June, 2018
Chapter
Three Recap
Players of the Chapter
Great Lakes slugger Giancarlo Stanton
went on a TEAR in Chapter Three, and launched fifteen home runs in only
24 games. Obviously, he is our EL Hitter of the Chapter. More on that
story below.
Way back in 2009, the Great Lakes
Sphinx signed a 16-year-old kid from the Dominican Republic named Miguel
Sano. The following season, the Sphinx traded Sano to the Mississippi
Meatballs for D.J. LeMahieu. The season after that, Sano was dealt to
the St. Louis Apostles as part of a six-player deal in which Chris
Archer (among others) was acquired in exchange. From 2012-2014, Sano
actually managed to last three seasons without being traded. Then, in
2015, the Chicago Black Sox acquired him (along with Kyle Schwarber) in
a six-player trade in which Yasiel Puig and Starlin Castro headed to St.
Louis.
In 2016, Sano was traded yet again.
This time, he went to Salem (along with Andrew Benintendi) in the
legendary trade where Kris Bryant landed in Chicago. Finally, in 2017,
Sano was traded for the fifth time in his young career when the
Cowtippers traded him (along with Jorge Mateo) to the Granite State
Lightning in exchange for Gary Sanchez (and Odubel Herrera.) And that,
my friends, is how the Lightning ended up with the OL's Hitter of the
Chapter. Sano hit .348/.429/.739 in Chapter Three, with 10 home runs and
17 RBI's.
It took a while for him to kick it into
a higher gear, but Jon Gray ended his 2018 regular season on a high
note. He went 4-0 in his final chapter, with a 0.86 ERA, and held
opposing hitters to a .187/.222/.287 batting line. Hopefully, his next
start will be in the OL Division Series.
Gray's EL counterpart also took a long
time to get going this season. Corey Kluber posted an un-Kluber-like ERA
of 4.86 in Chapter One, and allowed nine home runs in seven starts. He
wasn't much better in Chapter Two, with a 4.69 ERA and five homers
allowed in seven starts. In Chapter Three, however, Kluber righted the
ship. He went a perfect 5-0 on the chapter, with a league-leading 1.26
ERA, and a league-leading 67 strikeouts (20 more than the next-highest
total.) Whacky game, isn't it?
Top Stories of the
Chapter
Story #1: Joplin Stumbles Down the Mine Shaft
For the first time in a long time, the
Salem Cowtippers managed to end a chapter in first place. They currently
share that position with the Joplin Miners, who have won the McGowan
Division in each of the past SEVEN seasons. Although they have performed
nobly, and have improved with each chapter, Salem has not reached this
lofty position by playing outstanding baseball. They posted a .500
record in Chapter One, went 16-12 (.571) in Chapter Two, and went 14-10
(.583) in Chapter Three. They currently own a .553 winning percentage,
which ranks fourth in the Ozzie League.
No, the Cowtippers have wriggled their
way into first place because the Joplin Miners have completely tanked
since their impressive first chapter. Joplin went 17-11 (.607) in
Chapter One, and have gone just 27-25 (.519) since then.
Part of the reason for their decline is
simply bad luck. The Miners are 7-10 in one-run games over the past two
chapters. They played four extra-inning games and lost all four. Their
starting pitching hasn't delivered. Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw,
and Masahiro Tanaka have gone a combined 11-14 since the start of
Chapter Two. The team has lost more games started by Verlander than
they've won.
The Miners continue to benefit from
completely inexplicable performances by left-handed power hitters
Charlie Blackmon (currently slugging 15 points ahead of his MLB pace)
and Matt Carpenter (whose slugging percentage is a whopping 143 points
higher than his MLB rate.) But on the flip side, Mookie Betts is hitting
just .231/.307/.370, and failed to even make it to the all-star ballot.
Mookie. Betts! Carlos Santana (.255/.367/.399) is also failing to fill
the shoes of the man he replaced, Freddie Freeman.
Meanwhile, the Cowtippers can't seem to
find second gear. In particular, they can't seem to figure out how to
hit right-handed pitching. Their .709 OPS against righties is the
third-lowest in the Ozzie League. Mitch Moreland (.495 OPS), Andrew
Benintendi (.631), Odubel Herrera (.633), and Eugenio Suarez (.633) all
own an OPS against right-handers that is at least 200 points below their
MLB rates.
It has become so ridiculous in Salem
that the team lost Chapter Three games to right-handed starters Kendall
Graveman (6.88 ERA), Adam Wainwright (4.50), Dan Straily (7.14), and
Jose Urena (6.11). The Salem offense managed to score a whopping twelve
runs in those four games.
Halfway through the season, the Miners
have already used 61-percent of Kershaw's usage and 66-percent of
Charlie Morton's. To remedy the situation, GM Jim Doyle added
free-agent-to-be Jake Arrieta in a trade with the Myrtle Beach Hitmen.
Arrieta's MLB numbers (14-10, 3.53 ERA) suggest he could provide a
much-needed boost to the Joplin rotation. His BDBL performance to date
(1-9, 6.84 ERA), however, suggests otherwise.
The Cowtippers have a similar usage
issue with Jon Gray, who is now out of usage for the season. They, too,
made a deal this chapter to acquire a pitcher, Sonny Gray, to fill that
gap. Sonny is 8-5 with a 3.40 ERA on the season, and has held
right-handed hitters to a meager .174/.227/.308 batting line. He should
thrive in the pitching-friendly confines of Salem.
Story #2: Giancarlo's Ridonkulus Home Run
Pace
David Ortiz had a monster season in
2007, and finished with a BDBL-record 79 home runs. At the all-star
break that season, Ortiz had already hit 49 home runs -- 23 more than
the next-highest total. This year, Giancarlo Stanton is on a similar
pace. At the halfway point of the season, he has hit 42 home runs -- 15
more than the next-highest total.
Ortiz knocked in a BDBL-record 205 runs
in 2007, and created 190.5. Stanton isn't nearly on pace to threaten
either record, but his 82 ribbies and 74.4 runs created are impressive,
nontheless.
With Stanton moving from a MLB park
with a RH HR factor of 81, to a BDBL park with a RH HR factor of 133,
perhaps we should have seen this coming.
Story #3: Ozzie League Narrowly Wins
Interleague Play
For only the second time in the past
ten seasons, the Ozzie League managed to best the Eck League in
interleague play, by a tally of 97-95. The Flagstaff Outlaws and Salem
Cowtippers each went 11-5 against the Eck League foes, while the Myrtle
Beach Hitmen and Bear Country Jamboree went a league-worst 6-10 against
the EL. On the other side, Akron went an astounding 13-3 against the
Ozzie League, while the Niagara Locks and Cleveland Rocks pulled up the
rear at 4-12.
Story #4: Akron Back in the Picture?
The Akron Ryche shared the BDBL lead
with 16 wins in Chapter Three (13 of them against the Ozzie League.)
That brought their record up to 39-41, which brings them within four
games of the EL wild card.
Akron's starting pitching has been
stellar this season. Robbie Ray (7-4, 3.10 ERA in 93 IP), Trevor
Williams (6-4, 3.48 in 82+), and Dylan Bundy (6-4, 3.54 in 104+) are
each sporting an ERA below 4.00 at the all-star break. The team owns a
4.07 ERA despite the fact that their "ace", Marcus Stroman, is sporting
a 5.16 ERA at the moment. Mike Clevinger (4.58 ERA in 57 IP) has been a
disappointment as well.
Offensively, Akron ranks just eighth in
the EL in runs scored, and are batting .263/.318/.424 as a team. Chris
Taylor (.287/.352/.521) and Josh Bell (.296/.388/.520) are pretty much
carrying the offense, combining for 103 of the team's 353.1 runs
created.
Story #5: Griffin Division Madness
The defending-champion Los Altos
Undertakers own a 43-37 (.538) record at the all-star break. They share
the same record as the Great Lakes Sphinx, who are currently leading the
EL wild card race. If the Undertakers were competing in the Benes
Division, they would be in first place. Instead, they are in last.
All four teams in the Griffin Division
are sporting winning percentages above .500. The division, as a whole,
owns an incredible .594 winning percentage. Only the Higuera Division
(.538) owns an above-.500 record as a division.
The Kanas City Boulevards and Bear
Country Jamboree own identical 45-35 (.563) records. Both teams would be
leading their divisions if either of them played in the Benes OR McGowan
Divisions. Instead, they're in second place...by TWELVE GAMES.
The first-place Flagstaff Outlaws
continue to lead the BDBL in wins, with 57 at the break. They're on pace
to win 114 games this year. They have outscored their opponents by a
league-leading 123 runs, and have allowed only 252 runs this season. The
next-lowest runs allowed total is Salem's 285 -- a difference of 33
runs!
Flagstaff's ERA has ticked up to 2.92
on the season, so they're no longer within striking distance of New
Milford's record (set last season) of 2.54. Flagstaff's defense,
however, may set a new all-time BDBL record. They have allowed a batting
average on balls in play of just .252, which matches the all-time record
set by the 2008 St. Louis Apostles.
Story #6: Goodbye, Hello
When I created this league way back in
1998, I never imagined that my then two-year-old son would be playing in
it someday. Yet, in October of 2011, that opportunity presented itself
and Ryan happily took over the franchise, which he named in honor of his
"Uncle Geisel." This chapter, Ryan officially ended with BDBL career
with a rather abysmal record of 405-635 (.389).
Ryan took over a struggling Buckingham
Badgers franchise that has finished in last place four years in a row,
and lost 100+ games in the two seasons prior to Ryan taking over. Ryan's
first season, in 2012, was one for the record books. He lost a BDBL-record
120 games that season, but rebuilt the roster from the bottom-up, and
quickly turned the team around. The Lightning won 91 games the following
season, but finished in third place in the division.
Unfortunately, it was all downhill from
there. Granite State went back to losing 100+ games in 2014, and
followed that with three miserable seasons, culminating in a 117-loss
season last year. In the end, all of that losing sapped whatever
enthusiasm Ryan had for the game.
With every ending comes a new
beginning. Mike Ries was one of the league's original 24 owners. His
Massillon Tigerstrikes captured first place in his division in our
inaugural season. The Tigerstrikes were quickly dispatch in the EL
Division Series by the eventual EL champion Southern Cal Slyme. Two
abysmal seasons followed, in which Massillon lost 91 and 99 games,
respectively. Halfway through that third season, Ries disappeared and
was never heard from again -- until earlier this year. We welcome Mike
back to the fold, and hope that he enjoys a bit more success this time
around.
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