Newsletter: August 3, 2014 (Special Guest Edition)

CLUBHOUSE REPORT

NORTHERN VIRGINIA                                   VOLUME NO

APBA BASEBALL LEAGUE                                August 3, 2014

Commissioner’s Corner

Our fearless leader has asked Choupette, STO owner Karl Lagerfeld’s cat, to say a few words: 

“What’s the deal with stadium food? Why no spicy tuna?”

Thank you, Choupette.

Standings

Coastal Division

	W	L	%	GB
Springfield	35	21	.625	--
Oakton	32	20	.615	1
Roswell	43	29	.597	--
Delphi	25	23	.521	6
Sterling	19	21	.450	8
Columbia Pike	23	29	.442	10

Piedmont Division

	W	L	%	GB
Stonehenge	37	23	.617	--
Chino Valley	7	5	.583	6
Arlington	15	17	.469	8
Washington	30	38	.441	11
Occoquan	26	42	.382	15
Seacoast	12	36	.250	19

Results

July Results
		ROS 0	at	SPR 4
		ROS 2	at	OCC 2
.		ROS 4	at	STO 0
.		CV 2	at	WAS 2
		STO 3	at	WAS 1
.		DEL 2	at	SPR 2
.		SPR 3	at	CPC 1
.		OAK 3	at	OCC 1
.		DEL 1	at	ARL 3
.		ROS 2	at	ARL 2
.		SEA 0	at	STE 4
.		SPR 2	at	ARL 2
.		ARL 3	at	STO 1
Transactions

SPR sends Wily Peralta, SPR #8 to CPC for Jesse Crain and Jose Veras 

WAS sends Daniel Nava, Luke Hochever to STO for STO #5, STO #6, STO #8 

OCC sends Juan Uribe, OCC #8 to SPR for Wilin Rosario, SPR #4

CHV sends CHV #4 to OCC for Rex Brothers

CHV sends Jose Molina to OCC for Dave Ross

Discussion

STO slips behind SPR for the # 1 seed after a disastrous start to their second half. STO was 4-8 for July, with such loveliness as:

-       Paul Goldschmidt: 4/30, no XBH

-       Edwin Encarnacion: 6/62 1 double

It’s all about the offense, or lack thereof, for STO at this point. Hopefully this gets worked out before the playoffs. STO’s trade for Nava and Hochever address two needs, coverage for overused OF J-3’s and another 19Z for the playoff bullpen.

SPR went 6-2 to maintain a good games played pace as well as improve to the # 1 seed. SPR won the big grade 27 Jess Crain auction for a pitcher who has been promising, but not delivering, for several years now. Sometimes big-armed starters need a few years to deliver. Sometimes they become relievers, sometimes they go on the DL. Good move for SPR, as was the pickup of Uribe to bolster the infield.

OAK maintained their pace with a 3-1 yawner over moribund OCC. OCC probably has no chance to catch SEA for the Hamner trophy, and are thus weighing the Tanaka or Abreu question. Abreu is currently at .996 OPS, which makes him the likely choice of SEA, because you just can’t have enough outfield.  

One of OAK’s past stalwarts went on the DL this week. Matt Cain will have season-ending surgery to remove “loose bodies” from his elbow. How Lindsay Lohan got into Cain’s elbow is unknown.

Without Cain OAK will have to build on their rotation of The King, Price, some Kershaw guy, and Anibal Sanchez. So Cain won’t be missed any more than Danny Haren, apparently.

SEA was humiliated by STE, 0-4, in July. Chad claims he was distracted by the opening of Fantasy Football. But that sport is not an officially recognized sport by the NVABL,  therefore it does not exist and can’t be claimed as an excuse.

STE used that 4-0 to crawl within sight of the 6^th playoff spot, currently held by DEL.  STE has to get in 5 series this month to avoid another games played penalty.

DEL treaded water at 3-5, holding #1 SPR to a split but losing to surprising ARL 1-3 on arctic dice (dice which they gifted to STO for their 1-3 loss to ARL.)

DEL has a long way to go before the playoffs are a reality, and they will evidently stand pat at the trade deadline.

ARL can be a tough team, with a little luck. With two 15Z starters and a Carlos Gomez/Chris Davis/Nelson Cruz middle of the order, they will surprise a few teams, like they did DEL and STO this past month.

New guy Dave took Chino Valley to a split with WAS. CHV at 7-5 is like ARL, surprisingly tough, and with the trade for Rex Brothers and the hated David Ross, they are just a bit better. Good luck Dave, especially against OAK and SPR!

WAS decided after a 3-5 month to play for next year and concluded a series of trades for draft picks. While not becoming a draft pick bank like OCC, WAS will be well positioned for a strong 2015.

The month’s busiest team was ROS, at 8-8. Sounds mundane, but their 0-4 vs SPR followed by 4-0 vs STO was the fulcrum for SPR’s leap into the top spot. ROS is +14, which would be tied for first in the Piedmont but is only good enough for 3^rd in the Coastal. Still, ROS is the likely 5^th seed for the playoffs.

This leaves CPC, last in the Coastal but currently 4^th in the Hamner Trophy race. That means he’ll get the guy out of the Springer, Abreu, Polanco, Tanaka list that nobody else wants. That doesn’t sound too bad, though. CPC rolled over like a good dog to SPR in July, losing 1-3.

All in all a typical July in that too few series were played. Only a couple of teams are at risk for the 60 games deadline at the end of the month.

Choupette News

STO owner Karl Lagerfeld announced this week that he has hired Laetitia Casta as Choupette’s minder:

Choupette seems happy with the choice.