AP--The San Francisco Sourdoughs have taken their first series of the season, three games to one, against divisional rivals Tuscon . . . with offense?
The Sourdoughs, built this offseason around a philosophy of pitching and defense to take advantage of the dimensions of SBC Park, scored an impressive 24 runs in their four game season-opening series. Leadoff hitter Bo Scott busted out of his Spring Training long slump to collect 9 hits in 18 at bats, while Achilles Mitchell continued the torrid stretch from last season extending his career high hitting streak to 31 games while collecting 5 RBI.
"It's a nice start," Mitchell said, "but I'm not going to read too much into it. We're not Texas . . . we're San Francisco. We're not going to roll over teams all year long. We're happy we put up 24, but disappointed we gave up 18. It's not where we want to be."
Mitchell also seems to be adjusting well to his new role in right field, a move he wasn't happy about initially. "I want to win."
GM John Derasmo is pleased with the start, and is cautiously optimistic. "I think we can compete, but it's a long season. We open up with 13 division games, and there are no pushovers in the NL West.
Still, fans of the Sourdoughs can't help but feel a little optimistic for the first time since season 2.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Huntington Hot Again
The NL East's Huntington Cousins are once again off to a hot start this season. The perennial cellar-dwellers in their division have taken the first 3 games of their 4 game set against division rival Scranton.
"Oh obviously, it always feels better to be playing winning ball," says star shortstop Mark Abercrombie.
The team, which finished last in the division for the second straight year in season 4, has high expectations for season 5.
"It's no secret we're stockpiled on young talent. We won 80 games last year, and should only be better this season."
Many experts feel if this team were in any other division, it would be a surefire first or second place team. As it is, there are still many who feel it can push for 90 wins.
"Definitely," rival GM Kevin Sharkey said. "Call it divisional pride or foolishness, but I'd take away the NL South's guaranteed playoff spot & just put all four NL East teams in the playoffs if it were up to me."
Maybe the team won't win 90 games yet this season, but it will sometime soon. And if this opening series is any sign of things to come, the NL East is no longer a 3-team race.
"Oh obviously, it always feels better to be playing winning ball," says star shortstop Mark Abercrombie.
The team, which finished last in the division for the second straight year in season 4, has high expectations for season 5.
"It's no secret we're stockpiled on young talent. We won 80 games last year, and should only be better this season."
Many experts feel if this team were in any other division, it would be a surefire first or second place team. As it is, there are still many who feel it can push for 90 wins.
"Definitely," rival GM Kevin Sharkey said. "Call it divisional pride or foolishness, but I'd take away the NL South's guaranteed playoff spot & just put all four NL East teams in the playoffs if it were up to me."
Maybe the team won't win 90 games yet this season, but it will sometime soon. And if this opening series is any sign of things to come, the NL East is no longer a 3-team race.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Ramon Jang Moves to Left Field
Acquired in the off-season, Ramon Jang of the Rochester Raging Rhinos is leaving the position he has played his entire career in order to provide his new team with more line-up flexibility. The move from 1st Base to the outfield allows Rochester to keep 23 year old Josh Sexson in the lineup on an everyday basis. Sexson hit .297 with 29 homers and 100 RBI last season playing full-time at 1st.
In order to complete this transition, Jackson Crosby is moving back to 2nd Base, the position he began his career at. Lenny Pierre, a career .297 batter and full-time starter the past 4 seasons, will move to the bench providing a solid bat available for the late innings.
In order to complete this transition, Jackson Crosby is moving back to 2nd Base, the position he began his career at. Lenny Pierre, a career .297 batter and full-time starter the past 4 seasons, will move to the bench providing a solid bat available for the late innings.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Kansas City Shuffle Season 5 Preview
The Kansas City Shuffle open Season five with high expectations. Coming off of their third World Series appearance in franchise history, the Shuffle look to be an early favorite to return to the top. Anything short of another ring will be considered a disappointment.
Key Additions: Catcher Wascar Aguilar. This two-time gold glove comes over from Fresno and instantly gives the Shuffle some depth at catcher and some much needed pop with his bat. Justin Fyhrie will see time against lefties.
Key Changes: Three-time MVP Nicholas Bryant makes a move from RF to LF to allow room for Bret Kubenka. Taking over at third for Kubenka will be Earl Pritchett. The world's career batting average leader, Tomas Hernandez, moves from 1B to DH to adapt to the new changes involving range. Javy Park takes over at 1B and should excel in the field.
Things to watch: Will this be the season that Bryant gets caught stealing? The 31 year old hasn't been thrown out in his past 265 stolen base attempts. How will two-time Cy Young Award winner Orlando Javier adjust to his move from starter to long relief? This will be Chad Jones' first full season in a KC uniform. Look for the 25 year old right hander to contend for the AL Cy Young.
Prediction: The talent is there. Barring a terrorist attack on the KC locker room, the Shuffle should have no problem cruising in the AL West and probably to a first round bye. From there it's anybody's game, but Kansas City must recognize that the clock is ticking for it's team that is beginning to get a little long in the tooth.
Key Additions: Catcher Wascar Aguilar. This two-time gold glove comes over from Fresno and instantly gives the Shuffle some depth at catcher and some much needed pop with his bat. Justin Fyhrie will see time against lefties.
Key Changes: Three-time MVP Nicholas Bryant makes a move from RF to LF to allow room for Bret Kubenka. Taking over at third for Kubenka will be Earl Pritchett. The world's career batting average leader, Tomas Hernandez, moves from 1B to DH to adapt to the new changes involving range. Javy Park takes over at 1B and should excel in the field.
Things to watch: Will this be the season that Bryant gets caught stealing? The 31 year old hasn't been thrown out in his past 265 stolen base attempts. How will two-time Cy Young Award winner Orlando Javier adjust to his move from starter to long relief? This will be Chad Jones' first full season in a KC uniform. Look for the 25 year old right hander to contend for the AL Cy Young.
Prediction: The talent is there. Barring a terrorist attack on the KC locker room, the Shuffle should have no problem cruising in the AL West and probably to a first round bye. From there it's anybody's game, but Kansas City must recognize that the clock is ticking for it's team that is beginning to get a little long in the tooth.
Sharkey's World Power Rankings
These will come out every Tuesday during the season. Usually I'll have a little blurb next to each team. But since it's pre-season and these are basically done according to last seasons standings (with a little tweaking here & there), I'll just give you the 32 for today.
1. Pawtucket Polythene
2. Kansas City Shuffle
3. Rochester Raging Rhinos
4. Colorado Springs AltiDUDES
5. Norfolk Nomads
6. Louisville Freezer Monkeys
7. Fargo Nines
8. Scranton Dunder-Mifflins
9. Cheyenne ChiliPeppers
10. Texas Tittyballs
11. Iowa City Kaysons
12. Chicago Smooth Horses
13. Charleston Rebels
14. New York Moon Shots
15. San Francisco Sourdoughs
16. Tuscon Turbocors
17. San Antonio Border Jumpers
18. Huntington Cousins
19. Memphis Hound Dawgs
20. Detroit Tigers
21. Charlotte knights
22. Scottsdale T's
23. Little Rock Big Rocks
24. Tampa Bay Tarpons
25. Atlanta City Slickers
26. Salem Dodgers
27. Fresno Fire Dragons
28. Burlington Chills
29. Cleveland Steamers
30. New Orleans Breeze
31. St. Louis Birdinals
32. Houston Aggies
Good luck this season to all!
1. Pawtucket Polythene
2. Kansas City Shuffle
3. Rochester Raging Rhinos
4. Colorado Springs AltiDUDES
5. Norfolk Nomads
6. Louisville Freezer Monkeys
7. Fargo Nines
8. Scranton Dunder-Mifflins
9. Cheyenne ChiliPeppers
10. Texas Tittyballs
11. Iowa City Kaysons
12. Chicago Smooth Horses
13. Charleston Rebels
14. New York Moon Shots
15. San Francisco Sourdoughs
16. Tuscon Turbocors
17. San Antonio Border Jumpers
18. Huntington Cousins
19. Memphis Hound Dawgs
20. Detroit Tigers
21. Charlotte knights
22. Scottsdale T's
23. Little Rock Big Rocks
24. Tampa Bay Tarpons
25. Atlanta City Slickers
26. Salem Dodgers
27. Fresno Fire Dragons
28. Burlington Chills
29. Cleveland Steamers
30. New Orleans Breeze
31. St. Louis Birdinals
32. Houston Aggies
Good luck this season to all!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
32 teams, 32(give or take) free agents
Atlanta City Slickers signed zero free agents.
Burlington Chills resigned RP Doug Hines to a two-year, $7.5 million contract. Hines pitched only 7 innings all of last season, and will be counted on to be a bigger contributor this season.
Charleston Rebels signed zero free agents.
Charlotte knights signed RP Gary Prior to a three-year, $10,8 million contract. Prior has a 4.75 career ERA in 216 ML innings, but had a career best 3.16 ERA last season.
Cheyenne Chilipeppers signed CF Darrell Hennessey to a two-year, $2.8 million contract. Hennessey has never played a game in the majors. He has 155 steals in 175 attempts in 497 career minor league games.
Chicago Smooth Horses resigned 3B Willie Skinner to a three-year, $26.5 million contract. Unable to sign Skinner, who is 4th in Sharkey's World history with 813 hits, during the allotted time, Chicago was forced to dish out more money to keep him away from other teams, a move necessary to get Chicago into the playoffs.
Cleveland Steamers signed 37 players to minor league contracts.
Colorado Springs AltiDUDES resigned SS James Dorsey to a one-year, $2.9 million contract. Dorsey has spent his entire career with Colorado Springs, batting .296 in 616 games. He batted over .320 in each of the first two seasons, and under .270 in each of the last two.
Detroit Tigers signed RP Deivi Machado to a three-year, $14.8 million contract with a $5.5 million signing bonus. The 35 year old Machado is 3rd in Sharkey's World history with 145 career saves.
Fargo Nines resigned C Eugene Washington to a one-year, $3.5 million contract. The 34 year old C has been Fargo's starter for three full seasons now, and statistically seems to be improving with age. He's excited to give it one more go with the Nines.
Fresno Fire Dragons signed C Dick Medina to a two-year, $3 million contract. The defensive catcher has excelled in his career, throwing out 114 batters while only allowing 11 passed balls in 4000 career innings.
Houston Aggies signed P Hideo Ishii to a three-year, $14.4 million contract. The 34 year old pitcher has slipped in recent years, having only 17 of his 50 career victories in the last 2 seasons. He still has the skills, though, and hopefully a change of league will bring out the best in him.
Huntington Cousins signed zero free agents.
Iowa City Kaysons signed 1B Richie McGowan to a one-year, $6 million contract with a $1 million signing bonus. The 31 year old had a career low 220 at bats last season after losing his starting job, but belted a career high 41 home runs in season 3, his last full season as a starter.
Kansas City Shuffle signed zero free agents.
Little Rock Big Rocks signed a Sharkey's World record 47 free agents.
Louisville Freezer Monkeys resigned SS Benito Jose to a three-year, $21.3 million contract. The 31 year old SS has a .322 average in three seasons as the Freezer Monkey's starting SS, while starting 475 of 486 games.
Memphis Hound Dawgs signed LF Pat Becker to a five-year, $49.3 million contract, with a $4.0 signing bonus, the largest contract handed out this FA period. The 30 year old led Norfolk to within one game of the World Series last season, batting .310 while scoring 14 runs in 15 postseason games.
New Orleans Breeze signed 2B Mark Jones to a five-year, $25 million contract. The 26 year old Jones hasn't been a ML starter in over two seasons, and only has a .253 career batting average. He's hoping a fresh start in the Big Easy will revitalize his career.
New York Moon Shots signed CF Cookie Nieves to a two-year, $5.6 million contract. After losing out on prize Pat Becker in the 11th hour, Moonshots GM was sent scrambling, and all things considered found himself with a nice bargain in the steadfast Nieves.
Norfolk Nomads signed RF Robert Franco to a one-year, $3.9 million contract. Also losing out in the Pat Becker sweepstakes, after failing to resign him before he became a FA, Norfolk found a steal of their own in the form of a 35 year old who has never batted lower than .306 or hit less than 20 home runs.
Pawtucket Polythene signed RP Louis Serrano to a one-year, $1.1 million contract. The 34 year old has a 3.67 career ERA in 199 innings, but only pitched 7 innings for Fargo last season.
Rochester Raging Rhinos signed P Woody O'Leary to a two-year, $5 million contract. O'Leary has a 40-28 record in 109 career starts, and gives Rochester flexibility with their 5th starter/long relief slots.
Salem Dodgers resigned CF Philip Petrov to a one year, $750,000 contract. The former All star had a 56 home run, 150 RBI season 3 years ago, but has steadily declined with age since then.
San Antonio Border Jumpers signed zero free agents.
San Francisco Sourdoughs signed RP Joe Baldwin to a two-year, $9.2 million contract. The pitcher won Fireman of the Year in season 1 while with San Fran, left for the big lights of Chicago in free agency, and now returns to San Fran to setup their latest Fireman of the Year, Brad O'Toole.
Scottsdale T's signed LF Carlos Gomez to a one-year, $3.5 million contract. The former Silver Slugger has 159 career round trippers, never having blasted less than 33 in a single season. He joins rookie GM Jlinch's young T's as a stop-gap in LF, in hopes of not letting KC run away with the division again.
Scranton Dunder-Mifflings sign C Jamey Brown to a one-year, $450,000 contract. The 35 year old catcher was out of baseball last season, and joins the team as a late inning defensive specialist.
St. Louis Birdnals sign P Darrel Cooper to a three-year, $15.6 million contract. Cooper is slated to be the Birdnals 5th starter. The 31 year old had an 11-8 record last year with Louisville as a long-relief pitcher, and hasn't been a fulltime starter since season one.
Tampa Bay Tarpons signed zero free agents.
Texas Tittyballs signed RP Wally Collins to a one-year, $2 million contract. The reigning NL South division champions finally focused on pitching this offseason, bringing in the 36 year old setup man, who had a 2.49 era last season, to help him in those late inning slugfests against rivals Tampa Bay & Memphis.
Tuscon Turbocors signed zero free agents.
Burlington Chills resigned RP Doug Hines to a two-year, $7.5 million contract. Hines pitched only 7 innings all of last season, and will be counted on to be a bigger contributor this season.
Charleston Rebels signed zero free agents.
Charlotte knights signed RP Gary Prior to a three-year, $10,8 million contract. Prior has a 4.75 career ERA in 216 ML innings, but had a career best 3.16 ERA last season.
Cheyenne Chilipeppers signed CF Darrell Hennessey to a two-year, $2.8 million contract. Hennessey has never played a game in the majors. He has 155 steals in 175 attempts in 497 career minor league games.
Chicago Smooth Horses resigned 3B Willie Skinner to a three-year, $26.5 million contract. Unable to sign Skinner, who is 4th in Sharkey's World history with 813 hits, during the allotted time, Chicago was forced to dish out more money to keep him away from other teams, a move necessary to get Chicago into the playoffs.
Cleveland Steamers signed 37 players to minor league contracts.
Colorado Springs AltiDUDES resigned SS James Dorsey to a one-year, $2.9 million contract. Dorsey has spent his entire career with Colorado Springs, batting .296 in 616 games. He batted over .320 in each of the first two seasons, and under .270 in each of the last two.
Detroit Tigers signed RP Deivi Machado to a three-year, $14.8 million contract with a $5.5 million signing bonus. The 35 year old Machado is 3rd in Sharkey's World history with 145 career saves.
Fargo Nines resigned C Eugene Washington to a one-year, $3.5 million contract. The 34 year old C has been Fargo's starter for three full seasons now, and statistically seems to be improving with age. He's excited to give it one more go with the Nines.
Fresno Fire Dragons signed C Dick Medina to a two-year, $3 million contract. The defensive catcher has excelled in his career, throwing out 114 batters while only allowing 11 passed balls in 4000 career innings.
Houston Aggies signed P Hideo Ishii to a three-year, $14.4 million contract. The 34 year old pitcher has slipped in recent years, having only 17 of his 50 career victories in the last 2 seasons. He still has the skills, though, and hopefully a change of league will bring out the best in him.
Huntington Cousins signed zero free agents.
Iowa City Kaysons signed 1B Richie McGowan to a one-year, $6 million contract with a $1 million signing bonus. The 31 year old had a career low 220 at bats last season after losing his starting job, but belted a career high 41 home runs in season 3, his last full season as a starter.
Kansas City Shuffle signed zero free agents.
Little Rock Big Rocks signed a Sharkey's World record 47 free agents.
Louisville Freezer Monkeys resigned SS Benito Jose to a three-year, $21.3 million contract. The 31 year old SS has a .322 average in three seasons as the Freezer Monkey's starting SS, while starting 475 of 486 games.
Memphis Hound Dawgs signed LF Pat Becker to a five-year, $49.3 million contract, with a $4.0 signing bonus, the largest contract handed out this FA period. The 30 year old led Norfolk to within one game of the World Series last season, batting .310 while scoring 14 runs in 15 postseason games.
New Orleans Breeze signed 2B Mark Jones to a five-year, $25 million contract. The 26 year old Jones hasn't been a ML starter in over two seasons, and only has a .253 career batting average. He's hoping a fresh start in the Big Easy will revitalize his career.
New York Moon Shots signed CF Cookie Nieves to a two-year, $5.6 million contract. After losing out on prize Pat Becker in the 11th hour, Moonshots GM was sent scrambling, and all things considered found himself with a nice bargain in the steadfast Nieves.
Norfolk Nomads signed RF Robert Franco to a one-year, $3.9 million contract. Also losing out in the Pat Becker sweepstakes, after failing to resign him before he became a FA, Norfolk found a steal of their own in the form of a 35 year old who has never batted lower than .306 or hit less than 20 home runs.
Pawtucket Polythene signed RP Louis Serrano to a one-year, $1.1 million contract. The 34 year old has a 3.67 career ERA in 199 innings, but only pitched 7 innings for Fargo last season.
Rochester Raging Rhinos signed P Woody O'Leary to a two-year, $5 million contract. O'Leary has a 40-28 record in 109 career starts, and gives Rochester flexibility with their 5th starter/long relief slots.
Salem Dodgers resigned CF Philip Petrov to a one year, $750,000 contract. The former All star had a 56 home run, 150 RBI season 3 years ago, but has steadily declined with age since then.
San Antonio Border Jumpers signed zero free agents.
San Francisco Sourdoughs signed RP Joe Baldwin to a two-year, $9.2 million contract. The pitcher won Fireman of the Year in season 1 while with San Fran, left for the big lights of Chicago in free agency, and now returns to San Fran to setup their latest Fireman of the Year, Brad O'Toole.
Scottsdale T's signed LF Carlos Gomez to a one-year, $3.5 million contract. The former Silver Slugger has 159 career round trippers, never having blasted less than 33 in a single season. He joins rookie GM Jlinch's young T's as a stop-gap in LF, in hopes of not letting KC run away with the division again.
Scranton Dunder-Mifflings sign C Jamey Brown to a one-year, $450,000 contract. The 35 year old catcher was out of baseball last season, and joins the team as a late inning defensive specialist.
St. Louis Birdnals sign P Darrel Cooper to a three-year, $15.6 million contract. Cooper is slated to be the Birdnals 5th starter. The 31 year old had an 11-8 record last year with Louisville as a long-relief pitcher, and hasn't been a fulltime starter since season one.
Tampa Bay Tarpons signed zero free agents.
Texas Tittyballs signed RP Wally Collins to a one-year, $2 million contract. The reigning NL South division champions finally focused on pitching this offseason, bringing in the 36 year old setup man, who had a 2.49 era last season, to help him in those late inning slugfests against rivals Tampa Bay & Memphis.
Tuscon Turbocors signed zero free agents.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
A Look at the Record Book through 4 Seasons
Let's take a look at Sharkey's World career leaders through 4 seasons:
Batting Average: .350 Tomas Hernandez (hit .377 for KC last year when he made just his first all star appearance surprisingly)
Hits: 864 Nicholas Bryant (career high 240 hits last year!)
Home Runs: 209 Steve Randolph (hit a career high 62 dingers last year for Scranton to overtake Troy Harper for the career lead. Harper has 207 for his career)
RBIs: 590 Steve Randolph (163 RBIs last year led Randolph to his 4th all star appearance and his 4th silver slugger 2B award. Will this be the year he wins the elusive MVP award?)
SBs: 367 Nicholas Bryant (with 170 more steals than the next highest, Bryant will probably hold this record for a LONG time)
Wins: 84 Dennys Shin (a 26-3 record en route to his first Cy Young award last year allowed Shin to overtake his KC teammate Orlando Javier's 83 career wins for the career lead)
Saves: 156 Martin Baek (Baek has made the all-star team for Scranton all 4 years of the league's existence and was rewarded with a new 5 year contract this off-season)
Batting Average Allowed: .230 Henry Mackowiak ("The Mack" came over to the NL in season 3 and picked up where he left off in the AL. Mackowiak is a 3 time all-star and won his first Cy Young award last year while helping Pawtucket to the WS title)
ERA: 2.57 Henry Mackowiak (Mackowiak posted a 1.96 ERA last year and is about a half run ahead of Charleston's Braden Maxwell and his 2.99 career ERA)
Strikeouts: 737 Joshua Beamon (Despite missing a number of starts last year due to elbow surgery, Beamon held on to his career strikeout lead with 154 K's last year)
Most MVP awards: 3 (Seasons 2, 3, and 4)
How will the record book look at the conclusion of season 5? The season kicks off in a little over a week...stay tuned!
Batting Average: .350 Tomas Hernandez (hit .377 for KC last year when he made just his first all star appearance surprisingly)
Hits: 864 Nicholas Bryant (career high 240 hits last year!)
Home Runs: 209 Steve Randolph (hit a career high 62 dingers last year for Scranton to overtake Troy Harper for the career lead. Harper has 207 for his career)
RBIs: 590 Steve Randolph (163 RBIs last year led Randolph to his 4th all star appearance and his 4th silver slugger 2B award. Will this be the year he wins the elusive MVP award?)
SBs: 367 Nicholas Bryant (with 170 more steals than the next highest, Bryant will probably hold this record for a LONG time)
Wins: 84 Dennys Shin (a 26-3 record en route to his first Cy Young award last year allowed Shin to overtake his KC teammate Orlando Javier's 83 career wins for the career lead)
Saves: 156 Martin Baek (Baek has made the all-star team for Scranton all 4 years of the league's existence and was rewarded with a new 5 year contract this off-season)
Batting Average Allowed: .230 Henry Mackowiak ("The Mack" came over to the NL in season 3 and picked up where he left off in the AL. Mackowiak is a 3 time all-star and won his first Cy Young award last year while helping Pawtucket to the WS title)
ERA: 2.57 Henry Mackowiak (Mackowiak posted a 1.96 ERA last year and is about a half run ahead of Charleston's Braden Maxwell and his 2.99 career ERA)
Strikeouts: 737 Joshua Beamon (Despite missing a number of starts last year due to elbow surgery, Beamon held on to his career strikeout lead with 154 K's last year)
Most MVP awards: 3 (Seasons 2, 3, and 4)
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How will the record book look at the conclusion of season 5? The season kicks off in a little over a week...stay tuned!
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