Thursday, March 29, 2012

Hall Of Fame

Who do I think belong in the Hall? Well here are some that easily belongs and a few more on the list also in my opinion. Can we get the concensus necessary to get some in is the question.

1. Jeff Brooks What can ya say, 4 time Gold Glove in CF no less, 233 stolen bases, 7 time All_Star to name just a few of his hardware accomplishments. May not have the overall average to carry the votes but how could he not be under heavy consideration.

2. Doug Cambridge was a dominate short reliever and closer.

3. Ramon Dong wasn't your perennial power hitter but always found a way on base as his OBP and BA speak for themselves.

4. Kent Heredia 214 wins with an ERA under 4 and 6 All-Star nods.

5. Brett Kinney not a powerhouse by any means, had a weak eye at the plate but 8 Gold Gloves in CF carry some weight with me.

6. Mike Leius with his 208 wins, 3 Cy Young awards and winning percent of .700, how could you not vote for him.

7. Furio Lombard hard for an infielder to make it but he was very good, his awards prove that.

8. Orlando Ozuna had 2 Cy Young awards and was second a couple times, still, 247 wins is very impressive.

9. Vinny Post was an outstanding closer with 523 career saves. His ERA and win-loss record may look skewed but that happens with pure closers and a life time in a heavy hitters park.

10. Britt Swindell was one of the best and his hardware proves it.

11. Mel Wagner may not have the hardware but was on a team with Yamil if you remember. He even won the Cy Young over over Yamil.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

The Rule V Draft Highlights

The recently completed Rule V draft saw an increase in players taken for the first time in a few seasons. Was it worth it? There were a few fillers but not many.

1. Neifi Hooper was the first player taken. Listed as a SS in the draft, card had him listed as a 2B. The staff thinks he could play 3B or RF most efficiently however. Nothing stupendous at the plate, maybe .250 with 15 dingers.

2. Oscar Brown is a starting pitcher. Not great mind you but could suffice as a 5th starter or long reliever.

3. Charlie Shaw is a short reliever and not good enough to be a closer. When I first looked I wondered why he wasn't protected then saw his health. Could be an adequate player if he stays off the DL.

4. Kennie Jorgensen listed as a SS in the draft but carded as a 2B. The best effective spot would be RF. Has some speed as an upside but will still struggle at the plate with maybe a .260 average and 15 taters. The best player available in the draft if you ask me.

skipping onward

8. Gorkys Cerda was listed as a SS. If one needed a defensive backup at SS or CF, this was the player to take. Isn't going to hit much but his defense and PR ability looks good.

33. James Jung listed as a C. Originally I overlooked this player as his skills as a backstop aren't that great. His hitting is sufficient however but not power minded. It was when I looked at the catchers on the St. Louis roster that I understood.

161. Mitchell Medina listed as a starting pitcher. How he lasted this far down the board is a questionable. Could turn into a decent 5th starter or long reliever, if his control and splits improve.

The Heads Check In

A few years ago I introduced myself to the Erffdogg Memorial League. I would like to tell you where I’ve been since.
The absolute worst thing about this game—easily the worst thing-and that as a new owner you are handed an entire franchise, a $185M budget-and that the fate of that franchise depends on knowledge/experience that you simply do not have.
This is akin to beginning childhood with the money you’ll have by age 50. You are not ready for it, and you cannot not fuck it up.
This is like getting your driving license at age 10, and thinking that speeding all the time is reasonable and cool.
Somehow, in my third season, I made the playoffs, and came within one win of competing for the ALCS.
This did nothing to convince me I had a good team, or even a relevant team. I made stupid mistakes both of commission and omission. But, I did fall in love with the game. And I love the Heads. So, it occurred to me, why not compete in other worlds to accelerate my learning? And bring that hypothetical knowledge back to Little Rock.
Let’s call the Heads my first girl-friend. My true love. Let’s extend this analogy, and let’s say that the only problem with my girlfriend, is that I cannot sex her up to her slutty (hey, this is my analogy) needs. Getting other teams in other worlds would allow me to improve as a lover, and then show her a thing or two.
So, I joined two other worlds; Spahn, which is populated by excellent people and is absurdly top heavy, and has a minimum .400 winning percentage rule, and Morgan-which has some strange dudes in it.
In both cases, I chose (to more closely mirror my relationship with the Heads) franchises which needed significant re-building.
Yes, I cheated on the Heads with other teams. But, only to improve as a man; to do justice to the Head’s potential. In other words, it was only sex. I knew where my heart was.
Since the teams I got were so bad, it will take an historic run of 1,000 years for me to ever get to .500 as an owner……but I started to learn the game.  I read every subject in the forums. I asked stupid questions. But, I am slowly learning this game.  I will not say I have learned the game---I will say, I have earned some hard bought knowledge.
But, just like that Garden of Eden story, my knowledge came at a troubling cost.
I realized with absolute certainty that The Heads were just not that good.
I thought I was loaded with great young major leaguers, but my roster is fatally flawed. It’s like in dating these other girls; I realized my true love has pretty bad breath. Hey, I had never kissed another girl before…..
The Heads fatal flaw is the inability to put the ball in play. We struck out 1,190 times last year (4th worst), and our OBP is a pathetic .313 (3rd worst).
Ah, lessons. Ah, love.
But wait, I have two of the best players in our world Pablo Solano and OT Kirk. (I am not linking to them. You know who they are, and you cannot have them.)
So, my true love has bad breath with the best tits ever.  But, she’s totally hot-she lets me watch baseball while we’re working on my sexual deficiencies. So, Why not shower her with gifts?
And this is what I have done.  If the Heads have a “time”, that time is right fucking now. Over half the roster is at the ML minimum. I have money to burn.
So what if the girl is flawed? She’s my girl and I love her….And you do not need a perfect team to win. And I owe it to Solano and Kirk to surround them with the best talent possible.
I upped payroll-and bought pitching. A lot of pitching. I traded a good prospect for even more pitching. And I traded for a LF whose contact rate is higher than my sexual self-esteem.
So, we’ll see what happens. Did I mention that I have a lot of money?
I can up my payroll by tens of millions next season. And I still have a few nuggets down on the farm.
In ancient times, when the Vikings found a new land, they burned their boats to ensure that the settlers left behind were totally commited.
Let's just say, I've burned the boats.
I’m all in.
I just hope I can, you know, make it last.
And maybe get some satisfaction…….

All About the Astros

Houston needs some lovin too!

Phillies Team Photo

The Reason the Phillies won't win!

Fatigue

For the newbies, player fatigue is something that needs to be addressed to be avoided. It is common for it to happen if one is unaware of the problem. It most generally happens with pitchers in the minors but can happen at the ML level to the unknowing.

Pitchers have two stats that tie directly to fatigue, durability and stamina. Stamina determines how many pitches one can throw in an outing. For a starter it is common to use the stamina rating plus 15 for the TPC then add about 15 or 20 for the MPC. Therefore if a starting pitcher has an 85 stamina, he could throw 100 to 120 pitches an outing. Now for the kicker, if the pitcher is in a 5 man rotation this should be fine. However, his rate of recovery is based on his Durability. If he has a low durability, say 20 or less, then he may not be ready for his next start fully rested. Above 25 shouldn't be a problem.

Many starters however, do not have the big stamina like those in the upper 50's and 60's. Most of the time these pitchers are middle relievers but can be used as starters as well. They normally only go 5 and maybe 6 innings a start. There are few complete games so a good pen is necessary.

Short relievers normally have a 30 stamina or less but usually have a high durability.

Basically if a pitcher gets fatigued he can't pitch well or not at all and that causes problems. In the minors a team can have spare pitchers on the inactive rosters to compensate for fatigue.

Most teams carry 13 pitchers on their roster usually consisting of 5 starters, 2 long relievers which can also be starters, 3 middle relievers and 3 short relievers, one being a closer.

Another thing that can hurt a pitching staff is extra inning games, so one must be careful to keep them rested.

Position players can also become fatigued but is not quite as serious in most cases. A position player becomes fatigued when his durability exceeds his number of plate appearances to the end of the season. A mouthful I know. Basically, you take 730 * .durability = plate appearances for a season. Players with 85 plus durability will probably play the entire season without fatigue being an issue. Those in the upper 70's however will need a day of rest here and there. Lower 70's will need more. Notice I said Plate Appearances and not AB's. PA's can be found under World Office-Stats/Awards-Player Statistics. You will need to choose Extended in the split box.

The reason fatigue is of importance is players can become injured or useless. Pitchers that have a 0% fatigue rating could take days before they are ready again.

For Shafty: If you were in a division where all your rivals weren't going to win 90 games or more I would have been a bit more generous. So I will help you out.


AL Preview

I don't know what to think about the AL as it is not so easy being in the NL. The DH has a lot to do with it.

AL North

The Minnesota Twins look like the team to beat in the North. It is a hard comparison as no one really has a full roster to go by.

The Montreal Expos aren't out the picture either. Even with the move out of Seattle they are still a force to be reckoned with.

The Detroit Tigers are improving. Once they figure out that good contact with a good eye is the way to go. Pitching is not overwhelming but is decent enough for the home park. They still look like a team in rebuild mode.

The Toronto Blue Jays has a short roster at the moment but look like a rebuilding plan is on the move.

AL East

The Boston Red Sox keeps winning with pitching. I am not so overwhelmed with their offense so much but is enough to win.

The Baltimore Orioles has an offense. The pitching, well, that is another story. Is this team ready to play in Camden? A new owner, a season or so and I think they can.

The Washington D.C. Senators seems to always have a good team that can't win. Last year I thought they could, but the defense was so bad that it may have lost 30 games in itself. Another season and another try.

The Dover Dung Beetles haven't recovered from their earlier success. The offense is there. The pitching staff just doesn't look strong enough to carry them through however.

AL South

The Little Rock Heads has spent lots of money building a team this year. Will they play as a team or look like an expansion team? I am giving them the benefit of the doubt because on paper they can.

The Tampa Bay Rays are as good as the last few seasons. If the Heads falter, the Rays will jump on them fast as will the rest of the South.

The Texas Rangers are going to bite teams this season. Winston Maxwell meet Juan Redondo! I may have them listed third in the division but don't let that fool ya.

The Kansas City Royals says it is clobbering time. And you had better believe it. The pitching might be a little iffy.

AL West

The Colorado Springs Sky Sox made a jump from San Diego to get away from Petco. Not a bad choice if you ask me. I think they can play here also just as well.

The Anaheim Angels look like they have a swagger this year, don't ask why. I just think they are solid all the way around.

The Oakland A's look just as good in green as they did pulling one armed bandits. They match up evenly with the Angels if you ask me.

The Helena Hot Pockets had always looked good on paper but when the dust settled they were most generally stuck in the mud. This season looks different for some reason.

Analysis: It is really hard to make heads or tails out of the North at the moment. The South and West is gonna be a bitter showdown all season long in my anticipation. WIS Chuck says bring it on.

1. Boston - experience says it all.
2. Colorado Springs Sky Sox - I had to choose
3. Minnesota Twins - I liked them over LR
4. Little Rock Heads - I bought a team that should win today and tomorrow.
Wild Cards - Tampa Bay, Texas, Kansas City, Anaheim Angels and Oakland A's

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

NL Preview

Time for those strange predictions I give every year that actually come close. But here comes the fateful insight of the crystal ball.

NL North

The Pittsburgh Pirates with a starting staff that averages a frightful 35 years of age still has enough in the tank for one more run. The offense and defense will provide enough leverage to make sure it happens.

The Chicago Cubs are a young bunch that needs to prove last year was not a fluke. Will Jose break his Willie again remains to be seen. I think they are good enough to tie the Pirates or make it real close again.

The Milwaukee Brewers look better on paper than what they will attain. I am not convinced that Bart Ross can play 1B or Munoz for that matter without causing problems around the horn. Pitching is adequate but has some let down spots that could cause trouble.

The Cincinnati Reds are no slouches but may be relying heavily on youngsters that are not ready for The Show. Improving on last years mark would be a winning feat.

NL East

The New York Mets gets the first place vote not just because I can either. I have my doubts believe it or not. Pitching is adequate but not really a strong suit. The offense and defense sure is strong enough to make things happen. Believe it or not, the first series of the season could decide the fate of the East.

The Louisville Colonels has the wings on the barbie so don't count them out of things. The pitching staff may have too many youngsters to be a real threat this year. The offense is formidable so don't let that fool ya.

SJR is back in his favorite stomping grounds, Atlanta. Too bad he can't go back to his original name, Pork n' Beans. The one thing about the Braves will be that they are going to be young. Maybe not ready this season but the future looks bright.

The Philadelphia Phillies are a mere shell of themselves. With Stone still on the DL for much of the season, the offense could be in disarray. Much of the pitching staff has moved on also. Rebuilding time for sure.


NL South

The Florida Marlins look impressive as ever. Ivan the Terrible looks for another 20 to 30 win season. Offense is just as potent as ever. Another 100 win season is probable.

The Houston Astros are still a formidable foe. Offense is going for the fences once again. Can the pitching staff hold it together this season remains to be seen.

The Mexico City Diablos Rojos is a wild card this year. They have the ability to challenge Houston for sure. Will they be there at playoff time is a hard one to answer for sure.

The St. Louis Cardinals is not expected to do much this year. Rebuild and be competitive is in the mindset of the new owner. It will take time and could be tough in this division.

NL West

The Salem Super Sequoias without a doubt will be on its way to another division championship. Stymied once again from the promised land, is the Series in the bag this year or will it be another let down.

The Arizona Diamondbacks keep improving and keep falling short of the playoffs. It will be another tough season that could go either way.

The San Francisco Giants could be a surprise team but not playoff caliber. They have been rebuilding and it is about a year or so away yet.

The San Diego Padres are a tough bunch to place as they could finish better than the Giants. A word of warning however, starting pitching looks very thin and the new owner may need some help in stabilization in this department before the season is through.

Analysis: I see a minimum of ten teams throwing their hat in the ring for six playoff spots. What will happen is a swag at the moment as a critical injury or two could throw everything out of whack. But here is how WIS Chuck sees it happening in the NL.

1. Florida - Ivan the Terrible gets them to the #1 seed again.
2. Salem - They can only stop themselves.
3. Pittsburgh - However a critical injury this year could doom them.
4. New York - It could be ugly.
5. Houston - I just can't rule them out of the picture what so ever.
6. Chicago, Arizona, Milwaukee, Mexico City and Louisville is gonna have a battle royal for the final spot.

Season 23 Mets

Okay, it is time for the Mets to get over the hump. They have gone from perennial doormat (maybe laughing stock would be more appropriate) to a most formidable foe in the last 4 seasons. With a little luck I think we can and with New York fan support of course.

As our budget indicated, we were gonna go all out for a front line pitcher with George Atkins leaving. However, other than Maxwell who went for an amazing sum of money, I really didn't see a pitcher to gaga for. Well one worth giving up a #1 pick for anyway albeit 21. We did pickup Benny Calero and Hector Fernandez to strengthen our pen in the FA market cheaply.

The Coaching Staff: It is a wonder half of you didn't hear me screaming when I found out I would have to replace 5 of the coaches. The wife came running the cats hid under the couch and didn't come out til morning. Maybe that is why ME 3 was more appealing.

Hitting: Bud McIntosh had to be coaxed back for a fifth season but was a quick lure.
1st Base: Marvin Morris takes over for Chase Kirby who wanted 3B or else. He found out "or else" meant the unemployment line to us.
3rd Base: Phil Hitchcock remains a stoic figure for an old man.
Pitching Coach: Reginald Kline takes over as promised and should be a good improvement.
Bull Pen: Pablo Chantres was snuck on board with the promise of the Pitching job next year, shhh don't tell Reggie. Ummm it could be a big decision next year.
Bench Coach: Geraldo Terrero takes over as almost any cheap lackey could do the job if you ask me.
Fielding Instructor: Juan James was laying around doing nothing when he got the call. Committed alcohol abuse, kicked the dog and stubbed his toe as he couldn't get out of Philly fast enough. Though that seemed minor compared to the tantrum I threw here in the office, they are still fixing things.


The Line Up: Only one minor change from last seasons line up. All told, they done a great job piling up stats that hadn't been seen in a while for a Mets squad. So there is lots of hope.

1B: Leo Rodney returns for his second full season. Hopefully the new FI can teach him how to hit the covering pitcher but somehow I doubt it.

2B: Emil Flores may play second or 3B, we just can't make up our minds.

3B: Carlos Mesa may start the season at 3B but chances are he will wind up at SS before it is over.

SS: Guy Oquist will start the season here but will probably find backup roles more appealing as the season progresses.

C: Sun Hasegawa gets a second chance as the backstop with the aging Gold Glover Rob Webster as his backup.

LF: Dan Radke and his shiny new contract gets to show off.

CF: Clarence Valentin was platooned in CF last year, we don't see that happening this year.

RF: Marc Redman could have been the ROY last season but suffered an injury after being called up. We are expecting great things from him this season from the lead off position in the line up.

Bench:

Domingo Jose experienced an injury a few seasons ago and just never recovered and steadily declines but still makes a viable resource as a backup for 1B and corner outfield when needed.

Chun-Lim Satou and his big contract expires this season. Still is one of the best 3B in the business, suffers from fatigue late in the season but we have a plan for him this year.

John McInerney can play 2B as well as a backup in CF when needed. Has never really played to his abilities and won't be a bench warmer for long.

Pitching Staff: With better pitching coaches this year we are expecting better things from the staff this season.

R.J. Bellhorn, Harry Rodriguez and Clinton Cedeno are hoping to make a solid threesome in the starting staff. Not many teams have as many starting lefties as we do.

Ted Maxwell did great as a starter in the second half last year and we hope it will continue this year.

Danys Candelaria, Al Limon, Wesley Ray, Benny Calero and Hector Fernandez , which will be the rotational 5th starter and hold down the middle innings.

Don Zhou and Wayne Hampton will be there to stave off any late inning rallies.

Dom Tabaka will come in to close out the many wins for us and add to his Hall of Fame career in saves.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Things To Be Doing

This is mostly for the newbies. We will be going into Spring Training after the Rule V draft and it is time to start nailing down the roster. To add to the roster, select Spring Training Squads under the Managers Office-Player Settings. Go through each level and invite players that have a ML future for the most part, both position players and pitchers.

Things you may want to know about is the Rule V draft. Players that have a 5 in the red diamond are exposed to the draft. Make sure players that have ML potential are on the 40-man roster to protect them. To view and make changes is done through the GM's Office-Roster Management-Edit Rosters.

Setting the lineups is done through the Manages-Office Lineup. However setting Rest, Pinch Hitting and Defensive Replacements is done under Manager Settings. Also here are Manager Settings, you might want to play with those settings and read about what they do during Spring Training.

Pitching is setup just like the lineups. However, there is this thing called Player Settings that is relatively important during Spring training for pitchers. Since you don't want them to go 9 innings in a meaningless game, you need to set the TPC and MPC a lot lower. I usually use 40 and 50 at this time for starters, 30 and 35 for long relievers, 15 and 20 for setup and closer with the call bullpen set to 3. This allows for pitchers to get into the game.

To get more position players into the game, lower runs setting in the Managerial Settings. What you are looking for in Spring Training is about 25 or so ABs for your actual ML players. Catchers should be about 20 as a lot of them are at the bottom of the order. Starting Pitching about 10 Innings worth of work, Long Relief about 7 innings and short relief about 5. Closer may only get 3 or 4 innings which is cool.

The big thing is not to forget to change all these settings again before the first regular season game.

Season 23 Starts

First we must give our new owners a big WELCOME! A couple of them have big jobs ahead of them and hope they stay to see it through.

I know I have been petty silent the last couple of weeks. Mass Effect 3 has been on the agenda. You know what happens about good video games, they become highly addictive and consume a lot of time without realizing it.

As usual the Free Agent contracts are going overboard in the pitching department. My lone Free Agent was picked up by Little Rock who is knee deep in spending money for a team this year. I wish him luck with George, he wanted to vamoose from New York but didn't get the really big contract he was hoping for and joins what appears to be a Geriatric pitching ward. Letting Dwight Hall go, yup to Little Rock, and picking up Victor Beltran looks like a coup for Florida. Paul Berroa remains the biggest name left in the pitching circle.

The hitting department hasn't seen much movement in Free Agent compensation as of yet. Another day and half to go though, maybe they will start dropping like flies. Though I don't really see anybody to get overly excited about myself.

AS for coaches, I know this would be a little late for the newbies but... What I try to do is find coaches for the minor leagues that have a high Patience, Discipline and Loyalty. It is tough to find, though I sometimes don't pay that much attention to Loyalty. Of course their major attribute needs to be relatively high. I try to cultivate them more or less as they will get better each year except the three I just named. Normally they will stay at a level for two years before wanting moved to a higher level, if they want to stay at a level for a third year I would advance them anyway if you want to keep them. I am relatively pissed off this year about my Fielding Instructor at the ML level. He was just getting to the point where he was going to make a difference and suddenly he wanted to be the Bench Coach, that irked me to no end. Originally he kept up the charade but now is listed as a FI again and is jobless at the moment, that will ruin him if he stays that way. Wish I would have waited, now I am saddled with an almost useless FI again.

I was hoping my entire staff would return from last year, but most left for supposed greener pastures but I enticed some to return.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Season 22 World Series

Houston Vs Seattle! No surprise that these two are facing each other in all reality. Well, my odds say so anyway. Funny how all three teams that had 1:2 odds made it to the LCS. A tired Pirate team getting by Salem mystified everyone I think. So the odds say Houston as the 2:1 favorite. Why so low? Seattle has experience.

Really wasn't that much of a surprising season. The Cubs became the darling team in the NL. San Diego took a hole shot at the beginning of the season and never looked back. No last minute heroics by Texas this time around. Helena did their disappearing act at the end of the season again. The question now is whether next season will change things.

Nostalgia question: How many of you remember the 5lb Easter Eggs? You know, the ones with the hard candy flower in the center you pried off and threw away. Came in either fruit and nut, maple creme or coconut creme.