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Westheim · 08-10-2019, 04:34 PM

Eventually freed by a qualified licensed blacksmith, I returned to Portland just ahead of the holidays. At this point the Raccoons had flicked out almost every guy they wanted to get rid of that any other non-brain-damaged GM would actually vaguely consider trading for. So now it was about adding a free agent or two to the fringes of the roster with the just over $3.5M we currently had available, although only half of that was actually budget space, the rest being the cash left by Nick Valdes and the pile of coins received in the Adam Braun trade.

And that roster had changed considerably since it last been chewed through. So here it was in the aftermath of the Braun deal:

The rotation still read Shumway, Gurney, Sabre, Chavez, and Gutierrez. In the pen we had a number of givens with Wise, Garavito, Fleischer, Hennessy, and Fernandez. Two spots were still available. Dave Martinez was a long option for sure, but there was also something to be said about sending him to St. Petersburg to maybe rekindle his starting pitcher skills. Rabbitt, Bates, and the assortment of arms in AAA was still on the outside looking in.

Behind the dish we had a new starting catcher in Giovanni James, with Toby Ross as backup. These two could actually platoon, with James a left-handed batter and Ross coming in from the right side. The outfield had also shifted considerably. There were currently six outfielders still on the extended roster, which included sure starters Adam Braun (probably in center) and Jimmy Wallace. Then there was the curious case of Wilson Rodriguez, who was already 29 and probably not a great option except that he could platoon with Wallace in right and also be a late-inning defensive replacement. In a cup of coffee and three partial seasons, Rodriguez had accumulated 437 at-bats and a .252/.276/.368 line with 9 HR and 56 RBI. Last year his OPS was .739 with 4 HR and 25 RBI. The rest of the outfielders were fillers at best, with career .219 menace Sean Catella having defensive versatility as his claim to fame when Chris Baldwin outplayed him at every position. Preston Pinkerton was a ho-hum rule 5 pick, and Donovan May was the left-handed dead weight acquired in the Vanatti/Prieto trade. So there were outfield spots available! (Ryan Allan was not in the picture anymore, having been waived ahead of the rule 5 draft, but had gone unclaimed and been assigned to AAA once more)

The same couldn’t be said for the infield, where Ramos and Stalker were sure starters up the middle. Justin Perkins had the third base job more or less bagged, and since Justin Marsingill was also a right-handed batter, the latter’s chances of being optioned to St. Pete were now real. At first base there was currently a platoon of Jarod Howden and Travis Zitzner that was likely to leave everybody angry. In terms of backups we had Baldwin and 2005 Ugliest Baby Boy Sam Cass.

That was not a group that could not be improved. F.e. there was a notable vacancy in leftfield (or center if we could find a centerfielder).

+++

December 20 – Former Buffaloes 3B/2B Adam Corder (.236, 28 HR, 418 RBI) lands with the Gold Sox for 6-yr, $13.32M.
December 20 – The Capitals sign ex-SAL SP Mario Alva (130-140, 4.25 ERA) to a 2-yr, $2.44M contract.
December 23 – The Pacifics are excited to announce the addition of former Capitals closer Seth Odum (46-55, 3.23 ERA, 257 SV). The 32-year-old lefty joins L.A. on a 3-yr, $9.6M contract.
December 27 – More starting pitching for Washington! The Capitals add ex-MIL SP Morgan Shepherd (107-97, 3.55 ERA) on a 3-yr, $7.72M contract.
December 27 – The Condors add ex-SAC CL Jose Ornelas (34-36, 3.30 ERA, 184 SV) for 2-yr, $5.88M.
December 29 – The Titans sign former Capitals SP Alex Contreras (102-154, 4.49 ERA) to a 2-year contract. The 38-year-old right-hander will make $5.84M as part of the deal.
December 29 – Ex-Rebels C Keith Leonard (.287, 43 HR, 481 RBI) joins the Miners for 2-yr, $5.92M.
December 29 – The Raccoons sign veteran experience by giving 36-yr old former Condors catcher Josh Wool (.279, 104 HR, 644 RBI) a 1-yr, $500k contract.
December 30 – The Titans splurge again, signing ex-SFW RF/LF Mark Walker (.260, 85 HR, 387 RBI) to a 7-year deal. The 29-year-old will make $25.32M as part of the deal.
December 30 – Portland also inks ex-MIL INF Brendan Day (.234, 0 HR, 13 RBI) on a 1-year deal that will pay the 26-year-old the sum of $300k.
January 4 – Another major reinforcement for the Pacifics will be ex-Titans SP Greg Gannon (140-95, 3.79 ERA), who signs a 2-yr, $8.2M contract with L.A.

+++

Josh Wool is also not the future, but we see him as an improvement over Toby Ross, especially in the sense that we could use a team leader, and Wool has a renown for keeping order in every chicken coop no matter the size of it. He once won a Gold Glove, but his D has delapitated some over the last years. He hit .320 in a limited capacity for Tijuana last year, but I harbor no illusions there…

Day, who has options, is signed primarily for depth in St. Petersburg. He is a strong and agile defender, but of course he isn’t batting much of a lick. He appeared in only one game with the Loggers last year and otherwise batted .250 with six homers in Lubbock, Texas.

No, these signings aren’t *exciting* in any way… but there are no exciting signings to occur this year. It’s 30-something castoffs and whatever we can fish out of the gutter.

+++

2032 HALL OF FAME BALLOT

After two years during which the induction ceremony in the Hall of Fame had to be cancelled for a lack of inductees (and in fact no player getting more than a 57.6% share of the vote), this year the Hall of Fame could send out invitations for the summer event again, as there would be three new inductees, two of which were on the ballot for the first time.

A 16-year veteran, Hugo “Tiger” Mendoza was a raw slugger even by Stars standards when he broke out in his age 21 season in 2012, hitting .342/.389/.593, leading the league in slugging, and doled out 63 extra-base hits. That would become his mantra for the next decade and change. He led the league in slugging four times and won a Triple Crown in 2016, his last full season in Dallas. That was the only time he won the batting title, although he would lead the CL in homers and RBI once more, slugging 38 homers and driving in 133 with the 2020 Raccoons. He would ultimately also serve 4 1/2 years with the Cyclones before retiring, but was longest and most productive with the Stars. He hit .312/.382/.524 for his career with 336 HR and 1,327 RBI. He also stole 124 bases, although he was not a regular threat after his mid-20s. He made the All Star team seven times, won four Platinum Sticks, a Gold Glove, and was Player of the Year in his Triple Crown season.

A veteran of 23 major league seasons, Yoshi started humbly as the #7 pick in the 2002 draft before reaching the majors for the first time in ’04, hitting .246 in 35 games for the Raccoons. While it wasn’t until 2011, his age 27 season, that he made his first of seven All Star Games, he was a regular with the Raccoons from the early age of 22 and would post OPS+ values far above 100 regulary starting in 2011, when he hit .321 with 50 extra-base hits for Portland. He would arrive back in Portland after stints with the Capitals and Cyclones; in total he spent 12 of his 23 seasons with the Furballs, who nevertheless traded him to Denver halfway through his second contract. He would tingle through three more cities in his final years, retiring after hitting .266 with three homers for the ’26 Buffos as a 42-year-old. He piled up 10,006 at-bats in which he hit .305/.384/.398 with 3,050 base hits, 83 homers, and 1,051 RBI. He walked 1,226 times, more than he struck out. He was an All Star seven times and as late as in his age 38 season, and won a Gold Glove and a Platinum Stick.

The final inductee, first baseman Steve Butler, also split his time between both leagues, starting as a Miner in 2006 and finishing as a Cyclone in 2023. Butler was a refined slugger with patience and would usually command solid walk totals and pile up few strikeouts. He led the FL in slugging once (2011), and in homers twice. He also led the FL in hits twice, but never won a batting title. He was an All Star four times and won three Platinum Sticks before slowly beginning to diminish in his mid-30s, then with the Titans, where he just missed being part of their 2020s dominance. By then he finished out his career in Nashville, L.A., and Cincinnati. Butler is inducted with a .300/.364/.479 slash line, 327 HR, and 1,405 RBI.

All three of this year’s inductees had stints with the Cyclones.

DAL 1B Hugo Mendoza – 1st – 94.9 – INDUCTED
POR 2B Ieyoshi Nomura – 1st – 85.1 – INDUCTED
PIT 1B Steve Butler – 4th – 80.0 – INDUCTED
LAP 1B Stanley Murphy – 4th – 71.9
SAL 1B Alberto Rodriguez – 3rd – 60.9
ATL LF Gil Rockwell – 5th – 31.1
NAS C Pat Walston – 1st – 31.1
??? RF Justin Dally – 2nd – 11.1
VAN 1B Ray Gilbert – 7th – 11.1
??? SP Bob King – 6th – 8.5
SAC SP Ian Rutter – 2nd – 7.2
TOP LF Bill Adams – 1st – 4.3 – DROPPED
CIN C Jayden Jolley – 3rd – 4.3 – DROPPED
CHA CF Ryan Feldmann – 1st – 2.1 – DROPPED
ATL SP Dave Butler – 3rd – 2.1 – DROPPED
RIC CF Danny Flores – 1st – 2.1 – DROPPED
POR LF R.J. DeWeese – 2nd – 1.3 – DROPPED
RIC C Jamal White – 1st – 1.3 – DROPPED
TOP SP Cody Zimmerman – 1st – 0.4 – DROPPED
DEN SS Piet Oosterom – 1st – 0.4 – DROPPED
CIN CL Brett Lillis – 1st – 0.4 – DROPPED

YOSHIIIIIII!!!

08-10-2019, 04:34 PM	#2942
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 13,743	Eventually freed by a qualified licensed blacksmith, I returned to Portland just ahead of the holidays. At this point the Raccoons had flicked out almost every guy they wanted to get rid of that any other non-brain-damaged GM would actually vaguely consider trading for. So now it was about adding a free agent or two to the fringes of the roster with the just over $3.5M we currently had available, although only half of that was actually budget space, the rest being the cash left by Nick Valdes and the pile of coins received in the Adam Braun trade. And that roster had changed considerably since it last been chewed through. So here it was in the aftermath of the Braun deal: The rotation still read Shumway, Gurney, Sabre, Chavez, and Gutierrez. In the pen we had a number of givens with Wise, Garavito, Fleischer, Hennessy, and Fernandez. Two spots were still available. Dave Martinez was a long option for sure, but there was also something to be said about sending him to St. Petersburg to maybe rekindle his starting pitcher skills. Rabbitt, Bates, and the assortment of arms in AAA was still on the outside looking in. Behind the dish we had a new starting catcher in Giovanni James, with Toby Ross as backup. These two could actually platoon, with James a left-handed batter and Ross coming in from the right side. The outfield had also shifted considerably. There were currently six outfielders still on the extended roster, which included sure starters Adam Braun (probably in center) and Jimmy Wallace. Then there was the curious case of Wilson Rodriguez, who was already 29 and probably not a great option except that he could platoon with Wallace in right and also be a late-inning defensive replacement. In a cup of coffee and three partial seasons, Rodriguez had accumulated 437 at-bats and a .252/.276/.368 line with 9 HR and 56 RBI. Last year his OPS was .739 with 4 HR and 25 RBI. The rest of the outfielders were fillers at best, with career .219 menace Sean Catella having defensive versatility as his claim to fame when Chris Baldwin outplayed him at every position. Preston Pinkerton was a ho-hum rule 5 pick, and Donovan May was the left-handed dead weight acquired in the Vanatti/Prieto trade. So there were outfield spots available! (Ryan Allan was not in the picture anymore, having been waived ahead of the rule 5 draft, but had gone unclaimed and been assigned to AAA once more) The same couldn’t be said for the infield, where Ramos and Stalker were sure starters up the middle. Justin Perkins had the third base job more or less bagged, and since Justin Marsingill was also a right-handed batter, the latter’s chances of being optioned to St. Pete were now real. At first base there was currently a platoon of Jarod Howden and Travis Zitzner that was likely to leave everybody angry. In terms of backups we had Baldwin and 2005 Ugliest Baby Boy Sam Cass. That was not a group that could not be improved. F.e. there was a notable vacancy in leftfield (or center if we could find a centerfielder). +++ December 20 – Former Buffaloes 3B/2B Adam Corder (.236, 28 HR, 418 RBI) lands with the Gold Sox for 6-yr, $13.32M. December 20 – The Capitals sign ex-SAL SP Mario Alva (130-140, 4.25 ERA) to a 2-yr, $2.44M contract. December 23 – The Pacifics are excited to announce the addition of former Capitals closer Seth Odum (46-55, 3.23 ERA, 257 SV). The 32-year-old lefty joins L.A. on a 3-yr, $9.6M contract. December 27 – More starting pitching for Washington! The Capitals add ex-MIL SP Morgan Shepherd (107-97, 3.55 ERA) on a 3-yr, $7.72M contract. December 27 – The Condors add ex-SAC CL Jose Ornelas (34-36, 3.30 ERA, 184 SV) for 2-yr, $5.88M. December 29 – The Titans sign former Capitals SP Alex Contreras (102-154, 4.49 ERA) to a 2-year contract. The 38-year-old right-hander will make $5.84M as part of the deal. December 29 – Ex-Rebels C Keith Leonard (.287, 43 HR, 481 RBI) joins the Miners for 2-yr, $5.92M. December 29 – The Raccoons sign veteran experience by giving 36-yr old former Condors catcher Josh Wool (.279, 104 HR, 644 RBI) a 1-yr, $500k contract. December 30 – The Titans splurge again, signing ex-SFW RF/LF Mark Walker (.260, 85 HR, 387 RBI) to a 7-year deal. The 29-year-old will make $25.32M as part of the deal. December 30 – Portland also inks ex-MIL INF Brendan Day (.234, 0 HR, 13 RBI) on a 1-year deal that will pay the 26-year-old the sum of $300k. January 4 – Another major reinforcement for the Pacifics will be ex-Titans SP Greg Gannon (140-95, 3.79 ERA), who signs a 2-yr, $8.2M contract with L.A. +++ Josh Wool is also not the future, but we see him as an improvement over Toby Ross, especially in the sense that we could use a team leader, and Wool has a renown for keeping order in every chicken coop no matter the size of it. He once won a Gold Glove, but his D has delapitated some over the last years. He hit .320 in a limited capacity for Tijuana last year, but I harbor no illusions there… Day, who has options, is signed primarily for depth in St. Petersburg. He is a strong and agile defender, but of course he isn’t batting much of a lick. He appeared in only one game with the Loggers last year and otherwise batted .250 with six homers in Lubbock, Texas. No, these signings aren’t exciting in any way… but there are no exciting signings to occur this year. It’s 30-something castoffs and whatever we can fish out of the gutter. +++ 2032 HALL OF FAME BALLOT After two years during which the induction ceremony in the Hall of Fame had to be cancelled for a lack of inductees (and in fact no player getting more than a 57.6% share of the vote), this year the Hall of Fame could send out invitations for the summer event again, as there would be three new inductees, two of which were on the ballot for the first time. A 16-year veteran, Hugo “Tiger” Mendoza was a raw slugger even by Stars standards when he broke out in his age 21 season in 2012, hitting .342/.389/.593, leading the league in slugging, and doled out 63 extra-base hits. That would become his mantra for the next decade and change. He led the league in slugging four times and won a Triple Crown in 2016, his last full season in Dallas. That was the only time he won the batting title, although he would lead the CL in homers and RBI once more, slugging 38 homers and driving in 133 with the 2020 Raccoons. He would ultimately also serve 4 1/2 years with the Cyclones before retiring, but was longest and most productive with the Stars. He hit .312/.382/.524 for his career with 336 HR and 1,327 RBI. He also stole 124 bases, although he was not a regular threat after his mid-20s. He made the All Star team seven times, won four Platinum Sticks, a Gold Glove, and was Player of the Year in his Triple Crown season. A veteran of 23 major league seasons, Yoshi started humbly as the #7 pick in the 2002 draft before reaching the majors for the first time in ’04, hitting .246 in 35 games for the Raccoons. While it wasn’t until 2011, his age 27 season, that he made his first of seven All Star Games, he was a regular with the Raccoons from the early age of 22 and would post OPS+ values far above 100 regulary starting in 2011, when he hit .321 with 50 extra-base hits for Portland. He would arrive back in Portland after stints with the Capitals and Cyclones; in total he spent 12 of his 23 seasons with the Furballs, who nevertheless traded him to Denver halfway through his second contract. He would tingle through three more cities in his final years, retiring after hitting .266 with three homers for the ’26 Buffos as a 42-year-old. He piled up 10,006 at-bats in which he hit .305/.384/.398 with 3,050 base hits, 83 homers, and 1,051 RBI. He walked 1,226 times, more than he struck out. He was an All Star seven times and as late as in his age 38 season, and won a Gold Glove and a Platinum Stick. The final inductee, first baseman Steve Butler, also split his time between both leagues, starting as a Miner in 2006 and finishing as a Cyclone in 2023. Butler was a refined slugger with patience and would usually command solid walk totals and pile up few strikeouts. He led the FL in slugging once (2011), and in homers twice. He also led the FL in hits twice, but never won a batting title. He was an All Star four times and won three Platinum Sticks before slowly beginning to diminish in his mid-30s, then with the Titans, where he just missed being part of their 2020s dominance. By then he finished out his career in Nashville, L.A., and Cincinnati. Butler is inducted with a .300/.364/.479 slash line, 327 HR, and 1,405 RBI. All three of this year’s inductees had stints with the Cyclones. DAL 1B Hugo Mendoza – 1st – 94.9 – INDUCTED POR 2B Ieyoshi Nomura – 1st – 85.1 – INDUCTED PIT 1B Steve Butler – 4th – 80.0 – INDUCTED LAP 1B Stanley Murphy – 4th – 71.9 SAL 1B Alberto Rodriguez – 3rd – 60.9 ATL LF Gil Rockwell – 5th – 31.1 NAS C Pat Walston – 1st – 31.1 ??? RF Justin Dally – 2nd – 11.1 VAN 1B Ray Gilbert – 7th – 11.1 ??? SP Bob King – 6th – 8.5 SAC SP Ian Rutter – 2nd – 7.2 TOP LF Bill Adams – 1st – 4.3 – DROPPED CIN C Jayden Jolley – 3rd – 4.3 – DROPPED CHA CF Ryan Feldmann – 1st – 2.1 – DROPPED ATL SP Dave Butler – 3rd – 2.1 – DROPPED RIC CF Danny Flores – 1st – 2.1 – DROPPED POR LF R.J. DeWeese – 2nd – 1.3 – DROPPED RIC C Jamal White – 1st – 1.3 – DROPPED TOP SP Cody Zimmerman – 1st – 0.4 – DROPPED DEN SS Piet Oosterom – 1st – 0.4 – DROPPED CIN CL Brett Lillis – 1st – 0.4 – DROPPED YOSHIIIIIII!!! Attached Images __________________ Portland Raccoons, 92 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 * 2061 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.