BRASS League

DRAFT REVIEW 2011

2011-07-02T14:20:00.002-05:00

The draft went reasonably smoothly this year, but there were some things I wasn't too pleased with. Way too many time violations, for one thing. Some of the early ones--maybe all of them--were my fault, as the last-minute test I ran caused the pre-draft lists to reset. But after that, it was simply a matter of setting up a valid list for the next pick as soon as the last one was made, and too many didn't do that.

We also could have done a better job of explaining the contract rules to the newcomers. I don't think it was made clear that the players listed on the Free Agents page of the roster sheet (URFAs who didn't get a bid) had to be signed to a U contract if drafted.

As always, there wasn't much available for any team in need of immediate help. It would have been worse if we were allowed three AMs instead of two; guys like Boesch, Moreland and Jaso would certainly have been stashed last year. Now that the third AM has been voted in, you'll see the effect in the draft after next. I hope that at least we go back to our traditional early May time frame for the draft, so that a couple of players have the chance to come out of nowhere without being snatched a year early.

The one position you can usually find plenty of help at in the draft is relief pitcher, but that wasn't the case this year. Most years you can build a serviceable bullpen from scratch in the draft, but this time around the only guy who was effective over a more than a few innings was Jonny Venters.

The first round:

1. Eric Hosmer, Andover - In a non-DH league, a first baseman shouldn't go first overall unless he's the next Pujols. When drafted, Hosmer looked like he might be all that and a side of onion rings, but he's been pretty ordinary lately.

2. Mike Trout, Southtown - Hard to argue with this one; Trout is behind only Bryce Harper on BA's list of prospects. If the draft had been held a week earlier or later (before Hosmer came up or after he cooled off), Trout would almost certainly have gone first. The only quibble is that he might tie up an AM spot for another year, while Pineda will definitely get a card.

3. Michael Pineda, Chuckanut Bay - Not the top available name on the BA list, but his performance in MLB makes this an obvious pick. I'd have probably taken him #1 if I'd had that chance.

4. Shelby Miller, Maine - Not sure why Miller was picked ahead of Wil Myers or Jameson Taillon, both of whom outrank him on the BA list. Then again, I don't research the AMs as well as I should, which is why I drafted one last year who'd had brain surgery two months earlier. BA does project Miller to arrive a year ahead of Taillon, which is important when you have only two AM spots to play with. (We didn't find out until later that we'll have three next year.)

5. Manny Machado, Belmont Park - Also ranked behind Myers and Taillon, but he's a shortstop, which has considerable value.

6. Brennan Boesch, Lancaster - I think this is the first time we've gone five picks without a carded player being taken; whether this reflects the quality of AMs available this year or the lack of quality carded players, I'm not sure. I'm also not sure his bat is quite good enough to carry his glove this high.

7. Jonny Venters, Portland - It really doesn't pay to draft a reliever this high unless he's going to be a starter someday. But if any reliever was ever going to be worth it, this is the year and Venters is the guy.

8. Matt Moore, Duluth-Superior - See Miller, Shelby. Moore's projected to arrive the same year as Taillon, but coming up with the Rays instead of the Pirates has to be a marker in his favor.

9. Colby Lewis, Madawaska - If you're looking for immediate rotation help, the list starts and ends here. The only problem is, he has to be signed to a U contract. He's certainly worth it this year, but you have to decide now how long to commit, instead of being able to go year to year like you could if he was a Y1.

10. Mitch Moreland, Meridian - This may still be too high to take a first baseman who's a good-but-not-great hitter. But Moreland has improved his numbers, is getting much more playing time, and has added positional flexibility by playing some outfield.

11. Brandon Beachy, Hoth - If Beachy hadn't been on the DL when the draft started, he'd have deserved to go ahead of any of the AM pitchers except Pineda; he was doing better than any of them could reasonably be expected to do when they arrive, and he doesn't tie up an AM slot. Now that he's healthy and picking up where he left off (two runs in 12 innings, 3 walks, 20 strikeouts since his return), this pick is highway robbery.

12. Travis Wood, Green Bay - OK, Colby Lewis isn't the only decent starter in the pool; Wood is about as good, albeit in half as many innings. He's getting knocked around this year, though, so who knows which is the real version?

13. Jordan Lyles, Montgomery County - Good performance in MLB this year gives him a big boost from his prospect ranking.

14. Alexi Ogando, Plainsfield - Should have gone much higher; he gives you a nice relief card this year, doesn't use up an AM, and has been lights-out in the Rangers' rotation. I was starting to think he might fall to me. . .

15. Jake Arrieta, Andover - He gives you some innings, and he's in a major-league rotation, but first round? Meh. However, if you look at my summer league's draft, and consider only the players who were available in both draft pools, he went 16th.

16. Zach Britton, Inyo - I started second-guessing this pick the moment I made it. I had an open AM slot, and I wanted to use it on someone who was already in the majors, as my other AM (Aaron Hicks) doesn't look like he's arriving any time soon. Britton's doing OK, but his K/W stats don't inspire confidence going forward, and anyway, what I really need is a catcher.

17. Danny Espinosa, Montreal - If all Espinosa does is maintain his 2010 rate stats over a full season, this is a very good pick. If he keeps up the improvement he's shown so far in 2011, it's a great one.

18. Wilson Ramos, Montgomery County - This is who I should have taken. Or Arencibia, or Lucroy, but Ramos is doing better than either of them so far this year.

19. John Jaso, Franklin - And this is who I should have taken last year, instead of brain surgery patient Ryan Westmoreland. Not so sure he's such a great pick for the Kites, since he's tanking in real life and they're flush with catchers. It does put them in a position to dump Russell Martin's salary.

20. Philip Humber, Plainsfield - Coming into last season, Humber had pitched 29.2 innings over four brief MLB trials, giving up 37 hits and 17 walks. But history is full of pitchers who were that bad or worse, found a new pitch or new delivery or something, and turned it around the way Humber apparently has. One red flag: his strikeout rate this year is only 5.5 per nine innings, and success at that level can be fleeting.

21. Jordan Walden, Belmont Park - The usual caveats on first-round relievers apply, plus is Walden a better pick than Craig Kimbrel? Their performances this year are close enough that for me, the deciding factor would be the extra 6 innings on Kimbrel's card. Then again, since both are M0's, you might not get to use all those innings. (I note with amazement that the proposal to allow players like this to be signed to Y1 contracts instead of M0 failed handily. Why would anyone oppose this?)

22. Dillon Gee, Ashland - He's in a rotation, pitching well, doesn't tie up an AM, and his card is good enough to take over a spot in a BRASS rotation when he comes up in February. Why didn't I take him instead of Britton? Damifino.

23. J.P. Arencibia, Duluth-Superior - In a non-salary keeper league, you'd probably take Lucroy ahead of Arencibia, since he has a usable card this year. The BRASS contract system makes Arencibia an arguably better pick, since the extra Y year he'll give you later should be more valuable than Lucroy's current card. The Dukes could have used Lucroy this year, as the catchers they had don't cover the position full time, but they picked up Humberto Quintero later to cover that need.

24. Brandon Belt, Diamond - There were definitely better ways to use an AM slot. That's not hindsight talking; Belt was on the DL when the draft started, and had hit .211 with a .609 OPS to that point.

The rest, by team:

Alexandria (Atchison, Collmenter, Herndon, Mortensen, Nava, Ryal, Ty. Walker; reclaimed Pierre) - With no picks until the third round, the Dukes did about as well as could be expected. Collmenter was a nice find (who never would have been picked if we'd drafted in May), Mortensen and Herndon are doing OK in the majors, but neither inspires confidence going forward. Nava has a nice pinch-hitting card.

Andover (Kimbrel, Nova, Perkins, Pestano, Revere; reclaimed Bard, Coffey, Milledge, Thames) - Kimbrel was the first pick of the second round, and could easily have gone in the first. He and Pestano will certainly upgrade the bullpen next year. Perkins too, but in order to get that from him you have to commit to at least a U2 contract. If Perkins tanks in the second half, the entire contract's a waste. Personally, I'd have passed on Perkins and gone for someone without the contract baggage. Daniel McCutchen, whom I picked later the same round, has (in real life this year) a better WHIP and more innings than Perkins, and a Y1 contract.

Ashland (Atilano, J. Castro, C. Coleman, Herrmann, Hultzen, Penny, S. Rodriguez, Texeira, Valaika, R. Valdes) - I like Rodriguez, even though he hasn't shown he can be anything more than a utilityman on a good BRASS team. The rest. . . not so much. I don't think it's a good idea to use an AM spot on a new MLB draftee like Hultzen unless he's in the Strasburg/Harper class. I suppose the innings Penny's munching this year are worth a fourth-round pick and a U contract.

Belmont Park (Baxter, Bourjos, D. Carpenter, Cousins, Craig, De Aza, Gentry, St. Hill, J. Hoffpauir, Mathieson, C. Nelson, Nieves, Br. Petersen, Slama, Stavinoha, D. Sutton, J. Turner) - Lots of back-of-the-draft roster fill, but a nugget or two as well. Bourjos is hitting just enough to be worth playing for his glove, Craig was hitting enough to force a team to find a place for his glove (before he got hurt), and Gentry has the kind of role which could produce a 150-PA supercard by sheer luck.

Chuckanut Bay (Ambriz, A. Burnett, Conrad, Donaldson, Duda, Kohn, Mathis, A. Oliver, Sogard, Ru. Tejada, Valencia; claimed Bonine) - I sure hope Valencia is better than he's shown this year; I have him in another league. Duda is supposed to be a hitter, but hasn't proven it yet. Tejada might turn out to be real good, since he was playing last year at age 20.

Diamond (Deduno, S. Duncan, Guzman, Jansen, An. Laroche, Monasterios, Sale, B. Thomas) - Pretty nondescript lot, not that the Gems need much help. Sale and Jansen will be ace relievers if they ever live up to their hype.

Duluth-Superior (Halman, L. Hughes, R. Lopez, Pauley, Repko, Trumbo, Jo. Wilson, Wise; claimed Quintero) - I don't think Trumbo was such a good idea. For tying up an AM slot, you get one year of substandard 1B production, after which he goes back to the minors when Kendrys Morales returns. Halman might stick, and this year he's on pace for one of those 100-PA flukes.

Franklin (Berg, R. de la Rosa, Goldschmidt, B. Hayes, Laffey, Tr. Miller, Miranda, Moehler, Nippert, Ondrusek, Rhymes, Rodney, H. Rodriguez, S. Shields, Joe Smith, J. Wright) - It's not as bad as last year, when Everth Cabrera went #1, but. . . Fernando Rodney? With the 25th pick overall?? Despite that, there's some upside here. De la Rosa and Rodriguez are 100-MPH throwers, Goldschmidt could make Chris look like a genius (or an idiot), Miranda has a regular job, and Rhymes has a cheap, useful card even if he never gets another. Shields, however, wouldn't have been taken by anyone familiar with the contract rules. If you're short of innings (which is the only reason to touch him at all), you wait until secondary free agency and put in a minimum one-year bid, or even month-to-month, and save yourself more than half a million.

Green Bay (Blevins, Braddock, Kipnis, Lincoln, Morel, Moseley, J. Russell; claimed R. Perez, Sheets; reclaimed Ad. Laroche) - Kipnis is certainly a prospect, but I don't know if it was a good idea to take him when Lonnie Chisenhall was still available. (Chisenhall went on the very next pick.) Chisenhall was rated well above Kipnis by BA, and seemed more likely to get a callup this year (which in fact just happened), thereby freeing up the AM slot next year. Morel and Russell are still being given chances by their respective Chicago teams, but aren't doing much with them.

Hoth (Cain, Dobbs, Enright, D. Hughes, Kotsay, D. Norris, Parra, Sanabia; reclaimed M. Ramirez, C. Young) - It can't be too long before Cain is a fixture in KC; not when the alternative is Melky Cabrera. I don't know what the Marlins have planned for Sanabia, but what he did last year at age 21 is encouraging. Dobbs is another one who could end up costing more than he's worth; you have to give him a U2 and hope he doesn't turn back into Dobbs 1.0 in the second half. Parra. . . I guess if you're short on innings he's worth a U1 contract. Barely.

Inyo (Bray, W. Castillo, Cishek, Escalona, B. Hicks, Jay, Lillibridge, D. McCutchen, Do. Murphy, S. Santos, Viciedo, C. Wells, E. Young; reclaimed Buehrle, Figgins, Franklin, Howell) - Sure enough, all the good catching prospects disappeared before my second round pick: Arencibia, Lucroy, even Conger. So I took a scattershot approach, picking up anyone who's young and either has known potential or is having a good year in MLB this year; toward the end, young was enough. The exception was Donnie Murphy, who has a fluke card and will hopefully win me a couple of games with pinch hits.

Lancaster (Albuquerque, Butera, M. Carpenter, Feldman, Hawksworth, Tomlin; reclaimed T. Buck, C. Carter (Mets), E. Chavez, Encarnacion, Kendall) - A lot here I don't like. Tomlin and Hawksworth don't strike out enough people to sustain the success they're having, and figure to regress. Albuquerque does, but it rarely pays to use an AM slot on a reliever. The other AM pick was Matt Carpenter, and I don't see any reason he got the call ahead of several dozen others.

Madawaska (Beimel, Capuano, Kalish, Litsch, Cr. Martinez, Mesoraco, C. Tatum, R. Thompson, Tolleson, Ja. Turner, Weinhardt, B. Wilson, D. Worth) - You don't hear much about Kalish, but someone in my summer league thought enough of him to take in the first round. If nothing else, he and Worth bolster the defense this year. Capuano gets a U contract, but his card and his performance this year are good enough to warrant it; you just have to decide whether to roll the dice and go for three years. (Patrick settled for two.) Mesoraco and Turner are good choices for the AM slots, and it was good strategy to wait until the 7th round to fill the second one. Once everyone else has filled theirs, you've got your pick of what's left no matter how long you wait.

Maine (Burrell, C. Guillen, Hendrickson, Iglesias, Ka'aihue, Talbot, W. Valdez; claimed A. Moore, R. Paulino, Ro. Tejeda) - With all the U players and free agent claims, Maine might have taken on more salary than any other team. At least none of them are dead weight, except maybe Hendrickson. And that's about all the Lobs are getting out of this draft; I don't think any of the cheaper players are going to make it, other than first-rounder Shelby Miller.

Meridian (L. Anderson, Bourgeois, Lecure, Mayberry, McGee, Plouffe, A. Sanchez; reclaimed Garland) - I like the Anderson pick. He's young, was once a high-rated prospect who's been forgotten; last year in my summer league's draft, that formula got me Neil Walker in the 9th round. For McGee, see the comment on Albuquerque above, plus McGee hasn't actually done anything in the majors. I don't think the Astros want to give Sanchez the shortstop job, but Barmes may force them to. As for Trevor Plouffe. . . has there ever been a worse baseball name? It belongs on a hairdresser in a Mel Brooks movie, fercrissake.

Montgomery County (C. Carter (Oak), B. Davis, W. Harris, D. Kelly, Lugo, Lyles, Manship, E. Nunez, Resop, C. Rosa, Salas, Jor. Smith, Tim Wood, Del. Young) - Salas and Resop will put a big charge in next year's bullpen, and nobody's giving up on Carter yet.

Montreal (Br. Anderson, Donald, Gillespie, Morse, W. Myers, Br. Snyder, Es. Vasquez, Walters; claimed J.D. Martin; reclaimed Navarro) - Wil Myers should be a real good AM pick; he's higher on the BA list than several who went before him and was called the best hitting prospect in the Royals' system even while Hosmer was still there. Lately it seems that every year, one banjo-hitting utilityman breaks out with a big year. Two years ago it was Zobrist, last year Betemit, and now it's Morse's turn.

Plainsfield (J. Bell, R. Cedeno, G. Holland, J. Johnson, Lucroy, Moscoso, Y. Navarro, C. Ramos, Renson, Rizzo, Ty. Ross, Sizemore, Worley) - One reason Kevin wins every year is that he stockpiles high draft picks (two in each of the first 3 rounds this year) and uses them wisely. He and I took turns picking players the other one wanted; he got Ogando and Lucroy, I took Santos, Viciedo and Lillibridge. I'm not crazy about his AM picks, because one's a first baseman and the other hasn't played pro ball yet, but as I've said before, you disagree with Kevin's judgment at your peril. Bell has been a bust so far, but the same could be said about Neil Walker two years ago.

Portland (Cortes, Demel, Germano, Je. Gomez, Jeffress, Marinez, O. Martinez, Sano, Sborz, Taillon, Veras) - Don't see much upside here, except for the AMs. And they're both at least a couple of years away, so those spots will be tied up. At one point it looked like the Marlins might move Hanley Ramirez to the outfield and put Ozzie Martinez at short, but that ship would appear to have sailed.

San Jose (Andino, Cole, Descalso, Ellis, Estrada, J. Herrera, Maya, An. Miller, Pagnozzi, Paul, Sipp, Stewart) - David says he was drafting for need, and there's some immediate help here in Ellis, Herrera and even Andino. I stayed off Ellis because my need for a catcher is next year and beyond, and Ellis was in the minors when we drafted, but the Dodgers just called him up. Sipp was a nice grab in the fourth round, as he's lights-out in MLB this year and has a good enough card that a U contract isn't a waste.

Sierra Nevada (W. Aybar, Barney, Ceda, M. Dunn, Dyson, G. Infante, Luebke, McClendon, Presley; reclaimed J. Guillen) - No picks until the third round, so getting Barney and Luebke there wasn't bad. Hard to believe, but this team is so short at firstbase that it made sense to draft Willie Aybar.

SoCal (G. Blanco, Carlin, Chisenhall, Conger, Inglett, Maxwell, McCoy, A. Russell, Schneider, Slaten; reclaimed Nathan) - Conger was my last hope for a real catching prospect, and Chisenhall is a solid AM who just came up to the majors. The rest of these are among the more useful cards in the draft; spotted properly, Blanco, Maxwell and McCoy add up to a very good outfielder. Don't look for much down the road, though.

Southtown (Doubront, B. Wood; claimed Lind, Zumaya; reclaimed 10(!) free agents) - Who's hoarding all the first basemen? There should be way more than enough to go around, but here we have two teams drafting stiffs to cover the position. (Lind won't be a stiff next year, but he also won't be a Miser, unless Henry outbids everyone.) Doubront has as good a chance as anyone to be a rotation starter eventually, but Wood is at the Last Chance Saloon.

Washington Crossing (T. Bell, Denorfia, Giambi, Harrell, Kirkman, B. Logan, W. Lopez, McKenry, Nicasio, Matt Reynolds, Fr. Rodriguez(LAA), M. Rogers, R. Santiago) - Denorfia went more than a round after my pick of Jon Jay, and I could easily wind up regretting that. But I think Dave will regret using an AM slot on a pitcher who isn't one of BA's top 100, isn't one of his own team's top 7, and isn't exactly tearing up the majors.

Sierra Nevada Goldens Jump Out to Copper Division Lead

2010-12-09T02:12:00.000-06:00

After winning the BRASS Copper Division crown in 2090, the Sierra Nevada Goldens are on their way to repeat as division champs in 2101. At the season’s midway point, and three winning months in the books, Sierra Nevada has a (46-38) record and holds an 8-game lead over the rival SoCal Knights (38-46) and a 9-game lead over the 3rd place Duluth-Superior Dukes (37-47). The Goldens are not on pace to match the magical 102-win season of 2090, but they have been pretty competitive to this point earning a series win in 8 of 12 chances versus the Gold League. The Goldens have held at least a tie for 1st in the Copper for all but 3 days since May 1st.

Sierra Nevada lost some key players from the 2090 roster as long-in-the-tooth veterans Jermaine Dye, Jason Giambi, and Edgar Renteria were bid farewell. Along with current infielders Adam Dunn and Dan Uggla, this core took the powerhouse San Jose Scorpions to 7-Games in last year’s Divisional Playoff Series. Looking to avenge last season’s heartbreaking playoff series after taking a 3-Games to None lead, the Goldens have gotten a bit younger and speedier. Rookie of the Year candidate Elvis Andrus is having an outstanding start to the season batting 2nd in the lineup. In 75 games, he is hitting .298 to lead the team, has scored 41 runs, and stolen 20 of 27 bases while exhibiting great range at 2B. The Goldens filled a lingering hole in CF with an off-season trade when they acquired Curtis Granderson. While leading off, Granderson is having a great season to date. From the leadoff spot, he has a respectable .371 OBP with 46 Runs and .290 BA, 11 HR, 31 RBI. After a slow start to the season, Adam Dunn & Dan Uggla heated up a bit in June in the #3 & #4 spots in the order. With a combined 40-Doubles, 29 HR’s, and 100 RBI thus far, the manager expects them to start thumping homers at a higher clip as the season enters the dog days. Perhaps the MVP of the team so far is another player acquired via off-season trade, J.D. Drew. The right fielder has batted in the 5-hole all season and has produced with some nice numbers, .287 BA, 15 HR, 52 RBI. The trio of Dunn, Uggla, and Drew figure to be a formidable bunch in the heart of the order for the rest of the season and it will be fun to see of any of them can reach 35-40 HR’s by the end of the season. Another key offensive contributor had been youngster David Murphy who has had a breakout season in the outfield with a .289 BA, 13 HR, 38 RBI.

The Goldens have had a pretty successful season so far with the bat, scoring just enough to win close games. While they have only been shutout twice and scored only 1 run on three occasions, most games have been very tight with 4, 5, or 6 runs being scored from each side. Sierra Nevada is 14-5 in one-run games and 9-1 in extra-innings in 2101. With both the starters and bullpen both putting up nearly identical ERA’s of about 4.17, the late-inning guys have been getting the job done most consistently. Heath Bell 2-0, 8 SV, 1.91 ERA and Carlos Marmol 3-1, 10 SV, 3.66 ERA have been slamming the door closed on the opposition with the game on the line. As for the starters, Josh Beckett leads the staff with 8 Wins thanks to the best run support of all the starters, but a disappointing 4.78 ERA, 4 losses, and a whopping 19 HR’s allowed. Offseason trade acquisition Jason Marquis has been even better than his 7-3 record would indicate with a 2.40 ERA despite calling Great American Ballpark home. Young lefty Brian Anderson may also be earning some attention in the Rookie of the Year chase while he sports a 7-5 record with a 3.51 ERA in his 17 starts.

The Sierra Nevada Goldens will be looking for some improvement offensively from the likes of Yadier Molina, Mike Lowell, and Ryan Theriot as the season goes on. If they can heat up, along with Dunn and Uggla, Sierra Nevada should be hoisting its 2nd Copper Division Championship in as many seasons in a few short months.

2010 Draft Review

2010-06-21T19:41:00.002-05:00

Here's my second annual draft review. Like last year, I'll say something about each first-round pick separately, followed by a synopsis of each team's draft in the second round and later. Like last year, I won't always be kind, but I also won't hold myself out as any kind of expert.

I'd say this year's talent pool was more than a little better than last year's. That's partly hindsight; a year from now, I'm sure some of this year's first-rounders will look as bad as Jordan Schafer, Jose Arredondo, Jody Gerut, Lou Marson, Greg Smith, and some other firsts from last year do now. But also, one of my beliefs about drafting is that you don't take a relief pitcher early unless he's just absolutely lights-out, is expected to develop into a starter, or there just aren't any decent position prospects available. This year there was just one pure reliever taken in the first round, Andrew Bailey. (Jennry Mejia hasn't started yet in the majors, but he's expected to eventually.) Last year there were five.

The first-rounders:

1. Everth Cabrera, Sarasota - I hate to start on such a negative note, but this has to be the worst choice I've ever seen for a #1 overall pick. He's a Rule 5 pick who was playing over his head last year and has come down to Earth with a resounding thud. Granted, he's got the best shortstop card in the pool, the Gators needed a shortstop (Jack Wilson can't do it alone) and with no more picks until the fourth round they'd lose Cabrera if they waited. But the #1 pick in the draft could have been traded for a better shortstop than this, or traded down to a middle-to-late first-round pick which would still have gotten him.

2. Desmond Jennings, Hoth - Certainly has to be in the discussion of who would have been the best choice for the first pick. Jennings was second to the top position player on Baseball America's top 100 prospects list not already owned by a BRASS team (behind Jesus Montero, but a catching prospect comes with a bit more downside), and position players are less risky than pitchers.

3. Mat Latos, Chuckanut Bay - This would have been my choice for #1. He's a pitcher, but the risk is much mitigated by the fact that he's in a major league rotation and pitching very well. And he doesn't tie up an AM spot like Jennings does.

4. Dustin Ackley, Duluth-Superior - Mike's comment with this pick was, "Seriously, did you think I'd take anyone else?" I won't say this is a bad pick, but seriously, I'd have gone for Montero or Starlin Castro instead. If Ackley doesn't stick at another position and has to come to the majors as a first baseman, his value is much diminished in BRASS.

5. Casey McGehee, Sugar Creek - Could have been picked first without raising my eyebrows. He's older than you'd like, and wasn't highly rated when he came up, but he's got the best card in the pool with the possible exception of Garrett Jones, and is following it up with an even better year so far. It would be nice if the Brewers would restore his positional flexibility instead of confining him to 3B as they have so far this year.

6. Starlin Castro, Plainsfield - Behind Jennings, Ackley and Montero on the BA list, but the fact that he's up and hitting major league pitching at age 20 pushes him ahead of all of them in my opinion. And Kevin's track record suggests that you disagree with his evaluations at your peril.

7. Brian Matusz, Andover - Not a lot to choose between him and Latos--except that Matusz is lefthanded and has been getting hammered lately.

8. Andrew Bailey, Great Kills - You normally wouldn't want to take a reliever this soon, but what a card! And he's doing it again this year.

9. Ike Davis, Green Bay - I don't think I'd have taken him this high. Granted he's a major-league regular and hitting well, but first basemen are greatly devalued in a non-DH league.

10. Domonic Brown, Colorado - This is the pick I traded to get Yunel Escobar. If I'd kept it, I'd probably have gone for Montero, but Brown's a close second. They're the top two on the BA list at this point.

11. Aroldis Chapman, Diamond - His ceiling might be higher than anyone else in this draft; as a triple-digits lefty, he could be the next Randy Johnson. He could also be the next Steve Dalkowski, though that's less likely.

12. Daniel Hudson, Meridian - Way down (#66) on the BA list, and hasn't pitched in the majors yet this year. But everyone higher on the list who was still available would use up an AM slot. I suppose he's not a terrible choice if you're determined to take a flyer on a pitcher, but I'd have gone for Randy Wells, who has a good year in the bank and has a pretty good lock on a rotation spot, even though he's hit a bad patch of late.

13. Jesus Montero, Washington Crossing - As I've already suggested, I think he should have gone sooner. The only downside is that if he can't stay behind the plate he becomes another 1B-DH type, and thus a drug on the market in BRASS. (Well, that and the fact that he's off to a terrible start this year.) But if he can catch half a dozen games a year for the Yankees while smoking the ball at 1B and DH the rest of the time, he becomes an All-Star catcher in BRASS, playing 150 games a year at the position.

14. Martin Perez, Diamond - The top name on the BA list at this point, but that list was made before Mike Leake came up and dominated. I think if you're going to take an AM pitcher here, it's got to be Leake.

15. Randy Wells, Ashland - A young pitcher with a good card, enough innings for 25 starts, and a rotation job? In a BRASS draft pool? Damn right you take him here, and give thanks to all the baseball gods that he fell this far.

16. Jhoulys Chacin, SoCal - Only #71 on the BA list, but I think he was the highest rated player at this point who was carded, and Scott didn't want another AM pitcher. Can't give you a real reason why, but I have a "next Ubaldo" feeling about him.

17. Kris Medlen, Columbia - Might turn out to be a real good sleeper pick and make up for missing out on Chacin. He's in the rotation and pitching real well, with K/BB rates which suggest it's sustainable. If he goes back to the bullpen, though, it's kind of a waste. Interestingly, he had a strong reverse platoon split last year, and so far is keeping it up.

18. Doug Fister, Sugar Creek - Like Medlen, except that Fister's K rate doesn't bode well for success going forward. On the other hand, he seems a lock to stay in the rotation all year (barring injury, of course).

19. Mike Leake, Great Kills - Love this pick. The season's young, and the NL could catch up with Leake and turn it into a waste, but so far so great. And even if he posted, say, a 5.00 ERA the rest of the way, his season line would still be right around 4. His strikeout and walk rates aren't all that, but they're not bad either.

20. Kyle Drabek, Montgomery County - Not the top BA prospect available at this point, but very close, and much closer to being ready than those above him. That's important. This is actually the second time Rob drafted Drabek.

21. Bryce Harper, Chuckanut Bay - Not on the BA list--not even drafted as I write this--but the potential is obvious. Tony actually thought about taking Harper with the #2 pick instead of Jennings, and somebody was going to take a first-round flyer. The only thing is, even if nothing happens to derail his career, he's going to tie up an AM slot for years.

22. Ian Desmond, Duluth-Superior - Probably won't ever be an All-Star, unless Strasburg is hurt one year and they need somebody to fill the Nationals' quota. But nobody else available at this point is an established major-league shortstop. And the high-upside longshot bin has been pretty well picked over.

23. Garrett Jones, Ashland - Carded players of this quality usually go much higher in a BRASS draft than in my summer league, because in that league the pool hasn't been diluted by removing previous years' uncardeds. (19 of the 24 players in that league's 2010 first round were already owned by BRASS teams.) But Jones went 20th, three slots higher than here. I believe this is explained by the DH rule; in BRASS, there are 24 fewer lineup slots available for a player like this.

24. Jenry Mejia, Montreal - We're getting to the point where no player clearly stands out, and an argument can be made for any of several, but I'm having a hard time seeing it for this one. Sure, he was the Mets' top prospect going into the season, but isn't that kind of like being the smartest kid on the short bus? He's well down the overall BA list, he's not pitching all that well or much, and it'll take a lot of minor-league seasoning before he's a useful starter--and if he's not that, he's not worth a first-round pick. At least he'll be carded next year, so he won't tie up an AM slot.

The rest of the draft, by team:

Andover (Bernadina, Carillo, D. Gordon, Hayhurst, D. McCutchen, R. Perry, Runzler, Saunders; reclaimed Milledge and Thames) - Past the first round, you can get guys who are moderately useful now, or who have a chance to be somewhat more so later. Andover went for the future straight down the line. Bernardina's ceiling is probably somewhere between fourth outfielder and platoon stopgap, but Saunders is supposed to become a regular. Gordon (AM) rates behind several other position players who weren't taken, but he's a shortstop, which is a consideration for a team which will need one pretty soon. The pitchers. . . well, they're pitchers. Law of averages says one or two of them will stick around long enough to get a U contract.

Ashland (O'Flaherty, Pagan, Scheppers, Storen, S. White; reclaimed Garciaparra, K. Greene, Hampton, Loretta, K. Wood) - Ashland, having gotten two first-rounders who are useful now, went for more of the same, except of course for the AMs. Even those are in the majors now, so their slots will be cleared for action next year. With their extra picks, the Penguins were all done by round 4 except for reclaiming free agents.

Chuckanut Bay (Avila, Blanks, J. Francisco, N. Green, Maloney, Reddick; reclaimed Batista, Burrell and Lugo) - On top of their two first-rounders, the Tubas got some serious upside potential here. Blanks would have been a first-rounder if he'd gotten off to any kind of start this year, Avila quite possibly the same, and I've got a Mike Greenwell feeling about Reddick. Lugo. . . I look at his contract and wonder: was there really a moment in history when it seemed sane to give him five years and $36 million? That didn't happen on Dave's watch; it was either Ben Gauthier or one of the revolving-door cast who played hot potato with the franchise until Dave came along.

Columbia (Axford, Buckner, Coghlan, A. Huff, Kearns, West; reclaimed Atkins, O. Perez, Wang) - Like Blanks, Coghlan's poor MLB start cost him a first-round position. The 2B rating Strat gave him, despite only one game there, saved him from dropping much farther, because without it he'd be a DH in a non-DH league. Kearns could be a real find if he's actually come out of his three-year funk. Problem is, you have to get your bet down (in the form of a multi-year contract) before you know how long this phase of his career will last. And the upside limit is two full good years (plus his current card, which is nothing special) before he becomes a URFA, unless you give him an A contract.

Cream City (D. Bush, Carp, Coste, M. Downs, Fisher, C. Guzman, Jacobs, Keppel, Nieve, O'Sullivan, M. Palmer, Parra, Petit, Scales, C. Sullivan, M. Valdez, V. Vazquez) - The Pirates came into the draft with lots of holes, no picks in the first two rounds, and no manager. Vaughn drafted for them, and seemed to go mostly for stopgaps to allow a team to be fielded for 162 games. I think he went a little overboard on pitchers; they ended the draft with 24 of them, with over 1800 innings among them. At the end, when I was drafting for them, I took Scales and Sullivan because they only had three other guys with an OF rating.
Dayton (Norris, H. Rodriguez, Sipp, Thole, N. Walker; reclaimed Delgado, Kuroda, C. Wade) - Holding our draft a month later than we did last year made a big difference to some players. I've already mentioned some who fell because of poor starts, but there were also those whose stock rose considerably. Perhaps none more so than Walker, a bonus round pick who a month earlier would have been taken near the end, if at all. In my summer league draft (held in February) I got him in the ninth round.

Diamond (Belisario, Bulger, Clippard, Colvin, Gregerson, Hawksworth, Medders, A. Ojeda, Thatcher, E. Vazquez) - This draft was all about pitching for Vaughn no matter what team he was picking for. Note that both his first-round picks were AM pitchers. If you want to know where all the innings are this year, look no further than Diamond and Cream CIty. Vaughn had the only compensation pick this year; I forget who he lost to get it, but Gregerson is making it look like a great deal.

Duluth-Superior (Alfonzo, Geer, Griffey, D, Huff, A. Moore, Morse, C. Patterson, Stammen, Stokes, Sutton, J. Vargas, R. Vazquez, R. Webb, Jo. Wilson, Delwyn Young) - The early picks all aimed at improving the starting rotation, with mixed results: Vargas is doing well, Huff is still in a rotation but doing poorly, and Stammen just got sent down to make room for Strasburg. Moore has as good a shot as anyone to be the Mariners' catcher for awhile down the road, and meanwhile Alfonzo has his spot.

Great Kills (Bergmann, B. Carroll, J. Castro, Dickey, C. Duncan, French, D. Hernandez, Jaramillo, Kendrick; reclaimed DeJesus, W. Harris, Madson, Sowers, N. Robertson, B. Webb) - Nothing in the second or third round, and flotsam after that. A real shame about Webb--a year and a half already down the drain, at $20 mil a year.

Green Bay (Bergesen, Duensing, Hu, Lawrie, Manzella, Meek, Jo. Morales, Mujica, L. Powell, Sampson, Stavinoha) - A good balance of future and present value, which was Bob's plan. Bergesen isn't doing as well as one would hope for this year, but Duensing is doing much better. I think Powell is established as a backup catcher; once he runs out of options, the A's will stop jerking him around like they are this year. Manzella and/or Hu might develop at the plate enough to have an Adam Everett career; stranger things have happened. Lawrie (AM) probably could have been had later than the third round, but Bob wanted to make sure he got him for his Brewers connection. There are worse reasons.

Hoth (J. Fox, LeBlanc, Matzek, Narveson; reclaimed Garko, J. Hairston, Lidge, P. Martinez, Villanueva, C. Young, Zambrano) - The Rebs certainly had quantity going into the draft--they protected their full quota of 30 and still had 8 left over. So after grabbing three cards and their second AM, it was all reclaims. Any or all of the carded guys could stick around long enough to get U contracts, though only LeBlanc is distinguishing himself this year. Matzek (AM) was close to the top player available on the BA list at the time, but Tony might have been better advised to drop down to someone closer to being ready.

Inyo (T. Abreu, M. Adams, Fulchino, Hicks, Kilby, Ni, D. Ross, Ryal, Schlereth, A. Torres, Westmoreland) - I had no picks until late in round 2; they were dealt to bolster my upcoming pennant run. (After what I gave up, and the money I spent in free agency, anything less than a division title will be a severe disappointment.) Torres, Adams, Ross and Fulchino were drafted for the same purpose; the fact that Torres and Adams are kicking butt this year is a bonus. I wonder if the league knows something about Hicks (AM) that I don't; he was out there for a long time as the top player available on the BA list. Westmoreland was tops on that list when I finally got around to filling my other AM slot, but I probably should have taken the same advice I just gave Tony. Right now I'm kicking myself for not using the spot on John Jaso. Ni is a sentimental pick; his surname is the same as that of an ex-girlfriend I remember fondly.

Meridian (Allen, Cecil, F. Garcia, Gwynn, D. McDonald, R. Pena, Santos, Simon, Takahashi, M. Taylor) - Cecil's looking good, and Taylor is as good a bet as any AM past the first round. Quite a few analysts thought the Padres got hosed when they traded Jody Gerut for Gwynn, but even as poorly as Gwynn is doing this year, he's still miles ahead of Gerut. McDonald's no prospect, but it looks like he'll provide more than the moderately useful platoon card he has this year.

Montgomery County (A. Arias, J. Arias, R. Castro, Evans, E. Gonzalez, Inge, J. Johnson, Marte, B. Pena; reclaimed Kazmir, F. Rodriguez) - Another team with a big gap between the first round and the rest. These were used to fill a couple of holes, take a flyer on a few longshots, and pull back the albatross contracts that nobody would take off their hands.

Montreal (J. Flores, Litsch, Melancon, Poreda, Tazawa, Veal) - Yet another thin draft, with no second-round or bonus pick. Dan took all pitchers except for Flores (a catcher), so it's a crapshoot. None of these guys is exactly setting the world on fire this year so far.

Phoenix (J. Anderson, L. Cruz, Freeman, Giminez, T. Greene, Hart, Di. Hernandez, Mi. Hernandez, S. Jackson, Loux, MacDougal, A. Romero, L. Rosales, C. Smith, Stubbs) - I'm rooting for Smith; not only do I have him on my other Strat team, but he comes from Apple Valley CA, which is just down the hill from where I live. Stubbs is a regular, if not exactly a star. Freeman was a strange pick; if you're going to take an AM first baseman, why not Chris Carter?

Plainsfield (Bastardo, Belisle, T. Bell, Frieri, Joaquin, C. Johnson, Kottaras, B. Mills, Montgonery, W. Ramirez, D. Robertson, E. Rogers, Stauffer, Stevens, R. Tejeda, Zavada) - Stauffer was lights-out when picked, but has since been hurt. Even when he comes back, his track record makes him a prime candidate to regress. The rest of these guys, picked in the fourth and later rounds, represent the spaghetti approach to building a pitching staff: throw a plateful at the wall and hope a few strands stick.

San Jose (Cashner, S. Casilla, Condrey, Hacker, Heisey, D. Mathis, E. Patterson, R. Roberts, R. Ruiz, Rzepczynski; reclaimed R. Johnson, Hafner, Westbrook) - Good call on Cashner; he hadn't been called up yet when the pick was made, but has been lights-out since (admittedly in a very limited sample). We really need Rzepczynski to make it back, now that it looks like Jeff Samardzija has washed out. With Ruiz gone to Japan, it's a shame that all our rules allow him is an M0 contract and one month's play. The Scorps ought to be able to at least switch him to MTM.

Sarasota (G. Brown, R. Diaz, Durango, F. Guzman, B. Hayes, Hester, J. Molina, Putz, Rios, Teheran, Wise) - I really don't understand the Gary Brown pick. When you only have two AM slots, why use one of them on a guy who hasn't played an inning of pro ball unless he's a totally outsized talent like Strasburg or Harper? In the MLB draft, 22 players besides Harper were chosen ahead of Brown; you do the math. If Rios keeps hitting the way he is this year, he'll probably turn out to be the best value for the money the Gators got in this draft, even with the $10 mil they have to pay for this year's useless card.

Sierra Nevada (Aubrey, Bonine, Crowe, Ely, Everidge, Fuld, Gervacio, K. Gibson, Jakubauskas, D. Richardson, Uehara, Whiteside) - Another team which traded its first round pick and others for more immediate help, but at least they had two seconds. With these they took a couple of AM pitchers, Gibson and Ely, who figure to bolster the rotation sooner than later. Crowe, the third-round pick, was what they had to settle for in CF, as the better prospects were gone. The rest will either fill small roles this year or provide some small hope for the future. Bonine is doing amazingly well in MLB for a 12th-round pick, but his K rate and past scouting reports say he'll turn back into a pumpkin.

SoCal (Barden, A. Blanco, Bruntlett, Z. Cox, Frandsen, Karstens, Lehr, Mitre, W. Nieves, Paul, Thurston) - As mentioned earlier, Scott didn't want another AM pitcher. Since the top hitting prospects were gone by the time his next pick came around, he decided to take a flyer on the best available bat in the MLB draft class, which he figured was Cox. MLB teams, however, didn't seem to agree, taking 11 position players (not counting Harper and Gary Brown) ahead of Cox. Frandsen seems headed for one of those freak years bench players sometimes have, where they go on a 100-AB hot streak which constitutes their whole season. The rest of these guys were picked to fill usage holes.

Southtown (Albers, Bard, Berken, Borbon, Chen, E. Gonzalez, Hanrahan, C. Kelly, J.D. Martin, J. McDonald; reclaimed Bako, Colon, Cruz, A. Jones, C. Lee, J.C. Romero) - No first-round pick, but Bard is likely to turn in a better career than many of those who were taken there. Borbon probably would have gone earlier than round 3 if the draft had been held in April, or if it were held now. Carlos Lee was passed around like a hot potato in pre-draft trades; two different teams offered him to me. Between his fielding rating, his contract and no DH, he's a liability.

Sugar Creek (M. Boggs, Brantley, R. Chavez, Daley, Freese, Gload, J. Jennings, Kelley, Lillibridge, Perdomo, Mi. Sweeney, C. Tracy, P.J. Walters, Young Jr.) - Freese and the two first-round picks should really pay off next year. Age and other factors don't bode well for much beyond that, but Brantley and Young could help in that department.

Washington Crossing (Andino, Si. Castro, Crain, Flowers, D. Reyes, O. Salazar, Sanches, Silva; reclaimed D. Marte, J. Miller, Wigginton) - If he doesn't collapse, Silva is a great value even for a U contract, and Salazar is about the best platoon partner you could imagine for Lance Berkman. Down the road, I don't see much coming out of this draft except Flowers.

Sierra Nevada Goldens Draft Review

2010-06-05T02:39:00.003-05:00

Sierra Nevada really went for it in 2090 and was left without a 1st Round, a Bonus Round, a 4th Round, or a 7th Round pick in the 2101 Draft. We had 2 empty AM slots as well, since we graduated Elvis Andrus and Brett Anderson this year. Going into the 2101 season, we were in the need of CF depth, 1B depth, and needed to fill in about 150+ innings in the middle of the rotation to follow Beckett and Anderson . Looking forward to the 2112 season based on 2010 MLB performances thus far, we can determine that SP is our BIGGEST need with Beckett having a miserable start and Anderson on the DL early. The philosophy going in was to select 2 AM pitchers in the 2nd round that could make the rotation sometime between 2112 & 2123.

Pick 1, Round 2: Kyle Gibson (SP/AM) - We are THRILLED with this pick and both happy and surprised he dropped to us. A true, groundball pitcher is exactly what we need, playing in Great American Ballpark. He figures to put up good numbers in pitcher friendly Target Field once he reaches the Twins. Also, he is dominating AA ball as we speak. He has a 1.68 ERA in the minors this season, with a .211 BAA in 69 IP. His GO/AO ratio in currently 3.48. Many had him as the best pitcher in the MLB draft behind Strasburg.

Pick 2, Round 2: John Ely (SP/AM) - This pick made sense for us because he is already contributing to the Dodgers starting rotation and will help the Goldens in 2112. While I think we may have been able to get him in a later round, we did not want to risk seeing him go to another club, especially in our own division. While Ely may be obscure to many around the country, living in Los Angeles & watching Dodger Games every night, I see this guy pitch and he is SOLID! I know my rivals, the SoCal Knights & Phoenix Phoenix, get a lot of visibility to him, and it seems Duluth-Superior gets his share of Dodgers players as well. While watching him pitch thus far, he is very composed and really locates and hits his spots well and is holding an ERA at 2.54 and a WHIP of .91 thru 7 starts. His ceiling may not be top of the rotation SP, but he looks to me like a Greg Maddux the way he can hit spots, change speeds, and not walk batters. Plus he pitches at friendly Dodger Stadium which will help us out when he plays for the Goldens at Great American.

Pick 3, Round 3: Trevor Crowe (CF) - At this point, we were looking to do SOMETHING in CF. We were a little disappointed to see Borbon, Gwynn, & Brantley get picked ahead of us, so we made the best of the situation. With Borbon and Gwynn struggling an in CF in 2010 so far, maybe we will end up with the right guy in Crowe anyway. Crowe is struggling himself, but at least he's leading off and playing a regular CF with Sizemore on the shelf. Plus, Sizemore could get traded, leaving an opportunity for Crowe if he can seize it. We like that he switch hits, too.

Pick 4, Round 5: Koji Uehara (SP) - He gives us a solid 67 IP to help fill the #3 slot in the rotation in 2101. He's aged and has injury issues, so he is pretty much a stop gap for this particular season.

Pick 5, Round 6: Chris Jakubauskas (SP) - While is ERA in 2009 was 5.32, his BAA of .254 & WHIP of 1.27 are respectable and his 93 IP will help fill the #3-#4 slots in our rotation in 2101. He's a late bloomer, so I'm not sure we expect much from him long-term. Like Uehara, he's filling innings and anything productive long-term would be a bonus. To be honest, we are much happier we got Uehara & CJ than to have picked Josh Geer or Dave Bush who were both picked well ahead of this pair.

Pick 6, Round 8: Sammy Gervacio (RP) - We are happy to get this potential future closer for the Astros. He's ranked #4 in BA for Houston & he will be handy for a September call-up this season, too. He seemed like a good value here. We were a little frustrated at this point as we were going to select a LH Reliever with this pick like, Schlereth or Ni, but they both got nabbed ahead of us. No lefties remaining really caught my eye.

Pick 7, Round 9 & Pick 8, Round 10: Michael Aubrey (1B) & Tommy Everidge (1B) - With Aubrey being LH and Everidge RH, this will be a nice tandum this year to sub for Dunn. Aubrey brings good Range-2 DEF and will kill RH Pitchers in Great American. While neither is getting his shot in the bigs right now, they will provide useful cards in 2101. I have read rumors that Aubrey could get a shot in Baltimore, so we are crossing our fingers. We were a little shocked to get both of these useful bats so late in the draft.

Pick 9, Round 11: Eli Whitside (C) - Simply a backup to Yadier. We really had our eye on Jose Molina, but he got snagged.

Pick 10, Round 12: Eddie Bonine (RP) - SHOCKED he was still here! While his 2009 card is not so hot, the knuckleballer is quietly doing a great job for the Tigers in 2010 posting a 1.79 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, in 25 IP. He should be handy in 2112.

Pick 11, Round 13: Sam Fuld (OF) - Kind of surprised he was sitting here to pick, too. While he will probably never be more than a 4th OF for the Cubs, he has a useful LH vs LH card in 2101. He can play CF, and we needed help there.

Pick 12, Round 14: Dustin Richardson (RP) - It's funny, we had our sights in Trevor Bell of the Angels with this pick, but he got snagged by Plainsfield a few picks prior. Richardson is a lefty and has been doing very well at AAA in 2010 for Pawtucket. Maybe he will be a callup for the Red Sox sometime this year and we will strike gold with our last pick of the draft. He's the Red Sox #27 ranked prospect in BA, and currently has 38 K's in 29 IP and holding opponents to a .158 BAA.

Goldens Clinch Copper Division; Will Face San Jose or Dayton in Divisional Round

2010-03-28T13:11:00.000-05:00

After going a perfect (11-0) at home during the month of September, the Sierra Nevada Goldens went (5-6) on the final road-trip, playing just well enough to clinch the Copper Division Crown with a final record of (102-60). The SoCal Knights finished only two games back of the Goldens with a final record of (100-62). After sweeping the September home series vs. SoCal at Great American Ballpark, the Knights looked to return the favor as the Goldens traveled to Nationals Park. Sierra Nevada’s Mark Buehrle made sure that would not happen as he outpitched the Knights’ Clayton Kershaw for the 2nd time in the 8-Game series, this time earning a 3-2 victory. Buehrle battled through the first 5 2/3 innings giving up 2 runs on 6 hits. The Goldens’ hurler got the run support he needed in the top of the 6th when Mike Lowell doubled in two off Kershaw and then Yadier Molina knocked in Lowell during the next at bat. Buchholz, who was acquired at the August trade deadline, did what he was brought in to do as he held the Knights from getting anything going for the next 2 2/3 innings, setting up the save for Brian Fuentes. The win was pivotal for the Goldens as they lost the next three games to the Knights, but won the season series going (5-3) against the division rival. The Knights went on to go (12-2) in the remaining September schedule, while the Goldens went (11-3).
Had the Knights swept Sierra Nevada at home, the teams would have been deadlocked with 101 wins & would have had a series split, causing a 1-game playoff for the division title. But, it was not to be as the Goldens rolled on with their 2nd highest win total in the 19-year franchise history; only the 2056 Happy Valley Heroes were better, going (108-54). The 2056 Happy Valley team was the last to finish atop the Copper Division and was the 3rd Heroes team in 4 seasons to do it, but failed to make it to the BRASS World Series. The Sierra Nevada Goldens finished (92-70) in their inaugural 2089 season, but completed the season 3-games back of the Duluth-Superior Dukes and missed the playoffs. The 2090 season marks only the 4th playoff appearance for the franchise, all of them by way of division title. Between the 1991-1992 and the 2001-2002 seasons, none of the Crescent Hill Cubs (1991-1994), Racine Regals (1995-1996), or Happy Valley Heroes (1997-2007) teams in the franchise’s history were able to make a post-season appearance. But, starting with the 2002-2003 Happy Valley Heroes team, the franchise has won the Copper Division 4 of the past 8 seasons, starting a much better trend while finishing with 93 wins or better 5 times. With the newly found divisional success, the franchise has yet to make the World Series representing the Silver League.
The 2090 Sierra Nevada Goldens team hopes that this will be the first time the franchise gets put on the map and can make it to the BRASS World Series. The team is packed with power throughout the lineup and plays well in their home field, Great American Ballpark, where they set a franchise record for home wins in 2090 with a (60-21) record. The Goldens line-up features a quartet of home-run hitters who combined for 171 bombs in 2090. Silver League MVP candidate Dan Uggla had 48 dingers to go with his .305 batting average and 101 RBI’s. Another MVP candidate, Jermaine Dye hit 38 HR’s, led the team with 113 RBI’s and finished with 39 doubles and a .314 batting average. The two right-handed sluggers are flanked by two big lefty sticks. Adam Dunn slugged 45 homers with 99 RBI’s and walked a whopping 126 times. Veteran Jason Giambi launched 40 HR’s and was 2nd on the Goldens with 106 RBI’s. It was an amazing season to watch three guys top 40 homers in 2090 and Dye just came up two homers short of making it a quartet.
The starting pitching staff of Sierra Nevada is led by veteran left-hander Bark Buehrle who finished the year with a (19-12) record and a 4.60 ERA. Buehrle carried the team at times posting 9 wins and a no-decision from May 2nd thru June 16th and also earned wins in 5 straight appearances in the stretch run from August 27th to September 18th! Josh Beckett, (15-6) with a 4.18 ERA, was equally as dominant at times. Beckett started the season (8-0) with a 3.83 ERA in his first 12 starts and didn’t lose until June 9th against the Platinum Division champion, Diamond Gems (119-43). Gil Meche was a workhorse for the Goldens going (13-9) with a 4.37 ERA in 204 IP. He notably gave left-handed hitters a hard time, holding them to a .238 BA and striking out over 25 percent of the lefties he faced. Meche was up-and down, but down the stretch he was solid, posting a (4-1) record with 3 no-decisions in which the Goldens ultimately won, between August 14th and the end of the season. Meche led the team in complete games with 4 and shut-outs with 2, and his best game may have come in his last start of the season when he threw 10 2/3 innings on 9/22 @ Phoenix as he struck-out 11 batters. He left the game tied and 3 and the Goldens eventually won in 17-Innings as the Sierra Nevada team was still trying to secure the Copper Division title. The 4th pitcher in the playoff rotation will be southpaw, Jamie Moyer. The lefty came over in a trade with the Plainsfield Hitmen at the end of May. Moyer, who came over to the Goldens with a (8-1) record and a 3.10 ERA at the time of the trade, struggled early with his new team. He got injured on a base hit against the 1st batter he faced as a Golden, and went (0-1) with 5 no-decisions breaking in and saw his ERA climb to 4.02 before finally pitching to victory in a 9-2 game vs. Olympia and pitched 8 1/3 innings. Moyer ended up with a (8-6) record as a Golden and posted 5 of those wins between 8/22 and the end of the season. His victory on 9/7 at home vs. SoCal was the highlight of the season and made the trade completely worthwhile. Moyer tossed 8 Innings of 3-hit ball while striking out 4 Knights before turning over the ball to Taylor Buchholz to close the game down.
The Bullpen was the glue that held things together for the Goldens in 2090. As a collective group, the pen posted a (34-12) record with a 2.61 ERA. Opposing hitters only batted .207 against the pen and they struck out nearly 28% of the time. Brian Fuentes earned rock-star status coming in to close games, finishing the season with 33 Saves and a miniscule 1.17 ERA while striking out 71 batters in 61 innings. Fuentes did not earn a loss from June 29th until the end of the season and has a good shot to earn a Fireman of the Year or Cy Young award this year. Taylor Buchholz came over in a trade with the Meridian Trojans at the August 31st trade deadline. Buchholz was amazing in the pennant drive posting a 0.86 ERA in 21 IP & 20 K’s in the final month, including 5 appearances against SoCal totaling 9 2/3 IP in which he did not give up a single run and earned a save in the final game against the Knights. The other three big arms in the Goldens bullpen are Carlos Marmol, Heath Bell, and Jared Burton. Marmol, (7-1) with a 2.14 ERA and 7 Saves, blew away opposing batters with 126 K’s in 88 1/3 IP! Heath Bell (8-3) was solid with a 3.62 ERA in 79 2/3 IP and struck out a batter per inning. Jared Burton was acquired from San Jose prior to the season for Willie Bloomquist, and turned out to be a nice surprise as he finished (5-0) with a 2.11 ERA in 55.1 IP.
The Sierra Nevada Goldens are chomping at the bit to get the playoffs rolling, but the competition will be fierce in the Divisional series whether they play Dayton or San Jose. The opponent will be determined on the Dayton / SoCal Wildcard series. It looks like the playoffs will be about matchups for the Goldens. Mark Buehrle had a tough time vs. San Jose’s left-hand heavy lineup and may become neutralized if they face the Scorpions. The Goldens may need to lean more heavily on Gil Meche, Josh Beckett, and Jamie Moyer who handle lefty hitters much better. The Dayton Dragons gave the Goldens a very tough time as Sierra Nevada went (2-5) against them and the starters were knocked around quite a bit. It looks like the Goldens will need to try to shorten games in order to get past either of these mighty lineups. If the starters can get 5 or 6 solid innings and exit with a lead, it looks like the bullpen will have the best chance of taking the game home. With Buchholz, Marmol, Bell, Burton, and Fuentes available to close things out, each game figures to be a nail-biter, especially in Dayton’s and San Jose’s pitcher friendly parks. Against either opponent, the Sierra Nevada Goldens are ready to try and climb to heights of the Silver League LCS.

Sierra Nevada Goldens Set Franchise Home Record after Perfect September Homestand; Sweep SoCal in Fight for Copper Division Supremacy

2010-02-15T17:30:00.001-06:00

The Sierra Nevada Goldens entered the month of September riding the wave of a 6-Game home winning streak at Great American Ballpark and with a 1-Game lead over the rival SoCal Knights as they awaited their divisional nemesis as their 1st opponent on the home schedule of the BRASS League’s final month.

The 1st game of the 4-Game set versus the Knights featured Sierra Nevada’s Gil Meche against SoCal’s Mike Mussina. First Baseman Joey Votto got things going for SoCal with a 2-Run bomb in the top of the 2nd. The Goldens then bounced right back, a common theme in the series, as Dan Uggla doubled and Jack Wilson singled him in. Both Meche and Mussina cruised along through the 3rd and 4th innings until Mussina lost his control in the bottom of the 5th, leaving pitches over the plate. With two outs, David Ross doubled, Conor Jackson singled, and Jermaine Dye Doubled consecutively giving the Goldens a 3-2 lead. In the top of the 7th, the Golden’s defense gave the lead back to the Knights as second baseman Dan Uggla committed a 2-base error off the bat of Bengie Molina, giving the Knights a 4-3 lead and blowing the chance of a win for Meche. The Goldens didn’t hang their heads however. Adam Dunn stroked a “no doubt about it” shot off reliever Mike Adams in the bottom of the 8th tying the game at 4 apiece. The Goldens completed the comeback in the bottom of the 9th when Mike Lowell drew a 1-out walk and gave way to speedster, Fernando Perez, making his MLB debut following a September call-up. Pinch hitter Jason Giambi then stepped to the plate and clubbed a double to center scoring Perez all the way from 1st, giving the Goldens the series opener 5-4 and a 2-game lead in the standings.

In Game-2, SoCal’s Clayton Kershaw faced Mark Buehrle of the Goldens. Kershaw got an early 1-0 lead in the 2nd, but the Goldens line-up bounced back with 2 in the bottom of the 2nd and 4 in the 3rd, knocking the young lefty out of the game early. Left fielder, Jose Guillen, did the damage hitting a 3-run homer and finished 3 for 4 with 4 RBI’s in the 6-3 Goldens victory, giving Buehrle his 16th win of the season.

Game-3 was a hard-fought contest with veteran Jamie Moyer on the hill for Sierra Nevada and Shaun Marcum throwing for the Knights. Moyer was brilliant giving up only 1 run on 3 hits over 8 innings as the SoCal bats struggled against a lefty starter for the 2nd day in a row. Marcum was just as effective while pitching a shut-out thru 6, but Dan Uggla popped his 39th HR of the season in the 7th, tying the game at one apiece. In the bottom of the 8th, Marcum walked pinch hitter Jason Giambi to lead off the inning. An out later, big Adam Dunn stepped up and clouted a 2-run shot, his 42nd of the year, and gave the Goldens a 3-1 victory.

The Goldens sent Josh Beckett to the mound in search of the series sweep against Jesse Litsch. Beckett gave up 3 earned runs and struck out 7 thru 7 1/3 Innings while Litsch gave up 4 earned runs thru 6 1/3 innings. Each pitcher gave up 7 hits, but the big hit came with 2-outs in the 6th when Goldens’ catcher Yadier Molina singled in Jermaine Dye giving the Goldens the 4-3 lead. Closer, Brian Fuentes, earned his 32nd save and preserved Beckett’s 14th win, the 4-game sweep, and gave Sierra Nevada a 5-game lead in the Copper Division standings. The Knights had early leads in all four contests, but the Goldens were able to come from behind each time. Adam Dunn was the series MVP slugging 2 late-inning HR’s, but the Goldens starters deserve credit as Buehrle, Moyer, & Beckett all earned victories. Closer, Brian Fuentes also earned a win and 2 saves in the series.

The Goldens continued the homestand by sweeping 4 games against the Duluth-Superior Dukes & 3 games against the Phoenix Phoenix. Games 1 & 3 against the Dukes were tough, extra-inning victories for the Goldens but overall, Sierra Nevada outscored their opponents 53-20 in the 7 games. During the 7 games, Dan Uggla hit 4 HR’s giving him 43 on the season, tied with Adam Dunn for most on the team. Mark Buehrle earned his 17th win and Beckett earned his 15th.

The historic 11-0 homestand gave the Goldens their best season home record in franchise history at 60-21, topping the 2005-06 Happy Valley Heroes mark of 57-24. The Goldens finished off the home schedule by winning 17 straight and 19 of 21. Sierra Nevada has now cut the magic number to 4 over the Cream City Pirates for the wild-card, so barring a miracle; the Goldens will be heading to the playoffs. The Goldens will see if they can clinch their 1st Copper Division title on the upcoming 11-game road trip to finish off the season. The magic number to clinch the division over SoCal is 7, but the Knights will be chomping at the bit to redeem themselves and take back control of the division as the two teams square off for 4 games.

Sierra Nevada Goldens Enter Final Month with Playoff Aspirations and Copper Division Title Within Reach After Wild Month of August

2010-02-06T21:35:00.001-06:00

The month of August started out very humbling for the Sierra Nevada franchise as they entered the month in a 1st place deadlock with the SoCal Knights. Sierra Nevada had stood alone in 1st from April 24, 2090 until July 30th when SoCal joined them atop the Copper Division and shared the division lead at month’s end. Two weeks into August, the Goldens suddenly found themselves 4 games behind the Knights as management wondered if the storm was ever going to subside. The swoon began on July 22nd when Sierra Nevada lost the final two home games against the feisty Washington Crossing Generals and it carried on against the Zinc Division leading, San Jose Scorpions as the Goldens lost 6 of the final 9 games of July. August started out even worse as the Montreal Sunsets & Dayton Dragons, the top dogs in the Iron Division, battered Goldens’ pitching winning 10 of 14 and outscoring them 92-74. The bad stretch included a 7 game losing streak and losses in 9 of 10. For that 3-week stretch, the clouds over Sierra Nevada were extremely ominous and management was feeling perplexed as a run into the playoffs that had once appeared to be a sure thing had now become questionable.

Fortunes soon changed for the Goldens when the skies parted as the Goldens looked up at the 1st place SoCal Knights, suddenly 3-Games back following the thrashing by the Dayton Dragons. After losing the series opener at the Meridian Trojans, the Goldens went on a roll by winning 5 of the next 6 versus Meridian and by piling up a 7-Game sweep of the cellar dwelling Southtown Misers. The stretch included a 9-Game win streak and the Goldens won 12 of the final 13 games of August and it launched them back into 1st, a game up on the 2nd place SoCal Knights! The bats had reawakened and the pitching gelled again as the Goldens outscored Meridian and Southtown 102-39!

The down-and-up month pointed out a couple of interesting facts for Sierra Nevada. It has become clear that the Goldens struggle against teams .500 and above while they demolish teams below .500. As of the end of August, the Goldens are 54-16 (.771) against teams with losing records, while they are 32-38 (.457) against teams .500 and above. The Goldens also handle their business quite well at home as they are 49-21 (.700) in the comfortable setting of Great American Ballpark, but they are also respectable on the road with a winning record of 37-33 (.529). The facts stated above suggest the importance of the Goldens winning the Copper Division crown. It appears clear that the 2nd place finisher of the Iron Division will be the top wild-card entry, either Montreal (96-44) or Dayton (93-47), while the 2nd place finisher of the Copper Division, either Sierra Nevada (86-54) or SoCal (85-55), will be the 2nd wild-card entry. The Goldens’ World Series dreams could rest on avoiding a wild-card matchup against Montreal or Dayton since they were (2-5) against each opponent and a division crown would secure a 1st round bye.

The other observation for the Goldens is that the starting pitching is less than dominating, especially against top clubs. Meanwhile, the bullpen has been especially solid all season long and it appears that Sierra Nevada has some advantages as the game reaches the final innings. Starters Josh Beckett, Gil Meche, Scott Feldman, Mark Buehrle, Jeff Karstens, Jamie Moyer, & Kyle Kendrick have combined for a record of 56-42 while the bullpen has a combined record of 30-12. The early season trade of Scott Feldman to the Plainsfield Hitmen for veteran lefty starter Jamie Moyer hasn’t exactly panned out as he is only 5-5 with a 6.00 era since the trade. Since the starting rotation is a little soft, management acquired some more relief pitching as the Goldens try and shorten games and leave it up to the bullpen. Taylor Buchholz was acquired from the Meridian Trojans and comes to the Goldens with a 6-1 record and a miniscule 1.45 ERA. He will fit in nicely with the other bullpen arms who are having outstanding years. Closer Brian Fuentes is 2-4 with a 1.34 ERA and 30 Saves, Jared Burton is 5-0 with a 1.88 ERA, & Carlos Marmol is 7-1 with a 2.23 ERA and 7 Saves. Heath Bell has been formidable versus lefty hitters, holding them to a .228 BA.

All in all, the success of the Goldens this fall will lie at the feet of the big boppers throughout the Sierra Nevada lineup. The quartet of Adam Dunn (.243, 40 HR, 87 RBI), Jason Giambi (.271, 40 HR, 105 RBI), Jermaine Dye (.321, 38 HR, 36 2B, 110 RBI), & Dan Uggla (.301, 38 HR, 82 RBI) have been devastating and have been terrorizing opponent’s pitching, especially at Great American Ballpark. Mike Lowell missed time in the opening two months of the season, but he too has enhanced the power numbers with his (.305, 15 HR, 21 2B, 47 RBI) in 84 games. As a team, the Goldens have walloped a league leading 260 HR’s. The home park has assisted in these numbers, but the pitching staff has managed to hold its own while limiting the opposition to 146 HR’s. Sierra Nevada ranks 6th in team batting average at .284, and ranks 7th in team ERA at 4.27.

The month of September will start off with a bang as Sierra Nevada and SoCal square off for 8 games as they try and gain superiority over one another, separated by only a game going in. Both figure to beat up on the other two division rivals Phoenix Phoenix (57-83) and Duluth-Superior Dukes (53-87), but anything can happen when September call-ups come into play in the final month and while managers are resting overused players. It will be a true test for the Goldens to see if they can continue their torrid power numbers against a tough SoCal pitching staff (3.61 Team ERA) while continuing to lean on Fuentes, Marmol, & Buccholz to close out games. The x-factor will be whether Beckett, Buehrle, and Meche, & Moyer can keep the Goldens in games during the early innings.

The Silver League playoff spots seem set, unless the Cream City Pirates (78-62) make a last minute surge. With the San Jose Scorpions (97-43) about to clinch the Zinc Division and either Montreal or Dayton winning the Iron, Sierra Nevada and SoCal will be fighting for that Copper Division title as they desperately fight for the 1st round bye and avoid the mighty Sunsets and Dragons.

Goldens Spot Pirates 9-Run Lead and Complete Comeback with Slam in Bottom of the 9th

2009-12-10T12:21:00.002-06:00

The Sierra Nevada Goldens’ fans left Great American Ballpark in a raucous frenzy as they witnessed the greatest comeback of the Goldens’ season to date. After 4 ½ innings of play, the Goldens were waving the white flag as the red-hot Cream City Pirates jumped out to a 9-0 lead. Sierra’s Kyle Kendrick was completely ineffective giving up 8 hits, including 2 HR’s and 7 earned runs in only 1 1/3 innings of work. In the 2nd Inning, Kendrick gave up a 3-run bomb to B.J. Upton & a 2-run shot to All-Star hopeful Mark Teixeira leading the way to a 6-run inning, extending the early lead to 7-0. The Goldens’ Matt Albers held his own giving up 2 runs over 4 innings, but things looked hopeless as the Goldens came to bat in the bottom of the 5th staring at a monstrous 9-run deficit.

With 1-out in the bottom of the 5th, first baseman Jason Giambi ripped a single off Pirates starter Daniel Cabrera who had thrown up a string of zeros for the first 4 innings. Staring at an enormous mountain to climb, the Goldens’ manager elected to remove defensive shortstop Jack Wilson in an effort to offer some much needed rest for the duration of the blowout. The decision seemed to ignite the Goldens’ bench as switch-hitting replacement Aaron Miles stepped to the plate and laced another single to right moving Giambi to second base. The next batter was back-up catcher David Ross who was giving star catcher Yadier Molina a day off. Ross seized the moment and smashed a 3-run dinger, cutting the lead to 9-3. Adam Dunn and Jody Gerut promptly grounded out to end the inning, but the home town players seemed to gain a bounce in their steps.

While the Goldens’ bullpen went to work holding the Pirates scoreless in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, the Sierra Nevada bats continued to heat up. Dan Uggla blasted a solo shot in the 6th, cutting the lead to 9-4. In the bottom of the 7th, consecutive 2-out singles by Adam Dunn, Jody Gerut, & Jermaine Dye plated another run off starter Daniel Cabrera giving way to reliever Russ Springer. With two runners on and now trailing 9-5, star second baseman Dan Uggla hit his 2nd homerun in as many innings (his 28th of the season), this time a 3-run cruise missile cutting the lead to 9-8!

The Goldens nearly tied the game at nine in the bottom of the 8th as Mike Lowell and Jason Giambi reached base to start the inning, however Miles, Ross, & Dunn stranded the tying run at 3rd base. After 2 shut-out innings of work from Sierra’s Heath Bell, Adrian Beltre seemed to deliver the death blow with a solo shot to lead off the 9th. Bell held the Pirates to the solo run and sent his team to bat with one last chance to complete the comeback staring at a 10-8 deficit.

After squashing the Goldens’ rally in the bottom of the 8th, the Pirates’ Yasuhiko Yabuta came out to start the 9th. Sierra’s Jody Gerut wasted no time as he smoked his 7th homer of the season and the stadium went crazy as the Goldens were once again within a run of catching the mighty Pirates! With the heart of the Goldens’ order due up, the stage was set for an amazing finish. Team MVP Jermaine Dye greeted Pirates closer Jose Valverde rudely as he ripped a double into the left field gap putting the tying run in scoring position. After homering in his previous 2 at-bats Dan Uggla worked a walk. The next batter, left fielder David Murphy was unable to move the runners over as he struck out. Next, the Sierra manager brought Yadier Molina off the bench to pinch hit and sure enough he singled to left fielder Upton. With Giambi on deck, the 3rd base coach elected to hold Dye at 3rd rather than test Upton’s strong arm. With the bases juiced and Giambi looking for his 24th homer of the season, Valverde toughened up and got him to line out causing no damage. With 2-out and the Goldens looking at the prospect of stranding the tying run at 3rd for the 2nd consecutive inning, Aaron Miles came to the plate with his chance to shine. Ironically, he was the one who entered the game for Wilson in the 5th when the game seemed completely of reach and most had all but given up hope. Miles was up to the task and Valverde challenged him with a heater down the heart of the plate, daring him to catch up to his 97 MPH gas. Miles delivered a mighty swing and sent the fastball soaring into the right field bleachers giving him a GRAND SLAM and his 1st tater of the season!!! Miles was mobbed at home plate and the fans were delirious in celebration of the Goldens’ 13-10 shocker of a win lifting their record to 60-35 overall and 37-12 at home. Heath Bell got credit for the win providing 3 solid innings to close out the game while Uggla and Miles accounted for 8 RBI’s in the final 3 innings while Dye got the other. It sure seems that the Goldens may quite possibly be a team of destiny this season as no game is ever out of reach.

Pirates......... 1 6 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 - 10 15 0
Goldens......... 0 0 0 0 3 1 4 0 5 - 13 16 0

ATTENDANCE- 48,475 DATE- Tuesday, July 15th 2090 TIME- Night WEATHER- Good
UMPIRES- Scott Higgins, Kerwin Danley, Angel Hernandez, Andrew Fletcher
T- 3:55
LEFT ON BASE- Pirates: 6 Goldens: 5
DOUBLE PLAYS- Pirates: 0 Goldens: 0
DOUBLES- B.Upton(22nd), B.Roberts(22nd), M.Teixeira(21st), J.Dye(24th)
HOME RUNS- B.Upton(4th), M.Teixeira(20th), A.Beltre(4th), S.Victorino(9th), J.Gerut(7th), D.Uggla-2(28th), A.Miles(1st), D.Ross(6th)
STOLEN BASES- B.Roberts(18th), D.Roberts(2nd)
WALKS- M.Teixeira, T.Hunter, D.Uggla
HIT BY PITCH- J.Giambi
STRIKE OUTS- B.Upton, A.Huff, J.Hardy, S.Victorino-2, A.Pierzynski, D.Murphy, J.Giambi
WILD PITCHES- D.Cabrera

Walk-Off by Adam Dunn in the Bottom of the 9th Stuns Gems and Preserves Series Win for Goldens!

2009-11-30T02:50:00.002-06:00

Adam Dunn proved to be the hero in the rubber match of the Diamond Gems annual visit to the Great American Ballpark of the Sierra Nevada Goldens. Dunn completely spoiled the sensational start of Adam Wainright in one thunderous crack of the bat. The home fans went into a frenzy as Dunn lofted a LONG blast into the night air as the ball splashed into the Ohio River once again off the bat of Adam Dunn. This time it was after a heated pitchers duel between the Gems' Adam Wainright and the Goldens' Mark Buehrle in a potential World Series match-up.

The Gems, a Platinum Division leading (40-16) entering the series squared off against the hosting Sierra Nevada Goldens with a Copper Division leading (44-19) record. The defending BRASS champion Gems showed who was boss in the first game of the series in a blowout of the Goldens defeating the staff ace Josh Beckett. He was lit up spoiling his early (9-1) record in a blowout 13-4 loss. Uncharacteristically, Beckett was scorched like never before this season as he gave up 7 earned runs in 5 2/3 innings giving up 6 walks. The Diamond’s John Danks was up to the task earning the win bringing his record to (8-2) while pitching a strong 7 innings with the run support of star 3rd basemen Alex Rodriguez who broke open the game in the 6th with a 1-run double and finished the game off with a 2-run bomb in the 9th.

The 2nd game of the series featured a pitchers duel between the Gems’ Ervin Santana who was (10-1) entering the game against the Goldens staff work –horse, Gil Meche, who entered the game with a respectable (7-4) record. Each starter gave up five hits in a solid 7 innings of work, but the damage was done n the bottom of the 3rd as the Goldens’ Josh Anderson and Dan Uggla launched back-to-back jacks en route to a Goldens 3-1 victory. Brian Fuentes finished off the game with his 18th save in 1 1/3 innings of work.

In the finale, the Gems’ Adam Wainright went toe-to-toe with the Goldens’ Mark Buehrle. Today, Wainright stole the show allowing only 1 hit in 7 innings of baseball. He allowed 2 walks and struck out 5, and allowed only one hit as the Goldens’ squad was held scoreless through his 7 innings of work. The Gems staked Wainright to a 1-0 lead in the top of the 5th as Franklin Gutierrez singled in Geovani Soto for the 1st run of the game. The game got dicey for Wainright in the rubber match of the series as he beaned Mike Lowell with 2-out in the 6th. On the next pitch, Jason Giambi doubled off the wall, but the Goldens’ 3rd base coach elected to hold Lowell at 3rd. Wainright’s manager Vaughn Nuest then decided next to intentionally walk CF Josh Anderson to load the bases for slugger Dan Uggla who whiffed after hitting the game winner the day before. Wainright and Vaughn were out of the jam.

Giambi’s double proved to be the only Goldens hit of the night until there were 2 quick outs in the 9th. The Gems’ J.J. Putz came in to save the game for Adam Wainright and quickly struck out the Goldens’ Jason Giambi and Josh Anderson on 6 pitches. After mustering only 1 hit all day, the Goldens got the glimmer of hope they were looking for with 2 down in the 9th. Putz glared in at the Goldens’ Dan Uggla who is among the league leaders in home runs with 22 and plunked him right in the ribs. Uggla refused to even acknowledge any pain and ran to first as big Adam Dunn entered the batters box with the game on the line. On the first pitch, Adam Dunn launched a missile into the Ohio River giving the Goldens the rubber-match victory on only their 2nd hit of the night in a 2-1 walk-off win. The entire Goldens team bounced around home plate as the Goldens improved their record to (46-20) as they won another series.

While Wainright allowed only 1-hit in 7 innings, the Goldens’ Mark Buehrle manned up and pitched 8 1/3 while giving up only 1 run and striking out 7 Gems. Carlos Marmol (7-1) pitched 2/3 IP for the win in support of Dunn’s dramatics. Adam Dunn now has 26 HR’s on the season with 52 RBI’s in 76 games, on pace for 54 HR’s this season, a serious candidate for at least an All-Star bid and possibly MVP. Tonight the thunderous bat of Adam Dunn preserved the win for the Goldens, and we will have to wait till October to see if he can bring a BRASS World Series crown to Sierra Nevada.

Gems............ 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 1 6 1
Goldens......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 - 2 2 0

Gems (41-18) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET
A.Wainwright 7 1 0 0 2 5 0 93 4.93 A1 C6
B.Ziegler HOLD(8th) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 2.05 C7 C9
J.Putz LOSS(0-1) BS(1st) 0 2/3 1 2 2 0 2 1 12 2.45 D1
[1]Totals 8 2/3 2 2 2 2 7 1

Goldens (51-22) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET
M.Buehrle 8 1/3 6 1 1 0 7 0 113 3.89 A1 D2
C.Marmol WIN(7-1) 0 2/3 0 0 0 1 1 0 11 2.32 D3
Totals 9 6 1 1 1 8 0

ATTENDANCE- 16,934 DATE- Wednesday, June 11th 2090 TIME- Day WEATHER- Bad
UMPIRES- Mark Hirschbeck, Wally Bell, Brian O'Nora, Dan Iassogna
T- 2:12
LEFT ON BASE- Gems: 4 Goldens: 3
DOUBLE PLAYS- Gems: 2 Goldens: 0
ERRORS- H.Ramirez
DOUBLES- J.Giambi(18th)
HOME RUNS- A.Dunn(25th)
STOLEN BASES- H.Ramirez(24th)
CAUGHT STEALING- A.Rodriguez, F.Gutierrez
WALKS- M.Reynolds, J.Anderson, A.Dunn
HIT BY PITCH- D.Uggla, M.Lowell
STRIKE OUTS- I.Suzuki, H.Ramirez-2, A.Soriano-2, M.Reynolds-2, P.Fielder,
J.Giambi-2, J.Anderson-2, D.Uggla-2, A.DunnGIDP- D.Murphy, M.Lowell

Sierra Nevada Goldens Jump Out to Quick Start; Make Deal to Solidify Rotation

2009-11-14T13:27:00.007-06:00

The Sierra Nevada Goldens have experienced a very promising start to the 2090 BRASS season, as they have their best record at any time during their young 1+ year franchise history. They finished the May Schedule 22 Games over .500 with a 39-17 record having held at least a tie for 1st place since April 15th and currently have a 5 game edge over the rival SoCal Knights. The hometown fans have been treated to exciting games at home while watching their club win 75% of their games at Great American Ballpark, good enough for a tie with Meridian Trojans for the 2nd best home record in the BRASS league behind the Plainsfield Hitmen. The long ball has been the name of the game for the Goldens as balls have been dumping into the Ohio River off the bat of early Silver League MVP candidate, Adam Dunn, who has 19 dingers trailing only Washington Crossing’s Ryan Braun who has 21 of his own in the early going. The Goldens home run total thus far is staggering as they have already launched 101 bombs, which are 18 more than the Meridian Trojans! The home park obviously has a lot to do with this as they have hit 66 homers at home and 35 on the road, but opposing teams have not taken advantage of the long ball at Great American as they have only hit 28 homers on the Goldens’ field. Dunn surely hasn’t been alone hitting bombs in the early going as Goldens players make up 3 of the top 5 league leaders in TOTAVG. Dan Uggla has jumped out of the gate 3rd in the league with a 1.177 TOTAVG followed by Dunn at 1.164, & Jason Giambi at 1.090. The Goldens have 4 players with double figure home run totals with Dunn at 19, Uggla with 15, Giambi with 13, & Jermaine Dye with 12. Dye is also 9th in BRASS with 121 total bases.

To compliment the power surge, the Goldens’ high-priced top of the rotation has been doing its job as well. Leading Silver League Cy Young candidate Josh Beckett has been dazzling with an 8-0 record in 11 starts with a 3.71 ERA. He’s been devastating to opponents striking out 73 and walking only 18 batters in 77 innings. Gil Meche is 7-3 with a 3.43 ERA as the staff workhorse, and Mark Buehrle is 9-2 with a 4.11 ERA. It will be interesting to see if these 3 starters can keep up the torrid pace and win 20 games apiece and try to keep their ERA’s under 4.00. Relief pitching has been solid as well with Brian Fuentes closing the door at the end of games having saved 14 contests in 15 opportunities with a 1.27 ERA, while Carlos Marmol has been keeping the 8th under control with a 5-1 record, 2.66 ERA, while picking up 4 saves of his own. Management has been pleasantly surprised with a staff ERA of 3.88 thus far.

While the Goldens have got off to a great start, the competition in the Silver League is fierce and the schedule should keep getting tougher as we enter the dog days. Five other teams in the Silver have a winning percentage of .607 or better and only 5 games separate the Silver League leader and missing the wild card altogether! Some areas of concern for the Goldens after the first two months are the team’s overall defense, the lack of a true lead-off hitter who can steal bases and maintain a high OBP, depth in center field, and the #4 & #5 starters. It would be nice if the Goldens could improve the platoon situation at shortstop of Edgar Renteria & Jack Wilson with a true everyday leadoff man, but the current state is tolerable. Left field is also a platoon with Jose Guillen, David Murphy, & Conor Jackson, but it is going to be hard to move either Guillen or Jackson due to poor performances in MLB 2009. The key to the team’s defense to this point has been All-Star candidate Yadier Molina behind the plate. With cat-like reflexes and cannon for an arm behind the plate opponents have stolen only 9 bases in 14 attempts! With the help of Buehrle, Meche, and Beckett holding on runners, the Goldens have been able to keep big innings by opponents to a minimum and have kept the double play ball in tact snuffing out rallies.

Following the month of May, the Goldens addressed the #4 starting pitcher slot and CF depth as a deal was consummated with the league leading Plainsfield Hitmen. The Goldens traded utility infielder Ramon Santiago, middle reliever Chad Bradford, and starting pitcher Scott Feldman for defensive center fielder Brian Anderson and starter Jamie Moyer. While Moyer was brought in to improve the #4 spot in the rotation, he could conceivably battle Beckett and Buehrle for the #2 & #3 spot as he comes to town with an 8-1 record and 3.10 ERA in 11 starts with his former club. The month of June will be fun to watch as Moyer makes his Goldens debut and 3B Mike Lowell makes his season debut after sitting out the 1st two months with an injury. The series to watch this month will be against the Platinum Division leading Diamond Gems who have a 40-16 record. The series figures to be home run derby as the venues will both be dinger friendly at Coors Field & Great American Ballpark.

Pitchers Hitting

2009-08-27T19:00:00.003-05:00

If you open this up it is going to lead to stratball. The retro leagues I run, the pitchers have to bat in the 9th spot and they cannot PH unless it is for another pitcher and there are not any more hitters available. Yes, I know Larussa is sometimes batting a pitcher 8th, and over the years occasionally a pitcher has PH'd for a postion player, but 99.99% of the games in the last 30 years the pitcher bats 9th (in the NL games) and does not PH for a position player. Open this up and it will be abused.

On the topic, in my leagues that have the pitchers bat, because this is a pretty significant advantage to the manager actually playing the game instead of HAL managing the game, we have teams play their road games and turn on Home Field Advantage. This helps offset some of the advantage of making your pitching moves while you watch the game unfold.

My .02
Scott

Pitchers Hitting

2009-08-25T11:50:00.002-05:00

We voted some time ago to abolish the DH after the upcoming season, but we never decided exactly how we would change the rules to implement this. There's a rule in our constitution which prohibits pitchers from batting; obviously that will have to be removed, but what will go in its place? I'd like to lay out the possibilities and get a discussion going, so that when the time comes to vote on something we can do so with informed opinions.

The first question is, will we allow pitchers to pinch-hit? The answer to this drives the rest of the discussion. The simplest course would be to say that pitchers cannot pinch hit, that they may only bat if they are in the game when their turn at the plate comes. With that rule, we wouldn't need any other limits on pitcher batting. (You could abuse the system to a slight extent by bringing in a good-hitting reliever with two out the inning before the pitcher's spot is due to bat, but I don't think there's a way to rule this out short of bending the game completely out of shape.)

On the other hand, the case for allowing pitchers to pinch hit is that we're playing National League rules, and in the NL pitchers can and do pinch-hit. Teams with good-hitting pitchers are, I'm sure, looking forward to taking advantage of them. (Full disclosure: Micah Owings is on my roster.) And there may not be a way of preventing the CM from pinch-hitting with a pitcher; I've never played a game on the computer without the DH rule, so I don't know how the CM functions under that condition.

If we do allow this, we absolutely need limits on the number of times each pitcher can bat; otherwise every pitcher with a #3 rating or better will be trotted off the bench 130 times a year. We can't base the limit on real-life at-bats; an American League starter will blow by his actual total his first month in a BRASS rotation. Maybe someone has another idea, but I see only two alternatives: a flat limit for any pitcher (say, 80 PA for starters, 15 for relievers) or a limit based on innings (perhaps 1/3 of a pitcher's IP; it would have to be at least that, or some starters might be forced to leave games late in the season because they were running out of PA's).

And this leads to something which might not have occured to everyone. Any reasonable limit rules will leave a team with some 200-odd available pitcher PA's more than are needed for the normal in-game situations where pitchers bat for themselves. A team with position-player shortages will be able to pinch-hit for position players with pitchers just to save at-bats for the position players. You may consider this a welcome addition to the toolbox or you may think it's an abuse, but it's something to keep in mind.

If you do consider it an abuse, you might want a rule which forbids pitchers to bat for position players, while still allowing them to hit for other pitchers.

I think that lays out the issues we need to consider. Now let's see some comments.

Dharma Strat-o-Matic

2009-05-18T11:17:00.003-05:00

Fun piece in the NY Times today. Apparently Jack Kerouac was a big fantasy baseball fan. So big and so mysterious about it that even his closest friends like Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs had no clue.

Kerouac created his own game with imaginary teams and players, collected their stats, analyzed their performance and even had contract disputes.

... Kerouac played an early version of the baseball game in his backyard in Lowell, Mass., hitting a marble with a nail, or possibly a toothpick, and noting where it landed. By 1946, when Kerouac was 24, he had devised a set of cards with precise verbal descriptions of various outcomes (“slow roller to ss,” for example), depending on the skill levels of the pitcher and batter. The game could be played using cards alone, but Mr. Gewirtz thinks that more often Kerouac determined the result of a pitch by tossing some sort of projectile at a diagramed chart on the wall. In 1956 he switched to a new set of cards, which used hieroglyphic symbols instead of descriptions. Carefully preserved inside plastic folders at the library, they now look as mysterious as runes.

Very cool. I made up my own game when I was a kid using simple die throws, too. For example, two 3s thrown in succession would result in a home run. I don't remember many of the other combos, but I do recall keeping copious stats. Interestingly enough, home run hitters like Hank Aaron tended to hit more in my game. Other player performances would be similar to real life.

To this day, since I was absent a calculator, I can add and subtract numbers in my head rapidly -- all because of the dice game.

I'll bet Kerouac would have been a hell of a Strat-o-Matic player.

Draft Review

2009-05-08T20:37:00.001-05:00

This year I thought I'd start a new annual tradition and review the BRASS rookie draft. I've been doing this for my summer Strat league forever; don't know why I waited so long to start it here. My standard format is to say something about each of the first-round picks, in the order they were taken. Then, for each team, I list everyone they chose after the first round, and say something that's at least vaguely related to one or more of them. It won't always be kind, so I hope no one takes anything I say personally. I also hope no one thinks I'm some sort of expert; if I was the world's greatest judge of young talent, would my team have been in the draft lottery this year?

Speaking of the lottery, my strongest overall impression of this draft is that if you weren't in the lottery, it was barely worth having a first-round pick at all. The pool of available talent was the shallowest I can remember. Even though we've cut down on AMs, past ones have seriously drained the pool. It's not going to get much better until we finish phasing out AMs and the existing ones graduate to having cards.

My other overall impression is that some managers haven't adjusted their thinking to the current contract rules. I see quite a few U contracts (minimum value $1.2M) given to drafted players who would never have drawn bids that high in free agency, let alone secondary free agency (which is where they'd be if they'd gone undrafted).

The first-rounders:

1. Chris Davis, Duluth-Superior - He's got a nice power card, he's got serious 40-HR potential, he's only 23, and he's playing regularly. No one else in this draft has all those markers; not many can claim even two of them. That said, there are negatives. A year ago, when Davis was eligible for the Top 100 prospect lists, he was only #65 at Baseball America and #74 at Baseball Prospectus. (Of course, if he'd been much higher, he wouldn't be in this draft pool, because someone would have taken him as an AM.) His walk rate is terrible, and if he doesn't fix that you can forget 40 homers--he won't see 40 hittable pitches all season. And there's a limit to the value of a player whose only position is first base, especially after we dump the DH next year.

2. Stephen Strasburg, SoCal - Yeah, I know--he's the B*E*S*T P*I*T*C*H*I*N*G P*R*O*S*P*E*C*T E*V*E*R!! It's still a big risk to use this high a pick on someone who's never pitched an inning in the pros. Just too much can go wrong between now and a major league career, including the possibility that the Gnats bring him up as soon as they sign him. Bad teams have done that before with young pitchers, and it rarely ends well.

3. Trevor Cahill, Chuckanut Bay - Not believed to have Strasburg's upside, or Hanson's for that matter, but he's in a major-league rotation, which greatly reduces the risk that the pick will turn out to be worthless. His control has been awful so far this year, but it's early, and his record doesn't suggest a real problem in that area.

4. Alcides Escobar, Colorado - The difference between his ranking on the Baseball America list of prospects and the Baseball Prospectus list was over 30 spots, because no one knows for sure if he's going to hit. Everyone agrees the glove is something special. If he turns out to be the next Omar Vizquel, this was a great pick. If he's the next Adam Everett. . . not so much.

5. Denard Span, Andover - Had the draft been held a month earlier, Span probably would have gone a lot lower, because it wasn't clear at that time that he'd remain a regular. But now he seems to have settled in as a player whose leadoff skills and defense more than compensate for his total lack of power. If you pencil him in for about half of Richie Ashburn's career, you shouldn't have to worry about keeping the eraser clean. There will be players picked after him who will return more value than that, but I don't have the balls (crystal, that is) to tell you which ones.

6. Tommy Hanson, Inyo - One observer told me he'd have taken Hanson #1 overall. Myself, I'm nervous about picking him even this high when he hasn't pitched in the majors yet. At least he's almost ready; rumor has it that the Braves are just trying to manage his service clock and delay arb-eligibility as long as possible.

7. Jordan Schafer, Phoenix - Will probably outdo Span over his career; he's two and a half years younger and has some power.

8. Mat Gamel, Colorado - The anti-Escobar: possibly the best bat in this draft pool, but doesn't have a position he can play. Since the Brewers are in the National League and already have Ryan Braun, it may take a trade to get Gamel to the majors. And this type of player doesn't always make it--remember Sam Horn?

I would say that the above players are the ones who someone might have gone into the draft hoping to get. Everyone else is basically what you settle for.

9. Cory Wade, Dayton - Lights-out card, plenty of innings, and he's doing OK so far this year. But when a reliever goes in the upper half of the first round, the pickings are slim.

10. John Baker, San Jose - And when a 28-year-old batter with less than half a season's playing time goes this high, the pickings are pathetic.

11. Jose Arredondo, Hoth - See Wade, Cory. He's pitched more than Wade so far this year; the ERA isn't good, but the K/W ratio is excellent.

12. Matt Joyce, Phoenix - Nice part-time card, and he's still in the majors, but he's not playing much and doesn't ever figure to be much more than a good fourth outfielder.

13. Daniel Murphy, Colorado - Probably should have gone before Joyce; he's playing every day, has a great OBP, and might approach 20 HR. His defense sucks from all reports, but you can live with that in left field.

14. Jody Gerut, Sierra Nevada - Probably the most useful card in the draft with the possible exception of Span, but he's 31 and off to a mediocre start this year. Plus he's a U player, so you don't even get a cheap Y1 year out of him.

15. Lou Marson, Colorado - Probably a better catching prospect in the long run than Nick Hundley, although the Phils seem all too willing to let Carlos Ruiz and Chris Coste block him as long as they're healthy.

16. James McDonald, Meridian - The Dodgers are the closest thing I have to a local team (or maybe the Angels are; I'm not really sure which one is closer), but I honestly didn't know who this guy was when his name came up. I saw "J. McDonald" and thought, no, it can't be that no-hit shortstop the Jays have. All you need to know about him is that according to his ESPN web page, Jeff Weaver is about to take his spot in the rotation.

17. Greg Smith, Chuckanut Bay - Smith has by far the most innings of any pitcher in the draft--yet another indication that we need to finish the process of phasing out AMs. Pretty nice card, too, as long as his opponent doesn't stack too many righthanders against him. But what you see is probably all you're ever going to get. He's a curveballing lefty now pitching in Colorado, or rather not pitching.

18. Grant Balfour, SoCal - Probably the most dominating card in the set, but he's 31 and getting the snot beat out of him so far this year. If Scott isn't contending this year, he really needs to flip Balfour to someone who is.

19. Madison Bumgarner, San Jose - This is about where a pitching prospect like this should go; the risk is worth the upside at this point. Between Bumgarner and Hanson, it's a total crapshoot at this point who winds up with a better career.

20. Jordan Zimmerman, Green Bay - And Zimmerman could be better than either one. Like Cahill, he has the advantage of being in a major league rotation right now, and he's pitching better than Cahill

21. Brad Ziegler, Diamond - Not nearly as dominating as his ERA or his scoreless-innings string would suggest, and no spring chicken at 29, but he's doing better this year than any of the relievers taken earlier. But not as well as some taken later--see below.

22. Nick Hundley, Green Bay - I guess he'll have a job for awhile, since the Padres don't seem to have anyone pushing him. But for the production he'll give you, you might as well take a couple of second-string types in the back end of the draft every year. Mike Redmond and Javier Valentin didn't go until the 10th and 14th rounds, and I'd rather have them out there for me than Hundley. They won't be there next year, but someone else just as good will be.

23. Chris Dickerson, SoCal - When I did the draft review for my summer Strat league, my comment on Dickerson was that he was "so far over his head he risked being sucked into the engine of a passing jet." His play so far this year bears this out. Like Balfour, he belongs on a contender.

24. Jesse Carlson, Cream City - I look at their cards, their ages and how each of them is doing this year, and I don't see any reason Carlson shouldn't have been taken ahead of Brad Ziegler unless you just really need a righty instead of a lefty.

After the first round, by team:

Andover (Chris Getz, Mike Stanton, Matt Harrison, Edgar Gonzalez [the infielder], Roy Corcoran, Mike Hinckley, Clayton Richard, Burke Badenhop) - The Cougars drafted just ahead of me, and they did it to me twice. I wanted Getz in the second round; I really thought he'd go much earlier, but it was heartbreaking that he lasted until just ahead of me and then got taken. Then, early in round 6, I noticed that Clayton Richard was still on the board, and thought he'd be worth a flier at that point. I changed my list to put him at the top, only to see him go to Andover.

I'm skeptical of Harrison as a second-round pick, simply because he's a Ranger. Much-hyped Texas prospects like Volquez and Danks never amounted to a bucket of warm spit until they went somewhere else. I'm not sure I'd want a Rangers pitching prospect if he was cloned from Roger Clemens' DNA.

Ashland (Ramon Ramirez, Joe Inglett, Mike Hampton, Greg Norton, Omar Quintanilla, Eric Bruntlett, Kason Gabbard, Mike Redmond) - Nothing but U contracts and free agent claims, but still the Penguins netted more money than anyone else because three of their own free agents were claimed. Inglett, Quintanilla and Bruntlett would seem to do no more than replace a year of Placido Polanco, which begs the question of why Polanco was left unprotected in the first place. And why pay $1.2M for Kason Gabbard's 56 crappy innings when Tom Glavine's 68 innings--a little crappier but not much--will be available in secondary free agency for a fraction of that?

Speaking of Gabbard, his case illustrates an anomaly created by the relatively new rule that a drafted player must be signed to a U contract if he ever before had a BRASS major-league deal. Gabbard last year was a Y1 player; if he'd been kept by his old team, he'd be a Y2 this year. Instead he was released, presumeably because he wasn't deemed worth a Y2 deal--so now if he's drafted, he has to be signed for twice that? I think the rule should be amended such that if a drafted player's last contract was a Y, he must be signed to whatever contract he would have rated if his last team had kept him.

Chuckanut Bay (Max Ramirez, Chris Perez, Aaron Cunningham, Josh Outman, Miguel Batista, Shawn Chacon, Patrick Misch, Denny Bautista, Nelson Figueroa, Mark Redman, Brett Wallace) - When Dave took this franchise over, he was its fifth manager in two years. I don't know who among the other four gets the blame, but the team was desperately short of pitching, and it was left to Dave to apply spackling compound to the bomb crater. He did that here while still picking up at least five serious prospects, but with two free agent claims and four U contracts, it's going to cost him.

Colorado (Jose Mijares, Ryan Tucker, Mike Gonzalez, Phil Coke) - These guys are basically afterthoughts compared to the Challengers' four 1st-round picks, but the law of averages says one of them should settle in at some point for a few years of solid relief work. It won't be Gonzalez, though; he was signed to a U2 contract, which will return one good year if he keeps up his good start, and basically nothing for the $3M if he blows up this year.

Cream City (Wesley Wright, Keichi Yabu, J.P. Arencibia, Carlos Santana) - Arencibia and Santana are good prospects--there's really no such thing as a bad AM prospect when the league as a whole can only have 48 of them--but Yabu looks like one year and out, and Wright will be a generic middle reliever in the very best case (and even that looks unlikely the way he's started out this year).

Dayton (Placido Polanco, Craig Breslow, Arthur Rhodes, Ryan Hanigan, Yonder Alonso, Daniel Herrera, Scott Lewis, Paul Janish, Logan Morrison, Laynce Nix, Cliff Pennington, Eddie Kunz) - Polanco was easily the best value among the unprotected players, and John did well to jump on him early. I guarantee he wouldn't have lasted another round. Who knows what will happen with the rest of these guys, although several of them have started this year well. Foremost among these, to my amazement, is Nix.

Diamond (Jason Motte, Steven Shell, Jose Veras, Chris Tillman, Scott Schoenweiss, Billy Sadler, Jesse Chavez, Jonathan Meloan, Michael Aubrey, Jolbert Cabrera, Kurt Birkins, Jonathan Albaladejo) - There's a bullpen in here somewhere. With pitchers--especially relievers--throwing a bunch of them against a wall to see who sticks is a better approach than trying to identify one guy.

Duluth-Superior (Colin Balester, Charlie Morton, Sidney Ponson, Glendon Rusch, Lance Cormier, Luis Rivas, Rob Johnson, Franquelis Osoria, Juan Rincon) - Who is hoarding all the innings in this league? (Besides me, I mean.) There are 30 MLB teams feeding 24 of ours, but still we have teams like the Tubas (covered above), Hoth (who was willing to pay five and a half mil and use a bonus round pick to take Joel Pineiro off my hands) and the Dukes, who need innings badly enough to give U contracts to Ponson, Rusch, Cormier and Rincon. (OK, Rusch has perhaps the best card I've ever seen on a pitcher with an ERA over 5, but still.)

Great Kills (Ricky Romero, Kory Casto, Chris Waters, Guillermo Quiroz, Bryan LaHair, Paul McAnulty, T.J. Beam) - Romero didn't exactly come out of nowhere, but he wasn't on any top-prospect lists (except for being eighth on BA's list of Toronto prospects) going into spring training. Do you use your only AM pick on someone like that who's off to a hot start, or on a higher-rated prospect who maybe is still in the minors? Always a tough decision, especially now that we draft a couple of weeks earlier than we used to.

Green Bay (Brett Gardner, Shairon Martis, Angel Salome, Brian Bixler, Mitchell Boggs, Will Venable, Jeremy Reed, Eric Stults, John Bowker, Ryan Raburn, Freddy Dolsi) - Gardner was worth a flyer; he was going to get every chance because of his speed, and once in awhile this type of player learns to hit. Not this time, it seems. Martis is in a rotation and winning, if not impressively. I was surprised to have Raburn claimed, but he's back in the majors and has a platoon role.

Hoth (Blake DeWitt, Travis Ishikawa, Joel Pineiro, Joe Thurston, Gaby Sanchez, Mark DiFelice, Adam Rosales) - DeWitt probably would have been a first-round pick if the Dodgers hadn't signed Orlando Hudson. Gaby Sanchez was a very nice gamble in the fourth round; if the Marlins clear the logjam ahead of him, he'll probably have a better career than Ishikawa, at the very least. But the question all America should be asking is, who is this guy playing second base for the Cardinals and what has he done with the real Joe Thurston? The real Thurston is 29 years old, seven years removed from being a failed Dodgers prospect and has had five cups of coffee for a total of 66 at-bats during that time. The impostor has more at-bats than that a month into the season, and an OPS some 200 points higher than what Thurston managed over his "career".

Inyo (J.A. Happ, Ben Zobrist, Ramon Troncoso, Anderson Hernandez, Paul Lo Duca, Francisco Cervelli, Koyie Hill, Mike Hessman, Justin Smoak) - Zobrist is a similar case to Gabbard, mentioned above; if I'd kept him continuously instead of cutting him after he cratered in 2007, he'd be getting a Y2 contract instead of a U3 this year. Hill is almost as surprising as Thurston; I'd have sworn there was a fork sticking out of him three or four years ago.

Meridian (David Purcey, Scott Proctor, Brendan Ryan, Dusty Ryan, Nick Evans, Josh Banks, Ramon A. Ramirez, WIll Nieves, Toby Hall) - Oh, great! Two pitchers with the same name, both righthanded, a year apart in age. Let's hope this one either makes the starting rotation or washes out completely so we have some way of telling them apart.

Montgomery County (Wilson Betemit, Lou Montanez, Alberto Gonzalez, Darren O'Day, Zach Jackson, Clete Thomas, Scott Holm, Matt Tolbert, James Parr) - Gonzalez would be a very useful backup--great shortstop defense, nice batting card with some pop against righties--except that our contract rules keep him from playing in any month with 30 days.

Montreal (Derek Holland, Jesse Crain, Doug Waechter, Carlos Rosa, Jose Ascanio, Matt Tuiasosopo, Jeremy Blevins, Kevin Cash) - Holland was BA's #31 prospect in their Top 100 issue a couple of months ago, and he was taken in the second round, #42 overall. Justin Smoak was #23, and I got him over 180 picks later. Granted, Holland is pitching in the majors now, but he's also in Texas. I'm just sayin'. . .

Olympia (Micah Hoffpauir, Brian Bass, Brandon Boggs, Garrett Mock, Jarrod Washburn, Adam Eaton, Angel Berroa, Clayton Mortensen, Vince Mazzaro, Mike Lamb, Chris Burke, Andy Marte) - Hoffpauir's awfully old for a rookie, but it looks like he'll turn out real well if the Cubs ever decide to focus on what he can do in the future rather than what Derrek Lee has done in the past. Mortensen and Mazzaro are AMs, and Kai must have some deep inside information on them. I don't see either one on a top prospect list or a major league roster.

Phoenix (Emmanuel Burriss, Gregor Blanco, Darrel Rasner, Tony Pena Jr., German Duran, Humberto Quintero, Masa Kobayashi, Chris Carter, Jeff Salazar, Alex Romero, Ivan Ochoa, Cesar Jimenez) - Burriss has a nice card and a job, and if he turns it around and hits well enough to keep that job, this was a great pick. So far, no. Blanco would be Denard Span Lite if Jordan Schafer hadn't sent him back to the minors; as it is, he's good insurance for the team that drafted Schafer. Chris Carter is. . . the wrong Chris Carter.

Plainsfield (Mike Aviles, Buster Posey, Brian Anderson, Sean Rodriguez, Matt Antonelli, Kila Ka'Aihue, Craig Monroe, Greg Golson, Logan Kensing, Sergio Romo, Josh Roenicke, Tommy Hunter, Jayson Nix) - On the one hand, Aviles should have gone earlier in this draft pool, even the way he's (not) hitting this year. On the other hand, for Plainsfield he's an overqualified utility infielder. Monroe seems overpriced, especially at the cost of the U2 contract he was signed to, but he does give the Hitmen a go-to guy off the bench if they need a homer off a right-hander.

San Jose (Felipe Paulino, Brian Barden, Bobby Parnell, Conor Gillaspie, D.J. Carrasco, Richie Sexson, Dan Meyer) - Sharp of Dave to notice that Paulino was in Houston's rotation and doing well (although since the draft he seems to have gone to the pen). Chuckanut Bay, with its pitching shortage, could ill afford to lose him. Fitting that this team got Gillaspie, as Dave gets to watch him right there in San Jose. Sexson seems like an overpriced FA claim, but he's devastating in a strict platoon role.

Sierra Nevada (Luis Valbuena, Fernando Rodney, Fernando Perez, Alfredo Aceves, Josh Geer, Kevin Jepsen, Kam Mickolio, Clint Sammons) - All through the draft, I had a feeling that I should move Aceves up on my lists, that I'd regret it if I missed out on him. The Yankees just brought him up, so we'll see. Mickolio is on the Orioles' list of top prospects, which isn't saying a whole lot but is good for the 199th pick.

SoCal (Jonathan Niese, Jim Thome, Mike Adams, Brian Bruney, Dan Giese, Joaquin Arias, Matt Brown, Joe Mather) - Several players here who at one time seemed to be good bets to come through, but none seems to have so far except maybe Giese. Thome begs two questions: 1)Why did Ashland give him a two-year free-agent contract knowing that next year we dump the DH, and 2)Why was SoCal willing to assume that contract?

Southtown (Rafael Soriano, Sean Burnett, Emil Brown) - The biggest cash gainer of the draft next to Ashland, as the aptly named Misers had nearly $9M worth of free agents claimed away. As for draft picks. . . in my summer Strat league, there used to be a guy named John Sokol who every year would trade away all his choices and sit out the draft. Since he left, every year we award the John Sokol Trophy to whoever comes closest to emulating him. This year in BRASS, that would be Henry.

Sugar Creek (Kyle McClellan, Fernando Tatis, Mike Lincoln, Juan Rivera, Andrew Carpenter, Justin Speier, Michael Wuertz, Brian Stokes, Shawn Camp, Juan Castro, Angel Guzman, Javier Valentin, Claudio Vargas) - Wow. 13 players, and only two of them (McClellan and Carpenter) won't be unrestricted free agents after the upcoming season. I really, really don't understand why Guzman was signed to a U1 contract, as his card has only 10 innings.

Washington Crossing (Joe Nelson, Gabe Kapler, Gordon Beckham, Eddie Guardado, Aquilino Lopez, Reggie Willits, Jeff Larish, Bryan Corey, Mitch Maier) - It pays to study the cards. I looked at Reggie Willits' stat line and saw a .194 BA and a .552 OPS, and assumed he'd be on the SFA scrap heap at the end of the draft. Dave looked at his card and saw a 46% on-base chance against lefties, and of course he can fly once he gets there.

Scouting Report: the San Jose Giants

2009-05-06T13:57:00.002-05:00

The team that started the season with the Giants’ A-level affiliate in San Jose may be broken up via roster moves & promotions at any time, but man, has it been sweet so far. There are two probable and five possible future MLB All-Stars on this squad, and as many as 8 likely ML regulars. Keith Law from ESPN did a recent write-up on San Jose’s *opposition* after a recent visit (ouch, that hurt Keith!) but practically every serious reporting organization (Baseball Prospectus, Baseball America, etc etc) has written jaw-dropping praise for the recent drafting & international signings done by the much-maligned San Francisco front office, as evidenced by their high A-club. Given that it’s only 10 minutes’ drive from my house & general admission = $10, I figured I’d offer a firsthand take after seeing them Sunday May 3rd & Monday May 4th

When I went to see them on Monday night, a night when San Jose will normally draw 500-1000 fans, I arrived a bit late, after the 1st half-inning, and decided to splurge $15 for a box seat instead of the $10 general admission ticket. Good choice. The stadium seats around 4000, and it was about ¾ full on a Monday night, with rain clouds in the offing. I ended up with really the best seat in the house to watch a lefty pitcher – just to the right of home plate, 5 rows back from the field. And that set the stage for…

…The Lefty
The talk this spring has been all about Madison Bumgarner, who has rocketed up the prospect charts after showing quick improvement in a slider that looks like a future out-pitch at the ML level. The fastball is fierce, reportedly at a David Price-like 94-96 mph. If MadBum’s change (he is working on it now) becomes a plus pitch, he should join Price as one of the best young LHs in years and a #1 starter.

When I saw him, the fastball sat at 93-94 and touched 97 at times. I have read that he displays “easy” velocity, and can confirm that assessment. The arm slot is around ¾ but there is a not a lot of effort in the delivery, which he repeated fairly well most of the night. The changeup was on display vs. RH on several occasions and was usually taken for a strike or called for a ball just off the plate outside/high, and came in at 77-81 mph. The concern there is that he’ll need to start it lower in the zone vs. top-level hitters or they’ll make him pay. At the A-level, when the batters were looking for a heater or maybe the slider, they were caught off guard by the changeup. He used it on at least three occasions when he was ahead in the count, 1-2 or 2-2. The slider he had working was a touch faster than the changeup at 81-83 mph. Against RHs it mostly started belt-high in the middle/outside portion of the plate, and breaks in to the batter’s back foot with good tilt. He got several swinging strikes with this pitch. He also displayed some of the toughness that has been mentioned about him, coming high & inside on an 0-2 pitch that hit the batter on the arm. This was definitely a message pitch, intended to try to get the batter off the plate so that the pitcher could own the outside on a 1-2 count. Unfortunately it backfired as the hit batsman came around to score on a SB, error on the throw (catch actually, the throw was perfect), and a sac fly, but the concept was good even if the execution was a bit lacking. I would give his control pretty high marks at this stage though command was average and needs work.

Physically MadBum looks like he can hold up well over a long season. He’s not tall, but has noticeably thick thighs that support him well on the mound. Given the relative ease of the delivery he’s probably got as good a shot at staying healthy as any young pitcher especially if he can avoid over-reliance on the slider in favor of the change.

The Righty
With all the focus on MadBum, we have to add 6’6” RH Tim Alderson to the mix as well when we talk about high-ceiling prospects on this team. He’s mainly a FB/curve pitcher though is adding a changeup as well. When I saw him, the FB was slower than it has been in the past, sitting at 89 and ranging from 88-91. Most scouting reports have it sitting at 91-92, and not having all of his velo on the FB would explain his slow start to the year. That said, the curveball he showed was outstanding all day. He seemed completely comfortable throwing the pitch in any count and broke it off on both sides of the plate at 71-74 mph, generating both called strikes & plenty of swings & misses. If the FB comes back to 91-92, we’re talking about a #2 or #3 SP, and if the changeup comes along, he could even reach #1 status. With his height, I think it’s reasonable to assume he gets 1-2 more mph in the FB as he fills out, and his command is excellent.

Great sequence to illustrate this in the 6th inning as Alderson had a 2-2 count on the batter and broke off a curve that may have missed, but if so it was by just an inch or two. Alderson was visibly upset that he didn’t get the call, to the point where I thought “Ok, he’s flustered here”. But he went right back to the pitch for a called strike three, something the batter clearly wasn’t ready for on a 3-2 count. Amazing confidence in the pitch, signaled to him by…

…The All-American, and everyone’s future All-Star backstop Buster Posey. Posey put up an OPS of over 1.000 in April, and the Florida State alum really looks the part. For a RH his swing is very smooth, and though he went 1 for 4 and 0 for 4 on the 2 days I was there, he made up for an off day at the plate by nailing a runner going to 2b on a steal attempt on day 1, and making a perfect throw on day 2 that was alligator-armed by the SS. Every throw down to 2b looked smooth and easy, no effort at all, but the ball arrived with plenty of zip. I can see him as a 2eX -2 or -3 type C, and most reports put his power in the 18-20 HR range, with a very high BA and OBP. I saw nothing to discourage that opinion. He’ll be ready for prime time very soon, a RH version of Joe Mauer, and like Mauer also a multi-sport star in HS. High ceiling but also a pretty high probability of reaching that ceiling.

The Cowboy
Providing lineup protection for Posey in the San Jose order I was surprised to find Wichita State product Conor Gillaspie. Wasn’t hard to know when he was batting though – the intro song he chose is pure Country, some cowboy song whose name I’m sure I should know but have no clue about, an affectation stemming from his alma mater no doubt. But what was interesting was to see him batting 5th when original reports on him had him as a high-average, moderate-power, use-all-fields type of hitter, a #2 guy. I heard David Bell or Bill Mueller comparisons when he was drafted, and thought “Ok, Giants can do worse”. That said, he’s a pure LH, not a SW like Mueller, and the swing & body type I saw (listed at 6’1”, 200) project to more power than I remember those two guys having. In one AB Gillaspie went down the 3B line for an IF single, showing a good ability to go with a pitch on the outside and decent speed (he forced an error on the play), and followed that up with a long RBI double off the wall in straightaway CF. In San Jose the CF sign is at 390 feet, and it was a rainy day with a breeze blowing in at 10 mph & knocking balls down. I think in most ML parks that ball has a good chance to go for a HR, and he hit it well but didn’t quite get all of it. He hit almost exactly the same ball into a much stronger wind on Day 2 of my visit and it died at the track in front of the 390 sign. From what I saw it was crushed, better contact than the double on Day 1, just hit to the wrong place at the wrong time. He has no HRs to date this year, but the park in San Jose was really favoring pitchers on this homestand. I think we’ll see a 2-range 3B with 15-20 HR power there and a chance for more if he fills out & if he learns what pitches he should pull vs. staying back on and driving to LF/CF.

The Kid
After Posey, the hitter who gets the most attention on this team is teenage 1B Angel Villalona. One look at him will tell you why he got moved off 3B. He’s huge in the midsection, from chest/belly through thighs, a miniature (and RH) version of Boog Powell, as the calves seem small by comparison. He competes well for an 18-year old in high A, and was never close to being overpowered at the plate, but like many young Latino hitters with power, it doesn’t seem plate discipline has been a part of his baseball upbringing. He’s athletic enough to stay in the field for the bulk of his career, but projects to average range at best. The power that should come will be substantial. Lots of torque in the swing, and he has the natural hand-eye coordination to make pitchers pay for mistakes.

The Longshot
Brandon Crawford was pretty much a no-name when it came to prospect reports. That is, until he played in April. Putting up an OPS of 1.053 in your 1st month of pro ball will get you noticed. The UCLA product plays SS and stands 6’1”, and hits from the left side. The knock on him is that’s he’ll swing at anything, but as long as he hits it, who are we to criticize? He got 2 hits each day I saw him, and the glove was not bad to the 2B side, though I didn’t see him tested by any balls deep in the SS/3B hole. He did short-arm the throw in to the bag from Posey that I mentioned above, but he’s a guy to keep your eye on.

The Sleeper
2B Nick Noonan got on some radar screens as a 1st round pick in the 2007 draft, but had a quiet first full year in the pros in low-A. This season in high-A he continues to build his resume. He has good speed and baserunning ability, and combines those with good bat control though less than ideal OBP so far. He looks like a #7-8 hitter in the bigs, can play SS as well as 2B, and could also eventually see some PT in the outfield. However, if the plate discipline develops, we could see a reasonable top-of-the order bat here. He should be an average to above-average defender at 2B as well.

The Nephew
Some of you may remember the occasional 2-way card, where a pitcher is used as position player on occasion, enough to receive a rating in the field. The last such guy was Brooks Kieschnick, if memory serves. Well, meet his nephew Roger. Roger is a 6’ 3” OF with a bit of power potential. He’s athletic and a decent runner, but still best suited for corner OF. His OPS is .823 so far in his 1st pro season out of Texas Tech, and he’s not young for A ball at 22, but with 3 HRs in the early going, a good summer and continued production could put him on the list for a tryout at the pro level late this year or maybe a 2010 spring training invite. He reminds me of a Travis Buck type and is likely headed for a platoon/4th OF role at the ML level unless the power really ramps up.

Right now I am just hoping the Giants decide to keep this crew together another couple of months. There is no better value in the game today than $10 or $15 to see a group of youngsters with this much promise. Great beer selection too! I definitely recommend any of the BRASS SoCal contingent to go see these guys when they're in town.

Yoopers-going forward

2009-03-31T14:22:00.000-05:00

Like our country and many industries and people, the Yoopers currently have money woes. It seems we made a few miscalculations on our way to enjoying some wealth, and now it is time for a payback. Sound familiar? Part of the organization is holding out hope for a bailout, or a stimulus bonus. But business goes on.

The Yoopers are coming off a very strong 109-53 regular season. This was the I build for, putting many of our eggs in one basket (it is close to Easter). However, Murphy’s Law and a very strong Diamond team visited us in the playoffs, and we meekly bowed out 4-1, and were not even competitive in the losses. So it is back to the drawing board in some ways, but also the same as usual as we have some very big contracts.

Of immediate concern is having operating cash for the upcoming season. That problem has been solved by a trade that will be announced. Of a greater concern to me is the following off season. I have Sean Marshall, Fausto Carmona, Bobby Jenks, and Ryan Theriot all on A3 contracts this year. It is doubtful I will be able to sign them all in the way I want. I already had to Give McCann an A3 contract instead of an A5 that I would have liked. It is my hope that I will move one of my big money guys next off season.

The key to our continued success will be to continue to draft well. I have used prospects like Briednac, Buchholz, and Adam Miller (there are more, this is off the top of my head) to acquire veteran help. The focus will now shift to maintaining more of our prospects. The only amateur I currently have is Nolan Reimold, who I hope will graduate this season. My other amateur, Jaime Garcia, graduated, but now faces Tommy John surgery. But I also need some Y1 and Y2 guys to step up. Luckily, my favorite part of strat leagues (I am in two) is drafting and following how young players are doing. So I am excited to try to rebuild thru the draft.

I anticipate being a playoff contender for the upcoming season. I am strong in the infield with Beltre, Theriot, and Berkman all coming off good years. I will have to get more Abs at 2B, where I have Bonifacio and Punto. But Punto will probably also be a backup SS. Burrell will be my DH. And McCann is coming off a very good year, although I will need to draft a back up catcher.
My outfield is more of a concern. Crawford is coming off a down year, and will have to miss about two months. The only back up I currently have is Barton. Although I could put Burrell out there and DH Buscher. CF is great with Tori Hunter. But I have no other rated CF on the roster, so I need a backup. RF is a hole, I have nobody currently. It is a high priority in either the draft or trade.

I should be solid at the top of the rotation with Guthrie, Oswalt, and Lannon. Currently the 4-5 spots will be filled in my the disappointing Carmona, Sowers, Laffey, and maybe Dumatrait and JoJO Reyes. It is my hope to use Marshall’s innings in the bullpen. I hope for one starter in the draft as well.

I will also have to fill in my pen. I have a closer in Jenks. A good lefty set up guy in Thornton, and another lefty in Marshall. But I will need RH relievers.

In short, we have our work cut out for us. But I look forward to it. When I joined the league, my franchise had never been to the playoffs (we have been in the last two years) and was among the dregs of the league, with cap problems We have transformed our selves into a solid contending franchise, and I hope to continue those ways. And all, start saving those pennies, as a big name guy will be available next offseason. LOL. Best of luck to everyone this offseason.
Bob-GB Yoopers

San Jose = Cinderella?

2009-03-24T09:45:00.003-05:00

It's an age-old story, and one with even more meaning this time of year, with the NCAA tourney grabbing headlines. After a miserable start, the Scorpions are now window shopping for glass slippers and are one step away from the title.

It's been a long haul for the squad, through the winding path of all wild card teams with big dreams. This was a team that almost punted after losing its first ten games of the season, and going 13-14 in April. Rumors had team star Carlos Pena on the trade blocks, but instead management saw opportunity despite the sluggish start to the year, and managed to trade for Mark DeRosa and Brandon Webb in order to make a stretch run. Webb went 7-2 after the trade, and carried the team to the playoffs while helping to save a somewhat beleaguered bullpen.

In the WC round, the Scorpions matched up against a tough Meridian squad with a similar regular season record. In a seesaw game 1, Ryan Doumit came on against Meridian closer Matt Capps with San Jose down a run 6-5 and down to their last out with a man on base. Doumit came through in the clutch with a 2-run jack that sent the home fans into a frenzy. Game 2 saw Doumit continue his torrid regular season (1.053 OPS) by going 3 for 3 and DeRosa go 3 for 4 with 3 RBI to lead San Jose to a 2-0 series edge with a 6-3 win. After a Game 3 loss on the road where Vlad Guerrero smashed 2 homers for the Trojans, Roger "The Pincushion" Clemens tossed a complete game shutout and Josh Bard hit a PH 3-run homer to close out the series and advance San Jose to the Silver LDS round.

In the LDS, San Jose squared off against a Montreal squad that finished a scant 1 game behind the Scorpions in the regular season. The Sunsets took game 1 in spectacular fashion, scoring 3 runs to erase a 5-3 deficit in the top of the 9^th inning. Moises Alou went 2 for 3 with a HR and 3 RBI to lead the way, and the heretofore untouchable Manny Delcarmen took the loss. Game 2 saw the home team mount a furious rally in the bottom of the 9^th, down 4-1, but we came up just short for a 4-3 final. Derek Lowe notched the “W” with 7 strong innings of work.

The Scorpions then donned their road jerseys and made the trek to Montreal to try stop the Sunset steamroller. Game 3 featured a pitcher’s duel with Joe Blanton and Daisuke “Dice-K” Matsuzaka going toe to toe with neither starter giving an inch. In the top of the 9^th, San Jose managed to eke out a run off the Montreal bullpen as pinch hitter Jayson Werth singled home the only score of the ballgame. Blanton lasted 8 innings and gave up just 5 hits and no walks. Delcarmen was back in form to close Montreal out in the 9th. In Game 4, the San Jose bats came to life in the 4^th inning, putting up 6 runs against Sunsets starter Carlos Zambrano, and the team held on for a 7-3 victory. Webb went the distance in the win, and just like that, the series was even at two games apiece. In Game 5, the Sunsets took a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the 7^th and held on for a 6-2 win, with Lowe once again providing 7 strong innings of work. DH Jonny Gomes drove in 3 runs on 2 hits to help the Montreal cause.

With a 3-2 lead in games, the series went back to San Jose and the tension was palpable. In games 3 & 4 in Montreal, San Jose sparkplug Reggie Willits had been beaned in the 1^st inning in each game and knocked out each time, and the Scorpions crowd was calling for retaliation on their home turf. That set the stage for an ugly game in every sense of the word. Sunset had struck first blood, and San Jose was down 5-1 in the 5^th inning when Country Joe Blanton came high and tight to Macier Izturis, who couldn’t avoid the 91-mph heater and went down hard after it caught him on the earflap. The dugouts exchanged angry words and but Blanton managed to settle down and retire the side. In the bottom half of the inning, Chris Snyder was at the plate for San Jose with two men on when Chad Billingsley cut loose a fastball that hit Snyder square in the back. Both dugouts emptied, but after a huddle the umpiring crew determined that there could be no intent on Billingsley’s part to hit Snyder and therefore load the bases. A couple of singles cut the lead to 5-4 and chased Billingsley from the game, accompanied by catcalls from the partisan crowd. In the 6^th inning, the Scorpions rallied for 4 runs on a gland slam by Carlos Pena to grab a 8-5 lead. San Jose would add 2 more in the 7^th for a seemingly commanding 5-run margin at 10-5, but the bullpen almost gave the game away in the 9^th as Montreal pushed 4 runs across the board before Delcarmen came in to put out the flames, and San Jose hung on for a 10-9 win to force a game 7.

After the huge buildup, Game 7 turned into a laugher quickly as the home team scored almost at will against Dice K, putting up 9 runs in the 1^st 4 innings of play. Pena, completely quiet in the series until his clout in Game 6, confirmed that he had found his power stroke by sending two more balls over the wall, good for 4 RBI on the day. Webb absolutely dominated from the mound, tossing a complete game shutout on 125 pitches, striking out 10 in the process & giving up just 4 hits & a walk, and San Jose moved on to the LCS with a convincing 12-0 win.

In the LCS, San Jose was matched up against a Duluth-Superior squad that it had dominated during the regular season, winning all 7 games. But in the LCS, fond San Jose memories of the season sweep were quickly erased as the Dukes took the 1^st two in San Jose. Albert Pujols and Erik Bedard starred for D-S in Game 1, a 6-2 win, and in Game 2 the Dukes scratched out a 3-2 win behind 3 innings and 6 Ks from their 2-headed bullpen monster of Joe Nathan and Mariano Rivera.

Once again, the Scorpions needed some magic on the road, and Game 3 did not disappoint as WC hero Doumit and LDS hero Webb contributed epic performances. Doumit set the tone with a Grand Slam in the 1^st, and he went on to pound the Dukes pitching for 3 hits, 2 dingers, and a jaw-dropping 7 RBI. Webb once again went the full distance, this time needing just 120 pitches, giving up 1 earned run and 7 hits on the day against 7 Ks. Game 4 was a back-and-forth battle that went to extra innings. In the 10^th, pinch hitter Josh Hamilton hit an RBI single with the bases jammed that held up. Ryan Franklin got the win with 3 scoreless relief innings, and the series was tied at 2 games each. Game 5 was over quickly, as the Scorpions erupted for 5 runs in the 3^rd and cruised to an easy 14-3 win. Mark Ellis was 3 for 3 with a Grand Slam and 5 RBI to lead the way for San Jose, and Blanton needed just 112 pitches to nail down the victory in a complete game effort.

Game 6 was close throughout, and after Webb went 7+ strong innings, the San Jose bullpen came on to preserve a 5-3 win. Ellis and Hamilton chipped in 2 RBI each to lead the way for the home team, and the San Jose fans held a raucous postgame celebration on the field with their team as they completed the comeback series victory and claimed the Silver League crown. Now we await the outcome of the Gold League to see if the glass slipper might actually fit...

Duluth-Superior Dukes Postseason Recap

2009-03-24T09:26:00.001-05:00

The Dukes first opponent was the Cream City Pirates. The Dukes got off to a fast start in Game 1 scoring 5 runs in the first three innings. Alex Rodriguez had a 2-run homer in the first to keep the home town crowd quiet for the rest of the game. Five pitchers combined to beat the Pirates with Nathan finishing the job and a 5-2 victory and Duluth-Superior taking a 1 game to none lead.

Game 2 the Cream City Pirates dominated all game and whipped the Dukes 7-0. Shane Victorino was the star of the game as he went 3-4 and scoring 2 runs and knocking in one. Four Pirate pitchers combined for the shutout and Cream City and Duluth-Superior are tied at 1 game apiece.

With the series ties 1-1, the Dukes were feeling pretty good playing the next three at home. Game 3 saw the Dukes start right away scoring 3 runs in the first. Alex Rodriguez went 3-5 and was one of three Dukes to drive in two runs. The others were Justin Morneau and Albert Pujols. Chris Young pitched a gem going 6 innings while only giving up one earned run. The big three Rodriguez, Morneau and Pujols each homered in the game. The Dukes won 6-5.

Game 4 went to the Dukes to take a commanding 3 games to one lead in the series. Pirate pitcher Jeff Francis gave up seven walks in 3 and 2/3 innings pitched. Offensively, Michael Cuddyer came through with a bases clearing triple.

Game 5 saw a low scoring 3-2 11 inning Pirate win, each starting pitcher went 7 2/3 innings. Dukes pitcher Eric Bedard struck out 11 batters while walking only one. Alex Rodriguez hit his 3rd homerun of the series. B.J. Upton was the difference as he hit a game winning homer in the top of the 11th, his second of the series.

Game 6 in Cream City was another nail biter. The pitching matchup pitted Javier Vazquez and Rich Hill. Vazquez pitched in to the 8th on a two-hitter and striking out nine Cream City Batters. Rich Hill walked seven batters and was tagged with the loss. The Dukes went on to win game 6 and the series with a 2-1 score. Millar homered for the Dukes.

The Dukes were on to meet up with the San Jose Scorpions. The Dukes were on the road again for games 1 and 2.

Game 1 matched Eric Bedard and Barry Zito. Bedard pitched 6 strong innings striking out five batters. Bedard would be the winning pitcher as the Dukes outscored the Scorpions 4-2. Offensively the Dukes got big hits from Albert Pujols (2-4) knocking in three of the four runs scored. Scorpions’ Jimmy Rollins went 3-3 and two runs scored.

In game 2, Javier Vazquez kept his strong postseason going, getting seven strikeouts and allowing only one earned run. Joe Blanton also pitched well for San Jose going six innings. The winning run was scored in the 7th inning as Rafael Furcal doubled and stole third. With Furcal on third, Juan Pierre delivered the game winning RBI single. The Dukes won game 2 by a score of 3-2 and had a commanding 2 games to none lead in the series with the series coming to Duluth-Superior for the next three games…..How could we lose?

Game 3 saw the start of the Dukes bats go silent as the Dukes would only score 11 runs in the last four games. The Scorpions won game 3 by a score of 9-2. San Jose’s big hitter was Ryan Doumit hitting two homeruns, going 3-5 with 7 RBI. Others hitting homeruns were Willie Harris and Nate McLouth.

Game 4 was a little closer but same result, San Jose wins outscoring Duluth-Superior 4-3 in 10 innings. Travis Hafner hit his first homerun of the series. In the top of the 10th, Carlos Pena walked, Hafner doubled him to third. Jimmy Rollins was intentionally walked to load up the bases. Josh Hamilton the singled in the eventual game winner. With the series now tied at two, the Dukes were feeling pretty down.

Game 5 was a laugher and the San Jose bats really woke up torturing the Dukes inning after inning totaling 15 runs on 12 hits. Dukes pitchers allowed 8 walks and four hit batters. Joe Blanton went the distance for the Scorpions allowing only five hits while striking out six batters. Mark Ellis had a grand slam homerun to start off the slug fest.

Game six capped off San Jose’s four game streak and end the series. San Jose won 5-3. The key at-bat was Josh Hamilton’s double in the fourth innings plating two runners. Winning pitcher Brandon Webb won his fourth game of the postseason. Webb finished the series with a 2.19 ERA.

Some notable Dukes stats:

Team Batting Average: .213
Homeruns (12 games): 10
Opp. Homeruns: 14
Stolen Bases: 14
Dukes batters hitting above .250: ONE-Alex Rodriguez
Dukes batters K’s: 78
Dukes pitchers K’s: 113

Dukes' Dominance

2009-03-24T09:24:00.001-05:00

The Duluth-Superior Dukes find themselves in quite a quandary. A rough season or two may be in their future.

After seasons of 112-50 in 2006-07 and 106-56 in 2007-2008, the Dukes were picked as preseason favorites to come out of the Silver League to challenge the Plainsfield team. The Dukes did win the Copper division but with only a 95-67 record.

Consider the years their players have had in the “real” major leagues.

We aren’t talking just run of the mill players but high dollar contract players saw a lot of time on the disabled list.

Take a look.

Tim Hudson, $12.1M, pitched only 142 innings. Not all that bad one might say. The problem….of the four remaining starters totaling a little more than $28M, he has the most innings pitched.

Chris Young, $1.2M, was signed to a U1 contract this year mainly because he is so injury prone, a broken nose, strained arm. He amassed a total of 102 innings.

Brad Penny, $10M, he had to have pitched hurt all year. Penny pitched only 95 innings and his stats were horrible. 6.27 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP, striking out only 51 batters in those 95 innings.

And then there is Erik Bedard, the one my real favorite team (Seattle Mariners) just had to trade for. His contract is $4.8M and I am going to get a whopping 81 innings out of him. He did strike out 72 batters though, so hopefully I will get quality there.

Rafael Soriano was hurt most of the season too. Soriano was a huge part of the Duke bullpen this last year. One of the strong areas the Dukes have is their bullpen. “I knew if we had the lead after 6 innings and we turned it over to the bullpen, I knew we had the win,” manager Mike Swanson said. Soriano totaled 14 innings last year for the Braves.

My injury bug does not stop there though. My offense was hit as well too.

Rafael Furcal was able to get in 163 plate appearances before his season was done. My cost: $10.8M. He did hit well before the injury. His batting average is equal to that of his Dukes teammate (well teammate for now) .357.

Another Duke to get injured was Mike Cuddyer. Cuddyer was released from his contract with the Dukes because of the shortage of money. Cuddyer was able to get 274 PA’s last year but not enough to warrant a long term contract from the Dukes.

Other players that saw reduced playing time was Juan Pierre $10.5M. In his limited 397 PA’s he was able to steal 40 bases and still was unable to become a fulltime outfielder for the Dodgers.

Tadahito Iguchi saw a reduction in playing time as well, which forced the Dukes to release him.
The Dukes have only 20 players under contract before the free agency period and have only $2.7M to spend.

Players like Justin Morneau, Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez may have to be traded to keep this team afloat.

The Face: Looking Up

2009-03-15T16:21:00.002-05:00

A year ago in this space, I painted a very bleak picture of the prospects for the Inyo Face. The season bore me out, as we finished with 95 losses and an entry in the draft lottery. But a number of developments have brightened the picture considerably:

- Last year I handed out a number of inexpensive two- and three-year contracts to free agents to provide respectable roster fill. These players have almost all held their value, providing me a base from which to build. The only major exception is Tom Glavine, who went from ace of the staff to most likely to have his contract on the cafeteria menu.

- Pitchers blossomed all over the place. Chris Volstad came up from the AM ranks to take the quality part-time rotation role held by Ubaldo Jimenez last year. Jimenez, meanwhile, graduated to staff ace. Nick Blackburn takes a full-time rotation slot right behind Jimenez. Seemingly failed prospects Seth McClung and J.P. Howell had their best MLB seasons ever. Chan Ho Park, who provided nothing at all in the second year of a three-year contract, is back as a solid swingman in his walk year.

- Dioner Navarro's breakout happened on schedule, allowing me to trade Mike Napoli (who has a fine card himself, albeit with limited usage). Milton Bradley, an RFA re-signed for a bargain price, put up one of the best cards ever seen. He was included in the Napoli trade (more accurately, Napoli was included in the Bradley trade) to net two very promising youngsters.

- Jorge Cantu came back from a wasted year to take over as the full-time third baseman. He's also the team's best power hitter, which points up our main weakness.

Contention might be out of reach with Plainsfield in our division, but the Face should be able to manage a .500 record and avoid another draft lottery.

**************************************************************************

On a different subject, you've got to take a look at the Dayton Dragons. The talent they have on Y contracts is absolutely jaw-dropping. This was foreshadowed in the financial review and the minor league review, but it's still amazing to see it take shape.

Despite ranking the Dragons #1 in my minor league review, I didn't really do them justice, because I somehow overlooked Jay Bruce. I wrote that the talent behind Evan Longoria was such that they'd rate in the upper half of the rankings even without him. What I should have said was that they'd be #1 even without Longoria, assuming Longoria didn't go to anyone else.

In my other Strat league, which only uses carded players, Longoria and Bruce went 1-2 in the rookie draft this year, and the consensus was that there was a big gap between #2 and #3. Here in BRASS, the same team has them both, along with other cheap stars and the most financial muscle in the league. I've always felt sorry for myself for being in Plainsfield's division, but I'd sure rather have to deal with them than with Dayton over the next five years.

A re-introduction

2009-03-15T14:16:00.002-05:00

I remember when I joined Brass five years ago, I wrote an introduction of myself. Five years later, there are still many of the same managers in this very stable league. But there are also some new managers, and I wanted to re-introduce myself to them. It has always been a penchant of mine to put a personal touch on things.

I grew up in Menominee, Michigan, an hour from Lambeau Field. So technically, I am a Yooper, but was right on the Wisconsin border. I graduated form Northern Michigan, in Marquette. So I spent four years on the shores of Lake Superior. Eventually I settled into a teaching position in Wautoma, Wisconsin. I taught 5th grade, and did some coaching.

In fact, I have head varsity football experience (one interim year), and head freshman experience. I also served as a varsity assistant some years, and ran the middle school program others. I coached football for a total of 15 years. I also coached 7th grade boys and girls basketball for a combined 12 seasons.

In 1989, I was diagnosed with a neuromuscular condition called Myasthenia Gravis (it causes weakness and fatigue).. I worked with the condition as long as I could. But as I pushed past 40 years old, it became more and more difficult to teach full time with it. In 2000, I applied for, and got, disability.

Upon going on disability, I moved to Green Bay, for girlfriend and family reasons (hence the name Green Bay Yoopers). I bought a condo in 2002, and have been here since. When I first moved here, I coached the 8th graders in football at De Pere, for something to do. I did that for four seasons. But even that got to be a little much, so I gave it up.

So now I spend lots of time with friends and family, as well as Nancy and her family. I am in two Brass leagues. I go to the Y almost daily. In fact, while teaching, I weighed in the 240s and wore a size 42 waist. Now I weigh 190 and have a size 36 waist. I pride myself as being a good race handicapper, and go to the OTB room at the local casino about three times a week (I bought this computer out of profits lol). I am a crossword person as well. About 18 months ago, I started a message board for Packer fans . It is going well, and even in the off season we get as many as over a hundred posts like last Thursday. It is at:
http://members6.boardhost.com/TALKinPACKERS/
If you would like to check it out. I am DTB on the board. (it stands for Dog Track Bob, as a few of my friends like to call me)

I have a few of you as friends at Facebook. If anyone else has a page and would like to add me, please feel free.

So that’s me. I enjoy the Brass league and have every intention of seeing my team through the salary cap mess I created. I did drag my team out of despair once, and can also deal with this. LOL.

Coming in about a week: The state of the Green Bay Yoopers!

Best Seasons in BRASS History

2009-02-28T23:21:00.002-06:00

After the depressing chore of cataloging the worst seasons in league history, I thought I should balance it out by posting the best seasons (defined as 115 or more wins)...

135-27: 1995-1996 Diamond Gems
133-29: 1998-1999 Diamond Gems
133-29: 2000-2001 SoCal Knights
132-30: 2004-2005 Plainsfield Hitmen
129-33: 1994-1995 Diamond Gems
127-35: 1999-2000 Plainsfield Hitmen
126-36: 1999-2000 Diamond Gems
126-36: 2008-2009 Plainsfield Hitmen
125-37: 1994-1995 Plainsfield Hitmen
122-40: 1998-1999 Long Island Knights
122-40: 2001-2002 Diamond Gems
121-41: 1996-1997 Meridian Trojans
121-41: 2003-2004 Iowa Roscos
120-42: 2002-2003 Diamond Gems
120-42: 2007-2008 Diamond Gems
119-43: 1997-1998 Plainsfield Hitmen
119-43: 1999-2000 Long Island Knights
119-43: 2002-2003 Plainsfield Hitmen
119-43: 2007-2008 Plainsfield Hitmen
118-44: 2000-2001 Washington Huskies
118-44: 2006-2007 Cream City Pirates
117-45: 2002-2003 Andover Cougars
117-45: 2003-2004 Plainsfield Hitmen
116-46: 1995-1996 Plainsfield Hitmen
116-46: 2001-2002 Plainsfield Hitmen
116-46: 2003-2004 Dayton Dragons
116-46: 2006-2007 Montreal Sunsets
115-47: 1999-2000 SoCal Knights

The Plainsfield Hitmen this year tied for the 7th best record of all-time. Way to go Kevin Kolb!

Worst Seasons in BRASS History

2009-02-28T22:32:00.002-06:00

Given my team's poor performance this year, I thought it would be fun to post the worst seasons in BRASS history (worst defined as less than 50 wins)....

27-135: 2001-2002 Iowa Roscos
30-132: 1996-1997 Petoskey Stones
31-131: 2000-2001 Andover Cougars
32-130: 2002-2003 Iowa Roscos
36-126: 1998-1999 California Bums
36-126: 1999-2000 Happy Valley Heroes
37-125: 2005-2006 Southtown Misers
38-124: 1993-1994 Midland Canucks
38-124: 1997-1998 California Bums
39-123: 1994-1995 Santa Monica Sharks
39-123: 1999-2000 Andover Cougars
40-122: 2002-2003 Montreal Sunsets
42-120: 2008-2009 Olympia Seariders
42-120: 2004-2005 Duluth-Superior Dukes
43-119: 2002-2003 Leesburg Spartans
43-119: 2005-2006 Duluth-Superior Dukes
43-119: 2008-2009 Chuckanut Bay Tubas
44-116: 1992-1993 Crystal City Cherokees
45-117: 2000-2001 Meridian Trojans
45-117: 2004-2005 Meridian Trojans
46-116: 1993-1994 Long Island Knights
46-116: 1996-1997 Berkeley Hippos
46-116: 2001-2002 Twin Cities Challengers
47-115: 1996-1997 Racine Regals
47-115: 1998-1999 Happy Valley Heroes
47-115: 1999-2000 Washington Huskies
47-115: 2008-2009 Phoenix Phoenix
48-114: 1995-1996 Avenel Raptors
48-114: 2001-2002 Andover Cougars
48-114: 2006-2007 Meridian Trojans
49-113: 1996-1997 Kalamazoo Koszmics
49-113: 1997-1998 Hoth Rebels
49-113: 1999-2000 Meridian Trojans
49-113: 2003-2004 Milwaukee Magicians
49-113: 2004-2005 SoCal Knights

Whaddya know, I'm barely in the top 20. :-)

Sierra Nevada Goldens Finish Home Schedule Strongly by Going 9-2 vs. Division Foes for Best Home Month of 2089 Season

2009-02-21T14:12:00.007-06:00

The Sierra Nevada Goldens entered the final month of the 2089 Brass season trailing their Copper Division rival Duluth-Superior Dukes by 2 games and the Iron Division’s Montreal Sunsets by 7 Games for the Silver League’s final wildcard slot. The September schedule saw the SoCal Knights come to town for 4 games, the Duluth-Superior Dukes for 3 games, and the Phoenix Phoenix finished the homestand with a 4-game set.

Goldens Sweep SoCal Knights 4-0 with Four Comeback Victories

The series against the Knights was a wild one. In all four contests, SoCal jumped out to an early lead and each time, the Goldens stormed back like a team surging to win the Copper Division title and enter post-season play.

Game 1:
The Knights jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the 3rd inning off of the Goldens #5 starter, Kyle Kendrick who gave up 3 HR’s in the early going to Kelly Johnson, rookie Joey Votto, & Gabe Gross. Kendrick hung in there though and he didn’t allow any more runs and left the game tied after 5 1/3 innings. The Goldens smashed 3 HR’s of their own, the last two coming in the bottom of the 7th by Jim Thome & Dan Uggla giving the Goldens all they would need for the 8-6 victory. Thome was 3 for 4 with 3 RBI’s & rookie CF Josh Anderson was 2 for 3, got beaned twice, and scored 3 times as the lead-off man. Andy Sonnanstine took the loss giving up 11 Hits, 2 Walks, & 2 HR’s in 6 1/3 innings of work.

Knights: 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 6 10 0
Goldens: 2 0 1 1 1 0 3 0 X - 8 13 1

W: Brian Fuentes
L: Andy Sonnanstine
S: Francisco Cordero

Game 2:
The 2nd game of the series was expected to be quite a pitching matchup featuring Jeremy Bonderman for the Knights vs. Mark Buehrle of the Goldens. To the contrary, both starters were roughed up severely and neither figured in the decision in what was the wildest game of the homestand. The Knights exploded early with 3 runs in the 1st, 1 in the 2nd, and a whopping 7 runs in the 4th to knock out Mark Buehrle who gave up a total of 11 runs (9 earned) on 11 hits & 3 walks. He left the game losing 9-3 after letting 7 consecutive Knights batters reach base in the top of the 4th without recording an out. Amazingly, once rookie sensation Kevin Hart entered the game relieving Buehrle, the Knights did not get another hit until the 8th inning. On the other side, as soon as the Knights went ice cold, the Goldens went to work to erase the 8-run deficit by scoring 17 consecutive runs from the 4th inning on. The Goldens sent 11 men to the plate in the bottom of the 5th to score 7 runs of their own off Bonderman and Chad Durbin in relief, and they never looked back as they scored 3 more in the 6th, 2 in the 7th, and 4 in the 8th. Sierra Nevada had a season high 20 runs on 23 hits & scored in every inning except the 2nd, the only 1-2-3 inning. Kevin Hart was excellent in relief of Buehrle, going 4 innings with 4 walks and 4 K’s to earn the win. For the 2nd straight game, Josh Anderson had a big night. Today he was 5 for 6 with 4 runs & 2 RBI’s. Jermaine Dye had a solid game going 2 for 4 with a walk, a double, a homerun, and 4 RBI’s. DH Adam Dunn was 3 for 4 with 2 doubles & 2 RBI’s. Bengie Molina went 4 for 6 with 4 runs, a homerun, and 2 RBI’s. Every starter for the Goldens had at least 1 hit.

Knights: 3 1 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 - 11 14 1
Goldens: 1 0 2 1 7 3 2 4 X - 20 23 3

W: Kevin Hart
L: Chad Durbin

Game 3:
This matchup proved to be the closest of the series, but the Goldens overcame an early & a late lead to win 5-4 in their 3rd come-from-behind win of the series. The Knights’ Jered Weaver started against the Goldens’ Aaron Harang & both made it into the 7th inning before departing. Weaver left the game leading 4-3 and was stingy giving up only single runs in the 1st, 2nd, & 5th innings on 9 hits and 7 strikeouts. He walked 1 and did not allow a homer. Harang battled him tough giving up 4 earned runs on 6 hits and a walk thru 6+ innings.

The Knights started quickly once again as the first three batters of the game got hits and two of them scored. Coco Crisp led off the 2nd inning with a triple and scored on the Knights’ 2nd sac fly in as many innings jumping out to a 3-1 early lead. The Goldens tied the game at 3 in the 5th as Aaron Miles, Josh Anderson, & rookie David Murphy hit 3 consecutive singles off Weaver. In the 7th, the Knights took a 4-3 lead with a double from Eric Chavez off starter Aaron Harang followed by a single from Adam Lind two outs later off of young phenom Carlos Marmol. The Goldens completed their thrilling 5-4 comeback with 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th when Edgar Renteria led off the inning with a pinch-hit single off Ron Flores, stole 2nd, & scored on a double by Dan Uggla. Matt Herges then came in to relieve Flores and was greeted with the game-winning pinch-hit double by Hank Blalock. Francisco Cordero saved the game after loading up the bases on a single and 2 walks in the top of the ninth. Rookies Josh Anderson and David Murphy each had 2 hits and an RBI at the top of the lineup for the Goldens.

Knights: 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 - 4 10 0
Goldens: 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 X - 5 12 0

W: Kevin Hart
L: Ron Flores
S: Francisco Cordero

Game 4:
The series finale featured the SoCal Knights’ Shaun Marcum against the Sierra Nevada Goldens’ Gil Meche. The Knights scored in the 1st inning for the 4th straight game, this time on a grand slam from rookie catcher J.R. Towles, his first career homer. The Goldens cut the lead in half with a 2-run homerun by Adam Dunn in the 3rd, but Meche gave up a solo shot to Adam Lind in the 4th knocking him out of the game losing 5-2 on 8 hits in 4 1/3 innings for another ineffective Goldens start. The Knights extended the lead to 7-2 in the 6th when Brian Fuentes surrendered a 2-run double to Michael Young.

Entering the bottom of the 6th, it appeared that the Knights would finally be safe with a 5-run lead, but Jermaine Dye crushed a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 6th off Marcum and he left with a now 7-4 lead. In the 7th, pinch hitter Conor Jackson touched up reliever Chad Durbin with a double with two men on and scored when right fielder Andre Ethier misplayed his ball into a two-base error to tie the game! The Goldens scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th to give them their 1st lead of the game and the margin of victory on an error by Knights shortstop Michael Young & a clutch 2-run double by Goldens rookie first baseman, Joe Koshansky. It was his first hit in his first major league at bat. Francisco Cordero earned his 3rd save of the series with Kendry Morales representing the tying run at the plate in the 9th.

Knights: 4 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 - 7 14 2
Goldens: 0 0 2 0 0 2 3 3 X - 10 14 1

W: Carlos Marmol
L: Chad Durbin
S: Francisco Cordero

Goldens Win 2 of 3 vs. Duluth-Superior in Fight for Division Crown

Game 1:
The series opener gave the Goldens their 5th consecutive comeback victory in as many games on the current homestand. This time is was the Dukes who took the brunt of the Goldens opportunistic ways as they overcame a 2-run lead in the bottom of the 8th and a 1-run lead in the 12th to win the game. The game featured Dukes’ starter Erik Bedard against the Goldens’ Josh Beckett. Each starter allowed a solo homerun. Bedard allowed 2 earned runs in 5 innings while striking out 6 and left the game winning 2-1. Beckett had it a little tougher as he battled through 6 1/3 innings, allowing 8 hits while fanning 2 batters. The heroes of the day started to appear in the bottom of the 8th as the Goldens overcame a 2-run deficit with solo blasts from Jose Guillen & Dan Uggla (his 2nd of the day) which led to extra innings. In the top of the 12th, it appeared the Dukes scored the eventual winning run when Jamey Carroll hit a 1-out triple and scored on a Heath Bell wild pitch. But in the bottom half trailing 5-4, the Goldens rallied back with leadoff pinch-hit double by Carlos Beltran. Josh Anderson then singled Beltran to 3rd & then Adam Dunn walked to load the bases. Pinch-hitter Hank Blalock then hit a sac fly to tie it at 5. Aaron Miles then came in to pinch-hit for Jermaine Dye and won the game on a single for a thrilling victory.

Dukes: 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 - 5 11 0
Goldens: 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 2 - 6 14 1

W: Heath Bell
L: Joe Nathan

Game 2:
The Goldens won their 2nd game in as many nights as the race for the Copper Division crown got even tighter. Sierra Nevada knocked Duluth-Superior starter Brad Penny out of the game after only 2 2/3 innings who gave up 5 runs on 5 hits with 3 walks. The big blow came in the bottom of the 3rd as Penny surrendered 4 runs on 3 RBI doubles to David Murphy, Adam Dunn, & Dan Uggla and a bases loaded walk to Bengie Molina. Mark Buehrle pitched a strong 6 2/3 innings for the Goldens and left the game with a sizable 8-3 lead. The Goldens bullpen was good enough behind the arms of Heath Bell & Carlos Marmol and won the game easily 11-6. Bengie Molina had a big day for Sierra Nevada going 2 for 3 with a double, a homerun, and 3 RBI’s. Conor Jackson also chipped in with 3 RBI’s on a bases loaded triple in the bottom of the 7th with 2 outs to put the game out of reach.

Dukes: 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 - 6 10 0
Goldens: 0 1 4 1 2 0 3 0 X - 11 12 1

W: Mark Buehrle
L: Brad Penny

Game 3:
The Duluth-Superior Dukes avoided the series sweep with an amazing pitching performance where the Goldens barely made a whimper in a 15-0 shutout. The game featured the Dukes’ Chris Young against the Goldens’ Aaron Harang. Young earned the win on the day and gave up only 3 hits and 4 walks in 5 1/3 while striking out 4. The shut out was carried to the end with solid relief performances by Wes Littleton and Jon Rauch. On the other side, Aaron Harang was torched as he gave up 8 runs on 7 hits & 3 walks in only 3 1/3 innings of work. The finishing blow was a big 3-run homer by Alex Rodriguez in the 4th, an inning where the Dukes piled on 6 runs for a 9-0 lead. The Dukes finished with 15 hits on the day. Alex Rodriguez went 2 for 5 with 4 RBI’s with a double and a homerun. Leadoff man Juan Pierre was 3 for 6 with a double and scored 3 times. Michael Cuddyer also had a big game for the Dukes as he was 2 for 3 with 3 RBI with a double and a homerun.

Dukes: 0 2 1 6 0 3 1 0 2 - 15 15 1
Goldens: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 5 2

W: Chris Young
L: Aaron Harang

Sierra Nevada concludes 2089 Home Schedule Taking 3 of 4 Versus Last Place Phoenix

Game 1:
The Goldens suffered their 2nd consecutive shutout on the homestand, this time to the Phoenix Phoenix in the series opener. Phoenix’s Josh Fogg went the distance in a complete game as he gave up only 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 8 in a 5-0 victory. Sierra Nevada’s Gil Meche was roughed up for 5 runs on 9 hits in 6 innings of work. The Phoenix had a balanced attack with 10 his. Kenny Lofton had 2 hits, including a triple, 1-run, and an RBI.

Phoenix: 1 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 - 5 10 0
Goldens: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 4 0

W: Josh Fogg
L: Gil Meche

Game 2:
The Goldens jumped over Phoenix starter Jason Schmidt early en route to an easy 8-2 victory behind the arm of Orlando Hernandez who pitched a solid 5 innings for the win. Schmidt’s demise came in the 4th as the Goldens pounded out two singles and two doubles and two stolen bases in the 5-run inning. Schmidt left the game after 3 1/3 and was charged with 6 runs on 8 hits and walked 4. The Goldens pitching was solid behind Hernandez, Brian Fuentes, and Heath Bell, giving up only 2 solo homers to Kenny Lofton & Garret Anderson in the 6th. For the Goldens, Conor Jackson led the charge going 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI & scored twice. David Murphy & Jermaine Dye also produced with a double apiece and 2 RBI’s each. The game was never in doubt after the Goldens led 7-0 after 4 innings.

Phoenix: 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 - 2 4 2
Goldens: 1 1 0 5 0 0 0 1 X - 8 11 0

W: Orlando Hernandez
L: Jason Schmidt

Game 3:
For the second straight game, the Goldens jumped out to an early lead as Aaron Harang pitched a gutsy 10-4 complete game victory. Matt Chico took the loss for the Phoenix as he gave up 9 runs on 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings of work. The Goldens scored 4 in the first inning on 3 singles from the top of the lineup, followed by a 2-run homer by Dan Uggla who finished with 3 RBI’s on the day. Rookie David Murphy had a big day going 4 for 5 with a double, a triple, and an RBI & scored 4 times! Jermaine Dye had his second straight big game going 3 for 3 with a homerun, 2 RBI’s, and scored twice. Harang struck out 12 for the Goldens in the 9 innings as he walked only 1 batter and spread out 9 hits. The only Phoenix threats came in the 2nd and 4th innings as they scored 2 runs in each frame to keep the game close until the Goldens broke the game open in the 5th with a pair of runs for an 8-4 lead.

Phoenix: 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 - 4 9 2
Goldens: 4 0 2 0 2 1 1 0 X - 10 12 0

W: Aaron Harang
L: Matt Chico

Game 4:
The Goldens defeated the Phoenix Phoenix for the 3rd straight game to win the series 4-1. Today’s game saw a matchup of Phoenix’s Josh Towers against Goldens’ rookie Juan Gutierrez, making his 1st big league start. Gutierrez was very impressive pitching 7+ innings while striking out 5 in hitter friendly Great American Ballpark. Gutierrez pitched 7 innings of 3-hit ball until he gave up a solo shot to Jason Smith to lead off the 8th. Fuentes preserved the victory for the youngster with 2 perfect innings while striking out 3. Sierra Nevada jumped out to a 1st inning lead for the 3rd straight game as rookie David Murphy remained hot with a 2-run bomb and finished 3 for 4 with 3 RBI’s and added a double. Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye also added a homerun each in the 7-1 victory.

Phoenix: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 - 1 4 0
Goldens: 2 0 0 1 0 1 1 2 X - 7 11 0

W: Juan Gutierrez
L: Josh Towers

The Goldens completed their best homestand of the year going 9-2. The upcoming road trip figures to be very exciting as they continue to hunt down the division leading Dukes. The division figures to be settled during a 4-game set at Duluth-Superior in the middle of the trip.

2089 BRASS All-Star Game

2008-12-29T13:52:00.007-06:00

Silver League All-Stars Pound the Gold League All-Stars 16-1 with Relentless Offensive Attack and Stingy Pitching

BRASS All-Star Rosters

Silver League Starters
Brian Roberts (2B)
Grady Sizemore (CF)
Chipper Jones (DH)
Carlos Pena (1B)
Alex Rodriguez (3B)
Adam Dunn (LF)
Vladimir Guerrero (RF)
Victor Martinez (C)
Carlos Guillen (SS)

Rich Hill (SP)

Silver Reserves
Russell Martin (C)
Paul LoDuca (C)
Albert Pujols (1B)
Orlando Hudson (2B)
Brendan Harris (3B)
Derek Jeter (SS)
Kenny Lofton (OF)
Derek Lowe (SP)
Johan Santana (SP)
Barry Zito (SP)
A J Burnett (SP)
Justin Verlander (SP)
Eric Bedard (SP)
Brandon Webb (SP)
Matt Capps (RP)
Luis Vizcaino (RP)
Huston Street (RP)

Gold League Starters
Hanley Ramirez (SS)
David Wright (3B)
Chase Utley (2B)
Magglio Ordonez (RF)
David Ortiz (DH)
Matt Holliday (LF)
Joe Mauer (C)
James Loney (1B)
Curtis Granderson (CF)

Fausto Carmona (SP)

Gold Reserves
Jorge Posada (C)
Carlos Delgado (1B)
Brandon Phillips (2B)
Orlando Cabrera (SS)
Miguel Cabrera (3B)
Barry Bonds (A,Y) (OF)
Ichiro Suzuki (OF)
Jake Peavy (SP)
Dan Haren (SP)
Sean Marshall (SP)
Jason Marquis (SP)
Bobby Jenks (RP)
Pat Neshek (RP)
Manny Corpas (RP)
Derek Turnbow (RP)
Joe Borowski (RP)
Jason Isringhausen (RP)

Game Recap

Before the seats were warm for this mid-summer classic at Great American Ballpark, the Silver League All-Stars had scored the eventual winning runs and they would never look back as they piled up 23 hits on the night. The unraveling for the Gold League began immediately as Fausto Carmona mishandled a Brian Roberts comebacker to lead off the game. After a Grady Sizemore single, Chipper Jones began his big night by delivering two RBI’s with his double before an out could be recorded. Before the 1st inning was over, Jones crossed the plate on a single from hometown slugger Adam Dunn and the Silver League was off to a fast 3-0 lead after ½ an inning.

Carmona came out of the home dugout to pitch the 2nd, but was greeted rudely once again with singles from shortstop Carlos Guillen & Brian Roberts, a walk to Sizemore and a 2-RBI single to Chipper Jones. That was all she wrote from Carmona as he was replaced by Dan Haren with nobody out. For the 2nd consecutive inning, Adam Dunn finished off the scoring by singling in a run.

The Silver League lefty starter, Rich Hill, held up his end nicely by retiring the side in order in the 1st while giving up only 1 earned run, 2 hits, 1 walk, while striking out 4 Gold batters in 3 innings of work. Rich Hill left after 3 innings with a 6-1 lead in a game that was never close.

After Hill left the game, the rest of the Silver League staff handled the Gold top vote getters with little more than a whimper as Derek Lowe, Johan Santana, Barry Zito, A.J. Burnett, Justin Verlander, Eric Bedard, Houston Street, Matt Capps, & Joakim Soria all combined for 6 Innings of shutout pitching while giving up only 5 hits and striking out 6.

The story of the game though was the Silver offense. Alex Rodriguez hit the first of his 2 homeruns in the 4th with a solo blast and the fireworks really hit their peak in the top of the 5th. With 2-out and Victor Martinez at 2nd base, Brendan Harris came in to pinch run. Grady Sizemore doubled him in off Gold pitcher Sean Marshall and next, Chipper Jones connected with a 2-run bomb giving him his 6th RBI of the game! Then, Carlos Pena homered and after Bobby Jenks came in from the pen, A-Rod crushed a solo blast completing back-to-back-to-back HR’s for the Silver League squad giving them a 12-1 lead.

Albert Pujols would also connect with a pinch-hit HR in the 6th & Adam Dunn would satisfy the hometown crowd with a homerun of his own in the top of the 9th.

In total, the Silver League out homered the Gold League all-stars 6-0, out hit them 23-7, and hit for 47 total bases with 11 extra-base hits compared to the Gold’s 9 total bases!

The top of the Silver order got the job done as Roberts, Sizemore, & Orlando Hudson combined for 7 Runs, 6 Hits, 4 Extra Base Hits, & 2 Walks in the #1 & #2 holes. Chipper Jones feasted on all the base runners by going 3 for 4 with a single, a double, & a home run with 6 RBI’s while earning player of the game honors.

Alex Rodriguez was the only player to hit multiple home runs with 2 solo shots going 2 for 5 with a walk.

Adam Dunn finished up going 3 for 5 with a walk and had 3 RBI’s.

Coming off the bench, Orlando Hudson made the most of his plate appearances going 2 for 3 with a triple and a double after entering the game for Brian Roberts in the 6th inning.

Every Silver League All-Star with a plate appearance managed at least 1-hit except for Brendan Harris who was 0-1 with 1-run, Kenny Lofton who was 0-1, & Russell Martin who was 0-2 with 2 K’s.

No Gold League All-Stars gathered more than 1-hit and David Wright mustered up the only RBI in the 3rd with a 2-out double off Silver League starter Rich Hill. Brandon Phillips had the only other extra base hit for the Gold team when he pinch hit for unanimous vote getter, Chase Utley in the 8th.

Manager Comments

I would first like to thank all of the BRASS League owners for giving a newbie like me a chance to host the 2089 BRASS All-Star Game. I really had a great time with it as I spent some time mulling over how to manage the rosters and get everyone into the game. As I began setting the lineups, I had a strong feeling that this game was going to fall the Silver League’s way.

My first observation was that the Gold League starting lineup was loaded with five lefty bats against the Silver League’s southpaw starter, Rich Hill. In contrast, Gold’s starter, Fausto Carmona, was sent to the mound to face a lineup stacked with four switch hitters and would only face two righties, A-Rod and Vladimir Guerrero, on his first trip through the lineup. This opening matchup could not have turned up much better for the Silver squad as they capitalized. Rich Hill cruised through the starting lineup over the opening three innings as Carmona got shelled giving up six runs in 1+ innings and couldn’t record an out in the 2nd before giving the ball to the pen.

The bullpen also seemed to tilt the Silver team’s way. The Gold team was equipped with only one left handed pitcher on the whole roster, Sean Marshall. Unfortunately for him, he had an infinite ERA after pitching in this game. He surrendered a double to Grady Sizemore, a two-run homerun to Chipper Jones, and a homerun to Carlos Pena in the 5th without recording a single out. Conversely, the Silver team had a great mix of lefty / righty & reverse righties to throw at the Gold lineup as the situation dictated, giving the Silver team advantages all game long.

From a managing standpoint, I really tried to give guys more or less playing time based on the voting. I think my biggest decision came in the 6th inning when Albert Pujols pinched hit for Chipper Jones who had already gone 3 for 4 with a single, double, a homerun, and 6 RBI’s! As it turned out, Pujols got his pitch off Pat Neshek and clubbed it into the pavilion for a 2-run homer. Looking back based on the dice roll, Chipper would have also crushed a homerun and would have ended the day 4 for 5 with two 2-run homers and 8 RBI’s. I feel a little bad that I pulled him, but based on the votes I felt I should get Pujols in the game. I debated on leaving Jones in the game and pulling Carlos Pena for Pujols, but again I decided I should leave in Pena as he was the top vote getter at his position. Unfortunately, Pena was disappointing going 1 for 6 with a solo HR and 2 K’s.

Being that this game was being played at power-hitter friendly, Great American Ballpark, I expected to see some home runs. We were not disappointed as the Silver team hit 6 homeruns on 23 hits. What was surprising was that none of the homeruns were cheapened by the ballparks favorable weather settings as these homeruns would have cleared the fence on even a bad day at this ballpark. The split deck was not required on three of the bombs and the split deck came up 7, 2, & 4 on the other 3 deep blasts. What was surprising was the total hits piled up since singles are usually tough to come by at Great American.

In closing, I think it should be noted that the Strat-O-Matic game gave Joakim Soria the win. As an official scorer, I don’t believe that is the right judgment as he entered the game with a 16-1 lead. I believe that Rich Hill’s 3-inning performance of rolling thru the starting lineup warrants him the win. If official baseball rules don’t allow for a starter to earn a win without 5 Innings under his belt, then I think Derek Lowe or Johan Santana should get the credit. Lowe pitched a quick 4th inning with a 7-1 lead giving up a single but earned a strikeout and a double play groundout. Santana came into the game in the 5th with a 12-1 lead and gave up a single while striking out two batters.

I hope you all enjoy the box score & recap as much as I did playing the game. The matchup produced exciting moments like the 3 consecutive HR’s in the 5th inning, Chipper’s 6-RBI MVP performance, Grady Sizemore rounding the bases and scoring 4 times on the day, Adam Dunn treating the home town crowd with 3 hits & 3 RBI’s including a home run, and also Rich Hill’s stellar start striking out 4 Gold All-Stars in 3 innings.

Congrats to the Silver League All-Stars, a very balanced and powerful team.

Sierra Nevada Makes Big Addition Following Up and Down June

2008-12-12T00:13:00.006-06:00

The Sierra Nevada Goldens concluded the 1st half of the season a frustrated bunch. After opening their inaugural season with two winning months going (32-24), the Goldens sputtered in June going (13-15) versus the Platinum division, fininshing the first half with a (45-39) record.

The month of June started with Sierra Nevada trailing the Duluth-Superior Dukes by only 2 games in the Silver League's Copper Division. The Goldens sputtered out of the gate losing 5 of 7 to the struggling Sugar Creek Settlers. In a thrilling series, the Settlers managed to pull out 3 wins in extra innings & squeaked out another one-run victory by a score of 4-3. The 5th Settlers win of the series was a game where Beckett gave up 10 runs, 5 earned, in 4 2/3 innings.

The Goldens responded from adversity with an outstanding (5-2) series win against the league leading Diamond Gems. In the 1st ever netplay series for the Goldens, the hitters swung mighty bats as the Gems were handed their 1st series loss of the season. Sierra Nevada outscored the Gems 55-37 in the 7 games and the 2 losses were by a combined 3 runs. In the series, Beckett got a win while Buehrle earned a win and a no-decision which led to a win. The two have turned out to be dominant at times giving the Goldens a formidable 1, 2 punch. The story of the series were the bats. The Goldens seemed to hit clutch home runs the entire series and Jim Thome crushed a homer in each of the 1st 4 games. This series was by far the highlight of the month.

Sierra Nevada finished up the June schedule going only (6-8) in the remaining 14 games as Twin City pummeled them in 6 of the 7 contests and the Goldens took 5 of 7 versus the cellar dwelling Andover Cougars.

The month of June was all in all a big disappointment. You can point to poor fielding from Miles at shortstop while Renteria rested. Or, maybe the lineup missed Hank Blalock from the left side as he missed the month due to injury. More than anything, you need to point to the starting pitching. Mark Buehrle was the most effective going (2-1) in 5 starts with a 4.76 ERA, but Josh Beckett was (1-3) in 5 June starts, with a 6.82 ERA! Aaron Harang LOWERED his ERA this month by going (1-1) in 5 starts with a 5.40 ERA......not good for a #3 starter. Gil Meche went (2-3) in 6 June starts with a 6.02 ERA, including only going 1 1/3 giving up 5 in a loss at Andover.

Sierra Nevada is banking on Buehrle, Beckett, Harang, and Gil Meche to bounce back and pitch more as expected as they enter the 2nd half of the season and league play begins. The Goldens made a trade in hopes that they could improve their (11-12) record versus lefty starters. Carlos Beltran & Conor Jackson were acquired from the East Lyme Crush to add a stronger presence from the right side of the plate & speed and center field defense with Beltran. While Sierra Nevada was sorry to say goodbye to Marlon Byrd, Skip Schumaker, Mike Jacobs, & Yusmeiro Petit in the deal, the Goldens are hoping that these two additions in the middle & top of the lineup will help the Goldens make up ground on the Copper Division leading Duluth-Superior Dukes who sit 4 games ahead of Sierra Nevada. The Goldens also trail the San Jose Scorpions by 4 games for the final Silver League Wild Card spot.

The month of December will feature head-to-head games with San Jose, one of the two teams ahead of them in the wild card standings, and with East Lyme, Beltran's old team.

The sorry state of Chuckanut Bay

2008-11-28T13:40:00.002-06:00

After making it to the LCS last year, the Chuckanut Bay Tubas saw most of their players depart in free agency and are in rebuilding mode. This year has been rough, as the current record is 21-56. The team is scoring 4.2 runs per game, but giving up a whopping 7.3 runs per game. Obviously this season is a lost cause, but what holds for next year and the future?

2009-2010 pitchers under contract: Dellin Betances (amateur), Billy Buckner, Kelvin Jimenez, Josh Kinney, Mark Lowe, Brandon Lyon, Franklin Morales, Juan Morillo, Felipe Paulino, Mark Prior, Max Scherzer, Levale Speigner, Brian Stokes.

This is looking pretty brutal. The only full cards are Lowe, Lyon, Scherzer and Stokes in relief. Chuckanut Bay will need to find a complete rotation through the draft and free agency.

2009-2010 batters under contract: Billy Butler, Miguel Cabrera, Hank Conger (amateur), Johnny Damon, Johnny Estrada, Andy Gonzalez, Adam LaRoche, Jed Lowrie, Julio Lugo, Brandon Moss, Steven Pearce, Tony Pena Jr., Wily Mo Pena, Felix Pie, Justin Ruggiano, Seth Smith, Taylor Teagarden, Preston Wilson.

Catcher, second base and outfield are severely lacking in at-bats. The bloated contract of Julio Lugo is stuck on the books through the 2010-2011 season. Basically the team has no good bats for 2009-2010 other than Miggy Cabrera, Damon and Adam LaRoche.

Obviously 2009-2010 is going to be another lost season. There are simply too many holes to be plugged up, so it will be another year of drafting young talent and plugging holes with temporary solutions via SFA. Management is looking to trade Johnny Damon for a prospect or two and would be open to moving Miguel Cabrera for a big haul if someone is interested.

What does the future look like for the Tubas? A lot of it depends on how some of the younger players pan out. On the pitching side there are still some good prospects in Betances, Buckner, Morales, Paulino and Scherzer. On the hitting side there is Butler, Cabrera, Conger, Lowrie and Teagarden. If Brandon Moss, Wily Mo Pena, Felix Pie and/or Seth Smith pan out, the offense suddenly looks a lot better. The Tubas will continue to amass young talent and hope that perhaps the team can start competing in 2010-2011, but 2011-2012 is probably a more realistic option.

Ranking the Minor League Systems

2008-11-16T18:15:00.002-06:00

by Steve Klein

For the purpose of this review, a team's "minor league system" consists of all players with M0 or AM contracts. These are the ones who have little or no value right now, but whose futures the team controls.

Rankings are entirely subjective; I didn't try to apply any (Bill) Jamesian formulas to the process. I gave by far the greatest weight to what each player did at the major league level in real-life 2008, because that's the only part of his BRASS future that we know for sure. If he hasn't made it yet in the majors, the most highly-rated prospect can be the next Andy Marte.

For those players who haven't made the majors yet, I'm working from the Baseball America Top 100 issue from last March, modified by whatever I remember reading about a given player since then.

All in all, I'm sure many of you will disagree with some (or many, or all) of the rankings, and I look forward to your comments.

1. Dayton (Fabio Castro, Martin Prado, Ian Stewart, Wladimir Balentien, Chris Denorfia, Jay Bruce, Evan Longoria, Jeff Niemann) - The top team in Kevin's financial-outlook rankings is also #1 here, which should tell you who's likely to dominate the Silver League for the foreseeable future. Longoria alone would put the team which has him in the top spot, and if you took him away, the rest of the group wouldn't be worse than middle-of-the-pack.

2. Diamond (Clay Buchholz, Brian Wilson, Geovany Soto, Nate Schierholtz, Carlos Gonzalez, Matt LaPorta, Jake McGee, Rick Porcello) - Soto is of course the key man, and his supporting cast is arguably stronger than Longoria's. I won't argue with anyone who thinks this group should be #1.

3. San Jose (Jair Jurrjens, Jorge Campilo, Jacoby Ellsbury, Eric Patterson, Lars Anderson, Johnny Cueto, Greg Reynolds) - A clear dropoff in star quality from the top two, but more bulk talent that's ready to step in.

4. Andover (Lance Broadway, Joba Chamberlain, Ryan Speier, Eugenio Velez, Andy LaRoche, Brandon Wood, Victor Diaz, Chase Headley, Chris Marrero, Andrew McCutchen, Travis Snider) - Could easily have ranked #3 on the basis of upside potential.

5. SoCal (Armando Galarraga, J.R. Towles, Joey Votto, Kory Casto, Nathan Haynes, Carlos Carrasco, Clayton Kershaw, Sean Rodriguez) - Might rank higher considering that Votto was the ROY runner-up, but a first baseman with his stats isn't that special.

6. Belfast (Philip Humber, Edinson Volquez, Glen Perkins, Daric Barton, Jeff Salazar, Wade David, Fernando Martinez, Mark Rogers) - What is it about Texas Rangers pitchers? It seems like five years ago that we started hearing about their Holy Trinity of Danks, Volquez and Diamond, but none of them amounted to a bucket of warm spit until they got out of Texas.

7. Green Bay (Phil Dumatrait, John Lannan, Curtis Thigpen, Emilio Bonifacio, Brian Buscher, Brian Barton, Jaime Garcia, Nolan Reimold) - I frankly didn't know who Lannan was until I started writing this review. How did you know to draft him, Bob?

8. Inyo (Nick Blackburn, Ross Ohlendorf, Guillermo Quiroz, Robert Andino, Adam Jones, Brent Lillibridge, Billy Rowell, Chris Volstad) - I may have myself ranked too high, but there are two solid rotation starters and an outfielder with star potential here. But if Jones doesn't hit a lot better than he has so far. . .

9. Chuckanut Bay (Franklin Morales, Felipe Paulino, Billy Buckner, Mark Lowe, Josh Kinney, Juan Morillo, Terry Evans, Brandon Moss, Steven Pearce, Justin Ruggiano, Seth Smith, Dellin Berances, Hank Conger, Jed Lowrie) - Most of these guys will have better years, but even Lowrie hasn't done much yet.

10. Phoenix (Sean Gallagher, Luke Hochevar, Radhames Liz, Craig Hansen, Josh Sharpless, Luis Hernandez, Cesar Carrillo, Jeff Samardzija, Jose Tabata) - I'm really rooting for Samardzija to stay around. The nickname "Eye Chart" hasn't had a home since Doug Gwosdz retired, and who better to hang it on?

11. Montreal (Tyler Clippard, Ross Detwiler, Dan Meyer, Yorman Bazardo, Ryan Rowland-Smith, Jeff Clement, Kevin Melillo, Donny Murphy, Pedro Alvarez, Neftali Perez, David Price) - Let's not get too excited just yet. Price only has 14 major-league innings (not counting postseason) and Alvarez is just getting started.

12. Sugar Creek (Hayden Penn, Jonathan Albaladejo, Dana Eveland, Cameron Maybin, J. Brent Cox, Chuck Lofgren, Josh Vitters) - Maybin has to succeed, or this ranking is way too high. Other than him, it's a league average innings muncher and who are these guys?

13. Twin City (Manny Parra, Tyler Johnson, Dennis Sarfate, Delwyn Young, Reid Brignac, Jason Heyward, Adam Miller) - Parra's OK, but will anyone else in this group ever really contribute? Miller's questionable, and who knows how long Jason Bartlett will keep Brignac down on the farm?

14. Meridian (Troy Patton, Jensen Lewis, Henry Owens, Alberto Gonzalez, Jorge Velandia, Joel Guzman, Nick Adenhart, Tim Beckham, Matt Wieters) - From here down, no team has anyone ready to step into a lineup or a rotation. Meridian tops this group because Wieters is probably the best prospect who hasn't reached the majors yet.

15. Olympia (Charlie Haeger, Ian Kennedy, Justin Maxwell, Gio Gonzalez, Humberto Sanchez, Pablo Sandoval) - Kennedy and Gonzalez are still considered top prospects, despite having stunk up the joint in brief trials. Sandoval came out of nowhere to put up unconscious numbers for a 21-year-old catcher.

16. Cream City (Manny Acosta, Blaine Boyer, Nick Masset, Mitch Stetter, Chris Lubanski, Justin Masterson, Neil Walker) - Masterson is a successful major-leaguer, but I don't give full weight to relief pitchers. Down the road, Walker is the likely star here.

17. Hoth (Merkin Valdez, Justin Huber, Joe Dillon, Ben Francisco, Paul McAnulty, Chris Snelling, Bryan Anderson, Michael Bowden, Anthony Swarzak) - You could argue this ranking should be higher because Francisco was a semi-regular, but in a 24-team league, any team which doesn't have three better outfielders is in trouble.

18. East Lyme (Luis Mendoza, Joshua Newman, Doug Slaten, Joe Thatcher, Chin-lung Hu, Will Inman, Colby Rasmus, Carlos Triunfel) - Rasmus is still an elite prospect, and I keep hearing good things about Hu despite he hasn't hit a lick yet.

19. Montgomery County (Eulogio de la Cruz, Joey Devine, Cale Iorg, Mike Moustakas, Dexter Fowler) - Moustakas will make or break this group; far too early to tell which.

20. Southtown (Garrett Olson, Jeff Bennett, Jonathan Meloan, Clay Rapada, Koyie Hill, Scott Elbert, Eric Hurley, Angel Villalona) - Villalona is supposed to be real good someday, but he's only 17.

21. Duluth-Superior (Phillippe Aumont, Austin Jackson, Desmond Jennings) - The Yankees are just hoping Jackson turns out to be better than Melky Cabrera.

22. Sierra Nevada (Juan Gutierrez, Kevin Hart, Joe Koshansky, Josh Anderson, David Murphy, Brett Anderson, Elvis Andrus) - Seems like I heard about Andrus years ago, but he's still under 20 in both age and BA prospect ranking. A lot could still go wrong before he hits the majors.

23. Great Kills (Deolis Guerra, Jarrod Parker, Brett Sinkbeil) - Who are these guys?

24. Plainsfield (Jim Johnson, Edwar Ramirez, Shawn Riggans, Shelley Duncan, Brandon Jones, Jeremy Hellickson) - Look for Duncan to DH full time against lefties this February, because that's the only way Kevin's ever going to get value out of him.

Sierra Nevada Two-Month Review

2008-11-09T09:56:00.005-06:00

After playing a third of the season, the Goldens (32-24) are in a position to challenge their division rival, the Duluth-Superior Dukes (34-22) for the Copper Division title. Sierra Nevada is sitting two games back of the Dukes. The Goldens are also in the wild card race as Meridian (33-23), East Lyme (32-24), and Sierra Nevada are all separated by one game and are battling for the 2 Silver League wild card spots.

In assessing the Goldens, it's hard to say if they are just a piece away from being a powerhouse, or are they just a wild card team looking at an early playoff exit. After facing 8 opponents, the Goldens are a combined 3-11 vs. the division leaders Plainsfield & Green Bay. Two of the 11 losses against the top dogs were by 1-run, but the other 9 losses were not very close!

Conversely, the Goldens are a combined 29-13 vs. the other 6 early season opponents, with a winning record against each of the other Bronze and Steel Division opponents.

Pitching

At this point, I'd have to say that the #1 & #2 starters are carrying the rotation, while the #3 - #5 starters have been very disappointing. Josh Beckett (2.78 era) and Mark Buehrle (3.30 era) have been solid with a 13-6 start while playing their home games at hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark.

On the flip side, Aaron Harang (6.75 era), Gil Meche (5.29 era), & Kyle Kendrick (6.63 era) have been dismal to this point. They are a combined 9-16 while the rest of the staff sports a 23-8 record! Harang was brought over in an off-season trade that was supposed to anchor that 3rd spot down, but has given up a whopping 14 HR's in 64 innings, the most HR's against on the staff. Kendrick and Meche aren't far behind with 9 HR's against each, good for 2nd most on the staff.

To round out the starting pitching, (El Duque) Orlando Hernandez & youngster Yusmeiro Petit have made the most of their 5 combined starts while giving the other starters some needed days off. Hernandez is 2-0 with a 3.86 era in his 2 starts plus relief appearances and Petit was effective going 2-0 with a 4.21 era in 3 starts and will hopefully be a rotation mainstay in future BRASS seasons.

To this point, the bullpen has been very effective (6-2) with era's ranging from 3.00 - 4.25 and a load of strikeouts. Led by Heath Bell, Brian Fuentes, Carlos Marmol, & Fanscisco Cordero, Sierra Nevada leads are in good hands. Only Chad Bradford has struggled so far getting torched with a 12.39 era in 20 IP.

Hitting

Looking back at the 1st third of the season, the Goldens lineup has been powerful with good production at the top, while the bottom half of the lineup has been a struggle. Edgar Renteria (.319 ba, .373 ob) and Mrlon Byrd (.313 ba, .372 ob) have been good at the top of the order and have been murder on LHP from the opposition. With the lack of a true base stealing threat at the top of the order, #3 & #4 hitters Jim Thome and Adam Dunn have used the long ball to knock them in. Jim Thome is off to a torrid start to the year batting 3rd (.381 ba, 13 HR , 40 RBI), while Dunn bats 4th and is sizzling with (.314 ba, 17 HR, 42 RBI)! From the 5th spot on is where the production drops.

First base appears to be the biggest hole in the lineup. While Mike Jacobs has hit 10 HR's (7 at Home), he's batting a measley .225 & .262 OB%. His range has something to be desired at 1st as well, especially since he shares a 4-range rating with Dan Uggla, the starting second baseman who's also struggling at the plate. While Uggla has 8 HR's and a respecatble 31 RBI's thus far, he has only hit .191 with a .261 OB% and is 2nd on the club with 49 strikeouts!!! While Uggla appears to be a mainstay at 2nd base for years to come with his powerful bat, the Goldens expceted better numbers for sure. The lack of on-base percentage and defensive range from the right side of the infield has lost some games for sure in the 1st two months.

The Goldens have achieved modest production from 3B between the tandem of Hank Blalock and Kevin Kouzmanoff, with each hitting in the .270's in the platoon situation. To this point however, neither is really putting up the numbers you want to see from a #5 spot in the lineup and thier defensive abilities are also dragging down the starting pitching.

The Molina brothers Bengie and Yadier have been solid defensively behind the plate while putting up a respectable offensive attack. They have also combined to throw out 6 of 16 base stealers.

To round out the starters, the RF tandem of Jermaine Dye and Jose Guillen has been somewhat punchless, combining for only 4 HR's and Dye is only hitting .231.

After sprinting out to a 17-11 start in April, the month of May was a little more challenging going 15-13 as some weaknesses became exposed. It appears that for the Goldens to compete in the playoffs, Harang and Meche will need to bounce back in the next couple of months while management will need to try and bring in a suitable 1B improvement both defensively and offensively. The Goldens will be looking to move some OF depth in order to accomplish this. But first, Sierra Nevada will have to try and remain competitive against the buzzsaw Diamond Gems in June.

No-Hitter for Haren

2008-11-08T19:40:00.002-06:00

I didn't realize we had this blog to make posts on until the other day.
Thanks for inviting me to join in.

After the 2nd game of the season, I wrote this short article but never emailed it out.
Feel free to enjoy the box score posted on the BRASS site.

Here is the article...

April 2, 2089

Dan Haren Tosses No-Hitter as the Plainsfield Hitmen win 7-0 at Sierra Nevada

In the 2nd game of a 4-Game Set, Dan Haren squared off in an early-season matchup vs Mark Buehrle and dominated the Sierra Nevada Goldens and tossed a No-Hitter in front of 19,811 at Great American Ballpark @ Sierra Nevada!!! The game was never in question as the Hitmen jumped out to a 4-0 lead by the end of the 3rd inning following a big 3-run homer by Magglio Ordonez. Haren was dominant throughout the game and tallied 11 strikeouts, including Dan Uggla three times and also struck out the side in the 5th. Only three batters reached base for the Goldens by way of walk. Only Yadier Molina came close to getting a hit. He just missed getting a line drive single to left in the 6th, and was robbed of a home run with 1-out in the 8th inning which was held in the park only by the cold weather here at Great American Ballpark here in the early spring.

Buehrle pitched a strong 7 1/3 giving up only 4 hits but Haren was the story today as the Plainsfield Hitmen won their 2nd game in as many nights against the Sierra Nevada Goldens to start the season.

Jermaine Dye of the Goldens was unavailable for tonight’s game due to an injury sustained in Game #1. (Note: I didn’t have a grasp on how to deal with injuries during the 1st series)

Bengie Molina of the Goldens left the game in the 3rd inning due to injury.

Edgar Renteria of the Goldens left the game in the 9th inning due to injury.

Tomorrow’s game features Matt Cain for the Hitmen against Josh Beckett of the Goldens.
(Beckett and the Goldens responded with a 9-1 win in Game 3 which turned out to be the only win in the 7-Game season series against the Hitmen)

A Tweener Year for San Jose

2008-11-06T12:39:00.002-06:00

This season really has been tough to call in terms of buying, selling, rebuilding, retooling, etc. We have a very solid nucleus of hitters, a good D, a nice bullpen, and decent but not great starting pitching.

After a very slow April, May was a bit kinder to leave us at 29-27 heading into June play. The biggest stat that jumps out at me is our 3-11 record in 1-run games. Sabermetricians generally ascribe bad 1-run records to luck, and say this tends to even out over the course of a season. If so, we could expect to end up with something like 85-90 wins and a good shot at the playoffs, despite a very competitive division.

At the same time, the odds of advancing if we do make the playoffs would not seem to be high. Plainsfield & Diamond have dominant teams, and Cream City, Green Bay, and Montreal show the potential to separate themselves from the pack as well. Of course upsets will happen, but the deck seems a little stacked against us.

We made 2 small deals, essentially swapping Gotay for Harris and downgrading from a 3rd to a 5th pick in the process, but saving a bit of cash. Gotay was lights out as a PH for us so hoping Harris can do that job and help with PR/OF defensive sub duties also.

In terms of offense, Pena, Rollins & Doumit are carrying us. Doumit's 17 doubles & 19 RBIs in 100 ABs look very nice but are unlikely to continue. Pena has 26 HRs with about 40% of his PAs used, still looking good for him even if we slow him down in June a bit. Rollins is putting up a nice BA as expected, and the pop has been there, which may warrant moving him up to 4th in the lineup rather than 6th, where he is currently vs RH.

The much-maligned Barry Zito has been the staff ace to date, putting up a 7-2 record and a solid 3.12 ERA over his 1st 90 IP. All our other SPs have been average at best, though the bullpen has managed a very nice 3.53 ERA in 112 IP so far.

In sum, we have a team that's built for the regular season which is unlikely to stop the best offenses come playoff time, so in general I'd still characterize us as sellers for this year. So on that note, send offers if interested!

Current State of the Olympia Seariders

2008-11-05T09:28:00.002-06:00

This can be summarized real easy: next year or the year after! OLY played to a 9-19 record in September and 6-22 in October. The team is hitting .266 but is giving up an average of 6 runs a game – good for the bottom third in both areas, while the defense leads the league in errors with 54. Help is needed in all areas of the team but some younger players and other older veterans will have an opportunity in the next few months as the starters need a rest. The year has been challenging to say the least. However, there have been some nice surprises in an otherwise dismal season.

Infielders
Scott Hatteberg is hitting a respectable .300 avg. while driving in 26.

Mike Fontenot is hitting .293 but leading the team in errors at 16.

Last hurrah Craig Biggio has been the year’s biggest surprise hitting .307 and providing much needed stability.

Brandon Inge and Aaron Hill are hitting a combined .230 with 15 homers while Inge has struck out a team leading 55 times. Inge has committed only 1 error. Morgan Ensberg will get the majority of playing time at third and will need to step up in the month of November.

Outfielders
Free agency acquisition Shannon Stewart is hitting a decent .287 while driving in 16 and has not committed an error in the first 2 months.

Dependable Juan Encarancion is hitting .276 and leading the team in homers at 7. The defense has been a surprise given the lack of true gold glover’s and supporting a rotation that could use any kind of help.

Disappointments include Trot Nixon who hitting a measly .234 and free agency acquisition Jose Cruz coming in at paltry .242 and striking out 33 times. The depth chart will be tested in the next month as starters take a much needed rest.

Pitching
Staff Ace John Danks is 1-6 (see overall team record) with an ERA of 4.76, and 38 strikeouts in 11 starts.

Carlos Silva is only 1 -3 but sports a respectable 4.08 ERA in 11 starts.

At the bottom half of the rotation (Jeff Weaver, Livan Hernandez and Chris Capuano) are a combined 5 – 17 with an ERA of 6.50.

The only other bright spot (if you can say bright spot) has been Joe Kennedy who has appeared in 28 games with 4.20 ERA and a save. The rest of the bullpen has been disappointing with a combined ERA over 7.00. The rotation will be an area to focus as some youngsters will get time in the rotation and pen in the upcoming months.

Catchers
Free agency acquisition Paul LoDuca is hitting a respectable .292 in 113 AB’s but has committed 6 errors. Splitting duties at the catcher spot, Brad Ausmus is hitting .191 but still provides reliable defense. Catching will always be a question mark for the Seariders moving forward.

BRASS Financial Overview

2008-10-28T13:18:00.002-05:00

by Kevin Kolb

While the 2008-2009 BRASS season is in full swing, it is never too early to take a peek into the future. With money being so instrumental in a team’s ability to sustain or rebuild its prospects for playing winning baseball, it is probably worth a look to see which franchises are setting themselves up nicely for future growth -- and conversely, which teams are “playing with fire” as it relates to their finances.

Looking Good

Dayton Dragons

The Dayton Dragons are probably the league’s poster child when it comes to financial security. The Dragons currently sport the highest bank account in BRASS at approximately $122 million, nearly $23 million MORE than the 2nd “wealthiest” team Inyo. What makes Dayton’s bank account all the more intimidating is the fact that they have only $10 million in outstanding contract commitments over the course of the next four seasons. Add to that the fact that they have a very impressive collection of young players at various stages in their Y contract strings, and you have an organization that is poised to make some significant noise in upcoming BRASS seasons.

Inyo Face

As indicated earlier, the Face from Inyo are also sitting pretty from a financial perspective, with nearly $100 million stashed in the bank for a rainy day. Unlike Dayton, Inyo does have nearly $55 million in outstanding future contract commitments. Still, the robust cash reserves will more than cushion that blow, and still give the team plenty of room to add on during free agency should ownership choose to go that route.

Andover Cougars

Another team with exciting potential are the Cougars from Andover. While the club has taken a step back in the standings this season, it will not be long before this team is threatening the rest of the Gold League once again. An $84 million bank account and only $19 million in future contract commitments assures management the ability to supplement through free agency the impressive group of young talent being collected currently.

Delicate Future

On the flip-side, there are several BRASS organizations that have levered themselves up with a good deal of long term contracts. While this in almost all cases has led to a strong on-the-field team in 2008, it does place these same teams in somewhat delicate positions moving forward if these contracts prove to be less than sound long-term investments.

Green Bay Yoopers

The Yoopers from Green Bay have been transformed from league doormat to ferocious beast under its steady ownership. Clearly this team is positioned to make noise in October. Still, the team has approximately $316 million in outstanding future contract commitments over the next four years, and only $26 million in its bank account at present. This represents a $290 million deficit heading into this coming off-season. With a guaranteed payroll in excess of $100 million in each of the next two BRASS seasons, Yooper management will likely not have the same level of flexibility it has had in recent off-seasons.

Duluth-Superior

Duluth-Superior is another team with championship aspirations in 2008-9. The team is loaded from top to bottom. Of course, this comes at a price. With only $3.6 million in its bank account currently, the Dukes could be stretched thin when it comes time to pay the nearly $256 million in outstanding future contracts currently on the books. Similarly, Meridian ($73 million in bank, $270 million outstanding commitments = $197 million deficit) and Sierra Nevada ($7 million in bank, $183 million outstanding commitments = $176 million deficit) are two other Silver league clubs with tremendous present on-field talent but also saddled with several expensive long term contractual commitments.

Of course, this article is only intended to serve as a snap-shot of how things currently stack up in BRASS. If BRASS history has shown us anything, it is that teams can reverse their fortunes either way in a relatively short period of time through trading of long term contracts or through signing a bevy or expensive free agents in the off-season.

Kai Neizman

2008-08-11T16:16:00.004-05:00

Hometown
Originally from Maui, Hawaii but have lived in Washington state for the last 16 years.

Age
41 years old, married for 12 years with 2 kids (11 and 9 year old)

Education
University of Hawaii - Go Warriors!

Occupation
Vice President for a Regional Bank

Strat Experience
Started in the 80s (best period in baseball!). College, family, work got in the way and started playing again in draft leagues 5 years ago. Currently in 5 leagues.

Hobbies
Strat (of course) and quasi - day trading stocks ( I won't tell you what my record is). Used to play a lot of softball and was a LF 3e10 -1 but now thanks to age, LF 5e40 +3.

Favorite team
See picture.

Favorite Baseball Memory
Seeing the "We Are Family" '79 Pirates winning the World Series over the O's.

July 26 BRASS Gathering a Success

2008-08-01T09:34:00.022-05:00

On a gorgeous summer day, seven members of the BRASS League got together at the Rock residence in Brookfield to enjoy conversation, refreshment, sustenance, and whiffleball (Above shown [l-r] Tony Cieszynski, Abby Rock and Bob Gale). And then after all was done, the happy owners drove to Miller Park and watched the Milwaukee Brewers come from behind to defeat the Houston Astros 6-4 and claim a share of first place in the National League Central division.

A fine conclusion to a glorious day, and the only victory on a lost home stand. I think the Brewers should consider having BRASS League members attend all home games in the future. Heck, put us out on the road, too. The Breweres will win their division by 30 games. Above photo: [l-r] Vaughn Nuest, Mark Lentz, Daniel Valois, Tony Cieszynski and Bob Gale.

Anyway, here are a few action pictures of the good-looking guys who got together. There is talk of doing this next year in Milwaukee and on a regular basis thereafter. More news on that front later.

Above photo: BRASS members raiding the Rock refrigerator.

Vaughn Nuest shows off the batting style that won three batting titles in tee-ball.

Tony Cieszynski reacts to a brushback pitch. Juust a bit inside.

At the game. In the back row: [l-r] Kevin Kolb (who joined us late at the game) Mark Lentz, Tim Rock, Bob Gale. Front row: Tony Cieszynski, Daniel Valois, Vaughn Nuest.

Tom Taormina Should Be In

2008-06-08T20:14:00.001-05:00

The Hall of Fame results are in, and for the most part I think the voters got it right. But one result greatly disappoints me: the rejection of Tom Taormina.

I can understand why it happened. By my count, 13 of the 24 managers now in the league weren't members when we lost Tom to cancer, and I'm betting that all the No votes for Tom came from that group. All those voters had to go by was the highlights of Tom's career as listed on the HOF ballot. In terms of games and titles won, Tom's record doesn't come close to Vaughn's or Kevin's--no one's does--but that's not why Tom Taormina should be in the BRASS Hall of Fame.

Tom's work as Silver League director was essential to the success of BRASS in the early years. Among other things, he ran the free agency process before most of us had email. Bids were written by hand on paper forms, submitted by regular mail, and resolved by a phone call from Tom to every manager who had a winning bid to pursue or drop or match.

I could go on, but suffice it to say there's a reason we renamed the BRASS Bucket after Tom. I hope his exclusion from the Hall is rectified next year.

The Story of the BRASS Bucket

2008-04-29T08:50:00.005-05:00

At risk of making Daniel wistful for possessing the bucket that he came within a few innings of winning earlier this month, here is the story of The Old BRASS Bucket for the uninitiated or those new to the league

It is an immigrant story really.

In the late 19th Century, my great grandfather left the Alsace-Lorraine region of Germany with his family for the prospect of a better life in America. Gustave Bucher worked the land in Germany as a farm laborer and this was all he knew. But he dreamed of more. He dreamed of owning his own farm one day and a better life for his family.

So he came to America.

He and his family settled in a small town in central Illinois whose rich earth reminded him of home. My grandmother was born there within the first year and was the first generation of my family to be an American citizen.

The brass bucket that we use for a trophy is also from the 19th Century. It is a farm vessel that is very like a bucket that my grandmother used to keep in her garage as a keepsake of the time of her youth. Like most farm vessels, hers was not ornamental as it had been constantly in use serving a multitude of needs. My grandmother said they used their bucket to haul water from the well, to take the table scraps out to the hogs to eat, to gather and tote feed corn for the chickens and bring back the eggs they had laid, even to wash dishes, babies and soak their feet.

Her bucket was well-worn and was a symbol of the story of her family's immigration and of the roots they put down in midwestern American soil.

Our bucket, hand made as hers was, is more ornamental and ceremonial in nature. Like my family, the BRASS League has midwestern American roots and our bucket, a symbol of those roots, is a traveling trophy which resides in the league champion's home for the year of their reign. Our bucket is filled with baseballs. Each league champion takes one of the baseballs and paints it or decorates it as they wish and places it on the heap, displaying it in their home and commemorating their championship, before conveying it to the next champion.

The Bucket is formally called the Thomas Taormina Trophy in honor of Tom's profound contributions to the formative years of BRASS, before his untimely passing.

What a neat coincidence that The Bucket will be in the same place as the BRASS gathering in southern Wisconsin, not too many miles from where my great-grandfather settled in the late 19th Century, starting a cycle of events that would eventually lead to me and to the BRASS League.

I'm sure Tim will have it polished and gleaming for all to see in July, as he hands it over to Kevin, this year's champ, a man who will be taking The Bucket back home with him for a fourth time.

And yes, Daniel, I think one could drink victory beer from it if one wanted to. I recommend choosing a dark German ale, something like Gustave would have enjoyed. ;)

Unintended Consequence?

2008-04-21T19:22:00.002-05:00

One of the rule changes you voted in (I won't say "we"; I voted against it) requires that players who previously had major league deals must be signed to a U contract if drafted. The rationale, if I recall, was to avoid underpaying players with previous major-league experience. Has anyone else noticed that the result was to swing the pendulum the other way? A lot of players in the draft pool will, if picked, be paid more than they would if their original teams had kept them.
Take Ben Zobrist, for example. He was a Y1 last year, and if I'd kept him on my roster he'd be Y1 again because he didn't get enough PAs to advance. Since I cut him, he's in the pool, and must be signed to a U contract if drafted. That would pay him, at a minimum, three times what he'd have made as a Y1.

But of course he won't be drafted, because no one's going to pay Ben Zobrist $1.2M to play for them next year. Ironically, the same will be true for nearly every "U" player in the draft pool; they're there in the first place because one or more teams had the chance to pay them a Y or A1 salary and chose not to. I haven't looked through the list to see if there are exceptions, but I'd be very surprised if there are more than a couple.

The result of this will be a larger number of PAs and IPs in the secondary free agent pool, where teams will finally have the chance to get the marginal "U" players for what they're worth. This might be a good thing; did anyone vote for the change because he foresaw that and liked the idea?

BRASS WORLD SERIES, 2008

2008-04-14T22:19:00.002-05:00

2008 BRASS WORLD SERIES: Montral Sunsets (113-49) vs. Plainsfield Hitmen (119-43)

Game 1: John Smoltz (17-7, 3.18) vs. Mike Mussina (19-6, 3.69)

Both teams headed into the series with a full head of steam. The Sunsets had just stormed back from a 3-1 deficit against Dulth-Superior, while the Hitmen had dispatched Chuckanut Bay in four straight. One question: would the extra time off earned after the 4-game sweep hurt Plainsfield? And would the Sunset bats remain hot? Looked that way early on in Game 1. After the Hitmen had taken an early 2-1 lead thanks to a 2-run single by Matt Holliday, the Sunsets exploded against Mussina for 5 runs in the 3rd, sending the Plainsfield starter to the showers early. JD Drew had the big hit, a 2-RBI double. Leading 6-3 after 3 innings, John Smoltz made the lead stand up. The Sunsets tacked on runs in the 4th, 7th, and 9th en route to a 10-5 win. JD Drew was the star of this game, going 5 for 5 while hitting for the cycle. Travis Hafner had two hits, including a homer, while John Smoltz pitched into the 7th against the powerhouse lineup of Plainsfield.

Game 2: Johan Santana (17-9, 3.61) vs. Aaron Harang (21-6, 3.87)

The Sunsets weren’t satisfied with just one win in Plainsfield. They were looking to grab the series by the neck. Hitmen fans weren’t even in their seats before Montreal leadoff man Bobby Abreu took Harang deep for a quick 1-0 lead. The Sunsets loaded the bases with nobody out, but Harang managed to escape with only one more run scoring. An RBI single by Holliday in the bottom of the 1st made it 2-1 Montreal. Griffey Jr. homered in the 2nd to tie it, but Montreal came right back with 2 of their own in the 3rd, thanks in large part to FOUR Harang walks. Chris Coste (3 for 4, 3 RBIs) added a 2-run double in the 4th, and the Sunsets had a 6-2 lead through four innings. They would not score again, but thanks to three perfect innings from their bullpen, they didn’t have to. Final score, Sunsets 6, Hitmen 4. Montreal heads home with a surprising two games to none lead in the series.

Game 3: Bronson Arroyo (20-7, 4.04) vs Brett Myers (19-7, 3.21)

Likely the biggest game of the season for Plainsfield, but Montreal was very uncooperative. The Sunsets torched Arroyo, scoring two in the first and five more in the second, thanks in part to 2-run homers by Bobby Abreu and Travis Hafner (4RBI). Trailing 7-0 after 2 innings, the Hitmen were very much on the ropes. Signs of life appeared in the 4th, as the Hitmen put a 4 spot up. An unlikely error by Ryan Zimmerman helped set the table, and Ken Griffey laced a big 2-run 2-out double to help cut the Montreal lead to 7-4. Montreal came right back with a run in their half of the 4th, and the Hitmen trailed by 4. Myers settled down a bit after the 4th, yielding only a solo homer by Matt Holliday in the 6th. Through 7 innings, the Sunsets were up 8-5. In the top of the 8th David Wright led off with a double, sending Myers to the showers. In came Carlos Zambrano, winner of 18 games during the regular season. The bullpen did not agree with Big-Z, as all three hitters he faced reached base. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Hector Carrasco was summoned from the pen. Adam LaRoche greeted him with a big 2-run double to tie the game at 8, and then Jorge Posada launched a huge 3-run homer, to make it 11-8 Hitmen. Drew and Zimmerman singled off Papelbon in the bottom of the 9th, but the Hitmen closer retired the next three batters and secured the 11-8 win. The Hitmen were once again alive, trailing two games to one.

Game Four: Mussina vs. Smoltz, part II

The Hitmen took the momentum from their dramatic Game 3 victory and jumped to a quick 4-0 lead after 2 ½ innings, thanks to a 2-run homer for Matt Holliday and RBI hits for David Wright and Jermaine Dye. JD Drew answered in the bottom of the 3rd with a 2-run double to make it 4-2. Each team added a two-spot in the 4th, and the score stood at 6-4 after 4 innings. A JD Drew homer in the 6th made it 6-5, which is how the game stood through 8 innings. Bob Wickman started the 9th after hurling a scoreless 8th, as Jonathan Papelbon had pitched in each of the first 3 games. A pinch hit double by Chris Coste and a walk to Kevin Youkilis forced the hand of the Hitmen, and Papelbon was brought in to hold the one run lead. Bobby Abreu promptly tied the game with an RBI double, and with nobody out, runners stood at 2nd and 3rd. After getting Chipper Jones to pop out and Travis Hafner on strikes, Papelbon and the Hitmen were one hitter away from extra innings with David DeJesus at the plate. DeJesus never had a chance to win it, as Papelbon uncorked a wild pitch to score the winning run for Montral. A heartbreaking loss for the Hitmen, and the Sunset were one victory away from their first BRASS title.

Game Five: Aaron Harang vs. Johan Santana, Part II

The Hitmen, with their backs squarely up against the wall, jumped on Santana early with twin 2-run homers by Jermaine Dye and Rich Aurilia. The lead was cut to 4-2 in the bottom of the 4th on a Travis Hafner triple and a JD Drew RBI double. Hafner homered in the 6th to cut the Hitmen lead to one, but Justin Duchscherer and Bob Wickman pitched scoreless 8th and 9th innings and the Hitmen pulled out a 5-3 win to send the series back to Plainsfield. Aaron Harang threw 7 quality innings, allowing only 3 runs and 6 hits. Johan Santana went the distance in a losing cause, allowing only 5 hits and striking out 14 Plainsfield hitters.

Game 6: Carlos Zambrano vs Matt Cain

Plainsfield went to their young righthander in this do or die game. After a subpar and wild performance in the GLCS against Chuckanut Bay, Cain responded with a quality outing in what was Plainsfield’s biggest game of the year. Cain struck out nine Sunset hitters in 7 innings, while his counterpart from Montreal couldn’t get out of the 3rd inning. A 2-run homer by Jason Giambi erased an early 2-0 lead by Montreal, and 3 consecutive doubles by LaRoche, Posada and Griffey to open the 2nd led to 3 more Hitmen runs in the 2nd. Single runs in the 6th and 7th closed out the scoring, and Scott Proctor threw two scoreless innings to close out Game 6. 7-2 Hitmen, and the Series would move to a 7th and deciding game.

Game 7: Smoltz vs. Mussina, The Finale

With the momentum on the side of the Hitmen, the Sunsets were looking to break on top early in the series finale. Chipper Jones homered to start the scoring in the 2nd, and Michael Barrett added an RBI single to make it 2-0 after 2 innings. It remained that way until with 2 out in the bottom of the 4th, Jorge Posada tied the game with a 2-run homer. That seemed to spark the Hitmen offense, as Chase Utley added a 2-run homer of his own in the bottom of the 5th, which was followed by three more runs in the frame, including RBI singles for Holliday and Griffey. All of the sudden, it was 7-2 Plainsfield. Back to back triples by Utley and Wright opened the 6th, and Jermaine Dye added an RBI single to make it 9-2 Plainsfield. Hafner homered one final time in the 9th, but it was too little too late, as the Hitmen completed their impressive comeback in the series with a 9-3 win. John Smoltz took the loss, surrendering 6 earned runs in 4 innings. Chase Utley was 3 for 5 in the finale, to run his series totals to 14 for 30 with a homer and 3 RBI.

A tremendous series for Travis Hafner (8 for 22, 4HR and 8RBI), thought it was not quite enough. JD Drew added 12 hits and 9 RBI in the 7 games as well for Montreal. Jorge Posada also had an impressive series for the Hitmen, going 6 for 18 with 2 HR and 7 RBI.

A great series, and it was unfortunate that one team had to lose. These two teams were evenly matched, and it showed in the results all year and in the playoffs. Congratulations to Daniel Valois and the Montral Sunsets for a tremendous season.

Draft coming up

2008-04-12T17:53:00.002-05:00

The draft begins in less than two weeks. Drafting is probably my favorite part of strat leagues, so I am looking forward to it. I am in a good position this year where I have enough starts and PAs going into the draft, so beside from maybe getting a reliever or two, I can draft with an eye on the future. Who will be this year's Jeremy Guthrie (7th round last year) be for me?

Opening Day 2008 -- What A Day!

2008-04-06T08:20:00.053-05:00

Click on pictures to enlarge.

Courtesy of my beautiful and talented little sister, Kate, who just happens to be the executive assistant to the general counsel of a certain major league baseball team, my long-time friend Tim Heilman and I had the good fortune to attend opening day at Miller Park this year. For the both of us this was our 4th opening day. My first was many years ago when as a resident's assistant at UWM I helped organize a 300-person bus trip. The other two times were the final two seasons of County Stadium (additionally the final two last home games ... I have the brick and certificate to prove it).

We had breakfast with my wife's sister and my daughter at a local restaurant and consequently got off to a late start for the stadium. We crossed over 94E to the 41S entrance lane at about 11:15. The line appeared quite long, so I settled back and took a few pictures on the way in like the one above.

Surprisingly, the ride in did not take too long. Within about 15 minutes we were being directed to Preferred Parking (isn't my sister great?). Tim settled his SUV into our parking spot. We had arrived. What a day!

Despite the evidence to the contrary (see the snow on the roof above), the weather was gorgeous. Jackets were eventually shed and chairs were placed strategically in front of Tim's SUV, away from the guys drunkenly tossing a football about. Beers were hoisted in salute to Kate and the Brewers and we sat back to enjoy the morning.

What a day!

Our next door neighbor offered to take our pictures. I'm the shaded (shady?) one on the left. Tim bought that Brewer jacket just the day before, wanting to be in high fashion for the game. There was just the barest hint of the remnants of winter in the air. Perfect for cooling off from all the activity we engaged in ... bringing beer and chips to mouth and being on alert for errant flying footballs.

Soon enough the time came to ramble into the stadium. There was a buzz of excitement in the air. The Brewers are going to be a good team for a second consecutive year. When was the last time this could be said? I could feel the energy as I entered the doors to Miller Park. We picked up our kitchen schedule magnet and Brewer towel and made our way to section 112.

Our seats were in the infield boxes, about 30 rows up from the field (did I say how much I love my sister?) From here we could easily pick out some of the Brewers warming up ... Ryan Braun, Corey Hart, JJ Hardy, Jason Kendall and another whom we couldn't identify.

I glanced around and made the acquaintance of the two fellas behind us, one who confessed that they had each downed ten Jaeger-bombs before entering the stadium, along with a few beers. Nothing in their demeanor caused any disbelief.

I checked out the scoreboard and was amused to see an advertisement for a charity drive being run by Northwestern Mutual in conjunction with the Brewers. My wife works for NML. The message reminded me she was home with our 15-month old. I could wax proudly of the sacrifice she made allowing me to attend while she stayed home, but I knew that she would be out shopping with the baby and her sister who had driven up from Chicago. And, our darling daughter, who is already cute beyond words, would have some new duds. This makes my wife happy. So I'm happy, too. No remorse there.

The players lined up for the pre-game introductions. Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun received the biggest adulations, though the decibel level of the cheers for Hardy, Sheets and the others were not far behind.

All this while we tried to contact Kate on Tim's cell phone. No luck. I knew that she wanted to join us for a while and no one had claimed the three seats to our right ... yet. Of course, that didn't mean they would be claimed. Heck, two years ago I was at a game with my wife and some friends of hers and we never made it into the park. The festivities outside were just fine.

With Carlos Villanueva on the mound (I can't believe I traded him away in one of my fantasy leagues) the Giants went down meekly in the first. Villanueva looked sharp. He came out of spring training with the number four spot locked down after the release of Claudio Vargas. I was especially pleased because the number five starter is Manny Parra, a top lefty prospect. I drafted him pretty high in another league and had hoped he would make the team. His last spring outing was shakey, but I read that manager Ned Yost did not let that outing sway his decision. He remarked it was probably rookie jitters.

Rickie Weeks came to the plate to lead off amidst the din of 45,000 excited fans. He managed to draw a walk, which caused the fans to roar louder. With one out he stole second. The fans were on their feet as The Prince Fielder strode to the plate. Wearing baggy pants and high socks, he looked like Babe Ruth. He waggled his bat menacingly waggled. With two strikes on him, Fielder showed why he has become more than just a power bat. He shortened his stroke and ripped a single up the middle. When Rickie came in to score the tremors from the noise in the stadium made the hairs on my arm stand on end. It was a truly electric.

Bill Hall walked to the plate. Batting number 5 right behind Prince, it will be his job to offer some protection in the lineup for the big bopper. Last year was difficult for Hall. It's been written that he never really felt comfortable in centerfield and the team hopes a return to the infield will revitalize his bat.

We didn't have to wait long. I don't remember what the count was. All I know is as the ball climbed higher and higher on its journey over the centerfield wall, the noise generated by the excited fans increased exponentially. A wave of camaraderie swept over the stands as the ball fell to earth just beyond the fence and the leaping effort by Aaron Rowand to spoil the fun. High-fives were exchanged with everyone in high-five proximity as though we'd been friends forwever. What a way to start the game!

Kate came down in the third inning to join us (those seats remained empty). Opening Day fever made it hard to concentrate and the Brewer front office, being wise (at least wiser these days) allowed its staff to enjoy the day. She spent the rest of the game with us.

We met a fellow who was juuuust a bit inebriated (he's behind me making the rabbit ears) and kept saying in a poor excuse for Scottish brogue, “Beam me up, Scotty.” When I pointed out that the person asking Scotty to beam him up would not likely speak with a Scottish accent, our new friend responded, “Aye.” It didn't matter.

We also met Granny P. Granny was attending her first Brewers game and she had a sign to prove it. She was here with her granddaughter and was having a spectacular time. The fellas to her right kept her entertained. I think she had a few too, but couldn't swear. Who cares? We were all having fun.

I returned to watching the game. A little while later I heard one of the guys start laughing and say that Granny P was standing on the Brewer dugout with five young ladies. No way. I turned around and saw that Granny was indeed gone. Then I looked over at the dugout. Oh my god, there she was!

The Brewer staff who man the cameras that scan the crowd must have spotted her with her sign and decided she would be the perfect candidate for a game of The Price is Right, or whatever the game was called. The five lovely young ladies held numbers in front with prizes behind the numbers. I don't know what the top prize was, but Granny made one selection (it was a $50 gift certificate) and quit. Smart lady.

Gabe Kapler and Prince Fielder rapped out run-scoring singles in the bottom of the fifth to extend the lead. The announcer kept called Kapler, Gabe Kaplan, obviously confusing him with the former star of “Welcome Back Kotter” who has most recently been reincarnated as a professional poker player. We were laughing about the announcer's ineptitude when a roar rose from the crowd. I turned in time to see the ball disappear over the left field fence. Bill Hall had just stroked his second homerun of the game. I guess the question of whether his move back to the infield would help has been answered. We certainly appreciated his efforts and our cheering convinced him to come out for a wave.

The rest of the game was spent trying to get action shots of Brewers at bat. Unfortunately, by this time the camera battery was losing its charge so I had to turn it off between shots, let it recharge a bit, then turn it on and take a quick shot. Some of the pictures were a bit fuzzy. Still, I got a few. Here is a picture of Prince belting a double off the right centerfield wall. This one just missed.

I also tried to get a picture of the sausage race, but the battery was playing games at this time so I had to settle for this picture sent to me by Kate. Better than nothing. And you know, it almost seems a crime, but neither Tim nor I had a brat, sausage or even a hot dog on this glorious day. We did buy a couple Cousins subs though, before the game, and feasted on these in the parking lot afterward.

After the final out was made (final score 13-4), we lingered in the stands with Kate and waited for the crowd to thin. I gave Kate a hug. She took one step and this kid walking down the stairs came up and gave her a hug too. I looked at him and he smiled and said something to the effect of he thought he'd get in a quick hug too since they were being given out. I told him she was my sister and that he was dead meat. For a moment he looked concerned, but then I smiled and told him it was cool ... get oughta here. After all, weren't we all family ... at least for this day?

We bade goodbye to Kate and went out to the parking lot. Before settling down to eat our subs, down a few beers and wait for the lot to empty a bit, we caught up with Brewer hall of famer Robin Yount for a picture. A great way to finish the day.

Edited for some re-write because I'm picky and for a few spelling and grammar mistakes because, unlike what many members of the blogosphere think, the impression does matter.

Gold League Championship Series

2008-04-05T17:12:00.002-05:00

Game 1: Chuckanut Bay 1 at Plainsfield 5
The Plainsfield Hitmen toppled the Chuckanut Bay Tubas by a 5 to 1 score at Yankee Stadium. In the bottom of the 2nd inning Plainsfield scored 4 runs when they had 4 base hits. That was all Mike Mussina (1-1) needed. Neither team managed to score after the 4th inning. Kevin Millwood (1-2) ended up with the loss. Despite losing, he struckout 12 Plainsfield batters in 7 innings.

Game 2: Chuckanut Bay 6 at Plainsfield 11
David Wright smacked 2 homeruns and had 4 RBI as the Plainsfield Hitmen defeated the Chuckanut Bay Tubas 11 to 6 at Yankee Stadium. Wright had a big evening at the plate. He blasted a two-run home run in the 4th inning and smashed a two-run homer (his 3rd of the postseason) in the 6th inning. Plainsfield totaled 10 hits on the night. The win went to Scott Proctor (1-0) who allowed no runs in 1 and 1/3 innings. John Maine (1-2) absorbed the loss. He served up 4 gopher balls in 3 and 1/3 innings.

Game 3: Plainsfield 6 at Chuckanut Bay 2
At Busch Stadium the Plainsfield Hitmen easily handled the Chuckanut Bay Tubas by the score of 6 to 2. Plainsfield scored the decisive runs in a big 8th inning, scoring 2 runs on 3
hits. After an out was recorded, Matt Holliday got things going when he laced a base-hit. One out later, Jorge Posada stepped in and he laced a one-base hit which scored a run. Posada took second on the throw. Ken Griffey Jr then doubled scoring the final run of the inning. For the game Plainsfield out-hit Chuckanut Bay 12 to 6. Bronson Arroyo (2-0) picked up the victory, allowing 2 runs in 8 innings. Brian Tallet (0-1) was charged with the loss in relief. He pitched 1 inning, allowing 4 hits and no walks.

Game 4: Plainsfield 12 at Chuckanut Bay 7
Center fielder Ken Griffey Jr touched them all and had 2 RBI as the Plainsfield Hitmen topped the Chuckanut Bay Tubas by a score of 12 to 7 at Busch Stadium. Dan Wheeler (2-2) came through for Kevin Kolb with an excellent relief stint. He performed flawlessly in relief in his 2 innings and recorded 4 strikeouts lowering his postseason ERA from 3.86 to 2.70. This was the kind of game that many fans love as the lead changed hands 5 times. The losing pitcher was Duaner Sanchez (0-1) in relief. He allowed 2 hits and no walks in 1 inning.

The Hitmen absolutely jumped all over the Tubas pitching staff, hitting 10 homers in the four games. Kevin's offense was opportunistic and jumped on every miscue by the Chuckanut Bay defense. His team was clearly superior and he will be a fine representative for the Gold League in the BRASS Championship Series. Best of luck getting that 4th BRASS Championship, Kevin!

I am going to miss the amateurs

2008-04-03T20:18:00.002-05:00

This is a test post to see if everything is good with the invite. I really liked it when we had five AMs. I enjoyed reading minor league reports, prospect lists, etc. This year I will be drafting no AMs. Dont get me wrong. I like drafts too. In fact, drafts and player acquisition are my favorte parts of strat. But to me persoanlly it is sad we have reduced our amateur numbers.

Rules Change Voting Results

2008-04-01T15:08:00.002-05:00

by Vaughn Nuest

Below is a run down of how our crop of proposals fared this year. Kudos to BRASS voters for again carefully considering the proposals and voting, in most cases, in overwelming numbers one way or the other.

Over the years I've always been impressed with how clear league preferences are on most topics and how smart voters have been in assessing the best and most fair season in which to implement changes also. This year is no exception.

No matter what your position is on given topics, the league has always been so well served by its membership and how they approach these critical voting issues. Good work guys, as always. I've never been stuck with a klunker or impossible to implement or understand league change.

Commentary on the voting ....

The first Proposal, the one which synchronizes the in-season playing months with actual months, passed 21-2 (one abstention). So we will be trading now during in-season months right up to the last day of the month and then beginning play around the 7th of the following month, with a deadline for completion of games as the last day of the given month also.

It seems clear that we've dug about as deep as the league cares to dig in terms of reducing the number of amateur players on rosters and increasing the draft's strength. While league voters narrowly approved (by a 13-11 margin) a further reduction in the number of amateur players we want to see on rosters, the league strongly favored retaining two amateurs (13 votes) over both the option of one amateur (5 votes) or zero amateurs (6 votes). As with last year, this change won't take effect until the 2009 Draft. So we all have about 13 months to cut down to a total of 2 amateurs on our 2009-10 pre-draft rosters.

71% to 29% of the membership (17 yes to 7 no) voted to make another in our series of routine, cosmetic modifications to BRASS dollar amounts to make them feel just about like modern MLB salary numbers. The proposal also slightly modified the Y1, Y2, and Y3 contract amounts to bring them more closely in line with MLB entry wages and account for the salary increases that MLB players get as their early service time accrues (BRASS had a flat rate for each season with no raises). The new dollar amounts will be shown in the next roster file update, which will come out after the April 18 trade freeze begins. The new system will officially be in effect at that time.

23 of us liked the proposal that modified our player overuse fines to a graduated scale whose penalty amounts varied in direct proportion to the size of the infraction. The usage buffer concept is retained in this proposal, preserving the buffers that currently exist to cover slight manager miscalculation and other events. We definitely thought overuse fines should still exist, but that the fine should better fit the crime that our current system.

By a 14-10 margin, the league said they prefer to keep the Home/Road Discrepancy program in place as is, measuring and rewarding as it does now.23 of us also stated that we believe players who are on no-trade contracts may not be exposed to selection in The Draft and must remain on a team's protected list from here forward.

17 of the 24 of us want to see veteran players get veteran player (or "U") contracts when selected in the draft. We'll begin this with the 2008 Draft.12 people felt the current Y1 PA and IP thresholds were best and 12 wanted to see them revised slightly, as detailed in the proposal. So these thresholds will stay as they are.

By a 14-10 margin, league voters did not wish to see draftees become eligible for a month-to-month contract, irrespective of their MLB PA or IP levels. These contracts (MTM) therefore remain in the private domain of Secondary Free Agency signees.

By an 88% to 12% (21 to 3) margin, the league approved the utilization of the "B" contract minimums and not the "U" contract minimums to determine contract amounts for players re-signed after returning to their teams when no one signed them in the Free Agency process.

And in what is certainly the ballot item with the biggest impact on league play of any proposal on this list, the question of whether to eliminate the DH (and if so, when), the league voted decisively but not overwelmingly, 58% to 42% (14-10), to eliminate the DH from BRASS in the future. The 2010-11 season was selected by 13 voters as the year in which this will be implemented. The 2009-10 season was the choice of 9 voters. 2 voters wanted the DH to be gone immediately, starting with next season.

So we will all have until September 1, 2010, exactly 30 months from today, to figure out how best to plan our individual roster set up for the elimination of the DH. While I would bet the league membership is savvy enough to have done it in 3 months if they needed to, we'll have 10 times that transition period, so we will have plenty of time to make plans or discuss/vote on any special circumstances that we perceive may be part of this implementation.

I encourage you all to give some individual thought about how this change will impact your roster and while it almost sounds silly to consider how something 30 months away will impact you, time passes and things can catch up to us all. Someone like me, who has extended DH David Ortiz's contract for three seasons, will have some decisions to make before that last season comes due for me when Big Papi may not have a position on my roster anymore, other than pinch hitter.Again - great work here guys. Nothing we can't handle and implement cleanly on this list. Nothing scares me at all here from an administrative standpoint.

And from the decisive voting totals here on the topics we all liked, it certainly looks like we all decided to tweak the league in small ways to make it more fun or more to our liking, which is the point of the process.

I'll revise the constitution as I am able, as usual, to reflect our changes and get the new document out to you all.

Good luck with your draft prep!

About rule changes

2008-03-16T15:30:00.002-05:00

I would just like to add my 2 cents about the recent posts on rule changes.

I agree with most of what has been written so far. In particular, I see no reason for tripling the salary scale. I was sitting on the fence on this, but you guys convinced me (I will have to change my submiottedvote): we're used to this scale, and it doesn't matter whether we have a $500 or $35M stipend to play with, what counts is player/value, no matter what the baseline is.

Plus, I can't remember the details (what is Scott who wrote about that a few years back?), but I'm not sure straightforward tripling of everything doesn't create some discrepancies somewhere down the line.

As for the amateur players ratio, I personally love the draft, and scouting those is my favorite part. But I understand the league's concerns, and will vote for abolishing them altogether (might as well do it all the way if we're going to do it).

More on Team Nicknames

2008-03-16T13:39:00.001-05:00

by Daniel Valois

It would actually be interesting to see more people comment on their team's nicknames. I'm sure some of them have interesting stories behind them.

Here are mine. The first two are kind of boring, the last one is more interesting.

BRASSWORLD: Lafontaine Park Diamonds. I live right next to Lafontaine Park in Montreal, and its baseball diamonds (in ever dwindling numbers now) were where I had my best years playing organized baseball between the ages of 10 and 15.

BLOC: Parc Jarry Expos. The Expos were (and will always be) my favorite sports team of all-time. Damn you MLB. Your loss. Parc Jarry was the home of the Expos from 1969 to 1976, before they moved to then state-of-the-art Olympic Stadium. It was a small place (max. capacity of just under 30, 000), but it was a fantastic place to watch baseball. You could almost touch the players on the field, and the ambiance was crazy. People just loved their Expos. The first year, the Expos were one of the very few teams to draw over a million fans (at a time when one million was a lot) to their games. I have so many fond memories from that place. The "Parc Jarry" moniker is of course aimed at reflecting the French part of Montreal’s bilingual culture.

BRASS: Montreal Sunsets. Well, Montreal is my hometown, I was born right downtown, baptised at what later became the Université du Québec à Montréal, and lived there all my life except for a 10-year hiatus in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, and Los Angeles. "Sunsets" stands for two things: first it's an homage to my alma mater, UCLA, where I got my PhD in, ahum, 1991. Our department (Linguistics) was just off Sunset Boulevard. I just loved my time there. The logo's colours are UCLA's. Benoît Gauthier, a fellow Montrealer who was then a member of Brass, designed it (as well as a few others in the league).

Second, it's a reference to a unique set of events that happened a few times at the old Expos home of Jarry Park, before league officials decided to delay the start of some early evening games.

Jarry Park was a small Junior League stadium, with one set of bleachers in left field. Early in the 1969 inaugural season, the team had scheduled a bunch of 7pm games. That worked for a while. The problems started when the days got longer and the sun would start to set after game time from higher up in the sky. It so happened that those sunsets were right behind the left field beachers, which after a while were no longer shielding the infield from the glaring sun. That’s when "infield ground-rule doubles" started to happen. The chain of events would go like this: batter grounds out to shortstop, shortstop handles the ball cleanly, throws over to first base perfectly, and … first-baseman loses the ball in the sun ! Nobody touched the ball after the throw, both the fielding and throwing part of the play were flawless, and the batter ends up at second base. Official scoring: ground-rule double. After firstbaseman Ron Fairly complained a few times that every groundball to shortstop Bobby Wine was life threatening, game umpires decided to delay the game once the sun would competely set behing that problematic spot.

And if you think this is funny, ask someone to tell you the Joe Sparma story!

Rule Change Proposal Comments

2008-03-15T20:26:00.002-05:00

As we're dealing with the flurry of messages and decisions endemic to free agency, hopefully we'll all remember that there are proposals to be voted on. It would also be good if there could be some discussion of the proposed changes before the voting, so people can make informed decisions. I'll start the ball rolling with some thoughts:

2 - Reduce the number of AM players
If you read my earlier post, you know I like this one. I'm for phasing out AM players completely, and the logical next step in that process is to reduce the number to either 1 or 2 next year (having gone from 5 to 3 this year). As others have noted, the lack of impact players in the rookie draft pool really draws out the process of turning around a bad team. Plus, the most astute managers tend to also be the best at picking AMs, so dynasty teams tend to get reinforced.

3 - Update dollar amounts
I've been through at least two of these now, and I'd really, really like it if I didn't have to do it again. (I'm talking about rescalings, not a restructuring like when we went to the Y1-Y2-Y3 system.) I really don't care whether our salary structure comes anywhere near matching that of Major League Baseball; that target will never sit still anyway. I want a system that's easy to use and understand, and which balances the different types of costs in a way that makes sense.

Multiplying everything by 3 isn't going to make the system easier for anyone. Not that most of us will have trouble remembering to adjust the numbers before comparing contracts across different years, but it's one more thing to worry about.

Just as with previous updates, it's not just a matter of multiplying everything by a fixed number. If this proposal passes, AM, M0 and Y1 contracts will be cheaper (relative to the revenue stream) than they are now, while Y3 contracts will be more expensive. Should we make those changes? I don't know, but if we do, we should do so explicitly, not as a side effect of/footnote to a general round of inflation.

4. Scale fines to level of overuse
A very good idea, and long overdue; frankly, it's ridiculous to charge the same amount for a ticky-tack foul as for using, say, Barry Bonds full time. I'd like to see the ranges widened somewhat, and/or based on percentages of a player's allotted usage instead of fixed PA/IP amounts. But the proposal before us is certainly better than what we're doing now.

6. Protecting NT players from the draft
This is a no-brainer for me; I actually thought we already required this. The only change I'd make is to allow NT players to be left unprotected as long as the owning team pays the NT cost if the player is claimed by another team.

7. Drafted veterans must be signed to U contract
The problem with this is that it's not always obvious which players are affected. Sure, if the guy had 200 AB the year before, you'll probably know about it. But suppose he pitched 50 innings in 2002, then had a couple of Tommy John surgeries before finally getting back to the majors last year. And suppose you didn't really start paying attention to baseball until 2003. It's going to be an unpleasant surprise when you draft him, then learn that you can't sign him to a Y1 contract.

The nice thing about the present system is that all players in the draft pool are treated equally, regardless of their history. I'd like to keep it that way.

9. Drafted players can be signed MTM
We always had this option (at least once MTM contracts were introduced in the first place) until the overhaul of the contract system. I don't know if the MTM option was removed deliberately or if that was an oversight, but I see no reason for the removal. The MTM contract is the ideal vehicle for a player who doesn't have enough PA/IP to keep on the roster the whole year, and doesn't figure to have any future in MLB. Why shouldn't you be able to use it on a draftee?

Where did the name Chuckanut Bay Tubas come from?

2008-03-15T17:59:00.002-05:00

So, why the Chuckanut Bay Tubas? Good question. The answer is that I wanted to pay homage to the early portion of my undergraduate studies. Coming out of high school, I was a really good tuba player. Believe it or not, when played properly the tuba can be quite a beautiful solo instrument, with more range than any other brass instrument. I decided to go to Western Washington University to pursue my undergraduate degree in music performance (never mind the fact that after two years I switched to physics, that's a whole 'nother story).

So, Western Washington University is located in beautiful Bellingham, Washington. I thought about naming the team the Bellingham Tubas, but that didn't quite do it for me. So then I thought about Bellingham Bay Tubas, as Bellingham Bay (part of the Puget Sound) is quite beautiful to look at. However, that name really didn't quite work for me either. Just south of Bellingham Bay is Chuckanut Bay, which is a great place to canoe or kayak. Chuckanut Bay Tubas had a nice ring to it, so a new franchise name was born!

So there you have it. Not a made-up name at all. It pays homage to my early years as an undergratuate student and now joins the lineup of great names for my strat teams:

RRBL: Madison Warthogs - went to grad school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, have some warthog slippers.

NASA: Renton Microbrews - grew up in Renton, Washington and I love beer.

BLOC: Redwood City Atom Smashers - currently live in Redwood City, California and part of my current job is to collide protons into other atoms to make radioisotopes.

BRASSWORLD: Palo Alto Robber Barons - an homage to my employer's location and the mascot that the student body wanted when Stanford University decided that Indians was no longer a politically correct mascot.

Gold League Division Series: (1) Diamond vs. (4) Chuckanut Bay

2008-03-13T00:54:00.003-05:00

Game 1: Chuckanut Bay 4 at Diamond 7
The Diamond Gems defeated the Chuckanut Bay Tubas by a score of 7 to 4 at Coors Field. Diamond had 4 runs cross the plate in the bottom of the 6th inning when they had 5 base hits. The key offensive moment was provided by Alfonso Soriano who made the Diamond fans a happy lot when he doubled bringing in two baserunners. Diamond out-hit Chuckanut Bay for the game, 13 hits to 5. Pat Neshek (1-0) got credit for the victory, pitching 1 inning and allowing no runs. J.J. Putz recorded the save, his 1st. The losing pitcher was Livan Hernandez (0-2). He was hit hard and gave up 9 hits and 2 walks in 5 innings.

Game 2: Chuckanut Bay 2 at Diamond 1
Kevin Millwood went 8 strong innings as the Chuckanut Bay Tubas defeated the Diamond Gems by the score of 2 to 1 at Coors Field. Chuckanut Bay took the lead for good in the 3rd inning plating an isolated run utilizing 2 base hits. Chuckanut Bay had only 6 hits for the night. The victory was credited to Millwood (1-1) who went 8 innings, allowing no runs. Takashi Saito earned his 2nd save. Josh Johnson (0-1) took the loss.

Game 3: Diamond 14 at Chuckanut Bay 6
Lance Berkman ripped 4 homeruns and had 9 RBI as the Diamond Gems outscored the Chuckanut Bay Tubas 14 to 6. Berkman really lit it up for Diamond. The Chuckanut Bay fans let him have it for what he did to their boys. He belted a three-run homer in the 1st inning, blasted a two-run home run in the 2nd inning, smashed a bases-empty 'big-fly' in the 3rd inning and lofted a three-run bomb (his 4th of the post-season) in the 7th inning. Diamond finished with 15 hits while Chuckanut Bay ended up with 7. Chris Capuano (1-0) got the win allowing 4 runs in 5 innings. John Maine (1-1) suffered the loss. He served up 4 homeruns in his 5 innings. 'They made a couple of mistakes and I took full advantage,' Berkman said 'next time I'm sure they'll pitch me tougher.'

Game 4: Diamond 7 at Chuckanut Bay 1
In a lop-sided win the Diamond Gems ripped the Chuckanut Bay Tubas by a 7 to 1 count. Scott Rolen had a good evening at the plate. He doubled bringing in two baserunners in the 1st inning and bombed a two-run dinger (his 1st of the post-season) in the 3rd inning. For the game Diamond out-hit Chuckanut Bay 12 to 5. Chien-Ming Wang (1-0) picked up the victory, allowing 1 run in 5 innings. Livan Hernandez (0-3) absorbed the loss. He allowed 10 hits and 5 walks in 5 innings.

Game 5: Diamond 7 at Chuckanut Bay 8
In an exciting finish the Chuckanut Bay Tubas pulled out a win over the Diamond Gems by a score of 8 to 7 at Busch Stadium. The deciding run was scored by Chuckanut Bay in the 9th. After an out was recorded, Geoff Jenkins blasted a solo shot (his 2nd of the post-season) giving
Chuckanut Bay the win and sending the home town fans into a frenzy. Chuckanut Bay managed 12 hits in their victory. Takashi Saito (1-0) picked up the victory, allowing 3 runs in 1 inning. Adam Wainwright (0-1) was charged with the loss in relief. Dave Dick was just happy to get a win, 'We've had such a bad streak of games -- boy, it's great to get the monkey off our back. Now maybe we can relax a little and play the kind of baseball of which we are capable.'

Game 6: Chuckanut Bay 9 at Diamond 2
The Chuckanut Bay Tubas had very little trouble at Coors Field downing the Diamond Gems. The score was 9 to 2. Chuckanut Bay came up with 5 runs in the top of the 2nd inning when they had 4 base hits. The early run support proved sufficient for Paul Byrd (2-0) and Chuckanut Bay. That was all the run support Byrd required. Chuckanut Bay had 8 hits for the night. Josh Johnson (0-2) was given the loss. He allowed 5 runs and 4 hits in 1 and 2/3 innings.

Game 7: Chuckanut Bay 9 at Diamond 1
In an embarrassing outing for the Diamond Gems pitching staff, Chuckanut Bay Tubas flexed their collective muscle amassing 9 runs as Livan Hernandez (1-3)with help from the bullpen held Diamond to 1 run. Chuckanut Bay set the tone of the game in the first inning when they tallied 2
runs on 1 hit. The early run support proved sufficient for Hernandez and Chuckanut Bay. That was all the run support Hernandez required. Chuckanut Bay had a total of 8 hits for the game. Chris Capuano (1-1) absorbed the loss. Chuckanut Bay scored big getting 4 runs off him in 2 and 1/3 innings.

This series was one in which one team got a lot of luck and as a result won the game. Both teams scored 39 runs in the series, showing how even the matchup really was despite some lopsided scores. Game 7 really could have gone either way, but I seemed to get good luck in the form of home run splits and Vaughn was getting bad luck in the form of two errors by a 2e6 shortstop, hitting into a lineout DP to kill an early rally, KRod giving up two bases-loaded walks, etc.

Honestly, if these teams played another 20 games, I bet Diamond wins around 14 out of 20. I just happened to catch a couple of breaks. Chuckanut Bay looks forward to matching up with Green Bay or Plainsfield in the next round.

The Look of the Face

2008-03-09T18:35:00.002-05:00

In a word, grim. Very grim.

A combination of expired contracts and failed prospects has left the Face with a badly depleted lineup and a virtually nonexistent pitching rotation. Going into free agency:
- David Eckstein's B contract has expired, making him a URFA. Ben Zobrist was released, so the closest thing to a replacement is AM Brent Lillibridge, who has yet to play in the majors.
- Once-promising second baseman Jorge Cantu has fizzled, and Ryan Freel lost much of the year to injuries and ineffectiveness (plus he's an RFA).
- In the outfield, Luis Gonzalez went URFA, Freel and Milton Bradley are RFAs, and Mark Kotsay was even more injured and ineffective than Freel. Former prospects Laynce Nix and John Rodriguez were released, leaving nothing in the pipeline.
- Worst of all is the rotation. Doug Davis, Jarrod Washburn and Kenny Rogers all finished out their contracts, and prospects like J.P. Howell and Seth McClung took steps backwards. Ubaldo Jimenez and Edgar Gonzalez will pick up a little of the slack, but they and (God help us) Tomo Ohka are the only starters we have at this point. That's 240 innings total, scarcely more than you normally expect from your #1 starter alone.

Not much waits in the wings, either. Adam Jones is a coming star, but Alberto Callaspo's upside is a middle-of-the-pack second baseman, Scott Moore's is a mediocrity at third, and Guillermo Quiroz will get about 400 at-bats in a 5-year career as a third-string catcher if he's very, very lucky. Dioner Navarro is expected to break out; if he does, and Mike Napoli takes charge in Anaheim, one of them can be traded. That's about it.

I should be able to repair some of the damage with free agents, as I lead the league in both bank balance and margin. But to actually put together a winning team that way, I'd need four regulars and four rotation starters, half of them stars and the other half at least league average. A couple of relievers wouldn't hurt either; I haven't mentioned my bullpen, but suffice it to say that Joe Borowski is my closer. It's possible to get all that from free agency, but you need a much bigger budget than mine. (A team called the Iowa Roscoes went Steinbrenner on the league and bought an All-Star squad a few years ago, but they had over $90M to work with.) No, I'm going to have to just hope for enough warm bodies to field a team and allow me to go for prospects with upside in the rookie draft.

Wild Card: Chuckanut Bay vs. Great Kills

2008-03-02T22:47:00.002-06:00

The Gold League wild card matchup was Chuckanut Bay (89-73) vs. Great Kills (88-74). The winner of this series gets the reward of having to face the Diamond Gems (120-42), holder of the best overall record in the league. So, here's how the games went...

Game 1
Great Kills 2 at Chuckanut Bay 9
John Maine went the distance and Julio Lugo left the yard and had 2 RBI as the Chuckanut Bay Tubas defeated the Great Kills Galloping Ghost by the score of 9 to 2 at Busch Stadium. Great Kills never recovered after Chuckanut Bay took the lead in the 3rd inning when they scored 2 runs on 2 hits. The critical plate appearance was by Lugo who brought a roar from the partisan Busch Stadium fans when he bombed a two-run dinger (his 1st of the season). Chuckanut Bay had a total of 11 hits for the game. Maine(1-0) allowed 2 runs on the game. Jason Jennings(0-1) was tagged with the loss. He was hit hard and gave up 10 hits and 3 walks in 6 and 2/3innings.

Game 2
Great Kills 11 at Chuckanut Bay 3
Ben Sheets racked up an impressive total of 16 strikeouts and Alex Rios had 2 base hits and 3 RBI as the Great Kills Galloping Ghost defeated the Chuckanut Bay Tubas 11 to 3 at Busch Stadium. Sheets(1-0) contributed a very nicely pitched game. He surrendered only 8 hits and no walks in 9 innings and allowed 2 gopher balls. Great Kills had a total of 16 hits for the game. Livan Hernandez(0-1) took the loss. He got hit pretty hard, allowing 8 hits and 3 walks in 5 innings. 'He was really impressive tonight,' Hernandez said of his counterpart. 'Our guys were just swinging at air.'

Game 3
Chuckanut Bay 4 at Great Kills 8
Alex Rios cracked a homer and had 2 RBI and Ted Lilly whiffed 10 batters as the Great Kills Galloping Ghost topped the Chuckanut Bay Tubas by a score of 8 to 4 at Angels Stadium. Lilly(1-0) gave a fine effort for Great Kills. He surrendered 5 hits and 2 walks in 6 and 2/3 innings. Great Kills and Chuckanut Bay each finished the night with 10 hits. Kevin Millwood(0-1) was the losing pitcher. Lilly was pleased with his performance. He noted, 'I had good zip on my pitches. Just as important, my location was right on. The fans really got into the game too - that alwayshelps me. Now, if I can only do that again in my next outing.'

Game 4
Chuckanut Bay 10 at Great Kills 6
Third baseman Miguel Cabrera went yard and had 2 RBI at Angels Stadium as the Chuckanut Bay Tubas beat the Great Kills Galloping Ghost 10 to 6. Paul Byrd(1-0) got the win despite looking shaky at times. He gave up 8 hits and 1 walk in 6 innings. The Chuckanut Bay offense poured it on, scoring in 7 of the 9 innings. Brendan Donnelly(0-1) was tagged with the loss in relief. He gave up 4 runsin 2 innings of work.

Game 5
Great Kills 3 at Chuckanut Bay 5
Miguel Cabrera had 2 base hits at Busch Stadium as the Chuckanut Bay Tubas beat the Great Kills Galloping Ghost 5 to 3. Chuckanut Bay took the lead off Jason Jennings in the first inning when they scored 4 runs on 3 hits. That was all John Thomson(1-0) needed. The pitchers took over after the 4th inning as neither team was able to score again. Thomson was helped out by Takashi Saito who recorded his 1st save. Jennings(0-2) ended up with the loss. He pitched 6 innings giving up 6 hitsand 3 walks.

The series was very much back and forth and it seemed to switch quite frequently as to who was getting the rolls at any given time. In game five, Chuckanut Bay seemed to get all the rolls at the crucial times. These were two very evenly matched teams.

Now, here's hoping the Vaughn's brain is still scrambled from organizing free agency when the next series gets underway!

Duluth Advances: Home Sweet Home

2008-02-27T12:16:00.002-06:00

by Michael Swanson

Ask the ‘87 and ‘91 Twins. Ask the ’01 Diamondbacks. And now ask the 2008 Dukes. I know it is only a divisional series, but ask all these teams how important it is to have home field advantage. The Duluth-Superior Dukes (106-56) won the divisional series over the East Lyme Crush (103-59), four games to three. This series was one of the closest series I have been a part of. One at bat could have changed the whole thing.

The games were hard fought and all but one statistic was the same.

Batting Average: D-S .254, EL .250.
Runs Scored: 30 each.
Doubles: D-S 12, EL 14.
Strikeouts by pitchers: D-S 37, EL 41.

I could go on. The one stat that jumps out at you are the homeruns. East Lyme connected 7 times while the Dukes were able to crush 14 times.

The big guys really came through! Justin Morneau led the Dukes hitting 4 homeruns and hitting in 7 runners. Albert Pujols hit 3 balls out of the yard and had 8 rbi, while Alex Rodriguez also connected 3 times but hit only 4 runners in. Beltran had 3 for the Crush.

Game 1:
The Crush got on the board right away in the first as Derek Jeter scored on a wild pitch. The Dukes came back in the bottom of the first plating 4 runs with the big hit from Morneau on a 3-run homer. Eventually the Crush tied the game 4-4 in the seventh on a single by Carlos Beltran. Alex Rodriguez then hit the game winning homerun in the bottom of the 8th off Joel Zumaya(0-1). The winning pitcher Mariano Rivera(1-0) pitched two innings and gave way to Joe Nathan to earn his first save.

Game 2:
The Dukes scored first in the bottom of the second with a Justin Morneau homerun. By the bottom of the fifth, East Lyme had built a lead of 3-1. The lead did not last long as in the bottom half of the inning, Duluth-Superior scored 3 runs. The big hit was a 3-run smash by Albert Pujols. The Dukes would go on to score 2 more runs to win 6-3 and to take a commanding lead of 2-0 in the series. The winning pitcher Freddy Garcia gave up 9 hits in 5 innings. Jon Rauch, Darren Oliver and finally Joe Nathan(save #2) needed to help out with 4 strong scoreless relief innings.

Game 3:
The next 3 games belonged to the crush. The crush took a 4 run lead in the first inning of game 3 and never looked back. Connor Jackson plated two runners with a first inning double and Mark Derosa had a solo shot in the 8th. The final score, 7-2 and East Lyme was back in it. Greg Maddox was the winner and Lackey was shelled for 9 hits and six earned runs in only 5 2/3 innings of work.

Game 4:
Again East Lyme got a four run inning but this time they had to wait until the 7th inning. The Dukes were enjoying a 3-2 lead thanks to two homeruns and three runs batted in by Alex Rodriguez. Carlos Beltran’s two run homer in the bottom of the 7th was the big blow and helped East Lyme to tie the series at 2-2.

Game 5:
Chris Young and C.C. Sabathia fought for 7innings and the game was still up in the air until the last out was recorded. Down 3-1 in the top of the ninth the Dukes sent up Tadahito Iguchi with one out. Iguchi bombs one off reliever D. Reyes to make the score 3-2 and then with two out and the tying run on first, Reyes is able to close the door by getting Randy Winn to fly out and secure a 3-2 game lead for the Crush. Other homeruns hit were Cuddyer(2nd) and Carroll(1st).

Game 6:
Game 6 pits Erik Bedard and Freddy Garcia and the Crush erupt with two first inning runs on a two-run bomb by Carlos Beltran(2nd). The Dukes not to be outdone comes back in the bottom of the 1st with two of their own to tie the game. The Dukes busted the game open when they were able to score four more runs in the third. Cuddyer was the star of the game: in the top of the third inning he robs Juan Rivera of an extra base hit, then in the bottom hits his 2nd double of the game to hit in his 2nd run of the game. East Lyme pecked away at the 6-2 lead the Dukes had scoring one in the fifth and two in the seventh. Joe Nathan was called on again to shut the door on the Crush and did just that. Nathan struck out Derek Jeter and Russell Branyon to end the game and force a game 7 in this Divisional series.

Game 7:
Game 7 starters were Greg Maddux and John Lackey. The first inning was exciting as Derek Jeter starts off with a base hit and eventually scores on Barry Bonds. Swanson was heard saying, “If you would have told me that our pitcher would hold Barry Bonds to a batting average of .048 in this series, I would have laughed in your face. Our pitchers pitched great to keep him off the board.”

The bottom of the first saw the Dukes score two with Pujols’ 4th homerun of the series. The Dukes would go on to score one in the second on a homer off the bat of Iguchi(2nd). Two more runs would be scored in the 4th inning and another in the 7th. In all the Dukes hit 3 homeruns and 4 doubles in this game and win the game 6-2 and the series 4-3. Lackey(1-1) was the winner and Greg Maddux(1-1) the losing pitcher.

Notable stats:
Dukes:
Pujols: 3 HR’s, 4 2B’s, 8 RBI, .333 BA.
Morneau: 4 HR’s, 7 RBI, .192 BA.
AROD: 3 HR’s, 4 RBI, .261 BA.
D. Oliver: 5 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 K’s
Nathan: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 7 K’s

Crush:
Carroll: 7 RBI, .381 BA.
Beltran: 3 HR’s, 9 RBI, .370 BA.
C. Jackson: .360 BA.
Jeter: .333 BA., 4 SB’s, 6 runs scored.
Bonds: 1-21, .04 BA.

Tuba growlings

2008-02-27T00:17:00.002-06:00

The New York Giants better win the championship this year, because it will be a while before the franchise (to be renamed the Chuckanut Bay Tubas at the completion of the postseason) sniffs the playoffs again.

I inherited a team with a lot of expiring contracts and decided to play out the rest of the season and then rebuild. Sure enough, I just got done with the roster decisions and the Chuckanut Bay Tubas will only have 18 players under contract (plus two amateurs) heading into free agency, plus matching rights for Miguel Cabrera.

The Tubas have a ton of holes, and don't figure to be active players in free agency as it would require a monster budget to fill them all. The Tubas will only have two starters, two relievers, no catcher, no third baseman (unless Cabrera's best offer is matched), and very offensively challenged players at second base and shortstop. Indeed, it's time to get young, plug holes via secondary free agency and hope that new GM David Dick is good at assessing young talent.

BRASS 2008-09 Off-Season Begins Tonight

2008-02-25T16:44:00.001-06:00

The league year ends tonight at midnight and we move, administratively, into the 2008-09 league season (our 19th).

Below is the off-season schedule of activities that we will be following this year. Please note that it differs modestly in a few places from the schedule outlined in last year's constitution version. The changes are to allow contract decisions to occur with a fully accurate bank account update, to calibrate key activities to weekends, to avoid having free agency fall on Easter weekend or my business trip the following weekend and to wrap the Draft before Mother's Day.

This year's schedule was trickier than usual. So please save and use this schedule as the official off-season schedule.

February 26: New League season begins. Trade freeze begins.
February 27: I will send out the roster file for contract decisions and roster cuts process.
March 1: Contract decisions and cuts are due back to me.
March 7: I will report signings, cuts, provide a free agent list and bid forms, provide revised rosters with pre-free agency bank accounts.
March 13: Free Agent bids are due.
March 15: I will send out the League Changes voting ballot. Henry sends out League Awards ballot. March 15: Free Agency process begins.
March 21 (or earlier): Free Agency process concludes.
March 25: Free Agency report is sent, league changes and league awards ballots are due.
March 27: Open trading period begins.
April 15: League changes results are reported, league awards voting totals reported.
April 18: Trade Freeze begins.
April 20: 30-man protected lists are due before the draft.
April 25: The Draft begins at 7 pm, ET.
May 9: The Draft concludes.
May 10: Open Trading period begins.
May 15: Draft report due.
May 25: Secondary Free Agency process begins. Player list and bid files sent out.
May 30: Secondary Free Agency bids are due.
June 7: Secondary Free Agency results reported.
2008-09 season begins in September.

I Zinc Ve Have Sometink to Proof, Yes?

2008-02-25T10:26:00.003-06:00

...he says in his best Colonel Klink voice.

This past season, aside from the perennial strong performance from the East Lyme club, the Zinc division did not enjoy a lot of success. Let's look at the status for each team moving into free agency (and sorry if I missed some transactions - there have been a few!).

Cream City:
The Pirates battled but ultimately lost out for the worst record in the league. They fought the good fight though! Now after a complete rebuild they look poised to take the division if the dice fall their way a bit.

Key acquisitions: Frank Thomas, Russ Springer, Joe Saunders, Shane Victorino, Reynel Pinto, Mark Teixeira, Aubrey Huff

Key departures: Ryan Shealy, Cory Sullivan, Xavier Nady, Ryan Doumit, Francisco Cordero, Carlos Villanueva, Hideki Matsui, Chris Young (OF)

SPs: AJ Burnett & Rich Hill headline this group, which slots Jeff Francis, Ian Snell, and Daniel Cabrera into the 3-4-5 roles. This is a reasonable and balanced rotation which should match up fairly well with most teams.

Bullpen: The loss of Cordero will hurt some, but Accardo,Valverde, B Wagner, and the newly acquired Springer provide plenty of quality innings.

Hitters: The Teixeria trade really sets up this lineup nicely, which now has a power SW bat to complement a strong leadoff bat in B Roberts, and an OF studded with talent youngsters like Victorino, Jeremy Hermida (likely DH), BJ Upton and Corey Hart, along with veteran CF Aaron Rowand. JJ Hardy and a platoon of Wilson Betemit and Brandon Inge round out the IF, leaving C as the only spot with real question marks.

Summary/projections: The Pirates will sport an above-average offense, solid defense, and sufficient starting pitching to make a strong playoff run. The bullpen should be able to hold on most leads. I look for 88-92 wins here.

East Lyme:
The top dog in the division last season may be sorely challenged to hold onto that status in 2008-2009. With its cash stash dwindling and some key players aging, East Lyme made a few moves to get younger and cheaper while not drastically harming its talent base. Two future HOFers are gone in Bonds & Maddux but at least Bonds is easily replaced.

Key acquisitions: Woody Williams, Dave Weathers, Chad Qualls

Key departures: Barry Bonds, Greg Maddux

SPs: The East Lyme rotation will be led by two of the top LHs in all of baseball, Erik Bedard & CC Sabathia. The rest of the rotation will feature some combo of RHs Williams, Bonser, Wakefield & Vargas and maybe a FA or two.

Bullpen: New acquisitions Weathers and Qualls will play key roles here, as will returning vets Bob Howry, Damaso Marte, CJ Wilson and Joel Zumaya.

Hitters: Jack Cust looks to take over the DH duties from the departing Bonds, and joins Derek Jeter, Nick Markakis, Luke Scott, and Carlos Beltran to form the backbone of the Crush lineup. The infield will feature ROY Ryan Braun and Mark De Rosa as well as up & comer 1B Conor Jackson.

Summary/projections: This is an offense that will not have trouble scoring runs, though infield defense leaves something to be desired at this point, and SPs beyond the top 2 are weak. This looks like a team that will score runs and hold onto most leads due to a deep bullpen, but will lose a few blowouts as well against better pitching. I see an 85- to 90-win season here.

San Jose (updated for Sizemore trade):
Like Cream City, the Scorpions are looking for a turnaround, but in this case it may still be another year off. The new blood injected into the franchise will help, but free spending of cash in order to acquire players and picks may hurt the club in free agency.

Key acquisitions: Joe Blanton, Carlos Pena, Josh Hamilton, Manny Delcarmen, Ryan Church, Randy Johnson, Kevin Correia, Andrew Brown, George Sherrill, Ryan Doumit, Mark Ellis, Barry Zito, Jacoby Ellsbury, Ron Villone, Mike Lamb, Cory Snyder, Randy Wolf, Chuck Lofgren, PNC Park

Key departures: Grady Sizemore, Fausto Carmona, Brian Bannister, Vernon Wells, Jeff Clement, Humberto Sanchez, Carlos Villanueva, Chad Cordero, Kevin Millar, Nick Punto, A Otsuka, Tom Gordon, Carlos Silva, Rudy Seanez, Scott Baker, Chris Ianetta, R Springer, J Lopez, McLouth

SPs: The Scorpions lacked a true #1 SP after dealing Carmona for a big bat, but the acqusition of Blanton will help some. So now Blanton, Zito and Bush will serve as the mainstays of the rotation, then mix & match with the Unit, Wolf, Correia, and whatever scraps can be found in free agency.

Bullpen: Springer was dealt, but replaced soon after by the live young arm of Manny Delcarmen. Manny will join Gregg, Janssen, Sherrill, Brown and Villone to make up a deep and talented bullpen which fits the home park nicely.

Hitters: Pena, Grady Sizemore and Jimmy Rollins made up the heart of the lineup along with platoon RFer Hamilton, but Sizemore was moved in a deadline deal to improve pitching and acquire picks. In the short term he'll be replaced in the lineup with Church vs RH and Logan vs LH, which will weaken the OF defense to a 3 in CF (Hamilton) but should not hurt the offense much. The C platoon of Doumit & Snyder should be productive enough, and Mike Lamb & J McDonald will do the same at the hot corner. Rent-a-player Ellis will turn a lot of DPs with Rollins as a partner. The club holds signing rights to other players at multiple positions, so free agency will also have a bearing on the final lineup spots of LF/DH/3B.

Summary/projections: The addition of Blanton and Johnson to the SPs makes it a deeper and more talented group, capable of keeping games close, and the bullpen is back to being a strength with the addition of Delcarmen. If the final lineup spots are filled with league average or better bats, the offense should be productive enough to win some games. This looks like an 84-88 win team if the final holes are filled reasonably via FAs & the draft.

Olympia:
The Seariders are waiting for a new swell to come in but that swell may take a while to build. Finances and talent that is a ways from maturing have dictated another year of rebuilding for this club.

Key acquisitions: Chris Capuano, Charlie Haeger, Clay Hensley, Humberto Sanchez, Carlos Silva, V Wells, Tom Gordon

Key departures: Barry Zito, Jacoby Ellsbury, draft picks

SPs: This team acquired much-needed cheap innings in its last deal and Silva and Capuano headline a group that will just tread water until reinforcements (Gio Gonzalez, an improved John Danks?) are ready.

Bullpen: Some reasonable upside with Aardsma, Jorge Sosa, and Luke Hudson, but off years for some of this group made things tough on their owner.

Hitters: Aside from Aaron Hill, not a lot to look at here. Hatteberg will provide his usual strong OBP, but youth & power are lacking at nearly every position. I anticipate some restocking via the draft.

Summary/projections: Another 50-55 win season coming here, and possibly worse as the division rivals are stronger. 2010 maybe better?

2008 BRASS Draft Lottery results

2008-02-23T10:16:00.002-06:00

Maybe Paul should have stuck around a while longer? :)

The vacant Happy Valley franchise has secured the 2008 #1 overall Draft pick by winning the BRASS Draft Lottery. The order of selection for the first seven picks in each round is shown in the results report below. The public draft lottery process this year involved the calculation of the sum of random one-digit numbers generated by the shooting percentage results of NBA games.

The method is explained in detail further below the results report that follows.

1. Happy Valley - 171 points
-------------------
2/20: Cleveland @ Indiana
4+8+1+4+7+6+6+6+7+4+3+8+3+7+5+9+0+0 = 88
2/22: Atlanta @ Golden State
4+6+7+4+3+5+8+5+2+4+7+9+2+3+1+7+0+6 = 83

2. Olympia - 170 points
------------
2/20: Chicago @ New Jersey
3+8+1+2+8+6+7+5+0+4+2+9+5+2+6+7+7+8 = 90
2/22: Milwaukee @ Detroit
5+0+0+4+0+0+6+6+7+5+1+7+3+6+8+7+7+8 = 80

3. Meridian - 154 points
------------
2/20: Atlanta @ Sacramento
4+9+3+5+0+0+7+2+7+4+6+5+5+2+6+8+0+6 = 79
2/22: Sacramento @ Charlotte
4+5+5+5+2+9+7+5+0+4+3+9+4+4+0+7+1+1 = 75

4. Cream City - 153 points
----------------
2/20: Dallas @ New Orleans
4+5+2+2+6+7+8+5+2+4+6+7+5+2+6+7+5+0 = 83
2/22: Denver @ Chicago
4+8+3+3+5+7+7+8+1+5+7+1+5+0+0+6+0+0 = 70

5. Sugar Creek - 145 points
------------------
2/20: New York @ Philadelphia
4+5+9+2+2+7+7+3+3+5+7+0+5+0+0+7+3+1 = 70
2/22: Houston @ New Orleans
4+9+4+3+1+6+7+6+9+4+0+0+1+8+2+5+6+0 = 75

6. Montgomery County - 143 points
-----------------------------
2/20: Orlando @ Toronto
4+5+2+3+2+1+7+8+1+5+8+8+5+5+0+8+8+0 = 80
2/22: Philadelphia @ Orlando
4+5+6+2+3+1+7+5+0+5+1+2+4+5+5+8+0+0 = 63

7. Hoth - 141 points
-------
2/20: Memphis @ LA Clippers
3+6+4+3+0+0+7+5+0+4+5+0+5+0+0+7+5+9 = 63
2/22: Portland @ Seattle
3+7+2+2+2+2+8+3+3+4+6+2+6+2+5+7+8+6 = 78

2008 Draft Lottery method:

To come up with a "game sum" for the randomly assigned NBA games, you add together the individual digits of the six shooting percentage totals for the game.

Let's say the percentages for a sample game were as follows:

Team #1 Field Goal Pct: .423
Team #1 Point Field Goal Pct: .250
Team #1 Free Throw Pct: .734
Team #2 Field Goal Pct: .430
Team #2 3 Point Field Goal Pct: .290
Team #2 Free Throw Pct: .808

In this case, the sample game shooting would yield the following sum:

4+2+3+2+5+0+7+3+4+4+3+0+2+9+0+8+0+8 = 64

The team who was assigned this game would get 64 points, generated from the sum of 18 randomly occurring numbers at this public event.

To determine the lottery winner you add up the game sums of the two games each team was randomly assigned and the team with the highest combined total gets the overall #1 pick. The tam with the second-highest total picks 2nd, on down to the 7th highest total who selects in the #7 position. This draft order holds true for each round of the 2008 Draft.

The tie-breaker is the team having the game with the best 3-point percentage by any team in either of the two games. If still tied, we use free throw percentage and then overall field goal percentage.

The state of the Iron Division: The Southtown Misers

2008-02-22T20:20:00.000-06:00

When Henry Vance took over the Syracuse franchise four years ago, the team was in complete shambles: there were no good players, young or veteran, not much in terms of draft picks, and virtually no money in the bank. Since then, Henry has led his Southtown Misers to two playoff berths, including one this year - narrowly squeaking by thanks to the undeniable virtues of home cooked meals.

Now, it’s back to square one. Well, not exactly. At least the roster has a few interesting trading chips that the Misers can turn into valuable commodities for the future. The rebuilding process is already underway in Southtown, with Roy Halladay having been sent to Meridian (who in turn shipped him to Plainsfield). For a first draft pick and a promising slugger. More trades are sure to follow in the next few weeks.

The present

On offense

The core players here are Victor Martinez, one of the better catchers (offensively at least - .892 OPS) in Brass, 2Bman Ian Kinsler (.796 OPS), 3Bman Troy Glaus (.839), the ageless ex-Expo Moises Alou (.916 OPS, although in only 355 plates appearances), and probably the most valuable player of all the current Misers, Placido Polanco, with a .341/.388/.458 to go along with a mind-boggling 2e0 rating at second base. Ryan Church also brings something to the table with an .813 OPS, .866 against right-handed pitchers. Finally, Scott Hairston will be useful with his .801 OPS versus RHP (although his. 689 OPS vs lefties is weak).

Unfortunately, two key and expensive players had horrible 2007 seasons: Andrew Jones (.726 OPS) and Vernon Wells (.706), although they redeem themselves a little with their Gold Glove caliber defense.

The pitching

Basically, it comes down to Joe Blanton and Noah Lowry on the starting front, and Juan Cruz and Manny Delcarmen in the pen. That’s it. However, all but Cruz are still on Y-contracts.

The future

The future of the Misers will all depend of the return they get from their upcoming trades. The core of tradable players may just bring in enough future talent to make the rebuilding process a successful one. In addition, Stephen Drew is still a promising middle infielder, and Felipe Lopez, disappointing the last two years after an All-Star season with the Reds, is still young and could return to form, especially now that he doesn’t have to play such a demanding position as shortstop anymore.
Finally, the team has at least three promising youngsters in Scott Elbert, Angel Villalona, acquired in the Halladay trade, and Eric Hurley, even if they are a few years away.

Resources

This is an area where the franchise needs to improve dramatically. Financially, the team only has $621, 176 in the bank, and, now with the trade of Halladay, $21, 595, 332 committed next year, including the “bad” contracts (things happen) to Randy Johnson $3.5M), Sidney Ponson ($2.05M), and Cliff Politte ($1.55M).
Moreover, the Misers have traded most of their early picks in an attempt to field competitive teams the last two years: their #1, 2, 4, 5 in 2008, and their #2, 3 in 2009. They did get Meridians’s 2008 #1 pick in the aforementioned trade.

In conclusion, all is not lost for Southtown, but Henry will have to be shrewd with his next moves, both personnel-wise and money-wise.

Rally Killer!

2008-02-22T15:44:00.003-06:00

Well, I've read Vaughn's two recent posts and, unfortunately, both apply to me...

First, it's nice to get some kudos for making the playoffs but I really only made a couple of moves. The core of the Phoenix (Ryan Howard, Carlos Guillen, Carlos Lee, Brandon Webb) were here when I arrived. I did add a couple of pieces to the team on the field now, but I certainly didn't build the entire franchise.

Next step, ruin the franchise...

After the modest success to this point of the season, I managed to cripple the franchise by racking up millions in fines by mismanaging player usage. I did get the "benefit", I guess, of squeezing a few more innings out of Danys Baez. Danys Baez? Why did he get any use at all, let alone excessive use? Dumb. And, lesson learned...I hope...

So, after knowing at the end of January that I had made a mistake with Baez, I went ahead and allowed a couple of other players to get overused as well. If I recall correctly, I managed to drop $6 million on absolutely nothing. $6 million, I might add, from a bank account that was below the poverty line to begin with.

Now that the regular season is over, we'll if Vaughn's kind words hit home. Am I really a quality owner capable of building a contender? Or am I, as this season's moves might suggest, simply a world class Rally Killer...

How's the view from the top, guys?

2008-02-22T12:04:00.002-06:00

I wanted to take a moment to congratulate Dave Berks (East Lyme), Mike Swanson (Duluth-Superior), Bob Lord (Green Bay), Robert Smith (Great Kills), Jason South (Phoenix) and Henry Vance (Southtown) for showing us all how to climb from the valleys to the mountaintop.

Any of these six teams will be my sentimental favorite to take the 18th BRASS crown this year and bring the coveted Old BRASS Bucket back to their respective homes. Why? All of these gentlemen are keeping the league strong and competitive by doing just what we hoped when we welcomed them into our enterprise: working to build a competitive franchise.

For those of you who have recently joined BRASS and are building your own squads in your image, new colleagues like Kai Neizman, Dave Silverberg, Sean Crawford, Rob Hamilton, Dave Dick and whomever is lucky enough to become our 24th owner, do yourself a favor and contact one of these guys and ask them how they did it because they are each very good at it!

How good?

Let's take a look...

Dave Berks inherited a team that averaged 107 losses per season in the two years before he took over. The squad continued to struggle on the field as Dave was building, losing an average of 103 per season in the first two years Dave had the team. This year? A fifty game improvement and the first division title in five years for the franchise!

Mike Swanson's squad averaged 98 losses for the three seasons prior to his acceptance into BRASS and the squad he inherited struggled even more during his first two seasons at the helm. As Mike tried to dig out of the mess, he had two seasons in a row where he lost 119 games and then 120. Ouch! But then Mike authored a 69 game turnaround last season and a division title. He followed up his 112-win season last year with a 106-win season and a repeat division crown.

Bob Lord inherited the one franchise in BRASS that had not been in the post-season in its history. Bob inherited a squad that posted a 104-loss season the year before he joined and as he tried to deal with the mess, posted another 104-loss campaign in his first year. Bob improved the record to 69 wins the next season, then 71 wins before breaking through this season with a division title, a franchise record 93 wins and the first post-season berth in the history of the franchise.

Robert Smith took over a team in mid-season that had bottomed out and had gone through 3 owners already in that year. Robert guided the squad in that season to a 68-94 record and then paid a 111-loss price for the ownership chaos the next season, his first full season, as he was rebuilding. Robert vaulted from the 111-loss season to the playoffs this year with a 37-game improvement. The playoff berth Robert engineered was the first in ten seasons for the squad.

Jason South took over a franchise that hadn't made the post-season in 15 seasons, when they were a division winner with a modest .500 record. This was the only post-season appearance for the franchise in its history. The five seasons prior to Jason's tenure this year were especially bad. The squad averaged 97 losses per season for the five years prior to Jason arriving on the scene. In just one season, the team landed itself in the playoffs, breaking the fifteen season drought!

Henry Vance's team, like Mike Swanson's actually broke through last season and is building on its success. Henry broke a fourteen season playoff drought last year and surfaced the franchise from years of losing with an incredible 75-game improvement from 2005-06 to 2006-07. In the eight seasons prior to last year's breakthrough, the franchise averaged a miserable 103 losses per year. Now, they are back in the post-season for consecutive years for the first time in 15 years!

Each of these gentleman has showed us all exactly how it is done and I salute them. We've had some struggling franchises in BRASS history and it is very clear that some of the league's least-heard-from franchises are now in great hands. BRASS is as strong as it has ever been, thanks in part to a great influx of high caliber new owners in the 2003-06 era.

Of course winning seasons and playoff berths are not the only want to measure how good an owner you are. Not by a long shot. But it sure helps make the experience more fun, eh guys!?

Thanks for being an inspiration to all and here's hoping Dave S. and Dave D. and Sean and Rob and Kai all have similar success when they finish putting their own personal stamps on their own inherited franchises!

Proposal for Changing Overusage Penalties

2008-02-22T09:29:00.002-06:00

by Vaughn Nuest

I will be proposing that we make some modifications to the player overusage penalty system this off-season. I believe our system carried too heavy a fine for the cases of modest overuse of medicore players and is about right for the gross, negligent (intentional?) overuse of players by dozens of PA or IP.

I will propose that we continue to fine the gross overuse at a rate that is consistent with the BRASS tradition in order to preserve the disincentive we now employ to discourage this practice. We want to continue to make it unattractive for someone to pay a small fine for overusing players by say 100 PA each in order to avoid the costs of assembling enough players to fill their full roster of needs.

My proposal will focus on the smaller-scale overuse and adjusting those fines so that the penalty more closely fits the relatively small rules infraction.

I'd preserve the 10 PA and 5 IP usage buffer, designed to cover us from unexpected events or small calculation errors. After these buffers, the responsibility is all on us, as it should be.

I'll be proposing a graduated, increasing scale that fines overuse as follows:

Position Players:
11-15 PA over the limit: $500,000
16-20 PA over the limit: $1,000,000
21-25 PA over the limit: $1,500,000
26-30 PA over the limit: $2,000,000
31+ PA over the limt: $2,500,000

Pitchers:
6-9 IP over the limit: $500,000
10-12 IP over the limit: $1,000,000
13-15 IP over the limit: $1,500,000
16-18 IP over the limit: $2,000,000
19+ IP over the limit: $2,500,000

Here are some examples of how this year's overuse fines would have been affected with this new system. As you can see, the graduated scale preserves traditional penalties for gross overuse and adjusts downward the penalties for small-scale overuse to where they are about half or one fourth of the old amounts. The message here is that small scale mis-steps now are met with small scale penalties. Large-scale overuse is not encouraged by reducing the fine for it. Those fines are preserved.

Belfast: Currently fined $12,000,000, would be penalized $12,500,000 mostly because overusage was extreme.

East Lyme: Currently fined $2,000,000, would be penalized $1,000,000 under the proposed change.

Hoth: Currently fined $2,000,000, would be penalized $500,000 under proposed change.

I would leave untouched the text in the constitution that provides for replays for overuse of star players in order to gain post-season advantage. We still need to have a provision that allows us to overturn any intentional strategy to overuse say a Barry Bonds style card by 100 or 150 PA and just accept the fine. The fine should still be assessed and the damage of the unscrupulous overuse should be undone so no benefit is ever gained.I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on these ideas.

Thanks! Vaughn

Sugar Creek Looks Ahead

2008-02-21T21:11:00.002-06:00

It's great to be able to look back at the long history of BRASS and see how franchises have fared through the years. Unfortunately, management of Sugar Creek (a franchise that has gone through seven other reincarnations during its 17 season BRASS tenure) has little fondness for the past. Only a pair of wild card berths, the last one in 2001, are the extent of post season experience for the team. This recently completed campaign was the sixth straight losing record.

New Name, Same Result: GM Sean Crawford took over the Washington Senators in early 2007 and renamed the team. He relocated to an area in central Illinois known as Sugar Creek, site of an early pioneer settlement. He chose the name Settlers because, like those who came before to the region, he also faced long odds and few resources. The team was low on cash yet also lacked a lot of big impact players. Previous ownership had done a good job scouting, with players like Melky Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Phillip Hughes and Cameron Maybin. Crawford decided it would be best to keep the young nucleus and weather the financial storm, signing cheaper veteran help.

Going Forward: Some of the free agent signees (Shawn Green, So Taguchi, Mike Timlin, Kyle Lohse and others) should do more than fill the roster when the 2008 season gets underway. At this point, only one player, Mark Buerhle, is signed beyond the upcoming year. That should allow for more flexibility as the team moves along. Buerhle, Aaron Cook, Derek Lowe, Phillip Hughes, Kyle Lohse and Jon Lester figure in the rotation as of now. Matt Belisle and Steve Trachsel could also make an appearance. An improved bullpen led by Scott Downs and Matt Guerrier should also put up better numbers.
On offense, Carlos Delgado is in the final year of his deal and while he still provides some pop, it remains to be seen if his best days are behind him. With a hefty contract and lackluster numbers, it's likely he'll remain a Settler in the coming year. Cano will handle 2b, Iwamura 3b and Alex Gonzalez at SS, although he's a free agent. Esteban German will also get some playing time on the infield.
Outfielders are set with Mike Cameron in CF, Melky Cabrera in LF and Shawn Green in RF. So Taguchi and Cliff Floyd will also see action.
The backstops are Gerald Laird and Bengie Molina. Laird is stronger on defense, but Molina adds more at the plate.

Outlook: In a strong division led by perennial power Diamond, Sugar Creek won't contend for the title. But it's possible with some solid moves in the draft, free agency and a trade or two that the Settlers could hang around the race for a wild card. The goal of course, keep moving in a positive direction and give long suffering fans of this franchise something to cheer about!

Cream City Outlook for 2008-09

2008-02-21T11:20:00.010-06:00

Having won their first BRASS League title in 2006-07 with a convincing 4 game to 1 series victory over the game Andover Cougars, the Cream City Pirates management team took one look at the team and realized the $2,000,000 in the bank (after salary payment) would not fill the numerous holes on the roster. The holes were caused by injuries to key players like Hideki Matsui and Mike Matheny along with some departures. With little money remaining to pay for replacements, and to fill in a few other areas, the Pirates decided to try an accelerated rebuild. The plan was to contend again after suffering through a one-year hiatus. The plan has largely succeeded.

As of this article (and including the February 26 infusion of cash into Pirate coffers) the bank account now stands at $29,002,030. Most impressive about this number is that every position is filled on the team and this total is accurate AFTER all salaries are paid for the coming year. The Pirates are building for the long-term. It is the goal of management to be on par with those exemplary Diamond Gem and Plainsfield Hitmen franchises, each of which has won 14 division titles. In the Pirates short time, they have managed to win three division titles and one BRASS championship. They want to take the next step.

Pitching Staff -Rotation
The Pirates have put together a young and talented pitching staff that was augmented recently by the acquisition of A.J. Burnett. The oft-injured Burnett had ace-quality numbers this past year in 165 innings of work. His salary of $3,450,000 was the only instance in which Pirate management succumbed to bringing in a player somewhat overpriced. He's overpriced because of his propensity for injury, but if he stays healthy, a big “if”, he will be a more than adequate top of the rotation stalwart.

The number two through four starters are Rich Hill, Ian Snell and Jeff Francis. Hill had a spectacular first full season in the majors. His WHIP was a microscopic 1.19 and he held opposing hitters to a .235 BA. With a year of experience under his belt, he might make a run at 200 strikeouts.

Snell's sophomore year was also a success. He had an excellent 2.7/1 strikeout-walk ratio and looks ready to take the next step toward elite pitcher status.

Meanwhile, despite pitching in Colorado, Francis took another step toward becoming listed with the top pitchers in the game. His strikeout-walk ration was only slightly less than Snell's, and his ERA was actually lower at home than on the road. I know that ERA is an overblown stat, especially for Strat fans, but it is still indicative of a pitcher not afraid of the Coors Field effect.

The number five spot in the rotation is held by the erratic, but still promising Daniel Cabrera. Pirates management hopes that like Sandy Koufax, Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson's, all who were just a bit wild early in their careers, Cabrera will harness his talent. He could become the ace of the group.

Rounding out the rotation is spot starter, Joe Saunders. This coming year is important for Saunders. With the unfortunate injury to Kelvim Escobar, Saunders is being thrust into the rotation. We shall see.

On a final note regarding the Pirates rotation ... did I mention that other than Burnett, none of the others is more than 28 years old, and future salary considerations have already been built in. They're going to be around for awhile.

Pitching Staff – Bullpen
Heading the Pirates' bullpen this is primary closer Jose Valverde. He compiled a 1.12 WHIP last year. However, the load of closing is not primarily on his shoulders. He'll be ably backed up by hard-throwing lefty, Billy Wagner, and death-on-lefties righty, Jeremy Accardo. The setup men are impressive, too. Russ Springer and Justin Speier both bring nastiness to their encounters with right-handed batters, while Reynel Pinto will bring it with an attitude versus lefties. Kyle Farnsworth provides junk innings and mop-up.

Lineup
1st Base: One of the Pirates most recent acquisitions came at the cost of yielding young star outfielder, Chris Young. However, given that the Pirates outfield is loaded, sending away Young in exchange for slugging first baseman Mark Teixeira was a no-brainer. And given the Pirates tradition of stellar defense, Teixeira's gold-glove caliber fielding fits in nicely. He's priced reasonably for another three years at $2,333,333 per year. Aubrey Huff will back up Teixeira.

2nd Base: Brian Roberts returns to reprise his role at second base. He brings a near .300 batting average, high OBA and 50 steals in addition to excellent defense as evidenced by the 2e8 rating he received from Strat. He will be the primary lead off hitter for the Pirates.

Shortstop: JJ Hardy came into his own last year. Probably occupying the number 8 spot in the Pirates' lineup (yeah it's that good), Hardy brings 26 home runs and a low strikeout rate in addition to his 2e14 excellent shortstop rating. Shortstop and second base are high on the X-result list for chances and the Pirates are fortunate to be strong in the middle infield.

3rd Base: Brandon Inge and Aubrey Huff are slated to split third base duty this year ... Inge facing lefties and Huff the rest. Inge's defense (2e20) will see him coming in to replace Huff near the end of games. The two of them banged nearly 30 home runs last year. Any sort of production close to that will be fine.

Catcher: Johnny Estrada holds down the catching position, but Pirates management would be remiss if it wasn't said that some improvement is bing looked at, possibly in free agency. Estrada's +2 arm is not satisfactory, not is his plodding speed and low OBA. He was not one of our better acquisitions, especially now that he is a backup for the Mets, thereby not justifying his $1.6M salary with the Pirates. A backup catcher also needs to be found.

Outfield: Here is where the young Pirates shine. BJ Upton (.300 BA 20-20 man), Jeremy Hermida (second half .339 BA), Corey Hart (.295 BA, 33-9-24 and 20+ steals) and recently acquired Shane Victorino (1e5[-3] RF defense and 37 steals) bring combinations of youth, power and speed to the outfield positions. And, Aaron Rowand (.300+ BA, 45-0-27 and 1e2[0] defense) brings stability along with stellar defense in center field.

Pirates' management is very excited about the future of the franchise. With the bank account stabilized and salary extensions accounted for the next 4-5 years, this team could see, with some luck, a couple more championship banners joining the one earned last year.

The state of the Iron Division: The Dayton Dragons

2008-02-19T21:19:00.001-06:00

The present

When I joined BRASS six years ago, Meridian and Dayton were, and would be for the subsequent three years, in a constant battle for Iron Division supremacy, putting together several 100+ win seasons between them.

Now, like Meridian, the Dragons have been in rebuilding mode for the last few years. But it looks as though the rivalry of a few years ago is about to be rekindled.

Like the Trojans, Dayton has a few promising or established young players, and a couple of budding superstars. In the first category, Montrealer Russ Martin is already one of the best catchers in MLB, even adding speed to his well-rounded set of skills. Justin Verlander ranks among the better pitchers in the major, and will only get better with time. Jeff Francoeur is solid in right field and could become a perennial 30-HR hitter, and Edwin Encarnacion is solid at the hot corner and should improve over the next few years. Plus, Zach Greinke seems to have rebounded from his off-the-fields problems.

Dontrelle Willis had a subpar 2007, but he is too talented not to rebound at least some, and Mike Pelfrey, acquired from Montreal in the John Smoltz trade, is a highly touted right-handed starting pitcher, as is Andrew Miller from the left side. Add to this the upcoming superstars Jay Bruce and Evan Longoria, and solid prospects like Ian Stewart and Jeff Niemann and you have the makings of a very good team for a long time.

In addition to all the talent, Dayton has a solid bank account of $19, 442, 523, and has wisely kept all of its picks (except its 2008 third rounder) for the next two years, while adding Montreal’s 2008 second and fifth round picks.

Aside from the bright future, to me one of the most impressive things about Dayton is that, despite the rebuilding, they have managed to field very competitive teams the last two or three years. And next year should be no exception.

Looking at 2008-09

The pitching

Other than Willis and Verlander, no starting pitcher really stands out on the Dragon’s current roster, except maybe for Greinke (3.29, 1.29 WHIP in 122 IPs). Paul Maholm pitched 177 innings, but had a WHIP of 1.42. He can gets lefties out, though, as shown by his .630 OPS against versus LHB. So either the draft, or free agency and trades, will have to help here..

The bullpen has a couple of nice pieces with Brad Lidge (67 IPs, 3.36 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 19 saves), Scott Linebrink (70 IPs/3.71/1.32). Todd Jones had 38 saves, which should give him a nice closer rating, but had a 4.26 ERA and 1.41 WHIP. JC Romero had a poor WHIP (1.40), mostly due to his giving up 40 bases on balls in 56 innings, but his OPS vs LHB and RHB is solid (.645 and .677, respectively).

Position players

There is a nice nucleus here with Martin behind the plate (.843 OPS and 21 steals in 30 attempts), Francoeur (.782 and Gold Glove defense, not to mention a cannon for an arm), Encarnacion (.794 OPS), Jeff Kent (.875 OPS), Frank Thomas (.277/.377/.480), and the stellar defense of shortstop Adam Everett. Melvin Mora is still capable at 3b with a 3e14 rating and a .762 OPS.

There are some very nice platoon players on the roster, too. Scott Spiezio had an .832 OPS versus lefties, while Reed Johnson managed an outstanding .913 against southpaws. On defense, Speizio also qualifies at very infield position except shortstop, as well as in the outfield, and Johnson is more than solid in the outfield with ratings of lf-2(-1)e1, rf-3e1, and cf-3e1. Jay Payton can be useful versus LHP (.285/.353/.423), while Daryle Ward will have a monster card against RHP (.333/.439/.539), although his playing time will be limited (133 PAs).

Then, there are Brady Clark whose .OPS versus LHP was .822, including a .386 OBP, and Lew Ford (.256/.347/.419 vs LHP, and good defense - lf-2(-1)e5, cf-3e5, and rf-3e5).

Finally, Mike Scutaro and Jason Smith are versatile utility players, although their bats are a little weak, especially in Smith’s case, and Mike Piazza will be an adequate backup for Martin.
and

In conclusion, while the Dragons are not yet ready for prime time, they should be formidable opponents to their divisional rivals, especially Meridian, in a very short period of time.

Projected lineup for now

C Martin/Piazza
1B Ward/Spiezio
2B Kent
3B Mora/Encarnacion
SS Everett
OF Johnson
OF Francoeur
OF Clark
OF Payton
OF Ford
DH Thomas
SP Verlander
SP Willis
SP Maholm
RP Lidge
RP Linebrink
RP Jones
RP Romero
RP Gobble

State of the GB Yoopers

2008-02-15T18:45:00.001-06:00

State of the Yoopers:
The Yoopers look like they will be making their first playoff appearance this season. It is my hope that we can improve on that and be a serious contender next season. We are in good financial shape and have added a few pieces in the Buchholz trade. We go into the off season looking to fill a few needs however.
PITCHING: My top our are Carmona, Oswalt, Schilling, and Guthrie (a 7th round pick that had a good year). Sean Marshall will have to make some starts for Guthrie and Schilling. I may be looking at upgrading my 5th starter, it is either Fogg or Woody Williams right now. I can address that either through draft, trade or FA.
My bullpen looks to be strong, as I mentioned in my other blog. K-Rod, Jenks, Qualls, Embry, 32 innings from Otsuka. Chad Cordero looks to be the odd man out. Yates and Thornton can provide mop up innings.
CATCHER: My third round pick from a few years ago, McCann, is a cornerstone of my team. I have a solid backup in Valentine.
INFIELD. 3B-Beltre, SS/2B Theriot (late round pick in 2006), 1B Berkman. Looks good. I will be looking for a middle infielder to team with Theriot as a starter. Punto is my only backup at this point.
OF: CF-Hunter. Another cornerstone. Corner OF- Matt Diaz can play about half the games, and had a very good year. Jaque Jones and Matt Murton are players that will get Abs. The disappointing Bill Hall is also there. This is an area I hope to add my other big bat to in FA.
DH. If I add two bats this off season, this will be the other spot, along with OF.
It is my hope I can get two more bats, a 2B, and a 5th starter without doing too much damage to my good money situation . I should have a team that will be in the hunt. There are some fine managers and a few elite teams in the league, and overhauling them will not be easy.
I hope everyone has a great and fun off season.

My Buchholz trade

2008-02-15T18:42:00.001-06:00

I know an invitation was extended to Brass members to share their thoughts on trades in this blog. I just completed a big trade. I (Green Bay Yoopers) dealt top prospect Clay Buchholz and my number one pick for Lance Berkman and Francisco Rodriguez (K-Rod.)
I believe my team is ready to compete next season, which was why I was willing to deal a top prospect and pick. In getting k-Rod, I now have an 8th inning shutdown guy in Krod, and a 9th inning closer in Jenks. Add to that good 7th inning guys like Alan Embry and Chad Qualls, not to mention 32 good innings from Otsuka, I have the makings of a top bullpen. That will correspond nicely with my top four starters of Carmona, Oswalt, Guthrie, and Schilling.
By acquiring Berkman, I get a big bat I needed. To contend, I felt I had to do better at 1B than a platoon of Dan Johnson (now available) and Millar. And both Berkman and K-Rod are under contract for a few more years.
Buchholz, surprisingly, was my 2nd round pick last year (not a first). I hope he has a great career for Vaughn. I view drafting in one of two ways. Build the team through the draft, or do a great job drafting and then trade the prospects for proven players. Last year I traded Adam Miller and Reid Briegnac in the Bill Hall trade. Hall slumped this year, but his bat for the season we are playing is a part of the puzzle that will allow me to make my first playoff appearance in franchise history (it looks like I will make it anyway, barring a great run by one of my competitors).
I hope the trade works for both of us.
Bob-GB

History of a San Jose StratHead & Where the Scorpions Franchise is Headed

2008-02-15T11:17:00.000-06:00

It always starts with a flurry of deals. And it seems I can ONLY do deals in this league in bunches. I make one deal, which leads to another, which creates another opportunity, etc etc. Who says the domino effect isn’t real?

I had about 6 trades happen pretty quickly when I first took over this franchise, and now, approaching free agency, I find myself committing to a direction that will have me compete next year via another series of deals. As you will come to know, I am one of those owners where the trading is half the fun for me. So hopefully without boring everyone to tears, now I’ll write a bit about my history in SOM, my management style, and where all these deals fit in.

I cut my teeth in simulation baseball not with SOM at all, but with Pursue the Pennant, the forerunner to Diamond Mind, in the early 90s. The Sporting News launched their SOM online leagues in 2001, and it was very similar to PTP (which I played as a board & dice game). So relative to many here, I’m probably a newbie at SOM.

In TSN’s version, the leagues have a salary cap and all SOM players with cards are assigned a cap value. For those of you interested in a different, lighter SOM experience, I can highly recommend TSN to you – they are offering a completely free trial of a full 162-gm season of their upcoming 1986 replay release. Some of the leagues will be managed by celebrity SOM heads like Doug Glanville & Curt Schilling, who I guess will have a lot of time on his hands now.... TSN’s game is less hands-on as all games are autoplayed (3 games per night), but very strategic in terms of roster building and cap management.

So I won my first league in TSN in 2001, and like a pinball game, the high score (winning a title) earns you 2 free games, so I was hooked after that. At that time leagues were limited to 12 teams but this year’s version will offer flexible league sizes. That first team (link below for those interested) was built on LH & SW hitters (Thome, Tino Martinez, Chipper Jones, Robbie Alomar, Beltran), very solid D, and pitching that was good enough but not great. I housed it in a park that took advantage of the cards I had and in this case, masked an average bullpen.

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/2001/team/team_other.html?user_id=1479

This LH park & team approach become kind of a signature for me. I made the playoffs about 70% of the time, and won titles about a third of the time. So for the next 4 years I spent a lot of time honing the lefty approach, and hanging out on SOM boards, giving advice to newbies who wanted to build lefty teams that could win. After 2005 my attention turned to pre-card leagues (get out your crystal balls everyone), then keeper leagues, then in the last 2 years, dynasty leagues with 40-man rosters similar to BRASS & BLOC, and now I do very few leagues other than dynasty style.

Now I am entering into a new fun SOM phase with BRASS and BLOC, and one of the challenges I will have is seeing whether a lefty approach can translate to this format. I have heard from many naysayers on this approach, who believe it will be tough to win in this way in large leagues with no salary cap, but being a little bit stubborn at times as I can be, I’m going to give it a real shot.

In BRASS, the first set of deals I made (which Tim documented and analyzed pretty handily) landed me several good LHs, among them Pena, Hamilton, Ellsbury, and Zito, to complement existing players like Sizemore and Rollins. With free agency coming and a bit of money and some trade parts on hand, I turned my focus to acquiring pieces to fit around Pena & Rollins. I couldn’t ignore their career years, and I decided I had to go for it now. So in come Ellis for his D & nice bat against LHP to balance out my lineup, and the rights to Marlon Byrd, to give me a RH bat that hits RH ok (N power required) but is not BP HR dependent. I swung another deal to get the rights to Hafner, a DH favorite of mine, followed by another deal which gave me Sherrill + the rights to E Chavez as a possible fill-in at 3B (even if his body is held together with duct tape at this point), and Werth, a nice OF piece similar to Byrd – not a lot of power but solid D and good BA/OBP.

The big move I needed to really allow my approach a chance to work this year was to move out of DET. I was pretty disappointed when Comerica came out as a completely neutral park this year, so the final move in this flurry was to get the best lefty-tilted park I could find, PNC. Its dimensions should keep it lefty-friendly, so I expect to be here for years to come, and especially this year, with pitchers like D Bush and K Gregg, who will give up some BP HR to RHs, the park will add a lot of value to their cards.

Coming up to free agency, I enter the bidding with my bullpen pretty set at 480 innings, most of them good quality, my SPs in decent shape with 900 innings, and needing just a few position players to round out the squad. I will probably not go hog-wild in FA (like I did in BLOC) as I have several players who will be Y3s this year who will need long-term deals or extensions: Sizemore, Dave Bush, Correia (who I picked up not only for his SP/RP card now, but as the frontrunner for the Giants’ 5th SP role), and Snyder.

So our short-term goals are to be a playoff team in 2008 with probably a longshot at the title as things stand. Looking forward, maybe we can become a more serious contender in 2009 if our youngsters Ellsbury and Hamilton develop as hoped and we pick up one or two pieces in the draft.

BRASS has been a blast for me so far & I’m looking forward to more of the same - thanks all for the warm welcome!

Dave/San Jose

Phase Out Uncarded Players

2008-02-12T16:16:00.000-06:00

Since Mark has posted his change proposals, I'd like to add one of my own. Last year we lowered from five to three the number of uncarded players each team is allowed to keep. I'd like to make that the first step in a process of phasing out uncarded players entirely. We discussed last year the reasons why allowing uncarded players has proven to be a drawback: mainly, the draft is less fun when there are hardly any players in it who can have an immediate impact on your team.

Therefore, I propose that starting in 2009, no team may keep more than one uncarded player on its roster. If that is approved, a year from now I'll propose that uncarded players be eliminated entirely starting in 2010.

Four Proposals for BRASS

2008-02-12T10:49:00.000-06:00

It is nearing that time when we ponder making changes to BRASS. Here are four changes I intend to present to the membership for approval:

1. Remove the Home/Road Discrepancy Program

This anachronism has lingered well into the CM-only BRASS experience we enjoy currently. The rule was designed when we all exchanged written instructions for teams and home managers could spend their game playing time exhausting loopholes in their opponents instructions to jack up their home wins rather than engaging in a baseball game. True, HAL has his blind spots as well, but he suffers from the same blindness in all BRASS parks. Time for this one to go, guys.

2. No Trade Contracts

This is one I continually harp on and I will again this offseason. It is completely illogical that a team can ink a player to a NT contract and then leave him unprotected for the draft. If selected, the player suffers the same result of being traded yet the team who loses the player doesn't have to pay the NT penalty! Let us make it a stipulation of the NT contract that the player MUST be on the 30-man protected roster a team submits to the draft co-ordinator.

3. Drafted Veterans

I would like to suggest that any veteran taken in the BRASS draft be subject immediately to signing a U contract and not a Y contract. Last year I drafted Eric Hinske. He's on a Y contract for me. I say we give our drafted vets a little extra for having been around the BRASS block already. Therefore, I propose that if a draftee, in a prior MLB season, had surpassed the threshold in which a player advances from MO to Y1 status, that said player can only be signed to a U contract. Give teams seven days from the declared end of the draft to determine how long of a U contract they wish to offer to the draftee.

4. Lower the Y1 Threshold

These are too high. BRASS sets the threshold at 130 PA and 40 IP. In BRASSWORLD we use 100 PA and 30 IP. I created these limits along with Corey for BW. The idea was that the number should be an amount that a player could reasonably accrue with full-time play in one month. [Frankly, I also think there should be a caveat for 'relief-only' pitchers and that number to fall to 25 for them, but for simplicity will advocate the current BW threshold.] For example: I have Tyler Johnson. Last year Tyler Johnson threw 35 innings. This past MLB season he made it up to 38. As we all know, he's a young LOOGY. I could easily use a LOOGY's innings over more months than just one in BRASS. I propose we drop these numbers down and/or allow managers to voluntarily move a player to Y status so we can use them.

Eat Your Hearts Out

2008-02-11T07:17:00.000-06:00

Some pics of my little baby girl, Quin. The occasion: a celebration of becoming a one-year old.

Beyond 85-77

2008-02-10T14:29:00.000-06:00

Like Lenny and Daniel further down the page, it is that time of the Strat year when a manager can't help but get overly excited about the upcoming season. True, as a frigid winter league we won't start up again till September, but with Lenny's UPS compatriots delivering cards and disks to the Strat playing nation, how can one not get fired up for the next campaign?

So fresh off my unexpected season I thought I'd share as well my prospects for the immediate future.

HITTING

The strength of the Challengers figures to get even better in 08-09. Prince and Hanley suffered no downturn in their sophomore seasons. Curtis Granderson has became a mesmerizing player who is also thoughtfully well-spoken. Matt Kemp is itching to break out, but 08-09 should provide a glimpse of what he will become for the Challenger faithful down the road. Steady Austin Kearns will return for the last year of his A contract. Never the superstar we hoped for- just reliable production from a perfect #6 hitter with stellar RF defense. Rounding out the attack will be Jose Bautista and Jason Kubel- both of whom started to perform better during the 2007 MLB season.

PITCHING

Any BRASS manager knows you have to have the arms to get that elusive Bucket. Someday I'll make that Bucket mine and the groundwork is hopefully being laid with the 08-09 moundsmen. Tom Gorzelanny and James Shields are young, cheap and above average pitchers who only figure to get better. Joining them will be Yovanni Gallardo, a prospect Challenger management has dug on for a few years now. No secret that Challenger management root, root, roots for the Brewers makes Yo's ascension to the Big Club all the sweeter. Unfortunately, the successes are balanced by the setbacks (Francisco Liriano & Cliff Lee) and the stalled (Anthony Reyes). Still, the bullpen is equally youth-laden and founded on the power arms of Jason Frasor, Manny Corpas, Tony Pena & Tyler Johnson.

MINORS & DRAFT

As Daniel mentions below, with the rule change comes a different BRASS draft. The Challengers will be retaining two youngsters- Adam Miller and Reid Brignac. Both have solid shots to graduate to the ML level in 2008. With a 1st and 2nd round pick the Challengers will be in good position to add some more talent to the club.

With no integral cog of the Challenger machine advanced beyond the ripe-old age of 26, the Bucket-chasing prospects of the club remains bright.

85-77

2008-02-10T13:55:00.001-06:00

The Challenger season is now in the books after a 5-3 series win over our hated crosstown rivals, the Andover Cougars. 85-77 might not seem like much but for a band of youthful misfits it was quite a fun season.

But how did it happen? How did a team that lost 100 games last season and entered and exited the 2007-08 season with little pitching (team ERA of 4.99) wind up on the cusp of a BRASS playoff spot?

There were three elements that got the Challengers situated for an engaging 2007-08 season.

1. The Trade

Near the end of last season, Challenger management pulled the trigger and sent Albert Pujols away- the finest draft pick I've ever made. But in return came back Prince Fielder and Hanley Ramirez. These two precocious infielders proceeded to have great freshman seasons that easily made up for Albert's departure.

Hanley: .294 BA, 17 HR, 88 RBI, 36 SB, 826 OPS
Prince: .288 BA, 52 2B, 24 HR, 96 RBI, 879 OPS

2. The Ballpark

I had come to hate Yankee Stadium. Every year I looked at the same staid graphic to play my games. Every year, practically 1-10 for every thing. Whoopty-do! It was becoming quite monotonous. I wanted a new ballpark. ANY ballpark. So Kevin and I swapped parks. My new home was the corporate home of the ChiSox that at least sounds respectable enough when shortened- The Cell. I've played Strat for over 20 years now, but it had been a long time since a ballpark had such a dramatic effect on my club. The Challengers responded and deposited 140 souvenirs for the fans in the bleachers. [Truth be told, our opponents kicked in 143 souvenirs.] The cheap long balls aided the Challengers in reaching a 46-35 home mark. It also helped make stars out of Chris Shelton (23 HR, 19 at home) and Mike Lieberthal (20 HR, 18 at home). The pitchers have complained about the new digs, but when I get my $4,000,000 check for almost mking the playoffs, they'll be happy to see the extra dinero around. Which leads me into point three...

3. The Rule Change

I have to admit- it was a sweeping, novel idea that came to BRASS last offseason: Paying clubs extra for angling toward the playoffs rather than being content to make the season a 100+ loss mockery. I've done the latter more often than I'd care to admit and losing becomes quite distasteful. So with the new rule in place I set about in the draft with a peculiar and definite strategy to get me some of that cash come the end of 2007-08. So, during the draft, I went after cheap unprotected players to augment my roster. Added were Tony Graffanino (.269 BA, 32 2B, only 7 E) and the aforementioned Mike Lieberthal. And further to that end I grabbed a solid lefty bat in the form of Eric Hinske (884 ops in 298 PA) for a paltry $200,000.

In conclusion, the 2007-08 season was a refreshing change for a club that is still admittedly focused on the future. But at least my campaign was a little proof that the path toward promise needn't be pockmarked with woeful losses.

Brass Winter League Musings

2008-02-09T15:51:00.001-06:00

A look at the future of the Iron Division
The Meridian Trojans
D.

The Brass 2007-8 season is coming to an end. While some of the teams are preparing for the playoffs, others are looking into the future. In the Iron Division, three teams are on the latter program: The Southtown Misers, the Dayton Dragons, and the Meridian Trojans. One of those teams will take over the division sooner than later, once the Montreal Sunsets inevitably have to go through the cyclical rebuilding process.

In a series of upcoming articles, I would like to look at the Iron division teams. To break with the tradition of writing about one’s own team in Brass newsletters, I will look at each team but mine, with respect to its present situation, both on and off the field (that is, their draft and financial situations), and long- and mid term forecast.

I will begin with the The Meridian Trojans. The Trojans have a nice core of players for 2008-9, lots of money in the bank, and a slew of exciting young players. They are probably a year or two away from Brass domination, but once they reach the top, they will be a force to reckon with for many years.

Next year

Offence

On offence the Trojans will be led by Paul Konerko (.841 OPS), Aramis Ramirez (.915 OPS and a nice 2-range at 3b), Miguel Tejada, .799 OPS at shortstop (which amounts to a 109 OPS+, but with a disappointing 3-range), and Rickie Weeks, .807 OPS at 2b - although the 4-range at the keystone will hurt.
With Ramirez entrenched at 3b, Casey Blake will probably have to settle for a spot in the Trojan outfield, where he brings his .776 OPS (.827 versus lefties, and a 3-range in right field) to the table.
Others who will be of some help include Jarrod Saltalamachia, with 327 PAs and a .796 OPS versus righties, Joey Gathright, 249 PAs, .371 OBP vs righties, Dave Roberts, 438 PAs, .356 OBP and .793 OPS vs righthanded pitching, with a 2-range in left field, a 3-range in center field, and 31 stolen bases in 36 attempts, and Cody Ross with his amazing 1.008 OPS against southpaws (195 PAs). Lastings Milledge (.956, 206 PAs) and Bobby Kielty (.379/.503/.882, although in only 95 PAs) are two other lefty killers. Put bluntly: avoid lefty starters when playing the Trojans in ’08-09!
Finally, Ramon Hernandez will be his usual reliable defensive self behind the plate (3-rating, e1, +1 arm).

Pitching

For now, the Meridian starting pitching is a little thin, both in quality and in depth. The three main characters here are future ace Tim Lincecum (146 IPs, 1.27 WHIP, .653/.691 OPS vs rhb/lhb, solid Jon Garland (208 IPs, 1.32 WHIP, .714/.723), and ageless Orlando Hernandez (147 IPs, 1.17 WHIP, .593/.775). Taylor Buchholz will contribute 93 IPs of 1.33 WHIP and .770/.722 ball to the staring pitching.
The bullpen has two high quality arms in Matt Capps (1.01 WHIP, .473/.743) and Peter Moylan (90 IPs, 1.06 WHIP, .534/.684). Brian Shouse can be useful versus lefthanded batters (.607 OPS, but .851 versus righties).

Other assets

The Trojans’ bank account is loaded, with $39, 839, 029 available, highest in the league by more than $8M, while the 2008-9 projected payroll is at a reasonable ($23, 613, 550). So expect Lenny to go Steinbrenner on us soon.

With respect to the draft Meridian does not have its 4th and 5th picks in the upcoming draft, but it owns East Lyme’s no. 2 pick, and has so far retained all of its picks for 2009.

The future

Aside from the aforementioned Weeks, Saltalamacchia, Milledge, and Lincecum, Meridian has some very nice players waiting in the wings in Matt Wieters (one of my favorites), Nick Adenhart, Joey Votto, and Angel Villalona. Even Joel Guzman still has a chance to eventually come out of his bubble and contribute somehow (remember Brandon Phillips? I do … And Tony is smiling).

In a nutshell

Maybe a little more patience will be needed from Lenny before things get back to the usual Trojan standard of quality – unless he decides to bust the budget right now - but with all that cash, a few very solid young veterans in Ramirez, Garland, and Konerko (all signed to multi-year contracts), a possible rebound by other long-term signee Tejada, and all those very promising young players, the (immediate) future looks very bright for this team, and will be for a number of years.

Projected lineup so far

C Ramon Hernandez
1b Paul Konerko
2b Rickie Weeks
3b Aramis Ramirez
SS Miguel Tejada
OF Joey Gathright
OF Lastings Milledge
OF Cody Ross
OF Dave Roberts
OF Casey Blake
OF Bobby Kielty
DH Anybody who does not play the outfield
SP Tim Lincecum
SP Jon Garland
SP Orlando Hernandez
RP Matt Capps
RP Peter Moylan
RP Brian Shouse

Upcoming Winter Brass League: New Challenges

2008-02-09T15:03:00.000-06:00

by Daniel Valois

The upcoming Winter Brass will present a new face this year : teams will only be able to protect three amateur players and international recruits are off-limits.

The new rules will have a significant effect on the Montreal Sunsets’ roster building philosophy. In the past, Montreal has relied heavily on the draft - and not so much on trades and free agency – to build a team that has now gone on to four consecutive Division championships and 100+ win seasons. Players taken in the draft include core membrers of the Sunsets 2007-8 edition such as Travis Hafner, Carlos Zambrano, Johan Santana (sorry, Mark), Ryan Zimmerman, Mike Gonzalez, Hong-Chi Kuo, Bobby Crosby, Jhonny Peralta, Chris Coste, and David DeJesus, Mike Pelfrey having just been sent to Dayton in the John Smoltz trade (I’m not going to mention the flops, though, like first rounders Miguel Olivo, Nate Cornejo, and Ryan Wagner).

On the international front, the Sunsets were able to snag frontline starter Daisuke Matsuzaka in the 9th round of the 2006 draft (hey, you have to be lucky, too), who figures to anchor the pitching staff for years to come at a very low price, something that will now not be possible under the new rules. For the moment, past drafts will keep adding to the roster: Matsuzaka, Justin Upton, and Joakim Soria will be carded next year, and David Price, and probable MLB first overall pick Pedro Alvarez should be very soon.

Oh, I’m not complaining. I voted for the rule changes myself, thinking that they would be good for the league overall, both now and in the longer term. For one thing, the changes will make the annual draft much more interesting in terms of the quality and number of carded and non-carded players available, making the rebuilding process much easier for a lot of teams, while at the same time enabling more teams to compete for the league’s higher honors in a shorter time frame.

But Montreal management will have to keep its head up and find new ways of doing things if it wants to continue to be successful. The Sunsets play in a division with three other very solid and knowledgeable owners, including two – John Storer and Lenny Luchtefeld – who have won many division, Silver League, and Brass League championships in the recent past. But the team will eventually be dethroned no matter, probably sooner than later. When that happens, I’ll be rooting for the Iron Division team to take it al!.

Bolts' Draft ... Hope for the Future

2008-02-09T09:38:00.000-06:00

The Brookfield Bolts are pleased with the results of their 2008 draft. They managed to bring in some talented youngsters who may make an impact as soon as next year, and grabbed some inexpensive to fill in some gaps.

The top pick for the Bolts (6th overall) was Geovanny Soto, a young catcher who is expected to start this year for the Cubbies. Soto projects to be a high average, moderate power players who also provides solid defense behind the plate. He will transition to the starting role in 2009 when Ivan Rodriguez moves on.

Joakim Soria, a hard-throwing righty out of Kansas City was the second pick (8th overall). Bolts management had wanted to grab Kelly Johnson, but we were out-of-town and unable to get back in time to change the auto-draft. Still, Soria should provide solid to excellent relief numbers for the next few years. There had been talk of his moving into the rotation, though that appears to have slowed of late.

Manny Parra, the Bolts' third first round pick at #17, is listed just outside the Milwaukee Brewers projected 5-man rotation for the coming season, but given the annual health issues surrounding ace Ben Sheets, the serious questions regarding Chris Capuano's ability to regain form and questions regarding whether Dave Bush would be better off in the bullpen, this year could be Parra-time. He has an electric arsenal and could, eventually, slide into the number 3 spot in the rotation. The Bolts are ecstatic to have been able to acquire him.

In the second round, the Bolts acquired 23-year old righty, Jo-Jo Reyes. He will be in the running for a rotation spot with the Braves and given the injury problems of Mike Hampton, and the age issues of the staff as a whole, Reyes has a chance and has the talent to win a spot.

The third round was dedicated to bolstering the bullpen for the future. Manny Acosta, a 27-year old reliever who is slated to be Rafael Soriano's setup man and Jose Ascanio, an intriguing 23-year old Cubbie were selected.

The fourth and fifth rounds were dedicated to giving hope to those running out of big league chances. Buddy Carlyle and Horacio Ramirez were selected in the hopes that they may 1) eat up some innings this year and 2) hope that Ramirez regains his form of a few years ago when he pitched in the Braves organization (notice a trend here, by the way ... 5 former or current Braves pitchers)

Tyler Johnson, a lefty reliever, looks to have a good opportunity in St. Louis and was selected in the sixth round.

The remaining four players were selected to back up others. Gary Bennett will back up I-Rod at catcher. Nelson Cruz and Craig Monroe were selected to prove some outfield ABs, and for the slim chance they might contribute next year and Lance Cormier was brought back because Bolts management still thinks he may turn into something useful if he can overcome injuries.

Thought for the Day

2008-02-07T09:45:00.000-06:00

Courtesy of Big D ...

"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that."

-- George Carlin

Add Todd Zeile's Name to Legends

2008-02-02T21:30:00.000-06:00

I had this printed back in 2006 in Legends of the Game, a Strato-Sphere publication. I remembered it today because of the mention of Daryl Boston's name in an article I was reading. So, here is the reprint. This actually happened.

This happened quite a few years ago, I would guess about 1991.

Todd Zeile was on the opposite team versus my Pittsburgh Pirates. He single-handedly destroyed my club by hitting four homeruns. Four homeruns is special, but what made this feat even more spectacular is that Zeile hit for the homerun cycle – solo shot, two-run shot, three-run shot, grand slam. Additionally, Darryl Boston hit a homerun off a lefty in that game. For those who remember the left-handed hitting Boston, that in itself was quite a feat.

I've played thousands of games since, none have matched that one.

Packer Quarterback in 2025

2008-01-31T14:17:00.001-06:00