Orford Timberwolves (ABL)

[jaa36]

The season started off very badly, but a quick turnaround leaves the Timberwolves at 13-8, just one game back of first place. We lost the first three games and five of the first six, but swept the last two series of the month. New acquisition Zak Medrano got off to a blazingly hot start, hitting .383 with three homers and 15 RBI in the early going. Maxwell Elliott hit six homers, and Dusty Elliott and Jared Page both started off above .300. T.J. Fall won three games and put up a 2.60 ERA in the early going.

There were a few injuries, with Tate Vik and Heketa Fati both remaining on the IL for a couple more days, but the team is overall in good shape. The best news might be that the Leigheskirk Pioneers have started off just 7-14, and the team ahead of us (the Bretford Athletics) are vulnerable.

[jaa36]

The Timberwolves lost the first five games to begin the month and the last two to end the month, but won 16 of 20 in the middle of the month and enter June just two games out of first place. We managed to get swept by the Bretford Athletics, the only team ahead of us, but the Athletics are not as good a team all-around and we should be able to make up that ground.

Cole Duran won all four of his starts with a 0.89 ERA. Jared Page, Tommy Kemper, and both Elliotts (Maxwell and Dusty) were hot during the month, with Kemper reeling off an 18-game hitting streak. Logan Womack has had a disappointing contract year and is at -0.7 WAR.

The outfield has dealt with a glut of injuries (as usual), but most have returned, and Zak Medrano and Tate Vik should return in a week or two. Outfielder Jonah Cook was claimed on waivers from the Grantford Skyhawks- he's a solid bat overall and can cover either corner.

With the #16 pick in the draft, we didn't come away with any elite prospects, but we picked two collegians in the first two rounds who should be able to compete in the next couple years, outfielder Cal Vaughn and infielder Jamie Donovan.

[jaa36]

It was a brutal month... Losing streak of seven and five games led to a 10-15 record, and we fell seven games behind the Bretford Athletics. It didn't help that the Athletics came to town three games ahead of us, and then went on to sweep us. We lost a lot of close games, but the common theme was not scoring runs, including a stretch where we scored six runs in six games.

Maxwell Elliott was one of the chief culprits, hitting .167 with two home runs. Heketa Fati led the team with a paltry five homers, but even he hit only .232. The pitching was OK, but Regan Calloway had a few more meltdowns and now has five blown saves against three saves.

The outfielder injury parade continued, with Brandon Andrade out for the season, though Tate Vik has returned, and Jared Page should be on the way soon.

There's still time to turn things around, but with a 39-34 record, we need to win a lot of games down the stretch to catch up.

[jaa36]

A 7-game winning streak leaves us just three games behind Bretford, which is a gap I think we'll be able to close. It was a pretty good month overall, with a 17-10 record. We lost two tough one-run games against the Athletics, but managed to beat the Leigheskirk Pioneers in four out of six games.

Maxwell Elliott was the most productive hitter of the month, but even after hitting .324 with a .417 OBP, his overall numbers are pretty poor for this year. Cole Duran put up an excellent 1.99 ERA on the month. Jimmy Cranmer and Tate Vik had matching .340 averages, with six and five home runs respectively.

Jared Page went down to yet another injury- his third IL stint of the year. Our pitchers have been remarkably healthy, though, and both Aiden Choate and #1 overall prospect D.J. Murphy are in AAA given the lack of space on the active roster.

We managed to not sign any of the top international amateur free agents this year- neither of the top two guys wanted anything to do with us unfortunately.

[jaa36]

The Timberwolves closed the gap in August, going 16-7 and catching up to the Bretford Athletics with a 72-51 record overall. Both teams are comfortably in front of anyone else, with a nine-game gap between them and the Leigheskirk Pioneers. The month including taking two of three from both teams, and a nine-game winning streak in the middle of the month.

The Timberwolves had six all-stars: Brody Kline, T.J. Fall, James Stearman(?!?), Dusty Elliott, Jimmy Cranmer and Tate Vik. The run prevention has been really good overall, the best in the league, and we've scored the third-most runs in the league. Top prospects D.J. Murphy and Horst Henriksen have both been banging down the doors in AAA, but honestly, there's no room for them on the big-league roster!

There weren't any top players available at the deadline, but I swapped out struggling catcher Robby Lloyd for reliever Lane Jackson, and traded for catcher Luis Geyer, a 34-year-old veteran with six gold gloves. Brian Langan was also traded away for some salary relief, though the budget situation is actually quite good, and we're on pace to meet ownership goals for both profit and attendance.

[jaa36]

On the positive side, the Timberwolves went 16-10 in September and ended the month a game ahead of the Bretford Athletics. But we missed out on an opportunity to truly pull ahead, losing series to both the Athletics and the Leigheskirk Pioneers. We've managed to win just 4 of 15 games against Bretford this season, with three more to go.

Parker Schulte more than held his own as the fifth starter, going 3-1 with a 1.33 ERA in September. Lane Jackson was terrific with his new team, with a 4-0 record, a 1.37 ERA and two saves. Tate Vik was hotter than the August weather, hitting .357 with 7 homers and 24 RBI. Maxwell Elliott continued his baffling poor season and has just 55 RBI and a .243 average.

We enter the last month of the season in very good shape physically, with even Brandon Andrade about to return from three months on the IL. We still have three games against the Athletics, and the season will likely hinge on our ability to beat our biggest division rival.

[jaa36]

An October swoon made things tight, but the Timberwolves ended up winning the TBL South by two games over the Bretford Athletics, with a league-best 94-68 record. It's eight wins fewer than last season, but fortunately, we didn't need to be quite as good. We didn't help our cause by losing consecutive series to Axbrigh, Bretford and Leigheskirk, and the series against the Athletics was particularly difficult because we were very nearly swept, which would have left us in a tie for the conference lead. Heketa Fati saved our bacon in that one with a miraculous two-out, three-run walk-off homer.

Tate Vik was our most productive hitter, going .326/23/93 despite missing time due to injury. Jared Page wasn't far off that pace, hitting .310, and Dusty Elliott put up a team-leading .405 OBP, hit 21 homers and stole 27 bases. Even though no one exceeded 25 home runs, we had nine players in double digits. The pitching was all pretty good, though both Jesse Alarcon and Aaron Bickel didn't have the shiniest ERAs due to poor defense behind them. T.J. Fall, Rex James and Nemesis Salinas were all great out of the bullpen.

We head into the postseason really totally healthy, with no players on the IL- that's something! I'd like to promote #1 overall prospect D.J. Murphy, who pitched very well at AAA, to make his first career start in the postseason, but there's no one I can really send down in his place!

We play the Walling Musketeers in the Championship Series, after the Musketeers took two of three to tie the Southspring Grizzlies atop the standings, then held them off 6-5 in a tiebreaker. Walling has not been to the postseason since way back in 1970. They have two big boppers in Karl Oskar Torsteinbo (.291/44/126) and Federico Lopez (.298/36/119), but the rest of the club is good rather than great. Here's hoping we can climb all the way up the mountaintop this time.

[jaa36]

WE DID IT! The Orford Timberwolves defeated the Walling Musketeers in seven games to take their seventh championship in team history and their first since 1993. This is the culmination of a lengthy rebuilding process where we moved from bottom-dwellers to the class of the league. Not only that, the team is set up for success moving forwards, with top prospects ready to break in for next season.

It looked like it was going to be a cakewalk, until it wasn't. We jumped out to a 3-0 series lead, then got walloped in the next three games, then took an early lead in game seven before ALMOST giving it all away in the ninth. Suffice to say, things got stressful.

Game one: Timberwolves 4, Musketeers 2. Jesse Alarcon set the tone, allowing just one run over five gutsy innings. Dusty Elliott and Jimmy Cranmer both homered to provide some offense. Southpaws T.J. Fall and Noah Moore provided 3 2/3 scoreless innings against the lefty-heavy Walling lineup.

Game two: Timberwolves 7, Musketeers 3. Catcher Luis Geyer provided some unexpected power with a three-run homer in the second inning, and backup catcher Roy Gravitt provided some even less-expected power in the eighth with a home run of her own. Aaron Bickel provided 4 2/3 innings and the bullpen was solid the rest of the way.

Game three: Timberwolves 9, Musketeers 6. Jared Page homered twice and drove in five against ace Mike Liddell to help the Timberwolves to a 6-0 lead. Brody Kline and Regan Calloway scuffled in the middle innings as the Musketeers made things close, but Nemesis Salinas and Fall were able to close things out without too much difficulty as Orford took a 3-0 series lead.

Game four: Musketeers 8, Timberwolves 4. The Musketeers put up seven runs against Cole Duran, who only made it through three innings. Tate Vik had four hits, but it wasn't enough to make up the deficit. No big deal, still a 3-1 lead!

Game five: Musketeers 10, Timberwolves 4. This time it was Alarcon's turn to get shelled, as he gave up seven in just 2 2/3. Former Timberwolves Jordan Dyson and Kyle Majorca helped the Musketeers to the victory. Not a big problem, still just 3-2 with the Timberwolves heading home!

Game six: Musketeers 7, Timberwolves 1. Aaron Bickel got his chance to get beat up, giving up four runs in 3 2/3 innings. Meanwhile, Walling's Liddell held Orford scoreless over five as the bats went cold. Hmm, 3-3, that's not great...

Game seven: Timberwolves 6, Musketeers 4. Maxwell Elliott hit a two-run homer in the first, and Tommy Kemper followed up with another in the sixth. Meanwhile, Brody Kline held the Musketeers scoreless for 4 2/3 innings and relievers Fall and Moore kept them off the board as well. All looked well heading into the ninth, with the Timberwolves up 6-0 and the champagne on ice... when Nemesis Salinas gave up five consecutive hits, cutting the lead in half and bringing the tying run to the plate. Midseason acquisition Lane Jackson came on and coolly got a strikeout, a fielder's choice, and another strikeout, and the championship belonged to Orford.

Page won the series MVP, hitting .333 with four homers and seven RBI. Fall one two games out of the bullpen, adding to his league-leading 17 wins during the regular season.

Owner Patrick Kilmartin was understandably pretty happy about all this! We ended up turning a profit of $21M, which was the best showing for an Orford club since 1954. The season attendance of 2.8M was the fourth-best total in Timberwolves history. And the AAA and AA won championships too. All around, a great year!

Despite this, none of the Timberwolves won any awards this year. The Musketeers' Karl Oskar Torsteinbo won Player of the Year (.291/44/126), while Southspring's Shelton Doyle was the Pitcher of the Year (15-5, 2.98).

As we head into 2010, Logan Womack and Heketa Fati are the biggest pending free agents. I'd be happy to bring Womack back, but he's asking for a king's ransom, so we'll see. We should have a fair bit of money to work with, but also need to accommodate our prospects. I'll plan to play out one final season, then more quickly sim through the remainder of the careers of some of the Timberwolves' stars.

[jaa36]

After basking in the championship glory, it was back to work to try to win another one this year. There are some notable differences between this year and last year's Timberwolves, though the top-end talent and the depth remain quite good.

The biggest departure was Logan Womack, which was expected but still hurt. He ended up signing a seven-year deal for $157M with the Ashton City Aeros- which is probably a little more than he'll be worth during that time. Womack put up 23.2 WAR in seven solid seasons in Orford. He'll be replaced by an even bigger name, though- 38-year-old Ricky Doby, a 12-time All-Star and 9-time Platinum Stick winner who signed a $20M deal with a team option for 2011. Doby's ratings fell off a bit in the offseason, but he'll still slot in at shortstop and as the cleanup hitter.

Heketa Fati also departed, signing a two-year deal worth $33M, while DH/outfielder Bryan Cornelius signed a two-year deal for $24M plus a team option to replace him; they are similar players, though Fati's bat is a little better, while Cornelius is a year younger and can slightly hack it in left field. Meanwhile, outfielder Jimmy Tavana, recently the #22 overall prospect, was brought in for pitcher/infield prospect Andy Bergstrom; the 25-year-old Tavana isn't fully developed yet, but could turn into a star and will start in right field against righties. Catcher Robby Lloyd was brought back despite his wretched performance for us last year. Infielder Jevne Akselsen (a rule 5 pick) and first baseman Yoshiyuki Maejima, who struggled mightily in Wigdondore last season but has solid ratings, round out the bench. Meanwhile, Horst Henriksen will start the season in AAA but should be up by May. Unsurprisingly, both Jared Page and Tate Vik are injured heading into the season, but the outfield depth is quite good.

Not much has changed in the pitching staff, which is just bursting with talent. D.J. Murphy will break camp with the club and may be the team's best starter already. The glut of solid pitchers bumped Parker Schulte to the bullpen, which was possible as James Stearman will miss the season with a torn rotator cuff. Our old friend Jordan Dyson rejoined the club but will start in AAA, and Ulysses Grant Johnson provides us with a buffer in Kenswood as well. Too many good arms...

We're only projected to win 82 games, which seems unlikely. Patrick Kilmartin expects us to win it all again. Our farm system remains the best in baseball, with Murphy and Henriksen the #2 and 3 prospects, and eleven top-100 prospects overall.

[jaa36]

It was a super first month for the defending champion Timberwolves, as we reeled off a nine-game winning streak to leave our record at 17-5 heading into May. This leaves Orford two games in front in the conference. Maxwell Elliott continued to struggle to get on base, but cracked six home runs. The top four in the rotation were all undefeated, with Jesse Alarcon and D.J. Murphy both putting up ERAs south of 2. The bullpen was also created, with Aiden Choate and Rex James particular standouts.

There were some outfield injuries as usual, with Tate Vik, Jared Page, Zak Medrano and Bryan Cornelius all missing time, but there were plenty of fill-ins, and we just brought up top prospect Horst Henriksen to take over center field.

[jaa36]

It wasn't quite as impressive a month, but it was a very eventful one! The Timberwolves went 15-11 and now have a 32-16 record overall through the first two months of the season.

To start with the lowlights, we lost three crushing games in the month. The first was a 6-5 17-inning loss to Darlisdon in which we trotted out every reliever and starter Aaron Bickel, and failed to push the winning across despite putting runners in scoring position in four extra innings. The second was one in which we jumped out to an 8-0 first-inning lead, but then gave up an incredible 14 runs in the second inning and ended up losing by a field goal, 17-14. And the third was a 9-7 loss in which the bullpen coughed up six runs in the final two innings.

But the month ended on a real high note, as we won six straight, including a combined no-hitter by Jesse Alarcon and Nemesis Salinas. Alarcon was absolutely cruising, but was pulled after seven innings and 89 pitches as his fatigue was in the red- however, this was actually the longest outing (innings-pitched-wise) in my tenure as manager!

The team is relatively healthy, with only Jared Page on the shelf, but our rotating crew of outfielders/DHs is easily able to weather him being out. Maxwell Elliott is putting together a nice little comeback season, and his 16 home runs are second in the league.

Our top pick in the draft (the #16 overall choice) was pitcher Nathan Young, a 23-year-old college lefty who is actually almost fully developed already. He should be fine to start in AAA and honestly, in most rotations, he'd go straight to the bigs. Our second pick was another college pitcher, Jim Cromer, who profiles as a starter but likely will end up in our bullpen.

[jaa36]

For a first-place team, it was kind of a rough month. We suffered through consecutive terrible losses in which Coy King gave up two two-run homers in the ninth one night, and Rex James gave up five runs in the ninth the next night. We also got shut out on consecutive nights, and then lost two consecutive extra-inning games to close out the month. But despite all that, we actually had a winning record (14-12) in June...

Maxwell Elliott has had a resurgent season and leads the league with 25 homers. Despite some serious pitching foibles, we've actually allowed the fewest runs in the league. Horst Henriksen won the Rookie of the Month, hitting .300 with seven home runs.

Our lead in the division was as high as eight games at one point, but has fallen back to four. We have plenty of cash to make a trade at the deadline if we need to... Injuries have hit the team pretty hard, with six players currently on the IL.