Sim 6 Done

Game Date:  May 16 2033

Who Uploaded:

Antelope Valley
Appalachian
Brick
Chicago
Houston
Maui
Mepkin Abbey
Philadelphia
Wilmington

Standings:

Adams:  Brooklyn leads Brick by three games
Zotti:  Chicago leads Milwaukee by half a game
Signorino:  Philadelphia's lead over Maui is seven games

Awards & Accomplishments:

Atlanta 1B Roy Herbert named Player of the Week (2nd career award)

Significant Injuries:

Mepkin Abbey SP Jack Knapp, gluteus strain, 2 weeks
Wilmington 1B Jose Gonzalez, lacerated finger, 2 weeks.

Milestones:

Brick's Yvon Settignino reached 1000 RBI (5/13)

Batting Line of the Sim:

Atlanta's Roy Herbert went 3-4, 2 HR, 6 RBI, and 3 runs scored vs. Mepkin Abbey, 5/14

Pitching Line of the Sim:

Philadelphia's Tian-bai Chen pitched a three hit shutout with 6 K vs. Mepkin Abbey, 5/11

Last Sim's Trivia Question:

Who was the only member of a losing team to win the World Series MVP Award?

Fred provided the correct answer - Bobby Richardson of the 1960 New York Yankees.  This was the series when the Yankees blew out the Pirates in three games (16-3, 10-0 and 12-0), but lost four close matches to them (6-4, 3-2, 5-2 and 10-9). 

This Sim's Trivia Question:

OK, this one's going to be a bit tougher...

Since 1970, there have been three players who have stolen 15 or more bases in a season and yet, were caught more often they were successful.  Who are these three players?   Feel free to answer in the #random channel.

Administrative Note:

We have new owners for the Chicago and Maui franchises.  Welcome aboard Luke and Alex!

Next sim:  Wednesday night.

Sim 5 Done

Game Date:  May 9 2033

Who Uploaded:

Antelope Valley
Appalachian
Atlanta
Brick
Houston
Mepkin Abbey
Philadelphia
Wilmington
Milwaukee (vacation)

Standings:

Adams: Brooklyn leads Brick by four games
Zotti: Chicago is two ahead of Milwaukee
Signorino: Philadelphia has a five game lead on Maui

Awards & Accomplishments:

Brooklyn SS Ramon Nieto named Player of the Week (4th career award)

Significant Injuries:

Maui 2B Carlos Madrigal, torn quadriceps, 4 weeks
Appalachian SP Miguel Archuleta, bone chips in elbow, done for the season

Milestones:

None

Batting Line of the Sim:

Philadelphia's Javier Ortiz went 3-3, 2 HR, 5 RBI and 3 runs scored vs. Antelope Valley, 5/2

Pitching Line of the Sim:

Houston's David Chapa pitched 8 2/3 innings of one hit ball with 11K vs. Mepkin Abbey 5/7

Last Sim's Trivia Question

Who was the first person to pitch a major league no hitter in Los Angeles?  

As correctly answered by Fred, the answer is Bo Belinsky of the Los Angeles Angels.

This Sim's Trivia Question:

Who was the only member of a losing team to win the World Series MVP Award?  Answer the question in the #random channel on Slack.

Next sim:  Sunday night

Sim 4 Done

Game Date:  May 2 2033

Who Uploaded:

Antelope Valley
Appalachian
Brick
Houston
Mepkin Abbey
Philadelphia
Wilmington

Standings:

Adams: Brooklyn is three games ahead of Houston

Zotti: Milwaukee has a one game lead on Chicago

Signorino:Philadelphia is four ahead of Maui

Awards & Accomplishments:

A bunch of first-timers for the awards this week:

Houston RF Benjamin Anderson named Player of the Week 

Maui 2B Thomas "Nitro" Lyons named Batter of the Month

Maui P Juan "Dud" Ramirez named Pitcher of the Month 

Mepkin Abbey LF Sergio Solis named Rookie of the Month 

Significant Injuries:

Maui C Britt Couch, another 3 months

Mepkin Abbey CF Jim Barnes, oblique strain, 4 weeks

Milwaukee SS Ernesto Gallego, hernia, 7 weeks

Wilmington 2B  Fred Martin, sprained ankle, 5-6 weeks

Milestones:

None

Batting Line of the Sim:

Houston's Joe Haith went 5-5, HR, 3 RBI, 3 runs scored vs Wilmington, 5/1

Pitching Line of the Sim:

Philadelphia's Michael Leach threw nine innings of four hit, one (unearned) run ball with 7K vs. Brick 4/27

Last Sim's Trivia Question:

The Cy Young Award was first awarded in 1956.  Since then, who is the only pitcher to win 25 (or more) games in three different seasons and yet never win the Cy Young Award?  

The answer, correctly given by Fred, is Juan Marichal, who won 25 games in 1963 and 1966, and won 26 in 1968, but never got a single Cy Young vote in any season except 1971 when he won 18.  He finished 8th in the Cy Young voting that year. 

(Oddly enough, he got MVP votes in those years, but no Cy Young votes.).  

This Sim's Trivia Question:

Who was the first person to pitch a major league no hitter in Los Angeles?  Put  your answer in the #random channel on Slack.

Next Sim:  Wednesday night

Sim 3 Done

Game Date:  Apr 25 2033

Who Uploaded:

Antelope Valley
Appalachian
Brick
Houston
Philadelphia
Wilmington

Standings:

Adams:  Brooklyn leads Houston by two.
Zotti: Milwaukee is one game up on Chicago
Signorino: Philadelphia is three games up on Maui


Significant Injuries:

Houston SP Lou Shaw, torn rotator cuff, 5-6 months
Mepkin Abbey 3B Esteban Ordonez, oblique strain, 6-7 weeks
Mepkin Abbey RP Daniel Spooner, bone chips, 7 weeks
Atlanta C Petero Hokualohi, sprained ankle, 3 weeks

Awards & Accomplishments:

Brick RF Ken Reed named Player of the Week (4th career award)

Batting Line of the Sim:

Brick's Alejandro Garcia went 4-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 runs scored vs. Mepkin Abbey 4/23

Pitching Line of the Sim:

Houston's David Chappa pitched a one-hit shutout with 8K vs. Appalachian 4/21.

Milestones:

Milwaukee C Steve Jones hit his 400th home run

Last Sim's Trivia Question:

Who holds the record for the most career home runs while never winning a home run title?  

Fred correctly answered that Rafael Palmiero has more home runs than anyone else who never won a home run titile with 569 lifetime homers.

Trivia Question of the Sim:

The Cy Young Award was first awarded in 1956.  Since then, who is the only pitcher to win 25 (or more) games in three different seasons and yet never win the Cy Young Award?  Post the answer in the #random channel on Slack.

Next sim:  Sunday night.

Sim 2 Done!

Game Date:  Apr 18 2033

Who Uploaded:
Antelope Valley (vacation)
Appalachian
Brick
Houston
Milwaukee
Philadelphia
Wilmington

Standings:

Adams:  Brooklyn leads Brick and Mepkin Abbey by three games.
Zotti: Chicago is a game  up on Milwaukee
Signorino: Philadelphia has a one game lead on Maui


Significant Injuries:

Milwaukee SP Jorge Reyes, bicep tendinitis, 3 months.
Chicago C Steven Broadbent, hamstring strain, 2 weeks
Houston SP Lou Shaw , torn rotator cuff, 5-6 months.

Awards & Accomplishments:

Milwaukee LF Salvador Vasquez named Player of the Week (11th career award)

Batting Line of the Sim:

Antelope Valley's Tzu-Hsia Wang went 3-3, 2 HR, 5 RBI and 3 runs scored vs. Brick 4/13

Pitching Line of the Sim:

Brooklyn's Kieran Rose pitched a four hit shutout with 10 K vs Wilmington 4/14


Milestones:

None

Last Week's Trivia Question:

What do the following pitchers (and *only* the following pitchers) have in common?

Johnny Vandermeer
Allie Reynolds
Virgil Trucks
Nolan Ryan
Jim Abbott
Max Scherzer

This one was a bit tricky.  As the Sesame Street song goes, one of these things is not like the others.  The key to getting the answer was knowing which one was the odd man out and why he was the odd man out. 

Fred was very close when he guessed that they all threw two no-hitters in a season.  All of the above pitchers *did* throw two no-hitters in a season -- except Jim Abbott.  He only threw one in his career. He is, also, the only pitcher on the list with one hand and, the only pitcher with one hand to ever throw a no-hitter.

The correct answer is that each of the above pitchers threw a number of no hitters in a season equal to the number of hands that they have.  No pitchers other than the ones on that list have done so.


Trivia Question of the Sim:

This one should be simpler.   Who holds the record for the most career home runs while never winning a home run title? 

Answer in the #random channel of the Slack thread.  First one with the correct answer gets 100 Commissioner points. 

(Note:  Commissioner points are like points in Whose Line Is It Anyway...)

Next sim:  Wednesday night.

Sim 1 Done!

Game Date:  Apr 11 2033

Who Uploaded?

Antelope Valley (vacation)
Applachian
Atlanta
Brick
Houston
Mepkin Abbey
Milwaukee
Philadelphia
Wilmington

Standings:

Adams:  Brooklyn leads Mepkin Abbey by two games.
Zotti:  Seattle (sorry, force of habit) Chicago leads Appalachian by one game
Signorino:  Philadelphia and Maui are one game ahead of Wilmington

Significant Injuries:
Mepkin Abbey:  SS Sixto Ruiz, fractured thumb, 6 weeks
Atlanta SP Ismael Martinez, oblique strain, 5-6 weeks

Awards & Accomplishments:
Mepkin Abbey LF Sergio Solis named Player of the Week

Batting Line of the Sim:
Maui's Thomas Lyons went 3-5, 2 HR, 3 R and 5 RBI vs Houston 4/6

Pitching Line of the Sim:
Milwaukee's Ernest Metcalf pitched a four hit shutout vs Appalachian 4/6

Milestones:
None

Trivia Question of the Week:

What do the following pitchers (and *only* the following pitchers) have in common?

Johnny Vandermeer
Allie Reynolds
Virgil Trucks
Nolan Ryan
Jim Abbott
Max Scherzer

Answer in the #random channel on the Slack channel.
Next sim:  Sunday Evening

Opening Day Is Here! Please read!

Game Date:  Apr 4 2033

Significant Injuries:
Milwaukee:  2B Carter Bailey, torn abdominal muscle, 6 weeks.

Notes:

The media revenue for the coming year has been adjusted.  To see the results, go to the Media Revenue link on the blog home page and go to the "2032" tab.  For an understanding of how it works, please take a look at the post where it was first discussed.

We have arrived at Opening Day.  The first sim of the season will be run on Wednesday.  Please make sure to have your rosters in compliance with the rules (25 man limit at the major league level, 35 in the minors).  The game will not allow me to proceed with the sim if rosters are not in compliance.  Please don't put me in the position of having to make roster choices for you in order to not hold up the sim. 

Please keep in mind that, starting with this season, we will be simming twice a week during the season, with each sim lasting one week. 

Next sim:  Wednesday night.

Sim's Done... Opening Day Is On the Horizon

Game Date:  Mar 28 2033

Significant Injuries:
Maui C Britt Couch, fractured finger, 6 weeks
Chicago 2B Angel Rodriguez, fractured thumb, 4 weeks.

Sunday night's sim will be the final week of Spring Training. 

Next Sim:  Sunday night.

Sim's Done

Game Date:  Mar 21 2033

Significant Injuries:
Atlanta SP Steve McLain, partially torn laburm, 3 months.
Appalachian SP Jorge Gomez, torn UCL, 11-12 months
Houston SP Alajandro Lopez, shoulder inflammation, 4-5 months
Milwaukee: RP Juan Garcia, ruptured disc, 8 months
Wilmington: RP Sergio Nartatez, strained oblique, 4-5 weeks

Next sim:  Thursday night.  We're getting close to Opening Day, start getting those rosters in order.

Sim's Done

Game Date:  Mar 14 2033

Significant Injuries:
Brooklyn:  Fernando Mendoza, torn UCL, 12-13 months
Brick: SP Juan Santiago, rotator cuff strain, 5-6 weeks.

Next sim:  Tuesday night.

Sim's Done! Also, a note about DFA players.

Game Date:  Mar 7 2033

Significant Injuries:
Appalachian SP Chad Harrison, hamstring sprain, 4-5 weeks
Brick CF Alejandro Garcia, plantar fascitis, 3 weeks
Houston SP Roger Lorton, shoulder inflammation, 8 weeks.

Note regarding players Designated for Assignment:

I know that we have a number of new owners this season, so I should make clear what my policy is when running the sim and I find a player who is out of DFA time.

When this happens, the sim cannot proceed until the player is moved off of the DFA list.   I do not want to hold up the sim, so this is the process that I follow:


1. If there is a spot open on the major league roster, that's where I put him. 
2.  If the major league roster is full, I try to put him in the highest minor league with available room and where he will be allowed given roster age limits. 
3.  If there is no available place for him or he will not accept assignment to the minors, then he gets released.

Of course, you can always reach out to Michael and myself on Slack and let us know what you want done with him when his DFA time is done.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Next sim:  Sunday night.

Zev

Welcome to Spring Training!

Game Date: February 28th, 2033

Signings:

• Antelope Valley signed OF John Willis (Philadelphia) - $3.55m/1year
• Appalachian signed RP Don Clancey (international) - $550k/1year

News: Spring Training is finally here! Time to fight those roster battles and take a look at your top prospects. Rosters are expanded to 60 and starters will only go 4 innings, so pack those rosters.

We will be sticking to the three-sims-a-week schedule (Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday) during the five sims of Spring Training. 

Also, I created a #vacation channel in Slack to post when you will be away and unable to upload. Once the regular season starts, Zev and I will be tracking who uploads in order to be awarded as per our approval of the Incentives suggestion made. If you will be unable to upload due to travel, vacation, or some other reason, you must post in that channel in order to get credit for that sim.

Next sim: The first week of spring training games will be simmed on Thursday night, 11/29/2018.

Sim's Done!

Game Date:  Feb 21 2023

Signings:  Wilmington signed CF Marcos Rodriguez (Appalachian) to a 2yr/$12.5m

Next sim:  Tuesday night. 

Sim's Done!

Game Date: February 14, 2032

Signings: No major league signings this sim.

Administrivia: We have a full league again. Please welcome Aaron as the new owner of the former Seattle Monarchs (presently Barrow Polar Bears, and future name TBA). Ignore the message about someone else assuming that team -- I screwed something up when creating Aaron's profile (blame the turkey dinner I'm still digesting!).

Next Sim: Sunday November 25th. We are just two sims away from Spring Training (which should start next Thursday night, in one week)!

Sim's done!

Game Date: February 7, 2033

Signings:

• Barrow signed RP Yoshifumi Tanaka (Chicago) - minor-league contract
• Brick signed RP Arturo Trejo (Atlanta) - minor-league contract
• Brick signed C Juan Rivera (Maui) - minor-league contract
• Houston signed RP Angel Hernandez (Philadelphia) - minor-league contract
• Barrow re-signed SP Ernest Metcalf - 1 year, $18.4m
• Barrow signed 2B Enrique Gonzalez (Houston) - minor-league contract
• Philadelphia signed 1B Luis Lozano (Chicago) - minor-league contract

Administrivia: With the new one-week sims during the season, I adjusted the following times as I saw fit. If anyone has any comments, please let us know:

• Disabled List - 10 days
• Designated for Assignment - 9 days
• Waivers - 8 days

Next Sim: Either Thursday night (11/22) or Friday morning (11/23), depending on if people need more time due to the Thanksgiving holiday.  

Preseason Is Here!

Game Date:  Jan 31 2033

The pre-season has begun!  Time to set your scouting and player development budgets.

Signings:
Antelope Valley signed RF Arturo Vasquez to a one year, $2.5m contract.

Administrative Note:  Due to the unique success that Mack had in the league, we decided to retire the "Seattle Monarchs" name.  As a result, we have (until a new owner comes along) renamed the team the Barrow Polar Bears.

Next sim:  Tuesday night

Sim's Done! The Offseason is almost over!

Game Date: January 24, 2033

Signings:

• Philadelphia signed C Jean-Charles Gauthier (Appalachian) - 2 years / $2.15m
• Wilmington signed RP Jim Knowles (Houston) - 1 year / $800k

Administrivia:

• Since we voted to have two 7-day sims a week during the regular season (from our old semi-monthly sims), we have some tweaks to make to accommodate that.
• First, I changed the schedule to always start on a Monday. This year, opening day will be April 4th.
• Consequently, as we want the minor leagues to start after the majors do, I changed AAA, AA, and A to start on a Tuesday.
• We have to decide new DL, DFA, and waiver times to go with the 1-week sims. We are open to suggestions on that.

Next Sim: Zev will take us over the offseason/preseason hump on Thursday night. Real baseball is on the horizon!

Sim's Done!

Game Date:  Jan 17 2033

Signings:
Wilmington: RP Dane Beck (Antelope Valley) 2yrs/$3.4m
Philadelphia: RP Claudio Alvarez (extension) 1 yr/$3.85m
Philadelphia: RP Leonard Christopher (extension) 1 yr/$820k

Next sim:  Tuesday night.

Rufus Murray Joins The Hall of Fame

Game Date:  Jan 10 2033

Rufus Murray became the 17th member of the Hall of Fame with his recent election. 

Signings:

Two of the top free agents on the market finally found new homes this sim:

Antelope Valley:  SP Russ Singleton (Houston) 7yrs/$122.3m
Houston:  LF Andrew Boulter (free agent from Canada), 7 yr/$148m
Philadelphia:  RP Anthony White (extension) 1 yr/$4.65m
Philadelphia: RP Harold Gregory (extension) 1 yr/$1.05m

Next sim:  Sunday night

Happy New Year! It's 2033!

Game Date:  Jan 3 2033

Signings:

Philadelphia: CF Jesus Barcello (Atlanta) 3 yrs/$7.5m
Philadelphia: RP Manuel Silva (Mepkin Abbey), 1 yr/$450k
Seattle: RP Kazuhiro Morita (Maui) 1 yr/$1.02m

Hall of Fame:

This sim is your last chance to vote for the Hall of Fame.  What?  You didn't know we had one?  We do -- check it out!

Trivia Question:

I posed a trivia question on Sunday, but no one got it, so I'll post it again and reveal the answer on Thursday:

During his career (1959-1980), Willie McCovey hit 521 home runs.  Who are the only two players to hit more in that time period?

Next sim:  Thursday night.

Last sim of 2022 done!

Game Date: December 27, 2032

Signings:

• Mepkin Abbey signed SP Derek Hanson (Antelope Valley) - 4 years/$46,440,000
• Houston signed OF Benjamin Anderson (Seattle) - 4 years/$31,700,000
• Seattle re-signed OF Yvon Settignano - 5 years/$84,000,000
• Highland signed C Steven Broadbent (Houston) - 2 years/$5,840,000
• Highland signed OF Chris Pace to an extension - 5 years/$21,750,000

Next Sim: Sunday night. This will flip the calendar to 2033.

Sim's Done!

Game Date:  Dec 20 2033

Signings:
Seattle:  RP Jesus Cruz (Atlanta) 1 yr/$980k
Atlanta: RP Julio "King Fish" Trinidad (Mepkin Abbey) 2 yr/$1.4m
Highland C George Robinson (re-signed) 4 yr/$4.7m

Notes:
We have filled all the vacancies in the league.  The league owners directory has been updated.  Feel free to reach out to the new owners to welcome them to the league or propose trades.

Next sim:  Thursday night.

Sim's Done

Game Date:  Dec 13 2032

Signings:
Houston:  RP Hector Sanchez (re-signed) 4 yrs/$11.6m
Brick:  SP Lawrence Floyd (extension) 4 yrs/$4.8m
Atlanta: 1B Roy Hebert  (extension) 2 yrs/$1.3m

Notes:

• Hall of Fame voting is still open.  Cast your ballots to determine who will join our Hall of Fame.
• We have several openings.  If you know anyone who would like to join and dos not have the game, they can get it for $9.99 through Nov 1.

Next sim:  Tuesday night

Rule 5 Draft Results

Round 1:
Mepkin Abbey:  RF Cam Burt (Seattle)
Appalachian: SP Alberto Gutierrez (Wilmington)
Antelope Valley: 3B Rodrigo Hernandez (Maui)
Brooklyn: RP Brian Hunter (Brick)
Philadelphia: SP Matt Nelson (Maui)

Round 2:
Mepkin Abbey: CF Jim Barnes (Atlanta)

Round 3:
Mepkin Abbey: CL Marty Olson (Seatle)
Houston: RP Jesus Flores (Seatle)

Round 4:
Houston: RP Mike Russell (Seattle)

Next sim:  Sunday night.

The McJannett Era Ends in Antelope Valley

Antelope Valley has dealt long time, middle of the lineup fixture, 35 year old OF Ray McJannett to the Philadelphia Hornets for AAA CF Juan Romero and a 4th round pick.  "With the club in rebuilding mode, we felt it was best to move Ray while he still had a chance to go to a contender and maybe win a title.  We'll miss his bat and steady presence in the clubhouse" said GM Sauerwald, "But we feel we need to move on and stock some young talent."

More Signings - And HOF voting has begun

Game Date:  Nov 22 2032

Signings:

Brick - CF Logan Francis (resigned) 7 yr/$124m
Appalachian - 2B Art Whitaker (Highland) 2 yr/$2.8m
Mepkin Abbey - 1B Nigel Bryant (Appalachian) 1 yr/$950k
Antelope Valley - RF Ray Lewis (Atlanta) 1 yr$500k
Mepkin Abbey - SP Wesley Dutton (Atlanta) 1 yr/$1.27m
Mepkin Abbey - C Albert Soto (Highland) 2 yr/$3m

Also, please note that Hall of Fame balloting has begun.  Feel free to fill out your ballots and see who gets elected to our Hall of Fame.

With that, your commissioner is off for a few days of shooting.  Michael will handle the next two sims.

Free Agent Signings!

Game Date: Nov 15 2032

Signings:
Brick - CL Carlos "Meat" Placeres (extension) 3 yr/$38.6m
Mepkin Abbey - LF Sergio "Candyman" Solis (free agent from Cuba), 6 yr/$108m
Brick - LF Todd Lambright (resigned), 1 yr/ $1.15m
Highland - SP Victor Rivera (Mepkin Abbey) 7 yr/$135m

Next sim:  Thursday night.

Award Season, Part II

Game Date:  Nov 1 2032

Awards:

Outstanding Batter:
Salvador Velasquez, Brick
Ramon Nieto, Brooklyn
Steve Jones, Seattle

Outstanding Pitcher:
Chris Williams, Seattle
Kieran Rose, Brooklyn
Toyoshige Takahashi, Seattle.

Next sim:  Sunday night.

Hardware Awarded!

Game Date:  Oct 18 2032

Awards were given out this week!

Outstanding Newcomer:
Steve Lee, C, Brick
Victor Gonzales, RF Appalachian
Sherman Powers, SP, Brooklyn.

Reliever of the Year
Juan Garcia, Seattle
Ralph Turner, Philadelphia
Claudio Alvarez, Appalachian

Platinum Stick
C - Steve Jones, Seattle
1B - Hector Valera, Seattle
2B - Thomas Lyons, Maui
3B - Darryl Fuller, Houston
SS - Ramon Nieto, Brooklyn*
LF - Tomas Fernandez, Brick*
CF - Armando Burgos, Atlanta
RF - Don Jones, Maui*
DH - Salvador Velasquez, Brick

Slick Fielder:
P - Chris Williams, Seattle
C - Fred Kennedy, Brooklyn
1B - Luis Rosales, Maui
2B - Michael Lambert, Appalachian
3B - Antonio Venet, Maui
SS - Ramon Nieto, Brooklyn*
LF - Tomas Fernandez, Brick*
CF - Chris Pace, Highland
RF - Don Jones, Maui*

* Indicates won both Platinum Stick AND Slick Fielder

Next sim -- More awards!  Tuesday night

Welcome to the Offseason!

Game Date:  Oct 18 2032

Next sim:  Thursday night.

Zev

Seattle Does It Again!

The Seattle Monarchs defeated the Brick Barracudas by a score of 8-7 (with a thrilling ending where the tying run was picked off first to end the game) and won the 2032 Cecil Cup.

We'll give Mack some time to celebrate his victory.  We will resume next Tuesday night.

Seattle Ties Series at 3 Games Each!

Game 7 - Tomorrow night!

Brick Pounds On Takahashi, One Win Away From The Cup

The Brick Barracudas is only one win away from the Cecil Cup thanks to the bats of three Brick batters.

CF Logan Frances, DH Salvador Velasquez and 1B Javier Cisneros each slammed two home runs to give Brick a 10-5 victory.  Seattle starter Toyoshige Takahashi was battered around, giving up nine hits, eight runs and five homers in four innings of work.

Game 5:  Tuesday night

Brick Blanks Butterflies, Take 2-1 Lead

The Barracuda pitching staff, led by Juan Santiago, held the Monarchs to five hits and no runs, as they took a 2-1 lead in the Cecil Cup.

Game 4:  Saturday night

Brick Ties Up Series

The Brick Barracudas managed to put up a five-spot in the sixth inning, leading them to a 6-3 victory over Seattle, tying the series at one game each.

Game 3 on Thursday night

Monarchs Best Barracudas in 11

Game 1 of the Cecil Cup series went to the Seattle Monarchs, as they defeated the Brick Barracudas 4-3 in 11 innings.

Chris Williams held the Barracudas to seven hits and three runs over eight innings, but it was Juan "Dog Pound" Garcia, who kept them to one hit over the final three innings who got the win. 

Game 2:  Wednesday Night
Game 3:  Thursday Night
Game 4:  Saturday Night
Games 5-7:  To be announced.

Fish vs. Butterflies -- Round 4!

The Brick Barracudas put three runs across the plate in the bottom of the seventh to defeat the Philadelphia Hornets 4-2 and advance to the Cecil Cup round.

The bottom of the seventh started off with Brick down 4-2. Martin Cox started off the inning with a single.  After getting the next two batters to strike out (and allowing Cox to advance to second on a balk), Michael Leach gave up a double to Felix Selgado, bring Cox home.

Rick Chase followed up with a triple, bringing Selgado home and tying the game at 4-4.  The next batter, Larry McCormick, walked.  At that point, Philadelphia brought in right hander Ralph Turner to close the door.  Unfortunately, on his very first pitch he uncorked a wild ball, allowing Chase to come home with the go-ahead run. 

This sets up the sixth consecutive season that Brick has advanced to the Cecil Cup Series and the fourth time they will have met in the final round.  The Monarchs prevailed against Brick each of the three previous times.  Will the Barracudas be able to pull it out this time?  Only time will tell.

Next up:  Game 1 of the Cecil Cup Series to be played Monday night.

Wolves Out, Barracudas Within One...

Game Date:  Oct 2 2032

The Seattle Monarchs defeated the Brooklyn Wolves 10-2, to advance to the Cecil Cup series. 
Brick defeated Philadelphia 8-4 to come within one game of advancing.

Also, players for the month of September were honored:

Brick DH Salvador Velasquez named Batter of the Month (4th career award, 2nd this season)
Maui SP Greg Jenkins named Pitcher of the Month (2nd career award, 2nd award this season)
Appalachian RF Victor Gonzales named Rookie of the Month

Next sim:  Saturday night

Seatte Within One Win of Advancing, Philadephia Ties Up Series

Game Date:  Sep 29 2032

Seattle 3, Brooklyn 1
Philadephia 6, Brick 1

Game 5:  Thursday night.

Game 3 Results: Seattle, Brick Take Leads

Game Date:  Sep 28 2032

Seattle defeated Brooklyn today by a score of 6-2, to take a 2-1 lead in their series.  Seattle tagged Brooklyn starter Fernando Mendoza for three dingers and Seattle starter Ernest Metcalf held Brooklyn to two runs over eight innings to secure the win.

In the nightcap, the Brick staff, led by Miguel Archuleta, held Philadelphia to six hits and no runs to claim a 5-0 victory and a 2-1 lead in the series.

Game 4:  Wednesday night

Game 2 Reports: Brooklyn, Brick Win

Both series became a best of five contest today, as Brooklyn defeated Seattle and Brick beat Philadelphia.

Game 3:  Tuesday night

New Mepkin Abbey Monks GM

Hi Guys

Just wanted to introduce myself as the new Mepkin Abbey Monks GM. Not in game yet but look like they will need some work to turn them around.
I am based in the UK, so sometimes trade talks etc can be delayed.

Cheers

Dave

Game 1: Seattle, Philadelphia Take the day...

Seattle wins Game 1, 8-2. Player of the Game Hector Velera broke it open with a grand slam in the 5th inning.

Philadelphia won Game 1 of their series against Brick on the strength of Tian-bai Chen's eight innings of three-hit ball.

Game 2:  Saturday night

Regular Season's In The Books

Welcome to the playoffs.  In the first round, we have Brooklyn vs. Seattle and Philadelphia vs. Brick.

Game 1:  Thursday night
Game 2:  Saturday night
Game 3:  Tuesday night
Game 4:  Wednesday night
Games 5-7:  TBA, if necessary.

Proposals -- PLEASE READ AND COMMENT

Michael and I have been discussing some ideas regarding improving the league.  There are some changes that we were thinking of implementing, but we want to put these ideas out to you for discussion, to see what your feelings are and if you have any ideas of your own.

Incentives

We would like to reward owners who participate and provide uploads with each sim.  As a result, we are proposing awarding teams with high participation rates with supplemental draft picks during the amateur draft.

If you submit an update more than 50% of the time, you will be rewarded with a supplemental 3rd round pick.  If you can manage 66% of the time, it gets upgraded to a second round pick.  If you submit an update every sim (with one non-submission allowed), then it gets upgraded to a first round pick.

All draft picks awarded in this manner will be given at the end of the round, in random order and are non-tradeable before the end of the season.

Change in Sim Schedule.

We are also considering changing the in-season sim schedule.  Currently, we sim half a month every week, once a week.  We are proposing to change the sim schedule to twice a week, with each sim covering one week.  This will allow you to have greater control over your roster (you can make better decisions regarding the disabled list, waivers and designating players for assignment) as well as using the seven day lineups in the game.

Let us know what you think!  We want to hear from you!

Zev

Game Patch -- Please Install

OOTP Developments released a game patch.  Please install this after downloading the updates but before sending your changes back to the server.

September I Sim Done

Game Date:  Sep 15 2032

Standings:
Adams:  Brick has clinched the division
Zotti:  Seattle has clinched the division
Signorino: Philadelphia leads Maui by six.
Wild Card:  Brooklyn leads Maui by two.

Awards & Injuries:
Atlanta 3B Andreas Velasco named Player of the Week (9/6, 9th career award)
Antelope Valley 1B Dave O'Brien named Player of the Week (9/13)

Significant Injuries:
None with any significance for the offseason or next season.

Administrative Notes:
Michael and I have been discussing some changes to the way that the league is run.  We will be putting forth proposals in the next few days.  If anyone else has any ideas that they would like to see implemented to help the league run better, please feel free to let Michael or myself know about it.

Next sim - to end the regular season:  Wednesday night.

August II Sim Done -- Time for Roster Expansion

Game Date:  Sep 1 2032

Standings:
Adams:  Brick is nine games ahead of Brooklyn
Zotti:  Seattle has clinched the division
Signorino: Philadelphia is ten ahead of Maui
Wild Card:  Brooklyn is nine games ahead of Maui

Awards & Accomplishments:
Brooklyn SS Ramon Nieto named Player of the Week (8/16, 3rd award this season)
Seattle 1B Hector Valera named Player of the Week (8/23, 7th career award, 3rd this season)
Wilmington 1B Bernardo Alvarez named Player of the Week (8/30)

Brooklyn SP Kieran Rose named Pitcher of the Month
Brick RF Ken Reed named Batter of the Month (2nd career award)
Appalachian 3B Jared Warren named Rookie of the Month

Significant Injuries:
Appalachian SS Martin Costa, shoulder tendinitis, done for the year
Wilmington RF Lucio Muniz, torn abdominal muscle, 6 weeks
Antelope Valley RP Dane Beck, bone chips in elbow, his season is over
Brick RF Ken Reed, torn abdominal muscle, 5-6 weeks

Notes:
September has arrived.  That means that you can expand your rosters.
We have openings.  If you have any friends who might be interested in running a baseball team, please have him/her contact Michael or myself.

Next sim:  Wednesday night!

August I Sim Done

Game Date: August 16, 2032

Standings:

• Adams: Brick leads Brooklyn by 9 games
• Zotti: Seattle leads Antelope Valley by 23 games
• Signorino: Philadelphia leads Maui by 7 games
• Wild Card: Brooklyn leads Maui by 2 games

Injuries:

• Philadelphia 2B Norman Kuhn - 4 weeks, sprained ankle
• Brick LF Tomas Fernandez - 2 weeks, bruised elbow
• Appalachian 2B Michel Lambert - 1-2 weeks, intercostal strain
• Philadelphia SP Tien-Bai Chen - 3 weeks, strained forearm
• Appalachian SP Jorge Gomez - 4 weeks, oblique strain

News:

• Seattle 1B Hector Valera was the Batter of the Month for July
• Brooklyn SP Fernando Mendoza was the Pitcher of the Month for July
• Appalachian 1B Junior Bowden was the Rookie of the Month for July
• Brooklyn RF Lou Sharp was the Player of the Week (8/2)
• Brick 3B Larry McCormick got his 2000th career hit (8/2)
• Brick RF Ken Reed was the Player of the Week (8/9)
• Brooklyn SS Ramon Nieto was the Player of the Week (8/16)
• Go ahead and download the new OOTP 19 update! Be sure to do so before uploading your next team file before the next sim.
• We need new owners. If you know anyone, please let Zev or me know!

Next Sim: Next Wednesday night, 8/22/2018. This will take us to the start of September and roster expansion

IMPORTANT! OOTP 19 Update!

There's a new update to OOTP 19 that is important that everyone update their installation with it.

When you start up the game today, you should see this message:

Click the read more link to go to the OOTP forum, and then download and install the update. If you're too lazy to read the release notes for the game, here are the direct links for non Steam/Origin/App Store users. If you use one of those services for OOTP, then you'll have to wait for them to be updated before downloading the league file from tonight's sim.

Download link for PC:
Main server: PC Installer

Download link for Mac:
Main Server: Mac OSX Installer

Download link for Linux:
Main Server: Linux Installer

Please upload your team changes for the sim with the old version of the game before applying this update, and then update your version of the game before downloading the new league file.

I plan to start tonight's sim around 8:30pm EDT, so if there are any last-minute trades in the works, I can delay things a bit if an owner makes a request. My plan is to download the team update files with the old version of the game, update my version of the game, and then process the sim.

Any questions?

Philadelphia flips Wright to Brick

The Philadelphia Hornets have traded recently-acquired prospect Davey Wright to Brick. "Fred really liked Davey, a lot more than we did, to be honest," Philadelphia GM Michael Weintraub explained. "He also needed a lefty in his bullpen, and we got a guy we have liked since he was drafted one spot before we could have picked him in 2028."

Heading to Brick with Wright is lefty bullpen mainstay Joe Younger. In return, the Hornets receive AAA RP Simon Beers and Brick's 4th round pick in 2033.

Philadelphia and Highland continue the trade deadline frenzy

After trading SS Dewey Wilson to Philadelphia, Highland GM John Carrano realized he didn't have a shortstop to replace him. And, after acquiring Dewey Wilson from Highland, Philadelphia GM Michael Weintraub realized he needed to unload incumbent SS Jonathan Locker.

Just like their original deal, a new trade was quickly agreed upon:

Philadelphia will acquire AA SP Davey Wright in exchange for Locker, AA OF Carlos Maldonado, and Philadelphia's 7th round pick in 2033.

Philadelphia and Highland start the trade deadline frenzy

The Philadelphia Hornets have traded backup catcher George Robinson to Highland for shortstop Dewey Wilson.

Both players fill a need for their new team: Robinson will get a chance to start behind the plate and rebuild his free agency value, while Wilson will become the new Hornets starting shortstop and get a chance for his fifth Cecil Cup championship.

July II Sim Done! The Trading Deadline is Here

Game Date:  Jul 30 2032

Standings:
Adams:  Brick leads Brooklyn by nine
Zotti:  Seattle is 25 ahead of Antelope Valley
Signorino: Philadelphia has a five game lead over Maui
Wild Card:  Brooklyn is three games ahead of Maui

Awards & Accomplishments:
Seattle 1B Hector Valera named Player of the Week (7/19, 6th career award, 2nd consecutive award)
Atlanta C Miguel Ramirez named Player of the Week (7/26,  4th career award)
Seatle's Chris Williams struck out 15 batters in a game (7/28)

Milestones:
Atlanta 3B Andres Velasco reached his 2500th hit (7/20)
Appalachian 1B Nigel Bryant hits his 500th home run (7/23)

Significant Injuries:
Brooklyn RF Alajandro Aurillio, strained oblique, two weeks.
Appalachian 1B Junior Bowden, strained MCL, 2-3 months
Antelope Valley 3B Tzu-Hsia Wang, fractured thumb, 4 weeks
Brooklyn SS Katsuhiko Jouda, strained ACL, 4 weeks.

Batting Line of the Sim:
None

Pitching Line of the Sim:
Brooklyn Kieran Rose pitched a five hit shutout with one walk and 11K vs Highland (7/24)

Trivia Question:
Who was the last pitcher to lead the league in both wins and losses in the same season?

Notes:
We currently have two openings (Atlanta and Mepkin Abbey).  If you know someone who would be interested, please feel free to have them contact myself of Michael. 

Also, please note that next sim will push us past the trading deadline, so this is your last chance to make a trade this season.

Next sim:  Next Wednesday night.

Raptors Acquire AAA 1B Dave O'Brien

Looking to bolster their flagging farm system, the Antelope Valley Raptors shipped 4th and 6th round draft picks to acquire AAA All Star Dave O'Brien.  O'Brien is a former 2nd round pick and currently batting .300 with 10 HRs for the Warminster Warriors.  O'Brien will slot into AAA Las Vegas and probably get a call up in September.

July I Sim Run

Game Date: July 16, 2032

Standings:

• Adams Division - Brick leads Brooklyn by 10 games
• Zotti Division - Seattle leads Antelope Valley by 20 games
• Signorino Division - Philadelphia leads Maui by 7 games
• Wild Card - Brooklyn leads Maui by 4 games

News:

• C Lloyd Rideout of Antelope Valley was the Batter of the Month for June
• SP Greg Jenkins of Maui was the Pitcher of the Month for June
• C Steve Lee of Brick was the Rookie of the Month for June
• Brick DH Salvador Velasquez hit his 300th HR
• 2B Tom Martin of Mepkin Abbey won the Player of the Week award (7/5)
• Philadelphia 2B Norman Kuhn got his 2,000th hit
• Seattle 1B Hector Valera won the Player of the Week award (7/12)

Administrative News:

• Three teams were in violation of the player limit for the Low A team. Two of those teams had their minor leagues placed under AI control to remedy that. The third team had one player I was able to move to the DL.
• Brick had signed an international free agent with the default name of "Jim Unknown". He has been renamed to Bob Garbie.
• The web pages have been uploaded, but Zev will have to unzip them when he can.

Next Sim: Next Wednesday night, 8/8/2018. This will lead us up to the Trade Deadline! The last date to complete trades will be the following Wednesday, 8/16!

Philadelphia trade post

I realize not everyone is on Slack, so you're not seeing my posts there about experienced veteran players for trade. Here they are:

• Catcher George Robinson
• SS Jonathan Locker
• OF John Willis
• AAA RP Jerry Brennan
• AAA SP Ivan Gallardo
• AAA C Jorge Flores
• AAA IF Tokuma Kanno
• AAA IF Jesus Alvarez
• AAA IF Mark Cannon
• AAA IF John Dodds

I'm also looking to clear some prospect logjams in the minors:

• AA 2B Brian McCoy
• AA SS Joe Morgan
• AA OF Carlos Maldonado
• A SP Jose Marquez
• A SP Carson Gardner

Hit me up if you want to make a deal for one of the above. I'm not looking for much, especially for the AAA players in the first group.

Jun II Sim Done

Game Date:  Jul 1 2032

I don't have time to do a write up now, but if anyone else wants to do it, feel free.

One minor point:

There were a number of teams that still had more than 35 players on their Low A team.  In order not to delay the sim further, we suspended the roster limitation for Low A for this sim.  It is now back in effect again. 

If your Low A team still has more than 35 players, please make sure to resolve that by next sim.

Next Sim:  Wednesday night.

Rain Delay

I have some personal stuff to take care of, so I'm putting off the sim tonight until tomorrow night.

Co-commissioner makes mistake

As you know, I maintain the Traded Draft Pick list, documenting each draft pick that is traded, so that when Zev runs the draft, he can account for all 300 draft picks. I'd like to think I'm pretty good at it, too. I'm rather diligent in checking it when a new trade is made that involves a draft pick (more than once I've found that other owners did not refer to the list before making a trade), and also in updating it after a trade is made.

However, this year, I messed up. I missed a 5th round pick that Brick had traded to, of all teams, my own (in the Pino Pontoni trade). With that non-traded pick, Brick selected OF Miguel Roman.

Fortunately, Fred and I have sorted this out on our own. Fred graciously agreed to trade Roman to me, at the cost of my 6th round pick next season. So, I got the player with the pick I was supposed to have, and Brick gets another draft pick in 2033.

Jun ! Sim Done

Game Date:  Jun 16 2032

I don't have a lot of time to do a formal write-up... I'll take care of it tomorrow. 

Please note, however, that due to the draft, almost everyone's Low-A ball team has more players than allowed.  Please be sure to get your rosters down to the 35-man limit by the next sim.

Next Sim:  Wednesday night.

May II Sim Done

Game Date:  Jun 1 2032

Standings:
Adams:  Brick is seven games ahead of Brooklyn
Zotti:  Seattle is six games up on Antelope Valley
Signorino: Philadelphia has a six game lead over Maui

Awards & Accomplishments:
Highland's Jesus Valdez named Player of the Week (5/17 & 5/24 -- 4 awards lifetime, 3 this season)
Philadelphia's Julian Roman went 6-6 vs Maui, 5/26
Philadelphia's Julian Roman named Player of the Week (5/31)
Brick C Steve Lee named Rookie of the Month
Philadelphia's Ralph Turner named Pitcher of the Month
Brick's Salvador Velasquez named Batter of the Month (2nd career award)

Significant Injuries
Houston RP Domingo Garcia., strained oblique, 7-8 weeks
Mepkin Abbey SP Enrico Hernandez, stretched elbow ligament, done for the year
Brick SP Lawrence Floyd, sprained ankle, 2 months
Antelope Valley RF George Candler, strained back, 3 weeks
Atlanta 1B Roy Hebert, fractured finger, 5-6 weeks
Brick 2B Sergio Suarez, sprained knee, 3-4 weeks
Highland LF Flint Richards, strained groin, 3-4 weeks
Brick CF Logan Francis, elbow inflammation, 4-5 weeks

Batting Line of the Sim:
Brick's Felix Selgado went 3-4, 2 HR, 4R, 7 RBI vs. Antelope Valley 5/31

Pitching Line of the Sim:
Philadelphia's Alejandro Baez pitched a one hit shutout with 7K vs Wilmington 5/20

Milestones:
None

Answer to Last Week's Trivia Question:
There is one franchise that had four past/present/future Cy Young Award winners on it's staff for three consecutive seasons.  What is the franchise and years and who are the four Cy Young Award winners?

I was kind of surprised no one took even a stab at this one.

The answer is the Atlanta Braves of 1993-1995.  On the staff of these teams were:
Greg Maddux (Cy Young winner 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995)
John Smoltz (1996)
Tom Glavine (1991, 1998)
Steve Bedrosian (1987)

No trivia question this week.  I'll have one for next week.

Next sim:  Next Wednesday night.

IMPORTANT! OOTP 19 update

I'm not sure everyone saw this on Slack, so I'm re-posting it here:

There's an OOTP 19 update that you will need to install before uploading your team changes for tomorrow night's sim. You can download it here.

Trade between Brick and Atlanta

Brick trades with Atlanta ...
Robert Bradley's first trade is with the Brick Barracudas ....Brick trades 1.Jose Molina OF ML 2.Mark Cox RP A and 8 million dollars to Atlanta for Dan Ross RP A...Bradley expressed a need for outfield help and with the recent trade with Philadelphia Brick had plenty...both GM'S all smiles as they met with the press

Philadelphia/Brick salary dump trade

The Philadelphia Hornets have offloaded the contract of OF Jose Molina, who famously signed a 10-year contract five seasons ago, to the Brick Barracudas. The payment for this salary dump service? A second-round pick (#21 overall). Brick will receive Molina and the draft pick in exchange for $1 cash.

"We had high hopes for Jose when he first joined us," Philadelphia GM Michael Weintraub stated. "But, his performance has lagged over the past few seasons. He's expressed his discontentment, and asked for his release. Unable to negotiate a buy-out with him, we worked out a deal with Brick."

OF Roberto Flores has been selected from AAA Arizona Bay to take Molina's roster spot.

May I Sim Done

Game Date:  May 16 2032

Who Uploaded:
Antelope Valley
Appalachian
Atlanta
Brick
Houston
Maui
Philadelphia
Wilmington

Standings:

Adams: Brick leads Brooklyn by five.
Zotti: Seattle is five games up on Antelope Valley
Signorino: Philadelphia is (wait for it) five games ahead of Maui

Awards & Accomplishments

Seattle LF George Hendricks named Player of the Week (5/3, 6th career award)
Brick DH Salvador Velasquez named Player of the Week (5/10, 2nd award this season, 10th career award)

Significant Injuries:
Houston SP Jim Knowles (shoulder inflammation, 3 months)
Atlanta RP Tomas Balderas (rotator cuff strain, 5 weeks)
Seattle SP James Ferguson (torn rotator cuff, 4-5 months)
Philadelphia 2B Ieyasu Suzuki (injury setback, additional 5 weeks)
Maui SP Luis Salazar (torn UCL, 13 months!)
Houston RP Domingo Garcia (strained oblique, 7-8 weeks)

Batting Line of the Sim:
Brick's Salvador Velasquez went 5-5, 2 HR, 7 RBI vs. Brooklyn, 5/3)

Pitching Line of the Sim:
Brick's Lawrence Floyd threw eight shutout one-hit innings with 10K vs Houston 5/13.


Last Week's Trivia Question:
Since 1960, there have been three teams that have had five past/present/future MVPs on the team in any given year.  What are those years/teams and who are the players?

OK, so this one was a tough one...

The three teams are:

1960 Yankees:

• Yogi Berra (1951, 1954, 1955)
• Elston Howard (1963)
• Mickey Mantle (1956, 1957, 1962)
• Roger Maris (1960, 1961)
• Bobby Shantz (1952)

1963 Cardinals

• Ken Boyer (1964)
• Bob Gibson (1968)
• Dick Groat (1960)
• Stan Musial (1943, 1946, 1948)
• Bobby Shantz (1952)

1972 As

• Vida Blue (1971)
• Orlando Cepeda (1967)
• Rollie Fingers (1981)
• Reggie Jackson (1973)
• Denny McLain (1968)

This Week's Trivia Question:

This one should be somewhat easier than last week's:

There is one franchise that had four past/present/future Cy Young Award winners on it's staff for three consecutive seasons.  What is the franchise and years and who are the four Cy Young Award winners?

Next Sim:  Next Wednesday.

Philadelphia / Houston trade

The Philadelphia Hornets and Houston Armadillos announce a prospect-laden trade.

Heading to Philadelphia is OF Dewey Wilkerson, the former #1 overall draft pick in 2029. He is expected to report to AAA Arizona Bay in the next sim. In return for Wilkerson, the Hornets send two farmhands from high A Caprica: 3B Ignacio Castillo and SP Wilson Santos.

Trade between Brick and Houston

Brick in it's effort to acquire as much good pitching made a offer to Houston it couldn't say no to ....
Brick sends it's 6th round pick received from Antelope Valley <Moore trade> to Houston and gets David Torrez RP  recently returned rule five pick from Philadelphia  ..both GM'S were satisfied with what they got and smiled for the press

April II SIm Done

Game Date:  May 1 2032

Who Uploaded:
Antelope Valley
Appalachian
Brick
Houston
Maui
Philadelphia
Wilmington

Standings:
Adams: Brick leads Brooklyn by three games
Zotti:  Seattle is three games ahead of Highland
Signorino: Philadelphia is two games up on Maui

Awards & Accomplishments:
Brick's Salvador Velasquez named Player of the Week (4/19, 9th career award)
Highland 1B Jesus Valdez named Player of the Week (4/26, 2nd career award)
Wilmington OF Randy Pope named Rookie of the Month
Highland's Will Hickford named Pitcher of the Month
Brooklyn SS Ramon Nieto named Batter of the Month

Significant Injuries:
Houston CF Arturo Vasquez, fractured fibula, 3 months
Philadelphia 2B Ieyasu Suzuki, fractured foot, 3 weeks
Mepkin Abbey P Angel Solis, biceps strain, 5 weeks.

Milestones
Seattle C Steve Jones reached 2000 hits
Mepkin Abbey 3B Esteban Ordonez reached 1000 runs scored.


Batting Line of the Sim
Mepkin Abbey's Luis Lopez went 3-4 with a walk, 2 HR, and 5 RBI (4/24)

Pitching Line of the Sim
Seattle's Chris Williams pitched a two-hit, one walk shutout with 10K vs. Maui on 4/29

Last Week's Trivia Question:
About which Hall of Famer did Bill James say "If you could split him in two, you'd have two Hall of Famers."

The answer is Rickey Henderson, who retired with 3055 hits, 1406 stolen bases, 2295 runs scored, 2190 walks and 297 home runs.

This Week's Trivia Question:
Since 1960, there have been three teams that have had five past/present/future MVPs on the team in any given year.  What are those years/teams and who are the players?

Example:  The 1983 Phillies had four past/present/future MVPs on the team - Willie Hernandez (1984), Joe Morgan (1975, 1976), Pete Rose (1973) and Mike Schmidt (1980, 1981, 1986)

Next sim:  Next Wednesday night.

Apr I Sim Done!

Game Date:  Apr 16 2032

Standings:

Adams:  Brick and Brooklyn are tied for first and lead Houston by one game.
Zotti:  Seattle leads Highland by a single game
Signorino: Philadelphia is two games ahead of Wilmington.

Awards & Accomplishments:
Brooklyn SS Ramon Nieto named Player of the Week (4/12)
Brooklyn's Kieran Rose struck out 16 batters vs. Antelope Valley 4/12

Significant Injuries:
Highland C Carlton Whatley has a strained groin which will cost him four weeks.

Batting Line of the Sim:
Seattle C Steve Jones went 5-5 with a HR, 4 RBI and a walk against Brick 4/15

Pitching Line of the Sim:
Tie:
Seattle's Chris Williams pitched a two hit shutout with 9K and one walk vs. Antelope Valley 4/2
Brooklyn's Kieran Rose pitched a five hit shutout with 16K and 2 walks vs. Antelope Valley 4/12

Trivia Question:
We'll start the season off with one that's relatively easy.  No Googling to find the right answer.

About which Hall of Famer did Bill James say "If you could split him in two, you'd have two Hall of Famers."

Administrative Note:
We have an opening for the Atlanta franchise.  If you know someone who might be interested, please feel free to put him in contact with Michael or myself.

Next sim:  Next Wednesday night

Brooklyn and Brick Swap Players

The normally trade-shy Brooklyn Wolves pulled the trigger right before Opening Day on a multi-player deal today, sending SP Lawrence Floyd and LF Dan Mills to Brick in exchange for C Fred Kennedy, LF Elwood Bolden, SP Austin Houston and RP Joan Palha.

It's Opening Day!!

Game Date:  Apr 1 2032

It's Opening Day.  Welcome to the 29th 31st* season of SDMB OOTP baseball.

The first sim will be on Wednesday.  Please make sure to have your major league and minor league rosters conform to in-season rules.  Specifically...

Major League Roster -- maximum 25 players
AAA Rosters -- maximum 35 players
AA Rosters -- maximum 35 players aged 27 or younger
A Rosters -- maximum 35 players aged 24 or younger.

Please don't put the commissioners in the position of having to make roster choices for you in order to avoid delaying the Opening Day sim.

Slack:
Please see Michael's blog post on the Slack channel that he set up for the league.  Feel free to have all sorts of league discussions there -- from advertising/discussing trade options, rules that you feel might improve the league, plot the overthrow of the universe, whatever...

Significant Injuries:

Philadelphia, RP Joe Younger, sore elbow, 2 weeks
Maui SP Shawn Henry, torn labrum, done for the season
Seattle CF Antonio Zumaya, sprained ankle, 3 weeks.

Opening Day Sim:  Wednesday Night

* It's official... one of the commissioners cannot count.  :)

Slack

Zev and I have setup a Slack for our league. It's something we are going to try for discussions and other things that would normally go on this blog. It also has a direct message chat feature that could be used for trade discussion.

We'll still use this blog for announcements, but I hope we will use the Slack, too. I installed a polling app for surveys. You'll see the first poll once you join.

I set up three channels for now:

• #general - This is for general announcements and league-related discussions
• #random - This is for other chatter, like about "real" MLB
• #tradetalk - Post your trade requests here

Here's the invite link to join the SDMB OOTP Slack.

There are also Slack mobile apps to use on your phone (iOS / Android), which is probably better than the web page.

Sim's Done. Final Spring Training Sim Coming...

Game Date:  Mar 29 2032

The final sim of Spring Training will be on Saturday night.

Zev

Philadelphia/Brick trade

As Spring Training winds up, the Brick Barracudas received troubling news as starting 1B Martin Cox will miss half the season with a broken ankle. Fortunately, the Philadelphia Hornets had a spare 1B to trade, and a deal was made this morning.

Heading to Brick is 1B Javier Cisneros, who has already called Brick his home before and AAA RP George Pepin (also a former Brick farmhand). Philadelphia will receive pitching prospect Jose Rodriguez in return.

Sim's Done - Spring Training Nearing Its End

Game Date:  Mar 22 2032

Significant Injuries:
Brick 1B Martin Cox, fractured ankle, 3 months
Maui SP Greg Jenkins, shoulder inflammation, 4 weeks
Highland CL Jesus Gonzalez, bicep tendinitis, 5 weeks.

Next Sim:  Thursday night.

Sim's Done

Game Date:  Mar 15 2032

Significant Injuries:

Antelope Valley's Dane Beck will miss about four months with a shoulder inflammation.
Antelope Valley will also be without minor league SP Luis Martinez this year, as he has a torn rotator cuff.
Highland C Albert Soto has a ruptured Achilles tendon and will miss 3-4 months.

Next sim:  Monday night. Tuesday night.

Sim's Done

Game Date:  Mar 8 2032

Next spring training sim:  Saturday night.

Sim Delay

Hi, everyone!

I'm going to have to delay the next Spring Training sim for a few days.  Some owners may be having some trouble uploading changes after the new version upgrade and I want to reach out to them to make sure that we get issues fixed.  I'd hate for someone to miss Spring Training over a technical issue.

I'm going to aim for the sim to run on Thursday night.   Thanks for your patience.

Zev

Sim's Done. Spring Training is Underway.

Game Date:  Mar 1 2032

There are some owners whose imports are still showing as "old version."  Is there anyone who did not upgrade to OOTP 19?

Next sim:  Tuesday night.

Sim's Done! Spring Training is Here! Game Update Available!

Game Date:  Feb 26 2032

Spring training.  Is there a more beautiful phrase?  Regardless of what the groundhog said three weeks ago, *this* is the true harbinger of spring.

League Notes:

There is an update available for the game which covers (among other things) the problem we've been seeing with messages sent to the wrong teams.

The game is now using this latest version.  Please install it before downloading the game file.  The current version is Version 19.6 Build 53.  You can find the version number on the bottom of the title screen:

First week of Spring Training:  Sunday!

Zev

Sim's Done -- Spring Training Is Coming Up!

Game Date:  Feb 23, 2032

Signings:
Philadelphia signed SP Ralph Turner (5 yrs/$49.5m) and SP Alejandro Baez (3 yrs/$33m) to contract extensions.

League Notes:
The next sim will take place tomorrow night and take us to the start of Spring Training.  The sim after that will be on Sunday.

Lastly, I'm still curious what you think of the hypothetical situation I presented in the previous post.  How would you rule?

Zev

[Non-League Matter] Baseball Rules Question -- What's Your Opinion?

I posted this on the SDMB, but since a lot of our league members are not members there, I thought I'd post it here too.  This is not a quiz where I have the answer... I don't know what the answer is and I'd love to hear what your opinion is (and, of course, why you have that opinion).

Scenario:

It's been a long, long day for the Knights and the Mammoths. For twenty innings, the two teams have been fighting tooth and nail. Over the last eleven innings, neither team has been able to squeeze a run across the plate to break the deadlock. Managers have used every available trick to gain the advantage. The Mammoths manager has not only used every bench player he has, but, in trying to gain the advantage several times in righty/lefty pitching situations, has exhausted every pitcher in the bullpen. He only has nine players left now -- the nine currently in the game. It's with these players that he will win or lose. There is no one else.

Fortunately, it may soon be over. It's the bottom of the 21st and the Mammoths have managed to load the bases with no one out. It looks like there is a good chance they'll actually be able to score and end the game. Up to the plate comes Andy Argumentative. The Knights pitcher works him to a full count. The next pitch just cuts the corner and the umpire calls Andy out. Andy, clearly upset, doesn't agree and lets the umpire know. Vociferously. The umpire warns him, but Andy is so worked up and so wants the game to end (with a victory, of course) that he continues arguing and kicks dirt on the umpire. Eventually he gets careless and accidentally kicks the umpire himself in the process. Having had enough, the umpire gives Andy the heave-ho.

Kris King, the Knights manager, immediately comes out of the dugout and tells the umpire that he has to call a forfeit -- as the Mammoths now only have eight players in the game, and there is no one left on the roster to replace Andy. He cites rule 7.03 (b).


A game shall be forfeited to the opposing team when a team is unable or refuses to place nine players on the field.

The Mammoths, he argues, are unable to put nine players on the field. Hence the game should be forfeit.

Max Maximus, the Mammoths manager comes out to dispute the point. He says that he's not required to put nine players on the field, at least not until the start of the next inning, or until Andy's spot in the lineup comes up again*. As proof, he points out that, were it only the fifth inning, he wouldn't be required to name a replacement for Andy until the next inning. So too, here, he shouldn't have to name a replacement (and forfeit) until he's required to.

The umpire ponders, considering both arguments. Which one is right?

Zev Steinhardt


* Which it can't anyway -- the game or inning will end before Andy's spot comes up again

(Note: This is not comparable to an injury situation. Let's say Andy broke his foot on that last strike. Andy is still, technically, in the game, even if he can't physically play and the manager would not have to replace him until the next inning. In this case, however, Andy is immediately out of the game.)

Philadelphia's Pre-Spring Training Trading Post

If you have lineup or roster needs heading into spring training, I have the following players available for trade:

Infielders:

• Ieyasu Suzuki - can play anywhere in the IF, makes less than $600k this year. On-base machine.
• Jonathan Locker - steady shortstop with top-of-the-lineup abilities. Arbitration eligible.
• Javier Ortiz - incredible young hitter who can play 1B. Not yet arbitration eligible.
• Tokuma Kanno - versatile utility IF who never strikes out. 
• Jesus Alvarez, Mark Cannon, and Ruben Noya - veteran depth players currently in AAA.

Outfielders:

• Jose Molina - stuck in a bad contract, but can still hit above-average and potentially win a fielding award in RF. Willing to be creative to deal him.
• John Willis - top-of-the-lineup hitter with power, can play anywhere in the OF.
• Ramon Gonzalez - stuck in AAA, definitely good enough to be 4th OF, and won't embarrass himself if required to start. 
• Julio Quintana - still only 24 and stuck in AAA. Excellent CF prospect.

Pitchers:

• Yorikane Kichikawa - top starter who can lead a rotation. Also willing to be creative in a deal to help offset his contract.
• Leonard Christopher - late-inning shutdown reliever. 
• Joe Younger and Julio Lopez - both left-handed relievers, both making less than $1m each, and can pitch in middle or late innings.
• Ivan Gallardo and Jerry Brennan - veterans in AAA who provide insurance and can be a #5 starter or swingman.

If one of those players catches your eye, let me know.

Sim's Done. Spring Training Draws Ever Closer...

Game Date:  Feb 16 2032

Signings:
Maui:  CL Mark Richard (extension) 3 yr/$25m
Philadelphia: 2B Norman Kuhn (re-signed) 4 yrs/$75m
Philadelphia:  SP John Ryan (extension) 3 yr/$7m

Next sim:  Tuesday night.

Sim's Done

Game Date:  Feb 9 2032

Next sim:  Thursday night

Welcome To The Preseason!

Game Date:  Feb 2, 2032

The preseason begins now!  Please be sure to set your scouting and player development budgets.

Next sim:  Tuesday night.

Sim's Done

Game Date:  Jan 26 2032

Next sim:  Thursday night.  The next sim will take us past the start of the pre-season.

Zev

The Newest Hall of Famer...

As always, please feel free to check out the rest of the Hall of Fame.

Zev

Sim's done

Game Date: January 19, 2032

Signings:

• Maui re-signed RP Patrick Beene  - 3 years, $9,000,000
• Houston signed CF Petero Hokualohi (Antelope Valley) - 5 years, $9,660,000
• Maui signed RF Don Jones to an extension - 1 year, $10,570,000
• Antelope Valley signed SP Tyler Baird (Houston) - 2 years, $3,400,000

Next Sim: Tuesday night. This will take us to the eve of the Preseason. All over Arizona and Florida, lawnmowers are getting ready!

Sim's done

Game Date: January 12, 2032

Hall of Fame: Longtime River Cities (now Mepkin Abbey) ace starter Juan Villatoro was elected to the Hall of Fame with 93.9% of the vote. 

After bursting on to the scene with a 13-2 record and 2.12 ERA in 19 games as a twenty-one-year-old in 2009, he had an amazing career, finishing with 322 wins (far and away the most in our league's history), 3409 strikeouts (10 away from tying for the most in league history), and a career ERA+ of 148.

Zev will make his plaque soon. Congrats to Juan!

Signings:

• Brooklyn signed IF Garry Nicholson (Atlanta) to a one-year contract - $690,000
• Brick signed 1B Martin Cox to an extension: 4 years - $31,000,000
• Houston signed SS Nate Dean (Appalachian) to a three-year contract - $4,740,000

Next Sim: Saturday night (5/12/2018). We are about a week away (in real time) from the start of the Preseason!

Sim's Done... and a trade

Game Date: January 5th, 2032

Signings:

• Houston signed 3B Victor Pachelo (Brooklyn) to a minor-league contract
• Houston signed 3B Nakamaro Kato (Appalachian) to a minor-league contract

Trade News:

• Philadelphia and Highland agreed to a minor trade. Heading to Philadelphia is SP Ron Grimes. In return, Highland receives Philadelphia's 15th round pick in the 2032 draft.

Next Sim: Thursday night (5/10/2018). This is your last chance to vote for the Hall of Fame class of 2032!

If anyone is having issues upgrading to OOTP 19, please don't hesitate to ask me for help. 

First trade of 2032/OOTP 19

Maintaining a tradition that was started in the early days of the league, rivals Seattle Monarchs and Philadelphia Hornets completed the first trade of the new year, and also the first trade with OOTP 19.

Two low-A farmhands are involved in the deal. Philadelphia is acquiring OF Ken Britton, a recent 2031 draft pick. In return, Seattle receives IF Paco Garcia.

All other trades can be announced now that this is has been completed.

Upgrade Complete -- Welcome To 2032!

Game Date:  Jan 1 2032

Commissioner's Note:  

The game has been upgraded to v 19.  Please download the new league file at the link on the right.  Unzip it and save it to your game directory.  If you're not sure how to do that, there is a guide to the right.  The screenshots in the guide are still from version 17, but the process is the same. 

Please be on the lookout for bugs and oddities.  If you see any, let us know.

Retirements:

With the flip of the calendar pate, we have the usual wave of retirements.  Among the players hanging up the cleats for good are:

SP Bruno Talamantez 229-135, 3.83 ERA, 3046K, 1.29 WHIP,  Outstanding Pitcher of 2027, 3x Pitcher of the Month.

SP Kevin Kepner, 167-145, 4.36 ERA, 2169 K, 1.33 WHIP, 10 SHO, Outstanding Pitcher 2024, 1x Pitcher of the Month

RP Sachi Nakamura, 483 G, 4.43 ERA

RF Maximo Rodrigez, .311/.433/.814, 728G

SP Jesus Garcia, 93-108, 4.74 ERA, 1141 K

SP Ramon "Copycat" Garcia, duplicated from Jesus Garcia in a bizarre Star-Trek type transporter accident (a la Will and Thomas Riker), 102-103, 4.74 ERA, 1321 K, 10 SHO

1B Luis Rodriguez .294/.530/.891 143 HR, 728 G,  Outstanding Newcomer 2023, 3x Rookie of the Month, 1x Batter of the Month, 1x Player of the Week

LF Jamie Vasquez .298/.343/.522/.865, 1197 G, 194 HR, 3x Player of the Week

RP Carlo Humphrey, 671 G, 3.03 ERA, 1.22 WHIP

1B Jesus Flores, .288/.377/.544/.922, 1621 G, 329 HR, 1030 RBI, Outstanding Newcomer 2019, 2x Rookie of the Month, 1x Batter of the Month, 8x Player of the Week,

P Matt McDonald, 37-36, 213 G, 99 GS, 706K, 1x Pitcher of the Month

LF Angel Banuelos, .323/.405/.428/.832 1147 G, 6x Player of the Week

1B Artie Buchanan, .264/.316/.528/.873, 758 G, 115 HR

1B Mark Smith, .278/.302/.511/.813 1196G 213 HR 1x Player of the Month, 2x Player of the Week

2B Antonio Renteria, .298,/.343/.419/.762, 530 G,

1B Bill O'Neil, .283/.345/.393/.738, 776 G

Next sim:  Monday night.

Philadelphia and Brick celebrate the end of 2031 with a trade

Minutes before the new year, the GMs of Brick and Philadelphia cooked up a trade involving a trio of  firemen.

Heading to Brick is former Barracuda Pino Pontoni, a veteran mainstay of the late innings. In return, the Hornets received two young prospects, Juan Anzora and Carson Gardner, along with a 5th round draft pick.