Christmas Day Write Up!

Troy, NY:  So I attended my first Arizona First Pitch with a couple of friends back in November.  After meeting a number of great writers for Baseball HQ and other cool people, watching some great Arizona Fall League baseball games and generally enjoying the heck out of myself, even meet and able to hang out with Scoresheet Baseball creator and all around good guy, Jeff Barton; I came to realize something I subconsciously already knew in the first place.  A good amount of the fantasy baseball analysis does not correlate well to my two favorite fantasy baseball games, Strat-o-matic and Scoresheet baseball.

  Why is that?  That's much more of a difficult question.  I have always been more of a fan of a simulation type fantasy game which Strat and scoresheet excel at, while a large majority or the other types of leagues count stats.  As a fantasy football player, I do understand the draw of watching your players build their values on a day to day basis instead of a weekly basis, but it just doesn't do it for me for baseball.  The biggest thing to me is that any player ranking list that does not include Clayton Kershaw in the top 5 overall players (and some where he would not even be drafted in the first round of a league), does not only not make sense, it just doesn't seem realistic.

  But enough about the "other" types of fantasy baseball, why do I like strat and scoresheet?  Strat-o-matic baseball is an amazing game that I learned as child rolling dice and looking up results on some cards, and it wasn't until I was a teenager when I began to realize the mathematical way that someone could analyze the cards (or results) and figure out the best players to pick and use.  Then, as I was introduced to scoresheet baseball, I realized the fun in trying to predict how the players were going to do and try to pick and use those players that would give the best result.  That, the prediction process I mean, in itself is so much fun to try to figure out and completely maddening at the same time.  Continuing Strat leagues have this great value, but drop off because once the season is complete you are then able to calculate each possible result mathematically.  Is that worse than trying to predict how each of your players are going to to on a week to week or yearly basis?  No, it's just different. 

   I could go on, but I'm starting to ramble and get away from what I wanted to do with this post.  I don't know how much anyone in the league reads books like Baseball Forecaster, Baseball Prospectus or my personal favorite John Sickels Baseball Prospect Book; but I thought it would be fun to try my hand at writing up a few players.  So here you go; some write ups and predictions of a few players on my team:

Madison Bumgarner:  A former top prospect with already 3 and a half years under his belt who over the past three years has seen his H/9 go from 8.9, 7.9 then 6.5.  At 23, primed for a big breakout in 2014, or something in between 2012 and 2013.  Either way that's pretty good. Expectation: 18 wins, 2.80 ERA, 1.000 WHIP

B.J. Upton: The most over-rated player in the history of baseball, and has been on a steady decline since his one great season in 2007.  Has good speed but it doesn't do any good when you do not get on-base.  At what point do teams finally just give up an move on from this guy?  The Haymakers picked him up cheap looking for some future value...I expect them to be disappointed.  Expectation:  .235-20 homers-30 stolen bases, with an under .300 on-base average.

The Future of the Haymakers?

Troy, NY:  Making it to the championship series two of the last three years and not winning has left a dark cloud over the small city of Troy.  The Haymakers came to town in 2007 and have been fairly irrelevant in the NASBL until 2010.  A flurry of trades brought some big names and some major excitement to the area.  The past three seasons, the Haymakers have won at least 90 games thanks to a number of dominating performances.  But does it matter if you do not win it all?  Probably not.  No one remembers or cares about the teams that don't make the finish.  Heck this reporter can not even remember the other NASBL World Series losers of past seasons not from Troy.
   So can the fans cry "Wait 'til next year!"?....well, actually no.  With down years from key players and no picks in the first five rounds of the upcoming draft; the fans will have to look elsewhere to see a contending team.  Burlington (or the Lake Champlain area) is about a 3 hour drive to the north where you can see the Cannibals and Fighting Sioux while the Chin Music play about three hours to the south.  It's about time to gas up and go.

   The fans that actually decide to stick around to watch the games played in Troy next season will have the benefit of watching Edwin Encarnacion in a lineup of part-timers and wash-ups.  Recent trades have not helped this.  The acquisition of B.J. Upton, a player that Troy management has never liked in the first place, is going to make the team hard to watch.  The reason for picking up Upton?  "We got him for nothing, and there is no way he can be this bad going forward."  That sounds eerily similar to what was said when the Haymakers picked up Andrew Jones years ago.  Just what did Andrew Jones do for the Haymakers in 2008?  Only hit .182 with a .626 OPS.  Lets not forget he was part of one of the major trade blunders for Troy. He was out of the league for two straight years after that and his career, save for two seasons as a bat off the bench, was pretty much over.
  The small bright spot on the team are the two starters, Madison Bumgarner and recent pickup Kris Medlen and closer Greg Holland.  Team management has been a fan of Holland for a while now, and he's primed to take over the closer role next season.  Bumgarner and Medlen will be a decent one/two punch at the top of the rotation, but the rest rotation is looking like a barren wasteland of has-beens and never-was'.

  Mudville has nothing on the Troy Haymakers.

2014 NASBL Base Draft Order

With the close of the 2013 NASBL World Series, the last piece of the 2014 base draft order puzzle is in place.

The 2014 base draft order (all rounds except rounds 3 and 4, which are governed by FA Money) is as follows:

1.  SBU
2.  ILL
3.  SPL
4.  GRK
5.  PCM
6.  CCC
7.  VFS
8.  OJW
9.  SHA
10. LCC
11. DFW
12. SPR
13. GCG
14. ENP
15. TRY
16. LVI

There were situations where teams were tied in terms of base winning percentage.  The tie-breakers were as follows:

-DFW gets pick #11 over SPR due to less overusage points.
-VFS gets pick #7 over OJW due to winning a coin-toss tie-breaker.

Trades lead Spurs in 2013

At the start of the 2013 no one would have thought the Spurs would be a playoff team.  After BK-1 they were playing .500 baseball.  We were making plans on who would we try and trade and get ahead start on 2014.  Thanks to a 19-8 BK-2 home record the Spurs found themselves in the play off hunt.  Before the start of BK-3 the Spurs made a couple of trades that turned out to be one of the most successful trades the Spurs have ever made.  Looking for relief help and another Closer to replace the struggling Rafael Betancourt who had a record of 1-4, with 14 saves with an era over 4 and had given up 7 home runs in 30 inning.   In a deal that brought Wilton Lopez over from PCM, Lopez went 2-2 with 14 saves & a 1.77 era.  Then in a deal that brought 3 new faces from VFS Garrent Jones in 38 games batted .312ba 7-2b 7-hr 28-rbi.  Willie Bloomquist batted .333ba in 49 games and Joe Smith went 3-1 with 2saves & a 1.98 era.  

"We couldn't have asked more of the players we picked up in trades in 2013" stated the skipper of DFW Red Robbins.  "There is no doubt if we didn't make those moves we wouldn't have made the play  offs.  We are hoping we can sign Joe Smith and Willie Bloomquist to deals before the start of 2014"!

Outlaw Career Stolen Base Leaders

Twenty-three years of Outlaw All-Time stolen base leaders, from 1991 to 2013 including the predecessor NASBL Cleveland Indians and San Diego Padres:

1. 613, Kenny Lofton, 1993 - 2001
2. 395, Omar Vizquel, 1996-2011
3. 149, Elvis Andrus, 2010-2013
4. 115, Willy Taveras, 2006-2008
5. 111, Alfonso Soriano, 2004-2008

Elvis has a loooong way to go to get to the top.

REMATCH!! or Iron Pigs and Haymakers part deux

Troy, NY:  It was back in early January 2011 when the Haymakers made their big splash and added their impact bat.  Let by Hamilton's .366 batting average and 118 RBI's, Troy made their first appearance in the NASBL World Series.  Facing juggernaut Iron Pigs, lead by "King" Albert Pujols who blasted 48 homers and drove in 125 and three starters who won at least 15 games each, the Haymakers could only muster 2 wins and vowed to return to glory.
    In 2011 Hamilton had some help in Jose Bautista and Corey Hart, who both hit over 35 homers and drove in over 100 runs each.  Other players such as Billy Butler (.323 - 13 - 71) and David Murphy (.325 - 11 - 51) were great peices of the puzzle while Brett Gardner lead off for Troy, scoring over 100 runs and stealing 55 bases.  Now two years later and still lead by Josh Hamilton, the Haymakers are looking to return to glory and finally take the coveted NASBL crown.  What is different about these 2013 Haymakers?  Hamilton did not hit .366 this season, but 100 points less.  He did hit 49 homeruns and drive in 129. Hamilton's help is not as good this season, but arguably a little deeper.  Edwin Encarnacion did nicely (.243 - 38 - 93) and Alan Craig (.297 - 22 - 72) supported Hamilton's power while part timers Corey Hart (.351 - 10 - 38) and Casper Wells (.290 - 10 - 28) got a number of timely hits to help pick up some wins.  Dexter Fowler has taken over the leadoff slot with a .376 on-base average.
  But the biggest difference between the two seasons has been the mid-year pickups.  In 2011, Troy picked up Francisco Liriano (14-3 2.35 ERA), but that was really it.  In 2013 the Haymakers picked up ace Kris Medlen (6-0, 1.09 ERA), but also got relief pitcher Sean Marshall (3-0, 0.90 ERA), starter John Niese (7-3, 4.08 ERA).  Troy also improved in the field and lineup getting Chase Headley (.251 - 9 - 28) and Aaron Hill (.301 - 7 - 31).  Both were major improvements over what was considered to be fan favorites at their positions.
 Now Troy is back to battle the Pujols (.287 - 38 - 123) led Iron Pigs, but this time Billy Butler (.320 - 25-110) and Robinson Cano (.321-31-82) will be assisting Albert and the league best ERA to mash down the Haymakers It should be an epic battle.

Looking for a wild card?  It might just be Josh Johnson, who will be at his third straight NASBL championship.  In 2011 Josh Johnson went 19-5 for the NASBL champs; while in 2012 Johnson was hurt for most of the season he was strong in the playoffs for champion Slatington.  In 2013 Johnson did not have the same success (11-14 5.26 ERA), but will he be making an appearance in the 2013 World Series?  We'll have to wait and see.

Strat Twitter preview: Part Tre

#10.) TORONTO: Jose Reyes gets a 3 at SS in his first season for the Jays

#9.) TAMPA BAY: Rookie of the Year Wil Myers receives a 4B3 in CF and a 3B2 in RF

#8) DETROIT: Three different position ratings for José Iglesias. SS: 1, 3B: 2 and 2B: 3

#7) LOS ANGELES (AL): AL MVP runner-up Mike Trout earns a 1 fielding rating in CF and LF

#6) MILWAUKEE: Jean Segura receives a 2 fielding rating for his play at SS.

#5) LOS ANGELES (NL): Rookie phenom Yasiel Puig gets a rating at all three OF LF: 3, CF: 4B3, RF: 2

#4) OAKLAND: Josh Donaldson gets a 2 at 3B and a 4 at 1B/SS (1 inn. played at each)

#3.) CLEVELAND: Jason Kipnis gets a 2 fielding rating at 2B

#2.) ST. LOUIS: All-Star Matt Carpenter is rated at four positions... a 3 at 2B/3B, 4 at 1B, 5 in RF

#1.) CINCINNATI: The most requested player was Shin-Soo Choo. Choo gets a 4B3 fielding rating in CF and a 3 in LF

For our draft: Scooter Gennett(3) , José Iglesias(1/2), Jean Segura(2), Yasiel Puig(2),  Josh Donaldson (2) and Wil Myers(3) stock goes up!!!

Jedd Gyorko(4/4) drops a bit...

Strat Twitter Preview...Part Doux

(NOTE: All comments supplied by Strat-o-matic)

BALTIMORE: 2013 HR Champion Chris "Crush" Davis jumps from a 4 to a 2 fielding rating at 1B

BOSTON: Rookie phenom Xander Bogaerts will receive a card and has a 4 rating at 3B and SS

CHICAGO (AL): Alejandro De Aza gets a 3 in LF and a 4 in CF

CLEVELAND: The ultra energetic Nick Swisher gets a 2 rating at 1B and a 3 in RF

DETROIT: Austin Jackson receives a 2 rating for his play in CF.

HOUSTON: Catcher Jason Castro receives a 3 rating (0 arm) for his play behind the dish for the 'Stros

KANSAS CITY: Mike Moustakas falls from a 1 to a 2 at 3B

LOS ANGELES (AL): Erick Aybar keeps his 2 rating at SS

MINNESOTA: Brian Dozier gets a 2 in his first season at 2B (he received a 4 at SS last year)

NEW YORK (AL): Hot Free Agent Curtis Granderson receives a 3B2 rating in LF/CF (+1 arm) and a 3 in RF

OAKLAND: Coco Crisp holds his 2 rating in CF from last season.

SEATTLE: Lots of fielding ratings for the versatile Dustin Ackley! First Base: 3, Second Base: 2 and LF/CF: 4B3

TAMPA BAY: Evan Longoria is back to a 1 rating at 3B after falling to a 2 the previous year.

TEXAS: Alex Rios nets a 2 fielding rating in RF (-2 arm)

TORONTO: Jose Bautista aka "Joey Bats" receives the following Strat-O-Matic ratings: RF- 3B2, 1B/3B- 4

ARIZONA: Didi Gregorius earns a 1B2 at SS in his first season with the D-Backs

ATLANTA: Two for the price of one! Justin Upton gets a 3 in LF/RF while B.J. Upton is a 2 in CF

CHICAGO (NL): Catcher Welington Castillo receives a defensive rating of 3 (-1 arm)

CINCINNATI: Brandon Phillips takes home his sixth 1 rating at 2B in the last seven years!

BONUS RATING: Billy Hamilton's Steal Rating = AA *2-12 (20-16). He will be carded as an Additional Player.

COLORADO: Sure-handed/Gold Glover Carlos Gonzalez earns a 1 rating in LF.

LOS ANGELES (NL): Hanley Ramirez improves from a 4 to a 3 at SS for the NL West Champs

MIAMI: Giancarlo Stanton stays a 3 in RF (-2 arm)

MILWAUKEE: CF Carlos Gomez receives his fourth 1 fielding rating in the last five years! (-3 arm)

NEW YORK (NL): Daniel Murphy gets a 4 fielding rating at both 2B and 1B in 2013

PHILADELPHIA: Jimmy Rollins drops from a 1 to a 2 at SS

PITTSBURGH: Yes, Russell Martin is rated at three different positions. C: 1 (-3 arm), 3B: 4 & RF: 4

ST. LOUIS: Carlos Beltran remains a 4 in RF (-1 arm) for the Cards

SAN DIEGO: Chase Headley is a 2 at 3B

SAN FRANCISCO: Pablo Sandoval aka Kung Fu Panda holds a 3 rating at 3B

WASHINGTON: Bryce Harper scores a 3B2 rating in LF/RF and a 3 in CF. -5 arm... can you say CANNON?!

Strat Twitter Range Ratings preview(for those that haven't joined the 21st century and don't have a Twitter account-more tomorrow)...

BALTIMORE: Manny Machado earns a 1 for his stellar play at 3B

BOSTON: World Champion Mike Napoli gets a 3 at 1B

CHICAGO (AL): Dayan Viciedo is a 5B4 in LF

CLEVELAND: Michael Bourn falls to a 2 in CF for the first time since 2008

DETROIT: Torii Hunter drops to a 3 in RF, his first rating below a 2 at any position since 1998

HOUSTON: José Altuve remains a 3 at 2B

KANSAS CITY: Slick-fielding Alcides Escobar gets a 1 at SS.

LOS ANGELES (AL): Albert Pujols drops all the way from a 2 to a 4 at 1B.

MINNESOTA: Joe Mauer has a rating for two positions... Catcher: 3B2 (-3 arm) and First Base: 4

NEW YORK (AL): "The Captain" Derek Jeter receives a 4 at SS, the first 4 of his career since his debut in 1995

OAKLAND: 2013 HR Derby Champion Yoenis Cespedes is a 2 in LF and a 3 in CF.

SEATTLE: Kyle Seager improves to a 2 at 3B for the M's

TAMPA BAY: Yunel Escobar earns a 1 at SS for the first time in his career

TEXAS: The recently traded Ian Kinsler gets bumped up from a 3 to a 2 at 2B

TORONTO: Melky Cabrera with a 5B4 rating in LF

ARIZONA: Adam Eaton's outfield ratings... LF: 2B3, CF: 3, RF: 3

ATLANTA: Andrelton Simmons... you guessed it. He receives a 1 at SS.

CHICAGO (NL): Starlin Castro is a 3 at SS for the fourth consecutive year.

CINCINNATI: Todd Frazier gets a 2 at 3B and a 3 in LF

COLORADO: Michael Cuddyer is a 3 at 1B and a 4B3 in RF.

LOS ANGELES (NL): Matt Kemp retains his 3 rating in CF

MIAMI: Logan Morrison, one of the more active Twitter users in baseball, gets a 4B3 for his play at 1B

MILWAUKEE: Scooter Gennett earns a 3 at 2B in his rookie season for the Brew Crew.

NEW YORK (NL): Juan Lagares receives a 2 in CF and a 3 in RF (-4 arm) for his first season in the bigs

PHILADELPHIA: Chase Utley notches a 2b3 for his play at 2B this season.

PITTSBURGH: Andrew McCutchen caps his MVP season by receiving a 1B2 rating in CF, his third straight 1!

ST. LOUIS: Jon Jay gets a 3B2 in CF for the defending NL Champs

SAN DIEGO: Rookie Jedd Gyorko posts a 4B3 defensive rating at Second Base and a 4 at Third Base

SAN FRANCISCO: Hunter Pence moves back up to a 2 fielding rating in RF after falling to a 3 last year.

WASHINGTON: Ian Desmond holds his 2 rating at SS for the third consecutive year

More Strat-O-Matic fielding ratings to come tomorrow!

2013 NASBL Postseason Awards Winners

The 2013 Post Season Awards voting is closed, and the winners are in!

2013 #1 overall draft pick and NASBL batting champ Mike Trout (.328/25/111) of the Ed Couch New Potatoes pulled off a double win, taking home both the Tastes Great MVP and TG Rookie of the Year Awards for fellow rookie Ed Killmer.  Besides the batting title, Trout led the NASBL in runs scored (103) and was 2nd in the Tastes Great in stolen bases with 32, a total trailing only that of all-time NASBL SB leader Juan Pierre (LVI) who once again led the league with 44.

Another rookie, Stephen Strasburg (16-4, 2.85, 251 K), took home the Tastes Great Cy Young award for Lehigh Valley.  The award was the 3rd such trophy for the Iron Pigs, with Strasburg's Cy joining those of Daisuke Matsuzaka (2008) and Clay Buchholz (2011) on owner Kevin Burns' mantle.  Strasburg was solid all around, finishing 2nd in ERA behind SPR's Clayton Richard (2.32), 2nd in strikeouts behind LCC's Clayton Kershaw (261), and 4th in wins.

The final Tastes Great award, the Fireman of the Year, was a clean sweep of the 1st place voting by 2012 FOY winner Craig Kimbrel (1-2, 0.68, 33 saves).  Besides the back-to-back awards by Kimbrel, Outlaw owner Mark Hildebrandt has also captained 2001 Keith Foulke to the TG Fireman's trophy.  Besides his microscopic ERA, Kimbrel posted a huge 15.2 K/9 ratio (89 strikeouts in 53 innings), and top-flight saves numbers (3rd in the Tastes Great behind CCC's Sergio Romo, who finished 2nd in the voting.)


In the Less Filling Conference, Miguel Cabrera (.301/36/116) brought Grundy County owner Jack Howard and his Grizzlies their first ever MVP Award.  Cabrera was solid all around, finishing 2nd in RBI behind TRY's Josh Hamilton, 2nd in doubles behind teammate Alex Gordon, 3rd in hits, and 4th in homeruns.

The Less Filling Cy Young was a surprise in several ways, as Shawnee Crow Justin Verlander (17-9, 3.27, 223 K) edged out Troy Haymaker worthy Scott Diamond (18-3, 2.82, 119 K) in the closest vote of the 2013 ballot.  The first surprise was to see the Less Filling leader in ERA, wins, and winning percentage fall by the wayside in the voting.  The second surprise was that this is the first NASBL Cy Young award in the career of Justin Verlander.  Perhaps the voters remembered that last year Verlander was beaten out for the LF Cy despite leading the conference in ERA, strikeouts, and shutouts (thanks to the winning ways of 26-victory 2012 Cy winner Matt Cain of SBU.)

The LF Rookie of the Year voting was far less controversial, as Jarrod Parker (15-10, 3.27) brought home the hardware for Vermont Fighting Sioux owner Justin Rabidoux.  The award was the 3rd ROY for the Sioux, with Parker joining 2009 Ubaldo Jimenez and Rabidoux's inaugural pick in his NASBL career 2002 Albert Pujols.

Finally, 2013 Less Filling Fireman of the Year Award winner Jim Johnson (6-4, 2.71, 45 saves) made the Shawnee Crows and Mike Johnson the only LF team to win two awards this offseason.  Johnson's 45 saves not only led the league in 2013, they were the 2nd highest single season total of all time in the NASBL (trailing only Michael "The Thriller" Jackson's 47 all the way back in 1999.)  This is the 2nd season in a row the LF FOY has gone to a Crow, with Johnson joining 2012 winner Ryan Madson.


Congratulations to all the winners!

EdCouch reshapes team roster(again!)...

Three big Holiday trades have again reshaped the team roster and the GM says they are not done.
With range ratings coming out in a month. the seemingly usual pace of off season trades has really picked up and there were 13 trades completed before the New Potatoes were able to strike...but strike they did with three straight big trades that has shaped the roster for next year while giving up some real good young talent for some proven veterans that had some injuries(and one new acquisition that still has a whole lot of explaining to do with his new team's fan base!).
The next task at hand is to prepare for a few more trades to get the roster pared down for the 17 man cut down(we hoping for a few surprises when the range ratings are announced). For now the New Potatoes players are going to have to get some new team chemistry , but not till after the team attempts to advance to the world series(though the very formidable and designed for playoff success LVI stands their way!).

Outlaw Career Strikeout Leaders

Twenty-three years of Outlaw All-Time strikeout leaders, from 1991 to 2013 including the predecessor NASBL Cleveland Indians and San Diego Padres:

1. 1820, Tim Hudson, 2000 - 2013
2. 1730, Jake Peavy, 2004-2013
3. 1153, Andy Ashby, 1994-2003
4. 1056, Mark Langston, 1991-1995
5. 1003, Charles Nagy, 1992-1999

Jake Peavy closed the gap with Tim Hudson this year.

Outlaw Career Hits Leaders

Twenty-three years of Outlaw All-Time hits leaders, from 1991 to 2013 including the predecessor NASBL Cleveland Indians and San Diego Padres:

1. 2474, Manny Ramirez, 1995 - 2011
2. 1879, Omar Vizquel, 1996-2011
3. 1631, Albert Belle, 1992-2001
4. 1625, Kenny Lofton, 1993-2001
5. 1255, Tony Gwynn, 1994-2000

There was no change in the top five this year, although Adrian Gonzalez climbed to within 125 hits behind Tony Gwynn.

NASBL Post Season Kicks Off

The 2013 NASBL post season is set to kick off with a pair of compelling matchups.

Less Filling - Dallas Fort Worth Spurs (96-66) at Grundy County Grizzles (84-78)

Jack Howard's Grizzlies were able to bear down and win their 3rd division title out of the past 4 years, thus earning homefield advantage for the 1st round of the playoffs.  The Grizzlie's less than dominant final record may be a bit deceiving, as Grundy County led their division nearly from coast to coast.  Grundy moved into 1st place with a win in the 7th game of the season, and never relinquished the top spot in the standings.  GCG's offense is keyed by the righty/lefty power attack of long-time Grizzly Miguel Cabrera (.301/36/116) and mid-season acquisition Josh Reddick (.244/36/83), while the rotation has a north/south flavor of its own in the resurgent Bartolo Colon (11-8, 3.61) and another in-season acquisition, lefty Cole Hamels (11-13, 4.13). 

Grundy will pit their balanced attack against 2-time NASBL Champion Red Robbins' wildcard DFW Spurs.  Like their opponents, the Spurs present a balanced power attack on offense (22 HR each from lefty/righty outfielder duo / NFL running back descendants Andrew McCutchen and Jason Heyward, and 22/23 HR from lefty/righty first-base duo Anthony Rizzo and Michael Cuddyer.)



Tastes Great - Springfield Isotopes (96-66) at EdCouch New Potatoes (104-58)

Ed Killmer's New Potatoes made quite a splash in their first year in the league, leading the NASBL in scoring with 898 runs and finishing 2nd in run prevention behind only the 111-win Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.  Fittingly enough, the New Potatoes offense is keyed by 2013 #1 overall draft selection Mike Trout (.328/25/111), while 2nd year closer Kenley Jansen (4-6, 2.98, 33 saves) put on his own admirable display of kid-power in the 9th inning.

Up against the New Potatoes will be Doug Sherlag's perrenial powerhouse Springfield Isotopes.  Like their 96-win wildcard brethren in the Less Filling conference, the Topes will march an army of 20HR hitters at their opponents, in that familiar left-right-left-right cadence.  AJ Pierzynski (27), David Wright (21).  Brandon Moss (21), Carlos Gonzalez (20).  On the hill Springfield will rely heavily on Cy Young candidate Clayton Richard (16-2, 2.32), while Springfield's brace of no-hitter hurlers Chris Capuano and Trevor Cahill will head to the pen to support an already strong corps led by setup man David Hernandez (5-2, 1.31) and closer Aroldis Chapman (5-4, 2.98, 31 saves).



Good luck to all!

Chows Trade Up to #1 Pick

Illinois Times - Illinois is on the clock!  For the first time in franchise history the Chows will be picking first in the NASBL draft.  "We are extremely excited to move up.  When it became clear that we had the second pick we wanted to move either up or down.  There is one guy we really, really liked above all else and a few guys we saw as pretty equal."

In exchange for the #1 pick, Illinois sends Slatington Wilson Ramos and the Chows first selection (#2 overall).  "We look at this as a vote of confidence for Salvador Perez.  We had two fine catchers, which is a nice situation to be in.  However we are committed long-term to Salvador Perez.  This is the second straight year we moved up to get our guy.  Last year we really wanted Perez and moved into a position where we thought we could get him.  This year we know who we are going to take.  Without a 2nd pick, the draft prep room will be pretty low key this year."

Chows GM Sherlag would not tell us yet who he is planning on taking.  The Chows holes seem to be 2B, 1B, SP and Closer.  While the club has some OF depth, the lack of power on the roster makes it tough to rule out going that direction.  Inside sources confirmed that the Chows are not looking at a closer with the first pick.

No Hitter!

Springfield (AP) - When Chris Capuano walked Michael Bourne to lead off last night's game against the Chow Chows, nobody saw what was about to happen coming.  Capuano then proceeded to retire 27 straight hitters to join Sidney Ponson as the only Topes pitchers to ever hurl a no hitter.

The Topes offense provided more than enough run support for Capuano and the Topes went on to beat the Chows 5-0.  "Everything was working out there tonight," said Capuano after the game.  "This is crazy.  Who would have thought that I would throw a no-hitter when great pitchers like C.C., Weaver, and the rest of the guys on the staff have never thrown one?"  Capuano had high praise for his catcher, A.J. Pierzynski.  "This belongs to A.J. just as much as it belongs to me.  He hit a homer and called a great game.  I just threw what he called and never shook him off all night."

The tension in Springfield started to build around the 7th inning and only continued to build as Capuano kept retiring Chow Chow after Chow Chow.  Capuano cruised in the 9th, retiring Dan Uggla, Darwin Barney, and Michael Bourne in order to preserve the no-hitter.

Topes GM Doug Sherlag was effusive in his praise for Capuano.  "This is why we brought Chris into Springfield.  He has no-hit type stuff every time he takes the bump."

BOXSCORE: 2013 Illinois Chow Chows At 2013 Springfield Isotopes     7/28/2013
Capuano NO HITS Chows - Retired 27 Straight Chows
 
  Chow Chows         AB  R  H RBI AVG     Isotopes           AB  R  H RBI AVG
  M.Bourn CF          3  0  0  0 .276     S.Choo RF           4  0  0  0 .369  
  J.Reyes SS          3  0  0  0 .271   A-C.Gomez CF          1  0  0  0 .199  
  A.Ramirez 3B        3  0  0  0 .261     L.Forsythe 3B       3  1  2  0 .258  
  C.Ross LF           3  0  0  0 .259   B-D.Wright 3B         0  0  0  0 .298  
  S.Perez C           3  0  0  0 .246     J.Ruggiano LF       4  0  2  1 .276  
  J.Upton RF          3  0  0  0 .232   C-C.Gonzalez LF       0  0  0  0 .317  
  Y.Alonso 1B         3  0  0  0 .222     M.Saunders CF,RF    4  1  1  0 .325  
  D.Uggla DH          3  0  0  0 .159     A.Dunn DH           3  1  1  1 .223  
  D.Barney 2B         3  0  0  0 .230     M.Moreland 1B       4  1  1  1 .300  
                                          S.Castro SS         3  0  1  0 .314  
                                        D-C.Pennington SS     1  0  0  1 .264  
                                          G.Beckham 2B        3  0  0  0 .207  
                                          A.Pierzynski C      3  1  1  1 .320  
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      27  0  0  0                 Totals      33  5  9  5
 
A-Subbed Defensively (CF) For Choo In 8th Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (3B) For Forsythe In 8th Inning
C-Subbed Defensively (LF) For Ruggiano In 8th Inning
D-Subbed Defensively (SS) For Castro In 8th Inning
 
Chow Chows...... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  0  0  0
Isotopes........ 0 1 1  0 1 1  0 1    -  5  9  0
 
Chow Chows (14-37)       IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
J.Vargas LOSS(3-6)        7 2/3   9   5   5   3   6   3   5.62  A1 D8
J.Axford                  0 1/3   0   0   0   1   0   0   3.15  D9
Totals                    8       9   5   5   4   6   3
 
Isotopes (52-27)         IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
C.Capuano WIN(8-5)        9       0   0   0   1   5   0   4.22  A1
Totals                    9       0   0   0   1   5   0
 
ATTENDANCE- 40,145 DATE- Tuesday, July 28th 2013 TIME- Night 
T- 2:36
LEFT ON BASE- Chow Chows: 1  Isotopes: 8
DOUBLE PLAYS- Chow Chows: 0  Isotopes: 0
DOUBLES- L.Forsythe-2(10th), J.Ruggiano-2(15th), M.Saunders(20th)
HOME RUNS- A.Dunn(16th), M.Moreland(9th), A.Pierzynski(19th)
WALKS- M.Bourn, L.Forsythe, A.Dunn, G.Beckham, A.Pierzynski
STRIKE OUTS- S.Perez-2, D.Uggla-2, D.Barney, S.Choo, M.Saunders, M.Moreland-2,
             S.Castro-2
2-out RBI- J.Ruggiano
RLISP 2-out- M.Saunders-2, C.Ross, J.Ruggiano, A.Pierzynski, C.Gomez-2
WEB GEMS- Bot 7th: Cody Ross robbed Shin-Soo Choo of an extra base hit.

DFW heading in Right Direction (FOR NOW)

Dallas Morning News......

For the first time in years the Spurs have knock the Cowboys off the lead story in the DFW area.  Coming off a successful 19-8  BK-2 home record the Spurs have a legitimate chance to make a play-off run.  A big part is the leadership of  OF'ers Andrew McCutchen .325ba, 15-hr, 57rbi & Jason Heyward .315ba, 14-2b, 10-hr, 52rbi, both are having bounce back years after a subpar year in 2012.  Sports writer Ima Dumbas writes that the pair of McCutchen and Heyward are excelling both at the plate on in the outfield where they are playing at a Gold Glove rate!  Heyward is trying to live up to the hype that GM Red Robbins tried to sell to the media when DFW made Jason the #1 ovrall pick back in 2011.  Dumbas was trying to compare the drafting styles of DFW Spurs under Robbins compared to the Dallas Cowboys under the Jones tenure. If here was a camera  crew in the Spurs war room like we have in the Cowboys, what do you think we might see?  An advance scouting system making inform decisions or a couple of organization flipping a coin!

                                                       
                                                 Robbins                                      Heyward

The answer is -YES

Earlier in the year the question all the EdCouch fans wanted to know was the team going to make any moves to the pitching staff for the final stretch of the season and possible playoff push?

GM Ed Killmer answered with the team was designed for both this season and beyond and wanted to be careful not to sell of much of the future for the present. He did acknowledge that that teams like LVI and Troy were making big moves and he wasn't sure how or if he was going to make any moves.

Some fans are going to say the the GM saw the big moves that Troy made last week may have upped the ante for hopeful  post season teams. In a surprise move, the GM has decided to make a deal that will hopefully help the team for the playoff push and postseason and next year.

EdCouch announced today that Seattle and EdCouch made what both teams have called a good trade for each with EdCouch receiving C. Janssen and S. Atchison  and SEA 10th for Stammen and Buehrle and Ed Couch's coveted 3rd round pick(a steep future  price). When asked why they made the move, the GM stuck to his same line about balancing the current team needs(great relief pitchers) with Janssen's next season and beyond...and time will tell if the team can go all the way this year with the new pitchers and will Janssen keep up his excellent current MLB season?

Haymakers Hire Mercenaries for Playoff Push, Mortgage Future

Troy, NY:  For the past two seasons the Haymakers have made the playoffs, even making the championship series in 2011.  This taste of success has hungered the fans for more and brought much pressure on the current GM to be able to be able to have the team make that final step of winning it all.   If they do not win this year, there has been talk of ownership making a move to bring in different management.
  The Haymakers made two major deals this weekend bringing in starter/reliever Kris Medlen, starter Jon Niese, thirdbaseman Chase Headley, secondbaseman Aaron Hill, starter Phil Hughes and the injured Juan Carlos Oviedo.  Sent packing are Troy's first and second round picks, as well as starters Hiroki Kuroda and Paul Maholm, thirdbaseman Pablo Sandoval, secondbaseman Brandon Phillips, shortstop/pinch runner Dee Gordon and the injured outfielder Brett Gardner.

 The new look lineup will add much to the offensive power of the Haymakers, while Niese and Medlen will be very useful in the rotation and bullpen.
  "These kind of moves should help bring Troy back to the playoffs again in 2013, and hopefully to the championship," said GM Ken Anderson, "I mean, that's the plan anyway.  We hate to move the players we did but this is what we felt would finally bring us the championship."
  The Haymakers currently sit a game out of first place in the Less Filling West and these moves help Troy's positioning for the playoffs.
  "I am excited," said slugger Josh Hamilton, "We are going to have one of the best lineups in the league.  From top to bottom we are going to have guys that can get at you, knock you around."
   Watch for the new look Haymakers at ballpark near you!

EdCouch starts to gel as a team...

The EdCouch New Potatoes have finally started hitting their stride as a team with the help of a cavernous park that features ballpark singles to 20 and the hot hitting of Ben Zobrist(OPS 1.037), Y.Molina(OPS .927) and Mike Trout(OPS .950) our team batting average is high (unsustainable) .296.

The cavernous park also features ballpark HR to 0 and that has helped our pitching staff featuring mostly home starts for Buehrle and Kennedy hence lowering their unsustainable ERA's, and that also includes Lynn pitching over his head. On the other hand with David Price pitching more on the road and facing the high diamond parks in our division, currently has a 5.02 ERA and is giving up 11.4 baserunners per 9 inn and 1.4 HR per 9 inn(double his real life total) and is nowhere near the Cy Young conversation!

In total the New Potatoes are hoping their lineups that feature many interchangeable parts can keep up the hitting and their pitching staff can remain competitive to lead the New Potatoes from a last place finish last year to a first place finish this year and a postseason berth.

Verlander One-Hits Outlaw

 

Justin Verlander was on top of his game, blanking Outlaw on just 1 hit as the Shawnee Crows crushed the Outlaw Josey Wales 12 to 0.  Mike Napoli's third inning single was Outlaw's lone hit.

Verlander(6-1) was indeed brilliant as he hand-cuffed the Outlaw offense.  He didn't allow much, just 1 hit and 2 walks in 9 innings.  Verlander whiffed an impressive total of 11 Outlaw batters dropping his ERA from 3.55 to 2.96. Shawnee had a total of 15 hits for the game. 

Justin Masterson(0-1) was the losing pitcher.  Verlander didn't realize how many strikeouts he was racking up.  When told he had 11 he was obviously surprised, 'No kidding? Man, I knew that I had a decent total, but I didn't think I had K'd that many.  Say, that's pretty good, isn't it?'

BOXSCORE: 2013 Shawnee Crows At 2013 Outlaw Josey Wales              5/1/2013
  Crows              AB  R  H RBI AVG     Josey Wales        AB  R  H RBI AVG
  D.Dejesus CF        5  2  3  2 .245     E.Andrus SS         4  0  0  0 .229 
  D.Jeter SS          5  2  3  2 .371     A.Beltre 3B         3  0  0  0 .178 
  R.Braun LF          5  2  2  2 .299   C-A.Miller PH         1  0  0  0 .000 
  A.Dirks RF          5  2  3  2 .338     A.De Aza LF         3  0  0  0 .200 
  C.Ruiz C            4  2  2  1 .305   D-P.Strop PH          1  0  0  0 .000 
  T.Colvin 1B         4  0  1  1 .289     M.Kemp CF           2  0  0  0 .339 
  D.Nava DH           5  1  1  1 .188   A-T.Hudson PH         1  0  0  0 .000 
  D.Murphy 2B         5  0  0  0 .224   B-L.Cain CF           0  0  0  0 .350 
  S.Rolen 3B          3  1  0  0 .200   E-T.Byrdak PH         1  0  0  0 .000 
                                          A.Gonzalez 1B       3  0  0  0 .227 
                                          D.Pedroia 2B        2  0  0  0 .259 
                                          J.Herrera DH        2  0  0  0 .231 
                                          M.Napoli C          1  0  1  0 .185 
                                          N.Cruz RF           3  0  0  0 .200 
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---

         Totals      41 12 15 11                 Totals      27  0  1  0

A-Pinch Hit For Kemp In 7th Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (CF) For Hudson In 8th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Beltre In 9th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For De Aza In 9th Inning
E-Pinch Hit For Cain In 9th Inning

Crows........... 4 0 0  0 1 4  1 2 0  - 12 15  0
Josey Wales..... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  0  1  2
Crows (23-16)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA
J.Verlander WIN(6-1)      9       1   0   0   2  11   0   2.96
Totals                    9       1   0   0   2  11   0

Josey Wales (8-8)        IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA
J.Masterson LOSS(0-1)     0 1/3   5   4   4   0   0   0   4.63
J.Hughes                  2 2/3   1   0   0   0   0   0   3.77
J.Venters                 2 2/3   3   5   1   1   1   1   5.40
J.Norberto                0 1/3   2   1   1   0   1   0   3.68
C.Villanueva              3       4   2   1   1   1   0   2.63

Totals                    9      15  12   7   2   3   1

ATTENDANCE- 26,855 DATE- Friday, May 1st 2013 TIME- Day
T- 3:00
LEFT ON BASE- Crows: 5  Josey Wales: 4
DOUBLE PLAYS- Crows: 1  Josey Wales: 1
ERRORS- M.Napoli, N.Cruz
DOUBLES- D.Dejesus(7th), D.Jeter-2(10th), R.Braun(9th), A.Dirks(10th),
         C.Ruiz(8th), T.Colvin(10th), D.Nava(6th)
HOME RUNS- R.Braun(7th)
WALKS- T.Colvin, S.Rolen, D.Pedroia, J.Herrera
HIT BY PITCH- C.Ruiz, M.Napoli-2
STRIKE OUTS- R.Braun-2, S.Rolen, E.Andrus, A.Beltre-2, A.De Aza, P.Strop,
             M.Kemp, T.Hudson, A.Gonzalez, J.Herrera, N.Cruz-2
GIDP- D.Murphy
PASSED BALLS- M.Napoli
2-out RBI- R.Braun, D.Dejesus-2, D.Jeter-2, A.Dirks
RLISP 2-out- D.Murphy, R.Braun-2, M.Napoli, N.Cruz-2, S.Rolen-2, D.Dejesus-2,
             A.Dirks-2