Neat stuff sim thread PEBA 2024 Season 18

[Sandgnats]

It certainly didn't take long for the Caribbean rivalry to start between Havana and San Juan

5 innings into their opening day match-up, they cause a bench-clearing brawl.

Puerto Rico Tourism must be loving that .. haha

I love this!

[Leones]

It certainly didn't take long for the Caribbean rivalry to start between Havana and San Juan

5 innings into their opening day match-up, they cause a bench-clearing brawl.

Puerto Rico Tourism must be loving that .. haha

We really don't like those guys.

[Zephyrs]

Not a horrible start for the Zephyrs (3-4). The funny thing is in the "box score write-up" they say that rookie Roy Meeks was single-handedly responsible for all 3 wins.

Win 1: "It could have been a different outcome had it not been for Roy Meeks. Meeks contributed a run scoring triple in the bottom of the 1st."

Win 2: "It could have been a different outcome had it not been for Roy Meeks. Meeks contributed a run scoring walk in the bottom of the 6th."

Win 3: "Roy Meeks was the walk off hero for Reno. With the game tied in the bottom of the 9th, the Zephyrs centerfielder hit a dramatic run scoring single to send the teams home."

[Borealis]

Not a horrible start for the Zephyrs (3-4). The funny thing is in the "box score write-up" they say that rookie Roy Meeks was single-handedly responsible for all 3 wins.

Win 1: "It could have been a different outcome had it not been for Roy Meeks. Meeks contributed a run scoring triple in the bottom of the 1st."

Win 2: "It could have been a different outcome had it not been for Roy Meeks. Meeks contributed a run scoring walk in the bottom of the 6th."

Win 3: "Roy Meeks was the walk off hero for Reno. With the game tied in the bottom of the 9th, the Zephyrs centerfielder hit a dramatic run scoring single to send the teams home."

I don't know - sounds like a Meeks start to the season for Reno...

[Sandgnats]

Not a horrible start for the Zephyrs (3-4). The funny thing is in the "box score write-up" they say that rookie Roy Meeks was single-handedly responsible for all 3 wins.

Win 1: "It could have been a different outcome had it not been for Roy Meeks. Meeks contributed a run scoring triple in the bottom of the 1st."

Win 2: "It could have been a different outcome had it not been for Roy Meeks. Meeks contributed a run scoring walk in the bottom of the 6th."

Win 3: "Roy Meeks was the walk off hero for Reno. With the game tied in the bottom of the 9th, the Zephyrs centerfielder hit a dramatic run scoring single to send the teams home."

Sounds like your MVP for week one.

[Borealis]

Week 1 has to be a Very Neat one for the Borealis as any 6-1 week qualifies for Neat:

- River Pope, who started his SL Batting Crown defense in 2023 by coming out of the gate slooooowly, starts 2024 with a 13-27 week and 9 runs scored - how he doesn't get player of the week is news to us...
- Then again, Mike Britt: 8-23, 2 HR, 10 RBI for 'Big Whiskey'...
- Provost: 2 GS, 2 W, 12.2 IP, 11 K, no runs allowed... Still refusing to talk extension (thankyouverymuchv.17...)
- To squeeze in a Not So Neat: 'Tugboat' lasted 2.1 innings in start #2, but fortunately the sore back that had him leave will have far more than the 1-day needed to recover as Aurora moves into one of it's 4-off day swings...
- 'Javelin' begins the year at closer and with three near perfect innings (1 BB) he has 3 saves... Bryant Burris has 4.1 IP and an L tacked to his record because of an unearned run in the 4th IP in an extra inning affair - why he was still in at that point (with arms still in the 'pen) is beyond our pay grade...
- Catchers: Rusty Butler got the starting nod, but a 4-19 week looks shaky compared to Luis Villanueva's 3-8... We may see a shift in that position... Whereas down at AAA Thornton, expected next in line Manny Castro was 7-30, while Domingo Gutierrez was 10-27 (at DH)...
- Not So Neat: 'Sawmill' went 4 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 BB... We knew bringing him back for a final season was a gamble - and maybe he'll improve; it's only one start - though if we had known ahead that the Contraction Draft was on the horizon, we may have looked at him differently. That said, we needed someone to fill the 'Gunner Void'...

Contraction Chronicles
- The aforementioned Gutierrez (#2 from Niihama-shi) has started well for Thornton, and will get plenty of time at catcher as he and Castro split C/DH duties (assuming OOTP cooperates) (smells like the old Keller-Vinson dilemma).
- Edgardo Diaz (#1 from Tempe) went 6.1 IP and gave up 5 H and 1 run (HR), striking out 6 and walking 1. A positive start to his Aurora tenure

What's On Tap
4 days off before the Home Opener v. Reno and the Meeks Brigade. With these long stretches of off days, it's of course, tempting to reset rotations, but the thought of excessively long inactive stretches for back-end guys makes that seem counter-productive. Either way, guys get too much time off - which hopefully won't lead to injuries... That said, with #3-4-5 going against Reno, both Provost and 'Tugboat' are in line to face Crystal Lake in the following home series...

[Sandgnats]

Mike:

My #5 (Nitro), #1(The Mayor) and #2 (Alfredo) are set to match up in our opening series (week 3). Glad that Robles won't be starting

RJ

[Borealis]

Mike:

My #5 (Nitro), #1(The Mayor) and #2 (Alfredo) are set to match up in our opening series (week 3). Glad that Robles won't be starting

RJ

'Sawmill' is the tentative game 3 starter - though a bad outing v. Reno may put 'Massacre' in that spot...

[Zephyrs]

In case you weren't paying attention to the INTERSCHOLASTIC FEDERATION, 17 year old Nick 'Six Pack' Shaw struck out 19 batters in 8.2 innings. The box score says he threw 149 pitches so I guess his manager had a strict 150 pitch count limit and pulled him for the last batter of the game.

[Reg]

In case you weren't paying attention to the INTERSCHOLASTIC FEDERATION, 17 year old Nick 'Six Pack' Shaw struck out 19 batters in 8.2 innings. The box score says he threw 149 pitches so I guess his manager had a strict 150 pitch count limit and pulled him for the last batter of the game.

55 K's in 26 innings!!!

[Borealis]

The four off-days didn't seem to hurt the Borealis as they took the Zephyrs to task - Neat, though losing SS Nick Giles for 5-6 weeks with 'shoulder stiffness' is definitely Not So Neat, especially with him hitting .292 thus far...

- The series 'Monster Award' has to go to Paul Carlisle: 6-11, 5 R, 3 HR, 11 RBI - his 2 HR in game 1 v. Reno, along with Hale and Britt brought the Borealis out of the 5-0 hole 'Sawmill' put the team in, with a 6-run 7th inning turning a 5-4 game into what would end up a 12-5 Borealis win...
- Speaking of 'Sawmill' - 3.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 91 pitches. That's the second straight 5 R, 4 BB start to begin 2024 and with his next start lined up to be game 3 v. Crystal Lake, Aurora is considering turning to 'Massacre' and making it a bullpen game - seeing that Aurora has an off day the following day. It'd potentially be a bullpen game either way, but the problem is...

*** After the off day Aurora plays 27 games in a row!!! Really? Doesn't the Players Union have some stipulation about no more than 21-games in a row?? Thank you Contraction Schedule...



Contraction Chronicles
- Edgardo Diaz won his start with 6 innings of 5 H ball, giving up 3 R (3 solo runs), including a HR, his second of the year. The HR's may get a bit disturbing, as last year he gave up only 10 - pitching in Tempe's quixotic park, in 124 IP. He's on pace to double that, but if he keeps the WHIP down (0.97 for now - his career WHIP in Tempe was 1.39, though 1.15 in 2023), he'll hopefully minimize the damage.
- Domingo Gutierrez is hitting .302, with a pair of homers and 12 RBI

What's On Tap
The three with the 'Gnats followed by 3 with Duluth to begin the Stretch From Hell, which thankfully involves no travel to Japan, includes series with Crystal Lake, Shin Seiki, Codgers, Toyama, Bakersfield and Fargo, but oddly involves only 2 road series - at Palm Springs in the middle and at Crystal Lake to finish the stretch out - Man... those road games are gonna catch up to us somewhere down the line - at the end of May and into June when we have a 28 game stretch that has only 2 home series and three separate trips to Japan (it's a good thing we suspend reality here...)...

[Leones]

... - at the end of May and into June when we have a 28 game stretch that has only 2 home series and three separate trips to Japan (it's a good thing we suspend reality here...)...

We are fortunate indeed that PEBA has perfected team teleportation technology. (PEBA TCube©)

[DanD]

I'm having horrible flashbacks to last season - the 'Crats have already lost six games by one run (out of their 9 losses). However, the offense is definitely to blame for this last week. It's actually kind of impressive they only lost by one run three times this week considering team OPS was .485 - the pitching was doing it's job to keep the games close at least.

And I guess that's the bright spot. I dumped a TON of money into the pitching staff this off season so it's nice to see the new additions doing their job. Fred Benjamin and Motoyuki Hatsutori have pretty much shut down opponents line-ups and I don't think Larry 'Hulk' Taylor has allowed a base runner through 5 appearances (though I'm sure I just jinxed it).

I'm hoping some BABIP luck will reverse and the line-up will start scoring again. Six (yes SIX) of Arlington's starters are under the Mendoza line after two weeks - there's no way that continues and there's no reason to panic yet. Right? Right???

In case you weren't paying attention to the INTERSCHOLASTIC FEDERATION, 17 year old Nick 'Six Pack' Shaw struck out 19 batters in 8.2 innings. The box score says he threw 149 pitches so I guess his manager had a strict 150 pitch count limit and pulled him for the last batter of the game.

That's gotta be GREAT for his sore forearm

[Borealis]

In case you weren't paying attention to the INTERSCHOLASTIC FEDERATION, 17 year old Nick 'Six Pack' Shaw struck out 19 batters in 8.2 innings. The box score says he threw 149 pitches so I guess his manager had a strict 150 pitch count limit and pulled him for the last batter of the game.

That's gotta be GREAT for his sore forearm

Oh... and in his 5 starts and 26 IP he's allowed 6 hits...

[Zephyrs]

In case you weren't paying attention to the INTERSCHOLASTIC FEDERATION, 17 year old Nick 'Six Pack' Shaw struck out 19 batters in 8.2 innings. The box score says he threw 149 pitches so I guess his manager had a strict 150 pitch count limit and pulled him for the last batter of the game.

That's gotta be GREAT for his sore forearm

Oh... and in his 5 starts and 26 IP he's allowed 6 hits...

And 2 walks.