Loggers 2021: Ugh! Better Luck Next Year ...

Given how many of its star players had "off" years, it shouldn't have been surprising that the P-Town Loggers slumped to such a sad finish of its 2021 season in the Sunrise Baseball Association. 

Loggers MVP Bryce Harper.

Nevertheless, who could have predicted the team would lose 12 of its final 13 games and once again miss the playoffs. The Loggers finished 74-88, putting them in fifth place in their division, 31 games behind Jerry Conca's Yankees squad, which would go on to win this year's SBA Championship. (Congrats to Jerry on his first SBA title!)

Although this year's edition of the Loggers scored a few more runs (771 vs. 757) than in 2020 they allowed way more (820 vs. 703)! Yikes! And that pretty much sums up this dismal season, though things were looking pretty good at midseason at 50-48.

So not everyone sucked ... 

Bryce Harper (.246/.346/.504) led the offense, scoring 104 runs, driving in 130, smashing 40 HR's and stealing 21 bases. It helped that he walked a team-high 92 times. 

Leadoff guy Brandon Nimmo scored 115 runs and hit a whopping 30 home runs. His .356 OBP was driven by 88 walks and 27 HBP's. 

Starling Marte (.269/.329/.408) also contributed mightily in the two hole: 113 runs, 45 doubles, 28 stolen bases. 

Chris Taylor just missed the century mark in RBI, driving in 99, scoring 77 runs and hitting 25 home runs, though he also lead the team in whiffs with 175 and errors with 37, mainly at second base, where he is rated a 7. 

In part-time duty, Edwin Rios contributed 27 HR's, 38 doubles and 70 RBI. 

On the flip side, the Loggers suffered from down years by its perennial MVP Nolan Arenado (.209/.246/.372), whose pandemic slump resulted in only 20 HR's and 64 RBI. Likewise, shortstop Brandon Crawford could manage only a .195 batting average, though he did hit 29 dingers.

The pitching is where things really went off the rails, with Gerrit Cole (BXZ) avoiding losing 20 games, barely, finishing 10-19 with a 5.55 ERA! (He had gone 19-10 the year before ...)

Antonio Senzatela (BRZ) led the starters with a 12-15 record, 3.56 ERA and 10 complete games and 5 shutouts. Other starters were: Zach Eflin (7-12, 5.08); Lance McCullers (8-11, 5.34); rookie Triston McKenzie (8-6, 5.14); and Drew Smyly (5-6, 4.04). 

Fan fave Josh Hader.

The bullpen was equally below par, though Yimi Garcia (A&BX) led the team with 25 saves and a 2.23 ERA. Grant Dayton (AY) contributed a 9-7 record, 4 saves and an ERA of 4.50. Sadly, the team's most popular player, Josh Hader (CXYW), only pitched 23 innings with an 8.87 ERA. Ouch!

The team ERA was 4.66, compared to 3.91 the year before. (Click here for all team stats.)

As noted, the team hit about the same as the year before ... .230/.305/.426 compared to .228/.303/.435, though home runs were down to 230 from 255 in 2020. 

It was a disappointing end to a disappointing season, though there is definitely hope for the year ahead with strong bounce-back years for Arenado, Crawford and Hader. Harper, of course, earned the NL MVP and we're looking forward to rolling for his 1-1-0-0-0-10 APBA card. 

(BREAKING NEWS: Next year's offense will have some more pop with the addition of Polar Bear Pete Alonso and his 1-1-0-0 card, though the Loggers waved goodbye to Starling Marte, who along with Arenado, Cole and Crawford have been the foundation of the Loggers lineup all these years.) 

Who knows? Maybe get a few better arms in the draft to go with all those home runs and things are already looking up for 2022. (rp)

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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!

-- 66 --

Loggers Struggle to Stay Even in Sunrise Baseball Association

Nolan Arenado once again led the Loggers offense with 33 home runs and 115 RBI
 during the 2017 season of the Sunrise Baseball Association.
Photo credit: MLB.com

A year after playing in the SBA World Series, the P-Town Loggers struggled in year two to stay at or above .500, eventually falling to fifth-place with a 79-83 record.

The Loggers finished 14 games behind the Eastern Division-winning Reno Gamblers (93-69), managed by my brother, Phil Priewe, also in his second year in the Sunrise Baseball Association. Ultimately, the Tidewater Skippers led by Pat Lowery took home this year's SBA Championship.

While improving in most hitting categories, especially batting average and on-base percentage, the Loggers had a significant drop-off in home runs, along with a decline in pitching from the year before, when they came within two games of winning it all in the 12-team APBA dice baseball game league.

Leadoff hitter Brandon Crawford set a new
team record, scoring 99 runs in 2017.
Photo credit: Rawlings

Similar to the year before, the Loggers' offense centered around third-baseman Nolan Arenado and shortstop Brandon Crawford. Batting lead-off, Crawford set new team records for hits (177), runs (99) and triples (15). Arenado set a new team record with 115 RBI, to go along with 33 home runs and 79 runs. However, he batted only .225, and his home runs were down from 51 the year before.

The most frequently used Loggers lineup looked like this:

1. Brandon Crawford, SS, .266, 18 HR's, 99 runs, 45 doubles
2. Starling Marte, LF, .293, 11 HR's, 79 runs, 55 stolen bases
3. Dustin Pedroia, 2B, .277, 13 HR's, 79 RBI
4. Nolan Arenado, 3B, .225, 33 HR's, 115 RBI
5. Yangervis Solarte, 1B, .269, 10 HR's, 45 RBI
6. Sean Rodriquez, RF, .204, 25 HR's, 66 RBI
7. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF, .214, 4 HR's, 38 runs
8. Jason Castro, C, .215, 12 HR's, 39 RBI

Marte set team records for batting average and stolen bases, while Pedroia set a new team record for on-base percentage at .337.

Overall, the team raised its batting average to .234 and on-base percentage to .294. However, slugging fell to .387, while home runs dropped to 164 -- a tally the Loggers don't want to repeat in 2018.

The Loggers' pitching also declined from the previous year.

Kendall Graveman led the Loggers with
12 wins in 31 starts. Photo credit: Topps

Newcomer Kendall Graveman led the team in wins with 12, followed by Collin McHugh (10), Steven Wright (9), and Gerrit Cole (8) and Marco Estrada (8), who was acquired mid-season in hopes of helping push the Axemen to the playoffs. Unfortunately, Wright set a new team high for losses with 13. James Paxton went 6-8 and Lance McCullers posted a record of 4-8.

The bullpen continued to be one of the Loggers' strengths, led by Blake Treinen's team-high 20 saves in 57 games, a new team record. Paced by Treinen (3-3) and his 2.15 ERA, the relievers compiled a combined 2.76 ERA. Hansel Robles went 3-4 in 61 innings, followed by Tyler Clippard's 3-3 record and 3 saves in 54 innings. Mark Rzepczynski was 6-7 with 4 saves in 48 innings.

Hitters' higher batting averages and on-base percentage were aided slightly by a new league rule resulting in a single on a bases empty 65-35 dice roll, which league members instituted in part to combat the league's abundance of A- and B-grade pitchers. (The league voted to discontinue the 35-65 rule for 2018 ... Bummer!)

Two-thirds of the way through the 2017 season the Loggers stood at 57-57, with some hope of making the playoffs. However, P-Town went 6-12 versus their arch rivals the Gamblers and never fully recovered.

Onward to 2018!

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Click here to see the full 2017 P-Town Loggers stats. 

-rp-