NASBL 2015 Base Draft Order for Non-Playoff Teams

The base draft order for non-playoff teams will be:


1)  Slatington Bulldogs
2)  Troy Haymakers
3)  Georgia Roadkill
4)  Dallas Fort Worth Spurs
5)  Illinois Chow Chows
6)  Outlaw Josey Wales
7)  Pocono Chin Music
8)  Springfield Isotopes
9)  Shawnee Crows
10)  Canyon Country Cannons


Picks 11-16 will be in order of playoff exit.


Usage played a role in the draft order, as TRY narrowly edged out GRK due to 2 overusage points by GRK's Alex Wood.  In addition, SHA fell from 7th to 9th due to 70 points of overusage by various players.

Tradeageddon!

The Outlaw Nation had grown quite complacent watching the team build through the draft season by season, making a mere four trades over the past five years.  Suddenly the legion of fans woke up with their heads spinning faster than Linda Blair's after a series of five trades involving thirteen players and seven draft picks, including star players David Ortiz, Albert Pujols, and Adrian Beltre, one 2014 first round draft pick (Christian Yelich), and two 2015 first round draft picks.

Before the carnage was over, Outlaw had essentially traded

• elder star David Ortiz
• slightly less elder star Adrian Beltre
• power hitting first-baseman Mike Napoli
• two great non-keeper cards

 for:

• post-hype breakout Lonnie Chisenhall
• elder star Albert Pujols
• young stud lefty closer Jake McGee
• Lehigh's first round draft pick and Vermont's first and fifth round picks

Analysis of the new world order:

While Ortiz and Beltre have a good year or two left, they are nearing their sell-by dates and Outlaw was going nowhere fast this year.  Outlaw decided to sell high and get young, which we certainly did with two first-round draft picks, Jake McGee and Christian Yelich.  No regrets there even though Ortiz and Beltre will have valuable cards at least through 2015.

Then the opportunity to trade Yelich for the hot post-hype Lonnie Chisenhall presented itself.  We know that Chisenhall wasn't really the .330 hitter he was batting at the time of the trade, but couldn't resist the hot-hitting Indian.  We may regret trading the young center-fielder we need, but we hope to have a .290-.300 BA, 15-20 HR guy at the hot corner for years to come.  Time will tell.

Then the opportunity to trade the 32 year-old Napoli and a 3rd round pick for for the 34 year-old, recently injury-prone Pujols presented itself.   How does this fit into the youth movement?  It doesn't, but we figure that the chance at just one, or maybe two great Pujolsian cards could be the difference between an also-ran team and a playoff contender, or a playoff-contender and a World Series team.  We'll take that chance even though we will miss Napoli.

Outlaw Career Wins Leaders

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

1.  176, Tim "Chicks Dig the Longball" Hudson, 2000-2013
2.  113, Andy Ashby, 1994 - 2003
3.  113, Jake Peavy, 2004 - 2013
4.    87, Charles Nagy, 1992 -1999
5.    83, Mark Lanston, 1991 -1995

The NASBL all-time home run leader at his position is also Outlaw's career wins leader!

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.