French Baseball League - Julien Henri

[stevem810]

If it wasn't apparent before the series, it is now that both teams have an arsenal of potent offensive weapons at their disposal. As good as the Le Diamant pitching is, Marseille batters continue to bash the ball, especially the middle of the line up.

Fabrice Charlet, the most feared of the Soleis hitters, had a pair of doubles and a triple despite being on the losing end of an 11-7 slugfest. Hamon, hitting out of the 3rd spot in the order just before Charlet, had a double and a homer while batting in three runs.

The trouble for Marseille was Le Diamant bats had their own firepower going. Steve Green, injured for most of the season, and batting .125 entering the 5th game of the series, had 3 base knocks. Pierson, at the top of the order, had two hits including the big 3 run homer in the 2nd inning to put the Diamonds up by 4. Catcher, Frederick Legendre, and best 8th batter in the line up player in the league, had 3 more hits to bump his post-season average to .386.

So, the Diamonds head back to Le Diamant up three games to two. It will be the 35 year old veteran Phillipe DaSilva (3-0/ 0.35 ERA) going for the Soleis against 22 year old Robert Bour (0-1/ 5.25 ERA) in game 6. Bour had a rock solid 14-4/ 2.22 ERA during the regular season but has found the post-season to much tougher.

If it goes 7 games Julien Henri will pitch for Le Diamant against Phillipe Colin.

[stevem810]

The Soleis brought the pitcher with the best stuff to face Bour in an elimination game that Marseille had to win. Early on Soleis ace Philippe Da Silva looked very tough. In the third inning he still had not allowed a hit. But, that's when he called the trainer to the mound. No report on the extent of the injury, but Da Silva had to leave the game. He tried a few pitches but it was a no go, nothing on the ball.

In that same inning the Diamonds got a HR from Pierson off reliever Harris for a 1-0 lead. Then, in the 4th, the Diamonds tacked on three more using walks, an error, a passed ball, and a few softly hit balls that fell in to build the lead.

Down 4-0 with your ace done for the day, the Soleis could have packed it in. But, in successive innings Kiever and pinch hitter Schwietzer cracked homers to tie the game at 4-4 apiece. In the 8th they added another for a 5-4 lead as a bevy of relievers kept Le Diamant scoreless.

To the 9th with Javalino on the mound. He notched 24 saves on the year but was asked to step it up with the shortened bullpen. After 43 pitches he was gassed. With runners on the corners and 1 out, pinch hitter Julien Henri came to the plate. On an 0-1 pitch, Henri lined a solid single scoring the tying run. The Marseille bullpen escaped without any further damage.

In the 10th, with 2 out, it was Laurant Mercier with the run scoring single that brought Legendre in with the winning run. 5-4 Le Diamant wins it in 6 games.

After last season's back to back sweeps, this year really put Le Diamant to the test as they had to rally from a 2-3 deficit in the first round to qualify for the final series. So, back to back titles for Le Diamant and the smallest of the three French locations, Martinique.

[stevem810]

A torn labrum (out 5 months) was the diagnosis and the reason Da Silva had to leave Game 6 at a critical juncture. You can't help but think there would be Game 7 had he not suffered the injury. Philippe was having and MVP type post-season.

[stevem810]

The 27 year old from Courcon, POI, France takes the Rookie of the Year award for the Le Morne Rouge Toucans.

[stevem810]

For the third time, with two different teams, Nicolas LaMotte of Le Diamant wins the Reliever of the Year Award.

[stevem810]

The Man,Vic Cosman, wins it for the third time.

[stevem810]

For the second year in a row, Julien Henri is awarded the leagues most prestigious award, the MVP.

[stevem810]

With the agreement put in place two years ago between the FBL and the colleges and universities in France, the landscape is beginning to change from one of purely amateur international baseball players to one that also includes players from the college rank.

Le Diamant, for example, has drafted more than half of their players the last two years from the college and university pool. It's interesting to chart, and this thread will, some of the up and coming players each academic year.

[stevem810]

For what it's worth, subscribers to the Spring Training 'means something' camp will be expecting the teams in Martinique to dominate the French Baseball League this coming season. Naysayers to the rite of spring, will term the final standings meaningless. We'll compare notes this fall.

Julien Henri pitched well in spring but did little to impress with the bat.

Le Diamant made only a few moves signing some young free agents, mostly long shots, as they opted to invest resources in Scouting and Player Development. Once the best farm system in the FBL, they now rank 5th (out of 12).

[stevem810]

From the Journal of Julien Henri

I learned a lot about pro ball last season. Coach Benoit promised me I would have learned a lot more had we lost the first round of the playoffs. I didn't get what he meant until he explained.

Coach said that sometimes players, especially young ones, who win the title at such a young age begin to take winning for granted. The talent level so thick on Le Diamant, that it offers up a false sense of security as in believing that we are 'too good' to lose. Players forget the work they put into getting to that level, and take their foot of the accelerator in such a small way that they don't even realize it.

Had we lost, he explained, we would have asked a lot of questions of ourselves. Which makes, sense, I guess. I thought about it through the winter months and made sure to keep my routines in check. I ate well, did stretching, played some tennis, and even tried a little yoga. At first I didn't thing the latter was for me, but, the stretching felt really good especially in my arms and torso.

I was honored to receive the MVP Award after being named runner up the previous season. It's not something that I go for, or have as a goal. My goals are pretty simple. Keep improving the process and preparation. The numbers will follow.

Changing gears, I've heard some talk about expansion to another French territory, possibly Guadeloupe. It has a population of about 400,000. Football (soccer) is the biggest sport on the island, but, I know it's being looked at for down the road.

Free Agency is two years away for me, after this season. Just one, for Herve. We've talked about where we'd like to play when our contracts are up. We love playing for the Diamonds. At the same time, we both might like to entertain Paris as a next stop. Unlike baseball in the states, we are free to play wherever we want once we've reached free agent status. But, that is down the road. We've got a three-peat to go for and we intend to get it done.

I'm saving this pic of the yoga pants they surprised me with the first day of class. Pretty crazy, eh?

[pauwoo]

Where can I get a pair? Ha!

[stevem810]

Le Diamant picked up where they left off....at home beating the Marseille Soleis. The game ended when power hitter Fabrice Charlet banged into a double play with two on and one out.

Julien Henri was used as a pinch hitter. He sent a liner to left that was dropped. Henri stole 2nd base. Cosman starts tomorrow and Henri the following day.

[stevem810]

Rennes College Spirit has an 11-4 record and some of the credit must go to the 'Kingfish', Yassine Prigent. With 4 starts under his belt, this 19 year old is turning heads with his electric stuff.

[stevem810]

After another quick start to the season (5-0) the Le Diamant Diamonds have down to earth as it's now the Quebec Snake Eyes who have the best overall record in the FBL.

Both Laurant Mercier and now Julien Henri, have each been lost for slightly over a month to injury. That's one SP and two OF's. The depth chart for the outfield is not that deep in the Le Diamant system. And, most teams can't afford to lose a #1/#2 Starting Pitcher, either.

[stevem810]

The Quebec Snake Eyes are making waves as they own the best FBL record. Speaking of waves, Cap Chevalier has won 9/10 to move into second place in the Martinique League. Just 1 game back of Le Diamant. With Henri and Laurant, and, now Vial on the sidelines, the depth chart is being tested on the southern part of the island.

The recent dominance, in part, can be explained by the graphic below indicating active leading WAR pitchers.

[stevem810]

George Guenette caught the attention of the complete FBL when he connected three times for the Blaze in a Single A contest. The 20 year old Igloolik LF is garning attention from his own organization, too. Up to now he's been rated outside the Top 30, but, that may change in the near future.

[stevem810]

Tough news for Green and the Diamonds.

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by stevem810

Tough news for Green and the Diamonds.

Oh, my. That is not good!

[stevem810]

Originally Posted by BirdWatcher

Oh, my. That is not good!

Le Diamant has gotten so strong I'm actually thinking of either taking on a new franchise or not having one at all. Leaning very much towards the latter. It might be interesting to send DeLage and Henri to another franchise, lock them there, then observe the action. Paris, city of lights?

[stevem810]

If the post-season were to start today the League Champions of the last two years would not qualify. The rest of the league was reconstructing their teams to take Le Diamant 'out' and, so far, they look they have done their homework.
Henri has done a fine job on the mound. Oddly, his power numbers have fallen off in the batting department.