And Then There Was Game 163...

Game Date:  September 23, 2018

Who Uploaded?:
Cleveland
Hickory
Houston
Los Angeles
Maui
New York
River Cities
Saskatoon
Seattle

Standings:
Adams:  Hickory finishes with a seven game lead.
Zotti:  Saskatoon and Seattle end up tied with identical 106-56 records
Signorino:  Maui closes the season up by 31 games.
Wild Card:  The loser of the Saskatoon/Seattle game will win the wild card.

Awards:
Danville 1B Dong Lutz wins Player of the Week (9/17)

Significant Injuries:
None

Milestones:
None

Game 163 Will Be Played:  On Saturday night

Zev

Sept I Sim Completed

Game Date:  9/16/2018

Who Uploaded?
Cleveland
Hickory
Houston
Los Angeles
Maui
New York
Saskatoon
Seattle

Standings:
Adams:  Hickory has a seven game lead on River Cities
Zotti:  Saskatoon and Seattle sit tied atop the division
Signorino:  Maui's got this one wrapped up with a 32 (!) game lead
Wild Card:  Saskatoon/Seattle have a 21 game lead over Ohio.

Awards:
CF Rufus Murray (Saskatoon) wins Player of the Week (9/3)
Brooklyn 1B Luis Jeon wins Player of the Week (9/10)

Significant Injuries:
Cleveland SP Carlos Galavan ruptured his tircep tendon and won't be back until April/May 2019.
Hickory SP Richard Shipp's is out for 3-4 weeks with a strained tricep muscle

Milestones:
Brooklyn OF Miguel Cuesta reached the 2,000 hit mark, becoming the sixth player to reach that mark.
River Cities SP Juan Villatoro won his 200th game.  Juan is in fourth place on the all time victories list, behind John Okane (240), Demarcus Ramirez (231) and Chad Nelligan (212).

Next sim:
Next Wednesday, April 27.  League reports will be uploaded tomorrow.

September Call-Ups

The Seattle Monarchs released their list of players being called up to join the major league franchise. While there are not a lot of surprises on the list, one player is getting an unexpected role when he joins the team.

Infielder Toshinobu Mizutani is being not only promoted to the majors, but handed the starting job at second base. Manager John Willer has not been pleased with the .600 OPS that current starter Paulino Reyes has put together over the last two months. Even with Mizutani's disappointing offensive season in AAA Tacoma (he regressed from a .815 OPS last year to .749), Mizutani is at least expected to provide stellar defense at second base.

Outfielder Lawrence Fenster joins the club as a reserve fresh off a .317/.389/.458 campaign in Tacoma.

Starting pitcher William Haner comes up to the majors. His record the last two years in Tacoma is 34-8 with a 3.19 ERA and 341 Ks in 372 IP.

Lefthanded reliever John Burgess joins the bullpen. Burgess had a 3.81 ERA for Seattle last year and has combined for 2.89 ERA and 44 Ks in 46.2 IP the last two years in Tacoma.

But, with a mere three-game lead over the Saskatoonies, Seattle will have to keep the pedal to the metal to continue its streak of division titles.

Original Alaska Kodiak draftee retires

Joseph Hamilton, an original draftee of the then-Alaska Kodiaks, now-Los Angeles Scorpions, future-Shackamaxon Lenape, announced his retirement in this past sim. I previously featured Hamilton in a blog entry a few years ago when he finally reached the major leagues.

I've always had a soft spot for Hamilton, and re-signed him to minor league contracts several times so he could finish his career in my franchise. I guess he doesn't want to make the move to Philadelphia with the team, or just figured he wasn't going to ever graduate from AAA status.

Are there any O.G. 2002-drafted players still with their original franchises? Was Hamilton the last one?

August II Sim Run

Game Date: 9/1/2018

Who Uploaded:

• Cleveland
• Hickory
• Houston
• Los Angeles
• Maui
• Ohio
• River Cities
• Seattle

Standings:

• Adams League: Hickory leads River Cities by six games
• Zotti League: Seattle leads Saskatoon by three games
• Signorino League: Maui leads Houston by 28 games
• Wild Card: Saskatoon leads Ohio by 19 games

Awards:

• Players of the Month
• Rufus Murry (Batter)
• Bruno Talamantez (Pitcher)
• Mario Lopez (Rookie)
• Players of the Week
• Brian Frison (8/20/2018)
• David Seibel (8/27/2018)

Significant Injuries:

• River Cities SS John Hukill is out for the season
• (I think that was it)

Next Sim:

• Next Wednesday, by Zev (probably...)
• Please note that it's now the first of September, which means you can now expand your major league rosters to the 40 men on your 40-man roster.

August I Sim Done

Game Date:  8/16/2018

Who Uploaded?:
Hickory
Los Angeles (am I going to have to learn how to spell "Shackamxon?"
Maui
New York
Ohio
River Cities
Seattle

Standings:
Adams:  Hickory is six games up on River Cities
Zotti:  Seattle leads Saskatoon by seven games.
Signorino:  Maui has an 18 game lead over Houston
Wild Card:  Saskatoon has a 14 game lead over Ohio.

Awards/Accomplishments:
Maui 3B Bruce Parker named Batter of the Month
Maui SP Ferdinand Pineda named Pitcher of the Month
Seattle 1B James Dodd named Rookie of the Month
Maui 2B Jason Lefebvre named Player of the Week (8/6)
Ohio LF Lia Xiang named Player of the Week (8/13)
Hickory 3B Carlos Pias hits three home runs in a game


Significant Injuries:
Brooklyn CF Joseph Bevers fractured his wrist and will miss 7-8 weeks.
Danville SS Hugo Abarca saw his season end with a fractured ankle
Cleveland SP Kendrick Kaler will miss the rest of the year and most of 2019 with a ruptured tricep.
Maui RF Ronald Amos strained his medial collateral ligament and will miss 4 weeks.

Milestones:
River Cities LF David Kerry scores his 1000th run, becoming the 17th player to reach the goal
River Cities SS John Hukill hit his 400th home run, becoming the sixth player to reach the goal.

Next Sim:  Next Wednesday

It's Raining Here In New York...

... the Yankees were rained out and so were we.  :)

The sim will be tomorrow (Thursday) night.

Zev

Hickory Acquires Jesus Morales

HICKORY – April 4, 2011 – Locked in a tight battle for control of the Adams Division, the Hickory Huskers took a first step toward securing the second playoff berth in team history on Monday, by acquiring starting pitcher Jesus Morales from the Seattle Monarchs. The 36-year-old Morales is in the midst of the best season of an eight-year career. Thus far in 2018, Morales has compiled a 12-6 record, with an ERA of 3.01 and 96 strikeouts against only 30 walks in 161 innings. He joins a starting rotation that currently ranks third in the SDMB, with a collective ERA of 3.91; second-year starter Franklin Erickson (6-10, 5.16, 1.45 WHIP) will move to the bullpen to make room for Morales.

This acquisition marks Jesus’ return to Hickory after a two and a half year absence. Morales began with Hickory in 2011, and spent five seasons with the team. As a long reliever in 2013, Morales compiled a 12-3 record in an astonishing 91 appearances.

In return, Seattle receives 19-year-old second baseman Pedro “Workhorse” Campos, chosen in the first round (fifth overall) of the 2018 draft. Campos, who was named the #10 prospect in the SDMB by Baseball America in April, has struggled thus far at single-A Avon, hitting only .168 with no home runs in 214 at bats, but his power and speed (as well as his youth) make him an intriguing long-term option for Seattle.

To complete the deal, Seattle will send a Round 3 pick in the upcoming draft and $12 million in cash to Hickory.

“Nobody likes dealing away prospects,” said Hickory GM Frank Ferrara at a news conference, just after downing three shots of an unidentifiable green liquid, “and everything about Morales statistical profile – low BABIP, low strikeout rate, lots of home runs, old as the hills – screams ‘regression candidate,’ so there is some risk involved. But pennant races are rare here in Hickory, and we felt we owed it to our fans and players to make the strongest possible effort to succeed this year. Also, the $12 million will help alleviate my own personal only-one-private-yacht crisis."

To make room for Morales, veteran reliever Lucien Webber will be placed on irrevocable waivers and assigned to AAA Beulaville.

Lost amidst the furor surrounding the deal was the arrival in Hickory of a second Jesus: 22-year-old first baseman Jesus Flores, the #1 overall pick in 2016. Flores was called up on Monday after hitting .344/.438/.614 with 21 home runs and 83 RBI in 404 at bats at AAA Beulaville. He will start frequently against right handed pitching, while incumbent Michael Slye will continue to get regular playing time.