Neat Stuff, Post-Sim Thread: 2028, Season 22

[Borealis]

Neat? Aside from Opening Day? Not So Neat? Aside from the obvious?
- 'Big Whiskey' hitting .333 with 7 HRs and 15 RBI - looking to be in midseason form - Neat!!... That said, 14 K in 60 AB qualifies as a Not So Neat...
- Domingo Gutierrez showing that last season's numbers may be for real, with a .354 - Neat!!... a lone double the extent of his power... Not So Neat...
- Rookie Ricardo Zamora hitting .417 with 5 HR - Neat!! High Expectation carrying 'Fudd' Martinez with a pedestrian .265... Not So Neat...
- Pedro Medrano (.362), Jose Torres (.310) and Gabe McIntyre (.294) all taking the battle for the right-side of the infield seriously - Neat!!! Carlos Saenz (.229) being out of options... Not So Neat...
- The pitching staff posting an overall 2.67 with 207 K in 215 IP - Neat!! Needing to clip a BB per game off the average... Not So Neat...
- 'Onion', in his first Aurora action allows no runs in 11 IP, while 'Doberman' struggles in limited time at NT - Neat!! Having to move X-Diaz (0.73), Pedro Vega (1.04) and Hugh Jones (2.13) to AAA... Not So Neat... Because the rest of the staff was so good? Is that Neater??
- 'JT' John Turner 1.12, 21 K in 16 IP in his Aurora debut - Neat!!! 'Tugboat' (4.60, 17 K, 1 BB in 15.2 IP) and Carlos Rivera (6.19, 17 K, 2 BB in 16 IP)... the closest to Not So Neat on the pitching Staff...

What's on Tap
Opening Day brings the Bears to The Front Range for four - Smith, Turner, Nieves and 'Terror' Diaz will take the hill for Aurora. One would assume that at least Maes and Littleworth will go for Bakersfield. The home stand will continue as Neo-Tokyo comes to town for a 3-game series...

Down on the Farm
2026 Supplemental pick Jesus Solis makes his AAA debut - one of two arms Aurora chose to move upward sooner than planned - a result of the Provost injury. After a college career with a mid-1's ERA and a 1.79 at Mokule'ia after the draft and a 2.96 at Gatineau, Solis gets the Opening Day nod...

Also getting an Opening Day nod - and a promotion over A Ball to AA - last years top pick, Miguel Torres, who posted a 2.06, with 108 K in 96 IP at Short A after last years draft...

[Duane]

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!

Thouroughbreds are set with some major changes. Long time member and fan favorite Gallager) demanded to be a starter and wanted a hefty 20+mil per season, so he refused our extension offer and signed with the hated F-heads.

Tic-Toc Florida, we are coming to unseat you from your hold on the division throne.

[KenH]

What's crazy is that Gallagher didn't even earn a rotation spot through spring training, Duane! He had some good ST starts but I decided he's too good out of the 'pen. We'll see where the season takes us though. May be a story line to follow though... especially if he's bent out of shape about it

[Duane]

What's crazy is that Gallagher didn't even earn a rotation spot through spring training, Duane! He had some good ST starts but I decided he's too good out of the 'pen. We'll see where the season takes us though. May be a story line to follow though... especially if he's bent out of shape about it

That is a very expensive piece of the pen .....

[KenH]

It sure is!

[MikeB]

Wow. Rookie Mike Rose opens with a HR in each of the first seven games. Negrette pops 5. Only had 109 HRs all of last year. Have 17 already.

And Castro with a no hitter in his PEBA debut. In fact, 28 scoreless inning streak going for my staff.

[Sandgnats]

interesting stat from week 1. Kentucky steals 20 bases in 7 days.

Upset match-up of the week:
Yuma takes 3 of 4 from the Codgers!?! Yuma also faces off against left handed starting pitching for each of its first 7 games.

New Orleans makes a statement in the Dixie Division and jumps out to a hot start with sweeps of San Antonio and Arlington.

[KenH]

Neat...
- Jose Diaz and Andy Crews have both thrown 2 tremendous ballgames. I was worried about my rotation, but so far those fears haven't been realized. Jose is at 14.1 innings with a 1.88 ERA while Crews has thrown 16 (!!) innings to a 1.69 ERA.
-Bill Gallagher seems to have settled into a closer role pretty well, converting all 3 save opportunities. He did get the loss opening day but that game sucked for a whole lot of reasons.
-Andy Sharp is off to a fast start with a slash of .444/.483/.704 and already accruing .8 WAR. Granted, it's no Mike Rose (seriously, dude's already at 1.2 WAR) but he's definitely playing well.
-Mushanokoji Matsumoto had a great game against London, going 3 for 3 and walking once. He also went yard and had 3 RBI. He's also played 11 innings of CF so far and is just above 0 in zone rating which I was not expecting.

Not So Neat...
-The vast majority of my lineup has started incredibly slow. Granted, 4 of our 7 games were against a really good pitching staff in Kentucky; but anemic offense cannot be tolerated, especially when it's supposed to be our carrying feature.
-Danny Burton is bringing his rough spring into the regular season. After the first week he's slashing .154/.233/.269. I literally just said you were going to win Royal Raker Danny... c'mon!
-3 players already on DtD injuries. Dave Crocker played four whole games without getting hurt. Cool.
-The Atilio Gaivo and Pedro Marquis experiments are off to a rocky start! Gaivo actually pitched 5 strong innings before a bad start to the sixth led him to get yanked. Marquis gave up 4 earned but after watching the replay it looked like mostly bad luck.

What I'm Watching...
-I'm considering trades to bolster my bench since my guys are already suffering nagging injuries. My scout REALLY likes this draft class so I'm trying to weigh what makes sense in terms of trading away picks to get talent now. It's an ongoing trend with Florida I'd like to avoid.
-Looking forward to seeing my offense start to click. They never really did in Spring Training so anxiously waiting to see them put it together.
-I still have faith in Gaivo and Marquis. Hoping they provide me some vindication. Otherwise I'll need to start looking elsewhere.

[Fishermen]

Four wins from my first seven games back including two one-run losses. One of those the batter was caught on the centre field warning track with the tying run on third and the other the batter struck out with the bases loaded. 12 homers surrendered in seven games is not a sustainable stat though and that alone will turn a 101-win season into a losing one if it is not checked.

Great to be back though

[Borealis]

Opening Week is always Full of Hope and Dreams, and with that, the Neat and Not So Neat...

- Neat: a 5-2 week against the Bears and Akira, losing the openers in each series...
- Neater: Rookie Ricardo Zamora having a nice 7-24, 2 HR and 5 RBI. He was also 4-5 in the SB department...
- Neatest: John Turner nabbing a pair of W's and a a CG, 1-hit shutout of NT. He has 14.1 scoreless IP and 17 K, 1 BB...

- Not So Neat: C Domingo Gutierrez, winning the starting job based on a .340 Spring and 2027, goes 3-19 (while Manny Castro as back-up C and DH goes 3-8, 2-2B and a HR)...
- Not So Neater: CL John Gray getting roughed up at NT - 6 R (3 ER) to blow a save in his second appearance...
- Not So Neatest: Pablo Medrano (3-14, 2-2B) and Carlos Saenz (1-8, 1-2B) walking to the plate meekly (Rookie Jose Torres, 4-7, 1-2B, 1-3B and 3 RBI - arguing for more time...)...

Down on The Farm
Three recent draftees were promoted, some would say maybe to quickly, but the Provost injury was a motivating factor:
- Jesus Solis (AAA): 2 GS, 10 IP 2.70. 2 HRs leading to 3-runs, 8 K, but 4 BB for a 1.50 WHIP...
- Miguel Torres (AA): last years top pick, 0-2, 14 IP, 5!! HR allowed (10 R), but 14 K and only 2 BB - so at least the 0.93 WHIP is promising...
- Kelsey Buck (AA): back from Winter Ball, 0-2, 4.76... 6 BB in 11.1 IP the killer...

Also depressing down at Thornton, 'Fudd' Martinez, 5-28, with 12 K - STOP! BEING!! UNHAPPY!!! about being in the minors, 'Fudd'!! Start hitting like you belong in the majors!!

What's On Tap??
Enroute to Okinawa for the first road series with the 3-4 Shisa (fresh off a series loss at Palm Springs), then back to The Front Range to face the 3-4 Yumans - who were recently swept by the fast starting Evil Evas... Nieves, Diaz and Billy Taylor (an emergency start with Rivera nursing an oblique strain) on the mound v. Okinawa. Taylor has allowed a run in 5.1 relief innings thus far...

[Reg]

A 7-0 start. Really can't complain about that!

If anyone remembers my initial article from when I joined 8 seasons ago, I really like knuckleballers. So, I was just tickled pink to see my knuckler Angel Ramos get 2 wins in 2 near-complete-game starts.

The other relief was top-dollar starter Cactus Kang, who got it done in his two games as well, keeping his ERA to just 2.38 so far, and leading the team with 12 K's.

Meanwhile, 2021 first-round pick Hugh Higgins has developed into a great closer for the team, netting 3 saves in 4 appearances in the first week.

Offensively, the team as been slower to wake up. We are only ranked 8th of the 12 IL teams in terms of batting average and OBP. So, if we want to sustain this, the bats will have to do what (60+ million/year) hoped for and smack that ball!

COMING UP
Coming up, we once again play the Arlington Bureaucrats, this time for a 3-game series at home. Then, on the weekend, we have our first of two consecutive series on our European road (plane?) trip. The first series will be visiting the much-improved Claymores. We will then visit the Amsterdam Lions the following week.

PLAY BALL!

[Borealis]

The other relief was top-dollar starter Cactus Kang, who got it done in his two games as well, keeping his ERA to just 2.38 so far, and leading the team with 12 K's.

I think Kang needs t put out more than the 5.2 IP per start that he gave the 'Gnats last season to justify that contract - especially with a full two more years likely to be paid. Higgins is one of those guys that frustrate you, I'd think - he looks like he should be so much better than his baseball card says he is...

Great start for the T-setters!!

[Borealis]

More to come on the Aurora front, but an edit to the Sim Update I will post here, too...

A Ball will begin with our Monday, January 21 Sim, so be sure to have those rosters set for Monday!!

[Sandgnats]

The other relief was top-dollar starter Cactus Kang, who got it done in his two games as well, keeping his ERA to just 2.38 so far, and leading the team with 12 K's.

I think Kang needs t put out more than the 5.2 IP per start that he gave the 'Gnats last season to justify that contract - especially with a full two more years likely to be paid. Higgins is one of those guys that frustrate you, I'd think - he looks like he should be so much better than his baseball card says he is...

Great start for the T-setters!!

I think he heard you call him out Mike. This week pitched 8 innings, no earned runs, 6 hits, 1 walk, struck out 5.

[Borealis]

Pedestrian 3-3 week for Aurora, who if they had a choice, would never have Okinawa on the schedule again, and Why leads off the Not So and the Neat...

- Okinawa just beats the crap out of our pitching - 3-games, 10 HRs (4, 4 & 2) - Nieves gave up 3 in a 7-2 loss and Diaz gave up 3 in a 9-7 win... a tough 3-1 loss in game three sealed a Not So Neatest for the week...
- Domingo Gutierrez (.214), Mike Britt (.158), River Pope (.143) and Teddy Loetzsch (.143) were a combined 11-68 (.162) - and for Gutierrez and Loetzsch, enough to find a Not So Neater early season spot on the pine...
- Not So Neat is Luis Nieves, who aside from the 3 HR he surrendered to the Shisa, he gave up a 4th to Yuma, sealing an 0-2 week with a 6.55 ERA (11 IP, 12 H, 8 R, 4 HR, 4 K...

- JT continued to pitch well, though his lone start on the week was a short one - 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R and 7 K - though 3 BB cut his day short - Still, 0.98, 24 K, 4 BB in 18 IP ain't bad...
- Neater would be 'Fido' Castro, whose hot start and Guiterrez' struggles, has the former-#1 pick back in the starting line-up - 8-24, 3-2B, 2 HR catching the eyes of the coaching staff...
- Rookie Ricardo Zamora continues to be the bright story on the offense - 8-21, 3 HR, 9 RBI on the week and .333, 5 HR and 14 RBI thus far have him the Big Dog leading the Rookie of the Year pack at this early stage. Taking this start and placing it in the context of the past two seasons and one might think this fits his trend... Neatest of All...

Down on the Farm
- Maybe taking the FasTrax down the Interstate, Jesus Solis continues to pitch well for the Organization, and after 3 starts he's 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA with 15 K in16 IP... Surprising many after a mediocre 2027 AA season (that followed an impressive 2026 A Ball season), LF Michi Shini is 14-40 in 11 games thus far at AAA. He's failed to homer, which Aurora hopes he begins to do again after his 17 HR 2026 at A Ball SLRC...
- At Gatineau, two young, high profile SP continue to struggle -Miguel Torres (6.30 ERA, 6 HR allowed) and Kelsey Buck (6.16) and a combined 0-5, are likely to get another start at AA, and barring outstanding results, are likely to return to A Ball (which begins this week), when pitching changes begin to happen at the Major League and AAA level - with the shuffling of DL/rehab players... CF Dusty Gillespie, who hasn't set the world on fire after being a 3rd round pick in 2024, looks like maybe things are clicking. Despite only hitting .208 last year he had 18-2B, 5-3B and 6 HR (not to mention 13-14 in SB). Though he has yet to homer in 2028, he is hitting .295 with 5-2B...

What's on Tap
After three with the Yumans, Aurora keeps the Desert portion of the DH in their sights, with their rivals from the California Desert and the deserted Eastern Sierra foothills - a trip to the Codgers and then they entertain the Zephyrs. Diaz, Taylor, Smith and Turner will take their turns v. Palm Springs... Taylor, in his first start of the season, fared not so bad - 5 IP, 4 H, 2 HR, 3 R in the rubber match of the Shisa series...