Fernandez Pitches No Hitter - Solidifies ROY Bid

Illinois Times - Today Jose Fernandez made Illinois franchise history throwing the franchises first no-hitter and narrowly missing a perfect game against Shawnee.  Pedro Alvarez drew a walk and was the lone base-runner.

Fernandez who is not only contending for the ROY but also the Cy Young was sharp from the beginning.  He struck out 11 Crows improving his record to 12-6 and his ERA to 2.56 as the Chows bested Shawnee 3-0.  Amazingly, Fernandez has gone the distance 12 times in 20 starts and this was his 5th shutout on the season.  The Chows lack of power is all that is standing in the way from Fernandez having an even better record.

The Chows crack PR department issued this formal statement: This has been a rough Block III that has taken the Chows out of contention.  Having this gem pitched in late August gave our great home crowd something to remember.  We look forward to Fernandez anchoring our staff for years to come. Congratulations to Jose on this great accomplishment.

EdCouch makes a flury of trades at the deadline...

At last count the New Potatoes traded 8 players(28% of the 30 man roster) and a few draft picks during the last block and by doing so made a run for the world series for the 2nd year in a row.

The fans are shocked  to see future hall of famer Pujols get traded after one half of a season,  but the Potatoes GM says that the deadline moves have put the team in a good position to succeed,  but only time will tell.

With about an hour remaining before the trade deadline the question remains, are the New Potatoes done?

A.J Griffin, pitching most of his starts at home, has made a home in EdCouch!

By confining A.J's. starts to the cavernous Spud Dome, GM of the Couch Potatoes said his plan was to limit his exposure from those small parks to maximize his success in his inaugural rookie season and by the looks of his first half results it seems to be working!

A.J. has a sparking 12-2 record with an ERA of 2.28 and though he has limited his opponents to 10 home runs(mostly straight shots off his card) he has only walked 28 in 130 innings, The New Potatoes realize that these results will regress to the mean in the second half of the season, but are counting on his success for the rest of the year.

A.J. success has fueled the New Potatoes first half season home game success(the ballpark singles to twenty has kept the New potatoes team OBA, BA and SLG elevated). The New Potatoes realize that these results will regress to the mean in the second half of the season also, but hope to ride the park as far as it will take them!

GOODBYE PAPI!

One hundred and eight homeruns and two hundred seventy-seven RBI after being picked off the scrap heap in the 7th round of the 2010 NASBL rookie draft (Stratdraft comment: "What the heck, don't cost much!"), Outlaw fans say goodbye to beloved fan favorite Big Papi Ortiz.  With Outlaw going nowhere fast this year, management decided to pull the trigger on a youth movement, netting 22 year-old centerfielder Christian Yelich and a 2015 first round draft pick for the ageless wonder.  Good luck in Lehigh Valley Big Papi.

AJC "Smart Money on Iron Pigs to Repeat"

On the heels of their correct '13 pre-season prediction the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs would take home the NASBL title, the Atlanta Journal Constitution "AJC" said to expect more of the same as they predict back-to-back titles for the first time in the "Modern Era" of the NASBL. There should be very competitive battles in most divisions except the TG South where the Iron Pigs should clinch early & gear up for another title run. Here goes the AJC picks for the '14 season:

Taste Great East
1. LCC
2. SPR
3. ECN
4. ILL

Taste Great South
1. LVI
2. OJW
3. GRK
4. CCC

Less Filling West
1. DFW
2. SHA
3. TRY
4. SPL

Less Filling Central
1. GCG
2. VFS
3. PCM
4. SLB

TG Playoffs:
LCC over SPR (WC)
LVI over LCC

LF Playoffs:
VFS (WC) over DFW
VFS over GCG

World Series:
LVI over VFS in 6 games

Post-Season Awards
TG MVP Freddie Freeman LCC
TG CY Adam Wainwright GRK
TG FOY Craig Kimbrel OJW
TG ROY Jose Fernandez ILL

LF MVP Miggy Cabrera GCG
LF CY Cliff Lee GCG
LF FOY Greg Holland TRY
LF ROY Matt Harvey VFS

Many trades shape the EdCouch roster...

He has been called "Bob Barker" and after completing his 12th trade since the off season began, GM Killmer says the New Potatoes are ready to compete this season and with the addition of Braun,Bautista,Alex Cobb, Eithier and Albert Pujols(at the cost of trading away some fan favorites, very good players and high draft picks) the GM says the team is in a position to compete for the next few years.

Some local critics have mentioned that the ages of the players acquired are 30 or older(exception Cobb) and the GM has taken on some risk of age related regression, but Killmer says that the risk has a very good chance of paying off the next several years.

With LCC having such a great team in the same division, Killmer acknowledges that it will be a close fight for the division and may have to look to the trade wire like he did last year to reinforce the teams bullpen.
It looks like the New Potatoes will have to improve on their 104 wins from last year to have a chance to win the division and to fight for a better record than cross division rival and two time champs LVI, who once again have a stacked team.

The GM is also excited about two of the teams late draft picks, one being the power the crafty veteran Raul Ibanez can add to the current team and the bright future of Willy Pertalta(if he can seem to find the strike zone he should really develop).

As usual only time will tell where the New Potatoes will land, but there is one thing for sure, the fan's are excited about both the current team and the teams chances of competing the next few years!

Sioux Acquire Medlen - Announce Intentions

- Burlington, VT


The Vermont Fighting Sioux have acquired front of the rotation starter Kris Medlen from the Troy Haymakers in exchange for Dillon Gee and picks in the 2nd and 4th rounds of the 2015 NASBL Rookie/FA draft. The Sioux also received back TRY's 8th and 10th round selections.

The moment Ken Anderson hung a For Sale sign on Medlen, Justin Rabidoux quickly assigned the Sioux scouting and medical (TOMMY JOHN, hello) departments to evaluate Medlen's immediate and long-term value. The immediate value is clear, another front end starter added to a now (crosses fingers) very top heavy Sioux rotation. Long-term, who knows, and frankly in the NASBL the future, nonetheless the present, is not guaranteed. So the Sioux pushed their chips to the center of the table and declared themselves all in for the 2014 NASBL title. "Heck, if LVI can do it twice, why not us once?" quipped an anonymous VFS front office source.

It's funny how a season and its expectations can change in the briefest of moments. Sitting with the 7th pick in the opening round of the NASBL 2013 R/FA draft, Vermont would've been content with its forecasted selection of Starling Marte. Heck, one can never have enough LHP whooping bats in a division led by Jack Howard's Southside Hurling Grizzlies. But then a funny thing happened, fellow NASBL execs, no doubt scared away by his pending TOMMY JOHN surgery (this will be a theme for the Sioux this year, looking at you too Jarrod), one after another passed on talented hurler Matt Harvey. Rabidoux was more than willing to grab him for this year and beyond, hoping Harvey would have a Cy Young caliber 2014 and then a Strasburg-like bounce back from surgery leading to a successful NASBL career.

Entering the draft the Sioux had 159 of the required 162 starts from a rotation comprised top to bottom of:

Mat Latos
AJ Burnett

Medlen, ready to deal for Vermont in 2014

Jarrod Parker
Eric Stults
Dillon Gee

That group was an ideal Sioux quintet, given Vermont's recent history suggests 81 win campaigns are ideal.

After the draft and Medlen acquisition, the group is now:

Matt Harvey
Kris Medlen
Mat Latos
AJ Burnett
Jarrod Parker/Eric Stults

Having an extra leftie allows Rabidoux to send the southpaws out against LHB-heavy squads.

So after all this questions still abound. Is this enough to topple GCG, DFW and the rest of the Less Filling? Was it worth it to acquire Medlen for two high picks? Drafting Harvey, whose rehab timetable is unknown, smart move? And on and on.

One thing we do know, the rotation entering the draft had a cumulative 13 wins above replacement (data from Fangraphs). The rotation after the draft (not counting Stults) has 19 WAR. Will those extra six fictional MLB wins translate into NASBL? To what extent? If we assume it actually means six more NASBL wins, that is likely the difference between missing the playoffs and being in contention for a division title and wildcard spot. If that's what 2014 holds for the Sioux, they'll happily take that gamble.

This season is setting up as a parlor game of sorts for VFS. A series of dominoes led to the current pitching staff. Without six other GMs passing, understandably so, on Harvey, VFS would not have pulled the trigger on the Medlen trade. With all the dominoes in place, the 162 roll crap game begins - here's to hoping the Sioux keep rolling their point!!