Northeast Baseball League

[progen]

The baseball season sometimes seems like it's forever! It is a baseball family made up of 25 players, several coaches, one GM, an Owner, part time personnel, and office staff. The Manager not only has to be "very good" with the decisions he makes on the field, but also how he handles the clubhouse atmosphere. In our case in this league, the bus rides are long, food can be bad, and hotels are not four star ones. But there always seems to be a comical side to this game!

And in this case, it's the "nicknames" that guys inherit for whatever reason. Our second baseman, and team clown, Gene Brown has an entire list, and even an explanation for some:

Homeslice: This is the name you give that country guy who likes rap music.
Scrobie: Anything with “scro” in it is funny. Give this name to someone shorter than you.
Ballstein: If you have a male friend who is totally cool, give them this name. It screams masculinity.
Stainer: This name goes to the friend who is always a downer, or the friend who is most likely to leave skidmarks in his underwear.
Scrobillioniare: This name is perfect for that rich friend who is a tool.
It says: ”You may have a lot of money, but you are still a scrotum.”
Pickles - Of course, a player who loads his plate with pickles.
Slappy - Short for a "singles" hitter.

Anyway, you get the idea. I didn't dare ask him what mine was. He told me that it wasn't good, but the only way I'd find out was if he got traded, or cut, then he wouldn't care what I thought when he told me. He laughed when he said it, but who knows?

So, it's on to Berwick, to play the Slaters, and yes, time for another history lesson my friends!

The only professional baseball club in the history of Berwick, PA played in the North Atlantic League in 1950. Managed by catcher Lew Hummel until June 4 and pitcher Mike Koons (7-3, 2.86) thereafter, the unaffiliated club finished 5th in the 8-team league at 64-65-1. They drew 15,489 fans, 5th in the league, and were outscored 703-659. Leonard Wile (11-6, 2.12) was fourth in the NAL in ERA while 1B Al Kirchdoerfer (.312/~.392/.442) was 10th in average and tied for fourth in triples while having the best fielding percentage (.988) at his position.

Berwick is also home to Wise Potato Chips/Snacks:
Wise Potato Chips began in 1921 by accident. Earl Wise, Sr. owned a store on Mulberry Street. He had too many potatoes at one point, so he asked his mother, Sarah, to make chips for him. His father, M. I. Wise, helped Earl sell the chips at his store. They quickly became very popular. The demand was so great that in 1923, they built a small plant on Iron Street. Earl and his father designed the plant. In 1926, they enlarged the plant and did so several more times. For his 20th anniversary in 1946, in honor of his mother, Earl threw a party and created a logo of an owl for the plant.

Never could find out how the "Slaters" got their name, although I know a "slater" is a tradesman, who covers buildings with slate. But all I knew was that we had an important, four game series with them, and could we keep up the momentum?

7/12-7/15 - First game of series, and take a wild guess what happened. We get hammered 9-2, with the "up and down" Tim Butler, going just four innings, while giving up seven hits, and five runs. It could have been worse, but our outfielders made some tremendous plays! Following this team through the season, their inconsistency is "maddening."

In between games one and two, I got a package from Kirsten. She wanted to dress up our mascot "Ace" some, and sent me pics of mascots whose colors she thought really stood out. Does she know that I'm pulling my hair out with this team, and have many more things to worry about? Guess not!







I sent her a package back, and said here's the one I would suggest! lol



Game 2 - Denny White loses his third straight game, a 4-1 defeat. White is a bulldog on the mound, and gave the Aces seven and two thirds of six hit ball. But some sloppy play in the field cost us dearly.

Game 3 - - Not much better, as we lost 5-2. Dale Roberson went three for three, but we hit into three double plays, once with the bases loaded that killed what could've been a big inning!

Game 4 - This game was a "slugfest" from the start, and we finally won it 12-10. Ed Bane who suddenly has lost confidence in our pen, left Jesus Castaneda in for seven and a third, giving up 11 hits, seven runs, but coming away with his 5th win! A badly needed win that got us to 47-49, as we head home to take on the Hanover Raiders.

[progen]

The weather in July was heating up, as were the pennant races in the NBL. In the National Conference(ours), three teams were tied for the precious wild card spot, while three others were within two games! In the Western Conference, four teams were all tied for the WC spot.

John Mizer prepared his advanced scouting report, and the thing that worries about the Raiders is their power. Anastasio Batistia has 20 bombs, Stan Lewis has thirteen, and Jose Garcia has nine in limited action, but two of those in the last three days!


7/16-7/19 - Game 1 - Eisuke Heida gets hammered once again in a 9-1 loss. He goes four innings, ten hits, and five runs. The pen didn't do any better, as Michael Ward, and Pat McCarty each gave up two runs.

Game 2 - Once again the Coatesville fans got treated to some extra inning baseball, and a real slugfest to boot, as the Aces pulled out an 8-7 win. Our catcher, Roberto Colon, doubled home Ryan Dixon to win a thriller!





Fans go nuts over foul balls.


It always amazes me how fans go nuts over foul balls. It's how it's always been and it's how it will always be. Even if you're hanging on the game's every pitch, you can't help but get mesmerized by a foul ball's mystique. With each ball that goes up into the seats, we wonder which fan will defy the 1 in 30,000 odds and win the Foul Ball Sweepstakes. The errant hit has a power over fans, and while we may not know where it's going or who will catch it, we do know that the play will result in at least one of the following: 1) A priceless souvenir... 2) An inconsolable child... 3) A fistfight... 4) A trip to the hospital... or last, and most definitely least: 5) Adults acting like school kids.

Balls hit out of play are a real life piece of the game that suddenly become available to the fans. In the matter of seconds, a baseball went from a Big League pitcher's hand to a Big Leaguer's bat, and now it's finally come to rest, in your hands. You can't help but feel a connection - you were part of a play with major league ballplayers. It actually is pretty cool.

Game 3 -Finally, Denny White breaks his three game losing streak, and now has run his record to 11-7, in a 10-4 win! Greg Griffith stayed hot, going 2 for 2, and for the first time in a long time, Dale Roberson took the collar(0-4).

Game 4 - Saw us win by an identical score of 10-4, as we pounded out
13 hits, and Greg Griffith had three stolen bases. Jesus Aquilar got his 7th win! And yea, were now back to .500 at 50-50!

[progen]

And so we travel to Carbondale to take on the Pioneers. The Pioneers have speed to burn, and with a little less than 150 steals, they easily lead the league. And as we get near the end of July, the long season appears to be taking it's
toll on our young team. Hey, maybe it's just me being paranoid, but there is definitely a different feel to this team.



7/21-724 - And as always, we come out of the gate with a loss. Jesus Castaneda kept the game at 3-2 until the eighth, when he ran out of gas, and Carbondale scored four, winning the game 7-2. Castaneda took only his second loss. AND Carbondale only stole one base.

Game 2 - With Eisuke Heida sent to the minors to try and get his mechanics straightened out, Stephen Hockey, a 23 year old lefty was called up to get his first ever start. And he made the most of it, getting a hard earned 8-6 win. Hockey got hit around, but hung in there, and bats helped the cause.



Games 3 & 4 - Not a whole lot to talk about here as we get clobbered both days, 9-4, and 8-0. We were never in game three, and in game four, our ace Denny White got hit around in taking his eighth loss. We ran into their ace, Victor Cruz. He's a guy we were looking at drafting, but couldn't afford his $70,000 dollar salary. Oh well!! Another disturbing issue, our catcher Roberto Colon, committed his 12th error of the season. Majority on overthrows to second, but today's game it was throwing to first.

[progen]

As we took the bus ride back to Philly, looking at the standings, we are now
51-53, and both seven games out of first in the division and the wild card, with six teams sitting in front of us. I've resigned to the fact that if we don't finish the next seven games in July strong, I may be looking at a "hollow" victory, of just having this young team finish at .500. And I marked on my calendar on August 2nd, an off day, that I would speak to Ed Bane and the other coaches about coming back next year. I really like Ed, and I'm hoping he'll want to stay!

And oh, by the way, I received this from the owner as to what he wants to consider doing with the urinals. "Urinal cakes" with our team logo! Really!!



July 25th - 31st The last seven games all at home, first with Mahanoy City and then three with Shamokin. Need at least five of these to stay in the hunt in my opinion.

Game 1 - UNBELIEVABLE, we broke the string that has been so long, I've forgotten how many, but we won the first game of a series!! Juan Aquilar gave us seven shoutout innings, but we didn't score until the eighth on Dale Roberson's two run double. Figured I post the boxscore so you didn't think I was dreaming!



After the game, I sent Stephen Hockey back to AAA, as young Mark Davis came off the DL

The owners had a conference call last week, and one of the things that was mentioned was moving the trade deadline from July 31st, to a sooner date. This will again be discussed at he Winter Meetings. Since our regular season ends on September 1st, this may make sense. There really haven't been any significant trades, which is why I haven't mentioned them. We are not interested in acquiring anyone at this time.

Game 2 - A heartbreaking 5-4 loss. A we should have one. Hey, I'm not the Manager, but for the second straight time, Ed leaves Jesus Castaneda out there for the 8th inning, and he gives up three runs, which was essentially the game. I may have a chat with Ed about that in the near future!

Games 3&4 We won both games 6-4, and 4-1. Game three was especially sweet, because it was the return of Mark Davis to the rotation from the DL. Mark went seven innings, and picked up his 5th win.

Once again we're at .500 with a 54-54 record, and three games remaining in July. We cut a bit into the lead for the wild card, sitting five games out!

Game 5 - First game of the series with Shamokin on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. And can you believe it, another extra inning game, this time 14 innings. And what a way to win it, with Dale Roberson's walk off home run!



Game 6 - Game six was everything a fan could want, and more! With
the game tied 5-5, Shamoking scores a run in the top of the ninth off of Loren O'Connor. So, batting in the bottom of the ninth, Juan Montoya lead off with a triple, and Javier Sanchez promptly singles him home. Ryan Dixon fails in his attempt to but Sanchez to second, striking out in the process, and Stanley Harris flies to center, no advance by Montoya. And then William Parker, our utility infielder, steps to the plate and proceeds to double off the center field wall, scoring Montoya from first. The throw was wide and Montoya easily beat it!!

Game 7 - Didn't turn out as well, as we lost 12-2 as Jesus Castaneda lost his third in a row. So ends the month of July, and as promised, I will sit down and evaluate our pitching. Only a month and one day to go in this topsy-turvy season!

[progen]

As promised, at the end of July, I will break down our rotation, but before that, I wanted to show you where were at in the standings, and just some info on the league!


Our overall team stats:



This is our league newsletter that comes out weekly


Updated info from the players in our farm system. Can't keep Devin Forrest down there much longer!


Our staff stats, and my breakdown is below!


Starters

Denny White – At 11-8 with a 3.61 ERA, Denny has done a nice job for us this season. We all agree that he is more of a third or fourth starter, but with Heida having a boat load of issues this year, we threw him into the number one role and he has responded nicely. At 26, we still think he can improve, and with a little more run support in some of our games, he would have a few more wins!

Juan Aguilar – Currently holding down the number two spot, Juan’s season, like our team, has been up and down. With 22 starts, he sits and 7-9, with a 4.16 ERA. We see him as a decent number five, and at 26, he has room for improvement. Highlight was a complete game shutout against Greensburg,
6-0, on April 29th.

Jesus Castaneda – Holding down the number three spot, Jesus was called up in mid April when Heida went on the DL. He has done a decent job for us, but has struggled his last three starts, all losses. He’s given up 23 hits, and 18 runs over that three game stretch. Jury still out on his status for next season!
Mark Davis – Everyone in the clubhouse, and the coaches are pulling for Mark to succeed! The young, 22 year old left hander has shaken off being sent back to AAA, and being on the DL for a neck muscle injury in July, to have a decent year. Our scout, John Mizer, really likes this kids potential, and sees him as a “front of the rotation” pitcher in the future.

Tim Butler – Tim is our fifth starter, and carries a 6-8 record, with a fairly high 5.40 ERA. Coaches and our scout feel that we could use an upgrade here. His fastball is in the 93-95 range, but he runs too many deep counts, and doesn’t have the best pickoff move. I agree with our coaches, an upgrade here!

Bullpen
The bullpen has been very good, and at times very bad! We definitely have some “keepers” for next season, but also will look to upgrade at least one spot!

Michael Ward/Bryan Freake – Both have done a nice job as our “righty lefty” combo in middle relief. Freake has also been our spot starter when needed, and has done a decent job in his four starts. These two are definite keepers.

Pat McCarty – Young, 23 year old middle reliever, who we picked up on waivers from Catskill in May. Has a 3-0 record, but ERA is a bit high at 5.52. Tall and lanky at 6-7, 200 pounds, manager Ed Bane would like to see an upgrade here, and give Pat some more time in AAA to develop.

Loren O’Conner/Jorge Machado – Our two set up men are a nice “left righty” combination, and have been more consistent than anyone in the pen. Our scouts are in love with both of these guys, and Machado is only 20 years old. O’Conner has a “nasty” attitude when he’s on the mound, and is not afraid to challenge hitters!

Broderick MacDonald – Broderick has been a real fine for us in the closer role. With 20 saves, and only two blown, he has been Mr. Consistent! His velocity is in the 96-97 range, and mixes up his pitches nicely. Has been a workhorse for us, and is adjusting better in pitching back to back games!

So with the team sitting at 56-55, seven games out of first in the division, but only four out of the wild card spot, there is still hope for this season. August 1st means call ups, and we will be bringing up outfielder Devin Forrest for sure, and possibly Ben Brown. I don’t see us bringing up Eisuke Heida to add to our rotation, but he may be used in the pen later in the month. That’s a wait and see thing!
So onto August, and the stretch drive for a playoff spot!

[Painmantle]

Dude I have to admit, you put some of the craziest stuff in this story! I Love IT!

I'm gonna go out on a "Proverbial Limb" here and say your the first one to use a picture of an Orangutan in your dynasty thread!

[progen]

8/1 - The getaway game for Shamokin proved to be a positive for them, as they hammered us 9-4. Young Mark Davis took the loss, and as with many young players, he took it pretty hard!

8/3 - 8/6 Game 1 of our series with Greensburg started off with yet another loss in an opening game, 11-5, with Tim Butler taking the loss. It is looking more and more like Tim we'll be starting next season in AAA, as he has been struggling of late.

Game 2 - A nice win for us as Denny White gets win number 12, a 3-2 victory. When you watch him pitch, the guy never changes his demeanor! Good or bad, he keeps his emotions intact!




Before I get to Game 3, I saw what was one of the weirdest innings in baseball, in a game against Greensburg. See if you can follow this one:

The first batter for Greensburg had a 1-2 count and was complainning about the strike zone. He got ejected as well as a player on the bench and the manager. It went on for 5-10 mintues. Confusion ensued, because instead of a pinch hitter batting, the 2nd hitter came up and hit a home run. I later found out that the batter was called out on strikes because he refused to step back in the batters box. Then with 2 runners on, a player for Greensburg hit a fly ball to the right fielder and he dropped the ball. But the base umpired ruled that it was an infield fly even though it was not even close. The runners did not tag up so we tried for the double play by appealing to first base and the runner was called out. Then the interim Manager for Greensburg got upset with the outcome and complained and then the umpires discussed what happened. The final ruling was that the batter was out on an infield fly and if we had appealed to 2nd it would have been a double play. But we appealed to the wrong base and you only get the chance to do it once so that is why the runners stayed on 2nd and 3rd. It was a very confusing inning, and totally bizarre!!

Game 3 - Well we heard quite a bit about Angel' Bruno, the 20 year old righty from Mexico, and after he "dazzled" us with a four hit shutout, we knew he was the "real deal." Final score was 4-0. He was an excellent pick for the Green Sox! He got a complete game, and looked like he could've pitched another nine innings. He is definitely a star of the future in this league!

Game 4 - This game saw Jesus Castenada break his three game losing streak, and up his record to 6-4, as the Aces won 4-1. This left us exactly where we started with Greensburg in the wild card race, five games back! As we headed for the bus to take us back to Coatesville, I made a call to Devin Forrest to tell him personally, that he was being called up to the "top level."

By the way, here's a great catch by our left fielder Michael Lacy, who is having a nice year in the field and at the plate!


So here are the standings after our split with Greensburg. Still five out of the wild card race and a bunch of teams in front of us!



And as the bus departs, only in Greensburg will you see this!!

[progen]

Maybe the reason I never liked fairy tales
was that I wondered what followed
"And they lived happily ever after..."

Yeah, I read that somewhere, and it reminded me of my first thoughts when I took over this team! It was like a fairy tale, that a young, then 33 year old, would be able to run a professional baseball team. But it's been fun, challenging, heartbreaking, and a wonderful learning experience so far!

8/7-8/10 - Not much has changed in Coatesville, since our road trip, and not much has changed with the way we start an opening series, with yet another loss, 5-1 to the Allentown Ambassadors. I thought we would feast on Dan Milligan, a recent call up with only eight starts, but he pitched superbly, and recorded his first ever complete game!



Game 2 - Another loss to Allentown, 8-5, as starter Tim Butler was roughed up for five runs and ten hits. We're also getting sloppy on the bases, and I believe guys are starting to press now, and are trying to do too much.

Our Manager, Ed Bane, had a "closed door" meeting after this game, that saw our team slip to 58-60. I was there, and he said a lot to these "youngsters", some I remember, but one line he had really stuck with me:

Reach out! Put a dream or goal just past where you can touch it at that moment. Then, once you do touch it, you’ve gotta reach a little higher. And a little bit higher. And a little bit higher. That’s how you get better, no matter what you do in life.

Game 3 - Well, if anything Ed's speech did get the players to play better, fundamental baseball in this game, but the result was the same, another loss,
4-1. Poor Denny White pitched a solid game, seven hittings, four runs, but once again, got no run support. But a concern was, three of those runs were home runs. He has been keeping the ball in the park for the most part this entire season, but not today!

The prick GM from Allentown, sent me this photo afterward, of where one of the "monstrous" home runs that were hit, ended up!


Game 4 - Finally scraped out a 6-3 win with Jose Aguilar getting his eighth win, and Broderick MacDonald getting his 22nd save. Dale Roberson got his 18th home run, and afterward, I got a call from his agent just asking if I noticed how well he's been playing. Let's see where that takes us!




The Aces are now 59-61, and I pretty much know the Division title is gone, as we stand eight games out, and the Wild Card spot is starting to look like a longshot, as we're five out, with five teams in front of us!
Well, as my parents told me when I called them tonight, "Son, just keep the faith".

Well, out of town for the weekend, so will pick this up on Sunday night or Monday!

[progen]

August 11th-14th - Miracles will never cease! We actually started off a series with a win, 2-0 over Chambersburg. Dale Roberson hit his 18th home run, and Jesus Castenada picked up his 7th win, limiting the Maroons to just two hits.



Game 2 – Tough, 4-2 loss, that saw Mark Davis run out of gas in the later innings, giving up four runs, and the alarming thing is, he walked five.

Game 3 - Bats really came alive today, as we scored the second most runs in franchise history, a 14-5 win, that saw us bang out 20 hits. Tim Butler pitched a nice game, giving up just one run.



Game 4 - We dropped the getaway game, 5-2, as once again “sloppy” play in the field(three errors), cost Denny White to get his 10th loss of the season. We had seven hits, but couldn’t get the timely hit needed to score any more runs.

Even though I am "fully immersed" with this baseball team, there are times, particularly, when we're on the road, that I try and find amusing things, to take my mind away from things. Saw this billboard on the way back to Coatesville:

[progen]

Have an off day today, the 15th, and some good things happen, but first our standings to date. Sitting at 61-63 with not much time left.


On the team news front, Ed Bane "inked" a new, one year deal with us, which I was really happy to see. Ed has done a nice job with this young team, and has been very supportive of all the moves I made so far! We're also retaining his entire coaching staff as well!!


8/16 - 8/19 - - Another typical home stand, lose three out of four to Gettysburg. Really, a tale of two teams going in opposite directions. Gettysburg is contending for the division, and we're going in the opposite direction! Our youth is really starting to show, as after dropping game four, we're now at
62-66, nine games out of first, and six out of the wild card. Our inconsistency has been a problem all year, and really showed up in this series. About the only excitement we had, was a fan running onto the field. Fortunately, no one was hurt!

Game 1 - 4-2 loss, and the bats were pretty silent with only five hits.

Game 2, 3 and 4 We get clobbered in game 2, 9-0, and we also lose the getaway game, 11-10, when no pitcher seemed to have their stuff. Sandwiched in between, we actually salvaged a win in game 3, with young Mark Davis going the distance, winning 3-2. Standings after this game as follows:

[progen]

Baseball is a strange game! The saying "the more I know, the less I understand",
does pretty much hold true! Take our four game series with Lebanon! In a free fall like we are, and being on the road, I had no idea what to expect. But if you ask me, I felt really good about the first game with Denny White pitching, with the others up in the air. Well, it ends up we lose the first game 8-7, as White goes six innings, giving up eight hits and seven runs.

Games 2, 3, and 4 - All wins for us, as our bats bailed out a poor performance by Juan Aguilar, as we won 8-7.



Then in game 3 we win 2-1 in a pitchers duel with Jesus Castaneda pitching his way to his eighth win.



Game 4 saw young Mark Davis go the distance again, pitching us to a 3-0 win. With that win, we now sit just four games out of the wild card spot, with eight games to go! Can we say "nervewracking."

[progen]

Before our four game series with the Johnstown Johnnies, our Owner, Bill Huston,
sent me a new, two year contract to review. I decided to sign it, and although this is not me in the picture, this is almost what I felt like. lol


So our four game series with the Johnstown Johnnies gets started.

Games 1 & 2 - Has seemed like forever that we get two strong, back to back starts from our pitchers, but that's what Tim Butler and Denny White did for us, winning the games 4-1, and 3-1 respectively. This gave us a nice, five game winning streak, and a .500 record at 67-67.

[progen]

Games 3 & 4 - We split these two games with Johnstown, losing the first, 4-2, and then winning game four, 3-2. Jesus Castaneda won his ninth game, and I must say, he has been a pleasant surprise for us this season!

We now stand at 68-68, and there really is no hope for the playoffs. Hanover, Greensburg, Chambersburg, and Carbondale all sit at 72-68. And with Chambersburg and Carbondale playing each other, the only thing I can hope for is a "better" than .500 hundred record, by sweeping Berwick, winning three of four, or at the very least splitting the series.

8/29 - 9/1 The first three games of the serious nothing went right for the Aces, as we dropped all three, 3-2, 7-5, and 3-2, and dreams of finishing .500 disappeared quickly. We managed to salvage game four 6-0, as Juan Aguilar pitched seven strong innings to get the win! The box score for the last game of a memorable first season in the Northeast Baseball League looked like this:




We, of course we held Fan Appreciation for two of the games, giving away home improvement supplies, coupons to local eateries, free tours of Herr's Potato Chip factory, and a "weekend getaway."




The final standings looked like this, as the league headed into the playoffs!

[progen]

Playoffs!

Even though the Aces aren't in the playoffs, I wanted to fairly quickly review what took place, and who was the first ever champion of the Northeast Baseball League!

There was a one game playoff, between Hanover and Gettysburg with Hanover winning 8-5. Next was the Carbondale and Gettysburg playoff game. These four teams all finished tied for the wild card spot in the National Conference. This game was a slugfest with Greensburg outlasting Chambersburg, 13-11.

So the final eight spots were set as follows.



And in a huge upset, the Geneva Robins on the road in game five, defeat the heavily favored Buffalo Bisons, by the score of 5-1. Even more amazing, the Robins were down 2-0, and came storming back to win three in a row! Buffalo had won 92 games during the season, and looked pretty much unbeatable! This now made the playoffs a wide open affair!!

In round 2, Carbondale took care of Johnstown in a mild upset, four games to three, and Albany's fairy tale ride continued, as they again pulled another upset, beating Geneva four games to two!



Isn't baseball amazing. Carbondale, who finished three and a half games out of first, and overcoming some key injuries, find themselves in the Northeast Baseball Leage World Championship! AND even more amazing, is the Albany Senators, a team that finished 70-70, winning their division by just one game! You gotta love this sport!

The Final Game of 1989!
Well, in the end, the "fairy tale" that was the Albany Senators season, came to an end in the sixth game of the world championship, when Carbondale won the game 7-5, in a thrilling sixteen inning affair. The mayor of Carbondale immediately announced a parade for Tuesday, October 3rd. What an incredible ending, to a really incredible first season! I was there to witness the last game, and it was quite a sight. The NBL has really done well this first season, and all the Owners, GM's, and Players should be proud!




Carbondale Pioneers - World Champions 1989

[Big T]

Very well done and extremely entertaining. Your mascot looks like he was happy to see somebody!!

[progen]

So it's the offseason, and before I go on a well deserved, ten day vacation to the Florida Keys, here are some team and league stats that cover the first year of the Northeast Baseball League!









Obviously, some things jumped out at me right away!

1. Catcher - Sorely need an upgrade here!
2. First Base - Sanchez did an "Ok" job, but if I can find one with some "pop", that would be good!
3. Outfield - Hoping Devin Forrest can be that "fourth" outfielder for us, as we need an upgrade for Ryan Dixon.
4. Pitching - Bothers me that we led the National Conference in home runs allowed! Our park is not that small.
5. Bullpen - Could use a "stud" setup man.
6. Team Hitting - Didn't think it would be this bad overall, and I believe that if I can find a power hitter to compliment Roberson, it would greatly help!

[progen]

Here's a look at our prospects on the farm:




Overall National Conference Leaders for 1989:





It's October 2nd, the playoffs ended one day early because the series went six games. So this gives me and my buddies enough time to head to the Florida Keys for a nice, ten day vacation!

[progen]

And on the first day, we headed to sunny Florida!



What can I say, no players, no agents, no owners, and NO HEADACHES!!



And of course, there's always drinking, fishing......I actually caught this biggin!



And women, women, and more women!!




So, anyway, you get the idea of how those ten days went! And now......

[progen]

It's back to reality, and on Tuesday, October 13th, I'm sitting at my desk with a nice To Do List staring at me! While I was on my "escape from reality" in Florida, the awards were announced for the league, and some heads have already rolled, which is a shame, being we just completed our first year! Utica really cleaned house, with both the Manager and GM gone!

Finishing at the very bottom in the Western Conference, will do that I guess;;;






So on to more positive news. Here are some of the awards given out at our annual banquet that we had over the weekend!

Some really great news for the Coatesville Aces!!



And because you could argue that every player was a rookie, the GM's voted on keeping it at 26 and below! Here's the National Conference's:

[progen]

There was no surprise in the MVP award, or the Manager of the Year Award, as Greenburg's Bob Byrd won the National MVP, and skipper Luis Reyes, who led Carbondale to the NBL's first ever championship, and one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, took home the Manager of the Year award!








Arbitration Hearing Coming Up!!
We only have one player, starting pitcher Tim Butler, but we will NOT be offering arbitration to, as we feel Tim will be in AAA for us next year, as we look for an upgrade here!




Oh, and before we move on to free agency, which takes place on October 27th,
just got this picture in the mail from my one buddy who went
with me to Florida. Our other friend, Jay, was bragging that he
could drink two sixes, and not be drunk! Well, here's who he ended up
with one night! Do you think he was wasted? lol