The state of the Iron Division: The Dayton Dragons

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

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

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

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

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

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

Some pics of my little baby girl, Quin. The occasion: a celebration of becoming a one-year old.

Beyond 85-77

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BRASS Regular Season Winding Down

One month to go, sportsfans.

In the Gold League, the Plainsfield Hitmen and the Diamond Gems are neck and neck at 104-36 in the battle for home field advantage in the playoffs. Both lead their respective divisions by wide margins. Meanwhile the Steel Division title remains up for grabs with the Green Bay Yoopers (78-62) holding a three-game lead over the New York Giants. The wild card race is exciting, too. Three teams are battling for two spots. The Great Kills Ghosts lead the race with a 77-63 mark. New York holds the second wild card slot with the Twin City Challengers just a game back.

The Silver League divisional races were wrapped up some time ago. Montreal (96-44), East Lyme (91-49) and Duluth-Superior (91-49) are waiting to see who will join them in the playoffs. As in the Silver League, three teams are vieing for two wild card slots. The Southtown Misers (74-66) and Dayton Dragons (71-69) are the frontrunners, but the Phoenix Phoenix have a shot at 70-70.

Alfonso Soriano continues his push for MVP honors in the Gold League. He is having a phenomenal season. He leads the league with 127 runs, 49 homeruns and 136 RBIs. Did I forget to mention his 53 steals? I don't know if it's been done before, but with one more homerun, he could attain the first 50-50 season in BRASS history. Meanwhile, his teammate, Chien-Ming Wang, leads the league with a 20-6 mark.

The Silver League MVP race is tighter, but Travis Hafner seems to have a leg up on his rivals. Hafner is hitting .327 (2nd), has scored 102 runs (4th), has 38 doubles (7th), 45 homeruns (2nd) and leads all BRASS with 138 RBIs. Brett Myers leads the league in wins with 18 victories. Oddly enough, Jeff Francis of defending champ Cream City, which is suffering during its one-year rebuild at 42-98 mark, leads the ERA race with a 3.01 mark.

Click on image to enlarge.

Rube Foster

Andrew "Rube" Foster overcame childhood illness to become an outstanding pitcher, a shrewd manager, and the dominant executive in black baseball. As a 6'4" 200-lb teenager, he joined the Yellow Jackets, a traveling black team in Texas. John McGraw saw Foster during spring training of 1901 (or thereabouts) and wanted him and other blacks for his New York Giants. But, unable to use them, he instead asked Foster to tutor the Giants' pitchers. Christy Mathewson reportedly learned his "fadeaway" pitch (a screwball) from Foster.

Foster then joined the Chicago Union Giants, pitched a shutout in his first start, but soon lost his effectiveness. He regained his form while with a white semi-pro club in the Michigan State League, and defeated every team in the circuit. Because of his difficulties, he had become a keen student of the game, and a wily pitcher. By 1902 he was with the black Cuban Giants.

In 1903 Foster was the top black pitcher in the country. He pitched the Cuban X-Giants to the black championship, and was the winner in four of their five victories over the Philadelphia Giants in the Black World Series. The following year, he pitched the Philadelphia Giants to the title, and recorded both victories in a best-of-three series against the Cuban X-Giants.

It is difficult to distinguish fact from fiction in Foster's pitching career; he is credited with a 51-4 season early on. Documentation does exist for a 1904 no-hitter he tossed against the Camden, NJ team. He reportedly gained his nickname by defeating the Athletics' Rube Waddell in 1902, and is reputed to have fared well in duels with major league pitchers Chief Bender, Mordecai Brown, and Cy Young. Frank Chance called him "the most finished product I've ever seen in the pitcher's box," and Honus Wagner said he was "one of the greatest pitchers of all time...smartest pitcher I've ever seen..."

Foster began managing in 1907, when he guided the Chicago Leland Giants to a 110-10 record. Their record was 64-21-1 in 1908. In 1909 Foster challenged the Chicago Cubs to a series, which the Cubs won in three close games. Foster pitched the second game and took a 5-2 lead into the ninth inning, but lost 6-5. Mordecai Brown won the first and third contests. There is no record of any major league club coming forth to answer Foster's challenge in 1910, when his team went 123-6.

In 1911 Foster left the Lelands to form a partnership with Chicago businessman John C. Schorling. From this union came one of black baseball's strongest teams, the Chicago American Giants. They dominated both the Chicago semi-pro scene (regularly winning the championship) and national black baseball, capturing Negro League titles in 1914 and 1917 and sharing the 1915 championship with the New York Lincoln Stars. Competing against white major leaguers following the 1915 season, they won the California Winter League crown.

In the winter of 1919 Foster organized the first viable black major league, the Negro National League, which operated in the Midwest and the South from 1920 through 1931. He served as president of the new league until 1926, and ruled it completely. An Eastern counterpart was organized in 1923 and Black World Series between the two leagues were held from 1924 through 1927.

Foster continued to manage through 1925, and won the Negro National League's first three pennants (1920-22). He made use of psychology and speed, invented the bunt-and-run, and intimidated opponents. White major leaguers often attended his games to learn his tactics. Though he made few rules, he expected his players to follow them. He ran the games as he ran the NNL - in total control - and once hit a player across the head with his pipe for tripling after he was given the bunt sign.

Foster's last known public meeting was in 1926 with lifelong friends Ban Johnson and John McGraw, through whom it is believed he was trying to schedule white major league teams to play his American Giants. Shortly thereafter he began to lose his mind, and spent his last four years in the Kankakee, Illinois State Hospital.

Courtesy of Baseball Library.

Ray Chapman

Ray Chapman is the only modern major leaguer to have died as a direct result of being hit by a pitch. At the Polo Grounds on August 16, 1920, Chapman, crowding the plate as usual, was struck in the temple by a pitch from Yankee submariner Carl Mays that barely missed the strike zone. Chapman was taken to a hospital, never regained consciousness, and died twelve hours later. Rookie Joe Sewell replaced Chapman at short, beginning a Hall of Fame career. Cleveland players wore black arm bands, and manager Tris Speaker rallied his dejected men to win the first World Championship in club history.

The popular Chapman led the Indians in stolen bases four times, setting a team record with 52 in 1917 that stood until 1980. He led the AL in runs scored and walks in 1918. He was hitting .303 with 97 runs scored when he died. It is baseball analyst Bill James's opinion that Chapman was "probably destined for the Hall of Fame had he lived."

Courtesy Baseball Library.

Sand Hooters

From Bob Harris at This Modern World.

All over the world, wars and languages and cultures may divide us, but humanity still seems united by one powerful force: teenagers always seem to get a big kick out of sand hooters.

Below: The first picture is from Columbia and the second from Singapore.

Fred Merkle

On occasion, this blog will highlight a player from baseball history. Courtesy of Baseball Library.com.

Fred Merkle is forever famous for his bonehead play on September 23, 1908, which cost the Giants a critical victory and made possible the Cubs' pennant-clinching victory when the game was replayed at the end of the season. The play itself was clouded by contradictory affidavits by players, conflicting opinions by various baseball officials, and protests lodged by both teams over the umpires' handling of the incident.

The confusion started when Merkle, the runner on first, failed to touch second after an apparent game-winning base hit. Instead, he turned back toward the dugout, as was customary at the time, when he saw the run cross the plate. As the happy Polo Grounds crowd filed across the field towards the centerfield gate, second baseman Johnny Evers got the ball and stepped on second, claiming a forceout which negated the winning run. With the fans already crowding the field, the game could not be played to a decision, and had to be replayed.

When the season ended with the two teams tied, a group of Giants, led by Christy Mathewson, went to owner John T. Brush. They claimed they shouldn't have to play another game for something they had already won. The gravely ill Brush expressed disappointment at their attitude, and they played and lost. Whatever the merits of the case, it was one of baseball's most controversial plays and it haunted Merkle not just for the rest of his playing days, but all his life. He bitterly refused requests for interviews in later years because he didn't want to relive the incident.

Click here for the rest of the article.