Los Angeles Leopards (SVMLB)

[pauwoo]

After making it to the playoffs in 3-straight seasons, winning the whole thing once (in 2075), and putting the best regular season in club history on the board last year at 101-61, you’d think that sticking it out in the City of Angels would have been a foregone conclusion. Well, it wasn’t – not after getting bounced in the 2nd round of the playoffs at the hands of the Mexico City Jaguars. My initial inclination was to tuck tail and run, to find a new club and rebuild, to fashion it into a winner, and to forget all about our inability to win when it mattered most in Los Angeles. In the end, however, I couldn’t do that – I love this team, have invested more time than I care to admit into building it up, and still think that this club can blossom into a perennial World Series favorite. So, that’s what I’ll do…

Before I get into the changes I’ve made to this universe, a look at where we’ve been…

2075: Starts here @ post #160
2076: Starts here @ post #1
2077: Starts here @ post # 33
2078: Starts here
2079: Starts here... (Post 67)
2080: Starts here... (Post 136)
2081: Starts here… (Post 205)
2082: Starts here… (Post 275)
2083: Starts here... (Post 334)
2084: Starts here... (Post 346)


Summary of Offseason Changes:

• The Virginia Beach Captains lost their charter, were purchased by an Auto Industry tycoon, and relocated to Detroit where they will henceforth be known as the Motors.
• The Brooklyn Atlantics have changed their name back to the Brooklyn Citizens.
• The Montreal Alouettes have been moved back to the National League.
• The St. Louis Blue Birds moved to Charlotte, are now called the Imperials, and will ply their trade in the American League, taking Montreal’s spot in the AL East.
• The Dallas Bulls will be known as the Dallas Chaparrals going forward, and will continue to suck for a couple more seasons.
• The Orlando Stars moved to the National League, then moved to Miami where they’ll be known as the Herons.
• The New Orleans Gators have been renamed the Pirates. Not sure if I like what I’ve done here, but, we’ll try it on, see if it fits…
• The Philadelphia Patriots are now known as the Philadelphia Founders…
• Ottawa made the jump to the American League, swapping spots with Orlando, then went West a bit more, finally settling in Toronto as the Maple Leafs
• And, finally, the Vancouver Bears, winners of the World Series last season, have rebranded their outfit as the Mounties, making all that World Series apparel useless…

Summary of Offseason Roster Moves:

• RP Nick Demmer becomes a free agent, signed a 1-year, $5.5mm contract with Vancouver shortly thereafter
• RP Anderson Parker joined the Las Vegas Outlaws on a 2-year, $19.2mm contract and is now dead to me.
• SP Michael Brisk heads off to Portland after putting pen to paper on a 3-year, $65.2mm contract
• LF Tony Voorhis exited stage left as a Free Agent, signed a 3-year, $79.2mm contract with Detroit
• CL Cory Sterner bolted as a Free Agent, signed a 1-year contract with Buffalo for $9.3mm
• We traded 24-year old LF Jimar Givens (a legit MLB prospect), 23-year old minor league 2B Nicholas Rivera (low-key MLB potential), and 24-year old minor league RHP Greg Maynard (you never know) to the Portland Pines, getting 30-year old RHP Peter Garcia in return. Garcia will slot into our rotation, anywhere from #3 to #5…
• I signed 33-year-old RP Rishon Shaw to a 1-year, $3.9mm contract to shore up the pen a bit.
• Another trade… I sent SP Case Tunnell (a solid, mid-rotation guy) to Buffalo where he’ll need better gloves, while RP Donovan Turnbull (a legit reliever) and minor league SP Cristobal Ruiz (MLB potential, better ceiling than Case, work ethic is suspect) may want to invest in some quality shades as they join us in and around the Los Angeles area.

So, yeah, not my favorite offseason… losing fan favorites like Anderson Parker, Cory Sterner, Tony Voorhis, and Brisky hurts, but we have a lot in the pantry that was going unused, have brought in some new, fun faces, and, if the preseason punditry is to be trusted, should finish at the top of the pops in the NL West for our 4th year in a row.

Note: Even with my 12-team independent league (which, is sorely in need of a make-over), my save file has a ton of free agents… so, to that end, and without a firm idea if this will help alleviate the problem, I’ve added an additional level to my minor leagues (class A). Hopefully, it will give these guys something to do… and, since aesthetics are super important to me the bulk of the league will be kitted out in Low Concepts… For our part, the new Class A club will be christened the Warriors and reside in good ol’ Watts.

Up Next: Little hand says it's time to rock and roll… we’ll kick off the 2078 campaign in Phoenix with a 3-game set…

[pauwoo]

Los Angeles Leopards (0-0, .000) @ Phoenix Coyotes (0-0, .000)
We’ll begin the 2078 campaign in Phoenix, locking horns with a club that has playoff intentions… they’ve retooled the rotation a bit in the offseason with FA signings SP Prior Balazs (53 OVR/53 POT), SP Kayden Thomason (54/54), SP Logan Gorsline (48/48), SP Cuco Verhoeven (48/48), and CL Wayne Conley (62/62)… but have not done much to shore up an offense that in 2077 was pedestrian at best. The punditry expects the retooled staff to be enough to earn them a ticket to the postseason, but what I see is a club that is a trade or two away from that result being a lock. They’re formidable as a mid-tier competitor, adept at keeping the riff raff at bay, while not always having enough in the tank to keep up with the big dogs… more of the same for Phoenix fans, it seems.

1 of 162: Stephen Estevez (0-0, 0.00) @ Landon Sampson (0-0, 0.00)
Loss, 5-4 (10). It’s never fun losing on opening day – it makes hope springing eternal a tough sell. Here we’d struggle early against a dialed in Landon Sampson, before finally breaking through on off-season acquisition, Prior Balazs, who was making the first relief appearance of his semi-illustrious career. Otto and Ethan began the 2078 campaign by going a combined 1 for 8 at the plate with 6 K’s split evenly between them, PEPPER hit a 2-run dinger to get us going a little bit in the 8th, and we were sloppy in the field, committing two fielding flubs to set an ominous early defensive tone for the club. And, while the official box score will list Marcel Suggs and his walk-off, run-scoring single, as the reason we were sent off so quietly into the night, the reality here is that our heads were never in this one – the guys will need to get their game faces on, and quick, if we are to show our fans, and by extension our rivals, what we are really capable of during this first road set of the 2078 campaign.

2 of 162: Merl Crawford (0-0, 0.00) @ Dejuan Burns (0-0, 0.00)
Win, 1-0 (11). In our second try at it, we’d get the riff sorted out – though the song we played here was a far cry from the rockin’ tune we’re trying to lay down this year. Merl was good, gave us 7 hard-scrabble innings of work, fanned 6, and was as stingy as you can be in the runs department, and Dom Cooke, backstop extraordinaire, hit the SAC FLY that would spell the Coyotes’ doom. Not a lot to parse out offensively with nary an extra-base hit recorded by the Yellow Tops, but our staff was stout with Merl, Rishon, and new guy Donovan Turnbull entering a combined shutout into the permanent record. We’ll take it, do our level best to carry this good fortune forward, and try to earn a series win in Phoenix before heading home to L.A. where we’ll welcome the Seals to town for the home opener on Friday.


Elsewhere: Speaking of the Seals, their own 2B Mario Marshburn went buck in Mexico City, finishing 5 for 5 at the plate with a 3-run jack, 5 runs, and a walk as San Jose dispatched the Jaguars by a score of 21-8. His teammate, RF Andrew Beck, hit a GRAND SLAM during the contest and managed to score 4 times himself. Nice to see Mexico City taking a bad one on the chin after they summarily dismissed our band of merry men so unceremoniously from the playoffs last season.

3 of 162: Trev Anderson (0-0, 0.00) @ Kikuzo Ueno (0-0, 0.00)
Win, 8-1. Trev Anderson went 7 strong, allowed 5 hits and 1 earned while fanning 6 and Andy Shepard, who I picked up in the offseason for depth (but didn't deem worthy a mention in the introductory post), went 3 for 4 with a double, a solo homer, 2 RBI, and 3 runs to lead the charge offensively. Hanan fell in line behind Shepard with a 3 for 4 day at the plate that included two, two-baggers, and 2 RBI, OH HONG recorded his first two RBIs of the season, and Hamza, in addition to being an instrumental part of two double plays, drove in his first RBI of the season on a SAC FLY. Two SAC BUNTS for the club today too, not sure what that’s all about as I have that turned all the way down in my strategy settings… an acceptable start to the 2078 campaign for the La La’s, kicking things off with a series win, on the road, against a division rival.


Elsewhere: Tony Voorhis, flexing his brand-new Detroit Motors kit, went 2 for 3 with 2 home runs, 3 RBI, 2 runs, and a walk during his clubs 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. It’d be the straw the broke the proverbial camels back as Voorhis’ scary performance was enough to secure the series win, on the road, for his new club.

Record: 2-1, .666, t-1st NL West
Up Next: We’ll pause for a day, get the fireworks ready, and lay it all on the line against the San Jose Seals in our home opener…

[pauwoo]

San Jose Seals (1-2, .333, t-3rd NL West) @ Los Angeles Leopards (2-1, .666, t-1st NL West)
After making a low-key splash by signing RF Andrew Beck to a 2-year, $26.2mm contract early in the free agency period, the San Jose Seals went dormant, and all but extinguished whatever hope their fanbase had by going through the motions the rest of the way. They’re 1-2 so far, the forecast calls for cloudy skies, and their ever-dwindling fanbase can be expected to abandon them with pace as this season progresses… what I’m saying is that this is a ho-hum club, with ho-hum ownership that prioritizes profits over winning, with no prospect of success in the near future. I guess that it is good for us to have a patsy in the division, an also ran with no designs on steadily improving their lot in life, to beat up on & prop ourselves up against, but, as ever, the opposite is sometimes also true as the San Jose Seals represent the exact kind of club my guys have a tendency to stumble against… our complacency and cocksureness undoing what should be a rip-roaring romp through the heart of a glorified AAAA squad.

4 of 162: Knox Hussman (0-0, 0.00) @ Peter Garcia (0-0, 0.00)
Win, 4-1. Garcia’s Leopard debut was a success – he’d give us 7 innings of work, allowing 6 hits and a run while fanning 4 – and Otto drove two in during the home opener to remind the L.A. faithful that this is still his club… OH HONG sent his fist ball out of the park, a 2-run moonshot, Shepard hit a double, his third so far, we’d turn two spectacular double plays, and Donovan Turnbull registered his first Save as a desert cat. A good, solid home win for the club to kick things off in our home park where ~55k turned up to show the guys that they’re still interested in what we have to offer.

Elsewhere: The debut of our shiny new Class A ballclub, the Watts Warriors, was spoiled by the Boise Cutthroats (a Philadelphia affiliate (for now)), as they rode a 3-run top of the 3rd all the way home, defeating our youngsters by a score of 7-4 when all was said and done. Cristobal Ruiz went 5.2 innings for Watts, allowed 6 hits and 4 runs while retiring 8 batsmen by strikeout and reliever T-Rex Stiles allowed another run to get across in 2.1 innings of work before the last guy we sent out there let two more get by us. Our expectation is that, within the next few years, both of these guys are putting in work on the big club. Time will tell…

5 of 162: Brody John (0-0, 0.00) @ Steven Estevez (0-0, 3.60)
Win, 1-0. Setting aside the fact that our offense was a complete mess in this one, unable to string together even the most pedestrian of successful at bats – there are two things you should know about it… 1st – STEVEN ESTEVEZ HURLED HIS FIRST CAREER NO-NO, GOING 9 AMAZING INNINGS, ALLOWING NO HITS, NO RUNS, WHILE DOLING OUT 1 FREE PASS, and FANNING 12 during the legendary performance – and, 2nd – OH HONG, local favorite on the fast track to super stardom, making sure that Estevez got to keep it, electrified the hometown faithful with a solo-homer during the bottom of the 9th for the walk-off win. That was a fun one… it stands among the top 2 or 3 games I’ve watched in all my years playing this game. Craziness.




Elsewhere: The Mexico City Jaguars defeated the Austin Grackles, at home, by a score of 22-3… of course, I’m not inclined to highlight anything about it because, one, I hate them, and two, my guy hurled a no-no, so no other highlights need apply.

6 of 162: Bentley Hunt (0-0, 10.38) @ Merl Crawford (0-0, 0.00)
Loss, 2-0. It sure would have been sweet to secure the sweep after getting that no-no our last time out – but, baseball, as ever, is anything but nice… and our offense looked toothless and hobbled for the 2nd game in a row. Merl was good, only gave up two runs in seven innings of work, but took the L anyways, while San Jose’s Bentley Hunt was putting in work, managing to stick it out for 8.2 innings of 5-hit shutout ball in our park, in front of our people, much to the chagrin of anyone foolish enough to associate themselves with our ineffectual ballclub. Ethan managed to get a hit, but is still only batting .111 so far, we committed two more errors (we have five of those already), and we left 11 runners stranded over the course of the game with every batsman blowing a chance to bring at least one of those guys in. That’s embarrassing if I’m honest.

Week one is in the books… none of our guys won a weekly award and the club finds itself ranked 9th on the 1st weekly power ranking. Meh.

Record: 4-2, .666, t-1st NL West
Up Next: More home cookin’ as we welcome the Las Vegas Outlaws to town next for a 3-game set.

[pauwoo]

Las Vegas Outlaws (4-2, .666, t-1st NL West) @ Los Angeles Leopards (4-2, .666, t-1st NL West)
After finishing 2nd behind us in the NL West over the last two seasons, and being swept out of the Circle Series in each of those years, first by Phoenix and most recently by Mexico City, it’s safe to say that the Outlaws have their sights set on a better finish in 2078… whether they have the makeup to get that done remains to be seen, but, on paper at least, they seem to have the look required to challenge for our spot at the top of the pops. The expectation, as provided by the baseball punditry, is that Las Vegas finishes second to us in the NL West, that their offense is comparable to ours, and that their staff, while good, is not quite up to our level. So then, it’s the pitching that will, barely, hold them back… on paper. When I look at these guys, what I see is a near mirror image of us, albeit one that is slightly malnourished, hungrier, and willing to go to greater lengths than us to satiate that appetite. This is not to say that I don’t believe in my club – nothing could be further from the truth – it’s just that Las Vegas worked to close the gap with several key bullpen acquisitions, including former Leopard, Anderson Parker, during the offseason, and, given our depth, or lack thereof, we are really just an injury or two away from loosing our stranglehold on the division.

7 of 162: Jack Snachez-Flores (1-0, 0.00) @ Jan Hernandez (0-0, 0.00)
Loss, 10-5. Yikes – Angry Eloy Delando stormed the kingdom, razed the castle, and sent two bad ones over the fence during a 3 for 4 day at the plate and Cash Crouch added a 2-run DING DONG to contribute to the cause as the retooled Outlaws took it to us something fierce in game one of this 3-game set. Jan took the L, gave up 5 during the top of the 1st, and was yanked after 3-innings of work, while the offense was, once again, led by new edition Andy Shepard, which just isn’t going to work. Our new backup backstop, Lee Rolon, went 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI, Mullens trucked a 3-run jack and improved his average to .130, but it’d not be enough as Vegas came out gangbusters in the 1st and never let up from there.

Note: I’ve been trying a new strategy setting that I’ve had some success with in other saves, but am going back to what I’ve been using with the Leopards as I am starting to think that it wasn’t a good fit for this roster… so, um, onward and upward, I guess?

8 of 162: Cam Murphy (0-1, 7.20) @ Trev Anderson (1-0, 1.29)
Win, 2-0. A low-key course correction for us here – Trev performed admirably over 5 innings of work, allowed only 2 hits and nothing plated, and, Andy Shepard, again, leads the offense with a 2 for 3 day that includes a double and a run scored. The heart of our order, and the guys we pay the most, went a combined 0 for 9, and we’d strand 6 over the course of the game. We'd win this one by the skin of our teeth and our pitching acumen… Zechariah Stillman, promoted in the offseason from Compton, went 2 innings without allowing a run (he did dole out 3 free passes though), Rishon Shaw retired 3 in the 8th on 10 total pitches, and Turnbull picked up his 2nd save of the year retiring the side during the top of the 9th. Look, we’ll take it, a win is a win and all that, but our offense can not continue to be led by Andy Shepard… it’s untenable.

9 of 162: Sun-Jae Cho (0-0, 0.00) @ Peter Garcia (1-0, 1.29)
Win, 2-0. The club, with Garcia at the helm, navigated rough seas and came out smelling roses after getting the win, at home, in the rubber match to send Las Vegas off with their tail tucked firmly between their legs… 6 innings for the new guy, only 2 total hits, and 9 K’s, and a 2-run TRUCK courtesy of Dom Cooke would be all she wrote here as we, from an offensive point of view, do the minimum amount required to earn a passing mark. Ethan continues to struggle, finishing 0 for 3 on the day and was caught with his hand in the honeypot on the basepaths, but the pitching held firm once again with Grumpy Losito securing a 2-inning hold, his first of the year, while Turnbull turned the Outlaws away in the 9th on 15 total pitches, fanning two and getting the 3rd on a ground out.

Record: 6-3, .666, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’ll board a plane bound for South Beach to spend the next 4 days rubbernecking, bagging some rays, and playing a little ball against the Herons.

[pauwoo]

Los Angeles Leopards (6-3, .666, 1st NL West) @ Miami Herons (4-5, .444, t-4th NL East)
Had I not elected to return to Los Angeles my likeliest destination was Miami – a solid, if uneven, club that looks like a short-term reclamation project. They have some good pieces with enough in their development system to upgrade the areas where they are lacking by trade, and could, with the right GM at the helm (so, not me), contend as early as 2079. They boast one of the best second basemen in the game in Telma Taveras, have a tip-top hurler at the top of their order in Cathal Magill, and have a bullpen that should elevate their staff to the top 5 in the National League when all is said and done. They could turn some heads this year but likely won’t, electing instead to continue the course and unleash some of the youngsters they have in their development system on the NL as early as next season instead. Had I taken over my impatience would’ve led to several, go-for-broke style trades to attempt to speed up the process on bringing a winner to South Beach – in truth, it’s probably for the best that I didn’t throw my hat in the ring for the Miami job as I kind of like this organic approach the AI seems to be taking instead.

10 of 162: Stephen Estevez (1-0, 1.29) @ Marco Ortega (0-0, 0.00)
Win, 6-5. OH HONG was made for South Beach – the Oakley shades, his Selleck-styled ‘stache, and penchant for wearing floral patterned button downs – and tonight he was the star of the show with a 3 for 5 day at the plate that included a two-bagger, a 2-run DING DONG, and a run, and Steven Estevez, in a less effective performance than his last time out, gave us a hard-scrabble 5 innings of work, allowing 3 to hit safely and 3 to plate while fanning 9 in the process. Mullens stayed ice cold – a stint in Compton wouldn’t hurt if he’d agree to it – with another 0 for 4 day, Otto scored twice without recording a hit, Ono, who we’ve not heard much from so far, drove the game winner in on a double, and Turnbull, who has settled nicely into his role as our closer, picks up save #4 on the year.

11 of 162: Merl Crawford (0-1, 1.29) @ Cathal Magill (0-1, 9.00)
Loss, 3-2 (10). Magill, who gave up 5 in his first outing and 3 more his next time up, was a little better for Miami in this one as he went 5.1 innings and only allowed two of our guys to come around… and, as it turns out, a little better was good enough as our sputtering offense continues to choke itself up against top-flight pitching and failed to rise to the level of our starter who went 7 strong, only allowing 1 to get across. Rico Sosa, Miami’s rock-solid backstop, came up gangbusters for his club in the bottom of the 10th as he blasted one out of the stadium off none other than Donovan Turnbull, who had been settling in so nicely as our bootleg Captain Sterner…

12 of 162: Jan Hernandez (0-1, 12.00) @ Mike Clendenin (1-1, 2.13)
Win, 5-4. We’d win another close one, our 4th win in 1-run games, despite CF Kasey Philipps' 3 for 5 day at the plate, on the back of Jan’s solid 5.1 innings of work and Satoru Onu’s clutch hitting during the top of the 5th when he smashed a 2-run TRUCK that put us up for good… Ethan managed to get a hit and scored, he also swiped two bags (perhaps he’s getting some of his swagger back), Hamza hit a run-scoring double, PEPPER went 0 for 4 dropping his average to .086, and Turnbull, fresh off giving up the game-winner yesterday, shook that disaster off and secured his 5th save of the year on 9 total pitches. You can’t get too high with the highs or too low with the lows as they say…


Elsewhere: Victor Forrest, a promising prospect currently ripping it up for the Arizona Wildcats in NCAA play, hurled a complete game, 4-hit shutout with SIXTEEN STRIKEOUTS to lead his club to a resounding 3-0 win over Mississippi State, and, despite what Bulldogs Skipper Chester Guevara has to say about it, the Arizona Wildcats, not unlike Texas Tech, has maintained that they do not, in fact, owe him any money.

13 of 162: Trev Anderson (2-0, 0.75) @ Hunter Vaughn (0-1, 1.38)
Win, 7-5. A good showing for the club in this one – Andy Shepard led the way on 2 for 4 hitting and a 2-run moonshot, and PEPPER GRANT, determined to keep his season from capsizing, pieced together a nice 2 for 4 day at the plate with an RBI double and 2 runs of his own. We did most of the dirt late in this one, scoring 4 runs in the 7th and a few more after the stretch, Ethan was given the day off, Ono hit his 4th double of the year, Hanan, who we need to find a way to use a bit more, went 2 for 4 with 2 runs batted in, and OH HONG drove one in on a SAC FLY and left three others stranded. A good win for the club – one we easily could have lost if our focus waned at all – and a nice series victory in Miami for the good guys.

A quick, little trade… We sent SP Nick Rich who really should be in a big league rotation and we lack the room in ours to make that happen, to the Seattle Metros for solid CF prospect B.J. Cristoforo and low-key RP prospect Wayne Matthews. The deal here is Nick deserves a chance to earn a spot on a big club and taking on a couple of low-IQ prospects was a reasonable enough deal to give him that opportunity.

Record: 9-4, .692, 1st NL West
Up Next: Our brief cruise through the NL East continues as we head north to Montreal for a 3-game set in Canada.

[pauwoo]

Of note… former Leopard, Tony Voorhis, that stalwart of hard-work and consistent play, earned player of the week honors in the American League, finishing 13 for 24 with 2 dingers, 12 riblets, and 6 runs. Rajkumar Kosciusko took home the same honor in the NL, the current Austin Grackles RFer went 12 for 30 with 2 TRUCKS and 6 RBI. Oh, and we’re still not 1st in the weekly Power Ranking… up to the 3rd slot now with only Voorhis’ Motors and the surprising Salt Lake Alpines ranked ahead of us.

Los Angeles Leopards (9-4, .692, 1st NL West) @ Montreal Alouettes (8-4, .667, 1st NL East)
The Alouettes have shot off the line like a doped-up thoroughbred on a mission to make some already rich goofball just a little bit richer, are 7-3 over their last 10, and greet us on their turf riding a 4-game winning streak. They’re hot, playing with some real verve, and more than capable of knocking us off whatever pedestal we’ve decided to put ourselves on… Coming in to the season, the line on these guys was that they were good, not great, capable of giving clubs fits on occasion, likely to have their day like any good dog, but ultimately an also-ran doomed to get bounced out of the Circle Series if they were lucky enough to make it that far. What they’ve been so far, however, is something else, something a lot more competent, a club that looks to be on a mission to prove the naysayers wrong. The offense is humming – 2nd in average, OPS, and OBP – and the pitching has been stout, ranked 1st in runs against, and 2nd in both starters and bullpen ERA. This will be a tough set for our guys in Montreal, an early measuring stick that will either prove that the things we’re focusing on are correct or serve to uncover our peccadillos for all the world to see.

14 of 162: Peter Garcia (2-0, 0.69) @ Bentley Hawkins (1-1, 2.02)
Loss, 7-5. We played the Alouettes tough, gave a good account of ourselves in Canada as OH HONG led the way for our offense with a 3 for 4 day at the plate that included a 2-run BLAST and 2 total runs, but, unfortunately, his offensive outburst wasn’t enough to overcome Montreal’s three dingers, including 2-run shots for 1B Harlem Peterson and C Pancho Reyes. Ethan went 1 for 5 with a run-scoring double and a swiped bag, Otto finished 3 for 5 but failed to score or drive any in, and the club left 8 guys stranded, which was 3 guys too many as we dropped the first of this 3-game set.

15 of 162: Stephen Estevez (2-0, 2.37) @ Jaxson Mottola (2-0, 1.42)
Loss, 4-3. Estevez did his thing – 6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K’s – and, you guessed it, Andy Shepard was at it again with a 2 for 4 day that included a 2-run TRUCK and a free pass… but, despite their best efforts and the fact that Otto even pitched in with an early SOLO SHOT, it wouldn’t be enough to overcome the Montreal Alouettes who, after tonight, have now won 6 in a row. Tough day for OH HONG – 0 for 5 with a GOLDEN SOMBRERO – and PEPPER – 0 for 4 – and Ono – 0 for 4 – as the offense continues to struggle in the early going of the 2078 campaign.


Elsewhere: SP Dwight Beasley, holding it down for your CITY OF COMPTON Raiders (pictured in an Inglewood lid), continued to make his case for a Major League assignment with an 8-inning, 4 hit, 1 earned performance that included 9 K’s as our Triple-A outfit dispatched the Fort Worth Cowboys by a score of 2-1 in Compton. So far this season, Beasley has allowed only 3 runs over 16 innings of work with 12 total K’s.

Injury Alert: Super-Sub and competent infield utility man, Rishon Orosz, will be out for about a month with biceps tendinitis. Less competent infield utility man, Hetereki Ailani, was called up to the big club in his stead. Ailani actually has a better hitting profile than Rishon… his glove work, however, is not nearly as good.

16 of 162: Merl Crawford (0-1, 1.29) @ Arnaldo Romero (1-0, 4.15)
Win, 6-4. Montreal’s Zippo Collins put on a show for the home team – 2 for 3 with 2 DING DONGS, 4 RBI, and 2 runs – but it wouldn’t be enough as their late, game-tying rally was trumped by the La La’s during a 2-run top of the 9th that won this one for us. Merl gave us 5-innings of work, allowing 7 hits with nothing getting across, Kyle Weaver, in his 4th outfield start of the season, went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI, and OH HONG, in his only hit out of four at bats, went yard during the top of the 9th, putting us up for good as he secured the 5-4 lead. We’d add some insurance off an Ernie Sparacino SAC FLY before handing things off to Turnbull who labored through a 21-pitch 9th to secure his 7th save of the year.

Record: 10-6, .625, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’ll take a day off, a travel day really, as we head all the way down to Mexico City for a 3-game set over the weekend. It’ll be our first crack at the club that crushed our little hearts during the 2077 playoffs…

[pauwoo]

Los Angeles Leopards (10-6, .625, 1st NL West) @ Mexico City Jaguars (6-9, .400, 6th NL West)
The last time we saw these guys, in Mexico City, they were busy breaking our hearts in the Division Championship Series during the 2077 playoffs and, while the current incarnation of the Jaguars isn’t as good as the version on display to close out 2077, some good old fashioned get back is the only thing on our mind. Their offense, unlike ours, came into the 2078 campaign en fuego, are ranked 1st in the NL in runs, average, OPS, and wOBA, and 2nd in Home Runs and Base Running while their pitching, also unlike ours, has come out disheveled, confused, and ill-equipped to play the part of a big league rotation where they rank dead last in runs against, ERA, and FIP. The entire order presents a problem for our staff, especially in Mexico City, even if their best player, Heathcote Kinton, is off to a subpar start at .203/.279/.305 with 2 dingers and 8 RBI so far… all told, this has the makings of a tough road set, despite what their record would seem to indicate, and, should we focus too heavily on righting last years wrong, could find ourselves on the wrong end of some haymakers, out on our feet, and, before this thing is through, down for the count.

17 of 162: Jan Hernandez (1-1, 8.64) @ Casey Tucker (0-1, 5.51)
Loss, 5-3. Otto was on fine form – 3 for 5 with a 3-run moonshot – but the rest of the club couldn’t be bothered to follow suit as the Mexico City Jaguars picked up right where they left off against us last year with a win, in their house… Offensively, there’s not much to parse out – Ono fanned thrice on an 0 for 3 day, Andy Shepard went 0 for 4 and left 4 stranded, Ethan, in an attempt to turn his early season ugliness around, drove one in on a double, and stole his 5th bag of the year. On the bright side, only ~20K fans made it out to Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu Park to spectate our demise.

18 of 162: Trev Anderson (2-0, 3.31) @ Ben McGillicuddy (0-1, 1.56)
Win, 10-3. Trev fanned the first 6 batsmen he faced, went 5 innings in total, and allowed only 3 earned runs, while the offense, led by Hamza’s 4 for 4 day that included a double, a jack, 4 RBI, and 2 runs, finally woke up long enough to remind our fans what it is capable of. Dom went 2 for 3 with a double and 4 scores, Ethan picked up another hit and steal, Ono went 3 for 5 and drove 2 in, PEPPER tallied two RBI of his own, and Ian Hanan put a tasty little SAC FLY on the board for good measure. Hamza earned the Player of the Game designation and Grumpy Losito, working 4-innings in relief, picked up his second win of the season and now boasts a record of 2-1 out of the pen.

19 of 162: Peter Garcia (2-1, 3.12) @ K.J. Judd (1-2, 6.48)
Win, 5-3. Down 3-2 heading into the 9th, we’d snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with a 3-run top of the 9th thanks in large part to Kyle Weaver’s clutch, 2-run double that put us up by the final tally after PEPPER GRANT knotted things up during our previous at bat. Garcia had tip top stuff again and went 8-innings while allowing 8 scattered hits and 3 runners to plate, Ono blasted a 2-run jack during the top of the 7th to get us on the board, and Turnbull was at it again in relief, picking up his 8th save on 14 pitches. And with that, we exact some small measure of revenge before returning stateside to the Lonestar state for a date with the Grackles…

Roster Notes: Jan Hernandez is being sent down to Compton after this set – he has a hitch in his giddyap and our pitching coach in Compton should have the remedy to whatever it is that ails him… which means that Mr. Dwight Beasley is coming up for a stint on the Big Club… we’ll start him in the pen, moving Masaya Nakagawa to the #5 slot in the rotation for now. I’d love Beasley to stick, for Jan to get his stuff ironed out, and, eventually for Nakagawa to head to Compton – that would be this working really well.

Record: 12-7, .631, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’ll head into Austin where we’ll try to nurse our taco & tequila hangover with a smoked brisket and bourbon remedy… oh, and we’ll also play some baseball – 3 games at Dell Diamond to be exact.

[pauwoo]

Los Angeles Leopards (12-7, .631, 1st NL West) @ Austin Grackles (8-11, .421, t-5th NL West)
Outside of residing in one of the cooler, but not coolest, cities in North America, the Grackles don’t have a lot going for them… their pitching staff is a tragedy on par with Shakespeare’s most gut-wrenching stuff, and their offense, led by future All-Star Rajkumar Kosciusko, isn’t necessarily a feel-good romantic comedy either. What you have here is a club that hasn’t been to the playoffs in 5 seasons, with indifferent ownership, and a front office that doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to get their club on a winning trajectory. Basically, what I’m saying is if our league was based in the United Kingdom, with a proper promotion/relegation system in place, this outfit from Austin would likely find themselves somewhere in the 5th tier of said system playing in front of 15-20 fans a night on a field that doubles as a kickball diamond for the local middle school.

20 of 162: Stephen Estevez (2-0, 2.45) @ Noel Goodgion (1-2, 8.40)
Win, 9-8 (11). Otto’s solo dinger, his second TRUCK of the day, during the top of the 11th frame gave us a lead that we would not relinquish as Turnbull turned up the heat during the bottom of that frame and retired the side on 16 pitches to secure his 2nd win of the season. Our staff struggled a bit in this one, but the offense came through and found a way to win despite our giving up 4 dingers to the home team. Ian Hanan went 1 for 3 with a 2-run double and 2 runs of his own, we hit 4 doubles as a club including 2 for Andy Shepard, hit 3, 2-out RBIs (Ethan, Ono, and Pepper – STAND UP!), and found a way to get it done underneath Austin’s clear skies on a 75-degree night at the park.


Elsewhere: C Rex Engelstad, the 5-time All-Star backstop out of Denver, joined Otto in the 2 HR club going 3 for 4 with a double, those TWO TRUCKS, and 6 total RBI to lead his Miners to a resounding 9-2 win over the visiting Alpines of Salt Lake.

21 of 162: Merl Crawford (0-1, 1.04) @ Ryan Burg (1-2, 4.12)
Win, 5-3. We’re cooking with Crisco now… Merl laid the sauce on thick, kept the temperature constant, and smoked the Grackles over 8-innings of work where he’d allow a scant 3 hits and 2 runs while fanning 6, and OH HONG, who some of our local beat writers have accused of performing some kind of disappearing act so far this season, went buck on a 2 for 5 day with a GRAND SLAM that busted this thing wide open during the top of the 7th. Another steal (and nothing else) from Ethan, an expertly executed Pepper-Hanan-Ono DP, and another save for Turnbull closed this one out… we’ve afforded ourselves an opportunity to secure a road sweep here, let’s hope the guys can keep their egos in check long enough for us to get that done on our way out the door.

Side Note: The Watts Warriors, our shiny new Double-A club, are stuck in the muck and on hold with a tow truck company as we’ve jumped out to a ghastly 1-17 start to our inaugural campaign. From... "How to endear yourself to your fans 101".

22 of 162: Masaya Nakagawa (0-0, 3.86) @ Joshua Moeller (2-1, 2.88)
Loss, 4-1. Our sweep bid was denied, summarily dismissed with prejudice by the Grackles who swung the gavel down hard on our late, 8th inning rally attempt with a perfectly executed double play… Nakagawa gave a solid account of himself in his first start of the season – 5.2 innings, 5 hits, 2 earned, 2 free passes, and 6 K’s for our #5 – and Ethan Mullens, of all people, was responsible for our only offense as he led off the contest with a well-hit solo dinger. Not much else to work through here – sure, Hamza hit his 5th double but there was nobody on at the time so… what we’re left with here is our 7 strike outs as a club, errors from Shepard and Hamza, and a rough, 0 for 4 day for Satoru Ono who also fanned twice and hit into the double play that spelled our doom.

Record: 14-8, .636, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’ll head home, take a day off, maybe make it a spa day, and then get right back after it on Friday as the Phoenix Coyotes are set to pay us a visit for a three-game set that will close out the first month of the season.

[pauwoo]

Phoenix Coyotes (12-10, .545, 2nd NL West) @ Los Angeles Leopards (14-8, .636, 1st NL West)
After dropping a set, to us, to open the season in their park, Phoenix has recalibrated and is now operating a scant two games off our pace in the NL West at 12-10 on the season. The offense is humming – 2nd in AVG, 4th in OBP – but has some trouble bringing guys back in at 9th in runs scored, and the pitching, led so far by Cuco Verhoeven’s 0.74 ERA and 2-0 record, is dealing, leading the NL in Starters ERA, Bullpen ERA, FIP, Pitching WAR, and Strikeouts. All told, they look to be on a mission – to supplant us as the biggest bully in the NL West, or, should that prove undoable, to make it back to the dance after failing to get their ticket punched last season despite finishing with a winning record.

23 of 162: Kikuzo Ueno (2-1, 1.19) @ Peter Garcia (3-1, 3.20)
Win, 18-9. A real life, rock ‘em, sock ‘em robots styled affair in Los Angeles… Ethan led the way, finally, with a 3 for 3 day that included two, two-baggers, 2 RBI, 4 runs, and 3 walks, OH HONG went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI and 3 runs of his own, and Otto finished 2 for 4 with a DING DONG, 5 total RBI, and 2 scores. We’d hit 4 doubles and 3 TRUCKS as a club, get SAC FLIES from Otto & Dom, get 35 total bases, and watch on as recent call up, Dwight Beasley, picked up his first Major League win in relief despite giving up a 2-run homer to the hard-hitting Coyotes left fielder, Blas Polo. 21 hits, 18 runs, and we still left 8 runners stranded – this wasn’t just a domination, it was a reckoning… if you come at the king, you best not miss.

24 of 162: Damian Harris (2-1, 3.00) @ Trev Anderson (2-0, 3.80)
Loss, 1-0. Apparently, Phoenix didn’t get our memo – presented in all-caps, italicized Foregen font, and notarized by a woman who claimed to be an official Notary Public - and instead of folding after yesterday’s “reckoning” played us tough here, gutting out a hard-fought, 1-0 victory, in our park. Damian Harris was tossing beebee’s, gave the bad guys 8 gutsy innings of work, allowed a mere 3 hits, kept us scoreless, and even fanned 4 of our guys in the process while his good buddy and Phoenix fan favorite, 2B Scott Kaszuba, provided all the offense they would need with his run-scoring single in the top of the 1st. For our part, if you were to take all the crazy offense we produced yesterday and did the exact opposite you’d end up with today’s box score as we worked to replenish the ink we splashed all over the page yesterday like loggers planting trees to conserve their livelihood… we did execute 3 superb double plays and our pitching was stout, but if you don’t score then no one really cares about that other stuff.

Check it… a quick look at the league standings, league leaders, and the state of the Leopards… Salt Lake City looking fierce so far.




Awards…
NL Hurler of the Month: SP Bradley Hughes (Brooklyn Citizens) – 5-0, 0.50, and 49 K’s
NL Hitter of the Month: RF Rajkumar Kosciusko (Austin Grackles) - .366 AVG, 6 TRUCKS, 15 RBI, 18 runs.
NL Greenhorn of the Month: 3B Walter Tignor (Miami Herons – 3rd round pick, 2074) - .317, 2 DING DONGS, 20 RBI, 10 runs
AL Hurler of the Month: CL Jacques Jameson (Buffalo Nickels) – 13 relief appearances, 10 saves, 2 wins, 14 Ks, 1.38 ERA
AL Hitter of the Month: LF Tony Voorhis (Detroit Motors) - .329, 6 JACKS, 21 RBI, 19 scores
AL Greenhorn of the Month: SP A.J. Quimby (Detroit Motors – 2nd overall pick, 2075) – 3 wins, 3.09 ERA, 10 K’s, 23.1 innings of work

25 of 162: Cuco Verhoeven (2-0, 0.74) @ Stephen Estevez (2-0, 3.23)
Win, 4-3 (10). Estevez gave us nearly 6 scoreless innings, Otto SMASHED one during the bottom of the 6th to put us up 3-0, and Satoru Ono BLASTED the walk-off, solo dinger during the bottom of the 10th after the Coyotes, refusing to go away early, had knotted things up right before the stretch. Ethan secured a couple of hits, one of which was his 6th double, and is flirting with a .200 average at .194 on the year, Hamza got hit by a pitch but wore it like a champ, and Turnbull picked up his 3rd win in relief after taking over for Reynaldo Igarashi who blew it during the top of the 7th. Phoenix starter, Cuco Verhoeven left early with an injury, it didn’t look good, but the official diagnosis is pending… you hate to see it, he’s been nasty for Phoenix so far and losing him for any significant time could derail the Coyotes and ultimately push back the timeline on their return to relevancy.

Record: 16-9, .640, 1st NL West
Up Next: Mexico City will head our way for a 4-game parlay and will, with any luck, lose all four of them as penance for their 2077 sins…

[pauwoo]

Mexico City Jaguars (10-15, .400, 5th NL West) @ Los Angeles Leopards (16-9, .640, 1st NL West)
Our list of grievances against the Mexico City Jaguars is short – put simply, they upended what should have been a legendary campaign for us in 2077 when they bounced us out of the playoffs, and, well, that’s about it. There is no history of bad blood, no series of bench clearing brawls, no inappropriate smack talk aimed at our wives or, worse yet, our mothers… all they did is cast our dreams aside in favor of their own. And while, in the larger scheme of things, that seems arbitrary, when you play a kid’s game for a living, these are the kinds of things that gnaw away at you. Mexico City arrives in Los Angeles on a paltry 10-15 record, looking a lot like a paper tiger as their #1 ranked offense has benefited greatly from playing 19 of their 25 games at home, while their pitching has suffered for it, ranked second-to-last or worse in every category that counts. In truth, it’s tough to get a bead on these guys as their results are aided greatly by the altitude of their host city… here we’ll have an opportunity to see what they look like at sea level, and, hopefully, will be able to dismantle them in front of our hometown fans as a sort of exorcism of last season’s demons.

Weekly Awards: 2B Ahmed Smith, the 19th overall pick of the 2074 draft and current Vancouver Mountie, took home the American League’s Player of the Week Award after finishing 10 for 25 (.400 AVG) with 2 homers and 7 RBI last week, while our own CF Otto Isaac took home that same honor in the National League after capping off a 10 for 24 week with 4 TRUCKS and 8 RBI. And, since I mentioned it for Ahmed, Otto was the 15th overall pick of the 2070 player draft for Los Angeles out of Pennsylvania. He may be the best player produced by the Quakers in this save so far…

Also… we were ranked 3rd in this week PR with Salt Lake and Brooklyn blocking us out of that number one slot.

26 of 162: Lee Meyers (1-1, 5.54) @ Merl Crawford (1-1, 1.32)
Win, 7-3. It would seem that baseball at sea level is not good for the Mexico City Jaguars as their much-vaunted offense could only muster 3 runs in our park while we put 7 bad ones on the board and ran roughshod over their suspect pitching staff. Otto, fresh of that PoTW nod, went 2 for 4 with TWO TRUCKS, 3 RBI, and 2 runs, HAMZA put in work with a 4 for 4 day that included two, two-baggers, and 3 runs, and Merl Crawford held firm on the mound over 61 innings of work where he’d allow only 5 hits and 2 earned. Two steals in this one, both belonging to Hamza, two SAC FLIES, both belonging to Ethan, and a SAC BUNT from Kyle Weaver would round things out offensively while Grumpy Losito picked up his 1st save of the season to close this one out. Off on the good foot here… PROJECT: Revenge is a go.


Elsewhere: 1B Frodo Gonzales, of the Vancouver Mounties, came out throwing elbows during his clubs 10-4 win over the Denver Miners, leading the offense with a 3 for 4 day, a 3-run moonshot, and 2 runs. The former Bruin of UCLA and 65th overall pick by the Portland Pines in 2073 is playing just a tick or two above a replacement level player so far but has managed to start in 20 of his clubs 26 games this season. And, speaking of the Pines, Michael Brisk, former Leopard Legend, and current Pine, went 8.1 innings allowing just 5 hits and 1 earned while fanning 7 to pick up a hard-earned, 2-1 win over the AL West division leading Salt Lake Alpines. I miss that guy… Also, I didn’t see this one until I moved the game forward a day, but, LF Tracy Davis, of our WATTS WARRIORS went 5 for 5 against the Tacoma Tridents, leading our club to a much-needed 8-2 win at Good Ol’ Watts Park in Good Ol’ Watts. AND – Watts is 3-20 now, so… on something of a come up!

27 of 162: Casey Tucker (1-2, 4.55) @ Masaya Nakagawa (0-1, 3.55)
Win, 2-0. Masaya Nakagawa put together the best start of his career with a complete-game, 5-hit shutout and 2B Ian Hanan acted as our sparkplug with a 2 for 2 day at the plate, a double, and a score. Mullens finished 1 for 3 with our other run, OH HONG drove Hanan and Ethan in on a double, and Nakagawa exposed the Mexico City offense as the Paper Tigers they are. Not a lot to discuss here – a quiet, defense-first victory for the La La’s.

28 of 162: Ben McGillicuddy (0-1, 2.60) @ Peter Garcia (3-1, 4.82)
Loss, 5-3. Garcia was solid, gave a good account of himself over 5 innings of work but his best efforts were foiled by a J.J. Barbari 2-run bomb that knotted thing up in the 4th. Ethan got another hit and a score, OH HONG trucked his 7th long ball, and Hanan scored for the second time in as many games… all of which was erased by a late, 2-run triple off Grumpy Losito for MC’s Winslow McMillan that officially went down as the game-winning hit. Unfortunate. I really wanted the sweep here… now, they’ve afforded themselves a chance to get a split in the next one. That. Can’t. Happen.


Elsewhere: LF Peter Pascual, of the Nolanville ‘Nauts, went Gonzo in Bush League play and was the whole show in his clubs 6-5 win over the Quincy Quackers, turning in a game-breaking 3 for 5 day that included 3 LONG BALLS, 5 RBI, and 3 runs.

29 of 162: K.J. Judd (1-3, 6.04) @ Trev Anderson (2-1, 3.42)
Loss, 5-3. In a near duplicate of the last one, Mexico City would pace us over the course of the game, and, in the end put up some late runs, this time off a 2-run double courtesy of 1B William Lazenby that was his only hit in 4 tries during the game. Our starting pitching was solid again – Anderson gave us 6 innings, allowed 5 hits, and only let 1 run get across – but the bullpen came undone late as Reynaldo Igarashi’s ERA ballooned to 7.64 after he allowed 4 earned, including a 2-run blast for SS Elias Franco. Listen, ok, this is not how we drew it up, but in baseball, as in life, things rarely go as planned… what we’ll do here is save our revenge for another day, pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and just keep moving forward.

Record: 18-11, .620, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’ll travel to Buffalo, NY to square off against the Nickels for a 3-game interleague set on the road. My favorite kind of silliness is interleague silliness.

[pauwoo]

Los Angeles Leopards (18-11, .620, 1st NL West) @ Buffalo Nickels (17-13, .567, 2nd AL East)
Our first foray into interleague play comes against the Buffalo Nickels who are playing with some real verve right now at 7-3 over their last 10 and currently riding a 3-game winning streak. Their start to the 2078 campaign has been a bit of a surprise as the baseball punditry had them pegged to finish dead last in their division at the start of the season… so far though, they’ve bucked that prediction and have come off the line like a finely tuned dragster, with their nose down, and have managed to stay straight on the course. They were semi-active during the offseason and the upgrades they made to their pitching staff have paid dividends so far… Cory Sterner is currently putting in work as a middle reliever for them after putting in work as our closer last season and Case Tunnell, who we traded to them for Donovan Turnbull and a prospect, is currently slotted in at the top of their rotation. As a unit their staff is ranked 1st in Runs Against, Bullpen ERA, and FIP, and 2nd in Starters ERA and pWAR, proving themselves difficult to figure against their American League rivals. We’re coming in as losers of our last two, the confidence is wavering a bit, and we’re looking a bit ragged around the edges – could be a tough slog through the AL for us with Toronto on the docket after we wade through these next three in Buffalo.

30 of 162: Stephen Estevez (2-0, 2.72) @ Case Tunnell (1-3, 3.24)
Win, 1-0. Case pitched us tough – 6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 K’s – but had some early control issues and doled out 4 free passes during the appearance while our own Stephen Estevez put it down something fierce over 7-innings of work where he’d allow just one hit, nothing earned, and fan 8 hapless hitters. Our one score came on a Dom Cooke solo dinger, only four other batters would muster a hit (Ethan, Hong, Otto, and Hamza), Rishon Shaw picked up his 8th hold while lowering his ERA to 0.63, and Turnbull is now up to double digits in saves as he picked up his 10th of the season in closing this one out.

31 of 162: Merl Crawford (2-1, 1.56) @ Roddy Dubey (2-3, 1.31)
Win, 6-0. So far, so good in Buffalo as we held the Nickels scoreless for the second day in a row behind a stellar, 7-inning performance from Merl (only 3 hits, nothing earned, and 7 K’s too), and another good day at the plate for everyone’s favorite everyman, Andy Shepard, who went 2 for 5 with a double, a JACK, and 2 RBI. PEPPER also got after it a little bit with a solo dinger that came during a 2-run top of the 7th, Ono secured an RBI on a double, Hamza drove two in on a two-bagger of his own, and Dwight Beasley, stating his case to remain a Big Leaguer, gave us 2 innings of scoreless baseball in relief to preserve the team shutout. All good things…

32 of 162: Masaya Nakagawa (1-1, 2.08) @ Oswald Johnson (3-2, 3.70)
Win, 9-3. SWEEP CITY! LET’S GO! Otto led the way with 2 DING DONGS, 4 RBI, and 4 runs as we entered our first sweep of the season into the permanent record and PEPPER followed his lead with another solo dinger and 2 runs… Nakagawa gets the win despite giving up a staggering 14 hits over 8.1 innings of work, Ethan hit his 11th and 12th two-bagger of the year, DOM put his 1st triple on the board, and we’d shut down a late Buffalo rally attempt with an expertly executed Hamza-Hanan-Ono double play. The La La’s came correct in this series folks, and will head off to Toronto cocksure and ready to rumble with the Leafs…


Elsewhere: Jan Hernandez, currently making his living down on the farm in Compton, seems to be figuring things out as he works to reappear on the big club… he dominated the Abilene Roughnecks today, hurling a complete game, 6-hit shutout to lead the way as the Raiders notched the 6-0 victory at home. This marks Jan’s 3rd, and best, start in Compton so far – he still has some work to do though as he allowed 10 earned in his 1st two starts in Triple-A.

Record: 21-11, .656, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’ll take a quick hop to Toronto to continue our short foray through the American League East.

[pauwoo]

As this Monday falls on our day off, we’ll instead highlight the Weekly Award winners and take a gander at the most recent Power Rankings…

[pauwoo]

Los Angeles Leopards (21-11, .656, 1st NL West) @ Toronto Maple Leafs (16-16, .500, t-3rd AL East)
Unlike the Buffalo Nickels, the Toronto Maple Leafs came into the season as one of the more highly regarded clubs in the AL East and are expected to be in the running for the division crown once the dust has settled on 2078. So far, however, they’ve not held up their end of the bargain to propel that prophecy bestowed on them by our trusty BNN Preseason Prognosticators forward. In fact… they’ve done the opposite. At 16-16 on the year, the Maple Leafs have done just enough to stay afloat, just enough to stave off drowning in a sea of expectations, and don’t have the look of a club, so far, that has what it takes to do much better than that… their offense is pedestrian, ranked in the lower half of the American league in every category save OBP where they rank 5th, and their pitching, while better, has had it’s effectiveness hobbled by a poor defensive efficiency (ranked 9th), Zone Rating (12th), and proclivity to commit errors (11th). And despite their having power bats like former Leopard, Arnold Webster (only 3 bombs so far), and legendary contact guys like Richard McTaggart (.353 AVG) on the club, they look like another easy out for us as we finish up this quick jaunt through the also-rans of the AL East.

33 of 162: Peter Garcia (3-1, 4.91) @ Murray Wagner (0-5, 4.05)
Win, 8-5. We’d get a sturdy version of Garcia tonight – 5.1 innings, 7 hits, 3 earned, and 6 K’s for our mid-rotation mainstay – and another tip-top day at the plate for Shepard who blasted TWO DING DONGS and drove 4 in to lead the La La’s to our 4th straight win. Otto put his 11th ball out of the park and drove two in, Hamza & Pepper each brought in a run, Grumpy Losito managed to secure the win despite blowing the save opportunity in the bottom of the 6th frame, and Turnbull picked up his 11th save after a 3-run top of the 9th turned in by our offense, with the game-winner coming on an OTTO SAC FLY, gave him the opportunity to do so.


Elsewhere: RF Ethan Bartle, a no-future non-prospect currently plying his trade in Good Ol’ Watts, had himself a day to remember at the plate, turning in a 3 for 3 day that included TWO DING DONGS, SEVEN RBI, and THREE RUNS, to lead our Warriors to a decisive 13-4 win over the San Gabriel Brown Bears. With the win, Watts has improved to 10-21 on the year… and, while it’s nothing to get too excited about, it’s nice that we’ve gone 9-4 since our dismal 1-17 start in A-Ball.

Note: We’ve signed 5 minor league Catchers in Oscar Angulo, Logan Ackeret, Martin Hinson, Kenny Klosinski, and Lucas Avila, based solely on their 70+ Catcher’s Ability and the idea that, while they SUCK at the plate, they may aid in the development of all these young arms we have in the pipeline… would be cool to see the TCR work some magic on one of these guys… to that end, I’ve got myself a shortlist to keep my eye on these backstops… A fools gambit, to be sure.

34 of 162: Trev Anderson (2-1, 3.06) @ Teodoro Herrera (5-1, 3.70)
Loss, 3-2. Everything Trev buried into the zone came up smelling roses early but started to decay late as he gave up the ghost during the bottom of the 6th in the form of a 2-run homer for Toronto’s LF Evan Prag that knotted things up and Grumpy Losito would come unglued, briefly, during the bottom of the 8th to let the game-winner, a run-scoring double for 3B Mercury Aghajari, usher us out the door. Ethan went 2 for 4, scored, and swiped 2 bags, Hanan finished 3 for 3 with a run, and Ono tried his level best to move the runners along with a SAC FLY… in the end, of course, it wouldn’t be enough as the Maple Leafs’ staff stayed resolute throughout this contest and, ultimately, kept us slightly off kilter for long enough to get the win.

35 of 162: Stephen Estevez (3-0, 2.28) @ Burt McElheny (3-1, 2.32)
Win, 2-1. Big Burt McElheny is my guy, a player that I’ve grown fond of in this universe, and one that I hold in as high a regard as I do Brisky… and, I’m not sure why really. Neither one of them are the best at their craft, but I’ve got these back stories in my head for each of them nonetheless… party boys on a mission for a life filled with bourbon, broads, and baseball. But, enough with all that… here Big Burt gave us the business over 7 hard-scrabble innings of work where he’d allow 7 hits and 2 runs while our guy, Estevez, couldn’t last quite as long but was more effective in the run prevention department over 6.1 innings of work. OH HONG drove in the game-winner, off McElheny, during the top of the 5th on a double, our other run came courtesy of Shepard’s run-scoring single during the 3rd, and we’d swipe two bags on the day, 1 each for Otto and Hamza. Also – despite the fact that it’s probably not important – Grumpy Losito managed to secure the hold, his 3rd of those, and Turnbull turned the Leafs away during the bottom of the 9th on 12 total pitches to notch his 12th save of the year.


Elsewhere: SP Cristobal Ruiz, our 1st round pick (16th overall) in 2077, continues to make strides with the Watts Warriors and even shut out the Craig Waveriders during a complete-game, 4-hit performance where he’d tack on 12 K’s for good measure. The Warriors, playing at home in Good Ol’ Watts Ballpark in Good Ol’ Watts, won the game by a score of 10-0. Also known as annihilation…

HEY – with that last win, the La La’s have not dropped a series yet all season and are 9-0-2 in them so far this year.

Record: 23-12, .657, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’ll board a plane bound for Las Vegas in an attempt to bring the Outlaws to justice in Sin City…

[pauwoo]

Los Angeles Leopards (23-12, .657, 1st NL West) @ Las Vegas Outlaws (19-16, .542, 3rd NL West)
At 5-5 over their last 10 tilts and operating a full 4-games off our pace, the Las Vegas Outlaws are looking to make up some ground against us on their turf. Their offense is a near mirror image of our own…

While the pitching has been somehwat unlucky & is lagging behind ours a bit…

Here their staff will attempt to dial it in for the hometown faithful and try to keep us on the ropes long enough to hang our first series loss of the season around our necks at the conclusion of this 3-game set.

36 of 162: Merl Crawford (3-1, 1.33) @ David Ouwerkerk (0-2, 5.14)
Loss, 5-0. Coming in to this one, I knew that playing in Sin City on Friday the 13th would be too much for my triskaidekaphobic brain to handle, so the fact that we were shut out by such an ordinary, uninspired staff should have come as no surprise. As a unit we’d muster only a meager 5 hits for the game, watch on idly as our starter, Merl Crawford, came undone to the tune of four runs during the bottom of the 3rd, and take our lumps like men as former Leopard, Anderson Parker, struck out the side to earn his 1st save in an Outlaws kit. Literally nothing of note offensively to parse out here… not a singe extra base hit, nothing sacrificial, and, nothing on the basepaths where Otto was caught with his hand in the honeypot for the second time this year… Beasley did get some burn though… 4 innings, 1 hit, 0 earned and 2 K’s for your boy in this one.

Elsewhere: Lots of shutouts today… in addition to us getting big brothered by the Outlaws, Mexico City and their #1 ranked National League offense failed to score, at home, against the Phoenix Coyotes during a 2-o loss, the Charlotte Imperials held the Buffalo Nickels in check, wining that contest by a score of 1-0, Boston whitewashed the Maple Leafs in Toronto, 3-nil, the Dallas Chaparrals held on for the 1-nada victory in Vancouver, and the Seattle Metros turned the Salt Lake Alpines away by a score of 2-zilch at home in the Emerald City. Friday the 13th, man… I’m telling you!

37 of 162: Masaya Nakagawa (2-1, 2.40) @ Jack Sanchez-Fores (2-2, 6.38)
Loss, 5-2. Oof… welp, the Outlaws wasted no time in hanging our first series loss of the 2078 campaign on us as C Doug Nadeau’s 2-run moonshot served as their opening salvo while 3B Homer Wingard’s run-scoring double during the bottom of the 6th put them up for good. Sanchez-Flores, their Ace, gave a good account of himself in what was probably his best start of the season so far, going 6.1 strong ones with 6 hits and only 2 earned to go along with his 8 K’s, and Johnny “Sweep the Leg” Dial, who we don’t hear about enough, secured his 12th save of the year on 11 pitches, fanning two and getting the 3rd on a pop up. For our part… well, WE SUCKED. Again. Saturday the 14th, man… amirite?!?

38 of 162: Peter Garcia (3-1, 4.93) @ Cam Murphy (3-3, 3.38)
Loss, 7-2. Good grief… as if losing the series wasn’t bad enough, the Outlaws went ahead and swept us to the delight of their fans in and around Nevada’s Calrk County… Garcia was sharp enough over 5.1 innings of work where he only allowed a single runner to plate, and, OH HONG, fresh off the strip, went 3 for 4 a put one out, but, neither’s effort would be rewarded with a win as our hosts, behind Cam Murphy’s 9 K’s, kept us off balance on offense and abused our bullpen with a 5-run bottom of the 7th to secure the win, their 3rd in a row, and put us on the wrong end of an unceremonious sweep. Angry Eloy Delando put out his 13th (that number? again?) longball, Jacob Wells hit his 5th of the year, and Reynaldo Igarashi sees his ERA inflate to an untenable 9.31 after allowing 5 bad ones to get across. Ugh. I’ll be reaching out to our Skipper, Michael Scott, after this one to put the idea in his head that maybe, just maybe, we shouldn’t be using Igarashi so much…

Record: 23-15, .605, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’ll head back to the Bay Area and try to right the ship against some sturdy competition in the 21-16 San Jose Seals. I mean, just look the current situation in the NL West… if we can’t find a way to right this vessel, it’ll be man overboard in rough seas with no usable life preservers…

[pauwoo]

Los Angeles Leopards (23-15, .605, 1st NL West) @ San Jose Seals (21-16, .568, 4th NL West)
San Jose has quietly put together a winning campaign in 2078 so far on the back of their sneaky good offense – 2nd in runs and average, 4th in OPS, & batting WAR – and the lockdown capabilities of their 3rd ranked bullpen. Free agent acquisition, SP Julen Morales, has slotted in nicely as their newly anointed Ace with a 2-2 record, 3.31 ERA, and 3.70 FIP, and 1B Ryan Wright, their 3rd round (58th overall) pick in 2074, is off to his best start as a pro with a .311/.356/.486 line, 6 TRUCKS, and 29 RBI to lead the offense. There is a feeling that San Jose may be punching above their weight so far in 2078… the baseball illuminati certainly didn’t see this coming when they published the preseason predictions, but they’ve been wrong before and none of that really matters anyways… What matters, for now, is that San Jose currently owns a +25 rDiff, good enough for 4th in the NL, are 8-2 over their last 10, and are entering this set riding a 4-game winning streak. And, if you pair all that goodness with the fact that we’re arriving in San Jose as losers of our last 3, a downtrodden club recently swept by our rivals in Sin City, barely treading water at 5-5 over our last ten tilts, what you get is a recipe for disaster.

39 of 162: Trev Anderson (2-1, 3.05) @ Brody John (1-2, 3.35)
Win, 10-1. Just when it seems like the wheels are coming off, our expertise behind the wheel shines through… Trev came correct over 8.1 innings of work, allowed 5 hits and 1 earned run, and Andy Shepard, that bastion of hard-earned consistency, went 3 for 5 with a 3-run TANK to lead the way for our, otherwise, shopworn offensive unit. OH HONG finished 3 for 5 with 2 scores and one driven in, Ono brought 3 of his friends across the plate with him after smashing a GRAND SLAM and finished 2 for 5 on the day, Mullens picked up his 11th steal, and Dwight Beasley continues to state his case as he closed the show here by fanning the last two batsmen San Jose sent our way. This was a good way to shake the sheets and rid ourselves of the bad mojo associated with being on the wrong end of a sweep… all systems go!

Some Awards and Other Not So Great News…
First, the fun… 3B Valerio Harvey, of the Detroit Motors, took home this weeks Top Player award in the American League after racking up 12 hits in 23 tries with 2 jacks and 7 RBI, while 2B Ryder Nieman, of the Mexico City Jaguars, went buck wild on opposing pitchers to pick up that same award in the NL on the back of his 13-for-21 week that included TWO DING DONGS and a few runs. And now the not so fun… SP Josiah Weber, putting in work for the Charlotte Imperials at 39-years of age, will be out of commission for the next 4 months after suffering a torn rotator cuff… sadly, this could spell doom for the undisputed pitching GOAT of this save… Josiah has won 7 Victor Pacheco Awards (Top Hurler), made 15 All-Star appearances, and currently ranks 2nd all-time for wins at 292. It’s unlikely that he will surpass the current leader, Edgar Heredia (353 dubs), given his advanced age, declining skills, and this latest injury. Unfortunate… I was pulling for him, but he’s sputtered along for a couple of seasons now… for shame.

Oh, and another thing… we’ve slipped to 5th in the weekly PR… so, that's fun.

40 of 162: Stephen Estevez (4-0, 2.17) @ Knox Hussman (3-4, 4.79)
Win, 8-0. We’re on that good stuff now… premium unleaded spiked with rocket fuel and enough NOS to make Vin Diesel jelly… Estevez put it down something fierce, gave us 7 outstanding frames of work, allowed a meager 3 hits, weak little dribblers one & all, nothing earned, and fanned 9 while SS Hamza McDonnell’s work at the plate was on par with his fielding prowess in a 3 for 4 day that included a double, a triple, 2 runs, and a walk. We’d get contributions from 6 of the 9 batters in our order with only one of those bringing in more than one run, a SAC FLY from PEPPER, a swiped bag from Ethan, and another rock-solid appearance in relief for rookie sensation Dwight Beasley who closed out the last two innings on 28 total pitches retiring two by strikeout, 3 by pop up, and 1 on a grounder.


Elsewhere: SP Rufo Luna, of the Minnesota Golden Gophers, has etched his name into the annuals of time with a NO-NO that included an OUTLANDISH 18 K’S to lead his squad to a resounding, and satisfying, 7-0 win over the Duke Blue Devils at home. Luna won’t be available in this year’s draft but should be a lock for a top ten selection in 2079.

41 of 162: Merl Crawford (3-2, 2.10) @ Bentley Hunt (4-2, 3.23)
Loss, 4-3. We’d lose in a thriller here as a 3-run top of the 9th put us ahead of San Jose late only to lose that lead and get walked off on our way out of town, as Turnbull blew it during the bottom of the final frame by giving up a 2-run dinger to San Jose’s Nicky McCreary. Bentley operated like the finely tuned machines manufactured by his namesake, gave his club a tip-top 8 innings of work, and allowed only a single run to go along with his 4 K’s, keeping our club off balance until we got after their bullpen a little bit late… a tough loss for us here as it would have been real, real nice to secure the sweep after being on the wrong end of one of those our last time out… BUT, beggars can’t be choosers and all that fuss.

Elsewhere: Your boy, Jules Winfield, kicking up some dust and getting all aggro down in Triple-A…



Record: 25-16, .609, t-1st NL West (Phoenix has pulled even with us…)
Up Next: We’ll take a day off, head home, and then welcome the Phoenix Coyotes to town for a winner-takes-all cage match with DEATH on the line.

[pauwoo]

Phoenix Coyotes (25-16, .609, t-1st NL West) @ Los Angeles Leopards (25-16, .690, t-1st NL West)
After stumbling our way through a 7-5 road trip it’s impossible to overemphasize how good it feels to be home… the only thing semi-spoiling our hard-earned homecoming is the fact that our Divisional Rival, and owners of an identical 2078 record thus far, Phoenix Coyotes are meeting us here for a 3-game set that is certainly the most important we’ve played so far and could become the series we point to as either putting us over the top or for being our undoing once the dust has settled on the regular season. Phoenix is in a good way right now – 12-5 so far in May, fresh off a home sweep against the Las Vegas Outlaws, and bringing a 4th-rated staff that seems to get better each time out with them to Los Angeles. This will be a tough test for our club... proctored by a mean-spirited librarian, timed down to the second, and incredibly light on multiple choice… here we’ll need to pack at least a half dozen, perfectly sharpened No. 2 pencils and a couple of those pink erasers with us as we try our level best to test out of Baseball 101 and continue our journey to the promised land…

42 of 162: Dejuan Burns (2-2, 3.95) @ Masaya Nakagawa (2-2, 3.51)
Win, 7-3. A good, tone-setting win to open the series with Nakagawa going 7 strong while allowing just 2 runs, Ono punching out a 2-run bomb during a 2 for 4 day, and Ethan driving 2 in on a single. Otto went 2 for 4 and scored, OH HONG managed to come around twice after reaching on a walk and a HBP, respectively, and PEPPER pumped his average up over .200 for the first time this season on a 2 for 4 day. The offense looked great in this one, like a finely tuned F-1 cart, but the real story was the pitching as they registered 12 combined K’s for the game with Masaya earning 8 of those while Keith Baeza secured the other 4 in relief.

43 of 162: Kikuzo Ueno (4-3, 3.88) @ Peter Garcia (3-1, 4.53)
Win, 2-1. After yesterday’s rip-roaring, rootin’ tootin’, full on frontal assault, we’d find a way to dig deep and clip the Coyotes in this one scoring the game-tying run during the bottom of the 8th before Satoru Ono walked them off on a 2-1 changeup that he hit for a run-scoring single to secure the win during the bottom of the 9th. The pitching for both clubs was stout – our guy, Garcia, stumbled a bit during his 5.1 innings of work but managed to hold the Coyotes to just one run while Grumpy Losito put in 3.1 workmanlike innings in relief where he’d allow just 1 hit while fanning 6, and Turnbull would snipe the win by striking out the last better of the game on 4 total pitches. Some solid pitching, superb defense (Otto’s OF Assist catching Kaszuba at 3rd comes to mind), and timely hitting wins the day and enters another series win into the permanent record.

44 of 162: Damian Harris (3-1, 1.50) @ Trev Anderson (3-1, 2.70)
Loss, 8-3. Phoenix found a way to break through our defense and put some bad ones on us to avoid being on the wrong end of a sweep, had 6 runs banked before the start of the 4th, and had no problem keeping their distance from their as SP Damian Harris gave us the business over 7-innings of work and SS Marcel Suggs scored each time he reached safely and tallied 3 runs once this thing was all said and done. For our part, we reached safely 12 times, squandering each opportunity, managed to swipe two bags (Ethan’s got wheels), and even showed off the leather a little bit with two expertly executed double plays… it just wasn’t enough though as we couldn’t find a way to capitalize on each of the chances we afforded ourselves.

Elsewhere: A look at the Great 8 (linked below) as the NCAA playoffs are, and have been, officially underway and peep the box score from Shreveport’s 18-1 shellacking of the Dearborn Dilly’s in Bush League play (attached)… Side note: the Tasty Waves are Ridgemont Community College.



Record: 27-17, .613, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’ll conclude this all too short homestand with a three-game set against the Austin Grackles.

[pauwoo]

Before we get into it… as is customary, the weekly awards were handed out as May 23rd falls on a Monday in 2078, but neither of the recipients were particularly inspiring so we’ll skip over the minor awards this time. Worth noting, however, is that former Leopard, current Motor, Tony Voorhis will miss 1-2 weeks with a strained oblique – the last time he missed more than a week came way back in 2071 when he missed 4-weeks due to a strained rib cage muscle, so… hopefully this isn’t a sign of things to come. Also, we were ranked 5th on the Weekly PR again – top five is Brooklyn, Salt Lake, San Jose (who? What?), Denver, and your La La’s. Phoenix came in at 6th, Las Vegas 11th, and Austin, who we will talk a bit more about in a moment, is in the rear with the gear at 22nd.

Austin Grackles (16-27, .372, 6th NL West) @ Los Angeles Leopards (27-17, .614, 1st NL West)
Still more Shakespearean tragedy than honest-to-goodness baseball team, the Austin Grackles have put together a dismal 7-12 record so far in May after finishing the 1st month of the season at an almost as bad 9-15 clip... they’re bad on the road (10-16), worse at home (6-11), struggle against lefties (6-10), are inept against righties (10-17), and can’t seem to figure out how to win the close ones (2-11 in 1-run games). What we have here is a malformed and shopworn club, stitched together from spare parts, and so poorly constructed that Dr. Frankenstein himself would anguish endlessly had he been the mad scientist behind its creation… we should handle these yokels with ease, cast them aside like an 85-lb weakling. Of course, it is these types of matchups that always give me pause as our cocksure band of merry men have a penchant for playing down to their competition and have, on way more than one occasion, been made to pay for it dearly.

45 of 162: Ryan Burg (2-3, 4.89) @ Stephen Estevez (5-0, 1.91)
Win, 4-1. Austin’s Ryan Burg gave us the business for 7 shutout innings and allowed only two hits during his start… however, it was our very next hit, off Ramsey Hudson, that would be the Grackles’ undoing as Otto Isaac hit a GRAND SLAM GAME WINNER during the bottom of the 8th. While our pitching had been resolute throughout the contest, our starter allowed 1 run in 5-innings of work with Zechariah Stillman and Donovan Turnbull keeping the game scoreless over the final four innings, our offense, prior to Otto’s game-breaking at bat, was made to look very average by Austin’s staff… in fact had it not been for an error and two walks we’d not have had a single runner on base when he put it out of the park. This was a strange one… a game that, based on how it went down, we were phenomenally lucky to win. We’ll take it of course – but desperately need our guys to get their eyes on the prize tomorrow as even a team as comically poor as Austin can kill the good vibes in any clubhouse if given the opportunity. We gave them the opportunity here, got lucky that it didn’t bite us in the behind, and would be well served if we’d make sure not to forget that.

46 of 162: Noel Goodgion (1-3, 7.71) @ Merl Crawford (3-2, 2.18)
Win, 8-3. Back in the drivers seat, our eyes on the road, hands at 10 & 2.. Merl was masterful over 7.1 innings, allowed 4 hits and a walk, 1 earned, and 6 Ks, Satoru Ono brought two in on a 3 for 5 day, Kyle Weaver, who came on for an injured Andy Shepard, went 2 for 3 with a double and 2 RBI. Hamza, PEPPER, backup backstop Lee Rolon, and OH HONG would each bring one back in with Kyle and Ono responsible for the other 4, we’d hit 5 two-baggers as a club, and Rishon Shaw would earn his 1st save of the year as he brought us home over the last 1.2 innings with only the moon and the stars to guide his way. Injury Note: No extended diagnosis needed as Andy Shepard will miss ~6 weeks with a strained hammy. He goes to the IL while Manuel Soto gets the call up from Compton. This will by Manny’s first time up in the bigs… lets hope he makes the most of it.

Elsewhere: The Final Four is all set with Arizona State, Alabama, North Carolina, and TCU being the last clubs standing… A thrilling entry for North Carolina as they earn their bid by walking off a resilient Ridgemont Community College by a score of 7-6. Gutted for my Tasty Waves…

47 of 162: Dwaine Schilling (1-2, 4.65) @ Masaya Nakagawa (3-2, 3.35)
Loss, 3-0. We still can’t close out a sweep to save our lives… here, despite another strong performance from Nakagawa, our offense couldn’t be bothered to do their job against Dwaine Schilling, Ennis Tanner, Ramsay Hudson, and Elmar Pirov, who combined for a tasty little shutout, mustering a meager three hits while scoring no runs in a no-effort outing from a lineup that seems to believe that pitches should be served up on a silver platter. In our biggest at bat, during the bottom of the 8th, down 1, bases-loaded, and count full, our own Dom Cooke would pop up a funky little knuckleball served up by Ramsay Hudson to retire our side and crush all our hopes and dreams. Kyle Weaver, who got the start in Shepard’s stead, went 1 for 3 with a walk, and Soto made his Major League debut in a PH opportunity, drawing a walk in his lone at bat. Probably not how he drew it up, but better than striking out…

Record: 29-18, .617, 1st NL West
Up Next: Back on the road, headed to Pittsburgh for a 3-game set against Steel City’s finest.

[pauwoo]

Los Angeles Leopards (29-18, .617, 1st NL West) @ Pittsburgh Pipers (24-22, .521, 2nd NL East)
Pittsburgh is part of a glut of teams in the NL East that are hanging on for dear life as they work towards securing a Wild Card spot… they’re currently operating 6 ½ games off Brooklyn’s pace despite posting an 8-2 record over their last 10 and winning 6 in a row… of course their cause is not helped by the fact that Brooklyn has an identical record over their last 10 and are currently riding a 7-game winning streak of their own, but I digress… Pittsburgh’s problem, to the degree that they have one, is that, after their superstars, the role players aren’t always fulfilling their responsibilities. On offense, Tom Franzone (.320/8/27) and Mack Ramirez (.293/6/19) are doing their part but everyone else is mired in a bit of a funk, all batting .220 or worse… and the Pitching is the same story – Ace Robby Garrett is dealing, Bullpen stalwart, Cristian Cassiano has been nearly unhittable, but everyone else seems to be serving up meatballs with extra parm and all the breadsticks you can eat. Listen, you can’t count these guys out… they represented our league in the World Series last season and are really just 1 or 2 guys on each side of the ball away from making some real noise once again… our goal here, over the next four days, will be to make sure those guys don’t start to heat up against us and to secure another series win on the road.

48 of 162: Peter Garcia (3-1, 4.22) @ Gregory Morgan (2-3, 3.10)
Loss, 3-2. So far, so bad as SP Gregory Morgan kept us off balance for 5.1 innings and we lose in Pittsburgh despite a solid outing from Garcia and homers from Otto & Ethan. Tom Franzone played as advertised, went 2 for 4 during the game, drove two in, and scored, and the Pittsburgh defense was on point as they managed to field three, rally killing double plays over the course of the game. For our part, in addition to squandering Garcia’s performance, we played an uninspired brand of baseball, left 6 of our guys stranded out there, and kept hitting into the teeth of the defense every time it looked like we might do something of note. Not a great look to start this 4-game parlay.

Elsewhere: The NCAA final is all set as the Alabama Crimson Tide dispatched the TCU Horned Frogs by a score of 5-1 while North Carolina was busy doing the same against Arizona State, earning their bid to the final by a score of 11-4. Alabama last won the NCAA Championship in 2055 while the North Carolina Tarheels would raise their first championship banner with a win.

49 of 162: Trev Anderson (3-2, 3.58) @ Edwin Blaxley (4-4, 4.01)
Loss, 5-1. Pittsburgh, burning bright now, extends their winning streak to 8 at our expense behind Cody Keenan’s 2 DINGER day and Edwin Blaxley’s tip-top 8.1 innings of work where he’d allow just 1 run and rely on his defense to keep the vast majority of our 11 base runners stranded. Hanan went 3 for 4 and drove in our only run, we hit 4 doubles as a team, but, once again, failed to capitalize on our opportunities as the red-hot Pipers managed to keep the good times rolling.


Elsewhere: Donny Jeter, the last of our Super Jeter Bros in the MLB who has extended his Major League life with the Denver Miners, went 3 for 4 with a 3-run TANK, 2 runs and a walk as his club rubbed the New York Sluggers face in the dirt during an 8-5 win in Colorado. Darryl retired way back in 2071… he just wasn’t about that life, while Derek continues to play organized ball in Kelowna for the Vancouver Mounties Triple-A outfit.

50 of 162: Stephen Estevez (5-0, 1.90) @ Robby Garrett (4-5, 2.66)
Win, 2-1. We’d get the win and put an abrupt end to Pittsburgh 8-game winning streak despite Robby Garrett’s sublime complete-game, 6-hit, 2 earned effort. The reality here is that we were lucky to get the win – with PEPPER, our 3x Gold Glover, bringing in the game-winner on a run-scoring ground out during the top of the 8th. Must’ve been tough for Pittsburgh’s fans to watch us gut this one out and get the wholly undeserved victory… what a lame way for their team’s streak to end. Bummer biscuits, man… sucks to be them.


Elsewhere: Palmer Parker, Philadelphia’s 2x MVP (most recently in 2077), went 3 for 5 with a double, a dinger, 3 RBI, 3 runs, and a walk to lead the Founders to a resounding 16-5 win over the visiting Las Vegas Outlaws. So far this season, Palmer is not off to his customary start – he’s currently flexing a .278/.356/.417 slash with 5 home runs and 31 RBI… by contrast, your boy finished .340/.408/.595, 39, 111 last season with a 7.4 WAR. He definitely has some ground to make up if he wants to make it 3 Boyce Rigg awards in as many years. ALSO… let it be known that the Alabama Crimson Tide won the 2nd NCAA title in school history by a score of 3-2 over the North Carolina Tarheels. SP Nuno Granado took home POTG honors after giving Alabama 5.1 innings over work with just 1 earned and 7 Ks.

Oh.. and one more thing…


51 of 162: Merl Crawford (4-2, 2.08) @ Tim Kelly (3-2, 3.83)
Loss, 8-7 (10). Yikes… dissed in the Malibu. Tom Franzone went 3 for 5 with a 2-run double and Mack Ramirez tallied 5 hits and 3 RBI as the Pipers took 3 of 4 off of us in Pittburgh, keeping their hot streak alive and moving within 5 games of the NL East leading Brooklyn Citizens. OH HONG put his 9th ball out of the park and recorded 3 total RBI, Mullens scored twice, and Ono brought two around… but, in the end, it wasn’t enough as Turnbull gave up the ghost late when Pittsburgh sent this one to extras (that’s his 3rd blown save for those of you who like counting things) and Zechariah gave up the game winner, a run-scoring single courtesy of Mack Ramirez, during the bottom of the 10th. Walked off, shoved out the door, and put on a flight back home… for shame.

Record: 30-21, .588, 1st NL West (only ½ a game up on San Jose…)
Up Next: We’re headed home to meet the NL Division leading Brooklyn Citizens in our house. Timing isn’t great, I’ll admit, but we’ll do our level best to make the most of it.

[pauwoo]

Weekly PR’s are out… we’ve dropped to 7th. East Coast bias, clearly…

Brooklyn Citizens (32-18, .640, 1st NL East) @ Los Angeles Leopards (30-21, .588, 1st NL West)
Sporting the best record in the Majors, with a newly anointed member of the 300 HOME RUN club & 5x MVP Rich Hamilton batting 3rd in their order, and with the top ranked pitching staff in all of organized baseball wearing a Citizens kit to work every day, I think Brooklyn can rightfully lay claim to the title of best team in baseball… They’re playing well, 8-2 over their last 10, have the second highest RDiff in baseball at +54 (only Denver’s +65 is better), and win at an impressive 56% clip on the road. And, with the way our guys are playing right now, they are the last team I want to cross paths with, especially at home where the losses sting just that much more. Here we’ll attempt to thread the needle, to find a way to end May on something of a high note, and, with any luck, kick off June by closing out a 4-game sweep against the sturdiest club on the playground.

52 of 162: Bradley Hughes (8-1, 0.78) @ Masaya Nakagawa (3-3, 3.02)
Win, 2-0. Bradley Hughes, who’s been slaying teams all season, gave up both of our runs, the 1st on a solo homer from Satoru Ono and the 2nd on a bases-loaded walk that brought Hamza in during the bottom of the 4th. Nakagawa was legendary for us, putting up 7-inning of 7-hit, shutout ball before turning it over to offseason acquisition Rishon Shaw who secured the hold during the 8th, and then Turnbull who managed to enter his 15th save into the permanent record with a 1-2-3 top of the 9th. Some other fun stuff… HAMZA hit a triple and swiped a bag, and Miguel Soto, in his 5th appearance since being called up from Compton, has still not earned his 1st Major League hit but did put, of all things, a SAC BUNT on the board. Poor kid has a .083 OBP and -73 OPS so far during his first stint in the bigs. We may have broke him… dunno, not sure.

In other news (kind of)… Miguel Soto returns to Compton a downtrodden and broken man as we bring LF Justin Burton up in his stead…

53 of 162: Josiah Kawka (6-2, 2.96) @ Peter Garcia (3-2, 4.31)
Win, 3-1 (12). We’d win the last game of the month, in extras, to close out May with a 17-12 record on the back of SS Ernie Sparacino’s 2-run, walk off DING DONG, finally finding a way to break through what had become a pitching showcase for both teams as each trotted out 4 hurlers over the course of the game. We did hit 4 doubles as a club, including one for new arrival Justin Burton, but got nothing substantive off any of them, an early RBI from Ono off an anticlimactic SAC FLY, and would watch from the dugout as Otto tried to get cute on the basepaths, and getting caught with his hand in the honeypot instead… really, from an individual highlight perspective, there’s not much to discuss – but, most importantly, if there is any takeaway here it’s that we’ve successfully defeated the best team in baseball twice in a row and have held them to a single run over the course of those games. That’s the good stuff.

Monthly Award Winners…
NL Best Batter: 1B Tom Franzone (Pittsburgh Pipers) - .337, 7 TANKS, 20 RIBLETS, and 19 runs.
NL Top Hurler: SP Landon Sampson (Phoenix Coyotes) – 5-1, 1.89 ERA, 33.1 innings of work, 56 K’s.
NL Best Greenhorn: 1B Travis Tran (Miami Herons) - .253, 4 doubles, 4 jacks, 9 scores, and 16 driven in.
AL Best Batter: RF Patrick Adams (Seattle Metros) - .317, 9 TRUCKS, 28 RBI, and 18 runs
AL Top Hurler: CL Jacques Jameson (Buffalo Nickels) – 3-1, 7 saves, 22 K’s, 4 BB’s, and a 1.15 ERA.
AL Best Greenhorn: SP Kenny Ibuna (Portland Pines) – 3-1, 3.00 ERA, 18 K’s.

A look at the standing & league leaders as we enter June… Salt Lake City still putting it down something fierce with ourselves and Brooklyn not far behind.



54 of 162: John Aivazian (5-4, 4.08) @ Trev Anderson (3-3, 3.90)
Win, 7-1. We’d continue to show out in front of our hometown faithful with Otto’s 2 home runs and 3 RBI leading the way and Trev’s 5.1 innings of 3-hit, 1-run ball setting the tone for our staff. Burton was solid again with a 2 for 3 day that included an RBI and a run, PEPPER brought one in on a SAC FLY, and Ethan finished 2 for 5 with an RBI and a run. We’d also get 3.2 shutout innings in relief from Rishon Igarashi and successfully complete 3 double plays to lockdown Brooklyn’s offense for the 3rd game in a row…

55 of 162: Matthew Krebs (2-5, 3.90) @ Stephen Estevez (5-0, 1.85)
Win, 9-3. This one had a little bit of everything – we exploded for 6 runs after the stretch, punctuated by Dom’s GRAND SLAM during the bottom of the 7th frame, saw Otto clear the bases on a 3-run double to open our scoring, and a benches-clearing brawl during the top of the 3rd initiated by Joseph Zody who rushed Estevez after being hit by a pitch… we’ll lose Estevez for 6, they’ll lose Zody for 5. For our part we’d get material contributions from Ethan, OH HONG, Otto, Ono, Burton, and Dom, would overcome Beasley’s first rough outing since his call up (he gave up 2 runs in 3.1 innings of work), and secure the 4-game sweep, at home, against one of the best teams in the Major Leagues…

I’m legit surprised that we got the sweep here… I’m straight up shocked that we held the Citizens to only 5 runs for the series. That. Is. Crazy.

Record: 34-21, .618, 1st NL West
Up Next: More home cooking as we welcome the American League New York Sluggers to town for a 3-game set.

[pauwoo]

New York Sluggers (23-32, .407, 6th AL East) @ Los Angeles Leopards (34-21, .618, 1st NL West)
The New York Sluggers are in a bad way… stuck at the bottom of the barrel in the AL East, 6 ½ games off Detroit’s leisurely pace (they’re leading the division on a paltry 28-25 record so far), are 3-7 over their last 10, have lost all 7 of those in a row, and have made a habit of getting dusted by the competition on the regular as indicated by their -63 RDiff. The wildly popular RF Neil Jahraus is easily their best player, is probably the 4th best right fielder in baseball, and is currently down for the count, injury diagnosis pending, which doesn’t look good as the young man, at only 26-years of age, has already missed significant time in his career with lingering back trouble. After Jahraus there’s just not a lot in the pantry – the ingredients they do have would be unlikely to create an appetizing flavor profile, they’re missing the essential items required for most ‘from scratch’ recipes, and even if they had sufficient ingredients, the quality of their cooks (see: management) is suspect. New York arrives in L.A. looking like a kitchen in disarray where the tickets are coming in fast & furious, the line is short a man, and the flat top is struggling to maintain a consistent temperature.

A quick trade: We traded 3B Rishon Orosz, a fantastic defender with a so-so bat, to Mexico City (usually not a good idea to trade with a division rival) for CL Major Hansen, who should see time in the Majors as early as next season, and low-end OF prospect Richie Glow who I asked them to include as much for his name as anything else…

56 of 162: Ash Newman (3-4, 4.10) @ Merl Crawford (4-2, 2.31)
Loss, 7-6. Otto, who had been enjoying a day off prior to being called upon for a PH at bat, went yard in his only try, sending a 3-run moonshot over the fence that put us up 6-4 that would have been enough had New York’s Leandro Mercedes not done the same thing during the top of the very next frame against Rishon Shaw to put New York up 7-6, which, as you already know by now, is where we’d leave it… Merl pitched fine, gave up three earned over 5.1 innings of work, but our pen fell apart once again, this time allowing a suspect offense to sucker punch us at home. Ethan, OH HONG, and PEPPER drove in our other runs, we swiped two bags, 1 each for Mullens and Burton, and committed a couple of costly fielding flubs to aid the Sluggers’ cause… this was not the start to this series that we were looking for.


Elsewhere: Adrian Bae, a former Leopard who entered Free Agency during the offseason and ended up taking his talents to the Bush League, put up an 8.1 inning, 2-hit shutout with 9 K’s to lead his Decatur Donnybrooks to a resounding 5-0 victory over the Quincy Quackers. So far, as a Starter in the BL (he was a career reliever in the Bigs), Adrian hasn’t fared so well… he’s 2-4 with a 7.11 ERA, .337 BABIP, 63 ERA+, and 5.17 FIP over 7 starts… with those numbers, it’s unlikely a Major League suitor will come calling anytime soon.

57 of 162: Lenny Rios (2-4, 6.64) @ Masaya Nakagawa (4-3, 2.63)
Win, 6-4. Back in the good graces of the Baseball Gods it seems as we overcome a solid start from New York’s Lenny Rios, who went 7 IP with 4 hits and 2 earned, to get the win here on the back of OH HONG’s 2 for 4 day that included TWO TRUCKS, and Hanan’s pinch hit, 3-run, WALK OFF, DINGER! Not much else to work our way through here – Dom hit a run-scoring double, Otto swiped a bag, we got a sweet double play, and a highlight-reel worthy outfield assist from Justin Burton who caught New York's 2B Ray Martin trying to get cute and stretch one all the way around to home plate. A good win for the club, one that required steady focus for the entire game… good to see the club keep fighting in this one.

58 of 162: Stewart Klinger (2-8, 5.08) @ Peter Garcia (3-2, 4.07)
Loss, 7-4. A late surge from New York would be our undoing here as the Sluggers managed to score 3 runs after the break to give themselves all the cushion they’d need to leave Los Angeles with a series win under their belts. Hamza turned in a 2 for 4 day at the plate with a 2-RUN JACK and 2 runs, Otto put his 17th ball out of the park, and our starter, Garcia acquitted himself nicely over 6-innings of work, but, once again, the bullpen would come undone with Zechariah Stillman being the culprit this time as he gave up the game-winning 2-run moonshot to New York’s Ray Martin. A tough set here, losing a series at home to such a ho-hum, interleague opponent.


Elsewhere: SP Wilfredo Felix, of your Inglewood Sentinels, was up to no good again during a complete-game, 5-hit shutout with 7 K’s, leading our Double-A club to a resounding 9-0 win over the Reno Travelers. New guy, Richie Glow, also gave a good account of himself, finishing with a 2 for 3 day at the plate and a run scored….

Record: 35-23, .603, 1st NL West
Up Next: the 2078 Ammy Draft… I’ll post the Top 10 picks and maybe run through our top three…