The KJCCC and the Career of GM/Manager Mike Schaplowsky

[baseballfanmas]

OK guys, with OOTP 21 out, I've decided it's time to do a dynasty report again. I've decided to do the KJCCC, the junior college league in Kansas. I've added a couple teams to it to make it an even 10. I'm going with a 92 game schedule that I found in the mods, with 1 game series, games on Sun/Tues/Thurs/Fri. 72 intra division games and 20 games against the other division.

Playoffs will be top 4 teams from each division, put into a modified round robin bracket. First 2 rounds will be 1 game a piece, higher seed hosting. Final 2 rounds will be best of 3, with higher seed hosting the 1st and 3rd (if necessary) games. First round will be cross division (west 1 vs. east 4, west 3 vs. east 2, east 3 vs. west 2, east 1 vs. west 4).

No minor leagues, using reserves. Morale and team chemistry turned off, because I really hate it. All star game will be played. 25 man rosters, 10 man reserve rosters, 30 man extended rosters, no trades allowed. Draft will be at the end of the season, in November, and it will be 5 rounds. Here's a look at the league setup, with teams and rules.

[baseballfanmas]

The opening day roster is set. For some reason I've set the season to start in 2019. Whatever, I'll roll with it. I am going to do this the lazy, easy way and give my analysis of each position and then post the screenshot. For starting pitchers, Ryder is going to be our ace and we will definitely look to be resigning him. Valenzuela and Scobey are solid mid-rotation guys. There's a drop off from there.

[baseballfanmas]

For relief pitchers, Bianchi should be one of the best closers in the league, followed by Rolland who will be really solid. The rest of the pen is middle talent at best, so we'll look for an upgrade there. The entire bullpen is up for contract renewal, so we'll judge which ones to keep and which ones to let go based on season performance.

[baseballfanmas]

Catchers- Simmerman will get most of the work at catcher, and we'll play Browning when Simmerman needs a day off.

Infielders- Kinney is probably one of the best players in the league, with a perfect 80 rating. Unfortunately, his contract is also one of the highest in the league. He'll be playing a lot of games at 3rd base. He can also play 1st base. Staley and Gravato can play both middle infield positions, and can also back up 3rd base. Marks will be our regular 1st baseman, Holder can back up at 2nd base, and Tate can play all infield positions. He's definitely our utility guy.

Outfielders- Amazingly, our best outfielder is also the only player on the active roster with a minor league contract. Townsend can play either corner outfield position equally well. Lovell and DiLorenzo can play all 3 outfield positions. Ober will be our starting right fielder, and we'll platoon at DH most likely, but Luna will get the first chance there.

[baseballfanmas]

A look at the owner and finances. Should be no problem there, we are in the top 5 as far as budget goes, and the owner just wants a .500 season? Oh yea!

[baseballfanmas]

Here's a look at our personnel. It's pretty bad, except for our trainer, who is supposed to excel at preventing injuries. I'd say he did pretty well, we only had 3 injuries in Spring Training. I've put out an offer to an average hitting coach. We might have wholesale changes with the personnel in the offseason. Or they may surprise me.

[baseballfanmas]

Here's a look at our positional strength. We're solid at catcher, 3rd base, and shortstop. After that, it gets much weaker. You know, maybe that .500 finish isn't going to be quite as easy after all.

[baseballfanmas]

And to wrap it up, the preseason predictions. We are predicted to sneak into the playoffs, and as we all know, anything can happen in the postseason. Oh yea, I guess I forgot to mention, I'm taking over as the GM/Field Manager of the Butler County Grizzlies. Oops! Should be fun.

[baseballfanmas]

If anybody has any questions or comments, feel free to ask. I'm going to run this as long as possible with fairly frequent updates, so whatever interaction I get will certainly be appreciated

[nymetsfan5]

excellent idea, thank you. I love junior college

[Sizeman21]

Looks like a cool dynasty. I'll be following.

[baseballfanmas]

May 1, 2019

Grizzlies limp out of the gate, but get hot to end April

Monthly Review

Record: 6-8, .429, 4 GB, 7th in KJCCC West

Despite having a top 5 budget and payroll, the Grizzlies aren't getting it done on the field. GM/Field Manager Mike Schaplowsky had a rough time of it in his rookie month, losing 4 of his first 5 games and also losing a player to suspension and another one to injury. Things picked up in the last few games of the month though, as the Grizzlies won 3 of their last 4 games in April, averaging almost 11 runs a game in their 3 wins. That puts them in 7th place in the KJCCC West, 4 games behind the league leaders.

There haven't been a lot of bright spots so far, as the Grizzlies are in the bottom half of the league in most of the statistical categories. 2 categories they are doing well in are home runs and bullpen ERA. Butler County hit 20 home runs in April, good for 3rd best in the KJCCC West, and their bullpen had a 4.65 ERA, surprisingly good for 3rd best in the KJCCC West. Despite that, Schaplowsky knows there is still work to do. "Look, if a 4.65 bullpen ERA is 3rd best out of a 10 team sub league, that says more about the ineptitude of the bullpens in the KJCCC West than it does the consistency of our bullpen. We need to make big improvements, or it's going to be a long season.

Butler County Players of the Month

3B Marc Kinney- .442, 5 HR, 11 RBI

RF Cory Ober- .422, 2 HR, 12 RBI

C Josh Zimmerman- .327, 1 HR, 5 RBI

RP Mike Nartker- 10 2/3 IP, 1-0, 0.84 ERA, 12 SO

SP Chad Ryder- 3 GS, 2-1, 1.52 ERA, 17 SO

RP Ed Giron- 11 2/3 IP, 1-0, 2.31 ERA, 2 Holds, 11 SO

Grizzlies News and Transactions for April

April 9- Signed hitting coach Brian Horgan to a 2 year, $230,860 per year contract.

April 9- SP Jose Valenzuela was ejected for his role in a bench clearing brawl in a game against Colby. He was subsequently suspended for the next 6 games.

April 13- Valenzuela was sent to the reserve roster, and RP Matt Lawson was called to the active roster to make a start while Valenzuela served his suspension.

April 14- Luis Anguiano was diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff and will miss the rest of the season. The injury actually took place in the April 9th game against Colby. Anguiano was put on the 60 day DL and RP Luis Espinosa was called up to the active roster.

April 20- With his suspension now over, Jose Valenzuela was called back up to the active roster, while Matt Lawson was sent back down to the reserve roster.

Around the KJCCC

KJCCC Monthly Awards

KJCCC East Batter of the Month- Chris Falk (Labette)- .442, 5 HR, 14 RBI, 18 runs scored.

KJCCC West Batter of the Month- Cole Keller (Seward County)- .527, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 13 runs scored.

KJCCC East Pitcher of the Month- Josh Risner (Highland)- 3-1, 1.13 ERA, 24 IP, 27 SO.

KJCCC West Pitcher of the Month- Jay Blass (Barton County)- 4-0, 1.19 ERA, 30 1/3 IP, 28 SO.

KJCCC East Rookie of the Month- T.J. Abreu (Johnson County)- .333, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 11 runs scored.

KJCCC West Rookie of the Month- Phil Cretella (Pratt)- .263, 8 HR, 22 RBI, 12 runs scored.

[baseballfanmas]

June 1, 2019

Grizzlies With .500 Record in May, Losing Ground on Division Leaders

Monthly Review

Record: 15-17, .469, 8 GB, 8th in KJCCC West
Fan Loyalty: Great
Fan Interest: 83
Owner Mood: Ecstatic

The month of May was almost a carbon copy of April for the Grizzlies. It was a horrid start, as Butler County lost their first 6 games in May, not getting their first win until May 12th. They flipped the script from that point on, winning 9 of their next 12 games to finish the month, and 6 of their last 7. They finished with an even 9-9 record in May, but with Northwest Kansas Tech playing lights out, there might not be much hope for a division title. Fortunately, the middle of the KJCCC West is a nice logjam, and the Grizzlies sit just 2 games out of a playoff spot. Remember, the top 4 teams in each division make the playoffs. Believe it or not, at one point the Grizzlies were in last place in the division, but that hot finish has them in pretty good shape. There's still a long way to go though, as the last power rankings had the Grizzlies ranked 14th in the 20 team league.

Home runs continue to be the saving grace for the Grizzlies, as they have hit 44 homers this season, good for 2nd place in the KJCCC West. The homers have been spread out, as 8 of the 9 starters have homered. Unfortunately, their team batting average of .273, which seems pretty decent, is good for only 7th in the KJCCC West. Pitching also continues to be a weakness. Both the starters and bullpen ERA is over 5.00, 5th in the KJCCC West. Butler County GM/Field Manager Mike Schaplowsky was concerned about the number of walks his pitchers are giving up. So far in the 32 games Butler has played, the pitching staff has walked 126 opposing batters. "That's not going to get it done. We have to find a way to get our pitchers to command the strike zone more. They get behind in the count and have to pitch to contact, and the other teams tee off. In one game alone, our starting pitcher walked 7 batters." It seems that there may be a lot of changes in the offseason to get the ship righted, but even then, if Butler can continue to play .500 ball, that may be enough to slip them into the playoffs.

Butler County Players of the Month

RF Cory Ober- .328, 6 HR, 15 RBI

SS Ben Staley- .308, 4 HR, 11 RBI

SP Chad Ryder- 4 GS, 3-1, 1.09 ERA, 21 SO

Grizzlies News and Transactions for May

May 11- RP Tyrone Rolland was diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff and is out for the next 4 months, meaning he is likely done for the season. He was placed on the 60 day disabled list. In his place, RP Ryan Hudgins was placed on the active roster.

May 24- RP Jon Delgado was diagnosed with a torn flexor tendon in his elbow. This injury will cause Delgado to miss 6-7 months, definitely ending his season. GM Schaplowsky elected not to call up anybody from the reserve roster, instead playing short and scouring the free agent market.

May 26- The Grizzlies signed RP Khalil Williams for the rest of the season, at $1.7 million. Williams is rated 44 overall, with 44 potential.

Around the KJCCC

KJCCC Monthly Awards for May

KJCCC East Batter of the Month- Edgar Medina (Labette)- .481, 3 HR, 16 RBI, 22 runs scored.

KJCCC West Batter of the Month- Mike Spohn (Northwest Kansas Tech)- .411, 9 HR, 18 RBI, 25 runs scored.

KJCCC East Pitcher of the Month- Clint Gottlieb (Labette)- 5-0, 1.46 ERA, 37 IP, 22 SO.

KJCCC West Pitcher of the Month- Keith Tarbell (Northwest Kansas Tech)- 4-0, 1.69 ERA, 32 IP, 14 SO.

KJCCC East Rookie of the Month- Clint Gottlieb (Labette)- 5-0, 1.46 ERA, 37 IP, 22 SO.

KJCCC West Rookie of the Month- Steve Braun (Dodge City)- .434, 1 HR, 10 RBI.