The IBL's Alaska Avalanche

[gehrig38]

2025 WEEK 13
RECORD: 6-1
OVERALL: 53-30 +6.5
RUNS SCORED: 429 (42) 8th
RUNS AGAINST: 348 (24) 1st
OWNER: Delighted (+1)
FANS: 65/100
SCHEDULE: 1 vs New Hampshire/4 @ Hawaii/2 vs Arizona

6/23
ALK 7 NH 3
W-C.Durham (6-4) L-Terry (8-5)
HR NH-Altagracia (15) R.Hernandez (12) ALK-Edwards (5) Abbas (3) A.Martinez (12)
Durham 7.2-7-3-3-2-3 (W) Abbas 2-4 HR 3 RBI's (12)

NEWS-Nothing like news breaking during a series where the other teams star young stud hits TMZ with an affair. 23 year old New Hampshire catcher Tim Crabtree was outed today, in a nightmare of paparazzi. He was the 2nd overall pick of the San Jose Sharks in 2021, and dealt to New Hampshire in 2023 with Miguel Cabrera and C Alpo Havoni for SS Joe Rhodes (who is now a 5 star SS for El Paso). I was the GM In Chicago for that draft and we were considering him with the 3rd overall pick. We instead went with SP Rob Bright, who did not sign, and was then selected #1 overall the following year.

6/24
ALK 7 HAW 4
W-Solis (7-4) L-Hart (4-11) S-Wheeler (23)
HR HAW-A.Soriano (18)
Solis 7-10-4-2-1-4 (W) Edwards 3-4 2B (2) Peterson 2-4 2B (1) 3 RBI's (5) Garcia 1-4 3 RBI's (34)

INJURY NEWS-Manny Rodriguez is now being pushed back another 10-14 days.....

6/25
ALK 9 HAW 3
W-Rubio (8-6) L-Tucker (3-5)
HR ALK-A.Martinez (13) Ibarbia (7)
Rubio 7.2-8-3-3-1-7 (W) Garcia 2-5 2 SB (19) 3 runs Abbas 2B (4) 3 RBI's (15) Ibarbia 3-5 2B (13) HR 2 RBI's (37)

6/26
ALK 9 HAW 3
W-Santos (7-5) L-Oswalt (10-6)
HR ALK-Edwards (6) McBryde (8)
Santos 6-7-3-3-1-4 (W) Oswalt 3.1-8-7-7-0-5 (L) 10-6 3.15. Edwards 2-4 HR 2 runs 2 RBI's (17)

RECORD BREAKER-I think, in all my years and all my leagues, this is the first time I've ever seen this happen on any level in any game. Not even remotely close to a 9 inning game like this for sure. Amazing. In case you were wondering, Paco is the prospect I acquired from San Jose in the May trade that sent C Dave Nicholson and my 1st rounder. He was signed out of the Dominican in May of 2022. He is likely to be my starting SS inside of the next 2 seasons. Already a gold glove caliber defender he projects to be a .300 40 2B 30 HR 20+ SB guy, and he's just 20 years old 5 days ago.



6/27
ALK 3 HAW 2 (18)
W-Sheppard (3-0) L-Hankins (0-2) S-Wheeler (24)
HR ALK-Abbas (4) Martinez (14)
Abbas GW HR N.Fox 7.2-9-2-1-3-5 (ND) J.Fox (HAW) 8-3-0-0-1-6 (ND) Martinez game tying 2R HR in the 9th. Alexander, J.Durham, Sheppard and Wheeler go 10.1-6-0-0-0-10 Peterson 3-7 Francis (HAW) 3-8

6/28
ALK 5 AZ 3
W-Wheeler (4-0) L-Miller (3-5)
HR AZ-Wood (6) ALK-McBryde (9)
McBryde walk off 2R HR C.Durham 6.2-8-2-2-1-9 (ND) Hall (AZ) 8-8-3-3-6-4 (125 pitches) Ibarbia SB (24) 2 BB's 2 runs leading off McBryde 2-3 HR 2 RBI's (50)

6/29
AZ 6 ALK 3
W-Dunn (4-6) L-Solis (7-5) S-Meklau
HR AZ-James (6) ALK-Martinez (15)
Solis 6-4-2-1-3-9 (L) Dunn 7-5-0-0-2-7 (W) Hanna 4 straight LHH with hits in 7th. My bullpen lefty situation is a nightmare. Neither guy has been anything near what we need.

DRAFT NEWS-#1 pick Mike Bowman came out of his last start with a little shoulder tightness, he's dtd. He's 1-1 5.93 after a tough 2nd start (2.2-5-6-6-1-4) and his start yesterday was cut short (4-6-1-1-1-5).

WEEK 13 SUMMARY
FL POTW-Horst Grueter (CHI) 16-36 6 HR's 15 RBI's (.314-30-90)
CL POTW-Michael Moran (SAN) 12-21 2 HR's 5 RBI's (.337-10-52)

WEEK 13 POWER RANKINGS
1) Chicago (3)
2) Alaska (6)
3) Fresno (1)
4) Dallas (-)
5) Columbus (5)
OUT Corpus Christi (7) Staten Island (9)

MINOR LEAGUE UPDATE
AAA Eagan (25) 35-46 23 GB 1st SB 3rd AVG/OBP
AA Kodiak (15) 41-40 8 GB 4th HR/SP ERA/Def Eff 5th SB
A(S) Spokane (13) 41-40 16 GB 5th Runs/AVG
A(N) Yakima (23) 35-46 16 GB 1st SB 3rd AVG
SS Juneau (22) 2-4 3 GB
R Fairbanks (26) 2-4 1 GB

IRON PIG UPDATE
They are rolling, Grueter on pace for a record smashing season. Morgan and Hall pacing the FL in K's, Ernesto Cruz is on the DL, Casas is closing.

[gehrig38]

Grueter is having a special year...

[gehrig38]

[gehrig38]

Alaska pitcher wins it, Alaska pitcher saves it.....

2012 Coastal 6 Frontier 5*W Hanna (FRE) (1-0) L Wells (EP) (0-1) S Suhayb (LV) (1) HR Tunstall (PIT) (1) Davis (EDM) (1) MVP Ross Tunstall (PIT)
2013 Coastal 9 Frontier 3*W Suhayb (LV) (1-0) L Mendez (EDM) (0-1) HR Whimster (TUL) (1) MVP Lando Jongmans (BAL)*
2014 Frontier 10 Coastal 4*W Barlow (DAY) (1-0) L Holmes (COL) (0-1) HR Pitzi (SAC) 2 (2) Rosa (WMI) (1) Soto (LA) (1) Boyd (BAL) (1) Evans (CC) (1) Strong (COL) (1) MVP Vasco Pitzi (SAC)
2015 Frontier 8 Coastal 1*W Barlow (DAY) (2-0) L Medina (FRE) (0-1) HR NONE MVP*Jean Chartier (CHI)
2016 Frontier 5 Coastal 4*W Potts (ALK) (1-0) L Gonzalez (LA) (0-1) HR Young (TUL) (1) Garza (FRE) (1) Moore (NY) (1) Villanueva (SI) (1) MVP Matthew Moore (NY)
2017 Frontier 7 Coastal 6*W Courtney (EDM) (1-0) L Gonzalez (LA) (0-2) S*Cruz (CHI) (1)*HR*Chavez (CHI)*(1)*Helton (GB) (1)*Riggs (CHI)*(1)*MVP Todd Helton (GB)
2018 Frontier 10 Coastal 4*W Copeland (PHI) (1-0) L Dejesus (COL) (0-1) HR*Morgan (CHI) 2 (2)*Hudson (COL) (1) MVP*Wesley Morgan (CHI)
2019 Frontier 2 Coastal 1*W*Cruz (CHI) (1-0)*L Barlow (2-1) HR NONE MVP Scott Rolen (GB)
2020 Frontier 9 Coastal 3*W Gonzalez (NY) (1-2) L Figueroa (SAC) (1-0) HR Rolen (GB) (1) Quinn (PHI) (1) MVP Dean Strong (COL)
2021 Coastal 4 Frontier 3*W Artlano (FRE) (1-0) L Peters (EDM) HR Walker (GB) (1) MVP David Walker (GB)
2022 Frontier 4 Coastal 3 W Mason (MICH) (1-0) L Kelley (BOS) (0-1) S Cruz (CHI) (2) HR NONE MVP John Drake (WMI)
2023 Coastal 8 Frontier 7 (11) W White (DAL) (1-0) L Smith (EDM) (0-1) HR Chavez (CHI) (2) Glaus (NY) (1) Edwards (SAN) 2 (2) Carmona (LA) (1) Oginlara (SAC) (1) MVP Cliff Edwards (SAN)
2024 Frontier 1 Coastal 0 W-Douglas (BRO) (1-0) L-Walker (SJ) S-Cruz (CHI) (3) HR Alfred (BRO) (1) MVP Rich Alfred (BRO)
2025 Frontier 4 Coastal 1 W-J.Durham (ALK) (1-0) L-C.Bond (FRE) (0-1) S-Wheeler (ALK) (1) HR-Crowder (SI) MVP Benton Crowder (SI)

[gehrig38]

2025 WEEK 14
RECORD: 2-0
OVERALL: 55-30 +7.5
RUNS SCORED: 442 (13) 8th
RUNS AGAINST: 355 (7) 1st
OWNER: Delighted
FANS: 64/100
SCHEDULE: 2 vs Arizona/All star break

6/30
ALK 8 AZ 3
W-Rubio (9-6) L-Hayes (6-8)
HR ALK-Edwards 2 (8)
Rubio 6.2-7-3-2-3-7 (W) Edwards 2-2 2 HR's 5 RBI's (23) 2 runs 2 BB's James (AZ) 0-5 5 K's

7/1
ALK 5 AZ 4 (10)
W-Alexander (5-2) L-Miller (3-6)
HR ALK-McBryde (10) Ibarbia (8)
Ibarbia walk off HR Sheppard 5-0-0-0-0-1 perfect appearance. McBryde 2-5 HR 3 RBI's (54) Rios (AZ) 4-5 2B (10) SB (2) Garcia 2-4 2B (21)

7/2-7/6
All Star game, and break

WEEK 14 SUMMARY
FL POTW-Luis Chavez (CHI) 9-12 HR 6 RBI's (.289-16-56) (his 14th PotW award)
CL POTW-Harley Warren (HOU) 6-9 2 HR's 2 RBI's (.257-13-44)

WEEK 14 POWER RANKINGS
1) Chicago (1)
2) Alaska (2)
3) Columbus (5)
4) Fresno (3)
5) Michigan (-)
OUT Dallas (6)

IRON PIG UPDATE
Kind of at a loss as to why In-sik Ma (Chicago's new GM) would even consider this deal, maybe they see something I don't? But I am not complaining.

[gehrig38]

I am all over the pitching, made an offer to a power hitting OF'er, but mainly focused on trying to hoard young arms.

[gehrig38]

2025 WEEK 15
RECORD: 6-1
OVERALL: 61-31 +12.5
RUNS SCORED: 492 (50) 7th
RUNS AGAINST: 377 (22) 1st
OWNER: Ecstatic) +1
FANS: 65/100
SCHEDULE: 4 vs Edmonton/2 vs Hawaii

STUFF-Casas will move into a setup role, with Alexander and Durham. Will Allison heads back to AAA to start.

7/7
ALK 3 EDM 1
W-Casas (3-2) L-Morales (5-5) S-Wheeler (25)
HR NONE
C.Durham 7-5-1-1-3-4 (ND) Ibarbia 2 run tie breaking 2B in the 8th. McBryde 2 SB (11) Morales (EDM) 7.1-6-2-1-2-9 (L) leaves tied 1-1.

MILTESONE-Another member of the 300 club, and a look at the players in the 3 and 400 clubs, by age.

400 Homer runs, by age (Bold = youngest underlined = oldest)
Curt Whimster 9/24/21 (33 years 122 days)
Hugh Collins 7/14/24 (34 years 317 days)
Wes Morgan 5/25/24 (35 years 120 days)

300 Home runs, by age
Curt Whimster 5/6/19 (30 years 349 days)
Hugh Collins 8/13/21 (32 years 12 days)
Wes Morgan 7/25/20 (31 years 183 days)
Jamie Vance 7/26/22 (32 years 181 days)
Jeffrey Hudson 5/28/2023 (30 years 181 days)
Luis Chavez 6/5/23 (29 years 195 days) Hit 3 home runs in the game
Christian Schall 6/6/23 (31 years 155 days) 1 day after Chavez
Ron Stokes 7/26/22 (32 years 39 days)
Caden Haynes 8/23/22 (33 years 259 days)
Alejandro Villanueva 8/11/23 (37 years 262 days)
Tim Davis 4/4/2024 (39 years 63 days)
Gerald Wright 5/12/24 (36 years 37 days)
Rafael Cuesta 9/7/24 (34 years 181 days)
Michael Moran 9/24/24 (33 years 232 days)
Lando Jongmans 5/8/25 (34 years 271 days)
George Quinn 5/25/25 (30 years 235 days)
Troy Glaus 6/13/25 (33 years 310 days)
Paul Reeves 7/7/25 (34 years 237 days)
Marcos Oginlara 7/13/25 (35 years 143 days)

7/8
ALK 8 EDM 0
W-Solis (8-5) L-Springer (4-5)
HR NONE
Solis 9-2-0-0-1-5 108 pitches. 8-5 3.26 ERA. Ledezma 3-5 Ibarbia 2B 3 RBI's (44) Garcia SB (22)

7/9
ALK 5 EDM 3
W-Santos (8-5) L-Muggleston (7-6) S-Wheeler (26)
HR ALK-Harrell (12) Santos 7-7-3-3-0-3 (W) Casas H(13) 1 IP 3 K's Wheeler 1 IP 2 K's. Harrell 2-4 HR 2 RBI's (48)

NEWS-Arizona makes a change at Manager. Mcqueen had been there just 1.5 seasons as Manager after spending 10 seasons on the bench for New York and Pittsburgh.



7/10
ALK 9 EDM 3
W-Rubio (10-6) L-I.Martinez (11-6) S-Casas (3)
HR EDM-Griffin (18) ALK-McBryde (11) Garcia (1)
Rubio 7-7-2-2-3-7 (W) Casas 2nd and 3rd 1 out in the 8th, 4-3 game, 2 k's to end the innig, 5 run 9th to blow it open. White (EDM) 3-4 2B (12) Edwards 2-4 2B (5) 2 RBI's (26) Garcia 2-4 HR 2 RBI's (39)

STUFF-This pitching staff is exceeding, by a huge margin, how good I thought they could be. That's a 4 game sweep of the next closest team in our division to move 11.5 up. And we signed 16 year old slugger Julio Palacios to a 200K bonus, and he's reported to our complex. Huge power bat, exceptional runner.

7/11
ALK 10 HAW 9
W-Hart (5-11) L-Fox (2-5) S-Cross (2)
HR HAW-Francis 2 (27) ALK-Edwards (9) Ibarbia (9)
Francis (HAW) 3-5 2 HR's 7 RBI's (69) Rodriguez (HAW) 3-4 2B (24) Torres (HAW) 3 runs Edwards 2-5 HR 3 RBI's (29) Garcia 3-4

7/12
ALK 8 HAW 2
W-C.Durham (7-4) L-D.Morris (6-7)
HR HAW-Riario (12) ALK-McBryde (12)
Durham 9-6-2-2-0-10 (W) 121 pitches. McBryde 3-5 HR

7/13
ALK 8 HAW 3
W-Solis (9-5) L-J.Fox (6-7)
HR HAW-Francis (28)
Solis 7-7-3-2-1-8 (W) M.Rodriguez 3-5 2 RBI's (18) Romero (HAW) 3-4 2B (3) Ledezma 2-4 2 RBI's (35)

WEEK 15 SUMMARY
FL POTW-Jessie Reyes (MICH) 12-23 4 HR's 9 RBI's (.319-18-55)
CL POTW-Earl Shaw (CC) 9-17 3 HR's 8 RBI's (.283-14-67)

WEEK 15 POWER RANKINGS
1) Chicago (1)
2) Fresno (4)
3) Alaska (2)
4) Dallas (6)
5) West Michigan (-)
OUT Columbus (7) Michigan (14)

MINOR LEAGUE UPDATE
AAA Eagan (12) 44-50 23 GB 1st SB 3rd SP ERA 4th AVG 5th Runs
AA Kodiak (19) 46-48 9 GB 3rd SP ERA/Def Eff 4th HR
A(S) Spokane (8) 50-44 17 GB 4th Runs/AVG 5th OBP/SB
A(N) Yakima (29) 39-55 22 GB 1st SB 2nd AVG
SS Juneau (31) 5-14 9 GB
R Fairbanks (14) 10-9 1 GB 1st HR/SB 3rd Runs 5th OBP

IRON PIG UPDATE
Monster game for Roberto Cruz





Some big time prospects changing organizations.

[gehrig38]

2025 WEEK 16
RECORD: 2-4
OVERALL: 63-35 +10.5
RUNS SCORED: 509 (17) 8th
RUNS AGAINST: 401 (24) 1st
OWNER: Delighted (-1)
FANS: 65/100
SCHEDULE: 1 vs Hawaii/Off Day/3 vs Michigan/2 vs San Jose

ROSTER NEWS-Ash Carter hits the DL with a bad hamstring, Ricardo Torres will come up for 2 weeks.

7/14
HAW 7 ALK 1
W-Santos (8-6) L-Oswalt (11-6)
HR HAW-Soriano (20) Sandoval (15)
Oswalt 7.1-4-1-1-2-9 (W) Ledezma 2-3 2 SB (13)

7/15
Off Day

7/16
MICH 4 ALK 2
W-Sanders (12-4) L-Rubio (10-7) S-Frizzell (21)
HR MICH-Pujols (19) Lopez (22)
Sanders 7-8-2-2-1-4 (W) Rubio 7-8-4-4-3-4 (L) Long 3-5 2B (4) 3B (1) leading off

7/17
MICH 3 ALK 0
W-McGowan (8-5) L-N.Fox (2-6) S-Frizzell (22)
HR MICH-Lopez (23) Wright (14)
McGowan 6.1-5-0-0-3-3 (W) Fox 8-8-3-3-0-1 CG (L)

7/18
ALK 7 MICH 5
W-C.Durham (8-4) L-Raines (4-6) S-Wheeler (27)
HR ALK-Harrell 2 (14) MICH-Stuart (23) Utley (13)
Durham 6.1-4-3-3-3-3 (W) Casas 1.1 IP 4 K's H (14) Harrell 4-4 2B (23) 2 HR's 4 runs 2 RBI's (51)

ROSTER NEWS-Veteran lefty Glenn Hanna was released today. In 19 IP he allowed 24 Hits with a WHIP of 2.07. He was just terrible. I owed him a shot to find another job given his illustrious career. Dan Collins will come off his rehab and I'll go to a 6 man pen.

7/19
ALK 4 SJ 1
W-Solis (10-5) L-B.Webb (5-9) S-Wheeler (28)
HR NONE
Solis 6-3-1-1-4-8 (W) Durham H(7) Casas H(15) Wheeler 3-0-0-0-2-2. Edwards 1-1 3 BB's 7 total hits in the game. Webb 6.1-4-4-4-7-6 (L)

7/20
SJ 4 ALK 3 (10)
W-Mathis (3-6) L-Alexander (5-3)
HR SJ-NIcholson (12)
Alexander 3-2-2-2-1-7 (L) punched out first he faces. Santos 7-5-2-2-1-3 (ND) Guzman (SJ) 8-7-3-3-1-4 (ND) Ledezma 3-5

WEEK 16 SUMMARY
FL POTW-Fred Gill (BUF) 10-20 3 HR's 10 RBI's (.303-15-52)
CL POTW-Dennis McKenzie (HOU) 10-21 3 HR's 4 RBI's (.323-8-32) Had 26 game hitting streak stopped yesterday.

WEEK 16 POWER RANKINGS
1) Chicago (1)
2) Fresno (2)
3) Columbus (7)
4) West Michigan (5)
5) Alaska (3)
OUT Dallas (7)

MINOR LEAGUE UPDATE
AAA Eagan (17 -5) 48-53 25 GB 1st SB 3rd SP ERA 5th Runs/AVG
AA Kodiak (19 -) 49-52 6 GB 3rd Def Eff 4th SP ERA 5th HR
A(S) Spokane (12 -4) 53-48 17 GB 4th Runs/AVG/SB 5th OBP
A(N) Yakima (27 +2) 42-59 23 GB 2nd AVG/SB
SS Juneau (28 +3) 9-16 9 GB 3rd SB
R Fairbanks (14-12) +1 1st SB 2nd HR 3rd Runs

IRON PIG UPDATE
71-26 +11.5 and the IBL's best record. Grueter remains on a huge RBI pace, his 34-108 pacing both homers and RBI's by a lot. Swagat hitting .393, 2nd to Gingers (WMI) .424 and Hall (166) and Morgan (160) lead in K's. Cruz is back, and his 23 saves are behind former teammate Chance Holts 27 and Alaska's own Mike Wheeler who is tied with Hooks Closer Dave Hubbard for the IBL lead at 28.

NEWS
Bryant Thomas continues to just kill it. 211 K's and on pace to punch out 356.

[gehrig38]

Hooks in a free fall...

[gehrig38]

2025 WEEK 17
RECORD: 6-1
OVERALL: 69-36 +14.5
RUNS SCORED: 563 (54) 7th
RUNS AGAINST: 438 (37) 1st
OWNER: Ecstatic
FANS: 65/100
SCHEDULE: 1 vs San Jose/3 @ Los Angeles/3 @ Arizona

7/21
ALK 4 SJ 1
W-Rubio (11-7) L-Fuller (5-10) S-Wheeler (29)
HR NONE
Rubio 7-6-1-1-5-3 (W) Garcia 3-3 Harrell 3-4 2B (24)

MILESTONES-Another new member



400 Homer runs, by age (Bold = youngest underlined = oldest)
Curt Whimster 9/24/21 (33 years 122 days)
Hugh Collins 7/14/24 (34 years 317 days)
Wes Morgan 5/25/24 (35 years 120 days)
Jamie Vance 7/21/25 (35 years 178 days)

7/22
ALK 8 LA 1
W-Fox (3-6) L-Pitts (2-5)
HR ALK-Rodriguez (4) D.Collins (8) LA-De Jesus (15)
Fox 9-5-1-1-1-6 CG (W) Harrell 3-4 2B (25) 2 RBI's (55)

STUFF-I think I am now going back to how I used to describe games, but I'll keep the score and winner, loser and homers. Re-reading the initial thread, I liked doing that and I think it was more entertaining to follow, let me know if not.

7/23
LA 7 ALK 3
W-C.Pennington (9-5) L-C.Durham (8-5)
HR NONE
Leadoff hitter on what felt like 9 straight innings. Durham was in trouble every inning (5.1-8-6-6-1-5). His brother relieved and sort of put out the fire, but errors from Edwards and Garcia ended any shot. Dirk McBryde jammed a thumb on defense and a seemingly innocent little thing has turned into a DL trip for a sprained thumb. Marc Douglas is tearing it up at Eagan and earned at least an early look, again. Plus he's right handed.

NEWS-(Item below) Big blow to Michigan, trailing by just 2 Tobias has had a great season.

7/24
ALK 9 LA 4
W-Solis (11-5) L-Butler (6-10)
HR ALK-Ibarbia (10) LA-Dejesus (16)
Solis goes 6.1-8-2-2-1-4 in a strong outing and the offense gets 2 in the first and never looks back. Rodriguez went 3-5 with 2 doubles (12) driving in 2 (22) and Ledezma was 3-6 with a stolen base (16). Rollins went 3-5 and Hall 3-3 in the loss.

NEWS-(item below) Old friend (and 2018 batting champ) Eric Coates is back in my division. Eric was my 2nd round pick in 2013 (out of West Virginia) for the Iron Pigs. He is currently 11th all time in career Average at .315.He is a 2 time world champion ('17 & '19) and the 2016 FL Rookie of the year.

7/25
ALK 12 AZ 10 (14)
W-Alexander (6-3) L-Lujan (0-1)
HR ALK-Harrell (15) Rodriguez (5) Peterson (1) Collins (9) AZ-E.Lopez (3) Schall (14) Ball (3) Reeves (7)
Ok follow this. Down 5-2 top 8, score 5 up 7-5. Give up 4, down 9-7 after 8. Tie with 2 in the 9th. Trade 1 in the 11th before Collins homer in the 14th wins it. Casas had his first bad outing (.1-4-4-4-1-0) and Wheeler blew his 4th. Rodriguez went 4-8 with a double (13) homer stolen base (4) and an RBI (23) Harrell was 3-6 with a homer 3 runs and 3 RBI's (61) and Peterson went 2-6 with a 2B (7) homer and 4 RBI's (18). Paul Reeves was 5-6 with a homer in the loss. Martinez went 0-7 with 4 K's for us.

7/26
ALK 10 AZ 7
W-Sheppard (4-0) L-Womack (0-4) S-Wheeler (30)
HR ALK-Harrell (16) Rodriguez (6) Collins (10) AZ-Schall GS (15)
4 hitters into the game it's 4-0 on a Christian Schall grand slam. Somehow the offense manages to not only get back in, but win. Rubio was plastered (4.2-11-6-6-1-4) but Sheppard went 3.1-3-1-1-2-2 for a worn out pen. Rodriguez went 3-4 2B (14) homer and 3 RBI's (26) while Garcia had 4 hits (2B and 3 singles) and 2 stolen bases (28). Schall was 1-2 with the granny and 3 walks. Doug Collins was 2-4 with 3 runs and 2 RBI's.

NEWS-(item below) Luis Acosta is the only IBL pitcher to win 20 games in a season, and lose 20 games in a season. He was 20-10 3.19 in 2020 for Philadelphia, and went 10-20 5.78 the next year for Fresno. He's 122-121 4.36 in 318 lifetime games.

In the Rookie league all star game, our 2025 4th rounder (Will Brocklebank out of Rutgers) makes it. Rivera is a 17 year old out of Mexico signed in March of this year and the 18 year old Hernandez was taken in the 8th round of this years draft our of Sheldon HS, CA.

7/27
ALK 8 AZ 7
W-Fox (4-6) L-Dunn (4-9) S-Alexander (1)
HR AZ-Conklin (2) Hernandez (13) Schall (16) Boyd (7)
Up 5-0 after 1 and barely held on. Pen is wiped out right now so had to stretch innings. Fox went 6-8-4-4-4-3 and Durham 2-3-2-2-0-5 before Alexander gave up Schall's homer to lead off the 9th. Managed 8 runs on just 7 singles and 7 walks, stole 4 bases too (Garcia 2 (30) Ledezma (17) and Collins (5)). Conklin was 2-4 with a homer and 3 RBI's (14) in the loss.

WEEK 17 SUMMARY
FL POTW-Manuel Rodriguez (ALK) 15-33 3 HR's 8 RBI's (.289-6-26) 1st PotW I believe.
CL POTW-Bing Kang (SAN) 12-26 3 HR's 8 RBI' (.288-28-70)

WEEK 17 POWER RANKINGS
1) Chicago (1)
2) Fresno (2)
3) Alaska (5)
4) West Michigan (4)
5) Columbus (3)

MINOR LEAGUE UPDATE
AAA Eagan (16 +1) 51-56 26 GB 1st SB 3rd SP ERA 5th AVG
AA Kodiak (21 -2) 51-56 9 GB 2nd Def Eff 4th SP ERA
A(S) Spokane (13 -1) 55-52 18 GB 5th Runs/AVG/OBP
A(N) Yakima (26 +1) 45-62 24 GB 2nd AVG/SB
SS Juneau (25 +3) 12-20 9 GB 3rd BP ERA
R Fairbanks (16 -2) 16-16 1 GB 1st SB 4th HR

IRON PIG UPDATE
77-27 and 12.5 up, another 6-1 week. Swagat now at .403, Grueter 35-115 and Hall (184) and Morgan (162) pacing in K's. Hall is also 1st in the league in wins (14) with Morgan at 13. Their rotation is 57-17 with all 5 starters at 10+ wins. Cruz is at 28 Saves and a 2.08.

[gehrig38]

How about Asmin Swagat? .500 for a month?

[gehrig38]

2025 WEEK 18
RECORD: 5-1
OVERALL: 74-37 +16.5
RUNS SCORED: 596 (33) 7th
RUNS AGAINST: 459 (21) 1st
OWNER: Ecstatic
FANS: 66/100
SCHEDULE: 1 @ Arizona/Off Day/3 @ Buffalo/2 vs Staten Island

7/28
ALK 10 AZ 4
W-C.Durham (9-5) L-A.Davis (7-5)
HR AZ-Hernandez (14) Schall (17) Reeves (8)
2-1 game busted open in a 4 run 5th. Garcia goes 4-4 driving in 4 (50) and stealing his 31st base. Peterson is 2-4 with a 3B (2) and Martinez goes 2-3 with 2 2B's (15) and steals 2 bases (15) while scoring 4 times. Durham is dominant going 7-4-2-2-0-9 on 106 pitches.

TRADE NEWS-(news item below) Damn, some pretty good players on both ends of the Dallas/Columbus trade. Fong is apparently an amazing talent, and a 2 way guy with back end bullpen potential or top of the order offense.

7/29
Off Day
TRADE NEWS-(item below) some fascinating deals being made. That's a staggering amount of pitching talent changing hands in the Hawaii/Dayton trade. Oswalt is a true ace now, and out of my division! Cameron was the 20th overall pick in 2022 (Tulsa) and Almadanim was the 60th overall pick that same year (Buffalo) as well as the SS Koufax winner in 2024. Bridges will setup or close and is in the Hawaii pen now, Cameron goes to AA, Almadanim A. Great deal for both ONLY if Dayton signs Oswalt to an extension, otherwise it's a last place team rental.

7/30
ALK 3 BUF 2 (13)
W-Casas (4-2) L-Melendez (2-3) S-Wheeler (31)
HR ALK-Rodriguez (7) Ibarbia (11) BUF-Gonzalez (17)
Pitchers duel that turned over to the pens. Solis goes 9-4-2-2-1-4 and Casas/Wheeler combine to go 4-0-0-0-2-6 with Casas punching out 5 in 3. Park goes 7.1-3-2-2-3-5. Mauro Ibarbia goes 4-6 with a 2B (18) homer and 2 RBI's (57). Staff yields just 4 hits in 13 innings.

ROSTER NEWS-McBryde suffered a rehab setback and will be out another week.

TRADE NEWS-Angel Martinez is 27, LH and a homer or punchout sorta guy. I don't like those sorta guys. However I DO like 22 year old power arms, and in David Rodgers I got one. Additionally we swapped 1st rounders, which, as of today, moves me up about 15 slots into the front half of the round. Kevin Olson is recalled, Rodgers is sent to AA. (news below)

7/31
BUF 6 ALK 5
W-Artlano (3-2) L-J.Durham (4-1) S-Melendrez (15)
HR BUF-Romero (8) Gill (18)
Santos carries 5-1 lead into the 6th before Romero's game tying homer. Durham gives up Gill's solo shot the next inning to lose it after jumping out to 5-1 lead after 2 ½ . Gill was 2-2 HR 3 runs

INJURY NEWS-AAA SP Will Allison was off to a great season. 5-8 in 16 AAA starts but sporting a 2.63 in 109.2 IP with 89 H and 107 punch outs. He's going to have Tommy John surgery and miss the next 11-12 months. Joong Koo is sent from AA to AAA into the rotation. Both of these guys are on our prospect radar.

8/1
ALK 2 BUF 0
W-Rubio (12-7) L-R.Martinez (8-11) S-Wheeler (32)
HR ALK-M.Rodriguez 2 (9)
Rubio was dominating all day 7.1-3-0-0-3-9 (W) with Casas getting out of a runner on 3rd 1 out 8th inning jam. Martinez (ex-Iron Pig Roberto) was outstanding in the CG (L) 9-6-2-2-5-5. Rodriguez was 2-2 2 HR's 2 runs 2 RBI's (29) and 2 walks with a SB (7).

8/2
ALK 6 SI 5 (14)
W-Sheppard (5-0) L-Vazquez (3-2)
HR SI-Cannon (25) Knox (27) Flowers (6) Salgado (4) ALK-Ibarbia (12)
Fox struggles 5 ER 5 IP and then the pen takes over, going 8.1-8-0-0-2-12 with Casas getting 5 K's in 2.2 IP. Hernandez (SI) 3-7 Knox (SI) 3-7 HR 4 K's Peterson 3-6 Ibarbia 2-6 HR SB (29) 2 RBI's (61)

MILESTONE- Curt Whimster becomes the first IBL player to achieve this one. Gerald Wright is 2nd at 2321 and Rich Stone is 3rd at 2190. Iron Pig Jeffrey Hudson is 4th at 1989.



2500 HITS
Curt Whimster 8/2/25 (37 years 72 days) 9559 at bats over 13 years 124 days

8/3
ALK 7 SI 4
W-C.Durham (10-5) L-Miller (9-8) S-Alexander (2)
HR SI-Bond (26) ALK-Ledezma (4) Collins (11) Ibarbia (13)
Durham strong in 8-6-4-4-1-7 and Alexander picks up an exhausted pen. Ibarbia goes 2-4 with a HR and drives in 3 (64) Garcia goes 3-4

WEEK 18 SUMMARY
FL POTW-Lando Jongmans (WMI) 12-25 4 HR's 11 RBI's (.255-19-74)
CL POTW-Stan Park (EP) 12-26 6 RBI's (.325-3-57)

NEWS-Providence cleans house. At 31-78 they're on an epically bad pace.



WEEK 18 POWER RANKINGS
1) Chicago (1)
2) Fresno (2)
3) Alaska (3)
4) West Michigan (4)
5) Columbus (5)
Might be the 1st week I can ever remember the rankings staying the same 1 week to the next

MINOR LEAGUE UPDATE
AAA Eagan (21 -5) 54-60 30 GB 1st SB 3rd SP ERA 5th AVG
AA Kodiak (22 -1) 53-60 10 GB 3rd Def Eff 4th SP ERA
A(S) Spokane (11 +2) 58-55 17 GB 5th Runs/AVG
A(N) Yakima (23 +3) 48-65 23 GB 2nd SB 3rd AVG
SS Juneau (27 -2) 14-23 10 GB 5th BP ERA
R Fairbanks (12 +4) 19-17 1 GB 1st SB 3rd HR 5th OBP

IRON PIG UPDATE
81-29 and 11.5 up on a very good Clipper team. They're 1st in Runs (808) AVG. (.322) and OBP(.409) They're pitching their asses off too. Bright 10, Davenport and Trujillo 11, Hall 14 and Morgan with 15 wins.

[gehrig38]

2025 WEEK 19
RECORD: 4-2
OVERALL: 78-39 +19.5
RUNS SCORED: 623 (27) 7th
RUNS AGAINST: 482 (23) 1st
OWNER: Ecstatic
FANS: 66/100
SCHEDULE: 1 vs Staten Island/3 vs Chicago/Off Day/2 @ Edmonton

8/4
ALK 5 SI 4 (15)
W-Sheppard (6-0) L-Ivey (2-2)
HR SI-Crowder (24) Sanchez (24)
Another incredible effort from the pen. 8-8-2-2-2-6 as J.Durham blows a save but the offense finds a way. Sandoval went 8-9-3-3-4-5 in a 135 pitch no-decision. Manuel Rodriguez went 4-8, Enrique Garcia went 3-6 with a 2B (11) and 3 runs and Carlos Gomez was 3-6 with an RBI (11)

8/5
CHI 4 ALK 3 (12)
W-Hidalgo (2-0) L-Sheppard (6-1)
HR CHI-Cruz (19) ALK-Long (1)
No idea how you beat this team. Bright (8-7-3-3-0-9) and Santos (6.1-5-3-3-3-7) and the pen hold as best they can, but they have baserunners every inning. My pen is depleted as hell right now. On the up side we held the leading MVP candidate Horst Grueter (.318-38-123) to a 1-6 4 K night. Jeff Hudson went 4-5 with a 2B (21) and Cruz was 2-4 with the homer 2 RBI's (84) and 2 BB. Ledezma went 3-5 with a double (23). Carter and Peterson had 2 hit days. Built that team to beat you with the bats, and if they can't, the arms, and it appears to be working.

8/6
ALK 6 CHI 4
W-J.Durham (5-1) L-Hall (14-8) S-Wheeler (33)
HR NONE
Another battle. Neither SP does anything notable but Rubio has the best of the bad days (6.2-8-4-4-6-2) on 126 pitches. Hall gets hit hard (6.1-12-6-6-3-5) on 127 pitches as we pound out 14 hits. Luis Chavez goes 2-3 with 3 RBI's (76) and Asmin Swagat went 3-3 and is now hitting .406.

8/7
CHI 10 ALK 2
W-Morgan (16-2) L-Fox (4-7)
HR CHI-Hudson (30) Poole (7) Cruz (20) Grueter (39)
Good old fashion ass whipping. Morgan goes 9-8-2-2-1-10 on 131 pitches and Fox gets hammered (5-12-7-3-2-1) but Casas has a nightmare 1st inning and then settles in to throw 4-3-3-3-0-3 and save the already taxed bullpen. Swagat went 3-4 (.409) Grueter had a homer and 3 RBI's (126) Jeffrey Hudson was 3-5 2B (22) homer and an RBI (97) and reached a huge milestone (news below). Keith Poole went 2-4 with a homer 2 runs and 3 RBI's (60). Our offense did exactly nothing of note.



2000 HIT CLUB
Curt Whimster 8/15/22 (33 years 262 days)
Gerald Wright 7/22/23 (35 years 125 days)
Rich Stone 9/15/23 (32 years 195 days)
Jeffrey Hudson 8/8/25 (32 years 223 days)

8/8
Off Day

8/9
ALK 9 EDM 0
W-C.Durham (11-5) L-Springer (4-10)
HR ALK-Edwards (10) Ibarbia (14)
Durham tosses a 115 pitch CG SHO going 9-4-0-0-0-8, and giving the beleaguered pen another days rest. Matt Edwards pops out of a mini-slump going 3-5 2B (8) homer and 2 RBI's (34) and scores 3 times while David Peterson scores 3 runs on a 2-3 day with a double (12). Enrique Garcia drove in 3 (56) and Mauro Ibarbia went 2-4 with a double (20) homer and 2 RBI's (66) while scoring 2.

8/10
ALK 2 EDM 1
W-Solis (12-5) L-Toner (4-4) S-Wheeler (34)
HR NONE
Solis continues the SP dominance going 7-4-1-1-1-4 with Endo H(7) Casas H(17) and Wheeler closing it out. Toner goes 7-7-2-2-2-4 in the loss. Enrique Garcia goes 2-3 with a 2B (13) and a SB (34) and Ibarbia goes 2-4 and steals 2 (31).

WEEK 19 SUMMARY
FL POTW-Jeffrey Hudson (CHI) 15-30 2 HR's 6 RBI's (.353-31-100)
CL POTW-Tim Davis (BOS) 12-25 6 HR's 12 RBI's (.321-20-55)

WEEK 19 POWER RANKINGS
1) Chicago (1)
2) Alaska (3)
3) Fresno (2)
4) West Michigan (4)
5) Columbus (5)

MINOR LEAGUE UPDATE
AAA Eagan (17 +4) 59-62 29 GB 1st SB 2nd SP ERA 5th AVG/Runs
AA Kodiak (23 -1) 55-65 11 GB 4th SP ERA 5th Def Eff
A(S) Spokane (10 +1) 62-58 18 GB 5th Runs/AVG/OBP/SB
A(N) Yakima (26 -3) 51-69 23 GB 2nd AVG/SB
SS Juneau (25 +2) 17-26 12 GB 3rd AVG 4th BP ERA 5th SB
R Fairbanks (16 -4) 22-21 1 GB 1st SB

Power formula
In my never ending quest to come up with more stats, I was looking to have a way to tell where my minor leagues were. So here's what I do. There are 32 teams in every league, 16 in each sub division. With 6 teams (4 before SS and R fire up) I do this. Each category (there are 8) has 1-16 possible points. 4(or 6 after SS and R start) is perfect, that means my minor league teams are all the best at a certain thing. The scale is 4-64 and then 6 to 96. Now AA and AAA should carry more weight, technically those teams players are far closer to the IBL than A and lower level clubs. So any club (AA or AAA) that ranks 1 in a major category gets 2 stars, 2 gets 1 star. So if all of my minors ranked 1st in Runs I would score 6****, any team 31st or 32nd in a major category at AA and AAA gets two – for last one – for 31st.
Minor League Power (6**** is perfect 48 would be middle, 96 would be as bad as you could be)
So
6**** = Awesome, best possible score
48 is middle of the pack
96---- is worst possible score

For Comparison I have inserted the Iron Pigs #'s, since they will be one of the better systems, in [] (Divide by 6 to get a feel for where the systems teams are averaging in rank)

RUNS 52 [21****]
AVG 36 [40**]
OBP 56 [32***]
HR 50 [32***]
SB 21** [27]
RUNS AGAINST 70 [15****]
SP ERA 59* (lower levels horrible, AAA is 2nd) [24**]
BP ERA 72-- (lower levels ok, AAA is last) [20***]
DEF EFF 63 [24]

[gehrig38]

.

[gehrig38]

2025 WEEK 20
RECORD: 4-2
OVERALL: 82-41 +21.5
RUNS SCORED: 668 (45) 7th
RUNS AGAINST: 497 (15) 1st
OWNER: Ecstatic
FANS: 69/100 (+3)
SCHEDULE: 1 @ Edmonton/3 @ Arizona/Off Day/2 @ Sacramento

8/11
ALK 7 EDM 1
W-Santos (9-6) L-Muggleston (9-9)
HR ALK-D.Collins (12)
The amazing run of SP continues, Jose Santos goes 7-7-1-1-2-4 and the offense goes for 7 on 12 hits and 4 walks. Ibarbia is 3-5 with a double (21) driving in 2 (68) Garcia (58) and Collins (32) drive in 2 each.

8/12
ALK 15 AZ 2
W-Rubio (13-7) L-P.Gonzales (0-2)
HR ALK-Edwards (11) D.Collins (13) AZ-A.Hernandez (18)
Another strong start, Rubio going 7-8-2-2-1-7 on 119 pitches. Ledezma and Long both go down with injuries, Long's looking at a week or two of DtD back stiffness, Ledezma I don't know. Daniel Collins went 3-5 with a homer 3 runs and 2 RBI's (34) Mauro Rodriguez was 3-5 with 2 doubles (17) and drove in 5 (36) while David Peterson went 3-5 with a double (14) and 5 RBI's (33). All told Alaska hit 7 doubles.

8/13
ALK 5 AZ 3
W-Fox (5-7) L-A.Davis (8-7) S-Wheeler (35)
HR ALK-Ibarbia (15) AZ-Wood (9)
Another QS. Fox 7-9-2-2-0-4 as Dirk McBryde goes 3-5 with a double (22) and steals 3 bases (17)

STUFF-That's 5 straight QS and I now possess the largest divisional lead in the game. From a 60 something win team last year. It's very little that I did, this pitching staff is performing. 1st in SP ERA, BP ERA, Runs Against and Def Eff. None of the SP BABIP is absurd, especially when compared to their careers.

8/14
AZ 4 ALK 2
W-Dougherty (12-10) L-C.Durham (11-6) S-R.Miller (25)
HR NONE
Dougherty 8-7-2-2-2-5. Durham had nada today (3-7-4-4-3-3) but the pen did a yeomans job, Mark Sheppard any my only lefty (Endo) going 5-1-0-0-1-6. Angel Hernandez went 3-4 with an RBI (54) in the win.

INJURY NEWS- David Ledezma tore ankle ligaments, and will miss the remainder of the year. I've extended an offer to free agent Wes Webb (former Iron Pig) who can play all around the infield and has some pop from the right side.

NEWS-Apparently Vegas has had enough of Manager Marcos Lopez. The 39-81 51's (say that three times fast) have fired him in his 3rd season as the manager. He was the bench coach from '20 to '22. He took New Hampshire to their first playoff berth in 2018, winning Manager of the Year in the process. He was the bench coach in Houston 2012 to 2016, for their two world series wins.

8/15
Off Day

8/16
SAC 5 ALK 4
W-De La Torre (12-7) L-Solis (12-6) S-O'Halloran (31)
HR ALK-D.Collins (14) SAC-J.Garcia (9)
Solis battles into the 6th, leaves with runners on and 1 out, 3-2 lead, Endo and Alexander blow it. Enrique Garcia goes 3-3 with an RBI (60) in the loss. 16 men LOB.

8/17
ALK 12 SAC 0
W-Santos (10-6) L-Uribe (12-9)
HR ALK-Edwards (12) McBryde GS (13)
Santos goes 6-5-0-0-2-2- before tiring in the 7th and the offense explodes for 5 in the 4th to bust it open. Dirk McBryde goes 2-6 with a grand slam and 4 RBI's (70) Bob Harrell goes 2-6 with 2 doubles (32) driving in 3 (73) while Enrique Garcia has his 2nd straight 3 hit day going 3-5. Ricardo Torres, in a spot start, goes 4-5 with 2 doubles (3) and scores 3 times.

WEEK 20 SUMMARY
FL POTW-Pedro Lopez (MICH) 14-28 2 HR's 11 RBI's (.309-28-101)
CL POTW-Juan Vasquez (TUL) 14-27 2 HR's 4 RBI's (.340-10-60)

WEEK 20 POWER RANKINGS
1) Chicago (1)
2) Fresno (3)
3) Alaska (2)
4) Columbus (5)
5) Dallas (-)
OUT West Michigan (6)

MINOR LEAGUE UPDATE
AAA Eagan (17 -) 61-65 29 GB eliminated
AA Kodiak (27 -4) 56-70 14 GB
A(S) Spokane (11 -1) 65-61 5 GB WC
A(N) Yakima (22 +3) 55-71 20 GB
SS Juneau (24 +1) 21-28 13 GB
R Fairbanks (15 +1) 25-24 2 GB

IRON PIG UPDATE
Now 90-34 and 12 games up, they're 100% healthy and have some guys having monumental seasons. Horst Grueter is hitting .317-42-138 and on pace for a .317-55-180 year. Asmin Swagat is hitting .406/ Andy Morgan is 17-3 3.99 with 197 K's, trailing Stan Hall who's 14-8 4.24 with 209 K's. Ernesto Cruz is 6-4 2.36 with 29 Saves.

[gehrig38]

2025 WEEK 21
RECORD: 4-2
OVERALL: 86-43 +22.5
RUNS SCORED: 710 (42) 6th
RUNS AGAINST: 517 (20) 1st
OWNER: Ecstatic
FANS: 73/100 (+4) up 7 last 2 weeks
SCHEDULE: 1 @ Sacramento/Off Day/3 vs Fresno/2 vs Dayton

8/18
ALK 10 SAC 1
W-Rubio (14-7) L-King (13-12)
HR ALK-Edwards (13)
Rubio is solid in a 7-6-1-1-4-9 outing and the offense gets another early crooked number, scoring 4 times in the 3rd. McBryde with a 3-5 day while Daniel Collins went 1-4 stole a base (12) and scored 3 times. Manuel Rodriguez was 2-2 scoring twice and driving in 2 (38) while Bill Harrell went 2-6 doubling twice (34) and driving in 5 (78). Ricardo Torres had another big day, going 3-5 with a 2B (4).

MILESTONE-Another member of the 2000 hit club today, and another Chicago Iron Pig! Luis Chavez has probably been the IBL's 2nd best player in it's 13 year history behind Curt Whimster. He becomes the youngest player ever to 2000 hits by almost 2 years.



2000 HIT CLUB
Curt Whimster 8/15/22 (33 years 262 days)
Gerald Wright 7/22/23 (35 years 125 days)
Rich Stone 9/15/23 (32 years 195 days)
Jeffrey Hudson 8/8/25 (32 years 223 days)
Luis Chavez 8/19/25 (30 years 271 days)

8/19
Off Day

8/20
ALK 8 FRE 1
W-C.Durham (12-6) L-O'Neil (13-7)
HR NONE
Colin Durham labored through 126 pitches but managed to close out the IBL's 2nd best team in a 9-7-1-1-1-9 effort. Mauro Rodriguez drove in 3 (41) and Javier Salgado went 3-4 with 2 doubles (4) and scored twice.

8/21
FRE 5 ALK 4 (12)
HR FRE-McPhee (9) ALK-McBryde (14) D.Collins (15)
Jesus Solis got batted around in a 3 run 1st but managed to limit the damage going 6-6-4-3-2-5 and the offense plugged away for 8 against all-star Bryant Thomas (there's that name again) as he went 8-5-3-3-4-8 with Dirk McBryde's 8th inning solo shot tying the game. Michael Wheeler made a very rare 3 inning appearance before John Durham yielded a homer to Jack McPhee (the first hitter he faced) in the 12th. Frank Morgan went 2-5 with a double (24) and 3 RBI's (85) in the win.

CHICAGO NEWS-David Ellis (news below) is out at least the next 4 weeks and Jeffrey Hudson was hurt in yesterdays game as well, news pending.

8/22
ALK 7 FRE 1
W-Santos (11-6) L-Bond (17-7)
HR ALK-Torres (1)
A 5 run 5th broke open a 2-1 game and Jose Santos had another big game, going 7-4-1-1-4-6 to beat all star Cordell Bond (17-7 3.09) and take 2 of 3 from the Grizzlies. Mauro Rodriguez went 2-5 and drove in 2 (44) while fill in Ricardo Torres continued to make the most of his playing time, going 2-4 with his 1st homer of the season, driving in 2 (4).

ROSTER NEWS-Wes Webb has agreed to a 1-year deal. Torres will be sent back to Eagan, but not before opening some eyes.

8/23
DAY 7 ALK 4
W-Hogan (8-6) L-Rubio (14-8) S-Canales (15)
HR DAY-Arroyo (36) Torres (27) Williams (12) Rigaud (1)
Rubio allows 4 HR's in 5.1 IP and we strand 8. Jose Torres goes 2-4 with a homer and 3 RBI's (71) while David Peterson goes 3-4 with 2 doubles (16) in the loss.

8/24
ALK 9 DAY 5
W-Fox (6-7) L-Bass (8-9)
HR DAY-Cooper (27) Torres (28) Winters (3) Thornton (17) ALK-Collins (16) Salgado (2)
The offense pound starter Ralph Bass for 5 in just 1/3rd of an inning. Nathaniel Fox goes 6-7-3-3-0-3 for the win. Bob Harrell goes 3-4 and scores twice while Enrique Garcia goes 3-4 with 3 RBI's (65). Daniel Collins goes 2-2 and is injured in a base running collision in the 2nd. He ends up tearing a thumb ligament and will be out at least a month.

WEEK 21 SUMMARY
FL POTW-Todd Harlow (PROV) 11-23 4 HR's 11 RBI's (.291-13-47)
CL POTW-Tim Davis (BOS) 12-24 2 HR's 18 RBI's (.326-23-76) I think that's a record for 1 week in RBI's

WEEK 21 POWER RANKINGS
1) Chicago (1)
2) Fresno (2)
3) Columbus (4)
4) Alaska (3)
5) Dallas (5)

MINOR LEAGUE UPDATE
AAA Eagan (22 -5) 64-69 Eliminated
AA Kodiak (17 +10) 62-71 10 GB
A(S) Spokane (13 -2) 68-65 6 GB WC
A(N) Yakima (30 -8) 56-77 25 GB
SS Juneau (30 -6) 22-34 17 GB
R Fairbanks (25 -10) 27-29 4 GB

IRON PIG UPDATE
5-1 week to move to 95-35 and 12 up. Columbus would be winning 6 other divisions in the IBL at 82-46. Asmin Swagat has enough AB's to qualify, and is hitting. 424. Horst Grueter had 4 homers and 10 RBI's last week, and his pace is now .317-57-184.

[gehrig38]

2025 WEEK 22
RECORD: 3-3
OVERALL: 89-46 +23.5
RUNS SCORED: 742 (32) 6th
RUNS AGAINST: 547 (30) 1st
OWNER: Ecstatic
FANS: 75/100 (+2)
SCHEDULE: 1 vs Dayton/3 @ West Michigan/Off Day/2 @ Providence

8/25
DAY 8 ALK 2
W-J.Kelley (11-8) L-C.Durham (12-7)
HR DAY-Arroyo (37) ALK-McBryde (15) Ibarbia (16)
Jessie Kelley goes 7-4-2-2-1-5 while Colin Durham can't get past some early trouble in a 6-6-6-5-1-4 loss. Arroyo hammers his 37th homer and drives in 3 (121)

GREAT GAMES-Lonnie Vaughan becomes just the 18th player in IBL history to record 6 hits in a game. He's the 1st player to ever do it for the Knights.



8/26
WMI 4 ALK 1
W-Drake (10-9) L-Solis (12-7) S-T.Gonzalez (24)
HR WMI-Mendez (20) Hunter (14)
John Drake was solid going 7.1-8-1-1-3-6 despite having a very bad year (10-9 5.02) and Jesus Solis left after 7.1-9-2-1-3-3 with a runner on and John Durham surrendered Hunters 2 run shot on his 1st pitch. Wes Webb was 3-4 in the loss. Manuel Rodriguez was hurt running the bases, no word yet on how bad.

8/27
ALK 7 WMI 5
W-Santos (12-6) L-Valentin (13-7) S-Wheeler (36)
HR ALK-Salgado (3) WMI-Hunter (15)
3 early runs were enough for the staff to hold on, barely. Santos struggled in a 5-8-5-5-4-0 outing but Endo H(9) Alexander H(6) and Casas H(18) got it to Michael Wheeler for his 36th. Backup catcher Carlos Gomez went 3-4 with 2 doubles (6), scoring twice and driving in 2 (14).

8/28
ALK 4 WMI 1
W-Rubio (15-8) L-Vargas (11-8) S-Wheeler (37)
HR ALK-Olson (3) Ibarbia (17)
Raul Rubio was on top of his game today, going 7-2-1-1-4-0 and the offense was led by Mauro Ibarbia's 3-4 day with a double (23) homer and RBI (73).

INJURY NEWS-Manuel Rodriguez has a broken rib and will be out 6-7 weeks. Babar Abbas will be recalled. This is a huge blow to a potential Cinderella playoff run.

8/29
Off Day
In the injury news below, Benton Crowder has had a nightmare 2nd half. The All Star game MVP was hurt last month, and has been back and forth every since. What originally was to be 1-2 weeks, is now turning into an 8-10 week thing. The Yanks are just 3 up on Buffalo as of today.

8/30
ALK 12 PROV 3
W-Fox (7-7) L-Hickman (1-7)
HR ALK-Douglas (1) Carter (3) Webb (1) PROV-M.Ramirez (7)
Wes Webb's 1st inning 3 run homer propelled the offenese to a 12 run 15 hit day. Nathanial Fox went 7-5-2-2-4-4 for the win. Duane Long led off and went3-4 with a triple (2) scoring 3 and driving in 3 (11). Ash Carter had his 1st career 5 hit day, going 5-6 with a double (8) homer (3) and 4 RBI's (19). Webb drove in 3 (4). Manny Ramirez homered in the loss.

8/31
PROV 9 ALK 6
W-Guzman (10-11) L-C.Durham (12-8) S-Mathews (12)
HR ALK-Olson (4) PROV-Ramirez (8) Mills (3) Christensen GS (6)
Jeremy Christensen's 2nd inning grand slam broke Colin Durham's back, and the Black Sox held a late surge off, to win it. Durham was pounded for 7 earned runs on 8 hits in 4 innings. Kevin Olson was 3-4 with a double (10) home run and 2 RBI's (13) in the loss. Manny Ramirez went 2-4 with another homer and drove in 2 (30).

WEEK 22 SUMMARY
FL POTW-Antonio Altagracia (NH) 10-19 3 HR's 6 RBI's (.269-21-65)
CL POTW-Harley Warren (HOU) 9-27 4 HR's 11 RBI's (.260-28-82)

WEEK 22 POWER RANKINGS
1) Chicago (1)
2) Fresno (2)
3) Columbus (3)
4) Alaska (4)
5) West Michigan (-)
OUT Dallas (6)

SEPTEMBER CALLUPS-lefties Bill Caldwell and Carlos Gonzales and RH Mike Ball are the pitchers. 3rd Catcher Peter Callahan, IF Ricardo Torres are the rest.

[gehrig38]

There are just 2 races remaining, and those by a hair. Staten Island has Buffalo trailing by 4 and West Michigan has Michigan trailing by 5.5. It's going to take a miracle run, or collapse for San Antonio to make up 8.5 with Dallas.

[gehrig38]

2025 WEEK 23
RECORD: 3-4
OVERALL: 92-50 Clinched
RUNS SCORED: 769 (27) 7th
RUNS AGAINST: 581 (34) 1st
OWNER: Ecstatic
FANS: 75/100
SCHEDULE: 1 @ Providence/3 @ New York/3 @ Hawaii

9/1
ALK 5 PROV 1
W-Solis (13-7) L-M.Hamilton (9-17)
HR ALK-Edwards (14) Olson (5) McBryde (16) Webb (2)
Solis is solid (6-5-1-1-3-5) while the offense stays on Hamilton for his 6.1 IP, scoring 5. Wes Webb goes 2-4 with a HR (2) and 2 RBI's (6) but McBryde goes down in the 3rd with another injury. Ends up he sprained his wrist and is out at least a month.

9/2
NY 4 ALK 1
W-Dansen (10-8) L-Santos (12-7) S-McIntyre (16)
HR ALK-Gomez (3) NY-Gonzales (5)
Maik Dansen goes 7-5-1-1-1-6 while Santos labors for 95 pitches, giving up 4 ER in 5. Offense manages just 5 hits. Troy Glaus goes 3-4 and Lonnie Vaughan 2-4 with an RBI (59).

9/3
ALK 6 NY 1
W-Rubio (16-8) L-Alejandrez (11-13)
HR NY-Vaughan (22)
Rubio has another outstanding start as he goes 8-4-1-1-1-2 on 97 pitches to beat Alfredo Alejandrez who was beaten up in 4.2 IP, giving up 5 earned runs on 9 hits. Mauro Ibarbia went 3-4 and drove in a run (74) while stealing his 33rd base.

STUFF-Alfredo Alejandrez has had a pretty amazing career, winning 90 games since becoming a free agent in 2017. He spent 4 years in Arizona going 46-52 2 years in San Jose going 23-30 and the past 2 seasons in New York where he is 21-29. He's now 189-161 in 464 career starts over 2802 IP. He's struck out 2126 batters, good for 6th all time, just 38 behind our very own Colin Durham's 2164. He's led the league in starts 3 times, is a 4 time all star and has thrown 7 career shutouts while being 1 of just 2 IBL pitches to have thrown more than 1 no-hitter. He threw the leagues very first no-hitter while with Chicago in the 2012 season. He also has 2 1-hitters to his name.

9/4
NY 6 ALK 2
W-Romano (11-12) L-Fox (7-8)
HR ALK-Olson (6) NY-Gonzales (6) Vaughan (23)
Speaking of great careers, Jesus Romano went the distance scattering 10 hits in a 9-10-2-2-1-10 win. Nathanial Fox had nothing, giving up 6 earned in 5.1 IP on 8 hits. Jose Ibarra (NY) went 3-4 with a double (13) and Lonnie Vaughan was 2-4 with a homer and 2 RBI's (62). Gonzales drove in 3 (27) with the homer.

STUFF-At 32 New York's Jesus Romano (from the Bronx actually) has been a stud over his 12 IBL seasons, all with the Knights, going 175-134 with a 4.18 in 385 starts. He has 2615 IP (5th all time) and is the all time IBL K leader with 2443. He's a 4 time all star and league leader in wins once, K's twice (top 10 10 times), CG's once and he's finished in the top 10 in K/9 9 years. He was the 2nd player drafted in the inaugural IBL entry draft out of the University of Arizona. He's tossed 10 career shutouts, 1 no-hitter (4/29/22 vs West Michigan) and has 3 1-hitters to his name.

Staten Island's Pedro Hernandez hit in his 25th straight game today.

9/5
HAW 1 ALK 0
W-Harvey (6-4) L-C.Durham (12-9) S-E.Perez (24)
HR NONE
Old fashioned pitchers duel. Not a single earned run. Durham gets beat on Webb's 2 errors as he goes 7-5-1-0-1-11 while young Josh Harvey goes 8-4-0-0-3-7 and is 6-5 3.78 this year.

9/6
HAW 11 ALK 1
W-Tucker (8-9) L-Solis (13-8)
HR ALK-Webb (3) HAW-Salas (2) Francis (38) Soriano 2 (24)
Matt Tucker (8-5-1-1-1-5) was outstanding while Jesus Solis saw his ERA go from 3.03 to 3.38 in a 3.2 inning 3 home run 8 earned run nightmare. Alfonso Soriano went 2-4 with 2 homers (1 a grand slam) and 5 RBI' (66). Craig Massey went 3-3 with 2 doubles (33).

STUFF-Horst Grueter hit HR #50 and drove in his 160th run. Dayton signed SP Roy Oswalt to a 1 year 7.5M dollar extension to keep him from the free agency after trading a bevy of P prospect for him at the deadline.

9/7
ALK 12 HAW 10
W-Sheppard (7-1) L-Hankins (0-5) S-Wheeler (38)
HR ALK-Edwards GS (15) Webb (4) Garcia (2) HAW-Harris GS (15) Soriano (25) Torres (17)
Rod Harris and Matt Edwards traded grand slams in the first 3 innings as neither starter got into the 5th, with Santos lasting just 1 inning and yielding 8 hits and 6 earned runs (a day after coming into my office to talk contract extension? Really?). The Avalanche offense bounced back from a 10-4 deficit (Hawaii dropped an 8 spot in the 2nd) to tie, and eventually win it. Garcia was 4-5 with a double (17) homer and 2 RBI's (67) while scoring 3 times. Edwards drove in 4 (45) with the granny and Abbas was 3-4 with a double (9).

WEEK 23 SUMMARY
FL POTW-George Tanner (COL) 13-29 4 HR's 9 RBI's (.352-37-108)
CL POTW-Diogo Ameixieira (SAC) 11-25 5 HR's 15 RBI's (.383-25-80)

WEEK 23 POWER RANKINGS
1) Chicago (1)
2) Fresno (2)
3) Alaska (4)
4) West Michigan (5)
5) Dallas (6)
OUT Columbus (6)

NEWS
David Rodgers was the pitcher acquired at the deadline from Green Bay in the deal that sent Angel Martinez the other way. He did well at AA Kodiak and got a call up to AAA and clearly was ready.

The Miranda injury means just Horst Grueter is the only healthy IF playing in Chicago right now. By the way Grueter is now hitting .320-49-158 and is on a .320-57-183 pace. The RBI's would break Gerald Wrights record of 176.

I am pretty sure Louie Ginger has the pre-requisite AB's to qualify for the batting title. Meaning he'll be the first guy to definitely break the .400 barrier in IBL history.

[gehrig38]

2025 WEEK 24
RECORD: 5-2
OVERALL: 97-52 Clinched
RUNS SCORED: 798 (29) 7th
RUNS AGAINST: 599 (18) 1st
OWNER: Ecstatic
FANS: 74/100
SCHEDULE: 1 @ Hawaii/4 vs Edmonton/2 @ Brooklyn

9/8
ALK 5 HAW 3
W-Rubio (17-8) L-Butler (1-5) S-Wheeler (39)
HR NONE
Rubio battles through a 7-10-2-2-2-4 for the W and Casas H(20) goes the 8th, Wheeler the 9th for his 39th save (now 5 saves shy of Quincy Gallaghers 44). Wes Webb was 3-3 with a double (3) triple (1) and 2 RBI's (11). Galimberto Riario was 3-4 with a double (20) in the loss. There were 5 double plays (3 by Alaska).

STREAKS-Pedro Hernandez's streak was halted at 27 games.
MILESTONE-Felix Torres becomes the 5th member of the 2000 hit club.



2000 HIT CLUB
Curt Whimster 8/15/22 (33 years 262 days)
Gerald Wright 7/22/23 (35 years 125 days)
Rich Stone 9/15/23 (32 years 195 days)
Jeffrey Hudson 8/8/25 (32 years 223 days)
Felix Torres 9/8/25 (32 years 210 days)

9/9
EDM 3 ALK 0
W-I.Martinez (15-11) L-Fox (7-9)
HR NONE
Ivan Martinez is masterful in a 5-hit CG shutout, punching out 5 on 115 pitches. Nathanial Fox is good, going 6-7-2-2-2-6 in the loss.

9/10
ALK 6 EDM 2
W-C.Durham (13-9) L-Morales (10-11)
HR EDM-Gil (9) ALK-Edwards (16)
Durham carries a no-hitter into the 6th, and goes the distance in a 9-4-2-2-2-6 103 pitch gem. David Peterson goes 3-5 with a double (19) and drives in 2 (44) Bob Harrell snaps out of his slump and goes 3-4 with a double (35) and Matt Edwards goes 2-4 with a homer and drives in 4 (49)

GOOD GAMES-38 year old Vincente Romero twirls a gem. I mention it because he's the IBL's all time leader in wins at 192. In his 14th season he's 192-133 3.69 in 430 career starts with 2111 K's in 2890 IP. He's a 4 time all star who's finished in the top 5 in Wins (5 times, leading in 2012 (21) top 10 in ERA 8 times top 6 in WHIP 6 times top 10 in VORP 8 times top 10 in QS 9 times (leading in 2012 (25) and top 10 in SHO 5 times (leading in 2014 (3).




9/11
EDM 6 ALK 5
W-Toner (7-6) L-Casas (4-3) S-Navarro (8)
HR EDM-Griffin 2 (27) ALK-Ibarbia (18)
Toner (7-8-5-5-2-5) pitches just well enough as Solis has a 4th inning blow up to lose it. Michael Griffin goes 3-4 scoring 3 times on 2 homers and drives in 2 (104) Luis Gil goes 3-4 with 2 doubles (36) a triple (7) and drives in 1 (73).

9/12
ALK 3 EDM 2 (11)
W-Alexander (7-3) L-Trent (5-4)
HR EDM-Rodriguez (9) ALK-Salgado (4)
Wheeler blows just his 5th save of the year, 2 outs none on a Brooks double and Bannatyne triple. Santos deals, going 6.2-4-0-0-1-5 as Mike Jones goes 7.2-7-2-2-2-5. Javier Salgado (playing for a job next year) goes 3-5 with a double (6) homer and 2 RBI's (15).

9/13
ALK 6 BRO 1
W-Rubio (18-8) L-Lowry (8-12)
HR ALK-Webb (5)
Rubio is dominant again and having a stellar season. He goes the route in a 4-hitter on just 99 pitches (9-4-1-1-1-2). We steal 4 bases (Abbas 8, Olson 8, Ibarbias 37 and Garcia 40). David Peterson goes 3-5 with a double (21) and drives in 2 (47).

STUFF-I have a dilemma. Raul Rubio is my ace, well 1A to Colin Durhams 1. But he's 27, and should be a corner piece to this rebuild. He's 75-60 3.76 in 183 starts and I believe entering his prime. He's not a power arm though, he's a 2 on a legitimate dynasty rotation, maybe a 3. Stamina wise he's fine, has outstanding movement and is almost an 80% ground ball guy who's benefited mightily from this outstanding infield defense. He's a clubhouse leader, very high baseball IQ, loyal as hell and isn't after every last dollar. That being said his work ethic has always been an issue. That matters to me because he wants a 5-7 year deal with an AAV of close to 17 million. That's ace territory, that's Esparza, Drake, Figueroa land. I mention this for 3 huge reasons. The 1st is I need him, and he's a huge fan favorite. The 2nd? And 3rd? Stan Hall has a 9.5M player option he'll decline, and Angelo Esparza is a free agent this winter. Colin Durham is pretty much playing for free (1.98 base next 2 years). So if I were find a way to get one of those guys, I could possibly go Hall, Rubio Durham as my 1-2-3. We've gone back and forth and he's sticking to his ask, to the point I think he's about to say 'no mas' if we don't come up. Also I've made an offer to Wes Webb on a 3 year low dollar deal. He's RH, has big time pop, plays the entire infield very well and helps big time vs LHP.

9/14
ALK 4 BRO 1
W-Ball (1-0) L-P.Martinez (7-7) S-Wheeler (40)
HR NONE
Carlos Gonzales, a legit rotation option and prospect, gets the spot start and leaves in the 3rd with back spasms. His command will be the only thing to stop him from making the leap. Mike Ball clutches up going 4.2-3-0-0-1-3. He's another rotation prospect who also needs better control.

WEEK 24 SUMMARY
FL POTW-Jeffrey Hudson (CHI) 13-20 4 HR's 7 RBI's (.365-38-115) off the DL and not missing a beat
CL POTW-Carlos Martinez (BOS) 10-22 3 HR's 10 RBI's (.302-13-57)

WEEK 24 POWER RANKINGS
1) Chicago (1)
2) Fresno (2)
3) Alaska (3)
4) Columbus (6)
5) Michigan (-)
OUT West Michigan (9) Dallas (6)

NEWS
Andy Morgan is having another magnificent season.