Season Log: Iowa City Country

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Wed Feb 27, 2013 10:57 pm

2010 Opening day lineup (at Minnesota Twins)

CF Spilborghs (CCADED): Ryan has been struggling since the end of last season – when he swings for the fences, his balls are getting caught at the warning track or he's popping out into foul territory; when he tries to just make contact, he's hitting the ball too far for them to fall for singles. Country officials hope shifting him to first will allow him to just make contact and, at some point, he will start driving the ball more into the gaps

LF Erdos (CDBDDD) – a solid, consistent player. "We like him batting out of the 2-hole to move runners up, drive our eight and nine hitters in if they're in scoring position and to set the table for our three – five hitters

2b Hudson (CBABAC): "Hudson was the perfect leadoff hitter for us last year, but since upping his trajectory to level 3, he's been driving the ball better to the deep parts of the outfield and we expect he will be a perfect number three batter"

DH Jack Cust (BABCEG): the Country are expecting another monster year from Jack Cust, who recently upped his contact rating to B

3B Josh Fields (CBEBFD): Solid in the field and a force at the plate

1B Dan Johnson (BBDDDB): Johnson recently upped his contact rating to level B and his trajectory to 4; he is the quiet, consistent leader of this team

RF Matt Kemp (CCBDFG): Milledge's departure cleared the way for Kemp to start every day, although his hitting was earning him more and more playing time in 2009; the Country are still concerned with his fielding, although he hasn't had any serious mishaps yet

C McCurdy (CDECDC): McCurdy is a workhorse who rarely comes out of games, consistently throws out runners, and is able to get the key base hit in the clutch

SS Huisman (CDCCCD): has the Inside track at shortstop over Brendan Harris (BBECCD), largely because of his success in the field last season, although there was relatively little drop off what Harris filled in during the playoffs

ZeroGibson13 · **Posted:** Wed Feb 27, 2013 11:37 pm

Good lineup!

Your team is quite good

philliesfan134 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 28, 2013 12:06 am

Liking the lineup again this year. Practice made a lot of the guys even better than they were.

I'm glad to see that even though Milledge left (and I'm sure you'll miss his speed/contact combo at the top of the lineup), Kemp made his way into a starting job. He's one of the guys I trust will grow into a pretty good starter for you (much like in real life). Sucks that his fielding isn't up to par yet - I'm sure it's something that can be worked on and will progress over time.

Good luck this season, still very much enjoying the uniqueness of this log.

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Thu Feb 28, 2013 8:36 am

Thanks, dudes. I agree, practice time has been well spent. Not sure that Kemp can improve his fielding. I did have him spend some time on that, and while his defense increased, his error proneness never did, so I stopped trying.

Spilborghs improvement in the last 2 years has been great. I think he started at DCD and is now CCA. Timpner is currently at DDB in the minors. A future star!

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Thu Feb 28, 2013 6:34 pm

GAME SUMMARIES

2 extra-inning games and no game decided by more than 3 runs

4-3-2010: Cust hits a three run homerun off of a hanging curveball thrown by Twins Adam Eaton in the first, and Dan Johnson adds a two run homerun in the third. Lincecum pitches a solid 6 – 1/3 innings, but RP Broxton allows 3 runs to score (2 inherited from Lincecum) in a nervous seventh inning that the Country barely escaped from with a one run lead. In the ninth inning against Harden, the Twins load the bases with the help of two infield hits and tie the game on a double play. An RBI single by Towles in the 10th is nullifide when Harden gave up another game-tying run. Cust hits his second homerun of the game in the 12th and the Twins could not counter. The Country use all their relief pitchers on their major-league roster. Final score: eight – seven Country (12)

4-4-10: The Country clinged to a one – zero lead from the third until the sixth inning, when an RBI single from Cust and a double from Johnson brought in two more runs while starting pitcher Depablos relied on his new, level 3 vertical slider to mow down a Twins lineup that has four players with F power. Final score: three – one Country

4-5-10: Travis Hafner hit a three run homerun in the third; RBI singles from Hudson and Fields in the fourth kept the game close until an Erdos double and another RBI single from Hudson tied the game in the eighth, and a single from Harris put the Country up, but Broxton, again, gave up a game-tying homerun. A solo home run by Fields in the 11th puts the Country up by one and Harden retired the Indians four – six hitters easily. Final score: five – four, Country (11)

4-6-10: It wasn't until the fifth inning when the pitching duel was broken up by an RBI single from the Indians Travis Hafner, but a solo homerun from Brendan Harris in the following ending immediately retied the game; in the seventh, consecutive singles, including RBI singles from Sean Riggins (filling in at second for Orlando Hudson, in purple condition) and Ryan Spilborghs, and then a two-out RBI single from Harris gave the Country a four – one lead entering the eighth. The Country tacked on another run, and an RBI double by the Indians in the bottom of the eighth sent the game into the ninth with the Country leading five – two; Broxton started off the ninth and, after allowing runs in his prior two outings, there was a collective groan as the first batter singled and the second batter had an unusual infield single in which the ball appeared to roll right back to Broxton, but Broxton ran to homeplate as if expecting the catcher to come out and field ball, but Broxton recovered to retire the next three batters. Final score: five – two, Country

4-7-10: An RBI double from McCurdy brought in two runs in the second; the Indians Great Kennedy drove in a run in the bottom of the third and then tied the game with a solo home run off of Pettyjohn in the fifth; The score would remain two – two until Erdos drove in Spilborghs in the eighth; Broxton pitched an easy 8th, and Harden uneventfully closed out this game three – two, Country.

ZeroGibson13 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 28, 2013 7:09 pm

Undefeated!

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Fri Mar 01, 2013 10:04 am

Yeah - I am a few games behind re posts and am still undefeated. Considering how close the games are, I am surprised I haven't lost a couple. When Broxton and Harden gave up leads on opening day and on 4-5, I thought those games were lost!

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Fri Mar 01, 2013 10:21 am

4-7-10 Coach-Pitching Coach meeting

Pitching Coach: hey, Skip, you wanted to see me.
Coach: yeah. I want to talk about our middle relief, and whether we want to stick with a 6 man rotation or go down to 5. Right now, we've got our starting 6; our spot starter, Bourgeois (91 DB cu-4, SL-2, CB-4, VSL-2); long-reliever, Stratton (87 DC105 SL-3, CB-4, FO-3, SHU-3); and our short relievers are Brown (97 DE SL-4, CB-3, ch-5), Broxton (99 BE HSL-3, sp-3, ch-2, SIFB-3), and Harden (97 EC SL-2, sp-5, ch-5). Who are a middle relief options? In the minors, too?

PC: Well, I'll leave out Uchiyama, who we think will be closer-material in another year when his slider and shuuto should be up to level 3s like his changeup. We've got Jiang (93 DC cu-4, sc-3, FO-4). He's the one you picked for the post-season roster last year and he's the only one on the current major league roster. I gotta say, his level 4 cutter is nasty when he's in red condition, and that screwball has really been effective!

In the minors, we have Shawn Green (93 DE SL-3, sp-4, SK-4) and Oliver (90 DC cu-3, SLV-3, CB-3, VSL-3). Green's stuff is solid, but he has the least stamina of the group. We can't rely on him for more than an inning. Oliver struggled last year. We had him change from a sidearm motion to 3/4-arm. You thought that since all the lefty's pitches were coming into righties, his sidearm motion might make it seem like less break on his pitches. He pitched nicely in the spring, but it's hard to tell. We also have Chuck James (93 CB SL-3, ch-3), but he's a starter.

Coach: If we can only have 1, let's stick with Jiang. He's proven to be solid. The question is if we need a 6-man rotation.
PC: Well, so far this season, our starters haven't gotten past the 6th inning. They're striking out a ton of batters, but it's taking a lot of pitches to get there.
Coach: So?
PC: Well, if that's how it's going to be, then we'll need another reliever. We either shorten the rotation or we send down Riggins or Towles, since they each play the same spots.
Coach: sending down Riggins would leave us with a 3 man bench - Harris, Thurston, and Towles. That's pretty skimpy.
PC: well, we could send down a pitcher and call up a bench player before inter league play...

Coach: let's talk 5 man rotation.
PC: Most teams use a 5 man rotation.
Coach: most teams don't win the world series their 1st 2 years in existance!
PC: True. well, in 2009, we started with a 5 man rotation and the pitchers just were not recovering, so we went to a 6 man. Our guys did improve their stamina last year. Perhaps we want to try a 5 man rotation again?
Coach: OK. How do we rest our starters?
PC: we rest them the day after they pitch. Then I check their fatigue levels. If the bar is more than 4/5 full, they keep resting. Once it drops to 4/5, they practice.
Coach: OK - let's rest our starters the day after they pitch and keep 'em resting until their fatigue level is down to 3/5 full.
PC: You've always stressed the importance of practicing, especially since we have the equipment to make improving pitch speed and off speed pitching practices incredibly effective.
Coach: Right...still, let's try this new way and see if they don't improve more in games due to less fatigue.

PC: OK. Pettyjohn is our 6th starter. We gonna shift him to spot starter?
Coach: Hmm...Pettyjohn's gonna be a front-end starter one day, no doubt! But it takes him awhile to get going. Let's send him down and either call up James, who can spot-start and long-relieve, or call up Oliver and see what he can do from a 3/4 delivery.
PC: I'm curious to check on Oliver. Let's call him up!

HEY, READERS! Do you have a "system" for when you rest your pitchers and when you have them practice?

dishnet34 · **Posted:** Fri Mar 01, 2013 10:56 am

For my Mendenhals log, albeit the SP's abilities are very good, I usually dump all my SPs into Fitness practice to recover stamina more quickly, and use the hot dog power-up from the store for that practice. It has worked wonders for me. However, some of them do have Recovery 4, and your's don't, as far as I know, so it helps that out more. However, this is just my opinion, and you can do whatever you want with resting pitchers.

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Fri Mar 01, 2013 1:28 pm

Thanks. I do have the level 2 upgrade for fitness - like the hot dog. Thanks for your feedback. We'll see how it goes.

dishnet34 · **Posted:** Fri Mar 01, 2013 1:45 pm

Yeah, I haven't had anyone in my 6-man rotation miss a start since I started the fitness practicing.

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Sat Mar 02, 2013 12:57 pm

I don't often have a problem with a 6 man rotation. I'm trying to go down to a 5 man rotation. My guys are generally low B stamina and have trouble getting through the 6th inning so I want an extra middle reliever.

Seems like you don't have your pitchers practice anything during the week? I am hoping to get offspeed pitch and speed increase practice for most of them

dishnet34 · **Posted:** Sat Mar 02, 2013 1:00 pm

Well, since my starting pitchers' stats are very polished as it is, I really don't need them to practice that much, and get experience just from the games, but in your case, since you have a few "gray-bar" players on the staff, and a couple in the rotation, I would almost say to go to the 5-man rotation, and maybe alternate between Fitness practice and whatever practice you want to do during their off-time. But that's just my opinion on the situation.

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Sat Mar 02, 2013 11:40 pm

Week 1 (cont'd)

4–8–2010: after the Indians stranded a runner on third in the bottom of the second, the Country scored when Spilborghs singled home McCurdy; Spilborghs went to second on the throw home and then, as if on instant replay, came home on a single from Erdos, who took second on the throw home and then Erdos scored on a single from Hudson, all off of Indians starter Ben Sheets; when the Indians, again, stranded a runner in scoring position as spot starter Borgeois struck out Miles, Kennedy, and Hafner after allowing singles to the eighth and ninth hitters, the Country led three – zero after three. In the bottom of the fourth, DeLucci doubled home Blake and scored on the following single to narrow the Country's lead to three – two after four innings. In the fifth, after watching Sheets throw three drop curves and two changeups two strikeout Spilborghs, Erdos stepped to the plate looking changeup, got one, and put it over the right-field fence. In the seventh, Kemp, who singled and stole second on a pitchout, was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a McCurdy single. In the eighth, Hudson hammered a fastball off of a tiring Sheets, and then Cust did the same, sending Sheets to the showers with the Country leading six – two, which was extended when Fields hit a first pitch fastball to dead center field for a home run; a McCurdy RBI single added the fourth run of the inning; when the Indians brought in two runs against relief pitcher Oliver, the game entered the ninth inning the Country up eight – four, which would stand as the final score. Notable: the Indians kept Kemp and Spilborghs busy today, with the right fielder fielding 10 balls and the centerfielder, 7. Each made some nice grabs, including Kemp making a jumping catch at the wall with Grady Sizemore at the plate

4–9–2010: shortstop Huisman started the scoring with a bang, hitting a two run home run in the top of the third with McCurdy on first; with short reliever Brown on the mound in the bottom of the seventh, the Royals strung together several base hits at the bottom of their lineup and Broxton was brought in with runners on first and second and one run on the scoreboard for the Royals. Broxton gave up an infield single before striking out the next batter for out number two, but the next batter drove the ball over the centerfielder, giving the Royals a four – two lead at the end of seven; with one out in the bottom of the 9th, Fields and Johnson single and are replaced by pinch runners Matt Kemp and JR Towels, who both score when McCurdy drives the ball into the left center field, tying the game. One out later, Hudson, who was being given the day off, steps in to pinch hit for his replacement and singles home McCurdy, giving the Country a five – four lead, that would stand as the final score as Harden easily closed out the inning

4 – 10 – 2010: Kemp singled home Fields, stole second, and scored on a shallow opposite field single from McCurdy in the second, and then two innings later, singled home Fields and Harris before, again stealing second and scoring on a McCurdy single that preceded Spilborghs first homerun of the year; in the meantime, Depablos continued to mow down a Royals lineup featuring Alex Rios (CBB), Luke Scott (DBB), and Brandon Phillips (DBC), leading seven – zero after four. Without warning after punching out eight batters through 6 – 2/3 innings, Depablos called over medics for some elbow pain and was replaced by Oliver. Fields hit a solo home run for good measure, and though the Royals homered in the eighth and scored a run in the 9th, they never seriously threatened. Final score: eight – two, Country

ERISA Dude · **Posted:** Sun Mar 03, 2013 12:42 pm

WEEK 2 SUMMARIES

4 – 11 – 2010: in the battle of aces, Lincecum took on Meche; the Country scored on solo homeruns from Jack Cust and Josh Fields, and Rios led off the bottom half of the inning with a homerun - end of one, two – one Country. The score remained two – one until the sixth inning when Riggins (subbing in at second base) and Spilborghs came home on a deep double from Erdos that sent Meche to the showers; Erdos ultimately came home on a sacrifice fly; Lincecum continued to give up base hits but not runs as the Country grabbed a five – one lead after six. In the seventh, consecutive singles by the Royals seven – nine hitters brought in a run, but the Country got that run back on a Cust homer and when Broxton dominated the four – six batters in the eighth and closed out the ninth easily, the Country had a six – two win

4 – 12 – 2010: with 3 of their starters in purple condition and two of their bench players in blue condition, the country made the following roster moves, citing that these players have been bouncing between blue and purple for a while and have not been able to shake it while playing every day, so they are sending them down to see if they can shake "the purples":

Hudson to AAA, replaced by Schrager (DCEDEC – 1B, 2B, 3B)
Dan Johnson to AAA replaced by Merrill (DCEDEE – 1B 3B)
Matt Kemp to AAA, replaced by Timpner (DDBEDE – RF, CF, LF)
Joe Thurston to AAA, replaced by Sweeney (CECEFG – LF, RF, CF)

the Country an 11 – 6 lead entering the ninth inning, which Broxton closed out easily.

When asked after the game why Broxton stayed in to finish the 9th – the second time he was left in for the save, the Country manager said "in general, we are going to look to Broxton as our set up man, but If he dominates an opponent and then we score more runs so that we would not be bringing Harden in for a save situation, we will leave Broxton in to finish it off and earn the save." This was Broxton's third save of the season after getting off to a rocky start in his first couple of appearances. Broxton is tied for fourth place in the majors, while Harden is tied for first with four saves

4 – 13 – 10: 7-4 Country

4-14-10: Grindell v sheets. The Indians jumped out to a 1 – 0 lead in the first that the Country do not match until the sixth inning, but in the seventh, the Country explode for 4 runs and the Indians cannot recover.4-1, Country

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