2005 NLDS MVP: Atlanta v. Detroit
The 2005 Stroh's DLDS MVP Award goes to.....
CL KELSEY VAN AS. Round of Applause!!
Essentially the decision was between George "Shameless" Johnson or van As because there was really no offensive contenders. van As notched 4 Saves in this series and 3 of them game in 1 run ballgames. Only Game 1 when van As came into the 9th with a 3 run lead was relatively easy. Once the mighty Confederates reached the 9th it was lights out as van As was rarely even threatened. The pressure and workload may have gotten to him as he recently came down with a viral infection and will miss the first two games of the NLCS.
2005 ALDS MVP: LA v. Montreal
The 2005 Stroh's ALDS MVP Award goes to.....
SP BOB TUTTLE, LA. Round of Applause!
The 28 yr. old Bob Tuttle put up the following statline 2 GS, 1-0, 0.69 ERA, 11 K, 13 IP. Tuttle started Game 3 for LA and went 5.1 Innings allowing only 2 hits and setting up LA for the win which they did shortly after he left the game. Though he didn't get the decision he pitched extremely well. He really shined and won the MVP Award with his Game 7 performance where he was also named Player of the Game. In Game 7 Tuttle went 7.1 IP, struck out 6 and got the W. His only mistake was an errant HR by Rojero of Montreal. Congratulations Bob Tuttle.
2005 ALDS MVP: Chicago v. Washington
The 2005 Stroh's ALDS MVP Award goes to.....
3B NED BROWN. Round of Applause!!
Ned Brown beat out hot hitting C Pedro Gonzalez and SS Stephen Phillips mostly due to his clutch hitting. Don't get us wrong, Brown did put up some numbers too going 4-14, 1 HR, 1 3B, 8 RBI, 5 R. Brown's big moment was in Game 1 in the top of the 11th with the game tied 4-4. Reliever Jose Lucero was pitching for Chicago when Brown came up with runners on 1st and 2nd and 2 outs. Brown took a 2-2 fastball 336 feet into Left Field for a 3 run HR giving Washington a 7-4 lead and an eventual 7-6 win. Washington took that momentum and left Chicago in the dust as the remainder of the series was never really close.
2006 All Star Game Tribute – Brooklyn/Carolina
The 2006 All Star Game will be held in New Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Barons. Round of Applause! Here's the 2006 Brooklyn All Star Game Tribute.
History Carolina
New Ebbets Field is the second newest field in the league behind SF Bay Ballpark. In 1995 a momentous change happened in Earl Weaver Baseball League, the first relocation in the history of the league occured. The Carolina Colonials moved from Charleston to Brooklyn. So in order to tell the story of the Brooklyn Barons we must start in Carolina.
1970s
The Carolina Colonials were owned by Big Tobacco and were one of the inaugural EWB teams, helping lay the foundation of EWB in 1970. Carolina always had a great fan base and their orange/black halloweenish colours went over well during the '70s. The Sunbelt is traditionally hyper competitive but in the 1970s it also had a lot of parity with each team taking a turn at the top. However, Carolina's story lay in 1976, only their 2nd ever Sunbelt Pennant (1st was 1970).
The American League had been dominated by two dynasties in the early-mid 70s. The Denver Amigos went to 3 straight World Series from 1971-1973, winning the 1972 World Series. In 1974 the Washington Admirals, who had won the Mountain West in 1971 and 1973 but failed to ever capitalize in the playoffs, stole the AL Dynasty stamp from a Denver organization that was slowly burning out. Washington went on to dominate in 1974 and 1975 behind Luis "Gizmo" Delgado ('74, '75 Bob Gibson Winner) and Sherwood Johnston ('74, '75 AL MVP Winner). Needless to say, they went on to win the '74 and '75 World Series.
1976 was set up to follow the prior two years. No team looked to pose a real threat to Washington, Johnston, or Delgado. The Colonials were only an 81 win team in 1975 and although they had the most runs scored and a potent offense, nobody thought much of them going into 1976. Instead pundits saw a repeat Miami team in the Sunbelt. Nobody realized just how good the Colonial offense would turn out to be. They ended up scoring 956 Runs and batting .288 as a team which was remarkable in such a pitcher's era. The Colonials were led by Future Hall of Famers, 1B Arturo Reyes and C Marcos Rodriguez. In addition they had a solid Javier Martinez who would go on to have a long and productive career. The pitching was headed by Enrique Ferreira, known as one of the better pitchers in the 1970s and written up in Cincy's All Star Tribute.
Still even with the explosive offense, Carolina was clearly under the radar. Sure they won 90 games and took the Sunbelt by 6.5 games but Washington had won 101 games and took the Mountain West by 21 games. Washington had the two time Bob Gibson and MVP Award winners. Delgado would go on to win the 1976 Bob Gibson but Sherwood Johnston would not be able to top Hall of Famer Hoshi Kobayashi's amazing 1976 performance when Kobayashi dominated most offensive categories. In fact, 1976 seems to be Johnston's only hiccup in his career and somewhat inexplicable (cocaine? infidelity?). Carolina drew a resurgent Amigo franchise while the Admirals drew the wildcard Samurai. Carolina won their series 4-1 and Washington 4-2 setting up the Colonial-Admiral matchup.
Sherwood Johnston's relative malaise carried on into the playoffs, meanwhile though, Arturo Reyes and Marcos Rodriguez were both able to post .330+ postseasons and lead the Colonials offense. The Colonials were able to pull off a massive upset of Washington, winning the series 4-2. They would go to win the World Series against the Austin Marshalls. What makes this season even more significant is that the Admirals would go on to win the 1977 and 1978 World Series so the Colonials not only prevented the first ever 3-Peat (Miami would be the first team to accomplish this 2001-2003) but also the only 5-Peat in history.
The Colonials made it back into the playoffs in 1977 but were swept in the 1st round by the 108 win Wolverines. After that the rest of the '70s were a time of mediocrity for Colonial Fans.
1980s/mid-1990s
The early '80s saw relative success. The Colonials were able to capture the 1980 and 1982 Sunbelt Pennants but were defeated in the playoffs by stronger teams like the early 80s Gargoyles and Dukes. The 1984 Colonials were able to win 98 games finishing 2nd behind New Orleans in the division. They defeated LA and subsequently lost to KC in the ALCS, that was the beginning of a major dry period. The Colonials were an old franchise with Arturo Reyes at 40, Pancho Nevarez at 37, and Hall of Fame CL Miguel Villareal at 38 (only played 1984 in Carolina, career was in Washington). In 1985 Carolina won 86 games missed the playoffs and would not see them again (the 1989 team with 51 wins is the second worst record in the history of EWB) until their 84 win 1995 team snuck in. The 84 win Colonial team would enter the playoffs with the 111 win Banditos, the 102 win Wolverines, and the 101 Admirals.
Omaha kicked their ass in the Wildcard round 4-2.
In the 1995-1996 offseason a momentous change occurred in EWB. The Phillip Morris company, owners of the Carolina Colonials, were under severe pressure from Tobacco Litigation and public pressure. The Winston Cup was the first to go and now there was financial pressure on the company and pressure on the league to take a stance with regards to tobacco. Meanwhile in NY, financial magnate Michael Bloomberg was anxious to bring a team to New York, knowing that the city could host two or even more EWB teams. Bloomberg's acumen and ego focused when word that the Carolina Colonials might be for sale. In a quick transaction, which stunned the fans in Charleston, the Carolina Colonials were no more and moved to Brooklyn to become the Barons. To this day, Carolina Colonial jerseys are the most popular "throw back" item in sports paraphernalia easily beating out Austin Marshalls sales. Trivia: The old Colonial Stadium was used to house their old rival New Orleans during last year's Hurricane Katrina.
History Brooklyn
Bloomberg wasted no time using his much more immense resources and revenue to try to shape Brooklyn into a powerhouse. Bloomberg fit in well with the set of egotistical, high pressure to win, big pocket owners which EWB was filled with. Helping Brooklyn was the fact that the young Miami, Omaha, and Washington GMs were on a sabbatical.
The '96 and '97 seasons were underwhelming but steadily improving. Most notable was that in 1997 Jesse Parks made his debut as a rookie. Jesse Parks would come to embody the Brooklyn Baron franchise, decimating their franchise leaderboard and becoming the only man in EWB to ever hit above .400.
1998 is when Brooklyn put it together and started to become a real threat. Still not able to overtake Miami in the Sunbelt, they finished in 2nd with 92 wins while Miami won 98. Brooklyn was led by 22 year old Jesse Parks who batted .384/.492/.626, 28 HR, 109 RBI, 93.7 VORP. They also had such names as Paul Bradford, Rintaro "Godzilla" Oyama, and Hector Campos on offense. Their pitching is what differentiated them that year with Adrian Ramos, Alfredo "Hardrock" Aguilar in the rotation and Keith Clowes and Pedro "Loose" Macias in the bullpen.
Still, though, like in 1995 they were going into the playoffs with EWB powerhouses Miami, Washington, and Omaha (who won the 1997 World Series).
Omaha kicked their ass 4-2 in the Wildcard round.
1999 was an amazing performance for Brooklyn, dethroning Miami from the Sunbelt by putting up 109 wins! Granted though, Miami went into the Wildcard slot with 101 wins. Jesse Parks won his 2nd consecutive MVP at the young age of 23. He broke the .400 barrier batting .417/.538/.724, 35 HR, 135 RBI, 128.3 VORP. This was the year! Brooklyn made it past the Wildcard round beating Las Vegas 4-2.
Miami kicked their ass 4-1 in the ALCS and went on to win the World Series.
It was tough to be a Baron fan, to see such a great team be frustrated in the playoffs. In 2000 they won the Sunbelt and made it to the World Series only to get beat by Detroit. In 2001 they along with the rest of the Sunbelt they moved to the NL. The Brooklyn Barons have yet to make it back to the Playoffs. They have a huge budget, a genuine legend in Parks, and an aggressive owner in a big market yet to this day the only real success the franchise has earned was the Year of 1976.
GM's
Robbie Johnson, 1992-1998 - Robbie Johnson's tenure did not involve much winning except for the 1995 Wildcard and his last year in 1998 when the beginnings of his foundation began to take place. From 1992 to 1998 Johnson was responsible for drafting such players as Adrian Ramos, Jesse Parks (21st Rd), Pedro "Loose" Macias, and Alredo "Hardrock" Aguilar amongst others. The success of the Barons from '98-'00 can in a large part be attributed to Johnson. Johnson retired after the 1998 season.
Dewey Douglas, 1999-2002 - Dewey Douglas took over a great foundation laid by Johnson. He oversaw the '98 team go from 92 wins to 109 in 1999. The success of the 1999 and 2000 can also be attributed to his addition of Clayton Jones who at the time was among the league's top starters. He had a large budget and may have given out a couple of bad contracts. Douglas' draft record is pretty spotty. His 2000 number 1 pick, Albert Torrez, is contributing for Brooklyn currently but only one, P Eugene Johnson, of his top 5 picks in 2001 and 2002 has reached the EWB. Though it may still be early, most look like busts including his relatively high picks. Douglas was not re-signed by Bloomberg at the end of the 2002 season and is currently the GM of the Cincinnati Rebels (if you remember, him and Mike DO NOT get along).
Juan Carlos Rodriguez, 2003-Present - Bloomberg replaced Douglas with a very experienced and tenured GM, Rodriguez, who had been heading Memphis from 1994-2002 though with very little success. Brooklyn has had a 3rd, 5th, and 4th place finish under Rodriguez but are currently leading the Sunbelt Division. It's a little early to see how his draft picks will turn out but there are some legitimate prospects among them and 1st rd. pick in 2003, Lee Powers, is up and contributing. Rodriguez can also take credit for bringing C Bob Johnson and RF Jim Huffman to Brooklyn.
Managers
Tommy Lasorda, 70-72 - Lasorda started his EWB career in Carolina with a bang winning 93 games and going to the playoffs in 1970. Two years after that he left to go to Austin where he had a long successful career. Making the playoffs 5 times. He ended his career in mediocrity in Omaha in the early '80s.
George McKee, 73-75 - This was McKee's only EWB gig and his career was blase in general.
Albert Nelson, 76-78 - Won the World Series in his first year, lasted until 1978. Reappeared to manage Denver one year in 1985.
Dane Stover, 79-81 - Took the 1980 team to the playoffs in an otherwise un-extraordinary career. Only EWB stop was in Carolina.
Juan Cruz, 82-83 - Cruz managed Cleveland all the entire 70s, up until 1981 when he was let go. He took the open Carolina job and took them to the playoffs in 1982. Went to greener pastures in Boston where he made the playoffs 3 times in the 80s. Made stops in LA and Philly before finally retiring. Never great but had a hell of a long managerial career.
Roger Craig, 84-87 - Roger Craig was a very successful minor league manager before finally getting a shot in Carolina. Took the Colonials to the 1984 playoffs but is probably best know for his time in El Paso.
Felix Tapia, 88-89 - Another manager with a long EWB resume but in Tapia's case he can lay claim to a World Series with St. Louis in 1973. Unfortunately the game had passed him by when he got to Carolina. He only lasted 2 years and led the Colonials to a 51 win, 111 loss season in 1989 (2nd worst all time).
Tim Brown, 90-91 - Probably best known as the manager of the Miracle 1988 World Series winner Cleveland Rockers but has a long resume in EWB but no success with Carolina.
Jose Machado, 92-96 - Continuing their tendency to hire veteran EWB managers, GM Robbie Johnson hired Machado who has managed in every year of EWB existence from 1970-1996 but only made the playoffs 3 times. He was the inaugural Brooklyn manager.
Albert Sharp, 97-01 - Best known as the manager of the Brooklyn powerhouses. Was with DC in 2004-05.
Vincent Henson, 01-02 - A Bandito product, managing Vermont and South Omaha. Initially got a shot with Cleveland but became somewhat of a nomad manager, retiring in 2005 with SF.
Juan Matos, 03-mid05 - Took the Renegades to the playoffs in his first EWB stint. Only Manager to get fired mid-season in the Carolina/Brooklyn organization. Currently the Bench Coach in Memphis.
Devin Dean, mid05-Present - Successful mL manager handling the helm now.
Trophy Room
- The Organization has 10 Playoff Appearance, 2 AL Pennants (1976, 2000) and one World Series Title in 1976.
- The Organization has 6 Sunbelt Division Pennants: 1976, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1999, 2000
Awards
1973 AL MVP Arturo Reyes (CAR) .358/.427/.552, 30 HR, 115 RBI, 85.6 VORP
1977 AL MVP Marcos Rodríguez (CAR) .343/.458/.495, 13 HR, 116 RBI, 78.5 VORP
1998 AL MVP Jesse Parks (BRK) .384/.492/.626, 28 HR, 109 RBI, 93.7 VORP
1999 AL MVP Jesse Parks (BRK) .417/.538/.724, 35 HR, 135 RBI, 128.3 VORP
2001 NL MVP John Clark (BRK) .352/.423/.588, 33 HR, 106 RBI, 86.3 VORP
2002 NL MVP Jesse Parks (BRK) .356/.489/.601, 35 HR, 125 RBI, 100.4 VORP
1997 AL Bob Gibson Award Pedro Macías (BRK) 17-9, 1.95 ERA, 208.0 IP, 224 K, 89.1 VORP
1974 AL Angel Rosa Award Javier Martínez (CAR) .273/.302/.468, 27 HR, 111 RBI, 31.8 VORP
1992 AL Angel Rosa Award Kenneth Brown (CAR) .290/.336/.513, 24 HR, 73 RBI, 30.8 VORP
Hall of Fame Members
The following Players spent a significant period of their career in Carolina/Brooklyn
César Olivares
Willie Thomas
Arturo Reyes
Marcos Rodríguez
Rafael Valentín
The following players spent a fringe period of their career in Carolina/Brooklyn
Artie Bicknell
Carlos Gudino
Chris Henry
Hoshi Kobayashi
Francisco Mendoza
Miguel Villarreal
Leaderboards
http://ewbl.us/lgreports/news/html/history/team_1_batting_leaders.html
http://ewbl.us/lgreports/news/html/history/team_1_pitching_leaders.html
Minors
AAA Norfolk Scythes - Have been slightly more successful than their parent club. In the AAA IL they've won 3 Championships but their most successful period of time was the mid 90s foreshadowing the powerhouse Brooklyn teams of '98-'00.
AA Bowie Bullfighters - Of the Eastern League. They too have that bulge of talent that foreshadows the late 90s. This team had a run of success in the early 90s. 4 Championships overall.
A Delmarva Colossals - South Atlantic League. Historically one of the more mediocre but not horrible teams in the South Atlantic league. Nearly totally forgettable, who even knows where Delmarva is?
A Frederick Sea Eagles - Carolina League. Their 5 championships ranks around the upper half but only 8 playoff appearances is worrisome.
SA Aberdeen Infantry - NY-Penn League. Once a pretty consistent playoff team however going through a real rough patch in the last 15 years.
R Lakeland Bugs - Gulf Coast League. 1 title in 36 years. However, it is in the uber competitive GCL and they do have several 100+ win seasons, so not a total failure.
R Bluefield Ventures - Appalachian League. A total failure. 3 playoff appearance in 36 years, 0 titles. Only team to have never won an Appalachian League Championship, 2nd to worst win Percentage in league.
2006 GM List
BOS JUAN BELTRAN 2005 (fired MICHAEL HALEY 2004)
MON KEN BOWLING 2004
NY STEVE CURT STONE SHOCKEY2005 (fired AARON CARMICHAEL 2004)
PHI JACOB COLE 2006 (fired JOHN HART 2001)
DC DONG-KYOON KIM 2004
CHI AARON CARMICHAEL 2005 (fired ASHTON CLAYTON 1994)
DEN FERNANDO SAUREZ 2004
KC IVAN VILLAREAL 2006 (NR BILL JAMES 1997)
OMA MIKEG 2005 (fired HAMILTON FLOYD 2003)
MIN KRESIMIR BUKVIC 1999
LA STEVE GRANT 2004
LV CHARLES COLLINS 2003
POR MATT EGGHEAD 2006 (NR JACOB COLE 1998)
WAS JTT 2005 (fired LUIS MARTINEZ 2002)
ATL ROBINSON FERNANDEZ 1999
BRK JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ 2003
MIA ROBM 2005 (fired JOSE BRUNO 2001)
MEM BILL JAMES 2006 (fired IVAN VILLAREAL 2003)
NO GORDDY BRANTLEY 2005 (retired TAKUMA ENDO 2004)
CIN DEWEY DOUGLAS 2003
CLE ASHTON CLAYTON 2005 (fired STEVE CURT STONE SHOCKEY 2003)
DET CISCO CRUZ 2002
IND RAUL ROBLES 2001
PIT VICTOR HERNANDEZ 2000
STL RONALD ALLSTAIR 2002
SF JOEM 2005 (retired BRODY HARVEY 2001)
ELP ANDREW GARNHAM 2003
SA DAN BANNATYNE 2002
DAL MARV CARTWRIGHT mid2005 (fired MATT EGGHEAD 2004)
HOU STEPHEN WRIGHT 2000
2005 World Series Champion
Atlanta Confederates
Owner Ted Turner
GM Robinson Fernandez
Manager Stan Scrymgeour
2005 All Star Game Tribute – Las Vegas
All Star Game '05: Las Vegas Renegades Review
The first and perhaps most important thing to know about the Las Vegas franchise is this. In EWB's inaugurral season of 1970, Las Vegas went 94-68, winning the Mountain West Division by a huge 18 game margin and finished tied for the best record in the entire AL. They swept their way through the AL playoffs, and then lost a heartbreaking World Series to Austin 4-3.
After that 1970 season, Las Vegas did not win another Mountain West pennant until 1999, a full 29 years later -- and when they did win in '99, it was with a pathetic 80-82 record. So that's a long period of frustration (although admittedly, they did manage a Wild Card appearance in 1982). But at the same time, their franchise winning percentage of .493 is very respectable. Consider: division rival Los Angeles' franchise winning percentage is worse at .490, but the Gargoyles have managed 13 playoff appearances, compared to Las Vegas' 4, 9 pennants, to Las Vegas' 3, and 1 World Series title, to Las Vegas' 0. Or compare Dallas: their .494 franchise winning percentage almost the same as Las Vegas, but Dallas has managed 9 playoff appearances and 2 World Series titles. Here's what this shows. Las Vegas has often been decent, but just a little under the dominant Mountain West team at a given time -- often Washington, sometimes Los Angeles.
So for instance, in 1978 they went a solid 92-71 but finished third in the division, an astonishing 21.5 games behind juggernaut Washington -- the 1978 Admirals have an argument for being the greatest EWB team of all time, going 113-49. In 1981 Las Vegas finished 89-73, but again finished 3rd, 16 games behind 105-57 Washington. In 1982, their Wild Card year, they finished 92-70, 13 games behind 105-57 L.A. In 1987 they finished 85-77, tied for the division lead with Washington, but lost the play-in game versus the Admirals. In 1991 they finished 92-70, 8 games behind division winner L.A. but tied for the Wild Card, but they lost the play off game to Portland, thus finishing 3rd in the division. In 1997 they finished 88-74, but just missed both the division title and the wild card. Finally, in their division title season of 2001, they took Boston to Game 7 of the ALCS, but lost there, falling short of making their first World Series since 1970.
So overall, you're talking about a team with a ton of near misses. I don't know if they're quite the EWB equivalent of the Boston Red Sox, but it's sort of in that direction.
Here's another point along those lines. In EWB history, 12 pitchers have won 230 games or more, and out of those 12, 9 are in the Hall of Fame, while 3 are not. The top pitcher who isn't is Renegade legend Jesse Quick, who pitched for the team from 1974-1991, and then again from 1994-1995, finally retiring at age 43. Winning 273 games, Quick thought he had a solid case for the Hall, but just missed out on the vote -- a near miss, in standard Renegade fashion. Another one of the 3 who didn't make the Hall is longtime Renegade Alfredo Santo, who pitched for the team from 1970-1998, finally retiring at age 45 with 230 wins. So basically, if you win 230 games you're in the Hall -- unless you're a Las Vegas Renegade.
This post is already kind of long, so I'll continue with more Renegade info in another e-mail.
More Las Vegas Renegade Info
The Renegades have a fair number of historically important players.
It starts with 2B Ronald Ramsey, EWB's all time hits leader with 3,358, a Hall of Famer and starter on the EWB All Time Team, who was a Renegade from 1980-1993, the prime of his career. The Renegades actually had a winning record over that period, but made only 1 playoff appearance.
Another hall of famer is Allen Fowler, who played for the team from 1976-1981. Fowler is most notable as perhaps the least worthy Hall of Famer of all time. His lifetime BA of .307 is nothing special, his 2,468 hits are okay but not Hall-worthy, his 170 HRs are mediocre, and so on. Fowler had the foresight to retire at the end of 1989, however, meaning he was able to sneak through on a pure computer vote, prior to human takeover. Human voters almost certainly would've denied him.
Another hall of famer, Mike Robinson, played briefly for the team at the end of his career.
Only 16 players in EWB history have hit 50 HRs or more in a season, and 2 of them have been Renegades. The first was CF Mike Smith, who in 1984 hit .282/50/150. At the time, that was both the 2nd most HRs and the 2nd most RBIs in a season: a great season. The second was 1B Tom Travis, who hit .357/52/139 in 1996. Now with New York, the 33-year-old Travis is sitting on 441 HRs, giving him a good chance of cracking 500 and becoming yet another Hall of Famer. If he goes in, he should go as a Renegade, where he spent the prime of his career.
Then there is 1B Manolo Reyes, a player who started his career with Dallas but now has won 2 AL MVPs with Las Vegas, and looks destined for the Hall. Again, when he does go in, it seems plausible he should go in a Las Vegas uniform. By the way, Reyes' 2 MVPs are the only 2 in franchise history.
So overall, that's quite a few Hall of Famers for a franchise, especially a non-elite franchise. Moving beyond Hall of Famers, the Renegades' all time leader in ERA, Games Pitches, and Saves, is Dale "Ole Nick" Erwin. Remember that fucking guy? He pitched for the Renegades from 1975-1990, primairly as a closer, before being traded to the Washington Admirals in 1990, in a fairly disastrous move for the Admirals. Ole Nick still ranks 11th in EWB history in saves.
The Renegades have had exactly one Bob Gibson Award winner in franchise history, Brian Finley, who captured the honor as a 2nd year player in 2000, going 20-7 with a 3.19 ERA. Finley is still with the team, and is a very good pitcher, rated as the 15th best in EWB today.
Do you remember Michael Cobb? He was a big prospect who came up with the Renegades in the early 90s: he was ranekd the #6 prospect in 1994, and #2 in 1995. He had several good seasons in the mid to late 1990s, and was a .305 career hitter. His best year was perhaps 1999, when he hit .305/9/97 with 49 2Bs, leading the league. The next year, 2000, he ruptured his MCL, knocking him out for 7 months: the remainder of the season. At the end of the year he became a free agent, and for reasons mysterious, no team gave him a call. He still had the same 4-2-3 ratings he always had, but no one was interested, and so Cobb retired without playing another game. That would never happen during a human era. One of us would have given him a minimum deal, and gotten a tremendous bargain in the process. Just 33, Cobb might well still be in the league if the humans had not walked away.
Tom Shatel
(AP) Las Vegas - The 2005 All Star Game is one of the most anticipated in recent memory. Las Vegas provides one of the most enticing get aways. The dreariness of a Cleveland summer is long past in 2004 and it's time to revel in rooftop pools, glitzy casino VIP tables, champagne rooms of skanky strip clubs and of course on the field of Bellagio Stadium. Some Day before the game tidbits:
- Everyone has for the most part arrived, the press, players, executives, and the commissioner. The attendance for this All Star game has skyrocketed. Notable exceptions include two of the young quartet of GM's, MikeG and JoeM. Both are taking the break and using it for personal family time with JoeM somewhere in Colorado and MikeG in Detroit. However, JTT and RobM have already been seen in Vegas having dinner with down and out GM Egghead of Dallas.
- The HR contest was earlier today. Participants in the AL were Dominic Doyle MIN, Alex Davis BOS, Ed Moran MIN, Semi Horton, WAS and Manolo Reyes LV. NL Participants were Phillip Bennett SF, Gustavo Chapa DET, Robert Bryant HOU, Ramon Moran STL, and Lee Dalton CIN. It came down to Doyle and Davis with Doyle playing to the crowd and winning it with a stunning display of 13 HR in the Final Round. Forest Thomas was the pitcher to Semi Horton.
- Free time outings:
*Benedict Vanlandingham tried to organize a scramble at one of his father's country clubs, unfortunately the disliked SP was only able to cajole teammate CL Erik Webb to come along.
* Many of the players are spending their time in the Casinos gambling. It's been said that RobM and his two players, Billy Miller and Vince Dorsey, are spending a lot of time at the High Stakes Poker Tables. Poker is a mainstay on team road trips and RobM's only complaint about the move to the NL was the loss of Vegas on the schedule.
* Cory Cotton got a little out of hand at a $20 blackjack table when he started berating a dealer. Cotton who is a notorious beer drinker often is rumoured to be a hellraiser. Austin Horton pulled him away before the Admiral team could be shamed again by another alcohol related incident. Hopefully the abrasive Cotton will be able to sleep it off before the game.
* What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas unless you have the inside scoop that I do. Omaha GM MikeG is a notorious afficionado of strip clubs and allegedly gave his All Star Players a list of clubs to hit up. Allegedly Christian Kennedy got a handjob from a tranny in one of the clubs. Once again this was allegedly. Kennedy had no response but a mumble after I addressed these allegations with him.
* Gerald Chambers hit a hole in one in his golf outing. The stars continue to favour him.
2005 GM List
BOS JUAN BELTRAN 2005 (fired MICHAEL HALEY 2004)
MON KEN BOWLING 2004
NY STEVE CURT STONE SHOCKEY2005 (fired AARON CARMICHAEL 2004)
PHI JOHN HART 2001
DC DONG-KYOON KIM 2004
CHI AARON CARMICHAEL 2005 (fired ASHTON CLAYTON 1994)
DEN FERNANDO SAUREZ 2004
KC BILL JAMES 1997
OMA MIKEG 2005 (fired HAMILTON FLOYD 2003)
MIN KRESIMIR BUKVIC 1999
LA STEVE GRANT 2004
LV CHARLES COLLINS 2003
POR JACOB COLE 1998
WAS JTT 2005 (fired LUIS MARTINEZ 2002)
ATL ROBINSON FERNANDEZ 1999
BRK JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ 2003
MIA ROBM 2005 (fired JOSE BRUNO 2001)
MEM IVAN VILLAREAL 2003
NO GORDDY BRANTLEY 2005 (retired TAKUMA ENDO 2004)
CIN DEWEY DOUGLAS 2003
CLE ASHTON CLAYTON 2005 (fired STEVE CURT STONE SHOCKEY 2003)
DET CISCO CRUZ 2002
IND RAUL ROBLES 2001
PIT VICTOR HERNANDEZ 2000
STL RONALD ALLSTAIR 2002
SF JOEM 2005 (retired BRODY HARVEY 2001)
ELP ANDREW GARNHAM 2003
SA DAN BANNATYNE 2002
DAL MATT EGGHEAD 2004
HOU STEPHEN WRIGHT 2000
2004 World Series Champion
Washington Admirals
Owner Tom Teeahen
GM Luis Martinez
Manager Esteban Mendoza
2004 GM List
BOS MICHAEL HALEY 2004 (retires GUILLERMO AYALA 2003)
MON KEN BOWLING 2004 (retires JOHN SCHUERHOLZ 2003)
NY AARON CARMICHAEL 2004 (NR KEN BOWLING 2001)
PHI JOHN HART 2001
DC DONG-KYOON KIM 2004 (fired AARON CARMICHAEL 1997)
CHI ASHTON CLAYTON 1994
DEN FERNANDO SAUREZ 2004 (fired MATT EGGHEAD 2000)
KC BILL JAMES 1997
OMA HAMILTON FLOYD 2003
MIN KRESIMIR BUKVIC 1999
LA STEVE GRANT 2004 (retires KWANG-SUB KIM 2001)
LV CHARLES COLLINS 2003
POR JACOB COLE 1998
WAS LUIS MARTINEZ 2002
ATL ROBINSON FERNANDEZ 1999
BRK JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ 2003
MIA JOSE BRUNO 2001
MEM IVAN VILLAREAL 2003
NO TAKUMA ENDO 2004 (fired STEVE GRANT 2003)
CIN DEWEY DOUGLAS 2003
CLE STEVE CURT STONE SHOCKEY 2003
DET CISCO CRUZ 2002
IND RAUL ROBLES 2001
PIT VICTOR HERNANDEZ 2000
STL RONALD ALLSTAIR 2002
AUS BRODY HARVEY 2001
ELP ANDREW GARNHAM 2003
SA DAN BANNATYNE 2002
DAL MATT EGGHEAD 2004 (fired TAKUMA ENDO 2000)
HOU STEPHEN WRIGHT 2000