Maple finished with their worst season in seven years. At 58-104 the Marauders for the 2nd straight season finished dead last in the TML Billy Martin Division. GM Goldberg said after the season was over, "When you finish 35 games out of 1st place you can't do any worse". Maple did show some promise with the bats this year returning back to the playoff years for a team batting average of .263 but, the pitching continued to struggle posting their worst ever team ERA at 5.23 and BABIP at .325. Overall Maple is now 565-569 in sever seasons of ABL action. Attendance has taken a strong hit as well. Only 2.4M~ fans showed up to see the Marauders play this year. That is 700K worse than last season and the lowest mark in seven seasons. Fans have questioned team spending or lack of it this year as team payroll dropped from $122M~ down to $59M~. The good news is that management has aligned the balance sheet to go after highly touted INT FA, leverage player contracts and pour funds into Player Development and Scouting as the team tries to build from the minor leagues up. Maple's exact finances are not know but, speculation has it that they made close to $38M~ this year and if correct it would be the 2nd highest profit in seven seasons.
The 2018 Draft was a successful one for the Marauders. They landed SPs Pavi & Kimball and OFs Huanu & Tenegesdal & 2B Reaveley all of which look poised to jump to the next level in 2019. This represents the 2nd consecutive season for Maple in the draft arena where they have had favorable results. In 2017, Maple landed 1B Lee and Knaus both look like future starters in the ABL and SS Omori is already playing in Maple after being called up this past season.
Outlook for 2019 is promising due to a promising rookie emerging in the OF. Brad Thomas in his first season with Maple posted statistics that put him on the all time single season leader board for the team. His .320 bavg was good for 5th, his .381 obpct was good for 9th, his .518 slugging pct was good for 9th, his .899 OPS was good for 5th. John Jones also took over the CL role for the Marauders this year. His 24 saves was good for 4th all-time in a single season. Meanwhile there is still uncertainty with former R1 pick Jesus Ramirez out of University of Florida. He did pile up the Ks as predicted with 185 this season good for 2nd all-time in a single season sitting 2 Ks behind Mr. Roboto Martinez who had 187Ks in 2012. The issue with Ramirez is his control. The depth at SP coming along to Maple in the next 1-3 seasons might result in Ramirez finishing his career off as a solid MR.
HOME OF THE 10TH MAN
HOME OF THE 10TH MAN
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Monday, March 31, 2014
News from Maple
Maple closes out this season as the teams worst season of all-time in the ABL. We are currently 50-86 and a substantial 29 games out of first place in the TML - Billy Martin Division. However, the future looks very bright in Maple as our farm system is stacked with incredible talent. Maple has been showcasing some of the youth this season with the inclusion of Jesus Ramirez SP, Rob Young SP, Ovidio Montanio MR, Manny Palma, MR, Ju-Wei Yuan MR, John Jones CL, Ronnie Talley 2B, Taro Omori SS, Bill Nelson OF, Brooks Petersen OF and Brad Thomas OF who might have a chance at finishing in the top 3 for ROY in the TML.
Injuries took away any momentum Danny Burris SS had after winning the Gold Glove at SS in the TML. He is scheduled to return just before the season but, likely we will be sent for a rehab stint at AAA Astoria all but ending his 2018 campaign. A few weeks ago, more disappointing news hit Maple as OF Martin Petersen suffered a CEI. In order to shore up the middle infield moving into 2019, Maple acquired SS Archie Sandeson from San Francisco. GM Goldberg said, "SF has been the cream of the crop in our division, maybe he can help us steal some signs...."
The most exciting news comes from our SP rotation in Single A Kingwood. We feel we have an elite staff of up and comers that in the next 3 seasons will be a force in the ABL for years to come. We are speaking of; Ramu Pavi SP, Pedro Perez SP and Jake Robinson SP.
Meanwhile in our International complex where the PS4's are buzzing til midnight, watch out for SP Gabresilassie Cherone (say that 10 times to win a prize!).
So Maple will continue to play hard, slide with passion and HR trot with pride until the end of the season. We will give some valuable play time to some youth to see if they are ready to make the jump to the big leagues. Until then, we await for the Rookie draft and hope that there is a superstar in ready to play in the ABL at our selection!
Injuries took away any momentum Danny Burris SS had after winning the Gold Glove at SS in the TML. He is scheduled to return just before the season but, likely we will be sent for a rehab stint at AAA Astoria all but ending his 2018 campaign. A few weeks ago, more disappointing news hit Maple as OF Martin Petersen suffered a CEI. In order to shore up the middle infield moving into 2019, Maple acquired SS Archie Sandeson from San Francisco. GM Goldberg said, "SF has been the cream of the crop in our division, maybe he can help us steal some signs...."
The most exciting news comes from our SP rotation in Single A Kingwood. We feel we have an elite staff of up and comers that in the next 3 seasons will be a force in the ABL for years to come. We are speaking of; Ramu Pavi SP, Pedro Perez SP and Jake Robinson SP.
Meanwhile in our International complex where the PS4's are buzzing til midnight, watch out for SP Gabresilassie Cherone (say that 10 times to win a prize!).
So Maple will continue to play hard, slide with passion and HR trot with pride until the end of the season. We will give some valuable play time to some youth to see if they are ready to make the jump to the big leagues. Until then, we await for the Rookie draft and hope that there is a superstar in ready to play in the ABL at our selection!
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Maple Rookie Draft Results & Blockbuster deal with NY
One of the largest trades in ABL history took place this month. The details of the trade were as follows:
TO NEW YORK:
CL RON CUTTER (ABL), MR CHANDLER
FISHER (ABL), MR BRANDON WILSON (ABL), OF BILLY GREER (ABL)
TO MAPLE:
SP PEDRO PEREZ (A), OF MARTIN JENKINS (A), SP TOM COLLINS (AA), 2B RONNIE TALLEY (AAA) AND MR LYLE ARNOLD (DL-ABL)
SP PEDRO PEREZ (A), OF MARTIN JENKINS (A), SP TOM COLLINS (AA), 2B RONNIE TALLEY (AAA) AND MR LYLE ARNOLD (DL-ABL)
New York acquired a solid, streaky power hitter to join their lineup together with some excellent bullpen help. All 4 players should help their stretch run as they try to qualify for the playoffs in the difficult RCL..
Maple acquired some nice future talent including another pitching prospect. Lyle Arnold has a huge team option contract that will not be executed according to team officials. OF Martin Jenkins 1 week after the trade suffered an injury forcing him to the DL to join SP Tom Collins. 2B Ronnie Talley was immediately called up to the Maple team to play full time.
Rookie Draft:
Maple selected with the sixth overall pick SP Ramu Pavi. We were thinking of taking a hitter with this pick but, to our surprise when we saw Pavi still on the board we just couldn't pass up on his arm. Maple then continued to take another SP in Round 2 by selecting Jeff Kimball. In Round 3, Maple selected LF Arama Huanu their first hitter of the draft. From there on out, Maple rotating between selecting a pitcher and a hitter until the draft reached round 9 and 10 where the organization decided to take back to back catcher selections (Jasper Anderson & Phil Bowman).
Maple was then announced to be the host site for the 7th annual ABL Allstar game. Unfortunately for the TML fans, the RCL won the game 5-2. Dean Graham, 3B for Montreal was selected as the games MVP.
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Maple Marauders: 1 Step Forward, 2 Steps Back...
Maple heads into the Rookie Draft in last place in the Billy Martin division, 11 GB. Maple had some good momentum going up until the past 2 sims (3-10) to finish the month at 11-17. Our struggles continue to be with divisional games. San Francisco, South Carolina and Jersey are taking care of business versus our team. Our divisional record is: 6-13.
Our bullpen, defense and team speed have improved; however, our SP has been 1 step foward, 2 steps backwards since the 2014 season. Our team SP ERA is 11th (2nd last in the TML). Our organization had high hopes on some trades made to boost the rotation but, they just haven't paid off. Dave Blake sits on rehab in Triple AAA Astoria & Robert Osborne has been inconsistent at the ABL level. Our hope rests on last years International Free Agent sweepstakes win in landing: SPs Gabresilassie Cherono, Felipe Moreno, Robinson Pedercini and Hayden Capel. So it was no big surprise that in Round 1 of this years rookie draft, GM Goldberg took the mic and announced Ramu "Pepper" Pavi's name at the 6th overall selection.
The team has also announced it will take offers on OF Billy Greer & CL Ron Cutter.
Our bullpen, defense and team speed have improved; however, our SP has been 1 step foward, 2 steps backwards since the 2014 season. Our team SP ERA is 11th (2nd last in the TML). Our organization had high hopes on some trades made to boost the rotation but, they just haven't paid off. Dave Blake sits on rehab in Triple AAA Astoria & Robert Osborne has been inconsistent at the ABL level. Our hope rests on last years International Free Agent sweepstakes win in landing: SPs Gabresilassie Cherono, Felipe Moreno, Robinson Pedercini and Hayden Capel. So it was no big surprise that in Round 1 of this years rookie draft, GM Goldberg took the mic and announced Ramu "Pepper" Pavi's name at the 6th overall selection.
The team has also announced it will take offers on OF Billy Greer & CL Ron Cutter.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Young & Palma enter the Managers office...
A couple of top prospects for Maple were asked to Manager after their AAA game with Astoria last night. Rob "Tangles" Young SP and Manny "Blitz" Palma CL were given notice that they are heading to Maple to join the big club tonight for their first ABL action. What a time to be called up, as the 2nd worst team in the league Maple hosts Brooklyn for a 3 game set. Brooklyn has been over the past four seasons the elite team in the league. Young will get the ball in Game 2 of the series while, Palma will settle in at middle relief to start. There is strong speculation this move opens the door for Ron Cutter CL to be shopped to a contender before the deadline. To make room for this prospects, Maple sent down Jonathan Martin MR and Jeff Andrews SP to AAA Astoria. Martin refused to comment if the demotion was about his ABL stats or the fact that one of his teammates was rumored to have been intimidating Martin with nasty text messages. In the Andrews case, he was just plain awful.
According to the OSA, Manny was 9th and Rob was 43rd overall rated prospects in minor league baseball. Lets face it, Manny has had a roller coaster ride in the minors from the time he was acquired in a trade with Nottinghamshire. "Blitz" finally got his game straight in very limited action in AAA Astoria this year; 8.2 IP, 5 H, 0 HR, 1 ER, 3 BB, 12 Ks, 1.04 ERA and a WHIP of 0.92. So this is a gamble that the youngster is ready to take his game to the next level. Meanwhile, "Tangles" who was acquired in a trade deadline move with division rival San Francisco last season for the "Big Ticket" has been stellar in the Maple Minor League system. He had am impressive AA season last year to close out the year and in AAA Astoria this year he posted in five games started, 29.2 IP, 18 H, 3 HR, 11 ER, 9 BB, 16 K, 3.34 ERA and a WHIP of 0.91.
Maple is already 9.5 games back of Jersey and 6.5 games back of the wild card race in the TML. They are also 2 games ahead of Dallas for having the worst record in the ABL.
According to the OSA, Manny was 9th and Rob was 43rd overall rated prospects in minor league baseball. Lets face it, Manny has had a roller coaster ride in the minors from the time he was acquired in a trade with Nottinghamshire. "Blitz" finally got his game straight in very limited action in AAA Astoria this year; 8.2 IP, 5 H, 0 HR, 1 ER, 3 BB, 12 Ks, 1.04 ERA and a WHIP of 0.92. So this is a gamble that the youngster is ready to take his game to the next level. Meanwhile, "Tangles" who was acquired in a trade deadline move with division rival San Francisco last season for the "Big Ticket" has been stellar in the Maple Minor League system. He had am impressive AA season last year to close out the year and in AAA Astoria this year he posted in five games started, 29.2 IP, 18 H, 3 HR, 11 ER, 9 BB, 16 K, 3.34 ERA and a WHIP of 0.91.
Maple is already 9.5 games back of Jersey and 6.5 games back of the wild card race in the TML. They are also 2 games ahead of Dallas for having the worst record in the ABL.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Maple Spring Training Report
Maple entered Spring Training coming off their worst ever ABL season. Interestingly enough, Maple only invited 27 players to camp which meant only two jobs were up for grabs.
Fifth Starting Pitcher in the Rotation:
The rotation into Spring Training is:
1. Jesus Ramirez; former R1 pick from University of Florida
2. Nicolas Rodriguez; former AAA Cy Young winner acquired from Brooklyn
3. Robert Osborne; acquired from Brookyln in the Roberto Martinez deal along with Manny Blitz Palma
4. Jeff Andrews; acquired from Mile High
5. Ronnie Haynes; R40 inaugural draft pick by Washington
6. George Clay; acquired from Mile High
Six SPs with only five spots available.
I did not know what to expect because this group which ranges in potential all are about even in terms of current rankings. Happy surprise has come from Ramirez who is 3-0 so far this spring with an ERA of 1.13 and a WHIP of 1.31. I hope he can get a command of his pitches and finally break through this year with Maple. George Clay unfortunately was the man out. Clay was demoted to AAA Astoria, NY this past sim. Clay was upset about this transaction, however; his sinker wasn't sinking and his forkball wasn't forking. His pitching performance this spring was awful. We haven't given up yet on Clay. Clay has been a former pitcher of the month in the minors. Clay has also recorded a 15K game and did make the Allstar game back in A Ball in the 2016 season.
Utility Middle Infielder - 3 Players - 2 Jobs:
1. Eric Rice; former R7 2014 Draft pick
2. Jerry Morgan; R54 inaugural draft pick for San Diego who also hit for the cycle against Maple in AAA Astoria in 2016
3. Clay Wadden; Originally in the Mile High system; signed minor league contract with Maple in 2013
The middle infield has been a shopping cart of poor nutrition ever since opening day in 2012. We have tried almost anything and everything to get going at 2B/SS. We felt we came close last year when we acquired Danny Burris from Brooklyn and before then acquired Jesse Clark from Dallas. Clark just never performed in a Maple jersey and with his high dollar contract on the books and a free for all spending spree by the Maple owner at the 1st annual International FA bidding day; we just had to part ways. Clark now plays and actually has hit well in a San Francisco uniform. Burris started out the same way; slow. He did come on towards the end of the season to hit above .300 and win a Gold Glove at SS for Maple. So we now look for a partner to play with Burris on his left side. Someone that can help turn the critical double play to get out of the jams that likely our pitching is going to experience this year. We like Eric Rice for his glove at 2B. He has no arm but, we also remember Steve Sax of the former MLB who had a similar issue. It is a shorter throw so we will take our chances here. Jerry Morgan has just been getting on base and has been hitting some nice line drives right at people. We are going to roll the dice and give him the last spot this season. Poor Clay Wadden he is yet again odd man out and was waived this past sim to hopefully outright him to AAA Astoria, NY. Clay is speedster on the bases and a gamer but, we know what we get with him already and just wanted to see what we "might" get out of Morgan. Sometimes in the ABL you are the ODD man OUT with so much batting talent in the league.
Preseason predictions have come out already and Maple has been pegged to play about .500 ball which we are excited to read. We know these predictions are not so accurate. Who are these experts? What do they look like? OSA was seen in the Toronto area asking for handouts at a recent Car Show event. I really hope one day they get the funds they need. On that note, have a good morning everyone and I am going to check my MAX MILLIONS ticket. If you don't hear from me. Email me :-) haha
Fifth Starting Pitcher in the Rotation:
The rotation into Spring Training is:
1. Jesus Ramirez; former R1 pick from University of Florida
2. Nicolas Rodriguez; former AAA Cy Young winner acquired from Brooklyn
3. Robert Osborne; acquired from Brookyln in the Roberto Martinez deal along with Manny Blitz Palma
4. Jeff Andrews; acquired from Mile High
5. Ronnie Haynes; R40 inaugural draft pick by Washington
6. George Clay; acquired from Mile High
Six SPs with only five spots available.
I did not know what to expect because this group which ranges in potential all are about even in terms of current rankings. Happy surprise has come from Ramirez who is 3-0 so far this spring with an ERA of 1.13 and a WHIP of 1.31. I hope he can get a command of his pitches and finally break through this year with Maple. George Clay unfortunately was the man out. Clay was demoted to AAA Astoria, NY this past sim. Clay was upset about this transaction, however; his sinker wasn't sinking and his forkball wasn't forking. His pitching performance this spring was awful. We haven't given up yet on Clay. Clay has been a former pitcher of the month in the minors. Clay has also recorded a 15K game and did make the Allstar game back in A Ball in the 2016 season.
Utility Middle Infielder - 3 Players - 2 Jobs:
1. Eric Rice; former R7 2014 Draft pick
2. Jerry Morgan; R54 inaugural draft pick for San Diego who also hit for the cycle against Maple in AAA Astoria in 2016
3. Clay Wadden; Originally in the Mile High system; signed minor league contract with Maple in 2013
The middle infield has been a shopping cart of poor nutrition ever since opening day in 2012. We have tried almost anything and everything to get going at 2B/SS. We felt we came close last year when we acquired Danny Burris from Brooklyn and before then acquired Jesse Clark from Dallas. Clark just never performed in a Maple jersey and with his high dollar contract on the books and a free for all spending spree by the Maple owner at the 1st annual International FA bidding day; we just had to part ways. Clark now plays and actually has hit well in a San Francisco uniform. Burris started out the same way; slow. He did come on towards the end of the season to hit above .300 and win a Gold Glove at SS for Maple. So we now look for a partner to play with Burris on his left side. Someone that can help turn the critical double play to get out of the jams that likely our pitching is going to experience this year. We like Eric Rice for his glove at 2B. He has no arm but, we also remember Steve Sax of the former MLB who had a similar issue. It is a shorter throw so we will take our chances here. Jerry Morgan has just been getting on base and has been hitting some nice line drives right at people. We are going to roll the dice and give him the last spot this season. Poor Clay Wadden he is yet again odd man out and was waived this past sim to hopefully outright him to AAA Astoria, NY. Clay is speedster on the bases and a gamer but, we know what we get with him already and just wanted to see what we "might" get out of Morgan. Sometimes in the ABL you are the ODD man OUT with so much batting talent in the league.
Preseason predictions have come out already and Maple has been pegged to play about .500 ball which we are excited to read. We know these predictions are not so accurate. Who are these experts? What do they look like? OSA was seen in the Toronto area asking for handouts at a recent Car Show event. I really hope one day they get the funds they need. On that note, have a good morning everyone and I am going to check my MAX MILLIONS ticket. If you don't hear from me. Email me :-) haha
Monday, February 3, 2014
Maple Organization Update
Maple finished the year with a horrible 8-21 record thanks to a poor divisional record especially versus the Billy Martin champs - San Francisco. We will have to match up better vs them next season if we hope to make it back to the post season.
This has been our worst season ever and we are glad it is finally over. There are some exciting things ahead as we prepare for Season #7. I'm excited about my bullpen, my OF and my future at 1B & 3B. I will need some of that high priced International talent to pay off in order to build a stable and dominant rotation. Maple for the first time also reached the #2 spot in the top minor leagues system report. The likes of Manny "BLITZ" Palma CL, William "CANNON" Lee 1B, Gary Bennett 3B, Rob "TANGLES" Young SP and Subaru "EXPERT" Kishita SP are waiting in the wings to reach the ABL and hopefully their potential will be reached. We also have high hopes for Michale Knaus 1B, Yoshiaga Ueno SP, Nathan Owens MR, Brad Thomas OF, Brooks Petersen OF (DL), Martin Petersen OF, Floyd Lowery OF and a few others in the bullpen in A ball. The list of prospects is by far the largest we have ever seen in our organization. We need Jesus Ramirez and his blazing fastball to light up again as he had a horrible season in Maple this past year. He finished the year in AAA and did well in his last few starts.
In post season action, AAA Astoria and AA Sandy Springs lost in the first round of the playoffs. Astoria lost 4-1 to Chicago (Jacksonville Farm team) and Sandy Springs lost to 4-2 to Phoenix (Jacksonville Farm team).
Decisions Decisions Decisions...
Billy Greer has begun contracts extension talks with Maple. Maple is likely going to offer him a 1 year deal to hopefully avoid arbitration. Billy deserves a contract for the way he came on late last season especially with his power stroke. One of the challenges we have as an organization is that Billy isn't a youngster anymore and there are plenty of talented younger players that might have more potential to take his spot. For that reason we will play it year by year with Billy and as long as he produces he will be wearing a Maple jersey. We believe through his agent that Billy will sign a 1 year deal that will pay him $4.5M this season with no incentives and a guarantee to start.
The foundation of the Maple organization namely; OF Frank Powers, OF Anthony Lewis and 1B Vic Jennings (acquired from Las Vegas) all most likely will not be offered a contract this year making them free agents. Also likely heading to free agency is SP Chet Carver (acquired from Mile High) who pitched his way back to the big leagues late last year and injury recovering SP Aaron Nelson.
Should be another exciting off season in the ABL!
This has been our worst season ever and we are glad it is finally over. There are some exciting things ahead as we prepare for Season #7. I'm excited about my bullpen, my OF and my future at 1B & 3B. I will need some of that high priced International talent to pay off in order to build a stable and dominant rotation. Maple for the first time also reached the #2 spot in the top minor leagues system report. The likes of Manny "BLITZ" Palma CL, William "CANNON" Lee 1B, Gary Bennett 3B, Rob "TANGLES" Young SP and Subaru "EXPERT" Kishita SP are waiting in the wings to reach the ABL and hopefully their potential will be reached. We also have high hopes for Michale Knaus 1B, Yoshiaga Ueno SP, Nathan Owens MR, Brad Thomas OF, Brooks Petersen OF (DL), Martin Petersen OF, Floyd Lowery OF and a few others in the bullpen in A ball. The list of prospects is by far the largest we have ever seen in our organization. We need Jesus Ramirez and his blazing fastball to light up again as he had a horrible season in Maple this past year. He finished the year in AAA and did well in his last few starts.
In post season action, AAA Astoria and AA Sandy Springs lost in the first round of the playoffs. Astoria lost 4-1 to Chicago (Jacksonville Farm team) and Sandy Springs lost to 4-2 to Phoenix (Jacksonville Farm team).
Decisions Decisions Decisions...
Billy Greer has begun contracts extension talks with Maple. Maple is likely going to offer him a 1 year deal to hopefully avoid arbitration. Billy deserves a contract for the way he came on late last season especially with his power stroke. One of the challenges we have as an organization is that Billy isn't a youngster anymore and there are plenty of talented younger players that might have more potential to take his spot. For that reason we will play it year by year with Billy and as long as he produces he will be wearing a Maple jersey. We believe through his agent that Billy will sign a 1 year deal that will pay him $4.5M this season with no incentives and a guarantee to start.
The foundation of the Maple organization namely; OF Frank Powers, OF Anthony Lewis and 1B Vic Jennings (acquired from Las Vegas) all most likely will not be offered a contract this year making them free agents. Also likely heading to free agency is SP Chet Carver (acquired from Mile High) who pitched his way back to the big leagues late last year and injury recovering SP Aaron Nelson.
Should be another exciting off season in the ABL!
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