Kitty Litter - The RGV Ocelots Blog

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Re: Kitty Litter - The RGV Ocelots Blog

#121 Post by Matt »

Borealis wrote:
Ocelots wrote:He is one of the few pre-arbitration eligible guys who has been willing to talk long term deal. Usually those guys come back with 1 year offers and won't go any further.
yeah... We've had luck in the past with those type of guys, but this year they sure are being pissy about long-term deals. At least we were able to get Ferringo to go 1-year at $700K when his arby estimate was $3M...
We also have Esteban Miranda not willing to go more than a year. He is not even arby eligible yet, so we don't have to do anything with him. But was hoping to lock him up for 3 or 4 years. The thing that does bug me on Miranda is there is no way he becomes arby eligible this year, but we still have a 3.4 mil potential award being counted against what we can offer in extensions for next season. Fortunately we don't have any big extensions we need to do, but it's a little troubling that it is never calculated correctly there. Some teams get consistently burned by this.

We did get Richie Norman willing to take a 2 yr offer, when originally he asked for 1 yr. Same with SP Sato, he is willing to take 2 years. John Dickson was willing to go 5 years even though he is not even arbitration eligible this year.

All in all, we may have most of our core guys locked up through at least 2024 after this round of extensions, with several guys (Hernandez, Dickson, Reyes) locked up a bit longer.

We are offering Zhang a one year deal to come back. Tenno and Wallace will not be offered extensions, we need to make room for a couple of younger pitchers next year, Makoto Shimizu for sure, maybe Luis Reyes and Carlos Rodriguez as well.

Wright still bugs me. I need him for at least one more season to fill the gap until I think Walden will be ready. Wright has actually been quite valuable for us, playing a strong corner outfield, can fill in at CF on occasion, left handed bat in the lineup. We are actually able to do a lot of things with the lineup and substitutions and days off because of Wright's flexibility. Finding a left handed hitting corner outfielder who plays that strong defense is no easy chore. It gets even harder when you know you will likely only need the player for one season, meaning I really don't want to give up an asset in order to get a stopgap solution that will only be of use to me in the 2023 season.
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Re: Kitty Litter - The RGV Ocelots Blog

#122 Post by roncollins »

Life as a GM is tough.

That said, I do really dislike the fact that arbitration years are forced as if they are absolutely going to happen. The league office/owners shouldn't warn you when you're doing anything over the edge, but it shouldn't work as if they are done-deals. This is the root of our fan's dislike of the whole Paul Walker thing. :)
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Re: Kitty Litter - The RGV Ocelots Blog

#123 Post by Matt »

The Ocelots were 5-2 for the week, raising the season record to 57-42, holding a 1.5 game lead over Florida. It's worth noting that the teams are tied in the all important loss column. The schedule continues to be kind, as the Ocelots went into NJ to face the struggling Hitmen, taking 2 out of 3 in the Garden State before coming home to take 3 out of 4 from West Virginia.

The Ocelots have been dominant at home this season, posting a 36-18 mark. Only Crystal Lake (38-11), Shin Seki (29-11), and Dayton (27-12) have posted better home marks.

Pitcher of the Week:
Dave Parkinson, who continues to pitch like his life depended on it. He made two starts, going 1-0 1.93, pitching 14 innings, allowing 11 hits, 3 ER, did not walk a batter, and struck out 15. The Ocelots won both of his starts. Parkinson, who has shuffled up and down between AAA and RGV for most of the early part of the season, is 4-2 2.12 in 12 starts for the Ocelots.

Honorable mention:
Justin Barton, 8 innings, 6 hits, 1 ER, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts. Barton raised his mark to 9-2 2.69 in 14 appearances, 12 of them starts, for RGV.

Pitching Goat of the Week:
Ruben Hernandez, who last just 1.2 innings, spotting WV a 5 run lead before taking the rest of the day off. But the Ocelots would chip away at the 5-0 deficit and plate the winning run in the bottom of the 9th on Bobby Watson's bases loaded walk-off walk.

Hitter of the Week:
CF Trevor Powell, who ignited the offense as the leadoff man, batting .476, with 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 stolen bags, and a team leading 6 runs scored on the week. Powell is batting .350 since being called up and installed as the teams CF and leadoff hitter 16 games ago.

Honorable mention:
Esteban Miranda, who batted .500 for the week with 4 doubles and 3 RBI. He even stole a base. Miranda, who has been a huge part of the Ocelots success this season, is batting .307/.360 on the season with 21 doubles, 3 triples, 16 HR, and 52 RBI. His .928 OPS is third in the IL.

Hitting Goat of the Week:
It's completely unfair to even have to choose this award this week, as the offense was such a team effort up and down the lineup with everyone contributing. Consider, the team hit 12 HR, but none came from the two biggest power sources on the team, Norman and Miranda. So poor Manual Rivera takes home the award this week, despite just 5 at bats in which he did nothing. As the only guy on the team without a run scored or RBI on the week, Rivera is the default winner.

Leslie McDonald has proven to be a true pro since John Dickson went down with an injury. After having mostly lost his second base job until Dickson's injury, McDonald is batting .422/.490 with 3 HR and 7 RBI in the month of July.

Darwin Boyer is batting .263 with 4 HR and 8 RBI in 11 games since being called up to replace Ash as the starter behind the plate. More important than his bat, Boyer has allowed just two stolen base attempts in those 11 starts.

36 yr old Mariano Hernandez is batting just .189 in 15 games since being called up to help in the infield, but he has posted a .333 obp. He'll continue to see work all around the infield and might even steal more playing time from Trevor Veeneman.

3b Manuel Rivera has been sent back down to AAA to make room for Rintaro Yamasaki, who will be needed to pitch the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader.

The Ocelots starting staff has the second lowest babip in PEBA at .259. Only San Antonio starters have a lower BABIP, at .251. League average is .286.

Iwane Sato will pitch the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader, with Rintaro Yamasaki called up to pitch in game 2, Yamasaki is 8-2 2.95 in 21 appearances, 15 of those starts, for AAA Texarkana. Yamasaki previously pitched in 3 games in relief for RGV this season, allowing 3 runs in 4.1 innings. Having Yamasaki start in game 2 will have the rest of the starting staff remain on their normal schedule for the rest of the week. It also means that lefties Parkinson and Gaivo will be slated to pitch the first two games of the weekend series at Florida. The Featherheads have struggled against lefties this season, 4-11 on the season. An unconfirmed rumor has the Ocelots considering bringing up left hander Carlos Rodriguez to make the start in the Sunday game, pushing Iwane Sato back a couple of days for the New Orleans series.

AAA Texarkana was 3-3 on the week, bringing the season record to 64-37, 9 games up on Namuko. The offense was led by Bob Foster, who batted .360 with 2 HR and 9 RBI. Luis Reyes continues to roll, picking up his 7th win in 7 AAA starts, going 8 innings, allowing 3 hits, 0 runs, walking 1, and punching out 5. Reyes is a mind boggling 7-0 1.74 since his callup to AAA. He easily has the inside track to the Ocelots Minor League Pitcher of the Year award. Carlos Rodriguez had another decent start, allowing 2 runs over 5 innings in his 4th start since being moved to the rotation. He is now 2-0 2.38 in his 4 starts at AAA, and 4-0 2.37 overall at AAA, punching out 39 batters in 30.1 innings.

AA Medicine Hat was 4-2 on the week, bringing the season mark to 51-48,12.5 games back of Pyongyang. Dean Walden batted .522 for the week with 2 HR, 9 rbi, and 3 stolen bags. Walden is batting .349/.396 on the season with 15 HR and 54 RBI, as well as 11 stolen bags. Matabei Kawaguchi batted .500 for the week with a double, 3 triples, 2 stolen bags, and 8 runs scored. Kawaguchi is batting .298/.353 on the season, with 13 doubles, 8 triples, 10 HR, 48 RBI, and 16 stolen bases.

A Nogales was 2-4 on the week, bringing the season record to 45-43, 6.5 games in back of Ensenada. 2022 12th round draft pick Glen Powell pitched 8 shutout innings in picking up his 2nd professional win. He is 2-1 2.95 in 6 pro starts.

SS-A Homer was 4-2 on the week, raising the season mark to 25-13, 1 game up on Fukumitsu. The offense managed just a .189 average and 15 runs in the 6 games. However the pitching staff allowed just 11 runs, 10 earned, while posting a 1.63 ERA for the week. 18 yr old right handed Cuban pitcher Fernando Castro had a big week, picking up two wins in relief, pitching 6.2 innings over 4 appearances, allowing 0 runs on 1 hit. 19 yr old southpaw Julian Alaniz had 3 saves on the week.

With a week until the trade deadline, it remains to be seen if the Ocelots will make a deal/deals to strengthen their team for the stretch run. Rumors from the Ocelots front office suggest that there is some division over the direction of the franchise as the trade deadline approaches. GM Higgins is skeptical of his teams chances against a proven winner like Florida down the stretch, and also feels like the last 50 games of the schedule could be too much for a team that has over performed to this point. With 27 of the last 37 games on the road, the task could be especially daunting. The team also has 12 games remaining against Florida, and 13 remaining with Kentucky over the last 2+ months. On the other side of things, owner Isabel Padilla believes the team needs to make a hard run for a playoff spot.

You could sense the disconnect between the Owner and the GM during separate interviews on sports talk radio earlier today. GM Higgins spoke about how lucky the team had been, about being committed to a plan for the future, and in one last cover his butt statement "not wanting to disturb the chemistry of the team". Early this afternoon, owner Isabel Padilla commented that "throwing up a white flag with a division lead isn't a way to impress the fan base. Or your boss."

It would seem the owner is more than willing to sign off on any deal that would improve the Ocelots chances. While GM Higgins talks of patience, it hasn't exactly been his modus operandi in the past.

Coming up this week, an off day, a 4 game series at home versus Kentucky featuring a double header on Tuesday, followed by a 3 game series at Florida.
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Re: Kitty Litter - The RGV Ocelots Blog

#124 Post by Duane »

Go Ky .... take it to the Ocelots :angelic-green:
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Re: Kitty Litter - The RGV Ocelots Blog

#125 Post by Matt »

Players in the Ocelots organization were certainly in a brawling mood this week.

AA 1b Shigenobu Kawakami was suspended 5 games for a brawl on July 23 after he decided to have a go at Montreal pitcher Jose Lopez.

A SP Elvis Carter has left the building for 10 days after a brawl with Marduk Nerv CF Terumoto Yamaguchi on July 20. Elvis, a 6th round draft choice in the most recent draft, is 3-2 3.45 in 6 starts since being drafted.
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Re: Kitty Litter - The RGV Ocelots Blog

#126 Post by Matt »

Several Ocelots signed contract extensions this week.

SP Iwane Sato signed a 2 year deal that will pay him 3.74 million in 2023, and 3.84 mil in 2024.

MR Liu-chun Zhang signed a one year extension that will pay him 1.14 million in 2023.

2b John Dickson, with just over a year of major league service time, signed a 5 year deal that will carry him through his arbitration years. Dickson will make 800k in 2023, 1.8 mil in 2024, 2.9 million in 2025, 3.8 million in both 2025 and 2026.

Extensions remain pending for 1b Richie Norman and SP Ruben Hernandez.
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Re: Kitty Litter - The RGV Ocelots Blog

#127 Post by roncollins »

RGV has to be the feel-good story of the year. :)
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Re: Kitty Litter - The RGV Ocelots Blog

#128 Post by Borealis »

Ocelots wrote:2b John Dickson, with just over a year of major league service time, signed a 5 year deal that will carry him through his arbitration years. Dickson will make 800k in 2023, 1.8 mil in 2024, 2.9 million in 2025, 3.8 million in both 2025 and 2026.
That's more than he'd be making in Aurora... Now if he'll just perform...
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Re: Kitty Litter - The RGV Ocelots Blog

#129 Post by Matt »

Borealis wrote:
Ocelots wrote:2b John Dickson, with just over a year of major league service time, signed a 5 year deal that will carry him through his arbitration years. Dickson will make 800k in 2023, 1.8 mil in 2024, 2.9 million in 2025, 3.8 million in both 2025 and 2026.
That's more than he'd be making in Aurora... Now if he'll just perform...
He performs. He was batting .320 with just 3 ks in 135 plate appearances when he was lost for the season. It's a matter of keeping him healthy. 2nd year in a row with an injury costing him time down the stretch. Still, if he continues to be a .300 hitter, I think the deal will be worth it. I like having the clarity over the next 4 to 5 seasons so I can plan going forward.
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Re: Kitty Litter - The RGV Ocelots Blog

#130 Post by roncollins »

There's risk in that extension, but not terrible risk. We'll see how he comes of that injury.
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Re: Kitty Litter - The RGV Ocelots Blog

#131 Post by Matt »

A 2-4 shortened week, with the Ocelots losing 3 of 4 at home versus Kentucky before splitting the first two of the series at Florida. All in all, it drops RGV 1/2 game back in the Dixie, but more importantly, 2 games back in the all important loss column.

Damn those double headers. Just when we thought we had everything planned out, the AI goes over our heads and starts Brooks Wallace instead of the planned Marcos Gonzalez. Needless to say, not happy with the action or the outcome, and Mr. Wallace has felt the wrath, being waived and DFA'd so THAT never happens again. Somebody had to pay.

To add injury to insult, Orlando Reyes went out in the first game of the week and will miss the next two weeks as well. Fortunately we had just traded for two outfielders. Padilla played in LF this week, while Kato had been sent to AAA to work on his defense in left field. So much for that, Kato is now recalled to play right field while Reyes is on the mend.

Pitcher of the Week: Justin Barton continues his "where the hell did this come from" season, going 8 innings allowing 3 runs on 6 hits in a 6-3 win over Kentucky. Barton is 10-2 2.75 on the season.

Honorable mention: Dave Parkinson, continuing the 'where the hell has this come from" theme, throws a complete game in a loss, allowing 2 runs over 8 innings in a 2-1 loss to Florida. Parkinson continues to have trouble finding a win, he is 4-3 2.13 on the season in 13 starts.

Pitching Goat of the Week: Iwane Sato, allowing 5 runs in 3.1 innings, on 10 hits. After running off 6 straight wins, Sato has been beaten up in his last two starts. He is 8-8 3.70 on the season.

Hitter of the Week: Esteban Miranda, .286 with 3 doubles, a HR, and 5 rbi. Miranda is batting .305 with 17 HR and 57 RBI on the season.

Honorable mention: Newcomer Jose Padilla, who hit .250/.400 with a HR and 5 rbi on the week.

Hitting Goat of the Week: Trevor Powell, as the leadoff man has a 2 for 20 week.

Brooks Wallace, as mentioned, has been waived and designated for assignment. Called up to replace him are rookie Makoto Shimizu, and left handed veteran Cris Reyes, recently signed as a minor league free agent. Shimizu will make his PEBA debut in a road start at Florida in the rubber game of that series on Sunday. Reyes will take over Wallace's spot in the bullpen. The team will carry 13 pitchers and go with a 6 man rotation for now. Reyes, who hasn't pitched in a game in 2 years, will get some long relief work out of the bullpen but could eventually find his way into the rotation. Shimizu has been a little grumpy about not being in the majors yet, so we scratched that itch for him. Both players bring leadership to the Ocelots clubhouse.

With Reyes out, Kato was recalled from Texarkana to join the outfield, and Takahiro Fujihara was optioned to AAA to make room for an additional pitcher. Recently signed minor league free agent Bernardo Rivera becomes the teams latest utility infielder, the latest in a long line as the position has been largely unsettled for almost the entire season. Rivera gives the team an additional left handed bat.

AAA Texarkana was 3-3 on the week, bringing the record to 67-40 on the season, 7 games up on Namuko. 3b Bob Vollmer led the way on offense batting .250/.360 with a double, two HR, and 8 RBI. Luis Reyes finally lost a game, allowing 4 runs over 7 innings to fall to 7-1 in 8 starts at AAA.

AA Medicine Hat was 2-5 on the week to fall to 53-53 on the season, 16 games back of Pyongyang. Dean Walden continued to terrorize AA pitchers this week, batting .387 with 2 doubles, a HR, and 3 rbi. 28 year old lefthander Jerome Browning has had an excellent season at AA, after having spent his entire career on reserve rosters in the winter leagues. If the Ocelots didn't already have a long line of pitchers needing trips to winter ball, Browning would possibly go to winter ball to learn a third pitch and become a starter. As it is, he likely spends next year in Texarkana as bullpen insurance.

A Nogales was 5-1 on the week to run the record to 50-44 on the season, 5.5 games back of Ensenda. Sen Ota was the offense for the week, batting .421 with a HR and 6 rbi. Glenn Powell led the pitching staff, 1-0 1.38 in two starts, allowing 2 runs over 13 innings. Powell, a southpaw drafted in the 12th round of the most recent draft, is 3-1 2.54 in 8 starts for Nogales. If the big lefty from Richardson, Texas ever finds a way to harness the control, he could turn out to have been a real steal in the 12th round.

SS-A Homer went 0-4 for the week, obviously more than ready to head into the SS-A all-star break. They fall to 25-17 on the season, holding a slim 1 game lead in the Samurai division as the second half gets underway. 16 year old Brandon Vale had his second strong start, going 5.3 and allowing just 1 Er. He has allowed 2 ER in 10 innings of work since his signing as an international free agent.

On the trade front, the Ocelots are still rumored to be looking for a left handed starting pitcher and a young infielder or infield prospect, so it there is at least some possibility the team could make another trade before the deadline.

Coming up, one more with Florida before the team comes home to play 3 with New Orleans, then 3 with San Antonio next weekend. Makoto Shimizu will make his PEBA debut in the start versus Florida today, affording the rest of the rotation an extra day or two of rest. The rotation for the New Orleans series will be Sato, Barton, and Hernandez, with Parkinson, Gaivo, and Shimizu going against San Antonio.
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Re: Kitty Litter - The RGV Ocelots Blog

#132 Post by Matt »

A 5-2 week for the Ocelots, as they take advantage of the home cooking by taking 5 of the 6 games played at The Cathouse. Late inning heroics in each of the last 4 games of the week provided plenty of drama for the home town faithful.
The 5-2 week bring the Ocelots to 64-48 on the season, 1 game behind Florida in the Dixie, but more importantly, 2 games back in the loss column.

Hitter of the Week: CF Trevor Powell hit .346 for the week, with 3 doubles, 3 rbi, 4 stolen bags, and 6 runs scored. In addition to providing stellar defense, he has been chipping in with the bat since becoming part of the Ocelots outfield, batting .302 with 2 Hr, 7 rbi, 7 stolen bags, and 16 runs scored in 29 games.

Honorable mention: Russell Wright, who often goes unnoticed. He batted .259 for the week, with 4 doubles and a team leading 8 rbi. Wright is batting .278 with 5 HR and 41 RBI on the season.

Hitting Goat of the week: The ever streaky Leslie McDonald, .136 for the week with 1 double and 1 rbi. McDonald is hitting .240 with 15 HR and 41 RBI on the season.

Pitcher of the Week: Iwane Sato, who bounced back off a pair of losses to go 8 innings and allow just 1 run in a 3-1 victory over New Orleans. Sato is 9-8 3.53 on the season.

Honorable mention: Ruben Hernandez, who went 7.1 shutout innings against New Orleans. The Ocelots would eventually win 2-1 in 10 innings.

Pitching Goat of the Week: Justin Barton, who allowed 6 runs in 3 innings in an 11-4 loss to New Orleans. Barton falls to 10-3 3.20 on the season with the loss.

AAA Texarkana was 4-3 for the week, brining the season mark to 71-43, 9 games up on Namuko in the Far East. CF Bob Foster hit .385 for the week with 2 HR and 3 RBI. Luis Reyes dropped his second straight decision, giving up 3 runs in 5 innings to fall to 7-2 in his 9 AAA starts.

AA Medicine Hat was 4-2 on the week, bringing the season mark to 57-55, 15.5 games in back of Pyongyang. Jack Womach hit .320 for the week with a HR and 7 RBI, as well as two stolen bags. SP Eric Christopher made two starts this week, and his 47 innings pitched are a new career high. His previous high was 36 innings in his junior year of high school.

A Nogales was 2-4 for the week, bringing the season mark to 52-48, 5 games back in the Mexican division. Andres Gomez keyed the offense, batting .292 with 2 HR and 5 RBI, as well as a stolen bag. Glenn Powell gave the team his 5th straight quality start, allowing 2 runs over 6.1 innings. Powell is 4-1 2.57 in 9 starts for Nogales since being drafted in the 12th round of the June draft.

SSA Homer was 3-4 for the week, bringing the record to 28-21 on the season, and falling into a tie with Fukimitsu for the Samurai division lead. 1b Gary Leclair batted .429 with 3 HR and 7 rbi on the week. Lefty Al Cowley picked up wins in both his starts, despite allowing 7 runs, 5 of them earned, in 11 innings of work.

On the injury front, Ogai Kato who provided all the offense with a 3 run HR in a 3-1 win over New Orleans, was lost for the season the very next day with a strained hamstring that will keep him out at least 8 weeks. Orlando Reyes won't be ready to return until next week, so the Ocelots are calling up Takahiro Fujihara to replace Kato. Also called up is Shane Reynolds, who will help spell Powell in centerfield at least until Reyes returns next week. Makoto Shimizu was sent down to make room for Reynolds, though Shimizu is likely to return next week.

50 games remain for the Ocelots, and 33 of those games will be on the road, so getting to the playoffs still remains a longshot. The Ocelots have been a dominant home team (42-22) but much less imposing on the road (22-26). Consider also that of those 50 games remaining, 37 are against legitimate playoff contenders, while only 13 of those games are against opponents playing below .500. If nothing else, the Ocelots have put themselves into position to have an epic meltdown over the final 8 weeks of the season.

The week ahead will see the Ocelots travel to Hartford, and the Harpooners could be in a particularly grumpy mood after losing straight. Then a trip into Kentucky for a weekend series with the Thoroughbreds.
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Re: Kitty Litter - The RGV Ocelots Blog

#133 Post by Matt »

4-2 on the week for the Ocelots, bringing the season mark to 68-50, 2.5 games back of Florida in the Dixie. More importantly, the Ocelots are now 3 back in the loss column as the Featherheads compiled a 6-1 record for the week.

The Ocelots dropped 2 of 3 at Hartford, but went into Kentucky and completed a sweep. Trailing 3-2 in the 9th inning to Kentucky in the final game of the series, the Ocelots had no one on and 2 outs in their half of the 9th. Then Richie Norman reaches on a two base throwing error by the pitcher Aranda, and Padilla follows with a ground single between third and short that plates Norman with the tying run. In the top of the 10th, Russell Wright would homer to give the Ocelots a 4-3 lead, and they would hold on in the bottom of the 10th and win by the same score as the never say die Ocelots sweep Kentucky on the road.

The pitching for the Ocelots was not very good this week, with a team ERA of 4.58. But the offense made up for the pitching woes, as the hitters slugged 14 HR on the week.

Hitter of the Week: Richie Norman, .370 with 3 HR, 5 rbi, and a team leading 7 runs scored on the week. With Norman batting .305 with 25 HR and 67 RBI on the season, the Ocelots have no regrets about giving up their top two draft picks to acquire Norman and Dickson last season.

Honorable mention: Eisuke Koizumi, .800 with 3 HR and 4 rbi. Granted, it was just one game, but a 4 for 5 performance which includes a 3 HR game is worthy of at least an honorable mention. Making the most of his lone start for the week, Koizumi raised his season numbers to .253 with 10 HR and 25 RBI. Not half bad for a backup catcher.

Hitting Goat of the Week: Bobby Watson's 3 for 23 performance with 1 RBI.

Pitcher of the Week: Atilio Gaivo, who allowed 2 runs over 8.1 innings in picking up the win in a 7-2 victory over Kentucky. Gaivo is 6-6 4.67 on the season.

Honorable mention: Lefty Cris Reyes, making his first PEBA start since 2013, allows 2 runs over 6 innings in the 4-3 10 inning win over Kentucky.

Pitching Goat of the Week: Ruben Hernandez, 7 runs allowed in 6 innings of work in an 8-3 loss to Hartford. Hernandez falls to 10-5 3.49 on the season.

The pitching will get shuffled a bit this week. Kei Tenno goes down to Texarkana and Makoto Shimizu is recalled to make a spot start against Amsterdam on Thursday. Cris Reyes will move to the long relief in the bullpen for this week.

Orlando Reyes returns this week from his 3 week sabbatical on the DL. Shane Reynolds is demoted back to AAA.

When a number of pitchers from the Mexican League hit the free agent market, the Ocelots didn't have the money to target a top starter. But they did have enough to sign a reliever, and zeroed in on Jorge Nunez. The 28 yr old right hander had a pretty good history in the Mexican League, but his most recent season had been marred by giving up an uncharacteristic 15 home runs in 68.1 innings. This was so out of character for Nunez that the Ocelots were willing to chalk it up as a one time anomaly and were able to sign him to a 3 year deal. He has taken over the closer role since his signing on July 6th, and posted a 4-0 record with 7 saves and a 2.81 ERA. The signing of Nunez allowed Marcos Gonzalez to be demoted to the setup role after he struggled in early and mid July. Since losing the closer role, Gonzalez has rebounded to allow just 1 run in 15 innings since then.

Justin Barton picked up his 11th win this week, despite allowing 4 runs in 5 innings. Barton has allowed 10 runs in 8 innings in his last two starts.

Jose Padilla has hit .266/.390 with 5 HR and 13 RBI in 18 games since his acquisition from Neo-Tokyo. His fielding is pathetic, at -4.6 ZR in 41 games played in the outfield. Esteban Miranda is an equally bad option if not worse option in the field, as he has totaled -5.5 ZR in 32 games of outfield play. Both are solid bats, but only one can be the DH. Padilla poses an interesting problem for the Ocelots in the off-season. The smart move is to not pick up the 13.7 mil option that the Ocelots really can't afford anyway. But if Padilla can prove he is a 25 HR/.390 obp type, that's a solid bat to have in the lineup. Next season's outfield alignment would seem to be Reyes in LF, Powell in CF, Kato in RF, Fujihara as the 4th outfielder, and the team taking a hard look at Bob Foster as possibly a platoon mate for Powell next season and the teams 5th outfielder. That would probably necessitate moving Esteban Miranda in the trade market over the winter. Again, we come back to the smart move, let Padilla walk, keep the cheaper Miranda as the DH.

2b Leslie McDonald's 10 errors and -3.7 ZR are troubling. The 10 errors lead all PEBA second basemen. But he does have a decent RF at 4.75.

Catcher Darwin Boyer does an excellent job of shutting down the running game, allowing just 5 stolen base attempts in 25 games behind the plate.

AAA Texarkana was 3-4 for the week, bringing the season mark to 74-47, 7 games up on Namuko. Offensively the team was led by 3b Bob Vollmer, who batted .333/.464 with 2 doubles, 2 HR, 4 rbi, 6 walks, and 5 runs scored for the week. Vollmer is batting .230/.309 with 9 HR and 44 rbi in 73 games for AAA Texarkana after having batted .278/.360 with 6 HR and 19 rbi in 44 games for AA Medicine Hat this season. Luis Reyes was back on track with 2 solid starts, including a victory to bring his mark at AAA to 8-2 2.44.

AA Medicine Hat was 3-4 for the week, bringing the season mark to 60-59, 18.5 back. Southpaw pitching prospect Dan Field was lost for two weeks with a strained oblique. Dermott Detheridge led the pitching staff with two solid starts, one win, allowing 2 runs over 12.2 innings. Dean Walden continued to treat AA pitchers with total contempt, batting .407/.448 with a triple, 2 HR, 5 rbi, a stolen base, and 6 runs scored. Walden is batting .346/.390 with 19 HR and 67 RBI on the season.

A Nogales was 5-3 on the week, putting the season mark at 57-51, 4.5 games back of Ensenada. Jason Green, .471 with a HR and 4 rbi led the offense, while Carlos Macias vultured wins in relief.

SSA Homer was 3-3 for the week, making the season mark 31-24, 1 game back of Fukumitsu. In a low scoring week, not a single HR was hit by either team in any of the 6 games this week.

Coming up for the Ocelots this week, the last big home stand of the season, with 4 against Amsterdam followed by 3 against Florida. After this week, the Ocelots will only have 3 series remaining at home over the final 6 weeks, which is an absolutely brutal way to end the season.
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Re: Kitty Litter - The RGV Ocelots Blog

#134 Post by Matt »

As one Ocelots insider confided to me recently, the Ocelots 2022 season is nothing more than one big cosmic accident, and perhaps Ocelots GM “Trader Matt” Higgins is getting a bit too much credit.

“What you have to understand, see, is that Higgins is getting too much credit here. You guys in the papers, them guys on the radio talk shows, all talking about what a genius this guy is for turning around the Ocelots.”

“You know what Higgins plan for this year was?” he asks me.

I shook my head slightly. “Not really” I told him.

“I'll tell you exactly what the plan was,” he replies. “Sign a bunch of bums, try to tread water at 70 wins or so, and have a draft pick in the top 10 next year. That was the freaking plan.”

“Are you serious?” I ask.

“Damn straight. Higgins was pointing to 2024, 2025. When Field and Hayashi might be up to join the rotation. When Walden would give us another middle of the order bat.”

“So what really happened?” I asked.

“The freaking cosmic winds shifted or something. Maybe the magnetic poles shifted. Who the hell knows. All I know is he is going to ride it out this season, then teams start calling. He's not pitching these ideas. He's not that smart. He's sitting there with his thumbs up his butt, and teams start calling. He didn't engineer these deals. They come to him, and he just reacts. That's all.”

“He's got this reliever. Garcia. Bum. Saddled with that contract. He knows nobody wants that contract. So he's content to ride it out this season. Figures ride it out, get another draft pick in the top ten, maybe add another top pitching prospect to the group he has coming along.” The insider paused and took a breath.

“Then Canton calls. Sure they haggle over the details, but mostly Higgins is just glad to not have to look at Garcia's face ever again.”

“Now,” the insider pauses briefly, “now the Ghosts call. Tanner. He needs to make a splash over there in Japan. He wants Dixon, Lewis, all that. He throws out an offer that Higgins can't refuse. Again, Higgins just reacts, haggles over the details a bit, but Tanner did the leg work here.”

“What about Barron to Yuma?” I ask.

“Again, nothing more than reaction. But this one is funny,” he says with a chuckle.

“How's that?” I ask.

“Bob calls. Wants Barron. Says he'll make it worth our while. Higgins, he don't want to move Barron. He's already fended off at least a dozen offers for Barron. Like he's married to the kid or something. Wasn't parting with him.”

“So how does he end up in Yuma?” I ask.

“Higgins, he outsmarts himself. He see's Bob as a good trade partner. He doesn't want to slam the door in his face. But he also doesn't want to give up Barron. So he tells us, he'll just give Bob a counter offer so ridiculous that only a crazy person would accept it. Only he forgets one thing.”

“What's that?”I asked.

“Bob” he replied.

“Bob?” I asked.

“Yeah, Bob” he replies. “Bob's the guy who gave definition to the term Loony Toon. Funniest thing I ever saw. When Bob accepts the offer, Higgins jaw hit the floor. I swore he was gonna cry. Later we heard repeated loud thuds coming from his office. We think he was banging his head against the wall. Might explain that glassy eyed stare he had for the next few weeks.”

Our insider, if believed, certainly makes a good case for the 'cosmic accident' theory. At the very least, only the 'cosmic accident' theory could explain Justin Barton's performance in 2022.

Given that Ocelots GM Higgins has certainly earned a well-deserved reputation as a first mover in trades, it is a bit of a reach to believe that he sat back and waited on all three deals. Three deals which freed up millions of dollars of present and future budget room and gave the team a great deal of financial flexiblity. Deals in which players like Esteban Miranda and Iwane Sato become major contributors. Deals that eventually led to the free agent signing of Orlando Reyes and later Jorge Nunez.

If nothing else, the revelations of our insider should only further incite the whackobirds in the Ocelots Truther movement, the same group that is demanding a DNA test from Justin Barton to prove that he is really the same Justin Barton that pitched in Canton last year.
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Re: Kitty Litter - The RGV Ocelots Blog

#135 Post by Matt »

A tough 3-4 week for the Ocelots at home, splitting 4 games with Amsterdam, losing 2 of 3 to Florida. At 71-54, the Ocelots fall 4 games back of Florida, 5 back in the loss column.

The week started with the Monday game being canceled due to weather, with a makeup doubleheader the following day, which RGV split.

Pitcher of the Week: Dave Parkinson, who goes 8 innings, allowing 2 hits, 1 walk, and striking out 4 in a 3-0 win over Florida. Parkinson is now 5-2 2.26 in 16 starts for the Ocelots this season.

Honorable mention: Iwane Sato, 1-0 3.07 in two starts on the week. He left after 6.1 innings with a 2-1 lead in his second start of the week, a rain delay factoring into departing after just 85 pitches, and Zhang would cough up the lead in the 8th as the Ocelots lost 3-2. Sato is 10-9 3.59 in 23 starts for RGV this season.

Pitching Goat of the Week: Justin Barton. 2.2 innings. 7 earned runs. 3 HR allowed. The inevitable regression of Justin Barton is occurring, and it is quite ugly. Last 3 starts, 10.2 innings, 20 hits, 17 ER, 8 HR allowed. Amazingly, he did win one of those games (5 ip, 4 er). Barton is now 11-4 3.88 on the season.

Hitter of the Week: Esteban Miranda, .304, 1 double, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 6 runs scored. He even stole his 2nd base of the season. Miranda is batting .303 on the season, with 30 doubles, 3 triples, 20 HR, 69 RBI, and 2 stolen bags.

Honorable mention: Jose Padilla, .333 with a double, a HR, and 2 RBI. Padilla has batted .282/.384 with 6 HR and 15 rbi in 24 games for RGV since being acquired in late July.

Hitting Goat of the Week: Orlando Reyes comes off the DL and goes 2 for 22 on the week, with 1 rbi. Maybe a rehab assignment was needed after all.

Makoto Schimizu returns to AAA Texarkana, with lefty Kei Tenno returning to the RGV bullpen. The Ocelots will likely stay with a 6 man rotation this week, this time with lefty Cris Reyes getting a spot start. Schimizu is likely to return in September after roster expansion.

3b Josh Shaffer returns from the DL, and outfielder Takahiro Fujihara is optioned back to AAA to create a roster spot.

Utility infielder Bernardo Rivera may steal a few at bats from the slumping Trevor Veeneman this week.

AAA Texarkana was 5-1 on the week, moving to 79-48 on the season, 7 games up on Namuko,, and clinching at minimum a playoff berth in the process. Rintaro Yamasaki led the pitching, throwing a complete game 4 hit shutout in a 4-0 win over Beantown. Yamasaki is 11-4 2.91 on the season, and could see some September starts in RGV, especially if Barton continues to struggle. Luis Reyes had another solid outing, allowing 2 runs over 6 innings in picking up his 9th win. He is 9-2 2.48 in 12 starts for Texarkana. Bob Vollmer batted .474 with 4 doubles, 2 HR, 3 RBI, and a stolen base on the week. Vollmer is batting .247 with 11 hr and 47 rbi in 79 games with Texarkana.

AA Medicine Hat was 2-5 for the week, to fall under .500 at 62-64 on the season, 21 games back. Naoki Hayashi was 0-1 3.65 in two starts this week, but in August the slow developing lefthander has finally showed some progress in his development, going 2-3 2.81 in 6 starts, with a 1.22 WHIP.

A Nogales was 5-2 on the week, and at 62-53 trail Ensenada by 2 games. SP Mark Ferguson had a big week, going 2-0 1.29 in two starts. This years 15th round pick by RGV, Ferguson is 2-0 2.58 with 2 saves in 14 appearances, 2 of them starts, at Nogales. He was also 2-0 4.26 in two starts for SSA Homer before his quick promotion. CF Andres Gomez batted .348 for the week with 3 doubles and 3 stolen bags.

SSA Homer was 5-2 for the week, and at 36-26 are in a first place tie with Fukumitsu. CF Teruo Nagai batted .300 for the week with 2 doubles, a triple, and 8 rbi. 16 yr old international signee Brandon Vale picked up his first victory, allowing 1 run over 8 innings in a 14-1 win over Barrow. Vale is 1-0 2.28 in 5 starts for Homer.

Coming up...the real grind begins now. 27 of the last 37 will be on the road, starting this week with 3 at Dayton then 3 at Florida.
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