The North Carolina Aviators (AFBL)

[Chappy]

Sim #6

Game Summaries
5/5 - 14-2 WIN @ Virginia - The Aviators hit 6 HR to blow past Virginia. Shane Schute was 4-for-4 with a walk, 3 runs and 3 RBI in the game. Turd Newton and David Ruiz each added 3 hits, while Jim O'Brien continued to hit well with a 2-for-4 day including a 3-run HR. However, he left the game with an injury. Rookie Teimua Kiristopa allowed 2 ER in 7 innings to get an easy win.
5/6 - 6-2 WIN @ New Mexico - Norman Cornell moved to 5-0, 1.54 with a fine performance on the mound, allowing 1 ER on 3 hits in 7.2 innings. Jim O'Brien was 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI before leaving the game with an injury for the 2nd day in a row. He will go on to miss the next few games.
5/7 - 10-4 loss @ New Mexico - A costly error by our catcher Juan Rodriguez turned a bad outing by Ron Carmichael into a nightmare. Ron wound up allowing 9 runs (6 earned) on 8 hits in 4.2 innings, while the offense could only manage 4 runs despite 9 hits and 6 walks. Jose Martinez and Juan Rodriguez each had a pair of hits in the game.
5/8 - 6-5 loss @ Idaho - We were very efficient at the plate, scoring 5 times despite just 3 hits and 3 walks. Ireno Kehlmaier, starting in place of injured DH Jim O'Brien, hit a grand slam for a big chunk of our production. Juan Ortega pitched a complete game, but allowed 6 ER in the losing effort.
5/9 - 4-0 WIN @ Idaho - We win a showdown between teams that leave the game with matching 23-12 records. Trey Drackley was fire, allowing 1 hit in 7 innings, while Turd Newton, Eddie Wheeler and Jesus Martinez each hit homers to pace the offense.
5/10 - 3-2 loss @ New York - Kiristopa allowed 3 ER on 9 hits in 6 innings and we didn't do much at the plate as we fall flat at New York. Goppy was 2-for-4 before leaving the game with a minor injury. The rest of the team only had a combined 4 hits.
5/11 - 4-1 WIN @ New York - Goppy was 1-for-2 before leaving a second straight game with an ouchie. Shane Schute, Eddie Wheeler, and Juan Rodriguez each had a pair of hits and an RBI for the Aviators.

Notes
Goppy was diagnosed with a mild hamstring strain AND a mild abdominal strain. The hamstring has a moderate affect on his running and the abdominal strain has a minimal affect on hitting, throwing and running. We're going to throw him on the DL. This league has a 7-day DL so essentially we can scratch him for one sim and re-evaluate.

Ireno Kehlmaier will fill in at 3rd. He's batting .220-2-8 in 56 plate appearances. He's an upgrade from Goppy in the field and has more power, but we'll still miss our future HOF'er out there. Goppy is 5th in the PL with a .362 batting average. He's also 6th in On-Base % and 7th in Doubles.

28-year-old Juan Baez will take Goppy's place on the roster and back-up Kehlmaier at 3rd. Baez is hitting .310-6-27 in 35 games for AAA Raleigh this year. He's appeared in 337 big league games in his career, and has a .253 average, a .317 OBP, and a .659 OPS during that span. He's a solid depth guy.

For the second night in a row, the team had a 4-3 record against a fairly weak schedule. I'd really like to see us be a little more dominant, though it's hard to complain when you're leading the division by 5 games.

Down on the Farm
Flash Rodriguez is still tearing it up in AAA. He pulled his season average up to .415, and he leads the Explorers in Runs (28) and RBI (27). Aviators starting catcher Juan Rodriguez has taken notice, and pulled his own season average up to .268, a 15 point increase in the past week.

Stats

Role	        T	Pitcher           G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	WHIP	Status
Starter	        L	Norman Cornell    9	9	6	0	0	1.49	0.83	Exhausted
Starter	        R	Jesús Ortega      8	8	4	2	0	3.02	0.97	Rested
Starter	        R	Ron Carmichael    7	7	1	4	0	3.63	0.94	Rested
Starter	        R	Trey Drackley     8	8	4	2	0	3.16	1.05	Slightly Tired
Starter	        L	Teimua Kirisitopa 5	5	2	2	0	4.50	1.56	Tired
Specialist	L	Iván Júlio        3	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00	Rested
Middle Relief	R	Dean Edwards      5	0	0	1	0	2.08	1.38	Rested
Middle Relief	L	Rob Williams     13	0	1	1	2	2.66	1.18	Injured (Day-To-Day, 2 days)
Setup	        R	Terence Jackson   9	0	2	0	0	0.00	0.90	Rested
Setup	        L	Edgardo Rosas    11	0	1	1	0	3.38	1.22	Rested
Closer 	        L	Lou Moore        17	0	3	0	7	0.87	0.92	Rested

CATCHERS
#	B	Player	       Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
9	R	Juan Rodríguez	C	30	112	30	2	14	9	6	29	.268	.309	.384	0.6
38	R	Bob Hopkins	C	8	25	7	3	7	4	3	7	.280	.345	.720	0.4
INFIELDERS
#	B	Player	       Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
8	R	Jim O'Brien	1B	10	37	11	3	8	7	3	6	.297	.350	.622	0.3
65	L	Shane Schute	1B	36	123	36	4	17	25	18	22	.293	.386	.488	0.7
35	R	Ireno Kehlmaier	3B	28	50	11	2	8	7	5	12	.220	.304	.400	-0.1
15	R	José Martínez	SS	35	139	32	5	12	16	13	47	.230	.318	.353	0.6
24      R       Juan Baez       3B       -        -      -      -        -       -       -       -      .---    .---    .---    0.0
33	R	Eddie Wheeler	2B	36	145	35	6	23	14	2	25	.241	.252	.448	0.6
54	R	Doug Butler	SS	6	16	5	1	3	1	1	4	.313	.353	.563	0.2
OUTFIELDERS
#	B	Player	          Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
19	L	Turd Newton        CF	37	150	52	5	18	18	7	24	.347	.385	.513	1.7
50	L	David Ruíz         RF	37	139	36	4	14	20	14	24	.259	.338	.388	0.2
67	R	Francis Ridley     LF	17	8	1	0	1	1	0	4	.125	.111	.125	0.0
13	R	Jorge Baca         LF	24	95	21	3	6	13	5	26	.221	.295	.453	0.4
36	R	Cristóbal Castillo RF	26	47	8	0	2	8	9	3	.170	.304	.191	0.2

PRIMARY LINEUP
#	B	Name           Pos	AVG	HR	RBI	SB
1	R	José Martínez	SS	.230	5	12	7
2	L	Turd Newton	CF	.347	5	18	14
3	L	Shane Schute	1B	.293	4	17	0
4	R	Jim O'Brien	DH	.297	3	8	0
5	L	David Ruíz	RF	.259	4	14	0
6       R       Ireno Kehlmaier 3B      .220    2       8       2
7	R	Eddie Wheeler	2B	.241	6	23	4
8	R	Juan Rodríguez	C	.268	2	14	0
1	R	Jorge Baca	LF	.221	3	6	6

Upcoming Games
5/12 - @ New York (16-21)
5/13-5/15 - @ Georgia (19-18)
5/16 - Off Day
5/17-5/19 vs Maryland (19-18)

The schedule gets a little tougher, though we do have an off day for the first time in a a while (ending an 18-day game streak). We will face both of the teams tied for 2nd place in our division, so those will be some key matchups.

Standings

South	                 W	L	PCT	GB
North Carolina Aviators	24	13	.649	-
Maryland Bridegrooms	19	18	.514	5.0
Georgia Titans	        19	18	.514	5.0
West Virginia Hollers	17	20	.459	7.0
Virginia Diamond Club	14	23	.378	10.0

[Chappy]

Aviators Announce a Trade
North Carolina acquires pitching prospect, clears path for Flash Rodriguez

Flash Rodriguez and his 1.159 OPS were not going to sit around in AAA too long.

Today, the NC Aviators sent starting catcher Juan Rodriguez to New Mexico along with a 5th round pick in the upcoming 2041 draft for 22-year-old Antonio Sosa, currently pitching for the Flagstaff Alpines of the Confederation League. Sosa's repertoire features 3 solid pitches and a change-up that he doesn't throw very well. He's got great stamina and plays the field well. He's 4-2 with a 3.89 ERA in 7 starts with Flagstaff this year, though we will assign him to AA OBX where the competition is a little tougher.

The big news for Aviators fans, though, is that top prospect Flash Rodriguez will be joining the Aviators. He's currently exhausted, so he might not make his big-league debut in the Aviators next game, but very soon he'll be the starting backstop. Flash is batting .415-6-27 in 32 games for AAA Raleigh this year. Scouts cannot stop raving about the 21-year-old prospect: "He shows plus contact which should translate into a solid batting average. He is projected to provide well above average defense. Rodriguez has the potential to develop into a big league regular for the bulk of his career."

Flash will wear #88 this season, and his jersey is already available at the Bojangles' Stadium Shop. In what will most likely be a failed attempt to reduce pressure on the young star, Flash will hit near the bottom of the order to start off. Here's the revised primary lineup:

1 R SS Jose Martinez - .230-5-12
2 L CF Turd Newton - .347-5-18
3 L 1B Shane Schute - .293-4-17
4 R DH Jim O'Brien - .297-3-8
5 L RF David Ruiz - .259-4-14
6 R 3B Ireno Kehlmaier - .220-2-8
7 L CA Flash Rodriguez
8 R SS Eddie Wheeler - .241-6-23
9 R LF Jorge Baca - .221-3-6

In related news, the Aviators also claimed undrafted free agent catcher Billy Wise to make up for the loss of a catcher in the organization and cut AAA pitcher Tzu-hsia Xie.

Wise hails from Mililani Town, Hawai'i and is not a terrible prospect considering he was sitting in the free agent pool. Potentials are 5/5/5/6/5 and he was an All-Star at Glendale College. Wise will skip RL and go straight to A-ball.

[Chappy]

A note about the sim schedule...
...the AFBL sims Monday through Thursday nights, usually around 10pm ET. Each sim is one week long, Sunday-Saturday. That's why I'll normally update this thread Tuesday-Friday mornings. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Sim #7

Game Summaries
5/12 - 9-3 WIN @ New York - We take the series 2-1 with a big win. As I suspected, Flash Rodriguez did not play. Backup catcher Bob Hopkins was 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts and a passed ball. David Ruiz was 3-for-5 with his 5th HR of the year and Ron Carmichael earned the win, allowing 2 ER in 6 innings with 4 Ks. DH Jim O'Brien continues to look like the Jim O'Brien from 2 years ago, going 2-for-5 with a double, a triple and 3 RBI.
5/13 - 3-2 loss @ Georgia - Jesus Ortega loses his 3rd in a row, allowing 3 ER on 8 hits in a complete game. Jim O'Brien was 1-for-4 with his 4th HR of the season. Flash? No jitters for the youngster, as he goes 2-for-4 with a pair of singles in his big-league debut. Leaving 8 runners on compared to Georgia's 2 was a real difference maker.
5/14 - 5-0 WIN @ Georgia - Trey Drackley was player of the game with 6 hits allowed in 7 shutout innings, while Terence Jackson completed the shutout with 2 innings on the mound. Turd Newton was 2-for-4 with a HR (6), while Chewie Baca added his 4th HR of the season. Flash was 1-for-4 with his first run and RBI of the season.
5/15 - 4-2 loss @ Georgia - Flash hit his first career HR as part of a 1-for-4 day in a losing effort. Aside from that, we just managed 5 singles on the day. Kiristopa falls to 2-3 with a forgettable performance (4 ER allowed in 7 hits in 7 innings).
5/16 - Off Day
5/17 - 10-8 WIN vs Maryland (12 innings) - DH Jim O'Brien provided some fireworks with a 2-run walk-off HR in the bottom of the 12th inning. The ball would not stay in the park today, as Kehlmaier (3), Wheeler (7), and Baca (5) also homered for the Aviators. Norman Cornell had a rough day, allowing 5 ER in 7 innings, but Terence Jackson locked it down for the win. He has a 0.38 ERA this season and is 3-0. Flash was 2-for-5 to raise his average to .353 in the early going.
5/18 - 5-4 WIN vs Maryland - Jim O'Brien and Ireno Kehlmaier each had a pair of hits including a HR while Shane Schute added another dinger to power the offensive attack. Jesus Ortega allowed 4 ER on 9 hits in 8 innings of work while Lou Moore picked up save #8. 2B Eddie Wheeler and RF David Ruiz each left the game with injuries.

4-2 for the week, not bad.

Notes
The injury report was not as bad as I feared, as both Wheeler and Ruiz will only miss 1 sim. Goppy has not healed as fast as I hoped, so he's also out this week. Including RP Jose Estrada, we've not got 4 player on the DL, though 3 of them should be ready to go next week.

23-year-old IF/OF Pat Bannatyne has been called up from AAA Raleigh, where he was hitting .293-5-15 in 32 games including 19 starts. He's a 5/6/5/5/6 rated player who has a .247 average in 90 big league plate appearances. He'll back up Kehlmaier (who is starting in place of Goppy) at 3rd base. Juan Baez, who had been backing up Kehlmaier, will start at 2nd base in Wheeler's absence. Baez is 2-for-10 this season.

31-year-old 1B/OF Ed Hunt will take David Ruiz's spot on the roster. Hunt was hitting .325-7-18 in Raleigh in 34 games. He's rated 5/4/6/5/7 and has decent baserunning talent. He's appeared in over 550 AFBL games, mainly as a member of the Oregon Explorers. He's got a .264-13-74 line for this 162-game average. Hunt will backup at 1B and RF while Cristobal Castillo starts in place of Ruiz.

I'm pretty comfortable with these backups, especially since I know it's just for 1 week.

Dropping 2 of 3 to Georgia and seeing West Virginia win 5 in a row keeps the division race fairly close. We've got a 4-game lead on the Titans and lead the Hollers by 6. Maryland and Virginia have both fallen off, dropping 6 and 5 in a row respectively.

Stats

Role		T	Pitcher			G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	WHIP	Status
Starter		L	Norman Cornell		10	10	6	0	0	1.96	0.85	Exhausted
Starter		R	Jesús Ortega		10	10	5	3	0	3.20	1.00	Exhausted
Starter		R	Ron Carmichael		8	8	2	4	0	3.55	0.97	Rested
Starter		R	Trey Drackley		9	9	5	2	0	2.78	1.05	On a Hot Streak
Starter		L	Teimua Kirisitopa	6	6	2	3	0	4.62	1.49	Rested
Specialist	L	Iván Júlio		3	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00	Rested
Middle Relief	R	Dean Edwards		5	0	0	1	0	2.08	1.38	Rested
Middle Relief	R	Terence Jackson		12	0	3	0	1	0.38	0.89	Rested
Setup		L	Rob Williams		14	0	1	1	2	2.61	1.16	Rested
Setup		L	Edgardo Rosas		13	0	1	1	0	5.11	1.22	Rested
Closer		L	Lou Moore		19	0	3	0	8	0.76	0.85	Slightly Tired

CATCHERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
88	L	Flash Rodríguez	C	5	21	6	1	2	3	0	4	.286	.286	.476	0.2
38	R	Bob Hopkins	C	9	29	7	3	7	4	3	9	.241	.303	.621	0.3
INFIELDERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
8	R	Jim O'Brien	1B	16	64	18	6	18	11	3	17	.281	.313	.672	0.6
24	R	Juan Báez	3B	5	10	2	0	1	1	0	2	.200	.200	.200	-0.1
65	L	Shane Schute	1B	41	142	39	5	19	28	21	28	.275	.371	.465	0.6
35	R	Ireno Kehlmaier	3B	33	68	15	4	12	11	5	16	.221	.280	.471	-0.0
15	R	José Martínez	SS	40	160	38	5	13	18	15	54	.237	.322	.350	0.6
47	R	Pat Bannatyne	3B	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	.---	.---	.---	-
54	R	Doug Butler	SS	8	23	6	1	4	2	2	6	.261	.320	.435	0.1
OUTFIELDERS
#	B	Player			Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
19	L	Turd Newton		CF	43	174	59	6	20	22	10	26	.339	.386	.506	2.0
69	R	Ed Hunt			LF	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	.---	.---	.---	-
67	R	Francis Ridley		LF	21	11	1	0	1	1	0	7	.091	.083	.091	-0.0
13	R	Jorge Baca		LF	29	114	27	5	10	18	5	28	.237	.298	.500	0.8
36	R	Cristóbal Castillo	RF	31	52	9	0	2	8	9	3	.173	.295	.192	0.2

PRIMARY LINEUP
#	B	Name			Pos	AVG	HR	RBI	SB
1	L	Turd Newton		CF	.339	6	20	17
2	R	Cristobal Castillo	RF	.173	0	2	3
3	L	Shane Schute		1B	.275	5	19	0
4	R	Jim O'Brien		DH	.281	6	18	0
5	L	Flash Rodríguez		C	.286	1	2	0
6	R	Ireno Kehlmaier		3B	.221	4	12	3
7	R	José Martínez		SS	.237	5	13	8
8	R	Jorge Baca		LF	.237	5	10	8
9	R	Juan Baez		2B	.200	0	1	0

I've been considering moving Turd Newton to leadoff for a while, mainly because Jose Martinez's average is so horrid. So, giving it a try this week. Schute and O'Brien have proven thus far they can carry the middle of the order, and Flash Rodriguez moves up to the 5 spot after a good first week.

Upcoming Games
5/19 vs Maryland (19-24)
5/20-5/22 vs West Virginia (22-21)
5/23 Off Day
5/24-5/26 @ Virginia (15-28)

It's all divisional play and we get another off day. Good chance to build on our 4 game lead, but West Virginia is red hot right now.

Standings

South			W	L	PCT	GB
North Carolina Aviators	28	15	.651	-
Georgia Titans		24	19	.558	4.0
West Virginia Hollers	22	21	.512	6.0
Maryland Bridegrooms	19	24	.442	9.0
Virginia Diamond Club	15	28	.349	13.0

[Chappy]

Around the AFBL
The New Jersey Athletics of the PL North seem to be our biggest competition on our side of the bracket so far. They are off to a 29-14 start and have a 9-game lead in their division over the Ohio Knights, a team we've battled in the postseason frequently. New Jersey has the top pitching rotation in the PL right now, and they are hot, going 9-1 in their last 10 games. They are also mostly in good health, with just RP Dan Peters on the DL right now. New Jersey has a power-packed lineup, with 3 players already in double-digits for HR (Ishibashi - 13, Hatfield - 13, Murdock - 10). As a point of reference, Eddie Wheeler leads the Aviators in HR with 7.

Over in the Frontier League, Idaho is tops with an AFBL-high 30 wins. They've got a 6 game lead over a couple of solid squads; the Oregon Explorers and the Colorado Bears (both 24-19). Kentucky (28-15) has a narrow lead over Texas (25-18) in the FL East. Here's a look at the complete league standings:

FRONTIER LEAGUE STANDINGS, WEST
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Idaho Steelheads	30	13	.698	-	26-17	4	11-6	19-7	2-1	12-2	114	W2	8-2
Oregon Explorers	24	19	.558	6	26-17	-2	11-11	13-8	0-3	5-7		W1	5-5
Colorado Bears		24	19	.558	6	22-21	2	10-13	14-6	5-3	8-6		L1	6-4
New Mexico Danger	18	25	.419	12	18-25	0	8-14	10-11	1-3	6-9		W1	2-8
Washington Resonance	15	28	.349	15	18-25	-3	7-12	8-16	2-6	5-11		L2	3-7

FRONTIER LEAGUE STANDINGS, EAST
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Kentucky Lions		28	15	.651	-	23-20	5	17-10	11-5	3-1	8-3	117	W5	6-4
Texas Isotopes		25	18	.581	3	24-19	1	11-10	14-8	3-0	6-2		L1	6-4
Indiana Vipers		23	20	.535	5	22-21	1	14-10	9-10	2-3	10-7		W1	5-5
California Mallards	17	26	.395	11	19-24	-2	10-10	7-16	4-2	7-10		L2	5-5
Illinois Warhawks	16	27	.372	12	15-28	1	6-14	10-13	1-3	4-9		L1	4-6

FRONTIER LEAGUE WILDCARD
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Texas Isotopes		25	18	.581	+1	24-19	1	11-10	14-8	3-0	6-2	119	L1	6-4
Oregon Explorers	24	19	.558	-	26-17	-2	11-11	13-8	0-3	5-7	120	W1	5-5
Colorado Bears		24	19	.558	-	22-21	2	10-13	14-6	5-3	8-6	120	L1	6-4
Indiana Vipers		23	20	.535	1	22-21	1	14-10	9-10	2-3	10-7		W1	5-5
New Mexico Danger	18	25	.419	6	18-25	0	8-14	10-11	1-3	6-9		W1	2-8
California Mallards	17	26	.395	7	19-24	-2	10-10	7-16	4-2	7-10		L2	5-5
Illinois Warhawks	16	27	.372	8	15-28	1	6-14	10-13	1-3	4-9		L1	4-6
Washington Resonance	15	28	.349	9	18-25	-3	7-12	8-16	2-6	5-11		L2	3-7

PATRIOT LEAGUE STANDINGS, NORTH
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
New Jersey Athletics	29	14	.674	-	30-13	-1	13-7	16-7	2-4	10-7	111	W4	9-1
Ohio Knights		20	23	.465	9	20-23	0	13-8	7-15	3-3	7-8		L2	5-5
Ontario Blue Pirates	19	24	.442	10	20-23	-1	11-10	8-14	1-2	7-8		L5	2-8
New York Twin Towers	18	25	.419	11	19-24	-1	12-14	6-11	3-2	5-5		L1	3-7
Pennsylvania Railroaders	16	27	.372	13	21-22	-5	10-14	6-13	3-2	3-13		W1	5-5

PATRIOT LEAGUE STANDINGS, SOUTH
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
North Carolina Aviators	28	15	.651	-	29-14	-1	14-5	14-10	6-2	7-7	116	W2	6-4
Georgia Titans		24	19	.558	4	21-22	3	12-11	12-8	3-0	8-4		W3	7-3
West Virginia Hollers	22	21	.512	6	24-19	-2	14-8	8-13	0-1	4-4		W5	7-3
Maryland Bridegrooms	19	24	.442	9	16-27	3	11-12	8-12	1-3	6-4		L6	2-8
Virginia Diamond Club	15	28	.349	13	18-25	-3	5-11	10-17	3-4	6-8		L5	4-6

PATRIOT LEAGUE WILDCARD
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Georgia Titans		24	19	.558	+2	21-22	3	12-11	12-8	3-0	8-4	116	W3	7-3
West Virginia Hollers	22	21	.512	-	24-19	-2	14-8	8-13	0-1	4-4	118	W5	7-3
Ohio Knights		20	23	.465	2	20-23	0	13-8	7-15	3-3	7-8		L2	5-5
Ontario Blue Pirates	19	24	.442	3	20-23	-1	11-10	8-14	1-2	7-8		L5	2-8
Maryland Bridegrooms	19	24	.442	3	16-27	3	11-12	8-12	1-3	6-4		L6	2-8
New York Twin Towers	18	25	.419	4	19-24	-1	12-14	6-11	3-2	5-5		L1	3-7
Penn. Railroaders	16	27	.372	6	21-22	-5	10-14	6-13	3-2	3-13		W1	5-5
Virginia Diamond Club	15	28	.349	7	18-25	-3	5-11	10-17	3-4	6-8		L5	4-6

The division winners and two wild card teams from each league make the postseason.

Team Rankings (PL only)

Runs Scored - 198 - 3rd
Batting Average - .266 - 3rd
On-Base PCT - .325 - 4th
Home Runs - 53 - 3rd
Stolen Bases - 51 - 5th

Runs Against - 133 - 2nd
Starters ERA - 3.06 - 2nd
Bullpen ERA - 1.88 - 1st
Defensive Eff. - .725 - 1st

I like to stay in the top 5 in Runs Scored (Check) and be #1 in Runs Against (close at #2). The other stats are mostly irrelevant, but it's reassuring to see I'm in the top half of the 10-team Patriot League in everything.

[Chappy]

Sim #8

Game Summaries
5/19 - 10-2 WIN vs Maryland - Ed Hunt, on the roster while David Ruiz in on the DL, came in and had a field day. He was 2-for-2 with 2 HR, 2 BB and 4 RBI. Turd Newton went 3-for-4 with a 2B, 3B and HR (a single away from the cycle) and 3 RBI. Ron Carmichael got the win with 7 strong innings, allowing 2 ER on 8 hits while fanning 6 Bridegroom batters.
5/20 - 9-4 loss vs West Virginia - Turd Newton had another good game from the leadoff spot, going 2-for-4 with a walk. Call-up Pat Bannatyne started at 3rd and went 2-for-4. We had a decent day at the plate but left 9 runners on base. Trey Drackley had a quality start, allowing 3 ER on 7 hits in 7 innings. But for the first time in a long time, the bullpen fell apart, with Edgardo Rosas allowing 3 ER in one inning and Lou Moore allowing 2 ER in 1/3.
5/21 - 4-1 WIN vs West Virginia - Shane Schute was 2-for-4 with a HR, Turd Newton added a HR, and then... some bad news. Jim O'Brien doubled but broke his elbow sliding into 2nd base. He's done for the season. More on that later. Ron Powell (I forgot to mention that I sent SP Teimua Kiristopa down to AAA and called up Ron Powell before this sim) allowed 1 ER on 4 H in 7 innings, striking out 6, for his first win of the season. Lou Moore rebounded nicely from a rough day the day before and picked up his 9th save of the year.
5/22 - 5-1 WIN vs West Virginia - We took the series after a rocky first game. Turd Newton returned to the cleanup spot with O'Brien hitting the DL, and was 2-for-4 with his 9th HR and 2 RBI. Flash Rodriguez also hit a 2-run HR. Norman Cornell allowed 1 ER on 3 hits in 6 innings and Rob Williams pitched 3 shutout innings and was credited with the win.
5/23 - OFF DAY
5/24 - 5-4 WIN @ Virginia - Shane Schute and Turd Newton had 3 hits a piece and Chewie Baca was 1-for-3 with a walk and his 6th HR of the season. Jesus Ortega earned his 6th win of the year with a nice outing and Lou Moore picked up his 10th save.

Notes
The commish accidentally simmed one day too short, so tonight's sim should go 8 days instead of the regular 7.

Man, it stinks to lose Jim O'Brien. Officially, he's out 5 months, which means if we go all the way to the finals I guess there's a small chance he could be back for the last 2 games. But we'll just call it a season-ending injury for now. He was hitting .271-6-18 in just 18 games, so he was on pace for 54 HR and 162 RBI (he wouldn't have reached those totals since he was in AAA for the first month of the season).

26-year-old 1B Arturo Gonzalez returns to the Aviators to replace O'Brien on the roster. Gonzalez only hit .220-1-5 in 22 games in Raleigh during his exile to AAA, which is not really encouraging. He'll start at 1B which should upgrade our infield defense and Shane Schute will move from 1B back to DH. Gonzalez should be a .250-25-65 type player based on his ratings. We'll see how he does, but a trade isn't out of the question if there are issues at 1B come late July. There are also a few internal options should Gonzalez struggle.

Goppy is ready to come off the DL immediately, and 2B Eddie Wheeler and RF David Ruiz should both come off tomorrow (gonna have to get the commish to do that for me since the shortened sim makes it impossible for me to do the moves myself (7-day DL)).

I'm reluctantly moving SS Jose Martinez back to the leadoff spot. He's only hitting .228 but I'm going on the theory that he's a .275 hitter and thus should heat up any minute now...

LHP Edgardo 'Guns N' Rosas is clearly the weak link in the bullpen. Our bullpen leads the AFBL in ERA (2.21). Closer Lou Moore is at 1.38. Rob Williams is 2.19. Terence Jackson is 3-0 with a 0.74 ERA. Cristo Perez has not allowed a run yet (though he's only pitched a few innings). Dean Edwards has a 2.08 ERA. Rosas, however, has an ERA of 6.75 in 14 appearances. I don't really have any solid prospects ready in AAA, so Rosas will hold his spot for now, but he's going to need to step it up.

Going 4-1 in all-divisional games last week puts us in a nice spot. We are up to 32-16 and have a 6-game lead on Georgia. We have 2 more games against last-place Virginia before we host some teams from the other league.

Stats

Role		T	Pitcher		G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	WHIP	Status
Starter		L	Norman Cornell	11	11	6	0	0	1.93	0.83	Slightly Tired
Starter		R	Jesús Ortega	11	11	6	3	0	3.31	1.00	Exhausted
Starter		R	Ron Carmichael	9	9	3	4	0	3.43	0.99	Rested
Starter		R	Trey Drackley	10	10	5	3	0	2.89	1.04	Rested
Starter		R	Ron Powell	1	1	1	0	0	1.29	1.14	Rested
Long Relief	L	Cristo Pérez	1	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.50	Rested
Middle Relief	R	Dean Edwards	5	0	0	1	0	2.08	1.38	Rested
Middle Relief	R	Terence Jackson	13	0	3	0	1	0.74	0.95	Rested
Setup		L	Rob Williams	16	0	2	1	2	2.19	1.05	Rested
Setup		L	Edgardo Rosas	14	0	1	1	0	6.75	1.50	Rested
Closer		L	Lou Moore	22	0	3	0	10	1.38	0.85	Rested

CATCHERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
88	L	Flash Rodríguez	C	9	36	9	2	5	4	1	4	.250	.270	.444	0.2
38	R	Bob Hopkins	C	10	32	8	3	7	6	3	9	.250	.324	.625	0.3
INFIELDERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
28	L	Arturo González	1B	25	91	19	2	6	10	9	19	.209	.287	.319	-0.3
24	R	Juan Báez	3B	10	26	6	0	2	1	3	5	.231	.310	.308	0.0
47	L	Pat Bannatyne	3B	4	13	2	0	1	3	0	2	.154	.214	.231	-0.1
65	L	Shane Schute	1B	46	160	46	6	21	32	26	29	.287	.389	.481	0.9
35	R	Ireno Kehlmaier	3B	38	81	17	4	14	14	7	17	.210	.275	.420	-0.1
15	R	José Martínez	SS	45	180	41	5	13	20	17	60	.228	.312	.328	0.5
54	R	Doug Butler	SS	9	23	6	1	4	2	2	6	.261	.320	.435	0.1
OUTFIELDERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
69	R	Ed Hunt		LF	4	6	3	2	5	2	2	0	.500	.625	1.667	0.4
19	L	Turd Newton	CF	48	194	70	9	29	27	12	28	.361	.410	.588	3.0
67	R	Francis Ridley	LF	25	17	1	0	1	1	0	9	.059	.056	.059	-0.2
13	R	Jorge Baca	LF	33	123	31	6	14	21	7	29	.252	.319	.520	1.1
36	R	Crist Castillo	RF	34	64	12	0	2	10	11	5	.188	.307	.203	0.2

PRIMARY LINEUP (Saturday's Game)
#	B	Name		Pos	AVG	HR	RBI	SB
1	R	José Martínez	SS	.228	5	13	10
2	R	Ahilocana Goppy	3B	.362	1	14	3
3	L	Shane Schute	DH	.287	6	21	0
4	L	Turd Newton	CF	.361	9	29	20
5	L	Arturo González	1B	.209	2	6	2
6	L	Flash Rodríguez	C	.250	2	5	0
7	R	Jorge Baca	LF	.252	6	14	10
8	R	Juan Baez	2B	.231	0	2	0
9	R	Crist Castillo	RF	.188	0	2	6

PRIMARY LINEUP (Sunday and beyond)
#	B	Name		Pos	AVG	HR	RBI	SB
1	R	José Martínez	SS	.228	5	13	10
2	R	Ahilocana Goppy	3B	.362	1	14	3
3	R	David Ruiz	RF	.261	5	16	0
4	L	Turd Newton	CF	.361	9	29	20
5	L	Shane Schute	DH	.287	6	21	0
6	L	Arturo González	1B	.209	2	6	2
7	L	Flash Rodríguez	C	.250	2	5	0
8	R	Eddie Wheeler	2B	.239	7	26	4
9	R	Jorge Baca	LF	.252	6	14	10

I've included the lineup for the first game as well as the rest of the sim, after Baez and Hunt are sent down to AAA and Wheeler and Ruiz are activated from their brief DL stays.

Upcoming Games
5/25-5/26 - @ Virginia (18-30)
5/27-5/28 - vs Colorado (25-23)
5/29/5/30 - vs Washington (17-31)
5/31-6/2 - vs Ohio (21-27)

Pretty easy slate. Let's not choke.

Standings

South			W	L	PCT	GB
North Carolina Aviators	32	16	.667	-
Georgia Titans		26	22	.542	6.0
West Virginia Hollers	25	23	.521	7.0
Maryland Bridegrooms	21	27	.438	11.0
Virginia Diamond Club	18	30	.375	14.0

[Chappy]

Sim #9

Game Summaries
5/25 - 7-5 WIN @ Virginia - Chewie Baca picked up player of the game honors with a triple, a HR and a walk as well as a pair of RBI and 3 runs scored. Turd Newton added 3 hits, bringing his season average up to .367. Ron Carmichael got the win despite a rocky start in which he allowed 5 ER on 8 hits in 5 innings. Goppy was 1-for-4 in his return from the DL.
5/26 - 4-2 loss @ Virginia - David Ruiz was 0-for-4 and Eddie Wheeler was 2-for-4 in their returns from the DL. A Shane Schute HR was all the offense we could muster, as Trey Drackley is saddled with a loss despite a Quality Start. All of our opening day starters are healthy again, so I was hoping for a better showing against a last-place team, but oh well.
5/27 - 8-6 loss vs Colorado - My teams never play well vs Colorado it seems. David Ruiz, Arturo Gonzalez and Eddie Wheeler each had a pair of hits, with Ruiz and Wheeler hitting homers. But Norman Cornell had a rare bad outing, allowing 5 ER on 8 hits in 6 innings of work, while Dean Edwards blew a save and closer Lou Moore allowed 2 unearned runs and took the loss.
5/28 - 2-0 loss vs Colorado (12 innings) - Goppy had 3 of our 8 hits and rookie Ron Powell was awesome, pitching 7 shutout innings for us. But Dean Edwards is the goat again, allowing 2 ER on 3 hits in 0.1 innings of work and falling to 0-2 on the season.
5/29 - 4-0 WIN vs Washington - Jesus Ortega throws his second shutout of the season, fanning 7 and allowing 6 hits. David Ruiz and Shane Schute added HRs, while Jesus Martinez, Goppy, and Bob Hopkins each had a pair of hits in the win.
5/30 - 4-2 WIN vs Washington - Jesus Martinez was 3-for-3 with a walk, while Ron Carmichael allowed just 1 ER on 4 hits in 8 innings while fanning 8 and walking 1. He gets his second win of the sim, while Edgardo Rosas picked up his first save of the season.
5/31 - 4-0 loss vs Ohio - Trey Drackley was off his game, allowing 4 ER in 6 innings despite allowing only 3 hits. Meanwhile, we went 5-for-29 with no extra-base hits as a team. Reserve outfielder Francis Ridley had 2 of our 5 hits, raising his season average to .167.
6/1 - 4-3 WIN vs Ohio - David Ruiz (8) and Jesus Martinez (6) each homered, while Arturo Gonzalez went 2-for-3 with a walk. Norman Cornell allowed 1 ER on 4 hits in 6 innings to move to 7-0 on the season, while Lou Moore earned Save #12.

Notes
I'll be honest... With an easy schedule and a mostly healthy team (O'Brien is a big loss, but he wasn't even on our opening day roster), I'm not happy with the 4-4 sim last night. We really should have gone 5-3 minimum here. But, there's some good news...

The rest of the division struggled, so we actually gained a game on 2nd place West Virginia, who is now 7 games back.

The other division leaders struggled, so we are now in a 4-way tie for best record in baseball at 36-20.

Dean Edwards had a rough sim, with his ERA jumping from 2.08 to 4.09. We still have the #1 bullpen ERA at 2.19, but it's been shaky recently. And we haven't been playing many of the top teams, so... not good.

Flash Rodriguez has cooled and is hitting just .195-2-5 now. His ratings improved though, and he now has an overall '7' contact so I'm not worried.

I like how our team has power distributed throughout the lineup. We're 3rd in the PL in HR (70), which is unusually high for us. Yet we don't have a single player with double-digit HR. It's gotta make it difficult for opposing pitchers when they can't single out 2 or 3 power hitters to pitch around.



Lineup
For the first time this year, I'm going to make some sweeping changes to the order. Shake things up, see if we can create some good reactions.

1	L	Turd Newton	CF	.339	9	31	22
2	L	Shane Schute	DH	.272	8	23	0
3	R	Jorge Baca	LF	.246	7	16	14
4	R	Ahilocana Goppy	3B	.351	1	16	3
5	L	David Ruíz	RF	.277	8	21	0
6	R	Eddie Wheeler	2B	.249	8	30	4
7	R	José Martínez	SS	.229	6	17	13
8	L	Arturo González	1B	.212	3	9	2
9	L	Flash Rodríguez	C	.193	2	5	0

I liked how Turd looked in the leadoff spot, so I'm putting him back there even if it means less power further down in the lineup. Shane Schute is 3rd on the team in OBP (behind Newton and Goppy), so I need him near the top as well. Baca is red-hot right now, and has a good mix of speed and power. Goppy is our team captain and most reliable hitter, so he'll be in the cleanup spot. Ruiz has good power and will fit nicely in the 5 spot, while struggling batters Wheeler, Martinez, Gonzalez and Rodriguez will bring up the rear.

Stats

PITCHING STAFF
Role		T	Pitcher		G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	WHIP	Status
Starter		L	Norman Cornell	13	13	7	0	0	2.27	0.89	Exhausted
Starter		R	Jesús Ortega	12	12	7	3	0	3.01	0.97	Rested
Starter		R	Ron Carmichael	11	11	5	4	0	3.57	1.03	Slightly Tired
Starter		R	Trey Drackley	12	12	5	5	0	3.26	1.05	Exhausted
Starter		R	Ron Powell	2	2	1	0	0	0.64	1.00	Rested
Long Relief	L	Cristo Pérez	2	0	0	0	0	0.00	1.00	Rested
Middle Relief	R	Dean Edwards	7	0	0	2	0	4.09	1.45	Rested
Middle Relief	R	Terence Jackson	15	0	3	0	1	0.63	1.08	Rested
Setup		L	Rob Williams	20	0	2	1	2	2.10	1.23	Tired
Setup		L	Edgardo Rosas	19	0	1	1	1	5.09	1.19	Rested
Closer		L	Lou Moore	27	0	3	1	12	1.47	0.98	Rested
CATCHERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
88	L	Flash Rodríguez	C	15	57	11	2	5	5	2	7	.193	.220	.333	0.0
38	R	Bob Hopkins	C	13	43	13	3	7	6	3	11	.302	.354	.628	0.5
INFIELDERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
28	L	Arturo González	1B	33	118	25	3	9	13	12	27	.212	.290	.339	-0.3
14	R	Ahilocana Goppy	3B	43	171	60	1	16	16	10	30	.351	.383	.450	1.2
33	R	Eddie Wheeler	2B	48	189	47	8	30	19	4	30	.249	.264	.455	0.9
65	L	Shane Schute	1B	53	180	49	8	23	34	30	29	.272	.381	.478	1.0
35	R	Ireno Kehlmaier	3B	42	90	17	4	14	14	8	21	.189	.257	.378	-0.3
15	R	José Martínez	SS	53	214	49	6	17	22	18	66	.229	.307	.327	0.6
54	R	Doug Butler	SS	10	23	6	1	4	2	2	6	.261	.320	.435	0.1
OUTFIELDERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
50	L	David Ruíz	RF	49	184	51	8	21	27	18	29	.277	.353	.457	0.8
19	L	Turd Newton	CF	55	224	76	9	31	30	13	36	.339	.387	.536	2.9
67	R	Francis Ridley	LF	29	24	4	0	1	2	0	9	.167	.160	.208	-0.1
13	R	Jorge Baca	LF	39	142	35	7	16	25	9	33	.246	.323	.514	1.2
36	R	Crist Castillo	RF	38	72	15	0	4	11	11	5	.208	.313	.236	0.3

Upcoming Games
6/2 - vs Ohio (24-32)
6/3-6/4 - @ California (23-33)
6/5-6/6 - @ Texas (35-21)
6/7-6/9 - vs Georgia (28-28)

Second week in a row with no off days, but we'll get two the following week. Aside from 2 games vs a very good Texas squad, it's another week where we could (should) pile up some W's. But, we have not proven we can do that yet, so I won't hold my breath. Texas vs North Carolina will pit the AFBL's 2 best pitching staffs against each other.

Standings

South			W	L	PCT	GB
North Carolina Aviators	36	20	.643	-
West Virginia Hollers	29	27	.518	7.0
Georgia Titans		28	28	.500	8.0
Maryland Bridegrooms	24	32	.429	12.0
Virginia Diamond Club	22	34	.393	14.0

[Chappy]

Sim #10

Game Summaries

6/2 - 9-8 loss vs Ohio (10 innings) - Turd Newton was 4-for-5 with a homer (10) and 2 runs scored in his return to the leadoff spot, while Shane Schute (9) and David Ruiz (9) also hit homers in this high scoring contest. Ron Powell was hammered for 8 ER on 9 hits in 4 innings, while closer Lou Moore left the game with an injury. Terrence Jackson took the loss, allowing only his 2nd run of the season. His ERA 'ballooned' to 0.91.
6/3 - 3-2 loss @ California - After a long game and a long flight, we couldn't get the bats going again. David Ruiz led the team with 2 hits while Jesus Ortega took the loss despite a quality start, allowing 2 ER on 5 hits in 6.1 innings of work.
6/4 - 11-7 WIN @ California - We split the series with a key win. Every batter in the lineup had a hit, as we pounded out 14 of them. Newton (11), Gonzalez (4) and Schute (10) each homered for us. Carmichael got the win despite an ugly start.
6/5 - 5-4 loss @ Texas (10 innings) - SS Jose Martinez (7) and David Ruiz (10) homered, but we just couldn't squeak out a win today. Edgardo Rosas took the loss with closer Lou Moore still out with an injury.
6/6 - 4-0 WIN @ Texas - Norman Cornell moved to 8-0 with 7 shutout innings, and Rob Williams finished it off with 2 shutout innings of his own. Turd Newton was 3-for-5 while Schute and Wheeler each had 2 hits.
6/7 - 6-3 loss vs Georgia - We return home with a blah effort. Arturo Gonzalez led the team with a pair of hits including his 9th double of the season, pulling his average up to .217. Ron Powell was roughed up for the 2nd outing in a row, allowing 5 ER on 13 hits in 5.2 innings.
6/8 - 3-0 loss vs Georgia - Jesus Ortega turned in a nice effort but took the loss. He allowed 1 ER in 7 innings with 7 K's and was named player of the game. However, we didn't score any runs, so we weren't going to win.

Notes

I think that's the first sub-.500 sim of the season, and it comes while West Virginia and Georgia are doing well. Our lead shrinks from 7 games to 3.

Lou Moore is out for 4 more days, but we are going to DL him for 7 days and call up Ivan Julio. Julio was up for 1 sim earlier in the year and did not allow a run in 3 appearances. One of the main reasons I'm sending Moore to the DL is we need another arm in the pen. 4 of the 5 healthy relievers are tired right now. With 2 off days this coming week, we might have been okay, but we've got a game against a Georgia team that is on our tail today, and I need to go into it with more than 1 rested reliever. Ron Carmichael is on the mound, and while he does have 23 career complete games, he has not gone the distance yet this season. In fact, he averages 6.3 innings per game this season, so yes, I need another arm.

Edgardo Rosas will be labeled the closer while Moore is out. It's not ideal, but it's just for 1 week.

Turd Newton is having a fantastic year. He's leading the team in Avg, OBP, OPS, WAR, SB, H, 3B, HR, RBI.... he's pretty much doing it all right now.

I'm going to keep the new lineup for another sim. Despite our 2-5 sim, I like the production we are getting out of this lineup.

Stats

PITCHING STAFF
Role		T	Pitcher		G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	WHIP	Status
Starter		L	Norman Cornell	14	14	8	0	0	2.11	0.88	Slightly Tired
Starter		R	Jesús Ortega	14	14	7	5	0	2.89	1.00	Exhausted
Starter		R	Ron Carmichael	12	12	6	4	0	4.03	1.11	Rested
Starter		R	Trey Drackley	13	13	5	5	0	3.40	1.05	Rested
Starter		R	Ron Powell	4	4	1	1	0	5.32	1.56	Exhausted
VLH Specialist  L	Ivan Julio	3	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00	Rested
Long Relief	L	Cristo Pérez	3	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.83	Rested
Middle Relief	R	Dean Edwards	11	0	0	2	0	4.11	1.43	Slightly Tired
Setup		L	Rob Williams	22	0	2	1	2	2.25	1.25	Slightly Tired
Setup		R	Terence Jackson	19	0	3	1	1	1.01	1.15	Exhausted
Closer		L	Edgardo Rosas	22	0	1	2	1	4.79	1.16	Slightly Tired
CATCHERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
88	L	Flash Rodríguez	C	21	77	15	2	6	6	3	10	.195	.235	.312	-0.0
38	R	Bob Hopkins	C	15	49	14	3	7	6	3	13	.286	.333	.571	0.5
INFIELDERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
28	L	Arturo González	1B	40	146	31	4	15	16	13	31	.212	.281	.356	-0.4
14	R	Ahilocana Goppy	3B	49	196	65	1	17	17	11	33	.332	.364	.418	0.9
33	R	Eddie Wheeler	2B	54	213	55	8	33	24	4	34	.258	.271	.455	1.0
65	L	Shane Schute	1B	60	207	58	10	27	40	33	35	.280	.386	.493	1.4
35	R	Ireno Kehlmaier	3B	43	95	18	4	15	14	8	22	.189	.255	.379	-0.3
15	R	José Martínez	SS	59	237	54	7	21	24	20	78	.228	.307	.338	0.7
54	R	Doug Butler	SS	12	29	6	1	4	2	2	10	.207	.258	.345	-0.1
OUTFIELDERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
50	L	David Ruíz	RF	55	205	58	10	23	32	21	29	.283	.365	.478	1.2
19	L	Turd Newton	CF	61	251	88	11	35	35	13	40	.351	.391	.566	3.4
67	R	Francis Ridley	LF	31	32	5	0	1	2	0	13	.156	.152	.188	-0.2
13	R	Jorge Baca	LF	45	167	42	7	17	28	9	38	.251	.321	.503	1.2
36	R	Cris Castillo	RF	39	76	16	0	4	12	11	5	.211	.310	.237	0.2

PRIMARY LINEUP
#	B	Name		Pos	AVG	HR	RBI	SB
1	L	Turd Newton	CF	.351	11	35	25
2	L	Shane Schute	DH	.280	10	27	0
3	L	David Ruíz	RF	.283	10	23	0
4	R	Jorge Baca	LF	.251	7	17	14
5	R	Ahilocana Goppy	3B	.332	1	17	3
6	R	Eddie Wheeler	2B	.258	8	33	6
7	R	José Martínez	SS	.228	7	21	13
8	L	Arturo González	1B	.212	4	15	2
9	L	Flash Rodríguez	C	.195	2	6	0

Pick it up, Flash!

Standings

South			W	L	PCT	GB
North Carolina Aviators	38	25	.603	-
West Virginia Hollers	35	28	.556	3.0
Georgia Titans		34	29	.540	4.0
Maryland Bridegrooms	29	34	.460	9.0
Virginia Diamond Club	26	37	.413	12.0

Upcoming Games
6/9 - vs Georgia (34-29)
6/10 - OFF DAY
6/11-6/12 - vs New Jersey (40-23)
6/13 - OFF DAY
6/14-6/16 - @ Pennsylvania (28-35)

The next 3 games are huge, as we fend off Georgia before battling the leader of the North, New Jersey. Pennsylvania is currently below .500, but they are riding a 5-game winning streak. Schedule is getting tougher.

[Chappy]

Sim #11

Game Summaries
6/9 - 11-6 WIN vs Georgia - We avoid the sweep with a big Sunday afternoon win. After struggling much of the season and even spending time in AAA, 1B Arturo Gonzalez seems to be heating up. He had a 3-for-4 day with a HR and 4 RBI, while teammate David Ruiz added a 3-for-5 day with a HR and 2 RBI. Every North Carolina player had at least 1 hit in the game. Ron Carmichael picked up his 7th win, allowing 6 runs (but only 3 ER) in 5 innings of work. Cristo Perez picked up the save with 5 K's in 2.2 innings.
6/10 - OFF DAY
6/11 - 7-4 WIN vs New Jersey - The two division leaders in the PL clashed and we came out on top, thanks to a 6-run 3rd inning. SS Jose Martinez drove in three of those runs on his 8th HR of the season, while Chewie Baca and David Ruiz drove in the other 3 runs on third inning doubles. Norman Cornell moved to 9-0 on the day despite giving up 4 runs in 7 innings. Edgardo Rosas picked up his second save of the year with a perfect 9th inning.
6/12 - 4-1 loss vs New Jersey - The North Division leaders evened the series by stifling our hitters. We managed just 4 hits on the day, including an RBI-double by Chewie Baca. But in the end, New Jersey just seemed to have our number. Trey Drackley allowed 4 ER on 6 hits in 5 innings to fall to 5-6 on the year. If we had won, NC and NJ would have exited the game with matching 41-25 records. But instead, NJ leaves town with the best record in the PL.
6/13 - OFF DAY
6/14 - 6-5 loss @ Pennsylvania - Jesus Ortega pitched his league-leading 7th complete game of the season, but he falls to 7-6 in a close contest. Arturo Gonzalez hit a pair of HR (7), and Jose Martinez added his 9th HR of the year, but we just didn't have enough guys reach base.
6/15 - 5-2 WIN @ Pennsylvania (15 innings) - In a long game, the Aviators triumphed. Turd Newton was 3-for-7 with hias 12th HR of the year, while Eddie Wheeler went 2-for-6 with his 9th HR. Ron Carmichael allowed 1 ER on 7 hits in 8 innings, but Terence Jackson wound up with the victory with 2.1 scoreless innings pitched late in the game.

Notes

We went 3-2 in the sim, and recuperated some with 2 off days. If we win the next game to take the Pennsylvania series, I'll consider it a success.

I'm going to send Flash Rodriguez down to AAA to get some confidence. He's only hitting .195 despite some nice ratings (7 contact). Ed Woods takes his place on the roster, while Bob Hopkins moves into the starting lineup at C. Hopkins is a very capable hitter and great defensive catcher. We'll give Flash another shot in July or August.

Lou Moore will be activated for the next sim. It was a minor injury, but I'm playing it safe with everybody right now. Currently we just have 1B/DH Jim O'Brien (4-5 months) and RP Jose Estrada (7 weeks) on the DL.

In the month of June, Arturo Gonzalez has hit .300-4-13. He had hit just .213-2-6 in April and .204-2-8 in May. He hit 22 HR each of the past two seasons, and it's good to see him coming around.

Stats

PITCHING STAFF
Role		T	Pitcher		G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	WHIP	Status
Starter		L	Norman Cornell	15	15	9	0	0	2.31	0.89	Rested
Starter		R	Jesús Ortega	15	15	7	6	0	3.15	1.02	Tired
Starter		R	Ron Carmichael	14	14	7	4	0	3.84	1.13	Exhausted
Starter		R	Trey Drackley	14	14	5	6	0	3.61	1.09	Rested
Starter		R	Ron Powell	4	4	1	1	0	5.32	1.56	In a Slump
Long Relief	L	Cristo Pérez	5	0	0	0	1	0.00	0.68	Rested
Middle Relief	R	Dean Edwards	13	0	0	2	0	3.38	1.29	Exhausted
Middle Relief	R	Terence Jackson	20	0	4	1	1	0.95	1.13	Slightly Tired
Setup		L	Rob Williams	24	0	2	1	2	2.21	1.17	Slightly Tired
Setup		L	Edgardo Rosas	24	0	1	2	2	4.37	1.15	Rested
Closer		L	Lou Moore	28	0	3	1	12	1.42	0.95	Rested

CATCHERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
2	R	Ed Woods	C	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	0.0
38	R	Bob Hopkins	C	20	74	19	3	8	9	4	20	.257	.300	.459	0.5

INFIELDERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
28	L	Arturo González	1B	45	165	38	7	22	19	13	33	.230	.291	.418	0.0
14	R	Ahilocana Goppy	3B	54	218	70	1	17	19	11	35	.321	.351	.399	0.8
33	R	Eddie Wheeler	2B	59	233	61	9	36	28	5	37	.262	.279	.459	1.2
65	L	Shane Schute	1B	64	223	61	10	27	41	37	38	.274	.383	.475	1.3
35	R	Ireno Kehlmaier	3B	46	102	22	4	16	17	8	22	.216	.274	.422	-0.1
15	R	José Martínez	SS	64	258	61	9	27	28	21	83	.236	.311	.360	1.0
54	R	Doug Butler	SS	12	29	6	1	4	2	2	10	.207	.258	.345	-0.1

OUTFIELDERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
50	L	David Ruíz	RF	60	227	65	11	26	34	21	32	.286	.361	.485	1.4
19	L	Turd Newton	CF	66	276	95	12	37	38	14	43	.344	.384	.554	3.5
67	R	Francis Ridley	LF	32	38	6	0	1	3	0	14	.158	.154	.184	-0.2
13	R	Jorge Baca	LF	48	177	45	7	20	30	9	39	.254	.323	.503	1.3
36	R	Cris Castillo	RF	42	82	18	0	5	13	11	5	.220	.312	.244	0.1

PRIMARY LINEUP
#	B	Name	     Pos	AVG	HR	RBI	SB
1	L	Turd Newton	CF	.344	12	37	26
2	L	Shane Schute	DH	.274	10	27	0
3	L	David Ruíz	RF	.286	11	26	0
4	R	Jorge Baca	LF	.254	7	20	14
5	R	Bob Hopkins	C	.257	3	8	0
6	R	Ahilocana Goppy	3B	.321	1	17	3
7	R	Eddie Wheeler	2B	.262	9	36	6
8	R	José Martínez	SS	.236	9	27	15
9	L	Arturo González	1B	.230	7	22	2

Standings (Full League)

FRONTIER LEAGUE STANDINGS, WEST
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Idaho Steelheads	39	29	.574	-	36-32	3	15-14	24-15	4-1	16-6	92	L4	2-8
Oregon Explorers	36	32	.529	3	41-27	-5	17-21	19-11	0-6	6-12		L2	3-7
Colorado Bears		36	32	.529	3	33-35	3	18-20	18-12	8-3	12-9		L5	4-6
New Mexico Danger	31	37	.456	8	31-37	0	12-20	19-17	2-3	10-10		L2	3-7
Washington Resonance	24	44	.353	15	27-41	-3	13-19	11-25	3-7	6-13		L1	5-5

FRONTIER LEAGUE STANDINGS, EAST
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Kentucky Lions		43	25	.632	-	39-29	4	21-15	22-10	3-4	9-5	93	W6	6-4
Texas Isotopes		41	27	.603	2	37-31	4	21-15	20-12	5-0	14-5		W2	6-4
Indiana Vipers		34	34	.500	9	36-32	-2	18-15	16-19	2-7	11-14		W1	6-4
California Mallards	29	39	.426	14	31-37	-2	16-17	13-22	4-3	9-12		W2	5-5
Illinois Warhawks	26	42	.382	17	26-42	0	10-23	16-19	4-3	8-13		W3	4-6

FRONTIER LEAGUE WILDCARD
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Texas Isotopes		41	27	.603	+5	37-31	4	21-15	20-12	5-0	14-5	90	W2	6-4
Oregon Explorers	36	32	.529	-	41-27	-5	17-21	19-11	0-6	6-12	95	L2	3-7
Colorado Bears		36	32	.529	-	33-35	3	18-20	18-12	8-3	12-9	95	L5	4-6
Indiana Vipers		34	34	.500	2	36-32	-2	18-15	16-19	2-7	11-14		W1	6-4
New Mexico Danger	31	37	.456	5	31-37	0	12-20	19-17	2-3	10-10		L2	3-7
California Mallards	29	39	.426	7	31-37	-2	16-17	13-22	4-3	9-12		W2	5-5
Illinois Warhawks	26	42	.382	10	26-42	0	10-23	16-19	4-3	8-13		W3	4-6
Washington Resonance	24	44	.353	12	27-41	-3	13-19	11-25	3-7	6-13		L1	5-5

PATRIOT LEAGUE STANDINGS, NORTH
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
New Jersey Athletics	44	24	.647	-	44-24	0	21-9	23-15	4-5	12-9	84	W3	7-3
New York Twin Towers	33	35	.485	11	33-35	0	19-20	14-15	5-2	8-6		L2	5-5
Ohio Knights		31	37	.456	13	30-38	1	19-17	12-20	6-5	10-11		W3	5-5
Pennsylvania Railroadrs	30	38	.441	14	35-33	-5	17-19	13-19	5-5	7-15		L1	7-3
Ontario Blue Pirates	30	38	.441	14	32-36	-2	18-12	12-26	2-2	9-12		W2	4-6

PATRIOT LEAGUE STANDINGS, SOUTH
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
North Carolina Aviators	41	27	.603	-	43-25	-2	22-13	19-14	7-6	9-11	92	W1	5-5
West Virginia Hollers	38	30	.559	3	38-30	0	20-12	18-18	0-3	10-5		W2	7-3
Georgia Titans		36	32	.529	5	31-37	5	17-18	19-14	4-0	11-4		L2	6-4
Maryland Bridegrooms	31	37	.456	10	28-40	3	17-18	14-19	1-3	7-5		L2	6-4
Virginia Diamond Club	27	41	.397	14	31-37	-4	13-19	14-22	3-4	6-13		L4	4-6

PATRIOT LEAGUE WILDCARD
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
West Virginia Hollers	38	30	.559	+2	38-30	0	20-12	18-18	0-3	10-5	90	W2	7-3
Georgia Titans		36	32	.529	-	31-37	5	17-18	19-14	4-0	11-4	92	L2	6-4
New York Twin Towers	33	35	.485	3	33-35	0	19-20	14-15	5-2	8-6		L2	5-5
Maryland Bridegrooms	31	37	.456	5	28-40	3	17-18	14-19	1-3	7-5		L2	6-4
Ohio Knights		31	37	.456	5	30-38	1	19-17	12-20	6-5	10-11		W3	5-5
Pennsylvania Railroadrs 30	38	.441	6	35-33	-5	17-19	13-19	5-5	7-15		L1	7-3
Ontario Blue Pirates	30	38	.441	6	32-36	-2	18-12	12-26	2-2	9-12		W2	4-6
Virginia Diamond Club	27	41	.397	9	31-37	-4	13-19	14-22	3-4	6-13		L4	4-6

Upcoming Schedule
6/16 - @ Pennsylvania (30-38)
6/17-6/18 - vs Kentucky (43-25)
6/19-6/20 - vs Oregon (36-32)
6/21-6/23 - vs Maryland (31-37)

We get to face the FL East leading Kentucky Lions for a pair of games. They've won 6 in a row. I think we are in really good shape as we head into the thick of summer. We'll need to decide if any trades are necessary within the next 6 weeks.

[Chappy]

Sim #12

Game Summaries
6/16 - 2-1 WIN @ Pennsylvania - I really wanted to win this game to take the series, and we just barely won. Ed Woods, making his major league debut, was 1-for-3 with the eventual game-winning RBI with 2 outs in the 7th inning, and Shane Schute delivered our other run on a solo HR in the 1st. Norman Cornell moves to 10-0 with 8 innings of 6-hit ball, and Lou Moore converted his 13th save of the year despite allowing 4 baserunners (2 H, 2 BB) in the inning.
6/17 - 5-3 loss vs Kentucky - Trey Drackley held the 1st place Lions to 6 hits in 7 innings, but 3 of those hits were HR so we came up a little short. Turd Newton, Arturo Gonzalez and Jose Martinez each had 3 hits, while Martinez drove in all of our runs. Edgardo Rosas left the game with an injury but it turned out to be nothing big.
6/18 - 5-4 loss vs Kentucky - This one we kinda blew; we had a 4-0 lead after 5, thanks in part to Jose Martinez's 10th HR of the season. Ron Powell allowed a run in the 6th and 2 in the 7th, but still left the game with a 4-3 lead after allowing just 3 hits in 7 innings of work. But the usually reliable Lou Moore gave up a 2-run HR in the top of the 9th to surrender the lead, and we were shut down in the bottom of the 9th by one of our former players, Yu-zeng Sung.
6/19 - 7-1 WIN vs Oregon - After collapsing the day before, we took out our frustration on Oregon. Turd Newton, Bob Hopkins and Arturo Gonzalez had 2 hits each and Ireno Kehlmaier was 1-for-3 with a 2-run HR in a start at DH while Shane Schute rested. Jesus Ortega pitched ANOTHER complete game, allowing 1 ER on 9hits while fanning 5. He's now 8-6 this season.
6/20 - 4-3 WIN vs Oregon - Bob Hopkins delivered a key 3-run HR (his 4th of the season) while Eddie Wheeler added his 10th HR in a bittersweet game. Ron Carmichael moved to 8-4, allowing 2 ER in 6 innings while fanning 8 Oregon batters. Lou Moore picked up save #14. But Chewie Baca suffered shoulder damage making a throw from the outfield, and will miss the next 5-6 weeks.
6/21 - 2-1 WIN vs Maryland - Turd Newton was 3-for-3 with a walk and Goppy and Ireno Kehlmaier each drove in a run to squeak past Maryland. Norman Cornell missed a chance to move to 11-0 because of the timing of the runs; instead Lou Moore picks up his 4th win of the year. Cornell had pitched 7 innings of 3-hit ball, fanning 5 batters.
6/22 - 5-2 WIN vs Maryland - Goppy and David Ruiz each had a pair of hits, including Ruiz's 12th HR of the season. Ruiz had 4 RBI on the day. Trey Drackley pitched 7 nice innings to move to 6-7 on the year.

Notes

So now we have RP Jose Estrada (6 weeks), 1B/DH Jim O'Brien (4 months), and OF Jorge 'Chewie' Baca (5 weeks) on the DL.

O'Brien and Baca had both been experiencing comebacks of sorts when they went down.

Baca has had a tough time staying healthy. He made his big league debut at the age of 22 back in 2036. His presence down the stretch in August and September helped lead the Aviators to the postseason. The following year, he did it all; Rookie of the Year, All-Star, Platinum Stick, World Champion, and Federation Cup MVP. At age 23,I thought he had a great career ahead of him... but since his rookie year:

2038 - broken finger - 6 weeks
2038 - hamstring strain - 2 weeks
2039 - broken hand - 4 weeks
2039 - partially torn labrum - 3 months
2040 - oblique strain - 5 weeks
2040 - broken tibia - 6 weeks
2040 - sore wrist - 2 weeks

And now he's out 5-6 weeks with the shoulder issue.

CAREER BATTING STATS
Year/Team/League		Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	wRC+	WAR
2036 North Carolina - AFBL	22	44	166	43	6	3	6	20	24	4	9	0	43	13	1	.259	.313	.440	.753	113	117	1.0
2037 North Carolina - AFBL	23	155	588	179	40	13	26	99	106	33	30	5	108	40	12	.304	.369	.549	.918	158	156	4.6
2038 North Carolina - AFBL	24	105	391	109	21	5	15	59	57	16	22	3	91	19	11	.279	.340	.473	.813	131	135	2.4
2039 North Carolina - AFBL	25	91	337	77	20	4	9	38	49	24	19	3	94	27	6	.228	.313	.392	.705	97	98	0.4
2040 North Carolina - AFBL	26	39	133	36	7	2	5	15	23	5	5	0	21	10	5	.271	.322	.466	.788	121	123	0.3
2041 North Carolina - AFBL	27	53	191	47	13	6	7	20	31	9	11	0	42	15	4	.246	.318	.487	.804	120	122	1.3
Total AFBL				487	1806	491	107	33	68	251	290	91	96	11	399	124	39	.272	.338	.481	.819	130	131	10.0

Chewie has definitely been through a lot.

Ed Hunt has been called up from AAA Raleigh to take Chewie's spot on the roster, while lucky charm Francis Ridley moves into the starting LF spot.

Stats

PITCHING STAFF
Role		T	Pitcher		G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	WHIP	Status
Starter		L	Norman Cornell	17	17	10	0	0	2.17	0.86	Exhausted
Starter		R	Jesús Ortega	16	16	8	6	0	3.00	1.02	Rested
Starter		R	Ron Carmichael	15	15	8	4	0	3.79	1.14	Slightly Tired
Starter		R	Trey Drackley	16	16	6	7	0	3.56	1.07	Exhausted
Starter		R	Ron Powell	5	5	1	1	0	4.99	1.43	Rested
Long Relief	L	Cristo Pérez	5	0	0	0	1	0.00	0.68	Rested
Middle Relief	R	Dean Edwards	14	0	0	2	0	3.26	1.24	Rested
Middle Relief	R	Terence Jackson	22	0	4	1	1	1.13	1.18	Rested
Setup		L	Rob Williams	28	0	2	1	2	2.23	1.14	Slightly Tired
Setup		L	Edgardo Rosas	25	0	1	2	2	4.18	1.14	Rested
Closer		L	Lou Moore	33	0	4	2	15	1.72	1.04	Exhausted

CATCHERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
2	R	Ed Woods	C	2	6	2	0	1	0	0	1	.333	.333	.500	0.1
38	R	Bob Hopkins	C	25	91	25	4	13	12	6	26	.275	.323	.473	0.8

INFIELDERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
28	L	Arturo González	1B	52	185	43	7	23	23	16	39	.232	.296	.405	0.1
14	R	Ahilocana Goppy	3B	61	243	76	2	20	22	12	37	.313	.342	.407	0.9
33	R	Eddie Wheeler	2B	66	256	67	10	37	30	8	42	.262	.286	.453	1.3
65	L	Shane Schute	1B	70	246	66	11	28	43	38	41	.268	.372	.467	1.3
35	R	Ireno Kehlmaier	3B	52	108	24	5	19	19	10	22	.222	.289	.444	0.1
15	R	José Martínez	SS	71	284	65	10	31	32	22	88	.229	.303	.359	1.1
54	R	Doug Butler	SS	12	29	6	1	4	2	2	10	.207	.258	.345	-0.1

OUTFIELDERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
50	L	David Ruíz	RF	67	253	73	12	32	36	23	32	.289	.360	.478	1.3
69	R	Ed Hunt		LF	6	8	3	2	5	3	4	1	.375	.583	1.250	0.4
19	L	Turd Newton	CF	73	305	104	12	38	40	15	47	.341	.379	.551	3.7
67	R	Francis Ridley	LF	35	45	7	0	1	4	0	15	.156	.152	.200	-0.3
36	R	Cris Castillo	RF	47	82	18	0	5	13	11	5	.220	.312	.244	0.1

PRIMARY LINEUP
#	B	Name		Pos	AVG	HR	RBI	SB
1	L	Turd Newton	CF	.341	12	38	28
2	L	Shane Schute	DH	.268	11	28	0
3	L	David Ruíz	RF	.289	12	32	0
4	R	Bob Hopkins	C	.275	4	13	0
5	R	Ahilocana Goppy	3B	.313	2	20	3
6	R	Eddie Wheeler	2B	.262	10	37	8
7	L	Arturo González	1B	.232	7	23	3
8	R	José Martínez	SS	.229	10	31	16
9	R	Francis Ridley	LF	.156	0	1	2

We now have 5 players with double-digit HR totals, all between 10-12. This is pretty typical for how I build my teams. I've always tried to gather a bunch of guys that could do a little damage instead of 2-3 guys that carry all the weight. It seems to make my teams more resilient to injuries and deep pitching staffs.

Standings

South			W	L	PCT	GB
North Carolina Aviators	46	29	.613	-
West Virginia Hollers	42	33	.560	4.0
Georgia Titans	        41	34	.547	5.0
Maryland Bridegrooms	34	41	.453	12.0
Virginia Diamond Club	31	44	.413	15.0

We had a nice 5-2 week, but only gained 1 game on WV. Still pleased with how things are going.

Upcoming Games
6/23 - vs Maryland (34-41)
6/24-6/25 - vs Pennsylvania (34-41)
6/26-6/27 - vs Ontario (31-44)
6/28-6/30 - vs West Virginia (42-33)

We try to complete the sweep of Maryland, and then there should be some winnable games before we battle West Virginia, the 2nd place team in our division. Should be some great games there. Next off day is July 4th, which seems un-American.

[Chappy]

Sims 13 & 14
Sorry, was out of town for the weekend and so I missed updating Thursday night's sim... Here are Thursday's and Monday's sims combined.

Game Summaries

6/23 - 5-4 loss vs Maryland - Ron Powell allowed 5 runs (4 ER) in 5 innings and fell to 1-2. Shane Schute had a pair of solo HR (13) but we couldn't get much else going.
6/24 - 2-1 WIN vs Pennsylvania - Turd Newton drove in the eventual game-winning run on a triple as part of a 2-for-4 day, while David Ruiz and Ireno Kehlmaier each added 2 hits. Jesus Ortega pitched yet another complete game, allowing 1 ER on 8 hits in 9 innings of work.
6/25 - 9-6 WIN vs Pennsylvania - Turd Newton was POG with an odd line: 1-for-1 with a HR (13), 3 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB. He also stole a base (29), was hit by a pitch, and had a Sac Fly. Bob Hopkins (5), Arturo Gonzalez (8) and Jose Martinez (11) also homered in the game. Ron Carmichael had a cruddy start, but the team bailed him out. Cristo Perez earned the W (1-0) and Lou Moore got the save (16).
6/26 - 5-2 WIN vs Ontario - Norman Cornell fanned 8 batters in 6 innings while allowing 2 ER on 4 H to move to 11-0 this season. Arturo Gonzalez homered (9), while Goppy and Cristobal Castillo each had a pair of hits.
6/27 - 3-2 loss vs Ontario (10 innings) - Trey Drackley suffered a minor injury after allowing just 1 ER on 3 hits in 4 innings of work. The bullpen held firm for a while, but eventually ran out of gas as Lou Moore blew a save for the 3rd time this season as the Blue Pirates tied it up in the 9th and Edgardo Rosas fell to 1-3 after allowing a run in the top of the 10th. Jose Martinez was 3-for-4 but the rest of our team had quiet bats.
6/28 - 7-4 loss vs West Virginia - David Ruiz hit his 13th HR and Shane Schute, Goppy, and Cristobal Castillo each had 2 hits in a losing effort. Ron Powell allowed 5 ER in 5.2 innings, falling to 1-3 this season.
6/29 - 2-1 loss vs West Virginia - Arturo Gonzalez had 2 of our teams' 6 hits and Bob Hopkins homered (6) as we continue to struggle. Ortega allowed 2 ER on 6 hits in 8.1 innings, falling to 9-7 on the year.

6/30 - 7-4 WIN vs West Virginia - Ron Carmichael was POG with 7 strong innings, moving to 9-4 on the season. Lou Moore earned his 18th save. Arturo Gonzalez hit his 10th HR of the season while Goppy and Cristobal Castillo each had a pair of hits. Castillo had 3 RBI in the game.
7/1 - 6-5 loss @ Georgia - Norman Cornell had a quality start, but Terence Jackson had an off night and allowed 3 ER in just a third of an inning. We outhit Georgia 11-6, but they only left 1 runner on base while we left 7. Jose Martinez had 3 hits while David Ruiz, Eddie Wheeler and Bob Hopkins each had 2.
7/2 - 4-3 loss @ Georgia - Once again we outhit Georgia, this time 13-8, but left 10 batters on to their 5. Eddie Wheeler had 3 hits while Turd Newton, Cristobal Castillo, Ireno Kehlmaier and Shane Schute each had a pair. Trey Drackley allowed 2 ER on 5 hits in 5 innings, and Cristo Perez took the loss, allowing 1 ER on 1 hit in 1.1 innings of work.
7/3 - 7-5 WIN @ Georgia - We avoided the sweep. Goppy was 4-for-5 with 2 doubles and Doug Butler was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Flash Rodriguez drove in 2 runs on a 2-for-5 day. Ron Powell gave up a lot of hist (10) in 5 innings, but allowed just 3 ER and moved to 2-3 this season. Lou Moore notched his 19th save.
7/4 - Off Day
7/5 - 10-7 WIN @ Maryland (10 innings) - Arturo Gonzalez was POG with a 2-for-3 day, including 2 HR (12), 4 RBI, 3 runs scored and 2 walks. Flash Rodriguez was 4-for-5 with 2 doubles, 2 runs scored and 2 RBI. We pounded out 17 hits as a team. Jesus Ortega had a nightmare of a start, allowing 7 ER in 7.2 innings, raising his ERA to 3.10. We avoided the loss though, and that's the important thing. Lou Moore got save #20.
7/6 - 6-1 WIN @ Maryland (14 innings) - A rare 5-run win in an extra inning game. Norman Cornell got us off to a good start with 0 ER on 4 hits in 8 innings. Lou Moore blew a save opportunity in the 9th, forcing the game into extras. At that point, our only run had come on a Jose Martinez solo HR (12). The bullpens dueled deep into the night, until we rallied in the top of the 14th inning. Turd Newton started things off with a single and a stolen base, after which Ed Hunt was intentionally walked. Shane Schute then reached on an infield error to load the bases. Flash Rodriguez doubled in Newton and Hunt while advancing Schute to 3rd base, putting the Aviators up 3-1. The Bridegrooms then intentionally walked Eddie Wheeler before Cristobal Castillo hit an RBI single. Next, Jose Martinez singled scoring Flash Rodriguez. Ireno Kehlmaier grounded into a double play, Eddie Wheeler. David Ruiz finally struck out, ending the inning. Terence Jackson then pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the 14th to get his 5th win of the season.
7/7 - 2-1 loss @ Maryland - Two tired teams went head to head, with Ron Carmichael pitching well for the Aviators. He allowed 1 ER on 5 hits in 7 innings. But in the bottom of the 9th, a Bob Hopkins error cost us, and Terence Jackson took the loss with an unearned run allowed. Shane Schute and Eddie Wheeler each had 2 hits for the Aviators in the loss.

NOTES

RP Jose Estrada (2 weeks), Jim O'Brien (4 months) and Jorge Baca (3 weeks) are all still on the shelf.

The AFBL has reached it's all-star break. We get a full week off for the event, so everyone will be well rested when games resume 7/15. I'll let you know who made the ASG tomorrow.

Flash Rodriguez was promoted back to the big league club between the two sims. He hit .364 during the sim.

Norman Cornell was named the PL's Top Pitcher for the month of June. He was 5-0 with a 1.98 ERA.

Stats

PITCHING STAFF
Role		T	Pitcher		G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	WHIP	Status
Starter		L	Norman Cornell	20	20	11	0	0	2.18	0.86	Exhausted
Starter		R	Jesús Ortega	19	19	9	7	0	3.10	1.00	Tired
Starter		R	Ron Carmichael	18	18	9	4	0	3.90	1.16	Exhausted
Starter		R	Trey Drackley	18	18	6	7	0	3.51	1.07	Rested
Starter		R	Ron Powell	8	8	2	3	0	5.63	1.60	Rested
Long Relief	L	Cristo Pérez	9	0	1	1	1	2.70	0.90	Rested
Middle Relief	R	Dean Edwards	17	0	0	2	0	3.13	1.26	Rested
Middle Relief	L	Rob Williams	34	0	2	1	2	1.85	1.01	Rested
Setup		R	Terence Jackson	28	0	5	3	1	1.46	1.18	Tired
Setup		L	Edgardo Rosas	31	0	2	3	2	3.41	0.98	Exhausted
Closer		L	Lou Moore	40	0	4	2	20	1.85	1.17	Slightly Tired

CATCHERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
88	L	Flash Rodríguez	C	28	103	24	2	13	12	3	19	.233	.259	.369	0.3
38	R	Bob Hopkins	C	32	118	30	6	18	14	6	37	.254	.291	.458	0.7
INFIELDERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
28	L	Arturo González	1B	66	226	54	12	35	32	25	46	.239	.315	.460	0.5
14	R	Ahilocana Goppy	3B	74	294	94	2	22	29	14	49	.320	.348	.415	1.2
33	R	Eddie Wheeler	2B	78	305	82	10	40	33	11	48	.269	.296	.449	1.8
65	L	Shane Schute	1B	84	292	79	13	34	55	48	51	.271	.380	.469	1.7
35	R	Ireno Kehlmaier	3B	62	124	30	5	22	19	10	23	.242	.299	.444	0.1
15	R	José Martínez	SS	84	336	79	12	37	40	26	98	.235	.305	.372	1.5
54	R	Doug Butler	SS	16	41	8	1	5	3	3	15	.195	.250	.293	-0.3
OUTFIELDERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
50	L	David Ruíz	RF	80	302	83	13	38	38	26	38	.275	.343	.450	0.9
69	R	Ed Hunt		LF	17	23	6	2	5	5	6	3	.261	.433	.565	0.2
19	L	Turd Newton	CF	86	356	118	13	44	49	19	54	.331	.374	.528	4.0
67	R	Francis Ridley	LF	40	58	9	0	1	5	0	16	.155	.153	.207	-0.4
36	R	Cris Castillo	LF	60	122	33	0	11	16	13	8	.270	.346	.311	0.5

PRIMARY LINEUP
#	B	Name		Pos	AVG	HR	RBI	SB
1	R	José Martínez	SS	.235	12	37	19
2	R	Ahilocana Goppy	3B	.320	2	22	3
3	L	David Ruíz	RF	.275	13	38	0
4	L	Turd Newton	CF	.331	13	44	34
5	L	Arturo González	1B	.239	12	35	4
6	L	Shane Schute	DH	.271	13	34	0
7	L	Flash Rodríguez	C	.233	2	13	0
8	R	Eddie Wheeler	2B	.269	10	40	14
9	R	Cris Castillo	LF	.270	0	11	7

I keep moving Turd between the #1 and #4 spots. I keep thinking Jose Martinez will go on a tear, but so far it hasn't happened.

Upcoming Games
Just the All-Star Game!

As of right now, Turd Newton is leading the voting in CF and David Ruiz is runner-up in RF. Norman Cornell is tied for the lead in SP voting and Lou Moore leads all RP. Jesus Ortega has a couple of votes as a starter and Terence Jackson has a couple of votes as a reliever.

Standings

STANDINGS
South			W	L	PCT	GB
North Carolina Aviators	53	36	.596	-
West Virginia Hollers	49	40	.551	4.0
Georgia Titans		48	41	.539	5.0
Virginia Diamond Club	40	49	.449	13.0
Maryland Bridegrooms	39	50	.438	14.0

[Chappy]

Run Differential

At one point there was a 4-way tie for the best record in the AFBL, and we were one of the teams in that tie. Well, we've fallen off a bit since then in terms of record.

Right now, the best record in baseball belongs to the Kentucky Lions, who are 58-31, followed by the New Jersey Athletics (57-32). Then we are tied with the Texas Isotopes at 53-36, with Idaho (50-39) as the only other team with 50 wins.

What I did find interesting though, is that my Aviators lead the AFBL in run differential. We are +101, and the only team over 100. 9 of the 20 AFBL clubs have scored more runs than they've allowed... here are the positive teams:

North Carolina - 101
New Jersey - 92
Kentucky - 87
Oregon - 51
West Virginia - 46
Indiana - 39
Texas - 37
Idaho - 23 (lowest of any division leader)
Pennsylvania - 20 -

Oregon & Pennsylvania both make the list with losing records.

The Georgia Titans are -18, and with a 48-41 record are the only +.500 team not on the plus side in run differential.

[Chappy]

Sim #15

All Star Break

The Patriot League defeated the Frontier League 2-1 in 12 innings in a very low-scoring All-Star affair.

North Carolina Aviators ace Norman Cornell started for the Patriot League. He pitched a 1-2-3 first inning, getting all three batters to ground out.

Also starting for the Patriot League was Aviators CF Turd Newton, who DH's in the game, going 0-for-4 with a walk and 3 strikeouts.

Pitchers Lou Moore and Jesus Ortega also appeared in the game in relief. Moore allowed 1 hit and walked a batter in a scoreless inning, while Ortega allowed a solo HR to Mario Cruz, the only run the Frontier League scored.

The final Aviator to appear in the game was the hero of sorts. In the bottom of the 12th inning, RF David Ruiz hit a deep fly ball to center, allowing Duane Slaughter to tag up and score the game winning run. Ruiz finished the game 0-for-1 with a walk and that sac fly.

[Chappy]

Sim # 16

Game Summaries

7/14 - Off Day
7/15 - 2-1 WIN @ West Virginia - We managed just 5 singles, but were able to win thanks to a great performance by Norman Cornell. Fresh off his All-Star game start, Cornell allowed 2 hits in 8 innings, fanning 7. He moves to 12-0 this season. Lou Moore allowed a solo HR but still got the save, his 21st.
7/16 - 6-1 loss @ West Virginia - Not much went right today. Jose Martinez was 2-for-4, and Flash Rodriguez drove in a run. Jesus Ortega allowed 6 ER on 13 hits in 7 innings to fall to 9-8.
7/17 - 4-2 loss @ West Virginia - The Hollers are now just 3 games back after stifling us again. Shane Schute, Arturo Gonzalez and Flash Rodriguez each had 2 hits, but they were scattered enough that we couldn't do any damage. Ron Carmichael fell to 9-5 despite allowing 0 ER in 7 innings. A Goppy error led to 3 unearned runs for the Hollers.
7/18 - 9-6 WIN @ Indiana - The bats came alive, as Goppy, Schute, Newton and Flash each had a pair of hits. Newton (14) and Schute (14) each homered. Trey Drackley won despite a shaky start, and Lou Moore got his 22nd save.
7/19 - 11-6 WIN @ Indiana - Bats were still rolling, as Goppy, Schute and Flash has their 2nd 2-hit days in a row. Cristobal Castillo added 2 hits of his own, and David Ruiz (14) and Eddie Wheeler (11) each homered. Ron Powell started, allowing 5 ER in 4 innings. Cristo Perez picked up the win, his 2nd.
7/20 - 5-2 WIN @ Illinois - Goppy had 3 hits (that's 7 in the last 3 games) while Newton, Castillo and Schute each had 2. Norman Cornell stayed perfect at 13-0 with the win. He fanned 8 in 6 innings, allowing 2 ER on 4 hits. Lou Moore got save 23.

Standings

At the end of the sim, we were 3 games ahead of West Virginia and 6 games ahead of Georgia.

I've been real busy or out of town for the past few days, plus we had a hurricane last week, so I'm a little behind on these reports. I'll just be doing the game summaries and an update on standings until I get caught up. Apologies.

[Chappy]

Sim 17

Game Summaries

7/21 - 4-0 WIN @ Illinois - Jesus Ortega allowed 6 hits in 8.1 innings of shutout ball. Arturo Gonzalez was 1-for-4 with his 13th HR this season. Shane Schute was 4-for-4 in the game, while Flash and Wheeler added 2 hits each.
7/22 - 4-2 loss vs Virginia - Cristobal Castillo, Turd Newton and Shane Schute each had a pair of hits, but we couldn't really get the bats going other than that. Carmichael fell to 9-6, allowing 4 ER on 6 hits in 7 innings of work.
7/23 - 1-0 loss vs Virginia - Virginia is in full-on rebuild mode, so dropping 2 in a row to them is kind of embarrassing. Goppy had 2 of our 5 hits, while Trey Drackley took a loss despite a good performance (1 ER on in 6 innings).
7/24 - 3-1 WIN vs Virginia - David Ruiz and Turd Newton each had 2 hits while Newton drove in 2 runs. Teimua Kiristopa allowed 0 runs on 5 hits in 8 innings to even his record at 3-3.
7/25 - 6-4 loss @ New Jersey (10 innings) - We take on the other division leaders and fall flat. Flash Rodriguez had 2 of our 5 hits, while an Ireno Kehlmaier HR (6) gave us a couple runs. Norman Cornell allowed 3 unearned runs (0 ER) on 4 hits in 7 innings. Lou Moore blew a save and Edgardo Rosas took the loss, as New Jersey scored 1 to tie in the 9th and 2 to win in the 10th.
7/26 - 10-5 WIN @ New Jersey - The Aviators take out their frustration on Jersey. Ortega wasn't sharp, but he got the win to move to 11-8. Goppy was 2-for-4 with 3 runs and 5 RBI, while Turd Newton (15), Shane Schute (15) and the aforementioned Goppy (3) all homered in the game.
7/27 - 6-0 WIN @ New Jersey - We took the series with a clutch win. David Ruiz hit a grand slam (15) and Turd Newton added a solo shot (16) as we score 6 runs on 7 hits. Ron Carmichael moved to 10-6 with 7.1 shutout innings on the mound.

Standings Update

At this point, we are 61-41, 4 games up on both West Virginia and Georgia.

[Chappy]

Sim 18

Game Summaries
7/28 - Off Day
7/29 - 6-0 loss @ Georgia - We had just 4 hits, 2 by Flash Rodriguez. Trey Drackley fell to 7-9 with 5 ER allowed on 7 hits in 5.1 innings. The wins over New Jersey were huge, but Georgia is getting close now.
7/30 - 1-0 loss @ Georgia - Norman Cornell took his first loss of the season, allowing 1 ER on 5 hits in a complete game effort. We had just 6 hits in this game, including a Shane Schute double as the only XBH. Georgia just 2 games back now...
7/31 - 7-6 loss @ Georgia - Jesus Ortega was rocked for 7 runs on 11 hits in 6 innings. Turd Newton (17), Jose Martinez (13) and David Ruiz (16) all homered, but it was not enough. We actually were up 6-0 in this game after 3 innings. Georgia wanted it more, and is now just 1 game behind us.
8/1 - Off Day
8/2 - 3-2 WIN @ Pennsylvania - Ron Carmichael gave us a strong outing when we needed one, allowing 2 ER on 4 H in 8.2 innings. Lou Moore fanned the final batter for his 25th save. Shane Schute was 1-for-3 with a 3-run HR, while Jorge Baca was 2-for-4 as he returned from the DL.
8/3 - 6-4 loss @ Pennsylvania - Trey Drackley's season ERA goes above 4.00 as he collected his 10th loss, allowing 6 ER on 11 hits in 5 innings. Goppy had 3 of our team's 10 hits. The captain also drove in a pair of runs.

Standings Update

West Virginia remains 4 GB, but Georgia is now just 1 game behind us. We are 62-45, well off the pace set by New Jersey who is now 70-37. We lead the season series with NJ 5-3 though, so I ain't scared.

[Chappy]

Sim 19

Game Summaries
8/4 - Off Day
8/5 - 8-3 WIN vs Ontario - Norman Cornell is back in the 'W' column, moving to 14-1 with 8.1 strong innings on the mound. Arturo Gonzalez (14) and Ireno Kehlmaier (7) each homered, while Eddie Wheeler was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI.
8/6 - 5-3 WIN vs Ontario - Goppy and Newton each had a pair of hits and Flash Rodriguez hit his 3rd HR of the year as we win back-to-back games. Jesus Ortega allowed 2 ER on 5 hits in 7 innings to move to 12-9, 3.48 on the season.
8/7 - 8-4 loss vs Ontario - We couldn't complete the sweep, as Ron Carmichael allowed 6 ER on 11 hits in 5 innings. David Ruiz's 17 HR was our only offensive highlight of the night.
8/8 - 6-0 WIN vs New Mexico - Goppy hit his 4th HR and 2nd Grand Slam of the season. That was really all we needed, as Trey Drackley pitched 4.1 innings of 1-hit ball before leaving with an injury. Rob Williams followed with 4 1-hit innings of his own before Dean Edwards completed the shutout. Drackley will miss the rest of August, and hopefully not much more.
8/9 - 4-3 WIN vs New Mexico - Eddie Wheeler (12) and Jorge Baca (8) hit dingers. Teimua Kiristopa left the game early with an injury after allowing 1 ER on 6 hits in 3.1 innings. The bullpen covered though, with Rosas getting the win (3-4) and Lou Moore getting the save (27).
8/10 - 3-1 loss vs Idaho - Shane Schute hit his 17th HR and Bob Hopkins had a pair of hits, but Idaho handed Cornell his 2nd loss of the year (now 14-2). Cornell allowed just 1 ER, but a Jose Martinez error led to a pair of unearned runs and we were not able to come back.

Notes

Okay, so a lot has gone on.

There were a lot of big moves at the trade deadline. Most of the moves actually weaked my division, with Virginia and Maryland among the sellers (and now destined to the cellars). New Jersey added some firepower which we will likely have to contend with in the postseason, while Colorado is trying to make a run at Idaho out west.

I considered a few players but couldn't really find a good fit, so we're just going to ride with what we have. I have a few key prospects I could have dealt, but I don't want to mortgage the future unless it gets me a really good fit... and there just wasn't a really good fit out there.

We currently have just two players on the DL... SP Trey Drackley (4 more weeks) and DH Jim O'Brien (2-3 Months). Veteran SP Bertil Aarden has been promoted to take Drackley's place on the roster, but he has not pitched yet. He was 14-9, 4.38 as a starter for us last season.

I got lucky and Teimua Kiristopa's injury will just last 1 more day, so he won't even miss a start.

Stats and Lineups

PITCHING STAFF
Role		T	Pitcher			G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	WHIP	Status
Starter		L	Norman Cornell		26	26	14	2	0	2.00	0.82	Exhausted
Starter		R	Jesús Ortega		24	24	12	9	0	3.48	1.09	Rested
Starter		R	Ron Carmichael		23	23	11	7	0	3.71	1.15	Rested
Starter		L	Teimua Kirisitopa	8	8	3	3	0	3.75	1.39	Injured (Day-To-Day)
Starter		R	Bertil Aarden		0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00	Rested
Long Relief	L	Rob Williams		41	0	3	1	2	1.86	1.00	Slightly Tired
Middle Relief	R	Dean Edwards		23	0	0	2	0	2.60	0.98	Exhausted
Middle Relief	R	José Estrada		8	0	0	0	0	1.64	1.00	Rested
Setup		L	Edgardo Rosas		37	0	3	4	2	3.49	1.09	Rested
Setup		R	Terence Jackson		33	0	5	3	1	1.48	1.12	Rested
Closer		L	Lou Moore		49	0	4	2	27	2.25	1.15	Rested
CATCHERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
88	L	Flash Rodríguez	C	48	179	44	3	22	23	6	31	.246	.273	.391	0.6
38	R	Bob Hopkins	C	36	132	32	6	18	14	6	39	.242	.277	.424	0.6
INFIELDERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
28	L	Arturo González	1B	89	304	72	14	45	42	34	62	.237	.314	.431	0.5
14	R	A. Goppy	3B	97	389	124	4	36	41	21	69	.319	.352	.422	1.8
33	R	Eddie Wheeler	2B	101	389	96	12	53	40	16	66	.247	.278	.414	1.5
65	L	Shane Schute	1B	105	362	103	17	49	70	60	62	.285	.393	.500	2.7
35	R	Ireno Kehlmaier	3B	76	138	34	7	28	21	13	25	.246	.312	.471	0.4
15	R	José Martínez	SS	107	425	96	13	41	52	38	128	.226	.306	.348	1.6
54	R	Doug Butler	SS	18	49	9	1	5	3	3	18	.184	.231	.265	-0.4
OUTFIELDERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
50	L	David Ruíz	RF	103	385	102	17	49	52	36	46	.265	.339	.436	1.0
69	R	Cris Castillo	LF	72	181	43	0	12	17	14	13	.262	.328	.299	0.4
13	R	Jorge Baca	LF	63	225	53	8	22	34	9	54	.236	.301	.453	1.0
19	L	Turd Newton	CF	110	449	144	17	56	62	21	74	.321	.362	.519	4.7
67	R	Francis Ridley	LF	43	64	9	0	1	5	1	18	.141	.152	.188	-0.4

PRIMARY LINEUP
#	B	Name		Pos	AVG	HR	RBI	SB
1	R	José Martínez	SS	.226	13	41	24
2	R	Ahilocana Goppy	3B	.319	4	36	5
3	L	Turd Newton	CF	.321	17	56	41
4	L	Arturo González	1B	.237	14	45	5
5	L	David Ruíz	RF	.265	17	49	0
6	L	Shane Schute	DH	.285	17	49	0
7	L	Flash Rodríguez	C	.246	3	22	0
8	R	Eddie Wheeler	2B	.247	12	53	18
9	R	Jorge Baca	LF	.236	8	22	17

I'm still not crazy about my leadoff situation. Martinez has a .306 OBP, which is entirely too low for the top of the order, but I don't really have a better alternative unless Baca and pick up his hitting a little. I may shake the lineup up a bit next sim, I'll keep you posted.

Full Standings

FRONTIER LEAGUE STANDINGS, WEST
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Idaho Steelheads	65	48	.575	-	62-51	3	31-24	34-24	5-1	19-11	42	W4	8-2
Oregon Explorers	57	56	.504	8	64-49	-7	30-31	27-25	2-9	13-21		L1	7-3
Colorado Bears		54	59	.478	11	52-61	2	24-28	30-31	9-4	17-14		L1	2-8
Washington Resonance	45	68	.398	20	45-68	0	25-30	20-38	4-11	14-16		L1	2-8
New Mexico Danger	45	68	.398	20	47-66	-2	20-38	25-30	3-5	11-18		W1	3-7

FRONTIER LEAGUE STANDINGS, EAST
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Kentucky Lions		70	43	.619	-	65-48	5	30-22	40-21	4-6	13-14	48	W1	6-4
Texas Isotopes		68	45	.602	2	62-51	6	31-24	37-21	9-2	24-9		L2	6-4
Indiana Vipers		54	59	.478	16	60-53	-6	26-29	28-30	5-13	17-23		W1	5-5
California Mallards	52	61	.460	18	55-58	-3	27-25	25-36	5-6	15-18		L4	2-8
Illinois Warhawks	46	67	.407	24	44-69	2	19-36	27-31	10-4	13-16		W2	7-3

FRONTIER LEAGUE WILDCARD
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Texas Isotopes		68	45	.602	+11	62-51	6	31-24	37-21	9-2	24-9	36	L2	6-4
Oregon Explorers	57	56	.504	-	64-49	-7	30-31	27-25	2-9	13-21	47	L1	7-3
Indiana Vipers		54	59	.478	3	60-53	-6	26-29	28-30	5-13	17-23		W1	5-5
Colorado Bears		54	59	.478	3	52-61	2	24-28	30-31	9-4	17-14		L1	2-8
California Mallards	52	61	.460	5	55-58	-3	27-25	25-36	5-6	15-18		L4	2-8
Illinois Warhawks	46	67	.407	11	44-69	2	19-36	27-31	10-4	13-16		W2	7-3
Washington Resonance	45	68	.398	12	45-68	0	25-30	20-38	4-11	14-16		L1	2-8
New Mexico Danger	45	68	.398	12	47-66	-2	20-38	25-30	3-5	11-18		W1	3-7

PATRIOT LEAGUE STANDINGS, NORTH
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
New Jersey Athletics	76	37	.673	-	73-40	3	41-20	35-17	10-5	19-11	29	W7	9-1
New York Twin Towers	55	58	.487	21	54-59	1	28-30	27-28	6-3	13-12		W1	5-5
Pennsylvania Railroadrs	52	61	.460	24	57-56	-5	29-29	23-32	7-7	14-23		L1	4-6
Ohio Knights		51	62	.451	25	50-63	1	26-29	25-33	7-5	17-16		L1	4-6
Ontario Blue Pirates	48	65	.425	28	48-65	0	27-25	21-40	3-4	17-20		L1	4-6

PATRIOT LEAGUE STANDINGS, SOUTH
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
North Carolina Aviators	66	47	.584	-	70-43	-4	35-23	31-24	9-8	16-21	48	L1	5-5
Georgia Titans		64	49	.566	2	61-52	3	36-25	28-24	4-0	23-11		W1	6-4
West Virginia Hollers	60	53	.531	6	60-53	0	30-28	30-25	1-5	16-14		W1	3-7
Virginia Diamond Club	52	61	.460	14	54-59	-2	28-33	24-28	4-5	14-17		L2	5-5
Maryland Bridegrooms	50	63	.442	16	49-64	1	27-31	23-32	2-6	12-12		W1	7-3

PATRIOT LEAGUE WILDCARD
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Georgia Titans		64	49	.566	+4	61-52	3	36-25	28-24	4-0	23-11	41	W1	6-4
West Virginia Hollers	60	53	.531	-	60-53	0	30-28	30-25	1-5	16-14	45	W1	3-7
New York Twin Towers	55	58	.487	5	54-59	1	28-30	27-28	6-3	13-12		W1	5-5
Virginia Diamond Club	52	61	.460	8	54-59	-2	28-33	24-28	4-5	14-17		L2	5-5
Pennsylvania Railroadrs	52	61	.460	8	57-56	-5	29-29	23-32	7-7	14-23		L1	4-6
Ohio Knights		51	62	.451	9	50-63	1	26-29	25-33	7-5	17-16		L1	4-6
Maryland Bridegrooms	50	63	.442	10	49-64	1	27-31	23-32	2-6	12-12		W1	7-3
Ontario Blue Pirates	48	65	.425	12	48-65	0	27-25	21-40	3-4	17-20		L1	4-6

Upcoming Games
8/11 - vs Idaho (65-48)
8/12-8/14 - vs Maryland (50-63)
8/15-8/16 - @ Colorado (54-59)
8/17-8/18 - @ Washington (45-68)

I'd really like to win the 2nd game of the Idaho series, just to prove I can beat playoff-bound teams. Colorado will be tough given their trade deadline moves, as they added the PL's RBI leader Jose Garcia from Virginia.

[Chappy]

Sim #20

Game Summaries

8/11 - 3-2 loss vs Idaho (15 innings) - The Steelheads and Aviators exit this series with matching 66-48 records. I'm disappointed we didn't win this game, but we gave it all we could for 15 innings. Ortega pitched the equivalent of a CG, allowing 2 ER on 7 hits in 9 innings. Lou Moore and Terence Jackson each threw a pair of scoreless innings in relief before Idaho scored the eventual winning run off of Edgardo Guns N Rosas. Rosas falls to 3-5 on the year, and his 3.60 ERA is the worst in our bullpen. We managed just 7 singles and 2 walks in the game. David Ruiz drove in both of our runs.
8/12 - 7-4 loss vs Maryland - The game was tied at 4 in the top of the 9th when the Bridegrooms exploded for 3 runs off of the usually reliable Lou Moore. Moore falls to 4-3 with the loss, and his ERA 'ballooned' to 2.63. Bats stayed quiet; just 7 singles and a double today. Eddie Wheeler had a pair of RBI.
8/13 - 6-1 loss vs Maryland - The Bridegrooms are not a very good squad, and this loss drops us into a tie for 1st with Georgia. Goppy had a pair of hits, but we went just 7-for-31 as a team with 2 doubles. Bertil Aarden, making his season debut at the big league level, allowed 4 ER in 5.2 innings.
8/14 - 9-4 WIN vs Maryland - Flash Rodriguez's bat set our team on the right course. The rookie catcher was 4-for-4 with a double and a HR (4) and 4 RBI. David Ruiz added a 2-for-4 with 2 RBI line. Kiristopa moved to 4-3 with a fine performance on the mound, allowing 2 ER on 7 hits in 7 innings.
8/15 - 3-2 loss @ Colorado - The Bears picked up just their 57th win of the season, but they are a strong team after the trade deadline. David Ruiz and Doug Butler each had 2 hits for us in the loss. We were actually up 2-1 after 8 1/2 innings, but Lou Moore took his second loss of the week after allowing 2 runs while retiring only 1 batter. Cornell had pitched well enough to win, allowing 1 ER on 3 hits in 6.1 innings.
8/16 - 7-6 loss @ Colorado (11 innings) - Another frustrating loss, but at least we are staying competitive. Turd Newton was 3-for-5 with 2 RBI and a HR (18), while Chewie Baca was 2-for-4 with a HR (9). Ortega had one of those off nights, allowing 6 ER in 7 innings. Lou Moore picked up his 5th loss of the season (and third this week!).
8/17 - 6-1 loss @ Washington - Ron Carmichael allowed 5 ER on 7 hits in 4.2 innings in a game where we WEREN'T competitive. I'm chewing these guys out right now, lol. Backup infielder Doug Butler was our best player, going 2-for-4 in the contest.

Notes

I try not to overreact to one bad sim, especially when there are a few 1-run losses or extra inning losses in there, but this slump comes at a cruical time. We just fell 2 games behind Georgia.

I don't see anything wrong with closer Lou Moore, but I may have to move him to another role if he keeps giving away games. His WHIP is up to 1.21, which is at the top end of my 'acceptable' range, but it's actually worst of all my relievers, including Guns N Rosas. It's definitely a situation I'm watching closely next sim.

Statististics (sic)

PITCHING STAFF
Role		T	Pitcher		G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	WHIP	Status
Starter		L	Norman Cornell	27	27	14	2	0	1.98	0.83	Slightly Tired
Starter		R	Jesús Ortega	26	26	12	9	0	3.56	1.09	Tired
Starter		R	Ron Carmichael	25	25	11	8	0	3.94	1.18	Exhausted
Starter		L	T. Kirisitopa	9	9	4	3	0	3.61	1.34	On a Hot Streak
Starter		R	Bertil Aarden	1	1	0	1	0	6.35	1.94	Rested
Long Relief	L	Rob Williams	44	0	3	1	2	1.96	1.04	Exhausted
Middle Relief	R	Dean Edwards	25	0	0	2	0	2.87	1.04	Rested
Middle Relief	R	José Estrada	10	0	0	0	0	1.46	0.97	Rested
Setup		L	Edgardo Rosas	39	0	3	5	2	3.46	1.10	Rested
Setup		R	Terence Jackson	35	0	5	3	1	1.38	1.11	Rested
Closer		L	Lou Moore	53	0	4	5	27	2.89	1.21	Slightly Tired

CATCHERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
88	L	Flash Rodríguez	C	54	202	50	4	26	25	6	36	.248	.271	.396	0.7
38	R	Bob Hopkins	C	38	140	33	6	18	15	6	43	.236	.268	.407	0.5

INFIELDERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
28	L	Arturo González	1B	96	331	77	15	46	45	36	69	.233	.308	.423	0.4
14	R	Ahilocana Goppy	3B	103	415	130	4	38	43	23	76	.313	.348	.410	1.6
33	R	Eddie Wheeler	2B	107	414	102	12	57	43	17	71	.246	.277	.408	1.6
65	L	Shane Schute	1B	111	386	107	17	49	72	65	69	.277	.388	.484	2.6
35	R	Ireno Kehlmaier	3B	80	146	37	7	29	21	13	25	.253	.315	.466	0.5
15	R	José Martínez	SS	113	447	100	13	41	53	40	134	.224	.303	.340	1.5
54	R	Doug Butler	SS	21	57	13	1	6	3	3	20	.228	.267	.298	-0.3

OUTFIELDERS
#	B	Player		Pos	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	WAR
50	L	David Ruíz	RF	110	410	111	17	54	54	36	47	.271	.341	.434	1.2
36	R	Cris Castillo	LF	76	175	46	0	13	18	15	14	.263	.328	.297	0.5
13	R	Jorge Baca	LF	68	241	57	9	24	37	10	57	.237	.308	.456	1.1
19	L	Turd Newton	CF	116	477	150	18	58	67	21	81	.314	.354	.509	4.8
67	R	Francis Ridley	LF	46	71	10	0	2	5	1	19	.141	.151	.197	-0.5

PRIMARY LINEUP
#	B	Name		Pos	AVG	HR	RBI	SB
1	L	Shane Schute	DH	.277	17	49	0
2	R	Ahilocana Goppy	3B	.313	4	38	5
3	L	Turd Newton	CF	.314	18	58	43
4	R	Jorge Baca	LF	.237	9	24	18
5	L	David Ruíz	RF	.271	17	54	2
6	R	Eddie Wheeler	2B	.246	12	57	18
7	L	Arturo González	1B	.233	15	46	5
8	R	José Martínez	SS	.224	13	41	25
9	L	Flash Rodríguez	C	.248	4	26	0

Standings

South			W	L	PCT	GB
Georgia Titans		69	51	.575	-
North Carolina Aviators	67	53	.558	2.0
West Virginia Hollers	63	57	.525	6.0
Maryland Bridegrooms	55	65	.458	14.0
Virginia Diamond Club	54	66	.450	15.0

Upcoming Games

8/18 @ Washington (48-72)
8/19-8/21 @ West Virginia (63-57)
8/22 - OFF DAY
8/23-8/25 vs Virginia (54-66)

Should be able to pick up some wins this week... hopefully!

[Chappy]

Sim #21

Game Summaries

8/18 - 5-1 loss @ Washington - A Turd Newton error led to a big Washington rally and another frustrating loss against a team that's not very good. Bertil Aarden falls to 0-2 in his 2 starts this season, despite not allowing any earned runs in 6 innings of work. Our bats continue to do nothing, as we go 6-for-32 as a team with one extra base hit (a double).
8/19 - 6-3 WIN @ West Virginia - The bats finally wake up. Arturo Gonzalez was 4-for-4 with a homer (16) and 3 runs scored. Flash Rodriguez was 3-for-5 with a double and 2 RBI. Shane Schute had just one hit, but it was a 3-run HR (18). Meanwhile, rookie Teimua Kiristopa moves to 5-3 with a fine performance, allowing 3 ER in 8 IP. Starting SS Jose Martinez was severely injured in the game, leaving in the 8th with a broken ankle.
8/20 - 6-3 loss @ West Virginia - Norman Cornell had a rare bad day on the mound, allowing 5 ER in 6.1 innings. Turd Newton hit his 19th HR of the season. The deciding factor in this game was our 7 runners LOB compared to their 3.
8/21 - 6-1 WIN @ West Virginia - We take the series 2-1. David Ruiz was 3-for-3 with 2 HR (19) and 2 walks, while Turd Newton was 2-for-5 with his 20th HR of the season. Jesus Ortega left the game with an injury, but it turned out to be minor. Rob Williams got the win with 3.1 shutout innings pitched.
8/22 OFF DAY
8/23 - 2-0 loss vs Virginia - The Virginia Diamond Club sold off most of their decent players at the trade deadline, so this loss is a bit embarrassing. Ron Carmichael had a good day on the mound, allowing 2 ER on 5 hits in 7 innings, but it was all wasted because we could only muster 4 hits, all singles. F- effort today.
8/24 - 5-4 WIN vs Virginia - Arturo Gonzalez was 1-for-3 with a double and 2 RBI, while Teimua Kiristopa picked up another win, allowing 2 ER on 3 hits in 6.2 innings. Juan Baez, starting at SS in place of Jose Martinez, went down with an injury. He'll miss the next 3 weeks with a broken rib. Anyone know who my 3rd string SS is?

Notes
So, injuries... right now we've got:

SP Trey Drackley - back in 2 weeks
IF Juan Baez - back in 3 weeks
SS Jose Martinez - out for the season
DH Jim O'Brien - out for the season

Also noteworthy - my top AAA infielder, who would be on the roster right now if he were healthy, is out 3 weeks with a bum knee.

So Mike Barker, a guy I just drafted this year, is now on the 25-man roster. He was a 6th round pick, but he hit .296 in 59 AA games and .294 in 18 AAA games. Not only that, but he's going to start at 2B.

Our regular starting 2B, Eddie Wheeler, is far and away the best defensive SS left on the roster right now. And with a defensive soft spot at 3B where Goppy sits, it's important to have a good fielder at SS.

Mike Barker will make his big league debut

Barker, meanwhile, is a gifted 2B defensively, even if he's probably not ready for prime time at the plate.

New Lineup

#	B	Name		Pos	AVG	HR	RBI	SB
1	R	Eddie Wheeler	SS	.249	12	57	20
7	R	Ahilocana Goppy	3B	.310	4	39	5
3	L	Turd Newton	CF	.314	20	61	45
4	L	Arturo González	1B	.237	16	49	6
2	L	David Ruíz	RF	.275	19	57	2
6	L	Shane Schute	DH	.276	18	52	0
5	L	Flash Rodríguez	C	.250	4	30	0
8	R	Jorge Baca	LF	.232	9	25	20
9	R	Mike Barker	2B	.---	-	-	-

Standings

South			W	L	PCT	GB
Georgia Titans		70	56	.556	-
North Carolina Aviators	70	56	.556	-
West Virginia Hollers	67	59	.532	3.0
Maryland Bridegrooms	60	67	.472	10.5
Virginia Diamond Club	57	69	.452	13.0

Well, even though we went just 3-3 last week, Georgia did worse, so we're now tied for 1st.

Upcoming Games

8/25 - vs Virginia (57-69) (Season Series: 8-6)
8/26 - vs New York (60-66) (Season Series: 4-1)
8/27 - vs New York
8/28 - vs New York
8/29 - @ Kentucky (78-49) (Season Series: 0-2)
8/30 - @ Kentucky
8/31 - @ Oregon (63-63) (Season Series: 2-0)

We need to win the first game to take that series with Virginia, then get 2 of 3 with NY, and split with KY for me to be happy. Make me happy, team!