2036 San Fernando Bears - Race to 1,000

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2036 San Fernando Bears - Race to 1,000

Post by 7teen » Wed Sep 12, 2018 9:42 am

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Overview and Recap
The 2035 version of the San Fernando Bears failed to defend their 2034 Landis Title, falling in the Doubleday Series in 7-games to eventual Landis Champion California. Of course fans left behind in Havana will argue it wasn't San Fernando's to defend after the team bolted from Cuba to the West Coast after winning the title in 2034. The Bears were able to take down the Twin Cities River Monsters in a decisive game in the Geoghegan Series.

The 2035 Bears were led by a high powered offense that led the league in runs scored a year ago with 918 total and a pitching staff that gave up a lot, but not as many in the end. All early indications are showing that the 2036 version of the Bears could look a lot like the 2035 version. Expect a lot of runs to be scored by Randy's bunch both at Chico's Bail Bonds Field and on the road. Could the team get to 1,000 this season? It hasn't been done in the Frick League in over 20 years. Yes, I checked. But also got bored and stopped after 2015. As for the last time in happened in the Johnson League, someone feel free to look that up and post it in a response.

Key Additions:
Miguel Macias (10/7/7 Ratings) Free Agency; Victor Guerra (6/7/8/6/5 Ratings) Trade; Bob Sanderson (10/6/8 Ratings) Free Agency; Antonio Ortiz (5/5/4/9/7 Ratings) Trade; Grant Lee (6/7/6/5/7 Ratings) Trade

Key Losses:
Hiroyasu Osaragi (9/5/7 Ratings) Trade; Abdelwahab Kamade (9/8/4/5/8 Ratings) Trade; Jean-Luc Lacaze (6/6/8/7/5 Ratings) Trade; Jayden Harsnett (6/7/7/9/5 Ratings) Free Agency; Mario Mendez (6/7/10 Ratings) Free Agency

Position Reports:
Catcher
Ares Papadias (5/6/8/5/5 Ratings)
You first look at Ares and you think, "ok, decent player. Nothing to write home about. Has a little power in his bat. Decent catching ability. Probably looks like a backup on paper." Then you look closer and realize he hit 33 homeruns last season and posted an .861 OPS with a 3.6 WAR and you're thinking "What the crap!?" And then you dig closer and realize Chico's Bail Bonds Field has fences down the line that are deeper than most Little League fields and you suddenly realize why he did what he did and why this team's offense is as good as it is.

Firstbase
Tai hoi Wie (9/7/10/10/5 Ratings)
I honestly thought Wie was going to win the Silk Award last season. He fail short of that despite posting a 1.002 OPS and the 3rd highest WAR in the FL last season at a position that is hard to accumulate a huge WAR number. He's one of the top power hitters in the game and expect Wie to produce huge numbers again in 2036. At just 25 years old, this guy is going to be a beast for quite some time. Not bad for a scout find that got on the "juice" in the minors. Ahhhh, the glories of the franchise being in Havana all those years! #ReadBetweenTheLines

Secondbase
Jared Gillstrom (9/6/8/6/7 Ratings)
While he has a long way to go, if there was a current player in the league who had an outside shot of beating Charles Puckett's all-time career WAR mark of 164.8 it would be Gillstrom. The guy is just ungodly. He doesn't look a little more humanly against LHP but he's just a pure hitting beast. He's just 30 years old and is already the 24th highest WAR player in BBA history. If he duplicates what he did last year, and there's no reason to believe he won't barring injury, he'll climb as high as 15th all time. But with that said, he's not even halfway to Crickett's record so I think it'll remain safe. But what a player to have!

Thirdbase
Juan Mendoza (8/7/6/7/8 Ratings)
Mendoza burst onto the scene last year as a rookie and did nothing but finish runner-up in the Gillstrom voting in the Frick last season. He did that thanks to an .878 OPS and 102 RBI. He's not the strongest of fielders and is very slow footed, but his bat clearly made up for those deficiencies last season.

Shortstop
Angel Garcia (5/5/6/8/7 Ratings)
Another rookie last season, Garcia, like Papadias, come off as the potential weak links in the Bears offensive juggernaut. But he's also the opposite of Mendoza. Garcia is quick and posseses a very good glove at the shortstop position. He still hit 18 homeruns last season despite only having a 5 power. Imagine if he figures it out while playing in the big leagues and that 6 jumps to 9, which is his potential power rating. He would no longer be a weak link for sure.

LeftField
Victor Guerra (6/7/8/6/5 Ratings)
Guerra comes to San Fernando in a trade where the Bears sent pitching to acquire more offense. Bold move Cotton, let's see if it works. Oh, it probably will. Guerra hit 174 homeruns the last 5 seasons while playing Yellow Springs, a park a lot less hitter friendly than the matchbox than San Fernando plays in. Guerra has lost a little bit of his contact and power ratings of late which might explain why the Nine decided it was time to depart ways with the LF and his $6 million plus contract. The Bears will happily insert him into their lineup and watch him belt 30 or more homeruns in blue and yellow.

Centerfield
Grant Lee (6/7/6/5/7 Ratings)
Grant was another trade acquisition. The former 3rd overall pick by the Nashville Goats hasn't quite seen his ratings live up to that lofty draft pick in 2033 and decided to cut ties with the CF. Lee will be a solid defensive CF, patrolling the OF and maybe covering some ground to his right (LF). He looks best suited for a platoon roll, but that would limit him to playing only against LHP. But his range and solid glove work will likely be enough to keep his bat in the lineup for at least 150 games this season for the Bears.

Rightfield
Luis Maldonado (7/7/10/6/8 Ratings)
If I could, I'd skip previewing Maldonado and go to the next player. But that's not fair. I've made comments before that the Maldonado for Nunez and Ganoa trade Madison made a few years back may go down to haunt me more than any trade I have ever made. All Maldonado has done in the 2 short years in the league is: Win a Gillstrom Award; Win a Landis Title; Make An All-Star Team; Win a Puckett Bat Award; and win a Zimmer Glove Award. When you talk about a 5-tool player, Maldonado is that. He can hit, hit for power, can throw, can field, and can run. .283 batting average, 44 homeruns, 67 steals, +8.3 ZR. He's only 22 years old. I have nightmares over this trade. And just check out what the BBA preseason reports think he'll do this year. I'm having cold sweats.

Designated Hitter
Jesus Lopez (8/7/8/4/8 Ratings) and Jeffrey Cunningham (6/6/6/5/7 Ratings)
Lopez is a rookie and looks to burst onto the scene. In most lineups, teams would be expecting Lopez to carry a lot of the offensive load and produce a lot of runs. In this lineup, he'll likely bat towards the bottom and still come close to 100 RBI, assuming there are even that many RBI left for him to clean-up. Cunningham is just a ho-hum DH guy. He can play a little 3B if needed. But when you look at him compared to the rest of this bunch you just sort of yawn and move one. That's what he'll probably kill other teams this year because you'll let up against him and then he'll burn you.

Rotation
Feliciano Rafael (10/6/8 Ratings)
The default ace of the staff isn't a bad one. I'm sure Randy would like to see a little more movement in his pitches but he's been getting fine so far. The 23 year old is entering his 4th season as a pitcher in the BBA and he's looking to rebound from his worst season to date. An injury last spring cost him about the first month and a half of the season last year, but he still won 10 games marking his 3rd straight year of double digit wins since entering the league.

Ernie Kinney (8/6/6 Ratings)
Kinney is a guy that may not look good on paper, but because he's a southpaw, I think becomes more valuable. Despite ratings that are just meh at best, Kinney won 17 games last year and probably had the best season of his young career thus far. While I'd be shocked to see him repeat a 3.32 ERA in 2036 like he had last year, the offense may allow him to win that many games again. Plus I think we are seeing lefty starters become very valuable in the BBA. I'm hoping so!

Jon Reed (10/6/5 Ratings) and Leon Ramirez (10/7/3 Ratings)
Both are hard throwing guys with a wide arsenal of pitches. Reed recorded over 200 K's last season and Ramirez was not far behind. If both are on their A-game, they are very very good options as #3 and #4 starters. The problem with both, and what keeps them from being truly elite, is their bouts with wildness. Both walked over 100 guys a season ago. I like Ramirez more than Reed because, he's a lefty!

Sam Romero (10/6/9 Ratings)
Romero has spent most of his career in Vegas before starting the final 5 games of the season with San Fernando after being traded. Romero did not fair so well after the trade, posting a 5.73 ERA in those starts with the Bears despite a 4.44 mark in Vegas prior to the trade. He's typically been a starter who has been in the upper 3 range in ERA. He may have some trouble at times getting lefties out, but he wont walk a lot of guys. After Reed and Ramirez's starts, that may be a welcome site for the defense. Romero is a great option as a number 5 starter in the rotation.


Bullpen
Miguel Macias (10/7/7 Ratings)
Macias was signed by the Bears late in free agency and gives them a legitimate end of the game closer. He'll make $9.5 million (more than I'd pay for a closer) to be the guy to secure the wins for San Fernando. He's coming off his best season to date with Yellow Springs where he saved 46 games and won the 2035 Frick League Egan Award. While the rest of the bullpen is just ok, Macias gives the overall group a little more legitimacy.

Bob Sanderson (10/6/8 Ratings) , Wilmot Schlondorff (9/6/7 Ratings), Dan Estrada (8/5/8 Ratings) , Tommy Dietz (9/6/5 Ratings)
These guys are ok, but nothing overwhelming. I think the mindset of San Fernando will be to outscore you and hope their starters can go 6-7 innings. Sanderson is the best of the group by far. Estrada has had two consecutive very good years with the club, though his ratings dictate he'd be one of the last guys off the bench to pitch. Schlondorff gives the Bears a very good lefty off the bench, something that is very crucial. Even if he's not just a LOOGY. As mentioned, lefties are vital. Randy bit the bullet this off-season and converted Dietz into a reliever. He converted pretty good but likely lacks the movement and velocity to be a huge backend reliever. I think the conversion is 3-4 years too late, so you can blame me for that. Granted he had 2-3 years of making good starts with Madison anyway.

Prediction
Randy and the Bears have a very good team again in 2036. The offense is probably the best, just not in the Frick League, but the entire BBA. This team will push 1,000 runs scored this season. Their pitching is good enough to hold onto most of those wins. I wouldn't be surprised to see this team end the year with around 975 runs scored and about 800 runs allowed (mainly just due to their park factors than weak pitching). The Bears have been on a downward trend of late, winning 97, 94, and 91 games respectively over the last 3 seasons. I don't expect that trend to continue. I don't see how this team doesn't win at least 90 games this year and challenge California for the Frick League Pacific division title. Barring something catastrophic, the Bears are a post-season lock. I'll predict a rebound season and bump them back up to 95 wins this season. Does that take the division? I don't know. Who's reporting on California?
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Re: 2036 San Fernando Bears - Race to 1,000

Post by usnspecialist » Wed Sep 12, 2018 10:39 am

Truly great write up, the bar is set high.
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Re: 2036 San Fernando Bears - Race to 1,000

Post by Lane » Wed Sep 12, 2018 10:49 am

Thanks for the vote of confidence in LBC, Chris
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Re: 2036 San Fernando Bears - Race to 1,000

Post by agrudez » Wed Sep 12, 2018 11:29 am

Lee+Guerra <<< Kamada+Harsnett/Lacaze - that is a big hit there for the Bears. Mendez is a tough loss, too. I'm not sure a pair of relievers is going to make up that difference plus 5 games off last year's PYTH.
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Re: 2036 San Fernando Bears - Race to 1,000

Post by 7teen » Wed Sep 12, 2018 1:14 pm

agrudez wrote:
Wed Sep 12, 2018 11:29 am
Lee+Guerra <<< Kamada+Harsnett/Lacaze - that is a big hit there for the Bears. Mendez is a tough loss, too. I'm not sure a pair of relievers is going to make up that difference plus 5 games off last year's PYTH.
I think Guerra is a wash with Harsnett and Lacaze. Lee is far less than Kamada.

But I think Lopez at DH replaces that production over what they got last year at the position.
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LB Surfers 95-96
FL Pac Champs: 95

Madison Wolves 99-2039
JL MW: 99-2009, 17, 20, 21
JL WC: 12
JL: 01, 04, 09, 12
FL Heartland: 32
FL WC: 31, 33
BBA Champs: 04, 09

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FL Pacific: 50
FL WC: 49, 51
FL Champs: 49, 51

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Re: 2036 San Fernando Bears - Race to 1,000

Post by RonCo » Wed Sep 12, 2018 1:17 pm

A wildcard here is that Guerra has been bumping, and looks like a beast now. This is going to be a horrible deal for YS9.
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Re: 2036 San Fernando Bears - Race to 1,000

Post by agrudez » Wed Sep 12, 2018 1:27 pm

7teen wrote:
Wed Sep 12, 2018 1:14 pm
I think Guerra is a wash with Harsnett and Lacaze.
We're going to have to agree to strongly disagree there. Both have a better bat and a much better glove, imo.
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Re: 2036 San Fernando Bears - Race to 1,000

Post by usnspecialist » Wed Sep 12, 2018 4:51 pm

Harsnett was great when I had him, but no way he replicates that over a multi year stretch. Lacaze was a waste of space and overpaid.
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Havana Sugar Kings/San Fernando Bears: 32-50 (1608-1481)
Des Moines Kernels: 52-

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JL Champion- 34
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JL Southern- 34
FL Pacific- 37, 39
Wild Card- 33, 35, 36, 40, 43

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Re: 2036 San Fernando Bears - Race to 1,000

Post by 7teen » Wed Sep 12, 2018 7:11 pm

Lane wrote:
Wed Sep 12, 2018 10:49 am
Thanks for the vote of confidence in LBC, Chris
I have to hope you or California aren’t very good. It hurts Madison’s post-season chances if both of you are good because we all know the Heartland is stacked every year. :coffee:
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LB Surfers 95-96
FL Pac Champs: 95

Madison Wolves 99-2039
JL MW: 99-2009, 17, 20, 21
JL WC: 12
JL: 01, 04, 09, 12
FL Heartland: 32
FL WC: 31, 33
BBA Champs: 04, 09

Portland Lumberjacks 2040-
FL Pacific: 50
FL WC: 49, 51
FL Champs: 49, 51

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Re: 2036 San Fernando Bears - Race to 1,000

Post by Lane » Wed Sep 12, 2018 7:19 pm

7teen wrote:
Wed Sep 12, 2018 7:11 pm
Lane wrote:
Wed Sep 12, 2018 10:49 am
Thanks for the vote of confidence in LBC, Chris
I have to hope you or California aren’t very good. It hurts Madison’s post-season chances if both of you are good because we all know the Heartland is stacked every year. :coffee:
haha. fair enough...shoot i'm not even sure if we can compete with CAL. I feel like I have a fair shot at SF though.
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