About the new season

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Bonhomme2010
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About the new season

Post by Bonhomme2010 » Wed May 27, 2015 4:00 pm

2 expansion teams (Ottawa & Sussex) and 2 different road teams should make the league a lot less boring... there won't be 25 games between the same 2 teams this year. That being said, here's my short list of expectations/questions/predictions for the season:

Rockland Boulders
They're bringing back a good number of the guys who won the championship in 2014... which was to be expected. Jerod Edmonson has "retired". The defense looks shaky (1st base, corner outfielders, catcher) and could cost them a good number of games. Pitching looks pretty good

New Jersey Jackals
Only 2 pitchers (Pavlik & Fennell) and 1 position player back from 2014 (Caldwell). After a season of Joe Calfapietra, the players all want out! Where will the power come from? Already 5 errors in the first 2 games. The pitching is a question mark! Could Joe have been born again into a pitching/defense zealot? They have 1 open "veteran" slot and 2 new just retired players as coaches. Won't be surprised if they activate 1 of the 2 depending if they need pitching (Tony Claggett) or offense (Jerod Edmonson). They'll make the playoffs... because there won't be enough opposition from the 2 expansion teams.

Capitales de Québec
11 veterans * on a 22 players roster should make them the best team in the league. They have the best pitching staff ON PAPER. The best catchers anchor the best defense up the middle. By far the most experienced team... but they split the opening 4 games against Gary with it's 11 rookies!! 3 of the 4 cuban players were dominant in Cuba!! How will that translate in the won/loss column? Should make for an interesting summer!

* 4 listed veterans + 4 cubans + 2 LS-5 + Jean-Luc Blaquière are all 28 and older! But the game is not played on paper!

Aigles de Trois-Rivières
Frankly, I'm puzzled! I just can't get a feeling for that team. Pitching should be better this year backed by an improved infield defense, especially at short-stop. On offense... who knows? Could it be the manager? I don't have a clue!

Ottawa Champions
They do have the best player in the league in Sébastien Boucher but he can't pitch. The manager, Hal Lanier, has a ton of experience but they're still an expansion team so lets wait and see.

Sussex Miner
Pitching looks shaky out of the gate but that's expected from an expansion team. After having watched their opening home game on the web, it looks like a solid organisation off the field. Let's wait and see!
Last edited by Bonhomme2010 on Wed May 27, 2015 4:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Bonhomme2010
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Post by Bonhomme2010 » Thu May 28, 2015 1:57 am

What do you call a team fielding 19 new players out of 22?

An EXPANSION team!

And they're playing just like one... 8 errors in their first 3 games.

I've watched all 3 games... I've yet to see a good swing!

The New Jersey Jackals!

What do you expect with 2 coaches with NO experience... and a manager who does'nt speak to his players?!
Last edited by Bonhomme2010 on Thu May 28, 2015 2:14 am, edited 1 time in total.

Bonhomme2010
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Post by Bonhomme2010 » Fri May 29, 2015 4:13 am

I just got back from les Aigles / Jackals game.

One huge positive, a first this year for the Jackals: NO ERROR!!!! in the game. They stand at 8 after 4 games.

A huge negative: of all the swings taken by their hitters, only ONE was solid, Caldwell's double. They are completely lost at the plate! Their most blaring void is LEADERSHIP! Which is to be expected with an all new (well, almost) roster. One needs to perform on the field before standing in the dugout! You can't say "OK, guys, follow me!" when you're not doing the job yourself! And Joe Calfapietra doesn't have much of a clue on leadership.... his players on defense must have been embarassed when he got out of the dugout to argue that the hitter should have been called for interference on a slow rolling fall ball. YES... a fall ball grounder! He did look a bit ridiculous! Bad timing that showed he's feeling the pressure. Panicking is not a good way to help your players, Joe! Not a smile on the faces I've seen tonight! They got 2 hits: Caldwell's double and an infield single that Cuevas couldn't get out of his glove. And ZERO power! They're in trouble!

On the other side of the field, les Aigles are relaxed. It took just 1 swing for a 3 run bomb to center field. Their pitching staff looks solid (or is it the Jackals hitters that are making them look good?). I sensed a team with a good helping of confidence tonight. The fans in Trois-Rivières should have a lot more fun this summer and there should more of them in the stands too!

Bonhomme2010
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Post by Bonhomme2010 » Wed Jun 03, 2015 3:23 pm

So, Joe's first move to shake the line-up is to trade for a bat with (supposedly) some pop. A.J. Kirby-Jones. I write "supposedly" because the only power number he has had were in Stockton (A ball) where the left field fence is at 300 feet from home plate and in Sioux Falls, a known hitters heaven. On defense, the only position he has played is at 1st base which begs the question: Would you rather have a first baseman who's 5'10'' like A.J. or over 6'3''? Think of the number of errant throws to first that he won't be able to reach!!!

Do I smell a DH?

I almost forgot to mention that he's always had over 1 strikeout per game and never hit above .260 in affiliated ball bearing in mind that the Can-Am league is more a pitcher's league than the American Association... in my humble opinion!

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Re: Joe's First Move

Post by TrumpetGuy » Sun Jun 21, 2015 1:24 pm

The first couple of games I saw AJ Kirby-Jones (pretty cool name, by the way), I thought he looked good.... then they went on the road and when they came back, he looked terrible at the plate. He has been on the bench the last two games and they have given Matt Helms two starts. I was initially hopeful that another potential power bat in the middle of the lineup would help this team, but he is on the bench (right now) and this offense looks insufficient at this point.

Speaking of Matt Helms, his numbers this year to date have been really poor. He seems like he is still helping Quebec (where he was traded from). .300 hitter there and batting .136 through 6/20.

Bonhomme2010
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Post by Bonhomme2010 » Tue Jul 07, 2015 9:25 pm

Bonhomme2010;178710 May 25 2015 wrote:New Jersey Jackals
They have 1 open "veteran" slot and 2 new just retired players as coaches. Won't be surprised if they activate 1 of the 2 depending if they need pitching (Tony Claggett) or offense (Jerod Edmonson).
It's Clagett!!! With all the injuries to the pitching staff... it's a nobrainer!

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Post by DJ Omnimaga » Sat Aug 08, 2015 2:57 am

Darn the Aigles are now 5th, behind Ottawa. They had a good run so far, so I hope they can climb back until the end of the season to make their first playoffs appearance. a TR vs QC playoff series would rule.

Also Capitales attendance was severely hurt by weather this season. Normally they draw crowds of around 4K near the end of the week around this time of the Summer, but so far everyday had rain showers and more recently evenings were somewhat chilly. I am surprised that the Aigles are drawing this much considering the horrible weather. The other teams are affected as well so Northeastern USA and Canada haven't been pretty lucky so far when it comes to playing baseball.

Thankfully, there weren't many postponed games so far, though, so I guess the extra paid attendance will make up for the drop in average crowds.

That said, I noticed that the crowd of 2200 at Capitales the other night looked as big as many of the 3K crowds I saw a few years ago during the Lantigua era, so maybe the drop in addencance is due to attendance now being counted differently? (eg some NHL teams such as the St-Louis Blues only includes people who actually attends games, while other teams such as the Florida Panthers also includes unused season tickets)

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Post by DJ Omnimaga » Wed Sep 16, 2015 3:26 am

Quebec is eliminated :(

Oh well, good luck to TR and I can't wait for season 2016 for Quebec to win a 7th championship :)

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Re: TR

Post by TrumpetGuy » Tue Dec 15, 2015 9:50 pm

TR, as you put it, got it done and took it home in game 5. New champion for the league in 2015.

It will be interesting to see the Cuban team next year. Too bad about no more inter-league play with the American Association.

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Post by DJ Omnimaga » Sat Jun 11, 2016 5:21 am

I hope next year they do the Cuba series again. Watching these guys play was awesome. They looked a bit tired near the end of the doubleheader but despite losing both games they gave Capitales an hard time. I'm betting they take the next two. Also it was an huge seller. Yesterday there were 3700 people at the game but it was suspended due to rain. Tonight had over 4500 and only SRO tickets were available (they could have easily fit 200 more in the yellows, though).

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