Living in a Tent in Texas (A San Antonio blog)

[Nigel]

2035 Month by month brief review

April : Calzones started 2035 going .500 in the first month. Turned out to be the highest number of wins in a single month and it could have been so much better if we hadn’t finished the month on a four-game losing streak.
Pitcher of the month: Dan Stockstill, who in six started posted a 3-2 record with a 1.70 ERA
Batter of the month: RF Andy Edwards, he hit four homers and drove in 11 runs despite only hitting .192/.219/.343

May : We almost reached .500 for the second straight month but eventually fell a game short at 13-14. Again, it was a end of month slump as Calzones won just one out of their final six games in May.
Pitcher of the month: Vicente Diaz who in five starts posted a 3-2 record with an ERA of 3.41. Struck out 22 batters in 27 innings while only walking four.
Batter of the month: CF Toju Murakami in 26 games he hit .290/.350/.505 with four homers & 13 RBI

June : This was the start of the slide as we only won 11 out of the 27 games that Calzones played in June and five of those wins were in a winning streak right at the start of the month, only two were won in the last eight of June.
Pitcher of the month: Miguel Torres just shaded out Stockstill by fine margins. Miguel posted a 3-1 record in five starts with a 1.95 ERA; only allowing six earned runs in 27 IP despite being a bit on the wild side as he walked 15 batters while striking out 20.
Batter of the month: SS Manuel Santos, in his second month with the club he proved his worth hitting .310/.358/.460 in his 26 games, with three homers and 10 RBI

July : A second poor month in which we slumped to a mere 10 wins out of 26 attempts saw off the season. It wasn’t really a surprise that Calzones only won one of their final nine games.
Pitcher of the month: Reliver Sander Graaf was one of only two of the staff that picked up two wins in the month. Posting a 2-1 record with a 1.56 ERA in 17 IP over nine outings, he allowed just three earned runs.
Batter of the month: 3B Jeff van de Eijk with three long balls beat out four players who only hit two homers. He led the team with 12 runs scored as well and drove in nine while successfully picking up 11 stolen bases in 12 attempts.

August : We were back close to a .500 month as only a 3-game losing streak in the final three days turned the month’s record to 13-14
Pitcher of the month: Vicente Diaz’s three wins matched Stockstill’s who again was close, but despite losing two games out of his six starts, but Diaz’s ERA was a mere 0.97 with a 0.68 WHIP.
Batter of the month: CF Toju Murakami returned to form as in 95 AB’s he legged out two triples, hit two over the fences and drove in 11 runs. Not so hot on the basepaths though as he was only successful in eight of his 15 attempts.

September : The final month of the season saw Calzones turn in their first winning month of the season. This time a three-game losing streak to the almighty Florida couldn’t derail the team as we finished out the year with a 14-13 record.
Pitcher of the month: Damien Neighbour pitched in six games, starting one of them, posting a 2-0 record with a 3.21 ERA in 14 IP. Neighbour was a September callup, having opened in Triple-A with the franchise’s only no-hitter of 2035 he slumped to a 4-7, 2.28 ERA record in Joplin before getting his PEBA call. Honourable mention goes again to Dan Stockstill who despite posting a 0-1 record in six September starts finish the month with a 1.03 ERA.
Batter of the month: RF Conrad Lissenberg, a Rule 5 pick, was awful in the outfield with a -8.0 ZR, but made up with his bat. Hitting .268 (second best of the month’s regular starters) he ended up with three homers and 15 runs driven in.

[Nigel]

Down on the Farm 2035 (AAA, AA)

Triple-A: Joplin Red Racers (78-62)

In 2034 a 56-win season snapped a six-year streak of winning seasons, so it was good to return to winning ways in 2035. Joplin secured the second wildcard spot despite trying to blow it with an 8-20 record in August, thankfully it was balanced by going 20-9 in May and good records in June & July. Red Racers won the wildcard series 3-2 over Jefferson County, but unfortunately ran out of steam in the Divisional round as they lost 1-4 to Chesapeake Bay.

The best pitcher was, of course, the PEBA’s #1 prospect Bartolo Mojica who posted a 15-7 record with a 1.74 ERA and 208 K’s. Honourable mention must go to Juan Jose Patino who also won 15 games but wasn’t as good elsewhere. Izumo Kondo led the team with a pitiful total of six saves from the bullpen but owned a 7-1 record with a 1.24 ERA while Damien Neighbour opened 2035 no hitting Raleigh and went on to pitch four complete games. He was a bit disappointing the rest of the year, posting a 4-7 record abet with a 2.28 ERA.

Peter Monnington, who was sent back to Triple-A after three straight years in the PEBA, made wakes as he hit 28 homers and drove in 71 runs, Kenzaburo Mori with 18 homers was the only other batter who reached double figures in homers. Tim Hunt was a steady bat, 106 hits in 106 appearances (.294) and four other batters passed the 100-hit mark. Stan Joyce (34) and Reed Carver (31) led the team in stolen bases, Joyce was caught four times, but no-one laid a glove on Carver all season.

Double-A: Monterey Sea Lions (67-73)

Monterey’s losing season was the ninth straight they have missed the playoffs. They haven’t had a winning season since 2026, but this was the second highest win total in that time (best was 69 wins in 2033). Most of the year they were within a game or two of .500 each month, but an 11-18 record in July was the major factor in the Sea Lions sub .500 record for the season.

Roberto Rodriguez was the only pitcher to reach double-digit wins, he had an excellent 12-2 record with a 1.34 ERA from 16 starts, including a complete game 4-hit shutout. The rest of the pitching staff was a mish mash of mediocrity, all contributing something but no-one standing out. There were only 14 saves collected all season and 23-yr-old Miguel Torres, who had been demoted from Joplin mid-season, posted half of them.

Eleven batters that turned out in Monterey failed to get a batting average over .220 and the best was 25-yr-old Mark Morrison, he made 91 appearances in 2035 bouncing around from A ball up to Triple-A. As he passed through Monterey, he had a .274/.353/.481 average in 30 appearances. 22-year-old Jesus Lopez spent all of 2035 in the outfield with steadily declining defensive work. His -6.0 ZR will probably see his future work all being in the DH role. His bat will keep him in the lineup though as he hit 38 homers and drove in 93 runs in his 122 outings. He was the only batter with more than 100 hits but Antonio Pena came close with 97 from 112 outings. Cesar Castillo & Guoncelo Hauer both broke the 20 stolen base mark with a success rate around 80%.

[Nigel]

Down on the Farm 2035 (A, SA & R)

A ball: Drumright Tornadoes (63-65)

Third straight playoff miss for the Tornadoes, but the most wins in that time, nine more victories than last season. May was a cracker of a month as we turned a 3-5 record round and powered to 22-15, but that was really the last joy in the season. Well below .500 records for the next three months, it took a 7-2 effort in September to get us as close as we did to .500 for the season. We’ve only had one winning season (2026) in the last decade unfortunately.

Seven different pitchers started games for the Tornadoes and 23-yr-old Takao Shimizu grabbed the highest number of wins with eight while losing six of his 26 starts. The bullpen was a bit of a strength, two pitchers posted sub 2.00 ERA, the best being 24-yr-old Orlando Garcia who picked up a team-leading 20 saves and a 2-2 record with an ERA of 1.14 in 39 IP.

22-yr-old Bartolo Garcia was the only regular to hit over .300, he hit .309/.431/.487 and managed 8 homers with 37 RBI. Best power bat was Jose de Jesus who hit 17 balls over the fences and managed a joint-highest hit total of 91 from 101 outings. Juan Gonzalez was the only one to pass 10 stolen bases as he was successful 11 times from 12 attempts.

Short-A: Taku Winds (51-59)

Seven years removed from a post-season appearance, Taku’s 2035 total of 51 wins was the best tally in that period, 22 wins more than the pathetic 2034’s total of 29 wins. June’s record of 20-7 was the cornerstone of the Winds season, the rest of the year was a collection of sub-par months, the worst being a 9-19 effort in August. Close games were 16-16 in one-run games and 5-4 in extras.

It was a fairly poor pitching staff, the best in the rotation was 21-yr-old Jorge Amezaga who had a 9-10 record from 19 starts (25 appearances) with a 5.22 ERA. Ricky Chavez only made 15 starts but posted a 7-5 record with a 4.22 ERA. Dave Briggs posted almost half of the Taku saves, successful in 16 out of 18 attempts with a record though of 3-6 and an ERA of 3.69.

A lot of the batting strength of the Winds was in hitting the ball through the gap with 10 players hitting 10 or more doubles each. 22-yr-old Tetsunori Murakami just finished his fourth year in Taku and finally posted a reasonable WAR total (2.9), he also jointly led the team with 11 homers along with Luis Manuel Gonzales who’s bounced around the lower reaches for four years and finally discovered what his bat’s for. 2035 sixth round draft pick, Andy Shaw, might not have been more than average with his bat but he did steal 19 bases from 24 attempts. 2035 first rounder, 15th overall, Norm Leseburg had a good debut season hitting .294 with 15 doubles in 57 outings; he also showed his good eye walking 24 times while only striking out 20 times.

Rookie: Busan Whales (46-44)

In their six-year history Busan have never made the post season but they had their best season ever in 2035. It was their first ever winning season and fourth was their first finish above sixth in the division. After a 7-2 start in June, the Whales posted three straight months just over .500 to just crept into the winning zone. Went down 12-13 in one-run games but murdered the rest in extras, winning 10 of their 13 games that went to extra innings.

2033 scouting discovery, 18-yr-old Luis Diaz made 17 starts in his debut pro season and posted an 8-4 record with a 3.38 ERA. In 114 innings pitched he struck out 100 batters and finished the year in Taku where he pitched six games out of the bullpen. He only pitched eight innings in Short Season ball and finished with a 1-0 record, his control wasn’t that good there though with a 7/16 K/BB ratio. Another 2033 scouting discovery, 19-yr-old Carlo Sadaba, in his third year in Busan posted a 4-3 record with a 3.66 ERA including pitching a complete game shutout.

Hector Ramirez, a 2035 IFA signing from the Dominican Republic, led the team in batting average in his debut season hitting .323/.417/.504. He also had 21 doubles, eight homers and 48 RBI bumping his WAR up to 2.6, his poor defence though might see him ticketed for another season in Busan although the earlier start of the Surf & Snow Amalgamation will provide him with a chance to stake his claim for promotion. 19-yr-old catcher Jorge Zamont, a 2031 scouting discovery, completed his fourth year in Busan by hitting 15 homers, leading the team. His defence is finally improving – a +3.5 ZR, only two passed balls and he threw out 40% of would-be base stealers

[Nigel]

Heading into 2036

San Antonio, Friday 29th December 2035


Preparations for my second season in San Antonio are slowly ramping up. The unwanted, out of contract guys have left and the first piece of the ’36 puzzle has arrived. Now it’s time to figure out what other improvements (?!?) we can make.

We have money, quite a bit of money, to pay the free agent game, but not for a team at our level. We have holes everywhere and at every level. Our money won’t sort them all and the free agents aren’t there to fit into the holes. In 2037 we’ll have over $45 million extra to lay out, so best we wait till then and cross fingers that the class of 37 is more of a help to us. In the meantime, we’ll nibble around the fringes and see if we can add a few more pieces.

We have vacancies for a catcher, a second baseman, a third baseman and a right fielder for definite, we have identified a few possible additions that might fill those roles, now it’s a case of sitting around the FA dance and waiting to see whose seat they sit on when the music stops. Our farm system is pathetic and won’t do a lot to help us, but we have spotted a few who can perhaps at least mark time with the Calzones. Bartolo Mojica, barring an absolute disastrous spring, will make his PEBA debut in ’36 and that will send our farm system ranking crashing to absolutely rock bottom. We’ll have no-one out on the farm then that ranks anywhere on the Top-100, and there’s a strong possibility that our next best, 174th ranked Jesus Lopez, might well have a shot at the bigs too.

Pitching isn’t dreadful, but it’ll take a long while to make major surgery to the staff, Mojica at 21 is young enough to be the face of the rebuild. He’s the one potential star we have, the rest are solid ‘middle of the road’ three-star guys who’ll keep us bouncing along in the middle of the Dixie but won’t set the world on fire if called upon. Our first signing of the off-season is 29-yr-old pitcher Seung-hyeon Han, not a great pick, but someone who can add depth to the rotation, a #5 or #6 starter, or perhaps a swing man. A warm body at least and on a very team friendly 1-year $1.5m contract, he’ll help to tide us over to our 2037 windfall. Then maybe we can add one or two genuine rotation guys to help Mojica out.

[Nigel]

2036 Financial Notes

San Antonio: Saturday, Jan 5th, 2036



As Calzones move into their 30th year it might be prudent to assess their financial state. To be honest the financial viability of the franchise hasn’t been upmost in San Antonio’s mind since they joined the PEBA in 2007, in 15 out of their 29 seasons the Calzones have lost money. They opened by losing $10 million in both of their two opening seasons and their best ever run is five season’s worth of profits between 2017 & 2021; more recently they have just come off a four-year streak of financial losses with a payroll each year of $130-150 million.

In 2035 GM Laverick introduced a new prudent financial model and made a profit of nearly $10 million. The payroll had been reduced to $90 million and noises out of the Front Office say that that will be the new normal. A quote was “while the Owner and Board of Directors have given permission for the payroll to be as high as $175 million, the GM & Front Office fell that we don’t have the capability of sustaining that level of investment at this moment in time”. The total number of fans through the turnstiles last year was the second lowest total since 2013, but the feeling around the organisation is that with continued, considered, financial constraint that could prove to be a low-water mark and the final years of the decade could see Calzones’ star a-rising at least in financial terms.

The fans showed a stronger loyalty for the team in 2035 despite the poor attendances, the buzz around the team was there and it’s up to us to harness that going forward. A 35-cent rise in the ticket price per game has seemingly not deterred the fans, almost 7,000 season tickets have been sold so far and it is predicted that the final tally of season ticket holders will be around 15-20% up on last years total of 14,413 with the revenue per game expected to rise to just over $1,000,000. Continued payroll restraint and near $45 million to come off the payroll at the end of 2036 should see a new look San Antonio side take the field in 2037.

To build further on this the franchise has told fans to watch not only for new initiatives to encourage them to attend Elyslan Fields but for significant news concerning the stadium that has been Calzones’ home throughout their 29 years in the PEBA. Its capacity has been 43,000 as long as anyone can remember and to be fair that capacity has only been threatened in four years when the average attendance rose over 40,000; the most recent being 2032 when the average attendance was nearly 42,300. The stadium is also a bit decrepit now and the rumour is that an army of extra staff have been hired to smarten up the old ground.

[Nigel]

* * * Incoming Trade Alert * * *

San Antonio: February, 2036



Not so much a trade as a collecting a supermarket 3 for 1 offer. Poor Bill Jones signed a six-year contract extension worth $25.8 m with Havana in 2033 and has been on the move ever since. The 32-year-old first baseman was on his way to Niihama-Shi at the end of year, before heading out to Hartford at the end of ’34. He played his obligatory season there before packing his bags once more, destination Shin-Seiki this go round. They never even gave him time to unpack before adding another trade to his bio.

This is where we come in, the Calzones will be picking up the tab of his $4.4m/year contract until 2039 (always assuming he’s not completely dumb and does pick up his ’39 player opt.). He’s not really our type of player, his glove at first is certainly lacking which we’re not a fan of, but while current incumbent Juan Bonilla can field with All-Star ability, his batting is sliding away. Apart from a poor year in Niihama-Shi, Jones appears to at least still be reaching replacement level with the lumber. We were still quite some ways from accommodating Jones though, his salary was definitely north of what we wanted to pay for what was basically a guy ripe for replacement by an upcoming minimum salary hopeful. There was a window there though for a sweetener deal as we were looking forward to a $45m reduction of payroll commitment at the end of 2036.

The two offered sweeteners hit the spot, although young Manny Moreno was pitched as a shortstop upgrade it was his ability at third that sold him to me. We had been chasing a third baseman all off season, most had been too expensive this time round, but the one FA we had settled on was spending the winter break rubbing his chin saying, “I like you; I prefer you, but . . .”. Moreno looks to be much the same level of player at around $2.5m cheaper, maybe a tick below our FA with the bat, but a good deal superior with the glove and the added bonus of being a good in-game defensive sub at SS if needed. Tsumemasa Toyota at 26 is not really a development player but he’ll be added to the mix chasing a first base spot in spring training, younger that Bonilla, almost as good a fielder and with more upside to his bat.

Without that $45m to come off I don’t think the deal would have been possible, but that payroll leeway makes it a chance worth taking. The increased fan interest around the team and the rising season ticket plan sales will take up the slack this year and we’ll save $3m by withdrawing our 1-year offer to our free agent 3B. Talking of Season tickets, we have now sold only about 4,500 less than last year and by Opening Day that is still predicted to be around 30% up on 2035. Jones’ $4.4m will eat into our projected 2036 profit of around $20-25m, but an acceptable hit in what is essentially a gap year for the Calzones.

[Nigel]

Six from Five

San Antonio: February 5th, 2036

For the second year running the Calzones have gone big at the Rule 5 draft, this year we selected six players, but don’t have high hopes from them. Out of last year’s eight draftees only two are still currently on the 40-man roster, three have passed through waivers to head to our minors and the other three have been released.

Of the three released San Antonio have actually selected one of them again, pitcher Mito Okuda, he was picked 46th overall in 2035 and released before the regular season started. A 16-1 record during 2035 with a 2.25 ERA in Triple-A has persuaded Calzones to take yet another look. While 2035’s crop was all about desperately trying to fill slots, this year’s draft is more about adding depth. All six will be competing with minor leaguers already in our system for backup/depth roles this year and to that end the expectations aren’t that high. They probably won’t be tussling so much with ‘out of options’ guys, a lot of them have departed, but 40-man roster spots are at a premium and they will have to do a lot to convince us that they’re worth one.

25-yr-old third baseman Guillermo Benitez will probably find himself pushed down the pecking order by the arrival of Manny Moreno, but 25-yr-old Klaus Velthuizen is still right in the mix for a backup role due to his potential to fill in all round the infield. Both will in all probabilities, be relying on a good showing with the bat in spring training to get ahead of their other competitors.

In the outfield 27-yr-old Manuel Mojica, our first round pick in the R5 draft (who claims to be a distant relative of rookie sensation Bartolo) will definitely find his chances of staying on hanging by a thread after the free agent signing of Michael Rutherford who is now the favourite for this year’s RF job. 26-yr-old Miguel Martinez will still have a shot at the 4th/5th outfielder slot, but once again his bat will have to prove he can earn one of those roles.

On the mound 27-yr-old Mito Okuda will get his second straight shot at a pitching role. Picked 46th overall in 2035, we took him at 44th this year. He didn’t survive spring camp last year and only a very good showing in between has earned him a second shot, his chances remain slim though while 26-yr-old reliever Kel Cury relies on his very good stuff and elite curveball to strike ‘em out and keep the ball in the park. Having done it at WIL & Triple-A level he will be competing with a lot of more experienced bullpen arms for the six or seven seats there.

Anything can happen in spring but if you really pushed me only Velthuizen has a decent chance, the other are really kneeling in front of their lockers and praying to the baseball Gods

[Nigel]

Off-Season Movements

San Antonio: February 13th, 2036

As the preparations start to ramp up for Spring Training 2036, we’ll have a quick look at what business we have done in the off season, apart from our already discussed Rule 5 additions. At this moment in time, we have only signed two players to major league deals and have no plans to sign more unless we suddenly find a bargain amongst the unsigned free agents. We do, however, have five players signed to minor league deals which include an option for a major league contract; with no free spaces currently on the 40-man roster that should make spring training interesting with the six Rule 5 players and those with major league optional contracts all battling for a spot. There are also a few newly signed minor leaguers who I believe might well have a shot at making the team, they will get non-roster invites to camp increasing the number chasing the about 5-7 possibly available 40-man slots.

Signed to a major league deal is 29-yr-old Seung-hyeon Han, he has signed a one-year deal for $1.5m as an international free agent from South Korea and will compete for a back of the rotation job. Our other signing was 28-yr-old Michael Rutherford, he has put pen to paper on a three year deal worth $9.25m. Only the first year at $2.8m is guaranteed though with years two & three being option years. Originally a second-round draft pick by Florida in 2028, he lost nine months in 2031 with a torn labrum before being traded to Havana. They non-tendered him at the end of 2035, He made his PEBA debut in 2032 with 117 games for Florida and has made another 420 appearances for Havana. It is believed he will have the inside track on the Calzones’ right field job.

The five players with major league options are 30-yr-old 2B Roland Amery, 29-yr-old Catcher Raul Castillo, 27-yr-old 1B Clyde Stinton, 27-yr-old OF Hikaru Ishii and 26-yr-old pitcher Arnold Adams. Ishii has a good shot at grabbing a 4th/5th outfielder role due to his outstanding defensive skills all across the outfield while Castillo could well be in with a shot of the backup catcher role. Amery has good skills with the glove all round the field and that might get him a bench role, but Stinton & Adams may well have a decision to make as to whether they will accept a role in Triple-A Joplin on a minor league deal.

[Nigel]

Time for the Minors to get some TLC

San Antonio: February 20th, 2036

In the first half of the 2030’s San Antonio had three first round draft picks in the First-Year-Player draft in 2030 and then one in 2032. Apart from that they've only picked one player before the sixth round in the five years leading up to last year. Out of those five picks mentioned only one is still in the San Antonio franchise and he hasn’t got above Double-A. This serious neglect of the Calzones’ farm system has left it so threadbare that you probably wouldn’t even know it was there. Bartolo Mojica will, unless a major disaster happens, be promoted to the PEBA this year and that will plummet the system’s ranking to the very bottom of PEBA farm systems. Mojica currently ranked the #3 overall prospect in the PEBA is the Calzones’ only player ranked in the top-200. Poor drafting, poor management and poor trading (the two 2030 #1 picks traded are now firm PEBA stars), hopefully the franchise starting now from an empty pallet can slowly rebuild the farm system up to the mid-system ranking that Bartolo has given it for the last few years.

With our expected drafting position around the 10-15 mark for at least the next few years, it’ll be hard. A very rough diamond or two will have to be found to get it done. Last year’s first round pick (15th overall) has probably a good shot of making the PEBA in 2-4 years, but the four second & third round picks will have a lot of work to do to ever reach that level. I freely admit I wasn’t really tuned in to the draft last year as I acclimatised to the league again, but there will be no excuses in 2036; I have to find three or four that will start to grow our minors. Drafting 12th in 2036 we are guaranteed a player that the scouts rank either 4.5 – 5 potential but only 10 of that pool of 18 such players are below 20-yrs-old which could be a problem as the players attempt to reach their full potential?

I’ve spent the off season trying to organise the low minors in an age-appropriate way, but the roster sheets are all covered in red downward arrows, nobody predicted to be good. Double-A has a lot of players that probably should be testing themselves in Triple-A in my opinion, but the scouts still cover the paper in red ink. Triple-A is much more a repository of old has-beens & never-will-be’s rather than a finishing school of players eager for their first taste of the PEBA. The potential release of more than 10 players after spring camp might sort the age profile out to some extent, but we’re light years away from making it a contributing farm system.

With Mojica’s impending promotion to the PEBA, it looks like 23-yr-old pitcher Ron Green will force his way to the Calzones’ #1 prospect. A 2034 sixth round draft pick, 174th overall, Green hasn’t had a great time in his two seasons in Taku & Drumright, but his coaches are adamant that he’s improved this off-season and can handle Double-A in 2036. He’s slipped past the former #2 prospect 22-yr-old Jesus Lopez, a 2030 scouting discovery, who is listed as a right outfielder, but in all reality his 4 rating for outfield range will limit any serious participation to the DH role. One of the most exciting prospects though is 19-yr-old CF Hector Ramirez who was signed as an international free agent in 2035 out of Dominican Republic for $1,540,000. Potentially the #3 prospect now, Ramirez showed last year in Rookie ball & Short A that he can already use his bat but may well stay back in Taku as he attempts to improve his fielding.

[Nigel]

Camping out for Spring

San Antonio: Spring training, 2036


The equipment lorries are unloaded, the players have arrived, and everyone is settling in as the PEBA & San Antonio reports for their 30th Spring Training Camp. The entire 40-man roster is here which for the moment includes our six Rule 5 picks; they’ll be looking to break camp still with a 40-man spot but challenging them will be nine non-roster invitees attempting to win a roster spot. Everyone is casting admiring and hating glances at Bartolo Mojica as he walks round camp. The Calzones’ #1 prospect is here to confirm his first major league contract, he is a rival with a golden key to all the hopefuls, he is the future face of the franchise. The first order of business was the annual squad photo of everyone in camp, this year in their brand new 30th anniversary pullovers which are available for sale in the club shop in the ST park, online and in the stadium store in San Antonio

Your 2036 San Antonio Spring Training squad

Virtually the entire projected rotation will get the first week off to gently work in the back fields, the exception being Bartolo Mojica who will begin his quest for a big league contract with a start in the third game. The hitters for the first week have been organised into three completely separate teams and each will get at least one chance to start a game in the first week, the sorry state of Calzones’ catchers is shown by the fact that only two are in camp and they will take turns to start behind the plate.

[Nigel]

Week One review

San Antonio: Spring training, 2036





Results

@ Florida L 1-2
v London W 3-1
v Kentucky W 5-4 (F/13)
@ West Virginia W 5-2
V Arlington L 4-8
@ San Juan L 4-7
V New Orleans L 1-2 (F/10)

Not a bad week, only lost to Florida in the bottom of the ninth, a couple of extra innings game to get more innings into the pitchers ands a fair scattering of runs scored.


Rule 5 Watch

Mito Okuda had seen it all before, having been a Rule 5er in 2035 right here for Calzones, he was confident when he strode to the mound to face Arlington. He looked just what SA ordered as he stopped the first 10 batters in their tracks, but then it sorta fell apart. He shipped a three-run homer in the fourth innings on the back of a single and a wild pitch and eventually took the loss. Lefty Kel Curry made five appearances out of the ‘pen, pitched 3.2 innings and allowed just two hits and a walk. Manuel Mojica turned it on with the bat, going 6-10 but a double was his only EBH. Miguel Martinez only got into three games, went 2-4 with two walks while collecting two RBI. Guillermo Benitez made seven appearances, went 4-10 and only struck out once. Klaus Velthuizen also got on the field seven times, stole a base and went 3-12; he was pretty surehanded at second base, the coaches remarked.

Gold Star

Both Peter Monnington & Toju Samurakami hit two homers in the opening week; Andy Edwards shared the team lead in RBI alongside Samurakami with three. Manuel Santos was the most patient at the plate, working four walks. Izumo Kondo made four appearances out of the bullpen, pitched three innings with one K and nothing else, picking up a win and a save. Kel Cury’s five outings yielded just two hits & a 0.82 WHIP in 3.7 innings.

Tarnished Gold Star

Our #1 prospect, Bartolo Mojica went six innings in his only start and led the team with seven strikeouts; his star was a bit tarnished though by him scattering seven hits around his innings and by coughing up two homers in the top of the sixth. We will have words with manager Pedro Rodriguez about allowing him to go so deep into the game.

The ‘On the way home’ Awards

No-one quite got one of these in the opening week, but several were placed on notice. Sun-taek Sok failed to do anything with his five ABs except strikeout once, new FA signing Michael Rutherford had six plate appearances and didn’t get a hit but did at least pick up a couple of walks and came round to score on one of them. Damien Neighbour started 2035 with a Triple-A no-hitter but this week owned a 21.60 ERA after shipping five hits, four runs in just 1.7 innings pitched

[Nigel]

The End of Spring

San Antonio: Spring training, 2036


It could be said that fortunately we only picked up one injury all spring, but unfortunately it was in the final week, and it was to the PEBA’s #2 prospect who was expected to make the transition to PEBA level within days. Now he will spend the first month of 2036 sat on the IL with a biceps strain. Perhaps one of the biggest surprises is that all six Rule 5 picks broke camp with the team and headed for San Antonio. Mito Okuda was perhaps very close to being released in his second straight year as a R5, but the last-minute injury to Mojica opened up a roster spot which gives him potentially another month to press his claim.

To be honest, despite finishing 12-12 and in their normal mid-table position, the Calzones didn’t have a particularly good spring. Power was very rare and even extra base hits were few and far between, but in the last few games when we were down to just the potential starters it all came together to some extent, and we found EBH easier to come by. We finished spring with a three-game winning streak in which we had 46 hits and twice hit double-figure runs.

Surprisingly too, none of the five players who had major league option contracts stuck with the team. All five have been asked to report to Triple-A Joplin and we hope that they won’t take advantage of their ability now to void their contract with us. They were all very close to sticking with the Calzones and a few may well still get their PEBA callups if things go their way.

The 2036 Opening Day rotation will be

• Dan Stockstill - 2-0, 0.00 ERA in 2 GS & 5 ST appearances
• Seung-hyeon Han – 1-1, 1.40 ERA in 4 ST GS
• Vicente Diaz – 0-0, 2.79 ERA in 1 GS & 6 ST appearances
• Miguel Torres – 1-1, 7.27 ERA in 1 start and 8 ST appearances
• Mito Okuda – 2-1, 3.38 ERA in 2 starts and 8 ST appearances

And after a month Bartolo Mojica will be back to take someone’s place. Tsurayuki Harada pitched 18 innings and collected five saves to grab the Stoppers role this season after splitting 2035 between the rotation and the bullpen.

The catchers were never in doubt we only had two in camp, and they will continue to split the duties between them unless we can snatch an improvement off waivers. First base was a damp squib race too, plenty more 1B’s in camp but no-one stood out. Eventually the highly paid (for the Calzones) Billy Jones and the minor league free agent Clyde Stinton were picked to start 2036 there. Second and third base had many suitors from minor leaguers, Rule 5ers and conditional players, but all were much of a muchness. As the numbers in camp fell then the hitting of Guillermo Benitez and the surehanded defence of Klaus Velthuizen came to the fore and earned the starting roles. Manuel Santos will hope to repeat his successful 2035 at shortstop while Rick Carver and new arrival Manny Moreno wait in the wings, both with decent defence but a poor understanding of what the bat is used for.

Peter Monnington, fresh from a successful year in Triple-A is back patrolling centrefield having previously played 394 times before 2035 for San Antonio. He demonstrated power, speed and defence in spring camp. Masaharu Noguchi, a 2035 Rule 5 pick, will have to settle for an outfield backup role as Manuel Mojica & Miguel Martinez, both 2036 Rule 5 picks, beat him out for starting corner OF roles. Toju Samurakami will once more float around as the 4th/5th OF while Andy Edwards will this season mainly play DH as we have better RF options.

[Nigel]

April 2036

San Antonio: April 28th


Two games away from the end of the first PEBA month of 2036 and it hasn’t been a bed of roses for the Calzones. Languishing in last place in the Dixie, they have won just six games so far. A slight mitigating circumstance is only three games, one series, has been back in San Antonio; they have had to endure a 10-game road trip and a 7-game trip. The good news is that April’s last two games will see them return home to face Charleston and the series will finish on May 1st, the start of 17 games at Elysian Fields during the second month. Not helping though is that seven of those 16 are against the leaders of the Dixie & Trans-Atlantic divisions. Currently we’re bottom of the IL Wild Card race, will May alter that?

It certainly hasn’t been a good month for the pitching staff, robbed of their bright hope, Bartolo Mojica, just a few days before the season started and it’s been a cobbled together rotation ever since. Notional Ace, Dan Stockstill has only gone past the fifth inning twice in his five starts and twice hasn’t managed to get out of the second innings. Mito Okuda has grabbed his chance (after Mojica was injured) with both hands only giving up five runs in three starts, but only pitching three pitches in his latest start before leaving with shoulder inflammation. He will now miss most of May, just as Mojica is supposed to be back within the week. Antony Lee will be recalled from Joplin and Pedro Torres, fresh off waivers after not being claimed, will be tried in the rotation in early May as Seung-Hyeon Han is relegated to swing man duties. A 2-5 record in 1-run games & 1-3 in extras hasn’t helped the wear & tear on the bullpen who have been very disappointing. Tsurayuki Harada won the stopper role out his spring training but gave up five runs in three outings with a 2.62 WHIP; his final act was to cause a bench clearance with New Orleans which cost him a seven-game suspension and ultimately saw him optioned to Joplin. After no-one claimed Dean McNeil on waivers and he refused to report to Joplin, he was recalled to San Antonio and offered the now vacant stopper role. In eight appearances there he has surrendered seven runs and posted a 0.91 WHIP. The first departure of a Rule 5 pick was lefty pitcher Kel Cury, back to Gloucester, in eight outings from the bullpen he had a 0-2 record with an 8.03 ERA.

Leading the way with the team’s batting average is two Rule 5 outfield picks, Miguel Martinez & Manuel Mojica. Both are hitting .317, Martinez has five homers & 17 RBI while Mojica not only has four homers & 11 RBI but also an active 16-game hitting streak, the current PEBA best in 2036. Bill Jones, offloaded by the Evas to save his salary, might have only hit one home so far but his seven doubles is second only to Andy Edwards’ eight. Still a lot of work to be done as the Calzones have already struck out 140 times in just 20 games as well as grounding into 20 double plays, so it’s not all honey in the garden.

A mediocre start down on the farm as well. Triple-A Joplin are 8-12, Double-A Monterey have been the best at 10-10 while A-ball Drumright have just opened up 3-4. #4 prospect Ron Green opened the season with a 1-hit complete game win, but after a bit of a slump is now 2-2 with a 3.80 ERA. Not really much power anywhere in the minors, 19-yr-old CF Hui Ming has four home runs so far; he was a 2032 scouting discovery.