DELMARVA Baseball League

[illeracula]

New Around the League in January:
The first move in January was the Ellicott City Express signing Carlos Martinez, another defector from the New Castle Colonials starting rotation. Martinez was 14-7 3.39 last season with the Colonials and has won 10+ games in 4 of his 6 seasons. He joins the Express on a 3 year, $24,000,000 deal.

The Baltimore Barons and the Christinia Blue Hens pulled off a minor deal, with the Barons receiving $1.8 M and 1B Sozen Kawamura for 3B Juan Lopez and minor league pitcher Miguel Lopez. Sozen, a rookie last season, hit .246 with 34 HR's and 89 RBI's, and won the Rookie of the Year in the Delaware Conference. The Blue Hens believe that Mike Ford is the better option at 1B, and in return solidified the other corner infielder, with Juan Lopez. Lopez hit .134-0-7 last season in 26 games, and for his career, which expands 4 seasons, he is a .233-6-56 hitter. Miguel Lopez made his debut in the minors last year, going 3-3 in 8 single-A starts. The experts believe the Barons got a steal with Sozen.

Luis Tevino turned from reliever to stater 3 years ago in Newark, then left to go to Annapolis. After two years in Annapolis he rejoins the Millers. Last season he was 9-11 5.18 in 31 starts, posing a 1.51 WHIP. And despite his troubles the Millers opened up their wallet and gave Luis $35,700,000 over the next 3 years, the 3rd year is a player option. Many expoerts believe Trevino was over used as a reliever, appearing in 79 games in 2016, but the Millers have faith he will return to his 14-7 3.32 self, which was posted 2 years ago.

In yet another scratch your head move, the Christiana Blue Hens dished out 2 years and $22,000,000 to "wrecked", 38 year old, second baseman Jorge Quintero. The 2nd year is a vesting option, requiring 550 PA's from Quintero. Quintero played in 26 games in 2019 hitting .322-4-8, and has only played in over 130 games 1 time in the past 4 years. For his career Quintero has hit .254-124-449, and has a career ZR of -7.8 at 2B.

The Dover Generals signed Jose Tellez to be their back-up catcher. Tellez and the Generals agreed to a 2 year deal worth $10,540,000. A solid defender who, who will pick up a hit or two, gives the Generals a solid backup behind all-star Andy Kohl. Tellez hit .325-5-26 in 120 AB's for the Milford Clippers. The 29 year old was a full-time starter in 2016, and was an all-star in 2015.

The Newark Millers are redoing their starting rotation this season, as they signed their second starter this month, in Cho-Yeong An. An, a former Newcomer of the Year and 2x All-Star, was a steal for the Millers. The 32 year old agreed to a 3 year deal worth $20,100,000. Last season he was 12-13 with a 4.66 ERA, in a year the Generals struggled, the year before An went 19-9. An is a work-horse, the Millers should expect 15 wins and 200+ innings. He spent his first 7 years in the league with the Dover Generals.

News in Norfolk:
Nothing. The Cavaliers stood pat, with no money to go after free-agents and no trades to be made. I will take a closer look at my team down the road, but right now we are happy where we are heading into Spring Training.

[illeracula]

News Around the League in February:
The month started off with now ex-Cav Elmer Hawkins signing a 1-yr deal worth $2,960,000 with the Milford Clippers. That deal is 2 million dollar raise from what Hawkins made last year. The Clippers spent a lot of money on pitching this off-season so far.

Joe Parker signed a 1 year-deal to join the New Castle Colonials. Parker will play an important role with the Colonials as they try to replace the lost of Jose Matos. Parker pitched with the Blue Crabs last season going 11-11 4.60, his 3 straight 10+ win season.

The Ellicott City Express reached out to Steve McClellan and threw a 3 year/$10,320,000 contact at him. McClellan pitched in the bullpen for the first time in his career last season, going 9-8 5.12 with 33 saves, after a shoulder injury whiped his stamina. He will be listed as the Express Closer to start the season.

Vincente Rosas one of the top international free agents on the market singed a 3 year $19,500,000 contract with the Iron Pigs. At 28 it will be intersting to see how he adjusts, since many internaltional free-agents have started off strong and flopped. We will keep on eye on this one.

Matsusuke Koizumi a 23 year old free-agent from Japan signed a 3 year deal worth $13,110,000 with the Chesapeake Blue Crabs. Koizumi has an incredible cutter that he uses to get outs. He will be used as a set-up man for the Blue Crabs, and he hopes that one day he will be the closer for this team.
All over Japan, newspapers have been trumpeting the success of Matsusuke Koizumi for having been picked up by Chesapeake. "Our loss is the world's gain", one paper reflected. "True, he won't be able to play in front of hometown fans anymore. But every time he takes the field, the world will know that he came from Japan. And every one of our youngsters watching on TV will think have their eyes widen and think, "that could be me one day."

Middle Reliever Jose Chavez will be in the bullpen for the Wilmington Iron Pigs, coming to terms on a one-year deal worth $2,720,000. Chavez was the closer for the Salisbury Ports last season saving 32, while posting a 3.55 ERA. The Iron Pigs look for Chavez to return to the sub-2 ERA he has posted 3 of the last 4 seasons. He is penciled in to be the closer in Wilmington.

The Blue Crabs dished out some big money to Claudio Cordero, giving him a 3 year deal worth $18,780,000. Cordero is 32 and holds a career batting average of .242, with 113 HR's and 410 RBI's. He played the past 3 years with the Blue Crabs and the fans are happy to see him return.

One of the biggest questions of the free-agent market was where is Alberto Trujillo going to end up. That question ha been answered... Trujillo has a history of injury problems (Wrecked), but last season while playing LF for the Milford Clippers he put up some impressive numbers: .305-30-90. He isn't the player he once was (2017: .318-58-163), but he still is regarded as one of the top power hitters in the game. The Sixteens, who are top 3 in budget, gave Trujillo a 2-year deal worth $22,460,000. Hoping he can put up some numbers like he did last year. Trujillo has 260 career HR's and it is known around the league his goal is to retire with over 300. We will see if he can stay healthy.

Just when they experts thought the Blue Crabs had their closer in Koizumi, they went out and spent $10,640,000 over 3 years on Ken Minahan. Minahan saved 36 games for the Wilmington Iron Pigs, but did post a 5.60 ERA. Eventhough this deal was labled a "Blockbuster" many people wonder why the Blue Crabs bothered.

Top 5-teams in WAR Gained this off-season (as of March 1, 2020):
1) Ellicott City Express (6.3)
2) Seaford Blue Jays (5.2)
3) Georgetown Sixteens (5.1)
4) Lewes Braves (5.0)
5) Baltimore Barons (4.9)

Bottom 5-teams in WAR Gained:
16) Washington Senators (-5.2)
17) Norfolk Cavaliers (-6.0)
18) Milton Brewers (-7.7)
19) Annapolis Admirals (-8.3)
20) New Castle Colonials (-11.2)

[illeracula]

Norfolk Update
The Cavaliers made no changes in February and will head in to Spring Training with a lot of questions around their pitching staff. So far we have shown a -6.0 drop in WAR this off season, losing and gaining 8 players. Our biggest loss was Ron Reilly (2.4), with Jamie King (1.1) and Mike Ford (1.5) being the only others that showed a 1.0 or better WAR. We only gained 2 players that had positive WAR (and only 3 and any WAR), Yann Gosselin (0.2) and Caludio Perez (0.6). With our financial troubles its easy to understand how we ended up with the difference.

Our biggest loss, however, might end up being Shawn Brock. Brock is now the #1 starter for the Wilmington Iron Pigs, but due to injuries, we didn't think he was worth the 4 million. I do believe that Brock will be one of the games top pitchers in the future, as long as he learns how to stay healthy.

Spring Training / Pitching Preview:

Starting Rotation
We have 9 starters in Spring Training this season, and there will be a battle for the #4 and 5 slots, as well as a show-down for the #6 slot. The #6 slot will most likely start the season in the bullpen, but will see some starts in there are any injuries, etc.

#1-3 in the rotation is a lock, barring something unforeseen.
1) Miguel Contreras (130-39 in 229 career starts, has won 15 or more every year of his career)
2) Matt Hollis (70-28 in 120 career starts, with back-to-back 20 win seasons and Golden Arm Awards)
3) Arturo Ramirez (35-6 in 60 career starts, injuries (Fragile) and stamina (7) have slowed him down)
- may end up being the closer when Dalton Whitaker can't get the job done any longer.

The rest of the rotation will be filled in with these guys, the top 3 are the favorites.
- Takayuki Iemochi (A lefty, went 5-4 in 11 starts last year. A star in the making)
- Vaughan Griffith (Gives up a lot of fly balls (46% GB%), but has good control and stuff)
- Paul Brown (3-1 7.06 in 6 starts last year, a top 3 rotation man of the future, Needs better control 7/11)
- Armando Lopez (22 years old, questions about Stamina (6) and Control (10/14) surround him)
- Jesus Ramirez (20 years old, pitched in 2 games last year. Not quite ready, but promising future awaits)
- Min-bum O (Just a placed holder, with an interesting name. Pitched 1 game last year, could do the same this)

The Bullpen
The bullpen is going to be under the most scrutiny this year, as the bunch last year had an incredible showing, but lost 2 of their big guns (Jamie King and Elmer Hawkins). Will the core of young guns be able to replace those two vets? We will see...

Returning in the closer role will be Dalton Whitaker. Whitaker has saved over 40 games the past 4 years and has struck out 96+ each of those years. A hard thrower who has the out pitch to get out of jams. He has had two inopportune injuries the past 2 years, and we are hoping he can return to form. Last year he was having one of the best years of his career before the injury.

The rest of the pen is up for grabs, but that being said we do have some favorites for the slots. I would like to carry 11 pitchers, but we may possibly go with 12, meaning 5 starters and 6 or 7 others... Here is how they break down. In order of probability:
- Rick Kelly (last year under contract, will be our set-up man, went 2-2 1.44 in 24 games, will see an increase in game time this year).
- Dan Nelson (Another closer turned middle man, pitched in 22 games with the Cav's, could be the next closer)
- Derek Carter (filled in as closer when Whitaker went down. Had a solid 24 games with the Cav's. Question about Control does arise)
- Luis Gonzalez (after being the 2nd lefty in the pen, he will most likely be our specialist. Struggled last year during the regular season).
- Ivan Pineda (returned from a season long absence due to injury. Has great control, but still faces questions concerning his recovery)
- Ernesto Benequez (An international free-agent 2 years ago. Has developed into a solid reliever. His GB% of 48% concerns me)
- Jeffrey Miller (A undrafted free-agent, has worked his way up to a roster slot and spring invite this year. He throws 3 pitches well, but many people question his velocity for the bigs / 89-90).
- Lorenzo Reyes (A free-agent signee, has pitched in AAA the past 3 years, and shows good stuff and gets grounders. At 29 he is an outsider for a roster slot)
- Claudio Perez (22 years old, rushed by the Iron Pigs, acquired in the off-season. Has lights-out stuff, but lacks control for the bigs 8/12. Throws in the triple-digits, a future star)

There should be some interesting battles over the next few weeks, as we weed our pitching staff down to 11 (or 12). We have 4 veterans (Hollis/Contreras/Kelly/Whitaker) on the staff then the rest our young guys trying to make it. Should be an interesting year and this staff will be under the microscope after the way last years performed.

[illeracula]

The Cavaliers have some questions remaining on their roster, but for the most part the starting line-up is set. There will be a spring battle for left-field and the remaining bench slots. We have 19 position players in camp and we will be looking to carry 14 or 15 players, which means 5 or 6 will be sent down, waived and DFA'd over the next 30 days.

Catchers.
Ed Duke (back-to-back 29 HR seasons, continues to get better with the glove)
John Phillips (hit .217-2-14 backing up Dukes last year, solid glove, questionable bat)
John O'Donegan (hit .214-2-15 as a back-up last year, promising future)

Dukes is the incumbent and should be there for a few more years. O'Donegan is the future back-up, but will need to battle Phillips for the role this year. Both John's have options, and could see time in AAA to learn a new position. If either one of them played a 2nd position it would be possible that all 3 would break the spring on the roster.

First Base:
Francisco Reyes (Last years MVP, looks to repeat the feat)
Francisco Gallegos (22 years old, solid glove, raw power)
Yann Gosselin (23 years old, decent glove, pure power)

Reyes is the starter, but also plays the outfield, so he could see some time there if a trade is made or injuries occur. Gallegos is the best fielder of the bunch and may hang around just to play D. Yann was a top 25 prospect last year and hit 26 HR's for the Seantors in 462 AB's. Gallegos and Yann have no speed and will strike out a lot, but their power could make you forget about their shortcomings.

Second Base:
Mauro Candelaria (Poster child of the Cavaliers, injury Prone, never lived up to expectations)
Maik Wassink (Potential galore, fragile, solid in-fielder, great speed)

Candelaria will get the call at second. He is the face of the franchise having played with the Cavaliers since 2013. Once known as a "durable" kid, he has quickly become "fragile" over the past couple of years. Over his 7 year career, Candelaria has played in over 150 games 5 times, 40 more games, he will reach the 1000 game played plateau. We were excited to bring Maik on last year, but the excitement only lasted 24 games, as an injury kept him off the field the rest of the season. In those 24 games Maik hit .323-0-10. He can fill in at 1B, 2B and SS, and is probably the best fielder at 2B and 1B on the team. When he gets on base, he can run them with the best of them. His brief stay with the team last year made us excited to have him around. We just hope he can stay healthy.

Third Base:
Joe Chambers (Has big shoes to fill, Gold-Glove Caliber fielder, decent hitter)
Cody Johnson (Mr Utility, players 5 positions well, no options)

Joe was giving the starting slot after the trade of Robeto Perez. Many people think it was a crazy move, but I have faith he will put up solid enough numbers that he will end up being loved. Its hard to fill a 2x MVP's shoes, but I think Joe can. Cody Johnson will be (most likely) one of our utility men. Johnson has played much better part-time than he has full-time, but can play 2B, SS, 3B, LF and CF. In 109 games last year hit hit .277-4-37. He is the type of guy you want around on your team, does what is asked of him.

Shortstop:
Augusto Rodriguez (2x Gold Glover, average bat, can steal bases)
Mario Reyes (A smart solid hitter, below average speed, average glove)

Augusto Rodriguez is a fan favorite and dazzles with his glove, last year he posted a 12.0 ZR (down 2.3 from the season before). He hit .262-9-58 last year, and he can duplicate that again we will be more than happy. The most impressive stat about Rodriguez is how hard he is to strike out, going down 12 times in 416 AB's last year. Hasn't played in more than 126 games in his 3 years as a starter, thanks to nagging injuries, but this year we are believe (or are hoping) he will. Mario Reyes is 21 and has 3 option years left, so he will most likely head down to AAA to refine some of his skills. He has learned to play 2B over the past 2 years, but his bat hasn't developed as well as

Outfield:
Kent Davis (coming off an off year. Doesn't walk 27 in 600 AB's last year. Great glove, great baserunner)
Jeff Lewis (Perennial MVP Candidate. Gold Glove Caliber fielder. Pure hitter, great speed)
Sergio Galvez (Future Star, Great Bat, Solid Glove, Still Developing)
Javier Janchez (Gold Glove fielder, Questions about his bat loom. 5-tool player)
Ramon Granados (Young. Confident. Great Speed. Plays all 3 OF slots. Average Bat)
Bryan O'Neil (One of the guys. Below average bat. Average Glove. No Options.)

Kent Davis is coming off a down year, yet he still hit .332. He missed time with injury and it was the first time in the last 5 years he didn't reach the 200 hit plateau. His 199 hits was his lowest since his 225 in 2015! Many people believed Lewis should of won the MVP award last year, hitting .342-16-106 and scoring 117 times. This year its possible that he will reach the 30/30 mark, thanks to Reyes hitting behind him. Galvez hit .283-4-27 in part time duty, once Janchez went down, and was impressive. He doesn't walk much, and he doesn't strike out much, but has shown glimpses of HR power. He is only 22 years old and still has some developing to do. Janchez was given the starting role last year, and after a slow start he started to show why he was a top #15 prospect, then an injury ended his season abruptly. Janchez is well liked in the Cavaliers organization, and has the potential to be a future star, plays gold glove outfield at all 3 slots and is a team leader. Ramon Grandados is 25 and has been ready to play in the bigs (at least in his head) for the past 3 years. Last year in AAA he hit .308-16-74 missing some time due to injury. He is another kid who can run and play stellar D. Grandados has been a top 25 prospect the past 2 years and this year will most likely get his chance to show us what he has. Bryan O'Neil has been our 6th outfielder for the past 2 years, in limited time last year he hit .421-1-4 (19 AB's) and we don't expect much more than that from him this year. He plays both corner out-field slots and offers us nice back-up option.

Looking through the offensive players one thing stands out, we just don't have a whole lot of depth. Last year we were hurt by injuries, if it happens again we will struggle. We have some pretty solid prospects working their way up the ladder but right now, I am not sure...

Roster Prediction:
As mentioned the starting lineup is pretty much set and will be very similar to the one we ended the season with last year.
CF Kent Davis
2B Mauro Candelaria
LF Jeff Lewis
1B Francisco Reyes
DH King Brock
C Ed Duke
RF Sergio Galvez
3B Joe Chambers
SS Augusto Rodriguez

We believe its a pretty solid lineup, not the lineup that scored us 1100 runs 2 years ago, but one that will give us consistency through the season and enough runs to compete for a championship, yet again.

I am leaning towards keeping John O'Donegan over John Phillips, but we will see how it plays out during spring training. O'Donegan is better overall, and since both players have options I have some flexibility.

In the infield, Cody Johnson will be utility player one and Maik Wassink utility players two. this means that we will only be able to carry one of the back-up 1B's. Yann Gosselin or Francisco Gallegos. Both players have options, but I am leaning towards Gallegos, since he is a better fielder, but it might be tough sending down Gosselin. A tough choice ahead.

If I am counting the numbers correctly, that means we will be carrying 2 spare outfielders. I am leaning towards the kids Janchez and Grandados, both offer better bats, gloves and speed than O'Neil. This means O'Neil will be DFA'd, which is becoming old-hat to him (3 times last season, 2 times the year before).

We have 24 spring games ahead of us to help us figure out who will be making the roster and who won't be. It should be some fun times and hard decisions ahead...

[illeracula]

News Around the League from March:
With spring training days away the Dover Generals went out and got some bench depth, with Morris Sinclair. The Generals and Sinclair agreed to a 1 year deal worth $4,840,000. Morris is 38 and in the twilight of his career. Last season he hit .238-23-79 for the Salisbury Ports.

Will Wilson, the 34 year old ex-closer for the Baltimore Barons, lost his closer slot to hot-shot John Heath, was destine to show the Barons that he still has what it takes. He showed up to came 30 pounds lighter, and has gained 2-3 MPH on his heater. Wilson struggled with a 4.50 ERA last season, a year after saving 45 games with a 2.78 ERA. Heath and Wilson give the Barons one of the best 8-9 inning combo relivers around.

Let the Games Begin!!!

Norbert Meyer an OF for the Lewes Braves will miss 4-5 months with a broken bone in his elbow. Not a good way to start spring training for the 28-year old. Norbert has spent parts of the past 3 years with teh Braves. The signs that injuries won't effect the Braves this year aren't looking good.

Cristian Rodriquez will miss the first 5 months of the season with a torn rotator cuff. The Virginia Beach lefty pitched in 57 games out of the pen last year.

Looking for some veteran leadership the Chesapeake Blue Crabs re-signed David Armstrong to a 1-year deal. Armstrong played with the Blue Crabs the past 2 years. Last season the 35 year old hit .242-5-25 in 227 AB's.

The following day the Blue Crabs announced the signing of free-agent 2B Jose Chavez. Chavez has played his whole career in Dover, and has a gold-glove and an all-star selection to his name. Chavez agreed to come to Chesapeake for 1-yr worth $3,120,000.

Luis DeLeon the young star of the Ocean City Tourists will miss the season with a torn ulnar collateral ligament. DeLeon started 31 games for the Tourists last season going 13-9 with a 2.23 ERA, his first year as a starter, after 2 pitching out of the pen for two seasons.

Howard Johns, is 37-years old, and a shadow of his former self. Once a gold-glove (2) and All-star (3) second baseman Johns is now regulated to back-up duty. The Milton Brewers opened up their pockets to bring the veteran to thier team, dishing out a 2-year deal worth over 9 million, with the second year a vesting option requiring 550 PA's.. Johns played in only 69 games last season for the Chesapeake Blue Crabs, the only team he has ever known in this 7 years, but he did hit .297-8-37. In 2015 Johns had his best season hitting .281-20-96.

Norfolk Cavaliers Update:
Battle for Catcher:
John O"Donegan is hitting .211, collecting 4 hits in 19 AB's. John Phillips is 0-19 with 6 K's. Not sure if its the pressure getting to Phillips or the fact that we had him playing some 3B. I have shifted them around for the 2nd Half and O'D will get some games at 3B and Philips will catch.

The starter: Ed Duke .308-0-3 (26 AB's)

Battle for 1B Back-up:
Most of the players on this team play 1B, so keeping around both Yann Gosselin and Francisco Gallegos isn't a necessity. Yann has showed off his power hitting 3 HR's in 25 AB's, collecting a total of 6 hits for a .240 avg. Gallegos on the other hand is hitting .263, with 5 hits in 19 AB's. This battle might come down to the final days.

The starter: Francisco Reyes .350-0-2 (20 AB's)

2B/3B/SS Backup:
With the starters pretty much named, the battle is really for back-up. Wassink is off to a hot start, hitting .391-1-7 in 23 AB's, looking like he is healthy from his season ending injury last year. Cody Johnson is hitting .222-0-1 in 18 AB's. There have always been questions regarding Cody's bat its his glove we like better. Mario Reyes, the guy who isn't supposed to make the team, is hitting 5-11 with 4 RBI's.

The starters:
Joe Chambers: .286-1-3 (21 AB's)
Augusto Rodriguez .100-0-0 (20 AB's)
Mauro Candelaria .280-0-2 (25 AB's)

Outfield Depth:
Bryan O'Neil is making the most of the spring hitting.316-0-0 during 9 games. Ramon Granandos who believes he should be starting (and has for 3 years) is not hitting the ball well going 3-26 (.115), and Javier Janchez is off to a decent start hitting a HR and driving in 7. The next 2 weeks will be imporatnt as we look for Granandos to start to hit the ball, with a team loaded with lefties he would be the lone "bench" outfielder that swings from the right-hand side.

The starters:
Kent Davis: .400-0-3 (10 hits)
Jeff Lewis: .429-0-5 (21 AB's)
Sergio Galvez: .400-1-4 (15 AB's)

DH
I forgot to talk about the DH, but King Brock is penciled in to hold down that slot. He also plays 1B, but not very well. He has pure power and likes to drive in runs. This spring he is off to a red-hot start hitting .385-4-13 in 26 AB's. He is the starter and the back up 1B will end up being his sub if needed.

Pitching has been a mess. The starters are doing well and it looks like our "5" will be who was predicted:
Miguel Contereras, Matt Hollis, Arturo Ramirez, Takayuki Iemochi and Vaughan Griffith. Paul Brown threw well in his lone start and Armando Lopez will be starting this week.

I had high hopes for Ivan Pineda, but he has struggled this year, hopefully he will get some more work and be ready to go, otherwise he will be shipped off. In 3.1 innings he has given up 5 hits. I am hoping to get him some more work this week.

I have 2 more games till we only have 10 games left, and at that point I will begin making my spring cuts... More to come regarding the pitching, since it seems fairly complicated with 20 players in camp.

[illeracula]

News Conference: December 24, 2017

Originally Posted by illeracula

A month after announcing his retirement from baseball, the former Wilmington closer Bill Fox announced today that he intends to seek the nomination for U.S. Representative. The recently-retired Fox has been rumored for some time to be contemplating a run for political office. The announcement means the popular ex-player will face an uphill battle next year as he attempts to unseat an equally popular incumbent. "It's not easy making the transition from professional athlete to politician," said Fox this afternoon in front of an enthusiastic crowd of supporters. "But I intend to work every bit as hard I did on the playing field to serve the citizens of this district."

News Conference: March 22, 2020
"I knew it was going to be tough to win, and unfortunately I came out on the short end of the stick. I have been sitting around for a year wondering if I can make it back to the bigs and I think i can, so I decided today that I will throw my name into the hat. I still have some life in my old arm"

When asked why it took him a year to comeback Fox said "It was a tough decision. After losing the vote it took a lot out of me. You really don't realize how much running an election campaign takes out of you. When the season started last year, I had a lot of things on my mind, run again, play baseball, hang with the family. Then this year it just felt right....I would like to thank my wife and son for the understanding of how much this games means to me and pushing back"

With the regular season 2 weeks ago it will be interesting to see where Fox ends up, or if anyone will take a chance on him at all. He last pitched in 2017, taking two seasons off. He was the first reliever to record 200 saves. We look forward to seeing where Fox ends up.

For those who are interested here are the results of the 2018 election.

[illeracula]

We are 15 games into spring training, with 9 more remaining its time to start parring down our roster. Since we don't have many position players in camp I won't be making any moves. Pitching, however, is a different story with 20 players in camp and only 11 (maybe 12) slots available... I am debating what to do, but I think my roster will be 14 position players / 11 pitchers, meaning 4 position players will need to get moved and 8 pitchers.

Breaking down the pitching staff... we have a lot of players that could/should be up with the big league club but only so many roster slots.

The Starters
The starting rotation is pretty much locked down, there are some questions regarding it, but for the most part its set.

#1: Miguel Contreras
#2: Matt Hollis (L)
#3: Arturo Ramirez
#4: Takayuki Iemochi (L)
#5: Vaughan Griffith

The questions:
1) Can Arturo Ramirez be an effective starter with a stamina of only 7? He lost 3 ticks this off-season, here is hoping he can get it back.
2) Can Vaughan Griffith keep the ball in the park. He doesn't have much movement on his ball and posts a GB% of 46%. Last year he gave up 1.44 HR/9, that might not cut it as a starter.

The bullpen:
CL: Dalton Whitaker
SU: Derek Carter
SU: Rick Kelly
MR: Luis Gonzalez (L)

The battle for the last slot is really interesting and one reason I am tempted to go with a 12 man rotation. With SP like Armando Lopez and Paul Brown ready for the bigs, its hard to send them down.

The front runner for the last slot is Dan Nelson (14.2 IP, 13 H, 7 R, 4.30 ERA), but there are many players who are trying to make me change my mind. Two players to watch in the final 10 games will be Claudio Perez (3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R) and Ernesto Beneques (1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R), they will be getting more reps and plan on giving Nelson a run for his money.

Still Alive and not mentioned yet:
Ivan Pineda (5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 5.40 ERA)
Jeffrey Miller (1.1 IP, 1 H, 0.00 ERA)

Still up but most likely heading down:
Lowell Haas (O IP)

First Round of Cuts (Spring stats):
Min-bum O (8.1 IP, 12 H, 7 R, 7.56 ERA)
Lorenzo Reyes (10.1 IP, 14 H, 7 R, 6.10 ERA)

Other Happenings Around Norfolk:
Looking at Joe Chambers he may not quite be ready for the bigs, he is struggling a little bit this spring. He is hitting .280-1-3 in 25 AB's, but why I stay struggling is the 10 K's. It is possible that Mauro Candelaria will end up at 3B and Maik Wassink at 2B, the problem with that? Both Mauro and Maik are "fragile" ball players. Time to get Mauro some reps at 3B, which means Joe O'Donegan will lose at 3B reps.

19 Position Players (to be cut to 14)
18 Pitchers (to be cut to 11)

Ten more games, a lot left to be determined...

[illeracula]

There are 2 games left before the regular season begins and now the decisions on who to send down are getting more necessary. I am going to try to par the roster down for the last 2 games, and play them as I should. We will have Vaughan Griffith and Paul Brown making the starts.

Second to last Round of Cuts:
Lowell Haas (1 G, 1/3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 135.14 ERA)
Ivan Pineda (3 G, 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 5.40 ERA)
-Me and Allastair Turcotte disagree on this move, but I feel its necessary so we have at least one lefty in the pen.
Jeffrey Miller (3 G, 4.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0.00 ERA)
Armando Lopez (2 G, 8 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 3.38 ERA)
-He is ready, but I want him to work out of the rotation so to AAA he goes.
Jesus Ramirez (2 G, 3 IP, 1 H, 6 K's, 0.00 ERA)
-Going to AAA to pitch from the Rotation, could be first SP to come up if needed.

Byran O'Neil (Waived/DFA'd)

18 Position Players (to be cut to 14)
13 Pitchers (to be cut to 11)

Position Players that are leaning towards being sent down.
-C John O'Donegan (4-35 .114)
-3B Joe Chambers (.229-1-3 35 AB's/12 K's)

The final two cuts are still pretty up in the air...

Up next... Free-Agent/Trades from around the league, Spring Predictions, Final Spring stats, Final Norfolk Roster Cuts...

[illeracula]

March Signings/End of Spring:
The Seaford Blue Jays reached out to 39 year old Ashton George and signed him to a 2 year deal worth $6,160,000. The 2nd year is a vesting option, requiring George to pitch at least 50 innings, which hasn't been an issue for George in the past, but he is known to be a "fragile" player. Last year for Georgetown George pitched in 86 games, throwing 80.2 innings.

Outfielder Gabriel Gomez of the Salisbury Ports was slotted to see some playing time this season, but that all came to an abrupt halt when he was diagnosed with a torn labrum and will miss the season. Gomez is 25 and was looking to break the starting lineup for the Ports.

Looking for catching help the Ports reached out to the Newark Millers and pulled off a trade, receiving 29 year old Francisco Torres and $2,400,000 dollars for 2 relievers, 32-year-old Vincent Peterson and 22-year-old Kevin Snyder. Torres becomes the starting catcher for the Ports and both pitchers will start the season in the minors. I do expect that Peterson won't last down there for very long.

One of the games premiere hitters, Steve Williams, of the Newark Millers, will miss the first month of the season. Williams accidently shot himself while cleaning his handgun, and will miss 4 weeks while his foot heals. This could of been a whole lot worse for the 30-year-old. Williams hit .332 last season and holds a .345 career average.

The Seaford Blue Jays signed Korean youngster Kyo-Jin Hwan to a minor league deal. Hwan things he is ready for the bigs and I would expect to see him at some point this season. The Cavaliers also reached out to Hwan with a minor-league deal, but lost out when Hwan decided his quickest road to the biggest was through Seaford.

The Ellicott Express lost 24-year old Gene Bently for 4 months with shoulder inflammation. The youngster was trying to make the team as a middle reliever, he has yet to make his big-league debut.

Ocean City signed some pitching depth today, coming to terms with 32-year-old Hector Quinones. Quinones looks forward to playign for a team who will contend for a title, after spending the last 3 years in Seaford. Many people believe getting Quinones for $730,000 was a steal, as his talent never translated well in Seaford.

After sitting on the free-agent market for months, Totoya Ogawa agreed to come back to the Chesapeake Blue Crabs, the only team Totoya has known over his 5 year playing career. Although his average has dropped over the years, he has still displayed the power that made him the Newcomer of the Year in 2015. Last year Ogawa hit .216-28-79. He agreed to a 1-yr deal worth $2,440,000.

Here is a look at the final standings and statistics of the Spring games...

[illeracula]

Norfolk Cavaliers Final Roster Decisions:

Pitching:
These were tough calls, and I am not sure I made the right choices or not... First on the pitching side of things, I decided to send down the following players (Spring Stats):

Paul Brown (2 GS, 8 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 11 K's, 3.38 ERA)
- Current control is 7, potential is 11, would like to see 10 and get him back on track to being the future of this rotation.

Claudio Perez (5 G, 13 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 5 BB, 9 K's, 0.69 ERA)
- This one was tough, but because he is only 22 and has a low control rating 8/12 he was the odd man out. He will be back up in the bullpen soon I am sure.

That gives me 11 pitchers on the Roster:
#1: Miguel Contreras
#2: Matt Hollis (L)
#3: Arturo Ramirez
#4: Takayuki Ieomichi (L)
#5: Vaughan Griffith

MR: Dan Nelson
MR: Luis Gonzalez (L)
MR: Ernesto Beneques
SU: Derek Carter
SU: Rick Kelly
CL: Dalton Whitaker

My biggest issue with this staff is the lack of lefties in the pen. Losing Elmer Hawkins to free-agency and Will Rose to injury depleted our lefites. Luis Gonzalez will be the specialist. Will Rose who will be a free-agent at the end of this season is set to return in 3-4 months. A trade for a lefty may be needed, if I deem that it needed.

Lineup:
I need to trim this down to 14, meaning 4 more players will need to be sent down. The first cut is the 3rd string catcher, and this one was really tough. John Phillips (.159-0-0, 44 Ab's) and John O'Donegan (.132-0-3, 38 AB's) really played crappy this spring. In the end I decided to send O'Donegan down, in AAA he will get more reps. He is the catcher of the future if anything happens to Duke.

The final 3 cuts weren't what I had expected going into spring training, but are what was needed. I am sure that these three guys will be up with us at some point this season.

Joe Chambers (.250-1-3, 10 H, 14 K's)
- He took some development hits over the year and hasn't performed like I was hoping. One thing I don't like is a guy who strikes out a lot and doesn't hit the long-ball. We will see what happens down in the minors.

Francisco Gallegos (.209-1-3)
- Gallegos is our best fielding 1B, but has struggled with the bat. He has some more development to do, and some plate discipline to learn, but at 22 he still has time. He is our 1B of the future.

Ramon Granados (.255-1-7)
- This was a tough call. I almost went with Ramon over Francisco Reyes, but I needed more IF help. I am torn and will be playing with the roster for a while. Right now I am carrying 3 1B (including DH Brock). Hmm... this is tough.

With those 3 cuts we have a finalized roster of 15 players:
Catchers:
Ed Duke
John Phillips

Infielders:
King Brock (DH)
Francisco Reyes (1B/LF)
Yann Gosselin (1B)
Cody Johnson (2B/3B/SS/LF/CF)
Mauro Candelaria (1B/2B/3B/SS/RF)
Maik Wassink (1B/2B/SS)
Mario Reyes (2B/SS)
Augusto Rodriguez (SS)

Outfielders:
Javier Janchez (1B/LF/CF/RF)
Kent Davis (CF/LF)
Sergio Galvez (1B/LF/CF/RF)
Jeff Lewis (1B/LF/RF)

That is it our 25 man roster heading into opening day. I will sleep on this and may end up moving Granados back up and Gosselin down. Looking over what I have on my roster it may make sense to bring up some more OF depth... The one thing I am lucky about is that all my bench players (less Cody Johnson) have options. Expect to see moves early in the season till I feel comfortable with who/what I have... Maybe Gosselin can go learn how top play OF, making him move valuable... hmm...

Up Next: Opening Day and Other News

[illeracula]

The season is about to start, so it's time to publish the annual Top 100 Prospects list. This year 18-year-old shortstop Anthony Lucarelli of the Seaford Blue Jays is the #1 prospect overall.

Here is the top 10:
1) SS Anthony Lucarelli, 18, Seaford Blue Jays
2) LF Ricardo Hidalgo, 22, Christiana Blue Hens
3) SP Brad Rose, 21, Newark Millers
4) SP Paul Brown, 22, Norfolk Cavaliers
5) C Júlio Jaramillo, 18, Washington Senators
6) 1B Daniel Gómez, 19, Salisbury Ports
7) SP Reynaldo Domínguez, 18, Washington Senators
8) MR Alec Haney, 22, Wilmington Iron Pigs
9) SP Matt Rollins, 21, Norfolk Cavaliers
10) SP Mike Pye, 20, Baltimore Barons

You can view the full list in the Top Prospects Report from the reports menu (inside the league menu). The Top Minor League Systems Report has been updated as well.

GM Thoughts:
One thing I wanted to develop was my minor league system so over the past few years I have made some trades for prospects and draft picks, and it has all paid off. The Cavaliers are back to having the top minor league system in the game. The next few years are going to financially lean for us, and will (most likely) include trading Francisco Reyes and his $19,000,000 salary (this could happen by the August deadline this year). So it is important that we have minor league depth to handle losing some of our stars over the next few years.

[illeracula]

Personal Message from the Owner: Season Expectation:
Tony,

I have now decided on the goal for the coming season. After evaluating several factors, I have come to the conclusion that the team should at least reach the playoffs!

Good Luck!
Bill Parker

----
Current Week: OPENING DAY!
Next Week: 3 vs Ellicott City Express, 3 vs Ocean City Tourists
Power Ranking: n/a
Fan Interest: 85
Owners Mood: Ecstatic

GM Notes:
I have decided to keep the roster as I initially figured, so Ramon Granados will head down to AAA and Yann Gosselin will stay around with the big club. I will see how this goes over the first few weeks.

We start off with 6 games at home, 3 against the Ellicott City Express a team that keeps getting better than 3 against the Ocean City Tourists.

The final week of the season we will face our first Delaware Conference opponent in the regular season in 3 years, as interleague play is back.

I am anxious to get this season going and to see what we can do, we have a nice roster full of youth and veterans. here is too a fun season, and a run at title #6.

[illeracula]

Opening Day! The day that fans and players have long been waiting to see has now arrived. DELMARVA Baseball League ushers in its 2020 season today and excitement across the league is high. These contests are set to kick off the new campaign:

Lewes Braves @ Seaford Blue Jays
Wilmington Iron Pigs @ Christiana Blue Hens
Virginia Beach Surf Dawgs @ Chesapeake Blue Crabs
Baltimore Barons @ Ocean City Tourists
Richmond Cardinals @ Washington Senators

Ones to Watch:
Manuel Martínez's Camp Ends, Big League Career Begins: With Spring Training ending recently, the Baltimore Barons' highly touted prospect, Manuel Martínez, was excited to get his big league career started. Said Martínez, "I had fun in camp. I learned a lot about what it takes to be a Major League player and I am excited to get going."

"I like everything I see. Everybody likes his talent, likes the man. I was happy to have him in camp." said Baltimore Barons Manager, Denis Richardson. He continued, "Manuel has all of the makings of a great ballplayer and we look forward to having him on the team."

It is obvious the Baltimore Barons's GM was correct weeks ago when he encouraged Major League campers, players and visiting fans alike, to "get a first look at Martínez, because you'll be seeing him a lot more very soon"

Martinez is slated to bat lead off for the Barons.

[illeracula]

Current Week: 3-3 (3-3 -1.5 / Richmond Cardinals)
Next Week: 3 vs Richmond Cardinals, 3 @ Ellicott City Express
Power Ranking: 11
Fan Interest: 85
Owners Mood: Ecstatic

Runs Scored: 26 (6th)
Avg: .250 (t-6th)
HR: 5 (5th)
SB: 7 (3rd)
Runs Against: 21 (4th)
Starters ERA: 3.59 (5th)
Pen ERA: 2.03 (3rd)
Def Eff: .694 (5th)

Game 1: Ellicott City 1, Norfolk 6
Miguel Contreras (1-0) started the season off with a bang throwing 7.2 innings, allowing just 1 hit while striking out 7 to take home the win. The offense flexed their muscles hitting 4 HR's: Maik Wassink (1), King Brock (1), Francisco Reyes 2 (2). Overall the offense had 12 hits and left 9 runners on.

Game 2: Ellicott City 3, Norfolk 9
Matt Hollis (1-0) went all 9 innings, allowing 9 hits and 3 runs, while striking out 10. The offense was lead by Jeff Lewis 2-4 with a HR (1) and 3 RBI's and Kent Davis 3-5 with 3 Runs and 2 RBI's. The offense collected 11 hits and left 4 runners on.

Game 3: Ellicott City 6, Norfolk 5
Arturo Ramirez (0-1) got roughed up over 5.2 innings, allowing 9 hits and 6 runs (5 ER). Four relivers pitched shut-out ball to keep the game close. King Brock was the offensive star going 2-5 with 2 RBI's. Mauro Candelaria and Jeff Lewis each scored 2 runs. The offense had 7 hits and left 10 men on.

Game 4: Ocean City 6, Norfolk 4 (11 innings)
Takayuki Iemochi (ND) threw 8 decent innings, allowing 7 hits and 4 runs. Rick Kelly (0-1) took the loss as he had control issues in the 10th, giving up 2 hits and 2 walks. Kent Davis went 2-2 before leaving the game after throwing the ball in in the 4th. Jeff Lewis had 2 hits, both doubles. Ed Duke drove in 2. The offense had 9 hits and left 8 men on.

Game 5: Ocean City 4, Norfolk 0
Vaughn Griffith (0-1) threw 7 innings of 6 hit ball giving up 4 runs for the loss. Maik Wassink and Jeff Lewis each had 2 hits. The offense had 5 hits, and left 6 men on.

Game 6: Ocean City 1, Norfolk 2
Miguel Contreras (ND) threw 104 pitches in 5.1 innings, allowing 7 hits and 1 run, while striking out 5. Derek Carter (1-0) took home the win with 2/3's of an inning. Francisco Reyes had 2 hits. King Brock hit a game-tying single in the 8th, and Javier Janchez had a game winning single in the 9th. The offense had 8 hits and left 5 men on.

Injury News: Kent Davis will miss the net 5-6 weeks with a bone spur in his elbow. Davis played in 4 games this season hitting .294. Javier Janchez will assume the CF role and Ramon Granandos will be coming up to take the roster spot.

League News:

• Opening Day started off with a bang, Don Sweetapple threw a complete game 4 hit shut-out for the Richmond Cardinals
• Roberto Perez of the Tourists had his hit-streak snapped at 23, dating back to last season.
• Roberto Reyna of the Richmond Cardinals followed Sweetapples example and threw a 6 hit shutout of his own.
• Thomas Cooper of the Wilmington Iron Pigs will miss 4 week swith a strained rib-cage muscle.

Players of the Week:
Delaware: Jorge Quintero (Christinia Blue Hens) 11-22 4 HR's, 7 RBI's, 6 Runs
MarVa: Cory Thompson (Chesapeake Blue Crabs) 9-20, 4 HR's, 9 RBI's

Power Rankings:
1) Newark Millers (190.0)
2) Chesapeake Blue Crabs (148.0)
3) Richmond Cardinals (130.6)
4) Lewes Braves (130.6)
5) New Castle Colonials (126.0)
11) Norfolk Cavaliers (91.0)

GM Notes:
The offense off started off hit, hitting 5 HR's in the first two games and then went power less. I have a feeling this might be a tough season, I haven't felt really good about this roster, but the funny thing is, I thought the offense was going to be best part. Not sure what to expect the rest of the way. Having Kent Davis out for a 5-6 weeks will allow me to test Janchez/Sanchez/Granados, which could possible mean a trade of Kent Davis. Not sure however. I like Davis and have him signed to a decent deal... My fingers are crossed that the offense will hit a groove... I look forward to the rest of this season, a lot of teams are gunning for us and we will have to pick it up.

[illeracula]

Current Week: 4-2 (7-5 -0.5 / Richmond Cardinals)
Next Week: 3 vs Washington Senators, 3 vs Chesapeake Blue Crabs
Power Ranking: 9 (+2)
Fan Interest: 85
Owners Mood: Ecstatic

Runs Scored: 55 (t-5th)
Avg: .278 (3rd)
HR: 14 (3rd)
SB: 15 (2nd)
Runs Against: 36 (1st)
Starters ERA: 3.01 (3rd)
Pen ERA: 2.22 (1st)
Def Eff: .732 (1st)

Game 7: Richmond 1, Norfolk 4
Matt Hollis (2-0) continues his solid starts from last season going 8 innings allowing just 2 hits, 1 run and striking out 11. Dalton Whitaker picked up his first save (1). Mauro Candelaria and Augusto Rodriguez each had 3 hits. Jeff Lewis (2), King Brock (2) and Mauro Candelaria (1) all went deep. Overall the Cav's had 12 hits and left 8 men on.

Debut: Ramon Granados started in CF, going 2-4, with 2 singles in his big league debut.

Game 8: Richmond 3, Norfolk 5
Arturo Ramirez (ND) bounced back from a rough first start, going 6 innings, allowing 4 hits and 3 runs. Dan Nelson (1-) picked up the win with 1.2 innings of 1 hit ball, and Dalton Whitaker took home the save (2). Jeff Lewis lead the offense with 3 hits. Sergio Galvez went 2-2 with 2 HR's (2) and 3 RBI's, before Turcotte PH for him. The offense had 10 hits and left 3 men on.

Game 9: Richmond 6, Norfolk 4 (11 innings)
Takayuki Iemochi (ND) went 6.2 innings, allowing 8 hits and 3 runs, and once agian took the ND as we lost in extra's. Dan Nelson (1-1) took the loss giving up 3 hits on 3 hits and 2 walks in the 11th. Javier Janchez went 3-6 to pace the offense. Jeff Lewis ahd 2 RBI's and Ramon Granados hit is his first HR (1) and drove in 2. The Cav's had 11 hits and left 10 men on base.

Game 10: Norfolk 1, Ellicott City 4
Vaughan Griffith (0-2) threw the ball better this time around, going 6.1 innings, allowing 9 hits and 4 runs. The offense was very quite with King Brock leading the way with 2 hits and an RBI. The offense only had 5 hits and left 4 men on.

Game 11: Norfolk 5, Ellicott City 1
Miguel Contreras (2-0) ended our 2 game losing streak with another 8 solid inning performance. Miguel allowed 4 hits and 1 run, while striking out 5. Six Cavaliers had 2 hits, lead by Janchez who drove in 2 and scored 1. Francisco Reyes went deep (3). The Cavaliers had 13 hits and left 9 men on base.

Game 12: Norfolk 10, Ellicott City 0
Matt Hollis (3-0) is dedicated to being the best pitcher in the game, and his start this season has been phenominal. Hollis went 9 innings, allowing just 3 hits and striking out 11. Jeff Lewis and Yann Gosselin lead the offense with 3 hits. Mario Reyes hit his first big league HR (1) and Ed Duke hit his first HR (1) of the season. The Cav's offense had 15 hits and left 9 men on.

League News:

• 39-year old Grant Wright of the Georgetown Sixteens will miss 4 weeks with a sprained thumb.
• Brad Jones a 20-game winner last year for the Newark Millers will miss 3 weeks with elbow tendinitis. Brad Jones is one of the games brightest young stars.
• Will Palmer of the Richmond Cardinals will miss the rest of the season and more (10 months) with a torn flexor tendon. He was 1-0 in 2 games this year.
• Francisco Tonche will miss 4 months. The reliever for the Dover Generals is suffering from ulnar nerve irritation.
• Raul Garcia, of the Salisbury Ports, will miss the season. He is the 2nd pitcher this week to go down with a torn ulnar collateral ligament.

Players of the Week:
Delaware: Pablo Fretias (Georgetown Sixteens) 13-20, 4 RBI's
MarVa: Jesus Rivera (Annapolis Admirals) 13-30, 2 HR's, 7 RBI's
* Both ex-original-Cavaliers

Power Rankings:
1) Newark Millers (155.3)
2) New Castle Colonials (125.0)
3) Ocean City Tourists (121.0)
4) Annapolis Admirals (120.5)
5) Chesapeake Blue Crabs (117.5)
9) Norfolk Cavaliers (107.0)

GM Notes:
With the struggles of Vaughan Griffith (0-2 5.40)in the bullpen I am going to keep an eye on the next 2 starters on my list, both in AAA.
Paul Brown has had 2 pretty rough starts so far: 0-2 7.2 IP / 13 H / 12 ER
Armando Lopez has only started 1 game and threw 6.1 innings, allowing 10 hits and 1 run.
Hopefully as the season goes along these 3 guys will start to warm up. I would like to see more from my #5 starter. Ron Reilly as the #5 is some tough shoes to follow... The team played better this week, but I feel like something is missing. Maybe the turnover over the years is starting to add up and I don't feel that "bond" that you get when you have the same time for a long time. Maybe as the year goes on I will get that positive feeling back... Matt Hollis is amazing, and I am glad I will have him around for 3-4 more years. He is worth every penny... Its good to see that we are stealing bases and playing good defense... Next week I'd like to see this offense stay hot and my 3-5 starters get a W on the board.

[illeracula]

Current Week: 5-1 (12-6 - GB (+2))
Next Week: 4 vs New Castle Colonials, 3 @ Salisbury Ports
Power Ranking: 5 (+4)
Fan Interest: 85
Owners Mood: Ecstatic

Runs Scored: 80 (8th)
Avg: .262 (6th)
HR: 20 (t-4th)
SB: 23 (1st)
Runs Against: 61 (1st)
Starters ERA: 2.93 (1st)
Pen ERA: 4.05 (5th)
Def Eff: .715 (2nd)

Game 13: Washington 3, Norfolk 4
Arturo Ramirez (1-1) got his first W on the season going 8 strong innings, allowing 6 hits and 2 runs, striking out 8. Dalton Whitaker got the save (3) despite giving up a solo-HR. Augusto Rodriguez played the hero role, hitting a 3-run HR (1) in the bottom of the 7th. The Cav's offense only managed 5 hits and left 6 men on.

Game 14: Washington 3, Norfolk 4
Takayuki Iemochi (1-0) too home his first W of the season going all 9, allowing 6 hits and 3 runs. Yann Gosselin was today's hero hitting a 2-run walk-off HR (1). Maik Wassink (2) and Augusto Rodriguez (2) each aded solo-HR's. Mauro Candelaria had 2 hits. The Cav's offense stroked 10 hits and left 7 men on.

Game 15: Washington 2, Norfolk 3
Vaughn Griffith (1-2) went 7 innings, allwoing 2 runs on 4 hits, while striking out 8. Dalton Whitaker threw the 9th for the save (4). King Brock and Mario Reyes each had 2 hits. Reyes scored 2 runs, and 3 different Cav's had an RBI. The Cav's had 8 hits and left 7 men on.

Game 16: Chesapeake 1, Norfolk 3
Miguel Contreras (3-0) went 7 innings of shut-out ball, allowing 4 hits and striking out 11. Dalton Whitaker threw 9th for the save (5). Five different Cav's had hits, three differnt drove in runs, and King Brock scored 2. Javier Janchez stole 2 bases and is now 7-9 on the season. The Cav's had 5 hits and left 5 men on.

Game 17: Chesapeake 4, Norfolk 5
Matt Hollis (4-0) scattered 12 hits over 6 innings, allowing 4 runs, while walking 5 and striking out 9. Proving he can win even when he doesn't have his best stuff. Luis Gonzalez threw the 9th for the save (1). Another mediocore offensive showing by the Cav's, who collected 7 singles. Augusto Rodriguez lead the way with 2. Jeff Lewis drove in 2. The Cav's have 7 hits and left 8 men on.

Game 18: Chesapeake 12, Norfolk 6 (13 innings)
Arturo Ramirez (ND) went 5.1 innings, allowing 4 hits and 2 runs and left with the lead the bullpen couldn't hold. Enrique Beneques (0-1) took the brunt of the pain throwing 3 innings of relief and getting hit hard in his 3rd, allowing 6 runs on 5 hits and 4 BB's. Mauro Candelaria lead the offense with 3 hits, Sergio Gavlez lead the way with 3 RBI's, including a solo-HR (3). Yann Gosselin also hit a solo-HR (2), his tied the game in the 9th sending it into extra's. The Cav's managed 11 hits and left 12 men on!

League News:

• Anthony Dundee, a 37-year-old free-agent has finally signed. Dundee will be heading to Newark on a one year deal worth $4,730,000. Dundee is out 2-3 more weeks with a torn labrum.
• The New Castle Colonials were dealt a big blow today when it was annoucned Joe Parker will miss 4 months. The Colonials trying to fill holes in their rotation will miss Parker. Parker was 2-0 0.95 in 3 starts this season.
• Jorge Flores of the Annapolis Admrials will miss 10 months with a stretched elbow ligament. Flores has pitched in 5 games this season posting a 2.25 ERA.

Players of the Week:
Delaware: Tim Simmons (Christiania Blue Hens) 10-24, 2 HR's, 6 RBI's
MarVa: Cliff Jones (Chesapeake Blue Crabs) 12-25, 2 HR's, 7 RBI's, 5 Runs

Power Rankings:
1) Newark Millers (128.1)
2) Dover Generals (128.0)
3) Baltimore Barons (127.0)
4) Annapolis Admirals (123.5)
5) Norfolk Cavaliers (123.0)

GM Notes:
My big-bopper is struggling mightily so far this season, Francisco Reyes is hitting a mere .169 with 3 HR's and 11 RBI's (2nd on team). In 65 AB's he has struck out 10 times... I may have to switch the order around, maybe King Brock (.277-2-8) just isn't giving Reyes enough protection. Maybe I will shift Candelaria down, and put Reyes in the #2 whole for a little while. Will that hurt Jeff Lewis (.338-2-12)? I will have to think about this... The offense was awful this week, only to be saved by excellent pitching. I have to blame the loss, partly on bad bullpen management by Turcotte, leaving Beneques in the game for 3 innings, when we had 3 guys pitch effectively for less than an inning. He loves over using the bullpen... We face a Delaware Conference team this week, our first interleague game in 3 years... Based on this offense so far this season, our pitching is going to carry us again this year. I hope that isn't the case.

[illeracula]

Delaware Conference Monthly Award

Dover's Kohl Delaware Conference #1 Batter in April: Seasoned by several years of professional experience, 28-year-old Andy Kohl put together a solid offensive month for Dover and was crowned April's top batter in the Delaware Conference. He batted .301 with 9 home runs, 28 RBIs and 13 runs scored.

April's Top Starter Named in Delaware Conference: Despite the number of years he's been in the league, Ron Reilly still gets excited when he puts together a quality stretch like he had in April. The 29-year-old starter for Georgetown was named Delaware Conference Pitcher of the Month earlier today. He collected 4 wins and no losses with 24 strikeouts in his 5 starts, putting up a fine 1.49 ERA in 36.1 innings of work.

Delaware Conference Best Rookie Award Announced: For a man of advanced years in baseball terms, Alfredo Bruno is defying all logic by wading through his first Delaware Conference season. Nonetheless, Bruno is proving a formidable performer for Georgetown, at least as far as this past April is concerned. Today he was hailed as the Delaware Conference Rookie of the Month. He put up a .365 average with 4 home runs, 12 RBIs and 13 runs scored.

MarVa Conference Monthly Awards

Washington's Bishop Bags MarVa Conference Batting Award: Washington Senators 27-year-old right fielder Jordan Bishop hit his way to a .424 batting average and the MarVa Conference Batter of the Month award in April. He had 5 home runs, 18 RBIs and 18 runs scored for the month.

Barons Hurler Named MarVa Conference's #1 Starter: The hottest hurler in the MarVa Conference last month was Tommy Rutledge of the Baltimore Barons. He caught the attention of everybody in the league with some eye-catching stats, good enough to win the MarVa Conference Pitcher of the Month. In April, Rutledge starred with an impressive 4-0 record. In 5 starts he gave up 29 base hits and struck out 40 in 36.2 innings with a 1.72 ERA.

MarVa Conference Names Rookie of the Month: José González earned the MarVa Conference Rookie of the Month award for his fine play in April. The 26-year-old Virginia Beach catcher batted .314, smacked 2 home runs and drove in 8 runs. He also tagged 27 hits, scored 11 runs and picked up 6 walks for a .359 on-base percentage.

Delaware Conference League Leaders


MarVa Conference League Leaders


Standings as of May 1, 2020

[illeracula]

At this point it would be hard to imagine where we would be without this staff pitching as well as they are. And there is still some room for improvement for soem of these guys. I am going to keep my eye on Ernesto (who I referred to Enrique, last write up) and see if he has what it takes. He has been hit around in his spots this year. Other than him, I am at a wait and see.

On the Watch List:
Ernesto Beneques
Dan Nelson




The offense is just a mess right now. I think I am going to have to do some tinkering to get something started. The first thing I am going to do is shipping John Phillips down to AAA and calling up John O'Donegan, who is hitting .323-5-18 down on the farm. I had John playing 3B down in AAA, and he looked really bad (5 E's / .853 FPCT).

The way Yann is hitting, expect him to get his number called more often this month. Mario Reyes has been a surprise so far. And we have two regulars hitting under .200. Ramon Granados will start seeing some more tiem as Sergio Galvez takes more time off, even though he is hitting the long-ball I still need more than a .183.

Look at those numbers are cry, laugh, whatever it is you want to do, but one thing is for certain, there is no way we can pull off a Championship, not even a divisional title, with an anemic offense like this.

I just don't have the big-league ready depth to play this poorly. My hands are tied on the moves I can make, so here is hoping to a turn around and a stronger May than April. The 13 win month, might be the worst month I have had in Norfolk in the past 3 years.

[illeracula]

Current Week: 4-3 (16-9 - GB (+2.5))
Next Week: 3 vs Washington Senators, 3 vs Ellicott City Express
Power Ranking: 2 (+3)
Fan Interest: 86 (+1)
Owners Mood: Ecstatic

Runs Scored: 118 (7th)
Avg: .274 (3rd)
HR: 29 (4th)
SB: 31 (t-1st)
Runs Against: 90 (1st)
Starters ERA: 3.08 (1st)
Pen ERA: 4.13 (3rd)
Def Eff: .730 (1st)

Game 19: New Castle 9, Norfolk 2
Tatayuki Iemochi (2-0) threw 8 innings of 2 hit ball, allowing 2 runs and striking out 8. Ramon Granados and Mauro Candelaria each had 3 hits. Ramon drove in 2 and scored 2 times. King Brock hit a HR (3). The Cav's had 13 hits and left 5 men stranded.

Game 20: New Castle 4, Norfolk 3 (12 innings)
Vaughan Griffith (ND) went 5.2 innings, allowing 5 hits, 3 runs, all on solo-HR's and he struck out 8. Dalton Whitaker (0-1) threw 1.1 innings allowing a solo-HR of his own. Ramon Granados lead the way with 2 hits and 2 RBI's, including a HR (2). Francisco Reyes ahit a solo-HR (4) and collected 2 hits. The Cav's collected 10 hits and left 16 men on!

Not all news stories are good ones...
Suspensions Handed Out for Bench-Clearing Brawl: Sometimes on the baseball diamond disparaging words are uttered in anger and lead to more than what the players bargained for. That's what happened at yesterday's Norfolk Cavaliers-New Castle Colonials game at Caviliers Ballpark. What started off as a war of words ended up a tag team match as both clubs rushed on the field to defend their honor. When the umpires sorted it all out, they ejected Norfolk's Augusto Rodríguez and New Castle's Mike Roeder from the game for their roles in starting the melee. Today the players were notified by the league office that they had been suspended 5 games for violating league rules. Rodríguez is batting .209 this year with 2 home runs, 11 RBIs and 5 runs scored. He has 14 hits in 67 at-bats.

Game 21: New Castle 8, Norfolk 2
Miguel Contreras (3-1) threw 5.2 innings, allowing 3 runs (2 ER) on 4 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 6. Dan Nelson gave up 3 runs and Ernesto Beneques 2 out of the pen. Jeff Lewis lead the way with 3 hits and Maik Wassink hit a solo-HR (3). The Cav's collected double digit hits again (11) and left 13 men on!

Game 22: New Castle 7, Norfolk 1
Matt Hollis (4-1) got roughed up, going 7 innings, allowing 7 runs on 8 hits, 3 of which left the yard, he did strike out 8. the offense was off, with Javier Janchez leading the way, collecing 2 of the 6 Cav's hits. Ed Duke hit a solo-HR (2). The Cav's left 6 men on.

** End of April **

Transactions: John Phillips was sent down to AAA after a 0 for 15 start and John O'Donegan has been called up to take his roster spot.

Line-up Changes: King Brock has been moved form DH to 1B and Francisco Reyes from 1B to DH. Ramon Granados is now listed as the starting LF and Segio Galvez will now back him up.

Game 23: Norfolk 7, Salisbury 2
Arturo Ramirez (2-1) threw 87 pitches over 8.2 innings, allowing 4 hits and 2 runs. Jeff Lewis and Francisco Reyes each had 3 hits. Lewes collected 3 RBI's, Reyes 2. The Cav's smacked 13 hits, 11 singles, and left 6 men on.

Norfolk Debut: John O'Donegan went 0-4 in his Cavaliers debut. Our back-up catchers are now 0-19 on the season.

Game 24: Norfolk 4, Salisbury 2
Takayuki Iemochi (3-0) threw another great game, going 8 innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits and striking out 6. I am glad I signed him last season. Dalton Whitaker closed out the game for the save (6). Francisco Reyes lead the way with a 2 hit, 3 RBI day, including a HR (5). The Cav's had 10 hits and left 2 men on.

Game 25: Norfolk 12, Salisbury 4
Vaughan Griffith (2-2) threw 6.1 innings, allowing 5 hits and 3 runs (2 ER), while walking 3 and striking out 7. Derek Carter threw the 9th for the save (1). King Brock and Yann Gosselin each had 3 hits. Gosselin hit a solo-HR (3). Mario Reyes hit a pinch-hit, 2-out, 3-run HR (2) in the 9th, and Francisco Reyes hit a pinch-hit-solo-HR (6) in the 7th. In the end the Cav's collected 16 hits and left 10 men on base.

Injury Report: Mauro Candelaria was hit by a pitch in the 7th and had to leave the game. We are waiting to hear news regarding how bad the injury is.

League News:

• Two days after collecting 5 hits, Alfred Bruno, of the Georgetown Sixteens heads to the DL. He will miss the next month with a strained hamstring.
• The Bill Fox rumors are starting to heat up with the Christiana Blue Hens and the Ellicott City Express leading the way. Fox wants $1.3M for 1 year. Many believe that is all he has left, but he is out to prove them wrong.
• Claudio Cordero of the Chesapeake Blue Crabs is out 3 weeks with a seperated shoulder. Cordero is hitting .272-3-8 in 81 AB's this season.
• In a sign that the Washington Senators are either a) giving up on the season or b) adept at making awful moves, the Senators sent Bill Little (.364-7-18 on the season) and a 24 year old minor leaguer to the Milford Clippers for 36-yr old Starting pitcher Daniel Bridges (1-3 7.36). This one makes no sense.

Players of the Week:
Delaware: Ray Key (Lewes Braves) 13-20 1 HR, 8 RBI's
MarVa: Derek Campbell (Washington Senators) 13-27 4 HR's, 11 RBI's

Power Rankings:
1) New Castle Colonials (121.2)
2) Norfolk Cavaliers (120.2)
3) Washington Senators (110.5)
4) Newark Millers (110.5)
5) Baltimore Barons (107.0)

GM Notes:
Looking for some bullpen help I reached out to Bill Fox, who hasn't pitched in 2 year and is still on the market. I offered him a minor league deal, but he laughed at me and my offer. Bill Parker (the owner) won't let me offer him anything else, but I would if I could... I also started to shop Francisco Reyes around, and it doesn't look good. No one seems overly interested in him right now, so if I move him I may have to give up something more pleasing, a draft pick, prospect, something. He is with me for now and hopefully he will start hitting the ball. Coming into the season he was career .300+ hitter and for the first month he hit .169! YIKES!... Candelaria is hitting .350 on the season and is quietly putting up solid numbers, I hope its not a long term injury, especially since my middle-infield depth is really shaky... We finished strong against the Ports, so hopefully that momentum is a good sign going into May. I'd like to turn things on and get back to the 18-20 wins for the month. I need something to build my confidence back up in these guys.

[illeracula]

Current Week: 5-1 (21-10 - GB (+4.5))
Next Week: 3 vs Salisbury Ports, 4 @ Washington Senators
Power Ranking: 2 (+3)
Fan Interest: 86
Owners Mood: Ecstatic

Runs Scored: 157 (4th)
Avg: .278 (2nd)
HR: 40 (2nd)
SB: 37 (1st)
Runs Against: 103 (1st)
Starters ERA: 2.73 (1st)
Pen ERA: 4.23 (3rd)
Def Eff: .734 (1st)

Game 26: Washington 1, Norfolk 6
Miguel Contreras (4-1) bounced back from his rough previous start to go 7.1 innings, allowing just 2 hits and 1 run. He struck out 7. Derek Carter threw the 9th for the save (2). Francisco Reyes scored 2 runs and hit a solo-HR (7) and Ramon Granados hit a pinch-hit 3-run HR (3) in the 8th. The Cav's collected 7 hits and left only 2 runners on.

Game 27: Washington 3, Norfolk 14
Matt Hollis (5-1) went all 9, for the complete game victory. He allowed just 3 runs on 7 hits (2 HR's) and struck out 9. Francisco Reyes and Javier Janchez lead the way with 3 hits and 4 RBI's each, both hit HR's as well. Along with Reyes (8) and Janchez (1), Ramon Granados (4) and John O'Donegan (1) both left the yard. Jeff Lewis scored 4 runs. The Cav's had 17 hits and left 5 men on.

Injury Report: The news came in and it wasn't good. Mauro Candelaria is out 6 weeks with a fractured finger. Maybe he deserves that "fragile" rating after all... To the DL goes Mauro and up comes Joe Chambers. Chambers was tearing it up down in AAA hitting .412-5-19, hopefully we see some of that here.

Line-up Changes: Chambers will hit 8th and play 3B, Granados will take over the #2 hole.

Game 28: Washington 7, Norfolk 5 (10 Innings)
Arturo Ramirez (ND) went 6.1 innings, allowing 5 hits and 3 runs (2 ER), while walking 2 and striking out 6. Dalton Whitaker blew the save (1), giving up 2 in the 9th and took the loss (0-2) giving up 1 in the 10th. Jeff Lewis lead the offense collecting 3 hits, including a HR (3), and driving in 3 runs. Ramon Granados, Francisco Reyes and Maik Wassink each had 3 hits, as well. All together the Cav's had 14 hits, but left 11 men on.

** Side Note: we are now 0-5 in extra-innings games!!

Game 29: Ellicott City 1, Norfolk 2
Takayuki Iemochi(4-0) continued throwing the ball well, going 8 innings, allowing 4 hits and 1 run, while striking out 7. Dalton Whitaker picked the save (7) striking out 3 in the 9th. Ramon Granados had 2 hits and Jeff Lewis hit a solo-HR (4). The Cav's only had 5 hits and left 5 men on.

Game 30: Ellicott City 1, Norfolk 2
Vaughan Griffith (3-2) threw 7 shutout innings, allowing just 5 hits, while striking out 9. Dalton Whitaker picked up the save (8) despite giving up a solo-HR in the 9th. Ed Duke lead the offense with 3 hits, including a solo-HR (3). The offense wasn't all that impressive, yet again, managing only 5 hits and leaving 9 men on.

Game 31: Ellicott City 0, Norfolk 10
Miguel Contreras (5-1) threw 8 innings, allowing 5 hits and striking out 11, then Rick Kelly pitched a perfect 9th. The offense showed some life this game with King Brock leading the way with 3 hits and John O'Donegan showing off his power, hitting 2 HR's (3) and driving in 4. Javier Janchez added 2 hits and 3 RBI's and Yann Gosselin added 2 hits and 3 runs. The Cav's stroked 12 hits and left 5 men on.

League News:

• Tony Know of the Annapolis Admirals will miss the next month of games with a strained rib-cage muscule. Knows was hitting .354-2-12 in 23 games so far this season.
• The Christinia Blue Hens will be with out their ace Barney Butler for 3-4 weeks. Butler was diagnosed with rotator cuff tendinitis. On the season Butler is 2-3 4.76.
• 35-year-old starting pitcher Jarred Perry is heading to the DL for 2 months. Perry has started at least 32 games in his 8 seasons in the DBL. That streak looks like it might be coming to an end. Perry is 1-1 4.14 on the season.

Players of the Week:
Delaware: John Bean (Milton Brewers) 11-24, 3 HR's, 8 RBI's
MarVa: Abraham Thomas (Annapolis Admirals) 10-23, 4 HR's, 14 RBI's, 7 Runs

Power Rankings:
1) Norfolk Cavaliers (130.9)
2) Newark Millers (124.9)
3) Dover Generals (113.3)
4) Annapolis Admirals (111.3)
5) Baltimore Barons (105.5)

GM Notes:
I tried to pull off a couple of trades this week, but my financial woes kept me from doing so. I am stuck with this roster, unless I drop around $13 M. And I don't see that happening anytime soon... Francisco Reyes has started to warm up and has his average up to .248 now. But Ed Duke (.241-3-10), Augusto Rodriguez (.191-2-14) and Javier Janchez (.262-1-14) continue to slump. Kent Davis will be back soon, so hopefully he will add some offensive spark... I don't mind Augusto hitting under .250, but under .200 isn't going to fly. He is a gold-glove short-stop so that will buy him some time, but he will need to get that average up a little bit. He is a better hitter than this... Joe Chambers is struggling so far hitting .143 in his first 3 games. I am not sure I have any other options for 3B, so its him till Mauro gets back. I could go with Cody Johnson, but he has been just as awful hitting .188 in limited play... I could say we played better this week than we have, but I am not really sure that is true. I do know our pitching is carrying us and our offense is hot and cold. I just want them to be consistent.