Orcin's Story

[Orcin]

September 8, 2003

Subject: Week 22 Notes

Record: 90-47 .657, - GB
Position: 1st place (25.5 game lead)
Magic Number: 1
Runs Scored: 732 – 1st in Federal
Runs Allowed: 495 – 1st in Federal
Defense: .702 – 5th in Federal (was 12th at the All-Star break)
Power Ranking: 128.2 (1st in CBA)
Owner Mood: Ecstatic; Fan Interest: 89/100

• Last week (6-1): 2-1 vs. San Diego, 4-0 vs. San Francisco
• San Diego played their regulars in the series and we only played 4 or 5 starters per game. We still took two out of three, thanks to our pitching.
• Juan Aponte hit a 3-run pinch-hit homer to give Todd Fletcher win #17.
• Eddie Payne was 3-4 with a homer to back Ricardo Martinez in the rubber game.
• Manuel Jaramillo was 2-3 with a homer and both RBIs in a 2-0 win over San Francisco. Westaway pitched 8 shutout innings for his 15th win.
• Fletcher got win #18 on Sunday, beating SF 3-2. The sweep pushed our latest winning streak to 6 games.
• David O’Daniel has earned the setup role with his consistent second-half work. He hasn’t allowed an earned run since July.
• Harry Hall was Federal League Player of the Week. For the year, Hall is batting .314 with 24 HR and 90 RBI. If he had done that here, he would still be here.
• This week: 4 at Phoenix, 3 vs. St. Louis


The playoff teams look to be…
Federal divisions: Louisville, Salt Lake City, San Diego
Federal wild card: Dallas or Seattle
Patriot divisions: New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta
Patriot wild card: Baltimore, Boston or Cincinnati

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by Sal, The Barber

Sal wonders, if McGlone stays hot will he play in the playoffs? Morgan, Jaramillo, and Payne play regularly, n'est pas? Is Byrne open to the lefty/lefty platoon?

It's possible, but Payne is hitting better recently so McGlone will probably be used as the primary pinch-hitter.

[Orcin]

September 15, 2003

Subject: Week 23 Notes

Record: 94-50 .653, - GB
Position: 1st place (26.5 game lead)
Magic Number: clinched
Runs Scored: 781 – 1st in Federal
Runs Allowed: 519 – 1st in Federal
Defense: .703 – 5th in Federal
Power Ranking: 123.5 (1st in CBA)
Owner Mood: Ecstatic; Fan Interest: 100/100 (wow!)


• Last week (4-3): 2-2 at Phoenix, 2-1 vs. St. Louis
• We lost a 15-inning game by a run on Monday to break the winning streak at 6.
• Chip Davidson pitched a one-hitter over 7 innings for his 10th win and we beat Phoenix 17-0. Offensive highlights are too numerous to mention.
• The 17-0 blowout win clinched the division in game #139. No other team has a magic number under 10.
• Fan interest literally sky-rocketed when we clinched the division. I’ve not seen the fan base this fired up in a while!
• We took 2 out of 3 from St. Louis while playing a few bench players in every game.
• Since July 1, Robert Westaway is 10-1 with a 2.35 ERA.
• The bullpen’s 3.44 ERA is sixth in the Federal League – quite an improvement.
• I haven’t mentioned it much but we are #1 in steals, paced by Federal League leader Pierre-Louis Simon with 45. Eddie Payne is 4th in the league with 29.
• Our hitters are second in the league in walks. This was a major problem last year.
• Lexington (AAA) and Dayton (AA) made the playoffs as the wild card in their league.
• This week: 3 vs. Indianapolis, 3 vs. Sacramento

[Orcin]

September 22, 2003

Subject: Week 24 Notes

Record: 98-52 .653, - GB
Position: 1st place (28.5 game lead)
Magic Number: clinched
Runs Scored: 806 – 1st in Federal
Runs Allowed: 536 – 1st in Federal
Defense: .702 – 5th in Federal
Power Ranking: 124.6 (1st in CBA)
Owner Mood: Ecstatic; Fan Interest: 99/100

• Last week (3-3): 1-2 vs. Indianapolis, 2-1 vs. Sacramento
• Chip Davidson continues to impress in his rookie season. He pitched eight shutout innings to beat Sacramento and improve his record to 11-4 with a 3.45 ERA.
• CF Manuel Jaramillo left Friday’s game with back soreness. He is expected to miss the rest of the regular season (two weeks) but will return for the playoffs. McGlone will play center field in his place.
• Atlanta, Philadelphia, and San Diego clinched their division titles this week.
• Young Seattle pitcher Luis “Pokey” Gonzalez (13-14, 3.98) will have elbow ligament reconstruction surgery and is expected to miss all of NEXT season.
• Lexington swept the Fresno Plunder 3-0 to move on in the AAA playoffs and will face the St. Paul Chariots for the right to defend their 2002 AAA title.
• Dayton advanced to the second round of the Class-AA playoffs by defeating the Albuquerque Sky Chiefs 3-2. Dayton will play the Lincoln Rowdies.
• We will spend the last two weeks of the regular season on the road, but we still have home games remaining (in the playoffs). Get your tickets now!
• This week: 3 at Los Angeles, 3 at Milwaukee


New York SP Jesus De La Cruz pitched a 4-hit shutout vs. Washington, improving his record to 23-5 with a 2.22 ERA. You may recall that De La Cruz was the big free agent acquisition of the off-season, going from defending champ Denver to New York. The Monarchs are certainly getting a good return on their investment. De La Cruz may challenge Jorge Figueroa (19-4, 1.62) for the Outstanding Pitcher Award in the Patriot League.

[Orcin]

September 23, 2003

Subject: Other Business

The off-day before we start the road trip gave me a chance to put a few things in order.

The personnel hiring season is almost here. The Rookie League playoffs will finish next week, and I will be replacing my entire staff there for next year. The only other opening in the system is the AA pitching coach.

There hasn’t been much discussion about contracts lately. That’s because the Cooper family has set next year’s preliminary budget at $136 million, a decrease of $4 million from this season. I have $36 million in expenses other than player salaries. That leaves a nice round $100 million for next year’s player salary budget. The current projected salary figure, including arbitration estimates, team options, and unearned bonuses, is $104 million. So, I am not allowed to offer any extensions for next season.

That’s not a problem for two reasons: (1) I expect to get a budget higher than $136 million after we factor in post-season revenues from this year, and (2) I don’t have any priority extension offers to make. My own projected 2004 salary figure is $96 million after I decline the team options on relief pitchers Chavez, Melendez, and McConnell. I am confident that I can field a pennant winner for $100 million.

If there is more available, I am not sure how I would spend it anyway. I have studied the potential market for free agent starting pitchers, and there are none that I am willing to invest a lot of money to obtain. The best available is likely to be my own free agent, Ricardo Martinez. His latest asking price is 7 years at $120 million. Good luck with that at age 34. I am convinced that I got Ricardo’s career year during his contract drive, and I have no intention of buying a seven-year ticket to watch his decline phase. But, I will have to replace him somehow, and I don’t see that ready replacement in the minors.

There will be time to worry about that after the season. First, we need to finish this road trip healthy and get the seven playoff wins needed to advance to the World Series for only the second time in franchise history. I was reminded again this week that it would be nice to win one for 75-year-old owner Henry Cooper, and I would also like to present franchise icon Silas Campbell with a ring early next year. And, I need the revenue from those post-season games at Colonels Field to reach my goal of a profitable season.

[Orcin]

September 23, 2003 (BNN)

Subject: Richardson Sets Season Hit Record

An amazing season for Brock Richardson reached its climax today, as the Dallas Rattlers' center fielder set the CBA record for most hits in a single season with 224, passing the great Ramón Vázquez. Fans at Rattlers Park gave him a 5-minute standing ovation after the historic hit.

Richardson walked in the 1st, grounded out in the 3rd, hit a solo-shot off Wendell Klein in the 6th and singled in the 8th. Richardson is batting .367 with 36 home runs and 100 RBIs for the season.

[Orcin]

September 29, 2003

Subject: Week 25 Notes

Record: 102-54 .654, - GB
Position: 1st place (31 game lead)
Magic Number: clinched
Runs Scored: 832 – 2nd in Federal
Runs Allowed: 549 – 1st in Federal
Defense: .702 – 5th in Federal
Power Ranking: 120.7 (2nd in CBA)
Owner Mood: Ecstatic; Fan Interest: 99/100

• Last week (4-2): 2-1 at Los Angeles, 2-1 at Milwaukee
• Robert Westaway won #18 by the score of 3-2 at L.A. on Monday. Lucas Sanders pitched the ninth for his 37th save. Dennis Morgan hit home run #50 in the game.
• Todd Fletcher got win #19 on Tuesday with 7 shutout innings to beat L.A. 5-0. Dennis Morgan hit #51 to tie Josh Haley and now leads the league with 136 RBIs.
• We lost on Sunday when two unearned runs were charged to Westaway (18-8). He will only have one more start, so he won’t get 20 wins.
• Terrence Banks had 5 hits in a game for Washington, including his 29th home run.
• Baltimore has passed New York in the battle for the Atlantic division.
• Salt Lake City and Dallas have nearly clinched playoff spots but the Western division title remains contested between them.
• Dayton (AA) lost their playoff series to Lincoln 4-3.
• This week: 3 at Chicago, 3 at Houston, end of regular season


Subject: Milestones
Dusty Allen of Phoenix and Akinori Ishikawa of Detroit hit home run #400 on the same day. Miguel Moran of Salt Lake City became the second pitcher to reach 500 saves. Cleveland SP Bill Davis recorded his 200th career win.

[Orcin]

October 6, 2003

Subject: Week 26 Notes

Record: 104-58 .642, - GB
Position: 1st place (30 game lead)
Runs Scored: 846 – 2nd in Federal
Runs Allowed: 571 – 1st in Federal
Defense: .701 – 5th in Federal
Owner Mood: Ecstatic; Fan Interest: 99/100

• Last week (2-4): 1-2 at Chicago, 1-2 at Houston
• The season total of 104 wins is a club record.
• Todd Fletcher got his 20th win in his final start of the regular season at Chicago.
• Dennis Morgan got home run #54 and RBI #143 in a loss to Chicago on Tuesday. He has long ago shattered the club season record for both statistics.
• Ray Alexander beat ex-Colonels pitcher Jim Poole 4-2 on Friday.
• We played a lot of subs in the final week of the season. We achieved the goal of entering the playoffs completely healthy.
• The final two division races went down to the last weekend with Baltimore and Salt Lake City winning them.
• We have home-field advantage against every team except San Diego.
• Our record after the All-Star break was 54-18. We finished 5 games below our Pythagorean record.
• Atlanta SP Dale Dundee pitched a no-hitter vs. Nashville.
• Lexington was eliminated in the AAA playoffs, so all of our minor league teams are finished for the year.
• We hired a new pitching coach, Colin Galtey, for Dayton (AA). Galtey has four years experience as a pitching coach in the Rookie League. He is highly-paid for the level but hopefully worth the money.
• We also hired a new hitting coach for the Rookie League Owensboro Wildcats. We still need a manager and pitching coach there.
• This week: Divisional playoff round vs. the Salt Lake City Bees. We made the big off-season trade with them and now we square off in the first round of the playoffs.

The first-round playoff matchups will be:
• Federal: Dallas at San Diego
• Federal: Salt Lake City at Louisville
• Patriot: New York at Philadelphia
• Patriot: Baltimore at Atlanta

[Orcin]

CBA STANDINGS - FINAL
Monday, October 6, 2003






LEAGUE LEADERS
Monday, October 6, 2003

[blazertaz13]

Congrats on finishing the second half of the season healthy and ready for the playoffs. Be sure that the team comes out focused, as they haven't won anything yet. Here is to a long and successful run in the post season. See you at Sal's for the pre post season hair cut and drink. :-)

[Orcin]

LOUISVILLE COLONELS
Monday, October 6, 2003



If you still don’t think the defensive change was critical, take a look at the bullpen rank. The main reason that it improved so much is the extra inning or two that we got from the starters in every game, and the reason for that is defense taking away hits and keeping the starters from facing extra batters. We barely used the last few pitchers in the bullpen during the second half of the season, so the overall bullpen performance improves since the best guys pitch a higher percentage of the innings.




We will use the best defensive alignment in the playoffs, which means Archuleta will start at second base. If we are trailing in the late innings, Gonzalez or Bennett may pinch-hit for him against a right-handed pitcher. Chris Brown should bat third and Lucio Martinez fifth because Brown hits into fewer double plays and walks more. But I am too superstitious to change the lineup of a team that just went 54-18. Maybe next year.

[Orcin]

2003 Federal League Divisional Playoff Series
Salt Lake City Bees (95-67) vs. Louisville Colonels (104-58)

The Bees are led by veteran 2B Filipe Carrego (.307/.354/.414, 10 HR, 71 RBI), young SS Tomas Barron (.359/.410/.534, 17 HR, 101 RBI) and our old friend LF Harry Hall (.288/.355/.523, 26 HR, 97 RBI). I guess Hall can hit cleanup after all. I stand corrected. Their best pitcher is closer Manuel Moran, whose is #2 on the all-time saves list. We were 4-6 against the Bees this season, but most of those losses came early in the season before we began our run.

GAME 1 @ Louisville: Alfredo Acosta (17-6) vs. Todd Fletcher (20-5)

It was ace vs. ace in game one. Tomas Barron’s three-run homer gave SLC the lead before Fletcher was able to record an out. SLC plated a couple of late insurance runs off the bullpen but it did not matter. Fletcher would have needed a shutout to win this one. The offense did absolutely nothing against Acosta and two SLC relievers.



Salt Lake City leads the series 1-0.

Other games:
Dallas 4, San Diego 2 (Dallas leads 1-0)
Baltimore 10, Atlanta 1 (Baltimore leads 1-0)
Philadelphia 2, New York 0 (Philadelphia leads 1-0)

[Orcin]

2003 Federal League Divisional Playoff Series
Salt Lake City Bees (95-67) vs. Louisville Colonels (104-58)

GAME 2 @ Louisville: Julio Rivera (11-14) vs. Robert Westaway (18-8)

This was a must-win game. Trailing 1-0 on an unearned run, the offense finally came to life in the fourth. The key hit was a two-out single by Archuleta to drive in the go-ahead runs. A couple of insurance runs made everyone breathe easier.



The series is tied at 1.

Other games:
San Diego 8, Dallas 1 (series tied at 1)
Baltimore 12, Atlanta 2 (Baltimore leads 2-0) – Robins 2B Hector Gomez 5-5, 4 RBI
Philadelphia 2, New York 1 (Philadelphia leads 2-0)

**********

We signed Tanner Thompson, a 37-year-old former minor-league player with no coaching experience, to be the manager at Owensboro in the Rookie League. He interviewed well.

[Orcin]

2003 Federal League Divisional Playoff Series
Salt Lake City Bees (95-67) vs. Louisville Colonels (104-58)

GAME 3 @ Salt Lake City: Ricardo Martinez (14-8) vs. Lane Lee (17-13)

Ricardo Martinez was not sharp and blew up in the third inning, allowing four runs on a combination of singles and walks. Payne cut the lead in half with a two-run homer in the fifth. The bullpen held the Bees scoreless until Dennis Morgan tied the score at 4 with a leadoff homer in the eighth. Lucio Martinez came up with the two-out game-winning hit in the ninth and Lucas Sanders pitched the last of five scoreless innings by the bullpen.



Louisville leads the series 2-1.

Other games:
San Diego 4, Dallas 3 (San Diego leads 2-1)
Baltimore 1, Atlanta 0 (Baltimore wins the series 3-0)
New York 3, Philadelphia 2 (Philadelphia leads 2-1)

[Orcin]

2003 Federal League Divisional Playoff Series
Salt Lake City Bees (95-67) vs. Louisville Colonels (104-58)

GAME 4 @ Salt Lake City: Chip Davidson (12-5) vs. Alfredo Acosta (17-6)

I liked the matchups with the lefty Davidson keeping Hall on the bench as opposed to pitching Fletcher on short rest. Davidson struggled through the first inning and finally gave up a bases-loaded triple. He settled down after that but it didn’t matter. Their bullpen was better than ours today.



The series is tied at 2.

Other games:
Dallas 9, San Diego 5 (series tied at 2)
New York 5, Philadelphia 0 (series tied at 2)

[Orcin]

2003 Federal League Divisional Playoff Series
Salt Lake City Bees (95-67) vs. Louisville Colonels (104-58)

GAME 5 @ Louisville: Julio Rivera (11-14) vs. Todd Fletcher (20-5)

Manuel Jaramillo’s two-run single with two out in the second gave Fletcher a lead. He was cruising until the Bees suddenly hit back-to-back homers with two outs in the seventh. Payne and Martinez combined for a couple of insurance runs in the seventh. Russell Bennett’s two-run single provided a bigger cushion and it was almost needed to stave off another Bees rally. Sanders came on to get the final out – finally.



Louisville wins the series 3-2.

Other games:
San Diego 6, Dallas 1 (San Diego wins the series 3-2)
Philadelphia 2, New York 0 (Philadelphia wins the series 3-2)

League Championship Series:
Federal: Louisville at San Diego
Patriot: Baltimore at Philadelphia

[Orcin]

2003 Federal League Championship Series
Louisville Colonels (104-58) vs. San Diego Stallions (106-56)

The Stallions have the #1 offense in the league, led by 1B Alejandro Fernandez (.289/.410/.521, 34 Hr, 102, RBI), RF Yann Rey (.289/.336/.566, 36 HR, 119 RBI), and CF John Nelson (.301/.374/.454, 19 HR, 88 RBI). The pitching staff is #3 in the league and features a tough trio of starting pitchers and the league’s best bullpen. They have the home-field advantage in the series, so we have a serious hurdle between us and a World Series berth.

GAME 1 @ San Diego: Robert Westaway (18-8) vs. Mike Rhodes (13-11)

Westaway was dominant and Rhodes was not sharp. We pecked away at Rhodes until we finally got him out of there and pulled away against their bullpen. Westaway pitched eight, but you could probably tell from the line score exactly when the bullpen took over. Chris Brown was 3-4 with a HR and 2 RBI and Dennis Morgan was 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBI. Lucio Martinez and Manuel Jaramillo each had two hits.



Louisville leads the series 1-0.

Other games:
Philadelphia 4, Baltimore 1 (Philadelphia leads 1-0)

[Orcin]

2003 Federal League Championship Series
Louisville Colonels (104-58) vs. San Diego Stallions (106-56)

GAME 2 @ San Diego: Ricardo Martinez (14-8) vs. Paul Bradley (16-14)

I seriously considered starting Davidson here because Martinez has pitched poorly in his last four starts. Martinez pitched pretty well though, allowing only two solo homers. It wouldn’t have mattered who pitched in this one because Bradley was overpowering.



The series is tied at 1.

Other games:
Baltimore 2, Philadelphia 0 (series tied at 1)

[Orcin]

2003 Federal League Championship Series
Louisville Colonels (104-58) vs. San Diego Stallions (106-56)


GAME 3 @ Louisville: Kenny Lewis (20-6) vs. Todd Fletcher (20-5)


San Diego got to Fletcher in the second inning, batting around for four runs on four hits, a walk, and a hit batsman. It was a tough hill to climb against Lewis but we clawed back into it while Fletcher held them to the four runs. Eddie Payne tied the game with a two-out homer in the eighth. While the crowd was still on its feet, Lucio Martinez took the first pitch from a tiring Lewis to the bleachers in center field. Lucas Sanders came on to record a scary save with two men on and the final out caught at the warning track.





Louisville leads the series 2-1.


Other games:
Philadelphia 5, Baltimore 4 (Philadelphia leads 2-1)

[Orcin]

2003 Federal League Championship Series
Louisville Colonels (104-58) vs. San Diego Stallions (106-56)

GAME 4 @ Louisville: Mike Rhodes (13-11) vs. Chip Davidson (12-5)

Chris Brown put the Stallions in a hole with a two-run homer in the first. Both starting pitchers settled down after that. In the sixth, Lucio Martinez singled with two out and Dennis Morgan homered to give Davidson more breathing room but the rookie didn’t need it. Davidson went all the way, allowing only a first inning run on six hits and no walks while striking out nine.



Louisville leads the series 3-1.

Other games:
Philadelphia 14, Baltimore 2 (Philadelphia leads 3-1)

The Firebirds bombed Baltimore ace Jorge Figueroa, knocking him out in the fourth inning and tagging him with his second loss in the series. Figueroa was diagnosed with a shoulder problem after the game, and he is done for the season even if Baltimore rallies. Team doctors said that Figueroa should make a full recovery in time for spring training.