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VOLUME:LI ... March/April 2025

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We have a new manager, Paul Koch. It's pronounced Cook. He is the 78th manager in our league history and took over the Lancaster team. He is quite familiar to a bunch courtesy of his TCWBA years. Paul is semi-retired from a COO position with Curtis Power Solutions. He still is an active softball player and pretty good at it. As you can tell by the team name a Cardinal fan. He likes playing his games on-line. Hopefully he'll enjoy his time in our league.

 

Amazing that an off-season with 155 or so deals, is considered low but we normally hit around 200... A new season in front us with new starting date.As a reminder to all, we don't have any new rules or changes to old ones... I'll remind you that your roster cannot have more than 13 pitchers. You must, for the ENTIRE SEASON have 450 relief innings on your 36 man roster. You need to have the same roster for both the away & home games against one team. You don't use the UPC or Error card with bases empty. The series result goes just to me and I distribute them when both halves are in. You get to reset your rotation at the end of each month, (not including March). Stats will be posted on the first and 15th of each month. That's about it from me. Time to see what Dickie V and Russo have to say.

 

DICKIE V with CHRIS RUSSO

1951dv "I am still here bay-bee! Cancer is 0 and 3 against me! I'm back doing basketball games and enjoying every moment. What my doctors have done is truly remarkable. I salute them. Yeah that's me in 1951. All-brick city baseball player. Fifty-one is also your coming season in APBA history and that's awesome bay-bee! T.O.!! We're here early this year because you're joining March Madness! We're before the NCAA's! Enough about that. Let's see who's got what and who's gonna go to the dance in the RCMBA. Christopher Russo is joining us again this year to give you his blue chip outlook. Let's get to it"

 

Harwell div: "Albuquerque boss Michael Fisher, the Maestro, is in charge. This year he's got the Three S Man Bryce Harper. He's super! He's Sensational! He's Scintillating! The Human Spaceship Yordan Alvarez, the all Bargain Basement Willy Adames, the Delta Man Jarren Duran. Handlin' the rock is the Surf & Turf Max Fried..... In Atlanta, Roberto Fenili, the Champ! The #1 bay-bee! He's got PTPer Vladimir Guerrero, the Pac Man Kyle Tucker, the diaper dandee Austin Wells, the AT&Ter Corey Seager. Oh, oh, unbelievable! I can't believe it! With the rock it's Tarik Skubal! He's awesome bay-bee!..... In Chesapeake we got a diaper dandee in charge, Mr Paul Koch. You talk about surf & turf players, it doesn't get any better than Jose Ramirez bay-bee! He's also got the Rolls Roycers Jose Altuve and Mookie Betts plus the All-Rambo Trea Turner. Holdin' the rock is All-Alcatraz Sean Manaea..... Over at Kentucky Randy "Gimpy" Prichard is loaded bay-bee! He's got the All-Windex Kyle Schwarber, the R&R Jeremy Pena, two All-Strawberry Shortcakers in Victor Robles and Jurickson Profar. The All-Marco Polo Dylan Cease has the rock..... In Uniontown, the Master Motivator Edward Farmer is ready to shake and bake bay-bee! Hittin' perimeter J's is Jake Burger, Teoscar Hernandez is PTPer bay-bee! He's got Hercules Stanton's marble cut body and All-Rip Van Winkle diaper dandee Wyatt Langford. You talk about All-Mystique's, the rock is handled by Reynaldo Lopez and he looks flat out scary this year."

 

Caray div: "Let's go to Laurel Highlands and see what Mark "Marco Polo Rocks" Gaudiano has this time. I need my notepad to keep track of who's here. Oh yeah, the R&R! Elly De La Cruz! He's a star bay-bee! All World-B-Free Oneil Cruz, the Three D Man Jazz Chisholm. The All Avis Yanier Diaz. Luis Gil, the diaper dandee, is dishing the rock..... At Manhattan Dennis Dvorak with a capital R is ready for a pennant. He's got the Surf&Turf, blue chip, the truly remarkable Juan Soto, the All-Potential Fernando Tatis, the All-Rambo Alex Bregman and he ain't Drillin' Reggies when Pete Roses are needed, Ketel Marte. On of the flat out All-Doughnut stars with the rock is Chris Sale..... In Philly we got Jeremy Fisher doin' some bargain basement magic bay-bee! He's got the All-Innovative James Wood, the All-Skywalker diaper dandee Jackson Chourio and it may be Times Square for some but Christian Yelich and Carlos Correa are true blue chip PTPers. With the rock, Hunter Brown is an All-December star bay-bee!..... Over in the Flower City, Rochester's Joey Reagan is looking for his own Strawberry Shortcake. He's got the All-Windex Pete Alonso and bottom line All-Engine Francisco Lindor. Then doing some Area Code J's is Brent Rooker and the Rip Van Winkle Riley Greene. The rock goes to the All-N.C.er Corbin Burnes..... In Syracuse doing the X's and O's is Johnny Briggs. Somebody call the Fire Department. They're on fire bay-bee! His crew is flat-out scary. The Human Spaceship Aaron Judge. T All-Rambo R&R Bobby Witt. Kerry Carpenter is getting off the All-Airport team but Oh, are you serious? He's got the truly remarkable Shohei Ohtani. It's ZZZ time with Zack Wheeler handlin' the rock" before the killer bullpen lands.

 

Allen div: In Bennett Run Eddie Morgans is rebuilding this year and going with the All-Volkswagen All-Wacko Josh Naylor. The All-Alcatraz Brenton Doyle, the All-Indy diaper dandee Xavier Edwards and are you serious? He' got the All-Potential Dylan Crews. He's gonna be a star bay-bee! He's awesome! I love him! The rock is with All-December Ronel Blanco..... Andy Jeschke's Burnsville crew is loaded! He's got the Surf & Turf Rafael Devers, the All-M&Mer Luis Arraez. The big board banger Matt Olson and diaper dandee Jackson Merrill. He's something special. The rock is in the hands of All-Rip Van Winkle Bryce Miller..... At Iron City Jim Kockler took time off from the golf course to land the blue chipper Paul Goldschmidt. He's got the All Dow-Joneser Jesse Winker, the All-Airport Joey Bart and Mr December Bryan Reynolds. Oh but wait because you talk about All-Potential, surf & turf, he's even got a special Topps baseball card, the flat out scary Paul Skenes!..... Up north of border in Ottawa Mark Featherstone is looking for some Q.T. He's got All Dipsy-do-dunk-a-roo Julio Rodriguez, the All Volkswagen Matt Chapman, Cal "The Big Dumper" Raleigh and the All-Delta Anthony Volpe. You talk about M&Mer players it doesn't get any better than Logan Webb with the rock..... Down in the Villages, Joe Jutzi's Sarasota boys are ready. He's got the Rolls Roycer Gunnar Henderson, the All-Blender William Contreras, a couple of diaper dandee All-Isolation boys in Colton Cowser and Tyler Fitzgerald. The rock goes to All-Velcro Cole Ragans"

 

russo Chris Russo arrives in the studio with a loud, "GIMME a CHANCE TO TALK, WILL YA?", gee whiz! Dickie that was a nice job of scouting. I know it's hard to keep track of this league. Twades, gee whiz! All right, you want me to make the pweedictions. Okay. Here goes..... Ahwen division first. Boilingmakers got a bunch of kids but let's be honest here, awful pitching. The Bwaze can hit & a top to bottom lineup and they pitch weally good. Housewockers are, ah to be fair, not going to win a lot of games. Ottawa offense is Waley. That's it. Weally! And then not to mention they got no pen. Zero. Nothing! BucO's have lots of pitching but wenember, you're suppose to outscore the other guys and only the Goonar kid will help that. Bwunsie wins easy. Swasota easy two, Ottawa barely holds off Ben for 3rd and then I City a not even close 5th..... Hahwell boys, gimme a fweaking break. How do pick this? Now if you listen to their owner the Howsemen suck. Never won a thing. Lucky to get to 500. Oh pahleeze! He's got a ton of offense. Good pitching too. Atlanta just as good pitching as anyone but not so hot hitting. Acuna missing again. El Birdo's!? The Birds. Didn't know I could speak Spanish did you? They got about the best offense in the entire league. Pitching is gonna be a big pwoblem. Boppers might have the best pitching. Too bad they can't hit. Waiders have a ton of pitchers but not quite the bats some of these guys have. I think Albques, ah Al-bu-qwe-key, you know, wins just to spite Mr Eeeorr. A bit behind is Uniontown despite the bats but less bad stuff than the rest. Atwanta hitting carries them into next spot and pitching costs them. Kentucky pwetty close 4th. No pitching at all means Chesapeake last..... The Cahwee teams. Mustangs got no pitching or hitting. Are we sure who's there. Manhattan is loaded in pitching and be honest now, gonna score a meeyon wuns. Quakers got a lot of kids. Gonna be on peoples wadar soon. Wobins got a lot of pitching but the offense isn't vewy good. The Blue got it all. Good gwief be honest Dickie, that offense is one of the best in the league. Pitching staff is all solid gold. How's this gonna end? The Highwanders, in the 10th year of another 3 year webuild, dead last. Phwilly isn't much better for now but everything better than Highwanders. Wochester has pitching, but that offense stinks so way back of second. Manhattan and Sywacuse battle it out & Blues win by a game or two.

 

There you go Dickie. What's your take on that? Gimme your thoughts. Go ahead pal" Dickie says "Christopher you put Albuquerque, Burnsville and Syracuse winning pennants. I'll make the wild cards teams Uniontown, Manhattan along with Sarasota in and I salute all of them. It's awesome bay-bee to make the playoffs. The final four is Syracuse, Manhattan, Albuquerque plus Burnsville. You remember last year I said with a capital A that Atlanta would win it all and they did. At the end of this year we'll be tipping to the Syracuse PD Blues bay-bee!"

 

I hope you got some laughs and I didn't get anyone upset. I know hoops and baseball is just a fun time. As always I want to thank Mr Russo for helping out. I also want to remind you that you're playing a game and games are meant to be fun. Enjoy the wonderful game Mr Seitz created for you. See ya all next year bay-bee!

 

YOUR OUTLOOKS

 

albu2 ALBUQUERQUE:The Horsemen enter 2025 fresh off a World Series drubbing at the hands of the Black Crackers. Albuquerque ownership responded by forcing GM JJ Dillon to sit on his hands the entire offseason, citing payroll constraints. Playing in the RCMBA's toughest division, which will likely cannibalize itself, the Horsemen could finish anywhere from 1st to 5th. Fanduel's over/under win total is 79.5 and PECOTA projects 82.

 

abc2 ATLANTA: An interview with Paul Richards by Furman Bisher, Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Like I did last year, I sat down with Paul Richards for his opinion on what to expect from the Black Crackers this season. I told you last year that the Black Cracker GM obsesses about pitching. This spring he was depressed. BC management would not go big on contracts for Spencer Strider and Shane Bieber. So he dutifully shipped them to Iron City for draft picks. For the same reason, Shane McClanehan was shipped off to the hated PD Blue. This spring Brandon Woodruff showed up at West Palm with his agent asking for guaranteed money and a ownership DFA’d him. Richards thinks Woodruff needs to mend his shoulder and get a new agent... (Q): Paul, how do you feel about your club this season? (A):. In a word Furman, I am concerned. Last year we were relatively injury free with the exception of Woodruff. This spring, we have Acuna hobbling around, Tucker running into a wall, and Josh Lowe getting hit in the elbow in the first spring game vs Kentucky. And Royce Lewis seems to go from one injury to the next. If we are healthy, we are good enough to get in the playoffs, if not if could be a long season. (Q): What about pitching Paul? (A): Well last year big acquisition, Tarik Skubal has looked lights out here in West Palm. He is healthy and I excpect him to anchor the staff. We expect Tyler Glasnow and Sonny Gray to continue to be solid anchors in on the starting staff. Rookie Shoata Imanaga – who we ultimately got for Strider – looks very good. The last spot in the rotation looks to be a combination of sophomore Reese Olson, Jordan Hicks and newly acquired Jon Gray. The bullpen has been remade. Devin Williams’ and Brustar Gratrol’s arms gave out, and we decided we had to do something. We used a lot of picks but we think we have a better bullpen, top to bottom than we had last season. (Q): What about Bichette? (A): Bichette was a big part why the Cackers won the RCMBA last season. Bo is hurting. We are unsure when he will be able to help us this season. That is why we went out and got Kory Seager. But Seager costs us Riley. However, we expected Royce Lewis to take over at third, but he has a significant hamstring issue. We have been letting Vlad gets some reps at third. (Q) Do you expect the Crackers to be in the playoffs this season?. (A): Well, Furman, while our goal is to get into the playoffs and hope we get hot once in them. Barring injuries that keep Acuna, Tucker and Lowe from playing a full season, I think we can take the Division.

 

boiler2 BENNENT RUN: Hopes are high at Bennett Run, but not for the upcoming season. With draft picks such as Crews, Edwards, Herrera, and Rocchio, to go with trade acquisitions such as Mize, Harrison, Bello, Abbott, Bohm, Tovar, Doyle, and Malloy - there's reason for optimism for the 2nd half of the decade in the foothills of the Susquehanna Valley. Crews is the face of the franchise already, but veterans such as Castellanos, Semien, and Gurrriel along for the ride to guide the young pups. Bennett Run only has 231 starter innings better than a C grade, so most games will be out of hand early. But with an A&C closer and an army of 8 B relievers, the Boilermakers will win some games late if you let them hang around. Best-case scenario - the C starters pitch a bit above their level a bit, and the bullpen is effective, giving the Boilers 80-85 wins but no path to a wild card. Worst-case scenario, the Cs are bombed by letting too many on base and giving up homers, the mix of power and speed on offense is a dud, and Bennett Run struggles to 70-92.

 

elbirdo2 CHESAPEAKE: The Chesapeake El Birdos enter the 2025 season with a very strong and deep offensive team. The expectation is the El Birdos will score a high number of runs, but will give up almost an equal number. The starting pitching is not a strength, but a very solid defense will help keep games close. The bullpen is talented and will be counted on to pitch a large number of innings. The hope for Manager Paul Koch's 1st season is to be competitive and possibly be in a battle for a playoff position come September

 

boppers2 KENTUCKY: Kentucky should have a competitive team in the RCMBA this season. The pitching should be the strong foundation. The Bullpen should also be a strength point. Six (B) starters for 160 games and 3 (A&C) relievers along with two (A) relievers may propel the Boppers into the playoffs. The offense is the big question. Not having too much power in the batting order could lead to a lot of low scoring games. Small ball may be the best route to take. Being in a strong Division, the Boppers are unafraid to take on the RCMBA for a run at this year's Pennant.

Year 2 of the rebuild has the Quakers' sights set on .500. Rookie outfields Jackson Chourio and James Wood join a team of youngsters; but there is some veteran star power in the likes of Carlos Correa, Christian Yelich, and Joc Pederson, who will all look to add valuable power to an otherwise weak lineup. Pitching should be significantly improved- though maybe only middle-of-the-pack- lead by starters Hunter Brown and Ranger Suarez as well as new closer Justin Martinez. Fielding will continue to be one of the few strengths of the Quakers this year, with the gold glove contending duo of Gabby Moreno and Patrick Bailey behind the plate.

 

mustangs2 LAUREL HIGHLANDS: Laurel Highlands General Manager Maurice J. Minnefield. Has improved the culture at Laurel Highlands but needs to improve 60 wins in 2024 and may win more in 25. The Mustangs are in another rebuild as GM Minnefield improved 2024’s roster. The Mustangs have experience mixed with younger starters, but an offense that may do some damage in 2025. The optimism in Mustang land looks bright for 2025, with possible future star young players such as Elly De La Cruz, Oneil Cruz, Jazz Chisholm, Tristin Casas, Yanier Diaz, Kyle Manzardo,Jared Jones, Luis Gil & Ryan Weathers. The Mustangs, Minnefield & Murtaugh are hopeful beyond the 2025 season. 2025 Prediction is 5th place in the Harry Caray Division.

 

marauders2 MANHATTAN: The 2025 season has fans hoping for a return to the playoffs and 100 wins for Manhattan. The Marauders should have one of the best offenses in the league led by Soto, Bellinger, Tatis, O’Neill, Bregman, Willson Contreras, Ketel Marte and Christian Walker. They have one of the top pitching staffs with Chris Sale (AZ) and five B starters in Yamamoto, Lugo, Bradford, Darvish and Fedde. The bullpen is loaded with three A and eight B relievers.

 

fatfcats OTTAWA: Cat management had seen enough of the old guard and set out to bring some younger energy to the field. Holdovers Raleigh, Volpe, Chapman, Raley and cornerstone Julio Rodriguez are joined by the likes of starters Busch, Garcia Jr, Mitchell, and PCA. New to the depth areas we have Wagner, Sweeney, and Jace Jung. A modified approach to the pitching staff has a blend of old and new with stalwarts like Webb, Ober, Kikuchi and Scherzer being joined by Francis, T Myers and L Castillo. The pen won’t help much but there are a few gems out there. We would be lucky to win 75 - 80 games. Best of luck everyone!

 

robins2 ROCHESTER:The good news in Rochester is an improved team in 2025. The rotation returns Burnes, Nola, and Kirby, and adds 1st round ace Garrett Crochet. Welcome Mason Miller, Griffin Jax, Taylor Rogers, and Tommy Kahnle to the back end of the bullpen. The lineup has plenty of power with Santander, Rooker, Alonso, Lindor, Perez, Greene, and Ramos, and a speed element with Turang and Lindor. Up the middle defense is elite. The bad news is the Harry Caray division is brutal. The Robins should battle Manhattan for 2nd and compete for a Wild Card.

 

buco2 SARASOTA: Sarasota's playoff hopes will start with a deep rotation of six B's & a solid, if not spectacular bullpen. Zach Eflin, the only returning starting pitcher, is the early favorite to draw the Opening Day assignment, and Carlos Estevez will assume the closer role. A surprising number of Orioles' bats are sprinkled throughout the roster, highlighted by Gunnar Henderson & Colton "The Milkman" Cowser One other bat of note is catcher William Contraras. Add all these roster pieces together along with bullpen & bench depth added late in the draft, and things would appear to be on the upswing. Finally, don't want to overlook the Buc-O's first two draft picks, future starting 2B Jackson Holliday and B (z) starting pitcher Gavin Stone who lasted until the middle of round 5 due to injury status. The dice will ultimately have the final say, as always, but a post-season appearance is not out of the question (finally!). I will wrap up by saying that I had a good time at the draft in Strasburg, arriving from Florida for the first time, and hope to see even more managers in person at next year's draft.

 

syr2SYRACUSE: We made some changes since last years disappointing season ending. Some things stayed the same. Big #99, Shohei, Witt Jr and Wheels. We got a decent rotation and it was nice to steal McClanahan from Fenili. I really shored up the bullpen. I doubt I get 10 complete games. We did get some kids that should be solid depth in case something happens to the key players. Dennis is going to battle with me right down to the wire and I think we can outlast him. Bottom line, we should make the playoffs and I hope my luck is better this year.

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THE SHOW

THE 2025 MLB SEASON

 

abs Another MLB season is here. Have the Dodgers bought another title? You thought wrong if you believed Ohtani's contract was a once in lifetime dollar figure. Juan Soto sucked $765 million bucks out of Steve Cohen's wallet and signed up for 15 years with the Mets. Nothing to do with school systems. Nope! "Shpw Me the Money", period. The Yankees pivoted with Devon Williams, Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt. I wonder if Vladimir Guerrero Jr might collect some money from a New York team next year. MLB tried out the ABS (Automated Ball Strike) system in most of the Spring Training sites and was so much of a success that I can't believe we won't see it in regular season games next year. It only takes no more than 15 seconds to show the decision on the scoreboard. Hopefully they keep the limit at two challenges. This year we get to see how two minor league parks factor into how MLB hitters/pitchers perform in an entire season. Tampa Bay & Las Vegas. Does Judge hit 60? Ohtani won't go 50-50 but he will win 15 on the mound. Can Lorenzen win 10 while hitting 10 homers? Why are the NLC and ALC divisions always a yawn?

 

Time to see how horrible I am at predictions winners