The road warrior

Las Vegas-Maple. The Jokers started with their ace, Maurice Gould who did everything except winning. After that, Bob Magee get blasted and the Maple Marauders were going back home 2 and 0 in the serie. Ouch... everyone in Vegas was thinking about next year except the 25 men in uniform. They played extremely well in Maple, Scott, Barret and Gould all pitched well and Colin St.John took charges of the offense and the Jokers win all the three game on the road to go ahead in the series. They finally close it in the 6th game, beating Pat Sellers and going for the second time for the Thurman Munson championship.

It won't be easy this time. The Cabo San Lucas Torreros had the part of succes against the Jokers this year. But Ramirez is going to come back in game 3 or 4 and if Barrett and Gould could win one away, who knows were the story could end? Las Vegas fans are just crazy right now and they want more. So it's time to face Cabo San Lucas.

Rich Barrett will start the serie in San Lucas

reaction to Mustang complaint

In a non-traditional way, Mile End GM wrote a public letters whishing a defeat of the Jokers in the first playoff round. All Vegas fans hope that this letters will increase the thirst of victory for all the members of the organisation. So, what's the reaction to this from many Vegas personnal?

Francois Neveu, the GM answered something neutral: We need to stay focus on our first opponent, Maple. With many big Guns on Disable list, we'll need to play excellent baseball to pass throught this tough opponents. But honnestly, i don't think we'll have to answer because i could not see Mile End winning against Cabo San Lucas. We'll have to wait next year to face them again.

On players part, the rookie starter Jeff Olson said that he love playing against Mile End. It's important to notice that he realised his 2 best career starts against this division opponent. Maurice Gould, who's one of the only Jokers to have a tough september simply said that he's going to go on the mount and try to win, whoever is the opponent. Don't count on him to put oil over the fire.

Jeff Olson love playing in Mile End

Veton Zhugli didn't said much either, even if he came from Maple organisation. "You know, i didn't stay much over there and never played in major league, so i don't have any particular feeling playing against them." Probably, the vet Vic Jenning will have more to said. He had a tremendous year after having hard time to adapt to his new surrounding. It's clear that he didn't asked to be traded.

The only players to discuss a bit more about the Mile End public letter is Troy Tracy. Vegas DH said that the lost of Black probably put the GM in some kind of depression. Phillip Smith and Colin St.John made some fun quotes about the mental health of Mile End SP after the 4 games blow out Vegas hitters did in Mile End.

One thing is sure, if Mile End don't want to play Vegas, here, nobody are affraid to face the Mustang! But all respect Maple and want to be in good shape for tonight game.

An important 6 and 0

Since the start of september, the Jokers didn't played well. They were 2 and 4 for two consecutives weeks. They saw their lead for the wild car melt and they were looking to rebound against S-F and Georgia. They did. A nice 6 and 0 to come back for the division title. When the Jockers win, you might think that the attack is on fire but this week, it was all about pitching. A total of 6 points allowed in 5 games before allowing 6 in the last game of the week. All the starters were on fire, D Scott 1 ER in 7.1 innings, R. Barrett 2 in 7.1 innings, J. Olson 1 in 7 innings, M Gould 1 in 6.1 innings and B. Magee 0 in 6.1 innings. Nick Fox was very good in relief and that's a great news because he had many difficulties at the start of the season.

A little relief for now but another hard week who's coming with two series on the road, one against Cabo San Lucas and the other againt Mile High. If the team can play .500, it may be good enough to be in good place to secure a playoff spot. Everyone in Vegas hope it continu that way...

Zhugli and Olson

When we talk about Las Vegas Jokers, the name of Maurice Gould or Colin St.John habitually come first. But today, we will look two youngsters acquired in trade by the Jokers, Veton Zhugli and Jeff Olson.

Veton Zhugli: In the flurry of news about the ABL, the fact that the Jokers call up this young kid from Murray in Kentucky didn't get noticed. Of course, Zhugli hit only for .241 in Reno (AAA). But the management think it's time to give the chance to the 20 years old to prove himself. Zhugli was obtained in a trade with Maple who saw Vic Jennings going north. Zhugli was the prospect the Jokers want in return. He could play everywhere in the infield and scout judged that he'll have a huge impact with his bat. But in fact, the kid didn't impress in Las Vegas system. His average was .292 in Bristol (AAA) before the trade, then dropped to .211 in Reno. Ok, the kid was traded 2 times that year so he may need time to adjust. This year, he's not exactly where management taught he could be. But in Vegas, the two spare infielders (Price and Robbins) didn't do the job so maybe a call-up could help Zhugli to get back on track. The team saw Phillip Smith blossom after a call-up so everyone wish that Zhugli could take the same way. It will be interesting to see if he could become a solid contributor because if not, the trade with Maple will be a total mess.

Veton Zhugli

Jeff Olson: Another young gun obtained in a trade was Jeff Olson. He was the pitcher Vegas received in exchange of C Ronnie Wells. Olson was a pleasant surprise in AAA, winning 10 games last year before a injury force him out. He comeback stronger this year by posting a record of 8-4 with an ERA of 3.14 before being call-up. Olson can be an enigma on the mount, flashing some great performances like his victory against Mile High (9 innings, 2 points) or Maple (7,2 innings, 0 point) but he can be shaky at time like his start against Boston and K-C. But right now, he please the management in the fifth starter's spot and justify the trade. Of course, Ronnie Wells, even if he did well in Eureka, was unhappy in Vegas when Phillip Smith take the regular catching job. With the way Smith produce, nobody really miss Ronnie. Jeff Olson brings a lefty in the rotation, something that missed in Vegas. Jeff Olson will never become another Maurice Gould but if he can be a little bit more consistent, he will stay in the rotation for many years.

 

Jeff Olson

 

Home sweet home

The Jokers are playing better this year but the record of 45-37 hide a bit the reality. The Jokers are extremely strong at home 28-16 (.636) and they suck when playing on others stadiums with a 17-21 (.447).  Of course, the lucky seven ballpark is tricky but the team should play better away, specially against strong teams. In the past weeks, they struggle against Ann Arbor, Notthingham and New-York. 

The offense are real hot this year, some hitters doing extremely well. We talked a lot about St.John and Smith but the new acquisition, Juan Ramirez giving exactly what we expected with an average of .302 and 15hr 49RBI since his arrival. The next week will be important because the team is going on the road against Jersey and Maple, two tough opponents

In minor league, Reno and Carson city are leading their division. So that good news and Victoria are just 1 and a half game behind leaders. Many youngster start to contribute like the second pick Yamamoto who have 10 HR. After a slow start, he seems to adjust to professionnal baseball. He's a good prospect since the first pick, Buddy Wills didn't sign.

Katsuhiro Yamamoto

Big trade for the Jokers

Juan Ramirez

A new season and already a big trade for the Jokers. Las Vegas obtain slugger Juan Ramirez from Texas gunners for prospect Alfredo Villalobos and journeyman Victor Bailey. This trade add one more vets to the lineup who join the new acquisitions of Charles O'Connor and Pedro Lopez. On short term, theses moves will make Las vegas a better team but what will happen in the long term? Catcher Villalobos have a tremendous upside and could become a superstar but GM Neveu said that with the young Phillip Smith behind the plate, Villalobos was a prospect who could be move. It seem that the management don't want to be out of contention like last year when the injury of Colin St.John ruined the playoff hope.

Of course, GM Neveu is aware that the heart of his attack are not youngsters. St.John, Ramirez and Thornton are all at 32 and Tracy at 31. So it's logic to think that the team need to win in the next two years because after that, it could be the time to rebuilt all the attack. If that scenary happen, Maurice Gould could ask to be trade and force the Jokers to rebuild the entire team. It's a real possibility said GM Neveu but when our first selection didn't sign this spring, we decide to go all in right now and if we have to rebuilt in 2 or 3 years, we will do so.

The good start of the Jokers seems to prove that last year was just a bad one and the team can quickly overcome that and became a real contender again to win it all. It's clear that the acquisition of Ramirez will help. But many fans are still skeptical when they see the mean age and the salary structure of the team going up!

A season to forget...

After loosing in final, the Jokers made a big trade with Seattle to obtain Bob Rudyard. The GM wanted to upgrade the team and starting pitching was the biggest problem. So everyone in Vegas wished, at that time, another trip to the final with the goal of winning in mind. That's not the way the season goes. The Jokers finished last...LAST!!!! in their division. It's clear that fans, players and the owner, mister Angelil, are very upset about the way the team played and the GM will have pressure to put the team back on track quickly! Let's look what went wrong.

Pitching

Will Bob Magee improve
in 2014?

Starting pitching was supposed to be better but the team finished 9 in ERA in the Thurman Munson League. If you think that the rotation is lead by Maurice Gould, the best pitcher in the game, that let you figure how bad were the others. Bob Magee and Christian Clark are young, but these two saw their performance going down in their sophomore year. Magee had an ERA over 5.50, a climb of one point and was very inconstant all year long. He still manage to win 11 games and realise one of two gems but he was clearly a deception. Clark didn't showed any improvement and with an ERA over 5.5 too, they put a lot of pressure on offense to win games. Ryan Owens was the only other starter with an ERA under 5.00 with 4.98. He got a .500 record and may grab a spot in the rotation at back-end starter. Tom Wagner was lucky to win 11 wins with a skyrocket ERA of 5.72, the worst of all starter in the team. It's clear that the Jokers will need to improve that aspect with a solid number 2 and hope that Magee and Clark show sign of improvement next year. If not, Maurice Gould could be on the trading block and serve as a trade bait to rebuild completely the team.

Relief

Will Rich Barrett will become
a starter?

The relief wasn't the strenght of the team in 2012 but become a major problem in 2013 when we saw the team finish 11 in the TM league on the ERA. Of course, the fact that Rich Barrett and Nick Fox have been injured didn't help but we clearly saw a group that didn't hold any lead and loose many games. Barrett is still an elite reliever but some say that GM Neveu want to see if he can be a solution in the rotation. The question is not the ability but the durability. Barrett made 2 long stay on injury list and that let all the organisation in jeopardy about his recovery. Nick Fox did a good job and will need help if he want to anchor the bullpen. Ernie Kuhn did a nice job in middle relief and will return in 2014. Ray Brady, a young gun obtain in Bob Rudyard trade, was a big deception. His ERA was over 6 and he allowed runs in most of his presence. Of course, the team will be patient with him but he need to improve... and quickly! After that, a bunch of mopop reliever with Marquez, Garcia and Morris. Morris will not be back and the others will probably return in AAA. So that left one big hole if Barrett return in the bullpen or two if he's not!

Offense

Will Thornton continue
is good work?

The offense still manage to score 809 runs for the third place in TM league. That was not bad but not as good as last year and clearly not enough to overcome the weakness in pitching. But in that area, many players did very well in 2013. First the catcher Phillip Smith hit .299 with 21HR and 88RBI, that a very good improvement. He's now one of the best at his position at only 25. He's an asset that we can build around. At first base, Vic Jenning was traded to obtain a top prospect so right now, we don't have a regular here. Kevin Carey finished the season at this position but he's clearly near the end. All of his stat are down and defensively, he can't played in infield and need to return DH or elsewhere. So that's an indication that Ray Stevens will not be back. He still have power (15HR in a limited role) but the team can't have 2 DH on the lineup. At 2B, Jose Ortiz is correct. We can count on him to hit near .250 and hit a douzen of HR. Clearly, he's a bottom of the lineup hitter and play well his position. Erik Bennett was a pleasant surprise at SS. He improved his batting average from .262 to .313 and manage to produce 72 HBI, even if he hit number 2 or 8 in the lineup. His fielding is decent so the SS is in good hand. The 3B was givin to Lou Gibson after the horrible defensive start of Kevin Carey. Gibson hit 19HR and produce 69HBI but he's not very good in fielding, so he may be the 3B until Veton Zhugli fully develop. But what will happen in 2014? nobody knows it for sure but it seems reasonable to assume that Zhugli will start in AAA.

On the outfield, Troy Tracy had another very good year. Hitting .332 with 20HR and 82RBI (for a leadoff) was excellent. He field well his position so he's one of the bright spot in Vegas lineup. In centerfield, Gordon Thornton was a very good acquisition, even with his monstruous salary. He hit .332 in his Vegas stay with 15HR and finished the year with more then 110 RBI. So if he produce like this in 2014, the manager will smile again and forget more easily Bob Rudyard. Finally, in right field, Colin St.John. The best hitter for Vegas stayed most of the year off the feld with a concussion. Now he's fully recover and hope to make a big impact in 2014 and he may be the spark Vegas need to be back in playoff in 2014. But if everything turn ugly, will he pack his thing to another city? It would be interesting to see... so it seem that the beginning of 2014 will be crucial for the GM to decide if Vegas can be back as a contender quickly or will start a long rebuilding process.

Prospect

Brent Welch, a dominant
SP in Victoria

Finally, some young guns develop their skills in minor system. Of course, the team have high hope for Veton Zhugli and Alfredo Villalobos, two players acquired in trade last year. But we need to keep an eye on Brent Welch who did great in A with 16-6 and a ERA of 2.45