WEEKLY VIDEO

Our weekly feature, Baseball Videos! These are from YouTube or other sources and may have advertisements in them but they are usually worth it. Each week or so we will feature a different video. YouTube or other similar websites are the host for these video's and I assume the videos are not copyright protected if they are on the YouTube website. If a video is taken down it is done by YouTube. Enjoy!!

1-12-25 Pitching has sure changed a lot over the years. The work-horse starting pitching is no more. Pitch counts rule the day. 12 man bullpens are common. Velocity rules. Pitchers commonly only have 2 strong pitches. The good ones will have 3 or maybe 4 pitches but that is rare. We don't have pitchers who depend on odd ball pitches any more. A pitch that has virtually disappeared is the screw ball. Check out this video about "Why We Don't See This Physics Defying Pitch Anymore - The Mythical Screwball"

Click here to play this weeks video clip...

If you would like to replay an old video check out the Video Archive on the left side of the website.

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LEAGUE NOTES:

FBN DRAFT

The 2025 draft is set for Sunday February 23 at 10 AM eastern. Back by popular demand is the draft day count down clock. Here's how much time you have to do all your analysis and planning.

Attached is a file with the draft order for the first 12 rounds of the draft with the current owner of each pick. Obviously this is subject to change based on future trades and the protected rosters. You will see a couple of new abbreviations. "NB" is National Bohemians, the new name for the Taxachusetts Chiefs (TX). Also new (kind of) is "SP" for the Southboro Psychics which has taken over the FoggyMountain (FM) team.

Click here to for the 2025 draft order in pdf format... updated as of 1/11/2025

Attached is the PRELIMINARY draft available list for the 2025 FBN Draft. The list was based on the SOM defensive preview and is subject to change based on the final SOM revisions. There are 336 players on the preliminary list. One player, Jose Tena is included although he is listed as no card by SOM. He has 161 interleague at bats. I suspect he will get a card but stranger things have happened. Good luck with your draft prep.

Click here to for the 2025 PRELIMINARY draft available list in pdf format...

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TEAM NOTES:

DEVIL DOODLES - 9-27

Connecticut completed its 38th season in the FBN with a 106-56 record - tied for the 2nd most wins in franchise history behind the 116 wins in 1995. The Blue Devils also won 106 games in 1992 and 1993. This will be the teams' 20th playoff appearance and 33rd season with a winning record. After taking over 1st place in the NL from the Klubbers at the beginning of May, Connecticut held the top position for the remainder of the season.

Freddie Freeman was clearly the team MVP batting .335 with 110 runs, 62 Doubles, 31 HR's and 130 RBI while making just 3 errors in the field. Also had a 1.001 OPS. His biggest competition for League MVP would be Ronald Acuna of the Jarheads.

Other Notable offensive performances:
-Thairo Estrada batted .330 with 30 doubles, 18 HR's, 76 runs and 14 Stolen bases
-Bobby Witt Jr led the team with 37 HR's along with 116 RBI, 104 Runs and 30 SB's
-Corey Seager was solid at .287 with 29 doubles, 31 HR's and 101 RBI
-Brandon Drury in just 290 AB's hit 22 HR's with 66 RBI
-Gary Sanchez hit 16 HR's with 34 RBI in just 171 AB's

The pitching staff was excellent all season long finishing with a Team ERA of 3.56 which was the lowest since 1993.

Top Pitching performances:
- Evan Phillips established himself as the Closer with 41 saves in 60 games 2.15 ERA
- Jon Gray led the team with 15 wins but was somewhat fortunate with a 4.29 ERA
- Clayton Kershaw performed as expected going 12-6 3.33 ERA
- Merrill Kelly got the least run support as he had a 3.49 ERA but only a 14-12 record
- Aaron Civale (11-5 3.57) and Zach Eflin (13-10 3.82) rounded out the rotation

The Blue Devils will now rest up and get ready to face the winner of the NL Wild Card Series between Zanti and Norwich. The Blue Devils went 6-6 vs Zanti and 8-4 vs Norwich during the regular season. However, Connecticut didn't have Gerrit Cole when facing those teams so we'll see if Cole can make a difference. Cole went 3-1 2.34 in his 5 starts in the last block.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL PLAYOFF TEAMS - HAVE FUN!

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DEVIL DOODLES - 9-14

Connecticut broke the 100 win mark in a recent series vs. the Powderkegs moving their record to 101-49 with 12 games left to play. This is the first time the Blue Devils have won 100 games since winning 102 in 2004. Overall, this is the franchises' 7th time with over 100 wins. The team won't catch the highest win total of 116 in franchise history back in 1995 but should become the 2nd winningest team in their history needing to surpass 106 wins for 2nd place.

Some potential team records that could be broken:
Saves - team record: 55 - currently have 52
Shutouts - team record: 17 - currently have 16
Hits allowed - team record: 1,215 - currently at 1,145 with 12 games left
Least Errors made - team record: 55 - currently at 52

One potential individual record that could be broken:
Saves - Darren Holmes 43 in 1994 - currently Evan Phillips with 39

For the playoffs, the Blue Devils acquired Gerrit Cole to be their ace. So far, Cole has made 2 starts winning both allowing 2 runs in 14 innings with 12 K's. The playoff rotation behind Cole will be a difficult decision as 4 starters have ERA's under 3.72 and another starter Jon Gray 4.07 leads the team with 15 wins. There will certainly be a couple disappointed pitchers come the playoffs.

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US JARHEAD SCUTTLEBUTT - 9-9

BROKEN RECORD
Ronald Acuna has set a new Jarhead record for hits in a season. His 4 hit game vs The Blue Devils pushed him to 229 hits, surpassing Travis Fryman's 2001 mark of 228. Acuna's BA is .365 with 8 games remaining as he chases Fryman's USJ BA record of .361.

AGAIN I ASK, HOW DID HE DO IT?
MLB 2-4, 5.82 Card.
Strat = LH 41 OB - RH 34 OB

Ryan Feltner, recently re-signed as a temp player, was put right into the starting rotation by Manager Jeff Kent. His first start was on the road at Burlington. Unbelievably, Feltner fired a CG 1 hit Shutout. He walked 4 and struck out 10 batters. The only hit was a clean single by Polanco in the 3rd inning. Feltner faced a tough jam in the 7th. A walk, error and walk loaded the bases with 0 outs. But he bore down and fanned Castellanos. Then got Marsh on a soft liner and then fanned PHer Velasquez to get out of trouble. Feltner finished strong striking out 5 of the last 7 batters. Feltner joins Jordan Lyles 5-17, 6.56 and Patrick Corbin 3-16, 5.85 as the only Jarheads with CG Shutouts in 2024. Amazing!

SHRAPNEL:
Jeff McNeil had 7 straight hits in a recent series vs the Chiefs. He singled in his last AB in game 1, went 4-4 in game 2, and began game 3 with a HR and a single before striking out to end the streak. In game 4 McNeil struck again with a HR. His next plate appearance he was drilled in the ribs and had to leave the game.

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US JARHEAD SCUTTLEBUTT - 9-1

40-40 Man
US Jarhead MVP Candidate Ronald Acuna became the first Jarhead to record over 40 HRs and 40 Steals in a season. At the end of block 7 Acuna has 41 HRs and 45 steals. With 20 games to go Acuna is also flirting with the all-time USJ Batting Average mark of .361 set by Travis Fryamn in 2001. Currently he is at .365 and leading the entire FBN. Acuna also leads the FBN in runs scored with 124. His 41 HRs is currently 2nd in the NL and is just one off of his career high in HRs of 42 in 2020. With 210 hits he needs 19 more to surpass Fryman's USJ record of 228 hits in a season.

SHRAPNEL:
HOW DID THEY DO THAT?
With "Brootal" cards and records to match, Patrick Corbin 3-14, 5.94 and Jordan Lyles 5-15, 6.25 have each fired a CG shut-out this season. Corbin's gem came against the AS 89ers. He allowed 4 hits, 4 walks and fanned 4 in a dominating 2-0 win.

Jordan Lyles was even more dominant vs The Powderkegs, allowing 6 hits, 1 walk and 9 Ks, again in a 2-0 win. Without the shut-outs Corbin's era would be 6.35 and Lyles 6.60.

JARHEADS RE-SIGN RYAN FELTNER
The Jarheads re-acquired right handed Starting Pitcher Ryan Feltner from the in-season Temporary Player Draft. He was originally drafted by USJ in 2023 and he posted a 4-11, 5.55 record. He was released by the team just before the 2024 draft. Manager Jeff Kent said Feltner will go right into the starting rotation for the final block.

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Older team articles can be found in the Team Article Archive on the left side menu.

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2024 INSIDE THE FLY BY NIGHT
Written by Ed Griffin
March 2024

Here are my 2024 projections

Done in record time this year! I'm not retired yet but my new job does not require much effort so I've been working on my projections. Looks like lots of teams on the playoff bubble so good luck refuting my predictions. I'm looking forward to another fun season!

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Projected Finish
1) Connecticut
2) Burlington
3) Taxachusetts
4) Hazardville
5) US Jarheads
6) Norwich
7) Zante
8) Allyn Street
9) Wall Street
10) FoggyMountain
11) Illinois
12) Klee's

It looks to be another very competitive season in the NL during 2024.

I do think that CT and BB are the two best teams. But after that it gets very challenging to determine who is likely to make the playoffs. The Blue Devils have an excellent rotation and one of the best closers in Phillips. Freeman and Seager lead a very solid offense. Just a solid team top to bottom. The Bucs are right there. Not the big names, but a very good lineup. Also, they probably have the league's best rotation. Good pen as well. Should be a real battle for the NL regular season crown. I'm going with Taxachusetts, Hazardville and US next. I put Norwich and Zante on the bubble. I see Allyn Street, Wall Street, FoggyMountain, Illinois and Klee's on the outside looking in. In this season of challenging pitching, I figure the Chiefs and Jarheads will slug their way into the playoffs. The Kegs are also a bit light on the pitching, but a fairly well balanced team. Wall Street is interesting as they have one of the NL's better starting rotations. However, a 3e25 at SS and crappy offense are not good things. Big question ... will the Klubbers get out of the basement?

....click here to see projected team details for the National League