Lexington Blue Sox Notes

[David - Lexington]

In the Blue Sox inaugural season, we went 66-55 to enter the Quinary Echelon championship series only to lose in five games. The season was a financial success though as we managed to raise one of the highest revenues in the echelons.

Over the offseason, we took advantage of the budget room to make some big signings. In retrospect, we paid more than we needed to in order to nab these guys but we're happy to get them nevertheless.

2001 Free Agency Signings

SS Alejandro "Puke" Martinez for 5 years @ $26.1M/yr

- The largest signing of the offseason, Martinez will instantly be the star bat of the Lexington offense. He filled a large hole at the shortstop position. He brings an excellent combination of power, on-base ability, and defense and we are pleased to have locked him up for 5 years.

CF Jose Baca for 2 years @ $5.7M/yr

- We needed a competent CF after trading Payne away. Our BABIP was god awful last season and the best way to improve that was getting someone who could play the center field position well. Despite Baca's dismal season last year, we took a chance on him since he was the only decent bat in free agency who could play some semblance of offense.

SP Alvin Camp for 2 years @ $9.1M/yr

- With the success of two-pitch starter Di last year, we took a shot at another potential two-pitch starter in Camp, figuring that his price would be less than one of a conventional starter. We'll see how Camp goes as a starter and if it doesn't work out, Camp will be our closer instead.

MR Zhao-ji Yue for 2 years @ $1.9M/yr

- Yue adds some depth in the bullpen, but if he learns a good fastball, you can expect him to step up into the rotation

[David - Lexington]

2001 Trades

Lexington sends CF Josh Payne and SP Serge LaRochelle
Quito sends SS Jorge Alvarez

- Payne had a great season last year, but we were skeptic that he would be able to keep his performance up. We lacked a strong infield prospect and we got someone who could play plenty of defense and get on base with Alvarez. Quito's catch of this trade may be LaRochelle who has gotten ratings boosts. If they continue, he could be a strong starting pitcher in a league that is lacking in them.

Lexington sends SS Joe Mayes and 1B Julio Velez
Tuscaloosa sends LF Janmajyestha Thommana

- Velez was in a contract year and we didn't plan on extending him. Mayes would have been in a backup role. With this trade, we get a dependable and young starter and shave off some budget for the free agency signings. Thommana will begin the season as the DH

[David - Lexington]

2001 Summary

The Lexington Blue Sox were dominant in the regular season. Led by new acquisition SS Alejandro Martinez (.360/.495/.642, 21 HR, 97 RBI) and strong years by SP Ye Di (15-3, 2.65 ERA) and SP Will Branch (16-4, 2.55 ERA), Lexington tore through with a league best 85-35 record. However, the team fell flat when it mattered, getting swept by runner up Washington in a second straight missed opportunity to reach the 4th tier.

Lexington was not able to resign slugger 1B Rickey Ferguson and will have a hole to fill in offense. However, ratings boosts to guys like RF Lewis Howard and the arrival of top prospect C Roland Welch will help make up for Ferguson's loss.

Looking ahead to 2002, Lexington doesn't have that much room to make a large impact addition. The $8M in cap space left will probably not be enough to replace Ferguson directly or add a strong starter to the rotation. However, we're confident with the team as is going forward and hope to finally get that elusive promotion.

[David - Lexington]

2002 Players to Watch

RF Lewis Howard (8.8.5.6.5, 26 years old)

This outfielder was a 26th round pick in the inaugural draft, but increased both his contact and power ratings by two points each over the last year. Howard had a decent 2001, putting up a .284/.378/.445 line, but we expect those numbers to improve this year. His ability to play 1B as well as outfield may be useful as we may slide him over to replace the loss of 1B Ferguson

C Roland Welch (5.7.7.6.8 OVR, 6.8.8.6.10 POT, 23 years old)

The top prospect in the organization was a dud in the playoffs going 1-15 in his first action in the majors. However, there's no denying that he's ready for the big leagues. He still has room to improve but we hope that he'll be a staple at the catching position for years to come

SP Won-sub Mi (5.7.3 OVR, 6.7.7 POT, 23 years old)

This crafty pitcher has made huge strides since being picked 536th in the inaugural draft. After putting up a 8-5 record and 3.19 ERA in AA, he'll spend the season in AAA to hopefully bring his control up. Original a 4.4.7 prospect, Mi is projecting to be a strong starter that we can't wait to stick into the majors.

SP Luis Ruiz (6.6.5, 23 years old)

After putting up a respectable 3.85 ERA in AAA, the organization has to decide if Ruiz is worthy of a major league rotation spot. Concerns over his control are the major problem, particularly against lefties. We will be taking a close look at Ruiz over spring training to see what to do with him.

[Matt - Seal Beach]

Howard definitely looks like a guy that will be hitting in the .300 range this season.

[David - Lexington]

2002 Free Agency Signings

SP Tim Miller for 1 year @ $1.5M/yr

- Miller is a low-risk signing that should provide OK numbers in the rotation. He is eligible for arbitration after this year so if he does well he could stick around for a bit longer. He hasn't had a decent season yet though, so our expectations aren't that high for him

SP Mike Bass for 1 year @ $1.0M/yr

- Bass showcases good control but will rely on the defense with fairly weak stuff. He's another low-risk player and should do alright if we can keep his BABIP low. I have confidence in our defense so I hope Bass can do alright, especially if he can keep the balls in the park

We missed out on CL David Garza though who Quito got at a bargain, especially if he can do alright as a starter. We have about $5.7M left this season and will be trying to get one last player during spring training.

This was definitely a tamer free agency period for us compared to last year. I wish I had some more money to play with to nab one of the big bats remaining but I'm pretty sure I'll get outbid on them.

[Matt - Marquette]

Garza made a poor decision! He asked for one year, $1.2m, and I offered him $9.2m for the year! And would have happily offered him what he signed for with Quito as an extension. I figured all that money right away would entice him, but I suppose Quito went the smarter route than me.

[Craig - Saratoga]

I beleive I offered him 3 years at 10 mill per. so he must really like Quito

[Patrick - Quito]

he must really like Quito

Ahhhh.... It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.

The file says he's an 8 for intelligence. One would think he knows that 10 is more than 5.4

He has a 7 for preference for winning. We have a .537 winning percentage to date. Marquette 's at .571, Saratoga's at .508. We all have one championship. I doubt he knows that Quito is in the minor leagues, with Saratoga being PE1.

Maybe he just wants the challenge of facing the San Juan Aggression in the 9th inning?

Sweet write-up David!

[David - Lexington]

2002 Midseason Review

Record: 39-21 (1st by 2 games)
Runs scored per game: 7.0 (1st in QE5)
Runs allowed per game: 5.3 (3rd in QE5)

We're pacing the QE5 with much thanks to our offense and little thanks to our starting rotation. The lineup has been solid top to bottom and has not slowed down with the loss of 1B Ricky Ferguson to free agency. Both RF Martino Gonzales (.394/.462/.571, 7 HR, 28 RBI) and C Roland Welch (.323/.368/.624, 15 HR, 61 RBI) are prime candidates for rookie of the year. 3B Esteban Lopez (.363/.462/.526, 4 HR, 32 RBI) has also broken out in a large way, leading the team in VORP and setting up the offense nicely as the leadoff hitter.

Our starting rotation has been very inconsistent though. SP Will Branch couldn't follow up on his great 2001 season and has suffered with a loss of control and high BABIP. Former ace P Ye Di had to be moved out of the rotation this season as his stamina was no longer enough to reliably start games anymore. We may have to consider bringing relievers P Gildas Rocco and P Alvin Camp into the rotation, despite their lack of three strong pitches. They can't do much worse than what we have out there now.

New Orleans is close behind us by 2 games and are the mirror image of us, owning the best pitching in the division. There's still a lot of season to be played but it's looking likely that the championships will be between New Orleans and us barring a collapse.

[David - Lexington]

2002 Regular Season Review

Record: 72-48 (1st by 6 games)
Runs scored per game: 6.6 (1st in QE5)
Runs allowed per game 5.0 (2nd in QE5)

As anticipated, the championship series will feature the best pitching pitted against the best offense. Lexington will take on the New Orleans Big Easy Blues in their third straight playoffs appearance and will try to win their first series. The main concern is still the starting rotation and it's clear that any three starters that Lexington will select will not look like playoff caliber starting pitchers.

Highlights of the regular season:

- Rookie RF Martino Gonzales wins the batting crown by batting .364

- LF Nick Crawford leads league in HRs (34), RBIs (110), and stolen bases (60)

- C Roland Welch knocks out 22 HRs and knocked in 92 RBIs despite batting 9th against right handed starters

- SS Alejandro Martinez, in the second year of a $135.5M contract, puts up his second straight year of 1.000+ OPS and leads league in OBP

[Craig - Saratoga]

Wow Nick Craword, very nice 30/60 season.

[Molson - San Juan]

Wow Nick Craword, very nice 30/60 season.

4 doubles, 4 triples, 34 homeruns and 60 steals just doesn't compute.

no real life player could do that, unless he played in a phone booth.

[David - Lexington]

Hey, he does have high greed

Maybe he's stopping at first base intentionally to pick up those extra steals

[Craig - Saratoga]

Hahaha didn't even notice that. 4 doubles and 34 HR, wow.

[David - Lexington]

2002 Playoffs

Lexington Blue Sox defeats New Orleans Big Easy Blues in the QE5 playoffs in six wild games. Lexington fell behind in the first three games with deficits of 3-0, 4-0, and 10-7, but managed to start off with a commanding 3 games to 0 lead by riding its offense to three comebacks. It became a close series though once Lexington dropped the next two games and found themselves down 5-4 in the bottom of the 11th inning of the sixth game. However, a walk by LF Nick Crawford followed by a walk-off two-run HR by 2B Ed Ryan sealed the series for Lexington and their first promotion into QE4.

Ryan was the series MVP, batting a healthy .455/.556/.909 line and providing the walk-off HR to end the series. We're looking forward to seeing what we can bring to the next level. QE4, here we come!

Upcoming: 2003 offseason

[David - Lexington]

2003 Midseason Review

Record: 30-30 (4th, 3 games behind 1st, 2 games behind Wild Card)
Runs scored per game: 6.3 (1st in QE4)
Runs allowed per game: 5.3 (2nd in QE4)

So we skipped over the 2003 offseason because nothing really happened. Lexington heads into 2003 with nearly the identical team and lineup, but in a new Ecehelon. As expected, performance decreased from last year, with fewer runs scored and more runs allowed. Despite favorable rankings for both offense and pitching, we find ourselves in 4th place, mired in a messy race that has five teams within five games of the division leader.

3B Esteban Lopez (.343/.440/.570, 11 HR, 29 RBI) has been the team's leadoff hitter over the last few years, but his power streak has people wondering if he's better suited at a lower position in the lineup to bat guys in. The rest of the offense has been producing fairly well, though SS Alejandro Martinez (.254/.414/.413, 6 HR, 33 RBI) has seen his production drop off considerably after two years of immense success in QE5. RF Martino Gonzales (.221/.273/.357, 4 HR, 22 RBI) has also struggled to follow up on his rookie of the year season.

As usual, our starting pitching has been a mess. We still lack a bonafide ace, but our #1 starter, two pitch wonder SP Alvin Camp (5-4, 4.00 ERA) did manage to steal the Pitcher of the Month award for June. Rookie SP Rodrigo Garcia (7-3, 3.64 ERA) has been a pleasant surprise, but the rest of the staff is still struggling to string together some good starts. With some budget room to spare next offseason (finally), you can be sure that Lexington will be taking a hard look at whatever starting pitchers become available.

[David - Lexington]

2003 Regular Season Review

Record: 60-60 (3rd, 13 GB from 1st, 2 GB from 2nd)
Runs scored per game: 6.2 (1st in QE4)
Runs allowed per game 5.5 (3rd in QE4)

For the first time since the inception of the EAB, Lexington failed to make the playoffs as they sat in 3rd place, two games out of the wild card spot. They however did manage to keep up their streak of avoiding a losing season...barely. Competition in QE4 was definitely tougher, but Lexington is thrilled to see the Seattle Rainiers promoted to the next level. Throughout the course of the season, Lexington was 55-41 against the other six teams in the echelon and 5-19 against Seattle.

Here are some highlights from the season

Beginning of a Decline
2B Alejandro Martinez still has skills but we're noticing them gradually fading away. This season we saw his arm weaken enough to prevent him from playing SS anymore and put up career low numbers in AVG (.256), OBP (.406), and SLG (.443). He still has two years left of his massive contract of $26.1M/yr and we hope he can maintain some of his productivity through that

Rising Star
3B Esteban Lopez made his mark on QE4, leading the league in RC/27 outs (9.47), OBP (.428), and runs (102). His .953 OPS is a career high and he showed plenty of power in his arsenal by hitting 17 round trippers. He was drafted in the 53rd round of the inaugural draft and spent his first season in the minors, but he's gradually showing everyone that he was an absolute steal.

No Answers in the Rotation
Rookie SP Rodrigo Garcia led the rotation with a 4.14 ERA. The rest of the rotation? 4.63, 5.28, 5.71, and 6.47. The team is desperate for reliable starters so that they don't have to rely on the offense scoring 8 runs per game to win consistently. Lexington is eagerly waiting for SP Won-sub Mi to get his control ready for the majors, but until then, it looks unlikely for Lexington to fix its rotation woes anytime soon.

[David - Lexington]

2004 Regular Season Review

Record: 64-56 (3rd, 9 GB from 1st, 2 GB from 2nd)
Runs scored per game: 5.7 (1st in QE4)
Runs allowed per game 5.6 (5th in QE4)

Lexington continues their streak of avoiding a losing season since the EAB's inception but fail to make the playoffs for the second straight year. The Blue Sox had a hold on 2nd place going into the last quarter of the season but got leapfrogged by the eventual QE4 champions, Lyons, in the last month. Every regular season review seems to be a broken record, as pitching continues to struggle. This time, SP Won-sub Mi was the incoming rookie that we had some hopes for, though he didn't impress much with a 4.58 ERA in the end. The offense seems to be set for a while, especially with the league's new 5-year arbitration rules and a few prospects making their way up. Lexington is just waiting for its pitching to click to make another run up the echelons.

[David - Lexington]

2005 Free Agency Signings

1B Javier Alicea for 1 year @ 570k/yr

- Alicea was a low-risk signing that will platoon at 1B, starting against LHP where he has an impressive 9 power. He's shown success hitting against southpaws in the past, but he's lost some of his game over the last few years. We hope that he rediscovers his stroke with us, especially in a stadium that favors righties.

3B Vincente Sanchez for 2 years @ $3.4M/yr

- We think we got Sanchez at a very nice bargain. He has very nice on-base abilities and can play at different places in the infield adequately. We tried to focus on righties this offseason to cater to our stadium and to handle left handed pitchers better and Sanchez was a perfect fit. He will definitely start against left handers and has a good chance at starting against righties as well.

It's been a while since we got some relevant names in free agency and we're happy with what we've got. We have one of the deepest offenses in franchise history now and good coverage against RHP and LHP now. We're looking forward to next year when Alejandro Martinez's $26.1M salary goes off the books. Maybe we'll actually be able to afford a SP in the market...

[David - Lexington]

2005 Players to Watch

SP Manny Morales (8.4.7, 22 years old)

It seems like every year now, Lexington puts out a rookie SP with the hopes of turning the rotation around. This year, that rookie is Morales, who has a very solid arsenal of pitches and can control them fairly well. The big question is how his tendency to give up the long ball will affect his play in the majors. His HR rate was acceptable in the minors but it's going to be a whole different situation for him now in the big leagues.

MR Eddy Brandon (10.7.5 OVR, 10.8.9 POT, 25 years old)

The 2003 first round pick is ready for the majors with his electric fastball fully developed and his curveball nearly there too. The club's future closer will start off in a set-up role at the beginning of the season, but expect that to change if Brandon can improve his control quickly

OF Paul Hopper (6.5.6.7.6 OVR, 7.5.7.9.6 POT, 27 years old)

Hopper put up great numbers last year in a platoon role in the outfield, finishing with a .900 OPS. Time is ticking down on his opportunity to improve to his potentials, but he still remains a great option against lefties. We plan on grooming him as a CF over the course of the season and with his defense, he may earn himself a full-time job if he does continue to progress.

[David - Lexington]

2005 Regular Season Review

Record: 68-52 (2nd, 4 GB from 1st)
Runs scored per game: 5.8 (2nd in QE4)
Runs allowed per game 5.2 (1st in QE4)

Lexington returns to the playoff scene after a two year hiatus, earning their first chance at promotion to TE3. The series will be against the Seal Beach Admirals who captured 1st in QE4 after promoting from QE5 the previous year. Lexington did not score the most runs in its division for the first time in 4 years, but surprisingly their pitching launched to best in the division. Over the regular season, Lexington and Seal Beach tied in their head-to-head matchup, each winning 12 games apiece. It could be a slugfest with the two most productive offenses pitted against each other and we look forward to watching through the series.

[David - Lexington]

2005 Playoffs

Game 1 @ Seal Beach, Lexington wins 6-0
Lexington leads series, 1-0

SP John Bullock continues his very solid season by pitching 7.1 shutout innings to lockdown Seal Beach's top ranked offense. LF Lewis Howard started off the postseason with a 2-run HR in the first inning and Lexington never looked back.

Game 2 @ Seal Beach, Lexington wins 6-2
Lexington leads series, 2-0

Rookie SP Manny Morales shines in his first postseason start, scattering just two solo HRs enroute to a complete game with 10 strikeouts.

Game 3 @ Lexington, Lexington wins 4-3
Lexington leads series, 3-0

Lexington survives a 9th inning scare as CL Gildas Rocco escapes a 1-out, man on 2nd and 3rd situation to preserve a 1 run lead and put  Lexington within one game of a promotion.

Game 4 @ Lexington, Seal Beach wins 11-8
Lexington leads series, 3-1

Seal Beach's offense awakens as Lexington blows a late 4-3 lead. Seal Beach exploded for 7 runs in the 9th inning to take a 11-4 lead. Lexington roared back to get the tying man up to the plate with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th, but two quick outs gave Seal Beach their first win of the series.

Game 5 @ Lexington, Seal Beach wins 8-3
Lexington leads series, 3-2

Seal Beach's bats continue their surge, jumping to a 6-0 lead by the 3rd inning and coasting their way to their second straight win. SP Manny Morales gave up 4 HRs and the series returns to Seal Beach.

Game 6 @ Seal Beach, Lexington wins 16-6
Lexington wins series, 4-2

Lexington shows that their offense can score some too by scoring 9 runs in the first 2 innings enroute to a series clinching victory. Every  starter got a hit and 3B Esteban Lopez reached base five times, scoring four times.

[David - Lexington]

2006 Free Agency Signings

For the first time in several years (specifically, since the signing of SS Alejandro Martinez), Lexington had plenty of budget room heading into free agency. With almost $40M in budget room and several holes to fill, we were aggressive in getting the players we believed would help us the most.

SP Bob Dougherty for 3 years @ $10.0M/yr

Though we put up 1st in pitching last year in QE4, we're chalking that to stupid luck as our starting rotation is still lacking in big arms. Dougherty has demonstrated strong control in his career, but hasn't put up a great season yet. We're skeptical about his lack of movement, but we think he'll do better competing in TE3 after 6 years in PE1


SP Allen Webb for 2 years @ $10.0M/yr

Webb is pretty much the same story as Dougherty. He was a dominant starter several years ago but has weaned off since. He's still an improvement over what we've been putting out lately, but again we have to watch out for those long balls that he might be prone to


1B Gabriel Ortiz for 1 year @ $7.2M/yr

Ortiz will platoon at the 1B spot, getting starts against left handed starters. We have an open spot at 1B and we opted to fill the spot with two players platooning with each other. See below.


1B Roberto Alaniz for 1 year @ $5.4M/yr

Alaniz will start at 1B against right handed starters. Overall, we will essentially have a 1B who is 7.8.8.8.4 vs RHP and 8.9.9.6.5 vs LHP for about $12.6M, which we're pretty excited about. Platooning always includes the risk that either or both batters become cold with a lack of starts though.


MR Bart Adronyk for 1 year @ $960k/yr

Adronyk will be our lone southpaw coming out of the pen. A low risk addition, he should help add depth to our pitching staff

[Mike - Rio de Janeiro]

This will be an interesting test to see how mediocre PE pitchers fare in the lower echelons. Dougherty never meet his potential in 6 years at Rio. Good luck with him, I'll be watching how he does.