French Baseball League & Julien Henri

[Bliketa]

Thanks for the recap, interesting to see Julien's impact for Paris.



Also I like the narrative of bringing players that played with him


For the current season, it will be tough to pass through Nice, they seem to play really good.

[stevem810]

Alix Billiard SP for Nice was matched pitch for pitch by the 23 year old rookie Escudero. Each game up a solo homer in 8 innings of work.

Julien Henri went 1 for 5 but he'd love to trade that one hit for any other AB during the game. Julien stranded 6 runners while making the 3rd out of the inning and it cost the Artists dearly.

A fielders choice and stolen base with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th paved the way for a single to CF scoring the fleet footed Arnaud Carpientier with the winning run, 2-1 Nice.

Whereas Gerard Gallet was invincible last year (0.61 WHIP) he has been touchable this year. Still a good pitcher, but, not the lock down type he was last season.

So, Nice takes the early series lead in a very exciting game.

[stevem810]

The city was abuzz hours before the first game of the series. Talk on the streets of Nice is that this is the year the Orchids bring the trophy home.

Fountain Bleu was the original franchise but in 1967 the club was sold to interests in the Nice area and they became the Orchids.

[stevem810]

In Quebec, Snake Eye fans are hoping the 6th time is the charm. The franchise has been close to the prize only to fall short in 5 consecutive attempts.

They stunned the FBL world by winning 88 games in the inaugural season but have never been able to catch that magic a second time. Their 77 wins did gain them home field advantage at least in the first round.

The ballpark excitement was high as the Snake Eyes to the field squaring off against the Toucans. Each team banged out 10 hits but it was Le Morne Rouge prevailing, 4-3.

[stevem810]

Julien Henri took the mound for the Artists in hopes of squaring off the series at one game apiece. Seventeen game winner Antony Lopez was on the mound for the Orchids.

The story of this game, very close until late in the game, were the 9 LOB and two instances where the Artist bounced into DP's with runners in scoring position.

Nice made them pay for squandering their opportunities, even though out hit, they put up 5 runs on their way to a 5-0 whitewashing of the Paris Artists. All 8 hits for Paris were from the 3 through 7 slots as the top and bottom of the order could do nothing.

Lopez gains a CG 'W' with his impressive outing and Carpientier (again) did the most damage with his two run homer in the 8th.

The teams will head back to Paris for game 3.

In Quebec the Snake Eyes evened the series against Le Morne Rouge with their 3-2 win.

[stevem810]

From the Journal of Julien Henri

It's the off day in Paris. I told the guys to keep their chins up. So, what, we lost two close games. Sure I'd rather be up two than down two but I asked the guys if they remembered last year when we were up 2-0 on Le Diamant. We know anything can happen in the post season.

We're going come at them tomorrow. Aggressive baseball, but, not like totally dumb baseball. A fine line between the two. So, we're going to suit up and play our best and see how it turns out.

Tonight, it's just good to be back in Paris. We're more relaxed here.

[stevem810]

The Artists resembled the Paris team in Nice in their first home game as they put runners on base but couldn't bring them home. To compound the situation the Orchids had one good rally and scored three runs to take the early 3-1 lead.

But, the Artists kept chipping away and finally scored single runs in the 5th, 7th, and 8th before giving the ball to Gallant who retired the side 1-2-3. in the 9th.

Henri had a single for 3 and a SF that plated a run. But, the big story was the Paris bullpen who completely shut down Nice not allowing any baserunners the final four innings.

The Orchids lead the series 2-1.

The Toucans of Le Morne Rouge won their home game to go up 2-1 over Quebec.

[stevem810]

SP Dave Corronado was the clear star of this game that saw the series level at two games each.

On the mound, Corronado was almost unhittable, at least until the 8th inning, when he tired a bit and gave up a pair of runs, in part because the reliever Cosman couldn't retire a batter. No point in messing around as Gallant entered the scene, put out the fire, then pitched a perfect 9th.

In the batter box Corronado had two key base hits early on that plated two runs while scoring twice. Jean Monnet at the bottom of the order had a pair of hits and Mattheu Michel had two (3 RBI's) in the lead off spot giving Paris potent production from the 8, 9, and 1st batters in the order.

The Artists won it 7-4 in front of 26,541 fans. The two teams play tomorrow setting up an elimination game for one of the teams when they return to Nice.

In Le Morne Rouge the Toucans have pushed Quebec to the brink and now lead the series 3-1. But, they lost Pascal Simon their CF for about a week with an injury.

[stevem810]

Alix Billiard, by all accounts the ace of the Orchids staff, had things pretty much his way, at least until the 9th inning.

With a 5-1 lead he ran into some trouble when the bases were filled with just one out. Michel was safe on a fielders choice which brought Julien Henri to the plate as the tying run.

Henri took a called 3rd strike as the Artists unceremoniously came up short in the 9th.

With the win, the Orchids now lead the series 3-2 and the teams will board the train for the trip back to Nice.

In other action the Snake Eyes are still alive after scoring 15 straight runs to overcome a 4-0 deficit. The teams will fly back to Martinique to finish the series.

[stevem810]

The fans will be gathering soon to welcome home their baseball players hoping to inspire them to finish off the Artists in game 6.

J. Lopez is likely to get the nod for Nice while Julien Henri will be on the mound for Paris. Said Herve DeLage as they boarded the train in Paris, "this series is not over."

[stevem810]

In Le Morne Rouge the team President Bruno DeLalande's is so enamored with anything Toucan that the team 'mascot' has a special place in the GM office.

After 1 short year in Fountain Bleu (now Nice), Bruno is trying to not look ahead as the Toucans still need one more win to ice the first round.

No one is counting the Artists out yet, at least not publicly, but prevailing baseball wisdom is betting on the Orchids to reach the championship series. And, a series against Nice would be an opportunity for Bruno to 'avenge' his firing after just one season of work with his former team.

Below is a local Fort de France artist depiction of the scene.

[stevem810]

It was by any standard an upset but at the same time you could understand the logic behind how it happened. After winning Game 6 the Artists turned to veteran Vic Cosman to start Game 7.

Cosman on the very tail end of a brilliant career, had not started a game since August 8th when he lost to Quebec. But, the future HOF pitcher still induces ground balls and pitch to contact style worked to near perfection.

Cosman did not get the W but he did give Paris 4 innings of 1 run ball. Lifted for a pinch hitter in the top of the 5th it paid dividends as Zuniga got on base and scored a run.

From there it was Rivera (1 IP), Marchand (2 IP), and Gallant (2 IP/S) who shut down Nice the rest of the way.

Henri went 9 for 29 with a homer in the series.
On the hill he tossed 16 innings of ball giving up 7 runs, going 0-1.

Matthieu Michel got the series MVP.

On to the finals where Paris will take on Le Morne Rouge.

[stevem810]

If the first game of the series is an indicator of future action/suspense we are in for an entertaining series. The Toucans threatened all game long and finally had their big inning in the 9th.

It was simply a case of the Artist bullpen not getting the job done. Paris mounted their own threat in the 9th but it ended with Michel on first and Julien Henri popping out capping off an 0 for 5 day.

[stevem810]

Down 2-1 with 2 outs and the bases juiced, Herve Delage sent a ball deep into the left field seats giving the Artists a split in Paris.

The teams head back to Martinique for games 3-5.

[stevem810]

Paris received an effective outing from Julien Henri and then exploded late in the game to cruise to an easy game 3 win.

[stevem810]

Sainte Pierre is at the the foot of Mt. Pelee the mountain that spewed the lava that wiped out the entire capital city just after the turn of the 20th century. It's also the place where Julien Henri grew up and learned to play baseball in Martinique.

It is not far from Le Morne Rouge, located inland and to the east. For Henri, the games played in Le Morne Rouge are just as much, if not more, a home game than playing in front of Parisians in Arc de Triomphe ball park.

It's a thrill each time he can pitch in Le Morne Rouge as there are quite possibly more fans rooting for him than against even as he dons the Artist uniform.

[stevem810]

Matthieu Michel led the game off for the visiting Artists by parking one into the right centerfield seats. It set the tone as Paris just kept hammering away at the Toucan pitching staff and could have actually scored even more runs than the final.

But, its academic because the only thing on the minds of the two teams in game 6 that will be played in Paris. The Artists have the opportunity to win in their home city and score their second championship.

For the Toucans they are not done yet. In just their second playoff series they are gunning for title #1 for Le Morne Rouge.

[stevem810]

For Henri it has been a struggle in the batters box as indicated by his paltry batting line. With the bases juiced early on in game five he had an opportunity to blow open a 3-0 lead but was induced to bounce into a 6-4-3 DP killing the rally.

Julien is scheduled to pitch, and most definitely will, game 7 if it is needed. It's unclear whether he will be in CF for game 6. Henri is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA on the mound.

[stevem810]

Not quite a longshot, yet definitely not the favorites heading into the playoffs. In one of the more prolific batting displays by both teams, one team was finally left standing and that was Paris. They came from behind twice to win it despite a serious bases loaded jam in the 9th.

One of the challenges was overcoming the loss of their best position player Laurant Mercier and their CF Nao Yamada who had a .993 OPS before being lost for the season. So, 2/3 of the OF gone for the bulk of the season/post season. Fortunately, for Paris, that is their deepest position(s) on the team.

So, Paris wins their second title in three years. For Julien Henri it is his 5th championship of his storied career. DeLage has 5. Cosman, Mercier, and Michel all have 6 each.

[stevem810]

Julien Henri picked up another GG award at P and placed 5th in MVP voting.

Julien has now played 5 seasons for both Le Diamant and Paris. Just 29, he is able for free agency after next season. At $122 K Henri is an amazing deal.