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timmyw3 · 09-29-2005, 11:11 AM

Around the WHBL – Sim #4

April Batter Of The Month

NA – DC 2B Harold Murphy – The league’s highest paid player certainly made a big splash with his new team, the Shadow. For the month, “Thumper” Murphy hit .427 with 8 homers and 24 batted in. Even more amazing is the fact that he struck out just twice. After a somewhat disappointing 2003, DC has stayed within striking distance of Jacksonville and Murphy should get a lot of credit for that.

SA – Port-au-Prince RF William Correa – For the 7th time in his career, the 25 year old Correa has won the Player of the Month Award in the SA. While his .295 average in that time was about 25 points below his career average, Correa supplied much power with 10 homers and 27 runs batted in. The man is a machine and along with Murphy should be a shoo-in for election to the Hall Of Fame someday.

April Pitcher Of The Month

NA – Indianapolis LHP Carlos Perez – This former MLBer has had problems finding success in the WHBL, bouncing between AAA and the major league level, and putting up bad numbers regardless of the location. Something he did in the offseason must have worked as in 4 April starts, Perez went 3-0 with a 1.54 ERA as the Clowns have shown to be an improved team so far this season.

SA – Port-au-Prince RHP Edwin Colclough – The 37 year old vet only had 3 starts in the month but he made them count as he was 2-0 with a 0.82 ERA, striking out 27 batters in 22 innings and allowing only 9 hits in the process. Colclough is in his first year in Haiti after spending last year in Guayaquil and the previous 3 seasons in Portland.

Players Of The Week

NA – Austin SS William Snodgrass – Arguably the best SS in the league (withstanding Robert Cowen of course), Snodgrass was off to a slow start until this week. For the week he was 11 for 22 including 4 homers and 8 runs scored to raise his season totals to .318 and 7 homers.

SA – San Juan LF George Martines – The 27 year old Dominican has built upon his stellar 2003 rookie season as he is amongst the league leaders in most offensive categories. This week he hit .481 with 3 homers and 6 RBI for the division leading Senators.

Division Leaders

NA East: Jacksonville has a 2 game lead on DC as Indy starts to fade.
NA Central: San Antonio is on an 11-3 run and leads Guadalajara by 3 games.
NA West: Calgary has a 2 game lead on Vegas as the Aliens are still hanging close.
SA North: Bogota has a 2.5 game lead over Guayaquil.
SA South: Sao Paulo has moved ahead of Buenos Aires in what should be a good race.
SA Caribbean: San Juan maintains a 2 game lead over Port-au-Prince.

Stat Leaders

North American
AVG: Yarnell NO .402
HR: Arnold LV & Cowen SLC 10
RBI: Arnold LV 32
SB: Cobb LV 24
W: Crawford POR 5
ERA: Perez IND 1.20
K: Hadsell IND 55
SV: Banach JAX & Castillo POR 7

South American
AVG: Williams HAV .396
HR: Correa PAP 10
RBI: Correa PAP 30
SB: Baxter BOG 11
W: Gray LIM, Acevedo BOG, & Knight GC 5
ERA: Maser SP 1.33
K: Lock GC 57
SV: Paez BOG 8

News & Notes

The prize for most disappointing team thus far goes to the Cali Condors in a landslide. The reigning SA Champions sport the highest payroll in the WHBL at just over $93 million and all they have to show for it is a 10-17 record which will not sit well with the rabid fans in that region. Their offense has been anemic to say the least as they are hitting a collective .233 and average just 3.3 runs a game. The pitching staff has not been much better which is exemplified in $14 million per year starter Michael Hennig who is 2-3 with a 4.48 ERA. It may get ugly there soon.

On the other end of the payroll spectrum, the Indianapolis Clowns have been a pleasant surprise as they are a game above .500 at 14-13 despite a $24 million payroll, less than DC’s Harold Murphy gets paid by himself. The hitting has been poor with a team average of .228 but the pitching has held together rather well. Legend-in-the-making Nick Hadsell (2-1, 3.61) has been subpar, at least by his standards, but Carlos Perez (3-0, 1.20) and Takeji Tasuku (2-2, 3.26) have picked up the slack. They actually took 2 of 3 from Jacksonville but I seriously doubt they have the ability to stay over .500 much less contend.

Another team looking better than expected is the Las Vegas Aliens. Last year’s NA West division champ cut payroll by more than half but have still managed to go 17-9 in the early going. Their pitching has been average but their success is mostly due to a potent offense that leads the league in runs scored at just over 6.2 per game. All this without a legit power threat aside from 3B Kevin Arnold who has hit 100 homers over the past 3 seasons. The catalyst is young 2B Tyrus Cobb IV. Cobb has an OBP of .468 and turns any walk or single into a double as his 24 steals lead the league by far. 1B Pierre Perez (8 HR, 1.130 OPS) has been a great free agent signing and MLB castoff Jeremy Giambi (.329 AVG, 1 HR) has been effective even though he’s not your prototypical cleanup hitter. I would expect them to at least stay in the Wild Card hunt if not challenge Calgary for NA West supremacy.

Bad news out of Guatemala City as the much discussed Dennis Lock has been diagnosed with a serious arm injury. In a game against Sao Paulo on May 3, Lock felt severe pain in his pitching arm. An MRI revealed a torn bicep tendon which will put the 2-time Ryan Award winner on the shelf for 2 or more months. Meanwhile the Quakes sit a game above .500 and 3 ½ out of first behind Bogota. Even with co-ace Foster Knight pitching well, the Quakes will have an uphill climb ahead of them if they want to keep pace without Dennis Lock.

09-29-2005, 11:11 AM	#36
timmyw3 H.S. Freshman Team Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Baltimore, MD	Around the WHBL – Sim #4 April Batter Of The Month NA – DC 2B Harold Murphy – The league’s highest paid player certainly made a big splash with his new team, the Shadow. For the month, “Thumper” Murphy hit .427 with 8 homers and 24 batted in. Even more amazing is the fact that he struck out just twice. After a somewhat disappointing 2003, DC has stayed within striking distance of Jacksonville and Murphy should get a lot of credit for that. SA – Port-au-Prince RF William Correa – For the 7th time in his career, the 25 year old Correa has won the Player of the Month Award in the SA. While his .295 average in that time was about 25 points below his career average, Correa supplied much power with 10 homers and 27 runs batted in. The man is a machine and along with Murphy should be a shoo-in for election to the Hall Of Fame someday. April Pitcher Of The Month NA – Indianapolis LHP Carlos Perez – This former MLBer has had problems finding success in the WHBL, bouncing between AAA and the major league level, and putting up bad numbers regardless of the location. Something he did in the offseason must have worked as in 4 April starts, Perez went 3-0 with a 1.54 ERA as the Clowns have shown to be an improved team so far this season. SA – Port-au-Prince RHP Edwin Colclough – The 37 year old vet only had 3 starts in the month but he made them count as he was 2-0 with a 0.82 ERA, striking out 27 batters in 22 innings and allowing only 9 hits in the process. Colclough is in his first year in Haiti after spending last year in Guayaquil and the previous 3 seasons in Portland. Players Of The Week NA – Austin SS William Snodgrass – Arguably the best SS in the league (withstanding Robert Cowen of course), Snodgrass was off to a slow start until this week. For the week he was 11 for 22 including 4 homers and 8 runs scored to raise his season totals to .318 and 7 homers. SA – San Juan LF George Martines – The 27 year old Dominican has built upon his stellar 2003 rookie season as he is amongst the league leaders in most offensive categories. This week he hit .481 with 3 homers and 6 RBI for the division leading Senators. Division Leaders NA East: Jacksonville has a 2 game lead on DC as Indy starts to fade. NA Central: San Antonio is on an 11-3 run and leads Guadalajara by 3 games. NA West: Calgary has a 2 game lead on Vegas as the Aliens are still hanging close. SA North: Bogota has a 2.5 game lead over Guayaquil. SA South: Sao Paulo has moved ahead of Buenos Aires in what should be a good race. SA Caribbean: San Juan maintains a 2 game lead over Port-au-Prince. Stat Leaders North American AVG: Yarnell NO .402 HR: Arnold LV & Cowen SLC 10 RBI: Arnold LV 32 SB: Cobb LV 24 W: Crawford POR 5 ERA: Perez IND 1.20 K: Hadsell IND 55 SV: Banach JAX & Castillo POR 7 South American AVG: Williams HAV .396 HR: Correa PAP 10 RBI: Correa PAP 30 SB: Baxter BOG 11 W: Gray LIM, Acevedo BOG, & Knight GC 5 ERA: Maser SP 1.33 K: Lock GC 57 SV: Paez BOG 8 News & Notes The prize for most disappointing team thus far goes to the Cali Condors in a landslide. The reigning SA Champions sport the highest payroll in the WHBL at just over $93 million and all they have to show for it is a 10-17 record which will not sit well with the rabid fans in that region. Their offense has been anemic to say the least as they are hitting a collective .233 and average just 3.3 runs a game. The pitching staff has not been much better which is exemplified in $14 million per year starter Michael Hennig who is 2-3 with a 4.48 ERA. It may get ugly there soon. On the other end of the payroll spectrum, the Indianapolis Clowns have been a pleasant surprise as they are a game above .500 at 14-13 despite a $24 million payroll, less than DC’s Harold Murphy gets paid by himself. The hitting has been poor with a team average of .228 but the pitching has held together rather well. Legend-in-the-making Nick Hadsell (2-1, 3.61) has been subpar, at least by his standards, but Carlos Perez (3-0, 1.20) and Takeji Tasuku (2-2, 3.26) have picked up the slack. They actually took 2 of 3 from Jacksonville but I seriously doubt they have the ability to stay over .500 much less contend. Another team looking better than expected is the Las Vegas Aliens. Last year’s NA West division champ cut payroll by more than half but have still managed to go 17-9 in the early going. Their pitching has been average but their success is mostly due to a potent offense that leads the league in runs scored at just over 6.2 per game. All this without a legit power threat aside from 3B Kevin Arnold who has hit 100 homers over the past 3 seasons. The catalyst is young 2B Tyrus Cobb IV. Cobb has an OBP of .468 and turns any walk or single into a double as his 24 steals lead the league by far. 1B Pierre Perez (8 HR, 1.130 OPS) has been a great free agent signing and MLB castoff Jeremy Giambi (.329 AVG, 1 HR) has been effective even though he’s not your prototypical cleanup hitter. I would expect them to at least stay in the Wild Card hunt if not challenge Calgary for NA West supremacy. Bad news out of Guatemala City as the much discussed Dennis Lock has been diagnosed with a serious arm injury. In a game against Sao Paulo on May 3, Lock felt severe pain in his pitching arm. An MRI revealed a torn bicep tendon which will put the 2-time Ryan Award winner on the shelf for 2 or more months. Meanwhile the Quakes sit a game above .500 and 3 ½ out of first behind Bogota. Even with co-ace Foster Knight pitching well, the Quakes will have an uphill climb ahead of them if they want to keep pace without Dennis Lock.