Unga Bunga: A Warriors Blog

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Bill
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Re: Unga Bunga: A Warriors Blog

#136 Post by Bill »

Borealis wrote:Beware the karma - there's four games left... :-o
Yeah, I kinda realized that after I wrote. I'm little out of it because my internet is still down (hopefully fixed tonight). Fingers crossed.
Borealis wrote:
HBD Bill!!!

(and where are those predictions? I can never find them...
http://pebabaseball.com/reports/news/ht ... eport.html

Also just for clarity, that's my in-game bday. Though my real bday is also upcoming at a slightly lower value.
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Re: Unga Bunga: A Warriors Blog

#137 Post by Bill »

Opening Week 2023 Rewind
by Olaf Halvorsen, Senior Blogologist
April 10, 2023


Nice 5-2 week for the Warriors against the Ghosts and Shisa which leaves them conspicuously in first place of the Great Lakes division.

Warriors Fans, Show Me Your Brooms
Starting out the season with four straights wins was a bit of a surprise. The first 3 games featured dominant performances by the starters. Rainmaker set the tone with two runs and 6 hits allowed over 7+ innings with 11 punchouts in a 7-2 Opening Day win. Luis Nieves had his best start as a Warrior in Game 2, throwing a 5-hit shutout. Ed Emery had to wait an extra day due to rain on Wednesday, but was equally outstanding (8.1 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 6 K) in a 6-1 victory. Top notch!

Smokey in the Clutch
Bruce McGuire was the hero in the finale of the Ghost series. Three hits, three runs, and a huge grand slam in the 6th inning that tied up a game that appeared to be headed for a loss. Smokey followed that up with a big 3-run homer in the final game of the Okinawa series, though the pitching couldn't hold that lead as the Shisa won 5-4. Nevertheless, a .364/.462/.727 slash line with 2 HR and 3 SB is a pretty solid way to start the season.

The Hit Parade
The batters certainly came ready to play out of spring training. The entire team is batting .300 through the first week. Eight of the starters are hitting at least .330; only SS Andres Hernandez (.200, 2 HR, 5 RBI) is late to the party. But this blogger is not too concerned about a guy who combined for 10 WAR over the last two seasons. Of particular note this week was 1B Mike Harris (.345, 1 HR, 6 RBI) and CF Yang-Cheng Kao (.346, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 4 SB).

On Deck
Our first taste of Great Lakes action with the Gnats and Longshoremen coming to town this week. A key early measuring stick for the division race. Avery Carson will get his first start in green-and-white, followed by Emery and Ricardo Aguilar against Crystal Lake. Thomas, Nieves, and Paul Norris will toe the mound against Canton.

And Finally....
I must say, the Ghostettes were most notably absent from the opening series. We miss you Ghostettes!!!!
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Re: Unga Bunga: A Warriors Blog

#138 Post by Bill »

April 2023 Review
by Olaf Halvorsen, Senior Blogologist
May 1, 2023


Welp...the Warriors have had worse months than 15-12. Is there anything to learn from April 2023?

Warriors Fans, Show Me Your Brooms II
The Warriors put together a key 6-game winning streak, including a 4-game sweep of Neo Tokyo, this past week to leap back into first place in the Great Lakes division. The team is now 8-0 against the Ghosts and Akira in 2023. Unfortunately, that makes the team 7-12 against everybody else. Maybe not a good omen going forward. The team will need to play better, particularly against GL competition, to make 2023 anything but a hollow season.

Smokey in the Clutch II
Bruce McGuire hit three homers this week and continues to be the best hitter in the Warriors lineup early in 2023. The second year outfielder is hitting .318 with 7 HR, 19 RBI, 16 BB, and 5 SB so far this season. Manager Eduardo Francisco has gone so far to begin batting him third in the order against righties, moving the struggling Mike Harris down in the order. This has been far better than Smokey and the Bandit II so far.

Juggling the DH
Both designated hitter candidates, Flint Butler and Jeff Prat, have started well in 2023, though this has led to some difficult decisions for the Warriors manager early on. Butler had been a real spark plug (.431/.482/.588, 10 R in 14 games) and is hard to sit at this moment. Meanwhile, rookie Jeff Prat has really done nothing to earn any bench time either (.340, 2 HR, 8 RBI) and has better power upside. Good problem to have, though it could cut into the playing time of others like 1B Mike Harris.

On Deck
Another big series against the Gnats coming next, who are 1/2 game back in the standings on May 1. Manager Francisco has said he will take advantage of the May 1 off day to skip the rookie Paul Norris in the rotation. The Warriors will send Ed Emery, Ricardo Aguilar, and Rainmaker Thomas against the perennial GL power. The team also faces upstart Fargo for the first time this season over the weekend.
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Re: Unga Bunga: A Warriors Blog

#139 Post by Bill »

Los Warriors En Fuego
by Olaf Halvorsen, Senior Blogologist
May 8, 2023


Second very neat week in a row for the Warriors. 11-2 over the last two weeks and a 2.5 game lead in the GL division.

Revenge is a Dish Best Served...to the Sandgnats
Rival Crystal Lake has long been a huge, gigantic thorn in the side of Warrior fans near and far. They are evil. They are an empire. Some might call them an Evil Empire (cue the John Williams music...). So, it wasn't very surprising that they swept the Warriors back in April. It's been happening almost since the inception of the PEBA.

Fast forward to May 2-4 when Duluth returned the favor, taking all three games in enemy territory. The Warriors outscored the Gnats 24-4 in three games. Four home runs in each of the first two games. 14 runs in Game 3. This might have been my favorite series in 12+ seasons of covering PEBA baseball.

(of course, this probably means the pinnacle of our season was in early May...but I digress)

Player of the Week
Bruce McGuire continues to smoke (#punintended) Sovereign League pitching in 2023 and was rewarded with SL Player of the Week Honors. The Duluth left fielder went 9-for-25 with 6 homers and 9 RBI to start May with a bang. Smokey leads the PEBA with 13 homers on the season and his 28 RBI are in the top five of the league. He's one homer shy of his 2022 output and 2 homers short of his 2021 season. This level of power hasn't been witnessed since his junior season at Penn State, when he clobbered 29 homers in 54 games. I like this version.

Fool's Gold
Starting pitcher Paul Norris has won two straight games and has a 15+ inning stretch of shutout baseball over the last four appearances. He's only allowed 5 hits over the last two starts. But he's also walked nine batters in those starts. The potential for greatness is there. The potential for a lot of nail biting also is there for Duluth fans watching his outings. The Unga Bunga staff still believes.

On Deck
Yuma and Reno come to Doyle Buhl Stadium this week as the team trying to build upon their early 10-4 home record. Go Warriors!
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Re: Unga Bunga: A Warriors Blog

#140 Post by Bill »

Continued Hot Play, Lose Ground to Gnats
by Olaf Halvorsen, Senior Blogologist
May 15, 2023


Duluth continues its blazing hot streak, another 5-1 week and now 16-3 over the last three weeks. The Warriors now find themselves now with the best record in the Sovereign League, half a game ahead of Toyama and Bakersfield. All of that said...

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Somehow the Warriors lost 1/2 game in the Great Lakes division standings as the Sandgnats went 6-1 this week, against perennial powerhouses Aurora and Shin Seiki no less.

Only one thing can sum up my feelings on this topic... :shake:

The Neat: Quick Hitters
Paul Norris won both starts this week and has won four straight games. He also struck 10 Zephyrs in his last start; his second career 10+ K game....Smokey continues to burn hot; a 2 HR, 5 RBI game against Reno leaves him with a PEBA-high 15 HR and 35 RBI...Ricardo Aguilar has started 2023 much like he started 2022 - 6 of 7 quality starts, unexpected 2.53 ERA that defies the underlying rate stats. All hail the knuckleball!...SS Andres Hernandez is heating up after a cold April, batting .350/.447/.625 in 10 starts this month...the Warriors offense now leads the SL in runs scored, OBP, home runs, and stolen bases; that sounds like recipe for winning many games to me.

Not-So-Neat: Quick Hitters
3B David Uribes is on the DL for 2 weeks with some back pain; not a great sign for a guy just sign to a long term deal...speedster Joe Kenny has been caught stealing 7-of-16 times already this season, seemingly on a large number of pitchouts; He did steal four bases in five games this week, so maybe this was just bad luck...CF Yang-Cheng Kao has solidified the outfield defense as expected, but is batting a meager .200 after 35 starts. One wonders if moving McGuire back to CF or promoting former first round pick Tomas Flores is on the table...the bullpen currently sports a 4.75 ERA, good for 13th in the SL. Yuck. That can't continue if this team expects to even sniff the playoffs.

On Deck
Ten game road trip to Canton, Kalamazoo, and Aurora. Go Warriors!
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Re: Unga Bunga: A Warriors Blog

#141 Post by Bill »

Don't Jinx It!
by Olaf Halvorsen, Senior Blogologist
May 29, 2023


Shhhhhh.....I know, I know...don't say a word. We can only jinx it at this point.

Sterling Performance
The big news this week was the acquisition of 2B Gil Sterling from the K-Zoo Badgers. Sterling has been....well....terrible this year. But he has been a perennial 4 WAR player and provides a better platoon advantage than Leon Valentin, who has not played poorly but is light-hitting average fielder. The price for the veteran second sacker was Single A OF Mike Rose. Rose is well liked by the scouting department, but has other oufielders ahead of him on the org chart.

Andele! Andele! Uribes! Uribes!
David Uribes is expected back for the next Sandgnats series this week after missing half of May with a back strain. No rehab, right back at it. Maybe not the most prudent choice, but when the Gnats are in town it is all hands on deck. Win...Win...Win...Win...Win....

Free Tomas Flores!
CF Yang-Cheng Kao is still hitting a buck ninety-five. Flores is hitting .316 with 8 HR, 12 SB, and +6 ZR at AAA Madison. Is the equation really that hard here?

On Deck
Round Three with Crystal Lake; each team has swept the other once. The pesky (pun intended) Gnats have been almost as hot as the Warriors (20-4) and could be in first place by Thursday. The team will run out Emery, Norris, and Aguilar against the rivals. June begins with a three-game set with the Badgers.
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Re: Unga Bunga: A Warriors Blog

#142 Post by Bill »

A Week in Emojis and Hashtags
by Olaf Halvorsen, Senior Blogologist
June 5, 2023


The Gnats provide a giant b!$%& slap to the Warriors with (another) 3-game sweep #whosyourlittlebrother :angry-cussingblack: :shake:

Fortunately, we won the Badgers series and maintain a 2-game lead in the Great Lakes (somehow) :clap: :bang:

This might be the worst draft class in PEBA history :shock: 8-o

Or we might have the worst scout in PEBA history :-o

Tomas Flores will make his PEBA debut today against the Dozers ;-D #abouttime

Go Warriors! #firstplace
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Re: Unga Bunga: A Warriors Blog

#143 Post by Borealis »

Warriors wrote:A Week in Emojis and Hashtags
by Olaf Halvorsen, Senior Blogologist
June 5, 2023


This might be the worst draft class in PEBA history :shock: 8-o

Or we might have the worst scout in PEBA history :-o
Hey Olaf, we are pretty certain it's the former - when we opened up the formal class listing for the first time, the odor of decay spanked us across the face something fierce!! #WhoLetTheHogSlopOut
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Re: Unga Bunga: A Warriors Blog

#144 Post by Nigel »

The ‘Two’ Issue
by Olaf Halvorsen, Senior Social Media Director
October 14, 2024


Two to love:
Tomás Flores and Júlio ‘Tapper’ Gonzáles are two that any GM would like to build a team around. Flores in his first full PEBA season in 2024 burst on the scene as we all knew he would, tying the Warriors record for 9 triples in a season and ruling the wide open spaces of Doyle Buhl Stadium with a +17.9 ZR & only one error all season. Warriors have yet to really utilise his plus-plus speed and I think he has power to come, all this with still another year of team control.
Meanwhile Gonzáles will be getting a big wad in arbitration and will be worth every penny. In his three seasons in Duluth he has averaged over 60 appearances a season, racked up 105 saves (in the top 10 PEBA ranking each year) and last season produced career bests in K’s & WHIP while knocking almost a point off his previous ERA and equalling career bests in wins & WAR. Doubts about a bad torn rotator cuff in 2020 while with New Jersey stymied his career but ‘Tapper’ looks primed to break out with the new-look 2025 Warriors.

Two to consider their roles:
David Uribes and Marcos Martínez. Uribes has never shown much aptitude for defence at the hot corner and at 31 his bat is fast regressing to the league average. First base might be an option or DH, although Warriors seem to have plenty of poor defensive players queuing up for that role.
Martínez at 33 is in the twilight of an eight-year PEBA career. Never quite fulfilling the hopes Warriors had for him he had a career high AB’s (368) in 2024 but also a career low in batting average (.201). His defence is still holding up around most of the diamond so maybe his career can get a second wind as a defensive replacement for the infield but at more than a $1,000,000 will the Warriors pick up the tab?

Two to promote:
Guillermo Justavo and Jason Owens are two solid defensive players that need to be given the chance to sink or swim at PEBA level. Last season Justavo during 42 starts, his first real cup of coffee at Duluth, looked the part hitting more homers & RBI than Uribes in 108 starts. A solid +ZR at the hot corner helps his cause no end if the new GM decides that his fielders actually should defend.
Owens is a defensively sound second baseman who at 26 is on his last option year. He had 27 AB’s in Duluth in 2022 and his performance in Triple-A Racine during 2024 suggests that he deserves another chance. A .280/.333/.434 triple slash line, 16 homers & 69 RBI tally plus a +1.9 ZR at 2B points the way to one last chance in the PEBA, if Owens succeeds the Warriors have a solid second baseman, fail and it’s time for Owens to hit the waiver wire.
Nigel Laverick

GM San Antonio Calzones de Laredo 2035 - . . .

Former Commish, PEBA & LRS GM

nigel3123@gmail.com
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Re: Unga Bunga: A Warriors Blog

#145 Post by Leones »

deuces are wild in Duluth! :D
Patrick Hildreth
- La leña roja tarde pero llega

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Re: Unga Bunga: A Warriors Blog

#146 Post by kiersteadmo »

Doyle Buhl Stadium Stadium Expansion
stadium.jpg
1/16/2026
10:00am
Tricia Takanawa

Today it was announced by Duluth Warriors owner James Bong that they will be adding another 10,000 seats to the Doyle Buhl Stadium. The addition of the seats comes on the heels of a massive trading binge that has stacked the warrior’s bullpen. Construction has already started and will be ready before spring training. GM Mark Kierstead also noted that none of the seats will be used for season ticket holders. Instead at a special price for U. S. Veterans and their family members.

Bong was quoted as saying “We plan dedicate the 10,000 seats to the men and women of our armed forces and each seat will have the name of a service member who is currently on active duty stationed around the word.” Of course this brought great applause from the community and further shows how far Mark Kierstead is willing to go to show the fans of Duluth that the team and organization care. Duluth is proving to not stray from the family aspect that the Bongs hold so close.
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Re: Unga Bunga: A Warriors Blog

#147 Post by kiersteadmo »

Takanawa Hired!!
takanawa.png
1/16/2026
10:01am
Jim “Team Blogger” Jones

News has come out that the Duluth Warriors hired Tricia Takanawa and GM Mark Kierstead’s wife as Head of Media Relations for Duluth. Tricia Takanawa is an award winning reporter who has an up and down career since coming to the baseball world. She has traveled the LRS (rip) and PEBA following Kierstead as he managed professional teams. Her downfall came in the midst of a water Crisis in Okinawaas everyone tried to pass the blame. The team took millions in loss that year and almost collapsed the baseball loving prefecture.

We hope fans of Duluth and the baseball world can forgive and forget what happened in the land of the rising sun. This blogger was just hoping to break the story before her first article…
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Rumblings in the front office

#148 Post by kiersteadmo »

Duluth
3/10/2026
Tricia Takanawa

2:00am
An out of character move from Duluth Warriors owner Jason Bong and GM Mark Kierstead as an argument broke out over a pre-season press release. The release stated that Duluth was no where near winning 100 games in the 2026 season, and that was not an option for Mr. Bong. Kierstead quickly ot on the phone with a few other GMs and after a 5 minute call said thing were looking up.


UPDATE:
2:32AM

I would like to confirm that a trade has been agreed upon and the big names being mentioned are SS Juan Hernandez of Duluth and Badgers #1 Pitcher Kazuhiko 'Dusty' Nishiyama as the big pieces. this is a major deal for each team as they pretty much swap the most popular guy and huge contracts.
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Re: Unga Bunga: A Warriors Blog

#149 Post by kiersteadmo »

Unga Bunga: A Warriors Blog
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Tricia Takanawa
Nov 11, 2026


Duluth hands out minor league awards to 2 players who had the best season. This award shows who was outstanding and played at a high level. Without further ado here is your 2026 Minor League Hitter of the Year.
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Muñóz joined the Duluth Warriors organization via a trade with the Shin Seiki Evas back on 11/12/2024. He quickly jumped from (A) to (AAA) in a few season and had pretty good numbers. His .261/.351/.376 might not be eye popping but he had a few great games. June 15th, 2026 he had a walk-off solo home run to win the game and then on July 31st, 2026 he went 4-5 1HR,6RBIs with 1 Triple. When asked how he felt about the award was quite humble.

"I may not be the best team leader but I am a workhorse. I am first on the field and last to leave most days. I just want to do my part and get better"

The Minor League Pither of the year is no other than.
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Kono was Drafted back in 2022 in the 7th round. He has shown promise as well as high hopes ever since. 2026 was a better than average year for Kono he had a winning record and pretty decent ERA. Going 12-9 2.95 ERA in 30 games. 10.9 Ks per 9 and an astonishing 233K for the season. That Lead all of AAA, His 10.9Ks per 9 innings was 2nd best league-wide. He Shows great promise and could see the Duluth roster next year. Kono struck out 15 twice in 2026 including 6 games where he totaled 10-15 Strikeouts. He has high potential and we look forward to seeing how well he does in the future.Kono had this to say when we asked how he thought his season went.
"I have ways to go really, I am a bit rigid and need to work on my control. I would love to help Duluth make a run for it like they are doing this year. Fr how my season went, I just played as hard as I could. I was not limited to pitch counts and was given the chance to prove myself and that I did."
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Re: Unga Bunga: A Warriors Blog

#150 Post by kiersteadmo »

Duluth adds 10k more seats
It has been noticed that during the nights only construction was going on. We knew after last season Duluth needed to expand. But the question remained how much and when. It had been a busy offseason with trades and winter meetings that everything fell quiet. One eagle eyes fan noticed construction vehicles moving in days before spring training. He tried to snap photos to post on his blog but his iPhone x10 was not good enough from his vantage point. Now that the seats have been added will the prices drop or get increased? I think they might hold out and look at what the numbers show.
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