After looking some more at the team statistics to date, the pitching stats are really weird. The Adams and Zotti Leagues have virtually identical ERAs of 4.08 and 4.06 respectively. But Adams hitters are posting a .303 BABIP vs. the Adams League's .276 mark. Consequently, the Adams League ERA is 0.35 runs above its fielding independent ERA (4.08 to 3.73) while the Zotti League's mark is almost a half-run lower (4.06 to 4.50). I don't know what to make of that, other than that it may be an early season anomaly. There was a similar pattern last year, but not nearly as divergent.
In any case, the teams with the lowest ERA compared to FIP are South Bay (3.40 vs. 4.23) and Walla Walla (4.47 vs. 5,21) while the team with the biggest differentials the other way are Denver (4.50 vs. 4.03), Brooklyn (3.54 vs. 3.10), and Seattle (3.39 vs. 2.98).
I may be the only one fascinated by this, but it just seems so odd.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Greatest Pitching Performance in SDMB History
I humbly submit that Christopher Hester turned in the greatest pitching performance in the history of SDMB OOTP baseball this simulation. Against Denver's admittedly struggling offense (10th in runs scored), Hester was overpowering. He threw a no hitter, walked only one, and struck out SEVENTEEN.
Let me repeat that. Seventeen strikeouts, one walk, no hits, complete game shutout. His game score of 103 is the first pitching game over 100 in SDMB history.
And I was beginning to worry if he would meet his potential. Silly, silly me.
Let me repeat that. Seventeen strikeouts, one walk, no hits, complete game shutout. His game score of 103 is the first pitching game over 100 in SDMB history.
And I was beginning to worry if he would meet his potential. Silly, silly me.
Back-to-Back Two-Hitters!
Admittedly, it's not a no-hitter (like Seattle's Christopher Hartsell through this past sim), but two Brooklyn pitchers threw back to back two-hit shutouts. Bill Siple threw one against Denver on May 14, followed by one by Eric Setliff on the 15th. Over the two days, Denver hitters went 4-for-57, for a batting average of .070.
Zev
Zev
Monday, December 25, 2006
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
The Class of 2004 - Five Years Later: Where Are They Now?
We did this last year for the Class of 2003, so it's time for another one. Let's see where the first round draft picks from 2004 are today and how they've panned out.
1st pick: SP Sabas Delvalle, Walla Walla
Where is he now: Pitching for Brooklyn
The right-handed starter began his career with Walla Walla in 2004 as the number one pick in the draft. He split the season between A and AA, winning 13 and losing 6, while striking out 202 batters. He likewise had a great season in 2005, going 13-4 in AA and striking out 262 batters in 147 innings. Before the 2006 season, Brooklyn acquired the hurler. He spent most of the year in Kensington (Brooklyn's AAA team) where he was 7-9, with a 5.50 ERA. Nonetheless, he earned a spot in the Brooklyn rotation to start the 2007 season. In his rookie season, he went 12-4, with a 2.66 ERA while fanning 200 batters. In 2008, his record fell to 10-10, although he did strike out 219 batters. He has started the 2009 season with a record of 4-1 and an ERA of 2.78.
2nd pick: RF Brian Frison, Saskatoon
Where is he now: Playing rightfield and batting cleanup for Saskatoon
Frison split the 2004 season between A and AA, where he hit nine home runs and hit about .275. In 2005, he hit 15 home runs for AAA; certainly a nice showing of power, but no indication of things to come. He finally got to The Show in 2006, where in half a season, he hit .271 with six homers. Then something happened. All of a sudden, Frison learned how to power the ball over the fence. In 2007, he wollopped 32 diners, while hitting .275. He followed that season up with a 37-homer season in 2008, where he earned his first All-Star berth and led the league with 126 RBI. He's added another four homers so far to his totals in 2009.
3rd pick: SS Henry Johnson, Seattle
Where is he now? Kent Kings (AA)
Henry Johnson could always run and hit for power, but it seems that he could never hit for average. In five minor league seasons, he has yet to post a .200 batting average, although he has stolen 83 bases in those five years. In addition, despite having such a low average, he has managed to 101 home runs; including hitting 43 in 2007 when he hit only .192. So far, Johnson has yet to get out of AA.
4th pick: SP Vito Renshaw, Brooklyn
Where is he now: Kensington (AAA)
Renshaw was a pick that just never developed the way he was expected to. He started 2004 in Brighton Beach (A), but never really developed and had a breakout year where his skills improved. He finally earned a promotion to Flatbush (AA) in 2008. In a last-ditch attempt to get his abilities moving, he was assigned to start the 2009 season in Kensington, where, so far, he is 1-5 with an ERA of 9.64. This may be the end of the road for the 28-year old Renshaw.
5th pick: SP David Grogan, Virginia
Where is he now: Not playing
Grogan was assigned in 2004 to Virginia's A team, where he posted a 3-4 record with an ERA of 5.31. In 2005, he was assigned to the Dayton Fliers (AAA) where, in 21 starts, he had a Terry-Feltonesque record of 0-15, with an ERA of 11.05. In 2006, he finally earned a AAA win, by posting a record of 1-5 with a 10.62 ERA. 2006 saw Grogan spend time at all three minor league levels, combing for a 2-7 record to finish his career.
6th pick: MR Fletcher Mahurin, Stockholm
Where is he now: Pitching for Dayton (AAA River Cities)
Fletcher Mahurin was assigned to Stockholm's A-ball team in 2004, and remained at that level until early in the 2007 season, by which time he had been traded to River Cities as part of a package for Zachary Whipkey. His promotion to AA in 2007 worked out well as Mahurin posted a 3.16 ERA there. However, his promotion to AAA at season's end didn't work out as well, as Fletcher posted a 6.30 ERA in fourteen games. A return to AA in 2008 proved bad for Fletcher, as he went 0-3, with an ERA of 18.69 in twelve games. However, a promotion to AAA set him right again.
7th pick: SP Danny Mattera, Houston
Where is he now: Not playing
Danny Mattera began the 2004 season with the MiniDillos (A) compiling a 7-7 record with a 5.42 ERA in 18 starts. In 2005, his record dropped to 9-11, with an ERA improvement to 4.44. However, his K/BB ration of 217/33 was certainly a good sign for the future and, at the end of the season, he was listed as Houston's #2 prospect. In 2006, he split the year between A (4-9, 4.92, 19 starts) and AA (1-3, 5.81, 5 starts). In 2007, Houston released the 24-year old starter, ending his career.
8th pick: 3B Alfonso Adrover, California
Where is he now: Missing in action
Adrover was the 1st round pick for California in 2004. Apparently, at some point, he fell victim to the "missing player" problem that we were having years ago and was never reported. He never played a professional game.
9th pick: CF: Kevin Rubio, New York
Where is he now: Playing CF for Jersey City (AAA-New York)
Rubio is a highly-rated prosepct, even today, in the New York system. His first two years in A-ball looked good. He hit about .285 with 29 home runs and 20 stolen bases over those two years. 2006 saw him promoted to AA, where he hit .314 with 14 homers (aside from the nine he hit in A ball that year). A good 2007 season in AA earned him a promotion to AAA, where, in 2008, he hit .313 with 26 dingers and 107 RBI. This year he's hitting .309 so far and could soon be patrolling the outfield in Manhattan fairly shortly.
10th pick: SS Patrick Riddick, Hickory
Where is he now: Still in Edgemont (A-ball)
Patrick Riddick's best season hitting was his first one, in 2004, when he hit .304. Since then, he only topped .265 only once. He did see some time in AA in 2005 and 2006, but has since been relegated to A-ball.
11th pick: SP David Sharma, Butte
Where is he now: Ft. Collins (AA Denver)
David Sharma spent 2004 in A ball, where he posted a 9-8 record. He split 2005 between A and AA, but a poor showing had him sent back to A ball, where he remained until 2008. In 2008, after compiling a 6-12 record with a 5.62ERA, he was sent back to AA, where in four starts, he won one, lost three, but had a respectable 3.81 ERA. He's been assigned to AA Ft. Collins in 2009, but has yet to play a game.
12th pick: P William Maxson, Austin
Where is he now: Tacoma (AAA-Seattle)
William Maxson has steadily climbed up the minor league ranks, first reaching AA in 2006 and reaching it to stay in 2008. 2008 also saw him traded to Seattle and promoted to AAA, where he posted a stellar 1.86 ERA in 16 games. In 2009, he has one win and a 5.40 ERA.
1st pick: SP Sabas Delvalle, Walla Walla
Where is he now: Pitching for Brooklyn
The right-handed starter began his career with Walla Walla in 2004 as the number one pick in the draft. He split the season between A and AA, winning 13 and losing 6, while striking out 202 batters. He likewise had a great season in 2005, going 13-4 in AA and striking out 262 batters in 147 innings. Before the 2006 season, Brooklyn acquired the hurler. He spent most of the year in Kensington (Brooklyn's AAA team) where he was 7-9, with a 5.50 ERA. Nonetheless, he earned a spot in the Brooklyn rotation to start the 2007 season. In his rookie season, he went 12-4, with a 2.66 ERA while fanning 200 batters. In 2008, his record fell to 10-10, although he did strike out 219 batters. He has started the 2009 season with a record of 4-1 and an ERA of 2.78.
2nd pick: RF Brian Frison, Saskatoon
Where is he now: Playing rightfield and batting cleanup for Saskatoon
Frison split the 2004 season between A and AA, where he hit nine home runs and hit about .275. In 2005, he hit 15 home runs for AAA; certainly a nice showing of power, but no indication of things to come. He finally got to The Show in 2006, where in half a season, he hit .271 with six homers. Then something happened. All of a sudden, Frison learned how to power the ball over the fence. In 2007, he wollopped 32 diners, while hitting .275. He followed that season up with a 37-homer season in 2008, where he earned his first All-Star berth and led the league with 126 RBI. He's added another four homers so far to his totals in 2009.
3rd pick: SS Henry Johnson, Seattle
Where is he now? Kent Kings (AA)
Henry Johnson could always run and hit for power, but it seems that he could never hit for average. In five minor league seasons, he has yet to post a .200 batting average, although he has stolen 83 bases in those five years. In addition, despite having such a low average, he has managed to 101 home runs; including hitting 43 in 2007 when he hit only .192. So far, Johnson has yet to get out of AA.
4th pick: SP Vito Renshaw, Brooklyn
Where is he now: Kensington (AAA)
Renshaw was a pick that just never developed the way he was expected to. He started 2004 in Brighton Beach (A), but never really developed and had a breakout year where his skills improved. He finally earned a promotion to Flatbush (AA) in 2008. In a last-ditch attempt to get his abilities moving, he was assigned to start the 2009 season in Kensington, where, so far, he is 1-5 with an ERA of 9.64. This may be the end of the road for the 28-year old Renshaw.
5th pick: SP David Grogan, Virginia
Where is he now: Not playing
Grogan was assigned in 2004 to Virginia's A team, where he posted a 3-4 record with an ERA of 5.31. In 2005, he was assigned to the Dayton Fliers (AAA) where, in 21 starts, he had a Terry-Feltonesque record of 0-15, with an ERA of 11.05. In 2006, he finally earned a AAA win, by posting a record of 1-5 with a 10.62 ERA. 2006 saw Grogan spend time at all three minor league levels, combing for a 2-7 record to finish his career.
6th pick: MR Fletcher Mahurin, Stockholm
Where is he now: Pitching for Dayton (AAA River Cities)
Fletcher Mahurin was assigned to Stockholm's A-ball team in 2004, and remained at that level until early in the 2007 season, by which time he had been traded to River Cities as part of a package for Zachary Whipkey. His promotion to AA in 2007 worked out well as Mahurin posted a 3.16 ERA there. However, his promotion to AAA at season's end didn't work out as well, as Fletcher posted a 6.30 ERA in fourteen games. A return to AA in 2008 proved bad for Fletcher, as he went 0-3, with an ERA of 18.69 in twelve games. However, a promotion to AAA set him right again.
7th pick: SP Danny Mattera, Houston
Where is he now: Not playing
Danny Mattera began the 2004 season with the MiniDillos (A) compiling a 7-7 record with a 5.42 ERA in 18 starts. In 2005, his record dropped to 9-11, with an ERA improvement to 4.44. However, his K/BB ration of 217/33 was certainly a good sign for the future and, at the end of the season, he was listed as Houston's #2 prospect. In 2006, he split the year between A (4-9, 4.92, 19 starts) and AA (1-3, 5.81, 5 starts). In 2007, Houston released the 24-year old starter, ending his career.
8th pick: 3B Alfonso Adrover, California
Where is he now: Missing in action
Adrover was the 1st round pick for California in 2004. Apparently, at some point, he fell victim to the "missing player" problem that we were having years ago and was never reported. He never played a professional game.
9th pick: CF: Kevin Rubio, New York
Where is he now: Playing CF for Jersey City (AAA-New York)
Rubio is a highly-rated prosepct, even today, in the New York system. His first two years in A-ball looked good. He hit about .285 with 29 home runs and 20 stolen bases over those two years. 2006 saw him promoted to AA, where he hit .314 with 14 homers (aside from the nine he hit in A ball that year). A good 2007 season in AA earned him a promotion to AAA, where, in 2008, he hit .313 with 26 dingers and 107 RBI. This year he's hitting .309 so far and could soon be patrolling the outfield in Manhattan fairly shortly.
10th pick: SS Patrick Riddick, Hickory
Where is he now: Still in Edgemont (A-ball)
Patrick Riddick's best season hitting was his first one, in 2004, when he hit .304. Since then, he only topped .265 only once. He did see some time in AA in 2005 and 2006, but has since been relegated to A-ball.
11th pick: SP David Sharma, Butte
Where is he now: Ft. Collins (AA Denver)
David Sharma spent 2004 in A ball, where he posted a 9-8 record. He split 2005 between A and AA, but a poor showing had him sent back to A ball, where he remained until 2008. In 2008, after compiling a 6-12 record with a 5.62ERA, he was sent back to AA, where in four starts, he won one, lost three, but had a respectable 3.81 ERA. He's been assigned to AA Ft. Collins in 2009, but has yet to play a game.
12th pick: P William Maxson, Austin
Where is he now: Tacoma (AAA-Seattle)
William Maxson has steadily climbed up the minor league ranks, first reaching AA in 2006 and reaching it to stay in 2008. 2008 also saw him traded to Seattle and promoted to AAA, where he posted a stellar 1.86 ERA in 16 games. In 2009, he has one win and a 5.40 ERA.
Early Season Oddity
I love looking at the various stats and comparing them to the past. Here are some notes that jumped out at me about the first part of the season:
- The Adams League ERA of 4.32 would be the third highest in history and is 0.31 runs above last year. The Zotti League ERA of 4.07 almost exactly matches last year's 4.09.
- The Zotti League has outhomered Adams 260-195. That follows last year's home run discrepancy of 926-824.
- The Adams BABIP of .310 would be the highest in history. The Zotti mark of .276 would be tied for second lowest. The difference last year was .298 vs. .282
- The Adams batting average of .267 would tie the highest mark of all time. There have only been three league years with lower marks than the current .250 sported by the Zotti League.
- Hitting is much better this year in both leagues. OPS has risen from .699 in the Adams League to .725 and from .708 in the Zotti League to .722.
- South Bay's fielding percentage of .975 would be the worst in history.
- Seattle has turned 15 double plays, which project out to be the fewest in history by a wide, wide margin.
- The Adams League ERA of 4.32 would be the third highest in history and is 0.31 runs above last year. The Zotti League ERA of 4.07 almost exactly matches last year's 4.09.
- The Zotti League has outhomered Adams 260-195. That follows last year's home run discrepancy of 926-824.
- The Adams BABIP of .310 would be the highest in history. The Zotti mark of .276 would be tied for second lowest. The difference last year was .298 vs. .282
- The Adams batting average of .267 would tie the highest mark of all time. There have only been three league years with lower marks than the current .250 sported by the Zotti League.
- Hitting is much better this year in both leagues. OPS has risen from .699 in the Adams League to .725 and from .708 in the Zotti League to .722.
- South Bay's fielding percentage of .975 would be the worst in history.
- Seattle has turned 15 double plays, which project out to be the fewest in history by a wide, wide margin.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
An open letter to the Zotti league
Good-bye, guys.
It was fun having you chase me for the first few weeks, but I think I'll run away with the league for now.
P.S. Hey Nate, how "vaunted" is my pitching staff now?
It was fun having you chase me for the first few weeks, but I think I'll run away with the league for now.
P.S. Hey Nate, how "vaunted" is my pitching staff now?
Monday, December 11, 2006
Saturday, December 9, 2006
Nate/Zev part II: Extending the minor league draft
During our discussion I pitched to Zev this thought:
1. Our FA list is thin. Always has been. Short of creating more FA, which Zev mentioned and I'm uncomfortable with, I proposed a longer-term solution of extending the minor league draft from 7 rounds to 15.
2. My reasoning here is thus: The curve for talent available in the draft is sharp early and shallower later. Something like this:
5443333322222111111111111111
But the game calculates talent availability on a curve that considers both number of drafting teams AND number of rounds. So a draft with more rounds looks a bit like:
54443333333322222222111111111111111111
Yes, there's a few more quality draftable players but the real money in the concept is that there will be more average to fair prospects available for draft.
3. Having more minor league draftable talent available will have the downstream effect of increasing the available talent pool over the next 10 seasons as those players develop and then become minor league or major league free agents. Therefore we see a greater number of free agents who become worth bidding upon in the future.
4. As a secondary benefit the game assigns each year a probability (small but there) that a prospect will, in Markus's words, 'suddenly have the light come on' and their game will improve. This happens more frequently with 2 and 3 star prospects than with 1 star prospects. So with some more of those out there we'll see a greater percentage of 'happy surprises' in the low minors. And I admit to a fondness for such.
Thoughts? Discussions?
I'm off to play Civ IV and listen to Cornership while the kids are still asleep. "Lessons Learned from Rocky I to Rocky III"
1. Our FA list is thin. Always has been. Short of creating more FA, which Zev mentioned and I'm uncomfortable with, I proposed a longer-term solution of extending the minor league draft from 7 rounds to 15.
2. My reasoning here is thus: The curve for talent available in the draft is sharp early and shallower later. Something like this:
5443333322222111111111111111
But the game calculates talent availability on a curve that considers both number of drafting teams AND number of rounds. So a draft with more rounds looks a bit like:
54443333333322222222111111111111111111
Yes, there's a few more quality draftable players but the real money in the concept is that there will be more average to fair prospects available for draft.
3. Having more minor league draftable talent available will have the downstream effect of increasing the available talent pool over the next 10 seasons as those players develop and then become minor league or major league free agents. Therefore we see a greater number of free agents who become worth bidding upon in the future.
4. As a secondary benefit the game assigns each year a probability (small but there) that a prospect will, in Markus's words, 'suddenly have the light come on' and their game will improve. This happens more frequently with 2 and 3 star prospects than with 1 star prospects. So with some more of those out there we'll see a greater percentage of 'happy surprises' in the low minors. And I admit to a fondness for such.
Thoughts? Discussions?
I'm off to play Civ IV and listen to Cornership while the kids are still asleep. "Lessons Learned from Rocky I to Rocky III"
Friday, December 8, 2006
OOTP 2007 Update
OK, you all should know by now that I think 2006 sucks infected donkey balls. No surprises there. I think that the engine and stats stuff looks sweet but the user interface could have used about 200 more hours of testing and focus group work to make it properly marketable.
I am comforted by the fact that a decent percentage of posters on the SI boards agree with me. And it looks like Marcus is learning. Here's a post of his concerning next years game OOTP2007:
"I am in the midst of coding OOTP 2007, and the game is making major strides. I can honestly say that this will be the game I personally always wanted to play, it is so much fun that I sometimes have to drag myself away from my league to continue programming. That wasn't really the case while coding 2006, as I simply had no time to really play & enjoy the game myself.
We will not reveal a full list of new features anytime soon, we'll save this for early next year. All I can say right now is that most missing OOTP 6.5 features are back (player popularity, trade block, stars, team focus, weather, bullpen warmup, projected stats, adjustable stats % of AI evaluation etc.) and improved. Of course, we also focus on the existing features in order to improve and fine-tune them. On top of that we'll add more very useful and fancy stuff, and we'll have plenty of time to properly test them too. Beta testing will already start this year! And if all goes well one of these features will be a real blast. And I mean BLAST."
I admit I'd like to jump forward. But certainly not to 2006
I am comforted by the fact that a decent percentage of posters on the SI boards agree with me. And it looks like Marcus is learning. Here's a post of his concerning next years game OOTP2007:
"I am in the midst of coding OOTP 2007, and the game is making major strides. I can honestly say that this will be the game I personally always wanted to play, it is so much fun that I sometimes have to drag myself away from my league to continue programming. That wasn't really the case while coding 2006, as I simply had no time to really play & enjoy the game myself.
We will not reveal a full list of new features anytime soon, we'll save this for early next year. All I can say right now is that most missing OOTP 6.5 features are back (player popularity, trade block, stars, team focus, weather, bullpen warmup, projected stats, adjustable stats % of AI evaluation etc.) and improved. Of course, we also focus on the existing features in order to improve and fine-tune them. On top of that we'll add more very useful and fancy stuff, and we'll have plenty of time to properly test them too. Beta testing will already start this year! And if all goes well one of these features will be a real blast. And I mean BLAST."
I admit I'd like to jump forward. But certainly not to 2006
Thursday, December 7, 2006
Player Assignments
There were a number of teams that needed roster adjustments. In one case, the owner had 26 players on his starting roster. In others, players needed assigning.
Instead of delaying the sim, I resolved each case as I thought best. In the case of the team with too many players, I assigned the player who would have the least impact (based on the assigned roles) to AAA. For assignments, I assigned the players to AAA or the major league roster depending on roster space and the player involved. If a player could not be assigned and the owner wasn't available via IM, I released the player.
Zev
Instead of delaying the sim, I resolved each case as I thought best. In the case of the team with too many players, I assigned the player who would have the least impact (based on the assigned roles) to AAA. For assignments, I assigned the players to AAA or the major league roster depending on roster space and the player involved. If a player could not be assigned and the owner wasn't available via IM, I released the player.
Zev
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
How to make OOTP work for you: Discussion and comment
Zev and I had a long, drawn out discussion covering many topics today. Others will pop up later. But the topic for today is methods for making your team work for you and not against you. We boiled it down to a few guidelines. I'd be eager to hear the impressions, critiques and different methods from others.
#1. Approach free agents cautiously. Don't sign someone who won't help you win within the next three seasons. Be extremely cautious with any free agent over 30 and wildly cautious with free agents over 35.
#2. Draft picks are valuable. They're your most likely source of cheap talent. Remember, for the first several years a draft pick reaching the majors will contribute almost nothing to your salary.
#3. Use your promotional dates to build your fan interest. A win on a promotional date gives your fan interest, and subsequently your attendance and merchandising revenue, a bump. Fan interest in also spurred by a winning season, a competitive race, and some other factors. But the one you can control is promotional dates. Schedule them, where you can, against weaker teams you expect to beat. You only have 25 promotional dates per year so don't waste them.
#4. If on the bubble about a players long term success deal him. The old saying 'Dealing a player a year early is better than a year late' is as true in OOTP as it is in MLB. Dealing early will get you more talent in return. Similarly, getting rid of a player with one more good year left is better than signing that player for three years and seeing him tank for years 2 and 3.
#5. They're just employees (or bits of software if you prefer). Don't get attached to a player emotionally. When it's time to send a player on his way, whether because of age or because of an up and comer, do it. You'll get value for him and won't be stuck with a non-contributor down the road.
#6. Pay attention to your minor leagues. Make sure your minor league managers can teach the game as best the can. This will make sure your prospects develop to the greatest advantage. Also, make sure to promote your talent as possible. Players respond to greater challenges. They do you no good hitting .350 in AA for several years.
Anyone else have any rules?
And more posts to come from the Zev/Nate discussion later. Including thoughts on drafting, expansion, and more!
#1. Approach free agents cautiously. Don't sign someone who won't help you win within the next three seasons. Be extremely cautious with any free agent over 30 and wildly cautious with free agents over 35.
#2. Draft picks are valuable. They're your most likely source of cheap talent. Remember, for the first several years a draft pick reaching the majors will contribute almost nothing to your salary.
#3. Use your promotional dates to build your fan interest. A win on a promotional date gives your fan interest, and subsequently your attendance and merchandising revenue, a bump. Fan interest in also spurred by a winning season, a competitive race, and some other factors. But the one you can control is promotional dates. Schedule them, where you can, against weaker teams you expect to beat. You only have 25 promotional dates per year so don't waste them.
#4. If on the bubble about a players long term success deal him. The old saying 'Dealing a player a year early is better than a year late' is as true in OOTP as it is in MLB. Dealing early will get you more talent in return. Similarly, getting rid of a player with one more good year left is better than signing that player for three years and seeing him tank for years 2 and 3.
#5. They're just employees (or bits of software if you prefer). Don't get attached to a player emotionally. When it's time to send a player on his way, whether because of age or because of an up and comer, do it. You'll get value for him and won't be stuck with a non-contributor down the road.
#6. Pay attention to your minor leagues. Make sure your minor league managers can teach the game as best the can. This will make sure your prospects develop to the greatest advantage. Also, make sure to promote your talent as possible. Players respond to greater challenges. They do you no good hitting .350 in AA for several years.
Anyone else have any rules?
And more posts to come from the Zev/Nate discussion later. Including thoughts on drafting, expansion, and more!
SDMB History / Team Stolen Bases
While waiting for the start of the season, here's a quick SDMB History post with some random facts about stolen bases in SDMB history, limited to the 2003-08 seasons as always. I'll also apologize in advance for the lack of information on caught stealing or success rate. The game doesn't track that data by team and it would be very, very difficult to reconstruct the data from player records due to players shifting teams midseason because of trades and the like.
1. There have been 7,205 stolen bases over the six seasons, in 6,156 games. That's 0.58 steals per team per game.
2. There's no real difference between the steal rate of the two leagues, as the Adams League has 3,613 steals and the Zotti League 3,592.
3. Franchise totals:
1,193 SAS (1.05 per game)
828 DEN (1.02)
778 DAN (0.68)
768 COV (0.95)
647 RIV (0.57)
642 SB (0.56)
513 HOU (0.45)
450 WAL (0.39)
382 SEA (0.33)
356 BRK (0.31)
341 HIK (0.42)
307 NY (0.38)
4. The correlation between stolen bases and winning is essentially zero (actually -0.019). The correlation with scoring runs is also basically zero at 0.020.
5. Saskatoon apparently keeps wanting to set the bar higher every year. In 2005, Saskatoon set the record with 183 steals. In 2006, they became the first team to break the 200 steal barrier, swiping 209. In 2007, they broke their own record again, with 250. In 2008, they bettered the mark yet again, with 262 thefts. I guess we know what team goal number one is in the frozen tundra this season.
6. Denver apparently is committed to ending Saskatoon's rule. They've grabbed 209 and 208 bases in the last two years and this offseason added Chet Edwards, who's got 62 and 52 the last two years.
7. On the other hand, you have the truly remarkable 2008 Hickory team. They set what may be an unbreakable mark last year with five stolen bases. Five. All season. In fact, they were so committed to not running that they traded away someone who had one of their five steals. In so doing, Hickory wiped the previous record of 18 by the 2005 New York squad out of the record books. (Note: I repeatedly checked the 2008 Hickory stolen base total because it seemed so impossible. It seems to be true.) (Additional note: Hickory had 95 steals in 2007, so I don't know what the heck was going on there.)
1. There have been 7,205 stolen bases over the six seasons, in 6,156 games. That's 0.58 steals per team per game.
2. There's no real difference between the steal rate of the two leagues, as the Adams League has 3,613 steals and the Zotti League 3,592.
3. Franchise totals:
1,193 SAS (1.05 per game)
828 DEN (1.02)
778 DAN (0.68)
768 COV (0.95)
647 RIV (0.57)
642 SB (0.56)
513 HOU (0.45)
450 WAL (0.39)
382 SEA (0.33)
356 BRK (0.31)
341 HIK (0.42)
307 NY (0.38)
4. The correlation between stolen bases and winning is essentially zero (actually -0.019). The correlation with scoring runs is also basically zero at 0.020.
5. Saskatoon apparently keeps wanting to set the bar higher every year. In 2005, Saskatoon set the record with 183 steals. In 2006, they became the first team to break the 200 steal barrier, swiping 209. In 2007, they broke their own record again, with 250. In 2008, they bettered the mark yet again, with 262 thefts. I guess we know what team goal number one is in the frozen tundra this season.
6. Denver apparently is committed to ending Saskatoon's rule. They've grabbed 209 and 208 bases in the last two years and this offseason added Chet Edwards, who's got 62 and 52 the last two years.
7. On the other hand, you have the truly remarkable 2008 Hickory team. They set what may be an unbreakable mark last year with five stolen bases. Five. All season. In fact, they were so committed to not running that they traded away someone who had one of their five steals. In so doing, Hickory wiped the previous record of 18 by the 2005 New York squad out of the record books. (Note: I repeatedly checked the 2008 Hickory stolen base total because it seemed so impossible. It seems to be true.) (Additional note: Hickory had 95 steals in 2007, so I don't know what the heck was going on there.)
Monday, December 4, 2006
Welcome To Another Exciting Season!
Spring Training is over and a new season dawns. The 2009 OOTP season is here.
Please have your rosters up to date for Opening Day on Thursday.
Zev
Please have your rosters up to date for Opening Day on Thursday.
Zev
SDMB History / Greatest Pitching Staffs
After a long delay, the SDMB History project returns with a look at the greatest pitching teams of all time. I only have data from 2003-08 (none for 2002). That said, let's get to the best, ranked by the admittedly imperfect ERA+ statistic (ERA compared to league ERA).
1. Seattle 2008. Last year, Seattle posted a 3.04 ERA that was 32% better than its league. Seattle's ERA may have been lower than justified, as they gave up 74 unearned runs, an unusually high 13% of the total. Seattle's RAA+ (runs allowed average compared to the league) was only 29% better, so if you want to move this staff below the next one to the number two slot in the rankings, I won't gripe too much. However, this team has the lowest staff FIP (a fielding independent approximation of ERA) by far at 2.81. The team gave up 83 home runs (second fewest in history by one homer), walked 379 (fewest in history), and struck out 1,318 hitters (second most in history). Albert Garcia, dealt to South Bay this offseason, paced the staff with a 2.13 ERA over 219 2/3 innings. Tim Vallejo won 13 games, saved four, and struck out 115 hitters in 119 1/3 innings to lead the bullpen, which featured three different closers.
2. River Cities 2007. This is the other clear cut contender for the top pitching staff ever. They posted a record low 2.94 ERA, the only ERA in team history lower than 3.00. However, as run scoring was down in the 2007 ZL, it was only 29% better than the league average. The team's RAA was 30% better than the league and it boasted the second-best FIP, at 3.02. The team was considerably helped by its defense, as its 46 unearned runs were the fourth fewest in history, behind 2006 Seattle with 40, 2007 Hickory with 41, and 2005 Brooklyn with 43. It also gave up a record-low 82 home runs and had the fourth most strikeouts in history, with 1,277. The team also had the lowest opponents' batting average ever, at .223. Sherman Wheeler led the team with a 2.17 ERA, a drop of more than three runs from the previous year as he suddenly and unexpectedly blossomed.
3. Stockholm 2005. Stockholm had a 3.34 ERA that was 25% better than league average. This is also the best pitching staff to win a title. It benefited greatly from the durability of the top two pitchers, as Stephen Jurgens and Casey Plunk had ERAs of 2.80 and 3.06, respectively, while both pitching more than 250 innings. Frank Caroll and Karl Hatch both had more than 10 wins and 10 saves each coming out of the pen.
4. Seattle 2005. Seattle's hurlers had a combined 3.29 ERA, 22% better than league average. This team won 112 games but lost in the Cecil Cup to the aforementioned Stockholm squad. The top four starters (Albert Garcia, Hobert Hagerty, Joe Daye, and Scott Mayhew) all had ERAs under 3.00 while winning a combined 70 games.
5-8. Four teams, River Cities 2008, Stockholm 2004, Florida 2006, and Brooklyn 2008 are all tied for fifth on the list with ERAs 19% better than their league average. Notably, three of these four teams won titles, with the sole exception being last year's Brooklyn squad. The Brooklyn team struck out a record 1,395 hitters though, so they've got that going for them, which is nice.
The best franchise mark is clearly South Bay, which has a 3.52 ERA that is 16% better than the Zotti League average. Three of the South Bay title teams are listed above. The other South Bay title team (Florida, 2007) is 24th on the list with a ERA 11% better than league average.
P.S. The other title team, the 2003 Houston squad, had a 4.10 ERA that was 11% better than league average.
P.P.S. The overall ERA for 2003-2008 is 4.09. The Zotti League's ERA is lower at 4.03 while the Adams League ERA is 4.15. Last year's Adams League, paced by the Seattle and Brooklyn squads as well as Mr. Nelligan, had the lowest ERA ever at 3.75. The highest league ERA ever was the 2003 Adams at 4.54.
1. Seattle 2008. Last year, Seattle posted a 3.04 ERA that was 32% better than its league. Seattle's ERA may have been lower than justified, as they gave up 74 unearned runs, an unusually high 13% of the total. Seattle's RAA+ (runs allowed average compared to the league) was only 29% better, so if you want to move this staff below the next one to the number two slot in the rankings, I won't gripe too much. However, this team has the lowest staff FIP (a fielding independent approximation of ERA) by far at 2.81. The team gave up 83 home runs (second fewest in history by one homer), walked 379 (fewest in history), and struck out 1,318 hitters (second most in history). Albert Garcia, dealt to South Bay this offseason, paced the staff with a 2.13 ERA over 219 2/3 innings. Tim Vallejo won 13 games, saved four, and struck out 115 hitters in 119 1/3 innings to lead the bullpen, which featured three different closers.
2. River Cities 2007. This is the other clear cut contender for the top pitching staff ever. They posted a record low 2.94 ERA, the only ERA in team history lower than 3.00. However, as run scoring was down in the 2007 ZL, it was only 29% better than the league average. The team's RAA was 30% better than the league and it boasted the second-best FIP, at 3.02. The team was considerably helped by its defense, as its 46 unearned runs were the fourth fewest in history, behind 2006 Seattle with 40, 2007 Hickory with 41, and 2005 Brooklyn with 43. It also gave up a record-low 82 home runs and had the fourth most strikeouts in history, with 1,277. The team also had the lowest opponents' batting average ever, at .223. Sherman Wheeler led the team with a 2.17 ERA, a drop of more than three runs from the previous year as he suddenly and unexpectedly blossomed.
3. Stockholm 2005. Stockholm had a 3.34 ERA that was 25% better than league average. This is also the best pitching staff to win a title. It benefited greatly from the durability of the top two pitchers, as Stephen Jurgens and Casey Plunk had ERAs of 2.80 and 3.06, respectively, while both pitching more than 250 innings. Frank Caroll and Karl Hatch both had more than 10 wins and 10 saves each coming out of the pen.
4. Seattle 2005. Seattle's hurlers had a combined 3.29 ERA, 22% better than league average. This team won 112 games but lost in the Cecil Cup to the aforementioned Stockholm squad. The top four starters (Albert Garcia, Hobert Hagerty, Joe Daye, and Scott Mayhew) all had ERAs under 3.00 while winning a combined 70 games.
5-8. Four teams, River Cities 2008, Stockholm 2004, Florida 2006, and Brooklyn 2008 are all tied for fifth on the list with ERAs 19% better than their league average. Notably, three of these four teams won titles, with the sole exception being last year's Brooklyn squad. The Brooklyn team struck out a record 1,395 hitters though, so they've got that going for them, which is nice.
The best franchise mark is clearly South Bay, which has a 3.52 ERA that is 16% better than the Zotti League average. Three of the South Bay title teams are listed above. The other South Bay title team (Florida, 2007) is 24th on the list with a ERA 11% better than league average.
P.S. The other title team, the 2003 Houston squad, had a 4.10 ERA that was 11% better than league average.
P.P.S. The overall ERA for 2003-2008 is 4.09. The Zotti League's ERA is lower at 4.03 while the Adams League ERA is 4.15. Last year's Adams League, paced by the Seattle and Brooklyn squads as well as Mr. Nelligan, had the lowest ERA ever at 3.75. The highest league ERA ever was the 2003 Adams at 4.54.
Friday, December 1, 2006
Spring Training - This Weekend
We're finally ready for Spring Training. The Rule V draft is done. I'll be running spring training over the weekend, probably on Saturday night.
Please make sure to send in your spring training plans and/or roster adjustments for the 2009 season.
Any questions? Feel free to ask.
I'll also be emailing this post to everyone, just in case some owners don't check out the blog too often.
Zev
Please make sure to send in your spring training plans and/or roster adjustments for the 2009 season.
Any questions? Feel free to ask.
I'll also be emailing this post to everyone, just in case some owners don't check out the blog too often.
Zev
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Sorry for the delay...
... The wife has been hogging the computer for some mammoth report that she is preparing for school. I hope to have the Rule V draft done in the next day or two.
Zev
Zev
Monday, November 27, 2006
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Season Preview: River Cities
Mammoth Moves Make Marietta More Monumental.
As I sit here synching my new iPod (all team employees got one engraved with the team logo on them for the championship) I figure I can out do Mack in the season preview department.
Unlike people, like, say Mack, I entered this offseason with a nice, shiny, meaningful trophy commemorating my defeat of say, MACK, in the postseason. And it is shiny.
Not that Mack will ever see it at his place. But he can stop by the cabana sometime here on the Muskingum River and see it. He can't TOUCH it. But he can see. No touchee.
Deciding not to just coast into my repeat season I determined that there were places that I was, gee whiz, OVERstocked with talent. My minors has become fruitful and it was time to take some players who had become major contibutors out to have them shot.
If only our elected leaders would do the same to their contributors, right?
With Major League roles being claimed by SS John Hukill RF Patrick Valdes and others it was time to commit to them. Therefore certain highly contributing players were out.
Chet Edwards, for one, a very good player for River Cities for three seasons. He made two all star teams at two different positions, 3B and SS and won a title last year. But his position shift after the acquisition of Robert Fout prior to 2008 was the harbinger of doom for him. With Hukill killing the ball at four levels (combined 45 HR and 123 RBI from A all the way up to the majors) there was simply no room for Chet and his $6 million dollar salary.
And you guys should KNOW by now that I love draft picks. I dealt Edwards, UT Diaz, MR Davis, and SP Alonso to Denver for 4.5 star SP prospect Juan Villatoro as well as Denver's 1st and 2nd round picks. I went into the off season reasoning that, talented as Diaz, Alonso, and Davis were it was unlikely they'd break through in the upcoming season and therefore moving them made sense if the right offer came along. And here one was.
That same sim I dealt Starting pitchers Hai Ebert and Charles Olaughlin, again two players who have talent but will not be breaking through to the Majors with River Cities to Walla Walla, who was in need of SP help for a first and second round picks as well as some throw in because the game won't allow a trade without players on both sides.
At this point I've dealt six players, most of the major league or major league ready and acquired two firsts, two seconds, one not-quite-ready prospect and one guy I think I sent to clean the toilets in the visitors locker room.
As you can tell I determined that the draft class coming up wasn't particularly deep with talent so I attempted to front load my draft acquisition as much as possible. With those extra picks I acquired:
5 Star 1B Marzano
4 Star C Ward
3 Star SP Dones
2 Star SP Durand
My own first round pick went to
2.5 Star SP Higa
Also with 4.5 Star SP Villatoro I'm pretty happy with rebuilding my prospect base on the fly. After the Series my minors was rated (I seem to recall) seventh in the league. After all of my motions it ends up at #2. A gain of five places.
I knew going into the FA market I wouldn't be active. With players ready to call up from AAA I didn't see the need to pay anyone the big dollars they'd be demanding. I made some lowball offers to some possibly useful players on the off chance they'd make a snap decision but no luck. I spent the entire FA period polishing my trophy and cluck-clucking to myself about the prices going for mid-range players. Tsk-tsk, indeed.
So ready for the season I find I'm pretty happy with where I am. I find myself with a solid rotation of:
Wheeler
Okane
Orozco
Vaz
Starner
Should injury occur either Marez or Villatoro can come in and work it. So I've got two quality back ups. Should either of them develop unexpectedly I'll deal one of the existing starters for whatever it is I might want at the moment.
I need to call up one MR to complete the staff but I have several options there as well.
My offense is still in pretty good shape.
Baker stays at C this season or until Ward is ready.
Caufield stays at 1B. He's a little power-light but brings a .300+ AVG and high OBP to the table.
Palacio solidifies his hold on 2B with his high AVG and OBP routine. Useful and helpful.
Fout stays at 3B and will hopefully keep up his 40HR+ level of performance.
Hukill takes over full time at SS. He should be considered the leading ROY candidate if he can consolidate his gains of last year.
Shaun Guinn stays in LF with his workmanlike play. Not spectacular but good enough around the edges. I can think of MANY teams who wouldn't mind having him around.
CF shows some change as I'm calling up Anton Suarez to share time with Gary Giles. Anton brings a lot of potential to the position and can't gain anything more in AAA after a .309/.340/.474 season there last year.
RF brings Patrick Valdes to the table full time with his high AVG/explosive power routine.
It's a solid front eight each day.
And with Verdugo backing up both C and 1B, Spalding (my only offensive sink) backing up all three IF positions, and Welch doing RF and LF back up my big problem will be finding out whether I need to bring more than 22 players to the park on most days. Ho hum.
In addition, I managed to bring down the average age of my Major League players from 4th to 8th over this off season. I think I'm well-primed for a repeat performance as Cecil Cup champs.
Y'all might as well give up now. There's no competing with the paddlewheelers on the Ohio.
As I sit here synching my new iPod (all team employees got one engraved with the team logo on them for the championship) I figure I can out do Mack in the season preview department.
Unlike people, like, say Mack, I entered this offseason with a nice, shiny, meaningful trophy commemorating my defeat of say, MACK, in the postseason. And it is shiny.
Not that Mack will ever see it at his place. But he can stop by the cabana sometime here on the Muskingum River and see it. He can't TOUCH it. But he can see. No touchee.
Deciding not to just coast into my repeat season I determined that there were places that I was, gee whiz, OVERstocked with talent. My minors has become fruitful and it was time to take some players who had become major contibutors out to have them shot.
If only our elected leaders would do the same to their contributors, right?
With Major League roles being claimed by SS John Hukill RF Patrick Valdes and others it was time to commit to them. Therefore certain highly contributing players were out.
Chet Edwards, for one, a very good player for River Cities for three seasons. He made two all star teams at two different positions, 3B and SS and won a title last year. But his position shift after the acquisition of Robert Fout prior to 2008 was the harbinger of doom for him. With Hukill killing the ball at four levels (combined 45 HR and 123 RBI from A all the way up to the majors) there was simply no room for Chet and his $6 million dollar salary.
And you guys should KNOW by now that I love draft picks. I dealt Edwards, UT Diaz, MR Davis, and SP Alonso to Denver for 4.5 star SP prospect Juan Villatoro as well as Denver's 1st and 2nd round picks. I went into the off season reasoning that, talented as Diaz, Alonso, and Davis were it was unlikely they'd break through in the upcoming season and therefore moving them made sense if the right offer came along. And here one was.
That same sim I dealt Starting pitchers Hai Ebert and Charles Olaughlin, again two players who have talent but will not be breaking through to the Majors with River Cities to Walla Walla, who was in need of SP help for a first and second round picks as well as some throw in because the game won't allow a trade without players on both sides.
At this point I've dealt six players, most of the major league or major league ready and acquired two firsts, two seconds, one not-quite-ready prospect and one guy I think I sent to clean the toilets in the visitors locker room.
As you can tell I determined that the draft class coming up wasn't particularly deep with talent so I attempted to front load my draft acquisition as much as possible. With those extra picks I acquired:
5 Star 1B Marzano
4 Star C Ward
3 Star SP Dones
2 Star SP Durand
My own first round pick went to
2.5 Star SP Higa
Also with 4.5 Star SP Villatoro I'm pretty happy with rebuilding my prospect base on the fly. After the Series my minors was rated (I seem to recall) seventh in the league. After all of my motions it ends up at #2. A gain of five places.
I knew going into the FA market I wouldn't be active. With players ready to call up from AAA I didn't see the need to pay anyone the big dollars they'd be demanding. I made some lowball offers to some possibly useful players on the off chance they'd make a snap decision but no luck. I spent the entire FA period polishing my trophy and cluck-clucking to myself about the prices going for mid-range players. Tsk-tsk, indeed.
So ready for the season I find I'm pretty happy with where I am. I find myself with a solid rotation of:
Wheeler
Okane
Orozco
Vaz
Starner
Should injury occur either Marez or Villatoro can come in and work it. So I've got two quality back ups. Should either of them develop unexpectedly I'll deal one of the existing starters for whatever it is I might want at the moment.
I need to call up one MR to complete the staff but I have several options there as well.
My offense is still in pretty good shape.
Baker stays at C this season or until Ward is ready.
Caufield stays at 1B. He's a little power-light but brings a .300+ AVG and high OBP to the table.
Palacio solidifies his hold on 2B with his high AVG and OBP routine. Useful and helpful.
Fout stays at 3B and will hopefully keep up his 40HR+ level of performance.
Hukill takes over full time at SS. He should be considered the leading ROY candidate if he can consolidate his gains of last year.
Shaun Guinn stays in LF with his workmanlike play. Not spectacular but good enough around the edges. I can think of MANY teams who wouldn't mind having him around.
CF shows some change as I'm calling up Anton Suarez to share time with Gary Giles. Anton brings a lot of potential to the position and can't gain anything more in AAA after a .309/.340/.474 season there last year.
RF brings Patrick Valdes to the table full time with his high AVG/explosive power routine.
It's a solid front eight each day.
And with Verdugo backing up both C and 1B, Spalding (my only offensive sink) backing up all three IF positions, and Welch doing RF and LF back up my big problem will be finding out whether I need to bring more than 22 players to the park on most days. Ho hum.
In addition, I managed to bring down the average age of my Major League players from 4th to 8th over this off season. I think I'm well-primed for a repeat performance as Cecil Cup champs.
Y'all might as well give up now. There's no competing with the paddlewheelers on the Ohio.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Season Preview: Seattle Monarchs
Well, it was a big off-season for the Monarchs as a dramatic youth movement was made. Most notably, three fifths of last year's rotation (Garcia, Daye, and Icenhour) were shipped away. All three were good or great pitchers but they were all on the wrong side of 30 and all carried high salaries. Garcia was one of the few 5 star starting pitchers, but is 36 and his contract expires at the end of the year. After last year's disappointing end to the season, I felt like I needed to get younger and build what would hopefully be an overwhelming team in a couple of years.
To that end, I targeted two of the best pitching propsects, Diehl and Shipp, and acquired them in a trade. I also grabbed McGreevey and Sedillo from Michael. Along with Frau, who I got mid-season last year, and Hester, who may become as good as any pitcher in the game (not named Nelligan) I have a pretty good stable of young, talented starting pitching. Four of my five starters for Opening Day (Hester, McGreevey, Frau, and Sedillo) are all pitching for the minimum. Only Peter Bird is left as a veteran starter. I suspect Diehl will be ready to come up mid season or at the start of next year, so there will be a decision to be made there.
I also swapped the aging OBP machine Klopp in the Garcia game, targeting one of the top young outfielders, Sean Arant. Klopp was one of my favorite players, but he was also 34 and I wasn't sure how much longer his bat will last. Assuming (hoping) I can resign Arant to a long term deal, I have one outfield position set for the foreseeable future. Between Maclin, Machen, and uberprospect Cedeno, I should be able to find solid bookends for years to come. I also have Mudge at first, a great platoon at catcher between Blassingame and Herbert, and a good young second baseman in Armendariz. Willer and Raglin are aging on the left side of the infield, but I hope that another 5 star prospect in AAA, Alustiza, will fill one of those spots in the years to come.
With the money saved by my youth movement, I added Rawlins and two big guns to the bullpen, Deschamps and Contreras, in free agency. Rawlins wasn't a primary target going into free agency, but he apparently wanted to come to Seattle enough to turn down deals with much more money and more years. Having him sign a two year deal for less than $12M per year has pure upside. Either he plays out his contract, or I trade him for something tasty in return. It was a no lose situation. I fell in love with Deschamps last year, given his plus endurance for a reliever and his five-star ratings. Contreras was a fall back plan after Zev swiped Morales. All in all though, free agency been berry, berry good to me.
In the end, I expected when I started the offseason to have a significant setback this season but great hope for the future. However, seeing the final roster, I don't think there will be much of a dropoff this year. My starting pitchers won't be as good as they have been, but my offense, bullpen, and bench are all better. I expect to win over 100 games again and be back in the Cecil Cup. But, given the young talent I've stockpiled, if you plan to knock me off the top of Adams Division, you better strike this year. Otherwise, you may not see the playoffs for some time.
To that end, I targeted two of the best pitching propsects, Diehl and Shipp, and acquired them in a trade. I also grabbed McGreevey and Sedillo from Michael. Along with Frau, who I got mid-season last year, and Hester, who may become as good as any pitcher in the game (not named Nelligan) I have a pretty good stable of young, talented starting pitching. Four of my five starters for Opening Day (Hester, McGreevey, Frau, and Sedillo) are all pitching for the minimum. Only Peter Bird is left as a veteran starter. I suspect Diehl will be ready to come up mid season or at the start of next year, so there will be a decision to be made there.
I also swapped the aging OBP machine Klopp in the Garcia game, targeting one of the top young outfielders, Sean Arant. Klopp was one of my favorite players, but he was also 34 and I wasn't sure how much longer his bat will last. Assuming (hoping) I can resign Arant to a long term deal, I have one outfield position set for the foreseeable future. Between Maclin, Machen, and uberprospect Cedeno, I should be able to find solid bookends for years to come. I also have Mudge at first, a great platoon at catcher between Blassingame and Herbert, and a good young second baseman in Armendariz. Willer and Raglin are aging on the left side of the infield, but I hope that another 5 star prospect in AAA, Alustiza, will fill one of those spots in the years to come.
With the money saved by my youth movement, I added Rawlins and two big guns to the bullpen, Deschamps and Contreras, in free agency. Rawlins wasn't a primary target going into free agency, but he apparently wanted to come to Seattle enough to turn down deals with much more money and more years. Having him sign a two year deal for less than $12M per year has pure upside. Either he plays out his contract, or I trade him for something tasty in return. It was a no lose situation. I fell in love with Deschamps last year, given his plus endurance for a reliever and his five-star ratings. Contreras was a fall back plan after Zev swiped Morales. All in all though, free agency been berry, berry good to me.
In the end, I expected when I started the offseason to have a significant setback this season but great hope for the future. However, seeing the final roster, I don't think there will be much of a dropoff this year. My starting pitchers won't be as good as they have been, but my offense, bullpen, and bench are all better. I expect to win over 100 games again and be back in the Cecil Cup. But, given the young talent I've stockpiled, if you plan to knock me off the top of Adams Division, you better strike this year. Otherwise, you may not see the playoffs for some time.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Well I'm pretty excited about the season for the first time in a while. After finally hitting rock bottom and getting my payroll under control last season, my 9 year rebuilding plan is finally on the upswing part, woohoo!
My pitching staff is much improved with last years ace now my 4th best starter. I have three better relievers than last year and one more when Abarca gets healthy. And if we can teach Dalton Davis to stop throwing like a girl, it'll actually be pretty solid.
Chet Davis solidifies the infield(even if it did require reshuffling my infield so nobody is in their best position) and gives me a true leadoff man for my speed loving team.
Didn't pick up the outfield help I wanted for Shunk(stupid Free agents who won't talk to me, or take crappier offers can go to hell)
I know I'm not a challenge to the big boys yet, But I have my sights on 75 wins if I don't get hurt again(I'm still pissed at Brooklyn for breaking Quesada's back a couple years ago, and turning him from a great catcher to an average one, damn you Zev!) and get a few more butts in the seats.
I'm happy to get this season started, and my march toward mediocrity underway.
My pitching staff is much improved with last years ace now my 4th best starter. I have three better relievers than last year and one more when Abarca gets healthy. And if we can teach Dalton Davis to stop throwing like a girl, it'll actually be pretty solid.
Chet Davis solidifies the infield(even if it did require reshuffling my infield so nobody is in their best position) and gives me a true leadoff man for my speed loving team.
Didn't pick up the outfield help I wanted for Shunk(stupid Free agents who won't talk to me, or take crappier offers can go to hell)
I know I'm not a challenge to the big boys yet, But I have my sights on 75 wins if I don't get hurt again(I'm still pissed at Brooklyn for breaking Quesada's back a couple years ago, and turning him from a great catcher to an average one, damn you Zev!) and get a few more butts in the seats.
I'm happy to get this season started, and my march toward mediocrity underway.
Thanksgiving away
I'm away Thurs - Sat. I'd appreciate the holding off of Spring training during that period.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Signings! Rule 5! Spring Training!
Yeah! Free Agency is finished. The last remaining major league contracts were signed today. They were:
Denver inked 1B Logan Sletten to a two year deal worth $450,000 per year. Logan spent 2008 with New York, hitting .252 in bench duty.
The Zephyrs also picked up reliever Michael Jones, who has been with Houston since the league's inception. Jones gets a two year pact worth $850,000 per year. Last year, he appeared in 76 games for Houston, compiling a 6-3 record, with 6 saves and a 4.29 ERA.
Hickory signed SP David Milam to a three-year deal worth $350,000 per year. Milam last saw action in the majors in 2006, when he posted an 8-15 record for Walla Walla. In 2008, he was 9-7 for Walla Walla's AAA team.
Long-time minor league catcher Bill Arend leaves Brighton Beach (Brooklyn's A ball team) and gets a one year deal with Hickory for $320,000. Arend hit .295 last year with 13 home runs and 46 RBI in 92 games.
The Rule 5 draft will be held on Monday night. Spring Training will be held on Thursday night. After that, we go on to the 2009 campaign.
If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask.
Zev
Denver inked 1B Logan Sletten to a two year deal worth $450,000 per year. Logan spent 2008 with New York, hitting .252 in bench duty.
The Zephyrs also picked up reliever Michael Jones, who has been with Houston since the league's inception. Jones gets a two year pact worth $850,000 per year. Last year, he appeared in 76 games for Houston, compiling a 6-3 record, with 6 saves and a 4.29 ERA.
Hickory signed SP David Milam to a three-year deal worth $350,000 per year. Milam last saw action in the majors in 2006, when he posted an 8-15 record for Walla Walla. In 2008, he was 9-7 for Walla Walla's AAA team.
Long-time minor league catcher Bill Arend leaves Brighton Beach (Brooklyn's A ball team) and gets a one year deal with Hickory for $320,000. Arend hit .295 last year with 13 home runs and 46 RBI in 92 games.
The Rule 5 draft will be held on Monday night. Spring Training will be held on Thursday night. After that, we go on to the 2009 campaign.
If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask.
Zev
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Tuesday, November 7, 2006
One More Signing
CF George Rawlins found a new home in Seattle today, signing a 2 year deal worth $11.65 million per year. The 33 year old center fielder spent last year with River Cities and Walla Walla, hitting .329 with 27 dingers and 106 RBI. He also made his second All-Star appearence and won his first Cecil Cup with River Cities.
Next sim will be tomorrow or Thursday night.
Zev
Next sim will be tomorrow or Thursday night.
Zev
Monday, November 6, 2006
Trade: Seattle and South Bay
Sorry, no elaborate fake news item announcing the trade.
Probably because we hadn't made a trade in an entire week of game time and were starting to go into withdrawal, Michael and I made another trade that's reflected in the most recent sim. Seattle sent relievers Edward Beliveau and Adam Beall to South Bay in exchange for South Bay's third round draft pick in 2010 and career minor league reliever William Dade. Basically, I sent two guys from my "Dirt Cheap to Good Homes" post from October 4 to Michael, thereby filling his advertisement for a LOOGY (see his post dated October 26).
It's a simple case of supply meeting demand.
Probably because we hadn't made a trade in an entire week of game time and were starting to go into withdrawal, Michael and I made another trade that's reflected in the most recent sim. Seattle sent relievers Edward Beliveau and Adam Beall to South Bay in exchange for South Bay's third round draft pick in 2010 and career minor league reliever William Dade. Basically, I sent two guys from my "Dirt Cheap to Good Homes" post from October 4 to Michael, thereby filling his advertisement for a LOOGY (see his post dated October 26).
It's a simple case of supply meeting demand.
Sunday, November 5, 2006
Three More Signings!
Three more signings!
LF Freddie Ceballos landed in Houston today, signing a three year deal that will pay him $695,000 per year. Freddie spent last season with Hickory's AAA team, hitting .318 and stealing 23 bases. Freddie has two Cecil Cups with Stockholm/Florida in 2004 and 2006.
Another former member of the 2006 Florida championship team landed with a new home as well. MR Jose Abarca, signed a 3 year deal with Denver for $2.5 million per year. Jose spent 2008 with South Bay's AAA team, appearing in 68 games with a 4.54 ERA.
Lastly, 1B Juan Mendoza, late of Walla Walla, has signed with the New York Gothams for one year at a $300,000 salary. Last year, the former All-Star hit .224 with one home run and 10 RBI in limited duty.
I'm going to try to get the next sim in tomorrow night.
Zev
LF Freddie Ceballos landed in Houston today, signing a three year deal that will pay him $695,000 per year. Freddie spent last season with Hickory's AAA team, hitting .318 and stealing 23 bases. Freddie has two Cecil Cups with Stockholm/Florida in 2004 and 2006.
Another former member of the 2006 Florida championship team landed with a new home as well. MR Jose Abarca, signed a 3 year deal with Denver for $2.5 million per year. Jose spent 2008 with South Bay's AAA team, appearing in 68 games with a 4.54 ERA.
Lastly, 1B Juan Mendoza, late of Walla Walla, has signed with the New York Gothams for one year at a $300,000 salary. Last year, the former All-Star hit .224 with one home run and 10 RBI in limited duty.
I'm going to try to get the next sim in tomorrow night.
Zev
Sunday, October 29, 2006
More Signings!
Seattle brought back reliever Mark Deschamp today, signing the 33-year old to a 3 year deal that will pay the righty $5.25 million per year. Deschamp appeared in 98 games last year for Walla Walla and Seattle, posting a 5-5 record with 4 saves and a 2.80 ERA.
Walla Walla picked up a pair of hurlers, signing both to two-year deals for $1.2 million per year. The first is Elton Molina, who spent the last three years with Walla Walla. Last year, he appeared in 67 games, posting a 4.27 ERA.
The other pitcher signed by Walla Walla is closer Tom Porter. Tom has been pitching with Houston for the last two years where he picked up 29 saves over that time period. Tom has three championships under his belt with Stockholm/Florida.
Denver resigned C Jose Quesada to a two year deal. Quesada, who will earn $3.5 million per year, has been Denver's regular catcher for the last three seasons. Last year he hit .246 with 11 home runs and 57 RBI. Quesada was an Adams League All-Star in 2006.
RF Christopher Hartsell has returned home to South Bay, the franchise that he has been with since the league started. He returns for one year with a $500,000 contract. Hartsell has been a Zotti-League All-Star for the past four years and has four Cecil Cups to his credit. Last year, Hartsell hit .300 with 9 home runs and 65 RBI.
Lastly, MR James Manning returns to Brooklyn, after spending a year in the River Cities minor league system. Manning signs a deal worth $350,000 for one season.
Walla Walla picked up a pair of hurlers, signing both to two-year deals for $1.2 million per year. The first is Elton Molina, who spent the last three years with Walla Walla. Last year, he appeared in 67 games, posting a 4.27 ERA.
The other pitcher signed by Walla Walla is closer Tom Porter. Tom has been pitching with Houston for the last two years where he picked up 29 saves over that time period. Tom has three championships under his belt with Stockholm/Florida.
Denver resigned C Jose Quesada to a two year deal. Quesada, who will earn $3.5 million per year, has been Denver's regular catcher for the last three seasons. Last year he hit .246 with 11 home runs and 57 RBI. Quesada was an Adams League All-Star in 2006.
RF Christopher Hartsell has returned home to South Bay, the franchise that he has been with since the league started. He returns for one year with a $500,000 contract. Hartsell has been a Zotti-League All-Star for the past four years and has four Cecil Cups to his credit. Last year, Hartsell hit .300 with 9 home runs and 65 RBI.
Lastly, MR James Manning returns to Brooklyn, after spending a year in the River Cities minor league system. Manning signs a deal worth $350,000 for one season.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
LOOGY wanted
I'm looking to pick up a decent (at least 2.5 star) lefty reliever to complete my bullpen. If you have a spare LOOGY that's available, cheap, let me know.
While I'm at it, I could use a AAAA-class SP if you have one of them, too.
While I'm at it, I could use a AAAA-class SP if you have one of them, too.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Sim's done... next sim Wednesday night
I actually had the sim done on Thursday night, but I then had FTP issues to resolve with Yahoo!.
Signings:
It's been a New York day, with the Gothams picking up three players.
The first to sign was closer Joel Callas, who comes to New York for three years at $4.8m per year. Callas travelled a lot last year, starting in Danville, making a brief stopover in Seattle before finishing the year in Walla Walla. Between it all, he saved 21 games while posting a blistering 1.51 ERA and earning his first All-Star game selection.
CF Zachary Whipkey comes to the Big Apple signing a two year deal for $2.8m per year. Whipkey missed most of the 2008 season with Denver with a ruptured disc. In 2007, however, he hit .251 with 26 home runs and 91 RBI. In addition, he swiped 41 bases.
Veteran 3B JC Veloz lands in New York with a new one year deal worth $600,000. Veloz has spent his entire career with Houston, hitting .274 with 73 home runs and 420 RBI over the last seven years. Veloz has three All-Star selections, a Slick Fielder Award and two Cecil Cups to his credit.
Signings:
It's been a New York day, with the Gothams picking up three players.
The first to sign was closer Joel Callas, who comes to New York for three years at $4.8m per year. Callas travelled a lot last year, starting in Danville, making a brief stopover in Seattle before finishing the year in Walla Walla. Between it all, he saved 21 games while posting a blistering 1.51 ERA and earning his first All-Star game selection.
CF Zachary Whipkey comes to the Big Apple signing a two year deal for $2.8m per year. Whipkey missed most of the 2008 season with Denver with a ruptured disc. In 2007, however, he hit .251 with 26 home runs and 91 RBI. In addition, he swiped 41 bases.
Veteran 3B JC Veloz lands in New York with a new one year deal worth $600,000. Veloz has spent his entire career with Houston, hitting .274 with 73 home runs and 420 RBI over the last seven years. Veloz has three All-Star selections, a Slick Fielder Award and two Cecil Cups to his credit.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Next sim, Thursday night.
Free Agent Signings:
LF John Redman has found a new home. South Bay picked up the right-handed slugger by signing him to a four year deal worth $8.25m per year. Redman has played for New York for the last two and a half years. Last year, he hit .307 (the highest average of his career) while slugging 30 home runs and driving in 97 runs. Redman is one of the few players (maybe the only one?) to have been an All-Star all seven years of the league's existence.
Walla Walla brought back C Augustus Ruiz, signing him to a two year contract at $4m per year. Ruiz has been Walla Walla's regular catcher for the past three seasons. Last year, he hit .239 with 14 homers and 71 RBIs. He is also a two time All Star and has three Slick Fielder trophies in his display case at home.
Denver picked up a pair of relievers for their bullpen. The first is right-hander Alex Pedroza, who played for River Cities last year. Pedroza pitched in 82 games last year, producing a 3.81 ERA. Pedroza will earn $2.4m per year for the next three years.
The other reliever is southpaw Antione Donato. Donato appeared in 76 games last year for New York, as well as in the All-Star game (for the third time in his career). He won five and lost two while producing a 3.25 ERA. Donato will earn $1.2m per year for the next two years.
Next sim -- Thursday, Oct 19.
LF John Redman has found a new home. South Bay picked up the right-handed slugger by signing him to a four year deal worth $8.25m per year. Redman has played for New York for the last two and a half years. Last year, he hit .307 (the highest average of his career) while slugging 30 home runs and driving in 97 runs. Redman is one of the few players (maybe the only one?) to have been an All-Star all seven years of the league's existence.
Walla Walla brought back C Augustus Ruiz, signing him to a two year contract at $4m per year. Ruiz has been Walla Walla's regular catcher for the past three seasons. Last year, he hit .239 with 14 homers and 71 RBIs. He is also a two time All Star and has three Slick Fielder trophies in his display case at home.
Denver picked up a pair of relievers for their bullpen. The first is right-hander Alex Pedroza, who played for River Cities last year. Pedroza pitched in 82 games last year, producing a 3.81 ERA. Pedroza will earn $2.4m per year for the next three years.
The other reliever is southpaw Antione Donato. Donato appeared in 76 games last year for New York, as well as in the All-Star game (for the third time in his career). He won five and lost two while producing a 3.25 ERA. Donato will earn $1.2m per year for the next two years.
Next sim -- Thursday, Oct 19.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Sim Done!
Finally!
One signing: Walla Walla picks up CF Jerry DeHaven (formerly of South Bay) for $5,000,000 per year for two years. Dehaven hit .267 last year with 6 home runs and 40 RBI in limited duty.
Last round of the Amateur Draft and Days 7-8 of Free Agency tomorrow night.
Zev
One signing: Walla Walla picks up CF Jerry DeHaven (formerly of South Bay) for $5,000,000 per year for two years. Dehaven hit .267 last year with 6 home runs and 40 RBI in limited duty.
Last round of the Amateur Draft and Days 7-8 of Free Agency tomorrow night.
Zev
My Weekend
Question: What do you get when you cross the Atlantic with the Titanic?
Answer: Halfway.
It's been a heck of a weekend. My oldest son became a Bar Mitzvah this past weekend during the Succos holiday. We invited cousins of ours from Baltimore to come up for the weekend and celebrate with us. In the end, we were expecting a full house over the weekend, with over thirty friends and relatives coming to eat and stay with us. Needless to say, it was going to be a tight squeeze in our sukkah for us and the guests.
One group of family members, however, didn't make it. We were waiting for them on Friday afternoon, but they didn't show. It was getting late on Friday, and there was still no sign of them. Finally, about five minutes before Shabbos was about to start, we got a call from them. They ran into a lot of traffic on the way up. There were in Staten Island and there was no way that they were going to be able to get to Brooklyn before Shabbos started. Fortunately, they had family in Staten Island and were able to stay by them for the holiday. At least they were OK... we were all really worried about them.
Well, the Bar Mitzvah boy did fine. He read from the Torah beautifully and we all had a good time. We had a kiddush in our sukkah for the guests and the people who pray in our shul. Since the sukkah was only 12 x 16 (which is actually quite big as far as personal sukkahs go), it was quite crowded. But nonetheless, everyone had a good time.
After the holiday was over (Sunday night), the Baltimore/Staten Island contingent finally made it in. They finally made it in about 11:00 pm on Sunday night (while we were still cleaning up from the chaos of the weekend). Since I hadn't seen this set of cousins (and my aunt, who was with them) for a few years, we spent a few hours out in the sukkah talking and eating.
On Monday, we took the kids (along with my cousins, my sister and their kids) to Sesame Place. You'd be surprised how much fun a thirteen year old can have there - I was afraid he'd be bored to tears. After the day, we all stopped off at a kosher resturaunt in Philadelphia. Once there, however, my car died and would not start again. So, there I was, stranded with my wife and kids, in a city over 100 miles from home (a city, I might add, that I had only been to once before in my life) where I did not know a soul. Fortuantely, AAA came to the rescue. After a bit of a wait, they took us back to Brooklyn (to a local repair shop). We finally got back home at about midnight last night.
The end result of all this, however, is that there was no sim this past weekend. We'll try to do this tonight.
Zev
Answer: Halfway.
It's been a heck of a weekend. My oldest son became a Bar Mitzvah this past weekend during the Succos holiday. We invited cousins of ours from Baltimore to come up for the weekend and celebrate with us. In the end, we were expecting a full house over the weekend, with over thirty friends and relatives coming to eat and stay with us. Needless to say, it was going to be a tight squeeze in our sukkah for us and the guests.
One group of family members, however, didn't make it. We were waiting for them on Friday afternoon, but they didn't show. It was getting late on Friday, and there was still no sign of them. Finally, about five minutes before Shabbos was about to start, we got a call from them. They ran into a lot of traffic on the way up. There were in Staten Island and there was no way that they were going to be able to get to Brooklyn before Shabbos started. Fortunately, they had family in Staten Island and were able to stay by them for the holiday. At least they were OK... we were all really worried about them.
Well, the Bar Mitzvah boy did fine. He read from the Torah beautifully and we all had a good time. We had a kiddush in our sukkah for the guests and the people who pray in our shul. Since the sukkah was only 12 x 16 (which is actually quite big as far as personal sukkahs go), it was quite crowded. But nonetheless, everyone had a good time.
After the holiday was over (Sunday night), the Baltimore/Staten Island contingent finally made it in. They finally made it in about 11:00 pm on Sunday night (while we were still cleaning up from the chaos of the weekend). Since I hadn't seen this set of cousins (and my aunt, who was with them) for a few years, we spent a few hours out in the sukkah talking and eating.
On Monday, we took the kids (along with my cousins, my sister and their kids) to Sesame Place. You'd be surprised how much fun a thirteen year old can have there - I was afraid he'd be bored to tears. After the day, we all stopped off at a kosher resturaunt in Philadelphia. Once there, however, my car died and would not start again. So, there I was, stranded with my wife and kids, in a city over 100 miles from home (a city, I might add, that I had only been to once before in my life) where I did not know a soul. Fortuantely, AAA came to the rescue. After a bit of a wait, they took us back to Brooklyn (to a local repair shop). We finally got back home at about midnight last night.
The end result of all this, however, is that there was no sim this past weekend. We'll try to do this tonight.
Zev
Wednesday, October 4, 2006
Dirt Cheap to Good Homes
Two consistent contributors have become expendable for me and are available at rock bottom prices. Neither has any significant future expense associated with them.
Lefthanded reliever Everette Brister. 2.5 stars. Lifetime 4.10 ERA and posted a 3.41 mark last year. Record of 50-17 with 43 saves. Original Seattle Monarch. $2 million dollar contract that expires at the end of the year. And, you can never have enough lefthanded pitching.
Righthanded reliever Adam Beall. Has only 1 star rating, but he had that last year and posted a 2.90 ERA for me. Career 3.85 ERA. His contract is cheap ($1 million for two more years).
I also could easily move third baseman Elias Viers, although not quite at "dirt cheap" prices. 2.5 stars. Lifetime .308 hitter, with .708 OPS. $350,000 contract this year. I only count seven third basemen (not prospects) with ratings of 3* or higher, so Viers should be good enough to start in the league. Although Zev claims to be looking for a third baseman, he apparently has some kind of Viers-phobia. But, if someone wants to trade their third baseman to Zev and pick up Viers pretty cheaply ...
I also, once again, will float the name of Boris Harris. He's put up four straight years of sub-4.00 ERAs in AAA Tacoma, but he's not going to crack my rotation in the majors this year or any time soon. He really is essentially free (i.e., very low round draft pick or minimal prospect) to any interested teams, especially ones that want to give him a shot in the majors.
Feel free to contact me with any offers.
Lefthanded reliever Everette Brister. 2.5 stars. Lifetime 4.10 ERA and posted a 3.41 mark last year. Record of 50-17 with 43 saves. Original Seattle Monarch. $2 million dollar contract that expires at the end of the year. And, you can never have enough lefthanded pitching.
Righthanded reliever Adam Beall. Has only 1 star rating, but he had that last year and posted a 2.90 ERA for me. Career 3.85 ERA. His contract is cheap ($1 million for two more years).
I also could easily move third baseman Elias Viers, although not quite at "dirt cheap" prices. 2.5 stars. Lifetime .308 hitter, with .708 OPS. $350,000 contract this year. I only count seven third basemen (not prospects) with ratings of 3* or higher, so Viers should be good enough to start in the league. Although Zev claims to be looking for a third baseman, he apparently has some kind of Viers-phobia. But, if someone wants to trade their third baseman to Zev and pick up Viers pretty cheaply ...
I also, once again, will float the name of Boris Harris. He's put up four straight years of sub-4.00 ERAs in AAA Tacoma, but he's not going to crack my rotation in the majors this year or any time soon. He really is essentially free (i.e., very low round draft pick or minimal prospect) to any interested teams, especially ones that want to give him a shot in the majors.
Feel free to contact me with any offers.
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
Friday, September 29, 2006
Need a reliever? An outfielder? Come on down!
Well, as you can see from the last round of signings, I got two relievers. The truth, however, was that I was not expecting to get both.
My original plan was to have Alfano come back for one final year and possibly transition to Cowherd to be the closer of the future for me. However, I lowballed Alfano when making offers to him last year and didn't think he'd return to me. I made him another offer anyway, but also offered a contract to Morales (who I figured I did have a good shot at).
Well, as it turns out, I got both of them -- and now have a crowded bullpen. I have three pitchers who could be closers - Alfano, Morales and Cowherd. Between the three of them and Pompey and Maus, I've got a VERY solid five man bullpen.
That leaves me with two relievers on the outs. One of them is Daniel Hosmer. Hosmer is a guy who is showing improvement. I actually recruited him originally to be a starter (he has an endurance of 7), but then thought better of it and returned him to the bullpen. He had his best season in 2008, going 4-2 with 8 saves and a 3.95 ERA. Despite his control rating not being so hot, he still had a better than 2:1 strikeout/walk ratio last year. He won't make a good closer, but I think he could be an ideal man in your bullpen and maybe even a spot starter.
The other guy I have is George Quinn. George is an old player for a rookie - he's 29. He made his debut last year with 1/3 of an inning at the end of the year. George is a player with AMAZING stuff and TERRIBLE control. Despite that, his numbers in AAA over the last two years have been very good. I truly think that he could be a benefit to some bullpens, especially since he works for the minimum.
In addition to a crowded bullpen, I also have a crowded outfield. I already have my three starters (Collazo, Cuesta and Merriweather) penciled in for this year. I brought back Roberto Casarez for one last go-around as a bench contributor. But that leaves me with several extra backup outfielders.
Gregory Rico is a left-handed hitting centerfielder, who will hit for average, but not a lot of power. He made his debut last year, hitting .267 in 28 games. He is a good runner and should steal some bases for you. If he could hit better, he'd be in my starting lineup. He'd also make a good pinch runner.
Leonard Matz is a guy I picked up off the scrap heap before the 2007 season. He's not going to hit for average, but he has good power numbers - over the last two seasons he hit 46 homers in AAA. Of course, he's not going to do that in the majors (at least not right away), but certainly he might do better than another player sitting on your bench. Leonard plays rightfield and catcher (?!).
Efren Penrose is a righty hitter who can play all three outfield positions. He also made his debut last year, hitting .250 with one home run in 24 at bats. Although his power ratings aren't so great, he does have some pop in his bat, hitting 22 home runs over the last two years in AAA and the majors. He's hit over .300 in the minors for the last three years in the minors. He's ready to move up to the big time.
Last, but certainly not least, is Ryan Oquinn. Oquinn has the most experience of the bunch, with 201 major league games under his belt. He has pretty much average ratings across the board. Last year, he hit .330 coming off the bench. He could be ideal as a pinch-hitter or even a regular at a weak position.
So, that's it. I have extras in the pen and in the green. And now for what I need in return:
What I need is a third baseman. For several years, I had Jonathan Dillow at third and two years ago turned the job over to Marcus Bond. Now, don't get me wrong -- Bond is a serviceable player. He has great ratings, he can run, etc. I just, for some reason, seem to have bad luck with the left side of my infield (players such as Spencer Solomon and Richard Hassel who were good players before they got to Brooklyn, suddenly stop hitting as soon as they hit my infield. (Maybe there's some radioactive material buried between second and third at Wolf Stadium??) I think that elsewhere Bond could be a good hitter. But last year, he hit .221. He also stole 19 bases and, had he gotten on base more, could have stolen a great deal more.
But I need new blood there. It should be a player who can hit well, and, in an ideal world, one who can steal bases. I've never had a legitimate leadoff man since day one in this league -- which is probably why I'm dead last in steals over the history of the league. I think this may be the last piece of the puzzle that will allow me to topple Mack off the top of the league.
Of course, I'm willing to look at prospects too.
As for the bullpen, I'm really only looking to trade Hosmer or Quinn. However, for the right deal, I might be persuaded to part with one of the other relievers.
So, send your offers down by email!
Zev
My original plan was to have Alfano come back for one final year and possibly transition to Cowherd to be the closer of the future for me. However, I lowballed Alfano when making offers to him last year and didn't think he'd return to me. I made him another offer anyway, but also offered a contract to Morales (who I figured I did have a good shot at).
Well, as it turns out, I got both of them -- and now have a crowded bullpen. I have three pitchers who could be closers - Alfano, Morales and Cowherd. Between the three of them and Pompey and Maus, I've got a VERY solid five man bullpen.
That leaves me with two relievers on the outs. One of them is Daniel Hosmer. Hosmer is a guy who is showing improvement. I actually recruited him originally to be a starter (he has an endurance of 7), but then thought better of it and returned him to the bullpen. He had his best season in 2008, going 4-2 with 8 saves and a 3.95 ERA. Despite his control rating not being so hot, he still had a better than 2:1 strikeout/walk ratio last year. He won't make a good closer, but I think he could be an ideal man in your bullpen and maybe even a spot starter.
The other guy I have is George Quinn. George is an old player for a rookie - he's 29. He made his debut last year with 1/3 of an inning at the end of the year. George is a player with AMAZING stuff and TERRIBLE control. Despite that, his numbers in AAA over the last two years have been very good. I truly think that he could be a benefit to some bullpens, especially since he works for the minimum.
In addition to a crowded bullpen, I also have a crowded outfield. I already have my three starters (Collazo, Cuesta and Merriweather) penciled in for this year. I brought back Roberto Casarez for one last go-around as a bench contributor. But that leaves me with several extra backup outfielders.
Gregory Rico is a left-handed hitting centerfielder, who will hit for average, but not a lot of power. He made his debut last year, hitting .267 in 28 games. He is a good runner and should steal some bases for you. If he could hit better, he'd be in my starting lineup. He'd also make a good pinch runner.
Leonard Matz is a guy I picked up off the scrap heap before the 2007 season. He's not going to hit for average, but he has good power numbers - over the last two seasons he hit 46 homers in AAA. Of course, he's not going to do that in the majors (at least not right away), but certainly he might do better than another player sitting on your bench. Leonard plays rightfield and catcher (?!).
Efren Penrose is a righty hitter who can play all three outfield positions. He also made his debut last year, hitting .250 with one home run in 24 at bats. Although his power ratings aren't so great, he does have some pop in his bat, hitting 22 home runs over the last two years in AAA and the majors. He's hit over .300 in the minors for the last three years in the minors. He's ready to move up to the big time.
Last, but certainly not least, is Ryan Oquinn. Oquinn has the most experience of the bunch, with 201 major league games under his belt. He has pretty much average ratings across the board. Last year, he hit .330 coming off the bench. He could be ideal as a pinch-hitter or even a regular at a weak position.
So, that's it. I have extras in the pen and in the green. And now for what I need in return:
What I need is a third baseman. For several years, I had Jonathan Dillow at third and two years ago turned the job over to Marcus Bond. Now, don't get me wrong -- Bond is a serviceable player. He has great ratings, he can run, etc. I just, for some reason, seem to have bad luck with the left side of my infield (players such as Spencer Solomon and Richard Hassel who were good players before they got to Brooklyn, suddenly stop hitting as soon as they hit my infield. (Maybe there's some radioactive material buried between second and third at Wolf Stadium??) I think that elsewhere Bond could be a good hitter. But last year, he hit .221. He also stole 19 bases and, had he gotten on base more, could have stolen a great deal more.
But I need new blood there. It should be a player who can hit well, and, in an ideal world, one who can steal bases. I've never had a legitimate leadoff man since day one in this league -- which is probably why I'm dead last in steals over the history of the league. I think this may be the last piece of the puzzle that will allow me to topple Mack off the top of the league.
Of course, I'm willing to look at prospects too.
As for the bullpen, I'm really only looking to trade Hosmer or Quinn. However, for the right deal, I might be persuaded to part with one of the other relievers.
So, send your offers down by email!
Zev
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Day 4 Done! Signings News!
Day 4/Round 4 is done.
Brooklyn shored up it's bullpen today by signing two relief pitchers. Closer Samuel Alfano, the Wolves closer since Day 1 and the all-time leader in saves has re-signed with the Wolves this year for $1.5 million for 1 year. Alfano led the league in saves last year with 37 and has 214 saves in his career. He'll be joined in the bullpen by reliever Pedro Morales who signed a five year deal for a bit over $5 million per year. Morales split last year between Seattle and Danville. He saved 28 games while posting a stingy 1.24 ERA.
Houston acquired 2B Steffan Gehring by signing him to a two year deal worth a bit under $4 million per year. The second baseman was with New York last year where he hit .286 with 15HR and 76RBI and won the Slick Fielder Award.
Third Baseman Michael House joins the South Bay Scorpions, inking a one year deal for $550,000. House played 42 games for Houston last year, mostly as a bench player. He had 60AB, hitting .300 with two home runs.
Next sim -- Saturday night.
Zev
Brooklyn shored up it's bullpen today by signing two relief pitchers. Closer Samuel Alfano, the Wolves closer since Day 1 and the all-time leader in saves has re-signed with the Wolves this year for $1.5 million for 1 year. Alfano led the league in saves last year with 37 and has 214 saves in his career. He'll be joined in the bullpen by reliever Pedro Morales who signed a five year deal for a bit over $5 million per year. Morales split last year between Seattle and Danville. He saved 28 games while posting a stingy 1.24 ERA.
Houston acquired 2B Steffan Gehring by signing him to a two year deal worth a bit under $4 million per year. The second baseman was with New York last year where he hit .286 with 15HR and 76RBI and won the Slick Fielder Award.
Third Baseman Michael House joins the South Bay Scorpions, inking a one year deal for $550,000. House played 42 games for Houston last year, mostly as a bench player. He had 60AB, hitting .300 with two home runs.
Next sim -- Saturday night.
Zev
We'll try again tonight
I'm sorry folks... it's been a bit crazy around here of late. I've hit a busy period at work, plus the holidays and the fact that my oldest is going to become Bar-Mitzvah in less than two weeks has made everything here a little cuckoo.
I will try to get the sim done tonight.
Zev
I will try to get the sim done tonight.
Zev
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Day 3 Done. First Signings!
Free Agency Day 3 and Amateur Draft Round 3 are done.
Players signing today are:
Seattle resigned closer Samuel Contreras to a 4 year/$4.65m deal. Contreras is 31, has excellent ratings and posted 28 saves for Walla Walla and Seattle last year.
Walla Walla brings back 34-year old 3B Bill Johnson with a 2 year/$5m deal. Johnson hit .249 with 17HR and 62 RBI.
Hurler Ronald Kirkwood, last seen in New York posting a 5-11 record has landed in Hickory with a $615k/2 year deal.
Lastly reliever William Augustin returns back to South Bay with a $2m/3 year contract.
On a minor, unrelated note: due to human error, I mistakenly gave Denver a draft pick in Round 2 that belonged to South Bay. I reversed the trade after this round, so all should be well again.
Round 4/Day 4 will be Monday night.
Zev
Players signing today are:
Seattle resigned closer Samuel Contreras to a 4 year/$4.65m deal. Contreras is 31, has excellent ratings and posted 28 saves for Walla Walla and Seattle last year.
Walla Walla brings back 34-year old 3B Bill Johnson with a 2 year/$5m deal. Johnson hit .249 with 17HR and 62 RBI.
Hurler Ronald Kirkwood, last seen in New York posting a 5-11 record has landed in Hickory with a $615k/2 year deal.
Lastly reliever William Augustin returns back to South Bay with a $2m/3 year contract.
On a minor, unrelated note: due to human error, I mistakenly gave Denver a draft pick in Round 2 that belonged to South Bay. I reversed the trade after this round, so all should be well again.
Round 4/Day 4 will be Monday night.
Zev
Monday, September 18, 2006
Day 2 done. Day 3 on Wednesday night
OK, Day 2 signings are done (no one signed) and the second round of the amateur draft is done. The game's draft order was incorrect in some places so I had to engineer two "trades" to make it work out properly.
Day 3 signings and Round 3 draft picks are due by Wednesday night.
Zev
Day 3 signings and Round 3 draft picks are due by Wednesday night.
Zev
Sim tonight
OK, I think that between Will and I we figured it out the problem. If a player has history attached to him, it's because the text file where player history is kept has been "recycled" from a retired player. I can probably go in and fix that manually if necessary.
So, we'll do the sim and round two of the draft tonight.
Zev
So, we'll do the sim and round two of the draft tonight.
Zev
Friday, September 15, 2006
Can Someone Verify This For Me?
I put last night's sim on hold at the request of a league owner. He reported to me that in his copy of the league file, the amateur players being drafted have a history (whereas, of course, they shouldn't). Unfortuantely, I don't have access to the league file at work and will not have a chance to persue the matter further until Saturday night.
Can someone please check for me and verify whether or not the players available in the draft have a history?
Zev
Can someone please check for me and verify whether or not the players available in the draft have a history?
Zev
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
I'm not sure what happened...
... but it seems that everyone's offers (except Walla Walla's) are gone. I'm not sure why, but I would suggest that everyone re-submit their offers.
As to why Walla Walla is the exception, I have an answer. The WW owner didn't send his offers via FTP, he sent them by email. However, he titled the email "WAL moves." Thinking that it involved roster moves, I didn't even open it until after the sim was done. However, since there were no signings, there was no harm, no foul, so I put them in afterwards. That's why his offers still exist.
Please upload your offers again. The next sim will be tomorrow night.
Zev
As to why Walla Walla is the exception, I have an answer. The WW owner didn't send his offers via FTP, he sent them by email. However, he titled the email "WAL moves." Thinking that it involved roster moves, I didn't even open it until after the sim was done. However, since there were no signings, there was no harm, no foul, so I put them in afterwards. That's why his offers still exist.
Please upload your offers again. The next sim will be tomorrow night.
Zev
Don't trust what you see... I goofed!
OK folks, here's the status of the draft...
Day 1 free agency was done last night, as was the amateur draft. I also uploaded the league file to the site. However, I uploaded the wrong set of files to the site last night. So, aside from the league file itself, don't trust anything you see on the site unless the date on top says 2009. The player files are OK, but not the team or league files. I'll correct that tonight.
As for the last two picks of the draft, I found that I could not change the draft order in the game without voiding all the traded draft picks. So, for Seattle and River Cities (who should draft 11th and 12th, but show as 12th and 11th in the game), I gave each player the one they would have selected had they drafted in the correct order. I will continue to do that throughout the draft.
I'll have the next sim done tonight (barring my wife commandeering the computer for homework).
Zev
Day 1 free agency was done last night, as was the amateur draft. I also uploaded the league file to the site. However, I uploaded the wrong set of files to the site last night. So, aside from the league file itself, don't trust anything you see on the site unless the date on top says 2009. The player files are OK, but not the team or league files. I'll correct that tonight.
As for the last two picks of the draft, I found that I could not change the draft order in the game without voiding all the traded draft picks. So, for Seattle and River Cities (who should draft 11th and 12th, but show as 12th and 11th in the game), I gave each player the one they would have selected had they drafted in the correct order. I will continue to do that throughout the draft.
I'll have the next sim done tonight (barring my wife commandeering the computer for homework).
Zev
Notes on last night's sim...
Firstly with regard to the draft...
I found that I could not change the draft order in the game without voiding all the traded draft picks. If you change the draft order, you have to assign a pick to each team. That would have upset Nate as he had three picks in the first round. So, with regard to the last two picks (Seattle and River Cities), I gave each player the pick they would have gotten had the last two picks been held in the proper order. I will conduct the rest of the draft in a similar manner.
Secondly, a number of teams did submit offers for free agents, not just Walla Walla. What happened there, however, was an odd case. He gave me his offers via email, rather than through the game. However, he labeled his email "WAL moves" and, as such, thinking that it entailed roster moves, I didn't even look at it until after I finished the free agency sim. However, there was no harm as no players signed the first day. I simply applied his bids after the fact.
Next sim tonight (if my wife doesn't commandeer the computer for homework).
Zev
I found that I could not change the draft order in the game without voiding all the traded draft picks. If you change the draft order, you have to assign a pick to each team. That would have upset Nate as he had three picks in the first round. So, with regard to the last two picks (Seattle and River Cities), I gave each player the pick they would have gotten had the last two picks been held in the proper order. I will conduct the rest of the draft in a similar manner.
Secondly, a number of teams did submit offers for free agents, not just Walla Walla. What happened there, however, was an odd case. He gave me his offers via email, rather than through the game. However, he labeled his email "WAL moves" and, as such, thinking that it entailed roster moves, I didn't even look at it until after I finished the free agency sim. However, there was no harm as no players signed the first day. I simply applied his bids after the fact.
Next sim tonight (if my wife doesn't commandeer the computer for homework).
Zev
The first day...
1. So how 'bout it, Mark? Folks, for a while Mark's been bugging me about who I'll take in the draft. I take it he wanted someone in particular and was worried I'd take him instead. So out with it, boy!
2. What? Only Walla Walla made FA offers for day one? Are we going to end up with 40 Jody Reeds or something? THAT would depress salaries across the board.
2. What? Only Walla Walla made FA offers for day one? Are we going to end up with 40 Jody Reeds or something? THAT would depress salaries across the board.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Sim postponed to Monday
At the request of one of the league owners, the sim (Day 1 of free agency & the first round of the draft) will be postponed until Monday night.
Zev
Zev
Thursday, September 7, 2006
Wednesday, September 6, 2006
2008 SDMB OOTP ALL WORLD TEAM
It is my great pleasure to announce the 2008 SDMB OOTP All World Team.
Catcher: Waylon Blassingame, Seattle
First Baseman: Gregory Mudge, Seattle
Second Baseman: Bill Turek, South Bay
Third Baseman: Robert Fout, River Cities
Shortstop: Ricky Peppers, South Bay
Leftfielder: Paul Shunk, Denver
Centerfielder: George Rawlins, Walla Walla / River Cities
Rightfielder: Brian Frison, Saskatoon
Starting Pitcher: Chad Nelligan, Hickory
Reliever: Junior Cuomo, South Bay
(This announcement, conveniently timed for the start of free agency, has been brought to you by Scott Boras, agent to All World Centerfielder George Rawlins.)
Catcher: Waylon Blassingame, Seattle
First Baseman: Gregory Mudge, Seattle
Second Baseman: Bill Turek, South Bay
Third Baseman: Robert Fout, River Cities
Shortstop: Ricky Peppers, South Bay
Leftfielder: Paul Shunk, Denver
Centerfielder: George Rawlins, Walla Walla / River Cities
Rightfielder: Brian Frison, Saskatoon
Starting Pitcher: Chad Nelligan, Hickory
Reliever: Junior Cuomo, South Bay
(This announcement, conveniently timed for the start of free agency, has been brought to you by Scott Boras, agent to All World Centerfielder George Rawlins.)
Sunday, September 3, 2006
Coach Signing is done. Free Agents & Amateur Draft are next
The coach signing period is over -- next up is Free Agent signings.
Nate brought to my attention the fact that we can run Free Agency and the Amateur Draft at the same time (something I was not aware of). So, in the interests of saving time, we'll run both together.
The league file has been updated and can be downloaded from the league site. The first day's free agency bids and the first round of the Amateur Draft will be due by Wednesday night.
If anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Zev
Nate brought to my attention the fact that we can run Free Agency and the Amateur Draft at the same time (something I was not aware of). So, in the interests of saving time, we'll run both together.
The league file has been updated and can be downloaded from the league site. The first day's free agency bids and the first round of the Amateur Draft will be due by Wednesday night.
If anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Zev
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Day 4 Coach Signings Done...
... and the league file was updated. Day 5 (final day) will be tomorrow (Wednesday) night.
After that, it's on to Free Agent signings.
Zev
After that, it's on to Free Agent signings.
Zev
South Bay's Generosity Saves Shultz's Job
SEATTLE, Wash. -- Unknown to the public and behind closed doors, GM Mack Shultz's job was in jeopardy for the first time in franchise history. Losing a third Cecil Cup last year wasn't the cause. Nor was the awful orange and gold uniform designed by Shultz's three-year-old daughter for the Monarchs' dance team. Instead, it was good old-fashioned incompetence.
In the so-called "Biggest Trade in Franchise History" with South Bay, Shultz failed to thoroughly review the trade as submitted to Commissioner Steinhart and didn't notice that South Bay prospect 3B Samuel Matamoros had been omitted from the final paperwork. Apparently, team owner Mack Shultz was so incensed at his own incompetence, that he was on the verge of firing himself as GM and handing over the reins to local yokel Cletus Spuckler.
However, just before Shultz was terminated, in a fit of either generosity or pity, South Bay GM Michael Weintraub agreed to relieve Shultz from the consequences of his mistake. In return for trading Matamoros to Seattle, South Bay will receive prospect 2B Roy Frederickson. As a consequence, team GM Shultz, although upset at losing a rising prospect like Frederickson (who hit .315 in A ball last year before stumbling in AA Olympia), apparently will keep his position.
Cletus Spuckler, when reached for comment, said "Shoot, I was gonna get Brandine one of them pretty outfits."
In the so-called "Biggest Trade in Franchise History" with South Bay, Shultz failed to thoroughly review the trade as submitted to Commissioner Steinhart and didn't notice that South Bay prospect 3B Samuel Matamoros had been omitted from the final paperwork. Apparently, team owner Mack Shultz was so incensed at his own incompetence, that he was on the verge of firing himself as GM and handing over the reins to local yokel Cletus Spuckler.
However, just before Shultz was terminated, in a fit of either generosity or pity, South Bay GM Michael Weintraub agreed to relieve Shultz from the consequences of his mistake. In return for trading Matamoros to Seattle, South Bay will receive prospect 2B Roy Frederickson. As a consequence, team GM Shultz, although upset at losing a rising prospect like Frederickson (who hit .315 in A ball last year before stumbling in AA Olympia), apparently will keep his position.
Cletus Spuckler, when reached for comment, said "Shoot, I was gonna get Brandine one of them pretty outfits."
Monday, August 28, 2006
Coaching - Day 4 - Tuesday night
It's been a *busy* weekend, and I have an event to attend to tonight. We'll do day 4 coach/scout offers tomorrow night.
Zev
Zev
Sunday, August 27, 2006
I see Nunn - thing
Press Release from the Desk of the SP
Hurt by allegations that they refuse to spend money. The Armadillos made a big deal to prove critics wrong. The Dillos will be spending $20 a year on a player the could barely hit his weight. "How 'bout dem apples!" Said the Supreme Piggy. "Trading for potential is easy. Giving up a recent Rookie of the Year for an over paid has been is hard. Selling this to or fans will be difficult but the Dillos have never shied away from a challenge. " said the Price of Piggy Power. The Dillos would also like to make it clear that any other player included in the deal form Houston cries in their sleep.
That is all.
Houston
Hurt by allegations that they refuse to spend money. The Armadillos made a big deal to prove critics wrong. The Dillos will be spending $20 a year on a player the could barely hit his weight. "How 'bout dem apples!" Said the Supreme Piggy. "Trading for potential is easy. Giving up a recent Rookie of the Year for an over paid has been is hard. Selling this to or fans will be difficult but the Dillos have never shied away from a challenge. " said the Price of Piggy Power. The Dillos would also like to make it clear that any other player included in the deal form Houston cries in their sleep.
That is all.
Houston
- Maxwell Teixeira, Centerfield $ 5,127,512 - 2009
- Michael Orme, Catcher $ 300,000 - 2009
- Harry Murawski, First Base $ 350,000 - 2009
- Andrew Crank, Starting Pitcher $ 2,958,951 - 2010
- Harold Ratchford, Starting Pitcher - Minor LeagueContract
Covington
- Albert Echeveste, Reliever $ 702,857 - 2009
- Frank Nunn, First Base $ 20,000,000 - 2011
- 2009 4th round pick
When pointed out that the Nunn deal was 20 million dollars a year and not just 20 dollars a year the assistant to the assistant to the 2nd assistant Bebe R. Schultz stepped in and claimed he knew nothing of the deal. Nothhhhing!
Friday, August 25, 2006
Hickory - Covington swap (plus hidden bonus material)
Covington acquires Jonathan "Willett or Won't It... It Won't" from Hickory in exchange for 22 year old Hector Davila and Covington's second round pick in the upcoming draft. Willett, best known for being Australian (like Luke Prokopec! And remember Dave Nilsson? Where'd he go?), is also an excellent baserunner. Reached for comment late Friday, Hickory GM Mark Nelms said of Willett, "Good baserunner." A consistent 20 home run threat, Willett drove in 105 runs in 2005 for the River Cities franchise. Davila, who will report to Hickory's AAA club, the name of which this reporter can't remember at the moment, once ate 50 eggs.
PS - Hickory and Denver also completed a trade earlier this week:
Denver gets :
P Vernon Larry
P Hubert Bustillos
Hickory gets :
2B Eduardo Diaz
P Jesus Morales
$2,500,000 cash.
This report was supplemented with material from OOTP Transaction Page wire service.
PS - Hickory and Denver also completed a trade earlier this week:
Denver gets :
P Vernon Larry
P Hubert Bustillos
Hickory gets :
2B Eduardo Diaz
P Jesus Morales
$2,500,000 cash.
This report was supplemented with material from OOTP Transaction Page wire service.
Nunn's Got A New Home
Well, since neither Aaron nor Will have posted this, I guess I'll do it.
The Commissioner's Office received confirmation yesterday that the Covington Demons have shipped Frank Nunn and his $20 million salary to the Houston Armadillos as part of a seven player deal.
The deal in full has Frank Nunn, Albert Echeveste and the 4th round pick going to Houston in exchange for Maxwell Teixeira, Michael Orme, Harry Murawski, Andrew Crank and minor-leaguer Harold Ratchford.
The Commissioner's Office received confirmation yesterday that the Covington Demons have shipped Frank Nunn and his $20 million salary to the Houston Armadillos as part of a seven player deal.
The deal in full has Frank Nunn, Albert Echeveste and the 4th round pick going to Houston in exchange for Maxwell Teixeira, Michael Orme, Harry Murawski, Andrew Crank and minor-leaguer Harold Ratchford.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Sim done...
... and league file updated last night. I just didn't get a chance to update the front page again.
Next sim will be Saturday night.
Zev
Next sim will be Saturday night.
Zev
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Seattle Embraces New Baseball Idols
SEATTLE, Wash. -- The Emerald City has turned head over heels for Sean Arant, Brad McGreevy, and the other players who came over in what is being called the biggest trade in franchise history. Seattle sent Willie Klopp, Albert Garcia, Joe Daye, and two other players to South Bay in a deal that many people expected to cause panic in the Seattle populace. Instead, the new Monarchs have quickly won over a skeptical fan base.
"Sean Arant is the greatest guy I've ever met," enthused local fan Joe Schmoe. "I met him this morning and he couldn't have been nicer." Arant was riding in the team's "Welcome to the Northwest" parade yesterday when he insisted that the car stop and, flanked by Monarchs security, walked the length of the parade route shaking hands, kissing babies, and otherwise endearing himself to the population. The parade ended at Westlake Center where the new players gave a series of impromptu speeches.
Arant, who was born and raised in Seattle, was thrilled to return to his hometown. "It's always been a dream to play for the Monarchs," enthused Arant. "I used to pretend I would hit the game winning home run in game seven of the Cecil Cup. Now, I hope to make that dream come true this October." The crowd cheered Arant's speech wildly.
The crown also warmly greeter righthanded Brad McGreevy, expected to be the number three starter this year. "In South Bay, with that snooty crowd, I had to be Bradford, but now that I'm away from those phony posers, I can go back to being good old Brad." The crowd responded by chanting "Brad, Brad, Brad," and swooning on its feet.
Another pitcher expected to join the rotation, Christian Sedillo, took the podium next. "I can only hope to help this franchise get to the promised land," said Sedillo. "Even a poor orphan from the Dominican Republic, like me, can see that the Monarchs are going all the way next year." The ladies in the crowd felt their heartstrings tugged by the combination of the sad story of Sedillo's childhood and his matinee idol looks.
Infielder Chuck Novotny was up next. "I can say, with all honesty, that Seattle is the finest city in the world. I've lived with the hicks in Hickory and the so-called elite in South Bay, but there's nothing greater than the fans here in Seattle," yelled Sedillo, straining to be heard over the screaming, delerious audience.
The last speaker was perhaps the most surprising, as shortstop Emmanuel Fernandez brought down the house. The elder statesman and three-time All-Star, was considered a throw in, added to the trade to bring some balance to the salaries changing hands. But the throng of Monarchs partisans quickly adopted Fernandez as one of their own. Fernandez's two hour speech showed his range as it included a cure for male pattern baldness, a plan for peace in the Middle East that was hailed as a breakthrough in diplomacy, and a fantastic recipe for cranberry scones. "So, all I can say is 'Thank you, Seattle.' Thank you for taking me into your hearts and I hope that we can repay you with the championship you so richly deserve." The audience, who had moaned and writhed in ecstasy throughout the speech, reacted to these closing words in a manner that can not be fairly described in the presence of children.
"These guys are the greatest," said Schmoe. 'I thought that my fan interest would decline from 98 to 92 or 93. But, now that I've met them, I'd say it's 100. I'm on my way now to sell a kidney to raise cash for a trip to Spring Training."
"Sean Arant is the greatest guy I've ever met," enthused local fan Joe Schmoe. "I met him this morning and he couldn't have been nicer." Arant was riding in the team's "Welcome to the Northwest" parade yesterday when he insisted that the car stop and, flanked by Monarchs security, walked the length of the parade route shaking hands, kissing babies, and otherwise endearing himself to the population. The parade ended at Westlake Center where the new players gave a series of impromptu speeches.
Arant, who was born and raised in Seattle, was thrilled to return to his hometown. "It's always been a dream to play for the Monarchs," enthused Arant. "I used to pretend I would hit the game winning home run in game seven of the Cecil Cup. Now, I hope to make that dream come true this October." The crowd cheered Arant's speech wildly.
The crown also warmly greeter righthanded Brad McGreevy, expected to be the number three starter this year. "In South Bay, with that snooty crowd, I had to be Bradford, but now that I'm away from those phony posers, I can go back to being good old Brad." The crowd responded by chanting "Brad, Brad, Brad," and swooning on its feet.
Another pitcher expected to join the rotation, Christian Sedillo, took the podium next. "I can only hope to help this franchise get to the promised land," said Sedillo. "Even a poor orphan from the Dominican Republic, like me, can see that the Monarchs are going all the way next year." The ladies in the crowd felt their heartstrings tugged by the combination of the sad story of Sedillo's childhood and his matinee idol looks.
Infielder Chuck Novotny was up next. "I can say, with all honesty, that Seattle is the finest city in the world. I've lived with the hicks in Hickory and the so-called elite in South Bay, but there's nothing greater than the fans here in Seattle," yelled Sedillo, straining to be heard over the screaming, delerious audience.
The last speaker was perhaps the most surprising, as shortstop Emmanuel Fernandez brought down the house. The elder statesman and three-time All-Star, was considered a throw in, added to the trade to bring some balance to the salaries changing hands. But the throng of Monarchs partisans quickly adopted Fernandez as one of their own. Fernandez's two hour speech showed his range as it included a cure for male pattern baldness, a plan for peace in the Middle East that was hailed as a breakthrough in diplomacy, and a fantastic recipe for cranberry scones. "So, all I can say is 'Thank you, Seattle.' Thank you for taking me into your hearts and I hope that we can repay you with the championship you so richly deserve." The audience, who had moaned and writhed in ecstasy throughout the speech, reacted to these closing words in a manner that can not be fairly described in the presence of children.
"These guys are the greatest," said Schmoe. 'I thought that my fan interest would decline from 98 to 92 or 93. But, now that I've met them, I'd say it's 100. I'm on my way now to sell a kidney to raise cash for a trip to Spring Training."
SDMB All World Team
There's still time to get in your vote for the 2008 All World Team. The ballots were circulated late last week. If anyone needs another copy, just let me know. Otherwise, if you haven't voted, send me an email at the usual address, ranking the top three candidates at each position.
Last night's sim was done...
... I just didn't get a chance to update the front page. In addition, the league file was *NOT* updated.
Next day's offers are due by tonight.
Zev
Next day's offers are due by tonight.
Zev
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
What do you get...
...when you take eight adults from four diffrent (related) families, three "normal" kids, two hyperactive kids, three kids who like to egg on the hyperactive kids, one infant, a portrait studio at a local mall and a photographer trying to get all seventeen of them to smile and look forward at once?
A grueling photo session that takes far, far longer than it should.
Sorry... we'll try again tonight.
Zev
A grueling photo session that takes far, far longer than it should.
Sorry... we'll try again tonight.
Zev
Friday, August 18, 2006
Danville Vacation
To all: apologies for not sending email, but I don't have all the addresses grouped and I'm trying to work quickly.
Firstly, sorry about the non-communication of the past week. I've had training week at my newspaper job, and for the first time I'm more of a trainer than a trainee, so it's been very hectic to say the least. Secondly, now I'm taking my first real vacation of the summer (I was in school and working at the paper all summer as well), to Chicago this weekend. Thus I will be out of touch. Again, my apologies for the delays in communication. To all who had contacted me about trades, I am definitely interested in making some moves, but I certainly understand if you don't want to wait for the weekend.
I will be back late Sunday night. Please feel free to keep sending offers, and I will peruse them all when I return. Have a good weekend, everyone.
Brent, Danville Dans.
Firstly, sorry about the non-communication of the past week. I've had training week at my newspaper job, and for the first time I'm more of a trainer than a trainee, so it's been very hectic to say the least. Secondly, now I'm taking my first real vacation of the summer (I was in school and working at the paper all summer as well), to Chicago this weekend. Thus I will be out of touch. Again, my apologies for the delays in communication. To all who had contacted me about trades, I am definitely interested in making some moves, but I certainly understand if you don't want to wait for the weekend.
I will be back late Sunday night. Please feel free to keep sending offers, and I will peruse them all when I return. Have a good weekend, everyone.
Brent, Danville Dans.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
South Bay and Seattle pull off trade stunner
In their never-ending quest for excellence, the four-time Cecil Cup champion South Bay Scorpions are pleased to announce a blockbuster trade with perennial Cecil Cup foes Seattle Monarchs. 11 players and over $40 million in salary are being exchanged up the I-5 corridor between the two dynasties.
Heading up to Seattle is star CF Sean Arant, promising SP Bradford McGreevy, SS Emmanuel Fernandez, SP Cristian Sedillo, and versatile infielder Charles Novotny.
In return, South Bay receives ace SP Albert Garcia, plus LF Willie Kropp, SP Joe Daye, IF Robert Young, minor league SP Anthony Koepp, and Seattle's 2nd round pick in the forthcoming 2009 amateur draft.
"We couldn't sit around after losing the Zotti League last year," Owner/GM Michael Weintraub explained while watching the sun set over the ocean in his Redondo Beach, CA home tonight. "Our team is striving for an unprecedented fifth title, and with this deal, we think we're back where we belong."
"Last season, starting pitching was our weakest element. It kills me to deal Sean Arant, but we had to do it to get pitchers of the caliber of Garcia, Day, and Koepp. I believe that, with a rotation already featuring Wendell Sorg, Luis Diaz, and Casey Plunk, Garcia and Daye give us the strongest 1-5 rotation in the league."
When asked if this blockbuster ends the offseason for the Scorpions just as it's starting, Weintraub laughed. "No, we're never done. I still have plenty of money and interest in free agents and other trades."
Heading up to Seattle is star CF Sean Arant, promising SP Bradford McGreevy, SS Emmanuel Fernandez, SP Cristian Sedillo, and versatile infielder Charles Novotny.
In return, South Bay receives ace SP Albert Garcia, plus LF Willie Kropp, SP Joe Daye, IF Robert Young, minor league SP Anthony Koepp, and Seattle's 2nd round pick in the forthcoming 2009 amateur draft.
"We couldn't sit around after losing the Zotti League last year," Owner/GM Michael Weintraub explained while watching the sun set over the ocean in his Redondo Beach, CA home tonight. "Our team is striving for an unprecedented fifth title, and with this deal, we think we're back where we belong."
"Last season, starting pitching was our weakest element. It kills me to deal Sean Arant, but we had to do it to get pitchers of the caliber of Garcia, Day, and Koepp. I believe that, with a rotation already featuring Wendell Sorg, Luis Diaz, and Casey Plunk, Garcia and Daye give us the strongest 1-5 rotation in the league."
When asked if this blockbuster ends the offseason for the Scorpions just as it's starting, Weintraub laughed. "No, we're never done. I still have plenty of money and interest in free agents and other trades."
Trade: Denver and River Cities
Dateline: Marietta 1/26/09
Another trade along the Ohio River tonight as the World Champion Paddlewheelers continue their astonishing purge of talent.
This time the trading partner is those Mile High marauders the Denver Zephyrs! Denver has sent hot pitching prospect Juan Villatoro, along with their 1st (#2) and 2nd (#14) round picks in the upcoming amatuer draft to River Cities in exchange for SP Sergio Alonso, MR Dalton Davis, SS Eduardo Diaz and all star and Gold Glove winner 3B Chet Edwards!
"Losing Chet is a real blow," owner and GM Nate Wooley remarked, caught at his vacation home in Barbados while polishing his trophy, "but realistically with Palacio at 2B, Fout at 3B and up and coming John Hukill at SS there simply wasn't room for him on the team. We felt it best to make sure he ended up in a location where he could play everyday."
Reached at his home in Tuscaloosa Edwards told this report 'Well, ain't that sweet. See how far loyalty gets you in this game. First I'm out of playing time in the series and now Denver? Am I going to be able to breathe there? Do we know that there's AIR? Do we?'
Rumors persist that River Cities is not yet done dealing. Reports indicate that GM Wooley would like to find a CF prior to the free agency period to line up with starting nine and providing stability to his planning. Who will go next? Theriault? Starner? Palacio? Welch?
Only time will tell.
Another trade along the Ohio River tonight as the World Champion Paddlewheelers continue their astonishing purge of talent.
This time the trading partner is those Mile High marauders the Denver Zephyrs! Denver has sent hot pitching prospect Juan Villatoro, along with their 1st (#2) and 2nd (#14) round picks in the upcoming amatuer draft to River Cities in exchange for SP Sergio Alonso, MR Dalton Davis, SS Eduardo Diaz and all star and Gold Glove winner 3B Chet Edwards!
"Losing Chet is a real blow," owner and GM Nate Wooley remarked, caught at his vacation home in Barbados while polishing his trophy, "but realistically with Palacio at 2B, Fout at 3B and up and coming John Hukill at SS there simply wasn't room for him on the team. We felt it best to make sure he ended up in a location where he could play everyday."
Reached at his home in Tuscaloosa Edwards told this report 'Well, ain't that sweet. See how far loyalty gets you in this game. First I'm out of playing time in the series and now Denver? Am I going to be able to breathe there? Do we know that there's AIR? Do we?'
Rumors persist that River Cities is not yet done dealing. Reports indicate that GM Wooley would like to find a CF prior to the free agency period to line up with starting nine and providing stability to his planning. Who will go next? Theriault? Starner? Palacio? Welch?
Only time will tell.
Random fact of the day: If you want to win, lose
It's true. The team with the better regular season record in the Cecil Cup has lost every Cup since the inaugural 2002 Houston squad. Here's the records going into each of the Cecil Cups:
2002: Houston (92-70) vs. Stockholm (91-71). Houston wins in 6.
2003: Houston (95-67) vs. California (98-64). Houston wins in 5.
2004: Houston (107-55) vs. Stockholm (103-59). Stockholm wins in 6.
2005: Seattle (112-50) vs. Stockholm (108-54). Stockholm wins in 4.
2006: Seattle (95-67) vs. Stockholm (same at 95-67). Stockholm wins in 7.
2007: Saskatoon (101-61) vs. Florida (97-65). Florida wins in 5.
2008: Seattle (106-56) vs. River Cities (103-59). River Cities wins in 5.
So, the moral of the story is apparently "Win enough to win your division, but less than the other guy."
I'll also note that 2008 may have been the first year where the team with the better Pythagorean record won the Cup. I don't have the Pythagorean records for 2002, so Houston may have had a better record than Stockholm. 2003 California and 2004 Houston had better Pythagorean records than their opponents but lost in the Cup. The Cup opponents had the same Pythagorean records in 2005, 2006, and 2007. In 2008, River Cities was one game better (110-52 vs. 109-53) in Pythagorean record than Seattle. So, it may not pay to have the best Pythagorean record either.
Bonus random facts: Seattle had the best Pythagorean record in 2007, but lost the Adams League championship to Saskatton by one game. River Cities (then Virginia) tied Houston for the best Pythagorean record in 2004 (103-59), but won nine games less than projected and finished nine games behind Florida, who won two more games than their 101-61 Pythagorean record.
Somehow, this makes me feel a little better. Not as good as if I ever actually won a Cecil Cup, but a little bit better.
2002: Houston (92-70) vs. Stockholm (91-71). Houston wins in 6.
2003: Houston (95-67) vs. California (98-64). Houston wins in 5.
2004: Houston (107-55) vs. Stockholm (103-59). Stockholm wins in 6.
2005: Seattle (112-50) vs. Stockholm (108-54). Stockholm wins in 4.
2006: Seattle (95-67) vs. Stockholm (same at 95-67). Stockholm wins in 7.
2007: Saskatoon (101-61) vs. Florida (97-65). Florida wins in 5.
2008: Seattle (106-56) vs. River Cities (103-59). River Cities wins in 5.
So, the moral of the story is apparently "Win enough to win your division, but less than the other guy."
I'll also note that 2008 may have been the first year where the team with the better Pythagorean record won the Cup. I don't have the Pythagorean records for 2002, so Houston may have had a better record than Stockholm. 2003 California and 2004 Houston had better Pythagorean records than their opponents but lost in the Cup. The Cup opponents had the same Pythagorean records in 2005, 2006, and 2007. In 2008, River Cities was one game better (110-52 vs. 109-53) in Pythagorean record than Seattle. So, it may not pay to have the best Pythagorean record either.
Bonus random facts: Seattle had the best Pythagorean record in 2007, but lost the Adams League championship to Saskatton by one game. River Cities (then Virginia) tied Houston for the best Pythagorean record in 2004 (103-59), but won nine games less than projected and finished nine games behind Florida, who won two more games than their 101-61 Pythagorean record.
Somehow, this makes me feel a little better. Not as good as if I ever actually won a Cecil Cup, but a little bit better.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Trade: Seattle and Covington
Seattle and Covington engaged in what REALLY was the first trade of the offseason (see Transaction Page) when Seattle sent Gene Icenhour and Curtis Barksdale to Covington in exchange for Isaac Diehl and Richard "Crazylegs" Shipp.
Icenhour posted a 2.92 ERA last year, but that apparently wasn't enough for Seattle General Manager Mack Shultz. "He was 7-10 last year. How do you have a losing record with a sub-3.00 ERA and our offense? Frankly, we think he dogged it when it counted. That start against River Cities in the Cecil Cup clinched it for us. He's just not a big game guy."
Icenhour spent just one season in Seattle, coming over last offseason for a package of players highlighted by Scott Mayhew, who suffered a career ending injury. "Thank the gods," said Icenhour when reached for comment. "Do you know what Seattle's like with all those uptight caffeine-fueled yuppies?" When advised of Shultz's comments, Icenhour quickly retorted. "I'm not a big game guy? I'm not the GM of a team that's lost THREE Cecil Cups. I think the failure starts at the top, and you can quote me on that."
Barksdale is a promising middle reliever who had come over in a deal from Saskatchewan in the middle of last year. "I got traded again? Crap, I just got my apartment arranged the way I like," said Barksdale.
Diehl and Shipp apparently favored the deal. "Do you know we were in single A ball last year?" said Diehl. "All damn year."
"At least Seattle pushes it's young players up to the major league level," raved Shipp. "Look at Hester, Armendariz, Machen, Maclin. They let young players play. We're fired up to go there and start moving our careers along."
The trade gives the defending Adams League champs an astounding eight of the top twenty prospects, as ranked by Baseball America, including six starting pitchers. Can Seattle possibly be planning to keep all of these young stud pitchers, or will some be moved to acquire the outfield pop that may have kept them from winning the Cup last year? Only time will tell.
Icenhour posted a 2.92 ERA last year, but that apparently wasn't enough for Seattle General Manager Mack Shultz. "He was 7-10 last year. How do you have a losing record with a sub-3.00 ERA and our offense? Frankly, we think he dogged it when it counted. That start against River Cities in the Cecil Cup clinched it for us. He's just not a big game guy."
Icenhour spent just one season in Seattle, coming over last offseason for a package of players highlighted by Scott Mayhew, who suffered a career ending injury. "Thank the gods," said Icenhour when reached for comment. "Do you know what Seattle's like with all those uptight caffeine-fueled yuppies?" When advised of Shultz's comments, Icenhour quickly retorted. "I'm not a big game guy? I'm not the GM of a team that's lost THREE Cecil Cups. I think the failure starts at the top, and you can quote me on that."
Barksdale is a promising middle reliever who had come over in a deal from Saskatchewan in the middle of last year. "I got traded again? Crap, I just got my apartment arranged the way I like," said Barksdale.
Diehl and Shipp apparently favored the deal. "Do you know we were in single A ball last year?" said Diehl. "All damn year."
"At least Seattle pushes it's young players up to the major league level," raved Shipp. "Look at Hester, Armendariz, Machen, Maclin. They let young players play. We're fired up to go there and start moving our careers along."
The trade gives the defending Adams League champs an astounding eight of the top twenty prospects, as ranked by Baseball America, including six starting pitchers. Can Seattle possibly be planning to keep all of these young stud pitchers, or will some be moved to acquire the outfield pop that may have kept them from winning the Cup last year? Only time will tell.
Coach Signings -- Day 1 Wednesday night
Time to sign those coaches folks. Please remember to send me your Day 1 coach bids by tomorrow night. Remember that all scouts will be set to average, so don't overbid for them.
Zev
Zev
WANTED: Stud pitcher
News of the low ratings of the recent Cecil Cup series between River Cities and Seattle has reached the Los Angeles area, and the fans are adamant: The second biggest media market in the country must be represented in next year's Cecil Cup!
To facilitate that, the Greatest Team in SDMB League HistoryTM, South Bay Scorpions, is determined to excel in 2009. Owner Michael Weintraub has authorized GM Michael Weintraub to do whatever is necessary to overcome the River Cities menace.
"It's all about pitching," Weintraub, the GM stated. "When we have the top pitching staff in the league, we win. When we don't, we lose."
So, this reporter has learned, the Scorpions are looking to acquire a world-class starting pitcher this offseason, either via trade or free agency.
When asked who was available, Weintraub would only mention the untouchables: Ricky Peppers, Wendell Sorg, Casey Plunk, and Junior "Goodnight" Cuomo. Everyone in the South Bay organization, including former Outstanding Newcomer and perennial All Star, Sean Arant and solid young 2B Bill Turek, might watch from the sofa next season as South Bay reclaims the Cup.
To facilitate that, the Greatest Team in SDMB League HistoryTM, South Bay Scorpions, is determined to excel in 2009. Owner Michael Weintraub has authorized GM Michael Weintraub to do whatever is necessary to overcome the River Cities menace.
"It's all about pitching," Weintraub, the GM stated. "When we have the top pitching staff in the league, we win. When we don't, we lose."
So, this reporter has learned, the Scorpions are looking to acquire a world-class starting pitcher this offseason, either via trade or free agency.
When asked who was available, Weintraub would only mention the untouchables: Ricky Peppers, Wendell Sorg, Casey Plunk, and Junior "Goodnight" Cuomo. Everyone in the South Bay organization, including former Outstanding Newcomer and perennial All Star, Sean Arant and solid young 2B Bill Turek, might watch from the sofa next season as South Bay reclaims the Cup.
The Frank Nunn Escape Clause
As we all know, one of the players on the Covington roster is first baseman Frank Nunn. Nunn, of course, was one of the All-time greats. He was the second player selected in the initial draft and won the Outstanding Batter award twice (2002, 2004).
Nonetheless, despite having a very good season in 2005 (.298, 37 HR, 100 RBI) many of us were shocked when the Austin owner offered the 35-year old Nunn to a six year deal worth $20 million a year. We were all sure that he would fade well before the last year of the contract.
Well, as it turns out, that's exactly what's happened. Last year, he barely hit his weight (.199 vs. 195 pounds), finishing the year with a .644 OPS (almost a 300 point drop vs. 2007).
Some owners began to express sympathy for the new Covington owner, since he didn't sign Nunn to his ridiculous contract and now he's stuck with him for another three seasons. Some of them had expressed an interest in seeing Nunn freed from his contract.
As it turns out, I've been looking over Nunn's contract and found some interesting clauses in it. One of them is the "Escape Clause" which states as follows:
"In the event that the owner who agrees to this contract (who must have been under the influence of one too many beers when he offered it) is no longer with the league after the 2008 season, the new owner can petition to have this contract terms changed to a salary of 1,500,000 dollars for the 2009 season and the player shall become a free agent after the 2009 season (unless the new owner offers him an extension).
So, since the owner asked to be relieved of the contract, I am putting the matter to a vote of the other owners. Shall Frank Nunn's escape clause be excercised?
Zev
Nonetheless, despite having a very good season in 2005 (.298, 37 HR, 100 RBI) many of us were shocked when the Austin owner offered the 35-year old Nunn to a six year deal worth $20 million a year. We were all sure that he would fade well before the last year of the contract.
Well, as it turns out, that's exactly what's happened. Last year, he barely hit his weight (.199 vs. 195 pounds), finishing the year with a .644 OPS (almost a 300 point drop vs. 2007).
Some owners began to express sympathy for the new Covington owner, since he didn't sign Nunn to his ridiculous contract and now he's stuck with him for another three seasons. Some of them had expressed an interest in seeing Nunn freed from his contract.
As it turns out, I've been looking over Nunn's contract and found some interesting clauses in it. One of them is the "Escape Clause" which states as follows:
"In the event that the owner who agrees to this contract (who must have been under the influence of one too many beers when he offered it) is no longer with the league after the 2008 season, the new owner can petition to have this contract terms changed to a salary of 1,500,000 dollars for the 2009 season and the player shall become a free agent after the 2009 season (unless the new owner offers him an extension).
So, since the owner asked to be relieved of the contract, I am putting the matter to a vote of the other owners. Shall Frank Nunn's escape clause be excercised?
Zev
On the block
Get these guys to warmer climates!
CF/RF John Sadao. The ideal platoon candidate - Sadao mashes right-handers (.839 OPS in '08) but has, how shall we say, some minor issues with southpaws (.538 OPS). Two-time all-star, usually among league leaders in doubles (top ten from '03-'08). Dresses up as both halves of Sonny and Cher for organization's Halloween party.
2B/SS Robert Ramsey. Two full years in the bigs, two all-star seasons. Came out of nowhere to hit .370 and win Newcomer of the Year in '07. Steals bases like an Enron accountant, and has two more arbitration years left. Invites his fellow middle infielders over for kung fu flicks and discussions about turning the double play every Thursday evening.
SP Santos Gonzalez. This lanky Dominican has loads of potential - talent ratings of 8, 6, and 10 for the major categories. Blistering 99 MPH fastball. In '04-'05, struck out 453 batters in only 229.1 minor league innings. Loves Fresca and the narrative poetry of Robert Browning.
The entire bullpen. No one's off limits there.
CF/RF John Sadao. The ideal platoon candidate - Sadao mashes right-handers (.839 OPS in '08) but has, how shall we say, some minor issues with southpaws (.538 OPS). Two-time all-star, usually among league leaders in doubles (top ten from '03-'08). Dresses up as both halves of Sonny and Cher for organization's Halloween party.
2B/SS Robert Ramsey. Two full years in the bigs, two all-star seasons. Came out of nowhere to hit .370 and win Newcomer of the Year in '07. Steals bases like an Enron accountant, and has two more arbitration years left. Invites his fellow middle infielders over for kung fu flicks and discussions about turning the double play every Thursday evening.
SP Santos Gonzalez. This lanky Dominican has loads of potential - talent ratings of 8, 6, and 10 for the major categories. Blistering 99 MPH fastball. In '04-'05, struck out 453 batters in only 229.1 minor league innings. Loves Fresca and the narrative poetry of Robert Browning.
The entire bullpen. No one's off limits there.
Trade: Walla Walla and River Cities
Dateline: River Cities, 10/14/08
-- Still basking in the glow of their first title River Cities has opened the trading season with a bang trading minor league starters Hai Elbert and Charles Olaughlin along with AAA shortstop Fred Smith to Walla Walla in return for Walla Walla's 1st and 2nd round picks in the upcoming amateur draft.
Reached at his newly constructed 'Victory Cottage' in Marietta, OH River Cities General Manager Nate Wooley said 'Hey, it's tough giving up those guys, especially a middle infielder of the quality of Smith but it's not like we don't have Edwards and my new best friend John Hukill. John, you OK? More mimosa?' Wooley went on to say that he's glad to be the one starting the trading off and hopes for more action in the near future.
Smith, when reached for comment at his home in Spokane, said 'It's good that I'll be getting closer to home where I can see my parents. I've missed them in Ohio. And honestly, was I EVER going to crack that lineup? I don't THINK so. I hope I'll get a chance to play regularly in Walla Walla.
Olaughlin and Elbert were silent on the trade.
-- Still basking in the glow of their first title River Cities has opened the trading season with a bang trading minor league starters Hai Elbert and Charles Olaughlin along with AAA shortstop Fred Smith to Walla Walla in return for Walla Walla's 1st and 2nd round picks in the upcoming amateur draft.
Reached at his newly constructed 'Victory Cottage' in Marietta, OH River Cities General Manager Nate Wooley said 'Hey, it's tough giving up those guys, especially a middle infielder of the quality of Smith but it's not like we don't have Edwards and my new best friend John Hukill. John, you OK? More mimosa?' Wooley went on to say that he's glad to be the one starting the trading off and hopes for more action in the near future.
Smith, when reached for comment at his home in Spokane, said 'It's good that I'll be getting closer to home where I can see my parents. I've missed them in Ohio. And honestly, was I EVER going to crack that lineup? I don't THINK so. I hope I'll get a chance to play regularly in Walla Walla.
Olaughlin and Elbert were silent on the trade.
No sim last night...
Sorry guys, but real life got in the way. I'll try for tonight -- I have a party to go to, but perhaps when we get back.
Zev
Zev
From the Muck
The Piggy is not pleased.
Yes the sworn enemy of the people has been dethroned.
Yes there was a 26 game improvement.
The traitor Michael House has been dealt with. People will now be able to enjoy Dude Where's My Car for the masterpiece it is. He and his minions will not never spoil movie night again.
2009 will be the year of the Piggy. All is going to plan.
That is all.
Yes the sworn enemy of the people has been dethroned.
Yes there was a 26 game improvement.
The traitor Michael House has been dealt with. People will now be able to enjoy Dude Where's My Car for the masterpiece it is. He and his minions will not never spoil movie night again.
2009 will be the year of the Piggy. All is going to plan.
That is all.
Monday, August 14, 2006
Trading Season is open again
Now that the season is over, trading is now once again permitted.
I've set up a Draft Scorecard to keep track of who has which draft picks available for drafting. Please note that four positions in the draft need to be determined by random pick. In addition, please remember that acquired picks cannot be traded.
Zev
I've set up a Draft Scorecard to keep track of who has which draft picks available for drafting. Please note that four positions in the draft need to be determined by random pick. In addition, please remember that acquired picks cannot be traded.
Zev
Greatest Offenses in SDMB OOTP History
In honor of the Cecil Cup Champion River Cities Paddlewheelers, I provide the following list of the greatest SDMB OOTP offenses in recorded history (2003-08).
1. 2008 River Cities. Scored 5.48 runs per game, 23% above the league average of 4.45. With a team OPS of .793, it's easy to see why this team cruised to the title. Imagine what their numbers could have been with a full season of the Sabertooth in the line-up. Their team batting average of .282 tied the record.
2. 2004 Houston. The king by raw stats, Houston scored a record 932 runs, for a 5.75 run per game average that was 21% above the league mark. While Houston's stats may have been swelled by the expansion pitching staffs, they are the only team with an OPS over .800, posting a .819 mark that was a record 13% above average. Three infielders (Ruble, Pena, and Melton) had OPSs over .950! They hit for average (.282 - tied for best ever) and hit for power (213 home runs for second most ever and 317 doubles for most ever).
3. 2007 Florida. Scored 5.07 runs per game, also 21% above the league average of 4.18. Led by Luis Jeon's .913 OPS, the Manatees had four of the Zotti League's top ten OPSs. They benefited from playing in the lowest scoring league ever.
4. 2007 Brooklyn. Scored 5.28 runs per game, 20 % above league average. The all time leader with 215 home runs, there were nine Wolves with double figure home run totals, which isn't easy to do with no DH spot in the line-up.
5. 2007 Seattle. Scored six runs less than Brooklyn despite having a team OPS almost ten points higher. In fact, the team OPS of .776 is the third highest of all time, but the 1259 strikeouts were also fourth highest in history.
The franchise with the most runs scored in recorded history is Seattle with 4,941, or 5.08 per game followed by South Bay (4,865 / 5.01) and Brooklyn (4837 / 4.98)
1. 2008 River Cities. Scored 5.48 runs per game, 23% above the league average of 4.45. With a team OPS of .793, it's easy to see why this team cruised to the title. Imagine what their numbers could have been with a full season of the Sabertooth in the line-up. Their team batting average of .282 tied the record.
2. 2004 Houston. The king by raw stats, Houston scored a record 932 runs, for a 5.75 run per game average that was 21% above the league mark. While Houston's stats may have been swelled by the expansion pitching staffs, they are the only team with an OPS over .800, posting a .819 mark that was a record 13% above average. Three infielders (Ruble, Pena, and Melton) had OPSs over .950! They hit for average (.282 - tied for best ever) and hit for power (213 home runs for second most ever and 317 doubles for most ever).
3. 2007 Florida. Scored 5.07 runs per game, also 21% above the league average of 4.18. Led by Luis Jeon's .913 OPS, the Manatees had four of the Zotti League's top ten OPSs. They benefited from playing in the lowest scoring league ever.
4. 2007 Brooklyn. Scored 5.28 runs per game, 20 % above league average. The all time leader with 215 home runs, there were nine Wolves with double figure home run totals, which isn't easy to do with no DH spot in the line-up.
5. 2007 Seattle. Scored six runs less than Brooklyn despite having a team OPS almost ten points higher. In fact, the team OPS of .776 is the third highest of all time, but the 1259 strikeouts were also fourth highest in history.
The franchise with the most runs scored in recorded history is Seattle with 4,941, or 5.08 per game followed by South Bay (4,865 / 5.01) and Brooklyn (4837 / 4.98)
The SDMB League Trophy
Boys, call it an exercise in ego but I want to do something my rotisserie league has done for years.
I'm going to have a SDMB League Trophy made.
A standard baseball trophy. Nothing big. And on it will be engraved the names of each years winners going back to the beginning. To wit:
2002 - Houston Armadillos - Will Taylor
2003 - Houston Armadillos - Will Taylor
2004 - Stockholm Sluggers - Michael Weintraub
2005 - Stockholm Sluggers - Michael Weintraub
2006 - Florida Mighty Manatees - Michael Weintraub
2007 - Florida Mighty Manatees - Michael Weintraub
2008 - River Cities Paddlewheelers - Nate Wooley
Then, each year, the holder has to have the next year's winner engraved on it and ship it to that winner so it can sit on his desk.
What do you all think? Good idea or bad?
I'm going to have a SDMB League Trophy made.
A standard baseball trophy. Nothing big. And on it will be engraved the names of each years winners going back to the beginning. To wit:
2002 - Houston Armadillos - Will Taylor
2003 - Houston Armadillos - Will Taylor
2004 - Stockholm Sluggers - Michael Weintraub
2005 - Stockholm Sluggers - Michael Weintraub
2006 - Florida Mighty Manatees - Michael Weintraub
2007 - Florida Mighty Manatees - Michael Weintraub
2008 - River Cities Paddlewheelers - Nate Wooley
Then, each year, the holder has to have the next year's winner engraved on it and ship it to that winner so it can sit on his desk.
What do you all think? Good idea or bad?
Shafted.
Demarcus Ramirez knows he's good. But he also knows that, in 2008, Chad Nelligan was better.
"I think I robbed Nelly a bit," said Ramirez, 28, after hearing he'd won his second straight Adams League Outstanding Pitcher Award Sunday night. "I had a pretty good year, but he was better, no doubt about that."
Both Ramirez and Nelligan, who both came up in the Saskatoon system and were teammates before Nelligan was traded to Hickory in 2005, had stellar 2008 campaigns. Ramirez went 20-5 with a 2.38 ERA, striking out 251 while walking only 30.
Nelligan, 29, went 17-8, struck out 242, and posted a minuscule ERA of 1.60 - the lowest ever in AL history. But even that figure couldn't sway voters' minds.
"I don't want to say anything bad against the D-Man," said Nelligan. "I mean, when we were in Double-A we shared hotel rooms together. Had some crazy times out on the desolate Canadian prairie."
"Maybe if I won 20 - who knows," he added.
Nelligan still could walk away with some hardware, however - he's a leading candidate for an as-of-yet unnamed award given out to the best pitcher by owners of the 12 Adams and Zotti league franchaises. That award should be given out in the next few weeks.
"I think I robbed Nelly a bit," said Ramirez, 28, after hearing he'd won his second straight Adams League Outstanding Pitcher Award Sunday night. "I had a pretty good year, but he was better, no doubt about that."
Both Ramirez and Nelligan, who both came up in the Saskatoon system and were teammates before Nelligan was traded to Hickory in 2005, had stellar 2008 campaigns. Ramirez went 20-5 with a 2.38 ERA, striking out 251 while walking only 30.
Nelligan, 29, went 17-8, struck out 242, and posted a minuscule ERA of 1.60 - the lowest ever in AL history. But even that figure couldn't sway voters' minds.
"I don't want to say anything bad against the D-Man," said Nelligan. "I mean, when we were in Double-A we shared hotel rooms together. Had some crazy times out on the desolate Canadian prairie."
"Maybe if I won 20 - who knows," he added.
Nelligan still could walk away with some hardware, however - he's a leading candidate for an as-of-yet unnamed award given out to the best pitcher by owners of the 12 Adams and Zotti league franchaises. That award should be given out in the next few weeks.
League Pages Updated
Now that 2008 is in the books, several league pages have been updated:
The League Owner directory was updated by Aaron, the Awards History page was updated by Mack and I updated the Team History page. I want to extend a hearty "thank you" to Mack and Aaron for helping out with maintaining the league site.
If anyone wants to update any existing pages, or create new ones, please feel free.
Zev
The League Owner directory was updated by Aaron, the Awards History page was updated by Mack and I updated the Team History page. I want to extend a hearty "thank you" to Mack and Aaron for helping out with maintaining the league site.
If anyone wants to update any existing pages, or create new ones, please feel free.
Zev
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Wheeler, Bullpen Shut Out Seattle To Capture Cecil Cup!
Sherman Wheeler threw seven shutout innings and the rest of the rest of the bullpen was able to keep Seattle off the board, allowing River Cities to capture the 2008 Cecil Cup. Congratulations, Nate!
Box Score
Game Log
There will one more sim tomorrow (Monday) night for teams to make final offers to free-agents to be. After that, we will move forward to the 2009 season.
(P.S. Nate, if you have a different square logo that you'd like to use, please let me know. For now, I used the one that Brent created.)
Zev
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Pitching in the Playoffs
Has anyone noticed the subpar pitching out of starters in the Series so far? Here's the game scores from each starter through Game Three:
Pitcher Game Score Game
Garcia (SEA) 56 1
Okane (RIV) 54 2
Bird (SEA) 44 2
Wheeler (RIV) 35 1
Icenhour (SEA) 31 3
Orozco (RIV) 29 3
Oofah, not a stellar start in the bunch. Garcia and Okane rate an 'acceptable' with a 56 and 54, respectively, but it's not Roger Clemens by any means.
So far the run differential slightly favors River Cities at 21-18. That's an average score of 7-6 over the three games.
Truly, a battle of offense so far. Who's going to get that one great performance out of a starting pitcher? Only the future will tell.
Pitcher Game Score Game
Garcia (SEA) 56 1
Okane (RIV) 54 2
Bird (SEA) 44 2
Wheeler (RIV) 35 1
Icenhour (SEA) 31 3
Orozco (RIV) 29 3
Oofah, not a stellar start in the bunch. Garcia and Okane rate an 'acceptable' with a 56 and 54, respectively, but it's not Roger Clemens by any means.
So far the run differential slightly favors River Cities at 21-18. That's an average score of 7-6 over the three games.
Truly, a battle of offense so far. Who's going to get that one great performance out of a starting pitcher? Only the future will tell.
Wednesday, August 9, 2006
Game 3 to River Cities in Squeaker
Random fact of the day
Most people are familiar with the so-called Pythagorean theorum for baseball - that winning percentage will be roughly equal to runs squared divided by the sum of runs squared and runs allowed squared. The game even automatically tracks of Pythagorean records and includes them in the standings report. (Incidentally, River Cities' Pythagorean record this year of 110-52 is the highest in SDMB OOTP history. One more reason I'm destined to experience heartbreak again.)
Anyway, using my handy dandy Excel spreadsheet, I found that using 2 as the exponent in the formula is not as accurate as it could be. For our game, the most accurate exponent to use is 1.62. In other words, the most accurate formula is runs to the power of 1.62 divided by the sum of runs to the power of 1.62 and runs allowed to the power of 1.62. This reduces the cumulative "error" between Pythagorean records and actual records by about 17%.
As the title indicates, this is purely a random fact. But, using the traditional Pythagorean formula has, on the whole, overestimated the quality of good teams and underestimated the quality of bad teams.
By the way, the team that most underperformed compared to this standard is 2005 Austin/Covington, who lost 11.5 games more than they should have, and the team that most overperformed is the 2005 Seattle team, who won 10 more games than they should have.
Anyway, using my handy dandy Excel spreadsheet, I found that using 2 as the exponent in the formula is not as accurate as it could be. For our game, the most accurate exponent to use is 1.62. In other words, the most accurate formula is runs to the power of 1.62 divided by the sum of runs to the power of 1.62 and runs allowed to the power of 1.62. This reduces the cumulative "error" between Pythagorean records and actual records by about 17%.
As the title indicates, this is purely a random fact. But, using the traditional Pythagorean formula has, on the whole, overestimated the quality of good teams and underestimated the quality of bad teams.
By the way, the team that most underperformed compared to this standard is 2005 Austin/Covington, who lost 11.5 games more than they should have, and the team that most overperformed is the 2005 Seattle team, who won 10 more games than they should have.
Tuesday, August 8, 2006
Game 2 - River Cities Clobbers Seattle!
Monday, August 7, 2006
SDMB History / Cumulative Record
I've now added the final 2008 stats into my spreadsheet, hopefully to enable me to gain a crushing advantage over all of you. [evil maniacal laughter] Bwaa haa haa haa haa. [/evil maniacal laughter]
Anyway, here's the cumulative records of the franchises from 2002-2008, ranked by winning percentage.
1. South Bay, 683-451, 0.602 (98-64, 0 GB)
2. Seattle, 663-471, 0.585 (95-67, 3 GB)
3. Saskatoon, 614-520 0.541 (88-74, 10 GB)
4. Brooklyn, 607-527, 0.535 (87-75, 11 GB)
5. River Cities, 606-528, 0.534 (87-75, 11 GB)
6. New York, 400-410, 0.494 (80-82, 18 GB)
7. Houston, 554-580, 0.489 (79-83, 19 GB)
8. Danville, 550-584, 0.485 (79-83, 19 GB)
9. Walla Walla, 527-607, 0.465 (75-87, 23 GB)
10. Hickory, 331-479, 0.409 (66-96, 32 GB)
11. Covington, 312-498, 0.385 (62-100, 36 GB)
12. Denver, 309-501, 0.381 (62-100, 36 GB)
I added what the cumulative winning percentage equates to in a 162-game season and how many games back each franchise would be.
It does appear that Michael has the greatest SDMB team, which I guess we could have expected. Sigh. I also think that this shows how hard it's been for the four expansion teams to compete (although New York has done a pretty impressive job). I expect the expansion teams' records to start changing over the next couple of years, as some of the very best young players are in those systems.
- Mack
Aside: I have all kinds of pitching, batting, and fielding stats from 2003-08 at my fingertips as well. I'll post some of the more interesting ones on the blog here when I'm procrastinating. But, if anyone has any questions, feel free to drop them into a comment in this or a later post and I'll be happy to answer them. Example random fact: Brooklyn's franchise has the most home runs in history (1176 over the six years of 2003-08), as well as the two seasons with the most in a year (218 in 2003 and 215 in 2007).
Anyway, here's the cumulative records of the franchises from 2002-2008, ranked by winning percentage.
1. South Bay, 683-451, 0.602 (98-64, 0 GB)
2. Seattle, 663-471, 0.585 (95-67, 3 GB)
3. Saskatoon, 614-520 0.541 (88-74, 10 GB)
4. Brooklyn, 607-527, 0.535 (87-75, 11 GB)
5. River Cities, 606-528, 0.534 (87-75, 11 GB)
6. New York, 400-410, 0.494 (80-82, 18 GB)
7. Houston, 554-580, 0.489 (79-83, 19 GB)
8. Danville, 550-584, 0.485 (79-83, 19 GB)
9. Walla Walla, 527-607, 0.465 (75-87, 23 GB)
10. Hickory, 331-479, 0.409 (66-96, 32 GB)
11. Covington, 312-498, 0.385 (62-100, 36 GB)
12. Denver, 309-501, 0.381 (62-100, 36 GB)
I added what the cumulative winning percentage equates to in a 162-game season and how many games back each franchise would be.
It does appear that Michael has the greatest SDMB team, which I guess we could have expected. Sigh. I also think that this shows how hard it's been for the four expansion teams to compete (although New York has done a pretty impressive job). I expect the expansion teams' records to start changing over the next couple of years, as some of the very best young players are in those systems.
- Mack
Aside: I have all kinds of pitching, batting, and fielding stats from 2003-08 at my fingertips as well. I'll post some of the more interesting ones on the blog here when I'm procrastinating. But, if anyone has any questions, feel free to drop them into a comment in this or a later post and I'll be happy to answer them. Example random fact: Brooklyn's franchise has the most home runs in history (1176 over the six years of 2003-08), as well as the two seasons with the most in a year (218 in 2003 and 215 in 2007).
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