Saturday, May 29, 2021

On the Move

Catherine Trammell - Contributing Reporter

Not only do we have four teams on the market this offseason, but we have three teams that have decided to relocate. Rumor has it, one of them was forced to move. Apparently the New Commissioner's Office and fans across Cobbfather petitioned to try and remove the goat curse by all means necessary. In this case, it's the hopefully promise of moving the team out of Miami. But with the same owner, will the curse remain? Time will tell. Let's take a quick look at how the new stadiums might effect the season, start with Florida.

Florida is taking their party to Bourbon Street. Speaking of bourbon, they will be rebranding as the Old Fashioneds. The top hitting division becomes even more hitter friendly with this move, moving from a 0.940 park factor to a 1.069 park factor. (.129 increase) You may see less triples, but you'll see an uptick in home runs and base hits. Let's see how their pitchers adjust. .
Honolulu makes the move off the island to the mainland, taking up residence in the land of the Mormons. And rightfully so, they will be nicknamed Tabernacles. In the process they become slightly more hitter friendly themselves (by .100 PF), and while it will be an uptick in home runs, you'll mostly see it in singles and doubles. That also makes the AL East the most pitcher friendly division.
Our final move is the former home of the Commissioners office, shifting away from the greens of Augusta, choosing to move north of the border. YUCK, another Canadian team. This move is even more drastic than the other two. We see the team move from a 0.904 PF to a 1.074 (.170 PF increase). 1B/2B/3B goes from -2 -2 -3 to a +2 +2 +2. Good luck to those pitchers this year! I hope the defense is behind them. They will go from the Squeeze to the Fighting Poutine Plates. Terrifying!!

For Sale By Owner

Catherine Trammell - Contributing Reporter

Cobbfather is approaching the half century mark. But before we get to Season 48, we'll have a few new owners as the Anaheim west coast bombers, Arizona Armadillos, Charlotte Centurions, and Tampa Bay Deplorables have officially put their teams on the market.

~~Anaheim west coat bombers (AL - West)~~ - SOLD

Positive side to 9 seasons averaged 64 wins? A lot of early round picks that haven't hit arbitration yet and yet some still haven't reach the majors; including Rookie of the Year S45 #1 pick Bonk Burnett. Only blunder may have been not signing Season 41's pick or at least getting a Type D pick the following year out of it. But hindsight is sometimes 20/20 so can't judge him based on what was going on. The new owner will have a lot of wiggle room and a healthy stock of prospects to work with. All said, they are trending in the right direction and would be an easy team to hit the ground running with.
Next year's guaranteed payroll is at $54.9M, but frees up to only $38M the following year.

Possible Free Agents

Cutter Brantly (C)

Arbitration Class

Jeanma Furcal (3B)
Nick Curtis (LF)
Odalis Rosa (CF)

Contract Renewals

Shea Crowe (2B)
Gorkys Gil (C)
Fred James (SS)
Norberto Martinez (SS)
Jimmy Gray (LF)
Bonk Burnett (CF)
Felipe Vargas (3B)
Miguel Ibarra (RF)
Al Cortez (LRA)
Hootie Lorenzen (LRB)
Ivan Sivilla (SP3)
Jeff Leach (SP4)
Kevin Kashmir (P)
Marv Zobrist (SuB)
Mateo Wilfredo (SuA)
Trent Law (SuA)
Vidal Javier (SP5)

Existing Contracts

Mitch Dawkins (1B) - expires after Season 49
Leonel Castillo (SP2) - expires after Season 49
Brad Browne (SP1) - expires after Season 51
Humberto Lee (ClA) - expires after Season 51

Prospect to watch

Emmanuel Ramirez (2B) - AAA - $11.6M IFA S41
Hamlet Dixon (3B) - AAA - S41 #550 pick
Mallex Borenstein (LF) - AAA - S46 #8 pick
Quilvio Perez (SuA) - AAA - S43 #675 pick
Tom Hines (DH) - AAA - S47 #9 pick

Arizona Armadillos (NL - West)

Current owner had to endure a few bad contracts from the previous owner but a lot of those expire this season or next. On top of that, they play in a tough division; having to face current NL Champ OKC. OKC has surpassed 100 wins in 7 of the last 8 season, though they still won the division that one year too. Of the teams on the market, this one will take the most finesse. But who doesn't want to be the one to take down the NL giant!
Sitting at $60.6M for next season, it only goes down slightly to $53M the following year. They are above $38.9M through Season 51.

Possible Free Agents

Gregorio Cortes (LF)
Robin Woodson (C)

Arbitration Class

Jecksson Hannity (2B)
Ross Kirk (RF)
Danny Merrick (SP5)

Contract Renewals

Davy Oliver (RF)
Andre Lowell (1B)
Elian James (3B)
Wilkin Javier (LF)
Patrick Braun (C)
Stuffy Earley (3B)
Larry Worrell (RF)
Everett Greenwood (SP1)
Felipe Hernandez (LRB)
Felix Rice (LRA)
Jameson Meyers (SP3)
Kendrys Villa (SP4)
Michel Cruz (SuA)
Ryuu Kornatsu (SuA)

Existing Contracts

Adam Perez (RF) - expires after S48
Dean Harris (CF) - expires after S48
Don Cornelius (ClA) - expires after S48
Kaito Cho (SP2) - expires after S48
Doyle Porzio (AAA SP1) - expires after S48
Harold McNeil (CF) - expires after S49
Hisashi Nomura (Mop) - expires after S49
Lariel Cortez (SS) - expires after S50

Prospect to watch

Dicky Chang (LF) - AAA - $16M S46 IFA
Shane Caruso (1B) - AAA - S43 #54 pick
Paolo Gomez (SP) - AA - $12M S47 IFA
Esteban Amaro (CF) - A+ - $1.5M S47 IFA
Leslie McCartin (2B) - AA - S45 #15 pick
Jose Romano (SP) - AA - S46 #4 pick

~~Charlotte Centurions (AL - South)~~ - SOLD

Selling owner was a member of Cobbfather for 21 of our 47 seasons through different times with different teams. First stint was S13-18, then 29-42, and most recently 46-47. His combined record is 1,490 - 1,588. High selling points for this team are their low guaranteed numbers after next season and the #7 pick in next year's draft. It's a good time to make an immediate impact.
$52.8M spent on next year's budget which lowers down to $11M for Season 49.

Possible Free Agents

Arbitration Class

Britt Sterns (CF)
Santos Moreno (2B)
Andres Mendoza (P)

Contract Renewals

Niko Reddick (RF)
Forrest Hughes (2B)
Rougned Pulido (SP1)
Groucho Woodall (SP2)
Kris Jenkins (SP4)
Earl Baker (SP5)
Henderson Hammel (Mop)

Existing Contracts

Dilson Mendoza (1B) - expires after Season 48
Rosell Puello (SS) - expires after Season 48
Renato Martinez (LF) - expires after Season 48
Ernest Paulson (CF) - expires after Season 48
Moe Starr (DH) - expires after Season 48
Eric Lowry (SP3) - expires after Season 48
Geraldo Ramirez (ClA) - expires after Season 48
Phil Brewer (LRA) - expires after Season 48
Phil Williams (C) - expires after Season 49
Dane Mercedes (SS) - expires after Season 49
Cord Johnson (SuA) - expires after Season 50

Prospect to watch

Wilfredo Martin (RP) - AA - S46 #5 pick
Neil Cashner (SP) - AAA - S45 #6 pick
Billy Ray Peterson (1B) - AAA - S45 #22 pick
Frank Parker (2B) - AAA - S44 #86 pick

~~Tampa Bay Deplorables (AL - South)~~ - SOLD

LF Experienced owner with deep pockets. This team has routinely ranked as one of the top budgets in the league, but they've also been to the playoffs for the past 13 seasons straight, with only three of them coming as Wildcard births and count them, four World Series titles. More impressively that stretch lasted over two separate owners, with the most recent never missing the playoffs during his tenure. Needless to say there's a lot to live up to. And let's not forget to mention they only won less than 100 games 4 times over that 13 year span. Though only won over 100 1 of the last 3 seasons.
They enter Season 48 with $107.2M tied up in the books but decreases to $79.3M the year after.

Possible Free Agents

Arbitration Class

Banjo Paul (2B)
Felipe Teheran (1B)
Ramon Wan (2B)
Benny Garvin (LF)
Dennis Lee (SuB)
Dillon Doerr (SP)

Contract Renewals

Shannon Bunch (RF)
Kris McMurrtry (3B)

Existing Contracts

Max Rodriguez (DH) - expires after Season 48
Alfonso Osuna (SP3) - expires after Season 48
Antonio Zhang (P) - expires after Season 48
Jason Gates (SP1) - expires after Season 48
Terrell Brownson (LRA) - expires after Season 48
Birdie Kydd (1B) - expires after Season 49
Ubaldo Alvarez (RF) - expires after Season 49
Charles Lee (SuA) - expires after Season 49
Christopher Romero (ClA) - expires after Season 49
Jeffrey Randall (SuA) - expires after Season 49
Francisco Bonilla (SS) - expires after Season 50
Gerald Kojima (SP2) - expires after Season 50

Prospect to watch

Allan Wright (C) - A- - S46 #603 pick
Kike Beato (SS) - AAA - S42 #32 pick

EDIT (5/31/2021)

In a bizarre twist, Senor Ploppie purchased the Tampa Bay franchise and immediately moved them to El Paso. The Cobbfather commissioners office directed him to sell one of his two franchises and without needing any thought, he placed the Trenton Reznors on the block.

~~Trenton Reznors (NL - North)~~ - SOLD

First year in SenorPloppie took a third place team to first place in the division. But since, he hasn't made it past 3rd place, though always finishing above .500. Fun fact, each of the last three seasons he's won one less game than the season before.
Budgets are estimated at this point, but appears they have roughly $41M tied up this season with only $16M next season.

Possible Free Agents

Players are ready to test the free agent market.

Arbitration Class

Benjamin Rowan P)
Bill Dixon (C)
Bill Standridge (P)
Brayan Skinner (CF)
Brooks Bonilla (P)
Noel Reynoso (C)

Contract Renewals

Roger Helling (P)
Ismael Zorrilla (P)
Quentin Jones (LF)
Nerio Maddux (CF)
Jayson Roof (P)
Damaso Estrada (P)
Charles Martin (P)
Alfredo Zaleski (SuB)

Existing Contracts

Doc Cortes (P) - expires after Season 48
Harry Tannehill (LF) - expires after Season 48
Carl Rivers (2B) - expires after Season 48
Henderson Leon (2B) - expires after Season 48
Doug Cornelius (RF) - expires after Season 49
Rex Rucinski (P) - expires after Season 50

Prospect to watch

Unknown at time of publishing due to scouts on vacation.

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

S47 Final Power Rankings

Richard Castle - contributing reporter

Final rankings of the 47th season are in. Doesn't matter if you use Cerebo, Duotronics, HAL 9000, MCP, or WOPR; results are the same. Our world champions OKC Barons are number 1!

Movers

Cincinnati, San Juan, and Santa Fe all moved up by 5 slots

Shakers

Scranton dropped by 6
Tucson dropped by 5
Dover & Anaheim dropped by 4

S47 Record Books

Jack Torrance - Contributing Reporter

Winner Winner....Chicken Dinner.

Congratulations to klown61455 and the Oklahoma City Barons claiming the Season 47 ML World Series championship. For the second time in three seasons, Colorado Springs was unable to pull out the Game 7 World Series win against OKC; but they are a relatively young team and expect good things from them in the next few years. Back on OKC, with 4 championships in 8 seasons you have to debate if this dynasty is better than Rochester's 4 straight World Series berth and 3 title wins (Chicago franchise)? I would definitely take 4 titles in 6 World Series berth over 8 years!! With all these titles you have to begin to wonder how it will effect a few of the Barons' core HoF bids.

Stevie Ross - 7th season in OKC (rookie year - S41, S38 #510 pick)
Al Hernandez - 7th season in OKC (rookie year - S41, $3.5M S35 IFA)
Richie Barkley - 9th season (rookie year - S39, S36 #2 pick)
Chul Takada - 9th season (rookie year - S39, $12M S36 IFA)
Gary Standridge - 12th season (rookie year - S36, S35 trade)
Jair James - 12th season (rookie year - S36, S34 #5 pick - selected by previous owner)
Albert Robbins - 12th season (rookie year - S36 Rule V selection)

What a call-up year in Season 36 for these Barons! Congrats again and let's get ready for Season 48.

Major League

All-Star Weekend

National League over American League - 8-2
All Star Game MVP - Keith Halter (Columbus Corgis)
Home Run Derby Champ - Rookie Bonk Burnett (Anaheim West Coast Bombers)

American League

Division Titles
AL North: Cincinnati Dragons
AL East: New York Empire
AL South: Tampa Bay Deplorables
AL West: Colorado Springs

League Leaders
Batting
Hits: Lee Schlitter (NY Empire) - 200
Average: Lonnie Mills (CS From My Loin) - .322
Home Runs: Cy Bettis (Tucson Tappers) - 49
Runs: Lee Schlitter (NY Empire) - 127
Runs Batted In: Cy Bettis (Tucson Tappers) - 160
Stolen Bases: Harry Padilla (NY Empire) - 57
Longest Hit Streak: Kenny Jacquez (Atl Expos) - 22

Pitching
Wins: Tony Lim (CS From My Loin) - 23
Quality Starts: J.C. Wall (Helena Hot Dogs) - 27
ERA: Magglio Exposito (NY Empire) - 2.60
Strikeout: Juan Galvis (Boston Massacre) - 208
OAV: Louis Conley (NY Empire) - .209
WHIP: Louis Conley (NY Empire) - 1.01

Fielding
Plus Plays: Danys De La Rosa (Philadelphia Harpers) & Raymond Hernandez (Helena Hot Dogs) - 28
CS%: Willie Galarraga (Houston Space Cowboys) - 0.380
C ERA: Jair Hernandez (CS From My Loins) - 3.40

National League

Division Titles
NL North: Scranton Hammers
NL East: Buffalo Bisons
NL South: Santa Fe Surf Riders VIII
NL West: Oklahoma City Barons

League Leaders
Batting
Hits: Alex Tarraga (Buffalo Bison) - 200w
Average: Alex Tarraga (Buffalo Bison) - .350
Home Runs: Alex Tarraga (Buffalo Bison) - 67
Runs: Alex Tarraga (Buffalo Bison) - 133
Runs Batted In: Alex Tarraga (Buffalo Bison) - 163
Stolen Bases: Jecksson Hannity (Arizona Armadillos) - 76
Longest Hit Streak: Yohan Mairena (Honolulu 'Apapanes) - 23

Pitching
Wins: Gregor Lopez (Buffalo Bisons) - 20
Quality Starts: Jair James (OKC Barons) - 34
ERA: Jair James (OKC Barons) - 227
Strikeout: Jair James (OKC Barons) - 1.29
OAV: Jair James (OKC Barons) - 1.79
WHIP: Gregor Lopez (Buffalo Bisons) - 0.91

Fielding
Plus Plays: Lariel Cortez (Arizona Armadillos) - 29
CS%: Gareth Anderson (SFE Surf Riders) - 0.420
C ERA: Stevie Ross (OKC Barons) - 3.00

Minor League

AAA: Anaheim over Vancouver 4-2
AA: Jackson over Florida 4-1
A+: Arizona over Iowa City 4-3
A-: Helena over Florida 4-1
Rookie: Iowa City over San Juan 4-1

Record Books

Look at the single season records, here is anybody who placed within the top 5 of a category. (electing to not include those who tie for 5th)

HITTING

Isolated Power: .400 - Alex Tarraga (1B - BUF) - 4th
On-Base Plus Slugging: 1.192 - Alex Tarraga (1B - BUF) - NEW RECORD!
Runs Created: 185.543 - Alex Tarraga (1B - BUF) - 3rd
Runs Created Per 27 Outs: 12.617 - Alex Tarraga (1B - BUF) - NEW RECORD!

Side note: second this season was 8.875.

Slugging Percentage: .750 - Alex Tarraga (1B - BUFF) - 2nd

PITCHING

Earned Run Average: 1.29 - Jair James (SP - OKC) - NEW RECORD!
Quality Starts: 34 - Jair James (SP - OKC) - Tied Record

FIELDING

Assists (3B): 446 - Jimmie Tapia (3B - BOS) - Tied 3rd
Double Plays (3B): 45 - Jimmie Tapia (3B - BOS) - 4th
Errors (CF): 35 - Justin Milton (C - CHI) - NEW RECORD!

Side note: Beat the record by 6 in half as many innings.
Milton's counterpart this season missed making the Top 5 list by 1 error in the other half of the innings.

Put Outs (3B): 184 - Nefi Dali (3B WAS) - 5th
Stolen Base Attempts: 188 - Marshall Van Ostrand (C - PIT) - NEW RECORD!
Stolen Base Attempts: 176 - Brett Vitiello (C - FLA): - 3rd
Stolen Base Attempts: 175 - Phil Fox (C - DOV) - 4th

Moving on to team records.

HITTING

Least Strikeouts: 813 - Colorado Springs

PITCHING

Saves: 71 - Colorado Springs

FIELDING

None

Trivia

Name me a worse pitcher than Fred Truman. Career 8.77 ERA over 1,635 innings, 398 games of which 262 were starts. He is 62-136 with 4 of 8 saves. Worst season - Season 7 where he started 27 games, combined for 223 innings with a 23.34 ERA. He walked 384 people that year, more than double than any other person in a single season. His record that season? 1-25. That year the Durham team (now Iowa City) went 15-147.

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Battle of the Budgets

Jessica Fletcher - Contributing Reporter

Season 47 LCS matchups include a battle of the budgets. In the American League we have Colorado Springs' $124M payroll going up against Cinncinati's $82M. While in the National League it's Oklahoma Citiy's $115M versus Buffalo's $80M. By the way, both low budget teams are up 1-0 after Game 1.

Only four teams spent more than Colorado Springs, and every single one of them made the playoffs. On the flip side, there were eleven teams that spent less than Buffalo and only Jackson made the playoffs spending a low $58M. Open up those wallet books and maybe we'll see them in the ALCS next year.

Time to invest! Let's take a quick look at guaranteed contracts for Season 48. Tampa Bay takes the lead after signing Birdie Kydd (1B) to a 2-year $11.6M contract extension just yesterday.

Now where could some of that money be spent? Here are a few names currently looking at the Free Agent market, unless their current owners can get them signed to an extension. (all analysis as of this writing - cannot be held accountable for aging until the fountain of youth is found)

Alex Tarraga (1B) - Some lousy 29 yr old bum that plays for Buffalo. A little surprised he's listed at the top of this list. He might make a $1M or two on a one year deal if he's lucky. Can't really think of a team that could use his services. Let's move on to the next guy so you forget about him.
Bob Lalli (1B) - Just outside his prime, at the age of 33, but hoping to land one more contract before this switch hitter starts playing year to year. Coming off a season that saw him hit .325, 26 HR, and drive in 103 RBI.
Antonio Kata (C) - First year of his new contract will be his last in his 20s, so a great time to sign him to a long term contract. Didn't have a great season this past year, but hopes to rebound with his 73 contact, 73 power, 80 eye, and 84/84 splits. Though many AL teams might prefer him for their DH slot. His below average plate calling might leave a lot to desire for the NL teams. My grandma might be faster than him too.
Joey Pritchett (SP) - Does he have anything left in the tank? Take him out of the extreme hitter's park in Santa Fe and his numbers would surely be better. Good control, decent splits, his pitch quality might slip next year, and never known for his velocity.
Murray Westbrook (RP) for those looking for some bullpen help. The 31 year old pitched to a 2.72 ERA with 24 of 25 saves for playoff team Augusta this year.

Cobbfather Post Gazette

Links of Note