Terra Baseball League: Bryant Warriors

[jaa36]

The Warriors went 15-10 in September to shoot past the Sidney City Scorpions- who dropped 17 games. Unfortunately, the Lenaway Storm also won 15 games and remain three games in front of us. I played out a series against Lenaway and we took two of three, including a dramatic win in the opener in which a pinch-hit homer by Israel Vicenty tied the score in the bottom of the eighth and a homer by Luis Del Rosario put us ahead.

Despite quite a few injuries, our run prevention is now the best in the league- we have four starters with a sub-4 ERA, and potential Matias Nelson has started a rehab assignment. Roddie Tirado has been outstanding yet again, with a 1.88 ERA. In Luis Del Rosario and Sebastien Paoli, we have two of the top three hitters in the league for average.

We have eight games to go to make up a three-game deficit. Last year we managed something similar- but that kind of thing doesn't happen every year...

[jaa36]

The Warriors came just a bit short in 2008- ended up two games behind the Lenaway Storm with an 88-74 record. The Freeton Crusaders went on a hot streak at the end of the year and leapfrogged us in the standings, but even with a late slump by the Storm still finished a game behind. Lenaway last made the postseason in 1999, and will face off against the Patrick Legends, who had a 95-67 record. Their outstanding catcher Dabir Sampaio reached the 3000-hit threshold before the end of the season.

Luis Del Rosario finished third in the league in WAR at 7.1. Miguel Bello led the club with 34 home runs.

[jaa36]

The Lenaway Storm came back from a 2-0 series deficit to defeat the Patrick Legends in seven games. Rookie Cris Elizardo hit three home runs and drove in seven to win series MVP, and starter Bernardo Menares chipped in with two victories. Former Warriors Mondarius Pratt and Reiji Kono won rings with Lenaway, while Randy Rojo played for Patrick.

Joseph Johnson of the Storm won his second straight Player of the Year, hitting .279 with 48 home runs and 116 RBI; he already has 179 home runs at 25 years old. John Matthew Petty of the Wonderwood Monarchs won the Pitcher of the Year, going 14-8 with a 2.83 ERA and 265 strikeouts. Crestmont's David Merkle was the Rookie of the Year (.296/32/92) and Ian Gusman of the Legends won his third straight Reliever of the Year (2.10, 40 saves).

[jaa36]

Well, we can't win every year I suppose- on balance the 2008 season was fairly successful. We ended up with essential the same Pythagorean record as last year, but just didn't quite have the same luck. Injuries played a role- we ended up using 11 different starting pitchers- but that's no excuse. Unfortunately we lost some money this year, and the budget looks like a mess next season...

Successes:
1. Luis Del Rosario. The 27-year-old put together his most complete season yet, finishing third in Player of the Year voting, topping 100 RBIs, and leading the league in triples.
2. Miguel Bello. The long-promised Bello took a big step forward this year, leading the team in home runs.
3. Al Rendon. The veteran has settled in as our most reliable starter.
4. Roddie Tirado. He's proven to be remarkably consistent, with his third straight season with an ERA below 2 and 30+ saves.
5. Munemitsu Hiraki. Well, he's been terrible for so long, it was great to get a sub-2 ERA from him as well.

Disappointments:
1. B.J. Pallister. What happened, B.J.?!?
2. Claude Speech. Got really terrible and was dumped to Freeton.
3. Jack Lane. Expected to be a stabilizing force for the bullpen, he never really got going.

Among former Warriors, Michael Schneider and Tatu Niemela remain studs. Lou Harte and Gus Zahakis both had excellent all-around seasons. Wyatt Cox hit another 35 homers and surpassed 100 RBI. Loran Hamrick played all 162 games for Adamond and hit 44 doubles. Lucio Montoya, Felix Rodriguez and Nicky Willey have all called it a career- Willey finished his career with 66.5 WAR, and with two Player of the Year awards, has a good shot for the Hall of Fame.

[jaa36]

This year's Hall of Fame selection is pitcher J.P. Turner. The left-hander had one of the highest peaks of any pitcher in history, but flamed out after his age-32 season so didn't end up ranking high on the all-time leaderboards. Turner was the top overall pick out of high school by the Uniontown Aces in 1985- but he failed to sign and returned to college. After three seasons at Dusmouth College, he then went #4 overall to the Lenaway Storm. Turner rapidly moved up the ranks and made his debut in 1990 with the Storm. The following season, he made the first of nine All-Star teams, and won the first of five Pitcher of the Year awards. His finest season came in 1993, when he went a spectacular 23-6 with a 1.82 ERA, 283 strikeouts and 9.8 WAR. After seven postseason-free years with the Storm, he signed a six-year deal worth $229M with the Silverley Mustangs. He was solid in both 1997 and 1998, but was at his best in the postseason, going 3-0 with a 1.53 ERA to help the Mustangs to championships in both seasons. He won his final Pitcher of the Year in 1999, but then suffered a torn flexor tendon the following spring. While he came back in 2001, he clearly wasn't the same pitcher and worked out the bullpen. Rather than returning for the final year of his contract, he elected to retire at the age of 35.

[jaa36]

Palesway won an exciting ABC, defeating Takama as all three games of the finals came down to one run scored in the ninth inning. Chris Schneck put Palesway ahead in the ninth to win game three, while a solo homer by Lukas Price did the same in game two. Palesway finished 9-3 in round robin play, beating Oldham in an extra game to advance to the championship, while Yasahika Morikawa hit a walk-off single to do the same for Takama. Murtagh Pettijohn and Jack Lane both won trophies with Palesway. Kennedy Estrada won the Pitcher of the Year, throwing two complete-game shutouts for Valoria, while Troy Casey of Aberleigh hit .410 with seven homers to win the Player of the Year.

[jaa36]

This year we'll focus on the 2008 TBL champions, the Lenaway Storm. Lenaway is the sixth-largest city in Terra, though the Storm are considered a mid-market team, with only the tenth-largest budget in the league.

The Storm have been a sub-.500 team overall, and have only made the postseason eight times in 108 years- but have managed to win when they get there, taking home their sixth championship in 2008. They had last won in 1972. They haven't really ever had a sustained run of success- they won in 1916 and 1918, with 98 victories each season, but managed to lose 98 games in between that when their offense bizarrely collapsed.

The Storm play in Branson Park, a good spot for power, but not necessarily for average. The franchise has lost quite a bit of money overall (over $250M) but has been more profitable in recent years.

Highlight: I suppose 1916 and 1918 (forgetting about the year in between). Royce Sinjon-Smith helped Lenaway win its first championship with a walk-off double in the 11th inning of game six.

Lowlight: maybe the stretch from 1974 to 1989, during which the club had only one winning season, and finished in last place four times.

Best player: The Storm haven't had a lot of players who have stuck with the team for their whole careers... probably you would say J.P. Turner, who just went into the Hall of Fame. Nolan Chase, who played shortstop for 14 years with the Storm, would probably be the second choice.

[jaa36]

This was a difficult offseason, as a tight budget make it hard to maneuver. We saw Roddie Tirado depart as a free agent- he signed a one-year deal worth $8.6M with the Patrick Legends- I would have certainly given him that, but the timing didn't work out. Sebastien Paoli went to the Sungate Falcons for eight years and $237M, and De'Andre Harris also joined Sungate, for one year at $6.3M.

The bullpen remained a hole, and we don't really have a reputable closer, but we were able to make a few moves to shore up the rest of the team. I signed Syd Duke, nominally an outfielder, to play first base (cue Ron Washington: "It's incredibly hard."), on a one-year deal for $9.4M. Duke missed all of last season with a torn labrum, but had been potent with the bat before, hitting .297 with 25 homers and 101 RBI back in 2006. Bryce Richardson signed for three years at $6.5M/year to replace Paoli; Richardson is an excellent fielder who's no slouch with the bat, hitting .291 last year and .354 three years ago.

I swung a trade with the Adamond Bruins for Olav Rossland. The 29-year-old left-hander is coming off a 3.08-ERA season, and makes $10.8M in the last year of his contract. With Matias Nelson returning at full strength, and Nadif Awuah coming back for another year at $19.5M, our rotation looks more formidable than it has in years.

The icing on the cake was finding our old friend Loran Hamrick available as a minor-league free agent, having been foolishly released by the Legends. I happily snapped him up and installed him back in our outfield.

[jaa36]

The pundits were very much in favor of our moves this offseason, projecting that we'll win 99 games and easily take the TBL East. Good to know... Keith Little also expects us to win a championship. We had an injury-free preseason and looks to start the year at full strength.

The lineup is a definite strength this year, particularly the top half. Syd Duke will slot in as the cleanup hitter. Loran Hamrick made the starting lineup, as the center fielder. The rotation is also incredibly strong and deep, though the bullpen is a bit lacking this year.

Our farm system has slumped to 12th overall- the lowest it's been in years. Pitcher Chad Goree is our top prospect at #22, and 19-year-old infielder Mike Fenwick checks in at #40.

[jaa36]

It was a rough start to the season... the Warriors are just 8-13, last in the Eastern Conference. We actually scored more runs than we allowed, so some of that is bad luck- in fact, seven of our losses were by just one run. So maybe it's not time to throw in the towel just yet.

Olav Rosslund has started a disappointing 0-3 with a 5.04 ERA. Bryce Richardson hit the IL early, and the middle infield combo of Travis Szoke and Matti Lindgren is both under .200. On the bright side, B.J. Pallister has turned things around, hitting .355 with three homers and 15 RBI.

[jaa36]

We won eight of the last nine games in May to pull back to a .500 record. The TBL East is tightly bunched so we're just three games out of first place. Miguel Bello had a terrific month, hitting .348 with 5 homers and 25 RBI. Syd Duke was terrific as well, with a .388 OBP, 6 homers and 22 RBI. Shane Johnson was 2-0 with a 2.04 ERA.

It wasn't all great. Rocky Long, now in his ninth season in Bryant, got into a verbal altercation with a fan after a poor performance. And our top two starters, Matias Nelson and Olav Rossland, both will miss time with injuries, with Nelson out for the season with a torn flexor tendon. Of course, they both had just signed contract extensions, too- Rossland will make $14M/year for the next four years, and Nelson $10M/year for the next three. In the meantime, prospects Chad Goree and Doug Trombino have arrived from Clayton to shore up the rotation.

Around the league, former Warrior Toby Younger, now of the Crestmont Bobcats, had a 35-game hitting streak. Another former Warrior, Wyatt Cox, leads the league with 21 homers for the Sidney City Scorpions.

We had the #13 pick in the draft and picked a high school pitcher, Rich Mitchell, and hope to get him to sign a below-slot deal.

[jaa36]

The Warriors nudged above .500 with a 38-35 record and sit two games out of first place. Miguel Bello has had a banner season, hitting .329 with 19 homers and 62 RBI, and is in the middle of the Player of the Year race. B.J. Pallister, Luis Del Rosario and Loran Hamrick all are hitting .300 as well. Al Rendon has had another solid year, 7-2 with a 3.18 ERA, while Chad Goree has been outstanding, 4-0 and 0.65.

On the down side, we've now lost four starters from our rotation, with Nadif Awuah and Shane Johnson joining Matias Nelson and Olav Rossland on the IL. Johnson should return soon, but we're getting thin on the mound.

[jaa36]

We put together our third consecutive winning month, but still had trouble keeping up with the Silverley Mustangs, who moved to six games in front of us. Miguel Bello continued his spectacular season with seven more homers and 28 more RBI in July- he had a five-hit game and won a Player of the Week award. The offense somewhat quietly has led the league in scoring. And the pitching has been surprisingly solid even with all the injuries- Olav Rossland made a start but returned to the IL again- with the rookies and spot starters all faring well in their stead.

Our first-round pick Rich Mitchell has slotted in as the #33 overall prospect, and we signed 19-year-old pitcher Barto Galtan out of Valoria, and he became the #40 prospect.

[jaa36]

As usual, we pulled off a flurry of trades in August- the question is whether the improved team will be able to surmount a five-game deficit. The club went 12-11 in August but the Mustangs remain out in front. Al Rendon, Josiah Willis (who's performed admirably as closer), Murtagh Pettijohn, Miguel Bello and B.J. Pallister all made the All-Star team. A special shout-out to Pettijohn, who has been incredibly consistent behind the plate and lived up to his $26M/year salary.

I dealt away Nadif Awuah, who was making $19.5M in the last year of his deal, and was going to miss much of the rest of the season, to the Sungate Falcons for pitcher Cedric Hamilton, largely to free up budget room. Awuah had been a consistently good performer in our rotation, and finished his six-year career in Bryant with an 82-69 record, a 4.17 ERA and 20.5 WAR. The extra cash allowed us to trade for John Matthew Petty- a future Hall of Fame who was acquired from the Adamond Bruins for Tyler Hollis, a former top-20 prospect who had lost a bit of his luster. Petty is 33, makes $21M in the last year of his deal, and had spent nearly his whole career with the Wonderwood Monarchs until they traded him to the perpetually cellar-dwelling Bruins in the first week of the season. He's a two-time Pitcher of the Year winner, including just last season, and still has plenty left in the tank despite slumping a bit this year. He'd want $305M over seven years as an extension, so that's not likely, but he's a great add for the rest of this season.

We also picked up starter Pete Lemke from the Sungate Falcons for a minor-league outfielder- Lemke doesn't have a high ceiling, but had a 10-9 record and 3.61 ERA this year, and makes just $930K. And not to be lost in all this, we added second baseman Sulevi Juvonen, who is leading the league in batting average... Juvonen came over from Sidney City for minor leaguer Matthias Branson. He makes $11M in the last year of his contract and further bolstered what is perhaps the best lineup in the TBL.

This is a potent team, but time will tell if we can make up the five games on the Mustangs.

[jaa36]

With just two weeks to go in the regular season, the Warriors have made up their deficit and are tied for first place in the TBL East with an 82-67 record. The Silverley Mustangs have fallen off the pace, but the Sungate Falcons had a good month and are neck-and-neck with us. The final three games of the season are at home against Sungate, so it's easy to imagine the season coming down to that.

Naturally, John Matthew Petty tore his UCL with his very first start with the team, and his Warriors career concludes with a 1-0 record over 7 2/3 innings. More importantly, Murtagh Pettijohn strained his groin and will miss three more weeks- if you squint, you could imagine him coming back in the postseason, but it's doubtful, and we have a big hole at catcher.

Miguel Bello remains tops in the league in WAR with 7.9 and in RBI with 129, and has mashed 39 home runs. Sulevi Jovenen is still in front in the batting average race at .362.

Around the league, Domingo Alvarado of the Patrick Legends got his 200th career victory. A ten-time All-Star, Alvarado is a lock for the Hall of Fame. Patrick is three games in front in the Western Conference.

[jaa36]

Our owner, Keith Little, passed away at the age of 86. Little had been a bit demanding at times, but overall was a pretty good dude to work for, sometimes throwing us a little extra cash when the budget was tight, and of course had been in charge during the first two championships in Warriors history.

His son Keith Little Jr. will take over, and looks like a chip off the old block- though cares more about winning than his dad did. I can't complain about that!

We've won four and lost three so far in October and are currently a game behind Sungate. I'll play out the final six games of the season...

[jaa36]

In honor of the fallen Keith Little Sr., the Warriors went on a nice run, winning five in a row to earn a postseason berth. We took the first game fairly easily against the Sidney City Scorpions, 8-4. The second game took a late inning comeback, with Sulevi Juvonen driving in the tying run with a double in the seventh, and Gaby Shade scoring the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the eighth.

We were now tied with the Sungate Falcons for first place, and in the final game against Sidney City, we looked to be coasting to victory after a six-run sixth inning and a six-run lead in the ninth. But Percy Taylor and then Josiah Willis managed to give up all six- capped off by a bases-loaded single in which slow-footed catcher Nico Murphy held up at third base- but Willis finally induced a ground-out to send it to extras. The Warriors went down feebly in the tenth and eleventh, burning through the rest of their exhausted bullpen. Gaby Shade drove in the go-ahead run in the twelfth, but was cut down at third base to end the inning, and former Warrior Wyatt Cox answered right back with his 40th home run of the season to tie the score. Two errors allowed the Scorpions to load the bases again, but rookie Chad Goree narrowly escaped, striking out Elias Solis on a 3-2 fastball. In the top of the thirteenth, Syd Duke walked with two outs, stole second, and came around to score on a single by Luis Del Rosario. Pete Lemke, usually in the rotation, was summoned out of the bullpen and put two on- before getting Rob Hillson to ground into a double play and end it- and with Sungate losing to Silverley, the Warriors were in the conference lead!

We then faced off against the Falcons with the conference on the line. Game one was yet another nail-biter... Syd Duke put the Warriors in front 5-4 with a double in the seventh. Josiah Willis came on for a five-out save, but promptly served up a game-tying homer. The Warriors stranded the go-ahead run at third in the eighth, but Gaby Shade hit a walk-off single in the ninth to put them two games in front with two to play.

The conference was clinched the next day in less dramatic fashion, as Miguel Bello and B.J. Pallister homered, and Pete Lemke came back to pitch 5 1/3 solid innings. It's the fourth time in the last eight seasons that the Warriors have made the postseason.

We face off against a difficult foe, the Terra City Capitals, who actually led the league in both scoring and run prevention. They still needed an extra game to make the postseason, and defeated the Patrick Legends to advance with a 94-69 record. The Capitals haven't made the postseason since 1996. We'll have to match up against Triple Crown winner Andy Larche, who was 23-7 with a 2.13 ERA and 249 strikeouts, and another 20-game winner in Rolando Carrillo. The lineup boasts two left-handed sluggers in Marty Drury (.280/26/122) and Horatio Smith (.274/33/117). Former Warriors Zach Traa and Jeremiah Mellado (who of course hit .300 again) both play for Terra City. We should have both Olav Rossland and Murtagh Pettijohn returning midway through the series.

[jaa36]

The Bryant Warriors have done it again- winning their third championship in the last eight seasons (and the last 109). Gaby Shade won the series MVP, with 10 hits in 23 at-bats and four stolen bases.

Game one: Capitals 5, Warriors 3. The Capitals took an early 2-0 lead off Al Rendon, though the Warriors chipped away with three runs against Triple Crown-winner Andy Larche to tie the score. A single by Jim Noyes and a bases-loaded wild pitch allowed Terra City to put up two more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Larche ended up going seven innings, and ace reliever Pete Severson pitched the last two to close out the win for the Capitals. Luis Del Rosario left with an injury, to miss the rest of the series, and things were starting off on a bleak note.

Game two: Warriors 4, Capitals 3. Bryant took the lead on RBIs by Alexis Ioannou and Miguel Bello, though two runs of Olav Rossland tied the score. With the bases loaded in the seventh, B.J. Pallister singled in the go-ahead run off 20-game winner Rolando Carillo, and Sulevi Juvonen hit a sac fly for insurance. Horatio Smith cut the lead in half with a solo homer in the eighth, but Darik Hairston got three strikeouts in a four-out save to send the Warriors back to Bryant with the series tied.

Game three: Warriors 3, Capitals 2. Marty Drury's two-run homer gave the Capitals a 2-0 lead off Doug Trombino in the fourth. But the Warriors scored runs in each of the next three innings, with a double by Juvonen giving them the lead in the seventh. The bullpen combined for 4 1/3 scoreless innings, with Josiah Willis getting the last two outs.

Game four: Warriors 10, Capitals 2. A three-run homer by Pallister put the Warriors in front early, and the offense didn't let up for the rest of the day. Syd Duke hit a three-run homer of his own, and he and Bello had three hits apiece. Murtagh Pettijohn returned from his lengthy injury and provided two hits as well. Pete Lemke allowed four walks, but held the Capitals to just one run over 4 1/3 innings and let the bullpen do the rest, and the Warriors were just one win away from another championship.

Game five: Capitals 5, Warriors 0. Andy Larche stifled the Bryant bats again, throwing eight shutout innings and allowing just five baserunners. Leon Waldron gave Terra City the lead with a two-run double in the third, and the Capitals never looked back.

Game six: Warriors 8, Capitals 2. The Bryant bats pummeled Carrillo and three relievers as the Warriors rolled to the championship! The Warriors batted around in the second, with Juvonen capping off a six-run innings with a bases-clearing triple. Rossland left with an injury in the fourth (a common outcome for him..) but Hairston, Crew Lyne and Willis went the rest of the way to close it out. Everyone in the Bryant lineup had a hit, including three from Duke and backup third baseman Travis Szoke, who filled in for the injured Del Rosario.

[jaa36]

It was an extraordinarily successful season for the Warriors- a fitting sendoff for Keith Little Sr., and a nice feather in the cap for Keith Little Jr. Unfortunately, the finances weren't super great- we drew only 2.8M fans, down from the last two seasons, and we lost $25M. Our season scored was 618.

Successes:
1. Miguel Bello! The 26-year-old came into his own with an outstanding all-around season, with a .311 average, 43 doubles, 42 home runs and 136 RBI. He finished second in Player of the Year voting.
2. Murtagh Pettijohn. The veteran catcher kept on ticking, despite an injury at the end of the season.
3. B.J. Pallister. The DH bounced back from a rough 2008 to post a .395 OBP.
4. Al Rendon. Another solid season for the reliable veteran, with a 15-9 record and 3.51 ERA.
5. Chad Goree. The rookie was a fantastic 12-2 with a 2.33 ERA, although his peripherals weren't quite so good.

Disappointments:
1. Travis Szoke. The veteran was just a role player, but hit just .165. He was good enough in the postseason, though!
2. John Matthew Petty. One start, Petty?!?
3. Cedric Hamilton. The midseason acquisition had a 7.75 ERA for us.

Among former Warriors, Toby Younger had another excellent season. Sebastien Paoli, Wyatt Cox and Tatu Niemela were all solid as well. Randy Rojo hit an impressively-terrible .143.

22-year-old Ron Curran of the Freeton Crusaders was the Player of the Year, hitting .352 with 29 homers, 101 RBI and 44 stolen bases. Andy Larche (23-7, 2.13 ERA) of Terra City was the Pitcher of the Year. The Capitals' Tom Castilla hit .348 to win the Rookie of the Year. Ian Gusman won his fourth straight Reliever of the Year award with the Patrick Legends, with a 1.94 ERA and 44 saves.

Murtagh Pettijohn, Sulevi Juvonen and Miguel Bello all won Platinum Stick awards, while John Matthew Petty won a Gold Glove (why not?)

[jaa36]

This year we honor third baseman Naum Mills, who is inducted to the Hall of Fame after a 21-year career. Mills was the #2 overall draft pick out of Conham College in 2001, and was considered a top prospect from then on. He debuted with the Timberton Dragons in 2004, and hit 22 homers in his rookie season, just a taste of what was yet to come. Mills quickly established himself as one the pre-eminent power hitters in baseball, hitting 42 home runs and making his first of ten all-star teams in 1987. He remained a consistent presence in the middle of the lineup for the Dragons, but really came into his own in 1993, hitting 45 homers. He finally made the postseason for the first time with Timberton two years later, winning his first of three championships. At age 36, he signed as a free agent with the Wal Titans, and it looked like he was winding down his career- before a remarkable late-career renaissance that saw him play until age 44, mostly holding up OK defensively as a third baseman. Mills finished with 597 home runs, second all-time, and 1705 RBI. He was known as low-average hitter, with easily the lowest average of any Hall of Fame, but compensated for this with plenty of walks and power.