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05-30-2007, 09:38 PM
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#81 |
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Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 198
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 July 14, 1942  As we hit the middle of July, we are pleased to bring the 3rd annual All-Star Game for the MOBL from Traverse City, Michigan. Cherry fans haven’t had much to cheer about this year, but are excited to be hosting this year’s game. It should be a very close battle as both teams look stacked with the best the league has to offer. The Ohio League lineup…. 1. C Todd Frison – 2. 3B Alyn LaPierre – 3. SS Tony Tiner – 4. CF Jake Richards – 5. RF Juan Satelo – 6. LF Peter Northcutt – 7. 1B Jesus Badilla – 8. 2B Alfonso Palacios – 9. RHP Josh MacCord – Bench RHP Rudy Hatton – Chillicothe Indians – 8-3, 3.01 ERA, 71 K’s, 107.2 IP RHP Kristopher MacKail – Dayton Pilots – 8-4, 3.38 ERA, 133 K’s, 138.1 IP (2nd All-Star Game) LHP Roberto Pagan – Columbus Archers – 9-4, 2.07 ERA, 119 K’s, 113 IP (2nd All-Star Game) LHP Sergio Rodriguez – Dayton Pilots – 14-3, 2.38 ERA, 120 K’s, 140 IP (2nd All-Star Game) LHP Gurkan Tiffany – Dayton Pilots – 11-1, 1.62 ERA, 139 K’s, 122 IP (2nd All-Star Game) LHP Howard West – Canton Terriers – 9-3, 1.80 ERA, 155 K’s, 144.2 IP (2nd All-Star Game) RHP Anker Woodruff – Dayton Pilots – 12-4, 2.95 ERA, 70 K’s, 122 IP RHP Marcos RHP Mark Matthews – Dayton Pilots – 5-0, 30 Saves, 1.93 ERA, 56 K’s, 46.2 IP LHP Myles Shaffer – Chillicothe Indians – 2-0, 18 Saves, 1.13 ERA, 59 K’s, 40 IP (3rd All-Star Game) RHP Alex Zalapa – Zanesville Engineers – 2-3, 22 Saves, 2.70 ERA, 39 K’s, 33.1 IP C Calvin Faithorne – 1B Dookie Trout – 1B Jorell Mickel – 2B Harden Evans – LF Greg Bleasdale – Dayton Pilots - .264, .422 OBP, 16 HR, 42 RBI, 61 Runs, 15 Doubles, 2 Triples, 11 SB’s (2nd All-Star Game) LF Alfredo Arcos – LF Pablo Portio – Youngstown Black Irons - .287, .361 OBP, 22 HR, 53 RBI, 53 Runs, 10 Doubles, 6 Triples, 6 SB’s (2nd All-Star Game) RF Kalvin Clewes – The Michigan League lineup… 1. 1B Florinio Hernando – 2. CF Jon Koepke – 3. LF Vernon 4. RF Nathan Willman – 5. 3B Stan McQuistan – 6. SS Telo Welter – 7. 2B John Watson – 8. C Boswell Seppings – Mackinac Trolleys - .302, .383 OBP, 6 HR, 31 RBI, 39 Runs, 14 Doubles 9. LHP Joe O’Crouley – Bench RHP Rickey Benson – Kalamazoo Bells – 13-2, 2.40 ERA, 150 K’s, 142.1 IP (3rd All-Star Game) LHP Jonathan Crew – Sault Ste. Marie White Lakers – 11-4, 2.48 ERA, 93 K’s, 127 IP LHP John Durham – Ann Arbor Democrats – 11-6, 1.83 ERA, 160 K’s, 152.2 IP (3rd All-Star Game) RHP Timothy Hart – Mackinac Trolleys – 10-3, 1.62 ERA, 115 K’s, 144.1 IP RHP Carlton Wunderlich – Iron Mountain Miners – 12-4, 2.93 ERA, 110 K’s, 129 IP (2nd All-Star Game) RHP Bob LHP Seth Gabriel – Sault Ste. Marie White Lakers – 3-3, 16 Saves, 2.53 ERA, 38 K’s, 32 IP (2nd All-Star Game) RHP John Gladstone – Ann Arbor Democrats – 1-2, 22 Saves, 1.50 ERA, 26 K’s, 36 IP (3rd All-Star Game) RHP Richard Keys – Grand Rapids Blue Lakers – 6-1, 13 Saves, 3.18 ERA, 25 K’s, 34 IP RHP Roald Plume – Mackinac Trolleys – 4-5, 28 Saves, 2.40 ERA, 42 K’s, 41.1 IP (3rd All-Star Game) RHP Moshe Vyse – Traverse City Cherries – 1-2, 22 Saves, 1.78 ERA, 39 K’s, 35.1 IP (2nd All-Star Game) C Benjamin Landers – Kalamazoo Bells - .367, .438 OBP, 7 HR, 35 RBI, 43 Runs, 20 Doubles, 2 Triples, 2 SB’s (3rd All-Star Game) INJURED 1B Teo Mendiviel – 3B Tejano Bemaez – SS Peter Lewknor – LF Kev Taylor – Grand Rapids Blue Lakers - .250, .316 OBP, 23 HR, 60 RBI, 55 Runs, 16 Doubles, 3 Triples, 5 SB’s (3rd All-Star Game) CF Rowan Howard – Sault Ste. Marie White Lakers - .336, .388 OBP, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 34 Runs, 17 Doubles, 3 Triples, 11 SB’s CF Sawyl Mitchum – Sault Ste. Marie White Lakers - .308, .355 OBP, 4 HR, 25 RBI, 52 Runs, 17 Doubles, 1 Triple, 31 SB’s (2nd All-Star Game) RF Edward Chisholm – Both teams look pretty even, although the OL seems to have more power and offense, while the ML has better pitching and more speed. Since pitching wins championships, I’ll go with the ML as my predicted winner…. Timely hitting and wildness from LHP Jonathan Crew lead to a lopsided 8-0 Ohio League victory. On to the rest of the season!! Last edited by woodfeld; 05-30-2007 at 09:43 PM. |
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06-02-2007, 07:20 PM
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#82 |
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Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 198
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Code:
Michigan League Standings North Team W L PCT GB Mackinac Trolleys 55 48 .534 - Sault Ste. Marie White Lakers 52 51 .505 3.0 Iron Mountain Miners 45 58 .437 10.0 Traverse City Cherries 40 64 .385 15.5 South Team W L PCT GB Kalamazoo Bells 64 39 .621 - Ann Arbor Democrats 52 50 .510 11.5 Grand Rapids Blue Lakers 52 51 .505 12.0 Lansing Capitals 52 51 .505 12.0 Ohio League Standings East Team W L PCT GB Canton Terriers 58 45 .563 - Zanesville Engineers 46 57 .447 12.0 Akron Red Irons 43 61 .413 15.5 Youngstown Black Irons 38 65 .369 20.0 West Team W L PCT GB Dayton Pilots 67 36 .650 - Chillicothe Indians 58 45 .563 9.0 Columbus Archers 54 49 .524 13.0 Toledo Admirals 48 54 .471 18.5 As the MOBL heads into the crucial months of August and September, it looks as if we only have one divisional race to keep an eye on. As has been the case every year in the MOBL, the ML North race is tight and should come down to the last week of the season. The trading deadline brought a few deals but it doesn’t look as if any of the trades will have an effect on any of the divisional races this year. The biggest deal saw send star LF Elroy Graves to  Even though  After going an impressive 18-9 record in July, the Columbus Archers have a glimmer of hope in the OL West and are named the Ohio League Team of the Month. This Archer team has been lead by the resurgence of veteran CF Jake ‘Jitters’ Richards (.321, 37 HR, 95 RBI), as he leads the entire MOBL in HR and is 2nd in RBI’s. “Jake has been incredible this year and has simply been the straw that stirs the drink in our clubhouse,” C Benjamin Landers – Kalamazoo Bells - .357, .433 OBP, 7 HR, 36 RBI, 44 Runs, 21 Doubles, 2 Triples, 2 SB’s CF Jon Koepke – Grand Rapids Blue Lakers - .296, .351 OBP, 21 HR, 65 RBI, 59 Runs, 23 Doubles, 2 Triples, 3 SB’s LF Vernon Landers’ chances were certainly hurt when he went on the 15-day DL in July, but Vernon Wareham appears to be on a mission this year (2 BOM awards already). If Koepke can stay as hot as he has been since arriving in LHP Roberto Serrano – Ann Arbor Democrats – 11-7, 2.04 ERA, 133 K’s, 1.09 WHIP, 180.2 IP RHP Timothy Hart – Mackinac Trolleys – 11-4, 1.83 ERA, 136 K’s, 0.89 WHIP, 162.1 IP LHP Joe O’Crouley – Lansing Capitals – 13-4, 1.72 ERA, 102 K’s, 1.06 WHIP, 167.2 IP Both O’Crouley and Hart started the season on fire and regressed a little in July, allowing Serrano (who was phenomenal in both June and July) to jump right into this tight race. If Hart can lead his team to a division title, will that get him some “bonus” votes? SS Tony Tiner – Toledo Admirals - .346, .502 OBP (unreal!!), 25 HR, 73 RBI, 81 Runs, 17 Doubles, 1 Triple CF Jake Richards – Columbus Archers - .321, .369 OBP, 37 HR, 95 RBI, 80 Runs, 26 Doubles, 3 Triples, 6 SB’s 1B Jesus Badilla – Ohio League fans sure are treated to amazing individual offensive performances each year. In 1940, it was RHP Josh MacCord – Canton Terriers – 16-1, 1.74 ERA, 179 K’s, 0.94 WHIP, 140 IP LHP Howard West – Canton Terriers – 11-3, 1.86 ERA, 181 K’s, 0.93 WHIP, 169 IP LHP Gurkan Tiffany – Dayton Pilots – 12-2, 1.52 ERA, 164 K’s, 0.90 WHIP, 142 IP MacCord seems to be the favorite, but there are plenty of excellent players that could steal it away from the Terrier flamethrower. Plenty of analysts are salivating at the thought of another Dayton-Canton OL Championship as 5 of the top 7 pitchers in the OL are from those two teams.  Michigan League Batter of the Month - LF Kev Taylor, Grand Rapids Blue Lakers - .337, .396 OBP, 9 HR, 28 RBI, 21 Runs (4th BOM of his career)  Michigan League Pitcher of the Month - RHP Alvar 'Roach' Sanchez, Lansing Capitals - 5-2, 1.69 ERA, 49 K's, 53.1 IP  Ohio League Batter of the Month - SS Tony 'Ducky' Tiner, Toledo Admirals - .373, 8 HR, 16 RBI, 23 Runs (4th BOM of his career)  Ohio League Pitcher of the Month - LHP Gurkan Tiffany, Dayton Pilots - 4-1, 1.62 ERA, 47 K's, 39 IP (2nd POM of his career) [/SIZE] |
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06-03-2007, 03:42 PM
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#83 |
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Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 198
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Code:
Michigan League Standings North Team W L PCT GB Mackinac Trolleys 70 62 .530 - Sault Ste. Marie White Lakers 61 70 .466 8.5 Traverse City Cherries 59 71 .454 10.0 Iron Mountain Miners 58 73 .443 11.5 South Team W L PCT GB Kalamazoo Bells 86 45 .656 - Grand Rapids Blue Lakers 64 67 .489 22.0 Ann Arbor Democrats 63 68 .481 23.0 Lansing Capitals 63 68 .481 23.0 Ohio League Standings East Team W L PCT GB Canton Terriers 73 59 .553 - Zanesville Engineers 57 74 .435 15.5 Akron Red Irons 50 80 .385 22.0 Youngstown Black Irons 50 81 .382 22.5 West Team W L PCT GB Dayton Pilots 84 47 .641 - Chillicothe Indians 75 56 .573 9.0 Columbus Archers 68 63 .519 16.0 Toledo Admirals 67 64 .511 17.0 And down the stretch they come! It looks as if the only things still yet to be decided are the MOB, MOP and ROY awards. We will have some familiar teams in the playoffs this year and it looks as if for the third year in a row, there will be a different representative from the ML North, the most intriguing divisional race every year.  As if being the two-time Gehringer-Sisler Cup champs wasn’t enough, the Kalamazoo Bells appear to be fielding their best team yet. They went 22-6 in August and are named the Michigan League Team of the Month. They lead almost every team statistical category (offense and pitching) in the Michigan League this year. As happy as Mackinac is going to be in making it to the playoffs this year, are they going to be anything more than sacrificial lambs? They have 3 of the top 5 hitters (1B Florinio Hernando, C Benjamin Landers, 3B Stan McQuistan) and 2 of the top 6 pitchers (RHP Rickey Benson, LHP Willard Nasmyth) in the ML right now. The biggest surprise of the year though has to be the play of LHP Elian Abilez (17-4, 2.85 ERA, 171 K’s, 199 IP). “Elian was a good young (26 years old) pitcher that we thought would be a nice complement to our team during that 1940 spring training. But to see how far he has come and how hard he has dedicated himself to this team, I can’t see how you don’t consider him one of the top ten pitchers in the Michigan League,” Bells’ GM Manuel Ramirez said. Is there any way this Bells freight train can be stopped from 3-peating? “Not just good, but great pitching,” one OL scout said. Look who’s out of the basement for this first time in team existence!! The Traverse City Cherries played some phenomenal baseball in August, going 19-7, and are showing some signs of hope for the future. “There is some good young talent there; I’m not surprised to see them put together a string of games like they have. They’ve still got a ways to go, but they do have some of the best talent in the minors so there is hope,” one ML scout said. A big part of the reason this team did so well in August has to be attributed to the maturation of their younger players. RF Howard Cole (.269, 14 HR, 45 RBI) was excellent in August (.313, 3 HR, 10 RBI) and has taken some of the pressure off of CF Dave Batt (.248, 23 HR, 77 RBI). RHP Manny Tanuz has been the anchor of the pitching staff since coming over from The Ohio League Team of the month, the Toledo Admirals, went 19-10 in August, but are well out of contention for the playoffs as it’s too little, too late. They have been absolutely dominant offensively this year, but it’s the same old story as the pitching has not been good enough to win the toughest division in the MOBL. RHP Hector Aguirre has been a humongous disappointment (8-12, 5.48 ERA), while RHP Hershel Capers (11-11, 5.33 ERA) and RHP Barclay Allcorn (4-7, 4.79 ERA) haven’t exactly had bounce back years. The bullpen hasn’t been much better either and recently demoted closer RHP Mike Ditchburn (19 Saves, 4 Blown Saves, 3.67 ERA) to a setup role and promoted RHP Bill Oliver (2.42 ERA) to closer. The Three Musketeers have still been dominating OL pitching all year though. RF Juan Satelo (.320, 40 HR, 118 RBI) has been the most impressive, while LF Alfredo Arcos (.310, 30 HR, 78 RBI) and CF Bob Harvey (.306, 20 HR, 61 RBI) have been very strong for this powerful offense. SS Tony Tiner (.341, .491 OBP, 32 HR, 85 RBI) has been the other worldly star though. “This is just a sign of things to come for him. He’s only 24 years old and is just beginning to come into his own,” Admirals’ head scout Ismael Medellin said. Now if they could just get some consistent pitching…. 1B Florinio Hernando – Kalamazoo Bells - .298, .399 OBP, 19 HR, 52 RBI, 95 Runs, 16 Doubles, 3 Triples, 47 SB’s CF Jon Koepke – Grand Rapids Blue Lakers - .299, .350 OBP, 27 HR, 90 RBI, 75 Runs, 27 Doubles, 4 Triples, 5 SB’s LF Vernon RHP Rickey Benson – Kalamazoo Bells – 20-4, 2.21 ERA, 229 K’s, 0.98 WHIP, 211.2 IP RHP Timothy Hart – Mackinac Trolleys – 13-6, 2.02 ERA, 174 K’s, 0.96 WHIP, 205 IP LHP Joe O’Crouley – Lansing Capitals – 15-7, 2.17 ERA, 132 K’s, 1.12 WHIP, 203.2 IP Look who’s back into the thick of things for the ML MOP…why it’s 2-time ML MOP Rickey Benson! He has begun to look like 1940 Benson as he completely dominated in August (see below). SS Tony Tiner – CF Jake Richards – Columbus Archers - .319, .369 OBP, 41 HR, 113 RBI, 95 Runs, 36 Doubles, 3 Triples, 9 SB’s 1B Jesus Badilla – Tiner continues to be the heavy favorite here, but Badilla and Richards are turning up the heat. With seemingly nothing (as far as team accolades go) to play for, will Tiner’s motivation waver in the final month of the season? RHP Josh MacCord – Canton Terriers – 18-3, 2.17 ERA, 226 K’s, 0.97 WHIP, 178 IP LHP Howard West – Canton Terriers – 13-5, 2.04 ERA, 243 K’s, 0.99 WHIP, 212 IP LHP Gurkan Tiffany – Dayton Pilots – 16-3, 1.83 ERA, 214 K’s, 0.96 WHIP, 182 IP This will be the most interesting individual award race to follow in September. All three of these pitchers are having tremendous seasons and it’s going to extremely difficult for the voters to decide who deserves it. Will West and MacCord steal votes from each other?? is the biggest question. Michigan League Batter of the Month - SS Telo Welter, Kalamazoo Bells - .337, .427 OBP, 9 HR, 29 RBI, 23 Runs, 5 Doubles (3rd BOM in his career) Michigan League Pitcher of the Month - RHP Rickey 'Moby Dick' Benson, Kalamazoo Bells - 5-1, 0.99 ERA, 56 K's, 45.1 IP (6th POM in his career)  Ohio League Batter of the Month - 1B Jesus Badilla, Zanesville Engineers - .368, .426 OBP, 10 HR, 26 RBI, 26 Runs, 8 Doubles  Ohio League Pitcher of the Month - LHP Ray Campbell, Canton Terriers - 5-1, 2.15 ERA, 31 K's, 46 IP |
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06-16-2007, 01:32 PM
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#84 |
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Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 198
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Code:
Michigan League Standings North Team W L PCT GB Mackinac Trolleys 87 75 .537 - Sault Ste. Marie White Lakers 79 83 .488 8.0 Iron Mountain Miners 72 90 .444 15.0 Traverse City Cherries 72 90 .444 15.0 South Team W L PCT GB Kalamazoo Bells 105 57 .648 - Ann Arbor Democrats 79 83 .488 26.0 Grand Rapids Blue Lakers 79 83 .488 26.0 Lansing Capitals 75 87 .463 30.0 Ohio League Standings East Team W L PCT GB Canton Terriers 90 72 .556 - Akron Red Irons 67 95 .414 23.0 Youngstown Black Irons 67 95 .414 23.0 Zanesville Engineers 67 95 .414 23.0 West Team W L PCT GB Dayton Pilots 100 62 .617 - Chillicothe Indians 87 75 .537 13.0 Columbus Archers 87 75 .537 13.0 Toledo Admirals 83 79 .512 17.0 The end of the 1942 MOBL season came with a whimper as every division had been decided pretty early. The real excitement of the month came from the battles for the season ending awards and watching some young players get called up and get their chance to show their stuff. There were also a couple of waiver trades to note, with the biggest occurring between the Democrats and Black Irons. After having a MOB type season last year, RF Jacob Davis took a huge step back this season (.281, 8 HR, 48 RBI) and was sent to the Black Irons for LHP Ivar Calthorpe (5-14, 6.32 ERA). This trade only furthers my thought that the Black Iron coaching staff needs to go. I’ve seen this Black Iron team make a number of trades and seen the players they get play worse and the players they send away play better (especially pitchers). Calthorpe was dynamite in Ann Arbor (2-2, 3.50 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 33 K’s in 36 IP), while I watched Davis continue his downward spiral (.259, 1 HR, 6 RBI in 21 games). Meanwhile, the Cherries were stockpiling good young players for quite a run in the mid-to-late 40’s, but traded recently acquired C Jordy Sankey to After finishing September with a 17-10 record, the Columbus Archers were named the Ohio League Team of the Month. This is a team that has tantalized its’ fans for three years in the MOBL now and really need to put together a good, consistent season for once. “I’m sick of being good, but not good enough,” has been a very popular sentiment amongst the Archer faithful. The conversion of LHP Roberto Pagan into a starter has been nothing but a complete success (17-9, 2.47 ERA), but the development of RHP Tony Navarro into a staff ace has not occurred (11-10, 4.59 ERA). RHP Bill Herr got injured late in the year, but showed what he is capable of in his first season in the MOBL (8-6, 3.89 ERA). The bullpen is one reason they weren’t as good as they should have been, as closer RHP John Goforth (36 Saves, 2.21 ERA) and setup RHP Marcos Santos (8-0, 2.36 ERA) were the only pitchers in the pen that had decent seasons. The offense slugged their way to victories all season thanks to MOB candidate CF Jake Richards (.310, 50 HR, 136 RBI) and ROY favorite 3B Dave Waterman (.253, 35 HR, 109 RBI). “Richards held that team together all year long, but Waterman is the guy to watch on that team for years to come,” one OL scout said. Another month goes by and another Michigan League Team of the Month award goes to the Kalamazoo Bells. I honestly have nothing more to say about the team that is clearly the league’s evil empire at this point. They look simply unbeatable right now as they lead every team statistical category except for one offensive statistic (fewest K’s (they are 2nd)) and three pitching categories (ERA and Starters’ ERA (they are 2nd for both), and Home Runs allowed (3rd in the ML)). I’ll save from gushing over this team any more than I already have until I discuss the playoff previews. I’ll refrain from making any comments about the races and let you decide who should be the winner…. 2B John Watson – RF Kev Taylor – Grand Rapids Blue Lakers - .285, .346 OBP, 49 HR, 128 RBI, 110 Runs, 30 Doubles, 6 Triples, 11 SB’s LF Vernon RHP Rickey Benson – Kalamazoo Bells – 24-5, 2.23 ERA, 280 K’s, 0.97 WHIP, 254.2 IP RHP Timothy Hart – Mackinac Trolleys – 15-8, 2.30 ERA, 205 K’s, 0.99 WHIP, 250.1 IP LHP Roberto Serrano – Ann Arbor Democrats – 16-14, 2.32 ERA, 208 K’s, 1.14 WHIP, 276 IP SS Tony Tiner – CF Jake Richards – Columbus Archers - .310, .360 OBP, 50 HR, 136 RBI, 114 Runs, 45 Doubles, 4 Triples, 12 SB’s 1B Jesus Badilla – RF Juan Satelo – Toledo Admirals - .307, .351 OBP, 52 HR, 149 RBI, 123 Runs, 19 Doubles, 4 Triples, 5 SB’s LHP Sergio Rodriguez – Dayton Pilots – 21-7, 2.31 ERA, 204 K’s, 1.07 WHIP, 249.2 IP LHP Howard West – Canton Terriers – 17-6, 2.25 ERA, 289 K’s, 1.01 WHIP, 263.2 IP LHP Gurkan Tiffany – Dayton Pilots – 18-4, 1.85 ERA, 251 K’s, 0.96 WHIP, 218.1 IP  Michigan League Batter of the Month - RF Vernon 'Clueless' Wareham, Sault Ste. Marie White Lakers - .391, 14 HR, 31 RBI, 28 Runs, 5 Doubles (5th BOM in his career)  Michigan League Pitcher of the Month - RHP Carlton Wunderlich, Iron Mountain Miners - 3-0, 1.38 ERA, 37 K's, 45.2 IP (2nd POM in his career) Ohio League Batter of the Month - SS Tony 'Ducky' Tiner, Toledo Admirals - .368, 6 HR, 27 RBI, 2 Triples (5th BOM in his career) Ohio League Pitcher of the Month - RHP John Goforth, Columbus Archers - 3-0, 9 Saves, 0.73 ERA, 19 K's, 12.1 IP (3rd POM in his career) |
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06-16-2007, 02:13 PM
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#85 |
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Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 198
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 October 6, 1942 [SIZE=/> Michigan League – Mackinac Trolleys vs. Can the two-time defending champs be derailed on their way to a third straight Cup with what looks to be the best team they’ve fielded yet? “No one is giving us a shot, so all the pressure is off us. We can just go out and play hard and see if we can shock the world,” Trolleys manager Carlos Gallardo said the day before Game 1. If their was a window of opportunity for this Trolleys team, it came when Bells’ LHP Willard Nasmyth went down for 5 weeks with a torn hip muscle in mid-September. He will most assuredly miss this series, but could be back in time for the Gehringer-Sisler Cup. “We’ll miss Willard, but we have all the faith in these other guys in here to step up and win us some ballgames,” star RHP Rickey Benson said. The Trolleys have quietly been playing some of the best baseball in the MOBL in the 2nd half of the season and boast an excellent, young rotation that features RHP Timothy Hart (15-8, 2.30 ERA), LHP Zachariah LaFlamme (18-12, 2.75 ERA), LHP Jeffrey Smith (8-13, 4.07 ERA), and RHP David Massiter (12-6, 3.49 ERA). The Trolleys will most assuredly need to generate more offense than they have all year if they have any chance of winning this series. My prediction – A rematch of last year’s OL championship should be heated this time around. After dominating last year’s series, the Pilots were dominating the Terriers yet again this year before squaring off in a 4-game series in My prediction – [/SIZE] |
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06-26-2007, 10:42 AM
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#86 |
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Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 198
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October 15, 1942 One series was a predicted lopsided affair, while the other proves, yet again, that I don’t know how to make Ohio League predictions…. Michigan League Kalamazoo wins series 4-0. The Trolleys were simply no match for the machine that is the Bells. “They just rolled right over us like we were nothin’ man. We just got thoroughly dismantled,” an impressed Trolleys’ CF Ulises Bamboa said. Indeed Bamboa was correct in that assessment as the Trolleys only had a lead for exactly one inning of this entire series and were shutout twice. And it could have been three times if the Bells didn’t go on cruise control when they were up 10-0 in Game 4. “I feel like a little kid right now, I’m just so excited to be going to the Cup Finals. All those guys in there are pretty much ‘been there, done that’ though,” the joking first year Bells’ manager Arlo Rojas said. The Bells showed that their impressive resume from the season was no fluke as they averaged 6.5 runs per game, while allowing an average of 2 runs per game. The Trolleys simply looked inexperienced and overmatched all series long, but have a good thing going for years to come. The Bells have stiffer competition in the finals…. MVP – Kalamazoo 3B Stan McQuistan - .556, .579 OBP, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 3 Runs, 2 Doubles After a dreadful playoffs last year, the Bells 3B more than made up for it with an electric Michigan League Championship Series, including getting the game-winning single in the bottom of the 10th of Game 2. Unsung Hero – Kalamazoo LHP Elian Abilez – 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 K’s, 9 IP, 1 CG, 1 SHO Who misses Willard Nasmyth? Abilez stepped up huge with a dominating Game 1 performance that got him a standing O from the Bells’ fans. Goats – The Mackinac starting outfielders (LF Vasco Ayala, CF Ulises Bamboa, RF Barden Arbuthnott) - .139, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 crucial Error I know these guys are all young and will bounce back, but they looked like Little Leaguers out there this series. Ayala’s only hit was a 2-run HR. LVP (Least Valuable Player) – Mackinac LHP Zachariah LaFlamme – 0-2, 5.73 ERA, 8 K’s, 11 IP Granted, LaFlamme could have only given up one run in Game 1 and still lost because of the way Abilez pitched, but he got bombed in the do-or-die Game 4. Bells hitters hit .311 against him this series. Ohio League Canton wins series 4 games to 2. The Terriers are finally off the shnide after being one of the most consistently good teams in the regular season and folding in the playoffs. “To finally get to where we’ve wanted to get for the past three years is a huge accomplishment. But we have a lot of work to do, we’re not satisfied to just get there,” Terriers’ LHP Ray Campbell said. As is the case with the Terriers, they got to the Gehringer-Sisler Cup thanks to their incredible pitching staff. In all four Terrier victories, they held the Pilot hitters to two runs or less, as the Pilots seemed to be missing the offense LF Greg Bleasdale brings to the table. The Canton offense wasn’t exactly “on fire” in this series though as the Pilot pitchers did an excellent job in this series as well. “We got the pitching we needed, but just couldn’t quite do what it takes to win games with our bats. Give them credit though, that’s quite a staff they have over there,” Pilots manager Joseph Parker said. For the Terriers to win the Cup though, they’ll have to have more offense than what they generated in this series. MVP – Canton LHP Howard ‘Merlin’ West - 1-0, 0.60 ERA, 12 K’s, 15 IP West was dominant in this series and came through in a crucial Game 2 win (after a Game 1 loss) and pitched 8 innings of shutout baseball in the clinching Game 6. Unsung Hero – Dayton 3B Marron Jones – .381, .435 OBP, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4Runs, 1 SB The Terrier pitching staff may have dominated in this series, but Jones was one guy they could not figure out as this was the 2nd OL Championship Series in a row where Jones was excellent. Goat – Dayton RF Dewie Pankhurst - .111, .111 OBP, 5 K’s The Pilot leadoff leader when they face left-handed pitching was simply terrible at getting things going for their offense against lefties Howard West, Ray Campbell and Tommy Lafferty. LVP (Least Valuable Player) – Canton 3B Paul ‘Horse’ Jenkins - .136, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 10 K’s, 14 LOB in series Of course not all is bad as Jenkins drove in both runs in the 2-0 Game 6 victory with a 2-run shot, but he was consistently unable to come up in big situations (14 LOB) and struck out way too often. |
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06-26-2007, 10:52 AM
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#87 |
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Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 198
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1942 Gehringer-Sisler Cup Preview Kalamazoo Bells vs. Canton Terriers Code:
Kalamazoo Category Canton
Offense
.274 BA .253
.342 OBP .328
.433 Slugging .411
780 Runs 747
1512 Hits 1415
180 HR 184
560 BB 597
993 K's 1109
170 SB 93
Pitching
3.12 ERA 3.31
3.07 Starters ERA 2.99
3.09 Bullpen ERA 4.23
536 Runs Allowed 578
1210 Hits Allowed 1281
.227 Opp Avg .231
134 HR Allowed 155
399 BB 473
1198 K's 1513
What could possibly stop the Bells from officially becoming a dynasty? The best pitching staff in the MOBL perhaps? “We know this is going to be our stiffest challenge yet. I’ve faced some of those guys in the All Star Game and they were extremely tough. We know they can come in and shut us down if we don’t do what we need to,” Bells’ SS Telo Welter said. For how great the Bells offense is, they don’t take that many walks, which is something they are going to want to change as they will definitely want to get to that shaky bullpen. “We have to step up and make sure we close it down when our starters give us the lead,” Terriers’ closer RHP Dan MacCall said. The Terrier offense can be a huge boost for the starters if they can open up some big leads, but that’ll be a tough task. My prediction – Kalamazoo in 6 – In order for the Terriers to win this series, they will need to have 2 or 3 complete games from their starters and that might not be enough. But I won’t underestimate the importance of excellent starting pitching, so I’ll give the Terriers two wins. |
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06-26-2007, 05:02 PM
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#88 |
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Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 198
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Game 1 The two premiere teams in the MOBL meet and are ready to decide who the best is. The only two pitchers to win the MOP (Bells’ Rickey Benson and Terriers’ Ray Campbell) face off in an intriguing Game 1. “I’m not going to go out and there and try and replicate what Rickey does; that’s not my game. I just have to pitch a focused game and I know that’ll keep my team in the game,” Campbell said. “I’m ready, no matter who the opposing pitcher is,” Benson said tersely. Let’s get it going! Benson gives up a couple of hits in the 1st but strikes out the side and his stuff appears to be nasty. Meanwhile, Campbell gets lucky as Bells’ 2B Pedro Mateo was thrown out at 2nd trying to turn a single into a double and SS Telo Welter just barely misses a home run by hitting it foul. Both pitchers leave the inning unscathed though. After both pitchers escaped some jams, Benson gives up a run as the much-maligned Terrier 3B Paul Jenkins hits an RBI double in the 4th. “My fault, my fault,” Benson could be seen saying to his catcher after the hit. But his teammates pick him up in the bottom half of the inning as the most clutch hitter in the MOBL, SS Telo Welter, hits an RBI triple and then scores off a passed ball and the Bells take a 2-1 lead. 3B Paul Jenkins is doing an admirable job of making it up to his teammates for not playing well in the OL Championship Series as he ties the game with an RBI single in the 6th. When asked what the difference was in this series, “just stopped thinking about it and make sure I make good swings,” Jenkins replied. The Terriers load the bases loaded with two outs in the 8th, which chases Benson after an excellent effort (7.2 IP, 2 ER, 11 K’s). RHP Antonio Fernandez gets the Bells out of the jam though by getting pinch hitter Merv Burgess to fly out to center. Fernandez also pitches out of a 1st and 3rd jam in the 9th. Different year, same old tired story for the Terriers. After a great outing from Ray Campbell (8 IP, 1 ER, 3 K’s), the Terriers have to go to their bullpen in the 9th. RHP Dan MacCall doesn’t even record an out as the Bells load the bases and then star 3B Stan McQuistan sends all the Kalamazoo faithful home happy with an RBI single! “That game was a grind out there, let me tell you. Every time either team got something going, it just made Rickey or Ray dig in deeper and get out of it. It’s nice to get the game winning hit after a game like that,” McQuistan said afterwards. Leads the best of 7 series 1-0.
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07-14-2007, 04:56 PM
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#89 |
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Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 198
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Game 2 After a dominating ML Championship Series outing, LHP Elian Abilez takes the mound trying to get the Bells one step closer to another championship. “Right now, he might be the best pitcher in the game,” an anonymous ML scout said. He will be opposed by the excellent RHP Josh MacCord. There’s a feeling in the Terrier clubhouse that they cannot return home down 0-2. Abilez goes 1-2-3, but the same cannot be said for MacCord. He starts off a little shaky as he walks two batter and gives up a single that loaded the bases for RF Isaiah Stroud. He get Stroud to pop out though and escapes the inning, albeit after 33 pitches in the inning. As the game progresses, MacCord continues to get into trouble by walking too many batters, but gets out of the jam every time. Meanwhile, Abilez was just firing all cylinders until he walked the bases loaded in the 4th. He gets CF Severo Ahumade to fly out to end the threat though. Through 4 innings, MacCord has 76 pitches and Abilez has 75. The bullpens better be ready. The Terriers finally break through in the top of the 6th as 3B Paul Jenkins hits an RBI single after the Bells seemingly got out of a big threat. “Paul’s hit was huge. In a tight game like this was, one run is sometimes all you need,” manager Marcos Moreno said. In the bottom of the 6th, the Bells showed why they are the preeminent team in the MOBL. After giving up a tough run in the top of the inning, LF Miguel Bermejo knocks Stan McQuistan in with a key RBI double that ties the game and knocks MacCord out of the game. The Terriers show their resolve in the top of the 7th though as SS Lesta Truesdale knocks RF Syman Shores home with an RBI single, this all thanks to a wild pitch from RHP Evaristo Scarlett that put Shores on 2nd base. CF Jesus Rosalda leads off the bottom of the 8th with a double, but the Terrier bullpen proves to be up to the task as Rosalda doesn’t even advance to 3rd. As good as the Terrier bullpen had been going into the 9th, closer RHP Dan MacCall clearly is not good enough to handle that role. He gives up a game-tying home run to 1B Florinio Hernando as the Bells fans cheer wildly, mocking MacCall every time he gets ready to pitch. “We need a better effort from our closer and that’s the bottom line,” a disappointed Moreno said post-game. The Terriers get something going in the top of the 10th as they have men at 1st and 2nd with nobody out, but C Tim Crase hits into a crucial double play (2nd time this game Crase hit into a crucial DP) and Paul Jenkins grounds out to end the threat. Crase didn’t talk to reporters after this rough game. After both teams have used just about every guy on their bench and every pitcher in their bullpen, the Bells win Game 2 in 13 innings thanks to the unlikeliest of heroes. Normally just a pinch runner, Vick Kirby comes into pinch hit for the pitcher and gets a base hit that fires up the entire Bells dugout. Kirby has never been known for his bat, but he gets things started and scores the winning run racing home from 2nd and beats the throw from Syman Shores after a single by LF Gustavus Bartlett (who came in for Miguel Bermejo earlier in the game). “Seeing Vick get that hit just gave us that confidence we needed to win this game and win it now,” an elated Bartlett said after the game. “I was just trying to get something started and it worked,” a red-faced, but grinning Kirby said. The series shifts to Canton now with the Terriers feeling like they should have won at least one of these games. Moreno has a decision to make about his closer MacCall after he’s arguably been the biggest reason they are down 0-2. Leads the best of 7 series 2-0 |
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07-26-2007, 12:24 PM
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#90 |
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Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 198
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Game 3
The Terriers return home to their raucous fans, who are ecstatic to be hosting a Gehringer-Sisler Cup game for the first time. And what better man to have on the mound than the near perfect LHP Howard West? They have a distinct advantage in the pitching department as the Bells send out RHP Rich Nichols. The Terriers are hoping to jump on him early. West shows some nerves in the 1st as he gets himself into a bases loaded jam but strikes out CF Jesus Rosalda to end the inning. “I was a bit wild there in the 1st, but I made a nice pitch to get him swinging,” West said post-game. He doesn’t get out of trouble in the 2nd though as 1B Florinio Hernando continues to be a major thorn in the side of the Terriers, hitting an RBI double to put the Bells up 1-0. SS Telo Welter follows up a walk to 2B Pedro Mateo with an RBI single and the Bells are up 2-0. Rich Nichols continues to just deal against this Terrier lineup, while West continually has to work out of jams. “I felt good out there. It’s been my dream to finally get a chance to pitch in a game of this magnitude and I’m not going to take it lightly,” former Archer Nichols said. He also credited the fact that he’s very familiar with this Terrier lineup and that made a difference. Every time the Terriers get something cooking, Nichols shuts them down and it just gives the Bells hitters confidence. They pad onto their lead when RF Isaiah Stroud takes reliever LHP Mike Ormiston deep for a 2-run home run in the 8th and the Bells are in firm control of this game and the series. Nichols final line – 8.2 IP, 0 ER, 4 Hits, 5 BB, 2 K’s. Enough said. Leads the best of 7 series 3-0
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07-26-2007, 12:28 PM
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#91 |
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Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 198
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Game 4 One more win and arguably the most dominant team ever in the history of the MOBL will win another championship, without having lost a single game in the postseason. “We know how close we are, but it doesn’t mean much without actually winning that fourth game. They have nothing to lose and will come out trying to prove they aren’t just going to lay down,” Bells SS Telo Welter said The Bells send the young, but promising RHP Jose Guatarrez to the mound to try and seal the deal. He is being opposed by LHP Tommy Lafferty. The Bells don’t waste much time in proving they want to win this series here and now as 2B Pedro Mateo takes Lafferty deep in the 1st and gives them a 1-0 lead. Guatarrez starts off with some wildness, but, as usual, the Bells get out of it with a huge double play to preserve the lead. This continues to be the biggest problem the Terriers have – consistently not hitting with men on base, especially hitting into killer double plays. 3B Stan McQuistan was red hot after the ML Championship Series, but had been held in check a bit in this Cup Final. He hits a crushing homer to left in the 2nd inning though and adds to his impressive postseason for this young superstar. “Stan’s got it all. He doesn’t have any holes really and is really starting to develop into that superstar role,” Bells manager Arlo Rojas said. In the 4th inning, the Bells get yet another solo homer, this time from SS Telo Welter. They then tack on another run with back-to-back hits from CF Jesus Rosalda and RF Isaiah Stroud. “It’s like they sensed blood in the water. We just didn’t have anything to counter what they were doing to us. It was impressive,” Terriers star LF Peter Northcutt said. When you’re a pitcher and you’ve given up 44 home runs on the season, one expects to give up a couple per game. But with the way the Bells are doing it, tattooing tape measure shots, you know that Tommy Lafferty is not on his game. Welter hits another solo shot in the 6th that is measured at a whopping 501 feet. Rosalda follows up with a 430 foot shot of his own, which chases Lafferty, who gave up 5 home runs in this game. The Bells now lead 6-0 and the feeling throughout the Canton dugout, stadium and city is that this series is over. The Terriers get on the board, but the Bells add 4 more runs in the 9th, including a 2-run double from Welter, as he’s been the star of this game, going 3-5 with 2 HR’s and 4 RBI’s. The Bells lead 10-1 going into the bottom of the 9th and not many fans are there to see it. But the ones that are there are making lots of noise as they take the field as the Bells fans at the game are the only ones that seem to be left. A diving catch by LF Miguel Bermejo seals the 3rd straight Gehringer-Sisler Cup for the Kalamazoo Bells!!! “We have something special here and I think every guy in this locker room knows it. I’m already looking forward to make it four in a row!” RHP Rickey Benson said amongst all the celebration. A grinning and wide-eyes Rojas, his first year as Bells manager, hugs the Cup all night and says to the reporters that “I’m not letting go of this until they pry it away from me.” So, the only team to ever win the Cup wins it again thanks to their pitching staff. Somehow, they keep finding the season vets that seem to have nothing left and they pitch brilliantly in the postseason. And the scary thought is that not only is a 4th Cup possible, a 5th and 6th in a row are possible. MVP’s – Kalamazoo Starting Pitchers (RHP Rickey Benson, LHP Elian Abilez, RHP Rich Nichols, RHP Jose Guatarrez) – 2-0, 1.17 ERA, 26 Hits, 22 K’s, 30.2 IP In what can only be seen as a dominating performance by a pitching staff, the Bells’ starters were unbelievable in this series and all four of them deserve this award. Unsung Hero – Kalamazoo SS Telo Welter – .333, .400 OBP, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 SB Mr. Clutch comes through again in the postseason. He was a one-man wrecking crew in Game 4 and was the catalyst in Game 1. These are his postseason stats at this point in his career - .376, .455 OBP, 10 HR, 29 RBI, 4 2B’s, 3 3B’s, 16 SB’s in 29 Games! A more powerful Derek Jeter? Goat – Canton C Tim Crase - .375, 2 2B’s, 1 3B, 0 RBI Game 1, Bot 4th, Crase Passed Ball, SS Telo Welter scores, Bells take a 2-1 lead Game 2, Top 6th, SS Truesdale and LF Northcutt on 2nd and 1st respectively, nobody out, Crase grounds into double play, score remains 0-0 Game 2, Top 10th, SS Truesdale and LF Northcutt on 2nd and 1st respectively, nobody out, Crase grounds into double play, score remains 2-2 Game 3, Bot 4th, SS Truesdale, LF Northcutt, 2B Harvis at 3rd, 2nd and 1st respectively, one out, Crase pops up to the SS Welter, score remains 2-0 Bells I know he batted pretty well in this series, but if he had come through in the crucial moments of these games, the series could be tied at 2 games apiece. LVP (Least Valuable Player) – I’m going to cut him some slack because he just came back from the DL, but the big first baseman went 0-12 in this series and had some pretty key at bats where he couldn’t come through. This award could easily go to the entire Terrier lineup, which was pitiful in this series, especially in the clutch. Congratulations to the Kalamazoo Bells - the 1942 Gehringer-Sisler Cup winners!!! 
Last edited by woodfeld; 07-26-2007 at 12:30 PM. |
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12-03-2007, 09:13 PM
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#92 |
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Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 198
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It's back! The MOBL is back after a long hiatus as I'm sure many of you have eagerly awaited its return.
 Ohio League Silver Sluggers C – Jose Rayo – Dayton Pilots - .303, .384 OBP, 17 HR, 68 RBI, 36 2B’s, 4 3B’s, 70 Runs, 1 SB 1B – Jesus Badilla – Zanesville Engineers - .312, .382 OBP, 42 HR, 108 RBI, 43 2B’s, 7 3B’s, 102 Runs 2B – Harden Evans – Chillicothe Indians - .275, .410 OBP, 29 HR, 84 RBI, 29 2B’s, 3 3B’s, 100 Runs, 2 SB’s (2nd Silver Slugger) SS – Tony ‘Ducky’ Tiner – Toledo Admirals - .352, .498 OBP, 40 HR, 121 RBI, 26 2B’s, 3 3B’s, 130 Runs (3rd Silver Slugger) 3B – Alyn LaPierre – Akron Red Irons - .311, .391 OBP, 31 HR, 83 RBI, 40 2B’s, 3 3B’s, 94 Runs, 1 SB OF – Peter Northcutt – Canton Terriers - .331, .444 OBP, 20 HR, 79 RBI, 43 2B’s, 110 Runs, 6 SB’s (2nd Silver Slugger) OF – Jake ‘Jitters’ Richards – Columbus Archers - .310, .360 OBP, 50 HR, 136 RBI, 45 2B’s, 4 3B’s, 114 Runs, 12 SB’s OF – Bob Harvey – Toledo Admirals - .324, .420 OBP, 25 HR, 77 RBI, 26 2B’s, 5 3B’s, 120 Runs, 11 SB’s (3rd Silver Slugger) Gold Gloves P – Paul Kettlewell – Akron Red Irons (2nd Gold Glove) C – Tim Crase – 1B – Jorell Mickel – 2B – Harden Evans – SS – Shawn Agan – 3B – Dave Waterman – LF – Greg Bleasdale – CF – Jaime ‘Destiny’ Rijo – RF – Juan Satelo – Most Outstanding Pitcher – RHP Josh MacCord – Canton Terriers – 21-3, 2.24 ERA, 277 K’s, 0.97 WHIP, 220.2 IP Most Outstanding Batter – SS Tony ‘Ducky’ Tiner – Toledo Admirals - .352, .498 OBP, 40 HR, 121 RBI, 130 Runs Rookie of the Year – 3B Dave Waterman – Columbus Archers - .253, .322 OBP, 35 HR, 109 RBI, 28 2B’s, 2 3B’s, 73 Runs Silver Sluggers C – Benjamin Landers – Kalamazoo Bells - .357, .433 OBP, 9 HR, 57 RBI, 37 2B’s, 3 3B’s, 76 Runs, 4 SB’s (2nd Silver Slugger) 1B – Florinio ‘Tag’ Hernando – Kalamazoo Bells - .299, .399 OBP, 21 HR, 69 RBI, 23 2B’s, 7 3B’s, 116 Runs, 56 SB’s 2B – John Watson – Iron Mountain Miners - .304, .413 OBP, 29 HR, 92 RBI, 15 2B’s, 2 3B’s, 79 Runs, 1 SB (3rd Silver Slugger) SS – Telo Welter – Kalamazoo Bells - .279, .358 OBP, 38 HR, 98 RBI, 26 2B’s, 3 3B’s, 106 Runs, 27 SB’s (2nd Silver Slugger) 3B – Stan McQuistan – Kalamazoo Bells - .318, .359 OBP, 31 HR, 113 RBI, 37 2B’s, 3 3B’s, 88 Runs, 2 SB’s (2nd Silver Slugger) OF – Kev Taylor – Grand Rapids Blue Lakers - .285, .346 OBP, 49 HR, 128 RBI, 30 2B’s, 6 3B’s, 110 Runs, 11 SB’s (3rd Silver Slugger) OF – Jon Koepke – Grand Rapids Blue Lakers - .302, .356 OBP, 28 HR, 101 RBI, 30 2B’s, 5 3B’s, 95 Runs, 7 SB’s (2nd Silver Slugger) OF – Gold Gloves P – Edgar Guzman – C – Benjamin Landers – 1B – Florinio ‘Tag’ Hernando – 2B – Jack Eaddy – Sault Ste. Marie White Lakers SS – Phil High – Mackinac Trolleys 3B – Zach von Bohlen – Grand Rapids Blue Lakers LF – Kev Taylor – CF – Jon Koepke – RF – Isaiah Stroud – Most Outstanding Pitcher – RHP Rickey ‘Moby Dick’ Benson – Kalamazoo Bells – 24-5, 2.23 ERA, 280 K’s, 0.97 WHIP, 254.2 IP (3rd MOP) Most Oustanding Batter – RF Vernon ‘Clueless’ Rookie of the Year – C Boswell Seppings – Mackinac Trolleys - .307, .393 OBP, 11 HR, 59 RBI, 34 2B’s, 1 3B, 75 Runs |
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12-03-2007, 09:25 PM
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#93 |
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Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 198
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1943 Season Preview North Division Predicted finish in division – 2nd Minor League system ranking – 14th (out of 16) The Miners weren’t too thrilled with how they finished the 1942 season, so some offseason changes were needed. After trading star LF Elroy Graves to Ann Arbor for RHP George Price last year, they sent Price to Best Hitter – LF Pablo Portio (12 Contact, 20 Gap, 17 Power, 12 Eye, 10 Avoiding K’s) Best Pitcher – RHP Carlton Wunderlich (16 Stuff, 14 Movement, 15 Control) Best Prospect not in the majors – AAA 3B Clement Magennis, 22 Years Old. Potential – (9 Contact, 9 Gap, 13 Power, 12 Eye, 4 Avoiding K’s) Magennis improved after a full season in AAA Marquette last year but still struggled with making good contact (.225 BA) but the good news is that current Miner 3B Garland Huggler struggled mightily last year (.237, .273 OBP) and thus Magennis should have a shot at the job sometime this season. Turn back the clock – 1941 Top Prospect Update – 1B Greg Huber – Huber is now in his 2nd full season with the big club and could be the most powerful hitter when he is in the lineup. 1B Teo Mendievel is blocking him from playing every day, but Huber is the first pinch hitter used and could be trade bait as he is a 30-40 HR hitter waiting to be unleashed. Mackinac Trolleys Predicted finish in division – 1st Minor League system ranking – 6th (out of 16) The defending ML North champs finally put it all together and while the playoffs were a disappointment, this organization looks to have a bright future. The lineup is littered with good hitters, though there is a power deficiency. Superstar 2B Mike Helmick returns from an injury plagued 1942 and C Boswell Seppings couldn’t have had a more fabulous rookie year. Having these two potential .330 hitters in their lineup will lead to plenty of opportunities for LF Vasco Ayala and RF Barden Arbuthnott to knock them in. They also have a Gold Glove left side of the infield in SS Phil High and 3B Best Hitter – C Boswell Seppings (19 Contact, 14 Gap, 12 Power, 17 Eye, 15 Avoiding K’s) Best Pitcher – RHP Timothy Hart (16 Stuff, 12 Movement, 14 Control) Best Prospect not in the majors – AAA RF Archard Potter, 22 Years Old. Potential – (10 Contact, 13 Gap, 8 Power, 13 Eye, 8 Avoiding K’s) Potter doesn’t appear to be anything more than a decent bat off the bench or a defensive sub. His selection as the best prospect has more to do with the fact that the big club has 4 prospects playing with the Trolleys already (C Seppings, CF Ulises Bamboa, 1B Lucio Depasopil, 3B Rub). Turn back the clock – 1941 Top Prospect Update – CF Ulises Bamboa – One of the reasons the Trolleys traded CF Jon Koepke last year was because of the immense talent Bamboa has. He is the best defensive center fielder in the game, runs the bases well and has the potential to be a good hitter. He hasn’t really put it all together at the plate yet, but having young CF Gill Moriarty battle him for playing time may not be the greatest idea for this Trolleys team. Sault Ste. Marie White Lakers Predicted finish in division – 3rd Minor League system ranking – 8th (out of 16) The White Lakers will continue to be a threat in a tight ML North race this season. After they picked up 3B Jim Trent last year, 3B Miguel Infante became expendable but they couldn’t find a home for him. This turned out to be good fortune for the White Lakers as Best Hitter – RF Vernon ‘Clueless’ Best Pitcher – Closer LHP Seth ‘Hack’ Gabriel (20 Stuff, 13 Movement, 19 Control) Best Prospect not in the majors – A SS Todd Walker, 19 Years Old. Potential – (13 Contact, 14 Gap, 13 Power, 5 Eye, 15 Avoiding K’s) While he has struggled to adjust to pro ball, Turn back the clock – 1941 Top Prospect Update – RF Ben Myers – Currently patrolling left field for the Black Irons, this future superstar was inexplicably waived last year and subsequently picked up by Predicted finish in division – 4th Minor League system ranking – 3rd (out of 16) While I fully expect this Cherry team to be competitive, they are most definitely a step behind the other three teams in this division. They are a young, exciting and up and coming team no doubt though. It could have been an even rosier future if they hadn’t traded star prospect C Jordy Sankey for a guy that’s currently sitting in AAA Big Rapids, 3B Jon McCord. Maybe trying to make up for that mistake, they went out and picked up 27-year old C Walsh Wrangham from Best Hitter – CF Dave Batt (17 Contact, 8 Gap, 17 Power, 8 Eye, 19 Avoiding K’s) Best Pitcher – RHP Jonathan Emmons (11 Stuff, 12 Movement, 12 Control) Best Prospect not in the majors – AA LHP Pancho Vargas, 20 Years Old. Potential – (11 Stuff, 15 Movement, 12 Control) For the third year in a row, Vargas is the top prospect in the Cherries organization. He played well in the four games he played in AA Ludington last year (2-1, 4.18 ERA) and could get moved up to AAA at some point this season. The fans eagerly await the tall, lanky lefty from Turn back the clock – 1941 Top Prospect Update – LHP Pancho Vargas – See above. Vargas has performed well at every step and could be the ace the Cherries have been waiting for. Last edited by woodfeld; 12-03-2007 at 09:26 PM. |
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12-04-2007, 09:23 AM
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#94 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Virginia
Posts: 3,145
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It's good to see this dynasty back up and running!
 The Trolleys made a good run in '42, and hopefully they'll follow it up with an even better '43 season. Seppings looks like the real deal, and Hart certainly is. If Helmick can stay healthy and LaFlamme has another outstanding year left...
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My dynasties: The Base Ball Life of Patrick O'Farrell: 2014 inductee, OOTP Dynasty Hall of Fame Kenilworth: A Town and its Team: fun with a fictional league |
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12-05-2007, 11:53 AM
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#95 |
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Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 198
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Thanks Big Six, it's good to be back. I definitely lost interest after the 1942 season finished, mainly because of the AI bug where a team would inexplicably put their best prospect on waivers (see Ben Myers, David Massiter). I'll be purchasing OOTP 2007 soon though and hopefully this is fixed in the new version. Though I may have to play the 1943 season on OOTP 2006 since I'm already at Opening Day (I've been told it's best to load the 2006 dynasty to the 2007 version after the playoffs have completed).
The Trolleys have always looked like the best team in the ML North to me (1940-1943), but they haven't always peformed up to their abilities. They have a young team and some are really starting to be dominant (Seppings, Hart). If guys like Bamboa, Rub and Arbuthnott can step up and perform to what they are capable of, look out. I have them as the 3rd best team in the ML though. Who's ahead of them? You'll have to wait and see in the ML South preview.
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12-07-2007, 11:38 PM
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#96 |
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Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 198
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Michigan League
South Division  Ann Arbor Democrats Predicted finish in division – 2nd Minor League system ranking – 12th (out of 16) The Democrats couldn’t have hoped for a more immediate impact when they acquired RF Elroy Graves last season. Best Hitter – RF Elroy Graves (14 Contact, 15 Gap, 15 Power, 14 Eye, 11 Avoiding K’s) Best Pitcher – LHP John ‘Cobra’ Best Prospect not in the majors – AA LF Julio Andujar, 19 Years Old. Potential – (13 Contact, 14 Gap, 11 Power, 7 Eye, 17 Avoiding K’s) Projected to be a poor man’s 5-tool player, Andujar has steadily improved since being the Dems’ 1st round pick in 1941. He’ll get his first taste of AA ball, but this Turn back the clock – 1941 Top Prospect Update – 3B Augustin Gowdy – After a full season of playing almost every day, Gowdy is back riding the pine as the Dems’ best pinch hitter. He peformed pretty well in his rookie campaign (.254, .336 OBP, 10 HR, 45 RBI) last year and really should be starting somewhere to continue his development into a fine, young third baseman. Predicted finish in division – 4th Minor League system ranking – 1st (out of 16) The Blue Lakers have featured one of the most powerful lineups in the league, but a weak pitching staff and little contact hitting has done them in every year. This season is no different as RF Kev Taylor, CF Jon Koepke and 1B Jeff Hafer will bring plenty of bop to the lineup, but other than Koepke, there aren’t any very good contact hitters. They will also be missing RF Edgardo Grateda for the first 4 months of the season after suffering a torn ACL last September. They picked up enigmatic LF Bob Dingwall after he outwore his welcome in Best Hitter – RF Kev Taylor (12 Contact, 14 Gap, 20 Power, 14 Eye, 11 Avoiding K’s) Best Pitcher – RHP Fernando Garcia (9 Stuff, 14 Movement, 12 Control) Best Prospect not in the majors – AAA 3B Ron Ewing, 20 Years Old. Potential – (11 Contact, 13 Gap, 15 Power, 10 Eye, 10 Avoiding K’s) This powerful righty has made it up the ranks very quickly after he displayed a sweet stroke in A Grand Haven (.308, .389 OBP) last year. With a young 3B Zach van Bohlen patrolling third currently, there could be a trade in the future as Turn back the clock – 1941 Top Prospect Update – RHP Anthony Lewington – Still projected to be an excellent starter, Lewington finds himself in AAA Holland even though he doesn’t appear to be ready. Still only 21, he hasn’t proven himself beyond A ball yet, so the Blue Lakers are taking a leap of faith with him here. He only has a 86 mph fastball but he can move it around well, which should put him in the majors within a couple years. Predicted finish in division – 1st Minor League system ranking – 16th (out of 16) Ace pitching staff? Check. Lights out bullpen? Check. Contact hitters? Check. Power hitters? Check. Speed? Check. Gold Glove fielders? Check. Young superstars? Check. Veteran star presence? Check. A GM who finds castaway veterans that become stars again? Check. Managers that make all the right decisions? Check. Dynasty? Check. Best Hitter – C Benjamin Landers (19 Contact, 15 Gap, 12 Power, 12 Eye, 13 Avoiding K’s) Best Pitcher – RHP Rickey ‘Moby Dick’ Benson (17 Stuff, 16 Movement, 13 Control) Best Prospect not in the majors – Short Season RF Mario Olivares, 18 Years Old. Potential – (10 Contact, 11 Gap, 12 Power, 9 Eye, 9 Avoiding K’s) If there is one area where the Bells have been subpar, it is scouting/drafting young talent. They have struck out on a number of prospects. Olivares (1942 2nd round pick) could become a nice bat off the bench but the cupboard is bare in the Bells’ system for farm talent. Turn back the clock – 1941 Top Prospect Update – LHP D.J. Davis – After dominating AAA hitters last year, Davis is ready to be Bells’ closer RHP Bob Aylmer’s setup man, but is still sitting at AAA Battle Creek for the time being. Hopefully he gets the call up at some point this season as this 22 year old with a wicked splitter is chomping at the bit. Predicted finish in division – 3rd Minor League system ranking – 11th (out of 16) A very strong pitching staff and bullpen will propel this good looking Caps team to contention this season. The wild card could be offseason acquisition Detroit-born LHP Ivar Calthorpe. After wallowing in Best Hitter – RF Edward ‘Barbwire’ Chisholm (14 Contact, 17 Gap, 18 Power, 12 Eye, 13 Avoiding K’s) Best Pitcher – LHP Joe O’Crouley (11 Stuff, 16 Movement, 15 Control) Best Prospect not in the majors – AAA 2B Clancy Samuels, 25 Years Old. Potential – (16 Contact, 8 Gap, 11 Power, 14 Eye, 20 Avoiding K’s) I think everyone knows Samuels story by this point. Scouts finally seem to have a good read on his abilities though and that is of a leadoff man that plays solid D. He has what every team would like in a leadoff hitter to with good contact, a good eye, good speed and the ability to rarely, if at all, strike out, while batting from both sides of the plate. Turn back the clock – 1941 Top Prospect Update – 3B Clancy Samuels – See above. Samuels has solidified himself in scouts’ eyes while learning a second position. He should be a very valuable piece in the Capitals’ organization. |
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12-08-2007, 04:23 PM
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#97 |
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Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 198
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Ohio League East Division  Akron Red Irons Predicted finish in division – 4th Minor League system ranking – 7th (out of 16) A little known fact around the MOBL has been the development of Red Iron 3B Alyn LaPierre into a superstar. LaPierre is a part of a nice crop of young third basemen coming into their own (Stan McQuistan of Kalamazoo and Dave Waterman of Best Hitter – 3B Alyn LaPierre (16 Contact, 16 Gap, 15 Power, 15 Eye, 11 Avoiding K’s) Best Pitcher – RHP Felix Best Prospect not in the majors – A RF Jose Rodriguez, 21 Years Old. Potential – (16 Contact, 11 Gap, 14 Power, 15 Eye, 6 Avoiding K’s) After playing three seasons of short season ball, Rodriguez finally gets a chance to play 100 games in a season this year. Quickly developing a power stroke the Red Irons could desperately use (12 HR’s in 43 games last year), Rodriguez still has star potential and could be in the Red Iron outfield sometime next year if all goes well. Turn back the clock – 1941 Top Prospect Update – RF Jose Rodriguez – See above. Rodriguez is beginning to show the signs of being a top draft pick as he was named the MOB in Short Season ball last year. Predicted finish in division – 2nd Minor League system ranking – 13th (out of 16) The Terriers will boast the best pitching rotation in the MOBL yet again, but will a weak lineup and the closer problems hold them back from repeating as OL East champs? I don’t see any reason why a Terrier pitcher won’t win the MOP yet again this year. Will this finally be the year that LHP Howard West wins the award? He is the best looking pitcher on paper but has yet to take home any hardware despite fabulous statistics (career 58-24 record, 2.25 ERA, 0.98 WHIP). Time is beginning to become a question mark though as 3 of the big 4 are at least 30 years old (LHP Tommy Lafferty being the exception). “I don’t care what anyone else thinks. They are the favorites to win that division until they don’t have one or two have those guys anymore,” one OL scout said. Questions still rage about closer RHP Dan MacCall and if there is anything the Terriers will do about it. The biggest trade of the offseason was a head-scratcher that leaves the offense in a bit of disarray. The Terriers shipped star RF Syman Shores to division rival Best Hitter – LF Peter Northcutt (18 Contact, 20 Gap, 12 Power, 16 Eye, 16 Avoiding K’s) Best Pitcher – LHP Howard ‘Merlin’ West (17 Stuff, 19 Movement, 14 Control) Best Prospect not in the majors – AAA LHP Brishen Sanders, 21 Years Old. Potential – (11 Stuff, 12 Movement, 14 Control) After bouncing around in trades for a couple years, Sanders could be on the move again this year as he is almost ready for MOBL action (10-14, 3.98 ERA in AAA last year) and the Terriers don’t exactly have room for him. Sanders is a pitcher that likes to mix it up with his 5 different pitches, though his sinker might be his out pitch. Turn back the clock – 1941 Top Prospect Update – RF Cory Rick – The Terriers tried to turn Rick into a center fielder, where they had a hole, but it doesn’t look like he can take to that demanding position. At this point, Rick looks like nothing more than a decent bat off the bench (.207 in 121 AB’s with  Predicted finish in division – 1st Minor League system ranking – 5th (out of 16) One team’s castaway is another’s gold is what the Black Irons are finding. After picking up LF Ben Myers off waivers and trading for RF Jacob Davis and then trading him for RF Syman Shores, this Black Iron team is ready to be the new dominant team in the OL East. After being the biggest disappointments of the 1942 season, ownership cleaned house in the coaching department and GM James Geer made some excellent trades to solidify this team for the future. “Geer should get the GM of the century award right now for the deals he’s been able to pull off. Now it’s up those new coaches to harness that talent,” one national newspaper said leading up to the 1943 season. The lineup only features a couple of real power guys (C Calvin Faithorne and 1B Martin Cook) but this team will score plenty of runs this season. There are lots of excellent contact hitters and lots of speed in the lineup. CF Toshiyuki Ishimura is the best center fielder in the game right now but is out for the first two months of the season while guys like SS Bart Kenedy and CF Alan Scarberry will look to pick up the slack in the lineup and on the field respectively. While the hitting has never really been the main problem for the Black Irons, there is reason for optimism in the pitching department. They made a great trade in picking up RHP George Price and LHP Scott Moroney (14-10, 3.83 ERA in 1942) is ready to make the leap to MOP candidate. After picking up LHP Clark Josephson and RHP John Reinheart during the 1942 season, things are looking much rosier for the staff. Throw in a good bullpen featuring LHP Leigh Edwards, RHP Pat O’Mulrony and closer RHP Bo Schumaker and you can see why this team looks like the best the OL East has to offer. Best Hitter – RF Syman Shores (14 Contact, 18 Gap, 12 Power, 13 Eye, 13 Avoiding K’s) Best Pitcher – LHP Scott Moroney (13 Stuff, 12 Movement, 16 Control) Best Prospect not in the majors – AAA LHP Anthony Boyd, 24 Years Old. Potential – (9 Stuff, 14 Movement, 15 Control) Should anyone in the Black Iron rotation struggle, the Black Irons have a young future ace ready to be called up. Boyd has done well in his rise up the ranks as his powerful sinker has baffled many a hitters. If he doesn’t make it this year, he certainly should next year. Turn back the clock – 1941 Top Prospect Update – LHP Anthony Boyd – See above. While his record doesn’t exactly show it, Boyd did well in his first taste of AAA baseball (7-13, 3.80 ERA, 119 K’s in 168 IP). Predicted finish in division – 3rd Minor League system ranking – 2nd (out of 16) After toiling through some rough years where they pieced together a team of castaways, the Engineers can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel. They have a great nucleus of young pitchers that should keep them in contention this year. RHP Wil Sanchez has the look of a future ace after the 24 year old Cuban went 12-7 with a 3.67 ERA last year. Former 1st round pick RHP Dan Lang is also looking to make the leap to ace after struggling a bit (3-7, 5.16 ERA) in his first taste of MOBL action last year. Veteran RHP Rafael Garza needs to bounce back though after he endured an awful season (8-17, 5.90 ERA in 1942) and they hope RHP Ronald Norfleet can get back to ace status after regressing a bit (12-15, 3.69 ERA in 1942). The offense starts and ends with MOB candidate 1B Jesus Badilla. After posting an unbelievable season last year (.312, 42 HR, 108 RBI), this big Georgian is looking to repeat it and then some. “I thought I had a pretty good year, but I know I can be better. I’m going to have to be if we want to do some things in the OL East this year,” Badilla said in spring training. The Engineers made a nice trade in picking up leadoff hitter 2B Tom Best Hitter – 1B Jesus Badilla (15 Contact, 17 Gap, 14 Power, 9 Eye, 8 Avoiding K’s) Best Pitcher – RHP Wil Sanchez (13 Stuff, 15 Movement, 11 Control) Best Prospect not in the majors – A 3B Alexander Grove, 19 Years Old. Potential – (16 Contact, 18 Gap, 10 Power, 13 Eye, 11 Avoiding K’s) After posting a decent season in Short Season ball last year, Grove looks to put up big numbers in a full season of work at A Marietta this year. An intelligent player, Grove knows how to take a pitch and has already been named team captain at Turn back the clock – 1941 Top Prospect Update – LF Vasco Ayala – There wasn’t much room in the Engineer outfield, so they shipped Ayala to Mackinac for current starting C Kris Edmonston. Ayala posted some decent numbers (.240, 17 HR, 59 RBI) in his first full season as the Trolleys look to him to provide more power this season. |
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12-09-2007, 02:23 PM
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#98 |
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Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 198
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Ohio League
West Division  Chillicothe Indians Predicted finish in division – 4th Minor League system ranking – 4th (out of 16) The Indians made no blockbuster trade like last year, instead sitting with the team that finished in 2nd place. This could backfire on them as the pitching is in desperate need of some help. RHP Rudy Hatton is the best returning starter from last year’s team (13-9, 3.88 ERA in 1942) and he overachieved last year. LHP John Sturtevant could be good if he catches some lucky breaks and they have two Bells castaways in LHP Noad Reddaway and LHP Colin Weakley. The Bells seem to have a sixth sense when it comes to aging vets so you can’t really expect these two to carry the team. “I just don’t see how they can compete in the OL with that rotation and the bullpen’s not much better,” one ML scout said. The good news is that the offense is very strong. Starting with 2B Harden Evans, who will be in the running for MOB no doubt, this is an offense that is both powerful and able to get on base. One year into the trade for Evans and it’s already completely lopsided as Admirals fans are calling for the GM’s head. He is capable of putting up some unbelievable numbers this year and he’ll have help in young LF Anderson Juarez. Best Hitter – 2B Harden Evans (15 Contact, 19 Gap, 17 Power, 18 Eye, 13 Avoiding K’s) Best Pitcher – Closer LHP Myles ‘Tired’ Shaffer (19 Stuff, 18 Movement, 12 Control) Best Prospect not in the majors – A 3B Augie Resto, 19 Years Old. Potential – (17 Contact, 9 Gap, 20 Power, 10 Eye, 16 Avoiding K’s) Another member of the younger bumper crop of excellent looking third basemen. The scouts vary widely on Resto, but many agree he will be a very strong MOBL player in the future. With the type of work ethic and leadership he has, he’ll be a fan favorite everywhere he plays. Turn back the clock – 1941 Top Prospect Update – 2B Antonio Amparan – A member of the opening day roster for the big club, this former first round pick was switched back to SS and is currently riding the pine. That won’t be for long though as they need him to be their everday shortstop and he will be the leadoff hitter they desperately need as well. The future looks bright for this native Ohioan. Columbus Archers Predicted finish in division – 2nd Minor League system ranking – 9th (out of 16) The Archers return virtually the same team as last year, but that’s not such bad news as they have many young players looking to make a jump. 3B Dave Waterman, LF Bip Stuck, RHP Bill Herr, RHP Pooky Wainwright, LHP John Pickham are all ready to take a leap and put this Archers team in the playoffs for the first time ever. Waterman had a spectacular rookie year (.253, 35 HR, 109 RBI) as a 21 year old and is quickly becoming one of the preeminent power hitters in the MOBL. “He’s got all the makings to be a consistent 50 homer guy. Maybe even a 60 homer guy,” one OL scout said. Of course, one guy that’s already reached that 50 home run plateau is CF Jake Richards. The 36 year old is still one of the best players in the game and the respected captain knows that his top goal of getting the Archers to the Cup is within reach this year. The pitching rotation will rely heavily on how RHP Tony Navarro does. The 28 year old has all the makings of a staff ace but can’t seem to focus in enough each year to be the consistent starter they need. LHP Roberto Pagan has been nothing short of incredible since his conversion from reliever and closer RHP John Goforth is still one of the better closers out there. This team has what it takes to be OL West champions, it’s just a matter of putting the pieces in the right place. Best Hitter – CF Jake ‘Jitters’ Richards (13 Contact, 18 Gap, 16 Power, 9 Eye, 14 Avoiding K’s) Best Pitcher – LHP Roberto Pagan (15 Stuff, 15 Movement, 13 Control) Best Prospect not in the majors – AA 3B Jonathon Bennett, 19 Years Old. Potential – (12 Contact, 11 Gap, 17 Power, 15 Eye, 7 Avoiding K’s) The Archers are blessed to have two young, excellent power hitting third basemen in their organization. While Bennett doesn’t project quite as well as Waterman, the native North Carolinian will eventually be a very productive MOBL player. Turn back the clock – 1941 Top Prospect Update – RHP Bill ‘Lumberjack’ Herr – After performing quite well in half a season (8-6, 3.89 ERA) in Columbus, the Archers strangely put Herr in the bullpen. This may be temporary though as Herr has all the makings of a good, consistent starter in this league with his deadly accurate slider. Predicted finish in division – 1st Minor League system ranking – 10th (out of 16) While the Terriers may have the best pitching rotation in the game, the Pilots have the best pitching staff by far. Many underestimate the importance of a good bullpen, but the Pilots have stressed the importance in the moves they’ve made. They are blessed with having two great young closers with RHP Mark Matthews (41 Saves, 1.98 ERA in 1942) and RHP Joey Iveson (15 Saves, 2.52 ERA in 1942). Iveson gets the nod as closer to start the season this year, but the two are pretty interchangeable. They picked up RHP John Cook (1-2, 2.45 ERA in 1942) from the Dems and have excellent looking RHP Sam Nelson (2-1, 2.70 ERA in 1942) ready for full time duty after seeing spot time in the past two seasons. Meanwhile, the Pilots still have one of the best rotations, starting with MOP candidate LHP Gurkan Tiffany (18-4, 1.85 ERA in 1942). Featuring a lethal slider that lefties can’t handle (.143 average vs. lefties in 1942), the 24 year old is just beginning to hit his prime. RHP Kristopher MacKail, LHP Sergio Rodriguez and RHP Enrico Sanatillan (picked up from the Black Irons) will give that tremendous bullpen plenty of leads to keep. Meanwhile, the offense is a force to be reckoned with as well. LF Greg Bleasdale, 1B Dookie Trout, C Jose Rayo and 3B/2B Marron Jones will lead this solid lineup. They lost 2B Damaso Sanabnia for the season in spring training though and that will hurt that early part of the order. Best Hitter – LF Greg Bleasdale (13 Contact, 14 Gap, 14 Power, 19 Eye, 9 Avoiding K’s) Best Pitcher – LHP Gurkan Tiffany (15 Stuff, 20 Movement, 15 Control) Best Prospect not in the majors – AAA RF Dan Treece, 22 Years Old. Potential – (13 Contact, 8 Gap, 8 Power, 16 Eye, 11 Avoiding K’s) Known mostly for his blazing speed and defensive ability, Treece is just about ready to take the reins in the Pilots outfield. After turning in a solid year in AAA Springfield last year (.349 OBP, 46 SB’s), he will look to start strong and hopefully get called up for some full time duty soon. Turn back the clock – 1941 Top Prospect Update – LF Humberto Hernandiz – After being waived by the Pilots during the 1941 season, Hernandiz was picked up by the Archers and saw a good amount of time (300 AB’s) last season but struggled mightily (.207, 7 HR, 21 RBI). He will again split time with the other Archer outfielders not named Richards. Predicted finish in division – 3rd Minor League system ranking – 15th (out of 16) Can he repeat it? That was the most asked question of Admirals fans during the offseason about the incredible season SS Tony Tiner had. He is clearly the best player in the game at the moment and at the tender age of 25 is only beginning to enter his prime. “I know there’s room for me to get better. I’d like to cut down on my strikeouts (97 last year), but most importantly I want to get us back into the Cup finals,” Tiner said while resting his arm that will keep him out of action the first week of the season. Meanwhile, the offense will be lead by the Three Musketeers in CF Bob Harvey (.324, 25 HR, 77 RBI in 1942), LF Alfredo Arcos (.296, 36 HR, 104 RBI) and RF Juan Satelo (.307, 52 HR, 149 RBI). So why on earth a team with that much offense would be predicted to finish in 3rd? Their pitching staff is not good and bordering on awful. The trades they’ve made haven’t exactly worked out (see RHP Hector Aguirre (13-14, 5.12 ERA in 1942)) and injuries have really plagued them (RHP Hershel Capers and RHP Julian Dearda are shells of their former selves) Even fan favorite LHP Pat McMurdoch has shown some chinks in his armor (13-12, 3.57 ERA in 1942). The bullpen isn’t much better as the Admirals have struggled to find a consistent closer as they turn to RHP Bill Oliver to fill that role this season. Best Hitter – SS Tony ‘Ducky’ Tiner (19 Contact, 14 Gap, 19 Power, 20 Eye, 15 Avoiding K’s) Best Pitcher – LHP Pat McMurdoch (7 Stuff, 17 Movement, 14 Control) Best Prospect not in the majors – AA 1B Chris Cox, 21 Years Old. Potential – (17 Contact, 17 Gap, 4 Power, 16 Eye, 7 Avoiding K’s) Known to have a wonderful swing, Cox is beginning to show he has some power in that 6’4” frame (7 HR last year). He plays great defense and can get on base frequently and will be a valuable addition to the Admiral lineup when he’s ready and current 1B John Slipper is ready to hang it up. Turn back the clock – 1941 Top Prospect Update – 1B Chris Cox – See above. Cox played very well in A Findlay last year (.299, 7 HR, 41 RBI) and will look to develop some more power in AA Sandusky this season. |
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12-18-2007, 02:06 AM
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#99 |
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Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 198
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Code:
Michigan League Standings North Team W L PCT GB Mackinac Trolleys 14 10 .583 - Sault Ste. Marie White Lakers 12 13 .480 2.5 Iron Mountain Miners 8 15 .348 5.5 Traverse City Cherries 8 15 .348 5.5 South Team W L PCT GB Ann Arbor Democrats 15 8 .652 - Kalamazoo Bells 13 10 .565 2.0 Grand Rapids Blue Lakers 13 11 .542 2.5 Lansing Capitals 11 12 .478 4.0 Ohio League Standings East Team W L PCT GB Canton Terriers 16 8 .667 - Youngstown Black Irons 11 12 .478 4.5 Zanesville Engineers 11 14 .440 5.5 Akron Red Irons 10 13 .435 5.5 West Team W L PCT GB Columbus Archers 13 10 .565 - Toledo Admirals 12 12 .500 1.5 Dayton Pilots 11 12 .478 2.0 Chillicothe Indians 10 13 .435 3.0 The first month of the 1943 season went by about as expected as the cream of the crop rose to the top of the standings and the bottom feeders sit at the bottom. Only one trade to note during this month as the Pilots sent sometimes closer RHP Joey Iveson to the Black Irons for 3B Wayne Floyer. Iveson struggled out of the gate for the Pilots, so he was shipped for third base help and will be the setup man for excellent RHP Bo ‘Digger’ Schumaker. Starting hot out of the gate is White Laker LF Jesus Ortiz (.333, 6 HR, 27 RBI), who’s 3-HR, 11 RBI performance on April 7 against Lansing has to be the greatest offensive performance in one game in the MOBL to date. “What can I say? It was just my lucky day today,” Ortiz chuckled after the slugger hit two 3-run homers, a 2-run homer and a bases clearing double. Others off to hot starts include Bells’ SS Telo Welter (.381, 5 HR, 14 RBI, 4 SB’s), White Lakers’ CF Sawyl Mitchum (.343, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 6 SB’s), and Terriers’ LF Peter Northcutt (.341, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 3 SB’s). Pitchers off to good starts are Pilots’ LHP Sergio Rodriguez (4-0, 0.78 ERA, 0.84 WHIP), Democrats’ LHP Roberto Serrano (3-1, 1.18 ERA) and go figure, Bells’ RHP Rickey Benson (3-2, 1.54 ERA, 0.84 WHIP). Meanwhile, on the other side of the spectrum, Indians’ CF Jaime Rijo (.174, 19 K’s) will need to pick it up for the Indians to get out of the basement and Miners’ LF Pablo Portio (.183, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 18 K’s) might get shipped back to Youngstown at this rate. The Michigan League team of the month goes to the Ann Arbor Democrats, whose excellent pitching staff is continually winning them games while they wait for their offense pull its weight. LHP John Durham (3-1, 2.58 ERA) and LHP Roberto Serrano have been the fearsome twosome they hoped they would be. Closer RHP John Gladstone (8 Saves, 0.93 ERA) has been excellent as well. They rank near the top of nearly all the pitching categories. They have learned how to win the close games this year as they are 9-1 in one-run games. All this while the offense continues to struggle and ranks at the bottom of many offensive categories. Only 1B Jhon Sarceda (.293, 4 HR, 12 RBI) and SS Pablo Fula (.286, 6 Doubles, 5 RBI) are currently performing at their capabilities. RF Elroy Graves (.147, 3 HR, 7 RBI) has struggled mightily in replicating his performance with the Dems last year. 3B Tejano Bemaez (.208, 4 HR, 9 RBI) needs to make better contact as well, though he’s certainly not getting pressured by 3B Augustin Gowdy (.120, 1 HR, 6 RBI). The return of Struggling out of the gate, the Iron Mountain Miners might be in need of a shakeup to get them out of their doldrums. “I’m not sure if it’s any one thing that’s caused us to be where we’re at, but we need to get on the same page. Luckily, it’s a long season,” manager Bingham Woolhouse said. The main culprit appears to be pitching as only a couple guys are doing well. RHP Carlton Wunderlich (4-1, 2.47 ERA), RHP Amor Rainez (0-1, 2.37 ERA) and setup man RHP Jarred Taylor (2.08 ERA) are the only pitchers that have not been horrendous. Closer RHP Josh Garneys (0-1, 3 Saves, 16.88 ERA) has been a complete disaster and is not ready to be a full time closer, while LHP Roberto Bustamante (0-2, 12.00 ERA) has been almost as bad. The offense has some bright spots, though it needs more consistency. CF Ryan Baldwin (.293, 6 HR, 15 RBI) has been tremendous and RF Nathan Willman (.356, 4 HR, 14 RBI) continues to blossom into an MOB type talent. LF Pablo Portio and 3B Garland Huggler (.169, 6 RBI) have started slowly while 1B Teo Mendiviel (.266 Avg) hasn’t been his usual .330-self. Once again, the Canton Terriers are proving that they have what it takes in every facet of the game. They are this month’s Ohio League team of the month. The starting five of the rotation have been their usual selves for the most part as LHP Ray Campbell (4-1, 1.85 ERA) looks like he is back to MOP form and LHP Howard West (4-1, 2.81 ERA) is looking good in his quest for his first MOP. The story of the staff though has to be closer RHP Dan MacCall (4-0, 5 Saves, 0.68 ERA), who has been absolutely fabulous and has become the reliable guy they need to win it all. Also surprising has been the offense, which hasn’t missed RF Syman Shores at all. LF Peter Northcutt is looking like the potential MOB at this point, while 3B Lesta Truesdale (.291, 7 Doubles, 5 RBI) and C Tim Crase (.264, 3 HR, 15 RBI) have picked up the slack. “I think we’ve shown that we still have what it takes. There’s a lot of smart hitters in this lineup, we’ve done well in the clutch,” said Northcutt. Michigan League Batter of the Month - LF Jesus Ortiz, Sault Ste. Marie White Lakers - .333, 6 HR, 27 RBI, 20 Runs, 8 Doubles Michigan League Pitcher of the Month - RHP Anker Woodruff, Sault Ste. Marie White Lakers - 3-0, 1.76 ERA, 35 K's, 46 IP Ohio League Batter of the Month - CF Edgardo Vorgas, Zanesville Engineers - .281, .366 OBP, 10 HR, 25 RBI, 3 Doubles Ohio League Pitcher of the Month - LHP Roberto Pagan, Columbus Archers - 5-1, 1.91 ERA, 33 K's, 37.2 IP |
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12-19-2007, 09:56 PM
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#100 |
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Minors (Double A)
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 198
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Michigan League Standings North Team W L PCT GB Mackinac Trolleys 31 21 .596 - Sault Ste. Marie White Lakers 28 25 .528 3.5 Iron Mountain Miners 27 25 .519 4.0 Traverse City Cherries 18 34 .346 13.0 South Team W L PCT GB Kalamazoo Bells 34 18 .654 - Ann Arbor Democrats 27 24 .529 6.5 Grand Rapids Blue Lakers 21 29 .420 12.0 Lansing Capitals 21 31 .404 13.0 Ohio League Standings East Team W L PCT GB Canton Terriers 35 17 .673 - Youngstown Black Irons 34 18 .654 1.0 Akron Red Irons 25 27 .481 10.0 Zanesville Engineers 18 35 .340 17.5 West Team W L PCT GB Dayton Pilots 28 24 .538 - Columbus Archers 24 28 .462 4.0 Chillicothe Indians 22 29 .431 5.5 Toledo Admirals 21 29 .420 6.0 J After 3 years, the tables are finally beginning to turn in the MOBL. The ML South and OL West have been, by far, the most powerful divisions, but this season has been quite different as the young prospects in the ML North and OL East are blossoming into All-Stars and leading their teams to better pastures. “I would definitely say our division has gotten stronger. Most people didn’t think much of ours and thought we were just a bump in the Bells’ road, but things are starting to change,” Miner 2B John Watson said. Should this “changing of the guards” continue this season, it’ll be interesting to see which team will be the favorite in the playoffs. As much as the ML North may be getting better, there is no doubt the Kalamazoo Bells are still the best team in the league and are the Michigan League team of the month. The Bells continue to just chug along to yet another ML South division title and MOBL Cup appearance as they lead both ML offensive and pitching statistics in many categories. RHP Rickey Benson (8-2, 1.68 ERA), LHP Willard Nasmyth (5-1, 2.55 ERA), LHP Elian Abilez (7-1, 3.63 ERA) have all had tremendous seasons thus far and are a big reason they lead every team pitching statistical category except BABIP. Meanwhile, the bullpen has a sterling 1.78 ERA at this point in the season. RHP Bob What a month for the Youngstown Black Irons, as they went 23-6 in May to win the Ohio League team of the month. After struggling somewhat with an 11-12 April, this team has caught fire and is only one game out of first in the OL East. No one is hotter than 1B Martin Cook (.340, 15 HR, 44 RBI) as he is looking to erase the memory of a subpar 1942 season (.265, 28 HR, 91 RBI). He’s had help this year as a whopping 5 other Black Irons are batting above .300 and lead almost every team offensive statistical category. LF Ben Myers (.330, .425 OBP, 8 HR, 32 RBI, 14 Doubles, 6 Triples [leads league]) is well on his way to his first of many All Star games and CF Alan Scarberry (.320, 5 HR, 19 RBI) has been tremendous filling in for injured CF Toshiyuki Ishimura. This team has made a pretty quick turnaround from last year’s disappointment and features the most feared batting lineup in the league. Not to be overlooked has been the amazing pitching rotation. No one could have imagines the staff would have done this well and RHP Tom Dow (8-0, 2.93 ERA) might be the biggest surprise of this season. “Coach [Broderick] Birrell has really helped me out. I was tipping my pitches last year as I had a different arm slot and motion for my pitches. I feel like I’m back to where I should be,” Dow, who was a horrendous 3-17 with a 6.06 ERA last year, said. LHP Scott Moroney (4-2, 2.35 ERA) and RHP George Price (6-2, 2.69 ERA) have aided Dow in giving the Black Irons the 2nd best team rotation ERA in the OL. If Dow is the most pleasant surprise, then Archers’ RHP Tony Navarro (2-8, 5.03 ERA) has to be the most disappointing surprise. Navarro is just part of the collective disappointment that has been the Archers this year. “Our pitching really hasn’t been what we need it to be. We’re giving up too many base hits, and our offense is just the opposite. We’re not playing enough small ball to generate runs,” an angry Archer manager Rich Fenner said. LHP John Pickham (5.29 ERA) and closer RHP John Goforth (5.12 ERA) have not been what was expected of them, while the lineup only features two everyday players (LF Bip Stuck, 1B Joseph Currey) batting above .270 this year. If they are going to jump back in the OL West lead, they’ll need their best players to play their best. Michigan League Batter of the Month - LF Vernon 'Clueless' Wareham, Sault Ste. Marie White Lakers - .370, 13 HR, 28 RBI, 30 Runs (6th BOM of his career) Michigan League Pitcher of the Month - RHP Rickey 'Moby Dick' Benson, Kalamazoo Bells - 5-0, 1.81 ERA, 57 K's, 44.2 IP (7th POM of his career) Ohio League Batter of the Month - LF Ben Myers, Youngstown Black Irons - .384, 7 HR, 23 RBI, 9 Doubles, 25 Runs Ohio League Pitcher of the Month - LHP Gurkan Tiffany, Dayton Pilots - 5-0, 0.87 ERA, 49 K's, 41.1 IP (3rd POM in his career) |
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