After "hanging" around through the allstar break in the Billy Martin division, Maple made a huge splash in the ABL acquiring top notch SP Maurice Gould. The price was high in terms of top prospects being sent back to Montreal but, the Maple organization was poised to end their 4 year playoff drought.
Maple sent to Montreal SP Ramu Pavi, SP Jesus Ramirez, SP Yoshiaga Ueno and MR Manny Palma. All 4 of these pitchers were either R1 picks and/or top 100 OSA prospects at one point in their careers. In return Gould landed in Maple and is arguably one of the best all time players in the ABL history and without a doubt its most dominant pitcher during that time.
The addition of Gould along with SP Nelson, OF Dave Carlisle and MR arms Inman and Pena make Maple a true contender for a title this year in the ABL. Since the end of June, Maples record is 16-8 in July, 15-13 in August and 1-0 in September (32-21). Maple sits 1 game behind South Carolina and 2 games ahead of Jersey who is also "hanging" around.
The Schedule for September features:
1 @ JERSEY, 3 HOME vs. JERSEY
3 @ SOUTH CAROLINA, 3 HOME vs. SOUTH CAROLINA
3 HOME vs. MILE HIGH
3 HOME vs. GEORGIA
3 @ CABO SAN LUCAS
3 @ KANSAS CITY
4 @ SAN FRANCISCO
14 on the ROAD and 12 at HOME. The final 3 games at HOME vs. SOUTH CAROLINA should be a deciding factor for a playoff spot in the TML.
There is a chance that 2 teams in the Billy Martin Division may qualify for the post season. The Wild Card hunt is very close right now.
Maple / Georgia tied for the lead
Jersey / Boston 2 games back
Las Vegas 3 games back
Anything can happen in the ABL down the stretch as we have learned many times before.
HOME OF THE 10TH MAN
HOME OF THE 10TH MAN
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Maple allstars & June Update 2019
The TML allstar team was announced for the 2019 season early in July and the following Maple Marauders made the team:
SP Jeff Nelson (acquired from Eureka); 7-2 record; 3-1 with Maple.
CL John Jones; 6-2 record, 10 saves
Maple struggled in June going 12-15 and have opened July a better at 4-2. We stand in 3rd place in the Billy Martin Division 2.5 GB after entering June with the division lead. This past month Maple was involved in a couple of trades that brought prime time ABL SP to a team that has struggled to have any consistency from their front line starters. Maurice Gould and Jeff Nelson had a solid 1-2 punch to the rotation and should be a dangerous pair if Maple can find a way to make the post season this year.
One of the bright spots in the Maple organization this season is Bill Nelson LF. Bill is batting .314, .401 obpct and .453 slugging with 34 SB in 48 attempts. Maple hasn't seen too many players like him in terms of stealing a bag or two in a game.
Down on the farm, Astoria AAA, is in 2nd place, Sandy Springs AA, leads the division and Kingwood A, is in 1st place.
The minor system ranking has dropped due to the two blockbuster trades. The system was ranked as high as #1 overall but, now sits at #15. Rick "BOY" Hill SP selected in the Rookie Draft a few weeks ago is the highest ranked prospect according to OSA at #11.
It should be an interesting stretch run in the Billy Martin Division. The race is wide open between all four clubs. South Carolina and Maple have been the most active in the trade front but, I am sure that Jersey and San Francisco haven't shown their cards yet.
SP Jeff Nelson (acquired from Eureka); 7-2 record; 3-1 with Maple.
CL John Jones; 6-2 record, 10 saves
Maple struggled in June going 12-15 and have opened July a better at 4-2. We stand in 3rd place in the Billy Martin Division 2.5 GB after entering June with the division lead. This past month Maple was involved in a couple of trades that brought prime time ABL SP to a team that has struggled to have any consistency from their front line starters. Maurice Gould and Jeff Nelson had a solid 1-2 punch to the rotation and should be a dangerous pair if Maple can find a way to make the post season this year.
One of the bright spots in the Maple organization this season is Bill Nelson LF. Bill is batting .314, .401 obpct and .453 slugging with 34 SB in 48 attempts. Maple hasn't seen too many players like him in terms of stealing a bag or two in a game.
Down on the farm, Astoria AAA, is in 2nd place, Sandy Springs AA, leads the division and Kingwood A, is in 1st place.
The minor system ranking has dropped due to the two blockbuster trades. The system was ranked as high as #1 overall but, now sits at #15. Rick "BOY" Hill SP selected in the Rookie Draft a few weeks ago is the highest ranked prospect according to OSA at #11.
It should be an interesting stretch run in the Billy Martin Division. The race is wide open between all four clubs. South Carolina and Maple have been the most active in the trade front but, I am sure that Jersey and San Francisco haven't shown their cards yet.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Maple back in 1st place!
Maple has climbed back to 1st place in the Billy Martin Division through June 9th, 2019 of play. We are tied with Jersey meanwhile the other two teams San Francisco and South Carolina are not far behind at 1 and 3 GB. Maple has been very solid in Extra Inning games; 5-2 so far this season. Winning the close games is something we haven't done in recent years. We are also playing a lot better within the division.
Maple made a major trade to enhance their SP rotation by acquiring from Eureka Jake Nelson who is 3-1 on the year with a 3.32 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. He will face SoCAL in his debut with the Marauders next sim. Maple gave up promising hurler Pedro Perez who was ranked a top the OSA and also sent packing 1B Braden Murphy who had hopes of making the team within the next couple of seasons playing behind FA acquisition Blake Reynolds from Seattle. Murphy was also part of the $10M trade with Dallas. Maple trade winds are still swirling as management as made a decision to go4it this year and see how far we can ride this momentum. After the first three years in the ABL, Maple has not made the playoffs.
The Annual Rookie Draft has just been completed and Maple only had one selection in the first two rounds after acquiring FA Colin St. John (formerly with Las Vegas). In the first round with pick #3 - Maple took highly touted phenom Rick "The Franchise" Hill, SP from the CBL Calgary organization. The fans cheered #GOLDI, #GOLDI after making this pick. You have to appreciate the spirit of the 10th man in Maple. Hill only played one season in the CBL posting 117 Ks in 86.1 IP with a 6-4 record, 2.08 ERA and a modest WHIP of 1.23. He also was the main work horse in their Lester B. Person Championship Cup win. Unlike past drafts we didn't land a bunch of solid players that we have very high hopes in eventually making the ABL one day. Hill will be our make or break draft this year.
In the minors, all three teams are poised to win their divisions again, Astoria in AAA, Sandy Springs in AA and Kingwood in A ball all are in the lead or withing 1 game of the leader. A ton of players demanding a promotion with really no where to put them in general. We have been less patient with the veterans in order to give some of the youngsters a chance to move up in the organization.
Maple dropped to 4th overall in the Top Minor League Organizations after the trade with Eureka this past sim. The new entry into the top five for Maple is Zeus "BIG THUNDER" Hallman, CL in AAA Astoria. He sits at #51 overall and has 20Ks in 10 IP in AAA since his promotion.
Maple is looking forward to the next ABL event - International Free Agency which takes place end of June just prior to the ABL Allstar game.
Maple made a major trade to enhance their SP rotation by acquiring from Eureka Jake Nelson who is 3-1 on the year with a 3.32 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. He will face SoCAL in his debut with the Marauders next sim. Maple gave up promising hurler Pedro Perez who was ranked a top the OSA and also sent packing 1B Braden Murphy who had hopes of making the team within the next couple of seasons playing behind FA acquisition Blake Reynolds from Seattle. Murphy was also part of the $10M trade with Dallas. Maple trade winds are still swirling as management as made a decision to go4it this year and see how far we can ride this momentum. After the first three years in the ABL, Maple has not made the playoffs.
The Annual Rookie Draft has just been completed and Maple only had one selection in the first two rounds after acquiring FA Colin St. John (formerly with Las Vegas). In the first round with pick #3 - Maple took highly touted phenom Rick "The Franchise" Hill, SP from the CBL Calgary organization. The fans cheered #GOLDI, #GOLDI after making this pick. You have to appreciate the spirit of the 10th man in Maple. Hill only played one season in the CBL posting 117 Ks in 86.1 IP with a 6-4 record, 2.08 ERA and a modest WHIP of 1.23. He also was the main work horse in their Lester B. Person Championship Cup win. Unlike past drafts we didn't land a bunch of solid players that we have very high hopes in eventually making the ABL one day. Hill will be our make or break draft this year.
In the minors, all three teams are poised to win their divisions again, Astoria in AAA, Sandy Springs in AA and Kingwood in A ball all are in the lead or withing 1 game of the leader. A ton of players demanding a promotion with really no where to put them in general. We have been less patient with the veterans in order to give some of the youngsters a chance to move up in the organization.
Maple dropped to 4th overall in the Top Minor League Organizations after the trade with Eureka this past sim. The new entry into the top five for Maple is Zeus "BIG THUNDER" Hallman, CL in AAA Astoria. He sits at #51 overall and has 20Ks in 10 IP in AAA since his promotion.
Maple is looking forward to the next ABL event - International Free Agency which takes place end of June just prior to the ABL Allstar game.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)