Calzones Corner - A baseball blog

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Re: Calzones Corner - A baseball blog

#16 Post by Matt »

Calzones Corner July 25th
Part 1

The only bright spot this week was Pedro Hernandez notching yet another win a 6-2 victory over the Trendsetters to start the week. For the 6th time in his 7 starts on the season, Hernandez allowed 2 or less earned runs. He pitched 6.2 innings, allowing 8 hits, 2 ER, 1 BB, and 3 K. He is now 4-2, 2.64 on the season.

Less promising was an offense that was shut out 3 times in 5 games, and 4 times in 7 games since the all-star break. If you were to look up the word pathetic in a dictionary, you would probably find it holding a bat and wearing bordello red.

The big news out of Laredo this week was the signing of Closer Bernardo Valle to what many around the league have criticized as a completely insane $36 million dollar contract. Valle does give the Calzones a potent left hander to solidify the bullpen, but is he worth $36 milllion over 3 years? He immediately becomes the highest paid reliever in the league, and the 6th highest paid pitcher overall.

Calzones GM Matt Higgins was quick to shrug off the criticism. "Look" he told us, "we did our homework here. We brought in a top notch left hander reliever, likely to be one of the five best lefty relievers in the league over the next few seasons. He's just coming into his prime. He gives us a weapon at the back of the bullpen that few teams in the league can claim. Did we overpay? Sure, but not by as much as some would think. Valle's agent threw a stupidly low number on the table. I'm sure some GM's in the league wet thier pants with excitement over the low number. We figured Valle was worth at least 8 mil a season if he was worth a dime. And with the trouble we have had signing free agents the last few seasons, we tacked on a few dollars to make sure we topped any and all offers. It's not like we couldn't afford it. We have almost nothing on the books the next few years, and we just improved the team."

After speaking with the Calzones GM, we remained skeptical, so we did our own homework.

Around the league, these are the relief pitchers who are making 7 million or more per season. (We excluded pitchers presently exiled to the bullpen because of poor performance in the rotation.)

Arlington Closer Juan Romero, 10.5 mil age 31
Auroro MR Francisco Garza (L) 8.3 mil age 34
Crystal Lake CL Merlin Peters 8.725 mil age 34
Kentucky CL Jorge Aguilar (L) 7.08 mil age 32
Kentucky CL Ricardo Diaz 8.3 mil age 33
Arlington Closer Matsuro Sato (L) 8.0 mil, age 35
Fargo Cl Raul Pinto 7.17 mil, age 31
Gloucester CL Andrew Sepkiechler 7.1 mil, age 35
NJ MR Nelson Ortiz (L) 7.0 mil, age 24
Omaha CL Juan Suarez, 7.0 mil, age 37

Now, Valle will earn a full 1/3 more than the majority of those presently being paid top dollar in PEBA as relievers. Keep in mind, Valle, at 28 yrs old, is younger than all but Ortiz, and while those players are either fading or nearing the point where they will begin to fade, Valle is just coming into his prime.

Next, compare the 3 year stat lines for Valle as opposed to the above group. While Valle has less innings pitched, (the Alianza plays a 110 game season), the rest of the numbers compare quite favorably. Also, keep in mind that the Alianza is a much more offense oriented league, as the league wide ERA over the last 3 seasons has averaged 4.41 compared to 3.95 in the IL.

Valle, 126.1 ip, 103 hits, 35 er, 11 hr, 32 bb, 126 k (2.49 era, 1.07 whip)

Romero 163 ip, 133 h, 42 er, 1 HR, 30 bb, 170 k (2.32 era, 1.00 whip)
Garza 179 ip, 171 h, 69 er, 32 bb, 158 k ( 3.47 era, 1.13)
Peters 172.2 ip, 136 hits, 44 er, 8 hr, 40 bb, 197 k ( 2.29 era, 1.02 whip)
Aguilar 226.2 ip, 190 hits, 56 er, 17 hr, 63 bb, 190 k ( 2.22 era 1.17 whip)
Diaz 179 ip, 160 h, 55 er, 11 hr, 46 bb, 153 k ( 2.77 era, 1.15 whip)
Sato 196.1, 148 h, 43 er, 6 hr, 39 bb, 216 k ( 1.97 era, 0.95 whip)
Pinto 173 ip, 148 h, 48 er, 19 hr, 24 bb, 171 k (2.50, 0.99 whip)
Sepkiechler 176.2 ip, 157 h, 50 er, 15 hr, 43 bb, 182 k ( 2.55 era, 1.13 whip)
Ortiz 176ip, 157 h, 65 er, 13 hr, 57 bb, 164 k (3.32 era, 1.22 whip)
Suarez 172 ip, 147 h, 45 er, 9 hr, 42 bb, 155 k ( 2.35 era, 1.10 whip)

It's easy to say that Valle's numbers compare quite favorably to this group. But the question remains, can Valle duplicate his success in the PEBA? The Calzones GM has wagered $36 million that he will. Only time will tell.

With the acquisition of Valle, the Calzones have shuffled both the rotation and the bullpen. John Miller will go back to the bullpen, where he been much more effective than he has been as a starter. Luis Rodriguez will slide into the rotation for his first PEBA start on July 30 against Gloucester. Zheng-xin Tai has been called up to join the bullpen, and he could see a start or two down the line as the Calzones continue to look towards the future. TO make room for Tai and Valle on the roster, Jose Ocasio and Takahiro Masuda were optioned back to AAA Joplin. The Calzones are now carrying 6 southpaws on the roster, 2 in the rotation and 4 in the bullpen. Look for Tai and Miller to join Yep in the middle innings, with Valle and Mitchell setting up for the closer Rosado. Left hander Antonio Estronza remains in the mopup role.

On the offensive side of things, the Calzones have recalled OF Fernando Flores and he will go back into left field for now. Felix Mendez was optioned to AAA to make room for Flores. Flores bat has really come alive at AAA, he just had a 24 game hitting streak ended. The Calzones are hoping he can return to Laredo with a little magic still in the bat and provide a spark to an offense that has been about as exciting as wet bread.

3b Rich Gilligan, who was the team's hottest hitter when he went on the DL a month ago, is eligible to come off the DL, but won't be activated for about another week. Gilligan has resumed baseball related activities, but the team feels he needs a few more days to get back to full speed. Expect him back in the lineup next Friday when the Calzones host London. Either Angel Gonzalez or Luis Gonglas will be optioned to AAA to make room for Gilligan at that time. Roberto Ortiz, recently claimed off waivers from Arlington, will continue to get a long look from the Calzones as he has barely a 100 PEBA at bats under his belt to this point and the team would like to see what he can do. Ortiz projects to have more power than either Gonzalez or Gonglas, and plays solid enough defense to remain the utility infielder if he can show anything at all with the bat. SS Luis Renteria remains out for at least 3 more weeks. The Calzones are still hopeful that Danny Hendricks will return in mid September. The team would like to get Hendricks as many as 5 starts down the stretch to let him shake off the rust and give him some innings to build on for next season, when he is expected to play a major role in the rotation.

The Calzones have played 43 home dates to this point in the season, and are just 2.5 million dollars from matching last season's gate revenue. Merchandising has been almost as brisk, as the team is just 5.5 million from matching last season's merchandising revenue. The Calzones play 14 of their next 17 games at home, and should easily eclipse last years numbers in both categories over the next 2.5 weeks. The Calzones have averaged 36, 052 per game at home this season, and are on a pace to break their attendance record for a season, set in 2007 when the team drew just over 2.8 million fans. At present pace, the team would draw 2.92 million this season. We are told the team will continue to aggressively market and they aren't giving up on possibly breaking the 3 million barrier. The top 10 teams in attendance per game this season.

Aurora 44,695
Charleston 43,889
Arlington 41,551
Bakersfield 38,517
Gloucester 36,252
Florida 36,065
San Antonio 36,052
Manchester 34,871
Kentucky 34,520
Canton 34,156
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Re: Calzones Corner - A baseball blog

#17 Post by John »

Nice to see Laredo fans turning out for games. Glad they've rediscovered their love for the game after that embarrassing turnout in 2013. :-P
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Re: Calzones Corner - A baseball blog

#18 Post by Matt »

PEBA Commissioner wrote:Nice to see Laredo fans turning out for games. Glad they've rediscovered their love for the game after that embarrassing turnout in 2013. :-P
I'm thinking we may need to add more seats. These maroons just can't get enough of bad baseball.
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Re: Calzones Corner - A baseball blog

#19 Post by Matt »

The Good....yeah, um...right.

The Bad....anybody wearing bordello red and holding a bat. Though for the moment Rich Gilligan is only guilty by association.

The Ugly....with Gomes joining the parade to the DL, Luis Cantu will become the 6th rookie to join the Calzones staff. Hernandez and Rodriguez in the rotation, Mitchell, Tai, Cantu, and Estronza in the bullpen. 4 more pitchers have less than 2 years service time. Only Valle (5 yrs, 81 days) and Ocasio (2 yrs, 33 days) have more than 2 yrs major league experience on the present Calzones staff. Not exactly the way it was drawn up last winter.
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#20 Post by Matt »

17 year old Ismael Hernandez is really opening some eyes at Taku. His latest outing was his best yet, as he went the distance in a 7-1 victory, allowing just 3 hits and 1 walk while punching out 6. Despite missing two weeks with a sore shoulder, Hernandez has posted a 3-3 mark with a 2.83 era and 1.05 whip. In 47.2 innings, he has allowed 32 hits and 18 walks while striking out 44.

Also impressive at Taku is Michael Ladner, acquired from Duluth in the Albert Bush trade. The huge Ladner, 6'9" and 240 lbs, is 2-3 with a 1.82 era in 5 starts since the trade, walking 11 and punching out 39 in 34.2 innings pitched.
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#21 Post by klewis »

Calzones wrote:Also impressive at Taku is Michael Ladner, acquired from Duluth in the Albert Bush trade. The huge Ladner, 6'9" and 240 lbs, is 2-3 with a 1.82 era in 5 starts since the trade, walking 11 and punching out 39 in 34.2 innings pitched.
I was going over the Bush trade while putting it in the Trade Tally. I must say that this was quite the nice haul San Antonio received for Bush. I am very high on Renteria and Johnson. Then again, I would have never guessed Bush would have blossomed this much. I still remember him being acquired by the Bulldozers for a second round draft pick. At that time, I never though he would ever be where he is today.

It will be interesting to see which side ends up profiting more from this deal. But it looks to me that it looks like a win-win situation. San Antonio gets a slew of young, talented players; Duluth gets a quality arm to replace Sutherland (and Ishida).
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#22 Post by Matt »

After a rough start, Bernardo 'Ox' Valle has been putting it together and seems to be earning every penny the Calzones shelled out for him. Early on the Ox looked a little rough as he adjusted to PEBA, and two semi disastrous starts in the rotation (an experiment that was killed quickly) didn't help matters. But he has settled in just fine, and has allowed just 3 ER in his last 21 IP, allowing 15 hits and 4 walks while punching out 19 over that span. His emergence as the setup man the Calzones were hoping for when they signed him to big bucks has given the Calzones a combination not seen at the back of their bullpen for many years. With Rosado on his way to a career year (7 wins, 36 saves, 0.95 era), the back end of the bullpen should certainly get its share of the credit for the Calzones recent surge. The back of the bullpen should also takes it's share of the credit for the Calzones 27 wins in one run games, second only to Charleston in all of PEBA in that category.
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#23 Post by Jason »

"Ox" definitely looks tastey and will likely be a shut down guy for the duration of his contract. I am not sure any reliever is worth 12 mil. That said, there are a lot of "rich" teams out there who may be willing to dish out some serious future talent in order to acquire a guy like this. If I were in San Antonio, I would be writing all sorts of propoganda to make that happen.

Obviously, he is the only guy making even close to that much on SA - who appear to be turning a nice profit this season. That said, perhaps moving Valle for a few solid prospects and a couple of names to draw people in to the stands may not be a bad play?

Then again, with a name like Ox, why trade him??
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#24 Post by Matt »

Cyclones wrote:"Ox" definitely looks tastey and will likely be a shut down guy for the duration of his contract. I am not sure any reliever is worth 12 mil. That said, there are a lot of "rich" teams out there who may be willing to dish out some serious future talent in order to acquire a guy like this. If I were in San Antonio, I would be writing all sorts of propoganda to make that happen.

Obviously, he is the only guy making even close to that much on SA - who appear to be turning a nice profit this season. That said, perhaps moving Valle for a few solid prospects and a couple of names to draw people in to the stands may not be a bad play?

Then again, with a name like Ox, why trade him??
No plans on trading him. I don't think his settling in and our recent run of decent ball are mere coincidence. He gives us a fairly formidable tandem at the back end. We're not going to win many games with the bats right now, so we have to win them some how. With Valle I saw someone who could make enough of a difference in our fortunes to spend the money, and it certainly seemed better than the alternative, sitting around doing nothing and losing 100 games just to get draft position.

Besides, we're not paying any one else much of anything, and as long as we can stay in the black I'll keep him around. It's one less area I'll have to worry about for a couple of seasons.
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#25 Post by Jason »

Calzones wrote: No plans on trading him.
Trader Matt's famous last words.

I agree he will help you win close ones. I just think if the plan is to gradually improve and eventually compete for a title he may be better off as trade bait. There really are not many relievers being paid 12 mil per season...
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#26 Post by Matt »

Well, I never say never. I never imagined moving Bush but grew tired of

A. lousy offense
B. lousy offense

and

C. lousy offense

The middle infield had to have an upgrade, and it was the only move we saw that was viable at the time.

But hard to imagine a buyer out there with the contract I've bestowed on the native of Monterrey, Mexico (150 miles south of Laredo). I certainly feel he's worth in that neighborhood, but many would disagree. I would think our best chance to move him would be at the trade deadline, if it were to happen at all. It would actually be much likelier for us to move a middle reliever on the cheap, (getting crowded in the middle) or a starter (where we might have a surplus when everyone is healthy).

All in all I think it will be a quiet off season from the Calzones on the trade front. We could move a fringe player or two if there was interest, but nothing special. I wouldn't be surprised if we do exactly zero deals between now and Opening Day 2016. More or less waiting for the youngsters to develop and see what we got before we do much else. Looking at a few possibles in free agency to improve things, but definately no type A free agents. (Against my religion.) More than likely we'll overpay for a couple of players from overseas if we get the chance.
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#27 Post by Matt »

The offseason questions...

Question #1
Can the Calzones rely on Sergio Valentin to be the right handed setup man in 2016? While not a hard thrower, Valentin produced better out of the bullpen (3.31 ERA) than he did in the rotation (5.01 ERA). More importantly, he allowed just 2 HR in 32.2 ip in the bullpen, whereas in the rotation he allowed 17 in 115 innings. If he can continue that type of success in a bullpen role, he could give the Calzones a very solid back of the bullpen with Valle and Rosado.

IF Valentin is the right handed setup man, where does that leave Luis Rodriguez? Does he go to the rotation on a full time basis a year earlier than planned?

With the middle of the bullpen crowded, and plenty of candidates for the rotation, the setup role seems the likely spot for Valentin. It is certainly a cheaper option than going out and acquiring a right handed setup man.

Question #2
With 13 pitchers for 12 spots, who will be the odd man out next spring? Barring injuries, and all things being equal, it would appear that Pedro Hernandez might get shuttled down to AAA to begin next season. Hernandez was quite surprising in his first two months with the Calzones, but fairly dreadful in August and September after the league appeared to catch up with him. Some more time at AAA might be in order.

Question #3
Does veteran Roberto Alonso return to the rotation? Not likely. Coming out of spring training in 2016, we would expect the rotation to be Hendricks, Stanley, Gomes, Miller, and Rodriguez. Alonso's injury probably indicates the beginning of the end for the veteran, and the Calzones are likely to use Alonso in the swing man role next season. An occassional start is not out of the question, but he should get used to the view from the bullpen.

Question #4
Which Artie Herman will show up next season? After having some success with the Calzones in 2013/2014, Herman spent stints with 3 other teams before returning to the Calzones near the end of 2015. His overall numbers in 2015 were easily the worst of his career. But he actually pitched decently during his stretch with Omaha this season, posting a 2.28 FIP and a 3.20 FIP in very limited innings in San Antonio. While always a high babip type pitcher (.341 career), he was especially unlucky this past season with a .409 babip. Herman was signed to a two year extension for a measly 660k per, so the price is right, but he will need to prove he can be effective in the middle innings to hang around. At the moment Herman is slated to join Yep and Mitchell in the middle of the pen, but it's believed the Calzones would like to mix a lefthander into those middle innings as well. But with Herman having near zero trade value right now, and Yep a darling of the organization, getting a lefty into the middle of the pen might not be an option. It would probably require the team moving Mitchell, who is out of options, and that doesn't seem likely at the moment. If Herman struggles early on though, he could be quickly jettisoned, in which case look for the team to turn to Hernandez and bring him back up to fill that lefty in the middle role.

Question #5
Is there any hope for the offense? This question makes my head hurt.
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#28 Post by Matt »

Despite the recent flurry of trades by the Calzones, they might not be done yet. Insiders tell Calzones Corner that the team is furiously shopping for a veteran DH, an upgrade at catcher, and possibly even another late inning bullpen arm. Our anonymous source has the Calzones inquiring with multiple teams about "pricey" impact type players. Our insider tells us Trader Matt is in "that zone" again and hasn't slept for days as he seeks to improve the Calzones fortunes.
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#29 Post by Borealis »

Calzones wrote:Our insider tells us Trader Matt is in "that zone" again and hasn't slept for days as he seeks to improve the Calzones fortunes.
This is nothing but All Good for the PEBA!!!
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#30 Post by Matt »

Rumors abound that the Calzones are in serious negotiations that could move SP Danny Hendricks to a playoff contender. When asked about the rumor, Calzones GM Matt Higgins responded by saying that "whomever dreams up these rumors needs to leave thier mother's basement and get a job."
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