Power Pros Forum

MARINERS

5/11/09: In a game with eight lead changes, the Mariners came out on top. Final score: 6–4, Mariners

5/12/09: The Hickories faced Seattle ace Felix Hernandez and he demonstrated why he is one of the best pitchers in baseball. Final score: 6–2, Mariners

5/13/09: the Hickories suffer their first sweep of 2009. Final score: 6–3, Mariners

BLUE JAYS

5/15/09: final score: 10–9, Hickories

5/16/09: final score: 4–3, Blue Jays

5/17/09: The Blue Jays Jesse Litsch was in no condition to start and the Hickories pounded the ball, although the Blue Jays outfield did a great job of tracking down most of the deep fly balls, including Emil Brown jumping over the left-field fence and robbing Robert Plant of a fifth inning homerun. The Hickories Fernandez was solid, but the Blue Jays were efficient, scoring three runs on four hits through five innings. 2008 second-round draft pick picture Manzanilla had a great relief outing spoiled by a solo homerun in the seventh, finishing with a pitching line of 3 IP, 3H, 6K, 1R. Final score: 8–6, Jacksonville

For the week ending 5/17, Ryan Braun was one of the players of the week. During this week, he batted 538 with 4 homeruns and 10 RBIs

KANSAS CITY ROYALS SERIES PREVIEW

The Royals (17/27) are in last place in the AL Central division, and only one team in major-league baseball has a worse record, the Padres (16/28). With the six of the Hickories next nine games coming against the Royals, this is a good time for the Hickories to make a push towards improving on their 8/8 record so far this month

KANSAS CITY ROYALS

5/18/09: David Cohen took the mound in purple condition and needed help from his offense and his fielders, but got neither early on, as his second baseman took an odd angle that turned infield out into an RBI single and Jeff Lebowski was thrown out at third trying to tag up from second with two outs two innings before Cool Junior was doubled off of second base when he strayed too far on a pop out, but two two run home runs in the fourth inning from Jeff Lebowski and Buck Rogers took the Hickories from down one to up three. Scoring another three runs the following inning gave this game the feeling of a blowout. The Royals scored a few runs as the Hickories took this opportunity to trot out some of their relievers who needed extra work, but the end was never in doubt. Final score: 10–6, Hickories

5/19/09: backup catcher Mackey Sasser's first home run of the season was a three run dinger against the Royals Meche, who was clearly not pitching well. The Hickories Mike Pelfrey was also off his game, but the Royals did not have the firepower to take advantage. Pelfrey threw five innings of shutout ball with four strikeouts and Manzanilla earned his first save by pitching four innings of two hit ball, although he lost the shutout in the eighth. Final score: 8 – 1, Hickories

5/20/09: The Royals Brian Bannister was on his game today and the Royals took an early 3–1 lead against the Hickories Gabe Kotter, but a 3 run fourth inning highlighted by a David Banner two run homerun put the Hickories on top. A three run homerun by Jeff Lebowski in the 8th put the game well out of reach. Final score: 8–3, Hickories

WHITE SOX SERIES PREVIEW

The White Sox are in fourth place, struggling to get to a 500 record so far in 2009, and the big trade of Chicago icon Paul Konerko (DBFCCB) in exchange for the former Pirate Jack Wilson (CBCABC) has not yielded results for either team, as White Sox star shortstop is batting only 239 this season, while Konerko is only batting 252 for the Pirates. The White Sox should have a potent lineup, with 5 starters having power level B, Jim Thome having power level A, and Orlando Cabrera and Juan Uribe sporting level C power. Perhaps more than the White Sox being deficient in any one area is the fact that they went 0–3 in there only series against the Boston Red Sox and are 5–9 against the Central division rival Tigers, while going 5–5 and 4–4 against the Cleveland Indian's and Oakland Athletics, respectively.

WHITE SOX SERIES

PREVIEW: The White Sox are in fourth place, struggling to get to a 500 record so far in 2009, and the big trade of Chicago icon Paul Konerko (DBFCCB) in exchange for the former Pirate Jack Wilson (CBCABC) has not yielded results for either team, as the White socks star shortstop is batting only 239 this season, while Konerko is only batting 252 for the Pirates. The White Sox should have a potent lineup, with 5 starters having power level B, Jim Thome having power level A, and Orlando Cabrera and Juan Uribe sporting level C power. Perhaps more than the White Sox being deficient in any one area is the fact that they went 0–3 in there only series against the Boston Red Sox and are 5–9 against the Central division rival Tigers, while going 5–5 and 4–4 against the Cleveland Indian's and Oakland Athletics, respectively.

5/22/2009: Hickories starter Roy Hobbs paid for a hanging slider with a Jim Thome two run homerun in the first, but an RBI triple from Ryan Braun in the bottom of the first and RBI singles from Cool Junior and Robert Plant in the second gave the Hickories a one run lead against Jason Bergmann (93 DB SL – three, CB – two, CH – three), who was pitching in purple condition. Both pitchers held The other team off the scoreboard for the next few innings, finishing out the fifth with the Hickories still leading by one run. Neither team was able to do anything against the other team s relievers in spite of the powerful lineups. Final score: 3–2, Hickories

5/23/09: The Hickories jumped all over White Sox starter Kip Wells, scoring 6 runs in the first 3 innings while Fernandez was generally solid, except for his inability to use his drop curve to finish off batters with two strikes, which led to the White Sox scoring 3 runs in the third and fourth. Wells, meanwhile, seemed fortunate to keep the White Sox in striking distance, as he was hit very hard, but the White Sox outfielders were able to track down most of the deep fly balls. Mickey Shuler had a shaky relief outing, allowing two runs in two innings, but Enigo Montoya, who has been pitching in purple condition for the last week, recorded a four out save. Final score: 6–5, Hickories

5/24/09: David Cohen looked good on the mound, but the White Sox looked better in the second inning when they put three runs on the board with the help of a two run homerun from Juan Uribe. In the meantime, the Hickories hit White Sox starter John Danks hard, but the slow White Sox outfielders were able to catch up to most of those deep balls, and the young starter lasted until one out in the ninth inning, when the Hickories started their come back by using a double and five singles with two outs to tie and then win the game with a walkoff single from Mays Hayes. Final score: 6–5, Hickories

KANSAS CITY ROYALS

5/25/09: The Hickories apparent strategy to start the game by looking first pitch fastball against Kansas City's Meche almost paid off, but Meche recovered in time to avoid allowing any scores and the Hickory's stranded runners at second and third. In the bottom of the first, the Royals showed the difference between a ball being just within the reach of the third baseman, as was the case when Buck Rogers hitting with runners at second and third, and a ball being hit just outside the reach of the third baseman, which is what Ross Gload did to record an RBI single. Meche relied on a series of fastballs and drop curves to keep the Hickories in check until a leadoff homerun from Ryan Braun tied the game in the fourth. In the top of the sixth, Meche may have gotten distracted by Robert Plant's aborted steal attempt, as he grooved a fastball down the middle of the plate and Lebowski planted in the bleachers beyond the left-field fence, grabbing a two run lead and sending Meche to the showers. Braun followed with his second homerun of the day, and after David Banner's deep fly ball was caught just before hitting the wall for the second out of the inning, Jordi Laforge homered to right field. The Royals added a run in the 8th, but the Hickories added two. Final score: 7–2, Hickories

5/26/09: Ryan Braun led off the second inning with the 30th homerun of his season, and in the third, Jeff Lebowski hit a grand slam one out before Buck Rogers sliced an opposite field home run down the left-field line. After Encyclopedia Brown hit an RBI single, Royals starter Brian Bannister was relieved with two outs in the third. Braun's homerun traveled 459 feet to dead center field. The Royals put enough runs on the board against some shaky relief pitching after Hickories starter Gabe Kotter left the game in the sixth to make the game close, but the ending was never in doubt. Final score: 9–6, Hickories

5/27/09: The Hickories defense was shoddy at times and they did not hit well in the clutch, but they had ample opportunities and hit three home runs. Pitchers Roy Hobbs (4 IP, 0R, 4K) and Maurice Buttermaker (5 IP, 0R, 2K) each were strong, combining for the shutout. Final score: 5–0, Hickories

Chicago White Sox

With the Hickory's infielders, including their starting second baseman and primary backup midfielder being in blue condition, and their star first baseman, primary and backup catchers, and primary pinch-hitter being in purple condition, the Hickories sent pinch-hitter Remington Steele (DDEDED), who backs up at third and first, and backup catcher Mackey Sasser (DEEECDC) to the minors, calling up utility infielder Edgardo Alfonso (EFDCCD), who plays all infield spots except catcher, and 2008 first round draft pick Enochs (CDDCCD).

5/29/09: A three run homerun by Jeff Lebowski in his first at-bat set the tone and when Cool Junior hit his first home run of the year after back-to-back doubles by Banner and Laforge, White Sox starter Kit Wells exited in favor of Hideo Nomo without finishing the first inning. Nomo is still a solid pitcher, although he's lost some drop on his forkball, and he slowed but did not stop the potent Hickories offense. Hickories starter, Syd Fernandez, meanwhile, took a one-hit shutout into the fourth inning and a four hit shutout into the seventh. Lebowski hit his second homerun of the game and LaForge added one of his own. Fernandez finally tired in the seventh and the Hickories manager left him in too long, and he surrendered a two run home run to Juan Uribe. Final score: 9–2, Hickories

5/30/09: The game started off close, with a 2–2 tie entering the second, but homeruns from Lebowski and Mays Hayes helped extend the Hickories lead to five runs entering the fifth. In the meantime, Hickories starter David Cohan was effective, although he still has yet to show dominance over a lineup as he did his rookie season, but took a four hitter into the fifth and did not allow another run between the second through seventh innings, after which Glass Joe threw 2 shutout innings. Final score: 7–2, Hickories

5/31/09: Jeff Lebowski got things started for the Hickories again, this time with another homerun in his first at-bat with a runner on. Ryan Braun followed with his own home run. The White Sox came out swinging against Morris Buttermaker, with Thome driving in two runs with a double and coming home on a Carlos Quentin single. Jordi Laforge hit a two run home run in the fourth that would stand as the game winner, as the White Sox Jack Wilson homered in the seventh, but did not score anymore, while the Hickories padded their lead. Final score: 8–4, Hickories

For the week ending May 31, Ryan Braun and Jeff Lebowski were named MVPs. Braun hit 423 with 6 homeruns and 8 RBIs while Lebowski batted 321 with 6 homeruns and 16 RBIs

Nice 12 game win streak!

You noticed! A good number of my wins are only by a few runs, which is fun, and my blowouts are coming against teams with few power hitters (like the Royals) or poor pitching (like the White Sox), but I may want to make the game a little harder.

20-8 on the month...nice. But...no left-field battle update?

LOL - I totally forgot to update the LF battle.

I really appreciate that you caught that. I realize my blog doesn't really lend itself to comments and discussion, so I'm glad you chimed in on that. I'm almost at the draft in my real playing time so an update will need to wait a couple of PowerPros weeks.

TAMPA BAY RAYS

6/1/09: The Hickories hit four homeruns, three by Ryan Braun, doing serious damage against the Rays shoddy relievers. Final score: 10–3, Hickories

6/2/09: Hickory starter Roy Hobbs had an up-and-down day, surrendering two home runs in the first inning but striking out the side in the second, while the Rays starter Garza has control problems and neither starter sees the fifth inning. The game has 8 lead changes, with the Rays tying the game in 7th, but the Hickories scoring 3 in 8th. Final score: 9-8, Hickories

BLOCKBUSTER TRADE REPORT:

Hickories trade OF/DH Ryan Braun (BACDFG, lefty 5), currently batting 395 with 37 homeruns and 64 RBIs & C JR Towles (EEDBCC), currently batting 182 with 0 homeruns and 2 RBIs in very limited action this season, to the Atlanta Braves for C Brian McCann (CBFEDC, Contact hitter, tough out, good catcher), currently hitting 349 with 9 homeruns and 36 RBIs. McCann is in the first of a three-year contract paying $790,000 a year. Towles and Braun are playing out one year contracts paying 400,000 and $720,000, respectively. Each player involved is 25-years-old.

The Hickories released the following statement: "We are very happy with this trade, given all of the circumstances. As you know, we attempted to sign Ryan Braun to a long-term contract last season at market rate, but he declined. This season, we continued to talk with Ryan's representatives, but Ryan is having a season for the record books and we expect him to be an offensive force for many years to come. Unfortunately, it became clear that he was intent on testing the free-agent market, and we knew we would not be able to match what other teams could provide. As a small-market team, we could not afford to come away with nothing for Ryan Braun, especially after giving up Jack Cust and Josh Fields for him last year. We are thrilled to be able to consummate this deal with the Braves. Brian McCann is also an offensive force – maybe not to the same extent as Braun, but he will do well in the middle of our lineup. What's more, although he's had some trouble throwing out base runners, he calls a good game and is able to coax his pitchers into pitching more innings then they otherwise would, which should help our team in facets that Braun simply could not. It should improve our starters and save some of our middle relievers on the days when Crash Davis, who will remain our regular starting catcher, is not behind the plate."

The Braves released the following statement: "this is a great day for our franchise. Brian McCann is a good hitter and a solid catcher, but we were able to turn that into getting a player in Ryan Braun who may be the best offensive player of his generation while also getting a better defensive catcher in JR Towles."

A member of the Hickories front office who asked to remain anonymous since he is not authorized to speak on behalf of the team made the following statement: "although we would have loved to keep Ryan Braun, it was a bad fit. He made it clear that he wanted maximum dollars and also wanted to play the field on a regular basis. He does not like DH-ing, but simply does not have the skills to be an everyday player. While we hated to lose him, we doubt he will be able to continue putting up the numbers he has if he needs to play the field, too. Defense just seems to take too much concentration for him to do that as well as hit. In the meantime, having a catcher with enough offense to serve as a DH is a real luxury, since our team likes to carry three catchers on the roster. Whether the Hickories coach will keep an additional fielder or will add to the bullpen is up to him, but we are sure he will enjoy that flexibility."

Most analysts understand the Hickories position, but pan the trade, saying that even if they came away with nothing for Ryan Braun at the end of the season, it is worth keeping him for what appears to be a record-breaking season in which the Hickories have a shot at the World Series in their second year of existence.

Meanwhile, rumor has it that talks about a long-term deal for the 2008 rookie of the year, 2b Robert Plant (DEBDCE) have stalled.

TAMPA BAY RAYS (continued)

6/3/09: Brian McCann started at catcher for his first game as a Hickory with Sid Fernandez on the mound. Against the Rays Sonnanstine the Hickories extended their 3–1 lead with a big third inning during which Vandelay came up with the bases loaded and hit a bases clearing double and LaForge followed with a homerun. The Rays pulled ahead with a monster nine run sixth inning, helped by a BJ Upton triple, errors by the Hickories third and first basemen, a fielders choice that resulted in all runners being safe, and an infield hit. The Hickories could not recover and the Rays stopped the Hickories winning streak at 15. Final score: 10–8, Rays

NOTES: Brian McCann was 2/5, including 1/2 with runners in scoring position, although his hit was an infield single, and he made the last out on a fly ball to the catcher. Although it is poor luck that the Hickories amazing win streak ended in Brian McCann's first game, the fact is that this was their worst pitching outing in a long time, and the Hickories still scored eight runs. They scored more than 8 runs 3 times during that 15 game streak.

DUKES

6/5/09: The Hickories score a single run in five different innings. Final score: 5-0, Hickories

6/6/09: The Hickories Gabe Kotter was not on his game, having a lot of difficulty finishing batters off after going up two strikes on them, but the Dukes were still lucky to get a run across, helped by an error on 3b Lebowski. Meanwhile, Dukes starter Francisco Liriano was on his game, and it took until the sixth inning for the Hickories to push their first run across. The tie lasted less than 1/2 an inning as the Dukes pushed a second run across in the top of the seventh, but the Hickories tied it again when Cool Junior scored after singling and stealing second. The Hickories stranded the winning run at third in the 9th and 10th innings, and in the 11th, the winning Hickory was cut down at home. The Dukes, meanwhile, did not threaten until putting a runner on second in the 12th inning and they immediately drove him in with a softly hit single to right field. Final score: 3–2 (12), Dukes

6/7/09: after going just five innings yesterday, Gabe Kotter took the mound again today and pitched well, which was necessary as the Dukes starter was also on his game. The Hickories scored a run in the first on a sacrifice fly; Buck Rogers had his most productive game of the season, hitting a solo homerun in the fourth and driving in the Hickories' third and fourth runs with singles in the sixth and eighth innings. Gabe Kotter was very effective, although he was, again, unable to finish off batters with two strikes. He left after throwing a healthy 8–1/3 innings, allowing no runs, but also recording no strikeouts. Mickey Shuler closed out the eighth easily, but struggled in the 9th. Enigo Montoya entered the game with 2 Dukes in scoring position and the tying run at the plate. He allowed one run to score on a base hit and a second run to score on a fielders choice before closing out the game. Final score: 4–3, Hickories