Sim Delay

To All,

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I'm going to have to delay the playoffs for about a week.  The next sim will be on Tuesday night, March 7.

Thank you for your patience.

Zev

Seattle, Brick Take Game 1

Game 2:  Monday night.

September II Sim Done -- Welcome to the Playoffs

Game Date:  Sep 23, 2029

Who Uploaded?:
Antelope Valley
Brick
Houston
Maui
Seattle
Shackamaxon

Final Standings:

Adams:  Mepkin Abbey wins by 22 games

Zotti:  Seattle wins by 21 games

Signorino:  Maui wins by four games over Antelope Valley

Wild Card:  Brick wins by 17 games over Appalachian

Playoff Matchups:

Maui vs. Seattle and Brick vs. Mepkin Abbey

Awards & Accomplishments:

Brooklyn's Alejandro Aurillio named Player of the Week (9/17)

Injuries:

Mepkin Abbey's Larry McCormick will miss the playoffs with a strained oblique.

Next sim:  Game 1 of the playoffs will be simmed on Saturday night.  If your team is participating in the playoffs, please be sure to have your playoff roster down to 25. 

Discussion: Playoff Expansion II

(For reference, here's the last time we discussed this, during the massive rule change discussion period before the 2028 season.)

After my pithy comment in the last sim thread about expanding the playoffs, I've done a lot of thinking about how to improve the chances of all of the teams in the league. Short of getting rid of the divisions and making it a 12-team league, there isn't really a fair way to ensure that the best teams get into the postseason. If we did that, this is how the standings would look heading into the final week of the season:

1. Seattle - 116 wins
2. Brick - 97 wins
3. Mepkin Abbey - 84 wins
4. Appalachian - 81 wins
5. Maui - 80 wins
6. Antelope Valley - 77 wins (tie)
7. Shackamaxon - 77 wins (tie)
8. Houston - 75 wins
9. Brooklyn - 64 wins
10. Atlanta - 63 wins
11. Highland - 59 wins
12. Norfolk - 57 wins

So, under that criteria, the four teams that would make the postseason are Seattle, Brick, Mepkin Abbey, and Appalachian, with four teams on their tail heading into the final week: Maui, Antelope Valley, Shackamaxon, and Houston. That's eight teams, two-thirds of the league, with legitimate postseason hopes as the season winds down. 

I see both an advantage and disadvantage to ditching the divisions. The advantage is since the schedule is already balanced, and each team plays a similar schedule (regardless of what division they're in), the divisions are purely ceremonial and arbitrary divisions of teams. The disadvantage is that divisions foster rivalries, and both the Zotti and Adams divisions have existed since the start of the league over 15 or so years of real-time play that we have had.

Should we keep the divisions as-is and add a second wild card team? That's probably the easiest fix, and would invite, in our current system, Appalachian in, but with the same teams on their tail heading into the final sim.

Or, should we think more radically and both expand the postseason and re-align the divisions? I've thought about that, too, and I think using natural rivalries and geography make some easy placements:

Zotti Division (aka, Eastern):

• Brick
• Brooklyn
• Shackamaxon
• Mepkin Abbey

Adams Division (aka Western):

• Seattle
• Maui
• Antelope Valley
• Appalachian

Signorino Division (aka Southern):

• Houston
• Norfolk
• Highland
• Atlanta

If we aligned this way and added a second wild card, the (expected ) division winners this year would be Brick, Seattle, and Houston, with Maui, Appalachian, and Antelope Valley in the new division of death with Seattle and in a good dogfight for the two wild card spots. 

Here are the teams ranked by average number of wins over the past 10 seasons, 2020-2029. Of course, the 2029 season isn't complete yet, but the averages shouldn't shift that much:

1. Seattle (115.1 wins)
2. Brick (91.1 wins)
3. Maui (88.2 wins)
4. Shackamaxon (80.8 wins)
5. Brooklyn (80.4 wins)
6. Antelope Valley (79.3 wins)
7. Appalachian (77.9 wins)
8. Mepkin Abbey (75.4 wins)
9. Norfolk (74.1 wins)
10. Atlanta (69.4 wins)
11. Houston (68.7 wins)
12. Highland (67.5 wins)

Here's how a simple re-alignment would look by ranking the teams that way:

Adams Division:

• Seattle
• Antelope Valley
• Norfolk
• Highland

Zotti Division:

• Brick
• Brooklyn
• Mepkin Abbey
• Houston

Signorino Division:

• Maui
• Shackamaxon
• Appalachian
• Atlanta

Again, the division winners this year would be Seattle, Brick, and Maui, with Mepkin Abbey in wild card #1 spot, and Appalachian in wild card #2. Antelope Valley and Shackamaxon would both be in play for the postseason.

I think this is the fairest system. While I personally like the idea of the geographical divisions, as it would preserve my rivalry with Brick, I think this would open up the chances for more teams.

Or, we could have a draft! Seattle, Brick, and Maui would get to pick their division-mates in a snake draft. That might be fun to do.

As far as adding a second wild card, I think the consensus last time we talked about this was, if we were going to do it, have it be a play-in game or short series. I think a three-game (Home-Away-Home) series would be best. The winner of that series would be ranked #4 in the postseason tournament tree. A one-game winner-takes-all (like the current MLB system) is also an option.

What do you think?

Sep I Sim Done

Game Date:  Sep 15 2029

Who Uploaded?:
Antelope Valley
Appalachian
Brick
Houston
Maui
Mepkin Abbey
Seattle
Shackamaxon

Standings:

Mepkin Abbey (Adams), Seattle (Zotti) and Brick (Wild Card) have all clinched.

In the sole remaining race, Maui leads Antelope Valley by three.

Awards & Accomplishments:

Brick LF Ken Reed named Player of the Week (9/3, 2nd award this season)

Highland 1B Manuel Hidalgo named Player of the Week (9/10, 2nd career award).

Significant Injuries:

Norfolk's Gregg Fiala is done for the year with a partially torn labrum.

Batting Line of the Sim:

Seattle's Yvon Settignino went 2-2 (both HRs) with 4 walks, five runs and five RBI (9/10)

Pitching Line of the Sim:

Maui's Juan Ramirez pitched a four hit shutout vs. Brooklyn while striking out five (9/2)

Next sim:  Wednesday night, when we'll put the regular season in the books.

Aug II Sim Done. Roster Expansion Time

Game Date:  Sep 1 2029

Who Uploaded:
Antelope Valley
Appalachian
Atlanta
Brick
Houston
Mepkin Abbey
Seattle
Shackamaxon

Standings:
Adams:  Mepkin Abbey in front by sixteen.
Zotti:  Seattle by seventeen.
Signorino: Maui by two.
Wild Card:  Brick up by fifteen.

Awards & Accomplishments:

Norfolk's Luis Santiago named Player of the Week (8/20)
Seattle's Norman Kuhn hit 3 home runs (8/23)
Brick's Ken Reed hit for the cycle (8/27)
Seattle's Norman Kuhn named Player of the Week (8/27, 7th career award and 5th (!) award this season).  He was also named Batter of the Month (5th career award, 2nd this season).
Seattle RP Juan Garcia named Pitcher of the Month.
Appalachian 2B Michael Lambert named Rookie of the Month (2nd award)

Significant Injuries:
Shackamaxon RF Jesus Barcello (fractured hand, 5-6 weeks)
Houston RF Raul Ortega (torn ACL, done for the year, may miss early next season as well)
Seattle 1B Luis Lozano (sprained ankle, 4 weeks)
Antelope Valley LF Jeremy Reed (shoulder soreness, 4 weeks)
Shackamaxon SS Greg Ray (fractured rib, 3 weeks)

Milestones:
None

Batting Line of the Sim:
Seattle's Yvon Settignano went 3-4 with 2 home runs, a walk 3 runs scored and 7 RBI (8/30)

Pitching Line of the Sim: 
Houston's Claudio Flores pitched a two hit shutout against Brooklyn striking out nine and walking two (8/26)

Notes:  Don't forget that you can expand those rosters to 40 players starting today.

In Case You Might Be Interested:  I generated about 120 years or so of data to do some research on draft picks.  If you want the raw data, I'd be more than happy to make it available to you.  Just send me an email.

Next sim:  Wednesday night.

Aug I Sim Done

Game Date:  Aug 15 2029

Who Uploaded:
Antelope Valley
Brick
Houston
Maui
Mepkin Abbey
Seattle
Shackamaxon.

Standings:
Adams: Mepkin Abbey leads Atlanta by 11.5 games.
Zotti:  Seattle's lead over Brick is 13 games.
Signorino: Antelope Valley is now 2.5 games ahead of Maui
Wild Card: Brick is 12 games ahead of Appalachian


Awards & Accomplishments:
Seattle DH Luis Lozano named Batter of the Month
Seattle's Toyoshige Takahashi named Pitcher of the Month (4th career award, 2nd this season)
Applachian 2B Michael Lambert named Rookie of the Month
Brooklyn 2B/SS Katsuhiko Jouda named Player of the Week (8/6, 8th career award)
Ismael Rodriguez (Highland) hit 3 HR (8/9)
Maui C Aaron Hampton named Player of the Week (8/13, 2nd career award)

Significant Injuries:
Brick SP Miguel Archuleta (ruptured finger tendon, done for the season)
Mepkin Abbey LF Pedro Munoz (strained rib cage, 3-4 weeks)
Mepkin Abbey 3B Larry McCormick (hamstring strain, 3 weeks)
Mepkin Abbey (sorry, Nate!) SP Bartolo Olivarez (shoulder soreness, 3 weeks)
Maui 1B Dave Seibel (strained hamstring, 3 weeks)
Appalachian Valley CF Marcos Rodriguez (elbow tendinitis, 5 weeks)
Houston 1B Eobanus Schnabel (shoulder soreness, 3 weeks)
Seattle C Steve Jones (torn quad, 5 weeks)
Houston SP Ivan Gallardo (torn UCL, season's done)

Milestones:
Brick's Jesus Flores reaches 300 HR

Batting Line of the Sim:
Highland's Ismael Rodrigez went 3-4, 3 HR, with 4 runs scored and 5 RBI (8/9)

Pitching Line of the Sim:
Antelope Valley's Dave Klien pitched 8 shutout innings, allowing three hits and no walks with 14 K (8/6)

Next sim:  Next Wednesday night.

Brooklyn, Seattle Trade Prospects/Draft Picks

Brooklyn completed a rare trade today, sending AAA C Duncan Gordon and a fourth round pick to Seattle for A OF George White and Seattle's first round pick.