Bayer 04 Leverkusen - A european baseball Dynasty

[Pronkytonk]

Hopefully the Pills might be a little more successful than in RL soccer (as far as national championships are concerned ;-) )

[Griever20]

18.11.1959

GM Patrick Kehl

Arbitration Decisions

CL Ergot Rotholz receives 2,600,000$(team wins)
MR Elliot Aves receives 850,000$(team wins)
Aves is a 2,5star reliever with 3 options left, who struggled last season, may find himself in at AAA next year.
2B Gaston Ghiberti receives 1,800,000$(team wins)
1,5star 2B, could start or stay on the bench, can play 1B/2B/LF.
RF Hughie Clarke receives 3,000,000$(team wins)
1,5star, has decent power, but struggles mighty last season, could be traded.

Originally Posted by Pronkytonk

Hopefully the Pills might be a little more successful than in RL soccer (as far as national championships are concerned ;-) )

Lets hope the Vizekusen-Curse doesn't work in baseball
Thinking of that... i need a beer!

Today's beer: Schachterskaja

[Griever20]

20.11.1959 clnews.com

CL News: Free Agents File

As midnight approached last night, would-be free agents across Champions League lined up to formally file their papers, officially putting themselves on the open market.

General managers across the league enter the fray today with different approaches -- mortgage the franchise to snap up the stars or simply maintain the status quo?

Headlining the list of names filing for free agency are these players:

SP Lucas Beltrametti 29y 5stars ex-Galatasaray 1955/1959 POTY
SP Heyg Laszmann 28y 4,5stars ex-Athletic Bilbao best changeup of the CL
SP Adelfried Grotefend 38y 4,5stars ex-FC Liverpool 27-game winner in 1952
SP David Terrier 38y 4stars ex-AS Roma led the league in ERA 1958
SP Guy David 29y 4,5stars ex-FC Porto struggeling with a 4.59 career ERA
SP Eloi Jeszenak 29y 4stars ex-BVB very low stamina, more a CL/Long Reliever
MR Jimmy Sjo 26y 4,5stars ex-BVB was setup last season, has closer stuff

LF Martin Sveberg 28y 4,5stars ex-Marseille only played 65 games last year
3B Lenny Vernier 28y 3stars ex-AS Roma high average, wants 18million, be careful with him!
SS Ralph Gunther 24y 5stars ex-Athletic Bilbao defensive wizard, top leadoff hitter
3B Theodrich Nadel 28y 4,5stars ex-Chelsea decent leadoff hitter, led the league in OBP 1954

Some big names out there. I will definitly try to make an offer to Sjo to bolster my bullpen, and try to sign some cheap 2B help. So good free agent hunting!

[Griever20]

1.12.1959
GM Patrick Kehl

Rule 5 Draft

I protected:
AAA MR Ciro Accornero 25y 3/4,5stars, who will compete for a righty slot next season
AAA SP Claude Michel 29y 2,5 stars, who will be our emergency starter down in AAA

I drafted:
Round 1 Pick 15 CL Svend Eldjárn 28y 4,5/5stars, had 44SV with 3.14ERA in AAA for SS Lazio

As the other teams don't seem to have that much bullpen worries, and with the addition of Eldjárn and Prignano and the potential of Accornero i decided to withdraw my offer for Sjo. I will need that money to extend my young stars in the future.

[Griever20]

4.12.1959 clnews.com

Bayer 04 Leverkusen-FC Barcelona Trade: Clarke for Cerfas

The Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FC Barcelona announced a deal that was completed today. Bayer 04 Leverkusen sent 30-year-old right fielder Hughie Clarke to FC Barcelona for 25-year-old catcher Theo Cerfas. Both teams appear happy with the outcome of the trade. The general managers told the Baseball News Network they felt the swap was beneficial for the both teams and the players.

For his career Clarke is hitting .260 with 69 homers, 286 RBIs and 466 hits.

Cerfas is a minor league catcher known for his strong defence. Sources in Leverkusen say that basically Bayer wanted to dump Clark's salary and get another defensive backup catcher.

Cerfas will most likely play in AAA, he has 2 options left.

[Griever20]

9.12.1959 clnews.com
Transactions prior to Winter Meetings:

31.10.1959 Manchester City sents RF Jean Bertrand(France, 26y, 3,5stars) to the FC Porto.
ManC gets MR Claude Muller(FRA, 28, 4stars) and Prospect SP Niko Nikolic(Bulgaria, 21, 4,5stars).

28.11.1959 3B Theodrich Nadel(4,5stars) signs with Arsenal F.C. For 5 years 91,800,000$

30.11.1959 3B Lenny Vernier(3stars) signs with AS Roma for 6 years 94,600,000$
We will see if this contract is worth it, they will pay alot for a mediocre 33 year old who will most likely lose his speed at the end of the contract.

1.12.1959 LF Martin Sveberg(4,5 stars) sings with Zenit St. Petersburg for 4years 77,900,000$

4.12.1959 SP David Tessier(4stars) signs with FC Bayern Munich for 2years 36,600,000$.
Bad news for us, i hoped the Bayern won't spend big this offseason. Well... fat chance...

5.12.1959 31 year old veteran 2B Pippo Ioli(2,5stars) signs with Bayer 04 Leverkusen for 2years 3,000,000$.
Ok, here is the deal. He can play 2B/3B/SS and has a Eye/Discipline Rating of 70/80, so he will find ways to get on base even if his swing doesn't work. I like this kind of player for this amount of money.

[Griever20]

Winter Meetings 1959

GM Patrick Kehl

Ok, i'm a bit nervous about this. I negotiated some contracts and trades since i became GM, but i could take my time and preparate myself for that. Now, its gonna be like speed dating sharks in a pool where i'm the dolphin.

Goals for the Winter Meetings:

• Trade away MR Marcus Fairhead(29, 2stars) and his 3,200,000$ salary
• look for some cheap replacement players for AAA and my bench
• get at least one switch hitter

[Griever20]

Winter Meetings 1959

Notable Transactions:

10.12.1959
Borussia Dortmund sents 2B Casimir Hirtreiter(2,5stars, 28) to the FC Porto and aquire LF Alfred Breeman(3/4stars, 26). Not a bad deal for the Borussia, Breeman has hit 28HR with 102RBI last season in AAA, could be a steal.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen sents MR Marcus Fairhead(2stars, 29) together with minor league SS Junior Peña(1/2stars, 25) to Lille OSC for minor league SP Semer Maliki(1,5/4stars, 23)
Ok, technically im pretty much stacked now with pitching prospects, but that was the best deal i could find for Fairhead, and if Maliki develops accordingly, i can use him myself or trade him away for a good position player.

AC Milan aquires CF Marcos Salinas(4,5/5stars, 26). He was the 1955 1st pick. They sent SP Lance Nechtan(3,5stars,25) and minor league SP Per Zetterberg(0,5/4,5stars,20) to FC Porto.

AS Roma trades for CF Lorenzo López(4stars, 28). They sent a minor league reliever and minor league SP Paul Morel(1,5/4stars, 23) to Lille.

AS Monaco aquires 3B Göth Trauner(4stars, 28) and gets 3,000,000$ for sending a group of 5 prospects to ManCity, highlighted by SP Rodrigo Javier(1,5/4,5 stars, 21).

And a lot of minor deals.

It seems that the last 2-3 drafts were pretty pitching heavy, so that most of the teams have a surplus for pitching prospects and are starving for position players. That is why we see so many trades involving >4 star prospects here.

[Griever20]

Notable Transactions after the Winter Meetings

22.12.1959 ManCity signs former Marseille CL Giuseppe DeMauro(5stars, 29) for 2years 25,200,000$

22.12.1959 AS Roma signs former Bilbao SS Ralph Gunther(5stars, 24) for a 3 year 112,500,000$.
37.500.000$ per year... well Merry Christmal Mr. Gunther

26.12.1959 As a delayed christmas present, the fans of the FC Schalke 04 can celebrate the signing of CF Eunice Egreja(3,5 stars, 26), former ManCity left fielder. He will be locked up for 3 years 35,400,000$

28.12.1959 Ajax signs former Monaco SP Hubert Vasko(4stars, 29) for 3y/39,600,000$

29.12.1959 St. Petersburg signs former Borussia SP Eloi Jeszenak(4stars, 29) for 4y/134,000,000$
Happy for every strong player that doesn't return to the Bundesliga, but this could be a serious overpay for Ajax, especially with all the young pitching talent underway.

3.1.1960 Happy New Year in Milan. AC Milan signs premiere free agent SP Lucas Beltrametti(5stars, 29), ex-Galatasaray for 6 years 228,000,000$
Have fun....

6.1.1960 Barca signs SP Heyg Laszmann(4,5stars 28) ex-Athletic Bilbao for 177,500,000$ for 5years.

14.1.1960 Borussia Dortmund signs 3B Dan Lecomte(4stars, 28) ex-Real Madrid for 3years 38,500,000$
Hit .305 last season with 25 stolen bases, could be a strong leadoff hitter.

2.2.1960 St.Petersburg signs SP Guy David(4,5stars,29) ex-FC Porto for 4years 134,900,000$
Big salary for a career 92-90 pitcher with a 4,65ERA

15.2.1960 HSV signs MR Jimmy Sjo(4stars,26) for 2years 25,690,000$

15.2.1960 Inter signs veteran SP Adelfried Grotefend(4,5stars, 38) for 2years 27,400,000$
Grotefend is definitly talented and has impressive career numbers, but just started 24 games the last 2 seasons.

Over the month, i claimed a couple of 3,5-4star potential relievers with 3 options from waivers. I'll sent them to AAA and see how they develop.

[Griever20]

6.3.1960 clnews Spring Training Preview

Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Starting Rotation: Bundesliga Rank: 2
No big changes expected here compared to last season. Ulrich(12-6 3.97ERA), Stadlober(10-10 4.24ERA) and Pflaume(16-11, 4.06) are fixtures on top of the rotation. Sophomore Rodríguez(11-10 4.71ERA) will have to show he belongs in a major league rotation, while Hernández(11-16 4.07ERA) seems to be locked at the 5 spot. Veteran Claude Michel reportetly wants to compete for a roster spot after a season im AAA, and Leverkusen features some high upside prospects at SP.

Bullpen: Bundesliga Rank: 3
Last years closer Ergot Rotholz(1-5 18SV 5.25ERA) will really have to battle to keep his job, as Rule 5 draftee Svend Eldjárn(44SV 3.14 at AAA), setup man Bernard Knapp(2-1 3.71ERA) and Vincent Prignano(1-0 3.89ERA for Inter) are all competing for the job. The rest of the bullpen will be featuring a good mix of first year and sophomore players or waiver wire aquisitions, but if should be an upgrade to last years bullpen.

Catcher: Bundesliga Rank: 3
Ludwig Koubek(322/350/484/834) will return as everyday catcher, and his bat will be welcome in the everyday lineup. José Padilla will most likely be the backup catcher with his defensive ability, but is threatened by Theo Cerfas who will start at AAA.

Infield: Bundesliga Rank: 3
Asmerom Mubaadar(314/395/426/822) and Valentín Moreno(278/323/415/738 17HR) should be 1B & DH for Leverkusen, as they are still fond of Moreno as a middle of the order bat.
2B will be a spring battle between veteran Pippo Ioli(210/328/333/661) and last years call up Gastone Ghiberti(236/304/369/673). Both aren't that eyecatching, but can play multiple infield positions, so they will most likely both end on the roster.
33 Homeruns last season will be the reason we will see Jay Shute(297/343/533/876 33HR 109RBI) at third again, with not much competition here.
At short, Omero Nannini(254/291/373/664) and his strong defence will compete with Luqman Harith(279/392/390/782 at AAA) for the everyday starting job.
Overall the infield should be slightly better than last season, but not as strong as the Bayern outfield.

Outfield: Bundesliga Rank: tied for 2 with Borussia Dortmund
Center fielder Gabriel Pinto(311/346/513/859 24HR 77RBI) leads the pack here, he is projected to have a similar season this year again. LF Jung-Heum Kim(322/348/421/769 40SB) has a shot at the leadoff spot, and Leon Milk(282,493/839 in 23 games) and Roald Heesmans(256/330/369/699) will battle for the third outfield spot.

Prediction: 88-74 2nd behind FC Bayern Munich

[Griever20]

Spring Training 1960

Spring Training record: 19-3(What is happening here???)
Injuries: none(What is happening here???)

Final 25-Man Roster for Opening Day:

SP Paul Ulrich(1-0 3.94ERA)
SP Mario Stadlober(2-1 3.18ERA)
SP Cort Pflaume(2-0 2.81ERA)
SP Sergio Rodríguez(1-0 5.14ERA) If he doesn't pitch up to his potential in april/may, he is on the block or in AAA
SP Mario Hernández(4-0 3.38ERA)

MR Vincent Prignano(5.40 1.03WHIP)
MR Bernard Knapp(9.49ERA 2.11WHIP) He has to impress in April
MR Elliot Aves(0.73ERA 0.97WHIP)
MR Ciro Acconero(3.60ERA 1SV 1.40WHIP)
SU José Fuentes(4.61ERA 1SV 1.10WHIP)
SU Svend Eldjárn(2.96ERA 1SV 1.32WHIP) chance to close if Rotholz fails
CL Ergot Rotholz(2.53ERA 8SV 0.94WHIP) will stay as a closer for now

C Ludwig Koubek(307/366/640/1006 7HR 18RBI)
C José Padilla(182/167/182/348) Cerfas was even worse...
1B/DH Valentín Moreno(364/398/545/944 3HR 21RBI) could he start playing on his potential?
1B Asmerom Mubaadar(333/455/451/906 16RBI 5SB)
2B Pippo Ioli(383/567/617/1184 2HR 7RBI)
2B Gastone Ghiberti(321/457/679/1136 3HR 10RBI) will be utility man of the bench
3B Jay Shute(290/318/419/738 1HR 13RBI) struggled, could be replaced by Nannini with Harith starting SS
SS Omerto Nannini(343/439/657/1096 2HR 14RBI)
SS Luqman Harith(343/439/657/1096 3HR 8RBI)
OF Jung-Heum Kim(531/545/656/1202 10RBI 16R 14SB) will leadoff
OF Gabriel Pinto(328/358/609/968 3HR 15RBI)
OF Roald Heesemans(318/444/591/1035 1HR 8RBI) will start in RF on Opening Day
OF Leon Milk(221/329/279/609)

Just missed the Roster: SP Claude Michel(3-0 2.25ERA) Will be called up if Rodríguez keeps struggeling

Lineup:
1. Kim(L)
2. Mubadaar(R)
3. Moreno(R)
4. Shute(L)/Pinto(R)
5. Pinto(R)/Shute(L)
6. Heesemans(L)/Koubek(R)
7. Koubek(R)/Heesemans(L)
8. Ioli(2B)
9. Nannini(R)

Injury Report League:
FC Bayern leadoff hitter and 2B Theobald Würfel will miss the first month of the season with a torn hamstring.
Some reliever injuries i wont cover here.

I need so sort out and micromanage the minor league system... will take a while...
So Spring training over, to end it its time for a beer: Cuvée Des Jonquilles

[Griever20]

05.04.1960 GM Patrick Kehl
Opening Day Roundup

Personal Message from the Team President: Season Expectation

Patrick,
I have now decided on the goal for the coming season. After evaluating several factors, I have to come to the conclusion that the team should have a winning season.

I think that the team has improved, and if our players play up to their potential, there is a chance for a wildcard berth.

The great Spring Training results improved the Fan Interest(59->61) a bit, and i hope we can see a sold out stadium soon.

Good Luck!
Albert Jamieson

Top 100 Prospect List
Here is the top 10:
1) 3B José Soto, 20, Paris Saint-Germain F.C.
2) SP Gustave Longo, 24, FC Barcelona
3) MR Alexandr Harvalyk, 24, Borussia Dortmund
4) CF Armand Rodledo, 24, Athletic Bilbao
5) C Alain James, 19, Valencia C.F.
6) SS Evzen Goldmann, 20, Paris Saint-Germain F.C.
7) SP Riccardo Lapo, 19, Ajax Amsterdam
8) 3B Ramón Estrada, 23, FC Barcelona
9) SP Albert Dupont, 22, AS Monaco F.C.
10) 2B Les Dodgson, 23, Juventus F.C.

Our teams prospects:
SP Bartolo Valera(1957 R1 Pick 1) #12 starts at A
SP Hervé Pichon(1958 R1) #30 starts at A
RF Pedro Torres(1956 R2) #38 starts at A
SP Ivan Zoric(1958 R1) #45 starts at R
SP Armando Esparza(Int. Free Agent) #79 starts at AA
SS Thomas Ribeiro(1959 R1) #97 starts at AA

Overall, our minor league system ranks 3rd
I'm quite fine with that, tho most players will need at least one season to make an impact in the majors.
Paris St.Germain ranks first, FC Barcelona second.
FC Schalke ranks 10th, and is second in Bundesliga teams in that list.

[Griever20]

Preseason Predictions 1960



Well, according to this predictions, the 2 teams with the highest payroll, AS Roma and FC Barcelona won't make the playoffs, and Galatasaray will, even without their ace... we will see



96-66 and the german Meisterschaft? Shut up and take my money. According to the predictions, Moreno finds his swing and produces 35HR 123RBI... I would take that. Ulrich seems to be predicted as the ace of the staff with 17-8 3.53ERA... I would take that too!

Top Position Player 1960

Holds the record for average in a single season, so i'm fine with that.

Top Pitcher 1960

Fits the description, i would be concerned about his groundball rate, but he seems to keep the ball in the park.

[Griever20]

10.4.1960
GM Patrick Kehl

Week 1 Notes(April)

3 games @Lille OSC
Bayer 04 – Lille OSC 8-9 Loss
L: Knapp(0-1)
Ullrich gave up 6 runs on 12 hits in 5.0IP and Bernard Knapp added 3ER in 1IP
Jung-Heum Kim 3-5 2R 2SB
Pippo Ioli 3-4 2R 2RBI
Player of the Game: 2B Pippo Ioli(1)

Bayer 04 – Lille OSC 3-7 Loss
L: Stadlober(0-1)
Stadlober gave up 6ER on 8H in 4IP and Knapp gave up another one (I put Knapp on option use less often now)
Jung-Heum Kim 2-4 2RBI
Player of the Game: 2B Cris García(LOSC) 3-5 2RBI 2R 1HR

Bayer 04 – Lille OSC 2-4 Loss
L: Pflaume(0-1)
Pflaume goes 6.1IP, 2ER with 2Errors on him...
Valentin Moreno 1-3 1BB 2-Run Homerun
Player of the Game: SP Pavle Sainovic(LOSC) 8.0IP 4H 2ER 11K 105PI

Random Notes:
90 players were on waivers, nobody of real interest for us, except
MR Marcus Fairhead, who we traded away at the Winter Meetings ended up on waivers at the start of the season, was not claimed.

Ludwig Koubek's 23 game hitting streak ends in game three

BVB SP Fernando Ramírez 2-hits the FC Porto

Ajax Amsterdam's 3B Lester Endacott named POTW with .391 4HR 8RBI
FC Schalke 04's C Pedro Pérez named POTW with .688 2HR 5RBI 7R

This didn't start off as intended, the top of the rotation stuggles and we collected errors 7 errors in 3 games....

[Griever20]

18.4.1960*
GM Patrick Kehl

Week 2 Notes(April)

3@ Olympique de Marseille(0-3), 3vs BVB(3-0)

Bayer 04 – Olympique Marseille 3-0 Win
W: Rodríguez(1-0)
Rodríguez takes a 3-hitter over 8 innings and Rotholz gets the save(1)(just to be save)
Leon Milk 1-4 3-run Homerun(1) (slotted him in for struggeling Heesemans... worked)
Player of the Game: SP Sergio Rodríguez(1)

Bayer 04 – Olympique Marseille 10-3 Win
W: Hernández(1-0)
Hernández gives us 7 innings of 3 run ball, Eldjárn closes the door with 2 hitless innings
Leon Milk 2-3 2BB 2RBI 1R
Gabriel Pinto 2-5 2-run Homerun(1) 2R 2RBI
Player of the Game: CF Gabriel Pinto(1)
(Pinto went back to CF to make room for Milk in RF)

Bayer 04 – Olympique Marseille 4-5 (13) Loss
L: Aves(0-1)
Ulrich pitched 7.1 innings of scoreless baseball, Fuentes allowed 3 runs and Knapp another one, and Aves got the loss in inning 13
Gabriel Pinto 3-6 1RBI
Player of the Game: SP Paul Ulrich(1) 7.1IP 5H 0ER 7K 112PI – 3.65ERA

(Now three games against the BVB. They are 6-0 after sweeping ManCity and the FC Porto... Good Luck!)

Borussia Dortmund – Bayer 04 2-9 Win
W: Stadlober(1-1) 6.97ERA
Stadlober goes 6.1IP of 2-run ball with 8 Strikeouts, Fuentes pitched 2.2 scoreless innings and gets the save(1)
Leon Milk 1-3 2BB 1HR(2)
Ludwig Koubek 2-5 1HR(1)
Player of the Game: DH Valentin Moreno(1) 3-4 2R 1BB 2-run Homerun(2)

Borussia Dortmund – Bayer 04 4-5 Win
W: Pflaume(1-1) 2.84ERA
Pflaume goes 6.1 innings of 2-run ball, Aves gives up 2 ER while retiring just 2 batters...
Bayer strikes early highlighted by a 2-run HR by Milk
Leon Milk 1-4 2-run HR(3)
Gabriel Pinto 2-3 2RBI
Player of the Game: CF Yaþar Yazîcîzâde(BVB) 2-3 2RBI 2BB 1R

Borussia Dortmund – Bayer 04 11-4 Loss
L: Rodríguez(1-1) 6.30ERA
Rodríguez gives up 7 runs and the bullpen adds 4 more... Milk's 2 dingers aren't enough to win
Leon Milk 2-3 2HR(5)
Player of the Game: 1B Wade Peppercorn(BVB) 3-5 1HR 4RBI 3R

Standings:
Bayer 04 Leverkusen 4-5
Bundesliga: 5, 3GB
Wildcard: 2GB
This Week: 4-2
Month: 4-5
Power Ranking: #13

Random Notes:
Ajax Amsterdam's 3B Lester Endacott has his hitting streak snapped at 21.
Athletic Bilbao's 3B Lorenz Derr has his hitting streak snapped at 20.

A.S. Roma's 1B Iván Valadez named POTW with .450 4HR 7RBI
Bayer 04's RF Leon Milk named POTW with .350 5HR 8RBI

Ok, the offence is going quite well, but the pitching performances are inconsistent at the moment.

Milk had a monster week and will stay in the lineup with Heesemans on the bench.

Nannini has just hit .182 for the week and .147 for the year, he will be on the bench with Harith starting at SS.

[Griever20]

25.4.1960
GM Patrick Kehl

Week 3 Notes(April)

3vs FC Bayern Munich(4-5), 3@ FC Schalke 04(6-3)
Important week for us, 6 games against Bundesliga rivals!

FC Bayern – Bayer 04 3-7 Win
W: Hernández(2-0) 3.21ERA
Hernández pitches 7 innings of 2 run ball, the offense strikes for 4 runs in the first against Bayern's ace Michel Wallroth and never looked back. Nice win.
Leon Milk 1-2 2BB HR(6)
Jay Shute 2-4 2RBI
Player of the Game: SP Mario Hernández(1) 7IP 10H 2ER 6K 106PI

FC Bayern – Bayer 04 3-4 Win
W Ulrich(1-0) 3.72ERA
Ulrich goes 7 innings, allowed just 3 runs, Eldjárn and Fuentes and Rotholz(SV 3) close the door. The offence scored 3 runs in the 2nd inning, and newly slotted in SS Harith had a big game.
Player of the Game: SS Luqman Harith(1) 3-4 2RBI 1DB

FC Bayern – Bayer 04 1-3 Win
W: Stadlober(2-1) 4.59ERA
Our pitching only allowed one run in the 4th on a line drive single into left field, but we grabbed the lead on back to back to back singles by Milk, Koubek and Shute, a RBI walk for Ioli, a sac by Kim and a RBI-single by Mubaadar.
Player of the Game: SP Mario Stadlober(1) 7.1IP 5H 1ER 9K 101PI

Sweet, we sweept the Champs 3-0 and climbed over .500 for the first time this season. Still, Nannini is ice cold from the bench even though my scout Yil ... Yik... yogurt tells me he is just in a bad slump. Lets hope Harith stays at least warm.

Bayer 04 – FC Schalke 04 3-6 Loss
L: Pflaume(1-2) 4.67ERA
Schalke really got to Pflaume in the 5th for 4 Runs. We scored 2 in the 7th on a deep single by Kim and another one in the 8th on a homerun by Moreno, but it wasn't enough.
Valentín Moreno 2-4 HR(3)
Jung-Heum Kim 1-5 2RBI
Player of the Game SP Barholomaeus Kochta(S04) 8IP 9H 3ER 8K 115P

Bayer 04 – FC Schalke 04 3-6 Loss
L.Rodríguez(1-2) 8.36 ERA
Rodríguez gave Schalke 6 runs in 4 innings... and i'm losing my patience with him... Michel is waiting in AAA
Gabriel Pinto 3-4 2RBI 2DB
Player of the Game: SS Ben Walby(S04) 2-4 1HR 4RBI

Bayer 04 – FC Schalke 04 4-1 Win
W: Hernández(3-0) 2.25 (I start to understand why he's nicknamed 'The Crow')
SV: Rotholz(5) 0.00ERA
Hernández tamed 'Die Knappen' very well today, and our offense added 2 runs in the 2nd and Pinto added a homerun in the 3rd to win this game.
Gabriel Pinto 2-4 3R 1RBI ROE
Player of the Game: SP Mario Hernández(2) 6IP 6H 1R 7K 100PI
Injury: C José Padilla is out for 4 days with a knee inflamation. No DL-stint.

Standings:
Bayer 04 Leverkusen 8-7
Bundesliga: 4, 4GB
Wildcard: tied
This Week: 4-2
Month: 8-7
Power Ranking: #8

Random Notes
Juventus Turin SP Johannis Thabet 4-hits Inter Milan.
Real's SP Tomás Chávez 6-hits Atlético Madrid.
Galatasaray's RF Lodovico Carboni goes 5-5 with 1R 1RBI agains Ajax.
In the same game Galatasaray's 3B Xavier Dujardin goes 5-5 aswell with 4R 1HR 1RBI 2DB.

Galatasaray's 3B Xavier Dujardin named POTW with .563 5HR 12RBI
Liverpool F.C.'s LF Mauro López named POTW with .375 4HR 11RBI

Playing around with the lineup again. Kim is ice cold at the moment, so i swap him with Harith to see how comfortable he is with leading off. Milk is cooling of as well, so he drops down in the lineup for Koubek, who is hitting .315 this season.

[Griever20]

Hi,
this is Köksal Yildizoglu, Headscout of Bayer 04(for those who didn't know, like my boss who keeps calling me Karl Yogurt...)

Here is a roundup for the trades and signings we made this offseason after one month. My boss wanted this report to find out how bad we failed haha.

Extensions:
1B Asmeron Mubaadar 274/392/306/698 7SB 9R 0.3WAR
SP Cort Pflaume 1-2 4.67ERA 1.44WHIP .339BABIP 0.6WAR
3B Jay Shute 250/282/309/591 1HR 6RBI -0.3WAR(ok this one looks bad at the moment

Free Agents:
MR Svend Eldjárn(Rule 5 Pick) 1-0 0.00ERA 3.1IP 0.2WAR (great claim)
2B Pippo Ioli 266/329/422/750 1HR 9RBI 11R 0.3WAR

B04: MR Vincent Prignano(Inter Milan) 0-0 1.50ERA 6IP 0.2WAR
INTER: 1B Pierrick Huchet 324/333/441/775 2HR 9RBI 0.2WAR
RF Mason Swinburn(AAA)

B04: SS Omero Nannini(Ath.Madrid) 135/200/162/362 -0.5WAR
Ath. Madrid: 1B Leonilde Zquete 196/240/326/566 -0.3WAR
CL Ellery Speth(AAA)
SS Pedro Pacheto 372/386/419/805 0.4WAR (This one is unexpected, did we underestimate him that hard?)

Quite balanced, could be we missed something on Pacheto. Would be quite bad, because we could need production like this from our SS.

The relievers we added seem to be quite solid up to very strong, and Ioli seems to be a steal for 3,000,000$ for 2 years.

Shute is struggeling, and with Nannini struggeling aswell we could need help at that corner soon.

Lets hope boss is not angry about this report, as we are playing quite well against Liverpool quite now(spoiler alert... oh... too late)

[Griever20]

1.5.1960
GM Patrick Kehl

Week 4 Notes(April)

4@ Liverpool F.C.(8-7), 4@ Manchester City(7-8)

Bayer 04 – Liverpool F.C. 7-6 Win
W: Eldjárn(1-0) 0.00ERA
SV: Rotholz(6) 0.00ERA
Tough game, Ulrich and Fuentes each gave up 3 runs, but our offense really bailed them out. Props to Valentin Moreno, who hit the game winning 3-run home run in the top of the 9th.
Player of the Game: DH Valentin Moreno(2) 2-5 2R 3RBI HR(4)

Bayer 04 – Liverpool F.C. 4-0 Win
W: Stadlober(3-1) 3.28ERA
Nice pitching and clutch hitting got us another win, Harith went 1-5 with 2RBI as leadoff hitter.
Player of the Game: SP Mario Stadlober(2) 7IP 6H 0ER 4K 81PI

Bayer 04 – Liverpool F.C. 3-4 Loss
L: S.Eldjárn(1-1) 2.70ERA
Good quality start by Pflaume, but Eldjárn gave up his first run, and the offense only scored 3.
Luqman Harith 1-2 1HR 1BB
Player of the Game: 3B Gabriel Meeson(FCL) 3-4 1R 1RBI 1RBI

Bayer 04 – Liverpool F.C. 7-4 Win
W: Rodríguez(2-2) 6.95ERA
SV: Rotholz(7) 0.00ERA
Not that bad this time, 8 inning quality start with 4ER was enough. Moreno and Pinto both homered as we scored 7 runs in the first four innings.
Gabriel Pinto 1-4 2RBI 1R HR(3)
Player of the Game: DH Valentin Moreno(3) 1-3 3RBO 1BB HR(5)

Bayer 04 – Manchester City 3-0 Win
W: Hernández(4-0) 1.61ERA
SV: Rotholz(8) 0.00ERA
Another shutout by Hernández and Rotholz gives us another win this week. Sac-fly's by Harith and Shute and an RBI-triple by Kim were enough to win today.
Player of the Game: SP Mario Hernández(3) 8IP 6H 0ER 6K 93PI

Bayer 04 – Manchester City 5-0 Win
W: Ulrich(2-0) 2.67ERA
Two Shutouts in a row agains ManCity and a 5-run 5th inning were enough to keep the wins comming.
Player of the Game: SP Paul Ulrich(2) 8.1IP 3H 0ER 9K 109PI

Bayer 04 – Manchester City 8-4 Win
W: Stadlober(4-1) 3.16ERA
Stadlober was strong through 6.2 innings, but Knapp gave up 2ER in 0.2 innings again. NOT HAPPY with that. Moreno and Koubek both hit solo shots and Shute went 3-5 to lead the offence to 8 runs combined.
Valentín Moreno 3-5 1RBI 1HR(6)
Player of the Game: 3B Jay Shute(1) 3-5 2RBI 1R
Injury: SS Luqman Harith is down for 4weeks with a torn meniscus. He is placed on the 15-day DL.
Thomas Ribeiro(#98 Prospect) is called up. Kim is back hitting leadoff. Nannini will start as SS again.

Standings:
Bayer 04 Leverkusen 14-8
Bundesliga: 2 tied
Wildcard: tied
This Week: 6-1
This Month: 14-8
Power Ranking: #9

Random Notes:
Feyenoord's RF Montrell Cuzzocrea goes 5-6 with 2HR 7RBI 4R against St. Petersburg
BVB'S CF Yaþar Yazîcîzâde goes 5-6 with 2R and 1RBI against the Hamburger SV

Athletic Bilbao's 2B Alberto Rangel named POTW with .577 3HR 11RBI
BVB's C Joao Imbert named POTW with .476 3HR 9RBI

Well things are looking up, but this year's Bundesliga seems to be quite strong, as 3 teams finish April with 15-8 ahead of us, so we need to hope they struggle and we can at least keep it up.

[Griever20]

1.5.1960 clnews.com

April 1960 Roundup

WL Player of the Month:
RF Penrod Brack from SS Lazio Roma(12-9) with 435/453/935/1387 13HR 33RBI
Brack is a 2 time All-Star and 3 time Gold Glover and led the League in homeruns in 1959.

EL Player of the Month:
LF Janah Indyk from Arsenal F.C.(13-9) with 328/390/731/1121 8HR 30RBI 17R
The Rookie of the Year 1953(also led the league in HR and RBI) and 3 time All-Star was lights out for the Premier League leading Gunners.

WL Pitcher of the Month:
SP Tomás Chávez from Real Madrid C.F. with 4-1 5GS 2.50ERA 34K
He pitched a 6-hit shutout against Atlético this month.

EL Pitcher of the Month:
SP Amar K'Homme from Lille OSC with 4-0 6GS 2.59ERA 29K
He was the 11th pick of the 1956 first-year player draft

WL Rookie of the Month:
RF Enrique Ramírez from Inter Milan with 402/434/543/978 1HR 16RBI 17R
Ramírez was a 4 time All-Star in his minor league career.

EL Rookie of the Month:
3B Miguel Román from Chelsea F.C. With 303/333/494/828 3HR 15RBI
Román was drafted in the Rule 5 from Olympique de Marseille.

Hottest Month:
A.C. Milan 14-6 .700
Led by veteran 3B Albert Altaner, who hit .400, and some strong pitching featured by free agend aquisition SP Lucas Beltrametti(2-0 2.80ERA), Milan stormed to the top of the Serie A.

Coldest Month:
FC Bayern Munich 6-15 .286
The Bayern struggeled mighty, with only one starter under 4.00 ERA, and more concerning, their offence is only 11th in runs scored, 13th in OBP and 13th in home runs. 1B Hanly Cossart is hitting .356 but couldn't carry his team to victory.

One Month done, 5 more to go, time for a cold beer
Today's Beer, to honor A.C. Milan: Oro Di Milano Doppio Malto

[Griever20]

2.6.1960 clnews.com

Knapp and Ivanichev Dealt

Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Chelsea F.C. announced today in a joint press conference that 25-year-old reliever Bernard Knapp(4stars) will be going to the Chelsea F.C. in exchange for 22-year-old minor league reliever Feliks Ivanichev(2,5/5stars). "It'll be exciting to join a new organization," one player said. "Some of us could use a fresh start." The players have each passed physicals and are expected to report by day's end.

This season Knapp has been credited with no saves. In 8 relief appearances and 5.2 innings he has a 0-1 won-lost mark, 11.12 ERA and 6 strikeouts.

I simply had enough of Knapp. An 11.12 ERA, are you kidding me? Of course, he had no options left and i was looking for a young talented reliever that has more upside than Knapp and could immediatly contribute at major league level.

Ivanichev can do this according to (... the hell with it) yogurt. He has a ok fastball in the lower 90 together with a slider. He features great control and good movement. At least, he can not be worse than Knapp.