French Baseball League - Julien Henri

[stevem810]

Gerald Gallet captured 12/12 first place votes to unanimously win the Reliever of the Year Award for 1971. Having spent his entire career in Cap Chevalier, he has now won this award 3 times and also has 2 championship trophy's.
Gerald declined his contract option so if the Waves want to maintain their bullpen at the current level, or higher, they may have to ante up.

The public record of the CC Waves finances indicates the money is there for an extension. Hailing from Saint Medard -en-Jalles it might be that Gallet would like to play ball in France. This will be one of the stories the FBL will follow as we move towards Arbitration and Free Agency.

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by stevem810

Gerald Gallet captured 12/12 first place votes to unanimously win the Reliever of the Year Award for 1971. Having spent his entire career in Cap Chevalier, he has now won this award 3 times and also has 2 championship trophy's.
Gerald declined his contract option so if the Waves want to maintain their bullpen at the current level, or higher, they may have to ante up.

The public record of the CC Waves finances indicates the money is there for an extension. Hailing from Saint Medard -en-Jalles it might be that Gallet would like to play ball in France. This will be one of the stories the FBL will follow as we move towards Arbitration and Free Agency.

Hmm. So the Artists' Ochoa finished third, but am I getting the sense that there might be some interest in bringing Gallet to Paris if he becomes available?

[stevem810]

Originally Posted by BirdWatcher

Hmm. So the Artists' Ochoa finished third, but am I getting the sense that there might be some interest in bringing Gallet to Paris if he becomes available?

Ha! You are one step ahead of me.

I hadn't thought about him as an Artist until...now. More about marketing league interest in the off-season.

But, Paris has $, and Gallet is the best in the league so it would be impossible to not pursue him.

The Golden Orioles have a CL who is about ready so Paris doesn't have to go for the top reliever unless they decide to load up in the pen.

[stevem810]

P Julien Henri .311, Paris
C Ron Birch .329, Anse d'Arlet
1B Laurant Bonhomme .300, Le Diamant
2B Claude Doauy, .303, Ottawa
3B Rodrigue DeShamps .274, Le Morne Rouge
SS Frank Dorey, .322, Le Morne Rouge
LF Mathew Michel, .323, Paris
CF Julien Henri, .311, Paris
RF Laurant Mercier, .367, Paris

[stevem810]

It's always a bit 'tarnished' when an international player that is 31 years old captures a ROY award but the rules don't put age limits on achievements.

A player deserving of recognition is Harumi Ichakawi, Nice SP, who did an excellent job helping that team reach the post season for the first time since 1967.

Harumi had it all going his way until his injury sent him to the DL for the remainder of the season, and then some.

[stevem810]

Ishii, wins, again! During the presentation of this award Ishii had little to say as he was still reeling from the Game 6 loss to Paris.

"I don't deserve this award. We did not win the championship." With that he left the trophy on the table and confidently exited the platform as a stunned, but not completely surprised small gathering, quietly observed.

In the heat of the pennant race Ishii offered up this sound bite, "It's not about popularity. It's not about being a nice guy. My job is to coach players to win. That's all I do."

After the first 3 losing years, Ishii has led the Expedition to winning seasons all but one year. He is the only manager the team has ever had.

[stevem810]

The ageless one, Vic Cosman, a legend in his own time.

[stevem810]

Julien continues to be an amazing baseball player in so many ways.

[stevem810]

Julien Henri captures the Championship MVP Award.

[stevem810]

The Bird called this move from Denver, CO., suggesting, or at least putting forth the logic that if Gallet his free agency he could be a nice addition to the Paris bullpen.

If didn't take long to get the deal done and for the first time in 9 seasons Gerald will not be in a Cap Chevalier uniform. The 28 year old power reliever, who pitched in the most games just 2 years ago, will join Gabriel Ochoa in the back end of the bullpen giving the Artists closers from both sides of the mound.

Paris already has the number one player in all of the outfield positions. They have added the best reliever to that list.

[stevem810]

There is not much known about the 27 year old Columbian SP that inked a deal with Paris, but Scouts say he hits the radar gun at 93-95 and has...are you ready???....4+ pitches. But, some Scouts say that his ball has little movement and he may be fodder for the power hitters.

Maybe more cautionary is the tag that he doesn't always hustle. But, the Paris management gambled on a 6 year deal netting the man from Bogota a $360,000 purse, guaranteed. The FBL doesn't see a lot of international players from non-french speaking countries so it will be interesting to see how Dave Coronado performs in an environment that may present language challenges.

[stevem810]

Standings. Julien on the mound and at the plate.
Ownership Reminder: Win it all

[stevem810]

It was a homecoming of sorts for Julien Henri and team mates Herve Delage, Laurant Mercier, and Matthieu Michel when they entered the sold out ball park in Martinique to watch their current team face the legends of the championship years. Henri was picked to start for the Artists and hard throwing Robert Bour had the honors for the Diamonds.

Henri was lifted in the 9th after yielding a solo homer to Gracia but only after keeping the Diamonds in check for most of the afternoon. He got the W and was awarded the POG honors. Herve Delage had a 2 out single that brought in Henri from 2nd base adding insurance to the Artist lead.

Newcomer Gerald Gallant, FA from the Waves, did his job in the 9th earning a save in his first Artist outing. Catcher Johann Girard had 2 hits and 2 RBI's. The signing of Girard was probably the single smart move that the former Asst GM executed prior to his waiving of Henri. A good move, but not good enough to overcome the stupidity of waiving the face of the franchise.

[stevem810]

Another close one on the island of Martinique. Kobayashi's first hit of the young season was a big one as he rifled a ball into the right field corner scoring Lamy from second base.

Vic Cosman was the unlucky recipient of a lack of hitting but he turned in 7 good innings for the Diamonds. Julien Henri had 3 base hits in his first 3 AB's but banged into a double play in his 4th. For the day, 3 for 5.

Gallet figures in the decision, again, as he notches a W to go with his save in the opener.

[stevem810]

He doesn't speak even 'en peu' French so it can be challenging for the International Free Agent from Bogota to grasp some of the fine points of the game in progress. From the first to the fifth inning it was not an issue as he pitched perfect baseball for the Artists.

In the end he pitched a very good game, but, not as good as SP Christophe Pierson, a native of the capital of Martinique, Fort de France. Pierson, just 25 years old, pitched a stellar game and doubled in the winning run for the undefeated Ottawa Expedition.

Paris falls to 2-2 as they lost to Le Diamant in the 3rd game of the year. Henri went 0 for 4 and is now batting just .250 on the young season.

[stevem810]

One day after a 6-4 Artist win over the Expedition, a game where Julien Henri played CF, collected two hits, and hit his first dinger of the year, Paris got a good outing from Henri but it wasn't enough. Ottawa appears to be a very strong team, again, as they took the series from the champs in Paris.

Laurant Mercier, is off to a slow start for Paris hitting just .185. The RF does have a nice .385 OBP but the team relies on Laurant to hit for power as he is always around the .500 SLG. mark. But, with just 26 AB's there is plenty of time for him to get straightened around.

Herve DeLage is off to a good start. He's hoping to prove that 1971 was an aberration and not a trend. The second sacker is 9 for 26.

Paris will head to the island next to take on Anse d'Arlet. Both teams have identical 3-3 records. The Sting Rays inked Corentin Chauvin, former Ottawa SP, to a 5 year deal that exceeds $600 K.

[stevem810]

Henri is off to a good start at the dish and on the hill. With two games on the mound his efforts have been very consistent. Inside the batters box, and often hitting clean up, he is a constant threat. Just one plate appearance with a whiff.

[stevem810]

One of the hottest hitters in the young college season is Jules Huard, born in french speaking Guadalupe. Playing for Angers College, Huard is following up a torrid season with another strong start.

Jules definitely controls the bat well but will have to work on making contact more often and shoring up his defense if he wants to be selected in the first round of the rookie draft.

The Angers College Judges went all the way last season coming in first then winning the post-season.

[stevem810]

The Artists got a big hit from Herve Delage that scored the winning run in the top of the 9th in Montreal. Paris had both Mercier and Henri on the bench so offensive punch was somewhat lacking.

Bob Juhan, RF, in a rare start took advantage as he had two hits including a triple and batted in a pair. Luke Hicks, back up middle infielder, had not hit a home run since 1969. In the 3rd he connected for just the 2nd time in 675 AB's.

Sam Smith did not earn the win but going 7 IP (2 runs/1 earned) kept the Artists in the ball game. Former Cap Chevalier closer Gallet labored for 45 pitches, blew the save in the 8th, but held down the fort in the 9th to earn the win.

[stevem810]

The Artists took 2 of 3 from the Royals in Montreal losing the middle game 4-1 that was pitched by Henri. Julien did a credible job going 7 innings and yielding 4 runs on 8 hits. His record falls to 1-2.

In the rubber game of the series Sam Smith was brilliant for Paris allowing 2 runs (1 earned) in seven innings pitched. Gallant blew the save when he allowed the 2nd run to score in the 8th but his scoreless 9th earned him the win. So far, the former Wave has a record of 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA.

Paris is 7-5 and now head back to France to face the Snake Eyes of Quebec (6-6). Below are the box scores from the 3 game series.