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Author Topic: IBL Afro-European Review (updated 12/20; 12/27; 12/31)  (Read 1853 times)

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Offline Karachi_GM

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IBL Afro-European Review (updated 12/20; 12/27; 12/31)
« on: February 17, 2017, 01:09:25 PM »


Reviewing the IBL Europe Division

by Hasan Khan, Sports Editor (Karachi Dawn)
December 16, 2106
Updated December 20, 2106 – updates in blue italics below (Black Forest & Scottish)
Updated December 27, 2106 – updates in red italics below (Rome)
Updated January 3, 2107 – updates in green italics below (Rome & Scottish)

Technically the Afro-European Division, the defection of a team from Lagos to Rome in 2105 leaves the division without an African representative.  Paris is the class of the division, having won it six years running and won the IBL and WBA championship in 2105.  What will happen in 2107?

Paris Fleur-de-Lis
Off its division crown, Paris lost five players to free agency and has signed nobody, but the only loss that really matters is Veniamin Ekstein who had 115 career victories for the Fleur-de-Lis over seven seasons.  Losing a lifetime 2.57 ERA starter is tough to take.  Ekstein won’t burn Paris during the regular season as he has signed a long-term deal in the ABL with Los Angeles.  Antar Kisaya, Zuleide Rainha, and Juan-Pascal Lemon will top a rotation that will be poorer for Ekstein’s absence.  Maybe Jagannathan Surendranach will come out of the bullpen to join the rotation.  Sissay Dato is a top-notch closer and Balya Virenda is a quality arm, but the bullpen would miss Surendranach is he goes to the rotation.  The offense is solid led by a brilliant outfield of Harsendu Dhurvasu, Gaeton Lecroix, and Rajminder Omarjeet.  Shortstop Cisco Argente anchors a solid but unspectacular infield, and Paris has two more than capable catchers.  It all adds up to a run on an eighth straight divisional crown.

Black Forest Foxes
The Foxes beat out Scottish for second place by one game.  Off that finish, second baseman Kaleb Kabaija, center fielder Jorund Ringstad, closer Jae-hong Park, and three other players chose free agency.  The team has signed outfielder Sammy Roberts, reliever Seung-kab Park. and young third baseman Wilbur Allen as replacements.  Park looks like he will become the closer in a bullpen that otherwise lacks quality.  The rotation is headed by superb right-hander Serhat Karpat.  If Dhrtatman Nageshwar can come close to repeating his 17-4 record as a rookie, the rotation will be fine.  The big names in the field are outfielder Dhritiman Sangha, outfielder Indradu Minaksi and young first baseman Bang Luo.  A lot rides on over-achieving catcher Eustachio Clementi and free agent Allen at third base.  There are enough question marks to make one think a second place finish is the best that could be expected.
On December 20 Black Forest announced a trade with Santo Domingo that resulted in the acquisition of third baseman Chi-seong Kim for a minor league pitching prospect.  Kim, who earns more than $5.0 million a year, is more experienced at third base than Wilbur Allen, and he could also play right field.  In our mind, however, the Foxes may have been better off sticking with Allen and saving the $$.  Kim doesn’t appreciably upgrade the outlook for Black Forest.

Scottish Claymores
For those wondering “what the hell is a claymore?”, it is a two-edged broadsword used by Scottish Highlanders although the term also used for a type of antipersonnel mine.
One game behind Black Forest came the Scottish Claymores.  They have yet to sign any free agents after losing closer Kiyomitsu Nakamura and starting pitcher Kolenka Zamoraev.  While there are three or four rookies in AAA that might step up, the Scottish roster looks like it needs help.  Han-wu Han, Khamurti Preetish and Jose Hernandez are solid enough starters but it thins out from there.  The bullpen lacks depth. Young Shi-fu Cen may be the best reliever while Dae-je Chon is going on 36 years old.  The catching crew is marginal as is the middle infield, not good omens if you prize strength up the middle.  First base is ably manned by Alan Waddington (although he has yet to prove he can hit big league pitching) as is third base by Arjun BhoolaAziz Ahmadzai is an all-star caliber center fielder who led the league in hitting last year and Shao-zu Huang is aging but more than adequate in left.   Like Black Forest, Scottish has question marks.  Could both teams be out-battled for second place by someone from below?
On December 20 the Claymores signed five free agents.  Second baseman Manny Martinez and relief pitcher Sergio Costello were signed to minor league contracts with signing bonuses.  Both could end up on the Scottish roster.  More importantly, closer Kiyomitsu Nakamura signed a three year deal that returns him to the Claymores after declaring himself a free agent.  He gives Scottish a solid closer.  First baseman/catcher Jose Aguila signed a five-year deal worth $41 million and will likely start behind the plate.  And finally second baseman Jose Estrada signed for three years at more than $5 million per year.  His .324 batting average and Aguila’s 28 home runs from last year seriously upgrade the Scottish offense.  These additions make Scottish a better team than Black Forest but probably still not good enough to challenge Paris.
On December 31st Scottish added another major free agent signee to the roster in the person of third baseman Arjun Bhoola who brings experience, power, and speed to the lineup.  He had a WAR over 4.0 last season with Scottish and returns to the Claymores (like Nakamura) after testing the free agent marketplace.  Scottish will have a much better infield that anticipated before free agency.

Rome Generals
The Generals lost an amazing eleven players to free agency.  The one that matters the most is slugging first baseman Juan Hernandez, but they will also miss relief pitcher Manny Perez and starting pitchers Andrey Danilenko and Adam Maloney.  Rome has signed seven new players including left fielder Pavlusha Zakratov and starting pitchers Devin Mata, Ignacio Cuevas, and Albert Padilla.  The new starters will be bottom of the rotation behind Amud Macaira and Guoncale GualaShi-ping Lao and young Jian-Cheng Mai are strong relievers in what looks like a very thin bullpen.  Melchor Sarmietnto and Shaun Clapp backbone a good outfield.  Sebaldus Seppelt is a decent catcher with some power, and shortstop Mikita Agaev anchors an infield that is woefully short of talent other than aging Beni Mokate who could play first or second.  There are probably too many holes to permit a run at the division, and the Generals may not have enough to move up ahead of Scottish or Black Forest.
On December 27th Rome signed free agent third baseman Eligio Sciama who props up the undermanned infield.  Sciama, an Italian who will be wildly popular with the fans in Rome, hit .329 last season and adds some serious offense punch to the lineup.  Enough to move them up? – most likely not, but it tightens up the race behind Paris.
On December 30th Rome continued to improve their team by signing closer German Mejia to a five-year deal with two player options worth more than $20 million in total.  Mejia, who was a starter for three years in the ABL, cemented his reputation as a closer by leading the IBL in saves last year with 43.  Thus, the Generals significantly improved their bullpen, and, combined with the Sciama signing, have now significantly improved their chances of being in the hunt for a wild card spot.

London Monarchs
Only once in their history has London finished above .500, and the team finished last in 2106.  Oddly London lost no one to free agency and have not signed a free agent.  The team did trade Cheng-en Jiang after an abortive attempt to convert the first baseman to the outfield.  The prospects acquired in return won’t help London this season.  London’s pitching staff actually looks decent.  Veteran starters Pei Chan and Moriz Ishemgujin were disappointing last year, but young Da-yung Jung, Yu-shu Lung, and Workneh Mitundi should all improve.  If he stays injury free, Byung-sik Lim is a fine closer and Rodrigo Rojas is a solid reliever.  Caseareo Carena may finally live up to potential.  On offense London’s oldest player is 26, so lots of people have to live up to potential, but the potential is there.  First baseman Ghanaram Tuhin and second baseman Min-zhong Au are already there.   On top of their current major league roster London has a slew of pitchers and position players getting close to major league at AAA Southampton, and some of them may help this year.  Look for London to definitely move out of the cellar, possibly to second place and with the right development luck to even battle for the Euro crown.
« Last Edit: February 19, 2017, 08:56:51 PM by Karachi_GM »
Joe
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Offline Claybor

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Re: IBL Afro-European Review (updated 12/20/2106)
« Reply #1 on: February 18, 2017, 09:05:27 AM »
Excellent stuff. Thanks.

Pretty accurate with London I would say. I did try and solidify a few positions in FA, but my pocketbook was way too small.

Offline Coop

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Re: IBL Afro-European Review (updated 12/20/2106)
« Reply #2 on: February 18, 2017, 10:36:19 AM »
These are good writeups, but I think it would be more useful to do these kinds of analyses near the end of spring training.  Right now rosters are still in flux.  For example, since this was written, I've signed two free agents, made a trade and promoted two rookies to the majors.  And more moves are in the offing.  My Opening Day roster will actually look quite a bit different from the one that I'm showing right now.

Offline Karachi_GM

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Re: IBL Afro-European Review (updated 12/20/2106)
« Reply #3 on: February 18, 2017, 12:19:06 PM »
These are good writeups, but I think it would be more useful to do these kinds of analyses near the end of spring training.  Right now rosters are still in flux.  For example, since this was written, I've signed two free agents, made a trade and promoted two rookies to the majors.  And more moves are in the offing.  My Opening Day roster will actually look quite a bit different from the one that I'm showing right now.
Well, the two free agents you signed (Roberts and Park) as well as minor league free agent signee (Allen) WERE reflected in the original article.  I don't see any additional signings.  Also, I considered minor leaguers from AAA that might be helpful when I wrote the article.  AND the article was amended early this morning to reflect the trade with Santo Domingo. Every player on the roster is not necessarily mentioned.  Feel free to do "more useful" analyses near the end of spring training.  More writing is always welcome.

Joe
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Offline Coop

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Re: IBL Afro-European Review (updated 12/20/2106)
« Reply #4 on: February 18, 2017, 01:25:30 PM »
My post wasn't meant as a criticism; I was just pointing out that looking ahead to the regular season at this point is premature, since things will change.  (Not only with my team, but with other teams, since there are still some very strong free agents who haven't joined a team yet.)  Of course, there's nothing wrong with assessing the rosters at this point; we just all need to be aware that it's really a bit early to project the upcoming season with much certainty.  After all the free agents have been signed and the Opening Day rosters are set, we'll be able to get a clearer picture.

Offline Karachi_GM

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Re: IBL Afro-European Review (updated 12/20/2106)
« Reply #5 on: February 18, 2017, 02:00:57 PM »
My post wasn't meant as a criticism; I was just pointing out that looking ahead to the regular season at this point is premature, since things will change.  (Not only with my team, but with other teams, since there are still some very strong free agents who haven't joined a team yet.)  Of course, there's nothing wrong with assessing the rosters at this point; we just all need to be aware that it's really a bit early to project the upcoming season with much certainty.  After all the free agents have been signed and the Opening Day rosters are set, we'll be able to get a clearer picture.
Ok, it wasn't a criticism.  Just a notice that I was premature.  Got it. Thanks.  :)
« Last Edit: February 18, 2017, 02:08:53 PM by Karachi_GM »
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Offline Karachi_GM

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Re: IBL Afro-European Review (updated 12/20; 12/27; 12/31)
« Reply #6 on: February 21, 2017, 07:55:15 AM »
Premature team reviews have been regularly updated on 12/20, 12/27 and 12/31 as free agents or trades affect teams.  8)
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Offline Claybor

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Re: IBL Afro-European Review (updated 12/20; 12/27; 12/31)
« Reply #7 on: February 21, 2017, 07:58:17 AM »
Well, you had London pretty close from the start, so no extra work needed there. :]

I did try hard to add a bullpen arm or 2, but was beat out in every case.

 

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