The Aftermath

[NYY #23]

The Monks were drafting last in the amateur draft and selected CF Hollis Jones with our first pick. In the second round we selected 2B Greg German with SS Gary Carlson, SS Aubrey Dickinson, and P Rick McGinnis rounding out the top five.

We're not playing bad in June going 9-4 on the field, but we have fallen to 2 1/2 games out of first place. We just need to hope that the A's cool off eventually.

[NYY #23]

The Monks finished the month with a 15-11 record, but it was our three games against the A's that did the most damage. With the A's sweeping us the Monks now sit 5 1/2 games out in the AL West. This month Mauricio Maio hit his 300th career home run.

Pedro Torres had a big month and jumped up nine spots to 33rd on the career home run list.

Career Home Run Leaders
1) Roberto Sanchez - 608
2) Armando Ruiz # - 594
3) Eric William - 593
4) Greg Ryan - 560
5) Jason Clair - 558
6) Maximo Gonzales - 556
7) Sergio Munoz # - 527
8) Pascal Sisto - 515
9) Esteban Albizu # - 504
10) Joe Kaiser - 500
11) Howard McDonald - 494
12) Jack Brown - 487
13) Will Middlebrooks - 463
14) Paul Foster - 462
15) Jose Mendoza # - 461
16) Luke Sutton # - 458
17) Jim Green - 454
18) Jeremiah Harris - 450
19) Chris MacKinley - 448
20) Hector Sanchez - 447
21) Reynaldo Chavez - 433
22) Pete Woolford - 432
23) Francisco Perez - 431
24) Eric Bailey - 426
25) Jose Cavazos - 421
26) Bill Dunbar - 410
27) Jim Houlbrook - 409
28) Jose Alvarez - 408
29) Anibal Guerrero # - 403
30) Barry Colbert - 400
31) Marcos Heredia # - 402
32) Victor Valencia - 399
33) Pedro Torres # - 397

[NYY #23]

Things really couldn't have gone much better for the Monks this month. With a 20-5 record the Monks were red hot and we wiped out most of the A's lead and now trail by just a half game.

Four Monks made the All-Star team this year - Mauricio Maio, Pedro Torres, Lawrence Sutton, and Stan Wagner.

Pedro Torres hit just four home runs this month, but one of those was a milestone, the 400th home run of his career. With those four home runs Torres now has 30 homers in the season, giving him 10 straight years with 30 or more home runs. His career low for homers in a year is 37. Torres has moved up to 31st on the career home run list, jumping two spots this month.

Career Home Run Leaders
1) Roberto Sanchez - 608
2) Armando Ruiz # - 594
3) Eric William - 593
4) Greg Ryan - 560
5) Jason Clair - 558
6) Maximo Gonzales - 556
7) Sergio Munoz # - 527
8) Pascal Sisto - 515
9) Esteban Albizu # - 504
10) Joe Kaiser - 500
11) Howard McDonald - 494
12) Jack Brown - 487
13) Will Middlebrooks - 463
14) Paul Foster - 462
15) Jose Mendoza # - 461
16) Luke Sutton # - 458
17) Jim Green - 454
18) Jeremiah Harris - 450
19) Chris MacKinley - 448
20) Hector Sanchez - 447
21) Reynaldo Chavez - 433
22) Pete Woolford - 432
23) Francisco Perez - 431
24) Eric Bailey - 426
25) Jose Cavazos - 421
26) Bill Dunbar - 410
27) Jim Houlbrook - 409
28) Jose Alvarez - 408
29) Anibal Guerrero # - 403
30) Marcos Heredia # - 402
31) Pedro Torres # - 401

[NYY #23]

The Monks have opened up a 5 1/2 game lead in the AL West after going 19-8 in August. Hopefully that means we'll be able to rest some regulars in September on our way to another division title.

After winning the first ten decisions of his career Jose Medellin suffered his first career loss, although he's started a new winning streak already and improved to 13-1 on the year, and in his career.

Pedro Torres jumped another pair of spots and now sits at 29 on the career leaderboard.

Career Home Run Leaders
1) Roberto Sanchez - 608
2) Armando Ruiz # - 594
3) Eric William - 593
4) Greg Ryan - 560
5) Jason Clair - 558
6) Maximo Gonzales - 556
7) Sergio Munoz # - 534
8) Pascal Sisto - 515
9) Esteban Albizu # - 506
10) Joe Kaiser - 500
11) Howard McDonald - 494
12) Jack Brown - 487
13) Will Middlebrooks - 463
14) Paul Foster - 462
15) Jose Mendoza # - 461
16) Luke Sutton # - 461
17) Jim Green - 454
18) Jeremiah Harris - 450
19) Chris MacKinley - 448
20) Hector Sanchez - 447
21) Reynaldo Chavez - 433
22) Pete Woolford - 432
23) Francisco Perez - 431
24) Eric Bailey - 426
25) Jose Cavazos - 421
26) Bill Dunbar - 410
27) Jim Houlbrook - 409
28) Jose Alvarez - 408
29) Pedro Torres # - 408

[NYY #23]

The Monks showed some fight in September, literally. We had three separate incidents with the Royals which led to suspensions with Lawrence Sutton, Victor Avila, and Kent Proctor each suspended for their role in fights.

The Monks would finish the season strong though, and win the AL West with 107 wins, our highest win total since 2066. I'm feeling good as we head into the postseason.

Career Home Run Leaders
1) Roberto Sanchez - 608
2) Armando Ruiz # - 594
3) Eric William - 593
4) Greg Ryan - 560
5) Jason Clair - 558
6) Maximo Gonzales - 556
7) Sergio Munoz # - 545
8) Pascal Sisto - 515
9) Esteban Albizu # - 511
10) Joe Kaiser - 500
11) Howard McDonald - 494
12) Jack Brown - 487
13) Jose Mendoza # - 470
14) Luke Sutton # - 465
15) Will Middlebrooks - 463
16) Paul Foster - 462
17) Jim Green - 454
18) Jeremiah Harris - 450
19) Chris MacKinley - 448
20) Hector Sanchez - 447
21) Reynaldo Chavez - 433
22) Pete Woolford - 432
23) Francisco Perez - 431
24) Eric Bailey - 426
25) Jose Cavazos - 421
26) Pedro Torres # - 413

[NYY #23]

The Indians - A's Wild Card Series may have given us a preview of things to come when the series went the distance with the Indians prevailing in five games. I thought we matched up better with the Indians, but it was a see-saw seven games that ended like this:



A walk-off single by Christian Johnson sent us to the ALCS. Victor Avila would win MVP of the Series after hitting .833 (5-6) with a home run and 4 RBI.

The Monks would take on the 102 win Texas Rangers in the ALCS. We split the season series 6-6, and spit the first 6 games of the series 3-3, which set up a second straight Game 7. There would be no drama though, Pat Robinson would pitch 7 shutout innings and Christian Johnson would drove in 2 runs as the Monks won the game 3-0 to head back to the World Series. Johnson would have a big series hitting .407 with 4 home runs and 9 RBI to win MVP. Pedro Torres would add four home runs.

The World Series would see us taking on the Diamondbacks and after making a statement with a 13-5 Game 1 win the Diamondbacks would come back and win two straight. We'd continue to battle the Diamondbacks to a deciding Game 7. A grand slam by Juan Delgado would put the game out of reach as the Monks won the game 9-2 to capture our sixth World Series title, one more than any other team in the league in my league file which spans 2012-2070.

I felt pretty good about where things stand for one day, when we received the news that both Stan Wagner and Pedro Torres opted out of their contracts.

[NYY #23]

After Stan Wagner and Pedro Torres opted out of their contracts we were only able to re-sign one. No offense to Wagner, but Torres was our priority, and we re-signed him to a six year $111 million contract. He's been with the Monks since he was 21, and I want to make him a Monk for life.

The Monks had four players that won Silver Slugger Awards:

Catcher
Maurício Maio (San Antonio Monks)
.298/.424/.574, 460 AB, 35 HR, 171 wRC+, 7.8 WAR

Second Baseman
Lawrence Sutton (San Antonio Monks)
.319/.389/.575, 480 AB, 34 HR, 23 SB, 159 wRC+, 6.9 WAR

Shortstop
Christian Johnson (San Antonio Monks)
.282/.396/.509, 581 AB, 32 HR, 4 SB, 113 R, 146 wRC+, 6.9 WAR

Center Fielder
Juan López (San Antonio Monks)
.247/.369/.477, 511 AB, 27 HR, 8 SB, 129 wRC+, 3.3 WAR

Six years ago we traded a young reliever for a potential Cy Young winner Alex Terry. Terry would be good for the Monks, but never win a Cy Young. This year that young reliever did something Terry couldn't when Jose Lopez won the Cy Young Award with the A's going 6-3 with 49 saves and a 1.33 ERA.

The return of Mauricio Maio to San Antonio after a half year absence saw him to return and win MVP after hitting .298 with 35 home runs, 90 RBI, and 7.8 WAR. Lawrence Sutton finished second in MVP voting.

Lou Ellison won Manager of the Year for the Monks.

[NYY #23]

Stan Wagner didn't waste much time finding a new home, signing a two year $24 million contract. We paid him $1.7 million to save 43 games with a 2.53 ERA in 74 2/4 innings while he posted a 1.4 WAR before he opted out. I'm glad he was able to cash in as a 36 year old, but that price was too high for the Monks.

We welcomed back 2B Phil Anderson after he hit .278 with 12 home runs and 49 RBI with a $1.8 million contract. Our second signing of the offseason was Orlando Velez on a one year $1.5 million contract. Velez was 2-3 with 2 saves and a 3.36 ERA in 61 2/3 innings for Milwaukee last year. We also added reliever Juan Jimenez on a one year $4.4 million contract after he went 7-4 with 12 saves and a 2.64 ERA in 61 1/3 innings for the Indians.

They should help shore up our bullpen.

[NYY #23]

While the Monks finished April in first place it felt like a shaky month. That was likely due to losing three of our first four games, and five of our first seven.

The Monks lost Jorge Garcia who was claimed by the Mets after we tried to sneak him through waivers. He had a 5.49 ERA in 19 2/3 innings out of the pen last year.

With injuries our outfield situation was pretty bleak, with no help at the upper levels of the minor leagues. That led us to look outside of the organization and sign 35 year old John Dreher to a one year $1.6 million contract. Dreher hit .200 with 8 home runs and 30 RBI last year

With 5 home runs this month Torres inched closer to 25th place on the career home runs list. We also added outfielders Dean Bates and Garry Bell to minor league contracts for some more outfield depth.

Career Home Run Leaders
1) Roberto Sanchez - 608
2) Armando Ruiz - 594
3) Eric William - 593
4) Greg Ryan - 560
5) Jason Clair - 558
6) Maximo Gonzales - 556
7) Sergio Munoz # - 554
8) Pascal Sisto - 515
9) Esteban Albizu # - 511
10) Joe Kaiser - 500
11) Howard McDonald - 494
12) Jack Brown - 487
13) Jose Mendoza # - 478
14) Luke Sutton # - 466
15) Will Middlebrooks - 463
16) Paul Foster - 462
17) Jim Green - 454
18) Jeremiah Harris - 450
19) Chris MacKinley - 448
20) Hector Sanchez - 447
21) Reynaldo Chavez - 433
22) Pete Woolford - 432
23) Francisco Perez - 431
24) Eric Bailey - 426
25) Jose Cavazos - 421
26) Pedro Torres # - 418

[NYY #23]

An injury to Juan Lopez left us in a bind. With Lionel Reni and Lawrence Sutton also out we have nobody really capable of playing a decent centerfield on the roster. We'd be forced to play someone like John Dreher in center, or call up a youngster who isn't ready for the majors. That left the trade route.

24 year old Josh Tucker was our target. He plays a solid centerfield and hit .275 with 21 home runs last year, and is hitting .256 with 6 home runs this year. The cost to acquire was steep, but if we don't use some of our prospect depth for major holes then what? Going to Atlanta is SP Jesus Garcia, 3B John Hicks, 2B Greg German, SS Gary Carlson, and CF Hollis Jones. That's our #3, #5, #14, and #16 prospect to go along with Garcia, who looks like he's ready to step into a major league rotation.

For the last place Braves they are getting some solid hope for the future, while Tucker gets to take over in centerfield for the Monks and hopefully help us win the division.

The Monks went 18-10 to open up a two game lead in the division.

With seven home runs this month Pedro Torres now sits in 25th place on the career home run list.

Career Home Run Leaders
1) Roberto Sanchez - 608
2) Armando Ruiz - 594
3) Eric William - 593
4) Sergio Munoz # - 567
5) Greg Ryan - 560
6) Jason Clair - 558
7) Maximo Gonzales - 556
8) Pascal Sisto - 515
9) Esteban Albizu # - 511
10) Joe Kaiser - 500
11) Howard McDonald - 494
12) Jack Brown - 487
13) Jose Mendoza # - 485
14) Luke Sutton # - 471
15) Will Middlebrooks - 463
16) Paul Foster - 462
17) Jim Green - 454
18) Jeremiah Harris - 450
19) Chris MacKinley - 448
20) Hector Sanchez - 447
21) Reynaldo Chavez - 433
22) Pete Woolford - 432
23) Francisco Perez - 431
24) Eric Bailey - 426
25) Pedro Torres # - 425

[NYY #23]

The Monks selected starting pitcher Hou Yuan with our first round pick, the last pick in the first round. In the second round we selected another starting pitcher, Curt Brown. In the third round it was third baseman Duncan Taylor, followed by pitcher Mike Saunders, and center fielder Javier Alvarez. Drafting last is certainly hard to build up our team.

The Monks started June with just a 7-6 record and now hold just a 1/2 game lead in the AL West.

[NYY #23]

After starting the month 7-6 the Monks went 11-2 to open a 5 game lead in the AL West.

Pedro Torres jumped four spots to 21st on the all-time home run leaderboards this month.

Career Home Run Leaders
1) Roberto Sanchez - 608
2) Armando Ruiz - 594
3) Eric William - 593
4) Sergio Munoz # - 580
5) Greg Ryan - 560
6) Jason Clair - 558
7) Maximo Gonzales - 556
8) Pascal Sisto - 515
9) Esteban Albizu # - 511
10) Joe Kaiser - 500
11) Howard McDonald - 494
12) Jose Mendoza # - 488
13) Jack Brown - 487
14) Luke Sutton # - 472
15) Will Middlebrooks - 463
16) Paul Foster - 462
17) Jim Green - 454
18) Jeremiah Harris - 450
19) Chris MacKinley - 448
20) Hector Sanchez - 447
21) Pedro Torres # - 434

[NYY #23]

The Monks struggled in July and ended the month with a losing record going 12-13. Despite our struggles we remain in first place, although we're tied with the Royals now. We have a pretty favorable schedule in August, so I expect we'll bounce back this month.

We signed Orlando Velez in the offseason, and he's been great going 5-10 with 27 saves and a 3.76 ERA. He's expressed an interest in coming back, and despite my hesitancy because of his age we offered him a two year contract making slightly more than the $1.5 million he's making this year, with the second year a team option.

We also re-upped with Dean Bates on a one year $1.1 million contract. He's played well as a fourth/fifth outfielder in limited action.

Ramiro Contreras, Pat Robinson, Francisco Rodriguez, Mauricio Maio, Pedro Torres, Christian Johnson, and Phil Schroeder were our representatives for the All-Star game.

Scouting director Pancho Hernandez has been with the Monks a long time. He's been with us 11 of my first 12 years, and I thought things have gone well. His contract is up after the season, and it bothers me that he's not interested in being the scouting director anymore. While I don't have anything against him, if he doesn't want to sign an extension the search for a new scouting director has already begun, which may result in Hernandez looking for a new position sooner rather than later.

Pedro Torres hit six home runs this month and remained in 21st place on the career leaderboards.

Career Home Run Leaders
1) Roberto Sanchez - 608
2) Armando Ruiz - 594
3) Eric William - 593
4) Sergio Munoz # - 590
5) Greg Ryan - 560
6) Jason Clair - 558
7) Maximo Gonzales - 556
8) Pascal Sisto - 515
9) Esteban Albizu # - 511
10) Joe Kaiser - 500
11) Howard McDonald - 494
12) Jose Mendoza # - 493
13) Jack Brown - 487
14) Luke Sutton # - 475
15) Will Middlebrooks - 463
16) Paul Foster - 462
17) Jim Green - 454
18) Jeremiah Harris - 450
19) Chris MacKinley - 448
20) Hector Sanchez - 447
21) Pedro Torres # - 440

[NYY #23]

The Monks finished August with a 15-11 record and have fallen two games behind the Royals. With a seven game lead in the Wild Card I'm not too worried about our postseason chances, but our eight season streak of winning the division is definitely at jeopardy.

While Pedro Torres is moved up the career home run leaderboards he reached another milestone this month with 2000 career hits and could have a shot of reaching 3000 given his age.

It's an end of an era in San Antonio as we replaced scouting director Pancho Hernandez after 11 seasons with 41 year old Raul Nieves. We wish Hernandez well in his future adventures.

Career Home Run Leaders
1) Roberto Sanchez - 608
2) Sergio Munoz # - 599
3) Armando Ruiz - 594
4) Eric William - 593
5) Greg Ryan - 560
6) Jason Clair - 558
7) Maximo Gonzales - 556
8) Pascal Sisto - 515
9) Esteban Albizu # - 511
10) Joe Kaiser - 500
11) Howard McDonald - 494
12) Jose Mendoza # - 494
13) Jack Brown - 487
14) Luke Sutton # - 477
15) Will Middlebrooks - 463
16) Paul Foster - 462
17) Jim Green - 454
18) Jeremiah Harris - 450
19) Chris MacKinley - 448
20) Hector Sanchez - 447
21) Pedro Torres # - 447

[NYY #23]

After 162 games the Monks finished tied with the Kansas City Royals in the AL West. What a crazy end to the season and it seems like the balance of power has shifted to the West with all four 100 win teams playing in the west with the Diamondbacks (106) and Brewers (101) the other 100 game winners.

One thing you may notice from the screenshot below is the starter for the Royals in Game 163. None other than Douglas Elliott, the former Monks reliever. The Reds converted Elliott to a starter last year, and he's started 21 games for the Royals this year. Hopefully we'll beat our former player to capture the division.

It was a big month for home runs with Sergio Munoz hitting his 600th home run, and moving up to the top of the career leaderboards, tied with Roberto Sanchez. The 34 year old looked to be slowing down with a career low 38 home runs last year, but with 63 home runs this year he set his new career high. Jose Mendoza also reached a milestone with his 500th career home run.

Closer to home Pedro Torres hit just 4 home runs this month, but did jump three spots on the leaderboards.

Career Home Run Leaders
1) Sergio Munoz # - 608
2) Roberto Sanchez - 608
3) Armando Ruiz - 594
4) Eric William - 593
5) Greg Ryan - 560
6) Jason Clair - 558
7) Maximo Gonzales - 556
8) Pascal Sisto - 515
9) Esteban Albizu # - 511
10) Jose Mendoza # - 507
11) Joe Kaiser - 500
12) Howard McDonald - 494
13) Jack Brown - 487
14) Luke Sutton # - 480
15) Will Middlebrooks - 463
16) Paul Foster - 462
17) Jim Green - 454
18) Pedro Torres # - 451

[NYY #23]

A tie-breaker game is probably not the best time to experiment with something new, but I think it worked out well. I really like the Monks, and I've enjoyed my time in San Antonio. It's been fun to watch players develop, and build a team that won six World Series. But I've been running this dynasty like I did my Worst to First dynasty, and sometimes that can feel like things move too fast. It also feels like you don't get to know your team as well, compared to playing out games. So I had already decided to begin playing out games next season, but what better time to start than Game 163.

We didn't treat former Monk Douglas Elliott too kindly, chasing him from the game in the second inning after he allowed 5 runs in an inning and 2/3. Back to back RBI singles by Jorge Rodriguez and Kent Proctor, followed by a bases loaded walk by Christian Johnson set the stage for Pedro Torres to drive in the fourth and fifth runs of the second inning.

In the bottom of the third Jorge Rodriguez and Kent Proctor would hit back to back RBI doubles to make it 7-0. In the bottom of the fourth the Monks got back to back homers from Phil Schroeder and Tim Gardner to give us a 9-1 lead.

It was a fun day at the plate for the Monks' offense pounding out 10 runs and 15 hits with Kent Proctor and Tim Gardner leading the way with three hits apiece.

Pat Robinson would dominate on the mound going 6 innings while allowing 2 runs on 7 hits and striking out 9 batters. Shane Lee would pitch the final three innings to earn the save.

With the win the Monks claimed their 10th straight AL West title.

[NYY #23]

The Monks will be facing off against our division rival the Angels in the Division Series. While the Monks won 15 more games this season than the Angels the Angels held the advantage in our season series winning 7 of 12 games. Our offense is better, and our pitching is better, but I expect a tough series against the Angels.

[NYY #23]

Today was the second game that I managed for the Monks, and the second game started by Pat Robinson. Although today's game was the polar opposite of Game 163, Robinson again dominated. He would pitch 8 shutout innings while allowing just 6 hits and striking out 9.

Unfortunately for Robinson our bats were silent today, so we headed into the ninth inning with the score tied 0-0. Billy Hill would come into the game next for the Monks. Hill has the ability to start, but this year the 28 year old shined out of the pen in limited work, with a 1.52 ERA in 23 2/3 innings. Hill got out of the first inning on 7 pitches, and he 'struggled' in the tenth needing to throw 15 pitches to get out of the inning. I expect Hill to get an expanded role next year.

The bottom of the tenth started with back to back strikeouts by Tim Gardner and Christian Johnson. That brought up Pedro Torres who reached with a double. Next to the plate was Mauricio Maio, who ended the game with a walk off double to give the Monks the 1-0 win in Game 1.

[NYY #23]

29 year old Francisco Rodriguez was making the start for the Monks today and would get in some early trouble versus the Angels allowing 1 run in the first, 1 run in the second, and 2 runs in the third. He settled down after putting us in an early 4-0 hole and would end up pitching 6 innings without allowing another run.

Offensively we have enough firepower to come back, and that comeback began in the bottom of the fourth when Pedro Torres connected on a solo shot. In the bottom of the sixth Torres would hit an RBI double that would score Christian Johnson to cut the Angels deficit to 4-2. In the bottom of the eighth it would be Torres getting the scoring started again with an RBI double that scored Johnson again, who walked earlier in the inning.

Unfortunately for the Monks Torres didn't come to the plate in the ninth and we fell 4-3 to even up the series. Torres would be a perfect 4-4 at the plate with 3 RBI, while the rest of the team would combine to go 1-29 at the plate.

[NYY #23]

The Monks fell behind in the Division Series today after dropping Game 3 to the Angels 6-0. Things looked worse for both today's starter Robert Ramirez and the Monks when Ramirez allowed a 3 run homer in the bottom of the seventh. That didn't matter much though, because when you can't score you can't win, and our offense couldn't do anything against Jose Hernandez or the Angels today managing just 5 hits in the game.