Day 1 Coaching Done.

Day 2 tomorrow night.

Please note that the league file has NOT been updated and will not be until the end of the coaching signing period.

Zev

Just A Reminder To Everyone (re: Trading Draft Picks)

Please remember that in any trade, there must be at least one player on each side. You can't just trade a player for cash or draft picks or just trade draft picks.

(In the Seattle-Danville trade just announced, they did discuss scrub players to include on both sides in their email to me, but didn't post them on the blog. )

Zev

Trade / SEA and DAN

Seattle, apparently taking its inspiration from Mike Ditka and the NFL draft, traded all of its remaining picks to Danville in exchange for Danville's first-round choice, number three overall. Seattle sent the following picks to Danville:

Seattle's first round selection (#12 overall)
Seattle's third round selection (#36)
Seattle's fifth round selection (#60)
Seattle's sixth round selection (#72)
Seattle's seventh round selection (#84)
Seattle's eighth round selection (#96)
Seattle's ninth round selection (#108)
Seattle's tenth round selection (#120)
Seattle's eleventh round selection (#132)

"We think there's three true elite players in the draft and we'll now be able to get two of them," said General Manager Mack Shultz, reached on a undisclosed tropical island. "Plus, I only have to work for two rounds this year, the first and the third. I plan on drinking lots of fruity drinks the rest of the time and have the Cecil Cup groupies cling to me in practically non-existent bikinis."

[Updated] To make the deal comply with league rules, Seattle also is ending A-ball 2B Edward Crim to Danville in exchange for A-ball 2B Michael Ketron.

Trade / NY & HOU

In a trade made today, New York sent its own 4th round draft pick in 2010 & minor league catcher Anthony Coats to Houston for RF Brian Bingham.

The trade gives another OF option to New York, with Bingham joining incumbent RF Juan David, last year's FA signing Zachary Whipkey, and promising youngster Kevin Rubio in a crowded NY outfield.

Traded Draft Picks - UPDATED

As of 5:00pm Eastern on 4/30/2007 (real) 1/26/2010 (game)

I've been asked to compile a list of the traded amateur draft picks for this upcoming draft. Here they are (along with the date of the trade):

Round 1
Covington's pick to Seattle 5/27/2009
Seattle's pick to Danville 1/26/2010
Danville's pick to Seattle 1/26/2010

Round 2
Seattle's pick to Covington 5/27/2009

Round 3
Hickory's pick to Seattle 6/10/2009
New York's pick to Seattle 6/24/2009
South Bay's pick to Seattle 2/13/2009
Seattle's pick to Danville 1/26/2010

Round 4
Seattle's pick to Hickory 6/10/2009
South Bay's pick to New York 6/10/2009
New York's pick to Houston 1/26/2010

Rounds 5-11
Seattle's pick to Danville 1/26/2010

League File Redone

OK, I changed the draft to 11 rounds and re-ran the sim to the next season. Please make sure to use the new file when making changes.

Zev

Yeah, I goofed

I goofed and forgot to expand the draft before I flipped the season. Fortunately, I made a backup of the league file before going to 2010, so I can roll back and do it again.

Does anyone have any objections to my rolling back and running it again?

Zev

Welcome to the 2010 Season

I've proceeded to the next season. The league file has been updated, almanacs are available on line and we are ready to proceed.

Coach and minor-league manager hirings are first. Please keep in mind that all scouts are going to be set to Average, so don't overspend on them.

As always, feel free to ask any questions.

Zev

Draft picks dealt?

Zev-

Do you have a list of picks for the upcoming draft? I'm pretty sure some were dealt last year.

Nate

River Cities availables!

You've heard from the rest with their meaningless players...or you've discovered that the good ones cost in eight figures. Now it's time to hear from River Cities...the font of good players at reasonable prices.

First off we have the pitchers:

Starting pitchers who are available:

Roy Vaz - A lifetime 42 - 18 lifetime records shows this 26 year old is a true keeper. Arbitration eligible the program makes his likely payday in the $3.5 million range making him a true bargain. The lifetime WHIP of 1.21 and the K/BB greater than 2-1 only make him shinier and more attractive.

Hector Orozco - Another quality starter available to the right bidder. This one only went 15-6 last year with a 3/1 K/BB ratio. Not yet eligible for arbitration this one will be a bargain at $300,000 next season. At age 29 he'll still be cheap through most of his peak years...he doesn't become a free agent until he turns 33!

Jonathan Starner - The oldest of our available starters, Starner can fill the need for a solid back end of the rotation starter for a contender. On some teams he'd clearly be the ace! In part-time work last year Jonathan went 9-4 with an ERA of 2.86 and a K/BB of more than 2/1! Signed for 2010 at only $3.5MM he's a greater cheap alternative to free agents for someone looking to lock in a #3 starter and not break the bank!

Pedro Marez - A great 4 star starting pitching prospect, Marez is at that uncomfortable zone where he's ready for the majors, having earned some playing time in 2009, but without a solid opportunity to crack the River Cities rotation. Still getting better at age 23 he's still growing into his potential with Ratings of STF: 9 CON: 5 MOV: 7 and an endurance of 9. This one is going to be a staff ace in the near future and all it takes is an email to land him.

A limited number of top-flight prospects such at CF Boothe and SP Durand and Dones could also be available!

Send that email today at nate@wooleysark.com! You won't regret your decision! Act now for special consideration!

Need A Closer?

Then look no further than Brooklyn, where the Wolves have three (count 'em, three!) closers on staff.

The first one up is all-time saves leader Samuel Alfano. Alfano may no longer be the big guy in the Brooklyn bullpen, but he's still very serviceable and could easily be a quality closer in most bullpens. He still has ratings (Stuff/Control/Movement) of 73/56/55. And, best of all, he'll only add about $875K to your payroll next year. Now where else can you get a closer for that kind of money?

Next up is Johnny Cowherd. Cowherd is a hard-throwing 4.5 star closer (Stuff/Control/Movement of 100/49/55 -- yes, that's right 100!) who has served as the set-up man in the Brooklyn bullpen for the last few years. He's young, will have a salary of only $300K next year (his last before being arbitration-eligible) and will blow opposing hitters away. How good is he? Consider this -- as a reliever he struck out 188 batters last year and 172 the year before. That's better than most of the starters in the league! Oh, yeah -- and he's only 26 years old.

That was the veteran and the youngster. Now for the guy in his prime - the big gun - Pedro Morales. Pedro came to Brooklyn last year as a free agent, and promptly proved his worth by saving 32 games with a 1.68 ERA. When this guy comes in to the game, it's lights out. His WHIP this year was 0.93; last year it was an unhittable 0.53! Over the last four years, he's pitched 258 innings and walked 31 batters (just over 1 per 9 innings!). He's in his prime at 30 years old, a 5 star player and commands a salary of $5.5 million and is under contract at that price for the rest of the prime of his career - the next four seasons.

That's what we have at Zev's House of Closers. Come on in and browse -- take a gander at what we have and make an offer. Third Baseman, leadoff hitters and top prospects will get priority treatment. So, come on down, drop me a line. I'm waiting to hear from you!

Zev

World Champions Available for Trade!!!!

Want to capture some of that Monarchs Magic(TM) for your team? Looking to bring in some Cecil Cup-tested veterans to bring your franchise to the next level? If so, call Manic Mack, the GM/owner determined to break up his first Cecil Cup Champion team. It's a down market in free agency this year and you won't be able to find these types of players for these prices on the open market. Here are just some of the top players available for the right price:

George Rawlins. Winner of the 2009 Adams League Outstanding Batter of the Year Award. Hit .317/.415/.557 last year with 26 home runs and 121 runs batted in. Sporting a cap friendly one-year, $11.65 million dollar deal. Plays all three outfield positions. Three-time All-Star. Underrated baserunner as his veteran wiles make up for his lack of speed.

Peter Bird. A 4.5 star starting pitcher who elevated his game in the playoffs, throwing 14.2 shutout innings in the Cup and winning pitcher in the decisive Game Seven. Gave up just six hits and one walk to the mighty River City line-up. Likely Cecil Cup MVP (if we had the award). Three-time All-Star with 52 victories over the last three years. Has three years remaining on his contract at $10 million per year. A true ace ready to lead your pitching staff.

John Willer. The highest rated third baseman in the game with 4.5 stars. Hit .320 in the 2009 Cecil Cup with 7 RBIs, tied for most in the series. Hit .324/.414/.494 in 2009. Four-time All-Star. Has a conservative contract at $8,000,000 per year for two more years. Can also play shortstop.


Looking for something not quite at the top end of the scale? Here are some of the bargain options:

Franklin Jackson. A feared pinch hitter for the Monarchs, he's a 2.5 star outfielder looking for an opportunity to start. Hit 33 and 25 home runs in his only years as a full-time starter. A little defensively challenged in left field, he's a masher who just needs the chance to get in a groove. Entering his last year of arbitration and projected to make just $1.6 million.

Kevin Stephens. A starting pitcher who can't crack the Monarchs rotation, Stephens has put up a 2.99 ERA over 81.1 innings in his two years in the majors. He may not strike out a lot of hitters, but he doesn't walk people and keeps the ball in the park. He's likely a solid #3-4 starter for many teams could be an upgrade for you! Will have the minimum $300,000 salary for one more year and you can control him through arbitration for three after that.

Donald Gilreath. A career AAA pitcher, but one with promise. He went 2-1 with a 3.13 ERA in six starts in August and September of this year and struck out 179 hitters in 146 innings in AAA. His ERA was hurt in AAA by my attempts to teach lots of players new positions, as evidenced by the sky-high .343 BABIP. Basically, I sabotaged his defense trying to give some players more versatility. He could fill the backend of your rotation or be your sixth starter ready to step in when the inevitable injury strikes. Under club control basically forever.


As always, I'm looking for quality prospects or draft picks. On the major league level, I could use a solid fourth outfielder with some defensive versatility or an upgrade at second base or behind the plate.

Interested? You know where to find me.

Honor must be restored to the Zotti League!

Att'n all:

Recent developments have caused me to rethink my plan to unload key high-talent players from my roster. Indeed, there shall be no firesale.

Instead, I will successfully recapture the Zotti League pennant and fly it high and proud in the whipping winds of the Santa Monica Bay.

Glory shall return!

Who's with me?

Hi all

Thanks for inviting me in. I've got the file and it all seems straightforward.

However, I can't yet figure out how to download and upload changes - thus I can't make any changes because my new password doesn't work.

Any help is appreciated, so I can stop holding up the new season. More of an introduction tomorrow after bed.

- Doug

Hey Everyone! Lattes on Mack! Monarchs Rule!

Head for the hills, folks! The impossible has happened! The Seattle Monarchs have won the Cecil Cup.

Peter Bird turned in an amazing game, scattering 3 hits over 7 2/3 innings. Except for one hard-hit ball by Robert Fout in the sixth, the Paddlewheelers were just unable to get anything going.

The Monarchs, on the other hand, were able to bang out four runs on three hits on the third and a double in the fourth off the bat of Sean Arant.

Box Log


Please note that I've decided to hold off on proceeding to the next season until tomorrow. We have a new owner (who, we hope, will introduce himself shortly) and I'd like to give him a chance to make roster changes and make offers to impending free agents. So, we'll flip to the next season tomorrow.

Zev

We Have An Opening

I've spoken with Aaron and due to personal commitments, he's going to have to leave. I posted a thread on the SDMB here. Please feel free to drop in on it and answer questions.

Zev

Amateur Draft

At one point this season, there was a discussion of expanding the number of rounds of the draft from 7 to 10 or 12 or even 15 (I think). What was the end result of that discussion? Are we staying with seven rounds?

Free Agent Re-signings

Please tomorrow night's sim is your last chance to make offers to your pending free agents. Let me have your offers before other owners start taking cracks at them.

Your potential free agents can be found here. I'm also going to send this out as an email to make sure all owners see it.

Zev

Paddlewheelers Paddle Hester To Set Up Game 7

It wasn't a good night for Christopher Hester. The sophomore righty started off on the wrong foot right away, giving up a one-out single in the first to likely Outstanding Rookie winner John Hukill. Sabertooth went to second on a walk and then scored on a two-out single by Timothy Palacio.

He tried to stop the bleeding, but was knocked around for two more runs in the third on a Palacio double. Two more hits and a wild pitch gave River Cities another two in the fourth. Reliever Kevin Stephens gave River Cities another run in the fifth, but they would never actually need it.

Seattle managed to get two on the board in the bottom of the sixth on four consecutive singles, but pinch hitter Charles Novotny struck out with the bases loaded to end the inning. The Monarchs had another chance in the eighth when they loaded the bases with no one out on two singles and an error, but the rally died when Francis Armendariz lined out and pinch hitter Waylon Blassingame grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Box Log

Game 7 -- for all the marbles -- tomorrow night. River Cities @ Seattle

Arant, Willer, Deleon power Seattle to Game 5 victory

The Monarchs pulled within one game of their first Cecil Cup victory by posting a 4-3 victory today. The greatest damage was done in the eighth inning was done by Arant, Willer and DeLeon with two doubles and a single.

Game 6 - tomorrow night, River Cities @ Seattle.

Box Score Log

Games Three and Four, Revisited

Just for continuity in the blog, I thought I'd draw up a quick post explaining what occurred in the real Games Three and Four of the 2009 Cecil Cup. (The previous posts by Zev are just a glitch in the Matrix. Nothing to see. Move along.) It turns out that this year's Cecil Cup is a story of the bullpens and which one fails on a given day.

In GAME THREE, Seattle appeared to be all but out of hope. Starting pitchers Peter Bird for Seattle and Juan Villatoro for River Cities were brilliant as the game was scoreless into the bottom of the eighth inning. Then, the goat of Games 1 and 2, Tim Vallejo, took the hill in the bottom of the eighth. Third baseman Robert Fout promptly greeted him with a home run to deep left center. Vallejo gave up two more singles, but escaped without further damage.

Down to their final three outs, the Monarchs attempted to rally against River Cities' closer Harold Beeks. Lonnie Machen led off with a triple and George Rawlins walked to put two runners on right away. However, Beeks came back with a short fly ball and strikeout to leave the Paddlewheelers one out away from a commanding 3-0 Cup lead. But then, midseason acquisition Carmelo "The Gimp" Deleon hit a resounding three-run home run that snuck inside the right field pole to give the Monarchs renewed life. Although River Cities rallied with a run against Seattle's closer Sam Contreras, scored by Patrick Welch after a one-out triple, the Monarchs managed to end the threat and stepped away from the abyss with a 3-2 victory.

In GAME FOUR, the teams seesawed back and forth. Both scored one run in the first. Seattle pulled ahead with a two spot in the third courtesy of a clutch two-out, two-run double by John Willer. River Cities used four singles and a walk in the fourth to take the lead back 4-3. The game stayed there until the top of the eighth inning when Greg Mudge hit a solo home run off Jefferson Theriault to knot the scoreboard at 4-4. Timothy Vallejo, who came into his fourth game of the series with a scoreless seventh inning, pitched a scoreless eighth as well. In the ninth, the Monarchs scored the winning run off closer Harold Beeks, who picked up his second loss in as many days. Centerfielder Sean Arant's double with two out scored Francis Armendariz from first base. Seattle's Sam Contreras struck out three in the bottom of ninth, around a one-out single by Alan Callahan, to give Seattle a 5-4 victory.


Astonishingly, Tim Vallejo has all four decisions for Seattle with his 2-2 record while Harold Beeks is 0-2 with 2 saves. So, will they and their bullpen mates continue to be the story of the 2009 Cecil Cup? Find out tonight when Game Five matches the teams' two aces, Chad Nelligan and Sherman Wheeler.

OK, We're back on track.

It turns out that I was having a problem with Windows Vista User Account Control.

I recently bought a new laptop with Windows Vista and following Game 2 of the series last week, I moved the game to the new computer.

As I mentioned in the comments to the last post, I went ahead and took the league directory, copied it, zipped it up, and then used that same zip file and opened the game. Sure enough, the game reset back to game 2. I even tried doing just a simple copy and paste of the game directory to another directory and then opened the game from the new directory, and it still reverted.

Eventually, it dawned on me that the UAC (in some way that I don't fully understand), was preserving an "original" copy of the game (which progressed past game 2), but was preventing me from copying those changes to a new directory. Anytime I tried copying the files (whether by copy-and-paste or zipping), it only worked on the "original" files and did not copy over any changes.

So, I decided to go ahead and turn off the UAC, figuring that this would solve my problem... it would let me copy the changes and life could proceed. So, I turned off the UAC and re-started the machine... only to find that all changes since Game 2 had been wiped out! Aaargh!

Well, I went to work and had the computer replay games 3-4. Anytime the result didn't end with two Seattle victories, I went back and did it again. So, now we stand at game 5. Games 3-4 as reported earlier are now hereby banished to an alternate reality and a new games 3-4 stand in their places. The league file has been updated and posted on the site.

If both Mack and Nate are ready tonight, we can proceed with Game 5. If not, we'll do it tomorrow night.

Important Note: Any potential-free agent signings made after game 2 were also wiped out. You will need to resubmit your offers. Sorry for the inconvenience.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask.

Zev

Again, I can't see the updated league file.

As previously reported when I download the file I don't see anything following game two. I let it go last time to see if a new game would shake things up but no luck.

I have deleted the existing league file on my hard drive and redownloaded. No luck.

I changed the name of the league file on my hard drive and downloaded. No luck.

I deleted the game on my hard drive and reinstalled it. At that point when I downloaded and unzipped the game thought it was February, 2009. THEN it though it was just after game two.

I need help, here, gentlemen. I literally can't make changes to the game at this point.

Seattle Knots Series At Two Apiece

Seattle made the Cecil Cup series a best-of-three contest today with a 5-4 victory over the River Cities Paddlewheelers.

Seattle jumped to a quick 1-0 with a first inning homerun by George Rawlins. But Isidro Frau couldn't hold the lead, giving up two runs in the third on a homerun by Patrick Valdes and another pair in the fourth on a double, error and single.

But Hector Orozco proved no more capable of maintaining a lead, giving up two runs to the Monarchs on a walk, single and double, and then two more in the sixth on two singles and a double. The Paddlewheelers threatened the one run lead in the seventh with a leadoff double by John Hukill, but failed to advance him to third, let alone score him.

Box Score Log

Game 5 - Seattle @ River Cities -- Monday night

Commissioner's Award For League Participation

As commissioner, I hereby present the Commissioner's Award for League Participation. This award is given to the owner(s) who complete the most uploads during the course of the regular season. An upload is credited to an owner who either uploads a file to the FTP server (whether the upload succeeds or fails for some technical reason) or who emails me changes or even a "no change" email.

There were two teams that had perfect participation - meaning that they actively managed their team with every sim. Those teams are: Seattle & Houston.

Here are the final tallies:

Covington 1
Danville 8
Denver 1
Hickory 11
Houston 14
New York 5
River Cities 13
Saskatoon 8
Seattle 14
South Bay 13
Walla Walla 3

I'll have a post about participation and performance and see if we can find a way to get some of the underperforming teams to participate more.

Zev

2009 SDMB OOTP Team Records

Here's a list of the team statistical records that were set this year, with the old mark in parentheses.

Team Records

• Best Record: River Cities, 113-49 (2005 Seattle, 112-50)
• Worst Record: Covington, 33-129 (2007 Houston, 43-119)
• Best Pythagorean Record: River Cities, 122-40 (2008 River Cities, 110-52)*
• Worst Pythagorean Record: Covington, 33-129 (2004 Butte, 41-121)
• Worst Home Record: Covington, 18-63 (2004 Austin and 2007 Houston, 21-60)
• Worst Road Record: Covington, 15-66 (2004 Butte and 2007 Danville, 21-60)
• Best Record in One Run Games: South Bay, 34-14, .708 (2005 Seattle, 35-16, .706)
• worst Record in One Run Games: Covington, 13-31, .295 (2007 Houston, 12-28, .300)

Team Offense

• Fewest Runs: Covington, 454 (2007 Danville, 504)
• Fewest Doubles: Denver, 178 (2004 Austin, 180)
• Most Strikeouts: Covington, 1,402 (2008 Covington, 1,324)
• Lowest On Base Percentage: Covington, .267 (2004 Austin, .270)
• Lowest Slugging Percentage: Covington, .316 (2007 Houston, .318)
• Lowest OPS: Covington, .583 (2004 Austin, .591)
• Most Stolen Bases: Denver, 267 (2008 Saskatoon, 262)
• Highest Runs Relative to League (R+): River Cities, 127 (2008 River Cities, 123)
• Lowest Runs Relative to League (R+): Covington, 65 (2004 Butte, 68)
• Highest OPS Relative to League (OPS+): River Cities, 113.1 (2004 Houston 112.50)

Team Pitching

• Lowest Team ERA: River Cities, 2.90 (2007 River Cities, 2.94)
• Fewest Saves: Covington, 19 (2007 Houston, 24)**
• Fewest Hits Allowed: River Cities, 1,195 (2007 Walla Walla, 1,214)
• Fewest Runs Allowed: River Cities, 508 (2007 River Cities, 526)
• Fewest Earned Runs Allowed: River Cities, 475 (2007 River Cities, 480)
• Most Home Runs Allowed: Covington, 204 (2003 Saskatoon, 202)
• Fewest Home Runs Allowed: Seattle, 73 (2007 River Cities, 82)
• Fewest Walks Allowed: Seattle, 344 (2008 Seattle, 379)
• Lowest Opponents' Batting Average: River Cities, .220 (2007 River Cities, .223)
• Lowest ERA Relative to League (ERA+): River Cities, 138 (2008 Seattle, 132)***
• Lowest Runs Allowed Average Relative to League (RAA+): River Cities, 140 (2007 River Cities, 130)****
• Highest Fielding Independent Projected ERA (FIP): Covington, 5.21 (2004 Hickory, 5.19)
• Lowest Fielding Independent Projected ERA (FIP): Seattle, 2.76 (2008 Seattle, 2.81)

Team Defense

• Fewest Unearned Runs Allowed: River Cities, 33 (2006 Seattle, 40)

Notes on Records
* Seattle's 111-51 Pythagorean record also would have broken the record.
** Hickory's 24 saves would have tied the record.
*** Seattle's ERA+ of 132 would have tied the record.
**** Seattle's RAA+ of 130 would have tied the record.

Other Miscellaneous Notes

1. Brooklyn's pitching staff struck out 1,360 batters, behind only the 2008 Brooklyn mark of 1,395 and the 2007 Brooklyn mark of 1,382. I thought that it was interesting that the three highest strikeout teams of all time are the last three Brooklyn teams.
2. This year featured the fewest extra inning games ever, 83.
3. The Zotti League hit a collective 971 home runs, most ever, but only 1367 doubles and 141 triples, both the fewest ever.
4. Perhaps unsurprisingly with Denver and Saskatoon, the Adams League collectively stole the most bases ever, 802.
5. Runs scored declined 0.08 runs per game in both the Adams and Zotti leagues from last year.
6. Despite this, the Adams League's ERA rose 0.03 because far fewer (69) unearned runs were given up.
7. Adams League pitchers walked only 2,774 batters, fewest ever.
8. The Adams League's BABIP was .298, tying last year's AL for the highest ever, and was .018 higher than this year's .280 mark in the Zotti League.
9. The Zotti League gave up only 330 unearned runs, fewest ever.

Troubles with the league file?

Was the league file not updated? I've tried several times and keep seeing only games one and two.

This Time, It's Seattle Turn For The Late-Inning Victory

On Friday, the Monarchs took revenge.

Seattle took their turn with the late-inning heroics, jumping on Paddlewheeler pitching for nine runs between the sixth and eighth innings. River Cities held a slim 3-2 lead going into the sixth inning, when Seattle batters pounded out four hits against starter Juan Villatoro and John Miller. Seattle added another two on a two-run homer by Gregory Mudge in the next inning and added one more in the eighth.

Box Score Log

Game 4 - Seattle @ River Cities -- Thursday evening. Sunday morning.

(My goof, I forgot that it was already Thursday night)

4-Spot in 8th Gives River Cities Game 2 Victory

Timothy Vallejo is not having a good Cecil Cup series. After taking the loss in Game 1, the fireman-turned-arsonist came into the game to protect a 4-2 lead and get the game to closer Samuel Contreras. Instead, he starts off by giving up a single to pinch-hitter Patrick Welch (just as he did in last night's game), followed up by a single to Anton Suarez. Then, after striking out Alan Callahan, he proceeded to give up two more singles in a row to Game 1 heroes Hukill and Valdes. Mark Deschamp came in and allowed one more runner to score before ending the inning.

Box Score Log

Game 3 -- Seattle @ River Cities -- tonight.

Hukill and Valdes power River Cities to Game 1 victory

Thanks to some late-inning heroics by rookie John "Sabertooth" Hukill and Patrick Valdes, River Cities has taken the first game of the 2009 Cecil Cup.

The Paddlewheelers had jumped to an early 3-0 lead, thanks to a Robert Fout triple in the first inning. However, the Monarchs weren't going to take that sitting down as they chipped away at River Cities' lead with a run in second, another in the fifth and then finally taking the lead with a two-spot in the sixth. Meanwhile, Chad Nelligan shut down the River Cities offense, allowing only two hits between the second and seventh innings.

In the top of the eighth, veteran Patrick Welch reached base on an error. Later in the inning Timothy Vallejo threw a wild pitch, gave up a double to Hukill allowing River Cities to tie the game and then a single to Valdes, allowing the go-ahead run to score. Closer Samuel Contrares allowed three hits in the ninth, giving up an additional run.

Game 2 -- River Cities @ Seattle, tomorrow night.

Box Score Log

GREATEST TEAMS EVER SQUARE OFF IN CECIL CUP 2009!

I'm just now putting the year-end data into my SDMB OOTP history charts. I'll have information over the coming days on records set, for good or ill, and it looks like there were probably many this year. However, I can say this much so far.

Based on runs scored and allowed, the two greatest teams in SDMB OOTP history are squaring off in this year's Cecil Cup. River Cities' 122-40 Pythagorean record is, by 11 games, the highest mark ever in SDMB OOTP history. However, Seattle's 111-51 Pythagorean mark is the second best such record, beating last year's River Cities squad by one game. And, the teams posted two of the best three records ever. Here's the list of teams to win 100 games or more in a season.

113-49: 2009 River Cities
112-50: 2005 Seattle
110-52: 2009 Seattle
108-54: 2005 Stockholm
107-55: 2004 Houston
106-56: 2008 Seattle
104-58: 2009 South Bay
103-59: 2004 Stockholm, 2008 River Cities
101-61: 2007 Saskatoon
100-62: 2007 Seattle

So, this is likely the two best SDMB OOTP teams ever in a head-to-head death match for the Cecil Cup. [Too bad I expect it to be wearing the "corpse" label again.]

Records Broken in 2009

Adams League Strikeouts (batter): Buck Kruse, Denver, 166 (old record: Mike Teixeiria, Houston, 158)
Adams League Wins: Demarcus Ramirez, Saskatoon, 28 (old: Steve Jurgens, Seattle, 21)
Adams League Saves: Samuel Contreras, Seattle, 44 (old: Thomas Hallinan, Houston, 43)
Adams League Rookie Strikeouts: David Alcala, Denver, 243 (old: Sabas Delvalle, Brooklyn, 200)
Adams League Most Strikeouts/Game: Christopher Hester, Seattle, 17 (old: Sabas Delvalle, Brooklyn, 16)
Zotti League RBI: Patrick Valdes, Seattle, 138 (old: Ricky Peppers, South Bay, 131)
Zotti League Hits: Anton Suarez, River Cities, 220 (old: Patrick Welch, Walla Walla, 217)
Zotti League Base on Balls (batter): John Hukill, River Cities 136 (old: Mathew Furtal, New York, 125)
Zotti League Rookie Hits : Anton Suarez, River Cities, 220 (old: Sean Arant, Florida, 187)
Zotti League Rookie Homeruns : John Hukill, River Cities, 37 (old: Carmelo DeLeon, New York, 25)
Zotti League Rookie RBI : John Hukill, River Cities, 105 (old: Timothy Palacio, River Cities, 81)
Zotti League Losses: John Daigre, Covington, 25 (old: Dane Vos, Austin, 22)
Zotti League Rookie Strikeouts: Ronald Placencia, New York, 241 (old: Hector Orozco, River Cities, 193)

How Can You Cap A Perfect Pitching Season?

By throwing a no-hitter in your last start - that's how.

Demarcus Ramirez won his 28th game of the year in style - by no-hitting the Brooklyn Wolves in his final start of the season. The certain Outstanding Pitcher of the Year becomes the third pitcher this season to throw a no-hitter. Ironically, the last pitcher to throw one was a member of those selfsame Wolves - Sabas Delvalle.

Sim 14: Who uploaded?

Seattle
Houston
River Cities
South Bay


Cecil Cup Game 1 - River Cities @ Seattle tomorrow night.

OOTP 2007

Just out of curiosity, has anyone here had a chance to play with the 2007 version of the game? Any reviews?

(x-posted to other league's blog as well)

Zev

So if I win four of the last five...

I get the record for highest win-total in a season? That would be a nice cap on a happy season.

Oh, and I'm back from Europe.

Sim 13: Who uploaded?

Seattle
Saskatoon
Houston
Hickory
Danville
River Cities
South Bay

Next sim on Monday night.

Zev

Dear Demarcus

I would have offered you $30 million and six years.

-- South Bay