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Old 03-24-2010, 01:52 AM   #1
bbgunn
College Benchwarmer
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
The Zoom Taylor Dynasty (OOTP)

O.K., let’s try this OOTP dynasty thing again. Hopefully the computer won’t ruin it again. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

I’m changing my character’s name from Demetrius Taylor to “Zoom” Taylor. Maybe that’ll give me the karma I need to keep this dynasty going. The backstory is exactly the same as before, with only some minor changes (name change, different team giving him an opportunity to manage in the minors). If you followed my Demetrius Taylor dynasty, feel free to skim through until the beginning of the season.

The dynasty will go like before: game-by-game or series-by-series recaps, plus other tidbits from time-to-time focusing on Taylor’s personal life and experiences. I will use OOTP 8 to simulate games. I may include some emails, letters, and news clippings as well if the situation allows.
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Last edited by bbgunn : 03-24-2010 at 01:54 AM.
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Old 03-24-2010, 01:56 AM   #2
bbgunn
College Benchwarmer
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
March 29, 2007 – Mesa, Arizona

Well, here I am, beginning a diary. I never thought I’d write one of these things, but the occasion calls for it, I guess. This is the day that I begin my journey as a professional baseball manager. It’s funny; I’m now 35 years old, and I thought by this point in my life I’d be wrapping up my major league career. Oh well, you never know what curveballs life will throw you.

So how did I get here? Well, let me briefly recap. My full name is Henry Mays Taylor. As you can probably guess, I’m named after two famous baseball players, Henry Aaron and Willie Mays. Both are from Alabama, where my father is originally from. However, everybody calls me Zoom, my nickname from high school. My buddies called me Zoom because they claim that when I played shortstop and I threw the ball to first base, it made a “zoom” sound. I don’t buy that, but I like the nickname.

I’m from Inglewood, California, in the L.A. area. I always wanted to play sports, and I did just that at Inglewood High School. I was the starting point guard on the basketball team, and the starting shortstop on the baseball team. I ended up going to San Jose State University on a baseball scholarship. I was offered a baseball scholarship by UCLA, too, but they wouldn’t give me the chance to play basketball also, while the Spartans let me walk-on. I know… a foolish choice. I ended up stinking up the joint in basketball, and by my sophomore year I was only playing baseball as a second baseman.

Luckily, I was a late-round draft pick by the Dodgers in 1994. I grew up watching the Dodgers, so you can imagine how happy I was to be drafted by them. I had a slow climb up the minors, mainly because even though I was pretty good with the leather, I couldn’t hit curveballs. I improved, though, and I made it all the way up to AAA in Albuquerque in 1997. But in May that year, I tore some tendons in my shoulder diving for a ball, and just like that, my playing career was over. That really messed me up.

I went back to L.A., where my family helped get me back on the right track. I got an education degree at SJSU, and I put that to use by coaching baseball at local schools. I married my girlfriend LaVonne that same year, and we now have three kids: 8-year-old Omar, 6-year-old Toni, and 4-year-old Darnell.

In 2002 I was offered the opportunity to be the head coach of my alma mater Inglewood High School’s baseball team. I don’t need to tell you what choice I made. For four seasons, I coached Inglewood, and it was the most rewarding time of my life. We regularly made the state playoffs, something we never did when I was a student there. We did that despite financial problems with the school and the fact that students cared more about basketball there.

I felt good about our chances this year, but the rug was pulled from under us when the school board announced it was cutting the baseball program because of financial reasons – right before the season was to begin. That messed me up big time. But a friend of mine stepped in and helped me out.

Russell Walker was a teammate of mine at Inglewood High School. A first baseman, he wound up spending a lot of time in the Angels’ minor league system before retiring in 2000. He became a hitting coach with the Angels’ California League team, Rancho Cucamonga, but he decided to leave in search of better avenues after last season.

The two of us hung out in February, with me still in a funk about what had happened at Inglewood. Russ said, “Zoom, you know you got what it takes to be a coach or even a manager in the pros. I saw how intense you were at Inglewood. You belong in the pros.”

“Yeah, right. Besides, I haven’t been in contact with anybody since I left the Dodgers.”

“What are you talking about, man? What am I, chop liver? Listen, I’ll call up some of my connections in the majors and see what I can come up with for you.”

“You serious?”

“Dead right, I am. Give me a couple of days.”

A few days later, I got a call from GM Jim Hendry of the Chicago Cubs! He invited me to Mesa, Arizona to do some paid work as a fielding instructor. It would be sort of a trial period while the Cubs got to know me. I thought I would take the chance, so I took leave from my P.E. teaching job and went down to Arizona. Since then I’ve been helping the rookies and young guys improve their fielding.

I must be doing a good job as an instructor, because today Mr. Hendry called me to his office and made me a job offer. “Taylor, I would like for you to manage our entry in the Arizona Rookie League this year. I think you’ve earned it.” I took the job on the spot. Thus began my pro managerial career.

That’s it for the first entry of this diary. Hopefully this diary will be filled with lots of good memories over the next few years.
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Old 03-24-2010, 10:07 PM   #3
bbgunn
College Benchwarmer
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
April 15, 2007

I moved into my empty cinder block office today. I wondered if I would have to do a press conference or something like that upon my being hired as the new manager of the Arizona League Cubs. But there was nothing. I was told where my office was, introduced to the staff, and that was basically it. No fanfare. That let me know how low I was in the professional ranks.

My two coaches and my scout seem to be good people, though. They’re young like me; that helps make things easier as I find my way.

The Cubs were nice enough to let me spend a few weeks back in L.A. with my family before beginning the Arizona League season. So I’ll be here in Mesa until May, then go back to L.A., then return to Arizona shortly before June.
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Old 03-24-2010, 10:09 PM   #4
bbgunn
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
June 22, 2007
OPENING DAY ROSTER


Finally, the day I’ve been waiting for is here. My staff and I have been evaluating and re-evaluating our players, and this is what we have come up with.

Starting Rotation
1. Jason Thomas – 20 yo (years old). 17th round draft pick this year. Very loyal player.
2. Juan Garcia – 19 yo. 15th round draft pick this year. Somehow injured himself before playing a game (his diagnosis is listed as “undisclosed”. How can his injury be “undisclosed” to his own manager?!?). Out 1-2 weeks.
3. Shuji Nagata – Japanese 21 yo. 13th round draft pick.
4. Donald Walters – 20 yo. 2006 AZL Cubs stats (as a reliever): 1-0, 1 SV, 5.26 ERA, 25 K. Natural-born leader.
5. Taylor Parker – 22 yo. 2006 AZL Cubs stats: 2-2, 2.35 ERA, 39 K. Popular here in Mesa.

Other Possible Starters
Brad Clipp – 22 yo from San Diego. 2006 Boise (S A) stats (as a reliever): 2-0, 1 SV, 3.23 ERA, 24 K.
Greibal Cuevas-Novas – Dominican 23 yo. 2006 AZL Cubs stats (as a reliever): 0-0, 0 SV, 3.18 ERA, 20 K.
Kevin Kreier – 19 yo. Undrafted rookie from Las Vegas.
Jeremy Papelbon – 23 yo. 2006 Boise (S A) stats (as a reliever): 4-0, 3 SV, 1.83 ERA, 50 K.
Chuckie Platt – 24 yo. 2006 AZL Cubs stats (as a reliever): 1-0, 1 SV, 1.65 ERA, 11 K.
Jake Renshaw – 21 yo. 2006 AZL Cubs stats: 0-1, 5.57 ERA, 17 K.

Closer
Flynn Campbell – 19 yo. 30th round draft pick. Hard worker.

Setup
Pete Ekdar – Canadian 20 yo. 23rd round draft pick.
Tristan McBride – Canadian 21 yo from Montreal. 27th round draft pick.

Other Bullpen
Hamilton Banks – 22 yo. 29th round draft pick.
Michael Goode – 21 yo. 21st round draft pick.
Gary Jackson – 20 yo from San Diego. 28th round draft pick.
Kitt Kopach – 22 yo. 2006 Boise (S A) stats (as a reliever and starter): 2-2, 0 SV, 4.28 ERA, 7 K.
Andrew McCormick – 22 yo. 2006 AZL Cubs stats: 1-3, 1 SV, 6.38 ERA, 12 K.
Billy Muldowney – 22 yo undrafted rookie. Currently has the flu and will be out one week.
Rob Snow – 21 yo. 25th round draft pick.

Batting Lineup
1. SS Nathan Samson – 19 yo. 2006 AZL Cubs stats: .211, 0 HR, 8 RBI. Our best base runner and stealer by far, but can’t hit a lick right now. I’m taking a risk putting him here.
2. DH Ed Kerr – 21 yo catcher. 24th round draft pick. Against left-handers, Chris McLauglin (see Bench section below) will fill in as DH.
3. C Daniel Poulin – Canadian 20 yo. 8th round draft pick. There are some high expectations for this kid. Very intelligent, but no leadership skills.
4. LF Victor Liriano – 23 yo. This year, jumped around between Boise (S A), Peoria (A) and Daytona (A) before being sent back to Mesa. Obviously he is unhappy. Has some pop at the Arizona Rookie League level.
5. 1B Pedro Acosta – Costa Rican 19 yo. 6th round draft pick.
6. RF Yusuf Carter – 22 yo from Brooklyn, NY. With Daytona (A) this year, hit .256, 1 HR, and 24 RBI. Then the Cubs sent him down to Boise, then here. He is livid, mainly with himself. Gonna have to keep an eye on this kid.
7. 2B Brandon Taylor – 24 yo. 2006 Peoria (A) stats: .213, 3 HR, 18 RBI. Popular here in Mesa.
8. 3B Javier Rodriguez – 20 yo. 10th round draft pick.
9. CF Drew Rundle – 19 yo. Like Liriano above, jumped around between Boise, Peoria, and Daytona so far this year. Brutal batting ability (average potential, though), but we need his outfield defense.

Bench
1B Javier Martinez – Cuban 18 yo. 9th round draft pick.
1B Chris McLaughlin – 21 yo. 12th round draft pick.
1B Toru Sakurai – Japanese 19 yo. 18th round draft pick.
1B Gerald Ladd – 18 yo from Hesperia, CA. 16th round draft pick.
1B Andy Silver – 22 yo from Phoenix. 3rd round draft pick. (In my opinion, shouldn’t have been drafted in the 3rd round, but I’m just a rookie league manager.)
2B Matt Camp – 23 yo. 2006 Boise (S A) stats: .289, 1 HR, 37 RBI.
LF Ken Lang – 20 yo kid from Los Angeles! I remember managing against him when I was at Inglewood High School. An undrafted rookie who was given an opportunity by the Cubs. I’m pulling for Ken, but he will get no favors here. He’s on the bench for now until he improves his skills.
CF Richard D. Oleo – 21 yo. Released by the Baltimore Orioles last week and signed with the Cubs.
RF Lisandro Rosario – 20 yo. 2006 AZL Cubs stats: .314, 0 HR, 11 RBI.

My Overall Thoughts on the Roster
This team is devoid of any good defensive infielders. The outfield defense is above-average at best. Being a defense-first manager, that’s a big problem. Our pitchers are average (starters) to bad (bullpen). Offensively, we have some power, but we lack in contact and eye. This is going to be a long season. The Cubs must realize that as well, because they told me my goal should be to play .500 ball.
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Old 03-24-2010, 10:23 PM   #5
bbgunn
College Benchwarmer
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
June 22, 2007
AZL Cubs (0-0) at AZL Angels (0-0)


We went west to Tempe for our first game of the season against the Angels. Some info about the Arizona League: there are nine teams (Angels, Athletics, Brewers, Cubs, Giants, Mariners, Padres, Rangers, and Royals). Because of that, we don’t play multi-game series. We play one game against one team, then we play against another team the next day. All the teams are in one division, with the pennant winner and a wild-card battling it out for the Arizona League championship at the end of the season.

Final: Angels 8, Cubs 3
L: Jeremy Papelbon (0-1)

The game was decided by a horrible 7-run 6th inning by the Angels. We just couldn’t stop them. Our starter, Jason Thomas, was injured after just one inning and we had to take him out. Turns out his injury, a tender elbow, was not that serious, and he should be fully recovered in 1-2 weeks.

Next up, our first home game, against the Athletics.
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Old 03-24-2010, 10:23 PM   #6
bbgunn
College Benchwarmer
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
June 23, 2007
AZL Athletics (0-1) at AZL Cubs (0-1)


After spending spring training at beautiful HoHoKam Park in Mesa, I was stunned to find out that we would be playing our Arizona League games a few blocks down the street at a field at Fitch Park, which doesn’t look so nice in comparison. The field itself is nice, but there are hardly any stands or amenities. Today I see literally eight people watching, other than Cubs staff. I got several times that at some of our Inglewood High School games last year. Oh well, just another roadblock to overcome. If we are successful, the boys and I will soon be playing in some more impressive digs and in front of more impressive crowds.

Before the game, GM Jim Hendry sent me an email. Transaction time!

TRANSACTIONS

OUT (both released):
MR Billy Muldowney
MR Kitt Kopach

Kind of mean to release Muldowney while he has the flu. Other than that, no biggie here. Two of my worst relievers. On to the game.

Final: Cubs 3, Athletics 1
W: Shuji Nagata (1-0)
SV: Flynn Campbell (1)

Yay! My first win as a pro manager. We scored all our runs in the 2nd inning. The Athletics tried to come back in the 9th inning, but Flynn Campbell did a good job with the save. Nagata was named Player of the Game (7.2 IP, 8 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K).
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Old 03-25-2010, 12:49 AM   #7
bbgunn
College Benchwarmer
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
June 24, 2007
AZL Cubs (1-1) at AZL Giants (1-1)


We travel a few miles northwest to Scottsdale to take on the Giants.

Final: Giants 2, Cubs 1 (10 inn.)
L: Tristan McBryde (0-1) (sorry, spelled his name wrong earlier in the thread)

A defensive matchup. Both teams scored a run during the first two innings, and soon it became clear that the team that scored the next run would win the game. Too bad that team was the Giants in extra innings. I can’t be mad at my team for the way they played defensively; they did a very good job in the field. At the plate, though, is a different story.
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Old 03-25-2010, 12:50 AM   #8
bbgunn
College Benchwarmer
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
June 25, 2007
AZL Padres (1-1) at AZL Cubs (1-2)


Final: Padres 3, Cubs 0
L: Chuckie Platt (0-1)

We just couldn’t get our bats to do anything in this one. The Padres’ defense was solid.

Next up, a much-needed day off.
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Old 03-25-2010, 12:51 AM   #9
bbgunn
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
June 26, 2007
Off day


Today I caught up via email with my buddy Russell Walker, the one who helped me get the AZL Cubs’ job. He got his first job as a pro manager as well! He’s managing the Greenville Drive, the Boston Red Sox’s Single A team in the South Atlantic League. He took over the team back in May. He’s gone 19-20 since then – not bad at all! The Drive are 35-40 overall.
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Old 03-25-2010, 08:40 PM   #10
bbgunn
College Benchwarmer
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
I don’t know about you, but after having the last dynasty ruined, I’m anxious to get past the Rookie League level. Starting now, I’ll sim through a chunk of the season, and I’ll post weekly updates.

SCORES
Jun 27 – Cubs 6, Mariners 2
Jun 28 – Angels 14, Cubs 7
Jun 29 – Athletics 4, Cubs 3
Jun 30 – Cubs 4, Royals 3

ARIZONA LEAGUE STANDINGS
  1. Giants – 6-2
  2. Royals – 5-3
  3. Angels – 5-3
  4. Brewers – 4-4
  5. Athletics – 4-4
  6. Padres – 4-4
  7. Rangers – 4-4
  8. Cubs – 3-5
  9. Mariners – 1-7

LEADERS
AVG
DH Javier Rodriguez - .370
C Daniel Poulin - .355
CF Drew Rundle - .259

HR
LF Pedro Acosta – 1
C Ed Kerr – 1
1B Andy Silver – 1

RBI
Rodriguez – 5
Acosta – 3
Poulin – 3
Rundle - 3

ERA
Jeremy Papelbon – 4.15
Jake Renshaw – 4.32

WINS
MR Gary Jackson – 1
SP Shuji Nagata – 1
SP Papelbon – 1

K
MR Tristan McBryde – 4
Nagata – 4
Renshaw - 4

TRANSACTIONS
none
__________________
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Old 03-25-2010, 08:41 PM   #11
bbgunn
College Benchwarmer
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
July – Week 1
SCORES

Jul 2 – Cubs 10, Rangers 4
Jul 3 – Giants 11, Cubs 1
Jul 4 – Cubs 4, Padres 3
Jul 5 – Cubs 9, Royals 4
Jul 6 – off day
Jul 7 – Cubs 4, Brewers 3
Jul 8 – Rangers 9, Cubs 4

ARIZONA LEAGUE STANDINGS
  1. Angels – 10-4 (-)
  2. Royals – 8-5 (1.5 GB)
  3. Athletics – 8-6 (2 GB)
  4. Giants – 8-6 (2 GB)
  5. Cubs – 7-7 (3 GB)
  6. Rangers – 7-7 (3 GB)
  7. Brewers – 6-8 (4 GB)
  8. Padres – 5-8 (4.5 GB)
  9. Mariners – 3-11 (7 GB)

LEADERS
AVG
C Daniel Poulin - .390
DH Javier Rodriguez - .278
CF Drew Rundle - .255

HR
LF Pedro Acosta – 1
C Ed Kerr – 1
1B Andy Silver – 1
SS Brandon Taylor - 1

RBI
RF Richard D. Oleo – 8
Rodriguez – 7
1B Javier Martinez - 6
Taylor - 6

ERA
SP Shuji Nagata – 1.76
SP Greibal Cuevas-Novas – 4.40
SP Jeremy Papelbon – 5.57

WINS
MR Gary Jackson – 2
Nagata – 2

K
Nagata – 6
MR Tristan McBryde – 5
Renshaw - 4

TRANSACTIONS
none
__________________
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Old 03-25-2010, 08:43 PM   #12
bbgunn
College Benchwarmer
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
July – Week 2
Another winning week, and we are now two games above .500. We’re doing a good job of keeping the goal management set for us at the beginning of the season.

SCORES
Jul 9 – @Cubs 3, Mariners 2 (12 inn)
Jul 10 – Cubs 6, @Brewers 4
Jul 11 – off day
Jul 12 – @Angels 3, Cubs 2 (13 inn)
Jul 13 – Athletics 11, @Cubs 1
Jul 14 – Cubs 6, @Giants 5
Jul 15 – @Cubs 4, Padres 1

ARIZONA LEAGUE STANDINGS
  1. Angels – 14-5 (-)
  2. Giants – 12-7 (2 GB)
  3. Cubs – 11-9 (3.5 GB)
  4. Royals – 10-9 (4 GB)
  5. Athletics – 10-9 (4 GB)
  6. Brewers – 9-10 (5 GB)
  7. Padres – 8-11 (6 GB)
  8. Rangers – 8-12 (6.5 GB)
  9. Mariners – 5-15 (9.5 GB)

LEADERS
AVG
(If you are wondering what happened to C Daniel Poulin… I don’t know. He hasn’t been promoted or demoted, he’s played in all but three of the Cubs’ games and has a batting average of .360, but he doesn’t show up on the Team Leaders list for some reason. )
CF Drew Rundle - .260
DH Javier Rodriguez - .256
RF Richard D. Oleo - .254

HR
1B Andy Silver – 2
LF Pedro Acosta – 1
C Ed Kerr – 1
SS Brandon Taylor - 1

RBI
RF Richard D. Oleo – 12
DH Javier Rodriguez – 10
SS Brandon Taylor - 7

ERA
SP Shuji Nagata – 1.71
SP Jeremy Papelbon – 5.57

WINS
MR Gary Jackson – 3
SP Juan Garcia - 2
SP Shuji Nagata – 2

K
SP Juan Garcia – 12
SP Jason Thomas - 9
SP Shuji Nagata – 6

SAVES
CL Hamilton Banks - 6

TRANSACTIONS
none
__________________
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Old 03-25-2010, 09:10 PM   #13
bbgunn
College Benchwarmer
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
July – Week 3
A bad week all around, punctuated by a 14-0 drilling by the Rangers on Sunday. Well, so much for that over-.500 record.

SCORES
Jul 16 – off day
Jul 17 – @Mariners 8, Cubs 7
Jul 18 – @Cubs 6, Angels 3
Jul 19 – @Athletics 5, Cubs 3
Jul 20 – Royals 4, @Cubs 2
Jul 21 – off day
Jul 22 – Rangers 14, @Cubs 0

ARIZONA LEAGUE STANDINGS
  1. Angels – 19-6 (-)
  2. Giants – 16-9 (3 GB)
  3. Athletics – 13-12 (6 GB)
  4. Royals – 12-12 (6.5 GB)
  5. Cubs – 12-13 (7 GB)
  6. Rangers – 12-13 (7 GB)
  7. Brewers – 10-15 (9 GB)
  8. Padres – 10-15 (9 GB)
  9. Mariners – 8-17 (11 GB)

LEADERS
AVG
CF Drew Rundle - .278
RF Richard D. Oleo - .269
DH Javier Rodriguez - .248

HR
SS Brandon Taylor – 3
1B Andy Silver – 2

RBI
RF Richard D. Oleo – 12
SS Brandon Taylor - 12
DH Javier Rodriguez – 11

ERA
SP Juan Garcia 2.30

WINS
MR Gary Jackson – 3
SP Shuji Nagata – 3
SP Juan Garcia - 2

K
SP Juan Garcia – 14
MR Michael Goode – 12
SP Jason Thomas – 10

SAVES
CL Hamilton Banks - 7

TRANSACTIONS
none
__________________
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Old 03-25-2010, 10:43 PM   #14
bbgunn
College Benchwarmer
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
July – Week 4
The bottom has fallen out as we go 0-for-Week 4. We have now lost nine straight games.

SCORES
Jul 23 – Giants 6, @Cubs 4
Jul 24 – @Padres 2, Cubs 1
Jul 25 – @Royals 4, Cubs 3
Jul 26 – off day
Jul 27 – Brewers 9, @Cubs 3
Jul 28 – @Rangers 6, Cubs 1
Jul 29 – Mariners 9, @Cubs 1

ARIZONA LEAGUE STANDINGS
  1. Angels – 23-8 (-)
  2. Giants – 20-11 (3 GB)
  3. Royals – 17-13 (5.5 GB)
  4. Rangers – 16-15 (7 GB)
  5. Padres – 14-16 (8.5 GB)
  6. Athletics – 14-17 (9 GB)
  7. Brewers – 12-18 (10.5 GB)
  8. Cubs – 12-19 (11 GB)
  9. Mariners – 10-21 (13 GB)

LEADERS
AVG
3B Lisandro Rosario – .375
C Daniel Poulin - .359
1B Andy Silver - .348

HR
SS Brandon Taylor – 3
1B Andy Silver – 2

RBI
RF Richard D. Oleo – 14
SS Brandon Taylor - 13
DH Javier Rodriguez – 12

ERA
SP Juan Garcia - 2.65
SP Jason Thomas – 4.02
SP Shuji Nagata – 4.50

WINS
MR Gary Jackson – 3
SP Shuji Nagata – 3
SP Juan Garcia - 2

K
SP Shuji Nagata - 16
SP Juan Garcia – 16

SAVES
CL Hamilton Banks - 7

TRANSACTIONS
none
__________________
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Old 03-25-2010, 10:48 PM   #15
bbgunn
College Benchwarmer
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
August – Week 1
Lots of transactions during this hot week! On August 1st we lost one of our best hitters (C Daniel Poulin) and our best home run guy (SS Brandon Taylor) to Short Season A Boise. The next few days, however, GM Jim Hendry, probably feeling sorry for us, sent us a lot of talented (for the Arizona League) fielders that may help us right this ship.

After losing two more games to stretch our losing streak to 11 games, we broke the streak with a decent 6-2 victory over the Athletics on Thursday, thanks in part to some of our acquisitions. We then proceeded to win two more games in a row. Thank you, Jim Hendry. (SP Kerry Wood won his first start, the Aug. 4 victory over the Padres.)

The highlight of the week was on August 3rd, when SS Javier Rodriguez went 5-for-5, helping us beat the Giants 8-2.

That 11-game losing streak really set us back in the standings; we have a long way to go. But we are only 10 games out of first, and 8 games out of the wild card spot; with 20 games remaining, there’s some hope.

SCORES
Jul 30 – Brewers 13, @Cubs 2
Jul 31 – off day
Aug 1 – @Angels 5, Cubs 4
Aug 2 – @Cubs 6, Athletics 2
Aug 3 – Cubs 8, @Giants 2
Aug 4 – @Cubs 3, Padres 2
Aug 5 – off day

ARIZONA LEAGUE STANDINGS
  1. Angels – 25-11 (-)
  2. Giants – 23-13 (2 GB)
  3. Royals – 20-16 (5 GB)
  4. Rangers – 20-16 (5 GB)
  5. Brewers – 16-20 (9 GB)
  6. Athletics – 16-20 (9 GB)
  7. Cubs – 15-21 (10 GB)
  8. Padres – 15-21 (10 GB)
  9. Mariners – 12-24 (13 GB)

LEADERS
AVG
CF Christopher Amador .750
RF Alfred Joseph .500
3B Kevin Estrada .400

HR
1B Andy Silver – 2

RBI
C Ed Kerr – 8
LF Pedro Acosta – 8

ERA
SP Juan Garcia – 3.20
SP Shuji Nagata – 3.98
SP Jason Thomas – 4.02

WINS
SP Shuji Nagata – 4
MR Gary Jackson – 3
SP Juan Garcia - 2

K
SP Shuji Nagata - 20
SP Juan Garcia – 18

SAVES
CL Hamilton Banks - 9

TRANSACTIONS
August 1
Lost:
MR Michael Goode (to S A Boise)
C Daniel Poulin (to S A Boise)
SS Brandon Taylor (to S A Boise)
RF Drew Rundle (to S A Boise)

August 2
Received:
2B Kevin Estrada (from AAA Iowa) – 26 yo. Stats with AA Tennessee: .375, 0 HR, 5 RBI.
3B Russell Canzler (from AA Tennessee) – 21 yo. Stats with Tennessee: .207, 0 HR, 7 RBI.

August 4
Lost:
SP Chuckie Platt (released)

Received:
SP Kerry Wood (from AAA Iowa) – 30 yo. Not many details, but perhaps here on a rehab assignment. No stats this year.
LF Alfred Joseph (from AAA Iowa) – 21 yo. Stats with AA Tennessee: .228, 1 HR, 15 RBI.
CF Christopher Amador (from AA Tennessee) – Puerto Rican 24 yo. Stats with Tennessee: .156, 0 HR, 3 RBI.
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Old 03-26-2010, 01:17 AM   #16
bbgunn
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
August – Week 2
After winning the first game of the week in extra innings to stretch our win streak to six games, we proceeded to lose five games in a row and entrench ourselves even deeper into the standings. At 16-26, and with 14 games to play, we may fail to get back to around .500.

SCORES
Aug 6 – Cubs 7, @Mariners 6 (11 inn)
Aug 7 – Angels 5, @Cubs 2
Aug 8 – @Athletics 6, Cubs 3
Aug 9 – Royals 7, @Cubs 5
Aug 10 – off day
Aug 11 – Rangers 10, @Cubs 6
Aug 12 – Giants 9, @Cubs 4

ARIZONA LEAGUE STANDINGS
  1. Angels – 31-11 (-)
  2. Giants – 26-16 (5 GB)
  3. Rangers – 25-17 (6 GB)
  4. Royals – 23-18 (7.5 GB)
  5. Brewers – 20-22 (11 GB)
  6. Athletics – 19-23 (12 GB)
  7. Cubs – 16-26 (15 GB)
  8. Padres – 15-26 (15.5 GB)
  9. Mariners – 13-29 (18 GB)

LEADERS
AVG
RF Alfred Joseph .517
CF Christopher Amador .444
3B Kevin Estrada .400

HR
3B Kevin Estrada – 2
1B Andy Silver – 2

RBI
LF Pedro Acosta - 9
C Ed Kerr - 8
2B Nathan Samson - 7

ERA
SP Juan Garcia – 3.55
SP Kerry Wood – 3.75
SP Jason Thomas – 3.78

WINS
SP Shuji Nagata – 4
MR Gary Jackson – 3
SP Juan Garcia - 2

K
SP Shuji Nagata - 28
SP Juan Garcia – 20

SAVES
CL Hamilton Banks – 9

TRANSACTIONS
August 11
Lost:
SP Jake Renshaw (released)
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Old 03-28-2010, 01:28 AM   #17
bbgunn
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
August – Week 3
After a .500 week, we still have ten more losses than wins. With eight games left to play, it's now impossible to get to .500 overall.

SCORES
Aug 13 – Cubs 9, @Padres 3
Aug 14 - @Royals 4, Cubs 3
Aug 15 – off day
Aug 16 – Brewers 11, @Cubs 7
Aug 17 – Cubs 4, @Rangers 2
Aug 18 - @Cubs 4, Mariners 2
Aug 19 - @Brewers 6, Cubs 4

ARIZONA LEAGUE STANDINGS
  1. Angels – 35-12 (-)
  2. Rangers – 29-19 (6.5 GB)
  3. Giants – 28-19 (7 GB)
  4. Royals – 26-21 (9 GB)
  5. Brewers – 24-23 (11 GB)
  6. Athletics – 21-26 (14 GB)
  7. Cubs – 19-29 (16.5 GB)
  8. Padres – 16-31 (19 GB)
  9. Mariners – 15-33 (20.5 GB)

TRANSACTIONS
none
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Old 03-28-2010, 01:29 AM   #18
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
End of Season
The Cubs' season comes to an unexciting end.

SCORES
Aug 20 – off day
Aug 21 - @Angels 11, Cubs 2
Aug 22 – Athletics 8, @Cubs 4
Aug 23 - @Giants 3, Cubs 1
Aug 24 - @Cubs 6, Padres 5
Aug 25 – off day
Aug 26 – Cubs 9, @Rangers 7
Aug 27 – Brewers 2, @Cubs 0
Aug 28 – Royals 14, @Cubs 8
Aug 29 – Cubs 2, @Mariners 1


FINAL ARIZONA LEAGUE STANDINGS
  1. Angels – 43-13 (-)
  2. Giants – 33-23 (7 GB)
  3. Rangers – 32-24 (6.5 GB)
  4. Royals – 30-26 (9 GB)
  5. Brewers – 27-29 (11 GB)
  6. Athletics – 27-29 (14 GB)
  7. Cubs – 22-34 (16.5 GB)
  8. Padres – 21-35 (19 GB)
  9. Mariners – 17-39 (20.5 GB)

ARIZONA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
The Giants ended up upsetting the Angels three games to two.

TRANSACTIONS
none
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Old 03-28-2010, 01:31 AM   #19
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
September 11, 2007 – Houston

After watching the last game of the Arizona League Championship series, I went back to my office in Mesa, Arizona, expecting Cubs' GM Jim Hendry to give me a call. I expected to get fired. My goal was to finish with a record of around .500, but we finished at .393. We should have been better down the stretch, but we weren't. My hitting coach and my scout both had already bailed on the AZL Cubs during the Championship, and I was actually wondering if I should do the same. Better to resign than to get fired, I always thought. But something told me to hold on a minute and see what happens.

Sure enough, about half an hour after I arrived back in Mesa, my phone rang, and it was Mr. Hendry. He didn't say anything about my being fired. Instead, he invited me to join him and the Cubs in Houston in a couple of days. I thought, “Wow, they know how to fire people in style.”

My plane arrived at Houston last night, and today I joined Jim Hendry to watch the Cubs play the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. The Cubs are having a bad season. If it weren't for the Washington Nationals, the Cubs would have the worst record in baseball. The game today was no different; the Cubs lost to the Astros 6-3.

Once the game was over, Jim Hendry and I, along with some of his assistants, had a private meeting at the stadium. “It was a tough season for you down in Arizona, huh, Zoom?” he said.

“Yes, Mr. Hendry, it was. I know the team should have done better, and that's all my...”

“Listen for a minute, Zoom,” he interrupted. Uh-oh, here it comes. “First of all, call me Jim.”

Okay.

“Second of all, despite the team's record, I was impressed with how well you handled the youngsters over there. You played a vital part in the development of our prospects, helping them to become better players. You did a good job down there.”

“Really, Jim?”

“I wouldn't be saying it if I didn't mean it, Zoom. Listen... I want you to take over our Single A team in the Midwest League, the Peoria Chiefs.”

Peoria! Wow, what a change. Illinois was a long way away from L.A. and my family. But this was a great opportunity, a big step up. I would have a chance to manage a team with a long season. I would have a chance to manage in front of a real, paying crowd. I would have a chance to manage higher-caliber players. It didn't take me long to accept the job. Now all I have to do is convince my wife, LaVonne, why I made the choice to manage far away from home.

Jim Hendry seemed very happy that I took the job. He immediately made some calls, and he told me that he would be sending me to Peoria in the morning for a press conference.
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Old 03-28-2010, 01:31 AM   #20
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
September 12, 2007

It was a whirlwind day. As soon as I stepped off of the plane at Greater Peoria Airport, I was quickly taken to O'Brien Field, the downtown home of my new team, the Peoria Chiefs. Peoria was an interesting-looking a place, a nice, small city – quite different from Los Angeles or even Phoenix. It was a new world for me. The stadium itself was fantastic! A nice, cozy ballpark, with a view of the downtown skyline over center field. I'm gonna enjoy managing here.

At the stadium I had a quick press conference, my first as a pro manager. Team officials introduced me to the reporters, and I made a quick statement and took questions. After that, I was out and about, meeting Chief players, staff members, office workers, fans... anybody they could put in front of me. It was certainly a busy day.

Tonight I called LaVonne back in L.A. She's still a bit upset that I took a managing job so far away. For her, me being in Arizona was good enough for her, and she wondered why I didn't remain there. I don't expect her to understand right away, but I do understand how she feels. I'm gonna miss being away from the family as well. Of course, that's in 2008. I'll soon be back in L.A. for the fall and winter. I belong to my family during that time.
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Old 03-29-2010, 11:36 PM   #21
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
February 26, 2008

There were some big changes over the winter in the Chicago Cubs organization. It turns out that giving me the Peoria manager's job was one of the last things Jim Hendry did with the Cubs. He was let go after Chicago finished in last in the NL Central. The team hired Dan O'Dowd in his place. O'Dowd then proceeded to hire Tony LaRussa away from the St. Louis Cardinals. O'Dowd personally called me over the winter to introduce himself and wish me luck with the Peoria Chiefs. That was nice of him. Hopefully we can get along.

Here in L.A., I enjoyed my winter back home with my family. My oldest son, 9-year-old Omar, is loving baseball more and more. We basically spent all winter playing at the park. One of his Christmas gifts was a shiny new Dodgers hat, and the little guy never takes it off, even when he's sleeping. He wanted me to take him to Chavez Ravine in April, but since I'll be in Illinois that's going to be difficult. However, both LaVonne and I have plenty of baseball fans in our family, so Omar will have no problems going to Dodger Stadium.

I also met with my buddy Russell Walker. He had a successful season with the Greenville Drive, leading them to a middle-of-the-pack 68-72 record last year. The Boston Red Sox decided to sign him to an extension to remain at Greenville. He was as happy as can be. I'm glad that both of us are making it in the pro manager's world.

Well, it's time to get back into the baseball swing of things. Starting tomorrow I will be in Mesa, Arizona for Cubs' spring training and to begin scouting players that will possibly be playing for me in Peoria this year.
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Old 03-29-2010, 11:41 PM   #22
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
Peoria Chiefs
2008 Opening Day Roster


Welcome to Peoria, Illinois, the home of my team, the Chiefs – the Chicago Cubs' Low Single A affiliate. The season will start shortly. Here's a look at the lineup my staff and I have put together. Players that did not play for Peoria last year are listed with bold names.

ROTATION
1.RHP Alfredo Francisco – Japanese (!) 23 yo. Last year with Short Season A Boise: 3-3, 3.14 ERA, 10 BB, 24 K. Can throw five different pitches.
2.RHP Dave Powell – 20 yo. Last year with Boise: 9-4, 2.61 ERA, 34 BB, 46 K. His potential is rated by my scout as a 1.5/5 by my scout. (If I don’t mention a player’s potential rating, just assume that it is a 1/5. Only three of my players have anything above a 1/5.)
3.RHP Jeff Samardzija – Yep, the former Notre Dame tight end. 23 yo. Last year with Boise: 7-6, 3.52 ERA, 34 BB, 30 K. Good leader. His potential rated a 2/5 by my scout. Of course, this Midwesterner (from Indiana) is already very popular here in Peoria.
4.RHP Alberto Alburquerque – 21 yo. Last year’s stats with S A Boise: 1-3, 3.50 ERA, 15 BB, 13 K. Terrific leadership skills. Already very popular in Peoria.
5.RHP Donald Walters – I managed him in the Arizona League last year. 21 yo. Stats in the Arizona League: 2-6, 5.44 ERA, 27 BB, 17 K. Great leader.

BULLPEN
RHP Pete Ekdar (Closer) – Another of my former Arizona League players. Canadian 21 yo. Stats with the AZL Cubs last year: 0-1, 0 SV, 5.79 ERA, 2 BB, 2 K.
LHP Ed Sanders (Setup) – 20 yo. Last year with Boise: 0-2, 1 SV, 2.95 ERA, 8 BB, 19 K.
RHP Hiroshi Yamamoto (Setup) - Japanese 21 yo. Last year with Boise: 2-3, 11 SV, 2.19 ERA, 13 BB, 13 K.
RHP Michael Goode – Another of my former Arizona Leaguers. 21 yo. Last year with Boise: 2-0, 6 SV, 4.50 ERA, 9 BB, 4 K.
RHP Gary Jackson – Yet another of my former Arizona Leaguers. 21 yo from San Diego. Last year with the AZL Cubs: 3-2, 0 SV, 1.67 ERA, 7 BB, 13 K. Smart.
RHP Mike Porter (Spot Starter) – 20 yo. Traded to the Cubs over the winter from the Angels. Actually a starter, but we have six starters and five relievers, so Porter goes here. Last year’s stats with the R Arizona League Angels: 8-2, 1.75, 13 BB, 37 K. Very smart and works hard. Only has three pitches.

LINEUP
1.LF Clifford Anderson (bats left) – 20 yo. Last year: .248, 1 HR, 7 RBI, .319 OBP. Great at stealing bases. Popular.
2.1B Ryan Norwood (bats right) – 25 yo from Los Angeles. Last year’s stats: .235, 0 HR, 17 RBI, .278 OBP.
3.3B Jose Rosario (bats right) – 21 yo. Last year’s stats: .286, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .369 OBP. Expected to be a great third baseman for the Cubs; potential rated a 4.5/5 by my scout. Smart.
4.DH Ryne Malone (bats left) – 23 yo. Last year’s stats with High A Daytona: .228, 2 HR, 15 RBI, .307 OBP. Smart.
5.C Jake Muyco (bats right) – 23 yo. Last year with High A Daytona: .248, 4 HR, 32 RBI, .346 OBP.
6.2B Albenis Machado (bats switch) – Venezuelan 29 yo. Last year’s stats: .245, 3 HR, 29 RBI, .302 OBP. Popular with the Peoria fans. Great infielder, smart, and works hard.
7.CF Randy Brown (bats right) – 22 yo from Chicago. With Boise last year: .219, 2 HR, 16 RBI, .310 OBP.
8.RF Drew Rundle (bats left) – Another of my former Arizona Leaguers. 20 yo. With the AZL Cubs last season: .265, 1 HR, 9 RBI, .281 OBP.
9.SS Cesar Valentin (bats right) – Puerto Rican 19 yo. Split time between Peoria, Daytona and Boise last year. In 18 games here, batted .224, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .268 OBP. Popular here. Hard worker.

BENCH
C Adam Hackstedt – Japanese (!!) 23 yo. Last year with AA Tennessee: .220, 1 HR, 17 RBI, .251 OBP. Played here for a few games last year, and is already popular.
3B Scott Carey – 21 yo. Last year with Boise: .345, 4 HR, 32 RBI, .396 OBP. He won the 2007 Northwest League Outstanding Hitter Award! Should an infielder fail me, Carey is ready to step in.
3B Russell Canzler – The last of my former Arizona Leaguers. 21 yo. With the AZL Cubs: .317, 4 HR, 13 RBI, .414 OBP. Ready to step in if some infielders fail. Hard worker.
LF Wilson Inoa – 21 yo. Last year with Daytona: .271, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .364 OBP.
RF Tyler Colvin – 22 yo. With Daytona last year. .265, 1 HR, 7 RBI, .350 OBP.

There are your 2008 Peoria Chiefs – for now. Of course, this team will be chopped up and reassembled as the year goes on.

A little bit about the Midwest League: there are fourteen teams. Our division, the West, features eight of those teams: Beloit, Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Kane County, Peoria, Quad City, and Wisconsin. The East division features Dayton, Fort Wayne, Great Lakes, Lansing, South Bend, and West Michigan. We will play series against all the other teams in both divisions. The division winners will battle it out for the championship at season’s end.

Peoria finished at 68-72 last year, good enough for fifth place in the West. My goal is to finish better than fifth. The Cubs say that I should aim for .500 ball this year. I must say that both goals will be very difficult to get with these players, unless they mature in a hurry.
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Old 03-29-2010, 11:43 PM   #23
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
Peoria Chiefs – 2008 Series 1
Peoria at Cedar Rapids Kernels
April 10-12


We begin the season with three road series, first here at Cedar Rapids, then a two-gamer at Beloit, and finally another two-gamer at Quad Cities. We don’t play at home until April 18.

The Kernels are an Angels affiliate. They finished second in the division last year. A series win against them would be a big boost for our team’s confidence.

Game 1
We lost this game in the fifth inning, when our starter Alfredo Francisco just lost it, allowing five runs in the inning before I had to pull him. We couldn’t recover from that. One good point is that C Jake Muyco had 3 hits and an RBI in this one.

Final: Cedar Rapids 8, Peoria 2
L: Alfredo Francisco (0-1, 10.13 ERA)

Game 2
Things went from bad to worse, as we were shut out. Nothing but goose eggs on the scoreboard.

Final: Cedar Rapids 4, Peoria 0
L: Dave Powell (0-1)

Game 3
I told the boys before the game that we were going to be more aggressive on the bases. And we did just that, going for steals at every opportunity. More often than not, we were successful. That led to two runs in the 6th and five runs in the 7th. We took a 7-4 lead into the bottom of the 9th, but with our closer Pete Ekdar on the mound, the Kernels managed to scrape up two runs. With only one out, it was 7-6, and I began to get worried. However, Ekdar pitched himself out of a jam, and we win my first game as the Chiefs’ manager. Five of our players had stolen bases, including RF Drew Rundle, who had two.

Final: Peoria 7, Cedar Rapids 6
W: Jeff Samardzija (1-0)
SV: Pete Ekdar (1)

Code:
W –L GB Burlington Bees 2-1 - Cedar Rapids Kernels 2-1 - Quad City River Bandits 2-1 - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 2-1 - Beloit Snappers 1-2 1.0 Clinton LumberKings 1-2 1.0 Kane County Cougars 1-2 1.0 Peoria Chiefs 1-2 1.0
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Old 03-30-2010, 12:40 AM   #24
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
Peoria Chiefs – 2008 Series 2
Peoria at Beloit Snappers
April 14-15


After an off day, we arrive in Beloit to take on the Snappers. They are the Minnesota Twins’ affiliate.

With DH Ryne Malone going hitless in the series against Cedar Rapids, I decide to insert benchwarmer Scott Carey, last year’s Northwest League Outstanding Hitter, into the DH spot to see what he can do.

Game 1
Another shutout loss. Scott Carey did well here, going 2-for-4, but we couldn't create runs today. I think I was too timid with baserunning again; I'm going to have to be more aggressive next time.

Final: Beloit 5, Peoria 0
L: Alberto Alburquerque (0-1, 19.29 ERA)

Game 2
Beloit scored the first run in the 1st. We struck back in the 6th inning with a run, but so did the Snappers, and we were down 2-1. The score stayed like that until the 9th, when our aggressive base strategy paid off and we earned two runs. Reliever Hiroshi Yamamoto then shut down the Snappers to clinch the victory. DH Scott Carey, 3B Jose Rosario, and RF Drew Rundle all had two hits apiece, with Rundle also driving in a run.

Final: Peoria 3, Beloit 2
W: MR Ed Sanders (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
SV: MR Hiroshi Yamamoto (1, 0.00 ERA)

Code:
W –L GB Burlington Bees 4-1 - Cedar Rapids Kernels 3-2 1 Kane County Cougars 3-2 1 Beloit Snappers 2-3 2 Clinton LumberKings 2-3 2 Peoria Chiefs 2-3 2 Quad City River Bandits 2-3 2 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 2-3 2

I learned something after the game; the Midwest League uses the “first-half second-half” system. The division leaders of the first half of the season will play the end-of-season division winners in the playoffs.
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Old 03-30-2010, 10:13 PM   #25
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
Peoria Chiefs – 2008 Series 3
Peoria at Quad Cities River Bandits
April 16-17


We leave extreme southern Wisconsin and head back to Iowa to face Quad Cities for two games. The River Bandits are the St. Louis Cardinals' affiliate.

Game 1
Bottom of the 1st: RF Drew Rundle shows his arm by catching a fly ball for a second out, then throwing out the runner coming from third base at home for the third out. Nice! Score 0-0.
Bottom of the 7th: Rundle makes another great play, climbing the right field wall to rob Quad Cities batter Johan Yan of a home run! Score 1-1.
Top 8th: DH Tyler Colvin drives in two runs to make it 3-1 Chiefs.
Bottom 9th: River Bandits get another run, but Gary Jackson closes the game before they can score another. Two wins in a row for us!

Final: Peoria 3, Quad Cities 2
W: MR Hiroshi Yamamoto (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
SV: MR Gary Jackson (1, 0.00 ERA)

This team is scrappy. We make plays when we have to... if you're talking about the last two games, that is. Player of the Game was RF Drew Rundle: 3 H, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB. It's not really a stat, but he also had two “WOW!” defensive plays, described above.

Game 2
Our starter Jeff Samardzija just didn’t bring it today. He gave up eight hits, four runs, and two home runs before I pulled him after 6.2 innings. Meanwhile, we certainly didn’t have our A-game on offense, at least not through the first six innings. We started to get hits, but we were a little too aggressive on the base paths. But that’s my bad. I should have been more careful. We did have a chance to win the game in the top of the 9th when, with two outs and the score 4-1, we loaded the bases. 1B Ryan Norwood came to the plate, and he has more power than all but two Peoria players. Unfortunately he hit a ground ball that was easily tossed to the nearest base for the last out of the game.

Final: Quad Cities 4, Peoria 1
L: Jeff Samardzija (1-1, 5.14 ERA)

Code:
WESTERN DIVISION W –L GB Burlington Bees 6-1 - Cedar Rapids Kernels 5-2 1 Kane County Cougars 5-2 1 Peoria Chiefs 3-4 3 Quad Cities River Bandits 3-4 3 Beloit Snappers 2-5 4 Clinton LumberKings 2-5 4 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 2-5 4
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Old 03-30-2010, 10:15 PM   #26
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Join Date: Feb 2005
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Peoria Chiefs – 2008 Series 4
Beloit Snappers at Peoria
April 18-19


Finally, we get to play at home! The Snappers come to O’Brien Field for a two-game series, then we host Quad Cities for another two-game series before going back on the road for a four-game series against Dayton from the Eastern Division.

Before the series, I made the decision to bench LF Clifford Andersen, CF Randy Brown, and 1B Ryan Norwood. They have been hitting poorly (Anderson is hitting .063 AVG / .167 OBP / .063 SLG, while Brown is .091 / .130 / .136 and Norwood is .111 / .200 / .185). Even though they are good defensive fielders (especially Brown), I made the decision to sacrifice defense for offense. So… enter CF Tyler Colvin, LF Ryne Malone, and 1B Russell Canzler. Although they are not hitting that well off the bench (Colvin .235 AVG, Malone .143, and Canzler .250), they are light years better than the aforementioned three players. Colvin, who has been alternating DH with Scott Carey, has earned the right to be in the lineup at least a short time with his timely hitting when we are in a pinch.

So, here is the altered lineup – for now.

1. RF Drew Rundle (.458 AVG / .480 OBP / .500 SLG, 2 RBI, 5 SB)
2. DH Scott Carey (.400 / .400 / .400)
3. 3B Jose Rosario (.458 / .567 / .458, 1 RBI, 3 SB)
4. 1B Russell Canzler (.250 / .250 / .500)
5. 2B Albenis Machado (.280 / .333 / .320, 1 RBI)
6. CF Tyler Colvin (.235 / .316 / .235, 3 RBI)
7. C Jake Muyco (.231 / .286 / .346, 3 RBI)
8. LF Ryne Malone (.143 / .333 / .143, 2 RBI)
9. SS Cesar Valentin (.130 / .167 / .217)

Game 1
LF Ryne Malone becomes the first Chief to hit a home run this year when he belts a solo round-tripper out of the park in the bottom of the 4th to make it 3-1 Chiefs. Overall, our new lineup seemed to work! Even though Beloit had 13 hits and we had 8, we were more effective driving in runs en route to a victory. This is the first time we’ve won a game by more than one run.

Final: Peoria 7, Beloit 3
W: Donald Walters (1-0, 2.25 ERA)
HR: LF Ryne Malone (1)
SB: 1B Russell Canzler (1), CF Tyler Colvin (2), RF Drew Rundle 2 (7)

How did our new starters do? Canzler: 2 H (one of them a triple), 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB. Colvin: 0 H, 1 RBI, 1 SB. Malone: 2 H, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, and Player of the Game honors.

Game 2
Any doubts I have about the ability of Ryne Malone, an infielder by trade, to play left field is erased in the top of the 2nd, when with a runner on second and two outs, a Snapper player hits the ball to short left field. Malone quickly runs over, picks the ball up off a hop, then guns it to home plate to beat the fast base runner from second, and he guns him down! An amazing play that got him plenty of cheers from the crowd.

However, in the top of the 3rd, same situation, except that there’s also a runner on first. Malone does the same thing: runs over, picks the ball up after a hop, but then he throws the ball over our catcher’s head! A run scores, and it is 2-2. It’s Malone’s first error at LF. Those doubts I was telling you about? They’re back. Of course, then Malone redeems himself with a great warning track diving catch in the next inning.

The bad news is that those defensive plays were worth nothing, because our pitchers kept giving up hit after hit, run after run. We lost big today. Again, we lose out on a chance to go over .500.

Final: Beloit 10, Peoria 2
L: Alberto Alburquerque (0-2, 8.22 ERA)

The best Chief at the plate in this game was DH Scott Carey, who had three hits and a run.

Code:
WESTERN DIVISION W –L GB Burlington Bees 6-3 - Cedar Rapids Kernels 6-3 - Kane County Cougars 6-3 - Clinton LumberKings 4-5 2 Peoria Chiefs 4-5 2 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 4-5 2 Beloit Snappers 3-6 3 Quad Cities River Bandits 3-6 3

The good news is that we gained ground on first place, thanks to Burlington losing two games in a row. The bad news is that everybody else except Quad Cities did, too. Speaking of Quad Cities, they come to town. Boy, would two wins be nice.
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Old 03-31-2010, 02:51 AM   #27
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
Peoria Chiefs – 2008 Series #5
Quad Cities River Bandits at Peoria
April 20-21


Game 1
The River Bandits get the first run of the game in the 1st inning, but that would be the only run they score. I was worried the first half of the game, though, because it was 1-0 for a while, and we couldn’t get any breaks. Finally, we get a couple of runs in the bottom of the 6th, and we get two more in the 8th thanks to some good pinch hitting. A good win here.

Final: Peoria 4, Quad Cities 1
W: Alfredo Francisco (1-1, 4.19 ERA)
SV: Pete Ekdar (2, 9.00 ERA)
SB: C Jake Muyco (3), 2B Albenis Machado (3)

Francisco was the Player of the Game (7.0 IP, 10 H, 1 ER, 4 K, 2 BB).

Game 2
We are just blown out of this game. So much for those two wins I was hoping for. We just can't get over .500.

Final: Quad Cities 12, Peoria 3
L: Dave Powell (0-2, 2.66 ERA)
HR: 1B Russell Canzler (1)
SB: SS Cesar Valentin (3), LF Ryne Malone (1)

Code:
WESTERN DIVISION W –L GB Burlington Bees 8-3 - Cedar Rapids Kernels 7-4 1 Kane County Cougars 7-4 1 Beloit Snappers 5-6 3 Peoria Chiefs 5-6 3 Clinton LumberKings 4-7 4 Quad Cities River Bandits 4-7 4 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 4-7 4
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Old 04-02-2010, 12:15 AM   #28
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Join Date: Feb 2005
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Peoria Chiefs – 2008 Series #6
Peoria at Dayton Dragons
April 22-25


We hit the road again, this time going east to Ohio to face the Dayton Dragons in a four-game series. The Dragons, an affiliate of the nearby Cincinnati Reds, are 6-5, which is good enough for second place in the Eastern Division. They are on a three-game winning streak, and they are higher than we are in the team batting and pitching leaderboards. I feel that this is going to be a tough series, and I told the boys just that before Game 1.

I haven’t been too pleased with CF Tyler Colvin. He hit well off the bench earlier in April, but since I put him into the starting lineup his average has dropped to .143. On the way to Dayton I made the decision to put Randy Brown back in center field. If we are going to have a crappy hitter at center field, might as well have one that can field very well. I pulled Tyler aside after we pulled into Dayton and told him about my decision. He understood. As a matter of fact, I got the feeling that he is beating himself up pretty hard about his performance lately. The guy needs to become a harder worker to make himself better. Hopefully, this benching will help steer him into the right direction.

Game 1
3B Jose Rosario got us going with a solo home run in the top of the 1st. However, that would be all we could manage for a while. Meanwhile, Dayton brought the lumber. They lit up Jeff Samardzija with some big hits. We didn’t have a chance after that.

Final: Dayton 6, Peoria 2
L: Jeff Samardzija (1-2, 6.20 ERA)
HR: 3B Jose Rosario (1)
SB: SS Cesar Valentin 2 (5)

We may have lost by more than four runs had it not been for the defense of Randy Brown and Clifford Andersen, who filled in for a tired Drew Rundle at RF. I’m sticking with Brown at CF for at least the rest of April. As for Andersen, Ryne Malone’s average is starting to drop at LF. If that keeps up, I’m putting Andersen back there.

As if the loss wasn’t bad enough, two of our players were injured in this game. A Dayton base runner slid into 2B Albenis Machado while Machado was trying to turn a double play. The collision nearly knocked Machado cold. He suffered some blurry vision and is listed as day-to-day. Also, after Samardzija was taken out of the game after getting lit up, MR Mike Porter strained a bicep tendon just three pitches in. He will be out for at least two weeks.

Game 2
We started the game playing very well, and we were up 5-2 after five innings. We were putting the bat on the ball at the plate; in fact, everyone in the lineup except Randy Brown would collect a hit today. Meanwhile, starter Donald Walters, our #5 pitcher who has pitched better than any other starter to date, was putting together another great outing. Then came the bottom of the 6th, and Walters was lit up. The Dragons scored three runs that inning to tie the game up at 5-5. I pulled Walters in the 7th, and our relievers pitched well. Problem is, the Dragons’ relievers were pitching well, too. I had a feeling that the first team to score another run would win the game.

Sure enough, that is exactly what happened. To make a long story short, we weren’t the ones that scored the run. In the bottom of the 12th inning, Dayton batter Yhonson Lopez drove in the winning run with a single off of Hiroshi Yamamoto. This painful loss guarantees that we will not win this series, which means we still have yet to win a series this season.

Final: Dayton 6, Peoria 5 (12 inn.)
L: Hiroshi Yamamoto (1-1, 2.70 ERA)

It’s hard to pick one player that stood out for us today in defeat, but I’ll tell you this: I can pretty much depend on the top of my order. Drew Rundle (.341/.386/.366, 2 RBI, 7 SB on the year), Scott Carey (.389/.395/.389, 4 RBI), Jose Rosario (.375/.474/.458, 4 RBI, 7 R, 7 BB) and Russell Canzler (.370/.393/.630, 6 R, 4 RBI) have consistently performed at the plate this year.

Game 3
The story of the game was our starter, Alberto Alburquerque (not Albuquerque, like the city in New Mexico). He pitched poorly in his previous outings, but today he was on fire! He looked so comfortable out there, although he balked twice! The second time, he got so upset at the umpire that he was almost tossed, and I had to run out there to calm him down. Lucky for us, he wasn’t tossed, and he pitched a complete game shutout victory. He got some help from Drew Rundle, who delivered a 2-run triple in the top of the 8th to make it 3-0 Peoria. He later came home on a wild pitch to make it 4-0.

Final: Peoria 4, Dayton 0
W: Alberto Alburquerque (1-2)
SB: CF Randy Brown (2)

Alburquerque was obviously the Player of the Game. His line: 9.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 5 K, 0 BB. Easily the best pitching performance by a Chief to date in 2008. Man, how good pitching makes life so much easier! LF Ryne Malone had three hits and a run in this game.

Game 4
A pitchers’ duel, and unfortunately we are on the wrong end of this one.

Final: Dayton 1, Peoria 0
L: Alfredo Francisco (1-2, 3.29 ERA)

I would say that Francisco didn’t deserve to lose this one, but he was the worse pitcher today. We only had three total hits today. Man, am I glad to get out of Dayton.

Code:
WESTERN DIVISION W –L GB Burlington Bees 10-5 - Cedar Rapids Kernels 9-6 1 Kane County Cougars 9-6 1 Beloit Snappers 6-9 4 Peoria Chiefs 6-9 4 Clinton LumberKings 5-10 5 Quad Cities River Bandits 5-10 5 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 5-10 5
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Old 04-04-2010, 12:51 AM   #29
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
Peoria Chiefs – 2008 Series #7
Peoria at Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
April 26-27


We now travel from Ohio to Appleton, Wisconsin – somewhere between Milwaukee and Green Bay – to take on the Timber Rattlers. We will play the Timber Rattlers for four straight games. The first two will be here, and after that both teams will head to Peoria to play two more games in our ballpark. Wisconsin is the affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.

Due to Jake Muyco’s bad play as of late, I’ve replaced him at catcher with Adam Hackstedt, who is better behind the plate.

Game 1
We lose on a Wisconsin game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 9th.

Final: Wisconsin 5, Peoria 4
L: MR Michael Goode (0-1)

Game 2
We get swept for the first time all year after we blow a 2-1 lead after 5 innings.

Final: Wisconsin 6, Peoria 2
L: Jeff Samardzija (1-3)

Scott Carey, Ryne Malone, and Tyler Colvin all had two hits, while Malone and Colvin had an RBI apiece.

Code:
WESTERN DIVISION W –L GB Burlington Bees 11-6 - Cedar Rapids Kernels 11-6 - Kane County Cougars 10-7 1 Beloit Snappers 7-10 4 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 7-10 4 Peoria Chiefs 6-11 5 Quad Cities River Bandits 6-11 5 Clinton LumberKings 5-12 6

Believe it or not, we are not in last place… yet. Overall, the Western Division is really stinking up the joint right now. In comparison, the last place teams in the Eastern Division – Great Lakes and South Bend – are both 8-9. The Lansing Lugnuts are the best team in the entire league at 12-5.
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Old 04-04-2010, 12:53 AM   #30
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
Peoria Chiefs – 2008 Series #8
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers at Peoria
April 28-29


Well, back to O’Brien Field to face the Timber Rattlers for two more games. After losing five of our last six games, hopefully playing at home will help spark some winning ways.

Game 1
Nothing is going right for us against Wisconsin. We lose again.

Final: Wisconsin 9, Peoria 2
L: Alberto Alburquerque (1-3, 6.10 ERA)

Scott Carey, the DH, led the team with two hits, and he also had an RBI.

Injury report: SS Cesar Valentin injured himself running the bases late in the game. He broke his foot and will be out at least two weeks. The injuries are starting to pile up.

Game 2
Even when we hit, like we did today, we still can’t buy a win.

Final: Wisconsin 14, Peoria 8
L: MR Gary Jackson (0-1, 2.89 ERA)

Scott Carey had four hits in five at bats today. Another good game for him individually.

I’m starting to give up on this team. I know I shouldn’t say that as the manager, but I’m just being honest. I put what I think is my best lineup out there every night, rearrange it to correct any problems I notice, but nothing really works right now. We are just not that good. And in this state of mind, we play a four-game series against the best team in the league next, the Lansing Lugnuts.

Code:
WESTERN DIVISION W –L GB Burlington Bees 12-7 - Cedar Rapids Kernels 12-7 - Kane County Cougars 11-8 1 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 9-10 3 Beloit Snappers 8-11 4 Quad Cities River Bandits 7-12 5 Peoria Chiefs 6-13 6 Clinton LumberKings 5-14 7

If it weren’t for the Clinton LumberKings, we would be the worst team in the league.
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Old 04-04-2010, 12:55 AM   #31
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
Off Day
April 30


I woke up feeling depressed today, wondering if my job may be already on the line. Cubs’ first-year GM Dan O’Dowd presumably doesn’t know much about me, since he didn’t hire me. If I continue to mess up the Chiefs, he’ll likely throw me out the door in an instant and put in one of his own guys.

When I get depressed, I like to chat with some friends. But I haven’t been in Peoria long enough to make some good friends. I decided to call up my buddy Russell Walker down in Greenville, managing the Single A Greenville Drive. His year is much better than my year so far. The Drive are 11-9. Russell said he was lucky to have a good group of guys that are hitting very well right now. He tried to cheer me up; he said the season is very long and that I shouldn’t lose hope after just 19 games. He gave me some managerial pointers that he learned during his many years coaching in the minors, and I gladly took notes. Be patient, he said, and things will fall into place. I want to believe him.

I also called LaVonne and talked to my kids, Omar, Toni and Darnell. I suggested bringing the family out to Peoria for the summer after the school year is over. But LaVonne said that Omar would be devastated; he’s looking forward to playing Little League this summer with his friends. Oh well.
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Old 04-04-2010, 10:26 PM   #32
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
Peoria Chiefs – 2008 Series #9
Lansing Lugnuts at Peoria
May 1-4


This morning, I got an email from Dan O’Dowd. It scared the mess out of me, because I thought I was being fired already. But turns out it’s just transaction time. Here are the players that we are losing (all of them are being demoted to Short Season A Boise):

SP Jeff Samardzija
MR Gary Jackson
3B Scott Carey
LF Wilson Inoa
LF Clifford Andersen

The only real blow here is losing Scott Carey. He’s only my best hitter; I don’t need him, right? This stinks. And I don’t know why O’Dowd is sending him down; he should be going up to Daytona, or AA Tennessee.

Anyway, here are the five players we are getting in return:

SP Darin Downs (23 years old) – from the Cubs’ camp in Arizona. Hasn’t played yet this year, but in 2007, as a reliever, he put up 1-4, 2 SV, and 3.02 with Boise, and 1-3, 1 SV, and 4.00 with Daytona.
MR Leonel Perez (24) – from High A Daytona (0-0, 0 SV, 5.40 ERA in four games).
1B Matt Craig (27) – from Daytona (.309/.397/.471, 2 HR, 11 RBI).
CF Andrew Lopez (21, Canadian) – from Daytona (.250/.233/.357, 0 HR, 4 RBI). Terrific fielder.
RF Richard D. Oleo (21) – I managed this guy last year in Arizona. Hasn’t played this year.

Now on to the games. Lansing is the affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. They have the best pitching in the league. Oh boy. This should be fun.

Game 1
Our new “acquisitions” don’t really help us in this game. We lose our sixth straight game.

Final: Lansing 8, Peoria 4
L: Darin Downs (0-1)
SB: Jake Muyco (4), Matt Craig (1)

Muyco had 3 hits in this one, while CF Andrew Lopez, in his first Peoria game, had two.

Game 2
Lansing took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the 8th. There, we loaded the bases, then 1B Matt Craig hit a sacrifice fly to bring one runner home. Later, with runners on the corners, Ryne Malone (now playing 3B) hits a 3-run homer to give us the lead. That is how it remains. Losing streak is over.

Final: Peoria 4, Lansing 3
W: MR Michael Goode (1-1, 4.82 ERA)
HR: Ryne Malone (3)

Malone was the Player of the Game (1 H, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI).

Game 3
Lansing took a 4-1 lead thanks to a 4-run 4th inning that included a three-run homer off of our starter, Alberto Alburquerque. After a 58-minute rain delay in the 5th inning, RF Drew Rundle blasts a solo home run in the bottom of the 7th. That didn’t spark a big inning for us, though, and we lose 4-2.

Final: Lansing 4, Peoria 2
L: Alberto Alburquerque (1-4, 5.65)
HR: Drew Rundle (2)

Lansing’s pitchers were too much for us today. We couldn’t really hit them until the last two innings, and we still couldn’t do enough to come back and win the game. As for our pitching, if Alburquerque hadn’t given up a 3-run homer, he would have had a great pitching day. His line: 7 H, 4 ER, 9 K, 2 BB, 1 HR. Rundle was the only Chief with two hits today. His line: 2 H, 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K.

Game 4
It was a hard-fought game by both teams. A run here, a run there, and at the end of nine innings the game is tied 3-3. In the bottom of the 12th, with one out and no one on base, 1B Matt Craig steps up and hits a walk-off homer!

Final: Peoria 4, Lansing 3 (12 inn.)
W: MR Ed Sanders (2.0, 7.71 ERA)
HR: Matt Craig (1)

Craig was the easy choice for Player of the Game. His walk-off home run was just one of four hits on the day! He also had 2 runs and an RBI.

We still have not won a series so far this season, but we just split a series with the best team in the Midwest League. Lansing is first or second in the league in ERA, runs allowed, hits allowed, and opponents AVG, but we split the series. That’s gotta count for something. I loved how we played gritty ball during this series, especially the last three games. I told the boys after tonight’s game that I’m very proud of them, and if they can continue to put that kind of effort into every series, we will get ourselves out of the cellar and into contention.

Code:
WESTERN DIVISION W –L GB Cedar Rapids Kernels 14-9 - Burlington Bees 13-10 1 Kane County Cougars 12-11 2 Beloit Snappers 10-13 4 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 10-13 4 Quad Cities River Bandits 9-14 5 Clinton LumberKings 8-15 6 Peoria Chiefs 8-15 6

Despite our play against Lansing, Clinton won three of four against Dayton. That means we are tied with Clinton for the worst record in the Midwest League. We are still only six games out of first, and four games behind third-place Kane County. Burlington lost three of four; that means Cedar Rapids is now the best team in the West. Lansing is still the best team overall at 15-8.
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Old 04-05-2010, 09:29 PM   #33
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
Peoria Chiefs – 2008 Series #10
Fort Wayne Wizards at Peoria
May 5-8


We play a four-game home series against Fort Wayne before immediately embarking on a ten-game road trip. Whew. The Wizards are an affiliate of the San Diego Padres. At 14-9, they are tied with Cedar Rapids for the second-best record in the league. Coming off of a series split with Lansing, if we can at least split this series, that would tell me a lot about our team. Before Game 1, I tell the boys to not worry about the standings. Just play ball and don’t make any careless mistakes, and things will fall into place.

Game 1
The Wizards had a big 3-run inning in the top of the 7th to make it 4-3 Wizards. That’s how it remains until the bottom of the 9th, when DH Jose Rosario hits a sacrifice fly which allows the tying run to come home and make it 4-4. We can’t get in another run, and we go to extra innings. In the top of the 10th, Fort Wayne adds another run. However, in the bottom of the inning we leave a runner on second as we get three outs. Game over.

Final: Fort Wayne 5, Peoria 4 (10 inn.)
L: MR Hiroshi Yamamoto (1-2, 1.88 ERA)
HR: C Adam Hackstedt (1)
SB: DH Jose Rosario (3)

Despite the loss, Hackstedt was named Player of the Game. He had two hits, one home run, two RBI, one run, one walk, and one strikeout. Machado had three hits but no runs or RBI.

Game 2
We break up a scoreless tie in the bottom of the 5th with a Ryne Malone home run. But then Fort Wayne replies with two 2-run shots in the top of the 6th! 4-1 Wizards. In the bottom of the 7th, Malone gives us a 2-run homer of his own! That’s his second blast of the game. 4-3 Wizards. But that is where it unravels. Fort Wayne got two runs in the top of the 9th, and that’s all she wrote.

Final: Fort Wayne 6, Peoria 3
L: Darin Downs (0-2, 6.43 ERA)
HR: Ryne Malone 2 (5)

It seems every time we got close to the Wizards, they found a way to pull ahead again. This team is tough. Of course, it doesn’t help when your starter (Downs) gives up two home runs. For the second straight game, we had a player named Player of the Game despite a loss. This time it was easily Malone (2 H, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB). Canzler and Rosario also had two hits apiece. It’s worth noting that we had two errors in this game. Careless mistakes…

Game 3
We start strong, taking a 4-0 lead after two innings. They come back with a run in the top of the 4th, but we respond in the bottom of the inning with two more runs. 6-1 Chiefs. But then the Wizards score three runs in the 5th to make it 6-4. Uh-oh. But we add another run in the 7th, and our relievers are able to hold off any rallies. Fort Wayne is not going to sweep this four-game series.

Final: Peoria 7, Fort Wayne 4
W: Alfredo Francisco (2-2, 3.46 ERA)
SV: Pete Ekdar (3, 5.06 ERA)
SB: RF Drew Rundle (8)

DH Jose Rosario was named Player of the Game. He went 3-for-5 with a run, 2 RBI, and a K. 1B Matt Craig and LF Ryan Norwood also had three hits apiece. (I dropped Norwood from the 4th spot in the lineup to the 6th, and he was able to break out of his slump.) However, we had two errors, by C Jake Muyco and 3B Ryne Malone.

Game 4
Well, we get shut out of this game.

Final: Fort Wayne 5, Peoria 0
L: Alberto Alburquerque (1-5, 5.94)

It could have been a lot worse. Fort Wayne had 14 hits. Alburquerque gave up nine of those hits, plus four of the runs. Meanwhile, Fort Wayne’s starter, Tyler Mead, was named Player of the Game.

So much for us making a statement. If I had to choose which team was better, Lansing or Fort Wayne, I would pick Fort Wayne. They were tougher to play than Lansing, or at least they were a worse matchup for us. I’m mentally drained after playing the Wizards. I hope we don’t meet them for a while.

Code:
WESTERN DIVISION W –L GB Cedar Rapids Kernels 17-10 - Burlington Bees 16-11 1 Kane County Cougars 15-12 2 Beloit Snappers 12-15 5 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 11-16 6 Quad Cities River Bandits 11-16 6 Clinton LumberKings 9-18 8 Peoria Chiefs 9-18 8

Well, at least we have company in the cellar. In the East, Fort Wayne, at 17-10, is still one game behind the 18-9 Lansing Lugnuts.

Up next is a grueling 10-game road trip. First, we play Great Lakes in a four-gamer, followed by a four-gamer with West Michigan and a two-gamer with Cedar Rapids before taking a day off.
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Old 04-06-2010, 12:03 AM   #34
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
Peoria Chiefs – 2008 Series #11
Peoria at Great Lakes Loons
May 9-12


We travel to Midland, Michigan, to play the Great Lakes Loons. If you look at a map of Michigan, Midland is located in the “webbing” of the “glove” that most of Michigan forms. That’s a long drive from Peoria.

The Loons, the Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate, is 12-15, good enough for last place in the Eastern Division, but still better than the bottom four teams in our division. Their batting is better than average, but their pitching is below average, with the exception of their bullpen, which is pretty good. We need to hit them in the early innings if we are to have any chance to win.

Game 1
The game starts badly as Great Lakes hits a 2-run homer in the 1st. But my boys reply in the second with four runs! Great Lakes adds another run in the bottom of the inning to make it 4-3 Peoria. The game then settles down into a pitchers’ duel.

That all changes in the bottom of the 6th, when our starter Donald Walters gives up a 3-run homer to make it 6-4 Great Lakes. While the ball was sailing out of the park, Walters went down in a heap, though, grabbing his elbow. We have to take him out of the game immediately. I decide to put in our closer, Pete Ekdar. His very first batter then proceeds to hit a solo home run. Back-to-back homers for the Loons, and they lead 7-4. This game is getting out of hand.

Fast forward to the top of the 9th. With the score 7-4 Great Lakes, we load up the bases with one out. I feel good about our chances with my three power hitters coming up: Norwood, Malone and Canzler. The opposing pitcher walks Norwood, bringing home one run. 7-5. Malone then strikes out. Two outs. Our chances rest on Canzler’s shoulders, but he pops one straight up for the catcher to catch. Game over.

Final: Great Lakes 7, Peoria 5
L: Donald Walters (1-1, 5.64)

We find out after the game that Walters strained an elbow ligament and will be out for about 2 months. A big blow for us, because Walters was one of our more reliable starters. Luckily, our backup starter Mike Porter is now fully recovered from his own injury, so we are going to put him into the rotation.

Game 2
A four-run 6th inning helps spark the Loons to victory.

Final: Great Lakes 6, Peoria 2
L: Dave Powell (0-3, 3.65 ERA)
SB: 2B Adam Hackstedt (1), CF Tyler Colvin (3)

We had a couple of starters out for this game: Canzler and Lopez. But it was still a loss. That’s our third straight loss.

Game 3
Our regular shortstop, Cesar Valentin, comes off of the DL and is inserted back into the lineup. Our lineup now looks like this:

C Adam Hackstedt
3B Jose Rosario
1B Matt Craig
DH Ryne Malone
RF Drew Rundle
2B Albenis Machado
CF Andrew Lopez
SS Cesar Valentin
LF Randy Brown

This is a heavily defensive lineup. I went with a more offensive one the past several days, and it hasn’t exactly resulted in a flurry of victories. If you look back at our last several losses, many of them have been close ones. Perhaps a little more defense might help out.

Defense certainly helped today. Both teams had six hits, but our defense helped kill some hits and runs. We were more effective getting runners home, and we win the game.

Final: Peoria 5, Great Lakes 1
W: Mike Porter (1-0, 1.56)
HR: Ryne Malone (6)
SB: Adam Hackstedt (2), Cesar Valentin (6)

Porter, in his first start for us this year, wins Player of the Game. He allowed 5 hits, one run, and a walk, while earning 3 strikeouts. Hackstedt had three hits, an RBI and a run, while Malone had two hits, two runs, two RBI, a walk, and a home run. Only three of our players had hits today: Hackstedt, Malone, and Ryan Norwood (subbing for a tired Matt Craig at 1B).

Game 4
The game ends up being a tight game, and with the score tied 6-6 we have to go to extra innings. In the top of the 11th, with two men on and one out, 2B Russell Canzler, who came on in the 9th inning, hits a homer to make it 9-6. We bring Ekdar on to close it out, and he does the job.

Final: Peoria 9, Great Lakes 6 (11 inn.)
W: MR Michael Goode (2-1, 2.76)
SV: Pete Ekdar (4, 4.40)
HR: Russell Canzler (2)
SB: Cesar Valentin (7), Andrew Lopez (1)

CF Andrew Lopez was named Player of the Game. Supposedly one of the worst hitters on our team, he had a great game: 3-for-5, 2 runs, 2 RBI. He, along with RF Drew Rundle, probably made the difference between us winning and losing. Both guys made a couple of “WOW!” plays during the game that saved a few runs. This is only the second time this year we have won back-to-back games.

Our starter, Alfredo Francisco, had only three hits, but he walked seven guys, including a couple of walks with the bases loaded that directly resulted in two runs. With five earned runs, I had to pull him after 4.1 innings.

Code:
WESTERN DIVISION W –L GB Cedar Rapids Kernels 20-11 - Burlington Bees 19-12 1 Kane County Cougars 16-15 4 Quad Cities River Bandits 14-17 6 Beloit Snappers 13-18 7 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 13-18 7 Peoria Chiefs 11-20 9 Clinton LumberKings 10-21 10

Splitting the series with Great Lakes was enough to get us out of the cellar. We are only three games out of fourth place. That should be our aim right now.
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Old 04-07-2010, 01:02 AM   #35
bbgunn
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
Peoria Chiefs – 2008 Series #12
Peoria at West Michigan Whitecaps
May 13-16


We go across the state of Michigan to the Grand Rapids area to play West Michigan, the Detroit Tigers affiliate. The Whitecaps are 16-15 and in fourth place in the Eastern Division. They lack good hitting and starting pitching, but their bullpen is the best in the Midwest League.

Game 1
A pitchers’ duel. We can’t do much, and we lose 1-0. We were held to five hits. A home run given up by our starter Alberto Alburquerque in the 4th was the difference.

Final: West Michigan 1, Peoria 0
L: Alberto Alburquerque (1-6, 5.13 ERA)
SB: 1B Ryan Norwood (3)

Game 2
This was another pitchers’ duel, with both teams earning only three hits apiece through seven innings. This time, we had the 1-0 lead heading into the 8th. That is when we had a big inning, earning 5 runs on 5 hits to widen the lead! Meanwhile, starter Darin Downs had his first good game for us since coming to Peoria at the beginning of the month. He held the Whitecaps to 3 hits in a complete game victory. The rest of his line: 0 runs, 1 BB, 2 K. Downs was named Player of the Game.

Final: Peoria 6, West Michigan 0
W: Darin Downs (1-2, 3.97 ERA)
SB: C Adam Hackstedt (3)

This is our third win in four games, coming after a six-game stretch in which we lost five. It seems like this defensive lineup is working out.

Tyler Colvin, playing CF today, got hit on the hand with a pitch while at bat in the top of the 8th. His finger was jammed, and we had to take him out of the game. Luckily, it wasn’t a serious injury, and he is listed as day-to-day.

Game 3
We get rocked in this game. This assures that our winless streak of series will continue.

Final: West Michigan 9, Peoria 2
L: Dave Powell (0-4, 4.54 ERA)
HR: Albenis Machado (1)

Powell’s line: 8 H, 6 R, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 HR.

Game 4
West Michigan takes the series victory with a win here.

Final: West Michigan 7, Peoria 4
L: Alfredo Francisco (2-3, 4.53)
SB: Drew Rundle (9)

Drew Rundle, who came on as a pinch hitter in the 8th, gained a concussion sliding into second base on a successful steal attempt and had to come out of the game. He is listed as day-to-day.

This is depressing. We are playing great defense, but many of my hitters and pitchers are in terrible slumps. Morale is going down, down, down. This team is starting to break. My second baseman, Albenis Machado, took a bat to the floor in the visitor’s clubhouse after the game. A teammate tried to speak to Tyler Colvin, and Tyler yelled at him for no good reason, other than frustration. We need something to get us going again. We need a spark. Being the manager, it’s up to me to rally this team. I have to figure out something.

Code:
WESTERN DIVISION W –L GB Cedar Rapids Kernels 23-12 - Burlington Bees 21-14 2 Kane County Cougars 19-16 4 Quad Cities River Bandits 16-19 7 Beloit Snappers 15-20 8 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 15-20 8 Peoria Chiefs 12-23 11 Clinton LumberKings 12-23 11

Clinton split their four-game series, so once again we are in a tie for last place.
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Old 04-08-2010, 01:56 AM   #36
bbgunn
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
The Rest of May

Dear Diary,

Sorry that I haven’t been writing any entries lately. The reason is that I have been frustrated with the way things are going with the Chiefs lately.

I’ll put it this way: we stink. Period. The end. And it’s because of me.

I’ll give you the depressing details in a moment, but after my last entry about our series at West Michigan, we went on to lose ten straight games. Combine those with the last two games we lost in that West Michigan series, and that’s a 12-game losing streak. A morale-buster if there ever was one. Granted, eight of those twelve losses came against the two best teams in our division – Burlington and Cedar Rapids – but losing that many games in a row takes a toll, no matter who the opponent is.

A dark cloud seemed to have taken over our clubhouse. Players went through their routines with sullen faces. A few players threw temper tantrums in the locker room on occasion – not triggered by anything specific, but just out of sheer frustration. Among them were the two oldest players on my team: 2B Albenis Machado (29) and 1B Matt Craig (27). I understand how they are feeling. Machado has been in the minors for eleven years, while Craig has been in the minors since 2002. Those two guys have never been to The Show, and time is running out on them.

Of course, that’s not the primary reason why things have turned ugly in the clubhouse. It’s primarily my fault. I’ve been too hard on the team. Listen, I want to win. I was able to turn Inglewood High School’s baseball team into a regular playoff contender. I want Peoria to be a championship contender, and that pressure, plus the fact that my job is on the line – something I didn’t have to deal with at Inglewood – has led me to micromanage games and create havoc on the lineup card. The result: a 12-game losing streak and a bunch of hotheads in the clubhouse.

One night after a loss, I took a look at the rosters around the Midwest League. Ours is the worst. Let’s be honest: this team was never going to win a Midwest League championship. Cubs GM Dan O’Dowd knew that, too. His only expectation of me was to put up a .500 season. And if you look at our record in May, before the 12-game losing streak, we were playing .500 ball! Against some good teams, too. I was doing a good job, and I didn’t even realize it. Right then and there, I decided to just relax a bit. Keep managing games to win, but don’t expect too much out of the players. Just expect the best they can give me.

That is exactly what I told the players after the twelth straight loss, a 6-0 loss to South Bend. I said, “I only expect what you can give me.” That seemed to loosen the guys up a bit. We went on to win the last two games of that four-gamer, followed by splitting the first two games with Cedar Rapids of the current four-game series that we are in. That’s three wins out of the last four. From now on, let’s just enjoy baseball and see what we can do.

Anyway, here are the results for the rest of May:

@ Cedar Rapids
5-6 Loss
4-12 Loss

vs Burlington
1-10 Loss
1-10 Loss
2-4 Loss
0-2 Loss

@ Burlington
2-6 Loss
1-10 Loss

vs South Bend
0-3 Loss
0-6 Loss
5-4 Win
2-1 Win

vs Cedar Rapids
2-3 Loss
3-2 Win
(next two games of the series are June 1 and 2)

Code:
WESTERN DIVISION W –L GB Cedar Rapids Kernels 34-15 - Burlington Bees 31-18 3 Kane County Cougars 29-20 5 Beloit Snappers 24-25 10 Quad Cities River Bandits 22-27 12 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 20-29 14 Clinton LumberKings 16-33 18 Peoria Chiefs 15-34 19

There we are, in last place – the worst team in the Midwest League. At least Clinton is only one game ahead of us. Cedar Rapids and Burlington are the two best teams in the league, followed by the Fort Wayne Wizards in the Eastern Division, and then Kane County.
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Old 04-08-2010, 01:58 AM   #37
bbgunn
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
Peoria Chiefs – 2008 Series #17
Cedar Rapids Kernels at Peoria
May 30-June 2


As I mentioned before, we lost the first game of the series 3-2, and then we won the second game 3-2.

On June 1, I got an email from GM Dan O’Dowd. Luckily I wasn’t fired. Instead, I got some transaction news.

Transactions

We lost CL Pete Ekdar and SS Russell Canzler to High A Daytona. Ekdar had pitched in 15 games for us this year, going 0-1 and putting up 5 saves and a 5.03 ERA. Meanwhile, Canzler had played in 40 games so far for us, putting up these numbers: .229 AVG, .297 OBP, .351 SLG, 9 R, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 20 K.

In return, we get two familiar faces. I am glad to have back 3B Scott Carey! O’Dowd had sent him to Boise, but he must have had a change of heart, because Carey comes back here before Boise’s season starts. Carey batted .434 for us in 14 games before being sent down. We also get back CL Gary Jackson, who was also in Boise.

Our batting order now looks like this:

C Adam Hackstedt
DH Matt Craig
1B Scott Carey
LF Ryne Malone
3B Jose Rosario
RF Drew Rundle
SS Cesar Valentin
2B Albenis Machado
CF Andrew Lopez

My goal is to stick with this until at least the MLB Draft, after which I expect some new transactions.

Game 3
Good game here, but we can’t pull out the win. Again, we fail to win a series.

Final: Cedar Rapids 5, Peoria 3
L: Alfredo Francisco (2-6)
HR: Jose Rosario (3)

Despite the loss, Rosario was the Player of the Game. He went 2-for-4 with 1 R, 3 RBI, and 1 HR.

Game 4
Bottom of the 2nd: both Ryne Malone and Drew Rundle hit solo jacks to make it 2-0. In the bottom of the 5th, Ryan Norwood, filling in for Matt Craig at DH, hits a three-run jack of his own! In the same inning, Malone hits a 2-run homer, his second of the game! That’s four homers overall for us, easily the most in a game this season for the Chiefs. Man, we certainly have good wood today. By that point, it’s 7-0 Chiefs. The Kernels break up the shutout with a run in the 7th inning, but then we reply with two more runs. The Kernels don’t have a chance after that. We didn’t win the series, but we split a four-game series against the best team in the league.

Final: Peoria 9, Cedar Rapids 2
W: Mike Porter (2-1)
HR: Ryne Malone 2 (11), Drew Rundle (2), Ryan Norwood (2)
SB: Jake Muyco (5), Ryan Norwood (4), Cesar Valentin (8)

Malone, obviously, was named Player of the Game. His line: 2-for-3, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR, 1 BB. He easily leads the league in home runs with five more than the second-place player.

We had to take Drew Rundle out of the game with back spasms in the 7th. Luckily he is listed as day-to-day. I think the guy needs some more rest.
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