Unga Bunga: A Warriors Blog

[klewis]

I'm predicting some time this season, we will see Cortez at 3B. Shaffer will play 1B. Cruz to DH. Both Watts and Gill to the bench.

[Reg]

I'm predicting some time this season, we will see Cortez at 3B. Shaffer will play 1B. Cruz to DH. Both Watts and Gill to the bench.

Nah Watts is just a slow starter he will turn that ship around, and Gill...how can you argue against the success he has had

[Bill]

Panic at the Doyle
by Olaf Halvorsen, Senior Blogologist
April 27, 2014

So I think it's time to panic if you are a Warriors fan. After a fairly promising 6-3 start to the season, a complete offensive collapse has led to a major slump where the team has dropped 11 of its last 15 games. Duluth finds itself back in fifth place and nearly 10 games behind the streaking Dinos before the end of April. Did I mention the offense has been...well, offensive? The only thing Otis 'Killa' Watts has been killing is rallies with his putrid .125 average and two extra base hits. It also appears that Stan Gill has let the combination of the offseason arbitration dispute and the prospect nipping at his heels affect his play (.194, 0 HR, 4 errors). But they aren't the only issues - the team recently went nine straight scoring three runs or less in each contest. Sure, seven of the games were against Fargo and Crystal Lake. But really, you couldn't string a few hits together in one innings over 7 games??? We also scored seven runs combined in three games against the Tempe Knights.

At least the pitching has been mostly good. Dave Barker has started well (4-1, 2.35 ERA) as has Rich Jones, though Jones seems to pitch just well enough to lose early on. Of course, if we could put more than 3 runs on the board maybe he'd have a couple wins. Ben Thomas leads the SL in saves early on, but has already blown two games and is allowing even more baserunners than usual, averaging over two baserunners per outing. Davis Sutherland has not been very good in his first look in the PEBA, though his bad outings were against three of the top four teams in the SL so we will reserve judgement for a few more starts.

There is a little glimmer of hope on the horizon. Pat Holman is expected back this week from his spring injury, though he is initially expected to play DH to start. Also Sakutaro Ishida is resuming his throwing program and could be back for the home series with Bakersfield in a week and a half. The schedule also has not been very kind as we have had to play all four of the top SL teams thus far. But the team can not afford to fall farther back if they even want to hang around the middle of the pack of the Sovereign League this season.

[Bill]

Make a New Plan, Stan...
by Olaf Halvorsen, Senior Blogologist
April 27, 2014


Apparently Duluth GM Bill McKenzie is reading...

Word is that not only has Stan Gill lost the third base job in Duluth, but he has also been demoted to AAA Madison to work out his batting issues. The 27-year old infielder has hit 24 homers in each of the last two seasons, but his early season struggles have been well documented. Have I mentioned he's hitting .194 with ONE extra base hit in 21 games? Putrid stuff there.

Warrior manager Miguel Angel Flores has said that rookie Josh Shaffer will get an opportunity to play everyday, of course with the hopes that he will man the hot corner for several years to come. Of course, Shaffer is only hitting .255 with an equal number of homers as Gill (that's ZERO, if you're counting at home), so let's not get too excited. But the kid is a stud prospect so I imagine he will be given every chance to succeed.

The team has not addressed the early struggles of Otis Watts, since he is also hitting below the Stan Gill Line, though the team has said that Pat Holman will be eased back into the catching role (Fanslation: Killa', have a seat...).

Hope GM McKenzie keeps reading - I'm a big fan

[klewis]

Tough break for Duluthians and Shaffer. On a more positive note, how about some love for Zoom Zoom? If it weren't for Bakersfield's pitchers... Barker would be getting more attention.

How long can Duluth stay in the playoff hunt? If they stay, will they make a move?

[Bill]

Yeah, we need another injury like we need a hole in our head. None of them have been catastrophic, but we just don't have any depth to plug holes so we end up filling in with below-replacement level players for the most part. Luckily Shaffer's injury is pretty short and we have last year's Rule 5 pick Will George (and his .438 OBP) to fill in.

Barker's numbers speak for themselves. I don't want to jinx him...

I don't think we are a playoff team yet. Our performance against elite teams has not been great. In either case, we barely have enough money to sign our draft picks, so I don't see any moves. I'd have to move Holman or something like that to make something happen.

[Bill]

oops...double post

[Bill]

Ctrl+Alt+Del
by Olaf Halvorsen, Senior Blogologist
June 29, 2014

Right now, the Duluth offense is like a garbage dump in a swamp next to a chicken farm behind an oil refinery on a summer day in Louisiana. Oh yeah...they stink all right. I believe changes are in the works to make the team tag line: Warriors Baseball - It's a Nubber Off the End of the Bat!

All kidding aside, the Warriors lineup has been pretty awful, especially in the middle of this June swoon. Heading into the second half of the season, Duluth has posted a .350 slugging perentage, which of course is dead last in the entire PEBA. There are six teams in the Sovereign League that have an on-base percentage higher than the Warriors slugging right now. Sure, the team ran into some good pitching in June...but not that good.

Clearly, the team misses Ronald Elmore in the middle of the lineup. 'The Bomber' had a nice start to the season with seven homers in April before hurting his shoulder. Unfortunately, the team must endure another month without the all-star slugger. Free agent acquisition Rubén Cruz was brought on to fulfill that role as well and for the most part kept his part of the bargain with 14 homers and 54 RBI. Though even his average dropped about 30 points in June.

Unfortunately, guys like Otis Watts (14 XBH in 277 PA) and Pat Holman (7 XBH in 187 PA) and Josh Shaffer (15 XBH in 190 PA) are NOT holding up their end of the bargain at all. And of course, we needn't even mention the homerless $3 Million Dollar Man.

So where does the Warriors offense go from here? I'm hoping it doesn't come to this, but the offense may need retooling in the offseason. Rumors around the league are that GM Bill McKenzie may think that 'a complete reboot' is in order, to the extent that even the fan favorite Holman may be available on the open market. A Warriors team without Holman or Miguel Cortéz in the lineup is almost unfathomable. But in many ways, so is a Warriors team that makes the playoffs. So maybe that is the point - do the Warriors need to reboot to become a playoff team, even if that means parting ways with Holman and Cortéz?

Of course, this season appears to be a success in many ways. Thanks to a re-energized fan base, Doyle Buhl Stadium has already drawn over 1.2 million fans and we are still in June. That was a whole season's worth a couple years ago. Also, the team is flirting with its first winning record EVER! Let's not lose sight of the little victories in the main war. But if Holman can bring three offensive pieces, maybe the ends will justify the means.

[John]

• I think the point was nailed when the historical big picture was mentioned. If Duluth finished .500 or better for the first time in their history, that will be an enormous win for the franchise. Forget about the playoffs... playing .500 ball comes first.
• Priority #1 is learning to become a winning ball club. Priority #2 is getting fans into the stands. The Warriors are succeeding on both fronts, which makes sense; the two go hand in hand. 2014 may very well be looked back on as the "bridge year" where Duluth crossed over from perennial losers to legitimate contenders.
• I should have mentioned this before... I really dig the green hyperlinks.

[Bill]

• I should have mentioned this before... I really dig the green hyperlinks.

Yeah, the normal ones show up as bland blue and don't stand out at all on my browers (maybe that's true for everyone else too).

To the point about bridge year - yeah that could be true. But I think in general we lack the offense to compete with better clubs. I often feel we waste good pitching efforts.

[Lions]

There are 4 teams who've never had a .500 record, and two of them have a shot at it this year.

[Bill]

The Dog Days of Summer - Unga Bunga Style
By Olaf Halvorsen, Senior Blogologist
August 16, 2014

There really isn't much new to write about hardball here in Duluth. The pitching has settled in at somewhat above average, the hitting at somewhere below average and hamstrung by injuries, and the team's record somewhere around average. And as such, this becomes the dog days of baseball writing as much as the dog days of summer, so I'll just treat you to various thoughts, blurbs, and musings.

Deep in the Doghouse
After single handedly blowing a five run lead to Fargo on Thursday, Jesús González seems to be firmly entrenched in manager Miguel Angel Flores' doghouse. The free agent pitch was of course brought in to bring a veteran presence to an otherwise green pitching rotation. For the first two months, he provided just that. But unfortunately since then, his ERA has been north of 8.00 and has since lost his position in the rotation. It seems only his price tag has saved his job even this long as GM Bill McKenzie seems determined to get some return on his investment.

Of course, there is the other side of the coin - it's not like there is anyone beating down the door ready to take his place. Matt Howard was given three starts as an audition, but was unable to hold down the fort (I mean...come on..YUMA knocked him around for seven runs for crying out loud!). Norberto Guillén and Tom Carter have pitched well at AAA Madison, but neither has been confused with a budding superstar. Maybe Guillén gets a try in the near future.

Rumors are around the team that Howard is being sent back to AAA after his disappointing efforts, which leaves González back in the rotation...with a VERY short leash.

Keith Combs is a Chicken
Man, how much did we miss the bat of Ronald Elmore this summer? After a sluggish start upon returning from the disabled list, "The Bomber" has once again begun to litter the cheap seats with pitched baseballs. So far in August, he is hitting .327 with 5 homers, 5 doubles, 15 RBI, and 4 stolen bases. Oh...and he had his second three-homer game in as many years.

Elmore touched up Codger starter Oscar Holloway for homers in consecutive innings, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 6-2 lead through five innings. In the seventh inning, Elmore turned a hard bounce off the right field wall into an inside-the-park job for a most improbable third homer in four innings. A single by Juan Zúñiga in the eighth allowed Elmore to bat one last time in the top of the ninth with a chance to make history. His opponent: a young 24-year old named Keith Combs, who apparently wanted nothing to do with the reigning SL home run champ. Ball 1...Ball 2...Ball 3...Ball 4. A walk on four pitches. I'm speechless.

Look Mom...It's the Injury Fairy!
Listen, I'm not going make excuses for the Duluth offense. They have not been very good. Plenty of blame to go around. At the same time, the middle of the order has not been intact all season. As soon as Elmore returned, Rubén Cruz hit the disabled list with a hernia. Now the latest casualty is SS Miguel Cortéz, who was hit on the elbow last week by Roberto Rodriguez. The early report from team doctors is that there is a fracture and Cortéz is expected to miss the remainder of the season. Juan Zúñiga is expected to step in as his replacement at short, though it is doubtful he can replace his leadership role on the team.

[John]

The way Elmore was hitting, I can't fault Combs for not pitching to him. Besides, it's probably Takeru Suzuki's fault for ordering Combs not to pitch to the Bomber!

[Bill]

Milestone Watch
by Olaf Halvorsen, Senior Blogologist
September 1, 2014

As we enter the home stretch of the season, we have several milestones and moments of which to take stock this season.

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner
Earlier today, 3B Josh Shaffer was notified that he had been selected as the Sovereign League Rookie of the Month in August. The 24-year old slugger hit .358 with 4 homers and 17 RBI for the month, with a staggering 18 of his 39 hits going for extra bases. It is very good to see Shaffer begin to live up to the prospect hype as he will likely be counted on as a main cog in the Warrior machine for years to come.

Pitching Wins
The saying goes that "pitching wins championships." Well, we aren't quite at that level yet, but the premise is the same. Duluth has already won 3 more games than last year with a whole month still to go and clearly the improvement in pitching has been the key. The team ERA has dropped nearly a run and a half from last year (5.00 in 2013 v. 3.65 ERA so far this season). Barker, Jones, and Sutherland have been everything one could have hoped for and injury free. The young bullpen has been fabulous (3rd in the SL in ERA). And of course...

Sakutaro Ishida Has Been Outstanding!
He started out very poorly, losing his first two starts before going to the DL with a shoulder strain. Since then, words can not describe out how good he has been. He won SL Pitcher of the Month in May (5-0, 0.55 ERA), allowing only one walk and two runs over 32 innings in five starts. Ishida went 0-3 in June despite a 3.86 ERA as the team played poorly all month, but turned it on in the dog days going 8-1 over 12 starts in July and August.

He now sits with a record of 13-6 heading into September and a 2.52 ERA and has a good chance of eclipsing Alberto Semblano's single season records for wins (14) and ERA (2.90). Adding in his 5 victories from 2013, the Japanese import has 18 career wins in green-and-white. Sadly, this is only four shy of the Duluth record for career victories.

The Semblano for Middleton/Ishida trade with Arlington looks more and more like win-win; the 'Crats got their rings while the Warriors got the best pitcher they have ever seen.

Win, Baby, Win!
As mentioned, the Warriors have 73 victories heading into September. This falls only 5 wins short of the team record of 78 wins set in the inaugural PEBA season of 2007. Duluth is also one of four teams never to finish with a .500 record and barring a complete collapse, they appear set to remove their name from this dubious list. Not to mention the amazing attendance this season - we are at 2.1 million fans and counting. The attendance record, again from 2007, is just over 2.6 million fans. We may not hit that figure, but the turnout has been amazing nonetheless. Give yourselves a big thumbs up!

[Lions]

Win, Baby, Win!
As mentioned, the Warriors have 73 victories heading into September. This falls only 5 wins short of the team record of 78 wins set in the inaugural PEBA season of 2007. Duluth is also one of four teams never to finish with a .500 record and barring a complete collapse, they appear set to remove their name from this dubious list. Not to mention the amazing attendance this season - we are at 2.1 million fans and counting. The attendance record, again from 2007, is just over 2.6 million fans. We may not hit that figure, but the turnout has been amazing nonetheless. Give yourselves a big thumbs up!

Congrats on this! We've also got a franchise record of 78 wins, but aren't nearly as likely to break it as you are. With 67 wins today, we'd need to go 11-15 to tie and 12-14 over the remainder of the year to hit 79 wins. A 14-12 month would get us to .500 for the first time. My guess is you guys will get to .500 this year and we'll fall a game or so short.

All that said, this is a much bigger deal for Duluth than Connecticut, IMO, because the Warriors haven't won more than 70 games since their 78 wins in 2007, and prior to last year it was a high of 64 wins. Warriors on the march!