Around the ABL: 2014 Divisional Series

Maurice Gould

October 9: Maple 2, Las Vegas 1. Maurice Gould and Roberto Martínez hook up in a pitcher's duel, striking out a combined 24 batters, but in the end it's some sloppy Joker baseball that allows the Marauders to dance to a game one victory.

Gould's 2014 would be a career year for any other pitcher, but for him it was a slight comedown. In each of the previous two seasons, he won 20+ games, had an ERA under 2.50, and struck out over 300 batters. This year, he went 18-7 with a 3.19 ERA and 248 strikeouts. Tonight, the dominant Gould shows up: he whiffs a season-high 14 batters over 7 1/3 innings. His only mistake comes in the fourth inning, when he gives up a home run to Maple shortstop Doug Smith.

Divisional Series Preview: Mile High vs. Cabo San Lucas

by Tim Ervin

The Cabo San Lucas Toreros will open the 2014 playoffs at home tonight as host to the Mile High Mustangs. It is an interesting matchup between two teams that contrast each other very well. The Toreros have improved each year in the ABL—improving on their batting average, ERA, and win total in each successive season. Whether the Toreros enter the 2014 post-season as the favorite to win the Championship is debatable, but their résumé as a candidate for that title is headlined by an ABL-best 105 wins and their second straight division crown. Mile High, on the other hand, was the last ABL team to punch their post-season ticket, despite an impressive 90-72 campaign of their own. The Mustangs are celebrating their first ABL post-season entrance—a celebration that was muted by the news that the heart and soul of the team, Eric Black, was lost to an injury that will not only take him out of this series, but has seemingly ended his career.

Divisional Series Preview: Montreal vs. Ann Arbor

by Mike Brouillette

Montreal Bandits (89-73) vs. Ann Arbor Barn Owls (97-66)

Ann Arbor won the season series over Montreal, 5 games to 4.

Projected Pitching Match-Ups!

Game 1: Raúl Pérez (MTL, 19-9 2.84) vs Tony Ross (ANN, 18-6 3.80)
Game 2: Lou Smith (MTL, 14-10 5.04) vs Michael Bryan (ANN, 13-8 3.88)
Game 3: Ray Clay (MTL, 13-9 5.78) vs Jim Thompson (ANN, 11-7 6.50)
Game 4: Jaime Hernández (MTL, 4-1 4.25) vs Wayne Connolly (ANN, 8-7 5.27)

San Diego Blog Updated

Just updated Hopped on Baseball as, like a kid in the candy store, I wished I could participate in all the post-season shenanigans. New pic of utility IF, Félix Longoria on the blog, done in Corel Painter 11.

Congratulations to all the playoff teams.

RCL Rooting Interests

While the Lasorda Division figures to go down to the last day, the playoff picture in the RCL is actually pretty clear. Both defending champion Montreal and Seattle, RCL's best record, have clinched playoff spots. The Lasorda teams have been so strong that no other team in the RCL can make the playoffs. Carolina was eliminated by their loss to Ann Arbor on the last sim's last game.)

All four Lasorda Division teams are still mathematically alive for a playoff spot, although one would have to consider Dallas on life support as they are 9 games out of 1st and 8 back in the wild card race.

Will Martin SP - Triple AAA No No

Will Martin

Triple AAA SP Will Martin from the Boston organization hurled a no-no this past sim. This Springfield farmhand pitched a crafty game versus Detroit, going 9 innings, allowing only 2 walks and fanning 7 in an efficient 103 pitch outing.  14,955 fans were on their feet during the last out as Aaron Heller flew out. Martin was right on his game through all 9 innings including striking out 2 in the last frame. Detroit managed only 4 baserunners of which 2 got on via errors by the Reformers.

Martin has been a streaky pitcher in the past. Earlier this season he had a 5 game winning streak in 6 starts.  His stats so far this year in AAA ball: 13 GS, 7-4 record, 1.03 WHIP, 78 Ks in 91 IP while allowing only 73 hits.

Clemente League Gold Gloves

by Gary Altman

Here is the review of the Roberto Clemente League’s review of the previous Gold Glove winners from 2012 and 2013. Even though it’s a different league, the stories here are as equally compelling as the Munson League’s.

Here are some of the tidbits for the RCL:

Robert Carr

• Robert Carr, is the only RCL player to have won the Gold Glove twice. In 2012, Carr won the Gold Glove even though he logged in 360 innings at second base. So far in 2014 he’s played 144 innings at second base. He is positioning himself to win it a third time, but competition will be stiff this time around.
• Unlike the TML, the Gold Glove winners in the Clemente League have other “skills” if you will, but not in the same season that they won their award. Raúl Pérez, the 2012 Gold Glove winner, captured the Cy Young Award in 2013. Steve Frend was ALL WORLD in 2012, except defensively. He won the RCL's Rookie of the Year, Silver Slugger and MVP Award but had to wait till 2013 to bring home his first Gold Glove.

Who are the Bel Air Princes?

The Bel Air Princes are the class of, well, Class A! They own an 82-36 record which translates to a pretty nifty .695 winning percentage, and they lead the division by 7.5 games over the second place Huntsville Sabercats. You might think that this powerhouse of a Single-A affiliate would belong to one of the rebuilding teams, someone who loses a lot games each year and stock piles the draft picks? Think again, because the parent team is none other than ...

Lasorda In-Fighting

For the next two weeks the four teams in the Lasorda division will play each other (except for a Nottinghamshire v Carolina match this Monday). Dallas and New York will play 13 division games in this stretch while Ann Arbor and Nottinghamshire will play 12.

Going into play all teams are 60-45 except Nottinghamshire who is 59-45.  During this set of matches Nottinghamshire and New York meet 6 times while Dallas and Ann Arbor will meet six times.

Vic Jennings 1B - Maple has a Big Day!

I'm glad to be
playing in
Canada!

Vic Jennings had a monster day in Maple versus their division rival Jersey.  Maple crushed Jersey, 16-1, but the real story was the bat of first basemen Jennings. Vic went 4-for-5, with 4 runs scored, 5 runs batted in, 1 double and 3 home runs! The 3 home runs in a game ties a Munson League record and the 4 runs scored also tied a team record. Anthony Lewis, CF, also scored 4 runs to tie the team record. Vic homered in the 1st, 5th and 8th and doubled in the 7th inning. What made those extra base knocks even more interesting is that they came off 4 different pitchers!

Maple is starting to heat up in their typical late season fashion as they scored 48 runs in the final 4 games of the last simulation, including 10-0 W, 10-0 W, 16-1 W, 12-6 W.

Around the ABL: July 1-13

Mario Vásquez

July 1: Washington 2, San Diego 12. Mario Vásquez, 34, has a track record as being a steady, dependable backup. He provides the lineup with an average bat, and he will be an average glove at third base. This season, however, he is anything but average.

Vásquez has been San Diego's first-half MVP. In a season that has seen star first baseman Miguel Angel Ortíz struggle, that has seen Cornel Pîrcalab suffer a career-ending injury, and that has seen last year's sensation Steve Cherry struggle and fall victim to injury—in short, in a season in which the Hops offense has been ravaged by bad luck and injury, Vásquez has managed to rise to the occasion and keep things afloat. He comes into today's game with a .347 average and a .929 OPS, both team bests. Despite the bad luck, San Diego trails Montreal by only 3 1/2 games in the standings.

Today, Vásquez goes 4-for-4, doubling three times, scoring three times, and driving in two runs. Jason Bolyard (6-6) pitches 7 1/3 innings, allowing just two earned runs. Most impressively, Bolyard and reliever Aurelio Mata combine to hold Tom Becker hitless: Horseface goes 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.

Grand Illusion or Best of Times?

by Gary Altman

Daniel García

Two Styx song titles sum up the 2014 season for Montreal Bandits prospect Daniel García: Grand Illusion and Best of Times.

Daniel García, 26, was the 984th pick in the inaugural draft, and he is now the third baseman with the El Paso Diablos, the Triple-A affiliate of the two-time champion Montreal Bandits. He is currently hitting a robust .360, leading not only Triple-A but the entire minor leagues.

Now here’s the rub. On May 19, the Bandits gave him his shot and called him up The Show. The Big Time. The A-B-L. At the time of his call-up García was hitting .327.

Munson League Gold Gloves

by Gary Altman

Being a relative newb to the OOTP Game (just over one year and ABL is the only league I’m in) the stats and information the game offers is second to none. I’m still finding new things about the game and then when you delve a little bit deeper more information is waiting for you there as well.

One such thing is the Gold Glove Awards. When looking over the previous winners there were some very intriguing things.

Congratulations to Indiana State Sycamores!

The Indiana State Sycamores won the ABL College World Series, defeating California in seven games 4-3! The results of the games were: 7-4 Indiana State, 9-4 California, 10-2 Indiana State, 5-0 Indiana State, 10-9 California, 13-0 California, and 6-1Indiana State in game seven!

Derreck Flynn

Derrek Flynn, shortstop for Indiana State, was the College World Series MVP. He hit four home runs and had eight RBI while batting .296.

Nathan Wilson Pitches No-Hitter

Nathan Wilson

May 29 Las Vegas 0, Boston 1. Nathan Wilson pitches a no-hitter—and Wilson is the last person in St. Sebastian's Cathedral to find out.

Wilson induces Joker Troy Tracy to ground to second for the game's final out. The dome erupts in cheers, but Wilson, eyes focused intently on the ground ahead of him, starts to walk back to the mound, as if to face the next batter. Catcher George White races up to him, slaps him on the back and makes to grasp him in a bear hug, but Wilson jumps back, startled.

While White yells "you did it!" a shocked Wilson looks to the scoreboard, back to White, and back to the scoreboard—only then realizing that he's just completed a no-hitter and breaking out in a huge grin.