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reds1 · 11-06-2017, 08:32 PM

December 1, 1947

Eastern League: Roberto, Ryan and No-Hitters

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The changes made in management over the off-season seem to have done the Stratford Barons some good, as the club has responded with the best record in the ULB over the first two months of the season. A major reason is the tremendous start that two Barons are having: 24-year CF Roberto Ríos (.283/.411/.611, 14 HR, 47 RBI, 43 BB, 4 SB) and 39-year old LHP Ryan Borden (8-1, 1.81 ERA, 1.08 WHIP). Ríos, who signed a minor league contract with the Barons out of Aruba back in 1940, was once rated as the No. 1 prospect in the ULB. He was an all-star last season, but this is the first time he has won a Batter of the Month honour. He quickly made it two.

Ryan Borden is embarking on his 11th season in the ULB and he has been one of its most consistent, reliable pitchers. He is a 5-time all-star and won a Satchel Paige Award back in 1943. But he has missed time in the past due to serious injuries: last season, he was out 6 months due to a torn shoulder muscle and in 1944-45 he missed 4 months due to shoulder inflammation. But Borden has come back with a vengeance. Not only did he win back-to-back Pitcher of the Month honours, he is currently rated as the top pitcher in the ULB.

But outside of 28-year old C Aaron Skidmore (.308/.420/.500, 8 HR, 29 RBI, 33 BB), the Barons are still looking for offensive consistency. They may have found it, as a number of starters came alive in November.

On the other hand, Borden has been ably supported in the rotation by 30-year old RHP Kelvin Hutchinson (6-4, 2.90 ERA, 1.30 WHIP) and 29-year old RHP Bill Blair (5-2, 2.87 ERA, 1.06 WHIP). Stratford has also found a spot for their No. 1 rated pitching prospect: 21-year old RHP Magtanggol Jaojoco (0-0, 2.30 ERA, 0.96 WHIP), who was promoted October 23 to provide middle relief.

Offense: .255/.347/.388 (6th/3rd/4th)
Pitching: 3.55/3.41/4.45 (2nd/2nd/7th)
Defense: .714 (Tied for 3rd)

Player of the Week Awards:

October 27 – SS Jake Walker (.355, 11 H, 3 HR, 6 RBI)

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The Braeland City Monarchs are trying to put a forgettable 1946-47 season behind them and they are off to a good start in accomplishing that. The Monarchs were road warriors, having played 38 of their first 51 game away from home. But they went 21-17 in those games, which included some tough matches against Western League teams.

Braeland City has a plethora of outfielders, particularly rigthfielders, so getting playing time is a challenge. That has been the case with 24-year old RF Carlos Ruíz (.326/.404/.652, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 6 BB, 2 SB), a former 4th round pick back in 1941-42, who has seen very little action in the ULB. But he earned a berth to the AAA all-star game last season and now, thanks to injuries, he finds himself in the starting lineup against RHP. He is making the most of it.

Offense: .261/.327/.364 (4th/6th/6th)
Pitching: 3.70/3.66/3.95 (3rd/3rd/5th)
Defense: .713 (4th)

Noteworthy:

October 20 – 34-year old 3B Adam Ashley (.287/.355/.369, 14-2B, 13 RBI, 21 BB, 6 SB) went 5-for-6 against the Stratford Barons, with 1-2B and 2 R. It wasn’t enough though, as the Barons prevailed 12-11.

Key Injuries:

RF Gavin Bansfield – October 19 – fractured fibula. Out for: 2-3 months.
RF Jesús Ortega – November 2 – sprained elbow. Out for: 1 more day.

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The offense is still a mild concern for the Brunswick Legends, but a healthy RF Marcus Peyto (.301/.403/.545, 9 HR, 36 RBI, 28 BB, 3 SB) will go a long way in helping that. The 27-year old Peyto missed the first half of October after fracturing his wrist in spring training.

The pitching is the story though, as the 5-man rotation – all lefties – continues its steady ways. It also made history, as two pitchers – Wilson Villas and Hirotada Fukushima – pitched NO-HITTERS just four days apart in November. They are the 4th and 5th no-hitters in ULB history and the first since the 1944-45 season, when Kingston’s Charlie Gilbert accomplished it.

Offense: .244/.333/.386 (7th/5th/5th)
Pitching: 3.31/3.15/4.07 (1st/1st/6th)
Defense: .698 (6th)

Player of the Week Awards:

November 10 – SS Jorge Arredondo (.545, 12 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI)

Noteworthy:

November 9 – 33-year old SP Wilson Villas pitched the game of his life when he NO-HIT the Cambria Cannons at Alexander Field in Cambria. He finished with 4 BB and 4 K, facing only 31 batters in a 3-0 victory.
“I knew for a while it was a no-hitter,” Villas admitted later. “But I really didn’t worry about it until the last out. I thought I just wanted the win the game, and then I realized I wanted the no-hitter, too.”

November 13 – Lightning strikes for the second time. 32-year old SP Hirotada Fukushima pitches a NO-HITTER; just four days after teammate Wilson Villas did it. This time it was against the Balmoral Giants. Fukushima faced 30 batters, had 2 K and gave up 3 BB in a 4-0 victory at Balmoral’s Foster Field. Giants’ manager Morrigan O’Lonergan could only marvel at what he saw. “He was on from the get-go. He was hitting his spots and keeping us off balance. It was a great game by him.”

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It’s the same story for the Embro Suns as the first two months see the offense thriving but the pitching struggling. That had been their glaring weakness last season and it has only gotten worse (their ERA was 4.06 last year). The back end of the rotation is simply a train wreck right now, with 31-year old Matt Miller (4-4, 5.23 ERA, 1.45 WHIP) and 33-year old Oscar Burress (2-6, 9.22 ERA, 2.23 WHIP) struggling. Only 32-year old ace RHP Myung-gu Son (4-5, 3.29 ERA, 1.37 WHIP) is offering any kind of consistency.
But they do have 21-year old LHP Carl McBroom, a former 6th overall pick from 1944-45 toiling in AAA, and the scouts say that he is possibly ready for the ULB.

There appears to be an interesting battle shaping up at the SS position. It seems age has finally have caught up to future Hall of Famer 40-year old Gary Watkinson (.250/.324/.250, 8-H, 7 RBI, 4 BB, -0.3 WAR) and he missed most of October and early November with a fractured finger. That has allowed 24-year old Rafael De La Cruz (.284/.315/.343, 1 HR, 19 RBI, 7 BB) and 23-year old rookie Connor Reddick (.348/.375/.424, 3-2B, 9 RBI, 3 BB) to get some playing time at the position. For now, Watkinson is still in the lineup facing RHP, while De La Cruz is starting against LHP. Reddick is also playing back-up to 2B José Sánchez (.305/.459/.368, 4-2B, 9 RBI, 27 BB, 8 SB).

Offense: .277/.353/.390 (2nd/2nd/3rd)
Pitching: 4.60/5.20/2.77 (7th/8th/2nd)
Defense: .690 (8th)

Player of the Week Awards:

November 3 – 2B José Sánchez (.565, 13 H, 2 RBI)

Noteworthy:

November 8 – IF Connor Reddick went 5 for 5 against the Stratford Barons, with 1-3B, 1 RBI and 2 R. Stratford prevailed however, 9-5. Reddick is a former 5th overall pick from 1944-45.

Key Injuries:

LHP Edward Hill – October 27 – bone chips (elbow). Out for: 2-3 months.
RF José Maldonado – November 2 – sore elbow. Out for: DtD, unknown.

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The Cobourg Red Stockings are the top offensive team in the entire ULB after the first two months, but an unimpressive pitching staff has largely undermined those efforts. As a result, the Red Stockings find themselves 8 games under .500 and well back of the playoff chase. Certainly the loss of newly acquired RHP Ramón Ortíz (0-1, 6.75 ERA. 1.75 WHIP) doesn’t help. Ortíz suffered a torn rotator cuff in his first start and is gone for the season.

But the rest of the starters have not distinguished themselves. 38-year old Lenny Freke (6-4, 4.62 ERA, 1.48 WHIP), who was also acquired in the off-season, is as good as it gets.

25-year old RHP Trent Beaton, who went 20-10, 2.50 ERA, 1.30 WHIP last year, is just 2-5, 5.35 ERA, 1.71 WHIP so far this year. His performance nicely sums up the down-turn in Cobourg’s pitching fortunes. And they have no pitching prospects waiting in the wings either.

Offense: .307/.353/.443 (1st/1st/1st)
Pitching: 4.64/4.88/3.63 (8th/7th/3rd)
Defense: .695 (7th)

Player of the Week Awards:

October 13 – RF Salvador Hernández (.458, 11 H, 1 HR, 7 RBI)
October 20 – 2B George Simpson (.478, 11 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI)
November 17 – SS John Medley (.462, 12 H, 1 HR, 5 RBI)
November 24 – 3B Alexander Tolmie (.500, 12 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 5 R)
December 1 – CF Raymond Williams (.462, 12 H, 1 HR, 7 RBI)

Noteworthy:

October 28 – 26-year old 2B George Simpson (.370/.389/.491, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 6 BB) pounded out 5 hits in 6 chances against the Embro Suns, with 1-3B, 4 RBI and 2 R. Not surprisingly, the Red Stockings triumphed 14-6.

Just a few days later, on October 31, 26-year old LF Evan Houk (.303/.346/.373, 4-3B, 16 RBI, 10 BB) went 5 for 6 as well, helping Cobourg defeat the Queensland Eagles, 11-2 in Queensland. Houk collected 2 RBI and 1 R.

Key Injuries:

CF Dwaine Whit – September 4 – broken knee cap. Out for: 3-4 weeks.
RHP Ramón Ortíz – October 7 – torn rotator cuff. Out for: 4 months.

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By the looks of it, the 1946-47 season, where the Wellington Athletics finished with an unexpected 78-76 record, was merely a mirage, as the Athletics are headed to their worst record in team history unless they can right the ship in the remaining months. For Wellington, ‘righting the ship’ would mean at least an improved offense. They have the talent in the lineup to be better, but a few of the players are struggling.

Repeating his Triple Crown performance from last season was highly unlikely in the first place, but 28-year old LHP Arthur Bence (4-6, 3.90 ERA, 1.32 WHIP) is definitely struggling as well. His current FIP is 4.91; last year it was 2.89. Wellington’s best pitcher so far has been 34-year old RHP Darren Whiteley (3-2, 3.52 ERA, 1.37 WHIP), but he will miss up to a month to injury.

Wellington does have some fresh blood in the rotation that could provide some spark: 23-year old RHP Matt Price (0-6, 2.98 ERA, 1.21 WHIP). He has been impressive in his 7 starts, with only one rough outing, where he surrendered 5 ER in 7.0 IP against Brunswick. He gave up no ER and only 3 H in 8.0 IP against the Hespeler Stars back on November 24. Alas, the Athletics lost 2-1. But last season in AAA, he earned a trip to the all-star game and won the Walter Johnson Award in the ALB for best pitcher (13-7, 2.17 ERA, 0.94 WHIP). So Wellington seems to have a promising ace in the fold.

Offense: .255/.312/.358 (5th/8th/7th)
Pitching: 3.96/4.00/3.73 (5th/4th/4th)
Defense: .736 (1st)

Key Injury:

RHP Darren Whiteley – November 18 – sprained ulnar collateral ligament. Out for: 2 weeks.

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The Downie Chiefs are a bad team albeit with a lot of promise. If it can come together, then the Chiefs will (finally) be a player in the East. Their offense is comprised of premium but still raw talent. Hopefully they can blossom together.

Two of the Chiefs’ starters are off to fine starts: 32-year old Harley Bracher (4-5, 2.47 ERA, 1.39 WHIP) is enjoying his best start in the ULB. He was claimed off of waivers from the Kingston Pelicans back in 1945-46. The other is 27-year old Bernie Knowles (2-5, 2.80 ERA, 1.32 WHIP), who was just acquired from Kingston in a trade during spring training.
On the other hand, 25-year old RHP Keli Pelanekelina (3-6, 4.97 ERA, 1.26 WHIP) has struggled mightily in his last six starts. He has given up 37 ER in 44.1 IP in that span.

Offense: .241/.315/.352 (8th/7th/8th)
Pitching: 4.34/4.18/5.29 (6th/6th/8th)
Defense: .715 (2nd)

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The eagle has crash-landed apparently with no obvious reason why. The Queensland Eagles may not be the most dominant team on offense or pitching right now, but their stats suggest that they should be better than their record indicates. They are 4-13 in one-run games and their Pyt. Record stands at 22-29. But November was a disaster and pushed the defending United Cup champions all the way down to last place. They need to put it behind them and start playing like they’re capable of.

But it also could be that Queensland is doing a bit of rebuilding on the fly. 40-year old RHP Stewart Colcott (0-2, 4.30 ERA, 1.57 WHIP) is showing his age. So far this season, he has missed 12 weeks due to a partially torn labrum suffered early in spring training. He just got back on November 11. SS Dermott Akers also suffered a long term injury during spring training. But there are couple of young players that could work their way into the everyday lineup and rotation soon. 23-year old SS Bob Sobel (.238/.319/.274, 3-2B, 4 RBI, 10 BB) is now getting a chance to start regularly against RHP. He was a 12th overall pick from 1944-45.

And 20-year old Stiofan Micklethwait (7-2, 2.69 ERA, 1.30 WHIP) is blossoming in his first season at AAA. He was a 9th overall pick last season and is currently rated 33rd overall among prospects.

Offense: .263/.334/.396 (3rd/4th/2nd)
Pitching: 3.88/4.10/2.74 (4th/5th/1st)
Defense: .699 (5th)

Key Injuries:

SS Dermott Akers – September 9 – post-concussion syndrome. Out for: 3-4 months.
RHP Joong Ling – October 30 – radial nerve (elbow). Out for: 5 months.
SS Feleti Monti – November 29 – mild shoulder strain. Out for: Dtd, 4 days.

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11-06-2017, 08:32 PM	#369
reds1 Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2002 Location: Winnipeg Posts: 3,932	December 1, 1947 Eastern League: Roberto, Ryan and No-Hitters -------- The changes made in management over the off-season seem to have done the Stratford Barons some good, as the club has responded with the best record in the ULB over the first two months of the season. A major reason is the tremendous start that two Barons are having: 24-year CF Roberto Ríos (.283/.411/.611, 14 HR, 47 RBI, 43 BB, 4 SB) and 39-year old LHP Ryan Borden (8-1, 1.81 ERA, 1.08 WHIP). Ríos, who signed a minor league contract with the Barons out of Aruba back in 1940, was once rated as the No. 1 prospect in the ULB. He was an all-star last season, but this is the first time he has won a Batter of the Month honour. He quickly made it two. Ryan Borden is embarking on his 11th season in the ULB and he has been one of its most consistent, reliable pitchers. He is a 5-time all-star and won a Satchel Paige Award back in 1943. But he has missed time in the past due to serious injuries: last season, he was out 6 months due to a torn shoulder muscle and in 1944-45 he missed 4 months due to shoulder inflammation. But Borden has come back with a vengeance. Not only did he win back-to-back Pitcher of the Month honours, he is currently rated as the top pitcher in the ULB. But outside of 28-year old C Aaron Skidmore (.308/.420/.500, 8 HR, 29 RBI, 33 BB), the Barons are still looking for offensive consistency. They may have found it, as a number of starters came alive in November. On the other hand, Borden has been ably supported in the rotation by 30-year old RHP Kelvin Hutchinson (6-4, 2.90 ERA, 1.30 WHIP) and 29-year old RHP Bill Blair (5-2, 2.87 ERA, 1.06 WHIP). Stratford has also found a spot for their No. 1 rated pitching prospect: 21-year old RHP Magtanggol Jaojoco (0-0, 2.30 ERA, 0.96 WHIP), who was promoted October 23 to provide middle relief. Offense: .255/.347/.388 (6th/3rd/4th) Pitching: 3.55/3.41/4.45 (2nd/2nd/7th) Defense: .714 (Tied for 3rd) *Player of the Week Awards:* October 27 – SS Jake Walker (.355, 11 H, 3 HR, 6 RBI) -------- The Braeland City Monarchs are trying to put a forgettable 1946-47 season behind them and they are off to a good start in accomplishing that. The Monarchs were road warriors, having played 38 of their first 51 game away from home. But they went 21-17 in those games, which included some tough matches against Western League teams. Braeland City has a plethora of outfielders, particularly rigthfielders, so getting playing time is a challenge. That has been the case with 24-year old RF Carlos Ruíz (.326/.404/.652, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 6 BB, 2 SB), a former 4th round pick back in 1941-42, who has seen very little action in the ULB. But he earned a berth to the AAA all-star game last season and now, thanks to injuries, he finds himself in the starting lineup against RHP. He is making the most of it. Offense: .261/.327/.364 (4th/6th/6th) Pitching: 3.70/3.66/3.95 (3rd/3rd/5th) Defense: .713 (4th) *Noteworthy:* October 20 – 34-year old 3B Adam Ashley (.287/.355/.369, 14-2B, 13 RBI, 21 BB, 6 SB) went 5-for-6 against the Stratford Barons, with 1-2B and 2 R. It wasn’t enough though, as the Barons prevailed 12-11. *Key Injuries:* RF Gavin Bansfield – October 19 – fractured fibula. Out for: 2-3 months. RF Jesús Ortega – November 2 – sprained elbow. Out for: 1 more day. -------- The offense is still a mild concern for the Brunswick Legends, but a healthy RF Marcus Peyto (.301/.403/.545, 9 HR, 36 RBI, 28 BB, 3 SB) will go a long way in helping that. The 27-year old Peyto missed the first half of October after fracturing his wrist in spring training. The pitching is the story though, as the 5-man rotation – all lefties – continues its steady ways. It also made history, as two pitchers – Wilson Villas and Hirotada Fukushima – pitched NO-HITTERS just four days apart in November. They are the 4th and 5th no-hitters in ULB history and the first since the 1944-45 season, when Kingston’s Charlie Gilbert accomplished it. Offense: .244/.333/.386 (7th/5th/5th) Pitching: 3.31/3.15/4.07 (1st/1st/6th) Defense: .698 (6th) *Player of the Week Awards:* November 10 – SS Jorge Arredondo (.545, 12 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI) *Noteworthy:* November 9 – 33-year old SP Wilson Villas pitched the game of his life when he NO-HIT the Cambria Cannons at Alexander Field in Cambria. He finished with 4 BB and 4 K, facing only 31 batters in a 3-0 victory. “I knew for a while it was a no-hitter,” Villas admitted later. “But I really didn’t worry about it until the last out. I thought I just wanted the win the game, and then I realized I wanted the no-hitter, too.” November 13 – Lightning strikes for the second time. 32-year old SP Hirotada Fukushima pitches a NO-HITTER; just four days after teammate Wilson Villas did it. This time it was against the Balmoral Giants. Fukushima faced 30 batters, had 2 K and gave up 3 BB in a 4-0 victory at Balmoral’s Foster Field. Giants’ manager Morrigan O’Lonergan could only marvel at what he saw. “He was on from the get-go. He was hitting his spots and keeping us off balance. It was a great game by him.” -------- It’s the same story for the Embro Suns as the first two months see the offense thriving but the pitching struggling. That had been their glaring weakness last season and it has only gotten worse (their ERA was 4.06 last year). The back end of the rotation is simply a train wreck right now, with 31-year old Matt Miller (4-4, 5.23 ERA, 1.45 WHIP) and 33-year old Oscar Burress (2-6, 9.22 ERA, 2.23 WHIP) struggling. Only 32-year old ace RHP Myung-gu Son (4-5, 3.29 ERA, 1.37 WHIP) is offering any kind of consistency. But they do have 21-year old LHP Carl McBroom, a former 6th overall pick from 1944-45 toiling in AAA, and the scouts say that he is possibly ready for the ULB. There appears to be an interesting battle shaping up at the SS position. It seems age has finally have caught up to future Hall of Famer 40-year old Gary Watkinson (.250/.324/.250, 8-H, 7 RBI, 4 BB, -0.3 WAR) and he missed most of October and early November with a fractured finger. That has allowed 24-year old Rafael De La Cruz (.284/.315/.343, 1 HR, 19 RBI, 7 BB) and 23-year old rookie Connor Reddick (.348/.375/.424, 3-2B, 9 RBI, 3 BB) to get some playing time at the position. For now, Watkinson is still in the lineup facing RHP, while De La Cruz is starting against LHP. Reddick is also playing back-up to 2B José Sánchez (.305/.459/.368, 4-2B, 9 RBI, 27 BB, 8 SB). Offense: .277/.353/.390 (2nd/2nd/3rd) Pitching: 4.60/5.20/2.77 (7th/8th/2nd) Defense: .690 (8th) *Player of the Week Awards:* November 3 – 2B José Sánchez (.565, 13 H, 2 RBI) *Noteworthy:* November 8 – IF Connor Reddick went 5 for 5 against the Stratford Barons, with 1-3B, 1 RBI and 2 R. Stratford prevailed however, 9-5. Reddick is a former 5th overall pick from 1944-45. *Key Injuries:* LHP Edward Hill – October 27 – bone chips (elbow). Out for: 2-3 months. RF José Maldonado – November 2 – sore elbow. Out for: DtD, unknown. -------- The Cobourg Red Stockings are the top offensive team in the entire ULB after the first two months, but an unimpressive pitching staff has largely undermined those efforts. As a result, the Red Stockings find themselves 8 games under .500 and well back of the playoff chase. Certainly the loss of newly acquired RHP Ramón Ortíz (0-1, 6.75 ERA. 1.75 WHIP) doesn’t help. Ortíz suffered a torn rotator cuff in his first start and is gone for the season. But the rest of the starters have not distinguished themselves. 38-year old Lenny Freke (6-4, 4.62 ERA, 1.48 WHIP), who was also acquired in the off-season, is as good as it gets. 25-year old RHP Trent Beaton, who went 20-10, 2.50 ERA, 1.30 WHIP last year, is just 2-5, 5.35 ERA, 1.71 WHIP so far this year. His performance nicely sums up the down-turn in Cobourg’s pitching fortunes. And they have no pitching prospects waiting in the wings either. Offense: .307/.353/.443 (1st/1st/1st) Pitching: 4.64/4.88/3.63 (8th/7th/3rd) Defense: .695 (7th) *Player of the Week Awards:* October 13 – RF Salvador Hernández (.458, 11 H, 1 HR, 7 RBI) October 20 – 2B George Simpson (.478, 11 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI) November 17 – SS John Medley (.462, 12 H, 1 HR, 5 RBI) November 24 – 3B Alexander Tolmie (.500, 12 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 5 R) December 1 – CF Raymond Williams (.462, 12 H, 1 HR, 7 RBI) *Noteworthy:* October 28 – 26-year old 2B George Simpson (.370/.389/.491, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 6 BB) pounded out 5 hits in 6 chances against the Embro Suns, with 1-3B, 4 RBI and 2 R. Not surprisingly, the Red Stockings triumphed 14-6. Just a few days later, on October 31, 26-year old LF Evan Houk (.303/.346/.373, 4-3B, 16 RBI, 10 BB) went 5 for 6 as well, helping Cobourg defeat the Queensland Eagles, 11-2 in Queensland. Houk collected 2 RBI and 1 R. *Key Injuries:* CF Dwaine Whit – September 4 – broken knee cap. Out for: 3-4 weeks. RHP Ramón Ortíz – October 7 – torn rotator cuff. Out for: 4 months. -------- By the looks of it, the 1946-47 season, where the Wellington Athletics finished with an unexpected 78-76 record, was merely a mirage, as the Athletics are headed to their worst record in team history unless they can right the ship in the remaining months. For Wellington, ‘righting the ship’ would mean at least an improved offense. They have the talent in the lineup to be better, but a few of the players are struggling. Repeating his Triple Crown performance from last season was highly unlikely in the first place, but 28-year old LHP Arthur Bence (4-6, 3.90 ERA, 1.32 WHIP) is definitely struggling as well. His current FIP is 4.91; last year it was 2.89. Wellington’s best pitcher so far has been 34-year old RHP Darren Whiteley (3-2, 3.52 ERA, 1.37 WHIP), but he will miss up to a month to injury. Wellington does have some fresh blood in the rotation that could provide some spark: 23-year old RHP Matt Price (0-6, 2.98 ERA, 1.21 WHIP). He has been impressive in his 7 starts, with only one rough outing, where he surrendered 5 ER in 7.0 IP against Brunswick. He gave up no ER and only 3 H in 8.0 IP against the Hespeler Stars back on November 24. Alas, the Athletics lost 2-1. But last season in AAA, he earned a trip to the all-star game and won the Walter Johnson Award in the ALB for best pitcher (13-7, 2.17 ERA, 0.94 WHIP). So Wellington seems to have a promising ace in the fold. Offense: .255/.312/.358 (5th/8th/7th) Pitching: 3.96/4.00/3.73 (5th/4th/4th) Defense: .736 (1st) *Key Injury:* RHP Darren Whiteley – November 18 – sprained ulnar collateral ligament. Out for: 2 weeks. -------- The Downie Chiefs are a bad team albeit with a lot of promise. If it can come together, then the Chiefs will (finally) be a player in the East. Their offense is comprised of premium but still raw talent. Hopefully they can blossom together. Two of the Chiefs’ starters are off to fine starts: 32-year old Harley Bracher (4-5, 2.47 ERA, 1.39 WHIP) is enjoying his best start in the ULB. He was claimed off of waivers from the Kingston Pelicans back in 1945-46. The other is 27-year old Bernie Knowles (2-5, 2.80 ERA, 1.32 WHIP), who was just acquired from Kingston in a trade during spring training. On the other hand, 25-year old RHP Keli Pelanekelina (3-6, 4.97 ERA, 1.26 WHIP) has struggled mightily in his last six starts. He has given up 37 ER in 44.1 IP in that span. Offense: .241/.315/.352 (8th/7th/8th) Pitching: 4.34/4.18/5.29 (6th/6th/8th) Defense: .715 (2nd) -------- The eagle has crash-landed apparently with no obvious reason why. The Queensland Eagles may not be the most dominant team on offense or pitching right now, but their stats suggest that they should be better than their record indicates. They are 4-13 in one-run games and their Pyt. Record stands at 22-29. But November was a disaster and pushed the defending United Cup champions all the way down to last place. They need to put it behind them and start playing like they’re capable of. But it also could be that Queensland is doing a bit of rebuilding on the fly. 40-year old RHP Stewart Colcott (0-2, 4.30 ERA, 1.57 WHIP) is showing his age. So far this season, he has missed 12 weeks due to a partially torn labrum suffered early in spring training. He just got back on November 11. SS Dermott Akers also suffered a long term injury during spring training. But there are couple of young players that could work their way into the everyday lineup and rotation soon. 23-year old SS Bob Sobel (.238/.319/.274, 3-2B, 4 RBI, 10 BB) is now getting a chance to start regularly against RHP. He was a 12th overall pick from 1944-45. And 20-year old Stiofan Micklethwait (7-2, 2.69 ERA, 1.30 WHIP) is blossoming in his first season at AAA. He was a 9th overall pick last season and is currently rated 33rd overall among prospects. Offense: .263/.334/.396 (3rd/4th/2nd) Pitching: 3.88/4.10/2.74 (4th/5th/1st) Defense: .699 (5th) *Key Injuries:* SS Dermott Akers – September 9 – post-concussion syndrome. Out for: 3-4 months. RHP Joong Ling – October 30 – radial nerve (elbow). Out for: 5 months. SS Feleti Monti – November 29 – mild shoulder strain. Out for: Dtd, 4 days. -------- __________________ United Leagues of Braeland Last edited by reds1; 11-11-2017 at 02:02 PM.