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ayaghmour2 · 02-19-2025, 06:14 PM

Weekly Record: 2-5
Overall Record: 2-5 (9th, 4 GB)

It Could Be Worse?: Suffice to say, our first week of the spring was a rough one, as only the Foresters and Suns won fewer games then us. Even better, our first win was against said Foresters, and the other was the expansion Wranglers. We lost to the Imps, a brutal loss for the pen and former New York (Stars) draftee Ollie Norris (2.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 BB), and we had three games with two or fewer runs. Not nearly good enough, some of our better players were terrible, as Jerry McMillan (1-11, 3B, 2 R, 2 BB), Tom Halliday (1-13, RBI, BB), and #3 prospect Dode Caudill (2-12, HR, BB, SB) had little success. They weren't alone, with slow starts from Billy Thompson (2-13, R, BB), Buddy Byrd (2-11, RBI, R, SB), Milt Payne (2-11), and Dutch Miller (1-9, 2B, RBI, R). The spring is a short one, and with so many players competing for a roster spot every PA counts. Not much will change personnel wise in week two, but if these guys can't get it going they may run out of time to prove their worth.

Jack Gibson is Back: There were 650 days between Jack Gibson's 1,826th FABL plate appearance and his spring debut, but if you didn't know any better you'd think he was fresh off an All-Star season. The almost 28-year-old second basemen was a perfect 2-for-2, double with both a run scored and driven in. He tripled the next day, and then two days later Gibson clubbed a first inning homer. Back to his old habits, he finished his week 6-for-12, equating to a 350 WRC+ and .500/.538/1.000 batting line. Clearly our best performer, there were only a few other players in the league with weeks like him. I truly believe we could have won the pennant last season had our star been healthy, and I'm extremely excited for a full season of him.

It is going to be tough to pick a rotation: That could be the post. It really is. We have seven guys who deserve to start, and only two of them are obvious picks. The non-obvious ones are doing their best, with both Henry Henderson (W, 3 IP, 3 H, BB, 3 K) and Ken Stone (4 IP, 2 H, 2 K) throwing shutout performances. Andy Logue (3.1 IP, 2 H, BB) joined them, and even Bob Allen (3 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 K) pitched well out of the pen. Part of me really wants to do a six man rotation, with Stone and Henderson splitting starts, but it feels awful banishing John Mitchell to Milwaukee just because he's the odd man out. If Henderson and Stone both struggled, it would be easy to make Mitchell the five and call it a day, but they're making things interesting by doing exactly what they need to. Small samples are dangerous, and a max three starts may make things difficult to get an accurate gauge on their readiness.

02-19-2025, 06:14 PM	#1596
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	Spring Training: Week 1 Weekly Record: 2-5 Overall Record: 2-5 (9th, 4 GB) It Could Be Worse?: Suffice to say, our first week of the spring was a rough one, as only the Foresters and Suns won fewer games then us. Even better, our first win was against said Foresters, and the other was the expansion Wranglers. We lost to the Imps, a brutal loss for the pen and former New York (Stars) draftee Ollie Norris (2.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 BB), and we had three games with two or fewer runs. Not nearly good enough, some of our better players were terrible, as Jerry McMillan (1-11, 3B, 2 R, 2 BB), Tom Halliday (1-13, RBI, BB), and #3 prospect Dode Caudill (2-12, HR, BB, SB) had little success. They weren't alone, with slow starts from Billy Thompson (2-13, R, BB), Buddy Byrd (2-11, RBI, R, SB), Milt Payne (2-11), and Dutch Miller (1-9, 2B, RBI, R). The spring is a short one, and with so many players competing for a roster spot every PA counts. Not much will change personnel wise in week two, but if these guys can't get it going they may run out of time to prove their worth. Jack Gibson is Back: There were 650 days between Jack Gibson's 1,826th FABL plate appearance and his spring debut, but if you didn't know any better you'd think he was fresh off an All-Star season. The almost 28-year-old second basemen was a perfect 2-for-2, double with both a run scored and driven in. He tripled the next day, and then two days later Gibson clubbed a first inning homer. Back to his old habits, he finished his week 6-for-12, equating to a 350 WRC+ and .500/.538/1.000 batting line. Clearly our best performer, there were only a few other players in the league with weeks like him. I truly believe we could have won the pennant last season had our star been healthy, and I'm extremely excited for a full season of him. It is going to be tough to pick a rotation: That could be the post. It really is. We have seven guys who deserve to start, and only two of them are obvious picks. The non-obvious ones are doing their best, with both Henry Henderson (W, 3 IP, 3 H, BB, 3 K) and Ken Stone (4 IP, 2 H, 2 K) throwing shutout performances. Andy Logue (3.1 IP, 2 H, BB) joined them, and even Bob Allen (3 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 K) pitched well out of the pen. Part of me really wants to do a six man rotation, with Stone and Henderson splitting starts, but it feels awful banishing John Mitchell to Milwaukee just because he's the odd man out. If Henderson and Stone both struggled, it would be easy to make Mitchell the five and call it a day, but they're making things interesting by doing exactly what they need to. Small samples are dangerous, and a max three starts may make things difficult to get an accurate gauge on their readiness.