Talking Trends - Team Blog (short thoughts)

[Reg]

Scott Plack is keeping a running blog of games this spring...
Game 1 – NO vs. SA

NO Loses

Highlights: McCullough shook off the rust and pitched four scoreless innings, allowing one hit, two walks, and striking out five. Trendsetters cobbled together five hits but no runs, and Iwamura saw his first experience as a Trendsetter ruined by a costly error by McMillan.

Game 2 – NO vs. Charleston

NO WINS IN 10

Highlights: Coleman pitched four strong innings, though the bullpen allowed just two runs. Solo homeruns by McMillan and Martin sent the game to extra innings, where in the bottom of the tenth Scott was able to drive in Chase with 2 outs.

Game 3 – NO vs. Kentucky

NO loses

Highlights: Davis had a great outing, Ortiz did not, and hopefully the rest of spring will be kinder to Ortiz. He allowed six hits and four runs in only one inning of work. The Trendsetters were only able to collect 4 hits, two coming from Scott.

Game 4 – NO vs. ARL

NO loses

Highlights: Nicholson had a solid four, and Escalante sent Ortiz back to the mound. I guess he was hoping that if he got back on the horse it would work, but Ortiz was shelled for four hits and two runs in one inning of work. Although it might be worth noting that Vezina gave up the three run homerun, not Ortiz. NO managed to collect two runs on three hits, one being a solo shot by Scott.

Game 5 – NO vs. MAN

NO wins

Highlights: New Orleans bats came to life, and they picked up eleven hits. Pinto pitched well in his Trendsetter debut, and Phelps picked up his first save in spring training. Scott contributed with a solo shot. Ken Chase, who was not expected to contribute in this way, added his own solo shot.

Game 6 – NO vs. WV

NO loses
Highlights: Olivas made his first appearance as a Trendsetter and did not pitch too poorly, though he did surrender a two run shot. The bullpen faltered with Sanu and Hernandez allowing five runs. For the first time as a Trendsetter there was a Conard sighting as he belted a two run shot in the sixth.

Game 7 – NO vs. GLOU

NO wins

Highlights: Cline and James hit solo shots and Little cranks a grand slam as the Trendsetters run away with this one. Iwamura was strong in relief after another great outing by McCullough.

Game 8 – NO vs. CON

NO wins

Highlights: Little goes yard for the second straight game, and Deschamps doubles in a couple. Coleman, Montgomery, and Otero combined to allow only three hits and one unearned run.

Game 9 – NO vs. FLA

NO loses

Highlights: Trendsetters were unable to drive in runners in scoring position and Davis allowed two runs early that made the difference. Montgomery had another strong outing, striking out 4 and bringing his strikeout total for the spring to 12 in just over 9 innings of work.

Game 10 – NO vs. NJ

NO loses

Highlights: The Trendsetter bats are definitely streaky this spring, as they are held scoreless once again. Ortiz pitched a strong two innings which speaks well after an almost disastrous couple of outings. The same cannot be said for Sanu whose era keeps rising and chances of staying in New Orleans keep dropping.

[Reg]

Anybody notice the family resemblance between Short Season A Mighty Moose Antonio Toro to new Borealis manager Juan Toro...rumor out of Mexico is that Juan had plenty of "oppurtunities" and now that he has a big pay check...he might be getting a call from Antonio, who is making peanuts in the minor leagues....

posted by saio

I am currently foaming at the mouth for PEBA real season action, Conard finally came alive over the last five games, and it bodes well for a great start to the season...10 for 20 and three homeruns...very, very nice...

posted by trendsettersrule

Little seems to be a clubhouse distraction, rumor is that instead of going with the flow about a few practical jokes (canes, walkers, adult diapers, and geritol being placed in his locker), he reportedly had words with locker room joker SP Chris Nicholson..and the lastest news out of the front office is despite New Orleans plan to use him extensively as a starter in LF he is unhappy and can't wait to get out of town...Let's hope, his temper tantrums will be offset by his on the field production...if not Little will find himself sitting in the Kato bench seat, and McMillian will be taking his place....

posted by trendinsider

Sanu pitched his way out of playing in the bigs, and Olivas pitched his way in. Most people thought the move to get Olivas was a bit insane even if it was only for a 10th rounder, but Olivas showed he could pitch in relief with some consistency and should provide some great long relief. Here's hoping that Olivas, Pinto, and Iwamura shake off any bad karma they might have picked up in Kentucky and can excel for the Trendsetters!!!

posted by Kentuckyhater00089

[John]

Anybody notice the family resemblance between Short Season A Mighty Moose Antonio Toro to new Borealis manager Juan Toro...rumor out of Mexico is that Juan had plenty of "oppurtunities" and now that he has a big pay check...he might be getting a call from Antonio, who is making peanuts in the minor leagues....

posted by saio

Dear Mr. "saio",

li·bel (lbl), n.

1. A false publication, as in writing, print, signs, or pictures, that damages a person's reputation.
2. The act of presenting such material to the public.

We'll be in touch.

Sincerely,
Juan Toro's laywers

[Reg]

Anybody notice the family resemblance between Short Season A Mighty Moose Antonio Toro to new Borealis manager Juan Toro...rumor out of Mexico is that Juan had plenty of "oppurtunities" and now that he has a big pay check...he might be getting a call from Antonio, who is making peanuts in the minor leagues....

posted by saio

Dear Mr. "saio",

li·bel (lbl), n.

1. A false publication, as in writing, print, signs, or pictures, that damages a person's reputation.
2. The act of presenting such material to the public.

We'll be in touch.

Sincerely,
Juan Toro's laywers

wondering if Mr. Toro would submit to a DNA test????

posted by saio

[Duane]

Is that an option in OOTP 9???

[Reg]

I guess now we know that Conard's nickname "Sourface" is not endearing....

posted by trnsttrfn

Anybody else think that a two year old child could do a better job than Escalante? McMillian has played in four games and knocked in seven runs...shouldn't he get an immediate increase in playing time? Seriously. Escalante is skating on thin ice in my book!!

posted by nohomie

It's good to see Hansen is off to another great start this year. I know I have been, like a lot of other haters around the league, waiting for the other shoe to drop, but so far this good guy from the Bayou has been able to defy the doubters! Kudos to him!

posted by wshys

[Reg]

Is Plack blind or just dumb? How could he talk about the Trendsetter success without including workhorse Joaquin Hernandez. He has pitched in the most games, compiling 25.1 innings, with an ERA of 1.42, a whip of .87, an opponents batting average of .154, and notching 26 Ks. Not mention being able to record 3 victories so far. Plack get you head in the game!!!!

posted by trndsttrfn

I have to admit my favorite sight at the ball park this year have been the protest signs ...don't be a fool...be kind to the cool---er...in reference to Conards main object of catharsis.

posted by crzytrendie

[Reg]

Anybody else see the writing on the wall for Augusto? Dude is not exactly impressing with his numbers and talk is he is still asking for a moderate sized contract? Plus, anybody rember Edwards and the fact they just let him walk last year?

posted by sjaoiuw

Bout time that Escalante got the boot...not sure why they hung on to him for this long. Good riddance I say!!!

posted by sdw

[Reg]

well we barely scraped by going 8 - 6 without Conard in the lineup...sure will be glad to see him anchoring the offense once again...the dude took off three weeks and Cline is still 2 RBI's behind for the team lead....

posted by trndsttrfn

[Reg]

Breaking News

7/6/2008 – The Trendsetters are rolling up their sleeves and are bracing for the marathon run towards the playoffs which makes up the second half of the season. DH Ernest Conard returns from a minor injury to his knee, and Tanner has been busy acquiring a couple of new arms to outfit the bullpen.

The most notable is MR Carlos Antonio, who recently recorded the save in the wild inter league competition known as the All-star game. Antonio was acquired via a trade that sent 1B John Greene, MR Imamura, and AAA 3B Ruben Leal, and New Orleans 6th round draft pick to Canton. Antonio has been superb this year appearing in 28 games with a miniscule 2.02 era. Now observers understand why Trendsetter All-stars Conan McCullough and Jeff Cline made it a point to talk with and get to know Antonio during the festivities.

The lesser known acquisition is MR Rodney McLeod. McLeod most recently pitched in the ABSF for Zappopan. McLeod was selected to pitch in the ABSF All-star game. Last season McLeod pitched for the Duluth Warriors, though his performance was not overly impressive.

_____________________________________________________

Well lets hope this spells relief for poor McCullough, how can you have an era of 2.25 or less and go 4 and 4. The dude needs offensive and bullpen help!!!

posted by trendsetterfn99

McLeod seems like a bust to me, I mean really touting an ABSF All-star as a good acquistion...what's next acquiring those racing Llamas to start playing?

posted by imacrazee

[Reg]

Upcoming week: Trendsetters brace for next seven games

7/22/08, New Orleans - The Trendsetters coming off of a moderately succesful week winning 5 and losing 3 face an uphill battle in the next set of games. New Orleans will face division rivals Coal Sox for three and then the team which currently sets in second place the Statesmen.

"It's a dogfight," stated Tanner, "And it looks like every year that's just the way its going to be. Our players now thier jobs and have gone about them all year, and next week will be no different. Even if we lose all seven games, we aren't out of the race by any means. The Statesmen and Coal Sox have put together some great teams, and they are gonna play tough, so we will just have to be tougher."

Conard is coming off his worst week of the season, going 1 for 27 over his past eight games. Conard seems to still be searching for his swing after falling injured a few weeks before the All-star game. Cline struggled as well, though not as drastically as Conard. The bright spot of course was Gagne, who recently came over in a trade with the Underground. Gagne was hot, hitting .394, 1 HR, and 5 RBI's, and winning IL Batter of the Week.

Part of the result of that trade was the exit of malcontent Little who took his scowl and bad attitude elsewhere. Bryan McMillan was giving the oppurtunity to take over full time for Little and drove in four runs but still struggled at the plate. Tanner mentioned he would be watching him closely over the next few series to see if a move would need to be made, most likely calling up AAA LF Dave Lewis who is currently on schedule to follow in CF Hansen's footsteps.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

What about McCullough, is he gone, is he staying..who cares about all this other drivel. We need answers man...answers.

posted by trndsttrfn 8792

Little, funny thats how much I will miss that jerk, very little. Good luck to McMillan but the writing is on the wall and unless some trade gets pulled quickly we should be seeing a very dynamic duo of Lewis and Hansen, as they combine to lead the world in most strikeouts by two players in the same outfield.

posted by skptc999

[Reg]

Gagne has silenced all critics of the trade that sent stud prospect SP Rodriguez over for the second half wonder. Gagne is now hitting .343 with 12 bombs in 35 games for the Trendsetters. That's two more homeruns than he had with London over 88 games. This outburst of hitting however is nothing new to Gagne who toiled in Aurora and then shined in the second half for London last year.

Gagne, a native born Canadian, tells people that the reason he played baseball rather than hockey was in the interest of his teeth. Quite simply he wants to keep them. Gagne's favorite baseball memory consists of watching Joe Carter (of the Toronto Blue Jays from the former Major League Baseball, which failed under the weight accusations and evidence of players using substances to enhance their game play) smack the game winning homerun off of Mitch Williams to win the world series. In fact, before every game Gagne must watch two things in order to feel prepared: a clip of that homerun and the tremendously funny movie, Strange Brew. When someone points out that movie actually pokes fun at Canadians, Gagne simply replies, "Take off you hoser, eh."

Gagne's July helped carry the Trendsetters as Conard continued to get back up to speed after coming off of his knee injury. Gagne loves July, after this year Conard may never want to see another one. The Trendsetters continue to hold steady in first place in front of the Coal Sox who have been pretty hot lately. Gagne hopes that this year someone will see him do something amazing in the playoffs, and forever be inspired by that moment. Who knows what the future might bring?

[John]

Promoted to the main page.

As much as I hated getting burned by Gagne's departure last year (and subsequent second half surge), I think it's kind of cool that OOTP models these "second half wonders". You see it in real life as well. With Gagne, it's so ridiculously pronounced that I may just make it a point to target him just before the trade deadline next year.

Between this and the new American Baseball Perspective article, it looks like people are catching on to the reason for MLB's demise (according to PEBA fiction).

[Reg]

a few excerpts from Scott Plack's most recent article in the Bayou Brief:

"It's pressure, pure and simple, straight pressure. Arlington has a great pitching staff, but so do we. Our goal is to strike early and often, Cline has been rolling, and I plan to add to the thunder Friday night," mused Royal Raker canidate Ernest Conard.

The Trendsetters embarrased themselves after bowing out in just three games versus the Statesmen, and closer David Phelps mourned that he never even got the chance to pitch. This series he has and the results have been mixed at best.

....Cline, Conard, and Gagne are having a great series but you can't help but think that John Deschamps is missed as a catalyst in the 2 hole. Rookie Dave Lewis(1 HR 2 RBIs) has played decent, but Deschamps experience and leadership have been missed. Most missed is Deschamps bat which in a sense has been replaced by another little known rookie named Floyd Gates. Gates is there for the glove and little else. As quirky as it seems, he probably won't make the 25 man roster next season, especially with 2B Martinez waiting for his chance to make the jump to the PEBA.

...Tanner has stated that if McCullough is feeling good, he will get the start Friday. "He is an ace, and that's why you have him, to win big games, to put fear into the opponents hearts and to cause the oposing fans to groan in despair with the knowledge of his dominance. We didn't get Conan any runs in his last outing, but the trend seems to point that it won't happen again."

[Reg]

By Scott Plack

10/16/2008 - No one, except maybe some crazy guy who thinks there is a PEBA 2.0 out there, expected New Orleans to take two away games from the New Jersey Hitmen. The Trendsetters had a dogfight on thier hands versus Arlington during the first round and were haunted all season long by the early departure from the playoffs last year. But after getting behind 2 games to 1, the Trendsetters won the final two games of the series and have continued that trend by taking the first two games against New Jersey. Over that strecth the Trendsetters have not failed to score 5 or more runs.

Pitching has been, for the most part, superb, although Davis was roughed up in Game one by NJ to the tune of nine runs. But the bullpen held the total there and a solo shot by Cline in the top of the ninth put the Trendsetters up 10 - 9.

Leading the offensive onslaught throughout the playoffs, Cline is hitting .517/.576/1.069 with 4 HR's and 9 RBI's. The biggest surprise has been Valdez who had a subpar offensive year, but has been tearing the cover off the ball in the playoffs. The front office is still indicating that they have no funds to offer to this soon to be free agent. Honorable mention goes to Desi James who has gotten 4 pinch hit abs, 2 hits, and 3 RBI's.

McCullough will start game 3 of the series, and stores are reporting shortages of brooms throughout the city.