Monday, January 18, 2016

'26 JUNE 1-6th SIM - "THE WEEK THAT WAS"...


NEGOTIATE WITH DRAFTEE's
You can start negotiating with your first round picks in game starting after the last SIM.  Tonight's SIM will bring about the rest of your drafted players and you can start hitting them up with offers as well.

WHO'S HOT
I love seeing long winning streaks, and right now we have several that are SMOKIN'.  SOCAL is on a 5 game win streak and 9-1 over their last 10.  Manhattan Beach has put themselves back in the hunt winning their last 6 and are now a game out of the final William Atteberry Division.  Maple finds themselves in 1st place going 8-2 in their last 10 taking the last 5 and owning a 3 game lead on SF.  Finally, Portland winners of their last 5 puts them 1 game behind Kansas City.

WHO'S NOT
When teams win bunches of games, that means others don't.  We're not going to pick on the expansion teams, but 3rd place Jacksonville has slid to 3rd place in the Billy Martin Division going 2-8 and dropping their last 4.  Brooklyn & Las Vegas have each also gone 3-7 in their last 10.
RECORD SETTERS?
This year is shaping up to be historic, and not because of #Evolution.  We have a rookie leading the TML in hitting and Ivan Zavala, Maple,  is still over the magical .400 threshold (.404).  "Double Word Score" has already set the ABL Consecutive Game Hit Streak with 36 and is easily the favorite to walk away with the TML Rookie of the Year Award.

Then there is Toyotomu Nakano, Dallas, who's having a career season.  The soon to be 31 year old right handed pitcher who's about to surpass his 1.2 WAR (1.1 right now) from last year with Manhattan Beach, who's sporting a ridiculous ERA of 1.01 thru 27 appearances and 62 IP.  To qualify for the ERA title, Nakano has to get to 162 innings and is on pace for 177.
MAGIC NUMBERS
One thing I look at is 100 RBI, 20 Wins, 200 Strikeouts, 40 HR's and we're not even at the half way point of the season yet, however there are players who are over half way there, and on pace to surpass those numbers.

For RBI's you have Jong-min Kim, Dayne Reagan, both of SoCal with 50 a piece.  Oscar Hunt (64) Maple, Jeffrey Henderson (51) Quebec and Matt Winters (50) Kansas City are all on pace with a few others who are projected to get there as well.

Wins will see a couple of players get there, but no one is at 10 yet. 

For Strikeouts, Sotatsu Hayagawa (116) Montreal and Oniji Nakashima (109) SoCal are there with a couple players within 3 K's of being half way there.

And again, Hunt gets mentioned surpassing the half way point for HR's with 21.
PLAYING FOR THE TIE
New York Mafia takes their chances with free baseball, winning 6 of 9 games when they go to extra innings.
SoCal is a perfect 4 for 4 in overtime.

LEFT IS RIGHT
If you think LHP's is the way to beat SoCal think again.  Yes they have the best record in the league, much to my chagrin with their offseason moves, however they're playing to a ridiculous .759 winning percentage and that gets capped off when they're 14-3 vs. southpaws

RAISE YOU BY ONE
San Francisco and Kansas City are both sporting the best 1-Run records in the ABL going 11-5 in those games.
Cabo also has 11 wins in 1 run games, but the glass is half full as they've dropped 10 one run games.
Brooklyn, like Cabo, has also played 21 one run games, but has only won 10 of theirs. 

EVERYONE IS HOT
The Thurman Munson Division is sporting 10 of 14 teams at 500 or better.  5 teams in each division are still in playoff contention and can finish anywhere, including 1st place.

Roberto Clemente Division isn't as competitive sporting just 6 teams over 500, but there are a couple knocking on the door and within 2 games of 500.

WHO's IN FIRST?
The Sparky Anderson Division has been crazy this season, as this division has seen 4 teams perched all alone atop the Division at different times this season.
Portland 4/9
Eureka 4/22
Georgia 4/27
Kansas City 5/29
And on April 6th, there was a 6 way tie for first in this division encompassing the remaining teams (Quebec, Mile High and Oakland).




Sunday, January 10, 2016

ABL 2026 Season - Year #15 - UPDATE!

DUKE POWERING UP
Duke leads the OSA's Power Ranking over perennial juggernaut SoCal.  Duke and SoCal are both plowing thru the competition.  Both are tied for first and best overall record in the ABL.

ALL TIED UP
Yes, it's early.  But to have 3 divisions tied at 1st place, and the other division having a 3 way tie for 2nd place, competition is fierce in the early goings of 2026.
Duke and Socal, Portland and Mile High, Jacksonville, Maple and San Francisco.  The 3 way tie for second see's Havana, Minnesota, and New York.

ON PACE FOR 73
Kiyonobu Yamasaki and Sal "Easter Egg" Ostendorf both lead their respective Leagues in HR's with 9 and are both on pace for 73 at year's end.

EARLY RETURNS IN
Look for Wiley Smith, HOU (taken from Manhattan Beach) to win the April Rookie of the Month Award for the TML.  He's only leading 10 of the 18 tracked stat categories.

Ramon Ooyendijk, CHI (taken from Jacksonville) is probably the RCL winner, as he's leading 7 of the 18 categories.
Of course Seattle's Diego Pena might be looked upon too, going 3-1 so far with a 3.86 ERA with a week to go.

ABOVE WATER
18 teams are playing at .500 or better, with 10 of them coming from the Thurman Munson League and an astonishing 6 (of 7) from the Sparky Anderson Division.

TO SWEEP OR NOT TO SWEEP, THAT IS THE QUESTION
Thru San Francisco's first 5 series so far (Houston, Maple, Mile High and Cabo & South Carolina).  They've swept Maple and Cabo, yet lost series to Houston and Mile High, 1-2.  South Carolina and 1-2 where they didn't.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
I would have included this from the first two SIM's but deleted the email.  Whoopsie.

Jong-min Kim, SOC and Julian Martinez, SOU grab their respective league's POTW Awards.

ANOTHER 1-HITTER
Chicago strings out 11 hits, and manages to get JUST 1 run, and wins the game 1-0 over Seattle.  If not for Song Wa, CHI, ranks as only the #3 Player of the Day (4/20) when he throws a complete game 1 hit shutout...but he did.  Add in 2 BB's and 8 K's and this is, in my opinion the #1 star of the day...sorry Tom Cassidy, SD.  Tough luck loser was Dan Lewis.


SPEAKING OF SHUTOUTS...
Expansion Chicago gets a 1-0 win.  Well, Houston also gets a shutout, 4-0 over Jersey

DOUBLE TROUBLE
Carlos Campos tied a TML record for most doubles in an extra inning game with 4.  Georgia also had 11 extra base hits, out of 20 in this 15 inning affair but it still wasn't enough for Jacksonville's 6-3 win in 15 innings.

2 TD's and a SAFETY
Eureka scores 16 unanswered runs in their pasting of Maple taking them down 16-0.  Maple only managed 2 measly hits.  San Francisco also put up a 16 spot on South Carolina, but at least the Bombers managed to score though.

LETS WAIT
Both San Francisco and Quebec had 3 consecutive walkoffs. (4/23-4/25)  SF took the first two from Quebec on consecutive days.  Then on the 25th Quebec won in walk off fashion against Kansas City, while San Francisco lost to Portland.  Both games on the 25th went extras.

LETS NOT
Quebec, tired of losing, losing and winning games in the 9th tries a new tact.
Quebec after being very gracious hosts, and spotting Kansas City to a 2 run lead in the top of the 1st, got snarly and took the wind right out of the Tornados, scoring ONLY 10 runs in the bottom of the first, on their way to a 13-4 victory on 4/26.

THE HANDLE IS ON THE TOP
Georgia had their troubles with Maple on 4/26, scoring runs (none) and making errors, 4.  The kicker, pardon the pun, all 6 runs in the Maple 6-0 win were earned.

CROSS TOWN PASTING
Brooklyn's woes continue so far this season.  Most pundits anointed the Brooklyn a playoff spot come season's end, but so far they haven't lived up to the love.  They might have even bottomed out losing to New York 15-0 on 4/24.

MORE BLACK WITH THE KNIGHTS
Brooklyn, 6-14 and sitting in last place, are currently taking their lumps and hard.  They're 7 games behind Montreal and 4 games out of a playoff spot and on a 6 game losing streak and 2-8 in their last 10.  Offensively, they're ranked 11th to 13th (of 14) in the big offensive categories.  At least they're doing a little bit better offensively!

GOULD AGAIN
Another start, and another complete game.  This time gives up 3 runs, but only 2 were earned against Washington.  So far, the ageless Gould is 2-0 and a 2.57 ERA in 4 starts, non lasting less than 8.1 IP so far.  He's thrown 35 of a possible 37 innings his team has played for him.

PLAYER OF THE DAY  (POTD)
The POTD for the 22nd was Tetsu Yamada, who went 4-4 with a 3B, 5 RBI a R and a BB in Maple's 19-10 trouncing of Jersey.  Of course it's a good news bad news scenario for Jersey as they did score 10 runs which would have been enough to win any game..except this one as they gave up 19!

On the 25th, POTW winner Jong-min Kim only went 5-6 with 2 2B and a HR, 5 RBI's and 4 RS vs Washington in SoCal's 13-3 victory.

WALK OFFS

Jacksonville 3-2 over Portland, 4/22
Duke 7-6 over Seattle (11), 4/22
San Francisco 9-7 over Quebec, 4/23
Mile High 5-4 over Eureka, 4/24
San Francisco 3-2 over Quebec, 4/24
Manhattan Beach 7-6 over Brooklyn, 4/25
Cabo 4-3 over Eureka (12), 4/25
Quebec 6-5 over Kansas City (11) 4/25
Portland 6-5 over San Francisco (10), 4/25
Washington 3-2 over SoCal, 4/26

Addendum to SIM #1


SAN FRANCISCO SCORES 3 IN TWIN BILL
And wins both games vs Maple, 1-0 and 2-1.
This salvaged the SIM for SF as they dropped the first series of the season to Houston, losing 2 of 3, including the first 2 games of the season.  Which means, Houston was in 1st place for at least 4 days.

Saturday, January 9, 2016

Seattle 2026 Season PR

Seattle Sasquatch 2026 Season Preview >>>

The Seattle Sasquatch have lifted their self-imposed PR sanctions, a result of loyal ‘Squatch fans issuing death threats against the entire Hampton blood line after the trade of future HOF’er Steve Frend.  The Front Office entered the off-season with decisions to be made, mainly are they a team a few pieces from playoff contender or a team needing to move it’s veteran stars while their value was still up to rebuild.  Being in the highly competitive RCL Bobby Cox division mixed with Seattle’s ongoing ability to play well in big games against league leaders and a tendency to play down to lesser competition further clouded the path the organization should take. After a lot of trade discussions but not a lot of actual action during the off-season or significant FA signings the ‘Squatch chose to continue their 2 season effort to lower payroll costs, get rid of bloated salaries of journeymen level bench players and depth at AAA to allow some additional funds for Arbitration and contract extensions. The organization felt it was far more important to retain their stars and let them develop while the prospects on the farm get another season or two in the minors to better prepare them for the rigors of the ABL.
A negative was created in the overall depth during the off-season at the ML and AAA level but it was mainly a tradeoff of major league contracts for minor league contracts and players with more options available. Management had a few surprising Rule 5 loses of not yet ready for the ABL mid-level prospects SP–Mitsuharu Shionoya a SP4/5 type and RF Jae-hoon Park a good hitting poor fielding ALB role player candidate but management felt nothing glaring enough to affect the ML club unless you are looking at injury depth protection for the 2026 season. The conservative mindset was an attempt at being fiscally responsible and generating another season of profit coupled with exceeding owner Walter Redlum’s “keep close to .500” expectation might free more budget room for the 2027 season enabling Seattle’s plan to lock in their core stars like RF/DH - Mighty Joe Young and 3B Christian Chevalier to long term contracts buying time for the top prospects to reach the ML level.
The club is entering the 2026 campaign with a sense of excitement and a few more new seats. Many discussions were had with other league Exec’s and the Media during the off-season with the common theme being,  if Seattle can improve at the 2B/C /bullpen positions and their SP can stay healthy and meet their expectations ‘Squatch fans could see their team return to legit playoff contenders. However, If things do not pan out in multiple areas and the increased development budget and personnel changes do not better the club,  a slow start could lead Seattle’s GM Warren Hampton to move to Plan B and move an aging, expensive but still potent bat or two to supplement the rising stars in the farm, time will tell but hopes are high the subtle re-tooling over the winter will keep them moving in the right direction as opposed to having to engage in a sweeping rebuild for the future.
Personnel Assessment  – GM Hampton chose to retain all the big league staff stating that there were considerations of upgrades at the Hitting Coach and Bench Coach positions but ultimately it was decided that stability and time for the coaches to further develop and implement their multi-year plans. Hampton continued to praise the ability of Manager Steve Hansen to right the ship and get the team back up to almost .500 by achieving a .504 win percentage after a mid-2025 promotion from AA where he was enjoying great success and leaving his successor at that level with a AA team playing .667 ball. Hampton continued that the main reason for the 2025 move in addition to Hansen’s success was his willingness to allow Hampton to have control over the pitching staff something Hampton has been overheard saying it hurt Seattle in the 2024 and early 2025 Seasons. Also mentioned was the strength of all-ABL Trainer Kimura and Scouting Director Cantrell. While it remains to be seen if the improving farm talent selected by Hampton and Cantrell will reach their projections optimism is high. Grade = B (on an upward curve).
Financial Assessment – Seattle chose to maintain their 2025 ticket prices at $22 after marked improvements in attendance and Season ticket sales over the dismal 2024 that saw expenses exceed revenue. Insiders believe this was due to the passage of time from the Frend trade that saw fan interest drop coupled with better fiscal management despite a couple years of reduced budgets. A profitable 2025 convinced owner Redlum to loosen up the purse strings for 2026 after a year of good decisions and expected financial stability as additional bad contracts are dropped and more conservative approach to the Free Agent market. Grade = C (On road to recovery)
Notable Players Lost– Aside from the 2 Rule 5 loses mentioned above the Seattle club felt the Expansion Draft prior to the 2026 season like all clubs did. Some valuable future role players and bench depth was lost as the expense of protecting established second tier big league players and more highly regarded prospects.  Kuchis, Zhu, Blandford, Chave and Zhou will all be missed but only “Dirt Dog Zhu will have an impact on the 2026 big league club after having a solid 2025 campaign that saw him start 47 games due to an extended injury to Star CF Lee Jones. Zhu managed a serviceable if not eye opening .264 /  .321/.321 effort in his second drink of coffee at the big league level. Scouting Director Cantrell added his youth and upside will be missed but a few hard decisions needed to be made. 24 year old first time call up CF Felix Escobedo and journeyman CF Clarence Anderson will be tasked with shoring up the hole left by the loss of Dirt Dog. Other loses include High potential, low results RP - Kitachi Gato (once a #70 prospect. It was decided that Gato’s current upside didn’t not justify the $1.5M per year salary extension asking price with more important contracts to negotiate. A similar decision was made with one trick pony platoon FA Lorne Hinxman who has always hit well for Seattle but inability to play defense just didn’t justify the cost to retain him, it seems so far the other GM’s agree with this assessment as he remains in the FA pool.
The only other loss aside from non-contributors out of options or eligible for Free Agency types was Toin Iwata who GM Hampton admits thought he could sneak through waivers that backfired. The risk however was largely influenced by Iwata’s $1.5 per year salary and a net result of several largely unproductive stints in the ABL over the last few season. Hampton was quoted as saying “..being 32 in a youth movement also influenced the decision to expose him”. (AP wire update – Iwata made Hampton question his decision on opening day by making Seattle pay for letting him go in their season opener right about the same time this press release was being sent out this evening. Upon leaving the stadium tonight Hampton was also quoted as saying he “ hopes Toin gets an opportunity on Washington to finish his career at the big league level, something he wasn’t likely to be able to enjoy in Seattle”.) Grade = D (from a talent lost perspective) Grade = B (from a budgetary perspective)
Notable Player Additions – As mentioned earlier Seattle did not make any notable additions aside from hole fillers left by allowing older players out of options or demanding big league contract renewals and a lack of spending capital to make any impact player type additions. The repeated theme from upper management is the decision was made to focus inward on retaining key pieces through Arbitration and contract renewals and fill the holes left with the best short term solutions they could retain with minor league contracts minimizing the budget impact as much as possible. Grade = F (Due to inability to make any viable improvements to 2B, C or bullpen) Grade = B (from the perspective that Seattle was able to retain all the key pieces they depended on in 2025 for at least the 2026 season and in some cases frugal extensions were signed when player were willing to work with management to get deals done). When asked about what happens next year for the one year deals GM Hampton was optimistic he would be able to retain the top level talent beyond 2026 or get very good returns on any deals if extension demands are not met, “One way or another we need to find top level talent to fill low offensive productivity at 2B, C and Bullpen” which is becoming a mantra in Seattle. Whether Seattle is overlooking less than stellar productivity at 1B remains to be seen.
Player Development– Due to the previously mentioned loss of marginal but serviceable veterans at AAA and the Rule 5 and Expansion Draft mid-level prospect casualties Seattle saw their Minor League system rank drop from #2 to #4 overall. GM Hampton and Scouting Director Cantrell believe this impact as one might first think due to that log jam of journeymen they lost and their combined really combined would have only filled one or two bench roles in reality but made the AAA ratings look good on paper.  Grade = C (nothing of note aside from the last Amateur draft improved the farm but the loses also will not have any long term effect on the number of true prospects aside from the mentioned Rule 5 and Expansion loses. If the currently ranked prospects continue to develop Seattle is in good shape, if they do not more drastic moves might have to be made. The GM increased what was a very low Development Budget due to cash flow issue thanks to a larger 2026 budget thanks to showing a profit in 2025.
Meet the 2026 Seattle Sasquatch…
Catchers – veteran  Javier Cox and 25 year old John Price get the call despite both being nothing more than the left hand side of a platoon with poor defensive skills. Cox was retained for what is likely one more season when Seattle failed to retain a better option. After years of being a solid albeit unspectacular backstop the last few seasons have seen his skills dwindle to the bottom of the pack of big league pitch callers. Grade = D- (ABL) D- (Farm) This is a major area of concern for the organization as there is a void of any real talent from top to bottom.
Infielders – Overall Grade (C ) This is almost entirely due to the quality and depth of 3B
                1B – Alejandro Bautista is the sole legit 1B at the big league level after Joe Young failed to develop at that position as originally hoped. Even assuming Bautista can handle the load on 2026 he is still at best an average solution due to his affinity for K’s and low contact rating. In the wings at AA is #30 ranked prospect 3* Tokuhei Taniguchi Grade = C (ABL) B (Farm) – Depth in both cases being the main concern.
                2B – Ron Peterson and Nelson Stonard have been asked to attempt to form a  platoon that prevents the positions shortcomings from hurting the team too much. Both are much more adapted to super utility roles playing all infield positions serviceably well. They may be asked for too much by management after it’s failure to obtain a better solution.  If they fail mediocre but consistent result Chris Glover may be asked to take over for this season. A natural 3B, Glover has filled this role before but it is not his best and highest purpose. SS Martin Waller is another possibility if SS role can be filled from AAA.  In the wings??? Not unlike the C position the farm is week of true big league starter prospect and Hampton has promised this is on the shortlist of issues to address. Grade = C- (ABL) C- (Farm) – Please see C assessment notes.
                3B – 2 time all-star Christian Chevalier has developed into one of the premiere 3 baggers in the ABL over coming Chris Glover to entrench as the best infielder on the team. GM Hampton maintains he is quite possibly the greatest talent to every come out of the 12th round being selected with the 17th pick of the 2015 draft and the 294th pick overall giving hopes to Scouting Directors and desperate GM’s everywhere. Versatile Glover and rookie Garry Rabenek who fared well in a late season call up help provide the only adequate depth of the INF positions. In the wings at AA is #28 ranked prospect 4* Kazuyoshi “Hurricane” Takahashi who is progressing as expected to date with the team hoping for an mid-season promotion to AAA if his ratings continue to improve. Ultimately his success could determine if Seattle decides to lock in Chevalier or move him for big league ready blue chip prospect to a team making a run later this season. Adding additional farm depth is 4* #58 ranked Ruberto Sucena who’s progress brings to question his low work ethic assessment.  Special attention is focused on further developing his high ceiling potential. Grade = A (ABL) A (Farm) – How long it takes the blues chippers on the farm is the only concern
                SS – Martin Waller is one of those rare players who have exceeded Cantrells and other OSA Scouts expectations. To the Seattle Scouting team credit they saw Waller as 3* prospect (The OSA originally assessing him at 0.5*). Last season he peaked at 4.5* and has won both best hitter at position and Gold Glove awards over the past couple seasons. Though not at a level of BA or OBP with the elite of the league at SS, he has proved consistent and a great fielder. In the wings at AAA is 2.5* Francisco Valdez who is trying to develop some more at AAA but injury or his continued development may mean a call up this year  Grade = B (ABL) C- (Farm) – Beyond Valdez the farm doesn’t indicate there is much in the way of relief for the depth issue any time soon. Seattle needs to focus on bolstering this position on the farm.
Outfielders –  Overall Grade (B) At the big league level the starters can hold their own to any team in the league, Depth and the fact only one blue chip OF prospect is maturing.
                LF –Dani Saenz surprised management by continuing to improve his hitting despite failing ratings. 2025 saw him improve his season totals to .362/ a league leading .453 BBP and a surprisingly strong .480 SLG. His play has softened the blow of losing Steve Frend several seasons ago. The team hopes he can continue to play at this level until his replacement can be found. Due to his age and current productivity he is another candidate for the Plan B option of securing an ALB ready prospect if things start to go south this season. CF’s Clarence Anderson and Felix Escobedo provide plenty of depth at LF as they both field the position well, they just cannot replace Saenz offensive production.  In the wings ??? Not unlike the C and 2B positions the farm is week of true big league starter prospect and Hampton has assured this is also on the shortlist of issues to address but corner OF’s are not as hard to find as other positions in the ABL. Grade = A- (ABL) D (Farm) – Please see C and 2B assessment notes.
                CF – Gold Glover Lee Jones patrols CF for Seattle. An elite fielder who has had a little more offensive productivity then expected has shown some susceptibility to injury which is a concern of management. Clarence Anderson and Felix Escobedo provide plenty of depth at CF, but like their role as backup to Saenz they can’t replicate Jones offensive production. In the wings at AA is #28 ranked prospect 3.5* Jesus “Warrior” Lopes who isn’t a top 100 ranked prospect but has earned his share of minor league awards  needs a little more seasoning at AAA  in preparation of a likely late season call up. Grade = A (ABL) C (Farm) – Beyond Lopes there is not ALB starter potential but management is hoping Jones and Lopes can buy the team time to build this position at the farm level.
                RF – GM Hampton takes credit for identifying 2020 Rd 2, pick 2  time all-star and perennial batting title and MVP candidate “Mighty” Joe Young.  Young a natural LF was moved to RF due to being LH and Saenz being a very proficient LF. Look for Young to switch to DH in the near future limiting his defensive liabilities. Young has one more year of arbitration eligibility but Hampton hopes to lock Joe into a long term contract and has been bracing the accounting department for that big number contract. Rumors have it negotiations have already started. Again super OF’s Clarence Anderson and Felix Escobedo provide depth at RF,  In the wings - at AAA is 1.5* Muralidaran “Checkmate” Purjit who is nothing more than a body on the  bench bat with an above average glove in Right. Grade = A- (ABL) D (Farm) – Beyond Purjit the farm doesn’t indicate there is much in the way of relief for the depth issue any time soon. Seattle needs to obtain prospects at this position.
Designated Hitter – Veteran Chris Glover is penciled in at DH unless the Stonard/Peterson platoon lacks consistency. It that happens Glover will likely move to 2B, Joe Young will move to DH and Anderson will man RF barring any deals for additional talent at the ABL level. ,  In the wings -  There are no obvious DH specific candidates but Seattle management tends to take the approach of filling the positions and then putting the most productive hitter at DH. All of this said if other moved suggested at above finds Joe Young at DH the Grade at the big league level with rise from a middle of the Pack C to an A.  The ABL is a strong enough hitters league that Management feels there are usually good candidates available. Seattle considered bringing back Lorne Hinxman to add a solid back to their other options but ultimately decided to save the money for solutions to their problems instead of adding veteran journeyman at considerable cost. Grade = C (ABL) N/A (Farm)
Starting Pitchers – Since GM Hampton took over the reins his main goal has been to shore up and stabilize what was a staff in shambles with a tendency to give up more runs than the productive offence was able to produce. This need was a prevailing factor in the move of Steve Frend. The move improved the staff but not enough to compensate for Frend’s consistent production at the plate. Pitching Coach Jesus Valle feels over the last 2 seasons good progress has been made in establishing some stability and states the jury by committee days are gone for the season. Improvements are still required but stability and a full season with an approved staff will help more clearly identify what pieces need upgrades. Anchored by staff aces Rob Young and Antonio Navarro the tandem allows the potent offense to compete at a top level for 40% of the games. The rest of the staff has shown some consistency but the average ERA’s are still about a run per game higher than the coaches would like to see. A goal has been set to get the SP ERA’s below the 4.50 mark. “This would give us a real chance to start to win more series and climb above the .500 mark the team has been riding the last few seasons. An elite LHP and another strong SP2/SP3 type would round out the staff very nicely”. In the wings – 24 year old RH Koryusai Uchida (3* Pot) at AAA, 19 year old LH Yo Watanabe (3* Pot) at A Grade = C- (ABL) B (Farm)
·         SP1 - RHP Rob Young –  2025 saw Young (15-11 4.16 3.4 WAR) establish himself as the leader of the staff with a solid showing that put his team in a position to win more often than not. Hope are high for him to continue to be the anchor the team has so badly needed. He appears to be just a notch below the league’s all-star pitchers and for stretches of time  competes at that level.
·         SP2 - RHP Antonio “Destiny” Navarro – Navarro (11-13 3.97 3.5 WAR) who has the most upside has been a solid SP but has yet to really step up and earn the top spot. He will not hurt you series to series but he has not achieved the lights out consistency many have projected for him a few years ago. Signed through the 2027 season many feel he needs to prove he is the elite pitcher the Seattle squad sorely needs. The numbers show he has the stuff but the end result has fallen short of what the numbers would lead you to believe. Whether it is a matter of run support or ability to close the deal remains to be seen. Destiny needs to take control of his Destiny.
·         SP3 - RHP Fernando “Hangover” Ruiz –  2.5* Ruiz (15-14 4.29 3.8 WAR at AAA) has shown steady development and promotions through the ‘Squatch farm system and management is hoping he continues this consistency at the big league level. A solid spring training earned Ruiz a SP3 spot on the staff. Coaches hope he continues his growth and can provide a spark at the back of the rotation. He could make an ideal SP4/SP5 if Seattle can bring in another strong SP. He rookie outing should be interesting to watch for the fans and teammates alike.
·         SP4 - RHP Leon “Big Red” Morris – Seattle has been inclined to position Big Red (7-6 6.25 5 starts/46 relief appearances) as an inning eating consistent MR  due to his lack of the prototypical stamina expected at the big level but so far the result has been he is more successful in the  starting role over the bullpen. A very good pre-season landed him the SP4 spot and his success and ability to stay on top of his control issues that come and go will be key to determining if this is a stop gap measure which most believe it is or a test to see if he can establish himself as a starter. Still being 24 with 3*M potential means there is room for growth. Control improvements will bolster his above average stuff. Seattle has even toyed with the idea of trying him as a closer and next season may see that experiment in Spring Training. Morris was ranked #20 prospect in 2024 and #28 in 2025 but it remains to be seen if Morris will reach these projections. Another year or two at AAA would have been beneficial to maximize but Seattle’s struggles at the big league level force a slightly premature call up,
·         SP5 - RHP Diego Pena – Pena ( 3-1 5.55 -0.3 WAR) has been a jack of all trades over the last few seasons with Seattle with experiments as long reliever, spot starter and even closing out a few games. An unexpected strong Spring Training mixed with Seattle being unable to lock in a better alternative has earned Pena a shot at the back of the rotation. There isn’t much expectation or optimistic talk about Pena’s ability to perform at the level you would expect from an SP and many feel his best asset is providing depth in case of injury and eating innings to keep that burden off the rest of the bullpen. Seattle will be watching the farm, waiver wires and opportunities to improve the SP4 and SP5 spots sooner rather than later.
Relief Pitchers – The Seattle bullpen more than maybe any other positions will dictate what success the team will see in 2026, which leaves a lot to be concerned about. There are no stoppers, established leadership or blue chip prospects here. For the most part it is an assembly of what should be AAA depth for injuries or inning eating mop up types. There is some potential with a few members of the bullpen to step up to their potential and not kill the clubs chances of holding on to leads but even that thought is in question. The Front Office publically acknowledges this and the Starting Rotation are the main focuses over shoring up a few holes in the offense. In the wings – 22 year old RH Kirk Redman (2.5* Pot) at AAA, and nothing much else aside form fringe bullpen Grade = D (ABL) D- (Farm)
·         CL RHP Shi-Xian “Biscuit” Le– 2.5* Le (5-3 4.29 and 25Sv 0.2 WAR) is the closest thing to a legit bullpen talent. This has led him to the closer role where he has enjoyed some success between some all to frequent meltdowns. If he can take his game up one notch in 2026 he could provide at least one dependable arm. Many believe he might be better suited for a setup role but lack of talent in the bullpen sees him once again being the closer. Now Seattle just has to figure out how to keep close in between the SP’s and Le.
·         SU RHP Oliver Martin – 2.5* Martin (8-9 5.49 1.3 WAR) is an enigma for Seattle. A natural SP, he has been consistent but his ERA has been about a run higher than one might expect with his ratings. His pitching coach says he has a high work ethic and an intelligent approach to the game, adequate tools but hasn’t been able to pull it all together. This could be a result of his versatility being leveraged to fill holes is the starting rotation and bullpen. The coaching staff experimented over Spring Training with Martin in the setup role and everything went better than expected. Whether the club can afford Oliver to stay in that role due to his stamina and ability to start remains to be seen. The bullpen will be better if he can stay in that role but skeptics feel it is likely he may need to fill the SP5 spot if the weakness of Pena are exposed early on.
·         SU LHP 2* Yuan “The Machine” Mak – Mak (3-10 5.33 1.3 WAR) has been anything but a machine. Seattle had high hopes he would contribute at a higher level in 2025 but results didn’t pan out.  Like Martin he has bounced back and forth between the rotation and bullpen and would probably benefit from knowing his role. He has enough raw talent to rise up and provide stability but whether he will remains to be seen. He is another candidate for a call up to the rotation.
·         MR RHP Dan Lewis – 2* Lewis (0-1 9.00 -0.3 WAR) has struggled at the big league over 2 limited call ups. He is poised to be the mop up guy and long reliever but no miracles are expected here. His rating do indicate there is room for lowering his ERA but that is about the best that can be hoped for with Lewis.
·         MR LHP 1.5* Gilberto Gonzalez – Gonzalez (0-0 0.00 0.1 WAR) is largely an unknown commodity, he has been up and down with ratings over the last 2-3 seasons but had a very solid 2025 AAA season. Much like Lewis he is here for lack of a better option coming out of Spring Training. He could improve enough to contribute or he could be back at AAA. There is definitely no long term solution here.
·         MR RHP Tim Rose – 1.5* Rose (1-7 6.52 0.0 WAR) is just another arm to eat some innings until someone at AAA proves they are a better option. Rose could see the waiver wire before the end of the season.
·         MR LHP Raghavachary Minakshi – 1.5* Minakshi (1-0 4.38 0.2 WAR) seems to have found himself at AAA last season which earned him a long look in Spring Training. The result was he did very well and earned a MR spot. If it becomes necessary to move one of the SU guys to the rotation Minakshi currently would be the first choice to move into a setup role. Seattles bullpen is hoping his recent success translates into more stability for the relieving corp.
·        
2026 Season Summary…
The Seattle Sasquatch finds themselves at a pivotal point as they enter into the 2026 season. Improvements have been made over the 2025 club but there is nothing sweeping that would indicate results much different than last season in the wins column at first glance. The Front Office has tweaked the lineups, retained the key players and hopes that another season of stability and focus on top of an expansion season will lead to a few more W’s in the win column. The Winter Meeting consensus being Seattle is only a few pieces from being a legit playoff contender with an offense that has the ability to be explosive at times leading to the possibility of knocking off an early round opponent if they are good and lucky enough to be in that position at the end of the season.
GM Warren Hampton has been spreading the mantra throughout the club house that the focus must be one series at a time, stop worrying about the level of competition in the Bobby Cox division, the club must win more series then not. In a  recent comment he was quoted as saying “this isn’t some revolutionary concept, it is a fundamental approach to success, the team leaders such as Rob and Joe Young  need to embrace this concept, execute and rally the team to look at each series as a battle that must be won”
‘Squatch Nation let’s  see those seats filled in  support your boys and give them that little something extra they need to rise to the occasion!


Preliminary look at the 2026 Annual Amateur Draft

Given that Prince Percival 'The Crown Jewel' Papenfuss (move over Big Piece) can't be drafted until starting with the (fifth spot/by a non-exp team), who does everyone have in their top 4 picks?

I don't usually like to give away how the sausage is made, but figured I'd start. I was meh on this draft to start, but after spending an hour or so looking and sorting - I think this draft is average to slightly above given how the last few years have played out.

SP John Leaver - Appears to be one of the four additional players created for the exp teams this season, Leaver appears to have big-game control. I could have went Bouffard here, but I have a preference to very high work ethic. They are very much nearly the same player, but I have a feeling Leaver develops into a sure-fire can't miss top of the rotation starter.

SP Mike Bouffard - I don't think he is far off Leaver, heck, he could be better - however, his worth ethic isn't what Leavers is and that would scare me off him for the top pick. That being said, him and Leaver are two of the better starting pitching prospects to come out since Hammer and Big Piece and will be a great get.

SP Tokutomi 'Rocket' Nishida - It really is too bad the kid had a 8-month injury, because his injuries took quite the drop for me. That being said, while he would have been a shoe-in lock for #1 on board (less Percival), he's still the #3 pick if a team wants to roll the dice on getting a number one starter. It is a risk given the injury/lack of stats after - however, if you think teams are built on elite starting pitching... 


RF Fred Constant - This was a tough one for me as there were a few other players who could have been selected/worthy of this spot, however, the big lefty finds himself landing here. With everything near 50 and power/gap in the high 60's this kid projects out to be super good and has a modest demand.

Friday, January 8, 2016

SIM #2 HIGHLIGHTS - 2026 SEASON - YEAR XV

SIM #2 HIGHLIGHTS

FULL HOUSE
Jersey's Ron Verity had a lot of 5's and 2's against Georgia, but it wasn't enough to lead his team to victory, falling 9-6 at home.  Verity went 5 for 5 with 2 RBI's, 2 RS a 2B and a HR.

EDITOR's NOTE:
Havana's Frank Lewis was the games choice for Player of the Day, but it combined his stats from the double header Havana played.  So, I disqualified him.  Moving on.....

HOT AND STICKY
Maple Marauders had themselves the SIM of the season, going 6-0, which gets them back into the hunt of the Billy Martin Division, which according to the pundits will be a close battle for the final two playoff spots.

POOR-TLAND
Portland sees a games slip through their fingers, against South Carolina.  They blow the save in the 9th at home, then give up 2 in the 12th and lose 5-3, and the series as well.

MANHATTAN BEACH FIRES A CANNON
John Cannon gets no love from the player of the day committee, but does go out and throw 7 shutout innings vs Seattle getting the win in a 6-0 game.

AS GOOD AS GOULD
Father time continues to be beaten back by Maurice Gould as he leads Montreal to a 9-1 win against division rival, and playoff hopeful Brooklyn Mafia.  Gould goes 8.1  IP, 3 Hits, 1 run...earned, 3 BB's and 9K's....all at 40 years old! 

In his 2nd start this SIM, he pitches a 9 against SoCal, taking them into extras.  Gould goes 9, 8 H, 2 runs - earned, 1 BB and 7 more K's.  Closer Manny Palma gives up a walk off HR Jong-min Kim in the 10th.

And I'm not even going to talk about Gould's first start of the season against Havana.  Lets just say that was his shortest outing of the year - going JUST 8 and a third IP....while STILL being 40.

Gould is a free agent at season's end....how much DOES he get paid???

HAVANA DOUBLE DIPS
Havana takes two from Washington 12-7 in the first game, then 7-3 in the night cap.

HAIL CESAR
Eureka's Cesar Soto grabs Player of the Day kudo's (4/14) but it wasn't enough to get a win versus Jacksonville, as they go down 12-10.  Soto rips the cover off the ball going 4 for 5, a double, HR, 5 RBI's and 3 RS. 
Jacksonville padded their lead in the 9th with a 3 spot, but gave that back in the bottom half and held on for the win.

HOUSTON SETS OFF A ROCKET
I can have a lot of run with "Houston" and "Apollo" in headlines, but I digress.  Houston scores 5 in the 8th, 1 in the 9th, and holds on to win 10-8 vs Oakland.  Some pretty exciting ball being played in Texas.

MINNESOTA - NEW YORK
Big back and forth game where Minny tied the game up 3 different times, before taking their only lead of the game in the bottom of the 10th.  And when you take a lead in the bottom half of extra innings, that means you got a tick in the W column.  Yes-sir-ree-Bob it does!

BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKING
I like seeing walk-offs and I'll just list them at the bottom.  If they get mentioned again it's because something caught my eye.

OSCAR, OSCAR, OSCAR
Maple pours all over the Storm Chasers winning the game 17-5.  Hunt goes 6 for 6 with 3 HR's and 6 RBI's.  Add in 5 RS and he's had himself a week!

OFFENSES ARE ROLLING...
I'm seeing a lot of double digit run scoring in games.  On the 15th alone, 4 teams hit this (Quebec 13, Jacksonville 12, Maple 17 and Seattle 11).  Of note, 3 of these teams are in the supposedly better pitching Thurman Munson League.

DROUGHTS?
On the other hand, teams that scored less than 2 runs are just as prevelant.  Also on the 15th you have 6 teams fail to show up offensively.  (Las Vegas 2, Brooklyn 0, New York 1, Chicago 0, Jersey 2, Kansas City 2). 
"DAR" SHE BLOWS
Mehmood Dar, a clunker in Maple goes to Cabo and hurls a gem, a 4 Hit Shutout with 6 K's in the 3-0 Kansas City win on the 19th.
MAQ-BOOL, MAQ-BOOL, MAQ-BOOL
I was just trying to see how that looked and sounded when fans chant it.  I'm not thrilled with it - he needs a nickname!  However the Manhattan Beach Patriot fans were as Bhasin goes yard 3 times, in 4 AB's with 5 RBO and 3 RS to garner POTD Award.  Manhattan Beach beat Minnesota 7-6.  Balls are flying out as the air is thin so far this season.
PORTLAND IS STINGY
Portland took advantage of their host, Georgia, by taking both ends of a twin bill, 5-0 in the first game, and then 7-1 in the second, meaning that Georgia managed to score just 1 run on this day....even if it was in 18 innings.  Tanner Johnson got the complete game, 4 hit shutout in the 1st game.

ALMOST THERE
Havana's Joe Hardy, goes 8 innings giving up JUST a 7th inning double to James Rice with 2 outs.  Hardy went on to pitch the 8th before handing the ball off to Kharoti for the save and the 3-0 win.  Hardy threw 109 pitches and there was speculation that he would be pulled even if he had the no hitter going to the 9th.

JUST FOR RON
Mile High had the #2 and #3 POTD and both were against their arch rival, long time nemesis and otherwise just a regular thorn in their hide.  Mile High wins 11-7 with the help of Burbidge going 2 for 3 with 2 HR, 5 RBI and Sahni going 4 for 4 with 2 HR and  3 RBI's.

ALI "BABA".
The player of the day on the 19th goes 3 for 3 with a 2B and 2 HR's, 4 RBI's in the 4-2 win for Quebec over Portland.

STORMING BACK
After Mile High scores 5 in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game, Oakland comes back, putting up a 6 spot in the 11th at Mile High to win 11-5.

JERSEY "SHORT"
Jersey holds on against Houston in this weather shortened, 6 inning game, winning 5-4.  There was no guarantee that Jersey would have won as Houston scores 2 in the top of the 6th, but it wasn't enough.

4/13
Maple over Kansas City, 10-9
SC over Portland, 5-3 (12 Inn)
4/14
SoCal over Montreal, 8-7
Minnesota over NY, 9-8 (10)
4/15
SD over Seattle, 5-4
Manhattan Beach over Minnesota, 7-6
4/16
KC over MIL, 6-5 (11)
4/19
SoCal over Montreal 4-3 (10)



SIM #1 HIGHLIGHTS - 2026 SEASON - YEAR XV

To write about my team all the time I'm sure is boring for others to read, so I'm looking to resurrect a feature that Martin Abresch (original Seattle Sasquatch GM) and that was where he went through the scores and stuff for the SIM and put out little tidbits that he stumbled over.  This will all be time dependent and if I can't get one out, that episode will be missed.

I will say I'm open to suggestions, tips, heads-up, about stuff I might miss.  I will have an addendum section for stuff missed in a previous SIM, but I retain all editorial and content that appears.

So, before I start, to keep things coordinated, I'm going to need Jason to rename his SIM's that he puts out to just the Regular Season, and not include the ST games. 

Without any further ado, here we go

SIM #1 HIGHLIGHTS

HOUSTON, WE HAVE LIFT OFF
The expansion Houston Apollo's have done something that longstanding Jersey has not done, and that's hold sole possession of 1st place after Opening Day.  Latiluppe pitched a complete game shutout over SF - including a 26 minute rain delay.  All 6 other Billy Martin Division teams lost on Opening Day except for Houston.

BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE
Expansion team Washington Wildcats had the rare Opening Day versus Havana (THEIR home opener) postponed due to bad weather (April 12th). 

Maple at San Francisco was also  cancelled due to bad weather (April 10th) with a double header scheduled for the next day.

Mile High had their game in Quebec postponed as well.  They'll be playing a twin bill on July 5th.

LIGHTS OUT
Staying with the expansion & opening day theme, Oakland Storm Chasers grabbed their first win and first TEAM shutout in franchise history on Opening Day, blanking Georgia Gray's 2-0 in Oakland.

LIGHTS OUT #2
SoCal unfurled thier 2025 Championship Flag, handed out their Championship Rings, and welcomed some new faces to the squad this year.  They also had the ball to Jose Gallegos who capped off the fans treat with a complete game 1 hitter vs Minnesota.  The no hitter and shutout were lost in the 8th inning when William Cunningham launched a 410' HR.

STRETCH, STRETCH, STRETCH
Second games of the season saw Luis Vega, in his first start for South Carolina, go 10 innings and get the win over Mile High,, 5-0.  Vega gave up 2 hits, 1 BB and struck out 6.

STORM CHARGERS?
Oakland makes the list again for the comeback win on the game of the season.  Trailing 4-2 in the 8th, they put up a run in the 8th, 9th to tie it, and 10th to win over Georgia.

LEEDER THE LEADER
Gerard Leeder, San Diego was on fire going 3 for 3 with a HR, 4 RBI a BB and 2 RS, but it still wasn't to get the win over Dallas.  After San Diego gets 3 in the 9th to make it 5-3 the Hops get 2 in the 9th and walk off in the 11th.

KICKING SAND
Kiyonobu Yamasaki leads Duke City to a 14-3 thrashing of Manhattan Beach.  Yama only went 4 for 4, a double, HR, 5 RBI's, 4 RS and just 2 BB's.

KEEP 'EM COMING
Chicago might not have won their opener, like their counterparts had, but they become the first team to score in every inning of a game.

Tony Ward was also the runner up for the Player of the Day going 3 for 3, 2 HR, a double, 3 RBI's, 4 RS and 3 BB's.

BOUNCE BACK
Manuel Fernandez leads San Diego after their trouncing the previous day to a 9-4 win over Chicago.  Fernandez goes 3 for 4, a double, HR and 5 RBI and a RS

PASS OUT SOME CIGARS
Havana walks off vs SoCal 5-4 on this day.   Anytime we can get cover a walk off win and a SoCal faux pas, we're gonna cover it.

CAN I GET A HIT?
Yes, but just 1.  The second 1 hitter of the season also has a SoCal connection.  This time Anthony Atkinson of Jacksonville records the gem, but also gets the shutout - and he needed to, as the final score was 1-0.  Atkinson gave up 1 H, and 6 K's in the win.

HOW ABOUT 5?
Todd McCarthy rips Maple like a hot knife thru syrup, going 5 for 5 with a HR, 4 RBI's, 2 RS and a BB for the Player of the Day Award in Kansas City's 10-9.  Kansas City won this game in the 11th inning after taking 9-8 lead in the top of the 7th, before blowing the save in the bottom half of the 7th.



Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Jimmy the Greek Handicaps the ABL

"The Greek" took a look at the teams in the ABL playoffs to see if there was any advantage.  The immediately surprising stat was for all the press about best this or best that, the number 1 offensive team in the ABL (at least considering runs scored) is not in the Playoffs.  So maybe pitching and defense do matter somewhat.  (NOTE: It may also surprise some to know that 2 of the top 4 offenses in the RCL didn't make the playoffs, while 3 of the top 4 offenses in the TML made the playoffs).  On the pitching side all four of the top pitching teams in the RCL made the playoffs and 3 of the top four pitching teams made the playoffs from the TML.

There are clearly many ways to victory and this is not about the best approach but perhaps the most effective approach.  The measure is simple.  The offense is measured by runs scored, the pitching is measured by runs allowed and defense is measured by Defensive Efficiency (DEF).  Now certainly the DEF impacts runs scored, so the pitching effectiveness does to some respect include the team defense.  Also, the short series format is a different dynamic than the overall season, since to some respect, team weaknesses can be hidden.  The table at the end of the article shows the relevant data.

Offensively, it is assumed that the RCL is much more effective in scoring runs that the TML, and this would be generally true with one exception.  Despite all the HR and SB, SoCal is only 6th in the RCL in offense.  San Francisco, the TML's best offense would exceed SoCal's run total making them the 4th best offense in the playoffs.  (Note: that the difference between San Francisco (4), SoCal (5) and Kansas City (6) is only seven runs, so it should be viewed that these are equivalent offenses,

Conversely, the TML is viewed as the pitching/defense league and thus is assumed that the better runs allowed totals and DEF would be in the TML.  But in runs allowed, this assumption would actually be false.  The least number of runs allowed belongs to Nottinghamshire, followed by Kansas City and closely San Francisco.  The fourth spot among playoff teams is a tie between SoCal and Eureka.  In DEF the TML does have 3 of the top 4 spots, but the top spot is again a RCL squad, Nottinghamshire.

The final measure of effectiveness to look at is the differential or Per Game Advantage (or margin of victory),  The clear advantage here goes to Nottinghamshire which essentially is 2 runs better a game then their opponents.  This is a half run better than the two second best teams, San Francisco and Kansas City.  With only Eureka and Cabo San Lucas being less than a run per game better.  Their margins of error for victory will be slim indeed.


The Kansas City v San Francisco match is clearly a toss up, but there is a good chance the TML representative will come from the winner of this series.  Pitching and defense seem to heavily favor Nottinghamshire as the RCL representative, but given the challenges of a short series, any of the other RCL challengers seem strong enough to claim an ABL title.


Runs scored League Rank Runs alllowed League Rank Per Game Advantage DEF
Nottinghamshire 990 2 684 1 1.9 0.688
SoCal 925 6 730 2 1.2 0.665
Monreal 942 5 771 3 1.1 0.656
Seattle 982 3 808 4 1.1 0.681
San Francisco 928 1 709 2 1.4 0.677
Eureka 855 5 730 3 0.8 0.683
Cabo San Lucas 895 4 796 5 0.6 0.687
Kansas City 921 2 701 1 1.4 0.683