Monty Brewster Baseball Association Recruiting Thread (historical)

[mikev]

N'Awlins News Volume 5 Issue 6

The Crawdads started the sim on a low note, dropping the final 2 games of their set with Seattle. It didn't get any better, as they were swept in 3 games by Hackensack. The second half of the sim was better, as we took 2 of 3 from Birmingham and won the first game against Des Moines. We're currently 31-42, pretty much where we expected to be.
All Star selections have been released, and the Crawdads had... nobody. Not even Marty Powers or Shawn Boskie. Oh well, we don't really need that anyways. I guess a case could have been made for Willie Williams, as well, but there are some seriously good first basemen in the league, so an .862 OPS just isn't allstar worthy.

Farm Report

Since the big league team sucks so bad, we're going to concentrate on some of the prospects in the Crawdad system. As we all know, the supplemental June draft was just held, and New Orleans had the #5 overall pick. It was a no-brainer that the team was targeting pitching, and 18 year old starter Tyler Hansen was their round 1 selection. Hansen is a 4 pitch pitcher, with above average stuff and fantastic control and movement. He's probably a couple years away at least, but so is the team. Provided he doesn't lump into oblivion, he should develop into a front of the rotation arm.

In round 2, another starter was nabbed in Milton Scott. Scott doesn't project nearly as high as Hansen, but an arm is an arm and there is always the chance that he blossoms into a stud. Slim, but possible. The rest of the draft was nothing more than minor league filler.

The team's #1 prospect Rolland Plemons is getting awfully close to being ready. His contact is really all that's left to develop before he's ready, as his eye and avoid K's are both major league quality. This is proven by his .358 OBP in AAA, but a dismal .231 batting average and a very low SLG. He should be ready to start sometime next year we're hoping.

OMFG! Don't look now, but Ogre might actually be called up to the big leagues!!! If anything he'll be able to be a platoon player vs. lefties. I can't believe it, but he's finally actually shown some development this year! Woots!

Tipper Kengos is another minor leaguer ont he cusp of being ready to play. His gap power and avoid K's are nearly completely developed, and if he can raise his contact up to about a 14 or 15 he'll get the call up this season. We're not expecting it to happen, but hey, stranger things could take place. As it is now, he's projected as the starting CF after Eric Davis is gone in 1997.

AAA closer Leonel Oliphant is putting up good numbers in the minors, and could also see a call up this season. Between him and Kosuke Fukudome, we are more than happy with the Bill Walters trade!

Upcoming Schedule

6/21 vs Des Moines
6/22 vs Des Moines

6/23 - 6/25 ALL STAR BREAK

6/26 @ Buffalo
6/27 @ Buffalo
6/28 @ Buffalo

6/29 @ Atlantic City
6/30 @ Atlantic City

[mikev]

Originally posted by A.J. Holz, Seattle Storm GM

Seattle jumped back up to first place in the FLP on the strength of an 8-2 run that saw them sweep their current arch-enemy, the Long Beach Surfers. The FLP is shaping up to be a two-team race here in the early going, with the Storm and Surfers swapping the first-place spot several times already. Calgary and Las Vegas aren't too far behind, however, as both teams are just seven games back.

Most of the great stories coming out of Seattle involve the emergence of several key young players who the Storm were counting on to lead them into a new era. The team is first in the Frick in many batting categories, most notably runs scored, SLG, and OPS.

Leading the attack is 24-year-old slugger Benjamin Rivero, who's hit his breakout year and leads the team in most offensive categories. Currently his .322 average, 15 homers, and 76 RBI is the center of the Seattle offense and a big reason why the team is winning ballgames. He leads the major leagues in RBI as well.

Other hitters enjoying extremely good starts are:
- Shortstop Rob Van Winkle, who's hitting .360/.418/.524
- Second baseman Mack Randall, at .322/.375/.547
- Right fielder Dash Kelly, at .341/.377/.487 with 63 stolen bases in 71 attempts (!)
- Third baseman War Astudillo, at .304/.374/.460

With all this offense going on, the obvious beneficiaries are going to be Seattle's pitchers. There were some questions about the rotation coming out of Spring Training, but the Seattle staff has exuded confidence and consistency so far. The staff ace so far has been Andres Balbuena, who's 10-2 with a sparkling 3.02 ERA. Juan Nieves (8-6 3.66) and Scott Piippo (6-3 3.03) have been also been pitching well. And surprisingly, 36-year-old Teddy Higuera is enjoying a resurgent season as the club's #4 starter, posting a 7-3 record and 4.15 ERA to date.

The bullpen has been shaky, clocking in at 9th in the Frick in ERA, but so far despite bending (closer Alfredo Gutierrez has a 5.68 ERA) hasn't broken (he also leads the majors with 23 saves in 27 attempts).

Can the team keep up this kind of performance and hold off the rest of the Frick for the rest of the season? Time will tell. In the meantime, we congratulate the five Seattle players elected to the Frick All-Star Team:

SP Andres Balbuena
CL Alfredo Gutierrez
RF Dash Kelly
SS Rob Van Winkle
1B Benjamin Rivero

[goldfinger77]

Hey Mikey - long-time reader, first-time poster. First of all, love the thread. My question is, after seeing how well Angus translated to 2006, would you take a mulligan on the MacGuyver/Powers trade?

[mikev]

Originally Posted by goldfinger77

Hey Mikey - long-time reader, first-time poster. First of all, love the thread. My question is, after seeing how well Angus translated to 2006, would you take a mulligan on the MacGuyver/Powers trade?

You know what? I wouldn't. Angus will be a serviceable pitcher, but IMO his stuff rating is just too, too low for him to be a front line guy. His ceiling is basically becoming a clone of Shawn Boskie, which is good, but at the time I had a pretty good pitching staff and Angus wasn't going to crack the rotation.

If you look at the whole deal, it was this:

To Buffalo:
Tyler Ryan
Oscar Vizcaino
Angus McGyver
New Orleans 1995 2nd round pick

To New Orleans:
Marty Powers
Christopher Crawford
Jack Dark
Buffalo 1995 4th round pick

My reasoning was a) My bullpen was terrible, and Powers is awesome, b) Moving Tyler Ryan's contract was great for me, and c) Crawford was a better 4th OF than Vizcaino was anyways.

Then, to make things better, I traded Jack Dark for Arthur Jagger, which saved me 4 Million dollars a year. Jagger isn't a world beater, but he's a fantastic defensive outfielder who looks remarkably like Johan Santana wearing a Texas Rangers hat.

Thanks for the reply!

[mikev]

Originally Posted by: Leejay56, Omaha Barnstormers GM


Omaha:

After starting in 1st most of the season, Omaha has fallen to 2nd place as the surging Phoenix Talons have now moved into first place by 2 games and the Chicago Black Sox are right behind Omaha in a very tight race.

So far this year the offense has been solid. Most of all the team batting stats Omaha rates in the top three as they lead the MBBA with a .280 team batting average... Leading the way so far is vet catcher Tyler Ryan. Ryan is hitting .319 with 13 homers and 27 rbis...Ryan hasnt hit over .300 since 1990 when he hit .301....Over the last two weeks Ryan has had 2 multiple homer games. Ryan hit 2 home runs against Hawaii , going 4-4 with 3 RBI and 4 runs scored and smashed 2 home runs against the Louisville Sluggers, going 4-7 with 2 RBI. Ryan is having an all-star year, and could be a canidate for comeback player of the year.

Vet 1B/OF Justin Smith is having another good season. Smith is hitting .307/9/35, great for a guy that no one wanted last year in many trade talks....Smith last year hit .296/35/112. In a game against the Chicago Black Sox last week, Smith went 4-5 and had 2 rbis....

OF Daron McNair continues his bid for another .300 and 200 hit season. McNair is currently batting .320 with 84 hits in 67 games. Last month, Nair won Player of the Week Award. McNair hit .571 for the week, which produced 12 hits, 4 RBI and 5 extra-base hits.

Last month young SP Russell Vanness recieved the Johnson League Pitcher of the Month Award. Vanness made 6 starts had a low 1.98 ERA and picked up 6 wins with no losses. So far this year Vanness is 11-4, 3.21 era and has 95 k's in 126 innings. Vanness is only 22 years old. and has a very bright future ahead of him if he keeps this up.

The starting pitching has been a big improvement...Vanness, Jim Cramer (7-4, 3.73 era), who has only 13 walks in 113 innings and rookie SP Amen Mitrani (3-5, 3.43) have lead this team back into contention.

Overall Omaha, who the last few years were always in the bottom in pitching, are now in the top 10 in most catagories....

[mikev]

Originally Posted by Pedersenkirk, Vancouver Mounties GM

Mounties still on the edge of obscurity

Right now the Vancouver Mounties are 37-36, good for third place in the JLP, nine games back of the leading Valencia Stars and four back of second-place California.

So what has changed since the last sim? Not a whole lot, except now owner/GM Kirk Pedersen is sick of stagnating and wants to make a deal to improve his team.

"There's a lot of room for improvement on this team this season," Pedersen said to reporters outside the Mounties' clubhouse Wednesday morning. "Third place will not cut it, we need to improve and the only way to do that is by making a deal."

"The last four seasons of my tenure here have been marked by mediocrity and frustration from our fans. I don't want them to remember me like that."

The players definitely understand Pedersen's frustration and are working hard to erase it.

"It's hard on us too, we want to win just as badly as Kirk does," said the most recent JL player of the week, infielder Ray Smith, who has been on fire of late. "I've been here since the middle of '92, and there's been little improvement."

"I'm not saying I want out, but I want things to improve big time over what we've got now."

Another unnamed player agreed.

"Pedersen is a joke right now, we need to turn a corner and he's just sitting there doing nothing, it's frustrating, man," said the player, who refused to be identified. "I may sound like a wimp coming out and talking anonymously, but this team has become a joke."

"Yeah, I can definitely say that I want out of here."

Pedersen called the player out during his daily press conference, asking that he come forward and talk to him.

"I implore him to come and talk to me, so maybe we could work something out to make his stay here more comfortable," Pedersen said. "Because coming out like this in public and ranting isn't going to do him, or me any good."

"I think we've got a good club here, and with a few additions, we can be a contender."

[mikev]

Originally posted by Birddog20, Louisville Sluggers GM

Louisville Courier-Journal
June 21, 1995

Ernie Ford sparks 9-1 sim
Local media questioned the demotion of ROY candidate Howard Domagal. After all he was coming off a solid month of May which saw him hit .340 and earn Rookie of the Month honors.

If the Sluggers could have kept him up, they would have ... but Louisville has been struggling with defense in the field. BAPIP is at an historic high and that's not a good thing after being tops last year. Part of that seems to be their lack of range at 3b where David Smurf has been playing in order to make room from Domagal's bat. Well, it's not that Smurf is bad, in fact he has 10 range out of 20 ... so he's actually pretty average there. But by bringing up Ernie Ford, Louisville can slide him in at 2b (14rng), move Kenare Sobah to SS (16rng), move Wings Hauser to 3B (20rng) while Smurf rolls to 1b (20rng). This alignment isn't so strong up the middle as we have 16 and 14 there instead of 18 and 19, but overall, it's much more rangy especially on the left side of the infield where Hauser sucks everthing up like a vacuum cleaner.

Offensively, Ford is capable of hitting as good as Domagal, but he has a much better eye. Ernie takes over at leadoff and should be very productive with his great basestealing ability. Already in 8 games, Ford is hitting .382avg .447obp .676slg 1.124ops with 4 steals.

Defensively, the change was duly noted as Louisville went on a 8-1 streak highlighted by 4 straight games in which they gave up no more than 1 run. For the 9 game stretch, the pitching staff which had been the worse in the league gave up only 21 runs.

Perhaps the BAPIP gods will shine on us once again.

[mikev]

Originally posted by Clashcity, California Crusaders GM

Approaching the half-way point, the Crusaders hold the JL's second best record at 42-31. Unfortunately for the Crusaders, the team with the best JL record is their division mates, the Valencia Stars who have expanded their lead on Cali to 4 games due in large part to the Stars 3 game sweep of the good guys in this last sim.

The Cali bats, so torrid in April, have cooled a lot over May and June and the club's .251 batting average ranks 7th in the JL. Despite their tepid batting average, this squad knows how to score and ranks 4th in Run's Scored, HR's and Slugging.

After hitting 15 homers in April, team captain Billy Wilson has slowed way down hitting just 12 in May and June combined. Wilson is currently tied for the JL homer lead with Phoenix's Joe Belinda and has moved behind Seattle's Ben Rivero as the MBBA RBI leader.

Kelly Benson is still in contention for the JL ROY award after being named a starter for this year's JL All-Star Team. Benson's .316 batting average leads all Cali starters. Cali's other ROY contender, Mike Rehban leads Cali starting pitchers with a 2.48 ERA despite his relatively mediocre record of 7-7.

Cali starting pitchers are 2nd in the JL with a 3.15 ERA. All-Stars Felix Pan and Chip Foodie both appear headed for career years and top off the Cali staff with 8-5 and 9-2 records respectively.

LasVegas castoff, Pat Combs is also having a career year at 8-2 with a 2.92 ERA. Even new 5th starter, Cody Smith is performing well heading into the break with a 4-2 record and 2.62 ERA in 6 starts.

The Crusaders have moved former closer, Jim Pena back into the closer's spot to replace an ice-cold Billy Taylor who has pitched very inconsistently this year. Taylor has taken the loss in two of his last three apearances and seen his ERA balloon to 5.65.

[mikev]

Without further adooooo, the 1995 Monty Brewster Baseball Association All-Stars:

Ben Johnson League

SP L. Lasalle (Baltimore Monarchs)
SP D. Hyngary (Valencia Stars)
SP E. Kilkenny (Chicago Blacksox)
SP R. Vanness (Omaha Barnstormers)
SP C. Foodie (California Crusaders)
SP F. Pan (California Crusaders)
SP K. Howell (Washington Bobwhites)
CL D. Hall (Baltimore Monarchs)
CL D. Ward (Vancouver Mounties)
CL M. Washington (Phoenix Talons)
CL R. Wasson (Chicago Blacksox)
CL J. Braunstein (Valencia Stars)
1B B. Wilson (California Crusaders)
3B C. Gehringer (Phoenix Talons)
CF H. Carl (Washington Bobwhites)
LF G. Barr (Valencia Stars)
SS V. Incaviglia (California Crusaders)
C T. Ryan (Omaha Barnstormers)
RF K. Benson (California Crusaders)
C P. Cruz (Louisville Sluggers)
2B C. Tawk (Phoenix Talons)
1B B. Jackson (Valencia Stars)
3B D. Smurf (Louisville Sluggers)
1B J. Belinda (Phonenix Talons)
3B B. Lee (Madison Wolves)
LF R. Echague (Washington Bobwhites)
CF S. Palos (Vancouver Mounties)
RF R. Johnson (Louisville Sluggers)

Ford Frick League

SP J. Riles, Jr. (Hackensack Bulls)
SP S. Bodeen (Birmingham Bandits)
SP A. Balbuena (Seattle Storm)
SP S. Perfetto (Des Moines Kernels)
SP K. Gladden (Long Beach Surfers)
SP T. Regina (Long Beach Surfers)
MR J. Sevilla (Hackensack Bulls)
CL M. Ripken (Buffalo Bison)
CL A. Gutierrez (Seattle Storm)
CL M. Shellenbarger (Las Vegas Hustlers)
CL G. Sistrunk (Atlantic City Gamblers)
CL R. Dibble (Long Beach Surfers)
SS R. Menne, Jr. (Hackensack Bulls)
RF J. Iraq (Calgary Marauders)
2B R. Rodriguez (Hackensack Bulls)
1B D. Manzanillo (Birmingham Bandits)
3B D. Rotten (Long Beach Surfers)
LF T. Mohler (Hackensack Bulls)
C R. Hinson (Las Vegas Hustlers)
CF B. Vanderhugen (Montreal Blazers)
C J. Behnke (Austin Riverbats)
RF K. Murphy (Atlantic City Gamblers)
RF D. Kelly (Seattle Storm)
SS R. Van Winkle (Seattle Storm)
1B F. Luna (Atlantic City Gamblers)
1B B. Rivero (Seattle Storm)
LF M. Senne (Austin Riverbats)
RF R. Nolan (Des Moines Kernels)


Whew. No wonder the Crawdads suck. All the Frick League allstars are from like 5 teams!

[mikev]

The 1995 Monty Brewster Baseball Association All-Star Game took place on Saturday, June 24th at Presidential Ball Park in front of a sellout crowd of 49,960.

The starters for the visiting Ford Frick League:

J. Iraq CF
R. Rodriguez 2B
B. Vanderhugen LF
F. Luna 1B
B. Rivero RF
R. Menne, Jr. SS
D. Rotten 3B
J. Behnke C
S. Bodeen P

And for the Ben Johnson League:

C. Tawk SS
C. Gehringer 2B
B. Wilson C
J. Belinda LF
B. Lee 1B
B. Jackson CF
G. Barr RF
D. Smurf 3B
K. Howell P

Both teams managed 2 singles in the first, but did not score.

The Frick League broke the ice in the top of the second inning, with a leadoff single by Menne, then a line out by Rotten before catcher John Benke doubled to score Menne from second.

The teams would trade zeroes for the next several innings, as both Ken Howell and Sammy Bodeen showed why they were starting for their respective All Star Teams.

The Johnson league knotted the game up in the bottom of the 6th inning. Juan Sevilla had come in to pitch for the FL, and immediately gave up a ringing double to Carl Tawk. Consecutive groundouts by Cory Gehringer and Billy Wilson were enough to plate Tawk, and the game was tied at 1 run apiece.

The FL again went down quickly in the 7th, and then Michael Shellenbarger was called upon for the bottom of the inning. Pinch hitter Roosevelt Johnson led off with a single, and then scored the go-ahead run two pitches later on a double by another pinch hitter, Samuel Palos. A third consecutive pinch hitter was called upon in Kelly Benson, and he immediately made the move look good by working the count full and then lacing a single that sent Palos to third. The first out of the inning was recorded when David Smurf grouded into a Fielder's Choice to second, leaving runners on first and third with 1 out. Verdo Incavilia was tabbed as the 4th pinch hitter of the inning, and drew a 5 pitch walk to load the bases. With the bases juiced, Carl Tawk wasted no time by smacking the first pitch he saw for a 2-run single, making the score 4-1 in favor of the Ben Johnson All Stars. Mercifully, Shellenbarger was finally removed for Alfredo Gutierrez, who induced an inning-ending double play, but the damage had been done.

The rest of the game was fairly uneventful, with nothing more than a double from Dave Manzanillo to put on the stat sheet for the Frick League. McKinley Washington pitched the 8th and 9th to notch the save for the Johnson League.

Player of the Game honors went to Carl Tawk, who went 2-4 with 2RBI and a run scored. Baltimore reliever Darren Hall was credited with the Win, and Shellenbarger took the L.

[mikev]

N'Awlins News Volume 5 Issue 7

]July 1, 1995

Last place. The cellar. 4th place (out of 4.). Worst team in the division. It just has a crappy ring to it, doesn't it? Meh.

The Crawdads went 2-4 over the All Star Break sim, dropping their first 2 to Des Moines before losing 2 of 3 to Buffalo and splitting the first 2 games of a 3 game set with Atlantic City.

Really the only good news over the last 10 days was that second baseman Vic Wood was finally able to return from a dislocated shoulder that kept him out for almost 2 months. Wood had a slow start, with only 5 hits, but was upbeat. "It's just nice to be able to be on the field with the guys again so I can try and help contribute." Wood said. To make room for Wood,
Orlando Miller was placed on waivers and designated for assignment, as youngster Kosuke Fukudome has played his way into a spot on the roster for good.

"Ko has played great in Wood's absence. He's done everything asked of him, and being able to move into a utility role and not get so beat up by playing every day should help him out. Also the ability for him to play 3 defensive infield positions very, very well was a big factor in keeping him around." said GM Mike Voelker.

Rumors of the team's placing of centerfielder Eric Davis on the trade block have been confirmed as well. "Realistically, he's going to help somebody that needs a stud outfielder for the pennant run this year. That's just not us, and we need to look to retool this team for the future with some younger talent." said Voelker.

Talks have been quiet, but there haven't been a lot of transactions going on in the league recently, and the team is expecting some offers once the playoff races start to heat up and the trade deadline starts to get a little closer.

[mikev]

Originally Posted by joshuaaaaaa, Long Beach Surfers GM

We've just about hit the 1/2 way mark in the season and the Surfers are hanging tough in the FLP, 1 game behind the surprising Seattle Storm.

Long Beach's 44-36 record, while not spectacular, is still good enough for a 2 game lead over Atlantic City and Des Moines in the FL Wild Card race.

The Surfers are 4th in the FL in runs scored, and also 4th in runs allowed. They have a +41 run differential at the mid-way point. The team is only 10th in hits and 9th in extra base hits in the FL, however they are 1st in walks and this gives them a lot of base runners to turn into runs. Being 1st in stolen bases has helped here, too.

Ironically, the pitching staff doesn't shine in any particular category except walks allowed where it is 4th in the FL, however solid defense keeps a lot of base runners from scoring for the opposition.

The Surfers Batter of the Month for June was Adrian Cabrera. Cabrera returned from the DL to hit .247 with 5 HR, drive in 15 runs and score 11 runs. Cabrera's OPS for the month was .788. Yes, it was kind of a rough month offensively for Long Beach.

The Surfers Pitcher of the Month for June was Rob Dibble. The Nasty Boy appeared in 7 games, and picked up saves in all seven of them. He pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing only 1 hit, walking nobody and striking out 10. For the year, Dibble is 21-21 in save opportunities and has walked only 2 batters in 23 2/3 innings while striking out 31 in that same span.

After a huge May, Donnie Rotten had a mediocre June, hitting only .230 with 2 HR and 10 RBI. He, like many Surfers hitters, is having trouble with consistency.
Doogie lumped again and is no longer in our top 10 prospects, proving only that <CENSORED>.

Our #1 pick from the supplemental draft, Pablo Iribe is now our #1 hitting prospect. The 20 year old should be striking out a ton right now based on his skill set, and has actually walked 14 times and struck out 4. I think he should be promoted from A-ball.

Charlie Lindquist hasn't fared well since being demoted to AAA, so don't look for him to be back in the rotation anytime soon. His replacement, Ash Sorrels has had two good starts, including a spectacular 3 hit shutout of Atlantic City on the 11th, one mediocre start and 1 terrible start, so the verdict is still out on him. Frankly, the Surfers may be in the market for a 5th starter.

Joe "Dirt Devil" Benedict is sure living up to his name. The Surfers 1st round pick has made 2 errors in 81 starts at second base for Robert Redford Presents the Sundance Kids. Meanwhile, he's had a range factor of 4.50 and has been involved in 64 double plays. He's hitting .273 with 22 stolen bases and the team eagerly awaits his rise to the MBBA in a couple of seasons.

The Surfers look forward to the 2nd half of the 1995 season and to another post-season appearance!

[Recte44]

Ping: Mike

You should probably change the title of this thread.

Keep it up! Is anyone reading this thread? Check out the MBBA at http://montybrewster.com !!

[mikev]

Can't change thread titles

[mikev]

Originally posted by recte44, Las Vegas Hustlers GM and MBBA Commish

This is not the way the Hustlers expected the midpoint of the season to be in 1995. After a rebuilding year in 1994, the Hustlers fully expected to take their customary place atop the FLP this season, but it hasn't happened.

This reporter must ask: What's wrong with the Hustlers?? Here are the top two reasons at the All-Star break:

1. The offense has been a disaster. .716 Team OPS is lowest in the Frick League. They have only stolen 50 bases this season, a usual staple of a Hustlers team. They have a lot of nice players but don't have that one player that can take the team over the top. C Riley Hinson cannot carry this offense singlehandly. LF Sean Bockus is an excellent complementary player and a borderline All-Star most years, but isn't the type of player that can carry an offense. Outside of those two, the only player on the current active roster with an OPS over .800 is part time infielder Mario Colon. The club really misses injured 1B/3B Stan Ross, who had a .946 OPS and was emerging as the offensive leader of the lineup. He'll be back in a week, and hopefully that'll help but it's clear the Hustlers are going to have to go through a slew of trades to reshape this team into a better image offensively.

2. SP Hank Daniels hasn't filled the bill as the ace of this team. The Hustlers put a lot of stock in Daniels being that guy who would be the ace they haven't had since Shamus Perfetto was dealt away, but it hasn't happened. Then to see Bob Stephan performing nicely for Hawaii and in addition prospect Mike Taft showing nice development, the Hustlers can mark down that deal as an unmitigated disaster. It certainly doesn't help that the Hustlers young foursome of pitching aces have all lumped: Johnny Madorin, Rodger Murkami, Eric Sweet, and Greg Ganzfield are now shells of their projected former selves. Mikey reminded us yesterday of an adage that all rebuilding teams need to keep at the top of their list: TINSTAAPP (There is no such thing as a pitching prospect).

So, the Hustlers go into the second half down, but not completely out. Still only 7 games out of the division lead, the Hustlers feel that with some magic by GM Terry Lieberman they can rise again. Hustler Nation can only sit and wait for something to be done.

[thehatfield]

Originally Posted by Recte44

Keep it up! Is anyone reading this thread? Check out the MBBA at http://montybrewster.com !!

I'm a reader and I actually checked out the league because of this dynasty but was hoping to see a shot of Richard Pryor on the homepage!

[Recte44]

Originally Posted by Purple Cowboy

I'm a reader and I actually checked out the league because of this dynasty but was hoping to see a shot of Richard Pryor on the homepage!

I have a bunch of shots from Brewster's Millions. The homepage is overdue for a refresher, so I'll be sure and add those this week.

Feel free to register for the forums, come on over and chat with us.

[LeeJay56]

hey mikey great job.....

[MuertoDesagradecido]

Originally Posted by mikev

Can't change thread titles

If you PM a mod they'll be glad to change it for you.

[mikev]

(briefly: Title changed, woohoo!)

Last sim started off promising, as the Crawdads took the last game of their series with Atlantic City. Surprisingly enough, that was followed up with a THREE GAME SWEEP of the Calgary Marauders :happydancesmilie. Up next was a 3 game set with Austin, in a fevered battle for last place in the Frick League Midwest. We took the first game 4-2, but then were smacked around 9-0 in the middle game of the set. However, we would bounce back and take the series with a 15-5 throttling of Austin in the rubber match. Yay us! After a much needed day off, we would split the first 2 games of a series with Montreal. In all, 7-3 for the sim, which I'm not sure but I think is our best sim of the season. Either way, at 8-2 over our last 10 we are currently the hottest team in the MBBA not named Valencia. Nice. Sadly, after all that we're still in last place, which brings me to the point of this news feature: Our top prospects.

Since the big league squad isn't really doing that well, I planned on focusing on the minors, specifically our Baseball America Top Prospects

1. Rogelio Morales, 1B
Morales is going to be an absolute monster. I've never seen a player with a talent set like his before. He's got a higher ceiling, theoretically, than the best hitter in MBBA history. Really, the only question is whether or not Morales develops into the player that he's capable of. If he does, there's really no limit to what he can do in his career.

2. Rolland Plemons, C/1B
Plemons is a rare talent, though not quite as high a ceiling as Morales, he's more developed at this point. While slow as molasses, Plemons has a fantastic eye at the plate (more walks than strikeouts in AAA this season) and could one day have the capability of hitting .320 with 30+ doubles and home runs.

3. Tipper Kengos, OF
Kengos is a famous name in the MBBA, and especially in New Orleans. Tipper is the son of Booker Kengos, and the nephew of Kipper Kengos. Both won the LMS with New Orleans way back in 1974. Tipper's twin brother Bopper is in the Madison Wolves organization, another monster of a middle infield prospect. Tipper is a spectacular defensive outfielder with the capability of hitting well over .300 with a ton of doubles and stealing a lot of bags. He's a perfect candidate to be a leadoff hitter, and he also walks more than he strikes out. We're very high on him.

4. Kosuke Fukudome, 2B
Hey, we've seen this guy before! He filled in admirably when Vic Wood was injured this year. Fukudome is a very good infielder, and has the talents to be an above average hitter. Currently he's a perfect utility infielder, can hit a little bit, and could be a candidate for a starting job in the next few years if free agency takes anybody away from the team.

5. Tyler Hansen, SP
Hansen was picked in the MBBA's first and only supplemental draft just last month. He's got mid 90s stuff, great control and movement, and a devestating circle-change as his out pitch. Hansen's ceiling is a staff-ace sort of arm, as he's got the endurance to go well over the 200IP mark and the control to get deep into games without having a high pitch count. In a system that's got a huge need for pitching, we're hoping upon hope that Hansen develops quickly and is ready for the big show very soon.

6. Jason "Ogre" Stucky, RF
Wow. It's amazing to see this guy still on our Top Prospects list, as we had written him off for dead along with fantastically stalled and underdeveloped Theo Reckley, Jr. Unlike Reckley, the conversion to 2006 was very nice to Stucky, and jumpstarted his development. He's at the point now where he could probably be a platoon player against lefties in the bigs right now, which is very exciting for the team. Rumors have it that the team is actively trying to move veteran Chris Crawford in order to clear a spot on the active roster for Stucky.

7. Willie Williams, 1B
The bumps that turned Williams into a superstar (mostly the 9 in contact to go with the rest of his talents) have completely made me happy with trading away Donnie Rotten last season. Yes, we gave up one of the best players in the MBBA, but Rotten is very streaky and Williams has turned into the complete package as a player. He's currently hitting .300, his OBP is over .400, and he's got some power to boot. His 23.1 VORP is just slightly off the FL leaderboard. We're happy.

8. Adam Aarpen, OF
Aarpen is a very good defensive outfielder who will hit a lot of singles and doubles, but hardly anything he hits will end up in the bleachers. He's a very good bunter and if he manages to get he plate discpline developed could project to be a pretty good #2 hitter in a lineup in a few years. Along with Tipper Kengos and Jason Stucky, he could help to form what could be a very good outfield in the coming years for New Orleans.

9. Connor Keely, C
Keely was a 4th round selection by the Crawdads, and we were elated that he fell that far down to us. Quite possibly the best defensive catcher in the entire organization, Keely also has a decent bat. He's currently hitting .300 with an OBP nearing .400 in AAA Baton Rouge, but he's had fairly limited time due to Rolland Plemons getting the majority of starts. The team is planning on moving him to AA Shreveport just to get him more playing time, but barring anything strange happening, his career in New Orleans will liekly be as a backup.

10. Enrique Deprisco, SP
The second pitcher on the top 10 list, Deprisco is a light throwing control artist. The 21 year old is currently dominating AAA to the tune of 6-1 with a 2.13 ERA in 14 starts. Over 103 innings, he has allowed only 89 hits and 18 walks while striking out 70, good for a 1.04 WHIP. Realistically, he's probably a bump to stuff away from starting in the big leagues, but guys with high control ratings always seem to do better than their ratings say they should do. He's got an outside shot at a September callup, and will probably fight for a rotation spot next season.