The IBL's Chicago Iron Pigs

[khucke]

Originally Posted by gehrig38

Glad to hear that about catching ability, you don't have to tell me it's real, I know it. I talked with umpires about it, and they absolutely had their favorites (Tek, Dalton, Pratt) and the ones they hated (believe it or not Charles johnson) because they made the game way easier, or far harder, to call balls and strikes.

The pace is my desire to get 'more' out of the game, which I won't until FA and arbitration and what not.

In looking at what I've done so far, I am feeling like I'm too wordy, walls of text, which is no surprise because I am too wordy and talk too much in real life.

As far as your numbers on D go, I guess what I am asking is context. You say 10 runs is supposed to equal a Win? I am asking for comps, what's a good/great/bad set of numbers for that stat so I can know at a glance if the player is good, bad or great?

Obviously a + zone rating (ZR) is good. In my 25-year fictional league there are about 15 instances when a player has a +20 ZR in a seasons. So that is roughly the maximun. I think that a +10 ZR is often enough to be the seasonal best player at a position.

The advantage of ZR in OOTP is that it can easily be combined with offensive VORP:

VORP+ZR= player overall value

Divide that by ten and you have WAR (wins above replacement)

For example you want your team to win 100 games, you need 55 WARs, because the replacement level is 45 wins (the number of games that a random bunch of AAAers are supposed to win at the MLB level). You have 25 players on your roster in order to compile 55 WARs, each player would have to contribute a little over 2 WARs or 20 VORP. So a great fielder with a +10 ZR (=VORP) has already half done half his duty by his fielding alone.

On the other hand a bad fielder with a -10 ZR, has to carry quite a good bat to be a worthwhile player.

[gehrig38]

I thought it might be interesting to peek back to May, and today, and see what's gone on in the inaugural season of the IBL.
In the East Buffalo and Brooklyn are playing some back and forth, Buffalo going 37-26 and Brooklyn at 34-29 to go from 1.5 up to 1.5 down. NY and Staten Island are clearly playing out the string.
In the Central Daytons 36-26 over the past 62 has been 1 better than West Michigans 36-28. San Antonio's gone 33-30 and lost 4.5 games. Tulsa's 30-33 might not be as bad in a less competitive division
Edmontons 34-27 has them picking up 3.5 on Sacramento, who was .500 then, and is .500 now going 32-32. Phoenix has gone 33-29, and lost 1.5 games and El Paso has disappeared at 25-39.
Bill Hill is the story here. In Daytons last 62 he's hit 25 HR's and driven in 65 runs to enter into serious talks of a triple crown. The K's and ERA guys haven't changed much, with Thompson, Kelly and Calhoun remaining 1, 2 and 3.

[gehrig38]

In the CL things look like this:
Philadelphia's making a statement. Their 40-23 run opened up the East, and pushing Pittsburgh (32-21) to Wild Card status or bust. Baltimore went 36-27 and lost 4 games. NH is rebuilding.
Houstons 27-36 slide could have been fatal in a better division. Only my Iron Pigs have remotely 'hung on' going 31-33 to pickup 3.5 games. I still think they'll hang on, but we are going to make it interesting.
In the East LA made some moves, and made a move. Going 41-23 to move from 4 out to 9 up! Fresno has gone 30-34, Vegas 30-31 and Michigan 29-33 to let LA open up a huge 9 game lead.
In the individual races Soto came back to earth and got hurt. Though that appears to be the mix that'll be there at seasons end.
Cy May? Ya we don't like him. In his past 63 games he's hit 29 HR's and driven in 66. My bet is Houston would be 4-5 games worse had he not been that hot. He's the early frontrunner for MVP imo.
Not sure how the pitching awards are going to fall, but there's clearly a bunch of guys in the mix.

[gehrig38]

Originally Posted by khucke

Obviously a + zone rating (ZR) is good. In my 25-year fictional league there are about 15 instances when a player has a +20 ZR in a seasons. So that is roughly the maximun. I think that a +10 ZR is often enough to be the seasonal best player at a position.

The advantage of ZR in OOTP is that it can easily be combined with offensive VORP:

VORP+ZR= player overall value

Divide that by ten and you have WAR (wins above replacement)

For example you want your team to win 100 games, you need 55 WARs, because the replacement level is 45 wins (the number of games that a random bunch of AAAers are supposed to win at the MLB level). You have 25 players on your roster in order to compile 55 WARs, each player would have to contribute a little over 2 WARs or 20 VORP. So a great fielder with a +10 ZR (=VORP) has already half done half his duty by his fielding alone.

On the other hand a bad fielder with a -10 ZR, has to carry quite a good bat to be a worthwhile player.

Holy crap, easy and precise, that's huge! Thanks!

[gehrig38]

WEEK 20
3 @ BAL (57-60 14.5 GB) 3 @ LV (61-55 9.5 GB) 2 off days are going to be huge for us this week.

Game 120
Alejandrez (11-6) gave up 5 in the first, and though that was all he gave up, it was enough. Chris O’Slattery (13-6 8-8-3-1-1-8) was on today and Lando Johngmans hit HR’s 20 and 21. Lopez hit his 9th in the loss. BAL 7 CHI 3 LOSS (5.5 GB)

Game 121
Great game. Mike Davis went 7-6-1-1-1-8 and left trailing 1-0. Baltimore’s Flynn Woods held us hitless into the 7th and left after 6.2-1-0-0-6-4. Bill Alexander led off the 9th with a solo shot, his 33rd and the offense managed to manufacture 1 more. Ernesto Cruz (SV 22) gave up Jongmans lead off 1B but Juan Acevedo lined into a DP and Davis K’d to end it. CHI 2 BAL 1 WIN (4.5 GB)

MINOR LEAGUE ORG
Paul Riggs, went down with an oblique strain and is likely out the rest of the season. After a brief stint at AA he ended the Denison season at .280/.354/.431. Martin is still very high on the kid and if all goes well he seems to be ready to make the move to A ball next year.

A rash of injuries in AAA has left their roster a bit short handed. Joreao Tio, one of our blue chippers has had a nice run at AA and after a lot of debate and heated discussions the thought was to give him a few weeks of AAA competition. Tulsa is in line to make the playoffs and the staff feels that Joreao won’t be overmatched.

LEAGUE NEWS
Edmonton All Star Toby Clifton hit for the cycle in a 12-2 win today. Going 5-5 with 5 RBI’s and 3 runs. For the season he’s at 312-26-107

Game 122
Bill Flowers (6-4) went into the 7th (6.2-4-0-0-2-7) and Frank bridged to Cruz for the save (23). Bill Alexander went 2-5 with a HR (34) and Gutierrez and Ferrer had 2 hit days. CHI 2 BAL 0 WIN (3.5GB)

Game 123
Jackson (6-12) gets bombed (1.2-6-7-7-2-2-) and we are up against All Star Mathieu Cafasso (17-5 9-10-4-3-0-9). George has to bail us out with 4 more innings. I’m beginning to wonder if Martin didn’t ‘Miss’ on him. Given other GM’s interest levels early in the year, and his surprisingly good season. Alexander has 2 hits and Parker hits his 4th in the loss. Riley Potts is hurt again. LV 10 CHI 4 LOSS (4.5 GB)

Draft Update
Thought it’d be cool to check in on the top draft picks
#1 overall pick Manny Espinoza LF New Hampshire-Played 3 games for rookie league Eaton Estates going 3-9. Broke his hamate bone and has been out every since. Out another 5 weeks. Interesting to note the kid is on the 40 man

#2 SP Antonio Rodriguez Tulsa-Made 1 appearance in Rookie ball and was called up! In 6 starts he’s 0-4 with a 4.33 ERA. 36IP 35 hits, 31K’s and 22 walks. He’s a 2 star now, Martin feels he’s headed to 4.5.

#3 SP Ray Anderson New York-Made 4 relief appearances in rookie ball, 1 start to a 0.00 ERA then to A ball in Tacoma. Combined 2-2 in 47.2IP 18ER 30K’s and 20BB.

#4 CF Barton Tinker Baltimore-Tore it up in short season (364/455/439) before being promoted to Paradise in the Southern League. Hitting 238/290/333 in 16 A ball games.

#5 SP Anthony Martin Chicago-Made 7 starts in Omaha going 5-1 2.42 with a 1.16 WHIP and 50 K’s in 44.2IP. Now at short season Heavener and is 1-1 in 3 starts with a 2.35 ERA. 22K’s in 15.1 IP.

Game 124
Skipped my 5 with the off day, bad idea. Alejandrez (11-7) never had it. Gave up 8 runs, 6 earned, in 4. Walked 3 and had no K’s. Gutierrez and Ferrer had 2 hit days, Morgan hit HR#30. LV 10 CHI 5 LOSS (5.5 GB)

Game 125
Mike Davis (12-7) dominates (8.1-5-1-1-0-3), Frank gets the lefty and Cruz slams the door (SV 24). CHI 2 LV 1 WIN (4.5 GB)

LEAGUE NEWS
Ben Simmons of Dayton wins the FL PotW going 10-19 4HR’s and 9 RBI’s. Simmons was acquired earlier this year from Pittsburgh. Since landing in Dayton he’s hitting .328-7-19 in 67 21 games.

Angelo Gomez of Columbus took home CL PotW honors. He went 9-20 with 4 HR’s and 5 RBI’s, scoring 7 times.

ORGANIZATION NEWS
Tony Sanchez of Bakersfield won the Primal League PotW award. He went 9-22 with 2 HR’s and 5 RBI’s.
Ernesto Gutierrez is currently 3rd in the IBL with 37 2B’s. Gerald Wright of El Paso leads with 42, Rich Stone is 2nd with 40.
Chicago is 16th in the IBL Power Rankings this week 84.5
AAA Tulsa is 1st in their power rankings at 115.0, and sporting a 9 game lead in their division.

[dawg_gone]

I'm following as well and enjoying it. Wall of text is not a problem. I can always scan through a long post. What I as an average joe reader typically look for and read carefully are the things that you find odd, interesting, or unusual. I enjoy the workings of the brain behind the game.

Flowers, Frank, Potts and Cruz are putting up some fine numbers on the mound. Are they your groundball pitchers?

[gehrig38]

WEEK 21
3 @ Philadelphia (75-49 +11.5)
3 vs Fresno (66-58 9.5 GB)

OFF DAY NEWS
Shigenobu Sato of Dayton hit 3 HR’s and drove in 7 in an 8-6 Dragon win over Brooklyn

Game 126
This one was over before it started. Flowers (6-5) gave up 5 in the 1st but managed to give me 5.2 IP, surrendering 11 hits and 6 earned runs. Russell hit his 7th but Philly starter Dan Hill (7-0 4.22) was never in trouble. PHI 7 CHI 2 LOSS (6 GB)

Game 127
Frustrating game. Jumped on them for 3 in the first, gave them 3 right back. Got 2 more in the 2nd, gave them 3 right back. Tied it at 6 in the top of the 6th, gave it back in the bottom. Van Bodegraven (0-7) had been brilliant for the 3 innings before the HR. Eric Hudson was 3-5 with 3 RBI’s in the loss. PHI 7 CHI 6 LOSS (6 GB)

LEAGUE NEWS
WM White Caps Roger Goodman (258-31-87) will likely be out until the 2nd round of the playoffs. Huge blow to a team 3.5 games out of 1st.

Tulsa Drillers All Star C Rajah Lashari went deep 3 times in an 8-2 win over Phoenix today. He drove in 7 and scored 3. For the season he’s hitting .300-32-93.

Game 128
Skipped my 5 again and Alejandrez (11-8) again made us look dumb. 7.1-10-7-7-2-4 was his line. Kept getting close and he kept giving it back. Morgan hit his 31st in the loss, and Gutierrez was 3-5 with a run and an RBI. PHI 7 CHI 5 LOSS (6.5 GB)

LEAGUE NEWS
Vincent Bray (12-9 3.83) shut out Baltimore 5-0 in a 4 hitter. Guess the only surprising thing was he didn’t punch out 10+, managing ‘only’ 7 K’s to 1 walk.

Game 129
Mike Davis (13-7) goes the distance in a 5 hit shut out. (9-5-0-0-1-6). Alexander goes 3-5 with an RBI, Morgan drives in 2 in a 2-5 day. CHI 7 FRE 0 WIN (6.5 GB)

Greg Bartlett is hurt again. Straining an ab he’s likely out the the remainder of the season. With only a week until September call ups I’ll summon Dixon again and let Tulsa try and win their playoffs. Dudley Williams and Alejandro Bautists were enticing options.

Also noticed that Joreao Tio has a 382/389/588 line in 8 AAA games since his call up.

All Star Esteban Melenez, closer for the Edmonton Trappers was lost for 2 weeks today. He was 2-0 with 26 Saves and a 0.52 ERA. Edmonton is currently 4 games up on the Sacramento River Cats, and 4.5 on the Phoenix Greyhounds. MR Alex “Fly by Night” Browne will handle closer duties in his absence.

Dayton lost another SS today. Edison Henderson was moved to the 60 day DL after his broken elbow repair took a setback.
With Bartlett now out our lineup is just horrid against LHP. That will be a serious concern to begin addressing this winter.

Game 130
Flowers was bad, but the bullpen wasn’t. 6 scoreless innings from KJ (4-4), George and van Bodegraven allowed the Iron Pig offense to get back into the game and eventually win it. Alexander went 2-4 with his 35th HR and the offense hit 5 2B’s, 2 3B’s and a HR. Lopez was 3-4 with a 2B and a 3B, Walker was 2-4 with a 2B and 3B as well. 3 Iron Pig DP’s helped stymie the Fresno offense. Rich Stone (364-19-77) hit a 2R HR in the 1st. CHI 7 FRE 3 WIN (6.5 GB)

LEAGUE NEWS
In the daily drama of Dayton Shortstops, Jesus Costello, the SS they were hoping to get back soon, especially given the injury yesterday to Edison Henderson, will now be out another 3 weeks as he waits on his fractured thumb to heal. Costello was acquired in late July from Brooklyn for MR Jon Sloan and Closer prospect Bill Ahlers.

Game 131
Jackson stunk again (6-13). The second I get an alternative he’s finding another line of work. 3-9-8-6-1-3 was his ‘outing’ today, though there were very few ‘outs’ actually involved. Another 6IP from the pen. Alexander answered their 2 in the 1st with his 36th HR in a 3-5 2 run 2 RBI day. Gutierrez and Russell had 2 hits apiece in the loss. FRE 7 CHI 3 (7.5 GB)

LEAGUE NEWS
Juan Morales of San Antonio took home FL PotW honors. He went 11-23 with 4HR’s and 12 RBI’s

Dan Land of Philly took home the Coastal League honors with a 10-21 3HR 5 RBI week.

Never really grasped Weighted OBA but here are the IBL’s top 5 as of August 27th. Rich Stone (FRE) 440 Cy May (HOU) 437 Dean Strong (COL) 424 Bill Hill (DAY) 423 Barton Roberts (WMI) 421

We’re currently 20th in the Power Rankings 79.4

Belleview is 1st at 116.0

Omaha is 1st at 148.2 (They are 43-13 +6 and have are #3 in runs, avg, OBP, 2nd in HR, 1st in RA, Starters ERA. Hopefully some talent filters out of that Rookie league club

I’ll wait a few days as we are nearing September 1st to update the franchise and league as we head into the final first month of the inaugural season.

[gehrig38]

Originally Posted by dawg_gone

I'm following as well and enjoying it. Wall of text is not a problem. I can always scan through a long post. What I as an average joe reader typically look for and read carefully are the things that you find odd, interesting, or unusual. I enjoy the workings of the brain behind the game.

Flowers, Frank, Potts and Cruz are putting up some fine numbers on the mound. Are they your groundball pitchers?

Bill Flowers was sputtering along at AAA and almost a desperation call up. He is a stop gap starter at best for me. He's done a hell of a job all things considered, as he shouldn't even be here. Martin has his ceiling at 2.5 stars and all that's really left is for his control to improve a tic. He serves up the long ball far too much (13 in 93.2IP) and his 54% GB rate means he gives up hits (113). But again, he's helped because Salazaar had no shot of competing at this level.

Frank (2-1 1.97) has been a revelation. At 26 he's likely to be around awhile. His 72% GB rate with this infield makes him more than a situational lefty though I haven't pushed him much this year. A heavy sinker complimented by one of the better LH curve balls means he's a guy I'll likely increase role wise. BTW he's currently hurt right now. It's DtD but the back stuff is scary with pitchers.

Riley Potts is a 24 year old southern boy from Pelham, Alabama. Another good GB pitcher (64%) with decent command, his biggest issue has been health. Martin calls him Riley "Fragile" Potts and it's stuck. He's peaked as far as our scouts are concerned, a 2.5 star mop up guy on a very good team.

Cruz is the Cadillac of this pen. At 26 he's the back end guy for us as long as he can stay healthy. There haven't been any real issues this year but he's had them in the past and he's not as durable as one might hope in a closer. I desperately try to keep him to an inning at a time when I can. Right now his stats look like this. 1-1 24-26 saves 1.47 ERA 49IP 38 Hits 56 K's and 7BB.

It might be intriguing to float this guy this winter, but from experience I know one thing. Good or bad team you must have a closer because late losses are crippling to players and to fans. The easiest way to put a team in a funk is to not hold late leads. My hope is that Pennington matures enough (and by the look of it he is) to enter the setup role next year, and potentially take over as Cruz ages.

BTW guys, if there is anyone following along (no idea if people are reading this) but I ABSOLUTELY LOVE talking about my team like this, and the league. If you want to know anything about teams or players please don't hesitate to ask.

Always thought threads like this would be awesome if readers became fans of teams or players in your league.

Jennifer and Sal add as much to Orcin's league as Brown and Morgan do

[gehrig38]

Here we are, one month left in the 1st IBL season.
In the FL East Buffalo and Brooklyn have been going at it all year, and with 1 month left they're all knotted up! They both trail West Michigan in the WC by a game.
Without Bill Hill I have no idea where Dayton would be. They're 14-15 in their last 29 and he's been torrid. West Michigan was 13-16 over that same time, and holds a 1 game WC lead but one of these teams could be in trouble given the tightness of the WC race.
Edmonton and Phoenix have stayed true, Edmonton at 15-14 and Phoenix at 15-13 in the last 30 days.
The wild card is going to be truly wild over here.
And as stated about a month ago, Bill Hill got hot and he's now in position to win a triple crown! Coming off another player of the month award Dayton is going to need everything it can get from him.
Alberto Vargas is threatening to be a 40/40 player in year 1, wow. Seems to me Thompson and Kelly will likely battle for Cy Young.

[gehrig38]

With a month to go in the CL Philly appears to have the East locked up. Though just 14-14 in their last 28 Pittsburgh went 14-14 as well.
In the Central Houston's 16-12 run opened up a 7.5 game spread, we couldn't put anything together to catch up. But I feel good about where we are headed. Really like to get to .500, or close, to get the fans fired up and keep my owner happy.
LA's 21-9 run pretty much sealed the West I think. Michigan dropped out of any race by going 9-19 in their last 28 while LV went 17-12 to turn a 1.5 deficit to Fresno into a 2.5 game lead as Fresno has slumped, going 13-16. Those two are likely to pound on each other and determine the WC from the CL.
Stone, Soto and Holland look to be slugging it out for a batting title as the next hitter in the race is 21 pts behind. Soto is hurt which, with those numbers, means he could slip into a win without playing this last month! He's not due back until spring training of next year. Rich Stone, btw, is only 21 years old. I would imagine his name will be appearing frequently on this list. Albert Luna leads the race to 20, Gonzalez and Jacobs are battling for the RP of the Year and I'm betting Cafasso has the inside track on Pitcher of the Year right now.
Bill Alexander remains in the hunt for a HR and an RBI title.

[gehrig38]

Here's a peek at Chicago as of September 1. Starting to look at WAR, by using the formula mentioned earlier and it's clear there are some players that HAVE to go. Donald Weaver sucks, not sure why he sucks so bad, but he sucks. Missing from the list is Chartier, who's got just sick numbers right now, but on the DL, the stats should show DL guys imo.
Alejandrez BABIP is 60 pts higher than Davis. What I wonder is, is Davis insanely low and bound to regress, or Alejandrez the reverse? My guess is Davis is very very low.

[gehrig38]

WEEK 22
3 @ COLUMBUS (57-73 10 GB)
4 vs CORPUS CHRISTI (55-74 11.5 GB) A week of inter-division games vs the 2 teams trailing me. Houston has stabilized it seems, and is now 7.5 up.

Game 132
Angelo Gomez hit a leadoff 3B and the tone was set. Felt like Columbus started each inning with a runner in scoring position. Garrett (4-10) went 5-8-6-5-2-4 giving up Stepano McDermotts 33rd HR. Bill Alexander stayed hot with his 37th HR in the 6th. Gutierrez went 2-4 (.325) and committed his 8th error. COL 6 CHI 1 LOSS (8.3 GB)

LEAGUE NEWS
Bill Hill is just on fire. He went 5-5 with 7 RBI’s in Dayton’s 13-3 drubbing of Staten Island. The 30 year old slugger is now hitting .335-47-119

Fresno SP Santiago Medina and Fresno fans have to be wondering “what if?”. Coming back off labrum surgery the 27 year old right hander threw a 4 hit shut out vs Las Vegas. After 6 starts he’s 3-2 with a 1.96 ERA. Fresno sits 11.5 back of division leading LA but just 1.5 games back of Vegas in the wild card.

Michigan Battlecats slugger Brian Kempton will miss the remainder of the season with a broken finger. The Cats lead the IBL wit 215 HR’s and are paced by Kempton’s 35. Michigan trails the 51’s by 7.5 in the wild card

Game 133
A tiring Alfredo Alejandrez gave way to setup man Kevin Johnson in the 7th. After a Wes Morgan error Albin Lisz hit his 12th HR to knot the game at 4. Things stayed knotted into the 10th when Bill Alexander, who’d hit his 38th earlier, hit a solo shot (39) leading off the top of the inning. Ernesto Cruz wiggled out of a 2 on jam to record his 25th save in 27 chances. Alexander was 3-4 with 3 RBI’s Goot and Lopez each had 2 hits with Lopez also driving in 2 and stealing his 16th base. CHI 5 COL 4 WIN (7.5 GB)

LEAGUE NEWS
Remember Carter Lee? He threw the no-no vs. us earlier this season. The 34 year old (9-11 5.02) will miss the next 14 months with a torn rotator cuff.

Game 134
Wes Morgan’s Grand Slam (32) paced a 10 run 11 hit day for Chicago. Alexander, Morgan, Walker and Ferrer had 2 hit days with Walker and Ferrer each driving in 2. Walker stole bases 24 and 25 and Lopez stole his 17th to back Mike Davis’s 14th win. Davis went 6.1-6-4-4-3-7 with Geroge and Pacheco closing it out. CHI 10 COL 4 WIN (6.5 GB)

MINOR LEAGUE NEWS
Belleviews Cody Young went 5-6 driving in 2 in a 13-2 win today. The 21 year old CF from Chamblee, GA is enjoying a fine first year 272-12-47 in 90 games.

Game 135
Flowers struggled from the outset (4.2-7-6-6-3-6) but KJ came in and stopped the bleeding for 3.1 innings. Van Bodegraven threw a scoreless 9th but Frank yielded 4 hits and 2 runs in the 10th for the loss (2-2). Wes Morgan homered (33) in the loss. CC 8 CHI 6 LOSS (7.5 GB)

LEAGUE NEWS
San Antonio Silver Stars CF Roberto Villalobos went bowling yesterday. That in itself wouldn’t be news. It becomes news when he gets his hand stuck in a bowling ball and proceeds to hurt his shoulder trying to throw the ball. Villalobos was leading the FL for much of the season in hitting, but has been recently passed, trailing Daytons Bill Hill .338 to .332.

Ya, Bill Hill DID get hot. He’s now leading all three triple crown categories. In HR’s he’s up 5 (47-42) over Buffalo’s Alberto Vargas and up 3 in RBI’s (123-120) on Edmonton’s Toby Clifon.

Game 136
Jack Jackson battles through 6-5-3-1-5-4 and hands off to the pen. The Iron Pig offense takes over led by Bill Alexanders 3-5 3 RBI day that included HR#40. Brian Walker and Sean Parker both went 3-4 with 2 runs and Parker drove in 2 as well. Van Bodegraven got the win (2-7). CHI 9 CC 4 WIN (7.5 GB)

ORG NEWS
Todd Snell of Belleview tossed a 4 hit shut out. He’s 10-8 3.84

Tulsa LF (and #2 draft choice in June!) Raul Feliz made the transition to AAA look easy. He hit .402 with 5 HR’s and 26 RBI’s to win the UL Hitter of the Month award.

Fellow draft pick and teammate Randy Pennington of Tulsa took home August Pitcher of the Month honors after a 4-0 0.00 ERA month. Randy K’d 22 with 6 saves over 11 appearances and 13 IP.

Alfredo Lozano of Bakersfield won the Primal League PotM award after a .343 3 HR 22 RBI and 25 run effort.

Bakersfield SP Luis Diaz won the PL’s Pitcher of the month award. 5-0 with a 2.68 ERA he held opponents to a .152 avg

On September 1st my minor league teams:
Tulsa is 78-53 +11
Bakersfield 78-53 Clinched
Denison 54-77 28 GB
Belleview 82-49 +7
Heavener 29-32 4 GB
Omaha 46-14 +5

I said it before, but I am stunned by the success of my minor leagues this early. I think that speaks to picking VERY far into the inaugural draft and going after young high ceiling players before filling my ML roster (though that’s cost me, I think it’s real hard to create a winner in year 1 with long term studs in the minors)

AUGUST NEWS
Bill Hill (DAY) captures his 2nd PotM award. Winning the FL award by hitting .411 with 12 HR’s 34 RBI’s and scoring 29 runs

Bill Alexander (CHI) wins his 2nd PotM award as well (April). Bill hit .358 with 9 HR’s and 20 RBI’s while scoring 26 runs

Steve Copeland (SAN) won the FL Pitcher of the Month award after a 6-0 1.93 month

Vince “The Wizard” Bray won his first CL Pitcher of the Month award by going 5-0 with a 1.63 ERA

Game 137
Garrett battled through 5 and the pen was outstanding getting to the 9th with a 5-4 lead. Things fell apart from there. A 2 out none on rally saw Cruz blow his 3rd save of the year. After 1 more inning Riley Potts came in and went 3 scoreless. Leo Russell hit a walk off 2B driving in Dave Lawhorn. Wesley Morgan slammed 2 2 run HR’s (35) in the win. CHI 6 CC 5 WIN (7.5 GB)

Game 138
Bill Alexander paced a 16 hit Chicago attack going 2-4 with 2 runs and 5 RBI’s hitting his 41st and 42nd HR’s in the process. Donald Weaver also hit 2 HR’s (6,7) and drove in 4, Ernesto Gutierrez was 3-6 with a 2B, Eric Hudson 2-5 with a 3B. Brian Walker (3) and Sean Parker (5) added HR’s as Chicago hit 4 2B’s a triple and 6 HR’s in the win. Alfredo Alejandrez (12-8) went 7-6-1-1-3-7. CHI 13 CC 2 WIN (GB)

LEAGUE NEWS
Carlos Leon (BRO) took home FL PotW honors after a 12-25 6 HR 13 RBI week

Joe O’Neal (FRE) won CL PotW honors with a 16-34 4 HR 9 RBI week.

ORGANIZATION NEWS
Bob Barbour of Tulsa won United League PotW. He was 13-26 with a HR, 8 RBI’s and 7 Runs.

Flynn Ash of Bakersfield won Primal League PotW with a 11-26 2 HR 12 RBI week

Felix Velez of Belleview won Midwest League PotW by going 13-28 with 3 HR’s 9 RBI’s and 7 runs

Cody Young of Belleview leads the (A) Southern League in XBH with 42

Chicago is 11th in the league Power Rankings, our highest spot yet 91.8
Tulsa is 1st at 123.3
Belleview is 1st at 130.7
Omaha is 1st at 149.9

[gehrig38]

WEEK 23
2 vs Michigan (66-71 18.5 GB)
3 @ Pittsburgh (69-69 13 GB)

Game 139
Jean Chartier 3B’s and HR’s (20) in his first game back. Hudson (4) and Morgan (36) add solo shots and Lopez goes 3-4 as Mike Davis’s control problems resurface. He wins to go 15-7 but walks 8 in 6.1 IP. Only giving up 2 hits. Pretty much the entire pen shows up and KJ gets a bases loaded K after walking 3 in 1.1 IP. Cruz closes it out for save 26. CHI 6 MICH 4 WIN (7 GB)

LEAGUE NEWS
UGH! The Pittsburgh Riverhounds will be without the services of ace Vincent Bray for at least the next year. The 27 year old strikeout artist will undergo Tommy John surgery today and likely not return until the 2014 season. Bray was 14-9 with a 3.71 ERA and led the Coastal League with 229 K’s in 216 innings. Pittsburgh was 13 out, but 5.5 back in the Wild Card and I would imagine this ends any hope of getting that WC spot.

Game 140
Yanking your starter in the 5th sucks, even moreso when your team was leading 9-1 at the end of 3. This game had it all. Chicago hit 5 2B’s in the 1st two innings. Flowers gave up a grand slam to Dave Jones (19) in the 5th and make it an 11-9 game, and it was just starting. In the bottom of the 5th Wesley Morgan hit his 38th HR, and Alexander was promptly drilled by Thie Janzen (both were ejectd). BTW Chicago hit 8 2B’s and 4HR’s in the game. Leo Russell then gets hurt, which is a problem because Sergio Lopez needs to play LF, and he’s currently my DH! So I give up the spot and put my pitcher in the lineup. All of this is a long winded way of saying the Iron Pigs put a team record 20 runs on 23 hits up, and won. Chartier was 3-5 with 2 RBI’s, Morgan was 3-6 with 4 RBI’s and 3 Runs, Walker subbed for Alexander and went 2-2 with a 3R HR, and Gutierrez went 4-6 with 3 runs and 4 RBI’s. Riley Potts was the first Iron Pigs pitcher to ever get a base hit! CHI 20 MICH 11 WIN (6.5 GB)

Word came down after the game that Bill Alexander will receive a 2 game suspension.

Leo Russell suffered a laceration and will be DtD for the next few weeks

Game 141
Alejandrez (12-9) was outdueled by Hunter Petty (10-8) and the Pittsburgh Bullpen. Alfredo wen the distance (8-4-1-1-2-4) but the offense couldn’t come up with the big hit, leaving the tying run on 2nd in the 9th with 1 out. PIT 1 CHI 0 LOSS (GB 8)

LEAGUE NEWS
Houston lost 28 year old SP Jerome Billon to radial nerve compression surgery. Billon was 9-13 4.65 on the season

Game 142
Randy Pennington made his IBL debut today and all in attendance felt it was about as good as could be. Entering in the 6th with 1 out and runners on 2nd and 3rd, Allen Hedden flew out to shallow RF on his first pitch, he walked Barry Meyer to load the bases and got All Star Ross Tunstall to swing at a 1-2 slider to end the inning. He handed the game to Ken Johnston (H12) who turned it over to Ernesto Cruz who struck out the side in the 9th for his 27th Save. Bill Alexander went 3-4 with a 1B, 2B and his 43rd HR. Brian Walker hit a 3 run shot, his 5th. Ian Ferrer went 3-5. CHI 9 PIT 6 WIN (7 GB)

MINORS NEWS
Omaha will face off against the Akron Plunderers (Rookie ball team of the El Paso Diablos) in the NYP League’s 1st round.

Game 143
The 10-6 final was not indicative of the game. It was over in the first as Chicago plated 7 runs on 5 hits. Mike Davis (16-7) went into the 7th (6.2-4-1-1-1-6) when Jose Pacheco decided to make it interesting, spotting Pittsburgh 4 in the 8th. Gutierrez, Morgan Chartier and Russell had 2 hit days with the bench making an appearance in force to finish the game. Alexander hit a 3R HR (44) in the 1st, followed by Morgans 39th. Leon Russell hit his 8th in a 2-4 4 RBI day. CHI 10 PIT 6 WIN (7 GB)

LEAGUE NEWS
River Cats All Star Nori Takahasi racked up his 2nd PotW award by going 14-28 with 4 HR and 8 RBI’s. On the year he’s hitting 301-29-87

Houston LF Arturo Olivo went 11-21 with a HR and 4 RBI’s to win CL PotW

Bill Hill leads the IBL in total bases with 391, Cy May (HOU) has 385, Bill Alexander (CHI) 343, Rich Stone (FRE) has 329 and Qi-Chen Jung (FRE) is at 322

Chicago has climbed to 10th in the Power Rankings, another best! 94.9

Denison and Heavener are my only 2 minor league teams not ranked #1.
Wow, that works.

ORG NEWS
Belleview 3B Millard Young took home his 2nd NW League PotW award going 8-19 with 4 HR’s and 14 RBI’s, scoring 6 times. On the year he’s at .260-28-105.
This kid snuck up on me. Martin has him as a 1 star kid, but he plays gold glove 1st, a good 3rd, can play 2B, SS and RF in a pinch. He does project to have some good pop but his 111 K’s and 260 Avg don’t appear to translate well when he moves on.

MINORS NEWS
Pittsburgh Alerts (AA affiliate of the LA Sky Sox) LH SP John Gilmore threw a no hitter vs, the Freemont Vodoo today. Gilmore, a 22 year old lefty is 9-13 3.90 on the year.

[gehrig38]

Week 24
3 @ LA (88-55 +10.5)
4 @ Houston (76-67 +7) If I want to even THINK about making them uncomfortable I need a sweep, 2 out of 3 at the worst.

As I get to the seasons final week, maybe 2, I’ll give some daily updates on races, both division and statistical.

FYI Bill Hills quest for the Triple Crown continues. He’s at 335, a 3 point lead over the injured Roberto Villalobos (SAN) and a 17 pt lead over Barton Roberts of West Michigan. His HR lead appears to be safe, at 54-44 over Alberto Vargas of Buffalo. RBI’s he appears ok as well, with a 17 run lead over Toby Clifton of Edmonton.

Both Hill and Cy May of Houston are making a run at Maris’ record. May is sitting at 51. Alexander and Wes Morgan are #2 and #3 in the CL in HR’s. Alexander is 2nd in RBI’s with 131, trailing May by 9. Rich Stone (FRE) is battling the injured Vincete Soto of LA and is leading 361-360. Both Avg leaders have the title to lose, as both 2nd place qualifiers are out for the remainder of the season. Stones teammate Jeff Holland is 3rd at .347.

Vincent Romero (SAC) is sitting on 19 wins, Albert Luna (BAL) is at 18 in the quest to be the IBL’s first 20 game winner. Cafasso (LV) Dusek (BUF) Gonzalez (HOU) Johnston (LA) Serrano (DAY) and Whiteway of Philly are all at 17 wins.

Rich Stone is at 206 hits, Kevin Moore (NH) has 49 SB.

Philly looks to be the first IBL team to clinch, as they are 14 up with 19 to play. LA will likely follow them.

Game 144 (facing 17 game winner Nick Johnston)
Gutierrez hits a 1-1 fastball 446 feet to lead off the game (7). Wes Morgan follows an out later with a 2R HR (40) that travels 427 ft. Bill Flowers (7-5) then walks the tightest of tight ropes for 6 innings. (6-10-1-1-1-8) using strike outs and timely defense to keep LA in check. Randy Pennington gets his intro to the big leagues after a solid first outing, surrendering 3 runs on 5 hits in 2/3rds of an inning. KJ and Riley Potts close it out. Morgans day ends with him going 2-5 with 3RBI’s, Hudson, Alexander, Ferrer and Russell all have 2 hit days. Russell drives in 3, Ferrer hits a 2B and a 3B. Walker steals his 29th, Chartier his 22nd. Johnston is denied his 18th (17-7 4.04) CHI 10 LA 4 WIN (7 GB)

LEAGUE NEWS
Houston’s Sergio De La Garza (13-11 4.29) spins a 6 hit shutout to keep Houston 7 games ahead of us. But in the game they lose 32 year old catcher Alberto Ortiz for the next month with a bad shoulder.

MINORS NEWS
Belleview opens up their post season at home vs. the Colorado Springs Maple Leafs (Edmontons A ball affiliate in the Midwest League)

Game 145
What a game. We jump out 3-0 in the top of the first and Jack Jackson doesn’t record an out! Giving up 6. Bill George stabilizes things but we enter the 4th down 8-3, make it 8-4, then 8-6 after 5. Stays that way until the 9th. Morgan k’s and Chartier grounds out to start the inning. Lopez singles, Walker doubles driving in Lopez, Ferrer singles driving in Walker and we hand it to Cruz to close it out. He serves up a 2 out solo HR to Charlie Crowder! Gutierrez leads off the 10th with a 2B, Hudson drives him in to make it 10-9. Cruz stays in and quickly sets the Sky Sox down in order for the win (2-1). Lopez was 3-4 with 4 RBI’s and his 10th HR, Ferrer 3-5 with an RBI Alexander was 2-4 with RBI# 133. CHI 10 LA 9 WIN (7 GB)

Houston wins 8-4 over New Hampshire.

Bill Hill hit #55

Rich Stone fell to .359, 1 pt behind the injured Soto in the batting race.
Vincente Romero of Sacramento is going for his 20th today.

Game 146
Jumped out every game of this series in the first. Alexander hits a 2 run bomb (45) in the 1st to put us up 2-0 which turns out to be our entire output as the game turns into a pitchers duel from there on out. Alejandrez (13-9) beats Trevor Hobbs (12-7) by going 7-6-1-1-2-5, van Bodegraven and Frank handle the 8th and Cruz sets’em down in order in the 9th for save 28. CHI 2 LA 1 WIN (7 GB)

Hells bells. We pull off an enormously unlikely sweep, but so does Houston, beating the hapless Fisher Cats 5-2 with Gonzalez winning his 18th (at least I won’t get him, but my ace is spent as well)

Bill Hill is now 4 pts up in the batting race. Stone and Soto are tied at .360 in the CL race.

Romero actually goes today, was pushed back a day though fully rested yesterday. Cafasso won his 18th yesterday.

Game 147 (The Iron Pigs have managed to climb to 7.5 games back in the WC. I don’t think either scenario is likely, given I HAVE to pitch my 4 and 5 at some point, but it’s nice to at least make it tight)

Ugh. Jeff Garrett was not up to the game today, but everyone else was. Nemisis Cy May, through his first 3 AB’s, had 2 2B’s and a 3B, and 3 runs. He had no more hits on the day. The bullpen was very good and rookie Randy Pennington struck out may in the 9th with the winning run on 2nd. Jeff Guy ripped the 1st pitch in the bottom of the 11th from Sib von Bodegraven (2-8) into the left field bleachers to walk it off. Lopez (11) Chartier (22) and Morgan (41) all hit solo HR’s, Chartier was 3-5 with 2 RBI’s. Morgan, Lopez and Alexander all had 2 hit days. HOU 8 CHI 7 LOSS (8 GB)

LEAGUE
The Philadelphia Freedom become the 1st IBL team to ever clinch a playoff spot with an 8-1 win over the Michigan Battlecats.

Kevin Moore (NH) stole his 50th base.

Hill (DAY) opened up a 5pt lead on Villalobos (SAN) in the FL batting race.

Rich Stone (FRE) went 4-5 to open up a 4 pt lead on Vincente Soto (LA) in the CL race.

Romero (SAC) went 7.2 IP and gave up 0 earned runs but walked away with a no decision in a 3-2 win, missing his first shot at 20.

Caffaso, Gonzalez, Luna and Serrano are all at 18 wins now.

Game 148 (Houston starter Brian Donohue has an outside shot to win the CL ERA title. He’s at 2.94 right now, which would lead the league, but he’s only got 141IP. He’ll need, in addition to pitching very well, 20.2IP over his last 3 starts, see if we can’t fix that today!)

Gah. A tired Ernesto Cruz (2-2) enters in the 8th and gets the out we need, but has nothing left in the 9th. Giving up 3 runs on 4 hits over the inning he was in. A 2 run first with Mike Davis on the mound had us feeling good and he handed a 5-1 lead to George in the 7th. He gave up 2 to make it 5-3 and Cruz was summoned. Gutierrez and Lopez had 3-5 days, Goot hitting his 8th. HOU 6 CHI 5 LOSS (9 GB)

That will seal it. I was close to out to being with , but 9 back with 13 to play isn’t happening.

LEAGUE NEWS
Jorge Diaz (you remember him right? The first BIG star I traded early in the year?) belted 3 HR’s and drove in 8 in a 13-2 Philly win over Michigan today. Since coming to Philly Jorge has hit 310-21-59 in 58 games. Overall he’s at 304-28-84 in 105 games.

Octavio Hernandez, the Manager of the Freedom was just on TV talking about their clinching. What an ass. Said there was never a doubt with his team, never felt they played a game this season with a team that deserved to be on the same field as them. Gonna file that one away.

ORG NEWS
Belleview won their best of 3, and will be moving on to the semi’s.
Omaha did as well

Game 149
De La Garza (14-11 4.17) was in command all day long. Flowers (7-6) pitched ok, but ok wasn’t going to do it. He went 6.2-4-4-4-4-6. Chicago was held to 5 singles. Gutierrez stole his 20th. And in breaking news Cy May DID NOT homer in a game vs Chicago (going 1-4 with a single). HOU 4 CHI 2 LOSS (10 GB)

MINOR LEAGUES
21 year old 1B Troy Graham of Omaha went 4-6 and hit for the cycle in Omaha’s 14-6 playoff win over the Golden Grizzlies.

LEAGUE NEWS
The NY Knights hit the ‘tragic’ number, and were eliminated today. Owner Mark Roberson is said to be FURIOUS. He had extremely high expectations for this club entering the season, I’d expect to see some changes….soon.

Rich Stone (FRE) had 3 more hits today, opening up a 6 pt lead on the injured Vincente Soto.

Bill Alexander (CHI) has quietly crept to within 6 of Cy May for the RBI title.

Walt Thompson (BRO) won his 16th yesterday. I think that’ll leave him short of a chance to win a pitching triple crown. He’s going to win the K title (260-203 right now over Shawn Calhoun of WMI) and his 2.59 ERA is .03 better than Daytons Ernie Kelly at the moment.

Game 150
A 6 run first inning that Jack Jackson had no idea how to protect. He went 2-8-6-6-0-2. To the offenses credit they hung in with a 7-6 lead that went to 9-6 in the 7th on Sean Parkers 6th HR. Cy May decided to show up and answered with his 52nd to make it 9-8, where it stayed. The bullpen kept it doable with young Ryan Pennington getting May and Arredondo in a clutch situation. Johnson got the win (5-4) and Riley Potts held down the fort for his 2nd save (Cruz was unavailable today). CHI 9 HOU 8 WIN (9 GB)

LEAGUE NEWS
3B Pat Peters (SAN) won the FL PotW award with a 15-31 3 HR 14 RBI week

Rich Stone (FRE) took home his 3rd PotW award this year, going 13-26 with 9 runs 4 HR’s and 7 RBI’s. He now leads Soto 363-360 in the batting race.

Chicago’s Mike Davis leads the IBL in BABIP at .235.

Chicago fell to 14th in the power rankings at 90.6

In what I guess is not surprising news, the Knights fired mangager Tony McDonald today. According to sources he’d lost his clubhouse, which is apparently full of apathy and a ton of selfish players. Fans in NY were extremely pleased with this move, many asking if they could also fire the players…..

Philly lost 23 year old SP Lee Larkin to a strained rotator cuff today. Their medical staff is saying 4 months before he picks up a ball. Larkin (who Martin rates a 3.5 potential kid) was 11-9 3.97 for the Freedom this year. This is likely to put a crimp in their playoff plans.

[gehrig38]

Here are the divisions with 12 to play.
The Coastal league, except for the wild card, is done. Philly clinched, Houston will soon, as will LA.

Vegas has a good hold on the WC barring a Red Sox/Braves 2011 collapse.
In the FL there are 2, possibly 3 interesting races.

Brooklyn will need help, they don't see Buffalo again, playing 3 vs SI, 3 vs NY, 4 @ SAN ( A big wild card match up) and 3 @ DAY to end up.

Buffalo actually plays the same 4 clubs over the final 12, finishing with 3 @ SI.

Dayton would need a collapse for West Michigan to have a shot. Problem for the White Caps is they don't see Dayton in the final 11.

In the West it's a whole other story.
Edmonton has 13 left, including a HUGE 3 game set at home with Phoenix next, and then another HUGE 4 game set at Sacramento to end the season.

The River Cats need to hold serve at worst, and best case would be to pick up at least 1 in the 7 games before that series. Fans in Sacramento will be primed for that one!

Phoenix heads to Edmonton with a shot to take over the division starting tomorrow. They then have 3 vs WMI, 3 vs El Paso, and end on the road with 3 at Tulsa.

The Wild card figures to be an all out brawl.
3 of the 5 teams have a shot at a division title, for two of them, San Antonio and West Michigan this is likely their only route.

San Antonio has 7 of their 13 remaining games vs teams in the hunt including 3 at Buffalo starting tomorrow. They have a decent shot to close ground though because they go to Brooklyn for 4 before ending the season in NY with 3.

[gehrig38]

Here are the individual races with 11-13 games left.
The 10 on the left are the Frontier League races in different categories.
My guess is Bill Hill is a lock for the FL MVP. He needs to stay at least mildly warm and he'll lock up a triple crown as well.
Quite an interesting saves race, but beneath the numbers we have an awesome race for the reliever of the year.
Right now Francisco Flores has 117 points, Greg Patterson 115 pts and Bill Barlow has 114 pts, going to come down to the wire!
Looks like Kelly or Thompson will take home the Cy, depending on the voters and personal taste, but one of them had better win this.
In the Coastal League Rich Stone is in the same boat as Bill Hill. His trailer is out for the season, so he needs to remain hot to win the batting title. Cy May, barring an insane week from Bill Alexander, will win the HR crown, and likely the RBI title.
Stone and May will likely duke it out for the leagues best hitter award as well.
Matheiu Cafasso and Raul Gonzalez appear the front runners for outstanding pitcher. 5 guys in the CL have a shot at 20, who is going to be the first guy there?
Chris O'Slattery appears poised to win a strike out title as Vince Bray is done for the year.
In the CL race for Reliever of the year, again behind the numbers, the race could not be tighter.
Julio Gonzalez leads with 43 saves in 45 chances, a 1-1 record. His 125 pts leads Sherwood Jacobs by 2. Jacobs has 41 saves in 43 chances and is 5-3, for 123 pts. Joe Boswells 37 for 37 and 5-0 record gives him 121 pts and a close 3rd!
That one's going to head to the final weekend as well. All three of those closers are on teams in contention, or that will clinch.

[gehrig38]

Week 25
3 @ New Hampshire (62-87 28.5 GB)
3 vs Baltimore (74-75 16.5 GB)

Game 151
Down 2-1 into the 9th, managed to load’em up with 1 out, and couldn’t push a run across. Chartier flies out to shallow left, Walker takes strike three. Alejnadrez (13-10) goes 7-5-2-1-4-9 in the loss. Hudson 2-4 with a triple. NH 2 CHI 1 LOSS (GB 9.5 GB)

LEAGUE NEWS
Bill Hill puts a strangle hold on the triple crown, going 2-4 with 2 HR’s and 4 RBI’s in a 9-4 loss to NY. Leads AVG by 9, HR’s by 12 and RBI’s by 17. New York has beaten Dayton both games.

Cy May hits #53 as Houston’s magic number moves to 1. LA’s is 1 now as well.

Edmonton beat Phoenix to move to a 1.5 game lead over the Greyhounds.

Brooklyn’s win gives them a 2.5 game lead in the WC over West Michigan.

Pittsburgh and Fresno move to 3 back in the WC behind Vegas

Game 152
Wes Morgan launches a 3 run homer, #43, in the 1st. That was Chicago’s total output today and Mike Davis (16-8) couldn’t make it stand, surrendering 2 2R HR’s in 6 (6-7-4-4-0-2). Morgan was 2-4 with 3 RBI’s. NH 4 CHI 3 LOSS (ELIM)

LEAGUE RACES
Houston officially clinched the Central.

Buffalo moved 4.5 up on Brooklyn but the Cyclones moved 2 up in the wild card.

Dayton remains 6 up in the central on West Michigan who now trails Brooklyn by 2 in the WC.

Phoenix beats Edmonton to move within .5 game of the West.

Fresno stays at 3 back, Pittsburgh loses to fall to 4 back in the CL WC.

Rich Stone holds a 1 pt lead over Soto in the CL batting race.

Congratulations to Vincente Romero (SAC) who becomes the 1st ever 20 game winner in IBL history with a 4-2 win (7.1-8-2-1-1-4).

ORG NEWS
Tulsa was swept out of the first round of the AAA playoffs, 2-0 by Rocky Ford (Michigans AAA affiliate)

After the game OF’s Bob Barbour, Hugh Collins and RP Chris Daulton were recalled. A decision was made to not call up 18 year old Raul Feliz. A combination of his age, and not wanting to start his service time clock, we’ll let him rest up this winter.

Bakersfield is up 1-0 in the semi’s

Belleview is tied 1-1 in the semi’s

Omaha has reached the Rookie league finals, facing the Beatrice Roadrunners (Michigan’s rookie ball club)

Game 153
Bill Flowers gives up 4 in the 2nd but buckles down (5-4-4-3-3-3) and the pen throws up zeroes the rest of the way. Eric Hudson’s 3-4 day featured 2 2R HR’s (6) and Cruz grabs the final 4 outs for save 29. CHI 5 NH 4 WIN

RACES
Buffalo all but seals the FL East, going up 5.5 on Brooklyn. Brooklyn is 1.5 up on West Michigan for the WC.

Dayton will lock up the Central in the next day or two.

Edmonton beats Phoenix in a crucial game, giving them 1.5 games of breathing room. Brooklyn leads WM by 1.5, Phoenix by 2.5 and Sacramento by 3 in the WC.

Fresno moves to 2.5 back of Vegas in the WC, Pittsburgh dropping to 3.5 back.

Albert Luna (BAL) wins #19.

Bill Hill remains 6 pts up in the batting race as he nears a triple crown. Rich Stone is 1pt up on Vincente Soto for the CL Batting title.

Ernesto Gutierrez surpassed the 200 hit barrier. On the season he’s at 320/377/434 with 202 hits. Bill Alexander is at 191 with 9 to play. Gutierrez and Alexander are both over 100 runs as well, Goot at 102, Alexander at 116.

Game 154 (facing Chris O’Slattery of Baltimore, he trails Vince Bray by 7K’s for the CL K title)
O’Slattery (17-9) gets 6 of the 7 k’s he needs, but struggles mightily (5.1-12-7-4-0-6) in the win. Garrett (5-11) is atrocious 2-5-7-4-1-0. The pen holds the fort but the offense can make up the difference. Leo Russell (8) and Chartier (22) homer in the losss. Lopez goes 3-4 with 2 runs and 2 RBI’s, Hudson goes 3-4 in his quest to get to 300 (294 right now). BAL 8 CHI 7 LOSS

RACE NEWS
Wow, apparently Villalobos is going to fall a few AB’s short of qualifying, as he drops from the leaderboard. That will lock up a triple crown for Daytons Bill Hill! His 338 leads Barton Roberts (WMI) by 18 pts for the FL Batting title.

Buffalo moves to 6.5 up on Brooklyn, locking up the FL East

Dayton will lock up the central any day now, 5 up on West Michigan

Edmonton wins a huge game, moving to 2.5 up on Phoenix, 3 on Sacramento.

West Michigan moves to a half game back of Brooklyn in the FL WC, Phoenix is 2.5 out, Sacramento 3.

In the CL WC Fresno and Pittsburgh pick up a game, Fresno is now 1.5 behind Vegas, Pittsburgh 2.5 both with 8 to play.

Rich Stone (FRE) is 2 pts up on Soto in the CL batting race.

On the injury front a HUGE injury in Philly. Freedom LF Dave Ladd (283-31-118) broke his hand on the bases last night and will be out at least 4, but more like 5 weeks! 2/5ths of their rotation and 2/3 of their starting OF are going to be on the DL when the playoffs fire up.

ORG NEWS
AA Bakersfield is in the AA title round. They’ll play the Newark Black Birds (Buffalo’s AA team)

Omaha leads 1-0 in the rookie league championship round over the Beatrice Roadrunners.

Game 155
Bill Alexanders 46th HR came with 1 on and 1 out in the bottom of the 9th, giving Ernesto Cruz (3-2) the win. Jeff Jackson started and went 6-7-2-2-3-2. Gutierrez, Hudson, Alexander, Morgan and Russell all had 2 hit days. Alexander drove in 3, Gutierrez 2 with his 9th HR. CHI 7 BAL 5 WIN

RACE NEWS
Ha! Rich Stone is suddenly up 23 pts in the CL batting race! The CL batting race was determined in the exact same fashion as the FL race with the challenger dropping out due to not enough AB’s to qualify, in the seasons final week. Stone now leads Ross Tunstall (PIT) by 23 pts.

Bill Hill is still sitting on 58 HR’s as he chases Maris’s famous 61.

Bill Alexander has moved to 7 back of Cy May for the CL RBI title.

Buffalo and Dayton are pretty much locks in the FL East and Central,

Edmonton is now 3 up on Sacramento in the west, 3.5 on Phoenix.

But we’ve had a change in the WC! West Michigan has overtaken Brooklyn, now up .5 game on the Cyclones for the FL WC spot. Brooklyn is 1-4 in their last 5, with WM going 2-2 over the same span. Phoenix has gone 1-4 and Sacramento 3-1. So the race looks like this:
West Michigan 82-73 –
Brooklyn 81-73 .5
Sacramento 79-75 2.5
Phoenix 79-76 3

In the Coastal League both Fresno and Pittsburgh lose crucial ground to Vegas. Fresno is 2.5 out with 7 left, Pittsburgh 3.5 out with 7 left.

Game 156
Players are checking out. There’s no other explanation than that when you give up 13 runs over the last 2 innings, turning a 3-3 game into a 16-3 rout. Alfredo Alejandrez tired into the 6th, I think the seasons wearing on him. He went 6-6-3-3-3-2 in the ND. Bill Alexander hit #47 in the loss. BAL 16 CHI 3 LOSS

RACE NEWS
West Michigan, Brooklyn and Sacramento all win to keep it at .5 and 2.5 games in the FL WC.

In the CL, Vegas gets close to closing it out, gaining another game on both Fresno and Pittsburgh.

Matthieu Cafasso wins #19, so he and Albert Luna look to have 1 more shot at 20 in the CL.

Bill Alexander has crept to 6 back in HR’s and RBI’s of Cy May.

38 year old Joe O’Neal (FRE) went down with an intercostal strain, a huge blow to Fresnos playoff aspirations. He’ll be out at least a month. O’neal was at 278-15-65 on the year.

WOW! In a waiver deal, two playoff teams find common ground. Vegas sends 26 year old CF Salvador Chavez (272-23-81, my scouts like the kid, good bat, outstanding RF, not so much in CF, but a 2.5 star ceiling) to Philly for 25 year old MR Troy Jensen (5-1 1 save 1.83 ERA in 69IP with 89 K’s and 21 BB) and 23 year old 4 star potential catcher Jesus Rosario. Our scouts think this kid is going to hit a ton. Big time bat with great gap to gap power and a very good eye. They’re not sold on him as a catcher yet.

Bill Hill continues to collect hard ware. Winning his 6th PotW award after a 12-28 3 HR 7 RBI week.

Eric Hudson of your Iron Pigs brings home CL PotW honors. Huddy went 15-25 with 2 HR’s and 5 RBI’s this week.

We’ve dropped to 18th in the Power Rankings at 81.5

OFF DAY RACE NEWS
Sacramento pulls to within 2 of Edmonton in the West, and now 1.5 behind WM in the WC.

[gehrig38]

Week 26
3 vs Columbus
3 vs Philadelphia

Game 157
Wes Morgans slams his 43rd in a 3-4 4RBI day to back the pitching of Mike Davis (17-8) 8.1-5-3-3-2-5. Chartier hits his league leading 14th triple in a 2-4 3RBI day, and Gutierrez goes 3-4, scoring 2 and driving in 1. CHI 9 COL 3 WIN

RACE NEWS
With 5 to play West Michigan has a .5 game WC lead over Brooklyn, and trails Dayton in the Central by 3.5.

Sacramento has now closed to within a game of Edmonton in the West, and trails West Michigan by 1.5 in the WC.

All 4 spots in the coastal league are now claimed. Las Vegas clinches the wild card over Fresno.

Vincente Romero won his 21st game and Steve Whiteway won his 19th.

ORG NEWS
Omaha failed to win the Rookie League title, dropping the series 2 games to 1 to Beatrice. They won game 1 10-3, then lost 14-5 and 5-2, still a fantastic season for the Discoverers.

Bakersfield is down 2-0 to the Black Birds in the AA best of 5.

Game 158
Bill Flowers (8-6) pitches 7 strong (7-6-2-2-2-4) and the pen, with a hiccup, gets the ball to Ernesto Cruz who records his 30th save on the year. Wes Morgan doubles and homers (44) in a 2-5 2 RBI day. He’s challenging Alexander for the team HR title, trailing 47-44 right now. Jean Chartier continues his outstanding 18 year old season, going 3-4 with 3 RBI’s. Eric Hudson goes 3-4 to move to 298, and close in on that coveted 300 season. CHI 8 COL 6 WIN

RACE NEWS
Staten Island 1B Travis Bryant went 5-5 today in a SI 10-8 win over Dayton.

Dayton clinches the FL Central with a West Michigan loss. That loss also propels Brooklyn back into the WC lead, with WMI trailing by .5 game, and Sacramento pulls to within a game.

Buffalo locks up the FL East today as well.

Bill Hill hammers HR #59, and Cy May hit’s #54.

Chris O’Slattery (BAL) K’s 8 to win the CL K title over Vince Bray (PIT)

Rich Stone is at .359, leading Ross Tunstall by 13 pts in the CL batting race.

Bill Alexander needs 3 hits in the final 3 games to reach 200, he’s also at 47 HR’s and 145 RBI’s. Eric Hudson is sitting at .298

MINOR LEAGUE NEWS
Denison Hitting Coach Orlando Hernandez had his contract expire. Orlando is one of the games better hitting coaches and I’d like him back, though I don’t have any openings above A ball I am thinking a promise of the AAA job inside a few years will help entice him.

Game 159
Bob Barbour delivers a 2 out walk off HR in the bottom of the 9th to give the Iron Pigs a 3-2 win. Alexander hit his 48th in a 2-4 1 RBI day. Jeff Garrett threw very well (7-3-1-1-2-5) but Johnson, Pennington and Pacheco couldn’t hold it Chris Frank (3-2) got the win. CHI 3 COL 2 Win

RACE NEWS
HOLY COW! Sacramento beats Edmonton to pull into a tie in the FL West at 84-75 with 3 to play.

Things now get crazy! 4 TEAMS!! Are now tied in the WC standings with identical 84-75 records (West Michigan, Sacramento, Edmonton and Brooklyn)
West Michigan has 3 vs El Paso

Sacramento continues their 4 game set with Edmonton

Brooklyn is at Daytona for 3

Bill Hill slams the coveted 60! Now 1 behind Maris for the all time single season record. Hill remains a solid 16 pts ahead of Barton Roberts (WMI) for the batting title.

In the Cl Rich Stone (FRE) is 12 pts up on Ross Tunstall (PIT) 359 to 347

Bill Alexander is sitting on 199 hits, Eric Hudson has dropped to 296

Game 160 (We are going to play our butts off, at 78-81 we need a sweep to get to .500)
So much for that. Another total bullpen meltdown. Tied 2-2 into the 8th, the bullpen implodes for 8 runs over the final 3 frames. Jack Jackson (6-14) battles through 5 (5-5-3-3-2-2) but the pen makes it pointless. Bill Alexander grabs hit 200 in a 3-4 2 2B day, scoring and driving in 1. Never a fan of trades that come back to haunt ya. I’d likely do it again, but Jorge Diaz hit HR 32 in the win for Philly, and since going there he’s at 305-25-70 in 70 games. What could have been….PHI 12 CHI 3

RACE NEWS
Sacramento and West Michigan win, which gives them a 1 game lead in the West and WC respectively. Edmonton is a game out of each race and Brooklyn now sits a game back of the WC as well.

With a win today Sacramento could lock up the West. Actually a Sacramento win vs Edmonton, combined with a Brooklyn loss would clinch at least a tie for the WC with West Michigan, and a potential 1 game playoff.

Mathieu Cafasso (LV) wins #20 for Las Vegas, which means he’ll be lined up to start game 1 of the WC round. He’s also managed to sneak into the triple crown discussion, leading the league in wins, trailing O’Slattery by 9 in K’s and leading the CL in ERA at 2.99.

Game 161
A disappointing end to a good season. Alfredo Alejandrez (13-11) seems to have run out of gas in September. A 6-10-5-5-0-6 line today, and he battled every inning. Hudson and Chartier had 2-4 days in the loss. PHI 6 CHI 1 LOSS

RACE NEWS
Nick Johnston (LA 19-8 3.88) shuts out Fresno in his final playoff tune up.

In the biggest start of his career Art Howard (EDM 14-13 3.36) tosses a 4 hit shut out over Sacramento that allows Edmonton to pull into a tie with the River Cats in the FL West!

Holy cow! Not sure how to parse this thing now. Here goes:
Sacramento and Edmonton play each other, and are tied for the FL West Division lead. West Michigan is also tied with them. Brooklyn is 1 game back.

Brooklyn needs a WM loss and their win, and there will be a 3 way tie for the WC. WM only needs to win. If they do they win the WC as the Sacramento-Edmonton winner will win the west, and the loser will be a game behind them in the WC.

The loser of the Sac/Edm game has to hope for a White Caps AND Cyclone loss as that would give them a 1 game playoff.

Game 162 (Trying to keep Philly from being the first 100 win team in IBL history with Mike Davis going for his 18th win while going up against Steve “Spuds” Whiteway, who’s after win #20. The 29 year old has been money this year, going 19-9 3.35 in 222.2 IP)

Ha ha. 162 games to get it to go just how you draw it up. Mike Adams (18-8) goes into the 8th (7.1-2-0-0-3-6) and rookie Randy Pennington gets out of 8th inning trouble. Ernesto Cruz comes in to 3 up 3 down the Freedom in the 9th, and end the season with 32 saves. Bartlett and Barbour drive in the Iron Pig runs. CHI 2 PHI 0 WIN

RACES
The Sacramento River Cats pull off a stunning comeback! Going 10-2 over their final 12 games to go from 2.5 out to a 1 game Western Division crown. Sacramento trailed 2-1 going into the 7th but managed to knot the game and All Star Nori Takahashi slammed his 38th HR in the 8th to put them ahead to stay.

West Michigan pulls out their final game and clinches the FL Wild Card by 1 game over Edmonton.

Albert Luna (BAL) grabs his 20th win on the seasons final day.

REGULAR SEASON END NOTES

Bill Hill (DAY) wins the Frontier League Triple Crown! Hills 342-60-153 year paced all players in the Frontier Leagues inaugural season

Rich Stone (FRE) takes home the Coastal League Batting Title finishing at 357-24-96 which bests Pittsburgh’s Ross Tunstall’s .345 average.

Michigan 1B Drew Leduc took hom e the AAA Hitter of the year award. The 26 year old who spent the last few months in the show, threw up a .327-36-98 line in only 397 AAA At bats. Scouts think this kid will consistently hit 40+ 2B’s and over .300. The only knock is his glove is suited to be a DH.

ORG NOTES
Bakersfield loses the AA World Series 3 games to 1 to the Newark Black Birds
Omaha falls in the Rookie League title series 2 games to 1 to the Beatrice Roadrunners

Jim House of the Omaha Discoverers won the NYP Outstanding Pitcher Award. House was 9-3 3.94. House was the 135th pick in the inaugural draft, and a 2012 NYP All Star. Our scouts still think this kid is fringy at best, with marginal upside, but he’s certainly earned another look.

Kevin Nelson of Denison took home the Pacific League Gold Glove award. Kevin was my 22nd pick in the 2012 draft and took home a player of the month award as well as making an all star appearance.

SP Luis Diaz took home the AA Primal League Gold Glove award today. He was then named the Primal Leagues AA Outstanding Pitcher! Diaz went 11-8 with a 3.11 in 176.2 IP, 120 K’s and held opponents to a 211 avg

Belleview took home 3 Gold Gloves. SP Todd Snell, 1B Ricardo Gonzalez and LF Keith Todd

Belleview 20 year old SP Louis Carpenter took home the Outstanding (A) South Pitcher of the Year award after a 12-4 2.39 year. Carpenter was the 57th round selection in the inaugural draft and an All Star this year as well. Chicago scouts have him as a AA/AAA ceiling pitcher who lacks the movement to get IBL hitters out consistently. That being said we need to stockpile arms and he’s got time to surprise us.

Belleviews Millard Young took home the Midwest Leagues outstanding hitter today after his monster .259-28-106 year. The 21 year old 3B from New York, NY was the teams 82 round pick in the inaugural draft. His versatility make him a kid we’ll watch as does his legit big league pop. He can play 5 positions but his lack of speed and inability to make consistent contact have our scouts thinking AA pitching will expose the holes. We’ll see.

Bakersfields RF Alfredo Lozano took home the Primal Leagues outstanding hitter after a .295-20-80 season. He also scored 90 runs and had 27 2B’s and 7 3B’s. The 23 year old Dominican stole 45 bases. Our scouts are wild about this kids defense and his speed, he’s a legit 50 steal guy but the concerns are that his bat is about peaked. Martin has him as a 1.5 top end prospect. At 23 he might be a kid we look to find someone else with interest in.

[gehrig38]

PLAYOFFS Wild Card Round (best of 5)
West Michigan @ Buffalo
GAME 1 Dwayne Williams (8-3-0-0-1-7) shuts down Buffalo in game 1. Buffalo SP Gonzalo Casisas throws a gem in the loss (7.1-6-0-0-1-9) (1-0 WM)

GAME 2 West Michigan scores 6 in the 8th to turn a 1-1 game into a 7-2 win. SP Shawn Calhoun (8.2-7-2-2-1-9) (2-0 WM)

GAME 3 Buffalo stays alive on Alberto Vargas’ Grand Slam 6-5 (2-1 WM)

GAME 4 West Michigan walks off Buffalo 5-4 in 10 (WM 3 BUF 1)

Sacramento @ Dayton

GAME 1 Ernie Kelly throws a CG 3 hitter and Bill Hill goes 2-4 with 2 HR’s and 4 RBI’s in a 7-2 Dayton win (1-0 DAY)

GAME 2 Wow, just wow. Daytons Bill Hill hits a 2 out solo HR in the bottom of the 8th to give Dayton a 3-2 win, what a magical season! Sacramento SP Dan Millman goes the distance in the loss (8-3-3-2-4-3) (2-0 DAY)

GAME 3 Dayton uses Bartolo Serrano’s CG (9-4-1-1-2-6) to sweep Cinderella Sacramento out of the playoffs (DAY 3 SAC 0)

Las Vegas @ Philadelphia

GAME 1 Vegas pounds out 7 runs on 12 hits for a 7-5 win (1-0 LV)

GAME 2 Philly C Dan Land hammers 2 HR’s in a 6-3 win (1-1)

GAME 3 Manuel Navarro’s 3 hits propel Vegas to a 4-3 win (2-1 LV)

GAME 4 Vegas uses a 5 run 3rd to overcome Antonio Vargas’ 2-3 2HR day 5-3 and win the series (LV 3 PHIL 1)

Houston @ Los Angeles

GAME 1 Millard O’Reilly’s 8th inning 2R HR gives Houston a 4-3 win (1-0 HOU)

GAME 2 Houston scores 1 in the 8th and 4 in the 10th on Cy Mays bases loaded 2B (2-0 HOU)

GAME 3 LA hammers Houstons Biran Donohue, Garza drives in 3 with a HR, Martinez drives in 4 in the 13-6 win (2-1 HOU)

GAME 4 De La Garza wins his 2nd with another strong outing and Houston beats LA 4-2 (HOU 3 LA 1)

ROUND 2 (Divisional Round best of 7)
West Michigan @ Dayton

GAME 1 Daytons Bryan Mcarthur had 1 HR in 170 IBL at bats this year. So you can imagine the surprise when he hit a 2 out solo HR in the bottom of the 9th to tie game 1 at 2-2! 5 innings later the Dragons made it matter, winning in the bottom of 14 3-2. (1-0 DAY)

GAME 2 Dayton starts with 2 in the first and never lets up. A 15-0 win featuring 4 Dayton HR’s. Pat Padgett goes 3-4 2HR’s driving in 5, Shigenbou sato goes 2-4 4 RBI’s and Wally Howard goes 3-5 with 3 RBI’s. (2-0 DAY)

GAME 3 Dayton put a strangle hold on the FL Division series pounding out 3 more HR’s. Sato and Padgett each hit their 3rd in a 7-5 win. WM was up 4-3 before 3 in the 7th and another in the 8th sealed it (3-0 DAY)

GAME 4 Ernie Kelly does the humane thing, and ends West Michigans season 4 games to none with a 6 hitter over 8. Jesus Cosello’s 2R HR in the 6th put the game on ice.

Dayton is 7-0 in the playoffs and headed to the first IBL World Series.

Las Vegas @ Houston
GAME 1 Raul Gonzalez was untouchable. A CG 3 hit shutout to open up the best of 7 series backed by Arredondo and Amador HR’s Houston won 7-0 (1-0 HOU)

GAME 2 Las Vegas gets 2 in the first and pounds 14 hits in a 6-2 win. (1-1)

GAME 3 1B Gus Case hit Mathieu Cafasso’s first pitch of the 9th inning into the CF bleachers for a 3-2 lead. The Roughriders tacked on 1 more to win 4-2. Cafasso was the hard luck loser (8-7-3-2-2-11) being out pitched by Houstons Sergio De La Garza (3-0 in the playoffs now). De La Garza went 8-4-2-2-3-6 for the W (2-1 HOU)

GAME 4 Vegas jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Ken Jacksons 2R single in the 1st, but that would be all Houston SP Raul Gonzalez (2-0) would allow. 1 in the 2nd and 2 in the 3rd made it a 3-2 Houston lead and Paul Reeves bases loaded 2B in the 7th gave Houston a 5-2 win, and 3-1 series lead. (HOU 3 LV 1)

GAME 5 Carlos Arredondo and Jeff Guy hit 2R HR’s in the 1st and 2nd inning and SP Brian Donahue never looked back going 8.1-5-2-1-3-5 to put Houston into the 1st IBL World Series versus the Dayton Dragons.

[Sal, The Barber]

Originally Posted by gehrig38

Jennifer and Sal add as much to Orcin's league as Brown and Morgan do

Well, Sal does not get to Chicago very often, but leave him a ticket at Will Call and you may never the know. Although sometimes Sal gets Will Call (WC) confused with the WC, if you know what Sal means.

And, no, Sal is not interested in franchising the shop. Sal is not able to manage his shop in Louieville. There is no way he can (mis)manage two.

But Sal has a like for the old technology. He will tune in to this Pigs team on the radio.

(This dynasty is faster than Sal's first wife!)