Brassball Free Agent Preview - Restricted Free Agents

While the playoffs are underway, most of the Brassball teams have already turned their attention to 2017 and building a club which will help them play deep into the postseason a year from now. The quickest way to improve a club is through free agency, but some of the biggest names on the market are restricted free agents, meaning their own teams have the option to match any offer and retain the player. Here's a quick look at the restricted free agents and some educated guesses as to whether or not their teams will retain their services.

Pitchers

Clayton Kershaw - Simi Valley
You need an ace? This is your guy. Kershaw is a stud and everyone knows it. Not everyone can afford him, however. He's the Cy Young favorite every year and he came through for the Vikings with a 23-7 record and 2.59 ERA. They'll certainly try to retain Kershaw, but other teams are going to come with blank checks Simi Valley can't match. Prediction - leaves as a free agent for 7 years and $58,000,000

Madison Bumgarner - Santa Barbara
Bumgarner has been one of the best pitchers in Brassball and the anchor of the Outlaw pitching staff for several years. He was 20-7 with a 2.68 ERA on the season and it seems highly unlikely the Outlaws would let him move to another club. Prediction - Resigns for 7 years and $50,000,000.

Yovani Gallardo - California
Gallardo was only 8-5 on the year, but he had a solid 3.41 ERA in 187 innings. Those aren't Bumgarner or Kershaw numbers, but nearly every team would be happy to have Gallardo in their rotation. Unfortunately for California, they may not have the payroll flexibility to keep him. Prediction - leaves as a free agent for 3 years and $7,000,000

Derek Holland - Florence
A couple of years ago Holland looked like a budding ace. Unfortunately, injuries have taken their toll. He was able to make just six starts on the year and pitched 40 innings for the River Bats. Florence has the payroll space to retain him, but do they want to? Prediction - leaves as a free agent for 2 years $800,000

Travis Wood - Sacramento
Wood was a disappointing 2-7. He had a good, but not great, 3.04 ERA. But, he did so in ONE HUNDRED AND FOUR INNINGS AS A RELIEF PITCHER. Think about that. Of course, that means he's likely headed for a surgeon's table. Prediction - resigns for 4 years and $5,500,000.

Batters

Evan Longoria - Tinley
A gold-glove third baseman who plays every day and hits .300 with 20+ homers. Everyone's interested in Longoria, even if they already have a third baseman. There will be a lot of suitors, but Tinley will do everything they can to resign their star. Prediction - resigns for 6 years and $32,000,000.

Jay Bruce - Brooklyn
Bruce couldn't have picked a worse time to have his worst year. He played nearly every day and hit just .172/.261/.368. Only gold glove shortstops can hope to keep playing while "hitting" so poorly. Bruce still has the talent that made him a star, but he may need a new team and hitting coach to help bring it out. Prediction - leaves as a free agent for 5 years and $10,000,000.

Pedro Alvarez - Tinley
Alvares still has power, but that's about all he has. He hit just .233 with a .288 on base percentage on the year. That's tough to accept if you hit 30 home runs, and Alvarez didn't even hit 20. Tinley has some money to spend, but will likely look to upgrade rather than bringing Alvarez back. Prediction - leaves as a free agent for 3 years and $6,500,000.

Brandon Moss - Tinley
Another low-average slugger who didn't slug enough for the Redbirds. Moss hit .211/.282/.409 on the year. He's supposed to crush right-handed pitchers, but his OPS against them was just .699. Prediction - leaves as a free agent for 3 years and $4,500,000.

August Team Notes

The Brassball pennant races are heating up and there were lots of great (or at least interesting) performances in August.  Here's one from each team in the league that may have gone unnoticed unless you dug into the numbers a little bit:

Boston -  Brett Wallace is glad he won't face Parkland's Derek Holland again.  Wallace struck out four times in both games Holland tossed against the Tea Party in August.

Brew City - Starter Edison Volquez had a rough August, surrendering a league-leading 13 home runs and 26 walks.

Brooklyn - Ricky Romero and Jon Niese were first and second in complete games, with five and four, respectively.

California - Aramis Ramirez led the league with 11.9 runs created/game.

Cook County -  Jordan Zimmerman pitched 40 2/3 innings and walked just two batters.

Fleetwood - The Walkers were a middling 8-6 on the road, but a sparkling 13-1 at home.

Florence - The River Bats struggled on offense, but young infielder Trevor Plouffe did slug five homers in just 104 at bats.  Some see potential for much more power as he gets more comfortable in the big leagues.
 
Fremont - Trevor Cahill recorded 33 outs against Lancaster on August 3.  Then he did it again on August 31 against Cook County.

Glen Allen - On August 29, the Mets knocked out 29 hits and scored 20 runs against the Boston Tea Party.

Hessville - Jarrod Saltalamacchia did his part to help the Everreadys in August, slugging seven homers in just 64 at bats to go along with his .328 average. 

Lancaster - Daniel Hudson allowed just 15 hits and two walks in his five starts and 30 innings.

Latrobe -  Rick Porcello deserved better than his 0-3 record in August.  He had a solid 3.35 ERA but received just 10 runs of support in his six starts.

Metropolis - New Avenger R.A. Dickey got the red carpet treatment in Metropolis, as his new offense provided him 45 runs of support in his four starts. 

Myrtle Beach - Mike Pelfrey tossed a complete game against Glen Allen on August 5 but gave up 18 hits and ten runs along the way.

North Georgia - First baseman Mark Teixeira led Brassball with 15 homers and his 33 RBIs tied with Avenger Jose Bautista for the lead.

Parkland -  The Green dealt relief ace Kenley Jansen at the deadline, but Brian Wilson has been a letdown with a 5.14 ERA and 10 walks in seven August innings.

Plaza - The Lions split 7-7 on the road, but treated their hometown fans to just one win in August.

Santa Barbara -  The only two pitchers with six wins were both Outlaws - Justin Verlander and Matt Garza.

Schaumburg -  On August 19, both Willie Harris and Mike Aviles swiped four bases against Myrtle Beach.

Simi Valley -  Santa Barbara only lost five games in August, but one was a one-hit masterpiece by Viking ace Clayton Kershaw on August 2.

SoCal -  The Wildfires went 24-4 despite MVP candidate Mike Napoli getting only two at bats and star Mike Stanton hitting just .228.  The team may be in trouble if Napoli can't get healthy for the playoffs and Stanton fails to shake his slump.

Springfield - Not surprisingly, oft-bruised Carlos Quentin led the league with eight hit by pitches.

Superior - Ichiro was a perfect five for five against Brooklyn on August 7.

Tinley - The Redbirds ran out of gas in August and finished the month on 1-13 skid against powerhouses Cook County and California.

Building a Better Bullpen - Part I

After several difficult years, 2012 was to be the season the Metropolis Avengers returned to respectability.  That started in the offseason when we traded for Jose Bautista and signed star free agents CC Sabathia, Robinson Cano and Jose Reyes.

Going into the season, I thought my lineup and rotation were strong enough to be competitive in the playoffs, but knew my bullpen might be a little short.  I had hoped a bullpen anchored by Neftali Feliz, Sergio Santos, Marc Rzepczynski and Aroldis Chapman would be able to get the job done, but after losing several games in the late innings, it was obvious I would need to upgrade my pen if the Avengers were to have a real chance to get to the Brassball World Series.

In June, I scoured the league rosters and identified about 25 pitchers I thought could help.  I was aggressive in pursuing deals and emailed at least ten owners hoping to find an upgrade.  Not many owners were willing to throw in the towel that early and, despite my efforts, I entered July with the same bullpen I had in April. 

In mid-July I restarted talks with numerous owners, hoping that some would be more open to a deal after another month of games.  Luckily for me, that’s just what happened.

My first deal was with Florence for David Herndon.  On the surface, Herndon might not look like an obvious target, but he is a right-hander that can shut down right-handed hitters.  My pen did not have that “hard righty” before and I hope Herndon can do his job in what will likely be short stints against some of the top righties in the league.  Herndon had Tommy John surgery in 2012, making him a rental for the rest of the season and also lowering his price.  He cost me just $100,000 plus the remainder of his salary for 2012.

After picking up Herndon, I returned to a deal that was, literally, months in the making.  I had been talking to Parkland since early in the season, as I knew they had a deep and talented bullpen.  (To be completely honest, Parkland may have claimed I had been stalking or hounding them, but I’ll stick with “talking.”)  In a series of emails, phone calls and in-person talks, we considered a number of different combinations, but it was obvious Parkland wasn’t going to deal until they decided they were out of contention. 

I had initially targeted Kenley Jansen and Greg Holland, but by mid-July, I narrowed my focus to Jansen alone, as I had already acquired Herndon and was hoping to acquire one or two more relievers elsewhere.

Parkland made it clear they were looking primarily for talent already in the majors, which was a little difficult for me.  My MLB roster is fairly lean and most of the valuable assets had important roles on my current Brassball team.  In the end, I decided that I could afford to deal Jed Lowrie, despite the fact he was my platoon 1B and having a great 2012 MLB season.  In the end, you have to give talent to get it, and I have Jose Reyes locked in as my shortstop and hope Jansen will be an important part of my bullpen for the next several seasons. 

Once Parkland decided it was time to deal, we completed our trade quite quickly – it was a straight Lowrie-for-Jansen deal.  I’m quite happy with the deal, but I do feel bad that Lowrie went on the MLB disabled list just two days after the trade.  Of course, injury risk has always been part of the equation for Lowrie, which is another reason I was willing to deal him.

After two deals I had added two good arms to my bullpen, but I wasn’t satisfied.  In Part II, I’ll discuss additional trades that added even more quality and depth to my bullpen.

Player Stat Lines - July

Now that the season is about two-thirds complete, it is sometimes difficult to see how players are performing month-to-month.  Here are some of the most interesting stats from July - one for each team.

Boston – Jake Peavy was 4-2 in six starts with three complete games and one shutout.  In games started by anyone else, the Tea Party was an abysmal 2-20.

Brew City – Angel Pagan led the team with a .307 average and was a perfect 7-0 in his stole base attempts.   

Brooklyn – Rickey Romero started six games and threw five complete games.  He called it a day after only eight innings in his other start.  He also went 4-2 on the month with a 3.23 ERA.

California – Josh Hamilton slugged eight homers and drove in 24 runs.  Opposing pitchers only walked him eight times, though that will increase if he keeps up his July production.

Cook County – Matt Kemp had 40 strikeouts in only 112 at bats with just three homers and 13 RBIs.  There were many culprits for the Maulers’ 12-16 month, but Kemp was #1.

Fleetwood – Darren Oliver somehow lost two games despite allowing only one earned run all month.  Oliver pitched 21 innings in 13 games and allowed just 16 baserunners.  He gave up two runs total, each one costing him a loss despite his 0.43 ERA.

Florence – Xavier Paul may have hit only .239 and reached base just 36 times all month, but he still managed to steal 10 bases in 11 attempts. 

Fremont – Centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury might have been the Brassball Player of the Month, with a .348 average and 9 home runs.  He also easily lead the league with 30 runs and 20 stolen bases.

Glen Allen – Andre Ethier had a great month, hitting .343 in 102 at bats, but somehow knocked in only nine runs.  With his three homers and Ethier drove in a teammate only six times.

Hessville – Brian Fuentes put together a 0.60 ERA in his 11 games and 15 innings, but earned only two saves.  Instead, the saves went to Joe Smith, who earned six in his 11 games with a 2.61 ERA.

Lancaster – Clay Mortensen should get paid overtime, throwing 33 innings in 19 relief appearances.  He tossed four more innings than any of the Shermans’ starters, including those that started six times in July.

Latrobe – Max Scherzer may not have pitched great, with a 4.03 ERA, but he didn’t deserve a 1-5 record in those six starts.

Metropolis – Dan Haren went 4-1 in his six starts with a 1.73 ERA; and then he got traded to California and replaced by RA Dickey, who went 3-2 with a 5.53 ERA for Schaumburg.

Myrtle Beach – Andy Sonnanstine did record one of the Mermen’s four wins in July, but he also surrendered 10 home runs in just 18 2/3 innings.

North Georgia – Reed Johnson only batted 54 times, but managed to get himself plunked by a pitch in four of those plate appearances. 

Parkland – Joey Votto didn’t do much to help the Green stay in the playoff hunt, hitting .260 with only two homers and eight RBIs in July.

Plaza – New acquisition Brett Lawrie more than proved his value, hitting .384 and slugging eight homers.  His 22 RBIs were 13 more than the nearest Lion.

Santa Barbara – Kyle Farnsworth, Javier Lopez and Drew Storen combined to go 4-0 with a 0.22 ERA in 28 games and more than 40 IP. 

Schaumburg – The new ownership wasn’t impressed enough with JJ Hardy’s nine homers and 20 RBIs, so they sent him packing to California.

Simi Valley – Yovanni Gallardo was a perfect 4-0 with a 1.70 ERA in his four starts, allowing just under a baserunner per inning.

SoCal – Outfielder Mike Stanton was a beast in July, hitting .344 and leading all of Brassball with 10 homers and 31 RBI. 

Springfield – Miguel Estrada was brilliant in his five starts and two relief appearances, with a 2.57 ERA in 35 innings.  Somehow, he only collected one decision, going 1-0 on the month.

Superior – Ace Felix Hernandez averaged more than eight innings in his six starts and had a 3.14 ERA, but still went winless in three decisions.

Tinley – Alfonso Soriano led the team with five homers and 16 RBIs, but finished last with a .183 batting average in 104 at bats.

Statistics Don't Lie (Player Edition)

Following yesterday's Team Edition, here are some random and (hopefully) interesting stats compiled by Brassball players so far in 2012.  As always, Statistics Don't Lie...

2 – team-leading save total for Brew City’s Brian Sanchez. 

2 – pinch hit homeruns by Springfield’s Jorge Posada – the only player in Brassball with more than one.

3 - number of outs Fremont infielder Jeff Keppinger recorded in his unassisted triple play.  Amazingly, he was also involved in a second triple play this year!

2.08 – Daiske Matsuzaka’s ERA in relief, after a 4.54 ERA in 25 starts for Frisco in 2011.  Did Boston find the answer for Daiske’s many questions or is it misusing a valuable asset?

5 - balks by North Georgia's John Grabow, more than many teams in the league.

7 – the number of times Santa Barbara’s Jonathon Papelbon pitched and did not earn a save, in 40 games pitched.

8 – league-leading number of sacrifice Flies by Fleetwod outfielder Carlos Beltran, one more than Latrobe’s Placido Polanco. 

8 - team-leading home run total by Florence's Will Venable and Clint Barmes.

11 – pinch hits by North Georgia’s Reed Johnson – more than twice as many as any other player in the league.

12.97 - runs created/27 outs by SoCal's Mike Napoli, easily outpacing any other regular hitter.

14 – number of unearned runs allowed by Brew City’s Aaron Harang.

33 – sacrifice bunt attempts by Santa Barbara’s Elvis Andrus.  He has come to the plate 349 times, meaning Andrus tried to bunt in almost 10% of his at bats.

36 - potential base stealers thrown out by Myrtle Beache's Jonathon Lucroy, more than ten ahead of the runner up.

45 – net stolen bases (SB-CS) for Tinley’s Michael Bourn.  The next closest is Simi Valley’s Brett Gardner with 31.

57.6% - percentage of Adam Dunn’s plate appearances that end in one of the “Three True Outcomes” (BB, K, HR) for Plaza.

66.6% - the percentage of his 15 starts that Brooklyn’s Ricky Romero has completed.