Naperville Knights






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Team: Naperville Knights [ID #742] Bookmark Naperville Knights

Location: Naperville, IL (Central)

League: VI.26 - East

Owner: Mojak81 send message
          [since November 26th 2016 | last seen June 26th 2019]

Manager: Donnie Gallo

Ballpark: Kiki-Nater Castle

Rank: #434 - Rating: 82.66

Fan Mood: 110.51

Prestige: 9

Color: Red & Black

Team Notes:

• Mar 04 2041: Otis Ellison was signed as a free agent.
• Feb 19 2041: Pedro Contreras was claimed off of waivers.
• Jan 22 2041: Marco Duenas was claimed off of waivers.
• Jan 15 2041: Leib Levy was selected to the national team of Israel.
• Jan 15 2041: Vladimír Hájek was selected to the national team of Czech Republic.
• Jan 15 2041: Roger Bernabela was selected to the national team of Curaçao.
• Jan 15 2041: Dubravko Kovačević was selected to the national team of Croatia.
• Jan 15 2041: Julian Böhm was selected to the national team of Austria.
• Nov 04 2040: Tony Kingman was named the Rookie Pitcher of the Year.
• Oct 30 2040: Aaron Mathis was inducted into the team Hall of Fame.


League Record:

Wins: 24 Losses: 16 Pct: .600 Last10: 6-4 Streak: L2

Ave: 5.0 - 4.1 RS: 198 RA: 165 DIFF: +33

Cup:

Group 104 [0 | Eliminated]

Press Releases:

May 03 2035: Comer hits for the cycle! - by Mojak81 on March 15th, 2018

An exclamation point to a much needed winning streak, Knights catcher and team leader Nick Comer hit for the cycle in Naperville's 6-2 win over Moline. Comer got things off on the right foot in the 1st inning with a 3-run homer to right field, then gunning down a base stealer in the bottom half. He got the all-important triple in the 5th, a single in the 7th, and finished the day with a double in the 9th. This is the first cycle (I think) in Naperville Knights history.

The Knights had been struggling lately before finally busting out a 10-game win streak. The offense is clicking, the pitching is starting to come around, let's hope we can continue these good trends and prove that the "strike season" wasn't a fluke.


Mar 08 2032: 2nd Verse, Same As The First ... - by Mojak81 on May 16th, 2017

Only a little more expensive and a little bit worse.

Well that season didn't go well. I guess the good news first; statistically we did improve. Batting ave, slugging, ERA, runs against, all improved ... slightly. All said and done, we didn't improve where it mattered most: win %. Don't know if 2 seasons can create a trend, but if it can post all star break seems to be our downfall. We may have been above .500 before interleague began. Main problem areas remain the same; batting ave and OBP are respectable, but slugging and runs scored are low. We just don't have the power bats to drive in runs at any time. And pitching, oh the pitching. Second half our starters had trouble staying past the 5th and the bullpen just wasn't reliable. The closer situation was particularly heinous. 37 for 68 in save opportunities and no one, NO ONE, got more than 9 saves.

Once again, I have to rely on an active offseason in the market to fill gaps, which is usually not a good sign. However, I'm cautiously optimistic. I think I got some big bats that can actually hit the ball, and I've gotten a little more precise about which pitchers I try to get. That being said I've opened up the purse strings quite a bit to the tune of a $10 million increase in payroll. Let's see if we can turn that price tag into wins.


Mar 10 2031: Recap and Looking Forward - by Mojak81 on March 1st, 2017

A little late in putting this out, but oh well.

As 2030 was our first season, I tried to keep expectations realistic. That being said, I feel we did fall a little short. I had hoped to get in the .450s for win% and we fell a little shy of that at .425, not to mention a last place finish. We were doing really well until a 4 game set against Tallahassee where we were outscored 44-4. Never felt like we ever really recovered after that spanking. Overall, offense did fairly well (if you don't look at slugging) and I feel our developing players still have more productivity to show. Our pitching, well, we had problems and still have some going forward, though I'm not going to blame personnel solely; I think there's some learning to be had on the management side.

Looking forward, I had several goals, more than I wanted in the acquisitions department. I'm calling offensive pickups a success; we were last in slugging last year so power was a priority. OF Griffey should by all rights murder the ball and switch-hitting 1B Rivera should likewise be eyeing 15+ homers. Combine them with 3B/DH Tyler and 3B/SS Hudson and we may see a quick reversal in the long ball game. Unfortunately, I don't feel we took many steps forward on the mound. I was hoping for a solid ace that would allow for more flexibility with the starters and a power throwing lefty to come outta the pen. Neither needs have been met yet. I've probably bid on over 50 pitchers so far, but I guess sunny Naperville isn't as attractive as I thought. Not giving up, though.

All in all, looking forward to 2031, eyeing a .500 season. Go Knights!