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Old 07-10-2019, 01:11 PM   #61
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July 26, 1926

I missed posting the update from yesterday's sim but to be honest there is not much to do with my Brooklyn Stars right now. We went 4-3 last week and 3-4 this week so we ended up with a nice13-7 record on our road trip. A little disappointing to drop 3 straight after taking the first two from our main rival for first place the Philadelphia Sailors to end the week. This is a big 6 game stretch (3 in Philly followed by 3 at Kings County Park. There is still 1 game to play in this series and 9 more meetings with the Sailors after that but the 3 straight losses cut our lead atop the Continental Association to 1.5 games.

We also need to watch out for the hard charging New York Stars, who were 8 games back of us at the beginning of July but now are just 2.5 behind us. Neither us nor Philly have played bad, it's the Stars have been on an incredible 18-4 run since July began.

The trading deadline is coming up soon but the Kings are going to stand pat. I made all the moves I felt I could a couple of sims ago in adding veteran pitchers Mose Smith and Del Plummer. Smith, who was so good for Cleveland but never got run support, has struggled in Brooklyn going 2-4 with a 5.01 era. Plummer is 4-1 with a 4.60 era since coming over from Montreal. Except for the no-hitter, Topsy Moran has struggled since returning from his injury. He is 0-3 with a 7.67 era in July so I think I am going to give him a week in Houston to try and sort things out. Art Carlson has been outstanding for the Bulls since being sent down so he gets a week in Brooklyn while Moran hopefully regains his form.

For the first time I decided to override manager Powell Slocum's decisions as I want Leon Campbell, a lefthander, starting the final game against Philadelphia. Hopefully it's not overreacting and trying to over manage after losing the last 3 to the Sailors but we will have to see if it pays off. A bit of a gamble as Campbell is considered our #5 starter but he is 7-0 and always seems to get a ton of run support, plus the Sailors seem to hit better against righthanders and their 2-3-4 hole hitters all bat lefthanded including outfielder David Merchant, who has been on a tear of late.

After the game with the Sailors, we welcome Cleveland and Chicago to Brooklyn to close out July.

Code:

CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION LEAGUE STANDINGS
		 W  L   GB
BROOKLYN	62 39    -
Philadelphia	58 38   1.5
New York	56 38   2.5
Toronto		43 54  17.0
Baltimore	43 54  17.0
Chicago		34 45  14.5
Montreal	37 60  23.0
Cleveland	38 62  23.5
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Old 07-11-2019, 04:27 PM   #62
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August 2, 1926

It was another strong week for the Kings, who won 6 of 7 games including a key matchup with Philadelphia at the beginning of the week to salvage a split of their 6 game series. Brooklyn widened it's cushion atop the Continental Association to 3 games on the Sailors and 5.5 ahead of the third place New York Stars.

Centerfielder Lou Cox claimed a pair of individual honours this week as he was named both the Player of the week and the Batter of the Month for August. The 28 year old Cox leads both leagues with 35 stolen bases and is hitting .327 on the season. Cox's big effort may be inspired in part by the showing of 21 year old Ab Thomas. Thomas was called up from Houston where he hit .358 with 44 stolen bases in 80 games, when Doug Lightbody suffered his season ending injury. Since the promotion the rookie has hit .466 (27-58) and has been forcing manager Powell Slocum to find a spot for him in the line-up. A tough task for the skipper with reigning CA batting champ Bud Rogers (.345/7/70) and Clarence Hall (.315,2,27), who had lost his starting job to Lightbody, both playing well so it makes for a crowded outfield.

Our pitchers had a strong week, especially Leon Campbell. Last report I talked about bumping Campbell to the top of the rotation because I wanted the lefthander to start the final game of the series with Philadelphia. It paid off as Campbell allowed just 1 run on 6 hits in going the distance in a 13-1 win. The 24 year old got another win at the end of the week as we thumped Chicago 9-4 to run his record to 9-0 on the season. The run support Campbell has received is nothing short of incredible. The Kings have averaged 8.5 runs a game started by the young southpaw.

Topsy Moran, the rookie who tossed a no-hitter earlier in the season but has struggled off late, is back from his trip to AAA Houston. He had been in a terrible slump so a couple of strong starts for the Bulls, which he had, will hopefully get him back on track. Art Carlson was returned to Houston to make room. Another lefthander, Karl Mallek, who started the season in Brooklyn but got hurt is now back from his injury but he was sent to Houston because there is no room in Brooklyn with the pitching upgrades. Speaking of those upgrades both newcomers had a good week as Mose Smith won both his starts and Del Plummer was the winner in his only start of the week. And Cal Williams, who was exiled to the pen after some rough outings, got back in the rotation and pitched a gem - a complete game 5-1 win over Chicago to improve to 13-5 on the season.
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Old 07-12-2019, 01:28 PM   #63
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August 9, 1926

August 9, 1926

Let's call it an interesting week for the Kings. The offense was on fire as we scored 46 runs in 6 games this week but pitching and defense are another story. We won 4 of 6 but the two losses to Toronto ended up being football game scores of 18-12 and 14-11. Catcher Mickey Dowell, who is bidding to become the first batter not named Max Morris to win the triple crown since 1898, was named the Continental Association player of the week after going 15-for-26 with a homer and 4 rbi's. The 25 year old is now .359,11,87 and leads the league in batting average and rbi's and is one off the pace in the homerun race. Dowell wasn't the only King hitter to have a big week as outfielder Clarence Hall went 9-for-18, 2B Rip Agee hit .409 with 9 rbi's, trade pick-up Fred Welsch hit .385 and Bud Rogers hit .375 with 9 rbi's in 6 games. Pitching was another story as Leon Campbell, Harvey Rodgers and reliever Buck Blood all got beat up pretty badly.


After an 8-7 win Monday to complete a 4-game sweep of Chicago things really got wild as the Toronto Wolves invaded Kings County Ballpark. The series opener on Wednesday was a hit parade as the two teams combined for 30 runs and 38 hits to go with 7 errors. We built a 7-0 lead after two innings but starter Leon Campbell (9-0, 3.95), who showed no signs of trouble in the first couple of innings, ran into bigtime trouble and allowed 8 runs in the next three so we entered the bottom of the fifth trailing 8-7. Toronto scored in every inning except the first two as first Harvey Rodgers and later Bob Brown could not do the job out of the pen as we lost 18-12.

The plan was to get them tomorrow but that didn't work out well as reliever Buck Blood imploded this time, allowing 5 runs in the 9th inning of a 14-11 loss. Starter Mose Smith was not much better as he allowed 9 runs, 7 earned in his 7 and two thirds innings of work. Smith is now 4-4 with a 4.87 era since coming over from Cleveland.

The last three games of the series with Toronto were much more of what we expected, winning by 7-2, 3-2 and 5-2 scores. Cal Williams (14-5, 3.62) had his second straight strong outing in the first of the three, Topsy Moran(8-5, 4.34) looked back to his pre-injury self after a solid outing in the 3-2 win and Del Plummer (10-14, 4.56) got his second win of the week on Sunday to improve to 7-1 with the Kings since coming over from Montreal.

Next week is a short one for the Kings, beginning with a 2-game set against Philadelphia starting tomorrow. The Sailors wen 3-3 during the week so they are now 4.5 games behind us. We then get 3 days off to end the week before hosting Baltimore for two games on the weekend.

ROSTER MOVES

A week in Houston seemed to have helped Topsy Moran when he was struggling so I am trying the same thing with Buck Blood this week. Blood was outstanding as our closer early in the season but has given up 10 earned runs in his last five appearances so he goes to the Bulls for one week and Art Carlson comes back up. Carlson didn't have a good start in his one game replacing Moran - took the loss and gave up 7 runs in 5 and two-thirds vs Cleveland - but he went back to Houston with a great attitude and did not allow a run in his 2 starts last week for the Bulls. Manager Powell Slocum seems to have confidence in him and put him in the 3 spot in the rotation but with the short week I am not sure he will get the call to start a game.


ON THE FARM

Been a while since I took a good look at my prospects so here is some info on the progress of who the game calls my top ten prospects.

1- JIM RENFROE 23 year old OF - I have mentioned it before but I have a ton of good young outfielders and a large number are from Mississippi including Renfroe. Other former Rebels are Doug Lightbody, Bud Rogers and Clarence Hall. My scouts love Renfroe, who we took 2nd overall in 1924 but this year has been a trying one for the youngster. He has missed the last two and a half months with a hip injury but has just been cleared to return to action. Will return to AAA Houston where he was batting .246 with 4 homers and 19 rbi's in 43 games.

2- AB THOMAS 21 year old OF - My philosphy is to generally prefer college players but I am glad the previous regime selected the Graceland, Texas native 12th overall in the 1922 draft. He started the year at AAA Houston, where he was batting .358 with 44 stolen bases in 80 games before being promoted to Brooklyn when Lightbody got hurt. With the Kings he is slashing .420/.462/.519 through his first 26 games of major league baseball. I see him as a potential superstar at centerfield and a perfect compliment to Bud Rogers and Doug Lightbody in our outfield.

3- GEORGE JORDAN 21 year old OF - Another high school pick, Jordan was taken 17th overall in 1923. The Warwick, Rhode Island native has flown under the radar for me this season. My scouts like him but I am not so sure. He is struggling at Class A Omaha right now, batting just .230 with 3 homers in 64 games.

4- BILL DENGLER 21 year old P - I just love this kid. My second round pick out of Maryland, Dengler seems to be growing on scout Rube Carter as well, who was originally not that high on him. However, I started him at AA Knoxville and he was solid with an 8-4, 3.10 record which earned him a promotion to Houston at mid-season. He started slow at AAA where he is now 4-6, 4.28 but seems to be getting better with every start. I see him as a top of the rotation guy for me but likely needs at least one more year in the minors.

5- HARRY MIDDLETON 23 year old 2B - I think the creators of the top prospect list like Middleton more than I do but I can't argue with his numbers this season. Middleton is a 10th round pick out of North Carolina in 1923 after deciding on college over the New York Gothams, who took him in the fourth round two years earlier. He has spent all season at AA Knoxville and is batting .309 thru 100 games and playing well above average defense.

6- ARNOLD BOWER 22 year old SS - A second round pick in 1922 out of high school, Bower is projected as my shortstop of the future. Bower is currently injured after hurting his elbow in mid-July and likely won't be back until near the end of the month. After spending 1925 in A ball, I have used him at 3 levels this season. He struggled in a brief stint at AAA Houston but has looked very good in Knoxville (.322,1,20 in 38 games). His defense at shortstop has been very good at all three levels.

7- JOE BLANSIT 20 year old P - Drafted twice by two different teams out of high school, Blansit never caught on and ended up signing with independent Sacramento of the Great West League last year until the Kings picked him up at mid-season. I started him at our Class B affiliate Tampa this year and he is 7-11 with a 2.40 era and a great k/bb ratio for us. Had a brief stint in A ball with Omaha filling in for some injuries but Tampa is the right level currently as he is still just 20 years old. He has great size for the era (6'3") and is a groundball pitcher that projects as a future big league reliever. I have a few other pitchers ranked ahead of him on my list but I still like him.

8- Bill SMITH 22 year old C- I think I like my crop of catchers better than the game does. Smith is the highest rated on this list with Joe Cameron(12), Dave Armstrong (13) and Tom Aiello(20) and also cracking the Brooklyn top 20. Smith is my 5th round pick in the last draft out of Dartmouth. He started the season at AA Knoxville but after hitting .317 in 29 games was promoted to Houston where I have been using him as the number one catcher. He has struggled a bit at the plate, batting .218 but has shown a little power. He might be more suited for AA right now but there is a logjam of catchers behind him so I thought we would challenge Smith at AAA.

9- LYMAN WEIGEL 22 year old P - My 7th round pick out of Boston College. I really like him, certainly more than my scouting director Rube Carter does. Weigel absolutely dominated at Omaha, fanning 137 and walking just 34 in 142 innings while posting a 171 era+. I moved him up to Knoxville and it has been more of a challenge but after a slow start he has had some pretty good outings of late. He is not Dengler's calibre, but I think he can be an effective back of the rotation guy.

10- JIM GENTRY 20 year old OF - Taken in the second round of the 1924 draft out of high school, the Rhode Island native, has had a decent season so far at Class B Tampa. He is hitting .281 with 1 homer and 29 rbi's. My scout thinks he will eventually develop some power but there are a lot of outfielders ahead of him on my depth chart.

21- DAN BARRELL - A free agent signing out of a semi-pro league really as a favour to his father, a long-time scout for the Kings, Barrell has been nothing short of amazing in his first taste of organized ball since finishing high school 3 years ago. I started him in Omaha but after hitting .347 with a .533 slugging percentage in 21 games he was promoted to AA Knoxville. The hot streak continued with the Knights, where Barrell is batting .333 with 3 homers and 53 rbi's in 77 games. He also had a brief stint in AAA as an injury replacement but the 21 year old was clearly overmatched at this time. Orginally, thought of as nothing more than roster fodder, Rube Carter now feels he has a shot to be a back-up outfielder in the major leagues. The kid has an incredible attitude and comes from a great family background that includes 2 brothers playing college ball at Georgia Tech and another brother who is a professional boxer.


Here are the Kings the game presently has ranked in the top 100 prospects. Our system is listed mid-pack right now, as the 8th best on the list.

18- Jim Renfroe
29- Ab Thomas
40- George Jordan
50- Bill Dengler
53- Henry Middleton
63- Arnold Bower
81- Joe Blansit
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Old 07-15-2019, 08:28 PM   #64
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August 16, 1926


We are down to six weeks remaining in the season and the Brooklyn Kings, last place finishers in the Continental Association each of the past two years, are still holding on to top spot in the loop. I have three things to talk about from this week's sim but unfortunately two of them are bad.

First the good news. It was a short week and we won 3 of our 4 games including a 2-game sweep of the Philadelphia Sailors, who entered the week in second place but are now third. Which brings me to one of the bad things for us. The New York Stars look unbeatable of late. The Stars were 8 games back of us on July 1st but have won 10 straight and 26 of their last 30 now sit just 2 games back of us.
Code:

CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
TEAM		 W   L   PCT   GB
BROOKLYN	75  43  .636    -
New York	71  43  .623   2.0
Philadelphia	66  47  .584   6.5
Toronto		64  51  .557   9.5
Baltimore	53  61  .465  20.0
Chicago		48  68  .414  26.0
Montreal	44  72  .379  30.0
Cleveland	41  77  .347  34.0
We are on the road this week with 3 games in Toronto followed by a 4-game weekend series at Chicago. The Stars have 2 in Cleveland and then visit Philadelphia for 3 games that are very important to each club.


The other bad news is devastating as we lost pitcher Del Plummer for at least a year when he blew out his elbow. The 30 year old, who had never had more than a day to day injury prior to this, was 7-2 since we acquired him from Montreal last month. With Plummer gone, my rotation loses a lot and now the question is do we have enough quality arms to stay in the thick of the race.

It makes the deal for Mose Smith (11-11, 3.33), that cost me a good prospect and my first round pick, much more important as Smith will remain my number one starter. After that it is up to the overachieving Cal Williams (14-5, 3.64) and 3 youngsters including rookies Topsy Moran (9-5, 4.25) and Harvery Rodgers (8-5, 3.97) to see if they can keep doing the job. 24 year old Leon Campbell (10-0, 3.91) continues to get amazing run support and with our offense hopefully that trend continues.

With the injury I kept Art Carlson in Brooklyn rather than send him back to AAA Houston. I also recalled lefthander Karl Mallek, who had been in Houston since return to action from an injury that cost him nearly two months on the DL. Both will go to the pen. I decide to leave my struggling closer Buck Blood in Houston for another week in part to see what Mallek can do as he was pitching well in AAA. Blood is also staying because his big league struggles of late continued with the Bulls last week. Blood pitched in 5 games in Houston, won 3 games but got beat up pretty good in a couple of them and lacked any sort of consistency at all.

I also came very close to calling up second round draft pick Bill Dengler. My top pitching prospect is still just 21 years old. He was outstanding at AA Knoxville to start the season and earned the call-up to AAA in June. He had a slow start with the Bulls but has been very good the last few starts. I would prefer to give him the full year in the minors and look at a big league shot next year but if things get desperate with my rotation he may get the call this year.

With all of the injuries we have suffered I am surprised we are still in contention. Doug Lightbody was the biggest hit as we lost a possible league MVP for the season but we have also been without our starting second baseman and shortstop for over a month each as well as a number of other pitchers for long stretches including 33 year old Jackie Marshall, who has been out since early June with hamstring problems. Marshall, a 15 game winner a year ago, may be back in the next few weeks but the question is how will he perform if thrown right into a tight pennant race. I think you would be hard pressed to find a FABL team that has lost more man-games to key contributor's than the Kings.
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Old 07-16-2019, 03:34 PM   #65
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AUGUST 22, 1926


I had been half waiting all season for when our improbable run at the top of the Continental Association might end. I just felt all along our pitching staff wasn't good enough but, thanks to the top offense in the CA (which I figured we might have) and some clutch pitching early from the likes of Cal Williams and rookie Topsy Moran, we stayed with the Philadelphia Sailors and rode the bat of rookie Doug Lightbody to the top of the Association. We survived injuries to Moran and fellow pitchers Karl Mallek and Jackie Marshall as well as extended time without our middle infield pair of Victor Rodding and Lloyd Carter. We even survived a devastating season-ending injury to Lightbody and each time someone went down there was another player to fill the void. We upgraded our pitching with the addition of veterans Mose Smith and Del Plummer just before the deadline and they both gave us a lift. Plummer was 7-2 when we lost him for 13 months in yesterday's sim. Add in the hard charging New York Stars and we find ourselves out of first place for the first time since early June as the Stars, winners of 14 of their last 15, have a half game lead on us.



So the big question is what happens going forward. It will be real test for my club to power through the 30 remaining games and see if we can finish off this season on a high note. I am not worried about the offense without Lightbody. I have said all along we can survive without him. But Plummer is another story. Moran (9-6, 4.64) and Harvey Rodgers (9-5, 3.84) are rookies and started well but have both been inconsistent of late. Leon Campbell (11-0, 3.67) might as well be called a rookie as well since the 24 year old only had 75 big league innings under his belt before this season. Can his amazing run of wins, mainly due to getting incredible run support continue? If one of them or Cal Williams (14-5, 3.91), who at 29 is pitching better than he has during his entire career, falter our options are limited but we do have a couple:

33 year old Jackie Marshall, who has been out since June 10th with hamstring problems is ready to come back. He went 15-16 a year ago for us but was inconsistent before his injury at 4-4, 4.48. He will make at least one start in AAA Houston this week and if all goes well will be back in Brooklyn in time for our big series with New York starting a week and a half from now. The problem is I started the season thinking he was my number one starter but he was pitching his way out of the rotation at the time of his injury. First year pro Bill Dengler is another option. The 22 year old second round pick out of Maryland is pitching very well of late at Houston so if I feel we have a shot at a pennant but need to try something different he might get the call.

Art Carlson was sent back to Houston as reliever Buck Blood had a much better week down there and seems to be back to his normal self after a bad month of August in Brooklyn. Our pen has been inconsistent all year and now, without the veteran leadership Plummer adds to our rotation, we need them to be solid. Hopefully Blood has rediscovered his early season form.

I can't help but look ahead a couple of weeks to our big stretch of 7 games against the Stars from September 3-9 but there are very important games to play this week starting with a 3 game series in Philadelphia. We have battled tooth and nail all season with the Sailors for Continental Association supremacy and I am sure they feel the same as we do about New York crashing our party. We need some wins this week to make sure that big series with New York means something.
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Old 07-17-2019, 10:02 PM   #66
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We are hanging in there. And no injuries this week


August 29, 1926

The Kings offense more than made up this week for any concerns I might have had about our pitching. Brooklyn moved back into first place, a game ahead of New York, after going 6-1 during the week - outscoring our opponents 54-20 in the process including a series against Cleveland that saw us score 12 runs in each of the three games with the Foresters.

Leon Campbell pitched two very strong games and ran his record to 12-0 on the season while Cal Williams rebounded from a bad outing a week ago with a complete game 5-hitter in a 3-1 win over Philadelphia that improved his season mark to 15-5.

But it was the offense, led by the bats of middle infielders Lloyd Carter and Rip Agee, that got most of the glory last week. Carter had 14 hits, 7 rbi's and batted .452 last week while his doubleplay partner hit .323 with 7 rbi's.

It is another short week for us as we look to complete a 2-game sweep of Montreal with a contest on Monday. Then we are off until Friday when the New York Stats come to town for two games before finishing at home Sunday against Baltimore. The Baltimore visit is just a 1 game series and then we head into Manhattan for 5 more crucial games against the Stars in 4 days beginning a week from tomorrow.
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Old 07-18-2019, 08:14 AM   #67
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Brooklyn is 7-8 versus New York this season (over .500 versus the other clubs). There are 7 games between Brooklyn and New York over the next two weeks. Those games may very well decide the Continental Association pennant. Fun times.
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Old 07-18-2019, 09:02 AM   #68
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Yes absolutely. Eagerly checking email this morning waiting for results of first 2 games. I need at least 3 wins out of the 7 but ideally I win the series.
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Old 07-18-2019, 01:52 PM   #69
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SEPTEMBER 6, 1926 IN THE THICK OF A PENNANT RACE


So far so good. We start the month of September with a stretch of 7 out of 8 games against the New York Stars with the Continental Association pennant on the line.

The first two games were played in the friendly confines of Kings County Stadium and 2 of out biggest crowds of the season witnessed some great pitching and a dominating series from our catcher Mickey Dowell. More on the games in a moment but the key point is we won them both. Unfortunately, we lost our other two games of the week and now travel to Manhattan for 5 games in 4 days against the Stars with the slimmest of leads.





As for the 2 games in Brooklyn, we took the first one by a 3-2 score as Mose Smith (13-12, 3.38), our July pick-up from Cleveland, went the distance while allowing 6 hits to pick up his 6th win as a King. Mickey Dowell (.355,13,102), our brilliant catcher who is contending for the triple crown, was the hero offensively after hitting a 2-run homer in the sixth inning.

Dowell was the offensive star the next day as well, as his bases loaded 2-run single in the bottom of the 8th proved the difference in a 5-3 win. Rookie Topsy Moran (11-7, 4.62) went the distance for the victory. Unfortunately we suffered a let down the next day, allowing Baltimore to thump us 13-5 in quick 1 game series that we obviously took lightly with all the focus on New York.





The minor league seasons end tomorrow and we have reached the roster expansion date so I brought a number of players from my 40-man roster up to Brooklyn. The pitchers called up include veteran Jackie Marshall, who was in Houston recovering from an injury that cost him two months of the season. Marshall was very inconsistent with us in the early going and continued that trend in his 4 starts for the Bulls. I also called up another veteran in Dick Dover, who was demoted in June after being very, very inconsistent. He was the same in Houston with a couple of strong outings but also some very bad games. Lefthander Art Carlson is also back up. He has been up and down all season filling in when I had injuries.

I don't want to over-manage this team as I have been hands off pretty much all season, letting my skipper Powell Slocum use the players I give him how he sees fit. However, for this sim I am adjusting things slightly. He wants Marshall back in the rotation and to send Harvey Rodgers to the pen. Sorry, Marshall has been too inconsistent to risk a start for him against New York and Rodgers has looked very good in his last 4 appearances including a pair of complete game victories.

Slocum also seems to trust Buck Blood in the closer role. He is cold again, was demoted last month to Houston for a spell after struggling and now that he is back he followed up a good inning in a loss to Philadelphia with 3 straight outings where he has given up at least one run including a brutal 1/3 of an inning yesterday were he allowed Baltimore to score 5 runs in a blowout loss for us. I over-ride Slocum and make Bob Brown the closer. Brown had a fantastic start to the season, didn't give up an earned run until the end of May, but has been off and on of late. Because of the complete games we have been getting, Brown has pitched in a game in 2 weeks so let's hope he is ready if he gets the call in New York. I am not overly excited having to trust Brown, but he is the safest bet I think. Just hope the starters give us a bunch of complete games.

At my urging (forcing Brown to closer role), Slocum decides Blood, Marshall and lefty Karl Mallek will be his setup men.

I also call a few position players up to give Slocum some roster flexibility if we get into a game where we need a lot of pinch-hitters. 30 year old Dave Pearcey, who actually appeared at 3 minor league levels for me this season, comes up to provide depth at catcher. Pearcey has played 148 career FABL games and is a .270 hitter but I expect he will be glued to the bench.

In addition, infielders Rip Robertson and Jack Van Landingham were recalled along with veteran outfielders Willard James and Fred Huffman. Van Landingham spent some time in Brooklyn when I had middle infielder injuries, hitting .280 in 22 games. Robertson is a 33 year old who has played nearly 900 FABL games but only 7 a year ago and none so far this season. He hit .299 at Houston and will just add some depth for the last three weeks.

Van Landingham and Robertson were on the 40-man roster but the other two were not and have been added. James is 33 years old and had a few seasons of big league ball with us and Washington from 1916-21 but was never an everyday player. He bounced around all 3 levels of the minors this season as I used him as an injury replacement, but hit .315 at Houston so I have added him to the 40-man roster just in case I run into a rash of injuries. He doesn't know it yet, but I plan to cut him as soon as the season ends to clear space on the 40 man. Huffman is another depth piece and provides a veteran presence in the locker room. He is a lifetime .308 FABL hitter with over 2000 career hits and 1757 games under his belt, playing for Boston and the Philadelphia Sailors. The Sailors released him July after he was hitting .302 at San Francisco. I picked him this week as a minor league free agent to just to give me another lefthanded bat and spare outfielder on the roster. He, too, will likely be released after the season.

So, at this time tomorrow once the next week is simmed, I may have a much better idea how our season will end up. We need to win at least two in order to leave New York still tied for first place.
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Old 07-20-2019, 08:26 AM   #70
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Deep into a pennant race

September 13, 1926

It's funny but now that the minor league season is done I almost feel like I have nothing to do in setting up my organization. For 4 months of sim time I have been really micromanaging my system, making sure I had a full active roster at each level, ensuring my top prospects were in the starting lineup and playing at the level I want them too while adjusting all of my organization filler pieces to round out each roster. I also meticulously checked the weekly stats of the 40 or so guys I considered to be prospects.

Now that is over and all I have to do is look at my major league roster. I had no injuries this week (a welcome change) and the team played fairly well so I have no changes to make. So I guess that means it's time to do some more scouting of the feeder leagues in prep for the draft. I had already did a very detailed 'scouting' of the college league and identified my top 100 college seniors. Now I begin work on the high school ranks. Remember this is a stats only league so making a draft list is much different than I imagine it would be in a league with visible ratings. I really took advantage of the player short-list feature in the game and made an excel spreadsheet as well. Maybe I have too much time on my hands these days but I have identified my top prospects from the college ranks for the next 2 years as well. I take into account what my scout says about the player but also look very closely at his stats.

PENNANT RACE
As I said no real roster moves or lineup changes for us this week to do. The club played well, not great but we did what we set out to do which was take 3 of 5 in New York from the Stars. That gave us 5 wins in the 7 games head-to-head with them in the past week and a half. We followed that up with an 8-2 win in Montreal on Saturday as Leon Campbell, who beat New York Monday with a 3-hit shutout, went the distance allowing 6-hits to run his season record to an amazing 14-0 and lower his era to 3.02. Unfortunately, we ended the week on a down note, dropping the opener of a 4 game series against Cleveland by an 8-5 score. New York won it's last 4 straight including a pair against us to end that series after we took the first five, and now our lead on the Stars is just 1 game.




So looking at the games remaining our Kings should be in a decent spot. All of our remaining games are at home and we play 3 against last place Cleveland, 4 vs Philadelphia, 2 vs Toronto and finish with 2 vs Chicago. Our record is pretty consistent either way though, we are 41-24 at home and 48-29 on the road.

What scares me is the Stars have 4 games in hand on us and they play a final series against Baltimore after we have completed our schedule. Our pennant chances may well come down to waiting on the results of those 3 games. (Note we are using the real 1926 MLB schedule). The Stars have 12 at home before finishing with 4 road games.

3 more sims which will be run Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.


LEON CAMPBELL
Figure I need to talk a bit about Leon Campbell as what the 24 year old has done for us this year has been an amazing surprise. He had a decent, but not outstanding, college career at Purdue, going 15-14 with a 3.44 era. Those numbers were good enough to get him selected by the New York Gothams in the 6th round of the 1923 draft. A year later he was a throw-in in the deal that brought veteran pitcher Danny Goff back to Brooklyn in exchange for another veteran, slugging catcher Paul Tattersall. The 40 year old Goff is now in St Louis and pitching okay for the Pioneers after we dealt him away in May while Tattersall, now 34, has moved on from the Gothams to Montreal and is still hitting homers - he has 15 so far this year - but is batting just .209.

Meanwhile, Campbell went 11-6 at AA Knoxville last year and earned a call-up to Brooklyn for a spell, going 5-2 with a 3.84 era. He was still on my radar when I took over the club but with the influx of new arms in Rodgers, Moran and Williams plus I felt I had to give my veterans Goff, Dover and Marshall a shot to start the season so he found himself the odd man out and began the year in AAA Houston. The now 24 year old lefthander was dominant in a short stay with the Bulls, going 2-0 with a 1.71 era in 3 starts and earned the promotion to Brooklyn. Since joining the Kings he has won all 14 of his decisions and improved as the season progressed. He was getting the benefit of outstanding run support (we average 8.5 runs a game for him at one point when he was around 10-0) but lately he has been winning some tight games including a 2-1 and a 3-1 victory. He hasn't allowed more than 2 runs against in any of his last 5 starts and I am to the point now where if I have to have a 1 game playoff for the pennant I might consider giving him the call over Mose Smith.

What makes stats only such a challenge is despite Campbell's terrific performance my Scouting Director Rube Carter still thinks he is an emergency starter at best and preferred several other options to Campbell when I called him up from Houston. Of course, Carter has proven time and again while he may know hitting (see Doug Lightbody) he knows next to nothing about pitching. But that is something I have learned about Carter and take it into account when assessing pitchers.

Win or lose down the stretch here I can say this league has given me as much enjoyment as any of the many historical solo replays I have done. I am not sure if it is because it is an online league or because it is a stats-only online league but I am really enjoying it and urge you to give stats only a try.
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Old 07-22-2019, 04:32 PM   #71
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Sep 20, 1926

September 20, 1926 - 1 week left


Well it is beginning to look like our attempt to go from worst to first in the Continental Association will fall just short. The New York Stars pitching is just too good, and the two-time defending CA champs have been red-hot for two months and now lead us by a game and a half with just over a week remaining in the season.

How hot? On July 4th we were 49-31 and tied with the Philadelphia Sailors for first. The Stars were 5.5 games back at 42-35. Since then we have not been bad at all, playing at a .623 clip, going 43-26. New York has gone 49-18 for a .731 winning percentage.

So here are the standings today:



We are a game and a half back with 5 left to play for us. Two against Toronto and 3 against Chicago - all at home. The Stars have 10 games remaining including 3 home games against both Philadelphia and Cleveland, 1 game at Montreal and then they finish things with 3 in Baltimore. Even if we run the table and win all five of our remaining games, we need the Stars to go 6-4 just to force a playoff. A chance, yes, but realistic thinking is that we will finish second.

We picked a bad week to struggle as we dropped 4 of 7 games while New York went 5-1. We also lost yet another player to injury as rookie Harvey Rodgers lasted just 3 pitches in a 9-1 loss to the Sailors before leaving with a shoulder injury. It is not serious, but it does end his season with an 11-7 record. Leon Campbell's incredible 14-0 start came to an end when the pitcher went the distance but lost 3-0 to Philadelphia on Thursday. And there will be no triple crown for catcher Mickey Dowell. He has the rbi race pretty much sewn up with 115, and a lead of 16 on Red Brown of Philadelphia, but Dowell is now second to Baltimore's Sandy Lovelle with a .349 batting average and his 14 homers are 4 back of Montreal's Hal Eason, who exploded with 4 dingers this past week.

One sim left for us. We need to win all 5 and hope we get a lot of help.
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Old 07-25-2019, 02:31 PM   #72
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A disappointing end

1926 COMES TO A CLOSE

Well, as expected our season came to an end in today's sim. Our Brooklyn Kings were officially eliminated 2 days before the season ended and we finish 2 games back of the New York Stars. For the Stars, with the best pitching in the Continental, it is their third straight pennant and they will face the Federal Association champion New York Gothams in the first Subway Series in FABL history.

As for our Kings, it was a great season but ultimately one that ended in disappointment. After finishing last year with a 70-84 record and dead last in the CA for the second straight season, I admit expectations were very low entering this season. However, we had a good start led by an outstanding rookie outfielder in Doug Lightbody, who seemed destined to win the Whitney Award as league MVP, and some very good pitching by veteran newcomer Cal Williams along with rookies Topsy Moran and Harvey Rodgers. Our bullpen was outstanding early as well as Buck Blood and Bob Brown were outstanding the first half of the season. And our team offense was the best in the league, just like a year ago.

That start led to very high expectations, and even after the devastating season ending injury to Lightbody we continued to win. Our team never let up and was very consistent throughout the season but the problem was the Stars with all their playoff experience and great pitching, after a slow start to the season were practically unbeatable the final 3 months.

So after two consecutive last place finishes, to win a franchise record 94 games (the old mark of 93 was set way back in the Border Association days of 1889) is a big accomplishment for the Kings. However, it still can't help but feel like a disappointing season to have come so close to making the FABL series only to fall agonizingly short. Our fans, known as The King's Court, can't help but wonder what might have been had Lightbody, Del Plummer and others stayed healthy. If so, it could have been us preparing for a Subway Series of our own with the New York Gothams. But, for now it's good luck to the Stars representing the Continental Association and wait until next year for the Kings.
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Old 07-25-2019, 03:02 PM   #73
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My Thoughts on a First Season of Online Play

Even with the terrible run of injuries and to fall so agonizingly short of a pennant I must say this is the most fun I have ever had playing OOTP. Now, I love all of my solo historical replays and am really enjoying the fictional solo league I am presently running but this league concept, the fact that it is stats-only and a pseudo-historical league is just a perfect fit for me. The Stats-only aspect makes it so much less predictable than the average league, and a great group of owners plus a commissioner with an outstanding vision and story-creating skills to fill out this world, makes we wish I found a league like this years ago.

The fact that my Kings were competitive is a nice treat but even if we were the worst team in the league I think I would still have felt the same. I am having a great time not just running my team, but also doing all of the other things that I enjoy with my solo leagues. Things like pouring over the history of our league but now also delving pretty deeply into the current season of the college and high school feeder leagues to start a draft list not just for next year but also the two years beyond that (as I look at the 15-16 year old high schoolers and the 18 year old college freshmen).

The other great thing for me, someone who creates all kinds of different storyline concepts for my solo leagues is I now get to play in someone else's sandbox. The world created by our commissioner is similar in many ways to OOTP universe's I have created but has some differences, and I love not knowing where things are heading when it is someone else's vision. The backstories like the league history recaps and the sidestory's like the evolution of the Barrell brothers family not only adds to the great immersion level, but it also allows me to get involved by signing one of the Barrell kids to a minor league contract. Without the backstory he is just another non-descript filler player for my minor league system but with the backstory he is a player I care about and will follow, maybe even one day when I am out of the pennant race I will give him a September call-up to get some major leagaue time under his belt as a tribute to what his father did for the Stars organization. Likewise, reading the back story in the yearly recaps on Danny Goff and his contribution to Brooklyn baseball made we want to find a major league home for him instead of releasing or sending him to the minors at age 40. If it was my own story it would be too forced, but when I can play off the backstory that our commish has created it just makes these names and numbers feel more like real ballplayers.


And this league also allows me to do a few things I can't in a solo league. Such as negotiating trades with human GM's - I have made a few deals and the back and forth was great, more so I think because of the Fog of War we have in going stats-only. I think stats-only and online leagues belong together. I could not see me having anywhere the same amount of interest in my league if I knew everyone's actual and potential ratings (even if there was the uncertainty of turning the scouting system on). Instead of clearly knowing a 7 contact potential is better than a 5 contact potential when trading minor leaguers there are so many more things to look at. We start of course with his stats but even then you need to drill down so much deeper. How old is he in relation to the minor league level he is playing at? A 19 year old in A ball hitting .300 is probably a lot better prospect for me than a 24 year old hitting .350 on the same team. What position is he playing and what are his fielding numbers like? Also, what about the ballpark he is playing in. Does it favour righthanded hitters and, if so, how much do I think his numbers were aided by it or hurt if it was a pitchers park. What is his injury history like? What about his personality? What does Rube Carter, my scouting director think of him? I look at little clues like if he was drafted before human GM's took over, what round did the AI take him in. So much more than just is he a 3-star or 4-star potential prospect.

I would not think stats-only would be as important for a historical online league as the name alone gives a good indication of the player's potential but, to me, it seems to be the only way to play in a fictional player online league. Anyway, in case you can't tell - I love this league and if you enjoy this dynasty report or one of the other about the FABL started by the commissioner or other GM's I suggest you put your name on the waiting list.

Now bring on the draft!
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Old 07-30-2019, 12:46 PM   #74
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October 1926

The 1926 season came to an end today with the New York Stars continuing the red hot play that allowed them to overtake my Brooklyn Kings and win the Continental Association. The Stars topped the Federal Association champion New York Gothams in 5 games to win their record third consecutive World Championship Series. As for my Kings, we dominated the CA in all offensive categories, were middle of league in the key defensive measurements but, as we knew, our pitching failed to measure up as we finished 6th in the 8th team league in both starts era and bullpen era.

Which means while I am happy with our season there are some changes needed. First thing I want to do is clear out some of the pitchers who, while likely still have value, need a change of scenery for one reason or another. I announced to the league the following were on the trade block at a very reasonable price:

Quote:
Looking ahead to next season the Kings have a number of players we would consider moving. Let's start with pitchers. None of these have a hefty price tag but are veterans who might fill out your staff. Looking for mid-to-late round draft picks in exchange. I am listing 4 but will only move 2 tops as I will keep the others for roster depth.

29 year old Bob Curtis. limited FABL experience but had a decent year in AAA Houston, going 8-14 on a well below .500 club.

33 year old Jackie Marshall
. Was 4-4 with a 4.52 era in Brooklyn but missed a couple of months with an injury (hamstring not arm related)

29 year old Dick Dover. Was 8-4 for Kings and 5-6 with 7 saves as a closer in Houston. Started the season on the top 20 pitcher list but struggled for me this year at times. Was also very good at times and I think a change of scenery might help him. He, like Marshall, is expendable because of our trade deadline deals.

30 year old reliever Buck Blood. Had a great start to season - era was still a respectable 3.71 at the end of June but struggled down the stretch. Personality says he is a hard worker but he and my manager Powell Slocum don't get along so I think a change of scenery might help him as well.

I also realize my best bargaining chip to get something in return at a position of need is to move 1 or 2 of my large stable of talented young outfielders. Here is the trade note posted about them:

Quote:
At a little higher price tag will be an outfielder. I have just too much depth here so I am looking to move one if I can find the right deal. I would want youth, preferably middle infield, a power hitting corner infielder, pitching or draft picks in return. I would consider moving 1 of the following:

CF Lou Cox. 29 year old led the FABL in stolen bases while slashing .328/.397/.459 but is being chased for his job by Ab Thomas.

CF-LF Ab Thomas - Just 21 years old hit .358 at Houston with 44sb in 80 games before call-up to Brooklyn when Lightbody went down. All he did for Kings was force Slocum to play him, slashing .358/.388/.468. It would take a special player(s) to get me to part with him but will consider it for the right deal.

RF-LF Clarence Hall - 27 year old lost starting job to Lightbody but took over after the injury. In 318 plate appearances hit .345/.424/.461 but my outfield is crowded so would consider moving.

OF- Jim Renfroe. 24 year old is my top prospect. Can play all 3 OF spots and split season between AA and AAA, hitting .308 at Knoxville and .270 with 31sb and 5HR in 57 games for the Bulls. Just no room for him in foreseeable future in Brooklyn.
I have had a couple of casual discussions on the trade front but nothing concrete yet. I will ramp up the talks as we get closer to the draft. Beyond that I did not have much to do during the sims the World Championship Series was being played (but I hope to change that next year). I made some minor roster tinkering, releasing a couple of older minor leaguers and starting to evaluate my organizational depth chart for next season. I also completed an in-depth scouting mission to look at the college feeder league. Next on the agenda is for Rube Carter (my scouting director) and myself to delve heavily into the crop of high schoolers.

We don't have a first round pick thanks to the deal with Cleveland to acquire Mose Smith but I believe we will have the first pick of the second round thanks to the same deal with the Foresters.
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Old 08-01-2019, 01:56 PM   #75
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November, 19126

November, 1926

KINGS AND COUGARS MAKE DEAL

The Brooklyn Kings got an early start on the winter meetings by agreeing to a deal with the Federal Association's Chicago Cougars. The trade welcomes second baseman Rocky Edwards to the Kings in exchange for highly touted prospect George Jordan. Brooklyn also picks up Chicago's 7th round draft pick in the deal.

Edwards, a 26 year old from California who played his college ball at USC, just completed his third full season in the FABL. He hit .308 with a homerun and 55 rbi's for the Cougars. He also stole 35 bases and is a solid defender. Edwards was selected in the first round of the 1921 draft.

He will compete with Rip Agee for the starting second base job. Agee, who is 25, hit .287 with 2 homers and 84 rbi's in his first full season with the Kings. Agee, who can also play shortstop, provides outstanding defense at both positions. Manager Powell Slocum says there will be plenty of playing time for both Agee and Edwards and it gives him some options to spell shortstop Lloyd Carter when needed as well.

The Kings were hit hard with middle infield injuries a year ago and this move gives them some added depth to address the issue. It also likely spells the end of the line for 9 year veteran Hugh Lucky. The 33 year old is one of the leaders in the clubhouse but he played in just 40 games, and had only 67 plate appearances, this season. Lucky will likely end up at AAA Houston, after having not played a minor league game since 1919.

Jordan was consiered the Kings number 2 ranked prospect. The 21 year outfielder, who was taken 17th overall in 1923, hit .234 with Class A Omaha this year but missed 2 months with an injury. Brooklyn hated to part with him but the Kings have so much outfield depth it was doubtful he would ever get a major league shot with the team.
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Old 08-05-2019, 04:46 PM   #76
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Other off-season moves

OTHER MOVES
The Kings also made a couple of minor moves in claiming a pair of pitchers of waivers. Joining the Brooklyn organization are 33 year old reliever Al Colby and 21 year old Ducky Henry. Both will be invited to the major league camp for spring training.

Colby is a righthanded reliever who had 15 saves for the St Louis Pioneers in 1924 but spent much of the last two seasons injured or with AAA Oakland. A Memphis native who played his college ball at Penn State, Colby was a first round pick of Detroit in 1914 but was dealt to the Pioneers before ever playing in the Dynamos organization. He has had a couple of serious injuries in his career including elbow surgery that cost him the end of the 1925 season and delayed his start to the 1926 campaign until July. After 11 games in Oakland, he was recalled to St Louis at the end of July, but struggled going 2-5 with 6 saves and a 5.98 era.

Brooklyn scouting director Rube Carter feels Colby may still have something left in his arm. "When he is on, he is top notch," explained Carter. "He has great stuff. We just have to see if he can still throw it consistently."

The Kings bullpen caused a lot of problems for the club in the latter half of the season so it seems like a very low risk gamble to take a chance on Colby.

Brooklyn's other waiver pick-up was 21 year old minor league righthander Ducky Henry, who was claimed from the New York Stars. Henry was originally a 9th round pick by the Chicago Cougars in December of 1923 but was released that spring and signed by the Stars. He has not pitched above AA and struggled at that level, going 3-4 with 10 saves and an 8.10 era for Syracuse this past season. After retirements and the release of players no longer needed by the organization Brooklyn had some space on it's 40-man roster so the Kings decided to claim Henry and see what he can do with a repeat of the AA level next season.

DEPARTURES
Minor league pitchers Edgar Zanueta and Walt Bush along with outfielder Jay Fry have all decided to retire. In addition the Kings released third baseman Hal Lucas and dropped catcher Tom Jenkins and SS Jack Van Landingham from the 40-man roster. Both Jenkins and Van Landingham passed through waivers and will remain with the organization, likely at AAA Houston. Jenkins is a 26 year old catcher who's stock has dropped considerably since he was taken in the 3rd round out of Georgetown in 1921. He hit just .200 in 49 games for Houston this past season. Van Landingham split the season between Houston and Brooklyn, hitting .276 in 23 games for the Kings when he was called up to fill in for middle infield injuries. He is 30 years old and does not fit in the club's long-term plans, especially with the recent acquisition of Rocky Edwards.


THE DRAFT BEGINS
The Brooklyn Kings are thrilled to announce the selection of lefthanded pitcher Del Lyons with their first pick in the amateur draft. The 21 year old from Georgetown University was selected in the second round, 17th overall with a pick we acquired from Cleveland in the trade that brought Mose Smith to Brooklyn. That same deal left Brooklyn without a first round pick.

As for Lyons, Kings Scouting Director Rube Carter loves his incredible k/bb ratio as he fanned 233 batters while walking just 52 in his college career. Lyons, who is originally from Los Angeles, won 18 games in his college career including going 9-4 for the Hoyas this past season. Once signed, Lyons is expected to start the season at Class A Omaha and follow a trajectory similar to last year's second round pick Bill Dengler, who finished the year in AAA Houston.

Here are the new Kings:
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Old 08-07-2019, 03:19 PM   #77
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The draft is over

DRAFT RECAP


Don't know if I should be delighted with Rube Carter over very scared. We got 9 of the 32 top players on my scouting director's first round list including Shortstop Walt Layton, a guy Carter ranked 9th, in the 16th round. My list was slightly different due to Carter's inability to scout pitchers but this is either going to work out really well...or very badly for my Kings.

Here are the guys I got that Carter had in his top 32
Rd 2- Del Lyons 11th
Rd 3- Buck Sargent 10th
Rd 4- Frank Parsons 18th
Rd 5- John Scovell 13th
Rd 6- Jim Pool 6th
Rd 7- Clarence Edison 14th
Rd 8- Jerry Townsend 32nd
Rd 11- Glen Townsend 17th
Rd 16- Walt Layton 9th

So my favourite time of the season is over. I just love preparing for the draft and seeing so much unpredictability as we have discovered playing stats-only. I am looking forward to 4 or 5 seasons from now and being able to look back after the players have had time to develop and see how we really did



BROOKLYN KINGS 1926 DRAFT CLASS

Going into the draft I had three main priorities. Number 1 was to add more young arms in to our system. Number two was get some power as, while we score a lot of runs, we lack anything in the way of a prototypical clean-up hitter and number three was to add some infield depth - particularly focusing on SS and 3B.

My strategy on pitching has been to prefer guys who are groundball pitchers, and focus heavily on those with a very good k/bb ratio. My scout is really not a lot of help as he rarely likes any pitching prospects so I look at the stats paying more attention to ERA+, homers allowed, and k/bb. I also have made it an organizational philosophy to take college guys over high school guys and, whenever possible, to try and draft guys with a local connection to Brooklyn - either by birth or where they played their college/HS ball.

Here is a look at our picks this year. We did not have a first round pick due to a trade with Cleveland but that deal did involve a swap of second rounders so we picked 17th overall but not again until 45th. We also had two 7th round picks thanks to a recent deal with the Chicago Cougars.

Round 2 pick 17 overall - DEL LYONS PITCHER - I have already talked about the former Georgetown star we selected with our first choice in the draft. He is a groundball pitcher, which I have preferred, giving up just 3 homers in 243 college innings while fanning 233 vs 52 walks. Our scouting director Rube Carter, who seems to hate all pitchers, calls Lyons a potential back of the rotation starter which means he could possibly be a #1 or 2 guy down the road I hope.

Round 3 pick 45 overall- BUCK SARGENT THIRD BASE - High school third baseman was limited to 21 games this season due to a sprained ankle. Rube Carter loves his combination of power and speed and raves about his defense at the hot corner. Hit 17 homers and stole 24 bases in 101 career high school games while batting .329. I drafted a high school third baseman early last year and he (Dave Bristol) hasn't shown much yet but it's early. Let's see if Sargent has more success in his debut pro season.

Round 4 pick 61 overall - FRANK PARSONS PITCHER - From right in our backyard as the 18 year old lefthander pitched three seasons at Queens High School, going 13-9 with a 2.45 era. Strikes out a ton of hitters, well over 1 per inning in his high school career, but also allowed 10 homers in 195 innings of work. An extreme groundball pitcher with a solid work ethic, Carter also projects him as a back of the rotation starter.

I talked last year in the preseason about a real shortage of lefthanders on my team. The two pitchers, Lyons and Parsons, add to an increasing number of quality lefthanders in more organization that include Leon Campbell, who went 14-2 for us this season in Brooklyn, Art Carlson and prospect Tom Goldsborough.

Round 5 pick 77 overall - JOHN SCOVELL SHORTSTOP- Carter had this 21 year old Penn State prospect as his number 13 prospect so hopefully a steal in round five. Good defense, which I was looking at for all of my infielder, and plus power potential to go with a tremendous work ethic, according to Carter. Hit .269 as a senior for the Nittany Lions with a good defensive zone rating. Missed much of his junior season with a broken elbow, but played 131 games over 3 seasons. A Southfield, Michigan native who was a player I identified in May as one to pick. I did some early scouting of the college ranks and Scovell was absolutely loved by Carter at that point. He didn't get as glowing a report in the fall but still was good enough to be #13 on Carter's list.

Round 6 pick 93 overall - JIM POOL CATCHER - Number 6 overall on Carter's board and the scout calls him a plus-plus power hitter with a great batting eye who could be an above average catcher someday. I was tempted to pick him as early as the fourth round but I have a lot of catching depth and went in other directions, but could not pass him up when he was still available here. The only concern I have about the former Colorado Buffalo is he had a very low caught stealing percentage in college. Perhaps he eventually becomes a first baseman for us. 21 year old hit .301 with 19 homers in three seasons at Colorado.

Round 7 pick 99 overall - CLARENCE EIDSON SHORTSTOP - We used the pick acquired from the Cougars for another shortstop. Carter had him as the 14th best player in the draft (Have to love stats-only unless it turns out that Carter is an idiot:-) Great defense, plus speed, plus power and a good batting eye. Carter thinks Eidson will be an average big league shortstop. 21 year old hit .301 with 15 homers in 147 games for Boston College.

Round 7 pick 109 overall - BABE BOLEY THIRD BASEMAN - I deviated from my list with this pick. Carter is not real high on him other than to say he has explosive power. That is what caught my attention as the Canastota, NY native who played 3 seasons at Bucknell hit 30 college homers and batted .318 in 148 career games. Might be a bust, but if so it is on me and not Carter. I felt I could take a chance on this guy as I had an extra 7th round pick and we were getting to the point in the draft where most of my top guys were long gone. At this point in the final couple of human picked rounds I was looking for one skill that drew me to a guy. For Boley it was his power.

Round 8 pick 125 overall - JERRY TOWNSEND PITCHER- Another college pitcher with a good work ethic that Carter sees as back of the rotation potential. My head scout actually had Townsend as the 32nd best prospect. A righthander with 5 pitches in his arsenal, Townsend pitched three seasons for the Penn Quakers. He was 12-10 with a 4.09 era but is another groundball pitcher with a decent k/bb ratio and allowed just 3 homers in 187 innings. Has had some injury problems including shoulder surgery so that might be a factor in why he was still available.


Round 9 pick 141 overall - GUS POWELL THIRT BASEMAN - Another high power guy who lacks some other skills that I took a chance on. Can play 1B or LF as well and hit 29 homers while batting .350 in 143 career NCAA games for Illinois. Carter says he is on the bubble for holding down a big league role and is worried about his contact, but I think hitting .350 in your college career proves you can hit. We both agree he has plus-plus raw power.

Round 10 pick 157 overall - ART KISH CORNER INFIELDER - 18 year old 1B/3B played his high school ball for New York City Eagles. Batted .295 with 22 homers in 115 games. Carter says he has plus-plus power and can play decent defense but doesn't think he has the full package to make the big leagues. Another one of those take a chance on a guy with power picks for me.

Round 11 pick 173 overall - GLEN TOWNSEND THIRD BASEMAN - The final pick I made before the remainder of my small list and Rube Carter took over with computer selections. I am assuming he is a cousin of pitcher Jerry Townsend who I took in round 8 out of Pennsylvania University. Both are from California originally (Bakersfield for Glen and Hesperia for Jerry) and were both 3 months apart. Glen played for Purdue, hitting 26 homers but batting just .227 in 149 NCAA games. Carter really likes him, ranked him 17th overall on his list. Says he is an average defender with plus power and unbelievable patience at the plate (He did have a .350 obp at Purdue) but I downgraded him due to the low batting average.

From there the game took over. Here are my remaining picks with notes on a couple.

Rd 12 AL EWING P - Penn University. Previously drafted and cut by Washington after high school

Rd 13 BILL CAINES C - Mississippi State - Carter loves his power but little else.

Rd 14 - EDDIE KELLOW 1B- Indiana University - Hit 16 homers as a senior.

Rd 15 - CARL SCHMITT 3B - Tennessee - 22 homers in 3 seasons with the Vols. Very smart

Rd 16 - WALT LAYTON SS - Boston HS - I highlighted the 18 year because it is a weird story. My scouting director loved him and ranked him in his top ten. However, we had stats lab issues likely related to the draft having 1400 or so players in it so the commissioner dumped a lot of lower guys out of stats lab. One of those dumped was Layton but I kept him on the bottom of my short list for when the draft went auto at the end and we got him. Not expecting much but if he busts then Carter is going to have some explaining to do. If he pans out then I guess I give old Rube a lifetime contract.

RD 17 - MACK JAMISON - SS - Buffalo HS - Wants a big signing bonus. Is smart but has no work ethic I am told. Good defense, good speed but hit just .243 in high school. He gets a $500 bonus offer and the told to enjoy college if it isn't good enough. Even if he signs I may just wait until after the winter semester starts and then cut him. Seriously, kid is a 17th round pick and demanding a bonus that overwhelms him.

Rd 18 - JACK MANZELLA OF - Texas - Hit .307 in 135 games as a Longhorn. I have a lot of OF depth so he was the first OF I selected. Not considered much of a chance at the majors.

None of the remaining guys will likely still be with us when spring training ends but they are

Rd 19 - Chuck Wirtz P - HS pitcher from San Francisco
Rd 20 - Les Russell 2B - Georgia Tech
Rd 21 - George Baldwin P - Penn Teammate of Jerry Townsend
Rd 22 - John David SS - Baltimore HS - Too many first names for my liking and too little skill for Rube Carter's liking.
Rd 23 - John Pearce P - Syracuse HS
Rd 24 - John Wyche 3B - Macon HS - Cpu continues it's plan to only draft guys named John after the 20th round.
Rd 25 - Gordon Parcel P/2B - Purdue. Have to say it. Cpu just 'mailed' in our final pick Parcel as he pitched in a grand total of 1 game in his college career and played 30 games as an infielder, batting .197. He will be cut soon.

Last edited by Tiger Fan; 08-07-2019 at 03:21 PM.
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Old 08-14-2019, 07:36 PM   #78
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Spring Training 1927

SPRING TRAINING 1927

We are on the eve of spring training and the start of my second season at the helm of the FABL's Brooklyn Kings. Last year was, barring the disappointment of finishing second, a great year for a Kings team tabbed to finish near the bottom of the Continental Association. We will enter 1927 with a lot more pressure as the early prognosticators have the Kings as the favourite to reach the World Championship Series.

I feel a lot more confident about our squad heading into camp and there really aren't a lot of open spots, unlike last year when there were a ton of questions marks - with most centered around our pitching. There are still some questions this season but I feel really comfortable about my top three starters and feel 3 others can battle it out for the final two rotation slots. The bullpen is still a big question mark.

PITCHING
Our top three starters are set
1- MOSE SMITH -The 34 year old is one of the best in the game and went 17-13 last season. He was a mid-season pickup from Cleveland to aide in our ill-fated attempt to win the pennant.

2- TOPSY MORAN - Struggled a little at mid-season before righting the ship and finishing 12-10. Not bad for a 27 year old rookie who also through the league's first no-hitter in 3 years and the first one by a Brooklyn pitcher since 1900.

3- LEON CAMPBELL - 25 year old lefthander went 14-2 for us. While he was the beneficiary of some outstanding run support, Campbell also came up with some great efforts during the season as well.

The fourth and fifth starters will be decided between Harvey Rodgers, Cal Williams, Dick Dover and newcomer Clarence Flanders. Rodgers, who will turn 26 just after the season starts, was a Rule V pickup from Toronto a year ago and went 11-7 for Brooklyn, splitting time between the rotation and the pen. Williams came over with Moran in another transaction with Toronto prior to last season and went 16-9, looking outstanding at some points in the season and merely average at other times. I lost all confidence in the 29 year old Dover, but he was good after being recalled from Houston when Del Plummer went down, and finished the season with an 8-4 record. Brooklyn's longest-tenured starting pitcher, Dover has been with the organization since 1920 and has a 93-81 career record. Speaking of Plummer, the other big piece we acquired at the trade deadline last season, he blew out his arm shortly after arriving and is not expected back until at least Labour Day. The other newcomer to challenge for a spot is Clarence Flanders. The 24 year old will likely start the season in Houston after going 17-9 for the Portland Green Sox of the Great Western League. We acquired him from the Independent club in exchange for veteran pitcher Jackie Marshall and minor league infielder Oscar Brunswick as well as cash.

Flanders might get a chance in the bullpen, which was so good to start the season a year ago but so bad from July until the end of September. Al Colby, a 33 year old waiver claim from St Louis over the winter, will be given first chance at the closer role but holdovers Buck Blood and Bob Baker as well as minor leaguers Jack Gunderson, Jim Sharett and Art Harvey may also be in the mix. The bullpen remains the biggest concern for skipper Powell Slocum.

THE LINEUP
Not much will change from the group that dominated the Continental Association in virtually every offensive category a year ago. 26 year old Mickey Dowell (.342,14,117) is making a case to be considered the best catcher in baseball. Lou Garman, 27, had a great season (.339,4,77) at first base and went from starting the season in a platoon position to being the guy at first. Shortstop remains the domain of 30 year old Lloyd Carter (.296,1,47). If there are openings it would be at second base and third base.

There are no shortage of candidates for the second base role. 25 year old Rip Agee (.287,2,84) has the inside track on retaining the job after an outstanding season with the glove as a rookie. However, the Kings added 26 year old Rocky Edwards (.308,1,55) from the Chicago Cougars over the winter. Edwards is a four year starter in the big leagues and is coming to camp with the expectation he will be the second baseman. There is also versatile rookie Willie Jackson to consider. The 24 year old hit .319 in 63 games at AAA Houston after moving up from AA mid-season a year ago. A perfect utility man, Jackson can play some decent shortstop when needed or in the outfield. Brooklyn also invited 34 year old free agent Newell Winn to camp. Still solid with the glove, Winn hit .326 in 84 games with the Philadelphia Sailors a year ago but was caught in the numbers game with Philly. This might be Winn's last shot at baseball as it is unlikely the Kings will send him to Houston if he doesn't make the big club. Kings management also has a real tough call with 33 year old Hugh Luckey. It is clear his skills are eroding and Lucky hit just .193 in very limited action a year ago. However, he is a long time fan favourite in Brooklyn and a team leader so there likely would be backlash if he is cut. Looking at on-field credentials only, Luckey has no business even being at camp but it is the intangibles that make him such a vital piece of the organization.

Third base also has an interesting battle shaping up in camp. 25 year old Rolla Alexander (.276,1,47) won the job as a rookie at spring training a year ago and was red-hot until June. Once he fizzled, 33 year old Glenn Mowles got his starting job back and hit .332 with 3 homers and 31 rbi's in just 216 at bats. However, a July trade brought in another veteran in 31 year old Fred Welsch (who came from Montreal with Del Plummer). Welsch was really just a throw-in but he had some big games for the Kings, batting .308 with 2 homers in 40 games in Brooklyn. Mowles is the better defender, Welsch perhaps a little better hitter and Alexander has more versatility so it will be interesting to see which 2 remain in Brooklyn and who ends up in Houston.

Which leaves the outfield and I have saved the best for last. Doug Lightbody is healthy and hopefully reading to pick up where he left off when his tremendous rookie season was cut short by the devastating elbow injury that cost him the second half of the season. Lightbody is just 23 years old and was leading the CA with a .356 batting average at the time of his injury. He will be the everyday rightfielder. Leftfield should still belong to 28 year old Bud Rogers (.322,8,99) with Rogers's former teammate at Ole Miss Clarence Hall (.345,3,42) fighting for what ever playing time he can get. Centerfield will be decided in camp as incumbant 29 year old Lou Cox (.328,1,84) - the CA stolen base leader each of the past two seasons - tries to hold off 22 year old phenom Ab Thomas. Thomas was called up when Lightbody went down and hit .358 with 8 stolen bases in 220 plate appearances after tearing up the Century League for the first half of the season. With those five that likely means 23 year old Al Stanton, who went 4-for-4 in September with the Kings, gets a ticket back to AAA Houston.

The spring games begin tomorrow, and the Kings are hoping for another surprise performance like the one that saw Doug Lightbody got right from the NCAA to the major leagues a year ago. That won't happen this season as Brooklyn was without a first round pick, and none of the other draftees in what is being considered a very weak class overall, will be anywhere near major league camp.
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Old 08-20-2019, 02:48 PM   #79
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April 11, 1927
OPENING DAY AWAITS

Another opening day in the FABL is upon us and it is one in which expectations are far higher for the Brooklyn Kings than they were just a year ago. Last April the Kings were coming off two straight last place finishes and had a line-up loaded with newcomers and youngsters. Most of that young talent made an outstanding contribution and the Kings led the Continental Association much of the season before eventually settling for a second place finish, defying all predictions of another losing season in Brooklyn.

For 1927, the situation is much different as the Kings now find themselves as media darlings, and enter the season with expectations of winning a pennant, both internally as well as from predictions offered by most pundits. The question is how will the young Kings, with an average age of 27.4 years old, respond to the pressure of playing as the favourites rather than flying under the radar as underdogs like they did last season?

While the Kings have 11 players 26 years of age or younger, they also have some veteran leadership in the form of 34 year old ace Mose Smith and 33 year olds reliever Al Colby and infielder Glenn Mowles. Colby, a waiver pik-up from St Louis, is one of two new players to the organization this season. He is joined by infielder Rocky Edwards who was acquired from the Chicago Cougars over the winter. The Kings will also debut 4 rookies including 24 year old second baseman Willie Jackson, who's outstanding spring allowed him to claim the starting job and force Edwards to shift to third base. The other rookies will be back-up catcher Dave Armstrong and a pair of pitchers who had a brief stint with the big club last year in lefthanders Art Carlson and Jack Gunderson.

Here is a position-by-position look at the 1927 Brooklyn Kings

STARTING PITCHING

Veteran Mose Smith returns as the ace of the staff and will be spending his first full season in Brooklyn since being acquired from Cleveland last July. The 34 year old righthander from New York City is 217-210 in his 12 year major league career.

26 year old Art Carlson won a rotation spot because of his outstanding spring, which forced the Kings to send inconsistent veteran starter Dick Dover down to Houston. Carlson, a 5th round pick in 1921 out of Buffalo high school, spent most of last season in AAA Houston but did spend a few weeks with the Kings as an injury replacement.

27 year old Topsy Moran (12-10, 4.51), 30 year old Cal Williams (16-9, 4.10) and 25 year old Leon Campbell (14-2, 3.24) return to the rotation while veteran starter Del Plummer (7-2 since the trade from Montreal) remains sidelined and is expected to miss most of the season.

25 year old Harvey Rodgers (11-7, 4.01) returns to the bullpen, where he went last year after Smith and Plummer were acquired. The former Rule V pickup will be joined by two newcomers in the pen: veteran Al Colby and 25 year old rookie Jack Gunderson.

CATCHER

26 year old Mickey Dowell (.342,14,117) had a breakout season a year ago and more of the same is expected from him this year. Clay Vega, last year's backup has been released and replaced by rookie Dave Armstrong - a 24 year old who split last season between AA Knoxville and Houston.

INFIELD

Another breakout performer last season was 27 year old first baseman Lou Garman (.339,4,77), who went from platooning with Stan Bass to start the season to being the everyday first baseman. The 31 year old Bass (.400,2,22) is back to provide depth at the corner infield positions. Rip Agee (.287,2,84) had a solid rookie season but he may be reduced to just a defensive replacement after the spring Willie Jackson had. Jackson, who hit .319 after a mid-season promotion to Houston last year, hit .344 with 3 homers in 68 spring at bats and has gained the confidence of manager Powell Slocum.

With Jackson at second, Rocky Edwards (.308,1,55) shifts to third base. Edwards was acquired from the Chicago Cougars to battle Agee for the second base job but now finds himself in a new position as he outplayed both Glenn Mowles (.332,3,31) and Fred Welsch (.290,5,49) in spring training. Mowles and Welsch will remain on the roster and for now will be relegated to pinch-hitting duties. Agee also made the team as he can back-up at second as well as shortstop, which remains the domain of veteran Lloyd Carter (.296,1,47).

With all of the infield depth it forced Brooklyn to send 25 year old Rolla Alexander down to Houston. Alexander (.276,1,47) had a terrific start when he was handed the starting 3B job a year ago but cooled over the summer. The club remains high on his skillset but feel he would benefit much more by playing everyday in Houston instead of sitting on the bench in Brooklyn.

OUTFIELD

The Kings wish they could start five outfielders as every one of them has proven worthy of being a starter in the FABL. The big news is Doug Lightbody is back and showing no ill effects of the injury that cost him half of his rookie year. Lightbody (.356,5,44) hit .429 with a pair of homers at spring training and is ready for a monster year. With all of the attention on Lightbody and catcher Dowell, leftfielder Bud Rogers (.322,8,99) flew under the radar a year ago but the 28 year old had another strong year. 22 year old Ab Thomas, who hit .358 in 62 games last season after Lightbody went down, appears to have won the starting centerfield job from 29 year old veteran Lou Cox (.328,1,84, 45 sb) despite Cox hitting .458 in spring action.(Thomas hit .358). That still leaves 27 year old Clarence Hall, who lost his starting job a year ago to Lightbody but regained it after the rookie went down, and hit .345 with 3 homers and 42 rbi's in 99 games.

OUTLOOK

Pitching still remains the big question mark for Brooklyn, especially with Plummer out for most, if not all, of the season. There are some options in Houston if any of the big leaguers falter or get injured, most notably 22 year old prospect Bill Dengler, Clarence Flanders, who was acquired from an independent team over the winter, or perhaps even veteran Dick Dover but don't be surprised if the Kings make a major move to acquire a proven veteran arm come July.

Injuries hurt Brooklyn last year and, had Plummer and Lightbody remained healthy Brooklyn might be the defending champs right now. If they stay healthy the club expects nothing less than a pennant this season and are committed to do what it takes to win one.
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Old 08-25-2019, 01:18 PM   #80
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We are a couple of weeks into the new season so I am a little behind on my Brooklyn Kings updates. Part of the reason is I have added a second online league team. It's funny, but after only playing solo leagues for the past 15 years this Figment League has got me hooked on online play. The second team I added is in another league run by the same commissioner as the Figment League, and it has a long history. Like Figment it is based in the past but as a nice change it uses real players and does a what-if type format where our league, now in the mid-1930's is fully integrated with 20 major league teams instead of 16 and we play with modern free agency rules. I have taken over the Pittsburgh Pirates in that universe and, while the Kings remain my number one focus, I can see myself really enjoying this league. The big difference is it is not stats-only, which I can understand for a historical league as we already pretty much know who is going to be a star and who won't be. As a result the draft is no where near as unpredictable or exciting and the later rounds can be run by my cpu GM but it is still going to be fun to see how Johnny Sain (my first round pick) turns out in this league.

Anyway, back to the Kings who had a great start to the season.



Our first two weeks were spent exclusively playing Baltimore (we went 8-2) and the three time defending champion New York Stars (we went 2-1). We have another 3 game set with the Stars coming up this week.

Our hitting has been what is expected with the best news being Doug Lightbody (.479,2,11) leads the league in batting so my concerns about any lingering effects from the arm injury that cost him half his rookie season appear to be unfounded. Youngster Ab Thomas (.313,1,14) has taken centerfield away from veteran Lou Cox but my infield questions remain. Rookie Willie Jackson is batting just .233 at second base and has made 6 errors already so I am leaning towards giving Rip Agee the starting job. Manager Powell Slocum wants to stay with Jackson for now so I will give him one more sim week. Slocum does agree that the experiment with Rocky Edwards at third base is over, at least for now. Edwards had a great spring and is an accomplished hitter but he went 1-for-25 as a starter and will now sit as Glenn Mowles gets the job back. Mowles was hitting .353 in limited action through the first two weeks.

LF Bud Rogers (.370,1,10), SS Lloyd Carter (.320,0,2) and 1B Lou Gorman (.383,0,9) are off to strong starts but catcher Mickey Dowell (.267,1,8) has not yet found his rhythm at the plate.

Our pitching has been a very pleasant surprise as we have allowed the second fewest runs in the Continental Association. Mose Smith (3-0,2.33), Art Carlson (3-0, 4.87) and Cal Williams (2-0, 2.45) are all undefeated while Leon Campbell (1-1, 3.78) had one great outing and one poor one to start the season. I am a little worried about Topsy Moran (1-2,5.33) as he started with 2 bad games before rebounding nicely yesterday in a 4-2 win over the Stars. My bullpen of Al Colby, Harvey Rodgers and Jack Gunderson has allowed 1 earned run in 11 2/3 innings of work.

ON THE FARM
Bill Dengler, my second round pick a year ago, is 2-0 with a 2.23 era and looking really confident in AAA Houston. The 22 year old has 25 strikeouts, 6 walks and allowed just 1 homerun in 32 innings of work so far. He and 24 year old Clarence Flanders, who was acquired from the Great West League over the winter, are both looking ready for a call-up if anyone falters. Flanders is 1-0 with a 1.50 era in 18 innings of work.

Further down the chain 22 year Lyman Weigel, a 7th round pick a year ago, is off to a strong start at AA Knoxville but this years top pick, My 2nd rounder this year, Del Lyons, is struggling and may need to go to Omaha. One draft pick from this years class who has started strong is Jerry Townsend. The 21 year old righthander from the University of Pennsylvania is 3-0 with a 1.80 era at Class B Tampa and tossed a complete game 11-inning shutout in his pro debut.

Position player-wise young outfielder Jim Renfroe (.460,1,10) is on fire at AAA Houston. Unfortunately, there is no room for the 24 year old in the Brooklyn outfield right now. The big story in Knoxville remains 22 year old outfielder Dan Barrell (.405,0,10). An undrafted free agent plucked out of an independent league as a favour to his famous father, has gone from having no future in the game to being a guy who might get a shot at the major leagues.

Last edited by Tiger Fan; 08-25-2019 at 01:22 PM.
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