News and Notes: Friday, May 26, 2017

Around SLB this week:

- PAR is the hottest team in SLB right now (8-2 in their last 10) with 5 wins in a row. They moved to 2 games up on SCO in the Euro with 2 wins each over TAI and KYO, allowing just 5 runs in the four games. 3B S Dinkman went 9-18 with 2 doubles and a triple and is now hitting .352 on the season.
- Moving in the opposite direction is the former Far East leading KYO. The Bushido have fallen to third place and are now closer to last than first. The Bushido have the 4th lowest ERA (4.03) but can't hit - .230 is the lowest team batting average in SLB by 16 points.
- OSA has crushed its way to a 10 game lead and gets LF R Brown back in under a month. Brown hit 50 HR last season but had just 3 AB's in 2017. Despite being a hitters mecca, 7 teams have a worse ERA than OSA (4.64).
- CHNG 2B Cap Jackson rehabbed successfully from a broken neck and is playing the best baseball of his career. Jackson is at .281 (career .254) with 27 SB. But the Kwaan continue to struggle with LF J Belinda 58 points under his career average and only 4 HR and the 4th worst ERA in SLB (4.88).
- Is ATL finally making their move? The Flyers have played .500 their past 10 and are now just a half game back of third place BAL. "If you're going to play lousy baseball it's better to do it now then in September," said hitting coach Dennis Dennis Sr. "San Juan hasn't been able to run away and hide yet. We'll be there at the end of the year, mark my words."
- SJ's RP Edwin Jackson is up to his old tricks. He's once again the league leader in saves (12) with a 2.35 ERA. "Our guys think he's back to doctoring the ball," said ATL hitting coach Dennis Dennis Sr. "We just faced him on Tuesday and he's pitching like he was last year - not like he was doing earlier in the year. We'll catch him, don't worry. He'll get his comeuppance, if you will."
- CLE split a 2-game series with PHI and then followed HAL's lead by mistreating BAL. The Dawgs are a surprising 29-20 and just 2.5 out of first in the North. CF D Stubbs has been a total bust in Cleveland and has been sent to work on his game and mindset in AAA. "We knew he was a .300 hitter," said Manager Joe Torre. "We just didn't think it would be in Triple-A."

News and Notes: Monday, April 24, 2017

Around SLB this week:

- SCO pasted BAL in a 3 game series putting up 31 runs in the Panther Dome. 2B K Bristow hit his 7th HR already - his career high is 14 (HAL 2014). Bristow also leads SLB in runs scored. The sweep of the Panthers puts SCO up 1 game in the Euro and diminishes BAL's lead to just a half game in the South.
- CF Rocco Baldelli continues to work out in Arizona and practice with ASU while his agent desperately works the phones. Baldelli, a former Goat of the Year (LON 2005), hit just .228 in spot duty for TAI last season. "I may be 34 but I'm in the best shape of my life", said Baldelli. "I'm not looking for a multi-year deal, just an opportunity somewhere. I can't even get a job in Triple A right now? Come on."
- BED has scored the 5th most runs in SLB so far (110). Leadoff hitter and CF T Johnson has as many HR (5) as SB.
- After making 5 deals and revamping his roster, GM B Royer now sees his CHNG team in 3rd place, just one game up on TAI. The Kwaan have the second worst ERA (5.53) despite SP M Prior's 1.90 in 38 IP. Will Royer be able to turn this team around again? His head is on the chopping block according to league sources, with ownership upset that last year's 101-win team was remade instead of tinkered with.
- CLE LHP C Y'Barra (1-1, 7.18) outdueled CHNG RHP M Prior in the rubbermatch of their series to give the Dawgs 3rd place in the North. The game gave Prior his first loss and Dawg Closer M Towaki his 3rd save.
- IRE rookie CF J Ferrera might want to reconsider buying new plasma Hi-Def big screens and the new Apple - that Rookie of the Year bonus money might not be in his future. The Invader CF is hitting (using that term loosely, I know) .198 with 2 HR while batting 2nd in the lineup.
- KYO LF A Mule went 0-8 with 3K in the first two games v SJ (both losses) before rebounding in game three - 4-4 with 2 HR. The young Bushido outfielder is playing hurt but is being counted on to carry the team with both 1B M Hamilton and CF J Hamilton out 4-6 weeks.
- Will KYO's injury issues allow the other Far East teams to shrink the Bushido's 3.5 game lead? KYO doesn't play a Far East opponent for 9 more series.

- What is going on with LON SP Jered Weaver? After going 17-4, 3.80 in 213 IP in 2016, Weaver has been rocked in all 4 starts for the Knights in 2017. Zero quality starts, an ERA of 23.14 and 34 baserunners in 9.1 IP. (Not a typo: 4 GS totalling 9.1 IP). One theory coming out of the Euro division is that Weaver is spending too much time being "mentored" by such upstanding citizens as Knight's hitting coach Darryl Strawberry and pitching coach Dwight Gooden.

News and Notes: Friday, April 14, 2017

Around SLB this week:

- BAL flew out of the gate this season with a 7-3 mark. That matches KYO for the best record in the league. 26 year-old 3B T Gammell is hitting .400 with 5 HR. "That's up there in Rockwell territory," said Gammell. "I plan on doing this all year long."
- Last year's champion PAR has limped out to just a 6-5 record so far, dropping their last 3. Pimpernel pitchers have been grooving pitches at an alarming rate; B Kim has given up 4 HR in 9.2 IP, H Kuo 4 HR in 8 IP, and D Arizmendi 4 HR in 6 IP.
- CLE waived LHP T Lare in order to send the 29 year-old to Hawaii. Manager Joe Torre, bundled up in his winter parka, was misty-eyed after informing Lare of the decision. "It's not that I feel bad for the kid," said Torre. "I just wish I could go with him. Instead I have to stay here, freezing, and watch Towaki pitch. You know what that does to me?" RHP M Towaki, the highest paid Dawg at 3/18M, has a 6.75 ERA so far.
- SCO CF Darin Ford is providing some pop in the Rebel lineup. Ford has a 1.061 OPS with 5 HR in 11 games with the Rebels in front of LON, PAR and IRE. How long Manager Rollie Fingers continues to give RHP E Degerman chances is anyone's guess - Degerman has a 7.62 ERA with 5 HR in his 2 starts.
- OSA lost RP C Sadler (2-4 weeks) and LF R Brown (6-8 weeks) in the first game of the season. And on Tuesday, 2B P Matthew left the game early with a strained back and is out 4-6 weeks. Manager Sadaharu Oh, known for his tough practice schedule, refuses to lighten the workload despite the constant injuries to his players. "They are not in shape and show no discipline. When they accept my methods the team will perform better. I will show no mercy to weak players."
- BED LF N Swisher is struggling with his new team - not that it has hurt the Crunch so far - batting just .214 with 0 HR and a league-worst 15 K's. LHP S Kazmir has shown an affinity for pitching in Bedford, however, with a 2.25 ERA and 10 K in 12 IP.
- SJ's bullpen has been putting gas on the fire early this season. Last year's surprise of a reliever, Edwin Jackson, has a 6.75 ERA (4.74 career). Setup man J Colome has a 7.50 ERA with 11 baserunners in 6 IP.
- LON is behind SCO by a game and has lost LF J Russell for up to 2 weeks. The Knights won't be getting much help from their AAA affiliate in Queens, as they can't even compete at that level. Queens is 0-11, hitting 6 HR so far as a team and allowing 15.
- IRE is 3-8 and last in the Euro, which isn't surprising. What is surprising are the weak performances by pitchers C Sabathia (1-2, 4.12), J Beckett (0-1, 7.71) and FA signee T Kawabata (0-1, 5.25). Look for pitching coach Roger Clemens to be shown the door if this continues.
- New KYO SS B BooYa (acquired from PHI) leads SLB in batting avg (.441) and had a 1.031 OPS with 5 SB. "Right now, he's making up for Jeremy Reed," says Manager Bobby Valentine, trying to bite his tongue. "Reed has .... has not .... lived up to expectations, frankly. My sister can hit better." RF J Reed is at .189 so far while making 8M per season. Says one rival GM, still bitter over the Oswalt/Mule trade to the Bushido, "Maybe they can send Reed to their Triple-A team - that's Taipei, right?"

HSH - Cleveland Dawgs




2016 Record - 66-94 (Last Place)
Projected Record - 70-90 (Last Place)
Key Pickups - P Michiyo Towaki (free agent)
Key Losses - P Justin Verlander (free agent)

After two seasons of nothing from GM Kevin Parks, former GM Mike McAvoy is back on board with the Dawgs, hoping to rekindle the building plan he had in place during his first tenure. Much to McAvoy's surprise, most of his prospects and young players are still on the roster, so he won't have to start over from scratch. The bad news is that those players managed just 66 wins last season and the pitching depth is paper thin. Can McAvoy work the phones and get the team back on the right track again?

The Dawgs were 8th in the league in HR a year ago, but just 12th in runs scored. Alex Hildenbrand continued to show that he's the future for this lineup, and Neil Walker continues to be one of the most underrated hitters in the game. Alex Gordon looks like he has plateaued as an 80 RBI guy, which is fine if some of the fantastic OF prospects (Horner, Austin) can step up as all-star caliber sluggers. Another year from Matt Bush equals more disappointment; will he ever live up to his potential? There are holes in the middle infield and the bench will be rough, but Dawgs fans are hoping that the offense can move up to at least league average in 2017.

The pitching is the real problem in Cleveland, and there doesn't seem to be an easy fix here. The team posted a league-worst (by a big margin) 5.88 team ERA, and that was WITH Justin Verlander (who ran as fast as he could to division rival Halifax). Mike Miller had a good season, and might be the de facto staff ace with Verlander's departure. The rest of the staff put up ERA's ranging from 5.38 to 9.30. Pretty awful. It's a good bet that you'll see at least one (if not three) rookies in the starting staff, and every draft pick this June should go towards new arms.

So the Dawgs are what they are: a team that was rebuilding in 2014, were left to stagnate under bad management for two years, and are now a few seasons behind in getting better. Anything above last place will be a miracle.

PROJECTED LINEUP

2B John Mercer
SS Rian Luiz
LF Alex Hildenbrand
C Neil Walker
RF Tex Austin
1B Al Allen
3B Alex Gordon
CF Darin Ford

SP Mike Miller
SP Calvin Y'Barra
SP Daniel Pursel
SP Joel Piniero
SP James Howell

CL Michiyo Towaki