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.

Odds and Ends

As we go into the last Brass month, I find my Green Bay Yoopers in a tough race with New York. How appropriate is that? My hometown Packers host the NY Giants tomorrow on the "Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field. It is freezing around here. As much as I love baseball, I am into football as well, and coached it for 15 seasons. I even started and manage a Packer Fan message board and go to training camp practices in summer.

http://members6.boardhost.com/TALKinPACKERS/


Enough about football. I have been reading a lot about prospects lately. Who do you guys see as a better prospect, Buchholz or Chamberlain? Just curious.

The trade I made where I parted with Pena and netted Carmona was huge for me this past month in the pennant race. I went 11-3 on the road, 9-5 at home. But Punto gave me the ability to sit both Hall and Hunter ten games and still have a quality player there. And Otsuka has been huge in the pen for me, many quality innings in an area I was running short. And Cordero will close for me on the road this month. Jenks has eight innings left, so I will use him at home.

I like this blog site! I hope it will be used. Good luck to all in the pennant and wildcard chases.

And go Packers!

Bob-GB

Majority Think Duluth Will Win Title

By one vote, Duluth-Superior is the favorite to win the 2007-08 BRASS title. I'm sure Mike is ecstatic about his chances. But you know, defending champ Cream City is only 40+ games out ... the Pirates could rally yet.

Froemming Likes Him

Well, if former major league umpire, Bruce Froemming, likes him, I guess going with Mike Cameron in centerfield won't be all bad.

A Modest Proposal for BRASS

Why do we have divisions in BRASS?

"Every league has divisions, Mark. It's how it's done."

True. In America, that is.

Why not go to a single table in BRASS ala European soccer leagues? We already play a completely balanced schedule. To wit: everyone in the league plays their divisional opponents only 22 games total. That is a paltry amount to declare a "division champ" from.

Therefore, I think we should just meld the honest simplicity of our schedule with one table and seed the playoffs accordingly- across all of BRASS.

More on Mike Cameron

Aside from the fact that Cameron, even at the age of 35, will be an upgrade defensively in centerfield, here are some other numbers that I find a little frightening (having a day or two to think about it).

Cameron's lefty vs. righty splits: He hit .222 vs righties, managed a sub-.300 on base average, with a Matilda-like slugging percentage of .402 -- OPS of .700. Yikes. Considering 72% of his plate appearances occurred against righties, the potential for a dreary season is good.

Cameron did play in a very pitcher-friendly park (Petco) and his numbers are correspondingly dismal and almost identical to his righty splits. The away numbers are a bit better: .254 BA, .341 OBA, .449 SLG and .790 OPS. Still not great, though.

These numbers should frighten anyone. They are his post all-star numbers. Anyone see a downward trend: .213 BA, .332 OBA, .410 SLG and .742 OPS.

Again, the only real positive is he's signed in reality for only one year, and fairly cheaply. Plus, the defense in centerfield will be improved. I suppose he could bat 7th ahead of Kendall, though those bottom three spots are going to hurt the overall attack.

You're as Young as You Feel

Hey, my mom sent it to me. She's 70+ and allowed to be a little raunchy.

George Carlin Classic

Brewers Sign Cameron

It's being reported that the Milwaukee Brewers have signed outfielder Mike Cameron to a one-year deal with an option for 2009.

I hope they're not paying him too much.

Cameron brings a few positives. He's a former Gold Glover in centerfield and will be a marked improvement over Bill Hall. And, he does have some pop and RBI ability. His arrival will move Ryan Braun to leftfield, where he will have less chance to flash the metal glove.

On the other hand, he will be missing the first 25 games of the year ... games that would be important in learning to play with his teammates. As they say, those games in April and May are just as important as later in the year.

Also, Cameron does strikeout a bit ... not something the Brewers need to add.

Hall has shown he can play 3B in the past, though he's is not quite the upgrade I'm sure the Brewers had in mind. Apparently talks for Hank Blalock and other 3B fell through, I'm betting because management thinks Capuano will show up in 2008.

Could be, could be.

I'm concerned, too, the Brewers have added another right-handed bat. A lefty would have been better, especially since Geoff Jenkins has moved onto other pastures.

UPDATE: Cameron gets a $1.25 million signing bonus and $5 million next season. Milwaukee has a $10 million option for 2009, with a $750,000 buyout.

In addition, Cameron can earn $750,000 annually in performance bonuses. He would get the full amount for 475 plate appearances next year and for 575 in 2009.

Cameron also receives a limited no-trade clause.

Well, I guess that's not too bad, though in BRASS money, Cameron would be a stud.

Is this an inside joke?

Ok, so the annual Hall of Fame voting just took place and, yet again, I am left in disbelief. Sure, we can talk about many players who have not yet made the Hall of Fame, but I'm here to speak of only one...Dale Murphy.

Already I've been met with a "how about Rob Deer" comment. But, seriously, does anyone even remember the 1980's and Dale Murphy?

The brief version of my disgust is this...how do you leave a player who won back to back NL MVP awards, hit 30 HR or more in 6 different seasons, hit 20HR or more in 12 straight seasons, won 5 straight Gold Gloves, went to 7 All-Star games, is a member of the 30-30 club, played in 162 games in 4 straight seasons, and played 18 seasons...posing the only offensive threat in the Braves lineup in virtually every one.

With this list of players registering even a single vote, Dale Murphy should be in the HoF ten times over:
Rod Beck
Travis Fryman
Robb Nen
Shawon Dunston
Chuck Finley
David Justice
Chuck Knoblauch
Todd Stottlemyre

Heck, some of those guys don't even know how to spell.

The Hall has to do a better job of reflecting the times. The game was different in the 80's...remember the 82 Cardinals? Dale Murphy excelled like few others and DEFINITELY deserves a place in the Hall of Fame.