Neat Stuff, Post-Sim Thread: 2035, Season 29

[Wind Dancers]

Neat:

My pitching/defense is actually been decent, allowing the 4th least amount of runs in the SL. Rookie SP Alfredo Vargas got beat up in his debut against SS but turned it around this week with a 7.1 inning shutout against Fargo. Sa-yoor 'Milkman' Ch'oe has given up 2 runs in 15 innings so far, new reliever Colin Jameson hasn't given up a run, and closer Scotty Shorland is in peak form with 4 saves and 0 runs allowed in 5.1 innings.

Not so neat:

Everything related to hitting the ball. Newton, Fox, and maybe Harada are at least meeting expectations, everyone else is in free fall. Salinas (.130), Pulsifer (.140), Vasquez (.158), and everyone else are slumping hard to start the season. I guess the only good news is that they are getting the slump out of the way early?

[Borealis]

Checks schedule and see's Toyama May 25 - hoping those slumps bust well before that date...

[Lions]

Alex Bothwell retires on April 19 after injuries continue to wreck him. He was my 2nd round pick in 2020. As a first baseman, this wasn't the kind of pick I typically make but I felt he dropped a bit too far to pass up. When the Shisa were willing to park with young SP Hisashi Kokan, I was more than happy to pay heavily for him. I figured first basemen are easy to get and a top young SP not so much. Kokan was a solid pitcher, but Bothwell's ascension to one of the top offensive forces for a few years really made me feel like that wasn't the best deal in the long run. Sad to see him retire early, and that he couldn't maintain that level longer.

[Nigel]

Calzone’s second four-game winning streak of 2035 helps them over .500 despite the best (sic) efforts of the hitters, eight of whom on the 26-man roster are currently hitting below the Mendoza line.

It’s a 50/50 year so far for the whole franchise with Calzones 11-10, Joplin 10-10 and Monterey 9-11

[Alleghenies]

Well so far I am pretty happy that no one traded for Otani as he has started off batting .347 after 3 weeks. While I am 13-6, I feel that my team is missing something, so expect some kind of major shakeup soon.
Also pretty happy with the start of my FA signing Cheung as a SP, while he might not stay there, he has done a decent job.

Not so good:

Dave Pacheco forgot how to hit batting .119, but I am pretty confident he will increase it back to normal by July.

[Borealis]

Nothing follows a Not So Neat week - that checked in at 3-3, thanks to the likes of a team .244 average on the strong efforts of Montoya (.182), Berry (.176) and 'Matchbox' (.143) - like a Very Neat week that not only scored more than half the runs the team had in the previous three weeks, but included a rare sweep of the Evil Evas in Japan and a 3-1 series win over the Ghosts. Of note:

- When Aurora made the decision to bring Jose Aleman up to compete for, and man short, getting a slugger was not on the list of expectations. Well, Aleman has 5 HR already, including a 2 HR game v. SS, has 7-2B and is 13/13 on SB with his average up to .333 after an 8-19 sim - Uber Neat...

- Pedro de la Cruz was patiently waiting his turn at AAA, and now that he has hs chance, he seems to be making the most of it - a 10-23 week with a pair of homers. The 'kinda' rookie catcher is hitting .310 with 5-2B, a 3B and 4 HR - including an inside the park homer this week - Aurora's second on the season - Very Neat...

- Toss in Claudio Hernandez, who has 6 HR on the year - and a team leading 20 RBI, giving the Borealis 24 HR on the season - tied for... wait for it... 7th!!! in the SL. To call that Neat would be an understatement...

- Also looking More Than Neat is 'Slug', who allowed 6 H with 10 K in 13 IP over the week, allowing just a run (a slo HR), and in 6 GS Brian Clark has 6 QS, 35 K in 40 IP and a PEBA leading 0.68 ERA...

[Nigel]

A neat & not so neat week against the Trans Atlantic. The Calzones swept the Trans Atlantic leading San Juan and then it turned sour as we visited London. I gave them their one PEC championship and the ungrateful side, bottom of the Trans Atlantic, swept San Antonio. We didn't exactly help ourselves, only 12 hits in the 3-game series and we slipped in five errors as well, not surprising then that we were blanked twice.

[Leones]

Not so neat. Being so far down in the division that we're looking straight up the Claymore's kilt.

Neat. Having Amsterdam and Gloucester between us to shield the view.

[Borealis]

The Neat begins with the Borealis, surprisingly, atop the SL 1/5 of the way into the season, built in no small part by sweeps of the rival Bears and Evil Evas. Amongst the Neat - and some Not So:

- Claudio Hernandez. 'Matchbox' struggled some upon arriving on The Front Range last August, though he still managed a .241, 12 HR, and 38 RBI (in 249 AB) - far more than most of the Borealis. Thus far Hernandez is hitting .301 with 8 HR and 24 RBI in just 93 AB - with a WAR of 1.8 - already .3 better than what he posted for Aurora in 2 months. His prize? SL Player of the Month!

- G-Rod, who was off to a rough start was 7-17 on the week, joining Raul Munoz (9-23, 2-2B and 2 HR) and the 'other' Munoz (Tony), who in a week that included some tough pitchers, was 8-26 with 3-2B - Neat!

- Henry Cluett was 2-0 against the Bears and Zephyrs, with a 1.29 ERA after allowing just a single homer amongst 13 H and 11 K (one walk) in 14 IP - giving 'Professor Plum' a 5-1 record (tied for tops in wins in the SL). Neat-O! The 9 HR allowed, tops in PEBA? Not So Neat-O...

- 'Machete' Gutierrez, the fill-in closer, picked up a pair of saves in 6 IP, with 2 H and 8 K (no walks) - including a near perfect 3 IP in Aurora's 16-inning 2-1 win over the Bears - a Desert Hills Classic. 'Hyena' is ready to return to play, and has started a rehab at AAA that may likely last two weeks - what happens then? Excellent question, but a Neat Problem...

[KenH]

Quick Responses right as the sim has uploaded...

Neat
6-0 sims are fun.
3 more shutouts brings our early season tally to 15. If we can somehow keep this blistering pace, we will have the team shutout record before the all-star break.
Gordon Knopp gained a single WAR this sim. I'm hoping the early sputter of injuries has passed and we can get down to business.
George Moss has given up one run in each of his last five starts. That's not bad, except that has ballooned his ERA from zero to 1.05. A travesty.
Bartolo Mora is a funny guy. He must have heard the whispers that he was over the hill and overpayed because he has been dynamite so far in May. Hitting to a tune of a 1.224 OPS on the month, stealing more bases and otherwise just enjoying life. I don't think he liked playing in the field. He likes DH duties. The problem is that means I got 2 DHs which... is fine. I don't care. He can't hit lefties so having a RH bat is important.

Not So Neat
The rest of May is basically all on the road. I don't like long road trips -- much prefer the long homestands, but we will make-do.
Mike Woodward has struggled recently. He came off the block on fire but has severly cooled off to the point of being nary a corpse. Luckily, he's a corpse who can play very good defense, so I'm not crying too much... still though man... get back to hitting! I have a pair of shortstops in AAA and AA that are eyeing your job.
Dave Hull has, unfortunately, become a very middling relief pitcher. There's still time for him to become the dominant arm I wanted him to become but his strikeouts are down and he's giving up dingers. His numbers don't look bad right now, but I see him as a liability currently.

Whats on Tap:
The start of our long road trip starts in Kentucky, then we're back for a three game weekend set vs Charleston. Kentucky's rotation has not settled in yet and has looked much more hittable than in years' past. While we are 9 games up in the Dixie so far, a good series for Kentucky here could put them right back in it. I like Rory Soutar a lot and Bang-xao You is having a resurgent year. Looks like he's back on top.

Around the League:
Old Farstrider farmhand Tom May is having himself a breakout season! Only with 98 days major league service time, the yeoman left-side infielder seems to have found solid footing patroling the friendly confines of Mack Stadium. For an ailing Hartford fanbase, having someone to cheer for is great. The offense for Hartford is actually quite impressive and is top five in runs scored. It's their pitching that needs to find their groove. The question is how much would they want to give up to bolster their rotation and 'pen? The answer is probably not much.

[Alleghenies]

Francisco Lucador is having a funny season. While only batting .174 currently, he leads the league in RBI's and seems to be doing well overall.

Pedro Ferringo still raking it in. batting .342/.387/.427 in 127 PA. Maybe he should have started the last few years for me, oh well.

Dave Pacheco has finally woken up.


Not so neat. I am 13th in hr's again this year (sorry owner). Also my base-running is being taught by Stevie Wonder this season as we rank 11 and have had some really bad outs on the bases (I am looking at you Guzman vs KY).


Neat : I won a game this week with only 2 hits and got 4 runs all earned.

[Arroyos]

Twenty-three year old right hander Michael Farmer, Yuma's first round pick in 2033, spun a dandy no-no against the AAA Red Deer Kings this week. That's pretty damn neat. It's the Yuma organization's first no-hitter since Tomas Espinosa discovered the magic of the spitball during the heavy rains in Kivalina, Alaska in 2012. The sportswriters called it "the wettest no-no in history." Neither Espinosa nor his teammates had a chance to celebrate because moments after the final out the PA announcer reported that the sea wall protecting the tiny town of Kivalina from the rising waters of the Arctic Ocean and Chukchi Sea had finally given way and the town was being flooded.

It was a hell of a story and resulted in the Kivalina stadium being used to house the homeless Kivalinans. And while you may not remember this, or you may have arrived in the PEBAverse more recently, the residents of the tiny village of Kivalina, home to the Yuma minor league team in the Surf and Snow Amalgamation, still live INSIDE the baseball stadium. It was the only structure to survive the rising seas. The original stadium plans called for dormitory-style residences for the Kivalina and visiting teams--since the tiny village of Kivalina (400 residents) had no housing, no hotels, no boarding rooms. After the sea wall was breached and the town flooded, the Yuma organization renovated the stadium, expanding the dormitories, so that the ground floor now includes apartments for all 400 residents. Extra restroom facilities were added and the usual stadium concessions were simplified to provide food for the town folk year round.

The initial expectation was that the partnership of the Yuma Baseball Organization and the town of Kivalina would be temporary, that the federal government would provide a permanent solution for residents of Kivalina. But Washington has ignored the problem and, as a result, Kivalinans have lived full time in the stadium for 2 1/2 decades.

And to think that this whole cooperative venture, this unique partnering of stadium and village, began on the day of the first no-hitter in the Yuma organization! That qualifies as Neat Stuff.

[Badgers]

Alexander Craig managed to get his hitting streak to 22. Unfortunately, the Malts decided to ruin the run by throwing some heat at him all day long. This was a great streak, and Craig looks poised to get another going.

[Dinosaurs]

Dinos had their first winning sim in the last few, only real good news is that the Great Lakes division is still sorting itself out and no one is running away with it yet.

Some neat news is that 3B Antonio Santos, he of the $40 million + a season contract, is back after missing the first few weeks of the season with an injury (strained abdominal muscle), and is drawing walks and hitting homeruns like he was expected to do when he signed as a free agent. He's running a 166 OPS+ in 100 plate appearances. He'll have to keep this up to chase away the fears that he was already in a massive decline phase after only hitting for a 113 OPS+ and 2.1 WAR last season, his first season of his deal.

[Underground]

I am, admittedly, being whiny at this juncture but this game continues to mystify me. We've reached a statistically significant amount of ABs (200) and the guy with 7/9 contact, 7/7 eye, 7/8 avoid K's is batting .190 with only a .244 OBP. He doesn't have low adaptability (and played 30 games for me at the same level last September anyway). Even if my scout is off by a bit, OSA actually has his contact higher and his avoid K's the same, with 6/6 instead of 7/7 eye. It seems impossible for both sources to be so wrong?

By this standard I guess I am inclined to be happy that CLOGGER is at .196/.265 given he sacrifices avoid K's for power comparatively and is brand new to the team. But when you are relatively pleased with someone for hitting below the Mendoza line that is a bad sign.

Overall despite spending big and having by far my best team ever on paper, I find myself about to fall below an expansion team in my own division and playoff relevance is quickly fading even before we hit June. Five regular starters below the Mendoza line and not a single bench player hitting above .119, even when the league adjustments to hitting go in this team will still look pretty anemic compared to the competition.

My next 6 games are all within the Trans Atlantic, so it feels like a bit of a make or break week for the team. Already. Ugh.


On the long-term good news front, I have continued to raise ticket prices with every sim this season and have still been filling the building so at least my financials are going through the roof. Currently at a 25.4% increase in revenue per game!