2031 Lions - Month by Month

[Lions]

April

Team Record: 10-11, .476
- 4th in Trans Atlantic division, 3.5 GB San Juan
- 6th in IL Wild Card, 2.0 GB Havana

The Lions entered 2031 after an extremely busy offseason in which significant changes were made to the major league roster. Three All-Stars were brought in, including SP John Turner, 1B Dave Petersen, and 3B Guillermo Justavo. Pitcher Carl Ford, who was highly rated by the team, was sent to winter ball and came back with a new circle change that would, hopefully, help him develop into a consistently good starting pitcher. All of these moves resulted in a roster that tore through Spring Training and had one of the best records across all of PEBA.

Of course, Spring Training stats don't matter, and a team that finished last year with just 66 wins has a long way to go to start to sniff playoff contention. Once the games began to count, things were surely not going to go as well as they had in March. That proved to be fairly accurate, although in an odd sort of way. The Lions' 10-11 record ultimately showed a team that could hang with most other teams. Unfortunately, most other teams doesn't include the cream of the crop in the IL, and by that, we specifically mean Havana. Amsterdam went 1-6 against their division rivals. 9-5 against everyone else.

The short of it is that the Lions look like they really have improved the team, but it's not clear by how much. Could they compete for a division title? Almost certainly not. Could they hang around in a wild card chase? Possibly, but it's more likely they'll be out of the running for that, too. They will certainly need to perform better against the top teams to even stand a chance of it.

April Record by Opponent:
CST: 3-1
HAV: 1-6
NO: 3-1
SA: 1-2
SCO: 2-1

Top Performers:
3B Guillermo Justavo - After a lackluster spring, Justavo hit very well in April, including 5 home runs and 3 triples. All 3 of those triples came in back-to-back games against the Claymores, which is funny given that he's only once had more than 4 triples in a whole season, and that was just 6. The week he did that earned him IL Player of the Week honors. The last time Amsterdam had a player win that award was C Ryan Lambert, back in 2027.

SP John Turner - Turner carried his hot spring into the regular season. While he went just 1-0 in his 5 April starts, he posted a 1.91 ERA with a 0.92 WHIP.

Strugglebus:
SP's Kelsey Buck and Carl Ford - Combined, Buck and Ford gave up 32 runs in 26 2/3 innings over 7 starts and 1 relief appearance. Buck was demoted to the pen at the end of the month. Ford was actually better in his latter two starts, but left his most recent start with elbow inflammation. He'll be out for all of May. Kyoichi Gato pitched well enough in his outing taking over for Buck, but it would've been hard to do much worse. Mike Ryan will take over for Ford. He was good in the spring and will hope to recreate that in the regular season. It would be hard for either pitcher to do much worse than Buck or Ford, though.

Looking Ahead:
May will see the Lions get some of the better teams from outside of the division. A 4-game series against West Virginia will likely be the most challenging, but they also have 6 games against the suprising Maulers. A 2-game series against Kentucky will follow a 4-game set with the perennially good Featherheads. Not a lot of rest to be found, as 18 of the 29 games this month will be on the road.

[Ghosts]

I'm confident Carl Ford can be an asset, but man, bad start.

[Lions]

May

Team Month Record: 13-16, .448
Team Season Record: 23-27, .460
- 4th in Trans Atlantic division, 9.5 GB Havana
- 6th in IL Wild Card, 6.5 GB San Juan

May was a streaky month for the Lions, with the team having 4 different winning or losing streaks of 4 games or more. The high point came on May 20th, when the team sat at 20-20 on the season. However, a 6 game losing streak, low-lighted by a 4 game sweep at the hands of the Featherheads left the team in a lurch, now struggling to get back to .500. In the meantime, Havana and San Juan have pulled away a bit, and London has established themselves as clearly a better team, too. That's just in the Trans Atlantic division. Elsewhere in the IL, New Orleans, Florida, and Hartford have all played well. Given that .500 was the high point of the team record, being unable to get over that suggests that the true talent of this team is somewhere below there.

Contenders Florida and Hartford both swept the Lions. Given that Havana also destroyed Amsterdam's hopes in April, the team has not performed well against the top teams, West Virginia excepted. The 3-1 series win against the Alleghenies was unexpected and a very nice surprise, but it doesn't appear to be the norm.

Monthly Record by Opponent:
ARL: 2-1
CST: 0-1
FLA: 0-4
HAR: 0-3
KEN:1-1
LON: 2-1
MAN: 3-3
SA: 2-1
WV: 3-1

Top Performers:
1B Dave Petersen - Petersen hit .355 with 3 HR's, 19 RBI and 12 doubles to lead the Amsterdam offense. His power stroke isn't quite playing in Stadium Urbanus, but he's driving the ball into the gaps to make up for it. Currently, he's on pace for 44 double and 25 home runs, which is approximately a flip of what he has last year with Palm Springs.

SP's Mike Ryan and Kyoichi Gato - Last time we highlighted Kelsey Buck and Carl Ford as starters who were pitching about as badly as they could have. Ryan and Gato were inserted into the rotation to replace them, and they've actually posted a lower ERA than any of the team's top 3 starters. Gato went 4-1 in May with a 3.03 ERA and a 19:3 K/BB ratio. Ryan went 3-2 with a 2.63 ERA, highlighted by a no-hitter against Manchester. Ryan's got a .191 BABIP backing him up, so there's a fair amount of "hitting it where they is" involved, but we're not gonna complain about the results. Gato has a more normal BABIP, and has kept the ball in the park without walking anyone. That'll work.

CL Mike Bernard - He didn't have a great April, but Bernard recorded 6 saves without allowing an earned run in May. He did get credited with a loss against Florida thanks to an error.

Strugglebus:
OF José Guillén - Brought in to provide some power against righties, Guillén has yet to get his OPS over .600. He did hit a few home runs, but they're not making up for his average and lack of walks right now.

Looking Ahead:
June sees the Lions take on a bunch of contenders, with series against Kentucky, Florida, Hartford, West Virginia, and Havana. The team will have some weaker opponents in Arlington and Charleston, including 7 games against the latter, and will have to play well against those teams in order to have a decent month.

Injury News:
3B Guillermo Justavo, who's been hitting well, will miss all of June with a sprained ankle. SP Carl Ford will be heading to Eindhoven for a rehab assignment, hopefully returning to PEBA action after finding his form again. Outfielder Donald Mitchell will be rejoining the Lions shortly despite not hitting all that well on his rehab stint.

Barring a trade, replacing Justavo in the infield will be Nikolay Rusanovsky. Bill Jones will move over to play third base with the Russian playing second base while Justavo is out.

[Ghosts]

Interested to see what the Ruskie can do. There were disagreements among the Vails about his prospects.

[Lions]

Interested to see what the Ruskie can do. There were disagreements among the Vails about his prospects.

Yeah, he really hasn't played well this year, but my scout likes his power and he's at the point where he should get another look. He was sent to AAA with the idea that he'd be the first infielder recalled if a need arose, so here he comes.

[Lions]

June

Team Month Record: 15-10, .600
Team Season Record: 38-37, .507
- 4th in Trans Atlantic division, 13.5 GB Havana
- 6th in IL Wild Card, 4.5 GB San Juan

A 5 game winning streak to start June was followed immediately by a 5 game losing streak to get the team back to .500 for the month, but after that the record was pretty good. It's hard to complain about a .600 month. Hartford swept a series and Arlington won 2 out of 3, but the Lions had a winning record against everyone else. That included a 2-1 series win over Havana, who are easily the best team in the Trans Atlantic. The key number is the 4.5 games back of San Juan, which gives reason for hope that a Wild Card slot might be a possibility. Unfortunately, both London and Florida sit in-between, and neither team looks like they're worse than Amsterdam.

It does feel good to be over .500 on the year.

Monthly Record by Opponent:
ARL: 1-2
CST: 5-2
FLA: 2-1
HAR: 0-3
HAV: 2-1
KEN:2-0
MAN: 1-0
WV: 2-1

Top Performers:
SP John Turner - A 4-0 record with a 0.85 ERA over 5 starts earned Turner IL Pitcher of the Month honors for June. He struck out 36 batters in 31 2/3 innings of work, walking just 5. His WHIP of 0.63 means he allowed a base runner only about once every 2 innings. Not shabby at all.

IF Bill Jones - Jones was supposed to playing 2B this year, but with Guillermo Justavo on the DL, he spent most of June at the hot corner. While playing superb defense, Jones hit .340 for the month with 16 RBI and 12 run scored. With a smattering of extra base hits thrown in, he's having a career year. His OPS is over .800, whereas it's never been above .700 for a full season in the past.

SP's Kyoichi Gato and Mike Ryan - This pair of starting pitchers, that the team turned to after others struggled in April, continued to pitch well in June after a hot May. Gato was 4-0 with a 1.85 ERA while Ryan was 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA. Both players started 5 games, threw just over 30 innings, and had a WHIP close to 1.00. The continued strong performance also earned them both 1-year contract extensions.

Strugglebus:
CF Hirohisa Ono - Miguel Yanez was supposed to be the starter with Ono getting regular work to hopefully keep Yanez healthy as much as possible. That plan ended when Yanez sprained his knee on June 1st. Pressed into the regular starting role, Ono demonstrated exactly why the team brought in an oft-injured 37 year old to replace him. Unfortunately, things are working out exactly as predicted. Yanez got hurt, and continued to collect minor injuries while on his rehab stint. Ono is struggling to put up the .530 OPS that he posted in June. If he was a defensive wizard, it might be ok, but that's not really a strong suit for him either.

Looking Ahead:
July is a key month as it's filled with divisional match ups. In particular, the Lions will face San Juan, the team they are chasing for the wild card, 6 times. London is also on the docket for 6 games, and the Lions will need to play will against those two teams if they hope to make up ground and have a shot. In some ways, the fact that it happens in July is convenient, as a large swing in either direction will determine if the team is going to buy or sell at the July 31st trade deadline.

Injury News:
As stated above, CF Miguel Yanez was on the DL most of the month. He'll come off his rehab stint in early July, and will hopefully be a boost to that position.
3B Guillermo Justavo has a little bit left to go before he's back, but he should be in the lineup again by mid July depending on the length of any rehab assignment.
There were no other injuries of note in July, although the outfield corps seems to be dealing with a variety of nicks and scrapes.

[Lions]

July

Team Month Record: 13-15, .464
Team Season Record: 51-52, .495
- 4th in Trans Atlantic division, 18.5 GB Havana
- 6th in IL Wild Card, 7.5 GB San Juan

July was a key month for the Lions as it was full of divisional matchups. Havana continued to run away with the division, but the wild card was still in play. If Amsterdam could do well against London and San Juan, the two division rivals ahead of them in the wild card race, then things could get really interesting as far as a playoff push goes. Unfortunately, things went wrong pretty much from the get go. Havana opened the month by taking 2 of 3. London then did the same and San Juan swept a 3-game series. A 2-7 start against everyone they needed to beat was exactly the opposite of what needed to happen. Even Scotland took 2 of 4 in a 4 game set in the middle of the month. All-in-all, it was pretty much a disaster of a month saved only by a 4-game sweep of Scotland later on.

The silver lining was that the difficulties of the month left Amsterdam in a clear position to sell. First out the door was All-Star infielder Bill Jones. Jones, having a career year at the plate, has always been known for excellent defense and was sent to Aurora for a pair of prospects and 3B Nick Bradley. Bradley isn't much to talk about, but will fill a bench role. It was a bit of an underwhelming return for Jones given his current play, but Jones is in his walk year and wasn't going to get the kind of money he wanted in an extension.

Backup infielder Darren Kean, who'd been playing well, and reliever Jesus Cantu were also sent packing. They went to Shin Seiki and Aurora, respectively. Lando Lagerveld was acquired from Aurora for Cantu, and the team hopes playing close to home will help the Dutchman be more comfortable and live up to his potential.

Interestingly, the trades with Aurora were consummated to help Aurora make a wild card push while Amsterdam was essentially waving the white flag on theirs. This all despite the fact that both teams sat at 7.5 games out of the wild card at the deadline. Where they end up will be interesting to follow. Jones is a big loss for the Lions, but the other moves were essentially treading water and none of the bigger names that were rumored to be discussed, including a variety of starting pitchers, ever amounted to anything concrete.

If you read between the lines a bit, you'll have noted that John Turner and Bill Jones both made the IL All-Star team. 1B Dave Petersen also made the squad, notably earning the fan vote and getting the starting nod.

Monthly Record by Opponent:
HAV: 1-2
LON: 3-4
NO: 1-0
SA: 1-2
SJ: 1-5
SCO: 6-2

Top Performers:
1B Dave Petersen - The team went 13-15 despite a 2.75 ERA for the month, which goes to show how much offense the team lacks. Petersen was not to blame, however. He hit .310 with 6 home runs. He led the team with 16 runs scored and 18 driven in.

SP John Turner - It's easy to look at his 1-3 record and say that he didn't do enough, but Turner led team starters with a 2.41 ERA and had 21 K's compared to 4 BB's. In his 3 losses and 1 no-decision, the offense scored a total of 2 runs. We leave him here despite a lousy showing at the All-Star game, too.

RP Carl Ford - Ford had a terrible April in the rotation, got hurt, rehabbed in AAA, and then came back to the majors to find his rotation slot usurped. Since his return, though, he's yet to allow an earned run. In July he pitched 9 2/3 relief innings while striking out 10 and walking 2. It's not what was envisioned for him, but he's on the right track.

Strugglebus:
DH Dave Yarbrough - Yarbrough was brought in to provide some on-base ability near the top of the lineup, but he hasn't really done that. In July he posed a .246 OBP, which might be acceptable from a catcher or shortstop who's providing defensive value, but not from a DH.

Looking Ahead:
There aren't any games within the division on the books for August. Instead it'll be a roundup of contenders from the Seaboard and Dixie divisions. Most likely series wins will be with Manchester and Arlington. Will Amsterdam be able to win a game against Hartford this year? They've got 3 game sets in August and September and are currently 0-6 against the Harpoon.

Injury News:
CF Miguel Yanez was activated from the DL and promptly released. The team couldn't quite work out the paperwork to get him back to the majors and he was none too pleased about it. There weren't really any other injuries of note.

[Borealis]

Interestingly, the trades with Aurora were consummated to help Aurora make a wild card push while Amsterdam was essentially waving the white flag on theirs. This all despite the fact that both teams sat at 7.5 games out of the wild card at the deadline. Where they end up will be interesting to follow.

I didn't really notice that Amsterdam and Aurora sat in the same spot - and despite the opposing directions the clubs appear to be moving as a result of the trades - both came out of the deadline with sweeps!

[Lions]

August

Team Month Record: 15-14, .517
Team Season Record: 66-66, .500
- 4th in Trans Atlantic division, 18.0 GB Havana
- 6th in IL Wild Card, 8.0 GB New Orleans

The trade deadline left Amsterdam slightly weaker offensively, with a slight nod towards building for the future. It wasn't necessarily waving the white flag on this year, but it wasn't one in which the team was making a push to try to get closer in the race, either. August, then, saw the team continue to play about .500 ball and make no substantive movement in the standings either up or down.

The month started with a sweep of the Trendsetters, one of the wild card teams that the Lions have done surprisingly well against this year. San Antonio, who have had the Lions' number this year, then returned the favor... and that was kind of the story of the month. A good series followed by a bad one, which is pretty much how you end up around .500 on the year.

Monthly Record by Opponent:
ARL: 3-0
FLA: 2-1
HAR: 2-1
KEN: 1-3
MAN: 1-2
NO: 4-3
SA: 0-3
WV: 2-1

Top Performers:
SP Iwao Maruyama - Watching António Santos mash for Shin Seiki still does not sit well with some Amsterdam fans, but in August, Maruyama demonstrated why the team was willing to trade an offensive power like Santos to get him. Maruyama went 5-0 in 6 starts with 2 complete games and a 4-hit shutout of the power Florida lineup. His 0.76 ERA and 0.63 WHIP helped him earn IL Pitcher of the Month honors.

P Carl Ford - Ford's early season troubles are looking like a thing of the distant past. He has gradually worked his way back to more regular appearances, and even got a spot start in place of John Turner, who's been dealing with a strained shoulder. For August, Ford went 1-1 with a 1.69 ERA, allowing 1 earned run in 6 innings during that starting assignment.

3B Guillermo Justavo - There really wasn't any standout performer on the offensive side of the ball. Bernardo Rios posted the highest OPS for the month at .798. This thanks to drawing some walks and hitting over .300. Dave Yarbrough got on base at a .348 clip... much closer to what the team was hoping to get out of him this year. But it was Justavo who provided the power. He hit 8 home runs, recorded 20 RBI, and scored 17 times, all team highs. Of his 23 hits, 15 of them went for extra bases. He added two triples this month to bring his season total to 6, which ties his career high. While his raw numbers look down, his OPS+, which adjusts for his home park, is 149, and that's well above anything he's done in the past.

Strugglebus:
SP Mike Ryan - August was a real struggle for Ryan, who went 0-2 with a 5.81 ERA. He managed just 12 K's while allowing 6 home runs in 31 innings. He did bounce back a bit in his final two starts of the month, allowing just 1 run combined against Florida and Kentucky, so hopefully that will be something to build off of for the remainder of the season.

Looking Ahead:
September looks to be a challenging month for Amsterdam. Only Manchester has a tougher remaining schedule in the IL. The team has series against Kentucky, West Virginia, Florida, San Juan, London, and Hartford, all of whom are above them in the standings. Only a pair of games against Manchester and a series with Scotland that stretches into October remain on the schedule against weaker teams. The season will end with one last series against San Juan, so not much respite there either.

Injury News:
As mentioned above, SP John Turner missed a start due to a strained shoulder. The team will get him back into the rotation in September, but his next start will be pushed back slightly to give him a bit more rest. Yarbrough and Jose Guillen are also suffering from minor injuries, but nothing major is currently going on.

Minor League Playoffs
The Eindhoven Electric (AAA) and Den Bosch Dykes (AA) are both looking at postseason play. This means, of course, that September call-ups will be delayed a bit as Amsterdam's top affiliates continue their seasons. Den Bosch will have the #2 seed in the GNL's Atlantic Alliance, while Eindhoven is a wild card team. Lower down, Utrecht (A) and Fairbanks (SS-A) are both leading their divisions and appear locks to make it.

[Lions]

September/October

Team Month Record: 11-19, .367
Team Season Record: 77-85, .475
- 4th in Trans Atlantic division, 24.0 GB Havana
- 6th in IL Wild Card, 17.0 GB Hartford

What a huge disappointment the last month of the season was. It seems like the Lions simply ran out of steam. Coming into September at an even 66-66 on the season, the team won their first two games of the month against Manchester, but then promptly lost 6 straight to Kentucky and Florida. Hartford and West Virginia each swept 3-game series, and the lowly Claymores swept a 2 game set.

The pitching staff, which was a strength of the club all season long, wasn't terrible. They posted a 3.74 ERA, which was over the season average, but still somewhat respectable. The real problem came on offense. Only 30 home runs over the final 30 games, with a .276 OBP just isn't going to cut it.

Monthly Record by Opponent:
ARL: 3-0
FLA: 1-2
HAR: 0-3
KEN: 0-4
LON: 2-1
MAN: 2-0
SJ: 3-4
SCO: 0-2
WV: 0-3

Top Performers:
SP Bang-xao Niu - Hope for 2032 arrived with Niu, who had a difficult year in AAA but was called up middle of the month anyway. He had a stellar debut against Arlington in 9/16, going 8 shutout innings and allowing just 3 baserunners on a walk and 2 hits. In his 3 starts, he was 2-1 with a 1.89 ERA and 15 K's in 19 innings of work.

RP Ron Wilson - Wilson was hoping for a rotation spot in the spring but didn't earn it. He's pitched reasonably well out of the bullpen, but September was where he really shone. Over 11 appearances and 20 innings, he had 16 K's and a 0.45 ERA. He's due for arbitration in the offseason, and the team will be hoping for a favorable decision, but September gave Wilson a bit of leverage.

IF Antonio Correa - Amsterdam was Correa's third team of 2031. He started the year with San Juan, was claimed off waivers by West Virginia, and then traded to the Lions for cash. He filled in nicely in Amsterdam in a utility role. Over the final month of the season, he hit .306 with 3 home runs, 4 stolen bases, and a .396 OBP.

Strugglebus:
3B Guillermo Justavo - There were plenty of players who struggled in September, but we'll highlight Justavo for his .504 OPS despite hitting 4 home runs. He had a .170 average with a .183 OBP while leading the team in plate appearances.

Looking Ahead:
There's no postseason in store for the Lions, so the next order of business will be to start planning for the offseason. The team doesn't have any significant free agents or arbitration cases to look to, but a handful of small decisions around players like Dave Yarbrough and Lando Lagerveld that will shape what the roster looks like heading into free agency.

Minor League Playoffs
Eindhoven saw their playoff run come to a quick and abrupt end. They lost to Santo Domingo in 5 games and were out.
The Den Bosch Dykes took their first ever Great Northern League title, beating the Seoul Curshers in 6 games.
Utrecht, a wild card team, won a pair of series before losing to Rapid City in the Amber Waves League Championship series.
Fairbanks, who had the top record in the Alaskan League, were defeated by Angoon, a team that won 16 fewer games during the regular season, in their LCS.