Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Top Defensive Players

Our statisticians have crunched the numbers for defensive runs at every position except catcher. Here are the players with at least 500 defensive innings:

http://home.comcast.net/~briankaat/def06apba.htm

Top players at each position, by league (SL then NL), are:

1B: Ho Chi Fat +8, John Hafner +6
2b: Jacen Solo +14, (tie) Sam Robinson, Billy Verdel +9
3b: Lance Dixon +23, Elvis Dixon +21
SS: Kobe Jones +17, Jose Herrera +13
LF: Roberto Ramirez +10, Mickey Tinsley +10
CF: (tie) Brian Kaat, Kermit Crawford +11, Jorge Nunez +17
RF: Vernon Coles +13, Keith Lee +22

Other notables: Chad White +14, Brett Solo +12, Hank Crowell +16

At the bottom of the list:

-10 Joseph Greble, 1b
-15 Juan Ordonez, 2b
-13 Drew Marino, 2b
-16 Ival Vizquel, ss (getting old)
-18 Bobby Barrios, ss
-20 Jason Gonzalez (+1 at 3b, Jake Redding was +7 at short)
-15 Ray Hamilton, lf
-21 Lou Jones, cf
-17 Dee Sanders, cf
-13 Kyle Broslofski, rf

Monday, September 25, 2006

Playoff matchups

Springfield at Miami

John Barton vs Bill Nolan

Louisville at Utah

Jojo Lewis vs Mike Langford

Toledo loses, Springfield wins division

Cleveland eliminated Toledo with an 11-2 win. Bruce Berano hit 2 homeruns and drove in 4. Starter Jack Kennedy left after 4 innings down 4-1. After 2 scoreless innings by Chuck Hoyt, Cleveland got 3 off Walt Fishburn. Down 7-1 in the 8th, Toledo went to closer Paul Williamson out of desperation, but he got hammered for 4 runs, including a 3 run homer by Berano.

With an 11-1 leadin the 9th, Clevealnd manager still went to his closer, Jake Decker, to eliminate the team that had put an end to Cleveland's season just one day before. Decker gave up a homerun to Steve Freeman before ending the game.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Isotopes win

3-2 final over Chicago. Max Johnson guts out 5.1 innings on short rest, allowing only 2 runs despite allowing 10 hits. Jake Richardson pitches 2.1 innings of dominant relief, and Jeff Beck throws the final 1 1/3, leaving the bases loaded in the 9th. All around a tough win for the Isotopes, who will face Miami if Toledo loses, otherwise they will play a 163rd game.

Big Years, Superior League

Non-Ute division:

Hal Glover hit .344 with 22 HR, 214 hits, and 120 RBI.

Joe Young had a better year than his 2005 MVP year, hitting .340 with 200 hits, 47 HR, and 133 RBI.

Kurt Scherman, who has one more game to play, leads in batting (.349), and has 16 HR and 70 RBI, and even some people who think he's the MVP. Even more people look at his numbers and wonder "Who the hell is Kurt Scherman?"

Adama Dunn hit 42 HR, 109 RBI, 118 runs, and 124 walks.

Mark Crawford hit .328, 38 homers, 124 RBI, and 29 steals to lead Texas (88-74), the best Superior League team to miss the playoffs.

In just over 400 AB, Mars catcher Monty Harmon hit .340 with a .423 OBP and .543 SLG.

Utes:

Frank Lewis hit .316 with 34 HR, 110 RBI, 134 runs, and 144 walks.

Lou Zamuda, 38, hit .341 with 15 HR and 107 RBI.

Carlos Merejo hit 33 homers and 145 RBI

and Ryan Ballard hit .290 with 114 walks, 51 homers, and 152 RBI.

Big years, Major League

Hank Crowell, between Alaska and St Louis, hit 43 homers and drove in 130.

Miguel Cruz, 22, put on a last minute contract drive, hitting 4 homers in his last 2 games to finish with 33 and 101 RBI.

Ray Hamilton hit 47 homers with 120 RBI.

Florida's Jake Cisco hit 30 homeruns but only 65 RBI, 1 fewer than Kimba Bartee, who hit only 1 homer. Kimba also stole 107 bases. Cisco had 1.

Miguel Tejawa hit 24 homeruns, drove in 109 runs, and his defense and clutch hitting led the B's back to the playoffs.

Keith Lee won his first batting title, hitting .362, and drove in 108 runs. Chad White hit .322 with 214 hits, but fell short of the 30-30 club for the first time, hitting 28 homers.

Portland's Sam Robinson, who was forced to wear ankle chains on the bases when he played in Denver, was freed to run in Portland. He joined the 30-30 club with 30 homers and 45 steals.

Andy Stewart hit 34 homers, 91 RBI, 81 walks, and scored 102 runs.

Major League Season is over

It went down to the final day with a tight race between Portland, Hollywood, and Toronto for the west division and a wild card spot. Toronto was one game back going into the final game. All three teams won, so Hollywood gets the division title by tiebreaker and Portland gets the wild card. At 91-71, Toronto played well enough to make the playoffs, better than central leading Denver (88-74).

New York will face Portland, the team that has eliminated them the last two years. Hollywood takes on Denver.

In the Superior League, Miami wins the east division by one game over Louisville, who will play the Utes in the first round. Only two games remain, as Toledo and Springfield are tied for the central division.

Springfield will send Max Johnson (9-7, 3.86) against Chicago. Toledo will send Jack Kennedy (10-16, 4.67) against Cleveland. If both win or both lose, Toledo and Springfield will play a one game playoff to decide the division.

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Utes Clinch

Frank Runge, the saving Ute, blew a fastball for strike three past Roy Gray to defeat Las Vegas 6-4. Mike Langford pitched 7 for the win, and Frank Lewis hit his 33rd homerun.

Utah is now 91-66. Louisville is 90-66, Miami 89-67, 3.5 ahead of Texas for the wild card. The Stars' magic number is two, while Louisville has already clinched at least a tie for the wild card.

In the central, Cleveland and Springfield are tied for first, with Toledo just one game back.

Revenge of the Jawa

I give it 4 stars. A truly epic story. One of the greatest heros in the history of Tatooine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W0tM3z9u5M

David Lefevre is cursed

Once again, Dave Lefevre takes the mound looking for win #20. He Stars took a 3-0 lead over the Knights and Lefevre had a 1 hit shoutout through 3. Then in the bottom 4th he injured his elbow on a pitch to Mike Perry. I could hear it go pop from my box seats behind the Knights dugout.

Lefevre will not pitch again this season, and his status for the playoffs is in doubt. He finishes his year with 19 wins, the 4th time in his career he's reached that mark.

Friday, September 22, 2006

Callahan done for the year

Joe Callahan left the Las Vegas - Texas game after facing only four batters. Reports are that he has strained his shoulder, and will not pitch again this season.

Callahan finshes with a 14-6 record, 222 strikeouts, and a 3.53 ERA.

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Superior League Cy Young

The candidates:

David Lefevre, Miami

Lefevre leads the league in wins with 19. This is the 4th time in his career he's won 19, but he's never won 20. On Thursday he lost his first attempt at #20 against the Sluggers. He has 3 starts left. His ERA is at 3.45. Dave is no stranger to the Cy Young award, having won 3 already.

Jim Farmer, Miami

Not a big name at all, Farmer came into 2006 with a 115-118 career record. He was 9-16. 4.71 with the Snow Sox last year. He's the surprise leader in ERA at 2.89 and has an 11-7 record. Farmer has succeeded this year by keeping the ball in the park, allowing only 9 homers in 184 innings.

Tom Groovine, New York

I get to see Groovine pitch a lot, as the Herman's New York office is right across the street from Knights stadium. Groovine is still going strong at 16-11 with a 3.45 ERA. He also has 8 complete games. He just knows how to win, even on an unimpressive 4th place team.

Steven Hyde, Springfield

His 14-14 record won't get him a lot of votes, but Hyde has been the ace of the first place Isotopes. His ERA (3.35) is better than Lefevre's and he's been a workhorse with 209 innings and 8 complete games.

Elvis Rodriguez, Toledo

He's kept Toledo in the playoff hunt with a 15-11 record and 3.12 ERA

Kevin Millhouse, Chicago

He won't win it thanks to poor offensive support and a 9-10 record, but Millhouse has a 3.03 ERA, within striking distance of the league lead, and has been the toughest pitcher in the league to hit. He deserves a better record than what the last place Winds have given him.

Bob Zimmerman, Utah

Bob has been the only reliable starter for the Utes with a 14-8 record and 3.08 ERA. He has allowed 22 unearned runs though, a rather high total.

Joe Callahan, Las Vegas

Pitching for the worst team in the league, with a terrible defense behind him, Callahan has an impressive 14-6 record. His ERA is at 3.49, and he's second in the league with 213 strikeouts. He could have more but Las Vegas has been careful to limit his workload after he missed half of 2005 due to injury.

Paul Williamson, Toledo

Has 31 saves with a 2.42 ERA and 93 innings pitched. Williamson doesn't have as many saves as some others, but he gets more 2 inning saves than anyone in the league and pitches far more innings than standard closers.

Chad Anderson, Louisville

Has 42 saves and a 2.40 ERA.

Bob Belardi, Miami

Closing in on a team record with 48 saves, K-Bob hasa 2.73 ERA in 58 innings, and 68 strikeouts. After struggling early, Belardi has put together an impressive streak, with 39 consecutive saves.

My Ballot:
1. Belardi
2. Lefevre
3. Callahan

In a year where no starter has put up unquestioned Cy Young numbers, I'll give it to a reliever who has been instrumental to Miami's success. Belardi will pass 50 saves, and even has an outside chance at Bernie Grayson's record of 56.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Pennant Race Update

Miami pulls to within one game of first place Louisville on Geoff Favre's 8th inning 3 run homer. Bob Belardi struck out the side in the 9th for his 47th save.

Louisville won the first 2 games of the series, and denied David Lefevre from his first crack at winning 20 games.

Springfield clings to a 1 game lead in the central, with Toledo and Cleveland tied for second.

Utah holds a 1 game lead over Texas, and Texas is also only 1.5 games back of Miami for the wild card.