Entered the league in: 2009 with Kennesaw Mt Woodsmen. Took over
Limoilou Wendigo August 2013
I go by Michael Blakely and my friends call me "Blake". My full name is James
Michael Blakely and my father's name is James. As you may not be aware, we in
the South go by our middle names for some reason. Not sure the reason, but
that's the way it is. So call me "Blake", "Blake-o" or "Captain".
Compared to 99% of the gentlemen playing in the CBA, my Strato career is
extremely light. My entire life has been focused on or around baseball. I
taught high school for 14 years before frustration set in and forced me to
leave the public education system. During those 14 years I was fortunate to
have far too many players to name play for my high school teams. After 15
years running a recruiting company and scouting for an agency in Arizona, I
took several years off to deal with physical issues, but did continue scouting
baseball players. Best job I've ever had. Pay was not great, but the enjoyment
of finding talent is better than sex. I've seen in person at least half of
today's players when they were younger playing either has high school kids or
low minors. I learned a wealth of knowledge about finding players; the little
things mean more than I can fully explain in trying to guess....yep,
guess....what kind of player you are projecting for five, ten and twenty years
down the road.
Thanks in part to finding the game of stratomatic, I re-discovered a love for
baseball and found a game that settled my urge to go out and play the game.
This was around the year 2000. Shortly after finding Strato, I was invited to
participate in the CBA. Damn great league and a not a finer bunch of
competitors can be found.
I've played in a few leagues while recovering; what I found out is that it is
best to find one or two leagues to play and focus on those two leagues. I know
many of you play in multiple leagues but I don't see how you have time to do
it. I still call scouting friends and talk baseball, watch games closely and
visit minor league parks in my area. This Billy Hamilton kid for the
Reds...faster human I've seen...if he ever learns to hit .250, he will be as
hard to keep at 1B as the Chapman kid is to hit. With Billy, it's not a matter
of keeping him at 1B; worry about him stealing home if he gets on base because
he will end up at Third....
I guess my trademark is finding talent and then trading it away too soon. I
drafted very well with Kennesaw but my problem was always having enough usage
and I ended up trading away my drafts to finish the season. I learned from
that. Another thing I learned is that the player on the field doesn't always
play the same in the game of stratomatic. That's been hard on myself because I
look at these players differently, well, I've adjusted my philosophy a great
deal. I learned a little bit about these cards while I took a leave of
absence. I still use the same methods as before except I've learned to read
and determine how the actual cards will perform.
I've been given a historical franchise that will be will be managed in a
fashion that is similar to the former owner, Jeff. I am well into the process
of organizing my draft plans. It is long since time to get out of rebuilding
mode and into drafting for the playoffs. I'm looking ahead and can't wait to
get this 2014 season started.
Limoilou was an original team owned by Jeff Boutet. Limoilou is perhaps
CBA's most successful franchise reaching the 100 win plateau a record 5
times. The Wendigo have finished below .500 only in 2000 and 2006.
Noted for shrewd roster management and a knack for talent Boutet's team has
usually been the the team to beat in the tough Dawson division since the
beginning. Use of a platoon system, strong defense, pitching and two way
skilled players have meant success. Ironically it was a late inning error
by Jason Michaels in the 2005 Dawson championship that cost them a shot at their
4th CBA World title. Limoilou won CBA's first in vs Lou Bloss' Parma
Flamingoes, 1997, again in '99 vs Martin Boulet's Beauport Gamblers, and 4-1
over Brooklyn in 2003. They lost to Philly in 2002. Limoilou made
the playoffs each of those years and 2001, 2004, 2005.
Timeline
Owner/Manager
Location
From 1997-03-01 to present*
Jean-François Boutet
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
*Original CBA charter franchise
Played 163 games in 2004 and 2005 due to 1 game playoffs
