The game date is 5/1. The league file is up and the league pages have been updated.
In the Adams League, it's Maui in front by one game over Seattle. In the Zotti League, Cleveland holds a one game lead over River Cities.
Next sim - next Wednesday
Friday, November 27, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
???
So what's the deal? How am I to enjoy Thanksgiving without knowing that I beat Locke in this sim's opener? I'm hoping for a 90% victory rate against him this season.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Maui/Danville Trade
Wailuku, Maui - (AP): Under clear blue skies, with palm trees swaying lazily in the tropical breeze, Maui Mashers GM Matt Macario announced a trade with the Danville Dans today. The deal will send Maui's ace SP James Turner and veteran 1B/3B Brian Palazzo to Danville, in exchange for Danville's star SP Ferdinand Pineda.
Responding to vociferous criticsm by a clear majority of Maui's 87 known fans, who are apparently outraged over the loss of Turner and Palazzo, Macario said "haven't they seen how much money we threw at Dong Lutz in the offseason? Obviously, he runs the team now. Talk to him."
Responding to vociferous criticsm by a clear majority of Maui's 87 known fans, who are apparently outraged over the loss of Turner and Palazzo, Macario said "haven't they seen how much money we threw at Dong Lutz in the offseason? Obviously, he runs the team now. Talk to him."
Friday, November 20, 2009
Sim's Done
It's now April 15. I hope all your players paid their taxes, or else you're liable to see "Player X out for five to fifteen years in prison."
That being said, it's Seattle in the lead with a 10-3 record and a 2 game lead over Maui in the Adams League and Cleveland and River Cities perched atop the Zotti League with identical 11-2 records.
Next sim on Wednesday night.
That being said, it's Seattle in the lead with a 10-3 record and a 2 game lead over Maui in the Adams League and Cleveland and River Cities perched atop the Zotti League with identical 11-2 records.
Next sim on Wednesday night.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Sim Tonight
I'm sorry, but school and work interfered with yesterday's sim. I'll be running it tonight.
Zev
Zev
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
2015 Seattle Monarchs Preview
So, as the 2015 season dawns, the greatest franchise in SDMB OOTP history prepares to kick off another season. With nine division titles in the last ten years, and five Cecil Cups in the last six, the Seattle Monarchs truly reign supreme. But, can they keep their throne, or will the peasants rise up to overturn their enlightened rule?
Well, we'll see. I have gone into many of the past seasons confident that there was no better team in the league. I'm not so sure any more. Time, financial pressures, free agency, some trade missteps, and injuries have lessened the Monarchs' dominance. We're still strong, but for the first time in years, I wouldn't be surprised if someone else won the division. Although, I do expect the Monarchs to at the very least qualify for the playoffs.
It's been an offseason of huge changes. What remains to uplift Seattle's loyal and adoring fans?
Starting Pitching: Although Seattle bid adieu to Thomas Cohen, the rotation is the strength of the Monarchs this season. They have five very good to great starting pitchers. The ace is Ronald Placencia, who is 37-6 over the last two seasons and was a perfect 4-0 in the playoffs last season. Christopher Hester provides a second ace starter, with a lifetime ERA below 3.00 and a career winning percentage of .774. The Monarchs happily welcome back Chad Nelligan from his one-year exile in Los Angeles. The Chad was the Monarchs' ace for more than three years and his 28 wins in 2011 are still a league record. The Seattle front office thinks he can fill in for Cohen on the field and also help nurture the team's young pitchers. With young studs Joe Macaluso and Jimmy Matthias in the back end, the starting pitching could lead the Seattle back to the promised land.
Bullpen: The end of the bullpen, with mainstays Timothy Vallejo, Dalton Davis, and Merlin Bohon, remains strong. But, the very young middle relievers are a question mark, as Nathan Vargas posted an ERA north of six last season in his first and only 19.1 innings in the majors and Daryl Welburn has never thrown a major league pitch.
Starting Lineup: This is the area of greatest change. The two best hitters from last year's team, Dong Lutz and David Kerry, are gone and took 83 home runs and 262 RBI with them. It's unclear whether the Monarchs will be able to fill the void, especially with the career-ending injury to Paul "The Dragon" Guerrero, who management heavily counted on to fill the power shortage. But, there are still a number of excellent young hitters. The lineup will rise and fall with the continued development of catcher Alberto "Nitro" Granado (23 years old), third baseman Eugene Alustiza (25), and outfielder Armando "Rimfire" Cedeno (24). With Guerrero's injury, Cedeno will move to a corner outfield spot, better suiting his defensive abilities.
The Monarchs fans, excited as they are about this young trio, are especially happy to welcome back first baseman Greg Mudge, long-time face of the franchise. The hope is that Mudge is fully healed from off his injury last season and can provide some of the power lost in the departures of Lutz and Kerry. Speed demon Duane Gerhardt, fresh off a league record 102 steals, will set the table for the big boppers and double play partner Carmelo "The Gimp" Deleon provides his steady performance. Deleon has hit between .326 and .332 in six of his seven major league seasons.
Otherwise, a number of youngsters will have to step up for the Monarchs this season. Bill Bivens, who can play almost anywhere on the field, will look to build on his breakout season last year. Rookies Stephen Jackson and Roger Nichols will get their first chances at regular major league jobs.
Reserves: The Monarchs have depth behind the plate. Kareem King will back up Granado with prospect Richard Heitz in AAA awaiting his chance. Seattle also features two good young infielders on the major league bench in Richard "Dick" Bender and Paulin Reyes. Outfield depth is a little more spotty.
In all, the Monarchs remain very optimistic about their chance of defending their throne. But, the other teams in the league are catching up and nervous fans question whether this is the beginning of the end.
Well, we'll see. I have gone into many of the past seasons confident that there was no better team in the league. I'm not so sure any more. Time, financial pressures, free agency, some trade missteps, and injuries have lessened the Monarchs' dominance. We're still strong, but for the first time in years, I wouldn't be surprised if someone else won the division. Although, I do expect the Monarchs to at the very least qualify for the playoffs.
It's been an offseason of huge changes. What remains to uplift Seattle's loyal and adoring fans?
Starting Pitching: Although Seattle bid adieu to Thomas Cohen, the rotation is the strength of the Monarchs this season. They have five very good to great starting pitchers. The ace is Ronald Placencia, who is 37-6 over the last two seasons and was a perfect 4-0 in the playoffs last season. Christopher Hester provides a second ace starter, with a lifetime ERA below 3.00 and a career winning percentage of .774. The Monarchs happily welcome back Chad Nelligan from his one-year exile in Los Angeles. The Chad was the Monarchs' ace for more than three years and his 28 wins in 2011 are still a league record. The Seattle front office thinks he can fill in for Cohen on the field and also help nurture the team's young pitchers. With young studs Joe Macaluso and Jimmy Matthias in the back end, the starting pitching could lead the Seattle back to the promised land.
Bullpen: The end of the bullpen, with mainstays Timothy Vallejo, Dalton Davis, and Merlin Bohon, remains strong. But, the very young middle relievers are a question mark, as Nathan Vargas posted an ERA north of six last season in his first and only 19.1 innings in the majors and Daryl Welburn has never thrown a major league pitch.
Starting Lineup: This is the area of greatest change. The two best hitters from last year's team, Dong Lutz and David Kerry, are gone and took 83 home runs and 262 RBI with them. It's unclear whether the Monarchs will be able to fill the void, especially with the career-ending injury to Paul "The Dragon" Guerrero, who management heavily counted on to fill the power shortage. But, there are still a number of excellent young hitters. The lineup will rise and fall with the continued development of catcher Alberto "Nitro" Granado (23 years old), third baseman Eugene Alustiza (25), and outfielder Armando "Rimfire" Cedeno (24). With Guerrero's injury, Cedeno will move to a corner outfield spot, better suiting his defensive abilities.
The Monarchs fans, excited as they are about this young trio, are especially happy to welcome back first baseman Greg Mudge, long-time face of the franchise. The hope is that Mudge is fully healed from off his injury last season and can provide some of the power lost in the departures of Lutz and Kerry. Speed demon Duane Gerhardt, fresh off a league record 102 steals, will set the table for the big boppers and double play partner Carmelo "The Gimp" Deleon provides his steady performance. Deleon has hit between .326 and .332 in six of his seven major league seasons.
Otherwise, a number of youngsters will have to step up for the Monarchs this season. Bill Bivens, who can play almost anywhere on the field, will look to build on his breakout season last year. Rookies Stephen Jackson and Roger Nichols will get their first chances at regular major league jobs.
Reserves: The Monarchs have depth behind the plate. Kareem King will back up Granado with prospect Richard Heitz in AAA awaiting his chance. Seattle also features two good young infielders on the major league bench in Richard "Dick" Bender and Paulin Reyes. Outfield depth is a little more spotty.
In all, the Monarchs remain very optimistic about their chance of defending their throne. But, the other teams in the league are catching up and nervous fans question whether this is the beginning of the end.
Monday, November 16, 2009
SDMB OOTP / Talent Levels
Am I the only one who thinks the talent levels in the league, and especially the minors, are appallingly low? Looking through the minors, and discounting relievers, my scout sees one 5* player, one 4.5* player, four 4* players, three 3.5* players, and five 3* players. IN THE WHOLE OF THE MINOR LEAGUES -- ALL ORGANIZATIONS -- ALL TEAMS.
Now, those totals may go up some when players are sent back to the minors from Spring Training, but I'm not sure that they will go up all that much. I don't see a lot of highly rated prospects that appear to be on major league rosters just for Spring Training.
And, obviously, it seems like everyone agreed the most recent draft was ... not good in terms of talent.
Am I the only one who sees this? Am I the only one who thinks this is a potential problem?
Now, those totals may go up some when players are sent back to the minors from Spring Training, but I'm not sure that they will go up all that much. I don't see a lot of highly rated prospects that appear to be on major league rosters just for Spring Training.
And, obviously, it seems like everyone agreed the most recent draft was ... not good in terms of talent.
Am I the only one who sees this? Am I the only one who thinks this is a potential problem?
Sunday, November 15, 2009
ST is done
We're at March 29.
Please make sure to have your rosters down to 25 players by Wednesday night when we sim the first two weeks of the season.
Zev
Please make sure to have your rosters down to 25 players by Wednesday night when we sim the first two weeks of the season.
Zev
Friday, November 13, 2009
No Love for the Bantonman?
The Piggy hates Sean Banton. He would not share his wings therefore he must go. His little friend Basil Napoles must go with him too. The Piggy want pick and prospects in return. As usual offers from Zotti teams have an edge.
That is All
That is All
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Trade at the Confluence: Ohio and River Cities
Dateline: Marietta 3/15/09
In a move that stunned the world of the northwest territory this afternoon, River Cities and Ohio swapped young pitchers and pieces of flotsam.
Leaving the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum rivers to go to the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum rivers is River Cities #1 overall prospect starting pitcher Bruno Talamantez and back up infielder Matthew Rodrigue. Coming to Marietta from Ohio is catching prospect Bell and starting pitcher Danny Andrews.
Reached for comment at his secluded villa, surrounded by pretty girls of questionable age, River Cities owner Nate Wooley declared, "Losing Bruno hurts. Anytime you trade the top prospect in the game it requires some thought. But it was worth it to lose Rodrigue. I mean, for God's sake, what happened to the damn last 'z' on the guys name? How do you trust a player like that? You can't."
Reached for comment while packing, Rodrigue exclaimed, "Fuck that guy, anyway. Who the hell does he think he is? The guy who demoted me last year? I stand by my comment."
Talamantez, meanwhile, claims he's hoped his new location would have a drinking age low enough for him to buy beer. Told he was only moving 20 yards to another Ohio stadium he declared, "Crap. Now I'm going to have to get those kids at Marietta College to buy for me."
New Ohio owner, David Locke, commented, "I'm glad to broken my cherry in a trade that will potentially help both teams. And by the way, did I mention the free kegs of beer in the Ohio clubhouse?" Locke went on to add, "We'll continue to try to beef up our middle-infield defense and we're willing to entertain reasonable trade proposals from all other teams in the league."
In a move that stunned the world of the northwest territory this afternoon, River Cities and Ohio swapped young pitchers and pieces of flotsam.
Leaving the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum rivers to go to the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum rivers is River Cities #1 overall prospect starting pitcher Bruno Talamantez and back up infielder Matthew Rodrigue. Coming to Marietta from Ohio is catching prospect Bell and starting pitcher Danny Andrews.
Reached for comment at his secluded villa, surrounded by pretty girls of questionable age, River Cities owner Nate Wooley declared, "Losing Bruno hurts. Anytime you trade the top prospect in the game it requires some thought. But it was worth it to lose Rodrigue. I mean, for God's sake, what happened to the damn last 'z' on the guys name? How do you trust a player like that? You can't."
Reached for comment while packing, Rodrigue exclaimed, "Fuck that guy, anyway. Who the hell does he think he is? The guy who demoted me last year? I stand by my comment."
Talamantez, meanwhile, claims he's hoped his new location would have a drinking age low enough for him to buy beer. Told he was only moving 20 yards to another Ohio stadium he declared, "Crap. Now I'm going to have to get those kids at Marietta College to buy for me."
New Ohio owner, David Locke, commented, "I'm glad to broken my cherry in a trade that will potentially help both teams. And by the way, did I mention the free kegs of beer in the Ohio clubhouse?" Locke went on to add, "We'll continue to try to beef up our middle-infield defense and we're willing to entertain reasonable trade proposals from all other teams in the league."
Hickory-Seattle Finally Consummate Second Half of Trade
Some time in the early 1990s, Hickory and Seattle agreed on a trade that sent superstar David Kerry to Hickory in exchange for a gaggle of prospects. At the time, it was rumored that the greatest player in Monarchs' history, Greg Mudge, would be returning to Seattle in a second, linked deal.
Today, Seattle Owner/GM Mack Shultz proudly announced the return of Mudge, to a wildly cheering standing-room-only crowd at the Monarchs' home stadium. Mudge, who hit 330 of his 352 home runs in a Seattle uniform, said he was excited to be returning home. Mudge proclaimed, "I may have been born in Minnesota, but my true home is Seattle."
In addition to being second on the league's all-time home run list, Mudge is the career leader in RBI, 2nd in total bases, 4th in hits, 6th in runs scored, 7th in at bats, 9th in games played, 11th in doubles, 12th in OPS, and third in strikeouts. "Greg is a true legend, and we're thrilled to have him back," gushed Shultz.
In the first half of the deal, the Monarchs traded Kerry and $8 million in cash to Hickory in exchanged for reliever Nicolas Vargas, AAA infielder Miguel Salazar, A-ball reliever Fei-hsien Bao, and Hickory's first round pick in the 2015 amateur draft. The first round pick was later revoked when it became known that sly Hickory GM Frank Ferrara had traded his pick away twice. Now, in the second half of the deal, Seattle sent outfielder Lonnie Machen to Hickory for Mudge, $10.5M in cash, and Hickory's 1st and 4th round picks in the 2016 draft.
The most enthusiastic person about the trade was Seattle's Director of Finances, Scrooge McDuck. The first part of the deal was made on December 1, with the concluding half on March 16. In exchange for effectively lending Hickory $8 million, Seattle gained $2.5 in interest. "Even by my standards, a 31% return in three and a half months is pretty good," explained McDuck.
Today, Seattle Owner/GM Mack Shultz proudly announced the return of Mudge, to a wildly cheering standing-room-only crowd at the Monarchs' home stadium. Mudge, who hit 330 of his 352 home runs in a Seattle uniform, said he was excited to be returning home. Mudge proclaimed, "I may have been born in Minnesota, but my true home is Seattle."
In addition to being second on the league's all-time home run list, Mudge is the career leader in RBI, 2nd in total bases, 4th in hits, 6th in runs scored, 7th in at bats, 9th in games played, 11th in doubles, 12th in OPS, and third in strikeouts. "Greg is a true legend, and we're thrilled to have him back," gushed Shultz.
In the first half of the deal, the Monarchs traded Kerry and $8 million in cash to Hickory in exchanged for reliever Nicolas Vargas, AAA infielder Miguel Salazar, A-ball reliever Fei-hsien Bao, and Hickory's first round pick in the 2015 amateur draft. The first round pick was later revoked when it became known that sly Hickory GM Frank Ferrara had traded his pick away twice. Now, in the second half of the deal, Seattle sent outfielder Lonnie Machen to Hickory for Mudge, $10.5M in cash, and Hickory's 1st and 4th round picks in the 2016 draft.
The most enthusiastic person about the trade was Seattle's Director of Finances, Scrooge McDuck. The first part of the deal was made on December 1, with the concluding half on March 16. In exchange for effectively lending Hickory $8 million, Seattle gained $2.5 in interest. "Even by my standards, a 31% return in three and a half months is pretty good," explained McDuck.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Next Three Sims
OK, so it seems the consensus is to move forward.
That being said, the next three sims will be:
1. Wednesday night
2. Thursday night
3. Saturday night
Each sim will be one week of Spring Training.
Zev
That being said, the next three sims will be:
1. Wednesday night
2. Thursday night
3. Saturday night
Each sim will be one week of Spring Training.
Zev
Monday, November 9, 2009
Schedule Fail
I worked on the schedule and it seems to work fine... with one problem.
The game will not allow you to implement a schedule once spring training has started. That being the case, I'm afraid we may have to stick with the unbalanced schedule for this season and put the new schedule in place for next season.
Of course, if there are some other suggestions, I'm always open to hearing them. Otherwise, I think we should go on with the rest of Spring Training.
Zev
The game will not allow you to implement a schedule once spring training has started. That being the case, I'm afraid we may have to stick with the unbalanced schedule for this season and put the new schedule in place for next season.
Of course, if there are some other suggestions, I'm always open to hearing them. Otherwise, I think we should go on with the rest of Spring Training.
Zev
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
OK, I Think I've Got It
For the last two weeks, I've been working on the league schedule.
Jeremy brought to my attentiont that the home/away schedules for each team were out of whack. While each team played a total of 81 home games and 81 away games, the balance of home/away games that one team plays against another was sometimes out of whack. I saw one case where a team played only five home games against one team while playing 27 away games against the same team. So, I've spent the last two weeks working on a new schedule.
Let me say this... I have a newfound respect for the scheule makers in real-life baseball. I found this particular task to be very difficult -- and I didn't have to deal with real-life travel issues, hotel bookings, stadium conflicts, etc. I'm lucky that our teams don't care if they play three games in Seattle, then head to Miami for three games, then back to Nome for three games and then Tampa Bay again for three -- real life teams wouldn't do that, but I don't have that constraint.
In any event, I finally worked it out. Each team will play a total of 50 series of three or four games, resulting in a total of 162 games. It almost worked out perfectly, except that, in the end, I had to switch two games -- meaning that for four teams, a three game series becomes a two-game/one-game home and home series.
Nonetheless, in the end, all teams have 81 home games and 81 away games. Each team plays every other team in their division at home or away 16 or 17 times.
Before implementing the change, I just want to run this schedule in a test league and make sure there are no... hiccups. I'm going to do that tomorrow (Wednesday) night and hope to have the first week of Spring Training ready for either Thursday night or Saturday night.
Thanks for putting up with the delay.
Zev
Jeremy brought to my attentiont that the home/away schedules for each team were out of whack. While each team played a total of 81 home games and 81 away games, the balance of home/away games that one team plays against another was sometimes out of whack. I saw one case where a team played only five home games against one team while playing 27 away games against the same team. So, I've spent the last two weeks working on a new schedule.
Let me say this... I have a newfound respect for the scheule makers in real-life baseball. I found this particular task to be very difficult -- and I didn't have to deal with real-life travel issues, hotel bookings, stadium conflicts, etc. I'm lucky that our teams don't care if they play three games in Seattle, then head to Miami for three games, then back to Nome for three games and then Tampa Bay again for three -- real life teams wouldn't do that, but I don't have that constraint.
In any event, I finally worked it out. Each team will play a total of 50 series of three or four games, resulting in a total of 162 games. It almost worked out perfectly, except that, in the end, I had to switch two games -- meaning that for four teams, a three game series becomes a two-game/one-game home and home series.
Nonetheless, in the end, all teams have 81 home games and 81 away games. Each team plays every other team in their division at home or away 16 or 17 times.
Before implementing the change, I just want to run this schedule in a test league and make sure there are no... hiccups. I'm going to do that tomorrow (Wednesday) night and hope to have the first week of Spring Training ready for either Thursday night or Saturday night.
Thanks for putting up with the delay.
Zev
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