June, 2015

Chapter Three Recap

Players of the Chapter

When he was selected with the #1 overall pick of the 2009 farm draft, Bryce Harper became the youngest player to ever occupy a spot on a BDBL roster, topping Justin Upton's record by 53 days. That record has since been shattered numerous times, and is currently held by Kevin Maitan, who was just fourteen when he was drafted in the first round of the 2015 farm draft.

It's somewhat of a coincidence that Upton and Harper were both involved in the trade that sent Harper to Chicago in 2013. In that trade, Chicago traded Upton, Brett Lawrie, Andrelton Simmons, Addison Reed, and Anthony Ranaudo to Charlotte in exchange for Harper, Dillon Gee, and Jake Marisnick. It's safe to say Chicago won that deal. Harper (.371/.491/.876, with a BDBL-leading 39 runs created in Chapter Three) is your Eck League Hitter of the Chapter.

The OL Hitter of the Chapter posted vintage Barry Bonds numbers in Chapter Three: .462/.528/.634, with a league-leading 34.2 runs created. This guy has a $100,000 salary and no contract. He's 24 years old, and has never been listed in any top prospects list that I know of. He was acquired in the mid-season draft last year in the SIXTH round. And in the current 2016 MLB season, he is ranked #36 in all of baseball by WAR. Care to guess who he is?

Give up? It's Granite State's own Odubel Herrera.

The Great Lakes Sphinx enjoyed phenomenal success in Chapter Three (more on that below), and EL Pitcher of the Chapter Clay Buchholz had a lot to do with that. Buchholz went 4-0 on the chapter, with a microscopic 1.17 ERA, and an opponents' batting line of .178/.221/.271. Unfortunately for Great Lakes, he only has 36 innings of usage remaining this season.

As good as Buchholz was in Chapter Three, Bear Country's Matt Harvey was a little better. Harvey went 4-0 on the chapter, with a 1.09 ERA, and led the Ozzie League in all three triple-slash categories: .150/.220/.212. Oh, and he also tossed a no-hitter! Like Buchholz, Harvey was a major contributor to his team's success last chapter. Unlike Buchholz, Harvey has plenty of usage remaining to contribute further in the second half.

Top Stories of the Chapter

Story #1: The Long National Nightmare is Over!

FINALLY! After SEVEN years in a row, the Ozzie League has finally bested the Eck League in interleague play:

This was no mere victory; it was a decisive victory led by three teams in particular: Los Altos (14-2 vs. the EL), New Milford (13-3), and Flagstaff (13-3). As usual, the New York Giants (4-12) did their best to drag the entire league down with them, but even they could not prevent this streak from finally coming to an end.

With that, we avoid the annual "We Need to Realign the Leagues" discussion for at least one year. Sadly, Tom DiStefano isn't around to see it.

Story #2: An Historic Season in Los Altos

For the third chapter in a row, the Los Altos Undertakers finished the chapter with the most wins of any team in the BDBL. (This past chapter, they had to share that honor with the Great Lakes Sphinx and the division rival Flagstaff Outlaws.) On the season, Los Altos sits at 63-17 (.788) heading into the all-star break. This puts them on pace for a mind-numbing 126-win season, which would obviously be a new BDBL record.

They aren't doing this with smoke and mirrors, either. This is a legit 63-win team, as evidenced by their Pythagorean difference of zero. The Undertakers are winning at home (32-8) and on the road (31-9), against lefties (18-2) and righties (45-15). They went an incredible 14-2 against the Eck League last chapter, and -- you may want to sit before you read this one -- they are a seemingly-impossible 23-1 against their division foes.

There isn't a single aspect of this game where Los Altos isn't among the best team in the league. They rank fourth in the BDBL in runs scored, and first in fewest runs allowed. They hit for power (#2 in home runs), and are 33-for-37 in stolen base attempts. Their defense has yielded the sixth-lowest BIP average in the BDBL, and their .990 fielding percentage ranks third in the BDBL.

In fact, as I comb through each and every category available, I can find only one area where the Undertakers have not performed well. Unfortunately for Jeff, that category is head-to-head record against the New Milford Blazers. With a record of 5-3 against Los Altos, New Milford is the only team in the league that has beaten them this season more often than not. Oh, it is going to be a FUN Ozzie League Championship Series!

Story #3: An Historic Season in Southern Cal

The all-time BDBL record for wins in a season is held by the Southern Cal Slyme, who won 116 games in 2008 (a record that is now shared with the 2015 Los Altos Undertakers.) If the 2016 Slyme maintain their present pace, they will also own the all-time BDBL record for losses in a single season. The same franchise owning both records -- within a nine-year timeframe, no less? Yep. That's what we may be witnessing.

At the halfway mark, the Slyme own a record of just 19-61 (.237), which puts them on pace for 122 losses -- two more than the current record held by the 2012 Granite State Lightning. That Lightning team turned the corner quickly and won 91 games the following season. Can the Slyme experience a similar turnaround in 2017?

For those of you with short memories, the Slyme went into this past winter's draft with $39.2 million to spend -- more than any other team in the BDBL. GM Bob Sylvester then went about the business of buying every washed-up veteran he could find on the free agent market, hoping to strike gold by buying low.

In the auction, he signed David Wright ($3 MM), Felix Hernandez ($10 MM), Adam Wainwright ($6 MM), Ian Desmond ($2 MM), Matt Holliday ($3.5 MM), Andrew Cashner ($3 MM), and Mark Buehrle ($5 MM). In the draft, he selected Mike Napoli ($3 MM), Pablo Sandoval ($2 MM), Chris Stewart ($500K), Matt Cain ($500K), Tim Lincecum ($500K), and Alex Avila ($100K). How is this group performing in MLB so far?

The reason you should spread the risk instead of putting all your eggs in one basket is that half of the risks you're taking are likely to not pan out. (Jim Doyle, take note.) Bob gambled on thirteen veterans coming off of injury-filled and/or unproductive seasons, and -- so far -- four of them appear likely to be productive next year.

Only in the BDBL can a team see a 60-win swing from one year to the next.

Story #4: The Best Team in the Eck League

As mentioned above, the Great Lakes Sphinx finished Chapter Three with a record of 19-5. They wrap up the first half of the season with an overall record of 57-23 (.712) and a comfortable two game lead in the Higuera Division. The Sphinx own the best record in the Eck League, and rank #2 in the EL in runs differential (behind the second place Kansas Law Dogs.) Raise your hand if you saw that coming.

No team in the BDBL has scored more runs than Great Lakes this season -- although the Law Dogs are only four runs behind in that category. Kansas' pitching and defense has yielded far fewer runs than Great Lakes (291 vs. 329), however, and as mentioned in the opening few paragraphs, ace Clay Buchholz will soon reach full usage.

The usage troubles don't end there for the Sphinx. Number two starter Nathan Eovaldi is at 62% usage, and has roughly a dozen starts remaining this season. Scott Feldman, who is 6-3 on the season with a respectable 4.39 ERA, is at 75% usage, with only six starts remaining. Reliever Keone Kela, who has contributed a 2.02 ERA in 13+ innings since his acquisition, is at 61% usage. Clayton Richard, who has posted a 2.41 ERA in 33+ innings out of the bullpen, is at 80% usage.

What on earth will this team do for pitching once those pitchers reach their maximums? The answer is: it probably won't matter. The Sphinx are unlikely to finish this season with the best record in the Eck League, yet even if they play just .500 baseball the rest of this season, they will finish with 97 wins. They have a 13-game-win cushion to work with, as the Chicago Black Sox are their leading contender for the wild card should Great Lakes fall out of first place. The Sphinx simply need to play out the string, and then punch their ticket to the Tournament of Randomness.

Story #5: The Race to See Who Gets to Lose to Los Altos

The Salem Cowtippers returned to Earth in Chapter Three, going just 9-15 on the chapter and falling out of the OL wild card lead. That inevitable slide opened the door for the Flagstaff Outlaws and Bear Country Jamboree, and both teams capitalized on that opportunity in a major way. The Jamboree went 16-8 and finished the chapter with a three game lead in the wild card, and Flagstaff went a remarkable 19-5 following two rough chapters.

Both Flagstaff and Bear Country announced huge trades at the end of the chapter, both of which should have serious impact in the second half of the season. Flagstaff added Alex Rodriguez's potent bat to their starting lineup, and Bear Country added both David Price AND Garrett Richards to the starting rotation.

Neither team appears to have much of a chance to compete against the Undertakers or Blazers in the OL Division Series, but playing November baseball is better than not.

Story #6: Cleveland's Cushion Deflating

The Cleveland Rocks owned a two-game cushion after the end of one chapter, and expanded that to a whopping eight games the following chapter. With the third-best record in the EL and the second-greatest runs disparity, it appeared that Cleveland would stroll right into the post-season uncontested.

Not so fast.

After getting off to a (mandatory, it seems) slow start, the Chicago Black Sox turned on the after burners in Chapter Three, going 15-9 while Cleveland sputtered along at just 12-12. At the season's midpoint, Chicago now trails Cleveland by only five games.

No small part of Chicago's resurgence was due to the acquisition of Kris Bryant. After sputtering along through the first two chapters, and striking out more often than Jim Doyle at a speed dating event, Bryant adjusted well to his new digs and hit .386/.509/.578 in his Black Sox debut.

As good as Bryant was for Chicago, teammate Andrelton Simmons (.442/.463/.545) was equally impressive. Neither of them, however, was as impressive as Bryce Harper, who busted out with a Hitter of the Chapter-worthy performance (.371/.491/.876).

Cleveland continues to win on the strength of their pitching and defense. Only the Undertakers and Blazers have allowed fewer runs than Cleveland this season. The question is whether pitching and defense alone will be able to maintain that cushion in the second half of the season.