Neat Stuff, Post-Sim Thread: 2029, Season 23

[Borealis]

It was a short week - only 5 games, and Vail Week, to boot, but a productive one for the Borealis, a split with the Evil Evas and who doesn't like a Borealis sweep of the Bears!!??!! It was like old times at YUM! as for the most part, pitching was the theme of the day. Amongst the week's Neat and Not So Neat:

- Let's start with 'Tugboat'! After sitting out 8 weeks with a bum shoulder, and a couple of rehab starts, he has come back as the same old 'Tugboat' - including two straight solid outings against The Evil Evas - including this weeks 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K win in the week's opener. He has won all three starts, with 20 IP, 16 H, 4 R, 1 BB and 15 K. NEATO!! What might the Desert Hills look like if he had been healthy all this time?

- Randy Smith wasn't alone as far as excellent pitching is concerned. 'Chief' Nieves went 8 shut out innings against Bakersfield, allowing just 4 H and striking out 5, while JT went 7, 1-hit innings, striking out 9, and Esquivel allowing just a hit over his 6-inning, 7 K performance, though his 3 BB contributed to a run allowed. Very Neat Indeed...

- Not so Neat? Rob Imhoff, who lasted just 3.2 IP against the Evas - and just 2-hits, but he walked 4 and allowed a homer in Aurora's lone loss of the week - 6-2. The 'pen was stellar, allowing no further damage, but the bats couldn't close the gap...

- About those bats. They qualify for a Not So Neat, with a collective .223 - and that includes the unexpected 5-9 week from Ricardo Zamora - with a pair of doubles, a homer and 4 RBI - which were 1/4 of the week's total. Good thing the pitching held the Evas and Bears to a .138. It just illustrates what was already a trend the past couple of seasons - Aurora goes only as far as their pitching will take them, and with a utter lack of power, the Borealis have to string more than 3-hits together to win games - and .238 sure doesn't sound like strung together hits...

- The most unlikely sight is that of 6-11 Mokule'ia at the bottom of the Aloha division. The near perennial 1st place and playoff team looks to have caught the bug that has been taking down the entire Aurora system. But the fans have turned to a 2030 draftee who has quickly become a fan favorite: 10th-round pick, Ron Gudarlearza, of Elkhart, IN and Rice University. 'Big Dumb' is 6-16 (.375). Fans have already started to come to games wearing Dunce Caps, supporting this years favorite. Now if the rest of the draft class can get it's act together, like top pick, David Simmons, who is 9-50 - That's Not Neat!

[DrewV]

Duluth dove in to the rebuild by shipping Henry Carter and Jeffrey "Jetstream" Mendoza to Bakersfield in exchange for an arsenal of picks and prospects--most notably #6 PEBA Prospect Antonio Herrera.

Power hitter Garry Charron was sent to Shin Seiki for a pick, SA prospect Noah Hill, PEBA RP Chris Acevez, and AAA outfielder Patrick Woods.

Duluth is postured for a strong 2029 draft, with 3 1st and 2nd round picks. We're no Yuma, but we're getting there.

Finances are firmly under control, with Vincente Medina and Charron's contracts no longer on the books. With revenue up 7% from last season and over $100 Million shed in 2028 salaries, Duluth should finish the year comfortably in the green.

In an ironic twist, Duluth's offense has finally clicked in the absence of Charron, Carter, Mendoza, and Medina. Rookie RF Sean Kirkland achieved Rookie of the Month honors in June, still on fire after lighting up AAA before his May callup to replace a demoted Dewitt Barry. So far, the rookie from Baltimore slashed .337/.373/.558 with 15 RBI and 5 Homers since his promotion. Likewise, fellow rookie outfielder John Howe is heating up. He hit three home runs against Reno on June 25th. He drove in 17 and launched 7 long balls in June. Cash vortex Andy Sharp hit .288/.370/413 in June with 16 stolen bases and 9 RBI. While Duluth is hitting the ball more effectively, they are still failing to bring in the RBIs and have some of the worst RISP third-outs in PEBA.

The Duluth bullpen seems (mostly) free of disaster this summer, with Medina's unfortunate slump behind them and Guerra moved to AAA. Geoff Lawson is having a career season, with 9 saves and a .084 ERA over 21 innings pitched. Hyato Kawano's been banged up in both of his debut outings since coming to Duluth from AAA, and is likely a filler until the club can find a more reliable SP. Chris Acevez from SS may be the answer.

Headed into July, Duluth's luck is likely coming to an end with 8 matches against #1 Fargo. It's a Great Lakes bonanza this July--18 Divisional games that begin with a 2-week homestand that rides a 16% increase in attendance this year. Cain Bright, back from his injury after a rugged first couple months, will need to pitch to his potential to have a future with the Warriors.

Overall, a successful June for Warrior Nation.

[Alleghenies]

I am getting happier with my team. Pretty much healthy now where I need everyone and we are winning. I also know my real test comes a week after all-star break when I go on a 2 week run of Havana and Florida.. If we can finish over .500 in that stretch, I feel pretty confident for my team the rest of the way.

Glad I didn't trade Norris, in the month of June had an ERA of 1.48. Thanks everyone for thinking he was no good :-)

[Denny]

Can't complain much about that sim, in which the Codgers lost only a single game (and also managed a sweep of Crystal Lake that featured two tenth-inning walk-off wins on consecutive nights)....however:

In that one loss, to Canton, Tenshin Kudo, who was filling in at shortstop for Royce Raines who had the day off, managed to rack up FOUR errors, including two on back-to-back hitters in the eighth inning! That level of ineptitude takes some real doing.

[Zephyrs]

I see that Steve Boyer made the All Star squad as a sub. He is our lone AS. Looking back on my trading of Christian Webb, I have to say I am fairly pleased with the results. Webb is certainly a top notch player but the three pieces I received are all extremely valuable members of the team. Boyer, Stuart and Norman have a combined 5.9 WAR so far this season.

[Evas]

I see that Steve Boyer made the All Star squad as a sub. He is our lone AS. Looking back on my trading of Christian Webb, I have to say I am fairly pleased with the results. Webb is certainly a top notch player but the three pieces I received are all extremely valuable members of the team. Boyer, Stuart and Norman have a combined 5.9 WAR so far this season.

That was a very big trade and I think it worked out well for both sides.

Webb provided 17.0 WAR in SS over 4 seasons and was later dealt to BAK for Littleworth, who has been a solid 113 ERA+ fixture in my rotation.

[Borealis]

I see that Steve Boyer made the All Star squad as a sub. He is our lone AS. Looking back on my trading of Christian Webb, I have to say I am fairly pleased with the results. Webb is certainly a top notch player but the three pieces I received are all extremely valuable members of the team. Boyer, Stuart and Norman have a combined 5.9 WAR so far this season.

And Stuart nearly made it, too!!

[Lions]

There's something that feels like this game between Florida and Havana is a game we'll look back on as something special. It pitted Luppe van Dam against Enrique Vazquez, the first time those two pitchers have faced each other. Van Dam is, arguably, the most exciting young pitcher in PEBA. I know I would argue that. Vazquez has taken over Michel Provost's mantle as the best pitcher in PEBA. Van Dam throws hard. Vazquez throws just a little harder. Van Dam has an assortment of pitches which project as elite offerings, but he's still working out the kinks. Vazquez limits his choice of pitch, but everything he throws is filthy.

So if you're a fan of great pitchers facing off, of top prospects matching up against established stars, then this was certainly one to circle on the calendar. Oh, and the baseball gods saw fit to schedule it for July 4th. Van Dam was coming off back to back losses to Scottish and New Orleans. In both starts, he gave up 4 runs, but struck out a number of hitters and hardly walked anyone. Vazquez was coming off a 7 inning effort against San Antonio in which he struck out 11, walked no one, gave up 1 run, and watched Corey Robinson blow the 4 run lead. Why Robinson is coming in to preserve a Vazquez start is anyone's guess, but the delightfully named Maxime Plamondon hit a 9th inning home run to give Havana the victory.

Anyway... that all set up Terrible and Old Nick for a tilt in Havana. Luppe struck out the first batter he faced, and easily set down the side in the top of the first. Vazquez wasn't as lucky. A pair of doubles by Miguel Yánez and Wilson Muñóz gave Florida an early 1-run lead. The pair would trade zeros for a couple innings until Florida caught a break in the 4th. Mario Ramírez reached on catcher interference, but they couldn't turn two off of José Villarreal's weak ground ball back to Vazquez. Randy Love singled and then Pablo Garza hit a sac fly to score Villarreal.

While those would be the only two runs Vazquez gave up, he really wasn't on his best for the game. In the 5th inning, he gave up a 2 out double to Carlos Sáenz. When Muñóz then singled, the leadfooted Sáenz tried to beat the noodle armed throw of Claudio Hernández to the plate and failed. A faster runner would have easily scored. In the end, Vazquez would face just one more batter in the 6th before being lifted for his second shortest outing of the year. Van Dam would last an inning longer, giving up a total of 3 hits while striking out 7. The Florida bullpen kept the Leones off the basepaths the rest of the game and Florida won 2-0.

While it wasn't the epic pitcher duel that score and the starters might have led you to believe, it was certainly a tense game and a fitting preview of a match-up I dearly hope we get to seen in the postseason.

[Leones]

Luppe van Dam has an amazing array of quality pitches to choose from. Wow!

[DrewV]

Excellent recap, Frank. A historic moment indeed!

[Wind Dancers]

Toyama is a dumpster fire, but the minors have been great. All 4 minor league teams are above .500 and are either in first (2) or second (2) in their division.

After moving north and rebranding, AA Toyohira Fubuki is an astonishing 70-25 including a 13-1 record so far in July. They also have not lost more than 9 games in a month yet this season with each month's winning percentage above .667.

[Dinosaurs]

43 year old Rob Raines has been on a hot streak of late and now has a .921 OPS and a 161 wRC+ in 314 plate appearances. All of this in his 19th year in PEBA. Pretty amazing.

[Borealis]

A mostly Neat week that included Aurora All-Stars looking better than usual...

- The week started rough as Jesus Solis imploded against the Bakersfield and kept the Borealis from a 3-1 series win...Despite the efforts of Flores (4-5), Heath (3-5), Britt (2-5, 4 RBI) and Dwyer (3-5)... Not Neat...
- What will an 11-5 stretch of solid play do for you? Give fans faith and get them back into their seats. Attendance has been down significantly at Northern Lights park, but post All-Star Break, 174,000 fans packed the park - to see Yuma! A great summer turnout!! That jacked the season average up a few thousand... NEAT!!
- Also Neat was the 4-game sweep of the Yumans, with excellent pitching continuing to be the theme: 'Tugboat' went 7 in the opener, allowed 3 hits and struck out 12 - and looks like the same old 'Tugboat'. Post DL stint: 6 GS, 30.2 IP, 33 H, 8 R, a HR, 2 BB and 35 K - including 2 wins against The Evil Evas and a team win v. Bakersfield... His ERA overall is 1.78... Very Neat Indeed...
-' JT' John Turner went 6.1 and struck out 11 in game 2 and Jose Torres, who slumped badly as the ASG approached, was 3-4 with 3 RBI... Mike Monroe, who was the 'pen version of Torres, pitched the final 2.2 with 0 R and 4 K to complete the second straight shut-out to start the second half...
- Esquivel finally allowed Yuma some runs, but Torres was 3-4 again, and Nick Heath had the walk-off winner: RBI single to score Dwyer, who had a lead-off walk...
- Game 4 was a laugher, but 'Chief' pitched into the 9th and allowed just a run on 6 hits... Everyone in the Aurora lineup had two hits except Britt, who had 1...
- What has also helped contribute to Aurora's better form has been the resurgence of Paul Carlisle. He had a 3-run homer in the game - his 14th and 54th RBI, but it wasn't to long ago that he was sucking at .228 after a May 20 loss to the 'Gnats. With his average now sitting at precisely .300, Aurora was 21-24 on that day, 6 GB of both Bakersfield and the Codgers. Since the Borealis are 32-14 and have made up that gap and are tied with the Bears for first!
- But it's not all Carlisle... On that May 20 date, Aurora starters were a shocking 8-18, with a 3.56 ERA over those 45 games, but in the past 48 games since they are 22-11 with a 2.74 ERA - getting 'Tugboat' back is a major part of that improvement, which may explain the WHIP being down .24 and the OAVG down to .213 (down .025)...
- Offensively in this stretch, the team is hitting 15-points higher, but everything else looks pretty much the same - the team averaging a third of a run a game more...

Both Aurora and Bakersfield are on a Yuma/Reno trade off on the week, so who beats up the bottom of the division will have the edge on the division as we head into the final week before the deadline - where Aurora will face Okinawa and Neo-Tokyo and the Bears will face k-Zoo, Fargo and Palm Springs...

[Alleghenies]

43 year old Rob Raines has been on a hot streak of late and now has a .921 OPS and a 161 wRC+ in 314 plate appearances. All of this in his 19th year in PEBA. Pretty amazing.

Raines is a PEBA GOD!!!

He holds 8 of the career batting records and in 32 more strikeouts he will hold 9.
23 more doubles and he will hold 10....

[Borealis]

Did he get hit 3,000 this sim?

EDIT: NO!!! He's sitting at 2,999!!