Maple Season IV - April in Review

Maple started the 4th Season of ABL OOTP 13 baseball in slow fashion going 9-14.  Maple's typically strong pitching staff is ranked around the middle of the pack so far this season.  Maple's bats are about the same as last season with the long ball helping them win some games (#2 in the league).

Maple made one significant trade sending prospect D.J. Richardson to Eureka in return for Leon King MR and SP Dave Blake.  Maple was trying to find a new home for Derek Beimer SS but, after being waived nobody claimed him.  So Derek is now back up with the big club as a bench player.  His age, the $1.75M contract combined with his poor defensive skills most likely the reason for passing him up.  In the past he has had some big games for Maple and definitely still has the power to hit in the ABL.

Maple closed out the spring training with a new look this season with the following news:
A) Cale Hines 3B demoted to AAA.  Last years starting 3B.
B) Carl Dalton MR demoted to AAA.  He had an incredible ST but, no room for him on the active roster.
C) Brandon Crawford MR demoted to AAA.  He had an incredible ST but, no room for him on the active roster.
D) Ramon Villa OF demoted to AAA.  One of my bright young OFs started some games last year as the 4^th OF but, this year no room for him on the active roster.
E) Don Strickland 1B demoted to AAA.  Some may remember his incredible 1^st year and his amazing hit streak of 20+ games.

The starting lineup for Maple will feature some youth this year:

Bobby Shine – C, 22

D.J. Richardson – 1B/DH, 21 (TRADED TO EUREKA)

Jacques Carpentier – 2B/UTIL, 21

The rotation/bullpen will also see some new faces:

Chet Carver SP (Acquired from Mile High)

Johnny Tiller takes over the CL role full time (Acquired from Texas last year)

Down on the minors:

Astoria AAA features an up coming OF Billy Greer (.294, 10 HR, 25 RBI)

Sandy Springs AA features an up coming CL Ariel Goldberg (6 SV, 2.16 ERA)

Kingwood A features an up coming OF Rob Johnson (.300, 1 HR, 14 RBI)

Finances:

The attendance is down -2.8% so far this season.  The 6th largest player payroll will have to get winning soon otherwise expect a player or two to be moved by the deadline if we are not in the running for the division title for the 4th straight season.

Extensions:
Eric McSwan is asking for a 7 year, $105M dollar contract.  He is 32 years old and a DH with a big power bat.  It will be interesting to see if I am able to resign him to a shorter deal with more favorable money :-)

Whatever happenned to Double 7?

Bobby "Double 7" Hall was a highlight film player early in his ABL minor league career.  After struggling in the inaugural season at AA Sandy Springs, Hall began to thrive in Single A Kingwood in season 2 (2013).  Nicknamed Double 7 because he wears #77 and was drafted in Round 77 in the augural draft, this North Carolina born baseball player is just trying to get his act straight just one year later.  "I'm not getting my fair share of playing time after my injury", says Hall.  Hall has battled knee and shoulder injuries in the past.  After spending 23 games at AA Sandy Springs and not showing he is ready he was again sent down to Kingwood single A this year(2014) and has only appeared in 1 game so far at that level.  The ABL is full of solid Outfielders and making your way to the big leagues is a tough stretch.

Top Flight Prospect receives ABL call-up!

Dave Guenette 3B received an unexpected phone call late last night from the head skipper of the ABL Maple Marauders.  Dave has joined the Maple team in Washington DC.  Injuries to Anatasio Rincon and Tom Hunter paved the way for him to get his shot.  Dave is born in Toronto and is a local fan favourite.  "I'm just happy to get a shot" says Guenette.  Undrafted, Dave signed a minor league contract with Maple last year and has steadily risen in the OSA Top 100 minor league prospects report.  He currently is ranked 13th.  Dave will appear in at least 2 games this next week on the road trip that will take Maple also too Minnesota.

Maple Year III - Month #4 Review

Maple continued their improvement with a solid 18-8 W/L record in July!  Their final 4 games of the month saw them put up 48 runs in 4 games including 10-0, 10-0, 16-1, 12-6 victories over Georgia and a 3 game sweep of Jersey!  We haven't seen that much offense from this team since the ABL started and we are excited!  Also the ball is flying out of all ABL parks as the Marauders continue to rank #1 in bombs at 141!  Anthony Shelton, LF - 25, Vic Jennings, 1B - 23, Eric McSwan, DH - 22, Anthony Lewis, CF - 18 and Dan Smith, SS - 16 lead the team.  Vic Jennings set a team and tied a TML record with 3 homers in a game in July!  Vic Jennings and Anthony Lewis both tied team records scoring 4 runs in a game in July.

Brandon Wilson has been stellar in the CL role.  6-2 W/L, 20 saves, 0.82 WHIP!  Who is Millard Marshall?  That is the CL that is out for the year and most likely his ABL career is done (95-97 fastball MPH down to 84-86 yikes!)

The team did get some bad news this month as starting catcher James Baker is out for 4 months/season with a broken kneecap (ouch!).  Defensive specialist Jorge Rodriguez will take over the duties behind the plate meanwhile Alfredo Valdez C (AAA) received the call-up.  Maple was rumoured in numerous trade talks for a catcher but, nothing really significantly improved our team over what we alread had imho.

Roberto "Styx" Martinez SP has also turned his game around.  He is still under .500 at 6-7 W/L but, his WHIP is 1.18 and has taken over the ACE role again for the Marauders.  Pat Sellers SP after his beating in the ALLSTAR game has taken the 2nd spot in the rotation and has dropped off a bit (WHIP 1.22).

Meanwhile down in the farm;  Astoria (AAA) is competing for a division title for the first time sitting 1.5 games back in the B.J. Birdie Division behind Minneapolis.  The Argonauts are also #1 in HRs hit and the bats are dangerous on this squad led by:  Billy Greer OF, Kevin McConnell DH and Juan Juarez 1B.  If they are going to make the playoffs they will have to continue to out score their opponents as the pitching staff is horrible ranking in double digits in almost every category including a team ERA over 5.00+.  Sandy Springs Spartans (AA) is in 2nd place in the Junction Jack Division 8 games back of Carson City.  Christian Taylor RF received a AAA call up at the start of August based on his torrid play;  .338 bavg., 16 hrs and 80 rbi.  The Starting Rotation is in big trouble so far and most likely will be the reason the Spartans will miss the post season this year (4.61 ERA).  The Kingwood Knights (A) were the laughing stock of the ABL in Year 1 but, the team has come a long way to at least be competitive.  This year after July the Knights sit at 46-56 and feel they are still within reach of their goal of hitting .500 for the season.  This team has some speed (2nd in SB - 113) which is a desparate need for Maple in the ABL.  Hopefully some of these speedsters make to the big team soon.  Ariel Goldberg is having a great rookie season at CL with 17 saves.  Joshua Goldberg who struggled in AA ball returned to A ball and pitched like an ACE in his only start.

Maple Year III - Month #3 Review

Maple improved again in June going 16-12 to finally end up in the lead in the Billy Martin Division in the TML.  Maple's power continues to carry the team (#1 in the TML).  The Marauders lineup is very dangerous featuring Vic Jennings 1B, Frank Powers RF, Eric McSwan DH and Anthony Lewis CF.  Unlike past years where Pitching was the name of the game;  this year the Marauders are doing it with hitting.  The usual Cy Young candidate Roberto Martinez SP has been very human this year.  He is probably our 3rd or 4th best starter so far this year.  If we are going to make a run at a title this year he will need to be the ACE he once was.  A surprise in the rotation is Pat Sellers, ERA under 2.00 and a WHIP just above 1.00.  Sellers has been our best hurler so far this year.  Ray Lester SP is rumored to be leaving town before the trading deadline.  He has pitched effectively the past 2 months and is one of the big reasons the Marauders are back in 1st place in the division.  There is an indication that he hasn't fit in the club house.  There is a list of 4 teams who have inquired about his services.  Maple is looking for prospect(s) and a MR for his services.  Lester leads the team in K/BB at 3.14.  The pen has also been up and down all year.  One of the bright spots is Brandon Wilson with is 19 saves and 2 ERA with a WHIP below 1.

The fans are starting to come back out to support the team.  Attendance did gain ground this past month, however;  still stands at -7.5% behind last years pace.

On the DL still is Millard Marshall CL and Derek Beimer SS.  Beimer should return to the lineup in July while, Marshall is a big question mark to return by the end of the regular season.

Maple fans cheered about the news of a couple of Marauders making the TML Allstar game:  Eric McSwan DH, Pat Sellers SP & Vic Jennings 1B were all named to the team.

Maple Year III - Month #2 Review

Maple had a better 2nd month of the season managing to play .500 ball at 13-13.  This is a far cry from the previous two playoff seasons but, nevertheless a step in the right direction.

Maple continues to struggle vs. LHP (1-8) so far this season.  Also away from Maple the team is not gelling (8-16) and close games the Marauders are blowing them (9-13).

The team is not hitting and not pitching to their abilities.  The only bright spot from the bats is the power department (3rd).  Meanwhile, the pitching staff is 3rd in Opponents Avg and BABIP so hopefully they will get a few breaks the rest of the way to improve.  The SPs rank 10th in the league in ERA which is a surprise considering the amount of money, time and focus spent on the starting rotation from day 1 in the ABL.

If things dont' turn around a few interesting pieces maybe available to a contender:  CL/MR Millard Marshall and SP Ray Lester.

Down on the farm, player development has been slow.  We do feature a top ranked 3B in Dave Guenette who is AA ball is batting .249 in 44 games.  Neither Minor team affliliate is leading their division but there has been a noticeable improvement in A ball with Kingwood.  The Knights have been the laughing stock of A ball the past 2 years but, this year we are trying to reach .500 for the season (Currently 23-28, 7 back).

The fans are worried and it shows in the seats.  Attendance is down -7.3% over last year and Maple ranks 11th so far in the ABL in total tickets sold.

Maple - Year III - Opening Month Review

The Maple Marauders coming off back to back playoff appearances in the ABL get off to a real slow start in Year III posting a 8-14 record in April.  The good news is the TML Billy Martin division features 4 teams all under .500 so Maple is near the top of the division despite playing 6 games under .500.

The biggest disappointment so far this season is with our Starting Rotation.  Maple ranks 12th (last) in the TML at 5.66 ERA.  This is also our biggest surprise since most of the past success with Maple has been on the mound and in the pitching staff the past couple of seasons.  When your ace (Roberto "Styx" Martinez) opens the season at 0-4, 4.99 ERA you know you are heading for problems real quick.

Offensively, the Marauders are beginning to show the power expected of them.  Anthony Shelton and Eric McSwan have combined for 19 dingers so far this year.  Meanwhile Vic Jennings acquired last year from Las Vegas leads the team with 20 rbi.  Part time utility players Tom Hunter has swiped 5 bases already this season.

The minor league system is playing much better baseball compared to the past two seasons.  Astoria, Sandy Springs and Kingwood all are around .500 are above and are looking like contenders this season in their respective leagues.  Dave Guenette 3B and David Picot OF are the two top prospects in the Maple organization according to BA writers.  Both players are seeing regular play time in Single A Kingwood this year.