Season II - Month 3 - Maple below .500 in June...

Maple entered June in 1st place and leave June in 1st place, 1 game ahead of Jersey despite a 13-14 W/L record that has the Marauders at 43-39 W/L overall.

We are hoping that the June result isn't a sign of things to come as the pitching staff which has been torn apart by injuries is starting to show some signs of weakness.  Maple sits in 2nd in ERA, 2nd in bullpen ERA, 1st in RA, 2nd in Ks which by most is a big suprise even playing in a big stadium.  Of their 82 games only 35 of them have been at home so far.

Meanwhile the bats have been average so far but, this years big difference is the power.  Maple sits 8th in Bavg., 8th in OBPct., 6th in SLGPct., but, 1st in HRs with 105.  Another good aspect of the Marauders game is their defense which sits in 5th.

The above rankings are based against teams in the TML.

The minor league system sits in 16th place with two surprises in the top 100 list including Dave Guenette, 3B and David Picot, RF who are both having horrible seasons in Single A Kingwood.

Meanwhile, Maple took hit in the Top 20 list as Frank Powers, OF dropped out eventhough he is hitting .302 bavg, .370 obpct., with a .497 slugging pct. including 19 homers and 47 rbi. and our best player Roberto Martinez, SP has really struggled statistically this year despite his W/L record of 9-5.  His 3.80 ERA is higher than expected and has given up 128 HA in 106.2 IP while striking out 86 and walking 26 with a below average whip of 1.44.

On a positive note, each of the minor league systems have improved.  In Triple AAA, Astoria is in 2nd place 2.5 games back eventhough they are struggling through a 1-9 W/L stretch.  Look for Anastasio Rincon 3B to get a shot at a late season call up to play for Maple.  In Double AA, Sandy Springs is in 1st place.  Look for Kevin McConnell 1B and Ramon Villa OF to get a call up to Triple AAA soon.  Finally in Single A, Kingwood is actually playing competitive baseball despite being 24.5 games back.  Joshua Goldberg, R1 pick in this years draft is having a stellar year sitting at 6-7 W/L with a stingy whip 1.10 and a 3.17 ERA in 99.1 IP while fanning 103 batters.

Should be a very exciting finish in the Billy Martin TML division.  It would not surprise us to see this division race settled in the very late sim of the season just like last year.

Season II - Month #2 - Maple continues to battle for 1st place!

Maple entered the 2nd month of play with a 16-12 W/L record.  The experts had written off the Marauders after losing 60% of their SP rotation and their allstar CL.  However;  Pat Sellers, SP was scheduled to return at the end of the May.  GM Goldberg was asked if Sellers would see time in a rehab stint in Triple A.  He replied, "No we need arms in Maple right now"!  In his first start in the ABL this year, Sellers pitched effectively earning the Win after going 5 IP, giving up 3 hits and 2 ER, walking 1 and striking out 2 in a 9-2 win over South Carolina!  With one sim left this month, Maple stands at 12-12 W/L record in May and 28-24 W/L overall in 2nd place 1 game back of Jersey for the Billy Martin Division in the TML.  The two hot streaking players this month have been on the mound, SP Roberto Martinez their staff ACE and fill-in CL Brandon Wilson.  Martinez is 4-0 is his last 4 starts with a 1.63 ERA while Wilson has 3 Saves, 1.13 ERA in his last 13 games.  The bats cooled off a bit in May, however; allstar game hero RF Frank Powers gained his stride hitting, .322 avg, .400 obpct, .538 slugpct with 14 HRs and 33 RBI.

Powers says, "I'm seeing beach balls"!

SP Martinez is one of the best in the ABL!

I'm glad for the CL opportunity!

Season II - Opening Month Review - Maple

Maple and Jersey appear to be the early odds on picks to win the Thurman Munson League Billy Martin division in the ABL.  After 1 month a play both teams stand above .500 at a 17-15 W/L record.

Maple has been led by DH Eric "Stroking" McSwan.

G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	SB
23	85	24	2	0	8	17	16	19	.282	.392	.588	0

Maple was hit hard with off-season injuries that put SP Dave Krause, SP Ray Lester, SP Pat Sellers and CL Millard Marshall on the 60 day DL.

The 2nd month of play has the Marauders smack in the middle of divisional play with an opening series vs. Jersey followed by rival San Francisco.

Maple Marauders Inaugural Season in Review

4,166,615 fans which ranked 7th in the ABL saw some exciting baseball this year in Maple.

Maple was more than 10+ games back at several different points in the regular season but, they never gave up and ended up catching San Francisco to win the Billy Martin Division by 2 games in the Thurman Munson League. Going 7-13 vs. SF did not help.

Maple overcame a slow start that was bombarded by injuries to their strongest offensive position entering the season; their OF. However; once everyone was back and healthy things start to get rolling in fine fashion. The last few weeks of the season though the team struggled and despite not playing their best baseball were able to over take SF who crumbled down the stretch.

Maple then went in to the post season matched up against favourite Boston. Maple played Boston very tough and lost in 7 games after having the series lead 3-2. Maple just couldn't get the key win in Boston in either Game 6 or Game 7. Despite losing out, we were happy with the way the overall season went on many accounts.

Great Performances:Frank Powers OF - Allstar - no big surprise here; 23 HRs, .367 BAVG
Don Strickland 1B - surprise here & his injury at the end of the year hurt, .332 BAVG, 20 HRs
Eric McSwan OF/DH - steady performance all season long. .299 BAVG, 34 HRs
Pat Sellers SP - steady performance all season long; 18 Wins
Roberto Martinez SP - Allstar - staff ACE pitched like one; 17 Wins, 2.37 ERA; 0.98 WHIP
Millard Marshall CL - Allstar - was one of the best in the ABL all year; 38 SAVES, 0.87 WHIP

Disappointments:
Anthony Shelton OF - missing 3/4 of the season due to injury; 14 HRs
Dave Krause SP - only winning 10 games

Top Prospect:
Ernie McCoy INF - he appears to be ready for Triple A, won't hit for power but, has decent contact and amazing speed (30 SBs).

Around the Minors:
Astoria, Sandy Springs and Kingwood all had disappointing seasons with only Astoria finishing above .500. Kingwood had several high level prospects but, never got going all year.

Financials:
Maple has approx $8M for free agents and approx $6M for extensions going into the offseason.

Quietly surprising the experts...

When you sit in varous club houses and in the stands of various ABL ball parks you are sure not to hear his name.  However; quietly Don Strickland 1B of the Maple Marauders is putting together a fine season!  Finally the experts in the ABL took notice by awarding him with the TML POW honors on July 30th.  This Round 18 pick is also a very sure handed first baseman and likely a gold glove candidate.  Some of his accomplishments this year include;

Saturday, August 25th, 2012

Don Strickland hits 2 home runs against the Cabo San Lucas Toreros, going 4-4 with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored.

Thursday, July 26th, 2012 Don Strickland goes 4-8 against the Eureka Hornets, with 1 RBI and 0 runs scored. Wednesday, July 25th, 2012 Don Strickland goes 4-5 against the Eureka Hornets, with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. Saturday, June 30th, 2012 Don Strickland goes 4-6 against the Jacksonville Jacks, with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. Tuesday, June 19th, 2012 Don Strickland hits 2 home runs against the South Carolina Bombers, going 2-4 with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. Thursday, May 24th, 2012 Don Strickland goes 4-5 against the Kansas City Tornadoes, with 1 RBI and 2 runs scored. On the season Don Strickland's stats YTD are: G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K AVG OBP SLG SB 130 541 178 18 0 19 78 38 115 .329 .372 .468 0

Maple makes some noise at the trade deadline...

 

Michael Anderson was claimed off waivers from SoCal.  Anderson will add much needed OF depth to an existing OF that has been plaqued by injuries.  Michael will play full time vs. LHP and will be on the bench as the 4th OF vs. RHP.

Derek Beimer was acquired in a trade with Minnesota.  Beimer will add some hitting punch to a linup that has been struggling to score runs.  Derek acquisition goes against Maple's typical player strategy in terms of the importance of defense, however;  based on what was reasonably available at the trade deadline the organization felt it should make the move.  Derek will be the starting SS and likely will be on the pine in the late innings if Maple is holding on to a lead.

Brad Austin MR was acquired from EUR in a last minute deadline deal trade.  Brad will add excellent depth to a pen that has been one of the best in the ABL this year.  You can never have enough quality arms at the ABL level.

Meet your Maple Marauder Allstars!

It was a great feeling getting the winning RBI for the TML!

I was very happy with my performance!

I had my good stuff tonight!

Maple fan cheered out loud for their three ABL TML allstars.  All three players were very worthy of a spot on this TML roster.  Frank Powers earned the game winning RBI in extra innings sending the TML to victory and rumors of some nice cash going into a rivals pocket (you are welcome Gary!).