2011 Major League West Wrap-up

Portland Decepticons 88-74: The Decepticons got hot at the end of the season, and won the division from Bay Area on the final day of the season, behind a complete game shutout from Roger Lewis. Lewis led the league in wins (18-8 2.81 ERA) and strikeouts (255), and is a strong contender for the Cy Young award. Portland made some trades to shake up the team late in the season, shipping out 3B Justin Headley and 2B Jared Randolph in exchange for 2B Steve Werden and 3B Lance Dixon. The move improved the team defense and power. At the same time, longtime RF Willie Rivera was sent to Philadelphia in a deadline deal for a pitching prospect. The move primarily freed up a starting OF position for Dante Henderson, who responded with 19 HR, and a .448 SLG.

Luciano Cedeno had a great defensive year at shortstop, and contributed 9 3B and 13 HR. George Kird was his usual productive self behind the plate, belting 17 HR and 65 RBI in only 322 at bats.

Bay Area Bandits 87-75: Bay Area lost on the final day of the season, despite spending most of the year in first place. Miguel Cruz may have been the best free agent signing last winter, producing an MVP caliber season at first base. Cruz led the league in batting at .330, and also contributed 33 HR, 115 RBI, and 40 2B. Ryan Harris had a disappointing season, not really showing he was worth the big money deal he signed, but still managed to hit .301-.346-.434.

On the mound, Larry Reynolds and Derek Seitzer proved they were both worth the money in their first seasons in Bay Area. Reynolds went 12-9 2.64 ERA, 198 IP, 163 hits, 54 BB, 155 K, and Seitzer went 10-11 2.92 ERA, 197 IP, 180 hits, 40 BB, 154 K.

Los Angeles Shockers 84-78: LA has typical great seasons from Hank Crowell, Brent Johnson, and Yamil Maduro. Late in the year, they traded for Kobe Jones, who put aside a disappointing season in Baltimore to become the best Shocker once he was on the team. Had Kobe been around for the full season, LA would have won this division. Crowell hit 31 HR with 112 RBI, Johnson hit .319-.390-.504, and Maduro hit .268-.369-442 from behind the plate.

Once he joined the team, Kobe put up a monster stat line at shortstop, going .354-.396-.585 in 195 at bats. Kobe also managed 15 2B, 10 HR, and 40 RBI. Ismael Cruz had a great season as a utility player, going .312-.376-496 in 250 at bats. David Mulder was the ace of the staff, going 15-7 2.94 ERA, 211 IP, 208 Hits, 66 BB, and 182 K’s. Damon Collins was also solid, going 11-8 2.93 in 193 IP. Julio Rodriguez (J-ROD) had a disappointing season, and had to be removed from his role as the closer. J-ROD finished 3-9 5.16 ERA, 66 IP, 79 hits, 23 BB, 71 K, and 21 saves. In his place, Sam Parillo did a nice job as the closer, going 4-5 3.15 ERA, 80 IP, 79 hits, 28 BB, 59 K’s, and 18 saves.

Hawaii Hounddogs 81-81: All in all, there was not a more disappointing team in the Major League than the Hounddogs. The Dogs mortgaged the future for the next two years (both in payroll and trading away prospects) and only managed a 4th place finish. They were the worst pitching team in the league, and much of this blame has to be attributed to the disastrous decision to abandon defense for offense.

The Dogs did score runs though, as several players had career years. Bruce Berano is a DH trying to hang on in the Major League and catch a few games, but he can hit. Berano went .288-.357-.496 and 17 HR in 347 at bats. Wiki Diaz hit .304 in 326 at bats. Mike Solar hit .300-.373-.496 with 20 HR in 456 at bats. Yoda Skywalker had an MVP caliber season, and may have been the best fantasy player in the game. Yoda went .315-.380-.533 with 200 hits, 47 2B, 5 3B, 27 HR, 118 runs, 90 RBI, 68 BB, and 31 SB.

Shortstop Arnold Jimenez, known for his defense, had 33 2B, 10 3B, and 15 HR. Converted 1B Jack Collins, playing OF for the first time, hit .307-.382-.568. He tied for the lead with 36 HR. Jake Cisco also had an MVP caliber season, going .309-.406-.559, with 32 HR and 86 BB.

On the mound, Jared DeMario had a great season, going 13-5, 3.04 ERA, 198 IP, 187 hits, 37 BB, 156 K. Justin Zoolander, acquired in mid-season, did not adjust to the Major League until too late in the season. He finished 6-7 3.88 ERA, but did strikeout 157 in 146 IP. Combined with his numbers in Las Vegas, Zoolander had 218 K’s.

Hollywood B’s 74-88: Late in the season, the B’s were thrilled to acquire the #1 pick from the Denver Rabbits in exchange for the last month of free agent to be Geoff Favre. On offense, Elvis Dixon had a career year going .299-369-.478 with 24 HR. Miguel Tejawa had a down season, hitting only .251 with 24 HR. New 2B Josh Garfield helped to add power to the infield, hitting 21 HR himself. George Rivera, also traded to Denver in the Favre deal, had a great season, hitting close to .300 with over 40 2B. Veteran 1B/OF/Professional Hitter Ted Troskey had a 3 HR game and finished with 19 HR in only 290 at bats, for a .528 SLG.

On the mound, Jong-Soo Tso was a tremendous addition as a free agent. Tso went 8-8 2.73 ERA, 171 IP, 158 hits, 48 BB, and 175 K. Tso also took a perfect game into the 8th inning on the final day of the season. He finished with a 1-hit shutout. He had previously pitched a no-hitter for Portland a few years ago.