grounded out. 1B Henry Hansen then DOES IT AGAIN and hits his 2nd HR of the game to tie it up. That is his 5th HR during this winning streak. After a leadoff walk in the top of the 10th, the next 3 Protectors go down quickly at the hands of MR Sherwood Goodman. SS Matt Arrington redeems himself for his error by hitting a 1 out double. And after a groundout moves him over the 3rd, 2B Frank McDonald brings him in with a 2-out single to win the game.

What a great run for this team. Hopefully this can be the start of something good.





Around the CBA
8/1 LF Jorge Hidalgo from Philadelphia wins the AL Batter of the Month Award. Jorge hit .380-6-29 and scored 17 runs.
LF Ignacio Perez from Tampa Bat wins the NL Batter of the Month Award. Ignacio hit .366-8-27 and scored 19 runs.
SP Roy Stewart from Pittsburgh was named the AL Pitcher of the Month for July. Roy was 5-0 3.05 and struck out 30 in 38.1 IP.
SP Roberto Estrada of the LV Aces was named the NL Pitcher of the Month for July. Roberto was 5-0 2.79 and had 42 K's in 48+ IP.
1B Davis Johnson from Seattle was named the July Rookie of the Month for the AL. Davis was .366-2-15 and scored 17 runs on the month.
RF Richard Long from Hollywood was named the NL Rookie of the Month for July. He was .333-0-14 and scored 13 runs on the month.
The Chicago Blue Sox were hit hard by the injury bug today. They lost MR Dan Simmons for the year. He was pitching 5-6 with 1 save and a 3.83 ERA before back spasms took hold of him. Also in that same game, MR Woody Wheeler strained a rotator cuff and will miss 4-5 weeks. He was 3-2 1 SV 5.04 on the year.

8/2 CL Scott Moore of the SF Seals will miss 4-5 weeks with a strained tricep muscle. Scott has 27 saves with a 2-3 record and a 2.05 ERA.

8/4 Capital City's run for the championship took another big hit when All-Star CL Robert McCune was lost for the year with back spasms. Robert had 31 saves and a 2-0 record with a 1.36 ERA. CC's best SP, closer and starting CF are all on the DL most likely for the rest of the season. There is a small chance Robert McCune could be back for the playoffs.

8/5 CF Pepe Hernandez from Miami was named the AL Player of the Week. Pepe hit .519-3-6 fro the week.
3B Parker Dawson of the Mpls Loons was named the NL Player of the Week. Parker hit .625-4-8 during the week.
SP Roberto Estrada of the LV Aces pitched a 4-hit shutout against the St. Louis Bluebirds. Roberto is 15-3 2.31 after this game.

8/7 3B William Davis from the TB Sun Rays injured a disc in his back and will miss 7-8 months. He was hitting .288-7-34 on the year.
RF Greg Craft from the Chicago Blue Sox will miss 3 weeks with a tender elbow. Greg has had a good year hitting .303-20-74 this season.

8/8 RF Ivan Calderon from the TB Sun Rays hit 3 Home Runs in a game against the Brooklyn Knights. Ivan drove in 8 runs in the 10-3 win.

8/9 2B Joe Rogers from the Brooklyn Knights strained a back muscle and will miss 7 weeks. The 24 year old in his 2nd full CBA season was batting .273-9-44 at the time of the injury.

8/10 27 year old SP Anastasio Blanco pitched a 4-hit shutout for Miami in a 3-0 win against the SF Seals. This win runs his record to 4-4 5.71 on the season.

8/12 2B Han Huie from the Dallas Desperados was named the AL Player of the Week. Han hit .360-3-6 during the week.
2B Billy Cahill of the LV Aces was named the NL Player of the Week. Billy hit .444-1-7 during the week.

8/13 All-Star 1B Jorge Iglesias fractured a foot and will miss 4 weeks. Jorge had a great season going as he had 25 HR and 84 RBI while batting .351.
38 year old 2B Scott Fowler was lost for 3 weeks with an injured back muscle. Scott was hitting .309-8-56 this season.

8/14 24 year old SP Ato Kirwa from the Houston Gunslingers pitched a 4-hit shutout in a 4-0 win against the Pitt. Bees.

8/15 SP Ron Ford tested positive for drugs and received a 10 game suspension. Ron is 10-3 2.17 this season for the Charlotte Racers.

8/18 I knew something wasn't right with SP Yodo Kichida of the Cincinnati Steamboats. The 25 year old had records of 14-5, 19-8 and 16-4 before going 4-8 3.62 this season. It turns out he ruptured a tricep tendon and is out for 7-8 months. Let's hope this guy can make a full recovery and regain form.
SP Felipe Gomez of the Seattle Klondikes pitches a 4-hit shutout in a 2-0 win vs the Vancouver Loggers.
SP Felipe Coronado of the Mpls Loons pitched a 5-hit shutout. He walked 3 and K'd 7 in the 7-0 win.

8/19 Charlotte Racers SS Marvin Gallagher was named the AL Player of the Week after batting .483-0-7.
Hollywood Stars OF Ryan Davis was named the NL Player of the Week after batting .565-1-5.

8/21 36 year old SS Felix Cruz from the TB Sun Rays had his 2000th CBA hit. The 4-time All-Star is a career .284 hitter with 188 HR.
SP Allen Sharpe from the Cincinnati Steamboats pitched a 3-hit shutout. He struck out 11 Chicago Blue Sox batters on his way to the 14-0 win.

8/22 Hollywood Stars OF Ryan Davis hit is 2500th CBA hit. The 5-time All-Star has hit 271 HR and driven in 1173 runs in his career.

8/24 CF Andres Vela from the Phoenix Firebirds hurt his meniscus and will miss 4 weeks. The 25 year old All-Star is batting .331-30-81 this season.

8/25 The injury bug his the CC Ambassadors again. RF Stephen Warren will miss 4 weeks with a fractured wrist. Stephen was hitting .297-15-86 this season for the Ambassadors.

8/26 1B Dave Lynch from the Dallas Desperados was named AL Player of the Week again. Dave batted .464-1-5 during the week.
CF Andres Vela was named the NL Player of the Week. The Firebirds CF batted .684-2-9 during the week.

8/28 SP Tommy Dalzell tore a back muscle and will miss 7 months. The Brooklyn Knights pitcher was 12-7 3.82 this season.
The Seattle Klondikes got the double whammy today as 1B Davis Johnson and CF Charlie Johnston got injured. the 23 year old Davis, was batting .284-6-47 before tearing a hamstring muscle and should be out for 11 months. Charlie damaged his meniscus and will miss 6 weeks. Charlie was batting .254-13-47 this season.
3B Pierre Houle from Dallas hit 3 HR in a 7-2 win over the Pitt. Bees. Each HR was a solo shot and Pierre ended with 3 RBI.

8/31 SP Manuel Guzman from Hollywood damaged his meniscus and will miss 6 weeks. Manuel is 8-11 4.60 between Hollywood and Tampa Bay this season. We might need to do a study of ballplayers and their meniscii there seems to be a lot of meniscus injuries this month.
SP Eric Moore from Miami was brilliant in pitching a 5-hit shutout against the Pittsburgh Bees. Miami won the 13-0.

[Jeff49]

Hi, Cecil, it's fun following your Generals' exploits. You must be a little excited about Henry Hanson and his prospects in your club's future. Can you give us a little more detail about him, his age, contract, personality, talent potential? Thanks.

[CecilCooper]

Originally Posted by Jeff49

Hi, Cecil, it's fun following your Generals' exploits. You must be a little excited about Henry Hanson and his prospects in your club's future. Can you give us a little more detail about him, his age, contract, personality, talent potential? Thanks.

Thanks for the interest. Yes, I am very excited to see what the future holds for Henry Hansen, he has really come around for the team.

Henry Hansen is 27, he will turn 28 in the offseason. I am using the 2-8 scale and Henry is currently listed at 5-7-4 (Con/Pow/Eye) and is maxed out according to my scout. OSA has him at 4-6-4 and maxed out.

Henry might be eligible for his first year of arbitration this offseason. The estimate is just under 2.5 million. This will not be an issue with the current budget. We are currently below budget and will be gaining $5 million in payroll from Pedro Castro who will not be back. His Greed is at 4, his Loyalty and Intelligence are 6's, and Deisre of winning team and Work Ethic are 7's.

[CecilCooper]

END OF SEPTEMBER




Not sure if the Generals have turned a corner or not, but we had a 12-13 month in September. Combine that with a 6-1 end to August and we have a 32 game streak playing over .500!! We will take small victories such as this right now. We were able to win a few more games than last year, so that is another small victory. By winning 50 games I was able to avoid having the worst 2 seasons in CBA history.

What can I say about September? Henry Hansen is a star in the making. He is living up to his first round draft pick status, and I am glad I have him. He hit .392-9-25 in September. I highly doubt anyone had a better month in the CBA. I am now confident that I have 2 solid positions on the team (him at 1B and Craig Gill in RF) which is a start.

CF Bart Evans hit .367-4-14 and OF Caleb Newsome hit .343-0-12 for the month. Wilson Hernandez was 2-1 3.73 in 5 starts. Julio Vargas was 0-1 with 1 save in 9 IP. He had a 2.89 ERA for the month.

Transactions
9/1 Brought up SP Martin Mercado, MR Lorenzo Zambrano, IF Brian Pitts, OF Steve MacNayer and OF Mike Cook from AAA Austin.

None of these players really did anything to give me much hope of them in the future.


No Game Recaps this month as I am itching to get this moving and move on to the offseason.





Around the CBA
9/1 CBA Legend OF Pat Mayes was named the AL Player of the Month. The 40-year-old RF of the Amigos, hit .386-7-14 and scored 20 runs during August.
TB Sun Rays CF David Washington was named NL Player of the Month. He hit .387-12-31 and scored 27 runs.
SP Russ Johnson of the SF Seals was named the AL Pitcher of the Month. Russ had a 3-0 record over 3 starts spanning 30 innings and a 1.80 ERA.
SP Felipe Coronado of the Mpls Loons was named the NL Pitcher of the Month. Felipe posted a 1.13 ERA while going 4-0 over 47 innings.
SS Marvin Gallagher of the Racers was named the AL Rookie of the Month. Marvin hit .312-0-7 for the month.
RF Lou Sullivan of the Cincinnati Steamboats was named the NL Rookie of the Month. Lou hit .347-1-11 during the month.

9/2 1B James Nash of the Philadelphia Masons was named AL Player of the Week. James hit .464-2-7 during the week.
CF David Washington of TB was named the NL Player of the Week. David had a monster week with 6 HR and 13 RBI while batting .538.

9/3 Henry Hansen of the Generals hits 3 HR in a game against the Brooklyn Knights. Henry drove in 5 runs in the 10-6 win.

9/5 Seattle Klondikes SP Mike McGee pitched a 2-hit shutout in a 11-0 win against the Houston Gunslingers. Mike struck out 5 in the game.

9/7 CL Wayne 'Roo' Curry of the Cincinnati Steamboats will miss the next 8 months with a torn labrum. Wayne had 36 saves with a 2-6 record and a 2.35 ERA to end his 2047 campaign.

9/8 SP Jesus Sanchez of the Masons pitched a 2-hit shutout against the Charlotte Racers. Jesus struck out 8 Racers during his great game.

9/9 RF Rafael Trevino of the Pitt. Bees was named the AL Player of the Week. Rafael hit .367-3-9 during the week.
1B Henry Hansen of the Generals was named the NL Player of the Week. Henry hit .440-4-8 during the week.
Anaheim Amigos SP Jorge Gonzalez pitched a 2-hit shutout against the Seattle Klondikes. Gonzalez had 8 strikeouts and 3 walks during his impressive outing.

9/11 Phoenix 2B Robbie Childers has a 20-game hit streak going.

9/12 Chicago Blue Sox SP Preston Bennett pitches a NO-HITTER against the Brooklyn Knights. Preston walked 4 and struck out 11 during the no-no.
SP Roberto Estrada of the LV Aces will miss 4 weeks with a strained tricep muscle. Roberto is 19-5 2.24 on the year.

9/13 C Will Slater of the Phoenix Firebirds will miss 3 weeks with a strained achilles tendon. Will was having an excellent year batting .337-31-88 and was an All-Star this season.

9/16 2B Dayle Simmons of the Houston Gunslingers won the AL Player of the Week Award. Dayle hit .520-0-1 this past week.
1B Jin-u Yu of the Chicago Blue Sox was named the NL Player of the Week. Jin-u batted .536-3-9 this past week.
MR Javier Otero of the San Diego Admirals will miss 11 months after tearing a tricep muscle. The 25 year old had 3 saves to go with a 2-4 record. He had a 3.23 ERA.
Anaheim 2B Will Rogers hit for the cycle against the Atlanta Kings. Will had 2 runs and 2 RBI in the 9-8 win.

9/18 SS Anastasio Bracamontes of the Hollywood Stars hit for the cycle against the Boston Generals. Anastasio was 5-5 with a walk during the 10-2 win. He drove in 5 during the game.
SP Paco Molina of the Charlotte Racers pitched a 6-hit shutout against the Gunslingers.

9/19 Minneapolis SP Felipe Coronado strengthened his resume for the Oustanding Pitcher Award by pitching a 4-hit shutout against the Blue Sox. He is now 21-5 2.17 on the season.

9/20 RF Manchu Hsia of the Loons will miss the rest of the season with a strained bicep muscle. Manchu was hitting .319-17-60 at the time of the injury.
MR Jerry McKay of the NY Protectors will miss the rest of the season with a torn tricep muscle. The 24 year old had a 6-2 record with 1 save and a 2.35 ERA.

9/21 SP Cliff Erwin of Pittsburgh pitched a 5-hit shutout against the Atlanta Kings. Cliff struck out 10 Kings during the game.

9/23 RF Sammy Sykes of Miami was named the AL Player of the Week. Sammy hit .520-1-5 during the week.
SS Anastasio Bracamontes from Hollywood was named the NL Player of the Week. He hit .519-1-10 during the week.
SP Bryan Pollock of Phoenix pitched a 2-hit shutout against the LV Aces. Also during the 5-0 win, 2B Robbie Childers had his 29-game hit streak snapped.

9/27 SP Harry Curtis of the Hollywood Stars pitches a 4-hit shutout. Harry struck out 7 during the 4-0 win.
MR Marty Gibbs from the Loons was dealt a blow. The 2047 All-Star tore a bicep muscle and will miss 13 months. The 25 year old was 4-4 with 4 saves and a 1.73 ERA.

9/28 23 year old SP Hsui-chen Pao of Cincinnati pitched a 2-hit shutout against the New York Protectors. He struck out 8 during the 7-0 win.

9/29 SP Paco Molina of the Racers pitches his 2nd shutout of the month. He held the Pittsburgh Bees to 4-hits during the 8-0 win.

[CecilCooper]

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHUPS

Capital City vs San Francisco

Capital City ran away with the AL's best record with 106 wins. This is only San Francisco's 2nd time in the playoffs.

SF has 2 top starters in Anwar Mgeni (17-10 3.35) and Octavio Moreno (16-8 3.30). The SF starters have the 2nd best ERA. San Francisco also has some pop in their bat as they have 4 batters with 20+ HR and another 4 with 10+. The hitting attack is led by 2047 All-Star C Santo Spinelli. He is 2nd on the team with a .277 average and leads the team with 25 HR. 1B/3B Ed Judson is another hitting leader batting .286-23-74 this season.

CC boasts the best starter ERA and the best bullpen ERA in the league. They are, however, near the bottom in offensive categories. Even with one the league's best pitchers injured for the year, CC still has plenty to toss at the Seals. The pitching attack is led by Gary Wilson (16-7 3.01), Clint Peck (16-8 2.77) and Lucas Gilbert (14-9 3.97). As mentioned, the bullpen is solid with the likes of Shane McCall (5-2, 20 SV, 1.28) and All-Star Robert McCune (2-0 33 SV, 1.30). CC has been hit by so many injuries and so much offensive inconsistency that they only have 3 players that qualify for the batting title. Offensively they are led by LF Steven Stewart (.286-29-105) and RF Stephen Warren (.302-17-98).


Brooklyn vs Phoenix

This is the 3rd trip to the postseason for the Brooklyn Knights and their first since 2033. They go to the postseason by narrowly edging the Protectors. Brooklyn has a balanced team as they have the 5th best team ERA and 5th best batting average and HR total. Lefties Bill Johnston (18-9 3.67) and Richard Morris (14-10 3.81) anchor the staff with Luis Roa (3-9 47 SV 3.17) waiting to close games out. All-Star C Art Franklin (.357-22-82) and SS Matt Chase (.342-15-96) lead the team's offensive production.

Phoenix is clearly the odds on favorite to win the whole thing this season. The 109 wins ties the 2033 Hollywood Stars team for best record ever. They are tops in the NL in almost every pitching AND hitting category. This team has an amazing FIVE PLAYERS with 30+ HR. A true Murderer's Row. LF Eduardo Perez (.300-43-141), RF Jose Lozano (.314-37-130), 1B David Graham (.319-34-113), CF Andres Vela (.336-33-90), and C Will Slater (.337-31-88). Couple this with top starter Bryan Pollock (18-5 2.74) makes Phoenix a tough out this postseason.

[CecilCooper]

PLAYOFF RESULTS AND AWARD WINNERS


ALCS
Seals 3, CC 1 - Alberto Moya goes 8 innings allowing 1 run on 6 hits.
Seals 3, CC 1 - Octavio Moreno goes 7.1 innings allowing 1 run. HR's by LF Bill Evans and DH Uzmir Angolwisye provided the offensive spark.
CC 3, Seals 4 - McCall blows the save in the 8th as Anwar Mgeni outduels Clint Peck. Angolwisye hits another HR. Seals score 1 in the 8th and 1 in the 9th to win.
CC 4, Seals 5 - The underdog San Francisco Seals complete the sweep as they come back again to get 3 runs in the 8th and 1 in the 9th to win. #B Ed Luft and RF Shannon Winston hit HR's.

SF Seals win 4 games to 0.

NLCS
Knights 5, Firebirds 3 - 2B Joe Rogers hits a solo HR and 1B Ben Blount goes 3-3 as Manny Torres goes 8 strong innings for the win.
Knights 9, Firebirds 6 - CF Bob Nunn hits 2 HR and drives in 6, LF Henry Mullins hits one also for the Knights. 1B David Graham and LF Eduardo Perez each hit HRs for the Firebirds in this slugfest.
Firebirds 0, Knights 7 - The Knights take a commanding 3 game lead with a 4-hit shutout by Bill Johnston. C Art Franklin goes 3-4 with 2 HR and 3 RBI. CF Bob Nunn also hits another HR.
Firebirds 8, Knights 6 (12) - Trailing 6-1 after 4 innings thanks in part to 2 Henry Mullins HR's, the Firebirds come back with 4 in the 6th, 1 in teh 8th and the capper was a 2-run HR by 2B Robbie Childers.
Firebirds 10, Knights 3 - Bryan Pollock goes 7 strong innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits. CF Andres Vela goes 4-4, 2 2B and 1 3B along with 5 RBI for the victors.
Knights 1, Firebirds 4 - Gilberto Mier pitched a great game for the Firebirds. He went 8.1 innings giving up 6 hits and 1 run while striking out 6. He also helped his own cause going 2-3 and driving in 2 with a bases-loaded double. CF Andres Vela gets another 3 hits.
Knights 4, Firebirds 8 - THE FIREBIRDS PULL OFF ONE OF THE MOST IMPROBABLE COMEBACKS EVER AND WIN THE SERIES!!!! RF Jose Lozano goes 2-3 with a HR and 3 RBI. CF Andres Vela goes 2-5 to end at .406 with 6 RBI for the series.

Phoenix Firebirds come back to win 4 games to 3

World Series
Seals 3, Firebirds 4 (10) - A great duel that started between Anwar Mgeni (8 IP, 5 H, 1 ER) and Bryan Pollock (8 IP, 6 H, 3 ER) was carried to extra innings as the Firebirds win in 10. An Eduardo Perez double with 2 on in the 9th sent the game to extra innings. 1B David Graham hit a HR in the 7th for the Firebirds.
Seals 5, Firebirds 7 - Octavio Moreno was shelled early and often by the Firebirds. CF Andres Vela hit a HR for the Firebirds. RF Jesus Lozano had 4 hits for Phoenix.
Firebirds 4, Seals 2 (13) - This time it was the Seals scoring one late to tie the game. After CF Andres Vela breaks a 1-1 tie in the 8th with a solo HR, Closer Dave Wilson was unable to shut the door and allowed the Seals to tie it in the bottom of the 9th. 2B Robbie Childers led off the 13th with a 2B and it was over after that.
Firebirds 5, Seals 1 - The Firebirds end up winning 8 straight games to claim their 4th CBA Title. Bryan Pollock went 8 innings and gave up only 1 hit and striking out 12. CF Andres Vela (who else?) hits a HR and drives in 2 on 3 hits. He ends the series with a line of .423-2-12.

Phoenix Firebirds sweep the Seals 4-0

AL Outstanding Pitcher - Ed MacDonald - Anaheim Amigos. The legend grows on for Ed MacDonald. You might remember his story from the end of 2046 post. He didn't have the win total that normally accompanies this award and for that Roy Stewart of Pittsburgh (21-6 3.47) might have a reason to be upset. Ed only had 16 wins this season, but that might be a function of his run support or bullpen help. Ed finished the season 16-6 2.90 with a CBA record 335 strikeouts. He now has the 1st, 4th and 10th highest K totals in his 3 CBA seasons. In his 3 seasons in the CBA (and his only 3 seasons ever starting a game from HS on) his line looks like this...

53-21 3.12 102 GS, 102 G, 691.1 IP, 543 H, 86 HR, 124 BB, 966 K, .96 WHIP, .211 OAVG, 1 No-Hitter (1st or 2nd start ever), 3 AS Games, 3 Outstanding Pitcher Awards, 1 Newcomer of the Year Award and 1 CBA Title.

He is quickly becoming my favorite player to keep keep track of. He is just becoming arbitration eligible and his estimate is only 4.5 million. It would be unrealistic that his team would ever trade him, but it would be nice to wrangle a deal for him.

AL Outstanding Hitter - 1B Dave Lynch - Dallas Desperados. Dave put together a stellar year. 4-time Player of the Week and 2-time Player of the Month this season. Dave hit .303-42-137, leading in RBI and took 2nd in HRs.

AL Newcomer of the Year - 1B Davis Johnson - Seattle Klondikes. David put together a nice rookie campaign. He hit .284-6-47 this season to take home the honors.

NL Outstanding Pitcher - Felipe Coronado - Minneapolis Loons. Felipe was great all year long. He led the league with 22 wins and a 2.18 ERA. His 218 K's were good enough for 3rd in the NL. A perfect game was among his 3 shutouts this season. This is his 2nd Outstanding Pitcher Award having won it in 2040.

NL Outstanding Hitter - C Will Slater - Phoenix Firebirds. Will Slater beats a very crowded field to be named Outstanding Hitter of the Year in the NL. Will's line shows .337-31-88. Will led the league in VORP (81.5) and OPS (1.028). He was not even in the top 10 in HR and RBI, yet the A(I)P voters gave him the votes needed to win the award.

NL Newcomer of the Year - 1B Ron Wright - Hollywood Stars. The 28-year-old finally got his shot in the CBA and he made the most of it winning the NL Newcomer of the Year award. Ron hit .273-19-81 this season.


So there is the wrap-up from this past season. I will have another post coming up with some more Generals items and then it will be time for a hopefully busy and productive offseason for the team.

(for those wondering I got a monstrous score of 4 for the season, which is better than the 0 I had last year).

[CecilCooper]

Preparing for the Offseason


So to put things in perspective, we were 12th in pretty much every offensive category. 11th in HRs (Cincy had 7 fewer), and we were 7th in walks.

Pitching, we were 11th or 12th in pretty much everything. 11th in Starter's ERA, and overall ERA. 11th in runs allowed (St. Louis gave up 8 more), 9th in walks and 11th in K's. 12th in everything else.

Offseason outlook:
OF Craig Gill gets bumped up to 5.8 million from 5.2 in arbitration. If I can get a few good pieces for him, I would do it in a heartbeat. I think I can get a couple of decent players for that price.

OF Orlando Navarro is slated to earn 1.9 from Arbitration. I think I will need to release him.

CF Bart Evans is slated to make 2.1 in Arbitration.

C Pedro Castro is gone after making $5 million this past season.

MR/SP Edison Austin is testing the market after making $1.5 million and 3B Pablo Rodriguez is gone after making $690k on a 1 year deal.

Henry Hansen looks like he will get 1 more year pre-arb next season and then it looks currently like the number will be 3.8 starting in 2049.

My new budget is $49.5 million. I currently have $23.8 in payroll spoken for (counting Orlando Navarro). I currently have 5.1 in staff and scouting expenses as well. So I will have around $20 million to use this offseason, and I will need it.


2047 Farm in Review
Top Prospects
CL Bill Smith, 21 y/o. He rose from A to AA to AAA in 2047.
0-3 12 SV, 1.66 in 21.2 IP. 6/18 BB/K 21 H in A
2-1 10 SV, 1.27 in 21.1 IP 5/26 and 13 H in AA
0-1 3 SV, 1.93 in 4.2 IP 0/5 and 5 H in AAA

He needs just a little more time in AAA and will be ready to make a splash in Boston shortly.

MR John Shepard, 21 y/o Had a similar rise as Bill Smith last season.
0-0 2 SV, 1.96 in 18.1 IP, 10 H, 5/18 in A
3-2 5 SV, 2.00 in 27 IP, 11 H, 11/29 in AA
0-0 0 SV, 0.00 in 1.2 IP, 0 H, 1 K in AAA.

John is in the same boat as he needs just a little more seasoning before being ready to contribute in Boston.

MR James O'Halloran, 25 y/o. He had a horrible audition in Boston this season, but will be counted on to win a spot in the Spring.
4-4 27 SV, 4.50 in 40 IP, 42 H, 19/43 in AAA.

OF Reid Davis, 26 y/o
.322-8-48 in 453 AB in AA. 34/58 BB/K and 20 2B.
.370-1-9 in 54 AAA AB.

Reid has an outside shot of being able to contribute in Boston. He's an above average defender at the corner outfield spots and has some good speed.

OF Constant Esposito, 25 y/o
.327-4-11 in 55 AA AB
.278-1-13 in 90 AAA AB

Constant has had some injury issues the past 2 seasons. He has only had 420 AB the past 2 seasons. The scout still thinks the world of him, I just hope he can stay healthy. If he does, he as a real shot at making the club in the spring.

OF Sy-Ing Er, 23 y/o
.343-6-35 in 175 A ABs. 21/17 BB/K and 13 2B
.347-9-57 in 239 AA ABs. 34/18 and 11 2B

Sy-Ing has a bright future ahead of him. I can't wait to see what he can do in the CBA, but I will have to.

OF Julio Lopez, 21 y/o
.311-1-22 in 177 AA ABs. 32/18 and 8 2B.

Julio has had 2 injury-plagued seasons as well. He has only had 320 ABs the past 2 seasons. He is still very young and has a lot of time left.

That is about all I have in AAA and AA that will amount to much at all. As you can see it is very outfield heavy so I might have to experiment with a few people at different positions or better yet maybe trade some of these people for non-outfielders.


Offseason Plan
I need to find upgrades at pretty much every position. There are a few people I am definitely pleased with and I will pencil in and not actively search for upgrades. The two things offensively I REALLY want to find is more power and if they don't have power, they can at least make contact. We struck out WAY too much this past season.

In terms of pitching, I need help everywhere, although we did have a nice run of pitching towards the end of the season (once we got rid of Darrell Stokes things seems to turn around).

Penned in for Next Season:
1B Henry Hansen (untradeable)
OF Craig Gill (could be traded if I can get 2 or 3 upgrades back)
P Chris Burkett - I am still not sure if I can use him as a SP or as a MR. He seemed to do fairly well as a SP I hope I can stretch him out and get his endurance up. My scout seems to think he will challenge to be a set-up man or closer, so maybe he needs to head back to the pen.
MR Miguel Garcia - He did well for me and I have no problem bringing him back.
CL Lee Bell - He may not be the closer next season, but I have no issues bringing him back either.

Penciled in for Next Season:
2B Frank McDonald - He's been solid for me the past 2 seasons. He does strike out a bit though, however he is handy with the glove.
CF Bart Evans - Pretty much the same book as Frank McDonald. Decently solid the past 2 seasons, but strikes out too much.
SP Luis Ramirez - Still young at 24, he will have another shot at starting next season and hopefully he can pitch a little better than this past season.
SP Wilson Hernandez - I really don't think I will end up with 3 or 4 upgrades at SP in one offseason so I wouldn't hesitate to let him start again for me. Wilson had a really nice run in there for a little while and I hope he can improve on that next season. His 4.34 ERA was tops for my rotation.

That is how the pitching staff and starters are shaping up for next season. We lose our starting 3B and C. All other spots not mentioned are up for grabs. I do have some people I wouldn't mind seeing in backup roles at all such as OF Caleb Newsome, he had an excellent call-up this season and I would use him again, but I don't think as a starter he will move us up in the standings.

Wish me luck, time to warm up the hot stove!!

[CecilCooper]

SPRING TRAINING 2048


Call it the eternal hope that comes to a baseball team every spring, but I am quite optimistic about this coming season. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect a near-worst ever to first place type of change, but I do think we are a better ballclub than we were last year and it's a step in the right direction.

I tried my hand at trading and never got anywhere, but rather than tell you a list of signings I did make, I will go over the projected look for the new year with a few extra people sprinkled in, that could make the team also.

Rotation
Chris Burkett 1-6 2 SV 5.12
Luis Ramirez 5-14 5.66
Wilson Hernandez 7-9 4.34
In-Chor Park 12-14 4.42 with Atlanta - In-Chor is 37 and I signed him for 2 years at 3.9 per. He should be a step up over the revolving door we had going at the back of the rotation.
Manny Torres 4-5 6.04 with Brooklyn - Manny missed the end of 2046 and the first few months of 2047 with an injury and was working himself back to shape when the season ended. I hope he can get back to his previous form. With the other pitching options out there, it was worth the chance at 3 years for 10 million total.
Thurman Crocker 9-6 5.44 with Charlotte - I got him early on in FA and had I signed these other pitchers first I might have passed on him, but this could be a good thing. 1 year 590k.
Octavio Rojas 2-8 5.18

Bullpen
Jeff Sutton 7-3-2 4.62 with LV - He only wanted a 1 year deal from me at 1.9 so I gave it to him. At 33, he could still have a couple of years left in him, and I hope we make some strides and he wants to play for us again.
Lee Bell 4-4-10 4.05
Miguel Garcia 4-9-2 4.14
Flynn Ketcheson 3-1-2 5.62 - Flynn had an off season last year. All of his previous years he was under 4.00. 1 year 590k.
Sherwood Goodman 3-2-1 4.81
Barney Huddlestone 3-3 3.90
Bill Davis 1-3-1 3.94 - I have a feeling I will be trying to unload him during ST if others do well. I don't see being able to send him down if ...
James O'Halloran 1-2 11.72 - James can overcome his disastrous start in the CBA and make a push for the team.
Miguel Angel Castillo is in camp also and missed all of 2047 with an injury. He was 0-0 6.90 in 2046 in 40 IP.

Position Players
C Pablo Cuevas .255-9-35 with Chicago - Pablo should be an upgrade over Pedro Castro. He signed a 1 year, 1.85 million deal.
C Francisco Gonzalez .244-2-9 in AAA (SF Seals) - Francisco is our Rule 5 draftee. He will give a nice push to Doug Lynn for the backup catcher spot.
C Doug Lynn .226-1-19 - Will have to work hard to make the team this season.
1B Henry Hansen .293-41-118 - Franchise 1B. No worry here.
2B Frank McDonald .277-5-42 - Another year with him at 2B. Not too upset over that, although we probably need to get better here to compete.
3B Parker Vaughan .268-10-63 with Hollywood - Parker is another nice upgrade for the team. Hopefully he will pay dividends. 1 year 1.4 million.
3B/1B Brent Wells .193-3-19 - Not sure I have anyone better as a backup.
IF Brian Pitts .295-0-4 ML, .241-5-29 AAA - Could battle for last spot.
SS Bartolomeu Arruante .277-0-20
SS Felipe DeJesus .243-0-17 - a solid fielding SS that doesn't strikeout too often. Definitely an upgrade in the area of contact. 1 year 690k.
OF Rafael Mendez .228-3-29
OF Steve MacNayer .158-3-15
CF Bart Evans .259-14-66
OF Caleb Newsome .356-0-18
OF Craig Gill .273-19-72 - a mainstay at one of the corner OF spots.
OF Mike Cook .179-5-18 - dissapointing 2047 after a really solid 2046. Not sure what to think about him.
OF Constant Esposito .296-5-24 between AA and AAA - Injured most of last 2 years, the first high-prospect position player to contend for a CBA spot since I took over. Can play all 3 spots, has speed and has some pop in his bat. Not much in the way of work ethic.

So that is the team heading into the spring. Hopefully this is an upgrade over last year, on paper it certainly seems so to me. One glaring change is the omission of SS Matt Arrington, I ran up against a DFA deadline and had to cut someone loose and he was the person I chose. Wasn't quite sure where else to go. Oh well.

[CecilCooper]

OPENING DAY 2048

So Opening Day is here. Spring Training was interesting to say the least. I found a few bright spots, found a few more questions and am ready to start the season.

Bright Spots in Spring Training
OF Caleb Newsome has shown a little more power this season in hitting 2 HR this spring.
OF Steve MacNayer also had a power infusion and hit 3 home runs this spring.
OF Constant Esposito looks like he will be able to contribute this season.
C Pablo Cuevas did well in hitting .273-2-6 this spring
IF Masakado Sato hit .360-2-11 and had a good year in AAA in 2047.
SP In-Chor Park pitched well with a 2.81 ERA over 16 IP.
SP Thurman Crocker did as well with a 2.65 over 17.1 IP.
RP James O'Halloran had a 1.69 ERA over 10 IP.

Bad Spots This Spring
SP Manny Torres the "answer" to my starting pitching woes was 2-3 5.21 with 10 BB and only 6 K in 19 innings.
SP Chris Burkett the bright spot of the rotation last season was 0-0 7.23 in 18 IP.
SP Wilson Hernandez had an ERA of 10.00
MR Bill Davis had an ERA of 9.00

Spring Injuries
SP Luis Ramirez will once again start the season on the DL for 3 weeks.
OF Steve MacNayer is on the DL for 2 weeks.
OF Constant Esposito is on the DL until the end of April.


Opening Day Roster
SP Manny Torres
SP Chris Burkett
SP Wilson Hernandez
SP In-Chor Park
SP Octavio Rojas
MR Thurman Crocker
MR James O'Halloran
MR Miguel Garcia
MR Flynn Ketcheson
MR Barney Huddlestone
MR Lee Bell
CL Jeff Sutton
C Oliver Olson (picked up off of waivers at end of Spring Training)
C Pablo Cuevas
1B Henry Hansen
2B Frank McDonald
3B Parker Vaughan
SS Felipe DeJesus
IF Masakado Sato
IF Brent Wells
OF Mike Cook
OF Rafael Mendez
OF Caleb Newsome
OF Bart Evans
OF Mike Cook

The team is assembled and ready to go. I am expecting to win more than 62 games and make sure the wins do not reach triple digits this year. I just hope Manny Torres and the rest of the starters can come around.