Man... I'm Getting Old... My Mind Is Slipping....

I'm sorry, everyone.  For some reason, I thought the next sim was Thursday night... I forgot that I had written Tuesday night.  Complete brain freeze on my part.

I'll get it done today.

Brick Takes 3-1 Lead, Seattle Ties Series at 2-2

It was a case of small ball winning the day today as the Brick Barracudas took a 3-1 lead today in their series against the Antelope Valley Raptors with a 4-3, 11-inning victory.

Both teams traded runs through the first eight innings of the game, neither side ever getting more than a run ahead of the other.  By the time the regulation game was over, the score stood tied at 3-3.  That's the way it stood until the bottom of the 11th when leadoff hitter Larry McCormick walked.  He then stole second when Salvador Velasquez struck out.  The next batter, Martin Cox was intentionally walked.  A fielder's choice sent McCormick to third and then a single by Alejandro Cruz brought him home for the victory.

In the nightcap, Seattle brought out the big guns and defeated the London Dragons 14-8.

At first, it seemed like London had put the game away when they took a commanding 8-3 lead and knocked Seattle's rookie 20-game winner Chris Williams out of the game.  However, the Dragons could not hold the lead as the Monarch batters responded in the next inning with a seven run inning, capped by Sung-heun Hwa's three run homer.  From there, Seattle added an additional four insurance runs to tie the series up at two games apiece.

Next game:  Tuesday evening.

Brick, London Take 2-1 Lead

The Brick Barracudas took a 2-1 lead in their series against Antelope Valley with a 1-0 victory in Game 3 of their series.  Both hurlers pitched excellent games, with Dave Klien going seven innings and giving up only three hits.  However, one of those was a solo home run to Matt Stokes, and he was topped by Brick starter Dave Hanson who threw seven innings of one hit ball.

In the nightcap, London starter Erik Moore held the Monarch batters to a single run over five and two-thirds innings before turning the job over to the relief corps, who went the rest of the way without allowing another Seattle hit.  Seattle starter Enrico Hernandez pitched a good game, going all eight innings and giving up two runs, but it was not enough as he took the loss.

Game 4:  Sunday morning.

London, Antelope Valley take Game 2 -- Both Matches Tied at 1-1

Sorry... no time to write a recap.

Game 3: Thursday night.
Game 4: Sunday morning
Game 5: Monday evening

Seattle, Brick Take Game One

The Brick Barracudas took Game One of their playoff series against Antelope Valley today, with a 7-1 victory over the Raptors.

Brick put the game out of reach early with a four-run third inning, on the strength of four hits and a hit-by-pitch.  They might have scored more runs that inning had not Javier Chalen been caught stealing for the third out.  For Brick, starter Joseph Brown pitched five and a third innings of one-run ball, with Joan Palha and Hector Estrada closing the the door on the Raptor hitters with three and a third innings of no-hit ball.

In the nightcap, it was a pitcher's duel between Seattle's Bruno Talamantez and London's Jack Kaiser.  Both allowed a run in the first and Kaiser allowed two more to score in the second.  After that, he settled down and finished the game with no additional runs, but the damage was done as Talamantez went the next seven innings without allowing a run and handing it off to Juan Garcia to finish the game.

Game Two: Monday night.

Let the Playoffs Begin!

Game Date:  Sep 24 2027

Final Division Winners:
Adams:  London
Zotti: Seattle
Signorino: Antelope Valley
Wild Card: Brick

Awards & Accomplishments:
Houston 3B Andreas Velasco named Player of the Week (9/20, 8th career award)

First Round of Playoff Schedule:
Brick vs. Antelope Valley
London vs. Seattle

Trivia Question:
Last Week's Question:

Who was the only player to wear his birthday on the back of his uniform?

The correct answer was given by Fred - Carlos May, who wore uniform #17 with the White Sox in the late 60s/early 70s.  His birthday is May 17.

This Week's Question:

There are lots of pitchers who never won a game in their major league careers.  Some of them retired with 0-0 records, others with 0-1 and some with 0-2 or even more losses.

Who holds the record for the most losses among pitchers who never won a single major league game?

Next Sim:  Sunday, Dec 20.  If you have a playoff team, please be sure to have your playoff roster down to 25 players.

Zev

September I Sim Done

Game Date:  Sep 16 2027

Standings:
Adams:  London leads Atlanta by two games.
Zotti:  Seattle has clinched the division.
Signorino:  Antelope Valley has clinched the division.
Wild Card:  Brick has won the wild card.

News & Accomplishments:
Highland's Brendan Campbell hit for the cycle, the second player to do so this season.
Seattle's Steve Jones named Player of the Week (8/16)
Houston's Russ Singleton pitched a no-hitter, the second one pitched this season.
Norfolk 1B Luis Lozano named Player of the Week (8/23, third award this season)
Brooklyn 1B Arthur Cain named Player of the Week (8/30)
Seattle's Yvon Settingnano named Batter of the Month (second consecutive award, third this season, fourth career award)
Seattle Bruno Talamantez named Pitcher of the Month (second award this season, third career award).
Highland's Manuel Hidalgo named Rookie of the Month (second award)
Brooklyn's Jamie Vasquez named Player of the Week (9/6, third career award)
Norfolk's Carlos Ortega named Player of the Week (9/13)

Trivia Question:

Since no one took a guess at the last question, I'll give it another go...

Who is the only player to wear his birthday on the back of his uniform?

Next sim (the final one of the regular season):  Next Thursday.

August II Sim Done

Sim's done, but I don't have time to write a summary now.  Perhaps over the weekend (or if someone else wants to do so, they can).

Next sim:  Next Thursday night.

Sim Coming Today

I'm sorry, everyone.  When I got home from work last night, I was so zonked that I just went to sleep.  I'll run the sim today.

August I Sim Done

Game Date:  Aug 15, 2027

Standings:
Adams:  Atlanta holds  a one game lead over London.
Zotti:  Seattle by nineteen.
Signorino:  Antelope Valley is eight games ahead of Maui
Wild Card:  Brick is nine games ahead of London.

Awards & Accomplishments:
Maui CF Ernesto Salcido was named Rookie of the Month.
Antelope Valley's Jim Walton was named Pitcher of the Month
Seattle CF Yvon Settignino named Batter of the Month (3rd career award, 2nd this season)
Houston 1B Nigel Bryant named Player of the Week (8/2, 15th career award, 2nd this season)
Highland 1B Manuel Hidalgo named Player of the Week (8/9)

Significant Injuries:
Highland will be without 3B Max Price for five weeks with a sprained ankle.
Atlanta starter Brad Buckley's season is over with a partially torn labrum.
Shackamaxon will have do without the services of CF Abel Stephens for three weeks as he has a herniated disc.
Shackamaxon reliver Bernardo Franco is finished for this year and will likely miss next year as well with a torn UCL.
Ohio starting pitcher Scott Loman's going to miss three weeks with a fractured foot.

Milestones:
Two Maui players reached 400 home runs on back-to-back days.  On 7/30, Raul Ortega reached 400 dingers, becoming the 13th player to do so.  On the next day, David Seibel joined the club.

Trivia Question:
Last Week's Question:
Who was the only player to play in a major league game while missing a leg?

The only player to do so was Bert Shepard, who played his only major league game on August 4, 1945 for the Washington Senators.

Shepard was a minor league pitcher who spent the 1940-42 seasons pitching in class D and C ball for the Cardinals and White Sox.  When he entered service in World War II, Shepard became a fighter pilot.  He was shot down on his 34th mission east of Hamburg and lost his leg in a POW camp. While there, he learned to walk and then to pitch again.  Back in the United States in 1945, he was placed on Washington's roster.  On Saturday, August 4th, the Red Sox knocked Washington starter Sandy Ulrich out of the box by scoring seven runs against him in three and a third innings.  The Senators brought in Joe Cleary, a native of Ireland (and, to this date, the last Irish born native to play in the majors).  Clearly faced nine batters and only retired one.  By the time he left the game, the score was 14-2 Red Sox.

Shepard came into the game and got the last batter of the inning out on strikes.  He then proceeded to pitch the remainder of the game, limiting the Red Sox to only one more run over the remainder of the game, which the Sox won 15-4.

That was Shepard's (and Cleary's) only game in the majors.  Once the regular major leaguers came back in 1946, Shepard was sent back to Class C ball.

He pitched again in 1949 where he played in 20 class C ball games and again in 1955 when he made three appearances with the Yankees class C ball team in Modesto.

This Week's Questions:
We all know that sometimes players get attached to their uniform numbers.  For some, it's just an affectation, for others, it has personal meaning.  For one player, however, it had particular meaning.

Who is the only major league player to wear his birthday on the back of his uniform?

Next sim:  Thursday night.

Brooklyn Trades!

The Brooklyn Wolves today completed their first trade in... well... to be truthful, I can't remember (it's been that long).  Today the Wolves sent reliever Joan Palha and a second round pick to the Brick Barracudas in exchange for pitcher Victor Galavan, outfielder Bill Love and minor league pitcher Lawrence Floyd.

Palha came to the Wolves in the 2020 amateur draft, where he was selected in the fourth round.  He rose steadily through the minor leagues, cracking the big league club out of spring training in 2024.  Since then, he's appeared in 265 games, with an ERA of 3.46 and a WHIP of 1.24.

Galavan was selected by as a last-round pick by the Saskatoon Amigos back in 2016.  He reached the majors in 2022 at the age of 23 and has served as a swingman for the franchise ever since, producing a 34-33 records with an ERA of 4.99.

Bill Love was a first round pick for Ohio in 2021.  At one time named the #10 prospect in the league, Love has never quite lived up to his potential.  He's currently serving as a backup outfielder for Brick.

Floyd was selected in the 8th round of the 2025 amateur draft.  Currently pitching in for the Moose Jaw Rumrunners, Floyd is 5-8 with a 5.83 ERA.

I can't believe I'm suggesting this

I'm a baseball purist. I am a fan of one of the oldest franchises in MLB (the Philadelphia Phillies), love small ball and 4-6-3 double plays (and, attempts by baserunners to break up double plays). I loathe American League baseball, and became a fan of the Royals during the past two post seasons because they play like a NL team.

And I absolutely hate the designated hitter in MLB and think we should discuss adding it in the SDMB League at the major league level.

We currently have the DH in the minors, but it's not used in the college or high school leagues. Allowing the DH at all levels will allow position-less batters a chance to play, and save teams from possibly having an albatross contract.

I don't know if this is a good idea, and if it will help non-Seattle teams to compete better, but I think it is worthy of discussion.

Any thoughts?

London, Shackamaxon announce trade

LONDON -- The London Dragons continued their drive for the playoffs, trading another blue-chip prospect in Single-A closer Leonard Christopher for another player ready to contribute right now. It's hard to blame the Dragons for going 'all-in' - flags fly forever, as they say. And the Dragons have a solid team with a (reasonably) young core; if everything breaks right they could have a two- or three-year window. But there is no denying the Dragons are taking a high-risk, high-reward approach in selling off their future to try and win now.

The deal sends Christopher and fellow Marietta Mammoths team-mate, second baseman Montrel Luttazi, to the Lenapes. In return the Dragons get Bartolo Olivarez and a 5th round draft pick. Olivarez is a veteran right-hander that can be very effective when he's able to limit the number of free passes he gives batters. According to sources, Olivarez is likely to replace Victor Rivera in the rotation. Rivera, the promising rookie from the Dominican Republic, has shown flashes of brilliance but has been struggling of late, and management seems reluctant to force him to work through his issues in the midst of a pennant race pressure cooker.

Christopher was the Dragon's 1st-round draft pick last year and the 7th pick overall. A hard-throwing righty with excellent movement and command, the Marietta Mammoths closer has picked up 15 saves this year already despite missing seven weeks to back spasms. He's struggled a bit since coming off the DL, giving up 5 earned runs in his last three outings (two blown saves and a loss), yet for the season he's still striking out more than a batter per inning with a 60% ground ball rate. Scouts have long touted Christopher as a future shut-down closer, although he'll need to add a second pitch to go along with his fastball.

Luttazi, a 17th round draft pick two years ago, is a 21yr old mid-tier prospect that originally caught attention for his glove more than his bat. He has been a pleasant surprise so far this year, hitting over .300 across Single- and Double-AA, although a somewhat low BB% (5%) and high K% (19% in an admittedly small Double-A sample) suggests points of concern - points that could be alleviated by his above-average glove.

"Giving up Christopher is disappointing; we think he has a very very promising future. But our focus now is on winning now", said Urista. The Dragons have made a plethora of trades in the last few weeks to bolster the team's pitching and defense, and Urista noted that the added depth gave them more options as the season moves into the last third of the season. "We have six quality starters for a five-man rotation. Yes, having to figure out who gets moved to the bullpen is a problem, but as far as problems go, it's a nice one to have".

Seattle's "Secret Sauce" for Success

In response to Scott's post, Zev asked me if I were willing to share some of the ideas that I've used to build the Seattle evil empire. I quickly agreed, and so here's my post on what I have done to be successful and some of the things I've learned playing the game for the last dozen or so years (real-time).

To the extent there is a secret to my success, it’s an extremely scaled down version of what I understand makes people routinely successful in daily fantasy sports and the like. I spent a lot of time, years ago, studying the game and testing things to try to find out what correlated with success. Which of the hitting ratings better correlated with a hitter's OPS? What information for draft eligible players correlated best with their later success? How important are the OSA rankings versus my scout’s rankings? 

When I had far more time than I do now, several versions of the game ago, I created test leagues where I could test various hypotheses and see what worked best. The end result of the work was a series of Excel spreadsheets and formulas that I use as shorthand for player value. Now, I just take reports from the league, copy and past the numbers into my spreadsheets, and let Excel do the work. Earlier today, I counted the total number of inputs into my formula for ranking hitters in the draft and found that 25 separate pieces of information feed into my ultimate “SCORE” formula. That’s the raw number that I use to create my draft boards, although I don’t slavishly follow it.

I still tweak the formulas from time to time, but I don’t have the same free time available now and I wonder if the changes between versions of the game are eroding the fidelity of my research. I do know that there are some blind spots in my formulas, and I try to adjust around those. One example is that my formulas underrate the negative impact of someone who has absolutely no home run power. But those formulas are the essential “secret sauce,” to steal a phrase from Zev.

Based on what I've learned over the years, here is a list of tips. I can’t vouch that these things are actually true, and many of them are not original ideas, but they are principles that I use when making decisions for my OOTP teams.

·         Contact is the most important hitting skill, by far.

·         Avoiding K’s is the least important. I don’t even factor it in when evaluating players or prospects.

·         The current version of the game overvalues speed and gives it too much weight in assigning star ratings.

·         Don’t ignore defense in evaluating major league players. Check their ZR stats. A great hitter can give back half or more of his value if he’s terrible on defense.

·         Elite defense at shortstop and center field can really, really help your team.  

·         Use the minor leagues to teach your top hitting prospects to play as many positions as possible. Once they stop improving their defensive ratings at one position, start teaching them another. You never know when positional flexibility is going to come in handy. It's going to hurt your minor league pitchers' stats, but focus on their FIP instead of their ERA and you should be ok.

·         Check to see if a pitching prospect has at least three different pitches and an endurance rating of at least 30 (or so). If pitching prospects can’t check both those boxes, then they’re probably relievers masquerading as starters. If relievers do check those boxes, then give them a try as a starter.

·         In evaluating pitchers for the future, FIP and WAR are way more important than ERA and wins.

·         All other things being equal, I prefer pitchers with higher endurance, who throw hard, and/or who generate groundballs.

·         The draft is important, but the most important part is to study the draft class on your own and to avoid relying on the computer’s evaluation. I’d rather have the #12 pick in a draft I’ve studied than the #3 pick in a draft where I just let the computer choose. The computer's not terrible, but it's not very good either.

·         In drafting players, I give a little weight, just a little, to the following random ratings: leadership, work ethic, and intelligence. I also give bumps to players who have nicknames and who are rated durable from an injury perspective. (The nickname thing doesn’t hold as true now as it did in prior versions of the game, but better prospects still tend to be more likely to be given nicknames by the game.)

·         Beware of prospects where your scout has a really good rating and the OSA rating is significantly lower. Your scout is probably wrong. I had to learn that lesson repeatedly before it sank in.

·         Try to track when your older stars start declining. Better to move on from someone a year too early than a year too late.

·         Identify areas of surplus on your team and then look for teams that have needs in that area. The best trades occur when you can make the other team better, while getting something useful for yourself.

·         Similarly, look for areas of surplus on other teams. If a team has two good prospects at one position, they’re usually more willing to part with one of them than if they only have one good prospect at that spot.

·         Try to forecast your roster a few years out. It will help with deciding what players to resign, what free agents to pursue, and what trades to make.

·         Don’t be afraid to ask if a player is available and to try to make a deal, even if it’s a long shot. As long as you make reasonable and fair offers, the other owner isn’t likely to get upset even if you don’t complete a trade.

·         Don’t be afraid to spend a lot of money in free agency on the right player, but make sure it’s the right player.

·         Don’t overvalue any one player. Injuries and other crap happen and you can’t bet the farm on one guy.

So, there's the basics of what I've found and what I try to do. If anyone else has tips they would like to share, please do so.

July II Sim Done -- Trading Deadline

Game Date:  Jul 30 2027

Standings:
Adams: London has a one game lead over Atlanta
Zotti:  See Scott's recent post
Signorino: Antelope Valley has a nine game lead over Maui
Wild Card: Brick leads Atlanta by four games

Awards & Accomplishments:
Maui CF Ernesto Salcido named Player of the Week (7/19, 2nd award this season)
Seattle CF Yvon Settignano named Player of the Week (7/26, 3rd career award)
Brooklyn SP Kevin Kepner pitched back-to-back five-hit shutouts (7/24 & 7/29)

Significant Injuries:
Shackamaxon RF Juan Arroyo will miss 2-3 weeks with a sprained ankle.

Milestones:
Maui's Raul Ortega recorded his 2000th hit (7/25)

Commissioner's Note:
This week is the trading deadline.  I'm giving a few extra days before the next sim to allow for extra trading and because of Thanksgiving.

Email 
My primary email account is a Yahoo! account.  I also have a Yahoo! Small Business account where I keep the izev domain.  For years, I simply had all the email from my izev accounts flow into the regular Yahoo! mailbox.  I set up filters to catch the OOTP mail and have it put into a special folder.

For whatever reason, as of last month, the forwarding from the izev account just stopped.  As a result, my izev email remained in my Small Business mailbox.  This meant that, aside from now having to check my email in two places, the filtering was no longer working (since it was set up only on my primary account).

I saw that Yahoo! acknowledged this as a problem.  Their status page gave me the old "we're working on this" status and so, being the patient sort, I left it alone for a while.  Unfortunately, this sometimes caused me to miss league emails -- something I should have been more vigilant about.

Yesterday, I finally got fed up with waiting for Yahoo! to fix the forwarding from the Small Business account and decided to take matters into my own hands.  The steinhardtfamily domain (as well as a few others I own) are hosted by a different service (not Yahoo!).  So, I set up an email there and set it up to forward to my primary Yahoo! mailbox.  I tested it out and found out that it was not forwarding.  I found it odd that both Yahoo!'s forwarding and this other services would *both* be broken, so I decided to do a little testing.

I changed the new email address to forward to my izev address instead of my primary Yahoo! mailbox and, lo and behold, it worked.  So it seems that the problem isn't as much that the Small Business account isn't forwarding to my primary email box, it's that my primary email box isn't accepting forwards!  Has anyone ever had this sort of problem before?

I'm going to try to contact Yahoo to get this resolved.  It's so frustrating, I'm considering switching to another service, even though I've had this Yahoo! address and used it as my primary address for the last seventeen years.

For now, if you're going to send me a league email, please make sure it has OOTP in the subject line. I set up a filter on my Small Business account to catch those, so that, until I get a more permenant solution in place, this should catch league emails.

I'm sorry for the long winded explanation and for the problems this has caused for all of you.  Thank you for being patient while I work this through.

Trivia Question:
Last Week's Question:
Since the dawn of the expansion era, who is the only person to start the inaugural game for more than one franchise?

Answer:  Diego Segui who was the Opening Day starting pitcher for both the Seattle Pilots in 1969 and for the Seattle Mariners in 1977.

This Week's Question:
In some other baseball universe, World War II pulled many able-bodied men from their jobs to the armed services to fight in the war.  Baseball players were not excused, as many of the games stars and everyday players were drafted.

This left teams sometimes scrambling for talent and almost anyone who could play half decently got a shot.  Probably the most famous of these "wartime players" was Pete Gray, who played 77 games for the St. Louis Browns in 1945, despite not having a right arm.  Brown, however, was not the only person who played that year despite missing a limb.

Which player played in the major leagues during the war years, despite missing a leg?

Next sim:  Saturday night, Nov 28.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

A Modest Proposal

Apologies in advance, because I suspect that this might ruffle some feathers. Please understand that I’m not writing this in anger – I’m writing this precisely because I love the game and love the league.

There’s having a strong team, there’s having a dynasty, and then there’s Seattle.

Seattle has been in the finals 11 years in a row, ‘only’ winning 6. Seattle has been in the finals 20 of the last 22 years. 

Over the last 14 years, Seattle has averaged 110 wins a season. The lowest win total in any season in that span? 96. 

So they’ve been strong in the past. We can ignore that, history is history.

What about present day? Ho-hum, Seattle is on pace for another 120 win season – in line with the pre-season prediction, btw – and their pitching staff has an average ERA almost 2 full runs better than the league average. Seattle’s team batting average is 30 points higher than the league average, OBP is 40 points higher, OPS is almost 100 points higher. Seattle has the top closer, top reliever, top starting pitcher, top RF, top CF, top 2B, and top 3 in a bunch of other positions.

That’s all to say that yeah, Seattle’s really really good. 

Here’s the thing: That pitching staff? Also the youngest pitching staff in the league. Overall potential for Seattle’s pitchers and batters is waaaaay ahead of any other team. Oh, and they also have – by far - the top farm system.

At this point Seattle is so strong, they’ve lapped the field – which means they will pretty much never come back to the pack. 

Normal teams when they see a window to contend – like London this and last year – need to sacrifice some prospects and such to fill a hole or fill a need. 

Well, guess who has a bunch of good players – so many, in fact, that they can trade a solid player here and there, and barely miss him, while constantly getting back yet more high draft picks and prospects to continue filling out the farm system with high-end guys.

Seattle never needs to rebuild - they’re basically always re-loading.

As an owner of a team that is in first place and in reasonable position to be a ‘winning’ team (over .500) for the next couple of years, this isn’t just whining about a strong team. This is about the league as a whole.

My almost-certainly controversial suggestion is that we blow up the league after the season and start over. We have some new owners – and let’s face it, drafting is always fun; we could do a slow draft via email to build our teams and start a brand new league.

As a team that’s moved his chips into the middle for a ‘win now’ mode for the next few years, blowing up a team that’s in its best position to win is painful…but necessary, I believe.

Let me repeat again - I’m not writing this in anger – I’m writing this precisely because I love the game and love the league. I have nothing but mad respect for Seattle; he clearly has put the time in – especially early on, I suspect – and I’ve also found that my relative success in the league seems to be closely correlated to the amount of time I’m able to spend on it. But at this point, I suspect that the gap is simply too great to overcome.

There’s every chance that Seattle might end up building another dynasty again – more power to ‘em. And I'm not quitting the league even if we don’t blow it up, of course – as I said, I love this game and love the league. But I’d like us to have a serious discussion about rebalancing the league. Come on Seattle - wouldn't you find trying to rebuild a dynasty more enjoyable and more of a challenge? :-)

Email woes....

I've had some issues with my email of late.  Yahoo made some behind the scenes changes to their small business emails and whereas, in the past, all my mail used to come to one mailbox, now I have to search in multiple mailboxes.  In addition, because my emails aren't being forwarded to my main box, the filtering I set up for them has not been working.

There were two owners who sent me instructions on roster moves for this past sim that I missed.  I'm not looking to blame Yahoo for this... I should have looked more carefully for the emails.  I missed them and that is my fault.  

I'm probably going to set up a new email address for league matters and, hopefully, that will help to make sure that I catch them all.  I will be apologizing to the owners individually by email, but I also want to make sure that this is something the league is aware of as well.

For now, continue to use the same email that you have... it will probably be another day or two before I get a new email address and filter set up.  When it is set up, I'll let you know.

As always, if anyone has any questions or comments, please feel free to ask.

Zev

July I Sim Done

Game Date:  Jul 16 2027

Standings:
Adams:  London leads Atlanta by four games.
Zotti:  Seattle is seventeen games ahead of Brick
Signorino: Antelope has a three game lead lead over Maui
Wild Card:  Brick is four games ahead of Atlanta.

Awards & Accomplishments:
Antelope Valley CF Petero Hokualohi named Player of the Week (7/5, 3rd career award)
Maui's Juan Alvarez named Player of the Week (7/12, 2nd award this season, 3rd career award)

Significant Injuries:

• Shackamaxon CF Benjamin Anderson has a fractured thumb and is out for four weeks.
• Brooklyn 1B Andy Robertson is done for the year with broken bone in his elbow.
• Highland LF Mike Minty is done for this year and the beginning of the next with a ruptured MCL.  He'll be out until May 2028.
• Seattle with be without 3B Sung-heun Hwa for four weeks due to a fractured foot.
• Houston RF Jesus Barcello has an oblique strain and will miss four weeks.
• Norfolk RP Pedro Caro has a ruptured finger tendon and is done for the year.
• Brooklyn 3B/SS Katsuhiko Jouda has a sprained ankle and will be out for five weeks.

Milestones:
Norfolk SP Nicholas Vargas recorded his 2000th strikeout.

Trivia Question:
Last Week's Question:
Which player (who has a much more well-known claim to fame) was the last former St. Louis Browns player to still be active as a player?

The last former St. Louis Browns player to play on the field was pitcher Don Larsen, who played his last major league game on July 7, 1967, 13 1/2 years after the Browns fled St. Louis for Baltimore.  Larsen, of course, is better known as the only person to throw a perfect game in the World Series.

This week's question:
Since the beginning of the expansion era, fourteen teams have been added to the major leagues.  Who is the only person who was the first starting pitcher for more than one of those teams?

Next sim:  Thursday night, where we will go to July 30, thus giving an extra week before hitting the trading deadline.

Adams Division Leaders Make a Deal

Today London and Atlanta have made an unprecedented deal between the two division leaders.

Atlanta sends 2 of their top starters 2B Toshinobu Mizutani and CF Jorge Gonzalez across the pond in exchange for 2 prospects a draft pick and a ML OF.

The key of the entire deal is AAA SP Bill Petersen who is just coming off the DL and should be ready for the ML rotation in a season or two. Atlanta also receives AA 3B Greg Osborne and London's 4th round pick in 2028 and current ML LF Guillermo 'Captain' Martinez.

This deal came together quickly and both GM's seem happy with the result.  When asked, Jeremy Goldman, the Atlanta GM said "I always wanted a Guillermo on my team and now my life in the SDMB is complete."

Shackamaxon/London trade

In order to receive back the 4th round pick previously traded by London to Shackamaxon, the Dragons and Lenape have agreed to the following trade:

Shackamaxon sends the 4th round pick previously acquired in the Adam Hone trade and AAA IF Hernando Albacete to London for AA SP P. J. Booker.

"This allows us to get another young pitching prospect," Shackamaxon GM Michael Weintraub announced. "And, it allows the trade London agreed to with Atlanta to proceed."

Jun II Sim Done

Game Date:  Jul 1 2027

Standings:
Adams:  London has a two game lead over Atlanta
Zotti:  Seattle has a commanding fifteen game lead over Brick
Signorino:  Antelope Valley is three games up on Maui
Wild Card:  Brick is one game ahead of Atlanta

Awards & Accomplishments:
Ohio C Guillermo Medina named Player of the Week (6/21, second award)
Brooklyn 3B/SS Katsuhiko Jouda named Player of the Week (6/28, 7th award)
Seattle 2B Norman Kuhn named Batter of the Month (3rd award)
London SP Matt McDonald, the subject of three trades this season and the author of a no-hitter, was named Pitcher of the Month.
Seattle 3B Sung-heun Hwa named Rookie of the Month.

Significant Injuries:
Shackamaxon SP Joseph Macaluso is done for the year (and, at his age, maybe his career) with an elbow bone spur.
Brick SP Kevin Lambert has a shoulder inflammation and is out for two months.
Highland will be without CF Cale Page for about three weeks due to an intercostal strain.
Norfolk RF Stephano Gomez strained a back muscle (his second injury this season) and will miss three weeks.
Highland C Carlton Whaley has an oblique strain.  Highland will need a new backup catcher for the next seven weeks.

Trivia Question:
Last week's question:
In some other baseball universe, in 2008, Carlos Zambrano had a thirteen game hitting streak, tying him with Jonny Sain for the second longest hitting streak while pitching.  Who has the longest?  (Hint... the person won at least 200 games -- that should narrow it down a bit).

The excellent hitting pitcher was Wilbur Cooper of the 1924 Pittsburgh Pirates who, from June 23 to September 3, put together a 16 game hitting streak as a pitcher.  Cooper, who pitched fifteen years in the majors, finished with a record of 216-178 and an ERA of 2.89.  His 202 victories with the Pirates is still, to this day, the franchise record.

This sim's question:
In some other baseball universe, there was a woe-begotten franchise named the St. Louis Browns.  For fifty years, they pretty much signed a lease to occupy the bottom spot in the American League standings.  It was rare, indeed, when they had an opportunity to escape from the second division and it took World War II to actually get the team to their only World Series in 1944 (which they promptly lost to their cross-town rivals, the Cardinals).  The team eventually went broke and was sold to a group who moved it to Baltimore.  It's past is so shameful that, unlike other franchises that celebrate and honor their past histories and stars from before relocation, the Orioles have pretty much ignored their Browns history.

Which player (who has a much more well-known claim to fame) was the last former St. Louis Browns player to still be active as a player?

Ronald Quijada Leaderboard Watch:
Runs: Quijada has passed John Hukill and is now the all-time leader in runs scored with 1870.
Hits: Quijada has 2591 games, third to Dong Lutz (2653) and Brian Frison (2658)
At Bats: Quijada's 9649 is second to Luis Jeon who has 10119.
Games: Quijada is at 2822, second to Luis Jeon's 2888.
Walks: Quijada's 1844 walks is still second to Luis Jeon's 1878.
Singles: Quijada now has 1711 singles, second to Gregorio Marzano's 1759.

Next sim:  Saturday night, Nov 14 (note deviation from normal schedule).

Pitchers For Have

I have decided to see if anyone is interested in these three starting pitchers of mine?

1st is Jesus Garcia
9-0 3.38 in 13 starts

2nd is Nicolas Vargas
6-5 4.72 in 16 starts

3rd is Bruce Roughley
1-4 5.40 23gms/10starts

Looking for young players or picks or both

Norfolk
Thomas

June II Sim Done

Sim's done... I'll write up the report tomorrow.

Zev

Brick and Norfolk trade two or is it three

Brick and Norfolk announce  a minor trade today...Brick sends it's fifth round pick in the draft to Norfolk for starting pitcher  Salazar in single a....both teams were happy with the deal. Tom the GM from Norfolk was happy with another draft pick. Fred the GM from Brick was happy with the addition of another starting pitcher for their single a team Tisdale which was lacking starting pitcher depth.

The Remaking of the Lenape Infield

Hours after trading away franchise cornerstone Miguel Martinez, who was only the second starting shortstop for the Shackamaxon Lenape in twenty seasons, the team has announced the trade of another infield starter.

"We have traded, for real this time, 25-year old third baseman Matt Stokes to his original franchise, Brick. Again, like last night's move," Shackamaxon GM Michael Weintraub stated. "This helps us with pitching depth, and creates an opening in the major league roster for a prospect."

Stokes, originally acquired in 2022 from Brick as a corner infield prospect, was joined by single A pitcher Pedro Guzman on the bus trip across New Jersey to their new home. Heading to the Lenape organization are pitching prospects Juan Santiago and Bartolo Ventura, plus a third-round pick in the draft next season.

Weintraub concluded: "Between the three pitching prospects we got in the Martinez trade, and the two we're getting from Brick now, we're happy with the return we are getting. We also get to see top prospects Jonathan Locker, Tae-Sang Pak, and Benjamin Anderson, each acquired this season, in action for the rest of the season, as we evaluate our team going forward.

"Oh, yeah, we still have other players available for trade," Weintraub couldn't help but adding.

June I Sim Done

Game Date:  Jun 16 2027

Standings:
Adams:  London has taken a two game lead over Atlanta
Zotti:  Seattle's lead has dropped to a mere ten games. :)
Signorino:  Antelope Valley holds a one game lead over Maui

Awards & Accomplishments:
London's newly acquired pitcher, Matt McDonald pitched a no-hitter against Seattle, the first no-hitter in the league since Seattle's Bruno Talamantez threw one in July 2025.
Ohio's Arturo Sanchez (6/7) and Martin Perez (6/14) named Players of the Week.

Significant Injuries:
Maui's Aaron Hampton fractured a finger.  He'll miss six weeks.
Highland's David Clark has an ulnar nerve irritation, he's gone for four months.
Seattle's Yvon Settignano strained a calf running the bases.  He should be back in 3-4 weeks.
Shackamaxon's Tony Dominguez is done for the year and will likely miss the start of next season with a torn flexor tendon.
Brick's Cristobal Cordero tore an abdominal muscle.  That'll cost him five weeks.
Norfolk's Clarence Spearman separated a shoulder in a base collision.  Four weeks.
Atlanta's Ernest Metcalf, already out since April and due back in August will likely see his return pushed back to September.

Milestones:
Houston's Nigel Bryant reached 1000 runs (6/11)

Trivia Question:
In some other baseball universe, in 2008, Carlos Zambrano had a thirteen game hitting streak, tying him with Jonny Sain for the second longest hitting streak while pitching.  Who has the longest?  (Hint... the person won at least 200 games -- that should narrow it down a bit).

Ronald Quijada Leaderboard Watch:
Runs: Quijada now has 1868 runs scored and has tied John Hukill for the all time lead!
Games: Quijada is at 2813, 75 games behind Luis Jeon.
At Bats: Quijada is at 9640, 479 behind Jeon.
Hits: Quijada is at 2588, 65 hits behind Dong Lutz in second and 70 behind Brian Frison in first.
Walks: Quijada has 1842... that's 36 behind Jeon.
Singles: Quijada has 1710, 49 behind Gregorio Marzano.

Next sim:  Thursday night.

Shackamaxon Lenape, London Dragons announce trade

The Shackamaxon Lenape and the London Dragons have made the following trade:

London trades:
(SP) Carlos Hidalgo
(SP) Dane Beck
(SP) Mike Jones

Shackamaxon trades:
(LF) Guillermo Martinez
(SS) Miguel Martinez

Shackamaxon/Highland trade

The Shackamaxon Lenape and the Highland Admirals have a small trade to announce.

The Lenape send former first-round pick and current right-fielder Gan Mah to the Admirals in exchange for prospect outfielder Kinnon Tomlinson and a third-round pick in the 2028 draft, previously acquired from Seattle.

Shackamaxon's sale sheet

The following players are available for trade:

• 3B Matt Stokes - just 25, making the minimum and under team control for many seasons to come, he is a switch hitter with power on both sides of the plate. He can play any corner IF position, and would make an excellent platoon or bench bat, or even a starter on a team looking to develop a young infielder.
• 1B John Grondin - one of the greatest players in league history who can still produce. He has settled into his new role at 1B well, and continues to rake. In a pinch, he can go back to his old home at 2B, or even 3B, and give you veteran experience. I'll kick in some cash to cover his salary, if necessary.
• SS Miguel Martinez - he inherited the coveted SS role from all-time great Ricky Peppers and is a solid gloveman who can play the infield skill positions 2B, 3B, and SS with gold-glove quality. He's a capable lead-off hitter, as well, and has a team option on his contract for next season.
• OF Guillermo Martinez - signed to be my #4 outfielder, he can start in the corner OF positions. He's a free agent after this season, so he'd be a cheap rental for any team that needs help.
• OF Gan Mah - a recent 1st round pick who made it into the starting lineup at age 24, he has been my starting RF for the past season and a half, and has done very well. While not a power hitter, he's on pace for over 20 HR this season. Again, he's only 25 and under team control for six more seasons.
• RP Tony Dominguez - veteran and inexpensive, he's a capable setup or late-middle innings guy.
• RP Jeff King - not that this means too much, but he's probably been my most consistent middle reliever this season. He's consistent and inexpensive, exactly what you need for relief pitching.
• RP Kwang-Sub Kim - my best relief pitcher not named Placeres. He can be an eighth or ninth inning guy for a contender.

I'll also listen to offers for Ieyasu Suzuki, George Robinson, Bartolo Olivarez, and Carlos Placeres, but I'm not too inclined to trade them. 

Interested in any of the above? Email me at michael@symbiola.com to start the trade discussions!

May II Sim Complete

Game Date:  Jun 1 2027

Standings:
Adams:  Atlanta leads London by a single game.
Zotti:  Seattle has a commanding 11 game lead over Brick.
Signorino:  Maui is one game up on Antelope Valley.

Awards & Accomplishments:
Brick CF Matt Foster named Player of the Week (5/17, 2nd career award).
Ohio's Gustavo Melendez struck out 15 batters (5/20)
Brooklyn's Arthur Cain hit for the cycle (5/21)
Maui CF Ernesto Salcido named Player of the Week (5/24)
Norfolk 1B Luis Lozano named Player of the Week (5/31, 2nd award this season)
Seattle CF Yvon Settignano named Batter of the Month (2nd career award)
Seattle's Bruno Talamantez named Pitcher of the Month (2nd career award)
Highland 1B Manuel Hidalgo named Rookie of the Month.

Milestones:
Maui 3B  Richard Bender reached 2000 hits.

Significant Injuries:
Antelope Valley 3B Peppino Rondinelli strained a groin and will miss 5-6 weeks.
Seattle RF Maximo Rodriguez strained his ACL and will be out 5-6 weeks.
Brooklyn 1B Arthur Cain strained a quadracep and will be out 3-4 weeks.

Ronald Quijada Leaderboard Watch
Runs:  Quijada scored one run this sim and now has 1866.  He is two runs behind Hukill.
Games:  Quijada has now played 2804 games and is now 78 games behind Hukill.
At Bats:  Quijada now has 9623 at bats.
Hits:  Quijada now has 2584 hits.
Singles:  Quijada has 1707 singles and follows Gregorio Marzano by 52.
Walks:  Quijada has 1838 walks, and is 40 walks behind Luis Jeon.

Next sim:  Thursday night

MR Help for the Hurricanes

Minor trade to announce.  The Shackamaxom Lenape have traded MR Carlos 'Toast' Arias to the Atlanta Hurricanes for their 3rd round pick in the 2028 draft.  There was much rejoicing.

Rain Delay

I'm afraid I'm going to have to postpone the sim to Saturday night.  We have one owner with a strange tech problem that is preventing him from uploading his changes.

Zev

Shackamaxon commences shedding

The Lenape, off to yet another slow start, have begun the process of shedding veterans from their underperforming pitching staff.

"We have traded Adam Hone to the London Monarchs," Lenape GM Michael Weintraub announced. "In return, we are getting exciting young infielder Jesus Alvarez and a 4th round draft pick."

Other members of the beleaguered Lenape bullpen were stunned as Hone said his goodbyes. "I really hope I'm not next," said Kwang-Sub Kim, who features a 1.82 ERA and a 10.9 K/9 ratio in 24.2 innings thus far this season.

Other veterans, including Carlos Arias, Jeff King, and Tony Dominguez, refused comment and stared into their lockers, pondering their fate.

Norfolk trades with Seattle again......

Norfolk GM Thomas Carrano seams to think draft picks are like hot potato's since he trades them as fast as he get them. Today was no different as he has traded London's 1st round pick that he just got from another trade to get 2 young pitching prospects and a young 2B. SP Hector Valdez will move from Seattle's AAA to Norfolk's rotation, while 2B Ramon Macias will also be joining the ML club. The last player in the trade is Mike Peck who is in single-A and has a chance to either be a CL/MR star if he develops. The rich get richer as I know Seattle is so great at finding great players through the draft and that's why I looked into his minor leagues players to try and get some talent that will help me for the future.

Raptors Bolster Sagging Pitching Staff

After 2026's surprising run into the playoffs, Antelope Valley is determined to go even deeper this year.  After locking up All Pro 2B Rick Bryant for 7 years and adding some bench depth with veteran 3B Ronald Quijada, the Raptors have bolstered a perennially underachieving pitching staff by adding pitchers Harry Wagner and Mark Blanton from the Highland Admirals.   Wagner will slot into the starting rotation, taking the place of beleaguered SP Jermaine "The Christmas Tree" Earp while Blanton may work as a starter, allowing Knowles to move to the pen where he is better suited.    Hopefully working long relief out of the pen will allow Earp to regain his form.  It is suspected that Chiang and free agent disaster Robles will be DFA'd.  The acquisition of Robles hadn't worked out as planned, but the emergence of Rule 5 pick Mark Fields has prevented the Raptor's bullpen from being a complete 'gasoline alley'.  Former starter Lucas Sweeney has also adapted well to his move to the bullpen.

The Raptors paid a heavy price to acquire the Admiral's pitchers, giving up minor leaguers MR Carlos Velazquez (AAA), 3B Craig Clayton (AA), MR Luis Quinones (AA), SP John Manning (AAA) and a 3rd round pick.  After years of stocking up minor leaguers and a few good drafts, AV felt they could sacrifice the youngsters in order to strengthen their run this year.

      
                                GM Fred Goldfarb seeking trade for disgruntled pitcher Ethan Moyer....

Ethan Moyer has approached me with the request to be traded. He feels that the role he is being used  for is not what he wants so he requested to be traded ..his career numbers are 77-70 with 106 saves and a career 3.99 ERA ..This year he has played in 20 games and has a 4.41 ERA.... H e can both start and close....Looking for reasonable offers of prospects or picks or both...well consider all options....

London announces trades with Norfolk, Highland

London -- The London Dragon announced two major trades late Saturday night. They first announced that they had come to terms with the Norfolk Tide, sending top pitching prospect Ron Hill and a 1st round pick for a couple of veteran arms for the bullpen in Matt McDonald and Alejandro Lopez. Just an hour or so later they sent another top pitching prospect Jesus Cruz and a 2nd round pick for slugger Jesus Flores and veteran starter Jack Kaiser.

Coach Urista, speaking to reporters after the deals were announced, said the deals were aimed at bolstering the team's major weakness - pitching. "Hill and Cruz have very bright futures ahead of them, but this makes us better now. Lopez gives us a much-needed left arm out of the bullpen, while Kaiser and McDonald give us a veteran presence for our younger SPs". Flores is expected to move into a platoon with Carlos Ortega.

Matt McDonald had only recently been traded from the Highland Admirals to Norfolk several days prior, and according to his agent he had barely unpacked his bags when news of the trade to London came in. "He's excited to be going to a team in the thick of a playoff race, and looks forward to contributing to getting the Dragons back to the Cecil Cup finals", said the agent.

John and Thomas Carrano must have interesting things to talk about at family gatherings; the cousins recently took over the Highland Admirals and Norfolk Tide, and both have been very active, quickly placing their respective stamps on their teams, both of which have struggled in recent years.

Antelope Valley Seeking Pitching Help

Anyone have any spare pitching they are willing to part with?  Looking for some bullpen help or bottom of the rotation guy.  Willing to take on an aging veteran in last year(s) of contract if they are still pitching OK, or will mortgage a little more of the future for a younger arm.

Let me know.

Bill Sauerwald
AV Raptors
bill.sauerwald@earthlink.net

May I Sim Done

Game Date:  May 16 2027

Standings:
Adams:  Atlanta leads London by two games.
Zotti: Seattle is four games up on Brick.
Signorino:  Antelope Valley has a three game lead on Maui.

Awards & Accomplishments:
Antelope Valley 1B Jaime Alvarez named Player of the Week (5/3)
Norfolk 1B Luis Lozano named Player of the Week (5/10)

Milestones:
Maui's David Seibel knocked in his 1000th run (5/5)
Shackamaxon 1B John Grondin recorded his 2500th hit (5/6), the sixth player to reach that level.

Significant Injuries:
Houston will be without RF Jesus Barcello for about three weeks because of a hamstring strain.
Atlanta SP Chris Black is done for the year with a shoulder inflammation.
London RP Bong-ok Ch'on is out for eight weeks with an elbow strain.
Atlanta 2B Toshinobu Mizutani fractured a rib and he'll miss about four weeks.
Norfolk SP Teddy O'herlihy will miss three weeks with shoulder soreness.


Ronald Quijada Leaderboard Watch:
Runs: Quijada did not score a single run this sim.  He still has 1865 runs and is only three runs behind John Hukill.
Games:  Quijada has played in 2791 games and is 97 games behind John Hukill.
At Bats:  Quijada is at 96061 at bats and is 513 at bats behind Luis Jeon.
Hits:  Quijada has 2582 hits.  He is 71 behind Dong Lutz and 76 behind Brian Frison.
Singles:  Quijada has 1706 singles.  He is 53 behind Gregorio Marzano.
Walks:  Quijada has 1837 walks and is 41 walks behind Luis Jeon.

Next sim:  Thursday Night

                               Brick and Highland trade again

Brick sends Velasquez  AA Reliever and Julio Quintana  and 2nd round pick in 2028 draft to Highland for  Miguel Archuleta SP  and Angel Padilla 3rd basemen ..both GM'S  are very happy with the trade ...GM John Carrano  was very happy with acquiring another top prospect in Quintana and buullpen help down the road in Velasquez...GM Fred Goldfarb was very happy with his picks as he has made it his mission to acquire as many young starters as he can get in Archuleta and fill in a need with 3rd basemen Padilla....a lot of smiles was evident between both GM'S

Higlands gets younger in major trade....

A trade has been worked out between Norfolk and Highlands. Norfolk approached me about seeing if I would trade some of my vets for a high draft pick and young players who they had traded for...Highlands is in rebuild and was looking at the trade as something maybe bigger to come? Highlands traded SP Matt McDonald, 2B Bill O'Neil and SP Gil Moore FOR Norfolk's 2nd round pick in 2028 draft SS Angel Rodriguez, CL Al Dougan AAA, 2B Angel Trujillo AAA and MR Ryan Pennington.
Norfolk feels if they get O'Neil that maybe he will spark there offense to turn around a dreadful start to a season and McDonald and Moore to an already surprising good start for there starters and relief pitching. Highlands gets to use this season to evaluate these young players and with the 2nd round coming will have 3 2nd's and 3 3rd round picks next years draft to get either good young prospects or make a major trade for some great talent.

April II Sim Done

Game Date:  May 1 2027

Standings:
Adams:  Atlanta holds a one game lead over London
Zotti:  Seattle leads Brick by two games.
Signorino:  Antelope Valley leads Houston and Maui by four games.

Accomplishments:
Houston 1B Nigel Bryant named Player of the Week (4/19, 14th career award)
Maui LF Juan Alvarez named Player of the Week (4/26, 2nd career award)
Antelope Valley C Lloyd Rideout named Batter of the Month
Antelope Valley SP Dave Klien named Pitcher of the Month (3rd career award)
Atlanta C Clay Burns named Rookie of the Month

Significant Injuries:
Ohio RP Leslie Bennett has an inflamed shoulder and will be out for 3-4 months.
Atlanta SP Ernest Metcalf also has a shoulder inflammation and will be out for 4 months.
Norfolk CF Pierre Gilbert has an intercostal strain and will miss four weeks.
Houston LF Wilson Santos strained a groin muscle.  He's out for 5-6 weeks.
Maui CF Angel Banuelos will miss four months with a fractured ankle.
Houston RP Kevin Alexander has an elbow strain.  He'll miss eight weeks.
Antelope Valley LF Ray McJannett separated his shoulder.  He's out for four weeks.
Norfolk's Stefano Gomez has shoulder tendinitis and will be out 5-6 weeks.

Milestones:
Shackamaxon's John Grondin scored his 1500th run.
Houston's Andres Velasco scored his 1000th run.

Ronald Quijada Leaderboard Watch:

Runs: Quijada has 1865 runs and is only three runs behind John Hukill.
Games:  Quijada has played in 2779 games and is 109 games behind John Hukill.
At Bats:  Quijada is at 9588 at bats and is 531 at bats behind Luis Jeon.
Hits:  Quijada has 2580 hits.  He is 73 behind Dong Lutz and 78 behind Brian Frison.
Singles:  Quijada has 1704 singles.  He is 55 behind Gregorio Marzano.
Walks:  Quijada has 1835 walks and is 43 walks behind Luis Jeon.

Next Sim: Thursday Night

Trade between Brick and Highland

Brick trade Jesus Souza shortstop to Highland for the rights to Todd Davis reliever...
this trade removes the rule 5 tag off  Davis and provides the ability to send him to the minors if desired....After the debacle against Norfolk GM Goldfarb feels it could be he needs more time in the minors....GM Goldfarb believes he is  part of the teams future but might not be ready now...

Delay

I'm going to delay tonight's sim until Saturday night to resolve a roster issue on one team.

April I Sim Complete

Game Date:  Apr 16, 2027

Standings:
Adams:  London has a one game lead over Atlanta and Brooklyn.
Zotti:  Brick and Seattle are tied for the lead, two games ahead of Shackamaxon.
Signorino:  Antelope Valley is four games ahead of Houston and Norfolk.

Accomplishments:
Houston 3B Andreas Velasco slugs three homers against Norfolk (4/6), the first player to do so in over a year.
Norfolk CF Pierre Gilbert takes the inaugural Player of the Week award (4/12, second career award)

Significant Injuries:
Houston CF Miguel Cantu has an intercostal strain.  He's going to miss five weeks.
London SP Miguel Cooper partially tore his labrum.  He's gone for three months.
London RF Jonathan Anderson has a concussion.  He's expected to be out for six weeks.

Milestones:
Houston's Andreas Velasco reached 1000 RBI (4/2)
Shackamaxon 1B John Grondin (4/14) scored his 1500th run, the sixth player to do so.

Ronald Quijada Leaderboard Watch:

Antelope Valley 3B Ronald Quijada is in position to become the all-time leader in several offensive categories this season.  Among them are:

• Runs -- Quijada (1859) is second to John Hukill (1868).  Nine runs will make him the all time leader
• Games -- Quijada (2767) is second to John Hukill (2888).  He needs 121 more games to take the lead.
• At Bats -- Quijada (9569) is second to Luis Jeon (10119).  He needs 550 more at bats to reach Jeon.
• Hits -- Quijada (2575) is currently in third place to Dong Lutz (2653) and Brian Frison (2658).  He needs 83 hits to reach Lutz and 88 to reach Frison.
• Singles -- Quijada (1699) is second to Gregorio Marzano (1759).  Sixty singles will allow him to reach Marzano.
• Walks -- Quijada (1829) is second to Luis Jeon (1878).  49 walks are needed to reach Jeon.

Next sim:  Thursday Night

Opening Day Delay...

Sorry, everyone, but I'm going to have to put off Opening Day until Saturday night.  We have two teams that do not have their rosters down to size.  They have until Saturday night before I either do it myself or allow the computer to do it.

Zev

Shackamaxon and Brick trade... again

Shackamaxon and Brick have a minor trade to announce:

The Lenape send AAA utility IF Glenn Tate to Brick for a 2028 6th round draft pick.

Shackamaxon's garage sale

I have a bevy of decent players, either veterans or former prospects, who didn't make my major league roster and are going to languish at AAA this season. If you need any depth, check out these players:

• Starting pitchers -- Chris Webster, Rick Taylor, Cullen Jones, and Neil Green
• Relief pitchers -- John Field, Ambroz Ondra, and Chris Mason (all left-handed, by the way)
• Catchers -- John Jenkins and Anthony Powers
• Infielders -- Victor Paz, Adrie de Leeuw, Juan Rodriguez, and Sixto Vargas
• Outfielders -- Guy Imbeault, Ignatio Lopez, Hidekazu Iwasaki, and Waylon Lawrence

I'm not looking for much in return. 

Updated last non-trade post

Added 3rd round pick to go along with 2nd round pick and cash to help find player home.

Highland
John

Maui / Highland Trade

Maui and Highland agreed to a rare Opening Day trade that will send star catcher Aaron Hampton to the sunny shores of Maui.  Hampton, who missed almost the entire 2027 season with a ruptured MCL, will be a free agent next year.  Hampton did not fit into the future plans for the new Highland front office, particularly after acquiring two promising catching prospects from Shackamaxon and Seattle in recent deals.

In exchange for Hampton, SP Matt McDonald and C Chad Weaver will be calling Highland their new home.  To complete the deal, Highland is also sending Maui its 4th and 6th round draft picks, and $3 million cash to cover some of Hampton's salary.

New Home Needed.....

I am looking to find 1B Jesús Flores a new home as the team has traded for a young promising prospect who will get the bulk of the playing time. I am offering MY 2nd round pick,3rd round pick in the 2028 and 10 million for this season for an young mid prospect(SS,OF).  He has a career AVG of .295 30 HR's and about 95 RBI's.
Hit me up if interested

Highland Admirals
John Carrano  

Atlanta gets in on the trade frenzy

After sitting out much of the offseason frenzy, the Atlanta Hurricanes have decided to get into the action the day before the new season kicks off.  Knowing that they need help in their bullpen, they get a proven closer and a young MR from the Highland Admirals.

CL Julio 'Prophet' Delvalle will immediately assume the closer's roll in Atlanta.  MR Ralph Turner will serve as middle relief help to take some pressure off the other arms.

The Admirals will get younger as they want with 2 young future stars coming over in the trade.  AAA 1B Manuel Hidalgo and SP Will Walker along with a 2nd round pick in the 2028 draft.  Atlanta will also shed 2 of it's underperforming stars and Highlands hopes a change of scenery will help them out. SP Jack Kaiser and MR Manuel Galido will finish this deal.

Everyone is ready for the new season, and it Atlanta they just got a bit more excited.

Welcome To Opening Day!!

It's a beautiful day here at League Park as we are ready to start the 26th season of SDMB OOTP baseball!  Will the Seattle Monarchs be able to keep their crowns and earn an amazing twelfth title?  Will newcomers Norfolk and Highland be vastly improved after their trading frenzies?  These questions and more will be answered in the coming months.  In the meantime... PLAY BALL!!

Game Date:  Apr 1 2027

Commissioner's Note:  Please be sure to have your active roster down to 25 players by Opening Day.  Please don't make me have to make your roster decisions for you.

Next sim (covering the first half of April)  Thursday evening.

Shackamaxon shakes up roster

On the verge of the new season, the Shackamaxon Lenape pulled off a stunning trade, opening a spot in the rotation for the team's top prospect.

"We are pleased to announce a trade with the Highland Admirals," GM Michael Weintraub stated. "We engaged John in a discussion about catchers, and the deal quickly developed from there."

The Lenape are sending a package of three players to the Admirals in exchange for top outfield prospect Elwood Kerr and a 1st round draft pick. Heading to Highland are starting pitcher Harry Wagner, and farmhands Max Price, a catcher/third baseman, and third baseman Cristo Bustamente.

"While we're sad to see Harry go," Weintraub said. "This opens a spot in the rotation for John Ryan, whom we believe is ready to step into the major leagues. We also believe we have the infield depth to afford the loss of Price and Cristo. We wish all three of them luck in their new organization."

Seattle Welcomes a Workhorse Home

The Seattle Monarchs today celebrated the return of shortstop Pedro "Workhorse" Campos in a monster trade with the Highlands Admirals. Campos had been a top prospect for Seattle before being dealt to what was then Hickory in a deal for a draft pick that eventually became starting pitcher Chris "Ogre" Williams. Now that Campos has blossomed and is on the verge of superstardom, the Monarchs have brought him back.

Seattle had to pay a pretty steep price for the shortstop. Highlands will receive three top prospects--centerfielder Ismail Rodriguez, catcher Mark Porter, and second baseman Jose Munoz-- and Seattle's third-round pick in next year's draft.

"We're delighted to have Pedro come back to a Monarchs uniform," said Seattle Owner/GM Mack Shultz. "He's really blossomed as a hitter and a defender and he'll be a great addition to our team. We'll certainly miss the three guys headed to the Highlands, but we feel like we've got a great team with a good shot at winning a title."

Speculation immediately began swirling around incumbent starting shortstop Dewey Wilson, who is currently on the DL but expected back in a couple weeks. Shultz tried to defuse them. "Dewey is a great player, and extremely versatile. I'm always willing to listen to offers, but Wilson  is a team player and will make  an excellent utility infielder, filling in everywhere in the infield. Plus, you never know when someone is going to go down with an injury. Now, we're well set to handle that possibility."

Highlands first trade !!!

Today Highlands made there first trade of the season as they agreed to a trade with Norfolk. Highlands will receive from Norfolk young MR Alfonso Reyes, SP Rafael Rojas and Norfolk's 3rd round pick in 2028 in exchange for veteran SP Jesus Garcia, their 5th round pick 2028 and 3,000,000 dollars to help cover Garcia's 8 mil contract. Highlands sheds payroll will getting a better pick for the draft and Norfolk gets a veteran who though lost 19 games last year had two strong season before it.

Highlands players for had !!!!

As I look at my new team I have noticed that it is either really old players or really young players so I have decided to try and get really young and rebuild for the next couple of years. So all vets are for had if a team is looking to add a piece to try and help them this year. Let me know.

Highlands
John 

Next Sim Saturday Night

I've put the next sim off until Saturday night to give John a chance to make changes to his team.

Highands Admirals take over for Hickory

Hello everyone, My name is John Carrano and am cousins with Thomas who runs the Norfolk team. I joined this league due the fact that he told me about it and how there was a team open. I'm from NJ and love all teams from NY like the Mets who I plan on fitting my team around.... Pitching wins games and they have 5-6. I want to build my team thru the draft If I can but also like to trade like my cousin I see. I have looked at the Hickory team and it looks like a ruff season this year lol. Hope we all have a great season.

John Carrano

Sim's Done -- Opening Day Coming Up

Game Date:  Mar 29 2027

The next sim will be the last sim of Spring Training.

Significant Injuries:
Norfolk SS Juan Chavez will miss five weeks with a strained hamstring
Hickory MR Leroy Gray injured his hand and will miss eight weeks.

Last sim of Spring Training:  Thursday Night.

Seattle-Norfolk Trade Three ... er ... Four

Admittedly, it's hard to keep up. But the ranks of former Monarchs within the Norfolk system continue to grow. This time it's starting pitcher Teddy "Gravedigger" O'Herlihy headed off to be a Tide.

Drafted by Seattle late in the second round in 2019, O'Herlihy quickly bloomed into an elite pitcher. In 2021-22, at the tender ages of 22 and 23, O'Herlihy combined for a 26-3 record with a 2.42 ERA. Bothered by injuries the last few seasons, he hasn't been able to recapture that glory, but he remains an immensely talented pitcher.

In return for O'Herlihy and an undisclosed amount of cash (sources place it at the $3.2 million necessary to cover O'Herlihy's salary this season), Seattle will receive the second-round pick originally belonging to Shackamaxon and acquired earlier this offseason by Norfolk, along with picks in the fourth and fifth rounds.

"We wish Teddy the best," said Seattle Owner/GM Mack Shultz. "I remain confident in Teddy's talent, but this was a good chance for us to open a spot in our rotation for some other guys who we're very excited about." Shultz mentioned top prospect Chris "Ogre" Williams and former reliever Yoshifumi "Wolverine" Tanaka as new pitchers expected to start the season in the Monarchs' rotation.

Sim's Done

Game Date:  Mar 22, 2027

Opening Day is rapidly approaching...

Significant Injuries:
Houston SP Russ Singleton has a partially torn labrum and is out for 4 months
Seattle will be without SS Dewey Wilson for about 5-6 weeks with a strained groin muscle.
Maui's newly acquired reliever Mark Richard has sprained his ankle and will be on the bench for two months.
Brooklyn infielder Luis Figueroa tore his ankle ligaments and will be out for 4-5 months.

Next sim:  Saturday night

Sim's Done

Game Date:  Mar 15 2027

Signings:
Maui signed RF Raul Ortega (Seattle) to a 1 year contract for $5.7m
Norfolk signed MR Ryan Pennington (extension) to a 3 yr/$1.95m contract.
Norfolk signed 1B Luis Lozano to a 2 yr/$8.5m extension.

Significant Injuries:
London SP Erik Moore has an inflamed shoulder and will be sidelined for 3-4 weeks.
Houston SP Russ Singleton partially tore his laburm.  He's out for 4 months.
Seattle SS Dewey Wilson strained a groin muscle and will sit on the bench for 5-6 weeks.

Next sim:  Wednesday night

Lookin for young SP pitchers

Any owner who has some SP's that they are willing to trade please let me know. I am not looking for any pitcher 30 and older and that has a salary that is high. Please let me know....
Norfolk
Thomas

Sim's Done

Game Date:  Mar 8 2027

Signings:
Norfolk:  SP Carlos Rivera (extension) (2 yrs/$2.1m)

Significant Injuries:
Hickory SS Tommy Johns (no, I'm not making that up!) ruptured his Achilles' tendon and is likely done for the season.

Next sim:  Saturday night.

Rain Delay

My apologies, everyone... I was up very late in the hospital with a sick relative last night and did not get to the sim.  We'll take care of it tonight.

Seattle-Norfolk Trade

Seattle bids farewell today to one of its all-time greats as centerfielder Bas Bijkerk heads to Norfolk in a major trade. Bijkerk broke into the majors ten years ago at the tender age of 21 and had started in center ever since. Bijkerk provided superior defense and averaged 20 home runs, 34 doubles and almost 80 RBI per year. Unfortunately, he had been supplanted last year by the acquisition of Yvon Settignano and therefore needed a new home where he could start.

Monarchs Owner/GM Mack Shultz, honoring the work Bijkerk did in helping win five championships, set about to find Bijkerk that opportunity. A match was found in Norfolk and the two teams have agreed to a trade.

In the deal, Seattle sends Bijkerk, young reliever George Mrazek, centerfield prospect Carlos Ortega, and an undisclosed amount of cash to Norfolk in exchange for rightfielder Jorge Moya and a first-round pick next year.

The Monarchs wish Bijkerk well with the Tides and may he bring them many championships.

Re: Shackamaxon/Norfolk prospects and picks trade

Now that the 2027 draft is complete, it's time to start trading 2028 draft picks. And, Shackamaxon and Norfolk have completed the first trade involving a 2028 draft pick.

To finish this deal, the Norfolk Tides are acquiring a 2nd round pick in 2028 for AA OF Benjamin Anderson.

And thus it begins again...

You've Always Got To Wonder...

... when you don't pick until the middle or late in the first round of the draft and, lo and behold, you got the guy you rated as your #1 pick.  Did you just score a major coup?  Or are you the only one who saw him as being worth a high pick at all?

#DraftSecondGuessing

Amateur Draft Done!

Game Date:  Mar 2 2027

Notes:  We have a vacancy in the league as Frank has resigned as the owner of the Hickory Huskers.  If you know someone who'd like to play, please feel free to have them reach out to Michael or myself.

Next sim:  Wednesday night

Shackamaxon stocks up on shortstops

Fresh off trading their top three shortstop prospects to Norfolk, the Shackamaxon Lenape have restored their minor league shortstop depth via a trade with division rival Ohio.

"After we were done dealing with Norfolk, we looked at our depth charts and realized we didn't have any shortstop prospects. With Miguel Martinez nearing the end of his contract, we needed to address that," Lenape GM Michael Weintraub explained. "We made the first deal with Maui for Locker, and now we are proud to announce that we have acquired Tae-Sung Pak from Ohio."

Heading to Ohio for Pak is starting pitching prospect Chad Harrison and two second round picks, Shackamaxon's original pick, and one recently acquired from Norfolk.

"We're happy with all of our pre-draft trades. We've improved our outfield prospects with Juan Arroyo and the imminent trade for Benjamin Anderson. We got two good starter prospects, and only lost one," Weintraub said. "We also upgraded our shortstop depth considerably, as we rate Locker and Pak higher than the guys we traded. And, we picked up a couple of extra 3rd, 4th, and 5th round picks."

The Lenape plan to start Pak in AAA Arizona Bay, while Locker will start at AA Kalmar. Whether either, or both, reach the majors in 2027 remains to be seen.

Maui / Shackamaxon Trade

Is it just me or has this been one of the more active offseasons in recent memory?  In keeping with that spirit, Maui and Shackamaxon have agreed to the following minor trade:

Maui sends AA SS Jonathan Locker and its 5th round pick in the 2027 amateur draft to Shackamaxon.

Shackamaxon sends AA RF Don Jones to Maui.

Norfolk and Brick swap players

Today Norfolk and Brick came together to work out a trade to better help both there rosters moving forward. Norfolk main reason for this trade was MR Sergio Lujan who is young and a little wild but has future set-up man or closer in him and SP Rico Padua who might be a LR for us or an extra SP if need be. Brick gets prospects in return as they get single-A CF Julio Quintero who is or was a top 100 prospect and single-A MR Juan Anzora. Norfolk also threw in a 8th round pick from the 2027 draft to help get the trade done.