New Fictional League.... Baseball League of America (BLA) - Page 2

CecilCooper · 06-13-2004, 05:15 PM

At New York (10-8, 2-0, 14-8, 2-3)
Taking 3 of 4 adds a little distance between myself and the Ambassadors. In the first slugfest, Kevin Chambers got rocked again but had a no-decision. He gave up 7 runs in just over 3 innings, but only 3 were earned as Kenton Smith had an AWFUL game in the field with 3 errors. Jeffrey Knight went 3-4 with 3 RBI. Archie Chapman and Johnson O'Brien each drove in 2 runs. Ezekiel 'No Neck' McKinley (16) and Joseph 'Automatic' Lee (20) each hit home runs. Blake Everett, who wants an extension, pitched a wonderful game. Giving up 4 hits in over 8 innings. George Kelley pitched a good game for NY giving up 2 runs, 1 earned in 8 innings. In the 2nd slugfest, Archie Chapman going 4-5 with 5 RBI and a HR (4). Archie is coming along nicely after a rough start this season .269-4-32. In the last game, Gregory Volkman pitched a great game before getting hurt in the 9th. Then Arthur Freshour comes in and gives up a hit and a walk in .2 inning and Detroit loses the game and it's Gregory's loss. 25 year old Brady Beckles pitched a great complete game for NY. Gregory Volkman is day-to-day with 85% health for 4 weeks. I will probably give him a start and then see how it goes. If he doesn't respond I will let John Dice get his chance and toss Gregory on the DL.

At Phoenix (7-3, 5-0, 2-4, 1-3)
All I can manage against the last place team is a 4-game split. In the opener Barney Cordova goes 7 innings and gets win #6. In game 2, Kevin Chapman pitches 8 shutout innings to get win #10, hopefully he is over the hump now and pitches like he started the year. The loser in game 2 was a complete game performance from David Hungerford who is now 0-7. Blake Everett pitched a nice complete game in game 3, but ended up with the L. As did Richard Davis in the last game. Micahel Gates (6-5 4.90) gave up 5 hits and k'd 8 in the CG win. Archie Chapman went 4-11, 4 RBI in the series. Scurry, Price and Knight all hit HR's this series.

vs San Diego (12-6, 3-1, 2-4)
A nice series win vs the Breakers. Volkman pitched in his first game since he pulled his bicep. He gave up 6 runs in 6 innings, however only 1 was earned so he will get to stay in the rotation for another start. Barney Cordova went as long as he could and went 8.2 innings but couldn't get the final out. He gave up 8 hits and K'd 4. Chambers pitched a decent game but got the L in a complete game effort. In the First game Leslie Aaron was HUGE going 3-3 with 2 HR and 6 RBI. Michael Price also hit #19 in that game. TRANSACTION news, Dennis Jackman my backup SS got hit by a pitch in the first game and cracked his jaw. He is out 4 weeks and to take his place I looked at all my available Shortstops in the organization and the best performer (who also happened to already be on the 40 man roster) was Lucious Ranney a 23 year old from Anaheim. At Flint (AA) .278-8-31. We'll see how the kid does. Leslie Aaron was named player of the week.

At Denver (5-4, 6-3, 3-4)
I take two at Devils Den Field and move up a game to .5 a game back. Archie Chapman went 5-12 HR, 2 RBI in the series. Kenton Smith had a nice first game 2-5 3 RBI and 2 HR. Trap Door hit #11 in game 2. Blake Everett pitched a great game in game 2 going 8.2 and allowing 3 earned runs. Barney Cordova got the L in the finale.

In other news, Miami is now tied with New York 5 games back for third. Franklin Paynter of Dayton is the first 11 game winner.

In the FL
Team W L PCT GB
Denver 47 31 .603 -
Detroit 47 32 .595 .5
Miami 42 36 .538 5
New York 42 36 .538 5
Batter of the Month NY RF Ezekiel 'No Neck' McKinney, .394-9-19
Pitcher of the Month Mia SP Jarrett Helm, 5-0 2.51

In the CL
Team W L PCT GB
Las Vegas 48 31 .608 -
Louisville 44 35 .557 4
Albuq. 43 36 .544 5
Batter of the Month, Alb 1B Chance Eriksen .388-8-33
Pitcher of the Month, LV P David Boone 5-0 2.09

Detroit Batter of the Month OF Archie Chapman .357-2-19
Detroit Pitcher of the Month CL Arthur Freshour 0-0-8sv .77
Arthur barely edges out Blake Everett (4-1 2.63) and Augstin Spates (3-0 .96 in 9 innings relief)

CecilCooper · 06-13-2004, 05:45 PM

vs Phoenix (3-4 (10), 7-6 (11), 2-0)
3 hard fought games is the best way to describe what went down at Detroit Stadium between the Roughnecks and the Firebirds. Kevin Chambers pitched okay in the opener but he did have 7 walks in 8 innings. Richard Davis, Justin Bozarth and Arthur Freshour combined on the shutout in the rubber game. Most of the offense came in the 2nd game and Leslie Aaron led the way 4-6 with 2 RBI. Also in the finale Lucius Ranney got his first start and went 0-4. Brain 'Deacon' Kellum went 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBI for the Firebirds in the 2nd game also.

At Orlando (8-3, 3-2, 9-5)
A nice sweep in Orlando!! Plenty of story lines in this series. Barney Cordova gets the win (8-4) after having 6 innings of 2 run ball. Michael Price and Leslie Aaron both go 3-5 with 2 RBI and Michael is able to get HR #20 before the break. Also Ranney got another start and went 2-5 with 1 RBI. In the 2nd game Kevin Chambers got win 11 going 8 strong innings. Leslie Aaron went 2-2 with 2 BB's. He was caught stealing one time so after his last time up, the computer chose to pinchrun for him with RP Nolan Peters, who promptly steals a base. Nothing like being shown up on the basepaths by a pitcher. Blake Everett goes the distance in the closing game. Archie Chapman goes 4-4 1 RBI, Johnson O'Brien 3-4 1 RBI and 1 HR (7) and Michael Price 1-4 3 RBI (61). Also in the last game, Orlando SP Daniel Unknow faces 7 batters, he walks 3 and allows 4 hits, then gets pulled. All 7 scored. So his line reads 0 IP, 7 ER. Yikes!

vs Dallas (0-6, 7-3, 2-1)
I head into the All-Star Break tied with Denver for the FL lead. For Dallas 3B Bill Brown had a great first game 2-4 HR, 3 RBI. Lester Boatner pitched a 2 hitter for the Lawmen. In game 2, Michael Price went 3-4 3 RBI as he and Leslie Aaron both hit HR's. In the finale, David Tuma went 2-4 with 2 RBI. Barney Cordova (9-4) and Andrew Binford (4-10) pitched complete games in this classic pitchers duel.

All-Star Game - FL4, CL 3 (10)
I had 6 people make the team.
Leslie Aaron (1-4 1R)
Johnson O'Brien (1-4)
Michael Price (0-3 2K's)
Kevin Chambers (2 IP 1 r, unearned, didn't start pitched 3rd and 4th)
Arthur Freshour (2 IP, 3 H, 0 R)
Barney Cordova (DNP)

CecilCooper · 06-14-2004, 10:53 PM

Record: 55-33 Las Vegas Stars
Average: .352 Tanner Tartar, San Diego Breakers
Home Runs: 22 Joseph 'Automatic' Lee, New York Ambassadors
RBI: 66 Tommy Madruga, Las Vegas Stars
SB: 41 Mark Bauer, Orlando Miracle
ERA: 1.69 Numbers Hopping, Louisville Sluggers
Wins: 12 Numbers Hopping, Louisville Sluggers
Larry McLean, Denver Diablos
Franklin Paynter, Dayton Dragons
Saves: 28 Arthur Freshour, Detroit Roughnecks
Strikeouts: 153 Franklin Paynter, Dayton Dragons

CecilCooper · 06-14-2004, 11:14 PM

vs Orlando (9-2, 7-3, 1-3)
Joshua Scurry started after the break like he started the season and that is on a terror. 5-11 6 RBI including a Grand Slam in the opener. Barney Cordova won #10 in the opener with a nice 7 inning performance. In the 2nd game, Kevin Chambers gets #12. Catcher Jason Sin goes 3-4 1 RBI. Alexander Seidman (3-11) pitches a great game for Orlando to salvage one win in the series. My Fan Interest went up again, and just checking it, it is now at 80! I was at 50 when deciding who to become. Foster Trosclair (3-8) pitches a 2 hit shutout for New York.

At Dallas (3-9, 2-10, 3-4 (10))
Ouch, I got swept. Somehow I am still in First Place bu 1/2 game. 3B Keith Griego had a great final 2 games after a game off. He went 3-10 with 5 RBI including the 3 run shot in the 10th of the 3rd game off of Freshour. In the 3rd game, Barney Cordova and Eugene Dixon both went 9 only allowing 1 run. Gregory Volkman got rocked in game 2. No need to mention any of my batters.

vs New York (0-3, 6-2, 5-1)
Remember how I just got done mentioning the great pitching performance by Foster Trosclair. Well, I just ran into a hot pitcher. He pitches 8 shutout innings and helps Kevin Chambers get a complete game loss. Also 'No Neck' McKinley hit 2 HR (20). Michael Price hits # 21 in game two to help end the 5 game slide. After a nice 5-1 start, George Kelly has lost 8 in a row. Blake Everett pitched a great game in the closer. Kenton Smith went 7-13, 3 R, 2 RBI.

CecilCooper · 06-19-2004, 01:40 AM

Dallas Lawmen
The Lawmen currently sit in 5th place, 3 games under .500 (47-50) and 11 games back of the lead. Dallas has a 52 for Fan Interest and a 52 Million dollar payroll. Dallas is led by 2 all-stars this year. SP Eugene Dixon a first-timer (11-7 2.73) and LF Jeffrey Hartman (.345-15-55) it was Jeffrey's 3rd time to participate in the game. OF Michael James, a 24 year old from Worcester, Mass has HUGE potential. He was the # 7 pick in the 1929 draft and is breaking through this year with a .307-8-31 clip so far. 2B Keith Griego is also having a great year (.283-13-41). The 38-year old is nearing the end of the line of his 4 time all-star career. CL Tommy Moberg is doing well also, 6-2, 19 sv, 2.01. A pair of people in the minors to keep an eye on are 25 year old OF Monte Berrios (.272-12-47) and SP 22 year old Joseph Showers (10-6 .388) both are at Frisco (AA).

Bakersfield Blaze
Baskersfield is 47-51 and also in 5th place, 13 games back of the lead in the CL. They also have a 52 for Fan Interest and a payroll of almost 56 million. The lone all-star this year for the Blaze was CL Anthony Bagwell who made his 2nd straight trip. Anthony is having a great year 3-1 23 sv 1.30. MR Frederick Deveau is the only other pitcher having a pretty good year (2-2 1 sv 1.89) The best starter is 37 year old Thomas Fulk 7-7 3.92. C Tanner Garrett (.285-13-46) and 1B John Ruff. John, 37, is having a career year with a .317-9-47. He is 2 RBI short of posting career highs for all three categories. Help appears to be on the way in the minors. 23 year old 1B Ernest Dubose (.306-13-50) is at Fresno (AAA) and could be ready next year. Also keep an eye on 22 SP Harold O'Brien 6-6 3.08 at Lancaster (A).

CecilCooper · 06-19-2004, 02:16 AM

At Denver (9-10, 2-5, 2-16)
OUCH! A 3-game sweep at Devils Den Field puts me a game back, into 2nd place behind these very Diablos. The only person to seem to salvage something from this series was Michael Price. Michael went 6-14 5 RBI and 2 HR. He is now tied with Joseph Lee of NY for the HR lead. Cordova, Volkman and Chambers all get the losses all without help from the field as they all had unearned runs to go with their line. The star for the Diablos this series was 1B Mario Frost. He went 10-12 2 HR, 1 2B, 7 RBI. SP Henry Brinker (5-6) was the only starter for Denver to have a good game also. In the final game he went 7 innings allowing 2 runs.

vs Phoenix (4-3, 7-6 (11), 4-0, 3-1)
A much needed 4-game sweep at home vs the Firebirds. There is nothing like welcoming the last-place team after you get swept. CF David Tuma was the star of this 4 game set. David 7-15, 3 R, 3 RBI was the catalyst for the offense which was much needed since it wasn't coming from elsewhere. James Bernardini came in during the 11th of game 2 with the bases loaded and promptly gives up a Grand Slam to RF August Weedman and 3 of the runs get charged to Justin Bozarth. But then we came back with 5 in the 11th to win. Johnson O'Brien hit a walk off double in the opener. Barney Cordova (11-5) pitches a 6-hit shutout in the 3rd game. Eugene Davis (11-9) also goes the distance for Phoenix. Gregory Volkman pitched a great last game allowing 1 run in 8+ and Arthur gets save number 29. Also during this series, Michael Price expressed his interest to keep playing with Detroit. He's 35 currently and the best batter I have so I jumped on it. I had 35 million to use for extensions and I signed him for 3 years at 7.86 mil. He drove a hard bargain, but we are happy to keep him.

End of July
The races are heating up! I sit .5 game back of Denver in the Federal League. And in the CL Albuquerque is .5 back of Las Vegas. Louisville is 3.5 back.

FL Batter of the Month - Den 1B Mario Frost .429-8-28
FL Pitcher of the Month - NY SP Foster Trosclair 3-0 1.13

CL Batter of the Month - Alb C Daniel 'Fats' Newby .455-5-25
CL Pitcher of the Month - Lou SP Numbers Hopping 5-0 0.69, 29 hits in 52 IP and 50 k's. He also leads the Association with 15 wins and a 1.41 ERA

Det Batter of the Month - 2B Leslie Aaron .300-1-7. .437 OPB. It was a weak month for the team offensively.
Det Pitcher of the Month - SP Barney Cordova 4-1 1.74

CecilCooper · 06-19-2004, 10:51 AM

Kalamazoo (AAA) - Joseph Paige, 30, (.320-20-56) is the main batter that will get a look come Sept. He can play 2B and RF. C Mark Olivier 31, (.297-24-76) and 34 year old OF Garry Branch (.318-21-57) are two others who will get a long look in Sept. SP Clement Jarboe has had a great start in AAA. In 67 IP Clement is 4-1 2.41 and allowed 42 hits. He has shown good control as well. SP Gary Maillet is also having a good year (11-9 3.51). Those two are regarded as the best prospects in the organization and 2 of the top 4 in the Association. SP John Dice (13-4 2.79) will be there, especially next year if these two do not seem ready. Also Donald Gebhardt (10-11 2.93) will be in the mix.

Flint (AA) - The # 3 prospect in the organization is not disappointing either. 1B Timothy Crepeau (.305-15-49) is doing well in his first year at AA. SS Joseph Cullinan, 24, (.304-5-38) will try and challenge Lucius Ranney for the SS of the future role. 27 Year old William Drysdale (.285-14-64) will most likely end up at AAA next year and get a shot in Sept to show me what he has as his time is running out. He can play the IF besides SS. Remember he SP I picked up a month or so ago? Sean Breeding? He's only 12-1 2.54 right now. He will end up at AAA next year and at 25 he could challenge for a starting spot, hopefully, in a year or so. There is only one starter who is having a bad year here. Casey Kolodziej, 31, 8-1 3.01, Jordan Liggett, 28, 9-8 2.68, Dean Cartagena 27, 8-9 3.87, and the one who needs a little more work, Robert Gray, 23 9-7 4.88. This team is 64-40.

Livonia (A) - The surprise so far is 5th rounder Leo Dexter out of Haltom City, TX. Leo is .308-9-53 this year. He might earn a trip to AA next year. First round pick John Levy (.242-12-36) might need another year here. 1B Jason Crumble (.270-10-46) and CF Robert Daughtrey (.277-11-48) are two others that might need a move up next year. 2nd rounder RP Kenneth Lockard is doing better. 2-3 2.94 in 33 IP. Former 7th Rounder RP Matthew Trimm is showing a little something in his 3rd year at Livonia. He is 1-1 3.13 in 46 IP. There is a trio of starters who will possibly be ready to move up the ladder next year. 19, Kurt Lowe, 9-7 3.20, Robert Bonk 24, 12-6 2.62 and finally 22, Terry Riemer 6-7 3.69. Out of the three, Riemer has a little more work to do on his control, but the other two seem pretty well set.

CecilCooper · 06-19-2004, 11:37 AM

At Dallas (3-0, 9-6, 5-2)
A nice sweep and I am back in first. Kevin Chambers pitches a 5-hit shutout. The Ghoul, Leslie Aaron, Bernard Blanc and David Tuma all had 2 hits. In Game 2, Leslie Aaron and backup 1B Billy Sprouse each went 1-2. Leslie had 3 RBI on HR #11 and Billy had 2 RBI on a double, both in a 6 run seventh. Jeffrey Knight went 3-3 1 RBI. Barney Cordova goes 7.1 innings to run his record to 12-5 in the 3rd game of the series. Johnson O'Brien hits a HR for the 2nd straight game (9). Harold Fox also hit one (2). Arthur Freshour saved two games and now has 31 on the year.

At New York (13-8, 2-4, 94 (12))
Johnson O'Brien hit a HR in his 3rd straight game! He went 2-5 5 RBI with a Grand Slam in the 8th. Michael Price hit #25 and not to be outdone Joseph Lee extended his lead with #27 with a 2-5 4 RBI game. In game 2, SS Brad Kaye killed me. He was 5-5 HR (14) and 3 RBI. Gregory Volkman (5-6) gave up 4 runs in 5.2 innings. He also threw 116 pitches, I need to keep an eye on him to make sure he isn't losing his control this late in the year. He is quite old, so it could happen. Billy Sprouse comes up HUGE in the third game. In the 12th inning, bases loaded and 2 out, and he rips a base-clearing double. He was 1-2 3 RBI and is having a great start to August and has been getting more time lately. Bill Rish got his 2nd win of the series.

vs Denver (5-11, 3-7, 3-6)
Ugh, they swept me again. I have now lost 7 in a row to Denver and again they take over first. If I end up not winning my division, this stretch of games will be a good reason why. I also just noticed I do not have a day off of the the whole month of August. We need to be able to get through this stretch. CF Brent Mackey went 8-11, 5 R and 3 RBI for the Diablos. 1B Mario Frost went 3-10 5 RBI in 2 games. Johnson O'Brien was the only person to really show up for Detroit, he was 5-8 4 R, 2 RBI and HR (11) in 2 games. This is depressing.

At Phoenix (3-6, 5-1, 7-3, 0-1)
Well, not quite the sweep I had of the Firebirds last time, but then again they didn't sweep me either. Nothing really exciting happened in game 1. SP Michael Gates (8-10) pitched a great game for Phoenix going 8 innings. In the 2nd game, David Tuma hit a pinch-hit 2-run HR (2) in the 9th. Kevin Chambers goes the distance to improve to 14-7. Johnson O'Brien (12) and Michael Price (26) each go yard. Johnson had 4 RBI and SP Ricahrd Davis went 3-3 and came 1 out away from gettng the complete game. In another great game between these two pitchers, Eugene Davis prevailed over Barney Cordova 1-0 as each pitcher went the distance and gave up 6 hits.

At Miami (0-8, 4-3 (11), 6-10, 3-0)
Well a split at Tidecat Park is all I could manage. In the opener I got shutout for the 2nd straight game. SP Andrew Burnside went the distance, giving up 7 hits and gets his 14th win (14-8). 2B Lloyd Smith went 4-4 with 2 RBI and 1B Robert Stipe went 3-3 2 HR and 5 RBI. These two are young and should provide some great moments as the years pile up. Leslie Aaron (12) and Bernard Blanc (3) each hit HR and drove in 2 RBI in game 2. Lloyd Smith had 3 more RBI in the 3rd game. Kevin Chambers did not make it out of the 4th inning. Richard Davis went the distance, pitching a 7-hit shutout in the final game of the series. He also had another hit. In his last 4 games he is 6-13 at the plate. With 35 games to go.... Denver and Detroit are deadlocked at 71-50.

CecilCooper · 06-21-2004, 09:53 PM

vs Orlando (8-0, 5-2 (14), 6-4)
A wonderful series at Detroit Stadium. And Pennant Fever is catching on as all three games were sell-outs. Barney Cordova (13-7) pitches a 5-hit shutout and Michael Price (28) and 'Trap Door' Scurry (14) each hit HR's and Scurry had 5 RBI. Both teams battled hard in game two and Leslie Aaron came up huge in the 14th with a walk-off 3 run homerun (13). In the 3rd game of the set, the reserves came out ready to play. Bill Daggett, Billy Sprouse and Jeffrey Knight combined for 5 hits and 2 RBI.

At San Diego (7-1, 8-4, 1-2, 5-9)
My 6 game winning streak comes to an end in the third game of the series in a pitcher's duel, but I have opened up a 3 game lead. Jeffrey Knight comes up big again this series. 6-13 with a HR in the first 3 games (7 for the year) 4 R and 4 RBI. Kevin Chambers goes the distance and wins his 15th in the opener. Joshua Scurry had a HR and 3 RBI in that game as well. In game 2, Kenton Smith (11) and Archie Chapman (6) joined Jeffrey's hit parade. SP Richard Davis continued his hot streak as he went 3-4 with 2 runs. In the third game, Harold Fox and Kenton Smith joined Jeffrey Knight as the players with 2 hits. And Cordova got the loss. In the fourth and final game, Blake Everett (9-11) got lit up giving up 8 runs, 7 earned in just over 5 innings. Michael Price hit #29 (1 behind leader Joseph Lee).

vs Miami (12-5, 4-6, 9-4)
I am not sure where my team has found this sudden burst of power, but I like it and I hope it keeps coming! Game 1 saw 3 more home runs and 12 runs on 13 hits. Leading the way was Archie Chapman 3-5 with 2 R and 3 RBI and HR (7). Lucius Ranney also came up big with a pinch-hit 3 run home run his first of his career. Augustin Spates has been great since his move to Detroit from Kalamazoo. He pitched 3 innings of relief and at the end of the series he had 34 IP and a 4-0 record with a 1.57 ERA. I only wonder where I would be if I hadn't started the year with Lorenzo Whitehouse. Kevin Chambers loses game 2 (15-9). 15 hits, but only 4 runs cross the plate. Kenton Smith led the way in game 3 with a 3-5 night with 2 runs. Also in what has turned into an ongoing watch.... SP Richard Davis went 1-3 with 1 run and 2 RBI. On the year he is batting .221 with 4 RBI. He is 10-20 with 3 RBI in his last 6 games. Robert Stipe went 6-12, 4 RBI for the series. The only signficance of it all is he now has a 26 game hitting streak going.

vs Denver (1-2, 3-9, 0-8, 3-2)
THUD! I do not know what spell the Diablos have cast over my team, but I hope the last game of this series was the one that broke it. After September 1, I have a 1 game lead and a magic # of 21. George Hults and Barney Cordova locked horns in the opener and has been the case this season, Barney did not get that much support from the batters. Blake Everett got shelled again and is getting close to losing his spot in the rotation. In fact it's a good thing I am done for the night because it will give me time to think. He is sitting at 9-12 5.25. SP Saul Buttrey (9-9) pitched a huge 8 hit shutout for the Diablos. Over the series the Diablos hit 7 home runs. And none were hit against Barney so it was all done in 3 games. Kevin Chambers won game #16 and Michael Price in #30 in the lone win of the series.

Next up, who to promote for the stretch run.

CecilCooper · 06-24-2004, 09:21 PM

One transaction to let you know about that happened the last day of the last sim. I claimed OF Gordon Rosenow from the Isotopes. Gordon was the 4th round selection in 1931 and in A ball that year he hit .343-8-48 and this year he is .270-7-48 at AA. So I took a chance on him. I am debating whether to let him be at AA or AAA with the roster moves I make for the extra bodies moving to Detroit. In 1 game in AAA he is 2-4 with an RBI.

Moving up to Detroit....... might take a week or so for one person. I need to clear some room on my 40 man roster for who I want to come up.
SP John Dice (will be in the rotation for Blake Everett)
2B-CF Joseph Paige
RF Jesse Gains (from AA)
LF Garry Branch
C Mark Olivier

CecilCooper · 06-24-2004, 09:32 PM

ooops, before I start... let me give an August recap.

In the FL
Detroit 79 56 --- 21 magic #
Denver 78 57 1
New York 74 61 5

FL Batter of the Month - Mia 1B Robert Stipe .464-5-30
FL Pitcher of the Month - Dal Myron Bynum 4-1 1.72

In the CL
Las Vegas 81 54 --- 20
Albuquerque 79 56 2
Louisville 78 57 3

CL Batter of the Month - Alb OF Alan Wilkins .452-6-20
CL Pitcher of the Month - Lou Willie Vessels 5-0 1.18

Det Batter of the Month - OF Jeffrey Knight .349-4-13
Det Pitcher of the Month - P Augustin Spates 1-0 1.18 in 15 games
second place is Richard Davis 5-1 4.27 and a .500 avg with 3 RBI

CecilCooper · 06-24-2004, 10:17 PM

At Orlando (3-9, 3-8, 6-2)
Well, Denver and I are tied for the lead and a 19 for magic number. Richard Davis still had his bat but forgot how to pitch. Maybe I need to move him to the OF or something. Lance Clark led the way for Orlando going 3-4 with 3 RBI. Barney Cordova did not have the best outing in game 2 and got the loss and is now 13-10. Michael Price hits #31 and drove in 2. Jesse Poteet went 3-4 with 2 RBI. Well the good news in game three was that we won and John Dice started the game. The bad news was 2 innings (and 2 runs allowed) in he got hurt and is now out for 5 weeks. Also on this same day Blake Everett complained and said he was a starter. Nolan Peters will get a shot now.

Vs New York (5-7, 11-10, 3-0)
Right now, down 1 game and 16 to make it up in. Game 3 was won by Barney. He pitched an 8 hit shutout vs Franklin Trosclair. In game 1, Leonard 'Dark Horse' Tooley went deep twice and had 6 RBI. Game 2 was lost when Arthur Freshour gave up 2 runs in the 9th. I was up 7-1 heading into the 6th and gave up 2,2,4 and 2. GRRRR!

Vs Orlando (1-9, 6-9, 8-7)
Now 2 games back. I do not know what it is, but whatever pitcher I put in Blake's spot gets hurt, so I will move him back there. Nolan Peters in game 2 got hurt and didn't pitch that well, but he is day-to-day for 2 weeks. SS Lee Brannigan and 3B Mark Isham both had 2 hits and 3 RBI with a HR each. Kenton Smith went 4-4 in the win.

At Dallas (3-4 (11), 8-2, 0-8)
Not much to say as the window of opportunity is the size of a pinhole right now. Nothing else to comment on.... I am bitter! I have San Diego next and then 3 with Denver so all is not completely lost, but I need to win 5 of 6 with all 3 Denver games as wins.

Vs San Diego (7-2, 0-6, 4-3)
The Magic # for the Diablos is 4 and I have 3 games with them this next series.

At Denver (3-4, 7-11, 8-4)
It's over congrats to the Diablos. The loveable losers fade down the stretch as they can not get over the hump and get into the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

I end the year with a sweep of the Dallas Lawmen at Detroit Stadium and as Arthur Freshour pitches to the last batter the near sellout crowd is on its feet and gives the team a standing ovation for their year of hard work and near miss of the playoffs. End of year wrap-up coming next.

CecilCooper · 06-26-2004, 12:26 AM

Batting Average: .356 Brandon Dufresne, C, LV
Home Runs: 34 Joseph Lee, 1B, NY
Michael Price, OF, Det
Todd Corbett, OF, Day
Jeremy Orvis, OF, StL
Runs Batted In: 116 Mario Frost, 1B, Den
Runs: 112 Shad Walker, 2B, Jac
Stolen Bases: 68 Brett Hauge, OF, Den
ERA: 1.49 Numbers Hopping, Lou
Wins 21 Numbers Hopping, Lou
Saves 38 John Frasure, LV
38 Arthur Freshour Det
Strikeouts 270 James Howard, Alb

Las Vagas Stars (94-62) vs Denver Diablos (93-63)
For Las Vegas, David Boone (18-3) and Jason Fisher (16-11) are good starters and will give them a chance to win any game they start. Jeffrey Rich was on the staff all year but didn't start until the end of the year an in 12 starts he is 6-3 and is a viable option for a 3rd starter. If the AI goes anywhere else, Las Vegas is in trouble. C Brandon Dufresne .356-25-99 is the catalyst of the offense. Las Vegas has good numbers at every lineup spot except for Left Field. It will be hard to keep them off of the board. Have you ever seen a Fan Interest of 101?? Well, the Stars have it.

Larry McLean (20-12) is the only top line starter that Denver seems to have. Every other starter is around .500, however, the bullpen looks to be the best in the league. Wilbert Blackmore (10-1 35 sv, 2.74) leads the way. 1B Mario Frost .322-25-116 and Jeffrey King .251-29-86 have the power and C Eric Johnson .362 and CF Brent Mackey .303 have the contact hitting.

I think the starters of the Stars along with their potent offense make this a rather short series and the Diablos will win one.... if they are lucky.

CecilCooper · 06-27-2004, 12:14 AM

Game 1 - Stars 5, Diablos 4
The series started off at The Ballfield at the Palms and saw the home team break open a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the 6th on a Home Run by LF Jack 'Country Boy' Ronan off of pitcher Larry McLean who went the distance for the Diablos. Country Boy and 1B Justin Brizendine each had 2 RBI for the winning side. 3B Jeffrey King had a HR and 2 RBI to lead the way for the Diablos. SP Jason Fisher got the win and Larry McLean got the loss.

Game 2 - Stars 7, Diablos 3
SS Ronald 'Dr Destiny' Schirmer hit a Home Run and had a game high 4 RBI to go with his 2-4 performance at the plate. C Brandon Dufresne went 3-4 with 2 runs for the Stars. For the Diablos, 3B Jeffrey King, 1B Mario Frost and C Eric Johnson all went 2-4. SP Jeffrey Rich got the win and SP George Hults took the loss for Denver.

Game 3 - Stars 10, Diablos 6
After an off day for travel the series shifted to Devil's Den Field, however the outcome stayed the same. 1B Justin Birzendine was one of the offensive stars with a 3-4 3 Run and 3 RBI performance. Among his 3 hits was a 3B and HR. 2B Dr Destiny also had 3 hits for Las Vegas. LF Brett Hauge was the best hitter this game for Denver as he had a 4-5 night at the plate. SP David Boone got the win for the Stars and the loss was handed to SP Saul Buttrey of the Diablos.

Game 4 - Stars 5, Diablos 4 (12)
The brooms were out in full force in the Las Vegas clubhouse and for just cause. All-Star closer Wilbert Blackmore gave up a solo home run to PH Bill Wright, in the 12th and that was the 2nd run given up in the inning. The Diablos tried to fight back but could only muster one in the bottom half of the inning. LF Brett Hauge and CF Brent Mackey each went 3-6 with 2 RBI in the losing effort. Robert Schirmer hit Home Run #2 of the series and was 1-4.

Co-MVPs: Las Vegas SS Robert Schirmer and 1B Justin Brizendine. Each batted .438 with Robert hitting 2 HR and having 6 RBI and Justin hitting 1 and also had 6 RBI.

Next Up Award Night

CecilCooper · 06-27-2004, 12:25 AM

Newcomers of the Year
FL - SP Brady Beckles, NY 14-3 4.80 192 K's in 172 IP
CL - RF Grant Longshore, DAY .233-10-65

Batters of the Year
FL - 1B Mario Frost, DEN .322-25-116
CL - RF Jeremy Orvis, STL .349-34-103

Pitchers of the Year
FL - SP Edwin Tunstall, SD 16-6 2.35
CL - SP Numbers Hopping, LOU 21-6 1.49 (4th award, 3rd in a row)

Next Report... State of the Roughnecks heading into the offseason.

CecilCooper · 06-28-2004, 08:19 PM

Ok well, first off we need to bid farewell to a few players who have decided to sail off into the sunset and hang up their spikes.

SP Gregory Volkman - A Roughneck for life, Gregory went 158-172 with a 3.72 ERA in 430 games, 428 as a starter. He made the All-Star team twice.

1B Joshua 'Trap Door' Scurry - Not much hasn't been said about this man's career earlier in the year when he was on a terror. An 8-time all-star, he has the recordbook lead for Home Runs with 691. He hit 68 in 1925. However, his best year was 1923 when we had .385-64-139, 91 BB with 45 k's. He also had 140 R. 9 Batter of the year awards (don't ask how he won one in a non-all-star year) including 8 in a row. He made the postseason 1 year with the St Louis Goldsox.

Among his leaderboard credits.... #9 Average (.317), #22 Hits (2521), #1 HR (691.... next closest is already retired Kevin Hebron (662) and active player is 40 year old Johnny 'Cyclone' Gehl, 521. #6 RBI (1719), # 11 BB (1256) and #6 Runs (1682). Also, 4 Platinum Gloves all later in his career (28-32 but not 30).

Finally.... CF David 'No Neck' Tuma - A 2-time all-star, David Tuma was the classic blue-collar worker on the field. Also a 2-time Platinum Glove outfielder, David ends his career with .275-145-801. He also had 999 Runs and 264 steals.

These three players will be missed immensely by the fans and players.

Now, a look ahead to what could be for next year
SP - Cordova, Chambers, R Davis are the only returners to the staff. I will let Blake Everett test the market. I resigned Nolan Peters and John Dice who could be the front runners for the last two spots, as could the youngsters Clement Jarboe and Gary Maillet. I am going to try and land a SP in FA and hope one of the two youngsters can step up also.

Relievers - Order of business # 1 at the end of the year was to re-sign Arthur Freshour. I had a love-hate relationship with him, but in the end the good far outweighed the bad. I locked him up for 3 more years. Also re-signed was Justin Bozarth. He had a good year and I have him for 4 more years. Bill Rish, and James Bernadini should both be back after arbitration. Augustin Spates will definitely be back as well. Kenneth Thomas and James Tignor are young prospects who are in AAA but still at least a year away.

C - Harold Fox and Jason Sin are both back for next year as is AAA Mark Olivier who is ready and willing to take over should one of them falter. There does not seem to be any other help in the system.

Infield - Leslie Aaron (2B) and Johnson O'Brien (3B) are both back for next year. Kenton Smith (SS) is also back as is 1B Billy Sprouse. I do not think Billy could handle the job day-to-day. All major league backups are back as well (which isn't saying too much). Timothy Crepeau (1B) at AA is the First Baseman of the future and had a great year at AA. If I can not find a viable option in FA I will give him the job next year. 27 year old AA player William Drysdale is an option at the rest of the infield.

Outfield - I will have to replace 2/3 of my starting outfield as David Tuma retired and I am letting Archie Chapman and his 5+ million dollar salary seek free agency. I wouldn't mind bringing him back for a little over half of that, but I am guessing that may not be possible. This is going to be a big target area when FA rolls around. Luckily I have one of the Associations best in Michael Price and quite honestly to get the production out of the other two spots shouldn't be THAT difficult.

Top Needs: 2 starting outfielders, 1 starting pitcher

Secondary Needs:a reliever and 1B who could start for a year.

CecilCooper · 07-25-2004, 05:21 PM

Hi everyone.... not sure if anyone is still wanting to follow this, but I was out of town for most of July (so far) at basketball tournaments and am back now. I did the off-season this morning and will update it later tonight.

CecilCooper · 07-26-2004, 08:33 PM

Well, as it turns out, with the awesome job I did generating attendance I had 36 million to play with this year in the offseason. A lot more than I would have figured and so I got a little bit done.

Signed:
RF Archie Chapman, I ended up losing the gamble on this one and signed him for more than I could have re-signed him with, but at the time I didn't know I would have this much money to play with or I might have done it before FA started. 5.7 for 3 years
OF Arlie Whyte - Arlie can play any OF position which is a big boost. He spent the last 4 years with Albany and has been an all-star in two of those years. He is 37, and had a decent year last year. .292-12-68, 10.0 for 3 years.
RP Jarrod Feinstein - 34 year old Relief Pitcher. Jarrod spent the last 6+ seasons with Miami and is also a 2-time all-star. Last year he was 3-2 with 2 saves and 3.05 ERA. 3.1 for 3 years.
SP Isaac Tolentino - 26 year old marginal prospect who is a bit of insurance for the team if one of my rookies falter. He was a great pitcher at AA last year 14-10 2.90 with great control and IP/H ratio. 500k for 2 years

Swung and missed
1B Chance Eriksen signed with St Louis for 13 mil for 3 years. When the price went over 7 million or so I gave up and will let my youngster take a crack at it.

SP Franklin Paynter signed with Las Vegas the 38 year old who has been 59-20 the last 3 years signed for 19 mil + for 2 years.

One other star
SS Jeffrey Moyes I did not bid on but he signed with Cincinnati for 7 years and 14 mil +.

Draft
1. SS David Barker - even though Kenton Smith seems to be the answer at SS for the future, I have no other option in the system.
2. C Kenneth Ange - I have no help at this position ANYWHERE in the organization including at the parent club.
3. MR Eugene Darrington - The highest starred prospect left, even when I drafted in the first round. I figured I had to grab him here.
4. SP Earl Shuman - I wanted to try and take a flyer on a SP out of HS and this rightie out of Seattle was the choice.
5. RF Troy Richter - I need some more OF's in the system. I have drafted 3 in the last 2 years so things should be getting stable there again, but having to find replacements on 2 starters and seeing the lack of decent replacements in the FA market made me make sure I could fill from within next time.
6. 3B Richard Parker - Best bat available at a possible need position.
7. RP Paul Seeber - Only 4 players left and this one intrigued me.

One last move
24 year old Outfielder James Murray was picked by San Diego in the Rule 5 draft. Last year in AA he hit .261 with 22 HR and 81 RBI.

CecilCooper · 07-31-2004, 01:37 PM

Opening Day Roster - 1933

Pitching Staff
Starters
Barney Cordova (opening day starter)
Kevin Chambers
Richard Davis
Clement Jarboe - the 5 star left-handed rookie.
#5 starter I gave to Donald Gebhardt over the other rookie Gary Maillet and Nolan Peters. I want Gary to get regular work and as a 5th starter he would get skipped a lot in the season.

Relievers
Augustine Spates - Hoping to pick up where his rookie year left off
Arthur Freshour
Jarrod Feinstein - the FA pickup
Justin Bozarth
James Bernardini
Bill Rish

Catchers/Infielders
Catchers
Jason Sin
Harold Fox

Infielders
Timothy Crepeau - 1B of the future (and now also it seems) will start off platooning with Sprouse but should get the job quickly.
Billy Sprouse - 1B
Leslie Aaron - 2B
Bernard Blanc - 2B RF
Kenton Smith - SS
Louis Ranney - SS
Bill Daggett - 3B May not be around for too long. He and Louis are the two most in danger of being 'upgraded.'
Johnson O'Brien - 3B

Outfielders
Arlie Whyte - LF
Archie Chapman - LF Arlie will start vs RH and Archie vs LH
Jeffrey Knight - CF his great production in limited time (.299-8-41 in under 200 AB's) got him this shot.
Michael Price - RF

Season Opener
Roughnecks 5, Lawmen 4
Jason Sin came through in a big way with a 2 run pinch-hit homerun in the 8th. Jarrod Feinstein got the win in his first action as a Roughneck. Arlie Whyte went 2-3 with a 2B and RBI in his first game for Detroit.

A great way to start the year!!!

CecilCooper · 07-31-2004, 01:51 PM

I am changing things up and going to give updates on a week (sometimes 2 week) at a time shot.

This first week of the season I went 4-2 and I like what I see so far from this season's edition of the Roughnecks.

Some games of note:
Game 2: A 8-3 win over the Lawmen. Kevin Chambers goes the distance and Billy Sprouse goes 3-4 with 3 doubles and 4 RBI.

Game 3: Timothy Crepeau's first action. A walk as a pinch-hitter. Another win as I sweep the Lawmen this time 6-3.

Game 4: The road opener in Denver and also Clement Jarboe's first game. Clement goes 8.2 innings and tosses 137 pitches and gets win # 1 of his (hopefully long) career. He allows 3 runs, all earned on 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out 8. Michael Price went 3-5 with 2 solo HRs.

06-13-2004, 05:15 PM	#21
CecilCooper Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 444	Rest of June At New York (10-8, 2-0, 14-8, 2-3) Taking 3 of 4 adds a little distance between myself and the Ambassadors. In the first slugfest, Kevin Chambers got rocked again but had a no-decision. He gave up 7 runs in just over 3 innings, but only 3 were earned as Kenton Smith had an AWFUL game in the field with 3 errors. Jeffrey Knight went 3-4 with 3 RBI. Archie Chapman and Johnson O'Brien each drove in 2 runs. Ezekiel 'No Neck' McKinley (16) and Joseph 'Automatic' Lee (20) each hit home runs. Blake Everett, who wants an extension, pitched a wonderful game. Giving up 4 hits in over 8 innings. George Kelley pitched a good game for NY giving up 2 runs, 1 earned in 8 innings. In the 2nd slugfest, Archie Chapman going 4-5 with 5 RBI and a HR (4). Archie is coming along nicely after a rough start this season .269-4-32. In the last game, Gregory Volkman pitched a great game before getting hurt in the 9th. Then Arthur Freshour comes in and gives up a hit and a walk in .2 inning and Detroit loses the game and it's Gregory's loss. 25 year old Brady Beckles pitched a great complete game for NY. Gregory Volkman is day-to-day with 85% health for 4 weeks. I will probably give him a start and then see how it goes. If he doesn't respond I will let John Dice get his chance and toss Gregory on the DL. At Phoenix (7-3, 5-0, 2-4, 1-3) All I can manage against the last place team is a 4-game split. In the opener Barney Cordova goes 7 innings and gets win #6. In game 2, Kevin Chapman pitches 8 shutout innings to get win #10, hopefully he is over the hump now and pitches like he started the year. The loser in game 2 was a complete game performance from David Hungerford who is now 0-7. Blake Everett pitched a nice complete game in game 3, but ended up with the L. As did Richard Davis in the last game. Micahel Gates (6-5 4.90) gave up 5 hits and k'd 8 in the CG win. Archie Chapman went 4-11, 4 RBI in the series. Scurry, Price and Knight all hit HR's this series. vs San Diego (12-6, 3-1, 2-4) A nice series win vs the Breakers. Volkman pitched in his first game since he pulled his bicep. He gave up 6 runs in 6 innings, however only 1 was earned so he will get to stay in the rotation for another start. Barney Cordova went as long as he could and went 8.2 innings but couldn't get the final out. He gave up 8 hits and K'd 4. Chambers pitched a decent game but got the L in a complete game effort. In the First game Leslie Aaron was HUGE going 3-3 with 2 HR and 6 RBI. Michael Price also hit #19 in that game. TRANSACTION news, Dennis Jackman my backup SS got hit by a pitch in the first game and cracked his jaw. He is out 4 weeks and to take his place I looked at all my available Shortstops in the organization and the best performer (who also happened to already be on the 40 man roster) was Lucious Ranney a 23 year old from Anaheim. At Flint (AA) .278-8-31. We'll see how the kid does. Leslie Aaron was named player of the week. At Denver (5-4, 6-3, 3-4) I take two at Devils Den Field and move up a game to .5 a game back. Archie Chapman went 5-12 HR, 2 RBI in the series. Kenton Smith had a nice first game 2-5 3 RBI and 2 HR. Trap Door hit #11 in game 2. Blake Everett pitched a great game in game 2 going 8.2 and allowing 3 earned runs. Barney Cordova got the L in the finale. In other news, Miami is now tied with New York 5 games back for third. Franklin Paynter of Dayton is the first 11 game winner. In the FL Team W L PCT GB Denver 47 31 .603 - Detroit 47 32 .595 .5 Miami 42 36 .538 5 New York 42 36 .538 5 Batter of the Month NY RF Ezekiel 'No Neck' McKinney, .394-9-19 Pitcher of the Month Mia SP Jarrett Helm, 5-0 2.51 In the CL Team W L PCT GB Las Vegas 48 31 .608 - Louisville 44 35 .557 4 Albuq. 43 36 .544 5 Batter of the Month, Alb 1B Chance Eriksen .388-8-33 Pitcher of the Month, LV P David Boone 5-0 2.09 Detroit Batter of the Month OF Archie Chapman .357-2-19 Detroit Pitcher of the Month CL Arthur Freshour 0-0-8sv .77 Arthur barely edges out Blake Everett (4-1 2.63) and Augstin Spates (3-0 .96 in 9 innings relief)

06-14-2004, 10:53 PM	#23
CecilCooper Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 444	Bests at the Break Record: 55-33 Las Vegas Stars Average: .352 Tanner Tartar, San Diego Breakers Home Runs: 22 Joseph 'Automatic' Lee, New York Ambassadors RBI: 66 Tommy Madruga, Las Vegas Stars SB: 41 Mark Bauer, Orlando Miracle ERA: 1.69 Numbers Hopping, Louisville Sluggers Wins: 12 Numbers Hopping, Louisville Sluggers Larry McLean, Denver Diablos Franklin Paynter, Dayton Dragons Saves: 28 Arthur Freshour, Detroit Roughnecks Strikeouts: 153 Franklin Paynter, Dayton Dragons

06-14-2004, 11:14 PM	#24
CecilCooper Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 444	Continuing On vs Orlando (9-2, 7-3, 1-3) Joshua Scurry started after the break like he started the season and that is on a terror. 5-11 6 RBI including a Grand Slam in the opener. Barney Cordova won #10 in the opener with a nice 7 inning performance. In the 2nd game, Kevin Chambers gets #12. Catcher Jason Sin goes 3-4 1 RBI. Alexander Seidman (3-11) pitches a great game for Orlando to salvage one win in the series. My Fan Interest went up again, and just checking it, it is now at 80! I was at 50 when deciding who to become. Foster Trosclair (3-8) pitches a 2 hit shutout for New York. At Dallas (3-9, 2-10, 3-4 (10)) Ouch, I got swept. Somehow I am still in First Place bu 1/2 game. 3B Keith Griego had a great final 2 games after a game off. He went 3-10 with 5 RBI including the 3 run shot in the 10th of the 3rd game off of Freshour. In the 3rd game, Barney Cordova and Eugene Dixon both went 9 only allowing 1 run. Gregory Volkman got rocked in game 2. No need to mention any of my batters. vs New York (0-3, 6-2, 5-1) Remember how I just got done mentioning the great pitching performance by Foster Trosclair. Well, I just ran into a hot pitcher. He pitches 8 shutout innings and helps Kevin Chambers get a complete game loss. Also 'No Neck' McKinley hit 2 HR (20). Michael Price hits # 21 in game two to help end the 5 game slide. After a nice 5-1 start, George Kelly has lost 8 in a row. Blake Everett pitched a great game in the closer. Kenton Smith went 7-13, 3 R, 2 RBI.

06-19-2004, 02:16 AM	#26
CecilCooper Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 444	End of July At Denver (9-10, 2-5, 2-16) OUCH! A 3-game sweep at Devils Den Field puts me a game back, into 2nd place behind these very Diablos. The only person to seem to salvage something from this series was Michael Price. Michael went 6-14 5 RBI and 2 HR. He is now tied with Joseph Lee of NY for the HR lead. Cordova, Volkman and Chambers all get the losses all without help from the field as they all had unearned runs to go with their line. The star for the Diablos this series was 1B Mario Frost. He went 10-12 2 HR, 1 2B, 7 RBI. SP Henry Brinker (5-6) was the only starter for Denver to have a good game also. In the final game he went 7 innings allowing 2 runs. vs Phoenix (4-3, 7-6 (11), 4-0, 3-1) A much needed 4-game sweep at home vs the Firebirds. There is nothing like welcoming the last-place team after you get swept. CF David Tuma was the star of this 4 game set. David 7-15, 3 R, 3 RBI was the catalyst for the offense which was much needed since it wasn't coming from elsewhere. James Bernardini came in during the 11th of game 2 with the bases loaded and promptly gives up a Grand Slam to RF August Weedman and 3 of the runs get charged to Justin Bozarth. But then we came back with 5 in the 11th to win. Johnson O'Brien hit a walk off double in the opener. Barney Cordova (11-5) pitches a 6-hit shutout in the 3rd game. Eugene Davis (11-9) also goes the distance for Phoenix. Gregory Volkman pitched a great last game allowing 1 run in 8+ and Arthur gets save number 29. Also during this series, Michael Price expressed his interest to keep playing with Detroit. He's 35 currently and the best batter I have so I jumped on it. I had 35 million to use for extensions and I signed him for 3 years at 7.86 mil. He drove a hard bargain, but we are happy to keep him. End of July The races are heating up! I sit .5 game back of Denver in the Federal League. And in the CL Albuquerque is .5 back of Las Vegas. Louisville is 3.5 back. FL Batter of the Month - Den 1B Mario Frost .429-8-28 FL Pitcher of the Month - NY SP Foster Trosclair 3-0 1.13 CL Batter of the Month - Alb C Daniel 'Fats' Newby .455-5-25 CL Pitcher of the Month - Lou SP Numbers Hopping 5-0 0.69, 29 hits in 52 IP and 50 k's. He also leads the Association with 15 wins and a 1.41 ERA Det Batter of the Month - 2B Leslie Aaron .300-1-7. .437 OPB. It was a weak month for the team offensively. Det Pitcher of the Month - SP Barney Cordova 4-1 1.74

06-19-2004, 11:37 AM	#28
CecilCooper Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 444	Start of August At Dallas (3-0, 9-6, 5-2) A nice sweep and I am back in first. Kevin Chambers pitches a 5-hit shutout. The Ghoul, Leslie Aaron, Bernard Blanc and David Tuma all had 2 hits. In Game 2, Leslie Aaron and backup 1B Billy Sprouse each went 1-2. Leslie had 3 RBI on HR #11 and Billy had 2 RBI on a double, both in a 6 run seventh. Jeffrey Knight went 3-3 1 RBI. Barney Cordova goes 7.1 innings to run his record to 12-5 in the 3rd game of the series. Johnson O'Brien hits a HR for the 2nd straight game (9). Harold Fox also hit one (2). Arthur Freshour saved two games and now has 31 on the year. At New York (13-8, 2-4, 94 (12)) Johnson O'Brien hit a HR in his 3rd straight game! He went 2-5 5 RBI with a Grand Slam in the 8th. Michael Price hit #25 and not to be outdone Joseph Lee extended his lead with #27 with a 2-5 4 RBI game. In game 2, SS Brad Kaye killed me. He was 5-5 HR (14) and 3 RBI. Gregory Volkman (5-6) gave up 4 runs in 5.2 innings. He also threw 116 pitches, I need to keep an eye on him to make sure he isn't losing his control this late in the year. He is quite old, so it could happen. Billy Sprouse comes up HUGE in the third game. In the 12th inning, bases loaded and 2 out, and he rips a base-clearing double. He was 1-2 3 RBI and is having a great start to August and has been getting more time lately. Bill Rish got his 2nd win of the series. vs Denver (5-11, 3-7, 3-6) Ugh, they swept me again. I have now lost 7 in a row to Denver and again they take over first. If I end up not winning my division, this stretch of games will be a good reason why. I also just noticed I do not have a day off of the the whole month of August. We need to be able to get through this stretch. CF Brent Mackey went 8-11, 5 R and 3 RBI for the Diablos. 1B Mario Frost went 3-10 5 RBI in 2 games. Johnson O'Brien was the only person to really show up for Detroit, he was 5-8 4 R, 2 RBI and HR (11) in 2 games. This is depressing. At Phoenix (3-6, 5-1, 7-3, 0-1) Well, not quite the sweep I had of the Firebirds last time, but then again they didn't sweep me either. Nothing really exciting happened in game 1. SP Michael Gates (8-10) pitched a great game for Phoenix going 8 innings. In the 2nd game, David Tuma hit a pinch-hit 2-run HR (2) in the 9th. Kevin Chambers goes the distance to improve to 14-7. Johnson O'Brien (12) and Michael Price (26) each go yard. Johnson had 4 RBI and SP Ricahrd Davis went 3-3 and came 1 out away from gettng the complete game. In another great game between these two pitchers, Eugene Davis prevailed over Barney Cordova 1-0 as each pitcher went the distance and gave up 6 hits. At Miami (0-8, 4-3 (11), 6-10, 3-0) Well a split at Tidecat Park is all I could manage. In the opener I got shutout for the 2nd straight game. SP Andrew Burnside went the distance, giving up 7 hits and gets his 14th win (14-8). 2B Lloyd Smith went 4-4 with 2 RBI and 1B Robert Stipe went 3-3 2 HR and 5 RBI. These two are young and should provide some great moments as the years pile up. Leslie Aaron (12) and Bernard Blanc (3) each hit HR and drove in 2 RBI in game 2. Lloyd Smith had 3 more RBI in the 3rd game. Kevin Chambers did not make it out of the 4th inning. Richard Davis went the distance, pitching a 7-hit shutout in the final game of the series. He also had another hit. In his last 4 games he is 6-13 at the plate. With 35 games to go.... Denver and Detroit are deadlocked at 71-50.

06-13-2004, 05:45 PM	#22
CecilCooper Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 444	Up through the All-Star Break vs Phoenix (3-4 (10), 7-6 (11), 2-0) 3 hard fought games is the best way to describe what went down at Detroit Stadium between the Roughnecks and the Firebirds. Kevin Chambers pitched okay in the opener but he did have 7 walks in 8 innings. Richard Davis, Justin Bozarth and Arthur Freshour combined on the shutout in the rubber game. Most of the offense came in the 2nd game and Leslie Aaron led the way 4-6 with 2 RBI. Also in the finale Lucius Ranney got his first start and went 0-4. Brain 'Deacon' Kellum went 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBI for the Firebirds in the 2nd game also. At Orlando (8-3, 3-2, 9-5) A nice sweep in Orlando!! Plenty of story lines in this series. Barney Cordova gets the win (8-4) after having 6 innings of 2 run ball. Michael Price and Leslie Aaron both go 3-5 with 2 RBI and Michael is able to get HR #20 before the break. Also Ranney got another start and went 2-5 with 1 RBI. In the 2nd game Kevin Chambers got win 11 going 8 strong innings. Leslie Aaron went 2-2 with 2 BB's. He was caught stealing one time so after his last time up, the computer chose to pinchrun for him with RP Nolan Peters, who promptly steals a base. Nothing like being shown up on the basepaths by a pitcher. Blake Everett goes the distance in the closing game. Archie Chapman goes 4-4 1 RBI, Johnson O'Brien 3-4 1 RBI and 1 HR (7) and Michael Price 1-4 3 RBI (61). Also in the last game, Orlando SP Daniel Unknow faces 7 batters, he walks 3 and allows 4 hits, then gets pulled. All 7 scored. So his line reads 0 IP, 7 ER. Yikes! vs Dallas (0-6, 7-3, 2-1) I head into the All-Star Break tied with Denver for the FL lead. For Dallas 3B Bill Brown had a great first game 2-4 HR, 3 RBI. Lester Boatner pitched a 2 hitter for the Lawmen. In game 2, Michael Price went 3-4 3 RBI as he and Leslie Aaron both hit HR's. In the finale, David Tuma went 2-4 with 2 RBI. Barney Cordova (9-4) and Andrew Binford (4-10) pitched complete games in this classic pitchers duel. All-Star Game - FL4, CL 3 (10) I had 6 people make the team. Leslie Aaron (1-4 1R) Johnson O'Brien (1-4) Michael Price (0-3 2K's) Kevin Chambers (2 IP 1 r, unearned, didn't start pitched 3rd and 4th) Arthur Freshour (2 IP, 3 H, 0 R) Barney Cordova (DNP)

06-19-2004, 01:40 AM	#25
CecilCooper Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 444	Dallas Lawmen and Bakersfield Blaze Dallas Lawmen The Lawmen currently sit in 5th place, 3 games under .500 (47-50) and 11 games back of the lead. Dallas has a 52 for Fan Interest and a 52 Million dollar payroll. Dallas is led by 2 all-stars this year. SP Eugene Dixon a first-timer (11-7 2.73) and LF Jeffrey Hartman (.345-15-55) it was Jeffrey's 3rd time to participate in the game. OF Michael James, a 24 year old from Worcester, Mass has HUGE potential. He was the # 7 pick in the 1929 draft and is breaking through this year with a .307-8-31 clip so far. 2B Keith Griego is also having a great year (.283-13-41). The 38-year old is nearing the end of the line of his 4 time all-star career. CL Tommy Moberg is doing well also, 6-2, 19 sv, 2.01. A pair of people in the minors to keep an eye on are 25 year old OF Monte Berrios (.272-12-47) and SP 22 year old Joseph Showers (10-6 .388) both are at Frisco (AA). Bakersfield Blaze Baskersfield is 47-51 and also in 5th place, 13 games back of the lead in the CL. They also have a 52 for Fan Interest and a payroll of almost 56 million. The lone all-star this year for the Blaze was CL Anthony Bagwell who made his 2nd straight trip. Anthony is having a great year 3-1 23 sv 1.30. MR Frederick Deveau is the only other pitcher having a pretty good year (2-2 1 sv 1.89) The best starter is 37 year old Thomas Fulk 7-7 3.92. C Tanner Garrett (.285-13-46) and 1B John Ruff. John, 37, is having a career year with a .317-9-47. He is 2 RBI short of posting career highs for all three categories. Help appears to be on the way in the minors. 23 year old 1B Ernest Dubose (.306-13-50) is at Fresno (AAA) and could be ready next year. Also keep an eye on 22 SP Harold O'Brien 6-6 3.08 at Lancaster (A).

06-19-2004, 10:51 AM	#27
CecilCooper Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 444	End of July Minors Report Kalamazoo (AAA) - Joseph Paige, 30, (.320-20-56) is the main batter that will get a look come Sept. He can play 2B and RF. C Mark Olivier 31, (.297-24-76) and 34 year old OF Garry Branch (.318-21-57) are two others who will get a long look in Sept. SP Clement Jarboe has had a great start in AAA. In 67 IP Clement is 4-1 2.41 and allowed 42 hits. He has shown good control as well. SP Gary Maillet is also having a good year (11-9 3.51). Those two are regarded as the best prospects in the organization and 2 of the top 4 in the Association. SP John Dice (13-4 2.79) will be there, especially next year if these two do not seem ready. Also Donald Gebhardt (10-11 2.93) will be in the mix. Flint (AA) - The # 3 prospect in the organization is not disappointing either. 1B Timothy Crepeau (.305-15-49) is doing well in his first year at AA. SS Joseph Cullinan, 24, (.304-5-38) will try and challenge Lucius Ranney for the SS of the future role. 27 Year old William Drysdale (.285-14-64) will most likely end up at AAA next year and get a shot in Sept to show me what he has as his time is running out. He can play the IF besides SS. Remember he SP I picked up a month or so ago? Sean Breeding? He's only 12-1 2.54 right now. He will end up at AAA next year and at 25 he could challenge for a starting spot, hopefully, in a year or so. There is only one starter who is having a bad year here. Casey Kolodziej, 31, 8-1 3.01, Jordan Liggett, 28, 9-8 2.68, Dean Cartagena 27, 8-9 3.87, and the one who needs a little more work, Robert Gray, 23 9-7 4.88. This team is 64-40. Livonia (A) - The surprise so far is 5th rounder Leo Dexter out of Haltom City, TX. Leo is .308-9-53 this year. He might earn a trip to AA next year. First round pick John Levy (.242-12-36) might need another year here. 1B Jason Crumble (.270-10-46) and CF Robert Daughtrey (.277-11-48) are two others that might need a move up next year. 2nd rounder RP Kenneth Lockard is doing better. 2-3 2.94 in 33 IP. Former 7th Rounder RP Matthew Trimm is showing a little something in his 3rd year at Livonia. He is 1-1 3.13 in 46 IP. There is a trio of starters who will possibly be ready to move up the ladder next year. 19, Kurt Lowe, 9-7 3.20, Robert Bonk 24, 12-6 2.62 and finally 22, Terry Riemer 6-7 3.69. Out of the three, Riemer has a little more work to do on his control, but the other two seem pretty well set.

06-21-2004, 09:53 PM	#29
CecilCooper Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 444	Rest of August vs Orlando (8-0, 5-2 (14), 6-4) A wonderful series at Detroit Stadium. And Pennant Fever is catching on as all three games were sell-outs. Barney Cordova (13-7) pitches a 5-hit shutout and Michael Price (28) and 'Trap Door' Scurry (14) each hit HR's and Scurry had 5 RBI. Both teams battled hard in game two and Leslie Aaron came up huge in the 14th with a walk-off 3 run homerun (13). In the 3rd game of the set, the reserves came out ready to play. Bill Daggett, Billy Sprouse and Jeffrey Knight combined for 5 hits and 2 RBI. At San Diego (7-1, 8-4, 1-2, 5-9) My 6 game winning streak comes to an end in the third game of the series in a pitcher's duel, but I have opened up a 3 game lead. Jeffrey Knight comes up big again this series. 6-13 with a HR in the first 3 games (7 for the year) 4 R and 4 RBI. Kevin Chambers goes the distance and wins his 15th in the opener. Joshua Scurry had a HR and 3 RBI in that game as well. In game 2, Kenton Smith (11) and Archie Chapman (6) joined Jeffrey's hit parade. SP Richard Davis continued his hot streak as he went 3-4 with 2 runs. In the third game, Harold Fox and Kenton Smith joined Jeffrey Knight as the players with 2 hits. And Cordova got the loss. In the fourth and final game, Blake Everett (9-11) got lit up giving up 8 runs, 7 earned in just over 5 innings. Michael Price hit #29 (1 behind leader Joseph Lee). vs Miami (12-5, 4-6, 9-4) I am not sure where my team has found this sudden burst of power, but I like it and I hope it keeps coming! Game 1 saw 3 more home runs and 12 runs on 13 hits. Leading the way was Archie Chapman 3-5 with 2 R and 3 RBI and HR (7). Lucius Ranney also came up big with a pinch-hit 3 run home run his first of his career. Augustin Spates has been great since his move to Detroit from Kalamazoo. He pitched 3 innings of relief and at the end of the series he had 34 IP and a 4-0 record with a 1.57 ERA. I only wonder where I would be if I hadn't started the year with Lorenzo Whitehouse. Kevin Chambers loses game 2 (15-9). 15 hits, but only 4 runs cross the plate. Kenton Smith led the way in game 3 with a 3-5 night with 2 runs. Also in what has turned into an ongoing watch.... SP Richard Davis went 1-3 with 1 run and 2 RBI. On the year he is batting .221 with 4 RBI. He is 10-20 with 3 RBI in his last 6 games. Robert Stipe went 6-12, 4 RBI for the series. The only signficance of it all is he now has a 26 game hitting streak going. vs Denver (1-2, 3-9, 0-8, 3-2) THUD! I do not know what spell the Diablos have cast over my team, but I hope the last game of this series was the one that broke it. After September 1, I have a 1 game lead and a magic # of 21. George Hults and Barney Cordova locked horns in the opener and has been the case this season, Barney did not get that much support from the batters. Blake Everett got shelled again and is getting close to losing his spot in the rotation. In fact it's a good thing I am done for the night because it will give me time to think. He is sitting at 9-12 5.25. SP Saul Buttrey (9-9) pitched a huge 8 hit shutout for the Diablos. Over the series the Diablos hit 7 home runs. And none were hit against Barney so it was all done in 3 games. Kevin Chambers won game #16 and Michael Price in #30 in the lone win of the series. Next up, who to promote for the stretch run.

06-24-2004, 09:21 PM	#30
CecilCooper Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 444	Start of Sept One transaction to let you know about that happened the last day of the last sim. I claimed OF Gordon Rosenow from the Isotopes. Gordon was the 4th round selection in 1931 and in A ball that year he hit .343-8-48 and this year he is .270-7-48 at AA. So I took a chance on him. I am debating whether to let him be at AA or AAA with the roster moves I make for the extra bodies moving to Detroit. In 1 game in AAA he is 2-4 with an RBI. Moving up to Detroit....... might take a week or so for one person. I need to clear some room on my 40 man roster for who I want to come up. SP John Dice (will be in the rotation for Blake Everett) 2B-CF Joseph Paige RF Jesse Gains (from AA) LF Garry Branch C Mark Olivier

06-24-2004, 09:32 PM	#31
CecilCooper Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 444	August Recap ooops, before I start... let me give an August recap. In the FL Detroit 79 56 --- 21 magic # Denver 78 57 1 New York 74 61 5 FL Batter of the Month - Mia 1B Robert Stipe .464-5-30 FL Pitcher of the Month - Dal Myron Bynum 4-1 1.72 In the CL Las Vegas 81 54 --- 20 Albuquerque 79 56 2 Louisville 78 57 3 CL Batter of the Month - Alb OF Alan Wilkins .452-6-20 CL Pitcher of the Month - Lou Willie Vessels 5-0 1.18 Det Batter of the Month - OF Jeffrey Knight .349-4-13 Det Pitcher of the Month - P Augustin Spates 1-0 1.18 in 15 games second place is Richard Davis 5-1 4.27 and a .500 avg with 3 RBI

06-24-2004, 10:17 PM	#32
CecilCooper Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 444	Start of Sept.... really! At Orlando (3-9, 3-8, 6-2) Well, Denver and I are tied for the lead and a 19 for magic number. Richard Davis still had his bat but forgot how to pitch. Maybe I need to move him to the OF or something. Lance Clark led the way for Orlando going 3-4 with 3 RBI. Barney Cordova did not have the best outing in game 2 and got the loss and is now 13-10. Michael Price hits #31 and drove in 2. Jesse Poteet went 3-4 with 2 RBI. Well the good news in game three was that we won and John Dice started the game. The bad news was 2 innings (and 2 runs allowed) in he got hurt and is now out for 5 weeks. Also on this same day Blake Everett complained and said he was a starter. Nolan Peters will get a shot now. Vs New York (5-7, 11-10, 3-0) Right now, down 1 game and 16 to make it up in. Game 3 was won by Barney. He pitched an 8 hit shutout vs Franklin Trosclair. In game 1, Leonard 'Dark Horse' Tooley went deep twice and had 6 RBI. Game 2 was lost when Arthur Freshour gave up 2 runs in the 9th. I was up 7-1 heading into the 6th and gave up 2,2,4 and 2. GRRRR! Vs Orlando (1-9, 6-9, 8-7) Now 2 games back. I do not know what it is, but whatever pitcher I put in Blake's spot gets hurt, so I will move him back there. Nolan Peters in game 2 got hurt and didn't pitch that well, but he is day-to-day for 2 weeks. SS Lee Brannigan and 3B Mark Isham both had 2 hits and 3 RBI with a HR each. Kenton Smith went 4-4 in the win. At Dallas (3-4 (11), 8-2, 0-8) Not much to say as the window of opportunity is the size of a pinhole right now. Nothing else to comment on.... I am bitter! I have San Diego next and then 3 with Denver so all is not completely lost, but I need to win 5 of 6 with all 3 Denver games as wins. Vs San Diego (7-2, 0-6, 4-3) The Magic # for the Diablos is 4 and I have 3 games with them this next series. At Denver (3-4, 7-11, 8-4) It's over congrats to the Diablos. The loveable losers fade down the stretch as they can not get over the hump and get into the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. I end the year with a sweep of the Dallas Lawmen at Detroit Stadium and as Arthur Freshour pitches to the last batter the near sellout crowd is on its feet and gives the team a standing ovation for their year of hard work and near miss of the playoffs. End of year wrap-up coming next.

06-26-2004, 12:26 AM	#33
CecilCooper Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 444	Year Highs Batting Average: .356 Brandon Dufresne, C, LV Home Runs: 34 Joseph Lee, 1B, NY Michael Price, OF, Det Todd Corbett, OF, Day Jeremy Orvis, OF, StL Runs Batted In: 116 Mario Frost, 1B, Den Runs: 112 Shad Walker, 2B, Jac Stolen Bases: 68 Brett Hauge, OF, Den ERA: 1.49 Numbers Hopping, Lou Wins 21 Numbers Hopping, Lou Saves 38 John Frasure, LV 38 Arthur Freshour Det Strikeouts 270 James Howard, Alb Las Vagas Stars (94-62) vs Denver Diablos (93-63) For Las Vegas, David Boone (18-3) and Jason Fisher (16-11) are good starters and will give them a chance to win any game they start. Jeffrey Rich was on the staff all year but didn't start until the end of the year an in 12 starts he is 6-3 and is a viable option for a 3rd starter. If the AI goes anywhere else, Las Vegas is in trouble. C Brandon Dufresne .356-25-99 is the catalyst of the offense. Las Vegas has good numbers at every lineup spot except for Left Field. It will be hard to keep them off of the board. Have you ever seen a Fan Interest of 101?? Well, the Stars have it. Larry McLean (20-12) is the only top line starter that Denver seems to have. Every other starter is around .500, however, the bullpen looks to be the best in the league. Wilbert Blackmore (10-1 35 sv, 2.74) leads the way. 1B Mario Frost .322-25-116 and Jeffrey King .251-29-86 have the power and C Eric Johnson .362 and CF Brent Mackey .303 have the contact hitting. I think the starters of the Stars along with their potent offense make this a rather short series and the Diablos will win one.... if they are lucky.

06-27-2004, 12:14 AM	#34
CecilCooper Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 444	1932 World Championship Game 1 - Stars 5, Diablos 4 The series started off at The Ballfield at the Palms and saw the home team break open a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the 6th on a Home Run by LF Jack 'Country Boy' Ronan off of pitcher Larry McLean who went the distance for the Diablos. Country Boy and 1B Justin Brizendine each had 2 RBI for the winning side. 3B Jeffrey King had a HR and 2 RBI to lead the way for the Diablos. SP Jason Fisher got the win and Larry McLean got the loss. Game 2 - Stars 7, Diablos 3 SS Ronald 'Dr Destiny' Schirmer hit a Home Run and had a game high 4 RBI to go with his 2-4 performance at the plate. C Brandon Dufresne went 3-4 with 2 runs for the Stars. For the Diablos, 3B Jeffrey King, 1B Mario Frost and C Eric Johnson all went 2-4. SP Jeffrey Rich got the win and SP George Hults took the loss for Denver. Game 3 - Stars 10, Diablos 6 After an off day for travel the series shifted to Devil's Den Field, however the outcome stayed the same. 1B Justin Birzendine was one of the offensive stars with a 3-4 3 Run and 3 RBI performance. Among his 3 hits was a 3B and HR. 2B Dr Destiny also had 3 hits for Las Vegas. LF Brett Hauge was the best hitter this game for Denver as he had a 4-5 night at the plate. SP David Boone got the win for the Stars and the loss was handed to SP Saul Buttrey of the Diablos. Game 4 - Stars 5, Diablos 4 (12) The brooms were out in full force in the Las Vegas clubhouse and for just cause. All-Star closer Wilbert Blackmore gave up a solo home run to PH Bill Wright, in the 12th and that was the 2nd run given up in the inning. The Diablos tried to fight back but could only muster one in the bottom half of the inning. LF Brett Hauge and CF Brent Mackey each went 3-6 with 2 RBI in the losing effort. Robert Schirmer hit Home Run #2 of the series and was 1-4. Co-MVPs: Las Vegas SS Robert Schirmer and 1B Justin Brizendine. Each batted .438 with Robert hitting 2 HR and having 6 RBI and Justin hitting 1 and also had 6 RBI. Next Up Award Night

06-27-2004, 12:25 AM	#35
CecilCooper Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 444	Newcomers of the Year FL - SP Brady Beckles, NY 14-3 4.80 192 K's in 172 IP CL - RF Grant Longshore, DAY .233-10-65 Batters of the Year FL - 1B Mario Frost, DEN .322-25-116 CL - RF Jeremy Orvis, STL .349-34-103 Pitchers of the Year FL - SP Edwin Tunstall, SD 16-6 2.35 CL - SP Numbers Hopping, LOU 21-6 1.49 (4th award, 3rd in a row) Next Report... State of the Roughnecks heading into the offseason.

06-28-2004, 08:19 PM	#36
CecilCooper Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 444	State of the Roughnecks Ok well, first off we need to bid farewell to a few players who have decided to sail off into the sunset and hang up their spikes. SP Gregory Volkman - A Roughneck for life, Gregory went 158-172 with a 3.72 ERA in 430 games, 428 as a starter. He made the All-Star team twice. 1B Joshua 'Trap Door' Scurry - Not much hasn't been said about this man's career earlier in the year when he was on a terror. An 8-time all-star, he has the recordbook lead for Home Runs with 691. He hit 68 in 1925. However, his best year was 1923 when we had .385-64-139, 91 BB with 45 k's. He also had 140 R. 9 Batter of the year awards (don't ask how he won one in a non-all-star year) including 8 in a row. He made the postseason 1 year with the St Louis Goldsox. Among his leaderboard credits.... #9 Average (.317), #22 Hits (2521), #1 HR (691.... next closest is already retired Kevin Hebron (662) and active player is 40 year old Johnny 'Cyclone' Gehl, 521. #6 RBI (1719), # 11 BB (1256) and #6 Runs (1682). Also, 4 Platinum Gloves all later in his career (28-32 but not 30). Finally.... CF David 'No Neck' Tuma - A 2-time all-star, David Tuma was the classic blue-collar worker on the field. Also a 2-time Platinum Glove outfielder, David ends his career with .275-145-801. He also had 999 Runs and 264 steals. These three players will be missed immensely by the fans and players. Now, a look ahead to what could be for next year SP - Cordova, Chambers, R Davis are the only returners to the staff. I will let Blake Everett test the market. I resigned Nolan Peters and John Dice who could be the front runners for the last two spots, as could the youngsters Clement Jarboe and Gary Maillet. I am going to try and land a SP in FA and hope one of the two youngsters can step up also. Relievers - Order of business # 1 at the end of the year was to re-sign Arthur Freshour. I had a love-hate relationship with him, but in the end the good far outweighed the bad. I locked him up for 3 more years. Also re-signed was Justin Bozarth. He had a good year and I have him for 4 more years. Bill Rish, and James Bernadini should both be back after arbitration. Augustin Spates will definitely be back as well. Kenneth Thomas and James Tignor are young prospects who are in AAA but still at least a year away. C - Harold Fox and Jason Sin are both back for next year as is AAA Mark Olivier who is ready and willing to take over should one of them falter. There does not seem to be any other help in the system. Infield - Leslie Aaron (2B) and Johnson O'Brien (3B) are both back for next year. Kenton Smith (SS) is also back as is 1B Billy Sprouse. I do not think Billy could handle the job day-to-day. All major league backups are back as well (which isn't saying too much). Timothy Crepeau (1B) at AA is the First Baseman of the future and had a great year at AA. If I can not find a viable option in FA I will give him the job next year. 27 year old AA player William Drysdale is an option at the rest of the infield. Outfield - I will have to replace 2/3 of my starting outfield as David Tuma retired and I am letting Archie Chapman and his 5+ million dollar salary seek free agency. I wouldn't mind bringing him back for a little over half of that, but I am guessing that may not be possible. This is going to be a big target area when FA rolls around. Luckily I have one of the Associations best in Michael Price and quite honestly to get the production out of the other two spots shouldn't be THAT difficult. Top Needs: 2 starting outfielders, 1 starting pitcher Secondary Needs:a reliever and 1B who could start for a year.

07-25-2004, 05:21 PM	#37
CecilCooper Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 444	I'm back Hi everyone.... not sure if anyone is still wanting to follow this, but I was out of town for most of July (so far) at basketball tournaments and am back now. I did the off-season this morning and will update it later tonight.

07-26-2004, 08:33 PM	#38
CecilCooper Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 444	Offseason Moves Well, as it turns out, with the awesome job I did generating attendance I had 36 million to play with this year in the offseason. A lot more than I would have figured and so I got a little bit done. Signed: RF Archie Chapman, I ended up losing the gamble on this one and signed him for more than I could have re-signed him with, but at the time I didn't know I would have this much money to play with or I might have done it before FA started. 5.7 for 3 years OF Arlie Whyte - Arlie can play any OF position which is a big boost. He spent the last 4 years with Albany and has been an all-star in two of those years. He is 37, and had a decent year last year. .292-12-68, 10.0 for 3 years. RP Jarrod Feinstein - 34 year old Relief Pitcher. Jarrod spent the last 6+ seasons with Miami and is also a 2-time all-star. Last year he was 3-2 with 2 saves and 3.05 ERA. 3.1 for 3 years. SP Isaac Tolentino - 26 year old marginal prospect who is a bit of insurance for the team if one of my rookies falter. He was a great pitcher at AA last year 14-10 2.90 with great control and IP/H ratio. 500k for 2 years Swung and missed 1B Chance Eriksen signed with St Louis for 13 mil for 3 years. When the price went over 7 million or so I gave up and will let my youngster take a crack at it. SP Franklin Paynter signed with Las Vegas the 38 year old who has been 59-20 the last 3 years signed for 19 mil + for 2 years. One other star SS Jeffrey Moyes I did not bid on but he signed with Cincinnati for 7 years and 14 mil +. Draft 1. SS David Barker - even though Kenton Smith seems to be the answer at SS for the future, I have no other option in the system. 2. C Kenneth Ange - I have no help at this position ANYWHERE in the organization including at the parent club. 3. MR Eugene Darrington - The highest starred prospect left, even when I drafted in the first round. I figured I had to grab him here. 4. SP Earl Shuman - I wanted to try and take a flyer on a SP out of HS and this rightie out of Seattle was the choice. 5. RF Troy Richter - I need some more OF's in the system. I have drafted 3 in the last 2 years so things should be getting stable there again, but having to find replacements on 2 starters and seeing the lack of decent replacements in the FA market made me make sure I could fill from within next time. 6. 3B Richard Parker - Best bat available at a possible need position. 7. RP Paul Seeber - Only 4 players left and this one intrigued me. One last move 24 year old Outfielder James Murray was picked by San Diego in the Rule 5 draft. Last year in AA he hit .261 with 22 HR and 81 RBI.

07-31-2004, 01:37 PM	#39
CecilCooper Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 444	Season Opener 1933 Opening Day Roster - 1933 Pitching Staff Starters Barney Cordova (opening day starter) Kevin Chambers Richard Davis Clement Jarboe - the 5 star left-handed rookie. #5 starter I gave to Donald Gebhardt over the other rookie Gary Maillet and Nolan Peters. I want Gary to get regular work and as a 5th starter he would get skipped a lot in the season. Relievers Augustine Spates - Hoping to pick up where his rookie year left off Arthur Freshour Jarrod Feinstein - the FA pickup Justin Bozarth James Bernardini Bill Rish Catchers/Infielders Catchers Jason Sin Harold Fox Infielders Timothy Crepeau - 1B of the future (and now also it seems) will start off platooning with Sprouse but should get the job quickly. Billy Sprouse - 1B Leslie Aaron - 2B Bernard Blanc - 2B RF Kenton Smith - SS Louis Ranney - SS Bill Daggett - 3B May not be around for too long. He and Louis are the two most in danger of being 'upgraded.' Johnson O'Brien - 3B Outfielders Arlie Whyte - LF Archie Chapman - LF Arlie will start vs RH and Archie vs LH Jeffrey Knight - CF his great production in limited time (.299-8-41 in under 200 AB's) got him this shot. Michael Price - RF Season Opener Roughnecks 5, Lawmen 4 Jason Sin came through in a big way with a 2 run pinch-hit homerun in the 8th. Jarrod Feinstein got the win in his first action as a Roughneck. Arlie Whyte went 2-3 with a 2B and RBI in his first game for Detroit. A great way to start the year!!!

07-31-2004, 01:51 PM	#40
CecilCooper Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 444	First week of Season I am changing things up and going to give updates on a week (sometimes 2 week) at a time shot. This first week of the season I went 4-2 and I like what I see so far from this season's edition of the Roughnecks. Some games of note: Game 2: A 8-3 win over the Lawmen. Kevin Chambers goes the distance and Billy Sprouse goes 3-4 with 3 doubles and 4 RBI. Game 3: Timothy Crepeau's first action. A walk as a pinch-hitter. Another win as I sweep the Lawmen this time 6-3. Game 4: The road opener in Denver and also Clement Jarboe's first game. Clement goes 8.2 innings and tosses 137 pitches and gets win # 1 of his (hopefully long) career. He allows 3 runs, all earned on 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out 8. Michael Price went 3-5 with 2 solo HRs.