
Marc Wasserman
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LEAGUE STANDINGS FOR 2011 C.B.A. Dawson WON LOST PCT GB The Skinny 2011 Limoilou LWD 67 36 .650 ---- This team is a major surprise with no stats leaders. Could wrap up title quickly 2011 Belfast BBD 57 46 .553 10.0 Very tough, fighting for wildcard spot. Brawlers get on base .343 Huff and Alexei shine. 2011 Longue Pointe LLD 46 57 .447 21.0 A disappointing season for Concepcion. Starters pitch well, team doesn't respond. 2011 Montreal MCD 32 71 .311 35.0 Looking to 2012, the Crows can spoil and become a ravenous nightmare for Staub. Rogers WON LOST PCT GB The Skinny 2011 Towaco TWR 58 45 .563 ---- Poor July, Swept in Bk16 by Maine, and 2-3 by HB, The Wolfpack have to hold on as Rogers foes move up. 2011 Ohio OOR 56 47 .544 2.0 Rushing fast! The Outlawz were 11 out on June 30th! now 2 back in less than a month. 2011 Maine MER 50 53 .485 8.0 Here's comes the MK Express. .500 the goal, was 14 out June 20, now only 8. A-Gone on a tear. 2011 Kennesaw Mtn KWR 31 72 .301 27.0 Despite some talent, the Braves are struggling and likely done in '11. The crafty vet Blake will ruin conteders chances Carter WON LOST PCT GB The Skinny 2011 San Diego SSC 79 24 .767 ---- Solid and in good shape usage wise. SD could break 120 win CBA record. 2011 High Bridge HHC 56 47 .544 23.0 Miller must fight off Frosts Jackhammers. Closer could become an issue as Uehara has done a fine job to now. Usage a concern. 2011 Joliet JJC 56 47 .544 23.0 This team is moving up into the elite teams with a great July. Pierre and Bourn best SB tandem in CBA? 2011 New Jersey NBC 30 73 .291 49.0 DeJesus, Stanton, and Lowry star. Niemann has pitched far better than 3-11 indicates. Schmidt WON LOST PCT GB The Skinny 2011 Philly PPS 64 39 .621 ---- Hite is pulling all the stops and is starting to break away from the pack. 2011 Ottawa OOS 55 48 .534 9.0 The Otters have slowed down after last months torrid pace. Still an elite team with future HOFers Ortiz, Vladdy, and the under rated Rick3 Weeks. 2011 Stirling SRS 52 51 .505 12.0 What has happened to the RedSox? After Choo and Pena, little power has hurt Nellum in Clemente division. 2011 New Hampshire NWS 26 77 .252 38.0 Great block 16 winning 3 of 4 from contending Otters. Tabata and Wheeler playing well. Brandon League is lights out! Monday WON LOST PCT GB The Skinny 2011 Skokie SWM 63 40 .612 ---- A purely excellent all around team. Great power n pitching. Patterson has been a revelation adding needed speed to the arsenal. 2011 Indiana IRM 60 43 .583 3.0 Fidlers magic is starting to pay dividends. Lewis has settled the staff with 9 decent starts. Now if Kuroda pitches well, Clemente will suffer. , 2011 Bryan KBM 49 54 .476 14.0 After a promising June, the Bashers have slipped back below .500. Power needs to resurge. 2011 Lake County LLM 44 59 .427 19.0 Jones's Leopard's are playing much better ball. Aside from a Carolina sweep, this team had a great July...but so did SWM, BSP, and IRM... Parker WON LOST PCT GB The Skinny 2011 Brooklyn BSP 61 42 .592 ---- Brooklyn is a battling team. Huge offense, not so huge pitching despite a good 4 man rotation. Cabrera, Infante, Braun, Howard, and Doumit are puttin em up in Coors. 2011 Carolina CCP 60 43 .583 1.0 Copperheads swept Bryan, but then dropped 3 of 4 vs Sunville. They must find a way to beat Brooklyn and the SunJewels in 2011. Thome amazing numbers! 2011 Sunville SSP 48 55 .466 13.0 Could we see a resurgent SunJewels in the final third? Bautista is scorching, and Cargo is now on fire. Parker is in trouble. 2011 Cooperstown CIP 36 67 .350 25.0 Winning of late, split 4 with Brooklyn, won vs Wildcats and Stirling. Spoiler! SC Wild Card Standings WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC# 2011 Belfast BBD 57 46 .553 ---- 59 2011 High Bridge HHC 56 47 .544 1.0 2011 Ohio OOR 56 47 .544 1.0 2011 Joliet JJC 56 47 .544 1.0 2011 Maine MER 50 53 .485 7.0 2011 Longue Pointe LLD 46 57 .447 11.0 CC Wild Card Standings WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC# 2011 Indiana IRM 60 43 .583 ---- 60 2011 Carolina CCP 60 43 .583 ---- 2011 Ottawa OOS 55 48 .534 5.0 2011 Stirling SRS 52 51 .505 8.0 2011 Bryan KBM 49 54 .476 11.0 2011 Sunville SSP 48 55 .466 12.0
Press releases by JM Blakely Block 16
Aramis Ramirez is CBA .317 with a card that hit .241. I say this is pretty good considering our league. Let’s hope that Aramis keeps this going and the gods of Strato give him a deserving card. Omar Infante leads the league in hitting. Wow. .347. Adrian Beltre leads the CBA with 129 hits. Ricki Weeks has pounded 23 homers in only 379 at bats! Jose Bautista is a beast. Angel Pagan, the devil, leads the CBA with 20 intentional passes! Mike Koepp has programmed his team to straddle the plate enabling both Andruw Jones and Aaron Rowand to receive 13 bruises each while the Prince of Fielder leads the CBA with 18! Prince has some fat to absorb the shock. Not sure what Andruw Jones and Aaron Rowand are doing. Big Albert is half way to 200 RBIs! 92! Man, please. The man drives in runs as long as a team member reaches first base! Jose Bautista has as many as Phat Albert. How does the Joey Votto card produce fewer homers (13) than Ryan Howard (25)? Juan Pierre and Carl Crawford have 58 and 54 swipes! When those guys are walked, they break out in a sprint to 2B! Next closest is Michael Bourn at 39. Am I reading this correctly….Miguel Cabrera produces 10 runs every 27 outs? (RUNS CREATED/27 OUTS) The slugging and on-base percentages are wild and very close to actual totals. Cabrera, Josh Hamilton and J. Bautista must use boat paddles for bats.
Top three ERA leaders are all
left-handed pitchers as are seven of the top ten….left handed pitchers can’t be
successful in Stratomatic? Who said that,
lol! Randy Wolf is first with a 2.02 ERA
CBA pitchers finish what they
start, especially Zack Greinke and J. Weaver with 10
and 11 complete games. Matt Capps has 25 saves. As for the
younger Weaver, he is at 175 strikeouts. What is the record for strikeouts
recorded by a pitcher in the CBA?
Dan Haren is the “Hammer” of CBA pitchers with….1….homerun.
That’s all for now. Making my pitchers take batting practice……….
LEAGUE STANDINGS FOR 2011 C.B.A.
Dawson WON LOST PCT GB Skinny
2011 Limoilou LWD 47 30 .610 ---- Beating lefties, despite a .228 avg
2011 Belfast BBD 42 35 .545 5.0 Making a challenge. Cahill an ace
2011 Longue Pointe LLD 37 40 .481 10.0 After reaching .500 fell to rising Joliet in series 2.
2011 Montreal MCD 25 52 .325 22.0 Yes... A Hard luck roller in 2011
Rogers WON LOST PCT GB Skinny
2011 Towaco TWR 47 30 .610 ---- Kevin Gibson's magic leads Towaco. Rasmus and Quentin star.
2011 Ohio OOR 38 39 .494 9.0 Chris Young red hot. Hanging around .500, need to have strong 2nd half.
2011 Maine MER 35 42 .455 12.0 Could be on the cusp of CBA oblivion. Adriax hacks 22 HR.
2011 Kennesaw Mtn KWR 26 51 .338 21.0 Wait till next year. Players could be moving.
Carter WON LOST PCT GB Skinny
2011 San Diego SSC 59 18 .766 ---- Perhaps the best balanced team in CBA history? Is SD really that good?
2011 High Bridge HHC 44 33 .571 15.0 Wild card contender, Millers patience paying dividends.
2011 Joliet JJC 40 37 .519 19.0 Jack's team is surging.
2011 New Jersey NBC 22 55 .286 37.0 Stanton and Lowrie stars...
Schmidt WON LOST PCT GB Skinny
2011 Stirling SRS 44 33 .571 ---- This team is fighting with all theyve got.
2011 Philly PPS 44 33 .571 ---- Hite's team is in a dogfight this year.
2011 Ottawa OOS 43 34 .558 1.0 The Otters are a playoff contender. Playing strong ball in tough division.
2011 New Hampshire NWS 19 58 .247 25.0
Monday WON LOST PCT GB Skinny
2011 Skokie SWM 49 28 .636 ---- Skokie is red hot. Wolfman making his move, leaving Indy behind.
2011 Indiana IRM 44 33 .571 5.0 Will struggle keeping up with Skokie, but trades could make difference in long run.
2011 Bryan KBM 39 38 .506 10.0 Struggling block 12, needs to rebound to remain in contention.
2011 Lake County LLM 28 49 .364 21.0 Tough year for Jones, with a team who can beat any team on any given day.
Parker WON LOST PCT GB Skinny
2011 Carolina CCP 46 31 .597 ---- Very strong week beating Sunville and C Town to tie.
2011 Brooklyn BSP 46 31 .597 ---- Struggled a little with pitching, but offense is cookin
2011 Sunville SSP 36 41 .468 10.0 Dropped off after 2 poor weeks. Should rebound.
2011 Cooperstown CIP 24 53 .312 22.0 This team could be a beast in '12
SC Wild Card Standings WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2011 High Bridge HHC 44 33 .571 ---- 84
2011 Belfast BBD 42 35 .545 2.0
2011 Joliet JJC 40 37 .519 4.0
2011 Ohio OOR 38 39 .494 6.0
2011 Longue Pointe LLD 37 40 .481 7.0
2011 Maine MER 35 42 .455 9.0
CC Wild Card Standings WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2011 Carolina CCP 46 31 .597 ---- 86
2011 Brooklyn BSP 46 31 .597 ----
2011 Stirling SRS 44 33 .571 2.0
2011 Philly PPS 44 33 .571 2.0
2011 Indiana IRM 44 33 .571 2.0
2011 Ottawa OOS 43 34 .558 3.0
(AP News release Brooklyn NY....May 16th 13:10....Svooge) Roll what? the Brooklyn cab drivers are snickering. The 2011 season has hardly been a great one to start, but fight? Yeah they have a real fight on their hands with not just the Parker division, but the improved ballclubs all over Clemente. Clemente looks like a dominant conference. Brooklyn bats have responded for the most part with some power and hits in their barely .500 season. Should they think for the playoffs? Should they move towards the future. Many Brooklyn fans think the time is now, with some excellent offensive and defensive players in the midst. The problem has been pitching or lack thereof. Although it has improved somewhat, BSP starters have struggled allowing approximately a half run more than last year a 97 win season. Brooklyn's team ERA is despite and improved defense in the OF, and middle infiled with Markakis, Wells, and Brauin improving their ratings, and Uribe and Vizquel as well. Somehow, the staff isn't shining. Halladay has been disappointing until now +21 Whip, 5-4 4.68 ERA. Edwin Jax a major problem with numbers off the charts 3-4 8.89 ERA. Whats that? Dickey has been sickey 2-3 5.63, and it could be soon that he is used as trade bait in a deal. The fans have started to get agitated. In a game last week, fans took to hurling jars of Tartar sauce at opposing players in a rediculous effort to stir up some team spirit and good play. Said NY cabbie Shetstayne DelPamper "It Is important to make other teams feel like fish out of water". Whatever warped reasoning the fans of Brooklyn and the boroughs have, its clear they won't be having any parades through Prospect Park or down Avenue M if the pitching staff doesn't settle down.
LEAGUE STANDINGS FOR 2011 C.B.A. Block 8 May 15th 2011
Dawson WON LOST PCT GB Skinny
2011 Limoilou LWD 35 16 .686 ---- CBA best pitching. The Little offense that could
2011 Belfast BBD 29 22 .569 6.0 Scrap Iron tough. Huff another MVP type season
2011 Longue Pointe LLD 21 30 .412 14.0 Pitching keepin em barely alive. Travis Ishikawa red hot despite team offense.
2011 Montreal MCD 18 33 .353 17.0 Pitching can beat the best, and lose to the worst. No power.
Rogers WON LOST PCT GB Skinny
2011 Towaco TWR 33 18 .647 ---- CBA's cinderella team of 2011. Power in Staub conf goes a long way.
2011 Ohio OOR 26 25 .510 7.0 Inconsistant week to week. Better at home, Nolasco and Buchholz solid.
2011 Maine MER 21 30 .412 12.0 Uggla,Kemp,Headley culprits for poor start. When they heat up will it be too late?
2011 Kennesaw Mtn KWR 19 32 .373 14.0 Encarnacion with 12 HR highlite dismal start for Blake's building team
Carter WON LOST PCT GB Skinny
2011 San Diego SSC 39 12 .765 ---- Only question is will they set a CBA record 120 wins held by 2002 Philly?
2011 High Bridge HHC 28 23 .549 11.0 Fading a bit after torrid start. Phenomenal pitching, and Mora.
2011 Joliet JJC 24 27 .471 15.0 Joliet starting to play good ball. Moving up a bit after slow start. Pierre and Bourn electric
2011 New Jersey NBC 13 38 .255 26.0 Lowrie and Stanto show power. Built for the decade.
Schmidt
WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2011 Stirling SRS 30 21 .588 ---- 110
2011 Philly PPS 28 23 .549 2.0
2011 Ottawa OOS 28 23 .549 2.0
2011 New Hampshire NWS 11 40 .216 19.0
Monday WON LOST PCT GB Skinny
2011 Skokie SWM 32 19 .627 ---- Never a doubt in Wolfie's mind. Skokie the class of Clemente. Team built to last
2011 Indiana IRM 30 21 .588 2.0 Fidler hounding the Wolf in one of CBA's key rivalries. They met in the Finals and in real life.
2011 Bryan KBM 27 24 .529 5.0 Bryan is the X factor that could change the wildcard race. Playoff caliber, good P with Gregg having all star start.
2011 Lake County LLM 20 31 .392 12.0 Faded against division in block 7,8 could rebound easily. Team looks like it could be a dominant force in years to come.
Parker WON LOST PCT GB Skinny
2011 Carolina CCP 31 20 .608 ---- Struggled with Ottawa, but well balanced. The pitching rules here.
2011 Sunville SSP 26 25 .510 5.0 The SunJewels maybe a longshot, but look at that team again, they could take a wildcard or more.
2011 Brooklyn BSP 26 25 .510 5.0 In Coors, P is key. With a rested starting staff, they should win more games. Usage problems in Mid INF could hurt playoff chances.
2011 Cooperstown CIP 17 34 .333 14.0 McGeehee on fire, Delmon showing big power.
Newcomer Lewis to pitch home opener
December2010
CBA 2010 Season In Review
Can you believe since Newsletter #1 in 2003 (press archive) we have had 290
of these league memo's? Lots of writing. Well here's the state of CBA right
now. Where we are at. First I'd like to commen each and every one of you for a
Phantastic (In respect to Philly) year. It was well run on each end. You guys
were a) Efficient b) Reliable c) Prompt d) Careful. It made the league office
job so much easier than the year before. In fact this season for this first in
3 years had no major crashes. In an attempt for the truest statistics, or CBA
Excutive Consultant Jack Frost managed to eliminate a statistical anomaly. A
game was counted 2 times. Jack Painstakingly rebuilt from all our carefully
archived files the season eliminating the problem and even managed to trim the
'memory fat' from the main files so file size were smaller. This year the
player notebook file which we always record highlites, ate much memory. 1 or 2
megs. This is just 1 reason why Jack Frost is well respected by the
commmisioners office. His scheduling work is another. I would like to
acjnowledge publically his fine and dedicated efforts. His love for CBA is the
motivation.
This years administration did a fine job working behind the scenes. It was
a team effort without question. The proper and efficient running of an
organziation like CBA requires effort from several. It starts at the top. Your
league Presidents set the tome for CBA, a league whcih has a VERY positive
vibe. I must say, that is the coolness factor of our GM's and the tone and
manner and friendships that have evolved for which I am most proud. Friends, not
just acquaintances have been made. GM's have met, socialized, Netplayed, talked
deal, BS with each other, and now become part of each others lives. Wheres the
tissue? Tito? Jermaine? And this years Academy award goes to...
Cory Light. A trusted and awesome CBA person. We owe MAJOR thanks to Cory, who
at his OWN expense provides us with our CBA website. The domain is his, and
server fees are his contribution. Its more than appreciated on my end and
judging by the webstats, by many others internationally who do follow our
league...especially at draft time since we generally are the first to draft the
new cards, and be on MLB schedule with our statistics. There are quite a few
who track our stats to project for their own league uses. The draft is a
template for many when their drafts begin as well. Its somewhat of an honor
when we do get our occasional emails from web visitors. Cory Light sets the
tone with his personality and diplomacy. CBA elder statesman on council.
Cory's vote carries alot of respect and weight in council. Thanks again Cory,
you're the best.
Dennis Concepcion is another integral part of the machine. Dennis also is the
true spirit of CBA and section 15. His manner and enthusiasm has transformed
CBA directly and indirectly from a league in transition to a positive, fun, and
stable league. His voice of reason and innovation is resposible for making CBA
not only a basic run of the mill Strat league to a league with a personality. A
league which has taken on a life force through his Press releases and finely
detailed and comprehensive photo galleries are known throught the Stratworld.
Yes, CBA is well known after 13 seasons. Dennis is also active in trade council
and rules committee discussions.
JD Adams is our Usage Commisioner and going into his 2nd season on trade
committee. The committee consists of JD, Dennis, Cory, Rob Hite and myself.
Derek has done an excellent job for 3 seasons now review usage, and saving the
office time while creating a custom easy to use weekly reference that is simply
unique to CBA. Its is so easy, a caveman can use it. CBA has evolved
technically, and is even more user friendly thanks to Derek who has eased the
time it takes to set upa weekly CM. Since inception, I have noticed our weekly
CM forwarding rate to have increased from about 11 or 12 per week to about 16-17
on and off list. Make no mistake, your GM 'friends' are trying to beat you.
They're tailoring CM's to match your teams, and beat you. It about winning, not
the draft. Thanks Derek. These are our council members for 2011 season.
Within the CBA core are our consultants. Executive Technical consultant Jack Frost, and Committee consultants Rob Hite, Jack Jung, and for 2011 Doug Brunet. Rob is a CBA elder statesman, and original member who played in another league with founder Claude LaMarre, and is always well known in Strat circles. He also enters the World Series looking for his 3 crown. Hite lends his expertise again in 2011 as an executive consultant to committee. Rob has his input and league rules and issues of importance. 2001 CBA Champion Jack Jung of Ottawa Otters fame is another 13 year original veteran is on hand to assist with some rule committee and council input on an as needed basis. Doug Brunet Joins us with a wealth (30+ years) of Strat-o-matic experience. He is thorough and sharp. He will assume duties as a council consultant, and Transaction, Roster Management official. He joins our council list. Consultants do no have an official vote on trade council, but their opinions are sometimes asked or presented in the decision making and voting process. Generally trade committee needs majority to pass, however 1 dissention is enough to trigger a committee action to review a trade then a final vote. GM’s input are welcome to Committee if presented to a league President for introduction. This procedure is in effect for trade review and rules committee review. Suggestions are welcome via proper channels to committee, not on CBA_List.
The season started with the opening draft and a flurry of trade activity preceding and during what was a smooth and exciting 2010 draft. There was a trendous amount of trade activity leading up to the February draft. Many trades involved draft picks exchanging hands. Picks high, and not so surprisingly with the increased vale of the late rounds, due to our CBA formula, many late picks were not only relevant but brought in some good talent in late rounds. Big names moved. Long time Basher Michael Young brought back power bat of Nick Swisher. Bryan, now adds in 2011 Paul Konerko as they look to slug way to playoffs. Brett Myers went to Carolina, Carmona went for a 5 to High Bridge. Ian Kinsler also went to the Coppersheads for a 1. C Town got Jav Vasquez for a 1, Bryan also got Jason Bay. Brooklyn answered by picking up Ryan Braun, and Nick Markakis. In a win, win trade a busy BSP also swapped 2010 MVP candidate and Staff ace carlos Zambrano. Joliet acquired Corey Hart for a few late draft picks from C Town. Jon Buck only cost Ohio a #4, and Southwest got Cy candidate Theodore Lilly. Cooperstown countered by snatching up MVP contender Brian McCann. Kurt Suzuki catcher, went to Striling. Malachi Nellum made a lot of off season moves in 2010, including acquiring closer Joe Nathan for the stretch run. The draft saw a lot of talent move in round 1. Strasberg went to Keth Jones Sunville as the 1st overall pick. He was followed by Rick Porcello, and Brian Matusz. Andy Bailey was the fourth but was just dealt for 2011 to Kennesaw Mt.
Other first rounders included Carlos Gonzalez, Chris Coughlin, Mat Latos, Trevhor Cahil went to Belfast late round 1, Scott Podsednick, and Garrett Jones as well. Some good talent also spread into the round 10 where Josh Thole, and Ike Davis both were drafted.
With the races now over and Philly’s Rob Hite and the Phantastics the CBA 2010 champions, here is a team by team analysis by division. We start this year looking at the Schmidt division home of the world champ Phantastics. Philly dominated the entire season start to finish. It was no accident as Rob Hite custom designs his teams and trades for select players to fit his franchise model. The team was led by MVP candidate Derek Jeter who rebounded to post excellent stats, and more so winning baserunner movement and clutchness. 17Hr 69RBI .311 27sb. Although the team only hit .269, a low for Philly over the past several years, the HR bat was there slugging 282 of them. Homer wise they were among CBA;'s best ever. The ballpark helps them there. Philly has always known the long ball. 13 players had double digit RBI’s. Eight players hit 20+ HR with Berkman in what could be his last huge season hittling 32 and Ut Chasely hitting a big 36 HR. Philly added speed to their mix in ’10 swiping 84 SB, which is a lot for this 3 run HR team. The top of the order averaged around a .370 on base. So natural that runs get plated. The offense numbers .354 OBA overall, .834 total avg, but the .480 slug is down a bit for Philly, but where the offense and defense was balanced, the pitching stepped it up.
Not known for pitching lately, the Phantastics allowed only a .257 BA. The relief corps wasn’t too effective allowing 33% of opposing runners to score once brought in. In fact they blew many saves. Quite a few Clemente teams blew alot of saves as well showing a pattern for the juiced up Clemente offenses providing alot of late heroics and pop. They converted only 55 of 83 saves oppoprtunities. Despite Verlander's CY Young season, he had the least run support from his starting crew 5.17 runs per games while the others got generally a half run more support. The season was a tremendous success for 3 times champion Rob Hite. Executive consultant and long time CBA friend. Rob is the cream of CBA's GM crop for 2010. Will he be again in 2011?
The Stirling RedSox have officially been transitioned to Malachi Nellum. Wayne McGee steps aside, retires and will undoubtedly gain entry into CBA's Hall of Fame when balloting is issued in January 2011. This team has been built almost ground up into a contender by former Alamo City Flames GM Nellum who as VP and director of player personel, had drafted traded, acquired and revamped the once moribund RedSox into a streamlined talent laden organziation. Last year, Stirling was edged out of a wildcard spot by the Carolina Copperheads and Brooklyn Superbas in the final week of the season. Carolina took the final series against both Brooklyn and Stirling. Striling lost out of the playoffs by dropping 3 of 4 to the eventual World Champion Philly Phantastics, while Brooklyn swept away Cooperstown in the final series after losing before to theCarolina Parker champs. It was Clementes closest race in many years and any one of the final teams dancing, Stirling, Superbas, CTown could have won it. Stirling was a player all year. They started out owning Schmidt throughout April. In May Philly took the eventual Schmidt lead. Stirling never let 2nd place out of their hands as they consuitantly stayed in the hunt all year long. Led by Player of the year candidate Bill3 Butler 25 HR 103 RBI .331, and Carlos Pena's 46 HR 98 RBI .233 the Sox powered 195 HR. Michael Young added 24 more at 3B. Pedroia was awesome at 2B 19HR 100 RBI .285 17SB a solid if not spectacular year. The catching was among the best if not the best. Kurt Suzuki hit an excellent .310 with 16 HR, and Taylor Tea...garden was a .322 hitting backup. Now the paradox, The Sox stole 176 bases! Crwaford had 56 despite lower numbers in '10 than is customary. 15 HR 65 RBI .267 10 triples. Ellsbury stole 39 with 16CS, and Elvus Andrus stole 31. The team hit 36 triples Andrus 8, Crawford 10, Ellsbury 7. Just to add some xtra pop. Overall a .345 OBA and .456 slug add up to improved performance. A .748 Total average is good enough to win with. The pitching was capable, but the bullpen was shaky. Bronson Arroyo pitched well allowing a .251 BA, but the team duidnt suport him scoring almost 3/4 run less when he was on the mound. Likely as he was stacked up against the Aces of the Clemente Conference. Guys like Halladay, Oswalt, Verlander, Carpenter, Wainwright, Lilly, Greinke, and a slew of top shelf aces. Jurjenns, Arroyo, Buehrle were solid. Jurjens emerged as top line guy though will be limited in 2011. Until Nathan came on board, the Red Sox pen was shaky at best. A .326 IRSC is crap. Too many comebacks allowed. Very important stat that CBA recognizes. Byrdak despite a .200 Opp BA, allowed 40%, Madson 46%, and O'Day 37% of all runners on base inherited, to score. Cant win games unless you out slug them or out steal them which is what The Sox had to do. 2011 promises to be an a good one as Nellum let go of Milledge and Hairston for picks, acquired ace Phil Hughes. Again there should be tough competition as the powerhouses lineup in the slammmin Clemente where all teams can clubber each other.
The light is on and shinig. Perhaps the envy of the CBA's new decade, Ottawa is living off they're former glory, but not for long. There are hard times for CBA's original franchise in the Canadian National Capital city. The beautiful city of Ottawa has come close making the playoffs recently as 3 years ago, but there has been little joy other than that brief shining moment. They came close in 2009 to making the show, but swooned intheir last month. Not since the days of the Dynamic Duo Papi and Vlad had they brought the fans to their feet. But in 2011 with those two re emergence, bright things could be in store in 2011. In 2010 a perfectly dismal season. However Jack Jung doesnt quit. Patiently building through the draft, This team is one to watch out for in 2011. Super young talents like Justin Heyward, Ricky Weeks, Cameron Maybin, Andrew McCutcheon, Steven Drew, Justin Upton, Y Gallardo. The team is a goldmine. Pitching is the deficiency here. The offense certainly can compete with anyone in the upcoming campaign. Last year, the light was flickering not shining. Like a bad Doors song, the team was out of synch and plugging away laying in wait for better times. The crowd dwindled, but the press was buzzing following their minor leagues. The coming of Heyward. A minor league draft pick. A superstar in 1 year. CF of the future for all of Ottawa to cheer. Despite Rickie Wells 13-7 record in an impressive rookie season, There was little pitching to speak of. Gallardo was 9-16, Volstad 2-13, Lackey 3-15, Era's all ranging from 4.70 - 7.16. Cook was 8-9 4.40 Best of the rest. The defense was shoddy with a below average.716 X rating percentage allowing in even more runs. Next year the starters are all grouped around 4.50 ERA's and there is no clear ace, So Ottawa should struggle to keep opponents from scoring. The staff in 2010 allowed righties to hit .275 against them, .266 overall. Not particularly effective. Allowing 9.3 hits per 9 IP. A high 3.8 BB per game and alot of hits per IP, adds up to runs for the Opponents. When you achieve a low .329 OBA on offense, your opportunities are limited. 2011 promises to be so much better. Theyre IRSC matched Stirlings. Joe Mauer MVP /Player of Year candidate had a sensational year and is undoubtedly the face of the franchise. Next year should be a bonanza for him if they can get the pitching. No reason why Ottawa couldnt be a Clemente Champion. Mauer led CBA with a .366 BA, with 27 HR & 79 RBI. Had an amazing 1.069 Total avg. Vlad hit .292 with 15 HR, while Papi slugged 39 HR with a low .233 BA. Expect those three to dominate in 2011 with McCutcheon and Heyward setting the table.
The Schmidt division. It stands for power. Philly has dominated like Schmidt did. Despite being somewhat of a question mark in social skills, Schmidt his bat stood out. In Clemente especially in Schmidt its the bats which stand out too. New Hampshire's bats were perhaps a CBA record low with a measly horrifyingly unprofessional .216. It skewed the stats weighed in by the conferences other teams. This was solely the fault of former GM Dave Jacobs of the Atlanta Crackers (should have known then) Columbus Wildcats, who was ill prepared, all talk and no action. He came aboard, and proceeded to make a shambles of deadlines, time positions during the draft, and whined about procedures, to the point he was removed into his initial probation and replaced by the league office before he could do much more damage to the team and our league. No way to see it coming with Jacobs, but happily we were able to recruit our first choice a valued veteran whom Id hoped would join us for years Chris Brazeau who turned out to be exactly what this franchise needed, and more. He has fit right in at home with our veteran GM's, and has dedicated time and studied our rules and league. Seems like he is having fun, and we are gald to have him building this franchise ground up. A challenge, but he will make all kinds of CBA friends and surely will compete at a high level within the close future. Chris has several friends here in CBA from other leagues, and all were thrilled to add a familar buddy and true Strat man. All wasnt horrible with the NWS pitching. The great bullpen put up some good numbers and kept the team from getting trashed in some games. Outman, Wheeler, O'Day, Hughes, Coke. Were very capable in a pen by committee. Some of the starters performed reasonably well too. Young Ross Ohlendorff, M Repzcynzki, and R Vandenhurk, kept the ERA in the mid 4's. Some potential there as well. The staff did well enough to wins some. But the bats were a ragtag collection of usage filler RFA's whose sole purpose is to add to some career stats on the Batters Register before there careers in CBA fizzle out. Guys like Ross Gload (Brooklyn's Madison HS) .217 4 HR, 17 RBI, Chipper Larry Jones .239 11 HR 45 RBI, Julio Lugo .271 4 HR 29 HR, Omir Santos .261 7HR 39 RBI, Ronny Cedeno .214, E Renteria .214, M Maier .213 you get the picture. Gerardo Parra hit .266 with a few HR. But they will need eventual offense to compete in CBA. This draft is key for Hampshire who acquired Pitchers, J Masterson, B League, and JA Happ in the Hughes trade, clearly building for the future up in New England.
The Monday Division
Last year 2009 was the year the Bob Fidler and the Indiana Redbirds set CBA on its side when he took his wildcard team across Clemente defeating Brooklyn and eventually Longue Pointe for his 3rd championship in 4 years. Fidler is in the Monday division where he pared up with The Offense mided Bryan Bashers who featured Jason Bay, and Southwest who Featured Matt Holiday. Not to be outdone, Albert Pujols as well as A Rod were in tow. But 2010 was not to be as Holliday led the enigmatic Eric Lindner Lizard Kings to the Monday title by a substantial margin. The dominant team of the the late 2000's had fallen victim to age and poor MLB performances, but still managed a respectful 83-79 season under Fidler's attentive guidance. It could be made a case for that Bob Fidler is no longer a the towel waving GM champion going into the new decade, but rather a grizzled veteran GM whose savvy and determination has carried this franchise into a transition with grace and class. Fidler is already rebuilding and looking to change things necessary to compete. Even in transition, Fidler can beat you. This team did not quit and kept fighting despite obvious deficiencies. Slightly better at home in Redbirds park, they were a playoff team at home less than that on road where they were .481 They had to mix up their game even doing some small ball to win games. Cabrera, and Polanco resorting to the lost Clemente art of bunting successfully 46-56 times. The pinch hitters came thru witha .378 BA, best in CBA. The offense was good enough to win. Comparable but more powerful than Stirling's The power went 1-9 through lineup. A .345 OBA and .478 Slug which was two percent better. .278 overall BA, 242 HR (2nd in CBA), 830 runs (3rd best). Pujols won the Clemente MVP and player of the year award for his .323, 58 HR 127 RBI season. He edged out Brooklyn's Ryan Howard in HR, but Howard had more RBI's to lead CBA. 5 players over 20 HR, Sizemore 31 in CF, Pence with 26 HR for an amazing power OF. A Roids numbers were deflated to .262 24 HR 81 5 SB as he detoxed and dried out in 2010 CBA. Hamilton's numbers were down, but will be way up in 2011. Carlos Ruiz solidified catching hitting better than expected .277 10 HR 46 RBI. Posada added 25 HR's .254. Colby Rasmus was solid with 18 HT 70 RBI .268. Enough offense to win. In the clutch in 600 AB's, they slugged 29 HR and drove in 122. But for only a .231 average. A microcosm of the season. No pitching, huge bats, but something missing other than the long ball. Hit .298 with bases loaded however, strange. But pitching? 4.77 ERA Jeremy Sowers wins 13-5 but 5.21 ? Oswalt only 9-10 ? It was a horror show. 41 more hits than IP. 586 BB's, Oswalt and Kazmir got little run support from a good offense (4.50 or so) Also the pen was shaky with a Stirlingesque .328 IRSC. They saved only 70% of games too 43-61 not good. The Pitching was actually helped by a good defense which posted a .802 X rating. 80% is very good. Otherwise the team ERA would have been likely near 5.00. They even turned a triple play around the horn 3rd to 1st.
Lindners Southwest Lizard Kings 101-61, put it all together in 2010 with another ill fated playoff run. It was Eric Lindners final hurrah in CBA as he moves on to irrelevant in the Strat-o-sphere.. The Lizard Kings (Skokie Wolfmen) season was verifiable and documented with great performances by Holliday 31 HR 104 RBI .310 BA. ,Tulowitzsky 33 HR's, 17 SB zero times caught, Matt Kemp's 27 HR 95 .282 with excellent defense. Adam LaRoche hit .301 23 HR 91 RBI, Andre Ethier hit 31 HR 78 RBI .269. 9 guys over 133 hits. 6 over 150 hits. Thats consistent. A team .341 OBA with a .270 BA. 213 HR 819 runs. Near the top in all catagories. Except this year the pitching was the difference. The top 4 in the rotation did very well keeping opponents at bay. Theodore Lilly acquired in a trade with NJ Beatles for a a draft pick, went 18-2 for the Monday champs. Matt Cain added 14 wins, and 13 more for Clifford Lee. Guthrie had 11 more. Team 3.83 ERA with a great .816 X rating made this a bonified contender and favorite except that Lindner had a meltdown and quit Stratomtic when they wouldnt assist his Netplay and told him he tampered with protection system. We lost, and so did the company.
Bryan Bashers. A team looking for respect and coming real close being competitive the past few seasons after struggling throughout most of its CBA tenure as Kilgore. The team is built on some punch. They acquired what seemed the last piece in Jason Bay, and has been the case with most of Bryans great acquisitions, the players tune dog the next year and Ole Cory Light has to restart again. Each year they add a big piece. This year the huge bat of Paul Konerko. If Bay and Konerko return to form they could be formidable with McGehee, Wigginton, and Swisher also strong bats. In 2010 the Bashers popped 213 HR's Lots of power but very low .249 BA and low OBA .329. The slugging was at .429 which belies their 213 dingers. So if it wasn't a HR, it wasnt anything for Bryan. Jason Bays' injuries in MLB, may not help this year except that he should get on base in 2011, run and play some D. He should rebound easily as he adjusts. Bay hit 36 HR (( RBI .267 for Bryan while Swisher added 33 HR 100 RBI. Overbay, Hairston, McGe hit all around 15 HR's Marlon Byrd added 21 HR. O'B was their most consistent hitter batting .288 with 16 HR 80. He does it year in and out and is a steady bat. This got steady work out of Jason Kendall .254 4 HR 29 RBI, but the defense doesnt enhance things at catcher, and they will need better overall production at catcher. Mark Ellis 10 54 .266. was solid at 2B with great defense. O Cabrera had 11 HR 59 RBI .260 but had 23 big errors to blemish a decent defense. Ben Francisco hit 10 taters off the bench. A typical patter that sums it up up Brad Inge hit 23 HRs at 3B, but drove in 48 and hit .204.
The numbers individually look good, but on the field they could barely reach .500. Speed, defense, and bullpen as well as The ace starter hurt their chances. They were better than most in a tough conference. No reason to think they cant compete again. The pen couldnt hold down what the stares had, and the batters couldnt get on enough to take advantage of the HR's. Despite Hawkins 30 saves, he did lose 7 games which means something went wrong here. A 68.3% sv mark. 33% IRSC. Shoddy work. The defense was improved by a few percent over 2009 at 76% X rating. The staff only allowed 6 more hits than IP. But the starts hits was far higher than the relievers +53, and relievers -45. So relievers choked in tough situations but were good in long relief allowing the offense to come back in games and maybe win. A comeback offense.
Lake County Leopards. David Jones is one of CBA's class gentlemen. He has experienced playoffs, and the cellar and is always a pleasure to correspond with and play in CBA. The Leopards have a leagcy of winning and are rebuilding at this time. The moved along malcontent Adraim Beltre and brought back Scott Rolen who has a great card again in 2011 with defense of legend. Also coming aboard is super prospect Chris Carter, and Jones' intentions are clear. The Leopards are looking ahead. The 2010 team was equally as poor on the road as at home as the fans stayed back some at Leopard stadium. The team struggled at the plate and in the power categories. They achieved good numbers from CBA's Jay Johnstone award winner Garrett Jones .343 26 HR 70 RBI. Dexter Fowler hit .277 and remains a propsect, and Fucudome showed more improvement into elite CF department for 2011. James Ba-Loney was a disappointment and was counted on to do more than .251 10 HR when he was acquired from Indiana. Garrett Atkins fall off wasnt expected, as was Brad Penny or Derek Lowes drop off. With a reverse of fortunes in MLB this would have been a different club. The players aged quickly and the numbers showed it. Jimmy Rollins hit .210, Nady was hurt and tailed off. he should rebound in MLB with Arizona in 2011. Gio Soto dropped off, huge. Too many to drop to sustain wins in 2010. Some plyers will rebound for them in 2011 set so the chances are great we will see improvement in the Lakers for next year. The staff was woefully deficient an old in 2010. They couldnt buy wins. What seemed like a good staff was affected by the lack of offense. The rotation startsr Beckett, Penny, Lowe won 10 while Cueto won 9. The pen had a .77% save pct which wasnt too bad. A .294 IRSC was pretty good allowing a 66 win season. Could have been much worse. Lake Co showed that Pitching can only win so much. The defense had a .771 X rating not bad, but without the offense, cant win in Clemente where offenses are powerful enough to overcome pitching.
The Parker Divison
Carolina Copperheads Scott Kenan was a runner up for GM of the year. He certainly earned that distinction with his breakout performance in 2010. Took awhile to get there. Building and drafting. Trading and planning Kenan represents CBA's future. He has taken control of the Parker divison wresting it from Brooklyn who had won 8 division titles with 10 playoff appearances since 97. They went 98-64 with a team ERA of 3.88 in a tough slugging conference. Pitching stopped their division and Conference opponents down the stretch as well. Sthey stopped Brooklyn cold in their final week match ups when they needed the most. -104 hits than IP, allowing only 170 Hrs to their slugging 3rd best 238 HR's. In a HR laden conference its huge. 86 errors was good, but only 66 SB, meant the team relied on the bat not speed to generate runs. Offense did pound into alot of DP's 146 rally killers. They hit 126 HR on the road, 2nd most in CBA. Typical Clemente contender .346 OBA, .453 slug. The offense didnt have that extra zip, but the pitching gave a good offense the chance to be in all the games. They were retaliated against, by having 68 of their batters plunked. Rick Debrule? 45 Sac flies 2nd best in CBA. Defense was good enough. Catchers couldn't get out stealers throwing out 21% not too good, putting guys into scoring position. Carolina was able to use the hit and run its advantage getting 28 advances in 34 chances an 82% H & R rate. Only 33% in clutch hitting. The Carolina team came through in the clutch during the regular season. A 73% X Rating was not too great but league average was .721.
The team got better performances from several key players. Looking at the lineup Joey Votto 18 HR 76 .317. Miguel Tejada was sensational with his glove only 2 errors! He hit 14 74 .303. Zimmerman at 3B hit .285 22 86. Scutaro was capable at .277 with 46 RBI's and glove. Hermida hit .288 in platoon. Kinsler .251 30 107. Thats great offense in the infield middle. Makes the rest of offense that much more effective. Despite low batting averages, Jayson Werth and Adam Dunn had 34 and 38 HRs respectively. The difference being they both were able to get on base helping teams win rather than the low OBA high HR guys on other teams. Carolina was able to survive Ryan Ludwick's slack from 2009. The pitching was solid. Jason Marquis ate up innings and got 14 wins and a .487 ERA. Johnson was a Cy Young runner up behind Verlander and Greinke with a 21-5 record and an awesome 2.51 ERA to make it into franchise history books. Huston Street was spectacular as closer of the year, and a valuable acquisition. Carpenter added 15 wins against 5 defeats and Johan won 14 more. The bullpen was strong with a 28% IRSC and good middle inn support from Ni, Frasor, and lights out 0.25 ERA from Tyler Walker. Carolina won in a historic 4 game set in the battle of Parker at seasons end defeating the Superbas perhaps setting the stage for their unceremonious first round exit the next week.
Brooklyn Superbas were an enigma. Again a dominant team though not as powerful as in years past. Brookyn is t rebuilding acquiring several young prospects and players over the past year. David Price, Ryan Braun, Hank Conger, Nick Moustakis, .Their team BA was down to .283 after last years .307. HR's went down from 275 to 213, and runs 1069 down to 879. Still quite good, but not the typical Superba power team. The Superbas reputation is that of CBA legend. Perhaps the single most potent offensive force in CBA's history, the Superbas have epitomized the Clemente model year after year. Dominant offenses. Historicallly led by Player HOFers like Todd Helton, Sammy Sosa CBA HR all time leader till 2009. Bagwell, Ventura, Albert Belle. Huge numbers and recently Ryan Howard who was almost an ex Superba this winter, Miguel Cabrera, and now Ryan Braun. Ivan Rodrguez 7 55 .276, will return again as the Brooklyn Longtime catcher sits very high on many CBA career leader categories like Hits Doubles and RBI's let alone his Hall of Fame defense. Brooklyn must cut the WP's and PB's. He will split time again with Ryan Doumit 11 Hr's. In the wings in wunderkind Hank Conger so Brooklyn is also planning ahead. . This season Ryan Howard 55 HR 145 RBI .277 10 sb 1.002 Total avg, made a a serious pitch for MVP finishing second Indiana's Pujols. Braun had a great first year with Brooklyn slugging 34 121 .304 22 SB. Miguelito Cabrera finished strong down the stretch 33 115 .320. Those are big Superbas seasonsbut not enough to dthrone the Philly team in Rd 1. When the bats were stopped cold by Philly pitching. Former MVP Vermon Wells hit 18 more HR's and is another CBA player who is added to career totals. Omar Vizquel will return for another season with Brooklyn and is another CBA HOF candidate. Markakis had a solid 13 HR 76 RBI .307 campaign batting 2nd with 188 hits and 45 doubles to match his defense and arm. Furcal returned as fulltime SS, but was fair .267 8 HR 52 only 4 SB and 26 errors too high, led team with 20 sacs however. Blake hit 14 HR .294 at 3B, but his defense was rough. The teams defense once a bright spot in 2009, was 10% worse finishing .727 X which is average but didnt help a good pitching staff which faltered at times. Brooklyn got 49 assists from their OF. Adding Chone Figgins for defense and speed didn't factor too much in the race, and may be dealt as the spring approaches. Second base thought to be a sore spot with 3 men filling in Vizquel, Bloomquist, and Infante turned out very productive in a 3 way platoon. Infante was a runner up in the Johnstone award voting. Brooklyn just could win in the clutch. Only getting 2 of 20 clutch hits all year. PH Randy Ruiz under achieved only 3 for 22 after being counted on heavily in clutch. They did manage to hit with the infield in 17 times. So the extra speed in '10 did help indirectly at times. Again Brooklyn matched well winning 49 at home. They finished 3 games behind Carolina. They scored about 5.3 runs a game allowing only 4.6 in Clemente. The won in close games 31-15. Superbas 'struggled' vs Lefties only .276 but .285 vs R. The team had a typical contender like .343 OBA and .463 slug. .805 production, They struck out way too much 1113 times, and grounded into 153 double play both numbers came into play in the playoffs, and meant doom for Brooklyn ultimately. Its the well balanced teams that win most frequently. There is a stark contrast between the Staub teams offenses and Clemente. A true comparison could be made between the old MLB NL and AL. Rick Debruhle?
The pitching staff did decently but faltered late. Halladay had a poor year by any standards despite double digit wins. 13-15 4.92 ERA. Zambrano acquired for Staub MVP nominee Brandon Phillips was Brooklyns best with a 4.00 EAR and an 11-6 record in limited Inn. Edwin Jax was 4.18 11-10 219 K's and a high Whip. Lannan was decent solid at 12-10 4.47. The team has a 4.21 ERA which is very respectable in Clemente. Mariano had a decent year by his standards after a poor 2009. He saved 24 games 6-3 2.39. Dice K won 6-0 2.73, and the bullpen was .287 IRSC. By committee Vargas, Miller, Boyer were decent. Could have been worse, but it was enough to limit the opposition in close games and win 95. Jon Rauch was awful in his role 2-4 5.03 3 saves hurtin them in the stretch. Brooklyn continues to build and can be expected to compete again in 2011 with a balanced offense, though in need of some more power, Brooklyn will need a starting pitcher or two to keep get ahead for another parker crown.
Cooperstown came really close in 2010, succumbing in the final weeks to Brooklyn and Carolina who barely edged them out of a wildcard spot. It was a close as can be. Morneau and Reynolds could only carry the decent offense so far.One game does matter. Cooperstown GM Jon Stamets set about resurrecting the franchise with a series of huge trades. They brought in Hirshima Kuroda, Brad Hawpe, Travis Hafner, Brett Gardner, Yunel Escobar, lots of draft picks for building. This became Jon' s team. They wasted no time winning and this season finished with a 91-71 record. The numbers were good all around. The staff tossed 12 shutouts, 49 saves, a .284 IRSC. A team 3.83 ERA was excellent in Clemente. Vasquez 14-10 2.99 could have won more if he didnt get just 4.19 runs per start against this offense, Lester 14-7 3.07, Wainwright 16-14 3.43, Jeff Weaver 17-6 4.02 ERA. Frank Cordero saved 31, 6-7 3.35. The rest of the pitching substitutes and end staff guys struggled or the numbers would have been better. Howry, Burnett, and Angel Guzman did a solid jn mid relief but really the 4.51 relief ERA meant the numbers could lie. The startes low 3.43 ERA probably tells more the pitching story for C Town which was heavily reliant on its starters to win as many as 91. The staff struggled against lefty starters allowing a .267 BA as opposed to a .242 vs R BA. The lack of lefties may have hurt there. The team had a .250 avg allowed to batters. The strikeout to walk ratio was only 2.27 not too good, but acceptable. Hit and run was not a specialty. Only 8 hits and 38 advances in 49 tries. C Town stole 70 bases in 85 tries for a 81% rate. Excellent running so runner movement was acceptable between speed and hit n run. Seven batters slugged double digits in HR with Morneau hitting 38 HR's 98 RBI .283. McCann was perhaps the 2nd best catcher in CBA with .311 21 HR 80 RBI. Yunel was 14 57 .297, only 9 errors. Franklin Gutierrez hit 15 71 .297. Mark Reynolds slugged his way to a .251 36 HR 101 15 SB, but made 22 errors at 3B. B Harris made 13 more errors as a utility reserve which hurt some. Ibanez hit another 29 HR's to add pop. Maglio had 5 HR 37 RBI but did hit .303. Overall a successful campaign for Cooperstown.
Sunville SunJewels is a building team and boy there is talent here. Carlos Gonzalez, Steven Strasburg 9despite the hurts), Austin Jackson, Josh Willingham, Jose Bautista, Rod Barajas, J Gomes, D Freese, Ankiel. This team will be much imprioved in 2011. That is the direction that Keith Jones is going in. Jones feels the time is now to take Sunville from the rebuild phases to the next level of winning. The staff has Gio Gonzalez, N Blackburn, Strasburg, Hochevar, Joba, Correia, Troncoso, and Pavano. This team has picks, and could surprise. Could this be a breakout year for Sunville they way Montreal broke last year? The team batted only .235 with 177 HR. They scored only 618 runs. A lot more than they did in '09, but woeful in the Clem. They will need further development of their players to achieve more. The best hitter was Nick Jiohnson who hit .306 at 1B. Willingham hit 17 HR, Cargo hit 15, Andruw Jones hit 18 HR, Thames 14, Barajas 13. Blackburn won 7 games as staff ace, and few guys posted around 5 or 6. Soriano saved 12, and Troncoso saved 9. The staff ERA was 5.91 terrible.The sedond worst BA, and wrost ERA meany Sunville will draft high again in 2011, and could get richer in talent.
The Staub Conference
The Rogers Division
Rogers division may feature very different situations than any other division. They are the caught between division. Caught between low win pct division winners, and contrasting styles of play. The Dawson gets the headlines, but Rogers races are unpredictable. Reason being that Rogers gets whooped each season by Dawson who boast the wildcard teams in their three way dances. Rogers gets bumped around and while Dawson may fatten up, it leaves a competition for the title. Each year someone emerges as the hero. No one team in Rogers is dominant perhaps fortunately for the teams of this division. Carter has to contend with San Diego, and the division title is always up for grabs between Maine, Ohio, Kennesaw, and Allentown. The title was won with 87 wins by Maine. Ohio had 83, 4 back and clearly out of the wildcard. Teams seem to have to win Rogers outright year after year to make the playoffs. Last year Ohio was the winner only to be taken out in Rd 1 by Staub Champs Longue Pointe. This year Maine basically staked claim getting hot in the second half. The funny thing is Maine was 19-29 vs Dawson this year. Says it all. By May 14th, Maine was 9 games back of first place Ohio. Ohio held first place pretty much opening bell through end of July. They won 9 of their next 10 games vs Joliet, High Bridge and New Jersey, while gaining ground. By June 24th, they were down still by 6 games and again it was a time for the Express to switch tracks and roll. Within aonly 2 weeks they tore it up and by July 4th were in 1st place. This time winning 11 of 12 and for the next month battled Ohio for 1st. At the end of July the Maine Express finally took control of Rogers with another hot streak winning 9 of 10 games including a sweep over Allentown which devastated the Senators season. Maine took it from there.
Mike Koepp is a classy GM. He has been reliable loyal, and above all else a great CBA friend to many of us. Always eager to help out. His teams have been successful in CBA as well. Maine has been to the playoffs 2 of past 3 years. He's had to match wits with division mates like Glen Kenan, Mike Blakeley, Rich Schneider. He finds a way to manage his usage and win. Not sure he thought he would at the season start, but he never quit. The team hit .252 but this year they added some power to the team rare for Staub, but 192 HR's was a good year. 769 runs, 311 doubles, 118 SB. Solid numbers there for Staub. Remember how LP won with around 600 runs last year. MVP Adrian Gonzalez 11.94 RC, 1.131 prod, 1.232 TotAvg, .342 ISOPWR was amazing, 49 HR 119 RBI 120 runs .337, literally carried this team on his back to the playoffs. The numbers were amazing for Staub. Other players contributed like Phil Cantu 20 HR 94 RBI .294, Adam Jones 23 HR 72 RBI .271 season in CF. Uggla added 42 HR despite a .217 average. Ryan Sweeney hit .297 and both Saltalamacchia and Barmes hit 15 HR. Team .327 OBA not too good, and a .420 slug is below average. The PH's hit only .145 and that hurts in big moments. Maine will need to increase their Prod numbers from 748. By comparison, Kennesaw was 757. A good team like LP was in the 780's. On base and some xtra base hits are needed somewhere. The Pitching staff's 4.01 ERA really carried this team with the occasional long ball. Aaron Rowand was expected to contribute more than a .217 BA with 6 HR, and Bupton better than .220, but they will rebound and Maine should benefit.
The only trouble with the pitching staff eminated from the middle inning marginal cards that brought up the pitching stat numbers, the garbage hurt the overall, but its hard not to note the quality starts and performances given by Braden 10-6 3.47, Romero 12-11 3.91, Duke 13-12 4.15 and Saunders 11-10 4.21. The bullpen was outstanding otherwise with a total 3.48 ERA as the Starters were 4.26. Jenks saved 18, but the committee of Fuentes 1-2 6sv 1.78, Coffey 4-1 2.13 5sv 84 IP, Lyon 7-3 2.45 8sv, and others were outstanding as was the team 26% IRSC. Perhaps CBA's best middle relief staff. RFA RA Dickey chipped ina few good games as well. The saves pct left something to be desired, so a proper closer could have helped there for a few more wins. Opponents hit .267, but the run support at 4.75 per game will need to increase. A low .9 HR per 9 was excellent. The .766 X rating defense was better than average in 2011. Catching was a weakness in the field nailing only 28 -126 runners stealing. With average OF arms, many extra bases could have been avoided. Runners did try their luck against the OF, but high OF assists totals kept them somewhat at bay. Relievers accounted for nearly half the teams wins. Mike Koepp hopes to compete in the playoffs again in 2011.
Ohio Outlawz formerly the Thundercats held first place through the seasons first 2/3. They looked like a repeat playoff performer but in the end could not beat opponents in Dawson 22-26, or do better than .500 vs Carter. They cleaned house in their own division 37-29. Obviously, Rogers will need to best Dawson to be able to start looking playoff bound. It will be their litmus test. Ohio split with Maine, but ate up Kennesaw spelling doom for Blakes team inside Rogers. It was Ohio that ended Blakes season more or less going 14-8. Ohio had the offense .273, 177 HR, 813 runs. Definitely approaching Clemente totals but in Staub. So what happened? The power was steady and good but no huge HR threat aside from Kubel MVP nominee's 28 HR 105 RBI season. Texeira tailed off to 25 HR 95RBI .288, and 8 others had 10 or more HR spread around the lineup. 49 triples were very good too. A team .345 OBA is good, and .440 slug was above average. Definitely better than their divisional rivals. A .762 Total avg and .168 ISO were decent. Mike Diaz was a strong Johnstone candidate with 10 HR 46 RBI .384 BA in 320 AB's. The team fielded at a 70.6% X rating which is low and didnt help the pitching staff much. Opponents stole 80% on catchers, but Posey in 2011 should fix that somewhat. Ohio will need better OF production as the highly untalented a nd over rated Melky Cabrera is not any kind of answer in strat baseball. Both Starters and relievers were equally as poor totaling 4.71 ERA. Relievers 4.75 alone despite a good .256 IRSC. . 125 SB were good, but was caught stealing home 4 times, and 3rd 6 times. Some squeeze and bunt plays it seems 70-88 in sac attempts, 39 sac flies, and only got 3 clutch hits from batters. Cant win big games like that. 12-14 in extra innings, and 22-25 in 1 run games. So the culprits were who? The Hit and run didnt work too well for Ohio 9 hits in 53 attempts only 38 advances total. PH's hit well, .299. Ohio scored pitchers about 5.02 runs per game. The staff allowed 4.75. Too narrow a margin to win more than 83 wins. Strong correlation in wins and run margin there. Pitchers tossed 1477 IP, 1177 K's. Likely the both starters and relievers were the leading cause of Ohio's late collapse. They blew so many saves. only saved 48 of 80 games, rancid. Closer Aardsma blew 8 alone. Blowing just isnt good in baseball. Millwood 12-17 6.91 really dragged down the staff . The middle pen and other spot starters didnt do a great job. Perez, Meek, McClung, Volquez, all spit the bit. The end of th rotation suffered, and with it Ohio. It was a down year for the staff anyway with Volquez and Bonderman hurting. To finish above .500 was a testament to Kenan's GM skill.
Allentown Senators. This team cant seem to get a break. Injuries and some poor MLB unexpected seasons hurt them in 2010. The talent is there and this team should be in better shape as the talent returns and blossoms. Kendry Morales hit .295 21 HR 79 RBI, Hanley Ramirez almost took the MVP with a sensational season .336 24 HR 93 RBI 38 SB and improved defense .804 X rating. Schumacher hit 2 45 .290 in his first full time season at 2B. The bench was strong with Robinson Diaz .365, E Patterson hitting .412, Alex Gonzalez .309 in 275 AB's, and Mike Sweeney .293. Allentown has a future with Martin Prado 13 HR 44 RBI .283, and Russell Martin the Yankee. Pedro Feliz added 9 HR 74 RBI and a .282 BA to go with great defense at 3B. The team batted a nice .274 up much from last year with 113 HRs also improved. Bats were evenly amtched both sides of the plate slight advantage vs Righties. A nice .340 OBA, but a low .397 slug meant problems against the tougher pitching teams of Staub. 6-16 vs Maine doomed them. Maine's Pitching stopped ATown. Respectable otherwise in their division. They managed decently vs Dawson, defeating LP 7-5 in the season series. Maine is the Allentown natural nemesis. A Town did well against Carter going 25-23. Fattened up on New Jersey and High Bridge. Good defense .766 X rating helped the Pitching. Terrible throwing from the OF also allowed runners to move along extra bases un necessarily. Allentown stole 3B 17 times caught 8 of times, and was caught stealing home once.
Joel Piniero had a good year 11-10 3.97 ERA 20 quality starts but just 4.84 run support was the ace likely matched up against other aces. Doug Davis went 13-12 4.20 with 14 Quality starts. While Staub Cy Young 2009 winner James Shields was disappointing at 11-12 4.76 ERA. The pen seemed better with Mike Wuertz 6-3 2.73 100 K 79 IP 18 holds a stud set up middle man finishing 3rd in reliever award balloting. Brian Wilson saved 22 with 82 K's in 66 IP and will return as closer. Wade LeBlanc, Howell, and Farnsworth did well in setup too. The rest of the staff was well pitiful and non descript.. Allentown will need to draft well to keep pace in Rogers. They are all bunched together and 1 player could make a diffeence between these teams. Look out because right behind and building is the young and talented Kennesaw Braves.
Kennesaw Braves are an enigmatic team constantly evolving as the top shelf talent comes in and some leaves. The team is being built to specification by JM Blakely himself, and his talent evaluation has GM's drooling and looking to deal. Kennesaw has been grabbing lots of talented young players in an attempt to become a dominant player in the new decade. Players with high upside potential he brings in, along with lots of high draft picks. Blake is a patient man. He wants to win now, but would not hesitate to build for more succes down the road than a quick fix. Recent acquisitions include , Jesus Montero, Carlos Triunfel, Jason Frasor, Yonder Alonso, IRM#2(11) PPS#1(11) JJC#1(11),JJC#2(11), JJC#6(11) and Andrew Bailey.
Chris Coghlan had a great 1st year batting .329 13 HR 57 RBI at the top of the order, but his defense crushed the team with 18 errors. and horrid range a .597 X rating 77 safe in 129 total chances. 57 safeties taken off his 168 hits is not a good turn around. defense is mighty important. Julio Borbon hit .342 in 150+ Ab's, and team MVP Ben Zobrist hit .291 37 HR 96 RBI's in a career year. He was dealt away after the season. Gordie Beckham in a part time role hit 7 28 .294, and Cameron added 20 HRs in CF. Chris Davis hit 17 HR 60 .281, while Thome popped 23 HR, and Luke Scott added 16 more. A .335 team OBA, with 4.97 runs created is not that special, and unless the pitching is like Longue Pointe's, its not enough to compete in Staub. Iso power .170 and total avg nothing to write home about. Giving up 4.97 runs while gaining 4.75 runs added up to losses. Kennesaw couldnt defeat their won divison. They finished 70-92, but were rotten vs Dawson divison too. Unexpectedly they punded the Carter division going 29-19. Cant figure the Jeckyl and Hyde performance we saw there. The pitching was all John Danks. Cy Young candiate and at 16-8 .281, Danks could have won the award with no reply. The rest of the staff was so dismal I cant even talk about it. Lets say the clsoer Kawakami saved 17 games witha 6.51 ERA. Better times are a coming for the Braves.
The Carter Division
The Carter division has been dominated the past several seasons by the San
Diego Surf. Joe Wallace has got to be pleased with his teams performance
and playoff appearances the past several years. They have created a
winning legacy With quite a few winning seasons after building painstakingly.
Joe Wallace is now a super senior veteran Member of CBA. The original
members with us are as follows: CBA's Senior Committee Executive,
Clemente President and website provider, Cory Light owner of the Bryan
Bashers, Three time inc.2010 Champion Philly's Phantastics Rob Hite. 3
Time World CBA Champion and one time commisioner (2003) Jeff Boutet,
Executive consultant and 2001 CBA Champion, Jack Jung owner of the Ottawa
Otters, as well as myself Commisioner, 2004 World Champion,
2003 Clemente Champion, 8 Time division title Brooklyn Superbas.
After the original owners we have long time CBA Generals. Amongst them
executive consultant and technician Jack Frost. Frost (as well as Brunet)
join the executive consultant list for 2011. The hierarchy is as follows.
Commisioner: Marc Wass
Senior Executive: Cory Light
Executive Council: Marc Wass, Cory Light, Dennis Concepcion
Trade Committee: Marc Wass, Dennis Concepcion, JD Adams, Cory Light, Rob Hite.
CBA Executive Consultants: Jack Jung, Jack Frost, JD Adams, Doug Brunet.
The role of Senior Executive is defined as the co-comissioner by some league
standards. By constitutional interpretation
The primary function of the League Presidents is to assist the commissioner on
resolving issues within the league.
Issues pertaining to procedure. Results, interpretations, Proposals, Protests,
should be directed to council.
Cory is more than that, he is at the heart of organziation of CBA. Theres alot
more to it behind the scenes.
Every trade is consented and at times discussed, opinions heard when needed.
Cory is CBA reason and integrity.
His opinions very well respected and his influence on the overall operation is a
major reason why CBA has achieved its stability and consistency. His league
communication clear, and he has my trust. Cory embodies section 15.
League Presidents Cory Light and Dennis Concepcion from Staub. Your league
presidents are the liason into Council for inquiries or questions about
procedures. We generally all will assist with questions, but Cory or Dennis have
the CBA ability
to move the league along procedurally if the are needed to. Either alone may
freeze a trade and prompt review. CBA prefers a free market. Free market meaning
the league supply and demand mainly dictate the trade market. Trade council
commences generally upon each trade. If discussion or member contact is needed
to resolve trade terms, or even dispute, the trade council is empowered to
advise, or even assist in trade completion. Members please know that there are
often communications and procedures that do occur time to time. CBA has an
effective routine and procedure for trade manufacture via committee.
Our council are Executive council and JD Adams, Rob Hite. However Senior
consultant Jack Jung has the ability to vote or express opinion at any time.
Jack Jung is our senior consultant. He has the abilty to vote in council when
rules votes are called.
He can and has been asked to weigh in on league matters and trades if needed.
When there are sensitive league issues,
Sensitive rules issues are sole discretion of Executive council and ultimately
the commisioners office.
Our technical advisors are three. They have committee access and may be
consulted on CBA operational issues only.
Jack Frost is Executive Technical advisor. He has been gracious in his time and
effort to ensure that CBA has a consistant league file and database for the past
3 seasons now. He has been assisting scheduling longer. Jack has perfected
working with the game engine and it is to all our advantage that he has applied
his talents to us.
JD Adams is our future. JD has brought CBA into reliabilty and efficiency of the
new decade with his careful monitoring and use of spreadsheets in applying our
usage to our game play. He has saved us all time, and given us techies some more
food for thought. His work is your gain in that the usage sheet has made GM's
accountable to our rules and giving us the maximum in gameplay and roster
efficiency. When each game counts, we must get to a higher technical standard to
be enjoyable. With usage a CBA strategy, and roster management dependent on
proper usage we are fortunate for the efforts.
Doug Brunet joins us with his
work on maintaining the new CBA Spreadsheet. The Roster management guy is
tracking and compiling the trades and roster movements as we move into the new
decade. He will generally be able to confirm roster and trade moves. He
may record and log information and events on a players game file personal page
or even on their main page. Doug may note significant performances and
present them to the league enhancing the experience. Doug's organization
skills even further technically move us ahead as he will further technically
evolve the CBA. Could we dare to say, Skype, Twitter, MySpace, and that CBA may
soon have a presence??. Right now WikiPedia links to us as the "International
Strat-O-Matic League".
We then have our next in line, San Diego Surf and Joe Wallace. Joe Wallace is entering his 10h season in CBA. He is a certifield senior CBA member. A 10 year man. Congratulations on behalf of the league office Joe. He has been at the bottom, and slowly built his way to the top. Wallace is now a perennial playoff contender. It was a long road. Starting in 2001 and toiling in the cellar pretty much until 2006 as one of CBA's lowest winning percentage franchise since 1997. Beginning as the Don Jensen owned Hamilton Harbors a winning franchise, but definitely a quickly aging one, Joe took over with a 75 win season in 2001. It was a long 4 more years gaining draft picks. He was patient. He was confident that he could build a team into not just a 1 season winner, but a force for years to come. He is one of the favorites to win the Championship every year it seems. Built through pitching, and key player acquisitions. Wallace has made many excellent trades over the years, and many great draft picks as well. This year San Diego was doing it again. Led by a strong rotation and good hitting and on base in the lineup. The Surf hit .287 this season. A little righty heavy, they hit .294 vs L. .283 vs R, but higher slug. They slugged 174 HR's in Staub a good number. MVP Candidate Kevin Youkilis .348 21 79, 1.225 Tot Avg had a marvelous year in the field as well. Roobinson Cano .310 18 HR 85 RBI at 2B. David Wright 12 HR 67 RBI .309 41 SB had another good year at 3B. Delmon Young 12HR 42 .335 in 288 AB was a good Johnstone candidate, providing necessary depth down the stretch. Manny being Manny led the team with 22 HR , adding 66 RBI and a .277 in platoon. Catching was a strength at bat as Jesu Montero hit 10HR 61 RBI .313 in fulltime duty. Jack Bruce added 17 HR's in his first fulltime role. Perhaps it was the superior bench strength that did it for SD fending off the Jackhammers? You can bet on it. SD didnt miss a beat when they rested they're regulars in Wallace's platoons. Usage was addressed at a highly eerily reminiscent of their Dawson rival Longue Pointe. Aubrey .360, German .444, David Murphy .324, Flores .317, R Pena .310 gave great bench. Jermaine Dye retired from CBA with a distinguished career of service mostly with SD and will become hall of fame eligible. He hit 19 HR 90 RBI .258. A .359 OBA and .458 Slug is more like Clemente division statistics.
The pitching looked dominant in their rotation. The team ERA 3.80 seemed a little higher than usual, then again the .687 X rating fielding was awful, and likely contributed to keeping SD under 100 win plateau for a 2nd concutive season. They relied on their starters and a bullpen by committee. The high save total was Matt Thornton 53 games 0-4 1.70 11 saves, Jason Bulger 7, F Rosriguez 5, Ho Chi Kuo 4 saves, Feliz debut with 3-1 1.07 and rounded a shaky little bullpen, which was suspect allowed 32% of its runners inherited to score. But its the Surf's starting pitching that is the talk. Peavy part time 10-1 2.01 ERA, Felix 18-11 3.62, Haren 21-9 3.54, Matt Garza 14-9. Good stuff. Hitters hit better lefty against them .244 only, a great .233 vs R! as a staff. With some glove, that ERA coulda been perhaps, closer to 3.30? Who knows could have been first in pitching not second in CBA behind eventual Staub champion Limoilou.
The rise of Joliet was another big story in 2010. The team that won 65 lost 97 in 2009, came back and won 89 in 2010. A 24 game swing. Frost had supporters for the manager of the year in balloting. Has Joliet developed a trademark style? Could it be speed? Well the hit much better last year scoring +46 runs over they're opponent and could have been more with that offense. A team .277 BA is strong, 170 HRs much improved, and a whopping 211 steals fantastic. Hits were doubles and runs aplenty 836 of them Clemente-esque, as many as the DH led Stirling. Joliet was in it all the way and was peaking as late as September 9th in their epic struggle and great pennant chase of San Diego last season. It was a hot race. Joliet closed with a furious August rush, tio draw within a game of the perennial leader SSD. As late as Sept 15th, within 2 games after beating who they should have The Beatles and Heaters. That was far as the reserves could take them. Usage bit them in the.
The defense was a little problematic hurting a decent staff with 111 miscues, .751 X rating. Pablo Sandoval hit .326 20 HR 82 RBI, amongst league leaders in BA and doubles with 46. AJ Pierzcyzszcnszki hit .309 12 HR 64 RBI was excellent behind the plate throwing out a strong 33%. .Aaron Hill was a player of the year candidate hitting 37 HR 114 RBI .291 at 2B with awesome .932X defense. Derek Lee was his rock solid self .35 29 HR 98 RBI. Alfonso Soriano was a major disappointment and was forced to pack his bags twice this off season in search of his potential with a humbling 16 HR 56 RBI .246 11 SBseason. That drop likely hurt the most in the final run for the div title. Luis Valbuena despite 14 HR, and his measely .218 BA, and Flyinmg Fred Lewis were also disappointing off the thin bench for the Jackhammers. Better support may have evened the race and is where the two Carter beasts SD and Joliet were separated from the title. Michael Bourne 4 HR 50 .264, 111 runs, 154 hits, 340OBA, stole a near CBA record 91 bases 3rd best mark of all time. If the OBA were higher. A .781 prod, and a .769 Total avg mark for the team was good, and 5.37 Runs created was in the upper end. Pitching was uncharacteristically better for Joliet in 2010. They allowed a .262 BA, and an average 32% IRSC. The team 4.38 ERA must come down in the Staub Conference. AJ Burnett went 13-12 3.76 177 K's to lead the staff. Looper blew the pennant on his own with a 9-17 record. So Frost went out and acquired Brian Matusz who will front the staff in 2011. It may be that team MVP Andrew Bailey since dealt, his rookie 26 save campaign, kept them in what Looper blew. Again Looper just blew. The rest of the pen was great. Duensing 6-0 as a lefty middle guy. J Gutierrez was excellent saving 6, Spot starters Maine 8-1, and Shairon Martis 5-4 2.63 did well. Shawn Green 5-1 3.31 4 saves also did a good job in set up. The starters threw a 4.69 ERA, while the pen a 3.99 ERA. Joliet gave up too many hits and the +429 WHIP was too high for that good offense to fight against.
High Bridge Heat and Owner John Miller. High Bridge is kind of like the National League New York equivalent of the the expansion New York Mets. Named after the old bridge across the Harlem river in NY City's upper Manhattan stretching to the Bronx. Their logo depicts that area especially close to the old Polo Grounds national league team for over a century. Their other New York Team, the Brooklyn Superbas catch many of the headlines with their gaudy offense and consecutive playoff appearances. Miller's team goes into its 3rd year with most of their draft picks plus a big #1 pick in exchange for the powerful slugger Paul Konerko who has taken his considerable at at 1B to Texas' Bryan Bashers. High Bridge is hoping to develop some core players to work with. Miller showed in year two that he will be a GM to reckon with, as he kept his Heaters in contention in the first half. They were in second place first week of May. 6 out June 22nd, then the rest and bench weren't there. It was his CM management that kept HB competitive at times. Miller custom designs his CM's for each team and was a spoiler for some parties in 2010. They had a good stretch in the third week of July taking 3 of 4 from contending Joliet, 2/3 from LP and sweeping The Jersey Rockers in 4.
They finished an improved 70-92 making big strides from their first year. In fact some guessed 100 losses for the Heaters, oops. This is John Miller were talking here. The man who refused to tank his team for higher draft placement. Two big time #1's coming. The also received the emerging Jason Vargas to move into the future with Fausto Carmona, Rick Porcello, Paul Mahom, Brett Cecil.. Its safe to say that High Bridge has had some poor MLB luck with many of there players not achieving the results John had hoped for but the talent is there on that staff. Anything can happen when you have pitching. But it is clear HB is in a build mode.
Highlites for HB last year included the 2-1 series win with Ohio which ultimately affected Ohios playoff advance. High Bridges extra inning walk off win to take the July 4th series from Ohio. Miller gives Kenan sleepless nights in Rogers. A 17 Inn game vs Joliet June 17th, Coco Crisp's 9 triples in 154 ABs this team hit 41 triples. Konerko's 24 HR 109 RBI .267 BA 17 HBP. Team MVP. Juan Uribe was a strength 17 HR 64 RBI .281. Luis Castillo in his last hurrah, had a great year stealing 39 .318. Denard Span a future star 8 HR 60 RBI .260. Lots of reserves and roster fillers to round out the weak offensive numbers. The pitchers had good seasons from Paul Maholm who was acquired before the season and went a respectable 12-12 4.26, and First round Pork Ricello who went 11-9 3.70. 39 bullpen by committee saves, and good pitching in setup by Sean Marshall 5-1 2.25 85 IP 64 games. Future remains to be seen how the players here develop as next season comes quickly.
The New Jersey Beatles made news this past week trading starting pitcher Tim Hudson for Felipe Paulino, Kevin Slowey, 5 tool Michael Taylor and a #2 draft. Steven Adler made a clear message. He will build from the ground up and construct a team for the future. A team that he will be patient and develop. In the past we saw an influx of GM's back around the dark ages who made future trades to win. high risk players and such. teams which aged fast. Teams like the Green Bay Roches, the Jonquiere Lifesavers, the Texas Desperadoes. See them in the defunct team pages, the archives, or click the link. A sharp Strat-o-matic mind with years of experience and championships in other leagues, Adler knows how to win, but now may not be the time. There is some talent here. Players like Justin Smoak, Jed Lowrie, Mike Stanton, Carlos Quentin 22 HR 52 RBI .275, Player of the year candidate Adam Lind 43 HR 120 RBI .320. David DeJesus 20 HR 68 RBI .267, Daniel Murphy 10HR 48 RBI .260, Miguel Olivo 19 HR 503 RBI .240. This team looks good down the road. It remains to be seen what Adler does after his first successful campaign in which he managed his usage well and had some decent team numbers despite the wretched record. 167 Homers and a .251 BA was pretty decent, good power for Staub. The ragtag pitching staff was led by middle man Aaron Heilman 2-1 3.81 ERA 5 saves. Vincente Padilla led the team with 9 wins 15 losses. Two 20 game losers in Rich Thrill Hill this years Ronson Award runner up, and the rediculous Chris Tillman at 5-21, who in some circles has been compared to a modern day Herm Wehmeier. Timn Hudson sucked as well 7-18 5.31 ERA. This team is developing and will win more next season despite perhaps becoming the team high ERA threat to CBA record books. What if ? The Beatles could be surprising in the draft, and more surprsing in the number of wins they achieve if they get the pitching.
The Dawson Division.
Arguably CBA's toughest division for a few years, again still may be the class of Staub. The Limoilou Wendigo won the Staub Championship. They are the best team in that conference. With the best pitching staff in CBA, the Wendigo lurked just under the radar until Jeff Boutet's boys brought it on home with impressive playoff games. The Wendigo started by holding first place throughout May and June before Brandon Phillips and his LP Loggers caught fire. This year they had Montreal who split the 12 games with them. The cries of "Loo, Loo," weren't the Loonies barking at a full moon or whatever those things do, it was the Limoilou fans, Limoiloooo. They won 93 games in '10 taking the final playoff spot, the wildcard in the final block. The Wendigo made short work of the rivals Longue Pointe, and Maine. Details can be found on the playoff pages. The battle for a playoff spot went to the very end being determined ina strategic Netplay series with Belfast and Montreal. LP took control of the division's first place on June 24th, and never looked back despite Montreal and Limmer hovering around. Another huge series in the 2nd to last week saw LP square against contending Montreal who needed to beat them to gain ground and maybe a wildcard. The series game 1 went to Montreal 6-4 in extras won on a big HR by Juan Rivera. LP took the next two then Montreal won the final. Had LP not split that and their last series vs Limoilou who knows? The battles were tight. Each game made a difference.
They out scored their opposition by more than a full run. while posting the the league lowest ERA 3.60. They destroyed right handed pitching winning 74 and losing only 41 vs Righties. Disaster vs Lefty going 19-28. They struggled in 1 run games 18-28, meaning that somehow they werent getting the big hits enough to make fullest use of that great pitching. PH only hit .239 but Gary Sheffield closed his CBA career with 6 Pinch HR's in 2010.. The teams Iso Power was a low .169, and 5 runs really needs to be more like 5.50+ to be efficient in Staub. The team got on base plenty .352, but a low .431 slg was average not awful, but decent. Both Limoilou and Longue Pointe stayed within 3 games for the entire season until August 30th. At that pointe, LP's depth took over and increased the margin between 5-7 games. Limoilou had a stellar season from Prince Fielder 34 HR 115 RBI .297. Mike Cuddyer .266, about league average, 32 HR 101 RBI's had a breakout year after all his CBA service. Beltran 6 HR 46 RBI .349 had injury problems limiting his play time, but he produced some good offense in consideration of his votes for Johnstone award. Granderson added 21 HR 85 RBI's. Josh Bartlett sparked the contests at leadoff .287 18HR 62 RBI 27SB. Felipe Lopez was excellent 5 HR 64 RBI .313. The team hit .266 overall with a strong 180 Homers. Middle of the pack batting average. The pitching was as stated strong. A .242 Opp avg, best in CBA. Jared Washburn came out of nowhere to post a super 15-4 season 2.60 in 174 IP. The rotation of Hanson 11-4 2.82, Clayton Kershaw 7-2. Scherzer was a great draft pick up going 12-11 3.66. But the pen may have saved the staff for the season. Raffy Betancourt 5-2 2.28, Ryan Franklin 6-5 2.90, Broxton a reliever award contender, 74 IP 47 Hits 30 saves. A .272 IRSC team total. 2-1 strikeout to walks. A .745 X rating was average.
The Longue Pointe Loggers had another excellent season which was based on the 3 LP principals of Pitching with K's, Speed, Depth, and alot of hit and run/bunts. The formula has worked for a long time in LP. But it took bold drafting and surviving a few snickers on draft day. When Dennis drafted Scott Podsednick, no one envisioned the multiple roles and value he had in sparking CBA's 2009 Staub Champs to a Dawson title, no easy feat. He went near the end of round 1. But he sure played like a 1st rounder 13 HR 73 RBI .297 39 SB 7 triples only 2 errors in the field. He rotated all over the field and the lineup even batting cleanup towards season end. Brandon Phillips acquired for Carlos the Zambraino had a great season 20 HR 95 RBI .303 35 SB. Hunter added 19 HR 17 SB .287. Theriot added 25 stolen bases while Nyger Morgan was awesome 3 HR 25 RBI .325 62 SB in 412 AB. The speed was amazing. 213 Stolen bases. Ichiro 5 HR 47 RBI .333 32 SB. Aramis Ramirez 19 HR .315. Ramirez was intentionally passed 18 times. It was Longue Pointe's best offensive output since Claude LeMarre when they were the Hitmen. PH were efficient at .281 65 for 251. Had 9 PH HR's which 4 were hit by Hideki Matsui. They bunted an awful lot successful at a .73% clip, a bit low, 82-112 in advances. The team struggled against lefties hitting .261, but a good .280 vs righties. The pitchers were well balanced however. The team .339 OBA was fair, and the slugging was poor overall despite the increase in teams HR to 152 from under 100 last year. LP was at or near leading the CBA in batting much of the year before succumbing late to slow bat-itis.. The pitchers actually hit .156 which isnt bad, but no HR's this year. The team fielded at a .757 X rating, which is low by LP standards, but was hurt by Ryan Theriot's .636 X rating and 17 errors and Geoff Blum's defense in utility .659. As result the pitching staff had an increase in its ERA. The starters ERA was significantly better 3.71 than the relievers at 4.30. The LP ERA dropped from leaguye best to 5th best in CBA at 3.91. Losing Zambrano may have hurt that, but increased their wins with more defense and offense which they needed this season to compete with the improved offenses in Joliet, Montreal, Allentown. The starters led by CC Sabathia 22-6 2.86 190 K's was brilliant. While Tim Lincecum was dominating 17-3 2.43. He struck out a CBA high 267 K's in 225 IP. Ryan Dempster was 11-7 3.61, and Brain Tallet was a find going 12-6 4.66. The bullpen wasn't as effective as in years past. A .306 IRSC was high ...for LP decent elsewhere based on rep. CJ Wilson did a good job closing 4-2 2.29 16 saves, while Frank Francisco added 21 more. Both blew a number of saves. 1265 team strikeouts was outstanding 3rd best in CBA. With Belfast building, and Montreal building in 2011, this may be a good time for Longue Pointe to challenge for another Dawson title.
Montreal Crows. Efficient. This team went 91-71.
First place throuout April? The Montreal who? The Royals? Wolfmen? no Its the 3rd Montreal franchise, the Crows. Not even the best pick in the draft being an expansion team. In tow years can win? Dont count on it in 2011. The stars aligned for Doug Brunet and his Crows originally named the 'Murder'. How appropriate since they murdered Staub in 2011. Despite the protests, the name changed and the attitude grew nasty as they took no prisoners, the CBA cinderella. Doug Brunet manager of the year in piloting an expansion team to playoff contender within 1 season. The question is how? The numbers and stats dont jump at you. But there are some variables that came into play. Base runner movement. The team did not strikeout, and pout runners in play. They were also efficient in what they did. The sacrifice success rate was high .789, PH well adding 6 PH HRs. Hit and run, was 3rd in CBA with 46 advances, and a team .279 BA. They got on base .334, and a .414 SLG. But thats not why they won. They went 30-15 in 1 run games. A .272 IRSC meant the bullpen was efficient. Brunet used Super Hal running strategies to his advantage and the efficiency paid dividends. The pitching staff was excellent, and efficient as well. Pitchers needed to keep the offense in games though not with the bat hitting .102 despite Scott Feldman's 16 sacs among leaders. The offense struggled past the cleanup position. A .268 BA with 151 HR 768 runs was pretty good. Not up to Joliet standard, but it did help the Crows score slightly more than they allowed. The lineup got on the board and the pen held them. The team was patchwork. The staff a multitude of characters. The story of the first half was the legend of Uerhara. Uehara fever griped Catherine and Piel streets as partiers wore samurai masks and winced about. He went 7-1 2.44 in 12 starts to help get the Crows out to a good lead. Steve Richmond has a great year 9-5 3.23 in 23 starts. Scott Feldman had many quality starts and was effective matching others teams aces went 11-8 3.12. Bannister ate innings and had support of about 5.17 runs per, went 9-7, Villanueva 10-7 3.63, Andres Galarraga went 11-10. The pen could have done a bit better for the starters. Overall a .264 BA. Starters had a 4.05 ERA, relievers 4.22.
The offense was led by all world Rajai Davis who hovered near .400 for a good part of the season before settling to a 1 HR 36 RBI .343 BA with 57 SB setting the table along with the steady Jeff Keppinger who was 9 HR 47 RBI .295 and moved runners along well. Todd Helton returned to Hall of Fame form with a 13 HR 80 RBI .320 season with a .416 OBA. With the leadoff hitters moving things, and Helton on a scoring Juan Team MVP Rivera had an MVP type season. He was so clutch. a .361 OBA .568 Slug, 32 HR 108 RBI .313 season. Seems that Juan Rivera absolutely carried the Crows into the final month of the season where he really caught fire gaining CBA accolades down the stretch in key games. He made it a season to remember. Like Aubrey Huff had done last season in winning the MVP, same could be made case for Rivera, though the voters didn't see it that way. It is good that owner should read the weekly boxes to read the game hilites and comments atop the PRINT files. The HTML's dont have the comments added after each game. A Callaspo was a good add 14 HR 68 RBI, Chris Getz stole 25, Francoeur 14 79 .270, and Ramon Castro was devastating hitting 18 HR in 157 AB, 13 vs lefties. Montreal hit .284 fattening up and feasting on lefties. The Crows hit 4 grand slam HR's. Ironically their weakest hitters, 3 infielders, Hannahan, Desmond (start of good career?), Juff Keppinger, and Endy Chavez since released. Todd Helton despite his excellent season saw his X rating decline to .761, off from his customary .900's, he is a question mark next season, and could be a candidate to return to the DH league. Could Brooklyn be calling again? Not too many players out of position were played. The final .701 X rating was better than the overall .687 which isnt too bad a discrepancy. Montreal definitely worked it out to meet his usage needs, and in the process actually created a working platoon system which was able to put the variables together and win. Miontreal showed how planning and platooning can work, like Dawsons Dennis Concepcion proves again and again, its not the superstarst and stats, but the whole picture. The Crows jumped out to a good start, held it, while the others knocked each other around. Many teams had to throw lefties to meet usage minimums. Could it be that beating lefties is so important? In CBA it just may be. Worst to constender Doug Brunet had a good season in 2010, and is hoping to build for the long term. It was this season that a rookie, out did the veterans in rare instance. Then again, Brunet is no mere rookie. He volunteers his efforst to CBA, and places much time into his Strat CBA.
The Belfast Brawlers are re tooling their team and in a building phase. Could nevber count out the Brawlin Bullies because they still were capable of sneaking up on you and defeating you. Another team that featured on lefties, but they just didn't have something in 2010. A team .265 BA 148 HR 743 runs. Led by Alexei Ramirez 18 HR 72 RBI .296, 20 SB and Aubrey Huff who again had a good season 22 HR 75 RBI .285 BA. Freddie Sanchez .295 13 HR 67 RBI had a super year at 2B. McClouth added 16 HR .294, and led team with .934 Total avg in platoon duty. While Chone Figgins had 62 SB before being dealt off the Brooklyn late season for draft choice. Alex Rios added 19 more HR. Belfast offense improved but the pitching was fair, allowing3/4 of run more than Limoilou. In Dawson that was a huge difference. Perhaps in another division the Brawlers could have done better? 26-40 vs their own, but closer to .500 22-26 vs Rogers. .811 sacrifice and small ball was typical Belfast. PH .241, not good. The .341 OBA was good, but the .400 slug, deficient. 4.76 runs created not nearly enough when Joliet, SD, LP, Montreal score around 5 a game or more. The .712 total team average was not too bad, better than Montreal. The bullpen was excellent .247 IRSC, but little run support for pitchers with 4.59. Belfast couldn't convert the baserunners. Needed the pure hitter to bring 'em around. Belfast stole 170 bases overall. This team had to juggle many players around to meet usage. Quite a few OF roamed the grounds. Carroll, Dickerson, Rios, McClouth, Garko, Moss, Sullivan, Kotsay, Brian Schneider even. Dickerson 5 HR 34 .318 had a good rookie campaign. Contreras and Trevor Cahill both won 9 games for Belfast. Odly going into the final week it was Belfast who spoiled Montreal Crwos pennant chase with a split 2-2 in the final Netplayed series. Belfast should improve as Trevor cahill becomes an ace in 2011, something Belfast has been sorely lacking for years. Corpas and Mazzaro have made strides so there is reason for hope as the '11 draft approaches.
Can you believe since Newsletter #1 in 2003 (press archive) we have had 290
of these league memo's? Lots of writing. Well here's the state of CBA right
now. Where we are at. First I'd like to commen each and every one of you for a
Phantastic (In respect to Philly) year. It was well run on each end. You guys
were a) Efficient b) Reliable c) Prompt d) Careful. It made the league office
job so much easier than the year before. In fact this season for this first in
3 years had no major crashes. In an attempt for the truest statistics, or CBA
Excutive Consultant Jack Frost managed to eliminate a statistical anomaly. A
game was counted 2 times. Jack Painstakingly rebuilt from all our carefully
archived files the season eliminating the problem and even managed to trim the
'memory fat' from the main files so file size were smaller. This year the
player notebook file which we always record highlites, ate much memory. 1 or 2
megs. This is just 1 reason why Jack Frost is well respected by the
commmisioners office. His scheduling work is another. I would like to
acjnowledge publically his fine and dedicated efforts. His love for CBA is the
motivation.
This years administration did a fine job working behind the scenes. It was
a team effort without question. The proper and efficient running of an
organziation like CBA requires effort from several. It starts at the top. Your
league Presidents set the tome for CBA, a league whcih has a VERY positive
vibe. I must say, that is the coolness factor of our GM's and the tone and
manner and friendships that have evolved for which I am most proud. Friends, not
just acquaintances have been made. GM's have met, socialized, Netplayed, talked
deal, BS with each other, and now become part of each others lives. Wheres the
tissue? Tito? Jermaine? And this years Academy award goes to...
Cory Light. A trusted and awesome CBA person. We owe MAJOR thanks to Cory, who
at his OWN expense provides us with our CBA website. The domain is his, and
server fees are his contribution. Its more than appreciated on my end and
judging by the webstats, by many others internationally who do follow our
league...especially at draft time since we generally are the first to draft the
new cards, and be on MLB schedule with our statistics. There are quite a few
who track our stats to project for their own league uses. The draft is a
template for many when their drafts begin as well. Its somewhat of an honor
when we do get our occasional emails from web visitors. Cory Light sets the
tone with his personality and diplomacy. CBA elder statesman on council.
Cory's vote carries alot of respect and weight in council. Thanks again Cory,
you're the best.
Dennis Concepcion is another integral part of the machine. Dennis also is the
true spirit of CBA and section 15. His manner and enthusiasm has transformed
CBA directly and indirectly from a league in transition to a positive, fun, and
stable league. His voice of reason and innovation is resposible for making CBA
not only a basic run of the mill Strat league to a league with a personality. A
league which has taken on a life force through his Press releases and finely
detailed and comprehensive photo galleries are known throught the Stratworld.
Yes, CBA is well known after 13 seasons. Dennis is also active in trade council
and rules committee discussions.
JD Adams is our Usage Commisioner and going into his 2nd season on trade
committee. The committee consists of JD, Dennis, Cory, Rob Hite and myself.
Derek has done an excellent job for 3 seasons now review usage, and saving the
office time while creating a custom easy to use weekly reference that is simply
unique to CBA. Its is so easy, a caveman can use it. CBA has evolved
technically, and is even more user friendly thanks to Derek who has eased the
time it takes to set upa weekly CM. Since inception, I have noticed our weekly
CM forwarding rate to have increased from about 11 or 12 per week to about 16-17
on and off list. Make no mistake, your GM 'friends' are trying to beat you.
They're tailoring CM's to match your teams, and beat you. It about winning, not
the draft. Thanks Derek. These are our council members for 2011 season.
Within the CBA core are our consultants. Executive Technical consultant Jack Frost, and Committee consultants Rob Hite, Jack Jung, and for 2011 Doug Brunet. Rob is a CBA elder statesman, and original member who played in another league with founder Claude LaMarre, and is always well known in Strat circles. He also enters the World Series looking for his 3 crown. Hite lends his expertise again in 2011 as an executive consultant to committee. Rob has his input and league rules and issues of importance. 2001 CBA Champion Jack Jung of Ottawa Otters fame is another 13 year original veteran is on hand to assist with some rule committee and council input on an as needed basis. Doug Brunet Joins us with a wealth (30+ years) of Strat-o-matic experience. He is thorough and sharp. He will assume duties as a council consultant, and Transaction, Roster Management official. He joins our council list. Consultants do no have an official vote on trade council, but their opinions are sometimes asked or presented in the decision making and voting process. Generally trade committee needs majority to pass, however 1 dissention is enough to trigger a committee action to review a trade then a final vote. GM’s input are welcome to Committee if presented to a league President for introduction. This procedure is in effect for trade review and rules committee review. Suggestions are welcome via proper channels to committee, not on CBA_List.
The season started with the opening draft and a flurry of trade activity preceding and during what was a smooth and exciting 2010 draft. There was a trendous amount of trade activity leading up to the February draft. Many trades involved draft picks exchanging hands. Picks high, and not so surprisingly with the increased vale of the late rounds, due to our CBA formula, many late picks were not only relevant but brought in some good talent in late rounds. Big names moved. Long time Basher Michael Young brought back power bat of Nick Swisher. Bryan, now adds in 2011 Paul Konerko as they look to slug way to playoffs. Brett Myers went to Carolina, Carmona went for a 5 to High Bridge. Ian Kinsler also went to the Coppersheads for a 1. C Town got Jav Vasquez for a 1, Bryan also got Jason Bay. Brooklyn answered by picking up Ryan Braun, and Nick Markakis. In a win, win trade a busy BSP also swapped 2010 MVP candidate and Staff ace carlos Zambrano. Joliet acquired Corey Hart for a few late draft picks from C Town. Jon Buck only cost Ohio a #4, and Southwest got Cy candidate Theodore Lilly. Cooperstown countered by snatching up MVP contender Brian McCann. Kurt Suzuki catcher, went to Striling. Malachi Nellum made a lot of off season moves in 2010, including acquiring closer Joe Nathan for the stretch run. The draft saw a lot of talent move in round 1. Strasberg went to Keth Jones Sunville as the 1st overall pick. He was followed by Rick Porcello, and Brian Matusz. Andy Bailey was the fourth but was just dealt for 2011 to Kennesaw Mt.
Other first rounders included Carlos Gonzalez, Chris Coughlin, Mat Latos, Trevhor Cahil went to Belfast late round 1, Scott Podsednick, and Garrett Jones as well. Some good talent also spread into the round 10 where Josh Thole, and Ike Davis both were drafted. Part 2 coming soon.
November 9th, 2010
World Series Tradition the 2010 World Series is traditional CBA in every sense of the word. CBA offers official congratulations to Staub Champion Limoilou who swept Dawson titlist Longue Pointe in 4 games. Limmer then was defeated 7-4 in game 1 of the Staub finals. They then exploded reeling off 4 straight to lead them to this matchup against Clemente.
Clemente champ Philly, also lost their 1st game to explosive Brooklyn. But Philly was able to quiet the Superbas bats with good defense, and power to win 4 to 1. Carolina played tough winning 2 to 1 after 3 netgames. The series stretched all the way to 7. Philly took game 4 and 5. In game 6 Scott's Copperheads, faced with the brink of elimination stormed back to tie it up. The Phantastics then won the final game 7, 9-5.
A few pre season speculated these were the favorites to meet in the fall classic. Philly is hitting .280 over the playoffs. They have pounded 17 HRs in 12 games. With a 4.14 team ERA. Not bad for a DH league staff. They have only gotten on base .351 OBA, and a .455 slg... Slightly off their .355 OBA and .480 slg during the season. Theyve created 6 runs per game and the .791 total average is lower than the seasons .828 total average. My friends that points either to great dice luck, or superior Stratomatic management. Winning key games going 8-4 in playoffs. Brooklyn series was not easy, nor was Carolina. Hite is here.
Jeff B of the Mighty Wendigo. For years been called the mighty Wendigo in press releases and reports, ever wonder why? Well rookies here's why, this F'n guy is good! All he does is win, and beat you. He parallels to the old baseball dynasties. A Staub legend, the Mighty Wendigo led by the classy Jeff Boutet of Quebec. He's been to the Finals before, and before, and before...You get it. Why is it that some guys always get there? Ask Jeff he knows first hand. Aside from the 3 he's won, he's been in 4, now in his 5th. This is Rob Hite's 5th World Series winning two and losing two. Look at the list. These are your best CBA managers of all time. Its all about the wins gentlemen. Wins get the glory and both Jeff and Rob have a date with destiny. The two original GM's. Who is CBA's all time greatest? We know about Bob Fidler's 3 of 4 which may never be equaled. We know about Marc Wass record number of division titles 8 and record 10 playoff appearances. Rob Hite has done that in Schmidt too. We know about the classic Dawson Quebec, LP, Limoilou 3 way dance and later the Belfast, Limoilou, LP 3 way dance, year after year. And Jeff is still there at the end 13 full seasons later. We know about Phillies domination of the Schmidt title. Rob is no stranger to winning and its thrill, and defeat in losing tough games in the late playoffs and early rounds. But he knows how to win just as Jeff. Usually when their backs are against the wall, they rise to the top. Whose CBA's best ever?...
here's a look back at Limoilou vs Quebec in Jeff Boutet's first ever CBA playoff series in 1997 against arch rival Quebec Capitales led by Chris Boutin.
----- ------------ ------------ --- -------------------- -------------------
10/ 0 QCD 6 6 0 LWD 2 4 1 B.Radke (1-0) S.Trachsel (0-1)
10/ 0 QCD 6 10 0 LWD 5 11 1 R.Springer (1-0) T.Mathews (0-1)
10/ 0 LWD 6 11 0 QCD 4 6 1 M.Brandenbur (1-0) D.Burba (0-1)
10/ 0 LWD 10 14 2 QCD 7 9 1 A.Sager (1-0) H.Flener (0-1)
10/ 0 LWD 0 4 1 QCD 9 13 0 B.Radke (2-0) S.Trachsel (0-2)
10/ 0 QCD 7 11 0 LWD 8 12 0 T.Borland (1-0) M.James (0-1)
10/ 0 QCD 1 8 2 LWD 9 11 1 J.Lieber (1-0) D.Burba (0-2)
NAME BAVG GM AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO HB SH DP SB CS E
S.Berry 1.000 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
G.Hill .500 1 2 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
R.Amaral .462 7 26 5 12 1 0 0 3 6 4 0 0 0 3 2 0
M.Duncan .400 5 5 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
D.Segui .367 7 30 4 11 6 0 0 7 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0
B.Higginson .367 7 30 6 11 3 0 1 4 2 4 0 0 0 0 1 2
B.Brown .333 3 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0
J.Edmonds .308 7 26 7 8 2 0 3 7 4 6 0 0 0 0 0 0
R.Durham .261 7 23 1 6 1 1 0 2 1 4 2 0 0 0 0 1
S.Brosius .207 7 29 6 6 1 0 1 3 2 4 1 0 1 0 0 1
B.Larkin .200 7 25 7 5 0 0 2 6 7 3 0 0 1 1 0 1
M.Macfarlane .130 7 23 2 3 1 0 1 3 4 8 0 0 0 0 0 0
J.Levis .000 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
B.Mueller .000 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
C.Shipley ---- 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
D.Lewis ---- 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
D.Sheaffer ---- 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
ALL PITCHERS .000 7 15 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 2 0 0 0 1
----------------- ---- --- --- --- --- -- -- -- --- --- --- -- -- -- --- -- --
TEAM TOTALS .278 241 67 1 37 41 2 6 6
7 40 17 9 27 3 3 3
NAME ERA W L PCT G GS CG SH SV IP H R ER HR BB SO
R.Bottalico 0.00 0 0 ---- 2 0 0 0 2 2.0 0 0 0 0 1 4
M.Brandenburg 1.80 1 0 1.000 2 0 0 0 0 5.0 2 1 1 1 0 5
T.Borland 1.80 1 0 1.000 3 0 0 0 0 5.0 3 1 1 0 2 0
J.Lieber 4.00 1 0 1.000 2 2 0 0 0 9.0 9 4 4 3 3 7
A.Sager 4.50 1 0 1.000 4 0 0 0 0 4.0 7 2 2 1 0 2
T.Mathews 5.14 0 1 .000 4 0 0 0 1 7.0 4 4 4 1 2 7
T.Belcher 5.25 0 0 ---- 2 2 0 0 0 12.0 14 8 7 1 6 9
D.Linton 7.20 0 0 ---- 1 1 0 0 0 5.0 6 5 4 1 2 7
S.Trachsel 8.31 0 2 .000 2 2 1 0 0 13.0 17 14 12 7 2 9
J.Schmidt ---- 0 0 ---- 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
J.Juden ---- 0 0 ---- 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 1 1 1 0 0 0
T.Vanegmond ---- 0 0 ---- 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
D.Springer ---- 0 0 ---- 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
ALL NON-PITCHERS ---- 0 0 ---- 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 0 +0
----------------- ---- -- -- ----- --- -- -- -- -- ----- --- --- --- -- --- ---
TEAM TOTALS 5.23 3 7 1 3 63 36 18
4 .571 7 0 62.0 40 15
In 1999 Jeff and Limmer made it to the Staub Finals losing to eventual Staub champ Longue Pointe managed then by Claude LaMarre (LaMarre trophy is CBA's championship). Rob and Philly lost in rd 1 to eventual WS champ St Foy (Dino Barnabe). In 2000 Hite went to the finals losing to LaMarre, but winning it all in 2002 against who else, Jeff Boutet! A rematch. Hite beat Jeff in 5 games with what some consider CBA's all time best team which won 120 games. In 2003 Brooklyn defeated Philly in the Clemente finals for the right to play Jeff Boutet. Limoilou defeated Brooklyn 4 to 1 in that series only to see Brooklyn defeat Philly once again in 2004 enroute to Brooklyn's World Title. In 2005 Philly went to the finals losing to Longue Pointe in 7 on Miracle Mirabelli's performance. Mirabelli had a great unlikely hero series that year, and hit a game tying HR in extras to lead to victory. Limoilou lost in the Staub finals.... Then of course The Philly championship year of 2007 Hite defeating the Skokie Wolfmen.
Who is perhaps? Look at the Kings of CBA....
CBA World Series Champs
1997 Limoilou Wendigo (Jeff Boutet) vs. Parma Flamingos (Lou Bloss) in 7
1998 St Foy Frenchies (Dino Barnabe) vs. Longue Pointe (Claude LaMarre) in 7
1999 Limoilou Wendigo (Jeff Boutet) vs. Beauport Gamblers (Martin Boulet) in 6
2000 Longue Pointe Hitmen (Claude LaMarre) vs. Philly Phantastics (Rob Hite) in 7
2001 Ottawa Otters (Jack Jung) vs. Quebec Capitales (Chris Boutin) in 7
2002 Philly Phantastics (Rob Hite) vs Limoilou Wendigo (Jeff Boutet) in 5
2003 Limoilou Wendigo (Jeff Boutet) vs Brooklyn Superbas (Marc Wass) in 5
2004 Brooklyn Superbas (Marc Wass) vs Kansas City A's (Rich Schneider) in 5
2005 .Longue Pointe (Dennis Concepcion) defeats Philly Phantastics (Rob Hite) in 7
2006 Indiana Redbirds (Bob Fidler) vs Neah Bay Whalers (league managed) in 7
2007 Philly Phantastics (Rob Hite) vs Skokie Wolfmen ("Wolfman" Shapiro)
2008 Indiana Redbirds (Bob Fidler) 4 games to 3 vs Skokie Wolfmen (Wolfman Shapiro)
2009 Indiana Redbirds (Bob Fidler) 4 games to 2 vs Longue Pointe (Dennis Concepcion)
here's a look back at Limoilou vs Quebec in Jeff Boutet's first ever CBA playoff series in 1997 against arch rival Quebec Capitales led by Chris Boutin.
----- ------------ ------------ --- -------------------- -------------------
10/ 0 QCD 6 6 0 LWD 2 4 1 B.Radke (1-0) S.Trachsel (0-1)
10/ 0 QCD 6 10 0 LWD 5 11 1 R.Springer (1-0) T.Mathews (0-1)
10/ 0 LWD 6 11 0 QCD 4 6 1 M.Brandenbur (1-0) D.Burba (0-1)
10/ 0 LWD 10 14 2 QCD 7 9 1 A.Sager (1-0) H.Flener (0-1)
10/ 0 LWD 0 4 1 QCD 9 13 0 B.Radke (2-0) S.Trachsel (0-2)
10/ 0 QCD 7 11 0 LWD 8 12 0 T.Borland (1-0) M.James (0-1)
10/ 0 QCD 1 8 2 LWD 9 11 1 J.Lieber (1-0) D.Burba (0-2)
NAME BAVG GM AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO HB SH DP SB CS E
S.Berry 1.000 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
G.Hill .500 1 2 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
R.Amaral .462 7 26 5 12 1 0 0 3 6 4 0 0 0 3 2 0
M.Duncan .400 5 5 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
D.Segui .367 7 30 4 11 6 0 0 7 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0
B.Higginson .367 7 30 6 11 3 0 1 4 2 4 0 0 0 0 1 2
B.Brown .333 3 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0
J.Edmonds .308 7 26 7 8 2 0 3 7 4 6 0 0 0 0 0 0
R.Durham .261 7 23 1 6 1 1 0 2 1 4 2 0 0 0 0 1
S.Brosius .207 7 29 6 6 1 0 1 3 2 4 1 0 1 0 0 1
B.Larkin .200 7 25 7 5 0 0 2 6 7 3 0 0 1 1 0 1
M.Macfarlane .130 7 23 2 3 1 0 1 3 4 8 0 0 0 0 0 0
J.Levis .000 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
B.Mueller .000 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
C.Shipley ---- 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
D.Lewis ---- 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
D.Sheaffer ---- 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
ALL PITCHERS .000 7 15 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 2 0 0 0 1
----------------- ---- --- --- --- --- -- -- -- --- --- --- -- -- -- --- -- --
TEAM TOTALS .278 241 67 1 37 41 2 6 6
7 40 17 9 27 3 3 3
NAME ERA W L PCT G GS CG SH SV IP H R ER HR BB SO
R.Bottalico 0.00 0 0 ---- 2 0 0 0 2 2.0 0 0 0 0 1 4
M.Brandenburg 1.80 1 0 1.000 2 0 0 0 0 5.0 2 1 1 1 0 5
T.Borland 1.80 1 0 1.000 3 0 0 0 0 5.0 3 1 1 0 2 0
J.Lieber 4.00 1 0 1.000 2 2 0 0 0 9.0 9 4 4 3 3 7
A.Sager 4.50 1 0 1.000 4 0 0 0 0 4.0 7 2 2 1 0 2
T.Mathews 5.14 0 1 .000 4 0 0 0 1 7.0 4 4 4 1 2 7
T.Belcher 5.25 0 0 ---- 2 2 0 0 0 12.0 14 8 7 1 6 9
D.Linton 7.20 0 0 ---- 1 1 0 0 0 5.0 6 5 4 1 2 7
S.Trachsel 8.31 0 2 .000 2 2 1 0 0 13.0 17 14 12 7 2 9
J.Schmidt ---- 0 0 ---- 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
J.Juden ---- 0 0 ---- 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 1 1 1 0 0 0
T.Vanegmond ---- 0 0 ---- 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
D.Springer ---- 0 0 ---- 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
ALL NON-PITCHERS ---- 0 0 ---- 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 0 +0
----------------- ---- -- -- ----- --- -- -- -- -- ----- --- --- --- -- --- ---
TEAM TOTALS 5.23 3 7 1 3 63 36 18
4 .571 7 0 62.0 40 15
In 1999 Jeff and Limmer made it to the Staub Finals losing to eventual Staub champ Longue Pointe managed then by Claude LaMarre (LaMarre trophy is CBA's championship). Rob and Philly lost in rd 1 to eventual WS champ St Foy (Dino Barnabe). In 2000 Hite went to the finals losing to LaMarre, but winning it all in 2002 against who else, Jeff Boutet! A rematch. Hite beat Jeff in 5 games with what some consider CBA's all time best team which won 120 games. In 2003 Brooklyn defeated Philly in the Clemente finals for the right to play Jeff Boutet. Limoilou defeated Brooklyn 4 to 1 in that series only to see Brooklyn defeat Philly once again in 2004 enroute to Brooklyn's World Title. In 2005 Philly went to the finals losing to Longue Pointe in 7 on Miracle Mirabelli's performance. Mirabelli had a great unlikely hero series that year, and hit a game tying HR in extras to lead to victory. Limoilou lost in the Staub finals.... Then of course The Philly championship year of 2007 Hite defeating the Skokie Wolfmen.
Who is perhaps? Look at the Kings of CBA....
CBA World Series Champs
1997 Limoilou Wendigo (Jeff Boutet) vs. Parma Flamingos (Lou Bloss) in 7
1998 St Foy Frenchies (Dino Barnabe) vs. Longue Pointe (Claude LaMarre) in 7
1999 Limoilou Wendigo (Jeff Boutet) vs. Beauport Gamblers (Martin Boulet) in 6
2000 Longue Pointe Hitmen (Claude LaMarre) vs. Philly Phantastics (Rob Hite) in 7
2001 Ottawa Otters (Jack Jung) vs. Quebec Capitales (Chris Boutin) in 7
2002 Philly Phantastics (Rob Hite) vs Limoilou Wendigo (Jeff Boutet) in 5
2003 Limoilou Wendigo (Jeff Boutet) vs Brooklyn Superbas (Marc Wass) in 5
2004 Brooklyn Superbas (Marc Wass) vs Kansas City A's (Rich Schneider) in 5
2005 .Longue Pointe (Dennis Concepcion) defeats Philly Phantastics (Rob Hite) in 7
2006 Indiana Redbirds (Bob Fidler) vs Neah Bay Whalers (league managed) in 7
2007 Philly Phantastics (Rob Hite) vs Skokie Wolfmen ("Wolfman" Shapiro)
2008 Indiana Redbirds (Bob Fidler) 4 games to 3 vs Skokie Wolfmen (Wolfman Shapiro)
2009 Indiana Redbirds (Bob Fidler) 4 games to 2 vs Longue Pointe (Dennis Concepcion)
October 4th 2010
Round one saw good action.Staub's Limoilou led by Jeff Boutet swept last
years Staub champion Longue Pointe Loggers in 4 games. It was Felipe Lopez bat
combined with good pitching, better yet dominant pitching which stopped the
Lumberjacks from reaching base. Hanson, Ubald, and Kershaw stopped CBA batting
champions.
It was Maine and SanDiego. The Express derailed the Surfers aspirations for
Series immortality with a 4-2 series win. The reliable King Felix looked more
like a jester in his 2 putrid dperformances effectively costing Joe Wallace a
shot at the crown. Meanwhile bottom feeders A Gonzalez and Barmes were heroes
each knockin in 7 runs in a good series.
In Clemente, Philly walked over Brooklyn with dominant starting pitching and a
few late rallies in a closer than shows 4-1 rout. Hite is looking for his
cheesesteak in the mail right about now....Now was that Jimmy's or
D'Allessandro's Rob? The Brooklyn Bats went cold despite Brauns stellar series
.450 3 HR 4RBI, while Utley, Drew, and Abreu, torched the Superbas pitching for
a .316 ERA.
The Carolina Copperheads led by none other than Scott Kenan himself, dominated
Parker this season. They did not dominate the JD Adams led Skokie Lizard
Kings. The 4-3 series was a fantastic one for J Johson who won 3 games in an
MVP performance for the Copperhead snakes. Ryan Ludwick went nuts with 4 HR's
in the series.
October 4th 2010 Round one saw good action. Staub's Limoilou led by Jeff Boutet swept last years Staub champion
Longue Pointe Loggers in 4 games. It was Felipe Lopez bat combined with good pitching,
better yet dominant pitching which stopped the Lumberjacks from reaching base. Hanson, Ubald,
and Kershaw stopped CBA batting champions. It was Maine and San Diego. The Express derailed the Surfers aspirations for Series immortality
with a 4-2 series win. The reliable King Felix looked more like a jester in his 2 putrid
performances effectively costing Joe Wallace a shot at the crown. Meanwhile bottom feeders
Alex Gonzalez and Climt Barmes were heroes each knockin in 7 runs in a good series.
In Clemente, Philly walked over Brooklyn with dominant starting pitching and a few late rallies
in a closer than shows 4-1 rout. Hite is looking for his cheesesteak in the mail right about
now....Now was that Jimmy's or D'Allessandro's Rob? The Brooklyn Bats went cold despite
Brauns stellar series .450 3 HR 4RBI, while Utley, Drew, and Abreu, torched the Superbas
pitching for a .316 ERA.
The Carolina Copperheads led by none other than Scott Kenan himself, dominated Parker this season.
They did not dominate the JD Adams led Skokie Lizard Kings. The 4-3 series was a fantastic one for
J Johnson who won 3 games in an MVP performance for the Copperhead snakes. Ryan Ludwick went nuts
with 4 HR's in the series.
The final week is here. Playoff teams Make sure your netplay has been installed.
You will be required to test your system with me this week to prepare.
PLease Email me off list to do a quick sign in and launch. Dennis C, we can try again ASAP.
Everyone should play to win this week as the races are still on.
Belfast playing spoiler in a FtF series took 2 of 3 to set back Montreals Cinderella playoff dream.
Montreal is mathematically still in it and have a head to head vs Limoilou Wendigo maybe for the wildcard.
The Crows have an outside shot for the division crown as does Wendigo who can achieve a Dawson tie with a full sweep.
Belfast is stuck entirely in the spoiler role playing Longue POinte maybe Netplay?
The Crows and Limoilou 1st series play the most important series of the year in Staub.
Longue Pointe and Limoilou play final series. Anything can happen in this 3 way dance whcih is really 4 way. Belfast is HUGE.
Maine has set Ohio's playoff return almost off. They defeated Ohio this week to pretty much wrap up Rogers race unless a sweep and Maine
gets swept. The wildcard picture has Limoilou holding 2 game edge over Montreal.
San Diego has a commanding 3 game lead over Joliet, but Joliet has both New Jersey and High Bridge.
John Miller will never go without a fight in that series. Joliet must win their games to get playoffs.
It was an improved year for High Bridge.
In Clemente Philly and Southwest cakewalk into the Schmidt and Monday titles. JD Adams son will pilot the Lizard kings
into the playoffs. Carolina's wins in the final week have pretty much wrapped up the Parker title.
Brooklyn's wildcard lead is only 1 as Stirling has been red hot and looking to Win as many as possible vs Ottawa and Philly,
not ez to do. Brooklyn has Carolina in its last series, and plays Cooperstown. Any of these three teams can win it this week.
brooklyn or Cooperstown team can be eliminated. Both must win each game as Stirling must. Its the tightest Clemente wildcard
race in memory. Managers may send game by game CMs
The games are due by Thursday Nite 7pm for this round. We look forward to
this weekend starting our 13th World Series!
Sept 10th, 2010
The Dawson race between Limoilou,
Montreal and LP isnt over because they will have to face each other, and
likely head to head. Belfast plays tough and will likley play face to
face with Montreal. Limoilou has a renewed old rivalry with Longue
Pointe. Looking back over the years these two teams have fought the most
classic CBA battles. We should look back into the archives at what
transpired here. First off the GM Jeff Boutet is a CBA great. Guaranteed
1st ballot HOF and a CBA 3 times champion,
.like Rob Hite's Philly. The manager Jeff Boutet, I can attest in one of
the finest I have ever played head to head. I did back in 2003 when both
Brooklyn and Limoilou made the finals and Boutet Wendigo defeated me 4 of
5. I did come back the folloing year to defeat Rich Schneider's Allentown
Senators in '04. Boutet won because he knew how to play the game and made
the best decisions, and managed his team and bench professionally. Seemed
like he was always in the playoffs or later rounds. he was. You can see
his team history on his webpage by clicking his team logo. Since we
document all seasons, who can forget the great headlines from 2005 when in
the Staub Finals Limoilou squared of against Longue Pointe? It came down
to an extra innings Homerun by Miracle Mirabelli, and a game tying 9th
inning error considered the biggest flubb in CBA history by Jason
Michaels. The Wendigo were always tough. Lets look back.
Limoilou was CBA's first ever champion. The defeated Lou Bloss (Of
Stratomatic Book by Glen Guzzo fame) and his Parma Ohio Flamingoes in 7
games. Lou was a well known writer for the old Strat-o-matic Review
magazine. CBA has always had the best GM's in the StratUniverse. In 1998
the Dawson had a 4 way dance with Brooklyn Superbas winning after a 4 way
battle between Brooklyn, the Wendigo, Claude
LaMarre's Longue Pointe, and Chris Boutet's Quebec Capitales.
In 1999, LP managed by Claude LaMarre faced Jeff Boutet in round 2 Staub
finals in a game with results witnessed by several in an IRC chat room.
That got Jeff primed for what came next, his 2nd CBA championship
defeating Martin Boulet's Beauport Gamblers. I played in QSBL with
Martin. He was a terrific Strat player and a great guy. Knew the game
inside out. When he came to NY, I had the good fortune to meet Martin and
show him around
Brooklyn. He was especially
proud that he survived the "D" train ride through Crown Heights at 11pm.
He didnt survive Jeff Boutet however in CBA.
In 2000 a .500 year and rebuild for Limoilou. It was Rob Hite's year to
win it all. Rob had been building a dominating franchise at that time and
really had put together the strongest teams that CBA had seen, maybe has
EVER seen. LP' under LaMarre hit stride and faced and defeated Rob Hite
in the finals. Longue Pointe had previously lost in 1998 to hall of famer
Dino Barnabe's St Foy (Carolina) team. Rob, if you can recall anything that you could
write about your championships appearances and recollections, we can
archive them. Would love to hear them stories directly from you.
In 2001 Limoilou swept through CBA with 112 wins in
Dawson which had LP winning
98, and Chris Boutin's Quebec Capitales winning 98 as well. It seemed like
they would run through the Staub, but nemesis Chris Boutin's Capitales
defeated him to go and face our own Ottawa Otters GM Jack Jung and Vlad
Guerrero and Mark McGwire. They carried the .500 Otters, a wild card team
to their only championship.
2002 The powerhouse Hite led Philly Phantastics faced Jeff Boutet's
Limoilou Wendigo from the wilds of northern Quebec. Two of CBA's best in
this all time classic matchup of the best teams ever. Scroll down this
link to see the World Series Boxscores! http://cba-bb.net/2002.htm
2003, Jeff Boutet defeated Brooklyn Superbas, their last championship.
Boutet has appeared in many playoff games since notably as had Rob Hite
who won in 2007, after appearing in the 2005 series against Longue Pointe.
In 2005
Carlos Zambrano of Longue Pointe Loggers (Hitmen) tosseda no-no on
6/17/2005, it was a
foreshadow of the success LP would later have. In their playoff face to
face LP's Dennis Concepcion used small ball Hit n Run and Bunts to edge
over what some said was a superior Limoilou team on paper.Limoilou seems
to be an odd year even year team. The pattern emerged. And of course LP
and Concepcion appeared in last years WS. Could LP again be somewhat of a
dynasty? They are a Dawson Dynasty.
So then begins the legend of the towel chuck. After declaring his team out
of race in some of the next 4 seasons and tossing the towel, that Indiana
Team has gone on to reel off streaks and wins, and championships. Towle
Chucking, in CBA, Its like clockwork, like a Took (L.O.T.R) "nothing
unexpected". The towel has been thrown again this time in 2010. It
worked before, how can Bob Fidler deny the success of this 'technique'?
The dreaded Usage may have the last word. Either way, in a down year,
Indiana has been more than competitive, a testament to the NON
quit thats really in this championship GM, Fidler.
Sept 7th 2010
Last month sees CBA with some
separation in the races. We have seen in the past furious last month
rushes when the rosters expand and fringe player cards get used. Remember
the Appearance minimum guys. When guys are in need of rest the strongest
survive. How many times have we seen the deepest teams enter net-playoffland?
CBA's Southwest Lizard Kings have just about clinched the Monday division
with 1 the magic number. Lindner still is having computer troubles lately
else he'd be really enjoying this season. Longue POinte and that amazing
defense , speed , and ace pitching staff of Lincecum, Sabathia, Dumpster.
Philly is phlying and Rob Hite has to be the Clemente favorite based on
his lead over Schmidt. Carolina's Scott Kenan owns
Parker division and will be a major threat to Philly come playoff time.
Yet to be decided are dawson with LP's lead strong but Limoilou could
shake things up despite usage concerns. Montreal is only 3 back of the
Wendigo for the Staub Wild card. Brooklyn is in control of the Clemente
Wildcard just ahead of Cooperstown, and
Stirling. Maine has the Rogers
lead, with a few .500 teams like Ohio who is struggling with usage this
year, and Allentown are hanging around there and can still strike paydirt.
Joliet is now two back of San Diego who is fighting for their playoff
lives after lasting to game 7 in Staub championships in 2009. Joliet could
just get Frost back in to the Netplayoffs first time in two years.
This week Brooklyn's Vermon Wells had a 3-5, 3 HR 9 RBI game Sept
6th.,,,,Montreal was last place in 2009, this year bonified contender.
How they do it? Greatt platooning....Look at the combos of Pagan and
Rajai Davis... Ramon Castro (10th man of year?), Torrealba...Callaspo and
Getz...Crede, Hannahan, Keppinger...Grteat pitching from Uehara, Richmond,
Feldman, and the pen...This team could win 93-95 games....Philly could set
the CBA mark for most HR's when they break over 304. They now have
251...Indiana has 220...Indy barring miracle may be ex champions. They
need a big finsih to overtake Brooklyn for the wildcard....Cooperstown
is hoping to pick up a series sweep, to move even with Brooklyn. Both
teams seem to win at same time....Steolen bases are way up in CBA. Joliet
has 189, LP, 187, SRS, BBD both have 151, and the tough High Bridge
Heaters have 145. High Bridge has been giving their all
to be competitive. Fighting for respectability, they achieved that this
year hanging around .500 through mid season. and remaining tough. A good
streak, could bring them closer to .500.
Runner advance successes
2009 Furcal BSP 32
2009 Figgins *** 28
2009 Youkilis SSC 27
2009 Hudson SLM 25
2009 Ramirez BBD 25
2009 Bourn JJC 25
2009 Ramirez ANR 24
2009 Ellsbury SRS 23
2009 Theriot LLD 21
2009 Aybar OTR 21
2009 Lopez LWD 21
2009 Roberts OTR 21
2009 Rollins LLM 21
2009 Victorino SSC 21
2009 Rios BBD 21
2009 Mauer OOS 20
2009 Braun BSP 20
2009 Lee JJC 19
2009 Blake BSP 19
2009 Cano SSC 19
2009 Jones MER 18
2009 McLouth BBD 18
2009 Rasmus IRM 18
2009 Andrus SRS 18
Bases loaded hits
Wells BSP 7
Gutierrez CIP 7
Derosa OTR 7
Granderson LWD 7
Longoria PPS 7
Callaspo MCD 6
Rodriguez IRM 6
Cabrera BSP 6
Rivera MCD 6
Lowell JJC 6
Jeter PPS 6
Coste KWR 6
Span HHC 6
Holliday SLM 6
Konerko HHC 6
Catcher Assists
Martinez PPS 51
Pierzynski JJC 50
Varitek LLD 44
Zaun HHC 43
McCann CIP 43
Martin ANR 42
Montero SSC 42
Soto LLM 39
Mauer OOS 39
Molina CCP 39
Napoli BBD 37
Suzuki SRS 37
Kendall KBM 37
Torrealba MCD 37
Baker MER 36
Olivo NBC 36
Molina SLM 36
Iannetta LWD 35
Rodriguez BSP 34
Barajas SSP 34
Caught Stealing home
Hairston Jr SRS 2
Wilson NBC 1
Diaz OTR 1
Morgan LLD 1
Schierholtz CIP 1
Cabrera OTR 1
Young OTR 1
Extra Base hits
Pujols IRM 96
Howard BSP 84
Gonzalez MER 79
Lind NBC 72
Cano SSC 72
Fielder LWD 69
Butler SRS 67
Braun BSP 66
Damon SLM 66
Holliday SLM 65
Ramirez ANR 65
Ortiz OOS 64
Kemp SLM 63
Pena SRS 63
Cuddyer LWD 62
Hill JJC 62
Swisher KBM 62
Lee JJC 61
Rolen SLM 61
Tulowitzki SLM 60
Kubel OTR 60
Sandoval JJC 60
Morneau CIP 60
Zobrist KWR 60
Drew OOS 59
Cabrera BSP 59
Reynolds CIP 58
Bay KBM 58
Berkman PPS 58
Grand Slams
Paulino LWD 3
Cantu MER 2
Reynolds CIP 2
Ortiz OOS 2
Blake BSP 2
Martinez PPS 2
Jones LLM 2
Howard BSP 2
Morneau CIP 2
Shoppach PPS 2
Uggla MER 2
Rodriguez IRM 2
Posada IRM 2
MONTREAL(AP) – The Montreal Crows made an unfortunate announcement yesterday at a press conference held at the Queen Elizabeth hotel in Montreal. Right-handed starter Koji Uehara will miss the remainder of the season with a hamstring injury. Uehara was among the league leaders in several pitching categories, and leaves a huge hole in the Crows’ rotation. In 12 starts, he compiled a 7-1 record and 2.44 ERA, and was the stingiest hurler for issuing free passes, having allowed a miniscule 6 walks in the 66 innings he pitched. The injury occurred in the 4th inning of the Crows’ last game in San Diego, a 6-2 win over the Surf.
“Koji will surely be missed,” said manager Robert Brunet. “The way he went about his business has been a very positive influence on the staff and the team as a whole. We had just lost Armando (Galarraga, ankle) for the next few weeks after getting Brian (Bannister, thumb) back. This is a tough one. There’s no denying it.”
Uehara will be treated in Montreal by team doctors, but intends to return to Japan until a decision is made as to when and where his rehabilitation is to take place. With Galarraga expected to be out for most of June or more, Montreal GM Doug Brunet (Robert’s son) has called up 26 year old right-hander Brandon McCarthy from AAA Saint-Louis-de-Ha! Ha! The injuries are piling up.
Catcher Wil Nieves will join McCarthy on his trip up after Crows’ catcher Yorvit Torrealba was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to tenderness in his right shoulder.
Passed Balls
C.Coste KWR 7
R.Chavez KWR 6
V.Martinez PPS 6
J.Mauer OOS 6
I.Rodriguez BSP 5
M.Olivo NBC 5
J.Mathis HHC 4
O.Santos CWS 4
Assists by First baseman
D.Lee 2009 JJC 41
K.Morales 2009 ANR 40
N.Johnson 2009 SSP 40
A.Gonzalez 2009 MER 38
T.Helton 2009 MCD 35
D.Ortiz 2009 OOS 34
A.Huff 2009 BBD 34
J.Loney 2009 LLM 32
J.Votto 2009 CCP 29
Catcher Assists
Y.Torrealba 2009 MCD 22
V.Martinez 2009 PPS 18
M.Olivo 2009 NBC 17
A.Pierzynski 2009 JJC 17
Y.Molina 2009 SLM 17
J.Kendall 2009 KBM 16
B.McCann 2009 CIP 16
R.Martin 2009 ANR 16
R.Paulino 2009 LWD 15
Pitcher Errors
J.Jurrjens 2009 SRS 4
T.Miller 2009 LLM 4
K.Davies 2009 BBD 3
M.Owings 2009 JJC 3
J.Burton 2009 JJC 3
A.Cook 2009 OOS 3
E.Jackson 2009 BSP 3
J.Beckett 2009 LLM 3
J.De La Rosa 2009 KWR 3
J.Chamberlain 2009 SSP 3
Longest Hit streaks
Span, Denard Heaters 27
Wells, Vernon Superbas 17
Lee, Derrek Jackhammers 16
Phillips, Brandon Loggers 16
Holliday, Matt Lizard Kings 14
Aybar, Erick Thundercats 14
Ryan, Brendan Woodsmen 14
Gardner, Brett *** 13
Pierre, Juan Jackhammers 12
Izturis, Maicer Otters 12
Martinez, Victor Phantastics 12
Sandoval, Pablo Jackhammers 12
Pagan, Angel Wendigo 12
Pinch Hits
Montreal Crows (MCD) R.Davis 6
Longue Pointe Loggers (LLD) A.Ramirez 5 2 PH HR
New Jersey Beatles (NBC) M.Bradley 5
Joliet Jackhammers (JJC) A.Escobar 5
Maine Express (MER) A.Rowand 4
High Bridge Heaters (HHC)A.Ojeda 4
Ohio Thundercats (OTR) A.Gordon 4
RF Assists
Montreal Crows (MCD) J.Francoeur 7 2DPs
Brooklyn Superbas (BSP) N.Markakis 6
Southwest Lizard Kings (SLM) A.Ethier 4
Joliet Jackhammers (JJC) C.Hart 4 3 DPs
Bryan Bashers (KBM) N.Swisher 3
Maine Express (MER) A.Rowand 3
Indiana Redbirds (IRM) H.Pence 3
Longue Pointe Loggers (LLD) I.Suzuki 3
Lake County Leopards (LLM) K.Fukudome 3
Columbus Wildcats (CWS) W.Balentien 3
Sunville Sunjewels (SSP) J.Gomes 3
Belfast Brawlers (BBD) A.Rios 3
Sunville Sunjewels (SSP) J.Willingham 3
CF Assists Double Plays Triple PLays
Stirling Redsox (SRS) J.Ellsbury 8 0 0
New Jersey Beatles (NBC) D.Dejesus 8 0 0
Belfast Brawlers (BBD) N.McLouth 7 2 0
Maine Express (MER) A.Jones 6 1 0
Southwest Lizard Kings (SLM) M.Kemp 6 1 0
Bryan Bashers (KBM) M.Byrd 5 1 0
Carolina Copperheads (CCP) J.Werth 5 0 0
Cooperstown Iron Horses (CIP) F.Gutierrez 4 0 0
High Bridge Heaters (HHC) T.Gwynn Jr 4 0 0
Lake County Leopards (LLM) C.Ross 4 0 0
Ottawa Otters (OOS) A.McCutchen 4 0 0
Longue Pointe Loggers (LLD) T.Hunter 3 0 0
Brooklyn Superbas (BSP) V.Wells 3 0 0
Sunville Sunjewels (SSP) C.Gonzalez 3 0 0
Joliet Jackhammers (JJC) M.Bourn 3 1 0
Kennesaw Mtn Woodsmen (KWR) J.Borbon 3 0 0
Limoilou Wendigo (LWD) A.Pagan 3 0 0
KennesawWoodsmen (KWR) M.Cameron 3 1 0
Longue Pointe Loggers (LLD) N.Morgan 3 0 0
LF Assists
High Bridge Heaters (HHC) D.Span 5
Stirling Redsox (SRS) C.Crawford 4
Bryan Bashers (KBM) J.Bay 3
Cooperstown Iron Horses (CIP) R.Ibanez 3
Ottawa Otters (OOS) L.Nix 3
Maine Express (MER) B.Upton 3
Leadoff Hitters Hits leaders with their OPS
High Bridge Heaters (HHC) D.Span 70 .908
Longue Pointe Loggers (LLD) I.Suzuki 51 .764
San Diego Surf (SSC) D.Wright 48 .857
Belfast Brawlers (BBD) C.Figgins 48 .699
Carolina Copperheads (CCP) M.Scutaro 47 .652
Brooklyn Superbas (BSP) V.Wells 46 .813
Ohio Thundercats (OTR) B.Roberts 45 .756
Maine Express (MER) B.Upton 43 .669
Joliet Jackhammers (JJC) M.Bourn 41 .702
Limoilou Wendigo (LWD) J.Bartlett 41 .929
Montreal Crows (MCD) R.Davis 40 .973
Indiana Redbirds (IRM) A.Cabrera 39 .559
Southwest Lizard Kings (SLM) J.Damon 38 .810
Ottawa Otters (OOS) M.Izturis 37 .738
Bryan Bashers (KBM) L.Overbay 36 .910
Stirling Redsox (SRS) J.Ellsbury 36 .602
Lake County Leopards (LLM) K.Fukudome 34 .823
Sunville Sunjewels (SSP) A.Kennedy 34 .699
Philly Phantastics (PPS) B.Abreu 30 .905
Philly Phantastics (PPS) D.Jeter 26 .976
Allentown Senators (ANR) A.Gonzalez 25 .971
Kennesaw Mtn Woodsmen (KWR) J.Borbon 25 .704
#2 Hitters, Hits
Ohio Thundercats (OTR) E.Aybar 47
Limoilou Wendigo (LWD) F.Lopez 45
High Bridge Heaters (HHC) L.Castillo 41
Joliet Jackhammers (JJC) A.Pierzynski 40
Longue Pointe Loggers (LLD) R.Theriot 40
San Diego Surf (SSC) S.Victorino 39
Kennesaw Mtn Woodsmen (KWR) B.Ryan 38
Brooklyn Superbas (BSP) N.Markakis 34
Carolina Copperheads (CCP) J.Hermida 34
Stirling Redsox (SRS) D.Pedroia 33
Ottawa Otters (OOS) J.Upton 31
Allentown Senators (ANR) M.Prado 31
Philly Phantastics (PPS) D.Jeter 31
Southwest Lizard Kings (SLM) M.Kemp 31
HR's #8 in batting order
Carolina Copperheads (CCP) I.Kinsler .844 7
Philly Phantastics (PPS) R.Branyan .671 6
Ohio Thundercats (OTR) J.Buck 1.327 6
New Jersey Beatles (NBC) M.Fontenot .866 5
Indiana Redbirds (IRM) H.Pence .716 4
Joliet Jackhammers (JJC) L.Valbuena .728 4
Montreal Crows (MCD) R.Castro 1.257 4
San Diego Surf (SSC) C.Pennington .898 3
Maine Express (MER) J.Saltalamacchia .840 3
Limoilou Wendigo (LWD) J.Bartlett 1.303 3
Bryan Bashers (KBM) M.Ellis .801 3
Ottawa Otters (OOS) S.Drew .794 3
Longue Pointe Loggers (LLD) J.Varitek .666 3
Quality Starts
C.Carpenter CCP R 8
R.Porcello HHC R 8
J.Shields ANR R 7
T.Lincecum LLD R 7
K.Correia SSP R 7
J.Beckett LLM R 7
C.Sabathia LLD L 7
J.Jurrjens SRS R 7
J.Lester CIP L 6
J.Danks KWR L 6
J.Vazquez CIP R 6
M.Buehrle SRS L 6
R.Ohlendorf CWS R 6
J.Santana CCP L 6
J.Washburn LWD L 6
J.Johnson CCP R 6
M.Cain SLM R 6
J.Blanton KBM R 6
T.Lilly SLM L 6
B.Arroyo SRS R 6
C.Kershaw LWD L 6
F.Hernandez SSC R 6
First month, put it in the books.
Version 15.0-19 or whatever its up to now. Patch 15.02A, and still Netplay
, cant get it right. Mike Koepp and I have a running joke preseason about
how many patches they'll need each year. We're up to 3 now.
You must exit the game completely after playing a full game, else you stay
logged into the chat lobby and your 'port' stays open (tech talk) soooo.
Shutdown the game, relaunch into the lobby AND change the Room name you
use. Many times the game won't connect
Important, Do not alter the game files in any way for any reason for CM or
netplay, else you will get structure errors upon import.
Surprised we havent seen more trades since opening day. Generally the
wires are buzzing as GM's prep[are for the fight, and to arm their team
for the season. Usually its hard to tell in April how a season will go,
but GM's start to have a feel for what their teams can do. Patterns
emerge, and dont ever forget the hot hand. It seems in Strat that as much
as a probabilty based system it seems, the odd players outform the stars
often. Good CM technique comes into play all the time. How many times
have we seen the Jay Johnstone Award go to those less than stellar
performers? Platooners win games in CBA. So does bench management which
Longue Pt proves again and again in the stretch.
So how do we figure Montreal? 9 over .500? Uerhara 5-1 0.85 ? How do we
pronounce his name? Better learn fast that card is a good one. Scott
Feldman is at 2.02, Bannister is pitching well, Galarraga too. The
bullpen aside from Rodney is shaky. But look at Will Venable. Nice
numbers. Montreal could slip back as their players usage is a main reason
why they are bangin now. Enjoy while they can, because Limoilou and LP do
have the depth. The Crows will need some offense INF Ab's to come in if
they are to stay around. Dont expect Longue POint to stay down long.
This team is well balanced, and primed to be consistant all year. They
dont have that 1 slugger that year after year can put them over. Could
Matsui be out at 1B in the Quebec
Amusement Park of the Trees?
San Diego is doing some damage. The quiet Surf may not be as strong as
2009, but they have good offense, and good pitching. Losing Manny half
the year will hurt. Dye is not what he was, and Young well not bad. SD
should be there in the end, but they may be vunerable as usage takes away
the big bat.
Allentown 16-15. Playing well. Shileds carrying the staff 5-0 already.
Was Cy Young in 2008. Wilson, Farnsworth, Mk Lowe and Thurston Howell
make an impressive pen.....Great core with H Ramirez, R Martin, Prado,
Kendry, C Gomez. Allentown is on the verge of being a very solid good
team....Brooklyn has seen Markakis on fire andon base. He's among league leaders and is
hitting atop their order. With Howard, Braun, and Cabrera slugging,
Brooklyn will score runs. So will
their opponents...
Despite the garbage offense, the New Hampshire pitching staff is among the
best in CBA right now. Good bullpen...High Bridges Denard Span, last
years Rookie of year runner up is leading all CBA in batting. Witha 24
game hitting streak, Span is the Heaters all star....Could Carolina be the
beast in Clemente? Does Charlie Daniels play a mean fiddle? I guess. I
see balance, power, some OBA, and good pitching. Brooklyn, Indy, SWest, Philly, Striling watch out for this sleeper...Limoilou'
The Staub division is known for great pennant races. Last year’s race for the wildcard between Skokie and Belfast resulted in a game 163 won by the Brawlers leading to their first playoff appearance in a couple of seasons. For The Wolfman Shapiro it was his final CBA hurrah retiring from CBA in what could be a hall of fame career of winning tradition. Of course the Brawlers, Longue Pointe, and Limoilou fought toth and nail for the Dawson crown. The races have been legendary. Now in 2009, Ohio Thundercats led by Glenn Kenan became players. They took the Rogers division by 1 game making it to the round 1 playoffs the first time. It was there they face eventual Staub champions Longue Pointe. San Diego took another big step becoming a dominant team and winning the most in CBA with 109 wins within CBA’s top 5 all time. Brooklyn won 108 as well. SD could well be developing the dynasty in Carter.
The Rogers was an intringuind division. They all finished Ohio 86-76 Maine 85-77 Allentown 79-83, Kennesaw Mtn 78-84. Each team having a good year despite what appears to be decent records. A few wins within the division either way and the whole scenario would have been upside down. Ohio turned out the class of the division with good pitching, offensive balance and some good performances. Their numbers don’t stand out in comparison to CBA, but remember Staub is a pitching and defense conference. Ohio hit a very respectable 163 HR’s. 717 RBI. Stole only 52 bases and defense was shaky with 127 errors. So how did they win? Solid pitching. A team 4.07 ERA despite the .703 X rating for the team which is well below league best. ERA could have been better so the team WHIP was slightly higher than could have been. The pen combined for a .285 IRSC which is very good. Limiting the runs scored helped greatly. The batting was average with a ,335 team OBA and .423 slug. Not up there with the Clemente powerhouses, but it helped. Kubel had a big bat really boosting the offense as teams ‘pitched around’ Texeira who hit only 26 HR 88 RBI’s. Not a lot of people on in front of him. Role players like Boggs, and Fernando Tatis had strong years off the bench to supply punch. It all counts. A great front rotation of Edinson Volquez and Rick3 Nolasco dominated the opposition E.Volquez 3.08 17-7 R.Nolasco 2.51 14-8, both with great numbers to go along. A pen by committee featuring Craig Breslow, Trever Miller, Chris Perez, Steve Shields, Circus Vargas and others were solid. A great year for Ohio and 2010 could be even better.
Maine just barely missed. They ran into some usage issues and folded at season end. .268 144 HR 722 RBI’s. That .268 was a pretty good average in the Staub Conference. Remember you can’t compare the two leagues as they have different goals and personalities.The power was adequate. Low cost high yield players for Maine. Adrian Gonzlaez is approaching his prime had a 32HR 101 RBI .301 year. Uggla paced the way and had a tremendous MVP like .295 34 HR 103 RBI year. His value was about as much as any team player though the stats less gaudy. Uggla kept the Express in the race. Just as Aubrey Huff led the Brawlers despite the lesser stats than others. Its comparative. Uggla and Huff were absolutely MVP contenders maybe even more. Jorge Cantu had a good year 19 HR 91 RBI .279 in a pitchers conference.Barmes stepped into oplatoon to hit 9 HR 44 RBI .308. BJ Upton led CBA with 71 SB with only a .258 BA.
Excellent pitching from K. Lohse 3.13 13-6, and J. Bergmann 3.96 11-6. Bobby Jenks was outstanding saving 25 with a 2.05 ERA. Just as bad were Z. Duke 5.24 11-11, J. Saunders 4.06 5-14. and I.Snell 6.16 7-12. Iwamura has 12 PH’s and hit .309 part time. Perhaps Maine’s success vs R .276, helped them rise above some others. A team .276 BA vs R and overall .340 OBA helped somewhat. Though .409 slg was bad. The defense killed them .676 X rating was too much for the good pitching and great hitting to overcome in the end. Errors killed them in big game spots and in big series like Next to last week getting swept by Ohio. The final 2 or 3 of the season went into extra innings and it may have been the difference in playoffs and pretenders.
Allentown had another average year showing signs of breaking through then slumping just as they reached playoff contention. As late as August 18th-19th they were just 2 games back of first place only to drop a series to Montreal the spoiler. Again they came within 3 as late as Sept 2nd after the Joliet series, but along came the LP Loggers who swept them out of the picture. Perhaps it was usage concerns, but the Dawsons did in the Senators. For a good stretch early on, they held first place until 1st week in May.
Weak hitting hurt against the tougher pitching. Little power hurt but they had still some Staubesque good all around play at times. Chris Gomez had a good year hitting .258 10 HR 62 RBI, 58 SB, 35/42 sac’s from leadoff. Jeff Kent upon retirement closed out his CBA HOF career with 13 more HR and 72 RBI. Will he wear Senators uniform on his page? Russ Martin was as more than solid a backstop as in CBA 10 HR 73 RBI 34 SB! He was the teams MVP. Hanley Ramirez hit .249 with his unbalanced card and 21 HR. 2010 will be different. Delgado was added midway, and in only 370 AB hit a big 22 HR to bring A Town back to contention, till LP pitching stopped the Senator bats completely. Martin Prado was CBA’s best PH 19 hits in 54 PH AB. The offense aside from Delgado failed miserably. A .321 OBA with .376 slug detracted from a team that had the necessary variables to win CBA games. 118 Iso Power really low. They stole 204 bases, including 3rd 33 times & they bunted well79% success on bunts. PH hit .291, 71 for 244.
Kennesaw Mountain had a powerful year clobbering 185 round trippers. They did only hit .239 vs Righties which ultimately doomed them. They only hit .233 in the clutch. Teams loaded righties on them, because lefties hit a more respectable .258. They didn’t steal too much, just average 75 sb 25 cs. Mike Cameron was the typical. He hit 22 HRs, but batted .239. A microcosm of the offense. Ian Kinsler did damage 18 HR 65 RBI .324 He was clearly affected by being pitched around. He was issued a CBA high 25 Int Walks. No lineup protection. Edwin Encarnacion .254 25 HR, 86 RBI .254 most damage vs Lefty. Ryan Braun was so 1 sided that he hit only .242 26 HR 65 RBI.. It was this goofus performance that crippled the James Blake who did all he could to build a winner. How could Braun hit so poorly? He was dealt away to Brooklyn after season after receiving a 5 in LF. He was so terrible in the filed in ’09 that his X rating .327 showed that in only 49 chances he got 16 outs. So he hurt at the glove too. Pitching was better. The starting staff was solid despite the lack of team defense .688 X rating.
Card Billingsley, 3.56 10-10and Scott Olsen 3.37 11-8 led the way with respectable numbers keeping them in many games. John Danks and Hirsohi Kuroda threw well despite their records.
The Monday division is looking to create it’s own legacy. The new division started in 1997 but was retired after only 1 CBA season. The intial teams were.
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Monday Division |
Cory Light’s Kilgore Bashers upgraded their facilities in Bryan Texas, Southwest is back in So Cal and better than ever under General Lindner. Though Indiana can trace its roots back to the old Sunville Sunjewels, they are here and made it to the Championship on the wildcard. Lake County, Dave Jones team can be traced back to the Vancouver Storm, who later became HOF’er Dino Barnabe’s powerhouse St Foy Frenchies. Well any talk of Monday starts with the division winner Southwest Lizard kings. A fanatastic regular season punctuated by a bitter playoff loss. Again the same fate befell almost all our division winners, lone exception the Staub Champion LP Loggers. The team takes on the personality, and the winning positive attitude of CBA’s true legend Eric Lindner. No question when he came back to us, CBA took a step apart from others. His spirit and trading has put the Lizard Kings atop the CBA’s elite. 96-66 record winning Monday for the first time. Matt Cain was a gain. He went 20-8 3.74 179 K’s. The other Matt, Holliday was a pain 32 HR 111 RBI .304 BA. The team played better .642 on the road than at home which is surprising playing at Morrison Memorial. A .359 OBA and .472 slug is good. But in Clemente noted for slugging teams, like Indy, Philly, Brooklyn, this team used some good balance and good pitching to win. Keep in mind a 4.39 ERA in Clemente’s DH league is very good. Soria proved worth the expense compiling 32 saves. The rotation was solid. Cliff Lee 16-7 3.66 ERA, Dave Bush 14-11, Jeremy Arlo Guthrie 12-6. Perhaps The best of all relievers was the Cory Wade with CBA leading 19 holds and superb job keeping Southwest in the game. Good defense .76% X rating. Southwest had its share of stars in the lineup. Adam Laroche hit 35 HR’s 88 RBI, Melving Mora .304 21 HR, Johnstone candidate Nomar Garciaparra slugged 15 HR 46 RBI’s .299 in only 157 AB’s, not PH. Team had speed too. 122 SB on the season. Southwest had a season, a darn good one.
Indiana’s story is well documented. Bob Fidler’s team had nailed their 3rd crown. They won in an improbable 1 game playoff vs Jon Stamets and Cooperstown. The lineup the team, it was strong on paper, it was balanced. It was losing. What to do. Some GM knows how to pick its team up and get ‘em going, and Fidler is proven one of them. With a flick of his wrist, he throws in the towel and achieves another milestone. A toss here and there and with cunning and skill Fidler has taken all CBA to task. He’s taken on some of the best and beaten them. Not only CM’s but Netplay too. Often behind in the series he’s played at some point. He pulls out a Redsox story and sweeps away to another win….After some linen hurling. The season started slowly and then momentum gained. The Redbirds were in 4th place in April, but still 3rd place in mid May, then the wins started to come in as the lineups changed and threats were made to personnel and employee. Maybe it was Pujols putting the team on his back carrying a final .394 66 Hr 151 RBI season . He couldn’t so it alone. Josh Hamilton hit 47 HR 137 RBI .315, and A Roid hit 45 HR 117 RBI .312 with 13 SB. Reyes had 705 At bats .275 21 HR 70 RBI 12 threebagers from leadoff spot, and stole 66 bases CS 9 times. Sizemore hit 34 HR 104 RBI. The team batted .284 and hit a whopping 287 HR to go with 945 runs. A .354 OBA and .498 Slug were excellent and good to win in an impressive 95-68 season. The only offense negative could be the abnormally high 1013 K’s. That’s way too high to be completely efficient and produce even more runs.
The pitching was adequate despite the seemingly high ERA 4.76. For Clemente that’s decentThey gave up a lot of hits, but Indiana managed to out hit most of ‘em. Oswalt slipped some to 14-6 3.56 off his previous Cy Young CBA season. Lucious Hochevar surprised going 11-4 3.77 and winning a big playoff game vs Brooklyn. Jon Garland, failed miserably with a 6.04 ERA last year despite 11-10 record. Indy will need better P than that next season. A team .303 IRSC is ok, though not top shelf, Its average. Sheets was a disappointment going 7-11 5+ ERA. The staff was plagued with blown saves. B Wags saved 23 also more was expected. 2010 will be a dogfight for Fidler and Indiana as the others in Monday have stepped up too. No reason to expect Indiana to slip too much in 2010. Fidler will find a way.
Lake County is another elite CBA franchise. Dae has taken this franchise and made them a consistent contender. Always ready to compete. 93-69 a superior record in this expansion year. They beat up on the putrid Westminster Kernals and the building Sunville SunJewels. A total of 22-2 against the newbies meant a shot at playoffs. That’s the game though beating who your supposed to. In Monday, they had a winning record against all the teams including the Lizard kings. Lakers had trouble with everyone else though. They did beat Cooperstown and Ottawa, but the struggles elsewhere held them back. As though they were designed to play in Monday alone. This team was led by the X man, oft injured Xavier Nady and his pet’s. 31 HR 108 RBI .338 should merit some MVP votes. Catcher Giovanni Soto had a 31 95 .286 year, and Carlos Delgado was sensational in his brief time in Lake County. A team not blessed with great power need contributions from everyone. Mike Jacobs hit 28 Hr’s, and Garrett Atkins added another 21 at 3B. The other role players like Fucudome, Fontenot, Spillborghs, Church, Blum , L Castillo all contributed in the effective platoon. A team .346 OBA with a .458 slug isn’t enough to be at the top in Clemente, but the pitching is what made the Leopards run..
5 starters over 11 wins. Led by ace Junior Vasquez 17-6 3.50 ERA with 199 K’s
the others Derek Lowe was 13-12, Beckett 13-6 3.81, Cueto 11-10, and Parra 11-8. J Papelbon only saved 15, and was shaky in the little time he was used. Funny how he stunk in other leagues Ive seen him too. What gives there? If you can’t count on him then who can you count one? Perhaps LC would have had a few more wins and a playoff without Pimplebun’s break down. A .794 X rating % was very very good and contributed to the excellent 4.01 ERA. A .280 IRSC was also pretty good. If you can keep you’re opponents to only 4.46 runs per game in Clemente, you will win more than your share which the Leopards did. Perhaps a key reason Lake did score more was the low BA and OBA of the top 2 linep table setters who hit only in the .260’s for 2009 season.
Bryan took a step back in 2009 after a great season in 2008. The pitching just wasn’t there. The offense wasn’t there. So what does veteran GM go and do about it? He goes and gets slugger Jason Bay in a huge off season acquisition with Kennesaw Mountain. Jason Kendall also comes with his bat and arm to the Bashers. Burrell’s tail off to .226 26 HR 92 RBI’s cost this team. Inge dived down to .216 and 5 HR’s after a spectacular 2008. Although they hit 194 HR’s and spread power throughout the lineup, the on base and hits weren’t there to compete. The pitching well, a disaster 4.94 ERA. Good seasons for Ty Wigginton who .278 28 HR 68 RBI. Not enough runners to take home with homers. Luke Scott gone in Bay deal, added 25 dingers. The team MVP may have been Lyle Overbays’ .316 17 HR 86 RBI’s. A lack of speed clogged the basepaths, only 42 SB’s and 20 CS. Runners couldn’t roll home. 772 runs is average, but 885 allowed is deadly unless you have top gun offense. Bryan is no doubt looking ahead after a very strong draft and good off season. 4 solid starters are among Clemente’s best with Wolf, Blanton, Wanda Rodriguez, and Gaving Floyd. A decent lineup with some good cards and maybe another puzzle piece in the pen and lineup, and playoffs could be in reach once again.
There aces were hot.
Parkers beast is the 2003-2004 Clemente champions Brooklyn Syuperbas. Year after year they are the team to beat. Teams gear up for them when they come to Brooklyn’s Prospect park grounds called The “House Of Pain”. The hits are more frequent, and the Brooklyn air contributes to power. The team is built to specification for that field. The players come and go. This year Hall of Fame 1B Todd Helton was dispatch starting a myriad of Brooklyn trades as the Superbas began to build for tomorrow. Players in and out. Along with Helton, Long time 2B Brandon Phillips, last years RF Magliulo Ordonez, HOF candidates Omar Vizquel, Mike Timlin, RP set up Dan Wheeler, Andy Laroche. In their place. Nickt Markakis, Ryan Braun, Carlos Zambrano, David Price. The future mortgaged. Brooklyn had to make moves to compete with the powerful teams in Cooperstown, Indiana, Philly, Carolina, Lake County, and Ottawa. No one can stand idle in Clemente, the competition is that fierce. Brooklyn is no lock for a division title in 2010. But in 2009, they were. In fact they may have been Brooklyn’s best team ever. Year after year of 95+ wins, but 2009 was special 108-54 record their best. Only SD had 109 wins. Both are among the CBA’s all time wins per season leaders.
Start with the slugging. The new dynamic duo rests the crown from Papi-Vlad. Howard Cabrera. Destruction and total avg. For Cabrera 44 HR (5th overall), 136 RBI’s (5th overall), .308 .953 tot. Howard 8.87 rc/27, 1.021 prod 60 HR (2nd overall), 155 RBI (1st overall), .292 BA. Maglioulo Ordonez chipped in 21 HR 104RBI, 4th in CBA with a .339 BA. Vermon Wells 24 HR 68 RBI, .354. Punto stole 35 .322 BA in 336 AB’s. B Phillip[s 24 HR 80RBI 24sb. Blake 27HR, 85 RBI .278. Doumit hit 24 HR .316 average, Giles 13 HR 77 RBI .316. The bench was awesome with Furcal playing vs L only, platooned 9 HR 38 RBI 15sb .432ba as a sub. The offense was legendary in CBA. Finishing with a near record .307 ba with 275 HR 1048 runs. .369 OBA .525 slugging for the Superbas. the latter a CBA record. It should be noted that Brooklyn hit 44 triples, and stole 114 bases. Speed helped.
There wasn’t much other teams could do except hope the bats didn’t hit. The lineup stacked with no easy outs.The defense wasn’t good .708 X rating. League average is .712. League Leader Indiana had .802 league low Ottawa .591.
So did Brooklyn defense help the pitching? Not at all The offense couldn’t keep the opposition from scoring runs, likely a defensive glitch, but the pitching did a respectable job with a 4.30 era in a bandbox park. With better defense maybe 112 wins could have been reached. Came back to haunt them in the playoffs when defense crushed them in late innings...A .302 IRSC the pen was fair. Brooklyn stayed strong all year but couldn’t defeat Indiana in the playoffs. Their dice luck ran out, and they shockingly stopped hitting. Another disapperntment for the lovable Superba nuts in Americas 4th largest city.
Cooperstown had a great year in 2009. They won 94 times. 14 ½ behind Brooklyn. They made it to a game 163 playoff vs eventual champion Indiana, another longball team. First time in many years. This team typical of Parker and Clemente big power. 215 HR. Nine double digit HR guys led by Morneau 35 HR 128 RBI .318 He was so valuable to his team carrying the team to that 163. Johnny Peralta hit 27 HR 107 RBI .290, Ibanez his standard 28 HR 108 RBI .299 season. Jose Lopez had a great year hitting .324 18 HR 79 RBI. Burrrisss stole 19 bases. Jack Kemp hit 24 HR 90 .280 33sb and only 1 CS. A CBA single season SB % record with .971. He did however K 141 times. A team .351 OBA was their best in years along with a great .484 slug. .835 production is also very strong. They threw base stealers ot 75%, Stole 81 bases So why not more wins? Pitching…It all went wrong.
Well almost. Cy Young candidate Carlos Marmol was dominant and necessary. He save 43 games from a poor pitching staff. That he figured in 45% of his teams wins was no accident. He was good. No one else was. The pen allowed 40% of their inherited runners score. Compared with league leading Carolina’s 22%. Staff ace was 14-8 but a 4.94 ERA. Lot more losses could be avoided. Jon Stamets has went to work right away with flurries of trades to get all the pieces together for a Parker run. He has traded a lot of picks, players, and gotten different players and picks returned. Wild off season for this franchise. They should be an Iron Horse in 2010.
In most years Carolina’s 88 wins would compete more closely for a wildcard which they did, until swept away vs Cooperstown and Brooklyn in the last week and a half of the season. They finished with 5 more wins, but it wasn’t enough, Carolina and their signature bullpen couldn’t hold out. In fact Carolina may had taken a WC had Brooklyn not dominated them in September sweeping two series. A good team home and away, the pen was the story. The Cardiac Copperheads won 10 games of 13 in extras. The team largely did better than actual performances save Tejada who hit only .265, and Zimmerman who at 3B hit .276. But you know what that will be in 2010 with Zimm becoming elite. A good .351 OBA with .478 slug is enough to win, but in Clemente? Parker? Carolina is looking to build some trading Brian Roberts to the powerful Ohio team in Staub. 239 HR, 892 runs, .282 BA, 121 SB.
Both Ludwick and Werth had good seasons. Ludwick 40 HR 107 RBI, .290 BA 1.018 Tot. A great season. Several over 20 HR’s including Jason Werth 26 HR 77 RBI .314, 21sb, 1.033 tot.
A Dunn had a low 28 HR .251, Votto 23 HR 75 RBI .299 BA, B Roberts 10 HR 49 RBI 63sb, Benjamin Molina .296 23 HR 90 RBI, DeRosa 22 HR 83 RBI .288, overall 12 guys double digit HR’s. Parker = Power.
The Carolina pitching was good 4.39 ERA led by Johann Santana who was 20-9 3.86 222 K’s. Harang won 13 more but a 5.49 ERA. Ollie Perez was tossed. 11-11, 6.39 ERA. Marcum acquired the previous winter from Brooklyn went 11-9 3.60 ERA. The pen was strong. Great pen management Ohman was in 92 games only 43 innings. How’s that for super HAL efficiency? Ohman, Valverde, Bray, Gregg, Nelson, Street, Scott Kenan knew what he was talking about when he tried to install a world class pen last winter. It almost won a playoff spot for him.
Woeful expansion team or shining ray of light. What and where is Sunville? Keith Jones’ team the SunJewels. Is it the Jimmy Buffett they play at night games and Margaritas they serve liberally at games to keep ‘em at the park? Is it the Buffet table spread before gametime? Is it Warren Buffet’s attendance at home weekend games dancing “Bootay Meat” with the SunJewel cheerleaders. What will bring fans to Sunville? Is the team playing in Phlorida or New Mexico…The mystery of the SunJewels…They now own the top pick in CBA’s draft. Anyone they want is theirs. It took ‘em a loaded trawler of candidates to meet usage and get to the finish line. Which they absolutely did unlike Harley Bryan (Bryan Harley?) Don Leo Kernal’s Westminster Albatrosses. Jones guaranteed, and delivered. In the meantime the offense was futile. The pitching worse 6.36 team ERA. Perhaps CBA’s worst team ever? 36-126, close the Harley Davidson Kernal’s finished barely 29-133. Worse. 1426 Inn pitched 1870 hits allowed. Only 145 HR’s. No one more than Marcust Thames 18. No players stood out. No one particularly good. Note Rod Barajas 10 HR 36 RBI .273. Jose Bautista 18 HR 40 RBI .218BA. Nick Blackburn 10-15 4.35 for a team that won 36 games. Troye Percival saved 8 big games. Greg Maddux was acquired for usage, and closed out his illustrious CBA HOF career with a 4-13 record unbefitting a diamond king. A .724 X rating was actually better than some teams in contention, kudos. A first year team, Sunville is looking for sunnier days. Jones has just started rest assured. He is ready to land some big fish in the draft pool. Better times are coming for the SunJewels franchise…Feb 28th could be Sunville’s biggest day ever.
Schmidt Division has more big power teams. The perennial Philly Phantastics are one. They won 105 games. Now the league win totals have inflated some because of the expansion. But Philly was good enough anyway. Rob Hite just knows Strat-o-matic baseball. He knows the draft, he knows how to just win. They mauled the division with a 27 game edge over Ottawa in 2nd. The offense deadly .294 269 HR scoring a CBA high 1,026 runs. Good defense, some speed 81 sb comparatively Belfast swiped 240. This year Philly had excellent pitching. In their HR laden ballpark, the PPS tossed a 4.05 era salad at opponents. They only sacrificed 20 times. .704 def X rating is not too good, but it didn’t hurt them too much. Funny how it goes, but it may have stopped Philly from being THE dominant CBA team. Philly used the H & R just enough and stay out of double plays. Extremely clutch, PPS took advantage of opportunities with the infield in. When pitchers were tired a few more hits to win games later innings. 9 20+ HR hitters. Key hitters Carlos Lee hit .340 29 HR 98 RBI, Evan Longoria 33 105 .335. Abreu 22 110 .275 24SB. Utley 28 118 .317. Hard to say who the team MVP was when it was all such a total team effort. This may have been PPS best chance to win. Cy Young candidate Cole Hamels was as good as it gets 22-7 3.09 227 K’s. For a team in a HR hitters paradise, these are awesome numbers. Verlander and Greinke chipped in with 15 wins each. Randy Johnson in his Swan song added 14 more wins to his CBA leading total. He now has 231. The staff will be very strong again in 2010 as Health Bell will likely close and the Greinke express hits South st for some Jimmy’s Steaks before game time, then down Oregon to Tony Luke’s after the game. As fate would have it, the biggest CBA teams took the hardest falls. Hite’s Phantastics will like Skokie, Brooklyn, Southwest, and San Diego be forgotten like Tennessee Tazmanians were back in late 90’s.
The Ottawa Otters season started off promisingly as they were in first place as late as May 21st before dropping back some. The turning point came when Stirling swept 4 games from them. Two series later the CBA’s worst ever Westminster Pidgeons took a pair in a3 game. From there it was all inconsistent with win streaks not sustaining, and Phlly getting adjusted and hot. At that point usage may have contributed to the slide as well. A disappointing season after a playoff appearance, the Otters got a subpar performance from the injured ace who went 11-13 3.20. Not Cy Young numbers. Aaron Cook was better at 15-12 3.84 ERA. Two more stats on the rosters decline was more hurtful that of CBA HOF candidates Vlad G and Papi Ortiz. The CBA’s prolific duo slumped at the plate. Guerrero slid down to 27 HR 94 RBI .272. Papi Ortiz 26 HR 57RBI .252. Not enough to drive the offense who managed only a .253 team BA despite 206 dingers. Joe Mauer was basically an all star with 15 83 .310. Jack Cust did what he usually does 33 HR 103 RBI .233 .371 OBA 109 BB’s. But he struck out 211 times a CBA record. Ottawa hit .252 vs L .253 vs R. Team had a .770 OPS. They also did hit 52 triples. But only 26 Sb, likely by accident. A large number. A classic Clemente power team. Make no mistake that Ottawa is on the rise. A solid young team, with dynamic young players. Jack Jung the honred veteran championship manager has drafted some valuable players and groomed good talent. In 2009 the defense let down the pitching an all time low X rating as mentioned before .591. The OF made flyball a total adventure. The Otter fans complained of neck injuries from watching the ball being shot back through the alleys. The bench was a minus PH hit .227 They hit 111 homers at home but fewer, 95 on the road. The pitchers allowed a very high .286 batting average, while the relievers allowed the unners to score upon their entering the game at a .366 clip. 36% of which how much was defense? Had the defense been better the staff likely would have produced more wins.
Stirling is a franchise with an owner and a GM tandem. There is the franchise owner the semi retired Wayne McGee. He is an original member and friend of ours. The Stirling franchise is without question a historic one. Dealer Wayne (or is it Trader, or is that Rob H?) One of CBA colorful GM’s. His press releases, quips, trade bulletins, friendship, sense of humor, sense of whats best for CBA, makes him a surefire CBA hall of famer.
Wayne stays active, but defers to the man who has rebuilt the talent base of this franchise. Malachi Nellum. Malachi is a CBA veteran who was the original owner of the Alamo City franchise. He returned to us a GM two seasons ago content to be Stirling’s GM, even turning down opportunities to own a franchise. He has built up some players of there. Another below 77-85 a .500 record Stirling has only been in 1 playoff in their existence. A team with .274 176 HR 768 Runs struggles in Clemente, unless the pitching is outstanding or they have speed and defense. Stirling had some very playoff worthy offensive stars. Carlos Pena had a sensational year 39 HR 101 RBI .296. Pedroia was great again 19HR 89RBI .321 10sb. Ellsbury stole 65 hittin .290 and should get even better. Crawford was well Crawford…Of note Jerry Mather hit 14 HR 36 RBI in 134 AB’s. Shin Soo Choo hit 19 86 .348 in 264 AB’s. Stilring could glove. .786 X rating was very good. But they will need to improve on the .339 team OBA & .437 slug. The 4.98 staff ERA could have been a lot worse without the defense.
Westminster? Forget about it.
The draft will be held in the CBA chat
room. I expect we will do 3 rounds beginning 12 noon eastern 9am Pacific
Sunday Feb 28th. Those unable to attend will be required to submit a
list to a responsible GM to proxy. I will not be able to draft for you,
nor is it advisable to let HAL do yer pickin'. Your list should be
comprehensive.
The Chat room requires Java which almost everyone has by now, so upgrade
your browsers and test the room. We will allow up to 2 minutes before
league allows next draftee to make selection. It is important all be
prepared ahead of time. Trades should never stall the draft clock.
Complete them before selecting, no quarter.
If the draft board is incorrect it must be corrected predraft. Once the
clock starts, that board is official win, lose, or draw.
Should a player be re selected or ineligible for drafting, it is solely
that GM's responsibilty. They may reselect, when they can. We will not
back up the draft.
Should you be knocked off line, call your pal and have them select, its on
you. We do encourage direct chat between GM's either on the chatroom or
by phone with each other. CBA is a family.
The list of FA's is online, but there could be omissions and errors. Be
forewarned. Some players may or may not be there, its a guideline only
not official.
Check your trades and draft charts. With the passing of my father, I may
have missed an item or two.
Stadium changes are in and no more stadiums can be selected. Those who
are on Committee mail list with stadium choices are official now. I must
have stadium choices from NJ and Atlanta ASAP.
This must be selected immediately before the LaManna comes out
Thursday.
Reminders: No 2011 picks can be traded until the first selection of the
draft is officially announced by league. You may announce at that
time...certainly you can agree in principal before then.
Atlanta and NJ may not trade their 1,2,3 picks this year only. Both are
probationary franchises.
The draft is always a blast. One of my favorite parts of the season. The
banter is great and as long as we get guys in their and not bitching about
each other. We never had it, and I wont tolerate it publically on chat or
list. You can kiss the league goodbye if you make it a habit. Just keep
it all in fun and good judgement and we'll be lovin every minute of this
draft. It promises to be very interesting this year. Alot of deals went
down. Lots of different players will have increased value this year. If
you look at the economics of it, teams will need to be very usage
conscious. This will have an effect on the drafting habits of many teams
to get usage controlled, not relying on 2 RFA's or trades that may never
happen to get thru the 100% usage and roster limits. The draft will
therefore be stronger than you may think. Smaller players will have
impact now, and teams with good reserves may fare better than superstar
type teams. (LP anyone?)
You may draft a minor league. Un carded players may be retained year to
year so plan ahead.
Remember that first and foremost in CBA is that you make every attempt to
win your games. Its given in our league. Its encouraged and some feel we
owe it to each other to put our best teams out there on the field. Its
been said that respect among GM's is earned when you are a competitive GM
who fights and plays to win. Certainly last year, I commend a few guys
who did their best even sacrificing there high pick (highest) to give you
their best. We salute John Miller, We salute Doug Brunet our two
expansioneers who sacrificed their future, to put rostered players usage
into the games despite dropping their draft positions. They drafted for
usage slowing their building. CBA couldnt ask for better character.
Keith Jones despite the record also did his best to manage his usage,
though had to rely on allotted RFA's heavily. We commend his efforts. We
unfortunately must mention the legend of the Westminster Pelicans
franchise who flew the coop and crashed down to the sea like Icarus in a
typhoon. They were unprepared and had a proxy drafter. Trades werent
made and usage was a mighty issue, with little talent to trade, CBA had to
take over the franchise and set extended RFA's in a 1 time league
directive. The termination was swift, and the franchise became a walk
over which inflated some teams winning percetages. It also made for our
best pennant chase ever......
Lets mention a few other GM's who refused to tank and gave us all good
competition (name of the game here) There were Jack Frost and Jack Jung.
Frost fought it till the end. Jack Jung put 'em forward as best he could
too. We salute you Blake-O. You dint quit. We salute Rich Schneider and
Wayne McGee/Malachi Nellum. You fellas are what its all about. We saw
how you did your best. Jeff Boutet, came back in the 2nd half to be a
factor and never tanked. I cant make out this one though. We actually had
a guy publically throw in the towel only to win his 3rd championship in 4
years. So quittin never pays right Fid? Heck Bob knows. He never really
quit and he won. CBA doesn't quit. With Fidler's championship belts, its
been suggested that we all publically throw in towel each year at mid
season in a ritual to bring good luck to those who do...........nah.
Wass
It's stunning....Staub has not had a winner in the Finals since well, 2005 and Dennis Concepcion's Longue Pointe team won it all. The reigning champ Fidler is back. He is CBA's best, back for 3rd time in 4 years. Concepcion, a playoff perrenial, didn't make it last year to the playoffs, but sure has the year in grand style. He swept the extraordinary San Diego Surf team. Both Indiana and LP were underdogs to two of CBA's greatest teams of all time. Both Conference teams beat the giant teams to help advance. Now they meet. Indiana just plain outslugs you, Longue Pointe just keeps you off the bases and runners from moving....Two contrasting Strat philosophies will square off. The games should be well attended just to see what the next CBA STrategy trend will be....Will it be good pitching with lots of K's and defense. A team that hit and runs you to death and steals at will? or will it be the ARoid, Pujols, Hamilton, Pence, Sizemore, reyes show?
For LP it was all pitching and unlikely heros. For Indy Pence, Sizemore and ARod. Lets look and see who they are...
Indiana was originally the expansion Houston Aeros, a last place team that was extremely fortunate to have won the 1st over expansion pick when 4 teams were broken up. ARod was originally on the Chris Boutin led Quebec Capitales. He was the first expoansion pick in 2003 by Chris Thomas' Houston club. He then drafted Albert Pujols with the first regular draft pick that year. There was the nucleus. Jose Reyes came over in a trade 3 seasons ago from San Diego, while OSwalt was an orinal draftee. Last year, Indiana acquired B. Wagner, C. Ruiz, K. Griffey, Jr in a major trade with Southwest for A. Ethier, Indiana's #1(09), #4(09), #5(09), #6(09). They got Loney from Kennesaw as well at about the same time for a #2 and Mientkiewicz. They got J Garland from Kennesaw as well in 2008. Posada came in July of 2007 for D Riske, Kaz Matsui and a 2,6 pick. Polanco came in from Philly for Brad Hawpe. Many good trades and some not as good. But always looking to improve. Indy traded picks, acquired, shuffled, drafted and built. Looking out of the picture in themid season they staged one of CBA's remarkable comebacks winning 41-17 to gain a last day wildcard, and now back in the finals after Fidler threw in the "Towel".
Longue POinte has made a few trades mostly has built through drafting. The team, unlike 2005 is mostly of Concepcion's design. He drafts for bench reserve and defense. He drafts for talent, he drafts for good cards, he drafts to win with balance. He drafts strikeout artists, he drafts well. He acquired great draft pieces starting when he took guys like Richie Sexson at the end of rd 1 in 2005. Jason Varitek came in 2006 for Jason Kendall. 05 WS hero Torii Hunter came in 2005 for AJ Burnett and a #1. Dennis moved guys like Nomar Garciaparra a longue time favorite in Quebec, bringing in players like Aramis Ramirez, drafted some like pen guys CJ Wilson, Balfour, Marte, Seanez, Kiko Calero, Brain Fuentes, and even drafted more guys for the staff and who got outs, K's and stopped runners from moving. But Concepcion has thrived in the draft. After raising some eyebrows, whose wondering now? He drafted a minor league pick like Tim Lincecum in rd 1. He took Hideki Matsui in rd 1 too. Ryan Dempster another. He took Ryan Theriot in a later round. LP is well known for super sub scrubs. Each year he has his overachieving mutant cards. In 2005, it was Brian Jordan hitting .400. This year its Cliff Floyd, and Lou Montanez, otherwise guys like Gabe Gross, Kotchmann, Iguchi, new heros with small names. Remember Miracle Mirabelli?
Its gonna be a Jailbreak...Who will attend?
Parker Divison recap..
Parkers beast is the 2003-2004 Clemente champions Brooklyn Superbas. Year after year they are the team to beat. Teams gear up for them when they come to Brooklyn's Prospect park grounds called The "House Of Pain". The hits are more frequent, and the Brooklyn air contributes to power. The team is built to specification for that field. The playerscome and go. This year Hall of Fame 1B Todd Helton was dispatch starting a myriad of Brooklyn trades as the Superbas began to build for tomorrow. Players in and out. Along with Helton, Long time 2B Brandon Phillips, last years RF Magliulo Ordonez, HOF candidates Omar Vizquel, Mike Timlin, RP set up Dan Wheeler,Andy Laroche. In their place. Nickt Markakis, Ryan Braun, Carlos Zambrano, David Price. The future mortgaged. Brooklyn had to make moves to compete with the powerful teams in Cooperstown, Indiana, Philly, Carolina, Lake County, and Ottawa. No one can stand idle in Clemente, the competition is that fierce. Brooklyn is no lock for a division title in 2010. But in 2009, they were. In fact they may have been Brooklyn's best team ever. Year after year of 95+ wins, but 2009 was special 108-54 record their best. Only SD had 109 wins. Both are among the CBA's all time wins per season leaders.
Start with the slugging. The new dynamic duo rests the crown from Papi-Vlad. Howard Cabrera. Destruction and total avg. For Cabrera 44 HR (5th overall), 136 RBI's (5th overall), .308 .953 tot. Howard 8.87 rc/27, 1.021 prod 60 HR (2nd overall), 155 RBI (1st overall), .292 BA. Maglioulo Ordonez chipped in 21 HR 104RBI, 4th in CBA with a .339 BA. Vermon Wells 24 HR 68 RBI, .354. Punto stole 35 .322 BA in 336 AB's. B Phillip[s 24 HR 80RBI 24sb. Blake 27HR, 85 RBI .278. Doumit hit 24 HR .316 average, Giles 13 HR 77 RBI .316. The bench was awesome with Furcal playing vs L only, platooned 9 HR 38 RBI 15sb .432ba as a sub. The offense was legendary in CBA. Finishing with a near record .307 ba with 275 HR 1048 runs. .369 OBA .525 slugging for the Superbas. the latter a CBA record. It should be noted that Brooklyn hit 44 triples, and stole 114 bases. Speed helped.
There wasn't much other teams could do except hope the bats didn't hit. The lineup stacked with no easy outs.The defense wasn't good .708 X rating. League average is .712. League Leader Indiana had .802 league low Ottawa .591.
So did Brooklyn defense help the pitching? Not at all The offense couldn't keep the opposition from scoring runs, likely a defensive glitch, but the pitching did a respectable job with a 4.30 era in a bandbox park. With better defense maybe 112 wins could have been reached. Came back to haunt them in the playoffs when defense crushed them in late innings...A .302 IRSC the pen was fair. Brooklyn stayed strong all year but couldn't defeat Indiana in the playoffs. Their dice luck ran out, and they shockingly stopped hitting. Another disapperntment for the lovable Superba nuts in Americas 4th largest city.
Cooperstown had a great year in 2009. They won 94 times. 14 ½ behind Brooklyn. They made it to a game 163 playoff vs eventual champion Indiana, another longball team. First time in many years. This team typical of Parker and Clemente big power. 215 HR. Nine double digit HR guys led by Morneau 35 HR 128 RBI .318 He was so valuable to his team carrying the team to that 163. Johnny Peralta hit 27 HR 107 RBI .290, Ibanez his standard 28 HR 108 RBI .299 season. Jose Lopez had a great year hitting .324 18 HR 79 RBI. Burrrisss stole 19 bases. Jack Kemp hit 24 HR 90 .280 33sb and only 1 CS. A CBA single season SB % record with .971. He did however K 141 times. A team .351 OBA was their best in years along with a great .484 slug. .835 production is also very strong. They threw base stealers ot 75%, Stole 81 bases So why not more wins? Pitching…It all went wrong.
Well almost. Cy Young candidate Carlos Marmol was dominant and necessary. He save 43 games from a poor pitching staff. That he figured in 45% of his teams wins was no accident. He was good. No one else was. The pen allowed 40% of their inherited runners score. Compared with league leading Carolina’s 22%. Staff ace was 14-8 but a 4.94 ERA. Lot more losses could be avoided. Jon Stamets has went to work right away with flurries of trades to get all the pieces together for a Parker run. He has traded a lot of picks, players, and gotten different players and picks returned. Wild off season for this franchise. They should be an Iron Horse in 2010.
In most years Carolina’s 88 wins would compete more closely for a wildcard which they did, until swept away vs Cooperstown and Brooklyn in the last week and a half of the season. They finished with 5 more wins, but it wasn’t enough, Carolina and their signature bullpen couldn’t hold out. In fact Carolina may had taken a WC had Brooklyn not dominated them in September sweeping two series. A good team home and away, the pen was the story. The Cardiac Copperheads won 10 games of 13 in extras. The team largely did better than actual performances save Tejada who hit only .265, and Zimmerman who at 3B hit .276. But you know what that will be in 2010 with Zimm becoming elite. A good .351 OBA with .478 slug is enough to win, but in Clemente? Parker? Carolina is looking to build some trading Brian Roberts to the powerful Ohio team in Staub. 239 HR, 892 runs, .282 BA, 121 SB.
Both Ludwick and Werth had good seasons. Ludwick 40 HR 107 RBI, .290 BA 1.018 Tot. A great season. Several over 20 HR’s including Jason Werth 26 HR 77 RBI .314, 21sb, 1.033 tot.
A Dunn had a low 28 HR .251, Votto 23 HR 75 RBI .299 BA, B Roberts 10 HR 49 RBI 63sb, Benjamin Molina .296 23 HR 90 RBI, DeRosa 22 HR 83 RBI .288, overall 12 guys double digit HR’s. Parker = Power.
The Carolina pitching was good 4.39 ERA led by Johann Santana who was 20-9 3.86 222 K’s. Harang won 13 more but a 5.49 ERA. Ollie Perez was tossed. 11-11, 6.39 ERA. Marcum acquired the previous winter from Brooklyn went 11-9 3.60 ERA. The pen was strong. Great pen management Ohman was in 92 games only 43 innings. How’s that for super HAL efficiency? Ohman, Valverde, Bray, Gregg, Nelson, Street, Scott Kenan knew what he was talking about when he tried to install a world class pen last winter. It almost won a playoff spot for him.
Woeful expansion team or shining ray of light. What and where is Sunville? Keith Jones’ team the SunJewels. Is it the Jimmy Buffett they play at night games and Margaritas they serve liberally at games to keep ‘em at the park? Is it the Buffet table spread before gametime? Is it Warren Buffet’s attendance at home weekend games dancing “Bootay Meat” with the SunJewel cheerleaders. What will bring fans to Sunville? Is the team playing in Phlorida or New Mexico…The mystery of the SunJewels…They now own the top pick in CBA’s draft. Anyone they want is theirs. It took ‘em a loaded trawler of candidiates to meet usage and get to the finish line. Which they absolutely did unlike Harley Bryan (Bryan Harley?) Don Leo Kernal’s Westminter Albatrosses. Jones guaranteed, and delivered. In the meantime the offense was futile. The pitching worse 6.36 team ERA. Perhaps CBA’s worst team ever? 36-126, close the Harley Davidson Kernal’s finished barely 29-133. Worse. 1426 Inn pitched 1870 hits allowed. Only 145 HR’s. No one more than Marcust Thames 18. No players stood out. No one particularly good. Note Rod Barajas 10 HR 36 RBI .273. Jose Bautista 18 HR 40 RBI .218BA. Nick Blackburn 10-15 4.35 for a team that won 36 games. Troye Percival saved 8 big games. Greg Maddux was acquired for usage, and closed out his illustrious CBA HOF career with a 4-13 record unbefitting a diamond king. A .724 X rating was actually better than some teams in contention, kudos. A first year team, Sunville is looking for sunnier days. Jones has just started rest assured. He is ready to land some big fish in the draft pool. Better times are coming for the Leisure King franchise…Feb 28th could be Sunville’s biggest day ever.
From Southwest Sun Lizard's Home territory came this release
@AP Newswire Date: Oct.
14, 2009
LOCAL INVESTIGATORS SEEK ANSWERS!
Arcane wording discovered scrawled upon a napkin in local steak house
outside Indiana's Ballpark has raised concerns that a killer may be on the
loose. It reads:
In
the mighty halls of the CBA
there are only two things of certainty,
The future's uncertain, and THE END is always near!
Wow, I'm sick of doubt
Live in the light of certain
South side
Cruel bindings.
The Redbirds have the power
Dog-men and their mean women
Pulling poor
blankets
over
Our players
I'm sick of dour faces
Staring at me from the executive
Suites, i want roses in
My
bullpen
bower; dig?
Royal doubles, hard hit singles
Must now replace aborted
Strangers in the mud
These mutants, blood-meal
For the pitcher that's plowed.
They are waiting to take us into
The severed garden
Do you know how pale and wanton thrillful
Comes death on a strange hour
Unannounced, unplanned for
Like a scaring over-friendly guest you've
Brought to bed
Defeat makes angels of us all
And gives us wings
Where we had shoulders
Smooth as raven's
Claws
No more
money,
no more fancy uniforms
This other kingdom seems by far the best
Until it's other jaw reveals incest
And loose obedience to a REDBIRD law.
I will not go
Prefer a feast of
friends
A lie she cried
Spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a marble slab
To the
giant REDBIRD she spoke
I will not go, I will not go
Have I not wandered your streets of yellow haze?
And pitchers come and go
Speaking of Joe DiMaggio
I have measured out my life
In balls, strikes and cheap hot dogs
Am I not Lazarus raised from the dead?
Come back to tell you
To tell you all
THE END
Local officials and police detectives are puzzled by the cryptic verbiage
and its meaning. Rumors that the much awaited contest between the Lizard
Kings and the Rebirds will be tomorrow night at 5pm Pacific/8pm EST may be
related to the arcane scriblings. Rob Fidler is reportedly suffering from
massive migranes in anticipation of the bloody series and has been cleared
of any ill-doings. However, maverick owner, Eric Lindner, has been
heavily sedated and locked securely in a local sanitarium after being
found in a darken alley with steak sauce smeared all over his vomit
covered t-shirt.
The end is most certainly near for one of these vaunted warriors of the
CBA.
Report filed by Bernard Shakey
Minister of Propaganda and Ticket Sales
Fantastic week...All we could have asked. Heading into the final block the races have clarified. The losers are heading home and the strongest and best survive. This week, Allentown, Kennesaw, Limoilou, have all been practically eliminated though not mathematically. In Staub That leaves the Dawson decided in an epic 4 game series that all will be watching between Longue Pointe and Belfast. It has been them all season long, as Limoilou held on till the end. Dennis Concepcion and JD Adams will play with LP just a gmae back of the Brawlers. The LP's have been throwing shutouts with a great staff and 1's all over the field. Great defense has masked a suspect offense led by 10 man Johnstone award candidate Cliff "pink" Floyd of all cards...
Skokie is in the wildcard basically 4 games over LP. Glen Kenan's Ohio has never made the lpayoffs. Not even as Bodega Bay. Could this year be the franchises first ever? The Thundercats are only 2 back of Mike Koepp's Maine Express. Maine's Adrian Gonzalez and The Uggla at 2B, lead the offense. SanDiego is having the best year in their history. Wallace will be formidable in the playoffs. They have last years 7 game playoff loss to avenge.
Clemente has Philly slugging 3, 20 runs games this week. Brooklyn had the seasons first no hitter. Its the franchises first as well. John Lannan Brooklyn's 1st rd draft pick throws one vs Sunville. Box below. Howard and Cabrera each have over 40 HR. Howard 56 of 'em, chasing Sammy Sosa's team record of 63. He just passed Todd Helton's 55 of 2001. The race is for wildcard which Dave Jones (got it right) Lake County Leopards is 1 game behind both Cooperstown with GM Jon Stamets, and Indiana and last years champion Bob Fidler. What a race.....Netplay could be the thing this week!
Sept 20th 2009
The season end is at hand. Its destiny or skill. Its luck or probability. Its torturous or strategous. Usage conservation or damn the torpedoes... Who will win? Who are the players?
The 2009 CBA elite are....
Marc Wass. Yours truly is having a renaissance season with 104 wins so far. The 2003 WS finalist and 2004 champion Superbas have been in the playoffs each year since 2003. They were in a few more before that. Big games elude Superbas who are driving to become two time champs ala Rob Hite, Jeff Boutet, Bob Fidler. Been playing Strat since 1977, Superbas are always a team known for offense and power. Brooklyn signature is perrenial leadership in major offensive categories. Lots of stealing and Power, teams are tailored for Coors field dimensions.
Joe Wallace: Plays hard in playoffs. Knows the game and numbers well. Is out to beat the Staub Division and nothing less than a World Series Appearance will due for the CBA's 7 year veteran. Wallace has built his team from the ground up and is contending the past 3 seasons. Could this be the year he breaks through?
JD Adams: The usage czar knows his role, and his team. With the luck of the Irish, and the use of excellent strategies in lineup making, the Belfast Brawlers again play to maximum potential. They dont have Limoilou's star power, Longue Tongue's pitching and defense, nor the power of Clemente's brooklyn or Philly, but they do all the little things, like steal, pitch, clutch. Huff has been a blessing and though others have better numbers he may be the true MVP based on his value to a team thats contending. 52 doubles 23 HR 113 RBI on a non slugging team that steals tons. Adams has suffered CBA heart break a few times in the past. 1 game playoff losses. Early rd 1 exits, just barely not making the cut. JD is hungry and ferocious. Every swing counts for this competititor.
"Wolfman" Shapiro. The Skokie, Holland, Atlanta, crystal master. Moved right in and rebuilt the Wolfmen into powerhouse. This team is becoming a CBA legend having been there in the thick of the playoffs each season since 2006 I believe. The Wolfman is known around the world for his skill. Its on display here in CBA and again he's primed for another shot at the coveted CBA World Series title. The Strat community watches our website and posts and our playoffs are watched by the veteran league watchers online. SOM players always look for the advantages, sometimes from other leagues that they can apply to their own methods. Wolfman's web pages get quite a few hits. He wants them to read about a Wolfmen World Championship. Thats his goal solely. He nows the rules and how to work within them. he is reliable and efficient. Most of all, he knows the game and the cards. To beat him in the Netplayoffs is to beat a legend. Bob Fidler did so. Wolfman may not be done with him...
Dennis Concepcion: The man behind the CBA graphics. Staub President, and creator of the Loggers team. DC is one GM that can't be ruled out because he finds a way to beat you. He has a knack for finding variables other than slugging. He relies heavily on platoon system and defense. He has sported teams with 4+ ones on offense. He is known for his small ball game like the one he used to ride such cards as "Miracle Mirabelli", Brian Jordan, and Todd Jones into big moments. He also studies his opponents and plays for the long run. The LP signature is their strong bench, and fantastic pitching staff. He prefers strikeout pitchers, and good hit and run men. Concepcion is unconventional but effective year in and year out. He is also an avid baseball uniform and stadium historical enthusiast.
Rob Hite: CBA legend. Multi year champion. Just like Brooklyn in leading CBA in offense and power categories. Owns several CBA records. Hite is on executive committee, and is an original member. Perhaps one of CBA most prolific traders, Hite is one of the sharpest draft and Stratball minds you'll ever meet. Has keen sense of talent and is ever tough in head to head competition. Rob Hite is a future CBA Hall of famer. He has the championships to back it.
Glenn Kenan: First year for playoffs? A CBA 4 year man. The Ohio team has improved each year. Kenan has traded and drafted himself into a winning team. In a tough conference where teams knock each other around, Ohio is on the cusp of team history should they overcome Maine. Kenan has forged a team that could be the underdog surprise of the CBA season. The little engine who could?
Mike Koepp: Mr Mike to you. Maine is in the 2nd year of playoff hunt. His last playoff was marred by some questionable circumstances, but experience was gained. Koepp is fighting hard. The competitor in Koepp has worked very hard to get this franchise atop Rogers division. He wont relent now, & is ready to beat you.
Dave Jones: Jones has been around the block in CBA. The Leopards are his team. He built them and is likely to make noise this year if they get into the playoffs. Dave always has his team playing tough. Never an easy win, The Leopards gives all Clemente fits. They play well against Philly, SW, and Brooklyn. Jones seems to make trades that keep him in the thick of things.
Eric Lindner: 1 game shy of Southwest's 1998 best franchise win total. Lindner also knows the cards and the game. Loves to compete. Loves to win. Plays well and plays fair. Lindner is fun to play against...Its all fun and sht until you realize he's beating you. Knows how to shoot down his oponents with Strat skill. He is the Lizard King and wants to do anything. Plays in Morrison Stadium. Doors fan obviously, and true artist painter.
Jon Stamets: Has made a seamless transition into CBA to take over Cooperstown. His GM skills will be on display as he takes a good team and has been making them play with efficiency. This weeks series vs Carolina was classic. Knows how to manage, and could be this years X factor as Allentown's Rich Schneider was back in 2004.
Usage Post:
Batters may only start games during a block if they have 12 or more PA left for the season, but they can be on your roster (available as bench players) as long as they have at least 1 PA left for the season. If the batter meets these requirements, then you are not access a penalty if the player get overused during that block, but you must deactivate him for the next block to avoid penalties.
Starting Pitchers can start one game during a block if they have at least 4IP left for the season. It has been noted that we need to specify how many IP a pitcher must have to start two games during a block, but that is unclear at this time. If the starting pitcher meets this requirement before the block, no penalty will be accessed for over usage obtained during that block. However, if overused, you must deactivate the pitcher before the next block
Relief pitchers must have at least 3IP left before the block. If they meet this requirement and get overused during the block, no penalty will be accessed, but the pitcher must be deactivated before the next block if they have less than 3ip left for the season (or are overused) to avoid penalties.
Starters/Relievers are evaluated as if the are a starter (may only start if 4ip or more) and a reliever (may only be activated if they have 3ip or more).
So, as long as you check out the Usage Display (from Statistics->Team Statistics), after every block, you should be able to quickly determine who can must be deactivated now, who is getting close and who must be bench players only. If you do this and still go over a few PA/IP, then you are not penalized at all.
For example, Mark Ellis from my team has been used 1 PA more than his card allows. However, once he got under 12PA, I took him off all of my starting lineups, and then once he went over, I deactivated him for the rest of the season, so no infraction/warning was issued. I can also tell that Burrell can't be in a starting line up, since he only has 2PA left, so he's on the bench now.
for my pitchers, I can see that Randy Wolf has 4IP left, so can start one game this last block, while Gavin Floyd has only 3ip left and can only relieve (he can't start, and has a 0 relief rating, but I kept him on the roster just in case he was the last option left in a long game...)
(there are others on my roster that either must be bench players
August 21st 2009
The races come alive.
Theres separation at the top. Philly is having a season for the ages 24
games up in Schmidt. Amazing! Phantastic. It's time to recognize Rob
Hite for his accomplishments in CBA. We could also celebrate Jeff Boutet
who has brough Limoilou back into the Dawson race once again, a 3 way
dance. Limoilou has won 3 titles and was perhaps CBA's most dominant team
from Staub.... Rob Hite is among the top elite in CBA history with his
championships and dominance of his division nearly every season. This
year may be his best since winning a CBA record 120 in 2000. Your teams
career stats are now in the team notebooks in your game itself. Each
year's won lost is recorded.... Marc Wasserman, yours truly has asserted
control in the Parker division with perhaps more title wins than any other
franchise in CBA history. BSP has been to the finals in 2003 losing to
Limoilou and Boutet, winning it all in 2004, and nearly three peating
being stopped short in 2005. Bob Fidler joins, Boutet and Hite as multiple
World Champions...
Look at the CBA' s all time franchise leaders by winning pct
Team Wins Loss Runs Runs against
Brooklyn 1203 876 13053 11378
Limoilou 1168 912 10817 9603
Longue Pointe 1156 924 10075 9093
Philly 1144 938 12408 11048
August 10th 2009
Out of Montreal:
Jay Payton announces his retirement: “It was a great ride. As I was already considering retirement after the season, I let the folks here in Montreal have the opportunity to have a look at another player before the end of the season. It’s unfortunate that the injury will prevent me from helping this new franchise for the remainder of the season. On a positive note, I’ve been offered the chance to stay on in a coaching capacity. I’m really going to consider it. My best years were spent in Brooklyn and I have very fond memories playing there, but I was glad to have the chance to help a young franchise. I think things here in Montreal are pretty solid.”
August 19th 2009
Skokie acquires RFA(1) B Duckworth release Saroman Torres
SD acquires M Redmond RFA(1)
High Bridge Releases G Jenkins, Acquires RFA(3) E Bonifacio
August 16th 2009
Acquired Travis Metcalf as RFA(1), released Bill Bray.
Aug 12th 2009
Released- Chacon, Gonzalez, Isringhausen,
W. Wright, Mendoza
Acquired RFAs- Bartolo Colon, TJ Beam, Scott Eyre, Matt Tolbert, Alex
Belfast has trimmed LP's lead to 2 in Dawson as LP bench couldn't hold off their opposition this time. Looks like they must win their division with SD and Skokie with better records in Staub. Westminster finally won a game, but Joliet now has a CBA record 21 game losing streak as the Jacks prepare for 2010. Limoilou is red hot and only 4 out now in Dawson. Could it be another 3 way dance? Boutet's team could be a player. Maine and Ohio are dogfighting in Rogers. That division is all bunched up. It could be anyones to win. Could Ohio be worst to first? Montreal has a good lineup this year. The addition of Todd Helton CBA future HOFer, Joe Crede, Jody Gerut, Keppinger are quite a tough opponent not to be taken for the Montreal Uehara's. SD 's lead has been trimmed all the way down by the Skokie Skunk'ems who are redhot. Again the Wolfman proves to bequite a CBA manager. Could the future hold HOF enshrinement? A championship or two may help the cause.
In Clem, Brooklyn is having a terrific season loaded with offense. Ryan Howard is on an MVP tear and is now 2nd (by 1) in HR and RBI. HIS BA is up over .285. Both Brian Giles, Ryan Doumit, and Miguel Cabrera have been on fire. Cabrera zipping right up into the leaders categories. Both Carolina and Cooperstown are neck and neck in the wildcard. Its been a great year for both teams. Cooperstown could finish with their best season ever. Both are tough as nails. Speaking of nails, It looks like Super GM Rob Hite's Philly team is all but ran away with the Schmidt. 18 games, that division is nearly wrapped up. Another classic powerhouse team loaded with offense. As their pitching improved so did their winning pct.
High Bridge is just so tough for an expansion team. They are a spoiler. Miller is a good GM who can squeeze blood from rocks. What has happened to Ottawa and Stirling? IS it too late for them? Lake County making a run along with Carolina. They too are right in the wild card playoff hunt...
Passed Balls
C.Coste KWR 7
R.Chavez KWR 6
V.Martinez PPS 6
J.Mauer OOS 6
I.Rodriguez BSP 5
M.Olivo NBC 5
J.Mathis HHC 4
O.Santos CWS 4
Assists by First baseman
D.Lee 2009 JJC 41
K.Morales 2009 ANR 40
N.Johnson 2009 SSP 40
A.Gonzalez 2009 MER 38
T.Helton 2009 MCD 35
D.Ortiz 2009 OOS 34
A.Huff 2009 BBD 34
J.Loney 2009 LLM 32
J.Votto 2009 CCP 29
Catcher Assists
Y.Torrealba 2009 MCD 22
V.Martinez 2009 PPS 18
M.Olivo 2009 NBC 17
A.Pierzynski 2009 JJC 17
Y.Molina 2009 SLM 17
J.Kendall 2009 KBM 16
B.McCann 2009 CIP 16
R.Martin 2009 ANR 16
R.Paulino 2009 LWD 15
Pitcher Errors
J.Jurrjens 2009 SRS 4
T.Miller 2009 LLM 4
K.Davies 2009 BBD 3
M.Owings 2009 JJC 3
J.Burton 2009 JJC 3
A.Cook 2009 OOS 3
E.Jackson 2009 BSP 3
J.Beckett 2009 LLM 3
J.De La Rosa 2009 KWR 3
J.Chamberlain 2009 SSP 3
Longest Hit streaks
Span, Denard Heaters 27
Wells, Vernon Superbas 17
Lee, Derrek Jackhammers 16
Phillips, Brandon Loggers 16
Holliday, Matt Lizard Kings 14
Aybar, Erick Thundercats 14
Ryan, Brendan Woodsmen 14
Gardner, Brett *** 13
Pierre, Juan Jackhammers 12
Izturis, Maicer Otters 12
Martinez, Victor Phantastics 12
Sandoval, Pablo Jackhammers 12
Pagan, Angel Wendigo 12
Pinch Hits
Montreal Crows (MCD) R.Davis 6
Longue Pointe Loggers (LLD) A.Ramirez 5 2 PH HR
New Jersey Beatles (NBC) M.Bradley 5
Joliet Jackhammers (JJC) A.Escobar 5
Maine Express (MER) A.Rowand 4
High Bridge Heaters (HHC)A.Ojeda 4
Ohio Thundercats (OTR) A.Gordon 4
RF Assists
Montreal Crows (MCD) J.Francoeur 7 2DPs
Brooklyn Superbas (BSP) N.Markakis 6
Southwest Lizard Kings (SLM) A.Ethier 4
Joliet Jackhammers (JJC) C.Hart 4 3 DPs
Bryan Bashers (KBM) N.Swisher 3
Maine Express (MER) A.Rowand 3
Indiana Redbirds (IRM) H.Pence 3
Longue Pointe Loggers (LLD) I.Suzuki 3
Lake County Leopards (LLM) K.Fukudome 3
Columbus Wildcats (CWS) W.Balentien 3
Sunville Sunjewels (SSP) J.Gomes 3
Belfast Brawlers (BBD) A.Rios 3
Sunville Sunjewels (SSP) J.Willingham 3
CF Assists Double Plays Triple PLays
Stirling Redsox (SRS) J.Ellsbury 8 0 0
New Jersey Beatles (NBC) D.Dejesus 8 0 0
Belfast Brawlers (BBD) N.McLouth 7 2 0
Maine Express (MER) A.Jones 6 1 0
Southwest Lizard Kings (SLM) M.Kemp 6 1 0
Bryan Bashers (KBM) M.Byrd 5 1 0
Carolina Copperheads (CCP) J.Werth 5 0 0
Cooperstown Iron Horses (CIP) F.Gutierrez 4 0 0
High Bridge Heaters (HHC) T.Gwynn Jr 4 0 0
Lake County Leopards (LLM) C.Ross 4 0 0
Ottawa Otters (OOS) A.McCutchen 4 0 0
Longue Pointe Loggers (LLD) T.Hunter 3 0 0
Brooklyn Superbas (BSP) V.Wells 3 0 0
Sunville Sunjewels (SSP) C.Gonzalez 3 0 0
Joliet Jackhammers (JJC) M.Bourn 3 1 0
Kennesaw Mtn Woodsmen (KWR) J.Borbon 3 0 0
Limoilou Wendigo (LWD) A.Pagan 3 0 0
KennesawWoodsmen (KWR) M.Cameron 3 1 0
Longue Pointe Loggers (LLD) N.Morgan 3 0 0
LF Assists
High Bridge Heaters (HHC) D.Span 5
Stirling Redsox (SRS) C.Crawford 4
Bryan Bashers (KBM) J.Bay 3
Cooperstown Iron Horses (CIP) R.Ibanez 3
Ottawa Otters (OOS) L.Nix 3
Maine Express (MER) B.Upton 3
Leadoff Hitters Hits leaders with their OPS
High Bridge Heaters (HHC) D.Span 70 .908
Longue Pointe Loggers (LLD) I.Suzuki 51 .764
San Diego Surf (SSC) D.Wright 48 .857
Belfast Brawlers (BBD) C.Figgins 48 .699
Carolina Copperheads (CCP) M.Scutaro 47 .652
Brooklyn Superbas (BSP) V.Wells 46 .813
Ohio Thundercats (OTR) B.Roberts 45 .756
Maine Express (MER) B.Upton 43 .669
Joliet Jackhammers (JJC) M.Bourn 41 .702
Limoilou Wendigo (LWD) J.Bartlett 41 .929
Montreal Crows (MCD) R.Davis 40 .973
Indiana Redbirds (IRM) A.Cabrera 39 .559
Southwest Lizard Kings (SLM) J.Damon 38 .810
Ottawa Otters (OOS) M.Izturis 37 .738
Bryan Bashers (KBM) L.Overbay 36 .910
Stirling Redsox (SRS) J.Ellsbury 36 .602
Lake County Leopards (LLM) K.Fukudome 34 .823
Sunville Sunjewels (SSP) A.Kennedy 34 .699
Philly Phantastics (PPS) B.Abreu 30 .905
Philly Phantastics (PPS) D.Jeter 26 .976
Allentown Senators (ANR) A.Gonzalez 25 .971
Kennesaw Mtn Woodsmen (KWR) J.Borbon 25 .704
#2 Hitters, Hits
Ohio Thundercats (OTR) E.Aybar 47
Limoilou Wendigo (LWD) F.Lopez 45
High Bridge Heaters (HHC) L.Castillo 41
Joliet Jackhammers (JJC) A.Pierzynski 40
Longue Pointe Loggers (LLD) R.Theriot 40
San Diego Surf (SSC) S.Victorino 39
Kennesaw Mtn Woodsmen (KWR) B.Ryan 38
Brooklyn Superbas (BSP) N.Markakis 34
Carolina Copperheads (CCP) J.Hermida 34
Stirling Redsox (SRS) D.Pedroia 33
Ottawa Otters (OOS) J.Upton 31
Allentown Senators (ANR) M.Prado 31
Philly Phantastics (PPS) D.Jeter 31
Southwest Lizard Kings (SLM) M.Kemp 31
HR's #8 in batting order
Carolina Copperheads (CCP) I.Kinsler .844 7
Philly Phantastics (PPS) R.Branyan .671 6
Ohio Thundercats (OTR) J.Buck 1.327 6
New Jersey Beatles (NBC) M.Fontenot .866 5
Indiana Redbirds (IRM) H.Pence .716 4
Joliet Jackhammers (JJC) L.Valbuena .728 4
Montreal Crows (MCD) R.Castro 1.257 4
San Diego Surf (SSC) C.Pennington .898 3
Maine Express (MER) J.Saltalamacchia .840 3
Limoilou Wendigo (LWD) J.Bartlett 1.303 3
Bryan Bashers (KBM) M.Ellis .801 3
Ottawa Otters (OOS) S.Drew .794 3
Longue Pointe Loggers (LLD) J.Varitek .666 3
Quality Starts
C.Carpenter CCP R 8
R.Porcello HHC R 8
J.Shields ANR R 7
T.Lincecum LLD R 7
K.Correia SSP R 7
J.Beckett LLM R 7
C.Sabathia LLD L 7
J.Jurrjens SRS R 7
J.Lester CIP L 6
J.Danks KWR L 6
J.Vazquez CIP R 6
M.Buehrle SRS L 6
R.Ohlendorf CWS R 6
J.Santana CCP L 6
J.Washburn LWD L 6
J.Johnson CCP R 6
M.Cain SLM R 6
J.Blanton KBM R 6
T.Lilly SLM L 6
B.Arroyo SRS R 6
C.Kershaw LWD L 6
F.Hernandez SSC R 6
First month, put it in the books.
Version 15.0-19 or whatever its up to now. Patch 15.02A, and still Netplay
, cant get it right. Mike Koepp and I have a running joke preseason about
how many patches they'll need each year. We're up to 3 now.
You must exit the game completely after playing a full game, else you stay
logged into the chat lobby and your 'port' stays open (tech talk) soooo.
Shutdown the game, relaunch into the lobby AND change the Room name you
use. Many times the game won't connect
Important, Do not alter the game files in any way for any reason for CM or
netplay, else you will get structure errors upon import.
Surprised we havent seen more trades since opening day. Generally the
wires are buzzing as GM's prep[are for the fight, and to arm their team
for the season. Usually its hard to tell in April how a season will go,
but GM's start to have a feel for what their teams can do. Patterns
emerge, and dont ever forget the hot hand. It seems in Strat that as much
as a probabilty based system it seems, the odd players outform the stars
often. Good CM technique comes into play all the time. How many times
have we seen the Jay Johnstone Award go to those less than stellar
performers? Platooners win games in CBA. So does bench management which
Longue Pt proves again and again in the stretch.
So how do we figure Montreal? 9 over .500? Uerhara 5-1 0.85 ? How do we
pronounce his name? Better learn fast that card is a good one. Scott
Feldman is at 2.02, Bannister is pitching well, Galarraga too. The
bullpen aside from Rodney is shaky. But look at Will Venable. Nice
numbers. Montreal could slip back as their players usage is a main reason
why they are bangin now. Enjoy while they can, because Limoilou and LP do
have the depth. The Crows will need some offense INF Ab's to come in if
they are to stay around. Dont expect Longue POint to stay down long.
This team is well balanced, and primed to be consistant all year. They
dont have that 1 slugger that year after year can put them over. Could
Matsui be out at 1B in the Quebec
Amusement Park of the Trees?
San Diego is doing some damage. The quiet Surf may not be as strong as
2009, but they have good offense, and good pitching. Losing Manny half
the year will hurt. Dye is not what he was, and Young well not bad. SD
should be there in the end, but they may be vunerable as usage takes away
the big bat.
Allentown 16-15. Playing well. Shileds carrying the staff 5-0 already.
Was Cy Young in 2008. Wilson, Farnsworth, Mk Lowe and Thurston Howell
make an impressive pen.....Great core with H Ramirez, R Martin, Prado,
Kendry, C Gomez. Allentown is on the verge of being a very solid good
team....Brooklyn has seen Markakis on fire andon base. He's among league leaders and is
hitting atop their order. With Howard, Braun, and Cabrera slugging,
Brooklyn will score runs. So will
their opponents...
Despite the garbage offense, the New Hampshire pitching staff is among the
best in CBA right now. Good bullpen...High Bridges Denard Span, last
years Rookie of year runner up is leading all CBA in batting. Witha 24
game hitting streak, Span is the Heaters all star....Could Carolina be the
beast in Clemente? Does Charlie Daniels play a mean fiddle? I guess. I
see balance, power, some OBA, and good pitching. Brooklyn, Indy, SWest, Philly, Striling watch out for this sleeper...Limoilou'
The Staub division is known for great pennant races. Last year’s race for the wildcard between Skokie and Belfast resulted in a game 163 won by the Brawlers leading to their first playoff appearance in a couple of seasons. For The Wolfman Shapiro it was his final CBA hurrah retiring from CBA in what could be a hall of fame career of winning tradition. Of course the Brawlers, Longue Pointe, and Limoilou fought toth and nail for the Dawson crown. The races have been legendary. Now in 2009, Ohio Thundercats led by Glenn Kenan became players. They took the Rogers division by 1 game making it to the round 1 playoffs the first time. It was there they face eventual Staub champions Longue Pointe. San Diego took another big step becoming a dominant team and winning the most in CBA with 109 wins within CBA’s top 5 all time. Brooklyn won 108 as well. SD could well be developing the dynasty in Carter.
The Rogers was an intringuind division. They all finished Ohio 86-76 Maine 85-77 Allentown 79-83, Kennesaw Mtn 78-84. Each team having a good year despite what appears to be decent records. A few wins within the division either way and the whole scenario would have been upside down. Ohio turned out the class of the division with good pitching, offensive balance and some good performances. Their numbers don’t stand out in comparison to CBA, but remember Staub is a pitching and defense conference. Ohio hit a very respectable 163 HR’s. 717 RBI. Stole only 52 bases and defense was shaky with 127 errors. So how did they win? Solid pitching. A team 4.07 ERA despite the .703 X rating for the team which is well below league best. ERA could have been better so the team WHIP was slightly higher than could have been. The pen combined for a .285 IRSC which is very good. Limiting the runs scored helped greatly. The batting was average with a ,335 team OBA and .423 slug. Not up there with the Clemente powerhouses, but it helped. Kubel had a big bat really boosting the offense as teams ‘pitched around’ Texeira who hit only 26 HR 88 RBI’s. Not a lot of people on in front of him. Role players like Boggs, and Fernando Tatis had strong years off the bench to supply punch. It all counts. A great front rotation of Edinson Volquez and Rick3 Nolasco dominated the opposition E.Volquez 3.08 17-7 R.Nolasco 2.51 14-8, both with great numbers to go along. A pen by committee featuring Craig Breslow, Trever Miller, Chris Perez, Steve Shields, Circus Vargas and others were solid. A great year for Ohio and 2010 could be even better.
Maine just barely missed. They ran into some usage issues and folded at season end. .268 144 HR 722 RBI’s. That .268 was a pretty good average in the Staub Conference. Remember you can’t compare the two leagues as they have different goals and personalities.The power was adequate. Low cost high yield players for Maine. Adrian Gonzlaez is approaching his prime had a 32HR 101 RBI .301 year. Uggla paced the way and had a tremendous MVP like .295 34 HR 103 RBI year. His value was about as much as any team player though the stats less gaudy. Uggla kept the Express in the race. Just as Aubrey Huff led the Brawlers despite the lesser stats than others. Its comparative. Uggla and Huff were absolutely MVP contenders maybe even more. Jorge Cantu had a good year 19 HR 91 RBI .279 in a pitchers conference.Barmes stepped into oplatoon to hit 9 HR 44 RBI .308. BJ Upton led CBA with 71 SB with only a .258 BA.
Excellent pitching from K. Lohse 3.13 13-6, and J. Bergmann 3.96 11-6. Bobby Jenks was outstanding saving 25 with a 2.05 ERA. Just as bad were Z. Duke 5.24 11-11, J. Saunders 4.06 5-14. and I.Snell 6.16 7-12. Iwamura has 12 PH’s and hit .309 part time. Perhaps Maine’s success vs R .276, helped them rise above some others. A team .276 BA vs R and overall .340 OBA helped somewhat. Though .409 slg was bad. The defense killed them .676 X rating was too much for the good pitching and great hitting to overcome in the end. Errors killed them in big game spots and in big series like Next to last week getting swept by Ohio. The final 2 or 3 of the season went into extra innings and it may have been the difference in playoffs and pretenders.
Allentown had another average year showing signs of breaking through then slumping just as they reached playoff contention. As late as August 18th-19th they were just 2 games back of first place only to drop a series to Montreal the spoiler. Again they came within 3 as late as Sept 2nd after the Joliet series, but along came the LP Loggers who swept them out of the picture. Perhaps it was usage concerns, but the Dawsons did in the Senators. For a good stretch early on, they held first place until 1st week in May.
Weak hitting hurt against the tougher pitching. Little power hurt but they had still some Staubesque good all around play at times. Chris Gomez had a good year hitting .258 10 HR 62 RBI, 58 SB, 35/42 sac’s from leadoff. Jeff Kent upon retirement closed out his CBA HOF career with 13 more HR and 72 RBI. Will he wear Senators uniform on his page? Russ Martin was as more than solid a backstop as in CBA 10 HR 73 RBI 34 SB! He was the teams MVP. Hanley Ramirez hit .249 with his unbalanced card and 21 HR. 2010 will be different. Delgado was added midway, and in only 370 AB hit a big 22 HR to bring A Town back to contention, till LP pitching stopped the Senator bats completely. Martin Prado was CBA’s best PH 19 hits in 54 PH AB. The offense aside from Delgado failed miserably. A .321 OBA with .376 slug detracted from a team that had the necessary variables to win CBA games. 118 Iso Power really low. They stole 204 bases, including 3rd 33 times & they bunted well79% success on bunts. PH hit .291, 71 for 244.
Kennesaw Mountain had a powerful year clobbering 185 round trippers. They did only hit .239 vs Righties which ultimately doomed them. They only hit .233 in the clutch. Teams loaded righties on them, because lefties hit a more respectable .258. They didn’t steal too much, just average 75 sb 25 cs. Mike Cameron was the typical. He hit 22 HRs, but batted .239. A microcosm of the offense. Ian Kinsler did damage 18 HR 65 RBI .324 He was clearly affected by being pitched around. He was issued a CBA high 25 Int Walks. No lineup protection. Edwin Encarnacion .254 25 HR, 86 RBI .254 most damage vs Lefty. Ryan Braun was so 1 sided that he hit only .242 26 HR 65 RBI.. It was this goofus performance that crippled the James Blake who did all he could to build a winner. How could Braun hit so poorly? He was dealt away to Brooklyn after season after receiving a 5 in LF. He was so terrible in the filed in ’09 that his X rating .327 showed that in only 49 chances he got 16 outs. So he hurt at the glove too. Pitching was better. The starting staff was solid despite the lack of team defense .688 X rating.
Card Billingsley, 3.56 10-10and Scott Olsen 3.37 11-8 led the way with respectable numbers keeping them in many games. John Danks and Hirsohi Kuroda threw well despite their records.
The Monday division is looking to create it’s own legacy. The new division started in 1997 but was retired after only 1 CBA season. The intial teams were.
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Monday Division |
Cory Light’s Kilgore Bashers upgraded their facilities in Bryan Texas, Southwest is back in So Cal and better than ever under General Lindner. Though Indiana can trace its roots back to the old Sunville Sunjewels, they are here and made it to the Championship on the wildcard. Lake County, Dave Jones team can be traced back to the Vancouver Storm, who later became HOF’er Dino Barnabe’s powerhouse St Foy Frenchies. Well any talk of Monday starts with the division winner Southwest Lizard kings. A fanatastic regular season punctuated by a bitter playoff loss. Again the same fate befell almost all our division winners, lone exception the Staub Champion LP Loggers. The team takes on the personality, and the winning positive attitude of CBA’s true legend Eric Lindner. No question when he came back to us, CBA took a step apart from others. His spirit and trading has put the Lizard Kings atop the CBA’s elite. 96-66 record winning Monday for the first time. Matt Cain was a gain. He went 20-8 3.74 179 K’s. The other Matt, Holliday was a pain 32 HR 111 RBI .304 BA. The team played better .642 on the road than at home which is surprising playing at Morrison Memorial. A .359 OBA and .472 slug is good. But in Clemente noted for slugging teams, like Indy, Philly, Brooklyn, this team used some good balance and good pitching to win. Keep in mind a 4.39 ERA in Clemente’s DH league is very good. Soria proved worth the expense compiling 32 saves. The rotation was solid. Cliff Lee 16-7 3.66 ERA, Dave Bush 14-11, Jeremy Arlo Guthrie 12-6. Perhaps The best of all relievers was the Cory Wade with CBA leading 19 holds and superb job keeping Southwest in the game. Good defense .76% X rating. Southwest had its share of stars in the lineup. Adam Laroche hit 35 HR’s 88 RBI, Melving Mora .304 21 HR, Johnstone candidate Nomar Garciaparra slugged 15 HR 46 RBI’s .299 in only 157 AB’s, not PH. Team had speed too. 122 SB on the season. Southwest had a season, a darn good one.
Indiana’s story is well documented. Bob Fidler’s team had nailed their 3rd crown. They won in an improbable 1 game playoff vs Jon Stamets and Cooperstown. The lineup the team, it was strong on paper, it was balanced. It was losing. What to do. Some GM knows how to pick its team up and get ‘em going, and Fidler is proven one of them. With a flick of his wrist, he throws in the towel and achieves another milestone. A toss here and there and with cunning and skill Fidler has taken all CBA to task. He’s taken on some of the best and beaten them. Not only CM’s but Netplay too. Often behind in the series he’s played at some point. He pulls out a Redsox story and sweeps away to another win….After some linen hurling. The season started slowly and then momentum gained. The Redbirds were in 4th place in April, but still 3rd place in mid May, then the wins started to come in as the lineups changed and threats were made to personnel and employee. Maybe it was Pujols putting the team on his back carrying a final .394 66 Hr 151 RBI season . He couldn’t so it alone. Josh Hamilton hit 47 HR 137 RBI .315, and A Roid hit 45 HR 117 RBI .312 with 13 SB. Reyes had 705 At bats .275 21 HR 70 RBI 12 threebagers from leadoff spot, and stole 66 bases CS 9 times. Sizemore hit 34 HR 104 RBI. The team batted .284 and hit a whopping 287 HR to go with 945 runs. A .354 OBA and .498 Slug were excellent and good to win in an impressive 95-68 season. The only offense negative could be the abnormally high 1013 K’s. That’s way too high to be completely efficient and produce even more runs.
The pitching was adequate despite the seemingly high ERA 4.76. For Clemente that’s decentThey gave up a lot of hits, but Indiana managed to out hit most of ‘em. Oswalt slipped some to 14-6 3.56 off his previous Cy Young CBA season. Lucious Hochevar surprised going 11-4 3.77 and winning a big playoff game vs Brooklyn. Jon Garland, failed miserably with a 6.04 ERA last year despite 11-10 record. Indy will need better P than that next season. A team .303 IRSC is ok, though not top shelf, Its average. Sheets was a disappointment going 7-11 5+ ERA. The staff was plagued with blown saves. B Wags saved 23 also more was expected. 2010 will be a dogfight for Fidler and Indiana as the others in Monday have stepped up too. No reason to expect Indiana to slip too much in 2010. Fidler will find a way.
Lake County is another elite CBA franchise. Dae has taken this franchise and made them a consistent contender. Always ready to compete. 93-69 a superior record in this expansion year. They beat up on the putrid Westminster Kernals and the building Sunville SunJewels. A total of 22-2 against the newbies meant a shot at playoffs. That’s the game though beating who your supposed to. In Monday, they had a winning record against all the teams including the Lizard kings. Lakers had trouble with everyone else though. They did beat Cooperstown and Ottawa, but the struggles elsewhere held them back. As though they were designed to play in Monday alone. This team was led by the X man, oft injured Xavier Nady and his pet’s. 31 HR 108 RBI .338 should merit some MVP votes. Catcher Giovanni Soto had a 31 95 .286 year, and Carlos Delgado was sensational in his brief time in Lake County. A team not blessed with great power need contributions from everyone. Mike Jacobs hit 28 Hr’s, and Garrett Atkins added another 21 at 3B. The other role players like Fucudome, Fontenot, Spillborghs, Church, Blum , L Castillo all contributed in the effective platoon. A team .346 OBA with a .458 slug isn’t enough to be at the top in Clemente, but the pitching is what made the Leopards run..
5 starters over 11 wins. Led by ace Junior Vasquez 17-6 3.50 ERA with 199 K’s
the others Derek Lowe was 13-12, Beckett 13-6 3.81, Cueto 11-10, and Parra 11-8. J Papelbon only saved 15, and was shaky in the little time he was used. Funny how he stunk in other leagues Ive seen him too. What gives there? If you can’t count on him then who can you count one? Perhaps LC would have had a few more wins and a playoff without Pimplebun’s break down. A .794 X rating % was very very good and contributed to the excellent 4.01 ERA. A .280 IRSC was also pretty good. If you can keep you’re opponents to only 4.46 runs per game in Clemente, you will win more than your share which the Leopards did. Perhaps a key reason Lake did score more was the low BA and OBA of the top 2 linep table setters who hit only in the .260’s for 2009 season.
Bryan took a step back in 2009 after a great season in 2008. The pitching just wasn’t there. The offense wasn’t there. So what does veteran GM go and do about it? He goes and gets slugger Jason Bay in a huge off season acquisition with Kennesaw Mountain. Jason Kendall also comes with his bat and arm to the Bashers. Burrell’s tail off to .226 26 HR 92 RBI’s cost this team. Inge dived down to .216 and 5 HR’s after a spectacular 2008. Although they hit 194 HR’s and spread power throughout the lineup, the on base and hits weren’t there to compete. The pitching well, a disaster 4.94 ERA. Good seasons for Ty Wigginton who .278 28 HR 68 RBI. Not enough runners to take home with homers. Luke Scott gone in Bay deal, added 25 dingers. The team MVP may have been Lyle Overbays’ .316 17 HR 86 RBI’s. A lack of speed clogged the basepaths, only 42 SB’s and 20 CS. Runners couldn’t roll home. 772 runs is average, but 885 allowed is deadly unless you have top gun offense. Bryan is no doubt looking ahead after a very strong draft and good off season. 4 solid starters are among Clemente’s best with Wolf, Blanton, Wanda Rodriguez, and Gaving Floyd. A decent lineup with some good cards and maybe another puzzle piece in the pen and lineup, and playoffs could be in reach once again.
There aces were hot.
Parkers beast is the 2003-2004 Clemente champions Brooklyn Syuperbas. Year after year they are the team to beat. Teams gear up for them when they come to Brooklyn’s Prospect park grounds called The “House Of Pain”. The hits are more frequent, and the Brooklyn air contributes to power. The team is built to specification for that field. The players come and go. This year Hall of Fame 1B Todd Helton was dispatch starting a myriad of Brooklyn trades as the Superbas began to build for tomorrow. Players in and out. Along with Helton, Long time 2B Brandon Phillips, last years RF Magliulo Ordonez, HOF candidates Omar Vizquel, Mike Timlin, RP set up Dan Wheeler, Andy Laroche. In their place. Nickt Markakis, Ryan Braun, Carlos Zambrano, David Price. The future mortgaged. Brooklyn had to make moves to compete with the powerful teams in Cooperstown, Indiana, Philly, Carolina, Lake County, and Ottawa. No one can stand idle in Clemente, the competition is that fierce. Brooklyn is no lock for a division title in 2010. But in 2009, they were. In fact they may have been Brooklyn’s best team ever. Year after year of 95+ wins, but 2009 was special 108-54 record their best. Only SD had 109 wins. Both are among the CBA’s all time wins per season leaders.
Start with the slugging. The new dynamic duo rests the crown from Papi-Vlad. Howard Cabrera. Destruction and total avg. For Cabrera 44 HR (5th overall), 136 RBI’s (5th overall), .308 .953 tot. Howard 8.87 rc/27, 1.021 prod 60 HR (2nd overall), 155 RBI (1st overall), .292 BA. Maglioulo Ordonez chipped in 21 HR 104RBI, 4th in CBA with a .339 BA. Vermon Wells 24 HR 68 RBI, .354. Punto stole 35 .322 BA in 336 AB’s. B Phillip[s 24 HR 80RBI 24sb. Blake 27HR, 85 RBI .278. Doumit hit 24 HR .316 average, Giles 13 HR 77 RBI .316. The bench was awesome with Furcal playing vs L only, platooned 9 HR 38 RBI 15sb .432ba as a sub. The offense was legendary in CBA. Finishing with a near record .307 ba with 275 HR 1048 runs. .369 OBA .525 slugging for the Superbas. the latter a CBA record. It should be noted that Brooklyn hit 44 triples, and stole 114 bases. Speed helped.
There wasn’t much other teams could do except hope the bats didn’t hit. The lineup stacked with no easy outs.The defense wasn’t good .708 X rating. League average is .712. League Leader Indiana had .802 league low Ottawa .591.
So did Brooklyn defense help the pitching? Not at all The offense couldn’t keep the opposition from scoring runs, likely a defensive glitch, but the pitching did a respectable job with a 4.30 era in a bandbox park. With better defense maybe 112 wins could have been reached. Came back to haunt them in the playoffs when defense crushed them in late innings...A .302 IRSC the pen was fair. Brooklyn stayed strong all year but couldn’t defeat Indiana in the playoffs. Their dice luck ran out, and they shockingly stopped hitting. Another disapperntment for the lovable Superba nuts in Americas 4th largest city.
Cooperstown had a great year in 2009. They won 94 times. 14 ½ behind Brooklyn. They made it to a game 163 playoff vs eventual champion Indiana, another longball team. First time in many years. This team typical of Parker and Clemente big power. 215 HR. Nine double digit HR guys led by Morneau 35 HR 128 RBI .318 He was so valuable to his team carrying the team to that 163. Johnny Peralta hit 27 HR 107 RBI .290, Ibanez his standard 28 HR 108 RBI .299 season. Jose Lopez had a great year hitting .324 18 HR 79 RBI. Burrrisss stole 19 bases. Jack Kemp hit 24 HR 90 .280 33sb and only 1 CS. A CBA single season SB % record with .971. He did however K 141 times. A team .351 OBA was their best in years along with a great .484 slug. .835 production is also very strong. They threw base stealers ot 75%, Stole 81 bases So why not more wins? Pitching…It all went wrong.
Well almost. Cy Young candidate Carlos Marmol was dominant and necessary. He save 43 games from a poor pitching staff. That he figured in 45% of his teams wins was no accident. He was good. No one else was. The pen allowed 40% of their inherited runners score. Compared with league leading Carolina’s 22%. Staff ace was 14-8 but a 4.94 ERA. Lot more losses could be avoided. Jon Stamets has went to work right away with flurries of trades to get all the pieces together for a Parker run. He has traded a lot of picks, players, and gotten different players and picks returned. Wild off season for this franchise. They should be an Iron Horse in 2010.
In most years Carolina’s 88 wins would compete more closely for a wildcard which they did, until swept away vs Cooperstown and Brooklyn in the last week and a half of the season. They finished with 5 more wins, but it wasn’t enough, Carolina and their signature bullpen couldn’t hold out. In fact Carolina may had taken a WC had Brooklyn not dominated them in September sweeping two series. A good team home and away, the pen was the story. The Cardiac Copperheads won 10 games of 13 in extras. The team largely did better than actual performances save Tejada who hit only .265, and Zimmerman who at 3B hit .276. But you know what that will be in 2010 with Zimm becoming elite. A good .351 OBA with .478 slug is enough to win, but in Clemente? Parker? Carolina is looking to build some trading Brian Roberts to the powerful Ohio team in Staub. 239 HR, 892 runs, .282 BA, 121 SB.
Both Ludwick and Werth had good seasons. Ludwick 40 HR 107 RBI, .290 BA 1.018 Tot. A great season. Several over 20 HR’s including Jason Werth 26 HR 77 RBI .314, 21sb, 1.033 tot.
A Dunn had a low 28 HR .251, Votto 23 HR 75 RBI .299 BA, B Roberts 10 HR 49 RBI 63sb, Benjamin Molina .296 23 HR 90 RBI, DeRosa 22 HR 83 RBI .288, overall 12 guys double digit HR’s. Parker = Power.
The Carolina pitching was good 4.39 ERA led by Johann Santana who was 20-9 3.86 222 K’s. Harang won 13 more but a 5.49 ERA. Ollie Perez was tossed. 11-11, 6.39 ERA. Marcum acquired the previous winter from Brooklyn went 11-9 3.60 ERA. The pen was strong. Great pen management Ohman was in 92 games only 43 innings. How’s that for super HAL efficiency? Ohman, Valverde, Bray, Gregg, Nelson, Street, Scott Kenan knew what he was talking about when he tried to install a world class pen last winter. It almost won a playoff spot for him.
Woeful expansion team or shining ray of light. What and where is Sunville? Keith Jones’ team the SunJewels. Is it the Jimmy Buffett they play at night games and Margaritas they serve liberally at games to keep ‘em at the park? Is it the Buffet table spread before gametime? Is it Warren Buffet’s attendance at home weekend games dancing “Bootay Meat” with the SunJewel cheerleaders. What will bring fans to Sunville? Is the team playing in Phlorida or New Mexico…The mystery of the SunJewels…They now own the top pick in CBA’s draft. Anyone they want is theirs. It took ‘em a loaded trawler of candidates to meet usage and get to the finish line. Which they absolutely did unlike Harley Bryan (Bryan Harley?) Don Leo Kernal’s Westminster Albatrosses. Jones guaranteed, and delivered. In the meantime the offense was futile. The pitching worse 6.36 team ERA. Perhaps CBA’s worst team ever? 36-126, close the Harley Davidson Kernal’s finished barely 29-133. Worse. 1426 Inn pitched 1870 hits allowed. Only 145 HR’s. No one more than Marcust Thames 18. No players stood out. No one particularly good. Note Rod Barajas 10 HR 36 RBI .273. Jose Bautista 18 HR 40 RBI .218BA. Nick Blackburn 10-15 4.35 for a team that won 36 games. Troye Percival saved 8 big games. Greg Maddux was acquired for usage, and closed out his illustrious CBA HOF career with a 4-13 record unbefitting a diamond king. A .724 X rating was actually better than some teams in contention, kudos. A first year team, Sunville is looking for sunnier days. Jones has just started rest assured. He is ready to land some big fish in the draft pool. Better times are coming for the SunJewels franchise…Feb 28th could be Sunville’s biggest day ever.
Schmidt Division has more big power teams. The perennial Philly Phantastics are one. They won 105 games. Now the league win totals have inflated some because of the expansion. But Philly was good enough anyway. Rob Hite just knows Strat-o-matic baseball. He knows the draft, he knows how to just win. They mauled the division with a 27 game edge over Ottawa in 2nd. The offense deadly .294 269 HR scoring a CBA high 1,026 runs. Good defense, some speed 81 sb comparatively Belfast swiped 240. This year Philly had excellent pitching. In their HR laden ballpark, the PPS tossed a 4.05 era salad at opponents. They only sacrificed 20 times. .704 def X rating is not too good, but it didn’t hurt them too much. Funny how it goes, but it may have stopped Philly from being THE dominant CBA team. Philly used the H & R just enough and stay out of double plays. Extremely clutch, PPS took advantage of opportunities with the infield in. When pitchers were tired a few more hits to win games later innings. 9 20+ HR hitters. Key hitters Carlos Lee hit .340 29 HR 98 RBI, Evan Longoria 33 105 .335. Abreu 22 110 .275 24SB. Utley 28 118 .317. Hard to say who the team MVP was when it was all such a total team effort. This may have been PPS best chance to win. Cy Young candidate Cole Hamels was as good as it gets 22-7 3.09 227 K’s. For a team in a HR hitters paradise, these are awesome numbers. Verlander and Greinke chipped in with 15 wins each. Randy Johnson in his Swan song added 14 more wins to his CBA leading total. He now has 231. The staff will be very strong again in 2010 as Health Bell will likely close and the Greinke express hits South st for some Jimmy’s Steaks before game time, then down Oregon to Tony Luke’s after the game. As fate would have it, the biggest CBA teams took the hardest falls. Hite’s Phantastics will like Skokie, Brooklyn, Southwest, and San Diego be forgotten like Tennessee Tazmanians were back in late 90’s.
The Ottawa Otters season started off promisingly as they were in first place as late as May 21st before dropping back some. The turning point came when Stirling swept 4 games from them. Two series later the CBA’s worst ever Westminster Pidgeons took a pair in a3 game. From there it was all inconsistent with win streaks not sustaining, and Phlly getting adjusted and hot. At that point usage may have contributed to the slide as well. A disappointing season after a playoff appearance, the Otters got a subpar performance from the injured ace who went 11-13 3.20. Not Cy Young numbers. Aaron Cook was better at 15-12 3.84 ERA. Two more stats on the rosters decline was more hurtful that of CBA HOF candidates Vlad G and Papi Ortiz. The CBA’s prolific duo slumped at the plate. Guerrero slid down to 27 HR 94 RBI .272. Papi Ortiz 26 HR 57RBI .252. Not enough to drive the offense who managed only a .253 team BA despite 206 dingers. Joe Mauer was basically an all star with 15 83 .310. Jack Cust did what he usually does 33 HR 103 RBI .233 .371 OBA 109 BB’s. But he struck out 211 times a CBA record. Ottawa hit .252 vs L .253 vs R. Team had a .770 OPS. They also did hit 52 triples. But only 26 Sb, likely by accident. A large number. A classic Clemente power team. Make no mistake that Ottawa is on the rise. A solid young team, with dynamic young players. Jack Jung the honred veteran championship manager has drafted some valuable players and groomed good talent. In 2009 the defense let down the pitching an all time low X rating as mentioned before .591. The OF made flyball a total adventure. The Otter fans complained of neck injuries from watching the ball being shot back through the alleys. The bench was a minus PH hit .227 They hit 111 homers at home but fewer, 95 on the road. The pitchers allowed a very high .286 batting average, while the relievers allowed the unners to score upon their entering the game at a .366 clip. 36% of which how much was defense? Had the defense been better the staff likely would have produced more wins.
Stirling is a franchise with an owner and a GM tandem. There is the franchise owner the semi retired Wayne McGee. He is an original member and friend of ours. The Stirling franchise is without question a historic one. Dealer Wayne (or is it Trader, or is that Rob H?) One of CBA colorful GM’s. His press releases, quips, trade bulletins, friendship, sense of humor, sense of whats best for CBA, makes him a surefire CBA hall of famer.
Wayne stays active, but defers to the man who has rebuilt the talent base of this franchise. Malachi Nellum. Malachi is a CBA veteran who was the original owner of the Alamo City franchise. He returned to us a GM two seasons ago content to be Stirling’s GM, even turning down opportunities to own a franchise. He has built up some players of there. Another below 77-85 a .500 record Stirling has only been in 1 playoff in their existence. A team with .274 176 HR 768 Runs struggles in Clemente, unless the pitching is outstanding or they have speed and defense. Stirling had some very playoff worthy offensive stars. Carlos Pena had a sensational year 39 HR 101 RBI .296. Pedroia was great again 19HR 89RBI .321 10sb. Ellsbury stole 65 hittin .290 and should get even better. Crawford was well Crawford…Of note Jerry Mather hit 14 HR 36 RBI in 134 AB’s. Shin Soo Choo hit 19 86 .348 in 264 AB’s. Stilring could glove. .786 X rating was very good. But they will need to improve on the .339 team OBA & .437 slug. The 4.98 staff ERA could have been a lot worse without the defense.
Westminster? Forget about it.
The draft will be held in the CBA chat
room. I expect we will do 3 rounds beginning 12 noon eastern 9am Pacific
Sunday Feb 28th. Those unable to attend will be required to submit a
list to a responsible GM to proxy. I will not be able to draft for you,
nor is it advisable to let HAL do yer pickin'. Your list should be
comprehensive.
The Chat room requires Java which almost everyone has by now, so upgrade
your browsers and test the room. We will allow up to 2 minutes before
league allows next draftee to make selection. It is important all be
prepared ahead of time. Trades should never stall the draft clock.
Complete them before selecting, no quarter.
If the draft board is incorrect it must be corrected predraft. Once the
clock starts, that board is official win, lose, or draw.
Should a player be re selected or ineligible for drafting, it is solely
that GM's responsibilty. They may reselect, when they can. We will not
back up the draft.
Should you be knocked off line, call your pal and have them select, its on
you. We do encourage direct chat between GM's either on the chatroom or
by phone with each other. CBA is a family.
The list of FA's is online, but there could be omissions and errors. Be
forewarned. Some players may or may not be there, its a guideline only
not official.
Check your trades and draft charts. With the passing of my father, I may
have missed an item or two.
Stadium changes are in and no more stadiums can be selected. Those who
are on Committee mail list with stadium choices are official now. I must
have stadium choices from NJ and Atlanta ASAP.
This must be selected immediately before the LaManna comes out
Thursday.
Reminders: No 2011 picks can be traded until the first selection of the
draft is officially announced by league. You may announce at that
time...certainly you can agree in principal before then.
Atlanta and NJ may not trade their 1,2,3 picks this year only. Both are
probationary franchises.
The draft is always a blast. One of my favorite parts of the season. The
banter is great and as long as we get guys in their and not bitching about
each other. We never had it, and I wont tolerate it publically on chat or
list. You can kiss the league goodbye if you make it a habit. Just keep
it all in fun and good judgement and we'll be lovin every minute of this
draft. It promises to be very interesting this year. Alot of deals went
down. Lots of different players will have increased value this year. If
you look at the economics of it, teams will need to be very usage
conscious. This will have an effect on the drafting habits of many teams
to get usage controlled, not relying on 2 RFA's or trades that may never
happen to get thru the 100% usage and roster limits. The draft will
therefore be stronger than you may think. Smaller players will have
impact now, and teams with good reserves may fare better than superstar
type teams. (LP anyone?)
You may draft a minor league. Un carded players may be retained year to
year so plan ahead.
Remember that first and foremost in CBA is that you make every attempt to
win your games. Its given in our league. Its encouraged and some feel we
owe it to each other to put our best teams out there on the field. Its
been said that respect among GM's is earned when you are a competitive GM
who fights and plays to win. Certainly last year, I commend a few guys
who did their best even sacrificing there high pick (highest) to give you
their best. We salute John Miller, We salute Doug Brunet our two
expansioneers who sacrificed their future, to put rostered players usage
into the games despite dropping their draft positions. They drafted for
usage slowing their building. CBA couldnt ask for better character.
Keith Jones despite the record also did his best to manage his usage,
though had to rely on allotted RFA's heavily. We commend his efforts. We
unfortunately must mention the legend of the Westminster Pelicans
franchise who flew the coop and crashed down to the sea like Icarus in a
typhoon. They were unprepared and had a proxy drafter. Trades werent
made and usage was a mighty issue, with little talent to trade, CBA had to
take over the franchise and set extended RFA's in a 1 time league
directive. The termination was swift, and the franchise became a walk
over which inflated some teams winning percetages. It also made for our
best pennant chase ever......
Lets mention a few other GM's who refused to tank and gave us all good
competition (name of the game here) There were Jack Frost and Jack Jung.
Frost fought it till the end. Jack Jung put 'em forward as best he could
too. We salute you Blake-O. You dint quit. We salute Rich Schneider and
Wayne McGee/Malachi Nellum. You fellas are what its all about. We saw
how you did your best. Jeff Boutet, came back in the 2nd half to be a
factor and never tanked. I cant make out this one though. We actually had
a guy publically throw in the towel only to win his 3rd championship in 4
years. So quittin never pays right Fid? Heck Bob knows. He never really
quit and he won. CBA doesn't quit. With Fidler's championship belts, its
been suggested that we all publically throw in towel each year at mid
season in a ritual to bring good luck to those who do...........nah.
Wass
It's stunning....Staub has not had a winner in the Finals since well, 2005 and Dennis Concepcion's Longue Pointe team won it all. The reigning champ Fidler is back. He is CBA's best, back for 3rd time in 4 years. Concepcion, a playoff perrenial, didn't make it last year to the playoffs, but sure has the year in grand style. He swept the extraordinary San Diego Surf team. Both Indiana and LP were underdogs to two of CBA's greatest teams of all time. Both Conference teams beat the giant teams to help advance. Now they meet. Indiana just plain outslugs you, Longue Pointe just keeps you off the bases and runners from moving....Two contrasting Strat philosophies will square off. The games should be well attended just to see what the next CBA STrategy trend will be....Will it be good pitching with lots of K's and defense. A team that hit and runs you to death and steals at will? or will it be the ARoid, Pujols, Hamilton, Pence, Sizemore, reyes show?
For LP it was all pitching and unlikely heros. For Indy Pence, Sizemore and ARod. Lets look and see who they are...
Indiana was originally the expansion Houston Aeros, a last place team that was extremely fortunate to have won the 1st over expansion pick when 4 teams were broken up. ARod was originally on the Chris Boutin led Quebec Capitales. He was the first expoansion pick in 2003 by Chris Thomas' Houston club. He then drafted Albert Pujols with the first regular draft pick that year. There was the nucleus. Jose Reyes came over in a trade 3 seasons ago from San Diego, while OSwalt was an orinal draftee. Last year, Indiana acquired B. Wagner, C. Ruiz, K. Griffey, Jr in a major trade with Southwest for A. Ethier, Indiana's #1(09), #4(09), #5(09), #6(09). They got Loney from Kennesaw as well at about the same time for a #2 and Mientkiewicz. They got J Garland from Kennesaw as well in 2008. Posada came in July of 2007 for D Riske, Kaz Matsui and a 2,6 pick. Polanco came in from Philly for Brad Hawpe. Many good trades and some not as good. But always looking to improve. Indy traded picks, acquired, shuffled, drafted and built. Looking out of the picture in themid season they staged one of CBA's remarkable comebacks winning 41-17 to gain a last day wildcard, and now back in the finals after Fidler threw in the "Towel".
Longue POinte has made a few trades mostly has built through drafting. The team, unlike 2005 is mostly of Concepcion's design. He drafts for bench reserve and defense. He drafts for talent, he drafts for good cards, he drafts to win with balance. He drafts strikeout artists, he drafts well. He acquired great draft pieces starting when he took guys like Richie Sexson at the end of rd 1 in 2005. Jason Varitek came in 2006 for Jason Kendall. 05 WS hero Torii Hunter came in 2005 for AJ Burnett and a #1. Dennis moved guys like Nomar Garciaparra a longue time favorite in Quebec, bringing in players like Aramis Ramirez, drafted some like pen guys CJ Wilson, Balfour, Marte, Seanez, Kiko Calero, Brain Fuentes, and even drafted more guys for the staff and who got outs, K's and stopped runners from moving. But Concepcion has thrived in the draft. After raising some eyebrows, whose wondering now? He drafted a minor league pick like Tim Lincecum in rd 1. He took Hideki Matsui in rd 1 too. Ryan Dempster another. He took Ryan Theriot in a later round. LP is well known for super sub scrubs. Each year he has his overachieving mutant cards. In 2005, it was Brian Jordan hitting .400. This year its Cliff Floyd, and Lou Montanez, otherwise guys like Gabe Gross, Kotchmann, Iguchi, new heros with small names. Remember Miracle Mirabelli?
Its gonna be a Jailbreak...Who will attend?
Parker Divison recap..
Parkers beast is the 2003-2004 Clemente champions Brooklyn Superbas. Year after year they are the team to beat. Teams gear up for them when they come to Brooklyn's Prospect park grounds called The "House Of Pain". The hits are more frequent, and the Brooklyn air contributes to power. The team is built to specification for that field. The playerscome and go. This year Hall of Fame 1B Todd Helton was dispatch starting a myriad of Brooklyn trades as the Superbas began to build for tomorrow. Players in and out. Along with Helton, Long time 2B Brandon Phillips, last years RF Magliulo Ordonez, HOF candidates Omar Vizquel, Mike Timlin, RP set up Dan Wheeler,Andy Laroche. In their place. Nickt Markakis, Ryan Braun, Carlos Zambrano, David Price. The future mortgaged. Brooklyn had to make moves to compete with the powerful teams in Cooperstown, Indiana, Philly, Carolina, Lake County, and Ottawa. No one can stand idle in Clemente, the competition is that fierce. Brooklyn is no lock for a division title in 2010. But in 2009, they were. In fact they may have been Brooklyn's best team ever. Year after year of 95+ wins, but 2009 was special 108-54 record their best. Only SD had 109 wins. Both are among the CBA's all time wins per season leaders.
Start with the slugging. The new dynamic duo rests the crown from Papi-Vlad. Howard Cabrera. Destruction and total avg. For Cabrera 44 HR (5th overall), 136 RBI's (5th overall), .308 .953 tot. Howard 8.87 rc/27, 1.021 prod 60 HR (2nd overall), 155 RBI (1st overall), .292 BA. Maglioulo Ordonez chipped in 21 HR 104RBI, 4th in CBA with a .339 BA. Vermon Wells 24 HR 68 RBI, .354. Punto stole 35 .322 BA in 336 AB's. B Phillip[s 24 HR 80RBI 24sb. Blake 27HR, 85 RBI .278. Doumit hit 24 HR .316 average, Giles 13 HR 77 RBI .316. The bench was awesome with Furcal playing vs L only, platooned 9 HR 38 RBI 15sb .432ba as a sub. The offense was legendary in CBA. Finishing with a near record .307 ba with 275 HR 1048 runs. .369 OBA .525 slugging for the Superbas. the latter a CBA record. It should be noted that Brooklyn hit 44 triples, and stole 114 bases. Speed helped.
There wasn't much other teams could do except hope the bats didn't hit. The lineup stacked with no easy outs.The defense wasn't good .708 X rating. League average is .712. League Leader Indiana had .802 league low Ottawa .591.
So did Brooklyn defense help the pitching? Not at all The offense couldn't keep the opposition from scoring runs, likely a defensive glitch, but the pitching did a respectable job with a 4.30 era in a bandbox park. With better defense maybe 112 wins could have been reached. Came back to haunt them in the playoffs when defense crushed them in late innings...A .302 IRSC the pen was fair. Brooklyn stayed strong all year but couldn't defeat Indiana in the playoffs. Their dice luck ran out, and they shockingly stopped hitting. Another disapperntment for the lovable Superba nuts in Americas 4th largest city.
Cooperstown had a great year in 2009. They won 94 times. 14 ½ behind Brooklyn. They made it to a game 163 playoff vs eventual champion Indiana, another longball team. First time in many years. This team typical of Parker and Clemente big power. 215 HR. Nine double digit HR guys led by Morneau 35 HR 128 RBI .318 He was so valuable to his team carrying the team to that 163. Johnny Peralta hit 27 HR 107 RBI .290, Ibanez his standard 28 HR 108 RBI .299 season. Jose Lopez had a great year hitting .324 18 HR 79 RBI. Burrrisss stole 19 bases. Jack Kemp hit 24 HR 90 .280 33sb and only 1 CS. A CBA single season SB % record with .971. He did however K 141 times. A team .351 OBA was their best in years along with a great .484 slug. .835 production is also very strong. They threw base stealers ot 75%, Stole 81 bases So why not more wins? Pitching…It all went wrong.
Well almost. Cy Young candidate Carlos Marmol was dominant and necessary. He save 43 games from a poor pitching staff. That he figured in 45% of his teams wins was no accident. He was good. No one else was. The pen allowed 40% of their inherited runners score. Compared with league leading Carolina’s 22%. Staff ace was 14-8 but a 4.94 ERA. Lot more losses could be avoided. Jon Stamets has went to work right away with flurries of trades to get all the pieces together for a Parker run. He has traded a lot of picks, players, and gotten different players and picks returned. Wild off season for this franchise. They should be an Iron Horse in 2010.
In most years Carolina’s 88 wins would compete more closely for a wildcard which they did, until swept away vs Cooperstown and Brooklyn in the last week and a half of the season. They finished with 5 more wins, but it wasn’t enough, Carolina and their signature bullpen couldn’t hold out. In fact Carolina may had taken a WC had Brooklyn not dominated them in September sweeping two series. A good team home and away, the pen was the story. The Cardiac Copperheads won 10 games of 13 in extras. The team largely did better than actual performances save Tejada who hit only .265, and Zimmerman who at 3B hit .276. But you know what that will be in 2010 with Zimm becoming elite. A good .351 OBA with .478 slug is enough to win, but in Clemente? Parker? Carolina is looking to build some trading Brian Roberts to the powerful Ohio team in Staub. 239 HR, 892 runs, .282 BA, 121 SB.
Both Ludwick and Werth had good seasons. Ludwick 40 HR 107 RBI, .290 BA 1.018 Tot. A great season. Several over 20 HR’s including Jason Werth 26 HR 77 RBI .314, 21sb, 1.033 tot.
A Dunn had a low 28 HR .251, Votto 23 HR 75 RBI .299 BA, B Roberts 10 HR 49 RBI 63sb, Benjamin Molina .296 23 HR 90 RBI, DeRosa 22 HR 83 RBI .288, overall 12 guys double digit HR’s. Parker = Power.
The Carolina pitching was good 4.39 ERA led by Johann Santana who was 20-9 3.86 222 K’s. Harang won 13 more but a 5.49 ERA. Ollie Perez was tossed. 11-11, 6.39 ERA. Marcum acquired the previous winter from Brooklyn went 11-9 3.60 ERA. The pen was strong. Great pen management Ohman was in 92 games only 43 innings. How’s that for super HAL efficiency? Ohman, Valverde, Bray, Gregg, Nelson, Street, Scott Kenan knew what he was talking about when he tried to install a world class pen last winter. It almost won a playoff spot for him.
Woeful expansion team or shining ray of light. What and where is Sunville? Keith Jones’ team the SunJewels. Is it the Jimmy Buffett they play at night games and Margaritas they serve liberally at games to keep ‘em at the park? Is it the Buffet table spread before gametime? Is it Warren Buffet’s attendance at home weekend games dancing “Bootay Meat” with the SunJewel cheerleaders. What will bring fans to Sunville? Is the team playing in Phlorida or New Mexico…The mystery of the SunJewels…They now own the top pick in CBA’s draft. Anyone they want is theirs. It took ‘em a loaded trawler of candidiates to meet usage and get to the finish line. Which they absolutely did unlike Harley Bryan (Bryan Harley?) Don Leo Kernal’s Westminter Albatrosses. Jones guaranteed, and delivered. In the meantime the offense was futile. The pitching worse 6.36 team ERA. Perhaps CBA’s worst team ever? 36-126, close the Harley Davidson Kernal’s finished barely 29-133. Worse. 1426 Inn pitched 1870 hits allowed. Only 145 HR’s. No one more than Marcust Thames 18. No players stood out. No one particularly good. Note Rod Barajas 10 HR 36 RBI .273. Jose Bautista 18 HR 40 RBI .218BA. Nick Blackburn 10-15 4.35 for a team that won 36 games. Troye Percival saved 8 big games. Greg Maddux was acquired for usage, and closed out his illustrious CBA HOF career with a 4-13 record unbefitting a diamond king. A .724 X rating was actually better than some teams in contention, kudos. A first year team, Sunville is looking for sunnier days. Jones has just started rest assured. He is ready to land some big fish in the draft pool. Better times are coming for the Leisure King franchise…Feb 28th could be Sunville’s biggest day ever.
From Southwest Sun Lizard's Home territory came this release
@AP Newswire Date: Oct.
14, 2009
LOCAL INVESTIGATORS SEEK ANSWERS!
Arcane wording discovered scrawled upon a napkin in local steak house
outside Indiana's Ballpark has raised concerns that a killer may be on the
loose. It reads:
In
the mighty halls of the CBA
there are only two things of certainty,
The future's uncertain, and THE END is always near!
Wow, I'm sick of doubt
Live in the light of certain
South side
Cruel bindings.
The Redbirds have the power
Dog-men and their mean women
Pulling poor
blankets
over
Our players
I'm sick of dour faces
Staring at me from the executive
Suites, i want roses in
My
bullpen
bower; dig?
Royal doubles, hard hit singles
Must now replace aborted
Strangers in the mud
These mutants, blood-meal
For the pitcher that's plowed.
They are waiting to take us into
The severed garden
Do you know how pale and wanton thrillful
Comes death on a strange hour
Unannounced, unplanned for
Like a scaring over-friendly guest you've
Brought to bed
Defeat makes angels of us all
And gives us wings
Where we had shoulders
Smooth as raven's
Claws
No more
money, no more fancy uniforms
This other kingdom seems by far the best
Until it's other jaw reveals incest
And loose obedience to a REDBIRD law.
I will not go
Prefer a feast of
friends
A lie she cried
Spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a marble slab
To the
giant REDBIRD she spoke
I will not go, I will not go
Have I not wandered your streets of yellow haze?
And pitchers come and go
Speaking of Joe DiMaggio
I have measured out my life
In balls, strikes and cheap hot dogs
Am I not Lazarus raised from the dead?
Come back to tell you
To tell you all
THE END
Local officials and police detectives are puzzled by the cryptic verbiage
and its meaning. Rumors that the much awaited contest between the Lizard
Kings and the Rebirds will be tomorrow night at 5pm Pacific/8pm EST may be
related to the arcane scriblings. Rob Fidler is reportedly suffering from
massive migranes in anticipation of the bloody series and has been cleared
of any ill-doings. However, maverick owner, Eric Lindner, has been
heavily sedated and locked securely in a local sanitarium after being
found in a darken alley with steak sauce smeared all over his vomit
covered t-shirt.
The end is most certainly near for one of these vaunted warriors of the
CBA.
Report filed by Bernard Shakey
Minister of Propaganda and Ticket Sales
Fantastic week...All we could have asked. Heading into the final block the races have clarified. The losers are heading home and the strongest and best survive. This week, Allentown, Kennesaw, Limoilou, have all been practically eliminated though not mathematically. In Staub That leaves the Dawson decided in an epic 4 game series that all will be watching between Longue Pointe and Belfast. It has been them all season long, as Limoilou held on till the end. Dennis Concepcion and JD Adams will play with LP just a gmae back of the Brawlers. The LP's have been throwing shutouts with a great staff and 1's all over the field. Great defense has masked a suspect offense led by 10 man Johnstone award candidate Cliff "pink" Floyd of all cards...
Skokie is in the wildcard basically 4 games over LP. Glen Kenan's Ohio has never made the lpayoffs. Not even as Bodega Bay. Could this year be the franchises first ever? The Thundercats are only 2 back of Mike Koepp's Maine Express. Maine's Adrian Gonzalez and The Uggla at 2B, lead the offense. SanDiego is having the best year in their history. Wallace will be formidable in the playoffs. They have last years 7 game playoff loss to avenge.
Clemente has Philly slugging 3, 20 runs games this week. Brooklyn had the seasons first no hitter. Its the franchises first as well. John Lannan Brooklyn's 1st rd draft pick throws one vs Sunville. Box below. Howard and Cabrera each have over 40 HR. Howard 56 of 'em, chasing Sammy Sosa's team record of 63. He just passed Todd Helton's 55 of 2001. The race is for wildcard which Dave Jones (got it right) Lake County Leopards is 1 game behind both Cooperstown with GM Jon Stamets, and Indiana and last years champion Bob Fidler. What a race.....Netplay could be the thing this week!
Sept 20th 2009
The season end is at hand. Its destiny or skill. Its luck or probability. Its torturous or strategous. Usage conservation or damn the torpedoes... Who will win? Who are the players?
The 2009 CBA elite are....
Marc Wass. Yours truly is having a renaissance season with 104 wins so far. The 2003 WS finalist and 2004 champion Superbas have been in the playoffs each year since 2003. They were in a few more before that. Big games elude Superbas who are driving to become two time champs ala Rob Hite, Jeff Boutet, Bob Fidler. Been playing Strat since 1977, Superbas are always a team known for offense and power. Brooklyn signature is perrenial leadership in major offensive categories. Lots of stealing and Power, teams are tailored for Coors field dimensions.
Joe Wallace: Plays hard in playoffs. Knows the game and numbers well. Is out to beat the Staub Division and nothing less than a World Series Appearance will due for the CBA's 7 year veteran. Wallace has built his team from the ground up and is contending the past 3 seasons. Could this be the year he breaks through?
JD Adams: The usage czar knows his role, and his team. With the luck of the Irish, and the use of excellent strategies in lineup making, the Belfast Brawlers again play to maximum potential. They dont have Limoilou's star power, Longue Tongue's pitching and defense, nor the power of Clemente's brooklyn or Philly, but they do all the little things, like steal, pitch, clutch. Huff has been a blessing and though others have better numbers he may be the true MVP based on his value to a team thats contending. 52 doubles 23 HR 113 RBI on a non slugging team that steals tons. Adams has suffered CBA heart break a few times in the past. 1 game playoff losses. Early rd 1 exits, just barely not making the cut. JD is hungry and ferocious. Every swing counts for this competititor.
"Wolfman" Shapiro. The Skokie, Holland, Atlanta, crystal master. Moved right in and rebuilt the Wolfmen into powerhouse. This team is becoming a CBA legend having been there in the thick of the playoffs each season since 2006 I believe. The Wolfman is known around the world for his skill. Its on display here in CBA and again he's primed for another shot at the coveted CBA World Series title. The Strat community watches our website and posts and our playoffs are watched by the veteran league watchers online. SOM players always look for the advantages, sometimes from other leagues that they can apply to their own methods. Wolfman's web pages get quite a few hits. He wants them to read about a Wolfmen World Championship. Thats his goal solely. He nows the rules and how to work within them. he is reliable and efficient. Most of all, he knows the game and the cards. To beat him in the Netplayoffs is to beat a legend. Bob Fidler did so. Wolfman may not be done with him...
Dennis Concepcion: The man behind the CBA graphics. Staub President, and creator of the Loggers team. DC is one GM that can't be ruled out because he finds a way to beat you. He has a knack for finding variables other than slugging. He relies heavily on platoon system and defense. He has sported teams with 4+ ones on offense. He is known for his small ball game like the one he used to ride such cards as "Miracle Mirabelli", Brian Jordan, and Todd Jones into big moments. He also studies his opponents and plays for the long run. The LP signature is their strong bench, and fantastic pitching staff. He prefers strikeout pitchers, and good hit and run men. Concepcion is unconventional but effective year in and year out. He is also an avid baseball uniform and stadium historical enthusiast.
Rob Hite: CBA legend. Multi year champion. Just like Brooklyn in leading CBA in offense and power categories. Owns several CBA records. Hite is on executive committee, and is an original member. Perhaps one of CBA most prolific traders, Hite is one of the sharpest draft and Stratball minds you'll ever meet. Has keen sense of talent and is ever tough in head to head competition. Rob Hite is a future CBA Hall of famer. He has the championships to back it.
Glenn Kenan: First year for playoffs? A CBA 4 year man. The Ohio team has improved each year. Kenan has traded and drafted himself into a winning team. In a tough conference where teams knock each other around, Ohio is on the cusp of team history should they overcome Maine. Kenan has forged a team that could be the underdog surprise of the CBA season. The little engine who could?
Mike Koepp: Mr Mike to you. Maine is in the 2nd year of playoff hunt. His last playoff was marred by some questionable circumstances, but experience was gained. Koepp is fighting hard. The competitor in Koepp has worked very hard to get this franchise atop Rogers division. He wont relent now, & is ready to beat you.
Dave Jones: Jones has been around the block in CBA. The Leopards are his team. He built them and is likely to make noise this year if they get into the playoffs. Dave always has his team playing tough. Never an easy win, The Leopards gives all Clemente fits. They play well against Philly, SW, and Brooklyn. Jones seems to make trades that keep him in the thick of things.
Eric Lindner: 1 game shy of Southwest's 1998 best franchise win total. Lindner also knows the cards and the game. Loves to compete. Loves to win. Plays well and plays fair. Lindner is fun to play against...Its all fun and sht until you realize he's beating you. Knows how to shoot down his oponents with Strat skill. He is the Lizard King and wants to do anything. Plays in Morrison Stadium. Doors fan obviously, and true artist painter.
Jon Stamets: Has made a seamless transition into CBA to take over Cooperstown. His GM skills will be on display as he takes a good team and has been making them play with efficiency. This weeks series vs Carolina was classic. Knows how to manage, and could be this years X factor as Allentown's Rich Schneider was back in 2004.
Usage Post:
Batters may only start games during a block if they have 12 or more PA left for the season, but they can be on your roster (available as bench players) as long as they have at least 1 PA left for the season. If the batter meets these requirements, then you are not access a penalty if the player get overused during that block, but you must deactivate him for the next block to avoid penalties.
Starting Pitchers can start one game during a block if they have at least 4IP left for the season. It has been noted that we need to specify how many IP a pitcher must have to start two games during a block, but that is unclear at this time. If the starting pitcher meets this requirement before the block, no penalty will be accessed for over usage obtained during that block. However, if overused, you must deactivate the pitcher before the next block
Relief pitchers must have at least 3IP left before the block. If they meet this requirement and get overused during the block, no penalty will be accessed, but the pitcher must be deactivated before the next block if they have less than 3ip left for the season (or are overused) to avoid penalties.
Starters/Relievers are evaluated as if the are a starter (may only start if 4ip or more) and a reliever (may only be activated if they have 3ip or more).
So, as long as you check out the Usage Display (from Statistics->Team Statistics), after every block, you should be able to quickly determine who can must be deactivated now, who is getting close and who must be bench players only. If you do this and still go over a few PA/IP, then you are not penalized at all.
For example, Mark Ellis from my team has been used 1 PA more than his card allows. However, once he got under 12PA, I took him off all of my starting lineups, and then once he went over, I deactivated him for the rest of the season, so no infraction/warning was issued. I can also tell that Burrell can't be in a starting line up, since he only has 2PA left, so he's on the bench now.
for my pitchers, I can see that Randy Wolf has 4IP left, so can start one game this last block, while Gavin Floyd has only 3ip left and can only relieve (he can't start, and has a 0 relief rating, but I kept him on the roster just in case he was the last option left in a long game...)
(there are others on my roster that either must be bench players
August 21st 2009
The races come alive.
Theres separation at the top. Philly is having a season for the ages 24
games up in Schmidt. Amazing! Phantastic. It's time to recognize Rob
Hite for his accomplishments in CBA. We could also celebrate Jeff Boutet
who has brough Limoilou back into the Dawson race once again, a 3 way
dance. Limoilou has won 3 titles and was perhaps CBA's most dominant team
from Staub.... Rob Hite is among the top elite in CBA history with his
championships and dominance of his division nearly every season. This
year may be his best since winning a CBA record 120 in 2000. Your teams
career stats are now in the team notebooks in your game itself. Each
year's won lost is recorded.... Marc Wasserman, yours truly has asserted
control in the Parker division with perhaps more title wins than any other
franchise in CBA history. BSP has been to the finals in 2003 losing to
Limoilou and Boutet, winning it all in 2004, and nearly three peating
being stopped short in 2005. Bob Fidler joins, Boutet and Hite as multiple
World Champions...
Look at the CBA' s all time franchise leaders by winning pct
Team Wins Loss Runs Runs against
Brooklyn 1203 876 13053 11378
Limoilou 1168 912 10817 9603
Longue Pointe 1156 924 10075 9093
Philly 1144 938 12408 11048
August 10th 2009
Out of Montreal:
Jay Payton announces his retirement: “It was a great ride. As I was already considering retirement after the season, I let the folks here in Montreal have the opportunity to have a look at another player before the end of the season. It’s unfortunate that the injury will prevent me from helping this new franchise for the remainder of the season. On a positive note, I’ve been offered the chance to stay on in a coaching capacity. I’m really going to consider it. My best years were spent in Brooklyn and I have very fond memories playing there, but I was glad to have the chance to help a young franchise. I think things here in Montreal are pretty solid.”
August 19th 2009
Skokie acquires RFA(1) B Duckworth release Saroman Torres
SD acquires M Redmond RFA(1)
High Bridge Releases G Jenkins, Acquires RFA(3) E Bonifacio
August 16th 2009
Acquired Travis Metcalf as RFA(1), released Bill Bray.
Aug 12th 2009
Released- Chacon, Gonzalez, Isringhausen,
W. Wright, Mendoza
Acquired RFAs- Bartolo Colon, TJ Beam, Scott Eyre, Matt Tolbert, Alex
Belfast has trimmed LP's lead to 2 in Dawson as LP bench couldn't hold off their opposition this time. Looks like they must win their division with SD and Skokie with better records in Staub. Westminster finally won a game, but Joliet now has a CBA record 21 game losing streak as the Jacks prepare for 2010. Limoilou is red hot and only 4 out now in Dawson. Could it be another 3 way dance? Boutet's team could be a player. Maine and Ohio are dogfighting in Rogers. That division is all bunched up. It could be anyones to win. Could Ohio be worst to first? Montreal has a good lineup this year. The addition of Todd Helton CBA future HOFer, Joe Crede, Jody Gerut, Keppinger are quite a tough opponent not to be taken for the Montreal Uehara's. SD 's lead has been trimmed all the way down by the Skokie Skunk'ems who are redhot. Again the Wolfman proves to bequite a CBA manager. Could the future hold HOF enshrinement? A championship or two may help the cause.
In Clem, Brooklyn is having a terrific season loaded with offense. Ryan Howard is on an MVP tear and is now 2nd (by 1) in HR and RBI. HIS BA is up over .285. Both Brian Giles, Ryan Doumit, and Miguel Cabrera have been on fire. Cabrera zipping right up into the leaders categories. Both Carolina and Cooperstown are neck and neck in the wildcard. Its been a great year for both teams. Cooperstown could finish with their best season ever. Both are tough as nails. Speaking of nails, It looks like Super GM Rob Hite's Philly team is all but ran away with the Schmidt. 18 games, that division is nearly wrapped up. Another classic powerhouse team loaded with offense. As their pitching improved so did their winning pct.
High Bridge is just so tough for an expansion team. They are a spoiler. Miller is a good GM who can squeeze blood from rocks. What has happened to Ottawa and Stirling? IS it too late for them? Lake County making a run along with Carolina. They too are right in the wild card playoff hunt...
Indiana Redbirds LP 4 games to 2
in 13th Annual CBA Classic.
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The Indiana Red Birds cap off a remarkable comeback season to defeat
the
Longue-Pointe Loggers in the CBA 2009 World Series 4 games to 2.
Their
unprecedented second consecutive Championship crown came as the
result of
an 8-5 victory highlighted by an 8th inning home run by Alex
Rodriguez.
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Indiana went 40-14 to finish in a tie for
the Wild Card, then a 1game playoff to get into the playoffs. Then we are are
Road team in each series and win both games on the road to start out and then
win 2 of 3 at home to get to the World Series. Then we come up against Longue
Pointe team that has a great Starting Pitching Staff and we win both games
again on the road and won the first game at home to take a demanding 3-0 lead
in the series. But Longue Pointe wasn't going down without a fight and win
game 4 6-5 with Indiana having the tying run on and Albert at the plate with 2
outs in the 9th. Then CC just shuts the Red Birds down for a 5-0 victory to
force game 6. Ichrio leads off the bottom of the 1st with a HR and Longue
Pointe was on the way again but the game got tied when Linceumn threw back to
back wild pitches to let Ruiz to score and then again it was tied at 2-2 and
Indiana took a 6-2 lead, but Kazmir got tired once again in the 5th with 2
outs but Darren Oliver came in to shut door and went on to pitch a couple more
innings then gave up 3 runs to make it 6-5. It was a nail biter for sure as
the Loggers kept threatening and a key spot in the game was when Varitek came
into PH for his fellow catcher mate Laird against Oliver. D J Carrasco was
called in from the pen and got him out. With 1 out in the bottom of the 8th
Billy Wagner came in for 1 2/3 inning save try and he got the 2 guys out in
the 8th. Then in the top of the 9th with a runner on A-Rod gives some
insurance with a 2 run HR and Wagner shuts it down in the bottom of the
inning.
2009 CBA Opening World Series Ceremonies in Longue Pointe

Other Playoff moments....
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Ohio's Mark Texeira swings in the T-Cats first ever playoff series |
Game 3: San Diego's David Wright tagged out by LP's Varitek |
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Southwest's Johnny Damon destroys Philly |
Cliff Lee Stars for Eric Lindner'sSouthwest Lizard King's |
Belfast Brawlers star Nate McLouth connects in the first Belfast playoff series in 3 years. |
also: "The Wolfman" retires from CBA



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| 2009 Playoffs |
It's stunning....Staub has not had a winner in the Finals since well, 2005 and Dennis Concepcion's Longue Pointe team won it all. The reigning champ Fidler is back. He is CBA's best, back for 3rd time in 4 years. Concepcion, a playoff perennial, didn't make it last year to the playoffs, but sure has the year in grand style. He swept the extraordinary San Diego Surf team. Both Indiana and LP were underdogs to two of CBA's greatest teams of all time. Both Conference teams beat the giant teams to help advance. Now they meet. Indiana just plain outslugs you, Longue Pointe just keeps you off the bases and runners from moving....Two contrasting Strat philosophies will square off. The games should be well attended just to see what the next CBA STrategy trend will be....Will it be good pitching with lots of K's and defense. A team that hit and runs you to death and steals at will? or will it be the ARoid, Pujols, Hamilton, Pence, Sizemore, reyes show?
For LP it was all pitching and unlikely heros. For Indy Pence, Sizemore and ARod. Lets look and see who they are...
Indiana was originally the expansion Houston Aeros, a last place team that was extremely fortunate to have won the 1st over expansion pick when 4 teams were broken up. ARod was originally on the Chris Boutin led Quebec Capitales. He was the first expoansion pick in 2003 by Chris Thomas' Houston club. He then drafted Albert Pujols with the first regular draft pick that year. There was the nucleus. Jose Reyes came over in a trade 3 seasons ago from San Diego, while OSwalt was an orinal draftee. Last year, Indiana acquired B. Wagner, C. Ruiz, K. Griffey, Jr in a major trade with Southwest for A. Ethier, Indiana's #1(09), #4(09), #5(09), #6(09). They got Loney from Kennesaw as well at about the same time for a #2 and Mientkiewicz. They got J Garland from Kennesaw as well in 2008. Posada came in July of 2007 for D Riske, Kaz Matsui and a 2,6 pick. Polanco came in from Philly for Brad Hawpe. Many good trades and some not as good. But always looking to improve. Indy traded picks, acquired, shuffled, drafted and built. Looking out of the picture in themid season they staged one of CBA's remarkable comebacks winning 41-17 to gain a last day wildcard, and now back in the finals after Fidler threw in the "Towel".
Longue Pointe has made a few trades mostly has built through drafting. The team, unlike 2005 is mostly of Concepcion's design. He drafts for bench reserve and defense. He drafts for talent, he drafts for good cards, he drafts to win with balance. He drafts strikeout artists, he drafts well. He acquired great draft pieces starting when he took guys like Richie Sexson at the end of rd 1 in 2005. Jason Varitek came in 2006 for Jason Kendall. 05 WS hero Torii Hunter came in 2005 for AJ Burnett and a #1. Dennis moved guys like Nomar Garciaparra a longue time favorite in Quebec, bringing in players like Aramis Ramirez, drafted some like pen guys CJ Wilson, Balfour, Marte, Seanez, Kiko Calero, Brain Fuentes, and even drafted more guys for the staff and who got outs, K's and stopped runners from moving. But Concepcion has thrived in the draft. After raising some eyebrows, whose wondering now? He drafted a minor league pick like Tim Lincecum in rd 1. He took Hideki Matsui in rd 1 too. Ryan Dempster another. He took Ryan Theriot in a later round. LP is well known for super sub scrubs. Each year he has his overachieving mutant cards. In 2005, it was Brian Jordan hitting .400. This year its Cliff Floyd, and Lou Montanez, otherwise guys like Gabe Gross, Kotchmann, Iguchi, new heros with small names. Remember Miracle Mirabelli?
Its gonna be a Jailbreak...Who will attend?
Indiana defeats Southwest Lizard Kings for their 3rd Clemente title in 4 years.....Took 4 games to 1.
Well first of all I want to thank
Eric for playing a good series and congratulate him on his great
season. The Red Birds won games 1 and 2 again on the road and came
home where they would lose game 3 once again this time 6-4. Then in
Game 4 their bats came alive and built a 9-0 lead for Roy Oswalt who
then got tired in the 7th inning and the final ended up 9-2. Game 5
was one for the classics as it ended up 2-1 as Indiana took the lead
1-0 in the 3rd inning when Polanco scored on a base hit by Reyes.
Southwest managed to tie it up at 1-1 on a wild pitch with Either on
3rd he came in to score. Southwest got a runner on in the top of the
9th and Billy Wagner came in to try and stop the rally and he did as
he struck out all 3 batters he faced. So the game was tied up at 1-1
in the both of the 9th with not the real A-Rod leading off but
Indiana's A-Rod and he hit a 2-4 no doubter HR to send the Red Birds
to the series for the 3rd time in 4 yrs. We want to once again thank
Marc and Eric for playing great series. The only other thing I want to
add which I got a chuckle out of when Eric IM me on it as he said I
thought the road to the World Series was going through Brooklyn didn't
think it would be Indiana. And at the start of the playoffs I would
agree with him and I still do agree as my road to the World Series
started in Brooklyn and now it has went through the Southwest part of
California now we are just waiting on to see who our opponent as will
we stay in California or will we have to go back to Brooklyn once
again.
@AP Newswire
Date: Oct. 14, 2009
LOCAL INVESTIGATORS SEEK ANSWERS!
Arcane wording discovered scrawled upon a napkin in local steak house
outside Indiana's Ballpark has raised concerns that a killer may be on
the loose. It reads:
In the
mighty halls of the CBA
there are only two things of certainty,
The future's uncertain, and THE END is always near!
Wow, I'm sick of doubt
Live in the light of certain
South side
Cruel bindings.
The Redbirds have the power
Dog-men and their mean women
Pulling poor
blankets
over
Our players
I'm sick of dour faces
Staring at me from the executive
Suites, i want roses in
My
bullpen
bower; dig?
Royal doubles, hard hit singles
Must now replace aborted
Strangers in the mud
These mutants, blood-meal
For the pitcher that's plowed.
They are waiting to take us into
The severed garden
Do you know how pale and wanton thrillful
Comes death on a strange hour
Unannounced, unplanned for
Like a scaring over-friendly guest you've
Brought to bed
Defeat makes angels of us all
And gives us wings
Where we had shoulders
Smooth as raven's
Claws
No more
money,
no more fancy uniforms
This other kingdom seems by far the best
Until it's other jaw reveals incest
And loose obedience to a REDBIRD law.
I will not go
Prefer a feast of
friends
A lie she cried
Spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a marble slab
To the giant REDBIRD she spoke
I will not go, I will not go
Have I not wandered your streets of yellow haze?
And pitchers come and go
Speaking of Joe DiMaggio
I have measured out my life
In balls, strikes and cheap hot dogs
Am I not Lazarus raised from the dead?
Come back to tell you
To tell you all
THE END
Local officials and police detectives are puzzled by the cryptic
verbiage and its meaning. Rumors that the much awaited contest between
the Lizard Kings and the Rebirds will be tomorrow night at 5pm
Pacific/8pm EST may be related to the arcane scriblings. Rob Fidler is
reportedly suffering from massive migranes in anticipation of the bloody
series and has been cleared of any ill-doings. However, maverick owner,
Eric Lindner, has been heavily sedated and locked securely in a local
sanitarium after being found in a darken alley with steak sauce smeared
all over his vomit covered t-shirt.
The end is most certainly near for one of these vaunted warriors of the
CBA.
Report filed by Bernard Shakey
Minister of Propaganda and Ticket Sales
The first round is complete. Stunning upsets, and glorious wins. The first series pit the Longue Pointe Loggers, Dawson champs against the Ohio Thundercats in their first ever playoff. It was a hard fought series which was accented by some outstanding pitching perfomances by both teams. Dempster heading the rotation based on his Cy Young type season, was shaky as LP uncharacteristically scored 8 to outlast the T Cats. Total effort against Volquez who surrendered 7 er. The game was tied going into the 7th inning. Theriot's double was the difference. Game 2 was all Rick3 Nolasco in a 6 hitter. It was a fine performance, stopping LP cold. Game 3 was an extra innings game won by Ohio. Tied at 2 in the 7th, another tight one. A dramatic ending. Chris Young walked, Johjima bunted him over, But Balfour came in and promptly walked Guillen, and LP killer Kelly Johnson drew a bases loaded walk. Texeira who also had homered, finally walked with the bases loaded off LP closer Grant Balfour. Lincecum K's 8 and Torii Hunter had a big offensive game. Dempster won game 4 with with some timely hitting and great pitching. He K'd 9 in the win. Game 5 saw Carlos Zambrano(1-0) and Ricky Nolasco(1-1) locked horns in a pitcher's duel with Zambrano and the Longue Pointe Loggers coming out on top of the Ohio Thundercats 2 to 1. Zambrano was in control of the game from the outset. He surrendered only 5 hits and 2 walks in 8 and 2/3 innings. Ohio had a chance in the 9th but they came up short against Wilson who earned a save...Game 6 was Lincecum's best. He K's 13 in a 2 to 1 victory. Lp will go on to SD for a showdown
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San Diego Surf's GM Joe Wallace. Is out for blood. Years of losing has made him hungry and a total CBA force to be dealt with. He dispatched Belfast and JD Adams in 6 games. SD took g 1,2,3 the SD talent just took over. In game 1 it was the small guys, Kendrick and C Guzman who had the big hits for SD. In game 2 it was Manny, McCann, Dye. Game 3 it was the whole lineup just slappin 'em down and scoring runs. In game 4 Belfast won the game with a run in the bottom of the 9th inning on an Aubrey Huff walk. An Alexei Ramirez single, and a Brandon Moss base-hit. Game 5 Nate McLouth blasted 2 homeruns, and Brawlers won in 10 innings by the score of 8 to 7. That game was deadlocked at 7 after nine full innings. SD took their 4th and the right to play Dennis Concepcion and LP winning game 6. Dan Haren racked up an impressive total of 10 strikeouts as the San Diego Surf outscored the Belfast Brawlers 7 to 2. Haren(2-0) was in control of the game from the outset. He gave up just 7 hits and 1 walk in 9 innings. San Diego finished with 13 hits, and David Wright had a Homer and 3 RBI's and Wallace is looking like gold. LP and SD will meet to decide Staub.
Indiana Brooklyn was tougher than it looked. The Redbirds took that series 4 to 1. Game 1 was a pitchers duel with Halladay and Oswalt going on into extras. In the end Brooklyn didn't hit, but Reyes did launching a HR for the Indy win. Indy won game 2 by a large margin 14-5. The big boys, Pujols, ARod, Josht Hamilton (5 RBI) did major damage, but in Game 3 Brooklyn's Dice K went the distance. Doumit and Howard Homered. Game 4 a key game went into the 12th inning . Brooklyn rode a Howard HR into the 9th with a 1 run lead. Maglio Ordonez forever the Brooklyn Buckner, dropped a flyball for 2 bases (Why was Denorfia not out there?) to allow Indy to tie and eventually win in the 12thSizemore smashed a solo-shot out of the park (his 2nd of the season) resulting in a mighty exciting win for Indiana and the 50,370 home town fans in attendance. For that matter it was all Indiana needed as the Superbas spit the bit once again in 2009. Wait till next year
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On Left:
It's an off day for the Red Birds following their victory over the
Brooklyn Superbas. Here, slugger Albert Pujols discusses strategy
with Red Birds skipper Bob Fidler for their upcoming Clemente
pennant showdown with Eric Lindner's Southwest Lizard Kings.
On right: shows Brooklyn's Ryan Doumit blocking Sizemore from Scoring a key run.
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Not To Touch The Earth....Lizard King Eric Lindner is
setting on his hot rock after a Philly playoff win. Controversial Center
fielder David Dejesus had 2 base hits and 2 RBI as the Southwest Lizard
Kings defeated the Philly Phantastics by the score of 5 to 3 in game 1 at
Philly's Stadium. Philly was unable to claim the lead after
Southwest went ahead in the top of the 3rd inning scoring a single run
using 2 hits. Southwest out-hit Philly for the game, Cliff Lee(1-0) who
went 8 innings, allowing 3 runs. Joakim
Soria gained credit for his 1st save. Cole Hamels(0-1) lost.
In Game 2 Second baseman Orlando Hudson had 4 hits and 2 RBI as the
Southwest Lizard Kings beat the Philly Phantastics by a score of 8 to 6.
Southwest had the winning rally in the 8th inning when they scored 4 runs
on 4 hits. Another controversial OF, Matt Holliday rifled a
three-run blast
Southwest had 17 hits for the game and Philly had 13. Right back came Rob
Hite and the high scoring Philly Phantastics. Center fielder Rick
Ankiel HR'd and had 5 RBI as the Phantastics won 13 to 5 at Jim Morrison
Memorial.
The Southwest fans didn't appreciate the big day Ankiel had. He doubled
which scored a run in the 2nd inning, doubled plating three runs in the
7th inning and cracked a solo homerun in the 9th inning. Philly had 12
hits overall, while Southwest had 6.
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| Phantastic Rob Hite | The Lizard King |
In game 4, The Philly Phantastics came roaring back in the
top of the ninth to spoil the anticipated celebration of the hometown
fans. The final score, was 6 to Philly scored the decisive runs in a big
9th inning with 2 runs using 3 hits.
Carlos Lee led off and keyed the rally when he lined a one-base hit. Evan
Longoria came next and he doubled. Lance Berkman struck out, unable to
help the rally. Kelly Shoppach stepped in and he doubled. Philly won
despite being out-hit by Southwest 10 hits to 7. Kerry Wood(1-0) picked up
the victory, The loss was charged to Cliff Lee(1-1).
Game 5 David Dejesus touched them all and had 2 RBI at Morrison Memorial
where the Southwest Lizard Kings beat the Philly Phantastics by the score
of 2 to 1. Southwest brought 2 runs across the plate in the 2nd inning
when they had 3 base hits. That scoring would be all that was needed.
Philly threatened in the 9th but Southwest was able to put down the rally.
In Game 6 The Philly Phantastics nipped the Southwest
Lizard Kings 5 to 4 back in Philly Field in a hard fought
contest.Southwest fell behind quickly as the Philly offense came through
in the first inning with 3 runs utilizing 3 base hits. After an out was
recorded, Derek Jeter began the Philly spurt when he drew a walk. Chase
Utley next to the plate and he banged out a single. After another out,
Rick Ankiel hit his 3rd CBA playoff HR of the series. Former first
round pick Evan Longoria followed and he delivered a one-base hit. Lance
Berkman stepped into the box and drew a walk. Southwest had a chance to
come back in the 9th but they came up short. Series tied and in Philly.
Stage was set...For Sw to win, would be seen as an upset. Philly had
one of CBA's alltime best seasons in 2009 as had Brooklyn. Who would
it be? Run with me....Run with me....and only one run was the
difference as the Southwest Lizard Kingsdefeated the Philly Phantastics in
10 innings 4 to 3. The score was knotted at 3 after nine innings. It went
into extras. Southwest was victorious in the 10th inning. when SW hero,
Johnny Damon singled. A controversial balk was called. People pelted the
umpire with crap. The Philly Phaithful chanted "you still S**k!" then game
continued. After an out was recorded, Jerry Hairston Jr stepped in
and he delivered a single. Hairston Jr took second on the throw. Despite
losing, Philly out-hit Southwest 12 to 8.
Cory Wade(1-0) went 1 and 1/3 innings allowing no runs for the win. Joakim
Soria gained credit for his 4th save. The loss was charged to Kerry
Wood(1-1) in relief. It was Lindners biggest ever CBA win....
LEAGUE STANDINGS FOR 2009 C.B.A. Playoff
WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2009 Indiana IRM 4 1 .800 ---- 157
2009 San Diego SSC 4 2 .667 .5
2009 Longue Pointe LLD 4 2 .667 .5
2009 Southwest SLM 4 3 .571 1.0
2009 Philly PPS 3 4 .429 2.0
2009 Ohio OTR 2 4 .333 2.5
2009 Belfast BBD 2 4 .333 2.5
2009 Brooklyn BSP 1 4 .200 3.0
LOCAL INVESTIGATORS SEEK ANSWERS!
Arcane wording discovered scrawled upon a napkin in local steak house outside
Indiana's Ballpark has raised concerns that a killer may be on the loose. It
reads:
In the mighty halls of
the CBA
there are only two things of certainty,
The future's uncertain, and THE END is always near!
Wow, I'm sick of doubt
Live in the light of certain
South side
Cruel bindings.
The Redbirds have the power
Dog-men and their mean women
Pulling poor
blankets
over
Our players
I'm sick of dour faces
Staring at me from the executive
Suites, i want roses in
My
bullpen
bower; dig?
Royal doubles, hard hit singles
Must now replace aborted
Strangers in the mud
These mutants, blood-meal
For the pitcher that's plowed.
They are waiting to take us into
The severed garden
Do you know how pale and wanton thrillful
Comes death on a strange hour
Unannounced, unplanned for
Like a scaring over-friendly guest you've
Brought to bed
Defeat makes angels of us all
And gives us wings
Where we had shoulders
Smooth as raven's
Claws
No more
money,
no more fancy uniforms
This other kingdom seems by far the best
Until it's other jaw reveals incest
And loose obedience to a REDBIRD law.
I will not go
Prefer a feast of
friends
A lie she cried
Spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a marble slab
To the giant REDBIRD she spoke
I will not go, I will not go
Have I not wandered your streets of yellow haze?
And pitchers come and go
Speaking of Joe DiMaggio
I have measured out my life
In balls, strikes and cheap hot dogs
Am I not Lazarus raised from the dead?
Come back to tell you
To tell you all
THE END
Local officials and police detectives are puzzled by the cryptic verbiage and
its meaning. Rumors that the much awaited contest between the Lizard Kings and
the Rebirds will be tomorrow night at 5pm Pacific/8pm EST may be related to the
arcane scriblings. Rob Fidler is reportedly suffering from massive migranes in
anticipation of the bloody series and has been cleared of any ill-doings.
However, maverick owner, Eric Lindner, has been heavily sedated and locked
securely in a local sanitarium after being found in a darken alley with steak
sauce smeared all over his vomit covered t-shirt.
The end is most certainly near for one of these vaunted warriors of the CBA.
Report filed by Bernard Shakey
Minister of Propaganda and Ticket Sales
Running Dry (Requiem For The Lizard Kings)
Oh, please help me,
oh please help me,
I'm losin' by myself.
I need someone to comfort me,
I need someone to tell.
I'm sorry for
the things I've done,
I've shamed myself with lies,
But soon these things
are overcome
And can't be recognized.
I left my team
with broken bats
And water in their eyes.
I took from them
the respect I'd won
And turned it to the sky.
I'm sorry for
the things I've done,
I've shamed myself with lies,
My CRUELTY has punctured me
And now I'm running
dry.
Glory, I went into Indy to see you
yesterday
but you were not there.
So I talked to some old players
for a while
before I wandered off, alone.
It's so hard for me now
But I'll make it some how
Though I know I'll never be the same
Won't you ever change your ways,
It's so hard to make baseball pay
When you're on the losing end
And I feel that way again!
Glory, I miss you more than ever
since you've gone
I can hardly maintain.
Things are different round here
every night,
my tears fall down like rain.
And so it goes . . .
Hanta yo (It is a good day to die)!
@Copyright 2009, Eric Lindner, Poems to inhale
ether by . . .
By Craven
The Southwest Lizard Kings are currently facing off against the Indiana Redbirds in the Clemente Conference finals. The Lizard Kings led the league in attendance this season, and the four millionth fan recently passed through the turnstiles at Morrison Memorial. On TV, Lizard King Baseball is scoring its best ratings ever. These are stunning developments given that just one year ago, the Lizard Kings were one of the saddest franchises in professional sports, having languished in the CBA’s basement for years.
“I am not familiar with this kind of massive turnaround that occurred in a
blink of an eye,” says Willie Makeit, president of Sportscorp, a sports-business
consultancy. “It’s arguably the most remarkable turnaround in the history of
sports in the
It almost seems bizarre, but baseball fever has taken over
LEAGUE STANDINGS FOR 2009 C.B.A.
Dawson WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2009 Longue Pointe LLD 92 70 .568 ---- *WON*
2009 Belfast BBD 91 71 .562 1.0
2009 Limoilou LWD 86 76 .531 6.0
2009 Montreal MCD 56 106 .346 36.0
Rogers WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2009 Ohio OTR 86 76 .531 ---- *WON*
2009 Maine MER 85 77 .525 1.0
2009 Allentown ANR 79 83 .488 7.0
2009 Kennesaw Mtn KWR 78 84 .481 8.0
Carter WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2009 San Diego SSC 109 53 .673 ---- *WON*
2009 Skokie SWC 91 71 .562 18.0
2009 Joliet JJC 65 97 .401 44.0
2009 High Bridge HHC 54 108 .333 55.0
Schmidt WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2009 Philly PPS 105 57 .648 ---- *WON*
2009 Ottawa OOS 78 84 .481 27.0
2009 Stirling SRS 77 85 .475 28.0
2009 Westminster WPS 29 133 .179 76.0
Monday WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2009 Southwest SLM 96 66 .593 ---- *WON*
2009 Indiana IRM 94 68 .580 2.0
2009 Lake County LLM 93 69 .574 3.0
2009 Bryan KBM 74 88 .457 22.0
Parker WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2009 Brooklyn BSP 108 54 .667 ---- *WON*
2009 Cooperstown CIP 94 68 .580 14.0
2009 Carolina CCP 88 74 .543 20.0
2009 Sunville SSP 36 126 .222 72.0
SC Wild Card Standings WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2009 Skokie SWC 91 71 .562 ---- 1
2009 Belfast BBD 91 71 .562 ----
2009 Limoilou LWD 86 76 .531 5.0
2009 Maine MER 85 77 .525 6.0
2009 Allentown ANR 79 83 .488 12.0
2009 Kennesaw Mtn KWR 78 84 .481 13.0
CC Wild Card Standings WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2009 Indiana IRM 94 68 .580 ---- 1
2009 Cooperstown CIP 94 68 .580 ----
2009 Lake County LLM 93 69 .574 1.0
2009 Carolina CCP 88 74 .543 6.0
2009 Ottawa OOS 78 84 .481 16.0
2009 Stirling SRS 77 85 .475 17.0
OVERALL RECORD
Team WON LOST PCT HOME ROAD LEFT RIGHT EXTRA 1-RUN LAST 10 STREAK
ANR 79 83 .488 40-41 39-42 30-25 49-58 12- 9 20-26 5-5 Won 1
BBD 91 71 .562 45-36 46-35 33-26 58-45 5- 4 37-22 7-3 Won 4
BSP 108 54 .667 59-22 49-32 36-21 72-33 8- 7 25-22 5-5 Won 1
CCP 88 74 .543 44-37 44-37 29-22 59-52 10- 3 20-19 6-4 Won 4
CIP 94 68 .580 45-36 49-32 21-22 73-46 7- 7 33-17 8-2 Lost 1
HHC 54 108 .333 28-53 26-55 21-25 33-83 9-11 21-26 1-9 Lost 1
IRM 94 68 .580 45-36 49-32 22-20 72-48 9- 9 28-24 8-2 Won 2
JJC 65 97 .401 37-44 28-53 23-24 42-73 5- 7 24-30 6-4 Won 1
KBM 74 88 .457 35-46 39-42 22-26 52-62 6-10 25-18 3-7 Lost 2
KWR 78 84 .481 38-43 40-41 25-23 53-61 13- 8 24-30 4-6 Lost 3
LLD 92 70 .568 42-39 50-31 27-24 65-46 9-12 30-27 7-3 Won 3
LLM 93 69 .574 45-36 48-33 30-25 63-44 10- 9 22-20 7-3 Won 5
LWD 86 76 .531 43-38 43-38 28-14 58-62 7-10 20-32 5-5 Lost 2
MCD 56 106 .346 28-53 28-53 18-29 38-77 7- 6 25-22 1-9 Lost 6
MER 85 77 .525 43-38 42-39 33-16 52-61 13- 9 34-22 7-3 Lost 1
OOS 78 84 .481 39-42 39-42 15-32 63-52 12- 5 21-20 5-5 Lost 1
OTR 86 76 .531 39-42 47-34 31-23 55-53 7- 9 38-22 5-5 Won 3
PPS 105 57 .648 50-31 55-26 29-12 76-45 5- 1 16-19 8-2 Won 1
SLM 96 66 .593 44-37 52-29 31-20 65-46 3- 9 20-18 2-8 Lost 7
SRS 77 85 .475 42-39 35-46 17-31 60-54 3- 7 18-26 6-4 Lost 1
SSC 109 53 .673 54-27 55-26 38-16 71-37 10- 6 18-22 9-1 Won 5
SSP 36 126 .222 21-60 15-66 6-42 30-84 7-12 16-31 1-9 Lost 7
SWC 91 71 .562 43-38 48-33 31-18 60-53 4-10 13-23 4-6 Lost 4
WPS 29 133 .179 20-61 9-72 7-41 22-92 6- 7 8-18 2-8 Won 1
TOTAL 1944 1944 .500
Dennis Concepcion: The man behind the CBA graphics. Staub President, and creator of the Loggers team. DC is one GM that can't be ruled out because he finds a way to beat you. He has a knack for finding variables other than slugging. He relies heavily on platoon system and defense. He has sported teams with 4+ ones on offense. He is known for his small ball game like the one he used to ride such cards as "Miracle Mirabelli", Brian Jordan, and Todd Jones into big moments. He also studies his opponents and plays for the long run. The LP signature is their strong bench, and fantastic pitching staff. He prefers strikeout pitchers, and good hit and run men. Concepcion is unconventional but effective year in and year out. He is also an avid baseball uniform and stadium historical enthusiast.
Rob Hite: CBA legend. Multi year champion. Just like Brooklyn in leading CBA in offense and power categories. Owns several CBA records. Hite is on executive committee, and is an original member. Perhaps one of CBA most prolific traders, Hite is one of the sharpest draft and Stratball minds you'll ever meet. Has keen sense of talent and is ever tough in head to head competition. Rob Hite is a future CBA Hall of famer. He has the championships to back it.
Glenn Kenan: First year for playoffs? A CBA 4 year man. The Ohio team has improved each year. Kenan has traded and drafted himself into a winning team. In a tough conference where teams knock each other around, Ohio is on the cusp of team history should they overcome Maine. Kenan has forged a team that could be the underdog surprise of the CBA season. The little engine who could?
Mike Koepp: Mr Mike to you. Maine is in the 2nd year of playoff hunt. His last playoff was marred by some questionable circumstances, but experience was gained. Koepp is fighting hard. The competitor in Koepp has worked very hard to get this franchise atop Rogers division. He wont relent now, & is ready to beat you.
Dave Jones: Jones has been around the block in CBA. The Leopards are his team. He built them and is likely to make noise this year if they get into the playoffs. Dave always has his team playing tough. Never an easy win, The Leopards gives all Clemente fits. They play well against Philly, SW, and Brooklyn. Jones seems to make trades that keep him in the thick of things.
Eric Lindner: 1 game shy of Southwest's 1998 best franchise win total. Lindner also knows the cards and the game. Loves to compete. Loves to win. Plays well and plays fair. Lindner is fun to play against...Its all fun and sht until you realize he's beating you. Knows how to shoot down his oponents with Strat skill. He is the Lizard King and wants to do anything. Plays in Morrison Stadium. Doors fan obviously, and true artist painter.
Jon Stamets: Has made a seamless transition into CBA to take over Cooperstown. His GM skills will be on display as he takes a good team and has been making them play with efficiency. This weeks series vs Carolina was classic. Knows how to manage, and could be this years X factor as Allentown's Rich Schneider was back in 2004.
Aug 3rd 2009
Belfast has trimmed LP's lead to 2 in Dawson as LP bench couldn't hold off their opposition this time. Looks like they must win their division with SD and Skokie with better records in Staub. Westminster finally won a game, but Joliet now has a CBA record 21 game losing streak as the Jacks prepare for 2010. Limoilou is red hot and only 4 out now in Dawson. Could it be another 3 way dance? Boutet's team could be a player. Maine and Ohio are dogfighting in Rogers. That division is all bunched up. It could be anyones to win. Could Ohio be worst to first? Montreal has a good lineup this year. The addition of Todd Helton CBA future HOFer, Joe Crede, Jody Gerut, Keppinger are quite a tough opponent not to be taken for the Montreal Uehara's. SD 's lead has been trimmed all the way down by the Skokie Skunk'ems who are redhot. Again the Wolfman proves to bequite a CBA manager. Could the future hold HOF enshrinement? A championship or two may help the cause.
In Clem, Brooklyn is having a terrific season loaded with offense. Ryan Howard is on an MVP tear and is now 2nd (by 1) in HR and RBI. HIS BA is up over .285. Both Brian Giles, Ryan Doumit, and Miguel Cabrera have been on fire. Cabrera zipping right up into the leaders categories. Both Carolina and Cooperstown are neck and neck in the wildcard. Its been a great year for both teams. Cooperstown could finish with their best season ever. Both are tough as nails. Speaking of nails, It looks like Super GM Rob Hite's Philly team is all but ran away with the Schmidt. 18 games, that division is nearly wrapped up. Another classic powerhouse team loaded with offense. As their pitching improved so did their winning pct.
High Bridge is just so tough for an expansion team. They are a spoiler. Miller is a good GM who can squeeze blood from rocks. What has happened to Ottawa and Stirling? IS it too late for them? Lake County making a run along with Carolina. They too are right in the wild card playoff hunt...
This season is unique. Before the season started, I sat down with
the new version game after going out to Glen Head, and picking the
set up. I thought after running some sims, that there would be a
rise in the strength of some new teams. Changing of the guard maybe,
but parity? New powers, old ones fading? Its an entirely new CBA
competition with some teams moving divsions and also adding good
balance and talent. Could we predict that .500 could win Dawson? LP
and Belfast are sub .500 and both tied for first. LP has had a good
start from Aramis and Torii. Belfast is riding Aubrey Huff's hot
start. Figgins is prancing on the Paths. The Montreal Uehara's have
Gerut, and some decent pitching. Limmer and even Montreal are not
far behind. Who will get hot? Could one deal make the final
difference? Too early to tell, though patterns are starting to
emerge for some.
Skokie. This is a potential Hall of Fame team. They have risin like
the Phoenix from the ashes of the old Montreal Royals+Bodega Bay
Madbirds (Gerald Benoit). This team just wins, and contends. The
Wolfman will not rest until a championship. He has the helm this
year after John Miller helped guide them last year. The 15-6 leagues
best record. Some thought Skokie wouldn't be as strong, but a great
GM always keeps his team at the top like Shapiro....and John Miller.
The expansion High Bridge Heaters are competitive. 9-12 behind the
San Diego Surf and Skokie. Respectable so far. Jenkins, Konerko, and
E Gonzalez are hitting well as any. A tight bullpen managed to
perfection by Miller. Miller is a good GM. So is Joe Wallace with
SD. Could this be the year of High Surf? Wallace has been close
stretching the playoff semi to 7 games. Wallace needs to beat Skokie
and win the title. Anything less is risky with both Allentown and
Kennesaw much improved. Dye and Dmitri have been solid if not
spetacular. Manny is off to a .375 start. The pitching is well, San
Diego. Best in CBA again.
Allentown and Kennesaw are battling. Maine and Ohio are right on
their tails. This division is maybe CBA's toughest in 2009. All 4
are solid teams and in contention. Both Kennesaw Mountain and
Allentown have taken control of the Rogers this week tied for first.
Is Rogers stronger than Dawson? It appears so, for now. Rich
Schneider of the Allentown Senators is looking toward the playoffs
after an ambitious rebuild plan, tearing down the 2004 Staub Champs,
to build stronger. He is well on his way. Hanley is an all star,
Schumacher, Hart, and feliz are making an impact. Shileds is a Cy
Young candidate again. Schneider knows exactly what to do to get
back to the show.
It appears James Blake does too. He vowed to be a beast by 2009, and
by gum he might be right. The Mountaineers are tied for first. The
first time in Blakes CBA career he is. This team is now loaded, and
mark it down the beginning has come. Georgia fans are delighted as
their game attendance figures have jumped by 10,000 per game.
In Clemente, Brooklyn and Indiana have started slowly and are belwo .500. BSP defeated Indy 2 g to 1, but that doesnt mean they'll stay down. For now Ryan Wyke's Cooperstown and Scott Kenan's Carolina Copperheads own the Parker at 11-10. Brooklyn 9-12 and Sunville who is 8-13 aren't too far back. Sunville's Aybar, Barajas, and Wilingham lead a pretty good offense. Brooklyn has hit tons, but the bullpen has been awful as well as shaky starting pitchers. Mariano is back up to bad tricks blowing most games hes in. Whats with his card? The Bashers are the story of Monday winning and playing very well. Cory Light looks to get to the playoffs missing by a hair last year. Lots of power, Wigginton has 9 HR already. Burrell is hitting, and Overbay is on fire at .373. The Bashers have pitching too. Hawkins is getting used up fast but is doing great. This could be the year for Bryan. Phill has settled this week after a torrid start. Theyre tied with the Redsox in second 3 out, as the Jack Jung Ottawa Otters chew up their competition at 14-7. Jack Jung last won his championship in 2001. Could this be the year he returns?
This season is unique. Before the season started, I sat down with
the new version game after going out to Glen Head, and picking the
set up. I thought after running some sims, that there would be a
rise in the strength of some new teams. Changing of the guard maybe,
but parity? New powers, old ones fading? Its an entirely new CBA
competition with some teams moving divsions and also adding good
balance and talent. Could we predict that .500 could win Dawson? LP
and Belfast are sub .500 and both tied for first. LP has had a good
start from Aramis and Torii. Belfast is riding Aubrey Huff's hot
start. Figgins is prancing on the Paths. The Montreal Uehara's have
Gerut, and some decent pitching. Limmer and even Montreal are not
far behind. Who will get hot? Could one deal make the final
difference? Too early to tell, though patterns are starting to
emerge for some.
Skokie. This is a potential Hall of Fame team. They have risin like
the Phoenix from the ashes of the old Montreal Royals+Bodega Bay
Madbirds (Gerald Benoit). This team just wins, and contends. The
Wolfman will not rest until a championship. He has the helm this
year after John Miller helped guide them last year. The 15-6 leagues
best record. Some thought Skokie wouldn't be as strong, but a great
GM always keeps his team at the top like Shapiro....and John Miller.
The expansion High Bridge Heaters are competitive. 9-12 behind the
San Diego Surf and Skokie. Respectable so far. Jenkins, Konerko, and
E Gonzalez are hitting well as any. A tight bullpen managed to
perfection by Miller. Miller is a good GM. So is Joe Wallace with
SD. Could this be the year of High Surf? Wallace has been close
stretching the playoff semi to 7 games. Wallace needs to beat Skokie
and win the title. Anything less is risky with both Allentown and
Kennesaw much improved. Dye and Dmitri have been solid if not
spetacular. Manny is off to a .375 start. The pitching is well, San
Diego. Best in CBA again.
Allentown and Kennesaw are battling. Maine and Ohio are right on
their tails. This division is maybe CBA's toughest in 2009. All 4
are solid teams and in contention. Both Kennesaw Mountain and
Allentown have taken control of the Rogers this week tied for first.
Is Rogers stronger than Dawson? It appears so, for now. Rich
Schneider of the Allentown Senators is looking toward the playoffs
after an ambitious rebuild plan, tearing down the 2004 Staub Champs,
to build stronger. He is well on his way. Hanley is an all star,
Schumacher, Hart, and feliz are making an impact. Shileds is a Cy
Young candidate again. Schneider knows exactly what to do to get
back to the show.
It appears James Blake does too. He vowed to be a beast by 2009, and
by gum he might be right. The Mountaineers are tied for first. The
first time in Blakes CBA career he is. This team is now loaded, and
mark it down the beginning has come. Georgia fans are delighted as
their game attendance figures have jumped by 10,000 per game.
In Clemente, Brooklyn and Indiana have started slowly and are belwo .500. BSP defeated Indy 2 g to 1, but that doesnt mean they'll stay down. For now Ryan Wyke's Cooperstown and Scott Kenan's Carolina Copperheads own the Parker at 11-10. Brooklyn 9-12 and Sunville who is 8-13 aren't too far back. Sunville's Aybar, Barajas, and Wilingham lead a pretty good offense. Brooklyn has hit tons, but the bullpen has been awful as well as shaky starting pitchers. Mariano is back up to bad tricks blowing most games hes in. Whats with his card? The Bashers are the story of Monday winning and playing very well. Cory Light looks to get to the playoffs missing by a hair last year. Lots of power, Wigginton has 9 HR already. Burrell is hitting, and Overbay is on fire at .373. The Bashers have pitching too. Hawkins is getting used up fast but is doing great. This could be the year for Bryan. Phill has settled this week after a torrid start. Theyre tied with the Redsox in second 3 out, as the Jack Jung Ottawa Otters chew up their competition at 14-7. Jack Jung last won his championship in 2001. Could this be the year he returns?
YESTERDAY'S BEST PERFORMANCES
BATTER
TM OPP AB R H RB BB Ks HR SB
G.Sheffield LWD HHC 4
1 3 4 0 0 1 0
M.Tejada CCP WPS 4
3 3 2 0 0 1 0
A.Huff BBD ANR
5 2 3 3 0
0 1 0
S.Choo SRS KBM
4 2 3 2 0
1 1 0
L.Overbay KBM SRS 3
1 2 3 0 0 1 0
PITCHER
TM OPP INN H R ER BB Ks HR WLS
D.Matsuzaka BSP LLM 10.0 3
2 2 2 9 0 W
A.Burnett JJC MER 7.0
3 2 0 0 6 1 W
T.Lilly SWC LLD
8.0 4 2 2 0
8 1 W
A.Sonnanstine BBD ANR 6.0 3
0 0 2 5 0 W
J.Rauch SSC OTR
2.2 0 0 0 1
2 0 W
WHO'S HOT - BEST IN LAST 10 DAYS
BATTER
TM AVG AB H RB BB HR PITCHER
TM IP H ER BB Ks HR WLS
A.Gonzalez MER .471 34 16 13
6 5 O.Dotel
SRS 5 2 0 1 8
0 100
A.Pujols IRM
.387 31 12 11 5 5 C.Young
CIP 8 3 0 2 10 0
100
M.Ordonez BSP .400 35
14 16 3 4 A.Rhodes
SSC 7 3 0 0 6
0 001
W.Aybar SSP
.462 26 12 6 2 4 T.Lilly
SWC 27 12 4 2 24 2 300
C.Pena SRS
.286 35 10 11 5 5 R.Corcoran
KWR 6 2 0 1 6
0 102
WHO'S NOT - WORST IN LAST 10 DAYS
BATTER
TM AVG AB H RB BB HR PITCHER
TM IP H ER BB Ks HR WLS
G.Zaun HHC
.115 26 3 0 1 0 G.Olson
HHC 7 14 9 4 7 1
020
J.Reed SSP
.179 28 5 1 0 0 H.Kuroda
KWR 8 14 13 2 5 4 110
M.Bourn JJC
.160 25 4 0 2 0 K.Kendrick
MCD 10 10 13 10 7 4 010
A.Ramirez LLD .139 36
5 1 3 0 G.Maddux
SSP 11 18 12 0 3 1 020
J.Hannahan MCD .143 28
4 1 2 0 C.Baek
BBD 11 19 14 0 5 4 010
LEAGUE STANDINGS FOR 2009 C.B.A.
Dawson WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2009 Longue Pointe LLD 10 11 .476 ---- 142
2009 Belfast BBD 10 11 .476 ----
2009 Limoilou LWD 9 12 .429 1.0
2009 Montreal MCD 6 15 .286 4.0
Rogers WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2009 Kennesaw Mtn KWR 12 9 .571 ---- 142
2009 Allentown ANR 12 9 .571 ----
2009 Maine MER 11 10 .524 1.0
2009 Ohio OTR 10 11 .476 2.0
Carter WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2009 Skokie SWC 15 6 .714 ---- 141
2009 San Diego SSC 14 7 .667 1.0
2009 High Bridge HHC 9 12 .429 6.0
2009 Joliet JJC 8 13 .381 7.0
Schmidt WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2009 Ottawa OOS 14 7 .667 ---- 139
2009 Stirling SRS 11 10 .524 3.0
2009 Philly PPS 11 10 .524 3.0
2009 Westminster WPS 7 14 .333 7.0
Monday WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2009 Bryan KBM 12 9 .571 ---- 141
2009 Southwest SLM 11 10 .524 1.0
2009 Lake County LLM 11 10 .524 1.0
2009 Indiana IRM 9 12 .429 3.0
Parker WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2009 Cooperstown CIP 11 10 .524 ---- 142
2009 Carolina CCP 11 10 .524 ----
2009 Brooklyn BSP 10 11 .476 1.0
2009 Sunville SSP 8 13 .381 3.0
SC Wild Card Standings WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2009 San Diego SSC 14 7 .667 ---- 140
2009 Kennesaw Mtn KWR 12 9 .571 2.0
2009 Allentown ANR 12 9 .571 2.0
2009 Maine MER 11 10 .524 3.0
2009 Ohio OTR 10 11 .476 4.0
2009 Longue Pointe LLD 10 11 .476 4.0
2009 Belfast BBD 10 11 .476 4.0
CC Wild Card Standings WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2009 Stirling SRS 11 10 .524 ---- 142
2009 Southwest SLM 11 10 .524 ----
2009 Philly PPS 11 10 .524 ----
2009 Lake County LLM 11 10 .524 ----
2009 Cooperstown CIP 11 10 .524 ----
2009 Carolina CCP 11 10 .524 ----
One of CBA last of two remaining original players still on original teams was
officially released. Omar Vizquel has been on Ottawa's opening roster since
being a 4th round pick in 1997. His 12 years of service to Ottawa is a CBA
record. Vlad Guerrero is also an original Otter and going on strong after 12
years.
Mike Timlin of the Brooklyn Superbas was released after 11 years service to
Brooklyn. Acquired by trade in 1998, Timlin has appeared in more games than
any CBA pitcher, 724. Had 82 saves and was used primarily as a 7th inn-8th
inn set up man.
Jay Payton was released after 10 years of service to Brooklyn: Payton career
batting avg is .312. He was 2nd in batting by thousandths of a percentage to
Manny Ramirez in the CBA 2003 batting race when both hit .384
Dear Commissioner:
As the "unofficial" legal representative of the CBA, I feel it my
duty to inform you that the League Managers' photos may be in
violation of what the FCC has termed "tasteful" or "offensive" to
some viewers.
To circumvent their Fascist tendencies with regard to censorship may
I suggest a "View Warning" headline prior to accessing the LINK?
This could possibly save the LEAGUE millions of dollars in time
consuming legal battles.
The family photo of Jack Frost is perhaps the most distrubing, not to
mention "redneck" Blakie, and what is up with Hite's photo?
This is a family league and he is just way too sexy for this section.
If anyone is offended by these remarks, please consider the source.
Btw, Adams looks higher than me and I won't stand for it! Perhaps we
should just call him "Blunt" Adams for now on. No, I am not
referring to his emails either.
More CBA, less real word crap.
Oh, and Happy Dr. King Day to one and all! Not going to work today
was really sweet! Now, if I only had some disposal income to blow.
Commish, if you need me I will be at the Tidal Basin Gala Event for
All Debauched Represenatives of the State Department. Btw, who won
the election? I had my money on Chester Arthur . . .
Peace,
Eric
SLS
Dowie, Screwem, and Howe LTD
Sweet Caroline! At Shea?....A RedSox Boston
song???...Blasphemous...Never mind that Neil Diamond is a Brooklyn
Native. He'd never have written that song if he knew the RedSox were
gonna use it! Again I say Blasphemy...Bodacious my goodness. Of course
Doug you know this means STratWar! : ) NY Mets fans will not stand for
such foolishness. On your behalf Shea
has played some crummy tunes over the years as you will see.
To set the record straight and that Mr Brunet and Mr Diamond, Mr Kramden
and all the world should know that "Sweet 'blankn' Caroline" will never be
a part of Met lore. Can I get a harumphhh for that?
Here is a list of the most popular songs played at Shea Stadium. Year By
Year. Many of the years Organ player (still alive at 93) Jane Jarvis
played little ballpark numbers and cute little songs to stage the batters
and their identities. Some times music was mixed in over the PA's. Here
is my own list based on my experiences as a frequent patron, and others,
and some friends Ive called : ) Think I did an OK job, feel free to add
in actual songs that you may recall.
MWass
1962 "Meet The Mets" The Greenwich Fertin
Club Quartet
1963 "Duke Of Earl" Gene Chandler
1964 "I Want To Hold Your Hand" The Beatles, "The Mets is a
Good Thing" Billy Loes
1965 "Meet The Mets" Jane Jarvis
1966 "Everybody Clap Your Hands" Jane Jarvis
1967 "If I Had a Hammer" Trini Lopez
1968 "Ballad of the Green Berets" Sgt Barry Sadler
1969 "You've Come A Long Way Baby" Virginia Slims Theme
1970 "Meet The Mets" Jane Jarvis
1971 "Goodnight SweetHeart" Tribute for Gil
1972 "Felix The Cat" Jane Jarvis
1973 "Do You Believe In Magic?" Lovin Spoonful
1974 "Shine On" Grand Funk
1975 "Dreamin A Dream Pt 2" The Crown Heights Affair
1976 "Scrapple from the Apple." Jane Jarvis
1977 "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" Jane Jarvis
1978 "Stayin Alive" Bee-Gees by Jane of
course
1979 "Theme From Rocky" Bill Conti
1980 "It's Magic" Pilot
1981 "Talkin Baseball" Terry cashman "Have To Believe we Are Magic
Olivia Newton John
1982 "Let It Whip" The Dazz Band
1983-4 "Talkin Met Baseball" Terry Cashman
1985 "Curley Shuffle" Los Tres Chiflados
1986 "Lets go Mets" Shelly Palmer & Assoc
1987 "We Built This City"" Jefferson Starship
1988 "We Will Rock You" Queen
1989 "Rock You Like a Hurricane" Scorpions
1990 "Heart Of Rock And Roll" Huey Lewis {Sweet Music for
Viola}
1991 "Welcome To The Jungle" G N R
1992 "Born To Run" Bruce Springsteen
1993 "Cocaine" Eric Clapton
1994 "Rico Soave" Gerardo Mejia
1995 "Meet The Mets" Original Theme
1996 "Meet The Mets" Updated Theme Female Singer
1997 "I've Got The Power"
1998 "Day-Oh" Harry Belafonte {Rey-O}
1999 "We Like To Party" Venga Boys
2000 "Who Let The Dogs Out" Baja Men
2001 "Survivor" Destiny's Child
2002 "I'm A Loser" Beck
2003 "Turning Japanese" The Vapors
2004 "New York City" Jay-Z
2005 "Lazy Mary"
Gentlemen of the CBA:
Rumors continue to flutter about the league that a major trade
agreement may be announced shortly by the league office.
Before it becomes a reality, I want to offer my apologies and explain
myself before the rope gets much tigther and the pitchforks get much
sharper.
It is the YEAR OF THE WOLF! There is no stopping the Wolfman this
year! My spirit guides inform me that he will weep at the end of the
World Series, for there will be no more worlds for him to conquer.
We all may just as well call it a season, even before we begin. All
resistance is futile.
The full moon we are having right now is even called the "Wolf
Moon!" You can look it up.
In northern Venezuela, a glowing wolfman was seen skipping across
Vascaco Laguna three days ago. Three witnesses have confirmed this
siting.
In Hollywood, it will be the year of the Wolfman! There will be a
slew of movies featuring the WOLFMAN! Even Bennie Del Toro is signed
to star as the snarling beast and some other hot movie chick has
signed for another feature.
This maddening trend will continue in literature as well. We have
just seen the crest level off with the Vampire genre, so you know the
Wolfman is to follow. Weird how that works!
Anyway, when you see the rumor become reality--speak softly of me.
It was completely out of my hands. I did what I was compelled to
do. If the CBA offered a "Boob of the Year" Award, I already won it.
The cycle of the Wolfman has begun and he will take no prisoners!
This is a good time to get religious and invest in silver bullets.
Again, please accept my apologies, as the wolf bane went straight to
my head.
Respectfully submitted,
Eric C. Lindner
Boob of the Year
Hi all this Skip Duckworth
with our final part of interviews.
Our final interview is with the manager of the Indiana Red Birds
First of all I want thank you for taking time to set down and be interview
by myself.
Well first of all I wan to congratulate you on an exciting win to win your
2nd World Series in 3 yrs
Our first question to you is can you tell us a little about your self
and your SOM accomplishments?
Well Skip I started playing SOM in 1977 when a friend of mine introduce
the game to me. I then was able to join a board league in my home town and
was a member until it went defunct in 1994. I also was able to get into
another board league in town a few yrs earlier and I am the only manager
to win championships in both leagues the same yr. Then in 2000 I got
introduce to the computer game and then I joined some different leagues
especially the NABL net-play on league in which I made it to the World
Series but came up short. This is the league in which I met and became
friends with John Miller who help co-manage the Skokie squad and will be
building his own team this yr. The Championship that I won in 2006 was my
first computer league and then won the 2008 Snow Bowl in the GMBL winter
league. As much as I like all the other leagues I really enjoy this one
the most as we have a great group of managers, great web site and I have
made alot of friends that I hope will keep for the rest of my life. I am
also in a league named GUSSOMO that is enjoyable but we havent had much
sucess as my team is the INDY CLOWNS and that is what they are. We also
have a annual get together each yr which is real fun and we usually play
around 54 games FTF and we give away an In your face trophy for the best
team at the get together.
Well it sounds like you have had a few great accomplishments in your yr
of SOM. So what did this yr mean to you?
Well this yr started out where I wasn't sure about the team and also we
had recommend John Miller to the league and he went in to co-manage with
Josh Shapiro. We then were able to pull off some trades where it help me
out now and should help the other teams for the future but as you know you
never know about trades and then I mortagaged the farm by trading away a
lof my draft picks away to try and hold of the Brooklyn club. To win it
all made it worth it but it wasn't easy.
Can you tell us a little somethings about this yrs team?
Well this yrs team was a great group of players with Albert and A-Rod at
the corners. Grady was a anchor in the OF with Mosies Alou being big
against lefties along with Hunter Pence. Then the acquisiton of Ken
Griffey Jr was a key in RF and also Jim Thome was big bat in the middle of
the lineup against RHP which we didn't really have from the left side as
we lost out on the Barry Bonds sweepstakes. Jorge Posada behind the play
was also a key especially since he was switch hitter. Reyes and Polanco
became great friends and great duo up the middle. Placido also had a good
bat for the season and he really stepped up in the WS by batting .406 with
5 doubles, 1 HR and scored 9 runs and drove in 7. Roy Oswalt was the
anchor to the Starting Staff going 18-3 and winning the Cy Young and in
the WS he lost the 1st game by only giving up 2 runs as the team offense
wasn't up to playing. Then with the Red Birds down 2-1 in games and on the
road he stepped up his game just giving up 3 runs 2 earned and cruised to
the win. Then in the final game he just gave up 2 earned runs again and
pitched a complete game to win it. John Smoltz was a key to us for this yr
as his expierenced leadership was a great thing to have even though he
just had a little above 500 season but his leadership was important and he
showed he could pitch in the big show by going 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA.
So tell our readers what your feeling was about the World Series?
Well it was different as I was going against 2 good friends but was
nervious. To take a step backwards for a moment we face a tough Brooklyn
team in the Clemente Championship series and we were plesant surprise that
we were able to win 3 straight at the House of Pain and that also gave us
the rest we needed to go against a well rested Skokie squad. Facing John
in the first 2 games was a great thing and I enjoyed it and I think the
team was still thinking about that great win against Brooklyn as the team
didn't really show up for game 1, but game 2 they came alive to win 10-0
then we went to home of Skokie and had to face the LEGENDARY
Wolfman Shapiro and it was another great game but we fell behind early and
couldn't claw back enough to lose 10-6. Game 4 we came our of the shoot
quick with 6 runs and Oswalt gave us 8 strong innings allowing 9hits, 3
runs, 2 earned and Izzy came in to shut the door for a 6-3 win. Game 5
which I thought was the pivotal game was really pretty tight game but
Indiana ended up scoring 6 runs in the top of the 9th to put the game qway
13-2. So we were able to go home with a 3-2 in games and had Kazmir on the
mind and we took an early lead but couldn't hold it and then Casey Janssen
who was a great acquistion during the yr brought in the gas can to the
fire and let Skokie tie it back up at 3 games a piece. We were still at
home and had Oswalt the reigning Cy Young award winner on the mound. The
Red Birds came out swinging and took the early lead and Oswalt gave up 2
runs in 9 innings and Indiana won 12-2. I am totall excited to win another
CBA Championship and hope to be a member of this GREAT LEAGUE of CBA
for many yrs.
So what are your thoughts on the up and coming season?
Skip as I stated I mortgaged the farm to win it all this yr and we don't
pick until the 7th rd and cutting down to 22 players this yr because of
expansion is going to make it tough and we had some players that was hurt
or had down yrs. So we had to cut a couple players that were keys to this
paast season winnner. We also going to have to make some moves of players
that we like to keep. But we will do whatever we have to put a competitive
team on the field.
We want to congratulate on anothe great season and also winning the 2008
CBA Championship!
Thanks Skip and I want to say thank you to all the great GMs in this
league that make it so fun. And also don't forget about the Red Birds as
they are always willing to make a deal!
Bob/Indiana Red Birds
2008 CBA Championships
Well this is Skip Duckworth signing off as we completed this 4 part
interview and we are looking forward to interview a different CM each week
or two.
This is Skip Duckworth of The Red Bird Gazette and we are setting down with Marc Wasserman CBA commissioner, Wolrman Shapario and John Miller who together GM the Skokie Wolfmen to the World Series and Bob Fidler the GM of the 2008 CBA Champions Indiana Red Birds. Listed below of our interview and the next parts will come shortly:
I want to thank you first for taking time to be interview and I just have a few questions for you.
We know that you have done a lot in SOM world but was wondering if could share some of your accomplishments over the yrs.
I am proud of quite a few things in life and in Strat-o-matic. Been playing since 1976. Was introduced to the game by a science teacher in middle school. Cut out, and went to Manhattan to buy the game at Brentano's book store. Only place that carried it.
I am pleased to run and organize a free Strat-o-matic web and game service for a group of North American based friends. I am most proud of the dedicated base of GM's that have mutually agreed to become part of an elite corps of Strat-o-matic fanatics. I and others have made friends and acquaintances through my efforts. It keeps me going to know that I have had a hand in creating some good friendships and bringing fun into peoples homes.
One accomplishment of them was assisting or organizing and founding the CBA with friends Gerald Benoit and Claude LeMarre. I thought it was a great idea. The original concept was to unite the web and old film/TV radio media with Strat-o-matic Baseball if you could believe. With it the great website complex was born and under Gerald's care. I took over that job as editor and content and Cory Light provides the hosting at his own expense. Can't thank him enough. As a league President since inception, I became commissioner and took this league over from Gerald who was commissioner after LeMarre resigned from that post to become a full time GM. The league fell into apathy and erratic scheduling. The was a wide discrepancy between top and bottom teams. I was able to set a three year plan for CBA to reestablish new consistency and structure. As result people are enjoying themselves.
I founded and ran the first web magazine in the Strat-o-matic history before SOMWorld when I debuted the StratAlliance. The Goal was to provide a FREE information resource for the hard core Strat fanatic or StratoFanatico's as we called them. We enlisted over 150 leagues around the world in Basketball, Baseball, Hockey, Football. I offered the latest news, staff writers, chat room, bulletin board, Help wanted, For Trade, Leagues wanted, Tips and references charts. Rating previews, Card making with Bundy and a nice little contest that our winner would be able to contribute a sound file for the computer game. Still there you know. Great magazine and chart resource. At some points we had 700+ hits in a day. I took it down when I realized all my work wasn';t appreciated by the community the way I had hoped. A Pair of Guys started up another webmag and yet we had worked together briefly on moderating a new web forum but went our separate ways for various reasons. They continue to perform a service for the community whose best interests is my concern.
Our next question is that you and the Red Birds have battle for the top spot in the Parker division for the last 3 yrs do have anything to say about what that means to you?
The Redbirds... 2 championships, Brooklyn 1. Says it all. Better team than Brooklyn in 2008. Bob Fidler is a top shelf GM and a good person as well. I respect Bob's game strategies. I also think he is a good man. As a strat only thing, he is Brooklyn's rival of late in CBA. It was Hamilton, Tennessee, and Longue Pointe Lim and Quebec before 99. But Indiana and Brooklyn are so close that every game and error counts. There is a rivalry in the field. The games are slug fests. The lead changes hands in the title race a few times. Brooklyn has looked for ways to gain the edge and even the score. Because there is a score to be settled. John Stearns, Hugh Jennings and the boys from the House Of Pain never forgot the Redbirds rubbing in 30+ runs and a bunch of records in a playoff game two years ago...
As CBA commissioner also what do you think that the World Series meant to the league and SOM world as it was a legend versus a GM that is writing his own legend in just 3 yrs?
The CBA World Series of 2008 was an event. But I am going to be candid here. It pitted the two best teams against each other. It put three of our best GM's in 2008 against each other. John Miller played no small role here winning in the reg and playoffs. We hoped for a classic and got a good one. It ended on a peaceful note. The key word was perseverance. I will pull no punches, the playoffs were marred by poor schedule and file management, personality differences and connection issues. We had the pitch count issue which impacted files. It was discovered after games were played. CBA Worked very hard to keep GM's together which disturbed me most. The tech issues are just part of the ride but guys had issues that halted our schedule. It was not in the best spirit of CBA. I expect differently next season. I expect GMs to be accountable to each other by keeping timely schedules. Netplay issues should have been rectified well in advance and there will be a league wide team Netplay check before we start the season. CBA would like to see a few more netplay games, but it will never be required except in playoffs. The World Series lustre will be restored in the stats but not in my commissioners experience.
Wolfman has proven to be a winner in CBA but the big game eludes him. Fidler and Hite bit him. I believe he will wheel and deal again and take another run. He has figured out how to stay ahead of the competition. Fidler has had some good runs and good luck along the way. He was lucky enough to inherit a core from the old Houston Aeros who grabbed A Rod, Oswalt, and Pujols in the expansion and free agent draft. Those guys are key. But that's all the Aeros really had. Fidler then made great deal after deal and having excellent drafts and built what could be labeled a CBA dynasty. With 3 good years he would need a few more to put himself into the ranks of Limoilou 3 WS wins, or Philly with 3. Those teams have by longevity, been in more playoffs. Longue Pointe 2 WS, Brooklyn 1 WS, have been in many playoff series. Both teams hold division titles, though Brooklyn has won the most perhaps of any team in CBA. Indiana now is within the ranks. Another win would tie him with Jeff Boutet's Limoilou Wendigo. It takes a great manager to win a Conference title. Especially in Parker this year with Carolina, Ottawa, Philly, Cooperstown, Stirling, and Lake making noise.
I want to thank you for your time and if you have anything to add as you put together another great team this yr and had a great season that you should be proud of.
Listen to the voice of the Brooklyn fan:
Marvis Redfalgot:
"Brooklyn fans love the Superbas they real mad crazy 'bout them. They throw the best parties. Ooh Pardon me. ohh. Hey, you know, our boys is great. They chrew a parade wit that ole Superba darlin Albert Belle." "You know the CBA Hall of Famer who slapped 3 woman in the face as a symbol of joy and good will".
Lydia Lumpkin: "Oh I remember right through Prospict Paaahrk. Yeeeah I 'memba. Yo these Brooklyns got heart let me tell ya."
Bevo DelChiara: Ahh manajjjja. In the playoffs ahhh they not a makit me proud. But wacha gundoo eh? ah woh. "Whata you ballparka makit clams like it dat/ eh? Only Brooklyn I like it POibas "
Cabbie Shetstayn Al-Faisal: ":i i i i you the hit the good. Yes. Baseball good. Brooklyn you want me take you?"
Richard Johnson: "The Brooklyn team is consistanly dangerous. Always in every game. The pitching improved last year but the offense was down. Could be down more in 09 unless that Marc Wass signs or trades for some."
Dave Accetta: Brooklyn made some dumb trades. They traded Manny for that guy Byrnes who had alike a hemorrhoid or something all year and wont be playing in 09? What did they get for him / Huh? Scootch Meow?
Umpire Svooge Nybroutiv: " They know the strike zone and never argue calls. Their manager is a fine sportsman" They deserve to win.
Linda Wallace: That Ruben Gotay is so cute, I hope he stays with them. He reminds me of my favorite hunk Don Mossi"
Bill Hanrahan: They Superbas suck. They cant win the big games in the playoffs. Oh they got Casey Blake today? Oh, They'll finish ahead of the Redbuzzards. This year the Fiddler is gonna be on the roof...Jumping off. bahahahaaaaa. Oh Sorry I didnt mean that, I dont wish him harm, no wait we'll beat his a** in Parker again like we did before..."
Rufus Smiff: "Your think Superbas are wacky, you crazy Gee. Perbas gonna own Parker, yeeeah, nah seriously" "They Pitching staff and X rating fielding ratings will keep them in a mess of games. With some good OBA in the lineup. Cabrera, Howard, Doumit, Phillips, Blake, they will score a few with decent OPS." Indy has to watch out.
Slappy Pimpernle: Brooklyn needs to get picks and draft well to be a success.
Skip Duckworth
Head Sports Writer
The Red Bird Gazette
Interview with Skokie Co GM John Miller
Hi John,
Skip Duckworth here from the Red Bird Gazette We like ask you a few questions:
What did you to you as SOM player to co-manage at team and help them to the World Series with a Legend like Wolf man Shapiro?
Hi Skip,The Wolfman is the brains behind the operation. He taught me the ropes and how to prepare our roster to get the best out of our players against each opponent. I just didn't mess up too often.
Q) We understand that you are friends with the Red Bird Skipper Bob Fidler and he recommends you to the league what did this mean to you to be recommending to such a great league as the CBA?
A) As far as being recommended by Bob Fidler-he and I have been friends for about 10 years now and have competed in the NABL in the same division. We have met before in the playoffs and played many regular season games as well. We laugh about how close the games usually are. I appreciate the recommendation and like the different way the CBA competes compared to most leagues.
Q) Also what did feel when you had to manage the first two games; how did you feel knowing that you were facing a friend and that both of your teams were the top of your leagues?
A) I felt confident that I could beat Bob and was happy to send Skokie home with a split in games 1,2.
Q) We like to enlighten our readers on some you accomplishments in SOM.
A) I have played SOM for about 30 years and gave enjoyed baseball more than the other sports. I have won several championships in a face to face league that is now defunct. I've made the playoffs several times in the NABL, but never made it to the World Series.
Q) Now next yr you are going out on your own and building your team what is your feelings about that?
A) Building a team, trading, and drafting are as fun as playing so I'm looking forward to creating a new team.
I want to thank you for taking time for this interview and we want wish you good luck next season, do you have anymore to add.
Thanks Skip; good luck to you too.
Thanks again and this is Skip Duckworth for the Red Bird Gazette
Hi Wolfman this is Skip Duckworth of the Red Bird Gazette and I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about yourself and the World Series.
I want to say this is large step for the Red Bird Gazette to interview a fellow manager in the CBA as we have never done this before and right off we want Thank You for taking your time to do this. We know it was a great World Series and it lived up to the hype it was given. And going 7 games made even better.
We know you are a legend in the Strat-O-Matic world of Baseball and I and our readers would like to know if you could share some of your accomplishments over the yrs in Strat-O-Matic.
Hi Skip, it is a pleasure to talk with you and thanks for asking your questions. Well primarily I became known as Wolfman Shapiro for my early day exploits back in the 1970's and 1980's.First there was what was known as the Strat-o-matic Review which reported a mail series (as back in these days you either had face to face leagues or you would create an instruction sheet that would be sent by mail to your opposing manager when you were the away team, as there were no computers then) I had done against one of the few female players of this time Donna Chevrette. It was called the Battle of the Sexes and we used all star teams to play against each other, actually there were two series we played like the best of 17 games and I believe I won each of them. It was reported in the SOM Review.
The name of Wolfman came, when I sent a photo to the Commissioner of my first mail league, I can't recall his name right now, and since I have had a beard since I was about 16, he called me Wolfman, so I became Wolfman Shapiro.
I believe at the 2nd annual convention, held in combination by the game company and the SOM Review -- in Brooklyn, NY at a large Department Store, I believe I finished in the advance baseball tournament in the semi-finals. So again viathe Review people heard about the exploits of the Wolfman.
In 1974, while attending the University of Illinois and with the SOM Review not offering a convention, we (a group of friends and I) decided to continue the conventions and did so till 1980, with the first six being held at the Univ. of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois and the last year in 1980 being held at Northwestern University in Evaniston, IL.
During these tournaments I believe I came in second once in Baseball and second in a football tournament as well. All the conventions were reported in the SOM Review.
In 2004, I came back to SOM, as my Dutch wife, bought me for christmas the computer game and cards and I have participated in seven computer leagues so far, making the playoffs in six season, and in three of these seasons we entered the championship rounds or world series but we have not won yet (although in one league when I did play via Netplay the same team, I did win head to head, 4 games to 3 but this was not publicly reported).
Our Next Question to you what did this great season and team that you put together this yr mean to you as a GM?
Well each year as we prepare for the CBA, I always have to do a made scramble to get our team ready as a playoff contender as from year to year we have wholes to fill. Thanks to the early trades we were able to make (as this was a very usual year for us, we did not make one trade during the season, we tried to get another power hitter in the infield but we could swing any deals) we did fill all our holes and I believe this season we had one of the most balanced teams we have come up with in our four seasons as a GM in the CBA. We were able to create a good hitting team or our park plus have good starting and relief pitching with a capable defense at the end of the game to support our pitching.
We did take a chance on Bonds again, a poor fielder in LF and also we drafted D. Young to help us out at 1B and both of them provided tremendous offense at their positions and we were not hurt too much by their defense. Chipper Jones did a
great job setting our single season record for average and homers and we are very proud of his winning the MVP of our conference, so without these three players we would not have been so successful. We had a good defense up the middle with Grudzielanek at 2B and Wilson at SS plus Matthews in CF who did great in the playoffs. Sheffield also came through late in the year as we did a lot of platooning in our OF and hit 35 homers plus Ross -Winn - Bradley also all had great years to support this staff. Again we cobbled together three catchers as we lost the Pizza man who was our MVP last year that did well offensively.
Pitching wise Hudson had a great year and was our ace supported by Wang, Lilly, Redding and Clemens and our relief staff with Heilman, Sherrill, Soria and Nathan gave us a great back end.
So I was very pleased with the overall performance of our boys and that we could put on the field a versatile team to handle any pitcher or stadium we played in. This is a key to being competitive that every player on your team has a role and that you can handle any situation you come into.
As we know you have put a great team together and you came to face with another great team in the World Series that was manage by a fellow manager that you have came friends with in the last few yrs and I and our readers want to know what it was like.
Well to face Bob in the series was a dream come true. I don't know how he does it but there must be a magic with him because through his trades he puts together a team that is surely unbeatable. We feel honored we could battle this great team
to 7 games. Our teams were very similar but we can honestly say we didn't have the hitting and on base power that Indiana had. And if you study the score of the games, in six of the seven games, he scored 6 runs or more -- only in game 1 did we hold him to 1 run and in games 2 and six our bats came alive but essentially three of the four losses, he blew us out of the water scoring six runs or more. We knew game four was the key, where we lost 6-3 ... Lilly gave up too many homers early and we couldn't catch up plus we had a lot of trouble with Oswalt. So it came down to game 7, who could score runs and Indiana showed the world why they were the champs again. We put out all the stops, used all the strategies we knew to try to stop the hitting machine of Indy but we just didn't have enough steam to combat them in game 7. They truly were the champions of this season and we expect they will be back next year.
One word of warning we would give to the other managers of the CBA is please pay attention to the trades you make with Indy - we believe Indy won this year because it was able to field an unbelievable team via trades of key players they received for a small cost back -- if the other teams in the CBA wish to compete for the crown, really look at the value for value - sometimes a team only sees what they are receiving and not what they are giving to empower another team to become invincible.
We know that will probably go down as one of the Greatest World Series in the yrs of the CBA History was there one pivotal play or player that swung this World Series in one way or another?
I think it was Oswalt for Indy who held Skokie to 7 runs over 3 games if Skokie didn't compete with Indy in scoring then it didn't have a chance to take the series. For Skokie, Hudson came through with 2 victories and let the Skokie bats compete and Bonds, did quiet well as a hitter.
I want thank you again for your time and I want to congratulate you and your Skokie Wolfmen along with your Asst GM John Miller who will be step out on his own and build his own team next season. We also hear that you have already hired a replacement in Dennis Glade. Is there anything else that you would want to add?
We showed in the 2008 CBA season that a team can have success with two GMs. Between John and I, we never really had any disagreements although at times John made some rookie mistakes due to not understanding the rules, but these should serve him well as the skipper of one of the new franchises. It is always exciting to try to create a team that will be competitive and we were happy with the team we could field this season to get us back to the series. I am not sure for 2009
if we can perform such a miracle again, it is hard work to be competitive, to look at the current talent and future talent. I was honored to receive the GM award, this award must be shared with John, who took the reigns too -- the CBA has some of the best SOM managers in the world, and it is an honor to be part of this group.
Sometimes we won't always agree and the competition can be fierce which brings out strong emotions - but we must keep in mind that for a league to be strong, it is not just the work of one or two members but of all the members. As long as we honor each other and listen to the ideas, suggestions and comments with respect and play in fairness, this will continue to be a great league. I know since I have become a GM, I have driven our league Commissioner crazy at times and we don't always agree but at least we keep that mutual respect and find a way to stay friends and create win-win situations for everyone.
To the new franchises coming in - even though you are now building, try to read all the rules and thoroughly understand them, ask the other members questions - make tons of suggestions for trades and lastly work hard to create a team that will be fun to play with. It is time for those teams which always make the playoffs to be replaced - we congratulate this season Joliet and Maine for finally getting into the playoffs and hope you will be back. So to all CBA managers, dream big and you also can make the playoffs.
Thanks Skip for taking time to speak to me, I am an old strat player and a bit outspoken but I love this game and have met some of the most wondrous people in all these years.
A happy holiday season to everyone and may 2009 be a great and happy year even though here in the world, our finances and economy is getting a bit challenging.
This is the Skokie Wolfman, over and out, returning to his work as the wandering jew and a cs explorer.
Thanks for your time and good luck in 2009
Skip Duckworth/Red Bird Gazette
The Skokie News
your report John Rawlings
One of the most difficult things a manager
can do is to try to create a very competitive
team, year in and year out. The original
Montreal Royals, now known as the
Skokie Wolfmen, for the four years that
the Wolfman has held the reigns he
has created a competitive team. In
his four two years it took, two 7 games
series to eliminate him in the first round
and the last two years he finally found
his way to the series, last year he
had the worst record of any playoff team.
In the past, how the Wolfman has achieved
this success is through a combination of
filling holes during the draft and schrewd
trades. He and Trader Wayne, for the
last two years have been doing trades
before the draft where the Wolfman
has given his high draft picks for the
future to get players for the current season.
So lets look at some of the key players
for the Wolfmen that helped with their
success this season.
Last year during the draft, Bonds was
offered for a draft pick and led the team
in 2007 in HRs and RBIs and this year
was not bad for limited play with 35
homers (72 in 2 seaons) - of course for
next year Skokie loses the homerun
King but for two years he helped a lot
to help the team make the series.
Chipper Jones has been coveted for
the first two years of the Wolfman,
but in a trade last year Chipper was
brought to Skokie and the team
didn't need to give up any star players.
Last year Chipper did well but this
season he excelled and could be
the MVP of the league leading in
average and was second in homers.
Chipper had 4 homers in the first
two series in the playoffs. So via
trade Skokie was able to bring
in its top two sluggers.
Another player picked up that
was a castoff last year due to
limited play was Gary Sheffield
who hit 34 homers for Skokie this
season and brought back another
power hitting outfielder to go
with Bonds.
Tim Hudson was picked up last
year because Skokie needed badly
a starter with innings. Although
Wang and Clemens were the
aces last year, Hudson led the
team with victories with 13. This
year he became the Skokie ace
winning 18 games so again a lucky
move.
Speaking of Clemens - many people
were surprised when Skokie traded
for him in 2005, assuming that would
be his last season but he gave Skokie
four good years, winning 9 games in 2008
with limited innings and has been doing
a great job as the middle reliever (due
to an infraction that prevented Heilman
from being there)
Again last year, Skokie needed another
good starter with innings and picked up
Wang who helped Skokie greatly in
the playoffs last year - with Wang and
Hudson able to pitch at full strength
in the World series, Skokie has 5 games
where Indy hitters will only be able to
get home runs off their own cards. This
could be a key.
Another key player Skokie traded for
but was limited use but effectively
was Bradley - again picking up
Bradley last year for a player and
draft pick -- he helped Skokie verse
lefthanded pitching and a defensive
outfielder.
Now lets look at the draft - Skokie's first
pick was Soria, who normally is used
as a master closer but became the
setup man for Nathan. Skokie just
went for the best pitcher -- tried to
trade Soria to get some improvement
in their hitting but now we are sure
glad we kept him, he has excelled
in the playoffs.
Another weakness that Skokie had
was at 1B -- they used an effective
platoon system of Giambi/Aurilla/Speizio
last year but all three players had down
seasons. So they chose D. Young,
a switch hitter but poor fielder to fill
the whole. Young hit an unbelievable
.338 in the season with 20 homers
and gave 1B some stability.
The biggest lost to Skokie was
Piazza, the Pizza man, their most
valuable player in 2007. Fortunately
they were able to draft 2 catchers
in Molina (who hit .380) and Estrada,
along with Castro picked last year
as a backup, combined for 21 Homers
and 88 RBIs in the season, not what
Piazza did but good enough
The combination of Itzuris and Wilson
held at SS with Wilson hitting 18 homers
and Counsell, a RFA pickup early in
the season allowed only 6 erros at 2B
between him and Grudzielanek
Pitching wise, draft picks Redding as
a 5th starter along with Schroeder and
Shouse in the pullpen helped to give
Skokie a strong pen which saved 42
games - Sherill a key reliever picked
in the draft last year helped to anchor
the pullpen.
So through luck, good trades in the beginning
of the year and good draft picks, Skokie
was able to build a balanced team, perhaps
the best team they have had in the four years.
But is this team good enough to beat the
mighty Indiana Redbirds who are loaded?
The strange thing about Skokie this year is
they could not make any trades during the
season. Whereas the mighty Redbirds
picked up some amazing players. This
single factor could determine the 2008
World Series.
Anyway John Miller, a well known opponent
to Bob Fidler -- will be matched with the
Wolfman, off on another trip helping from
behind the scenes.
Earlier Mr. Filder made a mistake saying
the Skokie and Indiana had played in the
series before, he must have been psychic.
If you go to the Indiana webpage on the
CBA site, you can see a photo of Fidler
and Wolfman - that was taken at the
beginning of the season - little did these
two managers know as they were
ready to punch each other that they
would be squaring up for the 2008
CBA Championship.
May the best team win -- will it be
Skokie's first championship or will
Indiana take its second championship in 3 years
who are you routing for??
This is John Rawling, Skokie reporter
anxiously awaiting the 2008 CBA Championship
__._,_.___
Rd 2 Skokie-Joliet showdown in Staub...Indiana Clemente champs
Results due Tuesday Nov 25th, 2008.
Look at our history...The Contenders: The year 2000 was the CBA
revolution January the month that made history.
2000 was a year of controversy. Rules changes skewed our precious
stats with rediculous usage rules and overusage aboaund. Records could be
asterisked from that year. However 8 years later our playoff teams remind
of us of our CBA roots. Some of our teams in the playoffs are fighting to
exorcise the ghosts of the past. Doom and failure that gripped some long
forgotten franchises have gone away, or have they? Perhaps some of our
playoff contenders have the answer. As most of us know of the playoff
teams, Brooklyn Superbas (Marc Wass), Philly Phantastics (Rob Hite) are
the lone original owners in the dance. Lets look around.
The month that shook history, January 2000 perhaps put CBA into it's
dark years of 2001 and 2002. The CBA archives have been cracked open and
the in the historic vaults we saw a transition from the old founding
members to a new set of GM's who mostly hailed from the home region of
Quebec. We see on our time line that original Louisville Mob Squad, a
team who was quite popular moved to the north as the Jonquiere Lifesavers.
Perhaps CBA's worst team of all time. But that franchise is a laughing
sack no more in 2008.
Louisville Mob Squad:
BallPark: (Minnesota Twins)
Owned By: Dan Noonan (Member since foundation (97))
Residence: Louisville, Kentucky
Strat-o-Matic Experience: 6 years.
Thu, 06 Jan 2000 20:28:04 -0500
Thu, 06 Jan 2000 18:26:05 -0500
A GM was taken without checking credentials or reference.
Tue, 04 Jan 2000 00:05:41 -0500
Tue, 04 Jan 2000 00:06:52 -0500
Mon, 03 Jan 2000 15:48:35 -0500
The woeful Lifesavers made a series of deals at the onset, moving away
players and getting some poor return. A case could be made for bad luck,
they needed a lifesaver. The original GM was Dom Tremblay. He started a
mess of epic proportions and quickly left behind his mess to Pierre "Pete"
Janneau. Janneau was a knowledgeable strat player, and set out to correct
the roster issues left by Tremblay. The effects were devastating for the
franchise as they posted two of the worst seasons in CBA history. They
were followed by a succession of forgettable teams. They became the Green
bay Roches in 2002, then the Portland Sea Dogs. This team became the
Carolina Copperheads in 2006
On the other hand there was the Wilmington Blue Rocks.. Their profile
looks like this...
March 1997: Franchise foundation under the name Flamingos Parma owned
by Lou Bloss
October 1997: The Parmas finis second with a 91-71 season.
March 1998: Serge Robitaille acquire the franchise and renamed it
Darknight after a move to Kirkland.
October 1998: Kirkland Dark Knights finish with a second place finish had
a 92-70 season.
January 1999: Acquired by John MacDonald the franchise is renamed
Bluerocks and moved to Wilmington. 'Mack' had to give up his team after 1
season due to some personal issues, but when Sebastien Roberge took over,
he lost interest very quickly and was replaced after the council pushed
for his immediate removal due to non participation.
Of note a little known GM whose role in CBA remains a mystery is one GM
Dany LaPointe. Rumor had it that he was an office worker friend of
someone. It is the LaPointe mystery as to who the heck he was that
spurred a more discriminating selection process when the new regime change
came in late 2002 season. Just a side note:
In 2002 Marc Wass, Gerald Benoit took the reigns from
Claude LaMarre whose spirit was broken by Jeff Loria and his beloved Expos
MLB catastrophe. It was a sad time for CBA as baseballs greed affected
our league to the core. When baseball was left for dead in Quebec and our
Quebec colleagues followed suit, CBA went through it's transition. In
2002 Chris "Bouts" Boutin ran the games and brought in some more Strat
friends. As the original teams switched ownership so did the loyalty to
their home town fans.
Wilmington started as as the Parma Flamingoes by famed
Strat review columnist Lou Bloss. Lou left CBA and Strat after 1997 and
that team became the Kirkland Dark knights for a year in 98. John
MacDonald took em in 99, and his replacement Dany LaPointe proved unable
to assume duties after a very brief stay. Mac returned and moved his
stadium, but Mac would not put the same heart into his team he had before.
In 2002, Mac left and Clyde Elkins came in with the City Heights
Clydesdales. One of the wackiest logos I ever saw. You must check it
out. That franchise folded and is now going to be assigned to a new
franchise.
Manager of the Beauport Gamblers Martin Boulet brought on assistant GM
in Sebastien Roberge who in 2001 took over and renamed The once Grambling
Gamblers (1998 Jay Shapiro), the Westmount Gamblers. Sebas left as
baseball left Quebec, and Doug Vandermark changed the name to the Farnham
Chiefs. In 2003 Chris Thomas took over and named them the Houston Aeros.
Thomas had a turbulent history in CBA, and the Aeros franchises was
awarded to current GM Bob Fidler. Fidler rebuilt much of the team and
developed the Aeros in the Indiana Redbirds, already a Parker division
legend. They won the 2006 WS championship and want it back in the worst
way. They are proud Indiana Redbirds.
Washington was a new franchise in 2000 as Jon Calder's Alexandria Assault, stepped aside for Strat Vet Dan DiVirgilio. He lasted 3 years finishing the 2000 season 55-107 and finishing worse in 2001 at 45-117. Nick Yurchuk came aboard in 2002 and brought home a 17 game improvement to 62-100 . He was quite overwhelmed by the dizzying possibilties of rebuilding, and left after the season. In 2003 That franchise later became the present Dawson champion Joliet Jackhammers under the initials JJS in the Schmidt division. In 2004 they moved to Dawson. It's now 4 years later and Jack Frost is in the hunt. He joins the big boys and the possibilities of making CBA history in his tenure are in his control.
SD has been in CBA since 2002, and 2007 was their first ever playoff appearance as Wallace built this team from scratch out of the lowest winning team in CBA. Originally owned by Don Jensen and known as the Hamilton Harbors. Hamilton was best known for their dogfight in 1998 with then Dawson title winner Brooklyn Superbas (Moved to Parker in 99) Hamilton fought with Longue Pointe, Quebec, and Limoilou in 1999 and 2000, but were just shy. They'd not return anywhere closew again until 2007's Wallace led San Diego team. A team on the decline when Jensen retired. Wallace began to build with key trades and mostly draft picks and swaps. A true worst to first case, Wallace's plan was to take years to develop a bit at a time until he built what should be a strong contender for years to come. His attitude and dedication to CBA were evident in his very strong playoff effort and management in 2007. Joe Wallace is a class act, and quality GM whose time has arrived in the CBA. SD is an elite CBA team. Here is Hamilton/ San Diego's overall record 1997-2001 as Hamilton 2002-2007 as San Diego. Wallace's team has shown a win increase in 4 consecutive years. Although their regular season record is not as strong in 2008, they too are in the dance. Who knows where they'll go in 2008.
|
WON |
LOST |
|
|
1997 |
74 |
88 |
|
1998 |
98 |
64 |
|
1999 |
88 |
74 |
|
2000 |
89 |
73 |
|
2001 |
75 |
87 |
|
2002* |
61 |
101 |
|
2003 |
62 |
100 |
|
2004 |
52 |
110 |
|
2005 |
65 |
97 |
|
2006 |
82 |
80 |
|
2007 |
92 |
70 |
Skokie was the Montreal Royals before Wolfman took them over. They
were original founder Gerlad Benoit's team. Looking how Shapiro improved
his team to that of a perrenial winner was quite accomplishment. Here is
with CBA's runaway Carter div champions again. 93 wins in 2008 was quite
a job, but he wants the World Series after going to the finals last year
to lose to Rob Hite and Philly.
| 1997 Bodega Bay - Gerald Benoit | 75 | 87 |
| 1998 Bodega Bay - Gerald Benoit | 75 | 87 |
| 1999 Bodega Bay - Gerald Benoit | 77 | 85 |
| 2000 Bodega Bay - Gerald Benoit | 85 | 77 |
| 2001 Bodega Bay - Gerald Benoit | 65 | 97 |
| 2002 Vermont Expos - Mario Fleming | 85 | 77 |
| 2003 Montreal Royals - Gerald Benoit | 80 | 82 |
| 2004 Montreal Royals - Gerald Benoit | 78 | 84 |
| 2005 Montreal Royals - Wolfman Shapiro Wild card | 95 | 67 |
| 2006 Skokie Wolfmen - Wolfman Shapiro Wildcard | 97 | 65 |
| 2007 Skokie Wolfmen - Wolfman Shapiro Staub Champion | 87 | 75 |
Thu, 06 Jan 2000 20:28:04 -0500
Thu, 06 Jan 2000 18:26:05 -0500
Tue, 04 Jan 2000 00:05:41 -0500
Tue, 04 Jan 2000 00:06:52 -0500
Mon, 03 Jan 2000 15:48:35 -0500
Click
http://www.cba-bb.net/logos_page.htm
To see the old logos, a real treat.
Bob Fidler on right, and Skokie GM Josh "Wolfman" Shapiro show muscle not only in the photo, but on the Strat diamond as well. Both GM's lead two of the more successful franchises in CBA both are perennial playoff GM's.
Bryan LF Brad Wilkerson makes history with two Grand Slams in same game.
Never been done before in CBA's previous 19744 games. Amazing
LP's second triple play. Last one was Counsell, Sexson....This one against Ohio features Vidro
, McDonald, and Sexson.
2008 Longue Pointe Loggers At 2008 Ohio Thundercats 7/29/2008
Loggers AB R H RBI AVG Thundercats AB R H RBI AVG
I.Suzuki RF 5 0 2 0 .335 C.Guillen SS 3 0 1 0 .273
J.Vidro 2B 3 0 0 0 .301 C-E.Aybar SS 2 1 1 0 .161
F-J.Cirillo 2B 1 0 0 0 .212 K.Johnson 2B 4 1 2 1 .291
A.Ramirez 3B 4 1 2 0 .283 M.Teixeira 1B 3 0 0 0 .267
R.Sexson 1B 4 0 0 0 .207 M.Diaz LF 3 2 3 0 .332
T.Hunter CF 3 1 1 2 .264 W.Pena RF 3 0 1 0 .259
H.Matsui LF 4 0 1 0 .239 D-M.Cabrera RF 1 0 0 0 .269
J.McDonald SS 4 0 1 0 .234 M.Ensberg 3B 3 0 0 0 .194
J.Varitek C 2 0 0 0 .248 E-A.Gordon 3B 1 1 1 1 .209
T.Lincecum P 2 0 0 0 .038 C.Young CF 3 0 1 1 .238
A-C.Kotchman PH 1 0 0 0 .248 D.Ross C 3 0 0 1 .148
R.Dempster P 0 0 0 0 .000 K.Millwood P 2 0 0 0 .147
T.Byrdak P 0 0 0 0 ---- B-J.Kubel PH 1 0 0 0 .321
K.Calero P 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Delcarmen P 1 0 1 11.000
D.Marte P 0 0 0 0 .000
G-N.Morgan PH 1 0 0 0 .220
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 34 2 7 2 Totals 33 5 11 5
A-Pinch Hit For Lincecum In 7th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Millwood In 7th Inning
C-Subbed Defensively (SS) For Guillen In 8th Inning
D-Subbed Defensively (RF) For Pena In 8th Inning
E-Subbed Defensively (3B) For Ensberg In 8th Inning
F-Subbed Defensively (2B) For Vidro In 8th Inning
G-Pinch Hit For Marte In 9th Inning
Loggers......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 - 2 7 0
Thundercats..... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 - 5 11 0
Loggers (60-56) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
T.Lincecum 6 6 1 1 2 6 0 2.97
R.Dempster LOSS(2-3) 1 1/3 3 3 3 0 3 0 3.35
T.Byrdak 0 1/3 1 1 1 1 1 0 6.51
K.Calero 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4.40
D.Marte 0 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.56
Totals 8 11 5 5 4 10 0
Thundercats (45-68) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
K.Millwood 7 5 0 0 3 5 0 4.99
M.Delcarmen W(4-0)B(1st) 2 2 2 2 1 3 1 2.61
Totals 9 7 2 2 4 8 1
ATTENDANCE- 39,288 DATE- Sunday, July 29th 2008 TIME- Day WEATHER- Good
UMPIRES- Paul Schreiber, Larry Young, Mike Winters, Ron Kulpa
T- 3:15
LEFT ON BASE- Loggers: 9 Thundercats: 8
DOUBLE PLAYS- Loggers: 0 Thundercats: 0
TRIPLE PLAYS- Loggers: 1 Thundercats: 0
DOUBLES- C.Guillen(30th), M.Diaz(15th), A.Gordon(19th), C.Young(15th)
HOME RUNS- T.Hunter(18th)
STOLEN BASES- E.Aybar(5th)
WALKS- J.Vidro, T.Hunter, J.Varitek-2, M.Teixeira, M.Diaz, C.Young, D.Ross
STRIKE OUTS- I.Suzuki, J.Vidro, R.Sexson, H.Matsui, J.Varitek-2, T.Lincecum-2,
K.Johnson-2, M.Teixeira, W.Pena-2, M.Cabrera, D.Ross-2, K.Millwood,
J.Kubel
WILD PITCHES- R.Dempster, M.Delcarmen
WEB GEMS- Bot 4th: Longue Pointe turns a triple play!
Maine throws a No hitter.
BOXSCORE: 2008 Joliet Jackhammers At 2008 Belfast Brawlers 8/7/2008
Joliet's John Maine throws a no hitter!
Jackhammers AB R H RBI AVG Brawlers AB R H RBI AVG
D.Eckstein SS 5 1 1 1 .347 R.Davis LF 4 0 0 0 .277
A.Hill 2B 5 1 1 0 .289 A.Miles 2B 3 0 0 0 .306
M.Ordonez RF 5 3 3 2 .359 S.Hatteberg 1B 3 0 0 0 .320
A.Soriano LF 5 1 2 0 .251 A.Rios RF 3 0 0 0 .276
M.Lowell 3B 5 2 3 2 .318 N.McLouth CF 2 0 0 0 .266
A.Pierzynski C 5 3 3 4 .256 M.Napoli C 3 0 0 0 .235
R.Gload 1B 5 1 2 3 .317 A.Amezaga SS 3 0 0 0 .332
J.Pierre CF 4 0 0 0 .268 C.Figgins 3B 3 0 0 0 .328
J.Maine P 4 0 1 0 .208 C.Sampson P 0 0 0 0 .280
C.Baek P 0 0 0 0 .222
B.Tomko P 0 0 0 0 .269
T.Pena P 1 0 0 0 .667
R.Perez P 0 0 0 0 .000
A-A.Huff PH 1 0 0 0 .260
V.Chulk P 0 0 0 0 .500
M.Corpas P 0 0 0 0 .000
B-F.Sanchez PH 1 0 0 0 .255
A.Sonnanstine P 0 0 0 0 .179
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 43 12 16 12 Totals 27 0 0 0
A-Pinch Hit For Perez In 6th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Corpas In 8th Inning
Jackhammers..... 5 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 - 12 16 0
Brawlers........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 2
Jackhammers (66-53) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
J.Maine WIN(12-5) 9 0 0 0 3 6 0 3.65
Totals 9 0 0 0 3 6 0
Brawlers (54-65) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
C.Sampson LOSS(4-9) 0 2/3 5 5 5 0 0 1 6.34
C.Baek 1 2 2 2 0 2 2 4.11
B.Tomko 0 2/3 2 1 1 0 1 0 5.63
T.Pena 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.82
R.Perez 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.96
V.Chulk 0 1/3 3 1 1 0 0 0 4.12
M.Corpas 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 3 0 3.21
A.Sonnanstin 1 3 3 3 0 1 2 3.94
Totals 9 16 12 12 0 8 5
ATTENDANCE- 51,523 DATE- Tuesday, August 7th 2008 TIME- Night WEATHER- Bad
UMPIRES- Tim Timmons, Mike Dimuro, Hunter Wendlestadt, Dale Scott
T- 2:48
LEFT ON BASE- Jackhammers: 4 Brawlers: 3
DOUBLE PLAYS- Jackhammers: 0 Brawlers: 1
ERRORS- C.Figgins, R.Perez
DOUBLES- A.Pierzynski(12th)
HOME RUNS- D.Eckstein(3rd), M.Ordonez-2(18th), A.Pierzynski(5th), R.Gload(1st)
WALKS- A.Miles, S.Hatteberg, N.McLouth
STRIKE OUTS- D.Eckstein, A.Hill, A.Soriano, M.Lowell-2, A.Pierzynski, J.Maine-2,
R.Davis, S.Hatteberg, A.Rios, N.McLouth, M.Napoli, F.Sanchez
GIDP- J.Pierre
John Maine(12-5) thrilled the fans at PNC Park as he crafted a no-hit
masterpiece against the Belfast Brawlers. The Joliet Jackhammers won by a
final score of 12 to 0.
Maine was spectacular. He walked 3 Belfast batters. The tension was mounting
with every inning after the 6th. Maine appeared oblivious himself to the
mounting history until two were out in the 9th. Only then, did he allow
himself one deep sigh and a slow trip around the mound. Joliet rapped out 16
hits for the night.
Chris Sampson(4-9) took the loss. He pitched 2/3 of an inning allowing 5 hits
and no walks. After the game, Maine was heard to say, 'This is something I
have dreamt about since I was a little boy - to have it come true is just
amazing!'
Block 22 Highlights.
BOXSCORE: 2008 Joliet Jackhammers At 2008 Belfast Brawlers 8/7/2008
Joliet's John Maine throws a no hitter!
Jackhammers AB R H RBI AVG Brawlers AB R H RBI AVG
D.Eckstein SS 5 1 1 1 .347 R.Davis LF 4 0 0 0 .277
A.Hill 2B 5 1 1 0 .289 A.Miles 2B 3 0 0 0 .306
M.Ordonez RF 5 3 3 2 .359 S.Hatteberg 1B 3 0 0 0 .320
A.Soriano LF 5 1 2 0 .251 A.Rios RF 3 0 0 0 .276
M.Lowell 3B 5 2 3 2 .318 N.McLouth CF 2 0 0 0 .266
A.Pierzynski C 5 3 3 4 .256 M.Napoli C 3 0 0 0 .235
R.Gload 1B 5 1 2 3 .317 A.Amezaga SS 3 0 0 0 .332
J.Pierre CF 4 0 0 0 .268 C.Figgins 3B 3 0 0 0 .328
J.Maine P 4 0 1 0 .208 C.Sampson P 0 0 0 0 .280
C.Baek P 0 0 0 0 .222
B.Tomko P 0 0 0 0 .269
T.Pena P 1 0 0 0 .667
R.Perez P 0 0 0 0 .000
A-A.Huff PH 1 0 0 0 .260
V.Chulk P 0 0 0 0 .500
M.Corpas P 0 0 0 0 .000
B-F.Sanchez PH 1 0 0 0 .255
A.Sonnanstine P 0 0 0 0 .179
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 43 12 16 12 Totals 27 0 0 0
A-Pinch Hit For Perez In 6th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Corpas In 8th Inning
Jackhammers. .... 5 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 - 12 16 0
Brawlers.... .... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 2
Jackhammers (66-53) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
J.Maine WIN(12-5) 9 0 0 0 3 6 0 3.65
Totals 9 0 0 0 3 6 0
Brawlers (54-65) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
C.Sampson LOSS(4-9) 0 2/3 5 5 5 0 0 1 6.34
C.Baek 1 2 2 2 0 2 2 4.11
B.Tomko 0 2/3 2 1 1 0 1 0 5.63
T.Pena 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.82
R.Perez 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.96
V.Chulk 0 1/3 3 1 1 0 0 0 4.12
M.Corpas 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 3 0 3.21
A.Sonnanstin 1 3 3 3 0 1 2 3.94
Totals 9 16 12 12 0 8 5
ATTENDANCE- 51,523 DATE- Tuesday, August 7th 2008 TIME- Night WEATHER- Bad
UMPIRES- Tim Timmons, Mike Dimuro, Hunter Wendlestadt, Dale Scott
T- 2:48
LEFT ON BASE- Jackhammers: 4 Brawlers: 3
DOUBLE PLAYS- Jackhammers: 0 Brawlers: 1
ERRORS- C.Figgins, R.Perez
DOUBLES- A.Pierzynski( 12th)
HOME RUNS- D.Eckstein(3rd) , M.Ordonez-2( 18th), A.Pierzynski( 5th), R.Gload(1st)
WALKS- A.Miles, S.Hatteberg, N.McLouth
STRIKE OUTS- D.Eckstein, A.Hill, A.Soriano, M.Lowell-2, A.Pierzynski, J.Maine-2,
R.Davis, S.Hatteberg, A.Rios, N.McLouth, M.Napoli, F.Sanchez
GIDP- J.Pierre
John Maine(12-5) thrilled the fans at PNC Park as he crafted a no-hit
masterpiece against the Belfast Brawlers. The Joliet Jackhammers won by a
final score of 12 to 0.
Maine was spectacular. He walked 3 Belfast batters. The tension was mounting
with every inning after the 6th. Maine appeared oblivious himself to the
mounting history until two were out in the 9th. Only then, did he allow
himself one deep sigh and a slow trip around the mound. Joliet rapped out 16
hits for the night.
Chris Sampson(4-9) took the loss. He pitched 2/3 of an inning allowing 5 hits
and no walks. After the game, Maine was heard to say, 'This is something I
have dreamt about since I was a little boy - to have it come true is just
amazing!'
LP's second triple play. Last one was Counsell, Sexson....This one against Ohio features Vidro
, McDonald, and Sexson.
2008 Longue Pointe Loggers At 2008 Ohio Thundercats 7/29/2008
Loggers AB R H RBI AVG Thundercats AB R H RBI AVG
I.Suzuki RF 5 0 2 0 .335 C.Guillen SS 3 0 1 0 .273
J.Vidro 2B 3 0 0 0 .301 C-E.Aybar SS 2 1 1 0 .161
F-J.Cirillo 2B 1 0 0 0 .212 K.Johnson 2B 4 1 2 1 .291
A.Ramirez 3B 4 1 2 0 .283 M.Teixeira 1B 3 0 0 0 .267
R.Sexson 1B 4 0 0 0 .207 M.Diaz LF 3 2 3 0 .332
T.Hunter CF 3 1 1 2 .264 W.Pena RF 3 0 1 0 .259
H.Matsui LF 4 0 1 0 .239 D-M.Cabrera RF 1 0 0 0 .269
J.McDonald SS 4 0 1 0 .234 M.Ensberg 3B 3 0 0 0 .194
J.Varitek C 2 0 0 0 .248 E-A.Gordon 3B 1 1 1 1 .209
T.Lincecum P 2 0 0 0 .038 C.Young CF 3 0 1 1 .238
A-C.Kotchman PH 1 0 0 0 .248 D.Ross C 3 0 0 1 .148
R.Dempster P 0 0 0 0 .000 K.Millwood P 2 0 0 0 .147
T.Byrdak P 0 0 0 0 ---- B-J.Kubel PH 1 0 0 0 .321
K.Calero P 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Delcarmen P 1 0 1 11.000
D.Marte P 0 0 0 0 .000
G-N.Morgan PH 1 0 0 0 .220
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 34 2 7 2 Totals 33 5 11 5
A-Pinch Hit For Lincecum In 7th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Millwood In 7th Inning
C-Subbed Defensively (SS) For Guillen In 8th Inning
D-Subbed Defensively (RF) For Pena In 8th Inning
E-Subbed Defensively (3B) For Ensberg In 8th Inning
F-Subbed Defensively (2B) For Vidro In 8th Inning
G-Pinch Hit For Marte In 9th Inning
Loggers......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 - 2 7 0
Thundercats..... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 - 5 11 0
Loggers (60-56) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
T.Lincecum 6 6 1 1 2 6 0 2.97
R.Dempster LOSS(2-3) 1 1/3 3 3 3 0 3 0 3.35
T.Byrdak 0 1/3 1 1 1 1 1 0 6.51
K.Calero 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4.40
D.Marte 0 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.56
Totals 8 11 5 5 4 10 0
Thundercats (45-68) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
K.Millwood 7 5 0 0 3 5 0 4.99
M.Delcarmen W(4-0)B(1st) 2 2 2 2 1 3 1 2.61
Totals 9 7 2 2 4 8 1
ATTENDANCE- 39,288 DATE- Sunday, July 29th 2008 TIME- Day WEATHER- Good
UMPIRES- Paul Schreiber, Larry Young, Mike Winters, Ron Kulpa
T- 3:15
LEFT ON BASE- Loggers: 9 Thundercats: 8
DOUBLE PLAYS- Loggers: 0 Thundercats: 0
TRIPLE PLAYS- Loggers: 1 Thundercats: 0
DOUBLES- C.Guillen(30th), M.Diaz(15th), A.Gordon(19th), C.Young(15th)
HOME RUNS- T.Hunter(18th)
STOLEN BASES- E.Aybar(5th)
WALKS- J.Vidro, T.Hunter, J.Varitek-2, M.Teixeira, M.Diaz, C.Young, D.Ross
STRIKE OUTS- I.Suzuki, J.Vidro, R.Sexson, H.Matsui, J.Varitek-2, T.Lincecum-2,
K.Johnson-2, M.Teixeira, W.Pena-2, M.Cabrera, D.Ross-2, K.Millwood,
J.Kubel
WILD PITCHES- R.Dempster, M.Delcarmen
WEB GEMS- Bot 4th: Longue Pointe turns a triple play!
Carlos Pena over 3 days
July 28th, 2008 July 29th 2008
July 30th
1-4. HR RBI 2-4 2 HR
4RBI 3-5, 3 HR 5 RBI
Casey Blake July 30th, 2008 5-6, 2b, 4 RBI vs
Stirling
Aug 1st 2008 David Wright goes 2-4, 5 RBI, 2 HR vs IRP
August 2nd, 2008 Sosa hits 2 HR, 4 RBI, in 2-4Aug 2nd 2008
Zimmerman went 4-6, HR 4 RBI performance vs Lake County
Eric Chavez 3-4, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 3 runs, Aug 2nd Stirling vs Carolina
Matt Kemp went 6 for 8 and SB Aug 3rd in a C Town 14 inn win.
Tulowitsky stops Cooperstown streak with 2-4 , 2 HR, 3 RBI, Aug 5th
August 25th, 2008
Skokie's Gar3 Sheffield went 4 for 6 with 3 HR and 7 RBI vs SW in a13-11 win July 29th 2008
Nick Markakis of Cooperstown vs. Carolina in 4 at-bat, 3 HR
July 23rd Shawn Hill of Limoilou vs. Maine struck out 13 in 7 innings (10 inning game)
Vlad Guerrero goes bananas. Ottawa whips both Brooklyn and Indiana. He Hit game winning 9th inning 3 run HR in a tie game vs Brooklyn July 29th 2008 9-6.
August 8th, 2008
Batting Key Performers
Carter Division
NAME TM BA GM AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO HB SH DP SB CS E The Skinny
J.Gathrt MEC.356 78 188 47 67 5 0 0 14 27 24 2 7 3 18 11 2 platooner who performs
A.GonzalezMEC.281 110 441 68 124 34 1 23 77 39108 3 0 5 0 0 1 SD cleanup hitter
H.Ramirez MEC.331 108 444 76 147 35 4 15 67 40 63 3 0 9 61 16 13offense yes!defense no!
J.Kent MEC.320 97 341 55 109 27 1 17 72 45 55 2 0 9 3 4 9 Been terrific at 2nd
B.Upton MEC.317 95 328 69 104 19 2 21 58 45 95 6 0 6 6 3 1 One of CBA's best CF
E.Encncn KWC.325 68 203 25 66 5 0 9 37 10 32 6 0 4 0 0 1 Lots of production platoon
J.Loney KWC.308 64 221 32 68 9 1 13 36 19 32 2 0 6 0 0 6 Part time pop
J.Kubel OTC.330 65 212 30 70 23 2 8 41 20 29 0 0 7 5 0 3 Lots of RBIs as platoon
M.Diaz OTC.326 82 215 35 70 14 0 10 32 9 44 5 0 7 2 0 2 platoon force
J.Jones OTC.321 68 218 23 70 16 0 2 25 23 30 0 1 8 4 0 2 platoon big time
M.TeixeiraOTC.268 103 340 55 91 18 1 22 65 45 87 6 0 4 0 0 3 Ohio's cleanup man
C.Jones SWC.355 105 397 82 141 35 2 35 90 56 54 0 0 13 4 2 8 Jones having career year
M.Bradley SWC.339 70 183 37 62 7 0 14 32 26 37 3 0 5 1 3 1 Awesome 10th man
D.Young SWC.325 99 357 58 116 29 0 17 60 35 60 0 0 12 0 0 3 Skokie's consistent offense
B.Bonds SWC.278 94 284 63 79 16 0 26 70 57 44 4 0 13 0 0 2 Big bat and OBA
M.Hollday SLS.329 111 441 82 145 38 2 29 87 46 89 9 0 18 6 0 5 Awesome numbers
Dawson Division
NAME TM BA GM AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO HB SH DP SB CS E The Skinny
A.Amezaga BBD.353 66 167 28 59 11 8 1 21 13 23 4 3 3 11 3 3 Belfast surprise
C.Figgins BBD.340 99 321 57 109 24 6 1 33 49 63 0 0 2 39 14 9 Figgins is whole offense
BBD PITCHERS .247 105 178 18 44 3 1 0 18 5 66 0 23 3 0 0 15The pitchers can hit!
S.HattbergBBD.332 96 310 45 103 25 3 5 45 38 44 1 0 8 0 0 9 Hatteberg is on base
M.Ordonez JJD.357 101 353 63 126 35 0 15 60 49 60 2 0 15 1 0 1 MVP candidate, #'s lie
D.EcksteinJJD.351 72 242 35 85 13 1 2 34 8 22 8 0 4 3 1 8 Eckstein career year
M.Lowell JJD.310 103 339 51 105 12 2 12 50 31 39 6 0 18 1 2 12More valuable than #'s
JJD PTCHERS .186 108 188 22 35 7 0 2 17 8 73 0 26 0 0 0 5 More hitting hurlers
C.Grndrsn LWD.319 88 348 63 111 23 17 12 67 33 68 4 0 7 9 1 3 Grand isn't he?
P.Fielder LWD.245 105 424 68 104 21 0 45 93 42 87 10 0 10 0 2 18Tons of HR,needs guys on
T.Perez LLD.419 47 74 8 31 7 1 0 8 5 8 0 0 0 1 0 1 Super PH
I.Suzuki LLD.331 111 478 65 158 15 3 4 49 29 48 2 8 4 33 14 0 Creates runs for LP
J.Vidro LLD.310 101 377 48 117 18 0 6 40 35 36 0 5 11 0 0 16 Key cog in LP offense
D.Wright SSD.357 94 311 62 111 35 1 14 64 52 55 4 0 9 18 2 7 Wright stuff
E.Rentria SSD.332 87 334 72 111 29 0 8 32 46 45 0 3 9 3 1 7 Having career year
Parker Division
NAME TM BA GM AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO HB SH DP SB CS E The Skinny
M.Young KBP.311 93 396 59 123 18 1 3 29 35 64 3 1 15 6 0 11 Key Bryan all around guy
J.Gomes KBP.291 87 354 57 103 23 2 31 82 30 133 4 0 3 9 2 2 unbelievable season
R.Ibanez CIP.328 109 418 61 137 31 3 25 64 35 68 1 0 12 0 0 7 Big time for Raul
B.Harris CIP.313 94 336 46 105 26 4 9 53 30 70 3 6 4 2 1 11 Harris with solid #s
J.Morneau CIP.311 110 425 68 132 28 3 28 82 36 55 0 0 14 0 4 7 Morneau having big yr
J.Posada IRP.366 101 369 69 135 39 0 21 82 59 67 4 0 13 2 0 2 Career year, Gaudy stats
A.Pujols IRP.310 105 422 86 131 28 0 33 85 63 57 7 0 18 1 3 4 Pujols power
J.Reyes IRP.302 105 427 60 129 23 8 6 62 31 59 0 11 4 31 13 9 Reyes runs Redbirds
A.RodrguezIRP.302 103 414 94 125 21 1 31 72 55 95 19 0 14 6 1 10 No problems in clutch here
J.Thome IRP.297 78 306 54 91 20 0 28 68 39 93 7 0 5 0 0 0 Thome thumps HRs
H.Pence IRP.312 61 221 44 69 12 5 6 41 21 52 0 0 9 3 1 2 Pence platoon RBI
P.Polanco IRP.330 104 437 75 144 35 1 11 60 31 49 12 6 11 7 1 0 Career year
M.Cabrera BSP.367 101 390 91 143 25 1 32 93 49 85 5 0 12 5 0 14 MVP candidate carries BSP
E.Byrnes BSP.288 101 410 78 118 18 5 14 58 41 78 10 0 10 44 18 5 Lots of steals leading off
R.Howard BSP.265 97 351 70 93 27 0 27 79 40 140 2 0 2 2 0 0 Homers
M.Stairs BSP.314 61 191 33 60 16 0 10 42 36 43 0 0 8 2 1 1 Stairs platoon power
T.Helton BSP.326 101 380 76 124 24 3 14 55 59 71 1 0 5 0 0 1 Helton still produces
V.GuerreroOOP.351 108 442 86 155 33 0 39 120 41 42 5 0 14 0 1 7 MVP candidate career year
D.Ortiz OOP.281 108 420 89 118 20 2 26 59 83 105 2 0 26 4 2 16 Papi pops
J.Mauer OOP.317 92 344 51 109 22 3 6 45 48 40 4 0 8 0 0 4 Mauer under rated receiver
Schmidt Division
NAME TM BA GM AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO HB SH DP SB CS E
J.Werth CCS.347 61 150 39 52 8 0 9 28 25 29 0 0 1 4 0 3 Carolina super sub
M.Tejada CCS.326 108 426 68 139 18 2 23 63 27 43 7 3 15 2 0 14 Having great year
B.Roberts CCS.301 108 462 88 139 37 3 5 37 56 75 0 1 2 34 13 5 Premiere leadoff man
W.Taveras LLS.328 80 296 51 97 15 5 0 12 17 41 7 7 5 32 10 5 Taveras great leadoff guy
J.Rollins LLS.278 111 479 70 133 28 12 17 83 21 52 7 0 16 19 4 12 Rollins does it all
R.Raburn LLS.330 31 100 17 33 6 0 5 20 11 23 0 0 2 2 0 2 Super sub
R.Ankiel PPS.352 39 122 25 43 14 0 14 45 9 24 0 0 4 0 1 0 Ankiel unbelievable power
J.Keppngr PPS.335 53 185 36 62 14 1 4 19 14 19 4 6 6 3 1 4 Kep keeps producing
B.Hawpe PPS.326 85 316 61 103 28 2 16 59 40 84 0 0 8 0 0 3 Hawpe is hot
C.Utley PPS.316 87 335 70 106 26 4 12 42 32 49 12 0 11 4 0 9 Utley hits
C.Lee PPS.275 98 375 54 103 19 0 23 69 29 40 1 0 24 5 1 0 Lee a key performer
R.BelliardSRS.359 72 273 33 98 27 2 3 22 16 41 0 2 4 1 0 3 How is this happening?
D.Pedroia SRS.350 84 371 58 130 25 1 6 33 25 34 3 3 9 5 0 9 Rookie of the year?
C.CrawfordSRS.350 108 452 72 158 29 5 19 63 24 73 9 2 8 34 6 4 Sensational MVP candidate
M.Ramirez SRS.324 108 423 53 137 33 0 19 73 45 95 7 0 9 0 0 0 Manny mauls
C.Pena SRS.259 108 397 76 103 20 0 34 97 78 130 5 0 6 1 0 7 Pena HRs
Interesting season so far. A few surprises and some
improvements for some franchises. Lets take a look around in our mid
season after 110 games or so...
Giving credit where it's due. Skokie remains the class of CBA. Each year
the Wolfmen seem to get better. Could this be their year? After getting
a close as can be make no mistake the Wolves are going all out. 67 wins
leads CBA with Indy and Brooklyn at 65 and 64wins. Chipper Jones has
carried this team on his back. He is a triple crown contender as is
Ottawa's Vlad Guerrero. In Staub, 2nd in HR with 35, 10 behind Fielder,
2nd in RBI's 3 behind the top with 93. 3rd in BA with .355 just .002
behind the leader Maglio of Joliet, and Wright of SD. Skokie leads the
Staub in BA .279, HR 167, Runs 572. The P staff has a 3.77 ERA best in
Staub. This team does it all. Even a .735 X rating is pretty good.
Maine is 8 games behind but what a story of rags to riches. Reminds me of
this years MLB Devil Rays. Maine has a .331 OBA, and .477 Slg. The slug
is good, the OBA not as good as could be. A .74 X rating helps the
pitching who has a 4.41 ERA. The Maine TEAM gets some production from
everyone. The mid infield of Uggla and Greene account for 33 HR's Adrian
Gonzalez solid and clutch with 23 HR 77 RBI. BJ Upton redhot after his
arrival has 6 HR 20 RBI in 71 AB's since the trade. Gathright again is a
supersub stealing 18 bases after stealing 44 last year. He is batting
.356 in 78 games. Hill, Snell, and Bergman have pitching well as
starters. Though the bullpen ERA looks good, they have allowed .41
inherited runners to score. Pretty awful. Imagine with some more pop and
some bullpen work what Maine could do/ A wildcard is within the
possibilities. They are battling against San Diego, Longue Pointe,
Limoilou and Joliet for now. With one Dawson winning the top spot (Take
your pick who) the others will compete. Belfast isnt out yet and if they
put together a hot streak could sneak in there. Alllentown has been on
fire of late and is making a strong push towards a wildcard and .500.
With a majority of the contenders just a bit over .500, A Town could be a
player here.They may have what it takes. 8-2 in their last 10, Allentown
may not have the power but they have bats. Hanley Ramirez has been awesome
a combo of all offense. His defense hurts though. .596 X at SS is
pathetic. With literally hundreds of opportunities not getting the play
done out there, He gives away what he takes. He is better suited at DH.
Kent has given them a lift and is hitting a high .324 with some pop at
2B. The defense up the middle isnt too good, but the bats are real. Russ
Martin has 27 SB and could set a CBA record as a catcher. 10 HR 51 RBI
.283, Corey Hart has another 17 HR's. The story is James Shields. 14-3 a
CBA leading 2.45 ERA 147 K's and leads CBA with quality starts.
Longue POinte has won some series and lost some just hovering around .500
as the Bruise brothers of Quebec Jeff Boutet's Limoilou Wendigo and the
Belfast Brawlers k'bash heads with Joliet and San Diego. No one teams has
a distinct advantage however Joliet has been a cut above the rest staying
in first place the longest. Nothing to be taken for granted in Dawson
where usage really matters and depth is a huge factor. The Wendigo have
been playing better and slipped back in to the picture. They are now 5
games above .500 and are perhaps CBA's most improved next to A Town. Jeff
always manages to bring his team into contention. He is perhaps CBA's
most consistent winner over the past 11 years. Great bullpen work spells
their success. The starters have really struggled. Dutin McGowan expected
to be a winner is 5-11 4.89 ERA. The pen has accumulated most of the
wins. The offense is Carlos Beltran 19 HR 67 RBI, and Prince 45 HR
Fielder. Granderson .319 12HR 67 RBI has helped quite a bit too.
Longue Pointe again is relying on an impressive defense .811 X rating, and
a pitching staff witha 3.98 ERA. Zanbrano is 10-9 4.58 not really the
numbers he's used to. Tim Lincecum 10-2 3.06 is the ace. Maddux 8-7 3.44
ERA, Sabathia 9-11, 3.94 ERA. Todd Jones has 17 saves and a 1.56 ERA.
How does he do it year after year for LP? Again with LP its the bench
players with key contributions, Timo Perez .419 as PH, Augie Ojeda .331.
A few guys with between 12-19 HR's. Sexson has provided a power lift
hitting 19, while Ramirez' numbers aredown, Torri Hunter has picked it up
some. Suzuki is back to form hitting.339 with 33 SB, McDonald has played
great defense at SS and stole 11 bases, Varitek's 16 Hr's all help keep LP
in the game.
San Diego has had ups and downs after last years great season. The horses
are there for Joe Wallace. The offense has been mediocre with a .266 BA
and only 95 HR. David Wright 14 HR 64 RBI 18 SB .357 BA has carried them
along with Edgar Renteria 8 32 .332 BA. Chris Duncan has added 19 HR's.
The pitching is great with 3.84 ERA although the starters and pen are
victimized by lack of offense. With some added power, SD could move up
quick. Peavy 10-10 3.25 has been hard luck, King Felix, and Meche have
great mid 3's ERA's. Dan Haren has 9 wins too and a 4.25 ERA. Should be
good enough to win.
Belfast started to win some and then slumped. Expect them to make more
noise as the August days roll around. Only 61 HR's is nowhere near
enough. Only Alex Rios has 15 HR 58 RBI .270. They steal alot. 120 SB's.
Figgins agian having a great year .339 BA and 39 SB. Hatteberg is hitting
a great .332. The pitching is decent too with a 4.63 ERA and some good
ERA's for the pen too. Its only power that would keep the Brawlers from
being in it. The .394 slug won't help.
Joliet is the class here. The offense is carried by a few key performers.
Pierre has gotten on base and stolen 63 bases. Ordonez 15 60 .357 is a
batting average leader, but he gets walked alot intentionally. Lowell 12
HR 50 RBI .310 BA is pretty efficient. Soriano has gotten untracked yet.
When he does, Joliet will make their lead grow.
Great pitching 3.98. The pen is awesome .307 IRSC, Putz 27 saves and
great set up men. Wolfe, Capps, Lewis, Burton, Pinto, Vizcaino. All are
key contributors. Perhaps if Looper and Chukt James did better Joliet
would be the winningest team in Staub.
In Clemente it been Indiana holding a 2 1/2 game lead over Brooklyn. The
rivalry so intense that Indiana acquired Loney, Griffey, Billy Wagner and
Chico Ruiz for the pennant drive leaving nothing to chance, and nothing in
draft pick tank for 2009. Fidler is looking to be a repeat champion as he
was in 2006's storybook season and playoff. Indiana is loaded and will be
devastingly potent in a playoff series. All the pieces are in place. The
bench as much fire power as the starters. Then theres Pujols and ARod.
If everyone else wherent enough. Fidler was blessed when the dispersal
draft gave a prior owner him his first pick of A Rod. The acquistion of
Wagner should shore up the pen. The bench depth will help Indy erase
their 13-18 1 run game record and below .500 record in extra innings.
Brooklyn better watch out.
Brooklyn has struggled the past few blocks as rest and non productive
pitching have hurt. The odds were in Coors the team pitching couldn't
stay at a low level too long and its has risen. It has gone up about .34
the past 4 blocks to 4.32. A brght spot is the undefeated Eric Bedard
who is 14-0 3.07 ERA. He has 140 K's in 111 innings. His usage is good
too. In fact Brooklyn's usage may become and advantage as the season winds
down. Miguel Cabrera 32 HR 93 RBI .367 BA last years MVP having another
MVP type year. Howard has 27 HR's 79 RBI, Todd Helton 15HR 55 RBI .326
among the CBA's alltime leaders in most catagories is having another great
season. He and another of CBA's old time career leaders Sammy Sosa 16HR 48
RBI ,272 are locks for the CBA HOF. Sosa adds to his all time HR and RBI
lead. Brandon Phillips 20 HR 61 RBI and 27 SB has played great defense at
2B to compensate for Furcals 19 errors, 2nd in CBA. Byrnes 14 58 .288 with
44 SB has been an ideal leadoff hitter. A .798 X rating for the D is
outstanding. It accounts for much of the pitching success of 2008.
Ottawa is capable of beating anyone. They have swept teams like Brooklyn,
Indiana, & San Diego, and are 25-17 in the ever tough Parker division. At
55-53 they are fighting for the second wild card along with the teams of
Schmidt. They hit righties fine, but struggle vs the lefties. The HOF
dudo of Vlad and Papi are devastating again. Vlad is on a triple crown
type tear. He is well up in RBI's 120. 39 HR just 6 off of Fileder, and
.351 BA. Awesome Vlad. Papi adds 26 taters. Mauer is at .317, Patterson
at .312, and theres a drop in productivity after that. Its safe to say
Vlad and Papi are carrying this team. The pitching is poor with a 4.93
ERA. Only Webb stands out at 12-6 4.19 ERA. The pen is adequate
Bororwski closing 21 saves and Bradford, Tavares, and Downs holding games
in late innings. They are just behind Carolina and a game up on Lake
County for the second WC spot.
Cooperstown been playing much better in the second half. At one point in
June 20 games under .500 they are now only 14 games under, and looking for
respectabilty. In a tough division, C Town could be a spoiler. Lead by
Raul Ibanez 25 HR 64 RBI .325 BA. Morneau is hitting .311 with 28 HR 81
RBI. Markakis has had 14 more HR. C Town Iron horses could be moving up
some in the next few weeks. The goal for now is .500. The addition of
Reynolds could prove huge in the next few weeks.
Caroliner is finer than at season beginning. Loads of power 161 HR's but
low .266 BA. 7 guys with double digit HR's. M Tejada is having a great
year .326 23 HR 63 RBI. Hafner with a ,221 BA is a disappointment.
Carolina needs him to stay in the WC chase. They are only 3 behind front
running Philly. A 58-50 record and good pitching. Marquis is a
surprising 13-4 4.30. Must be steroids for the Staten Island horses ass.
Valverde has been sensational 1.89 ERA 16 saves. Johann, and Harang could
be a factor down the stretch since they are under achieving right now.
Look out for the Copperheads.
Philly is hitting .285 with 148 HR's and stars at all positions. So why
are they not way out ahead/ Pitching 4.71 is starting to get better.
Heath Bell in 33 games is lights out 5-2 1.76 ERA 76 K's 8 saves in 66
Inn. The pen is by committee. A .321 IRSC. Percival, R Soriano, all
good. The rest of the pitchers, not so good. Dontrelle started tough and
has faded some is 12-5 but a high 5.36 ERA.
escobar is only 5-7 but has a 3.96 ERA I guess hard luck. Philly will
need pitching or more offense from guys like Jeter 4 HR 32 RBI .286 to
stay in 1st place and maybe repeat as CBA World Champions. Rob ite always
finds a way.
Wayne McGee was unsure he would be able to stya in CBA at season
beginning, but he caught draft fever and was glad he stayed on. He has a
good team and of late they are CBA's hottest team. They're climbing back
to the Wild card race slowly but surely. As the pitching numbers come down
the wins go up. The team is batting .289 so offense isn;t the problem.
Carl Crawford 19 HR 63 RBI .350 34 Sb is an MVP candidate. Manny having
abnother fine year has 19 HR 73 RBI .324 BA. Carlos Pena has 34 HR.
Pedroia is hitting .350 in a full time role. With some pitching, the
Redsox could be trouble. '
Southwest is building their squad for the future and is looking forward to
the next draft. They only have Matt Holliday who is 29 HR 87 RBI .327 BA
who is starring. Griffey just traded to Indy had 17 HR's. Only place to
go from here is down toward a high draft pick.
May 20th 2008
Belfast: Took a bad week 1-5, dropping them 4 off the pace set by Joliet. Armando Rios and Nate McClouth have led the way with 6 and 7 HR respectively. Figgins has 14 SB, McClouth and Davis both have 9 SB. Belfast is at .500 21-21. The pitching ERA is 4.42, with DiNardo the ace at 4-2 3.09 era. Corpas 8 saves and R Perez 2 saves both big time in relief.
Longue Pointe: has had its ups and downs but with an improved offense and defense, the Loggers should stay in the mix. They can boast 5 ones in the lineup on any given day with that kind of defense, the pitching will have less toiling to do. The 4.06 ERA is low considering the Loggers once thought weakness in the bullpen. Pettitte 1-3 7.71, Sabathia 4-5 despite a 3.32 era, Zambrano last years Cy Young is mired at 5-4 4.02 era, Moyer a 6+ era. Not too good and will need to do better. Linsecum is now the staff ace at 5-2 3.99 era. The pen is by Committee. Richie Sexson bats been hot of late 6 HR 22 RBI .269, Varitek 7 HR 17 RBI, Torii Hunter has slowed some in the cleanup role is hitting 6 HR 24 RBI .286 with 10 SB. Ichiro off to a slower start is hitting .318 with only 12 SB.
Limoilou: Slowly rising again after a terrible stretch, LWD has had a red hot Prince Fielder with 18 HR, 32 RBI. Granderson is hitting 7 HR, 28 RBI .320ba. Beltran had better start hitting. Despite 9 HR 30 RBi, is hitting .205. No one stands out on the pitching staff.
San Diego is hanging tough with LP, Belfast, and Joliet. The Surf have a league best pitching staff with a 3.45 era. Frank Rodriguez has been lights out with 8 saves, Peavy and Haren both have won 5. The starters ERA's are all below Haren's 3.67 except for Santana. 341 K's in 423 innings. Wright is on fire hitting 7HR 33 RBI, .347. Delmon Young is hitting .375 in 144 AB's. McCann is at .321.
Joliet is a contender in 2008. Magglio is hitting .367 with 6 HR 23 RBI's. If the Jacks need anything its another power bat to protect the lineup. a .281 BA but only 29 HR in 42 games may catch up to the Jack. Usage may be of concern for the pitching staff unless some deals come along. Lowell's .329 bat has been a major plus for JJD, however no one is scared of the lineup. Only 7 intentional passes for the .328 OBA, .406 slug team.
.292 IRSC and .745X % is adequate though not outstanding. It will be a dogfight in Dawson.The Carter is all Skokie. Miller and Wolfman have put together perhaps a team for the ages. They could challenge for the Philly Phantastics 120 win record of 2000. 62 HR's, lots of power. Chipper is an MVP candidiate with 12 HR 32 RBI .342 BA. Bradley and Bonds the killer B's have 8 HR's and are at .324 for Bonds and Brads.314 the team has an .816 OB/SLG. A 3.43 Team ERA keeps 'em in any game. Hudson is at 6-2 and Clemens 6-1. Bullpen is by situational committee.
Allentown: Hanley Ramirez is looking quite like an MVP candidate 5 HR, 24 RBI, 28 SB, .366 BA carrying the team along with Corey Hart 7 HR 24 RBI, and Russell Martins 6 HR 28 RBI and 11 SB. When all is said and done Martin could break CBA's catchers SB record whatever that is. A .271 team BA is an improvement over last season, and 19-23 puts them squarely in the wildcard race in Staub. A Town needs James Shields is the staff ace with a 6-1 record and a miniscule 1.86 ERA. He has 72K's in 87 inn. A .407 IRSC and .709 X rating will not win games for A Town.
Kennesaw Mt has been inconsistant. When you think they can make a break, they regress. Billingsley 3-3 2.77 and Kendrick 4-2 3.14 have pitching well enough to win, but little else has gone well. The offense is ok to win with Loney hitting 8 HR 22 RBI .370, and R Braun 7 HR 18 RBI .352. They have no one to drive home or be driven home by. The end of the order is awful so far.
The Maine Express: You'll be hearing from this team in 2008. They must get bullpen help to win. A .398 IRSC is bad Aside from Jenks, Beimel, Tallet, Lyon,Yuser Petit, Morrow have been rediculous. Cost them big games already. Meanwhile the offense has shined. A .271, lots of runs and solid cards. Iwamura has hit well at .333. Adrian Gonzalez 8 HR 29 RBI, .316 is dangerous.Uggla, Rowand, and Francouer have been consistant producers. This team could win with the starters and offense keep on rollin...
Ohio: Struggling along, the Thundercats are in rebuild and have little highlites to mention at this time. Stay tuned. The offense has a few wins in 'em, but a 5.99 ERA staff has nothing to do with the art of winning.
The Schmidt division of Clemente promises an interesting race this year, 2008. Last years champion team Philly comes right out of Schmidt. They again lead the division although the stakes have been raised as there has been improvement all along.
Philly: At 26-19 looks solid. They've scored 10+ runs 13 times only allowing 10 runs 2 times. They're 13-5 in their own division faring better as a road team. They need to improve their middle defense. Turning Dp's is not a strength and could only help out a suspect pitching staff which has a high 4.89 era. Willis is 6-1 but has an above 6 ERA. Verlander is 5-3 with an acceptable era but is hardly an ace in 2008. Its the offense that makes 'em go. Both Carlos Lee and Lants Berkman have 13 HR, and 5 others have hit 5 + HR.
Carolina: Has played better after a slow start. They too have power, hitting 71 HR. Adim Dunn has 14 HR, while Tejada has 9, and Benj3 Molina has 8. As a whole they are only hitting .257. At 21-27 they will need to string together alot of wins to get back into contention. Its a longshot but can be done.
Stirling also has a good offense averaging .294 near CBA's best. Only 51 HR, isn't bad but will be hard pressed to outslug some of the beefier teams in Clemente a DH league. Pedroia has been a revelation hitting .360 at 2B, displacing long time 2B Belliard. Carl Crawford is having an MVP year hitting .395 with 11 HR, 29 RBI, and 10 SB. Manny Ramirez is on fire lately hitting 3 HR in 1 game and 8 for the year to go along with an impressive .328 BA. Ollie Cabrera is hitting .335 with 10 SB as well.
The Lakers of Lake County are on a roll coming up with 11 wins in 15 games to pull closer to Philly in the Schmidt. Solid offense led by Jenkins 9 HR, and All world Jimm3 Rollins have carried the offense. Willy Taveras is hitting .350 with 15 SB as a leadoff man. Not bad. The record is at 23-25, and climbing. The 4.59 team ERA could be better. Once the pen starts to propser, the Lakers could be in the wildcard or division hunt.
The Southwest Lizard Kings had been cold of late as Eric Lindner contemplated diving from the Golden Gate bridge. Right now their story is Matt "doc" Holliday who is front running for MVP. Orlando Hudson's .314 BA isn't bad, but there is no pitching to speak of outside of Dean er..Matt Cain. Better times may be ahead as adjustments are made...
The Parker is all Indiana right now. Brooklyn and Ottawa are close by. 92 HR in 45 games is remarkable as the Redbirds pound opponents into submission. Pujols 12 HR, Posada 13 HR, ARod 15 HR, Thome 16 HR. The addition of Thome cemented what could becaome CBA's most prolific offense. The starters are adequate with Ace Oswalt 7-0 2.88. Garland is 6-1, but afterwards the staff struggles somewhat and that could be important with Pitching heavy Brooklyn nearby.
Brooklyn has great balance of pitching defense and power. The pen has a low .235 IRSC with Feliciano, Mahay, Reyes, Mariano, and more. Bedard is 5-0, while Halladay has 5 more wins. Ryan Howard is red hot of late hitting 14 HR 42 RBI and .292. Miguel Cabrera is an MVP candidate again with 16 HR, 39 RBI, .356 BA. Byrnes has been a quality leadoff man 6 HR 31 RBI .331 BA 25 SB. They will be there in the end.
Ottawa is having a great year. Vlad is impaling opponents 16 HR 46 RBI .366 BA a triple crown candidate. Cust has added 12 HR, and Ortiz bat is coming alive. Brandon Webb leads the staff at 6-1 4.04, while Lackey has 5 wins. A wildcard place could be theirs.
Cooperstown is improved though they will need to generate more than a .254 BA and 46 HR to compete in Parker. The team ERA at 5.11 isn't good and the Iron Horses will have their work cut out for them.
May 2nd
Stirling is back. After years of frustration, the Sox have drafted and traded for a winning team. Acquiring Manny Ramirez the lineup has solidified 3 HR 16 RBI's ina strong offense means he'll have opportunity to drive in runs. The Sox are at 10-8. They are hitting .312 BA as a team best in CBA right now, with Crawford leading CBA hitting .500 4HR 14 RBI. Southwest has been strong this year. This could be a Lindner pattern. After a slow start in 1997, he in his second year went to the playoffs. After a slow first return year in 07, perhaps in 08, (a decade past) Lindner and his Lizard Kings could be heading towards the sun if not for a Jeckyll and Hyde performance. They dropped the games they picked going 1-2 vs hot Stirling. The Moreno County Maulers are an exciting team with some surprisingly good talent. They are being carried right now by Matt Holliday 9 HR 23 RBI .400 BA. Ottawa is in the mix taking two series 2-1. Ottawa could be a force in 2008. They beat both in series 1. Ottawa They took 2 of 3 from ever tough Indiana and could be a threat to Brooklyn who dropped 2 of 3 to Cooperstown. It signals how Parker's playing filed has leveled some. Cooperstown last years doormat, had an explosive offensive series agains the suspect Brooklyn pitching staff. Sweeping that series they then dropped 2 to the Bashers. They remain a possible threat now in Parker which could impact the wildcard race. With Cooperstown and Bryan stronger, Brooklyn and Indy may level off some allowing a possible advance in the seemingly weaker Schmidt for the wildcards.They roughed Halladay, and Mussina, though Brooklyn did hit well in game 2. Brooklyn and Philly squared off in Phillies Homerpark and Brooklyn swept. Matsuzaka, Bedard(acquired from Philly in '07), and Halladay. It was pitching that subdued the good hitting in revenge for last seasons 1st round playoff loss. In game 1, Miguel Cabrera had a huge day and Matsuzaka was masterful with 11K's vs the World Champs. Cabrera has 7 HR 19 RBI and is hitting .400. Sosa has 5 HR 13 RBI and a .300 BA in his Brooklyn return. Brooklyn swept as Cabrera's big series carried them on his back. Rivera chock full of blown saves, managed to limit Philly, who likely dozed against the strugglling Superbas. Indy too struggled dropping their series to this years surprise Maine team. Indiana is looking to maintain consistency. Looking dominant they've lost some close games on clutch performances. 36 HR in 18 games looking for a CBA record. This week the pitching didn't hold up dropping two to Maine and Ottawar. Key players Thome and Ethier's bats have slumped costing Redbirds a chance to move past Brooklyn. With a Brooklyn sweep the two teams are tied. Ottawa is 2 games behind at 9-9. Cooperstown and Bryan 4 games out and in the hunt.
Joliet 11-7 took a broom out and swept away the Kennesaw team, 8-7, 7-1, and 6-5. Aaron Hill had a big series driving in 4 in game 2. JJ Hardy starred in game 3 and has driven in a team leading 10 RBI's. Soriano was off to a slow start, but that will be short lived when he and Lowell heated up. Until then, it was mainly Derek Lee carrying most of the slug. The pitching has been dominant keeping the Jackhammers winning. a CBA best 3.41 ERA is excellent in a 20 team league. It could mean trouble for SD who took two in their first series vs Carloina in an interleague matchup. San Diego got great production from the bottom of their lineup. They won both series 2-1Carolina dn Joliet. The Carolina was an interconference matchup and the Joliet was a big series in the division. SanDiego used great pitching and big games from Peavy, and Haren. The "Surfer bottom feeders" could be amongst CBA's most productive 6,7, 8th place hitters making them dangerous in any inning. Belfast won 2 off the Wendigo in series 1. In game 3 Endy Chavez of all players, HR'd to tie, and in extras Mike Napoli HR'd for the final win. Belfast could be in the mix in 2008. Belfast had strong offense against Ohio with total team efforts. Belfast could and will need to stay in a winning mode to keep up with the Surf and Joliet. The Brawlers 10-8, with a .293 BA won both their series to move once again to within a game of the Dawson lead. They've managed to tie with San Diego and without much power are getting good starts from their inexperienced staff. DiNardo, Sonnanstine, Durbin have had strong starts. Again thievery, 25 steals in 18 games. Figgins stole a few games and has 9 now. Right now all the teams are in the mix 'cepting Ohio who is dead last and likely overmatched losing 5 games in block 3. Only Texeira performing well for them.
This week we see the some interesting series wins. With
Belfast having a strong week the Dawson race grew closer.
Limoilou lost to Skokie in their series. Longue Pointe made news this week
when Carlos Zambrano
had a week for the ages in which he won 3 games. He pitched on April 8th
firing a no hitter at Limoilou. A feat
he had previously achieved back on June 17th, 2005 against the same
Limoilou Wendigo. He becomes
only the 3rd pitcher in CBA history to have 2 or more no hitters. The
other two Greg Maddux also of Longue Pointe,
and Pedro Martinez who has 4 no hitters as CBA's leader. Zambrano, player
of the week, didn't stop there with 2 relief
wins, one the next day on April 9th. LP went into extras against rival
Limoilou. LP's .849 X rating helps along that already tough staff.
Only 1 game separates each team suprprisingly, Maine has the leagues best
X rating and they are playing over .500 ball.
in Dawson. Joliet's struggles with Belfast their long time rival cost
Joliet a chance to take the lead. Maine had an impressive week.
Could Maine be a wildcard contender? With Adrian Gonzalez having 5 HR
already, but only 8 RBI's maybe if the guys could get on in front of him
you might thinks, but Uggla, and Rowand having been driving the runs in
before him. Maine may be here to stay.
In Carter its all Skokie with the Wolfmen 4 of 6 to go to 10-2 best in CBA
thus far. On the opposite end, Ohio is just 2-10
having trouble beating anyone. Swept by Maine and dropping two to
Allentown.
Ohio has a 5.94 ERA and .219 BA. The league offense average is a high
.274. 4 teams over .300 with Indiana of Parker
leading the way with a .317, followed by Brooklyn's .313 BA. Brooklyn had
a good week winning all 6
of their games against Stirling and Bryan. Indiana just is scoring in
bunches leading Parker by 1 game over Brooklyn.
Indiana has a team 1.016 TA, and .619 slug. This team could break records.
Bryan had been doing well before Brooklyn's sweep.
With Schmidt bunched up at around .500, Philly sits atop with an
impressive 9-3. Philly has a .313 team BA. Stirling leveled
off a bit swept by Brooklyn in return for last weeks drubbing. Holliday
remains hot though
Review Preview by Marc Wass
CBA enjoyed a fantastic 2007
season, our 11th. A total package was 2007 with something special
happening at all junctures. It was a record breaking year, and another
photo-finish year. It had upset victories, and dominance in some
divisions. We saw the rise of some rebuilding teams and the upswing of
franchises who have toiled perpetually in the cellar. We saw furious
trading, and patient building both pay dividends. We saw the progress of
some teams regress after looking strong in 2006. 2007 saw alot.
The season opened with another terrific draft attended by all and run
quite smoothly. The usual sleepers and superookies all made appearances.
Russell Martin was 2007's first pick for Allentown, and he didn't
disappoint. Martin is primed to have a good season in 2008 after an
average 2007 rookie campaign. Markakis went to Cooperstown where he hit
.309 along with 15 HR. Some notable draft picks in Rd 1. Takahashi Saito
{limoilou} tied for most saves in CBA with Brooklyn's Mariano Rivera with
30. He drafted 5th overall. Dan Ugglia drafted 4th overall hit 24 HR, 82
RBI, .282. Some notable disappointments, Cla Meredith despite a 7-1 2.22
era record was released at seasons end. Jason Jennings counted to be a
staff ace, went 11-13 4.63 and Belfast finished last in Dawson. There
were some noatble late round draft scores as well. The last pick in the
draft Brooklyn's Joey Gathright (since traded to Maine) stole 47 bases.
Bernie Williams a future CBA hall of Famer finished his CBA career hitting
.308 as an Allentown OF'er.
Trades played a big role in 2007. There were 35 trades made in 2007
alone. Some notables, Aaron Harang, Huston Street, Brandon League were
acquired by Carolina from Kennesaw Mt for Scott Olsen, James Loney, and
Edwin Encarnacion, enabling Carolina to their first ever title in
Schmidt. Bryan who played a 1 game playoff with eventual CBA champ Philly
before succombing, acquired Brad Lidge for Jorge Sosa. Skokie made
several trades which advanced their cause all the way to a Staub Title no
small achievement given the fierce competition especially in Dawson.
Skokie acquired draft picks and players. He moved player and draft picks
systematically piecing together a competitive team. Brooklyn was quite
active putting together their best season with 106 wins. Trades brought
them new names Manny Ramirez, Eric Bedard, Brandon Phillips. Gone
eventually was Dontrelle Willis and after 1 season Manny Ramirez in an off
season trade for Eric Byrnes.
The Parker division housed three powerful teams in Brooklyn, Indiana, and
Bryan. Indy and Brooklyn would fight it out all season but Brooklyn took
control and never looked back with a team record setting performances and
career years for a few players. The Superbas looked like they could have
been a run away with the CBA title. A seemingly dominant 2007 went by the
wayside as the were defeated quite easily by the World Champ Philly
Phantastics. Brooklyn was paced by last years Clemente MVP Miguel Cabrera
{39 HR, 139 RBI, 136 runs, .403 BA, 236 hits} . A case could be made that
an end of season trade meant to bolster the pitching staff backfired when
playoff hero Dontrelle Willis was swapped along with a #1 pick to get Eric
Bedard who lost 1 game in 2 starts. They also traded JD Drew whose bat
was sorely missed as BSP’s offense took a swan dive. Some highlites
included Ryan Howard {41 HR, 122 RBI, 122 runs, .308}, Manny Ramirez {38
HR, 108 RBI, .313 BA}, Joey Gathright {47 sb, .299 BA}, Brandon Phillips
{.307 20 HR, 81 RBI, 30sb} Roy Halladay {18-3 3.70}, Mike Mussina {17-3,
3.19} Mariano{30 saves}. Brooklyn led CBA with a team .375 OBA, and a
whopping CBA leading .520 Slug. The pitching staff was perhaps Brooklyn’s
best ever with team records 14 shutouts and 56 saves. No doubt excellent
defense (.771 X rating) helped the staff out some at the unfriendly
confines of the “House of Pain”. Despite playing at Coors they hit only
109 HR at home but 138 taters on the road. It looks as if Brooklyn will
have a struggle this year to return to their 2007 106 win heights as they
enter a rebuilding phase. The aquisitions of Rafael Furcal and Eric
Byrnes will add some speed to the lineup to help compensate the loss of
Ramirez’ power and Ryan Howard’ BA decline. 2007’s SS Adam Everett no
doubt hurt BSP with his anemic bat. What his defense taketh, the bat
tooketh too. Further offensive difficulties were avoided when BSP drafted
Matt Stairs in this years draft. The Superbas drafted mainly for the
future in 2008 and could be acknowledging a decline in their dynastic like
domination of the Parker division as signaled by two successive first
round playoff losses. Certainly though Brooklyn will score runs. They
still have lots of pop with Helton, Cabrera, Howard, Stairs, Phillips, and
Byrnes, and will score runs. They do have a solid rotation Bedard,
Halladay, Dice-K, Brian Bannister, and #1 pick Shawn Marcum.The bullpen
will need some help as the middle and set up spots are shaky at best.
Mariano’s card has slipped some too. The Superbas do have two good
lefties in the pen, but all that may not be enough because Indiana just
may be the team to beat in the Parker.
Indiana looks like they could be inline for a repeat of their 2006
championship. Indy is loaded at all positions and with an improved
pitching staff for 2008 to boot. In 2007 Indiana faded as Brooklyn took
charge in Parker, but they still won a terrific 95 wins with a strong
offensive team. Any other season and Indy may have won the Parker title.
With little subtracted and a series of trades, this team could be even
more powerful in 2008 than last year. Indiana seems to be looking to
break some CBA offensive records. Indiana had a team 4.49 ERA last season
but a league leading 299 HRs from the offense. Pujols hit 72 HR’s to lead
all of CBA. One of CBA’s highest totals ever. 5th all time single season
(Bonds had 82 steroid jacked HR’s in 2002) Pujols also scored 154 runs,
drove home 147 RBI, batted .348 BA, and stole 12 sb, while Alex Rodriguez
hit 45 more HR, 130 RBI, .302 BA, Jason Bay hit 40 HR, 97 RBI, .280, and
Grady Sizemore added 36 more HR with 22 sb at the top of the order. Jose
Reyes chipped in with 50 sb, and a .294 BA. Indy had a .351 OBA, and a
.503 slug. Their pitching staff was in the top half of CBA though it
appeared early in the season it would be their undoing. But defense to the
rescue, an astounding .819 X rating shaved lots of OBA and runs from the
team ERA and WHIP. These big guns are coming back this year and though
Pujols may have leveled off some, Alex Rodriguez should more than pick it
up with his monstrous card. The pitching staff will benefit from a full
year of last year’s Ronson Award candidate John Smoltz who along with Roy
Oswalt {16-10 4.81} and Scott Kazmir {12-4 3.47} should pitch the Redbirds
to many CBA wins. Many feel Indiana will supplaunt Brooklyn as Parker
champs in 2008. The Indiana draft was a strong one. They filled many
role positions with good cards for many situations. Jorge Posada will be
another force in 2008, excelling in a perennial weak spot for the
franchise. The acquisition of Jimn Thome may have gone unnoticed by some,
but it won’t in Parker as the Redbirds have a top shelf DH. Indy even
took a shot at the future snatching up super prospect Matt Wieters early
in the draft. Indiana should finish atop of Parker in 2008.
The Kilgore Bashers were a team that never seemed to quite er...win. They
were the lovable but unfortunate team of Parker. The storied Basher Ogre
had smiled too much at his opposition. The Texas Titan never quite hit
enough or pitched enough until 2006. Always the potential seemed great but
their players never quite broke through. They changed their name and
stadium location to Bryan Texas and GM Cory Light has turned that old
association right around the past couple of seasons and there’s every
reason to believe they will repeat as a playoff contender again in 2008.
Last season was a heartbreaker as Bryan finished 162 games tied with
Philly for the last wildcard spot in Clemente. They dropped the 1 game
playoff and still haven’t been to a CBA playoff game in their 12 year
history. It was a remarkable season for the Bashers whose platoon system
and career year performances carried them to best ever 92 wins. The
offense was a big story as Last years big acquisitions paid dividends.
Pat Burrell { 32 HR, 94, .257} gave on base and power to the Bashers.
Brad Inge went bananas {40 HR, 122 RBI, .266 BA} Inge may have been the
leagues most under rated player in 2007. His 122 RBi’s were 9th in CBA,
but team mate Wig Tyington added a career best 32 HR, 113 RBI 10th best,
.293 BA, and covered enough positions to be compared to the Kama Sutra.
Surprisingly good play from Bobby Crosby 9HR, 47 RBI, .287, .798 X rating
solidified the Basher break through.
The Bryan pitching staff was spotty at best. Aside from some good starts
and well pitched games in the stretch drive, the pen was abysimal. A
league leading 41% of inherited runners scored. A .689 X rating wasn’t up
to standard and likely cost the Bashers pitching staff hits and lots of
runs. More was expected from Kenny Rogers who was 11-11 4.26 ERA. He
started slowly from the gate and picked it up as the season ended. GM
Light went out and acquired Joe Blanton after Rogers started slowly.
Blanton was productive going 14-7 despite a 5.14 ERA. Brad Lidge and
Scott Linebrink provided a potent 1, 2 closer corps to help out the
struggling middle men. Both closers did blow many saves. Bryan was well
balanced with their platoon lineups vs both righties and lefties, a .002
difference in the two team batting averages. The pitchers were a bit more
unbalanced yielding a .291 BA vs R. Bryan managed a team record .348 OBA,
and a .457 slug. Enough to be competitive and score 871 runs, about 5 ½
runs a game. They allowed about the same.
Bryan will need better pitching from their pen and back end of the
rotation to be competitive in 2008. Rogers is a spot lefty starter only,
so Blanton moves up as the staff ace. Blanton gives up some hits, walks
few. Wicked Wandy Rodriguez looks like the #2 starter and is adequate
though is not an * pitcher. The rest of the pitching will be by committee
take your pick from Towers, to Belisle, to Nate Robertson, to Affeldt you
get the picture. It remains to be seen how Light will juggle his staff.
The offense is pretty decent although may have on base difficulties and
high strikeouts. Bryan could go either direction in 2008, best guess is
that the pitching will take its toll on the team despite some decent
offensive power. Bryan will have to struggle to keep ahead of improved
Ottawa and Cooperstown.
Oh to be young and in Ottawa they cheered in 2006. The Otters put
together an impressive season and strong playoff series only to fall flat
in 2007. A stunning collapse the Ottawa Otters fell off to a horrid 64-98
record. The only merit that the Otters got a high draft pick which they
used to select Wunderkind Yovanny Gallardo. Ottawa needs the pitching.
With last years team averaging 5.38 ERA ranking ahead of only Stirling’s
5.60 ERA debacle. Ottawa did nail 202 HR’s with a .266 BA, so with some
pitching help they may have come a lot closer to respectability. The
truth of the matters is that they had a low .439 slug % despite the HR
output so it was a feast or famine. HR’s with no one on base, and an
annoying lack of doubles (291 3rd lowest in CBA) made for only 784 runs.
Not enough in Parker with the likes of 900+ run teams like KBP, BSP and
IRP. 125 team errors, mean losses. .686 X rating, .405 IRSC, disastrous.
End result 98 losses. The bright spot again for Ottawa was the golden
tandem of Vlad {27 HR, 79 RBI, .327} and Papi {41 HR, 95 RBI, .286}. That
duo is CBA legendary But all is not bad for the man Jack Jung who in 12
years has never completed a trade in CBA. His drafts have been quite good
in 2007 and 2008. The nucleus is outstanding. The talent maturing and
the Otters bridging the gap with young talent. The pitching is much
improved. Yovanny, Brandon Webb, Aaron Cook, Chad Gaudin, and John
Lackey is one of the leagues best rotations, 5 deep. The pen may need
some help after Lee Gardner. Saul Rivera is adequate middle innings, but
th set ups are weak. Bradford doesn’t have his 2007 card. The offense has
been bolstered by the development of Steven Drew SS and Conor Jackson
somewhat. The Vlad and Ortiz show will account for most of the O, with
newly drafted Jose Guillen and Jack Cust plating Mauer and adding some run
production. SS is solid with developing Steven Drew and Omar Viz holding
the spot for now with his 1 rated glove. Some good bench players too.
Cliff Floyd’s card, Daryle Ward, and Kevin Frandsen will keep the Otters
consistent when usage becomes an issue. The prospects are good ones. In
the wings are Cameron Maybin, Justin Upton, Andrew McCutchen, and Brian
Sweeney. The Otters could run at the playoffs with some managing and
perhaps Brooklyn’s decline. They may have some trouble with the rise of
other Clemente teams affecting their wildcard hopes.
Cooperstown is an exciting young team. Fausto! They cry. First pick in
the CBA draft was Fausto Carmona who last year was an RFA for Skokie, this
year heads a C Town staff. Wyke has drafted often and well the past two
seasons. Ryan Wyke’s team is taking shape as a possible force in CBA.
Could this be the year that C Town breaks through? Looks like they can.
2007 was cruel to the Iron Horses. The stats were nothing to rave about.
The story or lack of story was that C Town was developing with an eye
towards the next 5 years. The lineup appears improved this year. Some
more runs though not enough to overtake the offenses in Parker. Wyke
pulled a coup in landing 1B DH Justin Morneau to add power and OBA to an
impressive core. Morneau is a perennial CBA MVP candidate but he isn’t the
only bat with Nick Markakis who warranted his high pick hitting 15 HR and
.309 in 2007. Markakis projects is nearly a 5 tool threat in 2008. Mark
Reynolds holds down the third base job for this season as Andy Marte
simmers in the Iron stew. A slew of young prospects litter the bench in
wait as the improved lineup flexes. Brandon Harris will take over at 2B
alongside the re emerged Stacy Peralta. Lindner’s folly was C Towns prize
as Andy LaRoche also waits for the 3B job. Elijah Dukes and Matt kemp
await the call too.
Oh that pitching…The starters are young and solid all the way through. A
terrific staff led by Fausto!. Adam Wainwright is his co-ace. Jeff
Francis a third ace. Chris Young a fourth ace. Orlando Hernandez a heck
of a spot starter. Consider that Phill3p Hugh3s, Jon Lester, and Carlos
Marmol are on hand too. The pen with Marmol and newly acquired Russ
Springer is pretty good too. Fancisco Cordero is top shelf as closer. C
Town will prove how important pitching is. If they win, pitching is
huge. If any staff should win, its this one. The lineup is pretty solid
for key games. With Kemp in the game they are a different offensive team.
He is a half time player so usage will be a factor with C town.
The Staub Conference has a rich history. It began as a tribute to Rusty Staub who was a favorite player of the originators Gerald Benoit and Claude LaMarre. He was a perfect choice. Le Grand Orange! I thought it was a great choice. It represented a common interest. Two countries, three fans, the same favorite player for the same reasons and united by baseball. The Staub conference represented that common baseball bond. The Clemente was a tribute to an outstanding favorite who influenced the game. A small market player who was a pioneer and groundbreaking player who gave his life and soul to what he cared for. humanity, family, and baseball. The league names will carry on for CBA's lifespan in tribute to Claude and Gerald's legacy.
CBA continues to honor Claude and Gerald as we enter our 12th season next week with file and CM entry.
Baseball in Canada was a passion for generations of persons in the provinces. Rabid fans who would listen at night to ball games originating in Parc Jarry that carried via the network across the wonderful land and people of Canada. Listening and imagining. Many perhaps attending a few games at a place unique. Baseball managed to extract a loss, from the jaws of victory when it allowed the greedier side diminish and devour the beloved Expos. The worst part was the slow torture as their glorious memories were made bitter by stinging greed, bit by ever so slow bit. Claude spoke of Loria. How he was disappointed and disgusted by the sell out of the fans and the Expos. Of course people wouldn't come. Baseball propped and built the Nationals, why not the Quebecois? Why not? Our founders broken hearted by their love. Claude saw it coming beforehand. He knew and he lamented. He refused to let the greed of the times take his dignity and honor. He turned his back to baseball which turned his back on him. It was on his own terms. Claude was a member of the Staub Conference as was Gerald who equally felt the sting and slowly withdrew his bid. Gerald who is my estimation is one of the noblest and fairest gentlemen, took his time to continue and run the CBA, not for any love of baseball which broke his eternal Montreal Expo heart, rather he did so to honor commitment to his friends and buddies in CBA. Staub is a favorite player of his. The name Staub means a great deal in the spirit of competition in CBA. It is a reminder of the initial bond that our league has between Canadian and American strat friends. I was asked to become the Staub President by both men and thought how cool they liked the same player I did (Met Fan). Montreal used to give the Mets fits but we liked talking 70's baseball since I had seen the Expos play at Shea a few times and many more on channel 9 WWOR-TV NY from about 1970 on. Staub seemed a good choice for us. When our founders left after they soured on baseball because of the abandonment of the game from Montreal, we reorganized CBA keeping Staub for legacy. My Brooklyn Dodger fan parents can relate with those fans.
Originally there was another division in Staub called the Rogers, after Montreal hurler Steve Rogers. The Clemente had the Monday named after Rick Monday for some unknown reason.
In the Monday




The Rogers had




The divisions were absorbed into the other divisions in a re-alignment designed to make scheduling easier. Of note Gerald Benoit did the logo designs as Dennis C has assisted us with today. Each team a unique identity. CBA has dedicated itself to its rich history with its database and records. Some of our teams names remain as unofficial landmarks of our early years and tribute to those who took the time to share with us. Kennesaw Mountain is one of those. Longue Pointe, Bashers, Redsox, Otters, Superbas, Limoilou, are others. San Diego may soon become another with 7 years of continous service.
The Staub Conference has always boasted some of the most competitive pennant races in CBA history. Who could forget the last 3 races? The Belfast - Limoilou Longue Pointe battles? The classic 1 game playoff series that occurred twice in two years? A three way dance with all three battering each other into the playoffs. Now its some newer titans lashing it out in the Dawson. Up comes Joliet. The rise of the Surf. Add to the mix a healthy dose of Longue Pointe and Limoilou always a threat. Dawson looks like another battlefield in 2008. The 2007 Dawson was the strongest division by record in Staub placing two wildcards Longue Pointe and San Diego. A great season again for the Dawson. Belfast and Joliet may not have placed in the money, but apparently were gathering strength and developing a 4th and 5th divisional threat.
Belfast is a successful CBA franchise. JD Adams built his teams to compete with Dawson's powerhouses. While others were loaded with superstars, Adams relied on excellent role players and a varity of techniques to win. Adams is much like his Dawson LP counterpart, a manager who likes to use small ball to win. Adams had made the playoffs before as said. He also had been eliminated on game 163 and felt the heartbreak that Cory Light felt last season narrowly missing CBA immortality. It seems that CBA remembers the winners and playoff teams while other team performances fade away. We recall the continuously strong and great 1997 and 1999 Limoilou teams of Jeff Boutet's dynasty, The St Foy Frenchies and Dino Barnabe. The Brooklyn Superbas Parker domination, The Hitmen and Loggers championship runs. The legendary Philly teams of the early decade. We even recall Boulet's Beauport Gamblers, Lou Bloss' Parma Flamingoes, Jack's miracle Otters of 2001, The Quebec Capitales of Chris Boutin in 2001 and other dawson races. We even remember the 2004 KC A's run by Rich Schneider who took over for Mike Johnson and drove the A's all the way to the finals. But we won't remember the Belfast Brawlers of 2007. We prefer to remember the glory days of 2005-6 when we speak about the tough pugilists from Montreal, Quebec.
The Brawlers are tough alright. They refused to lay down and die even in a down season which was an obvious rebuild year. Adams not even the least bit tempted to toss in the towel and look for lower ranking, the Brawlers played their hearts out till the end using their best potential lineups. They were a spoiler and my choice for team with the most courage in 2007. The talent seemed in place. However, The Brawler demise was fast. What caused the fade? Some reason could be that Players who had great previous years had poor cards in '07. Kotsay, Huff, Figgins, Chacin, Majewski to name a few. Tablesetters like Figgins .263 3HR 44 RBI 63 sb didn't get on base or have the pop in his bat. His slug dived. Lugo tailed off to .274 7 HR 38 RBI. Figgins remember was an MVP candidate in 2006 who created havoc for the Brawlers was off. No HR threat. Huff's HR and Slugging sliced in half 14 HR 51 .253 in 233 AB, not bad but he was the top HR leader. Endy Chavez played well in the OF5 HR 55 RBI .324 BA. A few guys had good years. Rios hit .290, A Miles .289, Luna .292, Freddie Sanchez .313. They had very good years. But no extra bases. No HR threat. The offense suffered . Just plate enough runs per AB. The .380 slug was atrocious. One of the worst I recall. A .336 team OBA, .670 total average. 4.45 RC per game. The most telling? A .114 isolated power average. By comparison Skokie won Carter with a .219, a great deal higher. Good teams generally are in the .185+ range. Very good offensive teams around .210-.220, Super offensive teams like 2000 Philly, Brooklyn, 2002 Philly, 2003 Brooklyn, 2003 Quebec, 2001 Sunville had Iso's around .215 to .228. 83 HR, 33 triples, 323 doubles. While the triples and doubles are acceptable the HR won't do it. 2007 Belfast proves that without the power, the pitching don't matter.
Pitching was awful but it wasn't too good either for Belfast. Belfast went for pitching in Rd 1 and grabbed whom they thought would anchor the staff Jason Jennings. He seemed to be washed at 11-13 4.66. Actually it could have been worse. With poor perfoming roatation starters Belfast could not score enough to compete though they might had with some help. BJ Ryan's numbers were dismal. 6-4 3.76 are numbers not befitting an effective closer. However upon closer look .107 IRSC. .232 BA, 10.5 K's per 9, 19 inherited's 9 inherited went into scoring position, but only 2 scored. Strange. 1 HR per 9, 3.56 K/BB, what went wrong? The HR's. Belfast may have similar troubles again in 2008. No power added, Belfast will likley suffer the same fate. The difference is they will have less pitching as Jennings falls down, Ryan can't toss, and others are just eating innings. The Brawlers could easily lose more than 100 this season with a different manager. However not with Adams at helm. They may struggle but He will somehow find a way to get this team to perform optimally. Figgins is back, and Armando Rios will drive him in. Chavez, Amezaga will see play time. Miles will likely be a sparkplug. Belfast drafted for the future with Andy Sonnanstine, under rated Nate McClouth. Super closer draftee, Manny Corpust should pick up where Ryan left off. The pen is very solid. Raffy Perez will set up as will Tony Pena. The staff will be by committee with some serviceable cards like Durbin, Sampson, & DiNardo. Batista will head the staff as a solid #2 starter. Belfast can make some noise and surprise some teams in their division. With a few runs, the pen can hold 'em. LP better look out because Belfast can hurt their chances as the possible storm looms on the horizon for Dawson. The hurricane Surf and Northern Logs may break under the weight of a very powerful Joliet team armed to break through.
If one man has been patient in CBA, it's CBA executive consultant and GM Jack Frost. The news in 2008 just may be his like it was Joe Wallace's last year. This team could achieve many franchise offensive records. Perhaps some CBA too? Rumors have been circulating that Joliet may be building a new stadium and attempting to shed the second division image they acquired the past few seasons. The Jackhammer logo and name symbollic with those season memories. This year look out...
Joliet has had some notable achievements in CBA despite the dubious team won lost record. They are CBA's stolen base Kings. They remind us of the early CBA when teams regularly had more than 100+ SB a year. This year they had 320. Next runner up Brooklyn's 152. More than double. Didn't realize the game could be coaxed into running that many chances. The year 2006 saw 300+ SB as well. Juan Pierre 3 HR 33 RBI 88 SB. A Soriano .264 30 HR 93 RBI 69 SB. Ryan Freel 41 SB. Podsednick 31 of 40 SB in only 127 Ab's as PR and sub. Eckstein 15 SB, Derek Lee 12, Almezaga 22 SB. Tracy 8, Green 7, even 7 for Magglio (16 84 .292). Pierre was however caught 36 times which may be a record. Perhaps like Belfast the lack of HR power hurt them in '07. Only 128 which falls short of the playoff teams HR totals. Only 275 doubles the worst in CBA. .327 OBA, .397 slug, .131 Iso, 4.43 runs created. Not good. Some of the disappointment with the offense lay with the fall off of Chad Tracy he was horrible at 3B. 26 errors .476 X rating awful Cabrera-esque. 14 HR 68 RBI .241, he hurt the team...and he is gone... Arrives Mike Lowell. Huge clutch bat and card acquired from Indiana for a pick. He will be in the middle of a fearsome attack. He is a 1 at 3B so that helps the pitching. Magglio Ordonez could be an MVP candidate even playing at Busch stadium. Derek Lee another 1 rated fielder mans 1st base and will hit for a high average. Ross Gload a good card in reserve and as a PH. Aaron Hill a valuable 2B who is a 2 at 2B. Shawn Green will get on base for Joliet, and Ronny paulino will be solid at bat and behind the plate. Juan Pierre will run wild again but get on base even more. JJ Hardy will hit HR's at SS with excellent 2 e14 defense. This team is set. The pitching will be good this year. John Maine an ace starter, AJ Burnett, Chuckt James, Jered Weaver, Looper for innings, and a few other spot starters with decent cards should round it the rotation. Not the best, but enough to be average. Look for Maine to win 20. The pen is really deep with JJ Putz as closer. The st up men are quite solid and will help out the back end of the rotation. Luis Vizcaino. Joaquin Benoit, Renyel Pinto, Brian Wolfe, Jorge Sosa, Matt Capps, Richard er Tim er Jared Burton. Joliet leads CBA with names that begin with J. They may lead Dawson when its all over too. This team is just loaded with what could be their best team ever. If ever it were time for Joliet to make a run, it's this year.
Limoilou defines ease of transition. The Wendigo are led by Original member Jeff Boutet. The Wendigo are a model of consistency. Year after year this franchise just reinvents readjusts and reclaims prominence. The Limoilou name stands for excellence in CBA. Boutet just seems to have the magic touch. His trades are well planned and calculated and his assessment of talent has been non paralleled. Jeff Boutet is a sure fire Hall of Famer. His teams have played some legendary games over the years. They bring out the intensity in their opponents. Many classic games have been participants. Limoilou has stretched 'em to 7 winning a few and losing a one I recall in 2005 to LP in a tremendous final game won on a HR. The 2003 Champs destroyed their competition, and beat Brooklyn for another title. Ljmmer can be counted on for Boutet's midas touch to make Dawson another charm. They won 93 in 2007. They are on track again the same. They do it with wise personnel decisions. Like drafting Dustin McGowan. Patiently holding on to the right players too. Chris Ray, and Eric Gagne was worth a spot and they produced a nice little cards for 2008.
Limoilou counted on 237 HR and some high slugging to compete. The numbers weren't gaudy, but guys got on base at a .343 clip. Not too bad. The slugging was around .455 which is slightly above average. The runs created .795. Its safe to say the HR's were hit when they counted. The .196 ISO is good. Contributions from Carlos Beltran's incredible season in the field and at bat were 52 HR 133 RBI .266 .354 OBA, 1.265 TA and a whopping .621 slugging! Both he and Thome 49 HR 111 RBI .302 BA were above 1.000 in the lineup. Glaus rebounded and had 42 HR 96 RBI despite .202 BA. Hall 33 HR 102 .266. A few low average hitters with good HR power. Lofton 48 sb, and Lopez 25 sb provided some speed. The Wendigo stole 139 bases.
Pitching was quite good. 5, 10 game winners. J Johnson 15-4 3.33, Schmidt 12-6 3.00. Saito saved 30 went 8-4. The middle relievers were effective .301 IRSC though could've done better. Aardsma, Weathers, Corcoran, and Betancourt were capable. Minute Maid Pk is hardly a hitters paradise for batting average. Boutet tailor made his team for such a stadium. Limmer has a few guys who will develop some as Prince Fielder will lead the team into 2008. Beltran, Granderson, Lofton will provide some runs. The pitching appears 3 deep in McGowan (1st Rd pick), Schilling, and Jarrod Washburn. Wakefield will eat innings as will Daniel Cabrera. Not sure the talent is what it had been with the loss of Thome. The value of Thome's bat TA, OBA, Slug is great. Lim will find a way to win. They better. Joliet and SD appear to be playoff bound fighting for the division. LP will be competing with Limmer for a wildcard along with A Town, Kennesaw, and Maine for the final WC.
LEAGUE STANDINGS FOR 2007 C.B.A.
Dawson WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2007 Limoilou LWD 93 69 .574 ---- *WON*
2007 San Diego SSD 92 70 .568 1.0 Wildcard #1
2007 Longue Pointe LLD 91 71 .562 2.0 Wildcard #2
2007 Joliet JJD 77 85 .475 16.0
2007 Belfast BBD 70 92 .432 23.0
Carter WON LOST PCT GB MAGIC#
2007 Skokie SWC 87 75 .537 ---- *WON*
2007 Ohio OTC 74 88 .457 13.0
2007 Kennesaw Mtn KWC 70 92 .432 17.0
2007 Allentown ANC 66 96 .407 21.0
2007 Maine MEC 65 97 .401 22.0
Limoilou and Longue Pointe is a rivalry going back to CBA inception. Dennis Concepcion our dedicated Staub President is also an original Montreal Expos fan. Some may say he could be one of the Expos most loyal American fans. He could tell us more about Jarry Parc than many Expo fans from Montreal. Who more fitting to take over the Longue Pointe team name than he? Again Concepcion used his Strat theory and style to build another contending team long removed from the ashes of the Hitmen. The Concepcion template seems to be a common sense approach. He drafts and trades for players who incorporate a total team picture. Longue Pointe mixes speed, bunting, Hit and run into wins. 149 team SB which put the low slugging Loggers on second and sometimes 3rd base in scoring position at key times. Ichiro Suzuki had somewhat smaller than usual numbers but was productive in more ways than 1. His all around game paid dividends. 4 HR 42 RBI .292 69 SB dont jump out. He still created 86 runs per game with his bat and stopped runners dead from his RF position. Only 3 runners reached base on CF X all season. His 5 OF assists show that runners didnt mess with him. In fact the whole LP outfield helped the pitching staff along. Tori Hunter (21 HR 55 RBI .240 15sb) had 14 assists from CF, because they dared. Hunter allowed only 4 balls to drop in. Combined the duo took away many of LP opponents hits and extra basehits. Runners stopped from advancing. Aramis Ramirez .306 33 HR 101 RBI had the big bat He was acquired from Philly for Kelvim Escobar, a deal which worked for both teams. The declining Richie Sexson chipped in 27 HR but his .776 TA, 5.43 RC .477 slug and .332 OBA were way off previous seasons. In to pick up the slack was Craig Monroe (released...thats gratitude) with .234 24HR 82 RBI. Key contributions from Craig Counsell 6 HR 33 RBI .272 14sb and Jose Vidro 5Hr 42 RBI .290 in the small ball department bunt and H & R reminded some of Ted Sizemore and Willie Randolph. Was it their offense that got them to 90 wins? The stats look poor. The Pitching? The bench? It was all of the above in some form. In this case we have to look deeper into things. The team offense was negligable or so it may seem. .267 BA 175 HR not too bad. 713 runs, low. 4.64 runs per game. 4.42 against. Hmm? 12-5 in extras. Bullpen? Yes. Bullpen. Bench? Yes bench. 25-15 in 1 run games. A very well rounded bench with strong production against various team matchups. Each year LP seems to have a few players on the bench who platoon and produce. Clint Barmes .263 9 HR, 35 RBI as a utility. Catcher Javier Valentin 7 HR 39 RBI 11 PH .379 in 56 games. Cirillo .346 in 159 AB, 8 PH. Theriot 10 PH, Repko .312 BA, Logan PR-PH.
Was it all that which produced 90 wins? A .322 team OBA and .412 slug? The pitching and bench were the key. With the emphasis on runner advancement, Concepcion loaded his bullpen with relievers and starters with guys who throw strikeouts. More runners do not advance thus lowering team ERA. Good defense and pitcher runner non advancement slow down opposing offenses. A 4.21 ERA 2nd in CBA. The league averaged 4.67. 9 shutouts, 42 saves, Opp .263 BA, a stopper named Zambrano. Cy Young 17-4 3.02 ERA. 148 hits in 214 innings. Staff? 1151 K's. A .759 X rating %, An amazing .216 Inherited runner score from the pen. They threw fewest pitches in CBA. Lots of rallies stopped. Games won. Bench steps in for usage. LP manages another playoff. LP's weakness showed in the playoffs. Over the long haul, LP used stamina and endurance. In a shorter series, the Wendigo's explosive playoff team took them in 6 games because the Wendigo's Curt Schilling and Jason Schmidt shut down their on on base offense. LP's power died after game 1's 3 HR by Monroe, Ramirez, and Sexson. Limoilou had earned their place once again as Dawson champions...And in 2008 Limoilou may once again look down on the Dawson as they're primed for another run....
San Diego Surf, they rode long and far in 2007. A tremendous playoff year for the one time patsies of the Dawson. Ain't nobody taking 'em light no mo'. Dese here Surfa's are back to ride. Joe Wallace won't be satisfied unless he coaxes a World Title from these dudes. Their window is now. The time has come. Blessed with a great all around team, SD is going to shoot the tube to the top of Dawson. Only Joliet should stand in their way, and in fact could be every bit as tight as the Brooklyn - Indy Parker fight. San Diego has it all. Last year they had it all too.
Victor Martinez 20 HR 112 RBI .355 BA , 1.011TA, David Wright 30 HR 112 RBI .346 BA, 1.027 TA, Robinson Cano 20 HR .319 BA, Jermaine 25 HR 109 .287 were excellent in producing offense and wins. A team .360 OBA, and a .468 Slug were good enough to score almost 6 runs a game. The .800 TA was very good too. The bench was solid. Delmon Young had 14 PH and next year will be a full timer and perhaps a later a star. The offense will be loaded. The lineup is solid into 2008, the bench very strong. A great PH in Daric Barton, Delmon, Howie Kendrick. Who will Wallace start Kendrick or Cano? An enviable dilemna. Last year pitching was much of the reason for the team record 92 wins. A 4.31 team ERA. 1299 K's a very high total. Runners didn't advance. The starters were strong but the pen a bit weaker, a .347 IRSC. Jake Peavy again an ace starter with a 16-8 record. Dan Haren 13-10 15 QS, 4.10 ERA. Ervin Sanatana started slow then broke out to finish 13-7 4.07 ERA. The pitching was within CBA's upper staffs. Gil Meche 11-10, and King Felix Hernandez 12-13 with 15 quality starts rounded things out. The other Felix Rodriguez saved 20. Next year should be even better. Perhaps CBA's best. The starters return with better cards. The bats are stronger too. From Wright to Youkilis, to Nady to Victorino. SD has it all. If there is one shortcoming it could be against lefties in late innings. The do not have a lefty set up. Otherwise maybe a 100 wins season for the Surf.
The Carter Division.
No race here in 2007. It was Skokie from the outset. They fought an early challenge by Allentown, and then sped off as trades kept solidifying the Wolfmen as the season went. Allentown faded, and Ohio couldn't keep up. Kennesaw never seriously mounted a challenge after dropping a 3 game set to the Wolfmen on May 20-22. Each game counts. The story this year is Skokie, and only Skokie's. The Wolfman has earned a place within CBA's legacy by playing gallantly in the 2007 World Series. The team was built for the playoffs, and darned near pulled it out. Despite Skokie's dominance of Carter, many saw that division as a weaker sister of the mighty Dawson. Only 3 teams, Skokie, Limoilou, and San Diego had winning records Interleague, while only 5 had +.500 records outside the division.
Which trades helped the most? A look at the multi team stats show that guys like David Delluchi 16 Hr 55 RBI, Jason Giambi's 22 HR helped the Skok. Wang went 12-8. Street 29 saves, ironically enough all on Skokie. The underdog, Wolfmen challenge CBA's perennial Schmidt powerhouse. Could that change? Some rebuilding GM's are betting on it. Until then, the 87-75 record could've been better if not for a late swoon already well in the lead. The usage wasn't an issue. The team playoff built. Piazza may have been team MVP. 28 HR 89 RBI .322 BA who'd have seriously thought? Comeback player for sure if there were one. 276 Team HR. 913 runs scored an impressive number. Skokie offense really took off after adding Jason Giambi for 178 AB's. he hit 13 big HR, and knocked in 36. The team had a .350 OBA, and .491 slug. Both excellent numbers in Citizen's Bank Park. The liberal HR numbers in the CB Park gave Skokie lots of runs. Unsung hero was John Valentin who blasted 29 HR 85 RBI and .311 BA. Mathews Jr had 26 HR 86 RBI .310 BA. Bonds hit 37 HR 100 RBI, 1.174 TA, .619 slg and got on base to a .423 clip. Very impressive at bat but in the field he cost alot. He let 16 hits roll past him and gain scoring position with a horrendous .448 X rate in LF. Had only 4 assists in 100 games out there. It seems as though he pitched 1/3 of an inn in 1 game, strange. Meanwhile Grudzielanek played well in the field with an .886 X rate. He and Jack Wilson .750 X rate made only 92 DP's. A slow team too, the Wolfmen stole only 39 bases. The bench was solid. Dave Dellucchi proved a valued pick up with a 1.056 TA. 8 HR 24 RBI .318 in 124 AB. Chipper added 28 HR and a .287 BA. The team could have done better if some extra inning support had been better. A 4-8 record in extras, and 22-26 record in 1 run games meant something was wrong. Winning 24-21 in games vs Lefties wasn't helpful but lets look closer.
Their ace starter pitched irregularly in 45 games. Tim Hudson was hit 13-7 4.83 era 244 hits in 220 Inn. Only 62 K's, runners advanced and scored. Clemens pitched well but 6-5 .382 era, Lilly, Wright, and Hudson were all hitable. What then? Nathan had a tremendous Cy Young type year, finished 4th with a 1.20 ERA in 63 games. Saroman Torres had 27 Holds best in CBA? Why would they lose in extras? Teams did hit .283 BA vs Lefty. Skokie is prone to lefty HR in that park. Skokie had poor production from their lefty pen and no reversers to compensate. Wolfman used George Sherrill 3-4 7.28 ERA, John Reineckar 4-6 7.88 ERA, Mike Stanton 6-0 4.71 who blew saves. Guys like Jacques Jones clouted those pitchers in late innings. Jones hit two HR for big wins in an Ohio sweep in early May. Millwood a righty 2R, struggled at Citizen's. 9-17 4.46 ERA. HR problems too. Teams hit .274 total vs the Skok. Next year Skokie needing to reload after such a great run to the finals, made another slew of trades to bring in the puzzle pieces needed for another run. The lineup again is solid with players performing near or better than last years levels. Bonds, Chipper, Hudson, maybe Jack Wilson will shine. The falloff of Sheffield and Mathews, and Piazza will be offset by adding the under rated Dmitrev Young and Randy Winn. Catching will be by committee so this team will have its work cut out for them. Skokie added a good bullpen guys like Soria, and Redding to go with Heilman and Nathan. Perhaps another trade in the future? Skokie will have to fend off some rivals this year in Carter.
Allentown seems to have made some strides in the competition for the Wildcard. As it stands San Diego and Joliet may fight for the Dawson title and the first wildcard. Skokie is preseason favorite in Carter. The rest of the teams that have taken a step this year could be fighting Limoilou and Belfast from Dawson for the wildcard. Its possible that the second wildcard could be a sub .500 team. Therefore everyone is in this race and it should be a dandy in Staub for the last wildcard. Again every roll and game counts. Emerging from the great Staub Pack. One deal could put one atop. Consider LP, Limoilou, Belfast, Maine, A-Town as contenders. These teams are all close in card talent. Ohio may struggle some but they are young.
The Allentown Senators run by veteran Rich Schneider may stand out because of their great speed. Last year Allentown started quickly and actually atop Carter a time in late May. It really looked as if A Town had turned the corner. The came Skokie trades. Eventually Atown sold off to build stronger. Then came a slide that they couldn't get out of as Skokie took control. No matter they were rebuilding anyway. 2007 saw their leading hitter Ben Broussard 15 55 .319 only get 302 AB. He was a prior season trade acquisition. Fedro Peliz hit 22 HR but .222 not nearly good. Hanley disappointed at bat and glove 12 HR 63 RBI .274 BA, .732 X rating below average. The team .635 TA was dreadful. The trade of Posada did not help matters any. The offense struggling is the reason behind the fall. Russell Martin 5 HR 36 RBI .265 was counted on to provide more, and he didn't. A bright spot and story was the play of of former LP Hitman Berni3 Williams. .308 7 HR 44 RBI 37 Doubles to close out his CBA hall of fame career as a Senator. Jason Michaels went 10-16 as a PH and Broussard team MVP, had 11-34 PH. The team had a lowly .126 Isolated Power rating, pew. The pitching was decent last year despite a .287 BA vs lefty hurlers. A team 4.65 ERA was enough to keep them in many games. Byung Kim 9-10 4.04 did nicely as did ole' Woody Williams 7-9 4.07 ERA. Duscherer saved 17 in the pen. Opponents hit only .198 off him, but he let a terrible 38% of his runners to score IRSC.. The team had .333 IRSC, high. A .725 X rating was sub par to add to the woes.
Allentown appears to be a .500 team for 2008. They will have to do it on speed and small ball. Its likely they will steal about 200, and will need to move runners along. There is no power to speak of. With a shot at the playoffs Allentown is a franchise on the rise. They have great young talent to go with that speed. Ramirez is a legitimate superstar at the bat. His glove lethally defective. Without a DH in this league Ramirez hurts the team at SS. Matsui at 2B will be strong. Matsui will set the table along with Reggie Willits. Russ Martin will steal and hit Rich hopes. Feliz should be a competent power hitter with a glove. '08 could see as many as 6 players over 25 stolen bases, if Owens comes through. The pitching will be led by James Shields rapidly coming into his own. Livan should win a few. Riske will be good as closer along with new addition Cla Meredith. ATown could be fun to watch.
Kennesaw Mountain Toothpicks or Woodsmen? That is the question. Which nickname will they honor? With .500 a sensible target, Kennesaw Mt and James Blake-O will make things interesting. Young and talented. Loaded with young upcomers. Ryan Braun, James Loney, Ian Kinsler, Ryan Garko, BJ Upton, Yunnie Escobar, Norris Hopper, Corey Hart without his shades. A few good young pitchers like Billingsley, Owings, Kendrick, Jannsen, Hochevar, Kuwoda, Chico, Gorzellany. Could their be quality in quantity? Blake is betting on it. Oh this team in another year or two. For now we watch Blake swing deal after deal to bring the once proud Neah franchise back into prominence. Blake could have been even stronger had penalties not taken a #2 pick from him. He reacquired 2 more #2's from Brooklyn for Raffy Furcal to go along with a slew of #1's and 2's. Oh, and Jordan Shaffer is here too.
But last year wasn't a good one for the Woodies. Usage was problematic and the offense was pretty decent. McCann was awesome behind the plate 22 HR 77 RBI .319. 9 men had double digit HR's. Furcal was a bright spot with 10 HR 52 RBI .288 33sb 11cs .749 X rating. Garko was a premier PH with 12 PH and a +.300 BA. A 4.95 team RC is pretty poor and will need to be improved on for Kennysaw to win. The team hit .263 with 165 HR and 713 runs scored in 2007. They stole 92 bases total and stole 3B 8 times in 13 attempts. They only won 70 games in '07 and should win at least 10 more than that. KWC hung in through May in the Carter race just a bit behind. The race for the Woodsmen was for 2nd place which they held as late as August before Ohio wrested it from them. One interesting note the 6th place hitters belted 31 HR and knocked 90+ RBI's. Jeff Kent's demise hurt KWC too.
Maine is another team like Kennesaw on the upswing after a few good drafts. The nucleus looks good. Maine lost 97 games last year basically they can't get any lower. The pitching was decent with a 4.56 ERA The offense hit .255 with 201 HR. They gave up 1557 hits in 1451 innings. The bullpen was fair with decent ERA's but far from adequate in allowing runners to score. .34 IRSC. Teams hit .276 against the team as a whole. The strikeout to walk ration was a lowly 1.68. You would hope for better. 2.00 is a good bench mark for success. 9.7 hits per 9. The offense anemic. .318 OBA is horrible. No runners on, no runners score simple. A .680 total avg is likened to an average SS. A .170 Iso wasn't awful. Aside, 29 SB and 22 CS not too good. I can go on about the team stats and player stas but they point really is the future of this team. Adrian Gonzalez 16 HR 77 RBI .304 is a legitimate superstar at 1B. Kahlil Greene 23 HR 61 RBI .298 is a top SS. The loss of Reyes actually wasn't much in that Greene's glove and power made up for the speed. As former Wantagh stars like Luis Gonzalez 10 HR 32 RBI .292 fade away, Guys like Dan Uggla step up. Uggla a CBA rookie of the year type hit 24 HR 85 RBI .282 in a good season. He returns in 2008 with more power. Francoeur a disappointment because he couldn't hit righties .208. He hit .333 vs lefties for a total 22 HR 81 RBI .237. RF Austin Kearns hit 14 HR 39 RBI .227. Aaron Boone may have been the worst 3B in CBA making 22 errors hitting 7 HR 28 RBI .239. A team .713 X rating, Boone's X rating was .386...Worst. Cory Koskie had 14 HR 45 RBI in 246 AB.
The pitchers didn't do much. Geoff Geary a set up man had the team low ERA 2-3 2.73. Ian Snell will develop some after posting a 14-11 4.74 season. Typical of Maine, the team is loaded with young talent. Rich Hill is aboard and should be respectable as the number 2 man or even as ace. Noah Lowry 9-8 4.36 ERA, should be a good card too. Jason Bergmann drafted, Claudio Vargas acquired from BSP, and Jow Saunders should help along at the end of the rotation. That could be a weakness with the competition for the #2 WC. Bobby Jenks as expected blossomed into a top closer and that will enable the Express to rise in the standings. Brandon Lyon will set up as he returns to form. The bench is quite solid too with guys to rest the regulars. Luis Gonzalez, Joey Gathright who stole 47 for BSP last year. Craig Biggio in his farewell season. The return of Alex Gonzalez to SS with power and glove who could become trade bait. Ak Iwamura will play 3B at the top of the order likely. Maine looks as though they could have a break through year. They will test Mike Koepp's skills. Koepp has built this team from having no future propsects and talent to one that could be a contender for the playoffs in two years.
Without fanfare Ohio just stays under the radar. They finished 2nd in 2007 with a lowly 74-88 record. It spoke volumes for what may have been CBA's worst divisional race ever. Ohio should finish last in 2008. The team lineup is full of holes and the defense is porous. The team is building step by step. Ohio is full of future optimism. but the attendance will be low and fans must be patient in the Buckeye state.
Last years team hit and average .261 with 175 HR 723 runs. Average at best. Preston Wilson was the unlikely hitting star with 29 HR 92 RBI .292 BA. Texeira disappointed at 24 HR 82 RBI .254 BA. Carlos Guillen who will be a butcher at glove did hit 15 HR 64 RBI .307 BA. Ensberg hit 24 HR 66 RBI .235 BA. Durham had 21 HR at 2B. Vance Wilson hit .350 as a backup catcher. Jacque Jones hit 18 HR 44 RBI but only .244. Kinda microcosm's the Maine offense. The pitchers did well in the pen. The numbers gaudy with Dennis Reyes posting 3-0 1.22 ERA in 45 games. Steve Shields was 2-2 2.30 11sv. The pen allowed only .297 runners to score. The team allowed a .270 BA. But had a 2.38 K/BB ratio. The staff was good enough to win. Starter Bonderman was 12-11 3.59 and had a great year. But they had little run support, 4.46 per game. The team .327 OBA and a .418 slug is no good. A .157 Iso and you just cant bring 'em home. A promising season turned sour fast.
This year will see possibly 100 losses. Glen Kenan will have his work cut out. Thing is that the future stars could become very powerful very fast. Loaded, Alex Gordon, Kelly Johnson, Mark Texeira, Willy Mo Pena, Chris Young, Jason Kubel, Melkon Cabrera, Matt Diaz, the bats could see big years in 2009. Ohio will need to count on Millwood 9-17 4.46 ERA to return to prior form. Some good arms with Bonderman, Clay Bucholtz, Brett Myers. Ohio is building and it will take some time as their talent blossoms.
2007 was loads of fun. Many records sets and many hearts broken. The thrill of victory for Maine, and the agony so close for the Wolfman. The dominance of Brooklyn and Carolina to their untimely demise in the playoffs. The collapse of Belfast and Ottawa, and the near playoff miss of Bryan in their best ever campaign. 2007 was one to remember. The 2008 season will be exciting too if the buzz at the draft was any indication. We look forward to opening day and the surprises that the season can bring. Will my team make CBA history? Will we achieve immortality in the record books? Will the stats set team highs or lows. Will I share a place in CBA legend or infamy? Who will be a perenial powerhouse and who will also ran. These questions will be answered soon enuff as CBA moves on into year 12.
Hi everyone, this Skip Duckworth reporting on the Indiana Red Birds for the up and coming 2008 season. The Red Birds had another fine year last year but they came up short on trying to be the first back to back champions in the CBA. Going into this season Red Bird Manager said they were going to have to make some changes and he did with his skillful ways of doing deals. At Catcher they have Jorge Posada for a full season and his skills behind the plate and at the plate will be a big help to the team. At 1B they still have Albert who had a down yr in the majors for him but about any other player would take the numbers he put up. Now up the middle they have a great DP combo in Reyes and Polanco, Reyes has great range and if he can get to a ball he probably throw you out as he only committed 12 errors for the season, now for DP partner what can you say he went the whole yr with out an error at 2B and he also has great range. With Polanco impressive season at the plate and the glove that allow the Red Birds trade away Tad Iguchi who had a good yr himself but they use him to get another piece to the puzzle. Now at 3B what can say other than A-Rod he does it yr in yr out? The Outfield is anchored down by the CF Grady Sizemore who can cover the ground and it is rare for him to make miscue on a ball. Now for the corners in LF Jason Bay has been roaming around there but he had a down yr so mgr Fidler decided they needed to something and they went out and got Moises Alou who will get a lot of playing time against LH pitching and Jason Tyner will see some action out there against RH pitchers but Alou will get his share of abs out there even against RH pitching. Now in RF going into the draft we knew that Hunter Pence would get his time out there but with their 1st rd pick the Red Birds picked up Josh Hamilton so what a platoon. Mike Cameron was to get his share of time in LF and RF with his good D but then Kennesaw Mtn came knocking and was in search of CF so with some negotiating both GMs came up with a deal to suit each other and coming to the Red Birds to be added in OF mix now is Andre Ethier another youngster where the sky is the limit on his potential. The Red Birds knew in the offseason they were going to have to do something about DH spot and they wanted to find a power hitting
LH bat to put in between A-Rod and Albert just as Tony Clark was in 06 when the Red Birds won it all. They talked to Skokie about Barry Bonds but that is about as far as it went so they turned their attention to Limoilou about Jim Thome and after it was said and done Jarrod Washburn, Tad Iguchi and some draft picks were dealt to Limoilou for Jim Thome. As we mentioned earlier the Red Birds made trades after the draft to bring in Andre Ethier. So the offense and defense for the Red Birds will be a pleasure to watch this coming season. Well that is the first part of the Indiana Red Birds the Hitters, so this is Skip Duckworth and be watching for our next issue of the Red Bird Gazette when talk about the Pitching staff how with the veterans on the team and pitchers brought in via the draft or trades will something else to watch out of the Red Birds.
SKIP DUCKWORTH
Jan 4th, 2008
from Kennesaw Mt Woodsmen/Lumberjacks
"We are not going to earn
another draft this high again!"
emphatically stated by GM J.M. Blakely,?and if we do, it will be
looked at oddly by the league, dammit."
Huh?
The old coach has tried it his way for too long. For the first time,
ole Blake is taking advice from an undisclosed source to go along
with the inside information gathered from his contacts in the MLB; as
in players, coaches, and scouts.
"The world of Stato is not like the world of real baseball. At least
not in replay; in no way, shape or form did I want to trade Brian
McCann. I love the guy. But Strato screwed him and given the new
accepted formula to win and get into the playoffs next season, McCann
had to be sacrificed to achieve a higher goal. I've not tasted
playoff or World Series success since 2001, my first year in
Stratomatic. And that team was given to me; I made one super trade
that got me in the playoffs and into the World Series where I was
done in by an experienced 38 year Strato Master in Seven games. I
ran out of pitchers. I'll never forget it. Started Roger Clemens,
pitched game one, shutout. Left him with only 4 more IPs. No more
Rocket. No more arms for game seven. (Expletives deleted)"
Blake's first taste of Strato was in a winter league with limited
games and restricted IPs and Abs. Still, it has been a long time and
the former high school coach longs to field a Strato team that can
compete and win.
"This CBA is a fine league. Full of savvy vets and knowledgeable
GMs; and this Woodsmen team will win more games against a larger
number of my fellow Stratomanics this season than last. More total
wins? Maybe not; but more wins verses a few more teams is what I am
looking for and to build for 2009 and beyond. And the foundation is
going to be decent; not great; but decent.
Blake proudly points to the outfield where the bats of BJ Upton and
Aaron Rowand will pound pitchers. Andre Ethier and Brian Giles
should threaten righty pitchers, while Colby Rasmus, Adam Jones, and
Juan Rivera are held in reserve awaiting their upcoming MLB results.
"Rasmus can play; should be playing by the break in St. Louis.
You'll soon mention the name of `Rasmus' instead of fat Andruw
Jones." Mark Teahen, with hitting potential galore, as well as
Carlos Quentin, who struggled last season, both will have a chance to
excel this coming MLB season. It is hoped that the '09 Woodsmen's
bats will bang heavy, hard and long in '09 while showing great
promise in '08.
And the coach needs a catcher. "Don't remind me; it isn't like Bard
is meat back there!" And the coach has a point, though the cards
have not been sent out yet, "Yes, the cards, (LOL), I know how to
read those (expletives deleted) cards now. Well, I think I do!"
Blake won't say what his targets for the draft but did mention
pitching. "I learned my lesson about trading pitching. What I have
returning isn't bad, it isn't great, but it is average. My #1 should
be a #3 and I do have 4 solid number three pitchers, including
the `Gas Man'", which has to be Ronson Lighter Fluid Winner, Carlos
Silva, who had a much better year, stats wise, in the previous MLB
season. "And I'll probably have next years' winner, too", in a
painfully obvious reference to young Scott Olsen, who crashed and
burned last season but still is young, with skills, an arm on his
side. "Gotta have somebody for blow-outs or you burn your pen!" And
what of the bullpen? Zach Miner will spot-start and serve as long
relief, Russ Springer sports another strong set-up card and Casey
Janssen, the young Toronto Blue-Jay serves as closer for now. Coach
needs a closer and he knows it. So what will you do about a catcher,
Coach Blake?
"Like I said, Bard isn't meat; Adam Everett has a strong glove at
Short, and look at my corner sluggers! (Edwin)Encanarcion,
the `Loon' (James Loney) and (Ryan) Garko can flat out stroke! And
you don't want to see the clutch numbers from those guys as well as
the 2-Bagger Law Firm of Kent & Kinsler!" As coach hides his
catching woes, he has hope in the infield. A young SS can be found
late, and the aforementioned sluggers, in order, sport OPS'
of .794, .919, .842, .875, and .796. In all, the team that coach
carries into the draft has 8 batters with the lowest OPS of .796 with
5 batters above .842.
"As for a catcher, I will look to find one in the draft but not in
the first round, that's for sure. The main needs are pitching and
have enough sense not to trade it away when I get it. This team may
win 75 games; if so, I'll be happy as long as we do a better job
against the league's big boys and not get smashed within our own
division. Of course, if Eric wants to let go of a short-stop, he
knows where I can be found."
With that, the coach said his good days and headed to the library
with a fresh roll of toilet paper several months issues of Baseball
America. "Gotta catch up on some reading and find some pitchers."
Nov 2nd, 2007

The Classic Battle, CBA Playoffs, Round 2
Skokie vs. Limoilou, October 2007
No one knew what to expect of the Wolfmen in the playoffs this year. The Wolfmen tried as best they could for this season to correct some deficiencies from the past which resulted in bowing out from Round 1 of the playoffs in 2005 and 2006. So was this version of the Staub finals really with the best two teams in the conference as coming in to the playoffs Skokie had the worse record of all playoff teams? But the Wolfmen knew from the beginning of the season (even though in the early days Allentown was kicking their butt and was in first for a time) that they had an excellent chance finally to win the division outright without too much trouble as they had just lost out on the last day of the season in the past two years. (What is better: To be fighting all year for the division or win it fairly easily with no competition?) This is not a boastful comment at all but just in studying the other teams in the division and based on our simulations, it was a good guess and turned out to be true. Again, we always honor and respect the other managers, as we each do our best to find a way to be successful. We never know who’s year will it be. Also it is my hope, via this report, to be able to provide some interesting insights for others about what it takes to create a playoff-bound and possibly championship team. Anyway, when a team knows they will comfortably make the playoffs, before the playoffs begin, they need to think about ways to prepare their team and how to make themselves stronger, so they can be very competitive in a short series.
For the 2007 CBA season, starting pitching was hard to come by and drove many managers mad. For Skokie this was also true, we really had to scramble via the draft and trades as if you look at the starters we are using in the playoffs, only Clemens began on our team. (T. Hudson and Wang via trade, L. Hudson a nugget in the draft.) If you scan the yearly stats of all of our starting pitchers, we really didn’t have a dominating pitcher for this season as we have had in the past although Clemens has a pretty good card and thank god (ha ha) he pitched over 100 innings (so really we saved him for the playoffs as he didn’t have a Clemens year). In the last two seasons we had two good 3-day starters each but this year we had to use a makeship squad. Tim Hudson won 13 games for the Wolfmen but he received one of the best run supports in the league, he really was pretty inconsistant. Only Luke Hudson pitched somewhat well for our squad. So Skokie desperately needed a more dependable starter during the middle part of the season (again planning for the playoffs) and a pitcher who didn’t give up the long ball so much as in the Wolfmen’s stadium, long balls are the name of the game (via the 276 diggers we hit during the season and 230 bombs that left our park by both teams). So the trade to obtain Wang with Maine was a trade preparing for the playoffs and is probably one of the main reasons why Skokie could have any chance at all in the playoffs. The idea was if we had a 3 day starter like Wang and the ability to pitch Clemens twice, for five out of the seven games Skokie could have a fairly decent pitcher going who didn’t give up the long ball. This is a situation we couldn’t have done during the regular season but could in the playoffs. So working with Luke (of Star Wars fame), this might give Skokie a chance to be very competitive with a fairly strong starting staff to go along with the various relief specialists we have and finish with Heilman and Nathan waiting in the wings. As Skokie entered the playoffs, we were curious if this strategy could really work for our pitching staff.
In our first series verse San Diego, the four games we won involved four quality starts by our starting pitchers. In two of these victories we blew out the Surf but the other two games were won by one run which means that series could have gone the other way if the Surf were hitting a bit more. Skokie got blown out two games in San Diego but we expected to see this from time to time as going with only 9 pitchers also left a whole in our relief staff if our starters didn’t last at least six innings. But it had to be this way to play to our strengths.
So as Skokie approached their first ever, conference championship series with Limoilou, we knew we would be facing one of the best teams in the CBA, with a very capable manager who has the record for World Series wins and appearances. Limoilou is a very similar team to Skokie and perhaps even has a bit more balance and strengths as Skokie was gambling their defense at the corners and the poor throwing arm of the Pizza Man wouldn’t cause too many problems. Skokie came into this series with a total reverse of the situation from their dramatic seven game playoff with Limoilou in 2005. In 2005, Skokie had the better record, the home field advantage and had thrashed Limoilou during the regular season. Limoilou was a wild card team. For 2007, it was reserved, Limoilou had beat Skokie 11 out of 15 games, and had the best conference record with the home field advantage. Could the tables be reversed? And can Skokie win in Limoilou? The Wendigos had easily eliminated Longue Pointe in the first round so it seemed they were ready to make another appearance in the CBA World Series. Could the Wolfmen stop them with all this history?
So here are the keys to this historic series as we review each game and discuss were the factors leading to each team’s success and failure:
------------------------------
Game 1: Skokie at Limoilou (Wang vs Schmidt)
Wolfmen......... 3 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 - 8 10 0
Wendigo......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 - 3 8 1
The Wolfmen started game 1 off up and running as Piazza, who could be the team MVP knocked in four runs. He singled with the bases loaded in the 1st for Skokie first run followed by a 2 run shot by Edmonds. Remember Edmonds was acquired from Wendigo in 2006 for Beltrans, showing the younger star up. Again Piazza struck in the 2nd inning knocking in 2 more with a base hit and finished the game with a homer in the 9th. The quick start by Skokie was too much for the Wendigos who finally broke through against Wang in the 9th when Thome hit a 3 run shot. Could this game be an example of how the series would go? With this win, Skokie took away the home field advantage from the Wendigos and showed they had come to play and that they really intended to go to their first World Series. Skokie was hoping in this series their starters could go long and welcomed the complete game by Wang. Also surprised to have had such success against Schmidt who dominated them in the 2005 series.
Game 2: Skokie at Limoilou (L. Hudson vs Schilling)
Wolfmen......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 3 0
Wendigo......... 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 - 3 6 0
In Game 2, a game which the Wendigos really needed to win, Schilling came to the rescue. He was un-hittable and stopped cold the Wolfmen. L. Hudson pitched a good game in the losing cause. The great closer of Limoilou, Saito came in and shut the door down to ensure the series was tied going on to Skokie, where the Wolfmen play very tough. Glaus and Hall homered for the Wendigos to provide the needed runs. Series tied 1 game a piece with a great pitching matchup coming up for Game 3, Johnson vs. Clemens. (Note: Skokie missed three ball park home runs in this game of futility).
Game 3: Limoilou vs Skokie (Johnson vs. Clemens)
Wendigo......... 0 0 2 0 3 5 0 0 0 - 10 11 0
Wolfmen......... 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 5 - 9 7 2
This game was expected to be a pitchers duel but Limoilou came out to play and take back the home field advantage. In the 5th inning, the Wendigos knocked Clemens out as the frustrated Wendigo bats suddenly came to life. After Skokie had taken an early 2-0 lead on a two run shot by Edmonds, Limoilou tied it in the third and in the fifth and six inning, everything that Limoilou hit had eyes – it didn’t matter who Skokie sent to pitch, it was like they were throwing big lollies to hit. Limoilou had 4 stolen bases, Thome hit another homer and Thome, Murton and Glaus each had 3 RBIs. By the bottom of the 6th, Limoilou had a commanding 10-3 lead – but Skokie wasn’t ready to give up. Rheinecker came in to pitch and somehow (not one of our best pitchers) was able to shut down the Wendigos the rest of the way. Skokie scored one run in the 6th and then trailing 10-4 going into the bottom of the 9th, came alive against Johnson and Weathers as Matthews double in 2 runs in the 9th for a 10-6 lead and then Valentin hit his second homer of this series, a 3 run shot and all of a sudden it was 10-9. But unfortunately Saito, the great closer of the Wendigos, shut Skokie down and the Wendigos barely escaped alive with a 10-9 win. What this meant is that Limoilou now took back home advantage and finally handed Skokie their first home lost in the playoffs. Could we be seeing a repeat of the 2005 series? Game four would feature a repeat of the first game starters. Could Skokie beat again Schmidt one of the toughest pitchers in the league?
Game 4: Limoilou at Skokie (Schmidt vs. Wang)
Well
just as Game 2 was a key game for Limoilou, as the series momentum had
shifted to the Wendigos, Skokie couldn’t afford to lose another one at
home. The Wolfman handed Wang the game ball and asked him to keep them in
the game. Well the Wendigos continued where they left off in Game 4 and
quickly scored two times in the first to take a 2-0 lead. Again Lofton
was a key to generate the runs as he was unstoppable on the basepaths
stealing at will. But
Skokie
answered with a run in the bottom of the 1st as Valentin
launched his third homer, 2-1. Limoilou picked up a run in the fifth to
go up 3-1, and Schmidt was looking very tough. The fans in
Skokie were praying for a miracle. But the
Wolfmen, who in prior playoff games have had a very difficult time in the
playoffs coming from behind, awoke in the bottom of the 6th as
their aged homerun leader, Barry Bonds (not having a truly good post
season), launched a 2 run digger, his 2nd of the playoffs to
tie it at 3 a piece. This apparently ignited the Wolfmen as in the 7th
with the bags juiced, Bonds walked in a run for a 4-3 lead and then
Chipper Jones who had been silent for the playoffs, electrified the crowd
and cemented the game with a grannie to give the Wolfmen an overwhelming
8-3 lead late which really was a shocker for the Wendigos as they went
quietly down in the 8th and 9th as super closer Joe
Nathan came in to ensure the series was tied at 2 games a piece. So
Skokie had showed in Games 3 and 4, they were hungry and had the ability
to come from behind if they
had too. Was this a sign of what was to come and would it spell trouble
for the Wendigos? Wang got his second victory in the series and the
Wolfmen (thanks to the Strat Gods), were very happy they could engineer to
bring Wang to Skokie!!
Game 5: Limoilou at Skokie (Schilling vs T. Hudson)
Wendigo......... 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 - 2 6 1
Wolfmen......... 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 - 4 11 0
Game 5, was the key game of the series to decide who would go to the CBA Cup. While T. Hudson was the leader in victories for Skokie, he had a very rough season and had been bombed on a number of occasions including in game 5 of the San Diego series. But Skokie had to trust he could do the job. On the other hand, Skokie wasn’t looking forward to facing Schilling who shut them out in Game 5. So the odds were not good for Skokie but the game had to be played!!
Again Lofton, the
Skokie killer knocked in the games first run in
the 5th and Thome’s homer in the 6th put Limoilou
ahead 2-0. Schilling again was unhittable but the Pizza man, was able to
break through with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to make it
2-1. The bases were loaded with two outs continuing on in the inning, but
Skokie just couldn’t break through to tie it. Again in the 7th,
the bases were loaded for
Skokie with two outs but Speizio choked
via Saito. With the score 2-1, bottom of the 8th, the series
on the line,
Edmonds
singled off Saito and Itzuris, the backup shortstop, doubled (4-6 on
Saito’s card). With runners on 2nd and 3rd and no
one out, up came Heilman the pitcher. Skokie selected Grudzalenek, who
was having a strong series to pinch hit and he amazed the Skokie crowd
with a clutch pinch hit homer, 3 run shot (2-4 on his card) as Skokie led
4-2. Another come from behind game. Nathan was called upon again to nail
down the victory and pitched a perfect 9th. Skokie was now one
win away from being in their first World Series appearance. But could the
Wolfmen beat the touch Wendigos in their home park and break their jinx??
Game 6: Skokie at Limoilou (L. Hudson vs Wakefield)
Wolfmen......... 3 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 - 8 9 0
Wendigo......... 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 1 1 - 6 8 1
For this game, history was on Limoilou’s side. Skokie has had a seven game jinx the past two years and the Wendigos have played in the World Series several times before. They were also at home. Well Skokie was to show the world that they had come to play and Mr. Wakefield had an awful time getting the Wolfmen out of there. In the first evening the first six batter all reached base including two runs scored via walks. Once again Piazza knocked in the first run. In the 2nd featuring a two run shot by the Pizza Man, Skokie forged ahead 6-0, a repeat of game 1. Edmonds stealing a rare base, then scored on a ground ball by Wilson for a 7-0 lead in the 3rd. Finally in the 5th, the Wendigos came to life and knocked out L. Hudson who was sailing along. The Wendigos scored 4 runs in the bottom of this inning using timely hitting and stolen bases to make the game close at 7-4. The Wolfman thought, “Oh Jesus, (wait I am jewish, Oh Christ, oh God – yes), here we go again with that wildly Dennis and his comebacks …” Anyway, Sherill was brought in and was finally able to shut down the Wendigos in the 5th. But the Wendigos can never be counted out. In the top of the 7th, super-sub Spiezio, in for defense at first base, hits a towering blast against Weathers to put the Wolfmen back on top by four at 8-4 but in the bottom of the 8th, Beltran, who has been relatively quiet in the series doubled in a run to make it 8-5. Going into the 9th, the Wolfman decides to come in with Mr. Dependable, his ace closer Nathan to seal their first conference championship and to go to the World Series. Once again Lofton knocks in Denorfia for an 8-6 score but then Nathan shuts the Wendigos down the rest of the way and Skokie, unexpectedly and unassuredly becomes the 2007 Staub champ. So, the jinx is broken –
… and the Wolfman sheds a tear in joy as finally in his third attempt, he is able to bring his boys to the finals for the CBA championship. The players know how hard the Wolfman has worked on their behalf over the best few years, via trades and draft picks -- trying to bring together the right group of players – Barry Bonds who is not such an emotional guy, goes up to the chief and gives him a big hug and Clemens, Edmonds, Piazza with the younger players lift the Wolfman high up over the shoulders and carry him out on to the field where the Skokie Fans and even the Limoilou fans pay tribute to this fiery competitor, known for his early day exploits as a strat player and creator of SOM Conventions … this is the first time the Wolfman, since his return to Strat in 2005 is able to be in a league championship series. The Wolfmen, all bow their head and smile finally happy to help their chief achieve this goal. So now the question is, do the Wolfmen have what it takes to win it all? Can they beat the hot Philly team which no one seems able to stop?
Analsysis of the Series
For
Skokie the key for this series was the middle three games in their home
park. First in game 3 after being down 10-3, that they could almost come
back to tie it showed their fans that they have the ability and drive to
do the impossible or what it takes to win even under insurable odds. This
could have been a sign to Limoilou of what was to come as Skokie won the
final three games. Then, the come from behind wins in Game 4 and 5 really
gave the Wolfmen the momentum they needed especially with the 3 run blast
by Grudzalenek in Game 5 .. a surprise and unexpected hero. All year long
the 2B tandem of Valentin and Grudzalenek was a key for the Wolfmen. In
games 1, 4 and 6, the Wolfmen scored 8 runs which they had never done in
the past post-season years, so the inability of Limoilou to shut down the
hitting of Skokie (via their starters and relief staff) was Limoilou’s
undoing. Also Saito was not able to stop the Wolfmen either in key
moments. Nathan picked up two more saves in this series.
Hitting stars: Skokie prides itself in that they like to use all of
their players and at any time there can be a different Hero. Piazza
certainly was one of the Skokie stars, Valentin and Edmonds did surprising
well. Skokie
seemed to be able to come up with a good lineup vs. the Wendigo starters,
able to score accept against Schilling who was very tough. And also the
Skokie starters did a great job to hold the explosive Wendigos hitters
down to 3 runs or less in four of the six games. This was also a key
factor in the San Diego series and maybe the real reason for Skokie’s
success in the post season. The Skokie starters were able to pitch far
into the games so the relief staff could be used effectively. But also
what happened in the three games (two with San Diego and once with
Limoilou) where the starter was knocked out early as the pitching staff
was bombed, showed a glaring weakness that Skokie has to figure out.
Anyway, the starting staff had become a kind of strength in the post
season and was key to why Skokie had a chance to win it all. Including
the San Diego series, the Skokie starting pitchers gave 8 quality starts
out of the 12 games played. But as stated before, Wang went 3-1 along
with great starts by Clemens (2), L. Hudson (2) and one good start by T.
Hudson in game 5.
There is no doubt the key two games of the series were Game 3 with the comeback by Skokie plus the dramatic 8th inning home run by Grudzalenek in Game 5. As we saw in Game 1 and Game 6, if Skokie goes out to a big lead, its really hard to catch them as they will bring in their good relievers and defense late to preserve their lead.
Heilman also had a great series for the Wolfmen as he gave up no runs in relief. As a team the Wolfmen hit 11 homers in the six games. So perhaps what is proven is that if you have a team with speed versus a team with sluggers, the team with sluggers can still score more effectively and quickly.
One of the things Skokie desperately tried to improve upon for 2007 was to have more hitters with a good on-base percentage as there are many Strat managers who believe this is one of the keys for success. Anyway, this was not an easy series at all – games 4-6 could have gone the other way too.
We wish to salute the whole organization at Limoilou and also hats off to Jeff Boutet for a great season and building a championship team. Coming into this series we did not expect an easy time and it was a real battle. We weren’t able to fully relax until the final out of Game 6. A special acknowledgement to Dennis Concepcion as the very worthy and capable proxy manager for Limoilou. Having played Dennis live via Netplay on a number of occasions, he always has the ability to orchestrate comebacks. This is why he is one of the former champions of the CBA in 2005. He had us nervous all the time and he propensity to hit and run can drive anyone insane. Dennis did a great job to manage Limoilou and make the series another memorable one in the history of the CBA.
Finally, I have to admit, when the season started I really didn’t believe we could be competitive enough in the playoffs as there were so many strong teams in our league. We had a lot of holes to fill at the start of the season. I wasn’t sure playing with Bonds and Piazza, who are poor defensively, that this could work or if Chipper’s defense would also hurt us. But Bonds (even in a bad year for him) can help any team and Piazza (we tried to get Posada from Allentown originally – on foresight was this a blessing from God it didn’t work out?) was really the only catcher we could come up with as Matheny had an injured season. Also picking up Chipper Jones to solidify us at 3B was a gamble of sorts with his defense but we knew his bat would do well in Skokie park and that he is the type of player that can quickly put the other team out of the game. Although Chipper didn’t have the numbers we hoped for during the season, his grand slam in game 4 was crucial to the Skokie success.
Sometimes as a SOM manager you have to go with your hunches. You have to try your best to field the best team you can and see which players might be available. I observed in the Star Tournaments that the people with the championship teams generally went with good hitting teams with poor defense at the corners. So in the 2007 version of the Skokie Wolfmen, with starting pitcher hard to find we tried our version of this. While we didn’t have any hitters who set the league on fire individually, I feel collectively we were able to put together a good combination of players that could be competitive against any type of pitcher and could support each other.
Skokie’s philosophy is we like to use every player we have and to platoon. To use each player to their highest potential. And I think via the post-season you can see how this can make a huge difference. You never know who will be the hero (Game 1 victory – Piazza and Wang; Game 4 victory – Jones; Game 5 victory – Grudzalenek; Game 6 victory – Piazza but a team effort really)
So it’s a good feeling to finally be there for the World Series, as you never know when you can get this chance again. Now lets look briefly at the final 2007 CBA Matchup between the Fantastics of Philly and the Wolfmen of Skokie.
The World Series – will it be the 2nd Championship for Philly or will 2007 be the HOWL of the Wolfmen??
In my opinion, there are a lot of similarities between Philly and Skokie. Both teams struggled during the season with their pitching but had success to overcome this via their ability to score runs and hit the long ball. Philly finished with a better season record (by five games) and play a bit more balanced as they won both on the road and at home. Skokie had more trouble winning on the road. Philly was the 2nd best hitting team in the league and 3rd in runs scored with Skokie 4th (but Skokie didn’t have the DH accept for inter-conference games). Skokie was 2nd in Home Runs and Philly was fourth. If Skokie has an edge, it will be that they have a slightly better pitching staff which doesn’t give up the long ball.
It is said in a short series, it is usually decided by pitching when all else is equal. To get to the playoffs Philly won their last 5 season games. In the playoffs they demolished Brooklyn, the favorite to win it all in 5 games and shutdown the Brooklyn scoring machine. Verse the former CBA champions, the Redbirds they constantly came from behind with late inning heroics. Definitely Philly has momentum and in all sports, who has the momentum generally wins.
Although Skokie is more of a hitting team, in the playoffs they won also due to quality starts and their ability to score runs (Skokie was shutout once but in all the other games they scored 3 runs or more, scoring 8 or more runs five times for which they were 4-1 in those games).
Skokie hasn’t faced many left handed starters as their lineup is stronger verse right handed pitchers and Philly will have two lefties facing Skokie. Philly has some good base speed, will they be able to take advantage of Piazza’s arm and Skokie’s inability to hold runners on base? Will the fielding at the corners be Skokie’s undoing. Can Skokie stop the Philly sluggers of Berkman, Lee, Utley, Rolen, Thames?
Will Philly be able to hit Skokie’s starters and score runs or blow out their relief. Can the Philly starters stop Skokie from scoring early or hitting so many home runs?
As always, it just depends which team is the hottest. On paper even though Philly had a better record, Skokie might be a slight favorites due to their pitching. But Brooklyn and Indiana had better pitching then Philly and they couldn’t stop them so it might mean nothing.
This one is a hard one to call. It should be a very close series. So we will have to see if the CBA might have a new champion manager or if Philly, after losing a heartbreaker to Longue Point in 2005 in 7 games can rebound and take their second CBA championship. Only the Strat Gods know what will happen. In any case, it should be another nail-bitter, exciting series to highlight the excitement found within the CBA. Stay tuned!!
The Skokie Wolfmen Prepare for the 2007 CBA Playoffs
This is the third year that the Wolfmen (formerly the Royals) have been fortunate to participate in the CBA Playoffs. Following the guidance of the their manager the Skokie Wolfman, and working hard to create a competitive team using the draft and trades and a few free agents, the franchise has been successful.
The 2007 version of the Wolfmen is quite different from their earlier teams in 2005 and 2006. The former teams featured stronger squads with a more balanced pitching staff and defense. But one of the key weaknesses of the team was to have a better on base percentage and to score more runs. It is ultimately this weakness which caused the former teams to bow out in the first round of the playoffs.
With the 2007 Regular season behind us, the major challenge was for all the teams was to find good pitching. There really wasn’t a dominating pitching team as there had been in years past. And actually, the normally Dawson Conference which featured teams that had success more on good pitching changed in 2007 to teams that paralleled their Clemente opponents with more hitting and power.
To build the 2007 Wolfmen, once again key players via the draft were acquired as well as via trades. Most of the key power hitters (Bonds, Piazza, Jones, Valentin) were acquired in this way. There were six players who hit 20 or more homers for this squad, the 2007 version had a much higher on base percentage and set a team record with 26x homers for the season ranking 2nd in the league. But the starting pitchers were much weaker (a key trade to bring in Wang definitely was absolutely necessary) and the relief staff was at best in consistent. Perhaps the Wolfmen would have won a few more games if Nathan was more available but he had to sit out the last 40 games of the season.
A key part of the managerial strategy to play the Wolfmen, was as always to work with positional players to deal with any type of team, park and pitcher. Skokie took a big gamble to bring on board and keep a number of very older players (late 30s or 40’s, including Bonds, Piazza, Jones, Edmonds, Giambi and Clemens. The Skokie of 2007 sacrificed on their defense as they were willing to start poor fielding players in the corners in the outfield as well as at 1B & 3B. The Piazza trade was a big gamble as Skokie decided to go with more hitting and power at catcher but sacrificed on stolen bases by their opponents with Piazza poor arm and several pitchers who were unable to hold base runners close. Skokie had never tried before to play with such wholes in their defense on the field but the thinking process was, if we could bomb the other team there was the defense to come in during the late innings and their closer Joe Nathan, one of the premier closers.
So the 2007 Skokie Wolfmen took a big gamble, they felt they could do it because they were in a weak division and if they could just get back to the playoffs, using all the players properly, in a short series, that they could be competitive. Another key aspect of the Wolfmen was that they lead the league in giving up the least amount of home runs. Being that they live in Wolfie park which is a hitters park, this was crucial to balance the less then perfect defense on the field and weak ability to stop opponents to steal bases.
So this version of the Skokie team won 9 less games then in 2006. It comes into the playoffs with the worse record of any playoff bound team. With its clearing weaknesses as discussed above, few people will give them a chance against the better teams in the CBA. If they are going to go far, it will require all the tricks and skills by their manager the Wolfman to do it and perhaps some lucky rolls of the dice.
There was a big debate over whether to go with Piazza at catcher but he won up tied for 2nd on the club with 28 homers in somewhat limited due and was second in RBIs. His memorable four homer game is a record in the CBA. Barry Bonds was another gamble with his poor knees and fielding if this would more adversely affect the team then his bat but he tied the record of 37 homers done by Beltran in 2005 and had 100 RBIs in again a bit of limited duty. Valentin a middle inning pick in the draft (Skokie wait as long as possible to grab their old friend and former player) was also another key to Skokie’s success as he provided a good strong bat and power which was needed and lead to Grudzielanek seeing limited duty but valuable for late inning defense. Edmonds also hit a bit more for power then expected and came through in some key games plus his consistent defensive in CF was key. The late addition of Giambi and Dellucci added some more power for the clubs and left handed hitters who could hit lefties, Dellucci began a backup for Bonds. 1B had been a challenge for Skokie rotating four other players to fill the void (Aurilla, Shelton, Sheffield, Spiezio) but with Giambi on the scene it added another power hitter with good on base. Skokie tried to create their own version of the famed Yankees murders row. Especially against right handed pitchers – just about every hitter in the lineup was capable of hitting the ball out. Gary Matthews Jr. may have been Skokie’s most consistent hitter who did a great job as a leadoff hitter. Normally the Wolfmen like to have more speed in their lineup but the roll of the dice didn’t allow this to occur.
L. Hudson was a surprise starter for the team and thus earned a place on the playoff squad, was perhaps the most consistent starter. Nathan is Nathan and set a mark in the age of the Wolfman with 20 saves. He was almost unhittable and will be a key player in the playoffs. But the relief staff was a lot more inconsistent in times past and will have to be used wisely in the playoffs. Look for the Wolfmen to count on their starters to go long into the game. As far as the other Skokie starters, at times they look brilliant but overall their effective was very questionable and far less in performance then prior years. Clemens just wasn’t his usual self winning only 6 games, Lilly and T. Hudson were inconsistent – Redman and Patterson gave some help in limited starts but the trade for Wang brought that other starter that Skokie deeply needed.
So to summarize, the 2007 version of the Skokie Wolfmen was a collection of the old and new. The team has the ability to explode at any moment but comes in with a number of holes where they could also be crunched just the same. It will be an interest challenge to see if an improved scoring machine is enough to take the Wolfmen to a higher level. The keys for their success will be how effective Wang and Clemens can be as consistant starters and if the club can score runs which has doomed them in the playoffs in the last two years. There is no doubt the Wolfmen like Skokie’s park but with the worse record as a playoff team after the 1st round they could lose home field advantage.
Analysis of San Diego VS Skokie
During the regular season the two teams split the twelve games played. Even though San Diego had a better regular season record, Skokie gained home field advantage for this series due to winning their division (finally after losing out the past two years on the last day of the season). Skokie’s true advantage then was having possibly four games in their park as their club is really suited for the long ball. Thus for San Diego to win the series they would need to win in Skokie. The Surf is a better hitting team but the key weakness of the surf, if any, as Mr. Wallace had put a good squad together was in their pitching as their 3rd and 4th starters were not strong and the bullpen could be a bit stronger. The strategy for Skokie was to bomb the Surf starters, then bring in their defense and have Nathan waiting at the end. The Surf had better speed then Skokie and could take advantage of the weak arm of Piazza and also several of Skokie’s starters inability to hold runners. So in comparing the two teams their strengths and weakness were pretty even, the key would see if San Diego could win in Skokie. And with San Diego being more of a pitcher’s park (low ball park home run) if they could win 3 in San Diego, then Skokie could be in a lot of trouble. Finally a last key for Skokie in the series was if their starters could take up a lot of innings as three of the Skokie relievers are more geared for more conditional spots. So if the Skokie starters got bombed early, Skokie could be in a lot of trouble.
Now lets move on two the actual games and see what happened:
Game 1: At Skokie (Haren vs Wang)
Surf............ 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 - 3 9 1
Wolfmen......... 2 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 - 6 10 0
Skokie started out the gate as the “Pizza” man hits a two run homer to begin the first inning. This bodes badly for the Surf if the Skokie bats start blasting home runs. Wang was pitching very good and the Surf were consistently unable to come through with clutch hits when men were on base. Edmonds hits a solo shot for Skokie to make it 3-0 and then Shelton shocks the Surf (Note: Shelton almost was not kept on the squad for the playoffs, it was between keeping him or Sheffield) with a 3 run dinger in the 5th. So with a commanding 6-0 lead and Nathan waiting in the wings if needed, it looked like Skokie had the game in hand. But then the Surf bats came alive in the 8th and they threatened but good old reliable Nathan, who relishes this type of spots came in and shot the door for a 6-3 Skokie win. Was this a sign that Skokie could break their first round jinx and move to the finals? The Surf now needed a victory in Game 2.
Game 2: At Skokie (Peavy vs Clemens)
Surf............ 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 9 1
Wolfmen......... 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 - 3 9 1
This was definitely a key game in the Series. If Skokie went up 2 games to none, and especially if Skokie could beat Peavy one of the best pitchers in the league, it would be tough for San Diego. This was a classic game, a pitchers duel between two of the greatest pitchers in the history of the game.
The Surf would take the lead and Skokie would battle back. Neither team could get ahead and it went into extra innings. Skokie knew if they could get past Rodriquez, the ace closer of the Surf and outlast him, they might have a chance. (BTW, C. Jones was up with the bases loaded earlier in the game and had a chance at a ball park homer which would have been a Grand Slam but missed but he did homer later to tie the game in the 6th). Anyway in the bottom of the 11th with two on, Matthews who had a great season (and also had 7 doubles in 6 games for the series) came through in the bottom of the 11th and Skokie won game 2 by the score 3-2. This was the turning point of the series. With Skokie up 2 games to none, San Diego had to do some miracles in their home park.
Game 3: At San Diego (L. Hudson vs Meche)
Wolfmen......... 0 0 1 0 6 0 0 2 0 - 9 12 0
Surf............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 1 7 0
This was a due or die game for San Diego. Skokie surprised the world by going with Luke Hudson instead of Tim Hudson (who won 13 games for the Wolfmen). But Luke Hudson had been one of Skokie’s most consistent starters all year long and he earned this game 3 start. And boy did Hudson pitch his heart out. He was virtually unhittable and only in the bottom of the 9th could the Surf score. Shelton came through again in the 5th with a two run homer and Edmonds also hit his 2nd. A big six run 5th put the game away for Skokie. Matthews also was a star hitting 3 doubles and driving in two runs but the real star with L. Hudson. Well Skokie had a command 3 games to none lead. The question was, could Skokie do a sweep? Game 4 featured the starters of Game 1.
Game 4: At San Diego (Wang vs Haren)
Wolfmen.........
0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 - 3 7 0
Surf............ 0 1 0 2 0 3 3 0 - 9 10 0
(Personal note: I was hoping that we could finish the series in four, as I had to stay up very late to play due to our difference in hours but Joe was not to be denied this game.)
The game
started as many being close and tied 1-1 after 3 innings, but then the
Surf bats came to life and they were unstoppable. They sliced and diced
Skokie starter Wang and Skokie saw their dream to sweep fading. Skokie
tried to use Wang as long as possible but the Surf was taking batting
practice and then when the relief came in, finally Skokie was able to stop
the party by the Surf. C. Duncan feasted on Skokie pitching hitting two
homers. So Skokie just let the Surf enjoy their day as Manager Wallace
earned his first playoff win in convincing fashion. We could hear Joe
saying in the dugout as the game was nearing completion if only I save
some of these runs for the other games. Well could the Surf do a Boston
Redsox and take the final four? With the jinx of seven games in the past,
the Wolfman was becoming a bit worried.
Game 5: At San Diego (T. Hudson vs Peavy)
Wolfmen.........
0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 - 3 8 2
Surf............ 0 1 0 1 3 6 5 0 - 16 15 0
Well
again, the Surf were facing an elimination game. But this club which
almost won their own division is a very gutsy club and they never say
“Die”. Again the game started out close but starting into the 5th
through the 7th innings, the Surf could do no wrong. They
literally destroyed the Skokie pitchers, it didn’t matter who was brought
in, they were cannon fodder – on this day no team could have beat the
Surf, they were unstoppable. Dye hit his 2nd homer and
Victorino hit an inside the park homer. Three of the Surf hitters had 3
RBI’s each. So Skokie basically gave up in the 6th and let the
Surf enjoy their day. They decided than, that when they went home to
Wolfmen Park, they would win the series for the fans. Besides, they had
Clemens coming up next and he didn’t have to face Peavy again. Peavy is
darn tough and Skokie was happy they could win that very hard fought Game
2 against him. 25 runs in two games for the Surf, they were now on fire
and ready to win in Skokie.
Game 6: At Skokie (Santana vs Clemens)
Surf............ 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 - 2 5 0
Wolfmen......... 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 - 3 7 0
With Skokie at home and with Clemens going, San Diego must have been a bit concerned. Clemens had pitched great baseball in Game 2 and Santana was a bit vulnerable to go against right handed hitters. But the Surf showed they are a good team and began to continue their hitting against Clemens by scoring in the top of the first to take an early lead. Skokie was struggling against Santana and starting to think the curse of 7 games was coming back but finally HR and RBI team leader, Barry Bonds, who had been quiet the whole series hit one out of the park in the bottom of the 4th to tie the game. And Bonds must have inspired the Wolf guys because shortly later, Piazza, who may well be the MVP of the Skokie squad during the regular season, launched his 2nd homer of the series (he batted in Skokie’s first runs in Game 1 and their final runs in Game 6 with homers) for Skokie to take a 3-1 lead. With Clemens on the mound, would this be enough? Clemens continued to dominate but then that squirley Victorino came to bat in the 7th, he did it again and hit a inside the park home run to make it 3-2. Just one run separating the two combatants. Clemens made it into the 9th but walked the first hitter and Duncan was up (he was killing Skokie pitching) so the Wolfman brought in Sherill to face him (or to not allow Duncan to be the guy who could defeat the Wolfmen) and Sherill was able to get pinch hitter Nady to line out). Then it was Nathan time, for the chance for the Wolfmen to go into round 2 for the first time, this is why Skokie jumped to trade for him last year giving away Bedard one of the best starting pitchers, and Nathan in his normal fashion shut the door down and the Wolfmen are now headed to the conference championship.
Series Notes and Conclusion
The keys for this series were the following. First of all the Surf bats fell silent in Skokie and you will never beat the Wolfmen there if you can’t score runs as Skokie won all 3 games in their home park. Clemens is probably the MVP for Skokie pitching two game gems. During the regular season the Wolfmen’s starters had a lot of problems but with the two good starts by Clemens (both games won 3-2) and the strong outing by Wang and especially L. Hudson, it was actually Skokie’s starting pitching which won the series. All year long, Skokie had to conserve Clemens (due to a limit of innings) but in the playoffs they could turn him loose. Could Clemens be the Skokie X Factor?
Special achievements by players from each team:
San Diego Surf:
Duncan was a tear to the Wolfmen, hitting .714 in five games with 2 HRs and 8 RBIs.
Victorino also hit .429 with 2 HRs (both inside the park) and 5 RBIs
Dye also hit .348 with 2 HRs and 6 RBIs.
(most of the hitting by the Surf came in the two games they won, by a combined score of 25-6. Unfortunately they couldn’t split part of their hitting in the other four games, especially games 2 and 6, both lost 3-2)
Peavy 2.81 ERA, 1-0 was very tough for Skokie and deserved recognition, if he would have had more run support he might have been 2-0.
Relievers Embree / Oliver / F. Rodriquez shut the Skokie bats down
San Diego had a better ERA and batting average then Skokie.
Skokie Wolfmen:
Shelton .429 2 HRs, 6 RBIs, helped to win two key games with his blast
Mathews .400 7 doubles, 4 RBIs, was a key to helping Skokie score runs
Piazza .273 2 HRs, 5 RBIs, he knocked in the first two runs for Skokie and the
Last two runs via Home Runs in Skokie
(Skokie teams as usual spread out key hits amongst its players, as the teams success depends on using their players to their max capability. Skokie had 11 homers in the six games hit by 8 different players)
L. Hudson 1.00 ERA 1-0 12 Ks – pitched a masterful game 3 (unexpected)
Clemens 2.12 ERA 1-0 – two stellar outings including clinching game 6
Heilman 0.00 ERA 1-0 4 innings of shutout relief
Nathan 0.00 ERA two saves in 2 innings, saved game 1 and game 6
Nov 3rd, 2007
WHAT IS UP NEXT? SKOKIE VS LIMOILOU
While some experts might have felt Skokie could take round 1 in the playoffs due to their home field advantage where they played very well in the regular season and being that they have been in the playoffs the best two years, coming to the Conference championship, this is a different matter entirely. During the regular season, Limoilou humiliated the Wolfmen winning 11 out of 15 games. Limoilou is heavily favored to go to the Series again.
Limoilou and Skokie have a history together. In the 2005 Playoffs, Skokie was up 3 games to 2, and was unable to put Limoilou away in their home part (as Montreal). There was the grandslam by Glaus giving Limoilou a 4-1 victory in game 7. Limoilou and Skokie have made key trades with each other. On the current squad Lofton and Beltran and Betancourt were once wolf guys where Skokie has Edmonds and T. Hudson plus via Limoilou draft pick, Skokie picked up Speizio, a very capable backup and spot starter. Some people think Skokie was crazy to trade Beltran but it was a half to do trade for Skokie and Edmonds has been a steady player for the Wolfmen although they would have loved to have Beltran in their lineup this year. So now we will see if these trades come back to haunt Skokie.
Comparing the two teams, they are a bit similar, both have tremendous hitting and power with Limoilou having better starting pitcher and each has a key closer. Skokie tried to improve their team with more on base this year as Limoilou always has this. So the key factor to this series will be which teams starters can contain the other teams spoilers. Skokie had a big decision to make whether to use T. Hudson or Lilly as there 4th starter but due to the stronger hitting vs lefties by Limoilou, they chose to go with T. Hudson.
It will be interesting to see if the Skokie weaknesses at corner defense and Piazza throwing arm will be their downfall. Again Skokie needs for its starters to go long as they did in the San Diego series. Limoilou going into round 2 is the only favorite who won their first playoff games. Can the Wolfman, using his guile and intuition prevail at what looks like a much stronger and balanced team. The only reason Skokie may have a chance is that it’s a short series – and they can use a bit more in a balanced way their top starters. Due to Clemens pitching game six in the San Diego series he will then start in Game 3 and if needed Game 7. Will he be the key again.
From the Skokie point of view, they need for Bond (.118), Gambi (.143), Delucci and Aurilla (.000) to pick up the hitting otherwise with the power of Limoilou (Beltrans / Thome / Hall / Glaus) it will be a long series.
So can the Wolfmen avenge their 7 game playoff loss in 2005 and make it to their first series or will the very successful and dominating team of Limoilou led by the legendary Jeff Boutet prevail again to make another appearance in the CBA World Series, we will find out shortly.
And last but not least, who will the the champion of the Staub conference face. Normally the series is the pitching of Staub vs. the power of Clemente but this year, the final four teams have all had their success more via their superior hitting and power. Will Indiana be the first team in a long time to take the crown in back to back years, or will the very proficient CBA managers who have been to t he series before Hite and Boutet do it again or last but not least, will the willy Wolfman guide his team to victory after having his worse record year and the worse record of any playoff bound team. If there is one thing we all know, who takes it all is completely unpredictable in the CBA playoffs.
Good luck to the remaining four teams!! (Limoilou, Philly, Indiana & Skokie)
October 31st, 2007
With Round 1 only awaiting Limoilou-Longue Pointe's series to complete, CBA would like to acknowledge two fine jobs of team management in the SD Surf of the Dawson, and Carolina Copperheads of the Schmidt division.
We'd like to extend a congratulations to SD Surf GM Joe Wallace on an outstanding season in a very tough division the Dawson. SD has been in CBA since 2002, and this was their first ever playoff appearance as Wallace built this team from scratch out of the lowest winning team in CBA. Originally owned by Don Jensen and known as the Hamilton Harbors. Hamilton was best known for their dogfight in 1998 with then Dawson title winner Brooklyn Superbas (Moved to Parker in 99) Hamilton fought with Longue Pointe, Quebec, and Limoilou in 1999 and 2000, but were just shy. They'd not return anywhere close again until 2007's Wallace led San Diego team. A team on the decline when Jensen retired. Wallace began to build with key trades and mostly draft picks and swaps. A true worst to first case, Wallace's plan was to take years to develop a bit at a time until he built what should be a strong contender for years to come. His attitude and dedication to CBA were evident in his very strong playoff effort and management in 2007. Joe Wallace is a class act, and quality GM whose time has arrived in the CBA. SD is an elite CBA team. Here is Hamilton/ San Diego's overall record 1997-2001 as Hamilton 2002-2007 as San Diego. Wallace's team has shown a win increase in 4 concecutive years. Who knows where they'll go in 2008.
|
WON |
LOST |
|
|
1997 |
74 |
88 |
|
1998 |
98 |
64 |
|
1999 |
88 |
74 |
|
2000 |
89 |
73 |
|
2001 |
75 |
87 |
|
2002* |
61 |
101 |
|
2003 |
62 |
100 |
|
2004 |
52 |
110 |
|
2005 |
65 |
97 |
|
2006 |
82 |
80 |
|
2007 |
92 |
70 |
I'd also like to congratulate GM Scott Kenan on rising Carolina from the ashes. The Carolina Copperheads have finally found stabilty and a division title under Kenan since 2006.
|
Historical record |
|
|
|
.474 |
WON |
LOST |
|
1997 |
102 |
60 |
|
1998 |
90 |
72 |
|
1999 |
83 |
79 |
|
2000 |
45 |
117 |
|
2001 |
68 |
94 |
|
2002 |
50 |
112 |
|
2003 |
60 |
102 |
|
2004 |
84 |
78 |
|
2005 |
87 |
75 |
|
2006 |
78 |
84 |
|
2007 |
99 |
63 |
|
total |
846 |
936 |
carolina started CBA life as Danny Noonan's (no relation to Caddyshack) Louisville Mob Squad. Just wondering if anyone even remembers talking or trading with that guy. Noonan won 102 in that first year drafting to win right away and as a result faded a bit each year as he let his team stagnate into CBA's dark ages year of 2000. With a few poor drafts, and no trades, the Mob Squad became the Mod Squad especially when commisioner Claude LaMarre (HOF) replaced Noonan in favor of a strong Strat-o-matic French Canadian gamer from the QSBL, Pierre Janneau. Janneau a good player had very little to work with. The Lifesavers had former top picks that never made it like Jose Rosado, Damon Buford, George Arias, Bill Pulsipher, mixed with an old team featuring Andre Galarraga, Eric Davis, Chuckt Finley, Lance Johnson, Joe Carter that faded away quick. Poor Janneau won a CBA low 45 games. That 2000 team set several futility records that still stand today. Pierre improved his team to 68 wins the following season which was quite remarkable considering the lack of talent inherited but he grew disenchanted and left CBA to concentrate on his other more succesful strat team in QSBL. At this point In 2002 his replacement Stephane Castilloux also from QSBL (a good league with avid gamers based in Quebec) joined CBA to guide the franchise. As soon as he did he made his legacy in CBA by unintentionally and hilariously renaming the team the Green Bay Roches. Know one to this day knows what a Roche was or is, let alone the startling fact that the decent area around Green Bay has any of them. His team logo is quite the rediculous if not unique.
Green Bay drafted what seemed promisingly, but hindsight shows disastrously. High draft pick busts like Mark Quinn, Kerry Wood, Paul Wilson, Troy O'Leary and others failed to perform or even stick around. Needless to say this team once again plummeted to the CBA abyss with a 50 win season second worst in CBA history. The Roches crawled behind the CBA baseboards and went into hiding until 2004 when Strat Pal Dan Gural one of CBA's beloved managers took control late in 2003 and made the re-named Portland Sea Doogs (new name) a winner.
Scott Kenan had taken some of Gural's nucleus and used what he had to rebuild this franchise. 2007's strong draft just added to the mix of their 99 win season. The team is now Kenan's franchise with his stamp on it. Kenan managed a series of team building trades, and drafted players who did and will make a difference. Aside, he truly has embodied what CBA is all about and has shown to be quite a sportsman and well accepted Strat-o-matic partner for us. Scott embodies the best of the new CBA whose GM's are now part of our CBA community, and have made our gaming that much better and certainly more competitive than ever.
Marc Wass__._,_.___
Playoff RD 1 results. Skokie beats SD 4 to 2. Philly over Brooklyn 4 to 1.
Indiana defeats Carolina 4 to 1. Limoilou leads LP 2 to 1.
Big series this week. The feature series pit Carolina vs the onrushing
Philly Phantastics. Every game
Philly wins pulls them closer to the division leader and fends off the
tough Bryan Bashers who are 3 off
the wildcard pace. Philly is making a rush for the ages this year while
trying to hang on to a slim 3 game
lead over Bryan in the Clemente wildcard race. In fact Philly is now a
manageable 5 games behind the
season long fron runner who this series was played. Both teams battled
with Philly taking game 1, 8-5.
Utley knocked in 4 runs, as Verlander improved his record to 11-5. Carolina
struck back in game 2 with a
hard fought 3-2 win. All the runs were scored early then the pitching took
over as Anibal Sanchez,
Brandon League, and Huston Street held off the Phantastics. In game 3,
cole Hamels won with a save from
Mike Gonzalez, his 16th. Carlos Lee hit his 36th, then Scott Rolen his
27th to provide a 4-2 win and
inch them closer to Carolina. Bryan bestwed the Superbas for the first
time this year just at the right
time, taking 2 of 3 from the Brooklyn squad. The Superbas won behind
Halladay's 16th win, and HR's by
Ramirez (38th), Wells 31st, and Juan Rivera's 11th.
Dawson has another 3 way dance, just as you were about to write off the
Loggers, here they come now only
3 games back of Limoilou who holds the 31 spot. Longue Pointe's bench had
a great week as Jason Repko,
Ichiro, and Ryan Theriot proved to be stars. Theriot actually hit an
inside the park HR. Longue POinte is
led by Aramis Ramirez acquired in 2007 and now has 32 HR's. Ramirez bat is
carrying the team along with
Carlos Zambrano who actually got a HAL induced save this week in a 14
inning epic against Ottawa.
That game saw come backs from both team a couple of times before LP pulled
it out. Meanwhile SD had taken
2 from the Superbas with some good pitching from Peavy who went all the
way in a 12 K win. David Wright
had some more key hits in his MVP type season for San Diego. The Surf are
just a 1/2 game off the Dawson
lead. Wright's BA is up to .349. Miguel Cabrera of Brooklyn leads CBA at
.404.
Skokie's magic number is down to 4. They can clinch this week. It would be
GM Josh Wolfman Shapiro's 3rd concecutive
entrance to CBA's playoff's first as Montreal Royals then after as the
Skokie Wolfmen. Longue POinte has
made the playoffs each of the last 4 years. Limoilou will no doubt make
the playoffs afetr finishing last place in 2006.
A huge win differential for former manager of the year Jeff Boutet.
Boutet's resurgence and playoff
entry serves agian notice how CBA's most successful GM is a force to be
reckoned with at all times. Limoilou last won
a championship in 2003 defeating the Brooklyn Superbas 4 games to 1.
CBA Team Key Performers.
Here's a few key performers of each CBA team. In some cases the stats are team leaders, but also included are clutch performers and key contributors who stats aren't eye catching but who helps their team to win. Several players mentioned have some interesting stats that you may find in "Report Writer".
There are several key stats that seem to have bearing on winning here in CBA with our current rules and usage balance. Among those are offensive and defensive. A few examples are Team and PLayer X rating %, Inherited runners scoring, The obvious Sabermetrics, Lefty/Righty balances and the player/team vunerabilties to pitching. When analyzing the statistical basis for the teams performances, they are relevant key stats that can help explain the success of the different franchises. Each has an impact upon the performance of the CBA's teams. Although I have listed some key stats they are not the only variables that can dictate success, of course the luck of the dice and cards is another. Perhaps even a managers hunch or sense can account for good team kharma or wins its amazing how a probabilty based game can have its streaks and unlikely stars.
In CBA winning is the primary focus. The winners are the talk and receive the most attention. Its the competition each year that our GM's become so involved and even obsessed with their teams and its performance. A look into the hard to find stats and analysis of the info they can provide can give a clearer picture of a teams dynamics and strategies, especially over a full season. Below is a look at some stats that may have some impact and are quite interesting.
Hits with the bases loaded. Notice that a majority of the leaders are from winning teams. Look how key Wells and Piazza have been to the division leaders Skokie and Brooklyn. Wigginton has been invaluable as well to the Bashers.
2006 Wells BSP 12
2006 Piazza SWC 8
2006 Wigginton KBP 8
2006 Cabrera SRS 7
2006 Mauer OOP 7
2006 Cabrera BSP 7
2006 Utley PPS 7
2006 Hall LWD 7
Game winning RBI. A stat I always liked, shows winning hits and who has provided 'em. CBA Leader teams have guys in this list naturally. Look how Delgado and Ordonez have equivalent big hits to guys on other teams with more wins. Makes them invaluable to the Leopards and Jackhammers. Cabrera's leadership here is no surprise consider the season this card is having in Coors.
Cabrera BSP 19
Utley PPS 15
Delgado LLS 15
Morneau CCS 15
Beltran LWD 15
Bay IRP 15
Ordonez JJD 14
Berkman PPS 14
Thome LWD 14
Hall LWD 14
Holliday SLS 13
Teixeira OTC 13
Thomas LLS 13
Tejada CCS 13
Inge KBP 12
Rolen PPS 12
Soriano JJD 12
Sizemore IRP 12
Isolated Power avg. Isolated Power is a sabermetric statistic that shows a hitter's overall effectiveness by measuring his ability to generate extra base hits. ISO = Slugging % - Batting Average. So obviously the higher slugging pct can be looked at in terms of extreme runner advancement and movement which is a key to winning in Strat ball.
A look at Pujols numbers rivals some of MLB's Barry Bonds in his best seasons. .436 is hall of fame type numbers. Generally players over about .260-.270 are considered better than average. .300 is excellent. .436, well...
Pujols IRP .436
Hafner CCS .381
Beltran LWD .369
Thome LWD .361
Ortiz OOP .357
Bonds SWC .343
Berkman PPS .343
Ramirez BSP .327
Cabrera BSP .325
Delgado LLS .321
Valentin SWC .317
What about the tablesetters? We know that high leadoff OBA and movemnet means more runs, but that forgotten #2 destined for sacs and hit and runs can provide vital scoring punch by getting on base. Heres a look at CBA most prolific OBA guys from the 2 hole. No wonder these leaders are on the winning teams. They are a big part of the winning.
Vic Martinez SSD .452
JD Drew BSP/PPS .440
David Wright SSD .418
Johnny Damon SLS .414
Ryan Zimmerman CCS .411
Derek Jeter PPS .405
Todd Helton BSP .391
Jose Cruz KBP .389
The good teams seem to have their "bottom Feeders" no player bats to take lightly. it signifies depth and lineup potency when the 7th and 8th place hitters show OBA+SLG. Here are the leaders of those lineup spots. Below are runs driven home by 8th place and 7th place hitters. It shows that runners at the end of the lineup are coming across and getting on to be driven in.
8th place hitters RBI
Ramon Hernandez LWD 61
Brian Anderson CCS 61
Kun Griffey Jr SLS 50
Edgar Renteria SSD 30
Preston Wilson SWC 28
Marcus Thames PPS 28
Wilson Betemit SRS 27
Rod Barajas OTC 26
Ivan Rodriguez BSP 24
Brandon Inge KBP 24
7th place hitters RBI
Hall LWD 66
Piazza SWC 49
Dunn CCS 44
Lo Duca KBP 31
Paulino SLS 31
Inge KBP 31
Chavez SRS 28
Rodriguez BSP 28
Buck CIP 27
Lowell IRP 25
Squeeze Bunts successes. An interesting stat though minimal impact
2006 Wilson SWC 6
2006 Pierre JJD 4
2006 Figgins BBD 3
2006 Jeter PPS 3
2006 Molina KWC 3
2006 Punto MEC/IRP 2
2006 Ramirez ANC 2
2006 Patterson OOP 2
Steals of third
2006 Ramirez ANC 23
2006 Pierre JJD 19
2006 Gathright BSP 16
2006 Soriano JJD 16
2006 Podsednik JJD 9
2006 Reyes IRP 8
2006 Figgins BBD 7
2006 Abreu PPS 7
* denotes former CBA Champion
Allentown Senators: Ben Broussard 13 Hr, 50 RBI, .330 in 288 AB. Hanley Ramirez 12 Hr, 63 RBI, .275, 10 triples, 46 Doubles,75 SB
Belfast Brawlers: 3B Freddy Sanchez 4Hr, 71 RBI, .313. Closer BJ Ryan 6-3 3.21 20Saves. Specialist Chris Sampson 0-1 1.65era in 35 inn.
Brooklyn Superbas*: 3B Miguel Cabrera 38 Hr, 136RBI, .404, 57 Doubles, 13 SB. LF M Ramirez 38Hr, 104 RBI, .320. R Howard 38HR, 109, .305.
CF V Wells 32 HR, 121 RBI, .285, 21 SB. P Halladay 16-3 3.88, P M Mussina 16-2 2.94.
Bryan Bashers: Brad Inge 36 HR, 105 RBI, .273. LF P Burrell 32 HR, 94 RBI, .257. INF Ty Wigginton 24 HR, 89 RBI, .284. Blanton 13-8.
Carolina Copperheads: 1B Justin Morneau 37 HR, 98 RBI, .331. DH Travis Hafner 46 HR, 98 RBI, .284. SS M Tejada 29 HR, 91 RBI, .317. 3B R Zimmerman 22Hr, 90 RBI, .328. P Jo Santana 18-8 3.65.
Cooperstown Iron Horses: OF N Markakis 14 HR, .315. SS M Young 6 HR, 53 RBI, .316, 42 doubles.
Indiana Redbirds*: 1B A Pujols 65 HR, 135 RBI, .347, 140 runs, 11 sb. 3B A Rodriguez 44 HR, 127 RBI, .301. OF J Bay 35 HR, 88 RBI, .284. OF G Sizemore 33 HR, 83 RBI, 120 runs, 20 sb. RP C Meredith 7-1 2.17 in 35 app. P Oswalt 16-10, Kazmir 11-4.
Joliet Jackhammers: OF J Pierre .290, 88 sb. LF A Soriano 27 HR, 86 RBI, .268, 63 sb. Util R Freel .272, 37 sb. RP T Miller 1-0 1.76 45 app.
Kennesaw Mountain Woodsmen (Kenwood): C B McCann 22 HR, 75 RBI, .324. P C Silva 6-20, 6.84. SS R Furcal .290, 32 sb.
Lake County Leopards: 3B G Atkins 25 HR, 93 RBI, .302. 1B C Delgado 45 HR, 116 RBI, .264. DH F Thomas 36 HR, 101 RBI, .261. RP J Papelbon 3-3 1.74, 25 sb.
Limoilou Wendigo*: DH J Thome 47 HR, 107 RBI, .307. CF K Lofton .303, 43 sb. CF C Beltran 51 HR, 131 RBI, .273. SS B Hall 30 HR, 90 RBI. 3B T Glaus 39 HR, 90 RBI. UT F Lopez 291 AB .321, 25 sb.
Longue Pointe Loggers*: 3b A Ramirez, 32 HR, 96 RBI, .303, 101 runs. P C Zambrano 16-3 2.83, 210 K's. UT Ju Valentin 190 AB, .393, 7 HR, 30 RBI. CF I Suzuki .303, 61 sb.
Maine Express: SS K Greene 20 HR, 52 RBI, .302. 2B D Uggla 23 HR, 77 RBI, .277. RP B Jenks 18 sv.
Ohio Thundercats: OF Pr Wilson 29 HR, 87 RBI, .296. SS C Guillen 15 HR, 68 RBI, .312. UT W Pena 7 HR, 45 RBI, 211 AB, .346.
Ottawa Otters*: DH D Ortiz 41 HR, 95 RBI, .287. RF V Guerrero 27 HR, 78 RBI, .327. C P Nevin 24, 69, .274. P B Webb 15-11 3.51, 180 K's. J Borowski 1-4 10.00 era, 22 saves, 27 inn.
Philly Phantastics*: 3B S Rolen 27 HR, 94 RBI, .346. UT W Helms 11 HR, 41 RBI, .336, 220 AB. SS D Jeter 15 HR, 62 RBI, 108 runs, .315, 35 sb. LF C Lee 37 HR, 97 RBI, .293. 1B L Berkman 49 HR, 119 RBI, .292, 101 runs. UT J Willingham 19 HR 50 RBI, .292, 290 AB. P J Verlander 11-5. RP F Liriano 39 games, 107 inn, 132 K, 9-3, 3.06.
San Diego Surf: C V Martinez 17 HR, 102 RBI, .350. 3B D Wright 27 HR, 102 RBI, 112 runs, 16 sb, .349. OF J Dye 24 HR, 103 RBI, .294. P J Peavy 13-8, 190 K's. RP F Rodriguez 19 sv. RP A Embree 42 app, 2-0 2.38.
Skokie Wolfmen: C Mike Piazza 28 HR, 89 RBI, .322. CF G Mathews 26 HR, 78 RBI, .310. 2b Jo Valentin 26 HR, 86 RBI, .309. LF B Bonds 36 HR, 98 RBI, .291, .424 oba. RP J Nathan 5-3 1.20, 20 sv, 67 inn, 35 hits, 90 K's.
Southwest Lizard Kings: LF M Holliday 32 HR, 102 RBI, .310. CF J Damon 25 HR, 94 RBI, .301. 3B J Crede 34 HR, 90 RBI, .275. RP B Wagner 2-1 1.78, 21 sv, 70 Inn, 48 Hits, 91 K's. 1B A LaRoche 28 HR, 71 RBI, .257.
Stirling Redsox: CF A Jones 40 HR, 94 RBI, .260. DH P konerko 29 HR, 84 RBI, .280. RP C Cordero 3-4 3.13, 22 sv. P M Buehrle 14-9 4.65. K Correa 49 app, 6-1 3.68. OF N Swisher 33 HR, 86 RBI, .224.
August 26th 2007
Block
21 results are in. Great wild card races are shaping up. Dawson has
Limoilou and SD battling it out. Currently the perrenial powerhouse
Limoilou Wendigo managed by original CBA member and future Hall of Famer
Jeff Boutet and they are in first place by a game and a half over San
Diego. The playoff bound Surf managed by veteran CBA GM Joe Wallace will
be looking towards perhaps their first ever playoff appearnace since their
incarnation in 2002. Limoilou arguably CBA's most successful franchise is
no stranger to playoff action in CBA harkening back to the halcyon days of
1997 when playoff series were played via ICQ and IRC chat room. With
NetPlay playoffs mandatory for all in CBA 2007, Jeff Boutet is no doubt
looking forward to some sweet revenge as he has exited from the playoffs
last in 2005 at the hands of division rival Longue Pointe Loggers and
Dennis C. It was that classic series which was decided by basically a lone
OF error on Jason Michaels and a key HR by Ichiro which decided the Staub
crown. Limoilou loks to have quite a good chance this year as the pesky
Loggers sit 6 games back but in position for a possible wildcard. This
rivalry goes back 10 full years when the beloved Claude LaMarre ran CBA
and GM'ed the Longue Pointe Hitmen as they were known. Jeff's brother
also a HOF'er Chris Boutet ran the now defunct Quebec Capitales in
Dawson. You can check the archives and logos pages for more on that
historical and excellent team. Vets may even recall that in that 1st
season Brooklyn was a Dawson team (BSD) before moving across the leagues
to the present Parker division in a realignment. With Dawson rivalries
producing some unbelievable playoff series and recent years 1 game
playoffs, the San Diego Surf is right in the middle of what could be
history. They must contend with Limoilou's Staub leading power team.
Limmer's Thome has a .302 BA, 38 more HR this season, and 84 RBI, while
MVP candidate Carlos Beltran Acquired in a down year from Skokie has 47
HR, 117 RBI, and a .275 BA with flawless defense and X rating numbers.
Some scoffed at the acquistion of CBA veteran, future HOF,and premier base
stealer James Lofton's pre-season acquistion as selling future for now,
but all Lofton has done is be a quintessential leadoff force with 41 SB
and a .315 BA. Bill Hlal's 27, 90, .266 and Try Glaus 36 HR's make this a
very potent lineup that SD top rated staff will need to handle as well as
they did in action this week. Joe Wallace's Surfer dudes took 2 of 3
block 21 with some good pitching from Dan Haren 11-6 4.03, and Jake Peavy
10-6, last years perfect season man and Cy Young winner. David Wright has
carried SD offense with 20 HR and a .350 batting average. 3 starters and
1 platooner are batting .350+ for SD. Victory Martinez 10 76 .365, R Cano
14 45 .360, Chris Duncan .350, and Wright. Dye and Cuddyer have been very
solid with 19 HR and BA in the high .280's all season. A .293 team
batting average is now 2nd in CBA behind Brooklyn's .310 team numbers.
In Carter the Skokie Wolfmen finally faced Clemnete powerhouse Brooklyn in
a series which Brooklyn swept in 3. The games 1,2 were tighter than the
finals but in the end the BSP offense and bench proved too powerful for
the Wolmen's respected bullpen to contain. Miguel Cabrera continued huis
MVP quest and .410 BA pace with another big series getting 8 hits and 8
RBI's, and Manny Ramirez drove in key runs and reached base time after
time. Wells came up big at the plate and all around its tough to stop the
Superbas in 2007 who appear to have their strongest team since their only
championship in CBA back in 2004. BSP may win more that that team and set
some team records along the way. The Brooklyn team ERA at 4.41 is almost
a full run better that previous years perhaps due to the power decrease in
Coors numbers. The Superbas despite the gaudy numbers are fallible as
proved by arch rival Indiana Redbirds this week as well. Indy showed
Brooklyn how its done cutting the BSP lead back down to 7 games with a
rare sweep. Indiana power and 2 out rallies doomed Brooklyn as Alex
rodriguez, Pujols, Oswalt, and Jeff Conine who had a GSHR and 5 RBI in
game 3. Game 2 saw a 12-11 Indy win which was a thrilling game to
spectate as it ran by on quick spectator. Back and forth with Indy taking
an early lead on Conine's Granny, only to have a characteristic BSP rally
cut into the lead. In the end Indy had won and served notice that they
are just as strong a force and ready for a playoff series which they just
may get later on. Against Joliet, Indiana shut 'em out twice behind
Tankersley and Jarrod Washburn.
Carolina's rise in Schmidt has been well documented this season, but look
at the surprising Bryan Bashers. Not expected by some to win, expected by
others the Bashers have been a team red hot in the second half. Relying
on a platoon system of role players and some solid starting pitching the
Bashers offense has been productive. 7 players over double digit HR's, a
.271 BA and terrific bench, the Bashers have taken a page from Longue
Pointe with their bench depth. Luke Scott.345, Julio Cruz, .326, Dioner
Navarro .322, Ty Wigginton 20 HR, Brandon Inge 30 HR have all been great,
and Pat the Bat Burrell a key offensive ingredient with his 26 HR. This
week Bryan swept rival Ottawa and is in possession of a wildcard seed if
they can hold off Philly and perhaps Southwest.
This week saw a flurry of infractional warnings and issues. A strong
reminder to GM's to review usage and the Excel sheets carefully in
preparations. There is no leniency or amnesty so careful goes it. Even
commish is not immune picking up an infraction for inadvertently
scheduling Edwin Jackson a start when below minimum requirements for MLB
inn. Skokie had the same for his use of John Patterson. Pitchers must
have 45 inn MLB to be eligible to start. Joliet will not receive and
infraction for Benoit's overuse which was result of league error, however
Southwest will for over using Carrasco in block 18. Bryan and Limoilou
will not be assesed infractions for overuse in block 20 of last week since
the league feels responsibile for not communicating properly intention to
play 2 blocks that from vavcation break. CBA apologizes for any strategic
anomalies that it may have presented GM's by not making that issue clear
enough. We will likely play a double week to catch up on the schedule
block 23-24 however. Be forewarned. Good luck to all teams as the races
are not decided and are going down to the wire.
Midseason Report June 29th, 2007
CBA enters the 15th Block. The season well underway and the races defining. We can see who are the contenders and who may look ahead. Clemente Conference's big picture has Carolina and Brooklyn looking great while leading Schmidt and Parker. Indiana and Bryan hold wildcard possibilties with Philly and Lake County within striking distance. One or two good blocks could put Southwest back in the mix as well. Clemente is the home of great offense and the DH. 8 of the top 12 batting leaders for average is Clemente. 12 of the top 15 HR leaders are Clemente. Pujols alone has 47 HR and 93 RBI's. He's batting .343 and is a legitimate triple crown threat as the season levels off. He may set some CBA records for power production along the way. it will be fun watching Indiana this year with Alex Rodriguez, Pujols, Reyes, Bay, and Sizemore bunching runs. Indiana is 6 games behind surging Brooklyn.
Brooklyn is hitting .312 as a team with 136 HR in 84 games abdout half a season. Howard is on the rise after a slow start and the lineup built over many years is stacked. 1998 1st round pick Todd Helton is hitting .355 in the 2 hole, with both Gathright and Brandon Phillips stealing a ton at leadoff. Miguel Cabrera has been sensational in '07 with 20 HR 75 and a .405 BA. Manny Ramirez is red hot with 26 73 .336. Wells has 21 63 .287 with 17 SB. The offense and defense superb(a) but the starting pitching is pretty good. Having Coors doesn't help that department much. The pen is decent with Mariano, Wheeler, and Feliciano in the set up roles, but not much else. Brooklyn could be heading for the best season since 2003.
Bryan is a terrific story thus far in 2007. Some saw .500, others below, I thought maybe a shot at a wild card and thats exactly what is happening. Bryan is using a diverse platoon of good cards and role players to combine as one playoff potential team. The starting pitching is much improved over 2006 with Rogers and Carpenter starting to produce low run games. Nate Robertson has emerged as the #3 starter with 8 wins and other pitchers like Eric Milton recently acquired Joe Blanton have added wins along the way and important innings. The Bashers got a boost as Pat Burrell has started hitting HR's(17), and Brad Inge has been of fire raising his average to .300 with 18 HR and 49 key RBI's. Ty Wigginton has been a great 10th man so far and with such depth on the bench, Bryan could be in this race for the long haul. They must stay above Philly and the surprisingly tough Lake County Leopards.
Philly is at .500. The story is pitching or the lack of it. Randy Johnson is a legit Ronson Candidate. The staff has fallen on hard times while the offense meanwhile continues to flourish. A .293 BA and 5 hitters with double digit HR's can keep Philly in any game. Utley (15 49 .312) is having a good year even if Derek Jeter (8 34 .280) by his own standards is not. Berkman 25 54 .300 is doing damage, as is Carlos Lee (19 49 .278). No one stands out in the pen or rotation. Perhaps with better twirling the Phantastics would rise a few games into wildcard status.
Lake County is being carried by some decent pitching, nothing beyond average. Glavine, Papelbon, Vasquez, Matt Thornton have led the way with solid performances. Not spectacular but tsolid. But the rest is non-descript. Opponents have hit .272 which isn't great. The pitchers dont walk too many only 3 a game. Inherited runners score 33% of the time. Not too good. The offense .257 BA, has little firepower. .333 OBA as a team, 5.10 runs a game, .447 slg, ho-hum. Why then is Lake in the wild card race? Only 1 reason...Carlos Delgado (32 HR, 79 RBI, .285) . Pujols may have the numbers but he has great performers around him. Delgado is doing it in the clutch with only Frank Thomas' 19 HR's a threat around him. Curiously he may be a better MVP candidate since he does so much for his team.
The Staub Conference has the same story in Dawson again. Another 3 way dance. Maybe even a 4th customer if Joliet continues to improve. Longue Pointe has led it last year but this year the Limmer-Lou Wendigo are back in the first place saddle again. Moving out a game and half over San Diego and 3 and a half over Longue Tongue has gotten the fans in QWuebec all excited. No doubt Jeff Boutet and Dennis Concepcions rivalry dating back to the 2005 Staub Championship 7 game LP win is renewed in its entirety in 2007. Who could forget the Michaels error that cost the Championship. The Wendigo are primed and ready with a blistering offense which could be Staub's best (Skokie may disagree) Boutet sends up 4 20 HR men each game. Beltran an MVP candidiate(32 84 .289), Thome with 24 taters, off season acquistion the catalyst Kenny Lofton (26SB .299) CBA's all time SB leader and a former 1997 first round pick of the Philly Phantastics.Glaus has 28 HR's. The Wendigo score 6.19 runs per game and allow only 4.32 runs. They produce .843 clip and slug about .492 Impressive power numbers. Perhaps only some more defense and relief could make this team the class of Staub.
San Diego is playing up to their billing as a top Staub team. Looking towards their first ever franchise playoff, SD must beat out eith LP or Limmer like to earn a spot. Similar to Belfast the past 3 years. They hit for average .298 but can't hit with too much power. only 89 HR in comparison Limmer has 133. San Diego has good pitching. 3rd in CBA for ERA, the Surf has King Felix at 9-3 and Meche at 8-3. Haren and Peavy both add 7 wins. Frank Rod has 13 sv. David Wright is carrying SD in all areas (16 61 .363 12sb) and Cano is hitting .337. SD with some good matchups and series wins will be a factor all season. A move any direction could mean the entire Dawson race.
LP has been consistant much of the year. They recently won 9 games in row and dropped 7 for their only streak. LP is led by Cy Young candidate Carlos Zambrano has 10 wins no losses. Maddux (7-4 4.11) has done well too. The bullpen has done well by committee with 8 players gaining saves. They have allowed only 20% of inherited runners to score a great number. The bullpen is a signature of the Loggers. Offensively its Ichiro, Aramis, and now Richie Sexson who has come alive. Varitek and Hunter are below the Mendoza line still and the .769 X rating has been great. A 4.12 team ERA is good enough to win, but can they sustain SD and Limoilou? Perhaps as always the key with LP is their depth of bench. Lets see how this winds up in August.
Skokie is the team in Carter. Doesn't look like anyone will constest him there as Allentown has faded and Kennesaw has been inexplicably below par. Skokie ahs their best offense since its Montreal days with their many new additions for '07. The addition of Mike Piazza (19 61 .326) has greatly helped the offense though his glove and arm haven't. Gary Matthews Jr (13 55 .329) has been superb. Chipper (19 42 .289), Bonds (17 56 .291), and Edmonds (15 44 .272) have been very dangerous all year and are a playoff threat to any team in CBA. Jose Valentin (16 38 .304) was a find. The pitching not too bad. Joe Nathan (13sv 1.36ERA) is lights out at closer. There is enough to get by but with pitching scarce Skokie has been shopping for more. Don't expect the Wolfman to stand still he is always on the prowl and rumour has it a few deals waiting to happen!
Looking around CBA this week we are starting to get a feel for how our teams are performing. With the first weeks of the season a time of sdjustment and testing, GM's are trying to optimize their lineups and talent for maximum performance. Expected, few teams have started off slowly and some hot. Too early to tell, but we may begin to see who will be the contenders this year.
2007 CBA season preview by Marc Wass
As years go by the memories of big games and series can be reflected on. CBA's history show that no team has repeated in consecutive years winning a championship. It's difficult enough to get in, and win Net Play series. Last year champion Indiana has a chance to repeat. 2005's Longue Pointe winner was able to make it into Staub Finals losing to Neah (Kennesaw). The closest to repeat was In 2004 Brooklyn when won their only championship, after losing in 2003 World Series to 3 time winner Limoilou.
.The 2007 promises to be a great one. Can Indy repeat? We have added two great new GM's James Blakeley and the returning Eric Lindner to the mix. I am very happy to have both aboard and each has been an asset from the get go. With last years new GM's blending in so well, I can only feel confident that CBA will see more competition and more highlights. Winning Strat-Ball, and sportsmanship are the standards and mean everything in CBA. We will see plenty of both if the off season was any indication. With a flurry of trades and draft maneuvers the guard could be changing as there will be more parity in CBA, and some long building teams finally emerging. Lets take a short look at what perhaps could take place in CBA 2007.
This years cards seem to have less of the excellent pitching cards. Fewer than usual well balanced starters. Fewer starters with 2 or less diamonds and 20 and 30 TB or below. Even the aces seem to have unbalance and power problems. But their are allot of set up relievers as the MLB trend seems to dictate. It seems many more guys in the 20 hit 25 oba 35 TB range than usual.
The Parker race may be the best that division has seen in many seasons. Two reasons are three powerful teams that return with an eye towards the division crown.
It's hard not to start with Indiana Redbirds and GM Bob Fidler. Fidler inherited a promising team but really put his own touch on this team with his many player and draft movements. Fidler earned his championship with excellent CM and roster management in 2006 and we can expect more of the same this season. With some players not approaching 2006 season card status, Fidlers other players will step it up plus some. Where ARod tailed some, the acquisition of Jose Reyes looms large in Houston's top of the order. Reyes should offset some of the power loss with his own power and speed. He will form a lethal DP combo with Tad Iguchi who is solid if not excellent in this set with a well balanced card. Pujols at first base and Indiana just may have the best infield in CBA. Solid up the middle of the diamond. Pujols will be an MVP candidate driving in many runs and a good shot at 1.300 tot. He will create tons of runs with these guys ahead of him. He will have protection with A Rod behind him. Jason Bay has a killer card. Alex Rodriguez likely team DH with the drop in glove skills, but Fidler acquired Mike Lowell a 1 rated 3B with good bat vs. Righties to bolster the bottom of the order. Two 2's and two 1's in the infield? A good bet for .750 X rating or better for this team.
The pitching however is a concern for this offensive laden team. With few * starters available in the draft or on the trade market, Indy will have to rely heavily on the pen aside from starter Oswalt and limited Kazmir, the other starters are decent but not top shelf. Fidler acquired lights out Cla Meredith and Bob Wickman along with a committee of lesser IP pitchers who will be platoon during the season. It remains to be seen how they will perform because they have a tough task ahead fending off the improved Superbas and Otters teams.
Ottawa is a bonified contender for the title. In fact Ottawa could win it all in 2007. Their starting pitching is as solid as Indiana's and they have impressive bullpen strength. Brandon Webb is a true ace pitcher and should contend for the Cy Young award. Lackey has a very nice card at number 2. Cook, Loaiza, and Armas are adequate for innings and some good games along the way. However they too are more likely to use their pen by committee to win ball games. Joe Borowski will close games with strong set up men in Brian Sweeney, Chad's Bradford and Gaudin. Eyre, Rivera, Downs , and Tavarez are better than average long men. Bout Ottawa is know for the "Daddy and the Impaler" than its pitching. We can expect another year of good numbers from those two. Depending who Jung's bats in front of them the potential for runs is as good as anyone in CBA. With top shelf offenses in Brooklyn and Indiana they must put runs on the board. They could get more than either rival if Mauer, and Reed Johnson set the table. The offensive production could reach 1000 runs scored.
Though Indy is the reigning champ, Brooklyn may have the total package after the acquisition of Pedro Feliciano and Dan Wheeler in two separate trades. The offense is stocked top to bottom with only Adam Everett not as a great a threat, though his 1 e8 at SS should compensate for that. Indiana and Brooklyn are each about at the same level, and any extra additions to any of the threes team could be a difference. Brooklyn may challenge Ottawa and Indiana for the Parker's top spot. Brooklyn has been looking to maintain a high performance level for a number of years. They have been a staple in the playoffs since 2003, and though knocked out in round 1 last year are only 2 championships removed from the 2004 winners. With more offense and better pitching, Brooklyn could be trouble for Clemente.
The lineup seems all star with a great blend of power, on base, speed, and defense. The defense defines Brooklyn as Ivan Rodriguez, Everett, Vernon Wells, newcomer Brandon Phillips, Drew, Helton, and Payton have superior ratings and e numbers. Phillips, Wells, Cabrera, and Gathright all steal bases, and IRod will surprise a few catchers. But the offense appears back. With Sosa on hiatus, Brooklyn compensated by acquiring Manny Ramirez for LF. Where Helton's power numbers have slipped, 2005 draftee Ryan Howard has exceeded expectations. Miguel Cabrera will challenge for the batting crown with great doubles and HR power. The middle of the order is possibly Brooklyn's finest ever. The end of the order isn't bad either, with JD Drew's card, Ivan Rodriguez variables and average, Phillips power and speed. Brooklyn could also break 1000 runs.
Cooperstown is a good team. A team with promise and some good talent right now. They play in Parker with Ottawa, Indiana, and Brooklyn which this year might not be such a good thing for them. With this years schedule seeing more action against Schmidt and the other divisions in Staub, it could help C’Town to achieve a better record than if they played more within the division.
Some may reason it could hinder them in an attempt to gain higher draft status, but all said C'Town could surprise more than a few.
Pitching is a plus for C'Town Iron Horses. Jeff Francis is another recipient of the Strat trend towards endowing Coors pitchers with better cards as the years go by. Coors pitchers were shunned and given horrid cards in years past but the past three seasons has seen good cards come out of the Rockies. Francis is one of two this year (Jennings) the other, who have better than average cards. V Padilla is solid with a decent card as is Chris Young who despite some power problems should still be an effective pitcher. El Duque should be better than adequate as a #4 or 5 starter, with the late and beloved Cory Lidle. Also on deck is Horatio Ramirez. This staff should improve year by year. In the pen, Jesse Crain, Francisco Cordero, and Justin Speier are among the better pens in Clemente. The question is whether this years offense can give the pitching the support it deserves. There is some excellent young talent here and C'Town should eventually become quite strong with Hermida, Markakis, Langerhaans, Ibanez, Matt Young, Zobrist, Castillo, and Peralta begin to live up to expectations. No longer is the Iron Horse team a pushover. They will win some big games. Perhaps a power hitter or two away from serious contention.
Bryan has fallen on hard times after their near playoff journey of 2005. The lovable Bashers are also a team seemingly on the upswing with the addition of some good new talent. The big arrival is Pat Burrell who is always good for some big power numbers and will set base in the middle of the Bashers lineup. A good season for Burrell in 07 MLB could time just right for the Bashers next season. What about this year? With the Parkers big three and CTown’s improvement the bashers will also be in the fight for perhaps the last playoff wildcard spot. The lineup is much improved. Paul LoDuca has a terrific offensive card, as does 2005 acquired Lyle Overbay. Overbay has one of the best lefty cards with a nice blend of defense, power and OBA. With Helton slipping in 07, Brooklyn could be regretting that trade soon enough. Another Brooklyn trade away, Ty Wigginton has a very good power card as well he can play INF and OF. Luke Scott will platoon and certainly help. Mike Lamb will hit for a high average (33 hits vs. R), and Brad Inge will add 35-30 HR power. Maybe a a sot at the wildcard? The bullpen is outstanding and aces Chris Carpenter and Kenny Rogers could each win 16-20. The Bashers could dive or could be a contender. Much depends on Light’s effective use of his players. This team with some MLB luck could be a hot team in 08. In 07, they will score some more runs to help Bryan win but patience is the key here as the talent is there but could really blossom next season. Cory Light’s chances are very good with Ellis returning, Hermanson, Millar, B Crosby, Cintron, Milton, and Gomes, all likely to exceed 2006 performance in MLB.
In Schmidt, It looks like an epic battle between Philly, Carolina, Stirling, and the Morrison stadium Lizard Kings and the Lake County Leopards. All 5 teams are in contention for the division. All have their strengths and weaknesses take your pick who wins this division. The Philly Phantastics. Rob Hite’s South Philly Wonder boys will be eating a lot of celebratory Pat’s and Geno’s wit and wit out this year. The top half of the lineup is going to puts lots of runs across. We may be able to expect a whopping 900-1000 runs season en toto. Jeter and Abreu will set the table with .400+ OBA’s and runner movement. Berman and C-Lee will drive home bunches. It’s possible Berkman could break 150 RBI’s. The end of the order has Rolen, Hawpe, Utley, and Thames. All have strong cards. The defense could be a weakness and the OF will allow lots of runners to move. The Philly pitching staff doesn’t have 4 time Cy Young award and future CBA HOFer Randy Johnson as it’s ace. That role will be shared amongst three starters. Bedard looks good as does Verlander. They are sure to allow as many HR as the team will probably hit.
The Lizard Kings are a team that depending on management and matchups could make allot of noise in the tough Schmidt division. This is one division team that has the starting pitching. The off season acquisition of Matt Cain was a huge plus as he moves to the front of a solid rotation. Freddie Garcia, Cliff Lee, Jeff Suppan round out the staff. Billy Wagner closes with Carrasco, Farnsworth, and Ruddy Lugo handle the middles. The offense is underrated. Another off season deal brought Matt Holliday who will likely bat third with Garciaparra, Adam LaRoche, Griffey, Paulino, Alou, Damon, Catalanotto, and Crede in the lineup. This team will score runs when needed. In fact they could have one of the best lineups in CBA top to bottom. The defense will be solid if not spectacular with two 1's and a 2. G'Parra "won't hoit ya bad wit da glove eeder". In fact the team's X rating should enhance the pitching some. Perhaps only Holliday's glove and Damon's arm will be liabilities for SW. Both have enough on their cards to offset that detraction.
It remains to be seen how the mix of players and styles blend in here. Manager Lindner has a tall task in front of him, but he has already begun to put together a well balanced team. Remember Lindner brought his teams in '97 and '98 to the playoffs in his stint in early CBA. No reason to think he won't be able to do it again. This is a team in a very tough division whose teams will batter each other liley to around a .500 margin. Its possible the SW pitching will set them just a bit above some of the pack. The offense will be solid, however, can they score enough even with the pitching to stop the powerful Schmidt. Much depends on Lindner, and the Lizard King.
Carolina is a team whose time may have come. Off to a fast start, the Copperheads will be in the press a lot this year. Scott Kenan’s team really took a major step in the off season with a strong draft and some strategic trading. Coming to Carolina was Ryan Zimmerman who will solidify the corners with Morneau on the other side of the diamond. Travis Hafner returns this year strong to be a 40+ HR DH threat. The lineup is very dangerous. A lot of runs will score for this team as well. The bottom half of the lineup drops off a bit. Pitching is the primary concern here as after the limited Anibal Sanchez, hard lefty Scott Olsen, and the mortal Johan Santana the pitching is average at best. Westbrook will lose more than a few. The bullpen is a possible weakness.
Stirling missed out on the playoffs by a game or two. The Redsox last week rally caught everyone off guard. Stirling had a strange year in ’06. They seemingly traded to build for the future when their mid season record was poor. They picked up some picks, and Jason Kendall in the Varitek to LP deal. It was Kendall who turned out to play better than expected. In fact Kendall had a comeback year in MLB which made him perhaps more valuable for ’07 than either GM would have thought. With Johima likely to snare much of the playing time, Kendall will be a PH off the bench. The lineup is improved in ’07 Crawford, O Cabrera, Konerko, Andreuuuw, Swisher, Byrnes, and Joje will be solid through and through. The averages may be a little lower, but the run production will be strong. Schmidt could be the most powerful of the 4 divisions! Stirling has a young staff headed by Bronson Arroyo. Pitching starters are thin with the rest of the crew high ERA type cards. The pen is quite strong with the addition of Broxton joining C Cordero. Expect a lot of work from the pen. Stirling is a team whose best days seem ahead of them. Lots of hopeful young pitchers and likely return to form vets who could mean the Redsox will be tremendous in 08 and beyond.
Lake County has the pitching. Perhaps the strongest rotation in CBA. But the offense will be a struggle. They traded Manny Ramirez to acquire Penny. He joins tom Glavine, Jav Vasquez, Derek Lowe, and Josh Beckett. The pen has Papelbon, Howry, Otsuka, and enough to make LLS a favorite in the late innings of tied games. But can the offense out hit their other divisional rivals? The pitching will likely do well against Staub, but Parker teams and Schmidt teams may give the Leopards all they can handle because their isn’t enough offensive variable to drive in enough runs to outscore the big offenses. The middle of the lineup has Frank Thomas, and Carlos Delgado. L Castillo and Jimmy Rollins will set the table.
The Staub Conference is known for the smaller offenses, but is more well known as a pitching league. Carter’s Skokie looks like a repeat playoff type team. Wolfman Shapiro has had another busy off season retooling the Wolfmen and painstakingly building another playoff contender. Like a Phoenix from the ashes, the Wolfman knows trading, and talent too. Secured for the a lineup that needed some pop after last years playoff 7 game defeat, Skokie procured barry Bonds and his high OBA bat for LF. It remains to be seen if the Bonds card can offset the 5 rating and +3 arm in a key spot in LF. Chipper Jones was a strong pick up at 3B but will need to be platooned with limited appearances. Edmonds has tailed a bit but gives good glove in CF. Mike Piazza will handle the catching duties. Can the arm’s in LF and behind the dish have limiting effect on the Skokie winning percentage? It will be a good test of the Strat theories. Perhaps Skokie can answer the well worn Strat debate as to how the defense: X ratings, arms, etc are more necessary for wins than the good old fashion On base plus slugging theory.
Allentown and Maine are improved. In fact they could surprise quite a few CBA Gm’s with wins. Allentown has nicely balanced team. Russ Martin and Hanley Ramirez were huge additions with excellent variables to bring to the table. Ramirez has pop and speed, while Martin has one of the best catchers cards in the set. He will limited baserunning with his -2 arm. The bullpen is strong if the starters run into trouble. Maine some good offense. Adding Uggla, and Francouer should help not just now but into the future. The combo of J Giambi, Cory Koskie, Karlyle Greene and Uggla could be among CBA’s best infields. Catching is a plus with Eliezer Alfonzo and Geoff Zaun. A developing pitching staff could center around Lowry and C Wang, but more is needed there if they want to compete seriously.
Kennesaw appears to be rebuild a bit and has a nice core of young talent blending in with the aging veterans from Neah Bay’s halcyon days. They will score some runs near the top of the order with Furcal, Cameron, McCann, and Giles. Not a lot of power which is typical of this franchise but some decent on base. The pitching has atken a step back but there’s enough in the pen and in the rotation there to win. Smoltz, Sheets, and Harang should win more than a few, but the rest of the starters are shaky at best.
The Staub will be interesting. Longue Pointe had an interesting draft choosing to focus on the solidifying the bench for the long run, adding pieces for platoons and reserves. They were able to add a few good prospects along the way. Craig Monroe takes over in LF while Matsui will hit off the bench. Jose Vidro coming in a trade takes over 2nd base, and the addition of Aramis Ramirez to hit in front of Richie Sexson will be huge for LP who keeps their strong pitching intact. Expect prospects Jeremy Sowers and Jimmy Gobble to contribute some, and Carlos Zambrano to win around 20. The pen wont be as strong as last years, but is fairly decent as is. Staub Rolaids candidate Todd Jones will close again.
Limoilou will be very tough in ’07. The lineup is outstanding. Once again Jeff Boutet showed why he was a 3 time championship GM. Boutet had the foresight to get Carlos Beltran who rebounded into what could be an MVP candidate for this year. Kenny Lofton and his speed and bat are now aboard, along with the underrated Matt Murton. Troy Glaus will hit plenty of HR, and Curtis Granderson will be a pleasant surprise with a good offensive card. The pitching is strong even after the trade of Hudson, but Hudson card was not the same as in the past seasons and appeared on the decline. Schmidt should be the ace again, and Saito will liley close, lights out. Schilling.
SD Surf will be very tough in ’07. They could win not only Dawson, but CBA as well. They are stacked top to bottom in the lineup. The pitching is very solid throughout the rotation. The addition of Ervin Santana could be the missing key. With the pitching as is, SD offensive run support should be plenty enough to give the staff many leads. Bush, Peavy, Santana, King Felix, Haren, Meche, there isn’t much need for a bullpen. The lineup and defense are well balanced. David Wright, Vic Martinez, Cano, Cuddyer, Dye, Renteria, Nick Johnson, Youkiklis…No weaknesses. Could this be the team for CBA to beat? It remains to see how Joe Wallace manages this team, because they could go all the way, on paper that is.
Joliet will have to manage well to contend. Its hard to see them beating SD, but a wildcard isn’t out of the question. Joliet has also added some pitchin’ and has a few good starters and spot starters that can give anyone trouble. Jered Weaver, Burnett, Chuckt James, John Maine, John Lieber are solid. JJ Putz will dominate in the pen. Much improved. The lineup is better too. Soriano keys the attack which features speed. JJD led CBA with 314 steals a record in ’06. This year 200+ is likely too. A solid lineup with no other real superstars, but nice offensive cards. Pierre, Ordonez, Tracy, and some others. Nothing to fear but they should score a few. Without last years MVP Derek Lee Joliet must still be looking to replace that big power bat.
CBA expects a few more dogfights this year. It’s important we all do our best to maintain a high level of competive spirit to be fair for all our great GM’s. Every game counts as we have seen the past three seasons which have gone to the wire. 2007 should be just as great if not better.
Dear Commissioner:
As the "unofficial" legal representative of the CBA, I feel it my
duty to inform you that the League Managers' photos may be in
violation of what the FCC has termed "tasteful" or "offensive" to
some viewers.
To circumvent their Fascist tendencies with regard to censorship may
I suggest a "View Warning" headline prior to accessing the LINK?
This could possibly save the LEAGUE millions of dollars in time
consuming legal battles.
The family photo of Jack Frost is perhaps the most distrubing, not to
mention "redneck" Blakie, and what is up with Hite's photo?
This is a family league and he is just way too sexy for this section.
If anyone is offended by these remarks, please consider the source.
Btw, Adams looks higher than me and I won't stand for it! Perhaps we
should just call him "Blunt" Adams for now on. No, I am not
referring to his emails either.
More CBA, less real word crap.
Oh, and Happy Dr. King Day to one and all! Not going to work today
was really sweet! Now, if I only had some disposal income to blow.
Commish, if you need me I will be at the Tidal Basin Gala Event for
All Debauched Represenatives of the State Department. Btw, who won
the election? I had my money on Chester Arthur . . .
Peace,
Eric
SLS
Dowie, Screwem, and Howe LTD
Sweet Caroline! At Shea?....A RedSox Boston
song???...Blasphemous...Never mind that Neil Diamond is a Brooklyn
Native. He'd never have written that song if he knew the RedSox were
gonna use it! Again I say Blasphemy...Bodacious my goodness. Of course
Doug you know this means STratWar! : ) NY Mets fans will not stand for
such foolishness. On your behalf Shea
has played some crummy tunes over the years as you will see.
To set the record straight and that Mr Brunet and Mr Diamond, Mr Kramden
and all the world should know that "Sweet 'blankn' Caroline" will never be
a part of Met lore. Can I get a harumphhh for that?
Here is a list of the most popular songs played at Shea Stadium. Year By
Year. Many of the years Organ player (still alive at 93) Jane Jarvis
played little ballpark numbers and cute little songs to stage the batters
and their identities. Some times music was mixed in over the PA's. Here
is my own list based on my experiences as a frequent patron, and others,
and some friends Ive called : ) Think I did an OK job, feel free to add
in actual songs that you may recall.
MWass
1962 "Meet The Mets" The Greenwich Fertin
Club Quartet
1963 "Duke Of Earl" Gene Chandler
1964 "I Want To Hold Your Hand" The Beatles, "The Mets is a
Good Thing" Billy Loes
1965 "Meet The Mets" Jane Jarvis
1966 "Everybody Clap Your Hands" Jane Jarvis
1967 "If I Had a Hammer" Trini Lopez
1968 "Ballad of the Green Berets" Sgt Barry Sadler
1969 "You've Come A Long Way Baby" Virginia Slims Theme
1970 "Meet The Mets" Jane Jarvis
1971 "Goodnight SweetHeart" Tribute for Gil
1972 "Felix The Cat" Jane Jarvis
1973 "Do You Believe In Magic?" Lovin Spoonful
1974 "Shine On" Grand Funk
1975 "Dreamin A Dream Pt 2" The Crown Heights Affair
1976 "Scrapple from the Apple." Jane Jarvis
1977 "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" Jane Jarvis
1978 "Stayin Alive" Bee-Gees by Jane of
course
1979 "Theme From Rocky" Bill Conti
1980 "It's Magic" Pilot
1981 "Talkin Baseball" Terry cashman "Have To Believe we Are Magic
Olivia Newton John
1982 "Let It Whip" The Dazz Band
1983-4 "Talkin Met Baseball" Terry Cashman
1985 "Curley Shuffle" Los Tres Chiflados
1986 "Lets go Mets" Shelly Palmer & Assoc
1987 "We Built This City"" Jefferson Starship
1988 "We Will Rock You" Queen
1989 "Rock You Like a Hurricane" Scorpions
1990 "Heart Of Rock And Roll" Huey Lewis {Sweet Music for
Viola}
1991 "Welcome To The Jungle" G N R
1992 "Born To Run" Bruce Springsteen
1993 "Cocaine" Eric Clapton
1994 "Rico Soave" Gerardo Mejia
1995 "Meet The Mets" Original Theme
1996 "Meet The Mets" Updated Theme Female Singer
1997 "I've Got The Power"
1998 "Day-Oh" Harry Belafonte {Rey-O}
1999 "We Like To Party" Venga Boys
2000 "Who Let The Dogs Out" Baja Men
2001 "Survivor" Destiny's Child
2002 "I'm A Loser" Beck
2003 "Turning Japanese" The Vapors
2004 "New York City" Jay-Z
2005 "Lazy Mary"
Gentlemen of the CBA:
Rumors continue to flutter about the league that a major trade
agreement may be announced shortly by the league office.
Before it becomes a reality, I want to offer my apologies and explain
myself before the rope gets much tigther and the pitchforks get much
sharper.
It is the YEAR OF THE WOLF! There is no stopping the Wolfman this
year! My spirit guides inform me that he will weep at the end of the
World Series, for there will be no more worlds for him to conquer.
We all may just as well call it a season, even before we begin. All
resistance is futile.
The full moon we are having right now is even called the "Wolf
Moon!" You can look it up.
In northern Venezuela, a glowing wolfman was seen skipping across
Vascaco Laguna three days ago. Three witnesses have confirmed this
siting.
In Hollywood, it will be the year of the Wolfman! There will be a
slew of movies featuring the WOLFMAN! Even Bennie Del Toro is signed
to star as the snarling beast and some other hot movie chick has
signed for another feature.
This maddening trend will continue in literature as well. We have
just seen the crest level off with the Vampire genre, so you know the
Wolfman is to follow. Weird how that works!
Anyway, when you see the rumor become reality--speak softly of me.
It was completely out of my hands. I did what I was compelled to
do. If the CBA offered a "Boob of the Year" Award, I already won it.
The cycle of the Wolfman has begun and he will take no prisoners!
This is a good time to get religious and invest in silver bullets.
Again, please accept my apologies, as the wolf bane went straight to
my head.
Respectfully submitted,
Eric C. Lindner
Boob of the Year
Hi all this Skip Duckworth
with our final part of interviews.
Our final interview is with the manager of the Indiana Red Birds
First of all I want thank you for taking time to set down and be interview
by myself.
Well first of all I wan to congratulate you on an exciting win to win your
2nd World Series in 3 yrs
Our first question to you is can you tell us a little about your self
and your SOM accomplishments?
Well Skip I started playing SOM in 1977 when a friend of mine introduce
the game to me. I then was able to join a board league in my home town and
was a member until it went defunct in 1994. I also was able to get into
another board league in town a few yrs earlier and I am the only manager
to win championships in both leagues the same yr. Then in 2000 I got
introduce to the computer game and then I joined some different leagues
especially the NABL net-play on league in which I made it to the World
Series but came up short. This is the league in which I met and became
friends with John Miller who help co-manage the Skokie squad and will be
building his own team this yr. The Championship that I won in 2006 was my
first computer league and then won the 2008 Snow Bowl in the GMBL winter
league. As much as I like all the other leagues I really enjoy this one
the most as we have a great group of managers, great web site and I have
made alot of friends that I hope will keep for the rest of my life. I am
also in a league named GUSSOMO that is enjoyable but we havent had much
sucess as my team is the INDY CLOWNS and that is what they are. We also
have a annual get together each yr which is real fun and we usually play
around 54 games FTF and we give away an In your face trophy for the best
team at the get together.
Well it sounds like you have had a few great accomplishments in your yr
of SOM. So what did this yr mean to you?
Well this yr started out where I wasn't sure about the team and also we
had recommend John Miller to the league and he went in to co-manage with
Josh Shapiro. We then were able to pull off some trades where it help me
out now and should help the other teams for the future but as you know you
never know about trades and then I mortagaged the farm by trading away a
lof my draft picks away to try and hold of the Brooklyn club. To win it
all made it worth it but it wasn't easy.
Can you tell us a little somethings about this yrs team?
Well this yrs team was a great group of players with Albert and A-Rod at
the corners. Grady was a anchor in the OF with Mosies Alou being big
against lefties along with Hunter Pence. Then the acquisiton of Ken
Griffey Jr was a key in RF and also Jim Thome was big bat in the middle of
the lineup against RHP which we didn't really have from the left side as
we lost out on the Barry Bonds sweepstakes. Jorge Posada behind the play
was also a key especially since he was switch hitter. Reyes and Polanco
became great friends and great duo up the middle. Placido also had a good
bat for the season and he really stepped up in the WS by batting .406 with
5 doubles, 1 HR and scored 9 runs and drove in 7. Roy Oswalt was the
anchor to the Starting Staff going 18-3 and winning the Cy Young and in
the WS he lost the 1st game by only giving up 2 runs as the team offense
wasn't up to playing. Then with the Red Birds down 2-1 in games and on the
road he stepped up his game just giving up 3 runs 2 earned and cruised to
the win. Then in the final game he just gave up 2 earned runs again and
pitched a complete game to win it. John Smoltz was a key to us for this yr
as his expierenced leadership was a great thing to have even though he
just had a little above 500 season but his leadership was important and he
showed he could pitch in the big show by going 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA.
So tell our readers what your feeling was about the World Series?
Well it was different as I was going against 2 good friends but was
nervious. To take a step backwards for a moment we face a tough Brooklyn
team in the Clemente Championship series and we were plesant surprise that
we were able to win 3 straight at the House of Pain and that also gave us
the rest we needed to go against a well rested Skokie squad. Facing John
in the first 2 games was a great thing and I enjoyed it and I think the
team was still thinking about that great win against Brooklyn as the team
didn't really show up for game 1, but game 2 they came alive to win 10-0
then we went to home of Skokie and had to face the LEGENDARY
Wolfman Shapiro and it was another great game but we fell behind early and
couldn't claw back enough to lose 10-6. Game 4 we came our of the shoot
quick with 6 runs and Oswalt gave us 8 strong innings allowing 9hits, 3
runs, 2 earned and Izzy came in to shut the door for a 6-3 win. Game 5
which I thought was the pivotal game was really pretty tight game but
Indiana ended up scoring 6 runs in the top of the 9th to put the game qway
13-2. So we were able to go home with a 3-2 in games and had Kazmir on the
mind and we took an early lead but couldn't hold it and then Casey Janssen
who was a great acquistion during the yr brought in the gas can to the
fire and let Skokie tie it back up at 3 games a piece. We were still at
home and had Oswalt the reigning Cy Young award winner on the mound. The
Red Birds came out swinging and took the early lead and Oswalt gave up 2
runs in 9 innings and Indiana won 12-2. I am totall excited to win another
CBA Championship and hope to be a member of this GREAT LEAGUE of CBA
for many yrs.
So what are your thoughts on the up and coming season?
Skip as I stated I mortgaged the farm to win it all this yr and we don't
pick until the 7th rd and cutting down to 22 players this yr because of
expansion is going to make it tough and we had some players that was hurt
or had down yrs. So we had to cut a couple players that were keys to this
paast season winnner. We also going to have to make some moves of players
that we like to keep. But we will do whatever we have to put a competitive
team on the field.
We want to congratulate on anothe great season and also winning the 2008
CBA Championship!
Thanks Skip and I want to say thank you to all the great GMs in this
league that make it so fun. And also don't forget about the Red Birds as
they are always willing to make a deal!
Bob/Indiana Red Birds
2008 CBA Championships
Well this is Skip Duckworth signing off as we completed this 4 part
interview and we are looking forward to interview a different CM each week
or two.
|
Indiana 2008 |
|
Bob Fidler Redbirds GM |
World Champs |
|
|
|
|
The CBA roots can be traced back to 1990. That year two Canadian guys from
Montreal, Province of Quebec, Canada, land of the Loonie, Snow, Seals, Hosers,
Inuit, Mountains, Draft Dodgers, CBC, Expos, Boots Day, glaciers, forests, fish,
moss, loggers, cows, mounties, well you get the picture had an idea.
Claude Lamarre a research assistant for the government and Gerald Benoit
programmer for small business company, became friends through another hobby.
Later that summer they discovered they had both a passion for baseball and
played their first Strat-o-matic board game together in a small apartment of
Gamelin street in Montreal.
That year they made a mockup league of twelve teams from the MLB. They also
noticed a little flyer advertising the computer version of the board games which
Claude immediately ordered. When the game came in the mail they we're both
fascinated with it and the small mockup league of twelve teams became a league
of 20 teams with exotic name like Flin-Flon, Chuane Cheu, Wabush,
Fartintinkles, Zabadou, Thunder Bay and other strange locations in Canada.
With a BTRIEVE database and an application developed in Turbo C by Gerald they
continue to play with the software and played numerous incarnation of the
mockup-league. Sometime they would scrap the whole thing just to have the
pleasure of doing a draft again. In 1992 they added salaries and contract to the
league format and the home made database. With a really long formula that has
since been lost, Claude had calculated realistic salaries for all players based
on the performance and ability of players.
In 1994 all this thing changed. Claude find other people playing Strat baseball
on the internet and he joins his first league on the internet, the North
American Strat Baseball League ( NASBL) that Gerald would join a year later. The
NASBL experienced was instrumental in the process of developing the CBA. One of
the features of the NASBL was the very extensive minor league system in which
you could own players from the double AA. An idea that would follow Claude and
Gerald in the next few year. In 1995 they both join another startup league named
the Virtual Baseball Association (VBA). It was very closed to what they have
done in the past before getting on the internet in the sense that it had
salaries and contract derived from a formula. Unfortunately in 1996 the
commissioner of the VBA vanish from the internet leaving 23 owners with half a
season played. Gerald took over the role of the commissioner, renamed the league
Virtual Baseball League (VBL) but with not real experience and no preparation at
all, is attempt was unsuccessful and finally decide to quit to role of
commissioner and the league.
It's at this time that the project of forming their own internet league was
first talked about. From planning to action it didn't take long before a first
draft of the constitution was made. The frist draft was based on the
constitution of the VBA but ultimately evolve to something completly new. Trying
to come up with a minor league system that did'nt demand too much knowledge,
like the NASBL had, they came up with the minimum rules and thus creating the
now famous POPNOMER (Pick Of Players Not Meeting the Minimum Requirement). At
the last moment the salary and contract system was put on the shelf, deemed to
complicate to apply in the first year of the CBA (It never been added and likely
never will).
The Association was made of 24 teams separate in two league of 3 divisions each.
Names were given to those leagues and divisions. These were named after Gerald
and Claude's favorite and most respected players. If you noticed they have a
truly Montreal Expo flavor. Messages and contacts we're sent to find solid
ownership. Weary from his experience with the VBL it was decided that Claude
would be the commissioner and Gerald would be the co-commissioner. A friend that
they both knew from another league they had get in in the mean time (CSBL) Lou
Bloss became the other co-commissioner . Lou was a major contributor to the old
Strat-Digest publication and Strat website. Marc Wasserman, Another friend and
veteran StratFanatic {who once ran the very popular "StratAlliance" News site
and Strat gaming lists} was asked to join from the once popular and respected
NASBL league and help organize the CBA structure and league as an original
committee member. There were many more competent and terrific gamers to come.
2003 was a year of reorganization. With 2002 done, CBA was at an all time low point. Apathy and indifference plagued the CBA. An influx of new GM's from the 2000-2001 season seemed to make the loyalty and comraderie of 1997-1999 a thing of the past. New franchises appeared with some named to reflect the region or preferences of the new GM's. Several were French Canadians with little to no Strat experience brought in by Claude in 2001 to replace departing GM's. Things seemed bleak as GM's left.
By 2002 with no one stepping to the helm to take control of a fading league, Chris Boutet attempted to keep CBA alive, bringing several GM's from his QSBL league. He also attempted to complete the season, however several times during the season council member and one of CBA's early founders Marc Wasserman helped to run games and keep things organized.
To stimulate interest in the league Boutet took several controversial votes which changed existing usage and rotational requirements. Usage maximums were set at 115%, Starters who were asterisked or 200+ inn, could start every three days with no maximums for usage. Batters with 450 AB unlimited, etc. The result was a statistical nightmare which CBA's statistical database still hasn't recovered from. Many 400+ inn pitchers , and unlimited hitters, exorbitant team stat totals offensive records and pitching records were skewed. Addtionally there were several long breaks between blocks, and several file mishaps which caused extensive delays and much frustration with the veteran GM's.
At the end of 2002, going into 2003, Boutet resigned from the temporary post. Marc Wasserman organized a committee and asked co-founder Gerald Benoit to re-enter CBA and assume responsibilties as commisioner, and team ownerwith Wasserman as co-commisioner. Benoit accepted and took the Acadie Stars and renamed them the Montreal Royals (Skokie) and soon found the task monumental. Apathy being the major problem in 2002, Both decided to take a different and radical direction for CBA to restore staistical integrity, enthusiasm, and schedule consistancy to CBA. Resolved that to creat a stronger league there must be a bit of a redistribution of talent. New GM's would be brought in to replace leaving ones and non-performing GM's. A massive recruitment drive was spearheaded by Wasserman to retool the GM lineup for the 2003 season.
In 2003, Usage was reset to 100% strictly, and a set of infractions drafted. Council members Jeff Boutet was appointed, and input was solicited from several vet GM's. Pitchers rules were set to eliminate unlimited starters, and batters the same. Injuries were disallowed for continuity. A new improved interactive SQL databased website was set up by Gerald. The logos were recreated for some teams. Gerald replaced team names of departed GM's with monikers and team names from MLB in a 1 year failed experiment. The season progressed quite well until the last two months when Benoit ran into a family tragedy that occupied most of his team. He stepped down to attend business and nominated Marc Wasserman commisioner to finish the season. Wasserman completed the season with a consistant week to week set of games as had been done years before by first commisioner Claude LeMarre. Gerald retained his team Bodega Bay into his final year 2004.
By 2004, 4 teams were banished to cyberspace from the CBA with the
departure of their GM's. Tennessee, Hartford, Detroit, and Quebec.
Their players were rentered into the draft and new GM's brought on board for an
expansion draft. Other teams trimmed to 20 men to contribute to the mix.
The founding members of the CBA were:
For the Roberto Clemente conference
Jack Jung, Ottawa Otters* {2000 CBA Champ}
Keith B. Jones, Sunville Sun Jewels {1 of 2 CBA members to be relieved of duties
due to diciplinary procedure)
Dan Noonan, Louisville Mob Squad {A Main character in the movie "Caddyshack"}
Eric Lindner, Southwest Lizard King {Nationally respected News reporter}
Lou Bloss (originator of CBA uniform), Parmas Flamingos {Strat-Digest staff}
Shaun Jones (A friend of Rob Hite) , Memphis Mafia
Jon Calder, Alexandria Assault {Video gaming Executive and long time CBA GM}
Greg Mason (From the backroads of America), Hicksville Raging Red Necks
Cory Light, Kilgore Bashers* {Current CBA Senior Executive consultant}
Wayne McGee, Stirling Red Sox* {CBA's Most prolific trader and goodwill
ambassador}
Randall Flowers, Vancouver Storm {Well known Strat GM in prominent
leagues}
Rob Hite, Philly Phantastics* { 2002 CBA champion, several time platyoff
contender) ,and CBA's semi-finalist in Worldwide ESSOM Friendship Cup tournament
Look at our history...The Contenders: The year 2000 was the CBA
revolution January the month that made history.
2000 was a year of controversy. Rules changes skewed our precious
stats with rediculous usage rules and overusage abound. Records could be
asterisked from that year. However 8 years later our playoff teams remind
of us of our CBA roots. Some of our teams in the playoffs are fighting to
exorcise the ghosts of the past. Doom and failure that gripped some long
forgotten franchises have gone away, or have they? Perhaps some of our
playoff contenders have the answer. As most of us know of the playoff
teams, Brooklyn Superbas (Marc Wass), Philly Phantastics (Rob Hite) are
the lone original owners in the dance. Lets look around.
The month that shook history, January 2000 perhaps put CBA into it's
dark years of 2001 and 2002. The CBA archives have been cracked open and
the in the historic vaults we saw a transition from the old founding
members to a new set of GM's who mostly hailed from the home region of
Quebec. We see on our time line that original Louisville Mob Squad, a
team who was quite popular moved to the north as the Jonquiere Lifesavers.
Perhaps CBA's worst team of all time. But that franchise is a laughing
sack no more in 2008.
Louisville Mob Squad:
BallPark: (Minnesota Twins)
Owned By: Dan Noonan (Member since foundation (97))
Residence: Louisville, Kentucky
Strat-o-Matic Experience: 6 years.
Thu, 06 Jan 2000 20:28:04 -0500
Thu, 06 Jan 2000 18:26:05 -0500
A GM was taken without checking credentials or reference.
Tue, 04 Jan 2000 00:05:41 -0500
Tue, 04 Jan 2000 00:06:52 -0500
Mon, 03 Jan 2000 15:48:35 -0500
The woeful Lifesavers made a series of deals at the onset, moving away
players and getting some poor return. A case could be made for bad luck,
they needed a lifesaver. The original GM was Dom Tremblay. He started a
mess of epic proportions and quickly left behind his mess to Pierre "Pete"
Janneau. Janneau was a knowledgeable strat player, and set out to correct
the roster issues left by Tremblay. The effects were devastating for the
franchise as they posted two of the worst seasons in CBA history. They
were followed by a succession of forgettable teams. They became the Green
bay Roches in 2002, then the Portland Sea Dogs. This team became the
Carolina Copperheads in 2006
On the other hand there was the Wilmington Blue Rocks.. Their profile
looks like this...
March 1997: Franchise foundation under the name Flamingos Parma owned
by Lou Bloss
October 1997: The Parmas finis second with a 91-71 season.
March 1998: Serge Robitaille acquire the franchise and renamed it
Darknight after a move to Kirkland.
October 1998: Kirkland Dark Knights finish with a second place finish had
a 92-70 season.
January 1999: Acquired by John MacDonald the franchise is renamed
Bluerocks and moved to Wilmington. 'Mack' had to give up his team after 1
season due to some personal issues, but when Sebastien Roberge took over,
he lost interest very quickly and was replaced after the council pushed
for his immediate removal due to non participation.
Of note a little known GM whose role in CBA remains a mystery is one GM
Dany LaPointe. Rumor had it that he was an office worker friend of
someone. It is the LaPointe mystery as to who the heck he was that
spurred a more discriminating selection process when the new regime change
came in late 2002 season. Just a side note:
In 2002 Marc Wass, Gerald Benoit took the reigns from
Claude LaMarre whose spirit was broken by Jeff Loria and his beloved Expos
MLB catastrophe. It was a sad time for CBA as baseballs greed affected
our league to the core. When baseball was left for dead in Quebec and our
Quebec colleagues followed suit, CBA went through it's transition. In
2002 Chris "Bouts" Boutin ran the games and brought in some more Strat
friends. As the original teams switched ownership so did the loyalty to
their home town fans.
Wilmington started as as the Parma Flamingoes by famed
Strat review columnist Lou Bloss. Lou left CBA and Strat after 1997 and
that team became the Kirkland Dark knights for a year in 98. John
MacDonald took em in 99, and his replacement Dany LaPointe proved unable
to assume duties after a very brief stay. Mac returned and moved his
stadium, but Mac would not put the same heart into his team he had before.
In 2002, Mac left and Clyde Elkins came in with the City Heights
Clydesdales. One of the wackiest logos I ever saw. You must check it
out. That franchise folded and is now going to be assigned to a new
franchise.
Manager of the Beauport Gamblers Martin Boulet brought on assistant GM
in Sebastien Roberge who in 2001 took over and renamed The once Grambling
Gamblers (1998 Jay Shapiro), the Westmount Gamblers. Sebas left as
baseball left Quebec, and Doug Vandermark changed the name to the Farnham
Chiefs. In 2003 Chris Thomas took over and named them the Houston Aeros.
Thomas had a turbulent history in CBA, and the Aeros franchises was
awarded to current GM Bob Fidler. Fidler rebuilt much of the team and
developed the Aeros in the Indiana Redbirds, already a Parker division
legend. They won the 2006 WS championship and want it back in the worst
way. They are proud Indiana Redbirds.
Washington was a new franchise in 2000 as Jon Calder's Alexandria Assault, stepped aside for Strat Vet Dan DiVirgilio. He lasted 3 years finishing the 2000 season 55-107 and finishing worse in 2001 at 45-117. Nick Yurchuk came aboard in 2002 and brought home a 17 game improvement to 62-100 . He was quite overwhelmed by the dizzying possibilties of rebuilding, and left after the season. In 2003 That franchise later became the present Dawson champion Joliet Jackhammers under the initials JJS in the Schmidt division. In 2004 they moved to Dawson. It's now 4 years later and Jack Frost is in the hunt. He joins the big boys and the possibilities of making CBA history in his tenure are in his control.
SD has been in CBA since 2002, and 2007 was their first ever playoff appearance as Wallace built this team from scratch out of the lowest winning team in CBA. Originally owned by Don Jensen and known as the Hamilton Harbors. Hamilton was best known for their dogfight in 1998 with then Dawson title winner Brooklyn Superbas (Moved to Parker in 99) Hamilton fought with Longue Pointe, Quebec, and Limoilou in 1999 and 2000, but were just shy. They'd not return anywhere closew again until 2007's Wallace led San Diego team. A team on the decline when Jensen retired. Wallace began to build with key trades and mostly draft picks and swaps. A true worst to first case, Wallace's plan was to take years to develop a bit at a time until he built what should be a strong contender for years to come. His attitude and dedication to CBA were evident in his very strong playoff effort and management in 2007. Joe Wallace is a class act, and quality GM whose time has arrived in the CBA. SD is an elite CBA team. Here is Hamilton/ San Diego's overall record 1997-2001 as Hamilton 2002-2007 as San Diego. Wallace's team has shown a win increase in 4 consecutive years. Although their regular season record is not as strong in 2008, they too are in the dance. Who knows where they'll go in 2008.
|
WON |
LOST |
|
|
1997 |
74 |
88 |
|
1998 |
98 |
64 |
|
1999 |
88 |
74 |
|
2000 |
89 |
73 |
|
2001 |
75 |
87 |
|
2002* |
61 |
101 |
|
2003 |
62 |
100 |
|
2004 |
52 |
110 |
|
2005 |
65 |
97 |
|
2006 |
82 |
80 |
|
2007 |
92 |
70 |
2008 |
93 |
69 |
Skokie was the Montreal Royals before Wolfman took them over. They
were original founder Gerlad Benoit's team. Looking how Shapiro improved
his team to that of a perrenial winner was quite accomplishment. Here is
with CBA's runaway Carter div champions again. 93 wins in 2008 was quite
a job, but he wants the World Series after going to the finals last year
to lose to Rob Hite and Philly.
| 1997 Bodega Bay - Gerald Benoit | 75 | 87 |
| 1998 Bodega Bay - Gerald Benoit | 75 | 87 |
| 1999 Bodega Bay - Gerald Benoit | 77 | 85 |
| 2000 Bodega Bay - Gerald Benoit | 85 | 77 |
| 2001 Bodega Bay - Gerald Benoit | 65 | 97 |
| 2002 Vermont Expos - Mario Fleming | 85 | 77 |
| 2003 Montreal Royals - Gerald Benoit | 80 | 82 |
| 2004 Montreal Royals - Gerald Benoit | 78 | 84 |
| 2005 Montreal Royals - Wolfman Shapiro Wild card | 95 | 67 |
| 2006 Skokie Wolfmen - Wolfman Shapiro Wildcard | 97 | 65 |
| 2007 Skokie Wolfmen - Wolfman Shapiro Staub Champion | 87 | 75 |
Click
http://www.cba-bb.net/logos_page.htm
To see the old logos, a real treat.
Well the replay was unfortunate but necessary. We avoided any crashes or any CM's
that couldn't import. Next block is the one to decide the wildcards and two titles.
Carolina overtook Philly who sits atop wildcard 2. Carolina has 2 games which means
Philly must sweep to win it and Carolina must lose all three or two losses to tie.
Brooklyn if they don't win Parker, will take the number 1 wildcard. Lake County is 1
game behind Philly for the wildcard Ottawa is 2 games back. Whoever sweeps will be
in good position. Philly controls their own destiny. Brooklyn must win to have a Parker
title and they play Carolina in a key series. Should Brooklyn sweep it could pave the way
for Lake or Ottawa to sneak into the playoffs. Simply put, CCS must win to avoid elimination.
In Staub LP has a 2 game edge over SD and 3 over both Limoilou and
Allentown. LP controls their
destiny as does Carolina with a win.Skokie takes Carter and Maine will hold 1 wildcard. Philly
plays a key series vs Longue Pointe. Its must win for both and it will determine the playoff seeds
and teams. It is the key series of the season, interleague. Indy plays Allentown who must sweep to
make the show. Allentown can tie if LP gets Philly pharted. Limoilou faces SD in another huge
series with ramifications for both teams. Limmer needs to sweep. SD needs to win at least 2 while LP losses.
LEAGUE STANDINGS FOR 2008 C.B.A.
Dawson WON LOST PCT GB Skinny
2008 Joliet JJD 86 73 .541 ---- 1st ever playoff appearance
2008 Longue Pointe LLD 81 78 .509 5.0 Wildcard 2
2008 San Diego SSD 79 80 .497 7.0 2 games behind LP
2008 Limoilou LWD 78 81 .491 8.0 3 games behind LP
2008 Belfast BBD 77 82 .484 9.0 Just fell shy
Carter WON LOST PCT GB Skinny
2008 Skokie SWC 94 65 .591 ---- Never in Doubt
2008 Maine MEC 86 73 .541 8.0 Great season WC 1
2008 Allentown ANC 78 81 .491 16.0 3 games behind LP
2008 Ohio OTC
63 96 .396 31.0 Avoids 100 losses
2008 Kennesaw Mtn KWC 58 101 .365 36.0 cellar dwellar
Schmidt WON LOST PCT GB Skinny
2008 Carolina CCS 85 74 .535 ---- Look whose number 1
2008 Philly PPS 83 76 .522 2.0 Wildcard 2?
2008 Lake County LLS 82 77 .516 3.0 1 game behind Philly
2008 Stirling SRS 79 80 .497 6.0 Just missed playoff picture
2008 Southwest SLS 56 103 .352 29.0 Looking for number 1
Parker WON LOST PCT GB Skinny
2008 Indiana IRP 96 63 .604 ---- Can win Parker with another win
2008 Brooklyn BSP 93 66 .585 3.0 Wildcard 1 but could tie Indy
2008 Ottawa OOP 81 78 .509 15.0 2 games behind Philly
2008 Cooperstown CIP 79 80 .497 17.0 Fell just shy
2008 Bryan KBP 76 83 .478 20.0 Was in the picture later than expected
BOXSCORE: 2008 Belfast Brawlers At 2008
Kennesaw Mtn Woodsmen 8/29/2008
Brawlers
AB R H RBI AVG Woodsmen
AB R H RBI AVG
J.Carroll LF
6 0 0 0 .238 M.Teahen CF
10 2 4 2 .288
C.Paronto P
0 0 0 0 .500 Y.Escobar SS
9 0 3 0 .282
L.Dinardo P
0 0 0 0 .286 E.Encarnacion
3B 11 1 4 2 .334
M-A.Sonnanstine PH,P 3 0 0
0 .167 J.Francoeur RF
5 1 2 1 .292
A.Miles 2B
8 0 1 0 .293 M.Chico P
1 0 0 0 .167
M.Kotsay CF
11 0 5 2 .237
C.Billingsley P 0 0 0 0
.222
A.Rios RF
10 1 2 0 .278 F-R.Braun PH
1 0 1 0 .315
M.Napoli C
11 1 2 2 .225 E.Gonzalez P
0 0 0 0 .000
A.Huff 1B
11 0 1 0 .266 H-A.Cabrera PH
1 0 0 0 .241
A.Amezaga 3B
9 2 2 0 .309 S.Olsen P
0 0 0 0 .087
J.Lugo SS
11 0 1 1 .190 L-M.Olivo PH
1 0 0 0 .218
J.Jennings P
2 0 0 0 .000 J.Danks P
0 0 0 0 .121
A-C.Figgins PH
1 1 1 1 .328 N-M.Owings PH,P
2 0 0 0 .043
T.Pena P
0 0 0 0 .667 R.Garko 1B
12 0 3 0 .286
V.Chulk P
0 0 0 0 .500 J.Bay LF
6 0 0 0 .227
C-B.Schneider PH
0 1 0 0 .233 I-M.Cameron PR
0 0 0 0 .229
M.Corpas P
0 0 0 0 .000 J-T.Pena Jr LF
4 0 0 0 .196
E-F.Sanchez PH
1 0 0 0 .259 I.Kinsler 2B
11 0 2 0 .263
C.Sampson P
0 0 0 0 .310 K.Suzuki C
12 0 3 0 .203
C.Baek P
0 0 0 0 .222 C.Silva P
2 1 1 0 .128
G-R.Davis PH
1 0 0 0 .257 B-D.Mientkiewicz PH
1 0 0 0 .200
M.Bacsik P
0 0 0 0 .167 B.Hennessey P
0 0 0 0 .000
K-K.Mench PH,LF
4 0 0 0 .216 D-T.Buck PH,RF
8 0 0 0 .272
-- -- -- ---
-- -- -- ---
Totals 89 6 15 6
Totals 97 5 23 5
A-Pinch Hit For Jennings In 7th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Silva In 7th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Chulk In 9th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Hennessey In 9th Inning
E-Pinch Hit For Corpas In 11th Inning
F-Pinch Hit For Billingsley In 12th Inning
G-Pinch Hit For Baek In 14th Inning
H-Pinch Hit For Gonzalez In 14th Inning
I-Pinch Ran For Bay In 15th Inning
J-Subbed Defensively (LF) For Cameron In 16th
Inning
K-Pinch Hit For Bacsik In 16th Inning
L-Pinch Hit For Olsen In 16th Inning
M-Pinch Hit For Dinardo In 19th Inning
N-Pinch Hit For Danks In 19th Inning
Brawlers........ 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 1
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 -
6 15 2
Woodsmen........ 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
5 23 1
Brawlers (68-73)
IP H R ER
BB SO HR ERA SCORESHEET
J.Jennings
6 8 4 4
0 2 2 9.00 A1 C8
T.Pena
0 1/3 0 0 0 0
1 0 3.48 C9 C9
V.Chulk
1 2/3 0 0 0 2
2 0 4.00 D1 D8
M.Corpas BS(5th)
2 2 1 1
0 3 1 2.82 D9 E7
C.Sampson
2 2 0 0
1 1 0 6.20 E8 F7
C.Baek
1 0 0 0
0 2 0 4.01 F8 G1
M.Bacsik
2 2 0 0
1 1 0 4.71 G2 H1
C.Paronto
2 0 0 0
0 1 0 7.52 H2 H8
L.Dinardo
1 0 0 0
0 0 0 5.10 H9 I2
A.Sonnanstin WIN(9-8)
8 9 0 0
1 11 0 3.72 I3
Totals
26 23 5 5
5 24 3
Woodsmen (49-92)
IP H R ER
BB SO HR ERA SCORESHEET
C.Silva
7 8 4 3
2 2 1 5.40 A1 D3
B.Hennessey
2 2 1 1
1 3 0 5.77 D4 E4
C.Billingsle
3 0 0 0
0 5 0 4.12 E5 F4
E.Gonzalez
2 0 0 0
1 2 0 6.05 F5 G2
S.Olsen
2 1 0 0
2 0 0 4.53 G3 H1
J.Danks
3 0 0 0
2 2 0 4.28 H2 I2
M.Owings
3 2 0 0
0 2 0 4.71 I3 J4
M.Chico LOSS(5-7)
4 2 1 1
3 0 0 6.25 J5
Totals
26 15 6 5
11 16 1
ATTENDANCE- 9,442 DATE- Wednesday, August 29th
2008 TIME- Day WEATHER- Average
UMPIRES- Doug Eddings, Ed Montague, Basil
Fomine, Tony Randazzo
T- 9:06
LEFT ON BASE- Brawlers:18 Woodsmen:25
DOUBLE PLAYS- Brawlers: 2 Woodsmen: 3
ERRORS- A.Amezaga, J.Lugo, R.Garko
DOUBLES- M.Kotsay-2(9th), R.Garko(22nd),
K.Suzuki(9th), C.Silva
HOME RUNS- M.Napoli(12th), M.Teahen(12th),
E.Encarnacion(14th),
J.Francoeur(18th)
STOLEN BASES- Y.Escobar(4th)
SACRIFICE HITS- M.Chico
SACRIFICE FLIES- M.Teahen
WALKS- J.Carroll, A.Sonnanstine, A.Miles-4,
M.Kotsay, A.Rios, A.Amezaga-2,
B.Schneider, Y.Escobar-2, T.Pena Jr, I.Kinsler, T.Buck
HIT BY PITCH- J.Carroll, K.Mench, M.Teahen,
Y.Escobar, E.Encarnacion, J.Bay
STRIKE OUTS- A.Sonnanstine, A.Miles, A.Rios-2,
M.Napoli-2, A.Huff-4, A.Amezaga,
J.Lugo-2, J.Jennings, R.Davis, K.Mench, M.Teahen-2,
E.Encarnacion-3, J.Francoeur, M.Chico, M.Olivo, M.Owings,
R.Garko-4, J.Bay-2, T.Pena Jr, I.Kinsler-2, K.Suzuki-2, C.Silva,
D.Mientkiewicz, T.Buck-2
GIDP- M.Napoli, A.Huff, K.Suzuki, T.Buck
WILD PITCHES- A.Sonnanstine, J.Jennings-2,
M.Chico
PASSED BALLS- K.Suzuki
Mark Kotsay had 5 hits and 2 RBI and Andy
Sonnanstine dominated striking out
11 Kennesaw Mtn batters as the Belfast
Brawlers defeated the dreadful
Kennesaw Mtn Woodsmen in 26 innings by a score
of 6 to 5 at Miller
Park.
Both teams were tied at 5 runs apiece after
nine innings. Belfast was
victorious in the 26th inning. Alfredo
Amezaga drew a walk. Matt Chico then
let a pitch get away from him. Julio
Lugo then singled scoring the run.
Although they lost, Kennesaw Mtn did out-hit
Belfast 23 to 15.
The victory went to Sonnanstine(9-8) who went
8 innings, allowing no runs.
Chico(5-7) was given the loss in relief.
The Belfast ballclub's record now
stands at 68-73. With the loss, the
Kennesaw Mtn ballclub's record is 49-92,
worst in the division.
BOXSCORE: 2008 Joliet Jackhammers At 2008 Belfast Brawlers 8/7/2008
Joliet's John Maine throws a no hitter!
Jackhammers AB R H RBI AVG Brawlers AB R H RBI AVG
D.Eckstein SS 5 1 1 1 .347 R.Davis LF 4 0 0 0 .277
A.Hill 2B 5 1 1 0 .289 A.Miles 2B 3 0 0 0 .306
M.Ordonez RF 5 3 3 2 .359 S.Hatteberg 1B 3 0 0 0 .320
A.Soriano LF 5 1 2 0 .251 A.Rios RF 3 0 0 0 .276
M.Lowell 3B 5 2 3 2 .318 N.McLouth CF 2 0 0 0 .266
A.Pierzynski C 5 3 3 4 .256 M.Napoli C 3 0 0 0 .235
R.Gload 1B 5 1 2 3 .317 A.Amezaga SS 3 0 0 0 .332
J.Pierre CF 4 0 0 0 .268 C.Figgins 3B 3 0 0 0 .328
J.Maine P 4 0 1 0 .208 C.Sampson P 0 0 0 0 .280
C.Baek P 0 0 0 0 .222
B.Tomko P 0 0 0 0 .269
T.Pena P 1 0 0 0 .667
R.Perez P 0 0 0 0 .000
A-A.Huff PH 1 0 0 0 .260
V.Chulk P 0 0 0 0 .500
M.Corpas P 0 0 0 0 .000
B-F.Sanchez PH 1 0 0 0 .255
A.Sonnanstine P 0 0 0 0 .179
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 43 12 16 12 Totals 27 0 0 0
A-Pinch Hit For Perez In 6th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Corpas In 8th Inning
Jackhammers..... 5 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 - 12 16 0
Brawlers........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 2
Jackhammers (66-53) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
J.Maine WIN(12-5) 9 0 0 0 3 6 0 3.65
Totals 9 0 0 0 3 6 0
Brawlers (54-65) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
C.Sampson LOSS(4-9) 0 2/3 5 5 5 0 0 1 6.34
C.Baek 1 2 2 2 0 2 2 4.11
B.Tomko 0 2/3 2 1 1 0 1 0 5.63
T.Pena 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.82
R.Perez 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.96
V.Chulk 0 1/3 3 1 1 0 0 0 4.12
M.Corpas 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 3 0 3.21
A.Sonnanstin 1 3 3 3 0 1 2 3.94
Totals 9 16 12 12 0 8 5
ATTENDANCE- 51,523 DATE- Tuesday, August 7th 2008 TIME- Night WEATHER- Bad
UMPIRES- Tim Timmons, Mike Dimuro, Hunter Wendlestadt, Dale Scott
T- 2:48
LEFT ON BASE- Jackhammers: 4 Brawlers: 3
DOUBLE PLAYS- Jackhammers: 0 Brawlers: 1
ERRORS- C.Figgins, R.Perez
DOUBLES- A.Pierzynski(12th)
HOME RUNS- D.Eckstein(3rd), M.Ordonez-2(18th), A.Pierzynski(5th), R.Gload(1st)
WALKS- A.Miles, S.Hatteberg, N.McLouth
STRIKE OUTS- D.Eckstein, A.Hill, A.Soriano, M.Lowell-2, A.Pierzynski, J.Maine-2,
R.Davis, S.Hatteberg, A.Rios, N.McLouth, M.Napoli, F.Sanchez
GIDP- J.Pierre
John Maine(12-5) thrilled the fans at PNC Park as he crafted a no-hit
masterpiece against the Belfast Brawlers. The Joliet Jackhammers won by a
final score of 12 to 0.
Maine was spectacular. He walked 3 Belfast batters. The tension was mounting
with every inning after the 6th. Maine appeared oblivious himself to the
mounting history until two were out in the 9th. Only then, did he allow
himself one deep sigh and a slow trip around the mound. Joliet rapped out 16
hits for the night.
Chris Sampson(4-9) took the loss. He pitched 2/3 of an inning allowing 5 hits
and no walks. After the game, Maine was heard to say, 'This is something I
have dreamt about since I was a little boy - to have it come true is just
amazing!'
Sept 8th 2008
Ohio: Ineligible POPNOMER Clay Bucholz used, First offense
warning.
Skokie: Infraction: overused Heilman after warning issued, First
offense warning
Stirling: Infraction: overused Okajima after warning issued. First
offense warning
Look on left menu and click on CBA Tools for player URLs, fonts, CBA exclusive player/pitcher photos, team and league logos for your game
The trading deadline will be set for September 18th 7pm eastern
time. That will be when the Aug games thru 29th will be played.
Rosters will increase to max after block 25, for block 26.
Review the constitution regarding trades, and to answer a question
posed, yes RFA's may be drafted by someone else and traded to you.
They will be subject to RFA regulations however and not playoff
eligible.
Last week Wilkerson 2 grand slam game made the news, this week it's
Longue Pointe's Greg Maddux. Historic....Greg Maddux threw
yet another career shutout. Two weeks in a row now.
Carlos Silva had shutout of Kennesaw Mt Woodsmen got only his second
win against 14 losses with a 6 hit shutout against Maine who lost
their 3 this week. They fall to 8 games out as Brooklyn took
two from Skokie to help the Express out. Maine remains atop
the wildcard race for the first spot while the second wildcard spot
is up for grabs between the runner up to the division battle in
Dawson. Joliet remains only 2 up on SD. They should not
get complacent because there are a few teams who with a good block
or two can claim or move into that #2 spot. Longue Pointe pitching
and defense could make an impact during this stretch run. LP
has seen Cy Young winner Carlos Zambrano have an off year. Could he
be declining? He won this week helping LP win its two series vs SD
and red hot Cooperstown. Lincecum has been winning some for LP
in INN limited duty. September is the month that makes
champions and contenders. Who gets the recognition and glory
and who is scarcely mentioned except in some Archive statistic.
Belfast is rising with strong pitching from unlikely places.
They took two from division rivals Joliet and the mighty Wendigo in
the battle of the Quebec province. Its precidence goes back to
when games were played over IRC and ICQ by the Quebec teams.
It is a CBA tradition when two Quebec teams play. In 1997 there were no less than 8 Canadian teams. 1 from British Columbia Randall Flowers Vancouver Storm who later moved to Quebec and won the 1998 championship as the St Foy Frenchies. 3 more teams came from Ontario. Don Jensen's Hamilton Harbors who lasted 5 years. Stirling and our own Wayne McGee, the 2001 World Champion Ottawa Otters and Jack Jung. Not coincidently, many of the Quebec teams were grouped in the legendary Dawson division. Limoilou, Quebec & Chris Boutin, Bodega Bay and former commisioner Gerald Benoit, Longue Pernt's original owner and commisioner Claude LaMarre, Jeff Boutet's Limoilou Wendigo. Serge Robitaille came in 1998 and took over Lou Bloss' Parma Flamingoes and relocated it to Quebec as the Kirkland Dark Knights. They finished 2nd place with 92 wins in '98. He left after 1 year and John MacDonald moved them back to the Starts and Wilmington Delaware.
In 1998 Maxim Daigle took over for Eric Lindner on his Southwest Lizard King franchise. Maxim we thought was new to Strat and it showed. He bumbled his way to 78-84 record after allowing the Lizards to fall apart. Daigle then proceeded to be relieved by the now legendary GM Nick Yurchuk who in 2001 renamed them the Jonquiere Lifesavers. They need artificial support finishing a humiliating 45-117. Yurchuk upchucked the team, by destroying its future, prompting enactment of a trade council. Maxim Cote took Donald "Duck" Davis Jr's Harlem Knights and in 1998 moved it to Quebec renaming it the Tennessee Warriors. He was replaced when he couldn't grasp the concept of section 15. They were taken over by a long term CBA owner and possible hall of fame candidate Stephane Bouchard. Bouchard lasted all the way through 2003 when he retired from Strat-o-matic baseball leagues. Tennessee played in the Parker. He won the Parker crown in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Martin Boulet took Jay Shapiro's Chicago based Grambling Gamblers in 1999 and led them to the World Series in 1999 against Jeff's Limoilou team. Beauport was most definitely a Quebec team. The Quebec teams have always been quite strong and Belfast for several years was no exception. Belfast plays their games in Quebec and JD Adams is again showing why he is a well respected GM.
This Quebec team Belfast has come alive at the right time and is making its rush to the wildcard along with Limoilou. With LP struggling, and the three battlingManaging teams that usually have very little slugging ability, JD mixes speed and batting average each year.
The Playoff picture looks like this in Staub...
Joliet has a 2 game on SD. Skokie has 7 on Maine in Carter. Two
wild cards only for now look like Maine then SD. But the
Dawson teams all have a shot maybe of winning the title.
Whoever can not may secure a wildcard with a hot month.
Wildcard Staub
1. Maine 77 wins
2. SD 72
after 135games
2008 Staub
Russell Martin Allentown
Jason Varitek LP
Prince Fielder Limoilou
Adrian Gonzalez San Diego
Jeff Kent Allentown
Dan Uggla Maine
Chipper Jones Joliet
David Wright San Diego
Hanley Ramirez Allentown
Edgar Renteria San Diego
Hideki Matsui LP
Alfonso Soriano Joliet
Carlos Beltran Limoilou
Torii Hunter LP
Corey Hart Allentown
Magglio Ordonez Joliet
Batting Key Performers
Carter Division
NAME TM BA GM AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO HB SH DP SB CS E The Skinny
J.Gathrt MEC.356 78 188 47 67 5 0 0 14 27 24 2 7 3 18 11 2 platooner who performs
A.GonzalezMEC.281 110 441 68 124 34 1 23 77 39108 3 0 5 0 0 1 SD cleanup hitter
H.Ramirez MEC.331 108 444 76 147 35 4 15 67 40 63 3 0 9 61 16 13offense yes!defense no!
J.Kent MEC.320 97 341 55 109 27 1 17 72 45 55 2 0 9 3 4 9 Been terrific at 2nd
B.Upton MEC.317 95 328 69 104 19 2 21 58 45 95 6 0 6 6 3 1 One of CBA's best CF
E.Encncn KWC.325 68 203 25 66 5 0 9 37 10 32 6 0 4 0 0 1 Lots of production platoon
J.Loney KWC.308 64 221 32 68 9 1 13 36 19 32 2 0 6 0 0 6 Part time pop
J.Kubel OTC.330 65 212 30 70 23 2 8 41 20 29 0 0 7 5 0 3 Lots of RBIs as platoon
M.Diaz OTC.326 82 215 35 70 14 0 10 32 9 44 5 0 7 2 0 2 platoon force
J.Jones OTC.321 68 218 23 70 16 0 2 25 23 30 0 1 8 4 0 2 platoon big time
M.TeixeiraOTC.268 103 340 55 91 18 1 22 65 45 87 6 0 4 0 0 3 Ohio's cleanup man
C.Jones SWC.355 105 397 82 141 35 2 35 90 56 54 0 0 13 4 2 8 Jones having career year
M.Bradley SWC.339 70 183 37 62 7 0 14 32 26 37 3 0 5 1 3 1 Awesome 10th man
D.Young SWC.325 99 357 58 116 29 0 17 60 35 60 0 0 12 0 0 3 Skokie's consistent offense
B.Bonds SWC.278 94 284 63 79 16 0 26 70 57 44 4 0 13 0 0 2 Big bat and OBA
M.Hollday SLS.329 111 441 82 145 38 2 29 87 46 89 9 0 18 6 0 5 Awesome numbers
Dawson Division
NAME TM BA GM AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO HB SH DP SB CS E The Skinny
A.Amezaga BBD.353 66 167 28 59 11 8 1 21 13 23 4 3 3 11 3 3 Belfast surprise
C.Figgins BBD.340 99 321 57 109 24 6 1 33 49 63 0 0 2 39 14 9 Figgins is whole offense
BBD PITCHERS .247 105 178 18 44 3 1 0 18 5 66 0 23 3 0 0 15The pitchers can hit!
S.HattbergBBD.332 96 310 45 103 25 3 5 45 38 44 1 0 8 0 0 9 Hatteberg is on base
M.Ordonez JJD.357 101 353 63 126 35 0 15 60 49 60 2 0 15 1 0 1 MVP candidate, #'s lie
D.EcksteinJJD.351 72 242 35 85 13 1 2 34 8 22 8 0 4 3 1 8 Eckstein career year
M.Lowell JJD.310 103 339 51 105 12 2 12 50 31 39 6 0 18 1 2 12More valuable than #'s
JJD PTCHERS .186 108 188 22 35 7 0 2 17 8 73 0 26 0 0 0 5 More hitting hurlers
C.Grndrsn LWD.319 88 348 63 111 23 17 12 67 33 68 4 0 7 9 1 3 Grand isn't he?
P.Fielder LWD.245 105 424 68 104 21 0 45 93 42 87 10 0 10 0 2 18Tons of HR,needs guys on
T.Perez LLD.419 47 74 8 31 7 1 0 8 5 8 0 0 0 1 0 1 Super PH
I.Suzuki LLD.331 111 478 65 158 15 3 4 49 29 48 2 8 4 33 14 0 Creates runs for LP
J.Vidro LLD.310 101 377 48 117 18 0 6 40 35 36 0 5 11 0 0 16 Key cog in LP offense
D.Wright SSD.357 94 311 62 111 35 1 14 64 52 55 4 0 9 18 2 7 Wright stuff
E.Rentria SSD.332 87 334 72 111 29 0 8 32 46 45 0 3 9 3 1 7 Having career year
Parker Division
NAME TM BA GM AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO HB SH DP SB CS E The Skinny
M.Young KBP.311 93 396 59 123 18 1 3 29 35 64 3 1 15 6 0 11 Key Bryan all around guy
J.Gomes KBP.291 87 354 57 103 23 2 31 82 30 133 4 0 3 9 2 2 unbelievable season
R.Ibanez CIP.328 109 418 61 137 31 3 25 64 35 68 1 0 12 0 0 7 Big time for Raul
B.Harris CIP.313 94 336 46 105 26 4 9 53 30 70 3 6 4 2 1 11 Harris with solid #s
J.Morneau CIP.311 110 425 68 132 28 3 28 82 36 55 0 0 14 0 4 7 Morneau having big yr
J.Posada IRP.366 101 369 69 135 39 0 21 82 59 67 4 0 13 2 0 2 Career year, Gaudy stats
A.Pujols IRP.310 105 422 86 131 28 0 33 85 63 57 7 0 18 1 3 4 Pujols power
J.Reyes IRP.302 105 427 60 129 23 8 6 62 31 59 0 11 4 31 13 9 Reyes runs Redbirds
A.RodrguezIRP.302 103 414 94 125 21 1 31 72 55 95 19 0 14 6 1 10 No problems in clutch here
J.Thome IRP.297 78 306 54 91 20 0 28 68 39 93 7 0 5 0 0 0 Thome thumps HRs
H.Pence IRP.312 61 221 44 69 12 5 6 41 21 52 0 0 9 3 1 2 Pence platoon RBI
P.Polanco IRP.330 104 437 75 144 35 1 11 60 31 49 12 6 11 7 1 0 Career year
M.Cabrera BSP.367 101 390 91 143 25 1 32 93 49 85 5 0 12 5 0 14 MVP candidate carries BSP
E.Byrnes BSP.288 101 410 78 118 18 5 14 58 41 78 10 0 10 44 18 5 Lots of steals leading off
R.Howard BSP.265 97 351 70 93 27 0 27 79 40 140 2 0 2 2 0 0 Homers
M.Stairs BSP.314 61 191 33 60 16 0 10 42 36 43 0 0 8 2 1 1 Stairs platoon power
T.Helton BSP.326 101 380 76 124 24 3 14 55 59 71 1 0 5 0 0 1 Helton still produces
V.GuerreroOOP.351 108 442 86 155 33 0 39 120 41 42 5 0 14 0 1 7 MVP candidate career year
D.Ortiz OOP.281 108 420 89 118 20 2 26 59 83 105 2 0 26 4 2 16 Papi pops
J.Mauer OOP.317 92 344 51 109 22 3 6 45 48 40 4 0 8 0 0 4 Mauer under rated receiver
Schmidt Division
NAME TM BA GM AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO HB SH DP SB CS E
J.Werth CCS.347 61 150 39 52 8 0 9 28 25 29 0 0 1 4 0 3 Carolina super sub
M.Tejada CCS.326 108 426 68 139 18 2 23 63 27 43 7 3 15 2 0 14 Having great year
B.Roberts CCS.301 108 462 88 139 37 3 5 37 56 75 0 1 2 34 13 5 Premiere leadoff man
W.Taveras LLS.328 80 296 51 97 15 5 0 12 17 41 7 7 5 32 10 5 Taveras great leadoff guy
J.Rollins LLS.278 111 479 70 133 28 12 17 83 21 52 7 0 16 19 4 12 Rollins does it all
R.Raburn LLS.330 31 100 17 33 6 0 5 20 11 23 0 0 2 2 0 2 Super sub
R.Ankiel PPS.352 39 122 25 43 14 0 14 45 9 24 0 0 4 0 1 0 Ankiel unbelievable power
J.Keppngr PPS.335 53 185 36 62 14 1 4 19 14 19 4 6 6 3 1 4 Kep keeps producing
B.Hawpe PPS.326 85 316 61 103 28 2 16 59 40 84 0 0 8 0 0 3 Hawpe is hot
C.Utley PPS.316 87 335 70 106 26 4 12 42 32 49 12 0 11 4 0 9 Utley hits
C.Lee PPS.275 98 375 54 103 19 0 23 69 29 40 1 0 24 5 1 0 Lee a key performer
R.BelliardSRS.359 72 273 33 98 27 2 3 22 16 41 0 2 4 1 0 3 How is this happening?
D.Pedroia SRS.350 84 371 58 130 25 1 6 33 25 34 3 3 9 5 0 9 Rookie of the year?
C.CrawfordSRS.350 108 452 72 158 29 5 19 63 24 73 9 2 8 34 6 4 Sensational MVP candidate
M.Ramirez SRS.324 108 423 53 137 33 0 19 73 45 95 7 0 9 0 0 0 Manny mauls
C.Pena SRS.259 108 397 76 103 20 0 34 97 78 130 5 0 6 1 0 7 Pena HRs
Pitching Key Performers
Parker Division
NAME TM ERA W L PCT G GS CG SH SV IP H R ER HR BB SO HLD
P.Feliciano BSP 1.60 2 1 .667 47 0 0 0 0 39.1 31 12 7 3 23 33 13 Good lefty set up man
R.Mahay BSP 2.11 5 2 .714 42 0 0 0 1 38.1 36 9 9 2 19 31 Another BSP lefty
E.Bedard BSP 3.08 14 0 1.00 17 17 3 0 0 114 104 41 39 17 36 140 Undefeated. K ratio superior
F.Cordero CIP 1.38 4 1 .800 32 0 0 0 20 32.2 15 8 5 2 15 40 Best player on C Town
R.Oswalt IRP 3.84 15 1 .938 21 21 6 0 0 152 134 69 65 16 62 108 Oswalt CY Young candidate
L.Hawkins KBP 2.60 3 1 .750 40 0 0 0 0 52 40 15 15 8 20 20 11 Good set up man
J.Borowski OOP 3.86 1 4 .200 30 0 0 0 21 32.2 36 17 14 1 8 30 Saves em for Ottawa
B.Webb OOP 4.19 12 6 .667 21 21 4 2 0 139 144 80 65 12 43 120 Webb wins. Staff Ace
L.Hawkins KBP 2.60 3 1 .750 40 0 0 0 0 52.0 40 15 15 8 20 20 11 Efficient set up
Dawson Division
NAME TM ERA W L PCT G GS CG SH SV IP H R ER HR BB SO HLD The Skinny
J.Shields MEC 2.45 14 3 .824 23 23 6 1 0 180 151 51 49 16 29 147 Best in Carter?
J.Putz JJD 1.83 2 4 .333 47 0 0 0 27 44.1 30 9 9 2 11 46 Premier closer
B.Wolfe JJD 1.83 3 1 .750 30 0 0 0 0 34.1 34 8 7 3 6 17 7 Awesome set up
A.Burnett JJD 3.03 10 4 .714 21 21 2 1 0 136 107 48 46 16 59 147 Big year JJD ace
J.Maine JJD 4.02 9 5 .643 23 21 0 0 0 132 122 64 59 15 51 113 A Key down the stretch
T.Saito LWD 1.64 0 4 .000 37 0 0 0 23 38.1 20 7 7 3 4 63 Phenom closer
R.Betanct LWD 1.71 2 2 .500 45 0 0 0 8 58.0 41 13 11 3 9 54 5 solid middle /long man
E.Gagne LWD 2.21 2 0 1.000 24 0 0 0 1 36.2 26 13 9 2 26 40 5 Hold 'em
T.Jones LLD 1.56 3 4 .429 42 0 0 0 17 40.1 25 7 7 2 11 18 Having big season
J.Gobble LLD 2.93 0 2 .000 32 0 0 0 0 30.2 26 13 10 3 10 17 7 Set up lefty
R.Seanez LLD 3.61 4 1 .800 48 0 0 0 3 52.1 55 24 21 5 22 47 17 Most effective set up
F.Rodrigz SSD 2.55 2 4 .333 35 0 0 0 18 35.1 19 11 10 2 28 44 Closer
J.Peavy SSD 3.25 10 10.500 23 23 2 1 0 149.1 129 61 54 11 44 158 More offense would help
F.Herndez SSD 3.62 9 4 .692 19 19 0 0 0 112.0 107 51 45 11 39 93 King conquering
Schmidt Division
NAME TM ERA W L PCT G GS CG SH SV IP H R ER HR BB SO HLD The Skinny
L.Hawkins KBP 2.60 3 1 .750 40 0 0 0 0 52.0 40 15 15 8 20 20 11 Efficient set up
J.Marquis CCS 4.30 13 4 .765 23 22 1 0 0 138.0 157 79 66 21 53 68 Marquis a staff ace?
J.ValverdeCCS 1.89 4 4 .500 52 0 0 0 16 52.1 38 14 11 7 20 57 Having career year
H.Street CCS 2.38 2 0 1.000 40 0 0 0 2 34.0 23 10 9 3 12 38 13 Great set up man
K.Gregg CCS 3.03 2 4 .333 59 0 0 0 1 65.1 40 28 22 9 27 67 17 Awesome hold artist
M.Herges LLS 1.98 1 2 .333 24 0 0 0 1 41.0 31 9 9 6 20 28 7 Team would be nowhere w/o
J.Vazquez LLS 2.80 9 7 .563 21 21 5 2 0 151.0 118 54 47 22 40 156 Ace
J.Beckett LLS 3.66 9 7 .563 22 22 10 3 0 157.1 139 76 64 15 42 150 Great K ratio
H.Bell PPS 1.76 5 2 .714 33 0 0 0 8 66.2 37 16 13 3 35 76 4 Does it all in pen
J.VerlnderPPS 3.99 12 6 .667 23 23 2 0 0 140.0 141 71 62 23 43 133 Philly ace in '08
A.Brown SLS 2.58 3 1 .750 18 0 0 0 0 45.1 31 13 13 1 22 45 Brown set up for Wags
J.Miller SLS 3.09 3 0 1.000 47 0 0 0 3 64.0 66 24 22 8 25 64 SW set up men are good
M.Cain SLS 3.53 9 8 .529 25 24 0 0 1 155.2 129 64 61 21 62 148 Staff ace
B.Arroyo SRS 4.18 10 3 .769 22 22 3 1 0 137.2 136 68 64 18 39 92 Stirling ace
H.Okajima SRS 2.73 5 3 .625 44 0 0 0 0 66.0 49 20 20 7 23 59 Mid specialist
Carter Division
NAME TM ERA W L PCT G GS CG SH SV IP H R ER HR BB SO HLD The Skinny
J.Shields MEC 2.45 14 3 .824 23 23 6 1 0 180 151 51 49 16 29 147 An ace for Maine
B.Jenks MEC 2.30 2 1 .667 48 0 0 0 22 47.0 31 12 12 3 10 45 Maine closer excellence
J.Bergmnn MEC 2.98 8 5 .615 16 16 0 0 0 90.2 61 35 30 5 30 63 Having good year
B.Myers OTC 4.97 3 1 .750 47 0 0 0 5 38.0 39 22 21 8 19 40 14 Myers good set up and mid
A.Heilman SWC 1.83 4 1 .800 42 0 0 0 2 73.2 58 18 15 3 16 49 Awesome set and mid man
C.Schrodr SWC 2.01 2 1 .667 33 1 0 0 2 49.1 36 12 11 2 19 39 Excellent set up
T.Hudson SWC 3.11 14 5 .737 25 24 4 1 0 173 149 62 60 17 32 107 Skokie ace
G.Sherrll SWC 3.14 2 2 .500 33 0 0 0 3 43.0 27 16 15 3 20 42 Another SWC pen man
K.Wells SWC 3.40 1 1 .500 29 1 0 0 2 50.1 47 21 19 5 24 35 SWC middle guy
C.Wang SWC 3.79 9 4 .692 21 21 3 1 0 130 123 56 55 12 37 58 Wang solid
Below are our 2008 All stars.....
2008 Clemente Black=In Majors Blue=In Minors
Jorge Posada Indiana
Joe Mauer Ottawa
Alberl Pujols Indiana
Justin Morneau Cooperstown
Placido Polanco Indiana
Brian Roberts Caroliner
Miguel Cabrera Brooklyn
Alex Rodriguez Indiana
Jimmy Rollins Lake County
Miguel Tejada Stirling
Matt Holliday Southwest
Carl Crawford Stirling
Grady Sizemore Indiana
Vernon Wells Brooklyn
Vladimir Guerrero Ottawa
Jonny Gomes Bryan
Roy Oswalt Indiana
Erik Bedard Brooklyn
Brandon Webb Ottawa
Javier Vazquez Lake County
Bronson Arroyo Stirling
Jonathan Papelbon Lake County
Francisco Cordero Stirling
Johan Santana Carolina
Scott Kazmir Indiana
Mariano Rivera Brooklyn
Brad Lidge Bryan
Justin Verlander Philly
Nov 2nd, 2007

The Classic Battle, CBA Playoffs, Round 2
Skokie vs. Limoilou, October 2007
No one knew what to expect of the Wolfmen in the playoffs this year. The Wolfmen tried as best they could for this season to correct some deficiencies from the past which resulted in bowing out from Round 1 of the playoffs in 2005 and 2006. So was this version of the Staub finals really with the best two teams in the conference as coming in to the playoffs Skokie had the worse record of all playoff teams? But the Wolfmen knew from the beginning of the season (even though in the early days Allentown was kicking their butt and was in first for a time) that they had an excellent chance finally to win the division outright without too much trouble as they had just lost out on the last day of the season in the past two years. (What is better: To be fighting all year for the division or win it fairly easily with no competition?) This is not a boastful comment at all but just in studying the other teams in the division and based on our simulations, it was a good guess and turned out to be true. Again, we always honor and respect the other managers, as we each do our best to find a way to be successful. We never know who’s year will it be. Also it is my hope, via this report, to be able to provide some interesting insights for others about what it takes to create a playoff-bound and possibly championship team. Anyway, when a team knows they will comfortably make the playoffs, before the playoffs begin, they need to think about ways to prepare their team and how to make themselves stronger, so they can be very competitive in a short series.
For the 2007 CBA season, starting pitching was hard to come by and drove many managers mad. For Skokie this was also true, we really had to scramble via the draft and trades as if you look at the starters we are using in the playoffs, only Clemens began on our team. (T. Hudson and Wang via trade, L. Hudson a nugget in the draft.) If you scan the yearly stats of all of our starting pitchers, we really didn’t have a dominating pitcher for this season as we have had in the past although Clemens has a pretty good card and thank god (ha ha) he pitched over 100 innings (so really we saved him for the playoffs as he didn’t have a Clemens year). In the last two seasons we had two good 3-day starters each but this year we had to use a makeship squad. Tim Hudson won 13 games for the Wolfmen but he received one of the best run supports in the league, he really was pretty inconsistant. Only Luke Hudson pitched somewhat well for our squad. So Skokie desperately needed a more dependable starter during the middle part of the season (again planning for the playoffs) and a pitcher who didn’t give up the long ball so much as in the Wolfmen’s stadium, long balls are the name of the game (via the 276 diggers we hit during the season and 230 bombs that left our park by both teams). So the trade to obtain Wang with Maine was a trade preparing for the playoffs and is probably one of the main reasons why Skokie could have any chance at all in the playoffs. The idea was if we had a 3 day starter like Wang and the ability to pitch Clemens twice, for five out of the seven games Skokie could have a fairly decent pitcher going who didn’t give up the long ball. This is a situation we couldn’t have done during the regular season but could in the playoffs. So working with Luke (of Star Wars fame), this might give Skokie a chance to be very competitive with a fairly strong starting staff to go along with the various relief specialists we have and finish with Heilman and Nathan waiting in the wings. As Skokie entered the playoffs, we were curious if this strategy could really work for our pitching staff.
In our first series verse San Diego, the four games we won involved four quality starts by our starting pitchers. In two of these victories we blew out the Surf but the other two games were won by one run which means that series could have gone the other way if the Surf were hitting a bit more. Skokie got blown out two games in San Diego but we expected to see this from time to time as going with only 9 pitchers also left a whole in our relief staff if our starters didn’t last at least six innings. But it had to be this way to play to our strengths.
So as Skokie approached their first ever, conference championship series with Limoilou, we knew we would be facing one of the best teams in the CBA, with a very capable manager who has the record for World Series wins and appearances. Limoilou is a very similar team to Skokie and perhaps even has a bit more balance and strengths as Skokie was gambling their defense at the corners and the poor throwing arm of the Pizza Man wouldn’t cause too many problems. Skokie came into this series with a total reverse of the situation from their dramatic seven game playoff with Limoilou in 2005. In 2005, Skokie had the better record, the home field advantage and had thrashed Limoilou during the regular season. Limoilou was a wild card team. For 2007, it was reserved, Limoilou had beat Skokie 11 out of 15 games, and had the best conference record with the home field advantage. Could the tables be reversed? And can Skokie win in Limoilou? The Wendigos had easily eliminated Longue Pointe in the first round so it seemed they were ready to make another appearance in the CBA World Series. Could the Wolfmen stop them with all this history?
So here are the keys to this historic series as we review each game and discuss were the factors leading to each team’s success and failure:
------------------------------
Game 1: Skokie at Limoilou (Wang vs Schmidt)
Wolfmen......... 3 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 - 8 10 0
Wendigo......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 - 3 8 1
The Wolfmen started game 1 off up and running as Piazza, who could be the team MVP knocked in four runs. He singled with the bases loaded in the 1st for Skokie first run followed by a 2 run shot by Edmonds. Remember Edmonds was acquired from Wendigo in 2006 for Beltrans, showing the younger star up. Again Piazza struck in the 2nd inning knocking in 2 more with a base hit and finished the game with a homer in the 9th. The quick start by Skokie was too much for the Wendigos who finally broke through against Wang in the 9th when Thome hit a 3 run shot. Could this game be an example of how the series would go? With this win, Skokie took away the home field advantage from the Wendigos and showed they had come to play and that they really intended to go to their first World Series. Skokie was hoping in this series their starters could go long and welcomed the complete game by Wang. Also surprised to have had such success against Schmidt who dominated them in the 2005 series.
Game 2: Skokie at Limoilou (L. Hudson vs Schilling)
Wolfmen......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 3 0
Wendigo......... 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 - 3 6 0
In Game 2, a game which the Wendigos really needed to win, Schilling came to the rescue. He was un-hittable and stopped cold the Wolfmen. L. Hudson pitched a good game in the losing cause. The great closer of Limoilou, Saito came in and shut the door down to ensure the series was tied going on to Skokie, where the Wolfmen play very tough. Glaus and Hall homered for the Wendigos to provide the needed runs. Series tied 1 game a piece with a great pitching matchup coming up for Game 3, Johnson vs. Clemens. (Note: Skokie missed three ball park home runs in this game of futility).
Game 3: Limoilou vs Skokie (Johnson vs. Clemens)
Wendigo......... 0 0 2 0 3 5 0 0 0 - 10 11 0
Wolfmen......... 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 5 - 9 7 2
This game was expected to be a pitchers duel but Limoilou came out to play and take back the home field advantage. In the 5th inning, the Wendigos knocked Clemens out as the frustrated Wendigo bats suddenly came to life. After Skokie had taken an early 2-0 lead on a two run shot by Edmonds, Limoilou tied it in the third and in the fifth and six inning, everything that Limoilou hit had eyes – it didn’t matter who Skokie sent to pitch, it was like they were throwing big lollies to hit. Limoilou had 4 stolen bases, Thome hit another homer and Thome, Murton and Glaus each had 3 RBIs. By the bottom of the 6th, Limoilou had a commanding 10-3 lead – but Skokie wasn’t ready to give up. Rheinecker came in to pitch and somehow (not one of our best pitchers) was able to shut down the Wendigos the rest of the way. Skokie scored one run in the 6th and then trailing 10-4 going into the bottom of the 9th, came alive against Johnson and Weathers as Matthews double in 2 runs in the 9th for a 10-6 lead and then Valentin hit his second homer of this series, a 3 run shot and all of a sudden it was 10-9. But unfortunately Saito, the great closer of the Wendigos, shut Skokie down and the Wendigos barely escaped alive with a 10-9 win. What this meant is that Limoilou now took back home advantage and finally handed Skokie their first home lost in the playoffs. Could we be seeing a repeat of the 2005 series? Game four would feature a repeat of the first game starters. Could Skokie beat again Schmidt one of the toughest pitchers in the league?
Game 4: Limoilou at Skokie (Schmidt vs. Wang)
Well
just as Game 2 was a key game for Limoilou, as the series momentum had
shifted to the Wendigos, Skokie couldn’t afford to lose another one at
home. The Wolfman handed Wang the game ball and asked him to keep them in
the game. Well the Wendigos continued where they left off in Game 4 and
quickly scored two times in the first to take a 2-0 lead. Again Lofton
was a key to generate the runs as he was unstoppable on the basepaths
stealing at will. But
Skokie
answered with a run in the bottom of the 1st as Valentin
launched his third homer, 2-1. Limoilou picked up a run in the fifth to
go up 3-1, and Schmidt was looking very tough. The fans in
Skokie were praying for a miracle. But the
Wolfmen, who in prior playoff games have had a very difficult time in the
playoffs coming from behind, awoke in the bottom of the 6th as
their aged homerun leader, Barry Bonds (not having a truly good post
season), launched a 2 run digger, his 2nd of the playoffs to
tie it at 3 a piece. This apparently ignited the Wolfmen as in the 7th
with the bags juiced, Bonds walked in a run for a 4-3 lead and then
Chipper Jones who had been silent for the playoffs, electrified the crowd
and cemented the game with a grannie to give the Wolfmen an overwhelming
8-3 lead late which really was a shocker for the Wendigos as they went
quietly down in the 8th and 9th as super closer Joe
Nathan came in to ensure the series was tied at 2 games a piece. So
Skokie had showed in Games 3 and 4, they were hungry and had the ability
to come from behind if they
had too. Was this a sign of what was to come and would it spell trouble
for the Wendigos? Wang got his second victory in the series and the
Wolfmen (thanks to the Strat Gods), were very happy they could engineer to
bring Wang to Skokie!!
Game 5: Limoilou at Skokie (Schilling vs T. Hudson)
Wendigo......... 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 - 2 6 1
Wolfmen......... 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 - 4 11 0
Game 5, was the key game of the series to decide who would go to the CBA Cup. While T. Hudson was the leader in victories for Skokie, he had a very rough season and had been bombed on a number of occasions including in game 5 of the San Diego series. But Skokie had to trust he could do the job. On the other hand, Skokie wasn’t looking forward to facing Schilling who shut them out in Game 5. So the odds were not good for Skokie but the game had to be played!!
Again Lofton, the
Skokie killer knocked in the games first run in
the 5th and Thome’s homer in the 6th put Limoilou
ahead 2-0. Schilling again was unhittable but the Pizza man, was able to
break through with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to make it
2-1. The bases were loaded with two outs continuing on in the inning, but
Skokie just couldn’t break through to tie it. Again in the 7th,
the bases were loaded for
Skokie with two outs but Speizio choked
via Saito. With the score 2-1, bottom of the 8th, the series
on the line,
Edmonds
singled off Saito and Itzuris, the backup shortstop, doubled (4-6 on
Saito’s card). With runners on 2nd and 3rd and no
one out, up came Heilman the pitcher. Skokie selected Grudzalenek, who
was having a strong series to pinch hit and he amazed the Skokie crowd
with a clutch pinch hit homer, 3 run shot (2-4 on his card) as Skokie led
4-2. Another come from behind game. Nathan was called upon again to nail
down the victory and pitched a perfect 9th. Skokie was now one
win away from being in their first World Series appearance. But could the
Wolfmen beat the touch Wendigos in their home park and break their jinx??
Game 6: Skokie at Limoilou (L. Hudson vs Wakefield)
Wolfmen......... 3 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 - 8 9 0
Wendigo......... 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 1 1 - 6 8 1
For this game, history was on Limoilou’s side. Skokie has had a seven game jinx the past two years and the Wendigos have played in the World Series several times before. They were also at home. Well Skokie was to show the world that they had come to play and Mr. Wakefield had an awful time getting the Wolfmen out of there. In the first evening the first six batter all reached base including two runs scored via walks. Once again Piazza knocked in the first run. In the 2nd featuring a two run shot by the Pizza Man, Skokie forged ahead 6-0, a repeat of game 1. Edmonds stealing a rare base, then scored on a ground ball by Wilson for a 7-0 lead in the 3rd. Finally in the 5th, the Wendigos came to life and knocked out L. Hudson who was sailing along. The Wendigos scored 4 runs in the bottom of this inning using timely hitting and stolen bases to make the game close at 7-4. The Wolfman thought, “Oh Jesus, (wait I am jewish, Oh Christ, oh God – yes), here we go again with that wildly Dennis and his comebacks …” Anyway, Sherill was brought in and was finally able to shut down the Wendigos in the 5th. But the Wendigos can never be counted out. In the top of the 7th, super-sub Spiezio, in for defense at first base, hits a towering blast against Weathers to put the Wolfmen back on top by four at 8-4 but in the bottom of the 8th, Beltran, who has been relatively quiet in the series doubled in a run to make it 8-5. Going into the 9th, the Wolfman decides to come in with Mr. Dependable, his ace closer Nathan to seal their first conference championship and to go to the World Series. Once again Lofton knocks in Denorfia for an 8-6 score but then Nathan shuts the Wendigos down the rest of the way and Skokie, unexpectedly and unassuredly becomes the 2007 Staub champ. So, the jinx is broken –
… and the Wolfman sheds a tear in joy as finally in his third attempt, he is able to bring his boys to the finals for the CBA championship. The players know how hard the Wolfman has worked on their behalf over the best few years, via trades and draft picks -- trying to bring together the right group of players – Barry Bonds who is not such an emotional guy, goes up to the chief and gives him a big hug and Clemens, Edmonds, Piazza with the younger players lift the Wolfman high up over the shoulders and carry him out on to the field where the Skokie Fans and even the Limoilou fans pay tribute to this fiery competitor, known for his early day exploits as a strat player and creator of SOM Conventions … this is the first time the Wolfman, since his return to Strat in 2005 is able to be in a league championship series. The Wolfmen, all bow their head and smile finally happy to help their chief achieve this goal. So now the question is, do the Wolfmen have what it takes to win it all? Can they beat the hot Philly team which no one seems able to stop?
Analsysis of the Series
For
Skokie the key for this series was the middle three games in their home
park. First in game 3 after being down 10-3, that they could almost come
back to tie it showed their fans that they have the ability and drive to
do the impossible or what it takes to win even under insurable odds. This
could have been a sign to Limoilou of what was to come as Skokie won the
final three games. Then, the come from behind wins in Game 4 and 5 really
gave the Wolfmen the momentum they needed especially with the 3 run blast
by Grudzalenek in Game 5 .. a surprise and unexpected hero. All year long
the 2B tandem of Valentin and Grudzalenek was a key for the Wolfmen. In
games 1, 4 and 6, the Wolfmen scored 8 runs which they had never done in
the past post-season years, so the inability of Limoilou to shut down the
hitting of Skokie (via their starters and relief staff) was Limoilou’s
undoing. Also Saito was not able to stop the Wolfmen either in key
moments. Nathan picked up two more saves in this series.
Hitting stars: Skokie prides itself in that they like to use all of
their players and at any time there can be a different Hero. Piazza
certainly was one of the Skokie stars, Valentin and Edmonds did surprising
well. Skokie
seemed to be able to come up with a good lineup vs. the Wendigo starters,
able to score accept against Schilling who was very tough. And also the
Skokie starters did a great job to hold the explosive Wendigos hitters
down to 3 runs or less in four of the six games. This was also a key
factor in the San Diego series and maybe the real reason for Skokie’s
success in the post season. The Skokie starters were able to pitch far
into the games so the relief staff could be used effectively. But also
what happened in the three games (two with San Diego and once with
Limoilou) where the starter was knocked out early as the pitching staff
was bombed, showed a glaring weakness that Skokie has to figure out.
Anyway, the starting staff had become a kind of strength in the post
season and was key to why Skokie had a chance to win it all. Including
the San Diego series, the Skokie starting pitchers gave 8 quality starts
out of the 12 games played. But as stated before, Wang went 3-1 along
with great starts by Clemens (2), L. Hudson (2) and one good start by T.
Hudson in game 5.
There is no doubt the key two games of the series were Game 3 with the comeback by Skokie plus the dramatic 8th inning home run by Grudzalenek in Game 5. As we saw in Game 1 and Game 6, if Skokie goes out to a big lead, its really hard to catch them as they will bring in their good relievers and defense late to preserve their lead.
Heilman also had a great series for the Wolfmen as he gave up no runs in relief. As a team the Wolfmen hit 11 homers in the six games. So perhaps what is proven is that if you have a team with speed versus a team with sluggers, the team with sluggers can still score more effectively and quickly.
One of the things Skokie desperately tried to improve upon for 2007 was to have more hitters with a good on-base percentage as there are many Strat managers who believe this is one of the keys for success. Anyway, this was not an easy series at all – games 4-6 could have gone the other way too.
We wish to salute the whole organization at Limoilou and also hats off to Jeff Boutet for a great season and building a championship team. Coming into this series we did not expect an easy time and it was a real battle. We weren’t able to fully relax until the final out of Game 6. A special acknowledgement to Dennis Concepcion as the very worthy and capable proxy manager for Limoilou. Having played Dennis live via Netplay on a number of occasions, he always has the ability to orchestrate comebacks. This is why he is one of the former champions of the CBA in 2005. He had us nervous all the time and he propensity to hit and run can drive anyone insane. Dennis did a great job to manage Limoilou and make the series another memorable one in the history of the CBA.
Finally, I have to admit, when the season started I really didn’t believe we could be competitive enough in the playoffs as there were so many strong teams in our league. We had a lot of holes to fill at the start of the season. I wasn’t sure playing with Bonds and Piazza, who are poor defensively, that this could work or if Chipper’s defense would also hurt us. But Bonds (even in a bad year for him) can help any team and Piazza (we tried to get Posada from Allentown originally – on foresight was this a blessing from God it didn’t work out?) was really the only catcher we could come up with as Matheny had an injured season. Also picking up Chipper Jones to solidify us at 3B was a gamble of sorts with his defense but we knew his bat would do well in Skokie park and that he is the type of player that can quickly put the other team out of the game. Although Chipper didn’t have the numbers we hoped for during the season, his grand slam in game 4 was crucial to the Skokie success.
Sometimes as a SOM manager you have to go with your hunches. You have to try your best to field the best team you can and see which players might be available. I observed in the Star Tournaments that the people with the championship teams generally went with good hitting teams with poor defense at the corners. So in the 2007 version of the Skokie Wolfmen, with starting pitcher hard to find we tried our version of this. While we didn’t have any hitters who set the league on fire individually, I feel collectively we were able to put together a good combination of players that could be competitive against any type of pitcher and could support each other.
Skokie’s philosophy is we like to use every player we have and to platoon. To use each player to their highest potential. And I think via the post-season you can see how this can make a huge difference. You never know who will be the hero (Game 1 victory – Piazza and Wang; Game 4 victory – Jones; Game 5 victory – Grudzalenek; Game 6 victory – Piazza but a team effort really)
So it’s a good feeling to finally be there for the World Series, as you never know when you can get this chance again. Now lets look briefly at the final 2007 CBA Matchup between the Fantastics of Philly and the Wolfmen of Skokie.
The World Series – will it be the 2nd Championship for Philly or will 2007 be the HOWL of the Wolfmen??
In my opinion, there are a lot of similarities between Philly and Skokie. Both teams struggled during the season with their pitching but had success to overcome this via their ability to score runs and hit the long ball. Philly finished with a better season record (by five games) and play a bit more balanced as they won both on the road and at home. Skokie had more trouble winning on the road. Philly was the 2nd best hitting team in the league and 3rd in runs scored with Skokie 4th (but Skokie didn’t have the DH accept for inter-conference games). Skokie was 2nd in Home Runs and Philly was fourth. If Skokie has an edge, it will be that they have a slightly better pitching staff which doesn’t give up the long ball.
It is said in a short series, it is usually decided by pitching when all else is equal. To get to the playoffs Philly won their last 5 season games. In the playoffs they demolished Brooklyn, the favorite to win it all in 5 games and shutdown the Brooklyn scoring machine. Verse the former CBA champions, the Redbirds they constantly came from behind with late inning heroics. Definitely Philly has momentum and in all sports, who has the momentum generally wins.
Although Skokie is more of a hitting team, in the playoffs they won also due to quality starts and their ability to score runs (Skokie was shutout once but in all the other games they scored 3 runs or more, scoring 8 or more runs five times for which they were 4-1 in those games).
Skokie hasn’t faced many left handed starters as their lineup is stronger verse right handed pitchers and Philly will have two lefties facing Skokie. Philly has some good base speed, will they be able to take advantage of Piazza’s arm and Skokie’s inability to hold runners on base? Will the fielding at the corners be Skokie’s undoing. Can Skokie stop the Philly sluggers of Berkman, Lee, Utley, Rolen, Thames?
Will Philly be able to hit Skokie’s starters and score runs or blow out their relief. Can the Philly starters stop Skokie from scoring early or hitting so many home runs?
As always, it just depends which team is the hottest. On paper even though Philly had a better record, Skokie might be a slight favorites due to their pitching. But Brooklyn and Indiana had better pitching then Philly and they couldn’t stop them so it might mean nothing.
This one is a hard one to call. It should be a very close series. So we will have to see if the CBA might have a new champion manager or if Philly, after losing a heartbreaker to Longue Point in 2005 in 7 games can rebound and take their second CBA championship. Only the Strat Gods know what will happen. In any case, it should be another nail-bitter, exciting series to highlight the excitement found within the CBA. Stay tuned!!
The Skokie Wolfmen Prepare for the 2007 CBA Playoffs
This is the third year that the Wolfmen (formerly the Royals) have been fortunate to participate in the CBA Playoffs. Following the guidance of the their manager the Skokie Wolfman, and working hard to create a competitive team using the draft and trades and a few free agents, the franchise has been successful.
The 2007 version of the Wolfmen is quite different from their earlier teams in 2005 and 2006. The former teams featured stronger squads with a more balanced pitching staff and defense. But one of the key weaknesses of the team was to have a better on base percentage and to score more runs. It is ultimately this weakness which caused the former teams to bow out in the first round of the playoffs.
With the 2007 Regular season behind us, the major challenge was for all the teams was to find good pitching. There really wasn’t a dominating pitching team as there had been in years past. And actually, the normally Dawson Conference which featured teams that had success more on good pitching changed in 2007 to teams that paralleled their Clemente opponents with more hitting and power.
To build the 2007 Wolfmen, once again key players via the draft were acquired as well as via trades. Most of the key power hitters (Bonds, Piazza, Jones, Valentin) were acquired in this way. There were six players who hit 20 or more homers for this squad, the 2007 version had a much higher on base percentage and set a team record with 26x homers for the season ranking 2nd in the league. But the starting pitchers were much weaker (a key trade to bring in Wang definitely was absolutely necessary) and the relief staff was at best in consistent. Perhaps the Wolfmen would have won a few more games if Nathan was more available but he had to sit out the last 40 games of the season.
A key part of the managerial strategy to play the Wolfmen, was as always to work with positional players to deal with any type of team, park and pitcher. Skokie took a big gamble to bring on board and keep a number of very older players (late 30s or 40’s, including Bonds, Piazza, Jones, Edmonds, Giambi and Clemens. The Skokie of 2007 sacrificed on their defense as they were willing to start poor fielding players in the corners in the outfield as well as at 1B & 3B. The Piazza trade was a big gamble as Skokie decided to go with more hitting and power at catcher but sacrificed on stolen bases by their opponents with Piazza poor arm and several pitchers who were unable to hold base runners close. Skokie had never tried before to play with such wholes in their defense on the field but the thinking process was, if we could bomb the other team there was the defense to come in during the late innings and their closer Joe Nathan, one of the premier closers.
So the 2007 Skokie Wolfmen took a big gamble, they felt they could do it because they were in a weak division and if they could just get back to the playoffs, using all the players properly, in a short series, that they could be competitive. Another key aspect of the Wolfmen was that they lead the league in giving up the least amount of home runs. Being that they live in Wolfie park which is a hitters park, this was crucial to balance the less then perfect defense on the field and weak ability to stop opponents to steal bases.
So this version of the Skokie team won 9 less games then in 2006. It comes into the playoffs with the worse record of any playoff bound team. With its clearing weaknesses as discussed above, few people will give them a chance against the better teams in the CBA. If they are going to go far, it will require all the tricks and skills by their manager the Wolfman to do it and perhaps some lucky rolls of the dice.
There was a big debate over whether to go with Piazza at catcher but he won up tied for 2nd on the club with 28 homers in somewhat limited due and was second in RBIs. His memorable four homer game is a record in the CBA. Barry Bonds was another gamble with his poor knees and fielding if this would more adversely affect the team then his bat but he tied the record of 37 homers done by Beltran in 2005 and had 100 RBIs in again a bit of limited duty. Valentin a middle inning pick in the draft (Skokie wait as long as possible to grab their old friend and former player) was also another key to Skokie’s success as he provided a good strong bat and power which was needed and lead to Grudzielanek seeing limited duty but valuable for late inning defense. Edmonds also hit a bit more for power then expected and came through in some key games plus his consistent defensive in CF was key. The late addition of Giambi and Dellucci added some more power for the clubs and left handed hitters who could hit lefties, Dellucci began a backup for Bonds. 1B had been a challenge for Skokie rotating four other players to fill the void (Aurilla, Shelton, Sheffield, Spiezio) but with Giambi on the scene it added another power hitter with good on base. Skokie tried to create their own version of the famed Yankees murders row. Especially against right handed pitchers – just about every hitter in the lineup was capable of hitting the ball out. Gary Matthews Jr. may have been Skokie’s most consistent hitter who did a great job as a leadoff hitter. Normally the Wolfmen like to have more speed in their lineup but the roll of the dice didn’t allow this to occur.
L. Hudson was a surprise starter for the team and thus earned a place on the playoff squad, was perhaps the most consistent starter. Nathan is Nathan and set a mark in the age of the Wolfman with 20 saves. He was almost unhittable and will be a key player in the playoffs. But the relief staff was a lot more inconsistent in times past and will have to be used wisely in the playoffs. Look for the Wolfmen to count on their starters to go long into the game. As far as the other Skokie starters, at times they look brilliant but overall their effective was very questionable and far less in performance then prior years. Clemens just wasn’t his usual self winning only 6 games, Lilly and T. Hudson were inconsistent – Redman and Patterson gave some help in limited starts but the trade for Wang brought that other starter that Skokie deeply needed.
So to summarize, the 2007 version of the Skokie Wolfmen was a collection of the old and new. The team has the ability to explode at any moment but comes in with a number of holes where they could also be crunched just the same. It will be an interest challenge to see if an improved scoring machine is enough to take the Wolfmen to a higher level. The keys for their success will be how effective Wang and Clemens can be as consistant starters and if the club can score runs which has doomed them in the playoffs in the last two years. There is no doubt the Wolfmen like Skokie’s park but with the worse record as a playoff team after the 1st round they could lose home field advantage.
Analysis of San Diego VS Skokie
During the regular season the two teams split the twelve games played. Even though San Diego had a better regular season record, Skokie gained home field advantage for this series due to winning their division (finally after losing out the past two years on the last day of the season). Skokie’s true advantage then was having possibly four games in their park as their club is really suited for the long ball. Thus for San Diego to win the series they would need to win in Skokie. The Surf is a better hitting team but the key weakness of the surf, if any, as Mr. Wallace had put a good squad together was in their pitching as their 3rd and 4th starters were not strong and the bullpen could be a bit stronger. The strategy for Skokie was to bomb the Surf starters, then bring in their defense and have Nathan waiting at the end. The Surf had better speed then Skokie and could take advantage of the weak arm of Piazza and also several of Skokie’s starters inability to hold runners. So in comparing the two teams their strengths and weakness were pretty even, the key would see if San Diego could win in Skokie. And with San Diego being more of a pitcher’s park (low ball park home run) if they could win 3 in San Diego, then Skokie could be in a lot of trouble. Finally a last key for Skokie in the series was if their starters could take up a lot of innings as three of the Skokie relievers are more geared for more conditional spots. So if the Skokie starters got bombed early, Skokie could be in a lot of trouble.
Now lets move on two the actual games and see what happened:
Game 1: At Skokie (Haren vs Wang)
Surf............ 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 - 3 9 1
Wolfmen......... 2 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 - 6 10 0
Skokie started out the gate as the “Pizza” man hits a two run homer to begin the first inning. This bodes badly for the Surf if the Skokie bats start blasting home runs. Wang was pitching very good and the Surf were consistently unable to come through with clutch hits when men were on base. Edmonds hits a solo shot for Skokie to make it 3-0 and then Shelton shocks the Surf (Note: Shelton almost was not kept on the squad for the playoffs, it was between keeping him or Sheffield) with a 3 run dinger in the 5th. So with a commanding 6-0 lead and Nathan waiting in the wings if needed, it looked like Skokie had the game in hand. But then the Surf bats came alive in the 8th and they threatened but good old reliable Nathan, who relishes this type of spots came in and shot the door for a 6-3 Skokie win. Was this a sign that Skokie could break their first round jinx and move to the finals? The Surf now needed a victory in Game 2.
Game 2: At Skokie (Peavy vs Clemens)
Surf............ 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 9 1
Wolfmen......... 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 - 3 9 1
This was definitely a key game in the Series. If Skokie went up 2 games to none, and especially if Skokie could beat Peavy one of the best pitchers in the league, it would be tough for San Diego. This was a classic game, a pitchers duel between two of the greatest pitchers in the history of the game.
The Surf would take the lead and Skokie would battle back. Neither team could get ahead and it went into extra innings. Skokie knew if they could get past Rodriquez, the ace closer of the Surf and outlast him, they might have a chance. (BTW, C. Jones was up with the bases loaded earlier in the game and had a chance at a ball park homer which would have been a Grand Slam but missed but he did homer later to tie the game in the 6th). Anyway in the bottom of the 11th with two on, Matthews who had a great season (and also had 7 doubles in 6 games for the series) came through in the bottom of the 11th and Skokie won game 2 by the score 3-2. This was the turning point of the series. With Skokie up 2 games to none, San Diego had to do some miracles in their home park.
Game 3: At San Diego (L. Hudson vs Meche)
Wolfmen......... 0 0 1 0 6 0 0 2 0 - 9 12 0
Surf............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 1 7 0
This was a due or die game for San Diego. Skokie surprised the world by going with Luke Hudson instead of Tim Hudson (who won 13 games for the Wolfmen). But Luke Hudson had been one of Skokie’s most consistent starters all year long and he earned this game 3 start. And boy did Hudson pitch his heart out. He was virtually unhittable and only in the bottom of the 9th could the Surf score. Shelton came through again in the 5th with a two run homer and Edmonds also hit his 2nd. A big six run 5th put the game away for Skokie. Matthews also was a star hitting 3 doubles and driving in two runs but the real star with L. Hudson. Well Skokie had a command 3 games to none lead. The question was, could Skokie do a sweep? Game 4 featured the starters of Game 1.
Game 4: At San Diego (Wang vs Haren)
Wolfmen.........
0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 - 3 7 0
Surf............ 0 1 0 2 0 3 3 0 - 9 10 0
(Personal note: I was hoping that we could finish the series in four, as I had to stay up very late to play due to our difference in hours but Joe was not to be denied this game.)
The game
started as many being close and tied 1-1 after 3 innings, but then the
Surf bats came to life and they were unstoppable. They sliced and diced
Skokie starter Wang and Skokie saw their dream to sweep fading. Skokie
tried to use Wang as long as possible but the Surf was taking batting
practice and then when the relief came in, finally Skokie was able to stop
the party by the Surf. C. Duncan feasted on Skokie pitching hitting two
homers. So Skokie just let the Surf enjoy their day as Manager Wallace
earned his first playoff win in convincing fashion. We could hear Joe
saying in the dugout as the game was nearing completion if only I save
some of these runs for the other games. Well could the Surf do a Boston
Redsox and take the final four? With the jinx of seven games in the past,
the Wolfman was becoming a bit worried.
Game 5: At San Diego (T. Hudson vs Peavy)
Wolfmen.........
0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 - 3 8 2
Surf............ 0 1 0 1 3 6 5 0 - 16 15 0
Well
again, the Surf were facing an elimination game. But this club which
almost won their own division is a very gutsy club and they never say
“Die”. Again the game started out close but starting into the 5th
through the 7th innings, the Surf could do no wrong. They
literally destroyed the Skokie pitchers, it didn’t matter who was brought
in, they were cannon fodder – on this day no team could have beat the
Surf, they were unstoppable. Dye hit his 2nd homer and
Victorino hit an inside the park homer. Three of the Surf hitters had 3
RBI’s each. So Skokie basically gave up in the 6th and let the
Surf enjoy their day. They decided than, that when they went home to
Wolfmen Park, they would win the series for the fans. Besides, they had
Clemens coming up next and he didn’t have to face Peavy again. Peavy is
darn tough and Skokie was happy they could win that very hard fought Game
2 against him. 25 runs in two games for the Surf, they were now on fire
and ready to win in Skokie.
Game 6: At Skokie (Santana vs Clemens)
Surf............ 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 - 2 5 0
Wolfmen......... 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 - 3 7 0
With Skokie at home and with Clemens going, San Diego must have been a bit concerned. Clemens had pitched great baseball in Game 2 and Santana was a bit vulnerable to go against right handed hitters. But the Surf showed they are a good team and began to continue their hitting against Clemens by scoring in the top of the first to take an early lead. Skokie was struggling against Santana and starting to think the curse of 7 games was coming back but finally HR and RBI team leader, Barry Bonds, who had been quiet the whole series hit one out of the park in the bottom of the 4th to tie the game. And Bonds must have inspired the Wolf guys because shortly later, Piazza, who may well be the MVP of the Skokie squad during the regular season, launched his 2nd homer of the series (he batted in Skokie’s first runs in Game 1 and their final runs in Game 6 with homers) for Skokie to take a 3-1 lead. With Clemens on the mound, would this be enough? Clemens continued to dominate but then that squirley Victorino came to bat in the 7th, he did it again and hit a inside the park home run to make it 3-2. Just one run separating the two combatants. Clemens made it into the 9th but walked the first hitter and Duncan was up (he was killing Skokie pitching) so the Wolfman brought in Sherill to face him (or to not allow Duncan to be the guy who could defeat the Wolfmen) and Sherill was able to get pinch hitter Nady to line out). Then it was Nathan time, for the chance for the Wolfmen to go into round 2 for the first time, this is why Skokie jumped to trade for him last year giving away Bedard one of the best starting pitchers, and Nathan in his normal fashion shut the door down and the Wolfmen are now headed to the conference championship.
Series Notes and Conclusion
The keys for this series were the following. First of all the Surf bats fell silent in Skokie and you will never beat the Wolfmen there if you can’t score runs as Skokie won all 3 games in their home park. Clemens is probably the MVP for Skokie pitching two game gems. During the regular season the Wolfmen’s starters had a lot of problems but with the two good starts by Clemens (both games won 3-2) and the strong outing by Wang and especially L. Hudson, it was actually Skokie’s starting pitching which won the series. All year long, Skokie had to conserve Clemens (due to a limit of innings) but in the playoffs they could turn him loose. Could Clemens be the Skokie X Factor?
Special achievements by players from each team:
San Diego Surf:
Duncan was a tear to the Wolfmen, hitting .714 in five games with 2 HRs and 8 RBIs.
Victorino also hit .429 with 2 HRs (both inside the park) and 5 RBIs
Dye also hit .348 with 2 HRs and 6 RBIs.
(most of the hitting by the Surf came in the two games they won, by a combined score of 25-6. Unfortunately they couldn’t split part of their hitting in the other four games, especially games 2 and 6, both lost 3-2)
Peavy 2.81 ERA, 1-0 was very tough for Skokie and deserved recognition, if he would have had more run support he might have been 2-0.
Relievers Embree / Oliver / F. Rodriquez shut the Skokie bats down
San Diego had a better ERA and batting average then Skokie.
Skokie Wolfmen:
Shelton .429 2 HRs, 6 RBIs, helped to win two key games with his blast
Mathews .400 7 doubles, 4 RBIs, was a key to helping Skokie score runs
Piazza .273 2 HRs, 5 RBIs, he knocked in the first two runs for Skokie and the
Last two runs via Home Runs in Skokie
(Skokie teams as usual spread out key hits amongst its players, as the teams success depends on using their players to their max capability. Skokie had 11 homers in the six games hit by 8 different players)
L. Hudson 1.00 ERA 1-0 12 Ks – pitched a masterful game 3 (unexpected)
Clemens 2.12 ERA 1-0 – two stellar outings including clinching game 6
Heilman 0.00 ERA 1-0 4 innings of shutout relief
Nathan 0.00 ERA two saves in 2 innings, saved game 1 and game 6
Nov 3rd, 2007
WHAT IS UP NEXT? SKOKIE VS LIMOILOU
While some experts might have felt Skokie could take round 1 in the playoffs due to their home field advantage where they played very well in the regular season and being that they have been in the playoffs the best two years, coming to the Conference championship, this is a different matter entirely. During the regular season, Limoilou humiliated the Wolfmen winning 11 out of 15 games. Limoilou is heavily favored to go to the Series again.
Limoilou and Skokie have a history together. In the 2005 Playoffs, Skokie was up 3 games to 2, and was unable to put Limoilou away in their home part (as Montreal). There was the grandslam by Glaus giving Limoilou a 4-1 victory in game 7. Limoilou and Skokie have made key trades with each other. On the current squad Lofton and Beltran and Betancourt were once wolf guys where Skokie has Edmonds and T. Hudson plus via Limoilou draft pick, Skokie picked up Speizio, a very capable backup and spot starter. Some people think Skokie was crazy to trade Beltran but it was a half to do trade for Skokie and Edmonds has been a steady player for the Wolfmen although they would have loved to have Beltran in their lineup this year. So now we will see if these trades come back to haunt Skokie.
Comparing the two teams, they are a bit similar, both have tremendous hitting and power with Limoilou having better starting pitcher and each has a key closer. Skokie tried to improve their team with more on base this year as Limoilou always has this. So the key factor to this series will be which teams starters can contain the other teams spoilers. Skokie had a big decision to make whether to use T. Hudson or Lilly as there 4th starter but due to the stronger hitting vs lefties by Limoilou, they chose to go with T. Hudson.
It will be interesting to see if the Skokie weaknesses at corner defense and Piazza throwing arm will be their downfall. Again Skokie needs for its starters to go long as they did in the San Diego series. Limoilou going into round 2 is the only favorite who won their first playoff games. Can the Wolfman, using his guile and intuition prevail at what looks like a much stronger and balanced team. The only reason Skokie may have a chance is that it’s a short series – and they can use a bit more in a balanced way their top starters. Due to Clemens pitching game six in the San Diego series he will then start in Game 3 and if needed Game 7. Will he be the key again.
From the Skokie point of view, they need for Bond (.118), Gambi (.143), Delucci and Aurilla (.000) to pick up the hitting otherwise with the power of Limoilou (Beltrans / Thome / Hall / Glaus) it will be a long series.
So can the Wolfmen avenge their 7 game playoff loss in 2005 and make it to their first series or will the very successful and dominating team of Limoilou led by the legendary Jeff Boutet prevail again to make another appearance in the CBA World Series, we will find out shortly.
And last but not least, who will the the champion of the Staub conference face. Normally the series is the pitching of Staub vs. the power of Clemente but this year, the final four teams have all had their success more via their superior hitting and power. Will Indiana be the first team in a long time to take the crown in back to back years, or will the very proficient CBA managers who have been to t he series before Hite and Boutet do it again or last but not least, will the willy Wolfman guide his team to victory after having his worse record year and the worse record of any playoff bound team. If there is one thing we all know, who takes it all is completely unpredictable in the CBA playoffs.
Good luck to the remaining four teams!! (Limoilou, Philly, Indiana & Skokie)
October 31st, 2007
With Round 1 only awaiting Limoilou-Longue Pointe's series to complete, CBA would like to acknowledge two fine jobs of team management in the SD Surf of the Dawson, and Carolina Copperheads of the Schmidt division.
We'd like to extend a congratulations to SD Surf GM Joe Wallace on an outstanding season in a very tough division the Dawson. SD has been in CBA since 2002, and this was their first ever playoff appearance as Wallace built this team from scratch out of the lowest winning team in CBA. Originally owned by Don Jensen and known as the Hamilton Harbors. Hamilton was best known for their dogfight in 1998 with then Dawson title winner Brooklyn Superbas (Moved to Parker in 99) Hamilton fought with Longue Pointe, Quebec, and Limoilou in 1999 and 2000, but were just shy. They'd not return anywhere close again until 2007's Wallace led San Diego team. A team on the decline when Jensen retired. Wallace began to build with key trades and mostly draft picks and swaps. A true worst to first case, Wallace's plan was to take years to develop a bit at a time until he built what should be a strong contender for years to come. His attitude and dedication to CBA were evident in his very strong playoff effort and management in 2007. Joe Wallace is a class act, and quality GM whose time has arrived in the CBA. SD is an elite CBA team. Here is Hamilton/ San Diego's overall record 1997-2001 as Hamilton 2002-2007 as San Diego. Wallace's team has shown a win increase in 4 concecutive years. Who knows where they'll go in 2008.
I'd also like to congratulate GM Scott Kenan on rising Carolina from the ashes. The Carolina Copperheads have finally found stabilty and a division title under Kenan since 2006.
|
Historical record |
|
|
|
.474 |
WON |
LOST |
|
1997 |
102 |
60 |
|
1998 |
90 |
72 |
|
1999 |
83 |
79 |
|
2000 |
45 |
117 |
|
2001 |
68 |
94 |
|
2002 |
50 |
112 |
|
2003 |
60 |
102 |
|
2004 |
84 |
78 |
|
2005 |
87 |
75 |
|
2006 |
78 |
84 |
|
2007 |
99 |
63 |
|
total |
846 |
936 |
carolina started CBA life as Danny Noonan's (no relation to Caddyshack) Louisville Mob Squad. Just wondering if anyone even remembers talking or trading with that guy. Noonan won 102 in that first year drafting to win right away and as a result faded a bit each year as he let his team stagnate into CBA's dark ages year of 2000. With a few poor drafts, and no trades, the Mob Squad became the Mod Squad especially when commisioner Claude LaMarre (HOF) replaced Noonan in favor of a strong Strat-o-matic French Canadian gamer from the QSBL, Pierre Janneau. Janneau a good player had very little to work with. The Lifesavers had former top picks that never made it like Jose Rosado, Damon Buford, George Arias, Bill Pulsipher, mixed with an old team featuring Andre Galarraga, Eric Davis, Chuckt Finley, Lance Johnson, Joe Carter that faded away quick. Poor Janneau won a CBA low 45 games. That 2000 team set several futility records that still stand today. Pierre improved his team to 68 wins the following season which was quite remarkable considering the lack of talent inherited but he grew disenchanted and left CBA to concentrate on his other more succesful strat team in QSBL. At this point In 2002 his replacement Stephane Castilloux also from QSBL (a good league with avid gamers based in Quebec) joined CBA to guide the franchise. As soon as he did he made his legacy in CBA by unintentionally and hilariously renaming the team the Green Bay Roches. Know one to this day knows what a Roche was or is, let alone the startling fact that the decent area around Green Bay has any of them. His team logo is quite the rediculous if not unique.
Green Bay drafted what seemed promisingly, but hindsight shows disastrously. High draft pick busts like Mark Quinn, Kerry Wood, Paul Wilson, Troy O'Leary and others failed to perform or even stick around. Needless to say this team once again plummeted to the CBA abyss with a 50 win season second worst in CBA history. The Roches crawled behind the CBA baseboards and went into hiding until 2004 when Strat Pal Dan Gural one of CBA's beloved managers took control late in 2003 and made the re-named Portland Sea Doogs (new name) a winner.
Scott Kenan had taken some of Gural's nucleus and used what he had to rebuild this franchise. 2007's strong draft just added to the mix of their 99 win season. The team is now Kenan's franchise with his stamp on it. Kenan managed a series of team building trades, and drafted players who did and will make a difference. Aside, he truly has embodied what CBA is all about and has shown to be quite a sportsman and well accepted Strat-o-matic partner for us. Scott embodies the best of the new CBA whose GM's are now part of our CBA community, and have made our gaming that much better and certainly more competitive than ever.
Marc Wass__._,_.___
Playoff RD 1 results. Skokie beats SD 4 to 2. Philly over Brooklyn 4 to 1.
Indiana defeats Carolina 4 to 1. Limoilou leads LP 2 to 1.
Big series this week. The feature series pit Carolina vs the onrushing
Philly Phantastics. Every game
Philly wins pulls them closer to the division leader and fends off the
tough Bryan Bashers who are 3 off
the wildcard pace. Philly is making a rush for the ages this year while
trying to hang on to a slim 3 game
lead over Bryan in the Clemente wildcard race. In fact Philly is now a
manageable 5 games behind the
season long fron runner who this series was played. Both teams battled
with Philly taking game 1, 8-5.
Utley knocked in 4 runs, as Verlander improved his record to 11-5. Carolina
struck back in game 2 with a
hard fought 3-2 win. All the runs were scored early then the pitching took
over as Anibal Sanchez,
Brandon League, and Huston Street held off the Phantastics. In game 3,
cole Hamels won with a save from
Mike Gonzalez, his 16th. Carlos Lee hit his 36th, then Scott Rolen his
27th to provide a 4-2 win and
inch them closer to Carolina. Bryan bestwed the Superbas for the first
time this year just at the right
time, taking 2 of 3 from the Brooklyn squad. The Superbas won behind
Halladay's 16th win, and HR's by
Ramirez (38th), Wells 31st, and Juan Rivera's 11th.
Dawson has another 3 way dance, just as you were about to write off the
Loggers, here they come now only
3 games back of Limoilou who holds the 31 spot. Longue Pointe's bench had
a great week as Jason Repko,
Ichiro, and Ryan Theriot proved to be stars. Theriot actually hit an
inside the park HR. Longue POinte is
led by Aramis Ramirez acquired in 2007 and now has 32 HR's. Ramirez bat is
carrying the team along with
Carlos Zambrano who actually got a HAL induced save this week in a 14
inning epic against Ottawa.
That game saw come backs from both team a couple of times before LP pulled
it out. Meanwhile SD had taken
2 from the Superbas with some good pitching from Peavy who went all the
way in a 12 K win. David Wright
had some more key hits in his MVP type season for San Diego. The Surf are
just a 1/2 game off the Dawson
lead. Wright's BA is up to .349. Miguel Cabrera of Brooklyn leads CBA at
.404.
Skokie's magic number is down to 4. They can clinch this week. It would be
GM Josh Wolfman Shapiro's 3rd concecutive
entrance to CBA's playoff's first as Montreal Royals then after as the
Skokie Wolfmen. Longue POinte has
made the playoffs each of the last 4 years. Limoilou will no doubt make
the playoffs afetr finishing last place in 2006.
A huge win differential for former manager of the year Jeff Boutet.
Boutet's resurgence and playoff
entry serves agian notice how CBA's most successful GM is a force to be
reckoned with at all times. Limoilou last won
a championship in 2003 defeating the Brooklyn Superbas 4 games to 1.
CBA Team Key Performers.
Here's a few key performers of each CBA team. In some cases the stats are team leaders, but also included are clutch performers and key contributors who stats aren't eye catching but who helps their team to win. Several players mentioned have some interesting stats that you may find in "Report Writer".
There are several key stats that seem to have bearing on winning here in CBA with our current rules and usage balance. Among those are offensive and defensive. A few examples are Team and PLayer X rating %, Inherited runners scoring, The obvious Sabermetrics, Lefty/Righty balances and the player/team vunerabilties to pitching. When analyzing the statistical basis for the teams performances, they are relevant key stats that can help explain the success of the different franchises. Each has an impact upon the performance of the CBA's teams. Although I have listed some key stats they are not the only variables that can dictate success, of course the luck of the dice and cards is another. Perhaps even a managers hunch or sense can account for good team kharma or wins its amazing how a probabilty based game can have its streaks and unlikely stars.
In CBA winning is the primary focus. The winners are the talk and receive the most attention. Its the competition each year that our GM's become so involved and even obsessed with their teams and its performance. A look into the hard to find stats and analysis of the info they can provide can give a clearer picture of a teams dynamics and strategies, especially over a full season. Below is a look at some stats that may have some impact and are quite interesting.
Hits with the bases loaded. Notice that a majority of the leaders are from winning teams. Look how key Wells and Piazza have been to the division leaders Skokie and Brooklyn. Wigginton has been invaluable as well to the Bashers.
2006 Wells BSP 12
2006 Piazza SWC 8
2006 Wigginton KBP 8
2006 Cabrera SRS 7
2006 Mauer OOP 7
2006 Cabrera BSP 7
2006 Utley PPS 7
2006 Hall LWD 7
Game winning RBI. A stat I always liked, shows winning hits and who has provided 'em. CBA Leader teams have guys in this list naturally. Look how Delgado and Ordonez have equivalent big hits to guys on other teams with more wins. Makes them invaluable to the Leopards and Jackhammers. Cabrera's leadership here is no surprise consider the season this card is having in Coors.
Cabrera BSP 19
Utley PPS 15
Delgado LLS 15
Morneau CCS 15
Beltran LWD 15
Bay IRP 15
Ordonez JJD 14
Berkman PPS 14
Thome LWD 14
Hall LWD 14
Holliday SLS 13
Teixeira OTC 13
Thomas LLS 13
Tejada CCS 13
Inge KBP 12
Rolen PPS 12
Soriano JJD 12
Sizemore IRP 12
Isolated Power avg. Isolated Power is a sabermetric statistic that shows a hitter's overall effectiveness by measuring his ability to generate extra base hits. ISO = Slugging % - Batting Average. So obviously the higher slugging pct can be looked at in terms of extreme runner advancement and movement which is a key to winning in Strat ball.
A look at Pujols numbers rivals some of MLB's Barry Bonds in his best seasons. .436 is hall of fame type numbers. Generally players over about .260-.270 are considered better than average. .300 is excellent. .436, well...
Pujols IRP .436
Hafner CCS .381
Beltran LWD .369
Thome LWD .361
Ortiz OOP .357
Bonds SWC .343
Berkman PPS .343
Ramirez BSP .327
Cabrera BSP .325
Delgado LLS .321
Valentin SWC .317
What about the tablesetters? We know that high leadoff OBA and movemnet means more runs, but that forgotten #2 destined for sacs and hit and runs can provide vital scoring punch by getting on base. Heres a look at CBA most prolific OBA guys from the 2 hole. No wonder these leaders are on the winning teams. They are a big part of the winning.
Vic Martinez SSD .452
JD Drew BSP/PPS .440
David Wright SSD .418
Johnny Damon SLS .414
Ryan Zimmerman CCS .411
Derek Jeter PPS .405
Todd Helton BSP .391
Jose Cruz KBP .389
The good teams seem to have their "bottom Feeders" no player bats to take lightly. it signifies depth and lineup potency when the 7th and 8th place hitters show OBA+SLG. Here are the leaders of those lineup spots. Below are runs driven home by 8th place and 7th place hitters. It shows that runners at the end of the lineup are coming across and getting on to be driven in.
8th place hitters RBI
Ramon Hernandez LWD 61
Brian Anderson CCS 61
Kun Griffey Jr SLS 50
Edgar Renteria SSD 30
Preston Wilson SWC 28
Marcus Thames PPS 28
Wilson Betemit SRS 27
Rod Barajas OTC 26
Ivan Rodriguez BSP 24
Brandon Inge KBP 24
7th place hitters RBI
Hall LWD 66
Piazza SWC 49
Dunn CCS 44
Lo Duca KBP 31
Paulino SLS 31
Inge KBP 31
Chavez SRS 28
Rodriguez BSP 28
Buck CIP 27
Lowell IRP 25
Squeeze Bunts successes. An interesting stat though minimal impact
2006 Wilson SWC 6
2006 Pierre JJD 4
2006 Figgins BBD 3
2006 Jeter PPS 3
2006 Molina KWC 3
2006 Punto MEC/IRP 2
2006 Ramirez ANC 2
2006 Patterson OOP 2
Steals of third
2006 Ramirez ANC 23
2006 Pierre JJD 19
2006 Gathright BSP 16
2006 Soriano JJD 16
2006 Podsednik JJD 9
2006 Reyes IRP 8
2006 Figgins BBD 7
2006 Abreu PPS 7
* denotes former CBA Champion
Allentown Senators: Ben Broussard 13 Hr, 50 RBI, .330 in 288 AB. Hanley Ramirez 12 Hr, 63 RBI, .275, 10 triples, 46 Doubles,75 SB
Belfast Brawlers: 3B Freddy Sanchez 4Hr, 71 RBI, .313. Closer BJ Ryan 6-3 3.21 20Saves. Specialist Chris Sampson 0-1 1.65era in 35 inn.
Brooklyn Superbas*: 3B Miguel Cabrera 38 Hr, 136RBI, .404, 57 Doubles, 13 SB. LF M Ramirez 38Hr, 104 RBI, .320. R Howard 38HR, 109, .305.
CF V Wells 32 HR, 121 RBI, .285, 21 SB. P Halladay 16-3 3.88, P M Mussina 16-2 2.94.
Bryan Bashers: Brad Inge 36 HR, 105 RBI, .273. LF P Burrell 32 HR, 94 RBI, .257. INF Ty Wigginton 24 HR, 89 RBI, .284. Blanton 13-8.
Carolina Copperheads: 1B Justin Morneau 37 HR, 98 RBI, .331. DH Travis Hafner 46 HR, 98 RBI, .284. SS M Tejada 29 HR, 91 RBI, .317. 3B R Zimmerman 22Hr, 90 RBI, .328. P Jo Santana 18-8 3.65.
Cooperstown Iron Horses: OF N Markakis 14 HR, .315. SS M Young 6 HR, 53 RBI, .316, 42 doubles.
Indiana Redbirds*: 1B A Pujols 65 HR, 135 RBI, .347, 140 runs, 11 sb. 3B A Rodriguez 44 HR, 127 RBI, .301. OF J Bay 35 HR, 88 RBI, .284. OF G Sizemore 33 HR, 83 RBI, 120 runs, 20 sb. RP C Meredith 7-1 2.17 in 35 app. P Oswalt 16-10, Kazmir 11-4.
Joliet Jackhammers: OF J Pierre .290, 88 sb. LF A Soriano 27 HR, 86 RBI, .268, 63 sb. Util R Freel .272, 37 sb. RP T Miller 1-0 1.76 45 app.
Kennesaw Mountain Woodsmen (Kenwood): C B McCann 22 HR, 75 RBI, .324. P C Silva 6-20, 6.84. SS R Furcal .290, 32 sb.
Lake County Leopards: 3B G Atkins 25 HR, 93 RBI, .302. 1B C Delgado 45 HR, 116 RBI, .264. DH F Thomas 36 HR, 101 RBI, .261. RP J Papelbon 3-3 1.74, 25 sb.
Limoilou Wendigo*: DH J Thome 47 HR, 107 RBI, .307. CF K Lofton .303, 43 sb. CF C Beltran 51 HR, 131 RBI, .273. SS B Hall 30 HR, 90 RBI. 3B T Glaus 39 HR, 90 RBI. UT F Lopez 291 AB .321, 25 sb.
Longue Pointe Loggers*: 3b A Ramirez, 32 HR, 96 RBI, .303, 101 runs. P C Zambrano 16-3 2.83, 210 K's. UT Ju Valentin 190 AB, .393, 7 HR, 30 RBI. CF I Suzuki .303, 61 sb.
Maine Express: SS K Greene 20 HR, 52 RBI, .302. 2B D Uggla 23 HR, 77 RBI, .277. RP B Jenks 18 sv.
Ohio Thundercats: OF Pr Wilson 29 HR, 87 RBI, .296. SS C Guillen 15 HR, 68 RBI, .312. UT W Pena 7 HR, 45 RBI, 211 AB, .346.
Ottawa Otters*: DH D Ortiz 41 HR, 95 RBI, .287. RF V Guerrero 27 HR, 78 RBI, .327. C P Nevin 24, 69, .274. P B Webb 15-11 3.51, 180 K's. J Borowski 1-4 10.00 era, 22 saves, 27 inn.
Philly Phantastics*: 3B S Rolen 27 HR, 94 RBI, .346. UT W Helms 11 HR, 41 RBI, .336, 220 AB. SS D Jeter 15 HR, 62 RBI, 108 runs, .315, 35 sb. LF C Lee 37 HR, 97 RBI, .293. 1B L Berkman 49 HR, 119 RBI, .292, 101 runs. UT J Willingham 19 HR 50 RBI, .292, 290 AB. P J Verlander 11-5. RP F Liriano 39 games, 107 inn, 132 K, 9-3, 3.06.
San Diego Surf: C V Martinez 17 HR, 102 RBI, .350. 3B D Wright 27 HR, 102 RBI, 112 runs, 16 sb, .349. OF J Dye 24 HR, 103 RBI, .294. P J Peavy 13-8, 190 K's. RP F Rodriguez 19 sv. RP A Embree 42 app, 2-0 2.38.
Skokie Wolfmen: C Mike Piazza 28 HR, 89 RBI, .322. CF G Mathews 26 HR, 78 RBI, .310. 2b Jo Valentin 26 HR, 86 RBI, .309. LF B Bonds 36 HR, 98 RBI, .291, .424 oba. RP J Nathan 5-3 1.20, 20 sv, 67 inn, 35 hits, 90 K's.
Southwest Lizard Kings: LF M Holliday 32 HR, 102 RBI, .310. CF J Damon 25 HR, 94 RBI, .301. 3B J Crede 34 HR, 90 RBI, .275. RP B Wagner 2-1 1.78, 21 sv, 70 Inn, 48 Hits, 91 K's. 1B A LaRoche 28 HR, 71 RBI, .257.
Stirling Redsox: CF A Jones 40 HR, 94 RBI, .260. DH P konerko 29 HR, 84 RBI, .280. RP C Cordero 3-4 3.13, 22 sv. P M Buehrle 14-9 4.65. K Correa 49 app, 6-1 3.68. OF N Swisher 33 HR, 86 RBI, .224.
August 26th 2007
Block
21 results are in. Great wild card races are shaping up. Dawson has
Limoilou and SD battling it out. Currently the perrenial powerhouse
Limoilou Wendigo managed by original CBA member and future Hall of Famer
Jeff Boutet and they are in first place by a game and a half over San
Diego. The playoff bound Surf managed by veteran CBA GM Joe Wallace will
be looking towards perhaps their first ever playoff appearnace since their
incarnation in 2002. Limoilou arguably CBA's most successful franchise is
no stranger to playoff action in CBA harkening back to the halcyon days of
1997 when playoff series were played via ICQ and IRC chat room. With
NetPlay playoffs mandatory for all in CBA 2007, Jeff Boutet is no doubt
looking forward to some sweet revenge as he has exited from the playoffs
last in 2005 at the hands of division rival Longue Pointe Loggers and
Dennis C. It was that classic series which was decided by basically a lone
OF error on Jason Michaels and a key HR by Ichiro which decided the Staub
crown. Limoilou loks to have quite a good chance this year as the pesky
Loggers sit 6 games back but in position for a possible wildcard. This
rivalry goes back 10 full years when the beloved Claude LaMarre ran CBA
and GM'ed the Longue Pointe Hitmen as they were known. Jeff's brother
also a HOF'er Chris Boutet ran the now defunct Quebec Capitales in
Dawson. You can check the archives and logos pages for more on that
historical and excellent team. Vets may even recall that in that 1st
season Brooklyn was a Dawson team (BSD) before moving across the leagues
to the present Parker division in a realignment. With Dawson rivalries
producing some unbelievable playoff series and recent years 1 game
playoffs, the San Diego Surf is right in the middle of what could be
history. They must contend with Limoilou's Staub leading power team.
Limmer's Thome has a .302 BA, 38 more HR this season, and 84 RBI, while
MVP candidate Carlos Beltran Acquired in a down year from Skokie has 47
HR, 117 RBI, and a .275 BA with flawless defense and X rating numbers.
Some scoffed at the acquistion of CBA veteran, future HOF,and premier base
stealer James Lofton's pre-season acquistion as selling future for now,
but all Lofton has done is be a quintessential leadoff force with 41 SB
and a .315 BA. Bill Hlal's 27, 90, .266 and Try Glaus 36 HR's make this a
very potent lineup that SD top rated staff will need to handle as well as
they did in action this week. Joe Wallace's Surfer dudes took 2 of 3
block 21 with some good pitching from Dan Haren 11-6 4.03, and Jake Peavy
10-6, last years perfect season man and Cy Young winner. David Wright has
carried SD offense with 20 HR and a .350 batting average. 3 starters and
1 platooner are batting .350+ for SD. Victory Martinez 10 76 .365, R Cano
14 45 .360, Chris Duncan .350, and Wright. Dye and Cuddyer have been very
solid with 19 HR and BA in the high .280's all season. A .293 team
batting average is now 2nd in CBA behind Brooklyn's .310 team numbers.
In Carter the Skokie Wolfmen finally faced Clemnete powerhouse Brooklyn in
a series which Brooklyn swept in 3. The games 1,2 were tighter than the
finals but in the end the BSP offense and bench proved too powerful for
the Wolmen's respected bullpen to contain. Miguel Cabrera continued huis
MVP quest and .410 BA pace with another big series getting 8 hits and 8
RBI's, and Manny Ramirez drove in key runs and reached base time after
time. Wells came up big at the plate and all around its tough to stop the
Superbas in 2007 who appear to have their strongest team since their only
championship in CBA back in 2004. BSP may win more that that team and set
some team records along the way. The Brooklyn team ERA at 4.41 is almost
a full run better that previous years perhaps due to the power decrease in
Coors numbers. The Superbas despite the gaudy numbers are fallible as
proved by arch rival Indiana Redbirds this week as well. Indy showed
Brooklyn how its done cutting the BSP lead back down to 7 games with a
rare sweep. Indiana power and 2 out rallies doomed Brooklyn as Alex
rodriguez, Pujols, Oswalt, and Jeff Conine who had a GSHR and 5 RBI in
game 3. Game 2 saw a 12-11 Indy win which was a thrilling game to
spectate as it ran by on quick spectator. Back and forth with Indy taking
an early lead on Conine's Granny, only to have a characteristic BSP rally
cut into the lead. In the end Indy had won and served notice that they
are just as strong a force and ready for a playoff series which they just
may get later on. Against Joliet, Indiana shut 'em out twice behind
Tankersley and Jarrod Washburn.
Carolina's rise in Schmidt has been well documented this season, but look
at the surprising Bryan Bashers. Not expected by some to win, expected by
others the Bashers have been a team red hot in the second half. Relying
on a platoon system of role players and some solid starting pitching the
Bashers offense has been productive. 7 players over double digit HR's, a
.271 BA and terrific bench, the Bashers have taken a page from Longue
Pointe with their bench depth. Luke Scott.345, Julio Cruz, .326, Dioner
Navarro .322, Ty Wigginton 20 HR, Brandon Inge 30 HR have all been great,
and Pat the Bat Burrell a key offensive ingredient with his 26 HR. This
week Bryan swept rival Ottawa and is in possession of a wildcard seed if
they can hold off Philly and perhaps Southwest.
This week saw a flurry of infractional warnings and issues. A strong
reminder to GM's to review usage and the Excel sheets carefully in
preparations. There is no leniency or amnesty so careful goes it. Even
commish is not immune picking up an infraction for inadvertently
scheduling Edwin Jackson a start when below minimum requirements for MLB
inn. Skokie had the same for his use of John Patterson. Pitchers must
have 45 inn MLB to be eligible to start. Joliet will not receive and
infraction for Benoit's overuse which was result of league error, however
Southwest will for over using Carrasco in block 18. Bryan and Limoilou
will not be assesed infractions for overuse in block 20 of last week since
the league feels responsibile for not communicating properly intention to
play 2 blocks that from vavcation break. CBA apologizes for any strategic
anomalies that it may have presented GM's by not making that issue clear
enough. We will likely play a double week to catch up on the schedule
block 23-24 however. Be forewarned. Good luck to all teams as the races
are not decided and are going down to the wire.
Midseason Report June 29th, 2007
CBA enters the 15th Block. The season well underway and the races defining. We can see who are the contenders and who may look ahead. Clemente Conference's big picture has Carolina and Brooklyn looking great while leading Schmidt and Parker. Indiana and Bryan hold wildcard possibilties with Philly and Lake County within striking distance. One or two good blocks could put Southwest back in the mix as well. Clemente is the home of great offense and the DH. 8 of the top 12 batting leaders for average is Clemente. 12 of the top 15 HR leaders are Clemente. Pujols alone has 47 HR and 93 RBI's. He's batting .343 and is a legitimate triple crown threat as the season levels off. He may set some CBA records for power production along the way. it will be fun watching Indiana this year with Alex Rodriguez, Pujols, Reyes, Bay, and Sizemore bunching runs. Indiana is 6 games behind surging Brooklyn.
Brooklyn is hitting .312 as a team with 136 HR in 84 games abdout half a season. Howard is on the rise after a slow start and the lineup built over many years is stacked. 1998 1st round pick Todd Helton is hitting .355 in the 2 hole, with both Gathright and Brandon Phillips stealing a ton at leadoff. Miguel Cabrera has been sensational in '07 with 20 HR 75 and a .405 BA. Manny Ramirez is red hot with 26 73 .336. Wells has 21 63 .287 with 17 SB. The offense and defense superb(a) but the starting pitching is pretty good. Having Coors doesn't help that department much. The pen is decent with Mariano, Wheeler, and Feliciano in the set up roles, but not much else. Brooklyn could be heading for the best season since 2003.
Bryan is a terrific story thus far in 2007. Some saw .500, others below, I thought maybe a shot at a wild card and thats exactly what is happening. Bryan is using a diverse platoon of good cards and role players to combine as one playoff potential team. The starting pitching is much improved over 2006 with Rogers and Carpenter starting to produce low run games. Nate Robertson has emerged as the #3 starter with 8 wins and other pitchers like Eric Milton recently acquired Joe Blanton have added wins along the way and important innings. The Bashers got a boost as Pat Burrell has started hitting HR's(17), and Brad Inge has been of fire raising his average to .300 with 18 HR and 49 key RBI's. Ty Wigginton has been a great 10th man so far and with such depth on the bench, Bryan could be in this race for the long haul. They must stay above Philly and the surprisingly tough Lake County Leopards.
Philly is at .500. The story is pitching or the lack of it. Randy Johnson is a legit Ronson Candidate. The staff has fallen on hard times while the offense meanwhile continues to flourish. A .293 BA and 5 hitters with double digit HR's can keep Philly in any game. Utley (15 49 .312) is having a good year even if Derek Jeter (8 34 .280) by his own standards is not. Berkman 25 54 .300 is doing damage, as is Carlos Lee (19 49 .278). No one stands out in the pen or rotation. Perhaps with better twirling the Phantastics would rise a few games into wildcard status.
Lake County is being carried by some decent pitching, nothing beyond average. Glavine, Papelbon, Vasquez, Matt Thornton have led the way with solid performances. Not spectacular but tsolid. But the rest is non-descript. Opponents have hit .272 which isn't great. The pitchers dont walk too many only 3 a game. Inherited runners score 33% of the time. Not too good. The offense .257 BA, has little firepower. .333 OBA as a team, 5.10 runs a game, .447 slg, ho-hum. Why then is Lake in the wild card race? Only 1 reason...Carlos Delgado (32 HR, 79 RBI, .285) . Pujols may have the numbers but he has great performers around him. Delgado is doing it in the clutch with only Frank Thomas' 19 HR's a threat around him. Curiously he may be a better MVP candidate since he does so much for his team.
The Staub Conference has the same story in Dawson again. Another 3 way dance. Maybe even a 4th customer if Joliet continues to improve. Longue Pointe has led it last year but this year the Limmer-Lou Wendigo are back in the first place saddle again. Moving out a game and half over San Diego and 3 and a half over Longue Tongue has gotten the fans in QWuebec all excited. No doubt Jeff Boutet and Dennis Concepcions rivalry dating back to the 2005 Staub Championship 7 game LP win is renewed in its entirety in 2007. Who could forget the Michaels error that cost the Championship. The Wendigo are primed and ready with a blistering offense which could be Staub's best (Skokie may disagree) Boutet sends up 4 20 HR men each game. Beltran an MVP candidiate(32 84 .289), Thome with 24 taters, off season acquistion the catalyst Kenny Lofton (26SB .299) CBA's all time SB leader and a former 1997 first round pick of the Philly Phantastics.Glaus has 28 HR's. The Wendigo score 6.19 runs per game and allow only 4.32 runs. They produce .843 clip and slug about .492 Impressive power numbers. Perhaps only some more defense and relief could make this team the class of Staub.
San Diego is playing up to their billing as a top Staub team. Looking towards their first ever franchise playoff, SD must beat out eith LP or Limmer like to earn a spot. Similar to Belfast the past 3 years. They hit for average .298 but can't hit with too much power. only 89 HR in comparison Limmer has 133. San Diego has good pitching. 3rd in CBA for ERA, the Surf has King Felix at 9-3 and Meche at 8-3. Haren and Peavy both add 7 wins. Frank Rod has 13 sv. David Wright is carrying SD in all areas (16 61 .363 12sb) and Cano is hitting .337. SD with some good matchups and series wins will be a factor all season. A move any direction could mean the entire Dawson race.
LP has been consistant much of the year. They recently won 9 games in row and dropped 7 for their only streak. LP is led by Cy Young candidate Carlos Zambrano has 10 wins no losses. Maddux (7-4 4.11) has done well too. The bullpen has done well by committee with 8 players gaining saves. They have allowed only 20% of inherited runners to score a great number. The bullpen is a signature of the Loggers. Offensively its Ichiro, Aramis, and now Richie Sexson who has come alive. Varitek and Hunter are below the Mendoza line still and the .769 X rating has been great. A 4.12 team ERA is good enough to win, but can they sustain SD and Limoilou? Perhaps as always the key with LP is their depth of bench. Lets see how this winds up in August.
Skokie is the team in Carter. Doesn't look like anyone will constest him there as Allentown has faded and Kennesaw has been inexplicably below par. Skokie ahs their best offense since its Montreal days with their many new additions for '07. The addition of Mike Piazza (19 61 .326) has greatly helped the offense though his glove and arm haven't. Gary Matthews Jr (13 55 .329) has been superb. Chipper (19 42 .289), Bonds (17 56 .291), and Edmonds (15 44 .272) have been very dangerous all year and are a playoff threat to any team in CBA. Jose Valentin (16 38 .304) was a find. The pitching not too bad. Joe Nathan (13sv 1.36ERA) is lights out at closer. There is enough to get by but with pitching scarce Skokie has been shopping for more. Don't expect the Wolfman to stand still he is always on the prowl and rumour has it a few deals waiting to happen!
Looking around CBA this week we are starting to get a feel for how our teams are performing. With the first weeks of the season a time of sdjustment and testing, GM's are trying to optimize their lineups and talent for maximum performance. Expected, few teams have started off slowly and some hot. Too early to tell, but we may begin to see who will be the contenders this year.
2007 CBA season preview by Marc Wass
As years go by the memories of big games and series can be reflected on. CBA's history show that no team has repeated in consecutive years winning a championship. It's difficult enough to get in, and win Net Play series. Last year champion Indiana has a chance to repeat. 2005's Longue Pointe winner was able to make it into Staub Finals losing to Neah (Kennesaw). The closest to repeat was In 2004 Brooklyn when won their only championship, after losing in 2003 World Series to 3 time winner Limoilou.
.The 2007 promises to be a great one. Can Indy repeat? We have added two great new GM's James Blakeley and the returning Eric Lindner to the mix. I am very happy to have both aboard and each has been an asset from the get go. With last years new GM's blending in so well, I can only feel confident that CBA will see more competition and more highlights. Winning Strat-Ball, and sportsmanship are the standards and mean everything in CBA. We will see plenty of both if the off season was any indication. With a flurry of trades and draft maneuvers the guard could be changing as there will be more parity in CBA, and some long building teams finally emerging. Lets take a short look at what perhaps could take place in CBA 2007.
This years cards seem to have less of the excellent pitching cards. Fewer than usual well balanced starters. Fewer starters with 2 or less diamonds and 20 and 30 TB or below. Even the aces seem to have unbalance and power problems. But their are allot of set up relievers as the MLB trend seems to dictate. It seems many more guys in the 20 hit 25 oba 35 TB range than usual.
The Parker race may be the best that division has seen in many seasons. Two reasons are three powerful teams that return with an eye towards the division crown.
It's hard not to start with Indiana Redbirds and GM Bob Fidler. Fidler inherited a promising team but really put his own touch on this team with his many player and draft movements. Fidler earned his championship with excellent CM and roster management in 2006 and we can expect more of the same this season. With some players not approaching 2006 season card status, Fidlers other players will step it up plus some. Where ARod tailed some, the acquisition of Jose Reyes looms large in Houston's top of the order. Reyes should offset some of the power loss with his own power and speed. He will form a lethal DP combo with Tad Iguchi who is solid if not excellent in this set with a well balanced card. Pujols at first base and Indiana just may have the best infield in CBA. Solid up the middle of the diamond. Pujols will be an MVP candidate driving in many runs and a good shot at 1.300 tot. He will create tons of runs with these guys ahead of him. He will have protection with A Rod behind him. Jason Bay has a killer card. Alex Rodriguez likely team DH with the drop in glove skills, but Fidler acquired Mike Lowell a 1 rated 3B with good bat vs. Righties to bolster the bottom of the order. Two 2's and two 1's in the infield? A good bet for .750 X rating or better for this team.
The pitching however is a concern for this offensive laden team. With few * starters available in the draft or on the trade market, Indy will have to rely heavily on the pen aside from starter Oswalt and limited Kazmir, the other starters are decent but not top shelf. Fidler acquired lights out Cla Meredith and Bob Wickman along with a committee of lesser IP pitchers who will be platoon during the season. It remains to be seen how they will perform because they have a tough task ahead fending off the improved Superbas and Otters teams.
Ottawa is a bonified contender for the title. In fact Ottawa could win it all in 2007. Their starting pitching is as solid as Indiana's and they have impressive bullpen strength. Brandon Webb is a true ace pitcher and should contend for the Cy Young award. Lackey has a very nice card at number 2. Cook, Loaiza, and Armas are adequate for innings and some good games along the way. However they too are more likely to use their pen by committee to win ball games. Joe Borowski will close games with strong set up men in Brian Sweeney, Chad's Bradford and Gaudin. Eyre, Rivera, Downs , and Tavarez are better than average long men. Bout Ottawa is know for the "Daddy and the Impaler" than its pitching. We can expect another year of good numbers from those two. Depending who Jung's bats in front of them the potential for runs is as good as anyone in CBA. With top shelf offenses in Brooklyn and Indiana they must put runs on the board. They could get more than either rival if Mauer, and Reed Johnson set the table. The offensive production could reach 1000 runs scored.
Though Indy is the reigning champ, Brooklyn may have the total package after the acquisition of Pedro Feliciano and Dan Wheeler in two separate trades. The offense is stocked top to bottom with only Adam Everett not as a great a threat, though his 1 e8 at SS should compensate for that. Indiana and Brooklyn are each about at the same level, and any extra additions to any of the threes team could be a difference. Brooklyn may challenge Ottawa and Indiana for the Parker's top spot. Brooklyn has been looking to maintain a high performance level for a number of years. They have been a staple in the playoffs since 2003, and though knocked out in round 1 last year are only 2 championships removed from the 2004 winners. With more offense and better pitching, Brooklyn could be trouble for Clemente.
The lineup seems all star with a great blend of power, on base, speed, and defense. The defense defines Brooklyn as Ivan Rodriguez, Everett, Vernon Wells, newcomer Brandon Phillips, Drew, Helton, and Payton have superior ratings and e numbers. Phillips, Wells, Cabrera, and Gathright all steal bases, and IRod will surprise a few catchers. But the offense appears back. With Sosa on hiatus, Brooklyn compensated by acquiring Manny Ramirez for LF. Where Helton's power numbers have slipped, 2005 draftee Ryan Howard has exceeded expectations. Miguel Cabrera will challenge for the batting crown with great doubles and HR power. The middle of the order is possibly Brooklyn's finest ever. The end of the order isn't bad either, with JD Drew's card, Ivan Rodriguez variables and average, Phillips power and speed. Brooklyn could also break 1000 runs.
Cooperstown is a good team. A team with promise and some good talent right now. They play in Parker with Ottawa, Indiana, and Brooklyn which this year might not be such a good thing for them. With this years schedule seeing more action against Schmidt and the other divisions in Staub, it could help C’Town to achieve a better record than if they played more within the division.
Some may reason it could hinder them in an attempt to gain higher draft status, but all said C'Town could surprise more than a few.
Pitching is a plus for C'Town Iron Horses. Jeff Francis is another recipient of the Strat trend towards endowing Coors pitchers with better cards as the years go by. Coors pitchers were shunned and given horrid cards in years past but the past three seasons has seen good cards come out of the Rockies. Francis is one of two this year (Jennings) the other, who have better than average cards. V Padilla is solid with a decent card as is Chris Young who despite some power problems should still be an effective pitcher. El Duque should be better than adequate as a #4 or 5 starter, with the late and beloved Cory Lidle. Also on deck is Horatio Ramirez. This staff should improve year by year. In the pen, Jesse Crain, Francisco Cordero, and Justin Speier are among the better pens in Clemente. The question is whether this years offense can give the pitching the support it deserves. There is some excellent young talent here and C'Town should eventually become quite strong with Hermida, Markakis, Langerhaans, Ibanez, Matt Young, Zobrist, Castillo, and Peralta begin to live up to expectations. No longer is the Iron Horse team a pushover. They will win some big games. Perhaps a power hitter or two away from serious contention.
Bryan has fallen on hard times after their near playoff journey of 2005. The lovable Bashers are also a team seemingly on the upswing with the addition of some good new talent. The big arrival is Pat Burrell who is always good for some big power numbers and will set base in the middle of the Bashers lineup. A good season for Burrell in 07 MLB could time just right for the Bashers next season. What about this year? With the Parkers big three and CTown’s improvement the bashers will also be in the fight for perhaps the last playoff wildcard spot. The lineup is much improved. Paul LoDuca has a terrific offensive card, as does 2005 acquired Lyle Overbay. Overbay has one of the best lefty cards with a nice blend of defense, power and OBA. With Helton slipping in 07, Brooklyn could be regretting that trade soon enough. Another Brooklyn trade away, Ty Wigginton has a very good power card as well he can play INF and OF. Luke Scott will platoon and certainly help. Mike Lamb will hit for a high average (33 hits vs. R), and Brad Inge will add 35-30 HR power. Maybe a a sot at the wildcard? The bullpen is outstanding and aces Chris Carpenter and Kenny Rogers could each win 16-20. The Bashers could dive or could be a contender. Much depends on Light’s effective use of his players. This team with some MLB luck could be a hot team in 08. In 07, they will score some more runs to help Bryan win but patience is the key here as the talent is there but could really blossom next season. Cory Light’s chances are very good with Ellis returning, Hermanson, Millar, B Crosby, Cintron, Milton, and Gomes, all likely to exceed 2006 performance in MLB.
In Schmidt, It looks like an epic battle between Philly, Carolina, Stirling, and the Morrison stadium Lizard Kings and the Lake County Leopards. All 5 teams are in contention for the division. All have their strengths and weaknesses take your pick who wins this division. The Philly Phantastics. Rob Hite’s South Philly Wonder boys will be eating a lot of celebratory Pat’s and Geno’s wit and wit out this year. The top half of the lineup is going to puts lots of runs across. We may be able to expect a whopping 900-1000 runs season en toto. Jeter and Abreu will set the table with .400+ OBA’s and runner movement. Berman and C-Lee will drive home bunches. It’s possible Berkman could break 150 RBI’s. The end of the order has Rolen, Hawpe, Utley, and Thames. All have strong cards. The defense could be a weakness and the OF will allow lots of runners to move. The Philly pitching staff doesn’t have 4 time Cy Young award and future CBA HOFer Randy Johnson as it’s ace. That role will be shared amongst three starters. Bedard looks good as does Verlander. They are sure to allow as many HR as the team will probably hit.
The Lizard Kings are a team that depending on management and matchups could make allot of noise in the tough Schmidt division. This is one division team that has the starting pitching. The off season acquisition of Matt Cain was a huge plus as he moves to the front of a solid rotation. Freddie Garcia, Cliff Lee, Jeff Suppan round out the staff. Billy Wagner closes with Carrasco, Farnsworth, and Ruddy Lugo handle the middles. The offense is underrated. Another off season deal brought Matt Holliday who will likely bat third with Garciaparra, Adam LaRoche, Griffey, Paulino, Alou, Damon, Catalanotto, and Crede in the lineup. This team will score runs when needed. In fact they could have one of the best lineups in CBA top to bottom. The defense will be solid if not spectacular with two 1's and a 2. G'Parra "won't hoit ya bad wit da glove eeder". In fact the team's X rating should enhance the pitching some. Perhaps only Holliday's glove and Damon's arm will be liabilities for SW. Both have enough on their cards to offset that detraction.
It remains to be seen how the mix of players and styles blend in here. Manager Lindner has a tall task in front of him, but he has already begun to put together a well balanced team. Remember Lindner brought his teams in '97 and '98 to the playoffs in his stint in early CBA. No reason to think he won't be able to do it again. This is a team in a very tough division whose teams will batter each other liley to around a .500 margin. Its possible the SW pitching will set them just a bit above some of the pack. The offense will be solid, however, can they score enough even with the pitching to stop the powerful Schmidt. Much depends on Lindner, and the Lizard King.
Carolina is a team whose time may have come. Off to a fast start, the Copperheads will be in the press a lot this year. Scott Kenan’s team really took a major step in the off season with a strong draft and some strategic trading. Coming to Carolina was Ryan Zimmerman who will solidify the corners with Morneau on the other side of the diamond. Travis Hafner returns this year strong to be a 40+ HR DH threat. The lineup is very dangerous. A lot of runs will score for this team as well. The bottom half of the lineup drops off a bit. Pitching is the primary concern here as after the limited Anibal Sanchez, hard lefty Scott Olsen, and the mortal Johan Santana the pitching is average at best. Westbrook will lose more than a few. The bullpen is a possible weakness.
Stirling missed out on the playoffs by a game or two. The Redsox last week rally caught everyone off guard. Stirling had a strange year in ’06. They seemingly traded to build for the future when their mid season record was poor. They picked up some picks, and Jason Kendall in the Varitek to LP deal. It was Kendall who turned out to play better than expected. In fact Kendall had a comeback year in MLB which made him perhaps more valuable for ’07 than either GM would have thought. With Johima likely to snare much of the playing time, Kendall will be a PH off the bench. The lineup is improved in ’07 Crawford, O Cabrera, Konerko, Andreuuuw, Swisher, Byrnes, and Joje will be solid through and through. The averages may be a little lower, but the run production will be strong. Schmidt could be the most powerful of the 4 divisions! Stirling has a young staff headed by Bronson Arroyo. Pitching starters are thin with the rest of the crew high ERA type cards. The pen is quite strong with the addition of Broxton joining C Cordero. Expect a lot of work from the pen. Stirling is a team whose best days seem ahead of them. Lots of hopeful young pitchers and likely return to form vets who could mean the Redsox will be tremendous in 08 and beyond.
Lake County has the pitching. Perhaps the strongest rotation in CBA. But the offense will be a struggle. They traded Manny Ramirez to acquire Penny. He joins tom Glavine, Jav Vasquez, Derek Lowe, and Josh Beckett. The pen has Papelbon, Howry, Otsuka, and enough to make LLS a favorite in the late innings of tied games. But can the offense out hit their other divisional rivals? The pitching will likely do well against Staub, but Parker teams and Schmidt teams may give the Leopards all they can handle because their isn’t enough offensive variable to drive in enough runs to outscore the big offenses. The middle of the lineup has Frank Thomas, and Carlos Delgado. L Castillo and Jimmy Rollins will set the table.
The Staub Conference is known for the smaller offenses, but is more well known as a pitching league. Carter’s Skokie looks like a repeat playoff type team. Wolfman Shapiro has had another busy off season retooling the Wolfmen and painstakingly building another playoff contender. Like a Phoenix from the ashes, the Wolfman knows trading, and talent too. Secured for the a lineup that needed some pop after last years playoff 7 game defeat, Skokie procured barry Bonds and his high OBA bat for LF. It remains to be seen if the Bonds card can offset the 5 rating and +3 arm in a key spot in LF. Chipper Jones was a strong pick up at 3B but will need to be platooned with limited appearances. Edmonds has tailed a bit but gives good glove in CF. Mike Piazza will handle the catching duties. Can the arm’s in LF and behind the dish have limiting effect on the Skokie winning percentage? It will be a good test of the Strat theories. Perhaps Skokie can answer the well worn Strat debate as to how the defense: X ratings, arms, etc are more necessary for wins than the good old fashion On base plus slugging theory.
Allentown and Maine are improved. In fact they could surprise quite a few CBA Gm’s with wins. Allentown has nicely balanced team. Russ Martin and Hanley Ramirez were huge additions with excellent variables to bring to the table. Ramirez has pop and speed, while Martin has one of the best catchers cards in the set. He will limited baserunning with his -2 arm. The bullpen is strong if the starters run into trouble. Maine some good offense. Adding Uggla, and Francouer should help not just now but into the future. The combo of J Giambi, Cory Koskie, Karlyle Greene and Uggla could be among CBA’s best infields. Catching is a plus with Eliezer Alfonzo and Geoff Zaun. A developing pitching staff could center around Lowry and C Wang, but more is needed there if they want to compete seriously.
Kennesaw appears to be rebuild a bit and has a nice core of young talent blending in with the aging veterans from Neah Bay’s halcyon days. They will score some runs near the top of the order with Furcal, Cameron, McCann, and Giles. Not a lot of power which is typical of this franchise but some decent on base. The pitching has atken a step back but there’s enough in the pen and in the rotation there to win. Smoltz, Sheets, and Harang should win more than a few, but the rest of the starters are shaky at best.
The Staub will be interesting. Longue Pointe had an interesting draft choosing to focus on the solidifying the bench for the long run, adding pieces for platoons and reserves. They were able to add a few good prospects along the way. Craig Monroe takes over in LF while Matsui will hit off the bench. Jose Vidro coming in a trade takes over 2nd base, and the addition of Aramis Ramirez to hit in front of Richie Sexson will be huge for LP who keeps their strong pitching intact. Expect prospects Jeremy Sowers and Jimmy Gobble to contribute some, and Carlos Zambrano to win around 20. The pen wont be as strong as last years, but is fairly decent as is. Staub Rolaids candidate Todd Jones will close again.
Limoilou will be very tough in ’07. The lineup is outstanding. Once again Jeff Boutet showed why he was a 3 time championship GM. Boutet had the foresight to get Carlos Beltran who rebounded into what could be an MVP candidate for this year. Kenny Lofton and his speed and bat are now aboard, along with the under rated Matt Murton. Troy Glaus will hit plenty of HR, and Curtis Granderson will be a pleasant surprise with a good offensive card. The pitching is strong even after the trade of Hudson, but Hudson card was not the same as in the past seasons and appeared on the decline. Schmidt should be the ace again, and Saito will liley close, lights out. Schilling.
SD Surf will be very tough in ’07. They could win not only Dawson, but CBA as well. They are stacked top to bottom in the lineup. The pitching is very solid throughout the rotation. The addition of Ervin Santana could be the missing key. With the pitching as is, SD offensive run support should be plenty enough to give the staff many leads. Bush, Peavy, Santana, King Felix, Haren, Meche, there isn’t much need for a bullpen. The lineup and defense are well balanced. David Wright, Vic Martinez, Cano, Cuddyer, Dye, Renteria, Nick Johnson, Youkiklis…No weaknesses. Could this be the team for CBA to beat? It remains to see how Joe Wallace manages this team, because they could go all the way, on paper that is.
Joliet will have to manage well to contend. Its hard to see them beating SD, but a wildcard isn’t out of the question. Joliet has also added some pitchin’ and has a few good starters and spot starters that can give anyone trouble. Jered Weaver, Burnett, Chuckt James, John Maine, John Lieber are solid. JJ Putz will dominate in the pen. Much improved. The lineup is better too. Soriano keys the attack which features speed. JJD led CBA with 314 steals a record in ’06. This year 200+ is likely too. A solid lineup with no other real superstars, but nice offensive cards. Pierre, Ordonez, Tracy, and some others. Nothing to fear but they should score a few. Without last years MVP Derek Lee Joliet must still be looking to replace that big power bat.
CBA expects a few more dogfights this year. It’s important we all do our best to maintain a high level of competive spirit to be fair for all our great GM’s. Every game counts as we have seen the past three seasons which have gone to the wire. 2007 should be just as great if not better.
Big series this week. The feature series pit Carolina vs the onrushing
Philly Phantastics. Every game
Philly wins pulls them closer to the division leader and fends off the
tough Bryan Bashers who are 3 off
the wildcard pace. Philly is making a rush for the ages this year while
trying to hang on to a slim 3 game
lead over Bryan in the Clemente wildcard race. In fact Philly is now a
manageable 5 games behind the
season long fron runner who this series was played. Both teams battled
with Philly taking game 1, 8-5.
Utley knocked in 4 runs, as Velander improved his record to 11-5. Carolina
struck back in game 2 with a
hard fought 3-2 win. All the runs were scored early then the pitching took
over as Anibal Sanchez,
Brandon League, and Huston Street held off the Phantastics. In game 3,
cole Hamels won with a save from
Mike Gonzalez, his 16th. Carlos Lee hit his 36th, then Scott Rolen his
27th to provide a 4-2 win and
inch them closer to Carolina. Bryan bestwed the Superbas for the first
time this year just at the right
time, taking 2 of 3 from the Brooklyn squad. The Superbas won behind
Halladay's 16th win, and HR's by
Ramirez (38th), Wells 31st, and Juan Rivera's 11th.
Dawson has another 3 way dance, just as you were about to write off the
Loggers, here they come now only
3 games back of Limoilou who holds the 31 spot. Longue Pointe's bench had
a great week as Jason Repko,
Ichiro, and Ryan Theriot proved to be stars. Theriot actually hit an
inside the park HR. Longue POinte is
led by Aramis Ramirez acquired in 2007 and now has 32 HR's. Ramirez bat is
carrying the team along with
Carlos Zambrano who actually got a HAL induced save this week in a 14
inning epic against Ottawa.
That game saw come backs from both team a couple of times before LP pulled
it out. Meanwhile SD had taken
2 from the Superbas with some good pitching from Peavy who went all the
way in a 12 K win. David Wright
had some more key hits in his MVP type season for San Diego. The Surf are
just a 1/2 game off the Dawson
lead. Wright's BA is up to .349. Miguel Cabrera of Brooklyn leads CBA at
.404.
Skokie's magic number is down to 4. They can clinch this week. It would be
GM Josh Wolfman Shapiro's 3rd concecutive
entrance to CBA's playoff's first as Montreal Royals then after as the
Skokie Wolfmen. Longue POinte has
made the playoffs each of the last 4 years. Limoilou will no doubt make
the playoffs afetr finishing last place in 2006.
A huge win differential for former manager of the year Jeff Boutet.
Boutet's resurgence and playoff
entry serves agian notice how CBA's most successful GM is a force to be
reckoned with at all times. Limoilou last won
a championship in 2003 defeating the Brooklyn Superbas 4 games to 1
August 26th 2007
Block
21 results are in. Great wild card races are shaping up. Dawson has
Limoilou and SD battling it out. Currently the perrenial powerhouse
Limoilou Wendigo managed by original CBA member and future Hall of Famer
Jeff Boutet and they are in first place by a game and a half over San
Diego. The playoff bound Surf managed by veteran CBA GM Joe Wallace will
be looking towards perhaps their first ever playoff appearnace since their
incarnation in 2002. Limoilou arguably CBA's most successful franchise is
no stranger to playoff action in CBA harkening back to the halcyon days of
1997 when playoff series were played via ICQ and IRC chat room. With
NetPlay playoffs mandatory for all in CBA 2007, Jeff Boutet is no doubt
looking forward to some sweet revenge as he has exited from the playoffs
last in 2005 at the hands of division rival Longue Pointe Loggers and
Dennis C. It was that classic series which was decided by basically a lone
OF error on Jason Michaels and a key HR by Ichiro which decided the Staub
crown. Limoilou loks to have quite a good chance this year as the pesky
Loggers sit 6 games back but in position for a possible wildcard. This
rivalry goes back 10 full years when the beloved Claude LaMarre ran CBA
and GM'ed the Longue Pointe Hitmen as they were known. Jeff's brother
also a HOF'er Chris Boutet ran the now defunct Quebec Capitales in
Dawson. You can check the archives and logos pages for more on that
historical and excellent team. Vets may even recall that in that 1st
season Brooklyn was a Dawson team (BSD) before moving across the leagues
to the present Parker division in a realignment. With Dawson rivalries
producing some unbelievable playoff series and recent years 1 game
playoffs, the San Diego Surf is right in the middle of what could be
history. They must contend with Limoilou's Staub leading power team.
Limmer's Thome has a .302 BA, 38 more HR this season, and 84 RBI, while
MVP candidate Carlos Beltran Acquired in a down year from Skokie has 47
HR, 117 RBI, and a .275 BA with flawless defense and X rating numbers.
Some scoffed at the acquistion of CBA veteran, future HOF,and premier base
stealer James Lofton's pre-season acquistion as selling future for now,
but all Lofton has done is be a quintessential leadoff force with 41 SB
and a .315 BA. Bill Hlal's 27, 90, .266 and Try Glaus 36 HR's make this a
very potent lineup that SD top rated staff will need to handle as well as
they did in action this week. Joe Wallace's Surfer dudes took 2 of 3
block 21 with some good pitching from Dan Haren 11-6 4.03, and Jake Peavy
10-6, last years perfect season man and Cy Young winner. David Wright has
carried SD offense with 20 HR and a .350 batting average. 3 starters and
1 platooner are batting .350+ for SD. Victory Martinez 10 76 .365, R Cano
14 45 .360, Chris Duncan .350, and Wright. Dye and Cuddyer have been very
solid with 19 HR and BA in the high .280's all season. A .293 team
batting average is now 2nd in CBA behind Brooklyn's .310 team numbers.
In Carter the Skokie Wolfmen finally faced Clemnete powerhouse Brooklyn in
a series which Brooklyn swept in 3. The games 1,2 were tighter than the
finals but in the end the BSP offense and bench proved too powerful for
the Wolmen's respected bullpen to contain. Miguel Cabrera continued huis
MVP quest and .410 BA pace with another big series getting 8 hits and 8
RBI's, and Manny Ramirez drove in key runs and reached base time after
time. Wells came up big at the plate and all around its tough to stop the
Superbas in 2007 who appear to have their strongest team since their only
championship in CBA back in 2004. BSP may win more that that team and set
some team records along the way. The Brooklyn team ERA at 4.41 is almost
a full run better that previous years perhaps due to the power decrease in
Coors numbers. The Superbas despite the gaudy numbers are fallible as
proved by arch rival Indiana Redbirds this week as well. Indy showed
Brooklyn how its done cutting the BSP lead back down to 7 games with a
rare sweep. Indiana power and 2 out rallies doomed Brooklyn as Alex
rodriguez, Pujols, Oswalt, and Jeff Conine who had a GSHR and 5 RBI in
game 3. Game 2 saw a 12-11 Indy win which was a thrilling game to
spectate as it ran by on quick spectator. Back and forth with Indy taking
an early lead on Conine's Granny, only to have a characteristic BSP rally
cut into the lead. In the end Indy had won and served notice that they
are just as strong a force and ready for a playoff series which they just
may get later on. Against Joliet, Indiana shut 'em out twice behind
Tankersley and Jarrod Washburn.
Carolina's rise in Schmidt has been well documented this season, but look
at the surprising Bryan Bashers. Not expected by some to win, expected by
others the Bashers have been a team red hot in the second half. Relying
on a platoon system of role players and some solid starting pitching the
Bashers offense has been productive. 7 players over double digit HR's, a
.271 BA and terrific bench, the Bashers have taken a page from Longue
Pointe with their bench depth. Luke Scott.345, Julio Cruz, .326, Dioner
Navarro .322, Ty Wigginton 20 HR, Brandon Inge 30 HR have all been great,
and Pat the Bat Burrell a key offensive ingredient with his 26 HR. This
week Bryan swept rival Ottawa and is in possession of a wildcard seed if
they can hold off Philly and perhaps Southwest.
This week saw a flurry of infractional warnings and issues. A strong
reminder to GM's to review usage and the Excel sheets carefully in
preparations. There is no leniency or amnesty so careful goes it. Even
commish is not immune picking up an infraction for inadvertently
scheduling Edwin Jackson a start when below minimum requirements for MLB
inn. Skokie had the same for his use of John Patterson. Pitchers must
have 45 inn MLB to be eligible to start. Joliet will not receive and
infraction for Benoit's overuse which was result of league error, however
Southwest will for over using Carrasco in block 18. Bryan and Limoilou
will not be assesed infractions for overuse in block 20 of last week since
the league feels responsibile for not communicating properly intention to
play 2 blocks that from vavcation break. CBA apologizes for any strategic
anomalies that it may have presented GM's by not making that issue clear
enough. We will likely play a double week to catch up on the schedule
block 23-24 however. Be forewarned. Good luck to all teams as the races
are not decided and are going down to the wire.
Midseason Report June 29th, 2007
CBA enters the 15th Block. The season well underway and the races defining. We can see who are the contenders and who may look ahead. Clemente Conference's big picture has Carolina and Brooklyn looking great while leading Schmidt and Parker. Indiana and Bryan hold wildcard possibilties with Philly and Lake County within striking distance. One or two good blocks could put Southwest back in the mix as well. Clemente is the home of great offense and the DH. 8 of the top 12 batting leaders for average is Clemente. 12 of the top 15 HR leaders are Clemente. Pujols alone has 47 HR and 93 RBI's. He's batting .343 and is a legitimate triple crown threat as the season levels off. He may set some CBA records for power production along the way. it will be fun watching Indiana this year with Alex Rodriguez, Pujols, Reyes, Bay, and Sizemore bunching runs. Indiana is 6 games behind surging Brooklyn.
Brooklyn is hitting .312 as a team with 136 HR in 84 games abdout half a season. Howard is on the rise after a slow start and the lineup built over many years is stacked. 1998 1st round pick Todd Helton is hitting .355 in the 2 hole, with both Gathright and Brandon Phillips stealing a ton at leadoff. Miguel Cabrera has been sensational in '07 with 20 HR 75 and a .405 BA. Manny Ramirez is red hot with 26 73 .336. Wells has 21 63 .287 with 17 SB. The offense and defense superb(a) but the starting pitching is pretty good. Having Coors doesn't help that department much. The pen is decent with Mariano, Wheeler, and Feliciano in the set up roles, but not much else. Brooklyn could be heading for the best season since 2003.
Bryan is a terrific story thus far in 2007. Some saw .500, others below, I thought maybe a shot at a wild card and thats exactly what is happening. Bryan is using a diverse platoon of good cards and role players to combine as one playoff potential team. The starting pitching is much improved over 2006 with Rogers and Carpenter starting to produce low run games. Nate Robertson has emerged as the #3 starter with 8 wins and other pitchers like Eric Milton recently acquired Joe Blanton have added wins along the way and important innings. The Bashers got a boost as Pat Burrell has started hitting HR's(17), and Brad Inge has been of fire raising his average to .300 with 18 HR and 49 key RBI's. Ty Wigginton has been a great 10th man so far and with such depth on the bench, Bryan could be in this race for the long haul. They must stay above Philly and the surprisingly tough Lake County Leopards.
Philly is at .500. The story is pitching or the lack of it. Randy Johnson is a legit Ronson Candidate. The staff has fallen on hard times while the offense meanwhile continues to flourish. A .293 BA and 5 hitters with double digit HR's can keep Philly in any game. Utley (15 49 .312) is having a good year even if Derek Jeter (8 34 .280) by his own standards is not. Berkman 25 54 .300 is doing damage, as is Carlos Lee (19 49 .278). No one stands out in the pen or rotation. Perhaps with better twirling the Phantastics would rise a few games into wildcard status.
Lake County is being carried by some decent pitching, nothing beyond average. Glavine, Papelbon, Vasquez, Matt Thornton have led the way with solid performances. Not spectacular but tsolid. But the rest is non-descript. Opponents have hit .272 which isn't great. The pitchers dont walk too many only 3 a game. Inherited runners score 33% of the time. Not too good. The offense .257 BA, has little firepower. .333 OBA as a team, 5.10 runs a game, .447 slg, ho-hum. Why then is Lake in the wild card race? Only 1 reason...Carlos Delgado (32 HR, 79 RBI, .285) . Pujols may have the numbers but he has great performers around him. Delgado is doing it in the clutch with only Frank Thomas' 19 HR's a threat around him. Curiously he may be a better MVP candidate since he does so much for his team.
The Staub Conference has the same story in Dawson again. Another 3 way dance. Maybe even a 4th customer if Joliet continues to improve. Longue Pointe has led it last year but this year the Limmer-Lou Wendigo are back in the first place saddle again. Moving out a game and half over San Diego and 3 and a half over Longue Tongue has gotten the fans in QWuebec all excited. No doubt Jeff Boutet and Dennis Concepcions rivalry dating back to the 2005 Staub Championship 7 game LP win is renewed in its entirety in 2007. Who could forget the Michaels error that cost the Championship. The Wendigo are primed and ready with a blistering offense which could be Staub's best (Skokie may disagree) Boutet sends up 4 20 HR men each game. Beltran an MVP candidiate(32 84 .289), Thome with 24 taters, off season acquistion the catalyst Kenny Lofton (26SB .299) CBA's all time SB leader and a former 1997 first round pick of the Philly Phantastics.Glaus has 28 HR's. The Wendigo score 6.19 runs per game and allow only 4.32 runs. They produce .843 clip and slug about .492 Impressive power numbers. Perhaps only some more defense and relief could make this team the class of Staub.
San Diego is playing up to their billing as a top Staub team. Looking towards their first ever franchise playoff, SD must beat out eith LP or Limmer like to earn a spot. Similar to Belfast the past 3 years. They hit for average .298 but can't hit with too much power. only 89 HR in comparison Limmer has 133. San Diego has good pitching. 3rd in CBA for ERA, the Surf has King Felix at 9-3 and Meche at 8-3. Haren and Peavy both add 7 wins. Frank Rod has 13 sv. David Wright is carrying SD in all areas (16 61 .363 12sb) and Cano is hitting .337. SD with some good matchups and series wins will be a factor all season. A move any direction could mean the entire Dawson race.
LP has been consistant much of the year. They recently won 9 games in row and dropped 7 for their only streak. LP is led by Cy Young candidate Carlos Zambrano has 10 wins no losses. Maddux (7-4 4.11) has done well too. The bullpen has done well by committee with 8 players gaining saves. They have allowed only 20% of inherited runners to score a great number. The bullpen is a signature of the Loggers. Offensively its Ichiro, Aramis, and now Richie Sexson who has come alive. Varitek and Hunter are below the Mendoza line still and the .769 X rating has been great. A 4.12 team ERA is good enough to win, but can they sustain SD and Limoilou? Perhaps as always the key with LP is their depth of bench. Lets see how this winds up in August.
Skokie is the team in Carter. Doesn't look like anyone will constest him there as Allentown has faded and Kennesaw has been inexplicably below par. Skokie ahs their best offense since its Montreal days with their many new additions for '07. The addition of Mike Piazza (19 61 .326) has greatly helped the offense though his glove and arm haven't. Gary Matthews Jr (13 55 .329) has been superb. Chipper (19 42 .289), Bonds (17 56 .291), and Edmonds (15 44 .272) have been very dangerous all year and are a playoff threat to any team in CBA. Jose Valentin (16 38 .304) was a find. The pitching not too bad. Joe Nathan (13sv 1.36ERA) is lights out at closer. There is enough to get by but with pitching scarce Skokie has been shopping for more. Don't expect the Wolfman to stand still he is always on the prowl and rumour has it a few deals waiting to happen!
Looking around CBA this week we are starting to get a feel for how our teams are performing. With the first weeks of the season a time of sdjustment and testing, GM's are trying to optimize their lineups and talent for maximum performance. Expected, few teams have started off slowly and some hot. Too early to tell, but we may begin to see who will be the contenders this year.
(This is the actual transcript of the live chat room draft held February 18th, 2007, edited
for punctuation and Team ID's. Kudos to our 2 new GM's Blake (K-Mt.) and Eric (SW)
for injecting the proceedings with this jolt of humor. We pick it up at Round 1, Pick #18
by Allentown... )
2007 CBA season preview by Marc Wass
As years go by the memories of big games and series can be reflected on. CBA's history show that no team has repeated in consecutive years winning a championship. It's difficult enough to get in, and win Net Play series. Last year champion Indiana has a chance to repeat. 2005's Longue Pointe winner was able to make it into Staub Finals losing to Neah (Kennesaw). The closest to repeat was In 2004 Brooklyn when won their only championship, after losing in 2003 World Series to 3 time winner Limoilou.
.The 2007 promises to be a great one. Can Indy repeat? We have added two great new GM's James Blakeley and the returning Eric Lindner to the mix. I am very happy to have both aboard and each has been an asset from the get go. With last years new GM's blending in so well, I can only feel confident that CBA will see more competition and more highlights. Winning Strat-Ball, and sportsmanship are the standards and mean everything in CBA. We will see plenty of both if the off season was any indication. With a flurry of trades and draft maneuvers the guard could be changing as there will be more parity in CBA, and some long building teams finally emerging. Lets take a short look at what perhaps could take place in CBA 2007.
This years cards seem to have less of the excellent pitching cards. Fewer than usual well balanced starters. Fewer starters with 2 or less diamonds and 20 and 30 TB or below. Even the aces seem to have unbalance and power problems. But their are allot of set up relievers as the MLB trend seems to dictate. It seems many more guys in the 20 hit 25 oba 35 TB range than usual.
The Parker race may be the best that division has seen in many seasons. Two reasons are three powerful teams that return with an eye towards the division crown.
It's hard not to start with Indiana Redbirds and GM Bob Fidler. Fidler inherited a promising team but really put his own touch on this team with his many player and draft movements. Fidler earned his championship with excellent CM and roster management in 2006 and we can expect more of the same this season. With some players not approaching 2006 season card status, Fidlers other players will step it up plus some. Where ARod tailed some, the acquisition of Jose Reyes looms large in Houston's top of the order. Reyes should offset some of the power loss with his own power and speed. He will form a lethal DP combo with Tad Iguchi who is solid if not excellent in this set with a well balanced card. Pujols at first base and Indiana just may have the best infield in CBA. Solid up the middle of the diamond. Pujols will be an MVP candidate driving in many runs and a good shot at 1.300 tot. He will create tons of runs with these guys ahead of him. He will have protection with A Rod behind him. Jason Bay has a killer card. Alex Rodriguez likely team DH with the drop in glove skills, but Fidler acquired Mike Lowell a 1 rated 3B with good bat vs. Righties to bolster the bottom of the order. Two 2's and two 1's in the infield? A good bet for .750 X rating or better for this team.
The pitching however is a concern for this offensive laden team. With few * starters available in the draft or on the trade market, Indy will have to rely heavily on the pen aside from starter Oswalt and limited Kazmir, the other starters are decent but not top shelf. Fidler acquired lights out Cla Meredith and Bob Wickman along with a committee of lesser IP pitchers who will be platoon during the season. It remains to be seen how they will perform because they have a tough task ahead fending off the improved Superbas and Otters teams.
Ottawa is a bonified contender for the title. In fact Ottawa could win it all in 2007. Their starting pitching is as solid as Indiana's and they have impressive bullpen strength. Brandon Webb is a true ace pitcher and should contend for the Cy Young award. Lackey has a very nice card at number 2. Cook, Loaiza, and Armas are adequate for innings and some good games along the way. However they too are more likely to use their pen by committee to win ball games. Joe Borowski will close games with strong set up men in Brian Sweeney, Chad's Bradford and Gaudin. Eyre, Rivera, Downs , and Tavarez are better than average long men. Bout Ottawa is know for the "Daddy and the Impaler" than its pitching. We can expect another year of good numbers from those two. Depending who Jung's bats in front of them the potential for runs is as good as anyone in CBA. With top shelf offenses in Brooklyn and Indiana they must put runs on the board. They could get more than either rival if Mauer, and Reed Johnson set the table. The offensive production could reach 1000 runs scored.
Though Indy is the reigning champ, Brooklyn may have the total package after the acquisition of Pedro Feliciano and Dan Wheeler in two separate trades. The offense is stocked top to bottom with only Adam Everett not as a great a threat, though his 1 e8 at SS should compensate for that. Indiana and Brooklyn are each about at the same level, and any extra additions to any of the threes team could be a difference. Brooklyn may challenge Ottawa and Indiana for the Parker's top spot. Brooklyn has been looking to maintain a high performance level for a number of years. They have been a staple in the playoffs since 2003, and though knocked out in round 1 last year are only 2 championships removed from the 2004 winners. With more offense and better pitching, Brooklyn could be trouble for Clemente.
The lineup seems all star with a great blend of power, on base, speed, and defense. The defense defines Brooklyn as Ivan Rodriguez, Everett, Vernon Wells, newcomer Brandon Phillips, Drew, Helton, and Payton have superior ratings and e numbers. Phillips, Wells, Cabrera, and Gathright all steal bases, and IRod will surprise a few catchers. But the offense appears back. With Sosa on hiatus, Brooklyn compensated by acquiring Manny Ramirez for LF. Where Helton's power numbers have slipped, 2005 draftee Ryan Howard has exceeded expectations. Miguel Cabrera will challenge for the batting crown with great doubles and HR power. The middle of the order is possibly Brooklyn's finest ever. The end of the order isn't bad either, with JD Drew's card, Ivan Rodriguez variables and average, Phillips power and speed. Brooklyn could also break 1000 runs.
Cooperstown is a good team. A team with promise and some good talent right now. They play in Parker with Ottawa, Indiana, and Brooklyn which this year might not be such a good thing for them. With this years schedule seeing more action against Schmidt and the other divisions in Staub, it could help C’Town to achieve a better record than if they played more within the division.
Some may reason it could hinder them in an attempt to gain higher draft status, but all said C'Town could surprise more than a few.
Pitching is a plus for C'Town Iron Horses. Jeff Francis is another recipient of the Strat trend towards endowing Coors pitchers with better cards as the years go by. Coors pitchers were shunned and given horrid cards in years past but the past three seasons has seen good cards come out of the Rockies. Francis is one of two this year (Jennings) the other, who have better than average cards. V Padilla is solid with a decent card as is Chris Young who despite some power problems should still be an effective pitcher. El Duque should be better than adequate as a #4 or 5 starter, with the late and beloved Cory Lidle. Also on deck is Horatio Ramirez. This staff should improve year by year. In the pen, Jesse Crain, Francisco Cordero, and Justin Speier are among the better pens in Clemente. The question is whether this years offense can give the pitching the support it deserves. There is some excellent young talent here and C'Town should eventually become quite strong with Hermida, Markakis, Langerhaans, Ibanez, Matt Young, Zobrist, Castillo, and Peralta begin to live up to expectations. No longer is the Iron Horse team a pushover. They will win some big games. Perhaps a power hitter or two away from serious contention.
Bryan has fallen on hard times after their near playoff journey of 2005. The lovable Bashers are also a team seemingly on the upswing with the addition of some good new talent. The big arrival is Pat Burrell who is always good for some big power numbers and will set base in the middle of the Bashers lineup. A good season for Burrell in 07 MLB could time just right for the Bashers next season. What about this year? With the Parkers big three and CTown’s improvement the bashers will also be in the fight for perhaps the last playoff wildcard spot. The lineup is much improved. Paul LoDuca has a terrific offensive card, as does 2005 acquired Lyle Overbay. Overbay has one of the best lefty cards with a nice blend of defense, power and OBA. With Helton slipping in 07, Brooklyn could be regretting that trade soon enough. Another Brooklyn trade away, Ty Wigginton has a very good power card as well he can play INF and OF. Luke Scott will platoon and certainly help. Mike Lamb will hit for a high average (33 hits vs. R), and Brad Inge will add 35-30 HR power. Maybe a a sot at the wildcard? The bullpen is outstanding and aces Chris Carpenter and Kenny Rogers could each win 16-20. The Bashers could dive or could be a contender. Much depends on Light’s effective use of his players. This team with some MLB luck could be a hot team in 08. In 07, they will score some more runs to help Bryan win but patience is the key here as the talent is there but could really blossom next season. Cory Light’s chances are very good with Ellis returning, Hermanson, Millar, B Crosby, Cintron, Milton, and Gomes, all likely to exceed 2006 performance in MLB.
In Schmidt, It looks like an epic battle between Philly, Carolina, Stirling, and the Morrison stadium Lizard Kings and the Lake County Leopards. All 5 teams are in contention for the division. All have their strengths and weaknesses take your pick who wins this division. The Philly Phantastics. Rob Hite’s South Philly Wonder boys will be eating a lot of celebratory Pat’s and Geno’s wit and wit out this year. The top half of the lineup is going to puts lots of runs across. We may be able to expect a whopping 900-1000 runs season en toto. Jeter and Abreu will set the table with .400+ OBA’s and runner movement. Berman and C-Lee will drive home bunches. It’s possible Berkman could break 150 RBI’s. The end of the order has Rolen, Hawpe, Utley, and Thames. All have strong cards. The defense could be a weakness and the OF will allow lots of runners to move. The Philly pitching staff doesn’t have 4 time Cy Young award and future CBA HOFer Randy Johnson as it’s ace. That role will be shared amongst three starters. Bedard looks good as does Verlander. They are sure to allow as many HR as the team will probably hit.
The Lizard Kings are a team that depending on management and matchups could make allot of noise in the tough Schmidt division. This is one division team that has the starting pitching. The off season acquisition of Matt Cain was a huge plus as he moves to the front of a solid rotation. Freddie Garcia, Cliff Lee, Jeff Suppan round out the staff. Billy Wagner closes with Carrasco, Farnsworth, and Ruddy Lugo handle the middles. The offense is underrated. Another off season deal brought Matt Holliday who will likely bat third with Garciaparra, Adam LaRoche, Griffey, Paulino, Alou, Damon, Catalanotto, and Crede in the lineup. This team will score runs when needed. In fact they could have one of the best lineups in CBA top to bottom. The defense will be solid if not spectacular with two 1's and a 2. G'Parra "won't hoit ya bad wit da glove eeder". In fact the team's X rating should enhance the pitching some. Perhaps only Holliday's glove and Damon's arm will be liabilities for SW. Both have enough on their cards to offset that detraction.
It remains to be seen how the mix of players and styles blend in here. Manager Lindner has a tall task in front of him, but he has already begun to put together a well balanced team. Remember Lindner brought his teams in '97 and '98 to the playoffs in his stint in early CBA. No reason to think he won't be able to do it again. This is a team in a very tough division whose teams will batter each other liley to around a .500 margin. Its possible the SW pitching will set them just a bit above some of the pack. The offense will be solid, however, can they score enough even with the pitching to stop the powerful Schmidt. Much depends on Lindner, and the Lizard King.
Carolina is a team whose time may have come. Off to a fast start, the Copperheads will be in the press a lot this year. Scott Kenan’s team really took a major step in the off season with a strong draft and some strategic trading. Coming to Carolina was Ryan Zimmerman who will solidify the corners with Morneau on the other side of the diamond. Travis Hafner returns this year strong to be a 40+ HR DH threat. The lineup is very dangerous. A lot of runs will score for this team as well. The bottom half of the lineup drops off a bit. Pitching is the primary concern here as after the limited Anibal Sanchez, hard lefty Scott Olsen, and the mortal Johan Santana the pitching is average at best. Westbrook will lose more than a few. The bullpen is a possible weakness.
Stirling missed out on the playoffs by a game or two. The Redsox last week rally caught everyone off guard. Stirling had a strange year in ’06. They seemingly traded to build for the future when their mid season record was poor. They picked up some picks, and Jason Kendall in the Varitek to LP deal. It was Kendall who turned out to play better than expected. In fact Kendall had a comeback year in MLB which made him perhaps more valuable for ’07 than either GM would have thought. With Johima likely to snare much of the playing time, Kendall will be a PH off the bench. The lineup is improved in ’07 Crawford, O Cabrera, Konerko, Andreuuuw, Swisher, Byrnes, and Joje will be solid through and through. The averages may be a little lower, but the run production will be strong. Schmidt could be the most powerful of the 4 divisions! Stirling has a young staff headed by Bronson Arroyo. Pitching starters are thin with the rest of the crew high ERA type cards. The pen is quite strong with the addition of Broxton joining C Cordero. Expect a lot of work from the pen. Stirling is a team whose best days seem ahead of them. Lots of hopeful young pitchers and likely return to form vets who could mean the Redsox will be tremendous in 08 and beyond.
Lake County has the pitching. Perhaps the strongest rotation in CBA. But the offense will be a struggle. They traded Manny Ramirez to acquire Penny. He joins tom Glavine, Jav Vasquez, Derek Lowe, and Josh Beckett. The pen has Papelbon, Howry, Otsuka, and enough to make LLS a favorite in the late innings of tied games. But can the offense out hit their other divisional rivals? The pitching will likely do well against Staub, but Parker teams and Schmidt teams may give the Leopards all they can handle because their isn’t enough offensive variable to drive in enough runs to outscore the big offenses. The middle of the lineup has Frank Thomas, and Carlos Delgado. L Castillo and Jimmy Rollins will set the table.
The Staub Conference is known for the smaller offenses, but is more well known as a pitching league. Carter’s Skokie looks like a repeat playoff type team. Wolfman Shapiro has had another busy off season retooling the Wolfmen and painstakingly building another playoff contender. Like a Phoenix from the ashes, the Wolfman knows trading, and talent too. Secured for the a lineup that needed some pop after last years playoff 7 game defeat, Skokie procured barry Bonds and his high OBA bat for LF. It remains to be seen if the Bonds card can offset the 5 rating and +3 arm in a key spot in LF. Chipper Jones was a strong pick up at 3B but will need to be platooned with limited appearances. Edmonds has tailed a bit but gives good glove in CF. Mike Piazza will handle the catching duties. Can the arm’s in LF and behind the dish have limiting effect on the Skokie winning percentage? It will be a good test of the Strat theories. Perhaps Skokie can answer the well worn Strat debate as to how the defense: X ratings, arms, etc are more necessary for wins than the good old fashion On base plus slugging theory.
Allentown and Maine are improved. In fact they could surprise quite a few CBA Gm’s with wins. Allentown has nicely balanced team. Russ Martin and Hanley Ramirez were huge additions with excellent variables to bring to the table. Ramirez has pop and speed, while Martin has one of the best catchers cards in the set. He will limited baserunning with his -2 arm. The bullpen is strong if the starters run into trouble. Maine some good offense. Adding Uggla, and Francouer should help not just now but into the future. The combo of J Giambi, Cory Koskie, Karlyle Greene and Uggla could be among CBA’s best infields. Catching is a plus with Eliezer Alfonzo and Geoff Zaun. A developing pitching staff could center around Lowry and C Wang, but more is needed there if they want to compete seriously.
Kennesaw appears to be rebuild a bit and has a nice core of young talent blending in with the aging veterans from Neah Bay’s halcyon days. They will score some runs near the top of the order with Furcal, Cameron, McCann, and Giles. Not a lot of power which is typical of this franchise but some decent on base. The pitching has atken a step back but there’s enough in the pen and in the rotation there to win. Smoltz, Sheets, and Harang should win more than a few, but the rest of the starters are shaky at best.
The Staub will be interesting. Longue Pointe had an interesting draft choosing to focus on the solidifying the bench for the long run, adding pieces for platoons and reserves. They were able to add a few good prospects along the way. Craig Monroe takes over in LF while Matsui will hit off the bench. Jose Vidro coming in a trade takes over 2nd base, and the addition of Aramis Ramirez to hit in front of Richie Sexson will be huge for LP who keeps their strong pitching intact. Expect prospects Jeremy Sowers and Jimmy Gobble to contribute some, and Carlos Zambrano to win around 20. The pen wont be as strong as last years, but is fairly decent as is. Staub Rolaids candidate Todd Jones will close again.
Limoilou will be very tough in ’07. The lineup is outstanding. Once again Jeff Boutet showed why he was a 3 time championship GM. Boutet had the foresight to get Carlos Beltran who rebounded into what could be an MVP candidate for this year. Kenny Lofton and his speed and bat are now aboard, along with the underrated Matt Murton. Troy Glaus will hit plenty of HR, and Curtis Granderson will be a pleasant surprise with a good offensive card. The pitching is strong even after the trade of Hudson, but Hudson card was not the same as in the past seasons and appeared on the decline. Schmidt should be the ace again, and Saito will liley close, lights out. Schilling.
SD Surf will be very tough in ’07. They could win not only Dawson, but CBA as well. They are stacked top to bottom in the lineup. The pitching is very solid throughout the rotation. The addition of Ervin Santana could be the missing key. With the pitching as is, SD offensive run support should be plenty enough to give the staff many leads. Bush, Peavy, Santana, King Felix, Haren, Meche, there isn’t much need for a bullpen. The lineup and defense are well balanced. David Wright, Vic Martinez, Cano, Cuddyer, Dye, Renteria, Nick Johnson, Youkiklis…No weaknesses. Could this be the team for CBA to beat? It remains to see how Joe Wallace manages this team, because they could go all the way, on paper that is.
Joliet will have to manage well to contend. Its hard to see them beating SD, but a wildcard isn’t out of the question. Joliet has also added some pitchin’ and has a few good starters and spot starters that can give anyone trouble. Jered Weaver, Burnett, Chuckt James, John Maine, John Lieber are solid. JJ Putz will dominate in the pen. Much improved. The lineup is better too. Soriano keys the attack which features speed. JJD led CBA with 314 steals a record in ’06. This year 200+ is likely too. A solid lineup with no other real superstars, but nice offensive cards. Pierre, Ordonez, Tracy, and some others. Nothing to fear but they should score a few. Without last years MVP Derek Lee Joliet must still be looking to replace that big power bat.
CBA expects a few more dogfights this year. It’s important we all do our best to maintain a high level of compettive spirit to be fair for all our great GM’s. Every game counts as we have seen the past three seasons which have gone to the wire. 2007 should be just as great if not better.
CBA Executive (BKLYN): Hill to Skokie...
Mr PlanMan (ALLENTOWN):
Allentown
selects ... Boof Bonser, P, Twins
CBA Executive:
Bonser to A-Town
lindner2win1 (SOUTHWEST):
I
thought she was great in Fox's "Teenage Werewolf"
CBA Executive:
Kennesaw
Mt. up...
CBA Executive: lol
BlakeO50 (KENNESAW
MT.):
Andre Ethier, OF, LAN
Crew Daddy
2000 (INDIANA): Nice pick
DcNrknduk (LONGUE-POINTE): Says here he is nicknamed "Sleepy"...
lindner2win1: lol
CBA Executive: Ethier to
K-Mount...
CBA Executive:
Brooklyn selects Daisuke Matsuzaka
HiteRob
(PHILLY):
Damn you!
HiteRob: Hehe
lindner2win1: Was there any
doubt on that one? hah!
lindner2win1: I told you he was
a communist
Crew Daddy 2000: Nice pick, that
was who I was going to take
Toolmangkk
(OHIO):
I can't believe he lasted this long !
Crew
Daddy 2000: What # pick was that?
DcNrknduk: Round 1 (#19) ...
Gotta watch for below the radar....
dajmun912 (LAKE
COUNTY):
Don't forget how old he is!
lindner2win1: I hope he gets
deported
DcNrknduk: ROFL
HiteRob: Maybe his gyroball will
blow a gasket
BlakeO50:
He blew out his knee today at spring training.
CBA Executive: Did he?
lindner2win1: HIV test was
positive
DcNrknduk: He saw a picture of
Hideki Irabu...
CBA Executive: I will reselect
if that so
BlakeO50: Yeah. He is out for
six weeks.
CBA Executive: Oh jeez..
HiteRob: Maybe he'll catch
Hideki Irabu syndrome
BlakeO50: Just kidding. LOL.
CBA Executive: I will reselect M
Pelfrey of NYMets
lindner2win1: More Ethier!
CBA Executive: Did he REALLY
blow his knee?
DcNrknduk: Eithier or....?
mak92123 (OTTAWA):
No
HiteRob: No, I didn't hear that
he blew out his knee. Sounds like draft day humor
CBA Executive: Matsuzaka is
HURT? CONFIRM PLEASE!!!!!
lindner2win1: Don't let em get
your goat, Commish
redmad61 (BELFAST):
Who picked what?
CBA
Executive: Sheesh
Crew Daddy 2000: He ISN'T hurt
CBA Executive: I'll stay with
Daisucky
lindner2win1: Remember
Pearl
Harbor!!!
CBA Executive:
Indiana
next...
DcNrknduk: Just testing for
April Fools Day..
Crew Daddy 2000: He threw to
Varitek today
BlakeO50: I was kidding.
JackhammersCBA (JOLIET): You be
yanked, Commish!
HiteRob: He's subject to food
poisoning via bad sushi
Crew Daddy 2000:
Indiana is
up
HiteRob: haha
CBA Executive: No doubt....Been
owned!
Hi Guys this took weeks to do. Lots of hours and research. Too much time, and I hope you like it. Its my way of thanking you GMs for a great season. We have some terrific reliable GM's who are some of the best in the StratUniverse.
We also have a few terrific guys behind the scenes who help make CBA run as wel as I think it does. Cory Light our senior council member has been invaluable in his assistance and insight for CBA. Dennis Concepcion has given us a new dimension with his superb work on graphic design. The logos, uniforms, and graphic detail work enhance the gaming experience. John Derek Adams for his excellent work on usage regulation, Jeff Boutet for his input and scheduling. Jack Jung our newest Council associate. I'm also appreciate of input I've received from other veteran GM's such as Wayne McGee, Rob Hite, and some newer GM's like Josh, and Bob. The article is long. I hope ya'll read through it. I posted part 1 Clemente a few weeks earlier. Further below is the Staub report, plus some...Just to start you off is list of CBA's alltime winingest teams. CBA honors it's winners of the past.
CBA Champs
1997 Limoilou Wendigo (Jeff Boutet) vs. Parma Flamingos (Lou Bloss)
1998 St Foy Frenchies (Dino Barnabe) vs. Longue Pointe (Claude LaMarre)
1999 Limoilou Wendigo (Jeff Boutet) vs. Beauport Gamblers (Martin Boulet)
2000 Longue Pointe Hitmen (Claude LaMarre) vs. Philly Phantastics (Rob
Hite)
2001 Ottawa Otters (Jack Jung) vs. Quebec Capitales (Chris Boutet)
2002 Philly Phantastics (Rob Hite) vs Limoilou Wendigo (Jeff Boutet)
2003 Limoilou Wendigo (Jeff Boutet) vs Brooklyn Superbas (Marc Wass)
2004 Brooklyn Superbas (Marc Wass) vs Kansas City A's (Rich Schneider)
2005 .Philly Phantastics (Rob Hite) vs Longue Pointe (Dennis Concepcion)
2006 Indiana Redbirds (Bob Fidler) vs Neah Bay Whalers (league managed)
Most Wins ever
120 2000 Philly Phantastics PPS Rob Hite
115 2002 Philly Phantastics PPS Rob Hite
112 2000 Longue Pointe Hitmen LHD Claude LaMarre*
111 2002 St Foy Frenchies SFS Dino Barnabe*
109 2002 Limoilou Wendigo LWD Jeff Boutet
109 1997 Sunville Sunjewels SSP Keith Jones
108 2003 St Foy Frenchies SFS Dino Barnabe*
107 2002 Cooperstn Iron Horse CIC Scott Owens
107 2003 Neah Bay Whalers NWC John Skillings
106 2001 St Foy Frenchies SFS Dino Barnabe*
* = HOFer
It is now that time of the year for the annual CBA report and final
analysis. Most GM’s did a terrific job this year. It wound up a great
season with very close pennant races once again. Competitive chases and
races, the CBA went from opening day to fan appreciation, and some
more. 3 of the 4 races were absolute thrillers. We saw a few season
records fall in the regular season, and again in the playoffs.
Individual and career records were broken and there were a few surprises
along the way. We saw the establishment of new franchise cities and
addition of a couple of fine new GM’s.
The Schmidt came
down to a 1 game difference with Lake County besting runner up Stirling
who made a late season charge, and 2 games over the faded Alamo City
Flames who led most of the year. In
The off season produced a lot of news and events. There was trade talk and action abound as most every team wheeled and dealing. Draft pick trades which 2 years ago were limited by our rules stimulated a trade frenzy as teams stocked up on the picks while others attempted to find a balance trading them for pieces to their team puzzle. Several teams made news. The trade season opened and by December 2nd the winter hot stove coals heated to a warm glow when acquired catcher Paul LoDuca, Jorge Sosa, and Keving Millar in a deal for Fred Garcia. That deal could have said lots as Kilgore moved into 2006 off the heels of a terrific 2005 season which they barely missed a first ever playoff spot. Looking to rebuild a bit acknowledging a possible dropoff in talent, that trade could be the one to move Kilgore back into contention as LoDuca had a stellar year in MLB. After came a flurry of trades that saw names like Millwood, Wagner, Shawn Green, Chris Young, Mussina, Bartolo Colon, Ordonez, Patterson, Horatio Ramirez, Benitez, Crawford, Bedard, Street, Ibanez, Gagne, Beltran, Edmonds and other CBA stars change uniform. Many of those trades came about in draft pick deals where teams sought to build from the ground up.
Speaking of uniforms, 2006 will also be remembered for the addition to CBA of our uniform and logo gallery. Many teams were given custom designed uniforms made to the specifications of our CBA GM’s. The new uniforms set a standard of fantasy baseball realism that few leagues can match. Each uniform designed to meet the personality and persona of the teams leadership and regional influences. Many uniforms were reminiscent of uniforms of MLB past. Unique team logos, pennants, and banners were also designed for use on our webpage and GM’s own uses.
As the website expanded and new sections, stats, historical notes, and features helped our league to become prominent on the internet. Quite a few Strat fans have visited us and reacted favorably to our many team pages and designs.
The seasonal
draft was a smooth one in which almost all the GM’s were timely and
efficient in their selections. As smooth as it went for some there were
lots of diamonds in the draft and a few dogs. The jury is still out on
many of them.
Lets look at the
2006 season team by team. First lets start in Clemente with the
toughest division in CBA the Parker division. Home of the 2006 CBA
World Champion
The Redbirds were
known in 2005 as the Houston Aeros who after an a few losing seasons and
and a productive expansion draft, were able to acquire more impressive
talent via trade.
The Birds fielded their positions well too with a .740 X rating % with the league average being .716 in 2006. Despite the offensive prowess, the lone weak spot may have been the bullpen who despite 40 saves did allow 40% of their runners already on base to score a figure they must improve if they are to repeat with the 99 win Brooklyn Superbas breathing down their neck.
The Brooklyn
Superbas had a quite a year again 2006. Though some predicted
CBA history argues
that
Things have worked
well in
They destroyed
righties at a .634 clip but struggled close to .500 against lefties. Won
most of their 1 runs games, and were 13-5 in the extras. The defense
and pitching held the games close while the offense churned the runs
out.
11 players had double
digit HRs. Vernon Wells (38 116 .309) led BSP in HR followed by Ryan
Howard (28 69 .337) in only 294 At bats. Helton (19 73 .332 .432oba)
put up another big year moving up to the 2 hole in the order. Payton
(25 86 .319) played a flawless defense with no errors as did Vernon
Wells. Both should win gold gloves for OF play. Additionally Payton
was a great bat at the tail end of the lineup. Mid season acquisition
Miguel Cabrera (35 114 .337) acquired from
As if two teams with
99+ wins teams in the Parker weren't enough, the Ottawa Otters
came up as the second playoff team in the wildcard. The Otters strong
again in '06 after barely missing the playoffs in '05, posed perhaps the
biggest threat to the Redbirds Championship season. After making the 1st
round and facing Indy, they took the Birds all the way to 7 games. Game
one
Other unsung heroes
included the last original Otter Omar Vizquel a 4th rd draft pick in '97
and his .285 BA, 20 SB. Viz made only 3 errors in 139 games (.996
fielding %) all year leading
The Bryan
Bashers started 2006 by changing their name from Kilgore to
Basher highlites
were few, but there was some individual seasons of note. Bobby "Bang"
The
The Schmidt
division race was a classic. At first glance the team records
weren’t striking. With Parker hosting such gaudy numbers, the Schmidt
looked the weaker division. In the end it proved true came playoff time
when
This years Schmidt was
a battle between any one of 4 teams
The Leopards
late run was in jeopardy when
The Lake County
Leopards home page documents their winning history. Originally named
the Villanova Wildcats by then GM Joey Santangelo, they transferred
ownership the CBA future Hall of Famer Dino Barnabe of
Carlos Delgado (43 123 .322) had an MVP type year for LLS. If offensive value to a team meant anything in consideration for that CBA award, then Delgado was the man. He finished 2nd in Clemente in slugging behind Ortiz who had lots of offensive support. Manny Ramirez (34 105 .282) finished under .300, not driving HR or runs as he had. So, there was added pressure on the offense this year without Bonds. Delgado filled the bill and carried the Leopards on his back.
The Leopards relied on
speed a lot. Willie Taveras 2nd in Clemente in SB, (1 Hr 54
Rbi .268 27sb, 23 sac), Jim3 Rollins (11 62 .279 30sb) set the table
for big Carlos. Rollins led Clemente in SB. Using lots of sacrifices
and steals despite lowly On base percentages. It makes what Delgado did
that much more MVP like. The table setters had about a .320 an base
percentage. If
The bullpen was a sham with the saves leader only 11 saves. The set up men did far worse with ERAs over 4 and a half. Eric Hinske the DH was the lowest full time regular at DH in offensive production with .577 total avg and a 3.30 run created average.
The Carolina
Copperheads made a nice showing in 2006 behind Scott Kernan.
Following last years 90+ loss season, the C-Heads team moved themselves
somewhat into contention at times last year and was a factor in the
Schmidt race. The role of spoiler and contender suited
The pitching wasn’t as
poor as
Staub Division report
The Staub division has
always been known for its tough races. The last two years have seen 1
game playoffs galore. Belfast-Limoilou in 05, Neah-Skokie 06. Great
competition and this year was no different. The Carter was down to the
wire with the Skokie Wolfmen and Neah Bay Whalers (Kennesaw Mountain
Woodsmen) finishing in a dead heat. The loser
Staub saw other
remarkable performances too. Perhaps the greatest season ever by a CBA
pitcher belonged to Jake Peavy who (19-0 2.05 203inn 127hits 50bb
222k) was without flaw. In 26 starts he tossed 6 CG with a shutout and
23 quality starts. Roger Clemens (15-2 1.54 187k) stood out for
wildcard
In
Why
then did the Loggers win so much, with less than overwhelming
performances in a tough division? The answer lies within some important
Strat-o-matic variables. The bullpen work, the incredible bench, and
overall team and platoon balance. Oh that bench! The team had a league
high 57 PH. I’ve already chronicled Nook Logan’s (0 21 .279 46sb)
outstanding bench contribution previously, but 10th, 11th,
12th, 13th, 14th men were all
contributors in big ways and big situations. Craig Monroe (12 54 .308
in 208 AB) who won a few with clutch HRs, Jeff Cirillo’s .349 avg,
Miracle Mirabelli’s 8 HR as a reserve, Torii Hunter in his platoon with
12 HR and flawless D. A total team effort. Orlando Palmeiro (6 30
.301) added some bench depth as well. In fact some could make the
argument he could be one of LPs team MVPs. His play was clutch and
potent after Matsui’s horrible year in the filed and at the plate. Orlie
Palmeiro ignited several key rallies and solidified some sorely needed
offense. Nook
The starting pitching
was as usual good but not awesome. High men there were Carlos Zambrano
(15-7 2.72 23 quality starts) and Andrew Pettitte (16-8 3.12).
Maddux (12-11 4.22) and Sabathia (10-5 4.78) rounded the rotation. The
bullpen was outstanding. Some questioned the trade of Nomar who was
about to make a return at 1B. With 1B covered by Tino Martinez (3
clutch Pinch hits in 9 clutch at bats) and Richie Sexson, Nomar was
shipped for Todd Jones (6-2 1.43 26 sv) who only was the Staub closer
of the year. Jones put together a terrific season allowing only a .167
inherited runner scoring pct finishing third in all CBA with 80 Rolaids
award points. He nailed the games down in late innings for the Loggers.
Surprisingly, Heath Bell (3-1 1.94 2sv in 48inn) performed well, and
Brain er Brian Fuentes tossed in 69 games, Dempster ( 6-2 3.11 6sv),
Halama (4-2 3.37 6sv 18 Rolaids pts.188irsc), Calero (3-3 3.40 3 sv),
Jorge Julio (.200irsc), Witasick (.250 irsc) and Escobar’s long relief.
These pitchers were shuttled in and out often in key game situations.
They were able to bring in several matchups to face their opponents.
Only 30% of runners scored, not too bad. LP used lots of hit and run
too successful 45 of 66 times. With runners moving around steadily, and
the pitching keeping ‘em honest it was a recipe for success until their
ultimate demise in the playoffs semi-final round. LP defeated
Despite only 139 HR
they stole 261 bases, hit .283 and had a low 4.25 team era.
Well, well the
As I said some CBA teams have earned their place in CBA folklore by the performances of its teams. For example:
1997 saw the Sunville Sunjewels (Keith Jones) send 5 players to the plate with 30 or more HRs and 3 guys with 40 {MVP Caminiti 53 170 .327, Sheffield 47 127 .301, and Steinbach 41 106 .241}.
1998 saw the rise of St Foy {Lake County} after finishing dead last the year before, had Larry Walker {56 151 .372} carry them on his back all season and wallop 5 HRs and 20 Rbis in the Playoffs and World Series for MVP. Of note Canadian River Oklahomas Ball Yard Rats Pedro Martinez K’d 440!
1999
Was the year of Mark
McGwire (79 181 .316).
2000 & 2001
Sammy Sosa’s 2
amazing seasons in
2002 Though the Philly Phantastics won the best record and had 4 guys hit 42+ HR (Piazza, Juan Gonzo, Canseco, and Palmeiro, Barry Bonds (82 180 .331)captivated CBA by shattering Sosa’s HR records adding 191 more walks in CBAs greatest season ever.
2003 It was Pedro Martinez who went 22-2 in a near perfect season. Notching 2 no hitters Allowing 2.39 ER per game and adding 254K’s.
2004
2005 Longue Pointe wins championship with Ichiro Suzuki {2 57 .410 62sb} setting some CBA records along the way including 291 hits.
2006
The Surf stockpile
of draft choices and prospects paid dividends with the emergence of Ryan
Zimmerman, David Wright, Kevin Youkilis, Shane Victorino, Robinson Cano,
Kharlil Greene, Danny Haren (12-10 4.29). The development of Ryan
Zimmerman and his trade allowed SD to acquire Felix Hernandez who many
regard as a blue chip pitching prospect. Former prospect and steady
gloveman Karlil Greene was sent packing along with last years
disappointing RF Juan Encarnacion (11 58 .310) for emerging 5 tool
Delmin Young. Ervin Santana (10-5 4.32) and his fastball come to the
west coast in 2007 as well. Greene hit 9 HR in 187 AB last year. Edgar
Renteria (11 45 .307) acquired in the Reyes trade will anchor SS in
’07. This my friends is a team that bears watching in the Staub. The
Its hard to
ignore
Last season
The pitching was
quite effective in ’06 sporting a nifty 4.29 era. Led by Contreras
(14-8 3.86) and Jon Lieber (12-9 3.46 +20WHiP) were effective and
Burnett surprisingly not as much. The big problem here which should be
corrected next year is the bullpen. Top closer Duaner was horrid though
he saved 20. 2-6 6.12era qualifies as “Ronson Lighter Fluid” award
material. 11 guys took turns saving ‘em for the Jack’s. JJ hurt no
doubt for the old bullpen. That problem should be corrected in ’07.
Perhaps much of the blame for not winning a few more could be traced to
a poor overall defense. The X rating factor was at a low .669. A lot
of extra runners compared with teams like
The last team in
2006 wasn’t really much to talk about with horrible performances all around by Limoilou. Really only Bill Hall (16 65 .303) and Troy Glaus (40 88 .253) did any damage. Tim Wakefield led the staff with a surprisingly good 14-10 3.42 record. With no one of note and substandard performances all around, its not worth it to even delve into where it all went astray for Boutet’s Wendigo. Its better left for dead in CBA’s storied past as this still proud franchise rolls on all cylinders once again into 2007.
The Carter
Divison featured a classic race to the wire featuring the Neah Bay
Whalers and the Skokie Wolfmen. With
The Wolfmen stayed
close as August ended with a huge series loaded with playoff
ramifications happened yonder in the good time yards of the Brawlers of
Belfast.
Belfast never ever
quitting despite Longue Pointe’s run away with the title in Dawson, made
a strong push starting Sept 5th for their wildcard chances when they
faced Skokie in a huge series of the inter division rivals.
That
The game went into the 11th with Carlos Zambrano stubbornly resisting being removed for 10 1/3. Clemens 10 innings too with no score. Superior defense and key plays made by both teams. The game was quite intense as these two managers Netplayed into the 11th. A classic extra innings HR by Ichiro Suzuki gave LP the win after Todd Jones saved it for the Loggers. It was just that close this year for the Wolfmen.
Two teams that history
will show that Carter division’s
The statistical
comparisons show that though both
The well documented
pitching featured 13 players with under 4 era’s. A team ERA of 3.06 was
among the all time best. Smoltz (17-9 2.62) led the team followed by
the now injured and traded Pedro Martinez (14-9 2.47 219K’s) led the
way. Pedro was again in form as he keeps demonstrating why he is
considered by some, CBAs all time greatest pitcher. Cases could be
made for Randy Johnson, or John Smoltz, but Pedro has now won 167 games
to lead em all. Carlos Silva acquired in mid season may have been a
huge difference notching 6 key wins in 9 starts down the stretch as a #5
starter. The middle set up men were terrific all year, Saroman Torres
(10-2 2.27 in 66 games), and Russ Springer (6-5 2.95) were solid. Lidge
saved ‘em 18 times.
Clemens (15-2 1.54era)
set the record for best all time ERA, had a -12 WHIp. He led CBA in
quality starts with 30. He only had 2 outings where he gave up 4 runs,
never more. He never gave up more than 7 hits in any game. He never
completed a game though. Coughed up only 7 HR, and didn’t allow a
single tater for 11 straight games! On July 5th had a 1.36
era, but was a recipient of many no decisions. Patterson (15-10 3.56
era 186K’s) was brilliant down the stretch for the Wolves winning 4 of
his last 5 decisions from 8/26 to season end 9/15. A very solid #2
man. The next 3 spots in the rotation were shuttled around for usage
concerns with Eric Bedard (9-5 3.92) stepping in nicely.
The offense was
adequate with newly acquired Chad Tracy (27 85 .285) pacing the attack.
The other teams
of Carter are admittedly building for the future.
The Allentown
Senators after 2004’s resounding success getting to the
championships have gone through two disappointing seasons. Rich
Schneider is now a veteran manager who has a pretty strong nucleus of
young players ready to break out. Most were acquired via draft picks
and shrewd rebuilding moves. Don’t expect Rich to deal ‘em because they
are quite a bunch. Rookie Hanley Ramirez looks like a future superstar
as does the 100mph Joel Zumaya. Other good cards and talents like Jason
Medders, Ben Broussard, Dan Wheeler may make things interesting. Theres
some solid veterans in the mix who come off good years like Jason Giambi,
Mark Loretta, Jorge Posada, Woody Williams. With a a handful of picks
again this year, ATown can be a surprise challenger to the Carter. A few
platooners here and there and
(AP) Sportswire Brooklyn, Prospect Park NY 21:30 12-2-06
Looking to make a strong run again at the CBA Championship, Brooklyn dipped into their pitching staff and youth reserve to acquire Manny Ramirez. Sending Brad Penny and Mike Jacobs for Ramirez is a gamble but in return they get perhaps a slugger they haven’t seen since the halcyon days of Sammy Sosa. Ramirez likely will bat 3rd for Brooklyn behind JD Drew and Todd Helton. Ryan Howard, Miguel Cabrera, Vernon Wells, Ivan Rodriguez, Jose Vidro, and Adam Everett round out the revamped Brooklyn lineup.
Fans such as Joe Rambunctory and Doofe Dickersonm were extatic over yesterdays announcement. “This could be Brooklyn’s best lineup ever, including 1999 and 2000.” Said Joe. BSP led CBA in many offensive categories over the years including the all time HR single season lead with 351. “We love Manny we will put a new statue in Prospect park next to Rey Ordonez of Manny. “Miguelito” Cabrera was given a statue next to Luis Polonia’s on the great lawn last season.
Additional seating will be installed into the “House of Pain” that Sammy and Todd built. Brooklyn’s all time HOF candidates will return again to the “house” in 2007. With rumours rampant that Sammy will return in ’07 he has been retained by Brooklyn. If for nothing else to seal his legend as Brooklyn’s main HR RBI Runs man. It will be his 10th…
THE RED BIRD GAZETTE
Reported by: Skip Duckworth
This is Skip Duckworth reporting for The Red Bird Gazette as we are talking to mgr Bob Fidler of the Indiana Redbirds whom hold a 3-1 games advantage over the Brooklyn Superbras in the LCS.
Well Bob what about this series?
Well Skip we played two
games at home to start it out with us winning game 1 on a 5-4 score behind
a good pitching outing of John Garland and our key hit in our 4 run third
inning was a 3 run HR by Palicido
Polanco Who has been playing tough during the
playoffs so far for us both with his defense and his clutch hitting. Game
2 was a great pitching from a nice young up and coming LHSP in Scott
Kazmir he only allowed 1 run in 7 innings on 4
hits and left the game leading 4-1 and the team scored 3 more in the 8th
to make it 7-1. I thought I bring in Baez to get him some work and he
just didn’t have it neither did Bob Wickman. I
didn’t know I would have to use a closer but IZZY came in and gave up a HR
to Helton to make it a 7-5 and then he got the final out to give us a 2-0
lead in games. We then got on the Big Bird and flew over to
What is up for the rest of this series?
Game 5 is still in
Anything you want to add in closing?
Skip it has been a wild series and don’t see why the game or beyond if needed won’t be great games.
Thanks for the interview Bob it is always a pleasure to talk to you.
You are welcome Skip.
Well this is Skip Duckworth saying good bye and GO RED BIRDS!
(AP) Press release Brooklyn, NY, House of Pain, 21:30 10/16/2006
Brooklyn fans are rockin and tearing through Prospect Park.
The Arch at Grand Army Plaza
was constructed and designed to commemorate the Union victory. However to the
hearts of Brooklyn
millions of Superba fans it is known as the Brooklyn Victory Arch. It represents
Brooklyn's winning
legacy in CBA. People know it in Brooklyn not for thrill of war against their
dear southern brothers but
a celebration of baseball and winning for their beloved Superbas.
Back in 1997, sports columnists from the Quebec area and teams from Dawson in
particular joked that "Superbas"
meant "Good Underware". They taunted the Brooklyn Boys of the House O' Pain with
references.
By 1998 they laugh no more as Brooklyn took the Dawson crown behind the pitching
of Halladay, Ramon Martinez,
and Rick Reed. For 8 of their 10 years Brooklyn has had a winning record
regularly achieving 90+ wins,
and reaching the playoffs, only to be stopped short before reaching the finals.
Brooklyn had been to the
conference championships several times. In recent years, 2002 lost to Philly,
2003 Lost in W.S. to Limoilou,
won the championship in 2004 and now back to the Clemente finals in 2006. Last
season they were
eliminated 4 games to 1 by the Lake County Leopards whom they faced in a grudge
rematch from last year.
The fans were at fever pitch for this series. From Lou Luke in Bensonhurst
shooting roman candles at
anything with spots on it, to Tony BiFonzaruki of Sheepshead Bay making Gold and
Black Knishes.
From Ziteric Bluitskyap of Brighton Beach wearing his Black and Gold Socks with
his open toe sandals,
to Rahmel Jacksoy of Brownsville's Ocean Hill Blastin the new Superbas song on
his radio,Brooklyn is
in a winning happy mood.
Brooklyn has reached the championships again defeating the Lake county Leopards
in a 4 game
sweep. The fans left the H.O.P. and then swarmed to and over the nearby Brooklyn
Superbas Victory memorial.
Fans held a rally to express their gratitude for a winning season and hope in an
impending series
against the Indiana RedBirds also of the Parker division. Brooklyn fired on all
cylinders in this series
with their pitching doing a great job against Lake Counties hitters.
In game 1 Bartolo Colon pitched a mighty 4 hit 6 K 9 inn shutout. Colon had been
inconsistant all year settling
in at the end of the season. He was lights out in this game given the nob over
Willis as game 1 starter.
Jose Vidro starred with 2 long doubles driving in 3 runs in a 4-0 victory.
Brooklyn had 10 hits.
In game 2, Dontrelle got the start. Dontrelle was also marvelous limiting the
Lakers over 8 1/3 to 3 runs
1 on a HR to Eddie Perez, the other a big Frank Thomas blast. He gave way to
Mariano Rivera who closed it out
for Brooklyn. But the real story was Vernon "Sugar Bear" Wells who delighted his
team mates with 2 prodigious
HR's to give Brooklyn the win. His 2nd in the 8th inn was a blast that broke a
deadlocked game at 3.
Brooklyn achieved their goal taking two in Lake County.
Back home at the House of Pain it was a different story. The faithful knew from
past experience with Limoilou that
Brooklyn had to win this day. They had to take what they wanted in their own
house Coors Filed dubbed "house of Pain".
The opposition couldn't get comfortable as Brooklyns fans were making the House
shake.
Some say that the stadium has a specially designed foundation to accentuate the
rocking giving the appearance of
something frightening to opponents. Fans have speculated for years and opponents
insist, but no one has
confirmed. Game 3 was a Superba kinda day. The Leopards opened up with a 2 run
lead on a Manny
Ramirez 2 run HR only to have Brooklyn come right back in the bottom of the 1st
with a sac fly by Wells and a 2 out
JD Drew basehit. Halladay pitching for Brooklyn was able to escape a jam in the
top 2nd with 2 on by getting
Willie Taveras to pop out in the clutch. In the bottom 2nd, Drew walked again (9
walks in the series)
and Ivan Rod singled him to 2nd. Adam Everett not known for his bat in 2006,
lashed a run scoring single to put BSP up by 1.
In the third Brooklyn's Helton singled and cabrera doubled second and third. The
Lakers intentionally walked
Ryan Howard to face Vernon Wells who singled in 1. A wild pitch added another,
and Jay Payton lofted a fly to score
Howard. Both teams exchanged a few zeros when in the 5th Payton singled in
another Brooklyn run. Back came Lake County.
Rollins and Ramirez singled, and moved to 2nd and 3rd on a wild pitch. With
Delgado up, Brooklyn stuck with Halladay vs
Delgado and got him to lineout into a max double play. The fans went wild in
Brooklyn.
With the Leopards within easy strike Brooklyn looked to put the game out of
reach in the 6th. After loading the bases,
Lake County brought in lefty Aaron Fultz to pitch to JD Drew. Brooklyn countered
by bringing Brooklyn's pal Sal Fasano
to the plate. In huge Brooklyn moment the 260 lb Sideburned Fu Manchu'ed catcher
hit a long
pinch hit Grand Slam HR, BSp scoring 5 that inning, and basically that was all
she went as
Brooklyn won 11-3.
Game 4 was tougher. Brooklyn pitching Colon on 3 days rest got off to a 2-0
start when Vidro doubled and Helton HR's in the
1st, and Todd Helton HR'd. In the third Brooklyn added another on another Todd
Helton RBI single.
Lake came back in the 4th scoring 3 runs on 4 singles by the 4 R's in the
lineup! Rollins, Ramirez, John Rodriguez,
and Ryan Church. With the score tied the Leopards wouldn't go with out a fight.
Brooklyn came right back with 3 more
in the bottom when BSP got 3 singles in a row from Howard, Wells, and Drew. Ivan
Rodriguez then cleared the bases
with a booming double and Brooklyn held a 6-3 lead. In the 5th Castillo, Taveras,
and Rollins singled to drive
home another 2 runs cutting the lead to 6-5 BSP. With Delgado up, BSP brought in
lefty Ron Villone and in a
key moment induced Delgado to ground weakly to 3rd base to end the threat. But
not for long.
A few innings and player moves later and Gary Geary faced PH Larry Walker who
laced a single.
A Castillo bunt set Willy Taveras to atone for his poor hitting, and he laced a
run scoring double to make
the score 5-4 BSP. In the 8th Hasagawa now pitching hit Carlos Delgado and gave
up a single to John Rodriguez.
With 1st and 2nd, Mariano Rivera was summoned. He promptly struck out the side
to end the threat still 5-4.
In the 9th he mowed the first two batters but Jose Vidro inexplicably not
defensively subbed for,
booted a ball allowing the runner on 1st with 2 out. Up came Manny Ramirez who
absolutely balsted a pitch over the LF
wall to give the Leopards a 6-5 lead. Rivera got the last out. But in the bottom
9th with 1 out , Mike Jacobs PH,
hit the first Derek Turnbow pitch he saw high and deep to RCF for a game tying
HR. The crowd was all over itself
jumping up and down and rolling on the floor. They just knew what would follow.
After Adam Everett skied to LF,
Juan Castro now in at 2B, walked, and series star Todd Helton blasted a deep
drive over the head of Taveras in CF.
With a 1-9 chance for Castro to score, Brooklyn took a chance and sent castro
prompting a long throw from the
rifle armed Taveras. The throw went wise and Castro scored sending the minions
into a frenzy and rushing the
field. Brooklyn had successfully swept rival Lake County in 4 games to advance
and face the Bob Fidler led Red Birds.
in Indiana later this week.
It was great series for Brooklyn and now that the celebrating is done, serious
plans are being made by BSP
to take on and perhaps the mighty Red Birds of the heartland.
The Staub Championship Series, Round 1.
A 7 games series tied at 3 and 3.
The defending CBA Champion up 3-0 then losing the next 3 against a resilient
contender.
Game 7: 55,006 in attendance. 2 hours and 45 minutes. 294 pitches.
In the end, it was a titanic blast off the bat of Ichiro Suzuki with
a man on that
finally ended what could possibly be the most intense Game 7 ever in CBA's
10-year history, as well as one of the most exciting postseason series
ever.
Carlos Zambrano came through with a solid 10 and one third scoreless
innings
matched by Roger Clemens equally solid 10 shutout frames as the Longue
Pointe
Loggers defeated the Skokie Wolfmen in 11 innings by a score of 2 to 0 at
a delirious Molson Yards. The hard-earned victory sends defending
champion
Longue-Pointe to face the winner of the Neah Bay/Belfast series in Round 2
of the Staub Championship Series.
Neither team scored in the first 10 1/2 innings. Both starters,
tenacious and
stubborn, were determined to outlast the other and go beyond their normal
limits.
Zambrano was lifted after one out in the
Skokie 10th after allowing a man on and
was replaced by closer Todd Jones who retired the side.
The Rocket, in what might be his final start, lasted through the
10th and then
handed the ball to Joe Nathan for the Loggers 11th.
After an out was recorded, Luis A. Gonzalez got things
rolling when he delivered a single. Jones batting for himself, missed a
bunt sign
and was retired on a weak infield popup. It was then that Ichiro Suzuki
stepped in
and, on a 2-1 fastball, cracked a two-run shot to the deepest part of
centerfield
(his 1st of the Playoffs) making Longue Pointe victorious to the delight
of the the
home town crowd. Longue Pointe finished with 7 hits while
Skokie ended up with 4.
The victory was credited to Todd Jones(1-0) who went 2/3 of an
inning,
allowing no runs. Joe Nathan(0-1) was charged with the loss in relief. He
allowed 2 hits and no walks in 2/3 of an inning.
SKOKIE AT LONGUE POINTE - GAME 1,
2006 Staub Championship Series - Friday,
October 6, 2006
Wolfmen......... 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 7 0
Loggers......... 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 - 5 9 1
Win:Zambrano(1-0) Loss:Clemens(0-1) Save:Jones(1st)
Homeruns- T.Hunter(1st), T.Martinez(1st)
Game 1 Press
FOR IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE:
LP Comes From Behind To Defeat Clemens and the Wolfmen, 5-2
Montreal
Gazette Sports
Stephanie Myles
Longue-Pointe, Oct. 7, (CN) In their very first meeting in the post
season,
Josh Shapiro's Skokie Wolfmen squared off against Dennis Concepcion's
defending
CBA Champion Longue-Pointe Loggers under a glorious full-moon in a
fully-packed
Molson Yards.
The large harvest Moon and the chilly night served as a thematic
background setting
for the fourth duel between the Wolfmen's ace, 2006 ERA champion Roger
Clemens,
and the dean of LP's pitching staff, Carlos Zambrano. Their three
previous match-ups
during the regular season have resulted in a win (3-2, April 30th), a loss
(July 28th,
his first of ONLY TWO losses all season), and a no-decision (5-4
Skokie (Patterson Win),
Sept 11th) for Clemens, and a win (4-0, July 28th) and two losses (April
30th & Sept
11th) for Zambrano.
Skokie tallied in the first inning scoring 2 runs
when Izturis singled,
Edmonds
walked,
Tracy
reached first on a Shea Hillenbrand error, and Cantu singled.
Indeed, the full-moon and the early scoring appeared to point to another
Skokie
drubbing of the Loggers who were swept in their last meeting in
mid-September.
Following Zam's shaky start, both he and Rocket settled into a
pitching duel
matching goose eggs until the Logger 4th. Back to back singles by
Counsell
and Hillenbrand were followed by consecutive strikeouts of Sexon and
Varitek.
Torii Hunter finally got LP on the scoreboard with a mammoth homerun into
the
bleachers in left center. This drove the crowd crazy and recalled
Hunter's clutch
dinger in last year's World Series Game 7 versus Philly.
Zambrano held the fragile lead as he exchanged donuts with Clemens for
another 3
frames. It was in the fateful 7th inning that Shapiro and
Concepcion engaged in
identical strategic gambles which yielded widely disparate results.
In the Wolfmen 7th, the Head Wolfman elected to pinch-hit for the
Rocket, batting
second after a leadoff single by Mike Matheny. "We needed to get at least
one run
across," said Joshua during the post-game interview, "and we were trying
to force
LP's hand hoping Dennis might call upon his bullpen and pull Zam." Sending
up
switch hitting Randy Winn (.267 CBA 2006, 3R, "A"-BNT "B"-H&R & .266
Clutch),
Concepcion decided to stick with
Zambrano.
"I had given some thought to bring in Fuentes," Dennis said, "but on
the mound visit
Zam told me that he had enough left to finsh the inning, so I left him in.
I knew that if I pulled him now, and with the pitcher's slot also batting
2nd in my
half, I might have to pinch hit AND lose another pitcher... you can never
take
anything for granted when you play the Wolfmen." The strategy paid off
for LP
as Zambrano struck out Winn and got Lofton and Izturis to fly out.
Skokie brought in Tom Gordon to face the Loggers
in their 7th. In poetic symmetry,
LP also got a leadoff single when Luis Gonzalez, going 3 for 3 for the
day, stroked
his third hit. Long time Hitman/Logger Tino Martinez, who late last week
announced
his retirement following the World Series, stepped up to the plate for
Zambrano.
The appreciative crowd of 56,305 gave him a standing ovation and had
barely sat
down when Tino golfed Gordon's first offering, a low hanging curveball to
rightfield
way over a helpless Chad Tracy for a 2-run pinch-hit homer and a 5-2
margin.
"I'm not really one given to curtain calls, and I don't like to
show-up a pitcher,
but the rest of the bench wouldn't let me sit until I tipped my helmet to
the crowd,"
said the ever-modest
Martinez.
"It was a thrill to get such a vocal thank-you, and
really felt good to know that I contributed not only tonight, but for a
career."
With a comfortable safety margin,
Concepcion brought in Fuentes to retire the side
in the
Skokie 8th and Calero to close out the 9th. After
getting 2 quick outs,
however,
Skokie lashed out a Matheny double. Quickly
Concepcion dispatched
Matsui to LF to shore-up the left side.
Winn singles to righfield but Matheny is held up at third out of
respect for
Suzuki's arm. With 2 men on base and the potential tying run at bat, in
comes
LP closer Todd Jones who then strikes out pinch-hitter Chris Shelton
swinging
on a 2 and 2 change-up to end another typically tense and close Skokie/LP
thriller.
Sept 10th, 2006
Skokie defeated Neah in their head to
head for fiast place in Carter. With Skokie winning g1 and 2 by a 3-1 score
with great pitching, Skokie is tied with Neah Bay for first place. An
outstanding series. The loser will take a wildcard
Belfast looks to have locked up their first ever wildcard spot after years of
frustration. With a 4 game lead on fading
San Diego, JD Adams is waiting for a sweet opportunity to avenge heartbreaking
near misses.
In Schmidt Alamo City climbs back in to the top spot followed closely by Lake
County and Stirling. This race will come down
to the wire. Expect a fantastic finish. The losers will go home as Brooklyn and
Ottawa have locked up Wild card berths at least.
The one question is whether Brooklyn can overcome a 3 game deficit to take
Parker from the
dominant offense of the Indiana Redbirds. The RedBirds offense has been
approaching 7 runs per game while giving up 5.
Sept 3rd, 2006
Belfast had a good week separating themselves from the SD Surf in
the Staub Wild Card race.
Longue Pointe's lead in Dawson was cut to 'only' 9 games as Belfast had their
strong week.
Neah and Skokie are still battling, however Skokie split their four with Ohio,
despite
winning 2 of 3 from Maine. Neah Bay split their series with Allentown and rested
for
3 games. In Clemente with Brooklyn idle in series two, the Red Birds unleashed a
devastating on Ottawa who had dropped two the previous series to Brooklyn. The
Redbirds
swept past Ottawa 8-4, 14-6, and 12-4. Indy had won their two against Philly in
a 4 game
split 10-2 and 10-3. Indy has had 7 of 9 games with 10+ hits, including 5 in a
row with
15 or more hits for a total of 82 hits in 5 games. Ortiz had 5 HR this block to
make his
MVP run including a 2 HR game vs BSP. Look who is atop Schmidt. Its Stirling. The
RedSox
bested Alamo in their series to take over the lead.
Watch your usage. Overused players are non NetPlayoff eligible. Trade deadline
is Monday
evening 9pm eastern US time. All trades must be posted to CBA_Council before
that time or
are not allowed. Get your CM's in by Thursday, we will be continuing this week,
no break.
August 2006
In Staub, its amazing how fortunes change in a hurry in CBA 2006. With teams resting 'tired' players and others active on the RFA and trade markets, we have seen some separation this week. The Longue POinte Loggers last years CBA champs have taken a bit of control in Dawson with good pitching and strong balanced run support. The addtion of Varitek has added some punch, and that LP bench again is doing the job. As seems to be their trademark, the bottom feeders and bench have been productive. ReserveOF/PR Nook Logan has 22 sb in 101 AB's and is hitting .287 Craig Monroe had a monster day 4 for 5 with 6 RBI agauinst Skokie in the final game of their crucial series. LP swept 3 games from the red hot Wolfmen in revenge for Skokie's prior dominance in their series back in May. Monroe and Varitek simply capped superb pitching from the LP starters Zambrano, Pettitte, and Escobar, and the relief by committee corps.
Neah and Skokie split the first series of the block, a classic one. A great and important battle, Skokie opened up some offense on Neah to win g1 and 2. After winning with the undefeated Clemens in g1 3-1, game 2 saw Chad Tracy provide the fireworks with a walk off hit for a 5-4 win in 10. The series looked grim for Neah, but CBA future HOF'er Pedro Martinez arguably the greatest Righty in CBA history, stopped neahs bleed with a key 7-1 win in Illinois. With momentum turned, g4 went 4-2 to Neah and Smoltzie chased the Wolfmen in their house. Things only got worse for the Wolfies when they got swept by LP later that week.
Limoilou has been hot of late winning a few big games the past few weeks and climbing closer to the .500 mark. After winning the slumping Brawlers last week, they swept lowly Maine, and with an opportunity to rise, got caught by Neah for a sweep, setting them back a bit....Afetr splitting with LP in series 1, SD bested Belfast 2 of 3 . Belfast has been slumping and now stands 7 back of LP in Dawson. So with Joliet and SD flirting near .500, and the big boys NWC, LLD, SWC, and BBD out front, the races are mainly for the top spot in the division. The wild cards would go to the losers of that battle. With Blefast dropping a few more and SD, Joliet, or Ohio even getting hot for a couple weeks, the wildcard could be up for grabs.
Wild card picture...Either Skokie or Neah would get 1 spot, and Belfast the other with SD 6 back, Joliet 7 back, Ohio 9 back.
In Clemente Brooklyn and Indiana are still locked in a duel. The loser virtually assured a wildcard, its anyones race their as the lead has changed hands a few times. Ottawa has faded a bit 7.5 back but are in line for a wildcard with the Schmidt division looking so much weaker. Brooklyn's offense has heated up a bit raising their season average to .283 Vernon Wells is playing solid ball and their great defense has helped the Brooklyn pitching staff keep runs from scoring while the fabled Brooklyn offense clicks. Brooklyn usually has is at the top of all team offensive catagories year after year since '97. Indiana just batters their foes. That lineup is about the best in CBA's Parker which says alot. Indiana and Brooklyn face off next week in what is a major abttle for Parker bragging rights. Ottawa has rebounded a bit after falling into a minor slump. With both Parker boys winning, is was a bad time for Ottawa to slump in July. This week Ottawa distanced themselves from Wildcard contender Lake County winning 3 of 4 in their series. The Lakers were hoping to cut the distance between them. it satnds that Ottawa would be the last WC entry if the season ended right now. David Ortiz looking like an MVP had another huge 6 RBI day for Ottawa who was sparked by the emergence of Joe Mauer in the lineup. I'm sure we'll hear that name alot in the years to come.
Alamo has a 6 game lead over the pack in Schmidt. Lake Leopards, Stirling, and Carolina are in striking distance. Strong weeks and a few AFS losses and that race could become quite a dandy, watch out. If Ottawa folds a bit, someone there could sneek in. Carolina had been hot of late, took 3 of 4 from Philly, and with an opportunity to move up, dropped 2 of 3 to Alamo. Would have needed a sweep there, key wins for Malachi Nellum who has been quietly winning this year.
The lead changed hands as its likely to do all season in both Parker and Dawson. In the Parker, Indiana, Brooklyn, and Ottawa have been just absolutely pounding the baseball. The Parker's signature has always been an offense minded slugging division. Its roots go way back to the days of Albert Belle, Mark McGwire, and later Pujols, Vlad, Papi, and now Bay. Bay has been on fire for the RedBirds. He is among league leaders in several catagories. He raised his average to .300 this week and assured Indiana fans that he would be around awhile. The Indiana offense has thrived as both Bay and Grady Sizemore have ignited run scoring rallies, and their numbers show it.Bay sports a whopping 1.125 Total average with a gaudy 9.89 runs per 27 outs. Sizemore .968 Total avg is a welcome number in front of the big boys Pujols, Alex Rodriguez (who hit 4Hr and 13RBI this week). With all that, they lost the lead on the last day of the block as Brooklyn Superbas matched up game by game with the RedBirds. Both teams are running a virtual deadheat with Brooklyn a game ahead in the schedule. Indiana dropped 2 of 3, key games this week to the Bryan Bashers (remember them form last years race?) Bryan showed they are still a force in the Parker a very tough division. Perhaps in some other division, the Bashers would be a different story. Dustin Hermanson continues to be a dominant closer for Bryan formerly Kilgore. Indiana needed to win that last game, now Brooklyn has a 1 game in the win column edge. Brooklyn had a terrific week taking 3 of 4 from Schmidt contender Carolina. Brooklyn pulled all the stops with a devastating hitting attack featuring the combined play of Miguel Cabrera, Todd Helton, Ivan Rodriguez, Ryan Howard, JD Drew, and Jay Payton. Payton was on fire having a 2 HR game against Carolina. He has now 22 HR and is 2nd on the team in RBI's. Since Cabrera's arrival the Brooklyn offense has been heating up. Theyve raised their team BA to .280 and are back among the leaders in HR, clustered with Indiana, Carolina, and Philly. Brooklyn uses a platoon lineup in the OF/DH with several big bats playing semi regularly. Brooklyn always known for its bench strength, have used cards like Mike Jacobs, and Sal Fasano to provide potent power in key series.
In Staub Conference, Dawson's Belfast was the team to watch. So it went against Skokie and LP would determine whether first place stays in 'Ireland'. Longue Pointe however made a resurgence of sorts once again securing first place when a hot pitching rotation returned to form. Back to back shutouts on the 11th and 12th lifted LP over Allentown. ATown took back a game 8-4, then LP behind Sabathia won 6-2. Skokie came into Dawson to do alot of damage from abroad. They took 3 of 4 from the Brawlers in a critical series. Next for Belfast came the series of the week, perhaps the season to now. The division leading Adams' Belfast Brawlers. The Brawlers a very strong team the past few years and always tough as their name had been riding Chone Figgins and Julio Lugo all season. Lugo having a MVP type year is hitting .356 with 41 SB, and Figgins another big year .313 and 82 SB. With Brady Clarks 64 runs, Belfast speed game had to be stopped or slowed for LP to win. They dint stop their bats, but slowed the running a bit allowing only 1 SB from the tandem. This week Concepcion added Jason Varitek presumably to protect Sexson, and slow down the Brawlers. It worked this week, as LP took all 3 from Belfast.3-2, 7-4, and in 10 inn 5-2. Zambrano and Pettitte were strong and proved the difference limiting them on the paths. In fact LP used some speed from Counsell, Ichiro, and Nook Logan to reverse the roles. Logan has given LP and boost in reserve with his speed in a part time role. LP has 1 game in the win column on Belfast and is in a virtual deadheat.
Alamo had a good week returning to form. They moved 4 in front of Carolina who didn't recover from the beating at the hands of the Superbas. Alamo City has been in first place since May 18th. The knocked off Lake Co 2 of 3 and Philly by the same. Weaver, Mulder , and Garcia pitched well for the wins. Malachi Nellum must be pleased with his pitching this year. After last years record offense, Nellum landed some pitching in the off season to add to the offense. The result, the largest divisional lead in CBA at this point. Only 8 over .500, this is a race that bears watching. It could be decided at the wire. Carolina has a strong offense, and could get hot. The managers will play a key role in the outcome of this race for the NetPlayoffs. Moises is hitting .357 and is like a loaded gun providing necessary offense alongside Griffey. Alamo has stolen only 11 bases this year is having power problems this year. Carolina the opposite. 172 HR ties them with Brooklyn in HR. They dropped 2 of 3 to Ottawa this week. Shows that Schmidt has a ways to go to catch up to the big boys in Parker.
Skokie and Neah are dogfighting back and forth and back again. Now Neah is 1/2 game over the Wolfmen and their nice new uniforms. The CBA's European entries wheeling and dealing has been matched by Skillings Neah and his nice new uniforms. Neah's uniforms look a bit like the old Cincinnati uniforms of the early 60's. They they are playing well like those old Reds teams too. Neah owns CBA's best record with a .629 win pct. With the addition of some pitching, Silva, and nice cards, Cory Sullivan, and super sub Piedras, neah added what could be the final pieces to the puzzle and their bench. Looking for favorable matchups, Skillings is like a chess master with this team year after year. Kent and Piazza provided another lift for the Whalers this week. Piazza now has 4 HR in his last 7 games. Kent 3 HR 10 RBI in his last 6....Skokie
Skokie, Illinois, late Saturday, July
8th
Item: Pennant Fever -- The New Faces of the Wolfmen!!
This is Don Jacobs, lead reporter for the Skokie News
I am a personal friend of the Wolfman, and he has
been confiding in me for some time the private discussions
he has been having with various clubs -- so now that
the trade with Allentown has been approved by
the commissioner'
we can make the official announcement.
First some background on the long drive to make
this trade since early in the year.
In private discussions with Wolfman Shapiro, he
admitted that he felt what would prevent the Wolfmen
from make the Series was some extra hitting and the
long ball -- last season Montreal under his guidance
did well due to strong pitching (especially relief),
with defense and power but this year, the boys
are not hitting as many long balls although the
pitching has stepped up -- especially needed with
the long ball in Skokie Stadium where long balls can be seen
a lot due to the dimensions of the Park
Always in the way is arch divisional rival Neah Bay
who's pitching is keeping them just ahead of the Wolfmen
plus Neah Bay has just made themselves a key trade with Allentown
to strengthened their own squad with some extra hitting and
defense since Allentown sprang the news of house cleaning
to build for the future.
Wolfman has tried for quite some time to upgrade at 3B with a power
hitter -- he has pursued Chavez/Blalock with Sterling and also had
a trade on the table with Philly for A. Ramirez but he just
couldn't find a way to get to the pot of gold as both of
these clubs passed on any offers.
Now Aurilla, is to be commended, picked up from
Cooperstown just before the season ended -- he has
been a god send for the 2006 Wolfmen Campaign at 3B
where compared to 2005 with the tandem of Castilla and Feliz anchored
a strong hitting with power 3B for the Royals in 2005
but at the beginning of the year, Wolfman saw 3B
as a sore spot. Aurilla hs come to the task and at
the moment is 3rd on the club in homers and RBIs.
Aurilla was not happy with the trade news as now
he becomes the Wolfmen's defacto super-sub for
the infield but Skokie wouldn't be where it is now
without him. Aurilla said he realized the team
was searching for a better power hitter at 3B
and he wanted to do what was good for the team.
Skokie almost made a trade for Sheffield straight up
at the end of last week, giving away their top draft pick
of 2007, that they had been dangling to the league
but management felt with Sheffield age (Note:
and his injury in real life MLB will curtail his usage in
the 2007 CBA) that it was too high a price to pay
just to get one good hitter for the current season.
but then suddenly Allentown opened up and offered
all kinds of players so Wolfman made one last shot
to see if he could strengthen the club, especially
with power and hitting and a brief dialogue with
Allentown began with the offer mainly coming
from Allentwon -- Skokie knew Allentown wanted
either young players or draft picks
The Skokie needs were:
1) Power Hitting 3B
2) a young 1B who can hit lefties (since Tracy goes to 3B next year)
3) help for Lofton, who is showing his age and will need to be rested
Well, Skokie and Allentown came to an agreement on Friday
and the league approved the trade late tonight -- this could be
the one that puts Skokie over the top -- time will tell, as the
two giants of the Carter Division will see another photo finish
(hats off to John Skillings)
The trade made then is as follows, and we will provide our
analysis and part of the thinking of the Wolfman
Skokie trades their 1st & 2nd round draft picks with Feliz and
J. Michaels to Allentown for Sheffield, Cantu, Winn & Shelton
Wolfman admitted that he hated to give up the Skokie draft
picks but he believes for next season the team will be overstocked
with hitters (especially in the OF) and have two closers plus this
year they are developing a younger pitching staff -- and Clemens
will be back for one more final year and could slide in as a #3 or #4
starter so he is not too worried plus there are always good fringe
pitchers one can pick up.
Also sentimental favorite Feliz, was tough to part with considering
the incredible year he had for Montreal in 2005, but for this season
with the raising of Tracy (who will play 3B next year) and Feliz unable
to contribute to the club, it was decided to shore up the other ends of
the
team, he would have to go. Plus, Michaels also has been a great
player for the Wolfmen, very versatile in the OF, able to get
on base -- but with Tracy, Bradley, Lofton, Edmonds, Matthews, Brown
and now Winn and Sheffield, the OF which was a concern at
the beginning of the year, is now a strength -- we wish Michaels
well at Allentown, he is a great player and also we know that
Feliz will be great at 3B, and very steady for Allentown too.
Cantu will become the main 3B now, especially versus righties
with Aurilla and Easley playing against lefties
Sheffield will replace Michaels and play RF with Brown moving
to left field vs LHP -- quite a tandem and also will be starting
at times vs. reverse righties -- and play more in Skokie Stadium
Winn is going to give Lofton a rest -- who has been holding down
LF vs RHP -- Winn also brings some good power vs. RHP
and Shelton finally gives us a good hitting RH 1B and 1B
for the future
in order to make room the new faces, Matt Miller and Rafael
Palmiero are released as free agents.
With the trading of Feliz and releasing of Palmiero, only
Ted Lilly and G. Matthews (re-acquired and will be a key
player for 2007) are the remaining players from the very original team
Wolfman took over in Montreal, all the other players
who were Royals at the start of 2005 before the draft
are now gone. From the 2005 team at the end of the
year, the remaining players who finished with the playoff Royals
there are still here are the following five players:
Clemens, Lilly, Matheny, Itzuris, Mercker -- 6 if you include
Schoenweis, who was an RFA for Montreal. So the Wolfmen
does a lot of wheeling and dealing but he knows the type
of team he wants to build.
Also in other news, Skokie needing some more RH RP
innings has announced that after block 15 it will be dropping
J. Eischen and picking up as a RFA Blaine Boyer
Finally, not only was Skokie concerned about Neah Bay
but they are looking in the future and Indiana has also
made some key trades recently to bolster their team,
Wolfman feels that Indy right now could be the CBA
team to beat with Pujois, Rodriquez and Bay along with
some good pitchers they just picked up -- but Skokie now
has its own lubbering hitters as all four of the new
players can beat up the baseball to join Tracy and
Edmonds and various situation specialist -- Skokie
will be very tough vs. LHP but also now has the
bats vs RHP as well.
Anyway, the CBA is turning into another great season
with all kinds of races and stories -- who will be there
at the end or could it be another unsuspected team such
as Longue Pointe, who came from out of the blue last season
to capture the championship -- their recent pickup of
Varitek for Longue Pointe also was a great coup -- hats
off to good old Dennis (we know Varitek as we have him
on the Skokie Cubbies in the PSBL and he is doing
great for us, we also have Cantu and Sheffield too with
Griffey, Lee, Guillen, Boone, Matthews)
Well sports fans -- enjoy your Sunday, this is
Don Jacobs, reporting from Wolfmen Central,
lets see what happens next -- there is no telling
how the final half of the season may go!!
Quote from the Wolfman, "Thank god we finally
made this trade -- we have been working on this
for months -- congrats to Rich at Allentown, he
will be tough next year, there is no doubt, we
may be chancing him in 2007 but for now,
our focus is to secure our playoff spot and see
if we can overtake those tough Whalers -- they
still have the best pitching in the league and
good pitching will take you far!! Our staff is
also not bad and thank God we didn't have to
trade one of our key pitchers as we tried to
do so earlier in the year. I don't think we will
be making any other trades unless someone
overwhelms us -- we do have some extra
outfielders now and infielders!!
A look around the CBA this month is quite interesting. With CBA GM’s among the most experienced and competitive in the Strat-o-matic fanatic universe, CBA in 2006 can be described best as very competitive. GM’s have been very diligent in managing their teams. The result is again some terrific pennant races and wildcard chases we’ve seen. The battles are hard fought and there are many teams trading and jockeying for position. Each game means so much considering how the Dawson was decided with a 1 game playoff two years in a row.
The Dawson story this season is two fold. Belfast dominates the headlines as they opened a 4 ½ game lead over LP. With Limoilou 12 out and not much of a threat…yet…
And the disappointingly underachieving tandem of Joliet and SD out of contention, the Brawlers are a shining light in an otherwise moribund division. The Brawlers this week used some good pitching from Elarton, Chacin, Lawrence, and Seo to stay hot. Elarton & Chacin have 10 quality starts each. The Brawlers have won their last 18 of 22, to put distance between them and LP. Chone Figgins is well on way to a CBA record with 81 SB so far. Willie Aybar has a been a PH terror hitting .410 with about .500 OBA.
Meanwhile Longue Pointe hasn’t exactly done poorly themselves. Its just that Belfast has been on fire. Longue Pointe named after a recreation area in Quebec has just bid farewell to original Hitman/Logger Jason Kendall. Kendall goes on to Stirling (also in Canada) in exchange for Jason Varitek. LP is hoping to add a little power to their lineup. And they’ll need it to trim that mounting 4 ½ game distance. LP has had some great work off the bench from Craig Monroe who hit three HR’s in a game last week, and Nook Logan who has come in to hit .351 and steal 14 bases so far. The trademark LP bench has been solid, and the usual LP bullpen has done the trick. Todd Jones acquired for Nomar Garciavega, has been all that and more. 15 saves, and a tiny 1.24 ERA. LP and Belfast will be battling all year. Don’t be surprised if Limoilou makes some noise before its over. Never count out Jeff Boutet.
Skokie’s Wolfman has made quite an impact here in CBA with his competitive fire and winning ways. Skokie and Neah are really dogfighting for the Carter title, leaving the rest of Carter in the dust. Both teams went out and made some shrewd moves to go into battle and likely in the NetPlayoffs in October. Skokie needing some pop went out and acquired Cantu and Sheffield from division rival Allentown for the middle of Wolfmen’s order. Shapiro must have not been satisfied by the lowly .328 team OBA, and the .420 Slg when he authored that deal. Sheff is a .376 OBA man despite diminished power numbers in 06
. Neah added some puzzle pieces to solidify their bench with Piedra, and pitching staff with Carlos Silva and Corey Sullivan. Pedro and Smoltz have been excellent all year, and now the additions of Kent and Piazza are starting to pay dividends. Piazza had two big HR this past week, including a 4 for 6 game. Kent has hit 8 HR since joining Neah giving some needed power. It remains to be seen how losing the underrated Taguchi nad his combo of BA defense and speed will affect John Skillings Neah Bay Whalers. .
The Clemente battles are just as fascinating. The Schmidt has come alive in 06. In the past it was Lake County (NY Bombers) and the Rob Hite led Philly Phanatics always heading the division. This year we see a real race with 4 teams in contention. Alamo had been out front, but in CBA a 4 game lead is never safe. The story is the oncoming rush of the Carolina Copperheads. Winning 7 of 10, Carolina is now within a game and half of the Flames who have been atop through the past month. Carolina managed by Scott Kernan, have a lot of power. 9 players have 8+ HR. Dunn has 35 HR, Hafner 26, Tejada 16. All having big offensive seasons. Pitching is the question for the Copperheads. Though Mark Prior has been solid, the CC’s bullpen has been shambles. To win their division they will need to improve there.
Lake County is struggling a bit winning then losing alternatively it seems. David Dean went out and acquired Derek Turnbow to close games. The bullpen already pretty solid has been by committee with 8 pitchers recording saves. Turnbow is the kind of dominant closer Lake may need to rise in this division. The Schmidt leader Alamo is only 6 over .500, and the contenders all around .500 means that it will be the team that makes the moves at the right time could sneak into the title and the playoffs. It is likely that the Wildcard winners may come from Parker where Brooklyn, Indiana, and Ottawa are in a classic battle for that title.
Indiana has finally achieved first place for the first time this late in many years as the Houston Aeros. They officially went into 1st on July 7th. With June a strong month, and July off and running, Indiana has made quite a few trades to get into position in what some say is the toughest division in CBA. Certainly the most offense is in the Parker. Indiana ‘s lineup is awesome. Bay-Rod and Pujols have been tearing it up. Sizemore has been tremendous getting on base and hitting .325 and could be made a case for MVP for. Kazmir has emerged as staff ace winning 14 thus far. Oswalt has added 12 more wins. Indiana looks to be headed towards a playoff spot and could be seriously tough when the NetPlay gets going. Bob Fidler has been looking to play all comers online, but it seems CBA may be running scared of that matchup.
Brooklyn however is not. Brooklyn GM Marc Wass wnet and secured the services of slugging Miguel Cabrera to address the drop off in run production since Sosa’s alleged steroids stopped having effect. Cabrera has been solid so far hitting .320 in the Brooklyn Black and Gold. Mariano Rivera is making a case for Cy Young and has been lights out as the lone bright spot in the Brooklyn bullpen. Brooklyn pitching at Coors is a key, and with the staff ERA at 4.40 a full run less than last year, Brooklyn is quite solid. Brooklyn’s platoon system has been effective keeping Brooklyn a half game behind Indiana. Howard, Jacobs, Payton , and Vidro have been great in part time roles. Sal Fasano has been terrific against left handers too.
Ottawa had held the lead in Parker from May 17th to June 27th. Ottawas Vlad Papi(36 HR 96 RBI) show show has again carried them. Papi may break Sosa’s 2001 CGBA RBI record at this pace. Mix in Cliff Floyds solid season of 22 HR and that offense is nothing to take lightly. Loaiza and Webb have won 10 games each, and Ottawa will need more from their pitching to get back into first as they have slipped to 3 games out.
Stay tuned as this season gets down to the wire.
Some more hard to find stats…..
Quality Starts
R.Clemens SWC 21
C.Zambrano LLD 15
J.Peavy SSD 15
P.Martinez NWC 14
J.Smoltz NWC 14
C.Silva NWC 13
J.Lieber JJD 13
G.Maddux LLD 12
S.Kazmir IRP 12
C.Carpenter KBP 12
J.Johnson OTC 11
A.Pettitte LLD 11
J.Towers ANC 11
L.Hernandez ANC 11
J.Santana CCS 11
R.Oswalt IRP 11
J.Moyer LLD 11
K.Benson SSD 11
R.Harden PPS 11
T.Wakefield LWD 11
Rolaids Relief Point leaders…
M.Rivera BSP 64
B.Wagner AFS 59
J.Valverde CCS 49
D.Hermanson KBP 49
T.Jones LLD 47
J.Nathan PPS 44
F.Rodriguez SSD 42
C.Cordero SRS 38
D.Sanchez JJD 34
J.Tavarez OOP 33
S.Shields OTC 32
J.Isringhausen *** 30
D.Turnbow LLS 30
M.Wise SRS 25
B.Ryan BBD 25
B.Wickman IRP 24
H.Street SWC 23
F.Cordero CIP 22
J.Fassero SWC 22
C.Hensley LLS 21
C.Dingman OOP 20
C.Ray LWD 20
B.Lidge NWC 19
M.Batista BBD 19
B.Howry LLS 16
S.SchoeneweisSWC 15
N.Cotts PPS 15
C.Politte OOP 15
Most triples allowed.
J.Beckett LLS 7
B.Webb OOP 7
M.Mulder AFS 7
C.Lee AFS 6
J.Weaver AFS 6
D.Wells NWC 5
E.Bedard SWC 5
P.Martinez NWC 5
D.Davis ANC 5
J.Santana CCS 5
D.Haren SSD 5
Triples allowed in relief
R.Franklin CIP 5
G.Mota SRS 4
D.Sanchez JJD 3
J.Kennedy SSD 3
C.Fossum AFS 3
Wins in relief
S.Torres NWC 6
B.Ryan BBD 6
S.Eyre OOP 5
D.Weathers LWD 5
B.Kim PPS 5
M.Rivera BSP 5
M.Macdougal SSD 5
R.Franklin CIP 5
A.Reyes BBD 5
R.Springer NWC 5
Wild Pitches
M.Clement PPS 15
J.Lackey OOP 12
V.Zambrano MEC 10
J.Johnson OTC 10
B.Webb OOP 10
J.Contreras JJD 9
H.Carrasco AFS 8
M.Mulder AFS 8
D.Cabrera LWD 8
Most pitches in relief average
R.Franklin CIP 48.8
B.Kim PPS 48.2
D.Brazelton *** 47.6
C.Fossum AFS 44.4
J.Westbrook CCS 44.0
S.McClung SRS 42.8
G.Carrara BSP 41.6
D.Haren SSD 40.0
J.Papelbon LLS 39.0
Most inherited runners scored.
B.Kim PPS 24
A.Eaton JJD 22
R.Madson SRS 20
J.Kennedy SSD 17
H.Carrasco AFS 16
S.Kim OOP 15
D.Riske IRP 15
M.Wuertz ANC 14
G.Mota SRS 13
D.Weathers LWD 12
B.Meadows BBD 12
R.Franklin CIP 12
G.Meche SSD 12
E.Guardado LLS 12
J.Speier CIP 12
Most groundballs induced
B.Webb OOP 295
J.Garland *** 280
H.Ramirez CIP 271
J.Towers ANC 268
R.Oswalt IRP 266
M.Mulder AFS 265
D.Willis BSP 265
G.Maddux LLD 264
C.Carpenter KBP 264
D.Haren SSD 257
L.Hernandez ANC 253
R.Johnson PPS 251
J.Marquis LLS 251
Most HBP by pitcher
R.Johnson PPS 12
C.Capuano LWD 11
J.Vazquez LLS 10
R.Clemens SWC 10
S.Kazmir IRP 9
J.Weaver AFS 9
R.Madson SRS 9
J.Westbrook CCS 9
B.Zito SRS 8
J.Santana CCS 8
D.Davis ANC 8
B.Chen KBP 8
B.Sheets NWC 8
R.Oswalt IRP 8
Most flyball outs recorded by pitcher
R.Johnson PPS 236
B.Kim PPS 233
J.Garland *** 225
J.Santana CCS 225
C.Lee AFS 220
R.Franklin CIP 220
B.Arroyo SRS 215
J.Towers ANC 214
J.Weaver AFS 210
C.Capuano LWD 209
B.Webb OOP 208
C.Carpenter KBP 205
Most Ground outs into DP’s
B.Webb OOP 25
F.Garcia AFS 22
J.Smoltz NWC 21
J.Westbrook CCS 21
G.Chacin BBD 18
M.Mulder AFS 18
C.Carpenter KBP 18
E.Loaiza OOP 17
R.Oswalt IRP 17
C.Wang *** 16
R.Clemens SWC 16
B.Colon BSP 16
J.Garland *** 16
J.Lackey OOP 16
J.Vazquez LLS 16
D.Willis BSP 16
Batters:
Most intentional walks
M.Young CIP 12
D.Eckstein JJD 12
J.Damon AFS 10
F.Catalanotto AFS 10
M.Teixeira OTC 10
J.Peralta CIP 9
P.Polanco *** 9
G.Atkins LLS 8
R.Hernandez LWD 8
A.Miles BBD 8
J.Cantu *** 8
J.Kent *** 8
R.Johnson OOP 8
M.Kotsay BBD 8
LF Assists
C.Crawford SRS 8
J.Bay IRP 8
H.Matsui LLD 8
C.Floyd OOP 7
C.Lee PPS 7
R.Ibanez CIP 5
L.Gonzalez MEC 5
J.Gomes KBP 4
M.Ramirez LLS 4
J.Payton BSP 4
C.Granderson LWD 4
J.Cruz Jr KBP 4
K.Griffey Jr AFS 4
B.Kielty ANC 4
CF Assists
V.Wells BSP 20
D.Roberts CIP 15
R.Johnson OOP 13
J.Edmonds SWC 12
J.Damon AFS 11
G.Sizemore IRP 11
W.Taveras LLS 11
B.Wilkerson KBP 10
M.Kotsay BBD 9
C.Beltran LWD 9
G.Jenkins CCS 9
A.Jones SRS 9
L.Berkman PPS 8
J.Rivera MEC 8
C.Sullivan NWC 8
A.Rowand NWC 8
R.Winn SWC 8
RF Assists
M.Cabrera BSP 8
B.Clark BBD 8
B.Abreu PPS 7
G.Sheffield SWC 6
T.Nixon IRP 5
I.Suzuki LLD 5
V.Guerrero OOP 5
L.Matos LWD 4
P.Wilson OTC 4
J.Guillen AFS 4
R.Langerhans CIP 3
S.Green JJD 3
L.Walker LLS 3
R.Church LLS 3
V.Diaz LWD 3
C.Blake CCS 3
B.Giles NWC 3
M.Ordonez JJD 3
Working the Count (Most pitches Seen)
I.Suzuki LLD 1779
D.Jeter PPS 1776
D.Ortiz OOP 1768
A.Rodriguez IRP 1756
A.Pujols IRP 1750
T.Glaus LWD 1749
L.Overbay KBP 1730
B.Hall LWD 1725
J.Damon AFS 1719
J.Kent NWC 1708
J.Bay IRP 1706
B.Giles NWC 1706
M.Young CIP 1696
A.Jones SRS 1690
O.Vizquel OOP 1677
J.Rollins LLS 1674
B.Wilkerson KBP 1669
M.Giles AFS 1660
G.Sizemore IRP 1654
G.Jenkins CCS 1654
C.Lee PPS 1643
P.Konerko SRS 1643
C.Floyd OOP 1642
M.Teixeira OTC 1636
J.Cantu SWC 1632
P.Polanco *** 1631
S.Hillenbrand LLD 1629
Sac flies
I.Rodriguez BSP 7
A.Miles BBD 7
M.Young CIP 6
D.Eckstein JJD 6
N.Swisher SRS 5
J.Kendall SRS 5
M.Teixeira OTC 5
D.Ortiz OOP 5
M.Cabrera BSP 5
B.Giles NWC 5
Most Sacs
W.Taveras LLS 14
A.Berroa ANC 10
C.Sullivan NWC 10
A.Everett BSP 10
M.Mora CCS 9
D.Roberts CIP 9
J.Pierre JJD 9
D.Eckstein JJD 8
A.Kennedy OOP 8
D.Jeter PPS 8
O.Vizquel OOP 7
J.Carroll BBD 7
C.Figgins BBD 7
T.Iguchi IRP 7
Steals of third
J.Pierre JJD 15
C.Figgins BBD 12
J.Reyes SSD 11
J.Lugo BBD 11
S.Podsednik JJD 9
M.Lawton OTC 6
R.Freel JJD 5
N.Logan LLD 4
B.Hall LWD 4
I.Suzuki LLD 4
Total Bases
D.Ortiz OOP 257
A.Pujols IRP 235
C.Utley PPS 216
G.Sizemore IRP 216
C.Delgado LLS 215
A.Dunn CCS 214
J.Bay IRP 212
A.Jones SRS 210
A.Rodriguez IRP 209
V.Guerrero OOP 208
M.Tejada CCS 206
M.Cabrera BSP 204
E.Chavez SRS 202
V.Wells BSP 199
HR from 5th hole
C.Floyd OOP 18
A.Dunn CCS 17
C.Tracy SWC 12
T.Clark IRP 11
V.Diaz LWD 10
A.Rodriguez IRP 10
A.Huff BBD 9
J.Payton BSP 9
C.Jones JJD 8
G.Sheffield SWC 8
J.Bay IRP 8
HR from 6th hole
P.Konerko SRS 16
R.Branyan OOP 13
G.Jenkins CCS 12
R.Hernandez LWD 9
M.Kotsay BBD 8
A.Dunn CCS 7
T.Clark IRP 7
G.Zaun MEC 7
M.Sweeney SSD 6
B.Hawpe *** 6
N.Swisher SRS 6
R.Howard BSP 6
RBI’s from 6th hole
R.Hernandez LWD 44
P.Konerko SRS 40
M.Sweeney SSD 30
G.Jenkins CCS 27
R.Aurilia SWC 25
R.Branyan OOP 23
M.Kotsay BBD 22
J.Posada ANC 21
G.Zaun MEC 20
B.Hawpe *** 20
HR 7th hole
J.Gibbons SSD 9
C.Pena SRS 8
C.Utley PPS 7
T.Nixon IRP 7
C.Lee PPS 7
J.Varitek LLD 7
N.Swisher SRS 6
A.Dunn CCS 5
C.Crisp CCS 5
C.Shelton SWC 5
RBI’s from 7th hole
C.Lee PPS 32
J.Gibbons SSD 29
S.Stewart LWD 29
T.Nixon IRP 27
J.Varitek LLD 24
C.Pena SRS 20
C.Crisp CCS 19
C.Utley PPS 19
C.Shelton SWC 18
M.GrudzielaneSWC 18
D.Eckstein JJD 18
S.Casey AFS 17
E.Hinske LLS 17
HR 8th hole
J.Varitek LLD 8
M.Matheny SWC 7
M.Cuddyer SSD 6
C.Everett OOP 6
C.Beltran LWD 6
B.Wilkerson KBP 6
C.Lee PPS 5
A.Rios BBD 5
A.Pierzynski JJD 5
R.Barajas OTC 5
J.Dye SSD 5
RBI’s 8th hole
M.Matheny SWC 35
C.Beltran LWD 34
B.Wilkerson KBP 24
A.Pierzynski JJD 23
I.Rodriguez BSP 23
A.Rios BBD 23
C.Everett OOP 22
J.Varitek BSP 22
A.Gonzalez MEC 21
J.Uribe AFS 20
M.Cuddyer SSD 19
R.Ibanez CIP 19
In looking over this weeks games a few things stood out. First look how many teams are right in the thick of the race. Second, how small a margin it is between contenders. Any advantage can mean so much given CBA’s recent past. Noting how the 2004 & 2005 seasons came down to a 1 game playoff in that incredible Dawson division. Third the possibility of a Cinderella team like the 04 KC A’s (Allentown Senators) who hovered near .500 then exploded to make a wildcard when Rich Schneider took over. That wildcard later faced Brooklyn in the World Championship. They all mix together and form quite a competitive season where there are no dominant teams. Anything goes.
Again the Dawson is something interesting to watch. Again LP and Belfast are battling, this time without Limoilou in the picture. Neither team seems to be dominant but each has their specialty. LP their terrific bullpen, and Belfast with lots of hits and speed. Lost in this mix inexplicably is Joliet and SD who seem to be classic underachievers year after year. The story of ’06 has to be Belfast’s climb to the top of Dawson. It just seems that everyone is getting in on the act. Unsung stars such as Chone Figgins and his 70 count ‘em 70 SB’s is well on his way to a CBA record. Julio Lugo at .356 31sb , Brady Clark in the 3 hole in the lineup hitting .350 with 47 RBI and super sub Aaron Miles 31 RBI and .366 Batting avg. Belfast’s bullpen has kept them in most games allowing only 28% of inherited runners to score. LP has had some strong bullpen production by committee as 7 relievers have saved games. Todd Walker has been outstanding coming in a pre-season trade. The old LP set men are still getting it done as they always have. Guys like Brian Fuentes, Jorge Julio, Kiko Calero, and Kelvim Escobar have had quite a bit to do with LP’s successes the past 2 seasons. Shea Hillenbrand has been LP’s top hitter and surprisingly Ichiro is hitting below .290. Be interesting to see how this race develops.
The other Staub Conference division the Carter is having a street fight between Neah and Skokie. Each team is manipulating and moving trying to outdo each other in the heated battle for the crown. Skokie had a tough time with Belfast this past week dropping two. Clemens gained a no decision in a loss. Clemens had been lights out all year with a CBA leading 17 quality starts. Skokies pitching has been the M.O. as their offense has been a bit soft with a .332 OBa and .428 slg. Meanwhile the hurlers are keeping runners off the paths yielding only a .248 Ba. Edmonds and Tracy have been much of the offense in Skokie.
Neah Bay has had less offense, but once again reigns supreme with their yearly dominant pitching. Neah Bay’s legacy is second to none in the pitching department. Pedro has 5 CBA no-hitters. Again the Whalers have the CBA lead with a 3.16 ERA. Pedro is 10-4 2.09, Smoltz is 9-5 2.57. The staff has allowed the least amount of baserunners in CBA. They have allowed the fewest walks too, 194. This years offensive stars for Neah are Brian Giles and Mike Cameron with each amassing over a 1.000 total average. Next week Neah plays the Dawson’s Joliet in series 1, and SD in series 2. While Skokie only plays a 4 game series against Longue Pointe.
The Clemente had some noise when Brooklyn and Stirling swapped some players. Swisher headed up north to Canada along with wonderkind Milledge and Brooklyn settled Miguel Cabrera in the House of Pain. Indiana off several recent deals is still struggling to gain some winning consistency as is Brooklyn. Both are trailing behind ‘Hot’tawa by 5 and 3 respectively. Indiana though is showing some signs as ARod and Pujols are on fire. Indiana’s twin terrors both launched moonshots in the same game 2 nights in a row on June 15th and 16th on the schedule. A Rod has been on fire with 14 hits in 7 games. Hitting 3 Hrs and having 2, 4 hit games. He has 16 runs scored in 9 games. Indiana needs him and Pujols to stay hot. Tony Clark has been devastating for Indiana since his acquisition hitting 7 Hr and a .311 Ba in 45 AB’s. Ottawa has won 9 of the last 10 and just keeps a rollin even when their subs play. Chris Woodward played LF in a key role in the Ottawa lineup. He has been hitting .500 since his activation this week.
Scott Eyre has been such a story for the Otters. A 0.88 era in 45 innings with 10 holds good for 2nd in CBA.
Alamo maintains a 3 game lead over Dean’s Lake County Leopards. Now Carolina Copperheads after a successful week has entered the scene. Only 5 ½ back, the Copperheads led by Brian Roberts .326 good for CBA top 10 in BA, and Adam Dunn’s 31 HR’s are looking more like a contender. Carolina leads CBA with 141 HR’s which puts them on pace to join CBA’s all time HR leaders by seasons end. CCS has a .488 team slug pct. And also are 2nd in CBA in K’s. Travis Hafner has socked 23 HR hitting .302, and 10 hitters have 7 or more HR. A team effort, when Johan Santana heats up, this team could be in like for a nice September.
(AP) 'House Of Pain', Bklyn NY 21:43pm.....................
To Brooklyn: Miguel Cabrera, Anderson Hernandez and SRS # 6
To Stirling: Nick Swisher, Lastings Milledge, BSP # 2 and BSP # 5
The House of Pain has added a new slugger to the offensive leagcy of the Brooklyn 'Poibs. Miguelito Cabrera the young 3B/OF with the potent bat is the latest and newest Superba to wear the Black and Gold. In a deal that took well over a year to materialize, Brooklyn moved away quite a bit of young potential and talent to get him and future 2B Anderson Hernandez. Gone are the 4 tool Swisher, and super propsect Lastings Milledge along with a #2 and a #5 pick.
Manager John Stearns is very pleased with the trade and has announced that Cabrera will receive a majority of his playing time at 3B allowing the potent bat and versatility of Rob Mackowiak to become the teams primary utility man. Said SStearns, "Miguelito will be a huge hit with the Brooklyn fans. He will love playing in Prospect Park's House of Pain. He will love his team mates but I hope not too much if you know what I...." Stearns was immediate cutoff by media secretary Bebe Rebozito before he could finish his thought. It is believed that Jay Payton will take most of the At bats that Swisher was getting and play LF. Swisher had already hit 14 HR's for Brooklyn this season just 1 less than Cabrera.
" We team good be good now you bet " said NY cab driver Shetstayn Al-Faitale. "This Miguelito is good playa. He be de guy that be." Other fans voiced their satisfaction over the deal. Tony BiFonzarukie another Brooklyn fan offered this analysis. "Yo, wit Cabrera in da House, the Poibs got a shot at catching the Otters, and holding off that Indiana team. Those guys are tough we had to do something...."
GM Marc Wass agreed......
Well how about Malachi Nellum's Alamo City Flames. One of CBA's veteran franchises, Alamo has been slowly rebuilding and now the dividends. A 4 game lead over Dave Dean's struggling Lake County Leopards, and Wayne "McGoo's" Stirling Red Sox. The Flames have been in first for 3 weeks now and they look like an emerging CBA force. Look at the damage Ken Griffey Jrdid for the Flames in this June 7th game.
ALAMO CITY AT PHILLY
Flames.......... 3 3 7 0 0 0 3 0 0 - 16 16 0
Phantastics..... 3 0 2 0 1 3 0 0 0 - 9 12 1
Win:Seanez(2-3) Loss:Perez(1-6)
Homeruns- M.Giles(5th), K.Griffey Jr-2(14th),
B.Abreu(17th), C.Utley-2(25th)
Left fielder Ken Griffey Jr slammed 2 homeruns
and had 8 RBI at Ameriquest
Field where the Alamo City Flames beat the
Philly Phantastics 16 to
9.
Griffey Jr had a great day at the plate. He
smacked a three-run homer in the
1st inning, doubled which was good for two runs
in the 2nd inning and lifted
one out of the park for a two run home run (his
14th of the season) in the
3rd inning. Alamo City kept the scorekeepers
busy in the 3rd inning with 7
runs on 6 hits. Alamo City finished with 16 hits
while Philly ended up with
12.
Rudy Seanez(2-3) picked up the victory, allowing
no runs in 3 and 2/3 innings.
Oliver Perez(1-6) ended up with the loss. He
pitched 1 and 2/3 innings
giving up 4 hits and 4 walks.
Jack hammers sweep Longue Pointe...June 7th. Joliet left for dead after their May swoon, sought revenge on the LP Loggers who have been in first for most of the season. Joliet swept 4 games from Dennis C's team who had just split with Carter divisions Thundercats in the first series. LP riding a strong team effort and a nice lead in Dawson, didnt expect the venom the Jack's dished out. Joliet a fairly laid back team exploded in a 15-11 win on June 6th. Aolfonso Soriano lived up to his price tag with 2 HR's and the game winner in the 11th, a Grand Slam HR to win it.
BOXSCORE: 2006 Joliet Jackhammers
At 2006 Longue Pointe Loggers 6/6/2006
Lots of runs, lots o' hits. Joliet climbs back
into race.
Jackhammers AB R H RBI AVG Loggers AB R H RBI AVG
J.Pierre CF 4 3 2 1 .258 C.Counsell SS 5 1 2 2
.281
M.Holliday LF 3 2 1 0 .242 I.Suzuki RF 6 1 1 1
.282
A-S.Podsednik LF 2 1 0 0 .241 S.Hillenbrand 3B 6
1 2 2 .316
A.Soriano 2B 6 2 3 8 .228 R.Sexson 1B 5 1 1 0
.255
D.Lee 1B 6 2 2 2 .337 H.Matsui LF 6 1 2 2 .242
S.Green RF 6 1 4 0 .295 T.Hunter CF 6 1 2 1 .255
D.Eckstein SS 5 1 2 0 .316 J.Kendall C 4 3 2 0
.254
A.Pierzynski C 4 0 0 0 .244 L.Gonzalez 2B 3 0 0
0 .231
B-Y.Torrealba C 2 1 1 2 .275 D-T.Martinez PH 1 0
0 0 .224
R.Freel 3B 4 0 0 0 .252 E-J.Cirillo 2B 0 1 0 0
.364
C.Spurling P 0 0 0 0 .000 G.Maddux P 2 0 1 1
.115
J.Putz P 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Witasick P 0 0 0 0 ----
A.Eaton P 0 0 0 0 .333 F-N.Logan PH 1 0 0 0 .000
G-R.Shealy PH 0 0 0 0 .432 J.Julio P 0 0 0 0
----
H-C.Barmes PR 1 1 0 0 .273 R.Dempster P 0 0 0 0
.091
D.Sanchez P 0 0 0 0 ---- H.Bell P 0 0 0 0 ----
M.Redman P 0 0 0 0 .095 I-A.Gonzalez PH 1 1 1 2
.292
D.Williams P 0 0 0 0 .000
J.Contreras P 2 0 0 0 .172
L.Vizcaino P 1 0 0 0 .000
C-W.Helms 3B 2 1 2 1 .365
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 48 15 17 14 Totals 46 11 14 11
A-Subbed Defensively (LF) For Holliday In 8th
Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Pierzynski In 8th
Inning
C-Subbed Defensively (3B) For Vizcaino In 8th
Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Gonzalez In 8th Inning
E-Subbed Defensively (2B) For Martinez In 9th
Inning
F-Pinch Hit For Witasick In 9th Inning
G-Pinch Hit For Eaton In 11th Inning
H-Pinch Ran For Shealy In 11th Inning
I-Pinch Hit For Bell In 11th Inning
Jackhammers..... 2 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 - 15 17 1
Loggers......... 0 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 5 - 11 14 1
Jackhammers (32-35) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA
J.Contreras 4 1/3 7 5 5 1 5 2 91 4.83
L.Vizcaino 3 1 0 0 1 2 0 39 4.10
C.Spurling HOLD(3rd) 0 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 3.69
J.Putz BS(1st) 0 2/3 1 1 1 0 0 1 3 4.29
A.Eaton WIN(2-2) 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 10 4.63
D.Sanchez 0 2 3 3 0 0 0 11 4.73
M.Redman 0 1/3 1 1 1 0 0 0 11 4.14
D.Williams 0 2/3 2 1 1 0 0 1 8 4.90
Totals 11 14 11 11 2 8 4
Loggers (39-29) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA
G.Maddux 7 10 6 6 1 5 2 142 3.81
J.Witasick 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 34 7.07
J.Julio LOSS(0-1) 1 2 5 5 2 1 1 38 8.25
R.Dempster 0 1/3 2 4 3 1 0 0 18 3.55
H.Bell 0 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 14 3.38
Totals 11 17 15 14 4 6 3
ATTENDANCE- 51,907 DATE- Friday, June 6th 2006
TIME- Night WEATHER- Average
UMPIRES- Tim Welke, Larry Poncino, Svooge
Nybroutiv, Ed Rapuano
T- 4:28
LEFT ON BASE- Jackhammers: 8 Loggers: 7
DOUBLE PLAYS- Jackhammers: 0 Loggers: 1
ERRORS- J.Contreras, J.Cirillo
DOUBLES- A.Soriano(17th), D.Lee(24th),
D.Eckstein(8th), Y.Torrealba(9th),
W.Helms(8th), S.Hillenbrand(20th), H.Matsui(9th)
TRIPLES- M.Holliday(3rd), J.Kendall(2nd),
A.Gonzalez(1st)
HOME RUNS- A.Soriano-2(14th), D.Lee(14th),
I.Suzuki(3rd), S.Hillenbrand(8th),
H.Matsui(6th), T.Hunter(9th)
STOLEN BASES- J.Pierre-5(46th)
CAUGHT STEALING- J.Pierre-2, C.Counsell
SACRIFICE HITS- J.Pierre, G.Maddux
WALKS- M.Holliday, S.Podsednik, D.Eckstein,
R.Shealy, C.Counsell, R.Sexson
HIT BY PITCH- J.Pierre-2, W.Helms, J.Kendall,
J.Cirillo
STRIKE OUTS- M.Holliday, D.Lee, D.Eckstein,
A.Pierzynski, J.Contreras-2,
C.Counsell, I.Suzuki, S.Hillenbrand-2, H.Matsui,
T.Hunter,
J.Kendall, L.Gonzalez
GIDP- D.Eckstein
BALKS- H.Bell
WILD PITCHES- J.Julio
Second baseman Alfonso Soriano smashed 2
homeruns as the Joliet Jackhammers
defeated the Longue Pointe Loggers in 11 innings
by the score of 15 to 11 at
Molson Yards (nya).
The score was knotted at 6 after nine innings.
Joliet won the hard fought
contest in the 11th inning. The key offensive
moment was provided by Soriano
who deflated the crowd as he launched a Grand
Slam homerun (his 14th of the
season). Joliet provided plenty of action in the
11th inning which saw them
plate 9 runs on 4 hits. Joliet had 17 hits
overall, while Longue Pointe had
14.
The win went to Adam Eaton(2-2) who allowed no
runs in 1 and 1/3 innings.
Jorge Julio(0-1) was the loser in relief. He
gave up 2 hits and 2 walks in 1
inning.
Joliet also solved the Longue Pointe lefty puzzle. Sabathia and Moyer were
roughed by the Frosted Jack's. Julio the dominant has become Julio the
bombed. Wes Helms has stepped in with a .353 bat and Derick Lee has hit 14
Hr's to give Joliet some hope. Lee's 3 hits helped JJ defeat LP in game 3,
11-5. Lee knocked in 3 runs in Parc Jarry#2...
Indiana looked so hopeful after a couple bold trades and a strong block 9. The week started great for the RB's as they met Ottawa in a battle of Parker rivals. Ottawa has held first place and has been dog fighting with both Brooklyn and Indiana all season long. Indiana needed to take a series from Ottawa and they did. May 31st game was a classic with Indy winning with a run in the 1oth on a Toby Hall single. Indy took 3 of 4 moving to within 2 games of the lead. The road to the top seemed easy enough as Cooperstown was next. RedBird fans ever optimistic and buzzing from the weeks events thus far may have taken the Ryan Wyke led Iron Horses too lightly.
Cooperstown stopped the Indiana Redbirds winning 3 of 4 behind renewed offense, and Justin Speier. Speier has issued no runs in 13 appearances. Radke, Franklin, and Ch Cordero captured the Birds and stalled their flight to the top in Parker. In the 4th game of the series, Cooperstown managed only 3 hits in their 2-1 win. Indy had 12 hits. Despite Tony Clark's heroics this week (7 HR), Indy only moved up 1 notch towards Ottawa in Parker....
BOXSCORE: 2006 Indiana RedBirds
At 2006 Cooperstown Iron Horses 6/7/2006
RedBirds AB R H RBI AVG Iron Horses AB R H RBI AVG
G.Sizemore CF 5 0 1 0 .315 M.Young SS 3 1 1 0
.306
P.Polanco 2B 4 0 3 0 .348 C.Wilson RF 3 0 0 0
.250
D-T.Walker PH 1 0 0 0 .329 D.Johnson 1B 3 0 0 1
.280
A.Pujols 1B 4 0 2 0 .301 D.Bell 3B 4 0 1 1 .270
A.Rodriguez SS 4 0 1 0 .276 J.Buck C 2 0 0 0
.262
J.Bay LF 4 0 1 0 .308 R.Langerhans LF 3 0 1 0
.181
T.Clark DH 4 1 2 1 .265 J.Peralta DH 3 0 0 0
.299
T.Nixon RF 3 0 0 0 .221 R.Gotay 2B 3 0 0 0 .248
H.Blalock 3B 4 0 1 0 .235 D.Roberts CF 1 1 0 0
.286
T.Hall C 2 0 0 0 .243
A-M.Stairs PH 1 0 1 0 .308
B-M.Olivo C 0 0 0 0 .184
C-J.Conine PH 1 0 0 0 .343
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 37 1 12 1 Totals 25 2 3 2
A-Pinch Hit For Hall In 7th Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Stairs In 7th
Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Olivo In 9th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Polanco In 9th Inning
RedBirds........ 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 12 0
Iron Horses..... 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 - 2 3 0
RedBirds (36-30) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA
SCORESHEET
S.Kazmir LOSS(9-5) 7 3 2 2 6 6 0 130 3.90 A1 D5
D.Riske 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 15 4.62 D6
Totals 8 3 2 2 6 8 0
Iron Horses (28-40) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA
SCORESHEET
B.Radke WIN(5-7) 7 12 1 1 1 6 1 104 3.49 A1 D5
B.Thompson HOLD(1st) 0 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 6.57 D6
D6
J.Crain HOLD(7th) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 3.14 D7 D9
F.Cordero SAVE(6th) 0 2/3 0 0 0 0 2 0 10 5.63 E1
Totals 9 12 1 1 1 8 1
ATTENDANCE- 16,786 DATE- Saturday, June 7th 2006
TIME- Day WEATHER- Good
UMPIRES- Dougles Eddings, Greg Gibson, Sam
Holbrook, Paul Emmel
T- 2:26
LEFT ON BASE- RedBirds:10 Iron Horses: 9
DOUBLE PLAYS- RedBirds: 0 Iron Horses: 1
DOUBLES- P.Polanco(21st)
HOME RUNS- T.Clark(20th)
SACRIFICE HITS- D.Roberts
SACRIFICE FLIES- D.Johnson
WALKS- T.Nixon, M.Young, C.Wilson, J.Buck-2,
J.Peralta, D.Roberts
HIT BY PITCH- R.Langerhans, R.Gotay
STRIKE OUTS- G.Sizemore-3, T.Walker, A.Pujols,
A.Rodriguez, T.Nixon, H.Blalock,
M.Young, C.Wilson, D.Johnson, D.Bell, J.Buck,
J.Peralta, R.Gotay-2
GIDP- H.Blalock
WILD PITCHES- S.Kazmir
At Wrigley Field, the Cooperstown faithful were
treated to an intriguing
pitcher's duel. Brad Radke(5-7) finally bested
his Indiana counterpart,
Scott Kazmir(9-5), by the score of 2 to 1.
Cooperstown had 2 runs cross the plate in the
5th inning. Despite losing,
Indiana out-hit Cooperstown 12 to 3. Radke got
help from Francisco Cordero
who earned his 6th save. The loss was charged to
Kazmir. He surrendered 3
hits and 6 walks in 7 innings.
MARIANO! Brooklynites are ecstatic about Mariano's 30 scoreless inning streak! He single handedly helped push Brooklyn back into the race in Parker with 3 big wins to put his record at 5-0, and 3 more saves to give him 13 on the season. Rivera has not allowed a single run this year nailing shut all his opponents. Read this, 30 innings, 7 hits!!! 34 K's. Ligts out a 0% inherited runner scoring stat. Brooklyn's super platooners starred. The House of Pain is still rockin'.
46,907 fans were treated to a fine game at
House of Pain {Col} as only one run
separated the combatants at game's end. The
Brooklyn Superbas won by the
slimmest of margins, 6 to 5.
The game was won by Brooklyn with a run in the
8th inning. Todd Helton hit a
bases-empty home run (his 6th of the season).
Brooklyn managed 11 in their
victory.
The victory went to Mariano Rivera(4-0) who went
2 innings, allowing no runs.
Scott Linebrink(3-8) was charged with the loss
in relief....
The battle fior Carter rages. With the Wolfmen
looking to tear into the Whalers. In Game 1 lefty David Wells easily
handled the Skok's lineup. Game 2 Game 2 was all Neah teaching the newer
Skokie franchise a 7-0 lesson in pitching seemingly asserting their
strength over the past 4 seasons in one walloping game. Recent #1 draftee
"King" Felix Hernandez made a spot start and mowed down the Skoks in this
key game. Piazza paid dividends witha HR and 5 RBi's.
May 30th, 2006
Although this week didn't see the leads change hands, the pennant races became more defined. In the Staub, Longue Pointe was able to hold off rival Belfast this week. Belfast's Chone Figgins is currently on a27 game hitting streak, longest of the year thus far. LP has won 8 of last 10 games, with a 10-5 record in 1 run games a testament to their bullpen support. LP was able to Slow SD who dropped 8 back and Maine who is struggling to find themselves in '06. SD and Joliet had dismal weeks and are rapidly falling out of the playoff race as Allentown has played well enough to move into contention for at least a wildcard being 4 games over .500 while the others have struggled. Unless SD and joliet make some progress it may be those three looking into the post season. Skokie has been on fire and now owns a 1.5 game lead over ever tough Neah Bay. Those two will dogfight all year as they have each made moves to improve their Staub division playoff chances.
In Clemente Philly again set some offensive marks. Scoring 26 runs on May 28th, in a 26-4 win over contending Stirling, the Phantastics lashed 24 hits. Carlos Lee walked 4 times, Lance Berkman scored 5 runs and Knocked in 6 on 4 hits. There were 3 players with 5 RBI or more. Philly is 8.5 behind Schmidt division leader Alamo City whop held first for another week. Alamo, Malachi Nellum's team, 32-26, isn't the offensive force they were '05, but much improved pitching has been the difference. With their team ERA about 1.5 runs less, the Flames and their new uniforms, have been solid this season. Billy Wagner has been lights out with 15 sv and a miniscule 0.71 ERA. Moises Alou is still flirting with .400 and has hit 8 taters thus far...Lake County a game back is hanging tough as Frank Thomas, and Larry Walker / Carlos Delgado have been quite deadly, rivaling Ottawa's Vlad-Papi combo. The Leopards pitching has been even better than Alamo's so this will be an interesting race to watch. Stirling is right there a game back as well. Wayne McGee, an original CBA owner has to be pleased how his RedSox have bounced back after a short 1 year rebuild. Cabrera and Konerko have been marvelous for Wayne. SRS has been winning despite not getting on base as much as expected, .336 team OBA.Lots of power and a good leadoff man, Crawford, may be the difference. David Ortiz had a 5 hit game for Parker leader Ottawa on May 30th. Ottawa has a 4 game lead over both Brooklyn and Indiana. It looks like Jack Jung's team may be the class of Parker. Brooklyn cant seem to get untracked. Brooklyn doesn't seem to have their renowned pop this year, struggling along with a '.266' Batting avg, about 30 pts below their 10 year normal. Indiana is also at 4 games back and both those two should be battling all year for a playoff spot. With Indiana's latest trades, they may be a favorite to overtake the Superbas in the chase.
May 22nd 2006
Very interesting month. With some race lead changes. Never can tell
week to week who will
emerge with everyone so tightly packed. With a rush, Alamo City has taken
control in the
Schmidt from Lake County. Malachi Nellum has been waiting patiently for a
few season for
his team to gel and it appears it may be doing just that, having a strong
week, sweeping
Bryan their Texas rivals. May has been good for Alamo who were a few under
.500 as of
May 4th, but have steady climbed now in first place. Could have been a
bigger lead had
they not lost 2 of 3 to Lake County in the final series....Striling has
quietly moved back
into the race actually to within a half game of first for. Its their first
time that close
to the top spot since early 2004. 5 players with double digit HR's.
Andruuw Jones had a
big week breaking his slump with a multiple HR game. Chavez, Konerko,
Cabrera and Belliard
10 27 .355 have all hit the long balls. It certainly hasn't been their
pitching with a mid
5 ERA. Lake County ever tough has used the big bat of Carlos Delgado 16 50
.321 to stay
in the thick of it. Carolina led by 101 HR Adam Dunn's 25 HR and the
amazing season of
Travis Hafner's 17 41 .317 are poised to strike with a great
offense....Ottawa is back in
first place. They took apart Brooklyn in their head to head by the Bash
Brothers Ortiz and
Guerrero doing tons of damage. Perhaps CBA's strongest offensive tandem
they helped take 3
games form the Superbas destroying the Brooklyn pitchers...Indiana and
Brooklyn went head
to head with the Supers winning 3 of 4 from them. Brooklyn pitchers
couldnt hold on as
Indiana makes their rush to fight in the Parker.Wang and Loaiza pitching
well in their key
starts. Brooklyn has fallen 3 1/2 out and are looking at a tough road
ahead if they wish
to repeat. Indiana has won 7, 1 run games to account for their rise.
Sizemore, Bay, and
Al Pujols have been hitting very well. Could you imagine when A Rod heats
up what may
happen here in Parker?....
Longue Pointe has taken command in Dawson with a solid week splitting with
the Senators
and taking 2 of 3 from Maine. Pitching the key with solid pen work by
committee and
excellent starting pitching. LP got some nice small ball using Hit and Run
and some key
steals by Ichiro to move ahead. Hillenbrand continues his clutch hitting
to keep LP
atop... Belfast struggled dropping both their series. Belfast has hit a
team .292 BA
but managed only 46 HR's this year. JD Adams must be scratching his head
after losing
to Joliet after Limoilou took 3 of 4 from Belfast in Quebec in was a
crucial city for the
Brawlers. It was a lone bright spot in an otherwise dismal season for the
once mighty
Wendigo. Perhaps this weeks trade for Tim Hudson proved a spark. It sure
did for Neah Bay
who despite the tremendous play of Skokie had an awesome first week half
defeating Joliet
3 of 4 in retaking 1st place in Carter, only to drop their final series to
SD 2 of 3. Neah
swept OTC in their series after losing two to SD in the first half. Joliet
remains 5 1/2
out with SD 6 games out floating along on the cusp....
CBA is off and running. The new website address is speedy and no pop-ups.
Below is the no hitter....
BOXSCORE: 2006 Alamo City Flames At
2006 Stirling Redsox
4/25/2006
Flames
AB R H RBI AVG Redsox
AB R H RBI AVG
J.Damon CF
4 0 0 0 .244 C.Crawford LF
4 1 1 0 .226
M.Giles 2B
3 0 0 0 .333 R.Belliard 2B
4 1 3 1 .385
M.Alou DH
4 0 0 0 .421 A.Jones CF
3 2 1 2 .221
J.Francoeur RF
4 0 0 0 .333 M.Cabrera RF
3 0 1 1 .354
K.Griffey Jr LF 2
1 0 0 .310 A-J.Repko RF
1 0 0 0 .250
B.Mueller 3B
4 0 0 0 .261 E.Chavez 3B
4 0 0 0 .187
S.Casey 1B
2 0 0 0 .373 P.Konerko 1B
4 0 0 0 .208
J.Uribe SS
2 0 0 0 .189 J.Varitek C
3 0 0 0 .239
M.Redmond C
2 0 0 1 .185 J.Larue DH
1 0 0 0 .148
O.Cabrera SS 3 0 1
0 .242
-- -- -- ---
-- -- -- ---
Totals 27 1 0 1
Totals 30 4 7 4
A-Subbed Defensively (RF) For Cabrera In 8th Inning
Flames.......... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
- 1 0 0
Redsox.......... 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
- 4 7 1
Flames (15-12)
IP H R ER BB
SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET
C.Lee LOSS(3-3)
8 7 4 4
2 10 1 127 4.68 A1
Totals
8 7 4 4
2 10 1
Redsox (9-18)
IP H R ER BB
SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET
B.Zito WIN(1-5)
7 0 1 1
5 5 0 121 8.88 A1 C8
M.Wise SAVE(4th)
2 0 0 0
1 3 0 26 2.08 C9
Totals
9 0 1 1
6 8 0
ATTENDANCE- 27,781 DATE- Friday, April 25th 2006
TIME- Day WEATHER- Average
UMPIRES- Alfonso Marquez, Jeff Kellogg, Jerry Layne,
Lil' Jack Little
T- 2:12
LEFT ON BASE- Flames: 5 Redsox: 5
DOUBLE PLAYS- Flames: 0 Redsox: 1
ERRORS- R.Belliard
DOUBLES- C.Crawford(7th), R.Belliard(7th),
M.Cabrera(6th)
HOME RUNS- A.Jones(7th)
WALKS- M.Giles, K.Griffey Jr-2, S.Casey, J.Uribe,
M.Redmond, J.Larue-2
HIT BY PITCH- A.Jones
STRIKE OUTS- M.Giles, M.Alou, J.Francoeur, K.Griffey
Jr-2, B.Mueller, J.Uribe-2,
C.Crawford-2, R.Belliard, M.Cabrera-2, J.Repko, E.Chavez,
P.Konerko, J.Varitek-2
GIDP- M.Giles
The Stirling Redsox pitching staff gave the fans an
afternoon that they'll
never forget by tossing a combined no-hitter! The
tension started to build
around the 6th inning. By the 9th inning the
crowd was electrified. Alamo
City went down without a fight in the 9th.
Barry Zito(1-5) got credit for the victory, pitching
7 innings and allowing 1
run. Zito got help from Matt Wise who was credited
with his 4th save. Cliff
Lee(3-3) absorbed the loss. He surrendered 4
runs and 7 hits in 8 innings.
'You probably have a better chance of winning the
lottery than this
happening,' said Zito who got credit for the win, 'I
don't expect it to sink
in for awhile.' he said. 'You know, it's hard to say
who was better, the
starter or the bullpen!'
Brooklyn Luvs their Wacky Superbas....4-23-06
by Joe Slats
In 1997 the city of Brooklyn was awarded a franchise by the fledgling Cyber Baseball Association. A league better known in the Strat-o-sphere as C.B.A.
Quickly a civic commision ("Baseball Back in Bklyn") was appointed by Borough President Mike DelPritito to oversee and build a new stadium known as "The House of Pain" to the same specifications as Colorado's Coors Field. It went up quickly in Brooklyn's midsection in a place called Prospect Park. Based on an old Olmstead and Vaux design, the area was beautiful yet not efficient for the increased traffic flow. As result the trains were packed, and traffic stopped.
The Superbas stopped too. They stopped pitching in their inaugural year. Though they did hit at the House of Pain, leading the league with a .284 BA. But the rest of the season, well...not s'good.... A former CBA member once said "Superbas" means 'great underwear' in French. The Superbas were as pathetic as a dried skidmark committing 143 errors and amasing a league worst 5.18 ERA. Those numbers were good enough to snatch defeat 97 times from the jaws of victory and a pathetic last place finish. Through the stench of the 97 season, "The House of Pain" rocked every night!..... and still it rocks on into 2004.....
This season, the city fixed its traffic mess around Grand Army Plaza and Prospect Park. At the same time fixing the subway snarl and logjams by finalizing and building a long awaited "Superba Hovercraft" and "KiteTrain" fan mover transport system. Able to move crowds from the outer fringes of Midwood, Bensonhurst, and New Lots to Flatbush has eased traffic and brought big business to the middle Brooklyn stadium area.
Brooklyn fans such as Broog Tylobrow, Vito DelaChien, Mike Fionzarukii, and Eric Lindner still love their fun and maniacal team. Years before They came out en masse to watch such former original Brooklyn Superbas such as Albert Belle, Lance Johnson, Jeff Frye, Butch Huskey, Felipe Lira, Paul Sorrento, and the legendary Peoples cherce Mel Rojas battle teams such as the SunJewels, Canadian River, Hootersville, The MobSquad, Parma Flamingoes, and the beloved Southwest Sun Lizards. Nowadays 'dem SuPoib's take on teams such as the Durango Dirtbags, Belfast Brawlers, Houston Aero's, NY Bombers and the Neah Bay Whalers. Fans now however are seeing a better brand of winning ball played by characters who remind oldtimers of the fabled GasHouse Gang clubs. Look at some of the 'colorful' players on the Brooklyn Bums team.
Todd "The Mod" Helton a surefire CBA HOFer, Todd has adopted a fake British Accent (like Johnny Depp). He flits around the clubhouse and enjoys entertaining repoters by portraying Bill Cosby acting as a British spy. It is quite bizzare say some reporters but teammates dont mind as long as he keeps hitting they report.
Ivan Rodriguez always keeps a dish of caviar and oil in his locker. Like a form of aroma therapy it helps this potential all star catcher achieve his best emotional state before games.
Roy Halliday often helps local police chase down local wiseguys on off days. He often has been said to chase an occassional fire engine or two.
Adam Everett Another strange case. Suffering from some form of paranoia, Everett is constantly comparing himself to Carl Everett much to his own consternation.
Ryan Howard Has embraced technology. Last years attempt to Implant a GPS tracking device in his body to help him find himself at the plate was supposed to work wonders. However it backfired and Ry-Oh-Ho was sent to the DL with a staph infection caused by the foreign device. Oh no Ry-Ho.
Robin Ventura Lost his 1B job vs Lefties to the enigmatic Juan "In-fidel" Castro. The slump and humilation grew worse with each series. So what did the do? He simply went up in a game against KC A's lefthander with his bat held upside down by the barrell. He actually lashed a single to left splintering the bat before a laughing Brooklyn dugout.
Jay Payton His spot in LF is known on the Brooklyn streets as "Payton's Place" Always refers to himself in the third person.
Generalismo Mariano Rivera The brutal dictator of the bullpen likens himself to dictators such as Somoza, Trujillo, Noriega, Evita Peron, Wally Cox, and Captain Kangaroo. He has a different pitch for each dictatorial mood swing he encounters on the mound. Quite an entertaining reliever to watch.
Jason Kirschner used to be The teams musician, now it's LaTroy "Sadie-Sophie" Hawkins often found by Bklyn's Ave U, listening to the rock bands. Rumoured to be looking to produce an hour long rock concert show on NBC Saturday night......
Jose Vidro quite a hit with the female fans at The House that Rafael Bournigal built. Many a young fan look up to him.
And perhaps the liveliest personality in dugout, the Wacky Claudio Vargas. Ever the source of fun and target of jokes, The Bolivian is so popular in Brooklyn that they made a doll/action figure of him.
The doll retails for a buck 99 at Gas stations everywhere. It's dual purpose as a toy and lighter fluid cannister has caused quite a sensation in schoolyards around the city. Says Bklyn fan Lenny Leotardo
Block 2 April 9th 2006
A few surprises but remember a long
season with lots of factors will come into play…
In the Dawson, Belfast has jumped to an early lead. Belfast’s league
leading pitching is
a big part of the reason for success. Chone Figgins is leading CBA with 8
SB picking right
up where he left off last season. Mark Kotsay has jumped out quick as well
with 4 HR ,
10RBI and a .405 BA. Longue Pointe hasn’t been terribly consistant despite
Richie Sexson’s
3 HR 15 RBI .313 production. Injured most of ‘05’s CBA championship run,
Sexson will be a
key for LP. The Loggers saw the Brawlers sweep past them in a crucial
divisional series in
series 1, and series 2 LP returned the favor with some clutch bullpen
work. Jimmy Gobble
who was terrible in series 1 did good work in series 2. Joliet with high
hopes for the ’06
season is struggling just a bit 3 games out of first but well within
striking distance.
The SD Surf look to be much improved despite dropping a key series with
Skokie. Some timely
hitting spread around the order and a few (6) SB’s by Reyes have led SD
thus far. Joliet
despite some good pitching, hasn’t gotten much from their offense, yet.
Expect them to rise
up as Jack Frost’s team looks to rebound next week against the SD Surf and
Skokie, no easy
task.
As seems to be the yearly custom John Skillings Neah
Bay Whalers are out in first place a
gain. Not far behind are the Wolfmen of Skokie. Neah Bay is CBA’s first 10
game winner
despite a fair offense. Again the story is pitching with a 2.75 ERA. Pedro
threw 3 CG
games thus far getting 3 quick wins in 27 innings allowing only 16 hits.
Skokie needed Clemens to pick up 2 key wins and has had some bullpen
success
even if the offense has been a bit sluggish. Allentown and Ohio are
hanging
in there as well. The opposites of their Carter peers, the Thundercats
offense has been
clicking posting a .273 BA, but yielding 5.73 earned runs per game. Rich
Schneider’s
Senators have hit an anemic .243 but had a lower (4.05 ERA)than Ohio.
Jorge Cantu had some
key hits for ATown and has had some great relief work from Juan Rincon to
keep both within
the top of the division. Maine is 5-8 but has really struggled at the
plate hitting .222.
A poor block 2 has substituted for a nice 1st block which saw Maine go
3-4. Maine’s
reaching base only 28% of the time accounting for a lack of runs scored.
In the Clemente's Parker division, Brooklyn has paced Parker with
outstanding pitching including two back to back dominant pitching
performances in games pitched by Colon, and Estes against Carolina. The
Superbas
swept Carolina only to drop two intheir division to the improving
Cooperstown Iron Horses.
Rumour has it that Cooperstown will have a new a new set of uniforms by
mid April.
Cooperstown got great pitching from Rookie Chris Young and Brad Radke the
wily vet.
The rest of their staff has faltered as the Horses have a team 6.28 ERA.
Ottawa is at 4-6 despite last years excellent playoff run. Ottawa hopes to
improve their
record to keep pace with the mortal Superbas and Bob Fidler’s Indiana
Redbirds. Indiana
is improved and looking for a shot at the Parker’s first place which
Brooklyn has held
since 2003. Indiana at 7-6 has knocked 18 HR’s so far with ARod off to a
great start
(5 HR 13RBI) and rookie Grady Sizemore off to a 4HR 8 RBI start. Bryan has
been limping
along with only 4 wins hoping to improve their success against Cooperstown
and Philly in
week 3.
In the Schmidt A real race is brewing with 4 teams atop the division
fighting for first.
The Stirling RedSox are looking to rebound after last season’s nightmare
some trades and
good drafting have placed the Sox back in contention for the first time
since their first
round playoff elimination in 2004. A whopping 26 HR’s paced by 4, 4+ HR
batters,
Eric Chavez (5HR 14RBI), Miguel Cabrera (4HR 13RBI) , Paul Konerko (4HR
11RBI) , and
Andruuw Jones (4HR 11 RBI). Philly is also at 7-6 a team .291 BA but a
ghastly 6.20 ERA
could mean trouble for the Clemente champions. It is very hard to repeat
in CBA, no one
has done back to back yet, Though a few have repeated playing in the World
Series.
Carolina can’t seem to hit the ball. The Brooklyn staff exploited their
hitting weakness,
despite some decent pitching that has the Copperheads near CBA’s top in
most pitching
categories. Alamo is 7-6 after a whirlwind of Trade activity in the off
season, the Flames
are looking to get into CBA’s playoffs. Alamo hurt themselves dropping 4
games of 6 in
Bk 2. Moises Alou has been hitting over .400. Stay tuned to next weeks
block for more CBA
pennant chase.
| 2005 will be remembered
for lots of things. It was a special season. 2005 CBA was truly
international adding a franchise in Holland as well as another
Canadian friend to our family. CBA's website added many new features,
and tons of history and achievements never before posted. The
pennant race was a dandy. The races went down to the last detail.
Teams strategized to the very last game with game to game CM's and
player moves to knock each other out of the post season. 2005 saw
excellent, timely, and responsible preparation by almost all of CBA's
GM's. In 2005 we saw continuous uninterrupted play. The 2005 season
completed it's final game on time. All files were complete and
proofed. Perhaps just as gratifying thanks to cooperation of our some
and painstaking research and filework, CBA has an extended
encyclopedia and record/achievment book. Technically a satisfying
season. Statistically a very interesting one. It was generally a
pleasure my Strat friends to se rve you this 2005 season. We took another step toward being one of Strat-o-matic's finest leagues with the help our committee Cory Light, Dennis Concepcion, and consultant Jeff Boutet. From running the draft, checking facts, lists, and archives, to interpreting the CBA constitution and assisting other GM's with tech support. Arranging league scheduling, deciding trade approvals (a few controversies behind the scenes), league outreach, and the other contributions, they help make CBA go. Additionally I'd also like to extend a personal thank you to Dennis C who spent many additional hours designing some terrific baseball cards with our likenesses, and team logos. They are great. With the addition of the team personal pages, I have found that quite a few outside Strat fanatics have browsed by and sent positive feedback to that fun extra. Perhaps in '06 more can be added. Speaking of the website, another thanks to Rob Hite who designed the unofficial CBA website which will be more developed in 2 006. CBA has a complete library of old team logos fro current and defunct teams in the 9 year past. Some current teams have gone through several logo changes over the years. The website, press, and certainly our logos are a major component of the CBA, as CBA was largely based around that fantasy sports/press relationship that we currently see from some members. We are in the process of culling the past 7 years of CBA press releases and have obtained quite a bit so far. It will be posted on the webcomplex shortly. There was much rivalry and a measure of revenge in the final days of the season. There was elation and extreme disappointment. Guys let me tell you, this year we saw the competition go to a new level as guys delighted beating their rivals and some were more than pissed when their rivals beat them. There seemed to be alot more off list banter and IM talk this year though the list was a bit quiet. But no doubt alot of activity this year, and even better, more Strat friends made. Some GM's managed to discover loopholes and tweaks that could give them that extra advantage which in this years case could even had made a difference in the playoff picture. Some guys studied and tested and won, others floated through the schedule. Some teams bench depth gave them staying power while others succombed to fatigue/Usage problems. As always a few teams shot out the gate fast but faded, and some others came on later. Some teams agonized over that narrowly missed playoff spot. While a few may have hoped for that #1 pick in 2006. GM's and Teams in 2005 traded less than before, although the preseason saw as many trades as ever. We saw in 2005 new GM's rise to the occasion, and older ones fade away. We said goodbye to some GM's who became part of CBA's history, and hello to reliable and enthusiastic competitors. We shed a proverbial tear when Gerald our founder finally left us after 9 terrific years, and we had anger because baseball abandoned he o ther other Montreal / Quebec baseball fans like Gerald who simply can not face the game anymore. We studied our LaManna's, Ratings guide's, and Strat analysis sheets looking for advantages over lesser informed GM's. Old timers had lots of fun with the newly completed database and archive completed this season going back to inception, while others sought to preserve CBA's heritage by delving into the extensive past. CBA's press was alive and well this year with several bulletin's and some editorials that stirred the kettle leading to great friendly rivalries while a few chose to lay low. We had a great trans-Atlantic NetPlay series start in the wee morning hours, and other NetPlays help decide the playoff and usage pictures. And last but not least once again we had another 1 game playoff in Staub's Dawson division.... The schedule provided a great deal of rivalry as each divisional game meant so much. Each season series was vital. And rise to the challenge teams did, while others faded away in the end. It was a season where the bench became mightier than the sword as teams were forced to their secondary stars to pull out a playoff berth. 2005 showed us individual glory like Ichiro (.410) from Longue Pointe and Todd Helton (.405) from Brooklyn being CBA�s first ever .400 regular season hitters. Other individual glories like LP�s Carlos Zambrano's June 17th, no hit shutout in a 1-0 LP over Limoilou revenge win or glory like Alamo's Juan Pierre (2nd all time steals with 279) 5 stolen bases against Michael Barrett in an August game against NY. We saw many highlights and key games. Let�s look at a few... For my money the 2005 highlights would have to spotlight the Limoilou - Longue Pointe series from June 17-19. These teams have a long rivalry going back to CBA's first season in which Jeff Boutet's Limoilou Wendigo won the 1st ever CBA World Series. The former Hit men, from the Quebec province looking to prove last year was no fluke sent Carlos Zambrano to the mound and he delivered a 1-0 gem to set the tone for LP's winning series block. Both teams seem to be fighting it out annually in the Dawson division. An all time CBA game of note took place with the awesome Phantastics against the former Houston Aero's. Philly who was involved in several highlight games no doubt had a tremendous year in CBA winning the Clemente overall crown with 99 wins. An astronomical team batting average of .315 was Philly�s calling card. Let�s look at the 2005 season. Team by team we start in the Clemente division. The Schmidt division saw 2005 with several possible candidates for a playoff spot. The Alamo City can be compared the 1930�s Phillies. All bat no pitching. The Alamo (San Antonio Texas) Flames appeared in April to be headed in the right direction. A powerful and run producing lineup managed by a top shelf Strat GM, runs would come fast and furious. Scheduled to be KC Kauffman stadium, the stadium HR and single totals were higher than should be allowing both the Flames and their opponents more hit opportunities than expected. Playing through the Stadium �reconstruction� proved disastrous for Malachi�s Flames suspect pitching. A CBA high 6.75 team ERA doomed the Flames who could hit with the best in CBA. The top winning starter was Steve Trachsel who finished 8-16. Jorge Sosa fared better with a 7-4 record and a whopping 9.80 ERA! The bullpen managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory with only a measly 22 saves with Danny Graves the high man at 8 sv. His 5-6 7.88 ERA showed his effectiveness thus the Flames season. The Flames tough times may be over with the upcoming draft and a solid nucleus of good cards and players signed for 2006. There�s enough talent on hand to make a solid playoff run. Suppan, Byrd, Todd Jones, Mussina, Weaver, Mulder, Farnsworth, will comprise one of the best pitching staffs in CBA. The lineup will be balanced and strong with the reemergence of Griffey Jr, Lo Duca, Roberts, Molina, and Gonzalez. For Alamo Sean Casey had a career year with 30-117 .344 BA , MVP candidate Juam Pierre had 17 triples, a .369 BA, 240 hits, and 74 steals playing a near flawless C F. A team .373 OBA and .501 slug. Alamo scored 6.77 runs per game a team BA of .305 not too shabby. More telling was a CBA low 9 PH attesting to the benches vunerability and Alamo�s struggles to pull out wins at key times in games. New York�s big three carried them to another playoff spot. Ramirez, Bonds, and Beltre drove in scores of runs staking the Bomber�s to 92 wins. Although the pitching was suspect a 5.06 ERA, there were some bright spots as Tim Harikkala posted 11 saves to complement Eddie Guardado�s 19. Harikkala allowed only 38 hits in 69 innings. Glavine won 13, and Derek Lowe miraculously finished as top winner with 14. NY�s pitching finished tied with Joliet tied for 11th place. MVP candidate Bonds finished 55-134 .373Ba, and his 1.956 total average led the CBA. Beltre had a 1.003 TotAvg with a .333 44 130 season. His .757 XChart rating was not too shabby for NY�s fine defense. Ramirez added 47 more HR to a team total of 248 good for 6th place in CBA for 2005. A team BA of .288 was good for 4th place. NY�s defense made all the difference for the pitching as Guys like Castillo, Rollins, Ausmus, Renteria, Bradley, L Walker all finished above .800 XChart primary positions. T hat�s winning baseball and a lot of luck in inheriting a good squad like Rescigno did. New Yorkers must be paying tribute to the legacy of Dino Barnabe a CBA Hall of Fame candidate who retired from Strat-o-matic and CBA back in 2002. The �St Foy Frenchies� franchise will be awarded to a new (old) GM shortly. Ahh those Philly Phantastic�s! The �American team� of the CBA. The Rob Hite led Philly Phantastics built up a huge following early in CBA history after painstakingly building from the ground up through shrewd trading a CBA empire. In 1997 the Phans were 48 -114 Early on, Hite was active in the CBA trade scene. By 1999 his team had finished with 89 wins. One of CBA�s early rivalries with the Southwest Lizard Kings GM Eric Lindner) provided lots of fun and headaches for the committee and then commissioner Claude LaMarre. Teams seeing the juggernaut building in the Clemente took notice of the Philly team. But Hite proved a keen judge of talent. His trades perhaps then the source of controversy indeed helped The Phans to become the one CBA�s all time powerful franchises. Once winning 120 games, they represented with an all star lineup CBA in the 2003 ESSOM Friendship advancing as far as the semi finals, best showing ever for a CBA team. Now after a brief rebuild back t hey were with a vengeance winning 99 games most in CBA in 2005. Philly got solid defense and strong pitching to go with perhaps CBA�s greatest offense ever helped Philly walk away with the Schmidt title. The Phans had 8 of 9 lineup spots with players over .800 OPS. The #2, 3,4,6 batters all had OPS over .1000. 7 major contributors hit over .330 a team .317 BA best ever in CBA. 328 Hr�s at Ameriquest Field. Considering the ballpark 1-15 Si* and 1-16 Hr, the pitching success can�t be measured here by numbers. Teams in the smaller parks expect higher ERA�s the more telling numbers can be shown in ratio of HR for team and opponent which in this case showed Philly out slugging their opponents by 70 Hr�s. Scoring an amazing 1139 runs while allowing only 899, Philly also had two aces on their pitching staff that combined for 41 wins and only 8 losses! Oliver Perez a strong Cy Young candidate finished 19-2 K�ng 240, and a tidy 3.25 ERA which is outstanding for Ameriquest teams. Randy Johnson in what may be his last 20 game season went 22-6 K�ing 298. Johnson is a shoo-in CBA HOF�er. Seasonal High lites were many Rolen�s 50 Hr, Durazo 29 105 .350, Aramis Ramirez .341 39 125, Berkman 38 115 .338, Abreu 31 116 .334 24sb, Jeter 22 87 . 313 197 hits 22sb, the list goes on� Wayne McGee�s Stirling RedSox entered 2005 knowing that it would be tough to repeat the successes of 2004, Stirlings first ever playoff. Marked as rebuilding year Dealer Wayne had an off year in the hot stove league not pulling off his usual stunning moves. CBA�s former most prolific trader had to sit painfully through a 95 loss season, their worst season since �1999 RedSox 59 - 103 season. Even Stirling�s initial 1997 team had lost only 93. That lineup boasted names like Sorrento, Tartabull, Nixon, Sprague, Baerga, and Blowers. This years studs managed to hit a lofty 275 Hr�s and had a decent .267 Ba better than some playoff bound teams. The pitching, mainly the pen were disastrous. Cordero blew 15 saves. In fact the whole pen converted saves an atrocious 46% rate, and allowed 39% of all inherited runners to score one way or another. Zito and Matt Morris both had winning years and had records with high ERA�s as the RedSox defense was not to blame being somewhere in the middle of the pack. The pitching was a bust with Wood having a poor year and a team 5.75 Era. Oh yeah and 66 wild pitches. Guys were jaywalking around the base paths. The failure of the bullpen likely contributed greatest to the Sox demise as it went to show how important that middle guys are in Clemente nowadays. Stirling allowed 29 batters to reach base with a tired pitcher on the mound while their opponents allowed Stirling the ability to hit tired pitchers 11 times. The opponent also out clutched the Sox by a wide margin. They led CBA with over 77 intentional walks, no doubt which most probably scored� Portland SeaDogs. The team managed by a man from Detroit, everyone�s Strat Pal, Disco Danny Gural. Gural burst upon CBA taking over the team mid season and then when subbing for a team, advanced into CBA�s playoff proving his managerial abilities. Portland improved after a strong draft this year gaining 3 wins from last years 84 to finish with 87 wins. In 2003 they had only 60 wins. They face Philly in this years playoffs. Portland�s Travis Hafner carried them on his back in 2005. Hafner was 6th in CBA batting at .359. pacing a 38 116 season. His ISoPower .374 isn�t too shabby either. Melving Mora who was overused, finished with 37 112 .332 and Tejada 38 125 .320. The best 10th man in CBA candidate has to be Justin Morneau who clobbered 26 Hrs in just 261 AB�s. Adam Dunn added a 46 Hr 125 season to put Portland into the playoffs. Hitting .291 against the many CBA righties also helped. If it wasn�t for Portland�s sloppy defense, who knows how many they would have won. Gural�s hiatus at the end of the season no doubt cost this team of wins and players and perhaps a great shot at the CBA title. But who knows what can happen in CBA�s playoffs. Just look at last years KC team. The Parker Division is noted for Brooklyn�s domination over division teams. With the current CBA champs once again dominating Parker, 2005 was the year they finally faced some competition this year from Ottawa, and of all teams Kilgore. Many expected Houston to factor in the race, though they did somewhat as a spoiler, Houston pitching couldn�t support their playoff drive. Brooklyn whose pitching was not terribly good, used big defense to prop up the staff, and a mega performances from Todd Helton who smacked 33 Hr and 133 RBI�s 143 runs scored while hitting .405 second highest regular season average ever. Helton is 1/1000 of a point behind Ichiro Suzuki as CBA�s highest all time batting leader with a career .346 BA. JD Drew hit 44 Hr 11 triples, drove in an amazing 141 runs while hitting .341 scoring an amazing 151 runs. Sammy Sosa slugged 38 HR�s for Brooklyn before his much talked about trade to Longue Pointe. Sosa is currently CBA�s all time HR leader with 448 ad d perhaps another 40 from 1998 and Sosa is at about the 500 career CBA HR level. He is in first place with RBI�s. Sosa 37 113 .311 for Bklyn, Vidro (26 76 .328), Ivan Rod his best season ever ( 26 106 .359) , and Jeff Bagwell (29 HR 112 .285) added good performances at the plate for the perennial powerhouse Brooklyn offense at Coors field. The platooners had great years too. Eric Valent took over in RF for Sosa and did an adequate job with 5 for 7 as a PH, and a 10 37 .285 season. Payton added some defense with an .806 X rating. RFA Miguel Ojeda hit 19 Hr off the bench mostly vs Lefties. Gomez .323, Everett�s 24 steals and CBA leading .930 X rating at SS. Aging hipster Barry Larkin�s final CBA hurrah was triumphant as he hit a career ending .311 for the Superbas. Vernon Wells had about as good a year in CF as any CBA player could ever have with a perfect 1.000 X rating. Late season RFA Luis Rivas ( 5 28 .333 6sb) had key contributions down the stretch with hi s bat and glove. The story for Brooklyn was the defense, because there wasn�t much pitching to rave about despite Hernandez 15-11, Halliday 13-3 and Willis 15-5. Looks deceive because these pitchers all had ERA�s over 4.70. Totaling more than 1000 K�s the Superbas were able to limit the damage caused by their starters by getting big strikeouts, and having a tremendous defense. The Superbas committed a CBA low 76 errors. 16 were made by pitchers and 18 by their 3rd basemen Mackowiak, Gomez and Castro. The rest of the defense was rock solid. Brooklyn signature offense hit a whopping .310 good for CBA�s all time top 5 along with this year�s Philly team. Brooklyn is looking to make their third consecutive trip to the Finals. As tough as Brooklyn was this year they had their hands full all season with the Jack Jung led Ottawa Otters. Ottawa came close to their best finish since 1999's 88 win season. Ottawa got a few big time performances from their lineup. The success of Ottawa had largely to do with the 1-2 punch of Vlad Guerrero and David Ortiz. The Vlad and Papi show accounted for Ottawa most potent run production since Vlad hit 51 Hr's and McGwire hit 79 for the 1999 Otters. Ortiz joined CBA�s elite 50 HR club with 58 and 145 RBI. He scored 131 runs and many of them in the clutch in key games and situations. He also hit a very higher .400 IsoPower average to boot showing even futher his value to this team. The only downside was Ortiz 24 errors at 1B. Vlad�s 43 HR 120 RBI and .344 BA ahead of Ortiz was outstanding as was Patterson�s leadoff work (29 85 .284 14sb) setting the table along side of Vizquel who moved runners along with a .310 BA and tons of runner advances. Adam Kenne dy too had a good year moving runners along and a decent year with the glove. Ottawa had every chance to win this season a wildcard spot but fell shy in the final week. Perhaps the lack of bench strength doomed them at the end, when backups like Kotchmann, Cota, Zeile, Quiroz couldn�t keep pace with the spoilers. There were some surprisingly good contributions not only from the dynamic duo, Vlad and Papi, but others such as Scott Hairston 17 64 .268, and Randa who hit .291 vs righties and putting the ball in play. He also provided a steady glove with a .765 X% per chance. Not bad at third base. Even Ottawa's 9th place hitters contributed 24 HR. 264 HR is perhaps Ottawa team record. 21 PH with high man having 5 (Vizquel). Ottawa PH hit at a .364 clip. Ottawa's season never looked more promising when from June 16 to July 4th, Ottawa held first place in the Parker. Key contributions by their bullpen during that run from 2 way play Brooks Kieschnick, Julian Tavarez helped a lot with 26 saves. Scott Eyre did a yeoman's job as a lefty set up getting many key outs. The rest of the pen was an adventure. Wheeler suffered a dismal season with a 6.12 ERA. Brandon Webb had some impressive stats in '05 with 173 K's and 189 hits in 211 innings. But his 116 bb's contributed to a losing 8-11 record. Ottawa's final record doesnt do justice to the quality of the season they had in a tough division. 4 teams in Parker had the ability to win a series from anyone in CBA. Ottawa gave Brooklyn and Kilgore all they could handle in '05. The Otters came a long way back in 2005. For awhile fans in the capitol city thought it was 2001. The Kilgore Bashers completed their best season ever. Back in July we got a taste of what Kilgore would be able to accomplish when we saw Kilgore defeat Houston on July 25th, 19-15 in a game which saw a CBA record 44 runs and 43 hits. It was a foreshadow of the excitement to come as the Bashers stayed in the playoff hunt right down to the last game of 2005. It was only a Portland win which kept them from their first ever post season appearance. They finished 86-76, just 1 game off the wildcard this year, and were in the race all the way until the last 2 games of the year. Cory Light must have been really proud as his team performed beyond even his expectations. Although preseason analysis showed Kilgore could finish with a strong season, Kilgore had never had a team finish that close to a spot in the post season. In fact looking at Kilgores season to season record it may be the strongest Basher team sinces the 1997-1999 Bashers who finished with 80+ wins. Only 3 p layers remain from that 1999 Kilgore team. Chan Park 0-1 7.68 whose Basher career is in jeopardy, Miguel Cairo playing as well as ever finishing a great season as a utility/platooner with a career best .345 average along with 4HR and 44 RBI, a key performance and reason behind the success of Kilgore. Mitch Redmond is still around as well hitting a lowly .223. You could make a case that the super subs of Kilgore were as much reason for success as the regular lineup. A team BA of .265 along with 206 Hr's and 51 Sac fly RBI's staked a good offense for Kilgore. Despite Burnitz 39HR 125RBI .275 season, and the emergence of Brad Wilkerson who hit 37 Hr driving in 93, the team play in Kilgore gave the offense just enough to stay competitive. Strangely enough, Wilkinson was mostly a #2 hitter in the Basher lineup. Overbay hit 20 with a .287 avg, and Mike Lamb added 22 more for the Basher lineup. Kilgore got it done in the clutch with several 9tth inning comeback wins early i n the season to set the tone. Mike Tucker, Brad Inge, Ross Gload, and Vance Wilson did well in part time roles. Mr Vance was Mr clutch all year with big hits to win games and 8 backup HR's to boot. Gload took the 3 hole at the end of the year giving the Bash Bros a solid hitter at the top when it counted most finishing at .333. The biggest reason for Kilgore's success was the bullpen in particular CBA All-star Dustin Hermanson. The 2005 Rolaids fireman of the year award winner in CBA finished with a near CBA record 40 saves alongside 10 wins in 80 appearances and 100+ innings. Simply without him, Kilgore would have quite a lower record. He easily surpassed Basher all time save king, 2001 Bob Wickman's 21 saves, and 2002's Buddy Groom who had 22 saves, and 2004's Lance Carter who saved what was a team record of 36 for the Bashers. 6 Bashers drove in 2 or more and 5 with 3 or more to kind of capsulize the overall team offensive contribution all season. The defense was a sore point with a lower end of the CBA .66% X rating despite 1 team triple play from Belliard to Overbay. Kilgore had 4 Pinch HR. All key contributors to big wins. 1 by Wilkerson won it in extras for Kilgore, and Mr Dance, Vance Wilson had another big blast to win another late inning escapade. Those lengthy games are a signature of Kilgore�s. As they played over 20 innings in one game and 18 in another. The Houston Aero's are a team of the past. Hopes were high in the pre season as this franchise was able to land several good prospects and a marquis player Alex Rodriguez in the expansion draft of �04. Bob Fidler took over in 2005 and added his Strat knowledge to take Houston higher in the standings. A slow start when Fidler took over the team took Houston of of the wildcard race early. The Aero�s dropped a whole bunch early in July effectively dulling any hopes for a playoff shot. On July 10th they were 14 games under .500. They hit their low point on July 17th having a .400 winning % after dropping a series to Kilgore. Fidler then led them to a winning record afterwards establishing a potent lineup and offense with a few tweaks of the CM. The Aeros had a high .281 BA and 295 HR. Personal achievements marked the Aeros in �05. Albert Pujols had an absolutely incredible year. Consider 65 HR 160 RBI .366 157runs .436 oba .802 slg 1.238OPS. Gosh. A triple crown contender, he only missed the batting title by finishing 5th after leading CBA in HR RBI Slug OPS for 2005. No question one of the all time performances in CBA history. His partners in the lineup fared pretty well too though paling in comparison. Both A Rod and Hank Blalock hit 45 HR. A Rod hit only .278 with 12SB, but drove in 127 runs in what some might say was a �disappointing� season. Considering the stadium advantages and his card (and performance in other leagues) A Rod (45 127 .278) seemed more a culprit than MVP contender grounded into 21 double plays. His numbers were nearly identical to Blalock (45 124 .280) Houston catchers did the job, and the Aero pitchers held runners at their bases, allowing by far the least amount of SB in CBA, 34. 14 more were gunned. Matt Stairs was their top PH with 3 not a great number in the clutch as PH by committee accumulated only 16 hits. Houston�s pitching was in shambles. Oswalt and Pavano did excellent work. Both winning 17. The rest of the staff unbelievablely rotten. Couldn�t be worse, just putrid, absolute�well you get the picture. 12 guys over 5 ERA, 9 of �em over 6 ERA. And so it goes for Houston�s last hurrah. |
Hello Sports Fan
This is Harvey Cutler reporting from Royals
Stadium
The fans are very excited as the first playoff
series in the history of the CBA come to
Montreal
The fans of Montreal are still in a bit of shock
from the announcement of management that
finally after they get into the playoffs they
are losing their team to Illinois but the fans
are taking it in stride that perhaps the Royals
might go out in a big way
Anyway off to the Games:
September 22nd, 2005, Montreal Stadium
O. Perez vs. Millwood
Millwood has been a big surprise for the Royals
as he went 8-4 in the season and based on the
scouting reports the Wendigos seem to have
a tougher time vs the righties.
The Royals start the game with 2 runs in the
first including an inside-the-park Homer by Durham.
Valentin comes through and singles in a second
run and the Royals lead 2-0
Millwood pitches a great game giving up just
2 hits and then Wolfman goes to his great pen
and brings in Gordon who shutouts the Wendigos
for the second shutout victory for the Royals
at 4-0 (Beltran hit a homer in the 6th)
So the Royals take a 2-1 lead in the series
and now seek to win game 4 as there is
a rematch between Clemens and Schmidt
September 23rd, Montreal Stadium
Rematch, Clemens vs. Schmidt
Two of the best pitchers in the league hook up.
The Royals got to Schmidt before. However this
day it was Schmidt turn to be the pitcher of the
day.
Backed by Homers by Michael and Emonds (2 run
shot) the Wendigo are able to even the series
with a 4-1 win. The Royals get one run due to
an error by Glaus. The Royals had the bases
loaded with 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th and
Beltran up but he fouled out -- was the only
time the Royals actually threatened. Hawkins
and Foulke came in and shot down the Royals
with Foulke getting the save.
Series is now tied at 2-2 and the key 3rd game
coming up -- a rematch of 20 game win Lilly for
the Royals (who the Wendigos roughed up in Game 2)
vs Schilling who threw a shutout.
A very tight and tense see-saw battle between these
two leaders in the Staub Conference, who will take
the key game 3, a must win for both clubs?
September 24th, Montreal Stadium Game #5
Schilling vs Lilly
Wolfman knows the Wendigos are pretty tough
on the left handers and also the Royals were
cannon fodding for Schmidt in Game #2
Wolfman hoped his ace T. Lilly could hold
the Wendigos this time.
The game was scoreless through 3, then
in the bottom of the 4th, the Royals scored
first blood -- Itzuris got a single and Castilla
with 2 outs double him home. In the 5th
inning, Mabry hit a tremendous shot to right
field to give the Royals a 2-0 lead.
Lilly give up a hit in the 6th so Wolfman
brought in old dependable Gordon to shut
down the Wendigos, Kline came in for
two hitters and Gagne got the save and
pitched 2-1/3 innings of shutout baseball
as the Royals did it again, their third
victory, their 3rd shutout.
So the Royals are one game away to
enter the Staub Championship series.
What a ride this year!!!
It will be Rusch against Wakefield
back in Limoilou
who will win it?
this is your report Harvey Cutler
bringing you the news from Montreal
(from Wolfman: We hope to finish the
series on Saturday -- a real nail bitter,
no easy victories so far)
at officially 5:20 PM in
Holland the CBA Playoffs
began as Wolfman Shapiro took his surprising
Montreal Royals to their first playoff game,
here in Limiolou (so this would be 10:20 AM
for Bob, acting on behalf of Jeff)
our report was on the field to speak to the
Wolfman and boy was he pretty nervous
When Wolfman was asked what is a key
for the series of what might be a tough
challenge from the Wendigos -- he said
"Schmidt - Schmidt and Schilling"
Well Game 1 was spoken of as a pitcher's
dual between Clemens and Schmidt but the Royals
broke through in the 3rd with the series 1st run
as Gonzalez hit a double and reached 3rd on an error
by Michaels and then Matheny squeezed Gonzalez home
the Royals stole 4 bases which helped to take a 4-0 lead
against Schmidt -- also the Wendigos has bases loaded in the
bottom of the fourth trailing 2-0 with no outs and Gonzalez executed
a perfect double play at home to keep it that way.
In the 9th a pinch hit homer by Valentin and 2 round shot by
Beltrans put it away as the Royal pitchers combined for a 1 hit shutout
at 8-0 -- this Royal team is for real !!
Boxscore below:
===================
[1]BOXSCORE: 2005 Montreal Royals At 2005 Limoilou
Wendigo 9/19/2005
[1] Royals AB R H RBI
AVG Wendigo AB R H RBI AVG
C.Crawford LF 5 1 2 0 .400 S.Stewart
LF 4 0 0 0 .000
R.Durham 2B 4 0 0 0 .000 J.Kent
2B 4 0 1 0 .250
D-W.Harris 2B 1 1 1 11.000 J.Edmonds CF 3 0 0 0
.000
C.Beltran CF 5 2 3 2 .600 J.Thome
1B 3 0 0 0 .000
P.Feliz 1B 3 0 0 0 .000 T.Glaus
3B 2 0 0 0 .000
A-D.Erstad 1B 2 0 0 0 .000 J.Michaels RF 2 0 0 0
.000
V.Castilla 3B 4 1 1 1 .250 E-L.Nix
PH,RF 1 0 0 0 .000
G.Kapler RF 4 0 1 1 .250 R.Hernandez
C 3 0 0 0 .000
A.Gonzalez SS 2 2 1 0 .500 C.Guzman
SS 3 0 0 0 .000
B-C.Izturis SS 1 0 0 0 .000 J.Schmidt P 2 0 0 0
.000
M.Matheny C 3 0 1 1 .333 L.Hawkins
P 0 0 0 0 ----
R.Clemens P 2 0 1 1 .500 F-M.McLemore
PH 1 0 0 0 .000
S.Kline P 0 0 0 0 ---- R.Betancourt
P 0 0 0 0 ----
C-R.Palmeiro PH 1 0 0 0 .000
T.Gordon P 0 0 0 0
----
G-J.Valentin PH 1 1 1 11.000
G.Rusch P 0 0 0 0
----
-- -- -- --- -- --
-- ---
[1] Totals 38 8 12 8 Totals 28 0 1
0
A-Subbed Defensively (1B) For Feliz In 6th Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (SS) For Gonzalez In 6th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Kline In 7th Inning
D-Subbed Defensively (2B) For Durham In 7th Inning
E-Pinch Hit For Michaels In 7th Inning
F-Pinch Hit For Hawkins In 8th Inning
G-Pinch Hit For Gordon In 9th Inning
Royals.......... 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 4 - 8 12 2
Wendigo......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 1 2
[1]Royals
(1-0) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET
R.Clemens WIN(1-0) 5 1/3 1 0 0 2 6 0 60 0.00 A1 C2
S.Kline 0 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 10 0.00 C3 C4
T.Gordon 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 0.00 C5 D1
G.Rusch 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 13 0.00 D2
[1]Totals 9 1 0 0 2 10 0
[1]Wendigo
(0-1) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET
J.Schmidt LOSS(0-1) 6 1/3 8 4 3 1 4 0 113 4.26 A1 D1
L.Hawkins 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 19 0.00 D2 D6
R.Betancourt 1 4 4 4 0 0 2 23 36.00 D7
[1]Totals 9 12 8 7 1 5 2
ATTENDANCE- 43,944 DATE- Monday, September 19th 2005 TIME- Day WEATHER-
Average
UMPIRES- Ted Barrett, Wally Bell, Joe Brinkman, C.B. Buckner
T- 2:36
LEFT ON BASE- Royals: 5 Wendigo: 4
DOUBLE PLAYS- Royals: 2 Wendigo: 0
ERRORS- P.Feliz, C.Izturis, J.Michaels, J.Schmidt
DOUBLES- C.Beltran(1st), V.Castilla(1st), A.Gonzalez(1st), J.Kent(1st)
TRIPLES- C.Crawford(1st)
HOME RUNS- C.Beltran(1st), J.Valentin(1st)
STOLEN BASES- W.Harris(1st), C.Beltran-2(2nd), A.Gonzalez(1st)
SACRIFICE HITS- M.Matheny
WALKS- A.Gonzalez, J.Edmonds, J.Thome
HIT BY PITCH- T.Glaus
STRIKE OUTS- R.Durham-2, V.Castilla-2, G.Kapler, S.Stewart-2, J.Kent,
J.Edmonds-2, J.Thome-2, T.Glaus, J.Michaels, J.Schmidt
GIDP- T.Glaus, L.Nix
WEB GEMS- Top 8th: Cristian Guzman robbed Gabe Kapler of a base hit.
The Limoilou Wendigo endured an embarrassing pasting as a potent Montreal
Royals lineup tallied 8 runs while Roger Clemens(1-0)with the aid of the
bullpen contained Limoilou.
Limoilou was unable to claim the lead after Montreal went ahead in the 3rd
inning scoring one runner. Alex Gonzalez doubled, and an error was also
committed. Mike Matheny next to the plate and he worked the squeeze play
to
perfection scoring the run. That early scoring was all that Clemens
needed.
Montreal totaled 12 on the afternoon.
Jason Schmidt(0-1) was charged with the loss. He pitched 6 and 1/3
innings
and surrendered 8 hits and 1 walk.
=======================================
Well the Wendigos didn't want to go to Montreal down 2-0
so they sent Schilling to face the Royal wonder and 20 game winner
Ted Lilly. Again Wolfman was a bit concerned as the Wendigos
like their lefties but also he felt confident the Royals could hit
Schilling hard.
Well sport fans, Game 2 was all the way the Wendigos,
The Royals just could never get started against Schilling who
completely shut them down and they were able to easily
score on Lilly as R. Hernandez had 4 RBis and a homer
and Thome added another one for a 5-0 shutout of the
Royals and to tie the series at one game a piece
so Sports fans don't go away, this is going to be
a long series -- it will continue in Montreal tomorrow
the Royals play tough in Montreal and hope to get
on the winning track in game 3 as Millwood goes
against Perez with a rematch of Schmidt vs. Clemens
in game 4
stay tuned (box score below)
[1]BOXSCORE: 2005 Montreal Royals At 2005 Limoilou
Wendigo 9/20/2005
[1] Royals AB R H RBI
AVG Wendigo AB R H RBI AVG
C.Crawford LF 4 0 2 0 .444 S.Stewart
LF 3 1 0 0 .000
G.Kapler RF 4 0 0 0 .125 C.Guzman
SS 4 1 1 0 .143
C.Beltran CF 4 0 1 0 .444 J.Werth
RF 3 1 1 0 .333
P.Feliz 1B 4 0 0 0 .000 R.Hernandez
C 4 1 3 4 .429
V.Castilla 3B 3 0 1 0 .286 J.Hernandez
3B 4 0 0 0 .000
T.Greene C 3 0 1 0 .333 J.Edmonds
CF 4 0 1 0 .143
B-M.Matheny C 0 0 0 0 .333 J.Kent 2B 4 0 2 0
.375
R.Durham 2B 4 0 1 0 .125 J.Thome
1B 4 1 1 1 .143
A.Gonzalez SS 2 0 0 0 .250 C.Schilling
P 4 0 0 0 .000
A-J.Valentin PH 1 0 0 0 .500 K.Foulke P 0 0 0 0
----
C-C.Izturis ,SS 1 0 0 0 .000
T.Lilly P 2 0 0 0
.000
D-J.Conine PH 1 0 1 01.000
K.Mercker P 0 0 0 0
----
E-R.Palmeiro PH 1 0 0 0 .000
-- -- -- --- -- --
-- ---
[1] Totals 34 0 7 0 Totals 34 5 9
5
A-Pinch Hit For Gonzalez In 7th Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Greene In 7th Inning
C-Subbed Defensively ( ) For Valentin In 7th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Lilly In 8th Inning
E-Pinch Hit For Mercker In 9th Inning
Royals.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 7 2
Wendigo......... 0 0 2 1 0 0 2 0 - 5 9 0
[1]Royals
(1-1) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET
T.Lilly LOSS(0-1) 7 8 5 4 2 6 2 116 5.14 A1 D5
K.Mercker 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 14 0.00 D6
[1]Totals 8 9 5 4 2 7 2
[1]Wendigo
(1-1) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET
C.Schilling WIN(1-0) 8 7 0 0 1 7 0 115 0.00 A1 D6
K.Foulke 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 14 0.00 D7
[1]Totals 9 7 0 0 1 10 0
ATTENDANCE- 31,440 DATE- Tuesday, September 20th 2005 TIME- Night WEATHER-
Good
UMPIRES- Fieldin Culbreath, Gary Darling, Lazaro Diaz, Derryl Cousins
T- 3:07
LEFT ON BASE- Royals: 9 Wendigo: 7
DOUBLE PLAYS- Royals: 0 Wendigo: 0
ERRORS- P.Feliz, R.Durham
DOUBLES- C.Crawford(1st), R.Durham(1st), R.Hernandez(1st), J.Edmonds(1st)
HOME RUNS- R.Hernandez(1st), J.Thome(1st)
WALKS- V.Castilla, S.Stewart, J.Werth
HIT BY PITCH- M.Matheny
STRIKE OUTS- G.Kapler-2, C.Beltran, P.Feliz, R.Durham-2, A.Gonzalez,
J.Valentin,
C.Izturis, R.Palmeiro, C.Guzman-2, J.Werth,
J.Hernandez, J.Edmonds,
C.Schilling-2
Curt Schilling(1-0), with relief help from Keith Foulke, shut down the
Montreal Royals hitters at Minute Maid Field. The Limoilou Wendigo came
away
with a 5 to 0 victory.
Ramon Hernandez had a big evening at the plate. He lined a one-base hit
in
the 1st inning, cleared the fences for a two-run home run (his 1st of the
season) in the 3rd inning and doubled which was good for two runs in the
7th
inning. Limoilou banged out 9 on the night.
Ted Lilly(0-1) ended up with the loss. He allowed 8 hits and 2 walks in 7
July 2006
Reggie Sanders is an original Belfast Brawler. Originally drafted in the 9th round by
the Montecito Habaneros (MHC) the orginal franchise name for Belfast.
Larry Walker is an original Lake County Leopard. Originally drafted in Rd 7 of the
1997 CBA draft by Randall Flowers Vancouver Storm (VSM).
Omar Vizquel was drafted round 2 in 1997 and is an original Otter.
Vladimir Guerrero was drafted in 4th round of inaugural 1997 CBA draft by Ottawa Otters.
He is an original Otter. He has a Lifetime .329 BA, 1440 hits, 293 HR, 898 RBI, 144 SB.
Joe Randa is an original Otter too. Randa was drafted in round 8 of the 1997 draft by
Ottawa.
In looking over this weeks games a few things stood out. First look how many teams are right in the thick of the race. Second, how small a margin it is between contenders. Any advantage can mean so much given CBA’s recent past. Noting how the 2004 & 2005 seasons came down to a 1 game playoff in that incredible Dawson division. Third the possibility of a Cinderella team like the 04 KC A’s (Allentown Senators) who hovered near .500 then exploded to make a wildcard when Rich Schneider took over. That wildcard later faced Brooklyn in the World Championship. They all mix together and form quite a competitive season where there are no dominant teams. Anything goes.
Again the Dawson is something interesting to watch. Again LP and Belfast are battling, this time without Limoilou in the picture. Neither team seems to be dominant but each has their specialty. LP their terrific bullpen, and Belfast with lots of hits and speed. Lost in this mix inexplicably is Joliet and SD who seem to be classic underachievers year after year. The story of ’06 has to be Belfast’s climb to the top of Dawson. It just seems that everyone is getting in on the act. Unsung stars such as Chone Figgins and his 70 count ‘em 70 SB’s is well on his way to a CBA record. Julio Lugo at .356 31sb , Brady Clark in the 3 hole in the lineup hitting .350 with 47 RBI and super sub Aaron Miles 31 RBI and .366 Batting avg. Belfast’s bullpen has kept them in most games allowing only 28% of inherited runners to score. LP has had some strong bullpen production by committee as 7 relievers have saved games. Todd Walker has been outstanding coming in a pre-season trade. The old LP set men are still getting it done as they always have. Guys like Brian Fuentes, Jorge Julio, Kiko Calero, and Kelvim Escobar have had quite a bit to do with LP’s successes the past 2 seasons. Shea Hillenbrand has been LP’s top hitter and surprisingly Ichiro is hitting below .290. Be interesting to see how this race develops.
The other Staub Conference division the Carter is having a street fight between Neah and Skokie. Each team is manipulating and moving trying to outdo each other in the heated battle for the crown. Skokie had a tough time with Belfast this past week dropping two. Clemens gained a no decision in a loss. Clemens had been lights out all year with a CBA leading 17 quality starts. Skokies pitching has been the M.O. as their offense has been a bit soft with a .332 OBa and .428 slg. Meanwhile the hurlers are keeping runners off the paths yielding only a .248 Ba. Edmonds and Tracy have been much of the offense in Skokie.
Neah Bay has had less offense, but once again reigns supreme with their yearly dominant pitching. Neah Bay’s legacy is second to none in the pitching department. Pedro has 5 CBA no-hitters. Again the Whalers have the CBA lead with a 3.16 ERA. Pedro is 10-4 2.09, Smoltz is 9-5 2.57. The staff has allowed the least amount of baserunners in CBA. They have allowed the fewest walks too, 194. This years offensive stars for Neah are Brian Giles and Mike Cameron with each amassing over a 1.000 total average. Next week Neah plays the Dawson’s Joliet in series 1, and SD in series 2. While Skokie only plays a 4 game series against Longue Pointe.
The Clemente had some noise when Brooklyn and Stirling swapped some players. Swisher headed up north to Canada along with wonderkind Milledge and Brooklyn settled Miguel Cabrera in the House of Pain. Indiana off several recent deals is still struggling to gain some winning consistency as is Brooklyn. Both are trailing behind ‘Hot’tawa by 5 and 3 respectively. Indiana though is showing some signs as ARod and Pujols are on fire. Indiana’s twin terrors both launched moonshots in the same game 2 nights in a row on June 15th and 16th on the schedule. A Rod has been on fire with 14 hits in 7 games. Hitting 3 Hrs and having 2, 4 hit games. He has 16 runs scored in 9 games. Indiana needs him and Pujols to stay hot. Tony Clark has been devastating for Indiana since his acquisition hitting 7 Hr and a .311 Ba in 45 AB’s. Ottawa has won 9 of the last 10 and just keeps a rollin even when their subs play. Chris Woodward played LF in a key role in the Ottawa lineup. He has been hitting .500 since his activation this week.
Scott Eyre has been such a story for the Otters. A 0.88 era in 45 innings with 10 holds good for 2nd in CBA.
Alamo maintains a 3 game lead over Dean’s Lake County Leopards. Now Carolina Copperheads after a successful week has entered the scene. Only 5 ½ back, the Copperheads led by Brian Roberts .326 good for CBA top 10 in BA, and Adam Dunn’s 31 HR’s are looking more like a contender. Carolina leads CBA with 141 HR’s which puts them on pace to join CBA’s all time HR leaders by seasons end. CCS has a .488 team slug pct. And also are 2nd in CBA in K’s. Travis Hafner has socked 23 HR hitting .302, and 10 hitters have 7 or more HR. A team effort, when Johan Santana heats up, this team could be in like for a nice September.
(AP) 'House Of Pain', Bklyn NY 21:43pm.....................
To Brooklyn: Miguel Cabrera, Anderson Hernandez and SRS # 6
To Stirling: Nick Swisher, Lastings Milledge, BSP # 2 and BSP # 5
The House of Pain has added a new slugger to the offensive leagcy of the Brooklyn 'Poibs. Miguelito Cabrera the young 3B/OF with the potent bat is the latest and newest Superba to wear the Black and Gold. In a deal that took well over a year to materialize, Brooklyn moved away quite a bit of young potential and talent to get him and future 2B Anderson Hernandez. Gone are the 4 tool Swisher, and super propsect Lastings Milledge along with a #2 and a #5 pick.
Manager John Stearns is very pleased with the trade and has announced that Cabrera will receive a majority of his playing time at 3B allowing the potent bat and versatility of Rob Mackowiak to become the teams primary utility man. Said SStearns, "Miguelito will be a huge hit with the Brooklyn fans. He will love playing in Prospect Park's House of Pain. He will love his team mates but I hope not too much if you know what I...." Stearns was immediate cutoff by media secretary Bebe Rebozito before he could finish his thought. It is believed that Jay Payton will take most of the At bats that Swisher was getting and play LF. Swisher had already hit 14 HR's for Brooklyn this season just 1 less than Cabrera.
" We team good be good now you bet " said NY cab driver Shetstayn Al-Faitale. "This Miguelito is good playa. He be de guy that be." Other fans voiced their satisfaction over the deal. Tony BiFonzarukie another Brooklyn fan offered this analysis. "Yo, wit Cabrera in da House, the Poibs got a shot at catching the Otters, and holding off that Indiana team. Those guys are tough we had to do something...."
GM Marc Wass agreed......
Well how about Malachi Nellum's Alamo City Flames. One of CBA's veteran franchises, Alamo has been slowly rebuilding and now the dividends. A 4 game lead over Dave Dean's struggling Lake County Leopards, and Wayne "McGoo's" Stirling Red Sox. The Flames have been in first for 3 weeks now and they look like an emerging CBA force. Look at the damage Ken Griffey Jrdid for the Flames in this June 7th game.
ALAMO CITY AT PHILLY
Flames.......... 3 3 7 0 0 0 3 0 0 - 16 16 0
Phantastics..... 3 0 2 0 1 3 0 0 0 - 9 12 1
Win:Seanez(2-3) Loss:Perez(1-6)
Homeruns- M.Giles(5th), K.Griffey Jr-2(14th),
B.Abreu(17th), C.Utley-2(25th)
Left fielder Ken Griffey Jr slammed 2 homeruns
and had 8 RBI at Ameriquest
Field where the Alamo City Flames beat the
Philly Phantastics 16 to
9.
Griffey Jr had a great day at the plate. He
smacked a three-run homer in the
1st inning, doubled which was good for two runs
in the 2nd inning and lifted
one out of the park for a two run home run (his
14th of the season) in the
3rd inning. Alamo City kept the scorekeepers
busy in the 3rd inning with 7
runs on 6 hits. Alamo City finished with 16 hits
while Philly ended up with
12.
Rudy Seanez(2-3) picked up the victory, allowing
no runs in 3 and 2/3 innings.
Oliver Perez(1-6) ended up with the loss. He
pitched 1 and 2/3 innings
giving up 4 hits and 4 walks.
Jack hammers sweep Longue Pointe...June 7th. Joliet left for dead after their May swoon, sought revenge on the LP Loggers who have been in first for most of the season. Joliet swept 4 games from Dennis C's team who had just split with Carter divisions Thundercats in the first series. LP riding a strong team effort and a nice lead in Dawson, didnt expect the venom the Jack's dished out. Joliet a fairly laid back team exploded in a 15-11 win on June 6th. Aolfonso Soriano lived up to his price tag with 2 HR's and the game winner in the 11th, a Grand Slam HR to win it.
BOXSCORE: 2006 Joliet Jackhammers
At 2006 Longue Pointe Loggers 6/6/2006
Lots of runs, lots o' hits. Joliet climbs back
into race.
Jackhammers AB R H RBI AVG Loggers AB R H RBI AVG
J.Pierre CF 4 3 2 1 .258 C.Counsell SS 5 1 2 2
.281
M.Holliday LF 3 2 1 0 .242 I.Suzuki RF 6 1 1 1
.282
A-S.Podsednik LF 2 1 0 0 .241 S.Hillenbrand 3B 6
1 2 2 .316
A.Soriano 2B 6 2 3 8 .228 R.Sexson 1B 5 1 1 0
.255
D.Lee 1B 6 2 2 2 .337 H.Matsui LF 6 1 2 2 .242
S.Green RF 6 1 4 0 .295 T.Hunter CF 6 1 2 1 .255
D.Eckstein SS 5 1 2 0 .316 J.Kendall C 4 3 2 0
.254
A.Pierzynski C 4 0 0 0 .244 L.Gonzalez 2B 3 0 0
0 .231
B-Y.Torrealba C 2 1 1 2 .275 D-T.Martinez PH 1 0
0 0 .224
R.Freel 3B 4 0 0 0 .252 E-J.Cirillo 2B 0 1 0 0
.364
C.Spurling P 0 0 0 0 .000 G.Maddux P 2 0 1 1
.115
J.Putz P 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Witasick P 0 0 0 0 ----
A.Eaton P 0 0 0 0 .333 F-N.Logan PH 1 0 0 0 .000
G-R.Shealy PH 0 0 0 0 .432 J.Julio P 0 0 0 0
----
H-C.Barmes PR 1 1 0 0 .273 R.Dempster P 0 0 0 0
.091
D.Sanchez P 0 0 0 0 ---- H.Bell P 0 0 0 0 ----
M.Redman P 0 0 0 0 .095 I-A.Gonzalez PH 1 1 1 2
.292
D.Williams P 0 0 0 0 .000
J.Contreras P 2 0 0 0 .172
L.Vizcaino P 1 0 0 0 .000
C-W.Helms 3B 2 1 2 1 .365
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 48 15 17 14 Totals 46 11 14 11
A-Subbed Defensively (LF) For Holliday In 8th
Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Pierzynski In 8th
Inning
C-Subbed Defensively (3B) For Vizcaino In 8th
Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Gonzalez In 8th Inning
E-Subbed Defensively (2B) For Martinez In 9th
Inning
F-Pinch Hit For Witasick In 9th Inning
G-Pinch Hit For Eaton In 11th Inning
H-Pinch Ran For Shealy In 11th Inning
I-Pinch Hit For Bell In 11th Inning
Jackhammers..... 2 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 - 15 17 1
Loggers......... 0 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 5 - 11 14 1
Jackhammers (32-35) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA
J.Contreras 4 1/3 7 5 5 1 5 2 91 4.83
L.Vizcaino 3 1 0 0 1 2 0 39 4.10
C.Spurling HOLD(3rd) 0 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 3.69
J.Putz BS(1st) 0 2/3 1 1 1 0 0 1 3 4.29
A.Eaton WIN(2-2) 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 10 4.63
D.Sanchez 0 2 3 3 0 0 0 11 4.73
M.Redman 0 1/3 1 1 1 0 0 0 11 4.14
D.Williams 0 2/3 2 1 1 0 0 1 8 4.90
Totals 11 14 11 11 2 8 4
Loggers (39-29) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA
G.Maddux 7 10 6 6 1 5 2 142 3.81
J.Witasick 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 34 7.07
J.Julio LOSS(0-1) 1 2 5 5 2 1 1 38 8.25
R.Dempster 0 1/3 2 4 3 1 0 0 18 3.55
H.Bell 0 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 14 3.38
Totals 11 17 15 14 4 6 3
ATTENDANCE- 51,907 DATE- Friday, June 6th 2006
TIME- Night WEATHER- Average
UMPIRES- Tim Welke, Larry Poncino, Svooge
Nybroutiv, Ed Rapuano
T- 4:28
LEFT ON BASE- Jackhammers: 8 Loggers: 7
DOUBLE PLAYS- Jackhammers: 0 Loggers: 1
ERRORS- J.Contreras, J.Cirillo
DOUBLES- A.Soriano(17th), D.Lee(24th),
D.Eckstein(8th), Y.Torrealba(9th),
W.Helms(8th), S.Hillenbrand(20th), H.Matsui(9th)
TRIPLES- M.Holliday(3rd), J.Kendall(2nd),
A.Gonzalez(1st)
HOME RUNS- A.Soriano-2(14th), D.Lee(14th),
I.Suzuki(3rd), S.Hillenbrand(8th),
H.Matsui(6th), T.Hunter(9th)
STOLEN BASES- J.Pierre-5(46th)
CAUGHT STEALING- J.Pierre-2, C.Counsell
SACRIFICE HITS- J.Pierre, G.Maddux
WALKS- M.Holliday, S.Podsednik, D.Eckstein,
R.Shealy, C.Counsell, R.Sexson
HIT BY PITCH- J.Pierre-2, W.Helms, J.Kendall,
J.Cirillo
STRIKE OUTS- M.Holliday, D.Lee, D.Eckstein,
A.Pierzynski, J.Contreras-2,
C.Counsell, I.Suzuki, S.Hillenbrand-2, H.Matsui,
T.Hunter,
J.Kendall, L.Gonzalez
GIDP- D.Eckstein
BALKS- H.Bell
WILD PITCHES- J.Julio
Second baseman Alfonso Soriano smashed 2
homeruns as the Joliet Jackhammers
defeated the Longue Pointe Loggers in 11 innings
by the score of 15 to 11 at
Molson Yards (nya).
The score was knotted at 6 after nine innings.
Joliet won the hard fought
contest in the 11th inning. The key offensive
moment was provided by Soriano
who deflated the crowd as he launched a Grand
Slam homerun (his 14th of the
season). Joliet provided plenty of action in the
11th inning which saw them
plate 9 runs on 4 hits. Joliet had 17 hits
overall, while Longue Pointe had
14.
The win went to Adam Eaton(2-2) who allowed no
runs in 1 and 1/3 innings.
Jorge Julio(0-1) was the loser in relief. He
gave up 2 hits and 2 walks in 1
inning.
Joliet also solved the Longue Pointe lefty puzzle. Sabathia and Moyer were
roughed by the Frosted Jack's. Julio the dominant has become Julio the
bombed. Wes Helms has stepped in with a .353 bat and Derick Lee has hit 14
Hr's to give Joliet some hope. Lee's 3 hits helped JJ defeat LP in game 3,
11-5. Lee knocked in 3 runs in Parc Jarry#2...
Indiana looked so hopeful after a couple bold trades and a strong block 9. The week started great for the RB's as they met Ottawa in a battle of Parker rivals. Ottawa has held first place and has been dog fighting with both Brooklyn and Indiana all season long. Indiana needed to take a series from Ottawa and they did. May 31st game was a classic with Indy winning with a run in the 1oth on a Toby Hall single. Indy took 3 of 4 moving to within 2 games of the lead. The road to the top seemed easy enough as Cooperstown was next. RedBird fans ever optimistic and buzzing from the weeks events thus far may have taken the Ryan Wyke led Iron Horses too lightly.
Cooperstown stopped the Indiana Redbirds winning 3 of 4 behind renewed offense, and Justin Speier. Speier has issued no runs in 13 appearances. Radke, Franklin, and Ch Cordero captured the Birds and stalled their flight to the top in Parker. In the 4th game of the series, Cooperstown managed only 3 hits in their 2-1 win. Indy had 12 hits. Despite Tony Clark's heroics this week (7 HR), Indy only moved up 1 notch towards Ottawa in Parker....
BOXSCORE: 2006 Indiana RedBirds
At 2006 Cooperstown Iron Horses 6/7/2006
RedBirds AB R H RBI AVG Iron Horses AB R H RBI AVG
G.Sizemore CF 5 0 1 0 .315 M.Young SS 3 1 1 0
.306
P.Polanco 2B 4 0 3 0 .348 C.Wilson RF 3 0 0 0
.250
D-T.Walker PH 1 0 0 0 .329 D.Johnson 1B 3 0 0 1
.280
A.Pujols 1B 4 0 2 0 .301 D.Bell 3B 4 0 1 1 .270
A.Rodriguez SS 4 0 1 0 .276 J.Buck C 2 0 0 0
.262
J.Bay LF 4 0 1 0 .308 R.Langerhans LF 3 0 1 0
.181
T.Clark DH 4 1 2 1 .265 J.Peralta DH 3 0 0 0
.299
T.Nixon RF 3 0 0 0 .221 R.Gotay 2B 3 0 0 0 .248
H.Blalock 3B 4 0 1 0 .235 D.Roberts CF 1 1 0 0
.286
T.Hall C 2 0 0 0 .243
A-M.Stairs PH 1 0 1 0 .308
B-M.Olivo C 0 0 0 0 .184
C-J.Conine PH 1 0 0 0 .343
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 37 1 12 1 Totals 25 2 3 2
A-Pinch Hit For Hall In 7th Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Stairs In 7th
Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Olivo In 9th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Polanco In 9th Inning
RedBirds........ 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 12 0
Iron Horses..... 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 - 2 3 0
RedBirds (36-30) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA
SCORESHEET
S.Kazmir LOSS(9-5) 7 3 2 2 6 6 0 130 3.90 A1 D5
D.Riske 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 15 4.62 D6
Totals 8 3 2 2 6 8 0
Iron Horses (28-40) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA
SCORESHEET
B.Radke WIN(5-7) 7 12 1 1 1 6 1 104 3.49 A1 D5
B.Thompson HOLD(1st) 0 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 6.57 D6
D6
J.Crain HOLD(7th) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 3.14 D7 D9
F.Cordero SAVE(6th) 0 2/3 0 0 0 0 2 0 10 5.63 E1
Totals 9 12 1 1 1 8 1
ATTENDANCE- 16,786 DATE- Saturday, June 7th 2006
TIME- Day WEATHER- Good
UMPIRES- Dougles Eddings, Greg Gibson, Sam
Holbrook, Paul Emmel
T- 2:26
LEFT ON BASE- RedBirds:10 Iron Horses: 9
DOUBLE PLAYS- RedBirds: 0 Iron Horses: 1
DOUBLES- P.Polanco(21st)
HOME RUNS- T.Clark(20th)
SACRIFICE HITS- D.Roberts
SACRIFICE FLIES- D.Johnson
WALKS- T.Nixon, M.Young, C.Wilson, J.Buck-2,
J.Peralta, D.Roberts
HIT BY PITCH- R.Langerhans, R.Gotay
STRIKE OUTS- G.Sizemore-3, T.Walker, A.Pujols,
A.Rodriguez, T.Nixon, H.Blalock,
M.Young, C.Wilson, D.Johnson, D.Bell, J.Buck,
J.Peralta, R.Gotay-2
GIDP- H.Blalock
WILD PITCHES- S.Kazmir
At Wrigley Field, the Cooperstown faithful were
treated to an intriguing
pitcher's duel. Brad Radke(5-7) finally bested
his Indiana counterpart,
Scott Kazmir(9-5), by the score of 2 to 1.
Cooperstown had 2 runs cross the plate in the
5th inning. Despite losing,
Indiana out-hit Cooperstown 12 to 3. Radke got
help from Francisco Cordero
who earned his 6th save. The loss was charged to
Kazmir. He surrendered 3
hits and 6 walks in 7 innings.
MARIANO! Brooklynites are ecstatic about Mariano's 30 scoreless inning streak! He single handedly helped push Brooklyn back into the race in Parker with 3 big wins to put his record at 5-0, and 3 more saves to give him 13 on the season. Rivera has not allowed a single run this year nailing shut all his opponents. Read this, 30 innings, 7 hits!!! 34 K's. Ligts out a 0% inherited runner scoring stat. Brooklyn's super platooners starred. The House of Pain is still rockin'.
46,907 fans were treated to a fine game at
House of Pain {Col} as only one run
separated the combatants at game's end. The
Brooklyn Superbas won by the
slimmest of margins, 6 to 5.
The game was won by Brooklyn with a run in the
8th inning. Todd Helton hit a
bases-empty home run (his 6th of the season).
Brooklyn managed 11 in their
victory.
The victory went to Mariano Rivera(4-0) who went
2 innings, allowing no runs.
Scott Linebrink(3-8) was charged with the loss
in relief....
The battle fior Carter rages. With the Wolfmen
looking to tear into the Whalers. In Game 1 lefty David Wells easily
handled the Skok's lineup. Game 2 Game 2 was all Neah teaching the newer
Skokie franchise a 7-0 lesson in pitching seemingly asserting their
strength over the past 4 seasons in one walloping game. Recent #1 draftee
"King" Felix Hernandez made a spot start and mowed down the Skoks in this
key game. Piazza paid dividends witha HR and 5 RBi's.
May 30th, 2006
Although this week didn't see the leads change hands, the pennant races became more defined. In the Staub, Longue Pointe was able to hold off rival Belfast this week. Belfast's Chone Figgins is currently on a27 game hitting streak, longest of the year thus far. LP has won 8 of last 10 games, with a 10-5 record in 1 run games a testament to their bullpen support. LP was able to Slow SD who dropped 8 back and Maine who is struggling to find themselves in '06. SD and Joliet had dismal weeks and are rapidly falling out of the playoff race as Allentown has played well enough to move into contention for at least a wildcard being 4 games over .500 while the others have struggled. Unless SD and joliet make some progress it may be those three looking into the post season. Skokie has been on fire and now owns a 1.5 game lead over ever tough Neah Bay. Those two will dogfight all year as they have each made moves to improve their Staub division playoff chances.
In Clemente Philly again set some offensive marks. Scoring 26 runs on May 28th, in a 26-4 win over contending Stirling, the Phantastics lashed 24 hits. Carlos Lee walked 4 times, Lance Berkman scored 5 runs and Knocked in 6 on 4 hits. There were 3 players with 5 RBI or more. Philly is 8.5 behind Schmidt division leader Alamo City whop held first for another week. Alamo, Malachi Nellum's team, 32-26, isn't the offensive force they were '05, but much improved pitching has been the difference. With their team ERA about 1.5 runs less, the Flames and their new uniforms, have been solid this season. Billy Wagner has been lights out with 15 sv and a miniscule 0.71 ERA. Moises Alou is still flirting with .400 and has hit 8 taters thus far...Lake County a game back is hanging tough as Frank Thomas, and Larry Walker / Carlos Delgado have been quite deadly, rivaling Ottawa's Vlad-Papi combo. The Leopards pitching has been even better than Alamo's so this will be an interesting race to watch. Stirling is right there a game back as well. Wayne McGee, an original CBA owner has to be pleased how his RedSox have bounced back after a short 1 year rebuild. Cabrera and Konerko have been marvelous for Wayne. SRS has been winning despite not getting on base as much as expected, .336 team OBA.Lots of power and a good leadoff man, Crawford, may be the difference. David Ortiz had a 5 hit game for Parker leader Ottawa on May 30th. Ottawa has a 4 game lead over both Brooklyn and Indiana. It looks like Jack Jung's team may be the class of Parker. Brooklyn cant seem to get untracked. Brooklyn doesn't seem to have their renowned pop this year, struggling along with a '.266' Batting avg, about 30 pts below their 10 year normal. Indiana is also at 4 games back and both those two should be battling all year for a playoff spot. With Indiana's latest trades, they may be a favorite to overtake the Superbas in the chase.
May 22nd 2006
Very interesting month. With some race lead changes. Never can tell
week to week who will
emerge with everyone so tightly packed. With a rush, Alamo City has taken
control in the
Schmidt from Lake County. Malachi Nellum has been waiting patiently for a
few season for
his team to gel and it appears it may be doing just that, having a strong
week, sweeping
Bryan their Texas rivals. May has been good for Alamo who were a few under
.500 as of
May 4th, but have steady climbed now in first place. Could have been a
bigger lead had
they not lost 2 of 3 to Lake County in the final series....Striling has
quietly moved back
into the race actually to within a half game of first for. Its their first
time that close
to the top spot since early 2004. 5 players with double digit HR's.
Andruuw Jones had a
big week breaking his slump with a multiple HR game. Chavez, Konerko,
Cabrera and Belliard
10 27 .355 have all hit the long balls. It certainly hasn't been their
pitching with a mid
5 ERA. Lake County ever tough has used the big bat of Carlos Delgado 16 50
.321 to stay
in the thick of it. Carolina led by 101 HR Adam Dunn's 25 HR and the
amazing season of
Travis Hafner's 17 41 .317 are poised to strike with a great
offense....Ottawa is back in
first place. They took apart Brooklyn in their head to head by the Bash
Brothers Ortiz and
Guerrero doing tons of damage. Perhaps CBA's strongest offensive tandem
they helped take 3
games form the Superbas destroying the Brooklyn pitchers...Indiana and
Brooklyn went head
to head with the Supers winning 3 of 4 from them. Brooklyn pitchers
couldnt hold on as
Indiana makes their rush to fight in the Parker.Wang and Loaiza pitching
well in their key
starts. Brooklyn has fallen 3 1/2 out and are looking at a tough road
ahead if they wish
to repeat. Indiana has won 7, 1 run games to account for their rise.
Sizemore, Bay, and
Al Pujols have been hitting very well. Could you imagine when A Rod heats
up what may
happen here in Parker?....
Longue Pointe has taken command in Dawson with a solid week splitting with
the Senators
and taking 2 of 3 from Maine. Pitching the key with solid pen work by
committee and
excellent starting pitching. LP got some nice small ball using Hit and Run
and some key
steals by Ichiro to move ahead. Hillenbrand continues his clutch hitting
to keep LP
atop... Belfast struggled dropping both their series. Belfast has hit a
team .292 BA
but managed only 46 HR's this year. JD Adams must be scratching his head
after losing
to Joliet after Limoilou took 3 of 4 from Belfast in Quebec in was a
crucial city for the
Brawlers. It was a lone bright spot in an otherwise dismal season for the
once mighty
Wendigo. Perhaps this weeks trade for Tim Hudson proved a spark. It sure
did for Neah Bay
who despite the tremendous play of Skokie had an awesome first week half
defeating Joliet
3 of 4 in retaking 1st place in Carter, only to drop their final series to
SD 2 of 3. Neah
swept OTC in their series after losing two to SD in the first half. Joliet
remains 5 1/2
out with SD 6 games out floating along on the cusp....
CBA is off and running. The new website address is speedy and no pop-ups.
Below is the no hitter....
BOXSCORE: 2006 Alamo City Flames At
2006 Stirling Redsox
4/25/2006
Flames
AB R H RBI AVG Redsox
AB R H RBI AVG
J.Damon CF
4 0 0 0 .244 C.Crawford LF
4 1 1 0 .226
M.Giles 2B
3 0 0 0 .333 R.Belliard 2B
4 1 3 1 .385
M.Alou DH
4 0 0 0 .421 A.Jones CF
3 2 1 2 .221
J.Francoeur RF
4 0 0 0 .333 M.Cabrera RF
3 0 1 1 .354
K.Griffey Jr LF 2
1 0 0 .310 A-J.Repko RF
1 0 0 0 .250
B.Mueller 3B
4 0 0 0 .261 E.Chavez 3B
4 0 0 0 .187
S.Casey 1B
2 0 0 0 .373 P.Konerko 1B
4 0 0 0 .208
J.Uribe SS
2 0 0 0 .189 J.Varitek C
3 0 0 0 .239
M.Redmond C
2 0 0 1 .185 J.Larue DH
1 0 0 0 .148
O.Cabrera SS 3 0 1
0 .242
-- -- -- ---
-- -- -- ---
Totals 27 1 0 1
Totals 30 4 7 4
A-Subbed Defensively (RF) For Cabrera In 8th Inning
Flames.......... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
- 1 0 0
Redsox.......... 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
- 4 7 1
Flames (15-12)
IP H R ER BB
SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET
C.Lee LOSS(3-3)
8 7 4 4
2 10 1 127 4.68 A1
Totals
8 7 4 4
2 10 1
Redsox (9-18)
IP H R ER BB
SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET
B.Zito WIN(1-5)
7 0 1 1
5 5 0 121 8.88 A1 C8
M.Wise SAVE(4th)
2 0 0 0
1 3 0 26 2.08 C9
Totals
9 0 1 1
6 8 0
ATTENDANCE- 27,781 DATE- Friday, April 25th 2006
TIME- Day WEATHER- Average
UMPIRES- Alfonso Marquez, Jeff Kellogg, Jerry Layne,
Lil' Jack Little
T- 2:12
LEFT ON BASE- Flames: 5 Redsox: 5
DOUBLE PLAYS- Flames: 0 Redsox: 1
ERRORS- R.Belliard
DOUBLES- C.Crawford(7th), R.Belliard(7th),
M.Cabrera(6th)
HOME RUNS- A.Jones(7th)
WALKS- M.Giles, K.Griffey Jr-2, S.Casey, J.Uribe,
M.Redmond, J.Larue-2
HIT BY PITCH- A.Jones
STRIKE OUTS- M.Giles, M.Alou, J.Francoeur, K.Griffey
Jr-2, B.Mueller, J.Uribe-2,
C.Crawford-2, R.Belliard, M.Cabrera-2, J.Repko, E.Chavez,
P.Konerko, J.Varitek-2
GIDP- M.Giles
The Stirling Redsox pitching staff gave the fans an
afternoon that they'll
never forget by tossing a combined no-hitter! The
tension started to build
around the 6th inning. By the 9th inning the
crowd was electrified. Alamo
City went down without a fight in the 9th.
Barry Zito(1-5) got credit for the victory, pitching
7 innings and allowing 1
run. Zito got help from Matt Wise who was credited
with his 4th save. Cliff
Lee(3-3) absorbed the loss. He surrendered 4
runs and 7 hits in 8 innings.
'You probably have a better chance of winning the
lottery than this
happening,' said Zito who got credit for the win, 'I
don't expect it to sink
in for awhile.' he said. 'You know, it's hard to say
who was better, the
starter or the bullpen!'
June 26th, 2006
Brooklyn Luvs their Wacky Superbas....
by Joe Slats
In 1997 the city of Brooklyn was awarded a franchise by the fledgling Cyber Baseball Association. A league better known in the Strat-o-sphere as C.B.A.
Quickly a civic commision ("Baseball Back in Bklyn") was appointed by Borough President Mike DelPritito to oversee and build a new stadium known as "The House of Pain" to the same specifications as Colorado's Coors Field. It went up quickly in Brooklyn's midsection in a place called Prospect Park. Based on an old Olmstead and Vaux design, the area was beautiful yet not efficient for the increased traffic flow. As result the trains were packed, and traffic stopped.
The Superbas stopped too. They stopped pitching in their inaugural year. Though they did hit at the House of Pain, leading the league with a .284 BA. But the rest of the season, well...not s'good.... A former CBA member once said "Superbas" means 'great underwear' in French. The Superbas were as pathetic as a dried skidmark committing 143 errors and amasing a league worst 5.18 ERA. Those numbers were good enough to snatch defeat 97 times from the jaws of victory and a pathetic last place finish. Through the stench of the 97 season, "The House of Pain" rocked every night!..... and still it rocks on into 2004.....
This season, the city fixed its traffic mess around Grand Army Plaza and Prospect Park. At the same time fixing the subway snarl and logjams by finalizing and building a long awaited "Superba Hovercraft" and "KiteTrain" fan mover transport system. Able to move crowds from the outer fringes of Midwood, Bensonhurst, and New Lots to Flatbush has eased traffic and brought big business to the middle Brooklyn stadium area.
Brooklyn fans such as Broog Tylobrow, Vito DelaChien, Mike Fionzarukii, and Eric Lindner still love their fun and maniacal team. Years before They came out en masse to watch such former original Brooklyn Superbas such as Albert Belle, Lance Johnson, Jeff Frye, Butch Huskey, Felipe Lira, Paul Sorrento, and the legendary Peoples cherce Mel Rojas battle teams such as the Sunville SunJewels, Canadian River Valley Ballyard Rats, Hootersville Cannonballs, The Louisville MobSquad, The Parma Flamingoes, and the beloved Southwest Sun Lizards. Even some bizarre Canadian team called the Green Bay Roches (Never understood that name) Nowadays, 'dem’ SuPoib's take on teams such as the Allentown Senators, Maine Express, Carolina Copperheads, Lake County Leopards and the Ohio T-Cats. Fans now however are seeing a better brand of winning ball played by characters who remind oldtimers of the fabled GasHouse Gang clubs. Lets once again today in 2006 at some of the 'colorful' players on the Brooklyn Bums team.
Todd "The Mod" Helton a surefire CBA HOFer, Todd has adopted a fake British Accent (like Johnny Depp). He flits around the clubhouse and enjoys entertaining repoters by portraying Bill Cosby acting as a British spy. It is quite bizzare say some reporters but teammates don’t mind as long as he keeps hitting they report. This season Todd has company. Another Todd has joined the Supebas. Todd Greene, who coincidently always dresses in green has been practicing his mime act around the clubhouse. He has been provoking controversy keeping everyone’s muscles loose. Unhappy players have taken their toll on Greene who is constanttly mimicking the other Todd, Helton. Greene prances around behind Helton repeating everything his mentor says.
Ivan Rodriguez always keeps a dish of both liverwurst and cod liver oil in his locker. Like a form of aroma therapy it helps this potential all star catcher achieve his best emotional state before games. He and ‘Sal’s pals’ namesake Sal Fasano eat hero sandwiches with the food substances each morning at 10 am.
Sal Fasano has cut a new dance record in Brooklyn’s Electric Plant studios. His new video shot nearly in the buff had bizarre reaction on MTW’s TRL show. Aside from the cheers and chants, Fasano managed to capture the hearts and souls of the Brooklyn faithful. A popular player in Brooklyn Fasano spends lots of time autographing books of other players for any fans who may be within yards of the burly catcher.
Roy Halliday has joined the Bensonhurst 07740 Volunteer Police force. He has assigned himself to oversee the protection of Brooklyn’s burgeoning Canadian Goose(Geese,whatever) population. He can be sighted on off days in Marine Park playing spot the ‘Looney’ with town area residents. Team officials don’t mind his dedication to area interests but remains concerned about his chasing fire engines.
Adam Everett Another strange case. Suffering from some form of paranoia, Everett is constantly comparing himself to Carl Everett much to his own consternation. Recently Adam presented Superba fans with deluxe opportunity to have his picture taken with both personalities. Few attended, but a good time was had by those on East 12th and East 13th street.
Ryan Howard Has embraced technology. Last year’s attempt to Implant a GPS tracking device in his body to help him find himself at the plate was supposed to work wonders. However it backfired and Ry-Oh-Ho was sent to the DL with a staph infection caused by the foreign device. Oh no Ry-Ho. Howard has responded to the rumours of Doctors planting a new analog abacus rack into his back has been scoffed by Ryoho. “ I caint do that sheet. You think Im some kinda…”
Vinny Castilla was Brooklyn’s favorite Coo-Jine (A Bklyn term, see Saturday nite fever) back in April when he took over play at 3B. Castilla was claimed off the RFA wires but just has been unable to get the job done in Brooklyn. He is quite unpopular in Brooklyn and is heaped lots of Brooklyn abuse by the faithful Prospect Park people. Tossed at and spat at thrown at with garbage and fish, he is considered ‘asinine’ by many loyal Brooklyn fans. Some fired carpet guns at the player at his hotel in Red Hook, and a few even tried to give him money and advice to leave town. Castilla, Lost the 3B to the enigmatic Juan "In-fidel" Castro. Vinny slumpd badly. The slump and humilation grew worse with each series. Mercilessly Castilla has been mocked and taunted especially following his infamous game against Bryan on June 25th. He actually stumbled to the plate, his bat held upside down by the barrel. Although being laughed at frantically by many, he popped a single to left splintering the bat before the hysterical Brooklyn dugout. Upon his return to the bench, Manager John Stearns tackled him in the dugout and umpire Svooge Nybroutiv tossed both from the game. Fans wont be so quick to forgive either player or manager for the disrespect to the Brooklyn Superba ‘family’ in the bizarre happening in the House of Pain.
Jay Payton His spot in LF is known on the Brooklyn streets as "Payton's Place" Always refers to himself in the third person.
Generalismo Mariano Rivera The brutal dictator of the bullpen likens himself to dictators such as Somoza, Trujillo, Noriega, Mao, Fidel, Napolean, Bob Barker, and Major Healy. He has a different pitch for each dictatorial mood swing he encounters on the mound. He is quite an entertaining reliever to watch.
Albert Belle used to be the teams best dancer, now it's LaTroy "Sadie " Hawkins often found by Bklyn's Trolley’s disco. He has won a few contests and now teaches the Hustle in his spare time. He is now rumored to be looking open an all night produce stand in Boro Park.
Jose Vidro is quite a hit with the female fans at The House that Rafael Bournigal built. His newly dyed hair extension are the talk of Cadman Plaza. Many a young fan look at him.
And perhaps the liveliest personality in dugout, the Wacky Claudio Vargas. Ever the source of fun and target of jokes, The Bolivian is so popular in Brooklyn that they made a doll/action figure of him.
The doll retails for a buck 99 at Gas stations everywhere. It's dual purpose as a toy and lighter fluid cannister has caused quite a sensation in schoolyards around the city. Says Bklyn fan Lenny Leotardo "...The toy imitates life so well. Ain't it just like Vargas too? You can definitely put fuel on the fire with this toy just like my hero..."
June 5th, 2006
Well how about Malachi Nellum's Alamo City Flames. One of CBA's veteran franchises, Alamo has been slowly rebuilding and now the dividends. A 4 game lead over Dave Dean's struggling Lake County Leopards, and Wayne "McGoo's" Stirling Red Sox. The Flames have been in first for 3 weeks now and they look like an emerging CBA force. Look at the damage Ken Griffey Jrdid for the Flames in this June 7th game.
ALAMO CITY AT PHILLY
Flames.......... 3 3 7 0 0 0 3 0 0 - 16 16 0
Phantastics..... 3 0 2 0 1 3 0 0 0 - 9 12 1
Win:Seanez(2-3) Loss:Perez(1-6)
Homeruns- M.Giles(5th), K.Griffey Jr-2(14th),
B.Abreu(17th), C.Utley-2(25th)
Left fielder Ken Griffey Jr slammed 2 homeruns
and had 8 RBI at Ameriquest
Field where the Alamo City Flames beat the
Philly Phantastics 16 to
9.
Griffey Jr had a great day at the plate. He
smacked a three-run homer in the
1st inning, doubled which was good for two runs
in the 2nd inning and lifted
one out of the park for a two run home run (his
14th of the season) in the
3rd inning. Alamo City kept the scorekeepers
busy in the 3rd inning with 7
runs on 6 hits. Alamo City finished with 16 hits
while Philly ended up with
12.
Rudy Seanez(2-3) picked up the victory, allowing
no runs in 3 and 2/3 innings.
Oliver Perez(1-6) ended up with the loss. He
pitched 1 and 2/3 innings
giving up 4 hits and 4 walks.
Jack hammers sweep Longue Pointe...June 7th. Joliet left for dead after their May swoon, sought revenge on the LP Loggers who have been in first for most of the season. Joliet swept 4 games from Dennis C's team who had just split with Carter divisions Thundercats in the first series. LP riding a strong team effort and a nice lead in Dawson, didnt expect the venom the Jack's dished out. Joliet a fairly laid back team exploded in a 15-11 win on June 6th. Aolfonso Soriano lived up to his price tag with 2 HR's and the game winner in the 11th, a Grand Slam HR to win it.
BOXSCORE: 2006 Joliet Jackhammers
At 2006 Longue Pointe Loggers 6/6/2006
Lots of runs, lots o' hits. Joliet climbs back
into race.
Jackhammers AB R H RBI AVG Loggers AB R H RBI AVG
J.Pierre CF 4 3 2 1 .258 C.Counsell SS 5 1 2 2
.281
M.Holliday LF 3 2 1 0 .242 I.Suzuki RF 6 1 1 1
.282
A-S.Podsednik LF 2 1 0 0 .241 S.Hillenbrand 3B 6
1 2 2 .316
A.Soriano 2B 6 2 3 8 .228 R.Sexson 1B 5 1 1 0
.255
D.Lee 1B 6 2 2 2 .337 H.Matsui LF 6 1 2 2 .242
S.Green RF 6 1 4 0 .295 T.Hunter CF 6 1 2 1 .255
D.Eckstein SS 5 1 2 0 .316 J.Kendall C 4 3 2 0
.254
A.Pierzynski C 4 0 0 0 .244 L.Gonzalez 2B 3 0 0
0 .231
B-Y.Torrealba C 2 1 1 2 .275 D-T.Martinez PH 1 0
0 0 .224
R.Freel 3B 4 0 0 0 .252 E-J.Cirillo 2B 0 1 0 0
.364
C.Spurling P 0 0 0 0 .000 G.Maddux P 2 0 1 1
.115
J.Putz P 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Witasick P 0 0 0 0 ----
A.Eaton P 0 0 0 0 .333 F-N.Logan PH 1 0 0 0 .000
G-R.Shealy PH 0 0 0 0 .432 J.Julio P 0 0 0 0
----
H-C.Barmes PR 1 1 0 0 .273 R.Dempster P 0 0 0 0
.091
D.Sanchez P 0 0 0 0 ---- H.Bell P 0 0 0 0 ----
M.Redman P 0 0 0 0 .095 I-A.Gonzalez PH 1 1 1 2
.292
D.Williams P 0 0 0 0 .000
J.Contreras P 2 0 0 0 .172
L.Vizcaino P 1 0 0 0 .000
C-W.Helms 3B 2 1 2 1 .365
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 48 15 17 14 Totals 46 11 14 11
A-Subbed Defensively (LF) For Holliday In 8th
Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Pierzynski In 8th
Inning
C-Subbed Defensively (3B) For Vizcaino In 8th
Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Gonzalez In 8th Inning
E-Subbed Defensively (2B) For Martinez In 9th
Inning
F-Pinch Hit For Witasick In 9th Inning
G-Pinch Hit For Eaton In 11th Inning
H-Pinch Ran For Shealy In 11th Inning
I-Pinch Hit For Bell In 11th Inning
Jackhammers..... 2 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 - 15 17 1
Loggers......... 0 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 5 - 11 14 1
Jackhammers (32-35) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA
J.Contreras 4 1/3 7 5 5 1 5 2 91 4.83
L.Vizcaino 3 1 0 0 1 2 0 39 4.10
C.Spurling HOLD(3rd) 0 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 3.69
J.Putz BS(1st) 0 2/3 1 1 1 0 0 1 3 4.29
A.Eaton WIN(2-2) 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 10 4.63
D.Sanchez 0 2 3 3 0 0 0 11 4.73
M.Redman 0 1/3 1 1 1 0 0 0 11 4.14
D.Williams 0 2/3 2 1 1 0 0 1 8 4.90
Totals 11 14 11 11 2 8 4
Loggers (39-29) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA
G.Maddux 7 10 6 6 1 5 2 142 3.81
J.Witasick 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 34 7.07
J.Julio LOSS(0-1) 1 2 5 5 2 1 1 38 8.25
R.Dempster 0 1/3 2 4 3 1 0 0 18 3.55
H.Bell 0 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 14 3.38
Totals 11 17 15 14 4 6 3
ATTENDANCE- 51,907 DATE- Friday, June 6th 2006
TIME- Night WEATHER- Average
UMPIRES- Tim Welke, Larry Poncino, Svooge
Nybroutiv, Ed Rapuano
T- 4:28
LEFT ON BASE- Jackhammers: 8 Loggers: 7
DOUBLE PLAYS- Jackhammers: 0 Loggers: 1
ERRORS- J.Contreras, J.Cirillo
DOUBLES- A.Soriano(17th), D.Lee(24th),
D.Eckstein(8th), Y.Torrealba(9th),
W.Helms(8th), S.Hillenbrand(20th), H.Matsui(9th)
TRIPLES- M.Holliday(3rd), J.Kendall(2nd),
A.Gonzalez(1st)
HOME RUNS- A.Soriano-2(14th), D.Lee(14th),
I.Suzuki(3rd), S.Hillenbrand(8th),
H.Matsui(6th), T.Hunter(9th)
STOLEN BASES- J.Pierre-5(46th)
CAUGHT STEALING- J.Pierre-2, C.Counsell
SACRIFICE HITS- J.Pierre, G.Maddux
WALKS- M.Holliday, S.Podsednik, D.Eckstein,
R.Shealy, C.Counsell, R.Sexson
HIT BY PITCH- J.Pierre-2, W.Helms, J.Kendall,
J.Cirillo
STRIKE OUTS- M.Holliday, D.Lee, D.Eckstein,
A.Pierzynski, J.Contreras-2,
C.Counsell, I.Suzuki, S.Hillenbrand-2, H.Matsui,
T.Hunter,
J.Kendall, L.Gonzalez
GIDP- D.Eckstein
BALKS- H.Bell
WILD PITCHES- J.Julio
Second baseman Alfonso Soriano smashed 2
homeruns as the Joliet Jackhammers
defeated the Longue Pointe Loggers in 11 innings
by the score of 15 to 11 at
Molson Yards (nya).
The score was knotted at 6 after nine innings.
Joliet won the hard fought
contest in the 11th inning. The key offensive
moment was provided by Soriano
who deflated the crowd as he launched a Grand
Slam homerun (his 14th of the
season). Joliet provided plenty of action in the
11th inning which saw them
plate 9 runs on 4 hits. Joliet had 17 hits
overall, while Longue Pointe had
14.
The win went to Adam Eaton(2-2) who allowed no
runs in 1 and 1/3 innings.
Jorge Julio(0-1) was the loser in relief. He
gave up 2 hits and 2 walks in 1
inning.
Joliet also solved the Longue Pointe lefty puzzle. Sabathia and Moyer were
roughed by the Frosted Jack's. Julio the dominant has become Julio the
bombed. Wes Helms has stepped in with a .353 bat and Derick Lee has hit 14
Hr's to give Joliet some hope. Lee's 3 hits helped JJ defeat LP in game 3,
11-5. Lee knocked in 3 runs in Parc Jarry#2...
Indiana looked so hopeful after a couple bold trades and a strong block 9. The week started great for the RB's as they met Ottawa in a battle of Parker rivals. Ottawa has held first place and has been dog fighting with both Brooklyn and Indiana all season long. Indiana needed to take a series from Ottawa and they did. May 31st game was a classic with Indy winning with a run in the 1oth on a Toby Hall single. Indy took 3 of 4 moving to within 2 games of the lead. The road to the top seemed easy enough as Cooperstown was next. RedBird fans ever optimistic and buzzing from the weeks events thus far may have taken the Ryan Wyke led Iron Horses too lightly.
Cooperstown stopped the Indiana Redbirds winning 3 of 4 behind renewed offense, and Justin Speier. Speier has issued no runs in 13 appearances. Radke, Franklin, and Ch Cordero captured the Birds and stalled their flight to the top in Parker. In the 4th game of the series, Cooperstown managed only 3 hits in their 2-1 win. Indy had 12 hits. Despite Tony Clark's heroics this week (7 HR), Indy only moved up 1 notch towards Ottawa in Parker....
BOXSCORE: 2006 Indiana RedBirds
At 2006 Cooperstown Iron Horses 6/7/2006
RedBirds AB R H RBI AVG Iron Horses AB R H RBI AVG
G.Sizemore CF 5 0 1 0 .315 M.Young SS 3 1 1 0
.306
P.Polanco 2B 4 0 3 0 .348 C.Wilson RF 3 0 0 0
.250
D-T.Walker PH 1 0 0 0 .329 D.Johnson 1B 3 0 0 1
.280
A.Pujols 1B 4 0 2 0 .301 D.Bell 3B 4 0 1 1 .270
A.Rodriguez SS 4 0 1 0 .276 J.Buck C 2 0 0 0
.262
J.Bay LF 4 0 1 0 .308 R.Langerhans LF 3 0 1 0
.181
T.Clark DH 4 1 2 1 .265 J.Peralta DH 3 0 0 0
.299
T.Nixon RF 3 0 0 0 .221 R.Gotay 2B 3 0 0 0 .248
H.Blalock 3B 4 0 1 0 .235 D.Roberts CF 1 1 0 0
.286
T.Hall C 2 0 0 0 .243
A-M.Stairs PH 1 0 1 0 .308
B-M.Olivo C 0 0 0 0 .184
C-J.Conine PH 1 0 0 0 .343
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 37 1 12 1 Totals 25 2 3 2
A-Pinch Hit For Hall In 7th Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Stairs In 7th
Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Olivo In 9th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Polanco In 9th Inning
RedBirds........ 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 12 0
Iron Horses..... 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 - 2 3 0
RedBirds (36-30) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA
SCORESHEET
S.Kazmir LOSS(9-5) 7 3 2 2 6 6 0 130 3.90 A1 D5
D.Riske 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 15 4.62 D6
Totals 8 3 2 2 6 8 0
Iron Horses (28-40) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA
SCORESHEET
B.Radke WIN(5-7) 7 12 1 1 1 6 1 104 3.49 A1 D5
B.Thompson HOLD(1st) 0 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 6.57 D6
D6
J.Crain HOLD(7th) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 3.14 D7 D9
F.Cordero SAVE(6th) 0 2/3 0 0 0 0 2 0 10 5.63 E1
Totals 9 12 1 1 1 8 1
ATTENDANCE- 16,786 DATE- Saturday, June 7th 2006
TIME- Day WEATHER- Good
UMPIRES- Dougles Eddings, Greg Gibson, Sam
Holbrook, Paul Emmel
T- 2:26
LEFT ON BASE- RedBirds:10 Iron Horses: 9
DOUBLE PLAYS- RedBirds: 0 Iron Horses: 1
DOUBLES- P.Polanco(21st)
HOME RUNS- T.Clark(20th)
SACRIFICE HITS- D.Roberts
SACRIFICE FLIES- D.Johnson
WALKS- T.Nixon, M.Young, C.Wilson, J.Buck-2,
J.Peralta, D.Roberts
HIT BY PITCH- R.Langerhans, R.Gotay
STRIKE OUTS- G.Sizemore-3, T.Walker, A.Pujols,
A.Rodriguez, T.Nixon, H.Blalock,
M.Young, C.Wilson, D.Johnson, D.Bell, J.Buck,
J.Peralta, R.Gotay-2
GIDP- H.Blalock
WILD PITCHES- S.Kazmir
At Wrigley Field, the Cooperstown faithful were
treated to an intriguing
pitcher's duel. Brad Radke(5-7) finally bested
his Indiana counterpart,
Scott Kazmir(9-5), by the score of 2 to 1.
Cooperstown had 2 runs cross the plate in the
5th inning. Despite losing,
Indiana out-hit Cooperstown 12 to 3. Radke got
help from Francisco Cordero
who earned his 6th save. The loss was charged to
Kazmir. He surrendered 3
hits and 6 walks in 7 innings.
MARIANO! Brooklynites are ecstatic about Mariano's 30 scoreless inning streak! He single handedly helped push Brooklyn back into the race in Parker with 3 big wins to put his record at 5-0, and 3 more saves to give him 13 on the season. Rivera has not allowed a single run this year nailing shut all his opponents. Read this, 30 innings, 7 hits!!! 34 K's. Ligts out a 0% inherited runner scoring stat. Brooklyn's super platooners starred. The House of Pain is still rockin'.
46,907 fans were treated to a fine game at
House of Pain {Col} as only one run
separated the combatants at game's end. The
Brooklyn Superbas won by the
slimmest of margins, 6 to 5.
The game was won by Brooklyn with a run in the
8th inning. Todd Helton hit a
bases-empty home run (his 6th of the season).
Brooklyn managed 11 in their
victory.
The victory went to Mariano Rivera(4-0) who went
2 innings, allowing no runs.
Scott Linebrink(3-8) was charged with the loss
in relief....
The battle fior Carter rages. With the Wolfmen
looking to tear into the Whalers. In Game 1 lefty David Wells easily
handled the Skok's lineup. Game 2 Game 2 was all Neah teaching the newer
Skokie franchise a 7-0 lesson in pitching seemingly asserting their
strength over the past 4 seasons in one walloping game. Recent #1 draftee
"King" Felix Hernandez made a spot start and mowed down the Skoks in this
key game. Piazza paid dividends witha HR and 5 RBi's.
May 30th, 2006
Although this week didn't see the leads change hands, the pennant races became more defined. In the Staub, Longue Pointe was able to hold off rival Belfast this week. Belfast's Chone Figgins is currently on a27 game hitting streak, longest of the year thus far. LP has won 8 of last 10 games, with a 10-5 record in 1 run games a testament to their bullpen support. LP was able to Slow SD who dropped 8 back and Maine who is struggling to find themselves in '06. SD and Joliet had dismal weeks and are rapidly falling out of the playoff race as Allentown has played well enough to move into contention for at least a wildcard being 4 games over .500 while the others have struggled. Unless SD and joliet make some progress it may be those three looking into the post season. Skokie has been on fire and now owns a 1.5 game lead over ever tough Neah Bay. Those two will dogfight all year as they have each made moves to improve their Staub division playoff chances.
In Clemente Philly again set some offensive marks. Scoring 26 runs on May 28th, in a 26-4 win over contending Stirling, the Phantastics lashed 24 hits. Carlos Lee walked 4 times, Lance Berkman scored 5 runs and Knocked in 6 on 4 hits. There were 3 players with 5 RBI or more. Philly is 8.5 behind Schmidt division leader Alamo City whop held first for another week. Alamo, Malachi Nellum's team, 32-26, isn't the offensive force they were '05, but much improved pitching has been the difference. With their team ERA about 1.5 runs less, the Flames and their new uniforms, have been solid this season. Billy Wagner has been lights out with 15 sv and a miniscule 0.71 ERA. Moises Alou is still flirting with .400 and has hit 8 taters thus far...Lake County a game back is hanging tough as Frank Thomas, and Larry Walker / Carlos Delgado have been quite deadly, rivaling Ottawa's Vlad-Papi combo. The Leopards pitching has been even better than Alamo's so this will be an interesting race to watch. Stirling is right there a game back as well. Wayne McGee, an original CBA owner has to be pleased how his Red Sox have bounced back after a short 1 year rebuild. Cabrera and Konerko have been marvelous for Wayne. SRS has been winning despite not getting on base as much as expected, .336 team OBA.Lots of power and a good leadoff man, Crawford, may be the difference. David Ortiz had a 5 hit game for Parker leader Ottawa on May 30th. Ottawa has a 4 game lead over both Brooklyn and Indiana. It looks like Jack Jung's team may be the class of Parker. Brooklyn cant seem to get untracked. Brooklyn doesn't seem to have their renowned pop this year, struggling along with a '.266' Batting avg, about 30 pts below their 10 year normal. Indiana is also at 4 games back and both those two should be battling all year for a playoff spot. With Indiana's latest trades, they may be a favorite to overtake the Superbas in the chase.
May 18th, 2006
Very interesting month. With some race lead changes. Never can tell
week to week who will
emerge with everyone so tightly packed. With a rush, Alamo City has taken
control