Loggers finish even; come up short in SBA playoffs race

The P-Town Loggers limped to season's end with a disappointing 1-5 homestand vs. Mike MacNeill's Myrtle Beach Bombers, wrapping up their season with an 81-81 record.

The 2020 season split left the Loggers needing a miracle to return to the playoffs in the Sunrise Baseball Association. And it didn't happen. They finished five games behind Rick Burton's Gamblers and six behind Pete Oddo's New York Doubledowns. 

The Loggers' lack of luck was best shown by outscoring their opponents 757-703, which according to Bill James' "Pythagorean Win Expectation" formula translates to a record of 87-75 (.537 expected win percentage), which would have qualified P-Town for this year's postseason.

While the Loggers may have come up short as a team, individual players again exceeded expectations, especially third baseman Nolan Arenado, rightfielder Bryce Harper, first baseman Eric Thames, starter Gerrit Cole and closer Josh Hader. 

Team MVP Arenado slugged 52 home runs, scored 116 runs and drove in 121; Harper followed with 39/109/88; and Thames contributed 36/93/106. 

Rookie second baseman Keston Hiura torched opponents for 20 homers, 55 runs and 50 RBI in half a season. Steady leadoff man Starling Marte contributed 23 HR's, 86 runs and 51 RBI, while leading the Loggers in stolen bases with 22.

As a team, P-Town set a franchise record with 255 home runs, and as a team batted .228, with an on-base percentage of .303 and .428 slugging percentage. (Click here to see season stats.)

On the bump, Gerrit Cole went 19-10, coming up just short of becoming P-Town's first 20-game winner. He set a new team record with a stunning 429 K's in 281 innings. He compiled 23 complete games and an ERA of 3.19. The rest of the Loggers rotation included James Paxton (10-15); Tanner Roark (11-9); Wade Miley (11-16); Adam Plutko (8-7) and Adrian Houser (6-6).

In the bullpen, closer Josh Hader led the team with a 2.84 ERA and 23 saves. He ended with a 5-8 win-loss record. The relief corps was rounded out by Matt Barnes, Tyler Clippard, Hector Rondon and Tommy Kahnle. 

  

Loggers Looking for Second-half Surge in Sunrise Baseball Association

Nolan Arendo

The P-Town Loggers of the SBA are looking for a return to the playoffs this season but it's going to take more than splitting their remaining schedule.

The Loggers sit at 46-46 as they enter the second half of the season in the Sunrise Baseball Association, several games out of the final playoff spot. While the Loggers are stronger this year than their recent past, they're going to have to step it up if they hope to play extra games this season.

"I've been waiting all season for this team to get on a roll," said P-Town Manager/GM Rob Priewe. "Not sure we can wait a lot longer..."

Gerrit Cole

Since arriving in P-Town five years ago, the Loggers as always are led by Nolan Arenado, who's having another stellar season. The all-star thirdbaseman leads the team in runs with 65, RBI with 66 and home runs with 31. He's backed up by the Loggers' power-hitting firstbaseman Eric Thames, who has 62 runs, a matching 66 RBI and 25 HR's. Bryce Harper has been setting the table for his fellow sluggers, scoring 59, driving in 52 and clubbing 22 homers. The top of the Loggers lineup is rounded out by Starling Marte and Keston Hiura.

On the mound, the Loggers are anchored by Gerrit Cole, whose record stands at 12-8. He's struck out a whopping 309 batters already in 188 innings! James Paxton and Wade Miley each have eight wins. The bullpen is highlighted by Josh Hader, who has figured in nine decisions with a 3-6 record and 12 saves. (Click here for team stats.)

The Loggers will begin their stretch run later this week versus the defending SBA champions, the Babylon Tight Lines, managed by Rob Jordan. Babylon stands at 34-41 heading into the matchup.

P-Town sputtered on their way to wrapping up last year, finishing with a record of 78-84. The only good part about that finish, it gave them the third spot in the league draft, which they turned into Harper and Hiura. Onward!

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Axemen 2020 Update: "Timber!" Returns to MM-MDTL

Nelson Cruz

Timber! Boom! The Axemen bats are back in 2020!

Three months into the season and the P-Town Axemen are back in first place, atop the Howard Frey Division of the Mike McClurg Sr. - Mason Dixon Tabletop League.

With a record of 36-25, the Axemen are doing it with their bats, already booming 131 home runs in their first 61 games.

"I knew we needed some fresh lumber this season," said P-Town Skipper Rob Priewe, now in his third year. "I just hope they can maintain this pace through the rest of the season."

Nelson "Boomstick" Cruz is leading the way with 19 round-trippers, followed by Trevor Story (17), Yoan Moncada (14), Yasiel Puig (12) and Gary Sanchez and Hunter Pence (11 each). With the power resurgence, the Axemen are averaging nearly six runs per game, a two-run improvement over the year before. (Click for stats.)

Gerrit Cole

On the mount, Gerrit Cole is off to a 10-1 start to lead the staff. Newcomer Spencer Turnbull is 7-4 and Zack Greinke stands at 6-5. In the pen, Aaron Bummer has taken over the closer role, going 4-2 with eight saves.

Although the team ERA has ticked up to 4.49, it's still early, Priewe said, and the offense has given the pitching staff some breathing room.

While some of the offensive mainstays are familiar -- Story, Cruz, Puig, Sanchez -- the retooled lineup  includes Moncada getting his shot at third, along with Jeff McNeil at second and Eric Hosmer at first (acquired during the offseason for Josh Donaldson and Joey Votto). The outfield got a boost in the draft with the addition of Pence, Mike Tauchman and Alex Verdugo.

While some of the pitchers are still finding their stride, Priewe has no complaints about the offensive firepower demonstrated so far.

"We'll need all the runs we can get this year in a very competitive league," he said.

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Axemen Fall in Follow-up to Championship Season; Miss Playoffs in 2019

Shortstop Trevor Story -- Photo courtesy of jenniferlinneaphotography

With the P-Town Axemen sitting at an identical 63-58 record midway through defending their 2018 championship season, who could blame their fans for wondering whether 2019 might be "deja vu all over again."*

Alas, the Axemen never got it going at the end of their second season in the MM-MDTL, falling off instead of catching fire, and missing the playoffs with their 83-79 finish. Their 20-21 record down the stretch paled in comparison to the 30-11 surge from the year before that propelled them to the top of the Mike McClurg Sr - Mason Dixon Tabletop League.

The difference? Nearly every position player failed to equal their offensive output from the year before, despite some stellar starting pitching.

For example, Joey Votto saw his production plummet from .390 OBA, 113 runs, 100 RBI, 43 doubles and 39 home runs to .348, 57, 59, 32 and 14. Likewise, Marwin Gonzalez went from near-MVP (.338 OBA, 94 runs, 115 RBI, 46 doubles and 35 HR's) to platooning with oft-injured Josh Donaldson, who only got into 66 games, according to the team's 2019 final stats.

Shortstop Trevor Story was one of the few bright spots, leading the team in nearly every offensive category with a .323 OBA, 97 runs, 91 RBI, 46 doubles, 9 triples, 37 home runs and 28 stolen bases. Even Nelson Cruz "slumped," though leading the team with 40 home runs and 92 RBI.

Newcomers Jed Lowrie (a hometown favorite from Salem, Oregon) and mercurial Yasiel Puig were ... let's just say ... less than exceptional after being acquired in the offseason.

On the pitching side, Luis Severino went 19-13 with four shutouts and a 3.09 ERA; Zack Greinke and Gerrit Cole each notched 15 wins. All three compiled more than 200 strikeouts. Greinke led the team with five shutouts and 11 complete games and a team-best 2.90 ERA.

The bullpen once again was anchored by Brad Hand, who went 9-6 with 19 saves. Wily Peralta added 10 saves.

Overall, P-Town's pitchers lowered the team ERA to 3.84 and reduced the number of runs allowed from 708 to 646.

The problem, however, was on the offensive side, where hitters went from batting .238/.321/.468 to .217/.294/.409 and connecting for fewer home runs (291 vs. 236) and nearly 200 fewer runs (847 to 656).

"Needless to say, our offense really let us down this season," Axemen Manager Rob Priewe said. "I think our fans know where we plan to focus during the offseason."

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*From the popular Yogi Berra quote, "It's deja vu all over again," from The Yogi Book, where he repeatedly recalled seeing back-to-back homers by Yankees teammates Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris in the early 1960s.

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P-Town Axemen Win 2018 MM-MDTL Title to Cap Off Inaugural Season

After 10th-inning home runs by Joey Votto and Steven Souza, P-Town closer Brad Hand shut the door on the Culpepper Minutemen, striking out Jordan Zimmerman to preserve an 8-5 victory as the Axemen took the 2018 MM-MDTL World Series Championship in their first season in the league.

The championship victory capped off an improbable playoff run for league-newcomer P-Town, which rolled to the title after knocking off three of the top teams in the league after nabbing one of the last playoff berths with their second-place finish in the Central Division.

Axemen Skipper Rob Priewe

"Wow!" was all P-Town Manager Rob Priewe could muster after winning the title in his first year in the league, which has been going strong for more than four decades.

Along with some incredible late-season luck, Priewe credited his predecessor Terry Evans with acquiring the core of the team, including Votto, Trevor Story, Nelson Cruz and Josh Donaldson, along with pitchers Zack Greinke, Sonny Gray and Brad Hand.

Two-thirds of the way through the season, however, it didn't look like the Axemen would even qualify for the playoffs. Entering September, P-Town sat with a record of 63-58, barely above break even. But with a 30-11 finish, the Axemen entered the postseason on a roll.

In the first round, they knocked off favored DevLan four games to two, taking the first three games, before closing out Game 6 5-2 behind a three-run eighth-inning home run by Cruz.

In the next round, P-Town's pitchers held the heavy hitting Walthall Warriors bats in check, taking the series 4-1. As seemed typical in the season's closing weeks, they punched out Walthall with a 10th-inning walkoff single by seldom-used infielder Yoan Moncada, who had entered the game as a pinch runner the inning before.

The win sent the Axemen onto the title matchup with league powerhose Culpepper.

After dropping Game 1, the Axemen rebounded with a 10-8 win in Game 2. They followed that with a 3-2 walkoff win in Game 3 on a double by Marwin Gonzalez to drive in Souza, who had walked with two out. James Paxton shut out the Axemen 6-0 in Game 4, tallying 13 strikeouts in a complete game.

P-Town took yet another extra-innings walk-off win in Game 5, this time backup catcher Christian Vazquez  scoring on a two-out single by Justin Upton in the bottom of the 11th. Upton finished the game going 4-for-5 with a pair of home runs, a double, two runs and five RBI. Jackie Bradley Jr. had kept the Axemen in the game with a game-tying single in the bottom of the ninth. Trevor Rosenthal held the Minutemen in check, striking out the last five batters he faced.

The deciding Game 6 was another classic comeback for P-Town as Culpepper banged four home runs to take a 5-2 lead into the sixth inning. Story then cut the deficit to one with a two-run homer; followed by Donaldson's pinch-hit home run in the seventh. With Hand on his way to shutting down the Minutemen over the last three innings, Votto gave the Axemen all they would need with a solo home run in the 10th, followed by Souza's two-run insurance shot. (A special shout-out to fellow manager Wayne Humphreys who rolled for the Axemen as Priewe managed by phone from the opposite coast!)

Looking at P-Town's season stats, it may not have been a shock that they prevailed in the playoffs. The Axemen brought the lumber, clubbing 291 home runs during the regular season, with seven members of their starting lineup hitting 30 or more home runs. They scored 847 runs during the 93-69 season.

As for pitching, Gray led the staff with a record of 17-5, followed by Gerrit Cole's 16 wins. The other starters -- Greinke, Luis Severino and Ivan Nova -- each tallied 13 wins. In the bullpen, Hand set the pace with 23 saves and a 1.72 ERA.

Votto's .390 on-base average and 39 home runs lead the offense, along with his 113 runs and 100 RBI. Gonzalez drove in 115 runs, batting .285 and scoring 94 runs; Cruz hit 34 dingers and drove in 103 runs; Upton scored 109 runs batting leadoff ... while striking out a whopping 206 times!

As noted, Evans' County Road team set P-Town up for success in 2018, along with a few key draft additions, including Moncada (53k), Vazquez (21k), defensive standout Yolmer Sanchez (2k) and Severino (150k)!

Priewe felt extremely fortunate in his first year in the league, setting a high bar for success that he hopes he can match again someday ...

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