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reds1 · 07-24-2015, 07:37 PM

Summer colds are not fun!

January 1, 1939

Western League: One Step Forward, One Step Back

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The hottest team in the ULB for the first two months of the season finally cooled off in December, as the Kingston Pelicans went a pedestrian 14-12. They still remain comfortably in first, however, as the other teams in the West failed to gain any ground. In fact, with the exception of the Pulberry Trolleys, every team in the West went either 14-12, 14-13 or 13-13 this past month.

The Pelicans batting and pitching continues to lead the West in rankings. That is not surprising when you have no less than six players rated #1 at their respective positions:

36-year old C Cereneo Tolentino (.322/.389/.536, 12 HR, 47 RBI, 48 R, 31 BB);
30-year old 1B Fergus Chitty (.316/.428/.535, 14 HR, 67 RBI, 54 R, 58 BB);
28-year old 2B Mo Symes (.282/.375/.503, 13 HR, 39 RBI, 64 R, 48 BB);
27-year old SS Okura Ito (.374/.423/.647, 18 HR, 56 RBI, 68 R, 25 BB);
28-year old SP RHP Joey Cumberledge (9-8, 2.43 ERA, 1.15 WHIP); and
34-year old RP RHP Simon Chell (6-2, 5 SV, 3.71 ERA, 1.47 WHIP).

If that weren’t enough, they have the #2 rated RF in the ULB, 30-year old Jayden Tennant (.347/.414/.661, 8 HR, 30 RBI, 21 R, 14 BB), who won Batter of the Month honours in December, after missing nearly two months due to a knee injury. If there’s a team that’s truly in a ‘win now’ situation, it’s the Pelicans.

Key Injuries: None.

Key Trade: With that ‘win now’ mindset in mind, the Pelicans consummated a trade with the Hespeler Stars, acquiring 38-year old RP RHP Keith Kearney (77/77). For his services, the Pelicans parted with five minor leaguers:

19-year old C Paul Barton (21/60 – rated as #42 prospect);
23-year old OF Dane Wainwright (22/29);
20-year old RP LHP Harold Rothwell (20/22 – rated as #76 prospect);
24-year old OF Marvello Tolentino (23/23); and
22-year old 1B Taylor Nisbet (23/23).

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On the surface, their record of 14-12 in December gives no indication as to what a tumultuous month it was for the Balmoral Giants. After dropping the last two games in November, they proceeded to also lose their first 7 games in December. By December 15, their record for the month was 2-9 with the team free-falling in the standings. But on December 17, they won both sides of a double-header and continued to win the next 6 games. By the end of the month, they had gone 12-3 in the second half.

The Giants’ strength is their pitching (2nd in the WL), although their ace, SP-LHP David Cooling (4-13, 4.64 ERA, 1.34 WHIP), has been battered around lately.
Offensively, Balmoral does have a couple of top rated prospects that could help the big club soon.
C Neil Voigt (34/78 - #28 overall prospect) is the #1 rated catcher prospect. He is still in AA, but has a slash line of .309/.386/.441.
The other top prospect is 24-year old 1B Jim Friend (64/75 - #13 overall prospect) who was the 5th overall pick in last season’s amateur draft. He joined the big club in December and has gone .340/.411/.500, 8-2B, 6 RBI, 9 R, 6 BB in 50 at-bats thus far.

Key Injuries: RP RHP Noriaki Ito (6-3, 3.43 ERA, 1.36 WHIP) suffered a slipped disc while pitching against the Fort Richmond Generals on December 17. He is expected back in a couple of more days.

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The Cambria Cannons went 14-13 in December, and they personify perfectly the malaise that has set in with most of the ball clubs in the West. Not a terrible team by any means, but just can’t get any traction going. They rank 3rd-5th in offense and 2nd-3rd in pitching, so the potential of a very good team is there, but it has not translated into an abundance of wins.
24-year old SP Willem Atkins (5-7, 3.15 ERA, 1.39 WHIP) faltered in December, going 0-3, 6.54 ERA, 23 BB, 8 K.
However, all-star SP Neil Guerin (11-4, 1 SV, 2.84 ERA, 1.17 WHIP) continues to excel, going 4-2, 2.66 ERA, 6 BB, 25 K for the month. 24-year old SP Julian Loxton (5-4, 3.40 ERA, 1.50 WHIP) is also performing well of late, going 2-0, 2.67 ERA 13 BB, 10 K in December.

Key Injuries: SP Jason Fortenberry (2-3, 4.40 ERA, 1.50 WHIP) suffered a torn back muscle in a game against the Queensland Eagles back on November 18. He will be out for three more months.
23-year old RF Al Tucker (.300/.420/.380, 1 HR, 26 RBI, 34 R, 41 BB, 11 SB) injured himself in a game against the Hespeler Stars on December 14. He will miss 4-5 weeks with torn ankle ligaments.

Key Trade: To shore up their starting rotation, the Cannons acquired 27-year old SP Owen Tautor (40/41 – 7-5, 3.63 ERA, 1.19 WHIP) from the Pulberry Trolleys on December 2. In exchange, the Cannons sent minor leaguer 20-year old IF/OF Orlando Goretti (22/34). Since the trade, Tautor has gone 4-0, 3.24 ERA, 10 BB, 32 K.

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The Sherburn Tigers rebounded somewhat from their setback in November, going 14-13 in December, which places them 4.0 games back of the wild card. As far as performance rankings, nothing has changed for the Tigers. They’re really good on offense (2nd) but stink in pitching and defense (8th).
Since acquiring him from the Cobourg Red Stockings in late November, 28-year old SP Leo Chesters (5-4, 4.23 ERA, 1.63 WHIP) has been a serviceable arm for the Tigers, having gone 2-0, 3.38 ERA, 23 BB, 12 K in December. But it has not been nearly enough to turn the pitching staff’s fortunes around.

Key Injuries: RP Myung-Gu Son (1-4, 4 SV, 2.96 ERA, 1.68 WHIP) experienced elbow swelling in a game against the Embro Suns on November 17; he is out for another six weeks.
Another relief pitcher, RHP Brent Smythe experienced elbow numbness on November 24 in just his second game since being called up from the AAA St. Thomas Flamingoes. He is out for three months.

Key Trade: For a team that is in desperate need to upgrade their pitching and is officially in rebuilding mode anyway, the Tigers made a curious trade with the Wolseley Unions, acquiring 29-year old back-up OF Harold Yoder (34/50). For his services, the Tigers parted with three minor leaguers:

20-year old OF Dan Hunter (36/79 – rated as #59 prospect);
19-year old 1B Guillermo Anglada (23/23); and
23-year old OF Pedro Amador (22/23).

Yoder was an all-star last season with Wolseley, but he has really regressed this year. Can he bounce back?

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The Fort Richmond Generals enjoyed their first winning month in December, going 14-13. The Generals now stand 9 games below .500 and 6.5 games back of the wild card. Offense continues to be their main weakness, where they average 6th – 7th in a slew of categories. They are 8th in stolen bases (6 steals!). They have picked up in the pitching department, where they average 3rd – 4th.
Ace pitcher 29-year old SP Francis Slocock (12-4, 2.14 ERA, 1.07 WHIP) won his second consecutive Pitcher of the Month honour and seems to get better and better.
But last year’s 6th overall pick, 24-year old SP Oscar Burress (7-7. 3.20 ERA, 1.30 WHIP) is looking to be a main fixture for the Generals as well, going 3-2, 2.98 ERA, 22 BB, 17 K this past month.
On offense, 29-year old 3B Finlay Ridd (.350/.422/.436, 3 HR, 31 RBI, 33 R, 32 BB) is having a fine season thus far and is the offensive leader for the Generals.
After a miserable November where he batted .181, 31-year old 1B Theo Gadd (.259/.326/.494, 12 HR, 40 RBI, 33 R, 26 BB) rebounded in December, hitting .268/.339/.515, 4 HR, 19 RBI, 9 R, 10 BB.

Key Injuries: C Tadayuki Jouda (.246/.281/.351, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 25 R, 9 BB) fractured his hand in a game against the Pulberry Trolleys on December 4. He is expected to miss 5-6 weeks.
LF Kade Limeburner (.253/.331/.414, 7 HR, 41 RBI, 36 R, 36 BB) experienced back stiffness in a game against the Hespeler Stars. He is listed as day-to-day for two weeks.

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Just like the Generals, the Hespeler Stars finished above .500 for a month, going 14-13 in December. The Stars, like many of the teams in West, are rather humdrum. Their offense continues to be best strength (3rd), while their pitching is slightly below average (5th).
On offense, their two best players have been 34-year old OF Louie Maylam (.281/.420/.518, 13 HR, 46 RBI, 33 R, 55 BB) and 26-year old OF Rhett Curnow (.321/.347/.425, 2 HR, 30 RBI, 36 R, 12 BB). However, the Stars have only been starting them against righties.
On the plus side, the Stars do have the 2nd highest rated farm system in the ULB (behind Cobourg), so if their prospects pan out, they should be a much stronger team in the near future.

Key Injuries: 41-year old RF Toby Reakes (.290/.403/.375, 2 HR, 32 RBI, 35 R, 53 BB, 20 SB) sprained his thumb in a game against Pulberry on December 22. He is out for 3 weeks.

Key Trade: In addition to their significant trade with Kingston, the Stars completed a deal with the Pulberry Trolleys on December 14.
Hespeler received 36-year old 2B Michael Batterham (57/57 - .262/.363/.332, 1 HR, 24 RBI, 27 R, 42 BB). Heading to the Trolleys:

33-year old SP LHP Nathaniel Schwer (45/45 – 6-8, 5.27 ERA, 1.66 WHIP); and
21-year old minor league OF William Wigmore (23/78 – rated as #36 prospect).

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Although the Wolseley Unions went 13-13 in December, which is an improvement for them, they remain a lot closer to last place that they do to first. On offense, they rank 5th – 6th and in pitching, 7th.
After a horrible November (.154 AVG), rookie RF Aaron Flanagan (.244/.325/.446, 12 HR, 48 RBI, 35 R, 30 BB) rebounded in December, winning his second Rookie of the Month honours this season.
The #1 rated prospect in the ULB made his debut in December for the Unions, and he showed some promise. 20-year old CF Zak Kidd got his first month under his belt, going .240/.282/.346, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 21 R, 6 BB, 4 SB.

Key Injuries: None.

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While the rest of the Western League hovered around .500 in December, the Pulberry Trolleys decidedly didn’t, crumbling to a 9-17 record. That puts them 16.5 games behind first and 9.5 games back of the wild card. On offense, they rank 7th – 8th and in pitching, 6th. There’s no mystery as to their struggles, or why they were involved in no less than four trades this month. As a result of their transactions, they’ve improved the depth of their farm system, which now ranks 6th overall.
30-year old C Gareth Cusack (.284/.361/.365, 3 HR, 25 RBI, 32 R, 32 BB) and 29-year old Rio Gidley (.266/.334/.388, 3 HR, 30 RBI, 38 R, 31 BB 17 SB) have been the main sparkplugs on the team in an otherwise forgetful season.

Key Injuries: LF Kade Mason (.259/.311/.370, 2-2B, 9 RBI, 6 R, 5 BB) missed over two weeks due to ankle soreness.

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07-24-2015, 07:37 PM	#109
reds1 Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2002 Location: Winnipeg Posts: 3,919	Summer colds are not fun! January 1, 1939 Western League: One Step Forward, One Step Back -------- The hottest team in the ULB for the first two months of the season finally cooled off in December, as the Kingston Pelicans went a pedestrian 14-12. They still remain comfortably in first, however, as the other teams in the West failed to gain any ground. In fact, with the exception of the Pulberry Trolleys, every team in the West went either 14-12, 14-13 or 13-13 this past month. The Pelicans batting and pitching continues to lead the West in rankings. That is not surprising when you have no less than six players rated #1 at their respective positions: 36-year old C Cereneo Tolentino (.322/.389/.536, 12 HR, 47 RBI, 48 R, 31 BB); 30-year old 1B Fergus Chitty (.316/.428/.535, 14 HR, 67 RBI, 54 R, 58 BB); 28-year old 2B Mo Symes (.282/.375/.503, 13 HR, 39 RBI, 64 R, 48 BB); 27-year old SS Okura Ito (.374/.423/.647, 18 HR, 56 RBI, 68 R, 25 BB); 28-year old SP RHP Joey Cumberledge (9-8, 2.43 ERA, 1.15 WHIP); and 34-year old RP RHP Simon Chell (6-2, 5 SV, 3.71 ERA, 1.47 WHIP). If that weren’t enough, they have the #2 rated RF in the ULB, 30-year old Jayden Tennant (.347/.414/.661, 8 HR, 30 RBI, 21 R, 14 BB), who won Batter of the Month honours in December, after missing nearly two months due to a knee injury. If there’s a team that’s truly in a ‘win now’ situation, it’s the Pelicans. Key Injuries: None. Key Trade: With that ‘win now’ mindset in mind, the Pelicans consummated a trade with the Hespeler Stars, acquiring 38-year old RP RHP Keith Kearney (77/77). For his services, the Pelicans parted with five minor leaguers: 19-year old C Paul Barton (21/60 – rated as #42 prospect); 23-year old OF Dane Wainwright (22/29); 20-year old RP LHP Harold Rothwell (20/22 – rated as #76 prospect); 24-year old OF Marvello Tolentino (23/23); and 22-year old 1B Taylor Nisbet (23/23). -------- On the surface, their record of 14-12 in December gives no indication as to what a tumultuous month it was for the Balmoral Giants. After dropping the last two games in November, they proceeded to also lose their first 7 games in December. By December 15, their record for the month was 2-9 with the team free-falling in the standings. But on December 17, they won both sides of a double-header and continued to win the next 6 games. By the end of the month, they had gone 12-3 in the second half. The Giants’ strength is their pitching (2nd in the WL), although their ace, SP-LHP David Cooling (4-13, 4.64 ERA, 1.34 WHIP), has been battered around lately. Offensively, Balmoral does have a couple of top rated prospects that could help the big club soon. C Neil Voigt (34/78 - #28 overall prospect) is the #1 rated catcher prospect. He is still in AA, but has a slash line of .309/.386/.441. The other top prospect is 24-year old 1B Jim Friend (64/75 - #13 overall prospect) who was the 5th overall pick in last season’s amateur draft. He joined the big club in December and has gone .340/.411/.500, 8-2B, 6 RBI, 9 R, 6 BB in 50 at-bats thus far. Key Injuries: RP RHP Noriaki Ito (6-3, 3.43 ERA, 1.36 WHIP) suffered a slipped disc while pitching against the Fort Richmond Generals on December 17. He is expected back in a couple of more days. -------- The Cambria Cannons went 14-13 in December, and they personify perfectly the malaise that has set in with most of the ball clubs in the West. Not a terrible team by any means, but just can’t get any traction going. They rank 3rd-5th in offense and 2nd-3rd in pitching, so the potential of a very good team is there, but it has not translated into an abundance of wins. 24-year old SP Willem Atkins (5-7, 3.15 ERA, 1.39 WHIP) faltered in December, going 0-3, 6.54 ERA, 23 BB, 8 K. However, all-star SP Neil Guerin (11-4, 1 SV, 2.84 ERA, 1.17 WHIP) continues to excel, going 4-2, 2.66 ERA, 6 BB, 25 K for the month. 24-year old SP Julian Loxton (5-4, 3.40 ERA, 1.50 WHIP) is also performing well of late, going 2-0, 2.67 ERA 13 BB, 10 K in December. Key Injuries: SP Jason Fortenberry (2-3, 4.40 ERA, 1.50 WHIP) suffered a torn back muscle in a game against the Queensland Eagles back on November 18. He will be out for three more months. 23-year old RF Al Tucker (.300/.420/.380, 1 HR, 26 RBI, 34 R, 41 BB, 11 SB) injured himself in a game against the Hespeler Stars on December 14. He will miss 4-5 weeks with torn ankle ligaments. Key Trade: To shore up their starting rotation, the Cannons acquired 27-year old SP Owen Tautor (40/41 – 7-5, 3.63 ERA, 1.19 WHIP) from the Pulberry Trolleys on December 2. In exchange, the Cannons sent minor leaguer 20-year old IF/OF Orlando Goretti (22/34). Since the trade, Tautor has gone 4-0, 3.24 ERA, 10 BB, 32 K. -------- The Sherburn Tigers rebounded somewhat from their setback in November, going 14-13 in December, which places them 4.0 games back of the wild card. As far as performance rankings, nothing has changed for the Tigers. They’re really good on offense (2nd) but stink in pitching and defense (8th). Since acquiring him from the Cobourg Red Stockings in late November, 28-year old SP Leo Chesters (5-4, 4.23 ERA, 1.63 WHIP) has been a serviceable arm for the Tigers, having gone 2-0, 3.38 ERA, 23 BB, 12 K in December. But it has not been nearly enough to turn the pitching staff’s fortunes around. Key Injuries: RP Myung-Gu Son (1-4, 4 SV, 2.96 ERA, 1.68 WHIP) experienced elbow swelling in a game against the Embro Suns on November 17; he is out for another six weeks. Another relief pitcher, RHP Brent Smythe experienced elbow numbness on November 24 in just his second game since being called up from the AAA St. Thomas Flamingoes. He is out for three months. Key Trade: For a team that is in desperate need to upgrade their pitching and is officially in rebuilding mode anyway, the Tigers made a curious trade with the Wolseley Unions, acquiring 29-year old back-up OF Harold Yoder (34/50). For his services, the Tigers parted with three minor leaguers: 20-year old OF Dan Hunter (36/79 – rated as #59 prospect); 19-year old 1B Guillermo Anglada (23/23); and 23-year old OF Pedro Amador (22/23). Yoder was an all-star last season with Wolseley, but he has really regressed this year. Can he bounce back? -------- The Fort Richmond Generals enjoyed their first winning month in December, going 14-13. The Generals now stand 9 games below .500 and 6.5 games back of the wild card. Offense continues to be their main weakness, where they average 6th – 7th in a slew of categories. They are 8th in stolen bases (6 steals!). They have picked up in the pitching department, where they average 3rd – 4th. Ace pitcher 29-year old SP Francis Slocock (12-4, 2.14 ERA, 1.07 WHIP) won his second consecutive Pitcher of the Month honour and seems to get better and better. But last year’s 6th overall pick, 24-year old SP Oscar Burress (7-7. 3.20 ERA, 1.30 WHIP) is looking to be a main fixture for the Generals as well, going 3-2, 2.98 ERA, 22 BB, 17 K this past month. On offense, 29-year old 3B Finlay Ridd (.350/.422/.436, 3 HR, 31 RBI, 33 R, 32 BB) is having a fine season thus far and is the offensive leader for the Generals. After a miserable November where he batted .181, 31-year old 1B Theo Gadd (.259/.326/.494, 12 HR, 40 RBI, 33 R, 26 BB) rebounded in December, hitting .268/.339/.515, 4 HR, 19 RBI, 9 R, 10 BB. Key Injuries: C Tadayuki Jouda (.246/.281/.351, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 25 R, 9 BB) fractured his hand in a game against the Pulberry Trolleys on December 4. He is expected to miss 5-6 weeks. LF Kade Limeburner (.253/.331/.414, 7 HR, 41 RBI, 36 R, 36 BB) experienced back stiffness in a game against the Hespeler Stars. He is listed as day-to-day for two weeks. -------- Just like the Generals, the Hespeler Stars finished above .500 for a month, going 14-13 in December. The Stars, like many of the teams in West, are rather humdrum. Their offense continues to be best strength (3rd), while their pitching is slightly below average (5th). On offense, their two best players have been 34-year old OF Louie Maylam (.281/.420/.518, 13 HR, 46 RBI, 33 R, 55 BB) and 26-year old OF Rhett Curnow (.321/.347/.425, 2 HR, 30 RBI, 36 R, 12 BB). However, the Stars have only been starting them against righties. On the plus side, the Stars do have the 2nd highest rated farm system in the ULB (behind Cobourg), so if their prospects pan out, they should be a much stronger team in the near future. Key Injuries: 41-year old RF Toby Reakes (.290/.403/.375, 2 HR, 32 RBI, 35 R, 53 BB, 20 SB) sprained his thumb in a game against Pulberry on December 22. He is out for 3 weeks. Key Trade: In addition to their significant trade with Kingston, the Stars completed a deal with the Pulberry Trolleys on December 14. Hespeler received 36-year old 2B Michael Batterham (57/57 - .262/.363/.332, 1 HR, 24 RBI, 27 R, 42 BB). Heading to the Trolleys: 33-year old SP LHP Nathaniel Schwer (45/45 – 6-8, 5.27 ERA, 1.66 WHIP); and 21-year old minor league OF William Wigmore (23/78 – rated as #36 prospect). -------- Although the Wolseley Unions went 13-13 in December, which is an improvement for them, they remain a lot closer to last place that they do to first. On offense, they rank 5th – 6th and in pitching, 7th. After a horrible November (.154 AVG), rookie RF Aaron Flanagan (.244/.325/.446, 12 HR, 48 RBI, 35 R, 30 BB) rebounded in December, winning his second Rookie of the Month honours this season. The #1 rated prospect in the ULB made his debut in December for the Unions, and he showed some promise. 20-year old CF Zak Kidd got his first month under his belt, going .240/.282/.346, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 21 R, 6 BB, 4 SB. Key Injuries: None. -------- While the rest of the Western League hovered around .500 in December, the Pulberry Trolleys decidedly didn’t, crumbling to a 9-17 record. That puts them 16.5 games behind first and 9.5 games back of the wild card. On offense, they rank 7th – 8th and in pitching, 6th. There’s no mystery as to their struggles, or why they were involved in no less than four trades this month. As a result of their transactions, they’ve improved the depth of their farm system, which now ranks 6th overall. 30-year old C Gareth Cusack (.284/.361/.365, 3 HR, 25 RBI, 32 R, 32 BB) and 29-year old Rio Gidley (.266/.334/.388, 3 HR, 30 RBI, 38 R, 31 BB 17 SB) have been the main sparkplugs on the team in an otherwise forgetful season. Key Injuries: LF Kade Mason (.259/.311/.370, 2-2B, 9 RBI, 6 R, 5 BB) missed over two weeks due to ankle soreness. -------- __________________ United Leagues of Braeland Last edited by reds1; 07-01-2017 at 10:16 PM.