Squirrels Winter Preview

Coming off an impressive and unexpected third place finish in 2010, the Springfield Flying Squirrels of Republic have a lot of work to do if they are to see a repeat of the success enjoyed in their inaugural campaign. Returning to the team via extension are Adrian Beltre, Martin Prado and Carlos Marmol. The extensions of Beltre and Prado form a solid core for the offense. Paired with sluggers Mark Teixeira and Dan Uggla, the Squirrels' infield looks solid, and with the addition of a SS, the infield for the 2011 season will be complete.

OFers currently under contract for the 2011 season are speedsters BJ Upton and Drew Stubbs. Both young OFers bring an impressive balance of speed and power, and GM Adam Anson expects to see a lot of interest in the two. "Ive already had a few discussions about Upton and Stubbs. They are both young and contribute very well in several categories. While we will certainly be shopping them, we would be just as happy to have them both coming back for the 2011 season."

The Squirrels expect to address SS during the draft, but with Josh Beckett, Wade Davis and Scott Kazmir, the Squirrels have one of, if not the worst returning SPers in all of eMLB. When asked about the glaring deficiency, Anson said "It's a definite concern. This league values offense more than pitching, but the fact of the matter is that you've got to be competitive in a majority of the categories to win week in and week out, and right now we do not feel we are competitive at all in the W, ERA, WHIP, and K categories."

It looks to be a busy off-season for the Squirrels. GM Adam Anson's eMLB Christmas list looks like this:

1) Power hitting OFer
2) Stud to Strong SPer
3) SS

Current Contracts

5yr- Mark Teixeira 2011
3yr- BJ Upton 2011
3yr- Dan Uggla 2011
3yr- Scott Kazmir 2011
3yr-
3yr-
2yr- Adrian Beltre 2011*
2yr- Martin Prado 2011*
2yr- Carlos Marmol 2011*
2yr- Josh Beckett 2011
2yr- Drew Stubbs 2011
2yr- Miguel Montero 2011
2yr- Wade Davis 2011
2yr-
2yr-
2yr-

*Denotes extension players with no trade clauses.

Squirrels Announce Extensions for 2011

The Springfield Flying Squirrels of Republic are happy to announce their three extensions for the upcoming season.


Adrian Beltre earned an extension hitting .321 with 28HR and 102RBI. The Squirrels' 2011 success will likely go the way Beltre goes and GM Adam Anson will look for another big year from his slugging 3B.











Martin Prado came into his own in his first year as a starter. Prado suffered two injuries during the 2010 season and still posted some of the best numbers amongst 2B in the majors hitting .307 with 15HR, 66RBI, 100Runs and 5SB. Prado will be a big part of the Squirrels offense in 2011.







In somewhat of a surprise move, GM Adam Anson awarded an extension to closer Carlos Marmol. Marmol was one of the most valuable RPers in all of eMLB this year posting 38 saves, 2.55ERA, 1.18WHIP and a ridiculous 138K's in only 77 2/3 IP.



Others considered for extension included Jaime Garcia, Daniel Hudson, and Ryan Dempster.

Squirrels Pull Blockbuster Deal for Beltre and Uggla

Refusing to go quietly into the good night, the Springfield Flying Squirrels of Republic pulled off a monster thirteen player trade sending All-Stars Brandon Phillips and Chris Young along with promising young ace Brett Anderson, Hideki Okajima, and Kenshin Kawakami to their inter-division rival Rochester Red Sox. In return the Squirrels were able to bolster their playoff hopes by adding much needed power in 3B Adrian Beltre and 2B Dan Uggla, bolstering the pitching staff with Ryan Dempster and shoring up the bullpen with closer Bobby Jenks. The Squirrels also obtained Wade Davis, Trevor Cahill and Drew Stubbs in the deal.

Adrian Beltre brings much needed avg, rbi, and hr to what has all season been an anemic and inconsistent offense and will immediately step into the utility role for the Squirrels.

Dan Uggla is a much different 2B than Brandon Phillips, and is certainly a downgrade at the position. However, he brings more power, and this is what the Squirrels have so desperately needed. Also, with an average approaching .290, Uggla seems to be maturing into an all around hitter. The addition of Uggla and Beltre will fill out an offense that has shown signs of life all year, but has never really come into fruition.

Ryan Dempster shores up the Squirrels' rotation nicely. With Lincecum, Garcia, Beckett, and Dempster, the Squirrels now have a staff that can compete with most any in the league.
The final major piece of the deal for Springfield was the addition of Bobby Jenks. Jenks will jump into the RP role with fellow closers Brad Lidge and Brian Fuentes. With Evan Meek and Hong-Chi Kuo raking in the holds and the triumvirate of closers listed above, the Squirrels pitching looks to be in order for a playoff push.

To make room for the new additions the Squirrels released Ryan Webb and Jim Thome.

Weeks 6 and 7 Recap

<--Actual Brian Fuentes footage. God, I hate you.

All around atrocious hitting and subpar pitching led the way as the Squirrels dropped two embarrassing match ups in a row and fell out of first place for the first time this year in the East Division. Injuries continue to plague the Squirrels, and unfortunately, the depth on this team is only so so. Lincecum and Pettitte, the mainstays of the rotation got rocked, Duchscherer went down to a likely season ending injury, Lidge went back to the DL and Beckett went to the DL. Pitching depth should not be a problem, but when you have three top flight SPers on the DL, it's tough to hang in there.

The offense, which has been paltry all year, continues to hit at about a .200 clip, with few signs of hope. Mark Teixeira has been terrible, as has Chipper Jones and Brandon Phillips. Teixeira's annual slow start is starting to look like a bad year or at least a bad first half, and Chipper needs to hang it up. He is simply too old and has too many miles on the tires to be serviceable for anything but walks. Phillips, who was drafted in the first round, has finally got his average over the .250 mark, but his peripheral stats have not made up for his inability to hit consistently.

The lone bright spot for the Squirrels has been the bullpen, excluding the closers, who are terrible. Carlos Villanueva, Evan Meek and Hong-Chih Kuo have been untouchable for most of the season, and Hideki Okajima is starting to look like his old self again now as well. If Brad Lidge can get healthy and stay healthy, the bullpen will be as solid as any in the league.

Brian Fuentes...fornicate yourself with an iron stick, buddy. Your Jorge Julio-esque ways are going to find your ass benched. I hate you and I hate everything you stand for. Consider this your final warning. The head has got to come out of the ass at some point, or Fernando Rodney is going to usurp your role, and probably start banging your wife too.
Sincerely-The Management

Squirrels Week 5 Review

Squirrels Flounder Late--Settle for another tie

In a complete reversal from last week, the Flying Squirrels led on Wednesday 9-1...only to watch the Carolina Yankees battle back to tie the match up for the week. As projected and expected, the Squirrels dominated the pitching side and faltered on the offensive side.

The pitching staff was incredibly strong this week with one key exception. The struggles of Josh Beckett continue and with the DL issues already facing the staff, he has got to get his act together or the team will begin to see the losses pile up. In a bittersweet positive, Tim Lincecum could have put up two wins this week and given the Squirrels an outright victory, however the Giants bullpen managed to blow the lead he supplied them with in both games.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Squirrels hung with the Yankees in all categories except avg, and managed to take the RBI and runs categories. Mark Teixeira finally snapped out of his power outage and contributed solidly in four categories. This trend must continue if the Squirrels plan to contend. Unfortunately, four starters had averages under .200 for the week and didn't manage to produce in any of the categories.

Flying High

Brandon Phillips- (8-25) .320, 6R, 2HR, 2RBI, 1SB, 1BB
Phillips finally showed up this week and contributed some--not a lot--to many categories.

Tim Lincecum- 13IP, 0W, 21K, 3.46ERA, 1.15WHIP
Lincecum was on the crap end of the Giants bullpen..2 wins and a match up win down the drain...but Lincecum continued his dominance and now has a 61 K's in 48 1/3IP.


Squirrel Turds


John Baker- (1-16), .063, 1R, 1BB
He's on the wire if you want this waste of space. You bring shame to Keith and Larry.


Josh Beckett- 5.1IP, 9H, 3BB, 9ER, 8K
I don't even know what to put here. For the love of God...please quit sucking so damned badly.


Week 6 outlook

The Squirrels come into this week a little more banged up, but hopefully a little stronger. A mid-week trade saw Jim Thome come to the Squirrels and hopefully some much needed power. This week also saw another starting pitcher fall, as Justin Duchscherer joined fellow A's stud Brett Anderson on the DL. As a result, the Squirrels are going with a four man rotation and hoping the freshly healthy bullpen can claim a couple of categories. Brad Lidge has looked strong since he re-assumed the closers' role in Philly and Brian Fuentes has been average enough to reel in some stats without hurting the bottom line. I think the Squirrels offense stacks up with that of Julian and the pitching should remain strong, despite the injuries to the A's. Prediction: Squirrels 8-4

Squirrels Move Volstad for Thome

Dealing from their strength, the Flying Squirrels sent SPer Chris Volstad to the Gaylord Dingers for aging slugger Jim Thome. When asked about the deal, GM Adam Anson said, "We hated to let Volstad go, but with the teams glaring deficiency in the power department, a move had to be made." The Squirrels expect Thome to step in and contribute some much needed pop to a lineup that has struggled greatly to produce offensively this year. Thome will step in and immediately be the team leader in HR and third in RBI. Anson also speculated on the potential for additional deals in the coming weeks, saying, "We know our pitching will continue to be strong, so at this point we are going to hope Tex can pull out of his annual slow start, see what Thome brings to the table for us, and evaluate any further moves as they present themselves."

Squirrels Week 4 Recap

Squirrels Battle Back to Tie Mid-Michigan

Another week and another lackluster performance from the Flying Squirrels. After being down as much as 9-1 early in the week, the Squirrels battled back for a 6-6 tie, mostly on the merits of the pitching staff. The pitching, while not excellent, put up 4 of the 6 categories won, with walks and stolen bases as the only offensive categories taken.

The starting pitching was led by strong outings from Tim Lincecum, Chris Volstad, and young stud Jaime Garcia. Garcia has been an outstanding pickup for the Squirrels and has truly bolstered the starting staff. These strong outings were somewhat offset however, by the continued suckage of Josh Beckett and the first poor start this season from Andy Pettitte. The bullpen was solid, with the exception of Hideki Okajima, but the needed stats just didn't come through as the Squirrels pen combined for only one save and one hold. Brian Fuentes rebounded nicely this week, posting a win and a save, and with Brad Lidge ready to come back in the coming week, the saves category might become less of a gimme for opposing teams.

Offensively, the Squirrels attack was simply outmatched. Mid-Michigan clearly had the superior offensive team and it showed through as they took all the power categories. If anything, some of the Squirrels' bats are probably being too patient, i.e., Mark Teixeira and Chipper Jones. Both continue to pace the team in walks, and both continue to put up nothing in the power categories. The SB category was taken by one steal, as neither team had a particularly strong showing in the category.


Flying High

Derek Jeter- (10/26) .385, 6R, 1HR, 8RBI, 2BB
Jeter started the week 0-4 and never looked back, contributing in five categories.

Brian Fuentes- 2IP, 1W, 1S, 3K, 0.00 ERA
While only pitching 2 innings, Fuentes put up a win and a save. The save saved a category loss and saved an overall matchup loss...that's a helluva save.


Squirrel Turds

Christian Guzman- (2-17) .118, 1RBI
Guzman had been on a tear...right until he got into my lineup. I remember when he led the league in triples back in 1983...so far he leads my team in completely wasted starts. You suck Christian. Rot on the bench.

Hideki Okajima- 1/3IP, 2ER, 3H, 1K, 54.00ERA
Okajima was drafted to log solid innings and rake in the holds. So far he has logged 8IP, and raked in 6ER. With Lidge and Kuo off the DL, Okajima could see his playing time take a major hit if he doesn't turn it around in a hurry.


Week 5 Outlook

The Squirrels come into their first match up with the in division rival Carolina Yankees, with the same old tune as every week...DL issues. Brett Anderson was placed on the DL in the middle of last week and reports are that he will be sidelined 4-6 weeks. Also falling to the DL this week was Carlos Guillen. While no offensive juggernaut, Guillen was having a solid season, and was contributing weekly to the avg, bb, rbi and runs categories, and his bat will be missed by a team that is struggling in almost every offensive category. The Yankees boast a strong offense and even with Yunel Escobar going to the DL, should have no problem handling the Squirrels in all power categories. The Squirrels will have to hope to take the BB category and SB category and hope to steal something like runs to have any chance at all this week on the offensive side. Pitching could really go either way this week. If Josh Beckett ever pulls his head out of his hind-quarters, the Squirrels would have a dominant SPing staff with Lincecum, Beckett, Pettitte, Garcia, and a strong bullpen in Fuentes, Kuo, Villanueva, and USUALLY Okajima. Theoretically, the Squirrels match up with any pitching staff in the league, but until I see the proof from Beckett and Okajima, all I can expect is more of the same. Look for more of the same from last week. Squirrels win handily on the pitching side, 5-1 or 4-2, and get dominated on the offensive side by a similar score. Prediction: Yankees 7-5

Week 3 Recap

Squirrels Fall to Eagles 8-4

It was bound to happen. The surprising early dominance by the Flying Squirrels ended this week with a tough and humbling loss to the Olivet Killer Eagles, 8-4. The team struggled in almost every aspect of the game, and looked like the bottom of the barrel team they were projected to be in the preseason. Of the eight categories lost, five weren't even close. The Squirrels were swept offensively, and took the saves and holds categories with just one apiece in their respective columns. On a slightly brighter note, of the six offensive categories lost, BB's, HR's and Runs were all lost by one each. The rain out for Atlanta on Sunday night sealed the Squirrels fate by cutting Chipper Jones and Troy Glaus' days short.

Offensively, the Squirrels were awful. The teams hottest hitter, Derek Jeter, cooled to the tune of .192 this week (5-26,) and as predicted last week, the early heavy hitting of Jeff Francouer and Chris Young slowed down. Mark Teixiera's early season struggles have really hurt the Squirrels offense, as he is one of the few legitimate power threats the team has. In another disappointing note, the steady bat of Carlos Guillen was lost this week due to a strained hamstring.

On the mound, the Squirrels weren't much better. If the Eagles would have had a decent pitching week, the Squirrels could have conceivably been swept across the board. Brian Fuentes returned and was promptly bombed by Miguel Cabrera, and this would prove to be a sign of things to come for the Squirrels bullpen. The absolute awfulness of Josh Beckett and Chris Volstad offset the good weeks by Lincecum, Anderson and Pettitte for the starters.

Flying High

BJ Upton- 7-25 (.280), 1HR, 7RBI, 5R, 3BB, 1SB
Although not the strongest week, Upton was the brightest spot in an offense that was swept.

Andy Pettitte- 8IP, 1W, 1.29 ERA, 0.75WHIP, 8K
Pettitte continued his early season dominance and is now 3-0 with a 1.29ERA and 1.07WHIP.


Squirrel Turds

Jeff Francouer- 4-25 (.160), 3R, 2RBI
While a cool down was expected, this line completely blows and any gained confidence in Frenchy is again gone.

The Bullpen- Apart from Carlos Villanueva, no one had an ERA below 8.10 or a WHIP below 1.88. The return of Brian Fuentes was ugly, Okajima was terrible and Badenhop showed why he belongs on the wire.


Week 4 Preview

Coming off a disheartening and ugly loss, the Squirrels will look to rebound against another formidable opponent and another Baker in the Mid Michigan Tigers. The Squirrels have made a few changes this week in hopes of putting together a more complete effort. Christian Guzman will get his first start of the season in the utility spot over the struggling Troy Glaus. Guzman has hit for a good average and has scored runs consistently so far this season. In for the injured Carlos Guillen will be Chris Coghlan. Coghlan was slated to be the starter from day one, and ownership hope this opportunity will light a fire under him. In the bullpen, the Squirrels welcome back Hong-Chih Kuo with open arms, in hopes he can bring some much needed consistency to a struggling bullpen. Mid Michigan boasts a good offense and a pitching staff that has been hurt by injuries. Unfortunately for Springfield, the Tigers lay claim to a deep starting rotation that will adequately cover it's injuries. This looks like another close matchup that could be decided by a stat here or there in a few categories, but look for Mid Michigan to pull away by week's end. Prediction: Mid Michigan 7-5

Week 2 Recap

Squirrels Cruise to 10-2 Victory Over Mets

In week two, the Flying Squirrels put together a solid overall effort to beat division rival New Jersey 10-2. The Squirrels had a balanced attack, winning both five hitting and five pitching categories, narrowly winning the wins category, but dominating in almost every other category won. The two categories lost this week were saves and SB's. With Brad Lidge and Brian Fuentes both on the DL, the Squirrels expected to lose the saves category and anytime you go against Juan Pierre, there is a reasonable chance you may lose the SB category.

The week was highlighted by the outstanding play of Derek Jeter who hit was 11-22 for the week with seven RBI and three HR. Jeter, was the counterbalance to Mark Teixeira who continued his annual slow start with a .100 average and really nothing else to show besides five free passes. On the mound, Andy Pettitte had an outstanding week posting two wins and a miniscule 1.29 ERA with ten k's.

This week holds some interesting items of note for the Squirrels, as several players on the DL may be coming back to the team. These include Brian Fuentes, Hong-Chih Kuo and possibly Daisuke Matsuzaka. Matsuzaka and Kuo have both been excellent in their minor league rehab assignments and Fuentes has thrown some bullpen sessions and says he is ready to go when he comes off the DL Wednesday.

Flying High

Derek Jeter- .500, 3HR, 7RBI, 5R
-Jeter was unstoppable this week, posting good numbers in four categories.

Andy Pettitte- 14 IP, 2W, 10K, 1.29ERA, 1.07WHIP
-Pettitte was twirling this week and posted half the Squirrels' Wins.


Squirrel Turds

Mark Teixeira- .100, 1HR, 3RBI, 1R, 5BB
-Saved himself with the five walks, but he isn't a 5yr player to chip in in one category.

Kenshin Kawakami- 5 IP, 0W, 2K, 7.20ERA, 2.00WHIP
-An uninspired 5 innings with 4ER, 2BB and 2K. Thanks, Kenshin.

The Squirrels will have their hands full this week as the Olivet Killer Eagles come calling. The Great Lakes Division leaders, Olivet has a strong offense and good pitching. The Squirrels will boast a stronger starting rotation, but will once again forfeit the saves category. This week will come down to whose offense takes the most categories. It is hard to believe that Chris Young and Jeff Francouer can keep up their torrid early season paces, which leads me to believe the Squirrels may come up short this week. Look for the SB and BB categories to swing this close match-up one way or the other. Prediction: Olivet 6-5-1

Squirrels Week One Review

Squirrels open inaugural season with a win


In their inaugural matchup, the Flying Squirrels managed a 6-5-1 win over fellow rookie owner Richard Chase and the division rival Rochester Red Sox. When asked about the victory, GM Adam Anson had this to say, "I thought the team came out of the gate strong and we came away with a close victory. With all the key guys we have on the DL, every win is crucial." The pitching was the bright spot this week, but the offense showed an early ability to swipe some bags, and those were the key reasons the Squirrels came away with the victory.

Flying High

Tim Lincecum- 2W, 17K, 1.29ERA, 0.71WHIP

As expected, Tim Lincecum started the season strong and will have to continue this type of dominance to bolster an injury depleted staff.

Chris Young- .292, 3HR, 11RBI, 4R
In the absolute definition of a pleasant surprise, Chris Young led the offense in week one. Young was the subject of much preseason trade talk, but new management decided to stick with the talented OFer in hopes he would put it all together...it's just one week, but so far so good.

Squirrel Turds

Josh Beckett- 1W, 5K, 6.17ERA, 1.80WHIP
Beckett, who along with Tim Lincecum is expected to lead the Squirrels staff this season, was just awful in his first start of the season.

Troy Glaus- .227, 3R, 2RBI, 2BB
GM Adam Anson drafted Glaus with the expectation that his average might be low all year, but hitting in the middle of Atlanta's lineup should tender him several opportunities for good power numbers. Certainly a disappointing start.

Flying Squirrels in 2010

Is BJ Upton on the move?

With winter meetings and the eMLB draft not far in the future, the Flying Squirrels are looking to shore up a team with many deficiencies. New GM Adam L. Anson stated that while he has always been an advocate of strong starting pitching as the foundation of a strong team, the upcoming draft will be used to start building a champion. This means every pick will have to be a value pick and the best available player will likley come off the board when the Squirrels go on the clock, especially in the early rounds. "We're lacking at several positions, so making every pick count is going to be crucial for us," said first year GM Adam Anson.

As they currently stand, the Squirrels are willing to stand pat at the winter meetings, as ownership does not feel they have a lot of valuable pieces to move. GM Adam Anson was quoted as saying, "Draft picks are our most valuable commodity right now. We have a couple of contracts we'd like to move and a couple of contracts we'd love to move, but thusfar there has been minimal interest and we are ok with that." Rumors have abounded that BJ Upton and Daisuke Matsuzaka could be moved, and these deals could still go down, but with the Squirrels depleted OF, it is unlikely Upton will be moved.

Obviously a strong draft could help this team compete in the short term, but the Squirrels are looking to build for the future. This of course means that all offers will have to be taken into strong consideration, no matter who they involve. When asked if any player was untouchable, Anson said flatly, "Absolutely not."

The inaugural season for the Flying Squirrels looks to be interesting, if not wholly entertaining.

Flyng Squirrels Opener

New ownership. A new face of the franchise...(the fierce rodent means business.) New owner Adam L. Anson deliberated for seconds upon minutes before arriving at the new name for the franchise...and in a moment of mediocre brilliance, the Springfield Flying Squirrels of Republic came into existence. No more Springfield Slammers and no more contracts to guys like Jeff Francoeur. New ownership plans to look at all trade offers and is ready to bring this franchise from the land of mediocrity to the ranks of the elite.