Orcin Returns

[Orcin]

CBA STANDINGS (July 2, 2018 – 83 games)




Louisville is 5-19 against the other four teams in the Midwest Division, while going 41-18 against the rest of the CBA. I don’t know quite what to make of that. Are we just beating up on the weak Western Division, where we are 19-7? No, not really. We are 22-11 against teams in the other four divisions. The Law of Averages might help us in the second half of the season because we have a lot of intra-division games remaining.




Defending champion Washington, powerhouse Pittsburgh, and ascending Atlanta are still in command in their respective divisions. The Patriot League is separating quickly into haves and have-nots.

[Orcin]

LEAGUE LEADERS (July 2, 2018 – 83 games)



I made this post two seasons ago.

Originally Posted by Orcin

September 5, 2016
Subject: Week 22 Notes
Washington put 24 y/o RF Ken Werner on waivers. Werner has a lifetime slash line of .298/.366/.409, good speed & defense. My scout says beware of falling ratings.

Prompting this perceptive response …

Originally Posted by gehrig38

Wait what? 24???? Unless a guys a total dink, and a clubhouse cancer, skills won't leave ya at 24!!! That could be a steal, but then again, he's 24, can rake, and a team DOESN'T want him? Upcoming FA? Injury prone?

Now check the CBA batting leader in the chart above. Yes, Werner was injury prone, but he is not injured now. It would have been a steal, but all 29 teams (including yours truly) passed on him. Washington is pretty happy about that right now. I traded for his teammate Harris and I don’t regret it, but Werner for free was clearly a better deal.

In other news, Daniel Benjamin is a stud. Don’t look for him to be on waivers anytime soon.





San Francisco lefty Bruno Maurin is the Benjamin of pitchers. Over the past two and one-half seasons, he is 50-25 with a 3.13 ERA. He is very durable and exceeded 250 innings in each of the past two seasons. He has thrown 145 innings in 18 starts (8 IP per start) so far this year. He has 31 career complete games, which ranks #59 all-time after only five seasons.

Benjamin and Maurin are both only 24 years old, and might be future Hall of Famers.

[Orcin]

LOUISVILLE COLONELS (July 2, 2018 – 83 games)



New manager Ben Blair was 6-6 over his first 12 games. Since then, the team is 28-17 for a .622 winning percentage. That’s right up there with the best teams, but we have some ground to make up. Is it reasonable to stand pat and assume that the team will continue to play well while hoping that Chicago slumps somewhere along the line?

There is no real glaring weakness on the team, except that I would still like to see us walk more on offense and get more quality starts out of our pitching staff. The injury to Holmes is the biggest concern. Do we have a capable internal replacement?

Glancing over at the minors, Jon Howard is making me regret a long-term contract for Jose Apina. I am happy to have a surplus of catchers though. They are easy to trade.



Potvin is our ace. I ran some comparisons on him, and he is among the 10 best pitchers in the CBA over the past three years in most important categories. He is better than Longoria and significantly cheaper. Bowles is pitching better than his stats, which are distorted by a few really bad outings. Holmes was great until the injury. I like Carter’s fundamental stats and just need to see more of him.

Gray is overpaid for what he is, and ranks as a disappointment so far. Less than half of his outings have been quality starts, and his FIP is higher than it should be given his excellent control rating. Acevedo and Lopez are out of options after this season, so it is time to make decisions on them.

The bullpen is a position of strength. I was surprised to see Flores near the top of the WAR list and Carlson buried near the middle. I really need to move one of those two before next season for budget reasons. They are both arbitration eligible and naturally Carlson has the higher estimate. I believe Flores or Forrest could handle the closer role, making Carlson an extremely attractive trade chip.



Here is an update on the analysis that I did at the quarter pole per Sal’s request:

LOU 4.8R/G, 9.5H/G, 2.8BB/G, 6.6K/G
CBA 4.6R/G, 9.3H/G, 3.0BB/G, 6.4K/G

We have dramatically reduced the strikeouts, which is very encouraging. We obviously still don’t walk enough, but we make up for it with hits and many of those hits are home runs. We are one of only 4 teams of 30 with more than 100 homers. Our team OBP is 4 points below the CBA average but our OPS of .767 is 23 points higher.

Harris and Vargas are having great years, and should make the All-Star team. Rookie 2B Rich Seaman could finish with 25 HR and 80 RBI. Jose Diaz may have FINALLY realized his potential and could settle into the middle of the outfield and the lineup for years to come. Jose Martinez had a horrible June and was dropped to #5 in the order, but he will still have a very good year if he just doubles his first half totals. That makes five starters in the plus column.

Left field is a quandary. I really don’t want a platoon in the outfield. I prefer to have three everyday players, plus one backup from each side of the plate to pinch-hit. McConnell is a veteran making big bucks, so he has remained in the lineup over Hector Castro after losing his center field spot to Diaz. McConnell has been hot lately and was moved back up to #2 in the lineup with Diaz in the third spot right now.

Phil Gillespie is having the worst year of his career. However, he still has a plus WAR and Burgess Meredith was right… he hasn’t made another error all season. Don’t talk to me about benching Gillespie. It’s not going to happen.

Jose Apina ($65 million) is having a bad year at the plate, but he is still better than any catcher we’ve had since Bland. Edwards has better stats in a small sample size, but we have seen his full season act before. Prospect Jon Howard is probably not quite ready. We are paying for a top 10 catcher here, and we are not getting it so far. It is a bit early to pull a Longoria and eject early on another long-term contract, or is it?

Next season, we will need to eliminate another high salary to afford the next round of arbitration raises for our young core. That means one of the following players must go: SS Luis Vargas, RF Ed Harris, SP Alec Potvin, 1B Jose Martinez, C Jose Apina, 3B Phil Gillespie, LF Bryan McConnell, or SP Matt Gray. The first four players in the list are my four best players, so there are really only four choices. Gillespie is not going anywhere just because he had an off-year, so that leaves Gray, McConnell, or Apina. Gray is the logical choice but I also need to consider offers for the other two because all three are replaceable within the organization. A scenario could be constructed where all three of them go, leaving room to re-sign Luis Vargas and Ed Harris in a couple of years.

[Tyke]

Mr Orcin, apart from the fact that he stole my surname [or maybe he's a long-lost American cousin] and that he's having a pretty good season so far, what can you tell me about D. Walls, of Denver?

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by Tyke

what can you tell me about D. Walls, of Denver?

Dave Walls is a 26-year-old second baseman. He was drafted in 2010 (round 2) out of high school by Sacramento. Walls made it to the majors with the Outlaws in mid-2015 and became their regular 2B. He was traded to Denver last July (at the deadline) for two good prospects.

Walls is a good contact hitter with a decent eye and enough gap power to get some doubles. He totally lacks home run power and his speed is average. Walls has been a consistent .275-.290 hitter over his brief career.

Walls is better than average defensively. He has the arm to play third and has done so frequently. He also plays shortstop, but it is not his best position.

My scout has him rated as a 3-star 2B. I think that's about right. He might be playing a bit over his head so far this season, or maybe he really likes the thin air in Denver (a slight hitter's park).

[Orcin]

July 9, 2018 (BNN)

Subject: All-Star Rosters Announced

It's that time of the season when the best of the best battle it out for Continental Baseball Association bragging rights. Yes, it’s time for the annual All-Star game! The Federal League All-Stars will take on the Patriot League All-Stars in a star-studded showdown.

Leading the way for the Federal League All-Stars will be:

SP John Brown (LA) 10-3, 3.37 ERA, age 30, AS#2
SP António Gutiérrez (SAC) 10-5, 3.39 ERA, age 28, AS#2
SP Fernando Hernández (LA) 10-5, 2.74 ERA, age 29, AS#1
SP Bruno Maurin (SF) 15-4, 2.57 ERA, age 24, AS#2
SP Luis Ortíz (DAL) 10-4, 1.89 ERA, age 22, AS#2
SP Cristo Rodríguez (MIL) 10-4, 3.13 ERA, age 23, AS#3
SP Raleigh Rose (CHI) 10-4, 3.09 ERA, age 26, AS#2
SP Jermaine Zimmerman (LA) 11-2, 3.26 ERA, age 27, AS#1
CL Charles Jackson (SD) 3-3, 23 SV, 2.76 ERA, age 32, AS#2
CL Francisco Rodríguez (SAC) 4-4, 22 SV, 2.74 ERA, age 37, AS#1
CL Victor Staten (SF) 5-4, 17 SV, 3.00 ERA, age 34, AS#6
CL Aymeric Veronese (PHX) 3-4, 18 SV, 2.81 ERA, age 35, AS#5
C Oscar Williams (DEN) .330/.412/.496, 7 HR, 32 RBI, age 27, AS#1
C Don Woods (PHX) .264/.358/.473, 14 HR, 49 RBI, age 33, AS#6
1B Arnie Boyd (LA) .274/.402/.644, 33 HR, 64 RBI, age 25, AS#3
1B Norberto Gabriel (SAC) .286/.373/.595, 25 HR, 67 RBI, age 27, AS#1
1B Ramón Martínez (SEA) .304/.412/.478, 13 HR, 42 RBI, age 37, AS#10
2B Sergio Arroyo (SEA) .321/.348/.583, 20 HR, 64 RBI, age 25, AS#1
2B Miguel Vargas (SAC) .322/.365/.429, 6 HR, 42 RBI, age 24, AS#3
3B Juan González (LA) .295/.333/.531, 18 HR, 55 RBI, age 25, AS#1
SS Dave Walls (DEN) .346/.408/.447, 0 HR, 29 RBI, age 26, AS#1
LF Juan Chávez (MIL) .322/.405/.573, 21 HR, 66 RBI, age 24, AS#1
CF Juan Crespo (SD) .343/.370/.526, 15 HR, 56 RBI, age 22, AS#1
CF Sancho Ramos (STL) .286/.394/.506, 17 HR, 60 RBI, age 24, AS#2
CF Rafael Vásquez (not Valdez) (SAC) .304/.390/.486, 11 HR, 49 RBI, age 26, AS#1
RF Ed Harris (LOU) .310/.355/.561, 21 HR, 57 RBI, age 25, AS#3
RF Gary Lewis (STL) .279/.367/.472, 15 HR, 56 RBI, age 28, AS#4
RF Francisco Santana (LA) .341/.380/.645, 21 HR, 58 RBI, age 28, AS#4

Los Angeles has six players on the team, including three starting pitchers. Sacramento has five all-stars, even though they are only 43-46.


While the Patriot League will feature these star players:

SP Norio Azuma (BAL) 12-3, 3.26 ERA, age 26, AS#2
SP Robinson Luna (ATL) 11-4, 3.52 ERA, age 31, AS#5
SP Bob MacGregor (BAL) 9-5, 3.20 ERA, age 28, AS#1
SP José Martínez (PIT) 11-2, 2.16 ERA, age 32, AS#3
SP Will Milledge (ATL) 10-2, 2.97 ERA, age 24, AS#3
SP Owen Morton (CLT) 9-3, 3.21 ERA, age 24, AS#1
SP Greg Nance (PIT) 10-5, 3.23 ERA, age 27, AS#2
SP Ben Thompson (PIT) 11-3, 2.64 ERA, age 30, AS#1
CL Bruce Brooks (BAL) 1-2, 26 SV, 1.71 ERA, age 35, AS#7
CL Willie Mathis (BOS) 3-0, 18 SV, 2.12 ERA, age 25, AS#1
CL Carlos Pereira (ATL) 1-3, 24 SV, 2.36 ERA, age 35, AS#2
CL Manolo Pérez (PIT) 4-3, 22 SV, 3.03 ERA, age 27, AS#2
C Jesús Balderas (CLT) .324/.398/.613, 17 HR, 46 RBI, age 25, AS#1
C Dave Stewart (WAS) .332/.388/.444, 3 HR, 42 RBI, age 33, AS#1
1B Héctor Baca (DET) .366/.444/.621, 14 HR, 51 RBI, age 36, AS#7
1B Kevin Campbell (PIT) .307/.405/.609, 21 HR, 59 RBI, age 27, AS#1
1B Will Walker (WAS) .349/.452/.612, 16 HR, 64 RBI, age 35, AS#7
2B Álex Cortéz (WAS) .309/.347/.539, 16 HR, 62 RBI, age 25, AS#2
3B Paul Collins (DET) .333/.398/.530, 16 HR, 53 RBI, age 22, AS#1
3B Rubén Luna (WAS) .333/.425/.571, 18 HR, 51 RBI, age 33, AS#4
SS Paul Greene (NY) .309/.354/.550, 19 HR, 61 RBI, age 30, AS#3
LF Daniel Benjamin (NY) .342/.460/.665, 22 HR, 63 RBI, age 24, AS#2
LF Vincente López (CLT) .290/.355/.543, 22 HR, 70 RBI, age 28, AS#2
CF Pancho Moreira (WAS) .343/.377/.530, 15 HR, 52 RBI, age 24, AS#4
RF Morton Francis (ATL) .285/.356/.536, 18 HR, 67 RBI, age 25, AS#1
RF Kenny Jenkins (CIN) .281/.395/.563, 18 HR, 60 RBI, age 25, AS#1
RF Kevin Jones (PIT) .316/.400/.544, 18 HR, 58 RBI, age 25, AS#1
RF Tom Pope (WAS) .314/.369/.541, 12 HR, 49 RBI, age 28, AS#3

Pittsburgh has six players on the squad, including three starting pitchers. Washington has six players from their starting lineup on the team, but no pitchers.

[Orcin]

July 9, 2018

Subject: Week 14 Notes

Record: 49-41, .544, 4 GB
Position: 2nd place (behind Chicago, tied with Milwaukee)
Runs Scored: 423 – 3rd in Federal (115 HR is 2nd in CBA)
Runs Allowed: 349 – 1st in Federal & 3rd in CBA
Defense: .703 – 1st in Federal & CBA
Power Ranking: 94.0 (14th in CBA)
Owner Mood: Happy; Fan Interest: 99/100

• This week (3-4): 3-0 at Phoenix, 0-4 at Salt Lake City
• 07/02: LOU 3, PHX 1 – Gray 6 IP, 1 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 2 K, W (7-3, 4.68 ERA)
• 07/03: LOU 5, PHX 1 – Diaz 3-3, 2 HR, 3 RBI
• The New York Monarchs have set their team focus to “Rebuilding”.
• 07/04: LOU 5, PHX 1 – Diaz 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; McConnell 2-3, DBL, SB, 2 RS
• Chicago was swept in Denver, so just like that the lead is down to 3.5 games.
• 07/05: SLC 1, LOU 0 (10) – Bowles 9 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 4 K, ND
• 07/06: SLC 7, LOU 5 – Seaman 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, SB
• CF Luke De Rooij (pronounced ROW-ee, roll the “R”), a 17-year-old (3-stars) from the Netherlands, was signed as an international free agent for a $650K bonus.
• L.A. CF Melvin Hicks has suffered a setback in his recovery from a torn labrum and will be sidelined another 2-3 months. Hicks hit 30 HR last season.
• 07/07: SLC 3, LOU 2 – Flores (SLC) 8 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 5 BB, 3 K, W (6-4, 3.47 ERA)
• SP Matt Gray left in the 2nd inning with an undisclosed injury. Diagnosis pending.
• SP Chris Carter was activated from the D/L and SP Domingo Lopez (2G, 9.1 IP, 0-1, 8.68 ERA) was optioned to AAA. Carter won’t pitch until after the All-Star break.
• The Indianapolis Indians have reset their team focus from “Win Now” to “Neutral”.
• We placed only one player (RF Ed Harris) on the All-Star team. I thought SS Luis Vargas deserved consideration.
• 07/08: SLC 3, LOU 2 – Seaman 3-4, HR, 2 RBI; Acevedo 8 IP, 1 ER, L (2-1, 1.42)
• Ryan Edwards caught the final two games of that series. No explanation given for Apina sitting on the bench two days in a row for the first time all season.
• We sweep Phoenix, but then we are swept by Salt Lake City. Here we go with the streaky play again. Fortunately, Chicago has a 7-game losing streak going.
• Matt Gray has been diagnosed with a severe forearm strain (2-3 months). Acevedo has pitched well in place of Holmes, but we still need one more starter. (Fuller?)
• Who’s Hot: CF Jose Diaz 6G, 10-22 (.455), 3 HR, 6 RBI; 2B Rich Seaman 6G, 10-23 (.435), 3 HR, 6 RBI
• Who’s Not: 3B Phil Gillespie 9G, 6-36 (.167); SS Luis Vargas 5G, 0-20 (.000)
• Federal Player of the Week: PHX 2B Jorge Machado 13-27 (.481), 1 HR, 3 RBI
• Patriot Player of the Week: NY CF Artie Turner 14-29 (.483), 2 HR, 7 RBI
• Next week: All-Star break followed by the annual inter-league weekend special featuring a home (2) & away (2) series vs. the Orlando Sharks (41-49).

[Orcin]

2018 Mid-Season Recap: Louisville Colonels
(Courtesy of cbatraderumors.com)

The Louisville Colonels started slowly again this year. General Manager Otto Orcin lost patience after 26 games and fired long time Manager Stephen Burgess. The change in personnel got the team going, and they are back in the race at the all-star break. If the Colonels play at the same pace set since Manager Ben Blair took over, they will finish with 92 wins – perhaps enough to win the division over the slumping Chicago Cougars.

The starting pitching was terrible during April, prompting Orcin to replace his pitching coach with former Atlanta pitching coach Ron Fisher. Louisville now has the #5 rotation in the Federal League and they have allowed the fewest runs. That’s the good news. Two of the starters in that rotation, Fletcher Holmes and Matt Gray, will miss the rest of the season with injuries. Fortunately, the Colonels enjoy one of the best bullpens in the CBA, but they have to get to that bullpen first. The Colonels success in the second half may depend upon how GM Orcin reacts to these injuries. So far, he has filled the void from within the organization with mixed results.

Louisville identified power hitting as an off-season priority, and the effort was a huge success. The Colonels are #2 in the CBA with 115 home runs at the break. All-Star RF Ed Harris, who was acquired from Washington last winter, leads the team with 21 and provides lineup protection for 1B Jose Martinez (17). Rookie 2B Rich Seaman has also been a big contributor with 16 home runs. In total, the Colonels have six players with double-figure home runs, but the lineup is not just full of sluggers that can’t run or play the field. The Colonels are fifth in the Federal League with 83 stolen bases, and they lead their league in defensive efficiency. The bench may be a slight weakness, but let’s not quibble over details. Louisville has the offensive talent to be a serious contender.

The Louisville Colonels consider a post-season berth to be the baseline performance level for the franchise. Their goal is to avoid the early playoff exit that has plagued them for the past three seasons. Pitching was determined to be the key to taking that next step, and they addressed the problem with (Holmes and Gray) in the off-season. Injuries may have derailed the plan, and now the team faces another challenge.

We don’t see anyone in the minor league system that can be an effective replacement for Matt Gray (7-3, 4.63) or Fletcher Holmes (8-3, 3.80). Can the Colonels swing a deal to bring in a top starter? If so, what will be the cost? Louisville has the #10 minor league system with five top prospects, but Orcin has resisted trading young talent in the past. It is hard to see how that price can be avoided this year if Louisville wants to return to the post-season and finally get over that proverbial first-round hump.

[Orcin]

July 9, 2018 (BNN)

Subject: Colonels, Falcons Agree To Trade

Officials for Louisville confirm that they have traded 26-year-old starting pitcher Domingo López and 27-year-old minor league catcher Gary Arkle to the Seattle Falcons in return for 26-year-old catcher Willy Lejeune, 26-year-old center fielder Henri Lesueur and 23-year-old shortstop Mike Sutherland.

López has crafted an 8-13 career record with a 4.69 ERA in 172.2 innings. Opponents are batting .262 against him and he has rung up 121 strikeouts. He has been pitching at AAA for most of this season, where he was 7-5 with a 3.63 ERA for Lexington. Seattle GM Quinton Myers said at today’s press briefing that López would be the #1 pitcher in their rotation coming out of the All-Star break and they were very pleased that he was available.

Arkle was signed to a minor league contract by Louisville in April, and was hitting .268 in limited action at Lexington. He was assigned to the Seattle AAA affiliate in Portland, where he will be the starting catcher.

This year Lejeune is hitting .263 with 5 home runs and 14 RBIs in 46 games at catcher and first base. He was an All-Star catcher last season when he hit .297 with OPS of .840; however, Seattle went in a different direction this year with 22-year-old rookie Tadamasa Murakami. Lejeune is an excellent defensive catcher with a good arm.

Lesueur was Seattle’s right fielder last season with a slash line of .259/.325/.420 in 140 games. He has played primarily center field this year, and has struggled (.232) at the plate. Lesueur is a right-handed batter with exceptional defensive skills and speed.

Sutherland was recently called up to Seattle and was hitting .301 in 31 games. He is an outstanding defensive shortstop and bats from the left side, making him a nice backup for starter Luis Vargas on the Colonels. Sutherland was assigned to Lexington (AAA).

Louisville GM Otto Orcin said that there was no urgency to make a roster move for Lejeune or Lesueur, since games would not begin again until Thursday. It is not clear what role Lejeune will play with the Colonels. Trade rumors involving current Louisville catchers Jose Apina and Ryan Edwards are swirling around the team. Sources with knowledge of the Colonels’ thinking tell BNN that there is another shoe to drop.

[Westheim]

Dear Mr. Orcin,

how dare you trade an easily pronounceable player Lopez for players that appear to be named Le- ... Loe- ... Leumauleu und Leuseuseu? How do you expect fans being able to follow here at all?

Must be brothers, these two.

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by Westheim

Dear Mr. Orcin,

how dare you trade an easily pronounceable player Lopez for players that appear to be named Le- ... Loe- ... Leumauleu und Leuseuseu? How do you expect fans being able to follow here at all?

Must be brothers, these two.

Is Sal posting from your account now?

[Orcin]

July 11, 2018 (BNN)

Subject: Big Swap Announced in CBA

The Louisville Colonels have made a bold move, acquiring 29-year-old starting pitcher Fernando Hernández and 22-year-old minor league closer Pablo Morales from the Los Angeles Vipers for 30-year-old catcher José Apina, 32-year-old center fielder Andy Willis and 23-year-old reliever Arturo Hernández.

Though the Colonels parted with a valuable player, they believe the deal will fill an important need and make the club stronger. Louisville will replace Apina with Willy Lejeune, acquired from Seattle on Monday. Likewise, the Vipers gave up an all-star pitcher to fill two glaring holes in their lineup and shore up their bullpen. Los Angeles will move top prospect Blair Martin into their rotation to replace Hernández.

Thus far this year, Apina has been a disappointment after signing a big contract with Louisville, hitting .233 with 11 home runs and 24 RBIs. However, he is considered one of the top catchers in the CBA and fills a big void at the position for the Vipers. Willis is a career .277 hitter and an exceptional defender. He will take over in center field for injured Melvin Hicks.

On the season, the right-handed Hernández has a 10-5 record with a 2.74 ERA. His career mark is 77-54 with a 3.93 ERA. He will replace the injured Matt Gray in the Louisville rotation. Gray was placed on the 15-day disabled list to make room for Hernández on the active roster.

Pablo “Slayer” Morales is the #2-rated prospect in the CBA. The right-hander throws a 100 mph fastball along with a nasty slider. In 94 AAA games, he has 43 saves, a 2.63 ERA, and 158 strikeouts against only 27 walks in 107 innings. Morales will be assigned to Lexington (AAA) where he will be the closer. He is not on a major league contract and will not be moved to the 40-man roster yet according to Louisville GM Otto Orcin.

Lexington reliever Billy Wilson will be called up to replace Arturo Hernández in the Colonels bullpen. Insiders tell BNN that Los Angeles wanted a reliever in the deal and Orcin insisted that it be Arturo Hernández. Orcin is allegedly superstitious about having two players on the team with the same last name; however, Louisville once had three players named Martinez on the 25-man active roster.

Orcin stated in today’s press briefing that Ryan Edwards would share the catching duties with Lejeune. CF Henri Lesueur, also acquired from Seattle on Monday, will replace Willis as the fifth outfielder.

The deal is roughly salary neutral for the two teams. However, Apina’s contract runs for five more seasons, while Fernando Hernández only has a year after this one left on his deal.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Orcin

Is Sal posting from your account now?

Well, I *did* get a haircut today.

My lawyer has told me not to elaborate this further, though.

[Orcin]

Otto Orcin’s Journal
July 11, 2018

Long-term contracts are not necessarily long-term around here. I hope this doesn’t hurt me in dealing with free agents in the future. I worry about developing a reputation for a quick trigger among players that might consider signing here. However, I saw Longoria and Apina as assets, and their value became higher as trade chips than players.

Several things happened since Apina signed his contract that made me reconsider having a catcher on the wrong side of 30 as one of my highest-paid players.

1. Prospect catcher Jon Howard received a big ratings bump on June 1. He now has a 4.5-star potential rating, and his OPS jumped 150 points at AAA this season. I don’t want him blocked for the next five years, and Apina’s contract will be increasingly harder to move as the years go on.

2. Rookie 2B Rich Seaman appears to have developed into the power hitter that I thought Apina would be for the sixth spot in our lineup. Seaman is faster than a catcher too. If I am going to bat my catcher eighth, why pay him that much money? I am better served to focus on cheaper players and prioritize defense at that position.

3. Season-ending injuries to Holmes and Gray forced me to sacrifice talent from some position to shore up the rotation. The availability of Lejeune cinched that it would be a catcher. My budget projections led me to trade Apina and keep Edwards.

I actually pursued a trade with Seattle for Lejeune before deciding to offer a contract to Apina. Seattle was not interesting in trading him then. He was still on my shortlist, and this time around they considered him excess baggage. I like Lejeune because his rating for catcher ability is a 9. I am hoping that he will help my pitching staff. Seattle is really enamored with Domingo Lopez. Good luck with him as the #1 starter. That’s a stretch.

The solution to the budget shortfall at the end of the season will be trades for Matt Gray, who becomes a sixth wheel with the addition of Hernandez and the anticipated recovery of Fletcher Holmes, and closer Daniel Carlson for whom a replacement (Flores, Forrest or perhaps Morales) is already in place. Prospect Dean Daniels has been improving rapidly over the past month and appears to have finally gotten it. If he is ready, next year’s rotation could be formidable and Chris Carter could be another trade asset.

By the way, it appears that I overestimated the trade value of 1B Ricky Allen. I am no longer pursuing trades for him because the offers that I get back are not attractive. I am frankly confused by the sudden lack of interest. He has a slash line of .296/.389/.553 in 1175 AAA at bats. This is his final option year, so a decision must be made to carry him as a pinch-hitter or expose him through waivers next spring. I don’t want one of the five spots on my bench consumed by someone that can only play first base, but we need a better bat than versatile switch-hitter David Cottle has provided so far.

[Sal, The Barber]

Originally Posted by Orcin

Orcin is allegedly superstitious about having two players on the team with the same last name;

Superstitious? Pshaw! This is just plain good sense.

[Orcin]

July 16, 2018

Subject: Week 15 Notes

Record: 51-43, .543, 5 GB
Position: 2nd place (behind Chicago)
Runs Scored: 438 – 4th in Federal
Runs Allowed: 364 – t1st in Federal
Defense: .702 – 3rd in Federal & CBA
Power Ranking: 94.7 + (12th in CBA)
Owner Mood: Good (declining); Fan Interest: 99/100

• This week (2-2): 1-1 vs. Orlando, 1-1 at Orlando
• The Patriot League won the All-Star Game 3-2. Charlotte C Jesus Balderas hit a solo HR for the GWRBI. Louisville RF Ed Harris was 1-3 in the game.
• New York traded SP Felipe Deleon (12-5, 4.18) to Denver for two prospects.
• Louisville signed former STL SP Brian Harris (1.5*/29/R) to a minor league (AAA) contract. His career record is 51-83 (5.10 ERA), but he has 3 pitches and a pulse.
• Sacramento opened up a lot of budget room, trading 32-year-old LF Fernando Granados ($18Mx3) to Cleveland for a prospect.
• Brian Harris threw a shutout with 15 K’s (wow) in his first start for Lexington.
• 07/12: LOU 4, ORL 3 (12) – Castro 3-6, DBL, HR, 2 RBI
• 07/13: ORL 4, LOU 3 (11) – Brown (ORL) 2-2, HR off Flores in the 11th for GWRBI
• 07/14: LOU 4, ORL 3 – Harris 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Hernandez 6 IP, 2 ER, W (11-5)
• 07/15: ORL 5, LOU 4 – Herbert (ORL) 2-4, HR, 3 RBI
• CF Jose Diaz hurt his shoulder on a throw to third, and will be out for 6 weeks.
• LF Hector Castro (.294/.327/.519) will replace Diaz in the lineup with McConnell moving over to center field.
• RF Jack Bunney will be activated from his rehab assignment to replace Diaz on the roster and fill Castro’s role as fourth outfielder and primary LH pinch-hitter.
• Milwaukee acquired SP Francisco Alvarado, a 27-year-old left-hander rated at 4 stars by my scout, from Salt Lake City for an outfield prospect.
• Federal Player of the Week: SF 2B Peter “Spidey” Parker 9-16 (.563), 0 HR, 6 RBI
• Patriot Player of the Week: BAL 2B Juan Pagan 7-12 (.583), 2 HR, 4 RBI
• Next week: 3 at Charleston (43-50), 3 vs. Atlanta (57-36)

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Orcin

• Louisville signed former STL SP Brian Harris (1.5*/29/R) to a minor league (AAA) contract. His career record is 51-83 (5.10 ERA), but he has 3 pitches and a pulse.

Yeah, well, going through somebody else's trash you will rarely find gems, but who knows...

[gehrig38]

• Sacramento opened up a lot of budget room, trading 32-year-old LF Fernando Granados ($18Mx3) to Cleveland for a prospect.


How on earth did a team have that much room in their budget at this point in the year, what, 9M or so?

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by gehrig38

How on earth did a team have that much room in their budget at this point in the year, what, 9M or so?

Cleveland has one of the bigger budgets in the CBA ($150M), and they only had a couple of big contracts before Granados, who has two years left after this one. Incredibly, the Rockers still have about $5M left this year, plus room for extensions with several mid-level players on expiring contracts.

[jayjackson]

Good to see you are still going strong, Mr. Orcin! Unfortunately, I had my CPU blow up a few months back (literally) so I haven't been on the internet to keep up much. Going to spend some time catching up, and grabbing a new copy of OOTP for the new machine.

I'm sure I'll be re-inspired to write after reading what has happened in your world while I was gone!