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)!
  

League Leaders

National League : Batters

AVG

1 - Francis Cannon (SWB)----.400
2 - Lance Seaver (ARI)--------.365
3 - Matty Robinson (NY2)----.360
4 - Dee James (ARI)-----------.358
5 - Wes Singleton (MEM)-----.356

HR

1 - Matty Robinson (NY2)---27
2 - Flip Marshall (NY2)-----21
3 - Wilson Sanders (CH1)---19
4 - Tomas Nunez (CH1)-----18
5 - Ajax Blair (TB)-----------18

OPS

1 - Matty Robinson (NY2)----1.277
2 - Jim Drese (TOR)----------1.151
3 - Francis Cannon (SWB)---1.118
4 - Flip Marshall (NY2)------1.082
5 - Sven Reid (SWB)----------1.036

League Leaders

NATIONAL LEAGUE - PITCHERS

WINS

1. Matt Adams - Tampa Bay- 8
2. Jack Harris - Scranton - 7
3. Karl Piersoll - Tampa Bay- 7
4. Orlando Blanco- Arizona - 6
5. Flash Hammond - Arizona - 6

ERA

1. Roy Whitaker - Toronto - 1.69
2. Esteban Castro - Atlanta - 1.82
3. Jorge Cedeno - Memphis - 2.12
4. Earl Gabriel -Arizona - 2.35
5. Don Bale -Toronto - 2.38

SAVES

1. Lon Valdes - New Orleans - 10
2. Galahad Lee - Honolulu - 9
3. Rico Miro - Toronto - 9
4. Bill Randolph - Mexico City - 8
5. Wiki Beltran - Memphis - 8

AMERICAN LEAGUE - PITCHERS

WINS

1. Slim Herrera - Las Vegas - 7
2. Kelvim Cookson - Austin - 6
3. Harry Martin - Las Vegas - 6
4. Stump Womack - Portland - 6
5. Skeeter Duncan - San Francisco - 6

ERA

1. Harry Bonilla - Syracuse - 2.18
2. Stump Womack - Portland - 2.34
3. Karl Quinn - Hartford - 2.76
4. Rick Faulk - Toledo - 2.92
5. Ronnie Walton - Rochester - 3.29

SAVES

1. Darrell Baez - Las Vegas - 14
2. Lefty Brown - Trenton - 12
3. Don Lamb - Detroit - 8
4. Al Bennett - Kansas City - 8
5. Robin O'Keefe - Austin - 7

SEASON NINE PREVIEW / Part Five

(New York, NY) Without further adieu' we wrap up our franchise previews.

NL South

Memphis Blues / 88-74 / NL South Champs
Season 8 in Review: Came out on top in one of the few compelling pennant races last season by beating out New Orleans with a six game winning streak down the stretch. Arguably the most well coached team in Camp, no club gets more out of their talent than Memphis. On paper the roster looks like a middle to below average club, but the stats don’t lie; finishing in the top 5 of all major pitching categories and holding their own offensively with clutch power hitting, clubbing 230HRs with a top 5 finish in SLG%.

MVP: RHP Cookie Juarez (13 wins – 8 losses, 3.26ERA, 1.27WHIP), continues to do more with less. No one in Camp gets more from his talent than Juarez.

Underachiever: SS Tuck McClain (.246BA, 4HR, 42RBI, 27SB) Rookie was a liability in the field, rather anemic at getting on base, scoring runs and stealing bases. Maybe Blues are asking too much of him.

Outlook: Who can doubt this team’s heart and desire after seven straight seasons of above .500 baseball? The Post will, we think they’re due for a reality check. The rising talents of their Division-mates are the biggest reason we question the Blues’ ability to stay on top in Season 9.
78-84, No Playoffs.

New Orleans Levee Builders / 87-75 / Wild Card Winner- Lost in 1st Round
Season 8 in Review: For the seventh time in eight seasons, NOLB slugged their way into the playoffs, once again dragging their sub-par pitching staff kicking and screaming all the way. However, season 8 saw slight improvement across the board in the staff’s statistics, allowing 62 less runs and raising overall pitching from 12th to 7th in the NL. The bullpen was especially solid, leading the league in saves with 55 and helping the team to above .500 records in extra inning and one run games; one of only 4 teams in the NL to do so.

MVP: LHP Lon Valdes (4-6, 3.35, 46SV, 6BSV) NL Fireman of the Year.

Underachiever: SS Ken Wynn (.270, 28, 92) Solid defensive SS, but that isn’t why he’s the highest paid SS in the league. Offensive production needs to improve dramatically.

Outlook: Age is becoming a concern with this roster, however their key players are at their prime and this is the season to see a breakthrough.
88-74, NL South Champs

Mexico City Day Laborers / 76-86 / No Playoffs
Season 8 in Review: No team used platooning as effectively as Mexico City last season. One of the youngest clubs in Camp, e_mandat used this season as an extended Spring Training, shaking out his large roster to see who would step up. In the meantime, the results were astonishing, taking a perennial doormat and making them very competitive. MCDL improved by 28 wins between seasons 7 and 8. Not much more needs to be said.

MVP: e_mandat, for having the patience to allow his young team to rise to the occasion.

Underachiever: RHP Davey Romero (9-16, 4.48, 1.25) A bit more is needed from your highest paid player and team leader, even if he is only 25 years old.

Outlook: Look for the Day Laborers to continue coming on strong, and depending on their youngsters’ progress, don’t be surprised if they steal this division.
84-78, Wildcard Winners

Charleston Chews / 61-101 / No playoffs
Season 8 in Review: The team Formerly Known as the Houston Puma Monkeys (???) hit the ball all over the park and finished a very respectable 6th in total offense in the NL. Unfortunately, if not for that beer league softball team masquerading as the Tucson Sands, this pitching staff would have finished last in every single pitching category that is tracked…even balks! Actually quite an amazing feat.

MVP: RHP Alfredo Lopez (10-15, 4.31, 1.38) Best of a bad lot.

Underachiever: Previous front office ran a 96 win team into the ground in 3 seasons. Blech.

Outlook: No relief for the newly minted Charleston Chews fans in the near future, however kudos for moving the franchise from a city like Houston to the very under-rated town of Charleston, SC. Mmmm, Planters Inn Punch….ahhhhh.
Well, we were going to go off on a rant against Houston, Texas here, but we’ve deleted it because we’ve been good about not digressing and don’t want to start now. Houston, good Lord…

57-105, No Playoffs.

NL West

Arizona Thunder Chickens / 104-58 / World Champions
Season 8 in Review: Third Championship in a row and 4th in five years. Ho, hum. The Empire led the league in most offensive categories, was top 2 or 3 in all major pitching stats. Yawn. Oh, by the way, only team in Camp to score 1,000+ runs in each and every season, only franchise to win their division each and every season, only franchise with a 20 game winner in each and every season...you get the idea, we’ll spare you the laundry list of similarly superlative statistics this team has compiled. This just in, The Thunder Chickens were good last year and have been for a long time.

MVP: 2B John Bruske (.335, 41, 151) the straw that stirs the drink.

Underachiever: LHP Jumbo Santiago (3-3, 5.98, 1.42, 7SV, 5BSV) Bribed with a $7 mil salary and brought in to close games, he never could put it together. His 390 appearances and 37 years of age have caught up to him.

Outlook: Maybe we are hoping against hope, but this certainly looks like the year the rest of the NL catches up to the Evil Chicken Empire. The NL West however still has long roads to hoe. Look for an unprecedented 9th division title in a row in Arizona.
98-64, NL West Champs

Honolulu Heart Attacks / 83-79 / No Playoffs
Season 8 in Review: This franchise seemed to be progressing towards challenging Arizona for NL West supremacy, culminating with an unlikely Wild Card berth in season 6. With their minor league talent pool it stood to reason there was nowhere to go but up. Well, that’s why they play the games because Season 8 saw HHA take yet another surprising step backwards. Pitching and batting regressed at least 10% across all major statistics since that season 6, while to a man, every key player had sub-par seasons compared to their history and ability…very demoralizing for Heart Attack fans. Actually with the performance they had last season, their nickname makes a whole lot more sense.

MVP: 3B Emmanuel McCartin (.277, 21, 81, .845OPS), NL Silver Slugger winner at third base.

Underachiever: 3B Emmanuel McCartin (.277, 21, 81), Still with his talent and salary, McCartin needs to give the team much more.

Outlook: The talent is there on both sides to pick up where they left off 2 seasons ago, but the Post feels other NL powers will keep them down yet again.
85-77, No Playoffs, but very close.

Seattle Grunge / 68-94 / No Playoffs
Season 8 in Review: A very good pitching staff was sabotaged by a lineup that could not score runs, finishing the season in the bottom four in every major offensive category. If a 17-26 record in one run games wasn’t painful enough, the Grunge were outscored in their 94 losses by an average of less than 2.5 runs per game. No team suffered more tough losses.

MVP: RHP Emmanuel Guerrero (0-3, 4.36, 1.15, 30SV, 5BSV), as close as you could get to a guaranteed save in Camp.

Underachiever: LF Brian Masato (.253, 34, 99) Brought in midway through the season at a steep price to add needed punch to the lineup. His stats with Seattle tell the story, (.214, 7, 24… in 231PA). Yikes.

Outlook: If the offense doesn’t pick up, a staff full of Don Bale clones would be hard pressed to carry this club to a winning record. AS of press time, cloning remains illegal.
65-97, No Playoffs.


Tucson Sands / 32-130 / No playoffs
Season 8 in Review: Not a very good season, I’m afraid. Tucson pitching in particular was less than effective, setting records for futility in just about every statistical category. Go take a look, it’s something to see actually. We’ll wait…

MVP: Popcorn vendor Stan Stugots. Stan sold a record 16,005 total units at Tucson Electric Park during the season.

Underachiever: The Tucson Sands

Outlook: We are reminded of the great USC coach John McKay, while coaching the Tampa Bay Bucs to a record 14th straight loss, he was asked what he thought of his team’s execution. He replied, “I am all for it.” Another great McKay quote that is appropriate here, "After a 51-0 loss to Notre Dame I told the team, 'Forget it. There are 700 million people in China who didn't know anything about it.' The next day, a guy called me from China and asked 'What happened, Coach?'".
40-122, No Playoffs but plenty of good draft picks.

SEASON NINE PREVIEW / Part Four

(New York, NY) Continung our series previewing Camp Season 9, let's take a look at the National League; home of three time defending Champions The Arizona Thunder Chickens.

NL North

Toronto Greased-Up Deaf Guys / 112-50 / NL North Champs
Season 8 in Review: Arguably the most complete and well-rounded team in Camp, and certainly the best team named after a Family Guy recurring character, Toronto is poised (finally!) to de-throne the Chicken Empire and represent the National League this season. TGUDG finished in the top 2 or 3 in every major pitching and offensive category last season, indicative of their dominant play throught the regular season. There is no weakness to be found on this club, something that cannot be said for any other squad in the National League. Toronto has a bad habit of coming up small in the post-season and another flame-out this time around would certainly trigger profound changes up and down the organization.

MVP: 1B Jim Drese (.351BA, 55HRs, 144RBIs) Drese had a career year and ran away with NL MVP voting.

Underachiever: LHP Juan Piedra (17 wins – 7 losses, 3.99ERA, 1.35WHIP). His post-season effort was piss-poor really, as was that of the entire staff…except His Majesty, Don Bale.

Outlook: The Post is betting this is the year they get the Chicken monkey off their back and power through to win it all.
110-52, World Champs!

Milwaukee Bondsmen / 86-76 / No Playoffs
Season 8 in Review: Milwaukee is the Goldilocks of Camp, not too hot, not too cold; consistently above average, yet never able to put together a breakthrough performance. Milwaukee fans are more than restless at this point as the franchise has finished 1st or 2nd in the division in each of the last eight seasons, made the playoffs in six of those eight, yet never advanced farther than the LCS. Unfortunately, last season was a step backward as the stats reflect this team slightly regressed in every aspect of the game; out of the top 5 in offense and pitching and into the middle of the pack.

MVP: RHP Jim Cepicky (11-4, 3.79, 1.28), The veteran proved to be the stopper of the rotation last season.

Underachiever: 2B Stan Presley (.271, 21, 66), the time is now for Presley to step up and meet the club’s high expectations.

Outlook: Easy team to handicap, as they have been since season one. Look for another above average season with an outside shot at a wild card berth.
84-78, Wild Card Winners

New York Bulldogs / 86-76 / No Playoffs
Season 8 in Review: This club took a real step in the right direction last season; primarily by improving their pitching staff across the board. Ranked 12th in total pitching in Season 7, the staff motored up to 4th ranked last season, by far the best improvement in the league. Offensively, not much to write home about, finishing near the bottom in all major categories. If not for Robinson, this club would be a real lightweight.

MVP: 1B Matty Robinson (.320, 62, 146), one of the all-time great sluggers turned in another strong performance. Money!

Underachiever: The rest of the starting lineup, who collectively averaged a paltry .247BA, 14HRs with 40RBIS. Yikes.

Outlook: Depending on how jway addresses the issues on offense, the pitching is there to make a push into the playoffs. The move to pitcher friendly Shea Stadium won’t help their anemic hitting however.
81-81, No Playoffs.

Chicago Cubs / 73-89 / No playoffs
Season 8 in Review: The hiccup that was Season 7 seems to have been just that as Chicago returned to respectability with a strong offensive output and slight but effective pitching progress throughout Season 8. Young arms developed out of that nightmare the previous season and into dependable pitchers, while the offense slugged along bashing homers at a 240 clip, good for 3rd in the NL.

MVP: RHP “Lights Out” Larry Chambers (3-1, 2.67, 33 Saves, 3BSV), “Lights Out” was one of the best closers in baseball last season anchoring a strong bullpen.

Underachiever: LF Yorvit Morales (.262, 4, 27), never recovered from early nerve irritation and a long stint on the DL. Despite clean bills of health from team doctors, he was slow to return and played without inspiration when he did. Rumors were the bad start Chicago got off to was enough to convince him to shut it down altogether. Not a good example from one of your supposed team leaders.

Outlook: We like Chicago to continue improving on the mound and to continue pounding the ball, but they are most likely still one or two seasons away from challenging the Torontos and Arizonas of the League.
78-84, No Playoffs.

NL East

Tampa Bay Boozers / 100-62 / NL East Champs
Season 8 in Review: Another NL powerhouse franchise finished a hard-charging regular season with another failed effort at getting that Chicken monkey off its back. It’s difficult to fathom this squad has been to one LCS in eight years and even harder to believe they are 0-4 in playoff series against the hated Thunder Chickens while rolling over and dying to a combined 4-13 record in those series. Season 8 was once again a clinical display of TB pitching, highlighted by a remarkable Team ERA of 3.79! Best Save%, Best WHIP, most CGs, most shutouts…yada, yada. Offensively, a very potent 4th Overall. Nevertheless, thanks again to the Evil Chicken Empire, Boozer officials and their fans cannot be pleased with the season.

MVP: RHP Karl Piersoll (25-7, 2.93, 1.10) Unlike the GMs of the league who couldn’t decide between Piersoll and teammate Abdul Wallace in last season’s Cy Young voting, we here at the Post unanimously agree ties are for Communists.

Underachiever: LHP Matt Adams (23-7, 2.95, 1.12), With a post-season ERA hovering near 6 and the Boozers losing all 3 of his starts, you can’t help but scratch your head at that type of performance.

Outlook: Tampa Bay has without a doubt all the tools in place for a Title run. But they need to put up or shut up at this point... until then the Post is unconvinced.
105-57, NL East Champs

Scranton Coal Miners / 90-72 / Wild Card Winner- Lost in 2nd Round
Season 8 in Review: You could see this club building to something special for several seasons now and Season 8 seems to have been the coming out party for this young franchise. Key signings during spring training finally got them over the hump and into the playoffs for the first time in team history. The bullpen deserves special mention as they led the league in holds, one run game victories with 29, as well as extra inning win% with a 12-4 record.

MVP: RHP Bill Appier (16-8, 2.86, 1.06) A #1 in every sense of the term.

Underachiever: LF Alvin Alexander (.262, 30, 74), For a talent like Alexander, he needs to show more at the plate, especially with RISP. Has been a slight liability in the field as well, combine that with a 30 HR and only 74 RBI performance…and it all reflects poorly on his concentration level.

Outlook: A team nucleus that is hitting its prime, strong pitching and improving defense all add up to another playoff run for the Miners.
92-70, Wild Card Winners

Augusta Pounders/ 86-76 / No Playoffs
Season 8 in Review: Augusta joins a long line of Camp franchises where age has become a real concern. Up and down the roster you find starters 30 years and older, and to a man their best years seem behind them. The stats bear this out as the club has inexorably slid down the offensive statistics. Over the last four seasons: Augusta was 1st, 4th, 5th and last season 12th in the NL for total offense. The pitching remains strong but there again, age is showing throughout the rotation. For the first time in club history the staff allowed as many HRs (210) as the lineup hit.

MVP: 1B Edgar Pantiagua (.296, 50, 119), we can’t have an Augusta Pounder MVP and it not be a homerun hitter, right?

Underachiever: 3B Monte Fisher (.274, 13, 75), Those numbers will not do from a middle of the lineup stalwart like Fisher with a high-end salary. Age may finally be catching up with him.

Outlook: It seems the jig is up for The Pounders, with an aging roster and one of the worst farm systems in Camp. The club’s minor league win % was .250 as it was obviously barren of ML prospects at any level. There are no ‘hot minor league prospects’ that GM’s love to trade for when attempting a quick fix nor is there anyone down on the farm that is ready for primetime. A frightening combination for the front office.
75-87, No Playoffs

Atlanta Regulators / 80-82 / No playoffs
Season 8 in Review: If you enjoy watching games with final scores of 11 to 9 and cheering for towering homeruns as they arc gracefully out of ballparks, then we recommend going to see this team play…because you’ll see plenty of long bombs from both teams during Atlanta baseball games. All or nothing is the name of their game and they hit long homeruns as well as anyone. Season 8 saw the Regulators explode for 265 round trippers, good for 2nd in the NL. Pitching on the other hand was a big disappointment as they could never address the gaping holes found all over their staff. It was “Stuart and Lincoln, and pray for rain” as the rest of the club gave up hits and walks like little leaguers. No other club had such a disparity between offensive success and pitching issues such as Atlanta last season.

MVP: 1B “High Flying” Eric Flier (.279, 65, 148), You’ll find Flier’s picture in Webster’s under the entry ‘slugger’.

Underachiever: RF R.J. Sheffield (.225, 19, 70), unacceptable effort from an everyday starter, let alone one with the potential this youngster has.

Outlook: With the questions this club has on the pitching staff, you can’t help but see them falling back to the pack this season. With all due respect to the talented sluggers they have, no one ever won consistently as a one dimensional team.
68-94, No Playoffs.