French Baseball League - Julien Henri

[stevem810]

Quebec won game 6 using small ball strategy and have forced a winner take all scenario in tomorrow's game. Julien Henri will be on the mound for Paris.

A one run win by Le Diamant forced a final game scenario in their series.

Both series have seen each team reel off 3 straight wins. Vic Cosman of the Diamonds with a 5.14 ERA is the only pitcher having a half way decent post-season. The pitcher(s) who revert to form will give their ball club a chance to win and advance.

[stevem810]

The good news for Paris was that Julien Henri was the #2 star of the day as he went the the distance tossing 111 pitches. The bad news was SP Bob Tierney of Quebec was the #1 star allowing no runs as the Snake Eyes completed the unlikely series win by winning the final 4 games after being down 0-3.

In Le Diamant, the Diamonds were trying to do exactly what the Snake Eyes did as they started out down, 0-3 before rallying to force a game 7 in Le Diamant. But it was Imbert out dueling the Diamond ace Vic Cosman as the Waves held on for a 4-3 win, thanks in large part to the 3 for 4 (one HR) performance by Julien Dubois, the Wave SS.

[BirdWatcher]

Oof!
Tough to see poor Julien Henri take the loss in spite of such a tremendous performance.

[stevem810]

Originally Posted by BirdWatcher

Oof!
Tough to see poor Julien Henri take the loss in spite of such a tremendous performance.

And, the two best teams in the league go out in the first round. Definitely a strange year in FBL with the Expedition not even making the post-season in the weakest division.

Henri had an opportunity to have an offensive impact as he was at the plate with the bases loaded and two outs.

Cap Chevalier is going for their 4th title in this the first decade.

[stevem810]

Gerard Duran, who was just 12-15 during the regular season, helps secure the W for the Waves.

[stevem810]

In the end the Snake Eyes just ran out of comebacks. Losing the first 3 games of the Cap Chevalier series was too much to overcome. Quebec did bounce back with two wins in front of their home crowd, but the Waves put a quick end to any illusions that the Snake Eyes may have held regarding a championship.

Cap Chevalier now owns the most titles in the FBL, four.

[stevem810]

The Artists announced that they have added a new position to the front office, Assistant General Manager. Ilies Blondell will be handling a good portion of the day to day operations as well as overseeing some of the more vital functions of the franchise. Ilies will have free reign over most decisions but he must abide by the two part stipulation:
1. Don't trade Henri
2. Don't trade DeLage

This will allow the current GM to step back a bit and pursue the Seniors Tennis Circuit.

[stevem810]

The first noticeable action by the new Asst. GM Blondel was to ink Henri to a contract through the 74 season. Both DeLage and Henri are now signed avoiding free agency, at least for the foreseeable future.

Curiously, prior to the signing the owner commented that acquiring Julien Henri was not what he had in mind when he asked for a staff ace. He's not asking for much, just the 'Pitcher of the Year'! Julien came close as he was 4th in that category in the voting.

Julien also won the Platinum Bat Award for his .302/.343/.502 slash line.
Herve bagged another gold glove and the Platinum bat at 3b.

For the first time a single team (Cap Chevalier) bagged gold gloves for all three outfield positions. Idriss Moulin, Herson Cuyco, and Thomas Martin were the recipients.

[stevem810]

Le Diamant's Cole Burke won the Pitcher of the Year Award and then promptly signed a long term contract with the Quebec Snake Eyes.

[stevem810]

Matthieu Michel had another stellar year for the Diamonds and certainly is a worthy recipient of this prestigious award.

[stevem810]

Perhaps the most influential influence in Julien Henri's career while he was in the Le Diamant system was Benoit. His record speaks for itself. He's been a part of 4 straight championship teams.

[stevem810]

Angel Gracia who took over at third for the Diamonds earns this years award.

[stevem810]

The French Baseball League is now entering a new decade, the 70's. Julien Henri will turn 26 in May. He is by all definitions a star two way player that can be counted on to perform wherever he plays.

With some new management pieces in Paris the Artists did not make the impact that ownership was banking on to begin 1970. But, in all fairness new Asst. GM Blondell did land some prospects in the Vautier deal as Nao Yamada ranks #1 in the Paris system. He will be playing for the Odyssey in AA to begin the season.

[stevem810]

Here he is, Julien Henri in his second year of organized baseball, playing in Single A for the Basse-Pointe Bandits.

[stevem810]

The Artists jumped off to a 4-0 start before losing game 5 to the champs, Cap Chevalier. Julien Henri had a very good spring on the mound and followed up with a nice outing in the second day of the season.

[stevem810]

He was big for Le Diamant and now he figures to be the ace for the Quebec Snake Eyes. After rejecting Le Diamants qualifying offer, Cole Burke signed on with Quebec and is off to an excellent start. He has two W's after just 6 days of play.

[stevem810]

Great week of pitching for Julien.

Le Diamant getting it done without Cy Young Burke.

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by stevem810

Great week of pitching for Julien.

Le Diamant getting it done without Cy Young Burke.

Tough next series for the Artists.

Julien's old team is sure off to a great start what with those 10 straight W's.

[stevem810]

Julien loses his first game in spite of a quality outing. The Martinique teams continue to be the class of the French Baseball League, at least the top two.

[stevem810]

Ed note: Hard to believe the organization let Henri throw 153 pitches. Geez, hard to be hands off with this group holding the reins. I guess I have to fill in those settings.