November, 2011

Three Cheers for the Champs

It has been an exciting year, filled with dominant performances, jaw-dropping trades and nail-biting pennant races that weren't decided until the final days of the season.  In the Eck League, the Atlanta Fire Ants and Kansas Law Dogs were supposed to dominant the league, and they fulfilled pre-season expectations, winning 109 and 105 games, respectively.  Both teams outscored their opponents by more than 200 runs.  The Great Lakes Sphinx FINALLY broke their 12-year drought without a playoffs appearance, capturing the EL wild card by seven games.  And the Person Division race was the tighest race in league history.  All four teams in the division were separated by four games or less from Opening Day until the final week of the season.  The St. Louis Apostles were favored to win this division, but didn't take sole possession of first place until the very last week of the season.

Over in the Ozzie League, it was just another boring 100-win season for the Los Altos Undertakers (their third season in a row of 100+ wins.)  But the other three teams in the playoffs weren't decided until the final chapter.  In the Benes Division, the Mississippi Meatballs came out of nowhere to rob the division title from the Las Vegas Flamingos in the final days of the season.  This, despite the fact that the Flamingos outscored their opponents by 120 runs this season, while Mississippi outscored their opponents by just one run.  The final two spots in the playoffs were claimed after an epic three-way battle between the New Milford Blazers, Salem Cowtippers and San Antonio Broncs.  The Cowtippers ended their season with a loss to the Corona Confederates at the hands of backup catcher Lou Marson, while the Broncs split a crucial series with the Undertakers to give them a one game lead over Salem.  New Milford needed just four wins in their final two series to capture the Butler Division title and leave Salem out in the cold, and they did just that, winning an extra game two games just for good measure.

The post-season stage is now set.  Let the Tournament of Randomness begin!

Atlanta Fire Ants

Only five franchises in BDBL history have ever won 109 or more games in a season.  Make that six.  With a runs differential of 275, the Fire Ants were the most dominant team in the Eck League, and were only five runs away from matching the Los Altos Undertakers' total.  Their 573 runs allowed was by far the lowest total in the BDBL (Los Altos was next at 602), and Atlanta's team ERA of 3.33 is among the lowest in BDBL history.

Fire Ants pitchers allowed an average of less than eight hits per nine innings, allowed just 467 walks (second to only Kansas) and struck out a 1,308 (second to only Southern Cal.) And the Atlanta defense allowed an average balls-in-play rate of just .281 -- also second only to Kansas.  The top three pitchers in the EL in ERA are all Fire Ants: Clay Buchholz (2.36), John Danks (2.82) and Max Scherzer (2.86).  And the Atlanta starting rotation featured two 20-game winners in Danks (21-9) and Buchholz (20-6).

Offensively, Atlanta hit .270/.343/.444 as a team (each of those rates above league average), roped 50 triples (tops in the EL), and stole 72 bases at an 80% success rate.  Incredibly, the Fire Ants ranked #2 in the EL in runs scored (848) despite not having any player rank among the top 10 in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging, home runs or RBI's.

It seems like decades ago that the Fire Ants set a new BDBL record for losses in a single season, though that was only three years ago.  In the three years since then, Atlanta has won 94, 93 and 109 games.  All hyperbole aside, it is truly the most remarkable turnaround in BDBL history.  Atlanta spent NINE YEARS in the Hrbek Division gutter, escaping last place just once during the span of 2000-2008.  That's a LONG time for any franchise to endure such poor performance.  And usually, when an owner gets into such a vicious cycle of failure, there is no escape.  (Just ask Jim Doyle.)

But Gene Patterson came up with a game plan in 2008, and he has brilliantly implemented that plan.  That year, he jettisoned the type of player that has little value when building a long-term dynasty; guys like Edgar Renteria, Jeff Francoeur, Joe Crede and Mike Cameron.  And in exchange, he acquired cheap young players with upside: John Danks, Max Scherzer, Mat Latos and Andy Sonnanstine.  He paid more attention to his farm, picking up players like Gordon Beckham, Jemile Weeks, Tim Beckham and Bryce Harper, who would all have tremendous value going forward, either on the field or in trade.

In 2009, he used his free agent money wisely, signing low-risk/high-upside players like Paul Konerko, Denard Span and Ryan Madson.  He also made a few shrewd pre-season deals, acquiring his team's ace (Ervin Santana) and top closer (Joey Devine) at a combined salary of just $2.2MM.  And thanks to the swift rise to stardom by Danks and Sonnanstine, the Fire Ants challenged the all-time BDBL ERA record and captured their first-ever division title just one year after losing 118 games.

While most worst-to-first stories tend to be brief thanks to teams employing the "stockpile" and "purge" strategy, the Fire Ants were able to maintain their success because of that core group of players they chose to build around.  In 2010, Danks returned to anchor the Atlanta rotation.  He was joined by Jair Jurrjens (a product of the Atlanta farm system), Kevin Millwood (a 9th round draft pick in 2009), and rookie Clay Buchholz (another product of the farm.)  Once again, the pitching staff carried Atlanta to their second straight division title.

The same principle holds true of Atlanta's third straight title this season: pitching led the way.  Returning to the fold were Danks and Buchholz.  And joining them were Latos and Scherzer -- both products of that 2008 rebuilding season.

Patterson bolstered his offense this past winter -- and added some flexibility to his team's payroll -- in a blockbuster trade with the Allentown Ridgebacks, sending Jurrjens, Lance Berkman, Coco Crisp and Mike Trout to Allentown in exchange for Justin Morneau, Jayson Werth, Ian Kinsler and Shelly Duncan.  He then added Chipper Jones, Angel Pagan and Jose Valverde through free agency.

The result: a 109-win season for the Fire Ants, representing a new franchise record.

Los Altos Undertakers

For the third year in a row, the Undertakers led the Ozzie League in wins.  This season, they were the most dominant team in the entire BDBL with a league-best 280 runs differential.  Los Altos beat up on the Eck League this season (13-3), the Buckingham Badgers (10-2) and the Corona Confederates (10-2).  And, oh yes, they also beat up the San Antonio Broncs (12-4)...until their last series of the season.  Damn you, Paulson.

The Undertakers hit .272/.349/.450 as a team, with 882 runs scored (2nd in the OL), 209 homers (#3 in the OL) and 648 walks (tops in the OL).  They also led the OL in stolen bases, with 85.  Defensively, Los Altos owned a 3.38 team ERA, which was second to only the Atlanta Fire Ants in the BDBL.  They led the OL in fewest hits per nine (8.1) and tied for the league lead in saves, with 55.  They also led the OL (by a lot) in turning double plays (170!), despite the fact that so few batters reached base against Undertakers pitching.

In the 2009 Season Preview, I wrote: "the Undertakers dynasty has just begun.  It will be a very long time before it comes to an end."  Since then, Los Altos has won an astounding 332 games in three seasons, and captured a BDBL championship in one of their two playoff appearances.  The core of the Undertakers team hasn't changed much in those three years.  C.C. Sabathia (Paulson's $22 million free agent investment in '09), Jon Lester (acquired in a tragic 2008 trade with Salem), Rickie Weeks (a product of the Los Altos farm) and Adrian Gonzalez (acquired in a tragic trade with Cleveland in 2007) were all members of that 2009 squad.

If Paulson had merely stood pat with that 2009 squad, it's more than likely that Matt Garza, Joaquim Soria, Josh Hamilton and Justin Upton would have helped carry the team to two more division titles.  Instead, Paulson swapped out all of those players for players with even longer-term upside, ensuring that Los Altos would not only win the next two divisions, but would be set up nicely for years afterward.

Garza was swapped out in the Hanley Ramirez deal this past winter, and was replaced in the rotation by Clayton Richard (acquired from New Milford in 2010 in exchange for situational reliever Matt Guerrier.)  Josh Hamilton was replaced by Curtis Granderson in a deal with Niagara in 2010 (a deal that has looked tremendously lopsided for each team over the past two years.)

At the final trading deadline of 2010, Paulson added Longoria in a monster 11-player deal with St. Louis, sacrificing Justin Upton in the process.  And Soria was dealt to the Kansas Law Dogs this winter in exchange for top prospect Gerrit Cole, and was replaced in the bullpen by Heath Bell, who came along in that Hanley Ramirez deal.

Meanwhile, the Los Altos farm system continues to produce all-stars like a non-unionized factory.  Heyward made his BDBL debut this season, and despite his MLB stumble in 2011, looks to be a fixture in the Undertakers' outfield for years to come.  Brandon Beachy was handed a $1 million signing bonus as a free agent this past winter, while the rest of the league was sleeping.  Depending on what happens this winter, he could be the ace of this staff in 2012.  Cole was the #1 overall pick in the 2011 MLB draft, and could rise very quickly up the ladder.  And Venters enjoyed a terrific rookie season in the BDBL, and looks to be even better next season.

This will be the third straight playoff appearance of the Los Altos Dynasty, and as I wrote back in 2009, "the best the rest of us can hope for is an historic upset in the playoffs."  We witnessed that historic upset in the 2010 playoffs.  Can lightning strike twice?

Kansas Law Dogs

In a year reminiscent of 2001, the Law Dogs led the Eck League in nearly every offensive category this season, including batting average, OBP, slugging, runs scored, hits and home runs.  They even stole 156 bases, which was second to only Cleveland.  Defensively, Kansas posted a 3.84 ERA, good for third in the EL, and led the league with a .276 average on balls in play.

The yo-yo strategy has proven to be a winner throughout BDBL history.  It's a simple two-step strategy.  Step 1: trade away every decent player on your roster for prospects and cheap young players.  Step 2: trade every prospect and decent young player on your roster for stars with immediate value.  Win a championship.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

Following three straight 90-win seasons (94, 96 and 99), the Law Dogs took last year off to regroup, losing nearly 100 games.  During that time, Chris Luhning traded nearly every decent player on his roster, getting players like Evan Meek, Luke Hochevar, Aaron Crow, Erick Aybar, Neil Walker and Mike Moustakas in exchange.  Then, in true yo-yo tradition, Luhning spent this past winter cashing in most of those players for present value.

Walker was shuffled off to Sylmar in exchange for Brett Gardner (.264/.371/.360 with 74 stolen bases) and Mark Ellis (.299/.366/.433).  Aybar was sent packing to Corona (along with Derek Lowe) for Brad Lidge, who was then flipped to Ravenswood for Gaby Sanchez (.238/.309/.393).  Hochevar was sent to Mississippi along with three prospects for Cole Hamels (9-6, 4.37).  And Moustakas was part of the seven-player package that netted Shin-Soo Choo (.315/.417/.533 in 302 AB), Anibal Sanchez (7-9, 5.18 ERA), Adam LaRoche (.287/.338/.495, 18 HR in 307 AB) and Michael Young (.260/.335/.423) from Corona.

Another longstanding tradition of the yo-yo strategy is to spend huge money on free agents, costs be damned.  Luhning did just that in January, signing the auction class' top pitcher, Roy Oswalt (22-8, 2.92 ERA), to a $15 million salary, and the auction's top hitter, Jose Bautista (.258/.369/.645, with a league-leading 58 HR and 162 RBI), for $11 million.

In addition to all these high-priced newcomers, the 'Dogs also got a shot in the arm with the unexpected rise to superstardom of former farmhand Carlos Gonzalez (.323/.374/.546, 31 HR, 122 R, 129 RBI, 35 SB).  After the Oswalt signing, the subsequent trades for Hamels and Sanchez were a bit of overkill, given that the pitching staff was already stacked with Matt Cain (Jim Doyle's gift that keeps on giving) and Tim Hudson (an off-season acquisition from the St. Louis Apostles as part of the David Wright trade.)  Luhning also pulled off another lopsided deal with St. Louis last winter, acquiring Nick Markakis (.328/.401/.485) and Glen Perkins in exchange for prospect Zack Cox.  And he also added closer Joaquim Soria (1.31 ERA in 61+ IP, 40 SV) in a November deal with Los Altos, sacrificing Ernesto Frieri and Gerrit Cole.

Basically, with the exceptions of Gonzalez and Cain, every player who played a significant role in Kansas' division title this season was acquired at some point during this season.  And with Gonzalez, Cain, Hamels, Oswalt, Gardner and Soria all under contract through 2013, Kansas will likely enjoy at least two more years of contention before the yo-yo inevitably begins its decline and the next firesale begins anew.

New Milford Blazers

The Blazers won their second division title this season with a franchise-high 97 wins.  They ranked #2 in the Ozzie League in runs differential (227), and led the entire BDBL in runs scored with 935 (46 more than the next best team.)

The New Milford offense hit .282/.354/.485 as a team.  They led the league in batting average, OBP, slugging, runs scored, hits, doubles and triples.  In other words, they led the Ozzie League in nearly EVERY offensive category except home runs (where they missed the league lead by three.)

On the mound, the Blazers ranked #4 in team ERA, and owned the 5th-best OL defense, measured in terms of balls-in-play average (.291).  New Milford's bullpen was league average in nearly every measurable category, yet they saved 54 games -- just one away from the league leader.

How do you build the league's greatest lineup?  One cheesy pinch hitter at a time.  It isn't easy, however.  Instead of finding eight legitimate hitters to fill those eight positions in your lineup, you need to find 12-16.  It's hard work, but every once in awhile it pays off.  And it certainly paid off for Anthony Peburn in 2011.

Only two hitters on the New Milford roster had more than 500 PA's this season, and one of them was New Milford's $15 million ($45 million over three years, guaranteed) off-season investment, Robinson Cano.  Cano (.337/.402/.591, 49 2B, 36 HR, 142 R, 104 RBI) earned every penny of his salary this season, far out-performing his MLB numbers despite playing half his games in a BDBL ballpark (LH HR factor of 120) that pales in comparison to the homer-happy Yankee Stadium (LH HR factor of 150).

The only other player with more than 500 PA's in the Blazers' lineup this season was Andres Torres (.280/.350/.503, 52 2B, 18 HR, 108 R, 68 RBI), who was picked up as a $5 million platoon player in 2010.  Torres' ascension into a full-time role was one of those "happy accidents."

Every other position on the Blazers' roster is filled with a combination of pinch hitters.  Behind the plate, Ronny Paulino (.331/.381/.401) combined with Brian McCann (.287/.378/.434) to create 103.1 runs.  At first base, Russ Branyan, Mike Morse and Wes Helms combined for 132.1 runs created -- more than Albert Pujols.  At shortstop, Bill Hall and Ian Desmond combined for 76.6 runs created -- more than Derek Jeter.  At third, Casey Blake and Wilson Betemit combined for 102.7 runs created -- more than Ryan Zimmerman.

In left field, Jim Edmonds, Matt Diaz and Eric Patterson combined for 88.7 runs created.  In center field, Shane Victorino and Torres combined for 175.4 runs created.  And in right, Jack Cust, Torres and Morse combined for 228.6 runs created.

Basically, the Blazers fielded an entire lineup full of MVP candidates, despite having just two full-time players.  Only in DMB.

On the mound, Clayton "Asswipe" Kershaw established a new career high with 18 wins.  In 223+ innings, Kershaw -- who was acquired by the Blazers when he was still in high school -- posted a 3.54 ERA while striking out 207 batters.  Gavin Floyd, who was acquired from the Great Lakes Sphinx in 2010 in exchange for Martin Prado, went 14-8 with a 3.91 ERA this season.  Yovani Gallardo, a 2009 acquisition who was acquired in exchange for then-prospect Mike Stanton, went 15-5 with a 4.21 ERA and 195 K's.  And Jeremy Guthrie, who was acquired as a salary dump in 2009, gave the Blazers 8 wins and a 4.92 ERA in 203 innings.

Inexplicably, New Milford's best reliever was Hakanori Takahashi (134 IP, 2.22 ERA), who was a Chapter Four free agent pickup in 2010.  Peburn picked up several other relievers on the cheap who earned far more than their salaries, such as Jensen Lewis (2.50 ERA in 39+ IP), Santiago Casilla (3.30 ERA, 22 SV in 60 IP) and Matt Guerrier (3.40 ERA in 76+ IP).

Given his ability to squeeze maximum results out of cheap spare parts, is Anthony Peburn the Billy Beane of the BDBL?  Or is he just a douche?  You decide.

Great Lakes Sphinx

Finally!  After TWELVE YEARS of futility, the Great Lakes Sphinx franchise has finally made it to the post-season.  Prior to this season, the Sphinx were the only franchise in the BDBL that had yet to experience November baseball.  Their streak of eleven straight seasons with 89 or more losses is a record that will never be matched...let's all hope.

Believe it or not, the Sphinx's 88 wins in 2011 is franchise record.  The Great Lakes offense was below-average in nearly every category.  They hit just .256/.318/.424 as a team, compared to the EL average of .260/.327/.414.  And they ranked 7th out of 12 EL teams in runs scored.  What they lacked in offense, however, they made up for it on defense.  The Sphinx pitching staff ranked behind only the Fire Ants in ERA (3.67), and they allowed fewer longballs than any team in the EL.

This foundation of this team's success is their starting rotation, which ranks among the best the league has ever seen.  Jered Weaver (15-13, 3.88 ERA, 256 K in 236+ IP), Johan Santana (14-10, 3.71 ERA in 216 IP) and Ubaldo Jimenez (14-13, 3.50 ERA, 244 K in 242 IP) were all acquired during the 2009 pre-season.  Weaver was added in a pre-season trade with the Los Altos Undertakers in exchange for Billy Wagner and Mike Napoli.  Santana was Scott Romonosky's shocking $20.5 million free agent signing.  And Jimenez was acquired in a trade with the St. Louis Apostles, in which Great Lakes surrendered Kelly Shoppach, Mat Gamel, Daniel Cortes and Jensen Lewis.

Together, those three aces were supposed to bring an end to Great Lakes' unprecedented streak of failure.  Instead, the Sphinx lost 99 games and finished in the Higuera Division cellar once again.

In 2010, Great Lakes returned all three aces to the fold, and expectations were higher than ever.  In the Pre-Season Preview, the Sphinx were picked to win the EL wild card.  Instead, they lost 90 games and finished in third place.

This season, expectations were once again high in the pre-season.  And once again, the Sphinx were picked to win the EL wild card.  And for the first time ever, those expectations were met.  So what changed?

For starters, the Great Lakes pitchers finally produced as expected.  In 2009, Weaver went just 3-14 with a 4.26 ERA, Santana was a huge disappointment at 15-17 with a 4.57 ERA, and Jimenez went just 11-14 with an ugly 5.58 ERA.  As a result, the team finished 9th in the EL in ERA.

In 2010, Weaver was awful, racking up a 5.16 ERA to go with his 11-12 record.  Santana was abysmal yet again, going 7-14 with a 4.85 ERA.  And Jimenez was a bit better at 11-13 and a 4.01 ERA, yet still a huge disappointment, given his MLB performance.  The Sphinx finished 11th in the EL in ERA.

This season, Great Lakes pitching finally lived up to expectations.  Perhaps it was just regression to the mean, or perhaps it was the off-season decision to switch ballpark models from a somewhat neutral park to one that heavily favors lefty power hitters while hurting righties.

Offensively, the Sphinx took a slight step backward this season.  In 2010, they ranked 5th in the EL in runs scored with 809.  This season, they ranked seventh.  Oddly enough, Carlos Ruiz, a 22nd-round draft pick in 2009, may have been the team's offensive MVP this season.  In just 326 AB, Ruiz hit .371/.427/.610 with 34 doubles and 14 homers.  Prince Fielder, another one of Romonosky's 2009 trade acquisitions (acquired in exchange for James Loney, Corey Hart, and a couple of prospects that haven't panned out) was supposed to be the main beneficiary of the team's new home ballpark.  Instead, he hit just 29 home runs this season -- three fewer than his MLB total.

Last season, Romonosky re-acquired Hart from the Corona Confederates in exchange for JA Happ.  Hart hit a respectable .248/.313/.469 with 27 homers and 80 runs created.  This past winter, Romonosky made a huge splash in the news by acquiring David Wright from the St. Louis Apostles in exchange for Chris Perez, J.D. Drew and Casey McGehee.  Wright added 28 homers to the team total, and hit .254/.313/.470 on the season.  Combined, Ruiz, Fielder, Hart and Wright comprised 342.7 of the team's total 723.7 runs created (47%).

In addition to Wright, Romonosky made several other high-profile trades this season.  One move that had many scratching their heads was Romonosky's decision to trade his #4 starter, Brett Myers, to the San Antonio Broncs in exchange for a couple of young prospects, Brandon Belt and Mike Leake.  Given that the Sphinx were battling for the first playoffs spot at the time, it seemed like a strange, "arbitrage" type of trade where present-day value was sacrificed for future value.

Myers was replaced in the Sphinx rotation with Scott Baker, who was picked up that same chapter in exchange for rookie second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka (Great Lakes' #1 pick -- and the #2 overall pick -- in the 2011 farm draft.)  That same chapter, Romonoksy made another head-scratching trade by dealing his second baseman, Martin Prado, to the Los Altos Undertakers in exchange for Heath Bell.  Prado was then replaced in the lineup by Kelly Johnson -- yet another trade acquisition in Chapter Three.

After the music stopped, and all the musical chair participants had settled into their seats, the Sphinx had replaced Prado with Johnson, Myers with Baker, added a closer in Bell, and picked up two valuable young players at the expense of their top farm pick (who didn't pan out as expected.)  It was a major net gain for the franchise.

But Romonosky wasn't done yet.  Just prior to the final trading deadline of the season, Romonosky made his boldest move yet by flipping both Belt and Leake (along with top prospects Brett Lawrie and Zach Britton) to the Chicago Black Sox in exchange for lefty ace Cliff Lee.  Lee not only gave the Sphinx some stellar innings of work down the stretch (going 8-3 with a 3.36 ERA in 13 starts), but he became the ace of an already dominant starting rotation, pushing every other pitcher in the rotation down a slot.  With Lee, Weaver, Jimenez and Santana, Great Lakes can now compete with any starting rotation in the league.

Not only has Scott Romonosky finally reached the post-season, but he has a very good chance of advancing, thanks to the decisions he's made at the trading table in 2011.

San Antonio Broncs

The Broncs won just 50 games in 2010 (the worst record in the BDBL), yet they managed to eke into the playoffs with a 96-win season in 2011.  It is the fifth time the Broncs have won the wild card -- a BDBL record.  Despite the absence of what most would consider to be an "ace" starter, San Antonio's pitching staff posted a 3.46 team ERA -- good for second in the OL behind only the mighty Undertakers of Los Altos.  Part of the credit for that ERA goes to the team's spacious new ballpark, with its home run factors of 65 (LH) and 66 (RH).  Broncs pitchers allowed just 121 longballs this season, trailing only Los Altos and New Milford in that category.

While no starting pitcher on the Broncs stood out from the crowd, it was the San Antonio bullpen that carried this team throughout the year.  Craig Kimbrel (0.89 ERA in 20+ IP), Joaquin Benoit (1.64 ERA in 66 IP), Matt Thornton (1.68 ERA in 64+ IP) and Neftali Feliz (1.93 ERA in 56 IP) each owned an ERA under 2.00.  Clay Hensley (2.35 ERA in 72+ IP) also had a phenomenal year.  As a whole, the team allowed just 20% of inherited runners to score (tops in the OL by a wide margin.)

On the offensive side, San Antonio hit just 128 homers, and scored just 783 runs (7th in the OL).  Only three players on the Broncs' roster managed to top 400 PA's and an 800+ OPS: Ike Davis (827), David Murphy (818) and Tyler Colvin (820).  Edwin Encarnacion (879 OPS) just missed the 400 PA cutoff with 396.  And newcomer Manny Ramirez gave the team an 873 OPS through 30 games down the stretch.  In what is truly a BDBL playoffs rarity, no hitter in the Broncs' lineup this season created 100+ runs this season.

So how does a team go from the worst record in the entire league to the playoffs in just one year?  It's a story so familiar, it makes you wonder why every last-place team doesn't make the same leap every year.

For starters, you need a little good fortune.  You need a few players to have surprising MLB seasons that no one expected.  Players like Doug Fister, who went from being a 28th round draft pick in 2010 to the team's de facto ace in 2011.  Or players like David Murphy, who went from a 596 OPS in 2010 to ranking among the team leaders in OPS in 2011.

You also need good fortune in the form of players who far surpass their expected performance based on their MLB numbers, such as Edwin Encarnacion (.244/.305/.482 in MLB, .274/.346/.533 in BDBL), who exceeded expectations despite going from one of baseball's best power-hitting parks (Toronto) to one of its worst (Minnesota.)

You also need to make some shrewd trades, like the one Greg Newgard made in 2010, when he dealt free-agent-to-be John Lackey to the Ravenswood Infidels in exchange for Carl Pavano and Ike Davis.  A year later, Pavano is a 20-game winner for the Broncs, while Davis is the team's offensive MVP.

It helps to have a little money to spend on free agents.  Like the $6.5 million Newgard spent to lock in Omar Infante (.307/.351/.388) for the next three years.  Or the $5.5 million he spent to sign Matt Thornton for the same length of time.

It also helps to have a nice draft position, such as the #1 pick the Broncs held in the 2011 draft, thanks to their league-worst 110 losses in 2010.  Newgard used that #1 pick to further bolster his already-stacked bullpen, acquiring Benoit and Hensley for $5MM each in Rounds 3 and 4.

And finally, it helps to find a sucker like me to trade Manny Ramirez to the team I would eventually lose the wild card to by just one game.  You're welcome, Greg.

St. Louis Apostles

With their traditional high-powered offense, a couple of aces and a bullpen filled with closers, the Apostles were expected to run away with the Person Division this season.  Instead, St. Louis floundered around the bottom of the division throughout the season, and didn't capture first place until the final day of the season.

Despite the fact that all four teams in the division finished with a record of .500 or better, the Apostles were the only team in the division that outscored their opponents (by 73 runs.)  With 83 wins, St. Louis has the fewest wins of any EL playoff team since the 2002 Akron Ryche (81).

This was an unusually down year for offense in the Eck League.  Although St. Louis scored fewer than 800 runs (785), they ranked third in the league in that category.  Their 198 homers ranked #2 in the league, as did their 322 doubles and 789 OPS.  Their triple-slash line of .276/.336/.454 was above league average in each slash.

On the hill, the Apostles' 4.03 team ERA ranked 5th in the EL.  They allowed an average of 8.4 hit, 3.3 walks and 8.0 strikeouts per nine innings.  The St. Louis bullpen saved 45 games in 62 opportunities -- a 72.% rate that ranks 4th in the EL.

This is the fourth year in a row that the Apostles are playing November baseball, but for some reason the road to the post-season was much tougher for St. Louis this year than in years past.  Only three regulars from the 2010 Apostles returned to the lineup in 2011: Albert Pujols (.307/.385/.580, 36 HR, 114 RBI), Justin Upton (.247/.330/.367 in only 368 AB) and Dustin Pedroia (.301/.359/.599, 23 HR).  Upton's poor performance is particularly notable, given that GM Bobby Sylvester traded Evan Longoria to acquire him.

Sylvester's almost constant roster tinkering also led to the departures of Nick Markakis and Brian McCann, who were replaced this winter by prospects Zack Cox, Brett Lawrie, Devin Mesoraco, Matt LaPorta and reliever Nick Massett.  Later in the season, Lawrie was sent packing to Great Lakes in the Starlin Castro deal.

On the mound, the Apostles returned both Adam Wainwright (15-12, 3.48 ERA, 230 K in 250+ IP) and Chris Carpenter (16-13, 4.10 ERA, 177 K in 246 IP) -- the same one/two punch they featured in 2010.  At the final trading deadline of the season, Sylvester dumped lefty ace C.J. Wilson (6-10, 4.68 ERA in 25 starts) and replaced him with righty ace Zack Greinke (5-6, 3.74 ERA in 13 starts).  With Wilson gone, the team's Game Four starter in the playoffs is now a mystery (assuming Sylvester goes with a four-man rotation.)  Brandon Morrow (3-1, 4.40 ERA in 5 starts), also acquired at the Chapter Five deadline, is one candidate.  Carlos Silva (6-9, 4.35 ERA in 118 IP) is another.

After the St. Louis bullpen blew several games in last year's ELCS, Sylvester took ELCS opponent Tom DiStefano's criticism to heart and built an Undertakers-like bullpen filled with multiple closers.  This past winter, Sylvester traded closer Brian Wilson, but added Joba Chamberlain (3-4, 3.67 ERA in 68+ IP) and Chris Perez (4-2, 2.70 ERA in 63+ IP).  Then, at the Chapter Three deadline, he added two more closers in Carlos Marmol (2.08 ERA in 47+ IP) and Mariano Rivera (1.86 ERA in 38+ IP).

In total, the ever-frenetic Sylvester made TWENTY trades this season, including the acquisition of Andre Ethier (.304/.395/.612, 28 HR in 381 AB) in the bizarre "arbitrage" trade with Nic Weiss, Sylvester's own bizarre "arbitrage" trade of Brian McCann to the New Milford Blazers in exchange for prospects (leaving the Apostles with Jorge Posada as their only catcher), several trades involving draft picks, and trading established vets for prospects like Devin Mesoraco and Brett Lawrie, only to turn around shortly thereafter and recycle them for established vets.

In other words, it was business as usual for Bobby Sylvester in 2011.

Mississippi Meatballs

The Meatballs clinched their third division title (the first under GM Nic Weiss) on the penultimate day of the season with a record of 86-74.  This, despite outscoring their opposition by just ONE RUN in 2011.  By comparison, the second-place Las Vegas Flamingos outscored their opponents by 120 runs.  As you might suspect, the Meatballs owned a +6 Pythagorean difference, while the Flamingos trailed the league at -8.  And the reason for that?  Mississippi went 28-22 in one-run games, while Vegas went just 20-30.  With luck like that, Johnny Bo should stay far away from Vegas.

Mississippi had more come-from-behind victories than any team in the OL except the Cowtippers.  They were beat up by the Flamingos all season, going 5-11, but were able to coast to the finish line thanks to the Bear Country Jamboree, against whom they went 11-1.  The Meatballs were just 4-8 against their OLDS opponents, the Los Altos Undertakers.

As a team, Mississippi scored 828 runs -- good for fourth in the OL.  They also smashed 233 homers, which led the Ozzie League.  More bad news on their OLDS match-up: Mississippi hit just .238/.305/.385 against left-handers this season -- the third-lowest OPS in the OL.  Against righties, they hit much better at .265/.342/.473.  Unfortunately, all four of Los Altos' starters are left-handed.

On the mound, Mississippi owned a 4.61 team ERA, which ranks 9th in the OL.  Meatballs pitchers allowed more hits (1,564) than innings pitched (1,447.1), but ranked #2 in the OL in strikeouts (1,213).

As a GM, Weiss has made a name for himself through frantic trading, reminiscent of his predecessor Ken "Sharky" Kaminski.  This season was no different, as Weiss made 10 trades during the season and three trades in the pre-season.  Weiss' trademark trading style is to practice what he calls "arbitrage", which basically means giving up a player with perceived high value in exchange for a player with perceived low value.  We all do this, of course, but Weiss has practiced arbitrage at such a high level, and with such seeming disregard for his team's present fate, that it oftentimes appears as though he is waving the white flag when he should be pushing for a pennant.

In 2009, Weiss' franchise (then called the "Marlboro Hammerheads") were picked to win their division.  Instead, they got off to a 10-18 start, and Weiss began unloading his stars in "arbitrage" trades.  The team's biggest star, Alex Rodriguez, was traded in early March.  But despite that, Marlboro went on a winning streak, and captured sole possession of first place just a month later.  The Hammerheads and Flamingos spent the next five months trading seats at the head of the table, and cruised into the final week of the season with a one game lead over Las Vegas.  But the Flamingos then swept the Hammerheads in the final series of the season and took the division crown.

Throughout that exciting 2009 race, Weiss continued to make trade after trade.  In total, he made 17 trades -- 8 of them during BDBL Weekend in St. Louis.  One of his best trades was acquiring Dan Uggla (.304/.367/.522 with a team-leading 36 HR, 106 R and 112 RBI) from the Nashville Funkadelic in exchange for Brandon Morrow and a bunch of prospects.  But of all the trades Weiss made in 2009, the one that had the greatest impact was a Chapter Four trade with the Cleveland Rocks.  In that deal, Weiss sent talented young pitcher Ricky Nolasco to Cleveland (along with reliever Mike Lincoln.)  And in exchange, he received six players, including shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.  Tulo has become the face of the Meatballs franchise, and in 2011, he contributed a .277/.351/.520 batting line to the cause, hitting 32 homers, scoring 101 runs and knocking in 90.

In 2010, the Meatballs were once again expected to compete for a division title.  Once again, they got off to a hot start, going 30-26 in the first two chapters and creeping to within three games of the OL wild card leader.  But once again, Weiss began wheeling and dealing.  His most controversial trade was sending star slugger Manny Ramirez to the Rocks in Chapter Two, getting only future considerations Alex Gordon and Tanner Scheppers in return.  Weiss defended the trade by explaining that there was plenty of time left to fill the hole left by Ramirez and get back in the race.  But with the Ravenswood Infidels running away with the division since Day One (eventually finishing with a 110-50 record), and the Cowtippers and Blazers fighting an epic battle for the wild card, Mississippi was left in the dust.  They eventually finished a distant second place in the division with a record of 90-70 -- five games out of the wild card race.

This past winter, Weiss continued making inexplicable "arbitrage" types of trades that seemed to hurt his team's chances of competing this season.  In one such trade, Weiss not only hurt his own team, but greatly helped the team that some (including the Season Preview) were picking to win the Benes Division: the New York Giants.  In that deal, Weiss traded reigning National League MVP Joey Votto to the Giants in exchange for Ricky Romero and a couple of prospects.  Romero had a decent season for Mississippi, going 11-13 with a 4.04 ERA in 240+ innings.  Votto, meanwhile, was eventually replaced in the lineup with Travis Hafner, who came to the team in a strange pre-season deal with the Villanova Mustangs that netted not only Hafner, but mediocre $8.5 million shortstop Derek Jeter.

The acquisition of Jeter raised more than a few eyebrows, as the team already employed Tulowitzki at shortstop.  In the end, Mississippi's Opening Day lineup included a DH (Hafner) playing first base and a shortstop (Jeter) playing out of position at third base.  Despite all the mixing-and-matching of defensive alignments, the Meatballs got off to a 15-13 start in Chapter One.

But despite being just three games out of the division lead, Weiss wasn't done making "arbitrage" trades just yet.  In a move that elicited howls of derision from the BDBL press corps, Weiss traded his best hitter at the time, Andre Ethier (hitting .294/.410/.574 at the time), to his favorite trading partner, the St. Louis Apostles.  In addition to Ethier, Weiss also included his top prospect, Miguel Sano, and a second prospect (Philippe Aumont.)  In exchange, the Meatballs received only situational reliever Nick Massett and prospects Chris Archer and Trey McNutt.  It was among the most nonsensical trades of the year, and earned Weiss a place on the BDBL Trade Announcements Forum under the headline "Can you believe what Nic Weiss just did?"  (A position he still holds to this day.)

Just hours later, Weiss announced a second trade, in which he flipped Archer to the Bear Country Jamboree (along with Jason Bay and Junichi Tazawa), getting David Ortiz and Travis Schlichting in return.  Ortiz (.261/.378/.601, 32 HR, 93 RBI in 371 AB), also a DH by nature, pushed Hafner to left field (giving the team yet another player playing out of position.)  Ortiz finally gave the team the power-hitting first baseman that Votto would have been if he hadn't been traded.

Despite -- or perhaps because of -- all the constant tinkering, the Meatballs continued to roll in the second chapter, going 16-12 to keep pace with the Flamingos, who went 17-11 on the chapter.  And once again, Weiss went back to the trading table to tinker some more.

Way back in 2008, during Weiss' first year as GM of the franchise, he became the beneficiary of one of Jim Doyle's infamously horrendous trades.  At the final deadline of the season, Weiss negotiated an 11-player blockbuster trade in which he added two of the league's best young pitchers: Scott Kazmir and Cole Hamels.  While Kazmir eventually flamed out and was not a factor in 2011, Hamels was supposed to play a major role in the team's push for contention.  But after getting off to a 2-6 start, with a 5.50 ERA in 14 starts, Weiss lost his patience with his young ace and traded him to the Kansas Law Dogs in exchange for Luke Hochevar and three prospects.  Incredibly, Hochevar (whose MLB ERA was over a full run higher than Hamels') went 5-0 with a 3.63 ERA for Mississippi in a dozen starts.

Weiss still wasn't done trading.  That same week, he traded promising young hitter Alex Gordon and two others to the SoCal Slyme in exchange for pricey catcher/first baseman Victor Martinez.  In 101 games for Mississippi, Martinez hit .327/.381/.541 with 34 doubles and 15 homers.  With Martinez firmly entrenched behind the plate, the Meatballs had no need for another catcher...but Weiss then traded for one, anyway, sacrificing closer Mariano Rivera for backup catcher Bengie Molina.  It was just another bizarre trade that seemed to harm the 2011 team without any benefit.  With Rivera out of the bullpen picture, Weiss used a committee of closers that included guys like Chris Sale (1.73 ERA in 26 IP, 5 SV), Joel Peralta (2.52 ERA in 53+ IP, 10 SV), Huston Street (2.61 ERA in 51+ IP, 4 SV) and Arthur Rhodes (2.67 ERA in 33+ IP, 8 SV).

Defying all logic, Mississippi just kept winning.  They headed into the all-star break with a 46-34 record (.575), which was good enough to lead the Benes Division despite the fact that they were being outscored by 16 runs.  They managed to maintain that two game lead after four chapters of play.  And once again, Weiss stepped back to the trade table to tinker with his team some more.

At the final trading deadline of the season, Weiss added ace C.J. Wilson from the St. Louis Apostles, sacrificing Brandon Morrow and three others in the process.  Wilson became the team's de facto ace on paper, though he went just 3-6 in 14 starts, with a 3.78 ERA.  Then, in a monster 14-player trade, Weiss added another ace, Wandy Rodriguez, and a legitimate third baseman, Scott Rolen, from the Ravenswood Infidels.  Rodriguez was a disaster for the Meatballs, going 5-5 with a 6.17 ERA in 14 starts.  Rolen hit .264/.345/.464 in 36 games and didn't commit an error.

Mississippi faded down the stretch, going just 26-30.  But somehow, it was good enough to barely eke by with a division title in the final days of the season.  They now have the honor of facing the unstoppable Undertakers dynasty in the Division Series.  Best of luck with that.