Rebuilding A Champion II: Turning the Corner - Page 2

Chappy · 07-14-2004, 10:31 AM

2009 OPENING SIM

04/07 - 11-5 loss vs Massachusetts - Lowell Stang struggled, but it was the bullpen that cost us this game. Stang allowed 4 runs in 7 innings, but Garrard allowed runs in 0.1 innings and Salguero 4 runs in an inning to seal our fate. Pat Galyon was 2-for-2 with a triple to lead our offensive attack. Horizon was hitless but drove in a pair of runs.
04/08 - 4-2 loss vs Massachusetts - A nice start by Kearns was wasted by our defense, who made 3 errors today. The offense didn't help much either, though Carlos Martinez homered (1).
04/09 - 7-3 WIN vs Massachusetts - We avoid the sweep with a nice win, pounding out 14 hits including homers by Claus (1) and Martinez (2). Clowers earns his first win as a Freedom pitcher, allowing 2 ER in 7 IP.
04/10 - OFF DAY
04/11 - 4-2 WIN @ Connecticut (10 innings) - Frank Scull, who nearly cost us the game, picks up a win as the Freedom score twice in the 10th to hold off the Marines. Angelo had 3 hits and Claus homered (2) to lead the Freedom offense. Nietz had a brilliant performance, but gets a no-decision. He also hit his first career homer.
04/12 - 5-2 loss @ Connecticut - Claus homered again (3) but we didn't do much else. Robert Jones allowed 4 ER in 7.1 innings.
04/13 - 10-7 WIN @ Connecticut - Talamantez homered (1) and Stang survived a poor performance as we squeak past the Marines to take the series, 2-1. Pat Galyon now has a 10-game hit streak.
04/14 - 9-1 WIN @ Virginia - Kearns was brilliant, as was Horizon, who had a double, 2 homers (2), and 5 RBI. Kearns and Lopez combined on a two-hitter.
04/15 - 14-1 WIN @ Virginia - Clowers is now 2-0 with Pennsylvania, as he blanks Virginia for 7 innings. Claus was the offensive hero, going 4-for-6 with 3 doubles and 4 RBI. Keith Tracey homered (1) and had 3 RBI of his own.
04/16 - 8-2 loss @ Virginia - Well, I'd rather end our first sim on a win, but I'm happy with the results nonetheless. Horizon homered (3), but Nietz brought his C game as he allowed 5 ER in 6 IP.

Standings

Code:

team          w l  pct  gb L10 
New York      7 3 .700   - 7-3 
Pennsylvania  5 4 .556 1.5 5-4 
Massachusetts 4 4 .500 2.0 4-4 
Connecticut   3 6 .333 3.5 3-6

After losing our first series, we rebounded to win the next two. Not a bad start for a young team.

Pitching

Code:

   Name        G GS W L SV   ERA   IP HA  R ER BB  K 
SP L. Stang    2  2 0 0  0  6.75 14.2 20 11 11  3 12 
SP C. Kearns   2  2 1 1  0  2.84 12.2 10  5  4  6  9 
SP C. Clowers  2  2 2 0  0  1.29 14.0 12  2  2  0  6 
SP A. Nietz    2  2 0 1  0  4.15 13.0 11  6  6  7  3 
SP R. Jones    1  1 0 1  0  4.91  7.1  5  4  4  3  3 

MR J. Salguero 3  0 0 0  0 13.50  4.0  5  7  6  2  1 
MR A. Lopez    3  0 0 0  0  0.00  5.0  3  0  0  2  0 
MR E. Cruz     2  0 0 0  0  3.00  3.0  3  2  1  2  1 
SU M. Garrard  5  0 1 1  0 13.50  2.2  8  4  4  1  1 
SU M. Welch    2  0 0 0  1  0.00  1.2  0  0  0  0  0 
CL F. Scull    2  0 1 0  1  4.50  2.0  3  1  1  3  0

Clowers and Kearns have been strong out of the gate, while Lowell Stang hasn't found his best stuff yet. Nietz has had a good start and a bad start, but the real question will be whether Robert Jones's 12-win season last year was a fluke.

The bullpen recovered after a rough first 3 games. Salguero has been ineffective in 2 of his 3 appearances, so I'll need to keep and eye on him. He's got great potential, so I don't want to let him get roughed up too much.

Lineups

Code:

     Name          G AB  H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K   AVG   OBP   SLG
1 LF M. Rodriguez  9 38 12  1  0  0   0 9  5 0  .316  .395  .342 
2 CF O. Angelo     9 42 15  1  0  0   6 5  0 3  .357  .357  .381 
3 2B L. Claus      9 36 12  4  0  3   9 8  2 5  .333  .368  .694  
4 3B B. Horizon    9 35 14  2  0  3   8 6  2 6  .400  .421  .714 
5 RF K. Tracey     9 37 11  3  0  1   4 5  2 7  .297  .350  .459
6 1B P. Galyon     9 28  9  1  1  0   1 4  1 3  .321  .387  .429 
7 CA C. Martinez   9 36  6  2  0  2   8 4  2 0  .167  .225  .389 
8 SS M. Talamantez 9 34  9  3  1  1   7 3  1 0  .265  .306  .500

     A. Pooler     2  1  1  1  0  0   0 0  0 0 1.000 1.000 2.000
     A. Manning    5  6  2  0  0  0   1 2  0 1  .333  .333  .333 
     F. Thom       5  4  1  0  0  0   2 3  0 0  .250  .250  .250 
     A. Stafford   7  7  1  0  0  0   0 2  0 1  .143  .143  .143 
     J. Leto       5  4  0  0  0  0   1 1  1 0  .000  .167  .000 
     J. Espino     2  1  0  0  0  0   0 1  1 0  .000  .500  .000

The only change to the lineup was the dropping of Carlos Martinez two spots, which means Tracey and Galyon each move up one spot.

I haven't had this many guys batting over .300 since, well, ever. Lobster Claus, a doubles-hitting machine in '07, looks to be back to his old self. The thing that impresses me the most is the strikeout column. We often would K 10 or more times in a gae last season. This year, we've got 3 starters who haven't struck out yet, and they all have more than 30 at bats. Our 29 K's are the lowest in the FFL, and the second lowest (to Minnesota's 23) in the NPBL.

Team Rankings

Batting AVG: .285 (5th)
Homeruns: 11 (T-5th)
Walks: 17 (T-20th)
Stolen Bases: 6 (16th)
Runs Scored: 55 (4th)

Pitching ERA: 4.39 (17th)
Opponents AVG: .259 (15th)
HRs Allowed: 10 (17th)
Walks Allowed: 29 (20th)
Runs Allowed: 42 (15th)

FWIW, we are 9th in the Power Rankings and have the #6 minor league system.

Upcoming Schedule - (Record, Power Rank, Our Record VS Them)

April 17th-20th - vs Florida Bluefish (3-6, 21st, 0-0)
April 21st-23rd - vs Massachusetts Patriots (4-4, 13th, 1-2)
April 24th-26th - @ Tennessee Hounds (5-4, 10th, 0-0)

The records/rankings don't mean much this early; I'm just staying in the habit of showing them.

jaxmagicman · 07-14-2004, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chappy

2009 OPENING SIM

04/07 - 11-5 loss vs Massachusetts - Lowell Stang struggled, but it was the bullpen that cost us this game. Stang allowed 4 runs in 7 innings, but Garrard allowed runs in 0.1 innings and Salguero 4 runs in an inning to seal our fate. Pat Galyon was 2-for-2 with a triple to lead our offensive attack. Horizon was hitless but drove in a pair of runs.
04/08 - 4-2 loss vs Massachusetts - A nice start by Kearns was wasted by our defense, who made 3 errors today. The offense didn't help much either, though Carlos Martinez homered (1).
04/09 - 7-3 WIN vs Massachusetts - We avoid the sweep with a nice win, pounding out 14 hits including homers by Claus (1) and Martinez (2). Clowers earns his first win as a Freedom pitcher, allowing 2 ER in 7 IP.
04/10 - OFF DAY
04/11 - 4-2 WIN @ Connecticut (10 innings) - Frank Scull, who nearly cost us the game, picks up a win as the Freedom score twice in the 10th to hold off the Marines. Angelo had 3 hits and Claus homered (2) to lead the Freedom offense. Nietz had a brilliant performance, but gets a no-decision. He also hit his first career homer.
04/12 - 5-2 loss @ Connecticut - Claus homered again (3) but we didn't do much else. Robert Jones allowed 4 ER in 7.1 innings.
04/13 - 10-7 WIN @ Connecticut - Talamantez homered (1) and Stang survived a poor performance as we squeak past the Marines to take the series, 2-1. Pat Galyon now has a 10-game hit streak.
04/14 - 9-1 WIN @ Virginia - Kearns was brilliant, as was Horizon, who had a double, 2 homers (2), and 5 RBI. Kearns and Lopez combined on a two-hitter.
04/15 - 14-1 WIN @ Virginia - Clowers is now 2-0 with Pennsylvania, as he blanks Virginia for 7 innings. Claus was the offensive hero, going 4-for-6 with 3 doubles and 4 RBI. Keith Tracey homered (1) and had 3 RBI of his own.
04/16 - 8-2 loss @ Virginia - Well, I'd rather end our first sim on a win, but I'm happy with the results nonetheless. Horizon homered (3), but Nietz brought his C game as he allowed 5 ER in 6 IP.

Standings

Code:

team          w l  pct  gb L10 
New York      7 3 .700   - 7-3 
Pennsylvania  5 4 .556 1.5 5-4 
Massachusetts 4 4 .500 2.0 4-4 
Connecticut   3 6 .333 3.5 3-6

After losing our first series, we rebounded to win the next two. Not a bad start for a young team.

Pitching

Code:

   Name        G GS W L SV   ERA   IP HA  R ER BB  K 
SP L. Stang    2  2 0 0  0  6.75 14.2 20 11 11  3 12 
SP C. Kearns   2  2 1 1  0  2.84 12.2 10  5  4  6  9 
SP C. Clowers  2  2 2 0  0  1.29 14.0 12  2  2  0  6 
SP A. Nietz    2  2 0 1  0  4.15 13.0 11  6  6  7  3 
SP R. Jones    1  1 0 1  0  4.91  7.1  5  4  4  3  3 

MR J. Salguero 3  0 0 0  0 13.50  4.0  5  7  6  2  1 
MR A. Lopez    3  0 0 0  0  0.00  5.0  3  0  0  2  0 
MR E. Cruz     2  0 0 0  0  3.00  3.0  3  2  1  2  1 
SU M. Garrard  5  0 1 1  0 13.50  2.2  8  4  4  1  1 
SU M. Welch    2  0 0 0  1  0.00  1.2  0  0  0  0  0 
CL F. Scull    2  0 1 0  1  4.50  2.0  3  1  1  3  0

Clowers and Kearns have been strong out of the gate, while Lowell Stang hasn't found his best stuff yet. Nietz has had a good start and a bad start, but the real question will be whether Robert Jones's 12-win season last year was a fluke.

The bullpen recovered after a rough first 3 games. Salguero has been ineffective in 2 of his 3 appearances, so I'll need to keep and eye on him. He's got great potential, so I don't want to let him get roughed up too much.

Lineups

Code:

     Name          G AB  H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K   AVG   OBP   SLG
1 LF M. Rodriguez  9 38 12  1  0  0   0 9  5 0  .316  .395  .342 
2 CF O. Angelo     9 42 15  1  0  0   6 5  0 3  .357  .357  .381 
3 2B L. Claus      9 36 12  4  0  3   9 8  2 5  .333  .368  .694  
4 3B B. Horizon    9 35 14  2  0  3   8 6  2 6  .400  .421  .714 
5 RF K. Tracey     9 37 11  3  0  1   4 5  2 7  .297  .350  .459
6 1B P. Galyon     9 28  9  1  1  0   1 4  1 3  .321  .387  .429 
7 CA C. Martinez   9 36  6  2  0  2   8 4  2 0  .167  .225  .389 
8 SS M. Talamantez 9 34  9  3  1  1   7 3  1 0  .265  .306  .500

     A. Pooler     2  1  1  1  0  0   0 0  0 0 1.000 1.000 2.000
     A. Manning    5  6  2  0  0  0   1 2  0 1  .333  .333  .333 
     F. Thom       5  4  1  0  0  0   2 3  0 0  .250  .250  .250 
     A. Stafford   7  7  1  0  0  0   0 2  0 1  .143  .143  .143 
     J. Leto       5  4  0  0  0  0   1 1  1 0  .000  .167  .000 
     J. Espino     2  1  0  0  0  0   0 1  1 0  .000  .500  .000

The only change to the lineup was the dropping of Carlos Martinez two spots, which means Tracey and Galyon each move up one spot.

I haven't had this many guys batting over .300 since, well, ever. Lobster Claus, a doubles-hitting machine in '07, looks to be back to his old self. The thing that impresses me the most is the strikeout column. We often would K 10 or more times in a gae last season. This year, we've got 3 starters who haven't struck out yet, and they all have more than 30 at bats. Our 29 K's are the lowest in the FFL, and the second lowest (to Minnesota's 23) in the NPBL.

Team Rankings

Batting AVG: .285 (5th)
Homeruns: 11 (T-5th)
Walks: 17 (T-20th)
Stolen Bases: 6 (16th)
Runs Scored: 55 (4th)

Pitching ERA: 4.39 (17th)
Opponents AVG: .259 (15th)
HRs Allowed: 10 (17th)
Walks Allowed: 29 (20th)
Runs Allowed: 42 (15th)

FWIW, we are 9th in the Power Rankings and have the #6 minor league system.

Upcoming Schedule - (Record, Power Rank, Our Record VS Them)

April 17th-20th - vs Florida Bluefish (3-6, 21st, 0-0)
April 21st-23rd - vs Massachusetts Patriots (4-4, 13th, 1-2)
April 24th-26th - @ Tennessee Hounds (5-4, 10th, 0-0)

The records/rankings don't mean much this early; I'm just staying in the habit of showing them.

5-4 baby. I am buying my Playoff tickets now!!

Vris · 07-15-2004, 07:39 PM

Chappy, quick question:

Is the first time you have ever been over .500 with this club?

Chappy · 07-15-2004, 09:38 PM

No, I think I've had a couple of 6-4 first sims. I think I was even 11-6 after 2 sims once, but I might be mistaken. Actually, the schedule thingy on the Catobase will help me answer this question.

I'll be right back.

(pause)

Okay, I'm back.

In 2004, my first full year as manager, we started 3-0, and were 11-7 after 2 sims. It was all downhill from there.

In 2005, we started 6-2 but then lost 9 of the next 10.

In 2006, we were 3-5 after the first sim. We won 10 of our last 12 games to finish with 67 wins, my career best.

In '07, we were 9-6 at our peak. After falling to 9-10, we won to pull back to .500, but then lost the next 19 straight games. That season was my career worst, only 52 wins.

Last year, we had our worst start, 1-8. We were doing okay, posting a 54-86 mark on September 11th, but only won 4 of our last 22 games to finish 58-104.

So, the W/L record on our first sim is nothing to be excited about. What I am excited about is how we've won. We've piled on the runs, and coming from a team that usually hits .220, that's something we need to do.

Chappy · 07-15-2004, 10:00 PM

Latest in the season we've been over .500

2004 - 5/2 (13-12)
2005 - 4/18 (7-6)
2006 - never
2007 - 4/19 (9-8)
2008 - never

RayofHope · 07-16-2004, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chappy

No, I think I've had a couple of 6-4 first sims. I think I was even 11-6 after 2 sims once, but I might be mistaken. Actually, the schedule thingy on the Catobase will help me answer this question.

I'll be right back.

(pause)

Okay, I'm back.

In 2004, my first full year as manager, we started 3-0, and were 11-7 after 2 sims. It was all downhill from there.

In 2005, we started 6-2 but then lost 9 of the next 10.

In 2006, we were 3-5 after the first sim. We won 10 of our last 12 games to finish with 67 wins, my career best.

In '07, we were 9-6 at our peak. After falling to 9-10, we won to pull back to .500, but then lost the next 19 straight games. That season was my career worst, only 52 wins.

Last year, we had our worst start, 1-8. We were doing okay, posting a 54-86 mark on September 11th, but only won 4 of our last 22 games to finish 58-104.

So, the W/L record on our first sim is nothing to be excited about. What I am excited about is how we've won. We've piled on the runs, and coming from a team that usually hits .220, that's something we need to do.

Ouch.

Dvdmanny · 07-16-2004, 04:36 PM

I can see why this thread is so popular, I will be watching from now on. I only recently became a Freedom fan so I might be labeled a band wagon jumper but I'm here to stay.

Chappy · 07-16-2004, 07:18 PM

Nah, as long as you're aboard before we win the title, you can count yourself as a true fan

Chappy · 07-17-2004, 12:57 AM

2009 Sim #2

04/17 - 5-3 loss vs Florida - The Bluefish jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first off of Robert Jones. Jones settled down and pitched well for the next 6 innings, but the damage was already done. Angelo and Horizon each had 3 hits for the Freedom.
04/18 - 7-2 loss vs Florida - Stang is roughed up again; this time for 5 ER in 7.2 innings. I'm starting to get a little nervous about his slow start. Horizon hit a solo HR (4).
04/19 - 9-1 loss vs Florida - Kearns and Salguero were each hit hard; Kearns for 6 ER and Salguero 3.
04/20 - 3-1 WIN vs Floirda - We avoid the sweep, thanks in part to another brilliant performance by Clowers. He allowed 1 ER on 5 hits in 8 innings of work. Tracey and Horizon each doubled in runs to lead the offense. Scull notched his second save of the year.
04/21 - 8-2 loss vs Massachusetts - Nietz falls to 0-2 with a poor performance. He was tagged for 5 ER in 7.1 innings. Stafford and Galyon each had RBI singles for the Freedom.
04/22 - 1-0 WIN vs Massachusetts - For the second day in a row, we manage only 4 hits. Luckily, one of them was a solo HR (4) by Lobster. Robert Jones was great for 8 innings, allowing just 4 hits. Scull pitched a solid 9th to get save #3.
04/23 - 4-1 WIN vs Massachusetts - Pat Galyon finally hit his 1st home run of the season. And, since he likes to hit them in bunches, he added his 2nd HR 4 innings later. Lobster also added his 5th dinger of the year (all of our HR were solo shots). Lowell Stang finally put together a good outing (1 ER on 5 H in 8 IP) and Frank Scull nailed down save #4.
04/24 - 4-3 loss @ Tennessee - Scull blew a 1-run 9th inning lead, and took a win away from Chris Kearns who allowed 2 ER in 7 innings. The red hot Lobster homered again, giving him 6 on the season.
04/25 - 7-5 loss @ Tennessee - Tracey had a 3-run HR (2) as part of a career-best 4-RBI day, but Garrard takes the loss by allowing 2 ER in 0.1 innings. He's 1-2 with a 9.53 ERA this season.
04/26 - 6-0 WIN @ Tennessee - Congrats to Alphonse Nietz, who pitched his first career shutout today. He's now 1-2 this season with a 3.38 ERA. Pat Galyon hit his 3rd home run, and Stafford, Angelo, Horizon and Tracey each added 2 hits for the Freedom offense.

Standings

Code:

team          w  l  pct  gb L10 
New York     14  4 .778   - 8-2 
Pennsylvania  9 10 .474 5.5 4-6
Massachusetts 7 10 .412 6.5 3-7 
Connecticut   7 11 .389 7.0 5-5

Pitching

Code:

   Name        G GS W L SV   ERA   IP HA  R ER BB  K 
SP L. Stang    4  4 1 1  0  5.04 30.1 32 18 17  8 21 
SP C. Kearns   4  4 1 2  0  4.00 27.0 28 13 12 11 17 
SP C. Clowers  4  4 3 0  0  2.48 29.0 25  8  8  2 16 
SP A. Nietz    4  4 1 2  0  3.38 29.1 24 11 11 10  7 
SP R. Jones    3  3 1 2  0  3.63 22.1 18  9  9 10 10 

MR J. Salguero 6  0 0 0  0 14.30  5.2  8 10  9  4  1 
MR A. Lopez    5  0 0 0  0  4.77  5.2  5  3  3  5  1 
MR E. Cruz     4  0 0 0  0  4.50  4.0  5  3  2  3  2 
SU M. Garrard  9  0 1 2  0  9.53  5.2 12  6  6  1  2 
SU M. Welch    4  0 0 0  1  0.00  3.1  0  0  0  0  1 
CL F. Scull    7  0 1 1  4  4.26  6.1  7  3  3  6  1

One more bad outing, and Salguero is going back to AAA. He's a talented pitcher, so I don't want to break his confidence by letting him get shelled repeatedly at this level. My top two starters haven't been as good as I had hoped, but they both did fine last time out, so maybe they're coming around.

Batting

Code:

     Name           G AB  H 2B 3B HR RBI  R BB  K   AVG   OBP   SLG 
1 LF M. Rodriguez  18 71 19  3  0  0   0 12  7  1  .268  .333  .310
2 CF O. Angelo     18 80 28  3  0  0   9 12  1  8  .350  .358  .388 
3 2B L. Claus      19 67 19  5  0  6  13 12  7 14  .284  .351  .627 
4 3B B. Horizon    19 74 26  3  0  4  13  9  2  9  .351  .364  .554 
5 RF K. Tracey     18 73 21  6  0  2  12  7  2 17  .288  .325  .452 
6 1B P. Galyon     19 60 15  2  1  3   5  8  2 13  .250  .297  .467 
7 CA C. Martinez   18 62 10  3  0  2   9  5  2  1  .161  .209  .306 
8 SS M. Talamantez 18 60 15  3  2  1   8  5  4  5  .250  .308  .417 

     A. Pooler      2  1  1  1  0  0   0  0  0  0 1.000 1.000 2.000 
     A. Stafford   13 21  6  2  0  0   1  4  0  2  .286  .273  .381 
     J. Espino      5 11  3  1  0  0   1  2  1  2  .273  .385  .364  
     F. Thom        9  9  2  0  0  0   2  3  1  2  .222  .364  .222 
     A. Manning     9 15  2  0  0  0   1  2  2  4  .133  .235  .133 
     J. Leto       11 15  1  1  0  0   1  1  1  2  .067  .118  .133

The offense was a little flat last sim, but still better than what I usually get. I'd like to see M-Rod bring his AVG back up, and Martinez still needs to find his groove. My success next sim is going to depend on my worst bat this year; Jason Leto. Both Galyon and Horizon are tired, and we're 8 or 9 days away from our next off day, so Leto will be filling in for one of them.

Team Rankings
Batting AVG: .258 (7th)
Homeruns: 19 (T-2nd)
Walks: 34 (T-23rd)
Stolen Bases: 11 (17th)
Runs Scored: 85 (5th)

Pitching ERA: 4.27 (17th)
Opponents AVG: .254 (15th)
HRs Allowed: 18 (T-17th)
Walks Allowed: 60 (22nd)
Runs Allowed: 84 (16th)

Upcoming Schedule
1 game @ Tennessee Hounds (11-8, #6, 1-2)
4 games vs Massachusetts Patriots (7-10, #17, 3-3)
3 games @ Mississippi Ravens (9-8, #10, 0-0)
1 games vs Tennessee Hounds (11-8, #6, 1-2)

We're #12 in the power rankings. I'm hoping for a .500 sim. The Ravens are a dangerous team, as are the Pats and Hounds. Go Freedom!

Chappy · 07-17-2004, 08:29 AM

Tidbits

Thursday 4/23/2009 :

Manuel Talamantez positions himself better now, his range at 3B increases to 7 ...
Manuel Talamantez positions himself better now, his range at SS increases to 9 ...

Well, it looks like our little Mays Award winner is doing even better now.

Backup catcher Anthony Pooler, who made the team for defensive purposes only, has yet to play a single inning behind the plate. This frustrates me a little, since I have him listed as a defensive replacement and I know we've won some blowouts. I also know we've blown a couple of late leads; something that may not have happened if my defensive substitutions were being carried out.

Chappy · 07-17-2004, 11:37 AM

A Minor Change

Since he wasn't getting any playing time, Anthony Pooler was sent down to AAA Allentown. Called up in his place, is the red-hot Bernard Lust. I was motivated to make this move b/c I need bullpen help, and I think Lust could probably bring me the most in a trade. He's got a solid glove in RF (1.000 f%), excellent range (8 out of 10), and is a decent hitter (6 in contact, gap power and avoid k's).

Lust was tearing up AAA, hitting .391, and I thought a little big-league time would make him more appealing.

John P. Yuda · 07-17-2004, 02:26 PM

You know, I've always been a fan of Lust. I know he hasn't performed, but ever since I suggested you call him up and give him a shot in... '06 or so?

Free Bernard Lust!

RayofHope · 07-17-2004, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chappy

[b]
We're #12 in the power rankings. I'm hoping for a .500 sim. The Ravens are a dangerous team, as are the Pats and Hounds. Go Freedom!

Oh the flaterry.

I think that's the first time my Hounds have ever been called "dangerous" - I've often thought of them as dangerous privately, dangerous to my health.

Just remember Chappy, you're not allowed to get the Freedom too good . . . I need to be able to beat you!

By the way, it's odd that Pooler wasn't getting in as a defensive replacement. I have Douglas Denton occupying a spot on my roster solely to be used as a pinch runner (no team speed) and defensive replacement in the OF.

So far he's gotten in 8 games, 6 as a replacement of some sort . . . I wonder if he's getting in for his D in late innning situations, or getting in as a pinch runner, and staying in for his D . . . on further investigation, it looks like 2 of his 6 replacement appearances have been as a defensive replacement, 4 of them have been pinch running roles.

Both his defensive replacements have been in left field, once instead of a guy who was barely his lesser int he field. (Denton is 9/.983 in LF, he replaced Carte, who is 8/.971 and has a much better bat).

Why he isn't replacing Lininger in RF (2/.980 compared to 9/.975) is beyond me.

Chappy · 07-17-2004, 03:08 PM

2008 Founding Fathers Wildcard Race

Code:

Team            W   L  PCT  GB  
Connecticut    84  78 .519   -   
Florida        83  79 .512 1.0   
Tennessee      82  80 .506 2.0   
Massachusetts  81  81 .500 3.0   
North Carolina 80  82 .494 4.0   
Louisiana      77  85 .475 7.0 
Virginia       68  94 .420 16.0   
D.C.           59 103 .364 25.0   
Pennsylvania   58 104 .358 26.0

Okay, so I guess from my perspective EVERYONE is dangerous. But the Hounds are near the top, and in 1st place right now, so I'd call them serious playoff contenders. Like I said, if I finish with an even record, I'll be proud of my boys.

Chappy · 07-17-2004, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RayofHope

Both his defensive replacements have been in left field, once instead of a guy who was barely his lesser int he field. (Denton is 9/.983 in LF, he replaced Carte, who is 8/.971 and has a much better bat).

Why he isn't replacing Lininger in RF (2/.980 compared to 9/.975) is beyond me.

Maybe we should report this issue; I looked for Pooler's fielding stats, and the only time he's seen action in the field was at SS of all places. It looks as if he was there because Manning had already been used as a pinch hitter, but that doesn't explain why he's never been put in to catch late in games.

satchel · 07-17-2004, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chappy

Latest in the season we've been over .500
2004 - 5/2 (13-12)

Next sim might break your record (will run through May 6).

Chappy · 07-19-2004, 08:40 AM

Trade Announcment

Well, I decided to hold onto one of Mr. Yuda's favorites and trade one of my favorites: Mmm-Bop Hanson is no longer a member of the Pennsylvania Freedom. He has been shipped (along with Drew 'Mr. Irrelevant' Pecora to Virginia in exchange for reliever Adam Guerrero.

Guerrero has a coveted 10 in stuff and a 6 in movement, but only a 4 in control. He has put up excellent minor league stats, and while he has yet to perform great at the ML level, he has done as good as anyone else in my pen.

Virginia is starting to become my 2nd favorite team. They've got 2 of my favorite players now, Fonzie and Mmm-Bop.

2009 Sim #3

04/27 - 6-3 WIN @ Tennessee - Claus and Talamantez each drove in 2 runs, and Robert Jones picked up his 2nd win of the season with a fine permormance (3 ER in 8 IP). Scull nailed his 5th save, to give him 300 in his career. Pinch hitter Bernard Lust singled in his first game of the year, and since he had hits in his last 5 games last season, he now has a career-best 6 game hitting streak.
04/28 - 5-2 WIN vs Massachusetts - Keith Tracey roped 2 doubles and Manny Rodriguez drove in a pair of runs for the Freedom. Armand Manning hit his first HR of the season. Lowell Stang pitched well (but brief), allowing 1 ER on 5 H in 6 innings. Adam Guerreo made his debut with the Freedom, allowing 1 hit (a solo HR) while striking out 3 and walking nobody in 2 innings. Scull earned save #6.
04/29 - 3-0 loss vs Massachusetts - An Angelo double was the highlight of our 4 hits on a quiet day offensively. Kearns allowed 3 ER on 8 hits in only 6.1 innings and falls to 1-3. Guerrero pitched a perfect 0.2 innings.
04/30 - 8-3 loss vs Massachusetts - Charlie Clowers was lit up today; he was pounded for 10 hits in 3 innings to take his first loss of the season. Keith Tracey was 3-for-4 with a double, and Angelo and Leto each added 2 hits, but the Pennsylvania offense was held in check.
05/01 - 6-3 loss vs Massachusetts - Tracey (3) and Galyon (4) homered, but Nietz had a rough day on the mound, allowing 6 ER in 6 IP.
05/02 - 4-1 loss @ Mississippi - I hope we're not falling into one of those epic losing streaks. We haven't looked good for a few days now. After being 3-hit yesterday, today we were 2-hit. Mississippi is a great team, so it'll be tough to come back on them once we're in the hole. Jones allowed 4 ER in 6 IP to fall to 2-3.
05/03 - 1-0 loss @ Mississippi - Stang put together a great game, but there was no support. Martinez was stranded at 3rd after a 1-out triple. That was as close as we got to scoring.
05/04 - 1-0 loss @ Mississippi - Ouch; back-to-back 1-0 losses. Kearns allowed 1 ER in 7 IP, and once again there was no support. We managed 1 walk and 6 singles...
05/05 - OFF DAY
05/06 - 3-0 loss vs Tennessee - We've scored 1 run in the last 4 games. Clowers put together a decent outing today, but he might as well of given up a hundred runs.

Standings

Code:

team           w  l  pct  gb L10 
New York      20  7 .741   - 7-3 
Connecticut   13 13 .500 6.5 7-3 
Pennsylvania  11 17 .393 9.5 3-7 
Massachusetts 10 16 .385 9.5 4-6

We've scored a total of 7 runs in our current 7-game losing streak. Honestly, if you had told me we'd go on a 7-game losing streak with this team, I would have thought I'd be losing 10-7 or 14-8, not 1-0 or 3-0. Man, where are our bats???

Pitching

Code:

   Name        G GS W L SV  ERA   IP HA  R ER BB  K 
SP L. Stang    6  6 2 2  0 3.95 43.1 45 20 19  9 28 
SP C. Kearns   6  6 1 4  0 3.57 40.1 41 17 16 14 25
SP C. Clowers  6  6 3 2  0 3.79 40.1 42 17 17  2 24 
SP A. Nietz    5  5 1 3  0 4.33 35.1 32 17 17 13 12
SP R. Jones    5  5 2 3  0 3.96 36.1 31 16 16 17 16 

MR A. Lopez    8  0 0 0  0 2.61 10.1  5  3  3  6  4 
MR M. Welch    4  0 0 0  1 0.00  3.1  0  0  0  0  1 
MR E. Cruz     6  0 0 0  0 5.14  7.0  8  5  4  4  3 
SU A. Guerrero 5  0 0 0  0 1.59  5.2  3  1  1  0  5 
SU M. Garrard 13  0 1 2  0 5.06 10.2 13  6  6  1  5 
CL F. Scull    9  0 1 1  6 3.24  8.1  9  3  3  6  2

No complaints here; to Garrard's ERA continues to drop, and Guerrero has made a good impression early. I just need to get these guys some run support.

Batting (or lack thereof)

Code:

     Name           G  AB  H 2B 3B HR RBI  R BB  K  AVG  OBP  SLG 
1 LF M. Rodriguez  27 103 25  3  0  0   2 14  8  4 .243 .304 .272 
2 CF O. Angelo     27 106 38  5  0  0   9 15  5 10 .358 .393 .406 
3 2B L. Claus      28  92 23  6  0  6  16 14 12 24 .250 .343 .511 
4 3B B. Horizon    28 101 30  4  1  4  14  9  3 12 .297 .314 .475 
5 RF K. Tracey     26 103 30  9  0  3  15 10  2 24 .291 .318 .466 
6 CA C. Martinez   26  87 13  5  1  2  11  5  2  1 .149 .194 .299 
7 1B P. Galyon     26  82 19  3  1  4   7 10  2 20 .232 .267 .439 
8 SS M. Talamantez 26  88 19  4  2  1  10  6  8  8 .216 .289 .341 

     A. Stafford   21  31  9  2  0  0   1  4  0  2 .290 .281 .355 
     B. Lust        5  12  3  1  0  0   0  0  1  5 .250 .308 .333 
     J. Espino      8  17  4  1  0  0   1  3  1  3 .235 .316 .294 
     J. Leto       17  34  7  2  0  0   2  3  1  6 .206 .222 .265 
     A. Manning    15  26  4  0  0  1   3  3  3  8 .154 .267 .269 
     F. Thom       14  13  2  0  0  0   2  3  1  4 .154 .267 .154

Okay. Breathe deep. This is where I need to learn to be patient. The talent is there, I just need to let these guys find their grooves. I moved Talamantez back down, mainly because he struggled in the 6 spot. Martinez has hit the ball hard, just not often. I'm still waiting for M-Rod to boost that AVG (and OBP). He's a key to this offense, and if he's not on base, nobody can drive him in.

Team Rankings

Batting AVG: .241 (16th)
Homeruns: 22 (T-14th)
Walks: 51 (24th)
Stolen Bases: 19 (16th)
Runs Scored: 103 (T-20th)

Pitching ERA: 4.05 (13th)
Opponents AVG: .252 (12th)
HRs Allowed: 24 (13th)
Walks Allowed: 76 (15th)
Runs Allowed: 115 (11th)

We fell way down to 20th in runs. We should have one of the top 10 or 12 offenses this year, so let's hope that goes up next sim.

Upcoming Schedule

May 7-8 - vs Tennessee Hounds (16-11, #8, 2-3)
May 9-11 - @ New York Barons (20-7, #2, 0-0)
May 12-14 - vs Louisiana Blaze (15-13, #9, 0-0)
May 16 - vs Massachusetts Patriots (10-16, #19, 4-6)

Great. We're already on an 0-7 run, and now our next 8 games are against teams in the top 10 in the power rankings. Okay Freedom. This is where you prove you can play. WIN SOME GAMES!

Firefly1000 · 07-19-2004, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chappy

Okay. Breathe deep. This is where I need to learn to be patient.

A good bit of advice to give to yourself.

You are trying to improve a team that won 58 games last season and you're relying on some pretty young players that have yet to completely fulfill their talent potential to do it.

Patience is the key. As you said, the talent is there, you just need to give it the chance to develop. And when it does, you're going to have a monster lineup on your hands.

That said, three straight shutouts would make anyone want to scream though.

Dvdmanny · 07-19-2004, 04:34 PM

Yeah with a young line-up patience is key, keep up the great work though.

GO FREEDOM

from your newest fan

Chappy · 07-22-2004, 08:52 AM

2009 Sim #4

05/07 - 9-0 loss vs Tennessee - We've now been shutout for 4 straight games, and have scored 1 run in the last 6 days. Alphonse Nietz was roughed up for 6 ER in 4.1 innings, not that it mattered.
05/08 - 4-3 loss vs Tennessee - Robert Jones pitched well for 7 innings, but left with the game knotted at 3. Garrard allowed the losing run and took his 3rd loss of the young season. Bick Horizon had a pair of doubles and Keith Tracey hit his 4th home run as we finally put up some runs.
05/09 - 5-1 loss @ New York - A Manny Talamantez solo HR (2) was one of our 2 hits today. Stang gave up a career-high 12 hits in 7 innings to take the loss.
05/10 - 6-5 loss @ New York - We were up 5-3 in the bottom of the 9th, but Scull couldn't hold the lead. He allowed 3 ER in 0.2 innings and took his 2nd loss of the year.
05/11 - 7-0 loss @ New York - A Manny Talamantez single was our only hit. Clowers was pounded. That's all you need to know.
05/12 - 6-5 WIN vs Louisiana - Alphonse Nietz was injured after 1.1 innings; nothing severe. So it was up to the bullpen to win us this one. They came through with a little help from homers by Horizon (5) and Claus (7).
05/13 - 9-6 loss vs Louisiana - Horizon (6), Claus (8) and Leto (1) homered but Jones allowed 7 ER in 6.1 innings.
05/14 - 4-1 loss vs Louisiana - We were 1-hit again, this time with Galyon picking up the single. Not too bad an outing by Stang, but bad enough for the loss.
05/15 - OFF DAY
05/16 - 2-0 loss vs Massachusetts - Kearns allows just 2 runs in a CG effort, but there was no offense (again). Kearns is 1-5 with a 3.14 ERA this season.

Standings

Code:

team           w  l  pct   gb L10 
New York      28  8 .778    - 9-1 
Connecticut   20 16 .556  8.0 7-3 
Massachusetts 16 20 .444 12.0 6-4 
Pennsylvania  12 25 .324 16.5 1-9

We have one win in the month of May. 1-13. Yikes.

Pitching

Code:

   Name        G GS W L SV ERA   IP HA  R ER BB  K
sp L. Stang    8  8 2 4 0 3.99 58.2 66 27 26 10 35
sp C. Kearns   8  8 1 5 0 3.14 57.1 55 22 20 22 31 
sp C. Clowers  7  7 3 3 0 4.50 46.0 54 23 23  4 27
sp A. Nietz    7  7 1 4 0 5.27 41.0 45 25 24 15 15 
sp R. Jones    7  7 2 4 0 4.71 49.2 46 26 26 23 26 

mr M. Welch    7  0 0 0 1 1.69 10.2  4  2  2  1  4 
mr A. Lopez   11  0 0 0 0 4.73 13.1  8  7  7  7  5 
mr E. Cruz     9  0 0 0 0 3.38 10.2 11  5  4  4  4 
su A. Guerrero 6  0 0 0 0 4.05  6.2  6  3  3  0  7
su M. Garrard 16  0 1 3 0 6.14 14.2 18 10 10  1  6 
cl F. Scull   12  0 2 2 6 4.91 11.0 13  6  6  7  6

That wasn't our best sim from a pitching standpoint. Our team ERA jumped nearly half a point. Luckily we avoided major injury, but I can't say much else good.

Batting

Code:

     Name           G  AB  H 2B 3B HR RBI  R BB  K  AVG  OBP  SLG
1 LF M. Rodriguez  36 132 33  3  0  0   2 15 10  8 .250 .308 .273 
2 CF O. Angelo     34 132 40  5  0  0  10 16  6 14 .303 .338 .341 
3 2B L. Claus      37 120 31  6  0  8  21 17 12 30 .258 .331 .508 
4 3B B. Horizon    36 133 39  7  1  6  18 12  4 14 .293 .312 .496 
5 RF K. Tracey     35 129 34  9  0  4  17 11  4 28 .264 .296 .426 
6 CA C. Martinez   35 116 15  6  1  2  12  7  2  1 .129 .163 .250 
7 1B P. Galyon     35 109 22  5  1  4   7 12  3 30 .202 .237 .376 
8 SS M. Talamantez 33 110 26  6  2  2  15  9  9 12 .236 .300 .382

     A. Stafford   26  37 12  3  0  0   2  6  0  2 .324 .316 .405 
     B. Lust       12  22  6  1  0  0   0  0  1  7 .273 .304 .318  
     J. Espino     10  22  5  1  0  0   1  3  1  3 .227 .292 .273 
     J. Leto       24  39  8  2  0  1   4  5  1  8 .205 .220 .333 
     F. Thom       18  25  5  0  1  0   2  3  1  6 .200 .259 .280 
     A. Manning    22  37  4  0  0  1   3  3  4 10 .108 .214 .189

I REALLY need Carlos Martinez to start hitting. Oh, and Pat Galyon. And Manny Talamantez. And M-Rod. Heck, if your name isn't Bick Horizon or Osvaldo Angelo, you need to be doing more!!! Well, Tracey is doing decent enough for a rookie. And Claus is having a better year than he did last year...

Team Rankings
Batting AVG: .231 (20th)
Homeruns: 29 (16th)
Walks: 62 (24th)
Stolen Bases: 21 (19th)
Runs Scored: 125 (24th)

Pitching ERA: 4.43 (20th)
Opponents AVG: .266 (18th)
HRs Allowed: 42 (23rd)
Walks Allowed: 98 (13th)
Runs Allowed: 166 (T-15th)

Upcoming Schedule
May 17-18, vs Massachusetts Patriots (16-20, #15, 4-7)
May 20-22, @ Louisiana Blaze (20-16, #8, 1-2)
May 23-25, @ Massachusetts Patriots (16-20, #15, 4-7)
May 27, vs North Carolina Clippers (18-18, #13, 0-0)

The schedule is a little lighter this sim, but it will still be tough. I'm hoping for a 5-4 sim, but I'd settle for a 4-5 sim.

07-14-2004, 10:31 AM	#21
Chappy Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 2,721	2009 OPENING SIM 04/07 - 11-5 loss vs Massachusetts - Lowell Stang struggled, but it was the bullpen that cost us this game. Stang allowed 4 runs in 7 innings, but Garrard allowed runs in 0.1 innings and Salguero 4 runs in an inning to seal our fate. Pat Galyon was 2-for-2 with a triple to lead our offensive attack. Horizon was hitless but drove in a pair of runs. 04/08 - 4-2 loss vs Massachusetts - A nice start by Kearns was wasted by our defense, who made 3 errors today. The offense didn't help much either, though Carlos Martinez homered (1). 04/09 - 7-3 WIN vs Massachusetts - We avoid the sweep with a nice win, pounding out 14 hits including homers by Claus (1) and Martinez (2). Clowers earns his first win as a Freedom pitcher, allowing 2 ER in 7 IP. 04/10 - OFF DAY 04/11 - 4-2 WIN @ Connecticut (10 innings) - Frank Scull, who nearly cost us the game, picks up a win as the Freedom score twice in the 10th to hold off the Marines. Angelo had 3 hits and Claus homered (2) to lead the Freedom offense. Nietz had a brilliant performance, but gets a no-decision. He also hit his first career homer. 04/12 - 5-2 loss @ Connecticut - Claus homered again (3) but we didn't do much else. Robert Jones allowed 4 ER in 7.1 innings. 04/13 - 10-7 WIN @ Connecticut - Talamantez homered (1) and Stang survived a poor performance as we squeak past the Marines to take the series, 2-1. Pat Galyon now has a 10-game hit streak. 04/14 - 9-1 WIN @ Virginia - Kearns was brilliant, as was Horizon, who had a double, 2 homers (2), and 5 RBI. Kearns and Lopez combined on a two-hitter. 04/15 - 14-1 WIN @ Virginia - Clowers is now 2-0 with Pennsylvania, as he blanks Virginia for 7 innings. Claus was the offensive hero, going 4-for-6 with 3 doubles and 4 RBI. Keith Tracey homered (1) and had 3 RBI of his own. 04/16 - 8-2 loss @ Virginia - Well, I'd rather end our first sim on a win, but I'm happy with the results nonetheless. Horizon homered (3), but Nietz brought his C game as he allowed 5 ER in 6 IP. Standings Code: team w l pct gb L10 New York 7 3 .700 - 7-3 Pennsylvania 5 4 .556 1.5 5-4 Massachusetts 4 4 .500 2.0 4-4 Connecticut 3 6 .333 3.5 3-6 After losing our first series, we rebounded to win the next two. Not a bad start for a young team. Pitching Code: Name G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K SP L. Stang 2 2 0 0 0 6.75 14.2 20 11 11 3 12 SP C. Kearns 2 2 1 1 0 2.84 12.2 10 5 4 6 9 SP C. Clowers 2 2 2 0 0 1.29 14.0 12 2 2 0 6 SP A. Nietz 2 2 0 1 0 4.15 13.0 11 6 6 7 3 SP R. Jones 1 1 0 1 0 4.91 7.1 5 4 4 3 3 MR J. Salguero 3 0 0 0 0 13.50 4.0 5 7 6 2 1 MR A. Lopez 3 0 0 0 0 0.00 5.0 3 0 0 2 0 MR E. Cruz 2 0 0 0 0 3.00 3.0 3 2 1 2 1 SU M. Garrard 5 0 1 1 0 13.50 2.2 8 4 4 1 1 SU M. Welch 2 0 0 0 1 0.00 1.2 0 0 0 0 0 CL F. Scull 2 0 1 0 1 4.50 2.0 3 1 1 3 0 Clowers and Kearns have been strong out of the gate, while Lowell Stang hasn't found his best stuff yet. Nietz has had a good start and a bad start, but the real question will be whether Robert Jones's 12-win season last year was a fluke. The bullpen recovered after a rough first 3 games. Salguero has been ineffective in 2 of his 3 appearances, so I'll need to keep and eye on him. He's got great potential, so I don't want to let him get roughed up too much. Lineups Code: Name G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K AVG OBP SLG 1 LF M. Rodriguez 9 38 12 1 0 0 0 9 5 0 .316 .395 .342 2 CF O. Angelo 9 42 15 1 0 0 6 5 0 3 .357 .357 .381 3 2B L. Claus 9 36 12 4 0 3 9 8 2 5 .333 .368 .694 4 3B B. Horizon 9 35 14 2 0 3 8 6 2 6 .400 .421 .714 5 RF K. Tracey 9 37 11 3 0 1 4 5 2 7 .297 .350 .459 6 1B P. Galyon 9 28 9 1 1 0 1 4 1 3 .321 .387 .429 7 CA C. Martinez 9 36 6 2 0 2 8 4 2 0 .167 .225 .389 8 SS M. Talamantez 9 34 9 3 1 1 7 3 1 0 .265 .306 .500 A. Pooler 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 1.000 2.000 A. Manning 5 6 2 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 .333 .333 .333 F. Thom 5 4 1 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 .250 .250 .250 A. Stafford 7 7 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 .143 .143 .143 J. Leto 5 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 .000 .167 .000 J. Espino 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 .000 .500 .000 The only change to the lineup was the dropping of Carlos Martinez two spots, which means Tracey and Galyon each move up one spot. I haven't had this many guys batting over .300 since, well, ever. Lobster Claus, a doubles-hitting machine in '07, looks to be back to his old self. The thing that impresses me the most is the strikeout column. We often would K 10 or more times in a gae last season. This year, we've got 3 starters who haven't struck out yet, and they all have more than 30 at bats. Our 29 K's are the lowest in the FFL, and the second lowest (to Minnesota's 23) in the NPBL. Team Rankings Batting AVG: .285 (5th) Homeruns: 11 (T-5th) Walks: 17 (T-20th) Stolen Bases: 6 (16th) Runs Scored: 55 (4th) Pitching ERA: 4.39 (17th) Opponents AVG: .259 (15th) HRs Allowed: 10 (17th) Walks Allowed: 29 (20th) Runs Allowed: 42 (15th) FWIW, we are 9th in the Power Rankings and have the #6 minor league system. Upcoming Schedule - (Record, Power Rank, Our Record VS Them) April 17th-20th - vs Florida Bluefish (3-6, 21st, 0-0) April 21st-23rd - vs Massachusetts Patriots (4-4, 13th, 1-2) April 24th-26th - @ Tennessee Hounds (5-4, 10th, 0-0) The records/rankings don't mean much this early; I'm just staying in the habit of showing them. __________________ NPBL - Pennsylvania Freedom AFBL - North Carolina Aviators MLB-Pro - Kansas City Royals

07-15-2004, 09:38 PM	#24
Chappy Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 2,721	No, I think I've had a couple of 6-4 first sims. I think I was even 11-6 after 2 sims once, but I might be mistaken. Actually, the schedule thingy on the Catobase will help me answer this question. I'll be right back. (pause) Okay, I'm back. In 2004, my first full year as manager, we started 3-0, and were 11-7 after 2 sims. It was all downhill from there. In 2005, we started 6-2 but then lost 9 of the next 10. In 2006, we were 3-5 after the first sim. We won 10 of our last 12 games to finish with 67 wins, my career best. In '07, we were 9-6 at our peak. After falling to 9-10, we won to pull back to .500, but then lost the next 19 straight games. That season was my career worst, only 52 wins. Last year, we had our worst start, 1-8. We were doing okay, posting a 54-86 mark on September 11th, but only won 4 of our last 22 games to finish 58-104. So, the W/L record on our first sim is nothing to be excited about. What I am excited about is how we've won. We've piled on the runs, and coming from a team that usually hits .220, that's something we need to do. __________________ NPBL - Pennsylvania Freedom AFBL - North Carolina Aviators MLB-Pro - Kansas City Royals Last edited by Chappy; 07-15-2004 at 09:51 PM.

07-15-2004, 10:00 PM	#25
Chappy Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 2,721	Latest in the season we've been over .500 2004 - 5/2 (13-12) 2005 - 4/18 (7-6) 2006 - never 2007 - 4/19 (9-8) 2008 - never __________________ NPBL - Pennsylvania Freedom AFBL - North Carolina Aviators MLB-Pro - Kansas City Royals

07-16-2004, 07:18 PM	#28
Chappy Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 2,721	Nah, as long as you're aboard before we win the title, you can count yourself as a true fan __________________ NPBL - Pennsylvania Freedom AFBL - North Carolina Aviators MLB-Pro - Kansas City Royals

07-17-2004, 12:57 AM	#29
Chappy Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 2,721	2009 Sim #2 04/17 - 5-3 loss vs Florida - The Bluefish jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first off of Robert Jones. Jones settled down and pitched well for the next 6 innings, but the damage was already done. Angelo and Horizon each had 3 hits for the Freedom. 04/18 - 7-2 loss vs Florida - Stang is roughed up again; this time for 5 ER in 7.2 innings. I'm starting to get a little nervous about his slow start. Horizon hit a solo HR (4). 04/19 - 9-1 loss vs Florida - Kearns and Salguero were each hit hard; Kearns for 6 ER and Salguero 3. 04/20 - 3-1 WIN vs Floirda - We avoid the sweep, thanks in part to another brilliant performance by Clowers. He allowed 1 ER on 5 hits in 8 innings of work. Tracey and Horizon each doubled in runs to lead the offense. Scull notched his second save of the year. 04/21 - 8-2 loss vs Massachusetts - Nietz falls to 0-2 with a poor performance. He was tagged for 5 ER in 7.1 innings. Stafford and Galyon each had RBI singles for the Freedom. 04/22 - 1-0 WIN vs Massachusetts - For the second day in a row, we manage only 4 hits. Luckily, one of them was a solo HR (4) by Lobster. Robert Jones was great for 8 innings, allowing just 4 hits. Scull pitched a solid 9th to get save #3. 04/23 - 4-1 WIN vs Massachusetts - Pat Galyon finally hit his 1st home run of the season. And, since he likes to hit them in bunches, he added his 2nd HR 4 innings later. Lobster also added his 5th dinger of the year (all of our HR were solo shots). Lowell Stang finally put together a good outing (1 ER on 5 H in 8 IP) and Frank Scull nailed down save #4. 04/24 - 4-3 loss @ Tennessee - Scull blew a 1-run 9th inning lead, and took a win away from Chris Kearns who allowed 2 ER in 7 innings. The red hot Lobster homered again, giving him 6 on the season. 04/25 - 7-5 loss @ Tennessee - Tracey had a 3-run HR (2) as part of a career-best 4-RBI day, but Garrard takes the loss by allowing 2 ER in 0.1 innings. He's 1-2 with a 9.53 ERA this season. 04/26 - 6-0 WIN @ Tennessee - Congrats to Alphonse Nietz, who pitched his first career shutout today. He's now 1-2 this season with a 3.38 ERA. Pat Galyon hit his 3rd home run, and Stafford, Angelo, Horizon and Tracey each added 2 hits for the Freedom offense. Standings Code: team w l pct gb L10 New York 14 4 .778 - 8-2 Pennsylvania 9 10 .474 5.5 4-6 Massachusetts 7 10 .412 6.5 3-7 Connecticut 7 11 .389 7.0 5-5 Pitching Code: Name G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K SP L. Stang 4 4 1 1 0 5.04 30.1 32 18 17 8 21 SP C. Kearns 4 4 1 2 0 4.00 27.0 28 13 12 11 17 SP C. Clowers 4 4 3 0 0 2.48 29.0 25 8 8 2 16 SP A. Nietz 4 4 1 2 0 3.38 29.1 24 11 11 10 7 SP R. Jones 3 3 1 2 0 3.63 22.1 18 9 9 10 10 MR J. Salguero 6 0 0 0 0 14.30 5.2 8 10 9 4 1 MR A. Lopez 5 0 0 0 0 4.77 5.2 5 3 3 5 1 MR E. Cruz 4 0 0 0 0 4.50 4.0 5 3 2 3 2 SU M. Garrard 9 0 1 2 0 9.53 5.2 12 6 6 1 2 SU M. Welch 4 0 0 0 1 0.00 3.1 0 0 0 0 1 CL F. Scull 7 0 1 1 4 4.26 6.1 7 3 3 6 1 One more bad outing, and Salguero is going back to AAA. He's a talented pitcher, so I don't want to break his confidence by letting him get shelled repeatedly at this level. My top two starters haven't been as good as I had hoped, but they both did fine last time out, so maybe they're coming around. Batting Code: Name G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K AVG OBP SLG 1 LF M. Rodriguez 18 71 19 3 0 0 0 12 7 1 .268 .333 .310 2 CF O. Angelo 18 80 28 3 0 0 9 12 1 8 .350 .358 .388 3 2B L. Claus 19 67 19 5 0 6 13 12 7 14 .284 .351 .627 4 3B B. Horizon 19 74 26 3 0 4 13 9 2 9 .351 .364 .554 5 RF K. Tracey 18 73 21 6 0 2 12 7 2 17 .288 .325 .452 6 1B P. Galyon 19 60 15 2 1 3 5 8 2 13 .250 .297 .467 7 CA C. Martinez 18 62 10 3 0 2 9 5 2 1 .161 .209 .306 8 SS M. Talamantez 18 60 15 3 2 1 8 5 4 5 .250 .308 .417 A. Pooler 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 1.000 2.000 A. Stafford 13 21 6 2 0 0 1 4 0 2 .286 .273 .381 J. Espino 5 11 3 1 0 0 1 2 1 2 .273 .385 .364 F. Thom 9 9 2 0 0 0 2 3 1 2 .222 .364 .222 A. Manning 9 15 2 0 0 0 1 2 2 4 .133 .235 .133 J. Leto 11 15 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 2 .067 .118 .133 The offense was a little flat last sim, but still better than what I usually get. I'd like to see M-Rod bring his AVG back up, and Martinez still needs to find his groove. My success next sim is going to depend on my worst bat this year; Jason Leto. Both Galyon and Horizon are tired, and we're 8 or 9 days away from our next off day, so Leto will be filling in for one of them. Team Rankings Batting AVG: .258 (7th) Homeruns: 19 (T-2nd) Walks: 34 (T-23rd) Stolen Bases: 11 (17th) Runs Scored: 85 (5th) Pitching ERA: 4.27 (17th) Opponents AVG: .254 (15th) HRs Allowed: 18 (T-17th) Walks Allowed: 60 (22nd) Runs Allowed: 84 (16th) Upcoming Schedule 1 game @ Tennessee Hounds (11-8, #6, 1-2) 4 games vs Massachusetts Patriots (7-10, #17, 3-3) 3 games @ Mississippi Ravens (9-8, #10, 0-0) 1 games vs Tennessee Hounds (11-8, #6, 1-2) We're #12 in the power rankings. I'm hoping for a .500 sim. The Ravens are a dangerous team, as are the Pats and Hounds. Go Freedom! __________________ NPBL - Pennsylvania Freedom AFBL - North Carolina Aviators MLB-Pro - Kansas City Royals Last edited by Chappy; 07-17-2004 at 10:45 AM.

07-15-2004, 07:39 PM	#23
Vris Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: somewhere where I don't know where I am Posts: 3,251	Chappy, quick question: Is the first time you have ever been over .500 with this club?

07-16-2004, 04:36 PM	#27
Dvdmanny Minors (Single A) Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 77	I can see why this thread is so popular, I will be watching from now on. I only recently became a Freedom fan so I might be labeled a band wagon jumper but I'm here to stay.

07-17-2004, 08:29 AM	#30
Chappy Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 2,721	Tidbits Thursday 4/23/2009 : Manuel Talamantez positions himself better now, his range at 3B increases to 7 ... Manuel Talamantez positions himself better now, his range at SS increases to 9 ... Well, it looks like our little Mays Award winner is doing even better now. Backup catcher Anthony Pooler, who made the team for defensive purposes only, has yet to play a single inning behind the plate. This frustrates me a little, since I have him listed as a defensive replacement and I know we've won some blowouts. I also know we've blown a couple of late leads; something that may not have happened if my defensive substitutions were being carried out. __________________ NPBL - Pennsylvania Freedom AFBL - North Carolina Aviators MLB-Pro - Kansas City Royals

07-17-2004, 11:37 AM	#31
Chappy Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 2,721	A Minor Change Since he wasn't getting any playing time, Anthony Pooler was sent down to AAA Allentown. Called up in his place, is the red-hot Bernard Lust. I was motivated to make this move b/c I need bullpen help, and I think Lust could probably bring me the most in a trade. He's got a solid glove in RF (1.000 f%), excellent range (8 out of 10), and is a decent hitter (6 in contact, gap power and avoid k's). Lust was tearing up AAA, hitting .391, and I thought a little big-league time would make him more appealing. __________________ NPBL - Pennsylvania Freedom AFBL - North Carolina Aviators MLB-Pro - Kansas City Royals

07-17-2004, 02:26 PM	#32
John P. Yuda Minors (Double A) Join Date: May 2002 Location: Alexandria, VA Posts: 177	You know, I've always been a fan of Lust. I know he hasn't performed, but ever since I suggested you call him up and give him a shot in... '06 or so? Free Bernard Lust!

07-17-2004, 03:08 PM	#34
Chappy Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 2,721	2008 Founding Fathers Wildcard Race Code: Team W L PCT GB Connecticut 84 78 .519 - Florida 83 79 .512 1.0 Tennessee 82 80 .506 2.0 Massachusetts 81 81 .500 3.0 North Carolina 80 82 .494 4.0 Louisiana 77 85 .475 7.0 Virginia 68 94 .420 16.0 D.C. 59 103 .364 25.0 Pennsylvania 58 104 .358 26.0 Okay, so I guess from my perspective EVERYONE is dangerous. But the Hounds are near the top, and in 1st place right now, so I'd call them serious playoff contenders. Like I said, if I finish with an even record, I'll be proud of my boys. __________________ NPBL - Pennsylvania Freedom AFBL - North Carolina Aviators MLB-Pro - Kansas City Royals

07-19-2004, 08:40 AM	#37
Chappy Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 2,721	Trade Announcment Well, I decided to hold onto one of Mr. Yuda's favorites and trade one of my favorites: Mmm-Bop Hanson is no longer a member of the Pennsylvania Freedom. He has been shipped (along with Drew 'Mr. Irrelevant' Pecora to Virginia in exchange for reliever Adam Guerrero. Guerrero has a coveted 10 in stuff and a 6 in movement, but only a 4 in control. He has put up excellent minor league stats, and while he has yet to perform great at the ML level, he has done as good as anyone else in my pen. Virginia is starting to become my 2nd favorite team. They've got 2 of my favorite players now, Fonzie and Mmm-Bop. 2009 Sim #3 04/27 - 6-3 WIN @ Tennessee - Claus and Talamantez each drove in 2 runs, and Robert Jones picked up his 2nd win of the season with a fine permormance (3 ER in 8 IP). Scull nailed his 5th save, to give him 300 in his career. Pinch hitter Bernard Lust singled in his first game of the year, and since he had hits in his last 5 games last season, he now has a career-best 6 game hitting streak. 04/28 - 5-2 WIN vs Massachusetts - Keith Tracey roped 2 doubles and Manny Rodriguez drove in a pair of runs for the Freedom. Armand Manning hit his first HR of the season. Lowell Stang pitched well (but brief), allowing 1 ER on 5 H in 6 innings. Adam Guerreo made his debut with the Freedom, allowing 1 hit (a solo HR) while striking out 3 and walking nobody in 2 innings. Scull earned save #6. 04/29 - 3-0 loss vs Massachusetts - An Angelo double was the highlight of our 4 hits on a quiet day offensively. Kearns allowed 3 ER on 8 hits in only 6.1 innings and falls to 1-3. Guerrero pitched a perfect 0.2 innings. 04/30 - 8-3 loss vs Massachusetts - Charlie Clowers was lit up today; he was pounded for 10 hits in 3 innings to take his first loss of the season. Keith Tracey was 3-for-4 with a double, and Angelo and Leto each added 2 hits, but the Pennsylvania offense was held in check. 05/01 - 6-3 loss vs Massachusetts - Tracey (3) and Galyon (4) homered, but Nietz had a rough day on the mound, allowing 6 ER in 6 IP. 05/02 - 4-1 loss @ Mississippi - I hope we're not falling into one of those epic losing streaks. We haven't looked good for a few days now. After being 3-hit yesterday, today we were 2-hit. Mississippi is a great team, so it'll be tough to come back on them once we're in the hole. Jones allowed 4 ER in 6 IP to fall to 2-3. 05/03 - 1-0 loss @ Mississippi - Stang put together a great game, but there was no support. Martinez was stranded at 3rd after a 1-out triple. That was as close as we got to scoring. 05/04 - 1-0 loss @ Mississippi - Ouch; back-to-back 1-0 losses. Kearns allowed 1 ER in 7 IP, and once again there was no support. We managed 1 walk and 6 singles... 05/05 - OFF DAY 05/06 - 3-0 loss vs Tennessee - We've scored 1 run in the last 4 games. Clowers put together a decent outing today, but he might as well of given up a hundred runs. Standings Code: team w l pct gb L10 New York 20 7 .741 - 7-3 Connecticut 13 13 .500 6.5 7-3 Pennsylvania 11 17 .393 9.5 3-7 Massachusetts 10 16 .385 9.5 4-6 We've scored a total of 7 runs in our current 7-game losing streak. Honestly, if you had told me we'd go on a 7-game losing streak with this team, I would have thought I'd be losing 10-7 or 14-8, not 1-0 or 3-0. Man, where are our bats??? Pitching Code: Name G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K SP L. Stang 6 6 2 2 0 3.95 43.1 45 20 19 9 28 SP C. Kearns 6 6 1 4 0 3.57 40.1 41 17 16 14 25 SP C. Clowers 6 6 3 2 0 3.79 40.1 42 17 17 2 24 SP A. Nietz 5 5 1 3 0 4.33 35.1 32 17 17 13 12 SP R. Jones 5 5 2 3 0 3.96 36.1 31 16 16 17 16 MR A. Lopez 8 0 0 0 0 2.61 10.1 5 3 3 6 4 MR M. Welch 4 0 0 0 1 0.00 3.1 0 0 0 0 1 MR E. Cruz 6 0 0 0 0 5.14 7.0 8 5 4 4 3 SU A. Guerrero 5 0 0 0 0 1.59 5.2 3 1 1 0 5 SU M. Garrard 13 0 1 2 0 5.06 10.2 13 6 6 1 5 CL F. Scull 9 0 1 1 6 3.24 8.1 9 3 3 6 2 No complaints here; to Garrard's ERA continues to drop, and Guerrero has made a good impression early. I just need to get these guys some run support. Batting (or lack thereof) Code: Name G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K AVG OBP SLG 1 LF M. Rodriguez 27 103 25 3 0 0 2 14 8 4 .243 .304 .272 2 CF O. Angelo 27 106 38 5 0 0 9 15 5 10 .358 .393 .406 3 2B L. Claus 28 92 23 6 0 6 16 14 12 24 .250 .343 .511 4 3B B. Horizon 28 101 30 4 1 4 14 9 3 12 .297 .314 .475 5 RF K. Tracey 26 103 30 9 0 3 15 10 2 24 .291 .318 .466 6 CA C. Martinez 26 87 13 5 1 2 11 5 2 1 .149 .194 .299 7 1B P. Galyon 26 82 19 3 1 4 7 10 2 20 .232 .267 .439 8 SS M. Talamantez 26 88 19 4 2 1 10 6 8 8 .216 .289 .341 A. Stafford 21 31 9 2 0 0 1 4 0 2 .290 .281 .355 B. Lust 5 12 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 5 .250 .308 .333 J. Espino 8 17 4 1 0 0 1 3 1 3 .235 .316 .294 J. Leto 17 34 7 2 0 0 2 3 1 6 .206 .222 .265 A. Manning 15 26 4 0 0 1 3 3 3 8 .154 .267 .269 F. Thom 14 13 2 0 0 0 2 3 1 4 .154 .267 .154 Okay. Breathe deep. This is where I need to learn to be patient. The talent is there, I just need to let these guys find their grooves. I moved Talamantez back down, mainly because he struggled in the 6 spot. Martinez has hit the ball hard, just not often. I'm still waiting for M-Rod to boost that AVG (and OBP). He's a key to this offense, and if he's not on base, nobody can drive him in. Team Rankings Batting AVG: .241 (16th) Homeruns: 22 (T-14th) Walks: 51 (24th) Stolen Bases: 19 (16th) Runs Scored: 103 (T-20th) Pitching ERA: 4.05 (13th) Opponents AVG: .252 (12th) HRs Allowed: 24 (13th) Walks Allowed: 76 (15th) Runs Allowed: 115 (11th) We fell way down to 20th in runs. We should have one of the top 10 or 12 offenses this year, so let's hope that goes up next sim. Upcoming Schedule May 7-8 - vs Tennessee Hounds (16-11, #8, 2-3) May 9-11 - @ New York Barons (20-7, #2, 0-0) May 12-14 - vs Louisiana Blaze (15-13, #9, 0-0) May 16 - vs Massachusetts Patriots (10-16, #19, 4-6) Great. We're already on an 0-7 run, and now our next 8 games are against teams in the top 10 in the power rankings. Okay Freedom. This is where you prove you can play. WIN SOME GAMES! __________________ NPBL - Pennsylvania Freedom AFBL - North Carolina Aviators MLB-Pro - Kansas City Royals Last edited by Chappy; 07-19-2004 at 12:01 PM. Reason: ADDED TEAM RANKINGS

07-19-2004, 04:34 PM	#39
Dvdmanny Minors (Single A) Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 77	Yeah with a young line-up patience is key, keep up the great work though. GO FREEDOM from your newest fan

07-22-2004, 08:52 AM	#40
Chappy Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 2,721	2009 Sim #4 05/07 - 9-0 loss vs Tennessee - We've now been shutout for 4 straight games, and have scored 1 run in the last 6 days. Alphonse Nietz was roughed up for 6 ER in 4.1 innings, not that it mattered. 05/08 - 4-3 loss vs Tennessee - Robert Jones pitched well for 7 innings, but left with the game knotted at 3. Garrard allowed the losing run and took his 3rd loss of the young season. Bick Horizon had a pair of doubles and Keith Tracey hit his 4th home run as we finally put up some runs. 05/09 - 5-1 loss @ New York - A Manny Talamantez solo HR (2) was one of our 2 hits today. Stang gave up a career-high 12 hits in 7 innings to take the loss. 05/10 - 6-5 loss @ New York - We were up 5-3 in the bottom of the 9th, but Scull couldn't hold the lead. He allowed 3 ER in 0.2 innings and took his 2nd loss of the year. 05/11 - 7-0 loss @ New York - A Manny Talamantez single was our only hit. Clowers was pounded. That's all you need to know. 05/12 - 6-5 WIN vs Louisiana - Alphonse Nietz was injured after 1.1 innings; nothing severe. So it was up to the bullpen to win us this one. They came through with a little help from homers by Horizon (5) and Claus (7). 05/13 - 9-6 loss vs Louisiana - Horizon (6), Claus (8) and Leto (1) homered but Jones allowed 7 ER in 6.1 innings. 05/14 - 4-1 loss vs Louisiana - We were 1-hit again, this time with Galyon picking up the single. Not too bad an outing by Stang, but bad enough for the loss. 05/15 - OFF DAY 05/16 - 2-0 loss vs Massachusetts - Kearns allows just 2 runs in a CG effort, but there was no offense (again). Kearns is 1-5 with a 3.14 ERA this season. Standings Code: team w l pct gb L10 New York 28 8 .778 - 9-1 Connecticut 20 16 .556 8.0 7-3 Massachusetts 16 20 .444 12.0 6-4 Pennsylvania 12 25 .324 16.5 1-9 We have one win in the month of May. 1-13. Yikes. Pitching Code: Name G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K sp L. Stang 8 8 2 4 0 3.99 58.2 66 27 26 10 35 sp C. Kearns 8 8 1 5 0 3.14 57.1 55 22 20 22 31 sp C. Clowers 7 7 3 3 0 4.50 46.0 54 23 23 4 27 sp A. Nietz 7 7 1 4 0 5.27 41.0 45 25 24 15 15 sp R. Jones 7 7 2 4 0 4.71 49.2 46 26 26 23 26 mr M. Welch 7 0 0 0 1 1.69 10.2 4 2 2 1 4 mr A. Lopez 11 0 0 0 0 4.73 13.1 8 7 7 7 5 mr E. Cruz 9 0 0 0 0 3.38 10.2 11 5 4 4 4 su A. Guerrero 6 0 0 0 0 4.05 6.2 6 3 3 0 7 su M. Garrard 16 0 1 3 0 6.14 14.2 18 10 10 1 6 cl F. Scull 12 0 2 2 6 4.91 11.0 13 6 6 7 6 That wasn't our best sim from a pitching standpoint. Our team ERA jumped nearly half a point. Luckily we avoided major injury, but I can't say much else good. Batting Code: Name G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K AVG OBP SLG 1 LF M. Rodriguez 36 132 33 3 0 0 2 15 10 8 .250 .308 .273 2 CF O. Angelo 34 132 40 5 0 0 10 16 6 14 .303 .338 .341 3 2B L. Claus 37 120 31 6 0 8 21 17 12 30 .258 .331 .508 4 3B B. Horizon 36 133 39 7 1 6 18 12 4 14 .293 .312 .496 5 RF K. Tracey 35 129 34 9 0 4 17 11 4 28 .264 .296 .426 6 CA C. Martinez 35 116 15 6 1 2 12 7 2 1 .129 .163 .250 7 1B P. Galyon 35 109 22 5 1 4 7 12 3 30 .202 .237 .376 8 SS M. Talamantez 33 110 26 6 2 2 15 9 9 12 .236 .300 .382 A. Stafford 26 37 12 3 0 0 2 6 0 2 .324 .316 .405 B. Lust 12 22 6 1 0 0 0 0 1 7 .273 .304 .318 J. Espino 10 22 5 1 0 0 1 3 1 3 .227 .292 .273 J. Leto 24 39 8 2 0 1 4 5 1 8 .205 .220 .333 F. Thom 18 25 5 0 1 0 2 3 1 6 .200 .259 .280 A. Manning 22 37 4 0 0 1 3 3 4 10 .108 .214 .189 I REALLY need Carlos Martinez to start hitting. Oh, and Pat Galyon. And Manny Talamantez. And M-Rod. Heck, if your name isn't Bick Horizon or Osvaldo Angelo, you need to be doing more!!! Well, Tracey is doing decent enough for a rookie. And Claus is having a better year than he did last year... Team Rankings Batting AVG: .231 (20th) Homeruns: 29 (16th) Walks: 62 (24th) Stolen Bases: 21 (19th) Runs Scored: 125 (24th) Pitching ERA: 4.43 (20th) Opponents AVG: .266 (18th) HRs Allowed: 42 (23rd) Walks Allowed: 98 (13th) Runs Allowed: 166 (T-15th) Upcoming Schedule May 17-18, vs Massachusetts Patriots (16-20, #15, 4-7) May 20-22, @ Louisiana Blaze (20-16, #8, 1-2) May 23-25, @ Massachusetts Patriots (16-20, #15, 4-7) May 27, vs North Carolina Clippers (18-18, #13, 0-0) The schedule is a little lighter this sim, but it will still be tough. I'm hoping for a 5-4 sim, but I'd settle for a 4-5 sim. __________________ NPBL - Pennsylvania Freedom AFBL - North Carolina Aviators MLB-Pro - Kansas City Royals Last edited by Chappy; 07-22-2004 at 10:50 AM.