The Magpies

[Paulie123]

9 May 2050

onlytheboxscore.com/Magpies
Magpies acquire Hart from Baton Rouge in exchange for Copeland in move that suits both teams
Posted by Bert Shock, @bertieshockjock

The Magpies and the Deltas have announced the first major trade of the 2050 season, and it’s a biggie. Baton Rouge have acquired elite closer Gabe Copeland from Des Moines, while in return the Magpies have obtained 24-year-old starting pitcher Tom Hart. The Deltas also received left-handed reliever Li-ren Chow in the exchange.

Hart was the 7th overall pick by the Deltas in the 2048 draft. Having spent a season and a half mainly pitching out of their bullpen, Hart has now become a full-time starter, and has put up a 2-2 record with a 1.80 ERA from 7 starts this year. He has a 4-pitch arsenal, highlighted by a lethal sinker which earns plenty of swings and misses. The Magpies front office clearly view Hart as an upgrade to their current rotation, who they also believe will take over as their ace for the long-term with present rotation leader Kevin Cantrell expected to become a free agent after this season. Hart is under club control for three more seasons after this one. With both Copeland and Hart earning the league salary minimum this year, the trade has no impact on the Magpies’ total payroll for this season.

The trade has prompted a roster reshuffle by GM Billy DePodesta. Ken James, who recently signed a long-term contract extension, will take over as closer. Gustavo Cruz moves out of the rotation to make space for Hart, and into the bullpen. Lefty prospect Marv Lewis returns to the minor league roster, and Aurelio Alomar is promoted into the final bullpen spot with the opportunity to restore his reputation from long relief. Lewis showed encouraging glimpses of his talent during his short spell in the big leagues.

For both teams, the trade deals out of an area of strength, and improves an area of weakness. For the Magpies, Hart gives them a high-ceiling, ace caliber addition to their rotation, while their pitching depth made Copeland replaceable. By contrast, the Deltas have given up a member of their very strong rotation in order to improve their weak bullpen. Copeland has immediately been installed as their closer, while Chow has also joined the major league club. Chow is a very good pitcher who was blocked in Des Moines by the club’s glut of talented young arms.

The trade looks an even one on the face of it, and one that will help both teams in the short-term. However, many Deltas fans are surprised that the club would agree to let a talented young starting pitcher like Hart leave, albeit in return for one of the SCL’s premier closers. Only time will tell whether the Baton Rouge front office has made a sage move. If the two-time defending WL champions can finally win the Cup Final Series, it will be entirely justified.

[Paulie123]

15 May 2050

GM’s notebook - Series 13 and 14

Magpies 5-2 Lansing
Magpies 0-5 Lansing
Magpies 8-4 Lansing
Santa Fe 4-1 Magpies
Santa Fe 0-2 Magpies
Santa Fe 3-1 Magpies

- We handed Lansing’s outstanding starter Carlos Lara his first loss of the season, after racking up 4 runs against him in the 3rd inning of the 5-2 win. Newly-installed closer Ken James (see previous post) threw an excellent 1-2-3 9th inning.
- Tom Hart made his highly-anticipated first start for us in the final game of the Sharks series. It was reasonable: 8 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 K. The offense backed him up by scoring early and often, including smashing 5 home runs.
- Gianni Hagenaars was forced to leave the 4-1 defeat versus Santa Fe in the 4th inning with back spasms (see next post). He’ll be out for 5 weeks, and Dave Plummer will now have a run on the roster. It’ll give me a proper chance to see what the young right fielder can do.
- Israel Padilla ran his record to 4-0, 2.20 with 8 shutout innings (3 hits) in the 2-0 victory in the second game of the Outlaws series. He looks like he’s been in a major league rotation for years. Ernesto Solís hit 2-2, DBL, BB.
- Former Magpies pitcher Don Rich, now at Lansing, suffered a torn flexor tendon in his elbow and will be out for 9 months.

This week: 3-3
Record: 23-19, 3rd place, 5 GB from Madison

[Paulie123]

14 May 2050

(Reproduced courtesy of SCL At-Bat, the number one app for all the latest SCL news and scores)

Hagenaars’s back injury prompts outfield reshuffle in Des Moines
Plummer recalled to Magpies’ outfield ranks
By Buster Oldknee, 3:12PM, 13 May 50

Centre fielder Gianni Hagenaars has been placed on the disabled list, the Des Moines Magpies’ press office announced this morning. Hagenaars left the field in obvious discomfort during last night’s defeat against Santa Fe and headed straight to the locker room. The Magpies have provided no more details than that is has a back injury, and is expected at this stage to remain on the disabled list for 5-6 weeks. His absence will be a loss to his team, not just through his stellar defense (+6.7 ZR at CF so far this season) but also from his bat (.719 OPS).

The news of Hagenaars’s injury has led to a significant reshuffling of the pack by GM Billy DePodesta and field manager Johannes Kepler. Enrique Limón will move across from LF and take over as the everyday starter at CF. Terry Lawrence and António Fernández will platoon in LF in place of Limón. Pedro Soto and Nick Baker will platoon at RF. Outfielder Dave Plummer has been recalled from the club’s minor league roster and will play designated hitter against left-handed pitchers in place of the slumping Kenkichi Soto. The moves downgrade the Magpies’ outfield defense from ‘outstanding’ to merely ‘good’. DePodesta will hope they don’t also downgrade the team’s results.

[Paulie123]

21 May 2050

GM’s notebook - Series 15 and 16

Magpies 1-2 Phoenix
Magpies 7-1 Phoenix
Magpies 0-4 Phoenix
Baton Rouge 7-3 Magpies
Baton Rouge 1-9 Magpies
Baton Rouge 7-9 Magpies

- Phoenix’s starter Kenny Young (7-0, 2.65) had too much for us in the opener down in Arizona. We have faced a couple of the game’s premier pitchers in the last couple of days, but that’s the fourth game in the row where the offense has struggled to get anything going.
- I made a change to the batting order vs righties in an effort to get something going on offense. Ángel Márquez moves to #3, Gonzalo Torralda (.999 OPS) moves up to #5, and Ángel Ochoa move down to #6.
- That seemed to work, as the new lineup scored 7 the next day. Enrique Limón went 2-3 with a HR and a walk. Tom Hart threw a beauty of a game: 9 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K.
- But the next day, 8 hits against our former starter Derek Jenkins failed to yield a run.
- Baton Rouge won the first game in our series after scoring 4 runs in the top of the 11th to break the 3-3 tie. The Magpies fans were muttering after Gabe Copeland threw 2 scoreless innings for the Deltas, but Ken James, his replacement as our closer, allowed 2 runs without retiring a batter.
- Hopeless St. Paul (13-33) have traded their veteran superstar and 7-time Outstanding Hitter winner Sam Jordan to Raleigh in exchange for 20-year-old shortstop Pedro De La Garza. Rockets’ fans are absolutely up in arms about the move. In principle, it’s a good move to shift a large veteran contract for prospects for a rebuild, but Jordan was a very special case. And the Rockets did not get enough of a return to justify the trade, in my opinion. De La Garza is a defense-first shortstop.
- The 9-1 victory in game two against the Deltas was a brilliant performance. Israel Padilla was again magnificent (9 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 H), as were Jeffrey White (3-4, HR, DBL) and Terry Lawrence (3-4, DBL, 2 SB).
- We sit only 4 games above .500 and are 5 games back from the Brown Bears. Yet we are 1st in the Western League for runs scored (225), 2nd for runs against (172), 1st in batting average (.274), 2nd in team ERA (2.26) and 1st for defensive efficiency (.732). We are 4 games behind our Pythagorean record of 30-18. My conclusion: don’t panic, we’re playing well.

This week: 3-3
Record: 26-22, =2nd place, 5 GB from Madison

[Paulie123]

17 May 2050

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SCLmagpiesnation.com
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Magpies agree 4-year pact with outfielder Soto
By Maggie Pye | 17 May | 5,038 comments

The Magpies signalled their intention for Pedro Soto to be one of the mainstays of their offense for the next few years by agreeing a 4-year, $13m/yr contract extension with the right fielder. The deal buys out Soto’s remaining arbitration years and first year of free agency. The $13m annual salary represents an increase on his current $11.9m wage.

This year, Soto is hitting .273 with a .841 OPS. On defense, he has not made a single error so far this season. Manager Johannes Kepler said, “I’m delighted that the organisation and Pedro have come to terms on a contract which will keep him here for the next few years. He is an outstanding baseball player and a great guy in the clubhouse.”

Some observers, however, noted that Soto’s contract does not include a no-trade clause, and the extension may even make a future trade more likely should the Magpies need to reduce payroll, now that any uncertainty over Soto’s future earnings has been removed.

[Paulie123]

28 May 2050

GM’s notebook - Series 17 and 18

Magpies 2-1 Sacramento
Magpies 0-2 Sacramento
Magpies 6-10 Sacramento
Bismarck 1-4 Magpies
Bismarck 7-5 Magpies
Bismarck 3-7 Magpies

- Tom Hart ran his season record to 5.2, 1.80 with another excellent outing in the opener in Sacramento against the Stingrays: 9 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 H. He’s putting up exactly the ace-quality performances I was hoping to get from him.
- Game two versus the Stingrays was emblematic of our season on offense. 10 hits and 2 walks failed to score a run. The Rays had only 4 hits all day and scored 2.
- Israel Padilla is a delight to watch pitch this season. He beat Bismarck in the first game of the series with a really mature display: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 K.
- Gustavo Cruz gave up the winning runs in the 7-5 defeat to the Coyotes the next day, the second loss in a row where he’s done that. The Iowa Ballpark crowd weren’t happy, and I don’t blame them. He’s 0-3 with a 5.56 ERA and 6.02 FIP. He’s walking an inexcusable 6.35 hitters per 9 innings. I’ve sent him down to the minor league roster to have a spell away from the pressure of a major league game. And now I get a chance to see what the electric young lefty David Gaines can do.
- Hart rounded off the week with yet another dominant outing, throwing 8 IP for just 1 earned run. Dave Plummer had his best day in the majors, hitting 2-3 with 2 DBL. Hart (1.73) and Padilla (1.80) have the 4th and 5th best ERAs among qualified starters.
- Roberto Caro is hitting .347 in Lansing so far this year, after hitting .234 here in Des Moines last season. *sigh*
- Next up we travel to North Division leaders Madison and have the chance to close the gap.

This week: 3-3
Record: 29-25, 3rd place, 4 GB from Madison

[Paulie123]

29 May 2050

FANGRAPHICS
Chat: Osiris Sabretooth has finally stopped sleeping on mates’ sofas after his break-up, and finally has himself a place of his own. That means he actually has time to answer some baseball questions, so fire away.

9:08

Osiris: Morning morning morning, tout le monde! Hope you’re all very well.

9:09

Sabermetric Jedi: What’s going on with the Magpies offense? They have 8 position players with an OPS over .800, a team batting average of .276 that leads the Western League, and yet they are having real difficulty scoring runs at times.

9:10

Osiris: I think it’s a combination of 2 things. First, bad luck, plain and simple. They’re not stringing hits together and getting hits at the crucial time. Second, they’re stealing too much. In recent years they’ve heavily favoured nabbing a base, but the current roster overall isn’t that quick. They’ve stolen 25 bases but been caught 17 times. That ratio is costing them outs and games.

9:11

Crack the WHIP: What will DePodesta do about Limón and Cantrell and their expiring contracts?

9:11

Osiris: Well, I doubt he’ll seek to move either of them until much nearer the July deadline. It will largely depend on where they stand as the deadline approaches. If they’re in contention, no way he’ll deal Limón. Now that the Magpies have got Hart as their new ace, I have a nagging suspicion DePodesta may move Cantrell either way.

9:12

Rhapsody in Stew: When will we see young catcher José Pereira up with the big club? Great behind the plate and a good bat. Looks major-League ready to me.

9:13

Osiris: Pereira’s ready already. The Magpies are just manipulating his service time to try and keep him away from arbitration until the end of the 2053 season. He’ll be up soon enough, and Kenkichi Sato will be a trade chip.

9:14

Bit of Blue: I love what Gonzalo Torralda is doing this year. He’s just getting better and better.

9:15

Osiris: DePodesta is cleverly keeping him away from left-handed pitchers. Torralda has only had 11 at-bats against lefties so far this season. But yes, against righties he’s been terrific.

9:16

Osiris: Sorry mes amis, time to go. Thanks for all the questions. Enjoy your day!

[Paulie123]

3 June 2050

GM’s notebook - Series 19 and 20

Magpies 15-7 Madison
Magpies 10-2 Madison
Magpies 1-3 Madison
Magpies 5-8 Denver
Magpies 7-4 Denver
Magpies 10-2 Denver

- There were so many offensive highlights in the 15-7 trouncing of the Brown Bears. Gonzalo Torralda 3-3, 2 HR, 2 BB. Pedro Soto 2-5, 2 HR, 5 RBI. Enrique Limón 4-6. In total we hit 6 HR.
- We pounded Madison again the next day. It began with Ángel Ochoa’s grand slam in the top of the first and didn’t let up. Both Ochoa and Ángel Márquez went 2-4 with a home run.
- It took Madison’s excellent veteran Tony Casas to finally keep our offense under control in the third game of the series.
- David Gaines made his Magpies debut in the game, throwing a scoreless 8th inning.
- In the opening game in Denver, I opted to give Bernardo Merrado another spot start instead of using a nearly-fit Kevin Cantrell. The decision back-fired, as Merrado got battered for 6 H and 5 R from just 1.1 IP before Johannes Kepler hooked him out of the game.
- Limón had another 4-6 day in the 7-4 defeat of the Snow Sox.
Sacramento (23-36) suffered a huge blow with the news that their superb ace Shiki Harada has been ruled out for 9 months with a torn flexor tendon in his elbow. Their best starting pitcher is now Scott Harris, who spent the first half of 2048 on our minor league roster before I traded him to Santa Fe in exchange for Gustavo Cruz and Marv Lewis.
- 5 runs in the top of the 9th inning in the rubber game gave the scoreline a lopsided look. Tom Hart produced yet another gem: 8.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER.
- An average of 8 runs scored per game this week - excellent!
- It’s very tight at the top of the North Division now, with just 3 games separating the top 4 teams.

This week: 4-2
Record: 33-27, 3rd place, 2 GB from Madison, Bismarck

[Paulie123]

10 June 2050

GM’s notebook - Series 21 and 22

Olympia 5-1 Magpies
Olympia 3-5 Magpies
Olympia 0-4 Magpies
Magpies 3-0 St. Paul
Magpies 8-4 St. Paul
Magpies 10-4 St. Paul

- Aristotle Catheter popped into my office to say that Gianni Hagenaars has suffered a setback in his recovery from back spasms, and will probably be out 1-2 weeks longer than first expected. He likely won’t be back on the team now until early July.
- Ángel Ochoa’s 3-run homer in the bottom of the 1st inning effectively won us the second game versus Olympia.
- Trenton (23-39) became the latest struggling team to upset their fans by trading a star player. They moved their ace Qing-lai Zhang to Denver in return for 3 prospects. Zhang immediately becomes the ace of the Snox Sox staff. Denver sit bottom of the South Division, but are 31-31 and only 3 games outside a wildcard spot.
- The impressive Israel Padilla is now 7-1, 1.62 after throwing 8 scoreless innings in the decider against Olympia. He allowed only 3 hits and punched out 9.
- Kevin Cantrell hurled 8.1 scoreless innings as we got our second straight shutout on day one in the St. Paul City Arena. Shortstop Eric Turner hit 3-4 with a triple and a double.
- The 8-4 win the following day featured terrific performances from Gonzalo Torralda (4-5, HR, DBL) and Jeffrey White (2-2, 3 BB).
- A pair of home runs from right fielder Pedro Soto (.899 OPS) was the standout from the 10-4 victory that completed the sweep over the hapless Rockets. 8 of the guys in the lineup had 2 or more hits.
- Hartford’s veteran closer Jorge Rodríguez earned his 600th career save. He’s 3rd on the SCL all-time list and homing in fast on the record 633 of former Baton Rouge, Santa Fe and Montgomery closer Dong-hak Yi.
- This little run has pushed us to joint top of the North Division alongside Bismarck. But the race is even tighter now, with the top 4 teams separated by just 2 games.

This week: 5-1
Record: 38-28, =1st place, tied with Bismarck

[Paulie123]

10 June 2050

From: Peter Venkman-Ackroyd, Pitching Coach
To: Billy DePodesta

Des Moines Magpies Coaching Department
PITCHING UPDATE REPORT

At this club, we have always considered strong pitching, both in the rotation and in the bullpen, as the basis for a successful team. Pitching performances have again been good this season.

Tom Hart has been absolutely phenomenal since he joined us several weeks ago. For the Magpies he is 6-0 with a 1.93 ERA, and at times has been unhittable. The disappointing numbers put up by Aurelio Alomar earlier in the season left a bit of a hole in the rotation, but Hart has filled that and then some. We must view him and retain him as our long-term ace. Israel Padilla too has been superb, and a joy to work with. His 3.25 FIP and 3.4 K/BB ratio are numbers you would expect from a quality veteran, not a young guy in his first season as a full-time starter.

I am, however, slightly concerned by Robinson Ortíz’s inconsistent record this year. At his best, he is a fantastic pitcher and keeps batters off-balance with his forkball and slider. But too often he has not brought his ‘A’ game to the mound. I and my staffing are working hard with him on this aspect of his game. At present I feel he is not providing good value on his $9.5m salary.

The bullpen have been absolutely stellar as a group and have a collective ERA of 2.60. Ken James and Jesús Benítez have been excellent. Lefty Jack Morris has exceeded all my expectations with a series of controlled performances: he has walked just 5 batters in 28.1 innings. Walt Davidson has had a typical rookie season with some poor days interspersed among his good displays. My primary bullpen worry is the final middle right-handed long relief spot, at present occupied by Alomar. He has given up too many long balls (9 HR from 32.2 IP). The quality starts from the rotation has meant limited relief outings since you promoted Alomar back to the active roster to take that spot, but we must keep an eye on this position. We do have lots of talent on the minor league roster who could fill that role, including Cory Adams and Rhys Nunn.

[Paulie123]

16 June 2050

GM’s notebook - Series 23 and 24

Salem 0-3 Magpies
Salem 2-5 Magpies
Salem 2-3 Magpies
Magpies 4-3 Carson City
Magpies 7-1 Carson City
Magpies 9-3 Carson City

- Game one versus Salem had our third shutout in the last 5 games. Robinson Ortíz pitched 7.1 of those scoreless innings and Ken James nabbed save number 10.
- Kevin Cantrell advanced his record to 5-4 with a 2.92 ERA after throwing 7 innings for just 1 ER with 7 strikeouts in the 5-2 win. We now have the outright lead in the North Division.
- An excellent 6.2 innings for just 2 unearned runs gave Israel Padilla the win as we completed the sweep of the Ironclads. He’s now 8-1 with a 1.49 ERA.
- Lansing’s Carlos Lara has a ridiculous 0.84 ERA from 106 IP over 14 starts.
- I gave Aurelio Alomar a spot start in the opening fixture in Carson City’s Snakepit stadium. After a shaky 1st inning he settled down well, restricting the Rattlesnakes to 3 ER from 8 IP.
- Kevin Cantrell’s agent called. Kev wants to stay here and would like to negotiate a contract extension. Alas, his opening gambit was $18m/yr over 6 years so the conversation didn’t last long. That’s well outside my price range.
- The win streak reached 10 games with a comfortable 7-1 victory over the Rattlesnakes. We got off to an incredible start with first FOUR batters in the lineup (Enrique Limón, Pedro Soto, Ángel Márquez and Jeffrey White) hitting home runs in sequence off the unfortunate Scott Wright in the top of the 1st inning. We ended up scoring 6 in the half-inning, and the game was effectively over before Tom Hart even took the mound.
- Limón has asked for a contract extension, too. I’d love him to stay, but he wants $20m per year over 5 years and I just can’t afford that. I’ve offered him $15m annually for 3 years, which I doubt he’ll accept but it’s worth a try. If he does, then to keep the budget under control I’ll have to trade Soto.
- The final win of the 6-0 week came courtesy of a monster 8-run 6th inning against Carson City. That included a run of 7 singles and a HBP with 2 outs. Wesley Weaver pitched a complete game. However Limón picked up an ankle injury and will miss the next fortnight.

This week: 6-0
Record: 44-28, 1st place, 3 game lead over Lansing

[Paulie123]

15 June 2050

FANGRAPHICS
Live feed: Devon Showercurtain presents our live coverage of the SCL’s first-year player draft. The destiny of over 150 talented young baseball players will be decided over the next few hours.

9:32AM

1st round, 30th overall pick: Magpies select Becker

9:33AM

Alex Becker (age 22, bats L, 3* potential) is a versatile bat who excelled against good quality pitching in college. He’s a good all-round hitter who is particularly effective against right-handers and has a very good eye. His best positions are 2B (where the Magpies lack good prospects) and RF but he can also play 3B and SS well. A very good player, and a nice pick by DePodesta.

10:34AM

1st supplementary round, 56th overall pick: Magpies select Cruz

10:36AM

The Magpies don’t exactly need more pitching, but all the best players left on the board at the moment are young arms, and Pablo Cruz (age 20, throws R, 5* potential) is probably the best of the lot. He’s a huge groundballer (75% of hits against him in college were ground balls) and keeps the ball in the park. Both his sinker and slider are A- grade quality pitches, and he is probably barely a year away from being ready for the big leagues.

11:49AM

2nd round, 89th overall pick: Magpies select Vásquez

11:50AM

Magpies sources tell me they just went for the best player available, given they hardly need yet another young arm! Relief pitcher Octávio Vásquez (age 20, throws R, 4.5* potential) throws a lethal fastball/slider combination which has dominated hitters throughout his high school and college career. This son of Cuban immigrants can reach 98-99mph when at his best. He still needs to develop more control, but profiles to be a similar hurler to Magpies setup pitcher Jesús Benítez.

1:23PM

3rd round, 119th overall pick: Magpies select Adams

1:24PM

So the Magpies have gone for infielder Martin Adams (age 17, bats S, 1* potential), the top-rated hitter remaining on the board at this point. He has excellent speed, and is versatile defensively but doesn’t excel at any one position. His ability to make contact on a consistent basis is his biggest question mark.

1:29PM

4th round, 121st overall pick: Magpies select French

1:30PM

So with their other compensation pick for losing Jeremy Williams to St. Paul, the Magpies go back to the ‘best player available’ principle and pick flame-throwing reliever Ronald French (age 22, throws R, 5* potential). French has out of this world stuff on his fastball and slider, but must overcome his tendency to hang them over the plate and give up the long ball.

3:01PM

4th round, 149th overall pick: Magpies select Prince

3:02PM

Al Prince (age 22, bats L, 1* potential) is an outstanding defensive outfielder with excellent range. He doesn’t possess great speed but in the field has an uncanny ability to read the ball off the bat quickly and chase it down. Realistically likely to have a career only on the minor league roster as his bat is no match for his glove.

4:34PM

5th round, 179th overall pick: Magpies select Seki

4:35PM

And the 2050 SCL draft concludes with the Magpies picking young Japanese first baseman Tokutomi Seki (age 17, bats L, 1* potential). A huge long-shot prospect who projects to develop reasonable power. The Magpies are understood to be more attracted by his left-handedness and durability than anything else.

[Paulie123]

17 June 2050

From: Aristotle Catheter M.D., Club Doctor
To: Billy DePodesta

Des Moines Magpies Medical Department
INJURY REPORT: ENRIQUE LIMÓN

I am delighted to report that the ankle injury sustained by Enrique Limón in last night’s game in Carson City is much less serious than we first thought. X-rays have confirmed that he has not broken any bones. His ankle is bruised and extremely sore, but fortunately no worse than that.

He will need to rest for about a week to let the swelling subside, and then will require a further week in order to be fully ready to return to the active roster. He should therefore be available for selection around the end of June, around the same time as fellow outfielder Gianni Hagenaars is expected to come off the DL. With the all-star break coming up next week, Enrique will miss fewer regular season games than would otherwise be expected. I expect him to recover fully and suffer no long-term impacts.

Aristotle Catheter M.D.
Club Doctor

[Paulie123]

20 June 2050

GM’s notebook - Series 25

Austin 3-2 Magpies
Austin 3-2 Magpies
Austin 4-3 Magpies

- The win streak ended at 11 with the first 3-2 defeat to the Tycoons. Kevin Cantrell had a sticky 1st inning and the offense couldn’t peg it back.
- Tom Hart, Israel Padilla and Pedro Soto were all called up to the Western League squad for the all-star game. It’s a first selection for all three players - congratulations guys! Enrique Limón would certainly have also earned a pick had he not been injured.
- As if to demonstrate the quality of roster I could have right now with more cash, Gabe Copeland, Jorge Cruz and Roberto Caro are also in the WL team.
- Disappointing to get swept at home through three 1-run losses, but we still have the lead in the North Division, and a few days off to regroup.
- No joy with a new contract for Limón. He won’t accept a deal worth less than $20m per year. In desperation I’ve offered him $16m/yr for 5 years, but I expect it to be rejected too.

This week: 0-3
Record: 44-31, 1st place, 2 game lead over Lansing, Madison

[Paulie123]

21 June 2050

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Magpies broaden prospect options with trades for infielders Medina and Kubota
By Maggie Pye | 21 Jun | 2,424 comments

Faced with a glut of pitching prospects blocking one another on his minor league roster, Magpies GM Billy DePodesta has swung a pair of trades that removes some of the lesser prospects from his staff and brings in two excellent infield pieces in their place.

The first trade, announced at noon today, saw the Magpies send minor league pitchers Ben Appel and Peter Long plus minor league infielder José Delgado to Lansing, in return for 23-year-old shortstop Yoshino Kubota. Kubota is a rangy defensive player with good plate discipline and lightning speed round the bases. He is likely to see major league action as a September call-up, if not before.

The second trade, confirmed shortly after 4pm, brought the Magpies 19-year-old third baseman Pedro Medina from Santa Fe. Medina, the SCL #76 prospect, was the Outlaws’ first round draft pick last year. He projects to be a power hitter with a good eye. His arm is an absolute cannon. Although he favours third base, he can also play shortstop. He is probably at least two to three years away from competing for a spot on the major league roster. In return, the Outlaws receive pitchers Wilson Gómez and Gustavo Cruz, and minor league first baseman Max Marshall. Gómez and Cruz have gone straight into the Outlaws’ bullpen. Magpies fans were surprised to see the departure of Cruz, who went 9-0 with a 2.27 ERA last season. However he had struggled this season, and a 5.56 ERA had seen him demoted off the active roster. The development of talented young lefty arms like David Gaines and Marv Lewis left Cruz without a spot.

By coincidence, the Magpies face Lansing and Santa Fe in their first week back after the all-star break.

[Paulie123]

29 June 2050

GM’s notebook - Series 26 and 27

Lansing 6-4 Magpies
Lansing 1-2 Magpies
Lansing 0-1 Magpies
Magpies 4-5 Santa Fe
Magpies 6-8 Santa Fe
Magpies 3-2 Santa Fe

- The Western League beat the Eastern League 6-2. Tom Hart was the winning pitcher after throwing a scoreless inning in relief. Pedro Soto played RF and hit 1-4.
- The tight second game in Lansing was won by a return to last season’s form from Wesley Weaver, who threw 7.2 IP for 1 ER while fanning 9. The winning run came in the bottom of the 10th courtesy of a walk-off RBI triple from Dave Plummer against former Magpies reliever Jorge Cruz.
- Robinson Ortíz enjoyed a fine lefty pitching duel against Lansing’s young star Jason Jordan in the rubber game, going 7.1 scoreless. The improving Plummer hit the game-winning RBI again, with a double in the 8th.
- Santa Fe opted to start recently-traded Gustavo Cruz against us in the series opener, and he did well, going 4 IP for just an unearned run. We ended up losing in the 10th.
- But the game saw more outfield injury woe as Terry Lawrence sprained his left elbow running the bases and will be out for 2 weeks. Enrique Limón and Gianni Hagenaars should both be fit soon, but for the next couple of games our recent acquisition Yoshino Kubota will join the team.
- Donnie Lee kept our lineup quiet for much of game two, and we trailed 5-3 heading into the 9th. We scored 3 runs on homers from Jeffrey White and António Fernández to take a 6-5 lead. Johannes Kepler then inexplicably turned to rookie David Gaines to get the save rather than rested closer Ken James. Gaines allowed 3 runs and took the loss. I have no problem with Kepler’s ‘thinking outside the box’ approach in principle, but use the damn closer in a close situation rather than a novice!
- Kevin Cantrell threw a great game to avoid us getting swept by the Outlaws: 8 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K.
- Lawrence, a certain super-2 at the end of the year, has agreed a 3-year extension valued at $2.3m per year. His arbitration estimate was close to $3.5m so I consider it a good deal. He’s proven himself to be a very good backup outfielder, especially against righties.

This week: 3-3
Record: 47-34, 1st place, 3 game lead over Lansing, Madison

[Paulie123]

6 July 2050

GM’s notebook - Series 28 and 29

Phoenix 5-4 Magpies
Phoenix 3-2 Magpies
Phoenix 4-8 Magpies
Magpies 4-1 Baton Rouge
Magpies 4-5 Baton Rouge
Magpies 11-1 Baton Rouge

- Aurelio Alomar was given the start in the opener of the Phoenix series, but was poor, going 7.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 5 BB. He was sent down to the minor league roster after the game, and Cory Adams was called up into the bullpen in Alomar’s place.
- The Raccoons’ ace Kenny Young had too much for us in the second game, and advanced his record to 11-2, 2.52.
- Enrique Limón is back from the DL for the final game of the series. Juan MacNamara has been moved back to the minor league roster.
- António Fernández hit a glorious grand slam in the bottom of the 15th to take the 3rd game against Phoenix. Walt Davidson, Ken James and Jesús Benítez combined for 7 fantastic inning of scoreless relief pitching.
- Tom Hart (10-2, 1.96) hurled a gem on the first day of our road trip to Louisiana, completing 8 innings for just 1 ER on 5 hits. Ángel Ochoa has been in a slump the last couple weeks, but has hopefully put that behind him now with 2 HR in the 4-1 victory.
- Adams made his Magpies debut in the 5-4 loss, and struck out the side in an innings of relief.
- Ochoa hit 2 more homers in the blowout 11-1 win in the rubber game. Kenkichi Sato did too, relegating Kevin Cantrell’s complete game to the third best Magpie performance of the day.
- Hopefully that great display might just edge up Sato’s trade value, as it is time to promote José Pereira to the active roster. Pereira already had 37 days of major league service time, so holding him back until now should avoid him being a super-2 qualifier for arbitration at the end of the 2052 season.

This week: 3-3
Record: 50-37, 1st place, 2 game lead over Lansing

[Paulie123]

7 July 2050

onlytheboxscore.com/Magpies
Two home runs one day, traded the next: Magpies send Sato to Indianapolis for top pitching prospect Vargas
Posted by Curtis Behemoth, @bigC

Yesterday, Kenkichi Sato smashed 2 home runs for the Magpies in the 11-1 thrashing of the Deltas. Today, Billy DePodesta traded him. The swings and arrows of baseball fortune. In all, DePodesta has traded Sato, former starting pitcher Aurelio Alomar and minor league relief pitcher Vincente Torres to the Wildcats. In return, the Magpies have required the SCL’s #8 rated prospect, 19-year-old lefty starting pitcher Ricardo Vargas.

Magpies front office insiders say it was always DePodesta’s plan to trade Sato around this time, and promote the club’s top position prospect José Pereira to the roster to back up starting catcher Ernesto Solís. The Wildcats sit just 5 games out of 1st place in the Eastern League Central Division and 2 games out from a wildcard, and were desperate for a catcher to improve on their current replacement-level options. Sato also provides plenty of pop with the bat, as last night’s barrage reminded everyone. Those insiders say that DePodesta had also run out of patience with Alomar’s inconsistent performances, deciding the club had better in-house pitching options which made the 24-year-old expendable. Alomar and Sato have both gone straight onto the Wildcats’ active roster.

Vargas was only a supplementary round pick in last year’s draft, but has developed rapidly in the Wildcats’ system, and his acquisition represents quite a coup for the Magpies. He regularly hits three digits with his fastball, which he mixes with a tasty curveball and deceptive splitter. He also occasionally throws in a knucklecurve, although that’s by far his least effective pitch. Vargas struggles to control the strike zone at the moment, but if he can improve over the next couple of years as the scouts project, he will be a top-of-the-rotation star. Wildcats fans are up in arms about losing Vargas, even though the trade certainly strengthens their squad for this year’s playoff push.

[Paulie123]

8 July 2050

Lee Lion
@wildaboutthewildcats
Trading Vargas?!?! What the hell is the front office thinking??? #gobsmacked #yegods #strewth
11:11AM - 8 Jul 2050

Severino Guadalajara-Smith
@sabermetricjedi
No complaints on this side of the deal @wildaboutthewildcats ! I like Vargas a lot!! #niceonebilly
11:12AM - 8 Jul 2050

Sam Twosides
@sam2sides
Not so fast #wildaboutthewildcats, we’ve got ourselves a good catcher (at last!), a guy who was in the rotation of a 108 win team last year, and a relief pitcher with a 2.45 ERA in his brief major league career to date. If Vargas ends up a bust we have robbed the #Magpies blind!
11:16AM - 8 Jul 2050

Lee Lion
@wildaboutthewildcats
You tell yourself that @sam2sides. Over here in the real world we’re gutted. #gutted
11:18AM - 8 Jul 2050

Bruce Aussie
@baseballnoob
Why would you give a team 3 of your players and only get 1 in return, seems so unfair!
11:20AM - 8 Jul 2050

[Paulie123]

12 July 2050

GM’s notebook - Series 30 and 31

Sacramento 3-2 Magpies
Sacramento 1-8 Magpies
Sacramento 7-4 Magpies
Magpies 7-4 Bismarck
Magpies 1-3 Bismarck
Magpies 14-1 Bismarck

- Enrique Limón and Nick Baker both hit 2-4 in the 8-1 victory over Sacramento in the second game of the week. Robinson Ortíz threw 7 innings for 1 ER and 7 K - his form has been frustratingly erratic this year.
- In the rubber game, Tom Hart was superb through 5 innings, but then blew up, allowing 2 runs in the 6th and then being charged for 5 runs in the 7th without retiring a batter.
- Providence’s 4-time all-star ace Melvin Gregory has agreed a 7-year contract extension worth $19m per year.
- In the 7-4 win that kicked off our 3-game set in Bismarck, Coyotes third baseman Juan Valdés committed 3 errors which gifted us 4 unearned runs, and those runs ended up deciding the game.
- Raleigh’s Young left fielder Lou Wiley had an amazing SEVEN hits in a 14-inning game against Tallahassee. What’s even more remarkable is that he had only had 32 hits in total in his entire SCL career going into the game.
- Terry Lawrence returned from the disabled list, so Dave Plummer went back to the minor league roster. Plummer did a lot better in his second stint with the big club.
- Lots of great displays in the 14-1 annihilation of the Coyotes in the rubber game: Eric Warner 4-5, DBL; Jeffrey White 3-4, 2 DBL, BB; Wesley Weaver 7 IP, 7 H, 1 ER.

This week: 3-3
Record: 53-40, 1st place, 1 game lead over Madison