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reds1 · 08-29-2015, 07:04 AM

January 1, 1940

Western League: Running in Slow Motion

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The Cambria Cannons maintained their grip on first place in the West, thanks to a modest 15-13 record in December. The Cannons enjoy an 8 game lead over the second place Pelicans and continue their strong overall play, averaging 1st or 2nd in many categories.
Six of the eight teams in the Western League teams sported win-loss records in December that were within a game or two of .500 – speaking either to the increased competitiveness of the Western League or to just plain mediocrity. I’m quite not sure yet.

Top Position Player: Count me a fan of OF Ron Westmacott (.313/.386/.599, 11 HR, 64 RBI, 37 R, 37 BB, 16 SB), who had a sensational December, batting .310/.388/.637. On December 4, Westmacott went 4-5 against the Sherburn Tigers, with 1 RBI and 2 R. But on December 25, the 2nd overall pick from the 1937-38 draft hit for the cycle, going 4-4 against the Fort Richmond Generals, collecting 1 RBI and 1 R.

Top Pitcher: SP Neil Guerin (11-4, 3.43 ERA, 1.22 WHIP) leads the top-rated pitching staff in the West; in December, he went 3-1, 2.44 ERA with 16 K, 5 BB.

Key Injuries: Cambria got hit with a rash of injuries in December.
3B Kenneth Logan (.324/.371/.549, 5 HR, 31 RBI, 24 R, 13 BB) fractured his hand in a game against the Fort Richmond Generals on December 7. He will miss 2 more weeks.

One day later, LF Joe Olver (.305/.358/.447, 4 HR, 33 RBI, 42 R, 21 BB) fractured his thumb in a collision at a base against the same Generals. He should be back in 4 days however.

On December 26, 2B Charles Halse strained an abdominal muscle while running the bases. He’s expected back within a couple of weeks.

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The Kingston Pelicans are a battered and bruised team. Kingston has been dealing with injuries and setbacks to key players all season long, but to their credit, they refuse to give up. The Pelicans went just 14-13 in December, their worst effort thus far, but it keeps them in the wild card spot, 3.5 games up on the Fort Richmond Generals. Their offense continues to be their strength, but the pitching staff has been improving as well of late in spite of the decimations.

Top Position Player: Many good individual performances to choose from in December, but my choice is 2B Mo Symes (.321/.389/.491, 13 HR, 51 RBI, 73 R, 37 BB), who went .282/.320/.504, with 8 HR, 25 RBI and 24 R. His efforts earned him a Player of the Week Award late in the month.

Top Pitcher: SP Dave Mapp (5-0, 3.08 ERA, 1.35 WHIP) was recalled from AAA Douro back on October 30 due to the injuries suffered by the starting rotation. In December, his 4-0, 1.88 ERA performance earned him his first Pitcher of the Month Award.

Key Injuries: SP Joey Cumberledge is out for at least 4 months (effectively the season), due to a torn labrum he suffered in Spring Training.

SP Francis Slocock (2-3, 5.53 ERA, 1.99 WHIP) was expected to return around the start of the New Year, but suffered a setback on December 15; he will be out another 4 weeks. Slocock suffered a herniated disc suffered back on October 30.

24-year old SP Harley Bracher (3-6, 6.25 ERA, 1.77 WHIP), remains out for 2-3 months, due to torn triceps, suffered back on November 27.

1B Fergus Chitty missed 3 weeks in December, when suffered a strained lat on December 6, while running the bases.

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The Fort Richmond Generals are stuck in the middle. Thanks to a 15-13 December, they are now 40-40 on the season. Their runs for: 404; their runs against: 404.
Both the pitching and offensive performances back up those numbers, as they rate somewhere around the middle of the pack in the Western League. However, their top 5 prospects are performing well at their respective levels. If that trend continues and get called up in the next little while, the Generals’ fortunes may finally head north, instead of being stuck in a holding pattern.

Top Position Player: CF Kade Limeburner (.291/.413/.554, 14 HR, 63 RBI, 53 R, 63 BB) had a superlative December, hitting .327/.432/.625. He won both a Player of the Week Award and the Batter of the Month Award.

Top Pitcher: SP Jeff Hetzel (6-7, 4.18 ERA, 1.48 WHIP) had a fine month, going 4-1, 2.53 ERA in 6 starts.
20-year old RP Dean Stroud (1-1, 2 SV, 2.50 ERA) has also shown some promise since his call up from AAA Marburg in November. Stroud, the 16th overall pick in the 1937-38 draft, was acquired from the Kingston Pelicans last January in the SP Francis Slocock trade.

Key Injury: SP Tristan Purss (4-11, 4.23 ERA, 1.37 WHIP) suffered an intercostal strain in a game against the Hespeler Stars on December 29. He will be out for another week.

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The Sherburn Tigers bucked the trend in the West by having an impressive month, going 16-11 in December. The record is made all the more impressive considering the injuries they have had to contend with and the struggles of their pitching staff. The Tigers now find themselves in 4th place, 7.5 games back of the wild card. But I’ll wait and see how they do in January before taking them seriously.

Top Position Player: C Joe Gault (.285/.358/.420, 8 HR, 50 RBI, 34 R, 36 BB) had a dynamite December, batting .356/.404/.624, with 5 HR, 25 RBI, and 17 R.

Top Pitcher: The pitching staff had a rough month, but RP Bae Park (3-3, 4.86 ERA, 1.61 WHIP), has been steadily improving with each passing month. In December, he went 1-2, 2 SV, 1.03 ERA.
SP Simon Darling, who has been out since his first start in October, finally returned the rotation and went 1-0, 1.50 ERA in his first start. Hopefully for Sherburn, it’s a sign of things to come.

Key Injuries: 3B Mick Lanfear (.339/.394/.492, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 12 R, 6 BB) fractured his ankle back on October 23. He is out for another 3-4 weeks.

2B Tim Rackham (.292/.313/.377, 7-2B, 17 RBI, 13 R, 4 BB) tore a labrum in his shoulder on October 31. He is out for 2-3 months.

SS Gary Watkinson (.299/.398/.401, 1 HR, 27 RBI, 48 R, 43 BB, 8 SB) strained his back on December 17; he should be back in about 4 days.

SP Yasushi Kobayashi (6-8, 5.64 ERA, 1.55 WHIP) suffered a partially torn labrum on December 18 in a game against the Balmoral Giants. He is gone for at least 3 months.

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The Balmoral Giants had a bounce back month of sorts, especially compared to the rough month they had in November. In December, they went 13-14.
They are still way below average in a number of performance categories, so if they somehow they manage to reach .500 on the season, it will be an accomplishment.

Top Position Player: This was actually tougher than I expected. SS Francisco Rodríguez (.339/.366/.480, 1 HR, 38 RBI, 54 R, 15 BB, 11 SB) had another fine month that won him his third consecutive Rookie of the Month Award. He is quickly becoming one of the top-rated players in the ULB.
However, my choice for December goes to 27-year old RF Shannon Walker (.307/.356/.451, 8 HR, 54 RBI, 51 R, 25 BB, 6 SB), who went .303/.347/.431, with 3 HR, 14 RBI and 20 R.

Top Pitcher: On a weak staff, SP Charlie Crocombe (6-6, 3.44 ERA, 1.23 WHIP) gets the nod again, as he went 1-1, 2.28 ERA in 6 starts.

Key Injuries: SP Scott Wadley (3-3, 4.92 ERA, 1.55 WHIP) was diagnosed with radial nerve compression back on November 11. He is gone for season (6-7 months).

1B Roger Tyler (.278/.375/.376, 3 HR, 25 RBI, 31 R, 32 BB) suffered a hamstring strain in a collision while running the bases back on December 10. He will miss another 3-4 weeks.

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There’s only so many ways to describe a mediocre team, and the Wolseley Unions are just one of many in the Western League. They are not necessarily a dreadful team, but just don’t have enough horses yet to challenge the likes of Cambria and Kingston – yet.

Top Position Player: As slam-dunk a choice as you’re ever going to get. 1B Aaron Flanagan (.337/.443/.634, 18 HR, 75 RBI, 64 R, 59 BB) is Wolseley’s best by far. In December, he went .350/.467/.610, with 4 HR, 18 RBI and 21 RBI.

Top Pitcher: Weak pitching continues to be an issue for Wolseley. Nevertheless, SP Jim Smyth (7-3, 3.78 ERA, 1.53 WHIP) had a decent December, going 4-1, 3.58 ERA, with 21 K, 15 BB in 5 starts.

Key Injury: 2B Datu Balsalubra (.232/.323/.281, 9-2B, 22 RBI, 25 R, 28 BB) sprained his wrist in a December 10 game. He is out for 3 weeks.

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Well, forget about any rebound. After facing the tough Eastern League teams in November, it was hypothesised by yours truly that the Pulberry Trolleys may enjoy a bounce back in December. Going 8-18 does not qualify as a rebound. The Trolleys were downright dreadful. In particular, their offense that rates near or at the bottom in a host of categories, and it has seen them fall to 7th place from 4th in a span of a month. The pitching is still putting up a heroic effort, although the bullpen has started to regress as well.

Top Position Player: In a very lacklustre month for offense, 1B William Tozer (.304/.393/.413, 5 HR, 48 RBI, 40 R, 44 BB) is the standout, after he went .275/.383/.341 with 1 HR, 14 RBI, 11 R.

Top Pitcher: Ironically, in a month where the bullpen ERA has regressed, it’s a reliever who had the best month. RP Arnold Perkins (5-5, 5 SV, 3.01 ERA, 1.34 WHIP) went 2-2, 2.79 ERA in 6 games. In 3 of those games, he started, going at least a full 9 innings in each. In one other game in which he didn’t start, he went 8 innings and picked up the win.

Key Injuries: On December 8, 2B Colin Strudwick (.289/.327/.422, 2 HR, 24 RBI, 36 R, 14 BB, 11 SB) was diagnosed with recurring back spasms. He will be out another 3 weeks.

SP Sojuro Ojima (3-6, 3.91 ERA, 1.30 WHIP) experienced elbow tendinitis in a game against the Sherburn Tigers on December 9. He missed 3 weeks of action.

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The Hespeler Stars staunched the bleeding in December, as they went 14-14, nearly doubling their win total from the previous two months combined. But that may be more of a blip than a trend, as the Stars are struggling mightily on both offense and pitching.
Hespeler selected first in December’s amateur draft and picked a dynamic young player in IF/OF Vic Weetman. Interestingly, Hespeler immediately promoted him to the big club, where he has been their lead-off hitter. Thus far, Weetman has gone .221/.284/.256, 3-2B, 6 RBI, 11 R, 8 BB, 6 SB in 86 AB. We’ll have to see how he does the rest of the way, but it appears that the Stars are committed to him staying in the majors. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a player that skipped the minors completely in all of my OOTP days, although I know it must have happened.

Top Position Player: Same dilemma as last month, as both LF Steven Winstanley (.293/.351/.511, 13 HR, 68 RBI, 49 R, 29 BB) and 2B Rhett Curnow (.325/.373/.442, 4 HR, 48 RBI, 25 R, 25 BB) had the best months among Hespeler’s hitters. I’ll go again with Curnow, who went .306/.364/.389 with 1 HR, 20 RBI, 17 R, 11 BB on the month.

Top Pitcher: RP Gavin Hewat (4-4, 4, SV, 4.68 ERA, 1.54 WHIP) had a very good month in December, going 2-0, 3 SV, 1.88 ERA.

Key Injuries: 41-year old RP Hyo-cheong Yu (1-2, 2 SV, 7.67 ERA, 2.27 WHIP) was diagnosed with elbow inflammation on November 16. He is out for another 6 weeks.

On December 2, RF Louie Maylam (.300/.447/.547, 9 HR, 28 RBI, 26 R, 38 BB) sprained his elbow in a game against the Sherburn Tigers. He missed a total of 4 weeks.

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08-29-2015, 07:04 AM	#134
reds1 Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2002 Location: Winnipeg Posts: 3,919	January 1, 1940 Western League: Running in Slow Motion -------- The Cambria Cannons maintained their grip on first place in the West, thanks to a modest 15-13 record in December. The Cannons enjoy an 8 game lead over the second place Pelicans and continue their strong overall play, averaging 1st or 2nd in many categories. Six of the eight teams in the Western League teams sported win-loss records in December that were within a game or two of .500 – speaking either to the increased competitiveness of the Western League or to just plain mediocrity. I’m quite not sure yet. Top Position Player: Count me a fan of OF Ron Westmacott (.313/.386/.599, 11 HR, 64 RBI, 37 R, 37 BB, 16 SB), who had a sensational December, batting .310/.388/.637. On December 4, Westmacott went 4-5 against the Sherburn Tigers, with 1 RBI and 2 R. But on December 25, the 2nd overall pick from the 1937-38 draft hit for the cycle, going 4-4 against the Fort Richmond Generals, collecting 1 RBI and 1 R. Top Pitcher: SP Neil Guerin (11-4, 3.43 ERA, 1.22 WHIP) leads the top-rated pitching staff in the West; in December, he went 3-1, 2.44 ERA with 16 K, 5 BB. Key Injuries: Cambria got hit with a rash of injuries in December. 3B Kenneth Logan (.324/.371/.549, 5 HR, 31 RBI, 24 R, 13 BB) fractured his hand in a game against the Fort Richmond Generals on December 7. He will miss 2 more weeks. One day later, LF Joe Olver (.305/.358/.447, 4 HR, 33 RBI, 42 R, 21 BB) fractured his thumb in a collision at a base against the same Generals. He should be back in 4 days however. On December 26, 2B Charles Halse strained an abdominal muscle while running the bases. He’s expected back within a couple of weeks. -------- The Kingston Pelicans are a battered and bruised team. Kingston has been dealing with injuries and setbacks to key players all season long, but to their credit, they refuse to give up. The Pelicans went just 14-13 in December, their worst effort thus far, but it keeps them in the wild card spot, 3.5 games up on the Fort Richmond Generals. Their offense continues to be their strength, but the pitching staff has been improving as well of late in spite of the decimations. Top Position Player: Many good individual performances to choose from in December, but my choice is 2B Mo Symes (.321/.389/.491, 13 HR, 51 RBI, 73 R, 37 BB), who went .282/.320/.504, with 8 HR, 25 RBI and 24 R. His efforts earned him a Player of the Week Award late in the month. Top Pitcher: SP Dave Mapp (5-0, 3.08 ERA, 1.35 WHIP) was recalled from AAA Douro back on October 30 due to the injuries suffered by the starting rotation. In December, his 4-0, 1.88 ERA performance earned him his first Pitcher of the Month Award. Key Injuries: SP Joey Cumberledge is out for at least 4 months (effectively the season), due to a torn labrum he suffered in Spring Training. SP Francis Slocock (2-3, 5.53 ERA, 1.99 WHIP) was expected to return around the start of the New Year, but suffered a setback on December 15; he will be out another 4 weeks. Slocock suffered a herniated disc suffered back on October 30. 24-year old SP Harley Bracher (3-6, 6.25 ERA, 1.77 WHIP), remains out for 2-3 months, due to torn triceps, suffered back on November 27. 1B Fergus Chitty missed 3 weeks in December, when suffered a strained lat on December 6, while running the bases. -------- The Fort Richmond Generals are stuck in the middle. Thanks to a 15-13 December, they are now 40-40 on the season. Their runs for: 404; their runs against: 404. Both the pitching and offensive performances back up those numbers, as they rate somewhere around the middle of the pack in the Western League. However, their top 5 prospects are performing well at their respective levels. If that trend continues and get called up in the next little while, the Generals’ fortunes may finally head north, instead of being stuck in a holding pattern. Top Position Player: CF Kade Limeburner (.291/.413/.554, 14 HR, 63 RBI, 53 R, 63 BB) had a superlative December, hitting .327/.432/.625. He won both a Player of the Week Award and the Batter of the Month Award. Top Pitcher: SP Jeff Hetzel (6-7, 4.18 ERA, 1.48 WHIP) had a fine month, going 4-1, 2.53 ERA in 6 starts. 20-year old RP Dean Stroud (1-1, 2 SV, 2.50 ERA) has also shown some promise since his call up from AAA Marburg in November. Stroud, the 16th overall pick in the 1937-38 draft, was acquired from the Kingston Pelicans last January in the SP Francis Slocock trade. Key Injury: SP Tristan Purss (4-11, 4.23 ERA, 1.37 WHIP) suffered an intercostal strain in a game against the Hespeler Stars on December 29. He will be out for another week. -------- The Sherburn Tigers bucked the trend in the West by having an impressive month, going 16-11 in December. The record is made all the more impressive considering the injuries they have had to contend with and the struggles of their pitching staff. The Tigers now find themselves in 4th place, 7.5 games back of the wild card. But I’ll wait and see how they do in January before taking them seriously. Top Position Player: C Joe Gault (.285/.358/.420, 8 HR, 50 RBI, 34 R, 36 BB) had a dynamite December, batting .356/.404/.624, with 5 HR, 25 RBI, and 17 R. Top Pitcher: The pitching staff had a rough month, but RP Bae Park (3-3, 4.86 ERA, 1.61 WHIP), has been steadily improving with each passing month. In December, he went 1-2, 2 SV, 1.03 ERA. SP Simon Darling, who has been out since his first start in October, finally returned the rotation and went 1-0, 1.50 ERA in his first start. Hopefully for Sherburn, it’s a sign of things to come. Key Injuries: 3B Mick Lanfear (.339/.394/.492, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 12 R, 6 BB) fractured his ankle back on October 23. He is out for another 3-4 weeks. 2B Tim Rackham (.292/.313/.377, 7-2B, 17 RBI, 13 R, 4 BB) tore a labrum in his shoulder on October 31. He is out for 2-3 months. SS Gary Watkinson (.299/.398/.401, 1 HR, 27 RBI, 48 R, 43 BB, 8 SB) strained his back on December 17; he should be back in about 4 days. SP Yasushi Kobayashi (6-8, 5.64 ERA, 1.55 WHIP) suffered a partially torn labrum on December 18 in a game against the Balmoral Giants. He is gone for at least 3 months. -------- The Balmoral Giants had a bounce back month of sorts, especially compared to the rough month they had in November. In December, they went 13-14. They are still way below average in a number of performance categories, so if they somehow they manage to reach .500 on the season, it will be an accomplishment. Top Position Player: This was actually tougher than I expected. SS Francisco Rodríguez (.339/.366/.480, 1 HR, 38 RBI, 54 R, 15 BB, 11 SB) had another fine month that won him his third consecutive Rookie of the Month Award. He is quickly becoming one of the top-rated players in the ULB. However, my choice for December goes to 27-year old RF Shannon Walker (.307/.356/.451, 8 HR, 54 RBI, 51 R, 25 BB, 6 SB), who went .303/.347/.431, with 3 HR, 14 RBI and 20 R. Top Pitcher: On a weak staff, SP Charlie Crocombe (6-6, 3.44 ERA, 1.23 WHIP) gets the nod again, as he went 1-1, 2.28 ERA in 6 starts. Key Injuries: SP Scott Wadley (3-3, 4.92 ERA, 1.55 WHIP) was diagnosed with radial nerve compression back on November 11. He is gone for season (6-7 months). 1B Roger Tyler (.278/.375/.376, 3 HR, 25 RBI, 31 R, 32 BB) suffered a hamstring strain in a collision while running the bases back on December 10. He will miss another 3-4 weeks. -------- There’s only so many ways to describe a mediocre team, and the Wolseley Unions are just one of many in the Western League. They are not necessarily a dreadful team, but just don’t have enough horses yet to challenge the likes of Cambria and Kingston – yet. Top Position Player: As slam-dunk a choice as you’re ever going to get. 1B Aaron Flanagan (.337/.443/.634, 18 HR, 75 RBI, 64 R, 59 BB) is Wolseley’s best by far. In December, he went .350/.467/.610, with 4 HR, 18 RBI and 21 RBI. Top Pitcher: Weak pitching continues to be an issue for Wolseley. Nevertheless, SP Jim Smyth (7-3, 3.78 ERA, 1.53 WHIP) had a decent December, going 4-1, 3.58 ERA, with 21 K, 15 BB in 5 starts. Key Injury: 2B Datu Balsalubra (.232/.323/.281, 9-2B, 22 RBI, 25 R, 28 BB) sprained his wrist in a December 10 game. He is out for 3 weeks. -------- Well, forget about any rebound. After facing the tough Eastern League teams in November, it was hypothesised by yours truly that the Pulberry Trolleys may enjoy a bounce back in December. Going 8-18 does not qualify as a rebound. The Trolleys were downright dreadful. In particular, their offense that rates near or at the bottom in a host of categories, and it has seen them fall to 7th place from 4th in a span of a month. The pitching is still putting up a heroic effort, although the bullpen has started to regress as well. Top Position Player: In a very lacklustre month for offense, 1B William Tozer (.304/.393/.413, 5 HR, 48 RBI, 40 R, 44 BB) is the standout, after he went .275/.383/.341 with 1 HR, 14 RBI, 11 R. Top Pitcher: Ironically, in a month where the bullpen ERA has regressed, it’s a reliever who had the best month. RP Arnold Perkins (5-5, 5 SV, 3.01 ERA, 1.34 WHIP) went 2-2, 2.79 ERA in 6 games. In 3 of those games, he started, going at least a full 9 innings in each. In one other game in which he didn’t start, he went 8 innings and picked up the win. Key Injuries: On December 8, 2B Colin Strudwick (.289/.327/.422, 2 HR, 24 RBI, 36 R, 14 BB, 11 SB) was diagnosed with recurring back spasms. He will be out another 3 weeks. SP Sojuro Ojima (3-6, 3.91 ERA, 1.30 WHIP) experienced elbow tendinitis in a game against the Sherburn Tigers on December 9. He missed 3 weeks of action. -------- The Hespeler Stars staunched the bleeding in December, as they went 14-14, nearly doubling their win total from the previous two months combined. But that may be more of a blip than a trend, as the Stars are struggling mightily on both offense and pitching. Hespeler selected first in December’s amateur draft and picked a dynamic young player in IF/OF Vic Weetman. Interestingly, Hespeler immediately promoted him to the big club, where he has been their lead-off hitter. Thus far, Weetman has gone .221/.284/.256, 3-2B, 6 RBI, 11 R, 8 BB, 6 SB in 86 AB. We’ll have to see how he does the rest of the way, but it appears that the Stars are committed to him staying in the majors. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a player that skipped the minors completely in all of my OOTP days, although I know it must have happened. Top Position Player: Same dilemma as last month, as both LF Steven Winstanley (.293/.351/.511, 13 HR, 68 RBI, 49 R, 29 BB) and 2B Rhett Curnow (.325/.373/.442, 4 HR, 48 RBI, 25 R, 25 BB) had the best months among Hespeler’s hitters. I’ll go again with Curnow, who went .306/.364/.389 with 1 HR, 20 RBI, 17 R, 11 BB on the month. Top Pitcher: RP Gavin Hewat (4-4, 4, SV, 4.68 ERA, 1.54 WHIP) had a very good month in December, going 2-0, 3 SV, 1.88 ERA. Key Injuries: 41-year old RP Hyo-cheong Yu (1-2, 2 SV, 7.67 ERA, 2.27 WHIP) was diagnosed with elbow inflammation on November 16. He is out for another 6 weeks. On December 2, RF Louie Maylam (.300/.447/.547, 9 HR, 28 RBI, 26 R, 38 BB) sprained his elbow in a game against the Sherburn Tigers. He missed a total of 4 weeks. -------- [ __________________ United Leagues of Braeland Last edited by reds1; 07-03-2017 at 01:49 AM.