Season Log: Iowa City Country

Paul McCartney15 · **Posted:** Wed Oct 03, 2012 6:52 pm

IT WAS A GOOD THING I HAD MY RALLY CAPS ON!!!

THIS IS WHAT YOU MEANT BY RALLY CAPS, RIGHT?!!

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Thu Oct 04, 2012 4:40 pm

POST WORLD SERIES COVERAGE

We are told that one of the off-season focuses will be to stretch the Country's starting staff to go longer in games and make Chamberlain a potential five – out closer. Towards that end, the team allocated it's 50,000 points towards equipment to increase pitching stamina.

Awards

Dan Johnson is the league leader with 58 home runs and 179 RBIs. Joe Mauer's 396 average ruined Dan Johnson's bid for the triple crown. Dan Johnson was also named the league MVP, given the Hank Aaron award, and named offensive 1st baseman of the year.

Lastings Milledge led the American league in stolen bases with 54. He was also named one of the three top offensive and defensive outfielders of the year.

Erdos won rookie of the year.

Jack Cust was World Series MVP.

philliesfan134 · **Posted:** Thu Oct 04, 2012 4:43 pm

ERISA Dude wrote:

Dan Johnson is the league leader with 58 home runs and 179 RBIs. Joe Mauer's .396 average ruined Dan Johnson's bid for the triple crown. Dan Johnson was also named the league MVP, given the Hank Aaron award, and named offensive 1st baseman of the year.

Wow.

He only has B power, how is that possible? :shock:

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Thu Oct 04, 2012 5:02 pm

His contact went up to C, so his target is a little bigger. I also have the settings so I know what pitch is being thrown.

SkittleMonster · **Posted:** Thu Oct 04, 2012 5:06 pm

Really? For some reason that kinda taints everything for me...

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Thu Oct 04, 2012 5:22 pm

A report on the contract negotiations

Represented players:

Joba Chamberlain

Jack Cust

Clay Timpner

Dan Johnson

Ryan Sweeney

Other key players from 2008:

Lannan

Grindell

Stratton

Deardorff

Brown

Green

Harris

Josh Fields

Milledge

Spilborghs

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Thu Oct 04, 2012 5:24 pm

SkittleMonster wrote:

Really? For some reason that kinda taints everything for me...

I totally understand. I just don't have the skills to play competitively without it. I have the computer's hitting and pitching suped up to make up for it, but I know it's not the same...

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Fri Oct 05, 2012 5:08 pm

OFFSEASON LINEUP ANALYSIS

We are taking a look at the country's starting lineup at the end of the season and commenting on what might happen next year, in terms of free agent signings:

Catcher: Huisman (CEECCD) – One of the more athletic catchers in the game, Huisman has been solid behind the plate all season and very adept at throwing out runners; however, his hitting was less than expected. He has put together a nice season for a rookie, and perhaps the Country's initial expectations that he would be a solid contributor right away were unreasonable. He is an average singles hitter at best. Still, it is unlikely the Country would dip into free agency at this position, as they have five catchers currently on the roster.

First-base: Dan Johnson – the best hitting first baseman this year, he is solid in the field. The country cannot afford a backup first baseman with strong offensive talents, and Johnson does not come out for defense, so it is unlikely that they will sign a free-agent first baseman.

Second base: Joe Thurston/Angel Sanchez – both of these players have weak arms. The country used Sanchez in the first half of the season, as he is a solid singles hitter, but the Country became unhappy with Sanchez's lack of offensive development and went with Thurston, who has slightly better defensive range, for the second half of the season. Although Thurston has performed adequately as the last batter in the lineup and at second base, this is definitely a spot where the country might look to improve through free agency if they can't improve from within.

SS: Brendan Harris – Brendan has been the target of fans all year. While his offense and defense improved during the course of the year, expectations were that he would be a solid number three hitter who would produce a lot of doubles and drive-in Lastings Millage. But he has simply been a singles hitter, not driving the balls into the hole and too slow to stretch hits into doubles. His defensive shortcomings are highlighted by his having to play shortstop. If he played third base or second base, his more limited range would be less noticeable. He might actually be an improvement at second over current second baseman, Joe Thurston. While Thurston is slightly better defensively, Harris has a stronger arm and could turn more double plays.

Third-base: Josh Fields – consider the Country set at third for the time being. Josh Fields has been a tremendous producer in his first season of every day play and the Country are also high on rookie Schrager (DCFDED). It is very unlikely that they would sign a free-agent third baseman

Leftfield: Erdos (CDEEDD) – Erdos, the rookie of the year, has performed well, consistently putting the ball in play and making very few errors in the outfield. Still, He is considered "light powered" for a left fielder and there may be better options available, including the Country's current DH, Jack Cust.

Centerfield: Lastings Milledge has been a terror on the base paths towards the end of the season and throughout the playoffs, and he is likely to remain a fixture in centerfield for the time being. The Country have several players, including Ryan Spilborghs, Ryan Sweeney, and current minor leaguer Clay Timpner, who can also play centerfield, so it is unlikely that they will dive into the free-agent pool for a starting or backup centerfielder.

Rightfield: Ryan Spilborghs (CCCDEFD) – Spilborghs has the ability to carry the team offense for short stretches, and he is working on his speed to become even more of a base stealing threat (he is currently the second leading the stealer on the team). He is slightly underpowered for rightfield, but is not likely to push Milledge out of center. It is possible, but unlikely that the Country would sign a free agent right fielder and displace Spilborghs, unless they sought to move him to leftfield (his least comfortable outfield position) and have Erdos as a backup outfielder.

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Sat Oct 06, 2012 10:51 am

12 – 25 – 2008: Country sign free-agent second baseman Orlando Hudson.

The Country announced the signing of switch hitting second baseman, Orlando Hudson. Hudson's rankings are DBBBAC. Last year, he batted 292 with 14 home runs, 70 RBIs, and 21 stolen bases. Said the country GM, "we were comfortable going with the second baseman we currently had, but when we looked out there and saw that we could get the best defensive second baseman in baseball who is also a dynamic offensive force for only $3 million per year, we could not resist!" When asked whether Hudson would displace Lastings Milledge as leadoff hitter, the GM replied "the manager determines the batting order, but if Hudson and Milledge bat 1st and 2nd, Milledge's RBIs will probably increase dramatically because Hudson will likely score more on singles than our # 9 batter. While Thurston and Sanchez did a great job for us last year at 2d, we have a dynamic player in Orlando Hudson who can bat first second or third and make a significant impact on the game. We also expect our double plays to increase substantially."

When asked if they had any interest in signing free-agent first baseman Mark Teixeira, signed by the Yankees, GM replied "of course you have interest when a player of Mark's ability becomes available, but we have the reigning MVP and homerun and RBIs leader manning first base so it wouldn't make sense to make a move.

When asked about the decision not to sign premier free-agent left fielder Carl Crawford, the country GM responded "we were not sure that really made sense for our team. As a small market team, we did not feel comfortable that we could take on both Carl and Orlando. They are both offensive and defensive forces, so in thinking whether an outstanding defensive leftfielder would make more of a difference than an outstanding defensive second baseman, both of whom hit with power and provide speed, we saw the second base position as more valuable, especially since our current left-fielder was rookie of the year. We are very comfortable with the outfielders we have on staff. Our last concern with Carl is that as great a player as he is, he does strike out a lot and in stressing patience to our hitters, we are looking for players who can make contact with two strikes.

When asked about free agent shortstops, including Edgar Renteria and David Eckstein, the Country GM replied: those players would have given us someone with similar abilities as Orlando, but with a higher price.

philliesfan134 · **Posted:** Sat Oct 06, 2012 11:55 am

Like the reasoning behind the non-signs. Plus Orlando's a good sign, I don't know how you got him for that low a salary though.

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Sat Oct 06, 2012 3:42 pm

philliesfan134 wrote:

Like the reasoning behind the non-signs. Plus Orlando's a good sign, I don't know how you got him for that low a salary though.

Thanks. I think that the salary request is a random #, but the program sets a min & max based on certain factors. When I saw Orlando's asking price, it was a no-brainer, though I also wanted to give Brendan Harris a shot at 2nd

ZeroGibson13 · **Posted:** Sat Oct 06, 2012 6:40 pm

You could convert Brendan Harris in Spring Training.

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:00 pm

Harris can play ss, 3b & 2b. Hudson is just so much fun w his strong arm, b power and b speed. I couldn't resist.

Rodwick · **Posted:** Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:06 pm

Woot can't wait for the spring training games

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Sun Oct 07, 2012 4:03 pm

We got a behind the scenes look at the Iowa City Country's spring training in Arizona. In addition to working on general improvement in certain areas, a number of Country players are learning new positions. Here is a breakdown:

Players formally changing positions:

Starters increasing their flexibility to play multiple spots:

Backup players learning more positions to increase playing time:

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Season Log: Iowa City Country

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