Neat stuff sim thread PEBA 2023 Season 17

[Matt]

Noticed something neat from our latest sim? This is the place to post it!

Please use this thread for post-sim discussion only.
Use the "Looking forward" thread to discuss pre-sim thoughts.

If you're having a technical problem with a new league file, do not post it here!
Post your tech issues in this thread. We will be monitoring it and will respond ASAP

[Matt]

Going 6-0 the first week is neat. Our gambit of juggling our rotation so both lefty starters faced San Antonio worked out perfectly. A little more fear of the Calzones left handed bats than those of New Orleans. Figured our right handed pitchers would match up better against the Trendsetters.

On the not so neat front, losing our big free agent signee Jose Rivera for 4 months with a torn back muscle, and future closer Otis Pearson at AAA for the season with bone chips. Josh Shaffer probably gets pulled back from the waiver wire now to fill Rivera's slot. Fortunately we came into the season fairly deep on the infield.

[Leones]

Havana begins the season on the road drawing two of the tougher Seaboard Division clubs, Manchester and Arlington. Ealry returns aren't too bad. We took a two game series from Manchester (9-6, 9-6) and then got swept by Arlington (5-6, 2-3, 1-8). The 2-3 loss was a 16 inning affair.

Picked up Dax O'Mannis to cover 1B and bring some good stick. The roster is tight so we had to let Miguel Salinas go to make room. Salinas was off to a hot start, but we're feeling good about going with Dax instead.

In the minors, AAA Sayga and AA Gojira both lead their divisions going 6-1 / 5-2 respectively.

Not too bad a start. We stay on the road, traveling to New Jersey for a 3 game series then we finally get to open at home on Thursday, 13 April.

[Matt]

So when Rivera leaves the game with an injury, who does the manager bring in to play 3b in the 10th? SP Ruben Hernandez....ack. Fortunately the ball didn't find him. Can't really blame this on the AI, the bench had already been depleted in the 9th trying to tie the game up.

The Ocelots committed 2 errors on the week. Both of them by pitcher Seon-keun Yi.

[Simon]

Swept by RGV to start the season, ouch
At least later we won 2 vs Florida.

Actually on paper my lineup vs Lefties isnt as bad as last year. We have 7 RH batters in there, including Rivera, Ohayashi and Flores, all with considerable power. Ohayashi was injured for first 2 games though, so he wasnt able to help.
At the moment SA lineup vs Righties isnt something anyone should be scared of either. We are dead last in runs scored, and pretty much in every other offensive cathegory as well.

At least pitching staff is doing its job. Mostly. Except for #1 SP Cook, who managed to lose 2 games and is sitting on 13.50 ERA.

[Nigel]

My #1 opened 0-2 with his first two starts too but at least he got away with a 7.15 ERA. Meanwhile, it's a small sample size I know but it's nice to see catcher turned first baseman Mark Yoder using the force to bat 1.000 in his first 10 plate appearances of the year in Triple-A. Six hits, three walks and a HBP gives him a perfect ten, long may it continue

[Hitmen]

In typical New Jersey fashion, survive the spring training with no injuries, 3 guys go down in the first week. Tomás 'B' Esparza, Jesús Téllez, and probably due to the rain delay.. Brant Gibson. Lots of short term injury juggling around already. Lots of guys getting chances this year, along with some veterans in on short term deals to keep us competitive but I don't expect much more than last year if our pitching can't hold up their end of the bargain.

AA Camden is where the action is right now as the large push of talent is grouped down there moving together with some stragglers left in Hi-A Hoboken.

[Coqui]

it's nice to see catcher turned first baseman Mark Yoder using the force to bat 1.000 in his first 10 plate appearances of the year in Triple-A. . .

I see what you did there. Well played, Top Angler, well played.

[Bill]

A minute that joke did take me to get. Mmmm. Very funny that joke.

[KenH]

Apparently spring training means nothing (surprise!) because my two young guys Ronnie Green and Jose Diaz got absolutely lit up in their starts. At least Diaz had some peripherals you can dream on with five Ks in five innings, but Green just looked awful. He gave up 7 earned runs, 8 hits and 2 walks in 1.2 innings while striking out none. This is after a pretty fantastic spring where he pitched to a sub 2 ERA.

On the other side, Valentim Ornelas looked to be back to his normally un-rusty self after a pretty rough spring and is actually leading pitchers in WAR after 2 starts, pitching to a 1.88 ERA and averaging a K an inning.

In terms of fielders, another one of our lynchpins -- Lorenzo Amador -- is out for most of next week with a concussion, giving long-time journeyman Ju-chan Park more playing time than I intended to give him... he hasn't been terrible so-to-speak, but has struck out TEN TIMES already in 5 starts. That's not a huge vote of confidence. Perhaps it's time to bring up the vaunted Jack Hudson who has started well in AAA.

Our other 2 big free agent pick-ups (and my first as GM) Raul Medina and Dave Crocker are going swimmingly so far, leading the team in all offensive categories. Really nice to get this production out of guys I suspected to be middling bats (simply by saying that, I'm sure I've jinxed them).

Rookie Alfredo Hinojosa has started about as well as you can expect for a young guy with a long way to go. He's definitely left some runners on so far this year, but with that AMAZING hit tool, we expect to see him drive in a lot more runs -- especially if Andy Sharp can get his act together in the leadoff spot.

Really excited to get Danny Burton back this week. That's going to be a huge boost to our offense.

[Duane]

With all the 'improvements' Ky made to 'fix' it's pitching staff, it certainly is not apparent in the first 7-days of 2023. Ugggggg pitching was horrid and the bats even worse. And somehow my resting Jesus Lopez the last Spring week caused the NEW manager to start catcher Czema in left field for a couple games .....

Injury wise, AAA SP Gonzoles (Ky minor league pitcher of year 2022) is laid up with arm troubles - don't recall if it is chips or tendon, but I think not surgery.

[Jason]

Carlos Ryan off to a hot start in Hartford, but we lose Ruiz to injury for a month or two.

I am not sure we will finish anywhere near where OSA has predicted us.

[Borealis]

More to come - both on the spring as well as the opening week, but... Amongst the Neat and Not So...

- Borealis begin the year with a 4-1 mark sweeping the Knights and taking 2 of 3 from the Codgers...
- Opening Day was a wild one as Provost scattered 6 H over 7 IP and Rivera and Gray each pitched scary innings while Aurora could muster only 2 hits in 8 innings, but in the B9, Pope led off with a single, Ferringo bunted him over, and McIntyre singled to center - with Juarez overrunning the ball and letting the games lone run to score in a 1-0 nail-biter...
- Aurora pitching allowed just 5 runs on the week - three by the starters (1 each by Gunner, 'Sawmill' and Romano)...
- Gunner, in his Aurora debut, went 5.1 innings, 4 H, 1 R, 7 K, 1 BB...
- 'Massacre', who's tough spring has him in the 'pen for now, went 5.1, 2 H, 0 R, 9 K, 1 BB - he seems to do much better with the K/BB ratio out of the 'pen, despite his great stamina...
- Hitting... eh... not so good... Paul Carlisle was 5-12 with a pair of 2B, a 3B and a HR and by far the best hitter of the week... Mike Britt was 7-20, with a pair of HR and 5 RBI... It's early, but the watch is on to see if the trades of 'Gypsy' and Ferrell were mistakes or not...

What's on Tap:
Reno invades The Front Range, followed by a trip from the Hills to the Desert of SoCal to face the Codgers...

[Dinosaurs]

Decent start for the Dinosaurs, although we suffered an injury to one of my starting pitchers (more on that below). The big four game series with Shin Seiki turned out as a split with the Dinosaurs winning the season opener in front of 40,000 (with our new expansion of 5,000 seats at Jurassic Park and some new locally based concession stands for those "hip" early mid-late 20's Fargo fans), then losing the next two games before winning the final game of the series in a close 4-3 contest. The home-stand continued against Kalamazoo which was the Dinosaurs were able to take two out of three from.

Will be on the road for a four game swing in Shin Seiki before coming back home for a three game stand against Reno next sim.

The one bit of bad news was a bout of forearm tendinitis that cropped up for starting pitcher Bernardo Moreno. The injury should only sideline him for 3 weeks, but will cause reliever (and former starter) David Barton to slide into the rotation for a few starts.

[Alleghenies]

I went 4-2, but should have been 5-1. Up 3 in 7th, my manager ph for my 2b and then for my SS with only 1 sub for the both of them. To make himself look even more brilliant, my manager then puts my best fielding CF at SS and keeps my worst rated CF in CF. In the 9th inning my team made 3 errors on 4 plays the last error being on my CF playing SS as we gave up 3 runs to lose.

Other than that I can't complain much besides my middle IF is not doing well and I may need to make a drastic change their soon...