Topics

286

Team Press Releases / AFBL Coming to Idaho

« on: November 08, 2013, 12:21:14 pm »

The state of Idaho is anxiously awaiting expansion of the AFBL. The Steelheads will play in Boise. The logo, team colors, and stadium details are still being decided, but we expect a decision in the next 24-48 hours.

Affiliate teams will be as follows:

AAA Idaho Falls Rapids


AA Nampa Stampeders


A Coeur D'Alene Miners


Rookie league in Florida, Jupiter Spuds


More to come as details are released.

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General Discussion / Canadian Players

« on: November 08, 2013, 10:44:54 am »

Why do all the Canadian players have French names?

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Team Press Releases / Illinois Shaking things up

« on: November 06, 2013, 09:41:13 am »

The Piasa have made two trades this morning, moving veterans Mitsuzaka Kurota to Ontario and Jeff Krause to Colorado.

General Manager LT had the following information:

'We have traded long time RF Kurota for 3 players, each filling a need in our organization. We want to thank Mits for his professional approach and hard work and wish him the best in Canada. The move allows our club to let Stan Anderson and Ed Scott get a regular turn in the outfield. It also affords us the luxury of adding a young catcher with some potential, a reliever with promise who is close to the AFBL level, and a versatile infielder.'

'The second move saw us deal Jeff Krause to Colorado. Jeff was increasingly unhappy in his backup role with us and we felt it best to move him somewhere he would be happy. In return the Piasa acquired a solid defensive 3B, Steve Riley, who should help our team in either AAA or at the big league level.'

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Trades / Colorado/Illinois Trade

« on: November 06, 2013, 08:28:55 am »

Illinois trades 1B Jeff Krause in exchange for 3B Steve Riley.

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Trades / Ontario/Illinois Trade

« on: November 06, 2013, 08:06:07 am »

Ontario trades CL - Brad Morcom, C - Ken George and  SS- Andy Clark for RF - Mitsuzaka Kurota and 7th rounder in this draft.

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Trading Market / Piasa Trade Block

« on: November 06, 2013, 03:12:31 am »

The following players are available for trade (as always I am willing to discuss any players in the organization).

1B Jeff Krause. The 31 year old had an off season and I am selling low, but he still has some good years left in him. He can also play LF or RF. He needs a change of scenery and I am willing to accommodate him.
RF Mitsuzaka Kurota. Also a veteran, excellent defensive OF with power. Coming of injury plagued season but has plenty of pop in his bat.

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Team Press Releases / 2015 Illinois Season Recap

« on: November 05, 2013, 11:20:40 am »

The 2015 season was tough for Illinois. A 76-86 record was slightly below the pythagorian record of 81-81. The season started and seemed to continue with a run of injuries. A total of 490 days lost to injury, mostly to 5 regular players. The team scratched and clawed back from a rough start, but could not overcome the impressive seasons of Oregon, Texas and Colorado.

Incredibly, the Piasa posted a horrific 11-26 record in 1 run games and a 2-10 in extra innings.

The Good
Not all went wrong in 2015. Here are some highlights:

Pitching

- Doug Wallace became the ace we all thought he could be, posting a 17-7 record with a 2.86 ERA and 250 strikeouts.
- Bin Zhu returned from injury to make 20 starts, 14 quality starts. He went 9-6 with a 2.62 ERA.
- Doug Teal had a strong rookie campaign, 11-11 with a 3.75 ERA.
- Sam Jacobs saved 39 games and posted an impressive 1.42 ERA, striking out 92 batters in 63 innings.

Hitting

- 3B Jose Gonzalez hit .298 with 38 HR and 122 RBI. He stayed healthy and was a rock for this team.
- SS Ed Jackson, 203 hits, 50+ stolen bases.
- 1B/LF Clarence Thomas hit 42 home runs in only 134 games. If he can stay healthy for 150+ he will challenge for the league title.
- 2B Artie White, 38 years young, hit .299, but missed 40 games due to injury. He can still get it done.
- CF Jim Sackett busted out with 33 HR and 99 RBI.

The Bad

- Injuries. Starting RF Kurtoa missed 130+ games to various injuries. Thomas missed 30 games, Hammond missed 26, White missed 40, Zhu made only 20 starts. Various others missed time.
- 5th starter struggled all season.
- 1B Jeff Krause struggled out of the gate and had his worst year .223/14/48.
- Jose Perez struggled coming over from Colorado posting a 6.06 ERA in mixed duties. Not sure he even makes this roster next season.

The Ugly

- 11-26 in one run games and 2-10 in extras.

2014 Draft Recap

One year is usually too soon to evaluate the past draft but here is an update on the players drafted by Illinois in 2014:

Round 1: 9th overall, Pitcher Tim Kelly.

Kelly worked out of the bullpen as a 1st year player in rookie ball. 2-5, 5 saves and a 4.95 ERA. A left hand arm with a big curve he projects to make an AFBL appearance in 2017.

Round 2: Traded Pick

Round 3: 41st overall: JF Riel and 47th overall Bob Johnson

Riel, a right handed reliever was 6-1 with 1 save in rookie ball. He posted a 5.43 ERA and struck out more than a batter per inning. He needs to continue to improve his control but figures to be a setup type reliever in the future.

Johnson is a defensive center fielder with great bat control. He struggled in rookie ball and hit only .216, but at 19 his future is bright.

Round 4: 54th overall Jeff Montgomery and 57th overall Dan Grant

Montgomery is a SS with the versatility to play 2B, 3B and a little OF. He hit .235 in his first campaign .

Grant, another reliever was 3-1 with a 3.05 ERA. He struck out 50 in 38 innings. Another guy who needs to continue to work on control.

Rounds 5-7:70th overall Jesus Rodriguez, 73rd overall Tim Ray, 89th overall Nelson Arroyo, and  finally 105th overall Jeff Parsons

Rodriguez is a big lefty, 6'5 225#. Also struck out more than a batter per inning. He has 6 pitches in his repertoire, but at this time figures to be a career minor leaguer.

Ray was a disaster in his first season and is certainly at risk of being dumped.1-1 with a 10.93, walked way too many and just did not get enough outs.

Arroyo was bad out of the pen, but as a lefty will get a shot as a starter in rookie ball in the 2016 season.

Parsons also struggled, but will be given a shot to start in 2016.

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General Discussion / Sorry for being less active the past few days

« on: October 18, 2013, 09:40:17 am »

Sorry I have been on and off the past few days. My wife had surgery yesterday and is set to be discharged sometime later today.  But in the meantime it has been daddy daycare and trying to juggle work responsibilities as well.  For those I have been in contact with regarding trades, please bare with me, I will probably be able to get on line tonight to review anything pending and respond to inquiries.

Fortunately it is nothing serious and in order to spare the gory details, let's just say we'll be having no more children.

thanks,

294

Team Press Releases / Injuries Contributing to Tough Start for Piasa

« on: October 02, 2013, 07:26:39 pm »

A 20-26 start to the 2015 season is not what the new ownership envisioned when they took control of the Illinois club. The outfield has been hit hard with injuries to Mits Kurota (Broken Leg) and now to super slugger Clarence Thomas (fractured rib). Throw in 37 year old second baseman Artie White, out 5 days with a dead arm and 3 of the mainstays on offense are out of the lineup. Starter Mike Pratt is out 8 weeks with a Hamstring injury.

The loss of Thomas is going to hurt badly as he had started this year with the following numbers: .335/14/32. His OPS is 1.104.

1B Jeff Krause has struggled out of the gate in 2015. Following a year where he batted .295 with 18 HR and 69 RBI he is currently at .161 1 HR and 12 RBI. He has been put into a platoon situation with 24 year old Joey Mullins.

With a top farm system, can other moves be far away? Stay tuned, this may end up being a retooling season for Illinois...

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Team Press Releases / Illinois Piasi 2015 Season Preview

« on: September 17, 2013, 06:04:12 am »

With new ownership in place the Illinois Piasi are excited to get into the 2015 season. With several players returning from injury the team is poised to make a run at the division title.

Jim Sackett, Greg Hammond, and Jose Gonzales are psyched to be off the DL and ready to play 140+ games this year, providing power, speed and creating depth to a team that finished the 2014 season with a few 37 year old guys, in the twilight of the careers, getting far too much playing time.

New Faces
Pitcher Greg Teal, fresh off a 16-3 campaign in AAA should compete for a starters role this season and the club is anxious to see what Mike Wood, a 21 year old shortstop, can do. SS is not a position of need, so the club expects Wood to continue to develop in AAA this year, but a strong spring training result may force the club's hand earlier than expected.



Big Questions


1) Can 37 year old 2B Artie White repeat his massive 2014 season, when he hit 28 bombs and drove in 99 runs?
2) Can LF/1B Clarence Thomas stay healthy for more than 125 games and challenge for the HR title?
3) Will P Doug Wallace get some breaks and better his 8-16 record? His metrics were off the charts but for whatever reason he couldn't get wins in 2014.
4) What of the outfield situation? With 5 guys who deserve regular PT how will it play out?
5) Will the Canadian owner be biased towards players from the north?
6) Will the new owners be aggressive in trades and change the look of the team?

Plenty of questions and excitement leading into the 2015 season, let's get it underway and see how the Piasi fare...

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Trades / Illinois/Arizona trade

« on: September 13, 2013, 09:55:59 am »

Illinois trades pick #25 in this draft for Arizona 47, 54, 70 in this year draft.

Troy asked me to say take the guy at the top of his list...

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Trades / Ontario/Illinois Trade

« on: September 12, 2013, 10:05:01 pm »

Illinois trades Stan Williams for a 4th rounder in 2015

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Team Press Releases / Illinois Piasi New Owner

« on: September 12, 2013, 07:32:50 am »

Alton, IL:

New ownership has come to the Illinois Piasi. The new group out of West Lafayette, IN is excited to get rolling with the Piasi, promising no major changes for the 2015 season. There was some concern that the Canadian owner, originally from Montreal, might attempt to move the club back to Montreal, but at this point there is no indication that a move in in the cards for the Piasi.

Owner Tabachnick who goes by the nickname LT, was adamant in his denial about a potential move, going as far to claim he was a lifelong St Louis fan and never rooted for the Expos, even when he resided in Montreal. 'At this time we are excited to get into the 2015 season with this team in this stadium and will do whatever it takes to bring a winner to Illinois. Any talk to relocation is nonsense and must be ignored. We want to thank the other league owners and commissioner for approving our ownership big and wish everyone the best of luck with the on going draft and into next season.'