The American Baseball League

[gehrig38]

I think I have managed to get this league back up and running in OOTP 22. This was one of my favorite franchises ever.
I was into the minutiae on the stat side of things on this and enjoyed it before the big crash.
I am catching up and should be posting an update soon. It's got a great history and I love the team I have built.

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 54-45
• STANDINGS: 1st (+8)
• RUNS SCORED: 454 (t-4th)
• RUNS AGAINST: 363 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .713 (1st)
• ZONE RATING: +20.0 (1st)
• ERRORS: 50 (7th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 80

THIS WEEK: (3-0) 3-0 vs San Jose

7/15-7/18 ALL-STAR BREAK
SP Matt Behrens, 1B Aaron Chisholm LF Jeff Anderson, and RF Dave Nolasco were selected to the 2013 All-Star Game. Anderson will start for the Colonial team.

The futures game saw RP Alex Arregui (A) RP Jeff Baker (AAA) CF Pacio Bertrand (SA) selected.

7/19: AUS 4 SJ 2
POTG: Chris Lach W (11-2) 8-6-2-2-2-8
Adrian Leadoff HR (14) Lytle SV (1) gets out of bases-loaded jam in the 9th. Cass (SJ) CG L (9-7) 8 H 9 K 4 ER

7/20: AUS 2 SJ 1
POTG: Matt Behrens CG W (13-4) 3 H 5 K 3 Double plays
HR-NONE
Allen (SJ) CG L (10-5) 8-7-2-2-1-5 Joshua 2-4 3B SB (18) R

7/21: AUS 3 SJ 2 (10)
POTG: Travis Brooks ND 7.2-5-2-2-1-4 HR
HR-Lundy (24) AUS-Nolasco (17) Chisholm (20) Walk off


ABL HAPPENINGS:
7/19:
Alex Grant (BRK) allowed just 2 hits and struck out 6 in a 8-0 win over Providence.



RUSTLER NEWS:
7/21: AUSTIN SHIPS LAWSON TO LA
The Austin Rustlers have sent 23-year-old SP prospect Chris Lawson to the LA Storm for 21-year-old LHRP Nate Scott. The teams swapped 3rd round draft picks in next year's draft.

BACKROOM CHATTER
I have managed to stack the minors with pitching. Lawson will find his way into a big-league rotation soon. He's 23 years old and near ready but in our scout's minds, he wasn't at the top of our prospect charts moving forward. However, our scouts agree across the board that Scott is a potential 5-star prospect and left-handed shutdown arm. He was sent to AA Modesto and will assume closing duties. The move also opened up a AAA rotation spot which top P prospect Tashfin Sassi was promoted to take over.



PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Ryan Brown (BUF) 7-13 2 HR 4 RBI
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Takafumi Wakabayashi (MON) 7-16 2 HR 4 RBI

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 59-47
• STANDINGS: 1st (+10)
• RUNS SCORED: 488 (4th)
• RUNS AGAINST: 384 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .715 (1st)
• ZONE RATING: +21.4 (1st)
• ERRORS: 53 (t-6th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 80

THIS WEEK: (5-2) 3-0 vs Memphis 2-2 @ Houston

7/22: AUS 5 MEM 4 (11)
POTG: Rich Whittaker ND 8-2-2-2-2-13 1-3 RBI
HR: None
Hobart allows 2 IR to score and gives up 2 more in a 4 run 9th. Haske W (4-3) 2 IP 4 K Chisholm 3-5 2 2B 2 RBI Nolasco 3-5 Cowan walk-off 1B

7/23: AUS 6 MEM 2
POTG: Dave Miller W (1-4) 7-6-2-2-0-7
HR: Vetter (22) AUS-Adrian (15)
Tighe 4-5 2B 2 R RBI

7/24: AUS 7 MEM 4
POTG: Jeff Anderson 3-4 2 HR 3 R 2 RBI
HR: AUS-Anderson 2 (21) Tighe (3)
Lach W (12-2) 7-7-4-0-2-14 1-3 Haske SV (5)

7/25: HOU 3 AUS 2 (10)
POTG: David Andrade (HOU) ND 6-4-1-1-4-5
HR: HOU-Stromberger (8) Aasen (2) Kajlaev PH GW (6)
Behrens 4.2-0-0-0-2-6 came out with stiff back Haske L (4-4) 1 pitch 1 hitter 1 GW HR Adrian 3-5 RBI

7/26: HOU 4 AUS 3
POTG: Ian Gurr (HOU) W (9-7) 7-5-3-3-1-7 2 HR
HR: HOU-Matlock (24) AUS-Cowan (11) Chisholm (21)
Brooks ND 6-7-3-3-1-2 HR Hobart comes in to a 3-1 lead, allows both runs to score and then loses it in the 8th. Chisholm 2-3 HR R 2 RBI

7/27: AUS2 HOU 1
POTG: Whittaker W (6-5) 8-2-1-1-1-7
HR: AUS-Orozco (8)
Lytle SV (2) 1 IP 3 K Orozco 2-4 R 2 RBI

7/28: AUS 9 HOU 3
7 run 8th breaks open 2-1 game. Reyes 0-1 3 BB 2 R Miller W (2-4) 7-6-1-1-0-6
POTG: Nolasco 2-4 Grand Slam 6 RBI's
HR: AUS-Nolasco (18) HOU-A White (13)


NEXT WEEK: OFF DAY 3 @ NY Empire 3 @ Mexico

ABL HAPPENINGS:
7/23:
Jamie Wren (SJ) blanked Chicago 6-0 and fanned 9
Mike Crawford (HOU) allowed a 3rd inning 1B to Mike Gasque and nothing else in a 1-hit 11 strikeout 2-0 win over Phoenix.
7/25:
Cameron Mears (CHA) won his 10th (10-7 3.01) on a 7-hit CG shutout of Mexico.
Dalton Cordova (NYP) went 4-4 homering 3 times in a 13-4 win over Detroit
Bill Shano (LA) allowed just 3 hits and fanned 9 in a 1-0 win over Ohio.
7/26:
Tim Collins (CHI) fanned 7 and walked 1 while scattering 5 hits in a 9-0 win over Ohio.
NY Punishers Jake Byers struck out a season-high 16 in a 6-3 win over Baltimore to move to 13-5 3.17. In that game 35 yr old Karl O'Connor became just the 2nd pitcher ever to record 500 career saves.
Jeff Alexander (PHX) scattered 10 hits in a CG 6-0 win over Montreal.
7/27:
Allen Gies (DEN) went the distance in beating Ft Worth 1-0 to win his 12th (12-7 2.65)
7/28:
Joe Farmer (BUF) blanked San Jose on 4 hits, punching out 7 in a 9-0 win.
Mark Stinson (PHI) went 5-5 2 2B HR and drove in 4 in the Patriots 16-3 win over Detroit.
Jason Michaud (SD) allowed just 4 hits in a 6-0 win over LA



RUSTLER NEWS:
7/27: AUSTIN, PHILADELPHIA SWAP PROSPECTS
The Austin Rustlers have acquired one of the ABL's top offensive prospects in 19-year-old OF Tommy Dziedzic. The 9th rated prospect in the game was sent packing as the Rustlers gave up top RP prospect Jeff Baker (18 SV 75 K 47 IP AAA), hitting prospects Travis Lawrence (.270-15-32 AAA) and Dave Bates (.251-21-56 AAA) and 24-year-old minor league pitcher Matthew McCaffrey. Dziedzic was the Patriots 6th round pick in 2012 out of Grayson College. He was a 2013 Futures game participant and hitting .268/.383/.465 with 7 HR and 27 RBI in 34 games at rookie league Atlantic City.

BACKROOM CHATTER
This was a legitimate exchange of talent. Lawrence will be a top-of-the-order bat, Bates will hit cleanup for someone and Baker will be a top shelf late-inning arm or closer. The issue was Lawrence is a CF only, Bates can only play 1B. Short of SP, those are the deepest positions of talent in the organization and it was a classic sell-high move. Dziedzic plays the corners (not well enough yet) and our scouts project him as a potential HOF-type bat hitting for Avg and Power. At the deadline, even with the offense in need of a jump start, I feel like the roster is solid, and also we needed more complete hitters as prospects. Tons of power in the minors but much of it has a big swing and miss potential.



PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Dave Skelly (BUF) 12-25 3 HR 11 RBI
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: [/B]Adam Hopper (LEX) 14-31 2 HR 4 RBI

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 2-4
• STANDINGS: 61-51 1st
• RUNS SCORED: 512
• RUNS AGAINST: 403
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .712 (1st)
• ZONE RATING: +41.7 (1st)
• ERRORS: 64 (6th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 80

THIS WEEK: (2-4) 3 @ New York 3 @ Mexico

7/29: OFF DAY

7/30: AUS 1 NYE 0
Lach (W) 7 IP 2 H 4 K (13-2 2.67) Tighe PH 2B in the 8th breaks 0-0 tie.
HR: None
POTG: Dennis Russell (NYE) CG 4 H 11 K 1 ER (L 8-5 3.70)

7/31: NYE 2 AUS 1
Martinez (L) 7 IP 7 H 2 K 2 ER (0-2 3.35)
HR: Adrian (16)
POTG: Matt Reichlin (NYE) (W) 6 IP 6 H 1 ER (12-8 3.91)

8/1: NYE 3 AUS 0
6 Singles Brooks (L) 7 IP 7 H 3 ER 0 BB 4 K (8-9 3.38)
HR: Mercer (NYE) (16)
POTG: Tommy Breger (NYE) (W) 9-6-0-0-1-8 (10-8 4.45)

8/2: MEX 1 AUS 0
9 singles last 2 games Behrens CG (L) 8 IP 6 H 8 K 1 BB 1 ER (13-5 2.61) Joshua 2-4
HR: NONE
POTG: Matt Morris CG SHO 3 H 9 K 0 BB faced 28 hitters (2-2 1.21)

8/3: MEX 6 AUS 3
Whittaker (L) 5 ER 4.1 IP 4 K (5-6 4.35)
HR: MEX-Yoshida (20) Wilson (10) Scott (6) LO
POTG: Mike Scott 3-4 2B (20) HR (6) Leadoff HR 2 R 2 RBI (34) 2 SB (17)

8/4: AUS 6 MEX 4
Anderson tie-breaking 2R HR in the 9th. Miller ND 7-9-2-2-1-5
HR: Chisholm (22) Anderson (24) MEX-Yoshida (21)
POTG: Chisholm 3-4 HR (22) 2 R RBI (68)

NEXT WEEK: 3 @ Montreal 4 vs Denver

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 6-0
• STANDINGS: 70-55
• RUNS SCORED: 599
• RUNS AGAINST: 457
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .712
• ZONE RATING: +41.7
• ERRORS: 64
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 80

THIS WEEK: (6-0) OFF DAY 3 vs San Antonio 3 @ Ft Worth

8/12: OFF DAY

8/13:AUS 7 SAN 4
Behrens (W) 6-3-2-2-2-10 (14-6 2.69) Haske 1.1 IP 5 K!!! SV (7) Green (DEN) 2-4 2 HR (21) 4 RBI (68)
HR: Reyes (14) Anderson (29)
POTG: Jeff Anderson 3-4 HR (29) 2 R 2 RBI (86)

8/14: AUS 10 SAN 3
Whittaker (W) 6-3-2-2-3-6 (6-7 4.62) Tighe 2-4 3B (6) SB (20) 3 R 2 RBI (25) Joshua 3-5 R RBI (38) SB (19)
HR:Anderson (30) Chisholm GS (26) SAN-Pink (1)
POTG: Chisholm 1-3 Grand Slam (26) 5 RBI (84)

8/15: AUS 7 SAN 4
Kucher 3-5 RBI (10) Orozco 3-4 HR (8) R 3 RBI (24) Miller (W) 7-7-4-4-0-7 (3-4 4.39) Haske SV (8) Beat former Rustler Trevor Pope 5.2 IP 10 H 4 ER (10-9 4.49)
HR: Orozco (8) SAN-Griffin (14)
POTG: Dave Nolasco 4-4 R 2 RBI (70) OF Assist

8/16: AUS 8 FW 7
Lach (W) 7 IP 3 H 4 ER 4 BB 9 K (16-2 2.83) Haske SV (9) Martinez 1.1 IP 2 HR 3 ER Chisholm 3 RBI (87) Adrian/Cowan both 2-4 R 2 RBI
HR: Cowan (11) FW-Rucinski (13) Denny (8)
POTG: Nick Denny (FW) 1-2 HR (8) 3 R 2 RBI 2 BB

8/17: AUS 3 FW 2
Haske SV (10) Nolasco 3-5 2B (25) R RBI (71) Kuchar 2-4 3B (1) R RBI (11)
HR: FW-Fahey (20)
POTG: Travis Brooks (W) 6.2 IP 4 H 7 K 2 ER (10-9 3.29)

8/18: AUS 9 FW 3
Behrens CG 9 H 3 ER 10 K (15-6 2.71) Tighe SB (22) 3 R
HR: Chisholm 2 (28) FW-Cox (27)
POTG: Chisholm 2-3 2 BB 2 HR (28) 3 RBI (91)

NEXT WEEK: 4 @ Lexington 3 vs Phoenix

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 4-3
• STANDINGS: 74-58 1st
• RUNS SCORED: 629 (3rd)
• RUNS AGAINST: 477 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .712 (1st)
• ZONE RATING: +41.7 (1st)
• ERRORS: 64 (6th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 80

THIS WEEK: 4 @ Lexington 3 vs Phoenix (4-3)

8/19: LEX 6 AUS 2
Whittaker (L) 6.2-9-4-4-2-1 (6-8 4.65)
HR: LEX-Ruddell (7)
POTG: Steve Griggs (W) 8.2 IP 4 H 4 K 2 ER (12-7 3.41) 3-4 2B (18) R RBI (34)

8/20: LEX 5 AUS 3 (14)
Miller ND 9 IP 9 H 10 K 2 ER Orozco 2-4 2B (12) HR (9) R 2 RBI (28) BB
HR: Orozco (9) Anderson (31) LEX-Hopper (16) Rucker (11) Comerford (15) walk off
POTG: Scott Comerford 4-7 2B (23) walk off HR (15) R 3 RBI (61)

8/21: AUS 5 LEX 0
Anderson 3-4 Au-Yong (L) 5.1-10-5-5-1-4 (13-9 3.47)
HR: Chisholm (29)
POTG: Lach CG SHO 7 H 12 K 0 BB (17-2 2.69)

8/22: LEX 3 AUS 0
3 hits, all singles Hopper 4-4 2B (33)
HR: NONE
POTG: Walt Davis (W) 5-2-0-0-1-3 (11-8 3.14)

8/23: AUS 6 PHX 1
Nolasco 3-4 2 2B (27) 2 R
HR: Chisholm (30)
POTG: Behrens CG 4 H 1 ER 6 K (16-6 2.63)

8/24: AUS 9 PHX 1
Nolasco 3-4 HR (19) 2 R RBI (74)
HR: Nolasco (19) PHX-H Perez (24)
POTG: Whittaker (W) 7 IP 11 K 1 ER (7-8 4.51)

8/25: AUS 5 PHX 4 (12)
Haske (W) 2 IP 0 H 3 K 1-1 walk-off 1B in the 12th! Miller ND 8 IP 7 H 4 ER 4 solo HRs.
HR: Larkin (2) PHX-Ramsey (22) Harris 2 (32) H Perez (25)
POTG: Brett Larkin 2-3 2B (8) HR (2) 2 R RBI (11)

NEXT WEEK: OFF DAY 3 vs Mexico 3 vs Pittsburgh

PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Nelson Carrillo 1B (DET) 10-24 2 HR 7 RBI
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Alex Simon RF (FW) 15-24 4 HR 4 RBI

[gehrig38]

AUSTIN, NEW ENGLAND DEAL
In what most believe to be a salary dump, but most also think it was a very risky salary dump, the Austin Rustlers have sent 29-year-old Travis Brooks (10-10 3.32) to the New England Minutemen for 35-year-old RP Matt Hopkins. Fans were not at all pleased at the news as the veteran Brooks was acquired from Denver in 2007 for P's Bobby Thompson and Chris Wegener. This trade sees Brooks heading back to the team that originally drafted him 37th overall out of Arcadia HS in Arizona. In one of the league, worst draft blunders the Minutemen failed to abide by draft rules and lost him just 4 days later when he became an unrestricted Free Agent. Phoenix then signed the pitcher. He was claimed off waivers 2 seasons later by San Antonio, where he won the short season Pitcher of the year award before again being a waiver claim by Denver. The righty leaves Austin a career 49-54 2 SV 4.23 ERA over 163 games (145 GS). With 947 IP, 964 H, and 893 K's to 222 BB.
We will retain just 10% of Brooks remaining monies. He's due to make 7.8 million in 2014 and has an 8 million dollar player option for 2015. It was a deal I think I overpaid and felt so from almost the day I did it.

BACKROOM CHATTER
Our payroll drops to 56.49 million, 20th overall in the game. With the sheer volume of star talent, I don't expect us to sit anywhere near the bottom half of payroll in the game for long. There are a ton of players to be locked up for longer terms and the potential FA talent pool is huge as well. This move coincides with Sam Rhoads coming off the DL and starting.

[gehrig38]

ABL HAPPENINGS:
8/26:
Memphis RHP Mike Hunter struck out 8 en route to a 5-hit 4-0 win over Lexington. The win moves him over .500 for the 1st time this season. The 2006 1st rounder (12th overall) is 10-9 3.75. He was 11-13 4.41 last year.
6-time all-star Jason Keeton (DET) moved to 12-8 2.94 with a 12 K 6-0 win over Ohio. The 34-year-old lefty is after his 5th straight season of 13+ wins. Since 2009 he's 74-46 3.44 for the Chargers have won 13, 15, 20, 14 and 12 games.
New York Empire P Dennis Russell is proving his 17-9 2.20 2012 campaign was no fluke as he tossed a 3-hitter to shut down Ft Worth 4-0 and win his 10th. He's 10-8 3.56.
8/27:
Lexington's Walt Davis tossed his 1st career 1-hitter after a 3rd inning 1B by Memphis OF Dylan Rucker was the game's only blemish. The 32-year-old does have a no-no already. Beating Charlotte 6-0 on a 10 K no-hitter in 2009. He's 12-8 2.97.
8/30:
The San Diego Missions re-signed 6x gold glove SS JJ Digiacomo to a 2 year 4.4m dollar contract. The 34-year-old is a career .211/.273/.371 hitter with 341 2B 187 HR and 595 RBI's in 1726 ABL games (he also has 8 career grand slams). He has started less than 141 games just 1 time since 2004. He was the Chicago Hitmen's 2nd pick (30th overall) in the 1997 June Draft out of Calhoun HS.
Dave Steele (NYP) fanned 7 and allowed just 2 hits in a 1-0 win over the LA Storm.
34-year-old fanned 15 Ohio Generals in a 13-3 win over Dallas. Peric, the 2006 Koufax award winner, and 5-time all-star, is 11-7 3.95. He hasn't won fewer than 14 games since 2008. A 3-time K champion, Peric is one of 16 members of the games 3000K club. His 3290 rank 9th all-time, tied with Buffalo's Dave Faulkner and 56 behind Buffalo's Ryan Logan. The 2-time 20 game-winner is 172-85 2.93 and won his lone world series with Providence in 2003.


RUSTLER NEWS:
8/30:
Class A Salt Lake was swept in the World Series by the Savannah Saber-Tooths (DET) 3-0.
8/31:
AAA Warren swept the Athens Vandals (PIT) to advance to the Division series

9/1:
Salt Lake LF Kevin Clevenger (A) took home Mid-West League POTM after hitting .379-11-22 and scoring 17 Runs. The 2012 2nd rounder (44th overall out of the College of Southern Idaho JuCo) had a great season. He hit .319-20-52 in 53 games after being called up from Hartford.
2012 14th rounder Joe Longley was the Pacific Leagues pitcher of the Month. The 18-year-old went 5-0 8-8 in Saves with a 1.76 ERA. He finishes 2013 5-1 15 Saves with a 1.52 ERA.
Recently acquired slugger Tommy Dziedzic was the Short Season offensive POTM after hitting .346-7-23 with 26 runs. The games #9 prospect hit .324/.405/.608 in 29 games at Hartford with 8 2B 7 HR 26 RBI. The 19-year-old lefty will head to instructional league and continue his (hopefully rapid) ascent.

SEPTEMBER CALL-UPS
With Warren in the post-season, we won't raid the roster for more than a few players until they're done.
RP Nick Hawker, top P prospects Sung-Hyun Lee, and Vinny Martinez will all come up and go to the bullpen for now. Once their season ends I'll recall a 3rd catcher and possibly another arm or two as well as 2-3 IF/OF prospects who have earned a September recall.


PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Nelson Carrillo 1B (DET) 13-23 3 HR 9 RBI
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Chris Vetter LF (MEM) 8-21 5 HR 8 RBI


RUSTLER PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Aaron Chisholm 1B (AUS) .308/.423/.644 10 HR 31 RBI 25 R 1.067 OPS
RUSTLER PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Chris Lach 5-0 2.43 37 IP 42 K 10 BB 0.92 WHIP
RUSTLER MiL PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Kevin Clevenger (A) .379/.474/.939 11 HR 22 RBI 10 K 11 BB
RUSTLER MiL PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Garrett Barlow (R ) 5-0 1.85 34 IP 21 H 31 K 12 BB 0.97 WHIP

PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Nelson Carrillo 1B (DET) .381-6-23 19 R .421 OBP
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Aaron Chisholm 1B (AUS) .308-10-31 25 R
PATRIOT LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Rico Castro (PHI) 4-0 2.09 43 IP 47 K .208 OBA
COLONIAL LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Chris Lach (AUS) 5-0 2.43 37 IP 42 K 10 BB
PATRIOT LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Ben Davis RF (BRO) .340-5-13
COLONIAL LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Johnny Boynton SP (DEN) 4-1 3.79 38 IP 16 K

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 3-3
• STANDINGS: 80-64 +9 ½
• RUNS SCORED: 692 (3rd)
• RUNS AGAINST: 530 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .710 (1st)
• ZONE RATING: +41.4 (1st)
• ERRORS: 74 (6th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 79
• POWER RANKINGS: 9th

THIS WEEK: 3 @ San Antonio (55-83) OFF DAY 3 @ Memphis (66-70)

9/2: AUS 8 SAN 7
Rhoads (W) 5 IP 10 H 5 ER 3 BB 5 K (5-0 3.13) Lytle SV (4) 1.1 IP HR 3 K 3 H 2 ER Former Rustler Trevor Pope (L) 5.1 IP 7 H 6 ER 2 HR (11-10 4.63) Orozco HR (13) 3 RBI (41)
HR: Joshua (5) Orozco (13) Adrian (19) SAN-S Jones (4) Furr 2 (26)
POTG: Corey Furr (SAN) 2-4 2 HR (26) 4 RBI (101)

9/3: AUS 5 SAN 4
Haske SV (11) Tighe 2-4 2B (13) R RBI (30)
HR: SAN-Griffin leadoff (19) Furr (27)
POTG: Matt Behrens (W) 8-8-4-4-2-5 (17-6 2.72)

9/4: SAN 6 AUS 1
Matt Hughes CG 6 H 5 K 1 ER (2-1 3.07) Whittaker (L) 5 ER 4 IP 2 HR (7-9 4.66)
HR: SAN-Furr 1 (29) Schultz (1)
POTG: Corey Furr 3-4 2B (31) 2 HR (29) 2 R 5 RBI (108) (7-12 5 R 2B 5 HR 11 RBI in the series)

9/5: OFF DAY

9/6: MEM 8 AUS 2
Kucher 3-4 Larkin 2-4 2B (10) HR (5) 2 R RBI (16) 2 E (7) Miller 2.2 IP 6 H 2 BB 4 ER (L 4-5 4.05)
HR: Larkin (5) MEM-Soria (1) Grant (7)
POTG: Jeremy Buttitta (W) 8.1 IP 10 H 2 ER 7 K (9-5 3.87)

9/7: AUS 6 MEM 1
Lach (W) 7-6-1-1-3-10 (19-2 2.62)
HR: Orozco 2 (15) Adrian (20)
POTG: Luis Orozco 3-4 2 HR (15) 3 RBI (44)

9/8: MEM 8 AUS 1
Rhoads (L) 5.1 IP 9 H 3 BB 6 ER 7 K (5-1 3.67) Nolasco injured on the bases (see News)
HR: MEM-Vetter (35)
POTG: Dave Anderson (W) CG 6 H 11 K 1 ER (6-11 4.99)

NEXT WEEK: 3 vs Charlotte OFF DAY 3 vs Houston

ABL HAPPENINGS:
9/3:
Jake Byers (NYP) threw a 1-hitter, fanning 14 in a 10-0 win over Philadelphia. He is 17-8 3.44 on the year.
Aaron Wisniewski (MON) allowed just 3 hits in another 10-0 win as Montreal clubbed Memphis. It was his 13th win of the season (13-6 3.18)
9/5:
Lexington clinched the Misfit Division as they aim for their 4th consecutive World Series Title. Montreal learned 26-year-old prized FA signing Jorge Negrete would miss the remainder of the year with shoulder issues. The righty was 9-11 4.33 in the 1st year of a 4 year 14.08 million dollar deal
LA's Tim Keen threw a 3-hitter, fanning 12 and walking no one in a 1-0 win over Buffalo.
9/7:
Cameron Mears (CHA) made it 3 straight years of 15+ wins after he shutout Mexico 4-0 on a 2-hitter, fanning 6. He's 15-10 3.26.
Bill Shanino (LA) scattered 10 hits en route to a 1-0 CG SHO in beating Ohio.
Lexington's Xie-Li Au-Yong fanned 13 in shutting down Pittsburgh in a 7-0 3-hitter. Au-Yong is 14-11 3.44 and has now won 10 or more games 7 straight years and 14 or more the past 6.
Allen Gies (DEN) allowed just 5 hits, striking out 9 in a 4-0 win over Ft Worth. Gies is 14-12 3.30 for the Saints.
Patriot lefty Brad Ullrich extended his career-high in wins today in a 4-hit 4-0 win over San Jose. He's now 16-7 3.18.
9/8:
Bobby Dare (BRK) shut out Buffalo 5-0 on a 7 hitter.
Datu Zape (OH) won his 14th in a 5-3 win over LA. He fanned 15, walked none, and allowed just 5 hits. The Philippines native (the only one in the ABL) was signed as an international free agent in 2003.
Matt Reichlin (NYE) tied his career-high with his 16th win in an 11 K 3-hit shutout of the Phoenix Roadrunners.
Former Rustler (albeit just briefly) and former ABL RotY Andrew McGlasson hit in his 20th straight game for San Diego.



RUSTLER NEWS:
9/5:
AAA Warren won their division series 2-1 over McAllen (CHA).
9/8:
Dave Nolasco had to come out after he appeared to injure his left leg on the bases. No word yet but we will hold our breath. He's having a great season (.301-21-80).

PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Casey Murphy RF (OH) 12-25 3 HR 7 RBI
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Corey Furr RF (SAN) .467 6 HR 13 RBI

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 4-2
• STANDINGS: 84-66 Clinched
• RUNS SCORED: 720 (4th)
• RUNS AGAINST: 550 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .711 (1st)
• ZONE RATING: +41.7 (1st)
• ERRORS: 77 (6th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 80
• POWER RANKINGS: 7th

THIS WEEK: 3 vs Charlotte (76-67) OFF DAY 3 vs Houston (66-78)

9/9: AUS 6 CHA 3
Behrens (W) 7-6-3-3-2-7 (18-6 2.76) Haske SV (12) Cowan 2 2B (30)
HR: Anderson (33) CHA-Peoples (40)
POTG: Skyler Joshua 5-5 2 2B (24) 2 R RBI (49) SB (24)

9/10: CHA 7 AUS 6
Whittaker (L) 5.1 IP 12 K 8 H 4 BB 6 ER (7-10 4.82) 6 runs on 16 hits Orozco, Chisholm, Reardon all 3-5 scored 4 drove in 4. Aspinwall hurt in relief, see news.
HR: CHA-Gutierrez (45) Mori (32)
POTG: Bryan Peoples 3-4 3 R RBI (112)

9/11: CHA 4 AUS 2
Miller 7-7-4-4-3-6 (L 4-6 4.13)
HR: Cowan (12) CHA-Peoples (41) Hile (2)
POTG: Eric Hart (W) 8-8-2-2-0-1 (4-4 4.52)

9/12: OFF DAY

9/13: AUS 5 HOU 3
Haske SV (13)
HR: HOU-Archer (25) Kubas (4)
POTG: Chris Lach 8 IP 5 H 7 K 0 BB 3 ER 20th win (20-2 2.65)

9/14: AUS 7 HOU 2
Chisholm 2-4 2B (31) 2 R 3 RBI (105)
HR: Orozco (16) Harrison (1) HOU-DeSantis (2)
POTG: Sam Rhoads CG 7 H 7 K 3 BB 2 ER (6-1 3.48)

9/15: AUS 2 HOU 1
Houston SP Robby Bouchard takes 1-1 3-hitter into the 9th, 1B, 1B, 1B, walks in the winning run.
HR: HOU-DeGroff (21)
POTG: Matt Behrens CG 5 H 10 K 0 BB 1 ER (19-6 2.68)


NEXT WEEK: 3 @ Providence OFF DAY 3 @ Ft Worth

ABL HAPPENINGS:
9/9:
Former Rustler Brad Cass (SJ) scattered 5 hits and fanned 9 in a 12-0 drubbing of San Francisco to win his 14th of the year (14-11 3.56)
Tony Delgado (LA) struck out 9 and walked none in a 1-0 win over Detroit. He's 12-11 3.88.
9/12:
New England's Jeff Hall allowed just 6 hits in a 1-0 win over Detroit to move to 13-9 2.88.
Meanwhile, the other Jeff Hall tossed a 4-hitter in a 10-0 win as Mexico drubbed Ft Worth.
9/13:
Lexington's Xie-Li Au-Yong followed up his 13 K masterpiece last week by fanning 14 in his 2nd consecutive CG SHO as he downed the New York Empire 5-0. He's 15-11 3.29 with 229 K's in 213 IP over his 30 starts this year.

RUSTLER NEWS:
9/11:
Dave Nolasco tore a thumb ligament and will miss at least the next 4 weeks. Meaning he'll likely be out the 1st round of the playoffs, if not more. Huge loss. Top OF hitting prospect Travis Harrison will be recalled from Warren and added to the 40 man roster.
9/13:
Vince Aspinwall has a torn UCL and will miss at least the next year. The 28-year-old who many projected to make a bid for a rotation spot will likely miss the entire 2014 season.
9/14:
AAA Warren took home their 3rd AAA title and 2nd in 4 years.
9/16:
The win today clinched the 5th league title in franchise history.

PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Brian Lundy RF (SJ) 18-26 3 HR 10 RBI
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Corey Furr RF (SAN) 13-27 3 HR 6 RBI

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 5-1
• STANDINGS: 89-67 Clinched
• RUNS SCORED: 744 (3rd)
• RUNS AGAINST: 563 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .711 (1st)
• ZONE RATING: +42.8 (1st)
• ERRORS: 78 (6th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 80
• POWER RANKINGS: 4th

THIS WEEK: 3 @ Providence OFF DAY 3 @ Ft Worth

9/16: AUS 5 PRO 1
Anderson 3-5 2B (37) RBI (101)
HR: Reyes (15) Adrian (21)
POTG: Rich Whittaker (W) 6 IP 2 H 8 K 1 ER (8-10 4.72) 1-3 RBI (5)

9/17: AUS 4 PRO 2
Anderson 3-4 2B (38) SB (21) Reardon 3-4 2B (10) R Haske SV (14)
HR: Reyes (16) PRO-Self (17)
POTG: Dave Miller 8 IP 8 H 6 K 2 ER (W 5-6 3.99)

9/18: PRO 3 AUS 2
Lach CG 8 IP 7 H 9 K 3 ER (L 20-3 2.68)
HR: PRO-Sikking (3)
POTG: Mark Holmes 8 IP 4 H 0 R 8 K (W 15-8 3.88)

9/19: OFF DAY

9/20: AUS 8 FW 4
Rhoads (W) 5.1 IP 7 H 4 ER 5 K (7-1 3.69) Anderson 0-2 3 BB R SB (22)
HR: Chisholm (32) FW-Fahey (24)
POTG: Joe Tighe 3-4 2 2B (18) R 3 RBI (34)

9/21: AUS 3 FW 2
Haske SV (15) Down 2-0 entering the 8th
HR: FW-Fahey (25)
POTG: Matt Behrens (W) 8 IP 4 H 2 ER 11 K (20-6 2.67)

9/22: AUS 2 FW 1
Orozco 2-3 3B (1) 2 RBI (49) Haske SV (16)
HR: NONE
POTG: Rich Whittaker (W) 8 IP 8 H 1 ER 12 K (9-10 4.57) 1-3

NEXT WEEK: 3 vs Mexico OFF DAY 3 vs San Antonio

ABL HAPPENINGS:
9/17:
Eric Cox (SF) allowed just 5 hits, fanning 5 in a 1-0 win over Buffalo to even his record at 11-11 3.40. Cox was a key member of the Austin rotation back in 2010 following a 19 loss 2009 season by going 15-13 2.70.
Eric Hart (CHA) fanned 6 in a 4-hit shutout of Lexington to win 1-0.
Todd Bean (CHI) fanned 10 in a 2-hitter as the Hitmen beat Detroit 8-0.
9/18:
Sandy Nieves (FW) struck out 7 and walked none in a 5-0 2-hitter to beat San Antonio.
Jason Keeton (DET) allowed just 3 hits in a 2-0 win over Chicago to move to 14-10 2.78. He was 14-10 2.95 last year.
In AAA news RP's Ralph Collins (23 yrs) (PHI) 33 SV 2.69 ERA and LarryHeld (23 yrs) (CHA) 33 SV 1.79 ERA, took home their respective league's Pitcher of the Year Awards.
9/21:
Lexington's Steve Griggs fanned 4 and gave up just 6 hits to move to 14-10 3.55 in a 5-0 win over Denver. The two-way star is hitting .275/.329/.403 as well.
9/22:
John Mullen (PIT) whiffed a season-high 13 in a 1-0 win over Montreal.
Phoenix's Jeff Alexander won his 13th (13-12 3.71) in a 5-hit 6-0 win over Houston. He fanned 12. The 3rd overall pick out of George Washington U. is 76-58 3.44 in 6 professional seasons, all with the Roadrunners. In 5 full seasons as an SP, he's fanned over 200 each year, and led the league in IP (251.1) in 2011, and has not missed a start.
Fort Worth 1B Rafael Martinez took home the Northern League (AA) MVP award after hitting .301 with 21 2B 42 HR and 96 RBI's with a .394 OBP. Martinez was a 5th round selection in 2008 out of Brophy Prep HS in Phoenix, Arizona.
In the Southern League (AA) Pittsburgh prospect 3B Aaron Lefkowitz took home the MVP in unanimous fashion. He hit .285 with a .365 OBP 36 HR and 98 RBI's. Aaron was the 12th overall pick in 2010 out of Kansas State.



PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Carlos Cadena 3B (LA) 11-27 2 HR 8 RBI
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Robby Mercer RF (NYE) 10-19 4 HR 10 RBI

[gehrig38]

Most of the races are decided but there are some amazing storylines.
In a scene reminiscent of the 1964 Philadelphia Phillies the Philadelphia Patriots enter the season's final week on a 1-9 run. That's coincided with the Dallas Texans 8-2 run to turn the Patriots 7 game lead into a 2-way tie entering their final 6 games.
Dallas ends the season with a 6 game road trip through New England and the Punishers in New York while Philly goes to NY for 3 with the Punishers before ending the season with 3 in Brooklyn.
The other storyline? New York is just 4 games behind and their final 6 are with the two teams in front of them.
San Jose won the California Division by 17+ games while Chicago is 3 ahead of Detroit in the Harbor Division. Dallas and Philly are currently 'tied' for the WC lead, 1 game up on Detroit.
The only race left in the Colonial is for the Skyline Division and WC. The Empire is 1 game up on Providence, with both already qualifying. Whoever loses the division will get Lexington in the WC round.
Barring an insane finish, Lexington and San Jose will enter as the #1 seeds. Lexington is 100-56 and will win the Misfit by 20+ games.


In the individual races.
The PL:

• AVG
• Jamie Trunicellito (LA) .346
• Spencer Barrow (NYP) .335
• Kevin Liebhaber (DET) .333
  
• HR
• Jessie Nesbit (CHI) 43
• Nelson Carrillo (DET) 42
• Brian Lundy (SJ) 41
  
• ERA
• Jason Keeton (DET) 2.78
• John Del Bianco (DET) 2.95
• Jeff Hall (NE) 2.96
  
• WINS
• John Del Bianco (DET) 18
• Jake Byers (NYP) 17
• Jason Jaeger (SF) 16
  
• SAVES
• Francisco Monge (CHI) 42
• Roy Fearon (SJ) 41
• Danny Mann (DET) 41
  
  
  CL.
• AVG
• Jorge Hernandez (SAN) .356
• Corey Furr (SAN) .355
  
• HR
• Ricky Gutierrez (CHA) 46
• Bryan Peoples (CHA) 44
• Khalil Harris (PHX) 41
  
• ERA
• Bob Shrader (LEX) 2.14
• Matt Behrens (AUS) 2.67
• Chris Lach (AUS) 2.68
  
• W
• Matt Behrens (AUS) 20
• Chris Lach (AUS) 20
• Andy Zerbe (CHA) 18
  
• K
• Both leaders will win their leagues but currently are tied for the overall lead
• Lazar Peric (DAL) 302
• Tsuruki Tanioka (FW) 302

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 1-5
• STANDINGS: 90-72 Clinched
• RUNS SCORED: 776 (3rd)
• RUNS AGAINST: 609 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .709 (1st)
• ZONE RATING: +42.7 (1st)
• ERRORS: 80 (6th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 81
• POWER RANKINGS: 7th

THIS WEEK: 3 vs Mexico (68-88) OFF DAY 3 vs San Antonio (64-92)
None of the starting pitchers (Lach, Rhoads, Behrens) will pitch this week to rest up for round 1. Some prospects will get a start and Whittaker will get a chance to get his record to .500. The regulars will play but most will come out early.

9/23: AUS 7 MEX 3
Anderson 3-5 2B (39) R RBI (103) Laskey SV (15)
HR: MEX-Yoshida (28) M Scott (16)
POTG: Dave Miller (W) 6 IP 1 H 1 ER 2 BB 4 K (6-6 3.87)

9/24: MEX 12 AUS 2
Matheson 4 RBI (88)
HR: Chisholm (33) Larkin PH (4) MEX-Matheson (36) Ray (1)
POTG: Jonathan Ray CG 7 H 10 K 2 ER (9-13 3.96) 3-5 HR (1) 2 R 2 RBI

9/25: MEX 3 AUS 2
Ford (L) 7.2 IP 8 H 6 K 2 ER (ABL Debut)
HR: NONE
POTG: Brett Gerber (W) 7 IP 2 ER 6 K (6-16 6.18)

9/26: OFF DAY

9/27: SAN 8 AUS 4
Reyes 3-4 HR (17) SB (18) 2 R RBI (46) Sassi (L) 6 IP 6 H 3 HR 5 ER (ABL debut)
HR: Adrian (22) Reyes (17) SAN-Hernandez 2 (18) Schultz (2) Gibbs (7)
POTG: J Hernandez 3-3 2 HR (18) 2 R 2 BB 3 RBI (69) now hitting .359

9/28: SAN 7 AUS 5
Whittaker (L) 6 IP 6 H 6 ER 8 K 4 BB (9-11 4.70)
HR: Bermudez (6) SAN-Green (28)
POTG: Green 3-5 2 2B (28) HR (28) 2 R 3 RBI (84)

9/29: SAN 13 AUS 12 (10)
Joshua 3-6 2B (26) SB (26) 2 R RBI (52) Chisholm 3-4 2 BB HR (34) 3 R 2 RBI (113) Harrison 3 R Cowan 3-6 2B (33) R RBI (60) Orozco 2B (16) 3 RBI (53) Ferguson 2 IP 7 ER Larkin PH 3B to tie it in the 9th
HR: Chisholm (34) SAN-Griffin leadoff (21) Beaudry (12) Ward (12) Jones (9) Delgado (26) Furr (36)
POTG: Corey Furr 5-6 HR (36) 3 R RBI (121)

NEXT WEEK: POST-SEASON

2013 FINAL WEEK

• What an amazing final week. The collapse in Philadelphia goes to game 163 as Dallas defeats the Patriots 5-3 to win the Division and force Philadelphia to the Wild Card.
• In the Skyline the Empire win a league record 14 straight games to not only overtake Providence but they come within a game of taking the top seed from Lexington.
• Some great statistical races go to the wire with Jorge Hernandez going 4-4 on the season's final day to overtake teammate Corey Furr as they entered the day tied for the title. It was his 4th batting title in his 5-year ABL career.
• Josh Veins (NYP) gets two starts in the final week to overcome Lazar Peric (DAL) for the PL strikeout title.

ABL HAPPENINGS:
9/24:
Bobby Marino (OH) fanned 4 in a 5-hitter to beat Detroit 4-0.
Yermolay Zhulyabin (CHI) threw a 2-hitter and struck out 6 in a 7-0 win over Baltimore.
9/27:
Dave Steele (NYP) K'd 6, walked none, and allowed just 4 hits in a 7-0 win at Dallas.
San Francisco's Dave Miranda beat LA 3-0 and punched out 12 in a 4-hitter.
9/28:
Memphis P prospect Cai-Fei Chin took home, AAA Pitcher of the Year honors, after his 9-6 3.26 season for Springdale.
Pittsburgh Miners Zach Jaime took home the WL Pitcher of the year for his 16-10 2.82 season. The 27-year old threw 204 innings and allowed a paltry .212 OBA.
9/29:
Charlotte Cyclone 1B prospect Randy Lane won the Eastern Leagues MVP (AAA) after hitting .317 with 44 2B 32 HR and driving in 109.



RUSTLER NEWS:
9/27:
AAA Manager Trevor Martin took home his 2nd consecutive Manager of the Year award after leading the Roar to a 73-57 regular season capped off by winning the AAA World Series.


PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Brian Lundy RF (SJ) .402-7-24 23 R
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Corey Furr RF (SAN) .376-12-24 25 R
PATRIOT LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Rod Maley (OH) 3-0 12 SV 1.15 ERA 26 K 15.2 IP
COLONIAL LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: David Gullion (PHX) 4-1 2.51 46.2 IP 52 K 28 H
PATRIOT LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Kevin Liebhaber RF (DET) .290-7-17
COLONIAL LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Adam Hopper 3B (LEX) .390-4-16

[gehrig38]

The 1st round matchups:
Philadelphia 85-78 (WC) vs San Jose 95-67 (1)
San Jose held a 5-4 advantage heads up and brings the leagues best offense and the 7th ranked staff up against the leagues best pitching staff and their 13th ranked offense. IF run differential matters the Hawks were +151 and the Patriots were +1.

Dallas 86-67 (3) vs Chicago 88-74 (2)
Chicago dominated Dallas (7-2) during the regular season. The Hitmen were ranked 4th in runs and 5th in runs against and ended +29. The Texans were the 2nd ranked offense and 7th ranked staff ending the year +84.

Providence 97-65 (WC) vs Lexington 103-59 (1)
Lexington is a huge favorite, however, Providence was the ONLY team in the league to have a winning record vs the Rebels this season (7-3) Providence brings the league's 4th ranked offense and pitching staff up against the games best pitching staff and the leagues 5th ranked offense.
Providence was 34-25 vs LHP and the Rebels are starting Masuda GM 1, Au-Yong GM3, and Griggs GM 4, all lefties with the lone righty being Walt Davis (15-8 2.99). ERA champion Bob Shrader will NOT start in the series.

Austin 90-72 (3) vs New York Empire 102-60 (2)

• The Empire comes into the series riding a league record 14 game winning streak. They dominated us 7-2 in the 9 game series. Their pitching held Aaron Chisholm to a .206/.289/.324 season over 34 AB's. Andy Adrian hit. 300/.364/.750 with 3 HR in just 20 AB's.
• Matt Behrens was 1-0 0.00 in 2 games with just 5 K's in 16.2 IP while Chris Lach was 1-1 3.14 with 19 K in 14.1 IP.
• Tommy Breger and Matt Reichlin were both 2-0. Breger sported a 0.37 in 24.1 IP while Reichlin was 1.29 over 14 IP. Russell was 0-1 2.57 in 2 starts.
• Dave Nolasco is due off the DL but won't be ready for at least 4-5 days. Rookie Travis Harrison is put onto the roster and Nolasco will be activated between rounds if we get past the first series. It's a risk but with the need for depth on the bench it's something that has to happen.
• Behrens, Lach, Whittaker and Rhoads will be the starters.

ROUND 1 DAY 1
Tomohiro Masuda gets Lexington off on the right foot with an ABL record 16 strikeouts as the Rebels downed Providence 4-0 for a 1-0 series lead.

The game entered the 5th scoreless, both starters were on and both had worked out of jams. But both teams struck for a run in the 5th with surprise starter Brett Larkin hitting a 2 out 2B to plate Joe Tighe.
Both starters would get through 7 with Russell (7-7-1-1-2-4) coming out after 114 pitches.
Matt Behrens got into the 8th (7.2-8-1-1-1-4) and was bailed out by Jason Lipsky with 2 outs and runners at 2nd and 3rd.
That would be it for the next 7 innings. The bullpens went to work and put up zeroes until the 13th. Jason Kucher's 1 out 2B plated a run and gave us the lead.
Chris Haske would follow Lipksy, Lytle, and Hobart who combined for 4.1-1-0-0-1-3 innings of relief. 1 pitch in it was tied as Joe Miner drilled Haske's 1st offering for a game-tying solo HR.
Andy Adrian, who entered on a double switch in the 13th, singled to lead it off. After a Joe Tighe sacrifice bunt and Reyes single-put runners at the corners, Ian Galbraith uncorked a wild pitch and Aaron Chisholm drilled the next pitch into the gap for an RBI 2B.
Robby Mercer led off the bottom of the inning with a 1B, advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch, and with 2 outs Thomaz Coqueiro drilled a 3-0 pitch into the gap for an RBI 2B and a 1 run game.
Mark Eaker worked a full count before chasing a 3-2 slider to end the game.
AUS 4 NYE 3 (16)
Larkin 3-5 2B (1) RBI (1) Orozco 3-8
HR: NYE-Minor (1)
POTG-Matt Behrens 7.2-8-1-1-14
W-Laskey (1-0) L-Galbraith (0-1)

ROUND 1 DAY 2
A 2 run first had everyone looking at a 2 game sweep before NY had an at-bat. 3 outs and 6 runs later not so much.
The Empire hammered 20 game-winner Chris Lach for 6 runs in the 1st inning and never looked back in a 7-2 win.
NYE 7 AUS 3
Adrian 2 RBI (2) Tighe 1-2 2 BB R 3 SB (5) Lach 6 ER 2 IP 6 H 4 BB (L) Reichlin (W) 6.2 IP 3 H 6 K 5 BB 2 ER
HR-NONE
POTG: Orlando Flores 3-3 3 RBI (3)

A day after our record game the Texans and Hitmen followed suit. Chicago tied the game in the bottom of the 9th before Jason Nesbit, in the bottom of the 16th, hit a walk-off HR off RP Casey Daigle. Reliever Daniel Clermont took home POTG honors going 5-2-0-0-1-4 in relief to pick up the win.
Chicago up 1-0

Walt Davis took home POTG honors going 7-3-1-1-2-8 as RJ Beckworth's 2nd inning HR was all the Rebels needed in a 2-1 win.
Providence SP Kyle Jill took the loss in a CG 2 ER effort.
Lexington up 2-0

A sloppy game in every way opened the Philadelphia, San Jose series. Philly jumped out to a 5-0 lead before the Hawks could hit, but it was 5-2 after 1. A 67-minute rain delay didn't help things in the 4th as the teams combined for 4 errors and 5 unearned runs in an 8-6 Patriot win.
Philadelphia up 1-0

ROUND 1 DAY 3
Dallas evened the series 1-1 with a 5 run 7th in a 6-2 win and San Jose won one of the craziest post-season games in history.

0-0 after 5, 2-0 Philadelphia after 6, 4-2 Philadelphia after 7, 6-5 Philadelphia after 8 before Philadelphia gets 2 in the 9th and San Jose scores 4 times in the bottom half to win 9-8.
The last half of the 9th:

• Chris Johnston 1B
• Matthew Welch 1B (1st and 2nd)
• PH Matt Burroughs F9
• Sandy Gutierrez BB (bases loaded)
• Brian Lundy 1B RBI (bases loaded) 8-6
• Randy Hodgson in relief
• Jamie Hensley F9 (2 outs bases loaded)
• Chris Hott BB (2 outs bases loaded) 8-7 (Hott was POTD going 3-3 HR 2 RBI 2 BB)
• Cliff McWhorter 1B 2 RBI's 9-8 walk off.

Series tied 1-1

ROUND 1 DAY 4
Rich Whittaker came up huge handing the pen a 3-1 lead after 7. Pat Hobart and Cody Lytle blew that in the span of 4 hitters. A 3-3 game into the bottom of the 8th Austin fans got loud and the offense responded.
After a Cowan strikeout, reliever Jalen Jones left a change-up in the middle of the zone and Luis Orozco drilled a tie-breaking solo HR to deep left. An error, Harrison 1B set up a 2 out situation with runners on 1st and 3rd for Joe Tighe to drill an RBI single. A miscommunication found reliever Cody Lytle now at the plate and fans irate. 2 pitches later Lytle would 1B in Harrison!
Chris Haske finished with a 1-2-3 ninth for a 2-1 series lead.
AUS 6 NYE 3
Tighe 2-3 BB 3B (1) R BB 2 RBI (2) Cory Davis 3-4 R 8th inning error
HR-Orozco (1)
POTG: Rich Whittaker ND 7-5-1-1-1-4 1-1 2B

Lexington Pinch Hitter Jason Manning drilled a tie-breaking solo HR in the top of the 8th before Pinch hitter Morgan Schneider drilled a tie-breaking 3 R HR in the bottom of the 8th to break a 2-2 tie and give the Sox their 1st win of the series. Xie-li Au-Yong went 7 IP 7 H 2 ER 8 K 0 BB for the ND and Juan Esquerra outdueled him to take home POTG honors going 7-5-1-1-3-5 also getting the ND.
Lexington leads 2-1

ROUND 1 DAY 5
Sam Rhoads clutched up going 7-7-3-3-1-3 after being staked to a 5-0 lead after 3. He also went 2-3 R RBI at the plate. Chris Haske loaded the bases on a walk and 2 singles to start the 9th before wiggling out of the jam allowing no runs on 2 K's and a ground out.
Empire starter Mike Spitler (14-5 3.85 during the regular season) allowed 5 runs on 9 hits before coming out in the third with a sore arm (forearm issue that will force him to miss the rest of the post-season.)
Larkin, Orozco, and Cowan all went 2-4. Larkin 2B (3) and drove in 2 (3) while Cowan scored 1 and drove in 1.
AUS 5 NYE 3
HR: NYE-Phillips (1)
POTG Sam Rhoads 7 IP 3 ER 3 K 2-3 R RBI
Austin leads series 3-1

Chicago beat Dallas 4-2 and leads the series 2-1
Philadelphia beat San Jose 6-1 to take a 2-1 lead
Providence got a huge effort from Alex Serrano who went 8.1-7-1-2-7 for the W to beat Steve Griggs and Lexington and tie that series 2-2.

ROUND 1 DAY 6
A supposed pitching duel that wasn't. Down 3-2 entering the 6th the offense busted out for 6 runs to take the game and series in an 8-4 win. Matt Behrens won despite a struggle going 6 IP 4 ER 7 H 7 K. Cody Lytle came in to relieve Pat Hobart who was phenomenal after going 2.2 IP and fanning 6, Lytle came in to a bases loaded 2 out 9th inning jam to strike out Ron Mercer.
AUS 8 NYE 4
HR: NYE-Headen (1)
POTG: Jeff Anderson 3-4 2 2B 2 R 2 RBI (3)
SERIES MVP-Joe Tighe .421/.542/.526 3B 6 R 5 RBI 5 BB 6 SB

Dallas's Mike Wagoner tossed a gem (8-4-1-1-1-8) as the Texans evened their series at 2 apiece.

Both 1 seeds are on the cusp of huge upsets.

Providence got a huge start from Mark Holmes (7-4-2-2-0-7) to down Lexington's Tomohiro Masuda (7-5-4-4-2-12) and give Providence a 3-2 series lead and put them a game away from eliminating the heavily favored Rebels who are seeking a 4th straight Title.

In Philadelphia, a team that had to play 163 games and almost suffered the worst collapse in ABL history got a monster game from SS Melvin Alvarez who went 3-4 homering twice and driving in 4 in an 8-5 win over San Jose to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.

ROUND 1 DAY 7
Hartford SP Brad Scout took home Short-Season Pitcher of the Year honors by a single vote. The 2011 12th rounder was 7-2 3.67 over 90.2 IP giving up 73 H with 60 K.

The Texans, down 5-4 entering the bottom of the 8th exploded for 5 runs to beat Chicago 9-7 and take a 3-2 series lead.
C John Moffett was 3-4 2B 2 RBI 2 R in the win.

The Patriots took a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the 8th before both teams would plate 4 runs in their final at-bats. The 9-8 win would give them what many consider a huge upset and 4-1 series win over heavily favored San Jose.
Series MVP- Abdul-Muta'al Rhodes (PHI) 12-20 HR 2 RBI

ROUND 1 DAY 8
Lexington gets a 3-4 2 HR 3 RBI day from 2B Dylan Rucker, 3-4 HR RBI R day from Decker Blue and Walt Davis wins his 2nd game (7-7-2-1-16) to force a 7th game.

ROUND 1 DAY 9
Todd Bean (CHI) fans 11 over 7 IP to give the Hitmen a 4-1 win and force a 7th game.

In Lexington, the Black Sox got to Rebel ace Xi-li Au-Yong for 4 runs through 6.2 IP but the Rebel offense was not to be denied. Led by series MVP 2B Dylan Rucker they pounded out 15 hits with every starter having at least one.
Series MVP-Dylan Rucker 8-25 3 HR 5 RBI

ROUND 1 DAY 10
Chicago hammered Dallas 11-5 to win the series and advance to the LCS.
Series MVP Omar Torres went 3-5 in the win.
Chicago wins the series 4-3
Series MVP-Omar Torres 11-34 HR 4 RBI

[gehrig38]

ROUND 2 DAY 1
This will be the 3rd straight season Lexington and Austin meet in the LCS. In 2011 the Rebels won the series 4-2, in 2012 they won 4-1.

A hyped pitching matchup that lived up to expectations, unfortunately.
Tomohiro Masuda fanned 13 in 7.2 IP allowing just 2 hits and Charles Smith k'd 3 over the final 1.1 innings to best Matt Behrens who went 7-5-1-1-0-9 in the loss.
The game's only run came on a Bob Giombetti solo HR in the 5th.
LEX 1 AUS 0
HR: LEX-Giombetti (1)
POTG: Tomohiro Masuda 13 K 7.2 IP 2 H 2 BB
Lexington leads 1-0

ROUND 2 DAY 2
In desperate need of an Aaron Chisholm sighting. Coming into game 2 he's just 1-24 in the postseason with 1 single and 1 RBI.
Well, he showed up! A 1st inning 2B and a 3rd inning HR gave Chris Lach a 3-1 lead entering the 8th. After a K and a 2B Jason Lipskey came on to face RJ Beckworth and Lexington shocked everyone by sending veteran utility man Josh Lesser to the plate to PH. More shock was in store as Lesser slammed a full-count pitch to deep left for a game-tying 2 run home run.
The game was locked 3-3 into the 11th before 1B Myles Green slammed a walk-off 2 run home run off RP Ronan Laskey to send the Rebels to a 2-0 series lead.
Chris Lach went 7.1 IP allowing 2 runs on 5 hits with 6 K's
LEX 5 AUS 3 (11)
HR-Chisholm (1) LEX-Blue (2) Lesser PH (1) Green walk-off (2)
POTG-Steve Griggs 8-9-3-3-2-8
Lexington leads the series 2-0

Philadelphia scored 7 times on 13 hits to back 7+ strong innings from Justin Wilson in a 7-2 series-opening win.
Philadelphia up 1-0

ROUND 2 DAY 3
Down 2-0 in the 8th Chicago scored 4 times with Nick Overy drilling a tie-breaking 2 run single to give the Hitmen a 4-2 win and a 1-1 series tie.
Chris Negrito went 7-3-2-2-3-5 for the win.

ROUND 2 DAY 4
Our season rides on Rich Whittaker. Walt Davis (15-8 2.99) gets the ball for Lexington. With their staff being down 3-0 would be akin to going home.
And it looks like early tee times for the Rustlers, again. Walt Davis moved to 3-0 1.23 this post-season with 2 hit ball over 8 innings and Adam Hoppers 1st HR of the post-season gave the Rebels a lead they never lost. Decker Blue went 3-5. Rich Whittaker took the loss going 6-7-3-3-2-8.
LEX 3 AUS 0
HR-Hopper (1)
POTG-Walt Davis 8-2-0-0-2-6

ROUND 2 DAY 5
Sam Rhoads comes up huge. He duels Xi-li Au-Yong with 6.1 stellar innings and Lipsky, Lytle and Haske hold the Rebels scoreless over the final 2.2 innings to get us on the board. Chisholm and Kucher drive in the only runs for Austin.
Au-Yong goes 6-6-2-2-1-6 in the loss.
LEX 2 AUS 1
HR-NONE
POTG-Sam Rhoads (W) 6.1-5-1-1-2-5 (2-0 2.70)

Philadelphia gets 2 in the 2nd and that holds up as they also win 2-1 behind 10 K's from starter Ernesto Aguilar in just 5 innings.
Philadelphia leads the series 2-1

ROUND 2 DAY 6
Dylan Rucker led off the game with a solo HR and after a Giombetti solo shot in the 2nd Rucker homered again in the 3rd. Masuda would work around 9 hits allowing just a single run and fanning 9 to give Lexington a 4-1 series win and send Lexington to their 5th straight World Series and sending us home for the 3rd straight year in the LCS.
LEX 4 AUS 2
HR: LEX-Rucker 2 (2) Giombetti (2)
SERIES MVP Bob Giombetti 7-14 2 HR 3 RBI .588 OBP

SP Justin Wilson took home series MVP honors going 2-0 15 IP 12 H 15 K 1.80 ERA as they took out Chicago in 5 games.

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2013 WORLD SERIES
Philadelphia vs Lexington
The Wild Card Patriots who looked dead in the water 2 weeks ago enter the arena to face the 3-time defending world champion Rebels.
On paper, it looks like a total mismatch as the game's best pitching staff faces off against the 13th ranked Philly offense. Philadelphia's staff was the best in the league this year at run prevention. But in doing so allowed 148 more runs than the Rebels staff did.

Game 1
Lexington 7 Philadelphia 1
W-Davis (1-0) L-Castro (0-1)
HR: LEX-Beckworth (2) Giombetti (3)

Game 2
Lexington 8 Philadelphia 4
W-Au-Yong (1-0) L-Aguilar (0-1)
HR: PHI-Lopez (1) Alvarez (1) LEX-Beckworth (3) Green (1)

Game 3
Philadelphia 6 Lexington 1
W-Wilson (1-0) L-Masuda (0-1)
HR: LEX-Comerford (1) PHI-Lopez 2 (3) Yoshimi (1)

Game 4
Philadelphia 9 Lexington 2
W-Ullrich (1-0) L-Griggs (0-1)
HR: PHI-Wilson 2 (2)

Game 5
Lexington 8 Philadelphia 5
W-Davis (2-0) L-Castro (0-2)
HR: LEX-Orozco (1) PHI-Stinson (1) Marvel (1)

Game 6
Lexington 4 Philadelphia 0
W-Au-Yong (2-0) L-Aguilar (0-2)
HR- NONE
Series MVP Xi-li Au-Yong 2-0 16 IP 10 H 9 K 1 BB 0.56 ERA CG SHO game 6

[gehrig38]

Expansion, Realignment on tap for the ABL in 2014
The ABL announced today the addition of two new clubs that will join the league for the upcoming 2014 season and the league will undergo major realignment.

Rather than try and explain it all, here is the new “layout” of the ABL. I had to do some switching of leagues to align with the one schedule that fits.
There will be interleague play this season.
The PL will have 4 division winners in the post-season the CL will have 3 and a wild card.

[gehrig38]

[gehrig38]

• PL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Kevin Liebhaber RF (DET) .333-33-96
• CL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Adam Hopper 3B (LEX) .313-24-78
• PL KOUFAX AWARD WINNER: Jason Keeton (DET) 15-11 2.79
• CL KOUFAX AWARD WINNER: Matt Behrens (AUS) 20-6 2.67 236 K 229.1 IP .215 OBA
• PL BABE RUTH AWARD WINNER: Brian Lundy RF (SJ) .325-42-124
• CL BABE RUTH AWARD WINNER: Jorge Hernandez CF (SAN) .357-18-69
• PL MARIANO RIVERA AWARD WINNER: Dale Price (LA) 16 SV 104 K 96.1 IP 3.27 ERA
• CL MARIANO RIVERA AWARD WINNER: Jesus Banuelos (PRO) 9-5 47 SV 2.60 75 K 17 BB 79.2 IP

Chicago Hitmen manager Josh Vautour took home the PLL Manager of the year after Chicago took the division title at 88-74.
Lexington's Ricky Sanford took home his 5th consecutive Manager of the Year award as the Rebels appeared in their 5th straight world series and won their 4th straight.

SILVER SLUGGERS:
Jeff Anderson was the only Rustler to win post-season hardware outside of Behrens as he took home the Silver Slugger for LF hitting .296/.376/.544 33 HR 23 SB 104 RBI 6.0 WAR

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• HIRINGS, FIRINGS AND OWNERSHIP NEWS:
• The Denver Saints were sold to Auto Tycoon Danny Almonte. Denver fans are hankering to return to the glory days and Almonte is a “WIN NOW” kind of guy.
• The Houston Roughriders were purchased by Tech billionaire Jose Negron. Houston fans are worried that his reputation as a 'penny pincher' will have a profound impact on the club moving forward. Negron also used the conference to announce he will be in the market for a new GM, telling current GM Mike Cleveland his services were no longer required. The Roughriders then signed former Pittsburgh GM Jason Johnson to a 3 year deal
• New England fired GM Dan Vondran and ended up hiring former Detroit Charger GM Jeremy Mann. Mann had been out of the game since 1992. He was the Chargers 1st GM for their 1990 and 1991 division titles.
• LA fired GM Steve Renaud and hired former SJ Hawks GM Mike Grappe.
• San Diego fired GM Fred Reese and hired 59 yer old Glenn Pauley. Pauley was the GM in Lexington from 1993-97 and then Charlotte from 1998-2003. His teams made 3 runs into the post-season (98, 99 and 2000)
• Brooklyn fired GM Jose Vega and then signed former NY Empire GM Josh Beserra to a 3 year deal.
• Buffalo fired GM Steve Garcia and manager Andy Swanner and gave former ABL 3BSam Strong the GM position while hiring another former player, 2B Matt Samson, to his 1st coaching job at any level.
• San Antonio fired GM Jamie Addis and hired former Mexico Black Bandits GM Michel Vilain.
• Mexico fired Manager Rob Malmstrom and reached out to former ABL All-Star CF Erik Kravetz who they ended up inking to a 3-year contract.