Atlantis League of Professional Baseball

[jaa36]

The pundits are more pessimistic about the Bulldogs this season, projecting them to go only 77-85. Owner Don Allaire expects us to stay close to an even record, as usual. Hawk Kaikeaponi, Herb Clark, and Manasa Pualani are listed among the top ten in the conference. Waterbank is projected to repeat but with only an 85-77 record, and three teams are projected to tie with 87 wins in the EC.

The starting rotation will be Herb Clark, Dana Webb, Jeff Gwin, Kewiki Hiwahikeiki, and Maluhialani Kimo. (Those are some hard names to say.) There are concerns about Gwin's endurance, and despite two good seasons in the rotation, he may move to the bullpen as the season progresses. Other than Manasa Pualani, all of the current relievers are right-handed.

The starting lineup will be

LF James Porter
C Jonathan Wilson
3B Haukea Kaikeapona
CF Vincent Bowman
1B Barent Schachte
RF Trevor Edwards
SS Sergio DeNiro
2B Joe Dougherty

As usual, not much punch in the middle infield. Hekeka Ahulani, Dan Phillips, Lou Johnston, and Reed Barber will all play against lefties.

Our system is still only #13 overall. Our current top prospect is 18-year-old catcher Kirk Hoyt, an international find last season, who is #26 overall and will repeat rookie league this year. 22-year-old Tom Caldwell is #44 and is pushing for a big-league spot, and pitcher Rick Mosley (#60) will start in A-ball.

[jaa36]

The Bulldogs were only 13-14 on the month, good for seventh place, but they were showered with accolades Hawk Kaikeapona hit three home runs in a game against Waterbank en route to 12 home runs on the month, a .324 average, and 32 RBI, winning the Player of the Month. Herb Clark went 5-1 with a 1.86 ERA and won the Pitcher of the Month. James Porter is hitting .333, and Manasa Pualani has 7 saves and a 1.96 ERA, but the rest of the supporting cast was not good.

Vincent Bowman strained an oblique and missed two weeks. He is hitting only .229 with three home runs. Barend Schachte is hitting .211, and Dana Webb has a 7.30 ERA.

[jaa36]

The inconsistent Bulldogs scuffled along to another 13-14 month and remain below .500 at 26-28, but are only six games behind Uniontown. Herb Clark won the WC Pitcher of the Month for the second month in a row, and leads the conference with 10 wins and 84 strikeouts to go along with a 2.71 ERA. Hawk Kaikeapona still leads the conference with 16 home runs, and is second with 50 RBI. James Porter leads the team with a .339 average. Manasa Pualani has 14 saves and a 2.71 ERA as well; he asked for an extension, but I can't afford it and will try to trade him to get something of value before he leaves at the end of the season. Beyond Clark and Pualani, the pitching is terrible, eighth in the league. Vincent Bowman is still hitting just .234. Shortstop Sergio DeNiro is even worse than usual, hitting .173 with a .181 OBP. Outfielder Trevor Edwards was selected the WC Player of the Week and is hitting .288 with 11 home runs.

Jeff Gwin was injured for two weeks. Sophomore starter Kewiki Hiwahikeiki was sent to the minors with a 6.20 ERA, and rookie Roy Hill will replace him in the rotation.

[jaa36]

Another difficult month for Dawn Branch as we slipped farther behind the leaders with our third consecutive 13-14 record. It could have been worse, as the team lost eight of nine early in the month before recovering by winning seven of eight near the end. As usual, the Bulldogs were a different team with Herb Clark on the mound; he went 6-0 en route to winning his third consecutive Pitcher of the Month award, and is an incredible 16-2 at midseason. Manasa Pualani has been excellent as well, while the rest of the pitching staff has been just miserable, last for both starters and relievers. The top of the lineup (currently Jonathan Wilson, Trevor Edwards, and Hawk Kaikeapona) have been effective and we lead the ALPB in home runs but are only sixth in runs scored.

Roy Hill suffered some elbow inflammation and missed two weeks. James Porter then tore a muscle in his back and will be out for the rest of the season- the amazing Porter was hitting .342 with a .396 OBP. Kika Peleke returned from AAA to replace him. Vincent Bowman went down for two weeks with a sore elbow, with outfielder Will Poulin joining the club to replace him. Bowman his hitting .248 with 14 home runs, and when he returns, we will shop him around.

Uniontown offered a deal in which I received 25-year-old infielder Tom Quillen for backup catcher Kevin Ring and 19-year-old reliever Daniel "Toast" Callison. Ring is a free agent after this year; he put in four seasons as the team's starter, but with Jonathan Wilson's development he has served as a platoon player or backup the past two seasons. Callison is the key to the deal for Uniontown; last year's eighth-round pick, he has already put up 26 saves in his minor league career. Quillen is a former third-round pick with good contact and power for the infield. He has played well at third base for the Aces, but will play shortstop for us, with Sergio DeNiro shifting to second base.

This year's top pick in the draft was collegiate starter Sergio "Headhunter" Quezada, a 22-year-old righty who went to Gardenbury. Quezada appears solid across the board and should end up with four above-average pitches. Our top selection at #10 was infielder Chad Brydge, a 22-year-old out of Fisher College. Bryan Kramer except Brydge to have plus tools across the board, hitting for power and average and playing an outstanding second base or shortstop. The lefthanded hitter may be ready for the majors within a year and would be the team's first true infield prospect in recent memory. Our next selections were high school outfielder Mike Nix, college pitcher Jack Harris, college outfielder Bill Berryman, and high school outfielder Travis Pierce. All our picks signed in plenty of time.

Around the league, Cam Carr is having a great season for Marsh, hitting .390 and leading the league in WAR. Patrick leads the WC by three games at 50-34 and Timberton is a half game ahead of Silverley in a tight EC race.

[jaa36]

Another below-.500 month left the Bulldogs at 51-56, tied for last place in the WC. Patrick is now 13 games ahead. We are 7th in both scoring and run prevention. With James Porter out, Jonathan Wilson has the highest average on the team at .289. Hawk Kaikeapona is up to 24 homers and 75 RBI. Herb Clark is now 17-5 with a 2.86 ERA. Clark, Manasa Pualani, and Kaikeapona were selected to the all-star team.

Vincent Bowman and Manasa Pualani (whose contract expires at the end of the season) did not return anyone good in trade. Bowman's poor performance over the last two years likely has a lot to do with this. I ended up trading away Kika Peleke to Wal for pitcher Jon Hines. Hines is a righthander who has pitched out of the bullpen for the Titans and posted a 3.19 ERA with 53 strikeouts in 48 so far, but will join our rotation. Peleke had hit .235 with the Bulldogs and was making $1.74M. 2002 first round pick Chris Mack will join the club; he was hitting .259 with 19 home runs at Willow Hill.

[jaa36]

Another losing month puts the Bulldogs at 61-74 heading into September and in last place. Surprisingly, we're still first in home runs, but it's been a dismal season in other areas. Herb Clark won his 20th game, and has a 3.02 ERA. The top three in the order has been solid, with Jonathan Wilson, Trevor Edwards, and Hawk Kaikeapona all hitting at least .273 with 22 home runs. Chris Mack has been solid, hitting .315 since his call-up and taking over center, enabling Vincent Bowman to move back to left field. Manasa Pualani is up to 32 saves with a 2.12 ERA. Infielder Sergio DeNiro is having a wretched season, hitting .167.

Infielder Reed Barber suffered an injury and is out for a month. September call-ups include 22-year-old infielder Chris Shelton, a former fifth-round pick, outfielder Will Poulin, and veteran Ken Green, who posted a 1.19 ERA at Willow Hill.

[jaa36]

The Bulldogs posted their first winning month of the season at 14-13 but still finished only 75-87. The team really seems to be treading water. We drew only $1.4M fans and posted a profit of $15M. We finished sixth in scoring and last in runs allowed. Chris Mack, Trevor Edwards, and Haukea Kaikeapona all won Player of the Week awards in the season's last month. Hawk finished with 36 home runs and 106 RBI. Herb Clark pitched a three-hit shutout and ended the year at 23-10 with a 3.04 ERA, but finished second in the voting for the Dagger Award this season.

Barend Schachte tore a hamstring and missed the last three weeks of the season. Bench coach Roger Price was extended for five years, but hitting coach Hossam Nkundiushuti's contract was allowed to expire, and trainer Marvin Abbott retired.

Owner Don Allaire is still alive, and amazingly is giving us a budget of only $69M next year- the league's lowest budget keeps getting lower. We have a budget deficit of $21M projected. Vincent Bowman will be shopped again.

[jaa36]

The Patrick Legends defeated the Silverley Mustangs four games to two to take their third ALPB championship. The Legends went 94-68 in the regular season and were led by first baseman Dan McIntosh (.317/29/118), shortstop Pat Phillips (.277/20/80), second baseman Victor Ryan (.283/28/80), and starter Barney Burke (12-12, 3.37). Orlando Lugo won the Walter Award after going 2-0 with a 2.51 ERA in the Atlantis Series. Silverley reached the championship series for the first time in nine years with a 93-69 record.

Award winners:
WC Best: CF Cam Carr, Marsh, .384, 20 HR, 84 RBI, 111 runs, 31 SB, 6.9 WAR
WC Dagger: Kendrick Rogers, Stephens, 19-8, 2.61, 258.2 IP, 186 K, 9.4 WAR
WC Crowe: CF Greg "Puke" Wilson, Wal, .343, 17 HR, 63 RBI, 29 SB
EC Best: RF Joe Coffey, Lenaway, .339, 18 HR, 73 RBI, 29 SB, 4.7 WAR
EC Dagger: Vincent Adams, Timberton, 12-15, 2.49, 271.1 IP, 311 K, 8.5 WAR
EC Crowe: SS Ken Burns, Sidney City, .292, 36 2B

Hawk Kaikeapona won a Giles Award at third base. Vincent Adams won his third straight Dagger Award, and the second in a row with a losing record. Marsh's Cam Carr set the record for batting average at .384 and had 200 hits for the third straight season. Stephens' Kendrick Rogers was only the second pitcher to throw six shutouts in a season.

[jaa36]

Center fielder Chandler Carter was the 2005 Hall of Fame inductee. Carter, a lefthanded hitter, was drafted first overall out of Ferntown High School by the Patrick Legends in 1958. He progressed steadily through the Legends' system, and made his ALPB debut with Patrick in 1962. By 1963, he was already an all-star, and by 1964 he had won the first of his three Best Awards, hitting .321 with 46 doubles, 16 home runs, and 34 stolen bases. He won his second straight award the following season in his best overall year, hitting .350 with a .419 OBP, 38 doubles, 17 home runs, and 38 steals.

After 1968, the fifth straight season he had hit .300, he left Patrick to sign a six-year deal with the Lenaway Storm. He had another great season in 1970, hitting .326 with 44 doubles, 13 triples, and 19 home runs, and winning his third Best Award. He reached the Atlantis Series three times with Lenaway, taking home the championship in 1972 and winning the Walter Award in the process, going 6 for 9 with two home runs. He joined Stephens for the final two seasons of his career.

Carter was known as an outstanding center fielder as well, and won five Giles Awards for his fielding prowess. He was selected to six all-star teams. He finished his career with a .300 average, .363 OBP, 2210 hits (currently #11), and 510 doubles (#3). Congratulations Chandler!

[jaa36]

This was the year Haukea Kaikeapona finally came into his own as a player- hitting .284 with 36 home runs, 35 doubles, 106 RBI, 101 runs scored... and collecting a Giles Award as well. He easily led the hitters with 5.7 WAR. Jonathan Wilson was also outstanding in his second year as the starting catcher, hitting .278 with 27 home runs. Barend Schachte, Vincent Bowman, and Trevor Edwards rounded out our five 20-home run hitters, but deficiencies in other areas of their games limited their value. Bowman and Edwards were both calamities in the outfield. James Porter hit .342 in a season cut short by injury. Infielders Sergio DeNiro, Joe Dougherty, and Tom Quillen were all atrocious, especially DeNiro.

Herb Clark was once again the top pitcher, winning 23 games in a season nearly as good as his Dagger Award-winning 2003 campaign. He struck out 235 against only 57 walks and posted a 3.04 ERA and 7.8 WAR. No one else asserted themselves among the starting staff, with none of the other starters posting an ERA better than 4.40. Manasa Pualani had a 2.32 ERA and 38 saves, and will leave the Bulldogs with 237 career saves, easily the club record. The rest of the bullpen was awful, with only Johnny O'Quigley managing an ERA below 4.

Both AAA Willow Hill (80-65) and AA Fort Eunice (84-56) were very good this season. Our top prospect C Kirk "Bow Wow" Hoyt hit only .136 in single-season A ball. 23-year-old outfielder Tom Caldwell hit .276 with 18 home runs and 33 steals at Willow Hill and will join the club next season. Starter Rick Mosley was 9-15 with a 2.92 ERA at A ball. Future closer Joe "Trashmaster" Ames had a 1.45 ERA and 30 saves at Fort Eunice.

Among departed players, Doug Walter hit another 29 home runs and is up to 283 in his career, but hit only .222, so at 31 he may be slipping. I was right about outfielder Jack Cook, who was below replacement level after signing a big contract with Stephens. Gian-Carlo Panatta was decent with Marsh, hitting .244 and stealing 22 bases. And 20-year-old Gerald "Buck" Jeffery broke in with Sidney City, hitting .291 in 42 games- he projects as one of the top players in the game. I am going to regret that one. Dan Price had another decent season, going 11-11 with a 4.20 ERA for Timberton. Farani Feaunati continues to pitch well out of the bullpen, with a 2.79 ERA. Michael Rice, Bill Spurlin, and T.J. Moore did not play last season and are likely to retire.

[jaa36]

Another tough year for the budget, and as usual, no room to offer extensions to anyone. Contracts were not offered to Enrico Ortiz, Cory McCann, Sergio DeNiro, or Hekeka Ahulani. Some of them could have been helpful, but not at the estimated prices. We won every arbitration decisions except for James Porter ($7.5M) and Trevor Edwards ($5.3M). If I can't unload Vincent Bowman, Edwards would be another candidate.

60-year-old Dave Sill was promoted from Willow Hill to become the new hitting coach. He had coached at Willow Hill for the last nine years. Jason Baldwin will be tabbed as the new trainer after spending eight years with Silverley.

[jaa36]

With no money for free agents, as usual, I offered minor league deals to 21-year-old Muan native Abia Kakumulani, who actually could be a passable pitcher or catcher, first baseman Jose Ponsantiago, and Lindsay Marley, for the fourth year in a row!

Unfortunately, I was unable to trade Vincent Bowman, Trevor Edwards, or Barend Schachte for anything other than an equivalent salary.

No injuries in spring training.

The biggest deals around the league included center fielder Javier de la Cruz signing with Wal for $122M over six years and third baseman Lowell Gordon signing with Adamond for $95M over six years.

[jaa36]

We are predicted to finish an even 81-81. Talk about a mediocre team. Marsh is projected to win the conference, at 88-74, and Freeton is listed at 92-70 in the EC. Jonathan Wilson, Haukea Kaikeapona, and Herb Clark are listed among the top ten hitters and pitchers. As usual, Don Allaire expects us to keep close to an even record.

The system is #13 overall. Our new top prospect is 2004 third-round pick River McGuire, who is #20 overall. The 20-year-old second baseman will start the year in A ball after hitting .265 in his second season in rookie ball last year. 23-year-old left fielder Tom Caldwell (#42) will start the season in the majors. Our top pitching prospect is reliever Joe "Trashmaster" Ames, who will also start in the bigs.

The opening day rotation is Herb Clark (in the final year of his contract), Jeff Gwin, Jon Hines, Dana Webb, and Maluhialani Kimo. Johnny "Beagle" O'Quigley will be the new closer.

The current lineup against righties is

LF James Porter
C Jonathan Wilson
3B Haukea Kaikeapona
RF Vincent Bowman
1B Barend Schachte
CF Chris Mack
SS Joe Dougherty
2B Chris Shelton

Mack, Dougherty, and Shelton are relatively new faces. Mack hit .313 in a brief time with the Bulldogs last season and should be much more capable than Bowman was in center field. Dougherty was wretched last season but could be a league-average shortstop. 22-year-old Shelton hit .300 at AAA last season but is really just a stopgap until McGuire is ready.

We will platoon heavily, as usual, with Tom Caldwell, Dan Phillips, Lou Johnston, Adrian Cook, and Reed Barber all getting playing time against lefties. I am trying to place more of a priority on defense this year, and terrible defender Trevor Edwards, who is making $5.3M this season, was sent down to AAA for now. Not a good way to run a team on a budget...

Manasa Pualani signed with Adamond for $9.8M and one year. Hekeka Ahulani found a home with Timberton for two years and $6.2M. Sergio DeNiro and Enrico Ortiz are unsigned.

[jaa36]

Dawn Branch is in unfamiliar territory, standing above .500 at 14-12 at the end of the season's first month. Things didn't get off to a good start- the Bulldogs were no-hit by Titans ace Lynwood Young on the third day of the season. And we are still 6.5 games behind conference-leading Wal, who got off to a ferocious 21-6 start. Chris Mack (.316, 4 home runs) and Hawk Kaikeapona (.301, 4 HR, 21 RBI) paced the offense. Herb Clark is 4-1 with a 3.80 ERA in the early going.

Jonathan Wilson tore his PCL and will miss five weeks.

[jaa36]

Another surprisingly good month (17-12) leaves the Bulldogs in second place at 31-24, just 3 1/2 games behind the Wal Titans. Both the offense and the pitching are fourth overall at this point. Hawk Kaikeapona won a Player of the Week award and leads the ALPB with 46 RBI. Chris Mack has been stellar in center field, hitting .327 with 8 home runs. Jonathan Wilson also has eight homers despite missing over a month with an injury. Reed Barber, of all people, had a five-hit game against Waterbank, and also won the Player of the Week. Herb Clark is now 6-2, and #2 starter Jon Hines has a 3.24 ERA.

Relievers Aaron Hardwick and Kewiki Hiwahikeiki both went on the DL with injuries. Thomas Smith and Lindsay Marley were both called up, with Marley making his long-awaited debut with the club after signing his fourth consecutive minor-league contract this spring.

Vincent Bowman, Herb Clark, and Haukea Kaikeapona will all be free agents at the end of the season. If we drop out of the race, I'll shop all three, but for now we need to hang on to our talent in hopes we can stay in this thing.

[jaa36]

At the season's midpoint, Dawn Branch is 46-36 and in second place, just four games behind the Wal Titans. We are tied for first in the conference in scoring, somehow. Chris Mack leads the club with a .318 average and is third in the conference in that category. Hawk Kaikeapona won another Player of the Week award, and leads the conference with 67 RBI. Six players on the team have at least 11 home runs already, including shortstop Joe Dougherty, who is hitting a surprising .263 with 12 homers. On the pitching side, Herb Clark threw a shutout and is 9-4, leading the conference in wins. Minor league retread Ken Green is 6-2 with a 1.93 ERA in the bullpen.

No major injuries this month, or trades. Manasa Pualani posted a 7.94 ERA with Adamond, demanded a trade, and was shipped to Clemons Fork.

The first pick of the draft was Don "Scrap Iron" Smith, a collegiate righty headed to Adamond. Smith should be good, but does not appear as dominant as some top choices. Our top pick is Xavier Mathieu, a second baseman out of Jordan College. Mathieu hits left-handed and has plus contact and power. Our next picks were college starter Ralph Dean, high school starter Nick Burke, high school reliever Fawwaz "Ice Water" bin Yahyah (what a name!), and high school catcher Sid Rhodes.

Around the league, Wal leads the WC, as I mentioned, and Javier de la Cruz has settled in nicely there, with a .334 average and 20 home runs already. Freeton is atop the EC at 51-31.

[jaa36]

A 13-12 July leaves the Bulldogs hanging on the edge of the WC race, now in second place, seven games behind the Wal Titans. Jon Hines, Jonathan Wilson, Hawk Kaikeapona, and Chris Mack were all selected to the all-star team. Herb Clark wasn't- I'm not sure why not. Mack won a Player of the Week award, and Hawk had five hits in a game. Infielder Chris Shelton was the Rookie of the Month after hitting .329. The pitching has been surprisingly good, with Clark now 12-5 and none of the starters really struggling. Once again, there were no major injuries in the month; our new trainer must be helping.

With the team hanging on the periphery at the trade deadline, I shopped around the obvious candidates (Vincent Bowman and Trevor Edwards, still at AAA) but got no offers. Biting the bullet and shopping the Hawk, I got a few pitchers offered in response that were tempting, but in the end not enough to trade away the franchise icon. I stood pat. It will be hard to lose Bowman, Hawk, and Herb Clark at the end of the season.

[jaa36]

With a month to go, the Bulldogs are at 72-64, good for third in the division but 12.5 games back of Wal, who has pretty much locked things up. Chris Shelton was suspended 10 games for fighting, with the infamous Sergio DeNiro picked up off the scrap heap to replace him during that time. Shelton had the longest hitting streak in the conference this season, at 18 games. Shortstop Joe Dougherty was selected as the Player of the Week. Hawk Kaikeapona is first in the conference in RBI, with 110, in large part due to James Porter, Chris Mack (currently hitting .323), and Jonathan Wilson setting the table for him. Vincent Bowman has snuck into third in the conference in home runs with 27 in a resurgent season for him. Herb Clark is now 14-9 with a 3.88 ERA. Johnny O'Quigley has saved 25 games with a 3.94 ERA.

Oft-injured James Porter suffered shoulder tendinitis and will miss the rest of the season. He has yet to bat more than 400 times in a year. Trevor Edwards, hitting .268 with 26 homers in AAA, came up to replace him. Another notable September callup was 24-year-old first baseman Jose Ponsantiago, a minor league free agent who hit .298 with 42 home runs.

Timberton has leapt two games ahead of Freeton in the EC, led by pitchers Dan Price (our old friend) and Vincent Adams.

[jaa36]

With a .500 final month, the Bulldogs ended the season at 85-77 overall- which turned out to be the best record in Dawn Branch's unimpressive history. Unfortunately, this was 15 games off the pace of Wal, who advanced to the Atlantis Series. The team finished second in scoring and third in runs allowed. Vincent Bowman ended up leading the team with 34 home runs, with Hawk Kaikeapona finishing close behind with 33 as well as 130 RBI, tops in the conference. Chris Mack led the team with a .312 average. The team had six 20-home run hitters. Herb Clark slumped to a 4.24 ERA but went 16-11. Jon Hines was solid as the second starter with a 3.46 ERA.

Don Allaire loosened the purse-strings a bit and our budget will return to $75M, which, of course, remains the lowest in the league. Fan interest has jumped to 44 with the winning season. We drew 1.75M fans and made a profit of $6M despite our usual budget crisis. Allaire is now 78, and I am becoming convinced that he will have to kick the bucket for our team to win.

[jaa36]

The Wal Titans defeated the Timberton Dragons 4 games to 3 in a thrilling Atlantis Series to collect their fourth championship and their first since 1977. The Titans were led by right fielder Javier de la Cruz (.317/38/110, 50 SB), first baseman Rick Roach (.308/40/117), and pitchers Ramon Perez (17-6, 2.36) and John Bryan (16-9, 3.16). De la Cruz won the Walter Award after hitting three home runs, including a walk-off shot in game six. The Titans won 100 games, while Timberton led the EC with 91.

Award Winners:
WC Best: RF Javier de la Cruz, Wal, .317, 38 HR, 110 RBI, 116 R, 50 SB, 7.6 WAR
WC Dagger: Ramon Perez, Wal, 17-6, 2.36, 217.2 IP, 164 K, 7.8 WAR
WC Crowe: LF Quinton Pike, Wal, .282, 14 HR, 61 SB
EC Best: CF Ubaldo Bottesini, Freeton, .310, 24 HR, 95 RBI, 18 SB, 5.5 WAR
EC Dagger: Enoka Kanai, Sungate, 17-10, 2.73, 263.1 IP, 249 K, 7.9 WAR
EC Crowe: LF Walaka Warriwarri, Lenaway, .248, 36 HR, 108 RBI

Wal swept the awards.

Interestingly, former Bulldogs Gerald Jeffery, Doug Walters, and Jack Cook were all below replacement level this year. Jeffery has a bright future, however. Dan Price actually had a great year with the Dragons, going 19-6 with a 2.56 ERA. Manasa Pualani and Farani Feaunati were both terrible as relievers.