AROUND THE DIAMOND IN THE ABL WEEK 8 6/2/16

BIG STORY: The 27th Annual ABL All-Star Break is upon us. Game play for the 2nd half may begin now as the drive begins for the coveted Bambino Cup Championship. Enjoy the fun and excitement as the ABL celebrates the great game of baseball.

2016 ABL STANDINGS

NATIONAL W L GB PCT RS RA AWAY HOME DIV VS AD Mudville 10 8 -- .556 88 79 2-4 8-4 4-4 6-4 Titusville 10 8 -- .556 98 83 1-3 9-5 6-2 4-6 Tallahassee 8 10 2 .444 82 102 5-7 3-3 3-5 5-5 Chesapeake Bay 8 10 2 .444 95 89 4-6 4-4 3-5 5-5

AMERICAN W L GB PCT RS RA AWAY HOME DIV VS ND Long Beach 12 4 -- .750 85 68 5-2 7-2 8-2 4-2 Ocracoke 10 8 3 .556 89 82 2-4 7-3 6-4 3-3 Syracuse 9 11 5 .450 86 92 7-4 2-7 4-6 5-5 Manahawkin 7 10 5.5 .412 82 92 4-8 3-2 4-5 3-5 La Jolla 6 11 6.5 .353 67 85 3-7 3-4 2-7 4-4

X-PLAYOFF SPOT Y-DIVISION Z- TIED FOR PLAYOFF SPOT, ONE GAME SHOWDOWNS

DEADLINES: Play Week begins June 3rd Recap and Score Sheets due June 13th 8 p.m. est.

SCORES LBI 6 SYR 3 LBI 4 SYR 3 CB 2 OC 1 OC 3 CB 2 TV 8 MAN 0 TV 5 MAN 0 LJ 5 MUD 3 MUD 10 LJ 3

2016 ABL TEAMS AND MANAGERS: National Division Chesapeake Bay Channel Cats(27th Season) Scott “Commish” Allen (Defending Champions) Tallahassee Terriers(26th Season) Don “Legend” Allen Jr. Titusville Perfectos(9th Season) Lennart “Lenny” Saaf Mudville Nine(2nd Season) Casey "The Kid" Allen

American Division Long Beach Island Starfish(14th Season) Jim “Skibby” Bomysoad Syracuse Hazard(12th Season) Jason “Coop” Cupelo Ocracoke Blackbeards(9th Season) Duran “Stole” Allen Manahawkin Pelicans(8th Season) Michael Saaf La Jolla Juggernaut(2nd Season) Kevin “Eradicator” Waters

ABL 2016 IP’S Tallahassee 15 Titusville 15 Syracuse 15 Long Beach Island 15 Chesapeake Bay 15 La Jolla 15 Manahawkin 15 Ocracoke 13 Mudville 12

ROLLING DICE?? ( Q and A with Game Play Notes) (PLEASE TAKE NOTE) (Italic are present in the current charts)

st rd 1. What happens if runners are on 1 and 3 and DP is rolled? Can the manager not take the DP to rd prevent the runner from scoring from 3 ?

ANSWER: Yes. The manager has the option to go for the DP or just take the RG (If Infield is in) to keep rd the runner scoring from 3 . The Runner from 1 st base advances to 2 nd base.

SKIBBY’S SPOTLIGHT: Skibby’s Spotlight – Zika Virus Free since Forever

Welcome to the post All-Star break, pre second half Spotlight, where there are still no signs of the Zika virus anywhere, so I’m one up on the 2016 Summer Olympics. Speaking of summer, it is finally here in upstate NY, where temperatures the 90’s this Memorial Day weekend. Warm weather, teams making moves, tight standings; all these combine to make a very exciting start to the 2 nd half of the ABL season!

MLB Notes • is ridiculous. 100 and 5 walks this year. I wonder if he looks at the record books and just says “I want that one this year” and then takes it. Dude had more CG shutouts than walks in May. Greatest of this generation hands down. No argument. You can try. You’re just wrong. Vin Scully and I say so. • Friday this past week the White Sox were in first place in the AL Central. Saturday the Indians took it. And then on Sunday the Royals took it. I think there’s gonna be a race before this is over in the AL Central. • As of Monday morning, there are 4 players with .351 batting averages (Boegarts, V-Mart, Zorilla, and the Juicin Jew). • Which will be a larger value this year: The Cubs positive differential (128), or the Reds negative run differential (110)? Which value is more difficult to maintain as a year goes on? • When will the Pirates petition MLB to switch divisions? • Did Johnny Peralta lose his starting gig without ever touching the field this year? Rookie Aledmys Diaz is currently sporting the 4 th best batting average in the NL, and is on pace for 46 doubles and 21 home runs. Might be hard to pull the kid out of the lineup. • : Not so quietly putting up MVP numbers in his final MLB season. • Manny Machado and : Quietly leading their respective leagues in WAR. • Is there any way could be an AL Cy Young candidate? This time last year he was bouncing between the minors and Indy ball at the age of 35. After a dominant September in Beantown, he’s dealing for the A’s and has put up front line starter numbers at age 36. Does the Cy Young candidacy depend on where Oakland deals him before the trade deadline since he’s only on a one year deal? • Did Baltimore do something to wrong Mookie Betts? Betts became the first leadoff hitter in Soxes history to hit 3 bombs out of the leadoff spot. (Unfortunately for the manager of the Starfish, 2 of 3 off ). Editor’s Note: He has now hit two more on Wednesday evening, and is threatening to become the first player in MLB history to have back to back 3 HR games. • Will the real Matt Harvey please stand up? No really, either pitch that well all the time, or be garbage all the time. The fans need to have expectations sir and you are messing with our emotions! • There are currently 19 starting with ERAs north of 5.00. Amongst them are three Cy Young winners (Price, Keuchel, Peavy), several former top prospects (Pineda, Moore, Ventura, Harvey), and savvy veterans (Wainwright, Hughes, Buchholz, Jimenez, Weaver, Sanchez). Pineda is league worst and approaching a 7.00 ERA (currently 6.92) and I wonder if more of these players will get the Buchholz treatment and shifted to the to work through their issues before reentering the rotation. Editor’s Note : Evidently I jinxed Anibal “ATM” Sanchez, as he is now heading to the Tiger’s bullpen to work through his issues. 2nd Editor’s Note: has decided not to be outdone, giving up 7 earned in 2.1 innings tonight, to raise his ERA to 8.46, by far worst for qualified starter. 3rd Editor’s Note: After his debacle last night, Joe Kelly promptly got demoted to AAA to try and work out his issues there. • There are three teams (Titusville [32], Chesapeake Bay [30], and Long Beach Island [26]) with more home runs [21] than the . I’M READY FOR THE BIG LEAGUES COACH! • #RIP ’s baseball career. Mr. Howard set a new record for offensive futility in a month, batting a WHOPPING .101 with 3 home runs. The .101 average is worst ever for a starter in a month. Mookie Betts had 3 home runs yesterday. I believe it’s time to see your self out Mr. Howard.

Positive Run Differential Wins Games – Rarely a more obvious statement made. There are currently 5 ABL teams with a positive run differential, and 4 of the 5 have a winning record (Apologies to the Channel Cats, at 8-10). What I find curious as I look into the numbers, the top two teams in run differential (Long Beach Island at +17 and Titusville at +15) is the differential between their runs and earned runs. LBI has allowed only 2 unearned runs, and Titusville has only allowed 3. The next two teams in run differential, Mudville (+9) and Ocracoke (+7) have allowed 13 unearned runs. No surprise these teams are near the top of the league lead in errors allowed (Ocracoke at 15, leads league, and Mudville at 12, in third).

As teams seek to improve their ball clubs, is defense an oft-overlooked piece of the puzzle in the ABL?

First Half Storylines / Into Second Half Storylines • Year of the – Getting roughed up edition! In the MLB in 2015, the league average ERA was 3.96. So far in the ABL, using those cards/stats, the league average ERA is 4.47. Are the qualities of our lineups better than the lineups pitchers are facing in MLB? This could be part of it, and granted, it’s a MUCH smaller sample size (as teams have played approx. 1/9 th of the MLB season right now). • The league average WHIP in MLB last season was 1.29, whereas in the ABL so far we’re at 1.40. Only two teams, just like with ERA, are at or below that MLB average. • The league average batting average was .254 in MLB last year. Currently in the ABL we sit at .273. I think this may answer the aforementioned ERA question indirectly. #AllStarRosters • Teams making moves – There has been an increase in trading going on, with a 10 player deal and a pair of 6 player deals since the last play week and during the break. Are these teams looking to “shake things up” or the signs of teams beginning to retool looking toward next season? • Tallahassee’s home runs allowed pace has slowed dramatically, as at one point they were projected to allow 105 home runs. As of right now, they are on pace for only 64, which I’m sure is about 50 more than the Terrier’s manager would like. Maybe next year… • Presently LBI and C-Bay are leading the league in HR hit vs. HR allowed differential at +14. As with run differential, only 4 teams are positive in this stat as well (Titusville is +6 and Syracuse is +1). • Is Brandon Belt MVP worthy? Currently leading the percentage triple crown, and the counting stats are in top 5 order. George Springer is right behind him in all 3 categories so it should be an interesting MVP race if the numbers hold here. • How impressive is this rookie class? Addy Russell is top 3 in batting and leading the league in doubles. is 4 th in slugging, 2 nd in doubles and triples. Kris Bryant 4 th in home runs and won the All-Star Game MVP. Lance McCullers is top 5 in WHIP and ERA. 2nd in RBIs. Kyle Schwarber 4 th in OBP and 4 th in home runs. Voting for rookie of the year may be difficult this year. • Can Welington Castillo or keep hittin the long balls and hold on for the crown, or will someone like Harper or Cespedes sneak in and swipe it? Or will it be one of the 5 guys tied for 4 th ? Or a player to be named later? • Which will happen first: Manahawkin hitting a triple, or Manahawkin stealing a base? #buckwillNOTbeproud • Which will happen first: C-Bay starter going the distance, or a Titusville starter going the distance, as they’re the only teams without a ? #AntManwillNOTbeproud • Will Addy Russell keep his first half pace going? • Will C-Bay’s and/or Tallahassee’s pitching get them back into the division title race? • Will anyone separate themselves in the NL race? • Is it too late for La Jolla to make a move and get in the race? • Can Manahawkin take a team not allowed to make moves and move into a playoff spot? #DoItForStevo • Which team will make the surprising all in move once picks can be traded?

Break Time – The All-Star break may be over, but it’s time to put this episode of the spotlight down. Hope everyone enjoyed listening to the All-Star game and enjoyed the little midseason break, but it’s time to get back to business and push towards the Bambino Cup!

FUTURE ABL MANAGERS: Reminder to all managers that if you find someone interested in baseball let’s get them started in the ABL Developmental Plan playing practice games. Contact the Commish for a sample set of cards/charts and start teaching the ABL’s next Billy Martin the excitement of tabletop baseball.

ABL Developmental Plan Guidelines: At a minimum new perspective managers must complete the following: 1. Two practice games with an ABL Manager with score sheets. 2. One practice game with an ABL Manager on the dice roller. 3. Total of three practice games must be completed with ABL Managers. 4. Then the new perspective manager should request an ABL Expansion Application. 5. Finally the new perspective manager should pay the $60 operational fee once their ABL Expansion Application is approved.

TRANSACTION REPORT: 5/10 TAXI TEAM: Ocracoke sent down Anthony Rendon.

5/13 TAXI TEAM: Tallahassee sent down Yasmany Tomas and called up Adrian Beltre.

TAXI TEAM: Titusville sent down Enrique Hernandez and called up Rougned Odor.

FREE AGENT: Chesapeake Bay picked up Matt Albers(RP) and dropped Jose Alvarez(RP).

TAXI TEAM: Chesapeake Bay sent down David Murphy.

5/15 TRADE: To Tallahassee: Felix Hernandez, Chi Chi Gonzalez, Ryan Braun, Jean Segura, Chris Coghlan. To Mudville: Hunter Strickland, , Michael Brantley, Adeiny Hechavarria, .

TAXI TEAM: Tallahassee sent down Chris Coghlan, Jean Segura and called up Starlin Castro, Pedro Alvarez.

TAXI TEAM: Mudville sent down Cory Spangenberg, .

5/19 FREE AGENT: Ocracoke picked up Seven Wright(RP), J.A. Happ(SP), Jason Motte(RP) and dropped Luis Avilan(RP), Vincent Velasquez(SP), Ian Kennedy(SP).

TAXI TEAM: Ocracoke sent down Steven Wright, Arquimedes Caminero, .

5/25 TRADE: To Syracuse: Shelby Miller, . To Ocracoke: , Logan Morrison.

TAXI TEAM: Ocracoke sent down Freddy Galvis, Anthony DeSclafani.

5/27 TAXI TEAM: Syracuse sent down Matt Holliday.

5/29 TRADE: To Syracuse: Luis Valbuena, Pedro Alvarez, Adrian Beltre. To Tallahassee: Lucas Duda, Martin Prado, Jake Lamb.

TAXI TEAM: Syracuse sent down Pedro Alvarez, Hansel Robles.

INJURY REPORT: PLAYER TEAM GAMES ACTIVE WEEK? OFF/IR J. Fields(Suspended) MUD 5 GM-95 10

RECAPS OF ABL BASEBALL: Manahawkin at Titusville Game One Titusville 8 Manahawkin 0 After many games played against each other, the Saaf Brothers faced each other in a competitive ABL situation for the first time. Game One was all Titusville from the git-go. Two singles, two walks, and an error yielded two runs in the bottom of the first. The Perfectos doubled up in the second when Lind hit a two-run shot off Jordan Zimmerman. With a 4-0 lead Clay Buchholz settled in and pitched a seven-inning gem. The Pelicans could manage only four hits off the starter, and only twice did a baserunner reach second base. The Perfectos piled it on in the fifth with three runs off three doubles, the third from Buchholz. Bruce Harper added a solo to make it 8-0, which was the final.

R H E LOB MAN 000 000 000 0 5 1 6 TV 220 031 00x 8 11 0 7

TV PITCHING Buchholz 7 (WIN) Hoover 2

MAN PITCHING Zimmerman 7 (LOSS) Janssen 1

Injuries: none

Game Two Titusville 5 Manahawkin 0 The Titusville offense continued their hot streak in the beginning of Game Two via the long ball. Cespedes started the proceedings in the bottom of the first with a solo home run off the Deep chart. Pelican starter Bartolo Colon must have pulled something as he turned to watch the ball rocket out of the park, because he immediately left the game via the dreaded elbow twinge. All was not lost for Manahawkin, however, since the bullpen would have plenty of time to rest over the All Star break. But Yimi Garcia ran into a Perfecto Power Problem in the third. Harper hit a two-run blast, and, after Cespedes lined out, Encarnacion and Pence went back-to-back to make it 5-0 Perfectos. The Pel's pen held the Perfectos down for the last five innings, but their hitting attack was as ineffective in Game Two as it was in Game One. Perfecto Gerrit Cole pitched a seven-inning gem, just like his teammate Buchholz had done earlier. Cole, who struggled in his previous starts, struck out ten and walked only one. After Nick Markakis slammed into the wall in the bottom of the eighth and had to leave the game, Manhawkin was out of right fielders, so the Pels manager sent Prince Fielder to prowl the outfield. The very next batter rolled a possible error to… Prince Fielder, of course! Prince lived up to his last name and made the catch, which was met with a standing ovation by the Titusville fans.

R H E LOB MAN 000 000 000 0 5 0 6 TV 104 000 00x 5 9 0 4

TV PITCHING Cole 7 (WIN) Harris 2

MAN PITCHING Colon 0.2 (LOSS) Garcia 2 Janssen 1.1 Benoit 3 Papelbon 1

Injuries: Colon 1 game (Crazy Play 167), Markakis 1 game (Crazy Play 798)

Thanks for making the time, Bro. Too bad you were "the bug" in the series. See you in Week 16.

Mudville at La Jolla This is the continuing saga of The Eradicator and Juggernaut in “The Quest For 10”. Today's episode, The Thrive for Five. Juggernaut! Juggernaut! Juggernaut! Juggernaut! Such was the chanting of the faithful. After improbable 4 game split against the Commish, it is back to the witchcraft that is the roller. It vexes The Eradicator. It comes to him in my dreams and laughs at him. Juggernaut has not one a game on the roller. And they face the roller king and 1 st place, Mudville Nine.

Does Pujols hit anything but Home Run? Game #1 Cueto and Richard settle in for what would turn out to be a pitchers duel with the exception of one inning. Top of the 5 th Cueto had only given a to Russell in the 3 rd . Oujols leads off the inning with a donger. Cueto handles Draun, Granderson and Russell. 1 to 0 the Nine. Bottom of the 6 th and Gordon flies to center, Span gets on via an mishandled ground ball by Russell. Span steals second. Abreu singles him in to tie the score. Sano K's. Francouer singles. Kemp goes deep for a 3 run shot. Chirinos makes it back to back. Bogaerts singles and Some guy named Chris grounds to 2 nd to end the inning. 5 to 1 good guys. Granted all unearned but The Eradicator will take it. Top of the 7 th and after Trout strikesout, Schrwarber singles and the machine, Pujols, leaves the park with a towering 2 run smash. Braun is handled. Granderson singles and The Eradicator's sphincter starts to pucker. Russel starikesout and the threat is over. 5 to 3 Juggernaut. Street pitches a perfect 8th . Jansen pitches a perfect 9 th to allow La Jolla to get their first win on the roller.

R H E LOB Mudville 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 3 5 2 2 La Jolla 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 5 7 0 4

Pitching Mudville L Richards 6 Chafin 1 Jepsen 1

Injuries None

Pitching La Jolla W Cueto 7 Street 1 S Jansen 1

Injuries None

Mudville bats come alive and Lewis dominates to earn the split Game #2 Top of the 2 nd Granderson hits a 1 out home run to give the Nine the early lead at 1 to 0. Bottom of the 2 nd and Sano hits a solo shot to tie the game at 1. Mudville was not done. Top of the 3 rd Escobar singles. Kipnes walks. Schwarber walks. Trout hits a 2 rbi . Pujols flies to center. Schwarber strikesout and Granderson grounds to Gordon to end the inning. 3 to 1 Mudville. Schwarber goes deep in the 5 th . 4 to 1. Qualls comes in to pitch the 7 th and is treated like he is pitching batting practice. Lewis has only given up one hit, Sano's HR in the 2 nd . Kipnis singles. Schwarber flies to center. Trout hits a home run scoring Kipnis as well. Pujols flies out. Spangenburg follows suit. Bottom of the 7 th Sano strikesout. Francoeur walks. Chafin is brought in. Kemp doubles. Chirinos grounds to 3 rd . Bogaerts hit a ball to Kipnis and he can't handle it allowing Francouer to score. Denorfia is sent down. 6 to 2 Mudville. Top of the 8 th . Granderson singles. Russell flies to center. Norris flies to center. Escobar singles. Kipnis singles scoring Granderson. Schwarber clears the bases with a home run after going deep of the “Lenny” chart. Home field advantage chart? Trout strikesout. 10 to 2 Mudville. Bottom of the 8 th Rondon on the mound. Gordon gets a triple out of a misplayed ball by Trout. Span flies to right. Abreau singles to score Gordon. Sano hits into an inning ending double play. That is all of the scoring as Qualls and Rondon pitch scoreless 9 th innings. Mudville wins 10 to 3.

R H E LOB Mudville 0 1 2 0 1 0 2 4 0 10 13 1 6 La Jolla 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 5 0 5

Pitching Mudville W Lewis 6 .1 Chafin .2 Rondon 2

Injuries None

Pitching La Jolla L Hammel 6 Qualls 3

Injuries None

Thanks for the games, Casey. Good luck and I will see you at the final series of the season.

Ocracoke at Chesapeake Bay Peralta goes deep as Cats hold on to victory Game # 1 Iglesias vs. Gibson Blackbeards invade the yard before the break as the Cats extended the 3 rd inning on newcomer’s Cease Hernandez error. David Peralta went deep at the Cats take a 2-0 lead. Cats held a 2-0 lead until the 8 th inning as Andre Either plated Duffy on a RBI ground out. Beards put two runners on in the 9 th but Joakim Soria came in and struck out Duffy and induced a pop out to Posey to nail down the save.

R H E LOB OC 000 000 010 1 7 1 10 C-Bay 002 000 00X 2 5 0 6

Pitching OC L Iglesias 6.0 Grimm 1.0 Smith .1 Knebel .2

Injuries: None

C-Bay W Gibson 5.0 Gilmartin .2 Storen 1.1 Allen 1.1 S Soria .2

Injuries: Belt (HBP) (6 th ) (Out of the Game)

OC comes all the way back and Buster goes deep in 9th for thrilling win to earn split Game # 2 Strasburg vs. Fiers Strasburg was dealing a for four innings for the Blackbeards. Bottom of the 5 th , Duffy makes an error followed by a Belt single and Cesar Hernandez error to load the bases. David Peralta ripped a gcf single and two runners score. All the Cats run in the series were unearned runs. Beards held scoreless until the top of the 7 th inning and Fowler drew a walk. After two outs, All-Star George Springer ripped a single to pull within a run. Brad Miller laced a single later in the inning to tie the game at two. Top of the 9 th with Soria still in the game, Buster Posey leads off the inning with a deep blast to left. Grimm and Uehara hold the Cats to a perfect 9 th to earn the split.

R H E LOB OC 000 000 201 3 8 2 11 C-Bay 000 020 000 2 4 0 5

Pitching OC Strasburg 5.0 Knebel 2.0 W Grimm 1.2 S Uehara .1

Injuries: None

C-Bay Fiers 5.0 Gilmartin .2 Strop .2 L Soria 2.2

Injuries: None

Duran, nice time rolling. Looking forward to seeing you in person soon!

Long Beach Island at Syracuse Game 1 Carasco v. Lester. Maikel Franco gave this game the appearance of being a lot closer than it was with a 2-run shot in the bottom of the 9th. In reality the Starfish had this thing in control from the 3rd inning on when Jose Bautista would walk with the bases loaded to bring in the 2nd LBI run. 10 of Carasco's first 12 outs were recorded via the K and no Hazard batters would score until the bottom of the 8th when Miggy would motor home on a wild pitch, at that point Skibby and the Starfish already led 5-0. Solo shots from Mooooooookie Betts and Alex Gordon would help to keep the Hazard out of the win column in this game.

PIT LBI Carasco - W - 8 IP Ziegler - 1 IP

CUSE Lester - L - 9 IP

No injuries

Game 2 Price v. Wacha The Starfish would get on the board in the top of the 2nd when Kris Bryant would drive in 2, the Hazard would get one of those back in the bottom half on a Dudameister rbi single. The Fish would add a run in the top fo the 3rd with an Adrian Gonzalez single to push it to 3-1. The score would sit there until the 6th when Francisco (that's fun to say!!) Cervelli would drive in Miggy on a triple, and would come in to score on Maikel Franco groundout. The score would stay tied until AJ Pollock would launch a solo home run off Felipe Rivero in the top of the 9th. The Hazard would go down in order against Jeurys Familia and the Starfish would preserve the 4-3 win.

PIT LBI Price - 6 IP Gausman - W - 2 IP Familia - S - 1 IP

CUSE Wacha - 6 IP Baez - 2 IP Rivero - L - 1 IP

No Injuries

Thanks for coming to roll at the casa di Owego Skibby, we'll see you at the end of the season!

ABL PITCHING STATUS: Chesapeake Bay Martinez Rested deGrom Rested Gibson Rest 1 game Fiers Rest 2 games Corbin Rested Bullpen: Rested

Tallahassee Garcia Rested Harvey Rested Bumgarner Rested Liriano Rested Rodriguez Rested Bullpen: Rested

Titusville Sale Rested Buchholz Rest 1 game Cole Rest 2 games Iwakuma Rested Gallardo Rested Bullpen: Rested

Mudville Lewis Rest 2 games Arrieta Rested Estrada Rested Bauer Rested Richards Rest 1 game Bullpen: Fields Suspended Rested

Long Beach Island Carrasco Rest 1 game Price Rest 2 games Kluber Rested McCullers Rested Heaney Rested Bullpen: Rested

Syracuse Scherzer Rested Greinke Rested Hamels Rested Lester Rest 1 game Miller Rested Bullpen: Rested

Ocracoke Keuchel Rested Iglesias Rest 1 game Strasburg Rest 2 games Happ Rested Wacha Rest 2 games Bullpen: Rested

Manahawkin Syndergaard Rested McHugh Rested Zimmerman Rest 1 game Colon Rest 2 games Lackey Rested Bullpen: Rested

La Jolla Kershaw Rested Cueto Rest 1 game Hammel Rest 2 games Haren Rested Santana Rested Bullpen: Rested

A LOOK AHEAD IN THE ABL: WEEK 9 JUNE 3 - JUNE 12 RESULTS D.M./V. MAN SITE MGR NL/AL D/N 81 OCRACOKE LA JOLLA DURAN KEVIN AL NIGHT 82 OCRACOKE LA JOLLA DAY 83 OCRACOKE LA JOLLA DAY 84 MANAHAWKIN CHESAPEAKE BAY MICHAEL COMMISH NL NIGHT 85 MANAHAWKIN CHESAPEAKE BAY NIGHT 86 MUDVILLE SYRACUSE CASEY COOP AL NIGHT 87 MUDVILLE SYRACUSE NIGHT 88 TALLAHASSEE LONG BEACH DON JR. SKIBBY AL NIGHT 89 TALLAHASSEE LONG BEACH NIGHT BYE TITUSVILLE

Series Previews – Week 9 Edition

The All-Star game and break has come and gone, and now we will officially kick off the 2 nd half of the 2016 ABL season. Two games separate the top and bottom of the National Division, so there will be quite the interesting race going on there. Is Tallahassee in full on seller mode, or just retooling a little bit to make a run? They have managed their assets well so far, though they may have made Mudville the team to beat recently. Time will tell. The AL picture is a little clearer with more separation between the 12-4 Starfish and the 6-11 JUGGERNAUT. There are still only 2 teams with winning records in the AL and not much separation from 2 nd to 5 th . Will parity reign supreme? Are the retooled Blackbeards and Hazard aiming for the Starfish? Can the Pelicans make some noise two years in a row without making a trade? All this, AND MORE, in the 2 nd half of the 2016 ABL Season! Stay tuned folks!

Series 1 – Ocracoke Blackbeards (10-8) vs. La Jolla Juggernaut (6-11) This is a 3 game series

Ocracoke will travel across the country to face off against the JUGGERNAUT to kick off the 2 nd half.

Ocracoke has been getting by on their pitching, and made some moves to improve it or shake it up. Easily gone is Shelby Miller (I bet Arizona wishes it was that easy for them) in a swap for Michael Wacha who was struggling in Cuse; also in is reliever Jason Motte who will hold down the middle innings I presume, and pick up J.A. Happ. Not bad adjustments for the team with the 2 nd best ERA in the league. The bullpen has shouldered the load when called upon, as the mainstays in the ‘pen all have ERAs under 3.00, which is what any manager would want when picking up the phone to the bullpen. Offensively they are still being carried by All-Stars Springer, Posey, and Altuve, with solid contributions from Zimm and Ethier. Will Ortiz remember how to hit something other than doubles? 9 doubles are nice, but not when that’s all you’ve got! Defensively the Blackbeards have been riding the struggle bus, leading the league in errors with 15, and as mentioned in the spotlight, leading to 13 unearned runs along the way. Will Ocracoke improve defensively and get Papi’s old ass contributing before his ABL Swan Song season next year?

JUGGERNAUT welcome the Blackbeards, hoping to progress on their 10 win goal, and maybe a shot of getting back into the playoff race. First item of business may be getting their underperforming rotation on track. Even Kershaw’s numbers are not as dominant as one would believe they should be. With the team ERA north of 5.00, the JUGGERNAUT may need to make some plans to use the ‘pen a little more and swing that in a better direction. Offensively the power stroke has improved, with All-Star Jose Abreu leading the way and Matt Kemp helping lead the charge. Looking at the offensive side, the law of averages states that Denard Span is going to break out of his slump eventually. With a card like that, we’re not going to be able to hold him down all year long. Miguel Sano has found a bit of his power stroke, and fans must be hoping this is a sign of good things to come, as they’ll be facing a tough staff in Ocracoke this week.

Division foes in a crucial matchup for both teams will make for some exciting ABL action in this three game set.

Series 2 – Manahawkin Pelicans (7-10) vs. Chesapeake Bay Channel Cats (8-10)

The Channel Cats will welcome the Pelicans to the Bay area, though facing a different manager than usual.

The Pelicans fans have got to be hoping that Benoiterface’s struggles in the All-Star game do not carry over to the regular season. The big 3 in the pen of Papelbon, Benoit, and Melancon have been lights out for the Pels so far, which is good because the rest of the staff has struggled a bit. John Lackey has been the best starter overall so far, though JZimm is not far behind. Can Thor find his way back from Asgard and start throwing heat in the ABL so the Pelicans can make a playoff run? Offensively the team is being led by Canadian Joey Votto, who made another All-Star appearance this year. Surprising about the Pels this year is the lack of doubles power, considering the team lived and won without the long ball last year. The new manager seems to have been able to motivate Votto to All-Star status and Matty Crapenter to start hitting above the Mendoza line, so maybe the rookie manager can keep this momentum going and make a playoff push.

Has Brandon Belt made C-Bay fans forget that Mike Stanton exists? Belt and Turner are doing everything in their power to make sure that fans leave a C-Bay game happy. Bet no one thought that sentence would ever be written. “Oh, you’ve got Cano, Correa, and Stanton? Who’s doing best on your team? Brandon Belt? Who’s that?” Yeah, that’s how the convo would go with a casual baseball fan. Or even some more veteran baseball fans for that matter. Here in the ABL, we know that Brandon Belt is the real deal and if awards were handed out now, may be your ABL MVP for 2016. But they’re not and he’ll have to continue to lead the Channel Cats down the winning path. Can moonlight as a pitching coach and show the rest of the starting staff how to get it done? I don’t think anyone would have predicted in the preseason that Gibson would be leading the team in ERA and the deGrominant one would be last in team ERA. Getting two of the 4 remaining starters may be the key for the ‘Cats to stay in the playoff hunt this year.

Two feisty teams looking to stay in the playoff race before one of them could have the opportunity to sell.

Series 3 – Mudville Nine (10-8) vs. Syracuse Hazard (9-11)

Two teams with recent acquisitions will look to get off on the right foot in the 2 nd half.

Mudville recently acquired some talent and can at least for one week avoid putting the Schwarb in behind the plate with new LF Michael Brantley pushing him behind the dish on a full time basis. Can the ageless wonder Albert Pujols keep hitting bomb after bomb for the Nine? Will Justin Bour eat into his playing time at first? Trying to find at bats for too much talent is a nice problem to have. Another very nice problem to have is sporting the best pitching staff in the ABL. Tops in league in ERA and 2 nd in WHIP, these guys have been tough all year. Add in some dominant trade pieces in Blazek and Strickland and I think the Nine might be all in this year. The rotation led by MLB Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta looks solid, but will they still try to acquire another piece to solidify their rotation?

Hazard fans have to wonder what the deal is right now. Star studded rotation. Star studden lineup. And their retooling? Greinke has been as good as advertised and Hamels has been very good, but Scherzer and Lester are both above 5.60 ERAs right now, Michael Wacha found himself on a train to nowhere (Ocracoke) with Lucas Duda who had been struggling offensively, and got a return of Shelby Miller, who Coop is hoping enjoys the chance of scenery. The bullpen has been mostly solid (apologies to Hansel Robles) and may need to see an uptick in appearances for a teal leading the league in complete games, but at least 6 of them are losses (2 for Scherzer, 4 for Lester). The Hazard are starting to get more aggressive on the base paths, and Miggy is still hitting over .300 but missing the power he used to have. The Hazard can get guys on, but getting guys around has been a problem at times. Francisco Cervelli (he’s right, it is fun to say) leads the league in triples, because why the hell not? The next few weeks will be telling if the Hazard are going to continue to “shake things up” or say “f-it, blow it up” as the draft pick trading nears.

Series 4 – Tallahassee Terriers (8-10) vs. Long Beach Island Starfish (12-4)

The Terriers make the trip north to have some fun in the sun and the sand, as if their manager isn’t getting enough of that already.

Because I’m all about fun stats, and both of these relate to the Terriers: in his last 192 MLB at bats: 11 home runs. in his last 169 ABs: 11 home runs. Hurray for fun with numbers. At this point I don’t think the Terriers care which player is hittin the bombs, as long as one of them starts doing it! Rizzo’s ABL year has been approaching the Mendoza line, and I wonder if he’s maybe made a few adjustments during the break. The Terriers made a few, sending a total of approx. 1/3 rd of their roster elsewhere before we can even move draft picks. Apparently my pleas to veto this due to my laziness were ignored. Rookie Randal Grichuk and unsung hero/All-Star Wellington Castillo will carry the load down the stretch along with newly minted Terrier Lucas Duda to start hittin the bombs. Maybe Mr. Bonds can come in and give some instructs how to play the Terrier way. The pitching struggles have been well documented, but there are less balls leaving the ball park for Terriers opponents these days. Will the King of the Felix’s step into the rotation and add some balance to the rotation and show the kids how it’s done with that ol’ veteran presence? Terriers fans might enjoy the change of pace.

LBI rolls in with the fewest games played, so does that make them the most rested? The Klubot has been carrying the rotation, and Gausman, Ziegler, and Familia doing the heavy lifting out of the bullpen. Kluber looks to keep his solid 2016 going in the right direction this week. Leading the starters in WHIP and in ERA has been huge to the team with Bambino Cup aspirations. The offense has been solid yet unspectacular, with multiple players stepping up at different times to boost the team to victory. 10 different ‘fish have gone yard this year, with Mookie Betts becoming the most recent addition to the list. Can Kris Bryant use his All-Star MVP award as motivation to push to a win of the rookie of the year title? Since AJ Pollock has arrived in the #2 spot the ‘fish have been more consistent on offense and will look to carry that on as they move through the 2 nd half of the ABL season.

The Terriers will look to hold their ground in the standings against the ‘fish in a tough interleague matchup this week.

Bye Week – Titusville Perfectos (10-8) – The Perfectos draw the bye week coming out of the All-Star break for some extra pitching staff resting goodness. The Perfectos will be keeping close track on the ABL action this week as they look to hold on to their spot in the standings and may start looking to make a few moves in the trade department in the not so distant future.

ABL TAXI TEAMS: Chesapeake Bay Castillo Murphy Ross Gyorko Soler Lucroy Wainwright

Tallahassee Samardzija Segura Tomas Mesoraco Coghlan Fernandez Hamilton

Titusville d’Arnaud Hernandez Gomez Thornton Kazmir Martinez Hendricks

Mudville Freese Spangenberg Rosenthal Jungmann Tucker Realmuto Dietrich

Long Beach Island Rodon Murphy Ross Rosario Swihart Choo Finnegan

Syracuse Walker Quintana Robles Alvarez Rupp Phillips Holliday

Ocracoke Caminero DeSclafani Galvis Garcia Wright Rendon Darvish

Manahawkin Richard Dickerson Aoki Ray Ozuna Tomlinson Bradley

La Jolla Wong Van Slyke Chisenhall Puig Kela Weaver Gattis

Enjoy Week 9 Commish