Calzones Corner - A baseball blog

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Re: Calzones Corner - A baseball blog

#31 Post by Matt »

After leading PEBA in spring training innings with 28.1 and posting a 1.27 ERA, bullpen workhorse Sheng Yep has made the roster. Yep, who pitched in 62 games last season and posted a 2.70 ERA, was in danger of losing his roster spot with all the additions to this years staff. Instead, Bobby Wright, who had a miserable spring, 1-3 9.82, has surprisingly accepted a demotion to AAA Joplin where he, and the team, hope he can get his act together.

Mauro Sanchez, who allowed just 1 R in 16 innings this spring, allowing 8 hits, 2 walks, and punching out 8, will draw the opening day nod against Charleston. He will be followed in the rotation by Chris Graves, Ed Stanley, Xavier Gomes, and Roberto Rosado. Rule V pick Bob Harris will move to the pen to start the season.
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Re: Calzones Corner - A baseball blog

#32 Post by Matt »

Calzones War Room

July 31, 2017

1:39 PM

“Hector, any ideas on moving Cole?” asked the Calzones GM Matt Higgins.

“Coming up empty,” came the reply from the Calzones head scout.

“Do you have to trade EVERYONE”? asked Isabel Padilla, the young innocent looking teenaged assistant to Calzones manager Taizo Sugano.

“No one asked you” the Calzones GM replied abruptly. “Besides, he doesn't fit here.”

“Girl have point” interrupted Sugano. “You trade Hayseed. Laredo dusty town. No one to wax car.”

The Calzones GM sighed, and looked toward the Calzones Director of Minor League Operations, Duane Rudis.

“Don't even think about trading draft picks,” said Duane

“I wasn't going to go there” answered an exasperated GM Higgins.

Duane stared intently at him, still very distrustful of the free wheeling Calzones GM.

The phone rang. GM Higgins answered the phone as the room quieted. They had been expecting calls from several teams.

“Hello?” said the Calzones GM, not recognizing the number.

“No names" came the reply. "You know me, I know you. That's all that matters. Recognize the voice?” asked the voice on the other end of the line.

“Yes, this is...” the Calzones GM replied

“NO NAMES!!” the voice interrupted.

“Okay, gotcha” the Calzones GM replied, though he somewhat puzzled by the clandestine nature of the call.

The faces seated around the table looked intently at the GM, and they all had noticed the puzzled sounding reply. Isabel whispered “who?” at the GM, but he waved her off and listened to the voice at the other end.

“Look” said the voice, “I have a proposal for you. I have what you need. You have what I need.”

There was a pause.

“I'm listening,” said the Calzones GM

“I'm going to give you a name. Then I am going to give you a second name. But don't leak the details of this. Do you understand?” asked the voice.

“Sure, no leaks,” replied the Calzones GM.

The faces at the table all continued to stare at him intently. He picked up a pad of paper as the voice on the line gave him a name. He wrote it down and flashed the pad around the table. Frowns and angry looks came across all their faces. Duane jotted a note on his own pad, and flashed it at the GM, while almost simultaneously removing his concealed carry permit from his wallet and tossing it on the table.

TRADE A PICK, I MAKE YOU A GELDING.

“I'm not so sure I can move him” replied the nervous Calzones GM.

Taizo Sugano grabbed Duane's notepad and scribbled his own note.

NEED NEW HAYSEED. LAREDO DUSTY TOWN.

The voice on the other end of the line gave him another name, the player who would go to the Calzones in return. He jotted it down, and flashed the pad around the table. Jaws dropped.

“Interesting idea” said a somewhat stunned Calzones GM. “I need some time to look it over, but we might be on to something here.”

“Good,” replied the voice. “I'll call you back at 7:47 PM. If we have a deal, answer.”

The line went dead. The Calzones GM hung up the phone.

The faces in the room looked at each other in stunned silence for several long seconds.

“We will talk about this one over lunch,” said the Calzones GM finally. “Danny's on San Bernardo, thirty minutes. Don't say a word about this to anyone, and for god's sake, do not mention the names involved while discussing it. This is on the hush, understood?”

They nodded in agreement.

He looked at Isabel.

“Bring the laptop,” he said to her.

She nodded.

They each left the room in silent disbelief.
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Re: Calzones Corner - A baseball blog

#33 Post by John »

Loved this. :lol: :clap: ;-D
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Re: Calzones Corner - A baseball blog

#34 Post by Arroyos »

Wonder who that nameless caller could be? And why so secretive? It's just another in a long series of swaps for Trader Matt.
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Re: Calzones Corner - A baseball blog

#35 Post by Matt »

It could turn out to be the only deal we get done. We seem to be striking out on the reliever front, at least up until this point. But we'll keep working the phones, and keep names like 2b Cole, and pitchers J. Martin, Graves, and O'Reilly out there up until the end of the evening.
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Re: Calzones Corner - A baseball blog

#36 Post by Matt »

Calzones War Room

July 31, 2017

7:47 PM

Isabel stared at the phone. It had already been a long day, but despite all that had transpired, she remained excited.

“Come on,” she said “ring.”

“He'll call”, said the calming voice of Duane.

She looked at the clock. It was exactly 7:47. She watched the second hand race around the clock, like a schoolgirl waiting for the bell to ring at the end of the day.

The phone rang. She let it ring a second time. Duane motioned to her to pick it up. She nervously lifted the receiver to her ear.

“Hello?” she said nervously.

“Do we have a deal?” came the voice on the other end.

“Yes, we have deal,” the young assistant replied.

“He's already on the plane. I assume our guy is too?” the voice asked.

“Yes. All the arrangements have been made.”

“Good,” replied the voice. “Pleasure doing business with you. Inform the league office.”

The line went silent. Isabel set down the receiver and exhaled.

And with that, the deed was done.

Two phone calls.

Two franchises.

Two players.

One trade.
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Re: Calzones Corner - A baseball blog

#37 Post by Arroyos »

BREAKING NEWS!!!

Roberta Umor, Yuma Sun

Emma Span, spokesperson for the Consortium of Owners of the Yuma Bulldozers released the following statement to the press shortly after the trade between the Yuma Bulldozers and the San Antonio Calzones was announced.

"Neither myself, nor any of the other part-owners of the Bulldozers, have any knowledge of this trade. It was negotiated in secret, apparently, and announced without consulting the owners. The party or parties who have traded away one of Yuma's prize young starting pitchers have not come forward. The owners are currently trying to locate and question the staff of the Yuma front office in hopes that someone there knows how this happened. We will not contest the trade, that would be unsporting of us, but we will find out who is making deals on behalf of our ballclub. During the absence of the General Manager, who is still receiving care at the Camarillo State Hospital, there has been some confusion and lack of leadership in the front office. That is understandable. However, secret deals and negotiations completed without consulting the owners will not. That is all at this time, thank you."

Ms. Span would answer no questions. None of the other owners were available for comment. The Bulldozer front office staff have been ordered NOT to speak to the press. We will keep you posted if further news breaks.
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Re: Calzones Corner - A baseball blog

#38 Post by Matt »

I had intended to do a big review of the Calzones and out minor league system this spring, complete with analysis, links, pole dancers, etc, but time is just not on my side. So it's going to be in blog format.

Catchers - a huge souce of pride for us is our catching duo of Dan Glenn and Jeff Richard.

Dan Glenn - won the all-leather award as a rookie last season. Defensive stud. We could care less if he hits, but he is probably good for 12-15 HR a season from the bottom of third of the order, though the average will probably never be great. But he will shut down your running game. The Calzones were the hardest team to run on last season. The Calzones will be the hardest team to run on this season. Word to the wise, shut down your running game, or we'll do it for you. We're expecting another all-leather award this season.

Jeff Richard - despite playing in just 35 games for the Calzones in 2017, Richard had the second best ZR at the catcher position in the IL. Behind Glenn. So we don't miss a beat with Richard behind the plate. If anything, we wonder if our backup might not actually be the better of the two defensively. Much like Glenn, we could care less if he hits. He nailed 8 runners stealing last season, at a 72.7% clip.

waiting in the wings at AAA, Antonio Ayala. Just 22 yrs old, Ayala may be the best hitter of our group of catchers, but he hasn't grown into the defense yet, and even the bat is not yet fully developed. With Glenn and Richard entrenched, Ayala could eventually be trade bait. Also at AAA is Ted Young, who looks like a better defensive catcher than Ayala, but less bat. All things being equal, Young might be a better fit for our squad as we prefer the defense when it comes to catchers.


Next update: The Infield.
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Re: Calzones Corner - A baseball blog

#39 Post by Matt »

Friday, April 13, 2018

Was hoping we could send Martin down to AAA for some work on his control, but in an over worked bullpen he has one of the fresher arms. Instead, Oliver Gonzalez has been sent down and John Miller has been recalled. He gives us another lefty in the bullpen, which might be helpful with Johnston struggling and also with us spending a week on the road which includes 3 more games at West Virginia, a ballpark notoriously friendly to left handed hitters.

Jeffrey Thomas, just acquired from Charleston, takes over in CF and Marcos Ramos goes back to AAA for more seasoning. Thomas won an all-leather award in Yuma in 2015, but after being traded to Chucktown he seemed to fall out of favor. He's just 27, and pure grade A defensive stud.

Also sent down to AAA was Mark Smylie. We need the lefthanded bat of Holt on the big club. Also, 3b Juan Carlos Flores was sent to AAA, and replaced on the roster by recently signed Pedro Marrero. This was more about getting Flores more work at AAA and adding a left handed bat in Marrero to balance the lineup. It also helps give the team a more veteran feel.

Lastly, former NJ farmhand Cliff Jones was added to the roster and Dan Perry sent to AAA. Would have liked to have kept Perry up, he's hitting well, but a look at the schedule and the rotations we will face over the next few weeks shows little likelihood of facing many lefties. A closer look at the IL shows a grand total of 9 lefty starters in present rotations, and 2 of those are Calzones. The only other team with 2 southpaw starters in the IL is New Jersey. The other ten teams have a combined 5 lefthanded starters presently in their rotations. A lot of bullpens look heavily righthanded as well.
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Re: Calzones Corner - A baseball blog

#40 Post by Paul Moots »

Calzones wrote:Friday, April 13, 2018

Lastly, former NJ farmhand Cliff Jones was added to the roster and Dan Perry sent to AAA. Would have liked to have kept Perry up, he's hitting well, but a look at the schedule and the rotations we will face over the next few weeks shows little likelihood of facing many lefties. A closer look at the IL shows a grand total of 9 lefty starters in present rotations, and 2 of those are Calzones. The only other team with 2 southpaw starters in the IL is New Jersey. The other ten teams have a combined 5 lefthanded starters presently in their rotations. A lot of bullpens look heavily righthanded as well.
I've noticed this, too, Matt. It seems funny to me that there are so many left-handed bats in PEBA - feels like more than normal, though I have no figures on this - and so few LH pitchers to counter that fact.
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Re: Calzones Corner - A baseball blog

#41 Post by Matt »

Really indecisive about the lineups right now. I've wanted to make changes, then change my mind and give the guys I came into the season with more time. Most are doing nothing really to keep thier jobs, but just enough to not lose them.

The one change as far as starting jobs will be at catcher, where Richards takes over and Glenn goes to the bench. Both were given a fair number of at bats to start the season, Richard has hit .409, Glenn .118. The batting order underwent some shuffling as well, with the surprises being Johnson and Hernandez being dropped down into the 7th and 8th spots. Johnson leads the team with rbi with 8, but is batting .145 with 19 strikeouts, so he shouldn't complain too loudly. Especially with Perry looking for more playing time. Hernandez is batting .222, and has Holt nipping at his heals for playing time. Another lackluster week and both might be shining pine when we hit the road next week.

With the off day we were able to juggle the rotation and get Stanley and Flores extra days off, with workhorses Harris and Arias staying on 5 day schedules. Stanley has been outstanding this season, he leads the IL in ERA so far at 0.96, but has received little help from the offense or bullpen, as he has a record of 1-0. He gave the bullpen a scoreless tie in his first start, they lost it. He gave the bullpen a 3-1 lead in his second start, the bullpen blew it. He left with a 9-1 lead in his 3rd start, and damned if they didn't try to blow that one as well, as the Calzones barely escaped with a 9-8 win.

The rotation has been about as expected, except Arias, but he has a decent track record and will be given some time to get untracked. Gonzalez is pitching very well in a relief role and chomping at the bit for a shot at the rotation. The depth there is a nice luxury, especially since we have 4 other guys who could slip into the rotation if they had to (Pedro Hernandez, John Miller at AAA, Roberto Rosado, or Francisco Chavez). It's enough depth that I've toyed with the idea of moving a Gonzalez or a Flores for a bat to help the offense. But I don't see that happening anytime soon, mostly because what would help us, a leadoff type middle infielder or centerfielder, or slugging 3b, just don't grow on trees.

Out in the bullpen, Shimizu is getting overworked, badly. Dude is on a pace to work 142 innings. Martin and Marshall are struggling with thier control, and patience is wearing thin there. One of them could lose thier spot to Miller, who has pitched well at AAA, especially since I would like to have another lefty out in the pen. Chavez has been pretty good mostly as the lefthanded setup man, pleased so far with his performance.

The week ahead could be interesting, as the two worst pitching staffs in the IL statistically, Manchester and Arlington, come to town. Really hoping to see some signs of life from the inconsistent offense.
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Re: Calzones Corner - A baseball blog

#42 Post by Matt »

Originally meant to be an article, but it's getting stale and I don't feel like linking with only one functioning arm. So here it is. Our draft re cap.

As for the Calzones, we did not have a pick until the 4th round. With that pick in the 4th round, we chose switch hitting 3b Domingo Lopez. For whatever reason, he didn't get many at bats with Washington the past two seasons, with a pair of fairly talentless players splitting most of the starts at 3b for the Malamutes this season. Our scout likes Lopez, OSA loves Lopez. He should be a plus defender at 3b, and he projects to have 15-20 HR power when he develops. He makes good contact and will be tough to strikeout. He'll also steal the occasional bag. He's a leader in the clubhouse with a solid work ethic. We project Lopez making a quick jump to A ball.

We had two picks in the 5th round, and with the first one we selected another Domingo, this time 18 yr old RF Domingo Mendez. The big left handed bat spent his entire career on the bench with James River High School, so there is nothing to go on as far as stats. But when you trade your first 3 picks away, you need to find a high risk/high reward type in the middle rounds. Our scout projects plus power for Mendez, but his complete lack of speed and athletic ability will relegate him to a DH spot in the future, though he might see a game or two at 1b. Mendez likely spends the next 3 seasons at Taku.

With our second pick in the 5th round, we picked up 21 yr old RF Johnny Dand. Dand has won back to back All Leather Awards in RF at college. He has tremendous range and should convert to CF quite easily. He has the type of speed that could see him steal 50 bases at some point. Another leader in the clubhouse, we see a quick jump to A Drumright in Dand's future.


Our selection in the 6th round might have been our most interesting of the day, as we selected Laredo native Juan Hernandez, an 21 yr old switch hitting SS. At this point, I was looking for a middle infielder, and the other guy we were looking at, Jason Owens, went off the board right in front of us, drafted by Duluth. And when the Calzones grabbed Hernandez it caused Mike of NJ to remark that both guys he had in the queue went 1-2 right in front of him. Hernandez has a good glove, but not enough speed to be a difference maker and very little power. He does, however, have a solid eye at the plate and will work the walks. He might eventually be a 4A type, or even a utility infielder, but I doubt he is ever a starter at the PEBA level.

We didn't have a pick in the 7th round. In the 8th round, we selected CF Lucio Gallardo, a 21 yr old left handed batter. He has the range to be a good corner outfielder, and a competent backup in CF. He also has enough infield skill to play 1b in a reliably mediocre way. His bat looks rather average across the board, and he has some speed but rarely takes advantage of it. He looks like he can play at A ball now, and could quickly progress to AA. But his upside looks limited, so there isn't much need to rush him. Maybe with a little time he can prove himself.

In the 9th round, the Calzones were looking for a catcher, and we selected 21 yr old right handed hitting Murray Rogers. Rogers is a superior defensive catcher, which by definition means it is unlikely he will ever be much of a hitter. But he does have a fairly good personality profile,so maybe he can develop.


Round ten saw us grab 1b Alfredo Valenzuela, an 18 yr old right handed batter. His superior glove will be moved to the middle of the infield. He has a little speed, and a fair eye at the plate, but nothing in the way of power. His glove will only carry him so far, he is going to need to surprise us with the bat. He can look forward to about 3 seasons at Taku.

Round 11 brought us 1b Adelardo Rangel, another guy who will convert to the middle of the infield, probably 2b. He also has the ability to play a corner outfield position as well, and the 18 yr old left handed batter could some day find his way up the ladder as a super utility player. That being, if he ever learns to hit.

Round 12 brought us 18 yr old RF Ashton Davis. A left handed bat, Davis saw little playing time in HS, but his solid speed and strong arm were enough for us to take a chance on him this late in the day. He'll get a chance to own a spot at the cold end of the bench in Taku until something better comes along for us.

In the 13th round we picked up 21 yr old C Lee Reid. The left handed batter has average defensive skills, and projects as rather avg with the bat, save for what could become a decent eye at the plate. He has enough defensive ability to play at 1b without embarrassing himself. He's a clubhouse leader, but a longshot to make it to PEBA.

Round 14 saw us draft another switch hitting infielder with a glove, speed, and a dream, 21 yr old Gonzalo Soto. The only thing he lacks is talent.

Think 15th round picks are worthless? Tell that to Lowell Peterson. In the 15th round this year, we selected 21 yr old CF Barton Wilson, a right handed batter, and I was actually fairly excited to get him. He doesn't do anything great, but with a little work he could easily turn himself into a 4th outfielder type. He has a strong arm, a little speed, projects to an average bat, and he's a clubhouse leader. He could be in A ball fairly quick.


Overall, we missed out on high end talent by trading our top picks, but I think we filled a lot of holes in the lower levels as far as bats go. We avoided pitching this year, taking the opportunity to take advantage of depth amongst hitters to patch some holes and solidify our lineups in the lower levels. But the odds that more than two of these guys ever play at the PEBA level? Really, really long.
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