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slant.gif (102 bytes) From the Desk of the Commish

Commish

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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.