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Kabul Bulls

Wolfman21

Well-Known Member
Lando is really butthurt about a pick that he had/has nothing to do with. Its ok Orlando. Breathe in, Breathe out.
 

Wolfman21

Well-Known Member
Sorry, thats right, it was the vajorov signing that you were killing even though hes outperforming 24 million dollar man Gonnet. Then again, i remember you beating down the pick of Humphrey when I made it as well. Its cool though. Not sure where you expect to get a pitcher of Humphrey's caliber with a 2nd round pick though.
 

Wolfman21

Well-Known Member
lol, i really need to watch how I type I think because you guys area always thinking I'm mad when I'm happily giving my opinion about things. Guess I need to notch it back some.
 

Orlando

Well-Known Member
Utopia Moderator
Sorry, thats right, it was the vajorov signing that you were killing even though hes outperforming 24 million dollar man Gonnet. Then again, i remember you beating down the pick of Humphrey when I made it as well. Its cool though. Not sure where you expect to get a pitcher of Humphrey's caliber with a 2nd round pick though.
why you mad doe?

I have gotten relievers of his caliber for less.
 

Wolfman21

Well-Known Member
With the first 1/3 of the season about under wraps, I figured I would hit on some of the bigger stories of the season for the Bulls so far...

  • As of June 5th, 2045...Kabul sits in 3rd place behind Buffalo and Australia with a 33-24 record. Both Kabul and Australia are 7.0 games behind Buffalo, however Australia's winning % is slightly better to give them 2nd place. The Bulls have played a pretty easy schedule so far, so I'm not sure if I should expect to fall or stay about where I'm at. I think we are good enough for 3rd or 4th in the SL...I'm just hoping we can stay there. False Bay and Beunos Aires would be the teams I'm most afraid of stealing a playoff bid from me. I think Buffalo, Australia and Cairo are almost assuredly in.
  • Dmitr "Scuttlebutt" Vajorov has been better than I had hoped he would be when I drop 20 mil over 2 season on him in the offseason. Owns a slash line of .382/.394/.557 which puts him in the Top 5 of the SL for avg, OBP, slugging and OPS. Leading off for me, he has hit 7 homers, driven in 33 and scored 36.
  • The surprise of the season would have to be my starting pitching. If you had told me before the season that as of June 5th, Peppers Pasquet would own my highest ERA at 4.08 and everyone else would be under 3.60 AFTER Danny Cross was lost for the season...I would have laughed in your face.
  • While Neanderthal Geeves has had a bit of a disappointing first few months, he was rewarded for his first two full seasons of All-Star level play with a 5 year, 40 million dollar contract to remain with the Bulls until he is in his 30's.
  • Gavrel Ashaulov has turned his play up over the last month and a half which has allowed me to comfortably keep Chavez in RF giving me the best defensive team (2nd in EFF in the SL) i've had since I took over the Bulls. Tumanut at 3B and Kirk at SS help this as well as they are very, very good defensively while holding their own offensively.
  • Sadly, Amir Leduc was sent down to AAA as his decline in ratings and performance became too much for me to overlook. As I did this, I went ahead and promoted Billy Humphrey to the big club. He proved his stuff in the minors and I expect him to be very good for years to come in the big leagues. Still has some improving to do to reach his potential, but he instantly becomes the best arm in my bullpen with Camelier being a close 2nd. I'll have him setup at first before moving him into the closers role for good maybe next season.

Lets do a little updating...

  • With just over 30 games remaining in the 2045 season, Kabul sits tied for 3rd in the SL with Australia and Buenos Aires at 70-59. This is gonna be one hell of a final month as three teams battle for 2 spots. Buffalo has pulled way away at 91-38 and Cairo sits comfortably in 2nd with a 78-51 record.
  • The injury bug has hit my team and taken out some very valuable pieces. Young closer Billy Humphrey was lost for the rest of the season on August 5th with shoulder inflammation. Stud outfielder Felix Perez broke his thumb after being hit with a pitch on August 19th and will be lost for a month. Luckily, Perez will be back for the final week to 2 weeks of the season.
  • Disappointingly, Neanderthal and Ivan Ruiz have had down years this season. Both are hitting in the .260s even though they are still providing some pop with 20+ homers a piece. Ruiz is on pace to have the worst season of his career and definitely won't be close to what he has done in his previous two seasons with the Bulls.
  • Percy "Homicide" van der esch has continued his awesome season. The All-Star game snub now has the 2nd best ERA in the SL at 2.88 and sits with a 13-9 record. He is also Top 5 in the SL in BABIP, VORP, Opponents Batting Avg and Opponents Slugging %.

TRADES!

  1. Kabul traded Third Baseman Bryan Tumanut to the Istanbul Ottomans for Pitcher Ricard Evensson and Third Baseman Toby Butcher. EXTREMELY happy with this trade. Tumanut, while a wizard with the glove, was never in my long term plans in the infield. Joe Kirk is just as good at SS or 3B and provides a better bat and David Lopez is practically WBL ready now. So in return, I picked up a pitcher that can either be a very, very good reliever or possibly a starter. He is needed more in my bullpen and he has definitely produced going 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA and a 0.71 WHIP in 15 appearances. I also picked up Tumanut's short term replacement in Butcher. All hes done since joining the Bulls is produce a 1.1 WAR with a slash line of .297/.323/.448 in 51 games. Contrast that with Tumanut who is hitting .211/.225/.237 in 10 games since joining the Ottomans. Extremely happy with this trade.
  2. Kabul traded First/Second Baseman Duane Langille and Outfielder Kjell Hedblom to Las Vegas for Starting Pitcher Geiler Schulz. I wanted another veteran arm in my rotation and Schulz became available after @doh inquired upon Langille. I've got a couple young arms like Abdul Jalil-hud and Alastair Fishburn that could be WBL ready, however bringing them into a playoff race is not what I'd like to do. Especially since Hud didn't do all that well in his 6 starts in the WBL this season. So hopefully, Schulz will bring a veteran presence and return to his previous years form for Kabul. In return, Las Vegas received Langille who is very, very good defensively at both second base and first base. In the minors, he was very good at getting on base having a .380+ OBP every season since he turned 19. In his first week with Las Vegas in the WBL, he hit over .400 with a homer and 8 RBI. Hedblom is a very good defensive outfielder that would become extremely valuable if his bat improves. His batting ratings took a little bit of a dive this past season which made him a little bit more expendable to me. Ashaulov's emergence in CF for Kabul as well as Tony Rosales in my A squad helped me in making the decision to let him go as well.
 

Wolfman21

Well-Known Member
And so ends the 2045 season for the Kabul Bulls. This season will be remembered as the season the organization made their first playoff appearance as well as the season that the Bulls finished with their best seasonal record at 89-73. The future looks bright in Kabul even after being shutout in 3 of the four playoff games they played against Buffalo. Many young stars such as Laoghaire Geeves, Felix Perez, Miguel Chavez, Yoann Pasquet and Percy van der Esch are gaining invaluable experience and performing extremely well for being so early in their careers. It is insane to look at the Kabul Bulls record books and see these early 20 year olds just littering it with their names.

Season Notes:
  • It was said that Dmitr Vajorov could not play up to his 10 million dollar contract. It was said that he was too old...could not play the field, etc. How did he answer? By tying the Season record for hits with 250, posting a slash line of .343/.366/.502 and a WAR of 6.0 which is very good for a DH. His contract was compared to Dominique Gonnet's at one point and how Gonnet was worth triple. Lets do some revisionist comparing here:
Gonnet's 2045 season - .332/.358/.578......204 hits, 38 homers, 109 RBI, 25 doubles, 44 stolen bases, 7.6 WAR while batting 2nd/3rd in lineup and receiving a salary of $24,920,000. .136/.174/.136 in Playoffs.
Vajorov's 2045 season - .343/.366/.502.....250 hits, 20 homers, 89 RBI, 56 doubles, 12 stolen bases, 6.0 WAR while batting leadoff and receiving a salary of $10,000,000. .333/.375/.600 in Playoffs.

The State rests it's case.

  • Starting pitching became a strength that I didn't expect. The acquisition of Geiler Schulz proved vital down the stretch as he was named the SL pitcher of the month for September and propelled me into the playoffs. Young faces such as Homicide, Peppers and Sparky proved vital as well as old hands like Jacob Verberne who at 32, had the best season of his career.
  • Miguel Chavez really hit his stride this season posting the best Slugging%, OPS, VORP and WAR in the South League. If he can stay healthy, as he did this season, the sky is the limit for him.
  • Felix Perez was dynamite in Left Field. He finished in the Top 5 in the SL in Homers and Walks even though he missed a month with a broken finger after being hit by a pitch.
  • Laoghaire Geeves had two rough months during the season, however he really shined when it mattered posting a slash line of .382/.438/.676 in September and finishing with another 100 RBI season making it 3 out of 3 seasons to start his career with 100 RBI. He was rewarded with a 5 year, 40 million dollar contract which will keep him in Kabul through his Age 30 season.
  • Joe Kirk and Gavrel Ashaulov really took steps forward this season in the hitting department. Both had career years and if they can continue producing at that level with the superstar talent around them, Kabul could continue to see good things.

The Future is bright in Kabul. Next season should see the arrival of two future studs in Tien Thu and David Lopez to further invigorate this squad with youth and talent. The plan is to have Lopez take over the reigns at 3B from half season dynamo Toby Butcher and for Thu to platoon between 1B, giving Ruiz some needed rest, and catcher. The Bulls have a plethora of SP options as well as a bullpen full of good arms that just need to produce. 2046 should be a very exciting season for Bulls fans and one that hopefully sees them back in the playoffs!
 

Wolfman21

Well-Known Member
And so begins the 2046 season! The Bulls are sitting at 10-10 after 3 weeks. They jumped out to a hot 9-4 start, however the latest week saw them go 1-5 against False Bay and Australia. The South League is a legit 6 teams deep this season so grabbing one of the Top 4 playoff spots is going to be increasingly difficult. Here are some thoughts on what occured over the offseason and what has happened over the first 3 weeks:

2046 Draft
  • Really, I only had one draft pick in the first 4 rounds and that was Infielder Chad Childs at pick 1-9. According to OSA, Childs doesn't look like anything special. However, according to my scout, Childs has a potential 65 contact and all of his other ratings are 50 and higher with his avoid k at 65 as well. If he can reach his potential and actually play at it with his stats...he could be a steal at 1-9. He is really good around the bases, however his defense leaves a little to be desired. He would be an above average second baseman or an average shortstop. We'll see where his future takes him.
2046 IFA's
Free Agents
  • Only signed one free agent, but it was a big one for me. Catcher Jose Salas was signed to a 1 year, 4 million dollar contract. He is an immense upgrade offensively over the Terry Evans/Ben Putnam duo i've used over the last two seasons. Defensively, he leaves a bit to be desired however so we'll see how that affects my pitching over the season.
Random Notes
  • 3B David Lopez, my first IFA signing when I joined the league, is now my starting Third Baseman. His ratings are WBL ready, so hes getting the shot. I expect him to struggle a bit and he has so far hitting just .218/.237/.346. Still early and he is very talented. I expect him to get better. The good news is that he is an extremely good fielder so even if his bat struggles a bit, hes gonna field his position well.
  • C/1B Tien Thu was called up to make his WBL debut as well. He is splitting time at catcher and first base. He gives Salas breaks behind the plate while platooning with Ivan Ruiz at first base. Ruiz starts vs RHP and Thu vs LHP. It has worked extremely well so far as Ruiz is putting up fantastic numbers and Thu is holding his own at .286/.412/.571 in 8 games.
  • If you had talked to me before this latest sim, I would be extremely proud of the way the Bulls had started the season. The Bulls were top 2-3 in pretty much every statistic, both pitching and batting. That has fallen off extremely after this latest sim however. I still expect us to battle extremely hard for a Top 4 playoff spot. My pitching is young, but good. My bats are also young but extremely good, it just has to all come together.
Contract Extensions
  • RF Miguel "Pinto" Chavez signed a 5 year, 37.5 million dollar contract extension at the beginning of this season. The extension will begin in 2048 as he'll play 2046 and 2047 at his 3.5 mil/yr rate. This will keep Chavez in the Bulls' outfield for the rest of his prime years. Coming off of his past 3 seasons, this is an incredible steal of a deal in my mind and I couldn't have hit the submit button faster.
  • Infielder Joe Kirk signed a 5 year, 7.6 million dollar contract extension at the beginning of the season. This was an extremely valuable deal to me as getting an infielder that can play every infield spot at a just below elite level for just over 1 million per year is fantastic. Not to mention that I believe his bat is underrated. I don't think he'll ever be a stud hitter, but a .270/.350/.380 hitter with his defense in the infield for that price is a steal. Even if I get a better infielder to take his spot, he would be a very very good backup at his price. A win contract for the Bulls.
 

Wolfman21

Well-Known Member
Just wanted to give major props to the home fans for giving the Bulls the best home field advantage in the league. Through June 24th, 2046 the Bulls are an astounding 24-5 at home...the best such record in the WBL.
 

Wolfman21

Well-Known Member
Congratulations to the six Kabul players to make the 2046 All-Star Game.

  1. C Jose Salas - An off season acquisition, Salas has been everything that the Bulls had hoped for when they signed him out of free agency for 4 million dollars. A slash line of .275/.372/.457...Salas is one of only 3 catchers in the SL with an average >.270 and double digit homers.
  2. CL Billy Humphrey - His first full season in the WBL has exceeded expectations to this point. Humphrey boasts a 2.41 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 16 saves. There are numerous closers in the SL that are worthy of this selection, so to be chosen is an honor.
  3. 2B Laoghaire "Neanderthal" Geeves - #1 in the SL for 2nd basemen in categories such as doubles, hits, runs, homeruns and RBI, Geeves is having a phenomenal year. Only Bailey Gilliland in the SL is having a comparable year amond 2nd basemen. This will be Geeves 3rd All-Star game in his 4 year career.
  4. 3B David Lopez - This rookie has been phenomenal in his first year. Boasts a slash line of .326/.362/.447...Lopez is top 2 in basically every statistical batting category for South League 3rd basemen. All the while, he is only 21 years old and hasn't reached his full potential yet.
  5. LF Felix "Prophet" Perez - The Prophet makes his first All Star Game by leading SL Left Fielders in homeruns, RBI and walks. He owns a slash line of .272/.376/.523. I keep waiting for Perez to become a .300+ average type guy. Only being 22 years old, he still has that possibility, however with his power and walk numbers, he doesn't have to be to be extremely effective.
  6. RF Miguel "Pinto" Chavez - Having possibly the best season in the WBL, Chavez boasts a slash line of .360/.411/.686. He has 30 home runs and 76 RBI. He has hit atleast 9 homeruns with 20 RBI and 20 runs scored in every month of the season. An amazing season so far for Chavez.
 

Wolfman21

Well-Known Member
Top Prospect Update - 2046 All-Star Edition

Pitchers
  1. Michael "Buckeye' Conley - My 2045 1st round draft pick, Conley has pitched pretty well. And even while pitching well, his BABIP's have been in the .330's which means he should get even better. My scout's potential ratings for Conley have taken a dive but OSA still expects him to be good. We shall see what happens.
  2. SP Alastair Fishburn - My 2043 1st round draft pick, Fishburn has made his WBL debut this season and he has definitely impressed. In 4 starts he owns a 1.98 ERA, 1.06 WHIP. I love pitchers with movement on their pitches and Fishburn has it. Needs to continue to work on his control, but if he can continue pitching the way he is now, he'll have a spot on my rotation over guys with higher ratings that aren't performing as well.
  3. SP Tony Roman - This guy has kind of come out of nowhere to be one of my more intriguing prospects. Just two seasons ago, his potential ratings were sitting at 50/55/45. This season, they have peaked at 55/55/65 and he is pitching extremely well. If nothing else, a pretty good bullpen arm in the future that I didn't expect to get out of him.
  4. P Evan Nuyten - Spending his 4th season in AAA, Nuyten is the proverbial "AAAA" guy. Stamina for days, 4 average or better pitches yet nothing that screams "WBL" starter. Will probably be inserted into my bullpen next season as he has reached his peak of prospect at age 25.
  5. P Chad Sullivan - Would be an interesting prospect if his movement rating wasn't so crappy. Still, one to watch.
 
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Wolfman21

Well-Known Member
Top Prospect Update - 2046 All-Star Edition
Batters
  1. OF Tony Rosales - Future Kabul Center Fielder more than likely. Defense and baserunning has improved since he was moved to Single A. OSA improved his contact potential to 60 in the offseason however my scout still has him sitting at 55. Either way, if he reaches his potential, would be an upgrade over Gavrel Ashaulov. Will probably be sent up to AA for final few weeks of season.​
  2. INF Chad Childs - My 2046 first round pick, so not listed on my Top Prospects list yet, but if he were, he would either be ahead of Rosales or right behind him. Childs' projected ratings actually improved once he reached my single A system. According to my scout, he has 65 contact potential, 60 gap, 45 power, 50 eye and 65 avoid k. He is also pretty good defensively and stout around the basepaths. My issue, however, is that there is an infield logjam behind Geeves, Lopez and Kirk. Where will Childs get PT? Will he be traded? Who knows at this point.​
  3. UTIL Denis "Putt Putt" Uytenhage - An equally good 3B/RF, Putt Putt has seen his potential ratings dip a bit since being brought up from the IC. Still, for his first professional season, hes not doing bad. Slash line of .271/.325/.367. Where will he play and will he improve?​
  4. UTIL Artyom Chekomasov - My first first round selection. Passed over some pretty good talent to select this guy when I did. He will be a good utility bench bat for me. Plays the field above average just about anywhere and has a good enough bat. Hitting very well in AAA right now.
  5. 1B Sesto Colonnese - Signed in the same IFA class as David Lopez. Not rated highly on my top prospects list, but I think he is. My scout likes him a little better and has him at 55 contact and 65 power. He has absolutely destroyed the minor leagues in the last season and a half hitting 55 homeruns in his last 212 games. Averaging a homerun every 4 games. Could he be the heir to Ivan Ruiz? Probably won't be as good as Ruiz unless he really cranks it up, but hes coming along at about the right time.
  6. C Kian Stops - Average defensively but has a pretty solid bat for behind the plate. According to my scout he has 50+ potential at every rating. We shall see how he continues to progress.
 
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Wendell Gee

dawg_gone parrothead
Great game. Suggest you screen shot that page and save it to imgur .. I think the game logs get wiped every offseason so that link won't work next month.
 

Wolfman21

Well-Known Member
And with that, the 2046 season ends for the Kabul Bulls. An intriguing year that saw them in and out of the playoffs all the way up until the last week when they made a mad dash by going 7-0 to sweep into the playoffs, one game bette than the Cairo Tuts at 96-66. This had them set up in a series against the False Bay Flying Whites, the top seed in the SL. Sadly, the Bulls were swept in 3 straight games. The Bulls were held to 1 hit, a Vajorov solo shot in game one. In game 2, they blew a 3-0 lead in the 8th inning by giving up 2 runs in the 8th and a solo run in the 9th before losing in extra innings. In the 3rd game they fell behind 2-0 before tying it up in the 8th. Sadly, errors gave away 2 unearned runs in the 9th and they eventually lost the series in a 4-3 deciding game. Should have done much better...no excuse. We seem to be just on the cusp but not able to do enough. Too many blown leads late in games throughout the entire season and it bit us in the ass in the playoffs as well. Sadly, the best pitchers on my team are my setup/closers...so im not real sure what to change there.

In the end, lots of guys had great singular seasons.

Miguel Chavez had the best season out of any position player in the SL finishing with 49 homers, 137 RBI, a .349 average and an OPS of 1.051. His WAR was a gargantuan 10.6.

His outfield mate Felix Perez also had a fantastic season finishing with 48 homers, 134 RBI, a .285 average and a .965 OPS. His WAR was 2nd in the SL at 7.1.

Ivan Ruiz had a great bounce back season playing mostly against Right handers since he had such a down year vs lefties last year. In just 122 games, Ruiz finished with 30 homers, 101 RBI, a .312 avg, .904 OPS and a 3.4 WAR.

David Lopez had a magnificent rookie season. He had a slash line of .320/.353/.443 with 10 homers, 37 doubles, 5 triples and 67 RBI. He finished with a 4.1 WAR.

Joe Kirk had the best season of his career. He had a slash line of .286/.352/.407 with 12 homers, 31 doubles and 57 walks. He finished with a 3.2 WAR.

Scotty Wilson took over CF from Gavrel Ashaulov for the final month+ of the season and did extremely well. Finished with a slash line of .301/.355/.458 over 72 games with 7 homers, 34 RBI, 10 doubles, 4 triples, 21 walks and 8 stolen bases in 9 attempts.

Neanderthal did Neanderthal things finishing with a 5.4 WAR even while missing a month of the season due to a broken finger. Finished with a slash line of .327/.381/.527 with 25 homers, 99 RBI, 28 doubles and 3 triples in 131 games.

Homicide van der Esch had the best season of my pitchers. He finished 19-6 in 32 starts with a 3.50 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Only allowed 11 homers in 200+ innings.

Billy Humphrey had a pretty good first full season as the Bulls closer. Finished with a 2-7 record with 34 saves and a 2.04 ERA in 66 appearances. Struck out 88 batters in 66 innings and finished with a 0.86 WHIP.

My goals in the offseason are to improve my overall defense, to infuse some of my younger talent into my system and to try and improve upon my pitching as a whole(defense will play a part in that). Hoping some of my pitchers who had strong seasons last year will put this year behind them.
 

Wolfman21

Well-Known Member
We shall see. I've got a ton of thinking and moving around to do on my squad. I've spent the past hour on the sim moving guys around, releasing guys, making offers, etc.
 

Wolfman21

Well-Known Member
2047 Draft
  1. (1-16) SP Steve "Harvey" Dent - There wasn't a ton of talent left sitting around at this point. I got what I thought was the best pitcher left. Two potential 60 rated pitches, 55/55/50 potential ratings. Ratings improved each year he was in college, so hopefully that continues.
  2. (2-41) 1B Rich "Gordie" Howe - Ever seen a first baseman that doesn't hit for power but can run like the wind? Well, you have now. His stats are impressive for a young high schooler. Only 17 years old and he hit .344/.427/.438 which was a small improvement over his 16 year old junior season where he hit .328/.423/.414.
  3. (3-70) OF Steve Snow - Very good defense with an average arm. Fast as lightning around the basepaths. Hit around .300 in his final two high school seasons. He has the tools outside of his bat...now if we can just improve on the bat.
  4. (4-90) INF Justin Cooper - Quite possibly the strongest arm in the draft.
2046 IFA's - Only had 333,333 to work with for each player.
Free Agents
  • OF Petya Umpelev - 1 Year, 2.5 Million - I needed a 4th outfielder and I feel like I grabbed a good one. Umpelev will be able to give all 3 positions a break. He'll be a little below average defensively in center field with 55 range, but hes still not bad. He'll play mostly against RHP as his LHP ratings are a little lacking.
  • RF Diego "Condor" Ramos - Minor League Contract with 1 Million Signing Bonus - This guy intrigues the hell out of me. 65 Contact, 65 Avoid K, 50 gap with 30 eye and 20 power. I really want to bring him up just to see how he'll do but he has some pretty big negatives. For one, defensively, hes not very good. 55 range with 45 errors. Secondly, with 30 eye, how will he hit? Dude will be swinging at everything. He'll get a few hits with his 65 contact alone...but hes also gonna hit some dribblers as he swings at crap.
  • OF Orlando Astorias - Minor League Contract - My scout likes him a bit more than the website ratings show, however he is purely Minor League filler that I'll keep an eye on to see if he progresses.
  • OF Henry "Bad" Health - Minor League Contract - Basically, same deal as Astorias.
Random Notes
  • Last year I signed Jose Salas and had him and Tien Thu behind the plate. Their defense was woeful and I feel like my pitching suffered a little because of that. So instead of re-signing Salas and having the same situation, I brought up C Mike Bowie from AA to be my platoon catcher with Thu. Dude is stout behind the plate. Not the best arm, but my scout sees him with 80 ability which should make my pitching even better. Hes not gonna hit a ton, but thats not what I have him in my lineup for and I don't really need his offense with all of my other guys. Strictly defense.
  • Im still combing my system and free agency for a backup infielder and a DH. Got some decisions to make on that front.
 

Wolfman21

Well-Known Member
Its funny, hes a guy thats played for a while in my minors and put up good numbers. For some reason, i'm just now seeing the importance of a great defensive catcher. DUH
 
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Wolfman21

Well-Known Member
Well, overall...2047 saw the Kabul Bulls take another step forward. Still a pretty young team with basically all of their major contributors between the ages of 22-27, the Bulls finished the regular season at 99-63, 2nd place in the South League. The postseason ended in a game 5 loss in the first round of the playoffs to False Bay. This season, while disappointing in the end with a couple of key injuries, was a success overall.

Milestones:

- Third season in a row making the playoffs after never reaching the playoffs in their existence.
- First season where 4 starters finished the season with <4.00 ERA.
- A Kabul record 9 players selected to the All-Star game in which all contributed to the winning effort.
- First time a Kabul team has had homefield advantage in any playoff series.
- First time a Kabul team has won multiple games in a playoff series.


My Thoughts:

This team is very well rounded short of their bullpen. The bullpen was a terrible hole the entire season and it really reared its ugly head in the playoff series. The bullpen gave up an average of 3 runs per game in the 5 game set. Billy Humphrey had an amazing season at the back end of it however. He finished 2-1 with 40 saves and a 1.64 ERA.

If I could have only had a fully healthy squad going into the False Bay series. Losing Lopez, Wilson and for all intents and purposes, Hud, in the last week of the season was....hard to take. Hud was arguably my best pitcher during the season. Lopez was an all-star third baseman and Wilson played a respectable center field. The team still fought hard and guys that haven't produced in the past two postseasons actually hit the ball like they should. My pitching, overall, was just not good enough to hold.

Tien Thu emerged behind the plate for me in his first full season. He was selected to the All-Star game and finished with a slash line of .249/.335/.508. He hit 31 doubles, 31 homeruns, 81 RBI and finished 2nd on the team in walks with 63. Catcher is a position I've struggled with since taking over Kabul. Nice to know its taken care of for the immediate future.

Basically everyone's offensive numbers were down from the previous year. It seemed averages, for the most part, were down across the board. Geeves was in the low .290's......Chaves was in the .270's after he hit .336+ in 3 out of his last 4 seasons and .305 in the other injury shortened season. Felix Perez had a really good season even though his power numbers were down. He finished with a slash line of .296/.407/.502 with 25 doubles, 28 homers, 82 RBI and a massive 101 walks. His second season in a row surpassing the 100 walk plateau.

Chad Childs came on in the last month + postseason and showed that he'll be ready for the WBL next season. The plan is to put him at 2B and move Geeves to DH seeing as how Geeves' defense has begun to disintigrate. He is the perfect 2 hole hitter.

My offseason goals will be to try and upgrade my bullpen, finding a first base replacement for Ruiz and finding a leadoff hitter. I could bat Childs leadoff if necessary, but i'd rather not. We'll see what happens.
 

Wolfman21

Well-Known Member
So I was going back and looking at the Bulls' draft selections through the years and I'll tell you what...we really hit a homerun with the 2042 draft. Check out these selections:

  • 1st Round - Laoghaire "Neanderthal" Geeves - No introduction needed. .306/.365/.512 slash line in his first 5 seasons. 150 homers, 500+ RBI at 27 years old.
  • 2nd Round - Abdul-Jalil Hud - A major cog to my rotation this year and likely for the next few years. He was out of college, then suffered a season ending arm injury...so at 27, hes a little old compared to his experience, but his ratings are about the best on my squad.
  • 2nd Round - Raul Medina - Reliever just reaching his potential and suffered a bit in his first full season in the WBL. His best two months were August and September.
  • 4th Round - Tony Roman - Pitcher that has improved. A backend starter in the 4th round is pretty good return on investment.
  • 7th Round - Kjell Hedblom - Was traded away two seasons ago, however has now spent 160+ games in the WBL with a +WAR.
If I could get 5 future WBL'ers in every draft, I'd be sitting pretty. That was a good draft for me.
 

Wolfman21

Well-Known Member
As Winter Meetings start, so did the trading block. The Bulls acquired SP Samuel Seguin from the Istanbul Ottomans. Seguin is a 24 year old pitcher with 4 years remaining on his contract which sits at $7.51 MM/year. He has a career 3.95 ERA with 50 wins and 39 losses to go with a 1.22 WHIP. Seguin is just entering the prime of his career and will join a rotation that includes Peppers Pasquet, Geiler Schulz, Abdul-Jalil Hud and Ivan Martinez. This should be quite a potent rotation in the South League.

The acquisition will leave the Bulls with some decisions to make this Spring. What comes of Homicide van der Esch who is still getting over a torn labrum? He was having a down year before he tore it. With Ivan Martinez having such a good season and the emergence of Abdul-Jalil Hud...Homicide is sort of the odd man out. Will he take kindly to a bullpen role? Will someone show interest in a trade for him? At 4 mil/yr over the next 3 years...he is a pretty cheap #4/5 option for a team. The Bulls also have Alastair Fishburn and Eulogio Felizardo who have been in their minor league system with stints in the WBL for what seems like forever. If the Bulls are unable to sign any bullpen arms in free agency, they would be options as Bullpen arms this season. Not bad options either, in my opinion. We'll see how it shakes out.

As with all trades, to get something, you have to give something. In return, the Ottomans received the Bulls #5 overall prospect SP Tony Roman, #12 overall prospect OF Denis "Putt Putt" Uytenhage and their 2048 3rd round pick. I wanted to get another Top 3 in the rotation arm and I feel like I achieved that. Roman was never going to reach that, Putt Putt has decreased in his potential every season and a 3rd rounder is not very valuable to me. I feel like I came out well on this. I like Roman and I like how he essentially came out of nowhere to become a very good prospect. I just feel that Seguin is better and only 2 years older. I'm happy with this trade.
 

Wolfman21

Well-Known Member
index.php

Kabul Bulls 2047-2048 Off-season

International Free Agent Signings ($34,010,000 after tax)
  1. SP Gerardo Cutitta - $342,000 - Four pitches. Only pitch above average is his changeup. Will be a project.
  2. SP Jorge Acevedo - $95,000 - Three pitches, all average+.
  3. SP Dennis Ricanor - $442,000 - Good slide, good change. Low stamina. Most likely a relief pitcher.
  4. SP Jose Pina - $3,000,000 - Good Fastball/Slider. Good movement/control.
  5. SP Jude Brayley - $1,400,000 - Four above average pitches. 60/55/60 potential
  6. SP Frazer Wenden - $1,500,000 - Project. My scout likes him more.
  7. SP Jayden "Hobo" Jervis - $2,000,000 - REALLY good Fastball/Curve. Back end of bullpen type guy.
  8. SP Luiz Espinoza - $882,000 - Good curve/change. Average fastball. Good potential.
  9. CF Jose Torres - $292,000 - Project. Average potential.
  10. RF Jack Tongue - $3,200,000 - My scout likes him better. 1B/RF/DH possibilities.
  11. RF Alfredo Aguirre - $3,500,000 - Good potential bat. Needs defense help.
  12. 2B Roberto Morales - $352,000 - Good contract/avoid k. Will need to progress.
  13. RF Javier Diaz - $2,000,000 - Similar mold to Tongue/Aguirre.
Draft Picks

Free Agent Signings
  1. 1B Mason Fazackerley - 1 year, $15 Million - Replaces Ivan Ruiz. Had the choice of spending big bucks on a replacement or going with Sesto Colonnesse. Decided to bring Faz in for a year.
  2. RP Chae-heui "Lippy" Chang - 4 Years, $18 Million - May have overpaid a little, but my bullpen needed help. Lippy was good for Helsingborg last year and had some good seasons with a not very good Berlin team.
  3. RP Luis "Black Magic" Fabian - 1 Year, $7 Million - May be aging a bit, but for a one year contract, to add him to the backend of my bullpen with Humphrey felt like a good deal to me.

Trades

  1. [xtable=skin1|363x150]
    {tbody}
    {tr}
    {td}Istanbul Receives{/td}
    {td}Kabul Receives{/td}
    {/tr}
    {tr}
    {td}SP Tony Roman{/td}
    {td}SP Samuel Seguin{/td}
    {/tr}
    {tr}
    {td}OF Denis Uytenhage{/td}
    {td} {/td}
    {/tr}
    {tr}
    {td}2048 3rd Round Pick{/td}
    {td} {/td}
    {/tr}
    {/tbody}
    [/xtable]

2048 Pitching Staff (will be updating as I go along)

[xtable=skin1|422x200]
{tbody}
{tr}
{td}SP Yoann "Peppers" Pasquet{/td}
{td}CL Billy Humphrey{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}SP Geiler Schulz{/td}
{td}RP Ricard Evensson{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}SP Abdul-Jalil Hud{/td}
{td}RP Kent Smith{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}SP Samuel Seguin{/td}
{td}RP Raul Medina{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}SP Ivan "Sparky" Martinez OR{/td}
{td}RP Luis "Black Magic" Fabian{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}SP Percy "Homicide" van der Esch{/td}
{td}RP Chae-heui "Lippy" Chang{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td} {/td}
{td} {/td}
{/tr}
{/tbody}
[/xtable]
2048 Lineup (will be updating as I go along)

[xtable=skin1|270x212]
{tbody}
{tr}
{td}C{/td}
{td=center}Tien Thu{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}1B{/td}
{td=center}Mason Fazackerley {/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}2B{/td}
{td=center}Chad Childs{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}SS{/td}
{td=center}Joe Kirk{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}3B{/td}
{td=center}David Lopez{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}LF{/td}
{td=center}Felix "Prophet" Perez{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}CF{/td}
{td=center}Scotty Wilson{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}RF{/td}
{td=center}Miguel "Pinto" Chavez{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}DH{/td}
{td=center}Laoghaire "Neanderthal" Geeves{/td}
{/tr}
{/tbody}
[/xtable]
I will be looking to add to my bullpen, find a 1B and possibly try to upgrade at CF. Those are my 3 main goals for the rest of the offseason.

Spring Training Edit:

Signed Faz, Black Magic and Lippy Chang in free agency. Faz and Fabian are one year deals. Faz takes over for Ivan Ruiz at first base for me. Fabian and Chang will bolster my bullpen which was terrible last season. Hopefully Fabian takes a liking to a setup role instead of a closer role. My team is basically set and ready to go now.

Also signed 13 International Free Agents to bolster my prospects list.
 
Last edited:

Wolfman21

Well-Known Member
will do a championship/season review post sometime in the near future. Have had little to no time as of late as you can tell by it being over a month since i've even posted in here.
 

Wolfman21

Well-Known Member
Teaser...Realllllly liking my pitching prospects for the future. No outright future #1 Ace studs...but really liking what i've got comin down the pipes
 

Wolfman21

Well-Known Member
index.php

Kabul Bulls 2048 Championship Season Recap

"We did the little things right, we did the big things right," said left fielder Félix Pérez. "Now we're the league champions."
In the unlikliest of scenarios, the Kabul Bulls are the 2048 WBL Champions after defeating the Helsingborg Hammers 4-1 in their best of 7 series. As quoted from Felix Perez, everything came together at the right time for the Bulls, even if they were missing a few key cogs to their machine. It started with the Bulls finishing a franchise best 100-62 in the regular season good enough for 2nd place in the SL, 7 games behind the False Bay Flying Whites. Miguel Chavez had just a spectacular season with the stick as he set career bests in batting average and OPS while tying his career best in RBI of 137. Felix Perez set career highs in runs and all categories of his slash line as he bat over .300 for the first time in his young career. Chad Childs had an enormous rookie season at second base while batting leadoff and Tony Rosales really came around and, as you'll see later, was one of the unsung heroes of the playoff run. The strength of the team, however, was probably the bullpen which featured 3 stud arms at the end of the pen...even though Humphrey had a very down season overall. Going into the playoffs, the Bulls faced some adversity however. They had already lost SP Abdul-Jalil Hud for the season. In the final two weeks, they also lost All-Everything RF Miguel Chavez to a sprained knee. He would miss 2 months which effectively put him out for the playoffs.

Sacrificial Lambship - Buffalo vs Kabul

The Sacrificial Lambship was a rematch of two seasons ago which pitted the Buffalo Mericans against the Kabul Bulls. The 'Mericans came away winners, 3-1, two seasons ago. This time, however, was entirely different. The Bulls pulled out a 1 run win in game one, won 5-0 in game two and then blew the 'Mericans out in game 3 with a score of 12-3. The series MVP was Joe Kirk, who hit .538 with a .571 on-base percentage. He had 0 home runs, drove in 2 RBI and scored 3 runs.

"We expected this series to go right down to the wire, so to sweep is a bit of a surprise," he said. "But we'll take it."


And take it they did as the Bulls head off to the League Shampship to face off against SL Regular season champions, False Bay.

League Shampship - Kabul vs False Bay

After sweeping Buffalo, Kabul came in on a high and rode it for the first three games of the series as they jumped out to a surprising 3-0 lead in the series. Good starting pitching combined with good bullpen and timely hitting was the key to their game. Sadly, the series was not yet over. False Bay clawed their way back as they showed their muscle in the following three games, winning all three to tie the series at 3-3 as they head back home to try and overcome the Bulls' seemingly insurmountable 3-0 series lead. As game 7 started, it looked like they were going to be successful. The Flying Whites jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead as Samuel Seguin struggled to keep them at bay. The Bulls were only able to scrape one run through 7 innings as they trailed 5-1 going into the 8th. The 8th, however, was when the magic happened. Laoghaire Geeves hit a 2 run bomb while Felix Perez and Joe Kirk each drove in a run to tie the game at 5 going into the 9th. In the 9th, Geeves hit his second homerun in as many innings to push the Bulls ahead 6-5. Billy Humphrey came in the bottom of the 9th and put the first two Flying Whites he faced away quickly. However Peter Leaffson took him yard with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th to force extra innings. What a Show! The battle of the pens would be extremely short lived however as the Bulls scratched across 3 runs in the top of the 10th led by doubles from Tony Rosales and Chad Childs. Billy Humphrey came back out for the 10th and closed it down for his first playoff victory and to seal a date in the WBL World Series against the Helsingborg Hammers! Laoghaire Geeves played the hero for the Bulls in the series, as his MVP performance included a .438 batting average, with a .486 on-base percentage. He also had 3 home runs, 7 RBI and scored 8 runs.

World Series - Kabul vs Helsingborg

The Hammers. The WBL's best team during the regular season. Top level pitching. Top level hitting. Reigning WBL Champions. What seemed an impossible task become a probable outcome before the series even really began. The Bulls handily jumped out to a 3-0 series lead, again, even though their rotation got mixed up due to managerial error. Homicide van der Esch started game 1 and he pitched a beauty going 7 innings while giving up only 2 earned runs. Geiler Schulz followed in game 2 with an absolute gem and the pitching performance of the playoffs. He carried a no hitter into the 8th inning before giving up a double to Jay Brittain. He eventually gave up a run and another hit, however he finished the complete game with only giving up 1 run and 2 hits. Peppers Pasquet pitched a marvelous game 3 to push the Bulls ahead 3-0 in the series. Helsingborg still had their ace fresh and pitched him in game 4 as Zach Campbell stymied the Bulls enough to beat up on Samuel Seguin and win game 4. The Bulls, and Homicide van der Esch, came back out in game 5 at home and sealed the deal however with a 7-3 victory, claiming the first championship in Kabul history. "Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you make your own luck," said the Kabul manager. "We got lucky a few times, but mostly we did the right things by being prepared for each game and playing the game the way it's meant to be played." LF Felix Perez was named the World Series MVP.

Playoff Statistics
[xtable=skin1|622x245]
{tbody}
{tr}
{td}Name{/td}
{td=center} G{/td}
{td=center} GS{/td}
{td=center} W{/td}
{td=center} L{/td}
{td=center} SV{/td}
{td=center} IP{/td}
{td=center} ERA{/td}
{td=center} WHIP{/td}
{td=center} BABIP{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}SP Yoann "Peppers" Pasquet{/td}
{td=center} 4{/td}
{td=center} 4{/td}
{td=center} 2{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 21.2{/td}
{td=center} 2.91{/td}
{td=center} 1.34{/td}
{td=center} .323{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}SP Geiler Schulz{/td}
{td=center} 4{/td}
{td=center} 4{/td}
{td=center} 3{/td}
{td=center} 1{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 29.0{/td}
{td=center} 3.41{/td}
{td=center} 1.10{/td}
{td=center} .238{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}SP Samuel Seguin{/td}
{td=center} 4{/td}
{td=center} 4{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 1{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 18.2{/td}
{td=center} 8.68{/td}
{td=center} 1.93{/td}
{td=center} .403{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}SP Percy "Homicide" van der Esch{/td}
{td=center} 3{/td}
{td=center} 3{/td}
{td=center} 2{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 17.1{/td}
{td=center} 5.19{/td}
{td=center} 1.50{/td}
{td=center} .316{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}RP Eulogio Felizardo{/td}
{td=center} 4{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 1{/td}
{td=center} 2{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 6.0{/td}
{td=center} 4.50{/td}
{td=center} 1.33{/td}
{td=center} .412{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}RP Kent Smith{/td}
{td=center} 7{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 2{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 17.0{/td}
{td=center} 0.53{/td}
{td=center} 0.76{/td}
{td=center} .222{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}RP Chae-heui "Lippy" Chang{/td}
{td=center} 9{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 10.2{/td}
{td=center} 0.84{/td}
{td=center} 0.84{/td}
{td=center} .261{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}RP Luis "Black Magic" Fabian{/td}
{td=center} 5{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 3.2{/td}
{td=center} 0.00{/td}
{td=center} 1.64{/td}
{td=center} .455{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}CL Billy Humphrey{/td}
{td=center} 8{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 1{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 3{/td}
{td=center} 11.2{/td}
{td=center} 0.77{/td}
{td=center} 0.43{/td}
{td=center} .235{/td}
{/tr}
{/tbody}
[/xtable]
Thoughts:
My goodness my bullpen was stout. Even better than I thought it was when looking at the stats.

[xtable=skin1]
{tbody}
{tr}
{td}Name{/td}
{td} AB{/td}
{td} H{/td}
{td} 2B{/td}
{td} 3B{/td}
{td} HR{/td}
{td} RBI{/td}
{td} AVG{/td}
{td} OBP{/td}
{td} SLG{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}C Tien Thu{/td}
{td=center} 58{/td}
{td=center} 17{/td}
{td=center} 3{/td}
{td=center} 1{/td}
{td=center} 4{/td}
{td=center} 10{/td}
{td=center} .293{/td}
{td=center} .408{/td}
{td=center} .586{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}DH Laoghaire "Neanderthal" Geeves{/td}
{td=center} 68{/td}
{td=center} 19{/td}
{td=center} 3{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 4{/td}
{td=center} 13{/td}
{td=center} .279{/td}
{td=center} .313{/td}
{td=center} .500{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}3B David Lopez{/td}
{td=center} 71{/td}
{td=center} 25{/td}
{td=center} 5{/td}
{td=center} 2{/td}
{td=center} 3{/td}
{td=center} 5{/td}
{td=center} .352{/td}
{td=center} .378{/td}
{td=center} .606{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}SS Joe Kirk{/td}
{td=center} 59{/td}
{td=center} 23{/td}
{td=center} 4{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 1{/td}
{td=center} 11{/td}
{td=center} .390{/td}
{td=center} .463{/td}
{td=center} .508{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}2B Chad Childs{/td}
{td=center} 71{/td}
{td=center} 19{/td}
{td=center} 4{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 5{/td}
{td=center} .268{/td}
{td=center} .321{/td}
{td=center} .324{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}UTIL Artyom Chekomasov{/td}
{td=center} 18{/td}
{td=center} 8{/td}
{td=center} 2{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 1{/td}
{td=center} 4{/td}
{td=center} .444{/td}
{td=center} .450{/td}
{td=center} .722{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}CF Tony Rosales{/td}
{td=center} 58{/td}
{td=center} 21{/td}
{td=center} 9{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 1{/td}
{td=center} 14{/td}
{td=center} .362{/td}
{td=center} .383{/td}
{td=center} .569{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}LF Felix "Prophet" Perez{/td}
{td=center} 64{/td}
{td=center} 20{/td}
{td=center} 5{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 3{/td}
{td=center} 14{/td}
{td=center} .312{/td}
{td=center} .397{/td}
{td=center} .531{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}RF/UTIL Tony Gonzalez{/td}
{td=center} 38{/td}
{td=center} 12{/td}
{td=center} 2{/td}
{td=center} 1{/td}
{td=center} 0{/td}
{td=center} 2{/td}
{td=center} .316{/td}
{td=center} .316{/td}
{td=center} .421{/td}
{/tr}
{/tbody}
[/xtable]
Thoughts:
Holy cow Tony Rosales was amazing out of the 9 hole. Also, didn't have room to add in Faz, but he hit 1 homer, drove in 8 and batted .254.
 
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