Mini-Fest in the Mallon Mancave!!!!

Big thanks to Scott for having Steve W. and I over for some games this rainy afternoon!  Scott was a most gracious host, providing a wide array of snacks and beverages (although he was quite stingy with allowing any wins against Minnesota!).   His basement is the perfect den for Strat-O, the curved widescreen display of the game, complete with booming surround sound, was absolutely amazing!!!




But wait, there is more!  Scott's basement is like the coolest sports bar in town.  Every corner  had some new and cool memorabilia, highlighted by the world's only remaining Joey Harrington plaque in a most appropriate location.  Some intense Bubble Hockey games broke out, as illustrated below...



Maine came into the day on an extended losing streak and ran it up to 17 or 18 in a row before they topped the Butchers.  Stat of the season so far for Maine?  Here is the combined line for Michael Pineda, Angel Miranda, Carlos Rodon, Jose Quintana, and A-A-Ron Sanchez...

0 wins, 22 losses, 215 innings, 165 earned runs, 6.91 ERA

Ugh, that is a LOT of innings to not even rack up a single win!  The Division battles are pretty much decided already, but the Battle For the Bingo Balls seems to be intensifying.  

Biggest victory margin of all time?! KC 31 Toronto 0

In the midst of getting decimated by the Thunder in a recent series, the Kansas City Butchers had one bright spot that should land them in the all-time history books.   The Butchers clobbered Dylan Bundy early, rolling up 12 runs after the first two innings.  Toronto then resorted to hitters pitching the rest of the way, allowing them to conserve innings and allowing Kansas City to finally look like a real hitting team this year (at least for one game)!  Gutty performance from Thunder catcher Kevan Smith, who muddled through six innings and still give up less runs than Bundy.  KC starter Eduardo Rodriguez not only tossed a shutout, he went 3 for 5 at the plate!  A fun day in a dismal stretch for KC, whose hopes were crushed this season by going a combined 5-17 against division foes Toronto and Boston. 

Amazingly, some live footage of the game was captured.  Click here to enjoy! 

Triple Crown Winner this season?

Thunder slugger Marwin Gonzalez is off to a blazing first half!

Carl Yastrzemski sporting a classic Triple Crown 

crown in 1967 

Not sure if we have ever had a Friendship League Triple Crown Winner, but Toronto's Marwin Gonzalez is currently leading all three Triple Crown categories!   Marwin is hitting .354 with 13 HRs and 39 RBIs as we near the 40 game mark!!!

Hello Newman!

Kudos to the Toledo Mud Hens scoreboard operator, who quietly put these pictures up at a recent game when the opposing team had batters named Newman and Kramer!  A little kid behind us was so confused when Newman's picture showed up, he was wondering what kind of baseball player that was :-)

Dude that Started the Game We Saw in Grand Rapids, Traded

Per freep.com: 

At the 20 game mark!

There are enough games done in the season so far to see some strong teams living up to the hype, and some other teams outperform what may have been expected from them this year.  Let's take a quick look around the league, the divisions, and the craft beers they represent...

Commissioner's opinion - Best name for a beer, who wouldn't want to order a Dirty Bastard?!

The Dirty Bastard division is led by a somewhat surprising Pittsburgh Phantoms squad. We knew the young Phantoms were just about done rebuilding and getting ready to truly compete, but they may be a bit ahead of schedule based upon their outstanding 13-7 record thus far.  Real-life minor leaguer Miguel Sano is pacing Pittsburgh with a solid .381, 7 HR, 15 RBI stat line.  Charlie Morton (3-0, 0.65 ERA) and James Paxton (2-0, 2.54) anchor a strong pitching rotation.  Rookie manager Michael Walter has his team in 2nd place, and based upon his torrid playing pace, may be soon lobbying for 162 game season!  Mike has his Grizzlies performing well, with a solid bullpen (2.36 ERA thus far) making up for a not-so-hot rotation (5.62 ERA).  Lake Erie and Wichita are off to slowish starts, but have plenty of time to climb up the standings.  Commodore 2B Jose Altuve is hitting at an impressive .380 clip, just .001 behind Sano for 2nd place in the batting race.

Commissioner's opinion - Beer itself, 8 out of 10.  The label featuring

a chicken in an Elvis costume?  10 of 10!

 CAW!  I mean, BAWK!  Use whatever avian sound you want, it won't distract from just how stacked this division is.  Steve Tufte and his Toronto Thunder are off to a blistering 17-6 start, outscoring opponents 132-105.  Dylan Bundy and Chris Sale are a combined 9-1!  Toronto has four hitters comfortably over the .3000 mark (Tim Beckham, Marwin Gonzalez, the ageless Adrian Beltre, and Brett Gardner).   Kansas City is just 2 games out but their all-or-nothing offense (48 homers and 248 K's in 29 games) leads to some inconsistent play.  Alex Cobb, back from a year-long stint on the DL, is 4-0 with a tidy 1.98 ERA.  Khris Davis leads the Butcher sluggers with 9 homers in 110 at bats.  This softball team is last in the league in steals with just 5 over 29 games, but on the bright side, we haven't been thrown out yet!  The Loggers take a backseat to no team, and are in contention with an 11-10 start and plenty of time to control their own destiny.  JD Martinez is being treated with kid gloves due to low at bats in the AL last year (just 15 at bats so far in the Friendship League) but is hitting an insane .533 and slugging 1.200!!!  Haven't seen a bench threat like that since Rudy Pemberton in 1996.  And no one will forget the Boston Bobcats are in this division, you can count on them being heard in what should be a compelling pennant race!

Commissioner's opinion - Hops on hops on hops!  This is for your 

more hardcore beer fans, pass me another blueberry infused fruity light beer

I am betting on a team from a city or state with the letter 'M' taking this division!  Michigan and Minnesota are off to fine starts, and Mount Pleasant is lurking just below the .500 mark.  The Men from Minnesota are well balanced again, and I am struck by the United Nations group making up their top five batting average hitters - Omar Narvaez (Venezuela), Didi Gregorius (Netherlands), Melky Cabrera (Dominican Republic) , Jose Abreu (Cuba), and Shin-Soo Choo (South Korea).  Diversity is working in the Land of 10,000 Lakes!  Michigan has a sparkling team ERA of 2.61 right now, making up for a somewhat anemic .234 team batting average.  Mount Pleasant has been getting strong contributions from Eddie Rosario (.313, 14 runs) and Mike Trout (.302, 5 HRs) with the ancient relic Albert Pujols surprisingly leading the team in RBIs with 15.  Most interesting stat of the year so far?  Mount Pleasant's 9 wins are all distributed among 9 different pitchers!!!  Yep, 1 win is the current record for the Train Wreck staff.  Las Vegas is currently leading the battle for next year's #1 draft pick.  Jose Ramirez is playing at an MVP level for the Fremonts (.355, 6 HRs, 6 steals, 12 RBIs) and Dixon Machado is actually sitting right on .400 right now, after 25 at bats.


UPDATE:  After I wrote this, I got three more games from Doug and PJ.  Mount Pleasant won 2 of those games and now has 11 total wins.  Amazingly, the Train Wreck now have ELEVEN different pitchers all with just ONE win! Come on, Scott Alexander and Zach Britton, you two are slacking with your zero wins!

New Park Name for Montreal's Stadium

At a special to be determined date, the current Pea Soup Park has been renamed. GM Mike Walter had this to say: "As the new owner of the previous Philly Phog, I am renaming the stadium to fit my team identity and strip the former. As new corporate sponsor, the new stadium name is: Taco Bell Park! The stadium has had quarrels with the Toronto Thunder, so the park image for next season will be: Cincinnatis.

Montreal Grizzlies early surprises and GM Mike Walter's First Public Announcement

Montreal is off to a surprised start to season as the Grizzlies are plying .500 ball through the teams first 27 games.

Grizzlies Manager Mariano Rivera is pleased with the teams performance in every aspect of the game. Rivera said this following a recent game vs. the Michigan Mammoths. "We played really well tonight. Everything just worked out, from the back to back to back HR's from Santana, Sanchez and Frazier, to the pitching from our bullpen, (Ozuna pitched the 8th and 9th innings for his first save of the season). (Montreal won this contest with a 5-4 final score.)

Other Notes this season:

Montreal Grizz Pitchers Jordan Zimmerman ERA north of 7.08. GM Mike Walter: "I knew this was coming in based off of the horrific season he had a year ago but I didn't realize I'd have to have my team give him at least 8 runs a game just to give Zimm a Win". JZimm is 1-2 on the season so far.

Michael Brantley and Mallex Smith: Both are having great seasons with their batting averages thus  far. Brantley and Smith batting close to .299

The Bullpen:

GM Mike Walter on his bullpen:

"I knew having 3 closers on this roster  could be a good thing as the starters go 6 and then its 7, 8, 9 with Colome, Ozuna and Robertson. The team is doing well when this happens in games that are decided by 3 runs or fewer. Colome has struggled the most thus far but Robertson has embraced his new closing music theme. His music coming into the 9th is nothing like any other closer has had ever in the history of the game. The Song: "Country Roads bring me home" by John Denver is what blares over the speakers at Pea Soup Park and Fans are confused but if it seals the win for the Grizzlies they do not care. Robertson on his early season success and fandom of John Denver.

"I don't know why I love this song but it gets me pumped. I just think on the mound:
Take me home, get the win for Montreal. It works every time thus far and my 4 saves and 0.00 ERA are contributed to this."

Rivera on Robertson: "He's been outstanding thus far. Still early in the season but glad to see our closer having success and closing the door on teams. We need that type of consistency in close games. I'd be out there if I could but I am managing right now and its all good.

2 for 30 to start the season, but at least....

Draft Weekend Recap!

Thanks to all for another fun and exciting Draft Weekend!!!  Our hotel in Southfield was home for great traditions, both old and new.  A spirited rules discussion led to the usual excitement of division rolloffs, with a new tradition born in the hotel pool - film in the video below. We all enjoyed the private hospitality room for both Draft Eve activities and the Draft itself.

From the selection of Yoan Moncada to KC as the #1 overall pick, all the way through to Teoscar Hernandez as the final section, the draft was both unpredictable and exciting.  Thanks to all for a great time.  I think everything is all set now for the season to begin.   Just two words to leave you with - PLAY BALL!

You can cut the tension in the Draft Room with a knife!

Mall-O-Matics in action!

Draft Day Preparation!

Steve W.'s team cards are true works of art!

Dinner at Craft Breww City

First time league champion Doug Ebbole

receives his hardware!!!

Yummy Hostess Baseball Cupcakes 

helped create a festive atmosphere!

League MVP?  The Water Football!

HAL Simulation for 2017!

Hal has TWO tickets to Paradise, nope, those are 

two Hall of Famer Cards

Feeling the effects of a crazy fun weekend, will probably take a day or two to double-check everything and make sure we have all the right cards with the right teams and the right D. Robertsons and D. Robinsons where they belong!  So, while I try to get everything set up for our PlayBall file, please enjoy the results of the HAL Simulation of our season!

Highlights of the 'fake news' season include....
-A whopping 154 home runs by the Toronto Thunder in just 82 games!  The all-time record for our league is 159 by Boston, back in the heart of the Steroid Era in 1999
-No-hitters by Luis Severino and Dallas Keuchel
-Three homer games from Johnathon Schoop, Matt Olson, Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, and JD Martinez
-Montreal's Michael Brantley and Jose Iglesias each rapping six base hits in a 20-5 pasting of Mount Pleasant

Standings
League Leaders
Grand Totals 1
Grand Totals 2
Newspaper Game Stories
Newspaper Recap
Awards Voting
Record Book
WebBuilder view 

Pitfall 2018

Ghosts of First Round Picks Past.......

 

This business is only a mile from my house; I always think of our friend Phil, when I drive by.   Looking forward to seeing everyone on Saturday!

Strat-O Meets Mall-O

Based on web 365 assigned salaries, below are the average salary rankings for batters/pitchers following keepers, next to it is the patented Mall-O-Matics rating system.

"Mall-O-Matics....making winners out of losers, everytime!"

Loggers Announce 2018 Protection List

2018 Protections
Mitch "Find me some" More Land
Carlos Gomez "Adams"
Christian "Bale" Vasquez
Nick "Catch A Falling Star" Castellanos
J.D. "Salinger" Martinez
Troy "Tulo" Tulowitzki
Russell "Industrial Center" Martin
Sonny, Sonny, Sonny Gray
Jose Quintana (end of Jaws: "Quint?"  "No.....")
Michael "Pinata" Pineda
Aaron "Chopped" Sanchez
Carlos "Rodan - CAW!" Rodon
Jed "Clampett" Lowrie
Raul "Not my Brother Raul" Mondesi
Avisail "Well Hello, Mrs. Cabrera" Garcia
Darren "All" O'Day "IPA"

NL/Darvish Protected:  Asdrubal "Ass-Double-Dribble" Cabrera

Cut like a fart in the breeze, or HE GONE!:
 Luke "I am Your Father" Gregerson
Jesse "Pinkman" Hahn
Derek Holland "Tunnel"
Tyler "Chicken Caesar" Saladino
"They Killed" Kennys Vargas
Hyun Soo "Oh, Godzilla!" Kim
Ryan Rua "The Day"
Jason Grilli "Cheeseburgers"
Steve "Harvey" Cishek
Jose "Joey Bats" Bautista
N/C Bryan "Errol" Flynn

 No longer available in this year's draft: Ryan "15 pieces of Flair" Flaherty.  Boo! 

Stan, Chotchkie's Manager: We need to talk about your flair.
Joanna: Really? I... I have fifteen pieces on. I, also...
Stan, Chotchkie's Manager: Well, okay. Fifteen is the minimum, okay?
And.....you know the rest. 

Farewell, Jose "Joey Bats" Bautista!
Well, last year we bid adieu to Ben "Zobrilla" Zobrist, and the year before that, the Ol' Billy Barue Butler, and now this year we have to say goodbye to longtime Logger favorite Jose "Joey Bats" Bautista.  Man, getting old sucks!  Jose came to the Loggers as a little thought of 9th round pick in the 2010 draft.  A back-up third baseman to play against lefties only that year, he vaulted his was way from 13 homeruns for that 2009 card to an amazing 54 the next year.  He had a keen eye, and was always near the league lead in on-base percentage, even when he only hit .260 some years.  He led the Loggers to a World Series appearances, just missing out on winning a ring.  We'll miss your bat at the top of our lineup....we'll miss your -4 arm in right field....we'll miss your cool nickname....we'll fondly remember "The JOEY BATS Years" in Maine. 
LOGGERMANIA!!!

Retro: 1907 Maine Loggers, featuring Jose Bautista's great, great grandfather John "Axe Yu" Bautista

Protect Brian Dozier Andrelton Simmons Lorenzo Cain Edwin Encarnacion Mookie Betts Yan Gomes Brock Holt Marcus Stroman Jharel Cotton Luis Severino Dallas Keuchel Drew Pomeranz Edwin Diaz Matt Barnes Mychal Givens Greg Holland (NC) Darvich Blake Swihart Cut John Axford Liam Hendricks Rich Hill  Steven Wright Wade Miley Xavier Cedeno Dionner Navarro David Ortiz Gregerio Petit Jake Smolinski Yunel Escobar

GM STEINES MAKES CHANGE TO PROTECTION LIST

THE PHANTOMS WILL RELEASE TIM ANDERSON AND PROTECTS KEVIN PILLAR.

GM STEINES TRADES KEVIN PILLAR AND THIER 6TH ROUND PICK TO THE WICHITA BANDITS FOR  STARLIN CASTRO AND MIKE NAPOLI

WICHITA BANDITS Protection List

Pitchers
Matt Boyd
Brad Brach
Mike Clevinger
Danny Duffy
Will Harris
Kelvin Herrera
Ian Kennedy
Danny Salazar 
  
Batters
Yonder Alonso
 Kole Calhoun
Starlin Castro
Aaron Hicks
Alex Gordon
Mike Napoli
Dustin Pedroia
Salvador Perez

Players Cut 
Sean Doolittle
Doug Fister
Kyle Gibson 
Taylor Rogers
Drew Butera
J.J. Hardy
Trevor Plouffe
Coco Crisp (NC)
Logan Forsythe(NC)
Shawn O'Malley(NC)
Melvin Upton Jr. (NC)

 Yu Darvish Player
Carson Smith

Michigan Mammoth Protection List

Pitchers

Alex Claudio

Andrew Miller

Andrew Triggs

Chris Archer

Michael Fulmer

Hitters

Brian McCann

Devon Travis

Elvis Andrus

Eric Hosmer

Francisco Lindor

Jake Marisnick

Kevin Kiermaier

Logan Morrison

Manny Machado

Robert Perez

Whit Merrifield

Released

Joaquin Benoit

Matt Moore

Michael Feliz

Nate Jones

Ryan Dull

Chris Tillman
Yordano Ventura

Abraham Almonte
Billy Burns

Jeffry Marte

Paulo Orlando

Keeper

Zack Greinke

Some tough decisions were necessary to get the Michigan roster down to 16.   

Here are some players that did not make Michigan's roster this year and their accomplishments as a Mammoth:

• Nate Jones set the league record last year with an ERA of 0.23.  He also had 8 wins.
• Chris Tillman has 7th place on Michigan's strikeout list with 118 in 2013, but also led the team with losses that year with 12.  He is 5th all time in wins with 21 and is only behind Jered Weaver with 36 losses all time for the Mammoth.
• Paulo Orlando is 5th in Michigan's single season batting with a .316 batting average in 2016 and is 6th in the all time record book with 19 stolen bases
• Billy Burns is 9th with a .312 average in 2015 and is 5th in stolen bases on the all time Mammoth list with 32
• Jeffry Marte had 6 pinch hits last year
• Ryan Dull pitched in 36 games last year

The Mammoths would also like to pay tribute to Yordano Ventura. 

Yordano holds multiple entries in the Mammoths record book, 1st all time in in ERA (3.56),  6th in innings pitched (311), 6th in strikeouts (277) but died after the season in an accident out of the country.

Maine Loggers - Trade?

Maine,  I am willing to deal draft picks and whoever you may want for J.D. Martinez.

Please send trade offers to me or vice versa.

As Mario Says.....Welcome Back, JD!

Welcome Back, JD!

Change to the Thunder Protection List

Still waffling on the last person to save but I am currently changing my protection list to protect Biagini and dropping CC Sabathia.

Men Protection

No Darvish

Kansas City Butchers Keepers/Cuts

New unis for KC!

Protected List

Cam Bedrosian
Alex Bregman
Xander Bogaerts
Carlos Carrasco
Robinson Chironos
Alex Cobb

Khris Davis
Evan Gattis
Kevin Gausman
Craig Kimbrel
Jason Kipnis
Corey Kluber
Lance McCullers
Eduardo Rodriguez
George Springer
Mark Trumbo

Cut

Tyler Clippard
C.J. Cron
Kendall Graveman

Heath Hembree
Dan Jennings
Cameron Maybin
Jurickson Profar
Michael Saunders
Luis Valbuena
Alex Wilson

Yu Darvish Player
Wade Davis

The Carr Collusion grows in 2018!

Montgomery, Alabama  2016

Wanted to help the league put a face to the name, so that is new league member Mike Walter on the left.  The league average age is going down rapidly  :-) 

Greatly looking forward to Draft Weekend 2018!!!  Thanks again to Dave for hooking us up with the hotel!

Fremont Protection List

Las Vegas - This evening, the Las Vega$ Fremonts announced their protection list for the upcoming season.

Made Men
Chris Davis
Danny Valencia
Robinson Cano
Marcus Semien
Jose Ramirez
Kyle Seager
Jackie Bradley Jr
Teoscar Hernandez
Robbie Grossman

Marco Estrada
Masahiro Tanaka
Trevor Bauer
Miguel Gonzalez
Chris Devenski
Nick Vincent
Ryan Pressly

Wacked
Carlos Beltran
Luis Cessa
Daniel Coulombe
Brad Kintzler
Francisco Rodriguez
no card: Colby Lewis, Robbie Ross Jr, Carlos Perez, Chris Iannetta

Darvish Rule
drop: Pablo Sandoval
add: Tyler Austin

Fremont ownership group advised in a written statement:

The 'Monts bid a farewell to Carlos Beltran. Acquired at the 2014 trade deadline, Beltran hit .248/.289/.419 with 24 HRs 75 RBI and (somehow) no errors in two and a half years with the club.
Beltran is fourth all time Fremont in home runs, eight in RBIs, ninth in hits and tied for third in pinch hits.

Well wishes as well to Carlos Perez. A 2016 third round pick, Perez is second all time with 128 appearances behind the plate for the Fremonts and led the 2016 Friendship league with 14 sacrifice hits; we're going to assume that's the first time a platoon catcher has ever led the league in sacrifice hits.

Colby Lewis came to Las Vegas as a desperation innings grab in the 8th round of the 2014 draft; he leaves with a 14-15 record, 5.96 ERA and 166 strikeouts in 255 innings. Lewis is tied for fifth on the all time 'Monts wins and innings list, sixth in strikeouts, fourth in games started (43). His 8.29 ERA in 2015 is somehow only the second worst in team history.

Chris Iannetta came to Las Vegas as a 6th round pick in 2013. In five years, Iannetta caught in a team record 257 games hitting .212/.311/.336 18 HRs, 65 RBI. He's fourth in club history for games (283), third in walks (92) and tenth in home runs and RBI

Assistant Fremont GM Wes said, "The trade window is now open. There is a table. Players listed here, this year's draft picks and next year's draft picks are on that table." Then he pooped.

Keeper List for the newly relocated Philly Phog to Montreal:

Keepers:

1.) G. Sanchez
2.) J. Reddick
3.) C. Santana
4.) A. Jones
5.) J. Schoop
6.) J. Iglesias
7.) E. Longoria
8.) T. Frazier 
9.) R. Goins

Pitchers:
10.) R. Osuna
11.)  J. Musgrove
12.) A. Colome
13.) J Zimm
14.) C. Hamels
15.) M. Fiers
16.) D. Robertson

Yu darvish rule: N/A

People getting Cut: 

B. Maxwell

Adam Eaton - NL

M. Wieters - NL

F. Gutierez 

J. Rickard

M. Tonkin - Overseas

A. Miranda

J. Diekman

B. Boshers

D. Smyley - NL

C. Bucholtz - NL

    

PITTSBURGH PHANTOMS

PROTECTION LIST

                                          HITTERS

                                      1.  Jason Castro

                                      2.  Joey Gallo

                                      3.  Greg Bird

                                      4.  Tim Anderson

                                      5.  Mike Moustakas

                                      6.  Miguel Sano

                                      7.  Justin Upton

                                      8.  Andrew Benintendi

                                      9.  Byron Buxton

                                     10.  Steven Souza

                                         PITCHERS

                                     11.  James Paxton

                                     12.  Jose Berrios

                                     13.  Daniel Norris

                                     14.  J.A. Happ

                                     15.  Ken Giles

                                     16.  Yu Darvish

                                              Cuts 

                                      1.  Kevin Pillar

                                      2.  Guillermo Heredia

                                      3.  Kendrys Morales

                                      4.  Matt Shoemaker

                                      5.  Martin Perez

                                      6.  Eduardo Nunez

                                      7.  Eduardo Escobar

                                      8.  Andrew Romine

                                      9.  Bruce Rondon

                                    10.  Ubaldo Jimenez

                                    11.  Jarrod Saltalamacchia

                                        Yu Darvish Player

                           

                                           Taijuan Walker