OOTP Multi-Player League: WHBL - Salt Lake City Speed

[timmyw3]

This dynasty is based on a Multiplayer OOTP6 league called the Western Hemisphere Baseball League (WHBL), specifically my team, the Salt Lake City Speed. I came into the league at the beginning of the 2002 season but the league is just finishing up the 2003 season, having started in the year 2000. Personally it is my first foray into the MP realm and it has been extremely rewarding to say the least. It is a great group of guys over there who put a lot of time and effort into making the league what it is.

Making this even more challenging is the fact that it is a talent-only league which keeps things interesting. I don’t want to get into too much of the league rules minutiae so if you are interested in the nitty gritty you can reference the rulebook here: Rules

We have a rather large league at 32 teams strong, 16 teams each in the North American League and the South American League.

North America (NA)

Eastern Division
Birmingham Bees
DC Shadow
Indianapolis Clowns
Jacksonville Ospreys
Nashville Sirens

Central Division
Austin Armadillos
Guadalajara Fightin’ Monks
Mexico City Aguilas
New Orleans Pelicans
San Antonio Cocks

Western Division
Calgary Nighthawks
Ciudad Juarez Chupacabras
Las Vegas Swingers (soon to be renamed the Aliens)
Portland Meteors
Salt Lake City Speed
Vancouver, B.C. Mounties

South America (SA)

Northern Division
Bogota Scholars
Cali Condors
Guatemala City Quakes
Guayaquil Tigrillos
Managua Four Roses
Quito Mosquitoes

Southern Division
Buenos Aires Dorado
Lima Toros
Rio de Janeiro Cariocas
Santiago Saints
Sao Paulo Anacondas

Caribbean Division
Caracas Cocodrilos
Havana Leones
Port-au-Prince Nez Longue
San Juan Senators
Santo Domingo Dragons

League homepage: WHBL
Standings page: Standings

[timmyw3]

League Backstory

The Western Hemisphere Baseball League (WHBL) began to materialize shortly after the Major League Baseball strike in 1994 when a small group of independently wealthy U.S. businessmen seized a marketing opportunity to "restore baseball to its original glory." Taking advantage of the bitter taste the battered MLB left in fans' mouths by 1995, they began forming small, self-sufficient clubs around the U.S. in baseball-neglected markets.

At the time of its conception, what would become the WHBL was known as the United States Baseball Cooperative (USBC). Portland, San Antonio, Washington D.C., Charlotte and Memphis all jumped on the bandwagon to baseball "purity." Fans flocked to the stadiums to see lesser-knowns, has-beens and never-will-bes do what the players had dreamed of doing since they were six-year-olds—play baseball, and get paid fairly for it. The salaries weren't large, but the stars of the league made well into mid-six-figure salaries. This was good money by any other career standards.

But by 1998, Major League Baseball began to regain some of the fan support it lost due to the strike, and began to siphon back some of the runoff that left and went to the USBC. The league needed to act fast to minimalize any potential losses. By mid-season, things looked bleak, and bankruptcy paperwork filing was set in motion.

But south of the border, things were just starting to heat up. Monterrey, Mexico City and San Juan had many times courted MLB teams, urging North American baseball to expand into a less affluent but thickly populated baseball world. They promised they would keep fans in the seats all season long, making money on sheer volume of admission instead of inflated ticket prices. And, Mexican and Puerto Rican investors insisted, baseball could court some of the most upwardly mobile economic populations in the world. MLB never bit.

Mexican League officials, the Puerto Rican Winter League and baseball executives from the Dominican Republic and Venezuela were ready to move to action on their own, seeing an emerging market that was being ignored. MLB was farming all of Central and South America's best talent anyway, so they knew that if they could afford to pay even two-thirds of the salaries that Major League clubs handed out, the potential to keep "home grown" talent at home was immense. Representatives from five leagues met in March of 1998 to discuss an official merger that would create a Caribbean-ring league, boasting 12 teams and some of the most rabid baseball fans in the world.


One night in August, as the USBC was getting ready to turn out the lights, a remarkable chance meeting in San Antonio set in motion what is now the WHBL. A USBC executive had plans to meet a friend for a drink downtown at the Menger Hotel bar. Later that evening, when he stepped outside to smoke a cigarette, he couldn't help but overhear a cell-phone conversation in Spanish that involved what sounded like a fledgling baseball league. Intrigued, and tempted to alert the stranger to the dangers of such a business venture, he approached the man after the conversation was over.

After introducing himself to the stranger, the man from Mexico City explained the vision various Latin American execs had put forth in March and were planning to bring to fruition by the year 2000. The businessman from San Antonio was blown away, and divulged the hardships his small league had faced in just a few short years. The more the men talked, the more they shared, and after a few more drinks and several more hours, they had schemed to take over the Western Hemisphere with a baseball league like no one had ever seen. Teams would stretch from Canada to Argentina, with representatives hailing from countries and states everywhere in between.

The men exchanged numbers and bid goodnight to each other, but both awoke the next morning realizing that unlike so many alcohol-fueled bar schemes, this one might actually have merit. The Mexican businessman contacted his American counterpart after he returned to The City and consulted with his group, and made a proposal: He would buy out the floundering USBC on one condition. The American would have one year to find enough cities in the U.S. and Canada to fill out their league and be structured to turn a profit. If The American could do it, and The Mexican could convince cities even farther south (e.g. cities in Brazil, Argentina and Chile) to take on teams, they would have the most expansive baseball league ever built and an immense talent pool to pull from.

The American and his associates shut down the USBC after that fall with a bittersweet send off. Some cities would not return to the league. They remained dormant in 1999, trimming cities that didn't fit the design of the WHBL and adding others. In Mexico and the rest of Central and South America, eager rookie team owners signed on. And, finally, divisions and leagues were drawn up for the 32 teams.

The Western Hemisphere Baseball League was born. But could it spar with MLB, and would it last?

[timmyw3]

2000 Recap

The Port-au-Prince Nez Longue were the first champions of the WHBL, sweeping the Portland Meteors 4-0 in the Americas Cup finals.

Mexico City won 103 games to be the only team to top the 100 win mark but they were bounced by the Meteors in 7 games in the NA Continental Series (think ALCS). Parity ruled the SA with 11 teams winning between 76 and 85 games. PAP won 98 and were by far the class of the SA.

Your Salt Lake City Speed finished a mediocre 79-83, good for 5th in the NA Western Division. One bright spot was CF Earl Dement who was named MVP of the NA after hitting a league high 47 homers to go with his .343 average and 119 RBI. Indy pitcher Nick Hadsell won the Nolan Ryan Award with a 16-10 record, 2.24 ERA, and 298 Ks in 241 IP.

Over in the SA, the Nez Longue’s William “Mirror Man” Correa, who was all of 21, was named MVP with a stellar .321, 44, 115 season. The top pitcher in the SA was Guatemala City’s Dennis Lock who was 16-9 with a 2.40 ERA and an astounding 349 Ks.

2001 Recap

2001 saw the San Juan Senators take the Americas Cup in 7 games (LCS and Americas Cup final is now changed to best-of-9) over the Calgary Nighthawks.

Calgary won a league high 109 games while Indianapolis and DC each topped 100. 2000 league champ Portland tumbled to a 67-95 season. Champion San Juan was the only SA team over 100 wins with a 104-58 record. Port-au-Prince won the wild card with 94 wins but fell to the new power in the LCS.

The Speed improved to 89-73, still 11 games out of the wild card but it would be a stepping stone to further success in the following year. RF Michael Prowell was the team’s offensive star with 49 homers and 128 RBI.

Nashville’s young 3B Harold Murphy was named MVP after hitting .330 with 45 HR and 117 RBI. Hadsell won his 2nd Nolan Ryan Award with a 17-5, 1.87 year. In the SA, Correa won the MVP again, topping ‘00’s numbers with a .349, 43 , 125 season. Lock also repeated as Ryan Award winner going 20-8 with a 2.31 ERA and 321 Ks.

2002 Recap

This is the year I took over a Speed owner and it was successful as we won the Western Division in a 1-game playoff over Calgary to finish 103-60. The celebration was short lived however as we fell in 5 games in the Divisional Series to the 83-79 Austin Armadillos who won a very weak Central Division.

Our success was mostly due to the right arm of RHP Samuel Marpons who we acquired via trade in the offseason. Marpons won the Ryan Award with a 16-5 record, 1.62 ERA, and 276 strikeouts in 216.2 innings. SS Robert Cowen was the offensive catalyst with a .330 average, 35 homers, 108 RBI, 57 steals while leading the league in runs scored and walks.

The Americas Cup would be a rematch of 2001 but with NA Wild Card winner Calgary taking the cup in 9 thrilling games against the san Juan Senators. Jacksonville led both leagues in wins with 107 while San Juan and Buenos Aires each won 106.

The best season in the league’s short history was achieved by the Ospreys’ Richard Mason who won the Triple Crown and MVP by hitting an impressive .355 with 59 homers, and 154 RBI. San Juan OF Serafin Doriva won the SA MVP by hitting .343 with 45 dingers and 130 batted in. Guatemala City’s Foster Knight won the Ryan Award with a 19-11 record and 2.35 ERA.

Where we stand in 2003

Right now we are down to the Final Four with Calgary and Las Vegas facing off in the NA Continental Series while Buenos Aires meeting Cali, who swept San Juan 4-0 in the Divisional Series, in the SA Continental Series.

The Speed had a disappointing year to say the least. We were off to a good start, leading the division through mid-May. Then the wheels fell off, mostly due to a horrid bullpen, and before you know it we were well under .500 without a chance of making the playoffs. We turned it around a little bit in July, getting about 10 games over .500 but with Vegas and Calgary both heading for 100+ win seasons, our year was pretty much done. We dumped some players at the trade deadline, including Marpons who would be a free agent at the end of the year, and we finished up at 82-80, 20.5 games worse than last season.

Cowen remained the catalyst, again hitting over .300 while leading the league in runs scored and walks, though his numbers were down slightly and Dement hit over 40 homers for the 4th year in a row. But our pitching as a whole was unacceptably poor (my fault for not shoring it up) as we were 29th out of 32 in ERA.

Still we are optimistic heading into the offseason. We are in great shape financially and if we can get a #1 starter and rebuild our bullpen, we should have the offense to be back in contention for next season.

[jackyl]

No team in Quito or La Paz?

[timmyw3]

Originally Posted by jackyl

No team in Quito or La Paz?

My bad. I accidentally omitted the Quito Mosquitoes in the SA North Division.

[timmyw3]

Just a brief history for each team and where they currently stand finishing up the 2003 season:

North America East

DC Shadow, 4-Year Record: 364-284, .562
On the field: Always one of the most active teams trade wise, the Shadow has finished over .500 each season, winning the Wild Card in 2001 with a 100-62 record but never winning the division to this point
Top Player in Team History: Hard to say with all the dealing they have had but I would say it would be OF Howard Shunsho, career .308 hitter with 108 homers in 4 seasons.
Finances: OK, they cut a lot of payroll at the trade deadline to help them stay profitable this year. Average fan support but should be able to be active in FA.
2003 Record: 84-78, 2nd
Minor League System: 17th, top prospect SP Augusto Pinochet, 25 (18-9 in 1st full season in bigs.)

Indianapolis Clowns, 360-288, .556
On the field: Division winner the first 2 seasons, they were knocked out of the playoffs in the 1st Round both times. They won 93 games in ’03 but the owners jumped ship after failing to turn a profit in any season and they fell to 72-90 this year.
Top Player in Team History: Easy. SP Nick Hadsell is one of the top pitchers in the WHBL. 2 time Ryan Award Winner, 4 time All-Star, and a career record of 67-26.
Finances: Better. The new owners had to cut payroll by about $30 million over last season and they will be profitable for the first time in 2003.
2003 Record: 72-90, 4th
Minor League System: 28th, MR Lazaro Mendoza, 21 (5-3, 6 SV, 4.06 ERA in AAA)

Jacksonville Ospreys, 354-294, .546
On the field: Sub .500 team the first 2 years but exploded with back-to-back 107 win seasons in ‘03 and ’04. But unceremoniously dumped in the 1st round of the playoffs in both years.
Top Player in Team History: 1B/3B Richard Mason. Acquired by the Ospreys before 2002 from Santiago, Mason won the MVP and Triple Crown in ’02 hitting .355 with 59 HR and 154 RBI. Missed a month this year but still put up monster numbers.
Finances: In good shape, 7th highest payroll but have income to offset that
2003 Record: 107-55, 1st
Minor League System: 20th, CF Julian Viveiros, 23 (.345, 7, 46 in 249 ML AB)

Nashville Sirens, 332-316, .512
On the field: Finished 3rd, 3rd, 4th, and 3rd. Best year was 2002 when they finished 91-71 but was still only good for 4th in their own division.
Top Player in Team History: 3B Harold Murphy. 2001 MVP and in the running again this season. WHBL career leader in doubles, 5th in homers. Still only 26 and a free agent in the offseason.
Finances: Not good. Don’t have the cake to re-sign Murphy after losing over $14 million last season. May be entering rebuilding mode??
2003 Record: 75-87, 3rd
Minor League System: 18th, CL Jaime Gonzalez, 18 (’03 1st round pick, 1.09 WHIP, 44 K in 46.2 AA IP)

Birmingham Bees, 283-365, .437
On the field: Not much to write home about. The Bees cracked .500 for the only time in 2002 but regressed in 2003 going from 83 wins back to 71.
Top Player in Team History: 1B Jesus Espinel. Never an All-Star but a constant at first. 131 career homers.
Finances: On pace to lose about $15 million this year. Don’t expect any miraculous worst to first years any time soon unless the youngsters blow up.
2003 Record: 71-91, 5th
Minor League System: 2nd, LF Jesus De La Cruz, 20 (#3 prospect in WHBL, 42 HR, 100 RBI in A-ball)

[timmyw3]

North America Central

Austin Armadillos, 362-286, .559
On the field: Above .500 every year, made the playoffs in 2000 and 2002. Advanced to LCS in 2002 but was beaten 5 games to 1 by Calgary.
Top Player in Team History: SS William Snodgrass. Had first 40 HR/40 SB season in league history in 2003. In the league’s Top 20 careerwise in hits, homers, RBI, and steals and is still only 27.
Finances: Poor, made a run at it this year with $90 million+ payroll but only 13th in attendance and not much of that salary comes off the books.
2003 Record: 94-68, 2nd
Minor League System: 32nd (last), nothing unless you count a 25-year old 1B who hit .213 in AA who is listed as their top prospect.

Mexico City Aguilas, 352-296, .543
On the field: The Aguilas were the class of the division the first 2 seasons, winning the division crown and advancing to the LCS before losing to Portland in 2000 and Calgary in 2001. They were losing money though and were forced to cut payroll and have finished under .500 the past 2 seasons.
Top Player in Team History: 1B Pedro “Dynamite” Posada. Huge (6’7”, 230) power hitter, averaged 41 HR and 145 RBI between ’00 and ’02 before tailing off this year at 37 years old.
Finances: On the surface, awful, as they will lose $10 million + for the 3rd time in 4 years. However, 8 of their top 12 guys in salary will be free agents, most of them over the age of 35 so there is some relief there
2003 Record: 79-83, 3rd
Minor League System: 27th, 2B Jose Nevarez, 23 (4th Round Pick in 03, .318, 13, 45 at Single-A)

San Antonio Cocks, 285-363, .440
On the field: After arguably being the worst team in the league for 3 years the Cocks more than doubled their win total from the previous year going from 51-111 to 108-54. Every offensive starter is under 30 and relatively cheap. They did lose in the Divisional Series to Calgary.
Top Player in Team History: Considering their first 3 years were so forgettable we’ll go with this season’s sure-to-be Rookie of the Year, CF Aquila Poderoso. He only hit .327 with 39 HR and 136 RBI and he’s just 23.
Finances: After hoarding large profits the first 3 seasons, the Cocks are set up well for the future. At least until the young studs (and there are many) come looking for their payday.
2003 Record: 108-54, 1st
Minor League System: 1st, the rich get richer. Aside from Poderoso, there is RF Wesley “Captain” Hook who hit .314 with 22 HR and 105 RBI in his rookie season. They also have several young SPs with ace potential.

Guadalajara Fightin’ Monks, 282-366, .435
On the field: They have gone from mediocre to just plain bad, progressively getting worse each season from 83 wins the 1st season to 59 this year. They do have some young talent that should help in the future.
Top Player in Team History: A name before my time, SS/3B James Tillman. Played 2000 and 2001 with the Monks before being dealt to Buenos Aires. Hit 90 homers in those 2 seasons. Has since retired.
Finances: Low support, low income, low payroll. Still profitable though and could add some decent free agents to go with their young players. Could be a team on the rise.
2003 Record: 54-108, 5th
Minor League System: 5th, SP Barrett Shoe, 19 (17-9, 3.94, 172 K in 221.2 IP split between A and AA).

New Orleans Pelicans, 274-374, .423
On the field: Worst record in the NA over the first 4 seasons. Best season was 74-88 in 2001 but then slipped to 64-98 the following year. Yet to lose 100 in a season though and they do have some nice prospects on the way up.
Top Player in Team History: Not many choices but it would have to be SP Benny Frisina. He was signed from Rio prior to 2001 and was a great pitcher who suffered from being on a bad team. He was traded to Caracas at the trade deadline this year and sports a career 56-32 record and 2.72 ERA.
Finances: Tough situation. They have the lowest payroll in the league but still are not overly profitable because they have the lowest fan interest in the league.
2003 Record: 67-95, 4th
Minor League System: 10th, 1B Pat “The Bat” Stansberry (.301, 16, 76 between AA, AAA, and a month in the bigs).

[timmyw3]

North America West

Calgary Nighthawks, 399-251, .614
On the field: The class of the North American League, the Nighthawks are headed for their 3rd straight Americas Cup final despite having only won 1 division title outright in 2001. They are the defending WHBL champions trying to make it back-to-back and have averaged 105 wins over the past 3 seasons.
Top Player in Team History: 1B Galen Dorey. The WHBL’s all-time HR leader with 181, he’s still only 28 and will be a free agent at season’s end.
Finances: In as good of shape as you could be with a $94 million payroll.
2003 Record: 105-58, 2nd
Minor League System: 23rd, 3B Benjamin Leon, 25 (hit .320 with 8 HR and 60 RBI in this his rookie season)

Salt Lake City Speed, 353-296, .544
On the field: Won the division in 2002 after so-so seasons in 2000 and 2001, but was eliminated in the first playoff round. Came back to earth with a disappointing 82-80 record this season.
Top Player in Team History: Tough call but I’ll go with CF Earl Dement. Dement is the only player to hit at least 40 homers in each of the league’s first 4 seasons and was league MVP in the inaugural 2000 season.
Finances: Good shape, despite fan interest falling a bit we’ll be profitable for the 4th year in a row and should be active in free agency.
2003 Record: 82-80, 3rd
Minor League System: 12th, LHP William Blake, 19 (15-6, 3.10 ERA between A and AA)

Ciudad Juarez Chupcabras, 302-346, .466
On the field: 4th place team 4 years in a row, never finishing above .500. The definition of mediocrity.
Top Player in Team History: 1B Francis “The Shark” Davidson. .349 career hitter but has been bitten by the injury bug (55 games played in 2001, 25 in 2003). Was an All-Star in ’01 and ’03.
Finances: Not good at all. Little cash on hand and they stand to lose more than $10 million this season. I see this as a bad situation in a few seasons.
2003 Record: 77-85, 4th
Minor League System: 22nd, SP Octavio Ordonez, 24 (19-21, 4.46 in 335 major league innings)

Portland Meteors, 302-346, .466
On the field: Participants in the first Americas Cup finals, the Meteors have lost 90+ games each of the past 3 seasons.
Top Player in Team History: Hard to say but my choice would be SP Huey Thoma who pitched for 2 seasons (00-01). “The Fireball” won 33 games in those 2 years before being dealt to Jacksonville for 3 stiffs.
Finances: Portland looks like the big loser this year, on pace to lose over $20 million.
2003 Record: 70-92, 5th
Minor League System: 31st, 1B Wilfredo Gonzalez, 19 (called up before he even turned 18, Wilfredo was serviceable in his 1st full major league season, .258, 8, 78)

Vancouver, B.C. Mounties, 292-356, .451
On the field: Had a decent first couple of years before the bottom fell out. Had a WHBL all-time worst 46-116 record this season.
Top Player in Team History: SP Timothy “Buffalo” Rogers. 46-31 with a 2.91 ERA in 3 seasons in Vancouver. Dealt to Las Vegas prior to this season and is currently 2nd on the WHBL All-Time Strikeout list.
Finances: Low, low payroll will help them make good money this year. Should be poised to make big improvements over the next few seasons if they spend wisely.
2003 Record: 46-116, 6th
Minor League System: 9th, 1B Leo Southerland, 20 (.243, 23, 85 in second, very average year in A-ball)

Las Vegas Swingers, 290-359, .447
On the field: Once a laughingstock, the Swingers have improved every year, culminating in this season’s breakout 106-57 division championship season.
Top Player in Team History: Considering most of their top players were brought in from other teams this season, we’ll focus on 2B/SS Tyrus Cobb IV. Cobb was the top choice in the 2001 draft and hit .307 this season with 21 homers and a league leading 75 steals.
Finances: Despite the success they’ll lose big this season but considering the big bucks they raked in during the first 3 years, they will be OK.
2003 Record: 106-57, 1st
Minor League System: 3rd, SS Oswaldo “The Surgeon” Rivera, 22 and the league’s #1 prospect (.340, 16, 71 between A and AA; brought up to majors for playoffs and hit .243 in 37 postseason AB)

[timmyw3]

South America North

Guatemala City Quakes, 360-288, .556
On the field: A 2-time division champion, the Quakes only have 1 single playoff win to show for it. They fell all the way to 4th this season, even with the league’s 4th highest payroll
Top Player in Team History: SP Dennis Lock. All time leader in strikeouts (1325) and 2nd to teammate Foster Knight in wins with 68. 2-time Ryan Award winner and has struck out more than 300 batters in all 4 seasons.
Finances: Heading for a 3rd straight season in which they will lose money. Some high salaries will be coming off the books for next year though.
2003 Record: 86-76, 4th
Minor League System: 16th, LF Lyle Nixon, 23 (.294, 13 HR, 57 RBI, 50 SB in AAA)

Cali Condors, 327-321, .505
On the field: Interesting team. Improved from 71 to 87 to 96 wins and then ownership just disappeared. A new owner came in midway through the year and made some huge deals which propelled them to the wild card where they have advanced to the Americas Cup, sweeping San Juan then beating Buenos Aires in 9 games.
Top Player in Team History: P Albert Delmonte. Low endurance starter, tallied 38-19 record with 3.24 ERA in 1st 3 years. Still a starter this year but can barely go 3 innings and as a result posted a 1-9 record despite decent numbers.
Finances: Highest payroll in the league with highest fan support. They should be able to put together a squad at the $100 million salary cap next season with no problem
2003 Record: 92-70, 2nd
Minor League System: 24th, SP Abel Carbajal, 23 (7-4, 3.34 in AAA)

Bogota Scholars, 334-314, .515
On the field: .500-type team until this season when they won their first divisional title by 2 games over Cali only to be swept 4-0 by Buenos Aires in the Divisional Series.
Top Player in Team History: 1B Kurtis Shotwell. Power hitter getting up in age (36). Signed from Cali before 2001, his best season was ’01 when he hit 43 homers and drove in 101.
Finances: Looks to be on the way to losing $10 million this year after losing $18m last year. Payroll has more than tripled from Year 1 so it remains to be seen if they can sustain it.
2003 Record: 94-68, 1st
Minor League System: 7th, 3B Beau Riviera, 22 (5-star prospect but quite frankly hasn’t shown it yet - .265, 10, 55 between A and AA)

Guayaquil Tigrillos, 312-336, 481
On the field: Last place in ’00 and ’01, turned it around to win 93 and 89 games the past 2 seasons. Still waiting for 1st playoff trip though.
Top Player in Team History: LF Nicholas “Cutter” Jones. Signed from Santiago (who also let Richard Mason walk) in 2002, Jones made a splash by hitting .311 with 48 homers in his first year as a Tigrillo.
Finances: Doing OK, after doubling their payroll over 2 years they lost big last year but should finish this season with a profit.
2003 Record: 89-73, 3rd
Minor League System: 26th, CF Gerardo Vinyals, 21 (All-Star in his 2nd season, .302 hitter in 1094 AB)

Quito Mosquitos, 309-340, .476
On the field: Not a lot of excitement down in Ecuador. The Mosquitos finished .500 in their inaugural year which was good enough to tie for the division lead where they won the 1-game playoff over Managua. They’ve around 75 wins each of the past 3 seasons.
Top Player in Team History: 3B Victor Hester. Just 25 but has played 4 full seasons, coming into his own this year with a .301 average, 38 homers, and 98 RBI
Finances: Increased payroll didn’t increase wins and as a result they will lose money for the second year in a row.
2003 Record: 76-86, 5th
Minor League System: 14th, 2B Timothy Sanchez, 25 (slick fielder, finished first full season with .294 avg, 20 HR, 80 RBI)

Managua Four Roses, 266-383, .410
On the field: Has the distinction of having the worst overall record in the league’s 4 year history. Tied for division lead with Quito in Year 1 but lost playoff and followed up with 94, 106, and 101 loss seasons.
Top Player in Team History: Really tough to pick one from this bunch, so we’ll go with the future in C Ira Hayes. In his rookie season, the 23-year-old hit .323 with 9 homers and 55 RBI.
Finances: Made some unwise FA decisions and are hurting from that. They don’t have any flexibility at all and may not be able to sign a suitable draft pick for the high spot they will have.
2003 Record: 61-101, 5th
Minor League System: 6th, Besides Hayes, there is another C in Donald Prevatte, 23 (hit .329, 25, 90 between A and AA with excellent defensive ability, could move Hayes to 1B)

[timmyw3]

South America South

Buenos Aires Dorado, 366-282, .565
On the field: Consistent winner, division champ in 3 of 4 seasons but yet to reach Americas Cup finals having been eliminated by Cali in their last 2 playoff appearances.
Top Player in Team History: 2B Israel Vacas. 4 year starter and #3 hitter, Vacas has 104 career homers and is a 3-time All-Star.
Finances: In excellent shape. Lost about $13 million last year but will be profitable this season.
2003 Record: 98-64, 1st
Minor League System: 30th, SP William Clayton, 24 (9-4, 3.38, 144 K in 128 IP in AAA).

Sao Paulo Anacondas, 327-321, .505
On the field: Made the leap from 74 wins to 91 between 2001 and 2002 but are still behind Buenos Aires in the pecking order and are still seeking first playoff appearance.
Top Player in Team History: SS Juan Zaragoza. Another power hitting SS, Zaragoza has averaged over 36 homers over the first 4 years and has 2 30/30 seasons. Notoriously known as a difficult individual, Juan was dealt to DC at the trade deadline this year.
Finances: They’ve cut payroll quite a bit over last year so they are in good shape heading into next year.
2003 Record: 86-76, 3rd
Minor League System: 29th, SP Larry Clinger, 19 (’03 1st Rounder: 14-6, 3.69 ERA at A level).

Lima Toros, 293-355, .452
On the field: Underacheiving group for 3 seasons but was one of the most improved clubs this year, improving 32 games but still finishing 3 games out of the Wild Card.
Top Player in Team History: 2B Garland “Catfish” Danforth. Underrated player in my opinion. Power hitter (33 HR per year), with low average but high OBP as he is the all-time leader in walks. Excellent fielder as well.
Finances: Success comes with a price tag but the Toros are still operating within their means for the most part.
2003 Record: 89-73, 3rd
Minor League System: 19th, LF Roberto Montoya, 25 (highly touted prospect, finished rookie season with .294 average, 15 HR, and 85 RBI).

Santiago Saints, 289-364, .438
On the field: Won the division in 2001 but blew it up afterwards and have racked up 108 and 111 losses in the past 2 seasons.
Top Player in Team History: Same as Jacksonville, 1B/3B Richard Mason. In his 2 seasons in Santiago, Mason averaged 40 HR and 121 RBI.
Finances: No team is in better shape. Look for them to be extremely active in the offseason
2003 Record: 51-111, 5th
Minor League System: 4th, LF Montana Billings, 23 (#2 overall pick in ’02: .297, 20, 80 in full season at AAA)

Rio de Janeiro Cariocas, 276-372, .426
On the field: Finished 83-69 in Year 1 but it was downhill from there. They have lost exactly 100 games the past 2 seasons.
Top Player in Team History: Not much to choose from but if I was forced to pick a standout at gunpoint I would go with SP Isidro Sanchez, 29-38 career record with a decent 3.47 ERA.
Finances: They raised salary over $20 million and still lost 100 games. As you can imagine they will lose money this year after being in the black for the 1st 3 years.
2003 Record: 62-100, 4th
Minor League System: 8th, C Donald Wiley, 20 ( #7 overall pick in ’02, has hit a paltry .210 in 2 seasons at Single A. Can you say, bust?)

[timmyw3]

South America Caribbean

San Juan Senators, 399-249, .616
On the field: Well-oiled machine. The Senators have made the playoffs in each of the last 4 seasons, winning the America’s Cup in 2001.
Top Player in Team History: Tough choice but I will side with LF Serafin Doriva. 148 career homers, 2002 SA MVP and a favorite to repeat as 2003 MVP. League all-time batting leader Steven Crosby (.346) comes in a close 2nd.
Finances: Perfect model. Will make over $10 million this season for the 4th year in a row.
2003 Record: 102-60, 1st
Minor League System: 13th, SP Roy Rita, 21 (17 wins between AA and AAA in 2003)

Port-au-Prince Nez Longue, 359-289, .554
On the field: Besides the silly name, PAP has the distinction of being the first league champion. Of course they have fallen a bit from there and suffered their first losing season in 2003.
Top Player in Team History: OF William “Mirror Man” Correa. Absolute beast, 2-time league MVP, career top 10 in most offensive categories, 174 career homers. And get this, he is only 24.
Finances: Doing OK but need to turn the losing trend around or they could be in some trouble.
2003 Record: 79-83, t-3rd
Minor League System: 25th, SP Steven So, 22 (13-5, 3.89 ERA in first pro season in AAA)

Havana Leones, 332-316, .512
On the field: Slightly above .500 for each of the first few seasons, the Leones finished under that mark for the first time this year.
Top Player in Team History: SP Harold Snider. Still young at 27, Snider has a 60-43 career record and an ERA of 2.80.
Finances: The people of Cuba haven’t really taken to the Leones despite not being a bad team. They traded some high payroll guys early in the year and still stand to lose money.
2003 Record: 79-83, t-3rd
Minor League System: 21st, 3B Reinaldo Mariscal, 24 (A little old for AA but hit .286 with 21 HR and 60 RBI.

Santo Domingo Dragons, 315-333, .486
On the field: Won 85 games each of the first 2 seasons but have taken 2 steps backward the last 2 years, finishing in the basement in 2003.
Top Player in Team History: SP Brain (not Brian) Montalvo. Won 50 games in first 3 years with a sub-3.00 ERA in all 3 seasons. Traded to Ciudad Juarez in May of this year. Could be best player never to make an All-Star team.
Finances: Not bringing in a whole lot of revenue. Could be tough to compete with the big boys.
2003 Record: 70-92, 5th
Minor League System: 11th, SP Jerrod Berrios, 23 (12-10, 3.41, 170 K in 184.1 IP at AAA).

Caracas Cocodrilos, 307-341, .474
On the field: Went from 84 wins to 65 over 2 years but rebounded nicely this year with a 2nd place finish.
Top Player in Team History: More for the future but I’ll go with 2002 SA Rookie of the Year, 1B Richard Greenhaw. Just 21 but has career average of .316 and 51 career homers.
Finances: Picked up a big contract at the deadline (ace SP Benny Frisina) but failed to make any noise in the playoff race. They’ll need to decide which direction they want to go in the offseason.
2003 Record: 82-80, 2nd
Minor League System: 15th, C Joaquim Nabuco, 22 (#8 overall pick in 2003, .295, 9, 61 between A and AA)

[timmyw3]

WHBL’s Top 25 All-Time Players – Part I

Just one man’s opinion here through 4 full seasons. Apologies to anyone I might have missed. Listed in alphabetical order:

Stats key:
Position Players (AVG/OBP/SLG, OPS, HR, RBI, SB)
Pitchers (W-L, ERA, WHIP, K/9)

Rene Castro, OF (Mexico City 00-02, Guatemala City 03)
Average Season: .302/.427/.541, .968, 33, 98, 19
Best Season: 2002 - .328/.455/.589, 1.043, 31, 102, 20
Top 5 career in walks and runs scored. 4-time All-Star.

William “Mirror Man” Correa, OF (Port-au-Prince 00-03)
Average Season: .330/.427/.662, 1.089, 44, 114, 21
Best Season: 2003 - .326/.432/.685, 1.116, 49, 116, 16
2-time SA MVP, tied for 3rd on all-time HR list and is only 24.

Robert Cowen, SS (Salt Lake City 00-03)
Average Season: .301/.422/.567, .988, 34, 91, 50
Best Season: 2002 - .330/.458/.607, 1.065, 35, 108, 57
4 30/30 seasons, 4 time All-Star, all-time leader in runs scored, 3rd in SB

Steven Crosby, 1B (San Juan 00-03)
Average Season: .346/.430/.549, .978, 24, 99, 0
Best Season: 2002 - .362/.457/.563, 1.021, 24, 85, 0
2-time batting champ, all-time leader in batting average

Earl Dement, CF (Salt Lake City 00-03)
Average Season: .310/.411/.592, 1.004, 42, 106, 19
Best Season: 2000 - .343/.437/.661, 1.098, 47, 119, 21
2000 NA MVP, only player with at least 40 HR in first 4 seasons

Galen Dorey, 1B (Calgary 00-04)
Average Season: .296/.388/.599, 45, 134, 1
Best Season: 2003 - .323/.411/.647, 1.058, 48, 140, 3
All-time HR and RBI leader, ’03 MVP candidate

Serafin Doriva, OF (San Juan 00-04)
Average Season: .322/.447/.629, 1.076, 37, 114, 2
Best Season: 2003 - .362/.492/.700, 1.192, 39, 118, 1
2002 SA MVP, probable repeat in 2003.

Benny Frisina, SP (Rio de Janeiro 00, New Orleans 01-03, Caracas 03)
Average Season: 14-8, 2.72, 0.99, 9.79
Best Season: 2003 – 17-6, 2.31, 0.92, 9.63
Suffers from Steve Carlton Syndrome – great pitcher, bad teams

Kyle Gallucci, 2B (Indianapolis 00-2002, Mexico City 03)
Average Season: .322/.398/.583, .981, 39, 118, 9
Best Season: 2002 - .334/.411/.608, 1.018, 44, 147, 9
Top 2B by far; Top 10 in average, hits, HR, and RBI

William “Godzilla” Gipe (Austin 00-01, Jacksonville 02, Las Vegas 03)
Average Season: .305/.381/.597, .978, 43, 123, 33
Best Season: 2001 - .299/.365/.641, 1.006, 56, 134, 34
Awesome combo of power and speed. Had highest HR total between 00-02.

James Gracey, OF (Jacksonville 00-03)
Average Season: .300/.397/.576, .946, 36, 101, 15
Best Season: 2001 - .317/.419/.579, .999, 36, 95, 23
Osprey clean-up hitter, 2-time All-Star

Nick Hadsell, SP (Indianapolis 00-03)
Average Season: 17-7, 2.28, 0.98, 10.60
Best Season: 2001 – 17-5, 1.87, 0.91, 10.54
2-time Ryan Award winner, widely regarded as league’s best SP.

[timmyw3]

WHBL’s Top 25 All-Time Players – Part II

Foster Knight, SP (Guatemala City 00-03)
Average Season: 18-12, 3.01, 1.01, 8.08
Best Season: 2001 – 21-8, 2.46, 0.92, 8.35
#1 career in wins, 2002 SA Ryan Award winner, forms tough 1-2 duo with…

Dennis Lock, SP (Guatemala City 00-03)
Average Season: 17-8, 2.52, 0.91, 11.81
Best Season: 2001 – 20-8, 2.31, 0.86, 10.91
Strikeout machine (all-time leader), 2000 and 2001 SA Ryan Award winner

Samuel “The Terminator” Marpons, SP (Havana 00-01, Salt Lake City 02-03, Lima 03)
Average Season: 13-7, 2.24, 0.85, 11.39
Best Season: 2002 – 16-5, 1.62, 0.73, 11.46
Dominant strikeout pitcher, endurance an issue, 2002 NA Ryan Award winner.

Richard Mason, 1B/3B (Santiago 00-01, Jacksonville 02-03)
Average Season: .332/.424/.666, 1.090, 45, 127, 9
Best Season: 2002 - .355/.458/.760, 1.218, 59, 154, 9
League’s premier slugger, 2002 NA MVP and Triple Crown winner

Franklyn Monreal, CL (Austin 00-03)
Average Season: 6-5, 41 SV, 2.77, 1.05, 6.27
Best Season: 2003 – 6-4, 52 SV, 2.04, 0.82, 6.58
League’s top closer, all-time saves leader

Harold “Thumper” Murphy, 3B (Nashville 00-03)
Average Season: .329/.433/.651, 1.083, 43, 113, 7
Best Season: 2000 - .332/.456/.657, 1.112, 42, 131, 7
Young superstar, #1 in this season’s free agent crop

Pedro “Dynamite” Posada, 1B (Mexico City 00-04)
Average Season: .299/.405/.565, .970, 37, 129, 2
Best Season: 2002 - .311/.419/.648, 1.067, 48, 147, 0
Drove in 140+ each of the first 3 years, drastic drop off in ‘03

Timothy “Buffalo” Rogers, SP (Vancouver 00-02, Las Vegas 03)
Average Season: 16-10, 3.01, 0.99, 10.23
Best Season: 2002 – 15-11, 2.67, 0.89, 10.50
#2 on strikeout list, tossed no-hitter in July 2003

Harold Snider, SP (Havana 00-03)
Average Season: 15-11, 2.80, 1.09, 8.03
Best Season: 2000 – 15-7, 2.44, 1.02, 7.61
Still young (27) with a bright future ahead of him

William Snodgrass, SS (Austin 00-03)
Average Season: .296/.374/.583, .957, 34, 123, 57
Best Season: 2003 - .306/3.99/.614, 1.013, 40, 142, 54
Another great SS, had league’s 1st 40/40 season in ‘03

Huey “Fireball” Thoma, SP (Portland 00-01, DC 02, Jacksonville 02-03)
Average Season: 16-7, 3.20, 1.12, 10.28
Best Season: 2000 – 18-9, 2.86, 1.11, 10.46
Left-handed, durable, strikeout pitcher

David Vargas, SP (Buenos Aires 00-02, Calgary 03)
Average Season: 17-6, 2.75, 1.12, 8.89
Best Season: 2002 – 20-4, 2.58, 1.08, 8.93
#2 on all-time win list, #1 starter on several playoff teams

Juan Zaragoza, SS (Sao Paulo 00-03, DC 03)
Average Season: .300/.412/.582, .994, 36, 96, 28
Best Season: 2003 - .336/.437/.638, 1.075, 41, 109, 32
5-tool player, currently a free agent and could command league’s top salary

[timmyw3]

2003 Playoff Update

The Calgary Nighthawks have made it back-to-back championships after dispatching of the Cali Condors in the Americas Cup finals 5 games to 3.

[timmyw3]

2004 Offseason Preview

Now that we have the background of the league out of the way, let’s get started on what really matters here and that is the Salt Lake City Speed. After last season’s 82-80 record, we had a lot of players leave due to free agency, none of whom are irreplaceable though. At this point we have about 16 spots on the major league roster spoken for, meaning we should be incredibly active in free agency.

Our payroll for the year sits at $54 million and I our target for the year is somewhere in the $82 million to $85 million range. So we have money to spend here but I’m going to try not to get reckless with it. Most of this will be focused on our pitching staff, mostly in the much maligned bullpen which returns only 2 members. We also need a #1 starter that’s probably where we’ll spend the majority of our dollars.

Besides a new bullpen (closer included) and a #1 starter, we need another SP (a #4 type), a starting 2B, a utility IF, and a backup C. Free agency gets under way tomorrow night and runs for about the next 2 weeks or so.

The 2004 Amateur Draft is running concurrently and we select in the first round, 18th overall. We’re not looking for a specific position so we’ll go with the ever popular best player available, though I can pretty much say it will not be either a 1st baseman or relief pitcher.

[timmyw3]

Roster Overview -Majors

Position Players (Batting Talent: Contact/Gap/Power/Discipline/Eye)

C Arch Stanton, 25, Bats: Right, Throws: Right (7/7/9/9/6)
2003 Stats: .266 AVG, .731 OPS, 8 HR, 40 RBI
Waiting for him to breakout. Arch is one of the top young catchers in the league and with this being his 3rd season in the bigs, I think this is the year he puts it all together. Defense needs a little work but if he can hit the ball like he should be able to, we can overlook that.

3B Paul King, 32, Bats: Left, Throws: Left(5/6/5/5/6)
2003 Stats: .270 AVG, .773 OPS, 22 HR, 71 RBI
After a great 2002 and a nice contract extension, King regressed in 2003, falling in pretty much every offensive category as well as defensively. We need him to return to his 2002 form (.310, 24, 95).

SS Robert Cowen, 30, Bats: Right, Throws: Right(7/7/9/10/7)
2003 Stats: .311 AVG, .988 OPS, 35 HR, 84 RBI, 48 SB
Our best player, Cowen will probably bat leadoff depending on who we end up with in free agency. While he would make an ideal #3 hitter, we don’t really have a leadoff option we can count on at this point. His defense is excellent as well.

1B Joshua Travis, 34, Bats: Right, Throws: Right (9/6/2/5/8)
2003 Stats: .299 AVG, .728 OPS, 4 HR, 60 RBI
We received Travis in a trade with Austin in July of last season. He may not be an everyday player though as we have another 1B (see below) that will take away some playing time. He will certainly play against lefties though.

1B Eloy Medina, 26, Bats: Left, Throws: Right (5/7/8/5/7)
2003 Stats: .219 AVG, .613 OPS, 3 HR, 12 RBI
Medina crushed AAA pitching last year, hitting 34 HR in just 100 games before being called up. But he struggled in his 2 months with the big club as evidenced by his statistics. Some of that may have been due to the fact we were asking him to play the OF but he may just be one of those AAAA players. We’ll give him the opportunity early but if he fails, Travis will be our guy.

OF Mark Pendleton, 30, Bats: Right, Throws: Right (5/6/5/8/6)
2003 Stats: .263 AVG, .761 OPS, 4 HR, 26 RBI
Mark will play the role of #4 outfielder and right handed pinch hitter. We obtained him from Lima late last year and liked what we saw from him. He can play all 3 outfield positions (though not necessarily very well) and can hit the occasional ball out of the park.

CF Earl Dement, 36, Bats: Left, Throws: Left (7/6/9/9/7)
2003 Stats: .279 AVG, .926 OPS, 40 HR, 98 RBI
Big Earl is getting up in age but is still a dangerous hitter. He hit 40 homers in each of the league’s 4 years of existence, plays great defense (won the 2002 Ozzie Smith Award), and can steal a few bases as well.

RF Michael Prowell, 35, Bats: Left, Throws: Left (5/6/8/10/6)
2003 Stats: .278 AVG, .874 OPS, 30 HR, 106 RBI
Steady lefty slugger, drives in a ton of runs for us. Almost dealt him last year but couldn’t get a deal worked out so we resigned him to a 3-year extension. Draws a lot of walks but really struggled against left-handed pitching so we may sit him more than normal against southpaws.

OF George Swatzell, 28, Bats: Both, Throws: Right (4/4/3/3/3)
2003 Stats: .260 AVG, .714 OPS, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 10 SB (96 AB)
Not much ratings wise but George has been pretty productive in limited time at the major league level. He’ll be our 5th OF with most of his playing time coming as a pinch runner and defensive replacement.

LF Jose Magana, 23, Bats: Right, Throws: Right (6/7/5/6/6)
2003 Stats: (AAA) .317 AVG, .899 OPS, 22 HR, 72 RBI, 32 SB
Jose is our top position prospect and will get first crack at the starting LF job. He didn’t play well at all in an early May call-up but impressed in a late season callup. We’ll bat him 8th to take the pressure off but IF he hits well he could move to leadoff. But that’s a big if. Defense and baserunning are a plus.

Pitchers (Pitching Talent: Stuff/Control/Movement

Bryan Madison, LHP, 34 (5/8/5)
2003 Stats: 12-10, 3.72 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 156 K, 200.2 IP
Acquired from Lima, the well-traveled Madison will be penciled into our #2 spot. Last year was a tale of 3 teams. He pitched well in Sao Paulo, was traded to Lima where he was awful, then was dealt to us where he was excellent. His inability to go more than 6 or 7 innings hurts but if we’re able to put together a decent pen it would make Bryan that much more valuable.

James Lamay, RHP, 26 (4/5/7)
2003 Stats: 14-9, 3.94 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 105 K, 210 IP
James was our top winner last year but some of that had to do with receiving great run support. Still it was his first full season in the majors and at times he was dominating. Consistency is the key here as it is with many young pitchers. We have him slated into the #3 or $4 slot in the rotation.

Neil Heston, RHP, 32 (4/6/5)
2003 Stats: 4-8, 5.40 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 52 K, 93.1 IP
Heston will be our #5 guy or potentially a long reliever. He missed a couple of months last year after taking a line drive off the face and was inconsistent after that. But if he can give us some good innings in either role, we will be quite pleased.

Christopher Cunningham, RHP, 25 (4/9/7)
2003 Stats: 1-4, 4.97 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, 29 K, 54.1 IP
Cunningham will battle with Heston for the #5 starter role. He has good control and decent velocity. He’s just lacking in experience.

Andres Espino, RHP, 28 (5/8/6)
2003 Stats: 11-8, 5.04 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 59 K, 103.2 IP
Andres pitched in 95 games for us last year out of the pen with not-so-good results. Unfortunately, most of the pen last year was worse, which is why most of them are gone. Espino will probably handle a middle relief role for us this year.

Eric Mattie, RHP, 29 (4/10/6)
2003 Stats: 5-12, 37 SV, 5.58 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 38 K, 79 IP
In 2002, Mattie was an excellent set-up man, appearing in 100 games with a 1.19 WHIP and sub-3.00 ERA. We converted him to closer last year and it was a disaster. He did save a team record 37 games but he blew 9 other chances and lost quite a few games in extra innings as well. We’re looking for another closer this year so we’re planning on returning Eric to his more comfortable set-up role.

[timmyw3]

Minor Leaguers To Watch

LHP William Blake, 19 (8/8/7)
Our #1 prospect and former 1st round pick, Blake is probably a year away from reaching SLC but if he pitches in AAA like he did in AA last year (13-4, 3.04) he could be up not long after his 20th birthday in May.

OF Noel Whitesides, 20 (5/5/5/6/5)
Last year’s #1 pick did not have a good first pro season as he hit just .216 with 7 homers and 31 RBI and a pathetic .610 OPS in A-ball. He did steal 32 bases and is a terrific defensive player, but he’s going to have to hit better lest we label him a bust.

2B/SS Abel Castellanos, 23 (6/8/6/3/7)
Acquired from Lima with Pendleton and Madison, Castellanos is a darkhorse to make the major league roster as either our everyday 2B (hopefully not) or our utility infielder (possible). Last year hit .309 with some pop (13 homers) at AAA.

1B Larry Arbour, 24 (6/6/4/5/5)
Next in line in case the Medina experiment fails, I could see Larry either being traded or with the big team depending on what happens at the major league level. Last year in AA, the former 4th round pick hit .300 with 24 homers and 86 RBI.

LHP Robert Roles, 25 (7/5/5)
An enigma if I’ve ever seen one, we’re trying to see if Robert can make it as a closer. Problem is that he’s had trouble getting people out since we got him in a minor deal with DC 2 years ago. This is probably his last chance to shoe us what he’s got.

LHP Justin Allred, 23 (7/7/4)
Another left handed closer candidate, Allred dominated AA in 2002 but struggled at AAA last year before being sent back to AA where he was nowhere close to his 2002 form. Still he’s talented and as long as the potential is high we’ll keep him in our plans.

[timmyw3]

2004 Amateur Draft – Top 10

1. Vancouver – 1B Henry "Hulk" Holden, 17 – (9/6/10/10/7) – Big time power potential, 17 year olds are always risky but “Hulk” shapes up to be a good one.

2. Santiago - CF Royal Worm, 21 – (6/8/7/10/7) – Smooth, 5-tool player from Detroit, Worm has one of the all-time great names and the game to match.

3. Guadalajara - RHP Quinton Ingraham, 23 – (10/5/4) – By far the top pitcher in a pitching weak draft, Quinton could see the majors sooner rather than later with his filthy stuff.

4. Managua - 2B/3B Daniel Ixcotsaenz, 17 – (7/6/8/9/9) – Slick IF, can play 2B or 3B equally well and should be able to be a .300 hitter once he reaches the bigs.

5. Rio - SS Jamarcus "Bats" Jamison, 21 – (6/9/10/10/6) – Nice steal here for Rio, Jamison could be the next great SS (at least offensively)

6. New Orleans - C William Wicker, 17 – (7/8/9/10/7) – Power-hitting catcher, still very young though.

7. Santo Domingo - 1B Lloyd "The Poet" Young, 19 – (7/7/9/10/6) – Last of the 5-star players, Young may be closer to the big leagues than #1 pick Holden.

8. Portland - LHP Gajah Mada, 18 – (5/10/5) – This lefty from Singapore was rated #2 amongst pitchers. Impeccable control for such a young pitcher.

9. Birmingham - RHP Theodore Esquibel, 23 – (6/8/7) – This righty from Washington should be ready for the majors in very little time.

10. Indy - RHP Benjamin Worcester, 18 – (8/6/6) – The run on pitchers continues. Endurance is a question mark but he has a few years to build that up.

Salt Lake City selects this evening, we have our eyes on a few guys. Just hoping that one of them falls to us at #18. Free agency also begins tonight so there’s the possibility that there will be some signings to report.

[timmyw3]

SLC Draft – Rounds 1 &2

I stated earlier that I wouldn’t be taking a 1st baseman with our first round pick but I went against that statement as we selected Julio “La Bestia” Gonzalez with the 18th overall selection. A couple of prospects I had targeted were chosen right before our choice so I was going with the best available player. The 18-year-old Gonzalez has some power potential and can also play the outfield, which is where we may play him this season.

In the 2nd round, we picked up a pitching prospect in 18-year-old lefty Tommy Alford. He has good command but average stuff. We’ll start him in the rotation in Single-A and hope he will develop for us.

[timmyw3]

Free Agency Update

Through the first half of free agency, the Speed has picked up 3 new players and a familiar face. While we haven’t made our big splash yet we are hopeful to have a major signing or 2 announced in the next several days. Here are the signees.

Joe McNabb, RHP, 35 (5/8/6)
2003 Stats w/SLC: 14-10, 4.31 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 136 K, 225.1 IP
McNabb is an original member of the Speed and has posted a 42-28 career record. We halfheartedly tried to sign him to an extension last season but let him test free agency. As it turns out we signed him to a 2-year deal worth $1.65 million per season which is $300,000 less per year than what we offered last September. We have him penciled in as our #4 starter.

David Gates, C, 33 (4/7/6/3/5)
2003 Stats w/Caracas: .196 AVG, .541 OPS, 3 HR, 15 RBI
Gates will fill our backup catcher role. He’ll be a downgrade from last year’s backup(s) but we’re banking on Arch Stanton taking the next step. Gates is a veteran and good defensively so that will offset his poor offensive production. He was signed to a 1-year deal worth $477,000.

David Guynn, RHP, 30 (5/5/6)
2003 Stats w/ Managua: 4-3, 22 SV, 2.54 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 26 K, 49.2 IP
Guynn was signed to a 2-year deal worth $3 million per season and is expected to be our closer. He had a good season with Managua last season and has improved each of his 4 seasons since debuting with Birmingham in 2000. He’s somewhat of a risk in that he never closed before last year and his first 3 years were very average but there weren’t really any shut down closers in free agency and those available through trades came with too high of a price tag.

Kyle McCalla, RHP, 29 (5/6/4)
2003 Stats w/ Santiago: 5-16, 4.41 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 112 K, 198 IP
McCalla put up similar peripheral stats to McNabb but because he was on a team that went 51-111 last year, his record suffered. He was signed to a 2 year contract for $800,000 per year and figures in the mix for #5 starter and/or long reliever.

Across The League

The biggest signing so far was 1B Galen Dorey who signed with the Lima Toros. Last year with league champion Calgary, Dorey had a monster year, hitting 48 homers with 140 RBI. He’ll make $15 million a year over the next 5 years.

One of the top pitchers available, 26-year-old Irving Dawson, goes from Guatemala City to Santiago after signing a 4 year deal worth a total of over $56 million. Last year as the Quakes #3 pitcher, Dawson posted a 14-11 record with a 3.12 ERA.

League doormat Vancouver looks to be a lot better for next year and signed one of the league’s top relievers in Timo Dardey formerly of Las Vegas. He had been a closer for 3 years, saving 46 in 2000, before being moved to a setup role last year. I would think he’ll be used in a closer role for the Mounties considering his $7.4 million a year price tag. They are also reportedly on the verge of signing stud SS Juan Zaragoza.

Another NA West rival picked up perhaps the best bargain so far in SP John “Golden” Bondy. He’ll be turning 37 in July which may have scared some teams off but the Portland Meteors offered him a modest 2 year deal worth $3.5 million a year. He’s been one of the top strikeout pitchers in the league for Port-au-Prince and showed no signs of solwing down last season when he whiffed 240 batters in 226.1 innings.

[timmyw3]

SLC Draft – Rounds 3-5

After choosing a position player in Round 1 and a starting pitcher in Round 2 we looked to build up some depth in the later rounds of the amateur draft.

In Round 3, we picked up a relief pitcher in Dominican lefty Oswaldo Vergara. The 18-year-old is a fastball-slider pitcher who looks to have pretty decent skills. If he builds his endurance a little bit we may be able to use him as a starter but for now we’ll mold him as a lefty set-up man.

We had 2 picks in Round 3, having acquired the extra pick from Lima in a trade, and we bolstered the outfield by selecting 18-year-old Eldridge Grote. The Delaware product can play all 3 OF positions but is no more than an average hitter. He does have good speed and has good size which may translate into more power down the road.

With no pick in Round 4, our final pick of the draft was spent on a catcher, John Muldowney. Like our other 4 picks (not by design), Muldowney is 18 years old. We lacked a young catcher in our system and he’ll at least give us a warm body in A-ball.

[timmyw3]

Free Agency Update

With the free agency period coming to a close, the Speed inked 4 more players to contracts, 3 of which should solidify what was an incredibly shaky pitching staff.

Alton Colligan, RHP, 32 (5/7/8)
2003 Stats w/ Caracas: 7-17, 3.43 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 135 K, 204.2 IP
Alton represents our biggest signing of the offseason at $7.7 million per year over 2 seasons. We may have overpaid but we really needed a #1-#2 type starter and we think Alton can fill the bill. His win loss record suffered from a lack of run support but with our offense he should be a better pitcher.

Eddie Schuller, LHP, 32 (6/6/4)
2003 Stats w/ San Juan: 3-3, 2.89 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 37 K, 62.1 IP
Schuller is the lefty set-up man we needed. Last season we went much of the year without one and when we brought one in, he was horrible. In 2001 Eddie had a standout year (2.12 ERA, 1.00 WHIP) but was awful in 2002. He turned it around a bit last year but we are hopeful he can complete the turnaround with an excellent season in SLC.

Donald West, RHP, 36 (5/5/7)
2003 Stats w/ Buenos Aires: 3-4, 3.61 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 56 K, 77.1 IP
The veteran West has been a mainstay in the bullpen for the Dorado over the past 3 seasons. All we’re looking for is some solid middle relief. A repeat of his 2003 season would be an improvement over what we had in that role last season.

Richard Smith, IF, 32 (4/5/2/3/3)
2003 Stats w/ DC: .292 AVG, .686 OPS, 1 HR, 12 RBI
Smith was signed to a 1-year, $450,000 deal to be our utility man. He can play 2B, SS, and 3B reasonably well and hits for a decent average with very little power.

Across The League

DC made the biggest splash by signing top free agent Harold “Thumper” Murphy to a record contract worth $25.5 million per season over 5 years. The 27-year-old third baseman, who looks like he’ll be moved to 2B, has averaged 43 homers per season and last year hit 51 for Nashville.

The Shadow didn’t stop there, signing OF Rene Castro formerly of the Guatemala City Quakes. The switch-hitting 34-year-old is always amongst the league leaders in on base percentage and should score a ton of runs hitting ahead of Murphy.

The second biggest contract went out to SS Juan Zaragoza who signed for 5 years at $21.84 million per year with rebuilding New Orleans. What makes this scenario a little odd is that he will earn more than the other 24 players on the roster combined. It may be a few years before his impact can truly be felt.

One player we looked long and hard at was veteran 2B Kyle Gallucci, who spurned our best offer to sign with Guayaquil for 1 year at $12,532,000. At 38, Gallucci’s best years are probably behind him but he showed no signs of slowing down last year as he hit .328 with 43 homers for Mexico City. I may regret not going up to $13 million for him.

One of our former players, RHP Samuel Marpons, signed a 2-year deal at $15 million per with the Mexico City Aguilas. He’s probably the most dominant pitcher in the league but he has endurance issues which drove us crazy while he was here. For the Aguilas’ sake I hope their bullpen is strong (debatable).

Trade

To fill the hole at 2B, we traded a pair of prospects to Las Vegas for:

David Cardenas, 2B, 30 (5/6/9/3/5)
2003 Stats w/ Vegas: .232 AVG, .749 OPS, 36 HR, 97 RBI
Think Tony Batista. Lot of power but doesn’t hit for average nor draw a lot of walks (28 in 566 PA). He is versatile though, being able to play 2B, 3B, SS, LF, and CF, and play them well. He is signed through 2005 with a salary of just below $4 million. We just didn’t have many other options after Gallucci and Aaron Sinnott were not interested in signing here.

Going to Vegas are OF Noel Whitesides and 3B/P Michael Saum. Whitesides was one of our Top 10 prospects and our first round pick in 2003 but was a disappointment in his first year of pro ball, hitting just .216. I was hesitant to give him up so early though and wouldn’t be surprised if he turned out to be a solid player one day. Saum is an interesting case. At 26, he’s a little old for a prospect but his ratings are relatively high. But his performance has not matched the ability. In AA last year he hit .275 with 13 HR and 50 RBI. He does have abilities as a pitcher and I wouldn’t be surprised if Vegas tried him out there.

[mauchow]

Good stuff. Watch out for Portland this year though!!1

[timmyw3]

Originally Posted by mauboy1

Good stuff. Watch out for Portland this year though!!1

Yeah, I'll be watching for them....at the bottom of the standings. HAHAHA.

j/k

[timmyw3]

2004 Salt Lake City Speed Preview

We’re just a few days away from starting the season and it’s an exciting time in Salt Lake City. The Speed has revamped their pitching staff to hopefully complement what was already a potent offense and look to make a return to the playoffs after a disappointing 2003 season.

In previous posts, I’ve introduced our 25-man roster in some form or another but here’s where our best laid out plans are put together.

Position Players

Catchers
For the 3rd straight season, Arch Stanton will handle the catching duties. Just 25, Stanton will be entering his 3rd full season in the majors and I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that he’ll give us an All-Star caliber year. We signed veteran David Gates as the backup. While he doesn’t swing the bat very well, he calls an excellent game and is very steady defensively.

Infielders
3 of the 4 infield positions are all spoken for and the leader of the group is SS Robert Cowen. Cowen has had at least 30 homers, 30 steals, 100 runs scored, and 100 walks in each of his first 4 seasons. He hit in the leadoff spot last season but we’re initially slotting him in the #3 hole to start this year.

At 3B, Paul King enters his 4th year as the starter. He had a breakout year in 2002 but regressed slightly last year. Still, he has been and should continue to be a productive player for us.

We failed to sign a free agent 2B and with prospect Abel Castellanos not quite ready, we traded with Las Vegas for David Cardenas. While his OBP is horrendous and his plate discipline leaves a lot to be desired, he should provide some more pop in the bottom half of our lineup. His defense is excellent as well. Richard Smith, formerly of DC, was signed to be our utility man but if one of the 3 starters gets hurt, we may be in some trouble.

At 1B we have a competition between veteran Joshua Travis and youngster Eloy Medina. Travis is a career .330 hitter but has little power and hit below .300 for the first time last year. Medina tore up AAA last season but was overwhelmed in a late season call-up and does not have the full trust of team management as far as being an everyday player. Both are left-handed hitters so a platoon is unlikely. They should get even playing time initially until one proves to be the better option.

Outfielders
The CF and RF positions will have very familiar faces. Earl Dement patrols CF and is the team’s highest paid player. He’s hit at least 40 homers in each of his 1st 4 seasons, the only player in league history to do so. He’ll drop from his customary #3 batting slot to the cleanup spot where we expect more of the same. Age may be a factor though as Earl will turn 37 in July. He’s also a free agent after the season but if he proves to still be effective as ever, the Speed will make every attempt to resign him.

Michael Prowell will be out in RF again. We can count on about 30 homers with 100 RBI and a high on-base percentage as he has one of the best batting eyes in the league and is not afraid to take a walk. His production against left handed pitching is awful though and he should see more days off against lefties than in the past.

Rookie Jose Magana will get the nod as the starting left fielder and will hit leadoff. He hit .317 with 22 homers and 32 steals last season in AAA and plays a Gold Glove caliber left field. If it turns out that we are asking too much of him the LF duties will fall to Mark Pendleton and/or George Swatzell. Pendleton can play all 3 OF positions and has a cannon for an arm and Swatzell covers a ton of ground and is a dangerous base stealer.

[timmyw3]

2004 Salt Lake City Speed Preview (cont.)

Pitchers

Starting Rotation

Our “ace” this year will be newly acquired Alton Colligan. It’s not often that a pitcher who went 7-17 the previous year can be considered an ace but his peripheral stats were pretty good (3.43 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 13 HR allowed in 200+ IP). I’m hopeful we can flip that record around to 17-7.

Lefty Bryan Madison is our #2 guy. He pitched very well for us once we acquired him from Lima in the Marpons deal so we extended his contract for 2 seasons. He was 21-6 back in 2001.

The youngest member of the rotation is 26-year-old James Lamay. James won 14 games for us last season in his first full season in the bigs. A repeat of last year would be a big boost for the ball club.

We’ll bring Joe McNabb back for another season. Twice we have let him test free agency only for us to resign him. He’s averaged 14 wins over the past 3 seasons but he was hit a little bit harder last season (4.31 ERA) than he was in 2002 when he posted a 3.14 ERA

The #5 starter will be Neil Heston. We picked him up last year but he missed 2 months with a broken jaw. When he did pitch he was hit pretty hard (4-8, 5.40).

Bullpen

More than half of our bullpen is new this season and it can’t be any worse than it was last year when we lost countless games that should have been wins. The key piece was the addition of closer David Guynn who signed with us from Managua where he saved 22 games in 26 chances last season.

Last year’s closer, Eric Mattie, suffered through a dreadful season, blowing 13 save opportunites. In 2002 he was great as a set-up man, pitching in 100 games with a sub-3.00 ERA. Hopefully he can return to form in that role this year.

The lefty set-up man is another new acquisition, 33-year-old Eddie Schuller. Schuller has been a key member of some great San Juan teams the last 4 years and brings that experience to SLC this season.

A trio of right handers will handle the middle relief roles. One of the few holdovers is Andres Espino, a big Venezuelan with a lot of potential. He was not very effective last year though, allowing 18 homers in 103.2 IP but did earn 11 wins out of the pen. Veteran Donald West will also work out of relief. He’s been a big part of Buenos Aires’ success the past few years. Kyle McCalla was a starter for a bad Santiago team and went 5-16 but he should be a decent member of the pen and could be a spot-starter.

Christopher Cunningham will work in long relief. He made a few starts for us last season and was up and down. Along with McCalla, they represent our fill-in starter options.

[timmyw3]

Preseason predictions (courtesy of DC GM Martin)

NA East

1. Jacksonville - sigh, the best team in the east again
2. DC - Not much competition in East besides Jax
3. Birmingham - Will take first step out of the cellar
4. Nashville - The rebuilding process begins
5. Indy - What would they do if they didn't have Hadsell


NA Central

1. San Antonio -
2. Austin - Will be good enough again to be the team with the best record to not make the playoffs
3. Mexico City - Improved, but still don't have enough to get to the top
4. New Orleans - Could be 3rd, but team chemistry is one of the worst in league thanks to Mr. Zaragoza
5. Guadalajara - Almost your time to shine, just be patient

NA West:
1. Calgary - If you're suprised by this I have some property to sell you
2. Las Vegas - Assuming they don't ship everyone off they should finish 2nd if they do they could finish as low as 4th
3. SLC - Pitching is bad, hitting is getting old
4. Portland - Hit for average and pen is improved, but just don't have the horses
5. Cuidad Juarez - Mediocre, hopefully Davidson can stay healthy this year
6. Vancouver B.C. - Just plain bad, do have some nice prospects on the farm though

SA North:

1. Guayaquil - Bold prediction, but Thoma and the awesome hitting should finally get the Tigrillos there 1st playoff appearance
2. Bogata - Solid team, and very good pitching behind Villaran
3-4. Cali/Guatemala City - It's a toss up between them
5. Quito - Got a few young offensive guns to add to the mix
6. Managua - Ahh, almost forgot there was still a team down there

SA South:

1. Lima - The Toros will take the division back from the Dorado this season
2. Buenos Aires - Still very tough my pick for the Wildcard
3-4 Santiago/Sao Paulo - Another toss up, but my bets going to the Anacondas
5. Rio de Janeiro - Rebuilding in Rio

SA Carribean
1. San Juan - Will this be the year they finally miss the playoffs................No.
2. Port-au-Prince - Are finally becoming strong again
3. Havana - Improved, but they have no chance at the crown
4. Caracas - Are going to have to send Frisina, and co. away at some point.
5. Santo Domingo - Will have a strong rotation in the future

[timmyw3]

Sim #1 – 4/5/04-4/12/04

Game 1 – 4/8/04 - @ Portland - SLC 11 Portland 5
The Speed offense got off to a great start, jumping on Meteor starter John Bondy for 9 runs in 5 innings. 2003 team MVP Robert Cowen picked up where he left off with 2 homers and 4 runs batted in. Newcomer David Cardenas contributed a 3-run double that knocked Bondy from the game. Starter Alton Colligan was unspectacular, allowing 5 runs in 5 innings but the bullpen pitched 4 scoreless innings to help seal the win.
WP – Colligan (1-0) HR – Cowen 2(2), Travis (1)

Game 2 – 4/9/04 – @ Portland - SLC 11 Portland 2
For the 2nd game in a row we put up 11 runs, this time rapping out 15 hits including 4 home runs. David Cardenas was 3-for-5 with a homer and 4 RBI and youngster Jose Magana hit his first career round tripper. Robert Cowen was 4-for-5 and scored 3 runs. Starter Bryan Madison was solid allowing 2 earned runs over 6 innings, striking out 4.
WP – Madison (1-0) HR – Magana (1), Swatzell (1), Cardenas (1), Medina (1)

Game 3 – 4/10/04 - @ Las Vegas – Las Vegas 9 SLC 4
The Speed suffered their first loss of the season to the newly named Las Vegas Aliens. Vegas used a 7-run 6th inning to break the game wide open. Speed starter James Lamay suffered from a bout of wildness, walking 7 batters and allowing 7 earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. His counterpart, Aliens starter Danny Jackson, shut us down allowing just 3 hits over 6 innings. Robert Cowen homered and drove in 3 of our runs.
LP – Lamay (0-1) HR – Cowen (3), Dement (1)

Game 4 – 4/11/04 - @ Las Vegas – SLC 7 Las Vegas 4
The Speed improved to 3-1 thanks to the right arm and the bat of Joe McNabb. McNabb pitched 7 strong innings, scattering 7 hits and 3 runs while striking out 7. He also provided the key hit in the 5-run 5th, a 2-out, 3-run double to left-center field. Joshua Travis had 3 hits and Earl Dement drove in 2 and David Guynn picked up his 1st save in a SLC Speed uniform.
WP – McNabb (1-0) SV – Guynn (1)

Game 5 – 4/12/05 - @ Las Vegas – Las Vegas 6 SLC 3
The Speed dropped the rubber match of the series to the Aliens as Las Vegas ripped 4 homers, 3 off of starter Neil Heston. New Alien Pierre Perez accounted for 2 homers while Kevin Arnold and Oswaldo Gonzales each hit their 3rd of the season. Speed catcher Arch Stanton drove in all 3 runs for the Speed which included a 2-run homer in the 5th.
LP – Heston (0-1) HR – Stanton (1)

Player of Game Standings
I will use this to determine team MVP and Pitcher of the Year

1(tie). Cowen, Cardenas, Dement

News & Notes

We’re only 5 games in but Robert Cowen looks pretty comfortable in the #3 spot in the lineup. He’s 9-for 19 with 3 homers, 7 RBI, and 8 runs scored. The player replacing him in the leadoff role, Jose Magana, has not done well despite hitting his 1st career homer. He’s hitting just .190 in 21 at bats. It’s way too early though to consider a change. We’ll give him at least through May to produce.

Our pitching has been bad but this week it’s due to the starters and not the bullpen. Colligan, Lamay, and Heston were hit pretty hard but the bullpen had a 2.57 ERA in 14 innings. Hopefully that can continue.

NA West Standings

LVA 4-1
CGY 3-2 1GB
SLC 3-2 1GB
VAN 3-2 1GB
POR 3-4 2GB
CJC 1-6 4GB

Minor League Update

AAA Cheyenne – 3-2
Top pitching prospect William Blake earned a no decision in his first start – 5 1/3 innings, 5 hits, 2 earned runs, 6 walks, 5 strikeouts. Hopefully the walks don’t become a concern.

AA Billings – 3-2
22 year old CF Tony Caldas is leading the team with a .467 average.

A Provo – 0-5
1st round pick Julio Gonzalez is off to a slow start. 3-for-19, 7 strikeouts.

[timmyw3]

Around the WHBL – Sim #1

Players Of The Week

NA – Jacksonville CF Julian Viveiros – The 23-year-old future superstar hit for the cycle on the 10th against Austin, the team that traded him to the Ospreys. For the week Julian was 12 for 30 (.400) with 4 homers and 10 RBI

SA – San Juan 1B Steven Crosby – The Senators clean-up hitter hit .500 with 1 HR and 10 RBI as the defending SA champs struggled to a 3-4 start.

Division Leaders

NA East: Indianapolis at 4-3 with 3 teams a game back.
NA Central: Guadalajara at 5-2. Austin and San Antonio are a game back.
NA West: Las Vegas by a game over Calgary, SLC, and Vancouver
SA North: Guayaquil has a 1 game lead over Guatemala City and Quito
SA South: Lima leads Santiago and Sao Paulo by 1 game
SA Caribbean: Port-au-Prince is 5-2 and a half game ahead of Santo Domingo

Stat Leaders

North American
AVG: Robichaud JAX .571
HR: Murphy DC 5
RBI: Viveiros JAX 10
SB: Cobb LV 5
W: 6 tied with 2
ERA: 5 tied at 0.00
K: Hadsell IND 24
SV: 6 tied with 2

South American
AVG: Mejia RIO & Crosby SJ .500
HR: 3 tied with 4
RBI: Crosby SJ 10
SB: Feijoo SP 4
W: 4 tied with 1
ERA: 4 tied at 0.00
K: Lock GC 23
SV: Gray LIM & Paez BOG 3

News & Notes

The injury bug bit the Portland Meteors as OF Antonio Mirlo, the reigning batting champ in the NA went down with a torn calf muscle. He will be out of action for about 5 weeks. Rio pitcher Isidro Sanchez will also miss about 5 weeks with a strained bicep.

One of the top pitchers in league history got off to a nice start to 2004 as Foster Knight of the Guatemala City Quakes pitched a 1-hit shutout against the Cali Condors on April 9. Only a 4th inning single by John Galeana prevented Knight from tossing his first career no-hitter.

Lima second baseman Garland Danforth slugged 3 homers in a game against Buenos Aires on April 8th, the second time the man they call “Catfish” has hit 3 taters in a game. He hit another the following night against Havana.

[timmyw3]

Sim #2 – 4/13/04 – 4/20/04

Game 6 – 4/13/04 - @ Jacksonville – Jacksonville 5 SLC 4
The Jacksonville Ospreys scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th to steal game 1 of the 4-game series 5-4. Catcher Stephen Lynch drove home Julian Viveiros with the game winning run with an RBI single off of Donald West. For the Speed, Jose Magana hit his 2nd homer of the season and Arch Stanton drove in a pair of runs.
LP – Espino (0-1) HR – Magana (2)

Game 7 – 4/14/04 - @ Jacksonville – Jacksonville 6 SLC 2
The Ospreys made it 2 in a row against the Speed as they scored 2 runs in both the 7th and 8th innings to break a 2-2 tie. 2B Ralph Bunn drove in 3 runs and Fermin Villar added a pinch hit 2-run double off of Eric Mattie in the 8th for insurance. Bryan Madison pitched well for the Speed going 6 innings, allowing 2 earned runs. Arch Stanton hit his 2nd homer of the year.
LP – West (0-1) HR – Stanton (2)

Game 8 – 4/15/04 - @ Jacksonville – Jacksonville 4 SLC 3
The Speed bats were silenced by Osprey starter Urbano Silva who pitched 8 strong innings allowing 1 earned run while striking out 7. The Speed, trailing 4-0, rallied for 3 runs in the top of the 9th, which included a 2-run homer by David Cardenas off of stud closer Randy Banach, but came up short in the end. SLC starter James Lamay didn’t walk anyone this time around but allowed 11 hits in 7+ innings. Pedro Posada hit his 2nd homer of the year for Jacksonville.
LP – Lamay (0-2) HR – Cardenas (2)

Game 9 – 4/16/05 - @ Jacksonville – Jacksonville 8 SLC 6
The Ospreys completed the 4-game sweep over the Speed with an 8-6 win. Joe McNabb was roughed up for 7 earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. Julian Viveiros was 4 for 4 with a homer and Pedro Posada knocked McNabb out of the game with a 3-run shot in the 5-run 5th inning. Eloy Medina hit a pair of solo homers for the Speed.
LP – McNabb (1-1) HR – Gates (1), Medina 2 (3)

Game 10 – 4/17/05 - @ Mexico City – Mexico City 4 SLC 0
The Speed saw their losing streak hit 6 as Ramon Cardenas and Kevin Roundtree combined on a 5-hit shutout. Former Speed catcher Robert Sasaki hit a solo homer in the 2nd for the Aguilas who scored 3 runs in the 7th to seal the win. Neil Heston picked up the loss allowing 4 earned in 6 2/3 innings.
LP – Heston (0-2)

Game 11 – 4/18/05 - @ Mexico City – SLC 6 Mexico City 2
The Speed broke their 6 game losing streak with a 6-2 win over the Aguilas at Paramount Park. All 6 runs scored courtesy of the long ball with Michael Prowell blasting a pair of solo homers and Robert Cowen and David Cardenas each hitting a 2-run shot. Starter Alton Colligan improved his record to 2-0 as he allowed 2 earned runs over 6 innings with 7 strikeouts.
WP – Colligan (2-0) HR – Cowen (4), Prowell 2 (2), Cardenas (3)

Game 12 – 4/19/05 - @ Mexico City – SLC 3 Mexico City 2
The Speed made it 2 in a row with an exciting 3-2 win over the Aguilas. Robert Cowen broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the 9th with a leadoff homer to left-center off of Michael Womble. Donald West, closing the game because closer David Guynn was used as a pinch-runner, survived a shaky 9th and got Zack Dowe to ground into a fielder’s choice with the tying run on 3rd. Former Speed pitcher Samuel Marpons pitched against his old team for the first time since being traded last July and allowed 1 run, a solo homer by Earl Dement, in 6 1/3 innings. For the Speed, Bryan Madison had his 3rd straight quality start, allowing just 1 run on 4 hits in 7 innings. Eddie Schuller picked up the win in relief.
WP – Schuller (1-0) SV – West (1) HR – Cowen (5), Dement (2)

Game 13 – 4/20/05 – vs. Calgary – Calgary 11 SLC 5
The Speed dropped their home opener to the defending champs 11-5. The Nighthawks legged out 18 hits and handed SLC starter James Lamay his 3rd straight loss in front of a full house at Tribune Field. Lamay lasted just 2 2/3 innings allowing 9 hits and 7 runs, all earned, and his ERA sits at an unsightly 10.80. Benjamin Leon and Amadis Hernandez each had 4 hits and 3 RBI for Calgary. Arch Stanton and David Cardenas each drove in a pair of runs for Salt Lake City.
LP – Lamay (0-3)


Player of Game Standings

1(tie). Cardenas, Prowell, Cowen, Dement, Madison 1

News & Notes

Earlier I predicted a breakout year for 3rd year catcher Arch Stanton. So far the 25 year old has done nothing to disprove me. He’s just 2 plate appearances from being 3rd in the NA in batting average, hitting .433 with 2 homers and 12 batted in. It appears he’s improved his batting eye immensely with 7 walks thus far. In his previous 2 seasons he only walked 63 times in 914 plate appearances.

On the other end of the spectrum we are disappointed so far in the play of 3B Paul King. Last year he was one of the top hitters in the NA over the first 2 months before slumping badly through the middle months. He turned it around to put up respectable numbers but he’s off to a slow start this year. Hitting .158 with 0 HR and 1 RBI. He had been hitting 2nd against lefties and 6th against righties but look for Stanton to switch spots in the batting order with King.

On the pitching side of things we’ve not gotten any sort of consistency from our starters aside from Bryan Madison who has pitched beautifully thus far. James Lamay has been brutal with a 10.80 ERA and 2.33 WHIP through 3 starts. Last season he battled inconsistency but was never this bad. Neil Heston is following last year’s trend of a decent WHIP but a bloated ERA while Joe McNabb followed up a good first start with a stinker.

While the bullpen hasn’t been lights out, they are worlds better than they were last season. My only concern for the time being is Donald West who has a WHIP of 3.00 in 6 appearances covering 5 IP. We may switch him to a mop-up role with Chris Cunningham moving to middle relief. Cunningham has not allowed a baserunner in his 2 appearances.

NA West Standings

CGY 10-2
LVA 8-4 2.0GB
POR 8-6 3.0GB
SLC 5-8 5.5GB
CJC 5-10 6.5GB
VAN 3-10 7.5GB

Minor League Update

AAA Cheyenne – 6-7
3B Casey Dunston has been ripping the cover off the ball, batting .326 with 6 HR and 14 RBI. The 29-year may learn to play some 2B in the future to make himself more valuable to the big club as he would certainly be a big improvement over current utility man Richard Smith.

AA Billings – 4-9
19-year-old relief pitcher Antonio Santa has turned heads since he came into the organization and it’s continued this year. Last year at Provo, the undrafted Dominican had a 2.23 ERA in 97 innings. So far this year he has allowed only 5 baserunners and 1 run in 11 2/3 innings.

A Provo – 0-13
It’s pretty ugly in Provo as our Single-A affiliate has yet to win a game. The hitting has been atrocious as the top hitter is 3B Martin Fulmer at .245. 6 of the 9 regulars are hitting under .200. Starting pitcher Jonathan Hadnot has been one of the few bright spots with a 2.70 ERA in 3 starts covering 20 innings.

[timmyw3]

Around the WHBL – Sim #2

Players Of The Week

NA – Jacksonville 1B Richard Mason – One of the most feared hitters in the league and the only Triple Crown winner in league history, Mason is leading the league in homers and RBI yet again. This week he hit .462 with 3 HR and 13 RBI.

SA – Rio de Janeiro OF Sang Dane – Hit .433 with 10 RBI this week for the Cariocas. Dane has been an average player at best but is off to a good start this season hitting .345 with 3 homers and 15 RBI.

Division Leaders

NA East: Jacksonville (11-4) by 3.5 games over Indianapolis
NA Central: Surprising Guadalajara (10-4) by 1 game over Austin and San Antonio
NA West: Calgary (10-2) by 2 games over Las Vegas
SA North: Bogota (9-6) by 1 game over Guayaquil
SA South: Santiago and Sao Paulo (9-5) tied, lead Lima by ½ game.
SA Caribbean: Port-au-Prince (9-5) by 1 game over San Juan and Santo Domingo

Stat Leaders

North American
AVG: Chung CGY .455
HR: Mason JAX 7
RBI: Mason JAX 19
SB: Cobb LV 12
W: 3 tied at 3
ERA: Grimshaw SA 0.47
K: Hadsell IND 33
SV: Banach JAX 5

South American
AVG: Crosby SJ .472
HR: Danforth LIM & Correa PAP 6
RBI: Correa PAP 19
SB: Baxter BOG & Linsley SD 6
W: 4 tied at 3
ERA: Lock GC 0.00
K: Lock GC 42
SV: Paez BOG 5

News & Notes

You can’t get off to a much better start than Dennis Lock of the Guatemala City Quakes. In 4 starts, the all-time strikeout leader has pitched 27 1/3 innings without allowing a single run. He given up 13 hits and 7 walks for a 0.73 WHIP and struck out an astounding 42 batters, 13.8 per 9 innings. You could say he is the early favorite for the Nolan Ryan Award.

There is a race to see who will be the first player in league history to reach 200 homers. Before the season Galen Dorey and Richard Mason had 181 and 180 respectively. Dorey has only hit 4 this season so far to Mason’s 7, leaving Mason 13 away from the mark. They will probably both eventually be looking up to William Correa who is 3rd at 180 but is only a few days away from turning 25.

So far the feel good story has been the Guadalajara Fightin’ Monks who finished 54-108 last season but have started this year 10-4. It’s doubtful they can keep the pace up considering the relative strength of San Antonio and Austin within the division but it’s possible they could finish 3rd ahead of Mexico City with New Orleans all but certain to bring up the rear. If they can continue to win the close games (5-0 in 1-run games so far) they could cause some problems down the line.

On the injury front, Rio de Janeiro lost their 2nd strting pitcher in as many weeks as their top starter Chris Claussen tore a tricep and will miss 5-6 weeks. Already in last place, their season is all but done.

[mauchow]

Originally Posted by timmyw3

Yeah, I'll be watching for them....at the bottom of the standings. HAHAHA.

j/k

Yeh, yeh.

[timmyw3]

Sim #3 – 4/21/04 – 4/27/04

Game 14 – 4/21/04 – vs. Calgary – Calgary 5 SLC 4
The Speed’s bullpen blew their 1st save of the season as the Nighthawks scored 3 runs in the top of the 9th off of David Guynn to rally for a 5-4 win in Salt Lake. Benjamin Leon’s single to left field scored pinch runner Ben Dieguez with the winning run. Joe McNabb’s strong start was wasted as the veteran righty pitched 7 innings, scattering 8 hits and allowing 2 earned runs. Earl Dement had 3 hits including his 3rd homer of the year for the Speed.
LP – Guynn (0-1) HR – Medina (4), Dement (3)

Game 15 – 4/22/04 – vs. Calgary – Calgary 5 SLC 2
The Nighthawks hit 3 home runs and Benito Sancho ran his record to 3-0 as Calgary made it 3 in a row against the Speed in a 5-2 victory. Rookie catcher Gerald Hinkley hit his 1st career HR in the 2nd off of losing pitcher Neil Heston to give Calgary an early lead that they would not relinquish. Heston did pitch 7 innings allowing just 5 hits but there was little offensive support. The Speed managed 10 hits off of 4 Calgary pitchers but they were all singles except for Robert Cowen’s 6th homer in the 8th inning.
LP – Heston (0-3) HR – Cowen (6)

Game 16 – 4/23/04 – vs. Calgary – Calgary 4 SLC 2
The Calgary Nighthawks completed the 4 game sweep of the Speed with a 4-2 win at Tribune Field. Winning pitcher Beremundo Bustos improved his record to 2-0 going 7 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits. Calgary scored 2 runs in both the 2nd and 3rd innings off of losing pitcher Alton Colligan to account for all of their runs. For SLC, Jose Magana led off the 1st inning with a solo homer, his 3rd of the season. Paul King hit his 1st of the year in the 5th inning.
LP – Colligan (2-1) HR – Magana (3), King (1)

Game 17 – 4/24/04 – vs. Portland – SLC 4 Portland 3 (11)
The Speed snapped their 4 game losing streak with a 4-3 win over Portland in 11 innings. Michael Prowell drove in Robert Cowen with a 1-out double in the bottom of the 11th with the winning run. David Guynn blew his 2nd save chance in a row as he inherited a 3-0 lead but allowed 3 runs in the top of the 9th. Starter Bryan Madison was brilliant, allowing just 3 hits in 7 scoreless innings. Andres Espino picked up the win in relief and backup catcher David Gates hit his 2nd homer of the season in the 5th.
WP – Espino (1-1) HR – Gates (2)

Game 18 – 4/25/04 – vs. Portland – SLC 3 Portland 2
Salt Lake City won on their last at-bat for the 2nd straight night as Earl Dement drove home Jose Magana with a 2-out single to give the Speed a 3-2 win. With 1-out Magana’s speed forced a wild throw by Meteor 3B Jose Desouza on a slow grounder. Magana then stole 2nd and reached 3rd on a throwing error by catcher Gustavo Barret. After a Joshua Travis strikeout and a Robert Cowen walk, Dement ripped a single to left for the game-winner. Kyle McCalla pitched 3 scoreless innings of relief to pick up his first career NA win.
WP – McCalla (1-0) HR – Prowell (3)

Game 19 – 4/26/04 – vs. Portland – SLC 7 Portland 6
The Speed completed the 3 game sweep of Portland, all by 1 run, with a 7-6 win on a rainy night at Tribune Field. The dreary weather did not effect the SLC bats as 5 of the team’s 10 hits were home runs, 4 off of losing pitcher Willard Moronta. Robert Cowen homered in his first 2 at bats and Paul King also went deep twice. Earl Dement hit his 4th of the year. Joe McNabb picked up the win despite pitching rather poorly and David Guynn overcame his recent troubles to pitch a perfect 9th inning.
WP – McNabb (2-1) SV – Guynn (2) HR – Cowen 2 (8), Dement (4), King 2 (3)


Player of Game Standings

1(tie). Prowell, Madison, Dement 2
4(tie). Cowen, Cardenas, King 1


News & Notes

If we are to be a playoff contender we will certainly have to play much better against the better teams of the league. Against last year’s playoff teams (Vegas, Calgary, and Jacksonville) were are 1-10 this year. Against everyone else we are 7-1.

Our pitching woes have continued as we are 27th in league in ERA at 4.93. While that ranking is slightly better than last season we expected to be at least a little bit improved in that area. Some of it may be due to the tough schedule we’ve had thus far. The month of May looks to be much easier schedule wise with dates against basement dwellers Vancouver, New Orleans, and Nashville scheduled so look for our numbers to improve over the next month.

Aside from Donald West, who has been demoted to mop-up duty, and David Guynn, who has had limited appearances, our bullpen has fared pretty well. Eric Mattie and Eddie Schuller have settled into their set-up roles fairly well and we are very pleased with the work of converted starters Kyle McCalla and Christopher Cunningham. Cunningham has only allowed 2 baserunners and no runs in his 3 appearances and McCalla has been solid aside from his first appearance of the year. Andres Espino has been a workhorse and is on pace to appear in 90+ games for the second straight season.

After a somewhat disappointing season by his standards last year, SS Robert Cowen is making an early push for MVP consideration. He’s currently tied with DC’s Harold Murphy and Vegas 1B Pierre Perez for homers with 8 and is 2nd behind Murphy in OPS. There is somewhat of a rivalry brewing to see who the best SS in the NA is between Cowen, Austin’s William Snodgrass, and Juan Zaragoza of New Orleans. Should be interesting to see who comes out on top this year.


NA West Standings

CGY 15-4
LVA 12-7 3.0GB
POR 10-10 5.5GB
SLC 8-11 7.0GB
CJC 8-13 8.0GB
VAN 5-14 10.0GB

Minor League Update

AAA Cheyenne – 9-10
2B prospect Abel Castellanos is amongst the leaders in many offensive categories, including AVG, OBP, SLG, HR, RBI, Runs, and 2B. For the year he is hitting .372 with 8 homers and 20 RBI. Our plan is to keep him in AAA for the year barring injury at the major league level. But should King, Cardenas, or God forbid Cowen were to miss significant time, Castellanos would be thrust into the starting lineup immediately.

AA Billings – 8-11
Closer Justin Allred looks to have rebounded from a disappointing 2003 where he failed at the AAA level and, after a demotion, pitched poorly at AA. Thus far he has yet to be scored upon in 6 games, racking up 5 saves in 5 chances and striking out 9 batters in 6 inning pitched. At 23, he may be poised to try the AAA level again.

A Provo – 2-17
The champagne was uncorked as the Single-A affiliate finally won a game. 1st Round draft pick Julio Gonzalez has picked it up of late and is now hitting .247 with 2 homers and 8 RBI. 3rd year pro Jason Denn leads the team with 11 RBI.

[timmyw3]

Around the WHBL – Sim #3

Players Of The Week

NA – Las Vegas 1B Pierre Perez – The 30-year-old has been a huge bargain for the Aliens after back-to-back mediocre seasons in Managua. Perez leads the NA with 8 homers and last week hit .619 with 5 HR and 13 RBI.

SA – Cali CF Roberto Rentas – The journeyman outfielder, who has played in 5 different organizations, has finally found a home with the Condors. After a slow start, Roberto turned it on last week and hit .471 with 3 homers and 7 RBI.

Division Leaders

NA East: Jacksonville (13-7) by 1.5 games over Indianapolis
NA Central: San Antonio (15-6), winners of 5 in a row and leading Guadalajara by 1.
NA West: Calgary (15-4), 3 games up on Las Vegas
SA North: Bogota (14-7) by 3 games over Guayaquil and Quito.
SA South: Buenos Aires (12-7) and Sao Paulo (13-8) are in a virtual tie.
SA Caribbean: San Juan regains 1st by a game and a half over Port-au-Prince.

Stat Leaders

North American
AVG: Murphy DC .423
HR: Cowen SLC, Murphy DC, Perez LV 8
RBI: Murphy DC 23
SB: Cobb LV 20 (on pace for 171)
W: Crawford POR 4
ERA: Marpons MEX 1.06
K: Pinochet DC 43
SV: Banach JAX 6

South American
AVG: Williams HAV .391
HR: Correa PAP 8
RBI: Correa PAP 25
SB: Baxter BOG 8
W: Acevedo BOG & Fabregas SP 4
ERA: Colclough PAP 0.82
K: Lock GC 49
SV: Paez BOG 7

News & Notes

We almost had our first no-hitter of the season as Las Vegas right hander Timothy Rogers pitched a one-hitter against the Vancouver, B.C. Mounties. One out away from his second no-hitter in as many seasons, Rogers gave up a 2-out single to Mountie OF Harry Mercado which broke up the no-no. Rogers then retired Harold Issa on a grounder to complete the one-hitter. Rogers struck out 13 and walked just 2 in running his record to 3-0. Expect the Mounties to be on the wrong end of a no-hitter or 2 this year. They are hitting a collective .213 in year 2 of a massive rebuilding project.

One of the top young pitchers in the league, San Juan 22 year old Roy Rita, also spun a one-hitter. Remarkably it was only his 4th major league start. In the 6-0 win over the Santo Domingo Dragons, Rita allowed only an Augustine Lingle single in the 4th inning. On the season, Roy is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA for the 1st place Senators.

The scoreless innings streak to start the season for Guatemala City ace Dennis Lock was stopped at 28 2/3 when he gave up a solo homer to Cali’s Tony Schott on April 24. The Condors would batter Lock for 5 runs in 5 1/3 innings in a 10-0 win. Still, Lock is 3-1 with a 1.38 ERA on the year and leads the SA in strikeouts yet again.

One of the top young players in the league has gotten off to a slow start and will be heading back down to the minors to get his game back in order. New Orleans 3B Peaches Malone, who was 19 when he was called up last year, hit an impressive .319 with 15 homers in his rookie year. It’s been a struggle this year though as Peaches has managed to hit just .217. Pelicans’ management thought it would be best if Peaches work the kinks out down at the Lake of the Ozarks AAA team. Expect him to be back soon though. Meanwhile New Orleans is in the midst of a 10-game losing streak.

[timmyw3]

Sim #4 – 4/28/04 – 5/5/04

Game 20 – 4/28/04 - @ Austin – SLC 6 Austin 3
The Speed won their 4th game in a row with a 6-3 victory over the Austin Armadillos at Nelson Memorial Field. David Gates provided the offense with a 2-run homer off of Michael Rigg in the 2nd inning. The following batter, Paul King, was hit by a pitch which sparked a brawl leading to the ejection of both Rigg and King. Earl Dement also hit a 2-run homer. Alton Colligan pitched 6 1/3 innings allowing 3 earned runs to improve his record to 3-1.
WP – Colligan (3-1) SV – Guynn (3) HR – Gates (3), Dement (5)

Game 21 – 4/29/04 - @ Austin – SLC 8 Austin 7
Salt Lake City made it 5 wins in a row with an 8-7 comeback win over Austin. Trailing 7-3, the Speed scored 3 runs in the 6th, 1 in the 7th, and 1 in the 8th to take the lead. A hustling Michael Prowell beat out a potential double play grounder which scored Robert Cowen with the game winning run. SLC’s bullpen pitched 4 scoreless innings with Eric Mattie picking up his first win and David Guynn pitching the 9th for his 4th save.
WP – Mattie (1-0) SV – Guynn (4)

Game 22 – 4/30/04 - @ Austin – SLC 5 Austin 0
The Speed completed the sweep of the Armadillos in a 5-0 blanking in Austin. Speed starter James Lamay, who had pitched horribly in his first several starts was excellent as he pitched 8 innings allowing 5 hits and 4 walks, striking out 2. He also added an RBI single in the 3-run 4th inning. Mark Pendleton added his 1st homer of the season, a pinch hit homer in the 9th.
WP – Lamay (1-3) HR – Pendleton (1)

Game 23 – 5/1/05 - @DC – SLC 15 DC 9
The wind was blowing out at Armed Forces Field and that produced a game that featured 24 runs, 35 hits, 10 homers, and almost 5 hours of game time. 7 of those homers were hit by the Speed, which is a team record, by the end of the 6th inning. Both David Cardenas and Paul King had a pair of dingers with Arch Stanton, Eloy Medina, and Earl Dement providing single blasts of their own. Jose Magana had 4 hits, none of which were homers, and ran his hit streak to 9 games. Andres Espino picked up the win in relief of starter Joe McNabb.
WP – Espino (2-1) HR – Stanton (3), Dement (6), Cardenas 2 (5), Medina (5), King 2 (5)

Game 24 – 5/2/05 - @DC – DC 8 SLC 7 (11)
The Speed saw their modest 7 game win streak come to an end with an 8-7 loss to the Shadow in 11 innings. Howard Shunsho drove home Rene Castro with a game winning single to left off of losing pitcher Christopher Cunningham. SLC went through 8 pitchers as starter Neil Heston left after the first batter of the second inning with a shoulder injury. Robert Cowen hit his league leading 9th homer in the 1st inning and Jose Magana hit his 4th homer of the year, a 3-run shot, in the 6th.
LP – Cunningham (0-1) HR – Cowen (9), Magana (4)

Game 25 – 5/3/04 - @ DC – SLC 10 DC 5
The Speed got back on the winning track with the “B” lineup in a 10-5 win over the Shadow to take 2 out of 3 from our East Division rival. Even with big guns Robert Cowen and Michael Prowell sitting this one out we managed 12 hits including 4 more homers to give us 13 in the 3-game series. Eloy Medina had a 3-run shot and Arch Stanton provided the crushing blow with a 441-foot bomb to dead center, chasing Shadow starter Augusto Pinochet from the game in the 5th. Alton Colligan didn’t have his best stuff (yet again) but was good enough to improve his record to 4-1.
WP – Colligan (4-1) HR – Pendleton (2), Stanton (4), Cardenas (6), Medina (6)

Game 26 – 5/4/04 – vs. Birmingham – SLC 6 Birmingham 3
Bryan Madison continued to pitch well early in the season and was the beneficiary of a pair of Speed homers as SLC stung the Bees 6-3 at Tribune Field. Madison improved to 2-0, pitching 6 innings, allowing just 1 earned run while striking out 7 and lowering his ERA to 2.43. Robert Cowen hit his 10th round tripper of the season and David Cardenas blasted his 7th, both coming off of losing pitcher Richard Ewing.
WP – Madison (2-0) HR – Cowen (10), Cardenas (7)

Game 27 – 5/5/04 – vs. Birmingham – Birmingham 6 SLC 2
The Bees laced 17 hits and got a solid pitching performance from Leonard Priester to shut down the Speed offensive attack and win 6-2 in Salt Lake City. Birmingham scored 2 runs in each of the first 2 innings to give them a working lead. Losing pitcher James Lamay regressed from his last start and allowed 5 runs and 10 hits in 5+ innings of work. SLC scored their only 2 runs in the 4th, one on a solo homer by Arch Stanton and the other on a sacrifice fly by Michael Prowell.
LP – Lamay (1-4) HR – Stanton (5)


Player of Game Standings

1. Bryan Madison 3
2(tie). Prowell, Dement, King 2
5(tie). 6 tied at 1


News & Notes

Our recent offensive surge has us in the WHBL lead for team home runs at 53, an average of almost 2 per game. The 13 homers in the DC series is only 3 less than what Rio has for the entire season. Not surprisingly we lead the league in slugging percentage as well but we are also 3rd in both steals (33) and walks (105). If we can continue at this pace it should overshadow some of the pitching troubles we’ve had going back to last season.

After struggling over the first 2 weeks, rookie leadoff hitter Jose Magana has been on fire, raising his average from around the Mendoza line to .294. He has also shown a little bit of pop with 4 homers and has stolen 10 bases thus far. His big asset is his defense where he has proven to be of Gold Glove caliber to this point.

2B David Cardenas has been exactly what we expected. Good power numbers with zero plate discipline. He leads the team with 21 RBI and should put up 30+ home runs this season. But he’s only drawn 4 walks and has an OBP of .269, right around last year’s mark.

It’s only a matter of time before either Kyle McCalla or Christopher Cunningham enters the rotation. James Lamay would be the most likely candidate for demotion based on his performance but he pitched very well for us last year and he’s only 27 so you would think he would improve. The odd man out very well could be Neil Heston. His shoulder injury was not serious as he is day-to-day but it may give us an opportunity to have either Kyle or Chris take his turn in the rotation to see what they can give us.

NA West Standings

CGY 19-7
LVA 17-9 2.0
SLC 14-13 5.5
POR 13-14 6.5
CJC 12-16 8.0
VAN 10-17 9.5


Minor League Update

AAA Cheyenne – 11-16
Top prospect William Blake has struggled to adapt to the AAA level. Still only 20, he has had control problems, walking 18 in 32 innings. He’s 1-2 with a 5.63 ERA. It may be time to send him back down to AA Billings to further refine his game. The last thing we want to do is rush him.

AA Billings – 11-16
Lefty reliever Robert Roles has had a good start to the year. Acquired from DC to us back in 2002 for backup catcher James Heier, Roles has always had the talent but it never transferred to success on the field. Now 25, Roles may have found his stride. So far he’s pitched 18 1/3 innings in middle relief with a 2.45 ERA and 13 strikeouts.

A Provo – 8-19
Don’t look now but Provo has won 6 of their last 8 to move out of the basement in the standings. Undrafted 1st year players Leonard Vogt and Martin Fulmer have been the offensive stars of late and draft pick Tommy Alford has settled down to stabilize the rotation a bit.

[timmyw3]

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.

[timmyw3]

Sim #5 – 5/6/04 – 5/12/04

Game 28 – 5/6/04 – vs. Birmingham – Birmingham 5 SLC 3
The visiting Bees scored 4 runs in the top of the 9th off of Speed closer David Guynn to rally for a 5-3 win. Jesus Espinel drove home Casimiro Rovira with a 2-out single with the winning run. The blown save overshadowed a strong starting performance from Joe McNabb who pitched 7 innings and allowed 4 hits and 1 earned run. Paul King had 3 hits for the Speed and Mark Pendleton and Michael Prowell each hit solo homers.
LP – Guynn (0-2) HR – Pendleton (3), Prowell (4)

Game 29 – 5/7/04 – vs. Birmingham – SLC 5 Birmingham 4
Michael Prowell drove home David Gates with a bases loaded single in the bottom of the 9th to give the Speed a 5-4 win over the Bees to salvage the final game of the 3-game series. With the game tied at 4, Joshua Travis led off the 9th with a single then Bee reliever Bill Burson walked Robert Cowen. After a wild pitch moved the runners up a base, Earl Dement was put on intentionally. With Gates pinch running, Prowell laced a single to right for the game winner. Donald West picked up the win in relief.
WP – West (1-1) HR – Dement (7)

Game 30 – 5/8/04 – vs. San Antonio – San Antonio 8 SLC 5
The Cocks’ Marvin Bernardo hit a 3-run homer in the first inning off of Bryan Madison to help lead San Antonio to a series-opening win over the Speed. The Cocks would add 3 more homers on the night amongst their 13 hits, 2 by 2B T.R. Bean. Valentin Grimshaw picked up his 4th win of the year, allowing 2 earned runs in 8 innings. Mark Pendleton was 3 for 4 with a homer for the Speed.
LP – Madison (2-1) HR – Pendleton (4), Gates (4)

Game 31 – 5/9/04 – vs. San Antonio – San Antonio 7 SLC 2
Gaston Thompson pitched a complete game and the Cocks battered SLC starter James Lamay for 6 runs and 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings as San Antonio took game 2 of the series 7-2 in Salt Lake. Aquila Poderoso and Matthew Fouts each hit homers off of Lamay who now sports an ugly 1-5 record and 7.22 ERA. Michael Prowell drove in both Speed runs with a pair of RBI singles.
LP – Lamay (1-5)

Game 32 – 5/10/05 – vs. San Antonio – SLC 7 San Antonio 6
The Speed salvaged the third game of the series with a 7-6 win over the Cocks. Soon-to-be former closer David Guynn gave up 3 runs in the top of the 9th to allow San Anotnio to tie the game at 6. However, Robert Cowen drove home Jose Magana with a 1-out RBI double down the right field line to give the Speed the victory. Kyle McCalla made his first start of the year and pitched very well, allowing just 1 run in 5 innings against a potent Cock offense, striking out 6 along the way.
WP – Cunningham (1-1) HR – Pendleton (5)

Game 33 – 5/11/05 – vs. Vancouver – Vancouver 7 SLC 1
John Hicks silenced the SLC bats, shutting them out over 7 innings as the Mounties cruised to a 7-1 win in the series opener at Tribune Field. Vancouver hit 3 homers off of losing pitcher Joe McNabb which included a 2-run homer from rookie 1B Harold Issa in a 3-run 1st inning. The Speed avoided the shutout when SLC’s rookie Jose Magana hit a solo homer off of Vancouver reliever Leonard Vercher with 2 outs in the 8th.
LP – McNabb (2-2) HR – Magana (5)

Game 34 – 5/12/05 – vs. Vancouver – SLC 7 Vancouver 0
Alton Colligan pitched the first complete game shutout by a Speed starter this season as Salt Lake posted an easy 7-0 win over the Mounties. Colligan allowed 3 harmless singles and walked 2 batters while striking out 5 in pitching his 7th career shutout. One of the hits and the 2 walks occurred in the 9th inning but Colligan got Clark Buitron to ground out to first to preserve the whitewashing. Arch Stanton, Earl Dement, and Joshua Travis each had a homer and 2 RBI to provide the offense.
WP – Colligan (5-1) HR – Stanton (6), Dement (8 ), Travis (2)


Player of Game Standings

1(tie). Dement & Madison 3
3(tie). King & Prowell 2
5(tie). 8 tied with 1


News & Notes

For the 2nd year in a row, the closer role has been a complete disaster. Last year it was Eric Mattie who generally poured fuel on the fire in blowing 11 saves. This season David Guynn has been downright awful in that role, going 4 of 9 in save opportunites while pitching to a 12.27 ERA. He will be moved into middle relief.

I’m hesitant to move Mattie back into that role considering he’s been pretty good in his normal set-up role this year. For now we are going to move Neil Heston into the closer’s role. Heston began the season in the rotation and has been a starter for his whole career. This season he’s got a 5.66 ERA but a low 1.11 WHIP so we’re hoping he can adapt. If he fails then we may have no chance but to put Mattie back in that role. Kyle McCalla has taken Heston’s spot in the rotation.

The 1B situation has been decided with Joshua Travis playing against righties and Eloy Medina playing against lefties. Both are left handed hitters but Medina has proven to hit lefties well so far while Travis has not, at least over the past 2 seasons. Overall, Medina has struggled, hitting .208 but with 6 homers in 97 plate appearances. Meanwhile, Travis is hitting .328, .341 against right handed pitching.

The Speed made their first roster move of the year, designating OF George Swatzell for assignment and recalling switch hitting OF Demetrio Sarvis from AAA Cheyenne. Swatzell, while a good defensive outfielder and pinch runner, is lacking in ability at the plate. With Jose Magana playing well and Earl Dement and Michael Prowell as virtual fixtures in the lineup we felt we needed a better hitter for pinch hitting reasons. Sarvis was a Rule V pick of Lima in 2001 and played OK for a Rule V pick, hitting .243 with 4 homers and 25 RBI. He spent some time in the bigs in 2002 but was sent back to the minors and didn’t fare real well at either level. He turned it around a bit last season at AAA and hit 24 homers. This season he was hitting .333 with 8 homers and 18 RBI. He’s an above average fielder and baserunner so we don’t lose much there. Of course this past week he was 1 for 12 at the dish.

NA West Standings

CGY 22-11
LVA 20-13 2.0gb
SLC 17-17 5.5gb
POR 15-19 7.5gb
CJC 15-20 8.0gb
VAN 13-20 9.0gb


Minor League Update

AAA Cheyenne – 14-20
Career minor leaguer Ernesto Marquez has proven to be the most effective pitcher at Cheyenne in this his 5th season at the AAA level. He’s 3-2 with a 2.58 ERA in 7 starts but at 31, he’s not much of a prospect. Still, if we need to dip into the minor league pool for another pitcher, he may be the guy to get the call.

AA Billings – 14-20
The organization’s top prospect, 20 year old LHP William Blake, fared well in his first start after being demoted from AAA where he clearly wasn’t ready. Blake picked up the win, going 6 2/3 innings, allowing 1 run on 7 hits while striking out 8. We may keep him at the AA level for the rest of the season to build his confidence.

A Provo – 11-23
While the offense has been anemic, the pitchers (especially the starters) have done a very good job in Provo. 2nd Round pick Tommy Alford got off to a rough start but has righted the ship and now sports a 4-3 record with a 3.26 ERA and 33 Ks in 47 IP.

[timmyw3]

Around the WHBL – Sim #5

Players Of The Week

NA – Ciudad Juarez 1B Francis Davidson – Nicknamed “The Shark”, Davidson has always put up big numbers but that statement comes with the ugly disclaimer of “when healthy” as he suffered early season ending injuries in 2001 and 2003. Healthy so far this season, Davidson was 13 for 22 with a homer and 9 RBI last week.

SA – Guatemala City 2B Tito Guerrera – An underappreciated player, Guerrera has beena constant in the Quakes lineup from Day 1. Tito made his first All-Star team last season and is off to a hot start this year, hitting .377. Last week he hit .478 with 3 homers and 10 driven in.


Division Leaders

NA East: Jacksonville leads by 2 games over Indy who is miraculously hanging around
NA Central: San Antonio is distancing themselves and leads the Monks by 4.5 games
NA West: Calgary is up by 2 games on Vegas
SA North: Bogota has the best record in the SA and leads Guayaquil by 2.
SA South: Sao Paulo is up 2 on Buenos Aires with Lima and Santiago lurking.
SA Caribbean: San Juan leads Port-au-Prince by 1 game.


Stat Leaders

North American
AVG: Viveiros JAX .429
HR: Arnold LV 11
RBI: Arnold LV & Murphy DC 37
SB: Cobb LV 31
W: 5 tied at 5
ERA: Saylors MEX 1.97
K: Hadsell IND 65
SV: Banach JAX 9

South American
AVG: Williams HAV .393
HR: Correa PAP 13
RBI: Correa PAP 40
SB: Baxter BOG 15
W: Acevedo BOG 6
ERA: Maser SP 1.03
K: Maser SP 66
SV: Paez BOG 10


News & Notes

The Austin Armadillos suffered a huge blow when starting CF Gary Dominguez tore a rib cage muscle diving for a ball and as a result will miss the remainder of the season. Dominguez represented Austin’s only real addition as he signed a 3-year deal worth $5 million per. For 3 seasons, Gary was mostly a part timer and racked up a mammoth .195 batting average. Last year he broke out with Ciudad Juarez and later was traded to Buenos Aires and he hit .300 with 34 homers and 117 RBI. This season he was struggling, hitting just .220.

It’s been a rough year down in Austin. They won 94 games last season but still missed out on the playoffs. Forced to cut payroll by about $15 million, they have stumbled to a 17-18 record and with San Antonio a virtual lock to win the division it will be interesting to see what direction the Armadillos head in, especially considering their barren farm system.

Things are looking up in Sao Paulo as the Anacondas look to be the strength of the SA South. The pitching has been the story as their 2.89 ERA is tops in the WHBL. Chester Maser has been downright filthy on the mound with his 1.03 ERA and 66 Ks in 52.1 IP. Last year was a breakout season for Chester when he was 16-5 with a 1.82 ERA but he looks even better this year. The bullpen has been lights out for the most part and # 2 and 3 starters Michael Cespedes and Joel Fabregas have pitched very well.

If I had to put my money on the top young hitter in the league it would be Jacksonville OF Julian Viveiros. Just 23 years old, Julian has 392 major league at bats and has an average of .372. This year he’s hitting a cool .429 and I would not be surprised to see him hit .400 one day, maybe even this season.