Portland Raccoons (ABL)

[sarona]

Wow Westheim. Not a good time for you!


Mets last. Wolves last in the Prem. And now this!

[Westheim]

2072 ABL PLAYOFFS

The 96th ABL playoffs were here, and they included the Indians, having taken the CL North with a record of 92-70 and by five games. On paper the Indians had a great pitching staff with the second-best ERA for starters, good defense, and a weirdly efficient offense that had scored the fourth-most runs in the CL from sitting tenth in batting average and OBP thanks to top 3 finishes in homers and stolen bases. They had a +79 run differential. In real terms, they had lost starting pitchers Victor Perez (14-9, 3.53 ERA) and Mike DeWitt (13-10, 3.68 ERA) to injury late in the season and now had to employ some fillers in the part of the team that had carried them to the division title. On offense, Matt Rogers (.274, 27 HR, 110 RBI) had swatted the most homers, with some support from Tony Torres (.259, 18 HR, 69 RBI) and Jose Hilario (.292, 13 HR, 97 RBI), who had the highest batting average on the team. The lineup, even without injuries, was rather thin towards the bottom.

Opposing them were the defending champions, the 96-66 Aces, who had won the South by nine games. They ranked second in runs scored and runs allowed, for an impressive +174 run differential. They ranked third or better in all key metrics except bullpen ERA, but they had also suffered a few injuries, being without SP Danny Ryba (5-5, 4.27 ERA), Josh Phelps (.288, 21 HR, 78 RBI), and Jimmy Williams (.333, 0 HR, 67 RBI), the latter being out only for the CLCS. Team home run leader and CL RBI king Chris Haynes (.309, 35 HR, 112 RBI) was fine, though, but the only other double-digit home run hitter on the team that was available for the playoffs was now Matt Rodewald (.282, 18 HR, 88 RBI). They had a wealth of .300 hitters to throw at the opposition, though. Left-hander Harrison Bucci (16-9, 3.02 ERA) had the best ERA in the rotation, having been acquired from the Miners in May.

The 105-57 Warriors had run away with the FL West by 16 games, and they too ranked top three in all major team stats, except for homers (eighth). Even without the extra power, they had put up a +202 run differential. Jordan Lopez (.312, 27 HR, 100 RBI) was the major source for extra-base hits and bombs, but they too had an assortment of .300 hitters, most notably Steve Millen (.322, 9 HR, 90 RBI) and David Jankowski (.332, 8 HR, 67 RBI), the latter not qualifying for rate statistics. The lineup was incredibly dense, and they had only one injury to Josh Mireles (.278, 7 HR, 34 RBI). On the pitching side, Alex Diez (17-12, 2.42 ERA) and Harry Poteat (14-12, 2.88 ERA) somehow both got little run support during the season, losing more games than the pitchers with lesser stats. All of the rotation, bullpen, and defense had topped the Federal League.

The 84-78 Miners, who clinched the FL East on the final day of the season, surely had their work cut out for themselves, coming only eighth in offense (with the second-fewest home runs) and third in pitching in the Federal League, and posted a +52 run differential. Most key hitters had been injured at one point or another, except for Anthony Schneider (.305, 22 HR, 89 RBI) and Trent Taylor (.258, 11 HR, 83 RBI), and Norm Chapman (.276, 4 HR, 68 RBI) was missing the FLCS with an injury. Batting averages were low, home run totals were lower, and the rotation had monster Brian Jones (19-7, 1.94 ERA), who won the Triple Crown and set a new record for strikeouts in a single season with 335, and a lot of ho-hum otherwise. The pen was little better, except for lockdown closer Javier Arocho (7-4, 2.10 ERA, 39 SV).

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Three quarters of the playoff field were identical to last season, except for the Indians replacing the Raccoons.

The Warriors made their 21st playoff appearance (and fifth consecutive), and the Miners their 20th. Both Aces and Indians made the postseason for the ninth time.

The Aces and Warriors had three titles each, and the Indians had two. The Miners remained the only titleless team in the league. Vegas had won the title in 2071, Indy had most recently hoisted the pot in 2062, and Sioux Falls in 2034.

The FLCS was a repeat of the 2014, 2015, 2033, 2054, and 2071 pairings. The Miners had won two of those contests (2015, 2071) and the Warriors the remaining three. The Aces and Indians had never met in the CLCS before.

The only possible repeat World Series pairing was last year’s, when the Aces had beaten the Miners.

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2072 LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

IND @ LVA … 2-5 … (Aces lead 1-0) … LVA Luke McGrew 3-5, 2B; LVA Koji Hatakeyama 2-5, 2 RBI;

PIT @ SFW … 1-3 … (Warriors lead 1-0) … SFW Alex Diez 8.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K, W (1-0);
IND @ LVA … 1-4 … (Aces lead 2-0) … LVA Adam Seybert 2-3, BB, 2 2B, RBI; LVA Koji Hatakeyama 3-4, 2B, RBI; LVA Matt Rodewald 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI;

PIT @ SFW … 2-1 (13) … (series tied 1-1) … SFW Harry Poteat 8.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K and 2-3;

The deciding run in Game 2 scores on a throwing error by Warriors reliever Jesus Ordonez (0-1, 3.38 ERA).

LVA @ IND … 0-1 … (Aces lead 2-1) … LVA Koji Hatakeyama 3-3, BB; LVA Luis Ortiz 8.0 P, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, L (0-1); IND Jorge Flores 8.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K, W (1-0);

Matt Rogers (.167, 0 HR, 1 RBI) drives in the golden run with an eighth-inning RBI single.

SFW @ PIT … 0-1 … (Miners lead 2-1) … PIT Carlos Castro 2-3, HR, RBI; PIT Alex Perez 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 3 K, W (1-0);
LVA @ IND … 5-6 … (series tied 2-2) … LVA Sergio Rubio (PH) 1-1, 2B, 3 RBI; IND Jose Hilario 4-5, 2B, RBI; IND Cesar Pena 1-1, 2B, RBI; IND Miguel Lopez 8.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K;

The Indians *blow* a 3-0 lead in a 5-run ninth inning before rallying themselves for a walkoff on three runs in the bottom of the ninth.

SFW @ PIT … 5-3 … (series tied 2-2) … SFW Kyle Reber 3-5, RBI; SFW Jordan Lopez 2-4, 2 RBI;
LVA @ IND … 2-4 … (Indians lead 3-2) … LVA John Harmsen 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; IND Jose Hilario 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI; IND Chris Gamble 1-1, 3 BB;

SFW @ PIT … 7-5 … (Warriors lead 3-2) … SFW Kyle Reber 2-5, 2B, RBI; PIT Trent Taylor 2-4, HR, 2 RBI;

IND @ LVA … 2-14 … (series tied 3-3) … LVA Adam Seybert 2-5, 2B, 4 RBI; LVA Koji Hatakeyama 3-4, BB, 3 RBI; LVA Luke McGrew 3-4, BB, 3B, RBI;

PIT @ SFW … 2-5 … (Warriors win 4-2) … PIT Matthew Selep 2-3, HR, 2 RBI;
IND @ LVA … 1-0 … (Indians win 4-3) … IND Walter Richmond 2-4, HR, RBI;

The Warriors split ten hits between ten batters to gradually overcome an early 2-0 deficit and claim the pennant, while the Indians live rather than die by a Walter Richmond homer in the fifth game of the 7-game series in which they score two runs or fewer.

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2072 WORLD SERIES

Neither team had suffered more injuries or had gotten any healthier in the League Championship Series, which begged the question what could still stop the Warriors this time around? They had the clearly superior stats, and they would not be impressed one bit by the Indians’ act of scoring one, maybe two runs.

Both teams had a left-handed-leaning lineup to offer, but only the Warriors had the left-handed pitching resources to cope, to boot.

This all looked like the Warriors’ first championship in almost 40 years on a platter.

IND @ SFW … 2-0 … (Indians lead 1-0) … IND Nate Marazzo 2-3, RBI; IND Pablo Apodaca 9.0 IP, 6 H, 0 HR, 3 BB, 3 K, W (2-1);

Rumor has it that the Warriors are not impressed… yet.

IND @ SFW … 1-18 … (series tied 1-1) … IND Walter Richmond 3-5; SFW Eddie Contreras 3-7, 3B, 5 RBI; SFW Kyle Reber 2-5, BB, 2 RBI; SFW Jordan Lopez 2-5, BB, HR, 2 RBI; SFW David Jankowski 3-6, HR, RBI; SFW Alejandro Olivares 3-5, 2B, 3 RBI; SFW Jamie Clark 3-5, 2 2B, RBI; SFW Matt Roller 3-3, 2 BB, 2B, 3 RBI;

No, they are not.

SFW @ IND … 1-3 … (Indians lead 2-1) … SFW Steve Millen 2-4, RBI; IND Fernando Valadez 3-4, 2B; IND Jose Hilario 4-4, RBI; IND Pete Gillin 2-3, RBI; IND Jorge Flores 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, W (3-0);

[insert dial-up modem noises]

SFW @ IND … 7-2 … (series tied 2-2) … SFW Eddie Contreras 3-5, RBI; SFW Jordan Lopez 1-4, HR, 3 RBI; SFW Jamie Clark 1-4, HR, 3 RBI; IND Matt Rogers 2-3, 2B, RBI;

SFW @ IND … 2-1 … (Warriors lead 3-2) … SFW Kyle Reber 1-3, HR, 2 RBI;

That might have been the one that costs the Indians the series. Reber’s home run off Pablo Apodaca (2-2, 2.03 ERA) is one of only three hits for Sioux Falls in Game 5.

IND @ SFW … 4-5 … (Warriors win 4-2) … SFW Kyle Reber 3-5, HR, 2B, 2 RBI;

Kyle Reber (.306, 2 HR, 9 RBI) ends the baseball season by means of a walkoff double in the ninth inning, driving home Contreras (.333, 0 HR, 7 RBI) after the Indians had gradually erased an early 4-1 lead for the Warriors.

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2072 ABL CHAMPIONS
Sioux Falls Warriors
(4th title)

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by DD Martin

What a fold job. They’d make Barry Horowitz proud with such a job

Folded like a ******* chair.

Originally Posted by sarona

Wow Westheim. Not a good time for you!

When is it ever? For real, though?

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Three things that were undeniably intrinsic parts of baseball were overloaded hot dogs, three-year-old kids throwing baseballs given to them by a stranger back onto the field, and that, after most seasons, it was all about taking the fuzzy head back out of an empty tub of ice cream, picking the splinters and shards and the broken hopes and dreams out of your fur, and then go back to work. This was one of those winters, and after an 8-19 run to finish the season, in which the team scored fewer than three runs *12* times, the most glaring problem was obvious.

They weren’t scoring any ******* runs (just under 4.2 per game in ’72).

More money would help (probably), but Adam Valdes disagreed and the Raccoons’ budget continued to barely outpace inflation as it was raised from $66M to $68M. That made for a slight inch upwards in the budget rankings, up from a tie for 12th with the Buffos into a tie for 9th with the same Buffos and the Cyclones – but there was another four teams just pennies behind, including the t-13th Elks ($66M) and 15th-place Loggers ($65M). Indy was just off at $63M in 16th.

Top 5: Warriors ($96M), Knights ($94M), Titans ($89M), Crusaders ($84M), Stars ($82M)
Bottom 5: Bayhawks/Scorpions ($59M), Wolves ($55M), Condors ($51M), Blue Sox ($50M), Falcons ($48.5M)

The Thunder ownership meanwhile embraced the idea of continuing to crash the team into a bridge abutment, axing another $10M of the team’s play-doh after slashing $17M the year before. They had been incinerated from the top spot down to 12th by now.

The average budget this year went up a roughly $900k to $69.06M. The median budget went up $500k to $66.5M.

+++

The Raccoons thus began the year underwater, and not just a little bit. The Raccoons were underwater by EIGHT FIGURES.

The payroll for next year alone figured to be around $64M, which was genuinely hard to fit into a $68M budget. Reasons for that were some salary increases in general (Edgar Gonzales, Tony Gaytan, and a couple other non-contributors), but also that we had traded up at the deadline and now sat on $4M+ contracts with Juan Licona and Josh Jackson, and another $1.9M to Jonathan Contreras; those three alone had added $10.5M to the 2073 payroll, and two thirds of them had snoozed on the DL while the place was destroyed by fireballs raining from thee sky in September and October.

Brilliant.

In short, there was no way that meaningful work to improve the lineup could be done. Much the contrary. The Raccoons had to trade pieces away for pocket lint just to break even. The big bucks were with a group of eight players that were all expected to make in excess of $3M in 2073 and beyond:

Adam Yocum – $8.1M in 2073 and a player option for 2074 ($16.2M total)
Steve Humphries – $7.2M in 2073 and a player option for 2074 ($14.4M total)
John Katzman – $5.3M in 2073 and until 2075 ($15.9M in total)
Juan Licona – $4.6M in 2073 and until 2076 ($18.4M in total)
Josh Jackson – $4M in 2073 (free agent)
V.D. Morales – $3.8M in 2073 and until 2074 ($7.6M in total)
Edgar Gonzales – $3.5M in 2073 and until 2075 ($10.5M in total)
Nick Walla – $3.2M in 2073 and until 2075 ($9.6M in total)

The next guy after that was Tony Gaytan making $2M each this year and next, and the 10th biggest contract for ’73 was the $1.9M to Jonathan Contreras, who’d be a free agent after that.

Was this a good time to look at the salary arbitration table? And yes, only salary arbitration – there were no scheduled free agents on the roster at all. Only one of the free agents was a position player, catcher Sam Brown, who wasn’t hitting much of anything and was not the greatest backstop either. And it wouldn’t take a lot to get cut loose from the roster this winter.

That left five pitchers, including some you hadn’t heard of in a while. Aldomiro Campion had made three appearances for a 7.20 ERA before heading for Tommy John surgery, was months off a return, but had a $1.6M estimate hanging around his neck. Vinny Morales and Jason Holzmeister had gotten nothing but bombed as well and we were inclined to take an easy $1.7M in combined savings by non-tendering that pair. The only pieces that would be nice to hang onto were Gabriel Rios (stiff $1.8M estimate) and Cam Jackson ($600k). The thumb was probably up on Jackson, but on Rios, not so much.

Since there were no free agents, we’d save the grand roster overview for later, since everything you saw run face-first into the wall would still be around, coins permitting. On the bright paw this included a full and functioning rotation with Nick Walla, Jimmy Wharton, “Crispy Bear” D’Urso, Tony Gaytan (painful expression) and whoever you’d wish for between Steve George, Josh Jackson, and Campion, should he return to the team in spring (at that price point). This was perhaps a good point to mention #41 prospect Jalen McCorkle, 23, who had posted a 3.80 ERA in 18 AAA starts and looked slated to push upwards in the first half of next season, but could be on the Opening Day roster if we had to take the chainsaw to the rotation.

There was a flurry of relievers, but no closer, and if we couldn’t even afford Sam Brown, then Jonathan Contreras and Ryan Sweet looked like the catching duo for ’73. The guy to watch was Jose Laboy in AAA, who hadn’t been a ranked prospect this year, but could replace Sweet (who was 27 and carried no particular value, not even sentimental) before long.

That punitively expensive infield of Yocum, Katz, and Gonzales ($18.8M between them) was completed by Josh Woodley on the minimum, and, fun fact, Woodley, the former Rule 5er, and who had only ho-hummed his way onto the Opening Day roster in ’72, ended the season with the best OPS+ (135) of qualifying players on this stupid roster if you acknowledged that Juan Licona played two thirds and his best baseball for the Rebs.

The outfield was a bit crowded with Humph and Licona demanding starting positions on the corners (assuming we’d be able to keep either of them), and then everybody able to play centerfield falling over each other for that spot (Hamel, LeVan, Morentin, Guerrero…), which made V.D. Morales a rather obvious subtraction candidate.

Yes. This was the absolute state of Raccoons baseball. They couldn’t even afford a ******* baseball.

[Westheim]

With the team about $11M over budget entering the offseason, I’d be lying if I claimed I had a clue of how to proceed. We shopped a couple of the big contracts to begin the offseason, but didn’t get many responses except for general snickering around the other 23 front offices.

One thing that appeared clear was that the Raccoons could no longer afford the services of Gabriel Rios, especially if he was just a late-inning reliever (a good one, though), but we couldn’t pay almost $2M for that. But even for him we didn’t get any good offers initially. There was thankfully not a requirement to trade him *before* the arbitration date, because we could still trade him later in the winter with a new 1-year deal on him.

Two guys that would definitely not be tendered a new deal were Vinny Morales and Jason Holzmeister, which would indeed save about $1.7M, which left only another $9M+ to find between the cushions. (looks around) … (lifts Slappy’s lazy bum off the couch to feel around the crevices of the furniture with the other paw)

Steve from Accounting however found out that even being this broke we can still claim players on waivers to our hearts’ delight, so –

+++

October 24 – The Falcons acquire SP Jesus Alcantar (24-28, 4.61 ERA) from the Gold Sox for 2B/SS Rodger Houkes (.278, 5 HR, 60 RBI) and a prospect.
October 26 – The Raccoons claim 24-year-old 2B/SS/CF Jaiden Hill (.269, 1 HR, 17 RBI) off waivers by the Canadiens.
October 30 – The Canadiens deal CL Danny Nava (58-52, 3.48 ERA, 121 SV) to the Aces for three prospects.

+++

Jaiden Hill looks like insurance if the big elephant droppings hit the industrial fan and we have to resort to trading Yocum and/or Katz away. This would of course mean forfeiting the next couple of years entirely, but at least he was a solid option to hold down second base for the time being. Dave Falquez (.250, 0 HR, 4 RBI) got placed on waivers instead to make room on the 40-man roster. Both him and Tony Spink cleared waivers unmolested.

The dying days of October continued with 1-year extensions for the still-injured Aldomiro Campion ($1.55M), Cam Jackson ($600k), and Sam Brown ($575k). It took longer to settle with Gabriel Rios on a $1.7M deal for 2073, and the understanding that we’d find him a team that would let him fudge around as a starter again.

+++

November 7 – The Aces trade CF Roy Ben (.264, 5 HR, 44 RBI) to the Gold Sox for MR Jose Robledo (7-12, 4.15 ERA, 4 SV) and a prospect.
November 10 – The Raccoons trade SP Josh Jackson (59-87, 4.26 ERA, 3 SV) and LF/RF/1B Victor David Morales (.269, 104 HR, 499 RBI) to the Thunder for two prospects, #28 AA CL Josh Olsen (age 20) and AAA C Bill Sadio (age 23).
November 15 – Tijuana sends 3B/SS David Campbell (.294, 3 HR, 57 RBI) to the Rebels for a prospect.

+++

The Thunder deal shed almost $8M in salaries for 2073 (only $3M to find to be merely broke). Jackson might be a sound option for a starter, but we *have* five starters (if you count on Aldo to return on time and give Gaytan a pass), and was too expensive for a “maybe”, and V.D. did have his big hits, but was also too expensive to retain as bench piece behind Humph and Licona on the corners. In return we got a closer candidate in a few years’ time and an unranked catcher that had one of the keenest eyes at the plate, but sadly wouldn’t combine it with top-of-the-order speed, and instead could throw like a rocket launcher. Oh well. We’ll see.

The Portland Browns for sure would not be a contender in the bidding for Japanese international free agent Keigo Mochizuki, a 25-year-old outfielder that was shipping all five of his tools to the States and was expected to get a contract north of $50M.

Vinny Morales (38-45, 4.13 ERA) and Jason Holzmeister (14-12, 3.49 ERA, 4 SV) departed at the free agency deadline as planned, along with a number of minor league free agents, including blink-and-you-miss-them Dan Gomez (.273, 5 HR, 21 RBI), Willie Jalomo (.161, 0 HR, 5 RBI), and Wout Sleutjes (.333, 0 HR, 0 RBI).

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2072 ABL AWARDS

Player of the Year: PIT OF Anthony Schneider (.305, 22 HR, 89 RBI) and MIL C Manuel Rodriguez (.308, 37 HR, 107 RBI)
Pitchers of the Year: PIT SP Brian Jones (19-7, 1.94 ERA) and VAN SP Jay Williams (20-6, 2.78 ERA)
Rookies of the Year: TOP 1B Tom Ferrari (.236, 19 HR, 61 RBI) and POR SP Crispino D’Urso (14-6, 3.12 ERA)
Relievers of the Year: DEN CL Kelvin Castillo (8-3, 2.69 ERA, 39 SV) and CHA CL Orazio Cecere (1-6, 2.14 ERA, 40 SV)
Platinum Sticks (FL): P DAL Jarod Nesbit – C DAL Steve Varner – 1B WAS Armando Curiel – 2B DEN Chris McNulty – 3B SAC Rick Healey – SS SAL Tyrese Armstrong – LF DEN Miguel Sandoval – CF PIT Anthony Schneider – RF DAL Dave Wright
Platinum Sticks (CL): P LVA Tim Henderson – C MIL Manuel Rodriguez – 1B MIL Cesar Ramirez – 2B BOS Carlos Fumero – 3B LVA Matt Rodewald – SS LVA Koji Hatakeyama – LF ATL Eddie Marcotte – CF SFB Ryan Redding – RF MIL Carlos Dominguez
Gold Gloves (FL): P NAS Justin Taylor – C RIC Ramon Lopez – 1B TOP Tom Ferrari – 2B DEN Chris McNulty – 3B DEN Beau Metz – SS SAL Tyrese Armstrong – LF PIT Norm Chapman – CF RIC Travis Bickerton – RF SAL Jesus Garza
Gold Gloves (CL): P MIL Kein Bennett – C OCT Oscar Matos – 1B NYC Raul Ledesma – 2B SFB Mario Flores – 3B MIL Jesse Sowards – SS ATL Tomas Guangorena – LF SFB Brett Haus – CF IND Jose Hilario – RF SFB Jake Ward

Crispy Bear…!! (squeaks!) Signed for $590k in the July 2065 IFA window, it took him seven years and Tommy John surgery for Aldomiro Campion to make his debut in April of this year and then pitch a total of 30 starts. He ended up with the second-best ERA on staff (15 points behind Walla), and he did so with the lowest BABIP (.259) of all qualifying pitchers in the CL….. and he’s not even a particularly specialized groundballer…!

D’Urso is the first Coons Rookie of the Year in 17 years. Back in the early 2050s, the Raccoons took three of those awards in a four-year window, all pitchers: Seisaku Taki in 2052, He Shui in 2054 (arguably both being ripened professionals from Asia), and Matt Walters in 2055. The franchise hasn’t had a position player ROTY since 2043 (Ricky Jimenez).

The eagled-eyed nerds will of course have noticed that both Rookies of the Year used to be in the Raccoons’ farm system. Tom Ferrari was taken by the Critters in the ninth round in 2067 at #215, and flipped to the Buffos with Jose Corral and dosh for Jaden Wilson and Jesus Morentin in January of 2071. I’m not too mad about that deal, because the former Rule 5er Josh Woodley hit for a 135 OPS+ for us at Ferrari’s position, and is graciously doing so for the minimum. So we gave one away, but we also kinda ran into one, and it all evens out.

[Westheim]

Being still overbudget, the Raccoons were unable to compete for free agents as the hot phase of the offseason began in mid-November (except for minor league deals, but, c’mon…). That meant that somebody had to keep spinning that trade wheel. All the other teams were currently hyper-focused on the juicy type A and international free agents though (the Miners put up all $39M of their budget room – imagine my big black googly eyes at that combination of words – up for free agents the minute they were able to, f.e.) and nobody really wanted to talk about more of our big contracts.

One trade that was on the table was of acquiring .322 hitting infielder Joe King from the Crusaders for Tony Gaytan, but I then shied away from that since it would have meant I would have to do away with Adam Yocum or John Katzman. I had come to terms with trading Steve Humphries, but he would be 36 on Opening Day and had no suitors, perhaps unsurprisingly.

Since Juan Licona was also one of my safewords, that didn’t really leave a lot anymore. Nick Walla was integral to the rotation (more so than Gaytan for sure), and Edgar Gonzales had played a HORRENDOUS season and was going to be paid princely for another three years, so we’d likely be stuck with that contract for a while longer.

Good news were thus few and far between, but Oscar Semchez brought an 18-year-old Italian switch-hitter home from a trip around the Mediterranean, who looked like he could play multiple positions as a super utility and who had a high-average, no-power profile with blazing speed. A new Berto or Lonzo perhaps! His name was Carlo Gradi and he was assigned to Aumsville.

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November 23 – The Stars trade 1B Ryan Gasparik (.280, 8 HR, 43 RBI), the #174 prospect entering the 2072 season (although he had far exceeded rookie limits now) to the Stars for MR Jorge Ruiz (9-8, 4.73 ERA, 5 SV) and a prospect.
November 23 – The Miners sign ex-POR SP Vinny Morales (38-45, 4.13 ERA) to a 3-year, $5.1M contract.
November 25 – The Crusaders sign a 2-year, $11.4M contract with longtime Boston foe LF/CF Eddie Marcotte (.262, 320 HR, 1,048 RBI), who played last year with Atlanta.
November 25 – The Knights sign an identical 2-year, $11.4M contract with former Capitals SP Ken Nielsen (150-112, 3.35 ERA).
November 25 – DAL INF/CF Antonio Mendez, who broke his kneecap in May, announces his retirement from baseball after suffering another knee injury in rehab. The 28-year-old Mendez batted .281 with 20 HR and 226 RBI in a seven-year career, all with the Stars.
November 29 – The Capitals take revenge on the Knights by snatching ex-ATL SP Adam Lunn (147-126, 3.90 ERA) for a 2-year, $14M contract.
November 30 – It’s starting to get ugly: a 2-year, $12.6M contract for former Caps SP Bobby MacDonald (104-104, 4.19 ERA) is given out by the Knights.
December 1 – Rule 5 Draft: nine players change hands after being left unprotected, two of them Raccoons prospects: for the second year in a row, the Raccoons lose AAA OF Eddy Valdez, this time to the Condors. The Falcons also draft AA 1B Justin DiMartino.
December 1 – The Blue Sox sign elite defensive catcher Pat Cohen (.253, 44 HR, 260 RBI) away from the Buffaloes with a promise of $27.2M over four years.
December 2 – The defending champions get more pitching as the Warriors sign ex-BOS/MIL SP Mike Bell (179-101, 3.02 ERA) to a 3-year, $19.9M contract.
December 2 – Boston inks ex-OCT SP Chris Hale (91-101, 3.99 ERA) to a 3-year deal worth $9.96M.
December 3 – The Knights acquire CL Kody Mello (47-46, 3.60 ERA, 70 SV) from the Blue Sox for three prospects.

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The announcement of the Marcotte and Nielsen signings on the same day meant that the #17 pick in the 2073 draft changed hands twice within about three hours as it first went from the Crusaders to the Knights, who held the #18 pick themselves, and then on to the Capitals. Four days later, with the signing of Adam Lunn by the Caps, the #17 pick then went back to the Knights – and then they got it back another 20 hours later when the MacDonald contract was signed by the Knights…! Those were the first four type A free agents to go, and they all revolved around the same draft pick as compensation (and just three teams).

None of the non-tendered free agents is going to starve an time soon, as the Falcons gave a 2-year, $1.08M contract to Jason Holzmeister.

[Westheim]

The Winter Meetings began with a bit of a hammer when the Miners offered the reigning FL Player of the Year, OF Anthony Schneider to the Raccoons. Of course they wouldn’t do such a thing out of the goodness of their own heart, but they expected Katz, two prospects including #7 Dan McPartland, and all our loose cash in return.

Now, this offer triggered more than one of my safewords, but it was worth to have a discussion about it. One plan had been to trade away Yocum and try to make use of Roberto Pena in a top-of-the-lineup spot, which wasn’t exactly what the Miners had in mind. But we had to trade one of the BIG contracts to get to the surface for air, and there was actually a way to make it work, but not with Yocum…

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December 6 – The Pacifics sign up ex-Denver catcher Mike Brann (.242, 148 HR, 591 RBI) on a 3-year, $7.8M contract.
December 7 – The Miners grab former Knights 1B Kris DiPrimio (.300, 191 HR, 907 RBI) for three years and $10.76M.
December 8 – In a blockbuster trade, the Miners trade the reigning FL Player of the Year, OF Anthony Schneider (.274, 65 HR, 334 RBI), to the Raccoons for LF/RF Steve Humphries (.272, 103 HR, 637 RBI), SP Tony Gaytan (61-89, 4.05 ERA), AAA 2B Roberto Pena, and $1M in cash.
December 8 – Switch-hitting 3B Rick Healey (.266, 137 HR, 639 RBI) returns to the Falcons on the promise of $12M over four years after seven years and three stations in the Federal League, the most recent being Sacramento.
December 8 – The Wolves acquire SP/MR Jimmy Cockrum (6-6, 3.74 ERA, 2 SV) from the Gold Sox for two ranked prospects, #156 INF/LF Jody Evans and #197 OF/2B/SS Roberto Trujillo.
December 9 – The Crusaders trade 2B/LF/SS/RF Joe Way (.239, 3 HR, 42 RBI) to the Cyclones for MR Brian Wilkey (7-11, 4.09 ERA) and #179 prospect SP Alex Prieto.
December 16 – The Raccoons trade 26-yr old LF/CF Jesus Guerrero (.244, 6 HR, 22 RBI) to the Rebels for 31-yr old left-handed SP/MR Jake Grotto (22-33, 4.42 ERA, 3 SV).
December 17 – The Miners sign ex-CIN RF Austin Gordon (.304, 361 HR, 1,262 RBI) to a 2-year deal that will see the 36-year-old be paid a total of $6.48M.
December 18 – The Capitals ink 37-year-old ex-NAS LF/1B Tony Roman (.251, 407 HR, 1,268 RBI) to a 2-year deal worth $13.4M.
December 18 – L.A. snaps up former Cyclones closer Steve Keller (43-53, 3.00 ERA, 271 SV) with an offer of $15.9M over three years.
December 18 – The Crusaders win the services of former Knights infielder Tomas Guangorena (.251, 16 HR, 351 RBI) for four years and $14.64M.
December 18 – Boston grabs ex-NYC/SFW INF Kyle Reber (.276, 53 HR, 653 RBI) on a $1.54M contract for 2073.

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Even the Agitator fell into ecstasy at the revelation of the acquisition of Anthony Schneider. Apparently only the stupid management (the same management that brought in the player, I assume) could ruin the hometown team’s next title now…!

There aren’t many things that Schneider can’t do as a position player. We were thinking of using him in centerfield, and instead shift the Hamel/LeVan platoon to left, although there wasn’t much give defensively either way and perhaps it was wiser to use Schneider in leftfield where players tended to break fewer legs and necks over the course of the seasons. With Licona set in rightfield, that still left a backup job for a right-handed hitting (Schneider was a lefty hitter like Licona and LeVan) outfielder, and both Morentin and Guerrero (until he was traded) fit the description. Schneider had a reasonable contract, being signed to three more years of $6.1M each after $3.08M in 2073. We’d seen worse.

Tony Gaytan managed to achieve the surreal feat of posting a losing record in EVERY season in Portland, without ever feeling completely useless. I don’t think we’ve had that before…

The Raccoons suddenly had roughly $5M in pocket money, and didn’t necessarily need to blow it on a starting pitcher, since Steve George could slide into the open spot in the rotation, and Jalen McCorkle was expected to take over going forwards anyway. A real closer would be nice.

In the meantime the Raccoons swapped Guerrero to the Rebs for another loose-fitting left-handed piece that wasn’t gonna solve the ninth-inning issue. This had happened more as an insurance for a Gabriel Rios trade developing after all, but he continued to have no meaningful market throughout the rest of the year, and so the Raccoons suddenly had five left-handed bullpen candidates on the roster (Rios, McMahan, Grotto, Delgado, and Beane). The latter two at least did have options.

More ex-Coons with new contracts: Jesse Dover got $1.1M from the Titans, who also signed Justin Dowsey for two years and $3.92M;

Also, a Hall of Fame ballot:

[Westheim]

December 22 – The Blue Sox sign ex-OCT/CIN INF/LF Carlos Gutierrez (.306, 46 HR, 378 RBI) to a 3-year, $9.72M contract.
December 22 – The Canadiens flip 25-year-olds with the Blue Sox, sending RF Ben Craig (.266, 10 HR, 49 RBI) to Nashville for MR Tyler Walton (1-0, 8.27 ERA) and also a prospect.
December 29 – The Knights land former Gold Sox 3B/LF Beau Metz (.268, 62 HR, 368 RBI) with a 4-year, $18.72M contract.
January 1 – The Miners land closer Pedro Valentin (34-27, 2.86 ERA, 207 SV), who split 2072 between the Raccoons and Rebels, for a 3-year, $13.92M contract.
January 9 – The Knights sign former Crusaders and Wolves swingman Dennis Marck (41-43, 3.72 ERA, 28 SV) to a 2-year, $7.2M contract.
January 14 – 41-year-old ex-SFB/RIC SP Ryan Musgrave (165-195, 4.17 ERA) tries to collect all the CL North teams before retirement and signs a $2.6M deal with the Loggers for 2073.

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The Indians. Ryan Musgrave has never pitched for the Indians. He’s spent eight years (two stints) with the Titans, four with the Crusaders, and one each now with the Critters, damn Elks, and Loggers.

The Raccoons didn’t do much of anything for four weeks after entering the bidding race for closer Orazio Cecere pretty late and without that many coins to begin with. Cecere, a 2-time Reliever of the Year with the Falcons, was presumed to turn the Raccoons’ chaotic bullpen into a winner, but he was taking his sweet time with a decision, and our late-gained $3.50 in budget space were tied up entirely with him for the entire holiday period and into the middle of January without movement in any direction.

Only one other former Critter got a new spot for his food bowl in this period, as Ian Lowry got signed for $1.1M by the Blue Sox.

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2073 HALL OF FAME BALLOT

The annual Hall of Fame vote returned infielder Zach Suggs to the Hall of Fame wearing a Loggers hat. While Suggs had spent 20 years in the majors, he needed only one appearance on the ballot to make the Hall. The #61 pick in the 2044 draft by the Warriors, Suggs was sent to the Loggers in a seemingly minor deal one year later and made his debut in ’48 for the team. He was instantly a contributor, and would post OPS+ numbers of 115 or above for each of his first 18 seasons in the majors before tailing off in his 40s. Rarely a threat for a Gold Glove, Suggs played for the Loggers, Crusaders, Buffaloes, Scorpions, Capitals (twice), and Titans across his career. He won a dozen All Star nominations, three World Series rings with three different teams – the 2056 Crusaders, 2059 Buffaloes, and 2066 Titans – seven Platinum Sticks, and led the CL in home runs twice, once as a Logger and once as a Crusader. In the former year (2052) he also topped the CL in slugging. In his first year in New York (2054), he led the CL in WAR despite not leading in any individual stat, nor posting career-highs in any meaningful stat. From ’51 to ’64 he hit 20+ dingers all but twice (including an injury-riddled 2057 campaign), and drove in a hundred runs or more five times. Also a base stealer in his 20s, Suggs posted final numbers of a .297/.366/.465 slash, landed 2,926 hits, 396 homers, 1,573 RBI, and 156 stolen bases, and put up an enormous 94.7 WAR.

Full voting results:

MIL SS Zach Suggs – 1st – 99.6 – INDUCTED
ATL SP Kodai Koga – 1st – 63.4
??? C Matt McLaren – 1st – 55.5
CIN LF Juan del Toro – 3rd – 48.4
??? 3B Alex de los Santos – 1st – 47.2
CHA RF Danny Ceballos – 4th – 27.2
LVA RF Aubrey Austin – 2nd – 27.2
??? SS Julio Morel – 5th – 15.0
LAP RF Matt Diskin – 7th – 13.8
IND LF Danny Rivera – 10th – 12.2 – DROPPED
??? CL Jason Posey – 4th – 6.7
NAS C Jose Cantu – 4th – 6.3
??? CL Mike Lynn – 10th – 5.9 – DROPPED
IND CL Tommy Gardner – 5th – 5.5
PIT SP Sean Sweeton – 1st – 5.1
??? SS Alex Adame – 9th – 4.7 – DROPPED
??? CL Justin Round – 1st – 4.3 – DROPPED
ATL C Marco Nieto – 2nd – 3.5 – DROPPED
CHA C Luis Miranda – 3rd – 2.0 – DROPPED
??? SP Pablo Lara – 1st – 0.8 – DROPPED
VAN 1B Jose Campos – 1st – 0.0 – DROPPED

[Westheim]

January 21 – A months-long standoff over former Falcons closer Orazio Cecere (22-25, 2.52 ERA, 131 SV) ends when the 29-year-old Venezuelan signs a 3-year, $15.6M contract with the Raccoons.
February 2 – For a mere $1.54M, the Crusaders sign ex-DAL SP Jarod Nesbit (66-68, 4.18 ERA) for the 2073 season.
February 15 – The Titans sign former Loggers SP Matt Crist (80-60, 4.34 ERA) to a 4-year, $25.5M contract.

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Are we somebody again? Cecere looked like a bank for the ninth inning, and I couldn’t wait to be proven wrong there. He was kind of abrasive, but I didn’t have to eat dinner with him, so that wasn’t my problem.

One thing that was still not solved was the promise to Gabriel Rios to trade him to a serious ballclub (maybe one that would let him start, or close). This issue did not get resolved when in early February the title-holding Warriors rang and offered Harry Poteat – the 2071 FL Pitcher of the Year – and some rundown reliever for the services of Katz, and I saw Katz as the keystone that held the whole shebang together here. A Katz-less trade (with or without Rios) was not in the cards, and so no deal was made, although Poteat would have looked *splendid* in a brown shirt on Opening Day, 29 years old, highly decorated, and on *not that bad* a contract of some $4M annually through 2075.

We even dangled #13 prospect Andrew Speed, #140 prospect Phil Beck, along with Rios, but the Warriors weren’t having it without Katz (or mayyyybe Licona).

But Katz was hitting third, and we were gonna finish fourth again.

What else, then? Steve George was stung by some insect or other in February and through an allergic reaction his fuzzy face swelled to balloon size for three days, which was an odd sight to behold, and surely not a reason for concern going forward at all.

[Westheim]

The Raccoons tried to maybe save a little money at the end of the offseason, but that trade of Gabriel Rios never happened. At the same time, wasn’t there something I complained dearly about roughly four months ago …? If only I could remember…

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March 31 – After a shockingly dull winter of no big buck offers, Japanese fee agent OF Keigo Mochizuki signs for a mere $2.72M with the Titans.

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Rats.

The Raccoons had to console themselves with signing a minor league free agent infielder, Mike Evans, who had been cut loose by the Loggers, and that was about it at the end of the offseason.

Roster crunch on Opening Day incoming.

Former Furballs having new employment: Ryan Bonner got $660k from L.A.; Elijah LaBat joined the Knights for $710k; Justin Cullum got in with the Condors for $690k;