Walter Hammond, the Barons and one last shot at redemption

[Sizeman21]

5 years ago Walter Hammond was ready to walk away from baseball. After crashing out of the playoffs riding a 104 win season with the Oklahoma Indians, Hammond thought he just wasn't cut out to manage a baseball team. Having some success as a manager throughout his career Hammond was always able to keep a job wherever he landed. But never winning a ring at the final stage of the season always haunted Hammond. The one thing he had dreamed of since he was a kid, being mobbed by his teammates on the field after securing a game 7 triumph.

Now in 2040, 50 year old Hammond is ready for one last hurrah in his epic managerial career.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

March 29th, 2040: The Birmingham Barons announce Walter Hammond as new manager of the team. The Barons have hit a rough patch in the teams ABL stay after being the most dominant force the league had seen. No playoff appearances in 5 years and no championships in 8 years has severely dropped fan interest and team owner owner Dan Hernandez is getting testy. Hopefully Hammond is ready to put his skills to the test and reclaim glory with this once historic baseball club.

[Sizeman21]

Reno won the inaugural season finale 15 years ago, and since, 8 different teams have lifted the Championship trophy. The Barons were the first re peat champions, winning in both '26 and '27 but then missing out two years running. In between, Seattle and Milwaukee both won their only ABL World Series to date. The Barons reclaimed dominance starting in '30 winning another back to back. Once the Barons began to slip, new teams pounced. Portland won their first of 4 titles, beating Dallas in their only ever World Series appearance. Columbus, Fort Worth and Las Vegas all claimed victory over the remaining seasons, leading up to the current season, 2040.

[Sizeman21]

Taking over management duties of the Barons, I have no clue what to expect from this season. The team is on a slide that even I may struggle to repair. 26 games back last season, 19, 31, 12,15, 14 all before that. The Barons were once the most feared team in the ABL, winning 8 straight Division titles and 4 World Series titles to boot! But dynasties never last, and the Barons fell completely off the wagon the next 7 seasons. My job is to patch up the holes, and get this team back to its former glory.


Let's look at our starting lineup and pitching staff, since we are a day away from the new season.

Roster as of March 28, 2040:

1. L Roberto Cantavalle LF
2. L Bingham Zielger SS
3. L Mike Apperson RF
4. S Jose Gutierrez 1B
5. R Masahiko Kodama 2B
6. L Zach Naylor 3B
7. R Jason O'Mahony CF
8. R Juan Velez C
9. Pitcher of the day P

Pitching Staff:

1. L Noriyoshi Ishibashi
2. L Nate Biedler
3. R Juan Sanchez
4. R Vincent Roudales
5. L Brian Chamberlin

Bullpen:
CL. R Jordan Montalvo
SU. R Jake Mariano
SU. R Ken Ducker
MR. L Ryan Belt
MR. R Erik Ogun

Our first series is against Roswell. I don't have the time or patience to do extended coverage for all regular season games so I am going to write small blerbs on each game and a series wrap up. As I am only the manager of this team I will report any transactions that my GM decides to make and I will share.

To Birmingham we go!

[Sizeman21]

Roswell Rockets (0-0) at Birmingham Barons (0-0)

Projected matchups:
Mike Rigney (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Noriyoshi Ishibashi (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Jesus Pablo (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Nate Biedler (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Steve Moore (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Juan Sanchez (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Projected Lineups:
ROS: LF Santos – 3B Nguyen – 2B Boudreaux – 1B Mata – RF Ortiz – C Cuebas – SS Comer – CF Santavicca – P .....

BIR: LF Cantavalle – SS Ziegler – RF Apperson – 1B Gutierrez – 2B Kodama – 3B Naylor – CF O'Mahony – C Velez – P ......

Game 1: Rockets 11 - Barons 6

Ishibashi got roughed up through his 5.1 innings of not so shut out ball. 7 earned runs saw him get the L in a 11-6 stomping to the Rockets. Rigney didn't pitch much better for Roswell, giving up 5 earned runs over 5 innings of work. Comer and Ortiz both had 3 rbis each, a home run mixed in there for Ortiz. Cantavalle, O'Mahony and Velez had 2 hits in the game while Ishibashi helped himself with a rbi sac fly.

Game 2: Rockets 1 - Barons 5

First win under new manager Hammond saw Barons top Rockets 5-1. Ruben Ortiz hit a solo home run for the Rockets for a 1-0 lead in the 6th. All 5 of Birmingham's runs came in the 8th inning. Cantavalle singled to lead off, next batter Ziegler doubled, Cantavalle moved to third. Apperson struck out. A walk to Gutierrez saw the bases loaded for O'Mahony who smacked a double to the wall which scored all 3 runs. Weiss, our utility second baseman singled, Naylor doubled scoring O'Mahony and Weiss after a bang bang play at the plate.

Biedler went 6 innings, striking out 7 Rockets and but got a no decision.

Game 3: Rockets 5 - Barons 11

Big offensive game for the Barons as Cantavalle hits a grand slam and Apperson had 4 rbis. Juan Sanchez picked up the win going 6 innings, giving up 4 runs. O'Mahony and Ziegler both get a few rbis in the game as well.

Series wrap up:
I like this look of our offense so far. We have multiple ways to get runs in. Cantavalle (.462 - 1 - 4) is seemingly the best player so far. A veteran and a mainstay at the cub, the 30 year old is proving why I am keeping him in the lineup. O'Mahony and Apperson will hopefully give us good production in the middle of the order this season. Not sure what to think about our pitching yet. Ishibashi and Sanchez both looked very shaky in their opening game. Hopefully they get the jitters out and come back throwing better than their first outings.

Preseason predicted us to finish an even 81-81, and finish 3rd in our division. Roswell were predicted bottom dwellers with a 74-88 record. So we should have a easy chance of taking the season series from them if we finish anything like our prediction.

[Sizeman21]

Miami Sun Sox (1-2) at Birmingham Barons (2-1)

Today we begin a 3-game series with the Miami Sun Sox at home.

Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:
RHP V. Raudales (0-0, 0.00 ERA) versus RHP W. Calderon (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
LHP B. Chamberlin (0-0, 0.00 ERA) versus RHP D. Coleman (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
LHP N. Ishibashi (0-1, 11.81 ERA) versus LHP A. Perez (0-0, 2.57 ERA)

The top 5 players on their team are:
1. CF Carlos Santos (Age: 20, Overall : 4.0, Potential: 5.0)
2. RF Manny Garcia (25, 3.0, 3.5)
3. 3B Tomas Mejia (30, 3.0, 3.0)
4. SP Arturo Perez (24, 3.0, 4.0)
5. 2B Adam Thibodeaux (30, 3.0, 3.0)

Projected Lineups:
MIA: CF Santos – 3B Mejia – 1B Cicneros – RF Garcia – LF Ong – 2B Thibodeaux – C Luna – SS Herrera – P .....

BIR: LF Cantavalle – SS Ziegler – RF Apperson – 1B Gutierrez – CF O'Mahony – 2B Weiss– 3B Naylor – C Velez – P ......

Game 1: Sun Sox 10 - Barons 4

Zhi huan Ong put on a monster display today hitting two home runs driving in 3 along with 3 walks. Cicneros had 3 rbis and Thibodeaux had 2 rbis. Ziegler had 3 hits for the Barons, drove in 2 and stole a base in a losing effort. Raudales gave up 6 runs in 5 innings of work for his first L of the season.

Game 2: Sun Sox 6 - Barons 2

Another bad game for the Barons. 3 in the first, another in the second doomed us as the Sun Sox jumped on Ishibashi early. In the end, Ishibashi gave up all 6 runs Miami scored in the game. Cicneros hit a home run and Hererra hit a rbi double for the visitors. The Barons only life was O'Mahony who doubled in a run and Naylor who hit into a fielders choice, scoring Velez.

Game 3: Sun Sox 6 - Barons 12

An offensive game sees the Barons salvage the last game of the series. Biedler continues the Barons trend of giving up lots of runs (6) but the teams offense sees that he got the win. Velez and Ziegler both hit doubles while Cantavalle, Velez, Cadena, Murakawa, and Kodama ALL hit home runs to surge the offense.

Series wrap up:

Not a good series for our starting pitchers. All three pitchers gave up 6 runs before they were pulled. Our offense lacked in 2 of the games and saved us big time in the last game. Pitching is going to kill us if my pitchers don't figure their stuff out.

Next series is @ Las Vegas before we come back to Miami for 3 games.

I'll do a player update at some point or the other soon.

[Sizeman21]

Before games, we got two transactions from our GM.

Reynaldo Colbourne SP and RF Victor Cervantes are called up from Cottage City while Brian Chamberlin SP and Pieter Verhagen LF are sent down to Cottage City.

Today we begin a 3-game series with the Las Vegas Knights on the road.
A slight pitchers park, Field of the Knights has room for 29600 fans.

The Knights are playing .571 ball this season, compiling a record of 4 wins and 3 losses. They are in 2nd place in the West Division, 1.5 games behind the leader. Their number of runs scored of 31 rank tied for 11th in the Freedom League, their .252 batting average ranks 10th. On the other side of the diamond, they have given up 29 runs (tied for 5th) with their starters compiling an ERA of 3.86 which ranks 4th. Their bullpen sports an ERA of 2.30, ranking 4th.

Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:

RHP J. Sanchez (1-0, 6.00 ERA) versus RHP M. Hall (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
RHP V. Raudales (0-1, 5.40 ERA) versus RHP A. Pinto (1-0, 6.00 ERA)
RHP J. Gutierrez (0-0, 0.00 ERA) versus RHP J. Graves (1-1, 2.70 ERA)

The top 5 players on their team are:
1. CL Ryan Tackett (Age: 29, Overall : 5.0, Potential: 5.0)
2. 2B Violante Canrio (34, 4.5, 4.5)
3. RP Brad Heer (28, 4.0, 4.0)
4. RF Dan Dykes (30, 4.0, 4.0)
5. SS Jose Centeno (22, 3.5, 5.0)

Projected Lineups:
LV: 3B Allori – 2B Canrio – 1B Rios – RF Dykes – SS Centeno – CF Barrera – C Dardzinski – P ..... – LF Petipas

BIR: LF Cantavalle – SS Ziegler – RF Apperson – 1B Gutierrez – 2B Kodama– 3B Naylor– CF O'Mahony – C Velez – P ......

Game 1: Barons 1 - Knights 3

We lose another game, this game our offense not showing up. Knights starter Mike Hall went 8 innings striking out 6 and giving up only 1 run. Sanchez looked better, giving up all 3 runs but still putting himself in a position for a win. Dan Dykes doubled, had an rbi, Bill Barrera had 2 hits and the 2 other rbis for Las Vegas. Cantavalle went hit less for the first time this season, Naylor had two Ks, O'Mahony had our only run of the game.

Game 2: Barons 2 - Knights 7

Raudales stunk it up again, giving up 4 runs on 5 hits in 6 innings of work. Marino gave up 2 runs and Ogun gave up 1 when he pitched. Las Vegas starter Alex Pinto pitched 7 strong innings giving 2 runs up, but striking out 3 en rout to his second win of the season. Petipas and Dardzinski hit home runs off of Raudales while Dykes and Allori also chipped in runs. The Barons limped in with 2 hits each from Kodama and Naylor while Velez and Raudales got our runs. Cantavella went hit less again and O'Mahony struck out twice.

Game 3: Barons 6 - Knights 2

We come back to salvage the last game of the series in the desert. Ishibashi finally gets his first win of the season as he only let one run cross through his 7 innings of work. Masahiko Kodama went 2 for 3 with a 3 run home run and a single. Bingham Ziegler hit a double and a triple, and Apperson drove in 2 during the game.

Series wrap up:

Another poor 3 game set, pitching let us down once again and offense failed to show up. With a 4-5 record, we are one game of bottom, hovering over Roswell who have a 3-6 record. The Freedom League east division is proving to be a tight race so far, with three teams with the same record.

[Sizeman21]

Around the League



League standings show The Rosebuds have the best record in the ABL right now, mostly due to their offense. 2nd in every offensive category. Their pitchers era is also notable.

Santa Fe's SS Franklin Guevara (2-10-.486) and San Antonio's SS Ismael Arriaga (3-15-.469) claim Liberty League and Freedom League player of the Week awards.

__________

Let's look at our team statistics and judge them on their performances so far

Batters:



Pitchers:



Conclusions:

PICK IT UP Y'ALL!

No one stands out in either offense or pitching. Pitching is inconsistent and our starters have let to many runs in for our offense to catch up to. our hitters pick and chose games they want to show up to and those are games that need to be won. Jose Gutierrez is the biggest worry for me so far. You always need your 1st baseman to be providing offense. Otherwise he becomes sub par. Liking what I am seeing from most of our starting lineup though. I am gunna try to have some more players steal. I love that part of the game and wish it was more of a factor in the modern game.

Upcoming series:

@ Miami 3 games
@ Denver 3 games
Roswell @ home 3 games

[Sizeman21]

Going 5-4 so far this year, the Sun Sox have compiled a .556 winning percentage. They are leading the East Division. Their number of runs scored of 44 rank 8th in the Freedom League, their .236 batting average ranks 12th. On the other side of the diamond, they have given up 44 runs (tied for 8th) with their starters compiling an ERA of 4.38 which ranks 8th. Their bullpen sports an ERA of 5.79, ranking 13th. When playing against our Barons this season, they have a record of 2 wins and 1 losses.

Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:
LHP N. Beidler (1-0, 3.75 ERA) versus RHP D. Coleman (0-1, 13.50 ERA)
RHP J. Gutierrez (0-0, 0.00 ERA) versus RHP I. Cervantes (0-0, 54.00 ERA)
RHP J. Sanchez (1-1, 4.85 ERA) versus LHP A. Bone (1-1, 2.77 ERA)

Projected Lineups:

BIR: LF Cantavalle - SS Ziegler - RF Apperson - C Velez - 2B Kodama - CF Murakawa - 3B Naylor - 1B Gutierrez - P ......

MIA: 2B Thibodeaux - RF Garcia - 3B Mejia - 1B Cicneros - SS Herrera - CF Santos - C Luna - LF Ong - P .....

Game 1: Barons 10 - Sun Sox 6

Murakawa was the player of the game with a 3-5 performance. His home run in the 3rd inning was a 2 run shot followed by a double and single. Ziegler also hit a home run. Cantavalle had a 5 hit performance including a triple and a rbi. Gutierrez was 0-5 dropping his average to .088. Biedler improved to 2-0 with a shaky outing, giving up 3 home runs. But the bullpen came to save the day. Jordan Montalvo finally picked up his first save of the season.

Game 2: Barons 5 - Sun Sox 7

Our bullpen lost this game. One bad 6th inning gave the game to the Sun Sox as we could not come back. Tomas Mejia had a huge game going 3-5 with 2 home runs and had 5 rbis to lead Miami's offense. Aaron Bone kept Miami in the game, only giving up 3 runs in 5 innings while striking out 5.

Game 3: Barons 6 - Sun Sox 7 (10)

This game was winnable. Going into the 8th, we had a 6-2 lead, but 5 unanswered runs, including the game winner in the 10th sank us. Iva Cervantes gave us the golden ticket when he left the game in the 6th but Ken Ducker and Jordan Montalvo saw that the golden ticket flew away. One plus from the game is that Jose Gutierrez hit a 3 run home run and brought his slash line up to a massive .146/.340/.268.

Series wrap up:

Another lost series. 2-4 so far against Miami this young season. Pitching is still the death of us, losing two games in the series. Not sure what to do for that. 21 runs for us and 22 for them in the series. At least we have a day of rest tomorrow to regroup and change this lineup around.

[Sizeman21]

Big news! Our GM goes out and picks up a experienced bullpen piece! Jason Natale is a former player, from '26 to '30 he played in 348 games with 191 saves.



With 402 saves under his belt, I am sure he can help our bullpen out. I plan to use him as a set up man for Montalvo.

Anyways, let's get into this next series against Denver.

Going 8-5 so far this year, the Grizzlies have compiled a .615 winning percentage. They are in 3rd place in the Central Division, 1.0 games behind the leader. Their number of runs scored of 57 rank 11th in the Freedom League, their .259 batting average ranks 11th. On the other side of the diamond, they have given up 74 runs (14th) with their starters compiling an ERA of 5.85 which ranks 14th. Their bullpen sports an ERA of 4.54, ranking 7th.

Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:
LHP N. Ishibashi (1-2, 6.87 ERA) versus RHP D. Aguiar (0-3, 7.71 ERA)
LHP B. Chamberlin (0-0, 0.00 ERA) versus LHP J. Doan (1-0, 4.09 ERA)
LHP N. Beidler (2-0, 4.50 ERA) versus LHP B. Olander (1-1, 5.59 ERA)

Projected Lineups:

BIR: LF Cantavalle - 2B Weiss - RF Apperson - CF Murakawa - SS Ziegler - 1B Gutierrez - 3B Naylor - C Velez - P ......

DEN: 3B Garcia - RF Song - 1B LaBerge - LF Murakami - 2B Kumagai - CF Fukuyama - C Guerro - SS Perez - P .......

Game 1: Barons 8 - Grizzlies 6

The Barons knocked off the Grizzlies in a much needed victory, 8-6, at Field of the Grizzlies. Byron Weiss, who captured player of the game honors, was a big reason Birmingham won. The second baseman was 3 for 3 with a double, 2 singles, and 2 walks, while scoring 2 runs. The save went to Jordan Montalvo, his 2nd this season. Gutierrez hits a grand salami home run, now has 7 runs batted in. Ishibashi wanted to lose this one, giving up 5 earned runs in his 6 innings of work. Jake Marino picks up the win for the Barons coming in relief for Ishibashi.

The win takes Birmingham to 6-7.

Game 2: Barons 0 - Grizzlies 10

Not much to talk about in this game, 3 hits for the Barons, 1 double by Kodama. After Biedler's last outing, he followed that with a 9 run outing which jumped his ERA to 6.75 in 4 games started. Scrap this game, go for the next one.

Game 3: Barons 7 - Grizzlies 3

Finally, a game where we looked solid for most of the game. Brian Chamberlin gave up all 3 runs in his first start of the season but the team held out and finally saved our pitcher. Gutierrez was the big man of the game, homering in 3 of the last 4 games he has played in. Cantavalle hit a 2 run home run as well. Neylor and Weiss also drove in runs for the Barons.

Finally a series win! Moves us to a 7-8 record on the fresh season.

_______

LL Presents Player of the Week Trophy: Abraham Govea is respected by most Mobile Seagulls fans for his no-frills style of play. The 30-year-old third baseman went about his business with vigor last week to grab the Liberty League Player of the Week honors.

He compiled a .567 average (17-for-30) with 2 home runs, 12 RBIs and 8 runs scored.

So far in 2040 Govea is batting .444 with 7 home runs, 22 RBIs and 14 runs scored. He has 28 hits in 63 at-bats and a .520 OBP.

Velez Selected Top Player: At the age of 32, Jose Velez might have some potential he hasn't realized yet -- if his success at the plate last week is any indication. The San Antonio second baseman put up some exceptional numbers the past seven days with a .769 batting average. For his efforts Velez collected the Freedom League Player of the Week Award.

He racked up 10 hits in 13 at-bats, no home runs and 6 RBIs last week in 6 games.

This season Velez is hitting .405 with 2 home runs.

[Sizeman21]

I took a look at the Roswell Rockets, our next opponent in an upcoming 3-game series, and here are the results.

The Rockets are playing .333 ball this season, compiling a record of 5 wins and 10 losses. They are in 5th place in the East Division, 4.0 games behind the leader. The Rockets are on a cold streak, losing their last 3 games. Their number of runs scored of 70 rank tied for 11th in the Freedom League, their .292 batting average ranks 2nd. On the other side of the diamond, they have given up 100 runs (15th) with their starters compiling an ERA of 6.51 which ranks 15th. Their bullpen sports an ERA of 4.82, ranking 9th. When playing against our Barons this season, they have a record of 1 wins and 2 losses. They are coming off a 3-21 loss to the Brewers in Milwaukee. Yes 21 runs were scored by the home side, 11 in the first, and many more after that.

Projected Lineups:
ROS: LF Santos – 3B Nguyen – 2B Boudreaux – 1B Mata – RF Ortiz – C Cuebas – SS Comer – CF Santavicca – P .....

BIR: LF Cantavalle – 2B Weiss – RF Apperson – 1B Gutierrez – SS Ziegler – CF Murakawa – 3B Naylor – C Velez – P ......

Game 1: Barons 17 - Rockets 3

Just as expected, we take game one handily from the slumping visitors. We got two home runs from Gutierrez who turned up the heat with 3 runs batted in. Most of our starting lineup got at least 1 rbi in the game while Murakawa, Naylor, Velez Kodama landed 2 rbis while even our starter Juan Sanchez got in on the action for a 2 rbi single. Sanchez improved his record to 2-2 on the year. Special note on the game: Jose Gutierrez ties Birmingham's single season mark for runs scored in a game with 5.

Game 2: Barons 11 - Rockets 1

Birmingham starter Vincent Raudales had a strong outing against the Roswell Rockets at Birmingham Grounds. The right-hander was a big part of his team's 11-1 win. Raudales, now 1-2, was the winner. In 6.2 innings, he gave up 5 hits, while striking out 4, walking 4, and allowing 1 earned run.

The Barons got a big at-bat from first baseman Jose Gutierrez. For the game, Gutierrez was 2-3 with 2 singles, a walk, and was hit by a pitch. He drove in 2 runs and scored once. In the bottom of the sixth, with the bases loaded, he stroked a 2-run single. His 13th hit of the season gave Birmingham a 2-1 lead. Masahiko Kodama had a 3 hit game while adding 2 runs to the game. Cantavalle, Ziegler and Apperson had 2 rbis each while backup catcher Jorge Reyes had 1.

Game 3: Barons 0 - Rockets 3

Mike Rigney pitched a gem for the visiting Rockets. 8 innings of shutout ball, only giving up 5 hits, 8 Ks and no walks for his most dominant performance of the year. The Barons aided Roswell with 2 errors helping the Rockets claim victory after two ugly defeats.

Series Wrap up:

Disappointed we didn't get the sweep against the lowly Rockets. First two games I was pleased with. Gutierrez has put his hitting shoes on last few games, Cantavalle, Ziegler, Apperson all continue to impress while our bullpen could hold a lead for once this season. 9-9 on the season is about where I saw us in all honesty. Anything better would have been a pleasant surprise and anything worse would have been disappointing.

Upcoming series:

VS Atlanta (11-7) 4 games
@ San Antonio (12-7) 4 games
VS Roswell (6-12) 3 games

[Sizeman21]

We have a 4-game series at home against the Atlanta Crackers kicking off today. Here is a report on the opponent:

With their record standing at 11 wins and 7 losses, the Crackers have a winning percentage of .611. They are leading the East Division. The Crackers are playing well at the moment, having a 3-game winning streak going. Their number of runs scored of 82 rank tied for 9th in the Freedom League, their .243 batting average ranks 14th. On the other side of the diamond, they have given up 57 runs (1st) with their starters compiling an ERA of 3.03 which ranks 1st. Their bullpen sports an ERA of 1.58, ranking 1st.

Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:
LHP N. Beidler (2-1, 6.75 ERA) versus RHP K. Walsh (0-1, 3.86 ERA)
LHP B. Chamberlin (1-0, 3.38 ERA) versus RHP J. Gildea (0-2, 5.06 ERA)
RHP J. Sanchez (2-2, 5.73 ERA) versus RHP B. Deimling (2-0, 1.23 ERA)
RHP V. Raudales (1-2, 3.80 ERA) versus RHP O. Rascon (3-0, 2.86 ERA)

The top 5 players on their team are:
1. SP Tony Rosales (Age: 27, Overall : 5.0, Potential: 5.0)
2. CL Steve Leeper (28, 4.0, 4.0)
3. RP Dave Oliver (27, 3.5, 4.0)
4. SP Ben Deimling (27, 3.5, 3.5)
5. 2B Miguel Gonzalez (32, 3.5, 3.5)

Projected Lineups:
ATL: CF Thorton - SS Hohman - 2B Gonzalez - 3B Carper - RF Clark - LF Catalan - 1B Kingman - C Lara - P .......

BIR: LF Cantavalle – 2B Weiss – RF Apperson – 1B Gutierrez – SS Ziegler – CF O'Mahony – 3B Naylor – C Velez – P ......

Game 1: Crackers 1 - Barons 2

Pitcher Nate Beidler was sensational for the Birmingham Barons in his team's 2-1 triumph over the Atlanta Crackers. Beidler received player of the game honors, while picking up the win. In 6.1 innings, Beidler surrendered 3 hits, while striking out 9 and walking 5. He allowed 1 run. Jordan Montalvo was called on to finish, recording his 3rd save.

Bingham Zeigler's at-bat in the bottom of the sixth inning was a big one for Birmingham. Coming to bat with two out, a runner on 1st and Birmingham leading 1-0, the shortstop hit a run-scoring single.

Game 2: Crackers 6 - Barons 5

The Atlanta Crackers topped the Birmingham Barons, 6-5, with center fielder Mike Thornton playing a big role. Thornton was 4 for 5 with 4 singles for the Crackers in the win. Atlanta, now 12-8, has gotten their season off to a good start.

The Crackers got a big at-bat from right fielder Autry Clark. For the game, Clark was 1-4 with a home run. He drove in 3 runs and scored once. In the top of the first, with runners on 2nd and 3rd, he stroked a 3-run home run. His 3rd home run of the season gave Atlanta a 3-0 lead. Cantavalle, Weiss and Ziegler had multi hit performances while Barons pitcher Brian Chamberlin took the L, giving up all 6 runs in his 6 innings of work.

Game 3: Crackers 5 - Barons 8

Getting a good performance from center fielder Jason O'Mahony, the Birmingham Barons defeated the Atlanta Crackers, 8-5. O'Mahony was 2 for 4 with a home run. He drove in 2 runs and scored once for the Barons. Jordan Montalvo was credited with the save for Birmingham, his 4th of the season. The loss drops Atlanta to 12-9.

O'Mahony contributed a big hit, a 2-run home run, for Birmingham in the bottom of the fifth. With his team trailing 5-4, O'Mahony took a curveball from Ben Deimling and stroked the home run to right. His 1st home run of the season allowed the Barons to leap in front, 6-5.

Game 4: Crackers 5 - Barons 1

The Birmingham Barons and Atlanta Crackers were greeted by an enthusiastic crowd at Birmingham Grounds.

Atlanta starter Oscar Rascon pitched effectively against the Birmingham Barons at Birmingham Grounds. The right-hander led his team to a 5-1 win. Earning his 1st save for Atlanta was Dave Oliver.

Atlanta second baseman Miguel Gonzalez contributed to the cause with a double in the top of the third. For the game, Gonzalez went 4-5 with a triple, a double, and 2 singles.

Murakawa was our only bright spot as he hit a solo home run in the 6th inning.

The win brings the Crackers to 13-9, a promising start as the team looks to return to the playoffs. Our record falls even to 11-11.

Series wrap up:

Frustrating final game there really wanted the win. Taking two games against the top team in our division is a good start but I was feeling greedy and wanted to see if we could maybe claim 3 games.



Portland no longer own the best record in baseball. That is shared with a surging Mobile team who are 9-1 in their last 10 games.

Injury Report:

Jason Natale is out for 3 days with a tender shoulder, does not look bad.

Jose Gutierrez has a mild abdominal strain, will miss two games.

Transaction news:

We re acquired Victor Cervantes from Cottage City and lost Pieter Verhagen, Brian Chamberlin and Ryan Belt to our AAA affiliate.

[Sizeman21]

I took a look at the San Antonio Missions, our next opponent in an upcoming 4-game series, and here are the results.
We will meet in Missions Ballpark, which seats 26200 and plays like a neutral park.

The Missions are playing .591 ball this season, compiling a record of 13 wins and 9 losses. They are in 2nd place in the Central Division, 1.5 games behind the leader. Their number of runs scored of 128 rank 2nd in the Freedom League, their .289 batting average ranks 2nd. On the other side of the diamond, they have given up 98 runs (8th) with their starters compiling an ERA of 4.24 which ranks 8th. Their bullpen sports an ERA of 3.63, ranking 3rd.

Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:
LHP N. Ishibashi (1-3, 6.12 ERA) versus RHP B. Martinez (3-1, 2.61 ERA)
LHP N. Beidler (3-1, 5.64 ERA) versus LHP C. Brick (0-1, 5.40 ERA)
RHP R. Savino (0-0, 0.00 ERA) versus RHP M. Esparza (1-1, 3.47 ERA)
RHP J. Sanchez (3-2, 6.11 ERA) versus LHP P. Eley (2-2, 7.14 ERA)

The top 5 players on their team are:
1. SS Ismael Arriaga (Age: 26, Overall : 5.0, Potential: 5.0)
2. CL Pablo Leon (33, 4.5, 4.5)
3. CF Antonio Alvarez (26, 4.0, 4.0)
4. LF Francisco Ramos (27, 4.0, 4.0)
5. SP Bruce Martinez (26, 3.5, 3.5)

Projected Lineups:

BIR: LF Cantavalle – 2B Weiss – RF Apperson – 1B Gutierrez – SS Ziegler – CF O'Mahony – 3B Naylor – C Velez – P ......

SAN: CF Alvarez - 1B Sandoval - LF Ramos - SS Arriaga - RF Whittaker - 3B Webb - 2B Velez - C Velazquez - P ........

Game 1: Barons 6 - Missions 3

Benefiting from Byron Weiss's productive game, the Birmingham Barons downed the San Antonio Missions, 6-3. Weiss was 2 for 3 with 2 home runs and 2 walks for the Barons. The win moves Birmingham to a record of 12-11.

Had Jason O'Mahony not delivered a key base hit in the top of the seventh, the outcome might have been different. Instead, with two down and the bases loaded, O'Mahony hit a bases-clearing double. That made the score 5-3, in favor of the Barons.

Ishibashi won his second game of the season, pitching into the 7th only giving up 3 runs while striking out one measly batter. Montalvo gained his 5th save and has seemingly found his command.

Game 2: Barons 4 - Missions 7

San Antonio starter Craig Brick pitched effectively against the Birmingham Barons at Missions Ballpark. The left-hander led his team to a 7-4 win. The Barons drop to 12-12 and continue their inconsistent start to the 2040 season.

The Missions got a big at-bat from left fielder Francisco Ramos. For the game, Ramos went 1-4 with a home run, while adding 3 RBI and scoring once. In the bottom of the first, with runners on 1st and 3rd, he stroked a 3-run home run. His 7th home run of the season gave San Antonio a 3-1 lead.

We got 1 run in the top of the first from a Kodama sacrifice fly to score Cantavalle. One run in the 4th was scored by Velez off a Naylor double. And finally 2 runs in the 6th by a Jose Gutierrez 2 run home run, his 6th of the season. Biedler gave up all 7 runs in his 6 innings or work.

Game 3: Barons 8 - Missions 4

The Birmingham Barons downed the San Antonio Missions, 8-4, at Missions Ballpark. Bingham Zeigler led the way, going 3-for-5 for Birmingham. Jason Natale earned save number 1.

Zeigler had a game-changing triple in the top of the seventh. On a 1-2 cutter from Aaron Lytle, he banged a run-scoring triple to right, giving the Barons a 5-4 lead. It was the 2nd triple of the year for Zeigler. Velez had a 3 hit game while Naylor and Ziegler had 3 combined errors in the game. Robert Savino won his first game of the season and the bullpen shuts the Missions down for the count. We go for the series win tomorrow, let's hope we get it.

Game 4: Barons 2 - Missions 7

AGHH! Another ugly loss topped off by a 11 game suspension for Juan Sanchez who participated in a brawl.

San Antonio left-hander Pete Eley made an effective start against the Birmingham Barons at Missions Ballpark, leading his team to a 7-2 win. Eley got the win, improving to 3-2. He allowed 5 hits and walked 2 over 6 innings. Eley allowed 2 earned runs. The Barons fall to 13-13 and continue their uneasy start to the 2040 season.

Antonio Alvarez hit a 2-run double off Juan Sanchez in the bottom of the fifth, which put the Missions in front, 2-1. In addition to the double, Alvarez had 1 single, while going 2 for 5.


Series recap:

We just can't get away from our .500 mark! Another 4 game series we split that I was eager to see if we could win. We scored 20 runs over the 4 games while San Antonio scored 21 which is not what we are looking for. Our starting pitchers are giving up far too many runs still and never pick up a quality start. I don't know what it will take. The only good thing is we might have a shot at the division this season, as we are still only 1.5 games behind the Crackers.

[Jamee999]

Perhaps the manager should put himself into the lineup.

[Sizeman21]

Originally Posted by Jamee999

Perhaps the manager should put himself into the lineup.

Oh that's cool. Didn't even know someone had the same name that played a sport. I just thought of the name at random. Thanks for pointing that out.

[Klew1986]

This is fantastic. Keep up the great work.

[Sizeman21]

Our third series against Roswell this season, hopefully we can take 2 or all 3 games from them this time around.

I took a look at the Roswell Rockets, our next opponent in an upcoming 3-game series, and here are the results.
The Rockets play their games in Rockets Stadium, which can be described as a neutral park. The building seats 36100 fans.

Going 8-17 so far this year, the Rockets have compiled a .320 winning percentage. They are in 5th place in the East Division, 6.0 games behind the leader. Their number of runs scored of 99 rank tied for 13th in the Freedom League, their .270 batting average ranks 6th. On the other side of the diamond, they have given up 177 runs (15th) with their starters compiling an ERA of 7.32 which ranks 15th. Their bullpen sports an ERA of 5.26, ranking 15th. When playing against our Barons this season, they have a record of 2 wins and 4 losses.

Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:
LHP N. Ishibashi (2-3, 5.72 ERA) versus RHP S. Barry (1-2, 8.34 ERA)
RHP J. Gutierrez (0-1, 2.70 ERA) versus RHP M. Rigney (2-3, 5.21 ERA)
LHP N. Beidler (3-2, 6.44 ERA) versus RHP J. Pablo (1-5, 5.65 ERA)

The top 5 players on their team are:
1. CL Haqverdi Jandierov (Age: 26, Overall : 5.0, Potential: 5.0)
2. SP Mike Rigney (30, 3.5, 3.5)
3. 2B Mike Boudreaux (30, 3.5, 3.5)
4. SP Ricky Hernandez (25, 3.0, 3.5)
5. RF Ruben Ortiz (29, 3.0, 3.0)

Projected Lineups:

BIR: LF Cantavalle – 2B Weiss – RF Apperson – 1B Gutierrez – SS Ziegler – CF O'Mahony – 3B Naylor – C Velez – P ......

ROS: CF Santavicca - LF Santos – RF Ortiz - 3B Nguyen – 2B Amaya – 1B Mata – C Cuebas – SS McKinney– P .....

Game 1: Barons 6 - Rockets 5

Despite 3 late runs in the 8th by Roswell, Birmingham was able to fend off the Rockets for a 6-5 victory. Mike Apperson was the star on offense. He slugged 2 home runs driving in 5 runs and scoring twice. Noriyoshi Ishibashi, who went 5.1 innings, was the winning pitcher. He was charged with 2 runs on 8 hits, while walking 0 and striking out 5. His record now stands at 3-3. Jordan Montalvo earned the save for Birmingham, his 6th of the year.

Apperson contributed a big hit, a 2-run home run, for Birmingham in the top of the third. With his team trailing 1-0, Apperson took a changeup from Seth Barry and stroked the home run to left-center. His 3rd home run of the season allowed the Barons to leap in front, 2-1.

Game 2: Barons 1 - Rockets 10

Well a sweep isn't happening. A ugly 10-1 defeat made sure of that. Roswell left fielder Dan Collins was instrumental in his team's 10-1 win over the Birmingham Barons. Collins went 3-5 with 2 runs scored to lead the offensive attack for the Rockets. Getting the save was Trevor King, his 1st. Roswell, now 9-18, is off to a slow start.

The Rockets had to work out of trouble in the top of the sixth. The score was 4-1, Roswell, with two out. Birmingham, with the bases loaded, was mounting a threat. Zach Naylor dug in at the plate, but on a 0-2 fastball, he struck out. We got nothing going this game with a grand total of 6 hits scattered over 9 innings and 2 errors helping Roswell out.

Game 3: Barons 4- Rockets 5

Instead of winning two out of three we lose tow out of three against bottom dwellers Roswell. We had a 4-1 lead going into the bottom of the 7th inning but Ken Ducker made sure that lead was gone, giving up 4 runs on three hits, one a triple, and a walk. Weiss, Ziegler and O'Mahony all had multi hit games, giving us a chance for the win at least.

___________

Series wrap up:

Well it is never good to lose to the bottom team of any division. Not too much I have to sayy on this series other than we stunk.

___________

Injury Report:

After the game we learn that 1B Jose Gutierrez will be out for 6 weeks with elbow inflammation. Our GM calls up minor league 1B Ray Reeves to step in during the time.

___________

Let's look at how our team is doing this season:





Oh wow, I hadn't looked at out team stats in a while and was quite surprised to say the least



Tied 1st in runs scored and 1st in batting average?? Would never have dreamed that from this team. Cool non the less.

Division standings after the month of April finishes up:



One game under .500 is not bad but surely we can be doing better.

This is the only update for today got some things to get to that require me elsewhere. Enjoy the weekend!

[Sizeman21]

I took a look at the Atlanta Crackers, our next opponent in an upcoming 3-game series, and here are the results.
We will meet in Crackers Ballpark, which seats 29800 and plays like a ballpark slightly favoring hitters.

With their record standing at 16 wins and 11 losses, the Crackers have a winning percentage of .593. They are leading the East Division. The Crackers are playing well at the moment, having a 3-game winning streak going. Their number of runs scored of 116 rank 14th in the Freedom League, their .252 batting average ranks 11th. On the other side of the diamond, they have given up 88 runs (1st) with their starters compiling an ERA of 3.18 which ranks 1st. Their bullpen sports an ERA of 1.76, ranking 1st. When playing against our Barons this season, they have a record of 2 wins and 2 losses.

Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:
RHP R. Savino (1-0, 6.00 ERA) versus LHP T. Rosales (2-1, 2.70 ERA)
LHP N. Beidler (3-2, 6.44 ERA) versus RHP K. Walsh (0-3, 4.22 ERA)
LHP N. Ishibashi (3-3, 5.44 ERA) versus LHP E. Friedman (2-0, 2.00 ERA)

The top 5 players on their team are:
1. SP Tony Rosales (Age: 27, Overall : 5.0, Potential: 5.0)
2. CL Steve Leeper (28, 4.0, 4.0)
3. RP Dave Oliver (27, 3.5, 4.0)
4. RP Ben Deimling (27, 3.5, 3.5)
5. 2B Miguel Gonzalez (32, 3.5, 3.5)

Projected Lineups:

BIR: LF Cantavalle – 2B Weiss – RF Apperson – CF O'Mahony – SS Ziegler – 1B Cadena/Reeves – 3B Naylor – C Velez – P ......

ATL: CF Ulloa - SS Hohman - 2B Gonzaez - 3B Carper - RF Clark - 1B Kingman - LF Catalan - P .........

Game 1: Barons 0 - Crackers 1

With 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, the Crackers get the only run of the game, a game winning single scoring Jack Hohman from second base. Oh the heartache. The Barons only managed 4 hits all game while the Crackers had 6. Frustrated is putting the game lightly.

Game 2: Barons 4 - Crackers 6

Another game, another walk off loss. Going into the 9th, the game was tied at 4 each. Our pitcher Jordan Montalvo gave up the 2 run home run to give the Atlanta Crackers the win. Mike Apperson was the only Baron with more than 1 hit in the game and had half of the teams runs batted in.

Game 3: Barons 11 - Crackers 1

The Birmingham Barons put together a convincing win at Crackers Ballpark, defeating the Atlanta Crackers, 11-1. Ray Reeves was one of the hitting stars. He went 3-3 with a home run, a double, a walk, and was hit by a pitch. He scored 3 runs and drove in 4 for Birmingham. Noriyoshi Ishibashi, credited with the win, is now 4-3. He allowed 1 run on 7 hits in 9 innings. The win takes Birmingham to 15-17.

Reeves had a key at-bat for Birmingham early in the game. With a runner on 1st, he hit a run-scoring double. It was his 1st double of the season and gave Birmingham an early 1-0 lead. O'Mahony and Cantavallle also had home runs in the game.

Series Recap: A pretty lame 3 game series for the Barons even with our 11 run outpour in the finale. No runs in the first game and only 4 I the second while losing both games to walk offs is not how you win series. We arn't gaining any ground losing series like this. Still 4 back from Atlanta and Miami.

Lets go get Los Angeles!

[Sizeman21]

Today we begin a 3-game series with the Los Angeles Seraphs at home.

Going 16-15 so far this year, the Seraphs have compiled a .516 winning percentage. They are in 2nd place in the West Division, 0.5 games behind the leader. Their number of runs scored of 136 rank 9th in the Freedom League, their .246 batting average ranks 14th. On the other side of the diamond, they have given up 129 runs (7th) with their starters compiling an ERA of 3.75 which ranks 6th. Their bullpen sports an ERA of 4.74, ranking 13th.

Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:
RHP V. Raudales (1-3, 4.55 ERA) versus LHP C. Pickens (2-3, 4.01 ERA)
LHP R. Colbourne (0-0, 1.00 ERA) versus RHP J. Preston (2-2, 3.26 ERA)
LHP N. Beidler (3-3, 5.40 ERA) versus LHP P. Rubalcava (4-1, 4.54 ERA)

The top 5 players on their team are:
1. 2B Sueki Kawakami (Age: 23, Overall : 4.0, Potential: 5.0)
2. RP Frank Perez (26, 4.0, 4.5)
3. CL Ernesto Reyes (29, 4.0, 4.0)
4. RP Abel Wynne (36, 3.5, 3.5)
5. SP Chris Pickens (29, 3.5, 3.5)

Projected Lineups:

LOS: RF Pruvost - LF Johnson - 3B Black - 2B Kawakami - CF Cox - C Kaza - 1 Grohowski - SS Watts - P ........


BIR: CF O'Mahony - LF Cantavalle - 2B Kodama - 1B Reeves - SS Ziegler - C Velez - RF Apperson - 3B Naylor - P .........


Game 1: Seraphs 2 - Barons 5

We got a big win and timely hitting in this game. Raudales only gave up 1 run in 5 innings and our bullpen cleaned up the game. Masahiko Kodama hit a long home run in the 3rd inning and went 1 for 3 on the day. Roberto Cantavalle had a hit and 2 runs batted in as well as Victor Cervantes who later pinch hit for Ducker.

Game 2: Seraphs 5 - Barons 6

I think this is our first walk off win of the season. A dramatic single hit by Byron Weiss scored Juan Velez from third base to win the game for the Barons. 5 of our runs came with 2 outs in this game while we left 3 players in scoring position. Weiss, Apperson, Ziegler, O'Mahony, and Velez all got rbis in this game. Reynaldo Colbourne left the game after 1 inning after feeling some discomfort in his pitching arm. Ryan Belt lasted 4 innings while giving up the other 4 runs.

Game 3: Seraphs 8 - Barons 3

Of course we couldn't get the sweep today. The Los Angeles Seraphs defeated the Birmingham Barons, 8 - 3. Earning player of the game honors was right fielder Gabriel Pacheco, who went 3-4 with a home run, 2 singles, and a walk, while scoring 2 times and driving in 2. The Seraphs bumped their record to 17-17 with this latest triumph.

Touma Kaza went 1 for 4 with a hit by pitch for Los Angeles. The three-time All-Star had a key at-bat in the top of the sixth. With one out and runners on 1st and 3rd, he broke a 3-3 tie with a run-scoring ground out off Nate Beidler. It was his 14th RBI of the season. 4 hits in the game saw us take home most pitiful offense award.
____________

Some news:

ABL News: Draft Pool Revealed: With the 2040 rookie draft only 30 days away, teams across American Baseball League are preparing their scouting missions, trying to assess their long-term needs and hoping that they land the prospect that will positively define their club for the next few years. Most of the young men in the draft pool will have gone as far as they can go, but then, a few will surprise and pan out as quality -- or even great -- professional ballplayers.

The top players available (in no particular order) seem to be:
1. Ernie Segars, 18 year-old 3B out of high-school.
2. Barry Burton, 18 year-old LHP out of high-school.
3. Pete Lee, 18 year-old C out of high-school.
4. Steve Hoffman, 18 year-old RHP out of high-school.
5. Rusty Hamilton, 18 year-old 3B out of high-school.
6. Jose Vasquez, 21 year-old LHP out of college.
7. Dan Deck, 21 year-old RHP out of college.
8. Mark Bennett, 22 year-old RHP out of college.
9. Matt Rogers, 21 year-old RHP out of college.
10. Justin Sheppard, 23 year-old RHP out of college.

____________

Let's look at our players so far.







Not much to say, not much has changed since I last updated you, but I thought I should show you what our team is shaping up to be.

League standings:



Santa Fe is crushing right now. They are 9-1 in their last 10 games.

Our schedule coming up:

@ Milwaukee, 2 games
@ Hartford, 4 games
VS Denver, 3 games

[Westheim]

This team needs pitching, badly. And it also looks like you're trying to murder your catcher. I would recommend to not start him every day, especially with that stat line. Yuck.

And what's going on in Oakland? Yikes.

[Sizeman21]

Originally Posted by Westheim

This team needs pitching, badly. And it also looks like you're trying to murder your catcher. I would recommend to not start him every day, especially with that stat line. Yuck.

And what's going on in Oakland? Yikes.

Thanks, I probably should rotate more often, Velez does look like he is taking a slide in his hitting.

The Oaks are royally sucking right now.