NL Playoff Race

6/27 PM2 Update - 3 games remaining in regular season

All division titles have been claimed. Mexico City has secured the #1 seed. Burlington has secured the #4 seed. At this point, the only battles being waged are for the 2nd playoff bye and positioning in the two WC spots.

1. Mexico City (105-54, clinched South, clinched #1 seed)

2. Chicago (99-60, clinched North, tied for #2 seed (claims #2 seed on TB 6-4))
Remaining Schedule: 3 v. New York(N) (3-4)

3. Tucson (99-60, clinched West, tied for #2 seed (loses #2 seed on TB 4-6))
Remaining Schedule: 3 @ Los Angeles (3-4)

4. Burlington (95-64, clinched East, clinched #4 seed)

5. Scranton (90-68, tied for #5 seed (takes #5 on TB win 8-2))
Remaining Schedule: 3 @ Burlington (5-2)

6. Jacksonville (90-68, tied for #5 seed (takes #6 on TB loss 2-8))
Remaining Schedule: 3 v. Trenton (4-3)

AL Playoff Race

6/27 PM2 Update - 3 games remaining in regular season

North, West, and South division titles have been claimed. Montreal claims #1 seed. Cleveland claims the #5 seed. In the case of Richmond losing and Toledo winning their remaining three games, a tie for the #2 seed would exist, and Toledo would claim the playoff bye, winning the tiebreaker 7-3.

1. Montreal (113-46, clinched North, clinched #1 seed)

2. Richmond (90-69, clinched South, 3 game lead for #2 seed)
Remaining Schedule: 3 v. Little Rock (5-2)

3. Toledo (87-72, 1 game lead in East, 3 GB for #2 seed)
Remaining Schedule: 3 @ Rochester (4-3)

4. San Francisco (86-73, clinched West, 1 GB for #3 seed)
Remaining Schedule: 3 @ San Diego (3-4)

5. Cleveland (95-64, clinched #5 seed)

6. Rochester (86-73, 1 GB in East, 2 games up for #6 seed)
Remaining Schedule: 3 v. Toledo (3-4)

7. New York(A) (84-75, 2 GB for #6 seed)
Remaining Schedule: 3 v. Cleveland (2-5)

Dynasty Over?

14 Division Titles, 4 World Series Titles, and 15 Straight playoff appearances. With 12 games left on the schedule, the Arizona dynasty appears to be coming to an end, as the struggling franchise has fallen to 6 games back in the wild card race. Barring a meltdown, it looks like the once proud Thunder Chickens will be watching the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. To make matters worse out west, rumors are out that all-world owner Colson55555 may be selling the team.

Arizona Thunder Chickens (NL) colson55555 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Latino Heat

The future is looking bright in Syracuse after new owner kthomson landed Cuban star pitcher, Humberto Morales. Morales inked a franchise record $19.5 million deal in the international market, almost 4 times as much as the franchise paid for Mexican pitcher Orber Trajano last year. After a terrible start and the unceremonious goodbye to previous management, fans in Syracuse have something to cheer about.

Humberto Morales Syracuse Orange Iguanas Age: 19 B/T: L/L Born: Remidios, CU Position(s): P (SP5) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Camp Season 16 - Moving Forward

First I would like to say that in no means am i trying to take a shot at any 1 individual. I think most of us can take a little blame for the world being the mess it is. I personally have made 1 or 2 suspect trades and also won 22 games. You guys can blame me if you want. Now with that said, time to discuss some new rules. Lets just forget the past and not take things personally and move forward. I think everyone that looks at this blog would like to see the world improve and its not gonna happen if nothing changes.

Rule #1 - Anti-tanking Rule - I think this should be as simple as possible. Easy for owners to understand, easy for us to police.
-50/75 win totals. You must win at least 50 games every year and 125 any 2 year span
-50/110/180/260 I believe MikeG mentioned it, little more complex

Rule #2 - Setting your minor leagues - Pretty self explanatory, Not sure the exact wording for this rule though. Maybe no SP below 50% for x amount of games/Must have at least 9 active bats

Rule #3 - Major League players payroll budget minimum - some leagues restrict transfer amounts and international spending. Im personally not a big fan of these but a ML player floor kind of restricts them a little bit, while ensuring more competitiveness at the ML level. Nothing major here, just to keep teams from running league minimums. Maybe 40 million or something

Rule #4 - Cash in trades. I personally am against the buying of players. I like the idea of amount of cash a team offers can only be as high as their players' involved salary. Basically you can only pay your guys salary for the other team.

Please post any rules you guys would like and your feelings on these rules. In no way do I want to put in place rules that we cant all agree on. A few other ideas : voting in new owners, which i dont think is possible with the number of openings we will have this year, restricting relocating/renaming, Contract/transfer/IFA maximums, and ballpark restrictions.

Season 11 NL Preview

Ah the possibilities of a new season are upon us. International Free Agents, Draft Picks, Award Winners and of course World Series Champions. Each team with it's own expectations and plans for the upcoming year, a year that is undoubtedly make or break for some.

Note: I have ordered each division according to how I think each team will finish. Mr. Mandate helped with the research in this article.

NL NORTH

1. Toronto Greased-Up Deaf Guys

• Outlook: The Season 9 Camp World Champs look to get back on track this year after an embarrassing 3-0 series sweep South of the border last season. Don Bale and company will try and repeat it's ML leading 3.20 team era from a year ago.
• Key additions:Jo-jo Stewart is a notable addition to the ML staff and could help out considerably.
• Key losses: PT Jordan's defense will be missed on a team that tied for 4th in fielding percentage.
• Stat Monster: Plenty to choose from on this team but Don Bale going 27-5 last year takes the cake.

2. Chicago Cubs

• Outlook: After winning 92 games last year and having their offensive leader, Wilson Sanders, win an MVP, the North Siders are an interesting team this year. Their lineup is powerful and if their pitching can stay healthy they are a good bet to grab another Wild Card spot this year.
• Key additions: None
• Key losses: Pasqual Parra and his 115 innings of relief could prove to be a problem at the friendly confines.
• Stat Monster: Sanders' 80 HR, 181 RBI and .307 average were outlandish.

3. Milwaukee (Mil-A-Wa-K) Bondsman

• Outlook: After winning 108 games and making the NLCS in season 1 this team has really crashed and burned. The win total has steadily decreased each of the last five seasons and I don't see that changing much this year. That being said, TheRock has hung in there as an owner and isn't happy about losing. He has continued to try and build his team through the draft and has the likes of Phil Allen and George Damon to show for it.
• Key additions: Russell Bell. The former San Francisco pitcher should be a top of the rotation starter for Milwaukee.
• Key losses: Stan Pressley and his .405 ob% is going to sting. Not sure how or why he got away.
• Stat Monster: Allen and his career-high 43 HR, 112 RBI, and .312 average.

4. Wichita Linemen

• Outlook: Here's to hoping strang is a man who likes a challenge. The Linemen finished season 10 with the 5th worst team era, 6.13, and have very little ML talent to speak of.
• Key additions: None.
• Key losses: Elvis Nicholson and Haywood Gonzalez. While both were solid contributers, it's clearly rebuilding time in Wichita.
• Stat Monster: Raymond Pellow, the franchise's brightest young bat, stole 50 bases in season 10 and hit .323.

NL BEAST

1. Tampa Bay Boozers

• Outlook: The team that just can't win a title will try again to do just that in Season 11. Sporting what is historically one of the best pitching staffs in all of Camp (Five Cy Youngs between their top three in the rotation), Tampa hopes that it's offseason acquisitions on offense will put them over the top.
• Key additions: Ramiro Barcelo and Dusty Mann.
• Key losses: $50 million in cap room and Ajax Blair.
• Stat Monster: Karl Piersoll went 25-4, posted a world-record 2.18 era and won his second career Cy Young Award.

2. Scranton Coal Miners

• Outlook: Scranton's lineup is one of the most formidable in the league. Anchored by Charlie Riley and Sven Reid, the sky is the limit for this group of youngsters.
• Key additions: None.
• Key losses: The will to carry on after seeing Tampa's moves.
• Stat Monster: The ageless Francis Cannon and his 26 HR, 121 RBI and .378 average. That's right, I said .378.

3. Atlanta Regulators

• Outlook: UCFKnights has this team on the right track. They are stockpiling young talent and staying competitive at the ML level. Atlanta has some serious firepower on offense but lacks the starting pitching to make a difference this year.
• Key additions: Brady Ward is a fine addition in CF. He could be a difference maker. Vincent Colome, a Rule 5 pick, is also an interesting addition.
• Key losses: None.
• Stat Monster: Scooter Pierce playing way above his head, going 12-4 with a 3.75 era.

4. Augusta Pounders

• Outlook: It's no secret that the Pounders are taking a hiatus at the ML level. They will have the #2 overall pick and look to add a big bat to balance out their already pitching-heavy minors.
• Key addition: Whomever they grab with the #2 pick and Rule 5 draftee Bernard Beimel.
• Key losses: None
• Stat Monster: Vincente Martin was an absolute defensive whiz last season, winning a Gold Glove in CF with four errors, 13 plus plays and just one minus play. Oh yeah, he also lead the majors with 91 stolen bases.

NL CENTRAL

1. Mexico City Day Laborers

• Outlook: The pain of a World Series collapse still looms large in the city known for its "Fecal Snow". After big moves by Tampa Bay in the offseason, the dater of men pulled the trigger on a deal that brought two time Cy Young Award winner Skeeter Duncan over to Mexico City. Pair that with the likes of Ken Holbert and Rob Reese and you have a team destined to make noise in Season 11.
• Key additions: Skeeter, Skeeter, inning eater.
• Key losses: None.
• Stat Monster: Reese's 38 HR, 114 RBI, 48 SB and .342 average make him the best five-tool player in the bigs.

2. Charlotte Diggities

• Outlook: After missing a Wild Card birth by six games last year, the Diggities hope to take the steps neccessary to earn a playoff bid this year.
• Key losses: Tony Santos and his 2.86 era will be a huge loss.
• Key additions: Oswaldo Torres and Harry Lee will try and fill Santos' shoes. Chipper Matheny will help out in the pen.
• Stat Monster: 27 HR, 98 RBI, 40 SB, a Gold Glove in RF and an All-Star appearance. Not a bad rookie campaign for the young stud, Vic Moya.

3. New Orleans Levee Builders

• Outlook: Dwhit and his Levee Builders return all five starters in their rotation and appear poised to make a solid run for a playoff spot.
• Key losses: Nigel Nomura at second base.
• Key additions: Rock Russell, a solid young 3b (and personal favorite of mine) will allow Jerome Martin to move to 2b. Nigel Messmer was a huge sign in the bullpen and should give New Orleans some much needed flexibility.
• Stat Monster: Martin and Terry Coleman combined for 91 HR last season.

4. Memphis Blues

• Outlook: Memphis' days of competing for a division title are over. Drastic changes must be made for this team to challenge Mexico City any time soon. The #12 overall pick and several Rule 5 picks will help get this franchise back to where it once was.
  
• Key losses: Jack Henley mave have been addition by subtraction.
• Key additions: Ike Spencer was a very solid Rule 5 pick.
• Stat Monster: Vlad Campos hit 43 HR and drove in 109 runs.

NL WEST

1. Arizona Thunder Chickens

• Outlook: The most dominant team in Camp history looks to win the NL West for the 11th straight time. The new Chickens are a different looking team than the ones in the past but still have the firepower to get things done. Orlando Blanco quietly remains one of Camp's top tier SPs.
• Key losses: Corey Speaker (Retired), Earl Gabriel, John Bruske and Lance Seaver will be sorely missed.
• Key additions: Stan Pressley, Jim Leach, Wes Nichting and Raymond Farley.
• Stat Monster: Bruske hit 37 HR, drove in 132 runs and posted a .311 average.

2. Tucson Sands

• Outlook: Tucson could easily win this division if they would have signed some pitching in the offseason. Tucson now boasts THE BEST LINEUP IN CAMP. However, as good as their hitting and fielding looks to be, their pitching is equally that bad. They would need to sign Jeff Weaver and Hideki Irabu to improve and earn the status "horrendous".
• Key losses: Jim Ventrella and Domingo Diaz make an awful staff worse.
• Key additions: Walker Fossum is one of the best hitters I've seen in the game. I've already cast my ROY vote for him.
• Stat Monster: Howard Darwin hit .328 and launched 35 bombs in Season 10.

3. Salem Grunge

• Outlook: Salem made it clear to everyone, by signing Ajax this offseason, that they fully intend to compete in the NL West. The Grunge's problem is of course the pitching staff. Jvig is hell bent on getting this thing going but with no top of the rotation starters it's going to be real tough.
• Key additions: Ajax Blair brings his 365 HR and 95 million dollar contract to town.
• Key losses: Ross Kerr left town for Canada.
• Stat Monster: Blair pounded out 50 HR and 125 RBI for Tampa Bay last season.

4. Omaha Overload

• Outlook: Despite having some scattered talent at the ML level, Omaha is one of the worst overall franchises in Camp. Godspeed Readhead.
• Key additions: PT Jordan and Posiedon Grey were both solid acquisitions.
• Key losses: None.
• Stat Monster: Banana Byrne went 14-6 with a 3.51 last season and won league's Most Fun Name To Say Award.

Adams gets record max deal from Boozers

Inks 5-year $110 million deal

Just when you thought the contract Otis Parent signed with Tampa Bay yesterday was big, the Boozers go and outdo themselves. The team announced today the re-signing of pitcher Matt Adams to a 5-year $110 million deal that includes a $10 million signing bonus, a no-trade clause and a player option for the final season worth $20 million.

The 35-year-old six-time All-Star and 2-time Cy Young Award winner was 21-9 last season in Tampa Bay with a 3.21 ERA in 34 starts. Adams ranks second all-time in strikeouts with 1,798 and third all-time in wins (185) and WHIP (1.16).

The contract signing marks the largest in Camp history, breaking the previous record set yesterday by Parent's deal with the Boozers.

Matt Adams Tampa Bay Boozers Age: 35 B/T: L/L Born: Simi Valley, CA Position(s): P (P) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Tampa Bay gives Parent record deal

Homerun king signs 5-year $100 million deal

After days of heavy bidding and much speculation, Camp's all-time homerun king will remain in Tampa Bay. All it took to keep him there was a record breaking contract.

Parent has inked a 5-year $100 million deal with the Boozers that includes a no-trade clause. The contract is by far the largest ever given to a player in the history of Camp. Parent, who has 650 career homeruns, has spent all 9.5 of his ML seasons in Tampa Bay.

Last season Parent hit .289 with 64 homeruns and 163 RBI with a 1.001 OPS. It marked the fifth time in the past six seasons that the 5-time All-Star and 3-time MVP had hit more than 60 homeruns in a season.

Otis Parent Tampa Bay Boozers Age: 30 B/T: L/L Born: Hammond, IN Position(s): 1B View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Hartford lands Thurman

Slugger signs 4-year $72 million deal

Former Toledo Flame Thrower masher Curt Thurman took the money and ran east. The free agent left fielder has left Toledo to sign a 4-year $72 million deal with the Hartford Minutemen which includes a $2 million signing bonus.

The 31-year-old 4-time All-Star is fourth on Camp's career homerun list with 450 career dingers. In his final season with Toledo last year he hit .281 with 42 homeruns and 128 RBIs. He joins a powerful lineup in Hartford that already includes sluggers Raymond Purcell, Terrence Malone, Ron Turner, Dewayne Long and Edgar Paniagua.

Curt Thurman Hartford Minutemen Age: 31 B/T: R/R Born: Queens Village, NY Position(s): 2B/1B/LF/DH View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Gabriel leaves Arizona

Signs 2-year deal with Burlington

Camp's all-time wins leader Earl Gabriel has left the Arizona Thunder Chickens after 9.5 seasons with the team to sign a 2-year $2.6 million deal with the Burlington Bees. The 40-year old Gabriel was 7-1 last season in 44 appearances (8 starts) with a 4.36 ERA. The ERA was a career worst for Gabriel and his 1.33 WHIP was also a career worst.

The 2-year deal is probably the final contract of his career for the 5-time Cy Young Award winner and 7-time All-Star. The lefty will likely be used in a relief role in Burlington.

Earl Gabriel Burlington Bees Age: 40 B/T: L/L Born: Torrington, WY Position(s): P (P) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Best closer ever?

The argument can certainly be made for Scranton's Charlie Winston. Season 10's NL Fireman of the Year is Camp's all-time leader in saves with 287 (leads second place Ricky Adkinson of Tampa Bay by 92 saves) and with another average season this year, he'll become Camp's all-time ERA leader (needs just under 80 IP to qualify).

The 8-time All-Star has made every All-Star team since season 2 and is also a 3-time Fireman of the Year (two times in the AL, once in the NL).

At 32-years-old, Winston enters season 11 (his fourth in Scranton) coming off one of the best seasons of his career. Last year he saved a career-high 37 games in 41 opportunities while pitching in a career high 82.2 innings and posting a 2.18 ERA. Winston also enters season 11 in the final year of the 3-year $17.4 million contract he signed before season 9. The last two seasons in which Winston was expected to be a free agent the following season were the best two seasons of his career (seasons 3 and 8).

And with Ricky Adkinson's reduced save opportunities in recent seasons, Winston has a chance to record 300 career saves before any other reliever can notch 200. Best closer ever? I'd say so. And he's not done yet.

Charlie Winston Scranton Coal Miners Age: 32 B/T: L/L Born: Fithian, IL Position(s): P (ClA) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

O-Par, Abreu-cadabra and Karl

O-PAR, ABREU-CADABRA AND KARL

First Ten Seasons Dominated By Handful of Superstars

(Philadelphia, PA) Well, that’s a wrap on the first ten seasons of Camp. We saw damn fine baseball year in and year out from numerous major league greats; but I don’t think it a reach to say a handful of superstars have dominated the game. Names like Gabriel, Abreu, Parent and Adams were consistently acheiving excellence that far surpassed their peers. In honor of their feats I put together a sampling of the offensive leaders to date, according to WIS Sabremetrics, and verified by yours truly:

• AVERAGE: Felipe Abreu -- .388
• HOME RUNS: Otis Parent – 600 (nice average of 60/per, eh? Eat your heart out Babe)
• RBIs: Otis Parent -- 1,618
• RUNS: Felipe Abreu -- 1,477
• OBP: Felipe Abreu -- .511
• SLG: O-Par -- .678
• OPS: Jim Drese -- 1.107
• SB: Marty Schneider (Who???) Marty Schneider -- 395
• TIMES REACHING BASE: Felipe Abreu -- 3,834
• EXTRA BASE HITS: O-Par -- 951
• HITS: Felipe Abreu –2,351
• SINGLES: Felipe Abreu – 2,108
• DOUBLES: Jim Hardy -- 408
• TRIPLES: DeWayne Long -- 103
• WALKS: Felipe Abreu -- 1,427
(Minimum: 4,000 plate appearances.)

What is most obvious to you? To me, it’s that Felipe Abreu and Otis Parent are first ballot Hall of Famers. What is less obvious is that they’re both afraid of heights and Hillary Duff. Who knew?

Keeping with a theme, here are a few of the pitching leaders from the past ten seasons, again according to WIS Sabremetrics and researched thoroughly:

• WINS: Earl Gabriel -- 216
• ERA: Karl Piersoll -- 2.99
• STRIKEOUTS: Karl Piersoll -- 1,880
• INNINGS PITCHED: Abdul Wallace -- 2,501 2/3
• SAVES: Charlie Winston -- 287
• SHUTOUTS: Karl Piersoll -- 24
• QUALITY STARTS: Abdul Wallace -- 237
• COMPLETE GAMES: Karl Piersoll -- 75
• WHIP: Karl Piersoll – 1.09
• BATTING AVERAGE ALLOWED: Karl Piersoll – .228
• WINNING PERCENTAGE: Earl Gabriel -- .828
• SAVE PERCENTAGE: Darrell Baez -- .892 (166/186)
(Minimum: 1,500 innings pitched. Excluding Save %)

Jumping out and slapping you in the face is the consistent brilliance of Karl Piersoll. Before sitting down and crunching the numbers I went into this expecting Gabriel and Adams to dominate these stats, but it was quickly apparent I forgot about Piersoll. Could it be a two-time Cy Young winner is under-rated as an all-time great? I say yes.

Don’t believe it, here is his actual career stat line:


Other than O-Par I think the player of the first ten seasons is Karl Piersoll. If I can successfully learn how to do it, I will post a poll and see who agrees....and no Marty Schneider (who?) Marty Schneider will not be finalist.

The Road to the World Series

"Two paths diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
and that has made all the difference."
--- Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken"


This weekend, the Mexico City Day Laborers will travel to the Richmond Chin Music to start the World Series. The two franchises traveled very different paths to this point. Chin Music was built largley through excellent drafting and trades (see my 12/3/08 post). As you see below, the Day Laborers were built almost exclusively through very high draft picks Which will you travel?


Mexico City Day Laborers (NL)

C - R.J. ("Whassap!") Mieses - Signed as an internationl free agent in season 7
C - Arlie ("Shoeshine") Kendall - Fifth-round draft choice (153 overall) in season 4
1B - Gerald ("Monster") Bennett - First-round draft choice (4th overall) in season 4
1B - Louis ("Strike the") Pose - Ninth-round draft choice (276th overall) in season 3
2B - Donald ("Robster Craws") Shibata - Acquired in the Rule 5 draft in season 8
2B - Lewis ("Sassa") Frascatore - Second-round draft pick (75th overall) in season 3
3B - Mateo ("I Say") Sojo - Drafted 1st overall in the season 6 draft
SS - David ("Ass-Munch") Giles - Acquired via trade in season 8 (a former 17th-overall pick)
SS - Pablo ("El Guante") Suarez - Drafted in the 7th round (212th overall) in season 3
LF - Ken ("The Franchise") Holbert - Drafted 1st overall in the season 7 draft
CF - Rob ("Mario Williams") Reese - Drafted 1st overall in the season 5 draft
RF - ("Dr.") Zues Osborne - Draft in tghe 1st round (12th overall) in season 2
OF - Benito ("Dorito") Guzman - International free agent signed in season 1

SP1 - Pedro ("Meet My") Johnson - Drafted 1st overall in season 3
SP2 - Hector ("Poodles") Soto - International free agent signed in season 1
SP3 - Davey ("Inkjet") Romero - Acquired via trade in season 8
SP4 - Harry ("Ass") James - International free agent signed in season 6
RP - John ("Boom'Boom") Henderson - Drafted in the 8th round (253rd overall) in season 4
RP - Rico ("Jill-wasn't") Jacquez - International free agent signed in season 4
RP - Joshua ("Engelbert") Wainhouse - An original Day Laborer
RP - Albie ("Over Here Sittin' in the Bench") Prieto - International free agent signed in season 3
RP - Carl ("Spackler") Spencer - Drafted in the 5th round (148th overall) in season 3
Cl - ("Kill") Bill Randolph - Acquired via trade from Chin Music in season 7

Does Defense Matter?

Does defense matter in determining a winning franchise? It's not terribly scientific, but the data below seems to indicate that it does. Of the top 10 defensive teams in the league each year, on average 6.4 make the playoffs:

Season 1 - 4 of the top 10 defensive teams in the bigs made the playoffs
2 - 7 of 10
3 - 7 of 10
4 - 7 of 10
5 - 5 of 10
6 - 5 of 10
7 - 7 of 10
9 - 8 of 10
10 - 7 of 10

More later.

Camp Track Record of Return Owners

As we approach the end of season 10, I thought it would be interesting to look at the league's history of how many owners return from season to season.

From season 1 to season 2, 22 of 32 owners returned.
From season 2 to season 3, 17/32 (our worst year for this)
From season 3 to season 4, 25/32
From season 4 to season 5, 27/32
From season 5 to season 6, 20/32
From season 6 to season 7, 24/32
From season 7 to season 8, 23/32
From season 8 to season 9, 28/32 (our best)
From season 9 to season 10, 24/32.

On average, we replace 8.67 owners per season. Also notable, simdog is on his third different franchise in Camp this season. I hate to say it, but I have been the only returning owner in my division, the AL South, for the past 4 seasons. Hang in there, yoker70 & zeb25! Thankfully, vegas9517 has already re-upped for season 11.

All-Time Winningest Franchises

As of the 12/3 pm game, the following are the winningest franchises in Camp:

1. Arizona Thunder Chickens 1080-533 (4 WS titles)
2. Tampa Bay Boozers 1029-584
3. Austin/Richmond Chin Music 981-632 (1 WS)
4. Louisville/Toledo Flame Throwers 954-659
5. Philadephia Athletics 932-681 (1 WS)
6. Toronto Greased-Up Deaf Guys 921-692 (1 WS)
7. San Francisco Slumpbusters 907-706

Gabriel Update

Two and one-half months ago (the last freaking post on this blog), it was speculated that Earl Gabriel might be entering his Camp swan song. At 39 years old, his skills have been in decline, exacerbated by a stress fracture in his pitching elbow in season 8. Whither Earl the Pearl now?

Entering into the final week of Camp season 10, we find Gabriel largely relegated to swing-starter role on the age-defying Thunder Chickens team. Gabriel is 7-0 with a 4.57 ERA in 42 games (7 of which are starts) and a WHIP of 1.51. The ERA is the highest of his career, the win total ties his lowest, and the WHIP bar far his worst. Nevertheless, he has added to his Camp-record win total, which now stands at 216 (against 44 losses, for an astounding 83% win percentage), 30 more than Abdul Wallace, 32 more than Matt Adams, and 38 more than Orlando Blanco.

While it appears that Gabriel is about to blow the horn on his career, he will nevertheless be remembered as the Gold Standard for starting pitchers in Camp. Farewell, Earl of Camp!

Decision looms on Gabriel's future

Has the most dominant pitcher in the history of Camp seen the last of his days as a ML starter? It's a fair question to ask considering the decline of Arizona's Earl Gabriel over the past few seasons. Gabriel hasn't been the same since a stress fracture caused him to miss a significant amount of time in season 8 and now the 5-time Cy Young Award winner hits free agency as a 39-year-old.

It's not known what Gabriel's demands are for the upcoming season but one would have to assume that the Thunder Chickens intend on re-signing him. But season 9 was the worst season for Gabriel since his first full season in the desert. He went 14-8 with a 3.88 ERA in 37 starts for Arizona last season, which are pretty decent numbers for the average pitcher. Gabriel, however, is held to a different standard. The 3.88 ERA was his worst since season 2 and his ERA has been climbing sharply since season 7.

Combine a steady increase in ERA with a sharp decline in ratings, and Arizona seems to have a decision on their hands. Heading into season 10, Gabriel has lost 8 points off his stamina, 5 points off his control and 5 and 6 points off his L and R splits respectively, not to mention what he's lost on each of his pitches. To pile on, his health rating, which was never that great, now resides at a scary 47.

Flash Hammond and Orlando Blanco are the clear 1-2 punch at the front of the Thunder Chickens rotation these days but after those two there are plenty of question marks, the biggest of those question marks being Gabriel. Does Arizona try to squeeze as many innings out of him as possible as a starter this season or move him into the bullpen? Do they even re-sign him at 39-years-old or do they let him walk or perhaps even work a sign and trade with another team? Arizona GM colson55555 has said in the past that Gabriel will retire a Thunder Chicken, though that was before his major injury in season 8. Time will tell what's in store for Camp's winningest pitcher of all time.

Flashback to Season 2

Picking up where pvc left off, I review below Camp season 2, in which an upstart owner took over a fledgling 70-92 franchise and turned it into the World Champs in his first season.

Season 2 Recap

When a franchise relocates under new management after 1 season, it typically means that the franchise is destined for a few years of mediocrity at best. Not so in Camp season 2. Taking over a fledging Mexico City franchise run by a mysterious owner named "dwaskos," TxLnghrn jumped into HBD by naming his franchise the Austin Chin Music. The Chin Music went from 70-92 in season 1 to 98-64, largely because of one key trade mentioned below. Surprisingly, Austin swept through the first two playoff rounds, beating season 1 champ San Diego in the Divison Series, and the (then) Philadelphia Athletics in the LCS. The World Series paired the Augusta Pounders, winners of 106 games on the regular season, against Austin. In a thrilling 7-game series, Austin come out victorious. How did Austin go from the celler to the penthouse in one season? See the "Key Trades" below.

Heroes

The league MVPs were Jamie Hillenbrand in the AL and Alex Rodriguez in the NL. Hillenbrand hit .377, hit 34 HRs, drove in 124 runs, and scored 166. The ironic thing about Hillenbrand is that he'd been traded in the pre-season from Austin to Colorado (see the trade details below), and yet Austin was a better team after the deal. Rodriguez, playing for Toronto, hit .345 with 50 HRs and 188 RBIs and an OPS near 1.200. Ronnie Walton of Augusta won the NL Cy Young, going 23-3 with a 3.48 ERA. Sid Tanner of Austin won the AL Cy, having gone 20-7 3.67 after being acquired from Colorado in the deal for Hillenbrand.

Key Trades

Which leads me to the key trades of season 2. Prior to the beginning of the season, Colorado proposed a deal that would send P - Sid Tanner, OF - Vic Hafner, and 1B - Julian Sanchez to Austin in exchange for OF - Jamie Hillenbrand and P - Rob Sanders. After hesitating to part with Hillenbrand (the best player on his team in season 1), Austin elected to go for it and strengthen his team in 3 areas. As noted above, Tanner went on to win the Cy and go 4-0 with a 0.57 ERA in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Hafner hit .294 with 41 HRs and 153 RBIs and made the all-star game, and Sanchez hit .333 with 17 HRs and 96 RBIs. So, even though Hillenbrand won the MVP, Austin made out like bandits on this one.

Another key trade was Toronto sending P - Enrique Gomez to New Orleans in exchange for 1B - Evan Harrison. While Gomez did go on to save 27 games for NO in season 4, Harrison has become a key cog in Toronto's current juggernaut. Finally, the Huntingon Hillbillies showed their deliverance-ness by trading 1B - Denny Spence to Arizona in exchange for two scrubs. All Spence went on to do was to average .340 for the next 6 seasons for the Chicks.

Season one...a look back

While season nine wears on and the blog remains stagnant, it's time to take a look back at Camp's opening season. Keep in mind that the amateur draft was much more difficult due to not being able to rank your players. Also, if I missed somebody or you have anything to add, post it up. The blog adds a great deal of fun to the league and shouldn't be treated like the Tucsons of the world.

Heroes

• Matt Adams: current Tampa Bay Boozer and former Padre, led San Diego to it's one and only title, going 4-0 in the postseason and posting an outlandish .189 oav and 0.89 whip.
• Felipe Abreu: the best hitter this world has to offer set the bar high even for his own standards by collecting 255 hits (single season record) and getting on base at a .497 clip.
• Dallas Cameron: Amazingly, this current FA hit 76 bombs and drove in a ridiculous 199 runs to open up Camp. What's more amazing, is that he did all that while swinging at every single pitch that was thrown! Walking 18 times in 667 abs is amazing all by itself

Draft Picks (studs)

• Flash Hammond (#1 overall): A can't miss SP prospect to start out proved to be just that. Flash has posted 67 wins at the ML level to go along with an above-average 3.70 era and oh yeah, he's helped Zona win the past three World Series.
• Emmanual McCartin (#2 overall): A two-time All-Star, Emmanual McCartin has averaged 27 hr 99 rbi .282 avg over his five full ML seasons. The versatile McCartin has won Silver Sluggers at SS and 3B and captured his first Gold Glove at third base last season.
• Matty Robinson (#7 overall): Perhaps the steal of the draft, Robinson can flat out rake. He is approaching 300 career hrs (282) and once hit 68 hr in a single season. Throw in the fact that his career avg and obp is .317/.411 respectively, and you got yourself a franchise player. Matty is a two-time All-Star first baseman and captured his first Silver Slugger at the position in season 8.
  
• John Bruske (#8 overall): How this guy ended up in Zona the past few years, I'll never know. Like almost all Thunder Chickens, Bruske hits over .300 and walks more than he strikes out. Yada, Yada, Yada.

Draft picks (Busts)

• Elvis Nicholson (#3 overall): While some may disagree, Elvis is your classic "Ham Sandwich." While failing to win more than 11 game in a season and possessing a career ML era of 4.69, this guy is Camp's version of Kerry Wood without the 20 strikeout game.
• Sherman Byrne (#4 overall): Sherman's career era is also in the mid 4's and while his career win loss record stands at 68-33, all I can think of is "YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN ROBINSON HERE!"
• Derrek Stein (#9 overall): If the purpose of the amateur draft was to find somebody to lead your high A team to victory, then I could see Stein being drafted here. But as that is currently not the objective, Stein is an awful choice here. With splits that make Dave23 weak in the knees, DS flat out doesn't have the stuff to be on an ML roster. If Stein sounds familiar, you may know his name from it being attached to the third worst single season loss record (24)!