Mount Pleasant-Minnesota Trade

 Official trade press release.

Mount Pleasant receives:

Johnny Cueto 

12th round MIN pick

Minnesota receives:

Brad Keller

3rd round MTP pick

 Anyone out there interested in acquiring Javier Baez? 

No-hitter alert!

 

Michigan's Framber Valdez no-hit the Toronto Thunder during this weekend's Mike Walter Fest :-)  All action stopped at the Livonia bar while Valdez pitched his 9th inning and completed his historic effort!  The "Fram-chise" fanned six batters while only walking two.  

The New Boston Bobcats

Titans NFL Schedule Release

Las Vegas:
Write a run dmc style rap about Shohei Ohtani 

ChatGPT:
Verse 1:
Listen up, all you fans of baseball
Gonna tell a story ‘bout a player who can do it all
He’s got the speed, he’s got the power, he’s got the skill
Shohei Ohtani, the one and only thrill

Chorus:
Shohei Ohtani, the man with the plan
Pitching, hitting, he’s the king of Japan
Making waves, breaking records, setting trends
Shohei Ohtani, he’s the game’s new best friend

Verse 2:
They said he couldn’t do it, that it was too hard
But Ohtani’s got heart, he’s got the determination card
He stepped up to the mound, threw a hundred miles an hour
Then grabbed a bat, hit a homer like it’s just his power

Chorus:
Shohei Ohtani, the man with the plan
Pitching, hitting, he’s the king of Japan
Making waves, breaking records, setting trends
Shohei Ohtani, he’s the game’s new best friend

Verse 3:
Opposing teams, they tremble when they see him.
They know he’s got the talent, they know he’s gonna win
Ohtani’s got the drive, he’s got the fire
He’s gonna take the game higher and higher

Chorus:
Shohei Ohtani, the man with the plan
Pitching, hitting, he’s the king of Japan
Making waves, breaking records, setting trends
Shohei Ohtani, he’s the game’s new best friend

The Wheel Knows All

The computerized "wheel" that Scott was using to suggest draft picks really did know all!  It's recommended pick, 2B Mauricio Dubon is off to a nice start in real life, sporting a fine .323 batting average.   Between Mall-O-Matics and this amazing Wheel, it is no wonder Minnesota is one of the rare back-to-back champions in this leauge!
 

Draft Weekend 2023 recap

This post is very late but brought back good memories from a great weekend! Was great to see so much of the league in person, and we all definitely missed seeing Randy and Mike there.    Hotel was a perfect venue for festivities and we ate well at the nearby restaurants.  Since the wait list was so long, I did make dinner reservations at Ford's Garage for 5:00 PM, March 16 2024.:-)

Draft results can be found by clicking here for a round-by-round list, and here for a team-by-team list of all picks

The Draft Room was fully equipped 
with state-of-the art video for NCAA viewing

DJ Jazzy Tufte invented his own "Name That Tune"
challenge that entertained us for hours!

Scott was doing some amazing things with ChatBot, so we will close with this stirring and dramatic prose he created...

In Minnesota's land of ice and snow, A group of men sat ready to go, With cards in hand and dice to roll, Their mission was clear, their goal was to hold.

They played and strategized for hours on end, Their minds focused, their spirits unbend, For they knew what was at stake, The Strat-o-Matic Championship was theirs to take.

The dice rolled, the cards were dealt, Each move was calculated, each play was felt, And as the game drew to a close, The Minnesota Men were the ones who rose.

Their opponents were tough, but they didn't falter, Their determination was their ultimate mortar, And as the final score was revealed, The Minnesota Men could hardly believe they sealed.

The crowd erupted, the cheers so loud, As the Minnesota Men stood proud, For they had accomplished their greatest dream, And won the Strat-o-Matic Championship team.

In Minnesota's land of ice and snow, These men had proven they could glow, And as they raised the trophy high, They knew they had reached the sky.

Their hearts were full, their smiles wide, As they stood together, side by side, For they had achieved what they had set out to do, And won the Strat-o-Matic Championship, it was true.

Mammoth mistakes

PROTECTED

Kevin Kiermaier 

Mitch Garver        

Hunter Dozier  

Ryan Mountcastle

Manuel Margot 

Jarred Kelenic   

Andrew Vaughn     

Jose Trevino     

Nathaniel Lowe

Nathan Eovaldi     

Framber Valdez        

Tanner Houck           

Michael Fulmer  

Matt Manning          

Daniel Lynch         

Reynaldo Lopez 

Sam Hentges

CUT

Aledmys Diaz    

Mitch Haniger    

Cavan Biggio  

Austin Hedges   

Willy Adames    (NC)  

Joey Wendle    (NC)  

Oscar Mercado  

Mike Minor      (NC)        

Steven Matz     (NC)       

Bryan Shaw      CUT      

Kyle Funkhouser   (NC)      

Yu Darvish - Kenta Maeda

 

Keepers:

Grandal
Grossman
Mancini
Mateo
Ramirez
Semien
Taylor
Ward

Ohtani

Dunning
Greinke
Pivetta
Pressley
Rasmussen
Sandlin
Sewalt
Tallion

Cut:

Bradley (from Darvish)

Canha (No card)

Lopez
Garcia
Sheets
Torrens
Meyers

Brentz (No card)

Chargois

Guerra (No card)
Rogers (No card)

Trivino

Darvish:

Heaney

Hat tip to Kyle Seager and the Mt Pleasant organization.

Jackie Bradely Jr finishes his Fremont career. He was a sixth-round pick in the 2013 draft, playing eight seasons in Las Vegas. Unanimous choice -- best defensive center fielder in Fremont history. He finishes with a .235/.303/.408 -- 3rd in career games for the 'Monts (576), 5th in runs (225), 2nd in doubles (91), and fourth in RBI (233). 

PROTECTED

Shane Bieber

Robbie Ray

Jordan Lyles

Jose Berrios

Brady Singer

Rafael Devers

Kyle Tucker

Andrew Benintendi

Jonah Heim

Byron Buxton

Leody Taveras

Eloy Jimenez

Brandon Lowe

Luis Arreaz

Garrett Whilock

Michael Wacha

Andrew Chafin

YU DARVISH PLAYER

Jo Adell

CUTS

Tyler Alexander

Dylan Bundy

Miguel Sano

Joey Gallo

Josh Taylor (NC)

Juan Minaya  (NC)

Tom Murphy  (NC)

Hanser Alberto  (NC)

Jake Bauers  (NC)

Freddy Galvis  (NC)

Jose Iglesias  (NC)

Yohel Pozo  (NC)
 

Mount Pleasant Keepers

First, a quick love letter/retirement note to Kyle Seager. Traded from Las Vegas to Mount Pleasant, he put together a great parallel career in the Friendship League. I compiled his stats across his 11 year career, including many Gold Glove-esque seasons covering 3B:

Keepers:

Carlos Correa

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Alejandro Kirk

Whit Merrifield

Josh Naylor

Amed Rosario

Miles Straw

Mike Trout

Jaime Barria

Lucas Giolito

Kendall Graveman

Brad Keller

Phil Maton

Shane McClanahan

Triston McKenzie

Jordan Romano

Matt Wisler

Yu Darvish:
Nick Madrigal

Cut:

Trevor Larnach

Bradley Zimmer

Kyle Higashioka

Kris Bubic

Hansel Robles

Mike Mayers

Kyle Seager NC

Eddie Rosario NC

Pedro Severino NC

Jose Urena NC

Drew Steckenrider NC

 

Boston sweeps Las Vegas for back-to-back titles

The Boston Bobcats took it to Las Vegas early and often in a decisive onslaught that left no doubt which team was best in the Friendship League this season.  Lance Lynn faced off against Ohtani in game one.  The Bobcats got a homerun from Salvador Perez in the 2nd inning.  Michael Taylor added a solo shot in the 3rd to tie it.  Both teams added a run in the 4th inning and Las Vegas got the lead back in the 5th with another run, chasing Lynn from the game.  Ohtani left after 5 innings holding a 3-2 lead.  The Fremonts bullpen couldn't hold as playoff MVP Jake Fraley ripped a 3-run shot in the 8th inning to put the game away after two had crossed already.  Five runs in total for the Bobcats in the 8th of Chargois and Rasmussen.  John King with the win as the Bobcat bullpen was outstanding in a 7-4 win.

Fremonts  001 110 001     4 9 2

Bobcats    010 100 05x     7 6 0 

W-King 

L-Chargois

HR- Taylor, Perez, Fraley

Game 2 in Boston was Nick Pivetta versus Aaron Civale.  Ty France doubled in Starling Marte in the first for Boston.  Leury Garcia homered in the 2nd for Las Vegas to tie it.  Then it was all Brett Phillips.  He hit a two-run homerun in the 4th, he then tripled, and homered again in the 8th inning when the Bobcats scored another 5 runs.  It was an 8-1 blowout with Civale pitching six strong and giving way to the dynamite Bobcat pen.  Drew Rasmussen was hammered for the second straight night allowing all 5 earned to Boston in that 8th inning.

Fremonts    010 000 000    1 7 0

Bobcats      100 200 05x    8 9 1

W-Civale

L-Pivetta

HR-Garcia, Perez (4th of post season), Phillips 2

Game 3 moved to Las Vegas.  The Fremonts sent out James Taillon.  Boston countered with Frankie Montas.  Taillon was brilliant, pitching 7 innings with just two hits and one walk, while striking out six.  Frankie was almost as good.  Also pitching 7 innings with just 5 hits and 3 walks and 5 k's.  A pitchers dual into the 8th inning at 0-0.  The bullpens continued to play a huge role in this series as the Bobcats used the patented 8th inning again.  This time it was Isiah Kiner-Falefa with a two-run single, driving in Phillips and Jemier Candelario to ice it off of P. Sewald.  Frankie gets the win. Matt Barnes and Louis Head closed the door on any hope for the Fremonts.

Bobcats     000 000 020     2 4 0

Fremonts   000 000 000     0 5 0

W-Montas

L-Sewald

HR-none

The Bobcats went to close the door on Vegas with Tyler Glasnow taking on Zack Greinke.  Boston wasted no time in the first inning by pushing a run across on a Franmil Reyes double.  The bases were loaded with two outs and Manager Chuck Hugener went out to get Greinke to try and save the series.  Sewald was able to reduce the damage to just the one run.  Ohtani tied it in the 3rd with a solo shot.  The Fremonts got a big hit from Robbie Grossman to give them the lead 2-1 in the 7th.  Ryan Pressley on in relief to close it in the 9th.  The Bobcats quickly loaded the bases and Nick Sandlin relieved Pressley. Marte appeared for a moment to end the series with a double 1-14 or flyout.  It was a flyout but it was good enough to tie the game.  Sandlin would blow it in the 10th anyway.  Big hits from Jeimer Candelario and Billy Hamilton allowed the Bobcats to add 3 runs and pull away to a 5-2 win.

Bobcats    100 000 001 3    5 11 0    

Fremonts  001 000 100 0    2  6  0

W- Glasnow

L-Sandlin

HR-Ohtani

Notables:

S. Marte stolen base leader in regular season was 6-6 in the series on steals.  Including 4 of those in game 2.

Brett Phillips monster effort in game 2 was a 5 rbi performance with again the two homeruns and a triple.  Brett has had some very important hits for the Bobcats over the last two seasons and his tie-breaking homerun and Kirk Gibson like capper in game 2 were no different.

The Bobcats bullpen was dynamic as usual.  They held the Fremonts to just one run in 10 1/3 innings over the four games.

The 8th inning was doom for the Monts.  They allowed 12 runs to cross the plate in the 8th inning over the first three games of the series.  Finally, they stopped Boston in the 4th game 8th inning only to surrender the tying run and winning runs in the 9th and 10th in that game.

MVP- It was a tough decision but we had to give the nod to Tyler Glasnow.  He might have deserved the Playoff MVP so we wanted to give him his due.  He pitched another brilliant game in game 4.  He did give up the homerun to Ohtani and a go ahead double to Robbie Grossman but he stayed strong and allowed the Bobcats to hang around and finally put the Monts away in the series.  

Glasnow's Final line--  9 IP 5 H 2 ER 1 BB 10 K and of course the W!  

Logger Mania!

 

Loggers Announce 2023 Protected List

    

2023 Protections

Christian "Bale" Vasquez
Adolis "Adonis" Garcia (well hello again, Mrs. Cabrera)

J.D. "Salinger" Martinez

"Radio" D.J. LeMahieu

Gio "Ursula The Sea Witch" Urshela

A-Aron Hicks "From French Lick"

Akil "Bad Moon Rison" Baddoo

Jarren Duran "Duran"

Elvis "Is Dead" Andrus

Diego "Rivera Mural" Castillo

Martin "Scorsese" Perez

Jose "Squidward" Urquidy

Jose "You Ruined My" Ruiz

Keegan "Much" Akin "to a reliever"

Griffin Jax "Car Wash"

Joe "Nolan" Ryan

No Card, but protected: Adalberto "Not my Brother or Dad Raul" Mondesi

DARVISH/NL Protected:

Carlos "Rodan - CAW!" Rodon

Man up and vanished, like a fart in the wind:

Victor "Victoria" Reyes

Tyler "We No Longer Have Any More Tyler's on this team" Duffey

Michael "Pinata" Pineda

Wily "Coyote" Peralta

Carlos "Most Hispanic Name Ever" Hernandez

Jake "Probably Should Have Stuck to Hockey" Diekman

The Loggers also announced that former player Ryan "15 pieces of Flair" Flaherty, has been hired as the team's new radio color commentator, joining play-by-play man Jose Bautista in the booth. Bautista, known for his "colorful" "Bat-Flip Player of the Game" post-game award, and for previous run-in's with others who have played second base, says he's looking forward to working with Flaherty, saying: "Ryan will bring his particular flair to the broadcast.  As long as he doesn't act like that A-Hole Odor, we'll get along just fine".

Stan, Chotchkie's Manager: "JoAnna....We need to talk about your flair".

MAINE LOGGERS, 1907 Team Photo

 

2023 BANDITS                                                        WAIVER PILE

                                                                                    

YORDAN ALVAREZ                                                                  SETH BROWN (1B,RF,LF,CF)

TIM ANDERSON                                                                        BOBBY DALBEC (1B,3B,SS,2B)

MATT CHAPMAN                                                                      DAVID FLETCHER  (2B,SS)

J.P. CRAWFORD                                                                         TYLER WADE    (2B,3B,SS,RF,LF,CF)

DANNY JANSEN                                                                                                                                               

BRANDON MARSH                                                                   YUSEI KIKUCHI (STARTER/RELIEF)     

SEAN MURPHY                                                                          TIM MAYZA  (RELIEF)  

ANTHONY RIZZO                                                                      JOSE SUAREZ (STARTER/RELIEF) 

LUIS ROBERT

MATT BOYD                                                                               

DYLAN CEASE                                                                            

DOMINGO GERMAN                                                                    

LOGAN GILBERT

ELI MORGAN

BROOKS RALEY

RYNE STANEK

ROSS STRIPLIONG

YU DARVISH

HUNTER RENFROE

 

Boston Bobcats Protection List

B. Bichette

T. France

T. Kemp

R. Laureano

I. Kiner-Falefa

S. Perez

A. Gimenz

F. Reyes

B. Phillips

J. Candelario

M. Gonzales

L. Severino

L. Lynn

F. Montas

J. Loaisiga

J. Lopez

A. Civale

You've been Yued

T. Glasnow

You've been cut

J. King

C. Culberson

M. Barnes

D. Keuchel

A. Kittredge

Commodore's Protection List

 

Permission to board.

A. Santander, J. Altuve, M. Maldonado, L. Rengifo, S. Espinal, L. Gurriel, T. Hernandez, R. Hill, L. Hendricks, J. Verlander, G. Cole,   M. King, E. Swanson, R. Thompson, D. Tate, J. Means NC, and C. Bassitt NC.

 K. Gibson NC yu Darvish. 

Walking the plank.

E. Hernandez, A. Engel, K. Plawecki, N. Solak, L. Luetge, T. Richards, G. Soto. 

Kansas City Butchers protected list

PRIME CUTS THAT ARE PROTECTED

Christian Arroyo

Xander Bogaerts

Alex Bregman

Adam Cimber

Wander Franco

Austin Hays

Cole Irvin

Corey Kluber

Michael Kopech

Lance McCullers

Dylan Moore

Bailey Ober

Zach Plesac

Eduardo Rodriguez

George Springer

Giancarlo Stanton

Jared Walsh

YU DARVISH

Yoan Moncada (has an AL card this year but would benefit from watching this season instead of playing :-)  )

CHOPPED

Jason Castro

Yuli Gurriel

Raisel Iglesias

Juan Lagares

Brett Martin

Hyun-Jin Ryu

Max Stassi

Caleb Thielbar

Minnesota Protected List

 1. J. Abreu       2. A. Bummer    3. W. Castro      4.A. Chapman    5. N. Cortes   6.J. Donaldson

7. C. Flexen    8.E. Haase    9.A. Meadows    10.C. Mullins    11.J. Odorizzi      12.J. Payamps

13. A. Toro      14. R. Urias      15.T Walls      16.T. Wells    17.R. Yarbrough

 Minnesota Men unprotected list

 1.  J. Choi        2. D. Hill        3. B. Goodwin         4. D. Mendick         5.K.Suzuki              6. K Allard 

7. J.Cisnero       8. J. Fleming        9. D. Peters        10. D. Tapia (No Card)

 11. Spencer Turnbull (Darvish Exemption)

Boston eliminates Lake Erie in Six games

Game 1 in Boston saw Cy Young runner-up Lance Lynn taking on the Commodores Gerrit Cole.  Tony Kemp led off the bottom of the first with a solo homerun and that would be all the Bobcats would need.  Lynn cruised with 3 hit ball through 7 innings while striking out 8 batters.  John Loaisiga closed out Lake Erie over the last two innings in route to a 1-0 win.  Gerrit Cole was just as good after the homerun allowed.  Going 7 1/3 with 3 hits and 10 strikeouts.  But games like this you can't afford to make a mistake and Cole do that in his first batter faced.

Commodores 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  --0 5 3

Bobcats          1 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0 --1 3 0

Lynn W 1-0  Cole L 0-1 Save--Loaisiga 1

HR Kemp 1

Game 2 Lake Erie was able to even the series.  Chris Bassit was solid through 7 innings and the Hernandez brothers both had RBI hits in the 1st and 2nd innings to help build an early 4-0 lead off Frankie Montas.  The Bobcats chipped away at that lead with a Jake Fraley homerun and Matt Olson drove in Tony Kemp to make it 4-2.  Bo Bichette's pinch hit single in the 9th would bring the winning run to the plate but the Bobcats fell short 4-3.

Commodores 1 2 1  0 0 0  0 0 0---4  12  1

Bobcats          0 0 1  1 0 0  0 0 1---3  9    1

Bassit W 1-0  Montas L 0-1  Save Hendriks 1

HR Fraley 1

Game 3 shifted to Lake Erie and would see Aaron Civale take on John Means.  The Bobcats wasted no time on jumping all over Means.  Culberson homered in the first inning and they put up 3 runs.  Lake Erie countered with 2 runs in the bottom of the first.  Enrique Hernandez homered twice and drove in 4 runs as the Commodores rallied to take a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the 5th.  Boston countered with back to back homeruns from the big guys, Matt Olson and Salvador Perez in the top of the 6th.  That was all the scoring and the Bobcat bullpen with Kittredge and Loaisiga closing the door on the Lake Erie hopes.

Bobcats               3 0 0  0 1 2  0 0 0-----6  11 0

Commodores      2 0 0  1 2 0  0 0 0-----5    8  1

W- Civale 1-0 L King 0-1  Save Loaisiga 2

HR-Culberson 1, Olson 1, Perez 1, E. Hernandez (2) 2

Game 4 was a matchup between Tyler Glasnow and Kyle Gibson.  Glasnow was brilliant, pitching 8 2/3 innings with just one hit, one run, 4 walks and a whopping 15 k's.  Gibson surrendered 3 runs in the middle innings, led by a two run bomb by Perez in the 4th.  The Bobcats coasted to a 3-1 win and a 3-1 series lead.

Bobcats             0 0 0  2 1 0  0 0 0----3  7  1

Commodores    0 1 0  0 0 0  0 0 0----1 1  0

W- Glasnow 1-0  L Gibson 0-1  Save Loaisiga 3

HR Perez 2

Game 5 was the rematch between Lance Lynn and Gerrit Cole and the two went at it again with brilliant performances.  It was Kemp again who led off the game with a solo homerun off of Cole.  Altuve would homer to tie it in the 2nd inning.  Both pitchers cruised along until the 8th inning.  This time it was Lynn who made the mistake.  Anthony Santander homered in the bottom of the 8th for 2-1 win.  All runs were scored on solo home runs.  

Bobcats          1 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0----1 3 0

Commodores  0 1 0  0 0 0  0 1 x ---2 5 0 

W- Cole 1-1 L Lynn 1-1 save Hendriks 2

HR- Kemp 2, Altuve 1, Santander 1

Game 6 moves back to Boston with Lake Erie trying to stay alive and Boston trying to avoid a dangerous game 7.  It was Bassit against Montas again.  Bassit would be injured in the 4th inning however and this game would really test the bullpen of the Commodores.  Lake Erie would get a run on another E. Hernandez homerun in the 4th.  Boston would tie it on a Fraley homer in the 7th.  They would move to extras and Colin McHugh would pitch 5 innings in relief.  Montas left in the 8th for Louis Head and he pitched 3 1/3 innings with just one hit and 4 k's.  In the 12th inning Loaisigia gave up go ahead single when Ty France was still in the game and became a 5 at 2b on a hold.  The former Bobcat A. Simmons came up with that big hit.  Liam Hendriks came in to close out the game.  Hendriks imploded a year ago against the Bobcats with the World Series berth on the line and he would fail again.  Sal Perez led off with a single.  Fraley singled him to 3rd and then he stole second to put the winning run into scoring position.  Jeimer Candelario then singled off the glove of Gurriel and Billy Hamilton who was pinch running came around to score the winning run and series ender.  All three hits coming off the x-chart after Doug Ebbole had gotten the lead off the x-chart in the top of the inning.

Commodores 0 0 0  1 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 1---2 6 1

Bobcats          0 0 0  0 0 0  1 0 0  0 0 2---3 7 1 

W- Loaisiga 1-0 L Hendriks 0-1

HR- E. Hernandez 3, Fraley 2

MVP- Jake Fraley 5-12, 2 HR, 3 BB game 6 hero with a game tying homerun and single plus stolen base in the 12th to set up the win.

Others worth noting:

Glasnow 8 2/3 innings 1 hit, 4 BB, 15 K, 1 ER and big game 4 win

Ty France 10-23 .435

 J. Loaisigia 4.1 innings 1 ER, 3 saves and a win

Vegas takes Division Series 4-2

Las Vegas hosted game one of the 2021 Friendship League opening round playoffs against the Kansas City Butchers. Kansas City scored first via a fourth-inning two-run Yoan Moncada home run off Fremont starter Shohei Ohtani. Las Vegas countered in the fifth, when a Wander Franco error scored Marcus Semien from second. The Fremonts put runners in scoring position in the following two innings, but failed to score. Finally, in the seventh, Jose Ramirez crushed a Cole Sulser offering over the wall for a two-run homer driving Robbie Grossman and giving the ‘Mots a 3-2 lead, that they would not relinquish

Butchers........ 0 0 0  2 0 0  0 0 0  -  2  5  2
Fremonts....... 0 0 0  0 1 0  2 0 x   - 3 10  0

W – Chargois (1-0) L – Sulser (0-1) S – Rassmussen (1)
HR: Moncada (1st), Ramirez (1st)

Game two was also decided by the long ball. George Springer launched a grand slam in the sixth off Fremont reliever Paul Sewald. The Butcher bullpen held with Sulser, Hyun-Jin Ryu, and Lou Cessa combining for 5 scoreless innings in relief.

Butchers........ 0 0 0  0 0 4  2 0 0  -  6  8  2
Fremonts....... 0 0 0  0 2 0  0 0 0  -  2  7  0

W – Sulser (1-1) L – Sewald (0-1) S – Cessa (1)
HR: Springer (1st), Franco (1st)

Game three brought the series to Kansas City. The Butchers dominated led by starter Lance McCullers who gave the home team seven innings of one-run ball. Eight singles and five walks were enough for the Kansas City offense to bring home six runs and take a 2-1 series lead.

Fremonts....... 0 0 0  0 0 1  0 0 0  - 1  3  2
Butchers........ 0 0 0  3 1 0  2 0 x  - 6  8  0

W – McCullers (1-0) L- Taillon (0-1)
HR: none

Backs against the wall, the Fremonts sent veteran Zack Greinke to the mound. The ‘Monts offense staked Greinke to a 4-0 lead after three innings. Kansas City starter Cole Irvin lasted 2 2/3 inning giving up RBI hits to Trey Mancini, Jose Ramirez, and Marcus Semien. But the Las Vegas manager saw enough after Greinke barely escaped the bottom of the third, giving up three singles but only one run. Five men then came out of the bullpen to hold the Butchers to three runs over the final six innings.

Fremonts......  2 1 1  0 0 1  0 1 1  -  7 12  1
Butchers........ 0 0 1  0 0 1  0 0 2  -  4  8   0

W – Sewald (1-1) L-Irvin (0-1)
HR:- Grandal (1st), Semien (1st), Stanton (1st)

With the series knotted, game one starters Shohei Ohtani and Eduardo Rodriguez rematched in an all-important game five. After threatening in the first, the Butchers loaded the bases with no outs in the second. But the home team fell short as consecutive ground balls led to a run via a fielder’s choice but then ended the inning in a double play. The lost opportunity haunted Kansas City. The ‘Monts put up three runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth before Rodriguez was set to showers along with the Butcher’s hopes of returning to Las Vegas with the series lead.

Fremonts....... 0 0 0  3 4 0  0 0 0  -  7  9  1
Butchers........ 0 1 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  1 11  1

W – Ohtani (0-1) L – Rodriguez (0-1)
HR: none

The series moved to Las Vegas where the home team held a 3-2 series lead. In the face of elimination, the Butchers sent Corey Kulber to the hill against Nick Pivetta in a game two rematch. Reminiscent of a great Vegas heavyweight fight, the teams traded blows in the early rounds, with the visitors out to a 4-2 lead after 4 ½. The Fremonts threw a series of haymakers in the bottom of the frame, from which, the Butchers would never recover. Las Vegas sent 11 men to the plate in the fifth scoring seven on seven hits, a walk, an error, and three stolen bases. When it was over, the ‘Monts had scored a season-high 19 runs en route to a 4-2 series victory.

Butchers........ 0 2 0  2 1 0  0 0 0  -  5  8  2
Fremonts......  1 1 0  7 0 3  1 6 x   - 19 21  0

W – Pivetta (1-0) L – Kluber (0-1)
HR: Springer(2nd), Stanton (2nd), Walsh(1st), Franco(2nd), Grandal(2nd), Ohtani(1st), Grossman(1st)

The Fremonts advance to the World Series for the second time in three years.

There were heroes everywhere in the series. Jared Walsh hit .364/.417/.591 for the Butchers. Ohtani put up a .444 OBP and a 1.38 ERA in 13 innings. Semien  hit .320/.370/.640, turned 11 double plays and had key hits in the game one and game four victories. But it’s Jose Ramirez who takes home the MVP honors with .346/.414/.731 a homer, a triple, five doubles, and three steals.

 

 

Montreal Grizzlies Protection List 2023

Well another year in the books for a team that was thought to be on the up and up. Hitting continues to plague this once proud franchise (Philadelphia Phog I think it was?) The most comparable team I can think of is the literal 2022 Detroit Tigers team. We have a stable of young arms that made both strides and learning the famous Jim Price quote on Tigers broadcasts "The Art of Pitching" and I don't think many of my pitchers can throw the "Yellow Hammer" on these guys or put a particular "Buggy Whip". So without further ado here are the Grizzlies worth getting another chance for 2023.

Hitters: 1.) Alex Verdugo, 2.) Gleyber Torres, 3.) Gary Sanchez, 4.) Alex Kirilloff, 5.) Harold Ramirez, 6.) Chas McCormick, 7.) Anthony Rendon, 8.) Carlos Santana 9.) Harold Castro 10.) Francisco Meija 

Pitchers: 11.) Alek Manoah, 12.) Cal Quantrill, 13.) Cristian Javier, 14.) Tarik Skubal, 15.) Emmanuel Clase, 16.) Scott Barlow, 17.) Jordan Montgomery, 

NC: Casey Mize, Garrett Crochet, Adam Ottavino

Yu Darvish Player: 17.)  Tyler Anderson (LAD) LHP

De-clawed (CUT)

Josh Staumont, Joe Barlow, Kyle Lewis, Jed Lowrie, Andy Ibanez, Kyle Isbel, 

Sad mentioned Cuts: Michael Brantley - One of my first moves as GM of the Grizzlies was acquiring Michael Brantley in the waiver draft, but trying to give these younger players a chance for the future. We wish Brantley a healthier 2022 as injuries plagued him this past season. 

Jonathan Schoop - Another one of the first guys I took a flier on, too many ups and downs, a weird statistical season for him as well. We bid him farewell. 

If I forgot anyone else they too are cut. 

2021 season ends! Playoffs getting ready to begin!

 Thanks all, we have now officially finished the 2021 season and are preparing for the playoffs!  Congrats to our division winners:  Andy (Hot Juju Division), Doug (Zombie Dust Division) and Pat (Electric Jellyfish Division)!  And a big congrats to Chuck, who guided his team to an astounding 52 wins to easily claim the wild card spot.   Should be a super-competitive playoff!

Boston Bobcat Matt Olson is this year's MVP

Let's look at some of the big individual performances for the season...

-Matt Olson (BOS) edged out Jose Ramirez (LAS) for the MVP

-Liam Hendriks (LAK) won the Cy Young Award

-Lance Lynn (BOS) was runner-up for Cy Young, so I think we can declare him 

Most Valuable Starting Pitcher :-) 

-Andy Willnus won the Manager of the Year Award (and has again earned the

 right to say "that's why I am manager of the year....every year!)

 -Ty France (BOS) won the batting crown with a .328 average

-Mitch Haniger (MIC) smacked the most homers, with 29

-Eduardo Rodrigues (KCB) won the most games, with 11

-Giancarlo Stanton (KCB) led the league with 72 RBIs

-Sean Manaea (TOR) was the only other pitcher in double figures with 10 wins

-Liam Hendriks (LAK) and Ryan Pressley(LAS) tied for most saves, with 18

-Lance Lynn (BOS) won the ERA title at 2.30, edging out Framber Valdez (MIC) at 2.35

-Dylan Cease (WIC) and Robbie Ray (PIT) tied for the Strikeout crown, at 134 each

-Sterling Marte (BOS) led the league in steals with 19

Liam Hendriks when he heard the 
results of the Cy Young voting

Some individual game highlights....

-Longest game of the year with a 17 inning affair between BOS and MIN

-PIT and WIC played the biggest slugfest of the year, combining for

 30 runs and 39 hits (PIT won 16-14)

-Three players hit 3 homers in a game:  Hunter Renfroe (WIC), 

Mitch Haniger (MIC) and Sal Perez (BOS, who did it twice!)

-Cedric Mullins (MIN) had NINE at bats in one game, that 17 inning battle

-Sal Perez (BOS) knocked in 7 runs in one game

-Randy Arozarena (TOR) stole 4 bases in one game

-Jose Berrios (PIT) throw a one-hitter against KCB

-Nathan Eovaldi (MIC) and Robbie Ray (PIT) each throw two-hitters

-Carlos Rodon has the most strikeouts in a game, this year, 

16 K's in a seven-inning outing

-That ball is loooonnnnggg gone!  Tarik Skubal  (MTL) gave up 

six dingers in just six innings vs TOR

-Seven players had five-hit games :Matt Olson (BOS), Jose Ramirez (LAS),

 Alex Verdugo (MTL), Teoscar Hernandez (LAK), Xander Bogaerts (KCB), 

Jorge Polanco (TOR) and Tim Anderson (MIC)

The League Encylopedia has been updated with this year's stats, bringing the

 last 14 seasons of stats into o

http://kcbutchers.drivehq.com/2021FL/stratpedia.htm

As I compiled my all-time Kansas City Butcher records (available on the web page

 under League History!), my all-time won-loss record jumped out at me.  

After 32 years in this league, I sit four games under .500!, at 1294-1298 

with a winning percentage of .499.  Besides wondering how time went so fast, 

and questioning what I have done with my life to play so much Strat, I am now

vowing to get 43 wins next year to land just above the .500 mark, at 1337-1336!!!