Rebuilding A Champion II: Turning the Corner

[Chappy]

My Starters in May

It's easy to lose 13 of 14 when you hit like this. And to think I was worried about defense and pitching entering the season!

- Name           G AB  H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB  K SF SH HP  AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS 
1 M. Rodriguez  14 44  9  0  0  0   0 1  2  6  0  0  1 .205 .255 .205 .460 
2 O. Angelo     12 39  7  1  0  0   1 1  4  5  0  1  0 .179 .250 .205 .455 
3 L. Claus      14 41  9  0  0  2   5 4  2 12  0  0  1 .220 .273 .366 .639 
4 B. Horizon    13 46 11  4  0  2   4 3  1  5  0  0  0 .239 .255 .457 .712 
5 K. Tracey     13 42  7  0  0  2   4 2  2  9  0  0  0 .167 .205 .310 .514 
6 C. Martinez   13 42  3  1  1  0   1 2  0  0  1  0  0 .071 .070 .143 .213
7 P. Galyon     14 43  6  3  0  1   1 3  1 16  0  0  0 .140 .159 .279 .438
8 M. Talamantez 12 40  9  3  0  1   5 4  2  5  0  0  0 .225 .262 .375 .637

I hope that after slumping together, these guys all get hot at the same time.

[Chappy]

2009 Sim #5

05/17 - 5-2 WIN vs Massachusetts - Clower and Scull combined to 5-hit the Pats, and Manny Talamantez hit a 2-run HR (3) to power the Freedom. M-Rod was 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI.
05/18 - 7-4 WIN vs Massachusetts - Neitz was ugly early, but settled down to pitch 7.2 innings, allowing 4 ER. M-Rod continued to hit well, going 4-for-5 with 2 runs scored, while Bick Horizon went 4-for-5, homering twice (8) en route to a career high 4 RBI.
05/19 - OFF DAY
05/20 - 6-4 WIN @ Louisiana - Robert Jones picks up win #3 despite giving up 4 ER in 7 innings. Scull earned a save for the 3rd straight day. The Lobster drove in 3 runs while M-Rod was 2-for-5, scoring twice.
05/21 - 4-3 loss @ Louisiana - M-Rod picked up 2 more hits, but the Freedom could never add to their 3 first inning runs. Stang allowed 3 ER on 7 hits in 7.1 innings, but Guerrero allowed a 9th inning run to give the game to Louisiana.
05/22 - 6-5 loss @ Louisiana - Louisiana rallied for 4 8th inning runs to come back and beat us. Ludwig Claus's 9th home run was the highlight for our offense. Guerrero takes a loss for the second day in a row, allowing 3 ER in 0.2 innings.
05/23 - 6-5 loss @ Massachusetts (11 innings) - Frank Scull allowed 2 ER after entering the game with a 5-4 lead, and Garrard sealed our fate by allowing a run in the bottom of the 11th. M-Rod was 3-for-6, and Espino hit a pair of doubles for the Freedom.
05/24 - 5-4 loss @ Massachusetts - For the 4th straight day, we lose a game by 1 run. Claus (10) and Stafford (1) homered for the Freedom, but a Claus error led to 3 unearned runs and a Pen loss. Nietz allowed 1 ER in 5 innings of work.
05/25 - 8-1 loss @ Massachusetts - Jones was hurt after retiring 1 batter, and our already tired bullpen was brutally beaten up. Cruz and Garrard each allowed 3 ER. Jones will miss 5 weeks.
05/26 - 9-0 WIN vs North Carolina - Claus (11), Horizon (9) and Martinez (3) each homered for the Freedom. Lowell Stang pitched a much-needed CG, shutting out the Clippers on 7 hits.

Standings

team           w  l  pct   gb L10 
New York      34 11 .756    - 7-3 
Connecticut   25 20 .556  9.0 5-5 
Massachusetts 21 24 .467 13.0 6-4 
Pennsylvania  16 30 .348 18.5 4-6

A 4-5 sim is nothing to cheer about, but it sure beats the last sim. The 4 1-run losses hurt, but are a sign that we are getting better. We are 9.5 games out of the wild card spot.

Pitching

   Name         G GS W L SV   ERA   IP HA  R ER BB  K 
SP L. Stang    10 10 3 4  0  3.48 75.0 80 30 29 13 46
SP C. Kearns    9  9 1 5  0  3.22 64.1 62 25 23 25 39
SP C. Clowers   9  9 4 3  0  4.18 60.1 66 28 28 10 34 
SP A. Nietz     9  9 2 4  0  4.86 53.2 61 33 29 21 20 
SP H. Moreno    0  0 0 0  0  -.--  0.0  0  0  0  0  0 

MR J. Salguero  6  0 0 0  0 14.30  5.2  8 10  9  4  1 
MR A. Lopez    14  0 0 0  0  3.94 16.0  8  7  7  8  6 
MR E. Cruz     11  0 0 1  0  5.25 12.0 16  9  7  5  4 
SU M. Welch    10  0 0 1  1  1.98 13.2  7  3  3  1  7 
SU A. Guerrero 10  0 0 2  0  5.73 11.0 12  7  7  3  9 
CL F. Scull    18  0 2 2  9  4.42 18.1 24  9  9  8 12

With Jones out for 5 weeks, up comes Hector Moreno, who has been having a sensational year at AAA. Moreno, who was 6-10 in 18 starts for Pen last season, is 6-2 with a 1.63 ERA in 10 starts at Allentown this season. If he can post an ERA in the 4.30's-4.50's at Pen, I'll be happy.

I've had it with Michael Garrard. He was 1-4 with a 6.75 ERA, and so he has been shipped to AAA. Salguero, who struggled early, has been called back up.

How about Chris Kearns? Best ERA of any of our starters, yet he has only 1 win in 9 starts.

Batting

     Name           G  AB  H 2B 3B HR RBI  R BB  K  AVG  OBP  SLG 
1 LF M. Rodriguez  45 175 48  5  0  0   4 22 11 12 .274 .321 .303 
2 RF K. Tracey     43 160 43 10  1  4  20 12  4 40 .269 .302 .419 
3 2B L. Claus      46 149 40  8  0 11  32 25 20 34 .268 .357 .544 
4 3B B. Horizon    45 166 49  9  1  9  29 18  8 16 .295 .330 .524 
5 CA C. Martinez   44 144 21  9  1  3  15 11  7  1 .146 .199 .285 
6 1B A. Stafford   34  43 14  3  0  1   5  9  1  3 .326 .333 .465 
7 CF O. Angelo     43 165 48  7  1  0  10 24 10 21 .291 .335 .345 
8 SS M. Talamantez 42 141 37  6  2  3  18 13 12 14 .262 .323 .397 

     B. Lust       16  28  9  1  1  0   1  1  1  8 .321 .345 .429 
     J. Espino     12  29  7  3  0  0   2  4  1  4 .241 .290 .345 
     J. Leto       30  46 10  2  0  1   4  6  3  9 .217 .260 .326 
     P. Galyon     43 136 24  7  1  4   8 13  5 41 .176 .217 .331 
     A. Manning    26  41  5  0  0  1   3  3  5 10 .122 .234 .195 
     M. Antunez     0   0  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0 .--- .--- .---

In my first major lineup change of the year, Allen Stafford will take over for Pat Galyon at 1B. Despite the ratings bumps, Galyon had been having the worst season of his career. Stafford, on the other hand, is batting .326. Tracey moves up in the lineup, and Angelo drops (he's batting only .231 vs righties, he's still at the top of the order vs lefties). Franklyn Thom has been demoted, not for poor play, but to get him more PT. In his place, Antunez has been called up. Antunez can play all 3 OF positions, while Thom could only play CF, so now we have a new backup LF (since Stafford is now at 1B). Galyon stays on the roster as a pinch hitter. Hopefully, he can find his stroke again.

Carlos Martinez is also on thin ice. If he doesn't do better in June, I'll have to look for another option at Catcher.

Team Rankings

Batting AVG: .238 (19th)
Homeruns: 38 (16th)
Walks: 93 (24th)
Stolen Bases: 28 (18th)
Runs Scored: 170 (21st)

Pitching ERA: 4.32 (21st)
Opponents AVG: .268 (19th)
HRs Allowed: 54 (24th)
Walks Allowed: 125 (11th)
Runs Allowed: 205 (15th)

We've allowed more homers than anyone else...

Upcoming Schedule
May 27, 28, 29 - vs North Carolina (22-23, #14, 1-0)
May 30, 31, June 1 - @ New York (34-11, #1, 0-3)
June 2, 3, 4 - vs Massahusetts (21-24, #13, 6-10)
June 5 - Off Day.

[Chappy]

Even with Keith Tracey the clear favorite for ROY, I'm wondering if he needs to go back to Allentown for more seasoning. His .269 average is well above our team average, but I'm worried about his lack of walks and plethera of K's.

Year   G  AB  H 2B 3B HR RBI  R BB  K SB CS  AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS 
2008  23  59 15  5  0  2   8  9  5 16  1  1 .254 .313 .441 .753 
2009  43 160 43 10  1  4  20 12  4 40  3  1 .269 .302 .419 .721 
Total 66 219 58 15  1  6  28 21  9 56  4  2 .265 .294 .425 .719

Tracey walked 5 times in 23 games last season, versus only 4 times in 43 games this season. He also is second on the team with 40 K's (Galyon has 41). His talent rating in Discipline/Eye is an 8, and he has a 6 in Avoid K's. So, the potential to be good is there, and I'm worried about stumping his development by letting him fan a lot at the big league level. He is, after all, only 20 years old.

Also, Bernard Lust is a defensive upgrade (8 range, 1.000 vs 3 range, .977), and has hit well in limited time this season. Obviously, Tracey is the better player long-term, but Lust might suit me better now; especially with M-Rod covering very little ground in LF.

I'd say the only thing keeping Tracey as the everyday guy right now is the possibility of there being 2-straight Freedom ROY's. With Thom on the horizon for next season, I could even possibly run the streak to 3. But I wouldn't want to do that at Tracey's expense. I guess the question I have is, will it hurt him or help him to be in the bigs?

[Chappy]

Rebounding

The Lobster appears to be rebounding well from a disappointing 2008 season. He's on pace to shatter his career best for homers in a season, and maintaining a healthy OBP.

Ludwig Claus, 2B
Year Team           G   AB   H 2B 3B HR RBI   R  BB   K SB CS  AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS
2005 READING      121  426 122 28  1 16  68  59  72 122  7  6 .286 .386 .469 .855
2005 ALLENTOWN      9   34  11  3  0  0   5   9   7   6  2  0 .324 .439 .412 .851
2005 PENNSYLVANIA  24   62  15  1  1  2   6   7   4  14  0  1 .242 .288 .387 .675
2006 ALLENTOWN     26   94  24  5  0  5  18  13   9  21  1  0 .255 .317 .468 .785
2006 PENNSYLVANIA 128  438 106 26  3  9  52  49  54 132 14  3 .242 .325 .377 .702
2007 PENNSYLVANIA 144  491 136 37  4 19  76  72  67 148  8  1 .277 .364 .485 .849
2008 PENNSYLVANIA 153  499 110 24  2 13  61  61  89 143 11  3 .220 .338 .355 .693
2009 PENNSYLVANIA  46  149  40  8  0 11  32  25  20  34  2  0 .268 .357 .544 .900
NPBL Total        495 1639 407 96 10 54 227 214 234 471 35  8 .248 .342 .418 .760

[Dvdmanny]

Hopefully we can turn things around, I just ordered my Freedom jersey online the other day, go Freedom!!

[Chappy]

[Chappy]

2009 SIM #6
05/27 - 6-1 loss vs North Carolina - Carlos Martinez hit a double, but ended up hurting himself rounding 2nd. He'll miss a week. We had only 3 other hits, including a double by Bick Horizon. Kearns allowed 5 ER in 7.2 innings, and deserves a loss for once.
05/28 - 5-1 loss vs North Carolina - Clowers allowed just 2 ER in 7.1 innings, but like many of his brethren, he recieved no run support from this Freedom squad. Espino was 1-for-3 with a double while filling in for Martinez.
05/29 - 10-3 loss vs North Carolina - Nietz was slaughtered for 6 ER in 1 inning, and Salguero got hit hard in his first outing since being recalled. Galyon (5) and Antunez (1) each hit pinch hit homers for us.
05/30 - 8-3 loss @ New York - Lobster (12) and Horizon (10) homered, but Hector Moreno's 2009 debut was anything but magical. He allowed 7 ER on 11 hits in 5.1 innings to post an 11.81 ERA.
05/31 - 6-1 loss @ New York - Stafford hit a double and a triple, but it was Lowell Stang's turn to be beaten. He allowed 5 ER on 7 hits in 7 innings.
06/01 - 2-0 loss @ New York - Kearns allows 2 ER on a CG 4-hitter and loses, falling to 1-7 with a 3.38 ERA.
06/02 - 7-4 loss vs Massachusetts - Stafford (2), M-Rod (1), and Leto (2) homer in a losing effort. Clowers allows 6 ER on 10 hits in 7 innings to fall to 4-5.
06/03 - 6-0 loss vs Massachusetts - We were 4-hit by Ford, a pitcher with a 4.48 ERA today. Nietz pitched well for 7 innings, allowing 2 ER on 5 hits. He falls to 2-6.
06/04 - 10-5 WIN vs Massachusetts - Holy @#!%! We won! Hector Moreno allowed just 1 ER in 6.2 innings, and Claus (13) and Horizon (11) homered as the Freedom wins for the first time this month.
06/05 - OFF DAY - well, we didn't lose.

Standings

team           w  l  pct   gb L10 
New York      41 12 .774    - 9-1 
Connecticut   30 24 .556 11.5 6-4 
Massachusetts 25 30 .455 17.0 4-6 
Pennsylvania  17 38 .309 25.0 2-8

Well, we've reached a point where things can't get any worse. We're tied with D.C. for the worst record in the NPBL, and we're behind them in the Power Rankings. Yep, 24th out of 24 teams. And the road doesn't get any easier; next sim we play exclusively 2nd-place Connecticut and 1st place Maryland.

Pitching

   Name         G GS W L SV   ERA   IP HA  R ER BB  K 
SP L. Stang    11 11 3 5  0  3.73 82.0 87 35 34 14 52 
SP C. Kearns   11 11 1 7  0  3.38 80.0 72 32 30 33 47 
SP C. Clowers  11 11 4 5  0  4.34 74.2 83 38 36 13 40 
SP A. Nietz    11 11 2 6  0  5.37 62.0 72 41 37 24 23 
SP H. Moreno    2  2 1 1  0  6.00 12.0 18  8  8  5  3 

MR A. Lopez    17  0 0 0  0  4.42 18.1 12  9  9  9  6 
MR M. Welch    12  0 0 1  1  1.72 15.2  8  3  3  1  7 
SU A. Guerrero 16  0 0 2  0  5.49 19.2 18 12 12 10 14 
SU M. Garrard  20  0 1 4  0  6.75 17.1 25 14 13  2  7 
CL F. Scull    20  0 2 2  9  4.87 20.1 28 11 11  8 15

After a brief banishment, Michael Garrard returns to Pennsylvania. As much as I hate him, he is our highest rated releiver. And if he can pitch like he did in '07 ever again, I need him to. Two shaky appearances last sim led to Salguero's return to Allentown. Also on the plane with him was Cruz, who has put up disappointing numbers. I have 2 off days so I should be okay with just 1-0 pitchers next sim. I'd like to try out Tracey Northrup or Rashad Edwards instead of Moreno, but both of them are hurt right now. Oh well, at least Moreno's winning % is higher than any of my other starter's.

Batting

- PO Name           G  AB  H 2B 3B HR RBI  R BB  K   AVG   OBP   SLG 
1 3B M. Rodriguez  53 207 56  6  0  1   9 25 11 16  .271  .311  .314 
2 CF F. Thom       22  28  7  1  1  0   2  3  1  6  .250  .300  .357 
3 2B L. Claus      54 172 44  9  0 13  34 30 27 44  .256  .358  .535 
4 1B B. Horizon    54 196 59 10  1 11  35 21  9 18  .301  .333  .531 
5 LF K. Tracey     51 191 49 10  1  4  20 12  4 51  .257  .289  .382 
6 SS M. Talamantez 50 164 41  8  2  3  18 14 12 17  .250  .303  .378 
7 CA C. Martinez   45 147 22 10  1  3  15 11  7  2  .150  .201  .293 
8 RF B. Lust       20  35 11  1  1  0   2  2  1  8  .314  .333  .400 

     A. Pooler      2   1  1  1  0  0   0  0  0  0 1.000 1.000 2.000 
     A. Stafford   42  70 21  5  1  2   7 13  2  6  .300  .315  .486 
     O. Angelo     51 193 53  7  1  0  11 25 13 26  .275  .324  .321 
     J. Leto       34  53 12  2  0  2   5  7  5 11  .226  .288  .377 
     J. Espino     21  58 11  5  0  0   3  4  3 11  .190  .242  .276 
     A. Manning    31  54  7  0  0  1   5  3  6 14  .130  .230  .185 
     B. Handel      0   0  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0  .---  .---  .---

Antunez and Galyon will accompany Cruz and Salguero on the flight to Allentown. I've been patient long enough, so now I'm going to make some changes. Handel, Pooler and Thom (after one sim in AAA, our scouts tell us he has taken his game to the next level) have all been recalled. I can't force my guys to get hits, but I'm going to try to reduce the number of hits we allow. Tracey will move from RF to LF, Thom will start in CF, and Lust will start in RF. That takes us from an outield with ranges 1-2-3 to ranges 1-9-8. There's still a gaping hole in left, but Thom can at least reduce some of that. Meanwhile, Horizon will shift from 3rd to 1st and M-Rod will play 3rd. Claus and Tally will stay where they are. That boosts our range at 3B from a 1 to a 3, but drops our range at 1B from a 5 to a 3. Pooler was called up to add catching depth until Martinez is healthy again (3 days). Then one of my catchers will probably be dropped in favor of a 11th pitcher; unless we go undefeated next sim.

How do these changes affect my long term plans? Well, that depends on how much development Galyon does. He's already over 30, but he has a lot of potential in hitting and avoiding K's, and if he can improve there he will be our 1B. Otherwise, the job belongs to Horizon. I have time and points to develop M-Rod at either 3B or LF. It may be easier to find another LF than another 3B, so I may just keep him at 3rd if I can.

Osvaldo Angelo has played well for me this year, but it's time to give Thom a shot. If Lust flops, Angelo can take over LF (and I'll move Tracey back to right).

Team Rankings
Batting AVG: .233 (21st)
Homeruns: 47 (T-15th)
Walks: 110 (24th)
Stolen Bases: 31 (18th)
Runs Scored: 193 (23rd)

Pitching ERA: 4.58 (23rd)
Opponents AVG: .272 (21st)
HRs Allowed: 67 (24th)
Walks Allowed: 155 (14th)
Runs Allowed: 258 (19th)

We've walked a league-low 110 times; and the Lobster has accounted for more than 25% of our team's walks this season. I'm surprised M-Rod hasn't taken more free passes, but nobody else on our team is know for walking.

Upcoming Games
June 6, 7, 8 @ Connecticut (30-24, #7, 2-1)
June 9 Off
June 10, 11, 12 @ Maryland (34-23, #4, 0-0)
June 13, 14, 15 vs Connecticut (30-24, #7, 2-1)
June 16 off

[Chappy]

2009 Sim #7

06/06 - 5-2 WIN @ Connecticut - Bick Horizon was 3-for-5 with a double and a homer (12), and Manny Talamantez (4) and Keith Tracey (5) also hit dingers as the Freedom gives Lowell Stang all the support he needs. Stang allowed 2 ER on 6 hits in 8 innings, and Scull pitched a perfect 9th to notch save #10.
06/07 - 4-3 loss @ Connecticut (11 innings) - We pounded out 12 hits, but 10 of them were singles, so we managed just 3 runs. The losing run was credited to Welch, but scored on a hit off of Garrard. Kearns pitched well again without getting a win.
06/08 - 7-5 loss @ Connecticut - Angelo was 2-for-3 with his first homer of the season, and Talamantez and Thom each added 2 hits, but Charlie Clowers didn't have his A game. Welch took the loss for the second straight day.
06/09 - OFF DAY
06/10 - 4-2 loss @ Maryland - Lust hit his first home run of the season, but Nietz needed more support as he allowed 4 ER in 8 innings of work.
06/11 - 2-0 loss @ Maryland - Carlos Martinez goes 3-for-4 with a double and a triple, but he couldn't complete the cycle and perhaps give Pennsylvania a win. Moreno didn't allow an ER in 5.2 innings, but he did allow an unearned run, and thus takes the loss.
06/12 - 4-3 WIN @ Maryland - Claus's 14th home run helped the Freedom edge Maryland. It's Stang's second straight win, and pulls him to an even 5-5 on the season. Scull picks up save #11.
06/13 - 6-3 WIN vs Connecticut - The Lobster drove in 3 for a second straight game, this time collecting his 15th home run of the season. Keith Tracey (6) and Manny Talamantez (5) added solo shots. Believe it or not, Chris Kearns, who pitched 7.2 innings and allowed 2 ER on 4 hits, picked up his 2nd win of the season. Bernard Lust was 0-for-3, marking the first time since he became a starter he failed to register a hit.
06/14 - 4-3 WIN vs Connecticut - Keith Tracey homered (7) for a second day in a row, and Charlie Clowers kept us in the game by allowing just 2 ER on 5 hits in 7.2 innings. Garrard picked up the win, and Scull saved his 13th game.
06/15 - 7-5 loss vs Connecticut - Nietz was roughed up for 5 ER on 7 hits in 7 innings. His 4 walks sealed his fate. Horizon and Tracey were each 3-for-4. Bick had a double and his 13th home run in the losing effort.

team           w  l  pct   gb L10 
New York      48 15 .762    - 7-3 
Connecticut   35 28 .556 13.0 6-4 
Massachusetts 30 34 .469 18.5 5-5 
Pennsylvania  21 43 .328 27.5 5-5

I wish we could have pulled off a 5-4 sim, but I'll take the 4-5 sim. We were in every game until the end, and are playing some pretty good baseball right now.

Pitching

   Name         G GS W L SV  ERA   IP HA  R ER BB  K 
sp L. Stang    13 13 5 5  0 3.58 98.0 99 40 39 14 63 
sp C. Kearns   13 13 2 7  0 3.33 94.2 82 37 35 38 58 
sp C. Clowers  13 13 4 5  0 4.26 88.2 97 46 42 15 47 
sp A. Nietz    13 13 2 8  0 5.38 77.0 87 50 46 31 29 
sp H. Moreno    3  3 1 2  0 4.08 17.2 22  9  8  8  7 

mr M. Welch    15  0 0 3  1 3.00 18.0 13  6  6  2  8 
mr A. Lopez    18  0 0 0  0 4.19 19.1 12  9  9  9  7 
su A. Guerrero 19  0 0 2  0 5.87 23.0 23 15 15 13 18 
su M. Garrard  24  0 2 4  0 6.75 18.2 29 15 14  2  8 
cl F. Scull    25  0 2 2 13 3.81 26.0 29 11 11  8 16

Nietz has been a huge disappointment, and I'd send him down if only I had somebody to bring up in his place. Needless to say, when Jones comes back (in 3 weeks) he'll replace Nietz or Moreno; but it's not clear which one right now.

Batting

     Name           G  AB  H 2B 3B HR RBI  R BB  K  AVG  OBP  SLG
1 3B M. Rodriguez  62 241 58  7  0  1   9 28 13 16 .241 .282 .282 
2 CF F. Thom       29  55 16  2  2  0   3  7  1  8 .291 .328 .400 
3 2B L. Claus      63 204 52  9  0 15  41 35 30 53 .255 .352 .520 
4 1B B. Horizon    63 225 70 12  1 13  38 27 10 18 .311 .342 .547 
5 LF K. Tracey     59 217 57 10  1  7  25 18  4 53 .263 .294 .415 
6 SS M. Talamantez 59 193 51 10  2  5  22 17 14 19 .264 .316 .415 
7 C  C. Martinez   52 173 26 11  2  3  17 11  8  4 .150 .199 .289 
8 RF B. Lust       29  63 21  2  2  1   5  3  4 11 .333 .368 .476 

     A. Pooler      3   4  2  1  0  0   2  0  0  0 .500 .600 .750 
     B. Handel      3   6  2  1  0  0   2  0  0  0 .333 .333 .500 
     A. Stafford   47  78 22  5  1  2   8 15  3  7 .282 .305 .449 
     O. Angelo     58 211 57  7  1  1  13 28 14 29 .270 .317 .327 
     J. Leto       36  56 12  2  0  2   5  8  6 12 .214 .286 .357 
     J. Espino     24  63 11  5  0  0   3  4  3 13 .175 .224 .254 
     A. Manning    34  63 10  0  1  1   5  3  6 16 .159 .243 .238

It was a disasterous sim for M-Rod; I don't think he reached base at all. The fact that he only has drawn 13 walks (despite and 8 in eye) is only compounded by his current hitting slump. He's the one guy I knew would be getting on base. He seems to be struggling vs lefties more than righties, so I dropped him to the bottom in the vs lhp lineup. Martinez is still hitting 50 points below the Mendoza line, and has shown little power.

On the other hand, Tracey is on fire. The young outfielder has finally shown some power, and has been collecting quite a few hits recently. Likewise, his replacement in right is doing swell. Lust has only failed to register a hit in one start. I'd move him up in the order but I'm scared to touch him.

Team Rankings
Batting AVG: .234 (19th)
Homeruns: 58 (T-11th)
Walks: 126 (24th)
Stolen Bases: 42 (17th)
Runs Scored: 227 (22nd)

Pitching ERA: 4.45 (22nd)
Opponents AVG: .266 (19th)
HRs Allowed: 71 (22nd)
Walks Allowed: 176 (13th)
Runs Allowed: 293 (16th)

Upcoming Games
June 16 - OFF
June 17, 18, 19 - vs New York Barons (48-15, #1, 0-6)
June 20, 21, 22 - @ DC Senators (18-46, #24, 0-0)
June 23, 24, 25 - vs Connecticut Marines (35-28, #9, 5-4)

We get the #1 Barons, followed by the #24 Senators. You don't get a bigger contrast than that. We've yet to beat either team this year, so this should be an interesting sim.

[Chappy]

Slugging Away

Historically speaking, the Pennsylvania franchise has never been known for their power. The championship team from 2000 is really the only team to pack any punch at all. Until this year, that is. The names of a couple of Freedom sluggers are starting to pop up in the league leaders section a little more frequently this year, as two players slug it out to try to top Pat Galyon's team record of 33 homers in a season.

 #  TOP 10 SLG            SLG 
 1  A. Cabezas      (NY) .680 
 2  P. Kahle       (Con) .591 
 3  A. Beckford     (NY) .557 
 4  R. Moncayo     (Mas) .549 
 5  B. Horizon     (Pen) .547 
 6  J. Guizar      (Mas) .530 
 7  C. DiBenedetto (Mas) .529 
 8  L. Claus       (Pen) .520 
 9  A. King         (NY) .512 
10  M. Mooney      (Fla) .509

#  TOP 10 HR          HR 
1  P. Kahle     (Con) 18 
2  A. Cabezas    (NY) 15 
2  L. Claus     (Pen) 15 
4  M. Mooney    (Fla) 14 
4  T. Ocejo     (Lou) 14 
6  A. King       (NY) 13 
6  B. Horizon   (Pen) 13 
6  T. Holtzclaw (Con) 13 
9  R. Moncayo   (Mas) 11 
9  A. Beckford   (NY) 11

[Chappy]

Freedom Acquires Superman

Today, the Pennsylvania Freedom sent 3 prospects to D.C. in exchange for lefthanded starting pitcher Skip 'Superman' Burns. Despite being an 8-year veteran of the NPBL, Skip is only 27 years old. He has nasty stuff, throws hard, and can go deep into the game. His achilles' heel is his control, but he's not struggled in that area this season. Burns is 3-7 this season, pitching for last-place DC. His WHIP (1.11) is lower than any of our other starters.

Year    G  GS  W  L SV ERA      IP   HA   R  ER  BB    K CG SHO WHIP Teams 
2001    5   5  0  4  0 8.37   23.2   27  23  22  22   25  0   0 2.07 DC 
2002    4   4  1  2  0 5.46   28.0   28  17  17  11   26  0   0 1.39 DC 
2003   23  23  8  9  0 3.81  175.0  125  80  74  71  161  3   0 1.12 DC 
2004   32  32  9 17  0 4.28  241.2  172 121 115 134  259 12   0 1.27 DC 
2005   32  32 15 10  0 3.74  243.1  163 106 101  98  275 11   3 1.07 DC 
2006   32  32 13 14  0 3.87  223.1  166 105  96 113  213  6   2 1.25 DC 
2007   33  33 16 16  0 3.78  264.0  170 116 111 123  243 14   2 1.11 DC 
2008   33  33 12 16  0 3.53  254.2  162 107 100 116  219 11   2 1.09 DC 
2009   13  13  3  7  0 3.77   90.2   77  43  38  24   86  2   1 1.11 DC 
Total 207 207 77 95  0 3.93 1544.1 1090 718 674 712 1507 59  10 1.17

As you can see, the walk totals are pretty high. But we believe Burns has the stuff to help push us over the edge.

In the deal, we lost our top hitting prospect (Jeremy Vaz, 1B) and our top pitching prospect (Peter Iuvani), as well as pitching prospect Rogers Allsby. The three will be missed, all are major-league caliber prospects, but it was in our best interest to trade future stars for players who can help us immediately. DC is under new management, and has just began a massive rebuilding campaign, so the move makes sense for them also.

[satchel]

Originally Posted by Chappy

...I'm worried about [Keith Tracey’s] lack of walks and plethera of K's.

Rookies tend to strike out a lot in their first season. Then again, you don’t want to hurt his long-term judgement.

[satchel]

Originally Posted by Chappy

...Today, the Pennsylvania Freedom sent 3 prospects to D.C. in exchange for lefthanded starting pitcher Skip 'Superman' Burns.

Burns is a franchise player, the type that the Freedom have been missing. Burns in the foundation takes the pressure off of Penn’s other young pitchers.

[satchel]

Life in the FF North is brutal. The evil Robber Barons of New York are like the historical NY Yankees, too strong. It’s war and the casualty numbers are ugly. We try to be gentlemen but the struggle is intense.

Chappy and I happen to share divisions in two of our mutual online leagues.

[Chappy]

2009 Sim #8

06/16 - Off Day
06/17 - 6-5 loss vs New York - Lowell Stang pitched 6 innings, allowing just 3 ER to a furocious New York offense, but the bullpen let us down. Mike Welch drops to 0-4 this year after allowing 2 ER in 1 inning of work. The offense had a good day; Claus was 3-for-4 with a double and a homer (16) and Horizon and Tracey each added 2 hits.
06/18 - 12-5 loss vs New York - Skip Burns's debut with the Freedom was anything but super. Well, he was the victim of 3 errors, but he still managed to give up 7 hits in 2.2 innings. He allowed 8 runs, but just 3 were earned. Lust (2) and Garrard (1) each hit 9th inning homers for Pennsylvania.
06/19 - 6-0 WIN vs New York - The slumping Carlos Martinez went 2-for-3 with his 4th home run of the season, and Claus (17) and Horizon (14) each homered for us. Chris Kearns pitched a shutout, allowing just 5 hits. He is now 3-7 with a 3.04 ERA.
06/20 - 2-1 WIN @ D.C. - The two worst teams in the FFL square off, and we barely come out on top. Martinez had 2 more hits today. Perhaps he is coming out of his season-long slump. Horizon's 15th home run of the season tied the game at 1 in the 6th, and Jason Leto apparently walked with the bases loaded in the 9th to push in the winning run. Welch, who pitched 2 scoreless innings, got the win, and Guerrero earned a save. Starter Charlie Clowers allowed 1 ER in 6 innings of work.
06/21 - 5-3 loss @ D.C. - Angelo's 2nd homer of the year was the highlight of our offense, which was contained by D.C.'s Menjivar. Moreno allowed 3 ER in 5 innings, but Armando Lopez allowed 2 more runs in 0.2 innings of work. He takes his first loss of the year.
06/22 - 1-0 loss @ D.C. - A Bernard Lust double was our only extra-base hit, as a great Lowell Stang start goes to waste. Stang allowed just 3 hits in 7 innings. The lone run was driven in by former Freedom draftee Delmar Barrie, who was recently traded to D.C.
06/23 - 7-6 loss vs Connecticut - Burns had another rough outing, allowing 4 runs in 8 innings, but the bullpen went on to lose the game by allowing 3 more late runs. Bick Horizon hit his 16th home run of the year.
06/24 - 6-5 WIN vs Connecticut - 3 hits by Manny Talamantez and Jason Leto's 3rd homer of the year led our offensive attack. We were trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth when Lobster hit a 2-run, 2-out walk-off triple. Chris Kearns had a rough start, allowing 5 ER on 10 hits in 6.1 innings, but the bullpen actually held on, allowing the offense to bring us back.
06/25 - 11-4 loss vs Connecticut - Clowers was bad, allowing 7 ER on 9 hits in 5.1 innings. The hitters weren't much better, though Tracey and Talamantez each had a pair of hits.

Standings

team           w  l  pct   gb L10 
New York      55 17 .764    - 7-3 
Connecticut   39 33 .542 16.0 5-5 
Massachusetts 36 38 .486 20.0 6-4 
Pennsylvania  24 49 .329 31.5 3-7

Losing 2 out of 3 to DC hurts, but we avoided the sweep from New York. I

think we'll do better from here on out though. I really like my team...


Pitchers

   Name         G GS W L SV  ERA    IP  HA  R ER BB   K 
sp L. Stang    15 15 5 6  0 3.49 111.0 108 45 43 16  70 
sp S. Burns    15 15 3 8  0 4.00 101.1  93 55 45 30 101 
sp C. Kearns   15 15 3 7  0 3.27 110.0  97 42 40 43  61 
sp C. Clowers  15 15 4 6  0 4.50 100.0 111 54 50 20  52 
sp A. Nietz    13 13 2 8  0 5.38  77.0  87 50 46 31  29 

mr A. Lopez    22  0 0 1  0 4.81  24.1  16 14 13 14  11 
mr E. Cruz     13  0 0 1  0 5.79  14.0  20 11  9  5   4 
mr M. Welch    21  0 2 5  1 3.24  25.0  20  9  9  2  12 
su A. Guerrero 22  0 0 2  1 5.46  28.0  29 18 17 14  22 
su M. Garrard  27  0 2 4  0 6.17  23.1  34 17 16  4  11 
cl F. Scull    27  0 2 2 13 4.18  28.0  32 13 13  9  16

Alphonse Nietz had been dropped to AAA when Burns was acquired, but after 2 stellar minor league starts he's back. Hector Moreno is now back in Allentown. I've also brought back Ed Cruz to give me a lefty in the pen. I am happy with my rotation. Nietz and Clowers need to pitch a little better, but they have good enough ratings. For the first time since I took over this team, we have 5 legitimate starters who are capable of winning close games. The best part is their ages; Stang and Burns are 27, Clowers is 26 and Nietz is 25. Kearns is 35, but the others are just entering their primes and should be reliable for the next 8-10 years.

Batters

     Name           G  AB  H 2B 3B HR RBI  R BB  K  AVG  OBP  SLG 
1 LF O. Angelo     66 231 69  8  1  2  17 30 16 31 .299 .345 .368 
2 3B M. Rodriguez  71 269 64  8  0  1  10 30 16 16 .238 .283 .279 
3 2B L. Claus      72 234 61 10  2 17  47 39 33 59 .261 .358 .538 
4 1B B. Horizon    72 254 77 13  1 16  44 31 11 19 .303 .332 .551 
5 C  C. Martinez   59 197 34 13  2  4  18 14 10  4 .173 .222 .320 
6 RF K. Tracey     68 248 68 12  1  7  30 19  4 58 .274 .301 .415 
7 SS M. Talamantez 67 220 59 12  2  5  25 19 18 20 .268 .325 .409 
8 CF F. Thom       38  91 23  3  2  0   4 13  1 12 .253 .292 .330 

     B. Handel     10  11  4  2  1  0   3  3  1  0 .364 .417 .727 
     A. Pooler      6  11  4  1  0  0   2  2  1  0 .364 .462 .455 
     A. Stafford   55  83 24  5  1  2   8 17  3  8 .289 .310 .446 
     B. Lust       38  87 25  3  2  2   9  5  6 17 .287 .337 .437 
     J. Leto       41  64 13  2  0  3   7 10  8 14 .203 .288 .375 
     A. Manning    39  72 10  0  1  1   6  3  6 22 .139 .215 .208

Nothing personal against Lust, but I really wanted to get Angelo back in the lineup. So I had to choose between Lust and Tracey in right, and I chose Tracey (who nearly leads my team in K's and has walked just 4 times). M-Rod REALLY needs to start getting on base. Claus and Horizon have been two of the best hitters in the FFL, but without runners to drive in, their RBI totals have suffered. There's really no reason M-Rod, who has an 8 in hits and an 8 in discipline, should ever be posting a sub-300 OBP. Speaking of ratings leading to baffling numbers, how in the heck is the 6-9-5 (contact-HR-eye) rated Carlos Martinez STILL batting below .200 in late June??? I was really expecting a .250-27-80 season from him, but he's on pace for a .173-10-50 season. If he would hit like he is capable, the combo of Claus-Horizon-Martinez would be deadly. Ah, what could be...

To make room for an extra reliever, the struggling Espino has been sent to AAA. That leaves us with just 4 players batting below .250; M-Rod, C-Mart, Leto and Manning.

FFL Home Run Race
Here's a new section to the report.

- Player     TM  HR
1 P. Kahle   Con 19
2 L. Claus   Pen 17
2 R. Ocejo   Lou 17
4 B. Horizon Pen 16
4 A. King    NY  16
4 M. Mooney  Fla 16
4 A. Cabezas NY  16

Upcoming Games
June 26 - Off Day
June 27, 28, 29 - @ Massachusetts Patriots (36-38, #13, 7-12)
June 30, July 1, 2, - vs New York Barons (55-17, #1, 1-8)
July 3 - Off Day
July 4, 5, 6 - @ Virginia Cannons (31-43, #19, 2-1)

Next sim, we'll face two sub-500 teams. We haven't matched up well against Mass this season, but maybe we can take 2 from them here. I'd settle for 1 win against the Barons, and splitting the first two with Va. Of course, I'd rather win them all, but let's be realistic.

[Chappy]

Keith Tracey's Projected Stats

Tracey is the only FFL rookie with enough at bats to qualify, so he's a shoe-in for the Jackie Robinson Award. Here's a look at his projected stats (check out that walk total )

Year        G  AB   H 2B 3B HR RBI  R BB   K SB CS  AVG
Current    68 248  68 12  1  7  30 19  4  58  4  2 .274
Projected 151 550 151 27  2 16  67 42  9 129  9  4 .274

[satchel]

Originally Posted by Chappy

Keith Tracey's Projected Stats...Here's a look at his projected stats...

Not bad production from a 20-year-old.

[Chappy]

I'm on vacation right now, so I don't have the means or time to write a full report, but we went 4-4 last sim. The offense is rolling, and it looks like I'll have 2 all-stars this year in Horizon and Claus. Both of them could easily hit their 20th HR of the season by the break, which comes at the end of the next sim.

I'll probably do another brief report like this Friday and Monday, and return to the full reports Wednesday. Feel free to catch up in the league link if you're itching for more info!

[Chappy]

#  TOP 10 HR         HR 
1  P. Kahle    (Con) 25 
2  L. Claus    (Pen) 19 
2  T. Ocejo    (Lou) 19 
4  B. Horizon  (Pen) 18 
5  R. Moncayo  (Mas) 17 
5  A. Cabezas   (NY) 17 
5  A. King      (NY) 17 
8  M. Mooney   (Fla) 16 
9  A. Beckford  (NY) 15 
9  R. Lininger (Ten) 15

[Chappy]

Lobster Gets Shafted

Ludwig Claus was NOT named to the FFL All-Star team, despite reaching the 20 HR platea before the break. Claus, who is tied with teammate Bick Horizon (who was an All-Star) for 4th in the FFL with 20 homers, is also in the top 10 in RBI, SLG and OPS. So, for the third straight year, the Freedom had just one representative at the All-Star game.

The Freedom was on a roll last sim until we dropped 3 of 4 against DC. But still, we went 4-4, and have been playing .500 all for a good 3 weeks now.

[Chappy]

Sim Report #11

07/18 - 4-3 loss @ New York - Chris Kearns goes the distance, but allows 2 too many runs. Horizon hit his 21st HR, tying his career high.
07/19 - 5-3 WIN @ New York - The top 3 hitters in our lineup (Angelo, M-Rod, Claus) went 7-for-12 with 4 RBI, and the rest of the lineup was 1-for-23. Claus hit his 21st HR, tying Horizon for the team lead. Skip Burns allowed 4 hits in 8 innings to notch the win, and Frank Scull earned his 18th save of the season.
07/20 - 4-1 WIN @ New York - Carlos Martinez (5), Tally (6), and Leto (4) each hit solo homers. Charlie Clowers allowed just 1 unearned run in 8 innings to move to 7-7 on the year, and Scull picked up save #19.
07/21 - 11-9 loss vs Virginia - Osvaldo Angelo hit HR #5, and Manny Talamantez added 2 RBI, but the pitching wasn't there today. Alphonse Nietz, who has been bouncing up and down between AAA and the bigs, allowed 6 ER in 4 innings, and Robert Jones, who was making his debut from the pen, allowed 3 ER in 2 innings.
07/22 - 8-0 WIN vs Virginia - Lowell Stang pitched a 5-hit shutout, and M-Rod and Lobster drove in 2 runs a piece. Keith Tracey was 1-for-3 with a triple before being ejected for arguing calls, and Osvaldo Angelo was 2-for-4 to extend his hit streak to a career-high 11 games.
07/23 - 3-2 loss vs Virginia - Chris Kearns allows 2 ER in 8.2 innings but takes the loss thanks to an unearned run, and Angelo went 0-for-4 to end his streak. Tally had 2 of our 6 hits.
07/24 - 9-3 WIN vs Virginia - Claus hit his 22nd homer of the season and drove in 3 runs, and Tally added his 7th homer of the season and 2 RBI. Skip Burns allowed 1 ER in 7 innings to get his ERA below 4.00 and move to 6-9 on the season.
07/25 - 13-8 WIN vs Maryland - In a slugfest, Claus (23) and Horizon (22) each homered and drove in 3 runs, but Carlos Martinez led the way with a grand slam (6). Martinez is nearing the Mendoza line, and may finally be turning into the hitter I thought I was getting. Charlie Clowers was roughed up for 7 ER in 3.1 innings, but the bullpen allowed just 1 ER on 3 hits in 5.2 innings of work.
07/26 - 10-2 loss vs Maryland - Nietz lost a career high 7th game in a row after allowing 4 ER in 7.2 innings of work. M-Rod and Tally each had 2 hits to lead the offense.
07/27 - 4-3 loss vs Maryland - Lowell Stang allowed 4 runs (3 ER) in 7.1 innings. Angelo (6), Claus (24) and Horizon (23) all homered, but they were all solo shots.

Standings

team           w  l  pct   gb L10 
New York      72 27 .727    - 6-4 
Connecticut   52 46 .531 19.5 5-5 
Massachusetts 49 51 .490 23.5 4-6 
Pennsylvania  37 62 .374 35.0 5-5

We continued our .500 play, and manage to take 2 of 3 games in New York this sim. Not bad, I think we're off to a late start, but finally becoming the average team I thought we'd be this year.

Pitching

   Name        G GS W  L SV  ERA    IP  HA  R ER BB   K 
s1 L. Stang   21 21 7  9  0 3.10 156.2 148 59 54 21  94 
s2 C. Kearns  20 20 6  9  0 3.02 149.0 129 55 50 52  78 
s3 S. Burns   20 20 6  9  0 3.97 138.1 123 73 61 42 137 
s4 C. Clowers 20 20 7  7  0 4.70 132.0 150 76 69 25  62 
s5 A. Nietz   16 16 2 11  0 6.21  91.1 108 70 63 38  38 

mr M. Welch   32  0 3  6  2 3.07  41.0  30 14 14  3  19 
mr R. Jones   14 11 3  6  0 5.52  75.0  78 49 46 31  35
mr C. Curcio   0  0 0  0  0 -.--   0.0   0  0  0  0   0
su M. Garrard 34  0 2  4  1 6.46  30.2  41 23 22  6  15 
su H. Moreno   4  4 1  2  0 4.37  22.2  27 12 11 12   8 
cl F. Scull   34  0 2  2 19 3.89  34.2  37 15 15  9  22

Experimental move here; I've converted some of my top minor league starters to relievers in an effort to solidify my bullpen. So career relievers Welch, Garrard and Scull are joined by former starters Jones, Curcio amd Moreno. I'm not sure how well this will work; Jones was shaky in relief appearances last sim, and Northrup didn't pan out as a reliever last season. But at this point, I'm willing to try anything. Our team is playing it's best baseball ever right now, so I'm hesitant to change many things, but if our bullpen was better, we'd be playing above .500 ball over the last month.

Lineup

     Name           G  AB   H 2B 3B HR RBI  R BB  K  AVG  OBP  SLG 
1 LF O. Angelo     91 333 100 12  2  6  27 54 23 38 .300 .346 .402
2 3B M. Rodriguez  95 367  99 12  1  1  21 45 20 20 .270 .313 .316 
3 2B L. Claus      98 315  84 15  3 24  68 55 49 75 .267 .366 .562 
4 1B B. Horizon    98 349  97 14  1 23  60 44 17 23 .278 .310 .521
5 RF K. Tracey     93 333  90 17  3  8  37 33 11 77 .270 .307 .411 
6 C  C. Martinez   82 283  55 15  2  6  29 25 14  4 .194 .241 .325 
7 SS M. Talamantez 91 307  82 16  3  7  39 30 24 25 .267 .321 .407 
8 CF F. Thom       63 180  49 11  2  2  18 23  3 21 .272 .299 .389

     A. Stafford   72 106  31  6  1  2  11 19  3  8 .292 .309 .425 
     B. Lust       50 103  28  6  2  2  11  6  6 18 .272 .315 .427 
     A. Pooler     12  28   7  2  0  0   2  4  1  5 .250 .300 .321 
     J. Leto       50  81  17  2  0  4   9 11  8 17 .210 .278 .383 
     P. Galyon     47 142  25  7  1  5   9 14  5 43 .176 .215 .345 
     A. Manning    48  90  14  0  1  1   7  5  9 28 .156 .240 .211

Pat Galyon ended his exile in AAA by smashing 15 homers in just 44 games at Allentown. However, he is still relegated to bench duty. The lineup has been good, and scoring a lot of runs, so I don't want to mess with it. We should be even better as Tracey matures; he has the potential to combine Horizon's hitting skills with Claus's patience. 3 big bats like that, combined with the hitting skills of M-Rod and Franklin Thom, will make us a formidable offensive force in the FFL in the not to distant future.

Upcoming Games
July 28, 29, 30, 31 - vs Mississippi (54-43, #6, 0-3)
August 1, 2, 3 - @ Florida (41-59, #23, 1-3)
August 4 - Off Day
August 5, 6, 7 - @ Massachusetts (49-51, #13, 11-14)

It would take a small miracle, but if we could sweep Massachusetts, we'd be an even 14-14 against them. We haven't faired very well against the other two teams we take on next sim, but it's a small sample size.

Home Run Race

#   TOP 10 HR         HR 
1   T. Ocejo    (Lou) 29 
2   R. Moncayo  (Mas) 25 
2   P. Kahle    (Con) 25 
4   L. Claus    (Pen) 24 
5   B. Horizon  (Pen) 23 
6   A. Cabezas   (NY) 19 
6   A. King      (NY) 19 
6   C. Stormes  (Mis) 19 
9   H. Knight    (NC) 18 
10  R. Lininger (Ten) 17

The Pen boys have slipped a little, but are still within grasp of a HR crown. Horizon was especially hot late last year; if he can repeat his late season surge he'll finish in the top 3 easily.