Two Keys to the Lasorda Division

The tightest division in the ABL has proven to be the Tommy Lasorda Division. Last season Dallas, New York and Ann Arbor battled to the wire for one playoff spot, which Dallas won. This year all four teams are in the hunt as Nottinghamshire has surprised by hanging in all season (they have already won 9 more games than the "experts" predicted).

The tightness within the division is best represented by Ann Arbor's performance this past week. They swept first place New York in a 4-match set and followed that up getting swept for three games by 2nd place Nottinghamshire.

With six seeks remaining, New York sets the pace with a 4 game lead over Nottinghamshire, 6 games over Dallas and 10 over Ann Arbor. But before crowning New York or writing off Ann Arbor, a look at the remaining schedule may help.

Around the ABL: August 2-August 8

Jorge Mora

August 2: New York 10, Nottinghamshire 8. Jorge Mora is at it again. Two days after his dramatic walk-off grand slam against Dallas, Mora hits a pair of dramatic home runs against Nottinghamshire. The Outlaws take a four-run lead into the ninth, but Mafioso Herman Campbell doubles in two runs, and Mora hits a two-run homer, tying the game at eight runs apiece. In the 11th, with one man on, Mora homers again, and the Mafia come back to defeat their division rivals.

August 2: Jacksonville 2, Boston 1. Much of the Cardinals offense may be on the DL, but they're still dangerous. John Ritter (9-9) holds them back, throwing 7 1/3 innings and allowing only one run. Dennis Woods, who's having a nice bounce-back season, homers in the third. In the fifth, catcher Nick Parks triples and scores what proves to be the winning run. Norm Jackson (6-9) pitches well, giving up only two runs in seven innings, but gets loss.

Single A Profile: David Wall

David Wall

David Wall did not garner much attention in Single A ball last year as he was your prototypical average player that just blended in with everyone else. Not a lot of motivation, never known for a high work ethic, he completed his first season batting .247 with 14 homers. Wall struck out about twice as much as he walked.  In all he had a very modest OPS of .718.

2013 has been a very different type of year for the 20 year old as his off-season regime of strength exercise, yoga, and racquetball has somehow helped the youngster to separate himself from the pack. David is batting .314 and has amassed an eye opening .926 OPS, so far. He has 51 walks and 61 K's which has upped his OBP to .411. This new energy has carried over to the field where he has not committed an error and has gunned down 5 base runners from right field. David Wall, of the Bel Air Princes is a name to remember and someone you may be reading about on the Seattle roster some day. And, by the way, the Princes are currently playing .730 ball with an 84-31 record.

Around the ABL: July 26-August 1

Adam Thomas

July 26: Boston 4, Minnesota 0. With Norm Jackson continuing to struggle, Adam Thomas (12-4) has had to step up for the Cardinals. Tonight he holds the Berserkers silent for seven innings, striking out eight while walking one. Alex Austin homers and drives in two.

Rodney
Armstrong

July 26: Kansas City 9, Ann Arbor 0. Rodney Armstrong (5-7) shuts down Z-Rod and the Barn Owl bats, striking out nine over 8 2/3 innings of work. It was a real confidence-booster for Armstrong, who got shelled in his past two starts. Jesús Cruz knocks in three, and Ricardo Marquis hits a two-run homer.

Around the ABL: July 12-July 25

July 12: Washington 1, Las Vegas 8. Over eight innings of work, Maurice Gould (14-2) strikes out 14 and gives up only one run. Vic Jennings hits two home runs, including a grand slam.

July 12: New York 9, Jersey 10. The Mafia look to have the game in hand, but, in the bottom of the ninth, John Woodard ties the game with a two-out three-run homer. In the 10th, Johnny Graham doubles in Bobby McClughan for the win.

Charlie Jackson

July 13: San Diego 6, Kansas City 5. With the Tornadoes leading, 5-4, and two outs in the top of the ninth, Dorian Knight singles and Charlie Jackson homers down the opposite-field line. Kansas City loads the bases in the bottom of the ninth, but Ricardo Marquis flies to center to end the game.

Around the ABL: June 24-July 7

Scott Andrews

June 24: Montreal 7, Carolina 11. In a possible playoff preview, the Crush out-slug the Bandits. Scott Andrews leads the Carolina hitters, going 4-for-5 with a grand slam.

Jim Thompson

June 24: Ann Arbor 7, Washington 0. Jim Thompson (6-7) strikes out 10 over 8 1/3 shutout innings of work, walking none while allowing five hits. Roberto Guzmán and Ki-moon Pak homer for the Barn Owls.

June 25: San Diego 3, Montgomery 5. Welsh has a flair for the dramatic this season. One month ago, he hit for the cycle. With the Cats trailing the Hops, 3-1, Victor Welsh comes to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the bases full. Welsh hits a walk-off grand slam.

Around the ABL: June 10-June 23

June 10: Jacksonville 4, Washington 0. Pat Heard (3-7) tosses eight shutout innings, scattering eight hits and two walks while striking out two.

Doug Smith

June 10: Seattle 8, Maple 9. Steve Frend hits a pair of two-run home runs, and Seattle takes an 8-5 lead into the ninth. The Marauders load the bases and, with two outs and an 0-2 count, Doug Smith hits a bases-clearing double to tie it. Smith then scores the winning run when Don Strickland lines a hit to right-center.

June 10: Montreal 1, Cabo San Lucas 6. Wilfred Brooks (9-1) out-pitches Raul Pérez (6-3). Brooks pitches a complete game and allows only one run, a home run to Jordan Borlase. Torero Keiran Simmons hits his 10th home run of the season, and Víctor Ramírez goes 3-for-5 and drives in a pair.

Around the ABL: May 27-June 9

Pat Everhart

May 28: Georgia 1, So Cal 0. Pat Everhart (3-7) has been pitching well this season (his ERA is 3.70), but he's had precious little run support this season. Tonight he gets only one run to work with, but Everhart makes that run count. He dominates the Republic, tossing eight shutout innings and allowing two hits while striking out eight.

May 28: San Francisco 10, New York 0. The Quakes score their first run when, on the game's third pitch, shortstop Bill Conway singles in Doctor Watson. Meanwhile, The Mafia hitmen see 154 pitches but can't score a run. Pete Barrett (3-3) only strikes out two over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, but his splitter gets plenty of ground outs.

Team Tag: Georgia Ghost Busters

by Gray Ulery

1-2 Punch

Evan Warner

Evan Warner and King Crawford are the 2012 pair of aces that many teams dreamed of having and feared facing. Unfortunately, it's 2013 and the former Rookie of the Year and aging superstar aren't quite as intimidating. Warner, still a steal at $510 thousand per season, is pitching well (2.96 ERA, 1.00 WHIP), but a lack of run support leaves him with a record that is barely over .500.

King Crawford

Crawford, on the other hand, appears to have lost a little juice. His K/BB has dropped from 6.07 in 2012 to 2.26 in 2013, and he's given up 15 home runs in 19 starts this year as opposed to 17 in 31 starts last season. If he was on my team, I'd be even more scared about his BABIP, which clocks in at .259. When the ball is in play, he's getting good defensive help or good bounces. If that luck evens out and climbs closer to the league average, look for his ERA and W/L record to take a big hit. Considering that they are already 4.23 and 3-10, that could be fatal for the Ghostbusters as they finish out 2013.

Team Tag: Boston Cardinals

by Mike Brouillette

“Dude! Are we rolling yet?” the now bleach-blonde-haired So Cal Republic manager Matt Hunt asks, who's also sporting a puka shells necklace and a tan that must be seen to be believed. Shirtless also.

“Yes, Mr. Hunt, we are rolling,” says the assigned ABL Dugout staff member, the man in charge of ensuring this stays (mostly) on point.

“Awesome, bro.”

“Mr. Hunt, you’ve been chosen today to help us in the ABL ‘Team Tag!’ series which has been designed to help promote the teams within the league. You’ve been chose to help us break down Boston—mainly because you were the Bench Coach for the team last year.”

“Right on,” says Matt.

“Right on.”

Team Tag: So Cal Republic, The Wild Card

by Gary Altman

This mid-year report card is on the So Cal Republic, who sit in fourth place at 38-38 in the highly competitive Bobby Cox Division inside the Roberto Clemente League. The Republic find themselves 11 games behind division leader and powerhouse Seattle but only eight games behind in the Wild Card. Quite frankly, the Republic are the wild card in the wild card race. However, just a quick look at their minor league system tells me that they could have ten players—yup, TEN PLAYERS—that are possibly ABL ready right now. If So Cal can somehow can cut the gap in half by mid-August, don’t be surprised if you see some of the arms now being groomed in Triple-A making a guest appearance in 2013.

Team Tag: South Carolina Bombers

It's a game of tag! Write a Dugout article analyzing another ABL team. The GM of that team then writes an article analyzing yet another ABL team, and so on and so forth. Got the idea? Good!

The South Carolina Bombers are hungry. Their record may be a lackluster 33-44, but with good players returning from injury and young players improving, they feel that they will do better the rest of the way. They are only seven games behind division-leading Maple. Could they be contenders down the stretch?

Around the ABL: May 6-May 26

May 6: Boston 10, Cabo San Lucas 7. The top two teams in the Munson League hook up in a wild one. The Toreros score six in the first: Miguel Torres (Torres de los Toreros) hits a grand slam. Wilfred Brooks holds the Cardinals to two runs over eight innings of work, and leaves with the game safely in hand. In the ninth, with two outs and a runner on first, Boston trails, 7-2. The Cardinals rally, and Ed White stuns the Cabo crowd by doubling in two runs to tie the game. In the 10th, Alex Austin singles in a pair of runs, the game-winners, and Boston steals one away from their rivals.

Dan Smith

May 7: Boston 4, Cabo San Lucas 5. Boring Dan Smith goes 4-for-5 with a two-run home run and then almost excites the crowd by driving in the winning run with a walk-off single. Cardinal Miguel Ramos has a game he'd rather forget as he strikes out in each of his five at-bats.

GO Beavers or GO home!

The Oregon State Beavers who lost in last years NCAA College World Series finally got it right this year by taking down the Florida State Seminoles 4-0 in a clean sweep for the title!

After scoring 35 runs in 4 games, there really was no single player on the offense side that stood out as everyone contributed from 1 to 9 in the lineup.  However in these high scoring contests, it was the stopper that got the job down 3 out of 3 and for that reason he was named the NCAA College World Series MVP!  Congratulations to Jose Delgado - CL for the Oregon State Beavers.

We are finally champions!

Jose's statistic lines for the 3 games were not stellar but, all that matters is he shut the door when needed to get the key saves in 3 of the 4 wins for the Beavers.

Date	Vs.	Result	Start	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	Dec
05/31/2013	FLS	Win, 11-8		0.2	1	0	0	0	2	Save
05/28/2013	@ FLS	Win, 9-7		1.0	1	0	0	1	1	Save
05/27/2013	@ FLS	Win, 8-7		1.0	3	1	1	0	2	Save

Around the ABL: April 15-May 5

April 15: Seattle 12, Nottinghamshire 15. The 2013 Outlaws are no pushovers. They fall behind early, 8-1, but come back. In the bottom of the seventh, a triple, an error, a hit-batsmen, and three singles scores Nottinghamshire four runs. In the eighth, Marlon Bentley ties the game with a solo home run. The Sasquatch regain the lead in the ninth—Artie Carlson homers—but with two outs and a runner on first, Allen Greene triples in the tying run. The offenses disappear in extra innings, and the game lasts until the bottom of the 17th inning. At 2:20 in the morning, Don Schwartz hits a walk-off three-run home run.

April 16: Boston 5, Mile High 4. The Cardinals score four in the third: doubles-machine Ed White doubles in a pair of runs, and Abel Baker hits a two-run homer. The Mustangs come back and Tommy Harris ties it on an eighth-inning home run. Mile High's bullpen pitches 12 shutout innings, but it's not enough: in the 16th, Boston's George White singles in José González.

Future ABL Stars - NBL

HOKKAIDO RF TAKESI TAKAHASHI

G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	SB
42	147	55	14	0	7	37	51	22	.374	.532	.612	0

Future ABL Stars - CBL



KELOWNA P FRANK WILDER

G	GS	Rec	SV	ERA	IP	HA	HR	BB	K	WHIP
13	13	9-0	0	1.43	94.2	77	3	16	122	0.98

 

Future ABL Stars - NCAA

RICE - CF MARTY SILVER

G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	SB
47	180	72	14	5	18	54	27	44	.400	.483	.833	8

Single A Spotlight - Larry Hickey

Drafted in the 45th round in 2012 Larry 'Lickey" Hickey is evolving into a huge offensive force.  He has won the BOL Player of the Week Award three times in 2013 and was the Player of the Month in April.  He's done so by putting up insane numbers:

AVG:  .371
OBP:  .444
SLG:  .623
HR:  9
RBI:  26
RUNS: 27

Larry leads the league in no less than 12 Offensive Categories.  As a result the Barrow Frosties have the best record in their division at 26-13.  Fans are waiting for the 23 year old first baseman to gain a promotion as this is his second year in Single A.  Most pundits think it won't be long.  Said Larry, " I have no control of where I play other than to keep squaring up the baseball and doing my job at first base.  When Management thinks I'm ready then I'll be ready."

What a difference a year makes!

A year ago Nottinghamshire not ony had the worst record in the ABL, but the power rating was a negative number (how does one have negative power?).  Certainly it was not surprising given that Nottinghamshire management had selected an entire 125-man youth squad.  There were signs of improvement during the season, but most view this as a poor ABL squad in year 2.

Now one year later, the kids are beginning to shine.  17 yr Peter Kelly, who led the Outlaws in HR last year, is now fouth on the club behind two more rookies.  The squad's leading hitter is 21 yr old Leslie Whitney, 335/405/516 5 HR 23 RBI and 10 SB  along with 20 yr old Byron Bryant 303/375/432 5 HR and 21 RBI.

Along with some pitching additions, the result is that Nottinghamshire is currently 9th in the ABL power ratings and leads the Tommy Lasorda Division.

It is still early in the season, but the team will certainly only get better.