News and Notes: Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Around SLB this week:

- SJ, having stretched their lead in the South to 5 games, got two 1st round picks in the 2017 amateur draft. They grabbed LHP Anthony Rodriguez (AUB) first overall and with the 10th pick took 3B Tyler Diggins (ND). Said a rival GM anonymously, "Rodgriguez was a solid pick. He looks like he could be at worst, a #3 guy. Maybe a solid #1. I'm shocked though, at the Diggins pick. Did they really need a third baseman that badly? We didn't have him in our top 30 - thought he was a good college player, not a great one and we didn't see much there in room for growth."
- TAI, up to #2 with the trade of LF A Mule to KYO, took LHP R Ruettigger (ND). "He throws hard, has good stuff but mentally he just loses focus. If things start badly, be it a game, series or even a season, it gets to him and it all falls apart," said a Tai Fong scout. "I argued against it, I thought we needed a high-ceiling, no risk pick and he seems a little risky to me." The 12th pick had TAI selecting reliever Dave Calvo (UCI). "We really like this guy," said GM Dylan Goforth. "He's going to be part of our 'pen for a long, long time. He just goes out and gets the job done."
- CLE, 1-9 in their last 10, also grabbed a left-handed starter, Dellin Betances (MIA). According to the Tai Fong scout, "Betances can't get right-handed batters out, and he could get by in college but that won't happen at the big league level. Cleveland got a 5th starter with the 3rd pick. He didn't fool us."
- SCO, falling off the pace in the Euro is now in a struggle to maintain wildcard position. With the 4th pick, the Rebels landed RF Pablo Mattisse (UNC). "We're delighted. We can't believe this guy fell to us, we were watching the draft board and when the National Player of the Year lands in your lap ... outstanding. He holds the record for RBI's in the NCAA and we've got a run producer," said the already celebrating SCO GM Carmelo Guarneri.
- IRE, losers are 4 straight and trying to push LON into the Euro basement, selected C J Berry (CONN). Berry, who never hit like scouts expected, are obviously still high on the sweet swinging right-handed hitting catcher. "I don't know why he didn't put up big numbers but he was too good to pass up. A rifle of an arm too," said IRE GM Tony Blake. "We'll find a spot for him, somehow." The Invaders have catchers Al Murphy and Earl Hickey on their roster right now and may be forced to trade one of the three.
- OSA, first place in the Far East, took a CF out of ND with their pick. "Andy Bokelman? Really?", said the Tai Fong scout. "He doesn't really seem like a Ronin type of hitter, in fact, I'm not sure why any team would take this guy with their first rounder. Sometimes, a team has a thing or a bias for a certain school. Certainly seems to be the case here."
- BED, picking 7th, chose yet another left-handed starter, Hunter Johnson (TUL). A World GM noted that they had Johnson ranked 1st on their board. "You really have to get lucky sometimes. This guy should've been number 1 and a couple teams really screwed up to let him go to Bedford."
- HAL, in a North dogfight with CLE and BED, went with LF Sam Archibald (HOU)with the 8th pick. GM Lars Cain said, "He's a real fun player to watch, a guy that gives his all out there and we're happy to get him. He's been an All-American three years running."
- SAV, who has been creeping up on SJ all month, selected 2B Dom Giggie (CMU) 10th. "Well, that's not quite as bad as Bokelman to Osaka," laughed a South GM. "But the Sabers have middle infield issues and he'll probably get a shot by next season."
- PAR, far ahead of the pack in the World League, took RF Shoo Sasaki (LSU) 11th overall. "You knew someone was going to give this guy a shot, right?" said a Euro scout. "They can afford to gamble. You can totally knock a wood bat out of this kids hands but his eye-hand coordination is incredible right now. He's a bit of a project but I like the risky move."
- PHI, picking 13th, had SS Adrian Cardenas (AUB) fall hard and land square on their draft table. "We needed a little boost right now," said a Fever scout. "What a break! We just got our shortstop for the next 10 years and that really helps our rebuilding project. We weren't sure anyone good would be left this late."
- The 15th and 16th picks to end the first round both went to HAL. CF Gary Hamm (MICH) "was an All-American last season and has more of the all-around talent we saw in Archibald. We may have to move him out of centre because of his arm but we think he'll be a heckuva player," said HAL GM Lars Cain. RP Greg Moore (HOU) will be "more of a project. If he can get a second pitch off his fastball, he'll be set," sent the Tai Fong scout.

2017 AMATEUR DRAFT, ROUND 1

The long awaited Amateur Draft show is here! Have fun!

VIDEO TEST

Just testing video embedding. Nothing to see here.

News and Notes: Friday, June 9, 2017

Around SLB this week:

- The 2017 Amateur Draft should be coming up in the next couple of days. Get your lists ready. Three rounds of 16 - the sooner your lists are in, the quicker games can resume.
- OSA fell a little closer to the pack in the Far East, dropping all 3 games to SJ. The Senadores scored 39 runs and gave up 18. Fourteen HR were hit by SJ and GM Bill Gluvna is now lobbying ownership and the league to consider moving the franchise to Japan.
- Just curious: After having their AAA team in Mexico City in 2004-05, HAL was asked to move their AAA franchise because supposedly, the high average (.324 in 2004) and high HR totals (243 in 2005) skewed stats and damaged the integrity of the league. 1B P Fielder of Mexico still holds the minor league record with 43 bombs. Yet the team record for SLB homeruns has been set by OSA (374 in 2014), the individual record by an OSA player (72 in 2014) and the Ronin have led the league in homeruns by 47 (2016), 61 (2015), 142 (2014), and 77 (2013). They are the only team to hit over 300 HR in a season and have done so 4 seasons in a row. The individual HR leader has been from OSA the past 4 seasons as well. Where is the outrage now?
- There are two teams with remarkably low slugging percentages: TAI is at .380, KYO at .393. The Tai Fong's leader in slugging is LF E Dalton (and former Bushido) at .521. LF A Mule of KYO leads his team with his .533 mark.
- KYO took 2 of 3 from ATL , another blow to the Flyers season. ATL is 3.5 games back of third place BAL in the South. "We really spanked Zambrano in the second game," said Manager Bobby Valentine. "I thought we came out a little flat in game three, the guys knew they had the series won and relaxed against Zito. You just can't do that. Savannah comes here next and even though its only June, every game is important."
- Despite getting shutout in 10 innings in Game 1 v LON, BAL took the next two games and are 7-3 in their last 10. The Knights had RHP J Weaver on the mound for Game 2 and saw his typical performance: 7 innings, 13 hits, 2 walks and 7 ER. Weaver has given up 15 HR in 13 starts (68 IP).
- CHNG took 2 of 3 from PHI, the two wins both taking place in extra innings and decided by one run. The Kwaan lost the fina game 9-7 but are just 4 back of OSA. The Fever's loser in both extra inning games was LHP M Buehrle, totalling 2 IP, 5 hits and 2 ER. Buehrle's corpse is now 0-6, 8.62.
- Despite SCO taking 2 of 3 from HAL, PAR is on the verge of running away and hiding with their 7-game winning streak. The Pimpernels swept BED behind CF R Robinson's 8-12, 4 HR, 2 doubles and a stolen base.

News and Notes: Friday, June 2, 2017

Around SLB this week:

- BED is unstoppable and has the best record in (has that ever been written before? ed.) SLB after 56 games. The Crunch swept SCO, giving up a total of 4 runs in three games, and RF M Bradley went 6-12 with 4 doubles. Game 2 saw Bradley have yet another run in with the firstbase umpire after being called out on the back end of a double play and came very close to ejection.
- KYO's lack of team speed again this season is apparent to most rival scouts. The Bushido have hit into 44 DP's (3rd most) and have just 5 triples (fewest in SLB). Making matters worse is the total lack of respect for C K Thibault's arm - opposing teams have stolen 72 SB off KYO, second most in the league. SS B BooYa has managed to steal 17 bases despite his .270 OBP.
- "Hey, we're slow too!" BAL has managed just 15 steals as a team(!) and has 39 GIDP. There are 11 players in SLB with at least 16 stolen bases.
- Meet the Slowskys: KYO C Kiel Thibault has 10 GIDP, PAR 3B Yuliesky Gourriel has 11 GIDP and SCO 1B Henry Sanchez has 12 GIDP.
- IRE didn't lie down for SJ, taking 2 of 3 from the streaking Senadores in Puerto Rico. Back-to-back gems by right-hander J Beckett and T Kawabata totaled 15K in 12.2 IP. The Invaders are tied with LON for 3rd (or last), 7 back of PAR.
- Last season, PHI LF Andy Hunter hit .318 with 41 HR and a 1.001 OPS. This season, the 28 year-old Fever player is hitting .182 with 11 HR and a .604 OPS. Last seasons World Series finalists are 24-34, 14 games out and in 4th in the North.
- BAL SP D Tankersley is making just 7M for this season and next. Brought back to the Panthers to help guide their young pitchers, Tankersley has done all of that and more. He leads the league in IP (92) and has a sparkling 2.35 ERA.

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."

Is Retirement Next?

Osaka (AP) During Wednesday nights game between the Osaka Ronin and the visiting Kyoto Bushido, centerfielder Andruw Jones was injured on a catch of a sinking line drive off the bat of slugger Chest Rockwell.
"I just twisted my knee at the last second," said an obviously distraught Jones. "Just another thing that went wrong this year."
The 39 year-old Jones, who signed for just over the minimum salary this offseason, has struggled at the plate this season, hitting just .193 with 2 HR and no stolen bases in 109 at-bats. That's quite a dropoff from 2016 with Savannah, where as a platoon player and defensive replacement Jones hit .267 with 15 HR and 21 stolen bases.
"I don't think I've lost bat speed at all," Jones continued. "I've think I've got something left in the tank. I don't have to prove anything. I just don't know if I want to bother with all of the rehab just to come back for next spring training and just be a pinch-hitter or emergency outfielder. It's been a good career if this is it."
The injury to Jones, an inflamed medial collateral ligament, is expected to keep him out for over 6 months. He was a member of the SLB champion Halifax Sailors in 2009 and SLB champion Savannah Sabers in 2015, a three-time All-Star and two-time division MVP.