Broken Bat - League Forum: II.1

Post ID	Date & Time	Game Date

#27257	11/23/2015 7:16:23 pm
EchoBravo34 Joined: 07/08/2014 Posts: 57 Sioux City Catfish V.15	Just want to wish my fellow owners good luck this season in II.1. I'm looking forward to good competition. Best, Eric

#27916	12/12/2015 2:28:59 am
crackit Joined: 05/15/2013 Posts: 315 Anchorage Lawless IV.4	Sorry EB, I was a bit slow on the uptake. Seems quite an open competition in the West. We are trying hard to upset everyone else's season but I think our pitching is a little short of where it needs to be, and when it is I think our batting will be in transition. Hoping to get back amongst the legends again, if only for one season. Best wishes all Crackit

#29927	01/30/2016 11:13:28 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Looking forward to my first season at LL II. I know the competition will be the fiercest I've played yet, but I still hope I can avoid relegation. It is a nice touch to get to play in the same league as crackit and FMcgriff1b for the first time, as I got advice from each well over a year ago in real time when I was just starting. Good luck to us all!

#30070	02/02/2016 3:13:03 pm
crackit Joined: 05/15/2013 Posts: 315 Anchorage Lawless IV.4	With three division titles in three seasons I would like to think it was good advice; so you'll take it easy on us right?

#30072	02/02/2016 3:44:59 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Well I'm debating putting Amador into the rotation considering he will need playing time at some point, and he is doing his best to make a case for starting. Does that count as going easy on you all? Really have no clue who I want as the rest of my rotation past Cardona. No one else is a consistently good pitcher for me. The rest of my rotation can be really good at times, but have a lot of trouble with maintaining a good level of play.

#30077	02/02/2016 4:12:14 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Also, good to be re-united with Sioux City after 5 seasons. They started their slingshot 2 seasons before I did. Edit: Almost forgot West New York was also in my division the season before that. Updated Tuesday, February 2 2016 @ 4:20:07 pm PST

#30407	02/09/2016 11:06:06 am
EchoBravo34 Joined: 07/08/2014 Posts: 57 Sioux City Catfish V.15	Good to see you up here too, man. Looking forward to another year of good competition in this league!

#30435	02/09/2016 8:34:26 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Six injuries in my first series? Guess my good luck with the injury RNG has come to an end. I won game two with 5 injured players, including two of my best offensive players. Lot of runs in that series, looks like this could be a high scoring season if it wasn't an outlier.

#30675	02/15/2016 9:59:52 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Crazy parity in II.1 with virtually everyone within two games of first place. If it continues like this it will be one heck of a season. Batting has smashed pitching so far, last time I saw run averages this high was in LL VI. Batting appears to be up in LL III and Legends as well. Wonder if this will be the season of the hitters or whether we are all experiencing a shared anomalous start to the season?

#31965	03/17/2016 4:08:50 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	@crackit, would you take it easy on me? :P

#31969	03/17/2016 4:58:17 pm
crackit Joined: 05/15/2013 Posts: 315 Anchorage Lawless IV.4	No one is more shocked than I am Anyway just gaining revenge for the 4-1 series loss last time. Off the bottom, just the nine games to pull back on fourth. Updated Thursday, March 17 2016 @ 5:08:34 pm PDT ... And you square the series 5-5 against my ace starter. Honours even. Updated Thursday, March 17 2016 @ 11:53:15 pm PDT

#32707	04/02/2016 6:17:59 pm
mhk Joined: 11/04/2013 Posts: 62 Inactive	Hello everybody, next season will be my first in division II, hope it will be a lot of fun.

#32717	04/02/2016 11:20:59 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Looking like I'll be seeing you again, as West New York is extremely hot and has a favorable schedule left.

#33143	04/09/2016 11:27:44 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Welcome Mike, mhk, and Pig_Cola to II.1, my only prediction is that we double the number of posts in this thread by the all-star break.

#33152	04/10/2016 4:14:40 am
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Thanks! I get excited with each promotion not so much because of winning the division, but because of the promise of playing better teams. Also as you mentioned, it will be fun playing with more vocal owners. It's cool having Overland Park and Topeka in my league. I picked Shawnee when I joined here because I grew up there; it was Kansas, though, not Oklahoma. When I got married, we lived in Overland Park. We've been in Washington state for several years now, but I've always been a Dogs fan here. Good luck all and happy breaking!

#33168	04/10/2016 8:21:29 am
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	I'm glad to be in this league. This looks like it's going to be a very fun season for our team with all the great teams in the West and East divisions. Good luck to everyone this season!

#33174	04/10/2016 9:08:16 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I get excited with each promotion not so much because of winning the division, but because of the promise of playing better teams. Also as you mentioned, it will be fun playing with more vocal owners. Completely agree with this. While the other owners in II.1 last season were very good, they weren't prolific posters by any stretch of the definition. I look forward to the possibility of actually having a conversation in the league thread for only the second time (III.1 was pretty active with Philliesworld).

#33353	04/14/2016 1:41:21 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I want to thank Jacksonville for allowing me to form my new marketing scheme. This season the Raleigh lineup will feature the Krause brothers (Rich and Russell). Not quite as cool as the Jones brothers (Andruw and Chipper) but it will do. Now time to see if the marketing ploy lives up to the hype.

#33378	04/14/2016 11:38:42 pm
mhk Joined: 11/04/2013 Posts: 62 Inactive	When I drafted Max McIntyre, Bernie Browning and Cody Christensen in three weeks in a row in the 2018 season I did think about making a complete team out of players with double initials. (Ok, I only though about it for a couple of seconds, but I thought about it). Still like those players anyway, to bad I had to cut Max and Cody would probably been cut too if it wasn´t for his name, slowest developing 15 talent I´ve ever had.

#33613	04/23/2016 6:56:29 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I'm debating batting Rich and Russell back to back just to mess with people who watch the game cast. Whether I keep them batting back to back would be contingent on whether I had any success.

#33617	04/23/2016 8:07:05 am
mhk Joined: 11/04/2013 Posts: 62 Inactive	You should try to get Ralph Krause from the Torrance Musketeers, maybe not quite what you want in LL2, but he was good against lefties the last couple of years, Randy and both Ricks have retired from the game and the youngest of them all, Ryan is a pitcher (playes for Topekas AA affiliate).

#33753	04/28/2016 4:24:56 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	It seems that the hitters in this league really work the pitcher's count every AB.

#33756	04/28/2016 8:13:33 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Lots of players with great BC and PD, that's for sure. Looking forward to inter-division play already, since that is when I made up ground in the standings. Might be different with Candler and Huntington bolstering the West's ranks. Edit: mhk, nice series, you beat up on my righties, and the only pitcher I could hit was your 120 SI guy. LOL Updated Thursday, April 28 2016 @ 8:15:51 pm PDT

#33758	04/28/2016 10:24:06 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I'm afraid I'm going to struggle all year balancing trying to not get relegated with developing my younger players. If things go south, I'll abandon the season and concentrate on the future. Heck, I couldn't even break even today against free falling Providence. Rivera had his worst performance ever and Cannon is starting off even slower than last season.

#33764	04/29/2016 4:46:45 am
mhk Joined: 11/04/2013 Posts: 62 Inactive	Grrr, got two callups to the majors that I really don´t like. Haneul Park (there is actually a park in Seoul called Haneul Park , age 22. I wanted to train that guy to 1B, preferably in the minors in the next two years, now I´ll have to do it in the majors. Sean Newton, hmmmm, he´s just nowhere near ready for LL2, don´t know what to do with the guy, will probably be cut. Don´t need him in OF, played with the idea of making him a 2B, but that spots taken by Browning for the next 5-7 seasons, and I have decent backups in Chan or Kato. Apart from that, so far I like LL2, it´s fun, hope that dosn´t change too soon. Got another 15 pot pitcher from puerto rico today

#33853	05/03/2016 11:22:24 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I have no idea what to think about my team. Excluding my series with Providence, I'm 9-8; I went 1-3 against them. The terrible part about that is that they are 2-14 against everyone else. Look at that horrible statement again. Yes, they have more wins against me in one series than they have against the entire league this season! Ouch. My offense has finally shown some signs of life as they just topped 700 OPS. There are still woeful acts. Valencia, for example, had an 878 OPS last year and is currently at 212. Yes, a 212 OPS. That's not a typo. Wow. My rookie Alarcon is at an amazing 205. Sweet numbers, huh. Updated Tuesday, May 3 2016 @ 11:56:17 pm PDT

#33854	05/04/2016 3:48:34 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	You're doing pretty well against me, and both of Providence's other two wins came against me. Fortunately I carried over my relative success against Durham and Topeka. I just hope I can continue to pick up wins here and there to stave off relegation.

#33858	05/04/2016 7:58:47 am
mhk Joined: 11/04/2013 Posts: 62 Inactive	I´m not happy with the last three series against Topeka (1-2), Shawnee (1-3) and Durham (1-3), I just loose to many close games, bullpen is underperforming. Of the 11 games I lost so far, 4 were 1-run games and 4 were 2-run games. I should start winning some more of those.

#33859	05/04/2016 8:19:32 am
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	I just saw that Providence has just been gotten by new owner Nookie.

#33862	05/04/2016 2:11:07 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I still think that it is a bad idea to give a new owner a LL II team, as the competition all have a very good feel for the game at this level, but I also get Steve's reluctance to extend the prohibition downwards from Legends. Of course my team is batting terribly so far, so I guess I can't say anything. Amazing how much the league has shifted from offense to pitching with changing three teams on each side. Updated Wednesday, May 4 2016 @ 2:11:41 pm PDT

#33865	05/04/2016 8:29:08 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Come on guys, through two series (7 games) I have 5 wins against Durham. The rest of the East combined has 4 wins against Durham. Help me out some will you? :P

#33866	05/04/2016 11:04:24 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I think a human owner is almost always preferred over a bot. New owners may make mistakes, but I've seen very few catastrophic errors. The AI, on the other hand, destroyed the Sharks. It was a shame to see Mig go. Did I really just say that?

#33871	05/05/2016 3:30:30 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	An active one is preferred, but I've noticed that very few people who take over LL II clubs stay active, I think usually because they get destroyed as the bot or the previous owner has wrecked the roster. Also, to me it is slightly irritating when something like what the current Palmdale owner got happens. The current owner took over a club put together by the previous owner that ended up winning the West, and promoted to Legends. Thus a one login and done owner managed to get his team promoted to Legends, though I know it was really the work of the previous owner that did it. Updated Thursday, May 5 2016 @ 3:31:44 am PDT

#33872	05/05/2016 4:59:53 am
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I bet the vast majority of new owners leave quickly no matter what level they're at. All I want is the most competitive league possible. I don't really care if someone promotes due to the work of the previous owner. In fact, success like that probably entices owners to stick around, which is a good thing.

#33878	05/05/2016 3:24:07 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	This six game losing streak features no offense from my team at all. The good part is that my pitching in the last two games is finally starting to get under control and not allowing many runs.

#33879	05/05/2016 3:49:53 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	... and the wild ride continues in Raleigh, my pitching came to play, but all my hitting got left in Durham after the series yesterday, no help from the offense in the first two games today... though I should remember Jacksonville does have a really good rotation.

#33979	05/08/2016 5:24:14 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	Huntington is just rolling so far in the season. They're 10.5 games ahead of us right now. Our hitting is doing great, but our pitching is just terrible at this moment. I hope that the pitching can get it together.

#33981	05/08/2016 8:57:38 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Well, today helped. I don't think my team could play any better than it did today. Four game sweep at Topeka, including an 18-3 line in game 4 really showcased what my team CAN do if all the breaks favor them.

#34106	05/13/2016 10:47:30 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	0-3 at home against Durham, and then the next day 4-0 on the road at Jacksonville. All I can do is scratch my head. The West needs to figure out how to beat Huntington if they want to still keep it a race by the All-Star Break.

#34121	05/13/2016 5:03:53 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	@newtman, I'm still trying to figure out how to beat Huntington. In our last matchup with Huntington, we swept them. I hope that'll be a good sign for us vs Huntington in the next matchups.

#34157	05/14/2016 6:34:03 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Walk-off win against first place Durham. Repeat. Repeat. That's what I call a sweet sweep.

#34160	05/14/2016 7:34:58 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	The Raleigh Braves have shipped a box of rally monkeys to Shawnee to commemorate the Durham series.

#34213	05/17/2016 1:31:11 am
mhk Joined: 11/04/2013 Posts: 62 Inactive	So, first part of divisional games are over, I´m not pleased at all, I hate all those close losses lost 28 1-run losses 11 2-run losses 7 3 or more-run losses 10 I should probably start to win against teams not called Providence soon or I´ll get demoted. vs. Providence 9-1 RD +47 vs. rest 13-27 RD -28 See what interdivisional games will bring, but I don´t see any Providences in the west, so I´m not that optimistic ...

#34222	05/17/2016 4:00:30 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Impressive 11-0 run going in Shawnee, went from 5th to 2nd and one game back. Just goes to show you're never out of it.

#34227	05/17/2016 6:24:21 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I had to wait til it was over, lest I jinx my guys. I never imagined they could roll off a lucky 13 in a row. Toca finally had his miserable late inning performance to end the streak, but it was nothing like the Cup disaster that sent us packing there.

#34238	05/18/2016 4:04:04 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Consistent with previous seasons, Raleigh faces the worst team in the West and loses the series. Now to face the others, this is where things get interesting as Bechtal who got a 32 day injury will be back in time for his start in the rotation against Chandler which will remove one of the lefties from the rotation.

#34274	05/19/2016 6:30:08 am
mhk Joined: 11/04/2013 Posts: 62 Inactive	Huntington coming up tonight, beat them 11-6 last season, but I don´t think I have a chance this time around.

#34290	05/19/2016 4:25:59 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Bechtal returned from said 32 day injury to pitch 8 innings of 4 hit shutout ball against Chandler. Pope finished the shutout, and the Braves look to be back on track.

#34299	05/19/2016 9:51:48 pm
Dcmrulz Joined: 02/14/2013 Posts: 588 Inactive	Pina was a hot mess in III, only to look like an ace in II, as pitchers do. Also woo 14 games up!

#34301	05/19/2016 10:20:19 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Hitting is definitely down from last season, my pitching staff is also looking like they did a couple seasons ago getting us to LL II, as opposed to last season when they struggled. On another note, I am dead last in the league in SLG and dead last by 12 HR in homers. @Dcmrulz, looking forward to our series on Sunday, I'm hoping both our pitching staffs perform at their peaks, as I fully believe Amador can hang with anyone this season and Bechtal is having a phenomenal second season. Updated Thursday, May 19 2016 @ 10:21:30 pm PDT

#34385	05/22/2016 6:20:13 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Big day for my team, I'm looking forward to the test. I've gone 3-2 against Sunnyvale, Chandler, and Overland Park, but 2-3 against Phoenix. Not as good as I normally do against the West, but it is a strong division this season.

#34388	05/22/2016 8:06:58 am
Dcmrulz Joined: 02/14/2013 Posts: 588 Inactive	Aww, bye Phoenix. 4-1 with the snakes, including a nice 15 inning scuffle!

#34389	05/22/2016 10:35:48 am
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	A three run blown save is unacceptable. The first two games were a different kind of pain-two hits both games. Yikes. My pitching was fine for the series except for that one late inning collapse, but my guys were woeful at the plate against your arms. If we hadn't blown game four I would have been content.

#34395	05/22/2016 3:39:43 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Through two games each team has teed off on the other team's weakest starter, though admittedly Huntington's victory was far more impressive. Next match-up should be very interesting, second year phenom going for the Braves against the ageing veteran going for the Catfish. Tune in in 20 minutes...

#34405	05/22/2016 8:01:21 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Good series, I thought the last two games were especially apt, trading 1-0 wins. I came out of my first ever series with dcmrulz with a series loss, but 2-3 is still respectable, and I am confident that I can hang with Huntington. Other than Posada's melt down (which dcmrulz could probably say about Allendro's game 1 start) I think the series lived up to the billing. I finish up the first half with a tough Sioux City squad.

#34407	05/22/2016 11:19:45 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I can't believe how streaky my team is. They seem to be either great or horrible a week at a time. I haven't been able to figure them out. Today was a lovely mix of pathetic pitching and meager hitting. It was lovely for my opposition, that is.

#34416	05/23/2016 3:37:44 pm
Dcmrulz Joined: 02/14/2013 Posts: 588 Inactive	3-2 on the road. Not bad. Chandler losing back to back series is good for the Catfish, 17 up is good. Added bonus in that the catfish were able to win that series without T-Rod for 80% of it, he should be healthy on the rematch. Updated Monday, May 23 2016 @ 3:43:31 pm PDT

#34417	05/23/2016 3:40:01 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	I don't think I have a chance to catch you DCM unless I go on a major winning streak, but I don't really see that happening. The pitching is too inconsistent for my team.

#34418	05/23/2016 4:00:49 pm
Dcmrulz Joined: 02/14/2013 Posts: 588 Inactive	Getting good and consistent pitching is always the toughest part of the game. Absolutely need an ace to anchor the rest of the rotation. That said, your rotation is really good, Pierce and Morales seem to be in a run of bad luck this season, and the bullpen seems like they have a lot of room to grow.

#34421	05/23/2016 5:00:26 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	I also had high expectations for Valdivia, but he hasn't lived up to those expectations.

#34424	05/23/2016 7:16:57 pm
Dcmrulz Joined: 02/14/2013 Posts: 588 Inactive	kind of a leap up in talent, from VI to II. Kid's still young, he can adjust (even if he most likely won't hit his VI numbers)

#34427	05/23/2016 8:06:44 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	@Dcmrulz, you lost the game T-Rod was in the lineup 1-0. You sure you want to put him in the lineup next time?

#34434	05/24/2016 6:09:39 am
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	@Dcmrulz, you're right that he did have a big leap in league levels.

#34453	05/24/2016 7:00:43 pm
Dcmrulz Joined: 02/14/2013 Posts: 588 Inactive	oof, decked by durham. Only lost 1 game in the standings though, and it's the all-star break, so at least the damage is small.

#34455	05/24/2016 7:27:56 pm
EchoBravo34 Joined: 07/08/2014 Posts: 57 Sioux City Catfish V.15	Nice series Newtman, I figured we would split.

#34459	05/24/2016 8:30:53 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Yeah, several good games in our series, though Posada is making the case to be the first cut because he has been failing hard the past 5 or so starts. I fell into relegation land at the all-star break which is not what I was looking for. While I didn't build my team for power, the fact that Doyle only has 14 HRs and the rest of my team only has 41 more with no one else even at 10 tells me my bats are under-performing. The question becomes whether Cardona, Amador, and Bechtal can keep pace while the bats and Posada get their act together (or whether they will turn it around this season at all)? Posada's now consistent beatings has me less confident than I was even after the Huntington series, I knew he was over-performing against the East early in the season since he was well below his career averages for ERA and WHIP, but his recent numbers are dog poo to be nice.

#34530	05/26/2016 7:37:50 am
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	I really hope that our pitchers can play better in the second half of the season and try to close the gap between us ad Huntington.

#34541	05/26/2016 6:22:30 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I just had the longest game any team has had under my Broken Bat ownership: 21 innings

#34544	05/26/2016 8:35:06 pm
Dcmrulz Joined: 02/14/2013 Posts: 588 Inactive	sweeeeeep! UPDATE: This post still applies. 10-0! Updated Saturday, May 28 2016 @ 9:09:19 pm PDT

#34692	05/30/2016 6:37:28 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Halfway through the second half of interdivisional play, and my team is picking up steam. I was 5-5 against Phoenix, 6-4 against Overland Park, and 7-3 against Chandler. About time my team started showing their traditional skill against the West. Last series losses were the back to back 2-3 series against Huntington and Sioux City, looking forward to the re-matches, but first up is Sunnyvale tomorrow.

#34695	05/30/2016 8:56:26 am
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	And the Sharks continue their decline as they lose their owner.

#34771	05/31/2016 7:58:08 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Taking two out of five against Huntington feels like a series win.

#34773	05/31/2016 8:21:23 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Right when I think my team is putting it together, it turns around and drops 3 out of 5 against Sunnyvale. 5-5 against them is much less inspiring. Still, have a good chance to finish .500 or above against the West for a 12th straight season as long as my guys show up in the next two series.

#34774	05/31/2016 8:29:39 pm
Dcmrulz Joined: 02/14/2013 Posts: 588 Inactive	dropping the last 2 isn't fun, as does losing a game. But I'll take a series win. Gotta go through this stretch with this kind of lead before taking things slower.

#34805	06/01/2016 3:07:32 pm
mhk Joined: 11/04/2013 Posts: 62 Inactive	arrrgh sometimes I hate this game, or rather my team, they are a bunch of ... Of the last 7 games I lost 6, the first 3 in extra innings, the last 3 by 1 run.

#34816	06/01/2016 7:08:55 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Won 3 out of 5 against Huntington to move to 5-5 against Dcmrulz on the season. I will say his team is the worthy foe it is cracked up to be, but not the invincible juggernaut claimed by some. With that series win I clinched a winning record against the West for a 12th straight season. Next up, revenge against Sioux City.

#34844	06/02/2016 7:53:10 pm
Dcmrulz Joined: 02/14/2013 Posts: 588 Inactive	3-7 against durham. if that be the finals...uh oh.

#34845	06/02/2016 10:03:30 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Denied revenge against Sioux City, lost the series 4-6. It was a very mediocre interleague season for the Braves, but losing the season series to only one team kept the winning record streak against the West alive for another year. The most concerning thing though is not starting the final third of the season in nearly as advantageous a place as I have in seasons past, since my team does not traditionally finish strong. Only three games out of relegation means that this will be a very stressful finish in Raleigh with the 3 rookies trying to get playing time and short pitching staff.

#34867	06/03/2016 7:37:53 am
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	We ended up with a 25-35 record in interleague play. Not the worst record, but I thought we would do much better.

#34913	06/04/2016 4:28:14 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	That was unexpected, I swept Shawnee, however Durham swept Jacksonville, so I made up no games. The only result is that the East is opening up a lot. Sioux City had a good day and Huntington continues to limp, with dcmrulz's lead under 20 games for the first time in a couple weeks.

#34931	06/04/2016 10:52:44 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Did you watch those freaking games?????? Here's what my four go-to guys in the bullpen did: Number 1--3 appearances, 2 BS, 1 loss, 37.72 ERA Number 2--2 appearances, 1 loss, 11.59 ERA Number 3--2 appearances, 1 BS, 1 loss, 54.55 ERA Number 4--2 appearances, 18.00 ERA I mean, seriously, give me a break.

#34991	06/05/2016 7:42:55 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I read the play by play before clicking the final, and then looked at the box scores. Yes, I noticed I was behind in all the games, and that post was not intended to rub it in at all. I was especially grateful to Mocha for blowing two of the games. As for today, a much more convincing four game sweep of Durham has my team sitting in not bad shape two games out of first. I think I was only behind in one of the games. As for what prompted me posting, I noticed while looking at the league stats that my pitching staff has thrown as many shutouts as the rest of the league combined. :P

#34994	06/05/2016 10:27:08 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I didn't have an issue with your post. I had an issue with my bleeping bleeding bullpen.

#34997	06/06/2016 3:27:10 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Been there, and I have felt that pain before. As a matter of fact, series like that are the exact reason I no longer take 15 minutes to watch the pitch by pitch any more. I had a series a few seasons back that went down much the same way that one did for you, and it put me in such a bad mood in real life that I decided that I couldn't watch the games any more. I'm just too high strung to watch Broken Bat baseball (not implying you are, just explaining).

#35319	06/11/2016 7:51:10 pm
Dcmrulz Joined: 02/14/2013 Posts: 588 Inactive	So there's a real chance the Eastern division champ goes bot before the finals.

#35320	06/11/2016 8:04:01 pm
MrTwoPlums Joined: 04/14/2012 Posts: 213 Inactive	That's a shame that Bearlacher's disappeared. I was looking forward to playing against him again. We promoted alongside each other from IV.5 to Legends.

#35323	06/11/2016 8:53:45 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	It would open up the possibility of me moving to Durham, which is where I was born. Still, Durham still has a long road to secure the East... I have a winning record against them and 6 head to head games left against them and only a 4 game lead.

#35329	06/11/2016 11:17:34 pm
MrTwoPlums Joined: 04/14/2012 Posts: 213 Inactive	I have a winning record against them and 6 head to head games left against them and only a 4 game lead. Careful Newtman. Confident talk like that draws the attention of the Baseball Gods, and they're far from benevolent.

#35336	06/12/2016 6:02:41 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I'm just getting kind of annoyed about how the East is still a race, and you and dcmrulz are talking about it as if it is the West.

#35344	06/12/2016 6:59:11 am
MrTwoPlums Joined: 04/14/2012 Posts: 213 Inactive	My expressing disappointment at Bearlacher's going bot wasn't meant as a sleight to you nor was I writing you off, but I was pulling for Durham seeing as they were my very first rival. The Baseball Gods comment was meant to be tongue in cheek. What's to get annoyed about?

#35352	06/12/2016 9:10:43 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Fair enough about bearlacher, but the comments from dcmrulz have been about how he might be playing Durham without regard to other possibilities. The most recent example is not the only one if you look back to around the end of inter-league.

#35365	06/12/2016 11:27:11 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Well I would certainly rather have an active player then a bot in elite next year. And looks to be a pretty tight race. Unfortunately Durham looks to be pretty healthy and setup with their optimal lineups, so it will still be a fight to the finish. BTW, its also possible he is just on vacation right now. Either way I'd prefer to see Raleigh next year.

#35459	06/13/2016 6:13:57 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I'd like to see Jacksonville stay up, but my first series loss in awhile was poorly timed. I lost a game and a half on Durham and my destiny is no longer in my own hands, I'm going to need help. Unfortunate since I think I am the only team in the East with a winning record against Durham. For whatever reason the game seems to make me do well against the best teams, but poorly against comparatively worse teams.

#35461	06/13/2016 6:36:09 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Your having one of those horrible luck seasons like I had in 2023. Accept even worse because your RA is really low, which should be an even stronger indicator of success. A sweep of Providence would be helpful. EDIT: Although it looks like Swaggy has been busy. Updated Monday, June 13 2016 @ 6:38:11 pm PDT

#35469	06/13/2016 11:23:53 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I'd like to see Jacksonville stay up... Hmm. I wouldn't expect this kind of a statement from someone who is defensive about his position in the standings. Part of my problem this year has been Providence. They've won 41% of their games against me and only 23% against everyone else. I'm not sure why the AI likes to have them stick it to me, but it has been a thorn in my side all season. I'm .500 against Durham so far. We'll see what tomorrow's series holds.

#35472	06/14/2016 7:10:48 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	mhk has a lot of players who I'm very high on, and I think should be top level competitors. As a matter of fact, before this season started if there was a way to switch rosters with him, I would have (if he wanted to). I want him to stay up for two reasons: 1) he's more active in the forums than many other owners (though not as active as some others) and 2) I want my prognostication about his team to be proven right. Honestly I prefer having a back and forth dialogue with other owners in the forums, as I gain insights, just as I hope I give insight to others. Edit: I am responsible for giving Providence most of the wins that you haven't as they have gone 5-8 against me (a nice 38% winning percentage). Updated Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 7:18:33 am PDT

#35474	06/14/2016 7:45:30 am
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	Don't worry Mike. I've had problems with Providence during interleague play.

#35498	06/14/2016 6:18:20 pm
Dcmrulz Joined: 02/14/2013 Posts: 588 Inactive	I am greatly helped by going 9-1 against them in interleague. Other than that, i've had a similar issue since interleague ended; faltering against inferior teams and beating teams that should be better. I'm also greatly helped that the other catfish fell to earth, so we've been splitting wins and losses.

#35506	06/14/2016 9:58:48 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	After splitting the first two with Durham today, we had a vicious pitching duel for the rubber match. Despite only giving up three hits, I was down 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth. We managed to load the bases with one out. A line drive to the outfield put it all on the line for Mackenzie. Smack! A double for the walk-off. It would be nice to have series wins the next couple days so I can develop the young guys during the last week. Or maybe we can go undefeated the last 20 and win it all. Ssssssssssssssnakes. Updated Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 10:00:10 pm PDT

#35507	06/14/2016 10:25:24 pm
Dcmrulz Joined: 02/14/2013 Posts: 588 Inactive	It's gonna be a great fight to the finish for the East, Durham has 7 with providence remaining, and a series with Raleigh and Shawnee in the future. Those two playoff contenders have a run with the table for the rest of the season, but first is Thursday's 4 game set between Raleigh and Shawnee. Given the games remaining, that is practically a playoff series. If Shawnee does catch fire, there's a chance Durham/Shawnee is the LCS. Here's to a great finish! Updated Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 10:27:06 pm PDT Updated Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 10:27:25 pm PDT

#35509	06/14/2016 11:24:34 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I was kidding. I'm just hoping to not have an October collapse so I can stick around in II. My only role now is as a possible spoiler. Good luck to Durham and Raleigh over the last stressful stretch.

#35562	06/15/2016 4:21:08 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	In keeping with long standing Raleigh tradition my guys are struggling down the stretch (the last real life week of the season). I've never had a season where I did much better than .500 in the last real life week, the difference has always been where I was coming into the last week. That is why I essentially conceded after yesterday's embarrassing split with Providence, and am more resigned at this point after losing two of three to Topeka with a fourth still to play. I expect I'll win the series against Durham as usual, but will likely split with Mike and probably lose to Jacksonville and Topeka and take two of three from Providence. Good season all, and congrats to Durham and Huntington! If I'm wrong I'll be happy, but after being very confident prior to the Providence series, I am just as confident in the opposite way following it. As TwoPlums pointed out, the baseball gods are very vengeful.

#35563	06/15/2016 4:23:05 pm
Dcmrulz Joined: 02/14/2013 Posts: 588 Inactive	WOOOOOOOOOOOO! I will miss this league though, it has been by far the best league I've ever been on, 1000 times more talkative than any other league I've been on, with some of the smartest and best minds in the game. I know you guys will be joining me in no time!

#35684	06/17/2016 7:58:17 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Raleigh's concession of defeat will become official today as the two players that were suggested for promotion to the majors today will both start the remaining games. The lineup will initially be hurt, but should in the long run be greatly bolstered by these two rookies: "Tomahawk" Thomason and Jose Arteaga.

#35751	06/17/2016 7:48:25 pm
mhk Joined: 11/04/2013 Posts: 62 Inactive	I´ll demote this season, my team is just too stupid. We outscore Providence 34-10 in a three game series but still manage to loose a game. Hopeless...

#35754	06/18/2016 7:24:29 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	@mhk, my team did the same thing a couple times this season, it is how Providence cost me my chance at promotion. I'm fairly confident that as long as you don't blow up your team, you should be back at LL II soon.

#35790	06/19/2016 3:24:42 am
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Our magic number is two to stick around, so all the youngsters will be playing the next series. There's a good chance we'll end up with a winning record for the season and a negative run differential. I'll be proud if that happens.

#35897	06/20/2016 9:45:38 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	8 more wins than losses. 27 fewer runs than my opponents. That's what I call a winning season. Good luck to Huntington an Durham in the playoffs and...drum roll... (deep booming voice with stadium reverb)...LEGENDS!!! I'm hoping Seattle joins us for 2028. If they do, our league would be home to all three cities I've lived in--Shawnee, Overland Park and Seattle. Technically I live in Mukilteo, a suburb on the north end of Seattle, but I think that counts.

#35899	06/20/2016 10:26:00 pm
Dcmrulz Joined: 02/14/2013 Posts: 588 Inactive	Seattle is a very good team, been my rivals since they were the raiders, always a tough out. Palmdale used to have Peter Bryan, one of the best SP I ever had to face on a regular basis, right there with Gene Frazier. Anyway, Seattle and State College will make this league a straight dogfight. Though Palmdale going to this league will surely help Sioux City and Chandler.

#35966	06/21/2016 7:46:57 pm
Dcmrulz Joined: 02/14/2013 Posts: 588 Inactive	Catfish start off hot, taking the first two in Durham. Now for 3 more in Huntington. We win 2 of them and the Catfish will be Kingfish of II.1!

#35971	06/21/2016 11:02:38 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	It will be exciting, either West New York or State College will provide a good challenge in the East. A largely demolished Palmdale would open up the West a lot, however Seattle would be an extremely tough out in my estimation. Seattle and State College are two teams I've never gotten to face in official games, however with long time owners who put together talented clubs season after season, they already have the same respect I had for Huntington coming into this season.

#35979	06/22/2016 7:40:36 am
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	I really want to face State College again. We've been rivals since the 2014 season when I just joined even though we didn't promote all the time together.

#35995	06/22/2016 1:36:16 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	In stark contrast to last season when I knew what changes needed to be made, this season I have no idea what to do. All the guys who did very poorly this season were players who are still developing, and I have some reason to hope will improve. Even my rental Hubbard performed far better than I could have hoped for a waiver claim that I won against only one other claimant. This is fortunate since I doubt anyone in my minors will be ready by the end of spring training (even though three players will be 25 next season). I am concerned though since I see no clear player to step into Doyle's leadership role in the lineup, which is a problem since he is 33 and will likely finally start to decline this off-season as he turns 34. Thomason is my best prospect from a hitting standpoint, and his major league debut in the final week of the season was really bad in a small sample size. Considering I was second worst in II.1 from a power perspective (I hit less HRs than anyone except Providence), I desperately need some offense infused into the mix as my pitchers are not likely to continue to play at the level seen for large stretches of this season. Although Seca (rightly) played up Huntington's pitching, by virtually every pitching stat my staff was better, despite the skill sheets pointing to a clear advantage for Huntington. Some might try to argue the difference could be attributed to East vs. West, but I think Huntington slightly underperformed and my staff slightly overperformed. Therefore I expect at least a little regression in my pitching numbers next season regardless of who replaces the promoting and demoting teams. Given all of this, I am pretty sure that if I want to promote to Legends in the next couple of seasons, I will need to make some moves, I'm just not sure what.

#36115	06/26/2016 8:54:51 am
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	In II.1 next year, we will have Seattle, West New York, Bridgeside City, and Evanston. I'm familiar with Seattle, but I don't have much of a history against the other three teams.

#36117	06/26/2016 9:38:15 am
Dcmrulz Joined: 02/14/2013 Posts: 588 Inactive	I have a good history with Seattle. Started in the same league, same Division. They got the better of me in almost every season except for the fateful Cup finals of 2021, where we took them in 3 games! West New York I have some history with. They're a strong team with some great drafting luck giving them a strong farm system for now and the future. I think they'll be a tough out in II for seasons to come.

#36126	06/26/2016 12:39:48 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I have history with West New York, Evanston, and Bridgeside City. None are super active in the forum though, so while it will be interesting, it will be more quiet this season.

#36203	06/28/2016 9:58:23 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Well, considering I had a much better away record than home record, and my hitters were next to last in HRs hit while my pitchers allowed the fewest HRs in the league, I decided to make a change. My ballpark has had medium height walls and the middle distance fences for a long time to balance between offense and defense, but since my offense lacks power anyways, and my entire team has very nice range, I decided to free my gazelles by moving the fences to max distance and increasing the height from 10 feet to 15 feet, except in right field where it was increased to 35 feet. Should be interesting to see what happens.

#36384	07/01/2016 7:52:36 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Good idea. Not so good for me if we play, as my team has the opposite traits... But that's why I have a small field.

#37017	07/11/2016 1:35:29 pm
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Good luck to all ballclubs this season from the Denver Broncos players and staff.

#37062	07/13/2016 8:00:48 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	It appears II.1 ownership has a vacancy, Evanston went bot. Unfortunate.

#37320	07/19/2016 8:04:25 pm
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	Well, last time I was in a league with Shawnee I would up 10 games and ~145 RD back. Re-match is off to a pretty pyrrhic start Started the series with my best slugger on the DL for a week. Game 1 - Best pitcher in franchise history doesn't make it out of the 3rd inning. Where's the MR2 - Blown up sir! Game 2 - We hit some luck. Riding the 8+9 hitters and our weakest starter we squeak out a 3-2 win ... oops, broke the 4x national team closer. Game 3 - Whew, Ripcord gets some ground balls and we squeak out another another 1 run win. Oops ... last season's #2 RoY (in 156 ABs) is so over-matched at this level he sprained his ankle ... 2nd real injury is the same position as the 1st ... off to the waiver wire.

#37321	07/19/2016 9:42:02 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Welcome to II.1.

#37565	07/24/2016 9:27:13 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	My team makes me sick. I've never been anywhere near as disgusted with them as I am right now. 1-5 in one run games and they just plain suck. I hate them. If they don't win any of the next three series, I'm pulling the plug.

#37567	07/24/2016 9:37:55 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Well, depending on whether my team decides to play the way it did for most of the weekend, or more like the way it did in the last two games today, you could win quite handily against me, or get demolished. My team has been Jekyll and Hyde.

#37609	07/26/2016 2:59:57 am
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Change of plans. Completely disillusioned with my team. Almost as much with the game. I've been here almost two.years now. The honeymoon is over. The little annoyances are becoming far too annoying. Giving the season up now and letting youngsters take over. It requires far less work and is far less frustrating because with them success doesn't matter.

#37823	07/30/2016 5:13:40 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Well the beginning of the re-build appears to be paying off, I had my best series against Fall River yet. Of course it also helped that I got Krause back from a 12 game injury, and Fall River had three injuries (so the opposite of the last time we met in terms of injuries).

#37824	07/30/2016 5:44:13 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	I'm finally seeing some improvements with this team and their play in the recent series.

#37924	08/02/2016 9:38:03 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	A game back of the lead with a -6 RD... smh. If my pitching staff hadn't imploded for a week my RD would actually be competitive, in particular that last game against Topeka is looking egregious now. Hoping for some retribution tomorrow.

#37941	08/03/2016 7:45:49 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Not full retribution, but I won the series, trading BS losses in games 1 and 3, and winning legit in game 2 to take the series. Next up is Shawnee, and after today's success I'm going to continue pitching matchups. Williamson, who I picked up as a fringe guy, started game 2 due to an injury to another pitcher, and gave me 7 and 1/3 innings of shutout ball... unfortunately he went down with a 12 day injury, just going to be one of those seasons.

#37959	08/04/2016 4:24:35 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	My team is making me feel like a yo-yo. I couldn't have asked for better results against Shawnee with the sweep. Sad to see Mike throwing in the towel, but glad my team took advantage of it. Going to keep playing matchups since I have won all three series since I started doing it. It's funny, I've gone from 1st place to 5th in 10 days and back to tied for 1st in another 10 days.

#38079	08/07/2016 5:47:42 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	I was looking at team statistics and I saw that we have the second worst BA, the best ERA and the eighth best fielding percentage. I find that a bit interesting that our record is about even. We also have the lowest run support in the league. It kind of worries me a bit.

#38099	08/07/2016 10:47:06 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	My forfeiture was a combination of many things, the biggest of which was the failing of too many players. When seasoned veterans collapse, it's time to rebuild. Now I'm forced to start guessing who I can count on for the next few seasons. I have several 110+ guys who aren't even performing at average numbers. There is nothing more frustrating than training and playing likely all-stars for 7+ seasons only to find out they suck. The good part? Structuring a team is by far the most fun part of Broken Bat. For me it's not even close. Maybe this can rekindle my appreciation of the game because it has been dwindling for quite some time.

#38108	08/08/2016 5:30:59 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I don't think anyone sucks at LL II, except maybe Providence last season with the bot releasing most of their best players. Keep in mind that team won multiple promotions to get to this level. I see it more as the opposing pitching/defense just being a little better, or batters for struggling pitchers. My defense playing out of position finally bit me in the rear end yesterday, as I gave up five unearned runs off of one error (which would have ended the inning before those runs came across). I got to this level by minimizing those situations, but the new crop of players was bound to start affecting the games defensively at some point.

#38135	08/08/2016 6:19:35 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	I think interleague play will be close. Based off my calculations, it seems like the East and West divisions are about the same in everything. West: .252 BA 4.11 ERA .984 FP 4.45 RS East: .248 BA 4.33 ERA .984 FP 4.74 RS

#38141	08/08/2016 9:51:59 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I don't think anyone sucks at LL II. I disagree. I do. 😛 Here is what I've had to deal with this year. For offense, here are guys' hitting skills and OPS with last year's OPS in parentheses... 17-19-12-13-474 (696) 16-17-14-7-498 (707) 12-15-13-16-535 (687) 18-12-16-13-714 (727) Then there are the two guys I cut in Lewis and Versalles. This year their OPS were 590 and 696, compared to last year's of 857 and 856. On the pitching side... 10-18-17-17 with 6.87/1.745 13-16-14-16 with 6.03/1.716 17-15-15-11 with 5,60/1.420 See? I suck.

#38202	08/10/2016 5:47:46 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Well, today's games have been something... 4 losses, really getting sick of the bats and pitching alternating games off. I'm incredibly lucky everyone else in the East has stunk today as well, but I can't count on that because the West simply can't keep up this pace (or at least never has in a league that I've been in). Still a chance for my guys to pull out a win in game 5, but not holding my breath considering.

#38365	08/16/2016 9:02:04 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	At the halfway point, I'm 15-15 in inter-division play. Not happy about losing the last series, but as long as my streak of 12 straight seasons of finishing .500 or better in inter-division play gets extended I shouldn't do anything too rash. I had a series where I got lucky, but two series where I was unlucky, so I expect a better record in the second half of it. Updated Tuesday, August 16 2016 @ 9:03:19 pm PDT

#38366	08/16/2016 9:20:52 pm
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	Ready for the road warrior 2nd half?

#38738	08/28/2016 7:39:17 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Just got back from vacation. I wrapped up inter-division play at 33-27. That clinches my 13th straight winning record against the West. My season overall is going sub-par, but even in a bad season I still beat the West. :P Updated Sunday, August 28 2016 @ 7:40:28 am PDT

#38739	08/28/2016 7:53:38 am
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	We had a strong first half of interleague, but after that, it's just inexplicable. At least we finished 5-5 in the last two series.

#38742	08/28/2016 8:10:53 am
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	The nerve of my guys winning a series, and against first place Fall River. What's going on here? Seriously, though, my youngsters haven't improved much this season even though I've constantly given them the field. This is not promising in the least.

#38759	08/28/2016 7:48:11 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	My pitchers have been growing a bit slowly this season, I am starting to wonder if all those seasons of spring training has impacted the typical first couple of large updates for rookies in the majors.

#38978	09/04/2016 4:11:23 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	Quite a close race for first between Seattle, Bridgeside City, and Sioux City.

#38984	09/04/2016 10:36:57 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I'm calling it right now, Mike will break his losing streak against my team tomorrow. He got his last win against me... Even if I get demoted the bright side will be that in two seasons the transition to the new set of players will be complete and my core group will be both younger and better (hopefully). Schubert, Quintanilla, and Rosa will finally be up at that point. The big question would be whether I can promote again while continuing the transition I'm currently undergoing?

#39012	09/05/2016 4:28:10 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	No losing streak is safe while I'm around...

#39016	09/05/2016 7:44:26 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I'm afraid one of you is about to be cruelly relegated. I think I made the right decision to bail early, but it's disheartening to see how terrible my young guys are. They also haven't improved their skills nearly as much as I hoped they would. Good luck all!

#39087	09/07/2016 11:54:06 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Whoa. I've gone 3-4 over the last seven games. What's happening??!! I have to figure out who to cut so I can make my week nine draft. Any ideas about who it should be? I could cut one of my old guys, like Rivera, but I'm hoping to contend in III next year to get back to II and I think I'll need the likes of him. I'd prefer to cut a young guy that probably won't end up being anything. Maybe Miles? I like his skills, but his sub-600 OPS in 200+ PAs doesn't speak well for him. Updated Wednesday, September 7 2016 @ 11:56:06 pm PDT

#39152	09/09/2016 1:44:52 pm
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	Like Marty McFly said to mom ... Joo Won Park

#39180	09/09/2016 10:29:24 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	With 10 to go, a three way tie for the second relegation spot. Three agonizing days left for you. Good luck!

#39185	09/10/2016 6:57:31 am
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Had the same thing in IV4 last season - I was top of the 3-way, and sorry West New York not trying to jinx you, but I was the team who went down! 3-7 finish including 0-6 at home, yeesh. Demoted by one game.

#39190	09/10/2016 10:58:22 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	It should be fun, I'm game planning for each series this weekend (something I don't normally do). It will really come down to Shawnee though, I haven't swept them in a series in the second half, and I think I only did it once in the first half. If I sweep them, then I have a chance, if not I'll be the one going down because I have to finish a game ahead of at least one of the others since I won't extend my RD by 30 runs in three series. I don't see any chance of me sweeping Fall River, and the 4 game series against West New York finish the season may be anti-climactic. West New York has the most favorable of our three schedules with both Pembroke Pines and me along with Shawnee. Pembroke Pines has the roughest with West New York, Topeka, and Fall River left.

#39248	09/12/2016 10:23:01 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Game and a half cushion entering the day, but Pembroke Pines has the tiebreaker with RD, so I need to finish ahead of them. Been looking at who the potential demotions and promotions might be, and although it will be unfortunate to lose Mike, II.1 will gain Haselrig and Philliesworld and could gain Rock and Dcmrulz. If that happens I really hope I stay up as it should make the league even more active in the forum.

#39271	09/12/2016 4:18:46 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	With the win in game 1 I clinched staying up, with the loss in game 3 I ensured I would finish in 4th. Game 4 is totally meaningless, but I'd like a win to finish out the season. Next up in Raleigh trying to figure out how to get over the hump into Legends after two straight second place finishes and now a fourth place finish in a season that saw a lot of turnover (for me) and several players playing out of position for long stretches.

#39273	09/12/2016 4:23:42 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	A good end to the season with the Snakes sweeping Overland Park. Now, I just need to figure out how to get to Legends and introduce more youngsters in the majors.

#39275	09/12/2016 4:34:36 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	Next season will be interesting with Haselrig, Philliesworld, Yuri, and Meccanodonte joining II.1 next season along with with either Rock, Dcmrulz, bilbo, or Durham.

#39305	09/13/2016 2:06:26 am
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	One heck of a staffer battle vs Pembroke. 3-2 in 10 6-5 in 16 Updated Tuesday, September 13 2016 @ 2:07:44 am PDT

#39317	09/13/2016 7:20:23 am
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Congrats to Fall River with their impressive separation from the pack in the late season and also to Seattle. Good luck in the playoffs and in Legends. Hopefully I can get back to join the league again soon. Peace out.

#39495	09/16/2016 4:59:17 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	I'm quite surprised that Raúl Peralta got 31 votes for the CY Young award. He's actually the only player that got awards for my team this year. Things are looking bright for my ace.

#39508	09/16/2016 7:43:47 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Looks like me and Bilbo are landing over here.

#39515	09/16/2016 9:22:20 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	This will certainly be an active league, and Haverhill and Raleigh will finally face each other after 2 and a half real life years of following different philosophies, it should be fun.

#39516	09/16/2016 10:01:20 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yep And I still think Sutton was the steal of 2024. His development has been a bit lethargic (mostly due to lack of playing time), but it will be interesting to face off against him this year. Considering my problems at 3B Sutton probably would have been the starter for the last three years on my team. Updated Friday, September 16 2016 @ 10:06:01 pm PDT

#39522	09/17/2016 3:39:32 am
Yuri84 Joined: 10/14/2014 Posts: 639 Apple Valley Raccoons IV.4	Ohh...umm...err... hi guys. That's one pretty scary league you have here.

#39523	09/17/2016 3:41:42 am
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	You're in this league too, Yuri? Shaping up to be the most active league I've been in.

#39524	09/17/2016 5:20:11 am
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Yoohoo veterans reunion. I just have to remember to keep my mouth shut most of the time because it ain't gonna be very pretty in Harrisonburg.

#39771	09/20/2016 9:10:44 am
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	I think Topeka is my favorite for the east. Heck of an offense.

#39772	09/20/2016 10:06:16 am
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Aaahhh.... I think I'd better stop scouting the league. It's depressing. Comparing my offense to the other teams, not really cool. One thing I do have is one of the youngest teams in the league.

#39774	09/20/2016 10:14:10 am
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	I've only done the barest of scouting. How's the West likely to shape up in your mind, Philliesworld?

#39776	09/20/2016 10:43:28 am
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Cedar Rapids Dropped down from the legends. Great offense, one of the better in the league. Watch out for Jose Canasova. Solid defense. Very good starting rotation. Bad bullpen, might be a major downfall if the starters struggle. An older experienced team. Novi Decent offense, maybe a little top heavy. Very good defense, no stealing on Huerta. CS over 40 percent. Solid rotation, with good stamina. Bullpen is ok but probably won't be exposed with the long lasting starters. Played against them last year, swept me in the finals, and pretty much had the edge in interleague. Gotta go be back with more later Updated Tuesday, September 20 2016 @ 10:45:39 am PDT

#39778	09/20/2016 11:45:40 am
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Souix City Mediocre to bad offense, not a lot of depth. Very good gloves in the defense. .990 FP last season. Maybe not the rangiest. The rotation and bullpen both, like the offense, might be mediocre.

#39779	09/20/2016 12:14:45 pm
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Bridgeside City Solid offense, with several speedsters. Defense might struggle at times. Good rotation, great bullpen, Troy Wallace will be a beast coming out of the pen. A throughly good team.

#39780	09/20/2016 12:32:02 pm
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Chandler Poor offense almost zero power. Not a great defense. Solid rotation, even better bullpen. Very very young and inexperienced team. 25.6 average age. One of the worst teams in the League.

#39781	09/20/2016 12:53:40 pm
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	All right Yuri Apple Valley Mediocre to bad offense, with the exception of The Australian Kid Zachary Morris. MVP candidate here. Defense? Ahh mediocre. Decent Rotation. Young bullpen that's not all there yet but has the potential. Hey and remember this is all my opinion so don't get mad if You think I misjudged your team. This is to all the most respected managers whos teams I scouted. Updated Tuesday, September 20 2016 @ 12:55:30 pm PDT

#39782	09/20/2016 1:01:12 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	... and remember the RNG will make you eat your words. prepares next sacrifice to RNG Edit: But seriously, this is going to be a fun season, with by far the most active forum posters I've ever been in the same league with. I might not even have half of the league's posts this season. Updated Tuesday, September 20 2016 @ 1:03:00 pm PDT

#39783	09/20/2016 1:08:23 pm
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	Heh, nice to be in an active league for sure. Spices things up. I'll be very happy to finish in the top half. Staying up is my main goal while I absorb a large group of AAA prospects over the course of the season. 13 seasons in and I'm still using a stop-gap at SS. The draft and waivers are fine until you need to fill one specific position. So, that's an ongoing concern at least until Wright gets up and sits for a season with spot duty here and there to get his feet wet.

#39785	09/20/2016 1:41:36 pm
Yuri84 Joined: 10/14/2014 Posts: 639 Apple Valley Raccoons IV.4	That's one... interesting opinion on my team. I used to think (and the stats usually proved that as well) that my offense and especially defense are actually on the strong side, while my pitching is... well, kinda crappy, to put it bluntly. Anyway, I doubt there will be many (or any) changes to my current roster (unless some of the minor leaguers decide they are ready for majors), so I'll just play my game and hope for the best.

#39791	09/20/2016 2:54:38 pm
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Never mind Yuri, you'll just have to...come in like a raccoon ball, again (still the best line I've seen on here, even if it was just a week ago)! To be fair, based on hit skills alone your offence might not look that great, but your BC/PD/Pow combinations look really good. You don't have a proper C from the look of it though, need a better arm in there. But your young pitching...wow. @newtman - "I might not even have half of the league's posts this season." Never gonna happen. Updated Tuesday, September 20 2016 @ 2:55:40 pm PDT

#39795	09/20/2016 3:25:30 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	Interesting predictions about my team. I do agree that my team doesn't have very good offense and power, so I signed a slugger this morning. I really hope he does well this year. I also agree with my team being quite young. I decided to sign more youngsters because my guys in AAA aren't ready for the big time. I think I'd be happy to finish fourth since this will be a hard season. This will also be a fun season with all the active forum posters.

#39818	09/21/2016 4:11:10 am
Yuri84 Joined: 10/14/2014 Posts: 639 Apple Valley Raccoons IV.4	Anyway, I doubt there will be many (or any) changes to my current roster (unless some of the minor leaguers decide they are ready for majors), so I'll just play my game and hope for the best. Just as I said this I happened to claim a couple of guys from waivers so now I have to think hard how to fit them in... Didn't really need both of them, but you can't just release a 46 claims pick back into the pool... sure it's not 146 claims pick but nonetheless. Updated Wednesday, September 21 2016 @ 5:23:48 am PDT

#39820	09/21/2016 7:18:34 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I had a claim on Viera too, but decided to pull it at the last second. So then you were the only one, LOL.

#39821	09/21/2016 9:35:33 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Well, I whiffed on mine, so it looked like I'll just roll with my current roster again.

#39823	09/21/2016 10:10:48 am
EchoBravo34 Joined: 07/08/2014 Posts: 57 Sioux City Catfish V.15	I take some umbrage with any aspect of my team being called "mediocre" Phillies. I believe this is my 6th year in League II, to stay this long at this level requires much more than mediocre anything.

#39825	09/21/2016 10:59:44 am
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	We do have one way to prove these theories right or wrong

#39826	09/21/2016 11:16:31 am
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	First of all I have been scouting these teams mainly on the skills of the players, and not much on the previous seasons stats. Second I have been scouting them based on the competition they will be facing. Which proves my point about Souix City, mediocre according to the competition around you. Six years in league 2 is impressive. And you are definitely not mediocre compared to all of brokenbat just check the rankings. But its mediocre for league 2 because your neither going up or down. I was 7 straight seasons in III.1 extremely mediocre.

#39827	09/21/2016 11:18:52 am
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Amen Haselrig, But please prove me wrong about my team.

#39829	09/21/2016 11:23:48 am
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	My team tends to follow a good season with a sub-par one, so I never count my chickens ahead of time I got unceremoniously dumped from the league last time I was here, too. Not going to hear any early season whoofin' from me

#39873	09/22/2016 3:33:31 am
Yuri84 Joined: 10/14/2014 Posts: 639 Apple Valley Raccoons IV.4	I had a claim on Viera too, but decided to pull it at the last second. So then you were the only one, LOL. Lol. I actually almost pulled it at the last second as well, because there was another similar but slightly better built guy on waivers with 4 claims on him including mine. But I decided to play it safe in the end, and the 4-claim guy went to someone else (forgot to track him).

#40030	09/26/2016 6:48:37 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	After missing on all my previous contested claims, Raleigh won two claims on guys who had 10 apiece on them. One will bolster my behind the curve development pitching crop, while the other will serve as another rental. The big trick will be figuring out who to cut next Friday when I'll need a spot for the draft.

#40033	09/26/2016 7:53:44 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Ah man... You got Rosario... I really need another SP, and I especially didn't need you to get him Rosario is going to be dominate in this league... Updated Monday, September 26 2016 @ 7:55:19 am PDT

#40034	09/26/2016 8:23:20 am
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	I've thrown in the towel on this spring's waiver frenzy. Missed on two veteran shortstops that would have helped me. Even targets I was tepid on eluded me. I'd put my spring waiver average at .5 claims per season. I either get one or none.

#40039	09/26/2016 12:21:43 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	These two guys are probably my best waiver class in about 5 seasons, and one will likely only last two seasons while the other is very high risk with only a moderately high reward prospect. I wouldn't call that a huge windfall. I'd trade both for a guy with a higher probability of panning out with the same upside as Murillo.

#40047	09/26/2016 4:21:26 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	I whiffed on most of my claims except my uncontested claims. I'm quite worried about my offense. I don't know if it's going to do good this year.

#40054	09/26/2016 8:18:08 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Murillo is definitely a high risk/reward guy. But I think Rosario is a sure thing. He hasn't decline much since last year, and he was dominating in Legends on the team with the smallest hitters park in the world. Manhattan didn't have the best team ERA because of their park, but Rosario STILL had a 3.19 ERA. I fully expect him to have an ERA in the low 3s this year. He may only last 2 or 3 years, but he can be a game changing type of player. Updated Monday, September 26 2016 @ 8:23:00 pm PDT

#40055	09/26/2016 8:20:47 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	My waivers were pretty much useless this offseason. Only managed to get two AA guys with limited promise. Both will be right at the top of my cut list. I whiffed on all the veteran pitchers I tried to claim. Updated Monday, September 26 2016 @ 8:23:10 pm PDT

#40059	09/26/2016 8:58:39 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Except I'm not really sure who to take out of the rotation to put him into it, so right now he is looking like a shut down LR. I'll figure it out in the first couple of weeks, and there are worse problems to have. Btw, your waiver class sounds like mine last season, a whole bunch of won claims on guys who didn't make it past mid-season. Edit: I am most excited about the marketing possibilities of my upcoming Latin pitching staff. Between Amador, Murillo, Quintanilla, Rosa, and Rosario I will be shocked if I have no national team pitchers in the next couple of seasons. In reality, Contreras is sadly probably my best shot. Updated Monday, September 26 2016 @ 9:06:05 pm PDT

#40248	10/03/2016 5:36:54 am
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Good luck this season y'all.

#40255	10/03/2016 9:39:10 am
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	Good luck everybody o/

#40265	10/03/2016 12:12:17 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Break a leg! No I mean really. That is what Hospital Hill is for

#40300	10/03/2016 9:23:15 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Updated Monday, October 3 2016 @ 11:16:44 pm PDT

#40303	10/03/2016 9:47:11 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Re-match with Philliesworld is due up in the first series, with Rock as the last team (meaning Rock and I will finish up against each other as well). With four game sets with Harrisonburg and Alexandria in the first three days of the season, the schedule aligns pretty badly for me as I have a lot of young guys who should gain more in the next training update, and subsequent ones as well. Gotta play when it is scheduled though, so it should be a fun start. Good luck all (just hopefully not as much luck as me since luck is crucial to winning in this game)! Updated Tuesday, October 4 2016 @ 4:45:28 am PDT

#40308	10/04/2016 3:51:48 am
Yuri84 Joined: 10/14/2014 Posts: 639 Apple Valley Raccoons IV.4	Good luck guys~ We're starting off against Cedar Rapids and will be hoping to give Bilbo a taste of our ringo~ (ringo means apple in Japanese).

#40313	10/04/2016 6:23:15 am
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	Good luck to you guys for this season. We start the season at Novi, so I think that we might not do so good.

#40314	10/04/2016 7:41:17 am
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Geez if I play anything like I did in the cup I'm doomed. 1-3 versus a VI. Team.

#40315	10/04/2016 7:46:21 am
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	I also lost SP Shin woo jang(crazy) for 34 games. Which is gonna hurt his training, especially considering he didn't have a skill pop since early last season. And he still has 3 skill index to go before he evens reaches his potential minimum.

#40326	10/04/2016 10:37:59 am
Yuri84 Joined: 10/14/2014 Posts: 639 Apple Valley Raccoons IV.4	I have a pitcher who now went two+ seasons without any SI gain despite being 3 points short from their pot minimum. :/ And my only 15 pot guy failed to gain any points last season as well. Either it has something to do with age (I've previously seen players around 30 suddenly popping 2-3 points out of nowhere) or perhaps they're just "bugged". Or there's something in the water. Dunno. Updated Tuesday, October 4 2016 @ 10:38:09 am PDT

#40343	10/04/2016 3:11:12 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	I'm not surprised about this season start at all. We still have 158 games to turn it around.

#40346	10/04/2016 3:22:17 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I had a similar bad start to the cup, 2-2 against a LL VI opponent. My start against you Phillies has been interesting though, hard to lose if our pitchers throw shutouts against each other. Only one bad start so far, yours in game one, even Williamson didn't really pitch badly, just not enough to match your game two gem. I threw all righties at you to see how you'd fare, bumping Amador and Alverez to the bullpen. Looks like the experiment paid off, I may run out the appropriate match-ups as often as I can this season with 6 guys I'm comfortable starting, but only needing 4. Edit: Well, Sawyer won't be starting again this week, he obviously still needs to grow a bit in the bullpen. Congrats on turning the RD all the way around. Updated Tuesday, October 4 2016 @ 8:55:38 pm PDT

#40360	10/05/2016 3:52:33 am
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	Had the traditional Novi start to the Cup run. Draw a lower league team and avoid sweeping them at all costs. Next stage is to inexplicably drop a couple series so I have to scramble to survive group. Good start in league play for Novi. Pig_Cola threw a very good lefty at me and we survived it. Maybe we're getting immune to our kryptonite a bit? In other news, stopgap of all stopgaps, Edgar Duffy, is off to an encouraging start. If he can hold it together and everybody else gives a performance on par with last seasons', maybe we can show a little better than last time we were in II.1 In other, other news. Having one of those waiver seasons that makes me grind my teeth a bit. Zero for everything. The fact that pickings seem especially thin this season makes me think I might have to be content with the hand I came into this one with. Updated Wednesday, October 5 2016 @ 3:55:46 am PDT

#40365	10/05/2016 7:22:04 am
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	My ace (last seasons CY young)Bernie Austin always starts off poorly. And then by inter league is dominating then peters off to the end of the season.

#40380	10/05/2016 2:31:49 pm
Yuri84 Joined: 10/14/2014 Posts: 639 Apple Valley Raccoons IV.4	Too. Many. Injuries. :/

#40383	10/05/2016 3:40:25 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	You aren't the only one with injuries. The nice thing is that even those seasons when the catcher gets fatigue injuries often in the first 20 games, they regularly can still end up with 130 games played, I've had it happen. It is just more random (and less concentrated in the last few months of the grindy season)than we'd like, but it does even out.

#40385	10/05/2016 4:29:12 pm
Yuri84 Joined: 10/14/2014 Posts: 639 Apple Valley Raccoons IV.4	Well, catchers are one thing, but having lost 5 players to injuries already is a bit too much. I even had to bring up a guy from the minors to play a couple of games as I only had 9 healthy batters at some point.

#40386	10/05/2016 4:39:28 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Good news is they were all short injuries. That's why we have depth on our squads. Good opportunity to get some ABs with your rookies (although you will lose more games in the short term). I'm actually usually a little relieved when I get a short injury. Takes the personnel management out of my hands, LOL.

#40388	10/05/2016 4:40:11 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	An 0-6 start is not what I envisioned. I knew we were going to start bad, but not like this.

#40412	10/06/2016 7:23:43 am
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Small sample size, but My offense is crap, right like I thought it was.

#40428	10/06/2016 1:49:36 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Could be that the pitching and defense is decent as well. Today is the first of two Eastern teams I've never played before. It may be super early still, but I am getting the feeling that the East is going to be incredibly close this season.

#40528	10/08/2016 8:15:59 am
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	We had a good sweep against Sioux City, but I don't know if we'll have the same success against Apple Valley.

#40537	10/08/2016 4:22:08 pm
Yuri84 Joined: 10/14/2014 Posts: 639 Apple Valley Raccoons IV.4	It felt strange seeing Bench playing for a different team tonight... he was the first player I drafted who made the major leagues, so I'm really fond of him.

#40577	10/09/2016 3:39:20 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	... and my team continues to play pathetically. I'm really torn as to whether I want to stick with my original plan or not considering I'm not guaranteed to promote next season if I demote this one.

#40578	10/09/2016 3:44:28 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	I feel your pain Newt. I kind of knew the team wasn't going to be very good, but not this bad. Only four wins in 14 games is not that good.

#40579	10/09/2016 4:08:03 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	7 HR in 13 innings. I knew Feng had a HR problem, but I'm going to have to seriously consider if I can keep him. At this rate he is going to give up 70 home runs...

#40616	10/11/2016 9:16:23 am
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	We start off the second loop with two four game series. My pitchers will be quite fatigued after these two series.

#40644	10/11/2016 7:36:43 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Well, at least my team is consistent. Another 2 losses. 6 straight series of losing two. I wonder what the record is?

#40645	10/11/2016 7:37:57 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Dropped 3 out of 4 to Topeka. Not an auspicious start to the loop...

#40648	10/11/2016 9:08:21 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Topeka tends to be streaky, they have had good series against the best teams to come through II.1 over the past three seasons. Don't think that meant much... on the other hand if I can't win even a single series, I will relegate.

#40652	10/12/2016 12:47:26 am
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	Well, that was a rough series. Lost two pitchers for an extended period. Hoping somebody in AAA gets the recommendation Friday just to give me an extra body to move around.

#40688	10/12/2016 5:49:23 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I'm going to make an offering in Thanksgiving to the baseball gods for winning my first series of the season, and not losing two games for the first time in the same series. Taking 3 from Topeka was huge for me. I really like my chances against Alexandria considering their stats early on suggest they have a key weakness.

#40701	10/13/2016 8:33:47 am
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	After a quick look at the division team stats, we are last in defense and pitching, but fifth in hitting.

#40708	10/13/2016 3:04:57 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	My offense is challenging all comers to try and rival them in not being able to hit pitches.

#40731	10/14/2016 3:40:27 am
Yuri84 Joined: 10/14/2014 Posts: 639 Apple Valley Raccoons IV.4	This season is pretty disappointing so far. And now another headache to think about: Eklund got recommended for majors. The guy rose so fast through the ranks that he kinda forgot to learn how to play any positions...can't really let him play right now with all the competition here. He's supposed to be an OF, just in case. Updated Friday, October 14 2016 @ 3:41:25 am PDT

#40732	10/14/2016 3:44:23 am
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	Aside from the rising quickly part, I just went through something similar with Ramirez. I left him in AAA until he got his 3b. I brought him up to play 3B in the Cup today, and will likely have him float between the majors and AAA for most of the year depending on injuries. Ideally, he would be my defensive-minded backup at C and 3B.

#40733	10/14/2016 3:48:08 am
Yuri84 Joined: 10/14/2014 Posts: 639 Apple Valley Raccoons IV.4	Yeah, I'm bringing Eklund up for Cup games as well. We're currently 10-2 in the Cup so nothing can go wrong here... hopefully.

#40751	10/14/2016 7:13:44 am
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	Héctor Gonzalez went through the minors pretty quick, but I only trained him in the OF and plus the season is a bust for me, so I'll play him in both the cup and league.

#40762	10/14/2016 7:38:11 am
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Just when I thought we were gonna start playing decent ball, Haverhill drags me thru the mud. Probably will have my worst record yet at the end of the season, even though I have had worst starts. My offense is a sorry mess, but I expected that. What I didn't expect is my pitching being abused the way it is. My pitching has been dominating the past several seasons, now it hurts to see it being dominated.

#40830	10/16/2016 3:18:16 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	... and with that I think my season is done. I'm not going to deviate from my plan and risk long term damage, I'd rather accept that I am going to relegate this season and continue to get reps for my young players without calling up the AAA crop of next season. I will still try to go for my 13th straight winning season against the West, but if that streak is broken... I don't know, it has been super frustrating watching teams around me win so many claims while only managing to land rentals and resurrection experiments. Good luck the rest of the way all!

#40836	10/16/2016 4:42:06 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	I feel your struggle newt. I gave up on this season quite a long time ago and I don't put that many waivers anymore because of this reason. I got four rookies in my lineup currently and I'm giving them all the playing time they need.

#40894	10/18/2016 3:51:08 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	Haverhill has gone on a tear, winning their last 12 games, which also puts them in first place in the East.

#40900	10/18/2016 4:55:43 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	LOL. You jinxed me. Number 13 ended up being a lose.

#40901	10/18/2016 4:59:24 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	@Rock, I actually thought I did that after I posted the post.

#40904	10/18/2016 5:16:38 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Alexandria and Haverhill have had long winning streaks of 9 and 12 games respectively. I hope I get one of those, I have had one 9+ game winning streak (towards the end of the season I was at LL IV) since I was in LL VI. My team has always been consistently inconsistent. I say this after winning my second series of the season, earning my first sweep of an opponent.

#40922	10/19/2016 12:46:51 am
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	Another series, another 20+ day injury for a Novi pitcher. Dropping like flies around here of late. Seems the injury bug has rattled the clubhouse as the team has fallen off a cliff the past few series to boot.

#40981	10/20/2016 5:21:29 pm
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	I am about where I thought I'd be at, at the bottom of the standings. I just hope I don't start slumping, because then it'll get really embarrassing. Here's what's really getting me is most of the time I'm not being blown out, I did several times but not often, but when my offense actually scores then my pitching gets abused, if my pitching is good then my offense gets shut down. Seems I can't win.

#40985	10/20/2016 6:54:14 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	I did not think I would be only at 13 wins right now. My pitching is just getting destroyed right now and my hitting is not doing that well either. I don't know how to make my ballpark so that my pitching and hitting can succeed.

#40986	10/20/2016 7:01:04 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Yeah, I know exactly what you mean Phillies. I lost all three of my games today but they were by 2, 4, and 4 runs. At least at this point I have all my young developing pitchers as my starting pitchers, so I know they are getting innings. It also makes the game interesting after they hit their hook as I have guys with 14+ stamina in several bullpen slots, so they should be able to pitch every day.

#41118	10/23/2016 5:03:34 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm now 0-6 in extra innings Which I don't entirely understand as my sets and closer are very strong pitchers...? EDIT: Even more surprising, it seems Norm "The Paradox" Parodi is guilty of 5 of those loses... I would have thought a high control pitcher would be safe in those situations... Guess he continues to live up to his name. Updated Sunday, October 23 2016 @ 7:42:25 pm PDT

#41137	10/23/2016 9:33:38 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I fully admit that the two losses you had to me today could have easily gone the other way, just as game 2 could have. I honestly think after the two weekend series this weekend that my young guys are finally hitting their stride. Still not winning series against Haverhill or Alexandria, but if they continue to improve, that may not be out of the question by the last few weeks of the season.

#41180	10/25/2016 2:09:17 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Five game losing streak Hopefully this doesn't continue for long...

#41185	10/25/2016 3:28:43 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Six...

#41194	10/25/2016 6:12:26 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	There has to be some type of explainable reason why pitching sucks so much.

#41203	10/25/2016 8:08:57 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Well, Cedar Rapids took the first series at my place, kind of irked how so many of my losses are turning into blowouts right now. Meanwhile my wins are always by one or two runs. My RD is turning to crap. Thinking about raising the pitch count on my starters now that they are getting better.

#41237	10/26/2016 5:44:26 pm
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Ssiiiigggghhhhhhhhhh..... Gonna be along season.

#41240	10/26/2016 9:55:10 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	How does a thread turn exceedingly pessimistic? Have three of the most forum active members be three of the four teams sitting in relegation most of the season... yeah, must be nice Yuri, Rock, and Haselrig. :p Updated Wednesday, October 26 2016 @ 9:57:15 pm PDT

#41244	10/27/2016 12:35:56 am
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	What'd I do? :P I think my team's proven to be exceptionally mediocre so far. With no reinforcements on the way, it'll likely stay that way the rest of the season.

#41246	10/27/2016 3:34:33 am
Yuri84 Joined: 10/14/2014 Posts: 639 Apple Valley Raccoons IV.4	Well, I've been thinking of making this thread even more pessimistic, but decided against it. I'll try to put in a joke instead. Two Apple Valley catchers were alone in locker room. One came out with lower back strain, another with hand injury. The question: what exactly did they do there?

#41250	10/27/2016 6:54:34 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	@Haselrig, you should have taken 4 out of 5 against me. You outplayed my team in every category in game 4, but somehow I ended up with an extra innings win. Maybe I'm being narcissistic, but I don't see your team as mediocre, but rather closer to very good. @Yuri, thanks, that made me laugh.

#41263	10/27/2016 4:29:32 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm whining appropriately when I have losing streaks

#41312	10/28/2016 5:32:37 pm
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Good news first. 2B Ray Baily hits 300th homerun. By far the most productive hitter I ever had. Bad news. P Shin woo Jang is the biggest dissapointment I have ever had in my my whole brokenbat career. This guy quit training at 70 innings pitched, and 4 skill points below his potential minimum. And is absolutely stinking up all Harrisonburg.

#41313	10/28/2016 6:26:47 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	That guy is almost as bad as Feng. But that's a bit of an unfair comparison. Feng is Super Bad.

#41354	10/30/2016 7:00:43 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	The Contreras experiment is officially over in Raleigh. He has been moved to unassigned, and will be released when I next need to release a player. He is terrible, and always will be based on terrible minor league stats, terrible spring training stats, and terrible major league stats through 70 innings. I can't afford his 6.50 ERA in a league where 4.00 really is what is needed to be competitive.

#41355	10/31/2016 4:56:22 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Feng has been doing much better lately. He has managed to bring his ERA down to 8.07. Still giving up lots of HRs.

#41399	11/01/2016 7:05:07 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	Can't believe how bad my team is, but it doesn't matter because we're going to relegate. I do hope that we have someone selected to the All-Star team.

#41456	11/03/2016 3:24:44 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Hmm, I had chalked up the 8-2 run at the end of the first half to going against the last two teams in the West, but after winning the first two today at Cedar Rapids, I wonder if the tweaks I made to the lineup along with unassigning Contreras may not have actually decidedly made my team better. We are finally looking like a good team beyond just winning as we are getting more hits per game and not giving up as many base runners. Maybe my season isn't over... Edit: Just looked at my recent stats, and I think it must help that Doyle, Poole, and Rosario are in God mode. The first two have OPS over 1.000 while Rosario has a WHIP of 0.391. Updated Thursday, November 3 2016 @ 3:37:45 pm PDT

#41465	11/04/2016 5:29:41 am
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	A 3 run loss, one 2 run loss, and three 1 run losses, in the series versus apple valley. That's been my story all season long. Very frustrating.

#41466	11/04/2016 5:35:13 am
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	@newtman I think your team is much better than you think. I don't think I would back out of this yet if I were you. Some your players are primed to hit hot streaks soon. As some of them are already.

#41475	11/04/2016 10:33:34 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Thanks. Inter-division play is usually when my team turns on the jets, but I was worried because I started a lot worse than usual. I'll be happy if I can finish with a winning record against the West for the 13th straight season, and avoid relegation also for the 13th straight season. I've never had a losing record against the West or been relegated as the owner of the Braves.

#41612	11/09/2016 6:38:35 am
Yuri84 Joined: 10/14/2014 Posts: 639 Apple Valley Raccoons IV.4	Duh. From W8 to L9... I've no idea what my team is playing.

#41613	11/09/2016 9:27:35 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Cricket? Please keep your bowlers in until after our series at least

#41614	11/09/2016 9:30:06 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm contemplating letting Feng pitch in the last game of our series, which would pretty much guarantee a wakeup call for your hitters. A lot depends on how many games I drop to you before game 5. Updated Wednesday, November 9 2016 @ 9:31:31 am PST

#41616	11/09/2016 11:27:09 am
Yuri84 Joined: 10/14/2014 Posts: 639 Apple Valley Raccoons IV.4	Cricket? Please keep your bowlers in until after our series at least Hehe. I was thinking bandy... on roller skates...

#41617	11/09/2016 12:04:38 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Hehe. I was thinking bandy... on roller skates... with bats... Maybe you just need to invest in some proper sticks

#41622	11/09/2016 2:50:46 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Feel free to drop a few games Rock, it's super annoying that my team is finally playing good baseball, winning series and your team doesn't lose at all. Not fair getting two 10+ game winning streaks in a season, my team only gets allotted one per decade and we used it earlier this season.

#41624	11/09/2016 3:59:08 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	And yet, still only tied for first...

#41629	11/09/2016 9:36:47 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I went 4-1 today and dropped to 13 games back... seriously? Where did the West go? They did pretty well until about the training update before the all-star break and since then I think they've won a total of about 4 or 5 series against the East. The entire West is being dominated by everyone except Harrisonburg (sorry Philliesworld).

#41644	11/10/2016 3:45:49 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	You're welcome Yuri. As usual my team can be counted on to break an opponent's losing streak, they did it with Providence (the bot that was Mig) two seasons ago, they did it with Mike's team last season, and now with Apple Valley's 15 game losing streak this season. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, no losing streak is safe with my team around, it has been proven time and time again. They can't sweep a team on a losing streak of 6 or more games, it hasn't happened in over a decade (game time). Updated Thursday, November 10 2016 @ 3:46:57 pm PST

#41647	11/10/2016 5:13:57 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Ok, dropped a couple. But Alexandria is still not playing along...

#41650	11/10/2016 6:07:44 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	Well, we finished 15-45 in interleague play with a very poor road record.

#41651	11/10/2016 6:08:22 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	The West may have won the All-Star game, but the East won the head to head battle. East 211 - West 149 vWest Alexandria Athletics 42-18 Haverhill Highlanders 41-19 Topeka Titans 38-22 West New York Jets 35-25 Raleigh Braves 38-22 Harrisonburg Cardinals 17-43

#41652	11/10/2016 6:13:23 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I lost ground on Alexandria during interleague, but at least I was still able to maintain my training goals of at least 20 ABs and 30 BFs for every developing player on the team. Hopefully that will pay off in the stretch... We'll find out soon enough. I may end up regretting the games I sacrificed to develop my youth (at least for this season).

#41653	11/10/2016 6:17:44 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Haverhill lost went 10-2 in series wins during interleague. We lost our first series against Apple Valley and our second series against Cedar Rapids. Unfortunately the Cedar Rapids series was the final series in interleague, so we went out on a low note

#41657	11/10/2016 7:13:12 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I accomplished half of my season goals, that wrapped up my 13th straight winning record against the West. Now to figure out how to achieve my 13th straight season without relegating...

#41672	11/11/2016 2:28:58 am
Yuri84 Joined: 10/14/2014 Posts: 639 Apple Valley Raccoons IV.4	In every league I've been from LL.V to LL.II, East teams totally dominate the West in the interleague series. Not sure what's the reason, probably just a weird coincidence. Oh well. Not gonna give up just yet. All we need is to raid Iowa a bit. Watch out for your corn guys! Updated Friday, November 11 2016 @ 2:29:15 am PST

#41690	11/11/2016 6:41:40 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Really? That wasn't my experience on the right side of the tree. But this is my first season on the left side of the tree, so my first interleague experience on this side.

#41696	11/11/2016 7:51:37 am
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	I came up the other side and it was the opposite for me as well.

#41698	11/11/2016 8:08:48 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Alexandria were obviously the winners in the East, gaining one game on Haverhill. Novi were the winners in the West. As the only team with a .500 record, they gained one game on Bridgeside.

#41735	11/11/2016 4:23:31 pm
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	This absolutely the most miserable season I have ever had. No all stars. First time ever. And draft choices have been absolutely miserable. But the training program is progressing. And Bart Patton keeps improving.

#41736	11/11/2016 4:33:43 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Always good to look for the silver lining. One of the reasons I throw away perfectly good games on training, at least I can smile come Friday morning

#41743	11/11/2016 10:34:37 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Yeah, my silver lining is the same. Nothing better than waking up to this.

#41851	11/15/2016 3:40:55 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I'm calling it now, Herrisonburg is going to stretch its current 2 game winning streak to 43 games to finish the season at .500.

#41852	11/15/2016 4:03:04 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Three game streak. A sweep by Harrisonburg isn't helping me make up any ground

#41853	11/15/2016 4:04:42 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm now 12-20 in one run games... That always spells trouble.

#41854	11/15/2016 4:48:38 pm
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Whoohoo, first sweep of the season. Sorry rock. My last seven games have all been decided by 1 run.

#41855	11/15/2016 4:50:43 pm
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	@newtman Sorry I don't think so, would be fun though. Seriously though, what makes you think so?

#41865	11/16/2016 4:58:16 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Honestly, I think your team is better than their record. I don't really think that they will finish the season on a 43 game winning streak, but if I called it and it happened then it would be pretty awesome... even if several of the wins would come against me.

#41866	11/16/2016 5:04:46 am
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	One sweep would probably make my year. I'm not looking back, but I don't know if I've seen us sweep somebody more than one or two times. Makes it hard to make up any ground. A second place finish looks to be my ceiling this season with a tough retool scheduled for next year.

#41881	11/17/2016 12:09:01 am
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	Hmm, ask and you shall receive apparently. <looks around> Boy, a billion dollars sure would be nice, but I think my ceiling is ten bucks...

#41884	11/17/2016 2:42:07 am
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	One sweep tonight might just make my year. crosses fingers

#41904	11/17/2016 2:22:25 pm
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Blown that idea in game one!

#41906	11/17/2016 2:42:27 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I just want to not relegate... Edit: Of course I posted that after winning game 1, and I lost games 2 and 3. It will be a tight finish, but I have a bad feeling my RD is going to sink me. Updated Thursday, November 17 2016 @ 6:11:08 pm PST

#41920	11/18/2016 3:47:01 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I finally came up with a nickname for Arteaga... "The Mendoza Candidate" I don't remember if someone else has ever used that, but I still am going to roll with it since his career batting average keeps hovering around .200. Edit: Also, all my minor league players are bunching in AAA. I am up to 12 guys including 7 position players at AAA (unfortunately a couple are training the same positions). Longoria is being recommended for promotion to the Majors, but with his 9 fielding and still small letter position eligibility for 2b and a fielding percentage of .926 there this season he'll just have to wait until he learns the position better. Updated Friday, November 18 2016 @ 3:56:30 am PST

#41926	11/18/2016 6:54:55 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Probably a good idea. I've taken to not rushing guys up the second the AI suggests. Especially young guys like that who still need position development. I actually have 13 guys in AAA right now. That includes a few 25 and 26 year olds that could really go up if I could give them ABs. But the race is a bit tight to be trying to work in so many rookies at once... As is I have 6 Position players 25 or below in the majors. Add in my two 27 year olds and I actually have every position covered with young(er) players without the guys in AAA... Updated Friday, November 18 2016 @ 7:15:48 am PST

#41947	11/18/2016 3:33:14 pm
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	I also had two guys get the call today (two ex-Highlanders, as I've mentioned before), Norton and Sheppard. I already have nine guys 27 or younger in my 16 majors hitters. Norton is almost identical to Reyes, as a lefty "good" hitting catcher, and is a year younger but also one POT rating less than Reyes (12 to 13, and 85 to 101 SI). Both Norton and Sheppard are prolific sluggers though, and we've lost power over the last couple of seasons. Just don't have room for these guys right now and at only six games off the division lead they won't play anyway. Some of the young guys I already have up aren't getting playing time, never mind adding more to the mix. And sorry for crashing the LLII thread again, seemed appropriate given the subject. Updated Friday, November 18 2016 @ 3:34:30 pm PST

#41962	11/18/2016 8:58:51 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	If we are counting guys with less then 75 ABs in my minors, then I suspect there are a LOT of ex-Highlanders out there It won't hurt them to leave them down for a couple updates. Especially given the last update is usually pretty flat. Just pull them up next year after spring training.

#41977	11/19/2016 8:41:01 am
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	I had three guys get called up this year, but they are performing kind of bad. I don't mind too much anyway because they're rookies, but they did improve quite a bit, which is good in the long run.

#41985	11/19/2016 11:53:59 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I've been trying to work in 5 new guys this year, plus 6 of the rookies from last year that I kept. Glad I made a few cuts to last year's squad! Hard enough working in 11 rookies...

#42000	11/19/2016 6:07:12 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	VERY tight races in the East!

#42002	11/19/2016 8:22:04 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	After 130 games I am in 5th in the East, I would STILL be leading the West even after the first series in the second circuit through the East in the second half. Who ever ends up finishing 5th is going to have some legit beef...

#42006	11/20/2016 2:02:02 am
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	And whoever wins the West likely gets slapped back down next season. Weird that it's this unbalanced this far up the pyramid.

#42011	11/20/2016 9:29:24 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I think it could be argued that whoever comes in second in the East is also going to have a legit beef I'm going to have to abandon my rookies through the end of the season

#42019	11/20/2016 4:01:40 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	And another sweep... Maybe I should just go back to giving my rookies playing time... Now 14-22 in one run games, worst in the East At 5-9 I am the only team in the East with a losing record in extra innings Updated Sunday, November 20 2016 @ 4:06:08 pm PST

#42022	11/20/2016 4:51:02 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	I don't understand why my hitting and defense are so bad, but my team ERA is under 4. That would be nice if had an offense to go with it.

#42026	11/21/2016 5:11:54 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Winning 3 out of 4 yesterday really helped. Now I just need to see if I can take the series against Alexandria today to try and stay out of relegation.

#42028	11/21/2016 5:22:26 am
garfscores Joined: 10/13/2014 Posts: 488 Battle Creek Sting IV.7	@Pig_Cola- probably because your position players are terrible and your pitchers are excellent? A three second scan of your roster can tell you that. You don't have any hitters with 18 or above hitting skill.

#42035	11/21/2016 3:13:27 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Why did I say anything? Lost the first two to lose the series.

#42206	11/26/2016 8:00:24 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Good season all. Despite trying to play matchups, I just couldn't get my guys to play well on a consistent basis. Although I will relegate, at least I developed Sawyer and Lee, and next season will see the development of Rosa, Quintanilla, and Murillo. With that core pitching, the challenge will be finding the lineup which can consistently score runs.

#42207	11/26/2016 8:19:09 am
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	@Garf, you have a point with that. I do have two guys with 17 hitting and I'm hoping Héctor Gonzalez can get to 18+ hitting.

#42245	11/27/2016 4:38:01 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	Congrats to Haselrig and his team on clinching the West.

#42255	11/27/2016 7:30:16 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	If Rock wins one game against me, he promotes and I demote. If I win all four games and either Topeka or West New York get swept, then I stay up and Alexandria promotes. Given I haven't swept Rock all season, and both Topeka and West New York are likely to pull out at least one win, it looks like my fortune telling was true, despite my best efforts down the stretch. Next season's roster will look significantly different with so many guys ready to promote, and at least a couple cuts already decided upon. It was good playing with so many active forum members, even if this thread got dragged down (in large part due to me) with pessimism. Updated Sunday, November 27 2016 @ 7:33:33 pm PST

#42258	11/27/2016 8:36:47 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Still possible. But I recommend you play all scrubs One other scenario. You sweep me, Alexandria loses a game, and Harrisburg sweeps the Jets. Then you stay up AND I promote Updated Sunday, November 27 2016 @ 8:40:58 pm PST

#42264	11/28/2016 12:29:08 am
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	Thanks PC. I think I'll be back after a season up there. I need to get these young guys a full season of PT before I make another run at it.

#42271	11/28/2016 5:34:08 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Sorry Rock, I'm throwing my best rotation against you (according to matchups). You'll probably still beat Sawyer and/or Bechtel even though Sawyer has developed beautifully this season from 87 SI to 114.

#42281	11/28/2016 2:20:44 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Looks like its all decided after game one. Loses by Alexandria and Harrisonburg cement everyone's positions. Other than a possible flip between 3rd and 4th, which doesn't really mean anything.

#42282	11/28/2016 2:36:06 pm
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Congratulations Haselrig. You definitely deserve it. Didn't reach my season goal or rather lost it, of not losing 100 times. But my other goal of having a goal differential below -200 will be achieved. Measly goals but a measly ahhh young team.

#42283	11/28/2016 2:48:02 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	I was nowhere near my season goal of finishing fourth. At least I got my youngsters playing time so they can be ready for next year.

#42284	11/28/2016 3:07:53 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	My pitchers finally learn how to silence the Haverhill bats when it is too late. Typical.

#42285	11/28/2016 3:09:05 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Well, to be honest, I put my rookies in for game #2. They have been starved for ABs since I had to put the jets on at the end of the season.

#42293	11/28/2016 7:00:18 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	So I won the only game in the series you had your starters in for... :P

#42294	11/28/2016 7:10:39 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	That is correct. You swept my starters And you pounded my rookies(half of which are starters anyhow) pretty good as well.

#42295	11/28/2016 7:15:23 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Wow...! 6 unearned runs given up in the final game (6-5 loss)... And those two guys were starting all year... Hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

#42301	11/28/2016 8:02:41 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Doubt it, I saw that as well and was pretty struck by it. Seems like an anomaly to me.

#42309	11/29/2016 2:40:57 am
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	Thanks, Philliesworld. Bit surprised at my team's performance this season after barely hanging on last season. It was Chula Vista and me and it came down to RD. Weird how these things go sometimes.

#42321	11/29/2016 9:52:47 am
Yuri84 Joined: 10/14/2014 Posts: 639 Apple Valley Raccoons IV.4	An Englishman, a Frenchman and a Russian got stranded on an uninhabited island and found an ancient lamp with a genie inside. The genie promises to fulfill two wishes for each of the three men. The Englishman says: gimme a million pounds and send me back home! (the genie sends him home with the money) The Frenchman says: gimme a hot chick and send me back home! (the genie sends him home with hot chick) The Russian thinks for a while and says: gimme a crate of vodka and bring those two guys back! So, I don't actually drink vodka (or any alcohol for that matter), but it looks like all the good company leaves this league, moving either up and down so I'm gonna rub every ancient lamp I find in hopes to bring you guys back here. PS: ok, ok, I'm sure there's two of you who wouldn't want to drop down here again so I'll spare you... probably... Updated Tuesday, November 29 2016 @ 9:53:41 am PST

#42322	11/29/2016 10:21:58 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Lol Don't worry Yuri, I'm sure either Pig_Cola, Philliesworld, or I will promote next season or Haselrig or Rock will demote back here (hopefully at least one of the first three instead of the last two).

#42329	11/29/2016 11:31:37 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I already tried out both II-1 and II-2. I'm all set

#42350	11/29/2016 3:12:42 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	It was a great season to play, especially with all the active forum posters. I really hope to be up here again next season. Newtman is right that either me, Newtman, or Philliesworld will be back, Yuri. Who knows, we could all be back next season. Now I must focus on remodeling my ballpark and putting in claims.

#42351	11/29/2016 3:23:46 pm
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	Rock is up 2-0 right now against Haselrig. Can Haselrig and the Novi Doubledays prevail to win a couple games in the series?

#42355	11/29/2016 4:39:23 pm
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	I definitely plan to contend next season. Pitching should be phenomenal, while offense mediocre. Go Novi!!! Sorry Rock, I lost to many games played against you this season.

#42374	11/30/2016 1:01:24 am
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	Thanks, Philliesworld. I think we're gonna need all the support we can get. If the first two games are any indicator, might be a long season playing against this quality of team every game next year.

#42395	11/30/2016 3:02:13 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	So far its looking like home court advantage is having a big effect on the number of touchdowns we get. This might end up going to a shoot off...

#42396	11/30/2016 3:16:34 pm
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	You mean the whole 60 minute, ten round, penalty shootout, tug-o-war, free throw championship playout? Of baseball?

#42400	11/30/2016 5:49:24 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yeah, that one.

#42425	12/01/2016 3:46:52 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Oono's first blown save of the year, LOL. Highlanders always flop in the playoffs. Congrats to Novi.

#42440	12/02/2016 1:18:46 am
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	Thanks Rock. Well fought series. You left everything on the field. Hat's off for that and congrats on having a very talented and well-managed team.

#42455	12/02/2016 7:55:46 am
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Congratulations Haselrig and Rock.

#42475	12/03/2016 4:42:18 am
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	Thanks, Philliesworld. Been one of the funner leagues I've been in. Thanks guys o/

#42497	12/03/2016 10:11:39 am
FreddyTheEye Joined: 11/11/2014 Posts: 625 Inactive	Greetings!! College Station is in the house. Good luck to all this season.

#42557	12/04/2016 3:14:52 am
Yuri84 Joined: 10/14/2014 Posts: 639 Apple Valley Raccoons IV.4	Hi Freddy! Nice to see a familiar face here.

#43382	12/28/2016 3:30:07 pm
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	Roll dice ... and die 16 control = 21 walks in 31.2 IP? Death and drek!

#44393	01/27/2017 2:29:12 pm
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	Surprised this thread isn't more active, with 2 games separating 3rd and 6th place in the East it has to be one of the tightest relegation battles. Good news for the Dawgs - Chief has stayed true to his late season form (2 Cy Youngs and 2 All Leagues in seasons he didn't make the all star team) and has posted a 2.03 BB/9 since his early season command problems went away ... now we just need to keep him healthy.

#45503	02/17/2017 8:54:28 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Well, this stinks, I might have thrown the plan out the window if I had known that Thunder Bay would demote and go to II.1. One of my goals was to get to play in the same league as MrTwoPlums, but I'll be stuck in III.1 for another season, meaning he will likely be back in Legends by the time I get up there.

#45539	02/18/2017 8:01:08 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm back, but Novi defected to the right side of the branch (where I originally defected from ).

#45540	02/18/2017 8:05:30 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	There are some good teams in II.1. Its not a forgone conclusion that Thunder Bay (or Haverhill) go back up. I'd win your league just in case. You could be in the same league next year.

#45542	02/18/2017 8:19:35 am
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	I think I've flipped sides of the pyramid every time I've been to LL2. Must be the way it's set up?

#45547	02/18/2017 9:01:05 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I think its random. I came back to II.1 for the second time in a row.

#45592	02/18/2017 5:11:10 pm
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	Do I need to shower more often? I get demoted and instantly the forum gets active ... hmmm? I should be back soon. Last season West New York got me by 1 game (I had him by 56 on RD) ... and I had 78 games started by rookie pitchers. If I had given up the relegation battle in Legends a little sooner in 2029 and popped 1 or 2 more points on the young arms ... - soo close

#45727	02/20/2017 4:38:36 am
FreddyTheEye Joined: 11/11/2014 Posts: 625 Inactive	Welcome back Rock. See you all soon.. Play Ball!

#46263	03/03/2017 5:50:54 am
FreddyTheEye Joined: 11/11/2014 Posts: 625 Inactive	Hey guys! How are your teams shaping up?? It has been a very successful off season for College Station. College Station Athletics Review: Priority A was to get a catcher which we claimed very early in the spring http://brokenbat.org/player/107097. On to spring training where we wanted to get some exp for our 24/25 year old pitchers and our 25 yr old shortstop etc. As of today we have gone 21-0 in the spring outscoring the opposition by a 196-22 margin. Our pitchers have recorded 9 shutouts, 10 complete games, 1 perfect game, and have a combined era of 1.05, 16 walks and 139 k's. Not bad. Our defense has not given up an unearned run to date. After a very average draft last year we are making up for lost time in a big way this spring. We drafted a 14 pot great hitter whom is almost ready for the majors and then our first ever 15 potential player. All in all a great off season. Now we will try to get our rookie short stopinto the line up as the final piece of our defensive puzzle. Our other issue this season will be finding our starting pitchers. Yoshi will be the new #1 taking over for the aging star Robert Adkins whom will either start or maybe stop this season. After that it's anybody's guess. We need somebody to step up in the veteran pitcher category (Deleon or Padilla who each had poor seasons last year). We also need one of our young lefties (Escamilla or Urbina) to start games AND.. One of our rookie pitchers (Clinton or Blalock). Overall our relievers should be ok with Botello looking like he is ready to handle the load. It is an exciting time for the Athletics. Comments?? Suggestions? Your own team review..? See you guys on the field!!

#46355	03/05/2017 4:35:28 pm
jetsrock48 Joined: 11/25/2013 Posts: 150 Davenport Cobras IV.3	Wow great catcher Athletics! Talk about adding a superstar.... My offseason was the same as it has been for recent years. My team struggles offensively and I'm constantly looking for a hitter to plug into the middle of my lineup. This season I found two 30+ year olds who will be in competition with each other. One is 33 and makes 6+ mill but has a proven track record in League IV. He will have a small leash due to his salary: http://brokenbat.org/player/78410 The other comes from League VI and is 31 with less of a track record. Somewhat similar skill level but "only" makes 2.70 mill: http://brokenbat.org/player/87311 Hopefully one can actually produce for me. Other than that my team looks relatively the same. I cut some older and less effective players (always hard to move on from the guys you bring up yourself) and I called up a 14 POT 1B who unfortunately has high speed but doesn't steal bases. I'm starting him everyday while making my 14 POT 3B a platoon player due to high defensive skills and speed but low hitting skills and production so far. I'm really hoping that some guys who had no reason to be bad last year can find their groove and produce again. If things fall in the right place I think I can actually compete due to my high-end pitching. Good luck to all!

#46651	03/13/2017 11:12:53 am
bilbo Joined: 05/18/2013 Posts: 58 Inactive	Ah! We'd forgotten that joyful experience of a series with Thunder Bay. A 0-3 series loss then dropping down the table after a good start. Good to see you MrTwoPlums, just didn't expect it to be at this level. You seemed to be a permanent fixture in the Legends.

#46882	03/16/2017 7:49:18 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	My vLHPs record is just horrible so far this season. I'm 14-2 vs RHP, but only 2-9 vs LHP!? And my team actually hits LHP better... It looks like I outhit my opponent in most of those lefty loses too. Just had bad luck (and good luck against righties). Crazy.

#47201	03/24/2017 7:02:16 am
FreddyTheEye Joined: 11/11/2014 Posts: 625 Inactive	A great start for college station, after a brief 4-6 opening skid (5 starters injured)we are now on fire. Lots of meaningful contributions from the young guys particularly our rookie phenom pitcher Ivan the terrible Blalock. He was penciled in to ride the bench and pitch a bit in cup games and blow outs to try and get him major league ready. All he has done is eat up 50 innings average a strike out per inning and post a sizzling 1.80 era! Our young leftie starters are holding their own and time will tell if we can get meaningful innings out of veteran righties Padilla and Deleone when needed in inter division play. We even have a few wins over Cedar Rapids this season...they smashed us like grapes last season! I'm sure we will cool off but we hope to stay in the race all season and do not really have any glaring weaknesses to fix (other than the GM..yours truly). Meanwhile the east looks like a season long dog fight is coming with all teams separated by a mere 8 games! Cheers!

#47224	03/24/2017 2:59:48 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Disappointing start for Haverhill. Despite having the 2nd best (only behind Topeka) hitting team against lefty pitching, we have a HORRIBLE 4-12 record against lefty pitching. Our overall record is below expectations despite having a home heavy schedule early in the season.

#47506	04/01/2017 7:32:40 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Tonight we could see LHP Luis Escamilla face off against LHP Luis Escamilla. Updated Saturday, April 1 2017 @ 7:33:49 am PDT

#47915	04/12/2017 6:03:41 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Hallelujah! Escaped a sweep by the skin of my teeth.

#47944	04/13/2017 6:15:37 pm
FreddyTheEye Joined: 11/11/2014 Posts: 625 Inactive	Wow. We were soundly spanked by the east but at least they spanked our whole division!

#47947	04/13/2017 6:55:27 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Interleague Breakdown East beat the West 194-166 Biggest winners in the East were Augusta and Lauderhill at 36-24 each. Biggest winners in the West were Appleton at 31-29 (including a near sweep of Haverhill in their final series). Overall Records 30-30 College Station Athletics 27-33 Thunder Bay Red Raiders 30-30 Cedar Rapids Royals 29-31 Milpitas Trojans 31-29 Appleton Foxes 19-41 Ventura Aces 36-24 Augusta Trojans 35-25 Haverhill Hielanders 36-24 Lauderhill Lions 29-31 Davenport Cobras 28-32 Minneapolis Tigers 30-30 Topeka Titans

#47953	04/13/2017 8:56:00 pm
xLee227 Joined: 07/06/2015 Posts: 269 Inactive	I don't think I've ever seen an entire division at or above .500 in the standings before...

#48192	04/20/2017 4:19:50 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Really hoping spring break ends soon. I'm getting tired of fielding a team of bat boys.

#48247	04/22/2017 5:57:54 am
FreddyTheEye Joined: 11/11/2014 Posts: 625 Inactive	Ouch. Bad timing for a skid Rock. That division is so close with just 9 games from first to last!

#48249	04/22/2017 6:56:48 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Well we've really been playing bad all year. Otherwise a skid wouldn't hurt so much, LOL.

#48489	04/28/2017 10:25:55 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I am very excited, I will be rejoining II.1 next season and will finally get to face MrTwoPlums. A little sad it won't be in Legends, but still exciting to face a Legend of the game for the first time after 15 seasons.

#48512	04/29/2017 3:25:51 pm
FreddyTheEye Joined: 11/11/2014 Posts: 625 Inactive	Too bad we don't get to play in the same div yet newt but... College Station is thru to legends!

#48516	04/29/2017 4:21:56 pm
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Congrats Freddy, about time you got that team of yours up there! Just in time for Adkins too potentially!

#48519	04/29/2017 5:14:37 pm
bilbo Joined: 05/18/2013 Posts: 58 Inactive	Well played and congratulations on your promotion Freddy;I had hoped to drag the season out a little longer but was too far behind for a long time.

#48523	04/29/2017 5:37:22 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm just hoping my +119 is going to be enough to keep me from demoting

#48542	04/30/2017 8:35:15 am
FreddyTheEye Joined: 11/11/2014 Posts: 625 Inactive	Thanks JJNZ! I never thought Adkins would get to pitch in legends but he will get a start at the very least. He was the difference back in leagues 5 thru 3. Good luck in your current pennant fight! @Bilbo thanks! We had a great start but felt the pressure! You were really hot after interleague ended. We are very young so the goal is to just stay up but we might see some of you guys again here after next season. P.S. Rooting for you Rock!

#48554	04/30/2017 5:36:47 pm
xLee227 Joined: 07/06/2015 Posts: 269 Inactive	Looks like that's it for me...it was great competing with all of you this season, hopefully I'll be back up sooner rather than later!

#48706	05/03/2017 4:41:14 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Ugh, either Manhattan or Buffalo will join the East. Something tells me next season will be rough for my guys. Getting the playoff win for the first time since I was in LL VI was a nice plus for my team, none of the squads that won three straight league titles were able to do what happened this season. Still not convinced it means much though.

#48719	05/03/2017 8:34:26 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Welcome back Newtman.

#48808	05/05/2017 9:30:22 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Lot of POT 14s and 15s in the league this year... I have a total of one POT 15 and 2 POT 14s on my team. And they are aging veterans... Could be cut after aging happens... Gonna be a tough year.

#48956	05/08/2017 2:55:27 am
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Oh, several people I know from the forums in my new league. Good to see you around after being expelled from paradise. Doesn't look like the environment is much less competitive than up there, I'd say. Since I'm not too worried about falling through the bottom, I'll keep focusing on my partial rebuild, so you mey see yome young guys in Manhattan...

#48978	05/08/2017 2:07:12 pm
Razzle Joined: 03/21/2015 Posts: 130 Inactive	Looking forward to the season with all of you. Also happy to be in a league with an active Forum!! Good Luck All!!

#48992	05/08/2017 5:01:16 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I don't know Holmes. My experience has been that there is a vast difference between level II and Legends. Definitely look like a lot of strong teams in our league this year.

#49497	05/23/2017 11:17:19 am
Razzle Joined: 03/21/2015 Posts: 130 Inactive	Play Ball I am looking forward to competing against this group. Good Luck all.

#49512	05/23/2017 5:38:33 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I have a rough first week with three at Rock, three at Razzle, and four at Holmes. Day one went as well as I could have asked, Rock's team looks good as usual, so I am happy with a 2-1 start at his house. Little late, but good luck all (except against me)!

#49571	05/25/2017 2:02:17 pm
Rickyride Joined: 11/21/2012 Posts: 5 Brownsville Bulldogs II.1	Good Luck All!! I am looking forward to competing with some of the best teams in BB. Lots of tough competition so good luck to all teams.

#49667	05/29/2017 11:28:02 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Rough first cycle for Raleigh. I am sitting under .500 and my bullpen which has ALWAYS been a strength, even during the season I relegated, has been bad. Really unsure how to deal with this since some of them are likely in decline, but the replacements in the minors aren't ready yet, and I haven't won a waiver claim in a couple of seasons now. Might try rearranging roles to see if a slight shakeup re-energizes the guys. I knew this would be a tough league, but one series win so far is very disappointing (ironically it came against division leading Haverhill).

#49672	05/29/2017 3:31:10 pm
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I had a fairly decent start to the season, but getting swept by Haverhill kind of spoiled it all. The rotation held up well, with the exception of rookie Cline, who I trust will develop rather quickly. I'll try to line him up for the cup group phase whenever possible. What's more annoying is my closer, who currently has a 6.75 ERA and has blown 2 saves in 7 opportunities. They weren't against Haverhill, but two more wins would have me only half a game behind. Hitting has been rather mediocre, as well, and it's not just rookies underperforming so far.

#49673	05/29/2017 4:15:10 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	If it makes you feel any better my closers also blew 2 saves. I have a total of 6 blown saves on the year already...

#49678	05/29/2017 8:23:55 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Lol, you guys are complaining about 2 and 6 blown saves, try my league leading 7, I have a blown save against all 5 other East teams in the first cycle alone. On that note, I am on pace to have more blown saves by the the start of inter-division play than all last season, and if the pace keeps up I could actually have as many blown saves as I did in any four seasons since 2017 when I took over. P.S.: I actually went back and checked my blown save totals from each season, the above statements are accurate.

#49692	05/30/2017 7:51:16 am
Razzle Joined: 03/21/2015 Posts: 130 Inactive	Thank the Broken Bat Gods that I don't have any blown saves!! I just have the highest ERA and BA Against! It ain't my closer, it's the rest of the staff.

#49699	05/30/2017 2:48:46 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Same for me. 7 blown saves is crazy at this point in the season. Probably due to my aging bullpen as well...

#49704	05/30/2017 4:38:18 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	1-5 against the Braves so far this season Currently riding a 5 game losing streak (plus 1-3 in the cup)... Some things need to change here at Hospital Hill...

#49711	05/30/2017 5:40:06 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I am as surprised as you are Rock. I thought I would be over .500, but I didn't think it would be due to a 5-1 record against you, maybe someone else, but given your team took the series the last time we were in the same league I didn't expect this. I am hoping the sweep today wasn't a fluke, but rather a sign that the major re-shuffling of roles is working.

#49721	05/30/2017 8:03:44 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Hmm... I'm hoping it was a fluke

#49722	05/30/2017 8:05:58 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I actually have too many young relief pitchers right now. I can't get them all in the majors. I probably need to cut some of the old guys, but its still at the point where the old guys look much better on paper... But they aren't performing... But the young'uns will probably be worse... Decisions decisions.

#49743	05/31/2017 7:08:15 pm
Razzle Joined: 03/21/2015 Posts: 130 Inactive	Good Series Newtman! Two 1-run thrillers followed by an extra inning final! GRATZ!

#49745	05/31/2017 7:14:13 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	My pitching is in shambles. But its difficult to figure out where to pull the trigger right now... All three of my veteran relievers still look good on paper, but are pitching horrible. My 28 year old ace in the starting rotation has a WHIP over 2... Have the relievers really gone sour, or is it just a bad streak like my ace...? If all three weren't doing bad at the same time, I probably would have already made some foolish choices.

#49747	05/31/2017 8:50:21 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	@Razzle, it was a good series, though game three featured blown save number 9. @Rock, your pitching is a mess right now, but maybe shaking up the roles can help? My two veteran right handed relievers have ERAs over 7.00 (I know many think ERA isn't a great measure, but there is no excuse for a 7 ERA). I am trying to bury them in middle relief. It worked for five games, but my closer (until the role shakeup) got in on the act today blowing his third of the season. My bullpen lefties are still getting outs, if only I could convince the game to ride them instead of going to the righties.

#49762	06/01/2017 3:09:24 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yeah, I'm playing around with roles a bit. Might help. These guys can't all be going sour at the same time.

#49765	06/01/2017 4:07:50 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Dang it! Manhattan got Ponce

#49766	06/01/2017 4:33:14 pm
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Woohooo! Looks like quite a ticket in the waiver lottery today. Not really sure why Frankebasta cut Ponce loose - he's relatively cheap, has an amazing slider and changeup. The results haven't really been there so far, but I have complete trust in that kind of talent. He comes at a time when two of my starters have ERAs north of 5, and he's even making my rotation younger. Comes in the middle of a rather good phase, too. Who would have thought going 6-4 over the last three series would take me from third to first place? So, I've been lucky. Now I'll have to turn that into results...

#49769	06/01/2017 6:01:33 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I would like to take partial credit for pushing you up the board, LOL.

#49771	06/01/2017 9:17:39 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I don't know where my bats have been so far this season against Manhattan, but they have been pretty terrible. Getting shutout by Godzilla is understandable (though the four runs given up by Rosa isn't), but Bechtal has been lights out this season (my one starter has has been consistent) and my guys didn't support him and he had his worst start. I know the Isos are good, but this is a bit ridiculous.

#49832	06/03/2017 2:02:03 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Ponce is certainly off to a nice start

#49840	06/03/2017 5:26:14 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Well this is a wild season... Haverhill back in front and I am somehow in second.

#49843	06/03/2017 5:36:51 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Last season was like this in the East too. Was a hornets nest right up to September.

#49847	06/04/2017 1:39:09 am
bilbo Joined: 05/18/2013 Posts: 58 Inactive	Hi from the west! You are having a real ding-dong battle over there in the east. Just trying to stay out of the relegation spots over here which looks like having to stay ahead of the mighty Thunder Bay Red Raiders.

#49881	06/05/2017 5:50:17 am
Razzle Joined: 03/21/2015 Posts: 130 Inactive	What a Dogfight in the East. 30 plus games into the season and all of us are within 3 1/2 games!

#49914	06/06/2017 5:37:50 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Can't seem to figure out Raleigh this year... 2-8 so far

#49916	06/06/2017 9:29:17 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	You should have won game 1, Cunningham has been terrible and doesn't have the stamina to start, and threw his best performance by far this season. Don't get me wrong, I am glad I won, but games like that make me feel like the name of the game should be changed to RNG. It works out though because Manhattan has dominated me this season. Each team so far appears to have another team with a clear edge over them, which makes it have the feel of Rock, paper, scissors (sorry, I didn't even see that pun til I accidentally capitalized Rock, so I left it).

#49920	06/07/2017 3:47:55 am
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Odd season. I was doing quite well until I ran into that streak of six consecutive losses against Haverhill and Topeka. Rock already swept me in our first series. In a way, I'm back to an old problem from Legends that I thought I should have overcome with Sugibeepa reaching his potential and the acquisition of Ponce: At this point, Sugibeepa is my only rotation piece with an ERA below 5.5... Add to that an offense with a .393 average SLG and almost a 50% caught stealing rate, and you have a rather mediocre team.

#49921	06/07/2017 4:48:22 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Well, when the hitters go ice cold it doesn't really matter who is pitching, LOL.

#50102	06/11/2017 4:17:17 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	4th place going into interleague... Hope my pitchers wake up soon. Really not sure what happened to Lang... He had a 3.56 ERA in Elite with his SI in the 70s. Now that his SI is up to 100 he is pitching 6.60 at LL-2

#50106	06/11/2017 6:49:29 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	My offense finally showed up for two games.

#50183	06/14/2017 5:34:12 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Looks like a replay of last season in the series between Raleigh and Sioux City. 4 close games so far, and split 2-2. I hope that I can get some more series wins considering I lost two to Brownsville, who has had a rough season so far. I need to at the very least keep up with the rest of the East. Edit: Well that last game hurt. Had a rough evening in real life, and really didn't need that added on, but the bright side is that it was the least of my problems tonight, so yeah. Updated Wednesday, June 14 2017 @ 10:04:48 pm PDT

#50351	06/20/2017 10:06:38 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Been a very up and down first half for the entire East. Personally, I am not happy with where my team is at, but my reinforcements arrived last season, so not much in the pipe any time soon. It really didn't help that my bullpen all got worse collectively at once this season. Already had to cut Hill, and Cunningham is likely next, but I will need a replacement.

#50370	06/21/2017 10:23:51 am
Razzle Joined: 03/21/2015 Posts: 130 Inactive	Crazy first half of the season indeed!! I am happy where I am. My goal to start the season was to not get relegated. I have a handful of rookies on the Major League roster that I am trying to get some time for so the passing of the torch goes as smooth as possible. My AAA is full of hot prospects too. It's a good problem to have. Good Luck in the second half to everyone. It feels like things will come down to the last series!!

#50390	06/21/2017 5:58:34 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	While I would certainly rather be doing better, I guess I can't really complain given the overall POT of my team. I need to start drafting some real prospects if I want to be competitive at the next level

#50453	06/24/2017 4:42:59 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Ugh... Half my lineup is injured right now EDIT: And now both my catchers... LOL! Updated Saturday, June 24 2017 @ 8:39:13 pm PDT

#50480	06/25/2017 7:18:27 pm
Razzle Joined: 03/21/2015 Posts: 130 Inactive	Wow Rock... You should play with half your lineup injured more often!! Nice win streak!!

#50532	06/27/2017 5:21:39 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	LOL. Might be something to that. Starting to lose again now that everyone is healthy.

#50548	06/28/2017 10:01:12 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Brought up Peter Taylor to make his debut against Thunder Bay. Given how my season is going it may be his only chance to face the club that drafted him. Should be interesting to see if he gets any innings.

#50576	06/29/2017 6:54:16 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Interleague wraps up with East edging out a narrow victory of 184 - 176. Haverhill were the big winners going 35-25. Appleton were the winners in the West going 34-26. EAST .583 - Haverhill .550 - Manhattan .533 - Topeka .483 - Edmond .467 - Raleigh .450 - Lauderhill WEST .567 - Appleton .517 - Thunder Bay .483 - Sioux City .483 - Cedar Rapids .450 - Santa Monica .433 - Brownsville Updated Friday, June 30 2017 @ 7:54:59 am PDT

#50680	07/02/2017 5:39:40 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	This year has got to be the streakiest my team has ever been huge daily swings in my DIFF...

#50682	07/02/2017 8:22:46 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Same, I have no clue how my team is going to perform each day and despite getting a sweep today I did nothing but shake my head since I have no idea why they got a sweep today, but stunk it up last week. Just perpetually mystifying.

#50706	07/03/2017 12:08:22 pm
Razzle Joined: 03/21/2015 Posts: 130 Inactive	Nice Sweep Newtman! Dang it!!! I was hoping to put some room between us, but the other way around. Very streaky year. It will be a fun trip down the stretch!

#50781	07/05/2017 9:28:08 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	2025 is calling... it wants its Raleigh Braves back. Seriously, I have no idea where this run is coming from as I didn't make any moves shortly before it started.

#50784	07/06/2017 5:14:06 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	A lot depends on how the die land. That's why there are streaks in real life too. All you can do as a manager is file the edges to come out in your advantage, but when the dice roll, sometimes its seven and sometimes its snake eyes LOL. Also, I suspect some players do better in different parts of the year.

#50794	07/06/2017 9:07:56 am
Razzle Joined: 03/21/2015 Posts: 130 Inactive	I took time away from my rookies to hopefully have some strength for the stretch. 1-10 later and I'm putting my rookies back in!!!

#50814	07/06/2017 9:37:01 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Yeah, but with acquisitions relying so heavily on RNG, having so much RNG in the game engine as well sometimes just drives me a bit up the wall.

#50817	07/06/2017 11:23:07 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	And with the rookies you take the series... LOL, just what we were talking about. Anyone else seeing their lower velocity pitchers doing horrible this season. I wonder if Steve tweaked the engine a bit. Both Lang and Russell went from career ERAs in the mid to low 3s to having ERAs over 5 this season Maybe if they hadn't stunted...

#50826	07/07/2017 7:31:41 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Martinelli has been on the border line of me wanting to cut him, but he was the youngest of my acquisitions, so I really have been hesitant. His low velocity is the only thing that seems like it should be the cause... then again several other pitchers seem to be struggling with high velocity. Starting to seem like more RNG to me.

#50835	07/07/2017 8:17:40 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Thing is, Lang and Russell are fairly established starters in their prime. Just weird to have them both blow up this year after dominating for so long. EDIT: I do think this has been more of a hitters league this year, but jumping from 3s to 5s is more than just that. Updated Friday, July 7 2017 @ 8:19:21 am PDT

#50863	07/08/2017 12:46:57 pm
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I don't know about the low velocity pitching thing. I tend to blame lady luck for my pitching woes, which are pretty substantial at the moment: While some Manhattan relievers are doing much better than they should (Marsh, my 9 vel/105 SI RHS, has a 2.55 ERA in 106 relief innings), out of the 14 pitchers I've used this year, the five worst are four fifths of my rotation plus the closer. Sounds like a recipe for losing games in spite of having a decent average ERA. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with velocity, either: All of them except Ponce are power arms. Ponce, on the other hand, equals or exceeds Marsh in every single skill, but his ERA is two full points higher... My explanation is the overall randomness of BB, which I deem pretty much equal to the overall randomness of baseball. Updated Saturday, July 8 2017 @ 12:48:47 pm PDT

#50865	07/08/2017 2:18:00 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	It is certainly possible that my two best pitchers are both just happening to have dud years at the same time.

#50874	07/08/2017 9:48:56 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I can see it seeming weird to have two starters seem to go off the cliff at once, but I'd still say it is more normal than having my entire bullpen fall off the cliff they way they have. This is my bullpen's worst season by almost every measure since I took over as owner, and it hinges on Hill, Cunningham, and Pope (three of the guys who have been at the center of my bullpen success). Updated Saturday, July 8 2017 @ 9:49:28 pm PDT

#50875	07/08/2017 10:05:05 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive

#50876	07/08/2017 11:30:48 pm
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	Well, you're a good looking guy and a snazzy dresser to boot, so it's not all bad :P

#50886	07/09/2017 12:21:02 pm
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Forgive my intrusion. Find the pitching discussion fascinating. Almost every guy listed (starter or reliever) has seen his his HR/9 numbers explode. Is that on them? Or is it the hitters? The number of home runs hit in this league are obscene. The top Legends HR team would be in a 3 way tie for 7th here. Several teams are at last seasons totals, and there are still 30 games to go. Again, could be a bunch of pitchers having bad seasons, or (perhaps more likely) a bunch of teams with similar offensive philosophies laying the lumber.

#50892	07/09/2017 2:40:39 pm
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Can't say that for my team. I'm currently on track for 161 HR, which is more than the 140 I had last season in Legends, but that was to be expected in lesser competition. But the Isos hit 153 dingers in 2030, 190 in 2029, 220 in 2028, 214 in 2027 and 219 in 2026, all in Legends. I guess that makes sense, too, considering the team has lost its four top sluggers from that time and never really found replacements.

#50893	07/09/2017 2:42:15 pm
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	If I still had guys like prime Hudson, Barber, Morris, Dunlap or Alfaro on my team, I'd still be in Legends... My top slugger now is Nava with a measly 18 HR by mid-September - and Iso Stadium is the same bandbox it has always been. Updated Sunday, July 9 2017 @ 2:43:58 pm PDT

#50895	07/09/2017 2:49:34 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yeah I considered the fact that a lot of teams in the East seem to have very small stadiums. But its weird that my low velocity guys are falling off a cliff, while my higher velocity guys in the bullpen are performing better than usual. I would have though the low velocity guys would suffer less from a delta in HRs, but then again, maybe its just with all the small stadiums, guys are hitting it out without help from the pitchers.

#50897	07/09/2017 2:51:54 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Again, could be a bunch of pitchers having bad seasons, or (perhaps more likely) a bunch of teams with similar offensive philosophies laying the lumber. I suspect its a little of both.

#50899	07/09/2017 3:25:50 pm
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I suspect its a bit of both Fair. And normally the truth. Attempts to tie things to one factor are usually folly. Many moving parts. Very interesting discussion tho. Cheers. The guy I think of reading thru this is Barker. 1 HR per 10 IP throughout his career, except for 2030 when it was 1 HR every 3 IP. Happens.

#50902	07/09/2017 4:11:39 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Actually Russell has only given up 12 HRs in 139 innings, so that definitely isn't his issue... Seems like he is just having really bad luck... Lang has given up 18 HRs in 141 innings. Almost double his previous average. The real issue is he is giving up 1+ hits per inning

#50905	07/09/2017 4:57:29 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I did try out a dome this year. Maybe my pitchers are doing worse because they aren't benefiting from weather effects (like cold or cloudy). Also the Turf is supposed to give up more hits. Would also explain why my hitters have been so dominating this year.

#50908	07/09/2017 8:24:45 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	It would make sense, though my team is right where it has been the last four seasons, dead last in the entire league in HRs. That said my HRs allowed are already 20 more than all last season. Still, happy with where I am at in terms of HRs allowed considering I don't have the same advantage as everyone else (getting to face my anti-HR lineup).

#50930	07/11/2017 1:30:28 am
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	The Isos story continues against Raleigh: Overachieving middle relievers putting up zeros after the starter has thrown the game away or handing over to a closer who can't complete the save. Swept in two one-run games and one two-run game. Updated Tuesday, July 11 2017 @ 1:31:22 am PDT

#50931	07/11/2017 1:42:39 am
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	The demotion fight is getting too close to put off the changing of the guard in the 9th inning any longer. I tried to keep Wilson in the setup role because he's only 25, and I'll have to pay the absolutely obscene salary hikes closers get here for many seasons to come, but I just can't live with a 5+ ERA from my closer at this point.

#50936	07/11/2017 4:50:41 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	True, my current middle relievers are overachieving, however it seems like regression to the mean to me since the first half of the season my old guard middle relievers (Hill and Cunningham) had ERAs ~3.00 higher than their 10 year career averages despite having pitched on this level for 4 seasons before. I've won a lot of games over several levels of BB using the strategy you said was overachieving. Not saying that to brag, just saying I don't think that luck is helping me as much as you made it seem.

#50944	07/11/2017 12:23:21 pm
Razzle Joined: 03/21/2015 Posts: 130 Inactive	The relegation fight is going to be crazy. I have had no luck with pitching at all this year. I hope that some of them get hot down the home stretch and I can hang around next season!! Good Luck All!!

#50954	07/11/2017 4:45:42 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Just re-read that all... I think I misunderstood Holmes' post reading it at 7:50 AM local. I am not a morning person. I have some tough decisions this off-season regardless of how this season ends. Torres has looked like a good acquisition, and Collins is seeming to be getting much better by the day. With a couple of pitchers in AAA wearing the "learned all they can" label, and a full 13 ML pitchers, making the right choice will be important.

#50961	07/12/2017 2:06:19 am
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Yes, I wasn't talking about your middle relievers overperforming, but about mine - which goes along with just about everyone who throws important innings underperforming. That basically adds up to being in in fifth place with the second best run differential - or an average ERA of 4.0 while three of my starters and the closer for most of the season sit at 4.68 to 6.25. Geez, a starting pitcher with an ERA of 6.25... Out of those four, Norman has the lowest SI at 110. In middle relief, I have Mejias (88 SI) and Hershberger (93) pitching to 3.3 ERAs. FIP might tell the true story in their case. Wilson is a stud, and I expected Marsh with his 9 velocity/19 movement to be better than SI indicates, but not 2.44 ERA over 110 innings good.

#50981	07/12/2017 3:38:25 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	My team always sucks in September and October Even when I promote its only because I've built up a big enough lead. Really need to find some guys who can play ball in the fall

#51007	07/13/2017 2:34:31 pm
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Rock777 in June: Dang it! Manhattan got Ponce You mean the guy whom 5.x runs of run support per game got to a 10-10 record, while he just "boosted" his ERA to 4.83... Thing is that, like with my other problem pitchers, I see absolutely no reason why he should be that bad.

#51012	07/13/2017 3:23:39 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm guessing you didn't look at my starting rotation before posting that... LOL!

#51017	07/13/2017 4:06:11 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I guess the silver lining in that last game is that Judge got some good experience, LOL.

#51022	07/13/2017 9:59:58 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	So even when it pours with my offense, and Raleigh scored 22 runs, they still only hit 1 HR. This is both what makes my team capable of scoring a ton of runs or a string of games where they are shutout. If only I could figure out when they would flip that switch I would feel like the current success was slightly more earned. For right now I am just hoping this lead holds up since it would punch my ticket to my first time in Legends after 15 seasons in Raleigh and 16 playing the game.

#51057	07/14/2017 4:26:47 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Currently on a run of 1-12... An outside observer would think I put my scrubs in, LOL.

#51061	07/14/2017 4:56:50 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Two losses and Topeka are back in legit striking distance. Really need to salvage the split in 5 minutes if I don't want to be a nervous wreck the next few days. I might not even be able to check in for a few days since I am driving 9 hours tomorrow, going to be really sad if the next time I log in I find out that I lost the division in the final days after the incredible run my team made over the last week.

#51064	07/14/2017 5:16:41 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I have a really bad feeling about the next couple of days.

#51100	07/15/2017 4:36:44 pm
bilbo Joined: 05/18/2013 Posts: 58 Inactive	Just eight games to go and perm any one from five in the west. All have a winning record too. Looks like both promotion and the last relegation spot could go down to the wire.

#51135	07/16/2017 6:15:51 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Great season all. I am not sure I deserved to promote this season after my mid-season slump, but the RNG was in favor of my guys down the stretch. Then again I thought I should have two of the seasons I was in II.1 the first time. Good luck to everyone next season wherever you end up!

#51137	07/16/2017 6:40:47 pm
bilbo Joined: 05/18/2013 Posts: 58 Inactive	A four-nil sweep by Santa Monica and we're down, which given our current run of form isn't beyond the realm of possibilities. And not so long ago I thought we might go up. Hoping for at least one win.

#51138	07/16/2017 6:54:15 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	@Newtman - your team looked pretty dangerous at the start of the season, but definitely turned on the after burners at the end. I wonder where you siphoned all the fuel from...

#51139	07/16/2017 7:45:03 pm
EchoBravo34 Joined: 07/08/2014 Posts: 57 Sioux City Catfish V.15	A whole season of our teams beating up on each other, especially in the west. I've barely been able to check my scores each day. Good season and we'll see how it shakes out tomorrow.

#51181	07/17/2017 5:13:26 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	What a nail biter. I'm calling it fair play after Manhattan edged my out of Legends a couple seasons back I suspect both teams demoting this year will be back up again after next season.

#51189	07/17/2017 6:42:08 pm
EchoBravo34 Joined: 07/08/2014 Posts: 57 Sioux City Catfish V.15	Wow, 3 teams one game back. What a finish! Don't know how I pulled it out. Fun season!

#51195	07/17/2017 8:06:52 pm
Razzle Joined: 03/21/2015 Posts: 130 Inactive	Gratz to all. What a finish. I just could not ever get over the hump. Hopefully I can be back next season!

#51199	07/17/2017 8:42:11 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	You have monsters in AAA. I suspect you will be back with a vengeance.

#51215	07/18/2017 7:37:50 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Congrats Rock on pulling it out! Yeah, the demoting teams are definitely going to give III.1 and III.2 all sorts of trouble next season. Looking forward to a re-match of the III.1 2031 playoffs. Sioux City bested my team in the regular season this year, so I think the advantage has to go to them despite Raleigh's 2031 title.

#51216	07/18/2017 7:57:34 am
EchoBravo34 Joined: 07/08/2014 Posts: 57 Sioux City Catfish V.15	Best of luck to you again newt. Got a feeling of deja vu going up against you in the finals.

#51218	07/18/2017 8:33:55 am
FreddyTheEye Joined: 11/11/2014 Posts: 625 Inactive	wow 11 of 12 teams had meaningful games in the final week of play. What an exciting season in II.1 Congrats Newt and EB34 on promotion (sick finish in the west!!) and to Rock for not giving up after a laptop smashing bad run, righting the ship and winning the last two to save from demotion. Does east always promote to the east? and west to the west?

#51237	07/18/2017 8:30:47 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Thanks Freddy. Yes, teams always stay in the East or the West. So you will be seeing a lot of Catfish next season

#51266	07/19/2017 4:01:58 pm
EchoBravo34 Joined: 07/08/2014 Posts: 57 Sioux City Catfish V.15	Good win newt! Got me in 5 again, deja vu for sure. Look forward to seeing you in Legends next season!

#51550	07/25/2017 9:50:07 pm
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Hi all, looking forward to my first season (after 12 complete seasons) in LL2, I thought I'd try again at my predictions for the seasons, which have been strangely accurate for the last two! As always, no offense is intended in my guesses, its simply how I view the teams in relation to each other. West Fort Worth: Average offense, average defense, above average pitching Cesar Rapids: Average offense, good defense, average pitching Thunder Bay: Above average offense, very good defense, Above average pitching Appleton: Good offense, average defense, above average pitching Missoula: Good offense, good defense, above average pitching Milpitas: Good offense, above average defense, good pitching I like Thunder Bay to take the division but I don't think it'll be a run away. Milpitas have a very good looking team to challenge them all the way. On the relegation side - there are no clear favourites, Fort Worth and Cesar Rapids are my picks, but Appleton and Missoula can't be ruled out either. East Topeka: Very good offense, above average defense, above average pitching Lauderhill: Above average offense, above average defense, above average pitching Haverhill: Very good offense, above average defense, good pitching Davenport: Above average offense, Very good defense, above average pitching Reading: Above average offense, above average defense, average pitching Minneapolis: Above average offense, above average defense, good pitching. Topeka is a beast of a team, as is Haverhill. I'll pick Haverhill to take it by the slimmest of margins, and then win the playoffs. Readings pitching might mark them for relegation, Lauderhill and Davenport will fight for the other, I'll pick Davenport. The east looks stronger than the west overall to me. Good luck to everyone for the season, there's some great teams that I look forward to challenging!

#51551	07/25/2017 9:57:40 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I'm definitely not as confident. My team is older and weaker than last season, and last season was pretty ugly for Haverhill...

#51781	07/31/2017 7:32:36 pm
jetsrock48 Joined: 11/25/2013 Posts: 150 Davenport Cobras IV.3	This could be the beginning of an end of an era for me. My team has been built off pitching the past few years and they are all old, with some 14 POT pitchers in AA. Skills are down and my once strong suit has turned into a possible weakness. Offensively my team has never lived up to the hype - skills always looking way better than actual results (same with defense). Can't say I disagree with the predictions - great write up!

#51819	08/02/2017 3:09:01 pm
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	I wouldn't wish to worry anyone, or provide false hope, but JJ has made some uncannily accurate predictions over the course of several seasons. Never far off the mark, and usually right on it!

#51938	08/05/2017 12:32:15 am
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	I've been just as terrible with my ROTY candidates though..... This year I only have one in each category to start with 3B Werner and LR Simms LHS Silva is likely to get the call at some point, sooner if I fall out of the race early. Fajardo is my pick to challenge for the MVP, and either Chavarria or Hester could continue on from last seasons work to have a look at the Cy Young! Who are the challengers?!

#51944	08/05/2017 10:46:40 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	My money is on Pablo Mercado for MVP after this. Barron will be a favorite for Cy Young. The two best players in the league neither promoted nor demoted, so your guys will have to challenge the incumbents for the throne. It won't be easy, my guy Thomason was the closest contender for MVP, and he wasn't very close. Updated Saturday, August 5 2017 @ 10:50:17 am PDT

#52231	08/13/2017 7:48:00 pm
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Interesting first go around within the western league, I'm not sure it's a completely accurate portrayal of how the rest of the season will go, a couple of sweeps have likely have skewed things, my starters have mostly struggled but otherwise I'm fairly satisfied at this early stage.

#52672	08/28/2017 5:10:34 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	The West looks interesting after two rotations, but the East looks like Lee has laid down the gauntlet.

#52714	08/29/2017 11:01:36 pm
xLee227 Joined: 07/06/2015 Posts: 269 Inactive	Haha I think you might have jinxed me. My team just lost 3/5 with two blowout 9-1 and 9-0 losses.

#52716	08/30/2017 12:55:21 am
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Lee's certainly looking good over in the east, still pleased with how we're going in the west but still open to anyone. Had a few injuries creep in already, very early into the interleague section also, going to have to keep an eye on that.

#52718	08/30/2017 4:20:09 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Sorry, just noticed that nothing had been said in over two weeks and was trying to make commentary, wasn't trying to jinx anyone.

#52722	08/30/2017 7:39:36 am
xLee227 Joined: 07/06/2015 Posts: 269 Inactive	No worries! Rationally, my recent skid probably has more to do with my top 2 starters going out with almost 20-game injuries each and having to start 3 rookies in the rotation.

#52731	08/30/2017 3:04:42 pm
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	My team usually does better when starting rookies.

#52893	09/05/2017 6:03:55 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Give me a break... 4 runs out of 3 hits and 2 walks.

#53008	09/10/2017 2:01:44 am
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	So just over the halfway point, both LL3.2 recruits are leading the way, somewhat surprisingly in my case! Pretty happy to have had 5 allstars, all of whom got into the game too. Couple of nice waiver pick ups in the division lately too, rock's grab of Toby Lohman in particular

#53015	09/10/2017 8:11:33 am
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I thought I had a bad year last year... My hitting has vanished into thin air Casey Cunningham: Last year .845 OPS, this year .662 OPS "Roy" Rogers: Last year .866 OPS, this year .666 OPS Ángelo Arias: Last year .791 OPS, this year .622 OPS Brad Cummings: Last year .692 OPS, this year .557 OPS Edgar Toledo: Last year .671 OPS, this year .559 OPS . . . Not easy to win games when your offensive cornerstones have sub .700 OPS

#53019	09/10/2017 2:08:27 pm
xLee227 Joined: 07/06/2015 Posts: 269 Inactive	Well my team had a first half where pretty much everything went our way, especially evident when looking at our record in 1-run games. Now it looks like that luck has run out given our recent skid and somewhat subpar performance overall since the 1/3 mark of the season

#53020	09/10/2017 2:16:15 pm
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Rock you seem to have uncursed yourself there, putting up 12 runs against me in the first game....

#53021	09/10/2017 2:19:47 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	It was definitely a nice game for the bats, but I'm not ready to take one nice blip as a curse reversal.

#53174	09/14/2017 7:09:20 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I would be whining about my 1-run record if Davenport weren't in the league...

#53482	09/27/2017 10:55:36 pm
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Final time through against the division for us all, its been an interesting season, surprised how well I've done, mostly on the back of my offense too which traditionally hasn't been my strong point. Good luck the rest of the way, still plenty to fight for in both divisions

#53501	09/28/2017 4:11:17 pm
bilbo Joined: 05/18/2013 Posts: 58 Inactive	I like Thunder Bay to take the division but I don't think it'll be a run away. Milpitas have a very good looking team to challenge them all the way. On the relegation side - there are no clear favourites, Fort Worth and Cesar Rapids are my picks, but Appleton and Missoula can't be ruled out either. Congratulations Missoula on your comprehensive victory, rubbish predictions though ☺ from the Cesar Rapids Royals or the Cedar Salads as we like to call ourselves ☺☺ Updated Thursday, September 28 2017 @ 4:24:31 pm PDT

#53502	09/28/2017 5:16:31 pm
xLee227 Joined: 07/06/2015 Posts: 269 Inactive	Congrats JJNZ! Anxious couple of days here in Minneapolis...

#53511	09/29/2017 12:51:14 am
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Thanks guys, have really enjoyed the season, but yes bilbo, the picks were terrible this year - still, no complaints from me! Nice to see Minneapolis potentially coming up too, mostly so I can try to seek some revenge from last years play offs!

#53548	09/29/2017 4:37:52 pm
jetsrock48 Joined: 11/25/2013 Posts: 150 Davenport Cobras IV.3	Very strange season for the Cobras. We played like a .500 club (-36 run diff) but 1 run games have killed us. My offense was dried up for way too long and it hurts to see pitchers go 7-8 innings and give up 2-3 runs and your offense only score one. My goal at the midpoint part of the season was to not get demoted, and it currently seems that we are in the clear after a strong 15 game stretch. The Cobras are in the midst of a strange "rebuild". Our minors are stacked with pitching prospects so moves will have to be made starting this offseason on cutting some talented but aging players. Offensively is where our weakness lies - while the skills seem to be there we have way too many players underachieving, with almost no prospects to replace them. Could be a very disappointing few seasons for me...

#53629	10/01/2017 11:46:25 pm
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Congrats on clinching Lee, still plenty to play for in the relegation spots tomorrow!

#53646	10/02/2017 9:24:54 am
xLee227 Joined: 07/06/2015 Posts: 269 Inactive	Thanks! Looking forward to our rematch in the playoffs!

#53674	10/02/2017 5:08:57 pm
bilbo Joined: 05/18/2013 Posts: 58 Inactive	Well, I am not sure if it's an achievement to be proud of, or disappointed by; but we have finished second in the second tier five years running.?!

#53751	10/04/2017 3:43:50 pm
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Consistency is key bilbo! Congrats on the title Lee, comprehensive sweep there!

#53766	10/04/2017 11:32:12 pm
xLee227 Joined: 07/06/2015 Posts: 269 Inactive	Thanks JJNZ! Honestly, I'm surprised at the playoff results - almost all the games were very close and could have gone either way.

#53831	10/06/2017 1:07:23 pm
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Scratching my head somewhat at the end of season awards, 5 all stars, not a single all-leaguer. No votes in the MVP, and my only award was rookie P of the year. Guess that's a sign of a good team as opposed to individual efforts?!

#53846	10/06/2017 4:00:39 pm
bilbo Joined: 05/18/2013 Posts: 58 Inactive	"Barron will be a favorite for Cy Young." Newtman 08/05/2017 Hey spot on Newtman, you must be cyclic!

#53859	10/06/2017 7:44:53 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Solheim got robbed! Solheim 28 HR, .375 OBP, .935 OPS, 111 RBI, 18 SB, 61 K, 69 BB Coppola 15 HR, .363 OBP, .868 OPS, 99 RBI, 2 SB, 94 K, 44 BB The only thing Coppola was better at was striking out...

#54071	10/11/2017 5:30:00 pm	Feb 4th, 2034
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm going to use a golf strategy against the Magicians this season. Setting up my stadium to maximize the number of HRs they can hit... A couple guys fell short of 50 last year, which is a shame. Must be rectified.

#54372	10/15/2017 7:27:03 pm	Mar 6th, 2034
Garnet Joined: 02/13/2016 Posts: 147 Inactive	Hello II.1 .... Good luck to everyone this season. I'm not sure how the Eagles will perform against the rest of the league but we will have fun no matter the result. 2-7 in Spring training so far... hope it is not an omen!

#54377	10/15/2017 8:01:06 pm	Mar 6th, 2034
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	@bilbo, no offense but that prediction was easy. Barron beat out Rosa and Manhattan's star Sugibeepa the season before, and although some strong teams came in (as evidenced by two being the teams that promoted), none had anyone that looked better than Barron, Sugibeepa, or Rosa. Barron has been ridiculously good for a long time, and it is unfortunate that he spent so many of his peak years in II.1 instead of Legends.

#54379	10/15/2017 8:06:52 pm	Mar 6th, 2034
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Actually Parsons got robbed too... Way better then the guys above him in the ROY voting I think the judges have been paid off!

#55252	10/28/2017 4:52:11 pm	Apr 13th, 2034
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Wow! Only two teams in all of II.1 with positive RDs right now... Don't see that very often, LOL.

#55652	11/08/2017 7:55:48 pm	May 25th, 2034
nobodyjones Joined: 12/28/2011 Posts: 170 Seattle Rickey IV.1	11 Game hitting streak, 13/15 vs El Monte Updated Wednesday, November 8 2017 @ 7:56:27 pm PST

#56354	12/03/2017 10:21:14 pm	Aug 29th, 2034
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	With 33 games left, Scranton has closed the gap to just one behind me. I expect it to be a fight to the finish. In the West, Santa Monica has pulled out to a comfortable 8.5 game lead. However, only one game separates 2nd from last. That should make for an intense final month for the West. Good luck all!

#56899	12/20/2017 4:50:45 pm	Nov 1st, 2034
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Putting it here for the sake of putting it somewhere, because mcrmoe long time owner of Fort Worth has returned to the game - he's way down in VI.16 with a new team, but good to see him back.

#56909	12/20/2017 10:34:09 pm	Nov 1st, 2034
buffmckagan Joined: 12/22/2013 Posts: 651 Scranton Bears Legends	Great season, everyone! I just hope my hitting can get half as good as my pitching...

#56972	12/22/2017 7:54:43 am	Nov 4th, 2034
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	"Spaceman" Solheim was robbed last year, but this year the votes came down on the right player for MVP

#57020	02/19/2018 9:26:34 am	Jan 15th, 2035
Razzle Joined: 03/21/2015 Posts: 130 Inactive	Let's do this again!!!

#57161	02/22/2018 12:58:55 am	Feb 5th, 2035
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, we're back here... Last time around, I could claim some nice little reinforcements for my aging team and was actually close to the top at the all-star break, then suddenly fell off a cliff in the second half of interdivision play. Being back where we started probably puts me back just hoping to survive the season...

#57324	02/26/2018 8:11:27 pm	Mar 8th, 2035
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	My team is definitely weaker than last time around.

#57508	03/05/2018 10:12:29 pm	Mar 25th, 2035
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Good luck folks, Missoula is weaker overall than first time out so lets see what it brings.....

#57523	03/06/2018 10:24:24 am	Mar 25th, 2035
Razzle Joined: 03/21/2015 Posts: 130 Inactive	Tough competition everywhere. I'm curious to see how close we are to where we were!! Good Luck All!! Play Ball!!

#57582	03/08/2018 1:33:18 pm	Apr 3rd, 2035
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Strange to have 2 bot's in the same division, especially with Garnet going, he was relatively active, can only hope everything is well in his world!

#57830	03/22/2018 5:57:21 pm	May 29th, 2035
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	3 pitchers with a 10 day injury currently, constant injuries including 7 on the DL at once at one point. Ahh, just like the good ol Missoula days!

#57915	03/28/2018 8:53:12 pm	Jun 20th, 2035
Garnet Joined: 02/13/2016 Posts: 147 Inactive	Hey JJ. All is ok here. Long story but I am now running a team in LL VI... last place with no money. I wanted a different challenge so I looked for a losing team with no money team and I found Owensboro (ranked 666 with no cash) We get about 15,000 fans per game. El Monte was flush with cash.... I like the idea of a budget. Seriously this team is so bad and broke- I can only make it better. I think it will be fun. Hoping to get back to LL2 or 3 soon!

#57917	03/29/2018 12:42:38 am	Jun 20th, 2035
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Welcome back! You've got your work cut out there, will watch your progress closely!

#57946	03/31/2018 3:06:55 pm	Jun 29th, 2035
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Injuries have been horrible for us this year. Always at least 3 injured. Whenever one heals 1 or 2 more get injured

#58179	04/16/2018 12:20:36 pm	Aug 29th, 2035
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Curious to see how the "other" 2 league has fared since the reset. In II.2 East, the top three remained the same, with Warsaw falling into the relegation zone due to a RL move. Frank again leads the West by the slimmest of margins. Not too much changed over there. Has this side remained the same? I know JJ was on top in the West, how has the East fared? Any big movers? Misses?

#58181	04/16/2018 2:53:08 pm	Aug 30th, 2035
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I was in first the first time around with a 5 or 6 game lead. So my team has been doing a lot of moving. Updated Monday, April 16 2018 @ 2:54:12 pm PDT

#58214	04/21/2018 2:26:21 am	Sep 14th, 2035
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Last time around, I was doing really well until the all-star break. Then, my team performance suddenly cratered right before the db failure. This time, I've been fighting to survive from the beginning, and it's not looking good. The biggest difference is on the long-term level, though. Before the crash, I had some really good draft picks, and some lucky waiver claims allowed me to replace aging core players with younger guys of at least the same quality. No such luck this time around...

#58217	04/21/2018 12:23:37 pm	Sep 14th, 2035
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Why do we always seem to find our selves in this situation Holmes... In the 16 seasons I've played this game, I have only found myself in relegation territory 4 times. The first, was my first season, when I took over the team and all was already lost. All other three times, I was battling it out with Manhattan. And Manhattan won two of those

#58218	04/21/2018 12:26:24 pm	Sep 14th, 2035
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Actually the only time we have played in a league together and not been in competition to avoid relegation was the first iteration of 2035. Maybe the season blow out was our fault. Breaking the rules of the universe and all that

#58219	04/21/2018 4:21:21 pm	Sep 16th, 2035
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	That explains it. At least that fight, however it may end, gives a bit of a storyline to a do-over season that otherwise would have been nothing but tedious for the Isos.

#58251	04/24/2018 11:50:51 pm	Sep 30th, 2035
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Meanwhile in the west Missoula has let a 9 game lead drop to 2.5 games.

#58266	04/26/2018 7:24:59 pm	Oct 8th, 2035
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	LOL. Three one run loses. That is a pretty apropos finish to the Halflings season. From first to relegation. Not a happy 2nd iteration of 2035.

#58299	04/30/2018 12:24:49 am	Oct 20th, 2035
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Man, Rock, that was a tough late stretch for you indeed. That sweep in consecutive one-run games really decided the fight to survive, and I have to say, I downright felt bad about it. Not a good rerun for the Isos, either, though that statement applies mostly to the long-term perspective. Draft and waiver claims had made my future look much better the first time around. At least, the actual games turned out well for me in the end. After struggling all season this time around, that lucky sweep even allowed me to play the kids in the last two series.

#58302	04/30/2018 8:55:53 am	Oct 20th, 2035
Razzle Joined: 03/21/2015 Posts: 130 Inactive	Edmond was the team that made out on the reset. I was battling for the top spot most of the year, but had fallen behind Rock about 6 games or so. I did lose a Hall of Fame draft choice. I was so afraid to talk about any of it when I was leading the division. I'm crazy superstitious. "Respect the streak!" "If you believe you're playing well because you are wearing women's underwear, then you are!" Bull Durham Good Luck to all of you next year!!

#58306	04/30/2018 3:05:00 pm	Oct 21st, 2035
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I also got to play my kids that last week after the sweep. Just not with as much joy, LOL. I think Edmond would have overtaken 1st place last season anyhow, but that lead would have probably been enough to kept my head above water. I was hoping to complete my rebuild in LL-2, but it looks like that goal is for naught. Now I just have to see if I can pull the team back up. Years of poor draft picks are finally starting to catch up with the Halflings...

#58347	05/02/2018 4:49:29 pm	Nov 1st, 2035
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Congrats to Edmond on a pretty comprehensive victory in the playoffs, good luck all for next season

#58398	05/04/2018 5:30:28 pm	Nov 4th, 2035
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Looks like I will be joining you all again. I look forward to renewing my series with Roanoke, Manhattan, Scranton, New Britain, and Bronx. I think this is the first time in several seasons that I don't think I'll be facing anyone in the East for the first time. Haven't looked at the West yet, but I'm sure since I got demoted back down the side I came up that it will be mostly familiar faces. @Rock, I went down to III for two seasons before bouncing straight up to Legends and sticking there. Sometimes a demotion can help turn things around, at least that is what I am telling myself to try to get motivated again for 2036. Updated Friday, May 4 2018 @ 5:32:50 pm PDT

#58505	05/08/2018 4:07:05 pm	Jan 20th, 2036
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Its all about personnel, and mine have been diminishing for some time. I'll not be hitting Legends soon. On the plus side, I made a TON of money last season. With so many guys under performing, my salaries have been diminishing as well, LOL.

#58529	05/09/2018 12:00:41 pm	Jan 29th, 2036
Razzle Joined: 03/21/2015 Posts: 130 Inactive	Thanks JJ!! Good Luck to you all this coming season!!

#58706	05/18/2018 1:03:05 pm	Mar 14th, 2036
motko Joined: 09/06/2014 Posts: 358 Nauvoo The Great Horned Owl IV.6	Roanoke looks too strong this season… Manhattan has a shot to challenge them.. even Roanoke's next generation looks like an unfair matchup.

#58806	05/22/2018 3:01:31 pm	Mar 27th, 2036
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Raleigh lineup responded to the demotion precisely the way I had hoped, very angry. 1 down, 159 to go. Edit: After hanging an 18 spot in game 1, Rosa came back in game 2 to throw a shutout winning the duel of the lefties. 2 down, 158 to go. No, I won't do this all season, but motko not even mentioning my team in his predictions may have motivated me a little, even if my guys are just lines of code. Updated Tuesday, May 22 2018 @ 3:08:09 pm PDT

#58872	05/25/2018 1:54:25 pm	Apr 7th, 2036
motko Joined: 09/06/2014 Posts: 358 Nauvoo The Great Horned Owl IV.6	Scranton and New britain will have to put up a fight to stay in the league level. Especially if many teams exploit their vulnerabilities. I am not good at evaluating my team and Bronx is in general a young team. But i hope i dont be there fighting to avoid relegation but anything could happen. Raleigh will end their season in position 2-4th. no big leagues, no demotion. This is the official prognosis for 2036 :P

#58960	05/28/2018 6:12:53 am	Apr 18th, 2036
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Phew, salvaged the last game of the four-game series after two extra-inning losses. Getting swept in my first series against the Bronx would have been a bit of a letdown. Had a little rivalry going with Queens (Knights, I think?) in the upper three leagues a few seasons back, but that team seems to have moved. Queens now has a league VI team that has never been in the upper leagues under that name.

#58961	05/28/2018 8:02:09 am	Apr 18th, 2036
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	My team took the weekend off, hoping they remember to show up for work this week.

#58969	05/28/2018 3:33:51 pm	Apr 19th, 2036
motko Joined: 09/06/2014 Posts: 358 Nauvoo The Great Horned Owl IV.6	@Newtman congrats on drafting a VG pitcher 14-potential. You happy?

#58974	05/28/2018 6:04:12 pm	Apr 21st, 2036
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	@motko, well considering you are a week late on that, not really happy about that anymore since he won't be pitching in the majors for 5-7 seasons. Mostly annoyed that my RHPs all decided to implode.

#59198	06/05/2018 12:17:33 pm	May 17th, 2036
motko Joined: 09/06/2014 Posts: 358 Nauvoo The Great Horned Owl IV.6	Well done signing Ivan Ponce. Why did Holmes release him after good start to the season?

#59199	06/05/2018 5:18:10 pm	May 21st, 2036
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I project Ponce to be no better than his replacement Edgar Marsh, who was not playing much in the pen, while Ponce was costing inordinate amounts of money. And Ponce will be toast next season, anyway. Right after I released Ponce, two of my starters went down with injuries, because... of course. So, for the moment I have 83 and 66 SI minor leaguers filling out my bullpen. Not the brightest of my moves, I have to admit. Should have waited until after the interdivision play.

#59203	06/05/2018 8:09:45 pm	May 21st, 2036
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	No matter how good of an owner someone may be, projections in this game are made tougher with injuries and sudden collective implosions. I wouldn't have placed a claim on Ponce if Taylor, Haney, Sawyer, and Bechtel all didn't have ERAs a full run higher than they had in Legends last season.

#59241	06/07/2018 3:45:27 pm	May 27th, 2036
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Yeah, I just don't believe recent performance is a better predictor than skills. And over the last couple of seasons, Ponce has underperformed my expectations more often than he has exceeded them. I just don't believe he is as good as his five starts for Manhattan early this season could make you believe. And indeed, in his first start against Manhattan, he didn't make it out of the second inning.

#59244	06/07/2018 6:16:48 pm	May 29th, 2036
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Then again, if early season indications are accurate then the bats in II.1 are better than the bats in Legends. I'm not quite buying the small sample size, but I'm also banking on Taylor in particular turning his season around since he was proven capable in Legends. I want to see if Ponce is better out of the bullpen in low leverage innings before I give up on him, especially since he never was hoped to be the RHP leader... that role NEEDS to be filled by Taylor or Sampson, as they are the ones the future of the Raleigh organization are riding. I can't win waiver claims reliably enough to count on filling the leadership roles with rentals on a regular basis, thus why 80% of my roster were drafted by me.

#59247	06/07/2018 9:58:50 pm	May 29th, 2036
Frankebasta Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 886 Kodiak Mules III.3	I feel compelled to join this conversation because, you know, Ponce used to be "the Great Latino Hope" for Laredo. Sweet Pea, he was dubbed. He's been for quite a few season, that is, a Hope. He was drafted as a 16 yo pot14 SP, 18 SEASONS AGO! And this is the problem: right out of the gate, he amble to the pace of....never getting out of the minors! 9 seasons, it took NOT to develop. 16 to 24, he did not do well. Maybe he's a late bloomer? Nope! Neither in the Majors he blossomed. As you can notice from the player's card, after 18 seasons of playing pro, and 10 seasons after being called up, Ponce only sports 5 FIVE years of ML experience. He was sent down so, so many times to try to gain his "missed?" training...didn't do any good. Never been a starter, nor a reliever. Bad stats, bad peripherals. Never shined. Disheartening I wish him all the WORST for wasting my time! Updated Thursday, June 7 2018 @ 10:01:23 pm PDT

#59269	06/08/2018 1:00:09 pm	May 29th, 2036
motko Joined: 09/06/2014 Posts: 358 Nauvoo The Great Horned Owl IV.6	Frankebasta thanks for joining. One individual player is only one and you deal with many. Am thinking of conclusion becouse Ive been thinking the same subject. Potential and skills especially early in the career might be a lot influenced by distortion. So the stats and the Performance is maybe more interesting than the skills.

#59299	06/10/2018 2:57:53 pm	Jun 5th, 2036
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, after his disastrous 2032 season, Ponce was actually quite useful for Manhattan for a few seasons, but not nearly as dominant as his skills led me to expect. Still, considering how actual performance can randomly fluctuate, I would never evaluate a player based on stats from half a season or less. True performance levels are based on skills, so that's what I will, when in doubt, always go by. The reason I released Ponce wasn't that he didn't entirely live up to the expectations based on his skills - it was simply that his skills were deteriorating so much that the expected performance wasn't better than the next cheaper alternative.

#59348	06/13/2018 11:57:02 pm	Jun 20th, 2036
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Oops. Looks like Ponce's career with the Braves was a short and unsuccessful one...

#59352	06/14/2018 8:12:28 am	Jun 20th, 2036
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	That's why I don't get into the waivers market that often because while occasionally you can find someone useful, most don't work out and usually my experience has been that I am better off with the replacement level player that I already have. Unfortunately my team is in the process of a full scale implosion between the pitching staff being just plain worse than years past and the entire team forgetting entirely how to hit LHPs. This season is pretty much over in Raleigh unless something changes. I found out in my first five season stint that II.1 is a good league, but my team's stats are worse in virtually every category than they have been in Legends the past three seasons, despite having pretty much the same team that hasn't declined THAT much. My team just seems to be going for under performance of the season in Broken Bat. Updated Thursday, June 14 2018 @ 8:21:38 am PDT

#59354	06/14/2018 12:03:53 pm	Jun 20th, 2036
motko Joined: 09/06/2014 Posts: 358 Nauvoo The Great Horned Owl IV.6	@ Newman Keep up, you made it to Legends so you got what it takes. your time will come. Plus the season is Still young.

#59398	06/17/2018 11:45:46 am	Jul 2nd, 2036
motko Joined: 09/06/2014 Posts: 358 Nauvoo The Great Horned Owl IV.6	i have a good feeling about the rest of the season.

#59408	06/18/2018 8:41:18 am	Jul 7th, 2036
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	My team imploded better than that last year in II.1 You need to try harder if you want to beat the Halflings. "We do everything halfway!"

#59413	06/19/2018 12:46:37 am	Jul 9th, 2036
motko Joined: 09/06/2014 Posts: 358 Nauvoo The Great Horned Owl IV.6	You ever think everything would be a little easier if you only played in the West...? :P

#59415	06/19/2018 1:31:27 am	Jul 9th, 2036
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Not for me. Playing the Western division is the Isos' Kryptonite - as usual.

#59422	06/19/2018 7:48:39 am	Jul 9th, 2036
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Raleigh has had two losing seasons against the West since I took over in 2017 (18 seasons). This looks to be the third, not because the West is that great, but because my team is what it is.

#59506	06/24/2018 2:21:18 pm	Jul 28th, 2036
motko Joined: 09/06/2014 Posts: 358 Nauvoo The Great Horned Owl IV.6	i Still bet the east will be like: Roanoke Manhattan Braves Scranton New Britain And Bronx somewhere in between... Anyone surprised whats happening in the league?

#59527	06/26/2018 5:42:43 pm	Aug 8th, 2036
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I'll take that in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, I'm seven wins behind second place right now.

#59537	06/27/2018 10:53:26 am	Aug 9th, 2036
motko Joined: 09/06/2014 Posts: 358 Nauvoo The Great Horned Owl IV.6	Holmes you were punished by West but against east you were better. Now its east again.

#59547	06/27/2018 7:37:10 pm	Aug 14th, 2036
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Right back in relegation after a brief run of positive results. My pitching staff is bound and determined to give up enough runs to relegate.

#59592	06/29/2018 6:21:28 am	Aug 19th, 2036
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Facing Cedar Rapids for the last series of interdivisional play helped the Isos dig themselves out of the hole a little bit and go into the final stretch of the season on a somewhat more positive note. Being the highest ranked semifinalist in the cup feels good, too, I have to admit.

#59733	07/08/2018 8:42:52 pm	Sep 22nd, 2036
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	5 HRs in a game for the first time since the Broomfield series two seasons ago if I am remembering correctly. Raleigh hitters are sending motko an official request to hit against those guys every time.

#59734	07/08/2018 10:57:36 pm	Sep 22nd, 2036
motko Joined: 09/06/2014 Posts: 358 Nauvoo The Great Horned Owl IV.6	i was wondering the same thing… Couldnt even beat Rosa this time…

#59741	07/09/2018 12:06:19 pm	Sep 22nd, 2036
motko Joined: 09/06/2014 Posts: 358 Nauvoo The Great Horned Owl IV.6	Do you also get a feeling that catchers are doing good job against stealing this season? Everyteam has killer arm C. And there was even one team who had basestealer with speed 13, cant remember who. And of course am talking about east - not only becous no one in West is around in the forums...

#59748	07/09/2018 3:49:29 pm	Sep 24th, 2036
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Rosa is by far my best pitcher, yours, Manhattan's, and New Britain's run of success this year against him are the reason I'm in line to relegate. I was much more surprised that I got two wins from my other pitchers. As for catchers' success rates against runners, it is hard to tell, my catchers appear to be in line with my team's percentages from years past. The rate at which my runners are getting caught is going up, but my best base stealers are now in their 30s so I really am going to have to start thinking about turning down their aggressiveness soon. The problem is none of my young guys appear nearly as adept at it, and they don't hit home runs any better either, thus my pessimism about my squad.

#59750	07/09/2018 4:16:03 pm	Sep 24th, 2036
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	18-13 runs, 1-2 games in this decisive series. 90 runs ahead in run differential, tied in the win-loss record in the league. Can't blame it all on my 5+ ERA closer, either, as Manhattan even has more saves than Raleigh. Well, I guess, I'll always have the cup win...

#59758	07/09/2018 5:54:46 pm	Sep 26th, 2036
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	My players this season have underperformed, I've been saying it since the second week of the season. They deserve to demote, because they've sucked. That said, on paper, based on previous seasons' performances I would take my squad over yours. Not trying to be mean, but my demotion from Legends only happened in version two while in version one I was set to stay up, I shouldn't have even been down here. I'm sorry if my team ends up screwing yours over, but I'm also pissed at my squad for not living up to their own capabilities.

#59762	07/09/2018 6:52:15 pm	Sep 26th, 2036
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Same happened to me. In version 1 I had a 6 game lead in the East... In version 2 I demoted, LOL. Destiny is a bugger

#59769	07/09/2018 9:08:12 pm	Sep 26th, 2036
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Yeah, still think my team will stumble down the stretch and Holmes will stay up not me, but I am not going to feel bad if my pitching staff actually figures their games out either. We are at the point in the season where we all know the precise weaknesses of everyone else and whoever's attempts to exploit them the best, plus a whole lot of luck, will determine the final standings. III.1 looks interesting, lots of familiar faces. III.2 also has a bunch of familiar faces. Hmm, maybe I've been playing this game too long, I'm recognizing all the teams. Updated Monday, July 9 2018 @ 9:12:05 pm PDT

#59773	07/10/2018 2:27:38 am	Sep 26th, 2036
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	That said, on paper, based on previous seasons' performances I would take my squad over yours. Well, that's what makes this game interesting. If you dumped your entire team on waivers, these would be the guys I would put a claim on for my majors team: Rowell Di Carlo Campbell Rosa Taylor Sampson That's it. Of my two biggest areas of need, a catcher who will still be good next season and a shortstop who can actually hit, Campbell would resolve one, but Lopez and Dombrowski are pretty much a wash. Cecil and Hickman I would take for their potential, but they would be upstate at AAA Forest Home, not in Manhattan, at this point in their careers. That's while I'm by far not as happy with my current team as I was with previous ones. Quite different views on what a team should look like, I'd say. And yet, we've both spent some seasons in Legends, and we're fairly even here.

#59775	07/10/2018 8:01:55 am	Sep 26th, 2036
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	I think you missed Thomason and Evans, maybe you wouldn't take Evans, but anyone who doesn't list Thomason is insane, he was one of the 5 best hitters in Legends every season he was there. To be honest I didn't want to promote Hickman and Cecil yet, but they had gotten the promotion message and had stopped growing at AAA so if you had them at AAA they would be doing nothing but languishing until you decided to promote them. Agreed, there are certainly different successful ways of building a team in BB. It is the saving grace for the sheer amount of RNG in the game. Edit: Since you did mine, the players I would take if you dumped your entire roster: Duncan Dabrowski Lauretti Mejias Wilson Sugibeepa If I had to dump my respective players to get yours, I'd take more if I were building from scratch including several more of your outfielders. Updated Tuesday, July 10 2018 @ 8:15:53 am PDT

#59792	07/10/2018 9:35:02 pm	Sep 30th, 2036
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Raleigh is doing what it can to keep New Britain from relegating, but we only get to play them 20 times. With the 1-3 series the season series is at 7-10. 10-7 against Scranton, 8-9 against Bronx, 9-8 against Manhattan, and 7-6 against Roanoke. Bronx and New Britain are the only two teams with a winning record against Raleigh in the division, and New Britain has the biggest edge. Plenty of games left though I could finish no better than .500 against everyone still.

#59797	07/11/2018 4:07:00 am	Sep 30th, 2036
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	@newtman You can keep Evans for sure. Zero power, gets on base, but can't run - not the offensive skills I look for in a corner outfielder. Thomason I had taken a somewhat longer look at, but I'd really have no place to put him. I have a much better (and younger) center fielder, and a true talent .315 wOBA hitter is not what I want in left field, let alone at 1B. So you wouldn't be interested in the 23 year old who just threw a no-hitter against Roanoke? You sure ain't gettin' Lauretti or Sugibeepa, and neither Wilson anytime soon, although his salary is horrendous for a reliever. Keep an eye on the waiver wire for Mejias, though. He's been next in line for the chopping block for basically his entire career, although with the development he still made after turning 28 and his ridiculous left/right split, the recently managed to push journeyman Pagano off the LHS spot and off the roster. Still, he's basically around as long as I have no one better for the job. Duncan and Dombrowski are kind of a bad match on my team. When I realized Dombrowski would never cut it offensively, Duncan was too old to return the SS job to him and cut the Polish kid. It's not like I'd have A-Rod waiting to take over 3B, either, but to a certain extent, Bowen never got the playing time to grow, blocked as he was by that undynamic duo. I had to move my only actual middle infield prospect in the upper minors back to catcher because I found no other way to fill the void Hammond will leave, so I'll just have to ride it out with Dombrowski until the kids from the Rookie/A-Ball grow up. Sorry, not dumping him, although I'd love to. Too bad we can't make trades...

#59801	07/11/2018 7:24:14 am	Sep 30th, 2036
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	So you wouldn't be interested in the 23 year old who just threw a no-hitter against Roanoke? No, not really. I don't see him panning out any better than most of my youth. As we said, we have different priorities. You probably think me insane for not liking certain players more, and even after reading your explanation on Thomason I'm not sold at all, as I don't see the "better players" you talk about. Then again you probably don't see the talent I'm talking about. I do think it is amusing that I am effectively getting relegated due to New Britain right now though.

#59804	07/11/2018 2:22:50 pm	Sep 30th, 2036
motko Joined: 09/06/2014 Posts: 358 Nauvoo The Great Horned Owl IV.6	jesu kristo Sugi**a was a peace of ** but Roanoke just dont let me go EDIT: lol now after the 2nd game of the series Raleigh not 5th anymore so you can stop scouting divIII.x a little bit… Updated Wednesday, July 11 2018 @ 3:39:48 pm PDT

#59853	07/13/2018 5:11:51 pm	Oct 12th, 2036
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	... and it's official, I'm relegating. Good season all.

#59867	07/14/2018 3:02:58 pm	Oct 13th, 2036
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Not quite yet. A sweep would pretty much bring you back into the race.

#59873	07/15/2018 2:30:39 am	Oct 16th, 2036
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, after avoiding the sweep, I'm pretty confident we've made it, too. Considering you didn't like Quiles, and your stats against left handed pitching, I just had to give the ball to him in the last game, rather than Sugibeepa.

#59887	07/15/2018 3:29:47 pm	Oct 18th, 2036
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	There are plenty of guys my lineup couldn't hit against this season. That doesn't mean your pitcher is good, just that my lineup was terrible. The Raleigh lineup vs lefties this season outside of Thomason was extremely inconsistent and if I had anything to replace them with would be cut, but I don't so I'm stuck with them.

#59895	07/16/2018 12:33:19 am	Oct 20th, 2036
motko Joined: 09/06/2014 Posts: 358 Nauvoo The Great Horned Owl IV.6	Newtman, please fix your lineups and challenge Roanoke for the last time.

#59897	07/16/2018 2:28:54 am	Oct 20th, 2036
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Frankly, newtman probably shouldn't. Just to make this clear ahead of time, so nobody will complain later (as I've made it clear in previous seasons): I have a few rookies in desperate need of experience who I'm definitely going to play in the final series against you, motko. I don't think Favuz can really complain, as he's been facing similar rookie starting pitchers in our last series (let's not haggle if Clark or Kirk are the tougher opponents, please) and in game three also the same lineup I'll be starting now. If the league-leading team still manages to lose the series, that's really not my fault. Bronx and Scranton legitimately slugged it out in their last series, and there was a clear result. I'm out of contention, upward or downward, and I'm not hurting the future of my team to help anyone in the title race. Good luck to the contenders, and may the best team win. Updated Monday, July 16 2018 @ 2:32:44 am PDT

#59904	07/16/2018 3:00:21 pm	Oct 21st, 2036
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	There is nothing to fix, I tried veterans early in the season and fell into 5th place using them. I replaced them with rookies as it became clear that I needed to start getting them ABs. I made that surge in the middle of the second half with the exact same lineup that is currently stinking. My team has wild swings based on how decide to play any given day, even if I threw my "best lineup possible" into the games today, they statistically haven't performed any better than the rookies so I'm not precisely sure what you're even talking about. Edit: So after winning games 1 and 2 do you still want me to "fix" my lineup? Honestly, I know what I'm doing, and I will always do what is in the long term best interest of my team. It's how I got to Legends in the first place, by building long term. I don't play favorites, or ever intentionally lose just to help others, but I do start rookies and young players to get them experience and help them reach their SI cap. Updated Monday, July 16 2018 @ 3:11:43 pm PDT

#59926	07/17/2018 3:37:33 am	Oct 24th, 2036
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Congratulations, motko. You fought it out to the end, while somehow the competition suffered a late-season collapse. Good luck for the playoffs.

#59928	07/17/2018 7:51:53 am	Oct 24th, 2036
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Agreed, despite my previous response, it was an exciting finish, and Bronx, Scranton, and Roanoke put together an extremely entertaining three way pennant race. Congrats to motko, and sorry to Favuz who I'm sure will be happy to see me gone considering my track record against his team the two seasons we've been in the same league. Some wholesale changes coming in Raleigh, the first cut was already made, the rest will be made after update #0 when I see what my team's skills look like for next season. Potential chopping block includes Bechtal, Lee, Sawyer, Izzy, Longoria, Venturi, and/or Taylor. That is the order I am currently thinking about chopping them in, but as I said update #0 is when the decisions will be made.

#59931	07/17/2018 11:14:17 am	Oct 24th, 2036
motko Joined: 09/06/2014 Posts: 358 Nauvoo The Great Horned Owl IV.6	Thank you newtman, thank you Holmes. it was a fun season. I am surprised to luckily won the division. It was close and reminds me how important every match is. at all-star break i realized i can do good against my division but so did also Scranton and Roanoke.

#59939	07/17/2018 3:07:33 pm	Oct 28th, 2036
bilbo Joined: 05/18/2013 Posts: 58 Inactive	Goodbye and best wishes to all. I think this is the end of our run in the top two divisions including one Legends title, built around our 15 potential trio of Alberto Barron, Jose Casanova and [url=http://]Ricky Chandler[/url]. I don't see us bouncing back as we did in 2024 but it was good whilst it lasted.

#59944	07/18/2018 4:30:28 am	Oct 28th, 2036
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	@newtman: I'm sure you'll be back very soon. I have a few candidates for the chopping block, too, but none so obvious that I couldn't wait for the aging results to come in. Hammond has clearly reached the end of the line, but unless I can pick up the miracle catcher from waivers (I had one in the crashed season), he'll hang around until the heir apparent gets the green light from the minor league coaches. No point in endangering Rios' ceiling just to get rid of Hammond in a hurry. Besides, having Rios still work out at other positions a little might make life easier in the future. If he declines as expected, Wynn will be no more than an overpriced platoon DH next season, but if he holds up well, it would have been a crime to let him go. Helms already is a bat-only guy on the short end of a platoon, but he's cheap enough to see how he looks one year older. I sure hope Duncan holds up because the alternatives in the infield aren't pretty, and the cavalry is still quite a ways off in the minors. My pitchers sure don't look like the best in the league to me, which, amazingly, they were. Except for Scranton, it wasn't even close. My team, which is built on power and speed much more than defense (except at shortstop) can't have helped them much, and the bandbox that is Isotope Stadium shouldn't make their lives easy, either. With 14 major league pichers on the roster now, someone will have to go eventually, though. Journeymen Stinson and McAllister are the obvious candidates if I want to get younger, but Teng's development and ceiling aren't exactly forcing the issue. Looking at their skills, even taking into account that I might have underestimated the value of throwing hard, I'd say Stinson and McAllister have both massively underperformed this season. On the other hand, they both haven't exactly been dominant in lower leagues earlier in their careers, so there may be a pattern I should learn from. With a 5.30 ERA in the closer spot and 11 blown saves in 48 opportunities, I could probably blame staying way under my pythagorean on Stinson, plus I have a more successful reliever in Wilson. On the other hand, my save conversion rate was still way better than the champion's... In short, I'm basically waiting what happens.

#59962	07/19/2018 9:14:53 am	Nov 1st, 2036
motko Joined: 09/06/2014 Posts: 358 Nauvoo The Great Horned Owl IV.6	I was thinking how leagues are so Small in brokenbat. Would it be more fun if the top level would be like 2 east divisions and 2 West divisions and Still around 160 games each team. Maybe that way we could have playoffs with many teams. For example division winners plus wild card from east and wild card from West. Every season i have to play with totally new teams.

#59964	07/19/2018 11:19:43 am	Nov 1st, 2036
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	Yeah, but bigger leagues would hinder rivalry development. Although there may not be any official rivalries in BB right now, I think most owners who stay on after reaching Legends and having success there only to go through demotions, suffer through the re-building due to the rivalries they've developed along the way. I said a couple weeks ago I recognized most of the teams in III.1 and III.2, and to me that's a great thing, because I am not just playing against random bots or owners who I don't care about playing against. Instead we play against teams that we've developed history with, and it gives us a reason to stay on after having achieved most of the obvious goals. While I haven't won the cup or Legends playoffs, having won Legends East if I were demoting into LL 3 against random teams I'd probably quit, because it is a long ways back to Legends, and is by no means guaranteed, but it can be fun playing this game at LL 3 as well due to the owners.

#59985	07/20/2018 5:47:05 am	Nov 4th, 2036
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Besides, Steve always said, the playoffs are short to keep things interesting for owners who didn't make the playoffs, which makes a lot of sense to me. After all, they're the majority. Updated Friday, July 20 2018 @ 5:47:43 am PDT

#59994	07/20/2018 8:21:29 am	Nov 4th, 2036
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Link Re: fun reading on the last time expansion was brought up. Edit: link Updated Friday, July 20 2018 @ 8:22:17 am PDT

#59996	07/20/2018 9:01:36 am	Nov 4th, 2036
motko Joined: 09/06/2014 Posts: 358 Nauvoo The Great Horned Owl IV.6	yeah whatever maybe never gonna happen but Still i would love it. now 6 + 6 teams are competing for 1 + 1 playoffs spots in the top level. one third of the teams are being relegated. to me it sucks. ok lets not talk about it, it being discussed already.

#60355	08/05/2018 10:26:36 pm	Mar 20th, 2037
Garnash1970 Joined: 08/07/2014 Posts: 199 Inactive	Good luck, all!!!!

#60392	08/08/2018 3:44:55 pm	Apr 1st, 2037
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Wishing everyone a fun season. The Isos are hoping for a stable but unspectacular season. I've been able to temporarily plug some holes, and age regression hasn't been as bad as I feared. There will be more holes to plug in the future, as I just couldn't get my hands on decent pitching prospects lately, but for this season, the team should be more or less okay. I only just noticed, Eastpointe got the promotion up here in spite of playing the entire last season as a bot. It is the highest ranking bot team now, and it's been on the market for so long... must be in pretty bad shape financially.

#60631	08/26/2018 2:09:49 pm	Jun 4th, 2037
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Not a lot of discussion in the league this season... or did my surprising start to the season shock everyone into awed silence? Don't worry, interdivisional play is coming. The Isos will be back to normal soon enough. Dropping journeyman catcher Ibanez to make room for rookie Rios should drain some of the power from my lineup, too, at least in the short run.

#60752	09/05/2018 3:27:36 pm	Jul 16th, 2037
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	As I expected, once through the other division, my lead has dwindled to one game. At least, with three outfielders two starters and the closer (who didn't get to play) I sure dominated the selections for the East all-star-team...

#61035	10/02/2018 1:10:04 am	Oct 24th, 2037
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, it's been a very quiet season in our forum, but congrats to keggar on winning the East. It was a close three-way fight to the finish, and when I looked at my team before the season, I would have never thought I'd be this close to the top in the end. Hats off, and good luck in Legends.

#61115	10/06/2018 6:14:08 am	Jan 15th, 2038
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Should be anything but quiet in here this season. This is crazy to me: as I said to Rock, I got to play against Thunder Bay two seasons ago, got to play againstnewtman and Philliesworld this last season, and will now face Rock, nobodyjones, JJ, kladu, Favuz and Holmes this season - sort of thing I could only dream about in my early days here. Here's to butting heads!

#61131	10/06/2018 11:59:05 am	Jan 15th, 2038
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Dang... Looking at the top 7 ranked LL-II teams, 5 of them are in II.1 East... Going to be a tough season in the East.

#61133	10/06/2018 12:51:52 pm	Jan 15th, 2038
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	A quick scout of the west tells me that Missoula could be in trouble this season. Regardless, this will be fun, good to match up with you again Amalric, I think you were over in Broken Arrow last time we met!

#61139	10/06/2018 4:43:37 pm	Jan 15th, 2038
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Ah yes, my one season hiatus from Lombard, before we moved to the Big Apple. But we actually played again in 2031, my last rebuilding season - all that practice against me obviously worked for you. Looks like you need some more... Oh, and the capper...drew Waterloo in the Cup! Think I’ve ticked all those boxes now.

#61181	10/07/2018 7:45:51 pm	Jan 15th, 2038
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Holmes, lets make a gentleman's agreement not to place 4,5 this season.

#61186	10/07/2018 10:11:32 pm	Jan 15th, 2038
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Ha you're not wrong Amalric! I'm very impressed by the amount of teams I recognise as forum posters in this league, should be a fun little season. I feel the forum in general has become less active since the broken 2035 season, anyone feel up to the challenge of using this thread to do as much as we can to reinvigorate it?

#61218	10/09/2018 2:29:38 am	Jan 15th, 2038
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Rock, I'm all up for that. Let's just hope it's not going to be 5,6 in the end... Last season was surprisingly good for me results-wise, and my final showdown was for the division win rather than for demotion. Unfortunately, this subforum looked like the Gobi desert, so I'm really glad to see all of you again. Let's have fun here, no matter what the season brings.

#61225	10/09/2018 6:40:38 am	Jan 15th, 2038
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Looks like the Polar Bears have opted for human trafficking - seven waiver claims today? Guess that's one way to balance the books.

#61234	10/09/2018 11:42:57 am	Jan 15th, 2038
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Its fair to say we had a good wee day on the waiver wire, managed to plug most of the remaining holes I had. Of the 7 one was turned right back around again, a 2 claimer who was there as insurance in case I missed any of the others. One of the perks of starting the season with 9 open roster spots I guess!

#61267	10/10/2018 11:02:08 am	Jan 29th, 2038
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	LOL, good point Holmes. 5,6 wouldn't be any fun either. Not sure my team has the punch this year, but it would be much more entertaining to compete at the top of the board

#61282	10/11/2018 3:24:47 am	Feb 5th, 2038
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I was a bit less lucky on the waiver wire, even though many of the claims were weren't even highly competitive. My team was hit pretty hard by father time this time around, plus I made some changes in my player evaluation after totally underestimating my pitching and totally overestimating my bats last season. As a result, some players suddenly looked really bad. A high-contact utility guy is the only reinforcement I got, so far, though.

#61285	10/11/2018 8:31:33 am	Feb 9th, 2038
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I put in claims for 10 2B. Half of which had only 2 claims on them... And got none

#61287	10/11/2018 3:10:23 pm	Feb 16th, 2038
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	We've emptied our wallet and gone Bowling. Parts of our bullpen were a quite inconsistent last season and the older guys took some hits with ageing, so he was a worthwhile addition (for now anyway), and cutting Butler took his salary this year down to a more manageable $4M. May make a couple more changes depending on how waivers go but reasonably happy as it stands. Have three arms in AAA who'll be ready either this season or next, so hopefully the transition will be smooth.

#61329	10/15/2018 4:33:29 am	Mar 6th, 2038
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Curious to see how Bowling will perform. He wouldn't have a place in my bullpen regardless of salary because I'd expect him to be too hittable, especially in my small ballpark. We'll see...

#61483	10/24/2018 10:20:23 am	Mar 30th, 2038
Razzle Joined: 03/21/2015 Posts: 130 Inactive	I will jump back into league forums. I have been absent due to real life. Not anything big just no time. My team went from fighting for the division title in Legends to relegation. Funny how that happens. Good Luck Everyone!!!

#61486	10/24/2018 12:43:16 pm	Mar 30th, 2038
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	You and I seem to be following similar career paths there Razzle... My biggest problem this season will be deciding who to cut to keep the payroll in order I think, have had a lot of success on the waiver wire.

#61508	10/25/2018 6:42:35 pm	Apr 7th, 2038
Razzle Joined: 03/21/2015 Posts: 130 Inactive	Yes JJ... I agree... My problem will be pitching, although last year it was everything. I don’t mind losing a game here and there, but 20-5???? Come on Favuz... take it easy on my pitching staff!,

#61619	11/03/2018 5:06:34 pm	May 9th, 2038
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Uhm, okay.... I love football, but not football scores when we're playing baseball. I'll take 15 runs on the road every day of the week, especially at Roanoke, but to still lose?? That's a walk away and never look at that game again moment!

#61654	11/06/2018 2:04:10 pm	May 17th, 2038
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Not sure what has happened to my pitchers this year. They are all doing horrible... Garcia is a good poster child. After dominating batters for the last 3 seasons, he is doing worse than he did as an undeveloped rookie...

#61666	11/07/2018 8:08:12 pm	May 25th, 2038
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Dang it Holmes... I wanted that guy. Quite a steal at 23 claims. Now you just have to hope he is a stud and not a dud

#61716	11/12/2018 1:59:43 am	Jun 8th, 2038
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Yeah, I'm pretty happy about getting Martinez at this point. He's a potential monster with the bat, and he should at least be able to fake it in left field. He's way behind the development curve, though, and unplayable as the infielder he is right now, so he's a bit of a lottery ticket. The system currently ranks him 18th on my top prospect list, for whatever that's worth. Personally, I would put him at number 7 or 8... Updated Monday, November 12 2018 @ 2:02:12 am PST

#61719	11/12/2018 2:20:04 pm	Jun 9th, 2038
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Prospect rank is meaningless. Just highest SI, so SS are always rated high and 1B are always rated low. Its pretty rare for me to get a guy to the majors before 27. Undeveloped and stunted players are the bread and butter of the Halflings.

#61786	11/16/2018 7:20:07 pm	Jun 27th, 2038
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Looks like the east are mostly having their way with the west thus far, rage quit on a couple of guys before training day, fingers crossed the rookies I have in their place can reinvigorate the team a little.

#61790	11/17/2018 6:53:56 am	Jun 27th, 2038
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Don't feel bad JJNZ. The east has been having their way with my team all season too... My team ERA is up 50% higher than where it was last year! My entire staff is having their worst seasons ever. Even my 28 year old Cy Young award winner is suddenly pitching 5.00 ball

#61815	11/20/2018 12:11:04 am	Jul 9th, 2038
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Nice pick up for Haverhill in Miranda, don't know how he flew under my radar! Hoping for 4 All stars from Missoula - Fajardo as always will be a lock, Fernandez is solid, Gonzales is on the fringes and Hester has pitched well.

#61827	11/21/2018 2:36:06 pm	Jul 16th, 2038
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Similar to previous seasons, if you'd offered me 43-37 (and 2nd place) prior to the start of this one I'd have bitten off your hand. Going into the All-Star break on a 3-7 run however soured it a little, the last three all by one run. Just the two All-Stars in New York, my lowest ever (given the competition perhaps not that surprising). Gann made his second while Huerta made his first - not bad for a guy who took over 180 AB to hit his first career homer, then hit 16 more in his next 300 AB. More of the latter, please!

#61829	11/21/2018 4:28:39 pm	Jul 16th, 2038
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Most folks overlooked Miranda. He only had 4 claims. I think because his ratings are so low. But his minor league advancement and statistics and scouting report all look pretty nice

#61838	11/22/2018 9:01:37 pm	Jul 21st, 2038
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Ouch! Half my team got injured this series. Had non-catchers with no arm strength catching for 3 games... Not pretty.

#61840	11/23/2018 1:03:52 am	Jul 21st, 2038
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Yeah, all that and we still only went 3-2 against you while giving up over 5 runs a game, season era is a fraction under 6 now....

#61888	11/28/2018 9:37:42 pm	Aug 14th, 2038
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	1-4 twice against West Applewood Seems they have my number

#61924	12/02/2018 4:21:18 pm	Aug 27th, 2038
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Roanoke looking very good in the east, nice come back from Haverhill also.

#61926	12/03/2018 11:20:33 am	Aug 29th, 2038
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Not really a comeback. I haven't gained any games on Roanoke. Its just that other teams have dropped back a couple game. I've been 3-4 games of 5th all year long. Tradition dictates that I should should fight Manhattan for the 4th spot. The only time we didn't contend for #4 was the season where the universe imploded. Don't want a repeat of that

#61946	12/06/2018 4:48:37 pm	Sep 11th, 2038
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	That's not looking good, Rock... As much as slugging it out for fourth place stunk, putting up a fight still looks better to me than falling behind. As far as my team goes, I have the feeling we keep winning series and are still not moving into safer waters.

#61949	12/06/2018 7:56:23 pm	Sep 12th, 2038
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Worst part is that I am playing all my starters... LOL East is a beast this season. Looking like 2035v2 for Haverhill...

#61968	12/10/2018 1:29:02 am	Sep 22nd, 2038
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	After my last post, we started losing series and, surprisingly, are still not completely drowned...

#61972	12/11/2018 9:36:26 pm	Sep 30th, 2038
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm officially out of the race Hopefully the game doesn't implode like it did in 2035.v1. But maybe that only happens when I am leading the league by 10 games

#61978	12/12/2018 3:29:43 pm	Oct 2nd, 2038
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	This is one hell of a season. Roanoke have pulled away on the back of a 23-10 run since the end of the inter-division games, and are almost back in Legends now (early congrats @Favuz). Haverhill are falling away at the other end (early apologies @Rock). The rest? A complete crapshoot! Second to fifth is separated by just three games. Just before the halfway point of the season we were tied for 1st place at 40-30, but have gone just 33-38 since (the O's have gone 45-27 in that time). Just can't put a decent run together, typified by our current 3-8 run at this crucial stage, although we haven't swept or been swept in a series since sweeping the O's in four games way back before inter-division (June 1st)! Team ERA of 4.21 isn't bad, but less than half our starts been quality (69/141). Hitting is all over the map - Jorgensen and Tan look done (I've almost rage cut them a couple of times), and Huerta who hit 18 homers in the first half and went to the ASG has just 6 in the second half. It's been a dogfight, scrapping and digging for every last run, and it looks like it'll be like this down to the wire. Nothing like a nice, relaxing game of baseball...

#61998	12/14/2018 2:35:50 pm	Oct 9th, 2038
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Waving the white flag in the west, Congrats Conroe, been a good season! Looks like the east is pretty well settled, just the relegation battle in the west to finish out the season.

#62003	12/14/2018 5:31:03 pm	Oct 12th, 2038
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Not looking good for Manhattan, either. Apart from Park, whom I brought in at the start of the season to stabilize the back of the rotation (which he clearly didn't deliver), my pitching has been solid. The offense was a disappointment, but not a disaster. Kaiser, usually one of my best hitters, is staying well below his abilities, but on the other hand, Lauretti took extremely well to becoming the leadoff guy even against same-side pitching. So, what went wrong since the all-star break, when I was still in a decent position? The Isos are in fifth place, three wins from the safety of the shoreline, in spite of a 75-75 record. I even have a +51 run differential, so I'm once again way below the pythagorean. I'm losing close games. I guess if your closer and primary setup man are the second and third worst pitchers on the team (of those with more than a full inning pitched), that will happen. Beats me how to fix that, though. It's not like I have relievers I would expect to be consistently better than those two... Updated Friday, December 14 2018 @ 5:32:23 pm PST

#62004	12/14/2018 5:36:24 pm	Oct 12th, 2038
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Remarkable: I would have expected to be leading the league in blown saves, but I'm in fact far from that.

#62042	12/17/2018 3:02:57 pm	Oct 21st, 2038
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	What a difference a nine-game win streak makes... Razzle and Rock, I'm sure we'll meet again soon. And congrats to Favuz, who suddenly turned into total domination mode around mid-season.

#62043	12/17/2018 3:20:53 pm	Oct 21st, 2038
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Hopefully I'll be up again soon. Shouldn't lose too much this year, unless Spaceman finally bites it. Really weird that he continues to perform despite losing skills like crazy, while 28/29 year old players in the prime fell apart... Still not sure what happened to my pitching staff this year, but I assume they will bounce back in down in LL-III after all having career lows.

#62056	12/17/2018 10:26:39 pm	Oct 24th, 2038
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Ouch for Edmond, congrats to Manhattan! Onwards to 2039 already! (Hopefully without that pleb Freddy and his bunch of misfits)

#62076	12/19/2018 2:38:24 pm	Oct 30th, 2038
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	I don't know, someone else to dilute that foul Missoula water can never be a bad thing. Very pleased to finish 3rd, but ultimately not demoting was the aim regardless of finish so delighted with that. Was going to hold off on cuts but decided to save myself $600k instead - Tan is tied for 2nd in career home runs for the Lancers despite not joining us until he was 28, and owns the single season record, but is about to turn 35 and didn't offer much this season; Jorgensen only played 19 games this year and is about to turn 33, so I'd pretty much already moved on from him. Sad because he's the first full-time hitter I've drafted (my 2nd season) and cut at the end of his career. Still, a 3-time All-Star with a .268 average and 145 home runs wasn't bad for a 12 POT 4th round pick, I was more than happy.

#62438	01/08/2019 6:47:34 am	Mar 25th, 2039
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Well here we are. The goal is basic. Do not relegate. Period. Easier said than done. Good luck all!

#62445	01/08/2019 11:45:56 am	Mar 25th, 2039
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Good luck to all, excited to finally be under way!

#62449	01/08/2019 3:14:30 pm	Mar 27th, 2039
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Boulder, you have a rival. Check my press release.

#62450	01/08/2019 3:21:44 pm	Mar 27th, 2039
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	And we're under way. Looking forward to an interesting season, everyone.

#62451	01/08/2019 3:40:32 pm	Mar 28th, 2039
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Well played Ced - looking forward to the internal Colorado championship

#62453	01/08/2019 4:27:46 pm	Mar 28th, 2039
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Yuck! Not the start I envisioned. Looks like my offensive woes carried over from last season. Five runs in 3 games.

#62569	01/13/2019 5:10:25 pm	Apr 18th, 2039
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Got shutdown for the most part in a four game series versus old III.2 division rivals New York. Lancers take 3 out of 4. This isn't over @almaric7! Looking forward to the future games...

#62574	01/14/2019 8:24:54 am	Apr 18th, 2039
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Lost the first series to Boulder 1 games to 2. My loudmouth pitcher had a bad outing, but we did win that game.

#62575	01/14/2019 12:46:54 pm	Apr 18th, 2039
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	The Colorado divisional championship is off to a flying start! Santa Monica and Denver are both running away with it already, ominous!

#62580	01/15/2019 7:47:31 am	Apr 21st, 2039
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	The Isos had a surprisingly good start to the season, and the front office has decided to roll with it, bringing in some reinforcements to a lineup that was mostly punchless last season. The additions have bloated the payroll a bit, but management has decided to take the gamble. Adding a fifth starter during spring training will probably not be sufficient to keep up last season's level of dominant pitching, though, after father time was rather unforgiving on Manhattan's arms. I'm a bit surprised that adding bats was so easy, though. I got a hard-hitting catcher with an 18 arm on a 2-claim-waiver, a not too old and (for emergencies) defensively not too inept righty slugger in a 5-claim-waiver, and somewhat limited but I think usable lefty platoon players for 2B and 3B as uncontested claims. Most of them will be gone next season, and as veterans, they are expensive, but not absurdly expensive. I have no idea how this will turn out, but after the aim was not relegating for a few seasons in a row, the Isos have a bit more fight in them now. At least, in an analogy to the Colorado championships, we should make it clear who rules the city.

#62584	01/15/2019 3:25:21 pm	Apr 22nd, 2039
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	@PW - I'm sure its not! Early advantage to us. In that vein though... @Holmes - whatever you did its working, my pitchers have made five starts against the Isos and have been shelled to the tune of 37 runs. I'm hoping in the grand reckoning all things will eveb out, but yes no doubting who rules the Big Apple right now. 2-7 against the Isos and the A's, 9-2 against everyone else!

#62656	01/20/2019 3:51:29 pm	May 12th, 2039
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Manhattan and Santa Monica each are taking decisive holds on their respective divisions. Been ok so far with the Hydrogen's performance so far. Pitching has carried the team, and is obviously what this team's idenity is. Offense has left some to be desired.

#62672	01/21/2019 4:43:21 pm	May 15th, 2039
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Terre Haute is going bot.

#62700	01/23/2019 3:13:26 pm	May 22nd, 2039
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I wouldn't talk of a decisive hold at this point. Five wins is one interdivisional series. So far, we've had a good start, and we're trying to compete. That's it.

#62780	01/30/2019 1:34:08 am	Jun 15th, 2039
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	So much for that decisive hold...

#62813	02/01/2019 3:19:40 am	Jun 25th, 2039
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Not sure if I should post this in the bug report forum. After the first three interdivisional rounds, the Western division is leading by 10 wins. Something must be broken.

#62835	02/01/2019 6:30:53 pm	Jun 27th, 2039
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	lol - it does make a nice change, although Topeka took a good few back from me yesterday

#62839	02/01/2019 10:32:22 pm	Jun 27th, 2039
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Colorado Cup watch: Boulder has won 7 out of 10 against Denver this season.

#62845	02/02/2019 5:32:26 am	Jun 27th, 2039
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	New York has had two positive series after losing 4 of 5 to Glendale, but we struggled against the West last season so no surprises thus far. Feel like our record thus far has been better than our performances, but I guess I'll take that.

#62864	02/02/2019 10:33:31 pm	Jul 2nd, 2039
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Clawed my way back to a winning record only to get thumped by Scranton and back to 6 games back. I prefer playing in Colorado clearly Not sure how I'll go for allstars - Fernandez and Fajardo are possibilities but not locks, Hashiratani should get his first appearance even after a Scranton hiding. New addition Rosario has cooled after a hot start, he can hold onto the starting 1B role though, like his chances of a rookie of the year award. Updated Saturday, February 2 2019 @ 10:33:54 pm PST

#62870	02/03/2019 8:15:50 am	Jul 2nd, 2039
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Colorado Cup watch: Boulder has won 7 out of 10 against Denver this season. And the Subway Series: Manhattan 7 : New York 3

#62872	02/03/2019 8:56:37 am	Jul 2nd, 2039
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	You had to bring that up again, didn't you? Still scruffing along, but maybe that's just how it is at this level.

#62883	02/04/2019 2:39:20 am	Jul 7th, 2039
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, you've been doing better against the other teams than I have. After all, we're only two wins apart, with Birmingham in the middle, so it's fair to say, the division is wide open.

#62884	02/04/2019 4:35:47 am	Jul 7th, 2039
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Intriguing intradivisional move, as Manhattan has picked up Birmingham's castoff pitcher Mel Ferraro. His numbers so far have been atrocious, but considering the tiny number of innings he has pitched so far, I refuse to take that as indicative of his true talent. I see his future as a decent swingman at least, with a chance to grow into a serviceable starter if his skill ends up at the upper edge of his potential. For the moment, he'll get his innings in middle relief, with Lachance moving to somewhat higher leverage situations. The less exciting part of the move is that the Isos weren't really short on swingmen or fifth starters in the first place. I have plenty of serviceable young pitchers, but with the exception of two younger prospects, they all have ceilings way below what the current core of my rotation and back of the bullpen can deliver.

#62919	02/06/2019 4:04:06 pm	Jul 16th, 2039
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Not sure if Boulder were simply very accommodating guests, or if it was a cunning ploy on JJ's behalf to lie down and let my bats get a huge boost in their numbers, and hence a slew of All-Star awards and future salary increases. Didn't think our bats have been that great, and yet SIX of them made the ASG. Think they're nearly all batting way above their career numbers, so doubtless they're due to regress heavily in the second half! Of course, all those bats were part of a mere 3-run offence, and my #1 starter Rock got shelled and took the loss after coming on in relief. Still, who's counting?!

#62928	02/06/2019 6:47:51 pm	Jul 16th, 2039
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Quite surreal to see Denvy in first place at the All-Star break and to see a score of 17-1 versus legendary Birmingham in front of our sold out crowd, though they won the series.

#62990	02/10/2019 4:13:06 am	Jul 28th, 2039
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Never too unhappy to split an inter-division series (5-5 for the season), but doing it against a 39-51 Seattle team (even given their pedigree) seems like a wasted opportunity. Took the road series 3-2 but after getting up 2-1 in the home series we lost the last two, scoring just a single run in the process (game two apart when we scored 10, we managed just 5 runs for this round, somehow pulling out two wins). We've managed to lose both of games that Katz started, which seems unfair but our bats have gone cold again. Triple J's career outlier first half looks to have run its course, but Example's 4-game injury took him out of the series after game two and necessitated Jacobs' (ineffective) return. Greer's emergence meant I had to call time on Jensen, who looked like a steal when I drafted him but ultimately turned out to be something less than that. He had some moments with the bat, stole some bases and could plays either MI position (285 starts at 2B) but didn't reach the heights I'd hoped. Sure he'll make a starting SS on some team.

#63016	02/10/2019 10:26:45 pm	Aug 2nd, 2039
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	we've gone 13-22 since finally clawing back to an even record, and in the meantime clocked up the 2nd worst RD in the league. I can't even pin point why. 3B has been a black hole ever since Soriano retired.

#63018	02/11/2019 2:14:15 am	Aug 2nd, 2039
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Seattle, as far behind as they are in their division, seem to have the New York teams' numbers. We also split the 10 games. After clawing to a 3-2 with two extra innings victories on the West Coast, we were up 2-0 at home after another two narrow wins. A 1-12 thrashing in the third came turned into three consecutive losses and, also overall a split series.

#63019	02/11/2019 2:29:14 am	Aug 2nd, 2039
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Considering how the Nukes are built around bats this season, the most annoying thing is how the offense no-showed in the final three games against Seattle. Juarez is an elite pitcher, but the final two games were against starters who haven't even reached ceilings so low they would have been catch-and-release draftees in Manhattan. Apparently, the Lancers had a hard time against Katz, too, but one hit in 6.1 innings against Saldana is hard to beat, really.

#63024	02/12/2019 12:27:03 am	Aug 4th, 2039
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Nice FA pick up by the Broncos with Fernandez. I'm surprised to have gotten Crews uncontested. Straight into my v LHP lineup to improve my defense at 2B and see if he can kick-start a little more offense.

#63025	02/12/2019 4:17:42 am	Aug 4th, 2039
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Sorry for the intrusion, but I was also surprised by the low claim count on Crews. Solid minor league pedigree, plays his primary position well. That he can play SS in a pinch is also quite valuable imo. If Waterloo hadn't signed Olson the other, would have been all over Crews.

#63026	02/12/2019 8:27:13 am	Aug 4th, 2039
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	I totally missed Crews, had I noticed him I'd probably have put a claim in. I don't know that he would have unseated Ebert at 2B but Crews definitely would have replaced Bliss as my backup infielder.

#63031	02/12/2019 1:20:36 pm	Aug 4th, 2039
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	And Boulder, right on cue, there is Deadwood, the former owner of Augusto Fernandez. Fernandez is the only catcher in the Denver farm system.

#63032	02/12/2019 1:55:56 pm	Aug 4th, 2039
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	I liked Augusto, was a tough call releasing him. Hope he develops well for you! Hes been replaced as my Catcher prospect with this guy.

#63037	02/12/2019 4:47:14 pm	Aug 8th, 2039
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	http://brokenbat.org/player/108759 Denver just added another power hitter today, who hit a home run in his debut game. A home run is pretty much a possibility with batters 1 through 7 in today's lineup anyway. All of them average at least 20 HR per season. We currently lead both West and East in most home runs hit AND most home runs allowed. Ballpark walls are all at 12 feet. Updated Tuesday, February 12 2019 @ 4:49:54 pm PST

#63102	02/14/2019 4:52:25 pm	Aug 18th, 2039
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	5th straight losing series today has put us firmly in the relegation zone with plenty of work to do to claw our way back out. Following Denvers lead in signing power hitters, Christie looks like he has potential to be a 20 power kinda guy. Likely ends up on the bench but given the season long lull in offence we may as well give him a shot in lf.

#63190	02/18/2019 2:59:25 am	Aug 29th, 2039
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, that went downhill in a hurry.

#63259	02/21/2019 5:22:28 pm	Sep 12th, 2039
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Denver takes two of 3 road games versus Santa Monica. Santa Monica still very much in the driver's seat way out west. Colorado Cup watch: Boulder has won 9 out of 14 against Denver this season. Armstrong Scales: One win (in relief), One Loss, One No Decision, One hit batsman, and he was injured after one of those three games.

#63263	02/21/2019 8:53:45 pm	Sep 12th, 2039
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Seattle made huge gains during interleague, got my work out trying to hold them in a relegation spot. Denver is about the only team I've had any luck against this season, funny the way these things work.

#63302	02/23/2019 4:46:25 am	Sep 14th, 2039
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Well, that went downhill in a hurry. My sentiments exactly when we hit a 6-game slide against Topeka and Birmingham. A flurry of injuries didn't help but we have some areas where we're just not very good, and it shows. A few guys have surprised me in a good way (Anguiano finally turned into the player I'd hoped for, though he can't hit RHP at all), Trent who was I on the verge of cutting in the 2038 preseason, and Jacobs). A few guys have surprised me in a bad way (Miranda, Huerta is hitting .182 at home, and Gann has been so cold I'm thinking of renaming him "Down Time"; like what the heck is up with these guys???). Plus a few others got old or were so cold they never got going and the young guys have stepped up. I've got a few vets down in AAA that are talented still but I don't have the room, and they may all go if our promotion chase unravels sooner rather than later. A's are in the driving seat in the East.

#63304	02/23/2019 7:40:48 am	Sep 14th, 2039
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	Anguiano reminds my of my guy Packard, in that I have faith that he will develop some real nice offensive ratings, but he can’t seem to get the ball off the ground and his insanely low speed makes me fear he will become literally a singles hitter. Not enough speed or power for doubles, triples, or hrs. Which will make him perpetuate the horrible station to station game that often exists in BB. I’m hoping against hope that he’ll develop better gb/fb as he makes his way I to the majors. Good luck with your Angu!

#63305	02/23/2019 12:07:33 pm	Sep 14th, 2039
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Yeah, that groundball rate of Packard's would be a concern for me, but if he gets anywhere close to maxing out he could be a really nice hitter. At least Anguiano hits flyballs!

#63335	02/25/2019 8:26:48 am	Sep 22nd, 2039
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Does everyone else see my fixture at the top of the upcoming fixtures list, or does everyone see their own? Noticed it over the weekend. Normally the West fixtures are listed first followed by the East, but I see mine sticking out at the top before the West's fixtures. Just wondering what everyone else sees before I go reporting bugs.

#63339	02/25/2019 11:07:50 am	Sep 22nd, 2039
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	For me Boulder is at the top followed by the other two west games, you're the top of the three east games.

#63362	02/26/2019 4:13:08 pm	Sep 28th, 2039
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Good: finally getting the better of a series against Birmingham, taking first place in the East with a magic number next to our name. Bad: losing my top two starters for 8 games apiece! LOL, this is far from over, given we're only up half a game anyway. I think we're going down to the wire, unless something really weird happens.

#63378	02/27/2019 5:02:41 pm	Oct 3rd, 2039
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	What a disaster. This turn through the bottom of the league was pretty much the last opportunity to make the race close again, and getting swept by Topeka in four games pretty much ended all ambitions. The Isos are still leading the division in run differential, but there's nothing you can buy for that. The problem for me is, this is the best team I've had in a long time, and probably the best team I'll have for a long time. With aging veterans on key positions, I'll have a lot of renewing to do next season, and the team is unsustainably expensive right now, too. So, with all the players who will be gone after the season, the question is when to throw the towel...

#63441	03/03/2019 3:34:01 pm	Oct 18th, 2039
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	...we hit a 6-game slide against Topeka and Birmingham. A flurry of injuries didn't help but we have some areas where we're just not very good, and it shows. A's are in the driving seat in the East. It's a funny old world. In the games immediately after I posted that we went 9-6, which was nice but did not in any way foreshadow what was to come: an 11-game win streak (up there with my best ever, if not the best), and 16 of 17 overall which saw us move into top spot and never look back, clinching with five games still to go. I'm honestly shocked and delighted in equal measure. Both Holmes' Isotopes and kladu's Athletics were in Legends when I started back in 2026 (in LLV), and the A's in fact won it all in 2023, 2025 and 2026. I looked up to all those guys, so this is a sweet, sweet moment (I do actually keep going back to the league page to check it's for real). I got hot at the right time. It could have happened to anyone. If you replay this season Manhattan, who led for half the season or more, wins. Or Birmingham does. Heck, Topeka would have a shout, and Harrisburg and Scranton likely think their seasons might have gone a whole lot differently. But the East is ours, and we did it with some timely hitting but mostly with pitching and defence. Going 26-14 in one-run games isn't luck, it's a sign we played to our strengths...and it makes me think very differently about going 14-30 in one run games my second season, and demoting by one game on the penultimate day of the season (our pitching and defence were mediocre at best back then)...in other words, sometimes you make your own luck. Good luck one and all going forward.

#63444	03/03/2019 5:48:37 pm	Oct 20th, 2039
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Congrats to New York! Big final day in the west with a 4 game play off to decide, either team will be a deserved winner. Congrats also to Seattle who have been quietly very successful since the start of inter league and in doing so have sent me packing. Frustrating for me, but probably a good time to get into an unexpected rebuild, will spend the next day or two pondering cuts. Long time lf Fernandez has been the first, he's likely a HOF guy. Holton, Gonzales, Jo, Simms and De Jesus are among the others under consideration.

#63457	03/04/2019 11:18:29 am	Oct 20th, 2039
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Colorado Cup watch: Boulder has won 10 out of 20 against Denver this season. It was a draw.

#63460	03/04/2019 1:06:18 pm	Oct 20th, 2039
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	And the Subway Series: Manhattan 7 : New York 3 Final: New York 11, Manhattan 9 First half 3-7 followed by 8-2 in the second half, Lancers charge took the last five and the Series.

#63476	03/04/2019 5:01:30 pm	Oct 23rd, 2039
buffmckagan Joined: 12/22/2013 Posts: 651 Scranton Bears Legends	Winner-take-all game for the West! What a finish!! It's been real, everyone... back to League III for me

#63527	03/06/2019 1:55:21 am	Oct 28th, 2039
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	0-2 start to the playoffs. Game one could have gone either way, and starting a rookie (Hoover) in game two was a risk but he'd been pitching well and he was a lefty, against whom Santa Monica do 'less well'. Oh well, lets see if we can turn it around. Went 7-3 against the Carp this season but anything can happen now.

#63545	03/07/2019 2:16:00 am	Nov 1st, 2039
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, congrats, amalric, and it's a bit of a pity we're not going to have a subway series next year. It's also probably worth pointing out that you already won the series before I threw the towel and started playing the kids.

#63555	03/07/2019 2:23:28 pm	Nov 3rd, 2039
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Well after dropping the first two games of the playoffs New York sweeps the next four for the title. But...two extra inning wins and a one run game for the clincher...I did say anything could happen! Commiserations to Optics, but hey fine way to come back and clinch your division at the end of the regular season. See you in Legends up against the big boys (again, in your case).

#63558	03/07/2019 2:35:22 pm	Nov 3rd, 2039
Optics Joined: 06/09/2014 Posts: 73 Santa Monica Carp II.1	Grats. Miranda was broken. 3 potg? I feel bad that Denver didn't win the West. I've had a chance in I. Better to send someone new. Updated Thursday, March 7 2019 @ 3:01:36 pm PST

#63562	03/07/2019 2:56:43 pm	Nov 3rd, 2039
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Congrats to both Almaric7 and Optics, both well deserving winners. Not sure how we ended going 70-90 with only a -16 run differential. But like Holmes said RD doesn't buy it.

#63566	03/07/2019 3:52:05 pm	Nov 4th, 2039
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Grats. Miranda was broken. 3 potg? Thanks, and you're right, did mean to mention Miranda myself - had a poor season by his standards, hitting just .238...then goes off in the playoffs: 11/21 (.524 avg) and those 3 potg. Made the difference. And I'm sure Ced would agree with you!

#63569	03/07/2019 4:40:01 pm	Nov 4th, 2039
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Thank you Santa Monica and New York. Congratulations New York. Denver did not win the majority of head-to-head games versus Santa Monica (7 wins, 13 losses), so by that standard Santa Monica is the most deserving ballclub to be promoted. Run differential shows their quality as well. It was fun to have Denvy be in the hunt until the final series of the season. Updated Thursday, March 7 2019 @ 4:45:48 pm PST

#63841	03/20/2019 3:13:22 am	Mar 10th, 2040
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Have a great start to the season, everyone. I have to say, I really enjoyed the lively discussions here last season. Unless I stumble into some unexpected luck somewhere, Manhattan will be at it with a much weaker, more inexperienced team this time around. It had to happen at some point. I hope we can stay halfway competitive.

#63842	03/20/2019 11:32:01 am	Mar 10th, 2040
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Happy to be in the league, everyone. A lot of terrific owners in this league. I like to do a pre-season prognosis and this season is no different. So without further adieu: PSF's absolutely, set-in-stone, 100% scientifically proven to grow hair or your money back, 9 out of 10 dentist approved, for a limited time only, truly factual, yes I ranked you that low because I personally don't like you so drop me a profanity-laden PM questioning my very existence, 2040 II.1 League Predictions and Ratings! Let's begin in the West: Position Player Rating Denver 211.2 Conroe 144.2 Commerce City 143.6 Ft Worth 142.8 Seattle 114 Glendale 102 Pitching Rating Denver 220 Glendale 198.5 Ft Worth 165.4 Commerce City 157.1 Conroe 136.6 Seattle 100.9 PSF's predicted West Champion: Denver! Now on to the greatest division ever, the East: Position Player Rating Birmingham 250.7 Bloomington 224.7 <--- Most Handsomest Manager Winner Manhattan 185.5 Saratoga 171.2 Topeka 150.9 Affton 118.7 Pitching Rating Topeka 208 Saratoga 187.7 Bloomington 175.7 Manhattan 162.2 Birmingham 155.6 Affton 110.7 PSF's predicted East Champion: Birmingham! So congratulations Ced & kladu! Season well played. We can all go home now. Wait, we need to crown a champion... Denver over Birmingham 4 games to 2. So there you have it! Please feel free to let me know about the amount of lovers my mother has had, what kind of excrement I should eat, and how I can't differentiate a bodily orifice from a hole in the ground. Have fun and Play Ball! Updated Thursday, March 21 2019 @ 10:28:17 am PDT

#63852	03/20/2019 5:30:47 pm	Mar 12th, 2040
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Mostly LOL but also I think you're dead accurate there. Thanks as always for the amusing read Pvt, good luck beating the odds of the deadbeat odd's setters this season.....

#63859	03/21/2019 10:43:33 am	Mar 12th, 2040
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Thanks JJ. Get back up here so we can resume playing each other. And keep your head down over there! Christchurch is your backyard! Just want to point out the rating numbers are just some arbitrary numbers I take from your rosters, put them in the PSF Math-o-leter, and ta-da! Numbers! As for as my Thunder go, we had a core that topped out a couple seasons ago and fell to Novi in the 2038 finals. Instead of teetering between old and relegation, we went full rebuild. Not sure what I have is worth building on, but they've got to play to find out. Current roster isn't mind-blowingly good, so I'll cross my fingers as we head into the new season.

#63866	03/21/2019 8:09:41 pm	Mar 14th, 2040
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	I just scouted the thunders roster for the first time in a while, that's a pretty good team for a full rebuild! Exciting to see how Wordworth develops also. I think you'll promote again before I do, the Free Zoners have plenty of holes currently. And yeah I'm even working in Christchurch currently so it's pretty full on, just very surreal having that happen in peaceful little New Zealand.

#63869	03/22/2019 3:40:27 am	Mar 14th, 2040
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Let's say it that way: I know some of my pitchers (particularly Sugibeepa) have declined pretty badly, but after dominating the division so clearly in pitching and with my Cy Young winner still in his prime, I'd be a bit disappointed if I actually end up ranking fourth in pitching. On the other hand, if the remainder of my lineup actually ranks third offensively, I could be pretty ecstatic about that... Nice to see someone else's internal analysis here. I've never done any creative analysis on team levels, so unfortunately, I have a hard time reciprocating.

#63959	03/22/2019 11:53:05 am	Mar 14th, 2040
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Denvy are flattered by the predictions, but we plan on developing players this season instead of trying to win now. If we remain in the cup, maybe we can do both, but we can't do both during league play. And we can't play everybody. We have now released two starting pitchers, and both are demanding +5 million dollar salaries in free agency.

#64282	04/01/2019 1:49:00 am	Apr 18th, 2040
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	First time through the division, I guess it's visible the Isos aren't competitive the way they are set up right now. I could proobably keep scouring the waivers for reinforcements to stay afloat, or otherwise go for a hard rebuild and play the kids all season. Not sure which way to go yet.

#64323	04/02/2019 6:02:40 am	Apr 21st, 2040
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Holmes, I was in the same boat last season. Can't promote without being in the league, but can't improve if the young guys don't play. Still aren't sure I made the right choice. I will say I'm a firm believer that anyone past their age 32 season is worse than their stats show. The "May decline quickly" is the death knell for production, imo. I'd cut Millard, Caldwell, and Gonzo since you have replacements. Dabro if you can find a slick-fielding SS, or just bat him 8th/9th. Like-wise Reedy and Wilson have replacements on your staff, worst-case go with a 4-man. I don't think you necessarily need to go young 1 thru 8, just replace the guys who aren't going to be there next year. You never know, those young guys could end up pulling your team up! If you aren't at least in competition to keep the league by inter-league, you can always re-boot then.

#64412	04/05/2019 2:57:32 am	May 3rd, 2040
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	It just doesn't feel right to abandon ship just yet, with less than 20% of the season played and only four wins behind fourth place Saratoga, who are now paying my early-declining former ace 5 million a season, which he has rewarded with 4.2 innings of three run ball in his first start. Curious to see how he will work out for the highlanders. I actually expect Reedy to be a slight improvement over Sugibeepa, and if I'm still in the cup during interdivisional play, I'll need a fifth starter. I'm cutting Gonzalez and going back to also playing Lauretti against lefties - he's just so damn good, so that may even be an upgrade. Letting Caldwell and Millard go, too, would mean I have basically no punch left in the middle of the lineup against lefty starters. Plus Caldwell is basically my only backup catcher. I'm not that desperate yet. Dombrowski's bat has been a liability all his career, so I tried keeping him out of the lineup last season, and the results in defense weren't pretty. He hasn't declined much, and not hitting has kept his salary manageable, so he'll probably stick around until one of my three glove-first infielders from AA and AAA is ready to promote. I see Araujo as basically the same player going forward. Wilson is definitely expensive for a role where he hardly ever comes into games (somehow I still miss a setting here to define someone as a real 8th inning setup man), but do I really let a guy with 278 career saves go before I'm sure my new closer is able to do the job?

#64421	04/05/2019 5:22:11 am	May 3rd, 2040
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	This may help: I don't assign closers bc I want my best pen arm pitching in a close game. Often, my RHS (7th inning) will get just as many, if not more innings than my set guy (8th inning). Depending on your inning/pitch count settings, that may be why Wilson isn't getting into the games. The specialists are pitching all the way to your closer. How about Lachance and Ferraro come in during the 6th, Wilson in the 8th, and Geissler the 9th? Throw in Morse as a left-only and you've shortened the game to 5 innings. Edit: Not trying to come off as a wise-old sage, you've had terrific success as an owner and are widely respected. I just know an outside view can help Updated Friday, April 5 2019 @ 5:25:05 am PDT*

#64506	04/08/2019 2:34:35 pm	May 15th, 2040
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	How about Lachance and Ferraro come in during the 6th, Wilson in the 8th, and Geissler the 9th? Throw in Morse as a left-only and you've shortened the game to 5 innings. Yup, that's exactly what I would want the game engine to do (when I'm ahead, of course) - unfortunately, over the 25 seasons I've been playing BB, I haven't been able to figure out a way to get it to do that. There is no way to define a true setup man who pitches the 8th inning in save situations. Steve once commented on that. Apparently, for late innings, SET, RHS and LHS have completely identical priorities. If they are all available and rested, SET will only come in against switch hitters, not in higher leverage innings. That pretty much explains why Wilson hardly ever pitches. I could probably get him more innings by having LHS and RHS come in earlier and keeping their pitch count limits extremely low - but then, I would run the risk of a middle reliever having to come in if their pitch count maxes out before Wilson's inning is reached.

#64635	04/12/2019 11:14:50 am	May 29th, 2040
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Hey keggar: You going to slow down or are you going to keep us this pace? Asking for a friend

#64740	04/15/2019 6:23:19 am	Jun 8th, 2040
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Getting swept by the early season cellar dwellers slowed him down a bit, I guess. With my starters finally getting into a bit of a groove and some extra innings games falling my way, Manhattan suddenly doesn't look like an automatic demotion anymore. Still cautiously trying to focus on the future, but I'd prefer keep doing that in League II, if possible. Although I'm clearly not playing for a title this season, I do enjoy the fact that nobody has managed to pull away in the East, so far. Now on to the long, hard weeks of interdivisional play.

#64741	04/15/2019 7:02:56 am	Jun 8th, 2040
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Well if me asking how the leader is doing is the kiss of death, then kladu is next Good series, Holmes. Def not the outcome I wanted, bullpen is always a work in progress in BB, but disappointed we couldn't win the series. Now on to inter-league play. Still tinkering with why my error rate is so high, even with the new turf, which was supposed to help. If the Thunder can keep within striking distance of the top of the East when we come out of IL play, I'll be happy.

#64791	04/17/2019 4:39:47 pm	Jun 19th, 2040
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	So, Godzilla didn't stick on the Saratoga roster. I'm not all that surprised. He had a phenomenal career with the Isos, but even with 111 SI left, he's cooked.

#64918	04/24/2019 2:47:11 am	Jul 14th, 2040
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	RNG has me flabbergasted. After one fifth of the season, the Isos were dead last, and at the midway point, we're (mathematically at least) closer to a title than to a demotion. I'm not seriously trying to contend, but it looks like the soft rebuild will work out after all. Out of my young position players, Farmer has hit the ground running, and Eldred and Hasegawa are holding their own. Gradually easing Ramirez into more playing time. The rotation is the best in the division again, even with two total duds in the rotation in Dowd and Cole. Lachance, who I project to be my weakest pitcher (except injury callup Pino, of course), has forced his way into the rotation with his sub-2 ERA. Somehow this is much more fun than trying to contend was last season...

#65180	05/02/2019 8:19:30 am	Aug 14th, 2040
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Man, started out hot after the ASG by going 15-5 and getting within 2 of kladu...only to have a rudderless Ft Worth take 4 of 5 and B-ham winning 4 of 5 to open up his lead again. Athletics are going to be tough to catch now.

#65225	05/03/2019 11:02:44 am	Aug 19th, 2040
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Well, since I'm not doing much atm, let's take a look into the future... Rest of the way projections by PSF Team order of finish/projected wins/PSF projections 1. Birmingham - 97/94.5 2. Topeka - 87/82.9 3. Bloomington - 86/84.3 4. Manhattan 82/84.3 5. Saratoga 65/64 6. Afton - 64/61.1 Numbers favor Birmingham on both accounts. Projections like Topeka and Bloomington, while I like Manhattan. So far, I'm not too terribly off from my pre-season predictions. Of course, I couldn't forecast Holmes righting the ship in Manhattan and nobodyjones is a wizard of some sorts. Can't mix science and wizardry. I learned that from the science show, Mr. Wizard. Wait.

#65247	05/04/2019 3:10:52 pm	Aug 22nd, 2040
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	The ship somehow righted itself, to be honest. Manhattan is still committed to going younger, as the team is definitely not set up to challenge Birmingham at this point. One week after dropping my longtime shortstop Dombrowski, I irreversibly turned over second base to Ramirez now (not that Burdock's .170 batting average was going to be missed much). As I gain confidence that I'll be able to keep Saratoga at bay, more rookies will get their chance. Caldwell, Millard, Reedy and Wilson are all contributing big time this season, so putting them on the chopping block is a much tougher decision, although it would free up a lot of salary. I'll play it as the season develops.

#65255	05/05/2019 4:16:04 am	Aug 25th, 2040
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	I'm nearing that point as well, Holmes. Unless we have a convincing series win tonight vs kladu, look for Bloomington to begin preparing for next season.

#65311	05/08/2019 8:48:29 am	Sep 4th, 2040
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Hard to pack it in for the season, but by my calculations, The A's magic number is 25 with 40-41 left to play. I just can't see us getting THAT hot over the last quarter of the season in conjunction with kladu going ice-cold. This is about what I figured for my Thunder this year. I felt like we were behind Birmingham and good enough to keep the league. I'll get my younger guys PT and maybe we'll be just that much stronger next year.

#65323	05/08/2019 4:15:51 pm	Sep 6th, 2040
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Boy, PrivateSnowflake and alienfetus, you guys are really cleaning house... 8-O

#65443	05/13/2019 2:12:38 pm	Sep 22nd, 2040
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	http://brokenbat.org/manager/1351 Fort Worth's Jack Fabbri (2nd highest paid manager in all of BB at $8.25M salary) has now navigated Fort Worth to first place out in the West.

#65451	05/14/2019 10:05:49 am	Sep 26th, 2040
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	He has a damn good skillset. I suppose I would want to keep that guy around, too, even at the outrageous salary.

#65452	05/14/2019 10:19:57 am	Sep 26th, 2040
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	He would be welcome in Bloomington. Imo, you can't put a price on a chance at getting to the top.

#65480	05/15/2019 4:00:26 pm	Oct 2nd, 2040
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	All right, nothing moving up or down in Manhattan this season, so we're officially playing the kids in the entire lineup for the rest of the way. I'm not really seeing any competition in the division that might skew this time around, but I just want to make it clear in advance.

#65497	05/16/2019 5:18:02 am	Oct 4th, 2040
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	No worries, Holmes. Bloomington's been running out young P's with no hooks and either young hitters or guys looking to get position XP. II.1 East has definitely split into three tiers. I would like to say to kladu: Congratulations! You were the team to beat this season and lived up to the lofty expectations. I'll be rooting for the A's to win the league championship and to have a great season in your return to Legends.

#65511	05/17/2019 3:58:22 am	Oct 8th, 2040
kladu Joined: 02/03/2013 Posts: 57 Birmingham Athletics Legends	Thank you, see you all soon, in LL maybe.

#65553	05/19/2019 3:39:14 pm	Oct 18th, 2040
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Congratulations, kladu. We'll do our best to see you in LL - better than right now, anyway.

#65565	05/20/2019 4:03:33 am	Oct 20th, 2040
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	That's how you win a division, Ced. 10 in a row!

#65579	05/20/2019 2:55:14 pm	Oct 21st, 2040
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Denvy found their form and believed in their talent when it counted. Thank you Fort Worth and Seattle for an exciting pennant chase.

#65580	05/20/2019 3:08:37 pm	Oct 21st, 2040
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Many congrats Ced, especially after missing out by the narrowest of margins last season!

#65604	05/21/2019 1:10:12 pm	Oct 24th, 2040
nobodyjones Joined: 12/28/2011 Posts: 170 Seattle Rickey IV.1	Job Ced. Tried switching my team name back to the Raiders a couple of times but it's an irrelevant inconvenience to ask Steve to change it back. Congrats on reaching the final level.

#65607	05/21/2019 2:02:04 pm	Oct 24th, 2040
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	Congrats to Ced and Kladu for making the playoffs this season. The Marshals are relegating this season since many players under performed. Might do a rebuild, but I'm still debating. The big thing this offseason is to try and find a quality starting pitcher that can last about 6 innings a game when they're on the mound.

#65640	05/23/2019 4:25:57 am	Nov 1st, 2040
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Hats off to Ced on winning the league championship! Best of luck to you and kladu as you make your way to the top of the ladder next season.

#65641	05/23/2019 4:30:06 am	Nov 1st, 2040
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Looking back on my pre-season predictions, my numbers were pretty close to the actual finish. I had Denver over Brirmingham in 6, when it actually went five. Everybody else finished in the order I predicted with Seattle and Topeka both "over-achieving" and slotting higher. Great work guys! Looking forward to who we get next season and how we're all going to match up with the new clubs. I can't wait for the new season to begin!

#65653	05/23/2019 12:43:15 pm	Nov 1st, 2040
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Thank you everyone for all of the congratulations and compliments. Big fan of Broken Bat, and I'm looking forward to the challenge of Legends. I'll be writing a Press Release after the season flip which I hope you'll all read. Good luck to all ballclubs.

#65658	05/23/2019 2:18:05 pm	Nov 3rd, 2040
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Convincing Playoff series. Congrats, Ced.

#65691	05/24/2019 7:27:39 am	Nov 4th, 2040
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	Heeding up this league after 4 seasons in III.1 at 3 straight second place finishes.

#65707	05/24/2019 3:02:48 pm	Nov 4th, 2040
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I would have expected Lauretti to at least be in the MVP conversation. Not seeing him in the top 5 or in the all-league team is a bit of a letdown. Quiles coming in third is fine - he wasn't quite as good as he had been in his Cy Young season. I would have never expected Eldred to win ROY, though. A platoon first baseman hitting for a 309 wOBA doesn't sound all that award worthy for me. I suppose Yamamoto just didn't get enough playing time in Seattle, with Del Toro entrenched behind the dish. It's a pity we can't make trades. That kid'a a monster and certainly deserves better.

#65729	05/25/2019 8:17:45 am	Jan 15th, 2041
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Moo! Glad to be up here! There are 36 teams in Legends, II.1, & II.2 versus 30 teams in Major League Baseball. So this is the "big time" right? White balls during BP? Long legs and brains?

#65761	05/26/2019 9:51:21 am	Jan 15th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Welcome! Almost the big-time. The balls are white, but a little scuffed. Long legs and brains, but a uni-brow too. Teams do provide jock straps and cups, so leave some money for that. No more charter buses either. All economy class flights here.

#65776	05/26/2019 5:18:49 pm	Jan 15th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Payroll jumped nearly 8 mil. And why wouldn't it? Demoted from Legends in '39 and a middling finish here last season in which we pulled the regulars after inter-league. Raises all around! Nah, I know salaries are calculated many more seasons than that. Still, didn't expect this much of a bump. Ouch!

#65784	05/27/2019 6:36:28 am	Jan 15th, 2041
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	I had a big salary bump too - and then I fired them all! Hooray fiscal responsibility! I never understand the salary demands. I assume there's some randomness baked in there. What did this guy do to deserve that salary bump? Last year's closer is suddenly asking a lot of money after getting a few saves under his belt. The League forum is like the Teacher Lounge. The players and riff-raff can't hear us in here.

#65796	05/27/2019 3:33:56 pm	Jan 15th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Yes, for some reason, after turning in three or four seasons as a mediocre closer, a pitcher makes more money here than an elite starter. I've been complaining about that for quite a while. After dumping most of my veterans, I ended last season with probably my lowest payroll since I came up from the bottom leagues. That has gone up by about four million with the season change, so it is still quite low. Remarkably, my top players' salaries have pretty much stagnated or even gone down, in spite of good performances. The big raises go to: -The backup catcher, who had all of 126 at bats between two teams last season. -A late-blooming pitcher, who turned in a really nice season with a 3.15 ERA over 160 inning, including 15 starts - which is a-ok with me. -An aging journeyman starter who had pitched to a a 3.65 ERA over 162 innings, 8 quality starts out of 30 - a solid effort, but not going from 3.85M to 5.2M at age 36 solid. -And of course the closer, who doubled his salary to 2.6M for getting a thoroughly unspectacular 43 saves in 50 single-inning opportunities. The latter two have been going downhill fast, so depending on waiver claims, they might not be around for the next payday. Welcome to slightly greener pastures to the moo-cows.

#65898	05/30/2019 7:22:18 am	Feb 5th, 2041
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	The grass up here is tasty! What's the over/under on the time it'll take for the Bulldogs to find an owner?

#65994	06/04/2019 5:37:19 am	Mar 8th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	That usually happens pretty quickly up here, unless the team is bankrupt. In fact, I'm surprised that they haven't been taken yet. If they were broke, I would have expected the game engine to release a lot of players - but that might still happen before the next payday.

#65998	06/04/2019 10:22:59 am	Mar 8th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	It's that time of year again, boys... PSF's Super Dead-On, 100% Guaranteed Or Your Money Back, Scientifically Proven Aboard The OSS During Night, Elon Musk Approved And Certified, Checked And Checked Again Using The Oldest Computer I Could Find, 2041 II.1 League Ratings And Predictions! As a reminder, if you are not satisfied with my 100% and totally accurate predictions, please feel free to question my sexuality and that of my mother's in an angry, all caps, response. East* Position Player Ratings Alexandria: 199.3 Edmund: 189.2 Bloomington: 177.7 Murfeesboro: 170.6 Topeka: 164 Manhattan: 162.7 Pitching Staff Ratings Bloomington: 187.6 Topeka: 183.1 Murfeesboro: 180.9 Edmund: 178.7 Manhattan: 162.7 Alexandria: 158.6 Predicted Order Of Finish 1. Edmund (the bot team, of course!) 2. Bloomington 3. Alexandria 4. Murfeesboro 5. Topeka 6. Manhattan West Position Player Ratings Columbus: 197.8 Seattle: 185.6 Fort Worth: 175.9 Moore: 160.6 Commerce City: 151.6 Oklahoma City: 148.9 Pitching Staff Ratings Columbus: 195.4 Fort Worth: 194.4 Seattle: 183.9 Commerce City: 168.7 Oklahoma City: 148.1 Moore: 145 Predicted Order Of Finish 1. Columbus 2. Fort Worth 3. Seattle 4. Commerce City 5. Moore 6. Oklahoma City League Championship Series: Columbus over Edmund 4-1 So...what say you? Do you have a mid-season call-up that will change your destiny? Are you hiding someone in the minors that will wreck my predictions? Still hoping for a 125 SI player to become available in waivers that you beat 167 other teams for?

#66019	06/05/2019 5:32:28 am	Mar 10th, 2041
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	WOW!!! So, we are considered to be the favourites in our division. Now The Patriots have their shoulders a lot heavier. Bats will slow down and pitches will end up and down the zone. Hope the prediction sticks. No prospects to be called up midseason this year but dont sleep on Luis Mesa. He was a midseason callup last season and his numbers are, believe me, inflated by an early outing which read like this: 6 2/3 IP, 21ER, 22H, 4BB, 5K. Yes, this was one single outing. Take that out and his numbers would be a lot greater. So, I believe this is the second of a 5 year reeeaaaaally solid pitching staff window. We will try to ride that.

#66023	06/05/2019 8:09:53 am	Mar 10th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	While this is not the season for a title run, I'm not really planning to finish last, to be honest. The current team is the result of the teardown I did late last season, when it was clear I wasn't going to be demoted. I have a number of developing players between age 24 and 26 that should improve significantly as the season goes along and they gain experience. At the same time, there are still a few holes that should be fairly easy to plug from waivers (like a right-handed DH - you always find that during the season). Hector Apodaca is a future ace starter who is currently in AAA and will be called up early in the season, if not before opening day. As he is at 100 SI and already got a cup of coffee late last season, he should be able to hit the ground running. Corona and Andrade are high-level position prospects waiting for a callup, but they might need some time to mature and not make that much of an impact in their rookie season. As they will be guaranteed playing time when they come up, they might actually set the team back a bit in the short run.

#66030	06/05/2019 9:08:58 am	Mar 10th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Great insights on your clubs, guys. This is what the pre-season ranking is all about! Get guys talking and get the league familiar with one another. Luiz is a long-time owner and this is his first chance in 2. Good luck! It's going to be interesting to see if your hitters can beat father time or if that pitching staff will have to shoulder more of the load (and yes, they are good!) Holmes and I had mirrored seasons last year, but he also had the bigger tear-down, where I'm just re-booting. It'll be fun watching the next generation of Isotopes develop. Great write-up on your MiL guys. My Thunder? I hope we're good enough to compete. I worked on upgrading my D, which I felt was my downfall last season. I think my bench is stronger too, we'll see how it goes in 1-run games. My minors are bare: I've kept 2 picks total the past 34 rounds. That's historically awful. We're due there.

#66038	06/05/2019 3:01:21 pm	Mar 11th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Apodaca has just turned in his fourth start this spring training, and while BB spring numbers are to be taken with a larger grain of salt than the real life ones, he's turning in quite the application for the majors. In his four starts, he's pitched 31 innings, allowing one run - total. My two other AAA top prospects are not exactly impressive so far, though.

#66039	06/05/2019 3:08:34 pm	Mar 11th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	What worries me at this point is the back of the bullpen. With Wilson gone and Geissler regressing massively, I don't really have a closer. Morse will probably get the role by default, but he's more or less a former fringe prospect who has broken through his expected 12p ceiling talent-wise, but has only a single season with a 5.00 ERA to show so far. I'd feel more comfortable with him at LHS. Closers don't exactly grow on waiver trees, though.

#66057	06/06/2019 8:07:37 pm	Mar 14th, 2041
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	The Cows are positively giddy at being in a league with some chatter. It was mostly silent on the way up. I ANGRILY QUESTION YOUR SEXUALITY! I ANGRILY QUESTION YOUR IF YOUR MOTHER IS REALLY YOUR MOTHER! The name is spelled Murfreesboro. MurFREESboro. It's more fun when you emphasize the second syllable. Success would be defined for the Cows as staying in League II. I don't know if I expect it, but that would make Ms. Cow pretty happy. Let's not let bot-controlled Edmond win the East, eh? I'm rooting for Columbus over in the West since they came up with me from III. The pitching there is no joke. (But 20ER in an outing is pretty rough.) Also, the management over there is so friendly. Still, several questions: Why is Columbus in the WEST and Murfreesboro in the EAST, when Columbus is probably a couple hundred miles east of Murfreesboro? Also, how does Columbus hold the #8 ranking when they've never won a Cup and never played in Legends? They were in League IV just in 2038. If not Columbus, then the Night Bees. Because the Night Bees rock. When they're not stinging your face off. I noticed the East has big things (Moo Cows, BULLdogs, Titans, Thunder) and small things (Athletics, Isotopes), but even the small things are big too (elephant mascot, atomic bombs). It's strange days in Moo Cow pastures. When I took over around 2035, the minor league system was largely bare. We've promoted largely by relying on a steady flow of castoffs and waiver geezers. In 2040, I played several youngsters. We'll likely be playing even more in 2041. I literally have no idea what will happen. I have no experience in evaluating and handling prospects. Are they any good? Who knows!?! Their mothers tell me they like them. At least their mothers are really their mothers. I wouldn't know. I hate babies. I might have as many as 7 "young" Cows in the lineup. Along with a handful of unproven young pitchers. If they have some sizzle in them, look out! The infield was a primary strength last year, but now it's probably the outfield. Another strange thing is that I'm sitting on 46 players and a fairly cheap payroll. I've spent money on the way up. By this date, I'm almost always at 49 players and switching everyone out for the waiver wire. I think changing the date for the first round of the draft has inadvertently affected waiver activity during spring training. When the #1 draft was last Friday, teams would draft a player and release someone. The waiver pool would be refreshed this week. Without that #1 draft last Friday, there's almost nobody left in the pool. I expect this to change entering this weekend and we hope to pick up an upgrade or two. No age bias here. We <3 geezers. One of my young pitchers just tossed a no-hitter in Spring Training. I don't know what it means, but it's fun and seems notable.

#66062	06/07/2019 4:06:54 am	Mar 14th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Hm, I wouldn't trade for your farm system - too many underdeveloped 25+ guys for my taste. But I've had discussions about the best farm system strategy with managers who later went up and down from here. That's the fun in BrokenBat - there are quite different strategies that can lead to success.

#66063	06/07/2019 4:43:12 am	Mar 14th, 2041
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	LOL You know Ive always questioned myself about this allocation for Columbus being West, but hey, it must be something along the same way as the Red Wings being West for so long in the NHL. As for my #8 ranking, I´ve got top 3 in a brief moment last year. Cup success combined with a pretty long and nice streak after beating you during the Interleague play last year got me an enourmous Fan Mood and then it was only uphill. The minors strategy for me is this: just pick the highest potential player available and develop them accordingly. Fill your needs through Free Agency and thats it.

#66064	06/07/2019 4:47:37 am	Mar 14th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Linking Homestar Runner? Just how OLD are you man. This league is full of oddities: Columbus in the west, but east of Bloomington, Topeka, Edmund, and MurFREEsboro, who reside in the east. Edmund is about 12 miles from OKC (and maybe a mile east) yet are in different divisions. Longest division rivalry? Try Seattle's 35 hour drive (2,423 mi) drive to Columbus. Topeka will drive the 293 miles to play OKC during inter-league, but faces 1,257 mile trips to play in Manhattan. For fun, it's a 42 hour drive between Seattle and Manhattan and a 41 hour drive between Seattle and Alexandria. That's 3 days by bus one way. Here's actual footage of nobodyjones traveling to play Holmes for last season's series in Manhattan.

#66214	06/09/2019 6:09:56 pm	Mar 20th, 2041
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Did I mention I have no idea what I'm doing with my farm system? If not, I meant to. Especially now that Steve's monkeying with the Potential score and there may essentially be no good way to evaluate prospects. Ms. Cow may be older than you, but never ask a cow her age. Maybe there's a younger, better pop culture reference to Murfreesboro?!? Some seriously interminable bus trips in this league. Play ball!

#66256	06/10/2019 5:14:53 pm	Mar 24th, 2041
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	Solid spring training going 5-25. Did win 4 of the last 9 and the final series however Updated Monday, June 10 2019 @ 5:15:03 pm PDT

#66329	06/13/2019 6:39:40 pm	Apr 7th, 2041
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	The Moo Cows are pleased to report we'll be the last team to hit anybody with a pitch. Not our style of play. Edit: We read the stats wrong. We've hit three of you already. No one's hit US yet. The intern that wrote this comment has already been fired. Apparently, it is our style of play. Apologies. But apparently, we'll be the last team to actually hit anybody's pitching. Can all these kids learn to swing a bat? Do we need a daycare system? Have we noticed how many teams in this league have big populations? Columbus, Fort Worth, Oklahoma City, Seattle, Bloomington, Topeka, Manhattan? Our league isn't an odd collection of tiny cities. Updated Thursday, June 13 2019 @ 6:48:42 pm PDT

#66413	06/16/2019 7:16:40 am	Apr 14th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	That makes one big city in the league, right? I basically gave up on winning the "least HBP" category when I signed a starting pitcher with the telling name Dick Beane. It's true, he actually has a history of hitting batters at a way above average rate despite his outstanding control, and he has gone about his business already, accounting for one of our four hit batters this season.

#66453	06/18/2019 10:57:52 am	Apr 21st, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	First time through. What does everyone think? In the West, I would be scouring the waivers for two LH SP. Can't you guys hit wrong-handed pitchers? Moore is a nice surprise. Columbus is where I expected them. Over in the East, Manhattan and Bloomington's (different) rebuilds are paying off. Topeka is getting it done...somehow (-31 but 4-0 in tight games). Doesn't anyone want to lead Edmund? Too early to panic. Let's see what happens when the home teams are reversed!

#66458	06/18/2019 4:23:47 pm	Apr 23rd, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I don't really think my rebuild is paying off... yet, at least. A couple of the young guys are playing way over their heads, which I would attribute to luck at this point of the season. Last season, with twice as many games played, I was in last place, way behind everyone else. After about 130 games, when I went full rebuild, I was in second place, albeit with no chance of winning. So, I'm cautiously optimistic, but my impression is, I'm just catching a break at this vulnerable point in the team's development. I'm particularly curious to see how the cows will hold up this season. Edmond seems to hold up well, in spite of not being managed.

#66462	06/18/2019 7:16:15 pm	Apr 25th, 2041
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	"Yes, only one big city," she mooed grudgingly. Still, the team is beaming at the idea of going to MANHATTAN for away games. Here we come, MANHATTAN. Mmmmmmmmanhattan! If you don't say it with jazz hands, don't say it at all. The Tennessee Cow asked, "Does Broadway stay open late nights?" I see you're starting Mr. Beane against us. Only if we must, we'll be forced to retaliate. I'm also particularly curious to see how the Cows will hold up this season. It's too early to panic. If we can just play .500 ball through the end of May, management will be very happy. We've got so many kids, I think they should get better as the year goes on. I think we've been very slightly unlucky, but we're close to where we should be. The run differential is good. Similar dumb luck in the Cup group. Some young talent is performing well and some isn't. As expected, we've got buckets of anxiety about the youngsters. I still have no idea how to talk to or motivate anybody under 30. .220. That's all I need my slick defensive shortstop, Alcantar, to hit. But he's been much worse. Can he figure it out? Is he cold, or is that who he is forever? Similar problem with Gomez, the young catcher. Good veterans are waiting on the bench to take over, but I'm still a believer. I think he's just cold. I swapped Colburn from outfield to first and I think he's paying too much attention to learning the position. He hit .294 in a miracle 2040. I wasn't expecting that to continue, but .213 makes me grumble. "Hoser" Danny Barry should see his first big league action in Manhattan. If you squint at him, he kind of looks like an athlete. Kind of. But it's hard to argue with a 3.39 FIP in the minors. Then again, it's easy to argue with his 5.61 ERA in the minors. Who'll show up? Who knows? We might change his nickname to "Short Leash". Updated Tuesday, June 18 2019 @ 7:32:31 pm PDT

#66469	06/19/2019 7:28:35 am	Apr 25th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I have to say, the one big city remark was mostly taking a stab at Seattle... but then, it's coming from a guy who's actually living an ocean away from all those places. hurstdm, you have a ton of players who are still developing, but are at an age where one might start to question if they will ever reach their ceilings. That makes it kind of hard to gauge expectations. Considering where Gomez and Alcantar stand right now, I'd be happy with anything above the Mendoza line from them. From Colburn, I'd expect a little more, but I'd say league average would be a lot to ask for. Barry is a guy I'd probably not even bother with - but then, I don't know how often I've been equally close to not bothering with Morse, and now he's subbing for the closer I don't have, so what do I know?

#66479	06/20/2019 5:34:47 am	Apr 29th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	I'll say the Cows can do a "soft" re-boot and still remain competitive. Like I said in the season preview, the age of your club is catching up sooner rather than later. I'd Shift Gomez to 3B and dump Bowers, bring up Rags to man 1B and take a long look at Colburn (bc his power is lost with all the groundballs he hits). Let Faruta catch, Pardo play RF, Donovan at SS, and put Segui in the OF. I hate saying that bc you have Schwartz out there and he was such a good player for me, but it's time. Just a different look from an outsider. I rarely keep anyone past 32 and you have a lot of guys at that point. Feed those under-developed guys innings this year and see how fast they develop. You've got enough of a pitching staff to compete, but your current D is holding you back.

#66492	06/20/2019 7:39:14 pm	May 3rd, 2041
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	They'll reach their ceilings. You gotta have heart. You gotta have HEARRRRRT. Sorry about that link, but post-Manhattan field trip, everything's coming up Broadway. It's definitely hard to gauge expectations for the kids. I'm stress eating like crazy. The mascow's in my office handing me lattes all day. I've gained three pounds and having to girdle down. I clipped the woeful-hitting Alcantar at shortstop because we landed Rhoads on waivers. Note that Rhoads hasn't ever played shortstop before. His agent mentioned that to us as well. We said to get out there anyway and figure it out. You gotta have heart, kid. We're expecting a bumpy ride. I really don't know how bumpy, but I'm sure it'll be a special treat for the fans. Check out what the Broken Bat AI immediately did in the bottom of the 8th in the first game after benching Alcantar for Rhoads. Woeful. Gomez hit last year. Colburn too. The machine drives on faith. Barry's been nearly cut about 50 times, but don't tell him I said that. Faith. Canadian Kid's got heart. "Remain competitive"? "REMAIN COMPETITIVE"? Listen, Blomingtown Dunder or whatever, we're mooing just fine. The Cows are just a little unlucky. Here's the current East standings by the Pythagorean Expectation. There's a long way to go. We'd be happy with .500 at the end of May: BLO 17-10 MAN 17-10 MRF 14-12 EDM 11-14 ALX 10-17 TOP 10-18 We love the geezers. Send yours to us. When they get gray and start getting those wise old man wrinkles, let's make 'em Cows. It's the kids I'm clueless about. We've promoted here all the way from VI by finding abandoned geezers year to year. Nobody stays long. Dump perennial all-star Noah Bowers? Heartless. He's hitting .304. Dump Shchwatrzy? I'd nickname the stars out of that guy, except I'm suddenly not allowed. He's absolutely hilarious in the clubhouse. I forgot he was a Dunder catcher. He's been reborn like a gazelle into our Cowabungalow outfield. But I'll show you how little I know about prospects. I'm about to cut Furuta. If he wasn't my #1, he'd be gone already. I feel bad cutting #1 draft picks. I see the irony in back-to-back comments mentioning how I've got a lot of young players and then mentioning I've got a lot of geezers. Good ol' nobody-in-their-prime Moo Cows. That's us.

#66503	06/21/2019 5:11:56 am	May 3rd, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Congrats on grabbing Rhoads. I just dropped him because I had no place for him in the lineup, prioritizing younger guys. I'm not so sure about playing him in the infield, though. I tried moving a career outfielder to 2B in 2039, trying to get another lefty bat in the lineup, and the results weren't pretty. I could have lived with his .953 fielding, but in combination with an inexperienced double play partner, I lost out on a ton of double plays. By the time I abandoned that experiment, I had basically dropped out of the title race and could almost go straight to playing the kids, which in turn I profit from this season... Pretty pleased with how the Nukes are doing right now. Obviously, nothing has really happened yet, but we seem to be able to keep up, and several of our players should see some more development. Updated Friday, June 21 2019 @ 5:13:17 am PDT

#66504	06/21/2019 5:31:58 am	May 3rd, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Don't throw math at me and expect me to understand. In my day, we had addition and subtraction only and we liked it! Figures I go to Edmund and drop two of three. I need those series vs a de-facto bot team if the Thunder are to stay competitive this season. I'll get ready to welcome the older young guys from Tennessee this weekend. Bloomington isn't Manhattan, so you'll have to stay with cousin Eddie. Updated Friday, June 21 2019 @ 5:33:19 am PDT

#66532	06/21/2019 1:28:29 pm	May 3rd, 2041
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	Oh boy, Columbus almost got its first ever perfect game a couple nights ago at the hands of Ernesto Zuniga. The kid just lost his bid with 26 batters faced. What a heartbreaker!!! http://brokenbat.org/game/3342033 Updated Friday, June 21 2019 @ 1:56:41 pm PDT

#66663	06/27/2019 7:59:45 pm	May 29th, 2041
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	End of May and the Moo Cows are floating around .500. We'll take it! Even if they can't multiply and divide, Thunder's probably the true best team in the East. We'd be doing a lot better if we weren't 0-6 against them so far. It's hard to win any game where your pitching walks NINE. Cows finally got Caught Stealing for the first time this season on May 27. Honey, Vicki don't need no help with that koolaid. Rhoads is in my office every day, grousing and nervous about playing short. His ego's battered, but he's doing beautifully so far. I remember exchanging messages with the Isotopes about playing former Moo Cow Fuentes at second base for the first time at age 33. You know, you totally drove him out of baseball. It's the pressure of playing under a big city spotlight. Everybody's a lot more relaxed in the middle of nowhere, Tennessee. Congrats on the (almost) perfect game! We want one of those. Inter-league play looms. Any bets on whether the West or East is better in 2041? Bobcats look wildly unlucky out West with the 4th best run differential. Horns/Pats is staying tight.

#66691	06/28/2019 11:45:33 am	May 29th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Maybe it's bc I reside in the east, but it feels like there is something to the "East Beast" in BB. However, if there was a year that could be different, it could be right here in II.1. 1 thru 6 in both division look about the same on paper, but I'll give the east the edge due to the top of the offense and pitching statistical lists. Still, I won't be surprised if the East vs West record comes out about even. The Thunder will consider it a successful split if we can keep up a similar winning percentage while keeping the 'Topes and Cows in our rear-view mirror. Side note: Was down in the Knoxville area a couple weeks ago and while checking out it's history, I found out Knoxville was Tennessee's first capital. However, the capital was moved bc Knoxville is buried in the mountains and thus, wasn't easily accessible. The great polis the capital was moved to? Murfreesboro.

#66737	06/29/2019 9:40:58 pm	Jun 4th, 2041
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	All I know is that the Thunder aren't welcome in Tennessee anymore. Not Knoxville. Not Murfreesboro. Nowhere. We've gone to the First Presbyterian Church and held a state government session by ourselves. (Also, ate some grass.) You're excommunicated. Tossed. Expatriated. Outlawed. Why? The Cows are 0-10 in 2041 against Bloomingtown. We're .595 against the rest of the league, but somehow .000 against Blomberg. That's unnatural. Unholy. Wicked. Here's the current standings if we'd just split with the Thandarr 5-5: BLO 27-20 MRF 27-20 MAN 26-21 EDM 22-25 TOP 20-26 ALX 18-28 Sick. Just sick.

#66740	06/30/2019 4:30:40 am	Jun 4th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Yup. Strangest stat I've seen in quite some time. Not that we're complaining.

#66743	06/30/2019 8:22:48 am	Jun 4th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Oh, yes, hurstdm, it was you who kept warning me about moving Fuentes to the infield. He actually hasn't found a home after that, which is a bit odd considering he swung a pretty hot bat over his last few seasons and was never outrageous in his salary demands. But, yes, the New York media is unforgiving... Considering I've been rather skeptical about being able to avoid a demotion this season, the Nukes are looking okay in the early going. The team should only get stronger from here on, too. We're heading to Indiana tonight, but we're 4-3 against Bloomington, have our top 3 pitchers up and a healthy lineup, so I'm optimistic (now watch us get swept in three consecutive blowouts). Updated Sunday, June 30 2019 @ 8:23:34 am PDT

#66762	07/01/2019 5:03:38 am	Jun 8th, 2041
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	"Interleague" play starting tomorrow! We are ready to "travel" East and face all you active managers in the league.

#66893	07/09/2019 7:17:50 pm	Jul 14th, 2041
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	All-star break! 80 games in! The West is leading the East in interleague play by a few games and looking better overall. Cows are still pretty happy being around .500. The goal is just staying in League II. We keep stress-bouncing between 3rd and 5th place. More Pythagorean Expectation standings: BLO 50-30 (-1) MAN 39-41 (+4) MRF 39-41 (-1) EDM 37-43 (0) ALX 37-43 (-5) TOP 31-49 (+6) The number in parentheses is how "lucky" that team is. That is, the difference between the number of wins you'd expect the team to have and the number of wins the team actually has. Topeka and Manhattan are getting lucky so far. The Athletics need to bribe the tooth fairy or something. Will everyone's luck even out in the second half? Can anybody keep up with the Thunder? No way! I think it's already time for Bloomington to play prospects and kids. No one's going to catch that choo choo train. Rhoads is out as shortstop. No one stays long as a Cow. Long term solutions are a myth. Got a rental on waivers instead. The Cow kids, plus the revolving door at shortstop, are the stories of the season. We should, should, only get stronger from here. Plus, there's always next season!

#66897	07/10/2019 6:02:41 am	Jul 14th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Great write-up, hurstdm. We played the prospects and kids last season, which is likely why we're having a better year. Still a lot of ball to be played. There looks to be a lot of exciting baseball left to be played in this league. Races within races. Promotion in the East and West is still up for grabs and the same goes for relegation. One good week can swing any of these races for good or bad. Looking forward to see who is named for the All Star teams. Can the East win the mid-summer classic to save face or will the West put a bow on it's inter-league advantage?

#66906	07/10/2019 2:23:56 pm	Jul 16th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, the East didn't exactly impress in this league. My two pitchers never got the ball, and my boys Lauretti and Rios contributed o-fers with the bat, so I'm hardly in the position to blame anyone.

#66916	07/11/2019 4:25:54 am	Jul 16th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Well, at least we didn't get no-hit...

#66925	07/11/2019 6:36:18 pm	Jul 21st, 2041
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Cows over the moooon to be over .500! My Night Bee friends did not deserve to lose at least two games of our series. I apologize for the highway robbery! Check out this 4-3 win for the Cows. 4 runs on just 2 hits. You don't see that every day! The only Cow hits were in the 3rd. In the 6th, we had: Walk, Walk, Walk, Passed Ball - Run, Sac Fly - Run. Check out this 9-8 win for the Cows. 9 runs on just 4 hits. Like I said, you don't see that every day! Except when you do! Cow 3rd, all in a row: Walk, Walk, Walk, Walk - Run. Cow 5th: Single, Walk, Walk, Walk - Run, Hit By Pitch - Run. Yowtch. 10 walks in the game earned by Cow hitters. The second game features a memorable Pit of Despair moment from my young center fielder, Butter Kim. This is the bottom of the 1st. He'll want to forget this: Jimenez takes the mound to pitch. Donahue strikes out. Day hits a single to center field. Ruth hits a triple to center field on a hit and run. Day comes in to score. Padgett strikes out. Pulido hits a single to center field. Ruth comes in to score. Moreno reaches on an error by center field Kim. Pulido advances to third base. Lewis reaches on an error by center field Kim. Pulido comes in to score. Moreno comes in to score. Arellano hits a ground ball single through to left field. Lewis is thrown out at the plate by Garcia. You can just imagine that triple rattling Kim, he's sweating profusely, and then he crumbles to shambles the rest of the inning. I think he destroyed a cooler with a bat up the dugout tunnel a ways. Also, 0 for 4 on the day. The play at the plate from the left fielder adds insult to injury. Butter Kim, we salute you.

#66966	07/14/2019 2:26:29 pm	Jul 30th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	You forgot to mention that on top of it all, with a narrow lead in the late innings, the Korean Kim gets pulled for a Japanese American guy who promptly strikes out to lead off the top of 9th and then allows another hit to center field. And, by the way, that's some amazing outfield defense you have there.

#66970	07/15/2019 8:32:00 am	Aug 2nd, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Well that was a couple of ugly series. Pitching is still on break.

#66972	07/15/2019 12:22:42 pm	Aug 2nd, 2041
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	Yeah, that was ugly! Both our teams weren't sharp on the mound. Feels like I got lucky.

#66978	07/16/2019 5:35:17 am	Aug 4th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Don't sell yourself short! That's a good club there in Columbus. I try to play match-ups and well, you beat the numbers in our last series. Can't beat good! West is putting it to the East this year: 18 games over .500 so far and only Manhattan has a winning record vs the West (24-21). Thankfully, I can see division games starting to pop up on our schedule.

#66980	07/16/2019 7:07:41 am	Aug 4th, 2041
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Isotopes: With a narrow lead in the late innings, the Korean Kim gets pulled for a Japanese American guy who promptly strikes out to lead off the top of 9th and then allows another hit to center field. And, by the way, that's some amazing outfield defense you have there. Maintaining racial harmony in the clubhouse is a central job of management. Also maintaining outfield excellence (no thanks to a certain bone-headed Korean kid). Thunder: Thankfully, I can see division games starting to pop up on our schedule. Full agreement from the Cows. I'm glad I'm done with the Patriots and Long Horns! Meanwhile, the baseball gods were listening and smirking. I run my mouth off about Commerce City and scoring runs without hits. What comes around goes around. Full force. Here's the bottom of the 3rd in this game with Fort Worth. 7 walks in an inning! Four runs walked in! Are you kidding?!? And not even from a pitcher that's particularly prone to walks: Abel takes the mound to pitch. Padron hits a home run to right field. Fiore strikes out. Banks draws a walk. Bentley draws a walk. Powers draws a walk. Kovacs draws a walk. Banks comes in to score. Nagel strikes out. Bradley draws a walk. Bentley comes in to score. Han draws a walk. Powers comes in to score. Padron draws a walk. Kovacs comes in to score. Olivera comes in to pitch. Fiore lines out to third base. 7 more walks in a later game with Fort Worth for my starter, but not all in the same inning. And from another pitcher that isn't that prone to control problems!

#66983	07/16/2019 8:39:47 am	Aug 4th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	I think I know what caused Abel's bad inning.

#66988	07/16/2019 4:08:52 pm	Aug 7th, 2041
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	OUCH!!! Just got no-hit by Manhattan... Congrats, Holmes... I guess... EDIT: Actually, its was a perfect game!!! Definetly CONGRATS, Holmes!!! Updated Tuesday, July 16 2019 @ 4:10:02 pm PDT Updated Tuesday, July 16 2019 @ 4:28:11 pm PDT

#66992	07/17/2019 1:15:51 am	Aug 9th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	A perfect game indeed. Not bad for a guy who still has "He seems a little overmatched at this level of competition." in his scouting report. I, uh, beg to differ. You still won the series, though. Since the East generally had two bad series in a row, I'm still 8 wins away from fifth place, so I can't complain.

#66993	07/17/2019 4:35:52 am	Aug 9th, 2041
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	Oh c´mon!!! You are closer to 1st place than you are to relegation. I think we have a race on both Divisions.

#66998	07/17/2019 11:18:37 am	Aug 9th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Late, but congratulations, Holmes. Make a press release or bookmark the game so you can always look back with pride. Here's the game if you've all not seen it. Pretty cool accomplishment.

#67002	07/17/2019 2:53:40 pm	Aug 11th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Of course, I had to write a press release on that. Honestly, Luizmussa, I see zero chance of catching Bloomington this season. We're a rebuilding team, with a lot of developing players getting playing time to develop and only a few band-aid veterans to fill in where they're not blocking anyone. If I had wanted to contend now, I would have built the roster differently over the offseason and then kept Naranjo and Calderón around. Next season, the Isos should have a strong, young core. For now, the aim is to avoid relegation while getting the new generation built up. In his next start after Apodaca's perfect game, my ace Quiles tries to defend his status by allowing two hits and no walks in his complete game against Fort Worth. Unfortunately, one of the baserunners advanced to third on a 3B error and then scores on a sac fly - while the Isos offense lets three doubles, four singles and two walks go to waste without getting a single run across. http://brokenbat.org/game/3342586 Updated Wednesday, July 17 2019 @ 2:58:40 pm PDT

#67036	07/18/2019 6:43:31 pm	Aug 19th, 2041
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Possibly the really real reason for all the walks. Congrats on the perfect game! Especially from a guy that's "overmatched". I also see zero chance of catching Bloomington. He could put his grounds crew out there and probably beat the Moo Cows. I predict a more meaningful 2042 race between the Cows and 'topes. West beat up on the East overall. A big story in the League has been the bad luck of Oklahoma City. They're +8 in run differential but 49-61, barely poking out of the relegation zone. I think the Pythagorean Expectation has them at 56-54. That means they're unlucky to the tune of 7 full games, which is wildly unlucky. Speaking of the Bobcats, this wacky game had something like 6 lead changes. This one was 8-5 already by the end of the first inning. Nobody could get anybody out. Our ballpark is very hitter-friendly, so this 1-0 game was very unusual. The thing is that it's happened twice more this year - against Seattle and against Commerce City. It's weird to have three 1-0 ballgames in the Cowabungalow. I feel like the Cows have been the on the pointy end of an unpardonable amount of grand slams this year. Not fun. Maybe next year it'll be the other way around.

#67041	07/19/2019 3:25:51 am	Aug 19th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I predict a more meaningful 2042 race between the Cows and 'topes. I'm all for that. Fun!!!

#67042	07/19/2019 3:27:20 am	Aug 19th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Speaking of run differential, sixth place Alexandria has a better run differential than the Isos.

#67044	07/19/2019 4:58:51 am	Aug 19th, 2041
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	Got swept by Topeka and fall to 9 GB Fort Woth in the race for 1st. Guess its time to give our youth some run. We will definetly wait and see until the next series against the Long Horns and after that will probably call it a season.

#67053	07/19/2019 7:09:17 am	Aug 19th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	If it is the end, Luiz, heckuva run. You'd be in the thick of it if Columbus wasn't so far west of Bloomington You're safe so getting a jump for next season is a smart move. How about Seattle making some moves in FA? If Faulkner can help by getting on base and "Crash" can provide some pinch-hitting thunder, Seattle has the pitching and D. The Night Bees have the thunder, but it's the infield D that needs to come together to pick up a staff that is feast (K) or famine (BB) on the hill. And will OKC remain unlucky or will the numbers start to average out? When will the 'Cats be the ones to win games late? That's going to be THE race to watch as II.1 takes the final turn.

#67070	07/19/2019 10:25:45 am	Aug 19th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	The scouts still want to send Apodaca back to AAA, although he has a 113 SI by now and followed up his perfect game with two more strong starts.

#67110	07/21/2019 8:05:18 pm	Aug 29th, 2041
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	I predict a more meaningful 2042 race between the Cows and 'topes. See what I did there? I messed up. The baseball gods are always vigilent. Never ever predict the future! The Cows instantly collapsed into an 8 game losing streak. Panic is setting in. Here's the latest press release: Cows Spin Tail Spin The Cows are in a tail spin after clinging to third place through mid-August. While enduring a miserable 8 game losing steak, division rivals Topeka and Alexandria respectively breezed through steaks of 10 and 9 wins. With the changed landscape, the Cows are staring down relegation panic. "We're fine. It's baseball. We've seen this before." Sweating profusely through his press conference, Manager Werewolf Hart didn't look fired at all. "We'll put grade A out there, but they've got to act like quality meat." Hart declined comment on his distracting celebrity marriage to Hollywood starlet Trixie Foxx. Alexandria's been crazy unlucky! As unlucky as Topeka is lucky! With all apologies, I hope they both stay unlucky. Movement is brewing on the charts. Isotopes: The scouts still want to send Apodaca back to AAA, although he has a 113 SI by now and followed up his perfect game with two more strong starts. What do the scouts know?!? I ask them how Joe Prospect is and they tell me something puzzling like, "Thirteen." What's that supposed to mean?!? Not only that, this kind of report is apparently wrong a lot. I'd fire them all if I could!

#67131	07/23/2019 3:27:18 am	Aug 31st, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	All right, being only four wins behind with 44 games left to go and with nobody else around to keep Snowflake busy, I stumbled across a solid-hitting veteran right fielder in the last round of waivers. I prefer Hasegawa's lefty bat (and his need for some more experience) in the lineup against righty pitching, but Park should be a definite upgrade over fringe-prospect Esposito against southpaws, plus he's a nice outfield backup against righties. The never-satisfied crowd in the bleachers will still call ownership stingy for cutting Silinas (who really had to role left with Esposito now the full-time backup catcher), but, yes, Manhattan is giving it at least a little bit of a go late this season. Bring it on, Bloomington! Now watch us get swept by Alexandria and Topeka before Bloomington actually does come to the city...

#67132	07/23/2019 5:03:20 am	Aug 31st, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	You would bring in a guy who crushes lefties as I bring up lefty prospect Conte, to not only get some exp, but maybe give my staff a boost. We've still been unable to find a bridge guy to the closer, so we will give former top prospect Bowman a chance to do something other than disappoint as a starting pitcher. The Thunder just got swept by the red-hot A's and are struggling since returning to division play. With Manhattan lurking, it's time to panic.

#67165	07/25/2019 3:14:22 am	Sep 8th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, rejoice. I decide to actually try (at least a little bit) to win, and for the key four-game series against Bloomington, my two rotation workhorses are out with injuries. I didn't want Apodaca to have to be the staff ace _that_ soon.

#67167	07/25/2019 4:32:37 am	Sep 8th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Kirk is red-hot and Hector has quickly established himself of late. The 'Topes have be en fuego and the Thunder...not so much. I hoping to at least split this series.

#67183	07/25/2019 7:29:25 pm	Sep 12th, 2041
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Bad news: It's September and the Cows bump down into last place. More bad news: The run differential isn't favorable anymore. Even more bad news: Ms. Cow popped a girdle seam from stress-drinking milkshakes. Good news: Wildly, third place and last place are separated by less than 1 game. More good news: The fourth milkshake of the day is just as tasty as the first.

#67188	07/26/2019 1:50:55 am	Sep 12th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Good news: As we scored one run over the first two games of the series, it absolutely didn't matter that I was playing consecutive spot starters. Bad news: It looks like the the interesting part of the division will be from third place down late this season. Bloomington is not playing us like they're feeling much pressure...

#67190	07/26/2019 4:41:41 am	Sep 12th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	LeChance deserved a better fate (only 1 ER). Apodaca was rolling but hit a brick wall in the 7th. He didn't allow a hit until the 6th, but then the wheels came off. Mecca made a couple of bullpen moves before the end of the FA signing period and so far, it's paying off. Cows come to town for a big series. Keggar's club is last in hitting and last in pitching, but here he is right in the thick of it. Check out his wins vs his expected wins. How he's coaxed this team to 58 wins is pretty amazing. Respect. Murfreesboro has had a rough stretch, but not too long ago they were safely in third. Have to believe they aren't going away. Edmond is about to be bot-controlled and that could throw everything into chaos.

#67191	07/26/2019 4:50:32 am	Sep 12th, 2041
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	After last night sweep, we are calling ourselves out of contention this year and the youth will be given a shot. Hope next year we dont flop like this. Good luck in the East, guys!!!

#67196	07/26/2019 5:52:43 am	Sep 12th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Edmond is about to be bot-controlled and that could throw everything into chaos. Dunno. Well-constructed, financially sound teams have this annoying tendency of sticking around in the upper leagues forever after going bot-controlled. An inexperienced new owner has a much larger probability of getting a team messed up.

#67249	07/29/2019 4:22:46 am	Sep 22nd, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	^^^That's what I was trying to speak to. The AI will auto-configure lineups and staffs and take the human element out of it. We've been coasting along with whatever the previous owner did and now that will change, potentially throwing the promotion & relegation races into chaos.

#67271	07/30/2019 8:16:17 am	Sep 26th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Well, last time through. Have to visit the Cows before Manhattan comes to town for a big series. These races are going to come down to the wire.

#67275	07/30/2019 1:59:40 pm	Sep 26th, 2041
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	SCENE: Deep in the Moo Cow clubhouse. The ballplayers and staff gather for a team meeting. The rumble is sedate, not rowdy. The Cows are in last place. Cut to the clubhouse hallway. A rushed walk in narrow heels on hard floors. Ms. Cow gently enters the meeting room wearing the shortest skirt ever seen in Murfreesboro on a church-going girl. The guys go silent and quickly sit down. She speaks politely. MS. COW: "Thanks for being here early today. I don't come down here much. I always pop in on Opening Day, but then I try to leave everybody pretty much alone. It's about time I guess. You know why I'm here. We all know what I'm going to say. I need you to win some ball games." The ballplayers are embarrassed and shift slightly with her words. MS. COW: "Nobody's mad! It's fine. You've played hard. We've fought hard. You've earned your pay. It's that there's just 24 games left and we're in last place. I need you to win some ball games. The team needs you to win. Murfreesboro needs you to win. Nobody wants us to get relegated. Nobody. She takes a peppy hop to perch up on a table in her skirt and crosses her legs sideways. MS. COW: "This isn't your fault. It's been the ... darnedest season. If it could go wrong, it went wrong. I feel proud to be up here in League II. You should feel proud. It's a tough league! But I can't shake the feeling we should be staying." She's composed, charming, and they clearly eat it up. MS. COW: "I know we're 0-13 against Bloomington. And that's a good team. Whatever happened there is wonkers. If we'd gone just 5-8 against them, just FIVE AND EIGHT, y'all would happily be in third place right now. Doggone it, with five wins less they'd be in a weasel-war for first with the Isotopes! That's the story of the season if you think about it! And that's just dumb baseball luck! It's not you guys!" She takes a second and taps an expensive manicure on the table. MS. COW: "It'll happen. The Milk Machine runs on faith. I've watched the games. We're getting gusts of wind that rob homers. You're nailing balls right at infielders. It's the darnedest season. You're the right guys or I wouldn't have picked you. It'll get better. Just 24 games. You'll play hard. It'll all work out. I believe in you." The team listens quietly as she wonders what else to say. Nothing comes to mind and she doesn't want the meeting to drag, so she slides down, curtly waves and says goodbye, shakes the manager's hand, and hoofs it back up to the front offices.

#67293	07/31/2019 6:11:43 am	Sep 30th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I always feel terribly boring when commenting after hurstdm... Interesting detail, though: At this point, Manhattan and Alexandria have exactly identical team BP and SLG, and their team ERA differs by 0.02 only. Still, Manhattan somehow is four wins away from the division lead, and Alexandria is three wins away from last place. Baseball is strange. The story of the season for me, however, is that while we still have one of the two best pitching staffs in the league, the power just isn't there. For a team that's always been built around power and speed, 108 bombs or 486 XBH total over 140 games just can't keep up with Bloomington's thunder... The next series will probably decide if we can continue to put at least a bit of pressure on Snowflake, or if he's running away with the title after all. Updated Wednesday, July 31 2019 @ 6:12:50 am PDT

#67300	07/31/2019 4:24:06 pm	Oct 2nd, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, the Isos sweep through Indiana, and we have a competition in the East. I would have never thought that would happen during the early parts of the season.

#67303	08/01/2019 4:07:35 am	Oct 4th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Ouch.

#67318	08/02/2019 4:28:39 am	Oct 8th, 2041
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	WOW!!! We gotta a race in the East!!! Really exciting, ppl. Keep the hard work and let it go down to the wire. At least thats what I wish. Just love a nice and tight race. And Im all for The Cows staying here with us at League II. Baseball gods, just take Edmond back to level III and let the new manager, whoever he/she is gonna be, prove they are worth a promotion.

#67327	08/02/2019 11:17:55 am	Oct 8th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	With the remaining schedule and going off season-long results, I'm predicting the Thunder and Isotopes will enter the final series with 88 wins. Then it's a gulp trip to Manhattan for the Thunder.

#67340	08/02/2019 7:31:35 pm	Oct 12th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I'm all for the Cows staying up, too, but did they have to sweep us for that? That certainly didn't help the competition... I'm surprised we've only fallen to three wins behind.

#67349	08/03/2019 6:25:59 pm	Oct 16th, 2041
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	The most exciting season tail since I started in 2035! Crunch time all around in the East! The Cows are grinding our teeth. Compare us to League III, right under us, where only a few games separates 1st place from relegation. Hey Thunder, did you make a written prediction? The baseball gods were listening. They're always listening. What's the bigger story here? The bashful act in the back half? Or was it really the way you got out to such an enormous lead in the beginning that the East wrote off the race in writing? I haven't forgotten that you were hot, hot, hot. Hey Manny, sorry (not sorry), but we still love you. The Milk Machine goes to Bloomington for 4 games. We're 1-15 against them this season. Bleak. But what would be the better storybook narrative? The Thunder makes it 1-19 to possibly force promotion? Or the Cows - against all odds - make it 5-15 for sweet, sweet revenge and to help out The Big Apple? Life has a funny way of helping you out. #BeatTheBot

#67355	08/04/2019 11:11:53 am	Oct 16th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	That bot took 3 of 4. If you go back to the beginning of the season, I said Edmond had a squad that could compete and recently said how going bot would create chaos, since on Friday, the bot would default them to a decent squad. A wise sage once said:"it ain't over till it's over". Well, it ain't over. Not thrilled with my chances of getting back to Legends: the match-ups are no longer in my favor and the baseball gods are predictably unpredictable. 'Topes have a winning record vs the Thunder this year and good pitching beats good hitting in a short series.

#67357	08/04/2019 12:35:44 pm	Oct 16th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Phew, this is turning into quite an unexpected nailbiter. So what else is there to say at this point? MOO, MOO COWS!!!

#67359	08/04/2019 2:56:04 pm	Oct 17th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Very silently I was hoping that if I can sweep Topeka, the Cows might make the final showdown a moo point, but it looks like that's not happening...

#67361	08/04/2019 5:10:49 pm	Oct 20th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	So the Cows were butchered in Bloomington and the steaks will be high for them against the Bullbots for the finale. The Isotopes mostly got it done today, but their chances are decaying quickly.

#67362	08/04/2019 5:27:28 pm	Oct 20th, 2041
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	The Moo Cows end the season 1-19 against Bloomington. What a nightmare. If we're just a pathetic 6-14, we're comfortably in 3rd place and Manhattan sits comfortably in 1st. Take away the Thunder from our schedule and we have a winning 70-67 (.511) record. Seriously, how is that possible? Are you stealing Cow signs or something? Did you notice like half my team got hurt for the second game and beyond? Great bonzo beans the luck. Do I root for Manhattan to sweep the Thunder in the final series as revenge? Nah. Do I root for Bloomington in the final series because I never want to play the Thunder again? Nah. Really, no hard feelings. Baseball is weird. Besides, I've got problems of my own and 24 hours to prepare. Any advice on how to #BeatTheBot in the final series of the year? Also #CuteCowPuns. Updated Sunday, August 4 2019 @ 5:28:08 pm PDT

#67375	08/05/2019 4:47:53 am	Oct 20th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Couldn't ask for a better final day. The Thunder and 'Topes have lined up their best: 1,2,& 3 for Bloomington, Beane and two wrong-handers for Manhattan. Game two has two rookie southpaws going at it in a high stakes situation. Bloomington needs one in Gotham to advance. The Cows and Bullbots will alternate right vs left with the Cows starting Iwasa in very pivotal game 2. Cows need two to keep the league.

#67389	08/05/2019 12:51:52 pm	Oct 20th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I could have asked for a final day that didn't need me to win all three to be at the top, but, well, considering one page back I thought a situation like this would be completely out of the question, I really can't complain. The stars didn't line up all by themselves - if it comes down to the final game, Quiles will be starting on short rest, so I'm not going to let him throw 120 pitches. McCallum will be available out of the pen. I'd be thrilled if that matters.

#67391	08/05/2019 2:20:48 pm	Oct 20th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, that was a bit anticlimactic - but rather typical. The lack of a reliable closer has been a bit of an issue for the Isos the entire season. Congratulations to PrivateSnowflake. Without some bad luck, you probably should have had this in the bag a lot earlier, but this way, it was definitely more fun. Keeping my fingers crossed for the Cows. If they stay and the Dinos end up in this division, there will definitely be a fun season coming in this forum.

#67410	08/05/2019 7:45:39 pm	Oct 24th, 2041
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	The Cows just squeak it. The relief in Murfreesboro is real and the whole team believes in The Magic Miniskirt. We're so happy we get to stay. Right from the beginning, our press releases suggested it might be close. Congratulations to Bloomington and Fort Worth! Happy trails! Some dramatic stories this season in the East. Bloomington's rise and near fall. Alexandria's amazing near fall and then rise. The Cow collapse in the back half and then redemption. One pesky bot team that shall remain nameless. Whether Manhattan played consistently over or under expectations all year. Isn't it amazing that 74-86 gets us pretty much the same thing as 87-73? Why overachieve when you can coast right in? In the West, Seattle stays up with a wildly negative run differential. Which is unlucky for either the Bobcats or Night Bees, who might have deserved better. Early welcomes to Farmington Hills, Saratoga, & Haverhill. Not so welcome to Rohnert Park, the Cow nemesis. Will we get Allen or Waterloo? Novi or Broomfield? How does that work? Is it random?

#67418	08/06/2019 3:35:31 am	Oct 24th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Hurstdm, congrats for surviving (which wasn't quite clear yet at the time of my last post) and for sending the bot to the nether realm.

#67420	08/06/2019 4:51:57 am	Oct 24th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Hats off to Holmes for positioning his Manhattan squad one series from promotion. There were times this year I thought we'd pull away, but the Gotham squad just kept getting better and better and better. 'Topes should enter 2042 as one of the favorites. Great job getting Manhattan back in a position to win. Enough hasn't been said about Mecca and the turn-around in Alexandria. Pitching, pitching, pitching. I think we all wrote you off at one point this season. Great job (as always). I don't think there's a owner in II.1 that didn't want to see MurFREEsboro keep the league. Truly happy to see you back in II next season. Tough break for keggar after finishing second last season. No doubt a re-tooled Topeka squad will be back up soon. Edmond: why won't you return my PM's?!?! Looking ahead to Ft. Worth: I'm trying to stay positive, but finding four wins against the best team in the league is something I'm having a tough time envisioning. I don't see this series taking too long.

#67434	08/06/2019 11:59:47 am	Oct 24th, 2041
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Somehow finding my way back here despite 4 very underwhelming seasons in a row. Hoping the RNG is nicer next season, and some of my guys start performing again. Otherwise I'll be back in III again by the end of the season...

#67481	08/08/2019 3:59:39 pm	Nov 4th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Congratulations to Fort Worth for winning the '41 pennant! (Soon to be MVP) Vince Powers came alive in Game 3 and ignited the Texas club to four straight wins over Bloomington and a 4-2 series win. Hats off to 2041 Champions!

#67495	08/09/2019 2:33:26 am	Nov 4th, 2041
Meccanodonte Joined: 04/21/2014 Posts: 370 Inactive	Very tough (and silent) season here in Alexandria. After being demoted last season, a double demotion would have been a blow for me. A combo with several not yet developed youngsters and veterans who seem to be already retired without saying it's not been easy to manage. I had trusted in the early difference between avg and risp avg, which was simply awful compared to yours, in the youngsters development and made a couple of change in the bullpen which clicked. Luckily it has worked. Hope next season could be less thrilling. Mystery object award: Ed Davis, who went 1-12, nth season with bad results despite good surface skills. I'm forever on the verge of dropping him.

#67497	08/09/2019 5:42:14 am	Nov 4th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Congrats to Fort Worth - although I have to say the East champion being swept in the playoffs was a bit of a letdown, after our division had already been demolished in the all star game. But then, the Long Horns (there was quite a farm in the division this season...) were just crushing the ball for much of the season, so this is hardly undeserved. As far as Davis goes, his ERA is pretty much what I would expect from him, except maybe the disaster 2039 series, where the balls just kept flying out of the park against him. He just doesn't have the changeup for a dominant starter. His 1-12 in 2041 shows that wins and losses just aren't a good stat, as your batters apparently went so sleep every time Davis was on the mound. Unless you have too much pitching, I would probably keep him around in the bullpen. I don't know how the game engine does that, but Theo Lachance, whose skills I would rate on a somewhat similar level to Davis (although his weakness is the breaking ball, not the change) and also have never quite reached their ceilings, has been outstanding for Manhattan - as long as he didn't have to start.

#67501	08/09/2019 6:23:41 am	Nov 4th, 2041
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Isos are continuing to go young, after we somehow managed to make it into title contention in League II on a League VI payroll. I expect a few players will want to cash in on their success this offseason... Beane and Ahlgren are gone. Beane has been a rotation staple this season, but I really don't expect him to keep that up at age 34. Ahlgren has aged well so far, and he's been raking in the few opportunities he got this season, but there just was no space for him in the lineup given his declining defense. At 1B and DH, I have 25 year old lefty mashers, and next season I have a top outfield prospect coming in Corona, who will get all the at bats I can give him, so I have no idea where Ahlgren should have played. If father time is kind to him again, he should get quite a few waiver claims. That leaves late-season acquisition Park and franchise icon Kaiser as my only players over 30, both switch-hitting outfielders with rather different defensive strengths. Park has torn the cover off the ball in the just 35 at bats he got late this season, mostly pinch-hitting for my platoon outfielders, but his previous career was in the lower leagues, so it's hard to say how good he really still is. Kaiser has been a mild disappointment if you look at his overall career, turning in several solid campaigns, but never being able to live up to his breakout 2036 season. I'll wait for age regression updates and spring waivers, but it's quite possible that come opening day, there will only be room for one of the two. Updated Friday, August 9 2019 @ 6:24:02 am PDT

#67515	08/09/2019 9:53:30 am	Nov 4th, 2041
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	although I have to say the East champion being swept in the playoffs was a bit of a letdown... Hey, I did steal the first two! It just felt like a sweep after that. Powers is named MVP. Around the 3/4 pole that was the surest bet going this side of Ft Worth winning the West. Iwasa wins his second Cy Young! Bloomington and Seattle are shut out of the All-League team. "Mr. Perfect" wins RPOY. The bar is set pretty high here. Same goes for masher Bae Han, the other ROY. It's been a fun season and the competition was fierce. Columbus got a chance to retool after a very good first half. Alexandria pulled of one of the better turn-arounds I've seen in a while. Moore has a terrific young core that already has a second-place finish to it's credit. Manhattan got better and better and was one series sweep away from promotion. Seattle's roster looks Legends-worthy, and Murfreesboro proved to be a savvy owner and shouldn't be counted out in '42. Good luck to everyone going forward in next season and beyond. II.1 should be a great league again next season.

#67516	08/09/2019 10:50:24 am	Nov 4th, 2041
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	Good luck to you PrivateSnowflakes up there in Legends League. And good luck to TyX too, even though he is kind of quiet. It was an exciting season in Columbus until it was not. The Patriots had a great 1st half of the season but just couldnt keep the pace and made the option to give a little more seasoning to quite a few youngsters. Hope we all have a great and exciting 2042 season!!! Updated Friday, August 9 2019 @ 10:50:59 am PDT

#67533	08/10/2019 6:19:15 am	Jan 15th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Greetings II.1. Truthfully, I was hoping to land in II.2. I came up the right side of the tree, and would have preferred to revisit some old haunts rather than explore new territory. Lots of old friends here tho. There was a stretch of time when I considered Manhattan to be the Dinos greatest rival. The franchises got to Legends a season apart, and spent several seasons as drowning men trying to push the other under. I saw the Thief pass thru waivers last season (iirc). He may have been the last player I was familiar with. Roster seems completely new. It wouldn't surprise me if Waterloo had the 2nd most games played against Alexandria (Birm #1). While I am familiar with their current core, most of my encounters against the A's were during their halycon days with English, Marsh, Cedillo and Downing. Despite being old foes, the games should have different flavor. Think I've only faced Haverhill one season, and amazingly Marroquin is still around. Given Splattermonkey's longevity and skill I'm surprised Waterloo hasn't seen Saratoga; couldn't even find a cup series between the 2 teams (didn't look that hard). Tho the MooCows are also a team I'm unfamiliar with, Hurst and I have faced off due to diametrically opposed views of the RL C position (Hurst - C are baseball jedi, Seca - C are glorified target dummies). I am pleased to be here. The game really needs movement of teams to combat stagnation, and my competitive fire didn't allow me to intentionally toss a season (Haselrig seems to be able to do this, but it's just not in my programming). I also desperately needed a change of scenery. I get ideas sometimes that start as sparks that perception bias builds into infernos. At the moment I am really discouraged by my perception of how powerful managers are. I've intentionally avoided scouting anyone your managers in hopes that I do a lot less eye rolling this season.

#67545	08/10/2019 1:56:30 pm	Jan 15th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Been kind of used to 9-10 million increases in payroll. 4.3 million this season is a very nice change. Much of that is in Guti who isn't bolted down, especially if lefties don't work in this league.

#67558	08/10/2019 10:32:25 pm	Jan 15th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	That's funny, I also came up the right side, and I also hoped you would go back down the right side I was in Legends twice, so by definition that means we faced off for two seasons. Probably won't be facing off next season unless you plan on a double demotion, LOL.

#67561	08/11/2019 5:03:59 am	Jan 15th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Apologies for the mistake. I'm stuck on my phone most of the summer - leads to shortcuts, which means errors. I'm not planning anything really. See where the ship goes. We ended up looking like a rebuilding team last season, tho only 2 of the players (Smiley, Bolton) actually came from our system. Gomez was high claims but the rest are cast offs noone else wanted. Probably a reason for that. Waivers underway. Dinos not looking for much. Keeping an eye on 2B. Not convinced Chiang is the long term answer there. May also kick some tires on DH-types. Tuero has largely worn out his welcome, tho Marino may end up helping there to allow all the young OF playing time.

#67579	08/11/2019 8:08:24 pm	Jan 15th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Entering into the season ranked 2nd in the west didn't do me any favors on scheduling. Long road trips and home stands don't usually bode well for the Cardinals. Interestingly enough, I get the rare opportunity of facing off against Saratoga in both league play and the cup. after this season they will be the first team I have played in Cup, league, playoff and spring training. Similar to last season. FHL will be experiencing growing pains with the rotation as well as the lineup. Gotta develop a rookie and sophomore Catcher. I also have a rookie Knuckleballer and rookie Fly ball expert to break in on top of that. I anticipated a 4th place finish last season and won the league. I doubt luck will favor me against the big guns in this league. Goal is 3rd place finish, but i'm happy if I can avoid relegation. Good luck to you all, but please don't have it against me!

#67588	08/12/2019 9:50:19 am	Jan 15th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Breaking in Welch/Quintero looks painful. Dinos brought up Bolton last season, and he just barely hit the Mendoza line. Glad you pointed out Herrera. Will follow him with interest. I pay attention to repertoires, and have never had a knuckleballer. Curious to see how he does. Moo Cows get the ball rolling adding some bullpen depth. Kinda wondered if this might be a slow waiver season, thinking rosters may be swollen from last season's draft. But both Murfreesboro and Saratoga have 5 open roster spots. Lots of flexibility.

#67593	08/12/2019 11:42:08 am	Jan 15th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I only have a dozen claims out right now. But still need to review the lists a bit more.

#67605	08/12/2019 3:48:40 pm	Jan 15th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Good luck, everyone, and welcome to the additions to our league. I love that there is action in the forum so early in the season. I don't see any glaring needs for the Isos right now, but I certainly have a wish list, and payroll space to add a few players. A starter would be more than welcome, so I could move Lachance back to the bullpen, where he's dominated, while usually looking shaky in the rotation, in spite of his good stamina. That wouldn't have to be an ace, but going without an addition wouldn't be terrible, either. Any addition to the pen would have to be a lights-out closer, though. I'm not too happy with Morse in that role. As far as the lineup goes, I can live with what I have (minus Kaiser, who should be gone by the next economic update), but at shortstop, cather and right-handed 1B/DH, I wouldn't hesitate to move my young but mostly developed incumbents to the bench if I happened to run into a veteran who promised better performance. The chances to somehow find a righty DH should be pretty decent, I'd say, and neither Farmer nor Eldred against same-side pitching would be in the way. I expect Eldred to terrorize right-handed pitchers though. I'm really pleased how that former 13p fringe prospect has turned out...

#67608	08/12/2019 8:46:58 pm	Jan 15th, 2042
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Dinosaurs: Truthfully, I was hoping to land in II.2. Yeah, we were rooting for it too. Cardinals: I also have a rookie Knuckleballer and rookie Fly ball expert to break in on top of that. Who doesn't love a knuckleballer? How can you not be romantic about baseball? Dinosaurs: Moo Cows get the ball rolling adding some bullpen depth. Kinda wondered if this might be a slow waiver season, thinking rosters may be swollen from last season's draft. But both Murfreesboro and Saratoga have 5 open roster spots. Lots of flexibility. If I get a feeling like someone's peeking up my dress this season, I'll assume it's the Dinos. I wouldn't be surprised if they already know my team better than I do. I simply had to add "Kerry Butterfield". I challenge you to find a better Moo Cow name than that! He might stick. Might not. Waivers : Shopping : : Moo Cows : Happy.

#67609	08/12/2019 9:50:44 pm	Jan 15th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Eldred looks like a beast. May have scrounge up more LHP. Got looking at my pitching tonight. Been a strength of the team, but just noticed I've only got 3 guys over 100 SI. Doesn't instill confidence. I've decided I'm going to take the "we wish you were in II.2 too" as compliments. I totally missed the Butterfield - Moo Cows connection. Going to have to sharpen my game.

#67612	08/13/2019 4:23:21 am	Jan 15th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Kerry Butterfield is a great name for a Moo Cow. I've whiffed on about a half dozen guys named Holmes on waivers over the last couple of seasons. One of the BB players named Rutherford would be cool for the Isotopes, too, and considering where I'm playing from, I have a weakness for players from Central Europe. Since Dąbrowski retired, I don't have any on my major league roster, but I have a German pitching prospect. Regarding Butterfield, though, I have to tell you that my guys Eldred and Lauretti strangely start salivating and get that nervous twitch in their left arms when they see the lack of a changeup and declining fastball command in his video. The Korean-Japanese lefty slugging competition further down my lineup is looking forward to meeting him, too. It does look like giving the ball to lefties might be a valid strategy against us this season, at least at this point. Kind of odd, considering a few seasons ago, I was desperately looking for lefty hitting prospects and thought I was going to have plenty of righty pop. Ramirez and Farmer have developed nicely, but nobody will mistake them for Aaron Judge on either side of the ball. Rios and Esposito will probably never reach their ceilings, and Martinez may never make it to the majors. Corona will hopefully grow into that role rather quickly, but behind him, I have only Tseng as a potential future righty impact bat, and he is a very one-dimensional player currently in AA. So a righty slugger is what I'm mostly looking for on waivers right now (improvements to the farm are always welcome of course) - if he can swing the bat, he can leave his glove at home if he wants to. That's usually the profile I find the easiest to fill through waivers, so I'm not too worried. It's not like you guys have an army of Chris Sales, Clayton Kershaws and MadBums to start against us, anyway. Ed Davis is probably the best left-handed starter in the division right now (and probably the only one I would waste a roster spot on), and he had a 4.71 ERA with matching peripherals last season. Gutierrez and Sanchez have been surprisingly successful in the big show for Seca, but they're not getting any younger, and I'll be rather surprised if they can keep that up. The Cows have a few southpaws who could start, but the way I see it, Olivera just survives because the stampeding outfielders behind him, Bonilla is coming off a 6.45 ERA season, and the miracle about Jiménez is how he's managed to hit only two batters, considering he obviously has no idea where he's throwing the ball. I did get the starter I was looking for today - at least pretty much who I was looking for. He's clearly the fifth man in the rotation, and he won't provide much length, but he should give me the opportunity to keep Lachance mostly in the bullpen and not have to give the ball to Kirk every fifth day if there is a longer injury. If I run into a better starter on waivers, that would be icing on the cake, but the urgency is rather low on that front now.

#67614	08/13/2019 5:47:56 am	Jan 15th, 2042
6th Man Joined: 05/12/2016 Posts: 47 Inactive	Rebels moving on and up, and just more than doubled the size of their ballpark for the upcoming season. Was well past due there. Plan is to stay pretty much fully homegrown and there should only be a bit of turnover at the catcher spot and in the bullpen. Hopefully the younger guys will do ok replacing the aging Hill (not gonna lie I’m on my phone and too lazy to do a link) and a few pitchers who suffered SI drops. Good luck everyone! Except vs. me of course...

#67617	08/13/2019 7:49:17 am	Jan 15th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Looking forward to playing Rohnert. I often say the team you should worry about is the one that isn't making moves. . I follow the Canadian NT, and am optimistic about Weaver. Hoping he has a few less jitters this tournament. Hurstdm accused me off looking up skirts, but I haven't scouted anyone yet. Glanced at the Isos list to get a look at Eldred. Does seem the days of locking your southpaws in the basement to keep them away from Dunlap, Dunbar, Nava, Hammond, Hudson, etc., have passed. My recollection is that LHP is decent against the A's as well. The schedule-maker thoughtfully put Manhattan and Alexandria back to back in my schedule. Sigh Some good moves last night. Manhattan and Murfreesboro both pick up an arm worth testing. Saratoga and Waterloo each get a veteran bat. Dinos were unopposed on Esquivel. Some spicy career numbers. We won't be tying up salary and a roster spot in him if Tuero decides to contribute.

#67629	08/13/2019 6:27:21 pm	Jan 22nd, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Haverhill hasn't won any claims yet. But we have a couple dozen still active. Some with only 1 or 2 claims. Should land a couple guys before the World Classic is over. Lots of claims on South Paws. We've been searching (and failing) to find a replacement for Marionette for several seasons now... He has been solid at LHS (boasting a 1.225 WHIP over 13 seasons), but I expect he is going to start to really live up to his nickname this season Updated Tuesday, August 13 2019 @ 6:30:25 pm PDT

#67638	08/14/2019 5:46:47 am	Jan 22nd, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	Well, landed five guys and already dropped one of them. Money is not a problem this year so we are going with those expensive bullpen arms. The great players are clearing tomorrow. Im not supposed to win any claims but I really wish I could get at least one of them. My claims for tomorrow read like this: 128 25 32 25 52 28 28 Then, the day after tomorrow we have a decision to make regarding a key position player.

#67639	08/14/2019 6:04:00 am	Jan 22nd, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	I'm pretty content with not winning any claims yet. I basically entered all of the great player sweepstakes not to win, but to make it slightly harder for all of you to win. @Luiz, I smiled when you picked up McFarland as I faced off against him all last season. Nice to see familiar faces.

#67642	08/14/2019 8:00:28 am	Jan 25th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	regarding a key position player Hehe. Building the suspense. Very nice. Last night was kind of an exhale night. Contreras and Parsons were (imo) the 2 best bats out there. Not going to change our landscape. (Wondered if Manhattan was in on Parsons - was quite expensive at 7.8). Cheers to Murfreesboro on the Lange signing. I looked at him, but the Dinos are likely already leading the league in Ks. Lange bears a strong resemblance to Aleimda, who I consider one of the most important players in Dino history. I had 9 claims out, and unsurprisingly won the guy who will have the least impact on the team. Hambry has the exact same job description as Esquivel that I won yesterday. He's younger, cheaper, and can play 1B. I think I can carry all of Esquivel, Hambry, and Tuero for a bit, but eventually a decision needs to be made.

#67645	08/14/2019 9:01:56 am	Jan 27th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I picked up an extra minor leaguer to clutter up my minors. He did have two claims, but the other team pulled out, LOL. Will probably drop before the season starts... Actually, already dropped. Updated Wednesday, August 14 2019 @ 9:04:14 am PDT

#67649	08/14/2019 10:34:25 am	Jan 28th, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	@5L1NK - Well, McFarland got the 8th inning to call his own with the good work of years past. probably the most expensive Setup Man in all baseball but thats key to our bullpen. @Seca - Im afraid its going to be frustrating as its a not so key position as it looked like. Updated Wednesday, August 14 2019 @ 4:20:13 pm PDT

#67651	08/14/2019 10:54:15 am	Jan 28th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Beyond the rest of the rabble, I currently have two untested but major ready LHS claimed for Saturday. Each with me being the only claimant so far... Neither is particularly attractive, so I may well be uncontested. Doubt I will have two slots by Saturday. Will have to choose one.

#67660	08/14/2019 8:22:15 pm	Feb 5th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	@ Luiz Was it McAdams? Or is the shoe still to drop? Honestly, I love the way you wrote that. No disappointment possible. @ 6thman Bummed Weaver was an afterthought for the NT. Maybe next year. @ Rock777 Montalvo a super find week 4 or 5. Definitely hard to roster a lottery ticket this early. Dinos 9 claims out tonight. Got one that made the cut simply because he's an Iowa / hometown boy. Cant say I've ever considered that before.

#67663	08/15/2019 12:17:39 am	Feb 5th, 2042
6th Man Joined: 05/12/2016 Posts: 47 Inactive	Yeah weaver didn’t get much PT. Getting older too, hopefully they give him a chance next season.

#67664	08/15/2019 4:26:42 am	Feb 5th, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	Well, no Casillas or Cardenas for us but we still got Thacker and can take that decision one day ahead. @Seca - That wasnt McAdams. He got the axe because we landed Carreon and I think Hagen is still a better player than him. I was talking about Martinho Jesus, the serviceable backup catcher, who we are letting go right now because, well, Thacker!!!

#67665	08/15/2019 6:41:29 am	Feb 5th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Breathed a sigh or relief when I saw Casillas go to a lower level. His entry into this league would likely bite me hard. Still no wins. I'm only in on the Collier sweepstakes now and a 2b prospect.

#67666	08/15/2019 6:47:27 am	Feb 5th, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	Casillas would be really dangerous. I lost track of him, deleted the bookmark. Actually I did that to the Cardenas boy too. But I was also relieved when I checked no team in our league got them. Oh, and Im right there with you at the Collier sweepstakes. Updated Thursday, August 15 2019 @ 6:48:01 am PDT

#67668	08/15/2019 8:14:53 am	Feb 9th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	I have a very bad feeling Collier is coming here...

#67669	08/15/2019 9:10:37 am	Feb 10th, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	Fernando Cardenas told the midia he wanted to play to the Patriots. We thought we had him. He fooled us.

#67670	08/15/2019 9:28:14 am	Feb 10th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I don't know which Parsons you mean, but I definitely would remember if I had placed a claim on a guy making almost a fourth of my current team salary. Nope. I'm not in on Collier, either, by the way. He wouldn't make the rotation, and he's too old to drop my longterm insurance backups Kirk and Ferraro for him. Would love to get my hands on Jean Garnett, though. 27, maxed out at 102 without a breaking ball, but should still be an upgrade over Kirk or Ferraro. Plus, he would be coming over from Frankfort. Not here in Frankfurt, but close, at least by name.

#67693	08/16/2019 6:34:59 am	Feb 19th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Grats on Thacker. Dinos are almost completely without a running game these days. His defense will play just fine against us. Might be consecutive seasons where the Dinos cut the highest claim off-season pitcher. Collier got to 126 this season, Wolf was over 140 last season. Both look shinier than they are IMO, but I guess we'll see. Parsons. Pricey. I considered tho. I usually carry 2 DHs. If you view Parsons as a 2 for 1, salary isnt as bad, and frees a roster spot to boot. Had both Ruiz and Howells on my watch list, but decided to go with what I have got at RHB DH. May be nice additions to the winning clubs. Dinos have mostly come up empty. Lost a bunch of coin flips. Still looking for a couple of things, but likely free agents now.

#67697	08/16/2019 7:22:36 am	Feb 19th, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	Seems like we have 8 of us on a certain level of activity here. Its great to have so many guys posting. But that make me wonder: where are you guys from?

#67703	08/16/2019 2:29:12 pm	Mar 1st, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Looks like Walla Walla landed Muniz. I had a claim on him even though it would have required some juggling. A steal at only 4 claims I was a bit surprised Saratoga dropped him. Guess that means we'll see Bautista sometime this season. I also had a claim on Collier. Could have used a solid 1 year rental SP. So far my only successful waiver was dropped the next day Good news is that I now actually have 2 spots open for the two LHS I put claims on. Of course some other joker came along and also claimed them, so they each have two claims apiece... I'll probably lose out on both of them, LOL. Updated Friday, August 16 2019 @ 2:47:42 pm PDT

#67705	08/16/2019 2:30:58 pm	Mar 1st, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	where are you guys from? Earth. LOL, but honestly, its no secret I'm from the Boston area

#67706	08/16/2019 2:44:29 pm	Mar 1st, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Howells was a last second claim on my part. I figured it's better to add depth at 1B now while there is selection. Suzuki will start the season at 1b vs RHP while McDowell is vs. LHP. Suzuki probably won't last long considering he still doesn't have 1b in his Fielding yet. Hopefully he can hit it with a busy spring but unlikely. I doubt Suzuki will last past the first training update after spring training. Howells will likely take his place and we'll go from there. As for myself, I'm a Canuck from the greater Toronto area.

#67707	08/16/2019 3:09:05 pm	Mar 1st, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	LOL. Relieved youre from earth! As for myself, Im from Brazil. A city an hour drive from Sao Paulo.

#67709	08/16/2019 8:34:08 pm	Mar 2nd, 2042
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	I know this is not my league, but I just wanted to pop in here to say somehow I didn't know you are from the Boston area Rock. We're neighbors.

#67712	08/17/2019 1:46:48 am	Mar 2nd, 2042
6th Man Joined: 05/12/2016 Posts: 47 Inactive	I’m from NorCal. My team location is actually the city up from where I actually live, since some bot team has my city taken. I’m content with RP tho, we’ve done well as this team name.

#67713	08/17/2019 6:38:52 am	Mar 2nd, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Ontario, Canada. About 2 hrs drive north of Toronto. Parted ways with Esquivel. If the Dinos were a little more results oriented this season we would have kept him longer. Hamby gets first crack at DH. Been trying to land a competent defensive 2B to pair with Chiang. Mayfield isn't quite what we are looking for, simply because of the 2.5 mill salary. Still looking. Have my cup lineups in now (save Lafferty, who hasn't been called up yet). Dinos not as bad as we are showing.

#67714	08/17/2019 7:33:12 am	Mar 2nd, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I can't seem to get away from Rohnert... After losing the playoffs in devastating fashion last season, I get to start the year off by facing them in the cup...

#67715	08/17/2019 7:45:11 am	Mar 2nd, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	LOL. Sure enough the two LHS I claimed with no other claims, who then got claimed by one other person both went elsewhere. Claimed well over a dozen LHP this season, most with fewer than 5 claims, and yet to land one... Who knew it was so hard to get LHPs...

#67721	08/17/2019 11:34:54 am	Mar 2nd, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Seca, I'm genuinely amazed you're that close. Considering the variety of places each player is from, we're practically in each other's backyards.

#67722	08/17/2019 1:51:36 pm	Mar 2nd, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I'm from the Frankfurt area, Germany. I do have a bit of a past in upstate New York and Long Island, though, and MLB evening games are costing me a lot of sleep... So at least 2 out of the 4 claims on Muniz came from my division. An experiences, hard-hitting catcher would have beem perfect for me, considering Rios has stopped developing at a level where he should be a backup rather than a starter. I'm shocked that Muniz had so few claims. I got Cruz Ruiz to fill my void as a right handed DH and to be a possible emergency outfielder. So I kinda sorta managed to fill the two holes I saw, although it's not necessarily with my dream candidates. Should be good enough to start the season and maybe pick up an improvement later on.

#67725	08/17/2019 7:30:51 pm	Mar 4th, 2042
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Isotopes: The Cows have a few southpaws who could start, but the way I see it, Olivera just survives because the stampeding outfielders behind him, Bonilla is coming off a 6.45 ERA season, and the miracle about Jiménez is how he's managed to hit only two batters, considering he obviously has no idea where he's throwing the ball. We have faith in Bonilla. The Milk Machine runs on faith. I'm not supposed to tell people, but Bonilla's an ugly crier. He spent most of 2041 bawling in my office. Also, it's not that "Nuclear Meltdown" Jiménez doesn't have control - it's that he's convinced as part of his machismo image that he should knockdown batters and hit the bull once every few innings. Management pleads with him to throw strikes and he just grins at us like he knows something we don't. Indubitably Watson, the Isos need a "Holmes" in the lineup. Butterfield's ready for the lefty challenge. He's the most grounded guy and knows that you win some and you lose some. Also, we made your Kevin Beyer guy a Cow. I hear he's resisting. Would love to get my hands on Jean Garnett ... he would be coming over from Frankfort. Not here in Frankfurt, but close, at least by name. If you see a guy named Nurfreesboro or Murfreekboro or Murfreesbord or something, let me know. I got Cruz Ruiz to fill my void as a right handed DH and to be a possible emergency outfielder. I could say the name "Cruz Ruiz" all day. Rebels: Rebels moving on and up, and just more than doubled the size of their ballpark for the upcoming season. Was well past due there. My parents tried to watch several games in Rohnert Park last season but were turned away at the gate because of sellouts. Or were they on a watch list for booing? I picked up your ex-pitcher on purpose, just to watch his heart break when I dropped him. I just hate your team so much. Dinosaurs: I had 9 claims out, and unsurprisingly won the guy who will have the least impact on the team. Hambry has the exact same job description as Esquivel that I won yesterday. He's younger, cheaper, and can play 1B. I think I can carry all of Esquivel, Hambry, and Tuero for a bit, but eventually a decision needs to be made. Hamby's a former Moo Cow and he's pleased you finally got his name right. So you know, he's a double-agent. But don't be paranoid. Just kidding, he tells me (your signs and that) he's very pleased to be with the Soars. Patriots: Fernando Cardenas told the midia he wanted to play to the Patriots. We thought we had him. He fooled us. All ballplayers lie. Seems like we have 8 of us on a certain level of activity here. Its great to have so many guys posting. But that make me wonder: where are you guys from? Agreed and I like the chatter. Um, duh, like, Murfreesboro? Oh my, look how League II.1 is so sophisticated and international.

#67727	08/18/2019 5:55:26 am	Mar 4th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I think I've missed out on about ten 2 claim guys so far this off-season

#67728	08/18/2019 7:11:03 am	Mar 4th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I guess someone snuck a claim onto Mayfield the final few hours, so I managed to win a coin flip. Hooray! Paredes is interesting. I've got a low control experiment cooking at AAA. Possible he could be up this season. I like Rees. Wondered if he and Ruiz were exclusive, but Rees can maybe field a bit. Valencia seems similar to Zavala. Guess the Dinos are done. Still looking for a 13th arm with a bit of stamina, but no rush.

#67729	08/18/2019 11:36:32 am	Mar 4th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Seca: You guessed right - the claim on Rees was from the same round that already landed me Ruiz. I just never bothered to clean up. Comparing them directly, I prefer Ruiz' pop over the on-base ability of a guy with 8 speed, so Rees is back out there. Yeah, he has a bit of emergency versatility, but that's not really what I lack - at least not on that level. Hurstdm: I checked back with my pitching coaches down in Quogue and Norris Canyon, and their recollections of Beyer are conspicuously faint. He put up impressive numbers down there, but apparently, they were never really impressed by his stuff. Or maybe there was an attitude issue they don't want to talk about? Either way, we picked him up when our minors system was totally barren and let him go when roster space got tight - and looking back, I kind of wonder why we cut him and not one of the half dozen other fringy arms down on the farm. Either way, I let him go - now watch him throw a no-hitter against Manhattan in some key game four or five seasons from now...

#67730	08/18/2019 2:46:02 pm	Mar 5th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I don't think Paredes has much upside. But after losing out on a couple dozen lefty pitchers this off season, I just wanted to get someone on the roster. I plan to dump him as soon as I pick up a real LHS.

#67735	08/19/2019 4:55:13 am	Mar 6th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, if you want to read the well-sounding name of Cruz Ruiz in game reports from our league, you'll have to claim him for yourselves. Somehow the third of my potential righty DH claims found his way to the big apple, too, with only two contesting claims. I hope he'll be able to adjust to the city lights, after playing 11 seasons in a place in Nebraska that I had seriously never heard of, although it calls itself grand. The Giants there even let him play the hot corner for six seasons, although he must have had a hard time throwing to second base from there. Well, never mind, if he ever gets to put on a glove for Manhattan, something will have gone seriously wrong. He's a more well-rounded hitter than Ruiz and might even still be able to swipe the occasional bag, so he's got the job.

#67739	08/19/2019 8:01:12 am	Mar 6th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Haverhill managed to land another bad player we didn't really care about. Two claims on this guy, so he was the highest claim count guy we won this off season... Now I need to figure out which borderline potential future backup catcher stays on the team: Newly acquired Dashaun Bryan, a middling skilled prospect with a cannon for an arm (19). He has performed very average in the minors, but may be performing over his head so far. A POT 13 with a rather poor scouting report doesn't point to much upside, but maybe he can prove those scouts wrong and be only a slightly a below average performer in the majors. Veteran minor leaguer Javier Felix. I have been pulling him along for 5 seasons now. A POT 14, at first I considered him as a backup 3B prospect, but now I have much better 3B prospects. So he is being trained at C. His arm isn't optimal (17). His minors performance has been spectacularly good, except last season which was spectacularly horrible. But maybe last season was promotion jitters. Both players are 23, both sat in A for 4(!) seasons. Neither has a very good outlook. Felix has performed better overall through Rookie/A, while Bryan did better his first year in AA ball. Felix has a slightly better power profile, but Bryan has a better Arm. Bryan is a lefty, but Felix has done well against righties. At the end of the day, its unlikely either one will make it to the majors, but I'll agonize over which borderline prospect to keep for a few days

#67750	08/19/2019 8:15:51 pm	Mar 8th, 2042
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	I know it's just spring training, but is anyone hotter than Jay "Barry Bonds" Colburn? He's having one of those weeks where you tip the Lucky Charms and it pours out all marshmallows. 24 hits in 48 at bats. 10 of those 24 hits are homers. .500/.564/1.208 2041 found him drifting into the cut zone, but now...? Updated Monday, August 19 2019 @ 8:16:34 pm PDT

#67751	08/19/2019 8:29:09 pm	Mar 8th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Not as good as all that, but I'm pretty happy with Carson "The Barbarian" O`Brien's outing. Finally starting to show that power I've been waiting for.

#67752	08/19/2019 8:55:08 pm	Mar 8th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Paredes got the ax because I'm still thinking on which low return backup C to keep, and I have a claim in for another potential LHS. And no, its not Fields.

#67754	08/20/2019 1:45:50 am	Mar 8th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	@Rock: Backup catchers (or catchers in general) seem to be a tricky business, which is probably one of the more realistic aspects of BB. I'm currently going with Esposito as my backup, which is less than ideal because a) he only has a 15 arm and b) he could use more playing time, because he still has the potential to develop into a pretty solid hitter. Bryan and Felix, especially the latter, both remind me of my recent castoff Heredia, who somehow managed to move on to yet another science-flavored organization.

#67755	08/20/2019 2:27:02 am	Mar 8th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Nothing so spectacular from my spring training. Newly acquired prospect Hasegawa (not the major leaguer) has 5 hits with a homer in 10 pinch-hit at bats, although he wasn't even listed as a backup so far. Corona is hitting .333/.443/.686, which is encouraging, considering he'll be making his major league debut regardless of spring performance. Future backup catcher Soriano and possible DH Tseng are hitting well, too. Apodaca ate up way too many innings as LR2, so he's out of the spring bullpen. As many pitching prospects as I have right now, there is obviously no need for a veteran backup in the spring pen. In previous seasons I had a problem with spring injuries piling up because my pitching prospects were overworked. On a much less positive note, I just noticed that six of my prospects have dropped in potential as the season turned over, and not one has improved. For Lucero, going from 15 to 14p is probably not the end of the world, but Tseng and four pitchers have dropped to 12, and three of the pitchers were already fringy before that. I was pretty much expecting that to happen with some 2041 draftees, but four of the six are from the 2040 class, so the scope of that blow to my farm system is a little unexpected.

#67758	08/20/2019 5:26:45 am	Mar 8th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Two of the dropped prospects were, well, dropped.

#67759	08/20/2019 6:34:56 am	Mar 8th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Moya was drafted as a 15 POT in 2040, dropped to 14 POT in 2041 and is now back at 15 in 2042. I wouldn't be too phased by the POT drops. This spring I'm focused on Carrara, Herrera, Burrell, Suzuki and Quintero getting as much growth before they take on the hardest competition yet. They're my weak spots that I want strengthened. Quintero and Herrera are standing out so far but spring is more about playing time than performance to me.

#67761	08/20/2019 7:43:26 am	Mar 8th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I wouldn't be too phased by pot drops Sage advice. Tho I suspect some teams are going to logjam badly this season, and cuts will have to be made. Manhattan's cuts look sound. Neither guy screams 13 pot, nor put up great minor league numbers. Picked up Donovan to be arm #13 for now. Didn't have much defense behind him last year, hope he bounces back. Meadows has been our spring standout so far. He's our 18 arm 2B of the future (Flynn locked in at SS). At the other end of the spectrum, Murillo is doing his best to play his way off the roster.

#67765	08/20/2019 11:51:00 am	Mar 8th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Totally agree on the Manhattan drops. I'd do the exact same thing. Your Flynn/Meadows combo makes me smirk. I have a parallel with Carrara and Manley.

#67767	08/20/2019 1:22:58 pm	Mar 8th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I was thinking the same thing. After all, rating inaccuracies could mean a guy is better than his reported POT anyhow. But Manhattan's drops looked like pretty borderline guys either way. BTW, half the pitchers in my minor league are POT 12s. I really don't have an issue with POT 12s in general as legitimate contenders. Its more about how good their build is as a POT 12. Updated Tuesday, August 20 2019 @ 1:25:16 pm PDT

#67771	08/20/2019 3:30:34 pm	Mar 9th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	10 of my 13 pitchers in the majors are or were 12 POTs. O'Donnell was an 11 pot who bumped to a 12. Toro and Ocampo were 12 POTs who bumped to 13s I spend a hefty amount of time scouting 12 POT pitchers in free agency and waivers. They're a gold mine if you look hard enough

#67773	08/20/2019 3:36:57 pm	Mar 9th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I usually have a lot of POT 12 pitchers in the majors, but went through a lucky streak picking up POT 13s at Pitcher. My typical POT search ranges are 13+ on fielders and 12+ on pitchers. I have been relaxing the POT range a bit more starting last year though given the POT fuzziness. It means even more sleepers are available for the taking

#67775	08/20/2019 5:43:30 pm	Mar 10th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Satterfield is such a great example of why Spring Training stats are meaningless... He does this every spring...

#67778	08/21/2019 5:17:51 am	Mar 10th, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	Very frustrating spring in Columbus. Except for Mesa and O'Farrell having amazing outings, who are both major leaguers, only Hacker is moving the needle for us. The whole hitting sucks and even the catching duo is disappointing, even though Rizzo is disappointing a lot more than Irving. We just hope the second half of the spring brings us more consistency.

#67780	08/21/2019 6:49:32 am	Mar 10th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	spring training stats are meaningless Think spring training games are like back poetry. Difficult to read, with whatever meaning they hold easy to loose in the muck. I've cut players each of the past 2 seasons largely because of their spring performance. I actually save spring stats to an Excel file so that I can revisit them later. Don't get me wrong; I'm not suggesting Irving is a better prospect than Rizzo, or that Satterfield is our league MVP this season. But I'll take any data I can get when making decisions about players. Last night was the first this season that I didn't have a claim out. Mulling the draft. Tempted to try the Asian pool. Only tried it twice, and without much success. But my AA is so bloated ATM. Decisions, decisions.

#67781	08/21/2019 7:34:12 am	Mar 10th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	It would be nice to find a new source of youth. Maybe international will have some more slowly developing players? I seldom draft pitchers because they are so easy to get through waivers, but I'm actually tempted round due to my horrible luck getting hands on a LHS.

#67782	08/21/2019 7:58:20 am	Mar 10th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Sometimes you have to, but I usually try to avoid making decisions based on stats from less than a full season of play - especially if they contradict skills and scouting. Lauretti is probably my best hitter no matter which way you look at it, but he's had a season batting .283 and a season batting .331 (and the latter came when his SI was still lower). Quiles has had a season with a 4.12 ERA and one with a 2.82 ERA. This spring so far, Ted Keller has a 1.08 ERA and Dave Yamamura has an 11.74 ERA, both in less than 10 innings. Does that mean anything? They're both in single-A, and guys like Rock's well-developed major leaguer get to tee off on them in spring. I have other ways of knowing that Keller has a higher ceiling and is more developed. In short, I see spring training stats purely as entertainment. They can be pretty good entertainment, though... Updated Wednesday, August 21 2019 @ 7:59:06 am PDT

#67784	08/21/2019 12:48:08 pm	Mar 10th, 2042
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Sometimes you have to, but I usually try to avoid making decisions based on stats from less than a full season of play - especially if they contradict skills and scouting. Amen to that. I've seen career seasons followed by career-worst seasons and vice versa, and I've seen hitters splits completely reverse from one season to the next (and likely you all have too). Half a season would be the absolute minimum. In short, I see spring training stats purely as entertainment. I wouldn't even go that far - spring training stats are worthless to me outside of AB for hitters and IP for pitchers: basically just as much experience as they can get. So many spring training teams have a mix of minors and majors (and sometimes either of those) that its nigh on impossible to judge the value of those appearances. Nominally I'd expect major league players to flourish and minors to struggle, but I wouldn't judge anyone on performance either way.

#67788	08/21/2019 4:52:32 pm	Mar 12th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Satterfield isn't fully developed despite already being 27. He doesn't get in much during the season, which is why he needs to get reps during spring training.

#67791	08/22/2019 8:34:13 am	Mar 12th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Dang-it! Levine went to the Jets. Missed out on another LHS

#67856	08/23/2019 2:37:29 pm	Mar 15th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Still 2 teams to draft, but I don't see any season-changers. Couple nice 15s. Dinos went Asian pool, dreaming of either a 2B or a P. We actually had a 14 pot 2B on our board, but he had no hitting scouting and 16 range. Sounded like a bad offensive player who wasn't elite on D. So we passed. Was going to pick a 3B, but someone else got to him first. In retrospect I think that's good. The 3B had a higher floor than the guy I got, but Takeuchi might have the higher ceiling. And really I didn't need another 3B. Garcia, Toscano, and Sheridan on the roster, plus long awaited Riley now at AAA. Might be a blessing in disguise taking my 2nd choice. The consequence of the pick is that Tuero finds himself in AAA. He had the fulltime DH job handed to him the past 2 seasons, and both times he said no thanks. This season he was going to have to work his way out of the doghouse with occasional work vs. LHP, but now ... may be time to move on. Dinos made their other callups. I don't see any of Lafferty, Brockman or Takeuchi playing enough / well enough to be in award contention. But Knight kept his rookie status. Might make some noise in rpoty.

#67858	08/23/2019 3:17:54 pm	Mar 15th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Herrera capped off his spring with a great training update. Hopefully he has a bit more growth left in the season. He kept his rookie status for this season so he has a shot ot compete for RPOTY depending how this league handles knuckleballs. Burrell's training update was almost as disappointing as his spring numbers, but I have hope for update 2 once the season gets going. I have a very pitching heavy farm system and added to that with my first pick. if this was 3 seasons ago where POT wasn't so fluid, i'd say i'd have one of the best farm systems in BB. My major league squad is still my worry and with Tuesday right around the corner, the fear of FHL getting pumped this year is starting to grow. Seca, admire your patience with Tuero. I would have dropped him a long time ago after those numbers. I'm happy for you being one of the few to make it out of the asian posting system with a good pick. Seemed like that was a no win scouting pool, but there's a whole thread dedicated to that mess. Could Knight be promoted to the rotation? or is his MR status in stone for the year?

#67860	08/23/2019 3:45:37 pm	Mar 15th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	We are pretty desperate for HRs. Tuero's 19 power and .6 gb:fb hinted he might help in that regard. Seems 15 hit isn't enough (with my manager). Astute observation on Knight. It depends on Sanchez. He's started despite low stamina, making the most of 80-85 pitch counts with his 19 control. But now he's down to 17 control and 8 stam. He really looks like he should move back to the pen. If he does, Knight is the best option (we have) to take his spot in the rotation.

#67871	08/24/2019 9:31:57 am	Mar 16th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Pretty sure all the pools were garbage. Most of the good players were taken in last year's draft. The new system increased the number of players in the pool, thus greatly increasing the disparity in drafting. So expect this to be the new norm. Some people will pull a POT 15 in round 8, but most of us will get slates of POT 11 in round 1. I only had one player higher than POT 12 on my board. I didn't like his scouting report (Above Average Potential with no Hitting report), but his amateur numbers were interesting enough and no one else was any good. I'll probably be dropping him to make space for waiver claims.

#67876	08/24/2019 11:09:13 am	Mar 16th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Ok, 13 (for good luck) new players on the draft board, including three LHS. Most currently only have 2 or 3 claims. We'll see if any of them make it past the RNG monster.

#67880	08/24/2019 1:03:20 pm	Mar 16th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	This might be my last season with a closer Southpaw McNabb has done a great job in the role over the last three seasons, but he is starting to get old... He was never supposed to be the closer. He was supposed to be the LHS after Marroquín, but Marionette lasted past his due date, and McNabb showed the dominate performances required for a closer. Now they are both getting older and I don't have any other performers in the bullpen... Could be some lean years ahead, and may be the first time Haverhill goes to closer by committee. To top it off, all our LHP prospects sputtered out. So no dominance, and no young LHPs... Really botched that up It will be exciting to try and recover from this situation I got myself into Updated Saturday, August 24 2019 @ 1:04:03 pm PDT

#67884	08/24/2019 4:14:57 pm	Mar 17th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Welcome to the club. I've been using Morse as closer last season because my previous stopgap had gotten too old and the only alternative, Matson, has a larger platoon split and was thus better kept at LHS. Both are decent relievers, but neither is what I would want as closer.

#67891	08/25/2019 1:03:07 pm	Mar 18th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Dinos with a similar situation to Haverhill, tho it's the rotation rather than the pen. Dinos had a stretch of really lean draft years. The few guys that we did find (like Wolf, Collier) weren't very good. The last homegrown pitcher to make a real impact is Roy, who is now 31 and more than 180 gs. Recent callups Knight and Brockman are "apples" #4 and #5 on the staff. We've back filled as best as we could, but its alot easier to find bullpen material. I feel our bullpen is fairly stocked, but the rotation lacks depth. No help in the minors either until you get down to AA.

#67892	08/25/2019 1:46:36 pm	Mar 18th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Dinos had a stretch of really lean draft years. Haverhill has certainly never had that problem :P

#67894	08/25/2019 4:15:56 pm	Mar 19th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Looks like Seattle went dumpster diving and came up with a few nice gems. Flores in particular is intriguing. Only a POT 11 (and before the POT changes), he easily slips under folks' radar. But a "Very Good" potential rating combined with "Great Hitter" and "Prolific Slugger"; he also has a very nice GB/FB and solid minor league stats. Hasn't shown a lot of power yet, but could be one of those guys that explodes in the majors. Only downside being weak BC, he seems like a potential steal. I need to widen my aperture a bit more

#67897	08/25/2019 5:56:57 pm	Mar 20th, 2042
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	With the new season peeking over the horizon, Ms. Cow says PLAY BALL to the League! So relax! Let's have some fun out here! This game's fun, ok? Except for pitchers. Yeah, sorry. Moo Cow management has officially lowered the Cowabungalow fences. Yeah, sorry about that. Oughtter make for some "fun" times in Murf-town. Yeah, I'm gonna need you to come in on Saturday. Oh, oh, and I almost forgot, I'm also gonna need you to go ahead and come in on Sunday, too.

#67910	08/26/2019 7:31:36 am	Mar 20th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Should be an interesting season. I guess Manhattan may be favourite in the East by virtue of their second place finish last season, but I haven't scouted anyone. Don't really know. Will be a low stress season in Waterloo. Our stars (Marino, Schuler, Sanchez, Grasso), with the exception of Flynn, are old, shedding copious SI, or both. Our kids haven't really come online yet. So expectations are low. A key Dino to watch will be Smiley. The hope has long been he will become the sturdy, centre of the order bat to replace Schuler. If Smiley is a bust then the Dino future becomes a dark, foreboding place.

#67918	08/26/2019 1:35:53 pm	Mar 20th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Season Goal for Haverhill: Don't look too dumb while demoting. Yeah... Not very lofty, but a 5th place finish seems like a good stretch goal. Really only made it up last season because III.2 East was a train wreck.

#67923	08/26/2019 4:10:26 pm	Mar 23rd, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I could somehow make it really close late last season without really expecting it yet, and the team should be stronger now, so I'll definitely try to compete. I did get the needed reinforcements, too, at the bare miminum level as far as the needed starter is concerned and actually pretty good for the righty bat. By default, I'd say the Dinos are the team we most have to beat. I think we have better pitching and more pop, but defense is probably a different story. Our defense is nowhere near Cows level, either. I just love my big bats too much...

#67924	08/26/2019 4:11:04 pm	Mar 23rd, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Good luck, everyone, and let's keep having fun!

#67932	08/27/2019 7:59:27 am	Mar 25th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Dinos are the team As good a guess as any. Think I'd prefer to go to III than back to Legends ATM. See where things go. One of Waterloo's biggest problems last season was that we couldn't avoid the big inning. Gave up 2 6 run rallies in our final cup game yesterday. Hoping to see less of that this year. Denver won Legends West last season with 1 LHB and zero LHP on the roster. Haverhill not quite that extreme, but close. For all the discussion on how LHP may have some value in the East this season, looks like they can rest up a bit vs. the Halflings. Updated Tuesday, August 27 2019 @ 8:00:10 am PDT

#67933	08/27/2019 8:07:17 am	Mar 25th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yeah, I've had a long dry spell on lefties. Its annoying because I prioritize them, just can't get my hands on any through the draft or waivers. We were also giving up a lot of big innings. Lack of lefties and lack of bullpen are huge weaknesses for Haverhill. Updated Tuesday, August 27 2019 @ 8:07:40 am PDT

#67936	08/27/2019 2:14:08 pm	Mar 25th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Underway! Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. Dinos cough up an 8 run 9th inning to drop game one.

#67937	08/27/2019 2:41:27 pm	Mar 27th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	It was a battle of the bullpens. Both trying very hard to blow the game. George blew the Haverhill lead in the 7th, then Murillo and Lutz collaborated to bring in 4 more runs in the eighth. Not to be outdone, the Waterloo bullpen responded with strength in the 9th. Tamayo, Knight, and Contreras combined for a valiant effort to put 8 more runs on the board! I wonder if our bullpens are aware of what sport they are playing... Updated Tuesday, August 27 2019 @ 5:05:04 pm PDT

#67938	08/27/2019 6:51:26 pm	Mar 30th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Was a good series, aside from the last inning of game 1. Part of the problem relying on old guys is they get hurt alot. Both Marino and Schuler missing time. Lineup looks very spring training-esque without them. Mayfield made a good impression until booting 2 in game 4. Hamby off to a slow start in his new uni.

#67939	08/27/2019 7:26:01 pm	Mar 30th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yeah, I lost my #1 starter for the next few series too I tried giving my rookie 2B some playing time... He went 0/5. He really is terrible, but he won't get better sitting on the bench...

#67941	08/27/2019 9:06:03 pm	Mar 30th, 2042
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Cows in first! Cows in first! (Fully aware of the gods of baseball, I'm sneaking that in while it's still possible.) Our goal in 2042 is to stay up, but I could imagine the Moo Cows pestering someone for a top spot. At a glance, Saratoga seems quite good. I'm deeply envious of those corner outfielders (Welsh & Franco). Alexandria still has obscene speed in the outfield. Maybe all the rotten luck from last year will flip around. Then again, Ro-Park is going to beat me 1-9 with a -25 run differential or something. Should we go ahead and flag possible malfeasance and collaboration between Manhattan and Saratoga? By pure geography, I'm not sure I trust the yankee connection. Isotopes: Our defense is nowhere near Cows level, either. I just love my big bats too much... Defense is easy; cows are made of leather. But all the defense in the world won't stop the ball sailing over our new pasture fences. Dinosaurs: Think I'd prefer to go to III than back to Legends ATM. Certaines personnes grognent parce que les roses ont des épines; Je suis reconnaissant que les épines ont des roses. Part of the problem relying on old guys is they get hurt a lot. Is this true?

#67942	08/28/2019 2:05:05 am	Mar 30th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	So, my "closer" Morse started the season in style, giving up 5 ER and getting one out in his first appearance. The next day, he morse or less got it done, giving up only two runs while still getting the save and lowering is ERA to something below 50. Little use complaining - I just don't have any alternatives in that role. Quiles and Apodaca had good starts to the season; my top prospect callup Corona hit the ground running (after already getting his first two POTG in the cup), and even Araujo looks as if he could hit a little bit (don't worry, he can't). Not much to say yet on my righty platoon bats. So far, Farmer is leading that competition with a double over Wright's single in their lone at-bats. Looks like Rock finally got his lefty reliever. Not a great one anymore, maybe, but he should be serviceable, and he's coming off a 2.18 ERA season for the Legends League champion. Updated Wednesday, August 28 2019 @ 2:06:46 am PDT

#67945	08/28/2019 6:34:10 am	Mar 30th, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	Nightmarish first series for the Patriots. Our starters were flat out lame and the offense just couldnt hit a beach ball in the first two games. Then it exploded for 16 runs in the third game of the series, saving Mesa's ass. We hope to rebound against the Cardinals.

#67946	08/28/2019 8:24:03 am	Mar 30th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Was surprised no one else claimed him. I see no reason to think he has fallen off the cliff yet I suppose it was the salary. But one nice side effect of never drafting anyone good is that I am filthy rich now Updated Wednesday, August 28 2019 @ 8:25:48 am PDT

#67949	08/28/2019 1:06:03 pm	Mar 30th, 2042
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Get your grubby mitts off my HoF pitcher!! It'll be interesting to see how Baird does. I would have loved to have kept him until he retired but couldn't justify the near $10M in salary I would have paid him and Gonzalez, not when my other salaries rose this season...by $10M. Good luck!

#67950	08/28/2019 1:47:51 pm	Mar 30th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Heh. I belong in the inverse video. Whenever I visit Quebec the locals roll their eyes and plead for me to just speak English. I always thought drafting well saved you money. Less disloyal free agent bandages. Baird checks in as the 3rd highest paid player in the game. That's alot for a loggy that's 15 SI off his peak. Worth a short for the luckless Halflings, but an understandably small market. Pleased the Dinos get to face a LH starter tonight. Some Waterloo RHB getting restless.

#67951	08/28/2019 2:37:37 pm	Mar 31st, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Its especially a lot for a LHS who will likely only get 30 innings a season. But if I'm right that "Marionette" is out of gas, then he could indispensable for a season or two. The problem with poor drafting, is that the waivers you claim aren't any better than anyone else's. Most were dropped for a reason. So draftees and claimers both have low stats. Low stats = low salaries If you look at my team you will see an entire roster made up of average players. Best I could find in bad circumstances, but keeps the salary down I do have a couple stars on the staff (Garcia and McNabb), but the rest of the team are all completely average JAGs. Basically the entire lineup hit around .255 with 17 HRs last season. Updated Wednesday, August 28 2019 @ 2:42:32 pm PDT

#67952	08/28/2019 2:49:13 pm	Mar 31st, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Talk about inverses. After talking them up, I just noticed that Garcia and McNabb were responsible for both of my loses against Waterloo, LOL.

#67953	08/28/2019 4:27:30 pm	Apr 2nd, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Cheers to the Cows on the series win. Quite happy to admit when I'm out-managed, and I was out-managed badly in this series. Morelli is absolutely fantastic. 15 arm, lower case c and LHT penalty? My baserunners couldn't try for second fast enough, and it was a slaughter. I will hopefully remember to X all basestealers next time we meet. Last season I made a fuss about my 16 fld 2B making 9 errors in first 16 games. Mayfield and Chiang have managed 5 in our first 7 this season. I do wish for a new narrative every once in a while.

#67955	08/28/2019 5:14:06 pm	Apr 3rd, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Well that was awful....

#67958	08/28/2019 7:00:32 pm	Apr 3rd, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	You've managed to lose 3 1 run contests in the first 7 games. That's impressive. Sorta.

#67959	08/28/2019 7:12:08 pm	Apr 3rd, 2042
tamale Joined: 02/19/2018 Posts: 357 Concord Jets Legends	I've seen some discussion about my former 2B Mayfield in here, so I thought I'd post my thoughts on him (sorry to intrude). I picked him up close to the deadline last season. Was really excited to get him, having tried to sign him every time he'd appeared on waivers before. Immediately I cut Brooks and installed Mayfield as the starting 2B. Was hoping for improved OBP and better defense, but instead he was truly awful. We were relegated on the last game and I think signing Mayfield might have cost me a place in III. Obviously he didn't hit, but I'm also very sceptical of his defense: His career 0.963 F% and 14 fielding does not indicate a sure-handed fielder. I hoped he would compensate for that with his range, but our DP rate dropped considerably immediately after signing him. Brooks had 59 DP in 98 games, or 0.60 per game. Mayfield had 21 in 46, 0.46 per game. Possibly too small a sample (he only cost us about 7 DPs), but the rest of my pitching staff and infield remained the same, so Mayfield's lousy defense is the only possible explanation I have. I couldn't get rid of him quickly enough this off-season. Replaced him with Cunningham, who is a much worse defender on paper, but has a higher career F% and so far my DP rate is back up (which is important for my grounder-heavy pitching staff). A long rant I know, but I'm still annoyed at him after our post-deadline collapse last season

#67961	08/28/2019 7:49:48 pm	Apr 3rd, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I was the other claim on Cunningham. Always liked him, but wasn't willing to pay his salary. The drop in his ask this season piqued my interest. I'm not expecting miracles from Mayfield, and I'm certainly not blaming him for losses. I don't feel I can run Chiang's 14 range out there in my vs. RHP lineup. Flynn is 15, and the OF avgs 15.6. 14 at 2B may be the proverbial straw. (Vs LHP my OF has an Alexandrian 19 avg range. Can carry Chiang there). I'd love 960 fld %, but it won't happen with the Dinos. I'm at the point where I don't think it matters who I play at 2B. I used Garcia in the cup. No position knowledge, less fielding than either Mayfield or Chiang, no errors in 4 games. Put in guys with position knowledge and more fielding for league, and it's an error almost every game. Again. Think it's cool you track DP stats. I do too, and I think it is underappreciated.

#67962	08/28/2019 8:43:24 pm	Apr 3rd, 2042
tamale Joined: 02/19/2018 Posts: 357 Concord Jets Legends	Well now I'm feeling better about that 2-claim signing. Thought that Cunningham who had shown 40HR power (even if it was in Japan) and ability to play 2B every day (no platoon split) would be worth trying to sign. And given some of my previous attempts to fill 2B, I'd probably be happy to pay over $5M to get a good one... I hope Mayfield works out better for you than he did for me. Who knows, maybe moving from my bunch of misfits to a perennial Legends team will inspire him. I guess the main point I had above was that other players with worse skills performed better than him defensively. Why that's the case and why other guys seem overly error-prone remains a mystery to me. I track DPs because I look for groundballers and want good infield defense. It could also be argued that there is no shortage of runners on 1B when the Jets are in the field. Updated Wednesday, August 28 2019 @ 8:45:15 pm PDT

#67969	08/29/2019 8:36:31 am	Apr 3rd, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	My strategy of hoarding mediocre pitching prospects because I have such a hard time getting good ones seemed to pay dividends early in the season, when I had little pain cutting two guys after a potential drop made them more or less hopeless cases. Now it has created the expected logjam, though. Kirk Butler is banging on the door quite audibly. He's pretty advanced for never having thrown a single pitch in the majors and has by far the highest floor of all my pitching prospects. Unfortunately, he also has the lowest ceiling. Unless he blows through his 13p potential, I don't expect him to ever be more than a garbage time innings eater. Then, given his current development, I think he just might be the guy who can blow through his potential. In Morse and Eldred I have two success stories on the team who did. Marcelo Valasquez is pretty much the opposite. Still nothing more than a lottery ticket at 26, He's taking up a place in the bullpen and will hopefully not have to take the ball in innings that still count this season. Yes, I know, the obvious answer is to get rid of him, but I can't seem to give up dreaming on his fronline starter potential. I was hoping for him to show some development after spring training, but it hasn't happened so far. Maybe after tomorrow's update I'll manage to stop prospect hugging him... Arreola is kind of inbetween the two. He's behind the development curve, but not as hopelessly so as Valasquez, and if you really squint your eyes, you can see him ride his splitter and changeup to success as a fifth starter or fairly trustworthy swingman. Claiming Pablo Baca obviously hasn't made the decision any easier. I'm actually quite surprised that nobody else wanted him, though. His ceiling looks higher than Arreola's to me, and he's almost as developed while a year younger and without any major league experience. While he's clearly not as polished as Butler is, his recent minor league and spring numbers look halfway decent, too, for whatever that's worth. I don't see him in the middle of the logjam, either, because he hasn't played in AAA yet at age 25, so I have no problems keeping him down for another season or so. So, yeah, I know. Cut Valasquez. Thanks for listening, anyway.

#67972	08/29/2019 5:26:51 pm	Apr 7th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	10 games in and things could be better. Positives: -Burrell has 2 quality starts under his belt. Would be 2 wins if My closer didn't blow his first save opportunity of the season. -Welch/Quintero platoon hasn't blown up in my face yet, but we still got time -Suzuki hasn't imploded at 1st so he gets another week of starts Negatives: -Concepcion and Bagwell have fallen off right now. It kills me to see my dynasty pitcher struggle like this. 0-3 with a BAA of almost .350 is so out of character. -offence is pretty stagnant despite the one good offensive game today. Here's hoping the training update is kind to Carrara, Quintero, Welch, Suzuki, Burrell and Herrera. I need my rookies to help pick up what my Vets appear to drop off

#67981	08/30/2019 5:09:17 am	Apr 7th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Interesting reading abouy the 'Topes pitching prospects. I would struggle to cut Velasquez. He definitely still has a lot of work to do. Could really burden the team with his play. Tough decision. Jolly was a nice claim for Haverhill. Made Baird's salary superfluous. Dinos saw the team RISP drop 70 points vs. Saratoga. The joys of early season. Not surprised the offence is struggling. Dino bullpen (other than Grasso) has been a disappointment early. Same crew was quite good last season. Still not sure what to drafting today. Tempted to use Asian pool again. Mostly for the same reason as last week (AA is packed). Updated Friday, August 30 2019 @ 5:20:28 am PDT

#67985	08/30/2019 6:37:57 am	Apr 7th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Got a solid prospect in Belcher. I count getting any guy with "very good" as a blessing considering everyone else's luck. Burrell, Herrera, Carrera had good training updates. And Suzuki got the 1b under his belt so it was enough to drop Howells for a draft pick. Eager to see how the training affects team performance. If at all.

#67987	08/30/2019 7:09:03 am	Apr 7th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yeah, I was perfectly fine paying Baird to be a rental LHS, but Jolly doesn't look too horrible and might actually be able to fill the position for a few seasons. Just need to teach him how to throw strikes. I'm sure 31 isn't too old to learn Updated Friday, August 30 2019 @ 7:09:37 am PDT

#67991	08/30/2019 8:13:56 am	Apr 7th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	With the new draft style, I actually have enough developing guys in the majors to fill my lineup with all developing players.

#68001	08/30/2019 1:49:19 pm	Apr 7th, 2042
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	With Haverhill and Waterloo joined up, the II.1 forum sure does scroll fast now. Could the Cows go a full year without drafting? Did we just do exactly that? Are we happy about it? The pitchers in Cow-town are grumbling loudly about the fences. Dinosaurs: I belong in the inverse video. Whenever I visit Quebec the locals roll their eyes and plead for me to just speak English. The French seem forgiving of a clumsy tongue if you break out your red, red lipstick and bat, bat your eyelashes. Cheers to the Cows on the series win. Quite happy to admit when I'm out-managed, and I was out-managed badly in this series. Morelli is absolutely fantastic. 15 arm, lower case c and LHT penalty? My baserunners couldn't try for second fast enough, and it was a slaughter. I will hopefully remember to X all basestealers next time we meet. The Sores weren't out-managed. We were at home and three games is just dumb luck. Morelli's benched a few games for poor offense. He'll have something like a 25% CS rate by the end of the year. Wait and see. Also, I told you Hamby's stealing your signs. I said it in print, but you didn't believe me. Jets: I've seen some discussion about my former 2B Mayfield in here, so I thought I'd post my thoughts on him (sorry to intrude). Speaking purely for myself, I love the interlopers in this forum from other leagues. Isotopes: Claiming Pablo Baca obviously hasn't made the decision any easier. I'm actually quite surprised that nobody else wanted him, though. I had a claim on him but backed out at the last minute. I was also surprised there were just 2 claims. This is my favorite inning so far this season. Manufacturing runs, the completely unnecessary way. Might've been a grand slam and they wouldn't be nearly as tired: Top 2nd: Manhattan Bowman takes the mound to pitch. Rios grounds to third base. Rios is thrown out at first by Donovan. Hasegawa draws a walk. Hasegawa steals second base. Andrade strikes out. Araujo hits a single to right field. Hasegawa comes in to score. Araujo steals second base. Lauretti hits a ground ball single through to center field. Araujo comes in to score. Lauretti steals second base. Ramirez hits a home run to right field. Lauretti comes in to score. Eldred strikes out. Manhattan 4, Murfreesboro 0

#68002	08/30/2019 3:14:13 pm	Apr 8th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	With Haverhill and Waterloo joined up, the II.1 forum sure does scroll fast now. I finally greenlit "Jaybird" Hawes so don't expect it to quite down anytime soon

#68011	08/31/2019 4:15:55 am	Apr 10th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	@Seca Interesting reading abouy the 'Topes pitching prospects. I would struggle to cut Velasquez. He definitely still has a lot of work to do. Could really burden the team with his play. Tough decision. Well, indulge yourself. He's out there with only one claim on him. It was a hard decision, but ultimately, I decided for Butler's higher floor. Him blowing through his ceiling by a mile seems almost equally probable to me as Valasquez reaching his.

#68015	08/31/2019 5:02:12 pm	Apr 13th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Put in the new wave of rookies against Murfreesboro. Burrell - 0/13 with 5 Ks Hawes - 1/11 with 5 Ks (and 1 BB) Miranda - 1/8 with 2 Ks (and 2 BB) Baron - 0/6 with 2 Ks (and 1 BB) Not a great start for the rookies...

#68016	08/31/2019 5:05:00 pm	Apr 13th, 2042
6th Man Joined: 05/12/2016 Posts: 47 Inactive	Rebels starting out the season super cold, but it's a close race on our side so not too concerned... yet. However, some ugly stats such as starting SS JJ Doyle hitting 3-44 (!!) against RHP this season. I know good defense means more leash on the offensive side of things, but last season he batted .291 against righties. On another note, Rebs sitting in 5th with a +22 RD. Consistency, please! I want lots of small fireworks shows, not one explosion every once in a while.

#68018	09/01/2019 6:53:40 am	Apr 14th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Grats Manhattan on a well played series. Dinos know the script well now, so no surprises we blew a late inning lead in all 3 games. Almost feel bad when Contreras and Knight don't give up an 8th inning touchdown. Not sure Hamby lasts the week. If I wanted 335 OPS from my DH I'd just play Tuero. Edit: Waterloo is down to a 4 man rotation for a bit. Guys took a 20+ game knock in the cup, and we don't really have many options to replace him. Mostly three game series for a bit, so no biggie. Updated Sunday, September 1 2019 @ 6:58:16 am PDT

#68024	09/01/2019 5:46:02 pm	Apr 18th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	So, where are the Nukes after one turn through the division? I'll happily take 3rd place with one and a half wins behind, but a run differential of -7 is not so hot, and it was tied for worst in the division at -13 just one series ago. Looking under the hood at things that might stabilize a tad faster than wins and runs makes me cautiously optimistic, though. Manhattans offense is firing on all cylinders: We get on base way more than anyone else in the league; we steal more bases than anyone else in the league, and while we're not exactly launching a ton of bombs (holy smokes, how about the Rebels!!!), we're leading the East in slugging, too. The offense is not coming from just two or three hitters, either: With the exception of my two Asian platoon lefties, who I'm sure will come around eventually, all the regulars have been producing. Pitching is a different story. The only team in the league with a higher ERA than Manhattan (we had the worst ERA a series ago) is, ironically, leading the Western division. Digging deeper, we're giving up the fewest walks in the division, and while BAA and home runs are slightly elevated, they are not nearly bad enough to explain the disadvantage in ERA. You might blame my strategic lack of focus on defense, but our defense was no better the last couple of seasons, when we always had an ERA lower than FIP. All in all, I'm willing to put most blame on hit sequencing and, thus, luck at this point. Last season, my pitching started terribly, as well. As far as individual pitchers go, Apodaca and Cole have delivered, and after some initial troubles, righty Lachance has turned in a couple of outstanding long appearances against lineups set up against our lefty starters. Quiles' ERA isn't quite as good, but he has allowed very little contact and limited walks and home runs, so that is probably just bad luck in small sample size. I'm confident that McCallum will be able to get closer to his previous performance levels, too. Morse's seven runs all happened in his first two outings, followed by six scoreless saves, so maybe having only him to close is not all that disastrous. Ferraro has been bad, and I haven't come to expect much else from him over his previous seasons, but I just don't have many alternatives, and in most cases, my SET got very few opportunities to even appear in games before this season. That leaves Arenas as the main question mark - and I'm not going to push him into more meaningful games than necessary just to find out if he's the real deal. Everyone else has pitched too few innings to interpret anything. I'm curious to see how all of this continues.

#68025	09/01/2019 6:31:54 pm	Apr 18th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Beat me to it Holmes, thought i'd get first analysis on the board. Bit of a rough go around for FHL 7-10 with a +2 RD is not ideal, but not the worst. I can take solace in the fact a majority of my games have been on the road but that's about it +ves: 1. Leading League in complete Games 2. Rookies Starters are contributing to 66% of my team quality starts 3. Todd and Hill are hitting the cover off the ball -ves: 1. Leading league in complete game losses 2. Bagwell is responsible for the other 34% of quality starts, both of which were complete game losses 3. Everyone else is below expectations or not enough games to make an analysis 4. Concepticon: in 11 seasons I have never seen him this bad and it is genuinely heartbreaking. My team is near bottom of every offensive statistic which is frustrating but somewhat expected when you have a lot of young blood in the lineup. Here's hoping the first go around was just rust removal and my boys can start competing in this league.

#68026	09/02/2019 2:43:02 am	Apr 18th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I'd say Concepción may very well have reached the end of the line, at least for this level of competition. Two seasons ago, I cut my longtime ace Godzilla when he still had 111 SI (down from 125), and the Saratoga Highlanders, who picked him up at a 5 million salary, didn't have much fun with him, either. He did put together another season and a half of decent success in league 6, though, and it looks like he might even add another one.

#68027	09/02/2019 3:30:26 am	Apr 18th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Had a nice little pickup in Yagami today. League 3 Smyrna is packed with amazing, mostly young arms and may be up here soon - which is the only reasonable explanation why he ever landed on waivers if you ask me. Only four claims, too. If Yagami reaches his potential, he should be better than any of my current relievers. Scouting says he's ready for the show, but I'll keep him down in AAA to see how his stats, particularly platoon split, develop. At the moment, there is no space for another pitcher on my major league roster, anyway. When Arenas leaves, which should be after the long interdivisional series, there will be one spot open for either Baca or Yagami - plus my patience with Ferraro is running out fast, so there may be room for both. Updated Monday, September 2 2019 @ 3:31:17 am PDT

#68034	09/02/2019 5:18:05 pm	Apr 20th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Sounds prudent on Yagami. I'd be nervous with no minor league stats. I don't have a lot of faith in amateur stars. Fairly miserable first loop for the Dinos. Didn't win a series. Surprising to see us batting under 200 as a team vs. LHP. Not that we have many studs, but we had a pretty even split last season. Fortunately not that many LHP around. Starters have been good, but the bullpen (except Grasso) has been brutal. 6 BS in 17 games - had 11 all last season. Like the RHB it's the same group that was quite good last season. Possible they turn it around. Mentioned before that we might move Knight to the rotation in Sanchez's spot. Think we are going to try that. More to do with Knight than Sanchez. Figure it's better to auto lose 1 in 5 than every time Knight gets the call from the pen. With Guti still injured our rotation that started with 2 southpaws is down to nil.

#68036	09/02/2019 6:23:11 pm	Apr 21st, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Bad start for Haverhill as well, but that was expected as we try and break in 6 rookies in the field (not counting O`Brien or the rookie pitchers). A bit surprising to see my base runners doing so poorly, but I suspect its just a run of bad luck. Oliva, Gamboa, and Kyung haven't had any issues stealing at will historically.

#68049	09/03/2019 4:27:39 pm	Apr 24th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	All my rookies are doing horrible, but Burrell is really begging for a demotion... 0/17 start. Thinking I might not have ignored the AI promotion advice for long enough

#68053	09/04/2019 2:24:27 am	Apr 25th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Whoa, opponents are stocking up on southpaw starters. While neither of them looks like competition for Quiles to me (who, as I just saw, is on a good trajectory to eclipse a number of franchise records), Hashimoto impresses me a lot more than Solomon. Might be time to address my lineup imbalance a bit more...

#68058	09/04/2019 2:31:53 pm	Apr 26th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Finally get my SET back just in time to lose my Closer

#68061	09/04/2019 7:05:45 pm	Apr 29th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Somehow the Dinos managed to win 2 of 3 vs. Cow LHP while lowering our team BA against LHP from .191 to .176. Hard to fathom. Figure we have to cut one of Hamby or Tuero (should probably cut both) shortly. Wanted to let Tuero make a case for himself, so he's played the last couple of series. Make or break for him against Saratoga tomorrow.

#68069	09/05/2019 3:15:02 am	Apr 29th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Judging by player nicknames, Ms. Cow must have some intersting size standards... Look at Iwasa.

#68070	09/05/2019 6:19:42 am	Apr 29th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Big Fan of the Carroll pickup. If my system wasn't oversaturated with pitchers I'd have thrown a claim on him. Despite his early call to majors. I'd assume you're gonna keep him at AAA at least until end of 2043. The West is such a confusing division right now. Tight as a noose with Columbus having a less than ideal RD. I think the Rebels will break away as the front runner based solely on their lights out pitching. I also think Moore and Broomfield can go for a nice run once they start getting more home games coming their way. Can't get a good read on Seattle, I'd need to see them at the end of the 2nd go around. East is getting easier to read in terms of roles. Moo cows and Athletics are looking like the bruisers while Dino's and Halflings are beginning to look like punching bags unfortunately. Highlanders and the Topes are a coin flip at .500 Obviously these could change in a week considering how early into the season we are. Not to mention interleague. My gut tells me the East will be pumping the west but you never know til you know amiright. Updated Thursday, September 5 2019 @ 6:27:27 am PDT Updated Thursday, September 5 2019 @ 6:30:45 am PDT

#68074	09/05/2019 12:22:51 pm	Apr 29th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Believe it or not Carroll is not an early call up. He is being recommended for the majors as part of this new generation of rapid risers. But yeah I'm keeping him down for a bit. I'm not sure how good he really is, so I want to see some numbers before I invest major league time in him. His minors/amateur numbers to date haven't been very impressive. Especially his K/BB ratio.

#68076	09/05/2019 1:53:56 pm	Apr 29th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Dinos had a claim on Carroll. Good luck with him. Has anyone else found minor league numbers ... off? Since the new draft came in I've had a bunch of guys veer from trends that held for seasons. It's all been regression to mean - my stats have become much more homogeneous. I guess it's a consequence of all the new talent, but it's hard to understand why my effective guys got worse and my ineffective guys got better.

#68077	09/05/2019 2:19:32 pm	Apr 29th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I don't know. I've had the problem frequently enough before the draft changes. Where guys seems to do 360s. I'm not sure if its new. I do have some guys that fell through the floor in 2041... "Boo-Boo" Barrera Javier Felix Nicolás Calderón But I've had other fall apart like that. I've even seen guys do a 360 on their GB/FB or their vLHP/vRHP before. And some guys are unchanged. So I'm just chalking it up to normal variations right now. Maybe the infusion of a ton of talented guys in 2041 is just giving us an early highlight of which guys will fail against majors competition. Updated Thursday, September 5 2019 @ 2:20:48 pm PDT

#68079	09/05/2019 3:03:24 pm	Apr 30th, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	Well, Juan Aguilera just pitched a Maddux against Seattle: Complete Game in less than 90 pitches. A rarity on this days. http://brokenbat.org/game/3425399 Updated Thursday, September 5 2019 @ 3:03:38 pm PDT

#68082	09/05/2019 4:24:20 pm	May 1st, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Very nice. Aguilera a looks like he can eat some serious innings with that build. Tuero did quite well in his opportunity. Guess I'll keep both Tuero and Hamby for now. Starting to think it should be Marino that gets sent to the glue factory. Would be able to deploy both Tuero and Hamby without Marino.

#68085	09/05/2019 6:51:49 pm	May 3rd, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	@Rock Oh I'm aware, I've been paying close attention to prospect's draft years because of this speedy development. Suzuki is the same case and I'm having similar fears with Nunez @Luiz While i'm still bitter about your boys sweeping me, i have to admit Aguilera's performance made my mouth water, that is stellar. @Seca you need to post more about cutting Tuero, i think he reads this thread

#68087	09/05/2019 8:20:27 pm	May 3rd, 2042
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	My new favorite inning this year is from this game: Bottom 8th: Murfreesboro Guenther comes in to pitch. Moore draws a walk. Robbins draws a walk. Weiss draws a walk. Magana comes in to pitch. Colburn grounds to first base. Moore is thrown out at the plate by Thomas. Robbins advances to third base. Weiss advances to second base. Colburn reaches first on a fielder's choice. Donovan grounds to first base. Robbins is thrown out at the plate by Thomas. Weiss advances to third base. Colburn advances to second base. Donovan reaches first on a fielder's choice. Garcia is hit by the pitch. Weiss comes in to score. Malloy grounds to third base. Malloy is thrown out at first by Hall. Halflings: Put in the new wave of rookies against Murfreesboro. I played tons of new blood last year. It was seriously stressful. I hate kids. Rebels: I want lots of small fireworks shows, not one explosion every once in a while. That's what she said?? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Dinosaurs: Not sure Hamby lasts the week. #FreeHamby Somehow the Dinos managed to win 2 of 3 vs. Cow LHP while lowering our team BA against LHP from .191 to .176. Hard to fathom. That's a heck of a stat. The Soars won 2 of 4 while being outscored 14-6 in the series. That's baseball. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Has anyone else found minor league numbers ... off? Not yet, but those numbers seem to bounce around sometimes. I'll keep a closer eye on it. Ask Novi. Patriots: Well, Juan Aguilera just pitched a Maddux against Seattle: Complete Game in less than 90 pitches. A rarity on this days. Cheers! Isotopes: Judging by player nicknames, Ms. Cow must have some interesting size standards... Look at Iwasa. As you'd expect, the Moo Cows favor the hefty, beefy, & tall. Iwasa was the shortest pitcher on the roster when he arrived on the scene. All the bigger, taller guys started poking fun during a game with the Naughty Dawgs and it stuck. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Were our three games against the Toppers the closest series ever? All three games were tied in the 9th inning. Fun! Cards: The Star Wars Day thing is most excellent. Also, the Saratoga retort is great. Updated Thursday, September 5 2019 @ 8:28:41 pm PDT Updated Friday, September 6 2019 @ 5:34:55 pm PDT

#68095	09/06/2019 5:21:53 am	May 3rd, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	hurstdm, my remark on your tiny pitcher was probably just personal vanity, because he's taller than me. Of course I'm not a major league pitcher, but at least I can say I'm right in the middle between Johnny Cueto and Yankees' top prospect Deivi Garcia. My guys Apodaca and Arreola are under 6ft, too. I'm afraid the fun was a tad more on your side last night, with the Isos falling to one game from a relegation rank in a season when I'm looking to actually compete. But, yes, there were some great battles there. Game 2 was particularly annoying to me. After five innings, my starter has given up five runs on five hits because of course, but we're still leading by one. My SET Ferraro (who only has that role because my SETs usually pitch very few innings - I have certainly learned not to trust him too much) is unavailable after his unexpected heroics in game 1. Both my RHSs and the LHS are well rested, though, and they're all guys I would trust in that situation, more than the rest, at least. However, with a switch hitter up, my manager brings my 88 SI, just called up middle reliever Butler into this close game. Gotta have a talk with Mr. Saenz about that. Handling Pitchers is supposed to be one of his strengths, after all. So, yeah, that game-tying double in the 7th was just a matter of time. I had made matters worse by not adjusting Butler's hook after spring training, so he was on way too long a leash, too. That didn't matter in the end, because the game-winning homer in the 9th came with nobody on, so even a shorter hook wouldn't have prevented that (unless it had been so short that he would have been pulled after the double in the 7th). Still, I'm a bit annoyed that a rookie who has already thrown three innings is coming out to pitch the 9th in a tie game at home. That's clearly the moment you bring in your best reliever, even though it's not a save situation. I can't figure out how to prevent that given our Management settings, unless I want to risk an unexperienced middle reliever being pulled too early in a blowout. Well, probably that didn't matter, either, because in the very next game, it was my closer who blew a two-run lead in the 9th. On a "positive" note, we've "only" given up 22 runs in three games in this series, and that was with extra innings. Against Alexandria, that was 25 runs in 27 innings. Still haven't quite figured out why we're giving up so many runs. Yes, my standards in defense are lower than some others' in the division, but if anything, my infield defense should be slightly better than last season, with Araujo, Andrade and Ramirez gaining experience and Pak taking over 1B from Eldred. Corona for the aging Kaiser in LF should be pretty much a wash defensively. As far as pitching goes, I lost a frontline starter in Beane, but Apodaca (who was in the middle of his growing pains at this point last season) is filling that role capably so far. That wouldn't explain why key arms from the past couple of seasons like Quiles, McCallum, Morse, Matson and Lachance are all suddenly getting hammered, either. At least, the offense is delivering a league-leading team OPS of 806, which somehow only translates into slighly above average run production. Not much to do but hope for regression to the mean at this point. At this time last season, the Isos were dead last with double-digit games behind, and in the end, we were a series away from winning the division. Holmes whistling in the dark...

#68126	09/06/2019 6:27:07 pm	May 6th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Jealous of the ops. Dinos will never be competitive in that category. Little to little SI. Topes have nearly doubled our walk total. Bad news II.1. Hacker took a 35 game knock in the cup. No more easy wins against Waterloo in extras, at least for a little while. As for #FreeHamby, I think he'll turn it around too. I don't win enough 2+ claims guys to throw an 18 claimer away callously. He'll get another shot, maybe midweek.

#68131	09/07/2019 3:02:01 am	May 6th, 2042
Meccanodonte Joined: 04/21/2014 Posts: 370 Inactive	I can't overall complain about injuries, but it's harsh to have two catchers down at the same time. They're two of my hottest hitters too. Signed Rico and moved back Mullin in the position, despite Gold have been tagged as ready from the minors after last training update.

#68135	09/07/2019 6:10:59 am	May 6th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I carried 3 C for a chunk of last season. Try to have a 3B that can fill in in a pinch, but none of my current 3B are remotely qualified. Grats to Saratoga on Murillo. Dinos have a fair bit of familiarity with him. Maybe that will help the befuddled Dino RHB a bit. I'm not going to complain about injuries either, tho I suspect Waterloo has had more than our share in the early going.

#68136	09/07/2019 8:01:21 am	May 6th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	So now after the Kauffmann signing. The Moo Cows have 3 players who didn't survive my minor league system With Pauley & Bowman. Since cutting Bowman, He moved on to play for Eden Prarie, a team I faced for several seasons the past decade, and now the Moo Cows have him. Can't tell whether it's him following me or me following him. Pauley was a painful cut and I hope he stays in the minors this year so I don't need to face him too. I genuinely wish good luck with Kauffmann, He pushed my patience to the brink with his glacial development. Maybe his time in A-Ball Pleasureville will give him a training boost

#68141	09/07/2019 2:28:22 pm	May 7th, 2042
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Isotopes: hurstdm, my remark on your tiny pitcher was probably just personal vanity, because he's taller than me. Tall isn't everything. Cardinals: So now after the Kauffmann signing. The Moo Cows have 3 players who didn't survive my minor league system With Pauley & Bowman. Pauley was a painful cut and I hope he stays in the minors this year so I don't need to face him too. I genuinely wish good luck with Kauffmann, He pushed my patience to the brink with his glacial development. Maybe his time in A-Ball Pleasureville will give him a training boost. Thanks for pointing this out. I hadn't noticed, but I usually track the teams I overlap with. Bowman's been rock solid. He's so freakin' tall. Bad news: Pauley was cut to make room for Kauffmann. Painful here too and I bet they noticed that. Back down to two Redbirds on the roster. The Cows are mucho excited about Kauffmann - even if he's only 6'1". Who wouldn't love Pleasureville? It seems like I overlap with certain teams all the time. Detroit's one I know off the top of my head. Mount Pleasant's another. I just picked up a Bloomington pitcher. I'd love to have a list generator for this kind of thing.

#68143	09/08/2019 3:07:48 am	May 10th, 2042
Meccanodonte Joined: 04/21/2014 Posts: 370 Inactive	I can't overall complain about injuries, but it's harsh to have two catchers down at the same time. They're two of my hottest hitters too. Signed Rico and moved back Mullin in the position, despite Gold have been tagged as ready from the minors after last training update. Rico injured too. Weird, at least.

#68144	09/08/2019 4:40:46 am	May 10th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Felt bad for some of the losses Waterloo inflicted on Manhattan yesterday. Game 2 especially seemed like the type of game Waterloo has been on the losing side of a lot the past little while. Grats to the Topes on Salazar. I congratulated PrivateSnowFlake when he won him back in the day, and then Salazar was pretty bleh. I admired Bloomington's persistence sticking with him (despite the salary), and they were eventually rewarded with some good play. Identified a few waiver targets this week, but not sure I want to clear a roster spot. Kinda jammed up atm. Still working up the nerve to part with Marino.

#68145	09/08/2019 8:17:29 am	May 10th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm finding way too much talent on waivers this season I think its the fallout from the superstar class that got release in 2041.

#68146	09/08/2019 8:27:22 am	May 10th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Me picking up another pitcher to add to my pitching heavy farm system

#68147	09/08/2019 9:35:48 am	May 10th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Felt bad for some of the losses Waterloo inflicted on Manhattan yesterday. Game 2 especially seemed like the type of game Waterloo has been on the losing side of a lot the past little while. Oh well, another blown save. What annoys me more (aside from being in last place) is that after giving up way too many runs all season, we now seem to have problems scoring, too. Anyway, congrats on digging yourself out of the hole. Grats to the Topes on Salazar. I congratulated PrivateSnowFlake when he won him back in the day, and then Salazar was pretty bleh. I admired Bloomington's persistence sticking with him (despite the salary), and they were eventually rewarded with some good play. Thanks for pointing that out - I wasn't even aware what a late Bloom(ington)er Salazar was. Gives me a bit of hope for that guy Martinez I have down with the Atom Smashers. On my part, Salazar is a bit of a "if there's nothing you can do about your weaknesses, add to your strengths" move - aside from the fact that I wasn't really expecting to get him at 20 claims. Had my eyes more on some obscure 2 claim pitching prospect today. The problem I have with Salazar is that he really doesn't have a position. I can't believe Ottawa/Tabasco actually played him at 3B, and I'm not putting his 11 range in right field, not even the small field in Isotope Stadium. Against lefties, I can bench Farmer, but against Haverhill's all-righty rotation, I'm not subtracting another impact bat to clear the DH spot for Salazar. Pak hasn't hit yet this season, but the talent is there, and he's shown at least a bit of it last season. At least for the duel of the cellar dwellers today, I'm hoping he'll remember some of his early-career experience behind the dish and reshuffling my infield. That sacrifices a bit of skill at SS and a bit of experience at C, SS and 3B, but it allows me to replace Araujo's entirely useless bat with Salazar's, which should more than make up for that. It's a risk in a season where I was planning to go for it, but I don't see too many alternatives right now. My defense can't get that much worse, after all.

#68148	09/08/2019 2:16:15 pm	May 10th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, hitting two bombs and nailing a base stealer after hardly having caught games since his minor league days is a way to start you Isos career.

#68149	09/08/2019 3:05:06 pm	May 11th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I really don't understand what is wrong with my runners this year. I've ramped their base steal aggressiveness way down and they are still getting nailed like crazy. Gamboa is a career 235-54, yet he is 4-3 this season... Both Gamboa and Kyung got picked off by noodle arm Salazar with no Catching experience Finished the series with 1 SB and 4 CS against Manhattan... Just don't get it 2039 -> 140 - 43 2040 -> 136 - 57 2041 -> 110 - 42 2042 -> 15 - 14 I don't think I've ever done this poorly on the bases Updated Sunday, September 8 2019 @ 5:25:13 pm PDT

#68154	09/09/2019 2:24:04 am	May 14th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, you can console yourself that you won three out of four scoring 27 runs against the current punching bag of the division.

#68155	09/09/2019 5:40:22 am	May 14th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm still mad that we got swept the first time around facing three LHPs in the row

#68158	09/09/2019 1:16:38 pm	May 14th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Interesting. . Dinos were 0/3 stealing against the Cows 15 arm lower case c LHT. Have gone 7 of 9 against the rest. Sometimes the "challenge" mechanic can be a little frustrating. Dinos followed up a first loop where we didn't win a series with a second loop where we didn't lose one. Made some adjustments that seem to have an impact. That's nice. Last season it didn't feel like anything I did mattered much.

#68169	09/10/2019 3:16:23 am	May 17th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	The Isos just barely made it out of the cup group phase. I had to throw out my best players (with the exception of one Butler start because all my starters and most of the bullpen were overworkedbecause of the cup doubleheader) to at least get a series split against a league 6 bot team. With Salazar on the team, some playing time for less experienced players, and even more for my rookie pitchers would have been much appreciated. In the end, the 12th win was a one-run game. Isos are definitely not a good team at this point. In the meantime, welcome back to Kevin Beyer, who has returned to the AA Quogue Ions after not sticking in the Murfreesboro and Muncie systems. I was the only one to claim him. He's by no means a top prospect, but if the alternative is to use a roster spot on Beyer or Witherspoon, I saw little reason to hesitate.

#68170	09/10/2019 5:15:33 am	May 17th, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	Its the second year in a row we are paired with a top 25 team right off the Group Stage. And this time, its the one and only MooCows!!! Its a pleasure to have the bovines here in the west, even though they have to travel northeast to get to Columbus.

#68173	09/10/2019 2:33:02 pm	May 18th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Injuries galore this season As soon as one guy gets healthy another gets injured. Annoying to never have a full squad, but I suppose it could definitely be worse...

#68175	09/10/2019 3:03:31 pm	May 18th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	There we go. Right on cue, LOL.

#68178	09/10/2019 6:36:52 pm	May 21st, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Oliva doesn't seem like the biggest loss, his glove would definitely be missed if Barron doesn't step up. As someone who puts value into specialists, I feel for your loss of Jolly, hopefully you won't have many hold opportunities in his absence. The west is keeping every manager on their toes. Each team is one bad series from falling into the relegation bracket. It's both annoying and exciting at the same time.

#68181	09/10/2019 7:20:08 pm	May 21st, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Oliva is a significant loss. He is the only real 2B option on my entire team. Kyung used to know the position, but he has lost it over time. Its nice that Baron is on a hot streak at the plate, but he isn't a real replacement. Oliva is a solid glove at 2B with 17 Range and a 50 SB per year lead-off hitter with .800 OPS. Baron has poor fielding, range, and positional experience. And until these last couple games has been a dunce at the plate. Not to mention Oliva is a huge part of my current DP numbers. With Jolly its just incredibly ironic. First I lost my closer for a couple weeks. Then I lost my (only at the time) setup for a couple weeks. Then I decided that Jolly could handle LHS, so I dropped my old LHS (Marionette). Really should have figured that after Closer and SET, LHS would be next up for the two week injury LOL. Updated Tuesday, September 10 2019 @ 7:47:40 pm PDT

#68184	09/11/2019 4:48:10 am	May 21st, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	Bad beats for Columbus. We are 2-8 in the last 10 and not looking good. Almost got swept in two consecutive 4 game series. In need of a break but instead of that we get 1st place Farmington Hills at The Fields. Hope we get a series win.

#68186	09/11/2019 7:47:47 am	May 21st, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Oh hell nah, I see what you're doing. Last time you posted about a rough go and need of a rebound you swept my ass at home. I'm gonna be cheesed if that repeats.

#68189	09/11/2019 2:36:29 pm	May 22nd, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	And another goes down I knew that post was going to come back and bite me...

#68192	09/11/2019 3:35:48 pm	May 23rd, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	One more game. One more injury. This time my Ace. 4 guys out now

#68196	09/11/2019 4:20:06 pm	May 23rd, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Wow. Cow offence is something else. 34 runs over 3 games vs. Dino pitching, and only 2 HRs. Conga line after conga line. Still have a half dozen guys below Mendoza, but Flynn might be the most disappointing. Beginning to look like a lost season for him.

#68199	09/11/2019 4:42:24 pm	May 24th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Same for us. After getting rid of our real life Mendoza, Palu seems to have donned the mantle Very disappointing after wasting 7 seasons worth of ABs on him...

#68201	09/11/2019 7:08:10 pm	May 25th, 2042
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Halflings: I really don't understand what is wrong with my runners this year. The league has some mighty saucy catcher arms. Alternatively, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Also, did you notice this cool game had 4 three-run homers? Two in the first inning. Two from one player. Cardinals: Me picking up another pitcher to add to my pitching heavy farm system. Hilarious. Totally agree. I pace back and forth and stare at prospects on waivers hoping for some kind of sign from the gods. Oh hell nah, I see what you're doing. Last time you posted about a rough go and need of a rebound you swept my ass at home. I'm gonna be cheesed if that repeats. This legit made me snort milk out my nose. Isotopes: In the meantime, welcome back to Kevin Beyer, who has returned to the AA Quogue Ions after not sticking in the Murfreesboro and Muncie systems. I was the only one to claim him. You and I are the only Beyer fans, even though he's as memorable as vanilla ice cream. What exactly do you sit down and tell guys like Beyer when you bring them back into the system after cutting them before? "We really think you're talented. No really this time. We mean it." I've had exes like this. "No baby, this time it's for real." Columbus: It's the second year in a row we are paired with a top 25 team right off the Group Stage. And this time, it's the one and only MooCows!!! It's a pleasure to have the bovines here in the west, even though they have to travel northeast to get to Columbus. I'm shocked to get paired with you right away. We love you. We hate you. We love you all over again. (See the comment above about my exes.) It'll be fun regardless because, baby, you're the greatest. Dinosaurs: Wow. Cow offence is something else. 34 runs over 3 games vs. Dino pitching, and only 2 HRs. Conga line after conga line. This lack of homers is a great stat and I didn't notice, but I noticed the overall series fireworks. It may be more the ballfield than the offense. All the cow pies are rigged to blow sky high. Welcome to the Jungle.

#68204	09/11/2019 9:46:09 pm	May 25th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Its not the strong arm catchers throwing my runners out though... Its everyone.

#68205	09/12/2019 5:29:22 am	May 25th, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	@Cardinals: Well, it just did not work this time. We are totally helpless at the moment. @MooCows: LOL. Win or lose its always very fun to play you. Looking forward to a competitive series.

#68206	09/12/2019 8:08:33 am	May 25th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	I sacrificed a virtual goat to the RNG to counteract your forum voodoo magic. Nice try tho 😉

#68208	09/12/2019 2:08:07 pm	May 25th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I was trying to decide between Murillo and Carroll for an emergency Starter. Guess it didn't matter, LOL. Still a bit unsure how a 60 pitch limit ended up with 106 pitches... Updated Thursday, September 12 2019 @ 2:09:36 pm PDT

#68209	09/12/2019 2:31:05 pm	May 26th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Looks like he went until excessive pitch count tripped. Your MRs have the 5th as their inning of entry? Some impressive conga lines. Guess it's nice the Dinos aren't the only ones with that problem.

#68210	09/12/2019 3:20:47 pm	May 26th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yeah. I thought the excessive pitch count was like 200 or something? Now I have 5 injured

#68211	09/12/2019 3:51:09 pm	May 27th, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	And then, Mel Strom pitched the first No Hitter in Columbus history! Finally! It took us 27 seasons but we finally made the club!

#68212	09/12/2019 4:19:38 pm	May 27th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	6 injured now... Thank goodness I don't have any games on Friday. Updated Thursday, September 12 2019 @ 4:22:13 pm PDT

#68216	09/12/2019 5:30:11 pm	May 29th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	On a positive note, we are leading the division in HRs despite having the tallest walls. ... Of course that means I did a very poor job of designing my ballpark to take advantage of my team's strength

#68217	09/12/2019 5:47:48 pm	May 29th, 2042
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Congrats to Mel Strom! Get that guy a real nickname! Also, this game with Manhattan has to be in the running for most exciting of the year. Ron Donovan's earned himself some kind of new nick with his first career Player of the Game award.

#68221	09/13/2019 5:17:33 am	May 29th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Also, this game with Manhattan has to be in the running for most exciting of the year. Well, if you want to call it that... I tend to call it yet another blown save in yet another game with way too many runs given up in yet another unnecessary lost series. Please move on, there is nothing to see here. Morse has managed to blow six saves in 15 outings, putting his ERA at 14.49 and BAA at .394. He had eight blown saves in 57 opportunities and a .213 BAA last season. I guess that makes it a little easier to stomach that I'll be without my "closer" for the cup series tonight. Generally, injuries are the one thing I'm not really worried about these series. While my defense is generally shoddy and the bench is not all that long overall, everyone is versatile enough that I could easily go without two of my middle infielders without losing much on either side of the ball. With the exception of Quiles and Apodaca as starters, everybody on the Isos is replaceable. Not sure if that's a good thing.

#68222	09/13/2019 5:42:33 am	May 29th, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	Holy mother of god!!! Just drafted my first ever 16 POT (second, but the first one got away on that reset 1 or 2 years ago). Here's Hank Stephens.

#68225	09/13/2019 6:05:19 am	May 29th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Boom! Herrera had another great training update and had a POT bump. My manager is really bringing out the best in my players. Epps, Toro, Herrera, Callaway (when I still had him) and Ocampo all had POT bumps in the last 5 seasons.

#68245	09/13/2019 12:56:11 pm	May 29th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Congratulations on Stephens. Nothing even worth drafting here. Haven't really had anything at all worth drafting all season, although Guerra is somehow still around because I have nothing better to use the roster spot on. Updated Friday, September 13 2019 @ 1:34:20 pm PDT

#68246	09/13/2019 1:08:09 pm	May 29th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm constantly cutting guys I wish I could keep on the roster... I can't remember the last time I had an extra spot!

#68250	09/13/2019 1:30:54 pm	May 29th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Grats on Stephens. AAA to boot. Not much on my draft board, but a good training update. I'm really struggling to find players of interest on waivers. Think I only made 2 offers last week. Don't see a lot this week. No biggie tho. Like Haverhill, Dinos have a tight roster and no one we really want to part with.

#68252	09/13/2019 4:16:26 pm	May 31st, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	The Cows got the best of us! Amazing third game of the series, same number of HRs and Doubles, but the extra hit gave the bovine the cushion over us. Keep it going, MooCows!!!

#68256	09/13/2019 4:39:54 pm	May 31st, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Isos are out of the cup, which is hardly a miracle if you give up 19 runs in three games against a league 4 team. So now, we can concentrate on... uh... winning the division... Still trying to make sense of my defensive woes. I don't find anything on the pitching side, and in principle, it isn't unrealistic that my changes on defense have messed things up. The infield reshuffle may well have cost me some DPs - but overall, DPs are up since last season. Caught stealing rate is down, which seems to make sense since I have converted Salazar to catcher vs. righties - but Salazar has been death on base stealers; it was Rios whose CS-rate has dropped dramatically since last season. Overall fielding percentage is down slightly. Seems to make sense, too. But who do the errors come from? Three errors by pitchers, one by a catcher, three at first base - not much to see there. It would make sense that I messed up SS and 3B in the reshuffle, but while Andrade has some problems adjusting to short, 3B is much better than last year. The defensive black hole in the infield is 2B, where Ramirez seems to have forgotten how to field a ball this season. Same thing in the outfield - Corona is new, but he has taken over capably from Kaiser; the problem is that Hasegawa is much worse than he was last year. So, I'm no smarter looking at defense than I was looking at pitching. It's not the changes since last season that are causing the problems - it's guys who performed capably to stellar last year suddenly becoming unplayable. I guess that's called baseball...

#68257	09/13/2019 8:02:37 pm	May 31st, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Salazar has been death on base stealers Don't remind me

#68265	09/14/2019 2:44:09 pm	Jun 1st, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm really not liking how the division is shaping up so far... Haverhill has a long and storied history of battling for 4th with Manhattan, and it generally (always?) ends up with Haverhill in 5th place...

#68267	09/14/2019 2:58:06 pm	Jun 1st, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Seems like the wall height was an error given my power numbers this year. But really happy I went turf given my rookie infielders.

#68270	09/14/2019 4:25:31 pm	Jun 2nd, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I doubt Manhattan hangs around down there. They are kind of the anti-Dinos. 8 of 9 homegrown, only one of those a 13 pot. Roster of a pro drafter. Easy sweep for them today. Same old for Waterloo. 8 good innings a game, and one that belongs on an impaired golfer's score card.

#68271	09/14/2019 5:22:30 pm	Jun 4th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I have 6 homegrown on my team right now, but the POT 12s and 13s are better than the high POT guys. Only one homegrown pitcher (way to easy to find quality pitching on waivers).

#68272	09/14/2019 5:42:57 pm	Jun 4th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	What the hell Rock, you somehow shipped the injury bug to my pitching staff today. Lost my third starter and my closer

#68273	09/14/2019 5:47:28 pm	Jun 4th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	LOL. Sorry, not sorry I'm sitting pretty with only one injury today

#68274	09/14/2019 5:52:35 pm	Jun 4th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I have 3 claims out over the next 3 days who have each have 3 claims total. Here's hoping I land one

#68278	09/15/2019 4:57:51 am	Jun 4th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Grats on Covington. Dinos had one of the claims on him, but I didn't open a roster spot. Felt he's a little in between. Doesn't look like he'll be a strong offensive player, and 15 range is a bit low for a defensive specialist 2B. Still think he's worth a look tho.

#68280	09/15/2019 6:46:58 am	Jun 4th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I really only claimed him because I felt he had slightly more upside than Boo-Boo. I'd be a little more excited if his fielding and range were flipped, but his hitting prospects are pretty poor. The guys I claimed for today and tomorrow are more interesting as they would impact the major league team. Updated Sunday, September 15 2019 @ 6:47:46 am PDT

#68281	09/15/2019 8:43:51 am	Jun 4th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	They are kind of the anti-Dinos. 8 of 9 homegrown, only one of those a 13 pot. Roster of a pro drafter. Easy sweep for them today. Same old for Waterloo. 8 good innings a game, and one that belongs on an impaired golfer's score card. Well, the easy sweep came because for once, my defense did what it's supposed to do: Give up no more than four runs or so. The way my offense is built, that'll do on most days. We did win one pitching duel each in our last series against Saratoga and Alexandria, but that's not really how the Isos are built. Keep the game winnable and let the bats do the rest. That strategy is not going to work if we keep giving up 8+ runs per game, of course... In that sense, yeah, maybe we are the anti-Dinos, and the anti-Cows, as well, but not necessarily in the sense you mentioned. Yes, we have a lot of homegrown players, but besides some plain old luck in the last one or two seasons of the old draft, that's mostly because I haven't found anything better on waivers, plus I happened to end up with a core that reached maturity at just about the same time. Just a few seasons ago, it was the opposite, and I had the impression that my team consisted mostly of 33 year olds I had picked up somewhere. Some of the great Isos of old were guys I had claimed off waivers - I just haven't had much luck on that front, lately. One difference may be that I am a little more conventional in evaluating players than you appear to be, seeing (and actually getting) value from pitchers I'd never put a claim on. If I see a major league ready pitcher on waivers that I actually like, he usually either has 60+ claims because everybody likes him, or he's so old that I can squeeze no more than one good season out of him (see Beane, Dick or this year's rental, Arenas). If you can claim only one decent pitcher per season and he declines below the limit of usability the next season, you have to live with the arms you get from your own farm, even if they're Arreola. To be fair, I have two pitchers I managed to claim in their prime in Cole and Ferraro, but I see them as back-of-the-rotation material at best. The other strategic difference in the build of our teams is the priority on certain skills. When I see the range the Cows and Dinos have all around their outfields, I wonder how you ever hit doubles or triples against them. On the other hand, I would never play Gomez, Marino or Robbins in the outfield corners, because I just wouldn't trust them to deliver the offense that at least Marino and Robbins somehow do this season (although their history doesn't suggest that that level is sustainable). I never had a problem playing a guy with 14 or 15 range up the middle (my 2B Ramirez has 12 range), and up until this season, it has never come back to haunt me. On the other hand, I hate to have more than one or two bats in my lineup that I know before will deliver less than at least a .300 wOBA. That's why my best defensive infielder, Araujo, will hopefully find himself on the pine pony more than at shortstop. But, yes, if the season continues like this, I may have to rethink that strategy - but other than putting Araujo back on the field, there isn't much I can change in the short run, anyway.

#68283	09/15/2019 8:50:16 am	Jun 4th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	In that sense, is it much of a surprise that I would have taken Barrera over Covington?

#68286	09/15/2019 10:20:42 am	Jun 4th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Boo-Boo Barrera has been on borrowed time since his horrid 2041 showing. His big brother Jogi Barrera has been pretty disappointing at 3B for the major league team as well Jogi still has some value while the new gen 3B train up, but I figured I would cut my loses on Boo-Boo now. Updated Sunday, September 15 2019 @ 10:24:23 am PDT

#68288	09/15/2019 2:45:41 pm	Jun 5th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, that's another difference between us: I couldn't care less if an 18 year old performs well or not in A-Ball. In Barrera's case, his skillset was way behind the competition at that level, so of course his numbers would be bad. On that level, I don't believe you'll learn anything from stats that you can know from skills. The only minor league stats I really look at are things that will even out over several seasons and that you have no clue about from skills, like platoon split, when I determine how to use a player when he's called up. I have seriously never hired or fired a player because of minor league stats.

#68289	09/15/2019 2:49:01 pm	Jun 5th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I just notice, that may have to do with the fact that we didn't have minor league stats when I started playing. When they were introduced I started playing around with them and found that the only thing you really see from them is if a player has been promoted with a high or low SI compared to the competition at that level.

#68290	09/15/2019 3:27:04 pm	Jun 6th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	They didn't have them when I started either, but I've found them to be a very strong predictor of performance in the majors. Guys like Palu do bad in the minors, and then perform bad in the majors. I've watch multiple players pull the same act as Boo-Boo, and they all turned out failures at the major level. Figures the one game I miss, our Catcher gets injured so they put a SS with no Catching experience Gave up two SB...

#68291	09/15/2019 4:21:15 pm	Jun 6th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Rock, I'm beginning to feel bad about this one. Two extra-innings slugfests in a row to pave the way for a sweep. Maybe it's a consolation that Salazar didn't catch either of your two base stealers this time... Run prevention still isn't where I want it to be, but this time, the the offense was even better than the defense was bad, so I managed to steal this series. Actually, it's not just the position in the league (with the Cows falling back to earth), but also run differential that looks much more palatable now.

#68293	09/15/2019 5:39:59 pm	Jun 8th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Another day, another sweep. I think I expressed some positivity after the 2nd loop, so clearly this was deserved. Game 1 a pretty good example of the modern Dinos. Pitchers combine to yield 5 walks and hit one. Defense boots one. All that manages to get sequenced in a single inning, Dinos get blown out again. I don't really care about losing, but I'd like my games to be watchable. The 2-hitter-thru-6-oh-noes-11-straight-reached-in-the-7th script happens so often that it's making watching really unejoyable. After watching 11 control Noel hammer the zone for 8.1 at a 73% strike rate, walking none, and seeing that he only walks one every 4 innings, I'm really at a loss explaining Monroe. Or Burton. Or Sanchez. They all have 17 control, but worse walk rates and strike % (ok, Sanchez is 1% better) than Noel. shrug.

#68294	09/15/2019 7:12:38 pm	Jun 8th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	With the first half of division play complete, i'm happy to say FHL has exceeded expectations yet again. That being said. Interleague is a whole other beast. +ves -My guys took the 4 game road sweep Columbus dealt us in stride, My team won the rest of my 4 game road trips 3-1 against each team in the division -Despite starting off the season near dead last in runs scored, my boys took a page out of the isotopes playbook and started hammering the ball to make up for my less than stellar pitching and defense. -Quintero's sophomore year has been a complete and welcome surprised considering he was a worry at the beginning of the season. -My Bullpen has been the only reliable part of my team, routinely winning games my starters seem to give away. -With guys like Herrera, Burrell, Roland, and Carrara continuing to grow throughout the season, my squad should trend upwards (fingers crossed) -ves -Starters are a coin flip every game, average ERA is over 4.50, I hope it is attributed to the heavy away schedule in the first half but it is troubling nonetheless. -Only team to beat me in errors in the division happens to be last place. If fielding doesn't improve, i'll be left in the dust. Despite my team appearing to be one of the stronger ones in the league, I'm quite nervous to be facing the east as Saratoga is a team that is an equal match to mine and they currently are last. My only hope is that if my team get's pumped by the east, the rest of the division will too. I am excited to be facing off against some of the most tenured franchises. It's really nice to see how I stack up to the Vets of the game. And i hold hurstdm in the same regard even with 2 years experience. It took 2 years for the moo cows to do what took me 4. Updated Sunday, September 15 2019 @ 7:13:25 pm PDT

#68295	09/15/2019 7:31:58 pm	Jun 8th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I was particularly pleased when my 12.00 ERA rookie LR was brought into the game in the 13th with a 1 run lead, while my closer was sitting the bench picking his nose.

#68296	09/16/2019 3:48:51 am	Jun 8th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Yup, had a similar thing against the Moo Cows last week... As the experiment with Salazar as catcher and Andrade at short against lefty starters at least hasn't turned into an obvious disaster, I have a little surprise in store for the Western division. Doing the same rochade against righty starters allows me to replace Araujo's ineffective bat with the first right-handed journeyman slugger I can find on waivers. That should pretty much make my lineup against lefties as strong as it is against righties. If I'm making a mistake with my offense-focused strategy, I may as well do it right. Considering I have another infielder coming up in Kono pretty soon, that spells bad news for Guevara (at least as an Iso), who has filled in as a bench infielder for quite a while. In some other constellation, he might have become a capable 3B, but he just never got the chance to get there, and at age 28, he has little chance of catching up if he spends most days sitting on my bench. Updated Monday, September 16 2019 @ 3:57:59 am PDT

#68299	09/16/2019 7:59:05 am	Jun 8th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	If I knew I would have been in 4th place at this point in the season I would have kept Parsons Thought it was just a rebuilding year... I assumed I would be deep in 6th with all the rookies this season.

#68302	09/16/2019 9:44:52 am	Jun 8th, 2042
Meccanodonte Joined: 04/21/2014 Posts: 370 Inactive	@Seca: about Noel, you're right, this year he's walking few guys despite 11 control, but otherwise he's allowing more hrs that a groundball guy would. Strikeouts too was a problem last year, for example. I think it's a combination with inexplicable ups and downs. You took a not so frequent up against him.

#68313	09/17/2019 6:55:30 am	Jun 10th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Guess I wasted my luck on Covington... I didn't get Lara or Saldana

#68315	09/17/2019 11:05:53 am	Jun 10th, 2042
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	If you'd told us 50 games ago the Moo Cows would have a share of 1st place right now, I'd've been elated. That being said, losing 5 in a row going into interleague play is an unexpected downer. (The Cows freshly remember our free fall from last year.) The Icarus Cows couldn't stay over the moon forever. We're going to try and remain objectively happy about 28-22 and .560. We were just hoping to be somewhere in the hunt. Hey Athletics, I need you to stop winning, ok? I think Saratoga's better than they're showing. I'm not looking forward to the upcoming Rohnert Park series. In case nobody knows the history, we've played the Rebels a lot and the Cows have never won any series. Almost as frustrating as going 1-19 against the Thunder last season. We're hoping to break the steak. But first, we play the only other II.1 team remaining in the Cup! Is II.1 better than II.2? Check the Cup stats and see? (Nope, 2-6.) Isotopes: Well, if you want to call it that... I tend to call it yet another blown save in yet another game with way too many runs given up in yet another unnecessary lost series. Please move on, there is nothing to see here. And then you win 6 in a row and your tune probably changed. Chin up, Buttercup! Congratulations on Stephens. Nothing even worth drafting here. Haven't really had anything at all worth drafting all season Same: Congratulations. I haven't even been in the same neighborhood as a player like that. It's not the changes since last season that are causing the problems - it's guys who performed capably to stellar last year suddenly becoming unplayable. That's how Murfreesboro felt in 2041. Everything went wrong, then just barely right. When I see the range the Cows and Dinos have all around their outfields, I wonder how you ever hit doubles or triples against them. Because our ballpark is literally/figuratively the size of Manhattan. on the pine pony *snorts* Holy Cow do you ever need this guy back. Patriots: The Cows got the best of us! Amazing third game of the series, same number of HRs and Doubles, but the extra hit gave the bovine the cushion over us. Keep it going, MooCows!!! If Columbus doesn't have the nicest owner in Broken Bat, I wouldn't know who does. Dinosaurs: I don't really care about losing, but I'd like my games to be watchable. Try putting your players in tighter pants. Cardinals: With the first half of division play complete, i'm happy to say FHL has exceeded expectations yet again. The Cows envy your formatting on that lovely chart. It took 2 years for the moo cows to do what took me 4. I hadn't noticed until just now you've come up from VI. We've been moovin' on up! Updated Tuesday, September 17 2019 @ 11:08:53 am PDT

#68316	09/17/2019 11:17:56 am	Jun 10th, 2042
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	Try putting your players in tighter pants. We can all just go home now that the internet has been won, right? :P

#68317	09/17/2019 6:14:02 pm	Jun 14th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	My wife used to be a Brett Lawrie fan. I used to leave pics like this on her tablet. Injuries piling up for the Dinos. Down a SP, both C, two starting OF and my DH. Has meant Hamby is back up with a final chance to prove his worth. If I have any spare OFs I guess they draw straws to see who dons the tools of ignorance.

#68318	09/17/2019 6:39:42 pm	Jun 15th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Dinos have a fairly big decision to make. Riley has long been our 3B of the future. He should be up next season. Garcia, then, will need somewhere else to play. He's clearly not a prototypical 3B. Would be alright at 2B, especially if he hits a bit. We played him there during the cup this season, but his position knowledge still has a long way to go. If we put him at 2B now, we could cut Chiang and Mayfield (almost 6 million salary and 2 roster spots). But that's essentially conceding demotion. I'm not sure Garcia is worth that. Decisions, decisions.

#68319	09/17/2019 6:47:59 pm	Jun 15th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yes! Worth it! Give me the 5 spot! I should probably be doing the same thing and giving Burrell more playing time, but I'm just too competitive to trot out a guy hitting .063 on a regular basis. I'm actually thinking I will demote him after this week. Don't care if the AI thinks he is ready. He hasn't shown any evidence of that. And sitting the bench isn't helping his position knowledge any. Updated Tuesday, September 17 2019 @ 6:55:10 pm PDT

#68320	09/17/2019 7:04:42 pm	Jun 15th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Haverhill has the 3rd best FP and the second best FIP in the East. And still we are bottom of the barrel for ERA... Just goes to show how worthless FIP is Updated Tuesday, September 17 2019 @ 7:20:03 pm PDT

#68321	09/17/2019 7:49:12 pm	Jun 15th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Heartbreaking series loss to Alexandria. I'd much rather say it was from their ninth inning heroics in games 3 and 4 than my closer pulling a squidward Not much worse coming out 2-3 when you had 4-1 in your cross-hairs. Hopefully we fare better back home against the Dinos. Eagerly waiting to see the results of Game 4 between my Knuckleballer Vs. Knight. The rookie showdown is probably one i'll watch pitch by pitch.

#68322	09/17/2019 9:08:15 pm	Jun 15th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	You mean like this. Yeah, I feel your pain.

#68324	09/18/2019 6:18:01 am	Jun 15th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Will be interesting to see what Haverhill does with Burrell. I would absolutely have him locked into 3B vs. LHP for the season without an eye batted towards his performance. But I can appreciate there are different approaches to be taken. I think the Dinos are going to try Garcia at 2B for a couple of games in the remaining series before the training update. See if we can get a sense of how awful playing him there would be.

#68326	09/18/2019 11:01:41 am	Jun 15th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	He was there for a little while (just not when I was playing against lefties). Its an option, but I'm not sure I'm ready to throw in the flag just yet and he is a major liability. As bad as Jogi is, he hits lefties well. End of the day, I'm not sure I trust the AI evaluation of readiness anymore, and can't really harm a players long term development giving him extra time in AAA at 22.

#68329	09/18/2019 1:00:29 pm	Jun 15th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	That's fair. Personally, I don't see any reason for concern with Burrell's development. I find most rookies suck regardless of their skills. Leaving him down may just delay his sucky season. I see that as cheating yourself out of one of his prime seasons. Those prime seasons could be very good. Burrell is a potential star (hit tool, high pd, 20 spd and some base stealing sense). But I get the desire to compete. I don't really care if we drop to III, but it's no fun watching Garcia boot 3 each game, or a rookie go 0/5 with 4 Ks.

#68330	09/18/2019 1:14:51 pm	Jun 15th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Certainly possible, but I would counter the point that rookies suck as bad as Burrell. Miranda is hitting .373 with 1.007 OPS so far this year. Hawes is hitting .253 with a .676 OPS so far this year. Scanlon hit .274 with a .722 OPS his rookie year. O'Brien had a rough year in 2040, but still hit over 200. Smith hit .248 with a .680 OPS his rookie year. Gamboa hit .203 with a .613 OPS. Even Palu (who sucks) hit .210. I consider .600 OPS for a rookie to be good, and .500 to be tolerable. Burrell has a .252 OPS. .377 in 97 ABs if you include the cup. That is a whole other level of horrible. Yes he has good potential (otherwise he wouldn't even be up), but he is just getting whipped at the major league level. I don't think he has any confidence left Updated Wednesday, September 18 2019 @ 4:31:19 pm PDT

#68331	09/18/2019 1:22:03 pm	Jun 15th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Its an option, but I'm not sure I'm ready to throw in the flag just yet and he is a major liability. How do you know? From 32 at bats? I don't have the exact numbers on Edwin Encarnacion's first 32 at bats as a Yankee, but they weren't much different, and I think that guy knows a few things about how to hit a ball. Not to say your guy will hit like the parrot, but I would expect him to be not much below league average right now and only getting better when/if he gets the experience. I do love my big bats; I have plenty of infielders, and I really want to win now, but if Burrell was an Isotope, he would definitely be playing every day.

#68332	09/18/2019 1:26:55 pm	Jun 15th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	OK, there are some more AB in the cup... But... while I generally don't care much about minor league numbers, that's almost 500 at bats against somewhat decent competition in AAA, and he has indeed been hitting for Encarnacion numbers there.

#68333	09/18/2019 2:09:52 pm	Jun 15th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I've given him 100 ABs this year. I don't see him turning things around any time soon. He hasn't shown any improvement. Yeah, I think he will be a good player down the line, but I think the AI recommended him for promotion too soon. I have a lot of rookies I'm breaking in this year already. But no one else is doing as poorly. Giving him more time in AAA is unlikely to hurt his progression. He will still grow in AAA. Updated Wednesday, September 18 2019 @ 2:10:48 pm PDT

#68335	09/18/2019 7:37:05 pm	Jun 20th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Sigh, another 2-3 Series loss. This one stung a little less than Alexandria, but not much less. The Dinos simply outplayed my team in 4 of the 5 games. Not sure how I snuck away with a game 3 win when my Starter gives up leadoff home runs in the first two innings Didn't have Todd for the first two series and Hwang filled in. Once he returned for game 5 then offence started to pick up. On to Haverhill to see who can vent about their team under performing more ;P

#68339	09/19/2019 2:32:39 am	Jun 20th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, the wins aren't quite there yet, but the runs differential is, at least - which isn't meant to say that my defense has gotten much better. In 10 games vs. Columbus and Moore: 86-59 runs, 5-5 games. Against both teams we had a game where we scored 18 runs while allowing very little. Gotta save up some for the other days...

#68340	09/19/2019 4:44:09 am	Jun 20th, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	Bad start for us in the Interleague play. Got the head start against the Isotopes but lost the last 3 (including the 18 run shellacking) and then immediately jumped to a 2-1 lead against the Athletics just to have our butt kicked on another shellacking. Zuniga is pitching like he is David Price facing the Yankees and really pissed me off the last couple days. His rotation spot is in jeopardy. These are the times I wish we had a trade system. Anyway, we now head to the pre historic site of Waterloo, way western than C-bus, to face this dangerous Dinos squad. Just hope they hit like T-Rexes.

#68341	09/19/2019 6:08:18 am	Jun 20th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Not sure how I snuck away Been a weird season for Guti. Has very close to a career best FIP and a career worst ERA. One of the few Dino pitchers not struggling with command. Getting BABIP'd to death. to face this dangerous Dinos squad Hehe. We don't feel very dangerous. May be a little better tonight with a few more healthy. Hamby can't catch a break. With Tuero out and a chance to play he promptly took a knock and missed 4 games. More and more he seems like a poor fit for the roster. Thought it was ominous the game before the great Garica-@-2B experiment he booted one at his "natural" position of 3B for 2 unearned in a 2 run loss. Went ahead with the plan anyway. No visible signs of disaster, but who knows how much beneath the surface impact. Grats to Haverhill on Marsh. Dinos really liked him (those are some sparkling minor league numbers), but we already have 2 similarly built guys in Schwarz and Brockman. Didn't make an offer.

#68342	09/19/2019 7:20:29 am	Jun 20th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yeah, Marsh looks promising, although he was brought up early. So we'll have to see how he does in the long term. Haverhill is actually over performing as a team. Just a few bad apples like Palu and Burrell, who will both get some playing time against Farmington. Maybe the last Burrell sees in the majors this season.

#68353	09/20/2019 6:19:25 am	Jun 25th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Sorry if I jinxed Marsh's debut. Another good Friday for the Dinos. Shame Toscano got a late start to his career. He's developing nicely, and actually managed to crawl above .200 this week. I had concerns that Knight might not fill out. Seems they were unwarranted. Have a fresh call up for you guys to smack around. He's my low control project. Given how several of my established high control guys are having career worst BB rate seasons I'm not expecting much from Benavides. Drafted an arm for A ball. Nothing flashy, but worth a look. With Hamby gone, its now Chiang on the hot seat. He's having a good enough season, but I dislike having to pay that salary for a RHB platoon player (he's my 2nd highest paid position player).

#68356	09/20/2019 6:58:10 am	Jun 25th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm surprised Chiang doesn't have a higher OPS given his power. Certainly hits HRs well enough.

#68357	09/20/2019 7:02:04 am	Jun 25th, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	Three very close games and the first series win for Columbus in Interleague play. Theres something very wrong going on Waterloo. We just got there and 3 players got injured. Our players are just happy to get back home alive.

#68360	09/20/2019 7:14:48 am	Jun 25th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	You shouldn't be surprised to get a few limbs broken playing with Dinosaurs... Halflings are much safer. And we have lots of hospitals around the area if anything does happen

#68368	09/20/2019 8:24:01 am	Jun 25th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Herrera and Burrell had big training updates. They're carrying the rotation as rookies which is exciting. Both are putting in early bids for RPOTY. Got two rookie call ups who are essentially the same player Roland and Horne. Horne booted Worthington out of CF against RHP. And sadly I had to drop Suzuki since there is no chance I could play him on my roster, hopefully he goes to a good home(now's your chance Moo Cows). Gotta host Murfreesboro tomorrow after a some much needed rest. Horne's debut will be a difficult one.

#68369	09/20/2019 8:36:52 am	Jun 25th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	You shouldn't be surprised to get a few limbs broken playing with Dinosaurs... Hehe. We lost another starting pitcher for 20+ yesterday. I'm not sure how much frequency is up, but duration has definitely felt longer for the Dinos this season. Much higher % of double digit absences. Chiang's OPS is always going to be low (low PD, low speed). He's leveraging his power better this season. Seasons past he's earned his nickname (Warningtrackasaurus). It's not a production problem tho. It's finding him a place to play. I think Toscano is a better long term option at 1B (especially considering salary). I think his 14 range is hurting me at 2B. Sharing DH with Tuero would work if I hadn't drafted Takeuchi, but I'd rather give the kid at bats. We'll see. My team is a mess right now. I was kind of forced into a rebuild last season even though most of my fresh blood was still stuck in the minors. So I'm developing Garica at 3B with Riley right behind him. I'm developing Tosc at 1B tho he's only 1 yr younger than Chiang. Rocha is up next season for 1B/DH messing with Sheridan/Tuero. Meadows is up next season at 2B. No idea where Arenas fits in - C? Bolton is just 26.

#68384	09/20/2019 3:16:45 pm	Jun 26th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	And sadly I had to drop Suzuki since there is no chance I could play him on my roster, hopefully he goes to a good home(now's your chance Moo Cows). I'm cutting an outfield prospect in Juarez, as well. Same reason, basically, although he's not Suzuki's quality and has been on the bubble for a while. He always hung on somehow. With his bat not playing at 1B and a defense limiting him to LF, he's totally blocked with my young core now, and scouts say he's ready. I'm cutting him to keep my newly drafted pitching prospect who will have to blow way past his current 12pot to ever be of any use, but I'm buying his "very good overall" for the moment. What a draft season...

#68407	09/21/2019 2:12:04 pm	Jun 27th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Ouch... Maelstrom down for 22 days... Sorry Luizmussa, guess I lied about the Halflings being safe :P On the bright side, our excellent doctors at Hospital Hill were able to reattach his leg. Not all bad news after all All that practice on Halfling injuries has made them pros. Updated Saturday, September 21 2019 @ 2:15:31 pm PDT

#68415	09/21/2019 4:24:10 pm	Jun 30th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Really nice first outing for our most recent FA signing Madrid.

#68420	09/21/2019 7:21:44 pm	Jul 2nd, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Another day at the office for Waterloo. Hit 4 HRs by the 3rd inning of game 1, but couldn't make it stand up. Knew there likely wouldn't be much to cheer about tonight after that. Dinos have mastered the big inning, but the 8 Moore hung on Knight in game 3 might have been the biggest yet. No HR either. Sheer conga. Game 5 Dinos held the lead until our 17 fld 1B and 19 fld SS managed to commit errors in the same inning. Oh well.

#68429	09/22/2019 2:14:11 pm	Jul 2nd, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	West is kinda funny. Columbus 5 games over 500 with -48 RD. Rohnert 5 games under 500 with a +67 RD.

#68432	09/22/2019 4:00:43 pm	Jul 5th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Grats to Seattle for matching Moore's 8 run inning! Caused me to go back and look - Moore's wasn't the first. The 8 run inning club: - Haverhill (Mar 27) - Moore (July 1) - Seattle (July 5) 7 run: - Manhattan (Apr 12) 6 run: - Haverhill (May 9) - Murfreesboro (May 22) Rest of you should be embarrassed. Columbus, Alexandria and Rohnert have only put up 5 run innings against us. Lame.

#68434	09/22/2019 5:40:47 pm	Jul 6th, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	LOL... I hear you. The boys will get the message in the locker.

#68435	09/22/2019 6:00:31 pm	Jul 6th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Head scratching where this has come from. I've managed the Dinos for 25 seasons, and ERA has beat FIP in 23 of them. The only other time was 2018 - a full rebuild season with 2 out of position middle infielders. And even then FIP was only 0.03 points lower. Seems to happen too frequently for bad luck. It's not localized to one guy (tho Knight has fingerprints on more than his share). I'd love to see opponent RISP. Aside from bad luck, I think the possible culprits are: - not enough DPs. Tamale mentioned Mayfield's low turn rate, and it's been even lower with the Dinos. Should get better with 18 arm Meadows at 2B next season. - not enough range. I don't think it's lower than normal, but maybe it is. Going to try some games with Lafferty in for Marino and see if it helps. - dare I say it ... my manager. He came onboard last season which is when the problem started. He's below average handling pitchers. I had a manager with h 3 before, and it didn't seem to hurt much. Hard to believe this guy is that much worse. Oh well. Keep tinkering I guess.

#68438	09/23/2019 2:24:40 am	Jul 7th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	My ERA has also almost always been better than FIP. I always suspected my homer-happy ballpark for spoiling FIP. Not so this season, where my FIP is a tad higher than usual while my team ERA is a whopping 5.02. I have already spent a couple of posts scratching my head what's doing this, and the only new knowledge that's coming up is that Andrade is struggling at shortstop (but not more than he was struggling at 3B last season and not much more than Araujo was at SS last season). It's definitely not the manager, though. I have the same 13 "handling pitchers" manager as the last couple of seasons.

#68441	09/23/2019 8:53:19 am	Jul 7th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	FIP is a useless measure. It doesn't have much to do with ERA because Hits are one of the most important factors in giving up runs, but is completely ignored by FIP. Consider the two teams with the lowest ERA in our division. One has a good FIP, one has a poor FIP. Both have fewer hits than innings pitched. Updated Monday, September 23 2019 @ 8:58:28 am PDT

#68443	09/23/2019 10:20:29 am	Jul 7th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	FIP is a useless measure. FIP is a terrific stat, it's just better used in combination, not isolation. FIP vs. ERA for the team is a quick and dirty estimate of defensive efficiency. When I get a spare moment I might grind some of those values. Think they would be interesting. Comparing individual pitcher's deltas to the team delta also provides a lot of value. If the defense seems to be doing a worse job for a particular pitcher, its likely on the pitcher (see Dino rookies Knight and Brockman, ERA 3+ > FIP). For the Dinos this season we've only got 2 guys beating their FIP by any kind of margin. That suggests to me its something systemic. Defense. Manager. Quality of competition. Still possible its just lots of bad luck. A comparison of the Moo Cow and Dino pitching is interesting. Moo Cows have: - pitched 5 less innings - given up 3 more hits - given up 17 more walks - given up 25 more HRs (25!!!) Put all that together, and they have yielded 2 more earned runs than the Dinos. 2! Suggests to me we are getting out sequenced consistently. PS - Dinos are leading the league in DPs, so I think I'll ease up on Mayfield as a potential cause.

#68444	09/23/2019 10:48:37 am	Jul 7th, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	And then it came that time of the year. Our annual trip south to visit the former Tennessee capital. This time without our best pitcher this season as Mel Strom is still recovering from the bizarro environment surrounding Haverhill. We got luck and were able to escape with a series win. Three close games once again and we even got a little help from our prospect "J. Assange The" Hacker who ate a few innings filling for Mel. Now, its all about actually heading east to face Saratoga and try to finish the first half of Interleague play above .500. Updated Monday, September 23 2019 @ 10:49:29 am PDT Updated Monday, September 23 2019 @ 10:50:41 am PDT

#68446	09/23/2019 12:15:06 pm	Jul 7th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I found an old spread sheet already set up to calculate Defensive Efficiency Rating (DER). Copy pasta (have to enter catcher errors manually). For those unfamiliar, DER is intended to represent how well a defense converts balls in play into outs. A value of .730 is considered awesome. .710 average. .69 or lower horrendous. EAST Alexandria Athletics 0.716 Murfreesboro Moo Cows 0.687 Manhattan Isotopes 0.678 Saratoga Highlanders 0.700 Haverhill Halflings 0.676 Waterloo Dinosaurs 0.703 WEST Farmington Hills Cardinals 0.713 Columbus Patriots 0.688 Seattle Rickey 0.717 Moore Manta Rays 0.6782 Rohnert Park Rebels 0.710 Broomfield Roadrunners 0.663

#68447	09/23/2019 12:21:48 pm	Jul 7th, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	Lets say our League is well below average. Six teams under the horrendous line.

#68449	09/23/2019 1:17:42 pm	Jul 7th, 2042
Meccanodonte Joined: 04/21/2014 Posts: 370 Inactive	Proud to have 0.716

#68450	09/23/2019 2:30:07 pm	Jul 8th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I think the mistake here is putting it all on the defense. If a hitter puts the ball into a gap, that's on the pitcher. Some pitchers are just bad at giving up hits. And that isn't capture in FIP. I agree using it in combination has value. And looking at FIP deltas between staff members can but useful. As I posted earlier in the season, Haverhill has the 3rd best FP and the second best FIP in the East. And still we are bottom of the barrel for ERA Can't blame that one on the defense! I mostly blame my low velocity staff :p

#68455	09/24/2019 6:10:24 am	Jul 9th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I think the mistake here is putting it all on the defense. I don't think I'm putting it all on the defense. "Marino hits a single to left field" doesn't tell us whether it was a scorching line drive or a blooper the LF let land in front of him. The point of the exercise is to try and figure out how to share the blame. FIP is one of the tools we have to do that. Low velocity is probably part of the Dino issue as well. We've prioritized keeping the ball in the park which may mean giving up a few more hits (we are middle of the pack in the East). The problem isn't limited to low velo arms tho, which is why I'm chasing other avenues. Always think it's fun when 2 teams pull off a trade. Waterloo --> Texarkana: 1B Mason Hamby Texarkana --> Waterloo: LHP Tim Hatfield Hamby off to a slow start in his new digs, but I still think he'll come around. Hatfield appears a straight up upgrade over Guti (younger, cheaper, maybe better).

#68458	09/24/2019 12:12:35 pm	Jul 9th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	In the past concentrating on keeping HRs down hasn't hurt me. But I have a few guys that just aren't that good. They should get phased out with the new batch of rookies breaking out over the next couple season. Despite all the early love for Carroll, I've always considered him a very borderline prospect. He is mostly just getting a shot due to his GB/FB and scouting report (and to some extent his mediocre amateur stats). His H/IP, BB/IP, K/BB, HR/IP, and WHIP are all rather poor. Just not a huge amount of data yet. For FIP lovers, he is the only guy in my minors system with a FIP north of 4.30 (most are under 4.00). Updated Tuesday, September 24 2019 @ 12:18:38 pm PDT

#68460	09/24/2019 3:15:15 pm	Jul 11th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	@Seca I have a similar "trade" from a while back that is slightly relevant. This one was for Burrell of all people. It was initially Burrell for a player to be named later who ended up being Whitaker, Whom they dropped shortly after. It appears I probably won that trade.

#68462	09/24/2019 5:24:48 pm	Jul 13th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I do a lot of trading with Scranton. Most of them end up getting dropped, but of the players still on our teams: I've given them Jesus Duran, and Javier Felix for (ROY hopeful) Rafael Miranda and Brandon Banks. Still TBD who wins that trade as Miranda is the only one who has aged out of the minors.

#68468	09/24/2019 8:17:37 pm	Jul 14th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Holy, Miranda is tearing the cover off the ball. My only question is why his noodle arm is at 3rd. I'm assuming it was too late to develop him at 1st when you got him? or just nowhere to put him? So half way through and I have little to complain about. Tracked interleague W-L totals and noted the west is up 99-81 against the east. No team in the east is above .500 for interleague play. At a glance it just appears the East travels poorly. Top 2 teams have a massive dropoff in AVG when on the road. Topes and Dinos have large jumps in BAA on the road. Granted they're only played half of the east teams on the road so these stats are fuzzy and observations are taken with a grain of salt. Now onto All Star predictions for FHL: Lynch Todd Hill Ely Buck-Shot Toro Burrell (Long shot but I've seen guys with low WHIP sneak in) Updated Tuesday, September 24 2019 @ 8:36:33 pm PDT

#68469	09/24/2019 8:18:09 pm	Jul 14th, 2042
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	With half the season gone, Cow fans seem happy with a virtual tie for the lead. Just a few runs separating first and second place. How are the +84 Rebels in last place? How are the -27 Patriots in second? More favorite innings this year. First, the theme is pitcher self inflicted wounds in this game: Top 3rd: Murfreesboro Alvarado takes the mound to pitch. Donovan draws a walk. Kawaguchi draws a walk. Malloy draws a walk. Hodson reaches on an error by the pitcher Alvarado. Donovan comes in to score. Kawaguchi advances to third base. Malloy advances to second base. Rhoads grounds to third base. Kawaguchi is thrown out at the plate by Cano. Malloy advances to third base. Hodson advances to second base. Rhoads reaches first on a fielder's choice. Armenta draws a walk. Malloy comes in to score. Kim draws a walk. Hodson comes in to score. Weiss strikes out. Moore draws a walk. Rhoads comes in to score. Montoya comes in to pitch. Donovan reaches on an error by first base Pena. Armenta comes in to score. Kim advances to third base. Moore advances to second base. Kawaguchi is hit by the pitch. Kim comes in to score. Dill comes in to pitch. Malloy grounds to third base. Malloy is thrown out at first by Cano. Murfreesboro 6, Broomfield 1 Second is the shuffle of 5 pitchers and 3 pinch hitters in this inning from this game: Top 7th: Murfreesboro Bates takes the mound to pitch. Weiss grounds to the pitcher. Weiss is thrown out at first by Bates. Segui hits a ground ball single through to right field. Bruce comes in to pitch. Donovan flies out to center field. Ruiz comes in to pitch. Rhoads comes in to pinch hit for Garcia. Rhoads hits a single to center field. Segui advances to second base. Perales comes in to pitch. Armenta hits a ground ball single through to center field. Segui comes in to score. Rhoads advances to third base. Boyce comes in to pitch. Kawaguchi comes in to pinch hit for Kim. Kawaguchi draws a walk. Malloy comes in to pinch hit for Argueta. Malloy pops out to short stop. Murfreesboro 2, Moore 0 Dinosaurs: Has meant Hamby is back up with a final chance to prove his worth. I had a waiver claim to bring Hamby home, but Texarkana acquired two former Cows on the same day. #FreeHamby I find most rookies suck regardless of their skills. #BanChildren I'd love to see opponent RISP. You can. Check the League Statistics and hover a cursor over your pitching BAA. Opponent RISP is .301 right now for you. A comparison of the Moo Cow and Dino pitching is interesting. How exactly are the Sores giving up so few homers? Is there regression in your future? I found an old spread sheet already set up to calculate Defensive Efficiency Rating (DER). I love DER. It's ridiculously hard to believe the Cow defense is that bad. Or that the Athletic defense is that good. Perhaps the future will show how lucky/unlucky this is on both ends? Or, three notes to self: outfield range, outfield range, & outfield range. Always think it's fun when 2 teams pull off a trade. One of my favorite happenings in Broken Bat! Halflings: Just goes to show how worthless FIP is. Peruse this Voros McCracken article from 2001. Breathtakingly groundbreaking at the time. End of the day, I'm not sure I trust the AI evaluation of readiness anymore. I'm starting to have doubts, too. Cardinals: Eagerly waiting to see the results of Game 4 between my Knuckleballer Vs. Knight. Rooting for Herrera unless he's fanning Cows. It was the SIX TIME Cy Young winner that really murderized us. Patriots: There's something very wrong going on Waterloo. We just got there and 3 players got injured. Our players are just happy to get back home alive. This full T-Rex injury thread had me dino-roar-ing. And then it came that time of the year. Our annual trip south to visit the former Tennessee capital. You're welcome anytime. Unlike the Thunder, who are forever banned.

#68470	09/24/2019 8:28:19 pm	Jul 14th, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	As for our potential All-Stars, the list is short this year: Sean Hodges and Ben Thacker should go. Simms has a shot just like Gómez and Barrientos.

#68471	09/24/2019 9:12:08 pm	Jul 14th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yeah, he was already at 1.4 for 3B when I picked him up. 1B are pretty easy to get and it seemed a waste to train up a righty (from 0) at first. Miranda has good fielding, and I expected him to just play DH anyhow. The only reason he is playing 3B right now is because he has the ability (kind of) and Jogi can't hit righties. It was the easiest way for me to get all the rookies I wanted to into the lineup. He isn't really a 3B. Even O'Brien would be better at 3B with his noodle arm, but he has to play 1B. It hasn't seemed to hurt too much. I'm still in 3rd place for DPs. I've often been in last place with the best arms in the infield, so I've really lost faith in the value of Arm in general. Updated Tuesday, September 24 2019 @ 9:25:49 pm PDT

#68472	09/24/2019 9:19:25 pm	Jul 14th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	"Pistachio" Smith is likely my best bet for the All-Star team. He was an Alexandria Athletics cast-off. Its very interesting to watch Howell this season. His power dropped a bit this year, and he seems to have crossed some magical threshold between hitting HRs and not hitting HRs. Updated Tuesday, September 24 2019 @ 9:29:41 pm PDT

#68478	09/25/2019 6:04:19 am	Jul 14th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Good luck to Moore with Guti. He was very good for the Dinos until he wasn't. Maybe he can get it going again in the West. Dinos only have 1 name on the offensive leaderboards (Marino 7th in BBs), so we aren't expecting any position players selected to the All Star team. Roy was our best bet to make it, but he got shelled for 7 runs in his last start. (A typical Dino perfect-for-3-innings-then-7-of-8-baserunners-score game). He might still make the cut. Has had a very good first half.

#68479	09/25/2019 6:10:30 am	Jul 14th, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	I know you guys should not help a rival but I just dont know what to do with Randall Danner His Movement caught my eyes once again and he is doing a very good job as a Mid Reliever but Im feeling this is not where he belongs. Would love to hear from you.

#68480	09/25/2019 6:31:56 am	Jul 14th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Depends on the rest of your staff, but he would be a SET for my team. If he can continue to keep the walks down I might even consider him as a closer option. I have WAY too many pitchers in my minors right now. Need to dump some Probably Carroll, but unsure of who else should go... Updated Wednesday, September 25 2019 @ 6:33:41 am PDT

#68482	09/25/2019 9:26:32 am	Jul 14th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Oh my goodness. Another one. Dinos are still head scratching over this game where 8 control Vera threw 7.1 without issuing a walk. We marveled at how an 8 control guy could have a lower walk rate than either of my 17 control starters (Monroe, Burton). I mean, that's a 9 point spread on a 20 point scale. And here's Danner, another 8 control guy, whose walk rate is lower than all but 2 pitchers on my roster (who have pitched at least 20 innings). We debate the value of tools like FIP in analyzing our teams play. Sometimes I think we should debate whether its worth analyzing our teams play. At times it feels like such an RNG fiesta that any reflection seems worthless. /rant. Sorry about that. I like that you moved Danner to the bullpen. Seems to suit him better. I don't have set roles in my bullpen; guys move up and down the hierarchy depending on their current play. Eg., Contreras is arguably my best reliever on paper. He started out as #2 setup man, and has worked his way down to #5 out of the pen. I do try to alternate good control guys with poor control guys. Probably not important here given how good Danner's command is.

#68490	09/25/2019 2:25:24 pm	Jul 16th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	5/7 on predictions. Lynch gets his 8th consecutive all star nod Toro, Hill get their first Ely with his 6th Todd with his 3rd I'm not thrilled about it, but I understand Barrientos getting the nod over Buck. Despite being tied for the league lead in saves, an ERA under 2 always wins. Not a surprise the west took the all star game, East had to travel

#68492	09/25/2019 3:01:08 pm	Jul 16th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Haverhill had four guys get playing time in the All-Star game. Gumby (DH/C/SS) did well. The others... not so much.

#68495	09/25/2019 3:34:30 pm	Jul 16th, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	Six Patriots made the All Star Game, with the addition of Hugh Burris to my list of 5 possible guys. Mel Strom could have made it if not for his latest injury. Anyway, pretty decent showing.

#68496	09/25/2019 3:37:57 pm	Jul 16th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Noticed another Scranton guy... I seem to pick up a lot of them. One of those pitchers is probably getting cut though. I've narrowed it down to Carroll or Doyle for the first cut. I really like Doyle much better than Carroll, but Carroll is a starter. I probably need to keep the starter, and Carroll is really untested at this point. His amateur numbers weren't great, but they weren't horrible either. Doyle has better numbers, but I have 6 other guys that are clones of Doyle, and Doyle seems to be the least promising of that bunch... Updated Wednesday, September 25 2019 @ 4:02:27 pm PDT

#68502	09/25/2019 5:17:49 pm	Jul 16th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Nice to see Schuler get a selection. He's having a good season, but I'm never confident platoon players will make it. Game was pretty good. Roy acquitted himself well. Healthy to start the second half, which is nice. The 20+ injury to Burton was really felt.

#68508	09/26/2019 4:16:29 am	Jul 16th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Grats to Manhattan on Arroyo. Dinos made him a offer he could refuse. Bit of a lottery ticket given his age and placement, but a nice possible payoff.

#68509	09/26/2019 4:55:18 am	Jul 16th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I'm quite happy with Arroyo. Yes, he's behind the curve, but even if the never reaches his lofty ceiling, he should turn into a serviceable starter. I'm a bit surprised he went at only 38 claims.

#68510	09/26/2019 5:30:04 am	Jul 16th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Midweek. Midseason. Seems about right to me. Halfway through the Dinos have a 1 claimer (Esquivel), a 2 claimer (Hatfield), and Hamby (13 originally, but 2 claims at his midseason release) as our waiver wins. Pretty dismal. The volume of claims made is down this season, but it still feels like we've been a bit unlucky. Edit: I somehow missed Mayfield. He's been impactful for a 2 claim guy. That makes waivers from the first half look better. Updated Thursday, September 26 2019 @ 6:23:36 am PDT

#68515	09/26/2019 9:54:15 am	Jul 16th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	There has been a ton of talent out there on waivers this season. I've won 15 claims, but only one of them has more than 4 claims on him. That would be Carroll, who is #1 on my cut list.

#68527	09/26/2019 4:14:55 pm	Jul 19th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Dang it... Three games in a row I've lost a starter... Broomfield is dangerous

#68528	09/26/2019 5:02:15 pm	Jul 20th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	LOL. Game 4, 4th injury. This season has been crazy with injuries!

#68531	09/26/2019 7:30:21 pm	Jul 21st, 2042
Pig_Cola Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 1445 Glendale Marshals III.2	A nice pickup for Murfreesboro with Bartolini. He's a great pitcher, but I decided to cut him since the team is in full rebuild mode.

#68535	09/27/2019 5:16:28 am	Jul 21st, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I was tunnelling on Arroyo. Bartolini is a nice addition for a competitive team. Glendale cuts deeper than I in a rebuild - would likely keep an effective 30 year old arm around. Kind of a bummer Friday this time for the Dinos. All my developing position players, and only 1 green arrow from the bunch. Maybe the draft pick will make up for it. Felt bad for Petry in this game. Managed to walk Sheridan (6 PD, 6 BBs in first half), Mayfield and Camarillo (6 PD, 7 BBs in first half) in succession. When the ME says it's time to conga, you conga! It's the Dinos tho, so 4 BBs and an opponent error in an inning means 2 runs, not 8. Starting to think you guys might see Rocha this season. The plan had been to leave him down, but he's made nice progress. As a 20 yr old draftee with 42 SI he's done well in my books. He's been the caboose in my prospect ratings the entire time he's been in the organization. Hopes are lower for him than they once were - he appears to be one of those prolific sluggers that hammers the ball into the ground every plate appearance. But he's got a little speed. Maybe it will add up to something.

#68536	09/27/2019 5:39:36 am	Jul 21st, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	I'm gonna send some love Rocha's way. I'm all in on him. He's got a very similar build and gb/fb stats to my franchise player Lynch. Only difference I see is Lynch has better speed. I can see Rocha having a season average of 180 hits. I'd totally send you a first round pick for em 😉

#68548	09/27/2019 2:47:47 pm	Jul 22nd, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Rocha needs to learn how look up if he wants to hit those kinds of HRs

#68549	09/27/2019 2:59:37 pm	Jul 22nd, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Still trying to decide Burrell's fate. His build is very similar to Satterfield, who did great in the minors (and spring), but was useless as a LL-2/3 player. Guys with low BC always make me nervous... Burrell does at least have the GB/FB as evidence for higher power numbers, but I suspect putting him in the lineup will be the equivalent signing are relegation papers. Already difficult to try and stay a float with rookie pitchers giving up 20 runs a game. Updated Friday, September 27 2019 @ 4:51:49 pm PDT

#68552	09/27/2019 3:35:35 pm	Jul 22nd, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I appreciate the encouragement with Rocha. But ya, I can't see him hitting more than 12-15 HRs a season. Might still be able to keep the OPS up with extra base hits. Or slide into a table setter role if his contact is stellar. That's the kinda guy we pretty much always have. Larsen was the last to hit 30 HRs for us, and that was 15 seasons ago. Often a struggle to get someone to 20. Have never had much luck hitting on those big HR guys.

#68554	09/27/2019 6:22:19 pm	Jul 23rd, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Last season I had 11 guys in double digits and not a single guy made it to 20. This year a couple guys fell off, but O'Brien is having his breakout year, and Gamboa is having a good season. So I should have two guys hit over 20 HRs! Gumby has done it before. He is just one of my low BC guys (all my SS and 2B have low BC), so he alternates between good years and horrible years. Updated Friday, September 27 2019 @ 6:24:42 pm PDT

#68556	09/28/2019 8:48:27 am	Jul 23rd, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	I'd bite the bullet on Burrell. Shove him at 8 or 9 in the order and grind. I had to do that with Carrara and I'm still grinding with him. I had him set to be my leadoff guy but that hope has faded. @Seca I've given up on home runs. I'm happy with conga lines of hitting. From my past few seasons, most successful teams have pitchers ballparks that prevent big home runs guys from producing so I tried to emulate that. Hard grounders on turf usually are hits so power ground ball guys still have value. Rocha could ideally hold a 2 or 3 spot vs RHP.

#68557	09/28/2019 9:52:20 am	Jul 23rd, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	It doesn't really matter where he is in the order. Replacing Barrera's bat and D with Burrell's is going to result in extra loses. We'll see how the rookie pitchers do this week. I brought Carroll and Marsh back up. If they blow up a bunch of games along with Tevin then there might be no point in keeping Burrell down.

#68558	09/28/2019 10:08:49 am	Jul 23rd, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	I guess, placement in the order just curbs expectations. I'd start Burrell vs LHP and put him on a short leash. Maybe a 5th or 6th inning hook then pinch hit for Barrera or vice versa. And I'd only do it after interleague. 5 series can create huge gaps between teams. Your problem is a doozie

#68573	09/29/2019 8:49:22 am	Jul 28th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I have three guys en route to 20 HR this season in Salazar, Corona and Ramirez. Lauretti may make it, as well, and Eldred probably won't, but they're both turning in great seasons offensively. Overall, my offense has dropped to an OPS below .800, though, which together with a team ERA well above 5 means having lost yet another interdivision series is not that much of a surprise. It doesn't look like it's getting better, in spite of Andrade turning into a capital SS now. Again, no surprise that my defense is bad, it's just surprising that it's so much worse than last season (DER having dropped from .702 to .672 at the half way point). Pitching has added its share, giving up more walks and way more homers than last season. I should probably shift my season goal from first place to just anything above 5th.

#68574	09/29/2019 6:07:08 pm	Aug 1st, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Always a nice surprise when Carroll pitches and we don't lose

#68576	09/29/2019 6:56:15 pm	Aug 2nd, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Get my revenge on Alexandria and Waterloo to even up a .500 records against them. Haverhill provided a huge humbling to my squad coming in and taking 4 games away from me at home. 16 runs over 5 games is not the trend you want. Especially when you have to get on the road to Murfreesboro.

#68577	09/30/2019 6:27:42 am	Aug 2nd, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Looks like Moore finally learned their lesson on Parsons He's a disappointment master. Been doing it his whole career.

#68580	09/30/2019 9:09:39 am	Aug 2nd, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Different kind of signing for the Dinos last night. We usually steer wide berths around guys like Papadopoulos. 23 yr old draftee who didn't play above A ball b/f getting his big league call up. But he's developed well, and looks like he is still adding skill. Even if he stalls out at 101-102 he's probably an upgrade offensively over Mayfield. The question is how much he kills us on defense with lower case 2b and 11 fielding. Contemplating throwing in the towel. Just haven't been able to get the pitching going. In the long run maybe better off getting all of Hacker, Brockman and Knight in the rotation and eating innings.

#68581	09/30/2019 3:09:26 pm	Aug 3rd, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	With Burrell back this week (only because of injuries), I'm already full bore on the crappy rookies this week

#68587	10/01/2019 6:30:47 am	Aug 4th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	We parted ways with Hatfield. Maybe a little unfair to only give him 3 starts. But a veteran has to be demonstrably better than the kids that are sitting for him, and Hatfield was not. There was a very long period of time when I could sign a pitcher and have realistic expectations of him performing better for me than his previous team. Those days seem to have passed. Looking at my recent "exs" (guys like Alomar and Sinclair) it seems Waterloo is a place you want to get away from if you ply your trade from the mound. Either my luck finally changed, or you know, managers.

#68592	10/01/2019 4:14:28 pm	Aug 7th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	I feel like Haverhill just pulled a Monstars from space jam and stole all my teams talent. Jeez.

#68593	10/01/2019 5:03:17 pm	Aug 8th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	My team has always been super streaky. We'll nose dive again soon enough.

#68594	10/01/2019 8:02:23 pm	Aug 9th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Of course the Topes pick up Centeno, just in time to have him pitch against me in the last Interleague series of the season. I wouldn't be surprised if he somehow comes in a pitches a gem against us.

#68596	10/02/2019 1:29:38 am	Aug 9th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, you let him go... But, seriously, if you see Centeno pitch against you, that will mean that either one of my starters got hurt in the series against Rohnert Park or we're in some kind of a blowout. He's essentially replacing Trevor Kirk as the guy who can sit around in the pen waiting the occasional spot start or mopup innings and who will probably still be able to fill that role next season. Temple and Arenas were intended as rentals and were meant be gone as soon as the five-game series are over, making way for young arms currently pushed back to AAA. However, being in this (at least for me) somewhat unexpected mess only one win away from last place at this point of the season, I might be a bit hesitant to give up any reliable contributors. I would really be a bit annoyed being demoted at the end of a season when I felt I finally had a team that should be able to compete.

#68598	10/02/2019 6:17:51 am	Aug 9th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	While Haverhill has been streaky, Waterloo has been a model of consistency. All but one of our inter-division series have been 2-3 or 3-2. Dinos have become extinct on the offensive leaderboards. Think we are the only team without a representative. With inter ending Thursday it will be decision time for the Dinos. Either keep Mayfield and switch to 4-man rotation (dropping Hacker/Brockman), or cut Mayfield and play Papadopoulos and continue 5 man, allowing Hacker/Brockman to hang a double digit loss on us each time through the rotation.

#68602	10/02/2019 2:08:37 pm	Aug 9th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Saratoga making good use of their 51st roster spot... Saldana is back on the "official" roster once again.

#68603	10/02/2019 2:35:46 pm	Aug 11th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. The dangers of pinch hitting for your C. Both Bolton and Camarillo go down for the count in the same game.

#68605	10/02/2019 3:23:35 pm	Aug 11th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Ugh... Two games in a row. More runners on base, and still lose by 1 run Now this is what the Halflings are known for

#68611	10/02/2019 6:05:48 pm	Aug 13th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	And so begins the Cardinals out of control spiral....

#68619	10/03/2019 5:24:08 pm	Aug 18th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Hmm... Isn't it about time for Waterloo to throw in the towel? :p

#68620	10/03/2019 5:36:29 pm	Aug 18th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Think I found some middle ground between the 2 options I mentioned. Plan is to part ways with Mayfield, but Chiang will take over 2B full time. Papadopoulos will play 3B vs. LHP. Hopefully build a little more fld before moving to second. Would put Toscano back at 1B where he is much better. That's the plan. Towel throwing is up to the currently slightly less beleaguered pitching staff.

#68622	10/03/2019 6:03:31 pm	Aug 18th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Only 3 games separating first from last after inter-league! Kind of regret playing so many rookies... Whoops I mean 2nd from last. Murfreesboro disappeared from my selective vision quite some time ago, LOL. Updated Thursday, October 3 2019 @ 6:06:45 pm PDT

#68631	10/04/2019 6:13:27 am	Aug 19th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	That was another discouraging week on the waiver front. Whiffed on more than a dozen claims, many down in the 2-3 claim territory. But back to a good Friday. The big news is that Meadows has been green lit. We weren't really expecting him until next season. He'll come up and platoon with Papadopoulos. The question is where. Meadows is the same proposition as Pop; low fld, incomplete position knowledge at his target position (2B). 3B gives us a better chance to win now. 2B is in the better long term interest of the club. Still not convinced the Dinos should be trying very hard to stick. We've got a bunch of young players, and potentially another half dozen coming up from the minors next season. We also just don't have much horsepower. I realized yesterday that my pitching staff has 2 14s (neither of which has 14 SI), 1 13, and the rest are 12s. That doesn't sound like a top flight collection of arms. The position side isn't much better off.

#68632	10/04/2019 6:25:54 am	Aug 19th, 2042
Coolhand Joined: 03/27/2017 Posts: 73 Inactive	Moore finally making some noise in the 2nd half of interleague, hope I can keep it going and give you a run 5L1NK. Good luck down the stretch.

#68638	10/04/2019 7:29:37 am	Aug 19th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	We all know SI isn't that telling I think the new AI algorithm is more aggressive in recommending advancement. My current theory is to keep guys down for a few extra weeks if I am skeptical of the recommendation.

#68647	10/04/2019 8:50:55 am	Aug 19th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	We all know SI isn't that telling Hehe. Some truth to that, especially for pitchers. I'd still rather have a Hardy than a Burton tho. I appreciate your take is a little different. Personally I don't think there is anything wrong (or even different) about recommendations. When a player doesn't turn out, I tend to put the blame on the player. Different strokes. Meadows should get 50-60 ABs this week. Burrell plies his 110 SI in AAA.

#68654	10/04/2019 10:16:48 am	Aug 19th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yes. 110 SI and .395 OPS...

#68655	10/04/2019 11:13:57 am	Aug 19th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	I meant to give a shout out to Coolhand and Moore for the best turn around I've seen in literal years. I'm genuinely sweating at the thought of playing you guys after you wiped the floor with teams I was barely able to go .500 with. I'm hoping my initial statement of interleague being a whole different beast holds true and my guys get back to their winning ways in the division. But FHL is in disarray at the moment and idunno what is causing it.

#68656	10/04/2019 11:43:18 am	Aug 19th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Yes. 110 SI and .395 OPS... That's fair. Have wondered if Burrell's stats are karma balancing out Miranda's success. I know he has cooled off lately, but I've given several head shakes when looking at what Miranda has accomplished this season.

#68659	10/04/2019 2:14:17 pm	Aug 20th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Why? I think Miranda's minor league stats make it pretty clear he is severely under rated. I've had enough Palus and Parsonses on my squad to learn my lesson about trusting ratings.

#68661	10/04/2019 2:20:25 pm	Aug 20th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Same story with Baron (.790 OPS). Wouldn't be on the team if I trusted ratings over stats.

#68662	10/04/2019 5:41:23 pm	Aug 21st, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	The max you can be underscouted is 20%. Best case scenario he's gone through the first 110 games with 12 hitting. Guys with 12 hitting aren't usually .300 BA .850 OPS guys for me. Most of the season I've only had 1 guy above the 700s in ops on my entire team. (Our recent hot streak has seen both Chiang and Tak push into the 800s). I'm just unlucky I guess.

#68667	10/04/2019 8:10:31 pm	Aug 21st, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	That depends on how you interpret 20%. 20% of 20 is 4. So its possible that what Steve meant is that the rating can be off by 4. Some 19s are actually 15s, and Miranda may also be a 15. As well as 16 BC and 17 PD. Looking at his minor league performance and his low SI values compared to his development, it seem very likely that he is severely underrated in multiple categories. A 12 Hitting could also mean 8. You can't just look at the face ratings and compare players. Other wise guys like Palu and Parsons would have been good players. Updated Friday, October 4 2019 @ 8:12:46 pm PDT

#68678	10/05/2019 11:49:38 am	Aug 21st, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Miranda's walk rate and K rate don't support the idea that he is rocking 16 and 17 in those stats (either this season or in his minor league career.). I've discussed over/under scouting with several managers, and everyone I've talked to believes it is across-the-board. It would be an utter, utter mess evaluating players if your hit was +4, your BC -4, your range +4, your fielding -4. But who knows. Maybe you are right. Maybe the intention was for player skills to be a farce, and that our management decisions are supposed to be based on those completely black box minor league stats that were introduced seasons after the game began. Possible. Miranda's HR rate is noticeably higher this season than in any of his minor league seasons. That suggests to he's had some luck. I personally think it's easier to attribute some of his success as BABIP/form/rng. There is relatively little difference between Miranda's minor league stats and Burrell's, yet one is an 800 ops player and the other 400. If minor league stats are so indicative, why isn't Burrell raking? Don't get me wrong. I'm a big fan of minor league stats. I also think it's quite possible Miranda is under scouted. But it's hard for me to look at his season and not think he's had some lucky breaks along the way.

#68680	10/05/2019 2:15:35 pm	Aug 21st, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Ugh... Garcia is down again

#68681	10/05/2019 2:19:55 pm	Aug 21st, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Because Burrell isn't ready, and Miranda is. Sure Miranda is rocking some luck as well, but my point is that he is a much better player than the ratings suggest. I think people forget that the rating inaccuracies go both ways. You can say "15 Hitting guys don't perform that well". But half of those guys are actually less that 15 hitting. I remember when I was last in the Legends league, looking at the horrible players who were out performing my guys. The ratings have always been incredibly inaccurate. That isn't new.

#68682	10/05/2019 2:34:10 pm	Aug 22nd, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I've discussed over/under scouting with several managers, and everyone I've talked to believes it is across-the-board I absolutely disagree with that assumption. This is what its says in the manual: in Broken Bat there is also built-in uncertainty in displayed skill levels. The visible skill values for each player are an approximation of his current actual skill level and may deviate by up to 20% from it true value for some skills To me that implies the inaccuracy can be different per skill. Updated Saturday, October 5 2019 @ 2:35:31 pm PDT

#68689	10/05/2019 4:58:10 pm	Aug 24th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I think it's hilarious I put Meadows at 3B so his defense would be better. His first game he makes an error for 2 unearned, Dinos lose by 1. Next game he makes 2 errors for 5 unearned, Dinos lose by 2. Think I may as well play him at 2B.

#68693	10/05/2019 8:29:19 pm	Aug 25th, 2042
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	I predict this comment will scroll-disappear within 48 hours. II.1 wins the chatty award. At the end of interleague play, I think the east narrowly edged the west. The Milk Machine gets an unexpectedly magical run to take sole possession of first place. Again, how are the +79 Ro-Rebs in last place??? By the Pythagorean Expectation, I think they should have 66 wins, not 51 wins. That's an unholy, unlucky 15 game difference! Shouldn't the Rebs be in first place? Inconceivable! Via the Cardinals, another nominee for most exciting game of the year. And another. Here's one from Columbus. Cows have seen an open barn door of pitchers come in and out this year and we're even picking up old Isotopes starters. Watch out! He'll Beane you right in the. Dinosaurs: We debate the value of tools like FIP in analyzing our teams play. Sometimes I think we should debate whether its worth analyzing our teams play. At times it feels like such an RNG fiesta that any reflection seems worthless. Is the unexamined life worth living? Have never had much luck hitting on those big HR guys. #MeToo Contemplating throwing in the towel. And yet, second place. I say the east takes a vote on whether Waterloo throws in the towel in 2042. Marshals: A nice pickup for Murfreesboro with Bartolini. He's a great pitcher, but I decided to cut him since the team is in full rebuild mode. Gracias, Glendale! We're in love with Bob and his 3 CG out of 7 starts. Haverhill: That depends on how you interpret 20%. 20% of 20 is 4. So its possible that what Steve meant is that the rating can be off by 4. I've wondered about this too. My team has always been super streaky. We'll nose dive again soon enough. We're breathlessing the top of the roller coaster, but stress downing milkshakes over here. Nobody gets into baseball for the good mental health. Cardinals: And so begins the Cardinals out of control spiral.... ^ Manta Rays: Moore finally making some noise in the 2nd half of interleague, hope I can keep it going and give you a run 5L1NK. Moore beat the booms out of us in interleague.

#68695	10/06/2019 12:56:04 am	Aug 25th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Oh my goodness. Dinos won a waiver claim. Radford a nice fit. Maybe a little more incentive for Marino to retire before the next update. Cheers to the Cows on Kirk. Dinos had a claim on him. Think he's a nice addition. Signed an oldie pitcher. Depth before the deadline.

#68698	10/06/2019 6:06:34 am	Aug 25th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I had a claim on Radford. Looks really promising, and might actually get you 20 HRs a season. Instead I got a consolation prize that I really didn't need. I need to stop claiming pitchers just because they are good

#68706	10/06/2019 2:14:39 pm	Aug 25th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Nice debut for Radford. Triple, HR, player of the game honours. For naught as the Moo Cows go 5 for 7 with 2 out and a runner in scoring position.

#68709	10/06/2019 2:54:35 pm	Aug 26th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Wish he was at Hospital Hill...

#68712	10/06/2019 5:12:18 pm	Aug 29th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Oh boy, things are not looking good...

#68713	10/06/2019 5:17:26 pm	Aug 29th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Oh boy, things are not looking good...

#68715	10/07/2019 6:35:07 am	Aug 29th, 2042
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	August 29: Ferraro for Huntley, straight up. And sort of, Ferraro, Beane, & Kirk for Huntley? I'll take it. Yet still perhaps, Ferraro, Beane, Kirk, & Beyer for Huntley & Beyer? How about Ferraro, Beane, Kirk, Beyer, & Kevin Bacon for Huntley, Beyer, & Kevin Bacon?

#68716	10/07/2019 10:08:53 am	Aug 29th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	And sort of, Ferraro, Beane, & Kirk for Huntley? I'll take it. Me too. Neither of the three would be more than bullpen depth pieces for Manhattan at this point (with Beane making 5 million), and Ferraro has yet to find a role he doesn't disappoint in. On the other hand, all three could start in an emergency, so they make make a bit of sense for the Cows, who are firmly in win-now mode at this point. Manhattan is looking towards a slightly more remote future with a somewhat more settled-in defense, so adding a potential future frontline starter makes all the sense in the world. Curious to see what the season turnover does to my prospects. At this point I think I have the strongest farm system pitching-wise that I've had in a long time. I see a few more question marks on the position player side, but at least the bats should be decent...

#68726	10/07/2019 5:26:31 pm	Aug 31st, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Man. Would like a roster spot for tonight. Marino seems the obvious choice. Not much need for him with 6 other OF on the list. But he's 17 hits back of McCarty, currently 3rd Dino all-time. Just 6 BBs back, 2nd all-time. And he's been one of our better players this season. Hard to press the button.

#68735	10/08/2019 5:41:40 am	Aug 31st, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Dang it! Moo Cows got Barragan

#68759	10/10/2019 5:38:32 am	Sep 8th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Lynch managed to hit for the cycle. And capped it on a triple no less

#68760	10/10/2019 7:35:33 am	Sep 8th, 2042
Coolhand Joined: 03/27/2017 Posts: 73 Inactive	Not the best time to lose Hutton for 10 days. Hopefully I can still score enough runs to keep up.

#68766	10/10/2019 4:17:07 pm	Sep 10th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Well then, did not think my team could crumble like this. The only major (if you call it that) move was dropping Centeno, and he only pitched 3 games up to that point. Aside from that, I can't for the life of me figure out how this slump started but man, it's bad. Looks like I'll be taking over Rock's role as the owner showcasing his team's struggles

#68767	10/10/2019 4:22:12 pm	Sep 10th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm really surprised that Manhattan has been my kryptonite team this season. With a pen full of lefties, I thought they would be the one team I would match up well against... Murfreesboro 7 - 6, 73 Runs, +6 RD Saratoga 7 - 6, 63 Runs, +4 RD Waterloo 7 - 7, 69 Runs, -8 RD Alexandria 5 - 8, 48 Runs, -22 RD Manhattan 4 - 9, 69 Runs, -9 RD

#68768	10/10/2019 4:23:46 pm	Sep 10th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Rock's role as the owner showcasing his team's struggles I haven't relegated that role :P

#68769	10/10/2019 4:28:13 pm	Sep 11th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Jeez, I can't even win that? My BB career is down the toilet

#68771	10/10/2019 6:05:36 pm	Sep 12th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	A little disappointing to see Murillo stunt so bad... But I guess he wouldn't be a real Halfling if he actually reached his potential Looks like only 4 of my pitchers aren't stunted. Updated Thursday, October 10 2019 @ 6:27:01 pm PDT

#68774	10/11/2019 6:08:19 am	Sep 12th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Think the most noteworthy thing from this training update (for the Dinos) was that Estrada popped to 14 pot. Since we picked him up in the back half of his age 28 season he's added 10 SI. He's just one of the reasons I believe in form (or that rng mimics form tremendously well). He hit great the back half of 2040 and first half of 2041. He then went stone cold until the all star break this season. Been better since. I mentioned earlier in the season how eerily homogenous my minor league pitching stats have been this year. The exception has been Nieto who turned in another great season. I guess it's not a surprise that as a Haverhill prospect his minor league progression has been viscous. Probably have to give him a season as a 25 yr old in AAA in '43. This was always a big day when the Dinos were competitive. Last chance to set the rotation, so I'd be going through everyone's records against all my league opponents and trying to line up arms as best as possible. Not a thing this season. We are looking for a way to drop Monroe from the rotation. He's emblematic of our struggles this season. His peripherals are basically flat from last season (BBs up a bit, BA down a bit), but his ERA is up a run and a half. Would like to put him back in the bullpen and see if that helps, but with Buntaran hurt it isn't going to happen for a while.

#68775	10/11/2019 6:20:59 am	Sep 12th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	That's what you get with a Halfling If they don't stunt, they aren't a true Halfling! Updated Friday, October 11 2019 @ 1:57:38 pm PDT

#68795	10/12/2019 11:49:55 am	Sep 14th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Ya. His slow progress may hint he won't fill out perfectly. Still hopeful. He may have some of those "intangibles". Wasn't able to part with Marino. He's too close to several career milestones. - 3 games played behind McCarty for 2nd - 5 walks behind McCarty for 1st - 33 ABs behind a legacy player for 1st - 16 hits behind McCarty for 2nd Doubt he'll do the last one, but the rest are within his reach.

#68802	10/13/2019 5:26:24 pm	Sep 22nd, 2042
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	This game with the Dinosaurs has to be in the running for game of the year. Tied 0-0 after 5 innings. Tied 1-1 after 6 innings. It stays that way through the 9th, even in very hitter friendly Murfreesboro. Waterloo gets a runner on with no outs in almost every inning past the 9th - frequently all the way to 2nd base - but can't quite ever push 'em home. We wiggled free every time. Moo Cows finally win in the 15th on a string of hits with no outs. Bravo for the show!

#68810	10/14/2019 11:12:04 am	Sep 22nd, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Ya. Dinos going 0/13 with RISP probably doesn't get my vote for game of the season. It is more palatable then those lead 5-0 opponent gets 20 singles and 17 runs in the 8th games we've specialized in recently. Marino has been making the most of his opportunity. Now we are head scratching over Schuler. He's not aging well. Not sure whether his down season is due to that, or just an off campaign. We've got youthful options at his positions, and he's likely to lose another 6-7 SI this off season. May be time to part ways.

#68838	10/16/2019 4:58:54 pm	Oct 3rd, 2042
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Well, the II.1 chatter imploded after the trade deadline. I'm posting for this gem from center field in this game: Top 1st: Saratoga Stiles takes the mound to pitch. Orozco hits a ground ball single through to center field. Orozco steals second base. Welsh pops out to short stop. Ahlberg hits a single to center field. Orozco is thrown out at the plate by Kawaguchi. Thomas hits a double to center field. Ahlberg is thrown out at the plate by Kawaguchi. Saratoga 0, Murfreesboro 0 Also, can the +108 Ro-Rebs pull it out?

#68839	10/16/2019 5:08:00 pm	Oct 3rd, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm really not liking the fact that my season ends with Manhattan Even if I manage to make up two games against Waterloo and Saratoga (a feat I've failed at since interlegue), I'm sure to drop the last three at Manhattan...

#68847	10/17/2019 6:12:31 am	Oct 4th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Well, the II.1 chatter imploded after the trade deadline. I've always suspect site traffic drops significantly after waivers and minors shut down for the season. Not a lot to do or talk about. Nice season from Kawaguchi. Awesome to bring in a 32 year old and have him hit 150+ OPS over his career mark. One of a half dozen Cows accomplishing that feat this season. Marino has managed to accomplish all the career goals I set out. He's 95 hits away from being the team all-time leader. I'd love for one of "my guys" to hold that mark, and I suspect Marino could pull it off if he played another year. It wouldn't hurt development that much. Would mean sitting Lafferty who likely isn't much of a prospect anyway. Dinos are hanging around. Shockingly we've made up RD, at least for the moment. Only takes one 17-1 loss to fix that tho.

#68867	10/17/2019 6:18:53 pm	Oct 8th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	2041 Rookie of the Year sensation Jaime Carrasco turned out a poor performance this season. But even more discouraging is his Halfling stunt... Only gained 2 SI so far, bringing him up to 96 SI total, a far cry from his POT 14 rating He only gained 6 SI in his rookie year, so I guess I should have known he was doomed...

#68874	10/18/2019 6:41:24 am	Oct 8th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Think there was very little chance of Carrasco maxing out. Still looks serviceable to me. Been hand wringing a bit over Smiley's slow development. But it's probably due to a couple dead skills. Think he could make it up next season with double taps in areas he's still growing. Has any player had a more disappointing season than Bolton? Platoon player that can't crack .200. 1 HR in 160+ ABs despite 16 power and GB:FB < 1. Put up the same defensive stats (F%, PB, CS%) as Salazar, a guy playing with no position knowledge. When Camarillo got hurt yesterday I was very tempted to throw Estrada behind the plate instead.

#68875	10/18/2019 6:47:47 am	Oct 8th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'd propose that Burrell was much worse, but I only let him wreck 26 games for me this season before demoting him, so not a lot of evidence Palu was pretty close to Bolton's performance, which was particularly disappointing given his last two seasons. Another badly stunted guy, but really that's the norm for Halflings Never mind maxing out. Carrasco is a POT 14, and I think there is very little chance he even reaches the POT 13. But yeah, at least he is still a pretty good player. Probably so far off in part because he is so underrated. Updated Friday, October 18 2019 @ 6:50:25 am PDT

#68883	10/18/2019 2:49:37 pm	Oct 9th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I'm still nominating Morse for disappointment of the year. A closer who adds 110 points to his BAA and nearly doubles his ERA to 7.02 is disappointment enough for me, anyway. And he's not even a ground-ball pitcher like Arreola or Matson, who both definitely suffered from my shoddy infield defense. He just kept putting the ball on a tee... Similarly incomprehensible, the other way around, is Pino. His development seems to have stalled totally now, but he was by far my best picher with more than 50 IP. No similar disappoitments on offense. Guevara is gone, Araujo is benched, and while Rios will also never be mistaken for A-Rod, his OPS is 150 points higher than Araujo's. I'm thinking about leveraging Araujo as a defensive replacement at least, but his defense wasn't good either while he was still playing shortstop. Eldred, Lauretti, Salazar and Ramirez have all been swinging the bat really well, and so have Esposito, Wright and Park in limited action. Basically, everything I did this season has worked well - except we've given up a ridiculous number of runs. The Halflings seem to be the only ones who aren't in on the party. Still, I would prefer a less exctiting season finale, rather than being back to one win above the water level after a series of six consecutive losses.

#68888	10/18/2019 3:51:08 pm	Oct 10th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	We almost got one off the Cows. Up 6-3 heading to the 8th the Cows pressed the hit button, pounded out 8 hits in the last 2 innings and cruised to an easy win. With Iwasa up in the finale, Dinos will finish 5-15 against the East champ. At the moment, the Cows have 7 guys with more than 150 ABs hitting over .300. 7! I went back 10 years of Dino stats, and only found 5 .300 seasons in the decade (Schuler x3, McCarty X1, and Tuero this season). An amazing offensive season from Murfreesboro.

#68889	10/18/2019 3:59:50 pm	Oct 10th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Feel for Farmington. Still in their death spiral. At this point they may have to start looking back and not forward. In the peloton that is the West they are actually closer to the drop than the top at the moment.

#68891	10/18/2019 6:12:11 pm	Oct 12th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	The Halflings seem to be the only ones who aren't in on the party You guys were having a party without me The worst part is that I have the second best vLHP BA in the whole league, and yet we can't hit your lefty squad for squat...

#68898	10/19/2019 3:51:20 am	Oct 12th, 2042
Frankebasta Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 886 Kodiak Mules III.3	At the moment, the Cows have 7 guys with more than 150 ABs hitting over .300. 7! I went back 10 years of Dino stats, and only found 5 .300 seasons in the decade (Schuler x3, McCarty X1, and Tuero this season). An amazing offensive season from Murfreesboro maybe it is just a coincidence that their coach is Good at hitting with a current rating of 14, which may be as high as 20 indeed as it is the same rating as the Excellent at teaching comment. couple that with their large ballpark, and you get to hit .300 just my assumptions, obviously in turn, moocows pitching impresses me! for the same reason (overcoming a large field, with low walls) and its usage of pitchers. No idea how they could managed to use....even sign to roster.... 23 PITCHERS! 17 with more than 35IP it's not a single-game rental kind of thing: only 4 if those played less than 10 games Very much Real Life MLB! worth studying in depth here in Broken Bat Updated Saturday, October 19 2019 @ 3:51:56 am PDT Updated Saturday, October 19 2019 @ 3:56:51 am PDT Updated Saturday, October 19 2019 @ 3:57:36 am PDT

#68899	10/19/2019 5:51:51 am	Oct 12th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	its just a coincidence their coach ... Fingers in ears! LALALA! Can't hear you. Grats Haverhill on their 9 run inning yesterday. Several seasons back the Dinos made a conscious effort to emphasize power. That was supposed to help us in those 3-2, 4-3 kinda games we found so common. I feel we are very poorly equipped to handle the contact-PD-clutch/RISP rosters that seem more common now. I mentioned Bolton as having a disappointing season for the Dinos. The biggest disappointment tho is Smiley. Had a lot of hope pinned on him as a middle of the order bat to replace Schuler. Poor BC, little power. Likely another "next one" that ends up being a bum. 10 games to go, effectively 3 games back of a much better team in Manhattan. Dinos quite happy to take our ragtag crew down a notch. Need more time to sort this mess out. Updated Saturday, October 19 2019 @ 5:52:13 am PDT

#68901	10/19/2019 7:23:06 am	Oct 12th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	effectively 3 games back of a much better team in Manhattan. I think you forgot to account for the three guaranteed wins at the end of their schedule :P

#68912	10/19/2019 5:40:30 pm	Oct 16th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Bummer Murfreesboro threw their rookie against Manhattan instead of us. That's probably the nail in the coffin.

#68914	10/19/2019 9:09:22 pm	Oct 16th, 2042
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	Guaranteed wins? Was there a modern version of South Brunswick Falcons in the league?

#68917	10/20/2019 6:32:38 am	Oct 16th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Manhattan always beats me. Especially in the last series of the year, which we always play against each other.

#68918	10/20/2019 8:24:48 am	Oct 16th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	At the moment, the Cows have 7 guys with more than 150 ABs hitting over .300. 7! I went back 10 years of Dino stats, and only found 5 .300 seasons in the decade (Schuler x3, McCarty X1, and Tuero this season). An amazing offensive season from Murfreesboro. Absolutely. Lauretti has delivered three 300+ seasons, and Eldred is currently at .318; while some others on my roster have the potential, but are too young for much of a history. The Isos have had a few high-average hitters over the last couple of seasons, though. The really amazing thing about the Cows is that they are doing it with a roster that looks completely built around defense to me. If that's a manager effect, then my 16 "handling pitchers" management is certainly not doing much to neutralize that. Meanwhile in the Big Apple, Matson (ERA 2.62 -> 6.56, BAA .210 -> .321, 3.60 - > 5.15 FIP) is challenging Morse for disappointment of the year...

#68919	10/20/2019 8:27:48 am	Oct 16th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Manhattan always beats me. Especially in the last series of the year, which we always play against each other. Those were all "High Noon" series, with both of us fighting for fourth place. I still have a last bit of hope that it might not come to that this season.

#68920	10/20/2019 8:38:04 am	Oct 16th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Bummer Murfreesboro threw their rookie against Manhattan instead of us. That's probably the nail in the coffin. Naaa, it ain't that simple. Both Milligan and Janssen threw four scoreless against Manhattan. We got our Ws against their 114 SI, 3.40 career ERA starter Bartolini and their 110 SI reliever Perea. Why take the easy route?

#68921	10/20/2019 11:01:06 am	Oct 16th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Maybe not for your win, but for me winning. A rookie pitcher like that would greatly increase the odds.

#68922	10/20/2019 11:34:23 am	Oct 16th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, I thought both rookie starters would increase our odds of winning, but somehow they didn't end up making a difference. As far as the last series goes, I'm still silently hoping to be in a safe situation where you'd be facing the Manhattan kindergarten. On the other hand, the way my roster is constructed, my kindergarten consists only of Esposito behind the plate (who has been hitting 305/381/524 in 82 AB) and two specialized callups in Martinez and Baca.

#68924	10/20/2019 3:23:57 pm	Oct 17th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Mathematically impossible now. My babies are in.

#68929	10/20/2019 7:42:05 pm	Oct 20th, 2042
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Go Cows! Here's the latest press release: Tiny Murfreesboro to join Legends for the first time! Rising from VI.12 in 2035, the Moo Cows have promoted in 5 of the last 8 seasons! Three core players - Darryl Malloy, Ricardo Quiroz, and Jose Bonilla - have seen action in every league so far and could accomplish the rare feat of playing in all six. Covered in Brut champagne, Malloy cried to reporters, "This team is special. The city is special. Our fans are great. Ms. Cow is hot. My wife is hot, too. We couldn't be happier." We've been thrilled to be in a very chatty II.1. The modest stress of running a fake baseball team has never been so much fun. Last year, all the end-of-season panic was in the East. In 2042, it's all in the West. Can Moore pull off the late season run? Will Farmington Hills pull out of the tailspin at the right time? How are the Rebels not champions? Will the Rickey free fall out or will it be the Patriots? Hey Saratoga, I laughed out loud at this press release: "The Highlanders hope he refocuses on his craft rather than his Percocet-popping 21 year old girlfriend next season, but it will have to be for another team." Dinosaurs: Nice season from Kawaguchi. Awesome to bring in a 32 year old and have him hit 150+ OPS over his career mark. He does have "Cow" or "Kaw" right in his name. Didn't it have to be a good fit? Also see the aptly named Kerry Butterfield, who I'm surprised stuck around. At the moment, the Cows have 7 guys with more than 150 ABs hitting over .300. 7! I went back 10 years of Dino stats, and only found 5 .300 seasons in the decade (Schuler x3, McCarty X1, and Tuero this season). An amazing offensive season from Murfreesboro. The Cowabungalow encourages offense! Mules noticed. It's distorting everything by maybe 15 points of batting average? Pitchers correctly hate it. After lowering the fences to help the Cows out, we ended up splitting HRs with opponents pretty much right down the middle. Feel for Farmington. No joke. Been there. But I think Moore's been good in the second half. Dinos quite happy to take our ragtag crew down a notch. Need more time to sort this mess out. Any gambler would bet on a Dinosaur return. Mules: in turn, moocows pitching impresses me! for the same reason (overcoming a large field, with low walls) and its usage of pitchers. No idea how they could managed to use....even sign to roster.... 23 PITCHERS! I didn't notice this but you're right! I think we've used the same number of pitchers as hitters this year - 24. Don't look too deep. I just think we're lucky and waiver addicts. Shopaholic? Waiverholic? Same thing. Halflings: Bummer Murfreesboro threw their rookie against Manhattan instead of us. That's probably the nail in the coffin. Scapecow us if you want. Grass grows greenest watered with tears. Mathematically impossible now. My babies are in. Baby tears are even better. Nom nom nom. Naughty Dawgs: Guaranteed wins? Was there a modern version of South Brunswick Falcons in the league? Yeah, who lets this 4-156 stuff happen? Also, congrats Naughty Dawgs! Isotopes: The really amazing thing about the Cows is that they are doing it with a roster that looks completely built around defense to me. Cows are made of leather, remember? Also, defense is mostly what's available on waivers and oh boy does Ms. Cow hate kids and love waivers. Nobody really lets a 40 HR guy go or we'd grab 'em.

#68930	10/20/2019 9:23:56 pm	Oct 20th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Lost our winning season against Murfreesboro with that last series too. All tied up.

#68958	10/21/2019 7:24:42 pm	Oct 24th, 2042
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Congrats to Coolhand & hurstdm on promotion. Well deserved for both sides. As bittersweet as it is, Moore's turnaround is deserving of getting first place. Thanks for the empathy from you guys in my situation. I can't really gather the words to describe the frustration my guys were bringing me. This season has been an emotional rollercoaster from just trying to avoid relegation, to believing I had a championship team, to freaking out over my tanking, to sweating relegation 2 days ago, to thinking I could pull a miracle and still pull out a 1st place finish by beating Rohnert Park. Hopefully Moore has sent some gift baskets to the Rebels for ensuring their promotion. I guess at the end of the day I shouldn't be too disappointed. Yes, it seemed as if my team was allergic to winning in the second half. But when you look at a squad with 2 Rookie pitchers in the rotation, a rookie 1B, CF and C along with a sophomore C, a 2nd place finish should be celebrated. It saddens me a bit that most of the active people in the forum will be leaving the league. So II.1 may get a little quieter. Next season will be interesting to say the least. Of course the two teams in my division who've had my number all year are staying put, I'm so lucky. I can imagine their frustrations with their teams rival mine. So now that the dust has settled, I was hoping for some advice on "High Noon" Núñez . Game is telling me he is ready for the bigs but his ratings are far from ready. These draftees from the new system are advancing too quickly imo. Should I keep him at AAA another season or just throw him in? Rock's experience with Carroll has me favoring holding him back but this is uncharted territory i'd appreciate input on.

#68963	10/21/2019 7:59:33 pm	Oct 24th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	We played a lot of rookies this season. Hopefully we'll be back soon And Jaybird is a jabber mouth A few bright spots for Haverhill this season. Hawes slipped a little on the board, but still had two catchers in the top 6 for CS. Had a couple rookies with really nice first seasons (Miranda, Baron), and will hopefully be able to continue in the future. Carson "The Barbarian" O`Brien is still improving, but really hit his stride this year. Hoping he can hit 30 HRs next year. I think he has the potential to be a 40 HR guy if he continues to develop well. Updated Monday, October 21 2019 @ 8:00:45 pm PDT

#68965	10/22/2019 3:53:10 am	Oct 24th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Congratulations to hurstdm - we're going to miss you here in the forums. And we're going to miss Rock and Seca, as well. To the latter - come back soon. To the former - happy grazing on the greenest pastures in BB-land.

#68971	10/22/2019 6:27:22 am	Oct 24th, 2042
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Our statistical indicators were nice as well for a young squad. - Second best Hitting GB/FB (behind Waterloo) - Best Pitching GB/FB - Most HRs hit - Second least HRs allowed (behind Waterloo) - Most SB (success rate only trailing Waterloo) - Highest CS% (which was mostly my rookie Catcher) - Passable FP% given a lot of guys were still learning their position Overall I'm optimistic about the squad

#68976	10/22/2019 8:26:22 am	Oct 24th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I like that you can find reasons for optimism lurking in the numbers. I'm drawn to the bad ones. Dino batters 1 strike out away from 1K, led the league. Last in the East in BBs, with 36 year old Marino getting 1/6 of our total. Signs that we lack the SI to compete. I've never minded having a guy like Rio or Sheridan around, but having 4-5 of them in the lineup is too much. Aside from a ton of Ks and few BBs, Rio and Sheridan demonstrate how wildly inconsistent this type of player is. Essentially the same stats, but 60 points of BA and 150 points of OPS apart.

#68981	10/22/2019 11:35:56 am	Oct 24th, 2042
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	Also, congrats Naughty Dawgs! Thank you ... hope i have enough gas to keep rising Cows are (wait for it) Legend - Dairy Looking forward to III.2 next season, some familiar names there even before the Halflings/Dinos rollover coinflip

#68986	10/22/2019 12:30:13 pm	Oct 24th, 2042
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	Cows are (wait for it) Legend - Dairy Brewnoe, you are awesome!

#68990	10/22/2019 1:56:38 pm	Oct 24th, 2042
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	That was easy cheesy. Kill it up there Allentown. I only suggested the Lancers would get there, nice staying power. (Just remember that line about people in glass houses. ... make popcorn for your neighbors before you have a redacted)

#69008	10/23/2019 2:08:07 pm	Oct 30th, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	Been away for a couple of weeks and, boy oh boy, what a hell of weeks. We played awful baseball and, if not for Seattle going 1-9 for the last 10, would be demoted to Level III. But we are really happy to get another shot at promoting to Legends. And really glad to play once again in such a competitive league.

#69027	10/23/2019 7:56:21 pm	Nov 1st, 2042
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Ohhhhhhh, well, that playoff series coulda gone different.... Congrats to the Moore Manta Rays on their first ever playoff series win! Hard to beat a guy with Moses and the Lord on his team. (Also see this guy.) That Moses guy is pretty good. The Milk Machine got 3 total hits off him in two different games. Anyone else notice that the champs were the: Moore Manta Rays & Murfreesboro Moo Cows? Gotta have an "M" if you want to compete! No wonder Mr. Moses was unstoppable!

#69030	10/23/2019 8:26:42 pm	Nov 1st, 2042
Luizmussa Joined: 01/23/2014 Posts: 120 Inactive	Seriously considering a change to Molumbus Matriots.

#69032	10/24/2019 4:21:22 am	Nov 1st, 2042
Coolhand Joined: 03/27/2017 Posts: 73 Inactive	Thank you, it was a pleasure competing with you all. I'll look forward to next seasons interleague play against the Moo Cows.

#69056	10/25/2019 12:51:53 am	Nov 4th, 2042
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	Gotta have an "M" if you want to compete! Who's old enough to remember MTV playing music instead of pregnant teens? M - Pop Muzik

#69058	10/25/2019 5:16:54 am	Nov 4th, 2042
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I'm old enough to remember when we didn't have MTV in Europe. Was kind of a shock for me to come to the States and find my host sister watching music videos all afternoon. Unless my older host sister's boyfriend wanted to introduce me to watching baseball, of course. Then we'd have an international diplomatic crisis in the living room. I'm afraid the Manhattan Misotopes would only appeal to very stereotypical New Yorkers...

#69060	10/25/2019 6:18:51 am	Nov 4th, 2042
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I grew up in the sticks, but we got a satellite dish (one of those big suckers like 8ft across) when I was in high school. I didn't sit and watch videos much, but I remember Beavis and Butthead debuting. I was in grade 12. My brother and I fell in love with the show. BrokenBat related. I'm fairly certain this was the best training update #10 the Dinos have ever had. Not the usual tumbleweeds. Looks like a real update. Edit: And grats to the award winners. Think everything was pretty clear cut. A gold glove for Flynn is a little consolation in a dreadful season for the Dino's marquee player. Updated Friday, October 25 2019 @ 6:29:40 am PDT

#69063	10/25/2019 6:52:34 am	Nov 4th, 2042
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Who's old enough to remember MTV playing music instead of pregnant teens? M - Pop Muzik I'm old enough to remember M when that song was released! I was in my early teens when MTV started.

#69646	11/20/2019 7:00:15 am	Apr 25th, 2043
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	With Seca, Rock and hurstdm gone, this forum has fallen awfully silent - so I'll at least give you my take on the start of the season. Before the start of last season, I had announced that the Isos were going to make their first serious attempt to get back to Legends after ten series of banishment. Then, by the end of April, I found myself in last place, and any attempts at a comeback were not only way too late but also too little. When pitching and defense finally showed up, the hitting gradually deteriorated. This season, I am basically running the same team out there, and while the core is still rather young, players haven't evolved much (at least not more than the older hitters like Wright or Franco have declined), so there was little reason to hope for different results. And yet here we are, at 15-6. It's still early in the season, a team OPS in the 840's is obviously not sustainable, even with a team built around power and speed like we are, and while my overall run prevention is not as atrocious as it was last season, it is still pretty bad, but... yes, I'll say it, we want a title this time. The good news as far as pitching goes is that in the early going, my rotation and the back of the bullpen seem to have stabilized after their disaster performances last season. Team ERA is mostly inflated by young middle relief arms getting crushed in low leverage innings, so I guess that's good. With Ibanez getting impatient in the minors and none of the older pitchers being dispensable yet, we may be reaching the end of the line for Baca, though. Pino's development appears to stall at 97 SI, but as long as the results are there, I'll be patient with him. He's my only right handed starter at the moment, anyway. Butler is showing good development, but he's not quite there yet, and Lachance has historically performed so much better in the pen than in the rotation that I'm not going there again unless I have to. As far as position players go, I'm happy to see that Esposito has established himself as a viable option behind the dish when Salazar retires, and while Salazar still doesn't even have a small c in his profile, he's filling the position admirably until then. Unfortunately, that means Rios only adds to my infield logjam. It's a pity that we can't make any kinds of trade. With Kono having arrived in the majors, I could easily trade two versatile, young 110+ SI middle infielders, who should be able draw some interest... Updated Wednesday, November 20 2019 @ 7:08:39 am PST

#69647	11/20/2019 7:18:28 am	Apr 25th, 2043
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I'm slightly at a loss what has suddenly turned Alexandria, who had the second best run differential last season, into the punching bag of the division. It can hardly be letting McClain go, although while his skills never looked impressive, his stats were pretty amazing. It's probably not dismissing Aquino or Swain either. Apparently Alexandria has the same virus I had last year...

#69662	11/21/2019 4:46:22 pm	May 1st, 2043
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Okay initial overreaction to the beginning games of the season is frankly, Why the hell is HRB always so bad in II... Pitching has been world's worse than last season, and the injuries, give me a break... Seems we're doomed to play like a level III team for the rest of my life...

#69664	11/21/2019 7:48:53 pm	May 3rd, 2043
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	When Holmes and Philliesworld Break the league forum silence Updated Thursday, November 21 2019 @ 8:09:54 pm PST

#69822	11/27/2019 3:36:29 pm	May 23rd, 2043
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Still in the lead somehow, after following my hot start with a 2-10 streak - fueled mainly by the defensive woes I remember from last season. At least, I broke that with two important wins, allowing only one run to the second place team, hot-hitting Smyrna. I hope to have a decent upgrade over McCallum at the bottom of the rotation now in Petry. One year younger, seasoned veteran with good numbers in a competitive league and a talent level similar to McCallum - plus he balances my series of lefties in the rotation a bit. Looking at the league stats, the defense (both pitching and fielding) is eerily similar across the Eastern division. On offense, there are three teams with an OPS of 800+ in the early going. The only stat that really sticks out is Saratoga's poor hitting.

#69832	11/27/2019 11:54:38 pm	May 25th, 2043
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, that relief didn't last long.

#69839	11/28/2019 9:45:27 am	May 25th, 2043
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Mount Prospect is excited to join the league this year after moving up 3 years in a row after being stuck in league 5 for way too long. At the quarter season mark it looks like we belong here. We're right in the mix in the West Division sitting in 3rd but we do have the largest run differential so hopefully that shows up in the standings going forward. It's no surprise to see Felix Gauthier carrying the offense and he so far looks to be in the mix for league MVP. He's leading or in the top 10 for most offensive categories. He probably can't keep this pace up, but he's currently on track for 50 HR and 150 RBI. Looking at the rest of the lineup we have Wise, Ontiveros, and Vance with a good OBP although they won't hit for much power. Vance has had a bounce back year after a 245/328/328 line last year. Wise leads the league in stolen bases, which is no surprise after he stole 80 bases last year. Long and Benitez have surprised so far with their OPS. Benitez will never hit for average but he took a step back last year also. If he can put up numbers closer to 2041 instead of last year we'll be happy. 2nd year starter AJ Kane is the biggest disappointment after 20HR starting against RHP last year. His OPS is at .650 after ending at .858 last year. As a team we are leading the West in quite a few categories including Avg, OBP, Slg, and OPS. On the pitching side at first glance it looks like we are struggling, but in the division we're leading in strikeouts and sit 2nd in most categories behind Cedar Rapids. Floyd Gilmore's return from a long injury will definitely stabilize the rotation. The biggest surprise this year is Fernando Ramires. After a disappointing 6+ ERA in the bullpen last year he has taken the #5 starter spot and run with it going 2-2 with a 2.39 ERA. Annual disappointment Ricardo Rojas lost the spot and was for what seems like the 5th year in a row moved to the bullpen. Acuna continues to anchor the middle innings after racking up 56 wins including 19 in one season from middle relief. Late innings continue to be solid with Zapata in the setup role and Peterson closing. Peterson has seen a dip in ERA this year, so a switch between the two could be coming. He does have 153 saves over this season and the last 4 years so he has a long leash. Overall I'm pleased with the results so far. We were 5 or 6 games back at one point so hopefully we continue to move up the standings. I'm glad to be here in League II.1, but hopefully it's not for long.

#69878	11/30/2019 3:18:29 pm	Jun 1st, 2043
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Ok, nine unearned runs in one game? Manhattan went completely nuclear on the Hydrogen...20-11 loss, Urghhh.

#69886	12/01/2019 10:27:07 am	Jun 4th, 2043
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Oh yes, that looked like a bit of a defensive meltdown for Harrisonburg. The bad news for us is that after our nuclear start, we seem to be back to the point where that is what it takes for Manhattan to win a game. The split series against Smyrna was halfway decent defensively, but after that, we've given up 46 runs in six games. Smyrna has already passed us in run differential.

#69899	12/01/2019 7:40:51 pm	Jun 8th, 2043
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	With the first set of Divisional play over, It seems the West is still a toss up. Rohnert Park's elite pitching is giving them the early advantage over The rest of us to this point. Cedar Rapids back end struggles shocked me, I was anticipating chasing Rohnert Park and Cedar Rapids while going punch for punch with Columbus. Mount Prospect has impressed with their offence, interested to see how it fairs in interleague. FHL is in a gross state in my opinion. My hitting has impressed but is unsustainable, and one it regresses, my team's aging lackluster pitching will begin to showcase. Bright spots are of course Lynch, Ely and Hill. Having a healthy heart of the order is the only thing keeping my boys afloat. I'm excited to see where interleague takes us, The east seems to have a strong offense overall, which definitley means my boys will be in dogfights if we continue with our pace of play. As always, best of luck to all in Interleague, expect when you're facing me!

#69911	12/02/2019 4:42:26 pm	Jun 10th, 2043
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Yup, toughest part of the season coming. Have fun, everyone.

#69949	12/04/2019 7:38:36 pm	Jun 20th, 2043
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Remember how I mentioned regression? Well it hit my boys harder than a Mike Tyson right hook. Yowza

#69951	12/05/2019 3:22:35 am	Jun 20th, 2043
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Oh yeah, same here. Particularly my pitching and defense are back to last year's level... So what I just needed was a series where I outscore the opponent 37-30, but lose 1-4 by games...

#70005	12/06/2019 10:09:19 pm	Jun 27th, 2043
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Well an 18-4 game will throw the run differential off a bit Manhattan. If we could put an OF in to pitch in a blowout could he have done any worse than Barajas closing the game out with 3⅓IP, 10H, 2BB, 4HR, and 12 Earned runs? He was cruising along until he got to that 11R 9th inning.

#70077	12/10/2019 5:06:23 pm	Jul 13th, 2043
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	East is the Beast...

#70097	12/11/2019 2:21:26 pm	Jul 16th, 2043
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Harrisonburg sends six players to the all-star meet. Perennials Kang Moy, and Art McCartney of course as well as this veteran who I'm suprised made it since he hits exclusively versus rightys...It's sweet though since I picked him up over a decade of seasons ago after league rival Farmington drafted and immediately cut him...one man's junk, another man's treasure...

#70130	12/12/2019 7:09:35 pm	Jul 21st, 2043
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Good to see Vigil thrived with you. I doubt I would have utilized him as well as you did. He was released due to his 12 POT and I had a system of prospects with higher potential or more critical roles. I took the time to check his stats in our two series. While he's been a treasure for you overall, he's been trash against FHL, 3-27(.111), 3BBs, 4Ks, and one run (I'm 95% sure those stats are accurate). I was surprised to see that when you spanked me 14-5 to open my homestand, he only drew a walk for a run. I've seen a handful of my releases faceoff against me yet I have yet to have one truly haunt me. Had Vigil played like the all star he is against the Cards, he would have been the first. Edit: Totally forgot we played him in 2041 so i thought i better check his stats from then before i make a fool of myself. 7G, 5-25(.200), 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 Runs. Better than 2043, but apparently these series were not ones he thrived in. Still no haunting yet. Phew Updated Thursday, December 12 2019 @ 7:23:12 pm PST

#70139	12/13/2019 9:48:06 am	Jul 21st, 2043
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Yeah he has no history versus you, and I agree he's very expendable. He's a great platoon hitter, but that type of player is easily found.

#70174	12/15/2019 8:38:07 am	Jul 28th, 2043
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	So Smyrna snatched Acevedo out of my waiver claim fingers...

#70201	12/17/2019 2:11:11 pm	Aug 4th, 2043
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	The Santa Monica Carp are sitting in last place in the West, but they've made the final 4 of the Cup. Congrats!

#70245	12/20/2019 5:29:23 am	Aug 19th, 2043
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I was never much of a fan of the many late-season off days for most teams caused by he cup. I can testify that it sure is fun if you manage to make a long cup run, though... In the East, Roanoke seems to be gradually falling behind, but apart from that, the title is still pretty much up for grabs. Manhattan's bats are still swinging, but defense remains a problem. Where would we be if my 2B and SS weren't leading the league in errors? They both aren't all that inexperienced at their positions, either. I do have alternatives, but the offensive downgrade going to Kono and Araujo is just too large for my taste - and when they got the opportunity, those two haven't exactly turned in gold glove applications, either. In the meantime, I've turned from going all-in to a more financially sustainable approach and cut two expensive veterans in the fall of their careers who still should have had something left in the tank, but were having atrocious seasons. Wright had at least contributed something last season, but the Wally Petry acquisition can only be labeled a total failure for the Nukes. His long track record of success in league 3 and minimal skill dropoff looked promising for a back of the rotation arm, but he was just giving up way too many hits. Should have kept Cole around, although he wasn't Gerrit. Well, there is Lachance back in the rotation and another youngster up from AAA. Let's see how that works out.

#70291	12/24/2019 4:33:07 am	Aug 31st, 2043
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Hmmm, Smyrna and Saratoga picked up some pretty solid arms in the final rounds of the waivers lottery. I can't really complain, winning two fringy but well developed prospects. Still, I would have preferred being lucky on one of those two, especially after the disastrous contributions from my last two starter acquisitions, Centeno and Petry. Well, this isn't going to make the rest of the season any easier.

#70326	12/27/2019 7:12:54 am	Sep 12th, 2043
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Brutal stretch for Mount Prospect. We went 5-11 in our 5 series division stretch. 1-2 versus Farmington Hills, 1-2 vs Cedar Rapids, 2-1 vs Rohnert Park, 0-3 vs Santa Monica and 1-3 vs Columbus. We do it all again two more times to finish the season. We have fallen behind Rohnert Park by 3 games and our offense has gone cold. We called up two top prospects and sent two down. Hopefully Willett (62) and Millan (71.1) can provide a spark for the last weeks of the season.

#70328	12/27/2019 10:05:47 am	Sep 12th, 2043
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	If HRB would only stop losing games in late innings... Incredibly lucky that we're even in first place.

#70411	01/03/2020 6:16:55 am	Oct 8th, 2043
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Manhattan is officially signing out of the title race. Now that we're far enough ahead of Alexandria to not necessarily need all hands on deck all the time, I am focusing on next season. Salazar is gone. I might have kept him around to see how much he declines, but he was rather pricy to spend two financial updates on that. Esposito actually outhit him this season. That was in limited action, but the performance matches up with last season and with his skill, so I shouldn't lose much offensively. Defensively, Esposito looks like a downgrade behind the dish, but he's still learning and should do so faster with more playing time. Soriano has been waiting in the minors for a while and should be okay as a backup catcher. In the meantime, Butler can get a few starts under his belt, and I want to get at least a vague impression of how Hoffman would do as a regular starter in league 2. He's had a rather mediocre career, mostly in league 4 so far.

#70444	01/04/2020 11:12:33 am	Oct 12th, 2043
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	So much boiling down to today's series versus Smyrna. With ten more games left on the plate, there's no room for errors. To be honest the order of the first four teams is still completely up in the air. And while a trip to legends would be exhilarating I'm super thankful to have clinched a non demotion. I feel like HRB's had a of errors (literally) but just glad to have stepped it up in some other areas.

#70465	01/05/2020 7:59:43 am	Oct 16th, 2043
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Well that didn't end well. Going in to the last 3 series of the year we were sitting a 1/2 game back of 1st place Rohnert Park. The first series was @ Rohnert Park, and we just got swept which pretty much ends the season. The First game we were behind early and lost 3-4, the 2nd game we were up 4-1 heading in to the 6th and game up 2 runs in the 6th and 7th. Ricardo Rojas (who never ceases to disappoint despite 18 ctrl, 14 mvmt, 16 CoS, 15 Vel) gave up 3 walks in 2 innings. Game 3 we were up 2-1 going into the bottom of the 7th and gave up the tying run, we scored in the top of the 8th but gave up a run again in the bottom of the 8th. In the top of the ninth we took a 2 run lead, and our closer gave up 4 in the bottom of the ninth. In the final game our ace Gilmore lasted 3 2/3 giving up 3 runs, and our bullpen Ace Acuna gave up 2 in an inning of work. Injuries popped up all over as well in this series, including to MVP candidate Gauthier. With 11 games to play we were a 1/2 game out of 1st and being promoted to Legends. Hopefully that's not our only shot and we can close the deal next time.

#70466	01/05/2020 10:07:20 am	Oct 16th, 2043
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Yet another end of season collapse finally ends in a Cardinals (all but guaranteed) relegation. Kudos to Santa Monica for digging themselves out of the relegation hole they had all season. Might be a while before you guys see my ugly mug in II.1 Cheers Fellas

#70493	01/06/2020 4:11:21 pm	Oct 22nd, 2043
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Congrats to Philliesworld for clinching the division. I was a bit worried that my playing the kids might end up deciding the division title, but Harrisonburg had also faced my rookie pitchers, and even with two kids in the lineup, we managed to win a game against Saratoga, too.

#70514	01/07/2020 6:39:41 am	Oct 24th, 2043
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Thanks Holmes Didn't expect this coming into the season. Good luck to Rohnert in the playoffs.

#70516	01/07/2020 10:42:25 am	Oct 24th, 2043
6th Man Joined: 05/12/2016 Posts: 47 Inactive	Hard fought battle this year, I honestly have no idea how we won the division. Last year was the opposite, where we had a +126 RD and finished 3rd with an 80-80 record. This time around, +10 with 85-75 and first. Funky. Good luck to hydrogen in the championship and to you all next season. Sixth

#70526	01/08/2020 5:34:10 am	Oct 28th, 2043
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Congrats to both of you. That 4 game sweep at the end crushed my spirit Sixth! We closed the season losing 10 of our last 11. Updated Wednesday, January 8 2020 @ 5:35:55 am PST

#70565	01/10/2020 7:51:46 am	Nov 4th, 2043
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Felix Gauthier got robbed, he should have been the MVP! Led the league in HR, R, RBI, SLG, OPS. The stink of our last few weeks of the season must have influenced the voters.

#70581	01/10/2020 4:00:22 pm	Nov 4th, 2043
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	Batting average is rated way too highly in MVP consideration. If you’re not at least in the top ten in batting average, it doesn’t matter how many other categories you lead the league in or by how much. Portillo led VI.30 in home runs and RBIs (and by a lot) back in ’39. I don’t object to him not winning the MVP; hell, I figured it was rightly going to Rowland (spoiler alert: Mellor won it). What I do object to is that Portillo didn’t get a single MVP vote. Gauthier wasn’t just robbed, he was dragged into an alley and beaten with a pipe wrench.

#70583	01/10/2020 5:32:48 pm	Nov 4th, 2043
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	To be honest I'd probably give the MVP to Gauthier if I'd be looking at stats only. But I think maybe team performance might have a factor (does it?) in the equation as well as it should be. Correct me if I'm wrong. And in 'Kangaroo's" defense I don't think Gauthier was "robbed" I mean his stats are't half bad either, eh mate... And AP is correct batting average is overpowered. One of my former MVP's (Higgins) once win with only 12 homers. And Garza went completely awardless in his career best season (43 homers/.264 bat avg.) Updated Friday, January 10 2020 @ 5:36:20 pm PST

#70651	01/13/2020 12:12:25 pm	Jan 15th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Greetings II.1. Dinos are back after a season in III. Was an interesting season, as all but Broomfield were new dance partners for Waterloo. This season features many more old acquaintances. Low expectations for the season. The roster hasn't changed much since we were last here. Last season was a lot of high rolling after low rolling 2042. Toscano, Flynn, Monroe amoung those who were night and day the past 2 seasons. Don't really know what to expect. Not much to do this off-season. Kicking tires on pitching. May be fiddling with 2B. Despite a successful 2043, it was our worst defensive season in more than 20 seasons. Pop already paid a price for that. Will be some rookies to blood on the roster. Matsui was our 1st rounder last season, and had a good go in AAA. He'll be in LF vs. RHP. Haverhill farmhand Nieto will join the pen. Staley may also debut, tho I wouldn't mind leaving him in AAA a little longer.

#70673	01/14/2020 6:16:20 am	Jan 15th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Seems transactions were in stealth mode last night. I had over a dozen claims out, several 1-2 guys. Was initially surprised I didn't see anything on my club page. Actually brought in 2 players. Vera the bigger fish. Been nearly 5 seasons since winning a 30+ claim guy. He is going to force a pitcher off the active roster. Possible we part with Contreras, who has long been a frustrating player and is blowing off SI. Or maybe we give up on one of Katō or Hacker. Bishop isn't really the fiddling at 2B we were hoping for. But we'll hang on to him for now.

#70676	01/14/2020 7:19:47 am	Jan 15th, 2044
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	@seca I wish you well with Vera. His ratings say he should be a force but I found him to be unreliable over several seasons, and his L/R splits were pretty pronounced. I gave up on him this offseason. Prove me wrong! Updated Tuesday, January 14 2020 @ 7:21:54 am PST

#70684	01/14/2020 10:11:37 am	Jan 15th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Thanks. Ya, the split is pronounced. I don't loggy much. He'll have to do a little better vs. RHB. We are quite lean on LHP at the moment. Haven't scouted around much, but I imagine Manhattan is still stacked in the middle of the lineup with good LHB.

#70727	01/16/2020 6:05:00 am	Feb 5th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Wow. Had 3 claims out last night, won 2 of them. Been a banner off-season for the Dinos. Have a fairly deep pool to build the bullpen out of now. Had some roster flexibility, and have focused on guys with lower salaries. Could carry an extra arm or two for bit while things settle. Our 3rd offer was to Quinn who landed with Laredo. Will be interested to see how he does (compared to the lads I've picked up).

#70786	01/18/2020 7:02:31 am	Mar 2nd, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Mentioned Bishop wasn't really the way I wanted to address 2B. Hoped to find someone that could play every day, shift Meadows over to 3B, and maybe move on from Sheridan. Have been thinking about cutting Bishop. Ran him out in the first spring training series, and he had quite a day. Definitely what you want to do with your head on the block. Fuentes an interesting signing for Laredo. I'd tend to view a 35 year old with a 7+ million salary as a "final piece" sort of acquisition for a team looking to make a push. Haven't followed Laredo for a few seasons; last I heard finances were a bit of a concern. Maybe sorted out. With the waiver rush over I'm inclined to declare Berwyn the winner of the II.1 off-season. Sure the Dinod had some quantity, but the quality of the Baker addition will provide more value, especially over the long haul.

#70808	01/18/2020 11:05:59 pm	Mar 4th, 2044
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Interesting that Waterloo picked up both Vera and Brito from Boulder. I'll have a dozen Canadian craft beer for that trade thanks Seca!

#70809	01/19/2020 4:11:36 am	Mar 4th, 2044
Frankebasta Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 886 Kodiak Mules III.3	Fuentes an interesting signing for Laredo. I'd tend to view a 35 year old with a 7+ million salary as a "final piece" sort of acquisition for a team looking to make a push. Haven't followed Laredo for a few seasons; last I heard finances were a bit of a concern. Maybe sorted out. you're correct: Laredo has got 60+ millions in the bank now. The great purge was necessary when it reached an all time low of 12M, but that's a few seasons ago. It was as bad as that because of 4 consecutive seasons of LOSING RECORDS in Legends: it is nice to stay in the league, but a losing record brings along a low Fan Mood, and a low attendence. At the same time, players' salaries will go up (in Legends more than in the lower leagues, it seems) Altogether, the situation was not sustainable. After cutting the old guys, and winning a pennant in league 2, Fan mood was high again. Two seasons more in Legends ended with a winning record (albeit barely: 82-78) and a young cheap roster let the team earn lotsa money. But there's no more any SP ! not enough at least. This Fuentes guy looks like reliable innings eater Hope so I feel I need help to stay in League 2 and don't drop any further

#70821	01/19/2020 11:57:31 am	Mar 4th, 2044
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Pretty disappointing offseason for us. We put in a ton of waiver wire claims and really came away disappointed. We were looking for a big bat and came away with Avalos and Azumi. Expensive pickups (8.2m total)and I'm not thrilled with them. We got a slight upgrade at SS by dropping our longtime SS Williams and his backup Beniquez who both got expensive and old and picking up Martino and Morris. This is another expensive combination, and I'm guessing we will end up keeping Morris and dropping Martin at the end of the day and probably the same with one of Azumi or Avalos. Most of the first few nights of waiver claims looked like this for me, and each night we came away mostly empty: January 17th 27 17 Martín Suárez P $0.20M January 17th 15 31 Chris Carson OF $1.05M January 17th 17 22 Jaime Orellana OF $0.20M January 17th 14 21 Guy McGuire P $0.20M January 17th 18 30 Pablo Pineda 2B $1.85M January 17th 9 32 Yuto Azumi C $4.20M January 17th 13 22 Roberto Perez OF $0.20M January 17th 33 21 Taylor Medlin P $0.20M January 17th 9 34 Geert Hendriks 1B $2.20M January 17th 60 28 Bernardo Portillo OF $0.20M January 17th 4 35 Les Cross 1B $5.25M January 17th 69 21 Jeff Pack P $0.20M January 17th 14 30 Mateo Camacho SS $3.70M January 17th 32 18 Héctor Muñoz P $0.20M January 17th 26 33 Jaime Salazar 3B $5.00M Updated Sunday, January 19 2020 @ 11:58:27 am PST

#70824	01/19/2020 3:27:31 pm	Mar 5th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Manhattan got nothing but fringe prospects on waivers this offseason. We haven't really been successful with offseason draft picks on major leaguers in years, except getting three right-handed DHs in 2042. My successful claims on adults usually came during the season. We are quite lean on LHP at the moment. Haven't scouted around much, but I imagine Manhattan is still stacked in the middle of the lineup with good LHB. Lauretti, Eldred, Hasegawa and Pak are all still around. You might occasionally see a left-handed batting rookie catcher in the Big Apple, though.

#70829	01/20/2020 8:16:15 am	Mar 6th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Interesting that Waterloo picked up both Vera and Brito from Boulder. I'll have a dozen Canadian craft beer for that trade thanks Seca! Hehe. I can't beat you on the waiver wire, so I have to be content with your cast offs. As for the craft beer, I've tried them all. In all honesty Goose Island (even tho it's owned by a major now) is comparable to the best ones (IMO). I haven't been to the US in 15 years, but I imagine US craft beers are just as good. (We've been planning a trip to Buffalo to catch a Bisons game. Hear they have a very good beer garden). Edit/PS - not sure why I'm comparing it to US beers when you live on the other side of the world. Some names on Mt. Prospect's list I'm happy landed elsewhere. Salazar in particular. Azumi and Avalos seem like nice additions. Dinos have had some success in the past with that sort of player. Somewhat inevitable, but the Dinos signed Cunningham last night. We've had claims on him before, and stared hard at him when he was a free agent in 2040 (at that time we kind of thought we had 2B solved with Olson, but it didn't last). Cunningham was more what we had in mind to address our 2B problem. But Bishop continues to play well in spring. Got some time to sort it all out before opening day. Updated Monday, January 20 2020 @ 8:17:52 am PST

#70834	01/20/2020 10:50:32 am	Mar 6th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Oh, Salazar is in Farmington Hills now. He somehow manages to stay in the upper leagues. Considering he has lost nothing but speed while turning 33, he should have at least one more good season in him, too. Actually, it would have been fun to have him in the league, facing off against his former backup Esposito. And, yes, I'm well aware that I might regret the decision to let him go if Esposito's hitting performance regresses this season and if his defensive abilities don't improve. On the other hand, there is a factor 10 in salary between the two, and after two title runs being sunk by disastrous defense and with my pitching having taken another step back, I don't see Manhattan necessarily in "win now" mode.

#70876	01/21/2020 3:13:11 pm	Mar 9th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I understand it's just spring ball, but I'm still excited about Ferretti's performance. In 66 at bats he has 33 hits, including 4 homers and a 1.331 OPS. He had a woeful 552 in his major league rookie season last year, so I'm hopeful things have turned around for him.

#70909	01/23/2020 11:41:56 am	Mar 12th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I think there's value in spring training numbers. Batters often end up with 100-120 ABs which (for me) is a not insignificant sample. Especially if you look at things from a relative point of view (not so much batting .400 and having 1200 OPS as leading the team in both categories). I usually have to hold my nose for two seasons with rookies. Smiley a good example of our usual profile. Put things together in year 3. Our unusually good waiver luck filled all our chairs. Contreras the odd man out. Big salary, blowing off SI, inconsistent play. Still not sure guys like Cunningham are really the direction I want to go, but at least we have a spot open for the draft tomorrow.

#70917	01/24/2020 2:46:40 am	Mar 14th, 2044
tamale Joined: 02/19/2018 Posts: 357 Concord Jets Legends	I loved Cunningham, best 2B I've ever had by far, and 2043 might have been his best year yet. I'm happy you signed him after we'd previously talked about him on here. Not every day you find a 2B who can hit 28 HRs, and I found him to be a really good defender despite 13 fielding. Ended up deciding to try Vega as the everyday 2B this season after winning him in the off-season. He suits my team being a RH option at 3B, and I couldn't justify paying both of them. Was tough to let Cunningham go though!

#70922	01/24/2020 5:51:25 am	Mar 14th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Vega was one of the most regrettable cuts in franchise history. Like Cunningham, at that moment I thought Olson was a long term solution for 2B (and had McCarty/Boyd at 3B). Both positions turned into problems after Vega's departure. I thought Vega would be good, but he definitely exceeded expectations (was a 13 pot when I had him). Good training update. 37 green arrows. Whiffed the draft, but I got a good 1st rounder last season. Made our call ups. Despite the noodle arm, think we'll try Matsui in CF vs. RHP. Hopeful his fielding helps our woeful defence. Bishop up to play some 2B. Nieto joins the pen. All 3 have had nice spring results. For now Cunningham and Lopez (and Warner, who was useful for us last season) are twiddling thumbs in AAA. Should sort itself a bit by next Friday.

#71004	01/27/2020 7:45:29 am	Mar 20th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Were some nice players out there last night. Had claims on 3 which all might have been franchise altering. Manhattan with some nice pick ups in Young and Liu. Both on the downside of their career but still look quite capable. Normally have a bunch of kids in for the cup. Kinda weird this season, but vs. LHP is actually the same for both (vs. RHP differs by 4 batters). Not sure if that's a good sign for cup or a bad sign for league. Cup success is far from certain, as our 4 scheduled starters are dregs from the back end of the bullpen.

#71006	01/27/2020 10:50:06 am	Mar 20th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I haven't looked at any teams yet, but I'm ready to at least try to win a few games. It has been a while.

#71027	01/28/2020 6:25:26 am	Mar 25th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	to at least try to win a few games Definitely more enjoyable. One of the interesting threads for this season will be the stage of Margate's retool. Still a lot of young guys there. I'm excited to see Fernandez up close again. One of the better 13 claim waiver wins out there. Got through the first cup series unscathed and with a split. Sort of encapsulates the modern Dinos. Our opponent hit .460 RISP while we hit .240. But we hit enough dingers to stay in some games. Might be reaching the end of the road with Burton. He had stellar minor league numbers, and had a nice 2041 in Legends when finally handed the ball with some frequency. Since then he's been BABIP'd into oblivion. Another 10 hits in 4 IP in his Cup start yesterday.

#71034	01/28/2020 11:52:51 am	Mar 25th, 2044
12twelve Joined: 02/05/2017 Posts: 131 Inactive	Let's get this season started!! After making my first trip up to II, it seems like the off-season took forever to run its course. I'm excited to see if the Bikers can hang with some of the legends of Broken Bat. First up, the Santa Monica Carp! Good luck everyone!

#71047	01/28/2020 4:35:24 pm	Mar 29th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Manhattan with some nice pick ups in Young and Liu. Both on the downside of their career but still look quite capable. Both weren't exactly highly contested claims. Five bids on both of them combined. I needed another starter now that Pino's development seems to have stalled for good. Liu wasn't my dream candidate, but he fits the bill for the moment. A right-handed bat was also on the wish list to let Eldred do what he does best - mash righties and nothing else. Young has the bonus that he lets me move Franco to DH and Corona to left while upgrading my right field defense.

#71048	01/28/2020 4:37:05 pm	Mar 29th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	And Liu got a great start to his Isos career, tossing a quality start against Smyrna.

#71060	01/29/2020 6:40:57 am	Mar 30th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Nice to have a good debut. Big congrats to Mount Pleasant on the Bryant signing. Dino brass loved him, but we just couldn't find a way to shoehorn him in. Didn't make an offer. Every once in a while there is a player I just know I'm going to win if I put a claim on him. Always has a flaw of some kind, usually an awkward fit. James one of those guys. BC dead at 4, ML ready without much knowledge of his position. Clutters an already confusing 2B picture. Somewhat limited minor league numbers to work from. We're nervous about Bishop. He's done everything right since joining the Dinos, but his build is eerily similar to Olson. At 28 he still needs a fair bit of work, and there isn't all that much LHP around. Still thinking that (both near and long term) Cunningham at 2B, Meadows to 3B and Sheridan to the unemployment line may be the way to go. Give James a full season in AAA to show he's got some kind of spark.

#71067	01/29/2020 11:01:39 am	Mar 30th, 2044
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Thanks! I'm excited about the Bryant signing. I plugged him right in vs Righties and benched Kane. I think Kane is a slightly better lefty bat right now, but i think he's stopped developing so Bryant has more upside. One of my recent drops to make room for adds was Saez, who Manhattan just picked up. Drops are definitely tough at this point, no idea who I'll be dropping to make room for Friday's 2nd round pick.

#71080	01/30/2020 3:59:23 am	Apr 3rd, 2044
tamale Joined: 02/19/2018 Posts: 357 Concord Jets Legends	I really wanted James. We were the first claim with about 18 hours left, was hoping he'd sneak through to us. Plus I heard the last ball player from Millville turned out OK... Vega has been a butcher in the field (as expected), but his bat has more than made up for it so far. Keen to see how Cunningham goes in II. Wouldn't be surprised if he gives you decent production even with a sub .300 OBP.

#71083	01/30/2020 6:36:35 am	Apr 3rd, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Along with JJNZ, you and I are charter members of the "need a keystone" club. Nary a 2B prospect passes through without 3 claims on him. I'm very curious to see how he does in AAA this season. Think there are some signs there he'll do better than the 660 OPS he's put up so far. Guys with top end tools (like great hitting) maybe have more chance to diverge from their minor league performance. With all the retooling I thought my bullpen was going to be a strength. And it might be. Not so much so far. Top 5 guys in the pen have combined for 12 BB, 27 H and 4 HR in 17+ IP. Ugly start.

#71097	01/30/2020 1:20:46 pm	Apr 3rd, 2044
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Correct, I was in on James! Hoping my latest veteran pick up can give me a bit of upside this season after many years of mediocrity and prospects failing to develop.

#71120	01/31/2020 1:17:11 am	Apr 7th, 2044
tamale Joined: 02/19/2018 Posts: 357 Concord Jets Legends	Haha, it took me many seasons to find a respectable 2B, whereas I've had SS locked down for ages. Not sure why, but I've always found 2B the hardest position to find... maybe they do run the bases backwards down here in Aust/NZ after all...

#71121	01/31/2020 5:14:37 am	Apr 7th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	After having his best ever week (355 BA/1057 OPS), Padilla got a bump to 19 hitting. Will he be the first player in franchise history to reach the perfect 20?

#71133	01/31/2020 6:36:18 am	Apr 7th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Nice. Dinos have had precious few 20s of anything. The only player to reach that with his hitting skill was Enriquez. Decent training update. Tate and Staley maybe the most noteworthy. Both could potentially be call ups this season. Warner was pretty good for us last season, but has been the odd man out in 2044. Been trying to find a way to squeeze him in. Might actually be last season's ace and Cy Young winner Monroe who makes room for him. Monroe has been blown out in all 3 starts he's made this season. Might benefit from some time in AAA to sort himself out.

#71165	02/01/2020 8:31:36 am	Apr 10th, 2044
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Speaking of 2B being tough and 20 hitting, my 2B was a waiver claim at 28yo. 41 claims - Steve Long Also i couldn't imagine a worse start to the season. Pitching has been awful, and my best player has his 2nd injury already. -28 run differential after 3 series. Updated Saturday, February 1 2020 @ 8:33:18 am PST Updated Saturday, February 1 2020 @ 8:35:07 am PST

#71174	02/02/2020 12:03:54 am	Apr 14th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Ah, man. I had several low claims out tonight and none hit. Blasted Kladu of Birmingham! That was a 4 claimer that I really wanted. Next best was a 3 that I whiffed on. I'm not super disappointed about the others.

#71175	02/02/2020 6:04:07 am	Apr 14th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Long is beautiful. With Berwyn signing Russo, II.1 now has the 2 highest paid position players and the highest paid P (Fuentes is #2 in salary, but #1 is unemployed). Grats to Smyrna on Arriaga. Had him on my watch list, but consider him a 1B. Can't accommodate any more of those. And good luck to Mount Pleasant with Pinto. We had an opening at 1B/3B when he bounced around in '41. Decided at that time we needed to go younger. Meant to skip Monroe's start, but messed up the cup rotation which forced him in. Looked much better.

#71176	02/02/2020 6:54:50 am	Apr 14th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Manhattan has picked up another veteran arm from the many solid major leaguers on waivers at this point of the season. Miller had a solid if unspectacular career with an excellent FIP as a starter in the middle leagues, then was let go after one semi-bad season. Since I have enough starters whom I at least want to have a look at in the rotation and who have better stamina, I'm transitioning him to the bullpen. If his performance plays up at least a little bit from the pen, he should be a great improvement over my recent back-end relievers. No idea if it will work out, but if he doesn't perform this season, he can take the salary uptick from having been a closer back to waivers. In the meantime, my patience has run out on Morse. For a moment, it once looked as if I had found a gold nugget in a pile of manure when he surpassed his 12p ceiling and had an all-star season getting 49 saves in 2041. When he came back to earth, however, the crash could easily be heard over in New Jersey. Because I didn't have a better closer, our ridiculous salary calculation kept giving him raises after two consecutive disaster seasons with 6+ ERAs and 300+ BAAs. Good luck to his agent negociating a deal for him at 4.75M... Regarding the general situation, after nearly being swept in four games by Saratoga and starting the series against New Britain with an 11 inning battle and a total meltdown, I was afraid we might fall way behind early. The team bounced back in style though, behind dominant 8+ inning starts from Quiles and Lachance and an offense that was finally clicking, even with my best hitter injured. Seca can rejoice, though - Lauretti (and the less impressive Rios) will still be out for the entire series against Waterloo.

#71178	02/02/2020 12:19:28 pm	Apr 14th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I'm a little surprised Miller had 6 claims. Not a big market for P that age, and I think lots of managers wouldn't consider a guy with low movement. Looks like a good pick up. Dinos were missing Flynn for a couple games last series. Can be a big deal. Don't have much backing up SS. But he's back for tonight's series. Waterloo has been sitting at 50 so far this week. Couple tonight I'm interested in. Lopez the cut if we make one. Played himself out of the picture in our last cup series.

#71185	02/02/2020 9:27:10 pm	Apr 18th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	My team sucks, especially the offense. So all I can say is... MY HOMETOWN KANSAS CITY CHIEFS ARE CHAMPIONS!!! Updated Sunday, February 2 2020 @ 9:47:35 pm PST

#71196	02/03/2020 8:55:36 am	Apr 18th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I'm a little surprised Miller had 6 claims. Not a big market for P that age, and I think lots of managers wouldn't consider a guy with low movement. Looks like a good pick up. I usually look for pitchers with good movement, too. But a guy with a good heater, pinpoint control and a lethal changeup shouldn't need many breaking balls, especially in short relief. I don't know if the game engine reflects that, but I think, he should be fine.

#71198	02/03/2020 10:56:03 am	Apr 18th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I don't know if the game engine reflects that, but I think, he should be fine. Ya. We've got one of those guys in Staley. I've been waiting for the wheels to fall off all through his minor league career, but so far he's kept the HRs under control. Hard to say. Grats to MukilteoMike and other Kansas City fans. I don't follow the NFL much anymore, but given the choice between an exciting offensive team and a smothering defensive team I'll always cheer for the offense. Had to miss a few quarters so my daughters could get their Star vs. the Forces of Evil fix. Another day, more dreary reflections on 2B. Cunningham leads the Dinos in HRs (and seems to be one of those 3 true outcome guys), but his defense has been dreadful. The closer I look at James, the more I question his viability. In a way our chronic failure to fix 2B is good - keeps me hitting the lists every day.

#71204	02/03/2020 3:05:17 pm	Apr 19th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, at least Meadows got off to a good start, and he should be fine defensively. His bat will come back to earth, of course, and his arm is wasted at 2b. I'd go with Cunningham. He must have been nervous in his first league 2 appearances - his career defensive numbers are much better than what he's shown so far. It's only five errors in absolute terms, anyway. My guy Ramirez somehow committed only one so far, in more FA, but defensively, I would still prefer Cunningham. The balls Ramirez never even attempts to field don't show up in our stats. I like Ramirez' more balanced offensive profile, though. Kono should be a good alternative in theory, but so far, 8 hits in 62 AB, most of them against low level pitching in the cup, aren't exactly a strong application. His 19 clean fielding attempts in the league so far (mostly filling in for the injured Rios at 3B) shouldn't fool anyone, either: He just committed his errors in the cup.

#71206	02/03/2020 4:09:23 pm	Apr 19th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I usually look for pitchers with good movement, too. But a guy with a good heater, pinpoint control and a lethal changeup shouldn't need many breaking balls, especially in short relief. I don't know if the game engine reflects that, but I think, he should be fine. You've hit on one of my pet peeves about this game--the heater. A blistering fastball is deadly in real life. It's a liability here.

#71214	02/04/2020 5:09:38 am	Apr 21st, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	While I value Change of Speed over Velocity, a good fastball certainly is not a liability in my book. I see no evidence for that in my pitchers' past performance. Lower batting average and Ks more than make up for the few extra long balls. Well, the race was on for second basemen tonight, and while just yesterday I stated that I didn't necessarily see a glaring need for one, I'm pretty confident that the rather unreflected claim I dropped on Camacho has landed me one of the better ones, at least given my recent defensive struggles. Not that I would have minded taking Paxton's lefty bat on board, even given the price tag, but I doubt he'll terrorize pitchers here the way he did in league 6. I'm not too high on Kenyon, although he's a New York kid, sorry, Seca. Since Kono is quite a bit younger, that means Ramirez will be on the market. So, if somebody wants to take a flyer on a decent fielder with limited range and a bat that has never quite lived up to the talent... Updated Tuesday, February 4 2020 @ 5:11:15 am PST

#71217	02/04/2020 6:50:10 am	Apr 21st, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I'd much rather have Camacho, but I'll take what I got.

#71218	02/04/2020 7:32:10 am	Apr 21st, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Grats on Camacho. Dinos probably should have put a claim on him. I let his position knowledge at 2B (likely mitigated by the 18 fld) and salary put me off. Seems like a great asset. Waterloo got Kenyon. Sort of surprised he went to 12 claims. His minor league stats and player skills suggest his 750 OPS might be a bit of a mirage. Not a stellar defender atm. Has less than 400 ABs tho, so still some upside possible. May be a good fit for the Dinos. We have a lot of swing and miss in the lineup. Cunningham has good pop, but adds to problem. If nothing else Kenyon should provide some "good" ABs. Understated value having a guy who can work a 5-6 pitch AB when much of the lineup takes 3 hacks and sits down. While I value Change of Speed over Velocity, a good fastball certainly is not a liability in my book. Admin often doesn't advertise changes. I have suspected for a while that the ME was tweaked some seasons back. I think velocity is a better stat than it used to be, and conversely control is worse than it was. Its been Waterloo's mission the past several seasons to inject more velocity into the system. Got stomped by Cedar Rapids in the cup yesterday. I mentioned a few days back how II.1 has some of top salaries in the game. It's also got the highest SI position player (Vezzoli) and the highest SI pitcher (Trammell). Edit: Paxton seems pretty slick. I didn't see him. (Set my 2B searches with min 15 range). I wouldn't have been in on him at that salary. Do think he can earn it tho. Relatively little LHP in the East, investing in a LHB seems like a good plan. Updated Tuesday, February 4 2020 @ 7:36:51 am PST

#71219	02/04/2020 8:08:08 am	Apr 21st, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I'm not buying the velocity thing here. Two huge things. One, they don't strike out nearly enough batters. It's not anywhere near real life. Heat without K's sucks. Two, they give up far too many homers. I understand that velocity adds velocity to hit balls. Unfortunately it doesn't mimic reality as MLB data proves it's really difficult to catch up to and square up a fireball. I admit I haven't looked closely at the last few seasons to see if anything seemed to change. I'll try to keep an open mind and eye to it, but I'm doubtful. Updated Tuesday, February 4 2020 @ 8:58:07 am PST

#71220	02/04/2020 9:01:03 am	Apr 21st, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	We all watch different games and players, and make different observations. My perception is that the correlation between velocity and HRs isn't as strong anymore. Ks is interesting. It's only been the past 5 years or so MLB's K rate has been 20% or higher. The K rate in my league last season was 17%. Little low, but not completely out of whack. Thing is Ks aren't as big a deal here as in real life. Advancing bases is much more difficult here. The only way to move from 2B to 3B is a ground ball to the right side. 3B to home is better, but if you lose a few degrees of launch angle it becomes a line drive and you don't score. If it drifts into foul territory you don't score. There are more outcomes here that end up having the same effect as a strike out. The benefit of velocity is that it reduces hits. Low velocity guys (like Burton or Warner) are more likely to get BABIP'd into big innings. At least in my view. It's why I'm trying to get away from them.

#71224	02/04/2020 2:14:05 pm	Apr 21st, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	We interrupt this great discussion for breaking news about the previous discussion regarding new second basemen... Paxton's first game as a Magician: 4 AB, 4 R, 4 H, 2B, 3B, HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB. He hits for the cycle in his debut!!! Is that the greatest first game for a new team in the history of Broken Bat?! I mean wow!!! And it could have been so much better (with RBI) if not for the horrible plate performances one spot ahead of him by Fernandez who went 1 for 6, 8 lob and made the last out of the inning three times. Updated Tuesday, February 4 2020 @ 2:34:15 pm PST

#71229	02/04/2020 4:17:17 pm	Apr 23rd, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Camacho's debut series was a bit of a mixed bag. In his first game in the big city he went 0 for 4 with a fielding error. In his second game, he got some offense going with a homer and a walk, and in game 3, he hit a homer and a single, but added another error. Not what you want from a glove-first infielder. I think he should be fine, although his 2B skill has deteriorated from not playing the positions since coming up from the minors. I kind of agree with the notion that fireballers seem to have become less homer prone and, thus, more valuable in recent seasons. Can't say that for sure, though, as my ways of evaluating pitchers' performances have evolved over time, as well.

#71237	02/04/2020 9:02:16 pm	Apr 25th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I was going to do a little research, but quickly abandoned it. The pitchers in the league depressed me. Oh my gosh. I can't believe the skills around here. I started with Saratoga and was bummed. Then I got completely blown away; Smyrna's Trammell is the highest I think I've ever seen.

#71238	02/05/2020 12:21:01 am	Apr 25th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Oh my gosh. Smyrna gets Espinoza?! They now have 10 players at 114+.

#71239	02/05/2020 3:33:52 am	Apr 25th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	And they'll have him for a couple of years. That comes in a situation where playing Smyrna has mostly been a depressing situation for me since last season. In the city, Lachance had a really good start to the season, once again way above his projections and was about to establish himself in the rotation, and now he's out for five weeks. It's a good thing I picked up Hoffman last season and Liu and Miller this season. In Pino, Butler and Arreola, I also have relievers from my own system who can make starts if needed. To fill out the bullpen, I have called up my top relief prospect Allan Riley from AAA Quogue while Lachance is rehabbing in the minors.

#71241	02/05/2020 7:00:14 am	Apr 25th, 2044
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	First thing I checked when I woke up today was did I get Espinoza. 2nd thing I checked was to make sure no one else in the league got him. Updated Wednesday, February 5 2020 @ 7:01:59 am PST

#71243	02/05/2020 7:33:35 am	Apr 25th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Grats to Smyrna! Think I would have cut both Gomez and Estrada if the Dinos had convinced Espinoza to come to Iowa. Awesome debut for Paxton. I think it's a safe bet that he's the only player to cycle his debut, but I'm not about to do the legwork. Kenyon had a good debut for the Dinos. I feel decent about 2B (for the moment). Kenyon is young enough that James can flop and we'll still have some stability. So Cunningham is gone, and with Meadows moving to 3B Sheridan will likely go before the update. Felt bad for New Britain yesterday. Coughed up two games in the bottom of the 9th. Though it is nice the Dinos aren't the only team with a struggling bullpen. (Our only reliever with an ERA under 5 is Katō. Ya, Katō.)

#71248	02/05/2020 2:48:29 pm	Apr 26th, 2044
12twelve Joined: 02/05/2017 Posts: 131 Inactive	Seca posted this a few weeks ago: With the waiver rush over I'm inclined to declare Berwyn the winner of the II.1 off-season. Sure the Dinos had some quantity, but the quality of the Baker (should be Baxter) addition will provide more value, especially over the long haul. Baxter has totally sucked for me since the acquisition. In league, he is 0-2 with a 8.74 ERA, giving up 11 runs in 11 1/3 innings over three starts. 3+ innings per start is not going to cut it. In Cup, he is 1-2 with a 3.79 ERA, giving up 8 runs in 19 innings. Better because the competition is lower, but far from stellar. He is currently shown as being "very cold" (duh!) but if he continues at this pace, Steve may need to add a "frozen stiff" designation. Updated Wednesday, February 5 2020 @ 2:49:59 pm PST

#71252	02/05/2020 4:31:39 pm	Apr 28th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Greg Kono, an infielder I had high hopes for when he was in the minors, has been quite the disappointment so far. Last season, he was below the Mendoza line, with zero power, too, in 122 at bats. Starting into our latest game, he had hit three singles and a double in 31 at bats this season. A .954 career fielding percentage roving around various positions is also not exactly a shiny resume. Still, he is brought in as a pinch-hitter (for an outfielder, too) in the bottom of the 8th, which is somewhat justifiable only because Hasegawa, quite a formidable hitter against righties, is even worse than Kono with a lefty on the mound. Kono grounds out, ending the inning, and in the ninth, my fairly new closer Miller blows his first save because... of course. Kono does get another plate appearance, though: In the bottom of the tenth, Kono is up against Margate's closer Moody with Manhattan one run down, two outs and a runner on first. I think even if you only played two innings, you should be player of the game for putting that one in the seats to complete the sweep against the Magicians.

#71253	02/05/2020 4:42:33 pm	Apr 28th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Small sample size fun: My defensive upgrade Camacho still has a .909 fielding percentage, although he hasn't added to his two errors from yesterday - but I'll take that if it comes with a .348/.375/.913 batting line.

#71260	02/06/2020 7:36:19 am	Apr 29th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	He is currently shown as being "very cold" (duh!) but if he continues at this pace, Steve may need to add a "frozen stiff" designation. Hehe. Sorry if I jinxed him. His pedigree is just too good tho. He's sure to snap out of it at some point. I did once place a thread in the suggestions forum that Casey should have different facial expressions based on his current form. Shouldn't look so happy when he's putting up a 10 ERA or 0.050 batting line. Kono gives me a little hope for Riley. Just a little tho. My manager is insisting on using him as a PH this season. Hasn't been pretty. After 24 games: Dino RHP - 3.70 ERA, .248 oba, 0.64 HR/9, 1:1.9 BB:K Dino LHP - 7.73 ERA, .310 oba, 1.2 HR/9, 1:0.8 BB:K Currently all our LHP are either unassigned or demoted to AAA. Updated Thursday, February 6 2020 @ 7:36:53 am PST

#71270	02/06/2020 6:22:00 pm	May 3rd, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Compared to Kono, Riley has a serious plate discipline problem, which for some reason seems to hurt much more in a player's offense than just the walks. When he was in A-ball, Kono looked like he would turn out that way, too, hence the nickname "Hack", but at least based on skill, he looks like he has worked that out. In Riley's case, I'm not particularly optimistic.

#71274	02/06/2020 7:39:56 pm	May 3rd, 2044
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Smyrna looks like a monster with that waiver pick up. Fun facts: League V.6 in 2036 had Rohnert Park and Murfreesboro, both in Legends, and Smyrna, now in League II. Weston's in League III. Ashland went on to win the Cup in 2039. Not bad for a League V group. The Magicians talking about SI had me thinking. Which team has had the most success with the least SI on the roster? Which teams have had the least success with the most SI? It sounds like a difficult project, but I bet there'd be an education in it.

#71276	02/06/2020 8:18:06 pm	May 3rd, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	When you find yourself narrowly escaping a 4 game sweep by the last place team and not caring one iota, it's probably time to stop playing.

#71290	02/07/2020 7:42:23 am	May 3rd, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	In Riley's case, I'm not particularly optimistic. I drafted Smiley and Riley 1 & 2 in 2036, and hoped I had found the middle of my order for a decade. Both of them had 800+ OPS seasons in rookie ball, but Riley hasn't cracked 700 OPS since. We have no illusions about him. No so much his bad PD as the yuck minor league career. But the 14 pot obligates me to give him a go. At worst, he is (or will be) an excellent defensive 3B. Dinos almost stuck Trammell with a loss. Monroe came out of the game after 6 up 5-2. Tamayo got 2 out in the 7th before 8 straight reached against him and Quinn. Another blown save for Waterloo. Was the last straw for Quinn. He was very good last season. If he were younger I'd give him a chance to shake off the poor form. But at 33 and down some SI its possible this is what he is now. Terrific training update for Waterloo. 27 green arrows is almost Spring Training like. All sorts of implications for the ML roster: - hoped 2B Kenyon might still be adding hit, PD and fld; but he managed to pop BC which looked kinda dead - understudy 2B James popped his lower case - Tate had 2 green arrows and got recommended for the bigs - Horn, who was my first draft pick in the new draft, got recommended for the bigs. If Tate comes up, Estrada will have to go. That will make me sad. Estrada was a 102 SI 28 year old 13 pot when he picked him up. He really ran with the opportunity to play. Horn probably won't come up. No need to rush a 20 year old, and little chance he would be any good with 5 control. I am very much at the crossroads with the bullpen. All my veterans continue to play terrible, while the kids have actually done alright. I am contemplating moving Knight to the pen. He's been our best starter, but is really struggling getting far in games. Think he's only pitched into the 6th in 1 of his 7 starts. Might be the answer to our relief woes. Would weaken the rotation. I'm not sure that's a problem. I kinda think with guys like Trammell and Quiles around, having a dud/kid in the rotation you can use in auto-losses might actually be beneficial.

#71319	02/08/2020 6:06:26 am	May 6th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	If my guys don't show something in league play this week, they're done. When they get knocked out of the Cup, the ramifications may be even bigger for the franchise.

#71321	02/08/2020 6:36:15 am	May 6th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Your lads have clearly underachieved so far. Both sides of the ball. I find it easy to foresee some improvement. Dinos did call up Tate. He made a nice debut in the cup - easily our best player in the series (7 for 17 with a couple HRs and a SB). Little more incentive for opponents to find LHP to use against us. Bottom of that lineup is 2 rookies (Rivera and Tate) and 2 hopeless sophomores (Riley, Arenas).

#71322	02/08/2020 6:42:56 am	May 6th, 2044
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Really smyrna? Now a 31 claim win?

#71323	02/08/2020 7:22:21 am	May 6th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Galarraga doesn't really seem like a 30+ claim guy. 113 SI at 2i is nice, but career ERA of 5 with close to 2 HR/9 is not. Be interesting to see how he does. Dinos have cleared enough roster space to start dabbling in minor league free agents. That's something we haven't really done since the new draft came in. Still have 4-5 guys I could cut easily. I wonder if, with accelerated minors, 50 roster spots is going to feel like alot once everyone's new draft crunch works itself out.

#71350	02/09/2020 11:31:40 am	May 10th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	So ... the Knight to the Pen experiment. As a starter, 7 G, 35.2 IP, 33 H, 17 BB, 5 ER (1.26 ERA), 1 HR As a reliever, 3 G, 1 IP, 8 H, 2 BB, 6 ER (54 ERA), 1 HR Back to the rotation it is. Monroe is the next to try his hand in the pen.

#71377	02/10/2020 10:51:57 am	May 14th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Being swept by the (then) last place Cubs, then sweeping the (then) first place Dinos. A very normal weekend in Isotopeistan...

#71380	02/10/2020 6:40:38 pm	May 17th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	My closer is letting opponents hit over 400 against him and almost 600 versus righties (he's right-handed!). His career OBA is .258. It's even stranger since his GB/FB has soared to 2.0. Another stunner is that we are currently the second best fielding team in the league, despite having a woeful .944 at the hot corner and .987 at first. Updated Monday, February 10 2020 @ 6:51:52 pm PST

#71387	02/11/2020 9:09:41 am	May 17th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Dinos the only team in the East bounced from the cup. Not a big deal. We aren't built to do well in the cup. Don't have the couple of stud starters needed to carry. The extra cash from a few rounds is always welcome, but isn't needed atm. Our 8-12 record looks dismal. The position players actually did well. 770 team OPS from the kids isn't bad at all. The pitching was not good tho. Clock is ticking on guys like Hacker, Warner and Burton. All scrap heap guys signed in the hopes of finding a gem. But if they've got nothing to offer, may as well cut them lose and bring up the next wave.

#71395	02/11/2020 2:38:51 pm	May 18th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I'm pretty pleased at this point. Gotta enjoy it while it lasts. Given our experiences from last season and their recent reinforcements, every win against Smyrna counts double to me. In the duel of aces, Quiles kept it close against Trammell, and then Corona got to their closer with a bases-clearing double in the 9th. Overall, we have the highest OBP and the second highest SLG in the division, which is about where I want to be offensively. Defensively, our fielding and double plays are about average, which is a huge success if you see where we're coming from in the last two seasons. Esposito sucks behind the dish, but his offensive ceiling is so high that I'm willing to live with that, and he's still developing at the position, too. I'm suspicious that our best team ERA in the division, way better than our FIP, is due for a rebound, but it's not like we've been lucky preventing homers. The BB and hits given up are really good, though. Looks like it's not all luck. Three more to go against Smyrna. Watch me kicking myself in the butt for writing this now.

#71404	02/12/2020 3:16:36 am	May 21st, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I actually came out with three wins against Smyrna. Some of my pitchers were doing an amazing job there, but they seem to have profited from the fact that it's almost impossible to hit a ball out of Smyrna Theater. A 35 foot wall 425 feet away... Not sure if they're doing their monster pitchers a favor making pitching so easy there. Arreola has definitely continued his application for a permanent rotation spot when Lachance comes back from his injury, though. Trip to Margate is next, which should be a very different picture. Their rotation was a mess anyway, and Pacheco being down adds injury to insult. Add a ballpark that's even smaller than Isotope Stadium and a lineup that has very similar average slugging to ours, and it's a good bet that runs will score. Updated Wednesday, February 12 2020 @ 3:16:59 am PST

#71407	02/12/2020 6:46:44 am	May 21st, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Boynton Beach should essentially end our franchise this Friday.

#71408	02/12/2020 11:04:24 am	May 21st, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Ugly contest yesterday. Dino pitching staff has excelled at allowing touchdowns and snowmen the past few seasons, but 9s are less common. Waterloo has a fairly young roster. Our old man is Rio at 32. With some roster room we've started looking for a replacement (had no C in the minors). Ridgeway and Franklin are auditioning, but I'm not that high on either. Goodwin is what Haselrig would call a "claim of shame". Meant to withdraw. Don't really want him back. Probably gone before friday.

#71423	02/12/2020 9:15:38 pm	May 25th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Taking history into account, we override the AI's appropriate choice for Sullivan's POTG and his two homers in our series finale. Instead we award it to the French Canadian. Belanger was 1-20 last season. For this one, however, he stymied Manhattan, throwing 7 scoreless innings while allowing just 3 hits, giving him his first win and decision of the year.

#71424	02/13/2020 2:17:00 am	May 25th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Ooops, where did you pull that one from? He wasn't in the rotation yesterday, or any time before that, this season. Well, Bélanger started last season at 88 SI, and now he's at 119, so I would expect him to turn in different results. My best pitcher has 118. His skillset is pretty similar to Quiles, too. Good series, all in all. Sorry for declaring you dead prematurely...

#71425	02/13/2020 3:11:52 am	May 25th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Oh, no. I'm definitely dead. Only mostly dead. Just like last season, my guys can accidentally play ball once in a while. Regarding Belanger, he was plenty high the second half of last season. However, miscellaneous players were all over the field trying to chase down balls. As you had seen, Pacheco's injury moved the Canuck into the rotation as an emergency starter. He did the same thing for one start in Cup play, too. Interestingly enough, in both instances we scored 10 runs. Maybe I've stumbled upon the magic potion.

#71445	02/13/2020 11:32:16 pm	May 29th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	By winning 4 of our last 5, we feel obligated to not throw in the towel for at least another week. Help us, Belanger. You're our only hope!

#71475	02/14/2020 9:12:35 pm	May 31st, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Not a good day for the West as the last four get knocked out. Meanwhile, four march on in the East. Also, the new Belanger legend continues. He's super excited to be rid of last year's. Anyway, he won his Cup start today, making him 3-0 for official games this season. We "only" scored 8 in this start, though, with the others being 10. But here's where it gets super interesting... Sullivan has been POTG in all three games!!! Here are his batting lines for Belanger starts with today's being first: 3 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI. 3 AB, 2 R, 2 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI. 5 AB, 2 R, 2 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI. Yep. He's homered in all three games, hitting .455 and slugging 1.640! Apparently they became best friends in the off season. Updated Friday, February 14 2020 @ 9:23:36 pm PST

#71481	02/15/2020 8:17:11 am	May 31st, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Belanger is interesting. Reverse splits pretty consistently through his career. He made a relief appearance against the Dinos which wasn't great. Other than that 7 hits and 1 run in 12 league innings. Solid. Been struggling the past couple of days deciding what to do with Staley. I feel like bringing him up now would help alleviate a pitching logjam the next couple of seasons. Alternatively, could put Nieto in the rotation. Now that we are out of the cup I worry his innings will drop dramatically. Cut Warner before the update. Really down on low velocity / low control guys atm. Hacker may soon follow. Even with good intangibles I fear his ceiling is not very high.

#71494	02/16/2020 5:17:41 am	Jun 4th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Waterloo's amazing waiver season continues. Luque is our 10th successful. That's already as many claims as our last 2 seasons combined. 7 from the season have been contested. Only won 2 contested claims last season. Age and hit skill likely suppressed interest in Luque. We do wish he were a little younger. Think the low hit might play if BC and PD fill out. For the moment it means running with 3 C. Arenas could go back down to AAA - only 23. Could also part ways with Camarillo, but that will take some preparation. Bit of a favourite. If he plays out this season and next he should be top 10 all time Dino on the HR board.

#71497	02/16/2020 8:37:58 am	Jun 4th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I personally don't think Luque will even get close to his ceiling, especially if he's not in the lineup every day. I agree on Warner, though. He could survive with his limited velocity and control if his offspeed and breaking pitches were outstanding. If you're not really great at anything, though, you should at least be decent at everything.

#71499	02/16/2020 9:19:27 am	Jun 4th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Intriguing last series before interdivisional play: First vs. second, both offense-focused teams, but with different player development philosophies, that have faced each other before... quite a few times. Three righties up for the Dinos, unless Seca decides to mix it up again: Two soft-tossing finesse pitchers (a great one currently slumping and a questionable one playing way over his head right now) and a rookie. I'm a bit tempted to go with the hot bat at catcher and let my lefty-hitting rookie Soriano start, with an early pinch-hit limit. He may be a better defender than Esposito already and has been raking so far. On the other hand, Esposito has the talent to be my best all-around hitter, and he's just pulling out of his slow start to the season. I have a few hours left to dwell on that... The Dinos seem to have a bit of a hard time hitting lefties this season, so I'll just stay on my rotation, which brings Apodaca, Lachance and Quiles up. Apodaca may never quite live up to his talent, but he's hard to hit, although that somehow doesn't quite seem to translate into run suppression. Lachance, the righty in the threesome, has been consistently above his talent level for many seasons, has a small platoon split and finally seems to perform in a starting role, as well. Quiles is well on his way to his seventh all-star appearance. No better pitchers on my staff that I could wish to have available right now. On the other hand, the Dinos seem to be the one team that consistently manages to figure out even Smyrna's tough pitching staff... Bring it on, Seca. Updated Sunday, February 16 2020 @ 9:21:51 am PST

#71501	02/16/2020 2:42:00 pm	Jun 5th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Whoa, SplatterMonkey is shedding a lot of payroll right now. If I was running one of the teams behind Saratoga at this point, I definitely wouldn't consider throwing the towel now. While neither of the castoffs looks like the Isos will be getting in line to line their pockets, the scrap heap pickups taking their places in Saratoga are certainly downgrades. I can't say I was expecting something like this so early in the season. Updated Sunday, February 16 2020 @ 2:45:35 pm PST

#71512	02/17/2020 10:22:11 am	Jun 8th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	What am I supposed to do with Moody? His ERA is 4 points higher than his FIP! I'm a firm believer that closers are overrated, so I put him in the spot. Well, that and because he's old so I won't be paying the dumb salary increase when he's gone. I've relegated him to MR for the Cup today, but I don't know what to do after today.

#71516	02/17/2020 3:34:18 pm	Jun 9th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I feel your pain. I had that the last two seasons - once outstanding pitchers suddenly throwing batting practice, with my closer the worst of all. I finally concluded that Morse must just have been lucky in his previous, susccessful seasons and decided to get rid of him, in part because his salary kept rising in spite of a 6.x ERA. Closer salaries are absolutely ridiculous in BB. I personally think, however, that a good closer is a key to outperforming your pythagorean expectation. From that perspective, out of your staff, I would probably let Silva close, knowing that that will make him expensive pretty soon. It should definitely be a better place for him than the rotation, though. But in general, while I wouldn't mind taking some of your bats if I could, I can't say I'm much of a fan of the Magicians' pitching staff.

#71517	02/17/2020 3:35:23 pm	Jun 9th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Except for the killer Bs in the rotation, maybe.

#71522	02/18/2020 10:12:42 am	Jun 10th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	The Dinos seem to have a bit of a hard time hitting lefties this season Hehe. Not really news. 3 rookies, 1 (bad) sophomore, Kenyon who just passed 500 career ABs. Very difficult to conga line 5 or 6 run innings when half your lineup struggles with the Mendoza line. I personally don't think Luque will even get close to his ceiling, especially if he's not in the lineup every day. It's possible he sucks. His power isn't going anywhere. But I can see 4 maybe 5 points on each of his other improvable skills. Puts him around 107-108. Might play. His defense should be solid. Big news for the Dinos is that Monroe got sent to AAA. Cy Young last year, but has been a disaster in both the rotation and the pen this season. We'll maybe take another look at him after the AS break. Staley is up in his place. Kind of a nice time to do it with Inter beginning tonight. Equitable and all.

#71523	02/18/2020 3:01:16 pm	Jun 12th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Interleague play has a way of turning everything upside down. Smyrna looked like the certain champion around this point last seasons, and the Cows and Isos were fighting for fourth place. We had an almost good first game against Laredo. Apodaca finally seems to turn into a good pitcher and threw a complete game giving up only two runs. Too bad if our lineup only gets one run out of three doubles and six singles...

#71524	02/18/2020 3:02:06 pm	Jun 12th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Oh, well, at least we lost the second one right, 14-1.

#71535	02/18/2020 7:15:03 pm	Jun 15th, 2044
12twelve Joined: 02/05/2017 Posts: 131 Inactive	The Bikers are really not liking inter league play right now. If this is a sign of what is to come, better trade in the Harley for a scooter.

#71538	02/19/2020 3:28:21 am	Jun 15th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	If somebody had told me a few seasons ago that I'd be bringing in my second free agent infielder at this point, I would have either considered him crazy or assumed that I'd stumble across some 130 SI monsters on waivers. I used to have a farm system full of promising infielders and even started moving Rios to catcher to try and clear some of the logjam. Where am I now? Andrade can probably be called the success story of the pack. He seems to be finally settling in at short, and he has even started hitting a bit since last season. Araujo was expected to be my full-time shortstop by now, but he can't hit at all and is basically a defensive replacement and nothing else. Ramirez wasn't really a top prospect, but his hitting skills developed nicely, so he played 2B for a few seasons. I see him as too much of a defensive liability to really stick there, though, so I rather took the chance on Camacho. Rios was supposed to be the 3B or C of the future, as I considered SS blocked by Araujo. However, his hitting skill never developed, and a relatively consistent 220/310/370 batting line isn't really what I expect at the hot corner. Now I'm hoping Pennington's decline in Beavercreek since last season was a fluke and he can still deliver some of what he did two seasons ago, although that was in LL6. Kono was another top prospect for middle infield. I was in doubt about his plate discipline, thus his nickname, but that developed better than I thought. However, is other offensive skills are still lagging and so are the results. He might still learn, but if he doesn't, he'll never be more than a backup 2B. So, goodbye Raúl Franco. You had a good fall of your career in the city, but I only need so many defensively limited righties at this point. Updated Wednesday, February 19 2020 @ 3:32:02 am PST

#71546	02/19/2020 7:24:03 am	Jun 15th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Grats to Cedar Rapids on Walter. Dinos looked hard at him, but in the end didn't put in a claim. Staley's debut not quite what we were hoping for. He managed not to get murdered as neither of the HRs he surrendered were in his everyone-gets-a-hit inning. But 2 HRs in 5+ doesn't do much to alleviate our concerns that he will have trouble keeping the ball in the park with limited movement.

#71590	02/21/2020 5:34:44 am	Jun 25th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Another good update for Waterloo, though a step down from last weekend's green arrow fiesta. Maybe the biggest news is Armenta's arm reappraised at 16. We had been viewing him as a 3B prospect. 16 arm might stick at C. Been trying to find a young C prospect. Maybe already had him in the system. Benavides on his way back to AAA. He has long been considered an experiment - first P with a control comment we've attempted to develop. But his HR rate has exploded this season. Experiment may be nearing the end. We could see that coming, so were watching 2 FA P. When one got snapped up we moved on the other. Pringle isn't much to look at, but has a long and impressive minor league resume. Off to a good start for Waterloo.

#71591	02/21/2020 6:15:18 am	Jun 25th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Not much of an exciting update in the city. Esposito has taken another bump up and has gone through his 13p ceiling. With Soriano developing slowly in spite of getting the experience, that naturally puts Esposito back into the lineup also against lefties. The experiment wouldn't have lasted, anyway, now that Soriano has expectedly cooled off and Esposito has overcome his slow start to the season. Defensively, the difference shouldn't be huge. Training results among minor leaguers have been mostly unspectacular. The good news of the day for me is the Barragan waiver claim. If he stays at 13p, his hitting should be strong enough to eventually become Eldred's heir as my lefty DH. My 1B Pak (who finally seems to live up to his talent this season) will be 32 when Barragan turns 25, too. I'll try to get him trained so he'll be able to fake it behind the plate, too, although my system isn't exactly short on offense-focused catchers right now. That waiver claim, in turn, means giving up on Martinez rising beyond his current 12p. It was a fairly easy choice: Even if he bumps to 13p, he'll still be a mediocre-hitting corner outfielder who is currently about 6 years away from the majors. Hernandez has essentially the same profile, but is a safer bet, and Jimenez, Atkinson and Lemus are also right-handed LF prospects currently in my system. That, however shows a serious problem I have: It brings the number of home grown position players on the Manhattan farm down to three. All other hitters in my system are somebody else's castoffs. Of the three I have, two were still drafted under the old draft system. In short, I somehow can't handle the new draft at all. I may have been overvaluing potential, as many who have gone became uninteresting after dropping in potential, but I have a hard time believing in a 10p prospect rising so much that he'll turn into something useful, even if his scouting sounds good. I've seen that fail way too often.

#71597	02/21/2020 6:57:30 am	Jun 25th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, this round wasn't any better. Nobody above "above average potential", all pitchers with control problems, all position players with even halfway decent hitting scoutings fatally flawed on defense. The guy I finally picked is another left fielder who will probably not even stay at the 13p he has now. I haven't made a decision yet, but I doubt Adrián Narváez will survive the night on my farm.

#71623	02/22/2020 5:10:21 am	Jun 27th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Interesting reflection on the new draft Holmes. Effect on the Dinos minor league system has been the opposite. For a very long stretch we've had > half our prospects from outside the system, and > half 12 pot or under. Both trends have flipped with the new draft. Our pick was a 13 pot P. Nothing about him suggests he'll hold that line tho. His best property is that he's 17 and in A ball. I'd hoped leave Monroe in AAA another week, but I need someone to eat some innings in the rotation. We'd really like for Nieto to be in the pen. Looked at Margate's Toledo for the role, but we're trying hard to avoid stop-gap signings. Looking for guys that can contribute for a couple seasons minimum.

#71631	02/22/2020 8:10:39 am	Jun 27th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	This isn't intended as criticism at all. Different teams have different priorities. But i find it curious that Smryna unassigned Trammell in the cup, tossing 82 SI McDuffie out instead. Smyrna would seem to have the big 1-2 SP punch that i always look for in a serious cup contender. Might just be me, but i view a cup win as a more difficult feat than climbing to Legends. Certainly nothing wrong with Smyrna prioritizing league.

#71638	02/22/2020 4:22:25 pm	Jun 30th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I'd prioritize the league, too, but then, I've won the cup before. Never cared much for that, though. To me, trying to stay in the cup is mostly about the bit of extra financial wiggle room and avoiding the boring Mondays and Fridays without a game.

#71639	02/22/2020 4:29:56 pm	Jul 1st, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	While I'm certainly not happy with the way my farm is developing, a lot of things are breaking Manhattan's way in the league right now. Against Santa Monica, I just gave up 23 runs - in one game. Shut them out in the game before and after that, though, so that's still two wins and only one loss. In other terms, it's the low leverage relievers giving up the vast majority of my runs right now, while the starters and my closer are razor-sharp most of the time. That's the exact opposite of what I've been seeing the last two seasons. It can't possibly stay that way, but I'll sure enjoy it while it lasts.

#71645	02/23/2020 4:37:24 am	Jul 2nd, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Bad news e everyone. Staley took a 20+ game knock. No free win for the next couple of series. Maybe Staley will come back better. Couldn't be much worse. Had claims on a 32 yr old starter and another project reliever, both coin flips. Got the reliever. Starter would have been more useful. Not much stamina on the staff. I guess Hacker takes Staley's spot in the rotation tho Nieto or the new guy (Solomon) will get a crack if Hacker (still) sucks. Knew this was coming. Only 3 of the 13 pitchers on our ML roster are home grown. Draft was very cold for a long time. The FA/waiver back fill was mostly low stam guys. Easier to find on the wire. Edit. Was quite the series from Kenyon yesterday. He had 4 errors in his 1st 51 games with the Dinos. Made 2 errors in an inning in game 3, another in game 4, 2 more in game 5. That's Dinos 2B for ya. Doesn't matter who we play we get 600 ops and the yips. Updated Sunday, February 23 2020 @ 4:43:02 am PST

#71648	02/23/2020 5:05:57 am	Jul 2nd, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, after Margate somehow bulldozed the Bulldogs, you've dropped to third place, but you're still ahead of Smyrna, the team I still consider the toughest competition in the division. My luck on the defensive side (again, my defense hasn't changed much since the last two disaster seasons) won't last forever, either. I see Saratoga as strategically weakened and New Britain as really falling behind, but apart from that, the title race is wide open. Waterloo, Margate and Manhattan all added veteran arms today, and I do think we came away with the longest straw. Well, in fact, nobody else wanted Kim, which is a bit of a mystery to me. He can't start, but out of the three, he has the best stuff and the best stats by a bit of a margin, if you ask me. He's expensive and bringing him in for Hoffman isn't exactly good for the age structure of my roster, but I had to do something for my middle relief corps. If I want to stay on top, my relievers have to give the bats chances to come back. I can't keep giving up four runs an inning every time one of my lower leverage pitchers comes in.

#71649	02/23/2020 6:04:07 am	Jul 2nd, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	You think Kim's stats are better than Applegate's? Interesting. I think they're pretty similar. Kim wins in K's, HR's and FIP, but Applegate's lower BAA has kept his ERA in the same area. Stated skills definitely goes to Kim, but he's 33. That was why I passed. If Applegate works out, I could use him for a couple seasons. Plus, Kim hasn't shown any SI reduction and I just don't buy that. Very few are unaffected by 33. Laredo had 44 innings with Applegate and he kicked out a 4.23 ERA. Anything near that and I have a starter I desperately need. Waterloo's Solomon is interesting. Poor velocity and control, but fantastic change of speed and movement. I have no idea what that might produce. He's young, so I understand claiming him. My need was more immediate, though. Since Laredo was kind enough to allow me the services of Applegate, I figured I'd give them a break. Belanger and Berry both get skipped today so they can start games one and two tomorrow in the Cup. If we can take 2 of 5 against the Mules I'd be content. 3 and I'd be giddy. I'll admit I'm shocked about my team's turnaround. Low end claims (9, 6, 8) for Paxton, Hawkins and Conte have made all the difference in the world. That and team MVP Belanger. I'm 100% against MVP's being pitchers, but the Canadian has sparked the Magicians like nothing I've ever seen. 5-0 with a 2.74 ERA and then miraculously igniting the offense to 7.6, more than 2.5 better than our team average. In Cup play he's 4-0 with an 8.7 RS! The crazy link with Belanger and Sullivan has continued. In B's 9 starts, Sullivan has 7 homers!

#71650	02/23/2020 9:22:52 am	Jul 2nd, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	We have a pretty good facsimile of Solomon on the roster already in Hacker. Possible Solomon has more upside with the 13 pot, but I'm still quite down on the low vel / low command load out. I'm never sure what to make of guys like Solomon and Pringle that sit in the minors well past maturation. I feel like they should explode when finally receiving experience. But Radford was one of those guys, and he did next to nothing. I don't think I really need to say this, but the Dinos aren't contenders. We've got 8 rookies among our 30 MLers. Another 4 sophomores. We started the season with just 3 pitchers over 102 SI (added 2 105 loggys since). We'll be lucky to avoid the drop. Not really trying that hard tho.

#71654	02/23/2020 12:53:23 pm	Jul 2nd, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, it's a good thing everybody got his guy, then. Let's see how it plays out. But, yeah, Kim is meant as a rental, nothing more. I still have Arroyo and Ibanez getting innings in middle relief, who I hope will turn into something useful eventually; Carrera and Riley are in AAA and recommended for promotion, and Huntley and Keller aren't that far off, either.

#71656	02/23/2020 2:08:00 pm	Jul 2nd, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Laredo did not return the favor as they met released Applegate with hostility and aggression. Stubborn Mules.

#71658	02/23/2020 2:59:41 pm	Jul 4th, 2044
Frankebasta Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 886 Kodiak Mules III.3	Top 4th: Laredo Applegate takes the mound to pitch. Lombardi hits a triple to left field. Ricci draws a walk. Delgadillo grounds to second base. Ricci is thrown out at second by Paxton. Delgadillo is thrown out at first by short stop Hawkins for a double play. Lombardi comes in to score. ...and in this play Paxton hurt Ricci, who's now out for 2 weeks, and subsequently got released! Being Ricci a namesake of mine, I'm utterly INCENSED

#71684	02/24/2020 1:43:52 pm	Jul 7th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Dinos run of waiver luck continues. Nunez is basically a LH version of Burton. Maybe not a good thing. He's still fairly young, and really just has 2 full seasons - one good, one bad. Maybe his form will turn in Waterloo.

#71686	02/24/2020 2:03:07 pm	Jul 8th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I personally see Saratoga's Morelli as the strongest addition in the league today. Left-handed shortstop/3B with great range and a good bat, 30 years old and looks to me like he just ran into some bad luck early this season, which got him fired. He's on the expensive side, too, which looks like a bit of a turnaround from what I thought Saratoga's strategy was now.

#71687	02/24/2020 2:09:22 pm	Jul 8th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I'm not too high on Núñez. What I expect from his skills is pretty much what he's delivered so far, and that's not what you really want.

#71688	02/24/2020 2:11:34 pm	Jul 8th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	There isn't much contest between a 103 SI LHP and a 116 SI SS. I was surprised Morelli didn't garner more interest. 4.6 mill isn't that bad for a prime middle infielder. His offensive build doesn't scream consistency to me (tho he has been), but you don't need much O at all to carry that defensive kit.

#71703	02/24/2020 11:38:54 pm	Jul 9th, 2044
Frankebasta Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 886 Kodiak Mules III.3	I'm not too high on Núñez. What I expect from his skills is pretty much what he's delivered so far, and that's not what you really want Núñez was drafted by Laredo, some 11 seasons ago. Unsurprisingly, I have no memory of him Utterly unimpressive stats

#71704	02/25/2020 3:17:57 am	Jul 9th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Houston, we have a... pitcher. Over several seasons, I never really had a closer worthy of the name. Now I have three. I originally dropped the claim on Saratoga's Gomez just in case I didn't land Kim and Miller turned into a pumpkin. Well, I did get Kim, and at least so far, Miller has done nothing of the sort (26-1 in save opportunities, mostly 2-inning saves, 1.84 ERA), so of course I turn out the winner out of 11 claimants on Gomez. That probably makes Manhattan the team with the highest paid non-closing reliever in the game, but, hey, when is the point to go all-in if not when you're up by 6 wins around mid-season. Besides, you can never have enough arms in interdivisional play, so off to AAA Forest Home goes Ibanez, and another one of my various future left fielders gets the boot. I briefly had my sights on Stafford and Brewer, too, but I don't think I actually put a claim on either of them. There would have been no playing time for Stafford in the city, and Brewer needs to at least flip to 13p to become usable.

#71709	02/25/2020 8:52:19 am	Jul 9th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Utterly unimpressive stats He had a pretty miserable first season in rookie ball. The rest of his minor league career was stellar. Lefties do have the deck stacked against them, but we're quite happy to give him a chance. Interesting to see Gomez move up the standings a few places. Depth a nice problem to have in the pen. I can see Stafford's stock being depressed by his position. No shortage of 1B around. At the moment Toscano is the old man on the roster at 31. I have a couple RHB 1B in AAA, but I don't think either has the potential upside that Stafford has. So we'll see. Stafford likely stays in AAA until the update. One of him or Toscano shown the door then. The interesting thing about Stafford is that he didn't have his position set on the minor league screen. As a consequence, despite 7 seasons of minor league instruction, his knowledge of his primary position has not improved / gotten a little worse.

#71722	02/25/2020 11:46:28 pm	Jul 14th, 2044
Frankebasta Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 886 Kodiak Mules III.3	Utterly unimpressive stats He had a pretty miserable first season in rookie ball. The rest of his minor league career was stellar. Lefties do have the deck stacked against them, but we're quite happy to give him a chance. Yep! Great stats in the minors, but below average results in the big leagues: WHIP above 1.500 and ERA above 4.50 are acceptable for a developing player, not for a regular on my team. And it's not like he's any good vs LHH either. Even SI did not reach the pot13 threshold (even though that's a common occurrence for his generation) I feel lucky for my choice to cut him 😋

#71723	02/26/2020 1:06:51 am	Jul 14th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Absolutely. Good minor league stats generally just mean that the player was held in a lower league after having developed beyond the average level there. I'm sure my guy Ibanez is going to look great in AAA now that he's been pushed back down at 98 SI...

#71730	02/26/2020 7:41:57 am	Jul 14th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Good minor league stats generally just mean that the player was held in a lower league after having developed beyond the average level there That can happen. You really think that's the case with Nunez? He was 20 yrs old with 36 SI in AA. 21 yrs 49 SI when he started AAA. You can throw out his age 24-26 seasons, and he still had a fine minor league career. I feel lucky for my choice to cut him Hehe. If I drafted 14-15 pot Asian P at the same rate you do I'd probably feel the same. Was a fun first half for the Dinos. Much of that was our waiver success. Fun to bring in some new faces even if they are well below the threshold my league mates would consider. Doubt the Dinos will see much all-star representation. Rocha is having a fine season, but there is quite a bit of competition at 1B/DH. Our starters have suffered from an inconsistent bullpen. Maybe Knight has an outside chance.

#71732	02/26/2020 8:28:26 am	Jul 14th, 2044
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Good minor league stats generally just mean that the player was held in a lower league after having developed beyond the average level there I couldn't disagree more. Minor league stats tell you more about a player than SI does.

#71733	02/26/2020 9:30:41 am	Jul 14th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I think you could argue minor league stats generated under a more "controlled" environment. The defense you get is probably bad, but its thrown together differently every game. With enough games it should even out. Suggests to me stats are more useful for comparison. Once you get to the majors you might find yourself playing in a tiny park or giant park. Bad manager or god manager. Nunez was playing this season for a team that used a 12 range 2B and an 8 range RF. That's not going to help his BABIP. I still look at minor league stats for guys that have played 5-6 seasons in the majors. For me the fun is in doing the detective work and looking for reasons why a guy might play better for the Dinos.

#71734	02/26/2020 10:43:39 am	Jul 14th, 2044
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	I couldn't disagree more. Minor league stats... That feeling when you see Rock signed a young prospect that you cut several seasons ago and he turned out to be a great major league hitter... sigh Based on the Rock school of prospect development, I should cut this guy immediately and never speak his name again. Updated Wednesday, February 26 2020 @ 10:46:08 am PST

#71737	02/26/2020 2:37:08 pm	Jul 16th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	No surprises for Margate All Star selections. 16 bombs by a catcher will usually do it. Three guys hitting .300 made it as backups. They went 3 for 10, so they were decent. The West dominated, though.

#71739	02/26/2020 2:44:24 pm	Jul 16th, 2044
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I've had a lot of Hornsbys in my system. After many many season, I am only starting to get a little better about cutting them before they become 30 year old wash outs... With enough games it should even out. Suggests to me stats are more useful for comparison. I also find myself using minor league stats when trying to compare major league players from different levels. I think its actually a better apples to apples comparison. Updated Wednesday, February 26 2020 @ 2:48:16 pm PST

#71740	02/26/2020 4:36:53 pm	Jul 16th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	In my players, I see absolutely zero correlation between minor league numbers and major league success.

#71741	02/26/2020 4:46:42 pm	Jul 16th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I see slightly more than zero correlation. SB tendencies are helpful. Then GB:FB from both sides , left right splits and homers allowed can be slightly predictive. Otherwise it seems like noise. The same seems to be true of amateur stats, which makes me wonder why bother?

#71742	02/26/2020 4:50:07 pm	Jul 16th, 2044
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I've had tremendous correlation. And all of those POT 14 guys who looked great on paper but had horrible minor league stats, also had horrible major league stats. I have yet to see a guy hitting 5 or less HRs a season in the minors suddenly start hitting 20+ HRs a season in the upper leagues. While guys who seem to play over their (visible) ability in the minors often do the same in the majors. Minors stats are a great way to cut through some of the fuzziness in ratings.

#71743	02/26/2020 4:58:52 pm	Jul 16th, 2044
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	@Holmes, out of curiousity I took at look at the minor league stats for your vR lineup. Lots of studs... The only guy with borderline stats (.741 is still decent) is Camacho. You just got him this season, so time will tell if he can perform in LL-2 ball. .741 isn't bad, just not the godlike performances that most of your guys had in the minors.

#71745	02/26/2020 10:59:38 pm	Jul 16th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I've seen guys flip considerably for better or worse. On my current squad, Villanueva hit a homer every 69 at bats in the minors. He has averaged one every 30 at bats in the majors. I think a key factor for him is that his GB:FB ratio dropped .31, which is fairly surprising. In general I feel batting average is all over the place, as is pitching effectiveness. I basically use minor stats as tie-breakers, nothing more.

#71746	02/27/2020 2:02:00 am	Jul 16th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Of course my home grown hitters (even Kono and Rios, just not Araujo, whose offensive skills have always been atrocious) had good minors numbers. I tend to keep them down longer than others. Among my pitchers, guys like Pino and Butler had great minor league numbers, which, in combination with one good season in the majors tricked me into still having them on the roster. My ace Quiles, a player who consistently delivers better than even his good skills indicate was pretty bad in the minors, Lachance, another one, was good. Apodaca, who was below expectation for three seasons now (although he looks good this season so far) was outstanding in the minors - simply because he reached AA at 75 SI and AAA at 90 SI. The basic minor league stats show how developed a player was compared to the opposition at that level, pure and simple. I see slightly more than zero correlation. SB tendencies are helpful. Then GB:FB from both sides , left right splits and homers allowed can be slightly predictive. Oh, true, yes. For stats like platoon splits that are not skewed by the level of competition someone plays against, I look at minor league numbers, too. Especially if that is the only source of information I have on that.

#71748	02/27/2020 6:05:35 am	Jul 16th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. 4.14 FIP, 1.418 WHIP, .83 HR/9, 2.64 BB/9, 6.5 K/9 "pretty bad" 3.93 FIP, 1.256 WHIP, .73 HR/9, 2.17 BB/9, 4.6 K/9 "outstanding" Seems a little arbitrary. Dinos definitely noticed Villaneuva was having a good season. Felt like half those 16 HRs were against Waterloo. I was optimistic one of Smiley or Gomez would sneak into the OF, but wasn't sure which one the selection process would like better. Nice for Smiley to get in. For a while we were worried he wasn't going to find his groove in the majors.

#71749	02/27/2020 6:09:28 am	Jul 16th, 2044
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	The basic minor league stats show how developed a player was compared to the opposition at that level, pure and simple. That's kind of the point. If they have low SI and good stats, its a good indicator that they are under-rated. And vice versa. Miranda had horrible SI, but great minor league stats. Larkin had poor numbers despite good SI. If I wasn't looking at minor league stats, I would still be struggling with Larkin in the majors.

#71752	02/27/2020 8:04:14 am	Jul 16th, 2044
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Mount Prospect started the season 4-12 and a -42 run differential. At the midpoint of the season we are 6 games under .500 with a -47 run differential. Basically we've improved to a .500 team that looks to be in a 3 team race to avoid relegation. This past off season we were in desperate need of offensive upgrades and replacements and we came up empty despite a ton of claims. Making matters worse has been steep drops in production from several key players from last year. The end result has been constant lineup adjustments and calling up several prospects earlier than anticipated with mixed results. Grossman, Millan, and Barnard have struggled, while Willett, Bryant, Garcia, and Walton have shown they can contribute. Offense is definitely down in the West this year, but our OPS is down to .690 from .760 last season. Pitching started out rough but has stabilized in the 2nd quarter of the season. I don't have any numbers, but our ERA was certainly very high after the first 16 games, and it is down to 4.41 now. I would assume it has been closer to 4 after giving up 93 runs in the first 16 games. Winning the division seems impossible at this point, so the goal for the 2nd half of the season is to avoid relegation and to get experience for 7 position players who are 26 and under as well as McCloskey on the pitching side.

#71754	02/27/2020 9:46:18 am	Jul 16th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Gauthier is obviously impressive, but the Dinos took note of both Walton and Willet in our previous series. Thought both played well, and made for a challenging gauntlet in the middle of the lineup. Busch was terrific in that series. I guess he started the season poorly. Given how he pitched against the Dinos I wasn't surprised to see him in the rotation this time round.

#71767	02/27/2020 6:20:03 pm	Jul 20th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Apologies jclemen2. I should know better than to post about the days opponent. No jinx intended. I'd wish II.1's last remaining rep in the cup tomorrow luck, but I fear it would result in the opposite.

#71772	02/27/2020 7:48:35 pm	Jul 21st, 2044
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	yeah thanks for that... i wish i could burn my hours old post. 39-5 runs differential in a 5 game series at home. Disaster strikes in Mount Pleasant to start the 2nd half of the season off. I appreciated your nice comments but little did i realize it was a setup for the jinx! Purdue beat IU to save the evening. I'm glad i didn't watch the play by play on the 22-0 game. I saw it and thought oh great that might be a 22-0 no hitter, luckily not.

#71774	02/27/2020 9:14:05 pm	Jul 21st, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I won't lie, I'm shocked we took 4 from the Bikers again. Belanger was injured and then we sat a few key players and pitchers for game five to make sure they're available for the Cup tomorrow. Jojima managed to throw 10 innings (!) while only giving up 4 earned. I'm counting my lucky stars. And just moments ago we inked the minor league cast-off from Manhattan. I hate having guys solely to battle lefty pitchers, but the guy has hit .350 against them. He might even get immediate LF duty when a regular is hurt. Actually, Eaton has been so horrible the last two seasons in the role that Lemus might get in the regular line-up rightaway. And another just moments ago, he got two pops. Hehe. Moved into the starting lineup vs. lefties. Updated Friday, February 28 2020 @ 4:10:53 am PST

#71780	02/28/2020 6:48:00 am	Jul 21st, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	The main lesson I learned from the Nunez discussion is not to date your league mates' exs. I can see the appeal of Lemus. Should have a nice well rounded offensive skill set. Can also see why the 'Topes moved on. A middling hit tool can sink the ship. Dinos are considering moving on from Radford for that reason. Stafford is up, and will take over for Toscano against LHP. I came up one step short of full commitment - Toscano is chilling in AAA instead of the waiver wire. Tosc was a scrap heap signing done good. Soft spot for him. Staley is almost back from his knock. I'm not sure if he'll go back in the rotation or into the pen. I got a bunch of bad losses, a 20+ game injury, and no green arrows from him last week. No hurry to start the pain train up again.

#71783	02/28/2020 7:48:06 am	Jul 21st, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	As I said, I'm not happy I feel forced to take him. It's what happens when your specialty RH bat sinks the lineup with a sub-600 OPS for back to back campaigns. Sloppy seconds are messy. They make things interesting, though.

#71790	02/28/2020 11:12:13 am	Jul 21st, 2044
12twelve Joined: 02/05/2017 Posts: 131 Inactive	I think that Mike and the Magicians have put some kind of spell on the Bikers' bats, cuz they have gone silent in our two series. The first time through, the Bikers made up for it against the Dinos. Hopefully, we can do that again. Good luck, Seca!

#71801	02/28/2020 3:09:56 pm	Jul 22nd, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Oh, bother. The AI pulls Lemus for PH Choi against lefties! I don't want that. Man, the lack of control here in-game is severely lacking.

#71816	02/29/2020 8:21:51 pm	Jul 28th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I've been waiting for the correction. It came on both sides of the ball and brutally. Five runs scored in the last four games. I feel lucky to have gotten one win out of that.

#71818	03/01/2020 9:58:48 am	Jul 28th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	After taking the beating from the Dinos, Mount Prospect had to pick the series against us to get back on the winning track. Not what we wanted after the hard-fought 3-2 against the Mules. At least it helps to keep the East interesting - not that I was ever bored.

#71819	03/01/2020 11:22:18 am	Jul 28th, 2044
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Thrilled to bounce back with 3 road wins in Manhattan. Santa Monica has been on fire and after the 5 game sweep this gets us back to a game behind Brownsville with avoiding relegation being the main goal for the rest of the season. Friday we had a nice training update with major leaguers Willett, Bryant, Walton, and McCloskey all getting bumps. Bryant was the big winner with hitting, discipline and power bumps. A few weeks ago he was benched, but he's turned it around enough over the last 5-10 series that we've moved him to the leadoff spot. McCLoskey got a bump on movement, velocity and change of speed. Gould has managed with similar ratings and below average control, hopefully McCloskey can do the same. Overall we had 28 upgrades.

#71826	03/01/2020 8:53:40 pm	Aug 2nd, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Not good again with a funny/pathetic ending in game five. We walked 8 batters in the last 4 innings, including 3 by a 19 control guy. In the prior game, Belanger's magic run came to an explosive conclusion. He got destroyed by giving up 3 bombs and 10 runs. It still has to be the single greatest turnaround in Broken Bat history. For official games he started last season 0-18 and this season opened 11-0. I'd bet my house no one can claim anything as drastic as that. Okay, maybe just my car.

#71833	03/02/2020 2:42:04 pm	Aug 3rd, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Not quite as drastic, but my ace Quiles had a pretty bad meltdown against Mount Prospect, giving up 8 runs. He bounced back with 2 runs in 7 innings in Berwyn, though, and he still owns a 2.34 ERA. Maybe that was the difference, but I'm pretty happy that we came back with a series win against the first in the West, after dropping the series against 5th ranked Mount Prospect. Why take the easy route? Another thing that may start making a difference is the acquisition of Kim. In this game, with the starter pulled in the 5th and Manhattan down 1-4, previously, Butler or Hoffman would have come in and probably would have let the game slip away. Kim gets us through the 7th inning, then, after a leadoff walk, hands it over to the lefty who walks the tightrope around three baserunners and three flyouts but comes away with the W, so Miller can close it out. A few more of those, and Kim is well worth his salary. Updated Monday, March 2 2020 @ 2:42:45 pm PST

#71840	03/03/2020 7:24:38 am	Aug 4th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Things quiet in Waterloo. Didn't have a single waiver claim out this week. Looking at taking a 10 pot P in the draft. Smiley became the 2nd (afaik) Dino to hit for the cycle a couple series back. In a way its a little cheap, as he needed extra innings to get all the hits. On the other hand, his triple was integral to the 3 run rally in the bottom of the 9th that tied it. And his HR was a solo shot in the bottom of the 11th to win it. Cool game for him. Knight hurt again. It's his 3rd injury of 8 or more games this season. He's managed to take his knocks the series before a cup break each time, so it hasn't cost him that many starts. Looking forward to seeing some lefties today. Stafford has only played once since his call up. He probably lost us the game that he played. We lost by 1 run, and he went 0 for 4 with the player behind him hitting 2 solo HRs. Toscano stood a better chance of being on base for one of those dingers.

#71852	03/04/2020 7:49:00 am	Aug 9th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Was going to wish Mount Prospect well with Waters, but I had to be quicker. Dinos have watched him all season, but a 34 year old reliever just didn't fit with 2044's MO. Dinos haven't had a great draft this season. The one we've kept - Armenta - I mentioned before b/c his arm blipped up and made him a more viable C prospect. Maybe more interesting is that he clubbed 10 HRs in less than 100 ABs in his AA debut. Still rocking a gaudy 1K OPS. Maybe something to look forward to.

#71854	03/04/2020 8:24:49 am	Aug 9th, 2044
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	I wanted to give LHP Barney Owen a start vs New Britain, so I just needed him as a replacement lefty reliever for the series. Owen got 1 of our 2 wins in the series so I guess I'll pat myself on the back. We finish inter-league play against the bottom 3 East teams, I was hoping for a better start than 2-3 but we did move a game closer to Brownsville.

#71857	03/04/2020 4:06:18 pm	Aug 12th, 2044
12twelve Joined: 02/05/2017 Posts: 131 Inactive	Interleague play is killing me. I can't beat anyone right now. The Bikers are riding on flat tires.

#71861	03/04/2020 8:18:56 pm	Aug 14th, 2044
12twelve Joined: 02/05/2017 Posts: 131 Inactive	The losing streak is up to 9. Interleague play cannot end fast enough. How am I only 3 games back?

#71863	03/04/2020 10:34:50 pm	Aug 14th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	It was only a matter of time until things got interesting in the East again. Dinos are just winning everything right now. Manhattan, already having lost ground in the last series, plays the last place team in the West. In spite of injuries to our shortstop, two of our best hitters and one of the better relievers, we outscore Cedar Rapids 26-22 in the series, yet lose four out of five games. Updated Wednesday, March 4 2020 @ 10:35:24 pm PST

#71865	03/05/2020 5:58:22 am	Aug 14th, 2044
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Just a note, Cam Willett projects as a "prolific" slugger and currently has 14 power. He has 293 AB with Mount Prospect and has hit 0 HR in that time. This season he has 27 doubles and a .287 avg. Right now he's at almost a 2 for GB/FB ratio, and his minor league career average was 1.59. Still only 2 GIDP this year. Strange numbers.

#71867	03/05/2020 7:36:23 am	Aug 14th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Dinos used to specialize in guys like that. I'd visualize these massive dudes hammering the ball into the ground in front of home plate. The ground eventually become so hard that the ball would bounce from home plate over the OF wall for a ground rule double. It's frustrating when one of your guys turns out like this. Does make the game more interesting. My SS Flynn only has 9 power, but has good launch angles (I guess). Fairly consistent in the 15-20 HR range. The Dinos hot streak isn't sustainable. Smoke and mirrors. All the 80 SI guys in the pen are going to come down to Earth. We aren't making any effort to contest LHP. I suspect Manhattan is fully aware the real concern is Smyrna, now just 4 games back. That's the real threat.

#71873	03/05/2020 4:38:45 pm	Aug 18th, 2044
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Game 3, it happened! All I needed to do was make a post about it! Gauthier hits a home run to left field. Walton strikes out. Long grounds to the pitcher. Long is thrown out at first by Franco. Willett hits a home run to right field. Vance is hit by the pitch. Kerns lines out to short stop.

#71881	03/05/2020 11:12:18 pm	Aug 19th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I think there's a one in three shot I won't be in this league next season. Unfortunately I think it's as likely to be down as it is to be up. Pacheco and Applegate are both coming off back-to-back solid starts. If they continue to pitch well, we should not only be fine, but we could make a run for the top. Both divisions are pretty wide open regarding promotion and relegation. I doubt anyone feels safe.

#71888	03/06/2020 6:32:41 am	Aug 19th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I'd be very surprised if the teams in the cellar at the end of the season are different from the ones now. Among the top four, I'd say anything can happen, with Manhattan and Waterloo having a little head start going into the final stretch, Smyrna still with the best-looking team and Margate rather an outside chance. What annoys me is my long-term perspective. My farm system basically consists of waiver claims and a few leftovers from the draft pre-loading era. Out of the last three seasons, I have three draftees left in my system: One of them would have to jump up two potential points to be called a prospect, and the two others are about as fringy as they come. Of course, one doesn't expect much in round 7, but this is the second round in a row that I haven't even bothered drafting anyone.

#71900	03/06/2020 2:01:04 pm	Aug 20th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I find that really interesting. The Dinos farm system was like 3/4 non-apples, and 3/4 12 pot before the new draft came in. We've seen a big reversal on both fronts with the new draft. Dinos aren't doing much last minute shopping. Really pleased with additions we've been able to make this season. Big decision for the Dinos coming back to the East is the 5th starter spot. Monroe sorta pitched better for a little bit, but it just doesn't seem to be his season. Nunez stole Staley's spot while the latter was injured. Looking at Staley taking over for Monroe.

#71924	03/07/2020 3:07:20 pm	Aug 22nd, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	A horribly painful first two back in division play.

#71929	03/08/2020 6:17:39 am	Aug 25th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Did a double take on one of those. 9-2 in the 13th you don't see every day. I find it a little comforting knowing other pitching staffs also give up TDs. Meant to pull the claim on Billy Bob. Now that he is here we'll likely keep him for a while. Possible one or both of my Cs are flipping burgers this time next season. Benny is back up. Hoping he can replicate Nieto's turn around. Our pen was thin starting the season. Could be a lot of competition for spots next season.

#71942	03/08/2020 2:28:42 pm	Aug 26th, 2044
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Carbajal for Santa Monica nearly no-hits us. He gave up 2 9th inning singles before leaving the game. Gauthier flies out to end the game, 3-0 Santa Monica.

#71947	03/08/2020 5:33:35 pm	Aug 29th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Today was a bunch of bull I especially liked the part where we got four walks in one inning and didn't score...and lost by one. Updated Sunday, March 8 2020 @ 10:41:54 pm PDT

#71950	03/09/2020 8:37:15 am	Aug 29th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Carbajal is well off his peak, but there is a guy who got by without killer movement. Maybe should ask him to sit down with Staley and share some secrets. Speaking of Staley, he did take Monroe's spot in the rotation, and managed his first quality start and win. A little spark of hope. Good luck to Laredo with Toscano. Shame he was 28 when I picked him up. He really turned out well.

#71955	03/09/2020 1:14:39 pm	Aug 29th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	A horribly painful first two back in division play. Sorry for not letting that get any better, but sweeping two of the three teams I consider rivals at this point was exactly what the doctor ordered starting back into the division. Yeah, Quiles had a hard time finding the strike zone in that third inning, but then, I'm paying for double plays like the one that erased two of your baserunners by having a 2B who's hitting below the Mendoza line. And I'm still happy to have Quiles around: This time, he outpitched Trammell and Bélanger in consecutive starts. When I cut Liu earlier today, to go to a four-man rotation, I totally overlooked that I was heading into three straight four-game series before the next payday. Might have been smart to keep him around for a few more days. So, depending on fatigue, one of you (probably New Britain, considering I want to have a rested rotation against contending Waterloo) might luck out and see either Pino or Butler in a spot start. At least based on performance this season (Arreola's dominance is a little spooky, to be honest), either of them looks like a massive downgrade compared to my regular starters.

#71971	03/11/2020 7:46:13 am	Sep 4th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Espinoza was great yesterday for Smyrna. Must be in the discussion for MVP even tho everyone else had a 20+ game headstart on him. Thought it was kinda funny watching Trammell square off against Burton yesterday. That's a 40 SI difference between 2 fully developed players. Burton hung in there, tho the pen coughed up 2 inherited runners which makes his overall line look kind poor. Thinking next week you guys might see Horn and James. Not certain tho. Easy enough to find them some reps, and might slightly reduce the pain of them breaking in next season.

#71981	03/11/2020 4:06:45 pm	Sep 6th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Espinoza is a monster. I have no idea how people get such players. Trammell is a great pitcher, but somehow he (with the team behind him) isn't as dominant as he looks. He's lost a few duels with guys who weren't up to his talent level. Seca, honestly, why would you want to play the kids just yet? You're still a contending team, probably my primary opponent at this point - and I write this while still taking Smyrna very seriously.

#71984	03/12/2020 8:53:29 am	Sep 8th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I've been playing the kids basically all season. A third of the position players from my opening day lineup are gone (Camarillo, Sheridan, Toscano). Tuero hasn't played in ages (so Lafferty can get some reps). Gomez has been sitting (Stafford the main beneficiary). Radford has been sitting. Monroe is sitting. Staley has made a half dozen starts. Hacker and Brockman are in AAA so developing guys get the bullpen innings. I'm still not convinced we are a very good team. We've high rolled most of the season. I have little interest in returning to Legends and getting blugeoned when Rocha, Meadows and Smiley all return to Earth. I'm also still struggling with my perception that managers are busted. If I go back to Legends I fear I'll spend most of the season rolling my eyes. I'm sure I'll have more fun here than up there. So ya, we aren't any kind of threat. If the Dinos actually put some pressure on you don't be surprised to see a 4 man rotation from us featuring Staley and Horn.

#71986	03/12/2020 3:22:19 pm	Sep 9th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	So, my efforts to have a well-rested Quiles available against Waterloo didn't really help. With the offense getting only 2 out of 12 baserunners home, he would have had to be absolutely dominant. Arreola is really having a breakout season, though, so at least I got that W back in the next game. And Smyrna is finally looking the way I expected them to.

#71990	03/12/2020 4:48:19 pm	Sep 10th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Count me as a believer in form. Include that as a team. Way too many times all guys go hot and cold as a unit. Started terrible. Got hot. Now everyone is ice cold again. Not that I care. The forums are more fun for me than the game any more. Probably not a good sign.

#71995	03/13/2020 12:51:13 am	Sep 12th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, this league forum has definitely profited from you and Seca being back here. Last season, I had the impression I was mostly talking to myself here...

#71996	03/13/2020 4:22:51 am	Sep 12th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. As a teacher I'm used to crickets in response to my attempts to start conversation. So I'm usually undaunted by a quiet room. (As a side note, we have March break starting next week, and our schools have been ordered closed for the 2 weeks after March break bc of the pandemic. Going to have some time on my hands). Form is one of those things where if you believe in it, you can see evidence of it everywhere. It wouldn't shock me if someday Admin said nope, no form. But my 80 SI bullpen crew is more "evidence". Kato was unhittable for the first half of the season, now he's a pinata. The big news (BIG NEWS!) out of Dinoland this morning is that Rocha added 3 green arrows on the training update, and went from 12 pot to 13 pot. He's exceeding our wildest dreams for him. Been a tough year to be 12 pot on the Dinos. Take some pride in using lower potential guys, but one way or another I'm now down to just Lafferty (12) and Tuero (11) on the position side. Still lots of 12 pot arms. Still haven't decided if Horn is coming up. Have another option now as Holt got the green light. At 63 SI he could probably use a little more time on the farm. But nice to see the thumbs up after he spent nearly a season looking for work. Updated Friday, March 13 2020 @ 4:24:02 am PDT

#71999	03/13/2020 7:53:48 am	Sep 12th, 2044
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Good lord this offense shows no sign of improvement. No signs of improvement all year. I wish there was a LOB stat for the year because we probably lead in that. I don't like our chances to avoid relegation at this point. 1 GB from Brownsville and a huge run difference makes it 2 GB basically and Cedar Rapids is creeping up on me as well. Not near as much improvement i was hoping for on training. Three total green arrows for major leaguers this week on offense and 1 for McCloskey on stamina I'd like to see a potential bump, only had a couple of decreases so far.

#72000	03/13/2020 8:21:02 am	Sep 12th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	You can get a very good estimate of LOB from the stats (doesn't include reached by error, fairly minor contributor). I have an Excel spreadsheet that calculates that for me with a quick league stat copy and paste. On offense, %runners left on base (actual LOB in brackets) Both numbers better if smaller West Laredo Mules....60.2 (908) Santa Monica Carp..62.2 (907) Berwyn Bikers.....63.5 (955) Brownsville Bulldogs..64.1 (984) Mount Prospect Raiders..66.4 (954) Cedar Rapids Royals..64.2 (947) East Manhattan Isotopes..60.7 (1001) Waterloo Dinosaurs..59.6 (941) Smyrna Sounds..62.6 (1037) Margate Magicians..60.2 (930) New Britain Cubs...65.0 (974) Saratoga Highlanders...63.1 (954) On the pitching side Both numbers better(?) if larger West Laredo Mules...64.8 (996) Santa Monica Carp..64.4 (926) Berwyn Bikers...61.1 (878) Brownsville Bulldogs..60.2 (945) Mount Prospect Raiders...61.4 (935) Cedar Rapids Royals...61.1 (952) East Manhattan Isotopes...63.2 (933) Waterloo Dinosaurs...64.7 (1061) Smyrna Sounds..63.7 (885) Margate Magicians..61.4 (1021) New Britain Cubs..63.5 (948) Saratoga Highlanders..62.3 (1012)

#72001	03/13/2020 8:29:19 am	Sep 12th, 2044
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	so % wise we are the worst. We're getting less runners on and leaving a higher % on base basically. This is what i expected. cool, thanks!

#72002	03/13/2020 9:10:42 am	Sep 12th, 2044
Frankebasta Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 886 Kodiak Mules III.3	interesting work, thanks for sharing at a cursory glance, I see a pretty solid correlation to Wins, and more so to Run Differential What I do myself, without the need for a spreadsheet, is to pay attention to Power: either ISOlated power, or SLG%, or plain HR number. Do you think is there any correlation between Power (offense / defense) and LOB?

#72003	03/13/2020 9:29:13 am	Sep 12th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Ya, there is absolutely a correlation. Here's HR differential (offense - pitching; +ve good). Laredo Mules 30 Santa Monica Carp 10 Berwyn Bikers 7 Brownsville Bulldogs -50 Mount Prospect Raiders -29 Cedar Rapids Royals -13 East Name Manhattan Isotopes 8 Waterloo Dinosaurs 43 Smyrna Sounds -24 Margate Magicians 12 New Britain Cubs -1 Saratoga Highlanders 7 Aside from power, its all about sequencing (luck).

#72007	03/13/2020 10:30:28 am	Sep 12th, 2044
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	The #1 team in III.1 East (about to go bot), has a -9 diff. And that's with Seattle Rickey padding everyone's numbers... So its hard to see much correlation in III.1 right now.

#72008	03/13/2020 10:53:52 am	Sep 12th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I probably shouldn't have posted HR differential. It combines the 2 sides of the ball, sorta clouds the situation. I'm also associating power with HRs. Might be better to use SLG% One thing I notice about III.1 East is that the power numbers (HRs and slugging) have a much smaller delta than they do in II.1 East. If power is more similar the effect of sequencing is going to be greater.

#72029	03/14/2020 6:16:05 pm	Sep 18th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I'm not really sure what home run differential is supposed to show. I guess it does take the home ballpark factor out a little bit, but it also confounds pitching and offensive factors, as you already pointed out. What I find interesting is that Smyrna has by far the most hits while hitting the fewest homers in the league. That does seem to make sense when you take into account that their home ballpark has 35 foot fences at 425 feet away. What's odd to me is that their home runs allowed look pretty average (20 more than Waterloo, 2 less than Manhattan), although they have that ballpark AND an incredibly formidable pitching staff. By order in the rotation and bullpen roles, almost every single one of their pitchers has higher skills than the respective counterpart on the Isos. I tend to ascribe the resurgence of my pitching (okay, we're pretty average now, not as dominant as we were early in the season) to some defensive improvements, but we're talking home runs here. Frankly, I have no idea what's going on in Smyrna. Margate has been hitting more homers than anyone in the league but also giving up a lot - not surprising in a home ballpark that seems to be custom made for hitting bombs to dead center. The Dino's Mound on the other hand is not much different from Isotope Stadium - a bit shorter in center, but deeper in the corners - but the Dinos are somehow just amazing at suppressing homers, while giving up the second most hits in the league. If they had a decent closer, they'd be running away with the title (they have 11 more BS than Manhattan while being 3.5 wins behind). Out of 5 guys in the Dinos' rotation, one is a rookie and three have career seasons - and none of them looks anything like Smyrna's Trammell. Speaking of him, we have actually managed to stop Smyrna's win-series. It all started with Quiles once again outpitching Trammell - or should I say the Manhattan lineup just demolishing Trammell: Three runs by small ball in the first two innings, then a three-run bomb in the third and one tacked on later. We narrowly missed the sweep because of one bad inning by Arreola in game 2, so Waterloo is inching even closer. Say what you want, Seca, you have great chances of winning a title. And if you say your team isn't ready - don't think I have any illusions about being able to stick in Legends. By my judgement, my team was at it's peak two seasons ago, so i desperately tried to make two consecutive runs at a title, which both fell way short. I have no idea why we're somehow still in first place so late in the season this time. I just know that looking at my farm system and the way it has developed with the new draft, the decline can only continue. Updated Saturday, March 14 2020 @ 6:20:02 pm PDT

#72032	03/15/2020 6:36:18 am	Sep 18th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	What? You are underestimating our ability to hit and give up homers. Our park is barely less than the defaults. Have you seen Saratoga's bandbox? We have allowed more and hit more, which is impressive. Our pitchers have great GB/FB as a squad, making the numbers confusing. All you have to do is look at Applegate, Jojima and Pacheco to see why we've given up so many. Per 9 IP they're averaging 1.5, 1.25 and 1.45, respectively. To be honest, I don't even feel like we give up too many. 1.05 per 9 IP isn't much at all. I think you guys just have a bunch of wimps since my 1.17 per 9 looks great from the plate.

#72033	03/15/2020 7:41:00 am	Sep 18th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Ya, differential was a bit noisy. Combines both sides of the ball. Suppression is the mantra of our pitching staff. I like to think I cull fairly aggressively in that department. Though Herrera is still kicking around. When I was trying to keep the Legend longevity thing going I was taking things fairly seriously, and tilting when things piled up against me. Like to think I've been more chill since. Probably fine getting crushed in Legends, managers et al. I didn't bring up Horn or Holt. I wouldn't say were are going for it. But we aren't actively drilling holes in the bottom of the boat. We aren't built to beat Manhattan. Our vs. LHP flatters us; Tak hit out of his shoes for the first couple of months and carried us against southpaws. We'll still be using Lafferty, Stafford, Staley and all the kids in the pen.

#72038	03/15/2020 2:15:15 pm	Sep 18th, 2044
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I think differential makes more sense than just looking at power. Some team hit a lot of homer just because they built a home run park (so they also give up a lot). At the end of the day, there are lots of ways to come out on top. Power is a popular strategy, but not the only way to win.

#72040	03/15/2020 2:26:38 pm	Sep 18th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I'm glad we could light some fire into Manhattan's bats for at least one game. Homer to left. Then a homer to what their fearless leader poked at center field. To make things fun, we then rallied in the ninth, only to fly out twice to CF before nailing the walk-off dinger to right to cover the entire field.

#72048	03/16/2020 2:01:23 am	Sep 22nd, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	...and then we follow that up with a big fat nothing against Bélanger (told you the guy can throw a ball) and add another loss for good measure.

#72050	03/16/2020 5:35:19 am	Sep 22nd, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Manhattan should stop booking their team into Motel 6's. Their WPCT on the road is 22% lower than home games. That's crazy. The bad news for the rest of the division is that 17 of their remaining 26 games are at home. Updated Monday, March 16 2020 @ 5:38:33 am PDT

#72052	03/16/2020 3:26:50 pm	Sep 23rd, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Interesting. I didn't even pay attention to that, as I have no idea what the strategic consequence should be. Out of my lineup regulars, everyone except journeymen Pennington and Camacho (and light end of platoon 1B Farmer) hits better at home than on the road. I swear it has nothing to do with any illicit sign stealing devices in Isotope Stadium.

#72057	03/16/2020 8:27:40 pm	Sep 26th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	You noticed I came up with the suggestion for Manhattan to book The Ritz AFTER they visited Margate, right? Boom, boom, boom. They go 3-0 in Saratoga. We had a great chance to distance ourselves from New Britain today after winning the first two games, but then our offense got shut down. For the final game, I give you Ramon Moreno. The first line shows his stats for the season before the game. The second line is today's start. 56 IP, 53 H, 15 BB, 21 ER, 1.214 WHIP, 3.38 ERA. 2 IP, 6 H, 4 BB, 7 ER, 5.000 WHIP, 31.50 ERA. Hahahahaha! Putting a microscope on ER and IP, think of what he did today this way. He pitched 3.6% of his season's innings and gave up 33% of his ER! That's impressive!!!

#72065	03/17/2020 2:25:53 pm	Sep 26th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Isn't that normal for a pitcher with fifty-some IP that one bad showing will make their ERA jump by quite a bit? The bad news for the rest of the division is that 17 of their remaining 26 games are at home. We did all right in Saratoga and got a good start at home against New Britain. If the rest of the season end up fulfilling the promise of the schedule, we might end up with a grand finale against Waterloo in Manhattan. That would be fun. Our last series against Smyrna is much earlier, so that would be more of a duel at a distance if they go on a monster tear now, like they did last week. Our lead looks remarkably solid right now, quite different from the crazy race in the West, but we're far from having a decision. I don't remember where exactly the Cows were at this point last season - I just remember they stampeded over the seemingly certain winner at the very end.

#72066	03/17/2020 2:31:48 pm	Sep 26th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Wait, that was two seasons ago. Last season was the one where this forum was eerily quiet and Harrisonburg somehow got the title over Saratoga and Smyrna.

#72068	03/17/2020 2:50:08 pm	Sep 26th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Isn't that normal for a pitcher with fifty-some IP that one bad showing will make their ERA jump by quite a bit? Seriously? Quite a bit? He gave up A THIRD of the runs he had all season. And he did it in two innings. That's not quite a bit. Show me an example from every team where that's happened since it's so common. I hope you've just cursed the hell out of your guys. Updated Tuesday, March 17 2020 @ 2:55:06 pm PDT

#72069	03/17/2020 4:21:29 pm	Sep 28th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	It depends on hook and availability of relievers, of course, but 7 ER in two innings really isn't that unusual. I'm definitely too lazy to look that up, but I remember being annoyed because my ace Quiles had an outing like that not too long ago. In his case, it simply doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, because he's at 240 IP right now. I'm using Miller exclusively as a closer, so the majority of his 43 ER must have come in his 7 BS (like the one right now) rather than in his 48 saves. Everything looks magnified in small statistical numbers, and 50 IP is definitely a number where I'm not reading much into ERA yet. Updated Tuesday, March 17 2020 @ 4:22:17 pm PDT

#72079	03/18/2020 3:40:32 pm	Oct 2nd, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Mmmhmm. Whatever. It isn't common at all, except possibly for guys that are only in for development purposes. Ah, craps. Villanueva hit with an 11 day injury. Going from a cleanup hitting catcher to the worst guy in the lineup during a fight-for-non-relegation stretch run is not nice. Update--Then add a 4 day knockout of Sullivan (who was moved into the cleanup spot) and 2 days for the aforementioned backup Rodriguez. CF Irizarry injured himself in game one of the series. WTH?! What do they put in the visiting team's locker in Smyrna?! Updated Wednesday, March 18 2020 @ 4:17:49 pm PDT

#72113	03/20/2020 5:00:15 am	Oct 8th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Dinos have had some injury problems too of late, but in most cases the guy on the bench was better. Have had a good stretch of play. Another good training update with 33 green arrows. Vaughn got recommended. We've long hoped his exceptional movement would kick in and fix his HR problem. Hasn't happened. Don't have high hopes for him. Regretting keeping Monroe and his team leading salary. He hasn't pitched well, hasn't pitched in ages, and with all the young arms will be on a short leash next season. Probably 3 million down the hole.

#72133	03/20/2020 8:33:21 pm	Oct 12th, 2044
12twelve Joined: 02/05/2017 Posts: 131 Inactive	It's hard to pin the season down to one game, but my chance to win the division may have been lost with a crucial loss in game 4 of my series with Laredo today. Win, and I'm only 1/2 game back with 10 to play. Now I'm 2 1/2 back and behind in RD. Not looking good for the Bikers. It's far from over but do I have the horsepower to climb back to the top? Gonna be a great finish!

#72137	03/21/2020 5:48:34 am	Oct 12th, 2044
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	11 games left and things are certainly look better. A few series ago Brownsville was the hottest team in the league with a 14-1 stretch. Now they're ice cold going 1-10 run. We've cut it to a 1/2 game back, with a 4 game series in Brownsville coming up. After that we have with a 4 game series against Berwyn who as mentioned above is trying to hang in there for the division title. Our last series is against Laredo. Not the ideal last two series, but my hope is Laredo has the division clinched when I get to them and they rest some players.

#72139	03/21/2020 8:03:26 am	Oct 12th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Had quite the ump show in our final game yesterday. 17 walks issued all total. Knight managed 5 of those in the 2nd inning. Been a tough year getting the ball over the plate. Of my veteran arms only Burton is at his career ST %.

#72146	03/21/2020 2:45:39 pm	Oct 13th, 2044
Frankebasta Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 886 Kodiak Mules III.3	but my hope is Laredo has the division clinched when I get to them and they rest some players. as much as I'd love to, it ain't gonna happen. Laredo is always playing a competitive lineup until promotions and demotions are mathematically decided

#72147	03/21/2020 2:55:13 pm	Oct 13th, 2044
Frankebasta Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 886 Kodiak Mules III.3	a crucial loss in game 4 of my series with Laredo absolutely! the last 2 games have been a thriller, both unbelievable, two minor miracles a 2-0 win vs Berwyn, on only 4 hits followed by a 1-0 win vs Santa Monica, which must be a record for the MOST INEFFICIENT SHUT OUT 3 pitchers combined for 0 runs allowed, on 10 hits (all singles, thanks G@d) and 6 walks Whatley, the rookie starter, went for 6 IP, 8 hits, 5 walks and 3 Ks Whoah lucky me

#72150	03/21/2020 3:30:37 pm	Oct 13th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	@ Seca: Interesting. I must say, I never really looked at out ST% in detail before. Among my pitchers, the guys who throw a lot of strikes are my workhorse starters, closer, and two guys at the very bottom of my stats: Riley (who doesn't have enough innings to interpret that) and Morse (who has been like this for his entire career). And for all but one season in his career, his many strikes have been hit hard and often. Apparently, "throwing too many strikes" is a phenomenon that exists even in BB. Updated Saturday, March 21 2020 @ 3:32:25 pm PDT

#72165	03/22/2020 4:25:21 am	Oct 16th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Fld % gives a decent look at your manager's contribution. Just that and rng. I've made hirings in the past by looking at fld % with and w/o the manager of interest. St % may be the closest thing for pitchers. Not as clean as your opponents are a contributing factor as well. 2 more series, and then no electronic baseball either for 2 weeks.

#72176	03/22/2020 3:13:11 pm	Oct 17th, 2044
Frankebasta Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 886 Kodiak Mules III.3	for the second sraight time, Laredo is bouncin back to Legends after only one season of LeagueII Congrats to manager and players! We're a young team, with many rising starts: the future looks bright Updated Sunday, March 22 2020 @ 4:54:48 pm PDT

#72180	03/22/2020 4:28:47 pm	Oct 18th, 2044
12twelve Joined: 02/05/2017 Posts: 131 Inactive	Congrats Frankebasta. It was a fun year! Inter-league play did the Bikers in this year, going 8-22 in the second circuit. Cost me my chance to advance. There's always next year. Hope the off-season goes quickly.

#72185	03/22/2020 5:08:39 pm	Oct 19th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Manhattan returns to the big show after 13 seasons mostly in LL 2. That reminds me a bit of the internet memes circulating about several leading politicians with the caption: "Sometimes you wonder how they got there." First of all, I'm well aware that the chances we'll stick up there for long are slim. The team itself is intact and not too old on most positions, but growth of young players will not be able to compensate for aging older ones, and the new draft system has been a total disaster for Manhattan's farm system. How we did get there is bizarre enough: First of all, we don't really have any big stars. Yes, Lauretti and Quiles will be headed for the team HOF in a few seasons, but their performance this season doesn't stand out within the league. Offensively, Lauretti and Corona are in the top ten in a few categories, but not at the top of any one. Quiles and Apodaca are leading the league in wins and Miller in saves, but that's mostly because they were incredible workhorses on a winning team. Quiles is second in ERA and Apodaca is second in WHIP - the highest rankings by an Isotope in a ratio stat. The comparison of team stats in the division is similarly unspectacular: We somehow scored the most runs, in part by stealing a ton of bases, but that's pretty much it. We rank: ...in hits, third behind Smyrna and Waterloo. ...in HR, fourth behind Margate, Waterloo and Saratoga. ...in AVG, third behind Smyrna and Waterloo. ...in OBP, second behind Smyrna. ...in SLG, third behind Waterloo and Smyrna. ...in OPS, third behind Smyrna and Waterloo. ...in AVG with RISP, second behind Smyrna, so it wasn't "clutch" hitting, either. Pitching-wise, yeah, we have the fewest blown saves - decent closer and a bit of luck. Apart from that, though: ...in hits allowed and BAA, third behind Smyrna and Saratoga. ...in HR allowed, fourth behind Waterloo, New Britain and Smyrna. ...in ERA, third behind Smyrna and New Britain. ...in FIP, third behind Smyrna and New Britain. ...in WHIP, second behind Smyrna. In short, looking at the overall numbers, it beats me how Smyrna didn't win this all. But, hey, we'll take it and do our best up there.

#72190	03/22/2020 8:09:55 pm	Oct 20th, 2044
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Congrats to both of you! Hopefully we will be sticking atound another year.

#72196	03/23/2020 4:29:49 am	Oct 20th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	And congrats to Margate for hanging on. If you had been swept by Waterloo, that would have made for one hell of a season finale at the top, but I would not have mirrored the performance difference between you and the two relegating teams.

#72197	03/23/2020 4:41:32 am	Oct 20th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Never thought it would end up this clear in the West, after the three-way head-to-head battle lasting so long.

#72198	03/23/2020 5:54:00 am	Oct 20th, 2044
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Last day of the season, I need a win or a Brownsville loss. Brownsville is playing Berwyn who is rolling out some rookie pitchers and 4 position players who don't normally play. We get 1st place Laredo who will play out the season. Hopefully we can hang in there, we're definitely finishing the season on a high note winning 15 of our last 20. The offense has finally passed the .700 OPS mark for the first time maybe all season. Next season hopefully our batch of 26 and under position players all step up.

#72200	03/23/2020 8:32:40 am	Oct 20th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Good luck! I hope Laredo eases up and doesn't make you run the gauntlet of Kim-Saito-Green. I don't think there is any question Manhattan was the class of the East. The gap to Smyrna is bigger than one might expect. The Sounds carry the biggest delta between W-L and expected W-L. Sometimes that's just sequencing / 1-run game bridesmaid. I wonder if it is more here. With the walls back their offense relies more on RISP than HRs. Its counter intuitive, but I wonder if runs are more granular because of that. RISP is a bit deceiving. It gets fattened up in blow outs . More likely to get 7 runs in one game and one in each of the next 2 than 3 each game. With the addition of Espinoza Smyrna actually has some formidable bop in their lineup. I wondered if they might bring the walls in next season. Then again their home record was awesome this season. Hard to say what's in their best interest.

#72233	03/23/2020 9:27:28 pm	Oct 24th, 2044
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I definitely feel lucky to stick around here. We started 13-25. That's beyond miserable. Belanger is the obvious season saver as he went 13-4. Unbelievably, though, waivers probably saved me even more. I got both of my middle infielders with low claims (9&6) by late April. They both played much better than the guys they replaced would have. Hawkins banged out 24 balls and knocked in 102 making me not even notice his 104 strikeouts until just now. In 130 games, Paxton had 71 runs and RBI with 14 HR while hitting 282. They also gave us above average defense up the middle, which is something I'm not used to. Congrats to the victors. Good luck in the playoffs and, even more importantly, Legends.

#72239	03/24/2020 5:24:24 am	Oct 24th, 2044
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I expected Paxton to be good. Hawkins surprised me tho. Nice pick up. Dinos had 3 guys get to 20 HRs this season which is awesome for us. Smiley may get a few votes for MVP. Needed 3 more RBI for 100. Haven't reached that mark since Zarate. Matsui our best hope for rookie hardware, tho he cooled in the 2nd half. All my rookie pitchers (aside from Staley) worked out of the pen. Some good stats, but a rookie starting pitcher more likely to get the nod. The big one for us will be if Flynn manages another gold glove at SS. Edit: none of Pringle, Solomon, Nieto have rookie designation despite it being their first season, so I guess we are out of the running for rpoty. Updated Tuesday, March 24 2020 @ 5:27:07 am PDT

#72291	03/26/2020 3:48:04 pm	Nov 4th, 2044
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Congrats on the Series win Manhattan!

#72292	03/26/2020 4:00:37 pm	Nov 4th, 2044
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Hats off to the Mules for a hard-fought playoff series. While none of the six games went to extra innings, all but two were really close in the end. Game 1 was a walkoff sacrifice by Laredo. I game 4, Laredo had the tying run at the plate in the ninth. In game 5, the Mules staged a seven-run comeback attempt in the ninth inning, finally leaving the tying run on first base, when my closer Miller finally managed to put out the fire. In the final game, we held on to a one-run lead through the final three innings, with Miller pitching two perfect inning against a parade of Mules relievers getting one out each. Good luck in Legends, Frankebasta, see you in interdivisional play next season.

#72296	03/27/2020 2:24:38 am	Nov 4th, 2044
Frankebasta Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 886 Kodiak Mules III.3	indeed, it was an enjoyable series. low stakes games (apart from the fun mood drop off: 10 points lower than before) getting promoted to Legends trumps everything see you next season!

#72341	03/28/2020 10:55:21 am	Jan 15th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Welcome to the new teams. I knew before looking Birmingham would be in the East. Waterloo and the A's seem fated to face off as much as possible. Dinos were pleased with the season end awards. Both Smiley and Matsui got mentions amongst the big ones, which is nice. Flynn winning his 5th straight gold glove at SS was the one we were hoping for, and that came through. With a number of Dino players having good seasons in '44, no surprise they did well in arbitration. Overall team finances are quite manageable. Dinos unlikely to be active on waivers. Still revelling in our success from last season. The only real need is a little youth injection, but that's easier to do after the start of the season rush.

#72468	04/01/2020 9:31:07 pm	Feb 5th, 2045
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Admit it. You're all pumped that Solana Beach is in the league. Woot woot!

#72501	04/03/2020 12:13:43 am	Feb 19th, 2045
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	College Station won the Van Dyke sweepstakes?! Really?! Good grief. This really belongs in the vent, but since I already spat there after day one of waivers I'll do the rest here. Berwyn won the Brito lottery. At least that's a long term smash and won't impact this season. I've had upwards of 50 claims so far with the vast majority of them being under 20 guys. The two I got were up against 1 other person. Frikkin' fantastic.

#72518	04/03/2020 11:25:52 am	Feb 19th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Wasn't that long ago Kal was top of the BrokenBat world, and they landed Tapia in the off season. Seemed very rich-get-richer at the time, but Kal ended up retooling and Tapia has been more good than great. Neither Van Dyke or Brito look like a Tapia to me, but I could be wrong. Dinos only put out 2 claims, whiffed both. And happy enough. Both would have meant some contortions I don't really want to make. I still miss having the draft this week. Next week has some excitement with the season right around the corner. This week could really use some spice. Not that big on spring training anymore.

#72690	04/10/2020 5:38:54 am	Mar 14th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	No off season signings for the Dinos. We have made our call up. James will play in the cup and some league. When the cup ends he may go back down. Position knowledge is his biggest need, and that's hard to fix playing part time.

#72783	04/13/2020 7:23:57 am	Mar 20th, 2045
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Another big miss in the offseason. We had a ton of claims out and came away with only what I guess will be our lefty out of the pen. First Round pick Tracy Malloy was a disappointment as well. He should have good velocity and movement but below average Change of Speed. He was the only 12 or above potential I had to choose from, showing as a 12 currently. Does say he's very good, so hopefully a bump to 13 is in his future. So improvement this year will depend on the young guys... Bryant, Willett, Walton, Millan, Garcia, and Grossman. The offense needs some help for Long and Gauthier or we will struggle to score again this year.

#72809	04/14/2020 6:20:16 am	Mar 25th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I like Malloy. With all that written scouting I could see him blipping to 13. Low defense. Decent amateur numbers. It wouldn't surprise me if he had a better career than my first rounder who has a bit of a fool's gold vibe to him. Should be a fun season. I enjoy tinkering with the pitching staff, and Waterloo has a tremendous amount of depth there. Lots of buttons to push. Dinos overachieved last season. Expecting Smiley, Meadows, Rocha to regress this go round. Expect one or both of Tuero and Monroe will be gone by this friday. Pushed out by youth.

#72845	04/15/2020 4:53:34 pm	Apr 1st, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Bit of a rough start for the Dinos. Just 1 hit with a runner in scoring position in the first 4 games. Better the last 2. One thing we have decided. Tuero won't be cut this week.

#72898	04/17/2020 6:55:35 am	Apr 7th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Dinos slow start continues. Said earlier I expected Smiley, Rocha, Meadows, Flynn to regress. After 10 games those 4 players are a combined 2 for 23 with runners in scoring position. I think we'll get better, but definitely not playing well at the moment. Have been getting used to spectacular training updates. This week was pretty blah considering it had the tail end of spring training on it. Maybe noteworthy is that Calderon got green lit. Not in any rush to bring him up, but nice to see he's ready. I really hate the %s on the draft screen. Managed to ignore them this week and go high school. Was down to just 3 players below AAA. Got Joyce. Decent chance he's a 13, but even at 13 he's probably terrible. "Good" hitting + bad GB:FB + speed but no steals. Sounds like 80 wRC to me. Not sure that sticks even if he's slick at 2B (which he won't be; talking the Dinos here).

#72955	04/18/2020 5:31:20 pm	Apr 14th, 2045
Yankee1219 Joined: 12/03/2016 Posts: 113 West Allis Devil Dogs IV.2	I had such high hopes for the Devil Dogs coming into the year after some pretty solid seasons but I've learned how quickly things can change. I know it is early but the hole is fairly deep already. Gotta scratch and claw my way out. We are the Hounds of Hell, after all, so getting hot should be easy.

#72978	04/20/2020 4:25:20 am	Apr 18th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Things can certainly change fast. Dinos looked dreadful much of the season, but were world beaters in Birmingham yesterday. Best wishes to to Hilton Head's new management. Dinos with a waiver claim. Has good, not great amateur and minor league stats. Will have to perform to keep his spot. Waterloo takes some pride in limiting opponent HRs, but there is a new sherriff in town in that department. Green Bay's veteran staff taking stinginess to another level in the early going.

#72986	04/20/2020 1:48:15 pm	Apr 18th, 2045
tamale Joined: 02/19/2018 Posts: 357 Concord Jets Legends	Good luck with Dong . Not a great name for a pitcher (although Singletary turned out pretty well). I grabbed two almost identical pitching prospects earlier this season, and Dong drew the short straw among them. Of the 3 Dong seems the most like a traditional LHS with his bigger split, but we felt any future major-league job would be limited to that role. He seemed a hard-worker and was developing nicely, but minor-league managers were loathe to give him opportunities. Will keep an eye on his career. Updated Monday, April 20 2020 @ 1:50:50 pm PDT

#73000	04/21/2020 4:53:15 am	Apr 21st, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Thanks for the input. Think he could be good. Happy to have a 3rd teen in the system. Dinos won't last last in the cup. We've outhit our opponents .265 to .233, and out homered them at a 2:1 clip, but that's good for last place and a group worst RD. Getting a hit with a runner on 2B very difficult for some of my lads.

#73028	04/22/2020 7:10:24 am	Apr 25th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Dinos getting some better results. Going through one of those stretches where Tuero Carrie's the team on his back. Kenyon took a 13 game knock, so James getting an extended stretch at 2B. Finally moved on from Monroe. Should have cut him a season and a half ago. The immediate beneficiary is Horn, tho it also paves the way for Vaughn to come up next week. We don't have much hope for Vaughn. Never got his dinger problem under control.

#73093	04/24/2020 6:04:30 am	May 3rd, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Decent training update. Tak is starting to look fearsome. Lafferty blipped to 13 pot. The big news tho was that Vasquez is ready. We've long viewed him as the best pitching prospect in our system. He has been called up instead of Vaughn. Still got cup this coming week, so there should be innings to go round. After that its decision time. Putting 2 rookies (also got Horn) in the rotation won't be competitive. If that's the way we go we may as well cut Kenyon and play James full time at 2B. Also Tuero so Stafford and Tak can get more playing time. Big decision.

#73109	04/24/2020 3:01:08 pm	May 4th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Vasquez's line in his (cup) debut: 4.1 IP, 9 ER, 11H, 2 BB, 4 HR Here's hoping he wasn't the best P prospect in the system.

#73205	04/29/2020 1:20:47 pm	May 21st, 2045
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	44-21. That was our LOB to Green Bay's the last two games. Lost them both by 2. And dang it. Yet another claim that I was after snatched up by a division opponent. Updated Wednesday, April 29 2020 @ 1:23:50 pm PDT

#73206	04/29/2020 1:45:55 pm	May 21st, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	You talking yesterday? I get the A's are throwing a wide net, but I wasn't struck by either Rosado or McCall. 4 gamer against Margate. Little unlucky for Magicians. They get to see every Dino starter except for the struggling rookie (Vasquez).

#73210	04/29/2020 5:46:24 pm	May 25th, 2045
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Paz to Smyrna. Until/unless Belanger figures out how to throw like last season, we will continue to look for arms. Applegate has been my only reliable SP thus far. Updated Wednesday, April 29 2020 @ 5:51:35 pm PDT

#73211	04/29/2020 6:10:20 pm	May 25th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Ah. Ya, Paz is sweet. Smyrna is going to reverse their fortunes some day soon. Belanger a head scratcher. Hard to understand why he's giving up so many hits. Just bad luck? Should turn it around. Think I'm done with Staley. His (early) minor league career convinced me to give a low movement guy a chance, but he's a disaster. Feel like there might be a big housecleaning where anyone without movement scouting hits the road. Would be nice to free up some roster spots.

#73214	04/29/2020 7:46:53 pm	May 25th, 2045
Yankee1219 Joined: 12/03/2016 Posts: 113 West Allis Devil Dogs IV.2	Here we are...1/4 of the way into the season and the Devil Dogs are struggling mightily. After some great recent seasons, we had high hopes. Unfortunately we have sunk to the bottom of the division with a .300 winning percentage. As pathetic as that is, it by far blows away the highest batting averages on the team. My best hitter is a high priced pickup 12 games ago. The third highest average on the team is a paltry .255, and all but four hitters are under .225!! I'm suddenly finding it difficult to find the right combination in my lineup, resulting in a .231 team BA and team OPS under .700. Sometimes, when one facet of the game is failing, the other side may pick up the slack. Our pitching has been ok, but far from being able to carry us. Team ERA is 4.02, which isn't bad, but my 4-time Cy Young winner Moyer is really struggling sitting at 2-6 and a 5.43 ERA. I'm surprised it is that low, tbh. My gold glove SS from a year ago already has as many errors this year as all of last year. One surprise this season has been the success of Righetti. Although he is 1-4, he's had 5 of 6 quality starts since moving into the rotation. Getting only 2.67 runs of support per game doesn't help. There is far too much season to give up hope of a turnaround so I'm staying optimistic. Moyer has got to start throwing the ball better and the bats can't be ice cold for an entire season. Can they?? My minors look to be ok, but not great. Like everyone else, I have a logjam in AAA but I'm not ready to bring up too much youth yet. The window is closing for some of my vets that have been Devil Dogs since LLVI, and I'd love to get them to Legends before they retire. Not gonna get there this year, but at this point if I can just avoid relegation I'll consider the season a mild success.

#73231	04/30/2020 12:58:17 pm	May 25th, 2045
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Certainly a better start to this year for Mount Prospect in the standings, although we're only at a +5 run differential. Part of that is Berwyn caught fire over the last 6 games and we lost a 15-3 and 12-8 after winning the first two games by 3 runs each. We swept our series vs West Allis to close out the quarter with each game being a low scoring 1 run win. Our lineup is looking much improved this year. Part of that is a better start to the season for Gauthier and a huge bounce back from Vance so far which has allowed me to play him at SS. His fielding isn't ideal but he's managed so far with better than expected results. The key to improvement this year though is the younger pieces. Bryant (27yo) was a waiver claim last year who's been great leading off as our DH. Walton (23 yo) has performed well since moving to the #3 spot while playing LF. Willett (25yo) has improved some, although it's pretty clear he's just not going to hit HR. Willett and Walton in the corner OF does give us some great arms in the outfield. Garcia (25yo) at 1B and Beattie (25yo) doing surprisingly well so far playing C round out the key youth pieces, although Barnard (25yo) and Grossman (25yo) are getting some AB versus Lefties. Most of our pitching has been solid, with the exception of Cote and Rodgers. McCloskey has been iffy, but I think he may still improve a few more points. I'm happy with our waiver claim, Lefty Montejo. He's had some good results in his last few games. All around it's early but this season is much more enjoyable compared to last year's season long struggle to avoid relegation, and it's nice to see some of the younger guys start to contribute.

#73235	05/01/2020 5:10:10 am	May 29th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hang in there Yankee1219. Not much is decided until Inter takes shape. I believe Santa Monica has made big turn around the past 2 seasons. Bryant was a stellar pick up. Having a true lead off hitter can make a big difference. Dinos miss Marino. Moving on from Staley got the dominoes falling. Horn took his spot in the rotation. With 2 rookies among our 5 starters having Kenyon slow James' development at 2B seemed bad. A couple seasons in from our rebuild we are starting to deal with some of the redundancy. Solomon gone (largely b/c of his age - have a cluster of 27-28 yr old relievers). Arenas to take over as #1 C (again, largely because he's 3 yrs younger than Luque). Called up a couple LHP. Holt is the fresh blood. Curious to see how he does. Got limited play time in the minors.

#73297	05/02/2020 4:38:12 pm	Jun 2nd, 2045
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I call serious shenanigans against Belanger. More proof that BB links random season factors with players.

#73335	05/04/2020 5:10:41 am	Jun 8th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Or a patch of bad (terrible) form. If he were mine I'd be tempted to skip start or two, tho with inter upon us that's not a great option. Dinos pleased with the first 50. Don't think inter will be great with Horn and Vasquez. Part of the problem is they don't get deep in games. Bullpen going to be strained playing 5 games a night.

#73345	05/05/2020 12:07:00 am	Jun 10th, 2045
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I think 13 starts is enough to consider as close-to-the-truth. Comparisons with last year: ERA 3.96 to 6.62 BAA .238 to .332 WHIP 1.254 to 1.750 Lest anyone thinks it's due to other team/defense factors, my team with last year compared to this season: ERA 4.63 to 4.71 FIP 4.51 to 4.53 I'm totally a believer in BB setting seasonal factors for players that alter their skills. An example from the offensive side with Hawkins: BA 243 to 194 OBP 307 to 240 SLG 446 to 296 AB/HR 25 to 98 For Hawkins, age could be a factor, but he's just 31. I wouldn't expect anywhere near a drop-off like that with just 3 SI falling away.

#73351	05/05/2020 10:21:43 am	Jun 10th, 2045
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	So you think there is a statistical range a player should fall into, but then maybe there is a "chance" factor that they just have a terrible or great season outside that normal range? Vance is my player I'd look at that for. My first year in League ii was 2043, and that was a pretty typical year for him. Last year was terrible, this year I had him riding the bench to start the year, but he's been well above what I'd expect since i started playing him a few weeks into the season: 2043 140G 273/351/391 - 743 OPS 28 2b, 12HR 2044 106G 185/303/235 - 538 OPS 6 2b, 3HR 2045 44G 306/417/450 - 867 OPS 10 2b, 2HR So the question is behind the curtain statistically there is a range of results based on him, who he faces, opponent defense, etc. Is this range within the range of results, or do you think there is a hot/cold type boost that could just apply randomly to some seasons? I fully expect his numbers to drop some, but I'm definitely enjoying his bounce back season. Updated Tuesday, May 5 2020 @ 10:23:09 am PDT

#73353	05/05/2020 4:02:50 pm	Jun 13th, 2045
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	It's important to point out Steve has never given any indication that what I'm saying is accurate. This is nothing more than my pet theory. I think every player has some sort of randomization applied to their skills every season. Most will be very small. Some are large.

#73354	05/05/2020 4:04:11 pm	Jun 13th, 2045
Frankebasta Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 886 Kodiak Mules III.3	January 23rd, 2016 - 2026 Is Here! The season rollover is complete and new schedules are out. If you wish to relocate teams (including minor league clubs), you can do that now. Stadium modifications are also open. This season will see three significant changes: 1. The addition of home & away statistics plus run support (RS). 2. Changes to the Asian Posting System (prospect are now older). 3. Small game engine changes to increase batting average deviation no idea if and how it's pertaining.... you can find it among the News Updated Tuesday, May 5 2020 @ 4:04:53 pm PDT

#73355	05/05/2020 4:41:54 pm	Jun 14th, 2045
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	It's all interesting to toss about different ideas. On the other hand there are a massive amount of players across 63 leagues, with 12 teams in each league and 25-30 players on each Major League Roster. There are bound to be outliers at the low and high end of expected outcomes.

#73356	05/05/2020 5:09:56 pm	Jun 14th, 2045
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I completely agree. There are enormous swings, though, like some of the ones mentioned, that hurt my brain. A pitcher should not see his OBA soar 100+ points when age is not a factor. Yes, that could happen, but I like to put sense to it. I think Steve screws with us. Frank, I remember that little addition. I always interpreted that as bad guys will be a little worse now and good guys will be slightly better. It could be that deviations are randomly applied, though. Thanks for pointing that out.

#73368	05/06/2020 1:59:39 pm	Jun 15th, 2045
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	maybe there is some "season long nagging injury" or "took some hgh" type bonus or penalty in the background...

#73371	05/06/2020 3:07:51 pm	Jun 17th, 2045
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	The game is trying hard to find ways to screw me. 2nd best RD in the division, but 7 games under 500 and in a relegation spot. The sad thing is I don't even care. The forums have become more fun for me than the game. There isn't enough control to keep me interested any more.

#73381	05/07/2020 9:30:13 am	Jun 20th, 2045
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	I can understand that but there has to be a balance between having enough control and being simple enough for the average person as well as not being too detailed for someone new to get involved with. Do you or anyone else in this league do anything like Out of the Park or Baseball Mogul? To get a lot of control you'd probably like something like that if not. I started with Baseball Mogul and ran a league (Outahere Mogul) for a long time. It was quite a bit of work to try and keep the league of 32 mostly full. Usually 10-15 solid long time active guys, and the rest was a combination of less active people, new people who may or may not stick around, and people that were losing interest. A lot of work though, everything was manual, uploading roster files for sims, constantly trying to recruit, etc. Lot of fun things we came up with though... We did revenue sharing, rule 5, expansion with an expansion draft, live amateur drafts, trades including draft picks. But the game play is still pretty limited as to how much strategy you could do. Can't quite remember but you may have had some strategy sliders you could use for some things? It ended 5 or 6 years ago and I recently went to try and start where we left off just with my team but I couldn't do much, we had a password on the league and I can't remember what it was. I did try OOTP after that and it was too much for me. I've always been a sim guy though, I'll get Madden just to be the GM and simulate the games. Don't know the last time I played a game, I'm more interested in drafts, trades, salary cap, etc.

#73384	05/07/2020 12:36:22 pm	Jun 20th, 2045
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I admit a game finding the perfect mix is nearly impossible. One of the perplexing things about BB is it often goes in both directions. There are elements of a casual game intermixed with serious, daily requirements. There's great mind work of who to keep on your roster, then no real way to mold a roster how you want. Then you can set your lineup, but not control in-game decisions very well at all, except for pitcher replacement. Which game is it? It can't decide. After playing for five plus years, the lack of control is too frustrating to play with passion any more. Track King, which Steve led me to, is where my heart lies now. I feel in total control of my path there, which makes me happy. This has become a side game for me with a fun forum.

#73385	05/07/2020 1:56:19 pm	Jun 20th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I enjoyed Baseball Mogul. Checked the basement and found the box for the 2007 version, but I bought several of them. Never played against people, just the CPU. I struggled with OOTP. Little too much detail for me. Got part way through a season and found I didn't have minor league coaches because I didn't offer them contracts. I would probably try it again if they made an up to date mobile version. My only computer atm is my work laptop. Don't look now, but the Dinos actually have the best record in the league vs. LHP. Not all smoke and mirrors - we have hit them better than righties so far. But I would be surprised if that held up to season end.

#73394	05/08/2020 5:20:05 am	Jun 25th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Good training update in Waterloo. Meadows with the hitter's quad of green arrows. Believe he is just the 2nd Dino to reach 20 hitting (Enriquez). Changing of the guard in Santa Monica with Posey and Carbajal gone. Vasquez vs. Trevino looks like a mismatch; can maybe end the Carps 8 game skid.

#73395	05/08/2020 5:24:52 am	Jun 25th, 2045
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Green Bay is better than Margate by 58 runs, amounting to 11 more wins. Margate is better than Birmingham by 143 runs, amounting to 4 more wins. Hehehe.

#73396	05/08/2020 5:31:07 am	Jun 25th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Heh. RD is going to be a noisy stat this season. Dinos lucky not to lose by 10 when one of our rookies start. Looks like a good decision to move on from Hawkins. Defense probably isn't helping Belanger et al. Not sure Sutton will be much better with the glove, but he might hit a bit and doesn't cost 6 mill.

#73404	05/08/2020 6:53:53 am	Jun 25th, 2045
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	It was a rough day for the West yesterday. Santa Monica got swept, Mount Prospect and Rohnert Park won 1 game, and the remaining 3 teams each only won 2 games. We get Margate next at home next. Decent training results, with 5 starters getting a point somewhere - Hitting for Bryant, Willett and Garcia and power for Grossman and Walton.

#73432	05/08/2020 9:38:01 pm	Jun 27th, 2045
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	The RD thing is very much about one-run games so far. GB is 16-8; I'm 6-8. Hawkins' offense last year was a surprise that helped save my season. I'm glad to find a replacement, though, even if it is temporary just like he was.

#73434	05/09/2020 4:49:32 am	Jun 27th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Dinos do have 2 callups this week. Vaughn nestles into the back end of the bullpen. Szymanski to get some time behind the plate. Seems like a cruel weapon. Lower case c to entice you to steal, 20 arm to cut you down when you do.

#73486	05/11/2020 5:39:36 am	Jul 7th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	James has really been on a tear since taking over at 2B full time. With the glove. Out of nowhere he's now 3rd in the league in errors. Everything is right again in the Brokenbat universe. The worst defensive player in the league is Waterloo's keystone. Even before we were struggling defensively, but with James' surge we will soon overtake Birmingham for worst defense in the league. That's with a 19 fld SS. A 17 fld 3B. Avg fld. of 13 across the OF. Doesn't help that our P are so bad. 17 fld Knight and 15 fld Nunez are disasters fielding their position. shrug We knew playing James would probably mean demoting. Still frustrating to sit through.

#73492	05/11/2020 9:37:32 am	Jul 7th, 2045
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Finally cut ties with Rojas. My 2nd player selected when I started in 2030. Looked and sounded awesome but always gave up a huge # of HR. We've got 15 or 16 Pitchers and there just isn't room for all of them. He's 33 and the only place I felt comfortable with him pitching was Green Bay with their huge park. Some of your 300ft foul poles required him being sent to the minors so he didn't have any chance to pitch. His best season was early on in League 5 when he was still a 91 SI, when he had a 3.81 ERA. in 2038 he had his 2nd best year wit ha 4.11 ERA and went 14-10. He still gave up 41 HR that year in 214 IP. Lance Monroe was drafted in that same year, and I had less patience with him despite better results. Waterloo got 3 good years out of him after I dropped him. Updated Monday, May 11 2020 @ 9:38:01 am PDT

#73540	05/13/2020 3:03:03 am	Jul 14th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	3 good years might be a stretch. 1 amazing season for sure. Going to be a quiet AS game for the Dinos. Smiley makes it. Meadows and Tuero with an outside chance. Noone on the pitching staff merits an appearance.

#73629	05/16/2020 6:30:27 am	Jul 23rd, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Dinos got the AS representation we hoped. Good luck to Santa Monica with Luque. Think his BC and PD may make up for a lower hit tool. Was really just his age we didn't like. Solana Beach having a rough go with injuries. Ragsdale was out last time we faced them. This time both big lefties are on the shelf. We are taking our lumps with James. One of our previous 2B of the future is breaking in with Haverhill. He always put up nice minor league numbers, but we weren't convinced his hit tool would cut it in the bigs. Be interesting to see where both James and Suarez are in a couple seasons.

#73634	05/16/2020 2:10:55 pm	Jul 23rd, 2045
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Frustrating first game today. Twice caught stealing 3rd with one out, and on a hit and run single to RF the runner stops at 2B. 3-2 Loss in Extra innings.

#73698	05/18/2020 1:51:45 pm	Aug 2nd, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Been a tough stretch for the Dinos too. Even with their 2 120+ SI monsters sidelined Solana Beach just dismantled us. Ortega was amazing. Despite 9 power and a 1.5 gb:fb he's hit more dingers than Tuero (19 power, 0.5 gb:fb). Decided to take yesterday off. That meant injuries everywhere. In the final game we had an OF playing 2B. You know the Dinos and 2B. Smiley made 2 errors by the 5th inning. Maybe the most frustrating of all is my new 20 arm C. 10 of the first 12 attempts against him have succeeded. The only 2 CS he has were both tugboats heading to 3B on blown hit and runs. Oh well. Updated Monday, May 18 2020 @ 1:52:11 pm PDT

#73715	05/19/2020 9:29:39 pm	Aug 9th, 2045
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Margate enforced a no-good-pitching standard for the series today. The losing team scored at least 4 every game and the winner got to double digits in all five. Quite the series. Belanger did his duty by having one inning that progressed thusly: single, homer, homer, homer, single, homer. Nice job, man! Another funny thing about that is that he pitched 6 innings and didn't give up a run other than during that six batter string of ineptitude. Updated Tuesday, May 19 2020 @ 9:32:46 pm PDT

#73719	05/20/2020 3:05:18 pm	Aug 11th, 2045
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Today started with a 14 inning thriller, the longest of the season. We thought that was so much fun, we repeated that for game two. Strange. Update: Berwyn only went to extra innings 3 times in the first 100 games. They had 4 with us in the series today! Updated Wednesday, May 20 2020 @ 6:05:49 pm PDT

#73727	05/20/2020 6:17:56 pm	Aug 13th, 2045
12twelve Joined: 02/05/2017 Posts: 131 Inactive	Lots of free baseball in Berwyn today. That was a fun series, Mike.

#73743	05/21/2020 1:35:51 pm	Aug 14th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Big thumbs up for MukilteoMike's post. Hilarious. Dinos will be quite happy to see the end of inter today.

#73751	05/21/2020 4:35:32 pm	Aug 18th, 2045
12twelve Joined: 02/05/2017 Posts: 131 Inactive	Been feeling like the Bikers have been hitting into an awful lot of double plays lately, so decided to check out the stats. As of right now, we've hit into 82. Next two closest are 62 & 61. Gotta find a way to keep runners on the bases and crossing home plate.

#73763	05/21/2020 8:51:34 pm	Aug 19th, 2045
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	74 total runs scored and 13 HR in this last series with Waterloo. Mount Prospect gave up no less than 5 runs in each game. Offense has been picking up nicely but now the pitching has been getting beaten up. After cup day tomorrow we start the back leg of the season with a big series at Berwyn. Hoping for a nice training update tomorrow. SS for Vance would be a bonus!

#73773	05/22/2020 7:31:12 am	Aug 19th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	A good chunk of that O came in 2 innings against Burton who now finds himself in AAA. May be done as a Dino. Good training update. Notable that James went to upper case 2B. He's fielded much better since I called him out here. Team still fielding poorly. Can't help but wonder if the match engine is giving James' errors to other guys. Have 3 1B at AAA waiting for call ups. Not sure what we are going to do. Been happy with Stafford's play. Schmid looks the most capable and is likely the best long term fit (Rocha to DH). If anyone comes up its him.

#73798	05/22/2020 12:46:47 pm	Aug 19th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	We cut our 1st round pick this past week. Garnered a decent amount of attention on waivers, and looked pretty good in his first game with his new club. Will see if this comes back to haunt us.

#73857	05/24/2020 4:36:29 pm	Aug 28th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Grats to Mount Pleasant on Baker. Dinos had a claim on him for a bit, but pulled before processing. Thinking about next year. Wasn't the greatest fit. Meadows would have gone back to 2B. Vaughn has moved to the rotation. Would like for him to get a few more IP. Hoping he doesn't go full Staley and flame out with long balls.

#73858	05/24/2020 4:47:58 pm	Aug 28th, 2045
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Haverhill had a claim on Baker. Could have help with the end of year push given my under-performing POT 15 3Bs. We also had a claim on Mullins, but pulled it last minute. Updated Sunday, May 24 2020 @ 4:51:38 pm PDT

#73866	05/24/2020 9:13:32 pm	Aug 29th, 2045
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Belanger is on fire! He's notched the win in his last three starts going 23.2 innings and giving up just 12 hits and 2 runs. Where have you been, Maurice?! I don't think he was pleased with me making fun of him giving up four homers in five batters a while back. Thankfully anger is a motivating factor for him. Updated Sunday, May 24 2020 @ 9:18:09 pm PDT

#73912	05/25/2020 9:09:27 am	Aug 29th, 2045
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Very happy with the Baker win. 3b was probably my bigget need as we've been playing Millan and Roman there. It's good to get them some playing time but hopefully Baker gives us a boost. I had very little luck in off-season claims, but during the season I have had wins on player with 21, 29, 28, and 21 (Baker) claims.

#73974	05/26/2020 1:08:18 pm	Aug 31st, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Roster freeze is imminent. Dinos have signed their last minute flyer. Ochoa has decent amateur numbers. His scouting doesn't suggest a pot increase, but if he did blip to 12 he might be good. Worth holding for a few weeks. Might be a big housecleaning before this friday. Burton and Staley have worn out welcomes and should go. Gomez should go. Maybe Tuero. Got several minor leaguers whose numbers have curdled in AAA. Could easily free up 5-6 roster spots before the update. Edit: blew the name of my last minute signee. Not a good omen. Updated Tuesday, May 26 2020 @ 1:09:36 pm PDT

#74036	05/28/2020 4:09:01 am	Sep 8th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Get our 3rd straight 4 game series tonight. Tough stretch. Still surprised by the swing this season LH vs. RH. Last season the Dinos had a .426 win % vs. LHP and .619 vs. RH. This season its .637 vs. lefties .460 vs. RH. I can't mouse over OPS on my tablet. Batting average shows little change vs. LH but down 25 points vs. RH. That dip can largely be pinned on Smiley and Rocha (and James replacing Kenyon). Lots of factors. Not having to face Manhattan's 2 lefties helps that ledger. Still a little surprising the effect of 1-2 guys having down (not even bad, just down) seasons has on the column.

#74047	05/29/2020 6:18:23 am	Sep 12th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Series win against the A's was kinda nice. Bit of breathing room. Dinos haven't made an effort to push the top teams but we wouldn't mind sticking in the division. Waterloo looking more threatening next season as Horn and Vasquez finish developing and James becomes less porous at 2B. We did part with Burton and Gomez. Gomez turned out as we expected. Little disappointing he topped out at .803 ops with that toolset. Burton was a little inconsistent, but no complaints about what he gave us. Both players were from the first wave of our rebuild which was composed largely prospects flawed in some way. Most of those guys (Toscano, Sheridan, Hacker, ...) are gone now and replaced with higher quality guys. Schmid didn't make it up last week, but he's up now. His minor league numbers aren't dynamic. Might be a bit of an on base machine. Could use one of those. Vaughn was ok? in his starts. 3 HRs allowed against Green Bay in his first, but only 1 in his next 2. Still feel we are just doing due diligence developing him, but who knows. Maybe he can break from his minor league tendencies if he starts spinning that curveball better.

#74085	05/30/2020 3:11:30 pm	Sep 15th, 2045
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Belanger has me as baffled as batters right now. He was absolutely awful in the first half. He's probably the best pitcher in all of BB over his last seven starts. 7 quality starts, 6-1, 7 earned runs over 50 innings, 26 hits. Crazy. And don't look now. Smyrna is making a play for the division. Updated Saturday, May 30 2020 @ 3:18:36 pm PDT

#74090	05/31/2020 3:29:31 am	Sep 18th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Belanger was awesome last time the Dinos saw him. We hid Vaughn from Margate in our most recent series. With 2 starters out injured can't do that this time. Could be a lot of souvenirs tonight. Vasquez has somehow managed to bring his ERA below 5 and get his record into the black. Encouraging. Too late for Smyrna I'd guess. Lot of easy wins on the calendar right now (including the Dinos in there). Hard to see Green Bay doing worse than .500 the rest of the way. That would mean Smyrna would need like 20-9. And that's with the Beavers worst case. From II.1's perspective that's a bit unfortunate. Given the ages of their key players I suspect Smyrna will be the stronger team next season.

#74091	05/31/2020 5:52:45 am	Sep 18th, 2045
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Yeah, in a blink of an eye, Smyrna's chances diminished drastically. With 31 games left, they were only 5 back. They have three remaining with the leader. Give them two of those and they're only 4 back with 28 unplayed. That's more than plausible. With the last three decisions all being against them, they need much more help.

#74098	05/31/2020 2:21:06 pm	Sep 18th, 2045
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Silva got a rare start because Applegate and Belanger are the only two guys who have been anything lately. All he did was throw the best performance of the year by a Magician, 6 scoreless innings with only a single allowed, no walks, 7 strikeouts. Then the bullpen went into full collapse mode, which is uncommon for my boys. 9 runs in three innings. Ouch. Sorry, Silva.

#74102	06/01/2020 8:57:10 am	Sep 22nd, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I bookmarked that game, but not because of the bullpen catastrophe. Dinos had not 1 but 2 defensive replacements in the game. More unique, it was the same position both times. It's been a bewildering season trying to make sense of that aspect of the game. We've had games where we were up by the same margin but my manager left Tak in to play 1B. This game both Tak and Tuero got the hook.

#74105	06/01/2020 11:51:26 am	Sep 22nd, 2045
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	That's two more defensive replacements than I've ever had. Lefty 13-16-12 Sutton at short was never pulled for righty 17-15-19 SS. I've had many examples like that and never a replacement. That's why I no longer look for defensive players; they never get in the game. Replacements and settings need a complete overhaul, not that I think that will happen in the near future.

#74117	06/02/2020 6:10:30 am	Sep 26th, 2045
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	We've gone 8-2 over our last 10 game but fallen to 7.5 games back from Rohnert Park as they went 9-1. Team is much improved this year, but our odds of winning the division are pretty slim at this point. Adding to the difficulty is our Run Differential means we need to win outright, a tie for 1st wouldn't do us any good, so we are basically 8.5 GB. If we're going to make a move now is the time, we have a 4 game home series with both Santa Monica and Rohnert Park. Rohnert Park faces Solana Beach at home before visiting us. Ideally we win at least 3 out of 4 vs Rohnert Park and pick up at least a game in the series before that. If we lose ground it may be time to load the lineup up with some of the other developing guys. Last year we ended 10GB with 76 wins. This year we are at 77 wins with 25 games to go.

#74147	06/04/2020 10:33:14 am	Oct 4th, 2045
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Well that went well! 3 out of 4 vs Santa Monica and a sweep vs Rohnert Park at home. My favorite as I was watching the play by play was game 3 where it was tied at 4 going into the 9th: Top 9th: Rohnert Park Ramirez takes the mound to pitch. Slaughter hits a home run to left field. Lindsay grounds to first base. Lindsay is thrown out at first by Long. Barraza hits a home run to left field. Ramires comes in to pitch. Sanna flies out to right field. Quinones flies out to center field. Rohnert Park 6, Mount Prospect 4 Bottom 9th: Mount Prospect Rich comes in to pitch. Gauthier hits a home run to left field. Baker hits a double to center field. Kane hits a home run to center field. Baker comes in to score. Rohnert Park 6, Mount Prospect 7 Last post didn't jinx us so let's try again! Now what do we need to do? checks schedule Great! 4 Home games left and 13 road games! First up is @Berwyn for 4 games. If it matters the last series is @ Rohnert Park.

#74158	06/04/2020 3:59:16 pm	Oct 6th, 2045
shikago Joined: 11/29/2011 Posts: 229 Inactive	Ugh. A pitcher with 5 control went 6 1/3 innings against us and only walked 2 batters. Then a rookie with 5 power hit a walk-off 10th inning home run to beat us. Now I remember why I'd stopped checking in on games & went on autopilot. So close to getting Brent Cohen back to the Legends League. But if I end up spending 150+ games in 1st place only to lose the division I'm maybe done. This might turn out less fun than a few seasons ago when I had a 10 game lead with 10 games to play + a sizeable run differential advantage. Only to lose the next 9 in a row (despite trying my best!) + get blown out enough to fall behind in run differential. It's like the mere act of observing my team causes the exact opposite of whatever I want to happen to happen. So when i started legitimately rooting for the other team in game #160 in what was the most epic collapse in BB history maybe, of course that was the game I ended up winning. Updated Thursday, June 4 2020 @ 4:05:01 pm PDT

#74160	06/04/2020 4:20:34 pm	Oct 6th, 2045
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Maybe you should fix your lineup and rotation? There have been unassigned spots for quite a while. Your last four games are with Smyrna, so that could be interesting if you can't successfully social distance yourself from them. Oh, and that walk-off homer was Mendoza's first career round-tripper. You should be ashamed of yourself for not being thrilled for him. Updated Thursday, June 4 2020 @ 4:25:10 pm PDT

#74161	06/04/2020 4:33:12 pm	Oct 7th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Magic number for Green Bay is effectively 7. If they go 3-10 in the last 4 series Smryna would need 10-3. And Trammell is out for the rest of the season. Trammell looked assured of breaking 300 IP again. That hasn't been done in the majors since Steve Carlton in 1980. BrokenBat pitchers are made of much sterner stuff than the softies that pitch in the bigs these days.

#74166	06/05/2020 4:17:27 am	Oct 8th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Man. 4 of our last 7 games Dinos had a blown save in the 9th inning. Bullpen would be better served with a 140 game season. Meh training update. Tate did the best. Dinos platoon heavily, but he's penciled in full time RF next season. Disappointing career for Clements? Never really hit his stride. Looks like he could have done more.

#74167	06/05/2020 4:42:14 am	Oct 8th, 2045
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Disappointing career for Clements? Never really hit his stride. Looks like he could have done more. Most definitely. A "great" 18 switch-hitter with a lifetime .237 batting average paired with "prolific" 18 power and a .385 sluggo. Ouch. It was nice having a somewhat competent guy to cover any non-catcher position as needed, but I obviously expected much more out of him. He was just good enough to keep around for a full decade for part-time duty, plugging in holes. It's time for Tommy Brandt to fill the same role. Hopefully he'll prove to be more "great" than Clements. Updated Friday, June 5 2020 @ 5:10:10 am PDT

#74172	06/05/2020 6:17:23 am	Oct 8th, 2045
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Hey now, i won't stand for any talking bad about the Clements name around here!

#74175	06/05/2020 9:08:59 am	Oct 8th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. It will be interesting to see how Brandt does. On first blush it looks like an above hit tool (for level) has carried him w/o much speed or power to provide some punch. But his gb:fb has shown steady improvement as he's worked through the minors. Gives hope he will leverage his power better as a big leaguer. McCarty showed the same in his minor league stats.

#74188	06/05/2020 9:53:47 pm	Oct 12th, 2045
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I won't lie. One of my favorite three days of the season is Safe From Relegation Day. Thankfully it came again this year. Every season in the 40s has had me worried the day might not come. Good luck to those still battling in the West.

#74190	06/06/2020 4:23:09 am	Oct 12th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	It was a different series. Was glad you pointed out Brandt as he might have been the only name in your lineup I recognized. I'm considering posting this in general but thought I'd ask you guys first. In the 1st game linked replace-for-defence triggered twice. In the 2nd game it didn't fire. game 1 game 2 In game 1 it replaced Tuero with Riley when up 3 in the 9th. (It also replaced Tak with Stafford up 4 in the 8th). In game 2 Tuero once again PH for the 1B. The margin was smaller (up 1). Riley (and Schmid) was once again available on the bench. But RfD didn't fire. Difference? Home vs. away? RD? None of the other management settings have "fuzzy logic". I'm inclined to think RfD isn't mysterious - its bugged. I have other games from this season I didn't bookmark that might help (I have a unique opportunity in that my #1 and #2 PH - Tak and Tuero - have absolutely no defensive value). When I get a chance I'll go through and add some more games to my sample.

#74200	06/06/2020 12:52:40 pm	Oct 12th, 2045
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	My guess is the RD triggered/killed it. I bet the "logic" says to bring in the better defender with the larger RD because they surely won't blow the lead and need the offense. In the closer game, no defensive replacement is brought in because they're worried offense might be needed if they blow the lead. Trying to guess the logic of all these decisions is maddening. It would be infinitely better if we could take over and manage with our settings. A good start would be using settings very much like pitching replacements with earliest inning and RD. It works beautifully. The "problem" is that they would need their own page, instead of smashing them all together like they are right now on one page.

#74202	06/06/2020 1:48:33 pm	Oct 12th, 2045
shikago Joined: 11/29/2011 Posts: 229 Inactive	Please don't beat me today Dinosaurs! But you & the Magicians each winning a game vs. Smyrna would help me a lot. Should I manage to hang on to the division I'll have Joey "Sweet Lou" Ivey throw Sergio Mendoza a belated HR celebration party. All I really want out of any season is to not have a sizable lead very late in the season only to blow it at the very end. Literally any other outcome is ok. Relegation? Fine! Having a team like Smyrna zoom past me & win the division by 10 games? Great! But to have a 7 game lead with 10 to play plus more than tripling their run differential... if this ends up going down to game #160 again it's probably time for me to quit.

#74211	06/07/2020 4:49:10 am	Oct 16th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Grats to Green Bay! It will be interesting to see how the Beavers do next year. Their roster is the oldest in II.1. Older than any in Legends East. A full 3 years older than the team coming out of II.2 East. Could be a rough training update 0. Part of the reason Waterloo hasn't been pushing for a finish the past few seasons is my perception that managers are busted. Find the game more enjoyable when I'm not blaming all my losses on the fat old guy sitting in the other team's dugout. But with New York having an off season there's a 50-50 chance the superest manager of them all is coming to II.1. Just can't hide.

#74219	06/07/2020 3:27:03 pm	Oct 18th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	One of the little story lines for the Dinos this season is Roy. He has been more workhorse than star. But he came into the season 7th all time in wins for a Dino pitcher. The top 5 are all "my guys". 6 is Grant who was a bot guy. An average Roy season of 11-12 wins would have put him in good shape to pass Grant. But Roy hasn't been great. And the bullpen has completely unraveled in the final 50. This is what happens when Roy manages to pitch decent. Dumpster Fire and his 15 control bean one, walk a pair. Kato, who pitches well enough but cares nothing about inherited runners, serves up the tater. I'm not sure I'll keep Roy into the new season given how far he is from catching Grant. Shame my token Canuck couldn't quite reach the bar.

#74224	06/07/2020 5:22:50 pm	Oct 20th, 2045
6th Man Joined: 05/12/2016 Posts: 47 Inactive	Looks like with that win we have pretty much clinched the 1 seed. GGs to all, especially Mt. Prospect. It was a close season almost wire to wire!

#74225	06/07/2020 5:44:36 pm	Oct 20th, 2045
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Congratulations on the II.1 West Division win! Would have liked to have made the last series matter but couldn't get it done. Good luck in the playoffs and good luck in Legends!!!

#74239	06/08/2020 7:33:43 am	Oct 20th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. When you drop 2 of 3 to the 6th place 50 win team in your 2nd last series ... it just wasn't meant to be. Grats to both winners. Rohnert took the season series 6-4. Key player for the series may he Ureno. Rohnert was noticeably less productive vs. LHP. Ureno had 2 excellent starts against them earlier in the season.

#74257	06/08/2020 7:19:34 pm	Oct 24th, 2045
Yankee1219 Joined: 12/03/2016 Posts: 113 West Allis Devil Dogs IV.2	I am stunned almost beyond belief. Somehow the Devil Dogs overcame a 6-22 start, jumping to13-30 after the first quarter+ of the season, to find a way to not only narrowly avoid relegation but to actually finish over .500 (81-79). When I posted back after the first forty, I didn't think there was a chance in Devil Dog hell to stay in II.1 but it looks like I'm gonna get another crack at this next season. Hopefully I can get off to a little better start next year and make a run at competing for the title. Congrats to the division winners and good luck in Legends.

#74275	06/09/2020 6:14:23 am	Oct 24th, 2045
shikago Joined: 11/29/2011 Posts: 229 Inactive	@Yankee1219 - That really was an impressive comeback. I thought you were buried for sure. Unrelated, I wanted to give a shout-out to Lefty Cohen for striking out a beast like Jesús "Salva" Lauzerique with 18 hitting and 20 power. http://brokenbat.org/player/182970 "Salva" has 12 discipline & bat control too, so it's not like Cohen struck out some otherwise undisciplined lout. Actually I should post this in a non-league forum now that I think about it!

#74276	06/09/2020 6:20:41 am	Oct 24th, 2045
shikago Joined: 11/29/2011 Posts: 229 Inactive	Like every playoff series, as long as I don't get swept I'll be happy. It's probably inconsequential but kind of hilarious how my pitcher Omi got just got injured through November 4. The same date as a hypothetical championship game 7. So he'd literally refuse to play in game 7 only to be at 100% health a mere few hours later! (That sort of weird injury timing seems to happen a lot in Hardwood too. It's a lot more noticeable there with the big gaps in between games) @Seca The season that got erased really set me back like 5 years & aged out a lot of my players. I was still alive in the cup quarterfinals & fighting for 1st place. Double digits free of relegation. Instead I demoted & took forever to even get back to where I was. All I really wanted to do was get Brent Cohen back to the Legends League anyway. So I'll be fine even if I'm 1 & done. I managed to beat out Miggz or whatever his name was for 1st place in the Legends East ages ago so winning a division in D1 isn't a big goal anymore.

#74300	06/09/2020 4:39:46 pm	Oct 28th, 2045
shikago Joined: 11/29/2011 Posts: 229 Inactive	Well early congrats to Rohnert Park! Seems like this series is a lock now. With my #1 starter getting injured the injury to Omi actually matters now too, as he would've been the replacement starter. ETA - That's twice in a row BrokenBat was out to get my #1 starter. I replaced him with Omi in the final regular season series having a strong feeling whoever started that game would get injured. Thought that dodged a bullet, but BB comes right back and injures Quiles in his very next appearance anyway >< Updated Tuesday, June 9 2020 @ 4:44:57 pm PDT

#74301	06/09/2020 4:54:22 pm	Oct 28th, 2045
6th Man Joined: 05/12/2016 Posts: 47 Inactive	I'll happily take the first two games, but from experience you are never out in broken. I was down 3-0 in the championship series a few seasons ago and won 4 in a row to reverse sweep. Good luck here on out, and fingers crossed that doesn't happen again!

#74309	06/09/2020 10:29:16 pm	Oct 28th, 2045
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm quite certain no such thing ever happened. Nope, not possible. You must have dreamed it. If something that crazy did ever happen, I would hate to be on the losing side of such a fiasco.

#74327	06/11/2020 5:46:52 am	Nov 1st, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe Ya, I haven’t looked up records but I’m sure the Dinos have coughed up series when we were up 2-0. Were up 3-1 in our last playoff series before crumbling. Fun to think about lost 2035. Dinos drafted a 15 pot 1st rounder named Guy Biggs. Immediately shifted Flynn to 2B (Biggs had a 19 arm). Think the Dinos would be in the middle of a decade of having one of the best middle infields in the game had the season not been lost.

#74366	06/12/2020 6:12:28 am	Nov 4th, 2045
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Pleased with the awards. Felt Horn was deserving of rookie pitcher, but was worried he'd be another casualty of our league leading blown saves. Pleasantly surprised Flynn got his 6th straight gold glove at SS. Looked at the contenders with ~20 games to go, and didn't think he had a chance. Trammell was forgone for Cy. Was surprised Lauzerique got the nod over Espinoza for MVP. I can't recall seeing an MVP before that didn't have enough ABs to qualify for the batting title. Argument to be made that both the 2nd and 3rd place finishers for rookie had better seasons than Aleimda. I like that Aleimda got it tho. Rather the full season guy over a September callup small sample dynamo.

#74394	06/12/2020 11:19:17 pm	Jan 15th, 2046
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I agree about the ROY, at least with this example. How Orta is number two, though, with just 75 at bats is beyond me. Yeah, he hit .333, but it's 75 AB. My guy, Anglin, probably should have been ROY if he had gotten another 40+ at bats, assuming he kept up the same ratios. He crushed 9 homers in 174 AB; another 40 at bats and he would have topped the ROY's full season total. Anglin absolutely should be over Orta. Unfortunately Orta will be better than Anglin over their careers. Regarding the MVP, I'd vote for Espinoza despite the unqualified ABs. Wow what a season. His jump from last year is astounding considering his skills barely improved. It will be interesting to see what he does this time around. My guess is he'll be much more like the previous years, but who knows.

#74395	06/12/2020 11:28:01 pm	Jan 15th, 2046
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I just saw the aging update. It was brutal for a few key Magicians. 34 year old Irizarry dropped 6; that probably gets him the boot. 33 year old Paxton got hit even harder with a massive 7 drop; he had an amazing 888 OPS last season, so I'm not sure what to do with him. Sullivan and Villanueva dropped 3 in hitting categories. I haven't really weighed in on the league and where I think I stand. If it's a re-building year, which is definitely a possibility, they all might hit the road. If not, they might all stay, except for Irizarry who will most likely be gone no matter what.

#74399	06/13/2020 2:43:27 am	Jan 15th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I really liked Irizarry. Awesome defender, good LHB. Just 2 (pertinent) red arrows for the Dinos. Roy may be feeling his age more than he is letting on tho. Couldn't help but look at Green Bays training page. The horror ... Welcome to new arrivals.

#74403	06/13/2020 6:53:12 am	Jan 15th, 2046
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Well I'd say its good to be back, but it'd be a lie. Down with Freddy's darned A's - though he looks to be letting them hang in the wind to concentrate on his new team - to meet up with old sparring partners Waterloo and Margate and Boulder. We played Scranton my last season here though we finished at opposite ends of the table, wouldn't bet against that happening again but with the positions reversed. We were 'not good' last season. Ageing hit us pretty much as expected but all those guys are still better than anything else on the roster. Still can't decide on the rebuild I should probably have started this past year or on giving the old dudes one last hurrah - they still look good enough, and although some of them didn't show it we know Legends is a different beast. Here's to butting heads again!

#74407	06/13/2020 9:16:23 am	Jan 15th, 2046
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Welcome to all the new teams in II.1, it looks like it will be an extremely competitive 2046 season! Glad to see Vance got some MVP votes. Quite the turnaround after getting benched last year with some miserable numbers - 185/303/235/538 last year vs 313/423/450/874 this year. Last year he had only 9 extra base hits in 302 AB vs 43 in 482 AB this year. Despite that he actually increased his GB rate this year so I would say both seasons were on the fluky side. I agree on Orta, didn't expect or think he deserved any votes with such limited AB numbers. Owen got a few votes for Cy Young and Zapata and Walton were All-League. Excited about Walton, he had a huge improvement this year and he's only 24 with a little room for improvement left. Zapata had an amazing season with 54 saves, 5 blown saves, and a 1-2 record. He finished with a 1.55 ERA, .178 BAA, and a 1.005 WHIP. Nothing too surprising on the aging update. Did lose some velocity on several key pitchers. I guess the good surprise is Azumi only lost 1 pt and it was on power. Despite that it will really depend on his salary if we can keep him for 2046. Had 3 potential drops and 1 gain. Moser will probably get the boot now, but we'll hold on to Zuniga and Rizzo for now. Torrez gets the bump. He'll be another of our low control guys with 3+ ratings on velocity, movement, and control so we will see how he shakes out in the next year or two. Overall we saw a big improvement on offense last year and we have 11 players between the age of 24-26 who will be in the majors next year. That will leave us with only 2 minor league fielders! I'm not too excited about the pitching side of things. We've got an aging staff as almost all of our key pitchers are 28 and older. I don't have any prospects I'm that excited about on this side of things either.

#74423	06/13/2020 1:44:53 pm	Jan 15th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Thanks for the welcomes, going to have to hone up my scouting skills, few teams that I've either not faced before or not for a long time! Stoked to be back either way!

#74452	06/14/2020 5:21:05 am	Jan 15th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Think Cheyenne is a new one for the Dinos. Recognize them better as Terre Haute. As Amalric7 suggested the East is quite familiar. Think Waterloo has played 3+ seasons against each opponent. Going to be a more interesting season for Waterloo. Last season was more about figuring out what we've got than finding new pieces. Have more claims out at present than all of last season combined (JD the only win). Our payroll is a fairly svelte 36 mill, and since McCarty retired our bank account is up about the same amount. Can afford to replace some of the prospects that haven't panned out.

#74477	06/15/2020 5:49:23 am	Jan 15th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	It's comforting having Boulder in the league. There is a circle of teams in BrokenBat traumatized by 2B; that fight over any free agent scraps that look like they might be able to play the keystone. Waterloo is one of those teams. In the years I've had McCarty and Flynn at SS I've had 17 players (not counting fill-ins like Radford and Rivera) try their hand at 2B. We are so scarred we expect James to fail, and have Holmes waiting in the wings. Boulder is another of these teams. I would find Moran a compelling prospect if he were 23-24. At 26 ... Less so.

#74481	06/15/2020 6:36:14 am	Jan 15th, 2046
tamale Joined: 02/19/2018 Posts: 357 Concord Jets Legends	Proud member of the “traumatised by 2B” club . Been there, done that with Moran too... Correa would be my long-term answer, but he’s needed at SS. So this oddball is probably next in line for a regular role.

#74490	06/15/2020 8:26:36 am	Jan 15th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Shame he started with no knowledge of 2B. Long road to viability. Rodrigues would be intriguing at SS (freeing Correa for 2B) except for the same issue. A 12 fld 1.0 positon knowledge SS is a recipe for baldness. Far and away the best 2B in Dino franchise history was Baez. Sorta the reverse Correa - a natural SS forced into the 2B abyss. I still feel Baez's back to back gold gloves - the 1st at SS, the 2hd at 2B (both in Legends) is a unique accomplishment.

#74512	06/15/2020 1:28:21 pm	Jan 15th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Thankfully I seem to have finally found a 2B answer in Boyd, however my utility guy Ashley didn't age too well - Moran is seen as his replacement in the utility role rather than a full time gig though I'll happily ride any hot streaks he's prepared to provide!

#74529	06/15/2020 5:16:32 pm	Jan 15th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	A very quick cursory scouting leads me to believe that West Allis will narrowly take the west over Berwyn, while Smyrna should have the east and the overall division title in the bag! Looks to be a lot of variance in playing styles over in the East!

#74530	06/15/2020 5:20:12 pm	Jan 15th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	On a side note I just had a quick look at ball parks to assist in working out what I should set my capacity to, Mike you weren't much help!

#74535	06/15/2020 6:00:14 pm	Jan 15th, 2046
Yankee1219 Joined: 12/03/2016 Posts: 113 West Allis Devil Dogs IV.2	Hey JJNZ, I'm glad to get to play in the same league with you again. A couple of years ago down in III.1, you predicted the Devil Dogs were going to win the division, and your prognostication came true. I can only hope that your crystal ball stays clear. My team is aging and most of my guys have been Dogs since the beginning, so I'm hoping they can get a taste of what Legends is like before I have to go into rebuild mode. Looking forward to another great season. Good luck all!!!

#74548	06/16/2020 3:04:03 am	Jan 15th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Interesting collection of signings to work through. Had to double check that they are all listed on the league page. (They are). Isales looks like an impact addition. Career .300 BA 900 OPS guy with a 30/30 season on his resume. Still looks like he's got game at age 34. Not immediately obvious how he fits in - Mount Pleasant got good production from DH and from Baker at 3B last season. A nice piece to fit into the puzzle for a 2nd place finisher in 2045. Dinos signing at the other end of the impact scale. Gardner one of those guys that could have been had uncontested last season. Think there is a decent chance his pot revises up. Like that his PD has been moving. Think his pot increases the risk his range drops, so viewing him more as a 1B than a 2B. Saratoga picking up a former Lancer in Gonzalez adds a little intrigue.

#74549	06/16/2020 3:19:37 am	Jan 15th, 2046
tamale Joined: 02/19/2018 Posts: 357 Concord Jets Legends	I've been trying to make Rodrigues to SS happen for a while, but that seems to be a futile exercise... my acquisition of Maples complicates matters further, but it's nice to have those options. Not surprised to see Saratoga pick up Gonzalez, they seem to always target the same type of position players as I do. I wanted to make Calderón my CF last season as a FA, but Saratoga claimed him from under my nose at the last minute. Gonzalez was atrocious for me though, when his track record suggested he should have at least been serviceable against RHP.

#74571	06/16/2020 1:10:15 pm	Jan 15th, 2046
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Yeah, Gonzalez was a valuable player off the bench for us for quite a while, but when we needed him to be a full-time player he wasn't up to it. Useful reserve is his ceiling. It was near-namesake Gonzales I was trying to get back. Had a real roster crunch when he was let go but he's my sort of player, been trying to get him back since he was cut! Couple of pickup today. Wonder if Novichok can turn into a useful bat. Colson has no pure hitting report and just dropped a point of POT, but given he's a DH-only he's got a lot of points to go into those batting skills. If he drops more POT he's a cut, but worth a look for now and I have some room.

#74593	06/17/2020 12:20:46 am	Jan 22nd, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	A few solid pick-ups today, Milner to Margate looking like the best of them, my scouts missed him!

#74594	06/17/2020 3:07:04 am	Jan 22nd, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I missed Milner as well. Think I had hit threshold set to 10 when I sifted through his age group. I like him. Parallels with Gardner that the Dinos got yesterday. Milner's potential has risen to fit his written scouting. I like all of Norwood, Wall, Milner and Kennedy. Think they each have something going for them that could allow them to make an impact.

#74626	06/17/2020 1:27:37 pm	Jan 29th, 2046
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I'm pleased about Milner even if I only see him as an average 1B/OF. The guy I'm surprised about is Borges. I'm guessing he went unclaimed by anyone else because he's a 12 with sub-100 skills. Still, he has two full seasons easily under 4.00 even if they were in VI. He walks a ton of guys, but doesn't give up hits (.213 BAA). While he only has 10 stamina, I expect to give him a look in the starting rotation, albeit with a low pitch count. Combine that with his wildness and he'll be lucky to ever make it through five innings. Updated Wednesday, June 17 2020 @ 1:28:26 pm PDT

#74644	06/18/2020 4:21:02 am	Feb 5th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I’d be nervous about him for the points you mentioned. BBs and hits likely to go up against better competition, and the HR rate isn’t stellar. Player skills are as good or better than anyone in the Dino pen, and those guys are getting by. Wouldn’t read much into Waterloo’s 2nd Gardner. Doubt he lasts long. Red arrow on his pot is a killer; looks like the 11 suits him.

#74707	06/19/2020 2:03:00 pm	Feb 19th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Grats to New York on Jerome. Dinos had an offer in, but withdrew it before the deadline. Held his age against him. For Waterloo Salgado is the same narrative as Gardner (the 1st one). Like the scouting report, think his skills are good for placement, minor league stats show promise. Just need a little pot bump and we're in business.

#74734	06/20/2020 10:22:52 am	Mar 2nd, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Grats to Cheyenne for adding Muis. Dinos really liked him, and were close to putting in an offer. Seemed like a bad proposition. He would have been part time taking over for Riley. Not a ton of playing time to develop a guy his age. Tried hard to find something to replace Riley, but resigned to him mangling another 200 ABs this season. Armenta isn't too far off in AA.

#74751	06/20/2020 3:50:49 pm	Mar 3rd, 2046
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Grats to New York on Jerome. Dinos had an offer in, but withdrew it before the deadline. Held his age against him. Age, lack of AAA experience and questions on playing time are all against him. But a 15pot with reasonable skills and a 20 Arm, I might have to find time for him. One of five claims we've had so far, feels a bit like we're throwing it all in the cauldron and will see what brews up (poisoned apples? LOL). But we had space and a number of guys who under-performed last season, particularly at catcher...I really have no idea on our direction at this moment in time. Bringing in five guys aged between 19 and 33 will show that!

#74795	06/21/2020 12:52:18 pm	Mar 4th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Bringing in five guys aged between 19 and 33 will show that! Heh. New York is sort of in a weird position. Didn't have an awful season last year - underperformed in a few areas. Can appreciate the different pulls. Absolutely love the Martinez signing tho. Dinos have had him bookmarked throughout the off season. So close to putting a claim on him. Hovered over him every morning when I checked through my bookmarks. Its age again that held me back. Hate starting development on a 26 year old that might start bleeding SI at 30-31. But I find it easy to picture Martinez as a 25 HR .300 BA 850 OPS middle of the order bat in a couple seasons. Very savvy signing in my books.

#74796	06/21/2020 12:57:23 pm	Mar 4th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	bleeding SI at 30-31 Speaking of which, one of the big questions the Dinos faced last season was whether to split time at 2B between Kenyon and James, or bite the bullet and hand the job to the kid. I did not anticipate Kenyon getting trashed by training update 0. Feel like we made the right decision. There were some other players in II.1 who should have gotten off the tracks before the Update Zero train came barreling through. I think the most disappointing one (for me) was Villaneuva. Long felt he was an exceptional talent. Saddened to see him going the route Schuler went.

#74844	06/22/2020 3:35:49 pm	Mar 7th, 2046
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Heh. New York is sort of in a weird position. Didn't have an awful season last year - underperformed in a few areas. Can appreciate the different pulls. Absolutely love the Martinez signing tho. You hit the nail on the head - not a bad season really, just not good enough. I'll have to do a roster review for the upcoming season. And yes, finding a guy like Martinez was a pleasant surprise. A flyball hitter with some pop and good hitting skills from top to bottom, I'll take those every day, and I always seem to have room for a DH-type. He'll be up for the start of the season.

#74846	06/22/2020 4:11:39 pm	Mar 7th, 2046
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Straight into that review:- C: When Thomas hits .246 or .250 he plays, but last season he stunk it up all year. He is my best defensive catcher as it stands. His poor form gave Quintana an extended run and he's turned out like I hoped, but the production just isn't there. Still only 26 so staying. As a 14POT Hernandez was brought in for competition here and at 3B, but he and new arrival 15POT Jerome are essentially the same player, so Hernandez is in trouble. 1B: Soto should still rake even at 35. Morris was a 1-claimer with speed and some minors pop but has done nothing so far. Lucero is a similar hitter without the speed but higher POT. Martinez will be a DH-only. 33-yo Stephens was brought in to back up Soto if both young guys tank. 2B: It kinda shocked me to notice Greer is actually 31! Seems like he should still be 26. Which means I should really find a longterm replacement, there's nobody on the farm to man 2B right now although I guess Henry would do in a pinch. 3B: Hoyle looks the part especially for a guy was a FA pickup, but he was another guy who was part of the problem last season, just cratered. Technically Hernandez and Jerome are candidates here but only technically, as I've earmarked Nieves for this position (maybe I should have tried him at 2B). SS: Gann still cut it last season, as reliable as ever, but he's 35 now and Barron needs to play full-time so that's what is going to happen. Again, Barron was terrible last season and after the early going rarely played, but we need to maximise him now. OF: Eh. LF Huerta has cratered the last two seasons but I still believe. RF Sanchez has always mashed RHP but really fell off down the stretch last year and is now 34. Siegl is inconsistent. Murakami posted career numbers which didn't amount to much. Donahue is gone. Schroder is still here on his POT but I'm not sure it'll work, his speed is essentially wasted. Griffin could be decent but will need playing time. Wall and Novichok were brought in for depth and competition. Its a bit of a mess right now. P: Longtime 1-2 stalwarts Rock and Mejia both slipped a little last year, but were still plenty good enough. Our real problem was #3 starter Venturi's complete (and inexplicable) implosion. Quiroz and offseason acquisition Montes stepped up and took some of the strain, and gopherballer Ogden had helped us too with some QS. Sometime starter Harris didn't make it to halfway last season but starting pitching wasn't really our issue, and our setup men (Izquierdo, Thomson) and closer Donnelly were solid - it was poor hitting and poor middle relievers which killed us. Augustine is another guy who looks the part but stank up the joint last year, and Foster for all his velocity and control can't keep the ball in the park. Scroggins and Takaki are promising youngsters who can keep the ball in the park, although it still tends to get hit to most corners. But its the time of the season for hope, when everyone believes they have a chance. As long as this season isn't dispiriting as last, that'll be an improvement. All plans may of course be blown up at any time.

#74866	06/23/2020 3:45:33 am	Mar 8th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Appreciate the write up. Games are much more interesting when the have some context. I don't think I'm the only person that experiences this. But when divisions change the players on rival teams stop aging. When Margate joined us a couple of seasons ago it was a shock to see Fernandez and Sullivan in their 30s. Still pictured them as kids. Much the same with New York. Picture Soto and Huerta in their prime, not last hurrah. when everyone believes they have a chance II.1 East has sort of had a sleeping giant for a spell now. I suspect I'm not the only one that sees Smryna as a prohibitive favourite season after season. Dinos will have more optimism when Trammell and Espinosa take their game up the ladder.

#74874	06/23/2020 9:27:03 am	Mar 8th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I've managed to fat finger 2 FA signings this offseason. :p Its not actually my fingers that are the problem. Eyesight is fading. Bourne is a little bit interesting? But being 24 and starting your 6th season of A is a flag worse than red. (Fuschia maybe?)

#74990	06/26/2020 1:09:44 pm	Mar 14th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Spring is always excruciating. No different this season. Only 2 batters in my lineup doing better than the .220s. One of those is Schmid who had a nice training update to go along with his good spring. Schmid is one of the reasons we quietly parted ways with Tuero at the end of last season. Quietly because former players often wreck havoc if they don't leave the league, and Tuero's toolset was more than capable. Plan is for his ABs to get split up between Schmid, Tak, and Stafford. We are going to going to miss the big 11 pot bopper. Think it gives some street cred when you've got 11 pots contributing.

#75019	06/27/2020 5:37:04 am	Mar 16th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Pan checks one of the boxes we had this offseason - an alternate RHB 3B to motivate Riley. Pan has very nice amateur numbers but 1 HR in 185 ABs is not stellar. Distinct possibility this would be replacing Riley with another Riley.

#75035	06/28/2020 12:11:01 am	Mar 18th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Pan's lack of minor league stats make him a little iffy to judge - looks like he needs a full time 3B gig to really move forward. Typically Smyrna and West Allis get the two big claims I wanted today!

#75036	06/28/2020 5:43:20 am	Mar 18th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	More data is always good, but he did have 2000 amateur ABs. I'm not sure what else a season in AAA would tell you. He's clearly not a great prospect. Probably just his hit and BC still moving. No way he caps. Velez another Riley back up. Also not stellar. 12 hit at age 26 not great. Have been torn over bringing someone in prospect age or a veteran. Don't want to block Armenta who we consider our best position player in the minors. But he can C if one of these guys catch on. And Riley might wake up. Tamale has me worried about Armenta after linking Trotta in the draft thread. Dinos have had our own Trottas. Going to be dire if Armenta stalls at 14 hit.

#75041	06/28/2020 11:46:21 am	Mar 18th, 2046
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	I believe we've discussed this before but I don't much care about spring stats, beyond the number of AB or IP I can get for my players - I do love one of those 18+ inning spring games, but as fate would have it the Lancers haven't had one game go to extras this spring! Pan is a bit of a reach for me, lack of PD is always a concern - particularly when I've had to develop a few guys without it in recent times. Its also why I'm perhaps more willing to take a rumble on guys like Martinez and Negro (particularly). We've made a few acquisitions this offseason which have made me very pleased, and hopefully they 'Pan' out. But yeah, I'm not sold on Pan Pan-ing out, I fear his career may be heading down the...Pan. (Okay I'm done!)

#75047	06/28/2020 3:52:16 pm	Mar 19th, 2046
tamale Joined: 02/19/2018 Posts: 357 Concord Jets Legends	Although they are both "very good" hitters, I think the main problem with Trotta was that with 12 fielding and 19 speed, there simply wasn't any room left for SI in his bat. I saw that potential issue early, but kept him around because of the power/speed combo he showed in the minors hoping that some of the points that ended up in fielding would go to the bat. A shame he didn't pan out. With only 9 speed and 10 range, Armenta should be able to avoid the same problem Can see some Trotta parallels with Feliciano, making me worry his bat might end up light, especially since he doesn't bother to use his speed. But he performed well in spring and I think he'll end up having a few more SI available for the bat than Trotta did. Either way, given how bare my OF cupboard is (also just had to fire my worst draft bust in history - he was POT15 when drafted), he's a welcome addition to the farm.

#75059	06/29/2020 1:23:42 am	Mar 20th, 2046
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Wait, what? Why have I kept this guy for more than a real world year? I'd like to think there's a reason, but I don't think there is. I'm pretty sure that's proof I don't give this game the attention I used to. He earned his release long ago and will finally receive it. Bye, Dane!

#75061	06/29/2020 4:49:44 am	Mar 20th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Was Pruitt higher pot at one point? Seems criminal to have 20 speed and decent PD but not be able to steal bases. Appreciare your insight Tamale. My Trottas are guys like Brescianni and Eaton. They didn't lack for secondary skills. They just didn't have enough contact skill to cut it in the upper leagues. No call ups for the Dinos, at least not to start the season. Aside from Tuero Dinos don't have any changes on either side of the ball from last season.

#75084	06/29/2020 9:16:07 pm	Mar 25th, 2046
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I made my entire Cup lineup from developing players. They did so poorly I'm tempted to just play them all year and lot my team rot. Admittedly that's also a consideration because I'm fairly bored with the game anymore. I should have decided before I set my ballpark to real numbers, though. Something to consider overnight. Update: I suppose I should play for real for a couple weeks. Expect all 30+ year olds to be released before July 10th because I don't see this team doing anything. Updated Monday, June 29 2020 @ 11:25:30 pm PDT

#75097	06/30/2020 5:27:28 am	Mar 25th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I had Margate dropping last season; thought it was adept managing (duct tape and willpower) they finished so high. Dinos sat our developed position players in the first cup series, but used our pitching staff (mostly) straight up. Got obliterated. BBs, WPs, HRs. Was ugly. These are the weaknesses we are hoping to hide in league. At times last season I thought this season might be the one where the rebuilt Dinos were competitive. Suspect now it will be another year. James is likely good for another 25-30 errors at 2B. Maybe more regression than progression with the pitching.

#75118	06/30/2020 6:43:30 pm	Mar 30th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	4 closish games to start, landed on the right side of 3 of them. Glad to have the season underway!

#75127	07/01/2020 12:12:51 am	Mar 30th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Congrats to Waterloo on Holland, could be a big claim for some seasons to come if he pans out, worst case he'll be a solid innings eater.

#75129	07/01/2020 5:30:45 am	Mar 30th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Thanks! Exciting to win a more contested player. His minor league numbers could be a little shinier, but everything else suggests he could be a long term asset. Haven’t decided yet whether to bring him up and give him 2 games this week, or just start fresh next week. His player card is a little confusing. Guess he was part of the faked birth certificate draft class we had right before the new draft came in. Dinos were happy to get the season going. Pleased to get a series win against Scranton who we expect to be tough. Waterloo platoons a lot; think Tate starting in RF was the first time in 15 seasons we had a RHB out there vs. RHP (Enriquez). We are trying to coax 7 wins out of Roy so he can move up a spot on our all time list. Nice that he got one before his 22 game knock.

#75147	07/01/2020 4:26:16 pm	Apr 2nd, 2046
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Then again, it looks like we'll abandon the season now. Wow. Even my good guys suck. Truly pathetic. Belanger gave up 5 homers in his two starts. As a team we're at 14 allowed in 6 games. We very likely will generate the most in league history. That's exciting. I'm sure we'll set all sorts of records, though. It will be nice to not have to spend any energy this season. Good luck, gents. Done with the season.

#75153	07/01/2020 8:20:34 pm	Apr 3rd, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Three one-run come from behind losses v Berwyn makes for a tough day. Full credit to Berwyn there!

#75154	07/01/2020 8:38:26 pm	Apr 3rd, 2046
12twelve Joined: 02/05/2017 Posts: 131 Inactive	Hey JJNZ, just looked over the games in our series and it had a little bit of everything. No way I should've won game one, but with two outs in the bottom of the ninth an infield single and a blast meant a lucky walk-off. Game two was a 17-inning thriller. Game three seemed like neither team wanted to win. With a three run lead, I gave up 4 only for you to give me two right back. We've had good battles in the past and I'm glad we get to compete against each other again. I'm sure you'll even the score when I visit Boulder. Updated Wednesday, July 1 2020 @ 8:39:11 pm PDT

#75158	07/02/2020 3:39:05 am	Apr 3rd, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	May want to keep Belanger away from Saratoga. Tamayo has been decent at limiting the long ball in his career, but the Highlanders took him deep 3 times in an inning this past series. Ended up out homering the Dinos 7-1 over the 3 games. Picked up Cox. 1B option if we sour on Schmid. Basically Schmid but giving up a few points of hitting for speed and base stealing. Giving up a few points of hitting is rarely a good option around here, so chances aren't great he sticks.

#75160	07/02/2020 6:02:32 am	Apr 3rd, 2046
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	I finally decided that the Cup is so random that it's not worth trying to win, and with a bunch of developing players decided to concentrate on getting them more playing time...so of course we swept our first Cup series. No reason to change that going forward. Barron got a nice boost (BC +1, PD +1) from update #1 which was just what he needed and has made a good start, justifying his full-time role. He'll have to really crater (not out of the realms of possibility) to get pulled now. Nice get for Waterloo with Holland, but why a bot team cuts a high POT, minimum salary future starter are a complete mystery to me. Cox looks okay but I'm not a fan of extreme groundballers in any way. But neither should be a part of tonight's Lancer-Dino matchup (but hey feel free!). Mike, I'm not sure where to even start. Six games in seems awfully early to throw in the towel, but you know your team better than anyone. Could easily have taken game two of our series, and one bad series (Scranton) at this stage doesnt mean anything. Its only been three seasons since your last tank, so I really wouldn't expect another so soon - just my two cents, obviously you can do as you please.

#75166	07/02/2020 7:56:21 am	Apr 3rd, 2046
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I've got 6 starters at least 32 years old, plus 4 pitchers. There's no future. Not that that will change by developing my young guys. They all pretty much suck. I knew I'd have to hit a couple off season claims to stay afloat. That didn't happen. I might as well abandon ship instead of freeze as we sink. Why spend energy on that?

#75170	07/02/2020 10:25:44 am	Apr 3rd, 2046
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Updated Thursday, July 2 2020 @ 10:26:21 am PDT

#75179	07/02/2020 3:19:34 pm	Apr 4th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Game 1. Dinos up 12 heading to the 9th. Take pinch hits for 1B Stafford. Schmid comes in to play 1B in the bottom of the 9th. Game 2. Dino up 3 hezding to the 9th. Take pinch hits for 1B Stafford. Schmidt is available on the bench, but the manager sends Tak out to play 1B. Replace for defense is just bugged. All there is to it. I had 3 rd replacements last season.

#75192	07/03/2020 4:04:53 am	Apr 7th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Good luck to Margate with the retool. Losing isn't fun, but retooling is. Really good training update for the Dinos. Have been expecting Herrera to be promoted; caught me a little by surprise to see Romo get the nod. He couldn't have timed it much better with 2 starters (Roy, Vaughn) out with injury. Romo likely takes Vaughn's spot and then slides into the pen. Romo definitely less heralded than the other P in my 2041 draft class. But he could be a serviceable back end starter.

#75239	07/04/2020 6:27:00 am	Apr 10th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Grats to New York on their 2nd round pick. Obviously everyone would love a pick like that. Dinos no exception - keenly aware that Flynn is now in his 30s. We delayed bringing Holland up. Worked out well. Neither here no there for his development, but it meant Nunez got another start b/f the update. Dinos and Nunez were criticized when he was signed, but he had 2 very good seasons for Waterloo. Arguably our best P last season. But he's frequently been the odd man out as I try to find innings for young guys. Was going to he more of that this season. Seeing him off to a slow start made it easier to part ways. Holland was bad in his first (cup) start. Likely going to be a struggle for a while. Decided to bring up Goodwin instead of Romo. As a command lefty Goodwin barely rates as a prospect. Thought it would be better to give him his shot so we can move on from him. Sure enough, 3 HRs allowed in 5.1 in his debut. A couple more games like that and he can ply his trade elsewhere. Edit: Wow, Pan had a brilliant cup series in his Margate debut. While Riley threw down a 2 for 16 with 6Ks, Pan went 6 for 16 with 2 bombs. Could be painful watching the consequences of that cut. Updated Saturday, July 4 2020 @ 6:42:00 am PDT

#75255	07/04/2020 4:41:36 pm	Apr 13th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Seems to be A LOT of lefty starters in the west this season, only college station to go but I think the first time through I'll have faced 10lh v 7rh starters.

#75284	07/05/2020 8:23:30 am	Apr 14th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Thats probably not good news for the Dinos. Amazing that Calkins, a 32 year old 114 SI srarter with good career numbers, only generated 3 claims. Think that's a sign the market is in weird place. Maybe too many young guys around; veterans finding it hard to get work. Seems like a very nice addition for Boulder.

#75291	07/05/2020 2:30:28 pm	Apr 15th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	I was very surprised to have picked him up so easily, wasn't really a necessity but he's always been my biggest mistake cut! He was only a 13pot but always one I wanted back!

#75300	07/05/2020 6:34:51 pm	Apr 18th, 2046
Yankee1219 Joined: 12/03/2016 Posts: 113 West Allis Devil Dogs IV.2	Berwyn swept us in four today. Not the start to the season we were looking for. Flashback to last season.

#75307	07/05/2020 9:24:41 pm	Apr 18th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	12twelve has put together a very good roster, they are aging though, be very good if the current lot can have a spot in legends ASAP.

#75309	07/05/2020 10:34:35 pm	Apr 18th, 2046
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Last game of the day I send poor Xavier Rosa to the mound against Saratoga. 4 innings pitched, 14 earned runs. The amazing thing? No home runs allowed. That's awesome!

#75343	07/07/2020 6:07:59 am	Apr 21st, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	That is amazing. Dinos got the impression Barrera couldn’t go 6 ABs without popping one over the fence. Interesting first loop. Smyrna once again staggers out of the starting blocks. Dinos certainly don’t know the trick to beating them. Managed to take one game in our series, but felt outclassed from start to finish. G Rod was a terrific 6 for 12 out of the 9 slot. Managed to climb out of last in our cup group, but only by RD. Feel like we should be giving ticket refunds to the fans that go. Terrible baseball. Fun stat from the 1st loop - Dino batters struck out less than any other lineup during the first loop. Benefiting from playing the fewest games tho it’s still encouraging for a group that’s pushed 1K and challenged for the league lead the past few seasons.

#75359	07/07/2020 8:15:06 pm	Apr 25th, 2046
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I was super confused when checking the scores today. Apparently my young guys felt like playing against New York. A 2-2 split is about as good as it can get for my guys against anyone. The super confusing part, though, was when I saw we lost game three. I pulled up the game. Complete game winner S. Mejia. But we lost. But S. Mejia started for us. Huh? Oh. It was S. Mejia vs. S. Mejia. Weird. Don't look now, Waterloo. In 35 league at bats, Pan is 355/432/645/1078 with 2 homers. I had claims on him every time he was released by someone. He absolutely crushed the Asian leagues in his final two years, 379/442/627/1069. Those were his averages for his last two seasons overseas, not 35 at bats. Will he do that here? No way. 85% of those numbers would still be all-star levels, so I'm happy to see how he fares. Updated Tuesday, July 7 2020 @ 9:52:15 pm PDT

#75365	07/08/2020 4:23:50 am	Apr 25th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Hope Pan does well for you. Validates our decision making. Sort or decided to ride with Riley, tho we still have Vélez tucked away in AAA. Grats to Mount Pleasant on the Uto signing. Dinos would have found a way to squeeze him into the lineup had he chosen Waterloo. Waterloo games a little hard to watch at the moment. We lead the East is in hitting but are next to last RISP. Having great difficulty stranding opponent runners - helping out by wild pitching them around the bases. My team leader for GIDP last season was James with 9 in 123 games. Meadows, who had 4 (also 129 games) last season, already has 10 in just 18 games this season. I guess we have to drop him down the order. Having your #2 hitter GIDP 70 or 80 times isn’t viable. May be done with Benavides. Frustrating his proclivity for surrendering the long ball took so long to show up. Sunk cost could have been a lot lower.

#75384	07/08/2020 5:26:17 pm	Apr 29th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Couple of rage cuts after game three v Berwyn today. Better series overall at 2-2, but they're a hard team to beat!! Shame for Brown and Hashiratani to end up being rage cut, both likely make the HOF at the end of the season for differing reasons. Two spots available for the plethora of young arms waiting in AAA. Ames will get a shot in the rotation, Abeyta probably the most likely to get the first go at the remaking spot. McLeon also in danger of being cut, again not utilising the chances he's given!

#75396	07/09/2020 4:14:40 am	Apr 29th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Nice career for Hashiritani. 6 bombs in 16+ IP an unfortunate way to go out. Brown seems like a miracle to me. A low movement lefty shouldn’t put up those numbers. Snuck a series win against Saratoga, but not playing any better. Every pitcher on the active roster aside from Holland has at least 1 wild pitch now. Defense regressed hard with 5 errors over the 3 games. Wouldn’t read much into Waerloo’s Trejo signing. Just a placeholder. Having trouble letting go of the old “succession” model of BrokenBat where you lined up an heir at each position. Have been watching for a low pot SS prospect lottery ticket, but they are hard to find. Tend to have bad gloves. “Never be a decent” seems to be the market inefficiency for guys who can handle 6.

#75421	07/09/2020 1:16:11 pm	Apr 29th, 2046
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Losing two games to Margate must have been a bit of black magic against us, certainly wasn't in the plans (but it was fair). When 3/4 of your hitters are batting under .234, and 1/2 batting under .190, you're not going to win many games. Which means I've brought out three of the elder statesmen (Gann, Huerta, Thomas) who haven't played this season for tonight's series in Waterloo - maybe the kids just need a break. Huerta has had four games but if he doesn't hit tonight he'll be cut at the end of the series - he fell off a cliff after the 2043 season, and his 41 homers and 16 POTG over the last two seasons gloss over a dismal .232/.283/.457 line (a .740 OPS). Still in a weird place and not sure where to go. Bats are poor, pitching should be good enough. Playing mostly kids will always give you results like a 6-15 run, and my outfield Range is terrible, which all seems very unfair on my pitchers. But I've found myself fighting losing battles for most of the last two seasons, may be time to just ride out the kids before going Margate...but not FULL Margate. Only Margate goes FULL Margate.

#75479	07/11/2020 5:24:23 am	May 6th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Good training update for Waterloo. Again we were surprised this week when Rafferty rather than Herrera was ticketed for promotion. Rafferty was 12 pot when drafted. We thought he was great at 12, was thrilled when he showed 13. Have room for 1 of Rafferty or Romo (green lit last week). Haven't decided which yet. Whiffed our draft, but signed the Moo Cow's 1st round pick Oishi. He could be up soon. We are trying to give Tate a good look as a fulltime player, but he's not making much of the opportunity (0 HR in 100 ABs). Oishi could push 13 pot even if his BC and PD are mostly comatose. Little salute to New York's Huerta. Maybe a hall of fame career?

#75498	07/12/2020 2:11:28 pm	May 10th, 2046
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Little salute to New York's Huerta. Maybe a hall of fame career? Still unsure. Seven seasons hitting at least 23 homers at clean-up, 213 in all which is second in team history. Plus had that 42-homer season in 2041 (t-5th all-time) when we won our first title. His average has fallen off in recent seasons but he hit around .280 in his prime years, hit flyballs and had more POTG than GIDP. He had clutch moments - a walkoff double to clinch that first title - but wasn't exactly clutch for his career: .264 RISP. I'm torn. I've actually got the Jedi ahead of him, but I guess they're different players who both made huge contributions, so maybe they should both be in.

#75513	07/13/2020 5:56:53 am	May 14th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Seems the East may not get much of a reprieve from Huerta. I really like the Edwards signing for Saratoga. Looks like there could be some real upside there. A little surprised they didn't get a more established player given their strong start, but I guess they tried that already. Good luck to Boulder with Gallardo. Not a lot to go on there. Worth a look in a few minor league games. Dinos not doing so hot in 1 run games to start. Hoping Smiley pulls out of his funk soon. Might not have parted with Tuero if we had known Smiley was going to struggle.

#75522	07/13/2020 12:27:42 pm	May 14th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	The Gallardo signing is very much an experiment based on his lack of HRs given up overseas, and the good potential meaning he could be a 12. I don't expect him to last, it just shows how poor our minors are currently

#75541	07/14/2020 12:17:22 am	May 17th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Much happier with the Tatis signing, he could potentially come up pretty soon but that'll mean having him and Arocha in the same line up defensively which with 6 range a piece is far from ideal. Much pondering to be done!

#75543	07/14/2020 2:38:38 am	May 17th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	The sample on Gallardo is so small its hard to know what's there. Tatis is exciting. Dinos considered him as a potential DH / C against teams that don't run much. Age just wasn't right for us tho. Some pretty great cup group performances from II.1. Boulder (19-1), College Station (18-2), Saratoga (17-3) all in the top 10. Cheyenne just outside at 16-4. Dinos ... well maybe next year. Bolton much more like what I expected as Saratoga addresses their catching. There have been a few players who couldn't hit the ball past the mound as a Dino, but went on to crush 30+ bombs elsewhere. Perhaps Splattermonkey can remove his frustration nickname. Be interesting to see how he does. His 2044 looks more like "form got stuck" than true talent, tho I expect Saratoga would consider it money well spent if he could come close to his career line.

#75566	07/14/2020 1:04:46 pm	May 17th, 2046
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Edwards does look like a find, just what the Highlanders need to pick themselves out of this slow start cough. Lancers almost made the knockout rounds of the Cup, despite for the first time playing the youngsters full-time in the competition. We actually went into the final round at 10-6, only to be swept (by a grand total of six runs!) and just miss out at 10-10. But it has served its purpose, as we've had some of our better training updates in several seasons.

#75579	07/14/2020 3:58:34 pm	May 19th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Cough I guess you will have to explain. Is this humour? Seems a little snarky. I said in my post I was surprised they signed a kid instead of a veteran. Since then they signed a 5 million plus vet to play the position. What don't you like about Edwards? Seems much like Martinez except he can contribute on defense.

#75618	07/15/2020 2:23:50 pm	May 21st, 2046
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Ha! There you go, the joys of indecipherable internet humour! Sorry, my bad - I assumed 'slow start' on a 25-8 team (as they were before last night's games) was clue enough as to my meaning - ie. like the Highlanders needed any more help! I (genuinely) really like Edwards even though I prefer PD > BC: very nice minor league numbers, high flyball hitter, really nice catcher prospect who I wish I'd seen myself because I'd certainly have had a claim on him. Guess I earned myself another loss to the Magicians with that one. In other news, Hoyle continues to suck out the suckhole. As I've said before he's developed just how I hoped, but the fact is he hasn't hit worth a lick, and when I'm handing out AB to offense vacuums Nieves, Griffin and Martinez I need supposedly-capable veterans to make up the difference. We may well end up demoting again, but I find myself being less troubled by the prospect as the season goes on.

#75624	07/15/2020 4:39:32 pm	May 24th, 2046
Yankee1219 Joined: 12/03/2016 Posts: 113 West Allis Devil Dogs IV.2	It's like deja vu all over again. At the 1/4 mark last season, I posted how I was at 12-28, a paltry .300 win percentage, and last in the division. This season at the 1/4 mark, the Devil Dogs are once again struggling with a record of 12-28, a paltry .300 win percentage, and last in the division. C'mon, really?? Somehow, we were able to climb outside of relegation and even just tip the scales over the .500 mark. It took everything I had to get there, and I'm not sure if I have the horses, or the Devil Dogs, to do it again. I know there are a lot of games left but...

#75630	07/15/2020 4:57:34 pm	May 24th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Genuinely very surprised by how much West Allis is struggling out the gate, I'm sure it's probably just part of the luck built into the game and you'll bounce back again, but if you do can it be street tomorrow's series!

#75645	07/16/2020 5:59:58 am	May 25th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Thanks for the clarification Amalric7. Appreciate the attempt at humour (hopefully I get it sooner next time ). Not trying to be difficult. West Allis' stats don't look like a 6th place team. May be problems similar to the Dinos - lots of guys playing well but a few in key spots that are struggling. McCleon's slow start at clean up may be governing the offense a bit. I've been head scratching trying to figure out Saratoga. More than half their pitching staff is under 10 control, but they are firmly mid table in walks allowed, 15 off best in the East. Their defense is somehow worse than Waterloo, pushing Margate for most miscues. Ramirez stands out as a disappointment with the glove. On offense every starter but Cuevas (6 power worm burner) is on pace 20 HRs or more. There are no Taks or Tates (combined 220 ABs, 1 HR) over there. Seems like the pitchers and hitters are performing above their weight class, while the fielders are disappointing. So I broke my rule and checked their manager ... and now it all makes sense. Not criticizing. Managers are part of the game. Could be some small sample shenanigans there that will work out by season end. And in a way its encouraging. The Dinos are mostly done our rebuild, and don't feel remotely competitive agai st the top 3 teams in the division. Maybe all we need to turn things around is a new manager.

#75658	07/16/2020 12:47:15 pm	May 25th, 2046
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Yes, I've noticed that about the Highlanders too. Its a widely-known fact/legend that control issues are to be avoided on pitchers AT ALL COSTS. And yet, here's a team at the second-highest level making it work, because their pitchers have so much talent other than Control that their 20 Pitching manager can make turn water into wine. They don't give up a lot of hits, low HR-rates, plenty of Ks...and the walks aren't killing them. Looks like Splattermonkey is making a killing in a market most avoid. I actually put in a claim on a low-Control pitcher last week to see if I could make it work (it never has in the past) but didn't get him. It also makes me shudder to think what my offence would have looked like the last couple of seasons without my 20 Offence manager. Its been terrible enough with him!

#75696	07/17/2020 6:40:23 am	May 29th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Think its an important point you made that those P are extremely skilled aside from control. That on its own might carry the weak skill and explain some of their success. Saratoga's loadout is brilliant (tho strikes me as somewhat incidental). I would have loved for managers to have been a strategic decision. Ie., I've got a bunch of low control P so I'm going to hire a manager to compensate. Instead they are (imo) get as many many points as you can. Anyway, my manager may not be the best during the week, but he makes for wonderful Friday mornings. Another great update for Waterloo. Vasquez never showed better than 13 in the minors, but popped to 14 this week. May be developing into the ace we were hoping. The other news out of Dino camp is that Riley was sent down. Going to give Velez some play at 3B. Not thrilled with a 26 yr rookie, but he doesn't look like he'll take too long filling out. We kept Velez instead of Pan (now with Margate). Pan was more ML ready. Don't doubt he will perform better this season. But if we stick with Velez will be interesting to see if he looks more useful a season or 2 out.

#75751	07/19/2020 12:00:36 am	Jun 4th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Occasionally I check on the league stats to see whose leading value categories, I wish I hadn't.... Saratoga is on fire, and the main protagonist? The Sloth... Who I rage cut last season. The good thing for the east however (potentially) is that he was always extremely streaky so he may have used most of his mashing already!

#75752	07/19/2020 4:39:25 am	Jun 4th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	The East has separated into different strata. McCartney seems a nice addition for Smyrna. Assuming he plays some DH? Not many AB at 3B or 1B with that lineup. I guess we skip Knight’s next start. He’s not pitching as poorly as it appears. Not getting much luck sequencing. With Inter upon us he likely doesn’t sit long. Dinos don’t need more pitching prospects, but we need to do some weeding. We like Suarez and having him around may help motivate us to cut the Vaughns, Goodwins and Mitchells that are clogging our prospect pipe.

#75760	07/19/2020 2:20:01 pm	Jun 4th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Looks like a bit of bad luck for Knight, and struggling v lhp. A short stint as an RHS may be in order!

#75763	07/19/2020 3:45:10 pm	Jun 6th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. I’ve often thought he’d be a good reliever. Tried a few times. Always a train wreck. Always. Going Going Vaughn got his start tonight, and only gave up 2 dingers in 5.1 IP. Pretty good right? 8 HR allowed in 26.1 IP so far this season. I’ve got to listen better to that little voice that says “cut him”. Vaughn got hurt to boot. About as useful as a nerf vegetable peeler.

#75778	07/20/2020 12:05:34 am	Jun 8th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Couple of solids cuts by the Dinos and a very savvy FA pick up in Suarez. Has potential as a long term LHS?

#75787	07/20/2020 10:16:39 am	Jun 8th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Guys I should have cut long ago. Goodwin should go too. Romo heading that direction. Lots of interesting players passing thru waivers. Uncool not offering at them because the roster is jammed with crud. I don’t use a LHSU much. Would like Suarez to get into a couple of games before Friday tho. First 50 was a bit frustrating for Waterloo. 3-11 in 1 run games will do that. Hoping guys like Knight and Smiley snap out of their funks soon.

#75810	07/20/2020 9:09:26 pm	Jun 10th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	That is an horrendously frustrating 1 run stat! I vaguely recall you having a theory on one run games, possibly being related to having power hitters? Reckon that still fits? Having gone through the league stats, our biggest issue is blown saves, had a solid closer last season but haven't been able to replace him thus far. Interesting first match up for us in inter league, have long followed Scranton, now it's time for our west best offence to go up against their ultra stingy pitching staff..... I don't think I'd want to see the odds on that one

#75862	07/21/2020 10:15:49 pm	Jun 15th, 2046
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I'm liking this not caring thing way too much. It's nice to not disturb one's day multiple times to deal with injuries, only looking at waivers when there's time (which normally is once or twice a week), not worrying about anything. I think this will probably be my last year with my team. After that I'll just grab a horrible team every couple seasons and try to set them up to be just bad. I think I'll miss my logo more than anything.

#75864	07/22/2020 5:17:49 am	Jun 15th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Not a great Dino debut for Suarez. Technically didn’t give up any runs, but surrendered all his inherited runners, and handed messes off to the next guy. Don’t really need more ML ready pitching prospects, but we like Keefe. May be better than guys in our system (specifically Romo). Probably doesn’t get a quick call. Looking forward to next week. Going to shuffle some chairs on the pitching side. Holt and Benavides down (or out), Rafferty and hopefully Herrera up. Think we’ll call Oishi up as well. He’s scuffling badly in AAA, can’t do much worse up here.

#75868	07/22/2020 1:25:54 pm	Jun 15th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Finally getting around to scouting a little, fair to say the Dinos hitting is impressive, even more so the defense. The pitching however, (at risk of being bitten by the forum sniffer) doesn't strike too much fear into me at this point!

#75891	07/22/2020 7:06:57 pm	Jun 20th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Damn you forum sniffer! Lol. 3 big innings in that series cost me dearly, consecutive 5 run innings at the end of the 3rd game followed by a 7 run innings near the start of the 4th. Don't let me hear you mention sequencing ever again Seca Updated Wednesday, July 22 2020 @ 7:07:15 pm PDT

#75898	07/23/2020 1:22:40 am	Jun 20th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Kind of nice to put a few innings together. Appreciate your help. I don't think the pitching is as bad as it looks. Vaughn gave up 8.5% of our allowed hits, 17.4% of allowed HRs in 4.8% of our innings pitched. Knight's having a poor season. Horn and Holland are still developing. WWithout naming names, we've got some guys that (i think) are better than their player cards suggest. Nor is the offence as good as it looks. Certainly encouraging to see Smiley have a good series. He's crucial to the scheme. Rough that losing a series in the West means dropping to the pink. Very tight.

#75947	07/24/2020 4:39:16 am	Jun 25th, 2046
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I think my cuts show my time as a Magician are over. I'm fairly certain I'll switch teams now instead of after the season. There really is nothing to do with this team. I have plenty of youngsters in place. I'm curious to see how the AI controls a team, so I'll keep a look out. Good luck, all!

#75948	07/24/2020 5:35:25 am	Jun 25th, 2046
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	I’m disappointed by that decision, and I don’t mean that in the disapproving way of the old “son I am disappoint” meme. I’d been looking forward to squaring off against your Magicians again; it’s been a long time since Group #35 of the 2031 Cup. I can’t say I blame you, though. You’ve been at the top of the pyramid, there’s literally nowhere to go but downhill from there. Freddy’s already taken over a new team to make a new push to the top, I think Haselrig made similar noises on the IRC channel a ways back, and I’m honest enough with myself that I know there’s no small chance of me following suite if I eventually wind up making it to Legends. Whether you stick with Margate or not, good luck with the team.

#75950	07/24/2020 6:08:04 am	Jun 25th, 2046
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Thanks. I'm basically just tired of all the work. Six years is a long time to get in and fight almost every day. I need a sabbatical. I'll find it with a terrible team and give it an hour or so a week. I have no aspirations of making it a top team. I simply want to make them not completely suck. I think I have it in me to do that, but maybe not. Peace!

#76007	07/25/2020 12:33:03 pm	Jun 27th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Good luck to MukilteoMike in the new gig. Couple roster moves for Waterloo. Oishi and Rafferty up, Benavides back to AAA (he might be the most back and forth player in our history in that regard). Oishi will likely bat .100 with a 40% K rate for a while. Think there might be something there tho. Maybe a Sheridan with more defensive upside. We are super stoked for Rafferty. Thought he was one of the best prospects in the system as a 12 pot, then he blipped 13. He may settle at 12, but we think he could be really good. Get to see 3 south paws tonight vs. Mt Prospect. Anything is better than Freddy’s derelict oldsters. Hate playing 33-34 year olds with a young team.

#76029	07/25/2020 7:54:42 pm	Jul 2nd, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Not getting excited, but nice to see Oishi make a good debut. 2/3 with a SB and a HR (and game mvp) in a 1-0 win. Sigh. Ya, that’s 15 walks by Dino pitchers. We are used to double digit walks. Our manager has 6 pitching heading for zero. But 15 is a new high. With my grizzled 35 yr vet on the mound no less. On one hand it sucks that your manager dwarfs every other decision that you make. On the other hand if I can replace my 0 pitch manager with a 20 pitch manager I go from VI fodder to legend competitor. Fun and interactive!

#76073	07/27/2020 9:31:08 am	Jul 7th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Sorry for the manager rant. It’s why I don’t look. Will do my best to withhold further manager complaints. Tak’s gonna do it. With one series to go to the AS break he’s still homerless. He’s the last tho. Tate hit a couple to get up to 3, and Smiley has been on an outright tear. Might even make the AS team despite playing dismally the first 65 games. JJNZ complimented our defense a little while back. I carefully avoided commenting enjoying the good play while it lasted. We might be coming back to earth. Meadows has kicked one in 3 consecutive starts. So far the biggest problem with Oishi is that the manager PHs for him with Tak, and replace for defense thinks Tak is a suitable OF. Sucks, but might have to play Oishi as DH.

#76088	07/28/2020 5:07:27 am	Jul 9th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Some interesting signings this morning. Boulder’s bullpen struggled a bit when Waterloo faced them. Mercado a nice proven guy to help stabilize. Montes maybe a little more questionable for Smyrna, if only because he wasn’t in a groove with New York. But he may just be depth while Trammell is injured. Both are from a segment of the market the Dinos have completely ignored. Got more young pitchers than I can accommodate.

#76112	07/28/2020 10:01:58 pm	Jul 14th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Also have about six more pitchers than spaces currently but it's early enough in the season that I have to keep pushing Of course I was rewarded for that by Mercado contributing to another bull pen melt down v NY....

#76116	07/29/2020 5:06:33 am	Jul 14th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Dinos seemed fated to add Rains. We kept offering and losing, but he kept getting released and giving us another shot. Like him better than some in our system (Romo off the top of my head). He stays down till the update. When he comes up he clearly compounds the WP / BB issue the Dino staff is struggling with. He could slide into Knight’s spot in the rotation, or maybe bullpen a bit. Roy was trying to get 8 wins this season to move up a spot in our all time wins list. Managed 5 in the first half. Not bad. Might make it, tho he’s tailed off lately. There are some stats the Dinos aren’t that proud off. One we are is our DPs turned. Spiked up this season with the addition of Holland. He’s been terrific inducing DPs. Smiley, Rocha, Flynn expected to make the AS team. Tate may have an outside chance, tho his lack of power hurts. Doubt any Dino pitchers get the nod.

#76135	07/29/2020 3:08:06 pm	Jul 16th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Wow. Grin from ear to ear that James made the AS team. Right on. If that’s hand-of-Steve, then thanks.

#76139	07/29/2020 4:57:37 pm	Jul 16th, 2046
Yankee1219 Joined: 12/03/2016 Posts: 113 West Allis Devil Dogs IV.2	12 games under .500 and last in the West, yet still had 4 AS. Not sure what to think about that.

#76158	07/30/2020 1:43:26 pm	Jul 16th, 2046
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Typed a fairly long post last night and lost it, first time that's happened to me in a long time, so raged out. Let's try again. @Seca - Tak baffles me, I can never understand when what looks like a dream player turns out to be the nightmare scenario. Rains was a nice get, NY was in on him after watching Saratoga's bunch of wild things go off this season. And I can't recall if I said it before but I will never understand why low-pyramid teams dump should-be top prospects like Holland, scupper themselves and help those above them. Anyways...Lancers have ended the Jerome experiment, would have liked quicker development this season but he was always a longshot. We'll move on with what we have, for better or worse. Somewhat surprised to have even three All-Stars. Siegl got his first, which makes me wonder how a great hitting, prolific slugger hasn't had more AB. The answer is he was the 4th OF for much of his early career who hasn't/hadn't lived up to those lofty reports. Soto is in the twilight of his career but is still a highly-effective player and is probably the second-best player in team history. Not bad for a guy who was cut the day he was drafted by his original team. And I was really pleased Rock got his first in five seasons. He's been my #1 starter his entire career and like HoF-er Baird before him suffered from really bad luck and thus is about 20 career wins short of where he should be (they all went to relievers). Can't recall if there was more I had to said. Happy hunting in the second half everyone!

#76241	08/02/2020 1:17:39 am	Jul 28th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Wee bit of luck involved in the revenge series v Waterloo but I'll happily take it! Mercado looking pretty perilous in the closer role.....

#76270	08/03/2020 4:48:16 am	Aug 2nd, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	The weird thing about Tak is that he's batting .318. Power outages are pretty common on the Dinos. Tuero with his 19 power and .66 gb:fb went thru more than half a season without an HR once, but he also batted sub Mendoza. Hope Rains will be OK. Beginning to think both Holland and Horn are duds. Rather demoralizing series against College Station. We knew going in we'd lose all 5, but watching them conga a 9 run inning against my best pitcher in game 1 broke what was left of my spirit. Our race is done. Don't like waving the white flag part way thru a loop when the West is so close, but its not like we are sitting good players playing well. - Rains takes Knight's rotation spot. - Calderon is up and will play some OF. He was a 15 when drafted (never believed that). Probably a 13. His great hitting isn't going to be great. - Oishi and Schmid will both play. Tate and Matsui will take turns sitting to make room. Mentioned 35 yr Roy before. Came into the season needing 8 wins to move up a spot in the team alltime list. Got off to a 5-1 start, but he lost his last 6 decisions and been conga'd very hard during that stretch. Dont think 8 wins is in the cards. We'll give him the rest of this loop, and then one of Romo, Herrera or Goodwin will take over for him. Edit: Knight and Tamayo down, Holt and Benavides back up. Both are low control guys (9 & 10) that walk half the batters they face. Think they would be ok on a different team. May as well give them their last chance here so I can clear the roster spots. Updated Monday, August 3 2020 @ 7:30:09 am PDT

#76279	08/03/2020 12:19:04 pm	Aug 2nd, 2046
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	What the?!?!?!?! I'm a bit ticked at the AI. How can it release Maurice? I was happy to take on a new team and try to improve it, but this shows it's all futile. If the AI boots a 120 pitcher, why bother? Hmmm. I might be done with this game entirely.

#76282	08/03/2020 1:05:24 pm	Aug 2nd, 2046
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	There’s really no way to describe that other than Artificial Stupidity. Bélanger was earning less than $1.5M with the loyalty discount, would be on any new owner’s release restrictions, and is only 26. The only thing I can think is that the ERA over 5.00 is poor enough that the bot cut him for performance reasons. …I think I’m going to write a suggestion about the bot not being allowed to cut anybody who qualifies for release restrictions. If the game won’t let a new owner cut a player, the game itself shouldn’t do it. EDIT: That happened. Updated Monday, August 3 2020 @ 1:15:36 pm PDT

#76330	08/05/2020 1:40:20 am	Aug 9th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Farewell to Freddy the 1st! Hopefully the Athletics begin their rapid descent towards the bottom immediately.......... Astute pick up in Keefe for the Dino's, and a solid gamble in Rios for the Lancers! Bit of dumpster diving for Boulder, but Garcia could turn out to be genuinely useful (and don't tell Seca, he may play 2B!)

#76334	08/05/2020 5:59:16 am	Aug 9th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. 2B? He doesn't seem to know much about the position. Liked the Dabrowski pick up. Kicked his tires when he was listed. Looking for a 2B is so habitual I sometimes forget I have one. I was so close to offering at Quintana last night. Long ago MukilteoMike and I 'discussed' whether he was a decent 1st round pick. Could have gone with him over Velez as RHB 3B. Very eventful series for Waterloo yesterday. Tak finally went yard. Holt finally wore out his welcome. Roy finally packed it in. Felt bad for Rains in his starting debut. Both corner infielders kicked one in his first inning for a very unearned run. But he pitched well. Holland had his best start of the season. Horn pitched a little better. Encouraging. Keefe was a resign. Goodwin and Benavides are dead men walking. Might be a spot for Keefe when they got the axe. (Have Romo and Herrera in AAA).

#76336	08/05/2020 7:39:26 am	Aug 9th, 2046
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Bot managed Athletics > JJNZ led Freezoners and it's not close!! LOL wink

#76338	08/05/2020 10:20:43 am	Aug 9th, 2046
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Congrats to Cheyenne for a nice Cup run. Down to the final 4 with a Legends team up first then two division III teams left. West is super competitive, 1st to 5th or vice versa certainly possible during these 5 game series. Bottom of my lineup looks nothing like i expected, Vance is still playing SS since no one else at SS can hit, and my rotation is not who i was expecting either. Walton is certainly one of the top contenders for MVP so far. Speaking of Rotation, Ramirez is just a huge surprise for me. I almost cut him when he dropped to a 12 Potential, but he just went back up in the last training update. I thought last year's limited League #'s were fluky, but he's been my best SP by far this year. Hopefully I didn't jinx him! I don't think i've ever had a player potential go up from before the recently drafted players change, how high could he go from 104 if he dropped down to 12 potential for a season or two?

#76339	08/05/2020 2:04:23 pm	Aug 9th, 2046
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Definitely jinxed him... 5-1 Loss to Margate

#76347	08/05/2020 3:47:49 pm	Aug 12th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Looks like he will be a good one. And just 21. Can’t imagine cutting him bc he was 12 pot. Good scouting, repertoire, awesome minor stats. Makes me of Rojas. There is nothing (at all) to like about him, but Waterloo hasn’t been to part ways as he keeps putting up numbers. Benavides made it to game 2. Much like Holt he came into the game in the 9th with a lead, gave up walks and singles till the game was over. So Romo is up. 6 control and a HR problem. Hope you all enjoy.

#76364	08/06/2020 1:13:11 pm	Aug 14th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Final inter league series, v the lancers who had my number on the road last time out, let's see if I can reverse that trend in their part of the world! I do always enjoy the interleague stuff, particularly when coming up against teams who I haven't played before, or for a long time, adds another element to the game for me

#76367	08/06/2020 3:53:30 pm	Aug 17th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hahaha! Romo’s debut! For a: - rookie - 6 control - zero pitching manag... nvm He did pretty good! Only walked 3 of the 4 batters he faced, and only had one wild pitch. Kid is going to be great.

#76384	08/07/2020 4:24:54 am	Aug 19th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Weird night on waivers for Waterloo. Had claims out on 3 guys, 2 with 5 or less. Checked to see which on of those me might have landed to find out we got the 28 claim guy. Might be ok. With our pitching cull he slots right in. (Romo back to AAA). Feel I would be remiss not congratulating Berwyn on their 11 run inning. Classic conga. SP looks like Bob Gibson for the first 3 IP (9 up, 9 down) but turns into Spongebob in the 4th (4 hits, 4 BBs). Not a great training update, nothing noteworthy. A little frustrated with De Rosa. Want to give him a shot (good written scouting, poor current potential). Very limited amateur playing time tho. Hoped we might learn a little something from his minor play, but didn’t crack the line once. Guess there is spring training. Edit: take back the noteworthy comment. Vaughn had a great training update and popped to 14 for his new team. (Was always a possibility even tho he was from the final draft class before the new draft was implemented). Sure looks good, and pitching much better. Given how dreadful Dino pitching is he’s likely a regrettable cut. Updated Friday, August 7 2020 @ 4:46:30 am PDT

#76418	08/08/2020 12:29:13 am	Aug 21st, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Tough one with Vaughn - I think he'll be ok in the lower leagues but wouldn't have done a lot to help you this season. Strange training day in Boulder, despite an 'excellent' pitching teacher with a score of 16, none of my 7 minor league pitchers gained a single point.

#76427	08/08/2020 5:26:50 pm	Aug 25th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	For sure. I don't regret the cut. Cut guys like that before and never looked back. (Guess I'm sorta looking back here ). He'd still be a 9 ERA HR every 3 IP guy as a Dino. There was a period of time where I thought pitchers I signed would do better with my team. Now I fully expect pitchers I cut to improve, and pitchers i sign to crater. Almost won a game against Scranton. Seriously! 2 run lead with 1 out in the ninth before dinger single dinger. How it goes. Maybe tomorrow.

#76437	08/09/2020 10:03:24 am	Aug 25th, 2046
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	One season apart (probably last season, 2045) the Lancers have always done well in inter-league. I have no explanation as to why, other than the general long-held belief/myth that the East teams are tougher. Boulder perhaps wanted to live up to their name: steadfast, impregnable, only to roll over instead. Did have a laugh at the Boulder press release, although Hood was the difference when College Station won the 2043 Legends title - we just couldn't touch him. Had a good update this week after two fairly poor showings. Had to part ways with someone this week and after signing a couple of more-promising Dominicans Morris was the one to go. Great minors numbers and speed to make him a useful role player, but just never cut it. He'll probably rip up LLVI for a couple of seasons now.

#76439	08/09/2020 1:45:53 pm	Aug 25th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Haha we did indeed! The last few seasons in 3.1 were better for the west but not this time out, however we didn't lose ground. Couldn't resist the opportunity having picked up a College Station star! Big spending night for us, $13.8 million added on a pair of one claimers. Gotta give it my all to get back up to legends, or at the very least, avoid relegation!

#76471	08/10/2020 4:35:46 pm	Aug 31st, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Grats to Cheyenne on an excellent cup run. Shame to get so close and come up a little short, but should take pride nonetheless. Waterloo waited till close to the deadline to part ways with Roy. Not much chance he would be picked up, but no problem delaying and ensuring he retires a life long Dino. Came up a couple wins short of our goal, but an excellent career. Easily the best Canadian in Dino team history. And thats why we signed Barlow. Have to have 1 Canuck on the 50 man. He seems accurately gauged as an 11, but was the best Canadian out there. Did hit almost 900 OPS as an amateur. Who knows. Edit: added player links. Barlow already 10 for his first 18 minor league ABs! Updated Monday, August 10 2020 @ 6:00:14 pm PDT

#76482	08/11/2020 12:54:01 am	Aug 31st, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	I did wonder about the Barlow signing but that makes sense, should be a fairly decent OBP machine. I've not managed to keep any kiwi's on my roster for the big leagues really, one I do regret not giving more of a chance is Blackburn, was only a 12 pot but has been solid! (and of course I was training him at 2B.....)

#76486	08/11/2020 6:56:26 am	Aug 31st, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Heh. Finding a half decent Canadian is tough enough. Keeping an NZ on your roster may be next to impossible. Not sure what you are doing with Andujar. Seems a clear downgrade from what you have. Edit: don't know if AssumedPsydonym is lurking around here. Made a nice deadline signing (imo) in Milam. Dinos have had him on our watch list much of the season. Didn't have the position knowledge we were looking for. Uses his speed and power, might have decent contact, gold glove potential at 1B. Updated Tuesday, August 11 2020 @ 7:06:34 am PDT

#76504	08/11/2020 4:25:53 pm	Sep 2nd, 2046
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	I keep up on the Latest Posts page. Happy with the pickup, myself. He’s probably going to be my backup second baseman for the near future, and he’s close to at least having his lowercase for the position so hopefully he won’t be an absolute disaster. Also: Mike abandoned the Magicians, Freddy abandoned the Athletics, Seca is probably demoting, JJ is trying desperately to promote… are y’all really that worried about the prospect of potentially facing off against the Rats next season? ^.~

#76513	08/11/2020 5:44:25 pm	Sep 4th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Andujar is simply catching depth since I have space at the moment! Nothing too fancy but I do find it hard to pass up a Great bat.

#76534	08/12/2020 3:27:37 pm	Sep 5th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	that worried Hehe. Dinos are happy to get out of here. No fun going into every series expecting to be swept. Our rebuild has been an unmitigated disaster. Scranton and Smyrna both have stunning rosters. New York and Saratoga have stunning managers. Deerfield’s roster is every bit as strong as the first two. Haven’t looked at the manager. Admin almost always puts the stronger team in II.1, so expect Manhattan. Going to be super tough in II.1 East. Probably tougher than Legends East. Feel sorry for Alexandria or whoever comes out of III.2 East.

#76572	08/14/2020 11:50:10 am	Sep 12th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Man. Seems like losing to Waterloo is a fireable offence. Gutierrez and Simpson both get the axe after the Dinos take 2 of 3. Was a rough loop for Waterloo. What’s concerning is the HRs. Our whole team concept is predicated on winning HR differential. I’m on mobile so I’m not going to comb the games, but our HR diff was brutal the last 5 series. Concerned Holland isn’t going to be worth ditching this season. Good training update, 24 green arrows. Romo is back up replacing Keefe (who was cut to draft). Draft was a whiff, but it was a decent year. Last I counted we had 9 guys 11 pot or lower on the 50. Hoping for some love thru training update #0 next season.

#76576	08/14/2020 3:25:26 pm	Sep 13th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	I recall when we were both champions of the 12 pot movement, I'm well behind you on the 11 pot front! Schneider looks to be the most interesting of your lot on my eyes, long way off but plenty of time to grow into a massive bat. Race still super close in the west, too be fair at this point up be happy with anything that's not relegation as another season here will give me a bit more time for some rookie pitching to come through, couple of pretty exciting guys ready, Blanco being my top pick currently!

#76578	08/14/2020 4:25:24 pm	Sep 14th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Ya, 11s are the new 12s. In all honesty I am really enjoying the uncertain potential. And ya, Schneider had a nice start in the minors. Seems superior to Barlow in every way. Will be watching for a replacement Canadian in the new season. Personally I am most excited about Salgado, tho I think Gardner and Keller could both be very good. Updated Friday, August 14 2020 @ 4:33:31 pm PDT

#76580	08/14/2020 6:16:41 pm	Sep 14th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	I must've missed Salgado, big upside there if he can figure it out. Do you put any play in the good/above average potential when selecting your 11's? Also skipped over Gardner at 2B it appears, he should be a major league guy for you for sure, lad knows how to run! I was looking on my phone earlier which clearly doesn't improve my scouting cos I didnt see that Keller was a 'very good', and also uncatchable on the base paths - I think I see your new game plan My 11's have been limited to Rains (who popped to 12 this season) Behrens - I think he'll go to 12 in the near future too, and Gallardo as an experiment. Guerrero will find a new home next season

#76600	08/16/2020 3:10:49 am	Sep 18th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Haha. Base stealing is not the game plan. Tho maybe it should be. We have such poor luck with power guys. Good question about the potential statement. At this point I'd say its encouraging to see VG instead of AA, but its definitely not affecting decisions. Focusing on good written scouting with a defensive chasis you can play somewhere. Hoping the rest lines up.

#76608	08/17/2020 12:14:34 am	Sep 22nd, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Hood is homeless again. Started out all with two very good starts, but three shockers in a row made him expendable. Apparently he's not used to seeing so much daylight, and caused his palms to grow hair making it difficult to pitch. Hard to believe, but who knows what really went on inside that College Station operation.....

#76626	08/18/2020 8:04:37 am	Sep 26th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Even with that salary and some red arrows, he will probably get another shot with someone next season. I'm not sure what makes guys like Pringle good. Whether its underscouting or something else hidden. Maybe form variable getting stuck on awesome or just wildly favorable rng. Anyway, Pringle has been correcting hard the last 10 games. Struggling to get anyone out. Sending him down to recall Keefe and shift everyone else up in the pecking order. Think Meadows will sit and Velez will be fulltime 3B the rest of the way. Not getting many ABs in the vs. LHP now that we are back in the East. Very impressed with Griffin. 13-13-8-9 1.61 gb:fb on pace for 15-20 HRs. 11% of his hits go for HRs. Thats a higher rate than any Dino this season not named Smiley or Flynn. We had hopes Oishi might hit some dingers, but he has 1 to show for his first 150+ ABs. Figuring out who will hit dingers and who won't is something I've long struggled with.

#76627	08/18/2020 8:15:14 am	Sep 26th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Seems I cut Keefe. Don't have any P waiting in AAA. Guess Pringle doesn't have to pack his things. Should probably call up Herrera despite the lack of green arrow. Sort of a weird one. 2 seasons in A, 2.5 in AA and now 3+ in AAA without the nod. In my experience the time per level is usually more consistent. Maybe he's being held back bc of his movement. Seems a lost cause at this point.

#76629	08/18/2020 12:40:15 pm	Sep 26th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Pringle is an odd one but the numbers have been pretty consistently good really. A little like my guy Grisson I guess. Re Herrera I'd hazard a guess that the longer AAA stint has more to do with Steves minors realignment than him personally, but he does look ready to go for sure

#76631	08/18/2020 1:38:26 pm	Sep 26th, 2046
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Glad someone is impressed with Griffin. I think all his homers and most of his hits have come in the last 20 games - he was hitting something like .118 most of the season (and .125 in the minors). He should hit and steal bases while providing good defence in CF or RF, but he's not there yet. Which is why the kids are all in now, full-time AB starting last night.. ..and also because it may be time to call an end to the careers of longtime Lancers (and team leaders) Soto and Gann. They're both still playing at an extremely high level but the fact is I've lost nearly $35M over these last four seasons and cuts are going to have to come. Mejia is still dealing too, and turning 35 next season will probably play out his career a Lancer too. Greer has played himself into dangerous territory, and short-term signing Bostic will definitely go. Thomas will likely go in the next few days, really thought he was going to be my full-time catcher. Then its just a matter of making something of the leftovers.

#76653	08/20/2020 1:06:24 am	Oct 4th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Final time through the line up and I'm more worried about relegation than promotion. Only 6 games at home v 10 away. No time to bring the rookies up, regardless on going to suffer a little next season from this for sure. Exciting and frustrating all at once. Breaux on a final final warning at closer, one more blow up and he'll follow Hood out the door!

#76674	08/20/2020 4:15:34 pm	Oct 6th, 2046
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Just checked and New York has given Margate almost 1/5th of their wins this season, going 14-6 against the cellar dwellers. Waterloo is currently 11-5 with a four game set to go. No such problems for Saratoga and Scranton who are a perfect 17-0 against the Snakes to this point - can we just promote them both??

#76684	08/21/2020 3:34:49 am	Oct 8th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Agreed amalric, it's cruel that one of them will be left down to inflict carnage again next season!

#76690	08/21/2020 9:44:07 am	Oct 8th, 2046
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	At this point we're just hoping to not relegate. Started Wednesday night's big 4 game series with Cheyenne with a win then lost three in a row. Last 5 series of the year only 1 is at home, and I finish things up with 3 games at Cheyenne. Hopefully I can get to that series only needing to win 1 game to avoid relegation. 1st series last night was West Allis where we took 3 of 4. The loss was the last one so I was really hoping for a sweep by then. At this point the odds of us winning the division are probably about 5%, and the odds of being relegated are around 35%-45%. Training update - Our big news was Rarirez got 4 pts AND went to 14 potential. At age 20 he was 86 overall, at 21 he was 101... he's still 21 and now he's at 112 and he's gained 2 potential this year. Valerio got a bump for Velocity and Control as well. Only negatives were not many offensive upgrades and Washburn, who we've been working on as our defensive SS, lost a point on Range. Updated Friday, August 21 2020 @ 9:44:35 am PDT

#76693	08/21/2020 11:36:18 am	Oct 8th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Decent update for the Dinos. Closest thing to notable is that our 2nd rounder finally added a point of SI. Felt bad taking 2 off Scranton. Hoping to put in a decent showing against Saratoga to even it up. Wouldn't count on it tho. HRs have gone 24 vs. 10 for Saratoga so far this season. If you take that -14 off our HR differential we are actually +2 vs. the rest of the league. I'm going to feel much worse for the 2nd drop team in the West than whoever the bridesmaid is in the East.

#76694	08/21/2020 1:33:34 pm	Oct 8th, 2046
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	@jclemen2 - Ramirez is a beast, we came out on the wrong end of him at least once this season. Why do you call Washburn your defensive SS? From the look of him he's your full-time starter, and 17 Range is still plenty decent. @Seca - must be the time of year, my 1st rounder finally gained a point last week and this week, plenty to like in his performance though. I'm going to feel much worse for the 2nd drop team in the West than whoever the bridesmaid is in the East. Amen to that. We might all have similar stories at some point in our BB histories, mine being coming down from Legends to a bot team in-the-making who have won 56 games this season. It happens, I guess.

#76695	08/21/2020 2:00:12 pm	Oct 8th, 2046
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	He's started a little under half the games. I play Vance at SS a lot. Vance has started 10 or so more games. I was using Vance at SS and Grossman at C but Grossman's been pretty bad offensively lately so i went back to the better defensive option which is Vance at C at Washburn at SS. Vance and Washburn are both C/SS, that's pretty common right?

#76697	08/21/2020 2:25:02 pm	Oct 8th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Off the top of my head Russell Martin and Tom Lawless both played C and SS for the Jays at some point in their careers. Josh Donaldson played a few games as SS for Toronto and came up as a C. Super common. Congrats to Saratoga on one of the prettiest conga lines of the season. 10 runs across with just 1 extra base hit. Left the bases loaded. If Calderon had been a proper caboose and dumped one in the seats, it would have had my vote for conga line of the season. 10 hits in the game, 9 of them in the same inning. Pretty sweet.

#76700	08/21/2020 2:33:42 pm	Oct 8th, 2046
Frankebasta Joined: 09/15/2013 Posts: 886 Kodiak Mules III.3	Isiah Kiner-Falefa is subbing at SS for the Rangers, while Andrus is out. IKF used to be a C/3B as a prospect

#76707	08/21/2020 3:27:04 pm	Oct 10th, 2046
wuggla Joined: 05/10/2013 Posts: 1059 Colorado Springs Vultures VI.28	Not my league yet? But got to say it you 4 owner need to send "bot" to III not up to legend!!! Maybe Steve can do what he did to our "bot"??? Wild West is best fight in game II.1 Updated Friday, August 21 2020 @ 3:28:52 pm PDT

#76722	08/22/2020 1:26:14 am	Oct 12th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Conversely Boulder's training would struggle to be much more pointless....... A CF/SS who is blocked at both positions A Platoon 1B who is likely to be cut early next season An 11 pot C who has genuine potential but is a long way off....... But at least Blanco continued moving forward and gives me an excuse to talk about his AAA season. Only 5SI gained, but he's been wanting to come up all season. Only 7HR given up over 242 innings of 2.57 ERA ball. He's probably realistically a solid sub 4 ERA SP3 for me, but I'll happily take that all day long, if only I was in a position to bring him up now!

#76787	08/24/2020 12:22:37 am	Oct 20th, 2046
tamale Joined: 02/19/2018 Posts: 357 Concord Jets Legends	Good luck JJNZ for the final series tomorrow, let's make it an Oceania takeover of Legends next season! Also find the East race incredibly fascinating. Two owners who have been around for 30+ seasons trying to make Legends for the first time, both ranked in the top 4 with probably their best ever teams. Whoever comes up will likely prove to be tough competition next season!

#76789	08/24/2020 12:39:39 am	Oct 20th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	I think there's hardly a better place to be for tomorrow's games than watching LL II.1. Tie at the top of west, 4 game series between those two teams. 1 game separating the relegation race, could go anyway - Berwyn is unlucky not to be locked in for promotion already. I was sure the last series against Mount Prospect ruined my season when I was swept at home, I'd written myself off before today when 3 swept series in the rest threw me back on top - couldn't believe it! And both Saratoga and Scranton deserve to promote, they look easily good enough to go straight to Legends and challenge for the title. Focusing just on the top two in the west: (Forum sniffer be damned!) College Station have historically had the best of Missoula/Boulder by quite some margin. This season however Boulder at 9-7. College Station at home: 44-32. Boulder on the road: 36-40. Boulder is ahead on RD by 32, that should be enough that I only need 2 wins, College Station needs 3. I'm down my best bat in Arocha for the first 2 games. College Station is only missing rookie LF Walden, but that shouldn't come into it as they're facing my lefty SP for the first 2. Overall I'd say its about 52/48 in favour of Boulder, but heck, I wouldn't be brave enough to actually put money on it!

#76794	08/24/2020 5:30:04 am	Oct 20th, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Certainly saw 2 different ways to leave your team. Margate cut some vets and immediately relinquished, which let the bot make a couple more cuts to drop competivness further. (Not far enough clearly - grats Margate on another convincing series win over the Craposaurs). College Station walked away leaving the (at the time) oldest and most expensive roster in the West intact. RD is a huge advantage; I'm hopeful Boulder can pull it off. Tho Cheyenne is only 1 game back of Mt Pleasant, they need a sweep to stick. Lots to decide still in the West.

#76796	08/24/2020 8:02:31 am	Oct 20th, 2046
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Talk about a stressful finish to the season. We're trying to stay ahead of Cheyenne to avoid relegation. They pulled off a 4 game sweep of Berwyn while I got swept in 3 games. Now we finish up head to head in Cheyenne. I believe I need 1 win since we have a 1 game lead and the run differential lead. If we win a game we'll tie and have the edge. We'll go with Ramirez as our game 1 SP, Rodgers in game 2, and if game 3 matters I have no idea who I would trust to start.

#76815	08/24/2020 4:15:23 pm	Oct 22nd, 2046
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	And Mount Prospect sneaks by due to RD. Squeeeeeeeak! Grats to Boulder and Saratoga. Sympathy to Scranton. Legends next season is going to be LIT!

#76823	08/24/2020 4:56:14 pm	Oct 23rd, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Grate to Boulder. My tinfoil hat tells me Admin pressed the little red button. But earned regardless. Fitting final series for Waterloo. Were up 7-1 on Smyrna after 5. Imagine the rest of you would feel pretty good in that situation. Dinos know that’s just 1 conga line from defeat. Sure enough, 20 fld Flynn boots one to start the 6th. Ballgame. Similar in game 2. Had the lead, but Flynn fails again. Shrug. That’s how it goes. Edit: we ... uh ... sorta cheesed the batting title. Rocha took the final series off and sat on his .330. Was enough to hold off Walton. I would feel bad but as far as I can tell I’m the only person in BrokenBat that cares about batting titles. BA being such a passé stat and all. Updated Monday, August 24 2020 @ 5:00:02 pm PDT

#76841	08/24/2020 6:06:37 pm	Oct 24th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Haha the tinfoil hat hasn't come out for a while! It does seem a little too good to be true, but ya don't look a gift horse in the mouth Seca! I was going to mention Rocha's batting title when I bought up how tough it'll be to pick the MVP this season - my guy Arocha may be in with a shot? Mt Prospects Walton has been very good, and Cheyennes Ramirez also worth a look - or of course, someone completely different! Rocha did have a fantastic season, but I suspect his lack of HR's puts him out of the running. I'm mostly gutted that Shapiro played a training update or two too many last season to qualify for the rookie hitter title, because he had a completely unexpectedly good season - hope he gains at least the final 2 SI to avoid my OCD getting irritated with him being a stuntee. Scranton has the CY Young wrapped up - logically it'll be Long, but Farrell should have won it many times over already. Onto the finals - Saratoga beat me over 7 games last season with them having the extra game at home - this year it's my turn to have the extra - can we beat them? Not likely given our respective records! Thanks all for the season, exciting (for me and most of the west at least!) right til the end!

#76843	08/24/2020 6:13:16 pm	Oct 24th, 2046
12twelve Joined: 02/05/2017 Posts: 131 Inactive	Congrats JJNZ!! We've competed against each other for a few years now and you deserve to advance to Legends. Hopefully I'll get to join you next season, but my stars are aging fast. Great season in the West.

#76844	08/24/2020 6:15:16 pm	Oct 24th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Thanks 12twelve - with the start of the season you had I'd written off any chance of anyone else promoting, very unfortunate run for you! I've no doubt your time in legends will come, if not with the current bunch then not too far behind!

#76865	08/25/2020 5:54:03 am	Oct 24th, 2046
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Congrats Boulder! Probably the most competitive season I've been a part of it with 5 teams vying for promotion and hoping to avoid relegation. Sadly we did not finish well at all and barely avoided relegation with 1 win in the last two series. At one point our Run Differential was up around 70 and we had a couple of mid season points where we were in 1st, so to finish at +31 and 6 games back is very disappointing. Without looking at too much detail we went 19-24 in September and October, and Walton hit only 3 HR in that time. He was clearly the front runner for MVP at one point, but now that is questionable.

#76906	08/27/2020 6:38:57 am	Nov 1st, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Oh. Most definitely said batting champ for Rocha. He wouldn’t crack a top 10 list for MVP. Lots of great candidates. If it were real life I’d be worried about Walton and Gauthier splitting their votes. Long the obvious Cy Young. Didn’t make 300 IP - thought that was all but certain. Very rare that there isn’t a Dino P to be found anywhere on the league leaderboards. Bad sign for a pitching and defense team. Schmid was our only rookie to break .200. He won’t be close to rookie honours. Without digging I’m going to guess Edwards off Saratoga. Have a much harder time knowing which P are rookies. Dinos best rookie was Rafferty, but he worked out of the pen. I do have lots of rookie starters with ERAs 5+ if they are desperate to find someone to give the award to. Another oddity from the leaderboards - Dinos have the league leader in OA. That never happens. It never has a chance because we platoon so much in the OF. But we gave Tate the full-time job this season and he did really well with it. Might even sneak a gold glove. Some things you can always count on tho. James right there with the league’s worst defensive players. Edit: playing time seems less of a thing for C gold gloves. Thomas might have been the front runner before losing his job. Updated Thursday, August 27 2020 @ 6:40:54 am PDT

#76909	08/27/2020 9:58:17 am	Nov 1st, 2046
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	I'd forgotten Thomas topped the CS% chart, probably because I gave up on him a good while back - 39 putrid offensive games were enough. I guess its the old "lack of patience in hard times" excuse, as I decided to give my C at-bats to guys with upside (even Griffin played 20 games there). Maybe Thomas would have gotten up to his 2043-44 numbers, a .246-.250 AVG would have gone very nicely with his OBP and CS. Pity he could never do it regularly, and he was mostly a late-season flourish guy in any case. I've moved on. Not sure if cutting Soto before the season ended will hurt any award chances he had, but a 9-game injury on a guy who I was likely sending to retirement anyway made it an easy decision. Less so on Gann, as I don't really have an alternative at SS if Barron goes down (plenty options at 1B), Greer's career-worst season not helping the cause. I had planned on making Nieves my full-time 3B (over SS) once I drafted Barron, but he's played really well since I put him in CF. Hoyle remembered not to suck any more at 3B and hopefully Negro makes another leap forward there too. The rest...we'll see.

#76910	08/27/2020 11:46:44 am	Nov 1st, 2046
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	I feel somewhere in the forums we've talked about one team making a ridiculous number of double plays, perhaps in the discussion forum. What surprised me was looking at this league and seeing the DP numbers - Waterloo were streets ahead! 365 double plays, 64 more than anyone else, and all that on a team finishing fifth. Guess those fielders had plenty of practice, eh? Another stat of note (/infamy): NY were 3rd in the league in stolen bases with 117. We were also 3rd in CS with...71. Our success rate was 2nd worst in the league, behind only Mount Prospect (62% to 60%). We also led the league in sacrifices (31) and failed sacrifices (20), another 60% conversion rate. I'm really not sure what any of that means. I guess there are plusses and minuses either way, games won and games lost depending upon the fickle hand of AI fate.

#76913	08/27/2020 12:51:32 pm	Nov 1st, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Ya, DPs turned is sort of a dubious distinction. Usually a team with a horrible pitching staff that brings that award home. (Probably some of this effect with Tate’s OAs too). I should keep track of how many DPs are turned behind Holland next season. It’s a bit of a talent for him, and really the only chance a high whip high HR guy has at succeeding. I’m not sure how many of your games you watch / read. This isn’t meant as criticism, but I think those stats are telling you you sacrifice a little too much. (Granted, this is coming from a guy that doesn’t sacrifice at all ).

#76914	08/27/2020 1:18:47 pm	Nov 1st, 2046
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	Some of this talk really makes me wonder how much of a monkey wrench DFB is going to throw into the league next season. Looking forward to finding out. ^.^

#76915	08/27/2020 1:44:22 pm	Nov 1st, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Smyrna played the season well. When they fell out of it they took a training tilt. They will be strong again next season. My less than certain prognosticating sees two tiers in the East: Scranton, Smyrna and Deerfield after one prize, New York, Alexandria and the Legend drop after another more modest reward. For the first time in ages I can’t tell which division I’m going to drop into. It’s usually obvious. I would think Admin wouldn’t pass on the opportunity to have Waterloo and Haverhill square off, but Waterloo and Birmingham have been opposite poles of a magnet since forever.

#76916	08/27/2020 1:49:33 pm	Nov 1st, 2046
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Win win for us Either we get another shot at Waterloo, or any easier path back to II. I had been planning on facing Waterloo in II next year... But best laid plans and all that...

#76917	08/27/2020 1:54:30 pm	Nov 1st, 2046
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	…Of Rats and Halflings, as the saying doesn’t quite go? I’d hoped for a chance against the Dinos, myself. Ah well. Eventually!

#76918	08/27/2020 1:59:41 pm	Nov 1st, 2046
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	LOL. I suppose that is a bit more comparable sizewise.

#76920	08/27/2020 2:15:14 pm	Nov 3rd, 2046
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. I should have added I don’t have much preference. I am very happy to move down. I enjoy BrokenBat very much. Look forward to 5 PM. Sucks to get comfortable and fire up the game to see my ace give up 10 in the 1st inning. Hopefully we will be more properly placed next season. Edit: grats to Boulder on the blue trophy. Updated Thursday, August 27 2020 @ 2:17:09 pm PDT

#76927	08/27/2020 4:02:39 pm	Nov 4th, 2046
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Cheers, snuck that one while Saratoga wasn't looking!

#76936	08/27/2020 9:42:58 pm	Nov 4th, 2046
wuggla Joined: 05/10/2013 Posts: 1059 Colorado Springs Vultures VI.28	@JJNZ give Denver hell next season giggling Congratulated also for winning.

#76938	08/27/2020 10:18:03 pm	Nov 4th, 2046
wuggla Joined: 05/10/2013 Posts: 1059 Colorado Springs Vultures VI.28	I hope to play all new owners, teams, players in new league? @AP maybe I can eat some Rats yummy

#76941	08/28/2020 2:41:43 am	Nov 4th, 2046
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	You should probably just stick to carrion. Actually, head on over to II.2 instead, where you’ll have bovine and beaver to scavenge from next season. ^.~

#76942	08/28/2020 3:05:14 am	Nov 4th, 2046
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	I’m not sure how many of your games you watch / read. This isn’t meant as criticism, but I think those stats are telling you you sacrifice a little too much. (Granted, this is coming from a guy that doesn’t sacrifice at all ). I haven't watched any games since early in my second season, after watching them all as a rookie, just took too much time in the end! But I do read or skim through the game reports, and your assessment is pretty much bang on. Griffin for example was just 10/27 in SB attempts, which is pitiful for anyone let alone a guy with 17 Speed. I tend to have my management settings (other than Hit & Run) set to '++' for my fast minor leaguers, but its definitely time to review all of those now in the bigs and fluffing their lines. Welcome AP to the second-best show in town. Seca's assessment of next season's outcomes is (again, most likely) spot on. More chance of my horses developing rat scabies than my Lancers skewering some rodents!

#76961	08/29/2020 1:15:23 am	Jan 15th, 2047
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Nice effort getting to a solid second place in the MVP votes for Rocha! And to Scranton for taking nearly every spot in the Cy Young voting which was a lot closer than I anticipated. Speaks how my team is built that despite winning it all, I managed only one 3rd place MVP vote and the same player getting the all league DH nod. Team is much more a team than last time I came up where it was the Fajardo and supporting cast show. Exciting to win a gold glove, have won very very few of them in my time in the game, I may claim half points on long time Boulder-ite Rosario at 1B also.

#77014	08/31/2020 11:55:29 am	Jan 15th, 2047
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Hello everyone. I honestly don't know what to expect from my team as we're coming down from Legends with a lot of generational turnover still to be done and some failing youngsters on the team. We're hardly going to be headed back to Legends soon, but hoping not to drop right on through. Mostly, I'm hoping to have some fun talk in the forums, besides the actual play.

#77016	08/31/2020 1:52:40 pm	Jan 15th, 2047
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	As someone who’s just coming up from III.1, I’m not sure what to expect from my team, either — especially after what I did down there in my first and only season above IV. I’d say to wait for my usual by-the-numbers analysis for some indications, but given that I picked myself to finish at the bottom of the pile last season, I don’t know how much stock I’d put in it. ^.^;

#77168	09/04/2020 3:39:12 pm	Mar 1st, 2047
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	At the beginning of last season, Private Snowflake's famed season preview forecasted that I would win the Legends title...

#77169	09/04/2020 3:49:10 pm	Mar 1st, 2047
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I think the higher up the ladder you get, the less accurate estimated based off ratings are going to be. Because managers at higher levels are better at evaluating talent rather than just picking guys who look good on paper. Fewer overrated players and more underrated players, making ratings an unreliable source.

#77170	09/04/2020 3:54:14 pm	Mar 1st, 2047
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	You should stay up Holmes. My goal is to be competing with Manhattan for 4th place in II.1 (not III.1) next season. We have a long history of competing for 4th, and Manhattan is winning that rivalry. We have the exact same team as last season (just a little better developed), so we should have a decent shot now that those plague infested vermin are no longer in our league Of course the Lizard team is always very slippery, and there are plenty of others in III.1 who aren't going to make it easy... Good luck to II.1 teams. Make sure to get your shots! Updated Friday, September 4 2020 @ 3:56:19 pm PDT

#77172	09/05/2020 6:47:08 am	Mar 2nd, 2047
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	OMG, yes, I'll be fighting for fourth place like crazy to make that happen...

#77173	09/05/2020 12:27:46 pm	Mar 2nd, 2047
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	LOL. Fate is a cruel mistress. I just don't want to be competing for fourth place in III-1.

#77339	09/13/2020 9:39:34 pm	Mar 20th, 2047
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	…So. The Rats are up to II.1 now. Kinda starting to get a little scary at this point, honestly, and I’m glad to have Hurr Durr up here with me. We’ve been through a lot of seasons together, and it’s reassuring to have a familiar face in the league. (Y’all pay attention to the box scores in your games against the Pirates. Seriously. His pitching is a trip. ^.^ ) Anyhoo. Right. That whole preseason by-the-numbers analysis thing I traditionally do. I guess it’s about time for that, so let’s get to it. This is strictly based on taking everybody’s rosters, plugging them into a spreadsheet, having it spit out numbers, and then having me try to make heads or tails of the whole mess. I don’t get into the nitty gritty details like what lineups look like or what team had the best ERA last season, this is strictly going off the numbers on the roster page. Also, I picked myself to demote from III.1 last season, so don’t be discouraged if you’re predicted for a 5th or 6th place finish. The numbers don’t always tell the whole story, and in the end the only numbers that really matter are in the wins and losses columns. ^.~ For note, descriptions of a team as good or bad at a particular thing is strictly in comparison to the league average of that particular aspect. Other overall notes: » The West focuses more on power, the East favors speed. (Four teams in the East are faster than every team in the West, in fact!) » The West rely more on their gloves, the East have more range. (Four teams in the East are rangier than every team in the West, in fact!) » The West has better junkballs, the East has better heat and control. ———————————————————— I I . 1 W E S T College Station Athletics The West’s Athletics are a very slightly sub-par offensive team overall, with only their power making it as high as the league average at the plate. They are, however, the West’s fastest team once they get on base. Their defense is similarly slightly below average, though their arms may help make up for a lack of range. The pitching is the team’s weakness, lacking velocity and having the West’s least control, but the movement on their bendy pitches is impressive. Prediction: 5th — Teams might survive being below average in one or two categories, but not in all of them. Butte Pirates The Pirates are the West’s worst contact team at the plate, but above average power and the league’s best discipline will make up for that. They’re one of the West’s quickest teams, too. Their defense is a step behind the league average in range, but there’s nothing wrong with the gloves or arms. Their pitchers won’t light up any radar guns with their league worst velocity, but division best change of speed and league leading movement will tie opposing hitters into complicated knots. Prediction: 3rd — More contact or range and this team is hard to beat, more of both and they’re unstoppable. Mount Prospect Raiders The Raiders are the division’s best contact team, and excellent discipline at the plate will see they get plenty of baserunners. Their speed is the worst in the West, however, which could lead to a lot of station-to-station running. They have solid gloves in the field, but iffy range and division worst arms will leave them vulnerable. Their pitchers have fastballs that top II.1 by a significant margin, albeit at the cost of league worst change of speed and lackluster movement. Prediction: 4th — Offensive onslaughts will help overcome some defensive and pitching shortcomings. Berwyn Bikers The Bikers lead II.1 in bat control, and are sufficiently above average everywhere else to make them the West’s premier offensive ballclub. They’re a sluggish team on the basepaths, however, and shouldn’t frequently challenge opposing arms. Running on their league best arms may be a poor idea and their fielding is among the best in the West, though their speed does impact their range. Their pitching is an exceptional junkball array with the stamina to keep batters guessing all game long. Prediction: 1st — Not necessarily the best in most categories, but better than almost everybody else in a lot of them. Jefferson City Patriots The Patriots take a “three true outcome” approach at the plate: Not great contact, West worst discipline, II.1 leading power. That approach extends to the basepaths, where they aren’t likely to be aggressive with their below average speed. This is a defense-first team, with far and away the best range in the division and best fielding in the league. They have good control on the mound and great velocity, but their secondary pitches leave a fair bit to be desired. Prediction: 2nd — The pitching will overtax the defense too much for the unreliable offense to keep up. Rohnert Park Rebels The Rebels have good bat control, but otherwise only their contact even gets in spitting distance of the league average. They are a very sluggish team once they get on base, which could leave them relying on barrages of singles for offense. This team is a train wreck in the field, with the worst fielding and range in all of II.1 by a good margin. They have good heat and change of speed on the mound and okay control, but their movement is lacking and their stamina is the worst in the league. Prediction: 6th — Shoddy defense will exhaust their pitchers in a hurry, and the bats won’t bail them out. ———————————————————— I I . 1 E A S T Scranton Bears The Bears are a strong contact team with good discipline and power, though poor bat control may cause occasional frustration. Their speed on the basepaths will lead to aggressive running and loads of extra bases. Their gloves are okay, their range is good, and their arms are tops in all of II.1 this season. Run at your own peril. Their change of speed is above average and their boundless stamina is leads the league, but otherwise uninspiring pitching tools could cause problems. Prediction: 2nd — A little help for the pitching and this team has all the pieces to the puzzle. Deerfield Beach Rats The Rats have good contact and East leading bat control, but are near the bottom of the league in both patience and power. They are a speedy bunch, which should lead to aggressive running and a smallball approach. Their range is up among the league leaders but their fielding and arms are some of II.1’s worst, which leaves them vulnerable to offenses resembling their own. They have a decent junkball staff with fair control, but their velocity is the worst the East has to offer. Prediction: 5th — A pitch-to-contact staff paired with that defense is the stuff of nightmares. Alexandria Athletics The East’s Athletics are a disciplined team at the plate, but otherwise stack up poorly against the rest of the league across the board. When they get on base, though, their runners are the fastest II.1 has, and not by a small margin. This translates to the field, being the rangiest team in the league, but it comes at the cost of the division’s worst gloves. Their pitchers can paint the corners with very good heat, but poor secondary pitches are bound to get them in trouble. Prediction: 4th — Defensive misadventures and offensive woes won’t do the pitching staff any favors. Smyrna Sounds The Sounds are the league’s most impatient team at the plate, and with their league leading contact and good power, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Their excellent speed should lead to plenty of steals and extra bases. The defense is well above average across the board, including the East’s best fielding. Their pitching is the best overall in II.1; while they don’t lead the league anywhere and have mediocre movement, everything else ranges from excellent to phenomenal. Prediction: 1st — Pitching? Check. Defense? Check. Offense? Close enough. Manhattan Isotopes The Isotopes are one of the East’s best overall offensive teams, with great contact and patience and East best power. Their runners, on the other hand, are among the division’s slowest. Defensively, they could charitably be described as “uninspiring”, being well below average in fielding, range, and arm. Their pitching lacks movement — II.1’s worst by a wide margin — but they make up for it with decent velocity and by far the best change of speed and control in the league. Prediction: 3rd — The woeful lack of defense is the only thing holding this team back. New York Lancers The Lancers have average bat control, but it all goes downhill from there. They have the least power of any II.1 team and are overall the worst offensive team in the league. Being the league’s slowest team doesn’t improve things all that much even when they do get on base. Their defense is no better, with poor gloves, division worst range, and league worst arms. The pitching is the bright spot of the team; despite league worst change of speed, their velocity and movement lead the East. Prediction: 6th — A quick jaunt down to III to train the youth up might be advantageous in the long run. ———————————————————— Playoff prediction: Smyrna Sounds in seven — Both the Sounds and the Bikers have potent offenses, but Berwyn’s pitching will crumble first.

#77341	09/14/2020 1:40:25 am	Mar 20th, 2047
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Solid write up AP, I'll pick Scranton to top Smyrna by completely ignoring your write up and adding in last seasons results - otherwise I can't disagree with a fair chunk of it!

#77342	09/14/2020 5:45:02 am	Mar 20th, 2047
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Nice work, AP. Love reading about teams.

#77388	09/15/2020 12:40:59 pm	Mar 25th, 2047
Hurr Durr Joined: 05/01/2018 Posts: 32 Inactive	Always enjoyable, AP. You know, in some past seasons I've been a little indignant after reading your projections. This year though, I think the forecast for the Pirates might be a little rosy (especially if the first Cup series is any indication of how the team is going to play... and there's still that whole thing about me insisting on hurting myself with my ballpark) but I like this mutual admiration thing we have going... it enhances the existing friendly rivalry thing. On that note, I don't see you demoting. Too much talent that's not even close to deteriorating and enough that's still developing... and I really like the way you use your bench these days.

#77410	09/16/2020 3:37:47 pm	Mar 31st, 2047
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Thanks for the projections. Ours are a pretty straightforward reflection of what I built the team to be and the prices I've had to pay. I have some young, good defenders on the bench, and we'll wait at which point I'll see them as a sufficently small offensive downgrade to let them play every day. In total, I hope to be competitive, and we'll see about everything else. I just had to take a screenshot of the standings after five games. Something to hold on to when the season turns sour.

#77411	09/16/2020 4:17:12 pm	Apr 1st, 2047
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Manhattan's greatest weakness in my eyes, by the way, is the back of the bullpen. My closer was promoted to that role after he had a 5.30 ERA last season - which should be an improvement because the guy who was closing last year finished the season with a 9.17 ERA. My other late inning guys are more or less stopgaps. My rotation was actually pretty decent, regardless of the lack of defense behind them.

#77412	09/16/2020 5:25:38 pm	Apr 3rd, 2047
12twelve Joined: 02/05/2017 Posts: 131 Inactive	I like the write up AP, and not just cuz you are picking the Bikers in the West. I'm hopeful your crystal ball is clear. I have a lot of guys on my roster that have been with me since LLVI so I'm hoping to get them to Legends before riding off into the sunset (on a Harley, of course). Good luck to everyone this season!

#77444	09/18/2020 10:35:22 am	Apr 7th, 2047
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Nice work, AP, I think you're almost spot-on. Like JJ I'll have Scranton over Smyrna, mainly based on how last season played out. We're very much a team in transition, all the bats from the champions years are gone and when rebuilding I go for contact over everything, followed by plate discipline and power (the rest are just filler, and our average bat control is not by design!). We've got a really good SS but fielding and range are a challenge outside of him, and CoS is the one pitching stat I don't care for. I fully expect to demote, but given the overall roster it wouldn't surprise me if our 'quick jaunt' turned into a longer journey.

#77483	09/20/2020 5:23:32 pm	Apr 18th, 2047
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	So, it looks like I can't really complain after the first turn through the division. We're one game up, and most of our wins were by a wider margin than most losses. Especially our much-derided defense has been holding up better than it has in several seasons. It can't continue on that level, but there's a start. The odd thing for me this season is that I can't really appoint a number one starter. Everyone in the rotation comes with question marks, but at least so far, everyone has been holding up pretty well. The best thing to see so far (fingers crossed) if you know where I'm coming from is that my closer has allowed a total of one hit in his first seven saves... The offense is the part I expect to be pretty good. The rentals I brought in for this season haven't all been firing on all cylinders yet, but some of the youngsters had a spectacular start. Actually, I was thinking about firing Jimenez if last Friday's update didn't show a significant improvement. There was some, so, hesitantly, I put him back into the lineup against lefties for today's series. So the guy comes back and reintroduces himself with a two homer game... The cup has started well, too, for the first time in ages. Time to ease the kids into some cup games.

#77488	09/21/2020 3:13:44 am	Apr 18th, 2047
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	We even got to Trammell again for a few runs, although it wasn't enough for a win. I remember him from the last season we played in the same league with Smyrna. Man, that guy is a beast... Where does one get such players?

#77509	09/23/2020 7:18:48 am	Apr 25th, 2047
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	So far for the Lancers things are going about as expected: we're getting battered by pretty much everyone! The writing was on the wall last season, but we were fortunate that first Margate and then Waterloo both threw in the towel before we had even considered it. The East is even stronger this year, and I have no intention of buying up a slew of mercenaries to try and stem the tide, especially gieven how much money we've lost over the last few seasons (over $34M). Que serra, serra...and all that. I'll be keeping my manager because I know it's possible to retain him once the high-earners go, but I'll at least keep throwing out my pitching vets for a while yet. The bats will just have to flail away to their heart's content because there isn't anything better. It's going to be a long road to redemption.

#77524	09/23/2020 3:46:12 pm	Apr 27th, 2047
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	After the cup series, I forgot to take the youngsters out of the lineup against Deerfield, then even after that left one in the rotation who ended up losing a game against Scranton. That't not the way to win, Mr. Holmes...

#77525	09/23/2020 3:50:39 pm	Apr 27th, 2047
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	Ah-ha, that explains the series split I managed to pull off…

#77541	09/24/2020 10:14:38 am	Apr 29th, 2047
TheGmEra Joined: 04/30/2015 Posts: 36 Inactive	Noticed your season predictions AP, as I just returned to BB just before spring training with a new team it's nice to see what another owner thinks of every other team in the league. I look forward to seeing how the rest of this season plays out.

#77680	09/30/2020 8:57:19 am	May 21st, 2047
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	@Holmes: Hat tip to Lauretti. Always fun to see a successful hometown hero. Quite a career there for you. Is he an HoF inductee for the Isotopes?

#77695	10/01/2020 4:42:55 am	May 25th, 2047
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Absolutely. It was a tough choice to let Lauretti go. He and Quiles were the faces of the generation that took me to Legends again. It's a pity some other good talents from their generation didn't work out so well, so it remained a short stint up there. He's leading team history in career batting average, doubles and runs scored. The only reason I waited with his induction is that I like to write up a little blurb with that, and I haven't gotten around to that yet.

#77696	10/01/2020 4:45:36 am	May 25th, 2047
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	He left with good numbers for this season, too. It's a good thing Carréon got a good start taking over for him - the fan base might have been pretty ticked off, otherwise...

#77785	10/05/2020 6:54:21 am	Jun 8th, 2047
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	After an explosive start to the season and a more even second turn through the division, the nukes were quite the dud the third time around, going 3-10 against teams not named the Lancers, including nine consecutive losses against Deerfield Beach, Scranton and Alexandria, and getting kicked out of the cup by a league 5 team, to add insult to injury. Not all that surprisingly, the losses have come mostly because we're giving up more runs than we did initially. The little light at the end of the first interdivisional period is the series win (in spite of being outscored) against Smyrna - and Apodaca outpitching that monster Trammell in a matchup of complete games. It looks like our lineup is the only one that ever gets to the guy...

#77993	10/16/2020 9:16:17 am	Jul 21st, 2047
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Yeah, going 1-9 against Scranton really wasn't a surprise. Going 2-8 against the Isos, with all due respect, was! We've had two really bad runs of 0-13 and 3-10, but outside of those we're 31-28 (and 31-24 against everyone other than those two teams). Down here you look for positives wherever you can find them, although going 4-6 against the Rebels with four (FOUR!) losses in extras isn't one. Out first three preseason waiver claims have all now been cut, even though all showed signs of growth, and the fourth (Naito) may well be next. We fired the Rocketman today. He won a career-high 16 games in 2044 (with a second All-Star nod) but it wasn't his best season performance-wise and he's been a shadow of that ever since. Everything looks normal on his profile but when your career ERA jumps from around 3.50 to 5.50 over the last 2+ seasons then something just ain't right. The Serna experiment didn't work out either, and although his numbers weren't bad I had some youngsters to bring up and didn't want to spend that much money on a homer-prone guy who was expensive and only likely to get more so (I probably shouldn't have signed him in the first place). The rest will get a longer leash for a while yet. I'm actually quite pleased with the way the bats are developing, although it would help a lot if Murakami could get some Norwegian Wood on the ball. Still a lot to play for, even if it is probably futile.

#78023	10/17/2020 2:50:25 pm	Jul 25th, 2047
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	We haven't been that bad in the first round of interdivisional play (with the exception of one terrible streak, we haven't been bad all season really), but Scranton has been so dominant lately that I'm really questioning if it makes sense to spend money on journeymen for staying competitive at this point of the season. Eight wins is a ton to catch up. On the other hand with another terrible draft season (we've had exactly one season with decent draftees since the new draft was introduced) and having lost to a league V team in the first cup playoff round, I just don't know what else to do to keep this season entertaining if we're not trying to compete in the division...

#78159	10/23/2020 5:41:27 am	Aug 19th, 2047
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Well that was a disaster. Pretty sure I went 21-39 in Interleague play, dropped from 1st to 3rd, and lost about 60 runs off my run differential. I didn't lose a ton of ground so I'd guess the East absolutely destroyed the West. Hopefully my team can recover from that beat down.

#78174	10/23/2020 11:29:48 am	Aug 19th, 2047
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Sad day in New York with farewells bid to Mario Rock and Salvador Mejia, the pitching mainstays of our best teams. It hasn't been their (or any other Lancer's) season, but with age finally coming home to roost and youth needing its chance, plus the opportunity to finally shave some salary, the well-proportioned madam was soon into full flow. We have some replacements in terms of youth, if not talent, and the future is at best uncertain. After that, we actually had our best training update since update #1 last season. We'll see if the promise of youth holds up in LLIII. Other than the old guard pitching we moved on to youth after last week's update, seventeen games back, and with just the division stretch run ahead including a probable ten losses to Scranton, it was time to fully embrace the youth movement. Hopefully we'll see you down the road.

#78370	11/02/2020 4:44:33 am	Sep 22nd, 2047
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	It seems a bit early to go into hibernation, but with 26 games left to play, Manhattan is firmly in no man's land, 16 wins behind Scranton and still 13 wins ahead of Deerfield Beach - even after playing a four game set against Scranton with almost only youngsters in the lineup, and with my closer not closing (and the substitute promptly blowing a win). If I fall too far behind and the Rats go on a rampage, I might put some of the more established punch back into the lineup, but two rentals and my 6 million mediocre starter Cushman are gone, cutting more than 10 million in salary. I won't deny that this season is a disappointment. My run prevention numbers are actually better than they were in Legends most seasons, but here, they're only 8th in the league, and that spoiled the fun from an offense that predictably blew everyone away. It would have been nice to make it back up there now, because the results from the last draft seasons won't make it any easier in the future. I've actually only had one season with decent prospects since the new draft was introduced. All the other seasons, I got no one I project to turn out above replacement level. Looks like I'll spend more time below this level than in Legends in the future.

#78418	11/06/2020 1:11:07 am	Oct 8th, 2047
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	At least in the West, there is some kind of a sprint to the finish line. Everyone trotting home in something close to the current order in the East. (I expect to fall behind Alexandria, playing the kids right now, but I still assume we are safe overall.)

#78510	11/09/2020 3:46:49 pm	Oct 21st, 2047
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	Finishing with at least a .500 record and still demoting. I would have been comfortably safe in the West. Bluh. That’s going to leave a bad taste for a while… >.<

#78530	11/10/2020 4:02:04 am	Oct 24th, 2047
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	It was a bizarre season in the East. I essentially dismantled what was a championship-caliber lineup with almost 30 games left to play, started 90-SI pitchers in the end, and I stayed in the same place in the league, falling only a few more wins farther behind. And, yes, AP's team, who are demoting, are only four wins behind Mount Prospect, who won the West. Smyrna never seems to be quite a strong as they look. And Scranton had a thoroughly mediocre offense, but turned out to be just unhittable. I have to admit, I understand why when I look at their pitchers. Not SI monsters like Trammell, but the entire rotation consists of guys I'd happily take.

#78559	11/12/2020 6:24:16 am	Nov 1st, 2047
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Congrats to Scranton and good luck next season in Legends! The East was clearly better this season, winning the League Championship, the All-Star game, and I'm sure they were dominant in Interleague Play. Hopefully we get some votes for some awards, and I am rooting for Gauthier to get the MVP this year. It's probably a 3 player race between him, Brunner, and Riggerio. I was hoping Quiroz would make a run at Rookie of the Year but he really struggled the last part of the season. Some other highlights from this season were Orta winning the batting title in his 2nd season and Willett hitting 13 HR in 371 AB. Previously he had 14 in 1200AB, so his early season HR tear was fun to see. Some disappointments from the season were Vance having his OPS drop by almost 200 points. He has been all over the map in our 5 League 2 seasons, with his OPS #'s going: 743, 538, 874, 806, and this season 611. That's one great season, two terrible seasons, one good season, and one average season. This year he hit 1 HR in 281 AB, last year he hit 14 in 534. Another was lefty Uto. I really wanted him to do something, and he looks decent but he was just awful. We finished the season ranked 39th, got blown out in the playoffs and in Interleague play, and finished 85-75 in a mediocre West division. That doesn't look promising for next season in Legends, but we'll give it a shot!

#78579	11/12/2020 1:15:22 pm	Nov 1st, 2047
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Highlights? We made nearly $8M this season, which is about as much as we lost last season (only another $30M to go). And that's it. Maybe we'll tread water in LLIII, maybe not. Commiserations to the other demoted teams (particularly the Rats), and congrats to Mount Prospect and Scranton - best of luck up top!

#78600	11/13/2020 6:15:41 am	Nov 4th, 2047
Meccanodonte Joined: 04/21/2014 Posts: 370 Inactive	@Holmes: I, instead, find somehow fascinating how Scranton's pitching worked and how his back of the rotation generated innings. I think the low BA has more than something to do with his middle infielders. Anyway, congrats to both Buff and Jclem

#78631	11/13/2020 3:54:13 pm	Jan 15th, 2048
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	Thanks! Woodward for MVP, didn't see that coming for sure with 370 AB. No votes at all for Gauthier is terrible though. I know it favors batting average but he wasn't too far off the top 10 list, led or at the top of most other categories.

#78651	11/14/2020 5:06:34 am	Jan 15th, 2048
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	Whoa, wait a minute. Where am I? Something went wrong with the season flip... I am not in II.2 Since 2025 when I began, the team has always ridden the far right hand column. Its like the twilight zone

#78802	11/21/2020 10:52:46 pm	Mar 4th, 2048
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	Glad to be in a money making league now. Lost 23Mil over the last 3 seasons in Legends (including winning a division one year)

#78836	11/24/2020 6:51:53 am	Mar 8th, 2048
patborders Joined: 04/16/2018 Posts: 115 Texarkana Twisters II.2	Former Texarkana man Marco Toledo moving three hours west to his new home in Allen. (Kinda odd how we are in the West division and the more Westerly Allen is East...) Toledo had some great years in the lower divisions but his bat disappeared the last couple of years for us. Updated Tuesday, November 24 2020 @ 6:53:17 am PST

#79050	12/01/2020 8:33:07 am	Mar 25th, 2048
kladu Joined: 02/03/2013 Posts: 57 Birmingham Athletics Legends	some opening day • Mar 25 2048: Manhattan Isotopes claimed Rickie Grayson off of waivers. • Mar 25 2048: Allen '54 Chevy claimed Gonzalo Cervantes off of waivers. • Mar 25 2048: Eden Prairie Wolves claimed Brent Vernon off of waivers.

#79223	12/09/2020 4:10:47 pm	Apr 27th, 2048
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	So far Grayson has been doing what I brought him in for: .370 .460 .767 Two dingers in one game right now. You're doing fine, man, just keep going. Updated Wednesday, December 9 2020 @ 4:11:17 pm PST

#79434	12/22/2020 3:17:48 am	Jun 10th, 2048
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	We had that the last two seasons: Got off to a good start, everything looking hopeful, and then, suddenly, we run into one streak where we lose against last place teams, blow saves, our best players turn into pumpkins... sinking the entire season, and I can't really tell what's wrong. We've pulled out of the hole both times, but all hope of having a good season overall was gone. Well, here we are again.

#79654	01/07/2021 10:18:52 am	Aug 14th, 2048
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Former Allen farmhand http://brokenbat.org/player/240791/G Kike Vasquez has played 10 games as DH currently maintaining an OPS of 1.219. During those games, Denvy has a 9-1 record. All this while batting 8th. Damn, should I move him up in the lineup?!

#79662	01/07/2021 9:44:26 pm	Aug 19th, 2048
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	Funny, I just saw that before checking the forums. I was looking over my draft history and started wondering how Kike was doing this season. I now have 4 Kike-types in my minors to weed through. When I cut one I'll be sure to let you know Ced! Updated Thursday, January 7 2021 @ 9:45:10 pm PST

#79674	01/08/2021 5:50:36 pm	Aug 21st, 2048
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Our innings eater/emergency starter Arreola was acutally drafted by Smyrna way back. He was tossed around the minors for quite a while before landing in the city at age 23 - and he's had a fairly decent career here, at the back of the rotation in our brief return to Legends. I think I have been able to bring in better starters now, although Apodaca, Moran and Baez all haven't been good this year. If he ages well, he may have one more year in the pen ahead of him. I just hope I don't end up in a situation where he has to start regularly. My reliever Paulsen was drafted by Rohnert Park. We picked him up as an underdeveloped 25 year old, and he has turned out pretty decent. He hasn't been good this season, and his late development seems to have stalled, though. Generally, my pitching has been pieced together from all over the place, after several disastrous seasons when it came to drafting arms, but they've mostly come from the lower leagues. Reliever Huntley and outfielder Jimenez have a bit of a history with the Murfreesboro farm, and De Jong was very briefly on the Lancers' roster, but they didn't catch on there.

#79682	01/09/2021 3:30:28 pm	Aug 22nd, 2048
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Our catcher is from Smyrna.

#79908	01/25/2021 4:06:47 pm	Oct 22nd, 2048
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Looking forward to rejoining the fray next season. Looks like some new faces, and some old rivals.

#79916	01/25/2021 4:30:31 pm	Oct 22nd, 2048
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	Congratulations to Birmingham and Texarkana. I feel like Birmingham never seemed to lose at all this season. What a great run by Texarkana promoting in two straight seasons! Nice to be in the same league as Rock again next season. After 5 straight seasons in the same league as the Halfings, this past season away from them will definitely rekindle some fiery between the Wolves and Halfings next season. Maybe we should rename our name the Halfling-brothers.

#79919	01/25/2021 5:09:07 pm	Oct 23rd, 2048
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I supposed a halfling wolf would be a werewolf

#79974	01/29/2021 8:13:00 am	Nov 4th, 2048
patborders Joined: 04/16/2018 Posts: 115 Texarkana Twisters II.2	Texarkana completely ignored in the season-end awards, as per usual. Oh well, we'll take the team wins over individual accolades.

#80036	01/31/2021 9:39:26 pm	Jan 15th, 2049
Rebuilder Joined: 04/27/2018 Posts: 67 Redding Raiders III.3	Happy to be here! Looking forward to a good season.

#80040	02/01/2021 1:34:13 pm	Jan 15th, 2049
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Lordy, some of our favorite teams are in II.1! We couldn't be more thrilled to play the Butte Pirates, but we're sad not to get a taste of the Butte Hole. Ambulators, Rays, Broncos! Halflings, Sounds, Chevy! What more could a swooning Cow ask for? Oh yeah, the PARK REBELS?!??!? le chef's kiss

#80041	02/01/2021 1:53:30 pm	Jan 15th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Should be a fun season. Halflings will be shooting for their typical half measures. They'll be giving their all just to try and stay up.

#80088	02/03/2021 10:55:52 pm	Feb 5th, 2049
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	It will be fun for sure. We are half rebuild, half set to do some damage, 3/4 busy with a Real world business and 100% looking for a closer

#80089	02/03/2021 11:10:19 pm	Feb 5th, 2049
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	6th man, what is up with our Cup Group!!! OMG what a slug-fest. 4 teams ranked in the top 75 Those 2 bots are gonna get pummeled.

#80104	02/05/2021 10:18:50 am	Feb 19th, 2049
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	I am very impressed with Deadwood's pickup of Silvio Correa and Juan Pablo Cruz. Look to have a good chance of popping to 12 potential. Updated Friday, February 5 2021 @ 10:21:40 am PST

#80109	02/05/2021 2:07:19 pm	Feb 19th, 2049
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	Thanks boltsman. Fingers crossed on them. Really looking forward to this season with you all

#80113	02/05/2021 10:53:40 pm	Mar 2nd, 2049
6th Man Joined: 05/12/2016 Posts: 47 Inactive	Welp, checking in for my bi-monthly actual manager work. Decided to throw a slew of claims on some mediocre guys because my pitching farm system is LACKING. Hopefully the draft is kind this season... the potential drops sure weren't. Had 5 prospects drop in potential, including one go from 13 to 12, a season after dropping from 14 to 13. Unfortunate. Good luck all! I plan on hopefully staying up here while also getting the young majors guys some run. Also Chevy, man that group is loaded. Might just say screw it and send out some all young lineups for cup... Wait maybe not that would require me to actually change the lineup the day of. Already know that ain't happening. Moo cows watch out, rebels got their guns loaded for the season!

#80144	02/11/2021 1:54:55 pm	Mar 12th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Interesting to see Landon Jordan drop. We lost Jordan during the Great Reset of 2035. I was pretty upset when it happened, but it looks like he had a fairly average career. I'm somewhat happy to see he wasn't a super star

#80147	02/11/2021 6:04:29 pm	Mar 14th, 2049
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	I'm surprised that you still remembered the pickup from the great reset. He's one of those player who is decent enough to get into a hot start and wins an all-star. Then you are fooled into playing him too much before you realize that he ends the season with a .699 OPS haha... He does hit well against lefties, but we really need to start to find the next generation of hitters if we want to be able to survive up here. Affordable and reliable hitter throughout his career with the Wolves and we thank him for it.

#80148	02/11/2021 6:46:20 pm	Mar 14th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I only remember him because its rare to win those 50+ claim guys. I don't remember how many claims he had when I won, but I think it was less for your win because a lot of people got discouraged after the Great Reset of 2035. I was pissed when I lost him to the reset because I thought he would be a super star. Seems he turned out to be mostly a JAG though. A good player, but not a deal breaker. Although he did have a few really productive years in the early-mid 40s. Updated Thursday, February 11 2021 @ 6:50:35 pm PST

#80242	02/17/2021 4:08:30 pm	Apr 1st, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Bearden is sure off to a rough start. In only five games he has already given up half the total amount of runs he game up in all 55 of his games last season

#80250	02/18/2021 12:48:28 pm	Apr 3rd, 2049
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Landon Jordan's great! Go Jordan go! The Moo Cows are offering a special prize for any scientist out there who figures out our persistent, both-sides-of-the-ball RISP problem. It's gotta turn around any day now?! I think we're going on three straight seasons.

#80313	02/23/2021 10:27:25 am	Apr 21st, 2049
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	It will be interesting to play Rich Poe in the next series. We put in a claim as well, but he landed with the division rival Allen. Hopefully he doesn't cause too much damage against us today.

#80315	02/23/2021 4:36:57 pm	Apr 24th, 2049
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Prairie Wolves: It will be interesting to play Rich Poe in the next series. We put in a claim as well, but he landed with the division rival Allen. The Cows also had a claim. I'd have predicted that the Wolves and Chevs would also fancy that guy. Want to see a true MVP type performance? Check out Griffey in this game. 4 for 4 with 4 HR! Accounts for all 5 RBI! That 3 of the 4 are solo shots is just so Murfreesboro.

#80317	02/23/2021 9:17:56 pm	Apr 25th, 2049
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	Well, Poe was 3 of 11 with 2 runs and 2 rbi. Not quite what I hoped for to start, but not horrible. However the pitchers fell flat on their faces in that series and allowed the sweep. Now to find a stud reliever on waivers....

#80318	02/23/2021 9:30:36 pm	Apr 25th, 2049
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	I see DW picked up Lok Kuo. Man I thought he was going to be a stud when he earned the cy young and rookie of the yr in 2039 for me. helped propel me into Legends for the first time.. Then he just settled into an expensive #4 or 5 starter for years. I guess if I saw him on wavers I might have put a bid in on him too, just to kick the tires.

#80323	02/24/2021 7:12:43 am	Apr 25th, 2049
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	@allen54chevy Deadwood's at a point in the season where the team looks like it belongs in the division, but might not be good enough to win it, and I've had a couple starting pitchers who just consistently continue to get knocked out of games very early, which I can't afford to keep doing. So I thought I'd take a peek into Free Agency for any older starters that might have slipped through the cracks, and liked what I saw in Kuo. If his first start for DW is any indication, I'll be pretty happy: 7IP 4H 7K 1R Updated Wednesday, February 24 2021 @ 7:13:06 am PST

#80330	02/24/2021 5:33:03 pm	Apr 29th, 2049
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	The Wolves were quite lucky to win the games against Allen. We were out-hit in all three games. It looks like this is going to be a difficult year where all the teams are quite competitive and every game is decided by a couple of runs. Fascinating to see Moo Cow's Griffey hitting 1 HR in his first 28 game, then hit 7 HRs in the next three including that 4HR/4 performance. I saw the Lok Kuo pickup as well, and was very surprised to see how he had topped out in his rookie year with a Cy-Young. This is one of the beauty of this game. You just never know how a player will turn out. First you hope you draft a high potential player, then you hope the potential stays. Then you hope his minor league stats hold up. Finally, you bring him to the majors and hope that he does well enough in his first few seasons. And that's still not good enough, they have to be able to perform consistently for a few season to be called a success.

#80331	02/24/2021 7:05:15 pm	Apr 29th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Wow! 4HRs in 4 ABs... That has to be some sort of record.

#80337	02/25/2021 7:17:32 am	Apr 29th, 2049
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	Only 1 MLB player went 4 for 4 with 4 HR I'll let you guys guess who as you read the article. (There is a link in page to give the answer) 17 MLB players have hit 4 HR in a game

#80338	02/25/2021 8:07:28 am	Apr 29th, 2049
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	L. Kuo's second start was a bit worse than the first, but not terrible: 6.1 IP, 6H, 4R, 6K, no decision. Bullpen blew it. He gets a third start!

#80435	03/04/2021 5:23:30 pm	May 29th, 2049
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Most eye-popping stat of the year so far? The RISP against the Moo Cows stands at .337 right now. Every hitter - your WHOLE TEAM - is Barry Bonds against us when there's a runner on. Want to see a great example of this? Check out Allen scoring 15 runs on our defense in one inning. No bugs. No pitching quirks. Just 15 runs on the Moo Cows in one inning. Hey Steve, totally serious, have you done something to the code to make teams or players more streaky in the past year or so? Our hitting was universally abysmal last year, but this year it's GREAT. The defense last year was decent but now it's as dismal as it could possibly get. Not just a player or two, but the whole team goes north/south at the same time. Since Steve's probably on the line, the Moo Cows protest against the forced name change against the Butte Pirates and the forced name change of the Butte Hole. First, not offensive. Second, it's been that way since something like 2017. If it didn't really offend anyone for three full years, it should be grandfathered in. Third, the names were clever and made it fun to play a free internet game. This decision makes it less fun. Last, if "Butte Pirates" and "Butte Hole" are somehow offensive, then the innuendo discussion of "P. Ennis" at the Legends level is equally offensive. This was a poor decision and we'd like to see it reversed. Edit: Fun Trivia Fact: The Lenexa team used to call Haverhill home in BB 2019. The Halflings took it over in BB 2020. Now they're in the same league! Updated Thursday, March 4 2021 @ 5:35:20 pm PST

#80436	03/04/2021 6:04:54 pm	May 29th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	That's an interesting factoid.

#80438	03/04/2021 9:56:54 pm	May 29th, 2049
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	I don't believe I have ever seen a double bat around before, and I've been in some pretty one sided rec league softball games.

#80439	03/04/2021 10:11:41 pm	May 29th, 2049
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	I guess people in rec softball leagues have mercy on each other. The internet, on the other hand, is ruthless! @hurstdm: That's a great piece of trivia facts.

#80446	03/05/2021 11:14:01 am	May 29th, 2049
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	L. Kuo Update: 5 starts, 3 were quality starts FIP is great. ERA is ok. He stays in the rotation!

#80452	03/05/2021 4:08:24 pm	May 30th, 2049
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	@allen: Kike Vasquez with zero ABs this season, just demoted in favor of #6 global prospect in BB Web Gem O'Neil called up today from AAA Winter Park 112 SI at age 21. @wickersty and Smyrna: our catcher Fernandez has played on both of your teams. Seems in comparison that your clubs are doing well with your catchers, though. Ended up on Cuba national team, gold glove. Chopped his GIDP in half by sending our leadoff guy Winchester (led league in runs and SB and BB last season, no MVP vote love though) to steal more often. @moocows: Word to your m'udder. Ice Ice Milk Baby. Vanilla Ice has a home renovation show on DIY network nowadays, he is very entertaining, must see tv during lockdown.

#80461	03/06/2021 10:28:23 am	May 31st, 2049
jclemen2 Joined: 11/22/2016 Posts: 180 Mount Prospect Skeletons Legends	LOL @ P.Ennis being brought up here.

#80462	03/06/2021 1:11:25 pm	May 31st, 2049
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	We can't get enough P. Ennis.

#80465	03/06/2021 4:08:09 pm	Jun 2nd, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Ouch... My leadoff hitter just went 0 for 8...

#80476	03/07/2021 12:41:28 pm	Jun 4th, 2049
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	In the spirit of recirculating players cut by the 54chevys over the years, I purchased the expensive contract on closer Phil Breeden for down the stretch. He was a roster crunch cut player still trying to prove himself many years ago in an era when I had little tolerance for control issue pitchers... obviously he was a bit of a late bloomer and proved me wrong. @Denver where does someone find a SS like WebGem? Incredible.

#80480	03/08/2021 12:07:37 pm	Jun 8th, 2049
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Thank you. He was acquired via the draft, homegrown. The first overall pick of three straight years in the draft of 15 POT first rounders. A lot of owners have never bothered to put in the work to figure out the draft, but I have. 14 POT first rounder this year as well, Colorado local teenager 1.021 in Rookie ball right now at Lecompton Impalas. I also say my prayers and confess my sins to Draft Day Darnay, Broken Bat god of the economic update.

#80486	03/09/2021 7:29:16 am	Jun 10th, 2049
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	OK, Rock. Today we meet on the field. Fun times ahead. Good luck!

#80497	03/09/2021 6:08:44 pm	Jun 14th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Could have gone better for Haverhill. The last game was particularly painful with our rock solid 1B (now nicknamed "Bill") letting an easy ground ball dribble between his legs. What should have been the last out in the 9th turned into 3 unearned runs, 3 run loss

#80516	03/11/2021 4:33:30 pm	Jun 23rd, 2049
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Goose has been a nice pick up for the moo cows. Had a great career for us but looks cosier in LL2

#80532	03/12/2021 12:25:56 pm	Jun 25th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Tough series for Haverhill. We have a pretty deep bullpen, but the starters did such a poor job that poor Vásquez got stuck in there for 100+ pitches. Latest stats looks pretty ugly. We actually have 9 pitchers maxed out with fully blue bars, LOL.

#80558	03/14/2021 6:07:05 pm	Jul 6th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	WAY to many big parks in this league. Even teams with small park players are playing in big parks...

#80570	03/15/2021 11:54:30 am	Jul 7th, 2049
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	9 RBI from the leadoff spot and a grand slam? Jarrod Winchester is such a Chad.

#80593	03/16/2021 6:34:46 pm	Jul 14th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Pretty big split in the East. Two teams battling for promotion to Legends. Four teams battling for promotion to III.

#80599	03/17/2021 8:33:27 am	Jul 14th, 2049
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Cows in fourth?? Cows in fourth?! COWS IN FOURTH!! Meanwhile, we had Francis De Simone (the manliest name in baseball) hit for the cycle in this game. From the 9th spot! Geaux Francis! Last year, he had 10 RBI in this game. He's got a flair for the dramatic. Free Zoners - Goose has been a nice pick up for the moo cows. Had a great career for us but looks cosier in LL2 He's too expensive for us, really, and doing the Thursday shuffles. "Goose" is a clever nickname. We're desperate for anyone not serving up batting practice. First time literally ever that the Moo Cows pick up a pitcher under six feet tall and he's completely imploding. Of course.

#80603	03/17/2021 12:19:25 pm	Jul 14th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Cows in fourth?? Yep. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Haverhill sneakily slipped ahead in the race for League III promotion.

#80604	03/17/2021 2:08:42 pm	Jul 16th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	0 All-Stars for Haverhill. That seems appropriate for our level of play.

#80622	03/18/2021 8:04:28 am	Jul 16th, 2049
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	The Deadwood-Haverhill rematch is upon us!

#80624	03/18/2021 8:11:40 am	Jul 16th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'll be happy to take 1, the way the team has been playing of late...

#80626	03/18/2021 8:50:33 am	Jul 16th, 2049
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	@Rock777 I'd be happy to take 4

#80629	03/18/2021 2:47:21 pm	Jul 18th, 2049
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	If you were a real G, you'd take 0.

#80630	03/18/2021 3:20:18 pm	Jul 18th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Tough game 1. Three times as many hits, yet still lost by 1

#80633	03/18/2021 6:21:34 pm	Jul 20th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Well we split 4-1, just not the way we agreed

#80639	03/19/2021 5:59:44 am	Jul 21st, 2049
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	I blame you, Rock, for jynxing the series! Well played. That hurt my place in the division. I was knocking on the division lead and now I'm 5 out. Uggg...

#80646	03/19/2021 9:54:07 am	Jul 21st, 2049
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	wickersty, you are out of your element! take al swearengen's quote (one of my fav tv shows eva) to heart and put it on the deadwood locker room bulletin board, courtesy of denver: "announcing your plans is a good way to hear god laugh"

#80651	03/19/2021 10:37:50 am	Jul 21st, 2049
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	http://brokenbat.org/player/171198 Who drops a player with 4 pennants on his player card?

#80656	03/19/2021 12:20:33 pm	Jul 21st, 2049
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	this guy!

#80657	03/19/2021 12:27:33 pm	Jul 21st, 2049
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Must have been a tough cut. He'd make a good pickup for someone out there. Proven winners are tough to find. I had remembered the name from somewhere. I can remember he faced four Denver batters but did not record an out.

#80658	03/19/2021 12:43:05 pm	Jul 21st, 2049
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	It was a tough call. He was better than good in 2048 for me, and a big part of that division win. But this year he has been an absolute nightmare, and really, 2047 wasn't that great either. Deadwood's in the middle of a run and if I'm going to stay at II or, god forbid, advance, the time is now. I can't afford bullpen space for (or losses from) a habitual imploder.

#80662	03/19/2021 6:49:57 pm	Jul 23rd, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yes yes. Jinxes in BB are very real. I'm going to go on the record now that I expect to win 0 games through the rest of the season

#80665	03/19/2021 7:31:10 pm	Jul 23rd, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	My pitchers are doing horrible this season too. But if I dropped all my Huttons, I wouldn't be able to field enough pitchers for the minimum. So I'm just shutting my eyes and pretending I can't see the stats. My pitchers specialize in small parks (thus my park), the crazy tendency for super large parks in this league is probably half the reason for their horrible performance... Updated Friday, March 19 2021 @ 7:36:18 pm PDT

#80676	03/22/2021 7:38:33 pm	Aug 4th, 2049
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Two fun games: Game 1: Deshawn Griffey pitches to Deshawn Griffey. You can't make this stuff up. Game 2: Two pinch hit homers in the 8th inning. One a pinch hit grand slam! Updated Monday, March 22 2021 @ 7:39:07 pm PDT

#80811	03/31/2021 3:04:47 pm	Sep 5th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I really wish we could use closers in tied games

#80817	04/01/2021 8:46:42 am	Sep 8th, 2049
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	I respectfully disagree. Do you enjoy baseball in real life? Most managers IRL would rarely do that. It never seems to end well. It seems to be only used by a manager when the closer has not recently pitched innings. You could always use the suggestion forum. (looks like you have lolz) Updated Thursday, April 1 2021 @ 8:54:50 am PDT

#80844	04/02/2021 8:52:29 am	Sep 13th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	In real life it is an option. And if your team is doing poorly and your closer isn't getting any innings, they will bring him in for tied games. I would definitely like to do that. I don't really care what real life managers do. I want to do what is smart for my team

#80846	04/02/2021 9:11:38 am	Sep 13th, 2049
NotGood88 Joined: 08/28/2020 Posts: 510 Prattville Black Cats II.2	I want to do what is smart for my team And then there’s a guy like me, who appears to be rebuilding, but really wants only the worst for my ballclub

#80854	04/02/2021 3:18:37 pm	Sep 13th, 2049
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	It is not smart to bring in a closer when no save has been assumed. It is sometimes done, but it is not smart, it is waiting for the other ballclub to make a mistake. Updated Friday, April 2 2021 @ 3:32:39 pm PDT

#80855	04/02/2021 4:52:52 pm	Sep 15th, 2049
afreespirit Joined: 09/17/2011 Posts: 305 Inactive	The current condition for bringing in a closer only when a team has a lead favours the visiting team during extra innings. The home team never gets the option to use their closer in extra innings even if the rest of bullpen is fatigued. There is a similar issue with replace for defense. That also favours the visitors during extra innings. I've asked for that to be fixed so that RFD can activate when the game is tied, but nothing has changed.

#80856	04/02/2021 6:02:37 pm	Sep 16th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I disagree. It is smart in many situations. I assume that also means you think it is stupid for teams to run closer by committee. Baseball is situational. And there are plenty of situations where it makes sense to bring the closer in. He is you best pitcher. Not some magical entity that only works in close games. If I'm on a 10 game losing streak, what good is the guy doing me sitting in the bullpen. As Afreespirit mentioned, the closer has no chance to pitch for the home team in extra innings. This is where I most often feel the pain of my closer not coming into the game. I'll have some poor SET pitch 60 pitches in extra innings and lose the game because the AI thinks its sacrilege to bring in the closer. Often times my closers have lots of stamina, and I'd be fine with him pitching 3 innings to get the win. Especially if I'm losing more than winning. What's the likelihood I'll need him for the next few days anyhow. Updated Friday, April 2 2021 @ 6:03:25 pm PDT

#80861	04/03/2021 9:00:48 pm	Sep 20th, 2049
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	@Rock Here's how I would do it: Set 1: Bearden (your closer) first inning 9th inning, SRD 0, LRD 2 or 3 Set 2: Thornton (your typical setup man) first inning 7 or 8, typical setup man settings. RHS: McGrath (he is better against Righties anyway so he gets a leg up on his first batter) first inning 7, number of pitches and setting as he already is. (I would have him -1 SRD to 3 or 4 LRD) I have ran this setting about 30% of the time over the years. I use it when I want my closer to pitch in tied games and it seems to work. It works best with closers that have >10 stamina and allowed 2-3 innings worth of pitches.

#80867	04/04/2021 4:02:09 pm	Sep 22nd, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	You sure its working? I've had my Closers set to 0 SRD since I starting playing this game, and I still see them sitting the bench in extra inning games. I'm pretty sure the AI ignores the RD settings for Closers.

#80869	04/04/2021 5:10:21 pm	Sep 24th, 2049
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	In this setup there is no one in the "closer" position. I am manipulating the management settings to make Set1 take on the closer role.

#80870	04/04/2021 6:30:36 pm	Sep 24th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Oh I see. Yeah, that doesn't work the same as a Closer though. Because depending on when the SET comes in, he'll just keep pitching. I prefer to use the Closer because it is more reliable. Its just annoying that we aren't able to use the RD settings (despite them be available for Closer).

#80879	04/05/2021 12:49:12 pm	Sep 24th, 2049
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Halflings: I really wish we could use closers in tied games. Moo Cows: +1 Broncos: Most managers IRL would rarely do that. It never seems to end well. It is not smart to bring in a closer when no save has been assumed. If we want to make a horrible strategic mistake, as one of our clear league sworn enemies for life, maybe everyone should let us? Classics: And then there’s a guy like me, who appears to be rebuilding, but really wants only the worst for my ballclub. A worst thing about a guy like you is the confusion between your logo and the (sworn enemy for life) Novi Doubledays. Meanwhile, even though 2049 has been disappointing for the Moo Cows, we have to appreciate that the East races have been fantastic! Allen and Eden Prairie - two favorite teams - have been smacking each other at the top all year. Meanwhile, the Moo Cows have crept up and made the race for fifth place dramatic. We were in the dumps after losing two straight to Haverhill at home, then we recouped it on the back nine. Even Lenexa has been faltering and might relegate. Halflings, let's make that happen! It is sad that Lenexa's pitchers are all insanely injured, but it's hard to feel too sorry for an owner that hasn't checked in for over a week. Another cool story, our outfielder Griffey's been angling for MVP awards in 2049. We picked him up from the league-mate (and sworn enemy for life) Deadwood Ambulators in 2043. How many waiver claims were there? Two. Two?? Two. Looks like we maaaaaaaade it.

#80880	04/05/2021 1:01:01 pm	Sep 24th, 2049
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	Damn it Damn it Damn it Damn it Damn it Damn it Damn it why did we let Griffey go? I hate seeing castoffs succeed! I have to fire someone to cover up my own incompetence! Damn those Dastardly Cows! Updated Monday, April 5 2021 @ 1:01:37 pm PDT

#80884	04/05/2021 3:50:30 pm	Sep 26th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	We were in the dumps after losing two straight to Haverhill at home, then we recouped it on the back nine. Its weird, I seem to experience the exact opposite emotions as you when we play. I guess we are just very different people. I was ecstatic after the first two games, but down in the dumps after the second two.

#80887	04/06/2021 1:11:23 am	Sep 28th, 2049
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	A worst thing about a guy like you is the confusion between your logo and the (sworn enemy for life) Novi Doubledays. From (Broken Bat) hell's heart, I stab at thee. COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!

#80894	04/06/2021 4:20:59 pm	Sep 30th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Down to the final lap. We have extremely close races for promotion to LL-III in both the East and West!

#80897	04/06/2021 6:48:52 pm	Oct 2nd, 2049
NotGood88 Joined: 08/28/2020 Posts: 510 Prattville Black Cats II.2	A worst thing about a guy like you is the confusion between your logo and the (sworn enemy for life) Novi Doubledays. Perhaps I will be your sworn enemy someday. Though I still love the unique logos that you and I have Updated Tuesday, April 6 2021 @ 6:49:08 pm PDT

#80906	04/07/2021 11:40:48 am	Oct 2nd, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	A worst thing about a guy like you is the confusion between your logo and the (sworn enemy for life) Novi Doubledays. They aren't similar, they are complete opposites. One is Pitching and one is Batting

#80911	04/07/2021 4:17:03 pm	Oct 4th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Even Lenexa has been faltering and might relegate. Halflings, let's make that happen! Well I failed my part

#80912	04/07/2021 6:13:20 pm	Oct 6th, 2049
NotGood88 Joined: 08/28/2020 Posts: 510 Prattville Black Cats II.2	They aren't similar, they are complete opposites. One is Pitching and one is Batting At least he can hit. While my pitching has an ERA of 6 versus the extremely stiff VI.30

#80913	04/07/2021 7:58:59 pm	Oct 6th, 2049
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	Kawasaki had given up 12 HR all season (183 2/3 innings) then gives up 3 bombs in the first inning against Eden Prairie... in the start that would either pull me back into contention or end the season. Arggh A total of 20% of his homeruns all season came in 2/3 of an inning.

#80919	04/08/2021 12:08:58 pm	Oct 6th, 2049
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Redding has been swept in three straight series. Pennant chase out West!

#80920	04/08/2021 3:02:58 pm	Oct 7th, 2049
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	And Deadwood is tripping all over itself and barely taking advantage.

#80921	04/08/2021 3:30:28 pm	Oct 7th, 2049
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	Ced that last game against you really really hurt.

#80922	04/08/2021 3:31:57 pm	Oct 7th, 2049
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	For posterity: With 11-12 games to go.... 1st Place - Redding - L11 2nd Place - Denver - W7 Just 1 1/2 GB! A huge lead, evaporated! Run differentials? +47 & +48! Meanwhile, tense emotional scrum in the east for 3rd through 5th place. I feel sorry for Smyrna. That's a good ballclub over there and they deserved better. The II.1 east competition is intense.

#80936	04/09/2021 5:25:12 pm	Oct 14th, 2049
Rebuilder Joined: 04/27/2018 Posts: 67 Redding Raiders III.3	Epic collapse this season, still hope we can hang on but it's not looking good right now.

#80943	04/10/2021 4:02:34 pm	Oct 16th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Denver certainly looks to have the advantage schedule-wise. Finishing up the season against the two teams who look to be demoting. Redding will have to defend their position againt Deadwood (who inexplicably are still in the race with a -56 RD).

#80944	04/10/2021 5:15:40 pm	Oct 18th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Good luck in the final drive Murfreesboro. But mostly routing for Allen to kick the pre-bot out of the league

#80953	04/11/2021 2:16:43 pm	Oct 18th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	After game #1 it looks like Lenexa has secured the LL-III promotion

#80955	04/11/2021 4:06:11 pm	Oct 20th, 2049
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	Way to hang in there Rebuilder

#80957	04/11/2021 4:13:03 pm	Oct 20th, 2049
Rebuilder Joined: 04/27/2018 Posts: 67 Redding Raiders III.3	Thanks! By the skin of my teeth!!

#80960	04/11/2021 5:17:45 pm	Oct 22nd, 2049
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	This is the 2nd season in the last 4 where I missed winning the division by 1 game. Which happens, but hurts when you’re making a push up the league levels a hair away from Legends for the first time. I hope my team has enough in the tank for another 1-2 seasons with the current talent level. I can almost smell The big league... I guess my awful RD this season means technically I finished 2GB so that helps a little. Updated Sunday, April 11 2021 @ 5:18:43 pm PDT

#80965	04/11/2021 7:18:53 pm	Oct 22nd, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm impressed you were even in the running with a -50.

#80966	04/11/2021 7:38:45 pm	Oct 22nd, 2049
Hurr Durr Joined: 05/01/2018 Posts: 32 Inactive

#80967	04/11/2021 7:52:14 pm	Oct 22nd, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Painful ending for Butte, but pretty exciting West finish. Two underdog sweeps result in the only possible situation for Moore to avoid relegation. Denver actually looked like strong contenders for the league going into the last series. But a sweep by Moore puts them firmly in 3rd. Butte earns a LL-III promotion; getting swept by bottom dwelling Rohnert Park.

#80968	04/11/2021 8:10:00 pm	Oct 22nd, 2049
Hurr Durr Joined: 05/01/2018 Posts: 32 Inactive	Yeah, funny finishes... funny season all around. I'll still have some representation in the league next season though; my Dopes will be in the East. Updated Sunday, April 11 2021 @ 8:12:59 pm PDT

#81003	04/13/2021 4:24:25 pm	Oct 30th, 2049
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Congrats on the pennant, boltsman. Going from LL6 to Legends has nothing but my respect. GG Rebuilder.

#81004	04/13/2021 4:26:34 pm	Oct 30th, 2049
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Congrats to Eden Prairie. A nice finish to the season just in case anyone doubted their +131 RD at evidence of their dominance this year. Allen looks well positioned to take the role next season. Athletics and Dopes look to be strong teams coming in next season as well... We have our work cut out for us if we want to stick again next season...

#81006	04/13/2021 4:34:48 pm	Oct 30th, 2049
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	Congrats Eden, and also Rebuilder. Two deserving division champs. They looked and played like it was their division all season. Happy to be staying in II.

#81007	04/13/2021 4:35:28 pm	Oct 30th, 2049
Rebuilder Joined: 04/27/2018 Posts: 67 Redding Raiders III.3	Thx wickersty and Ced! Came in and took over the worst team I could find with the lowest amount of money(under 5mil) and set out on my journey. A little luck and a lot of effort and here we are...Headed to Legends!!! Good luck to everyone here. Great job Eden Prairie, congrats!! Updated Tuesday, April 13 2021 @ 6:24:54 pm PDT

#81013	04/13/2021 9:35:37 pm	Oct 30th, 2049
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	Thanks everyone! It's been a pleasure competing against all of you. None of the games comes easy. Congratulations to Rebuilder as well. It is a fun journey to bring a team from LL6 all the way up, and it is special to compete against all of you who have already achieved the feat. I remembered wickersty, Hurr Durr and hurstdm who also joined around my time. I'm not much of a poster on the forum, but I do try to keep up with your postings (wickersty, it'll be your turn soon enough). Rock, Ced and Allen have all been teams that I tried to look up and emulate on my way up. It still feel weird to be competing on the same level as you are. Props to Allen for a great race all throughout the season. I thought Allen would be similar to Birmingham last season where the team just keeps on winning. I got fairly lucky this season with a lot of players having their career years and winning a lot of 1-run games. If not for the slump that Allen (and Redding) hit at the end of the season, I don't think I would have made it. I didn't want to post anything because I am afraid of jinxing it down the stretch, but I really wanted to thank everyone for an exciting season.

#81024	04/14/2021 1:38:04 pm	Oct 30th, 2049
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Both division winners went LL6 to LL level. I normally pick a team along them lines when I start a sports game as well. Congrats to both of you. As far as boltsman's gratitude towards Denvy goes, I am flattered though there is no need to share what you may have seen in my ballclub as that is your trade secret to keep. It takes a sense of picking out and evaluating players to win Legends someday. I could care less what the opposition is doing day to day, but there are some opposing pitchers and batters whose names come up and you just pray to God they don't perform well! Floyd Money Mayweather Jr. is famous for not watching video of his opponents, and actually I have felt the same way forever in that regard when it comes to sports as an athlete and fake baseball owner and so on. Denvy knows who they are and that is what Redding and Eden Prairie have probably figured out about their own roster. If you really feel that way, send me a II.1 ring from this season! II.1 forum has always been spicier than II.2. The season I said in the forum something like I'm not going down was indeed the season I went down, so I understand that about saying beep on the forum. All good to lurk on the forum. Not mad at ya. A lot of lurkers in Legends forum, I suggest you participate next year. I wanted to win the cup, made it to Elite Eight and probably sacrificed some wins in the league chasing that damn dream, but it is worth it to play on days when other teams have nothing going on. I knew what I was getting into. Didn't think I'd end up 3rd however. Made the final one season but lost. I was unable to login on the final day and was swept by Moore, which enabled them to stay up. Sorry to Butte for that. Seems like they have not logged in for some time. Hope everything is okay in OK. Just some thoughts during the off season. I wish I had the ability to say something about each and every team, but I don't, so hope no one feels left out too badly. Much improved offense for Denver in 2049. Free agency scouting for the youth is complete and feeling confident about that aspect for the first time since 2045. Good luck up there to Redding and Eden Prairie in 2050. Updated Wednesday, April 14 2021 @ 1:41:00 pm PDT

#81064	04/15/2021 6:48:49 pm	Nov 2nd, 2049
Hurr Durr Joined: 05/01/2018 Posts: 32 Inactive	"Sorry to Butte for that" No need to be. All I had to do was not get swept. Maybe I'll get back one of these days soon. Need a few pieces. Had a three-season run in II.1; if I was going to get to Legends with this squad, I guess I'd have done it by now.

#81092	04/16/2021 12:54:20 pm	Nov 2nd, 2049
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	Last time we can refer to @Rebuilder in this thread. Lookie Lookie what we see when we click on his team: https://brokenbat.org/team/398 Legends West! And @Boltsman too... https://brokenbat.org/team/11 Legends East! Updated Friday, April 16 2021 @ 12:55:17 pm PDT

#81095	04/16/2021 1:45:59 pm	Nov 2nd, 2049
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Ambulators: Damn those Dastardly Cows! Doubledays: From (Broken Bat) hell's heart, I stab at thee. COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW! Kiss, kiss Raiders: Epic collapse this season, still hope we can hang on but it's not looking good right now. Whatever bug hit the Moo Cows in April got you in September. Thanks! By the skin of my teeth!! How can you not be romantic about baseball? Halflings: Good luck in the final drive Murfreesboro. But mostly routing for Allen to kick the pre-bot out of the league We did it!!! Pirates: I'll still have some representation in the league next season though; my Dopes will be in the East. We love ya, but we wish Steve wouldn't let people own two or more teams at a time. Here's one reason. If you'd managed to have two teams in the exact same league, you can guarantee we'd be filing a formal complaint. Broncos: II.1 forum has always been spicier than II.2. True, but why?? Congratulations to Eden Prairie and Redding! As nice as it gets! The Wolves have been one of our favorite teams for a while. We always seem to have our eyes on the same players. Rocketing up from League VI in 2038! The Raiders were last in VI in 2041 - really quick! Essentially the first time at the top for both teams! Griffey wins the MVP award! Remember that time he went 4 for 4 with 4 home runs? Seems to have impressed the sportswriters! But second place in the voting? "Butter" Kim, also from Murfreesboro! Do you want the truth? I'm not sure Griffey's been more valuable this year than Kim. Kim's got about 10 more games and about 50 more at bats. Griffey played a solid right, but Kim played the more valuable position in center. He also held down third base as a lefty hitter for about 50 games. Griffey's got some stolen bases and outfield assists, but we might have to hand the team MVP to Kim! By that same logic, our local hometown sportswriter voted for Battaglia, who's a holy terror at shortstop for Lenexa. (We'd trade Santiago for Battaglia in a heartbeat.) No matter what, we had a great outfield this year. Even Roque hit over .300 in 140+ games. We've waivered that guy twice, including from the Eden Prairie Wolves! Potential: fulfilled! This game right here was pretty much the whole season for the Moo Cows. We needed to win this to stay up. Behind, tied, behind, tied, squeaked it out. Why do we sign on for this emotional abuse? What a m***ing two years this has been. The Beach Palms are coming up?!? Do we have to be on our best behavior? Please no Thunder, please no Thunder, please no Thunder, please no Thunder.

#81125	04/17/2021 7:19:38 am	Jan 13th, 2050
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Can't seem to get through to any motels in Murfreesboro. Every time we say "Bloomington Thunder", the line goes dead. Anybody else having this problem?

#81139	04/17/2021 1:16:15 pm	Jan 13th, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	PrivateSnowflake is following me. He relegated into my Broken Bat league and Hardwood league in the same season.

#81155	04/17/2021 4:50:03 pm	Jan 13th, 2050
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	There is no known way to get rid of a PrivateSnowfake infestation. We've tried.

#81169	04/18/2021 7:06:19 am	Jan 13th, 2050
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	@Ced: Still seeking revenge from that '44 Legends Final Good to see you again. @hurstdm: You see, Thunder spooks Cows. That's a fact. Plus we can't win without you.

#81398	04/24/2021 12:35:28 pm	Mar 2nd, 2050
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Before the throwdown really gets started, the Moo Cows wanted to make sure and welcome the Jefferson City Patriots, Corvallis Ravens, Solana Beach Palms, Alexandria Athletics, and Shamokin Dopes to the league!

#81421	04/26/2021 12:50:15 pm	Mar 6th, 2050
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	Lot of new team names. Welcome, all. Don't mind me if I'm quiet to start the season. I'm still really, really, really bitter about last season. And, well, I also am swamped with work. Blech. GLTA.

#81424	04/27/2021 5:52:43 am	Mar 8th, 2050
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	One week before the new season begins and you know what that means...it's time for PSF's Annual League Prediction and DIY Life Hacks That Seem To Be More Trouble Than Just Doing It Right The First Time thread! Now before we begin, do you or a loved one suffer from mesotheeleoma, mezotheelio, meso...do you or a loved one need an extended warranty for your 22 year-old Honda? Operators are standing by. To those of you that haven't been in a league with me before, I tabulate and triangulate all of the league numbers and save them onto 268 floppy disks which I then feed into my trusty Apple II computer, which then spits out more numbers onto dot-matrix paper which I then line my chicken coops with and let the chickens decide who advances and who regulates. You can't argue my method because it's math-based. And there is math in science. Therefore, it's science-based math. Who wins the trophies this season? Let's find out! West Offensive Ratings: 1. Jefferson City 179.04 2. Deadwood 177.89 <<<ironically, my wife's pet name for me. Not sure what it means... 3. Moore 175.50 4. Denver 173.90 5. Corvallis 170.46 6. Solana Beach 167.38 West Pitching Ratings 1. Jefferson City 169.13 2. Denver 168.96 <<<Fun fact, Denver was named after the singer/songwriter, John West Virginia. 3. Moore 165.77 4. Deadwood 165.60 5. Solana Beach 164.31 6. Corvallis 159.84 West Division Order Finish 1. Jefferson City 348.17 2. Deadwood 343.49 3. Denver 342.86 4. Moore 341.27 5. Solana Beach 331.69 6. Corvallis 330.30 Congratulations to Jefferson City on your division trophy! East Offensive Ratings 1. Shamokin 185.47 2. Bloomington 185.13 3. Murfreesboro 182.75 4. Alexandria 175.07 <<<named for Macedonian King, Louis XVI of France 5. Allen 173.75 6. Haverhill 170.61 East Division Pitching Ratings 1. Bloomington 175.73 2. Alexandria 168.80 3. Murfreesboro 167.70 4. Allen 164.64 <<<Pizza Hut began here in 1865. Originally known as "Pizza Log Cabin" 5. Shamokin 162.24 6. Haverhill 152.46 East Predicted Order of the Finnish 1. Bloomington 360.86 2. Murfreesboro 350.45 3. Shamokin 347.71 4. Alexandria 343.87 5. Allen 338.39 6. Haverhill 323.07 That's it! Steve, hand out the trophies because these ratings are never wrong. Nope. Don't go back and check previous predictions, because they are iron-clad! Er, I mean science-based! So, who wins the league. PSF? Well, how would I know! You'd need some kind of predictions post to figure that out. What? Oh, right.... Bloomington over Jefferson City 4-2. That's it! See you all next season!

#81425	04/27/2021 6:02:19 am	Mar 8th, 2050
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	Your wife calls you 177.89, too? Weird. And I see II.2 wasn't good enough, eh? Just had to be in 1. I get it. I get it.

#81426	04/27/2021 6:42:10 am	Mar 8th, 2050
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	I do love me some PSF posts...

#81428	04/27/2021 7:41:03 am	Mar 8th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	No pressure for Haverhill this year With a dead last rating, all we can do is beat the prediction Although, I do feel like our hitting is being a little over-rated here. Updated Tuesday, April 27 2021 @ 7:43:11 am PDT

#81430	04/27/2021 12:09:10 pm	Mar 8th, 2050
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	And I see II.2 wasn't good enough, eh? Just had to be in 1. I get it. I get it. Steve said it wouldn't be fair to keep having the Thunder win II.2. I'm paraphrasing, but he said something along the lines of, "Those guys are stupid poo-poo heads".

#81437	04/27/2021 7:22:59 pm	Mar 10th, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Steve is in our league so you won’t hear me saying beep or beep! Good thing wuggla isn’t here this season. Steve, Denvy will exclusively play all of our kids in ballgames against Solana Beach in exchange for a good first rounder. 14 pot, and that price is negotiable.

#81452	04/28/2021 6:20:44 pm	Mar 12th, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	http://brokenbat.org/player/255271 Calvo trades Bloomi for Denvy. Gotta love off-season POT increases if they go against your rival.

#81455	04/29/2021 4:11:26 am	Mar 12th, 2050
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Calvo trades Bloomi for Denvy.I...just...can't...wait when it comes to developing Latin players! Projects well as a 2B/OF. I just don't have the patience!

#81456	04/29/2021 5:14:13 am	Mar 12th, 2050
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	As always, chuckling away at the predictions. Also Ced, I think Calvo got off at the wrong stop, just put him on the next bus up the road thanks.

#81457	04/29/2021 5:16:53 am	Mar 12th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	We had a claim on him too. 2B has long been a weakness for Haverhill.

#81465	04/29/2021 6:02:07 pm	Mar 14th, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Calvo is a four tool player. Hitting way over 300 in spring ball, so we will see what’s what. And now you young owners can see exactly what it takes to win Legends, and the chasm between it and the lowbie leagues such as this one right here. Look at JJNZ’s post above. According to Boulder, Denver moves their players around using bus fare. Boulder apparently uses air fare.🙄😂

#81553	05/03/2021 11:14:23 am	Mar 20th, 2050
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Thunder: I'm paraphrasing, but he said something along the lines of, "Those guys are stupid poo-poo heads". No way Steve uses filthy language like that. Mass Cow Exodus. Everyone cut. We're running with 37 total players right now. We could fire another any second. It's the best fertilizer for growth and performance.

#81555	05/03/2021 12:04:34 pm	Mar 20th, 2050
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	It's a Slaughterhouse!!! ... i'll see myself out.

#81559	05/03/2021 2:20:28 pm	Mar 20th, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Whole lotta moooooooves over at Murfreesboro. Sounds like us last year with the low roster strat. Nearly fluked the league. We weren't in the 30's tho. 0_0 It is possible. xx

#81596	05/04/2021 2:39:31 pm	Mar 25th, 2050
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	To set the tone for the season start, Alexandria plunks the second and fourth Moo Cow batters in the first game's top of the first inning.

#81599	05/04/2021 4:50:37 pm	Mar 28th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Well our batting did better than expected. If it can hold out, we might be able to finish the season with double digit wins!

#81604	05/04/2021 6:02:12 pm	Mar 30th, 2050
NotGood88 Joined: 08/28/2020 Posts: 510 Prattville Black Cats II.2	Prattville in VI.30 somehow won 3 out of 4 against a Harrisburg team with over twice the team rating (80.25 to 30.86). Go figure.

#81611	05/05/2021 5:40:42 am	Mar 30th, 2050
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Going to toot my own horn for a minute: With our first win of the season, that's 2,500 regular season wins for me in BB (2,501-2,142). Closing in on 3,000 overall, 2,980-2,492 (incl. Cup and Playoff). Anybody else keep track of their totals?

#81613	05/05/2021 5:43:42 am	Mar 30th, 2050
NotGood88 Joined: 08/28/2020 Posts: 510 Prattville Black Cats II.2	Anybody else keep track of their totals? Well, I do! League Record: 158-326 Cup Record: 23-41 Total Record: 171-367 We’re getting close to 200 total wins... And this is my fourth season

#81615	05/05/2021 6:32:02 am	Mar 30th, 2050
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	Never even considered it. Gotta be somewhere around that 2,500 mark myself.

#81616	05/05/2021 6:40:53 am	Mar 30th, 2050
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	Never thought of it either. Just checked: 1543-1337

#81617	05/05/2021 6:57:36 am	Mar 30th, 2050
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	Too bad that's not displayed under your join date/last log in on the club page. Be fun to tour around seeing who's the top dog.

#81618	05/05/2021 7:13:45 am	Mar 30th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	2534 - 2266

#81621	05/05/2021 7:25:16 am	Mar 30th, 2050
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	You guys just calculating from your History tab, or is this displayed somewhere?

#81622	05/05/2021 7:25:54 am	Mar 30th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yeah, history tab.

#81623	05/05/2021 7:27:41 am	Mar 30th, 2050
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	Seems like a small upgrade for the game to display totals on your individual history page: http://brokenbat.org/profile_history/5205/1

#81625	05/05/2021 7:34:11 am	Mar 30th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Actually I went 23-20 with a horrible Elephants team when I joined near the end of the season. So I guess official I am: 2557 - 2286 499 - 261 in cup, so a total of: 3056 - 2547 (not counting playoffs since they don't cut and paste nicely into excel). Updated Wednesday, May 5 2021 @ 7:36:52 am PDT

#81628	05/05/2021 7:38:53 am	Mar 30th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I've only broken 100 wins 3 times in 30 seasons. 10%.

#81629	05/05/2021 7:40:28 am	Mar 30th, 2050
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	I've only done it once or twice.

#81634	05/05/2021 8:38:11 am	Mar 30th, 2050
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	Four times in Deadwood.

#81637	05/05/2021 9:55:33 am	Mar 30th, 2050
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	You guys just calculating from your History tab, or is this displayed somewhere? Had to go back in the schedules to see playoff series' and Cup rounds in '05 and '06 (not shown in History, but played). From my Tools tab: 16 Division Titles (12 modern era) 5 Pennants (all modern era) Regular Season/Championship Record 1665-1535, 0-4 (2001-2020) .520 2499-2141, 5-7 (2021-2049) .539 Playoff: 6-16 (.273, 2001-2020) 33-42 (.440, 2021-2049) Cup: 160-137 (.539, 2001-2020) 446-308 (.592, 2021-2049) 2043 Cup Champ Overall: 4809-4179 (.535, 2001-2049) 1831-1688 (.520, 2001-2020) 2978-2491 (.545, 2021-2049) Glad to see I'm not the only one keeping track!

#81638	05/05/2021 11:17:52 am	Mar 30th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	To be honest, I'm not keeping track. But your post made me curious, so I looked it up on the history page

#81645	05/05/2021 4:23:22 pm	Apr 1st, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Broncos: II.1 forum has always been spicier than II.2. True, but why?? We are given the energy, and we try to give it back to the people. We do what we do. I appreciate the question. The energy the positive energy. The people support it. Yeah. The razorblade tongue. And no corona in the II.1 forum neither.

#81649	05/05/2021 6:31:45 pm	Apr 3rd, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Well, I expected Haverhill to finish last this season... But really the team is exceeding my expectations so far...

#81652	05/05/2021 8:31:30 pm	Apr 3rd, 2050
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	Our winning percentage was .5370 after 3836 games, then we played Haverhill for a 4 game set. Now it is .5375 :P 2064-1776 regular season 380-228 cup only 2 seasons of 100+ wins Updated Thursday, May 6 2021 @ 12:59:13 pm PDT

#81658	05/06/2021 6:35:56 am	Apr 3rd, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I think we're going to be boosting a lot of WPs this season... :/

#81674	05/06/2021 4:18:46 pm	Apr 5th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yay! Only 9 more wins to go to reach our season goal.

#81761	05/11/2021 5:52:34 am	Apr 21st, 2050
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Coolhand is gone. Hope it wasn't RL related. The MOO vs Moo(Cows) rivalry is dead.

#81762	05/11/2021 6:04:06 am	Apr 21st, 2050
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	You always have that twinge when a long-time owner just stops showing up one day.

#81763	05/11/2021 7:42:49 am	Apr 21st, 2050
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	Damn, that's always sad. Hope he's ok.

#81766	05/11/2021 9:51:44 am	Apr 21st, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Speak for yourself. We just split a series against an inactive owner! He won Legends right after us. Keeping the "cool" hand strong... way out west. He stopped playing Hardwood last Fall. See ya kid.

#81767	05/11/2021 12:33:46 pm	Apr 21st, 2050
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Thunder: Coolhand is gone. Hope it wasn't RL related. The MOO vs Moo(Cows) rivalry is dead. We're sad about this. No doubt the MOO team was one of our favorites. Ms. Cow will happily get all dolled up and have a drink for the celebration of a long, successful Coolhand career (.538!) and one of the nicest team owners. Here's another reason why logos should survive an owner change. Wouldn't some new owner want to take over a Moore Manta Ray team with a great history and a Legends Championship trophy already illustrated into the logo? Here's the suggestion thread if you want to +1 it. We kinda hate to bring it up, but how high do the Solana Beach Palms have to get in the leagues and rankings before there's a teeny tiny touch of "appearance of impropriety" because the owner knows exactly how the code works? It's one thing for the admin to own a team and just wash around the lower leagues for fun, but when that team starts beating out other competitive owners near the top of the pyramid and pushing them down the ladder? Maybe I'm the only one? The bipolar Dopes have three sweeps in five chances. Two against, one for. Last year's League MVP? Hitting .167! The Cow leadoff man who hit .304 last year? Hitting .129! Broken Bat mood swings are lovely.

#81772	05/11/2021 4:25:05 pm	Apr 23rd, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	As Andre Rison said, if you keep looking at that trophy in your past, you'll never be looking for another one. No hunger. Something Denvy needs to hear. And our logo is bird beep brown and we know it and all of baseball knows it. Moore's logo is noiiiice though. Plus 1. Why not have continuity for the new owner to make that determination. I have not seen that in other games, however, so this may be the trendsetter. Wow, so now that might be one way to get admin to participate in his own league forum, but it remains to be seen if that is the way.

#81774	05/11/2021 4:29:59 pm	Apr 23rd, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Solana hasn't been in Legends since 2024. Steve handicaps himself pretty severely by not signing FA. I don't have any issue with the competition, and he deserve to be able to have fun with the game he made. I wouldn't even have an issue with him signing FAs (although it might give away some secrets to observant folks).

#81775	05/11/2021 4:36:47 pm	Apr 23rd, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'd certainly like it if players had the option to keep the old logos (and if bots just kept them). It can be a bit discouraging when the logos vanish with the players. Makes it a bit harder to motivate myself to help folks out with new logos. I don't have a problem with people choosing to change their logo, but it would be nice if they had the option to keep them.

#81776	05/11/2021 4:51:26 pm	Apr 24th, 2050
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	Coolhand and I have had a pair of really good rivalries for the last several years between here and Hardwood. After leaving Hardwood he told me that real life was getting too busy for him to keep up with both games. I wonder if life continued to get busier for him. Honestly speaking for myself I'm probably getting close to retirement as well. I've got quite the dynasty with my K-State team over at Hardwood that I kind of want to see out but I also have a new business and two little kids which take up most of my time.

#81777	05/11/2021 5:01:29 pm	Apr 24th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	No... Not the field of dreams team (+Chevy) Hope you stick it out for as long as you can allen54chevy.

#81778	05/11/2021 8:13:42 pm	Apr 25th, 2050
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	And as for Solana Beach... I have said this once before: It is his game. He is just nice enough to allow us to play with him. If he ever lost interest, it is game over for everyone. Let Steve play and cheer him on. (Unless you play him this week. Then load up on pine tar!)

#81779	05/12/2021 6:42:51 am	Apr 25th, 2050
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	I have absolutely no problems with Steve playing and rising in the ranks, in fact I'm glad he does and glad he is. It doesn't bother me in the least. That said, when we face each other this season, my boys will be throwing high and inside at his boys.

#81780	05/12/2021 11:04:24 am	Apr 25th, 2050
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	And as for Solana Beach... I have said this once before: It is his game. He is just nice enough to allow us to play with him. This.

#81783	05/12/2021 3:49:30 pm	Apr 26th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	when we face each other this season, my boys will be throwing high and inside at his boys. LOL, I wish this was an option. I'd be throwing high and inside to everyone right now. Its a cornered Rat thing. Plus Halflings are immune

#81795	05/13/2021 8:53:19 am	Apr 29th, 2050
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Chevy: Honestly speaking for myself I'm probably getting close to retirement as well. I've got quite the dynasty with my K-State team over at Hardwood that I kind of want to see out but I also have a new business and two little kids which take up most of my time. Fake Baseball > Family. Ambulators: That said, when we face each other this season, my boys will be throwing high and inside at his boys. Let it be known - anyone wearing those girly Beach Palm caps is now a marked man. Halflings: LOL, I wish this was an option. I'd be throwing high and inside to everyone right now. Its a cornered Rat thing. Plus Halflings are immune Moo Cow pitchers love throwing at the empty space above the Halflings. Insult without injury. The Dopes stay bipolar. Five sweeps in seven attempts. We're skeptical of lefties, but seem to be hoarding them.

#81819	05/13/2021 9:35:19 pm	May 3rd, 2050
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	Moo Cow pitchers love throwing at the empty space above the Halflings. Funniest thing I’ve read on the forums in a long time

#81829	05/14/2021 7:01:48 am	May 3rd, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	¯\_(ツ)_/¯ can't argue with truth. Or... I suppose you can, but we won't

#81844	05/14/2021 2:15:02 pm	May 3rd, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Allen: Kike Vasquez hit 19 power today, but he is now just an 11 POT. OPS .996 in 13 ABs. He is only in our LHP lineup. 14/14/14/19. I don't think he will ever be a starter though. Seems to be a bust. http://brokenbat.org/player/240791 Edit: Moments later, he then went 4-4 in the cup and got POTG! Then there is this guy with great minors stats who I think will get waived in order to keep Kike: http://brokenbat.org/player/235464/M Updated Friday, May 14 2021 @ 2:28:45 pm PDT

#81857	05/15/2021 2:12:09 pm	May 6th, 2050
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	Edit: Something-something FIP. Updated Sunday, May 16 2021 @ 7:15:14 am PDT

#81859	05/15/2021 3:15:03 pm	May 7th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	FIP is a worthless stat.

#81862	05/16/2021 8:54:45 am	May 10th, 2050
NotGood88 Joined: 08/28/2020 Posts: 510 Prattville Black Cats II.2	Then there is this guy with great minors stats who I think will get waived in order to keep Kike: http://brokenbat.org/player/235464/M Gotta give Kike a big shoutout, otherwise, I never woulda gotten Canizares

#81863	05/16/2021 2:55:35 pm	May 11th, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Hope he fits into your organization! 😎

#81864	05/16/2021 5:15:57 pm	May 14th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	That loop was better. Just have to hope Shamokin doesn't sweep me back to a -24 RD again...

#81866	05/16/2021 5:56:21 pm	May 14th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Kind of amazing that Solana can perform at this level with only draftees on the team. I have a grand total of 7 homegrown on my roster (4 batter, 3 pitchers). I can't imagine fielding a competitive team through the draft alone...

#81867	05/16/2021 8:23:48 pm	May 14th, 2050
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Halflings: Kind of amazing that Solana can perform at this level with only draftees on the team. Amazing. FIP is a worthless stat. Disagree, but you've got us thinking. And we're pretty m**ing sad and angry right now at the state of things the last few seasons. Yet another April/May where the team refuses to hit and/or pitch. If anyone wants to offer some encouragement we'd appreciate it. We've been here since 2035. Over 2035-49, the team ERA is about 4.35 and the team FIP is about 4.32. ERA has essentially followed FIP over the long haul, as expected. This is true even with the huge hitting Cowabungalow. But, startlingly, we've had just one year since 2042 where ERA has been on the good side of FIP. Here's the whole chart if you want (if it fonts up): ERA FIP 2035 3.80 4.07 0.27 2036 4.53 4.48 -0.05 2037 4.14 4.44 0.30 2038 4.06 4.22 0.16 2039 4.07 4.32 0.25 2040 3.73 3.84 0.11 2041 4.45 4.47 0.02 2042 4.37 4.34 -0.03 2043 4.81 4.44 -0.37 2044 4.15 4.10 -0.05 2045 4.97 4.39 -0.58 2046 4.16 3.99 -0.17 2047 4.09 4.37 0.28 2048 5.04 4.82 -0.22 2049 4.93 4.57 -0.36 4.35 4.32 -0.03 Our batting average 2035-49 is .281 with a RISP of .288. We've always said a team's RISP in Broken Bat tends to be about 10 points higher than average. Whole chart again: AVG RISP 2035 0.315 0.335 0.020 2036 0.293 0.301 0.008 2037 0.264 0.277 0.013 2038 0.275 0.279 0.004 2039 0.296 0.305 0.009 2040 0.285 0.284 -0.001 2041 0.265 0.271 0.006 2042 0.287 0.290 0.003 2043 0.279 0.298 0.019 2044 0.282 0.294 0.012 2045 0.263 0.282 0.019 2046 0.282 0.287 0.005 2047 0.290 0.279 -0.011 2048 0.249 0.243 -0.006 2049 0.283 0.300 0.017 0.281 0.288 0.008 Prior to 2043, the Moo Cows didn't have a season where the FIP and RISP were too tilted against us. From 2045 onwards, these stats have tilted against us one way or another in every season! In 2047, we finally got on the right side of FIP, but the RISP was miserable. Based on that year, we think a team can overcome a troubling RISP, but are most teams with an ERA seriously lagging behind FIP probably in last place? And that's just luck? Does the defense* in Broken Bat get hot and cold? Seems to. Is our defense bad? I doubt it. We hear ya, Ravens. Welcome to 2050, where the Cow ERA is a full point behind the FIP (5.29 vs. 4.29)! Welcome to 2050, where the Cow RISP is 38 points behind batting average (.269 vs. .231)! Can't win like that, but can't do anything about it! Hooray! It seems like this happens to us every year. High hopes, horrible April/May, crushed hopes. We're pretty demoralized about the last few seasons. Meanwhile the Concord Jets haven't had a season where ERA was higher than FIP since 2033. Splain that? Whine, whine, whine. We know, we know.

#81868	05/17/2021 12:58:12 am	May 14th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Does the defense in Broken Bat get hot and cold? I think this is the biggest misconception with FIP. A low FIP with a high ERA generally means they give up a lot of hits. That might be an issue with the defense, but more likely they are just a bad pitcher. To me, the most important quality of a pitcher is not giving up hits. If they give up a lot of hits, they are a bad pitcher. I wouldn't necessarily blame the defense if the pitcher gives up a lot of hits. Its more likely the fault of the opposing batters. A low FIP mostly just means your pitcher has more Ks than BB (and doesn't give up a crazy amount of HRs). I'd rather just look at K/BB and HR/IP to see those factor clearly. FIP just obscures information by mushing too many things together (and leaving out the most important factor in pitcher quality).

#81869	05/17/2021 1:07:27 am	May 14th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	You also have a giant ballpark which means more hits. Mostly I would blame your ballpark and the opposition hitters who refuse to hit the ball cleanly to your defenders. The large park isn't bad for your rangy outfielders, but probably hurts your hitting given most of your power hitters are flyball guys. A flyball power hitter would rather be in a park with higher walls and shorter fields. I'm still not sure about RISP. The data is so dirty its hard to tell if its just luck, or if some guys are actually better in the clutch. If its the second, then that might be your hitters' fault. I'm just not sure. Updated Monday, May 17 2021 @ 1:16:39 am PDT

#81873	05/17/2021 8:30:18 am	May 14th, 2050
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Gone are the halcyon days of throwing southpaws at Murfreesboro and watching the wins pile up.

#81874	05/17/2021 10:26:36 am	May 14th, 2050
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	Say what you will about my hitting (lowest run support in the league), but I 100 percent believe my pitching is not this bad. And I thought the same last season.

#81875	05/17/2021 11:20:30 am	May 14th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Probably true. I do think FIP is a worthless stat, but I also think you are getting a little unlucky with your ERA.

#81903	05/18/2021 1:56:05 pm	May 17th, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	We all know what piles up at The Cowabungalow, and it is the same exact color as Denvy's jerseys.

#81904	05/18/2021 3:42:03 pm	May 19th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	LOL ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ can't argue with truth.

#81905	05/18/2021 3:46:40 pm	May 19th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	First series against the Dopes they swept us horribly (-24). Second series, we managed a sweep (albeit much more gentle). Now two games into the third series we have gone 11 inning and 12 innings. Seems as though our players are all drama queens... EDIT: 3rd game goes 12 as well... I suspect there is some fixen going on. I think both teams should be investigated for the color of their sox. Updated Tuesday, May 18 2021 @ 4:01:56 pm PDT

#81908	05/18/2021 5:01:04 pm	May 20th, 2050
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	Really @Ced??! 3 game sweep and I score a total of 2 runs? Your starting pitching was unreal.

#81909	05/18/2021 5:22:55 pm	May 21st, 2050
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Ravens: Say what you will about my hitting (lowest run support in the league), but I 100 percent believe my pitching is not this bad. And I thought the same last season. Let's hug the Ravens and follow up on the earlier Moo Cow RISP/FIP whine-job. As of this moment, the Moo Cow RISP is 33 points lower than batting average. We checked every team from IV up to Legends to see just how bad 33 points is. Right now, there are only a total of five teams with more than 30 points of difference! The list: Murfreesboro Moo Cows Lenexa Titans Butte Pirates Bountiful Tornadoes Rockford Rhinos Bountiful's 44 points is misery itself. As of this moment, the Moo Cow ERA is 1.17 points higher than FIP. Again, we checked every team from IV up to Legends to see how bad that is. Right now, there are only a total of six teams with more than 1.00 full point of difference! The list: Murfreesboro Moo Cows Durham Bulls Corvallis Ravens SLO Turtles Cheyenne Colts Charlotte Chili Peppers I guarantee you that any team on either list is suffering. But do you see any team on both lists? Can you see? Where's Waldo, boys and girls?!? The Cheyenne Colts probably have the closest to Moo Cow bad luck at 21 points of RISP and 1.23 points of ERA. Their record is 9-28. No team can win with this kind of bad luck. It's genuinely rare. You could make a case that the Moo Cows are the unluckiest team in all of Broken Bat in 2050. Here's the thing, though. We've started three or four different seasons in a row with horrible RISP issues. We talked about it in this forum on April 3, 2049, and May 29, 2049. Or check the Legends forum on May 14, 2048 or April 1, 2045. The Moo Cow unlucky starts are starting to get legendary. It's starting to feel pointed. There's just no coming back from giving away 50 runs in the first month of a season. The mood is bleak over here. But why, Steve, why?

#81910	05/18/2021 5:27:14 pm	May 21st, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	There are a few things unconfirmed with the game. For instance: - Are streaks programmed in, or RNG? - Do players get hot/cold during specified times of the year? - Is clutch a hidden player value? If the answer to any of these question is yes, then your team is unlucky in acquiring non-clutch players. Otherwise your team is unlucky with the RNG. Either way, unlucky. The other possibility is that you haven't sacrificed enough spicy Chick-fil-A sandwiches to the BB gods. But I assume you've been keeping up with your quota. Updated Tuesday, May 18 2021 @ 5:29:27 pm PDT

#81934	05/19/2021 5:06:31 pm	May 24th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	A bit disappointed to see how low the attendance was for our series against Allen Our highest paying games have all been against Shamokin. I guess the rivalry is real Both teams swept us at the start of the season, but Allen didn't run up the score as much. I guess that left a sour taste in Haverhill fans' mouths. Updated Wednesday, May 19 2021 @ 5:09:18 pm PDT

#81936	05/19/2021 6:40:02 pm	May 25th, 2050
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Halflings: There are a few things unconfirmed with the game. For instance: - Are streaks programmed in, or RNG? - Do players get hot/cold during specified times of the year? - Is clutch a hidden player value? If the answer to any of these question is yes, then your team is unlucky in acquiring non-clutch players. Mack Dotson is just one interesting data point. Compare his curious 2049 in Murfreesboro with the rest of his career. The other possibility is that you haven't sacrificed enough spicy Chick-fil-A sandwiches to the BB gods. But I assume you've been keeping up with your quota. Brilliant! We smell a Halfling/Moo Cow road trip incoming. Do you wanna pick the music or drive? Who's on board?!? Hold up, hold up, hold up. The Halflings started the season at 0-8, or 1-9, but now they're in first place? So you're telling me there's a chance?!? Updated Wednesday, May 19 2021 @ 6:44:22 pm PDT

#81937	05/19/2021 7:47:12 pm	May 25th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	LOL, one of my favorite quotes But yeah, we were further out of 1st than you are now. 0-8 with a -34 RD Unfortunately the trip back down is usually even faster than the trip up... Updated Wednesday, May 19 2021 @ 7:49:21 pm PDT

#81989	05/23/2021 6:36:55 am	Jun 4th, 2050
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	My only win in the Shamokin series came from a 10 run 10th inning with only 5 hits in the inning (4 singles and a double) Outside of that inning, I was held to 3 total runs in the series. Wild.

#82003	05/24/2021 6:36:16 am	Jun 8th, 2050
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Time for cross-over play! What have we learned about our respective divisions so far? West Parity reigns: Except for Solana Beach. Please come back. Sincerely, the West. Luck be not a Patriot: 4-13 in one-run games has what looks like a contender, treading water. Two hands, please!: Corvallis, you need to beat LHP, too. East Worst to first: Hope abounds in central Tennessee. If Haverhill can do it, why not mooooo. Get me out of here!:The Halflings hate the shire. 16-5 on the road to Mordor. Odd happenings: Jefferson City will travel west to play East foe Allen. It's also the closest cross-over series: 197 miles (3hrs). Corvallis and Haverhill is the farthest trip: 3,122 miles. A quick 47 hr drive. Better leave now.

#82004	05/24/2021 8:49:26 am	Jun 8th, 2050
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	Really, Cows? One of the toughest cuts I ever had to make was releasing Hatfield and of all the claims on him, the COWS have to win him? And then, they change his nickname from the awesome "Hatfield and McCoys" that I gave him to something about a Hootenany? You cows will pay for this! And he better not do well for you!! I was so excited when I drafted and then finished developing him, and he has been such a complete let down. Updated Tuesday, May 25 2021 @ 6:42:02 am PDT

#82012	05/24/2021 10:24:46 pm	Jun 10th, 2050
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	Probably not a good sign that I have more waiver claims out now than I did during the preseason.

#82027	05/25/2021 9:04:23 pm	Jun 15th, 2050
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	Wow wickertsy. That was a mugging. Why don't you take my lunch money too?

#82033	05/26/2021 8:06:50 am	Jun 15th, 2050
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	@allen ooops!

#82035	05/26/2021 5:52:21 pm	Jun 19th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Dang it Lost our Ace right at the start of interleague (when we actually need 5 pitchers)...

#82036	05/27/2021 1:04:41 pm	Jun 20th, 2050
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Thunder: Worst to first: Hope abounds in central Tennessee. If Haverhill can do it, why not mooooo. Moo're always so positive and lovely. We're hanging in there and looking towards the back half. Ambulators: Really, Cows? One of the toughest cuts I ever had to make was releasing Hatfield and of all the claims on him, the COWS have to win him? And then, they change his nickname from the awesome "Hatfield and McCoys" that I gave him to something about a Hootenany? You cows will pay for this! And he better not do well for you!! I was so excited when I drafted and then finished developing him, and he has been such a complete let down. Hatfield will be a disappointment for us too. Everyone is lately. He's coming around, but we'd trade you back April Griffey for Hatfield. Un-fun fact: Griffey's career homer rate is 1 homer every 7 games, but he's got just 2 dingers in all of 2050. The "Hatfields and McCoys" name just didn't sing for us, but we liked it and kept the spirit of it! How did you end up with TWO decent Hatfields? We've got letdowns too: Mr. Barf On A Stick. More whine-fest about the persistent Moo Cow horrible starts, but this time with science! Why would the Moo Cows have particularly bad starts and strong finishes? Our team is a bit of an outlier because we rarely draft and rarely use homegrown players. We may have three total in the main lineup. We rely heavily on waivers. There's lots of speculation about the "Form" attribute and whether it's backwards-looking or forwards-looking. What if it's on a cycle? Could every player have a hard coded "biorhythm"? For example, Joe Smith is coded to be cold in the first quarter of the season, medium in the second, hot in the third, and medium in the fourth. Maybe John Jones is coded to be hot in the first and cold in the third. And so on. Or maybe it's on a 160 game cycle, or a 180 game cycle, or a 140 game cycle? Or a 365 day cycle, or a 330 day cycle or 390? Anyway, why does that matter? Because, year to year, the Moo Cows pick up tons of waiver players in April and May. We pick 'em up because you guys dropped 'em. Why did you drop them? Frequently, because they were underperforming. Why were they underperforming? Because they have a hard-coded "cold" status or biorhythm in April or May? Or because the bill for that "Form" cycle generally comes due around April and May every season? So your team drops Joe Smith in April 2049 and the Moo Cows pick him up. He heats up as the season continues and he stays on our roster. Then 2050 starts and he's cold again in April because of his natural cycle. On a team that's organized normally with a bunch of drafted and homegrown players, you'd expect this to even out between hot and cold cycles for different players. Some guys up, some guys down. But for the Moo Cows, almost our whole roster is players that someone dropped from the early season! Our roster could tend to be composed of players who tend to be cold in the first part of the season. Like a bunch of giggling, bow-headed sorority girls, our team gets synced up more than other teams would. Lots of guys blowing cold in spring and hot in fall. Could this hypothesis be true? Would the plight of the Moo Cows suggest that the Broken Bat "Form" attribute is real and is on some kind of cycle? Keep a watch on the team lighting it up as the season goes on. Perhaps we bailed out and punted too early in 2045 and 2048?

#82037	05/27/2021 2:49:50 pm	Jun 22nd, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I've brought up the possibility of biorhythms in the past. I'm convinced that my guys have biorhythms that peak in December and January.

#82040	05/27/2021 5:16:49 pm	Jun 24th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	5 injuries now Is it just me, or does it seem like Denver is playing in the wrong stadium

#82041	05/27/2021 6:18:14 pm	Jun 24th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	And one more injury... Hospital Hill living up to its name 6 guys listed in Alerts right now, but one of them is at 0 days at least. Just noticed the rental I picked up for SP5 gave up 3 HRs in 3 innings... LOL Updated Thursday, May 27 2021 @ 6:19:44 pm PDT

#82064	05/28/2021 2:00:31 pm	Jun 25th, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Is it just me, or does it seem like Denver is playing in the wrong stadium They lead the West in home batting average at the moment.

#82065	05/28/2021 2:04:31 pm	Jun 26th, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	http://brokenbat.org/player/164838 Moses has parted...I mean, Moses and management has decided and has now left Moore! Over/under odds on claims in June of the season...18 claims.

#82066	05/28/2021 2:06:29 pm	Jun 26th, 2050
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	@Ced In the words of "The Dude"... 'that's **king interesting, man...' Updated Friday, May 28 2021 @ 2:06:47 pm PDT*

#82068	05/28/2021 2:44:18 pm	Jun 26th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Is it just me, or does it seem like Denver is playing in the wrong stadium They lead the West in home batting average at the moment. Well... If we're just going by stats, as Private posted earlier, it looks like the Halflings are the ones playing in the wrong stadium Updated Friday, May 28 2021 @ 2:44:52 pm PDT

#82069	05/28/2021 2:46:46 pm	Jun 26th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Over/under odds on claims in June of the season...18 claims. I'm putting in a claim, but I'm going to go with "under" just based on age discrimination.

#82070	05/28/2021 2:53:43 pm	Jun 26th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Dang it... Now I lost my LHS for 11 games I really need to change the stadium name... Updated Friday, May 28 2021 @ 2:54:12 pm PDT

#82087	05/29/2021 6:08:30 pm	Jul 1st, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	The god of RNG Injuries has taken a dislike to us this year. Maybe he doesn't like Spicy Chicken? I should try just the standard sort... Currently, Ace is still out for 23, DH is out for 10, LHS is out for 5, and Catcher is out for 2... Getting challenging to field a team

#82088	05/29/2021 6:13:28 pm	Jul 1st, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Looks like we are facing Jefferson City next who holds the crown for unluckiest team in the league. Could be a clash in the pantheon for this game. Its mostly just the RNG Injury god that has been against me; I'm hoping my Spicy Chicken sacrifices will continue to keep the others on my side Ugh, some quick scouting shows that Jefferson City is a club built around small park, high wall strengths... So a home series at Haverhill will likely be painful. Hospital Hill is practically built for the Patriots, and our home records implies its a bad fit for Haverhill Seem like the Patriots may actually have the field advantage in this series... Updated Saturday, May 29 2021 @ 7:02:33 pm PDT

#82090	05/30/2021 12:50:04 am	Jul 2nd, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	A League Of Their Own pitcher 🤪Shannon Green went to Legends Boulder instead-a Denvinci At least we got a guy with 400 career homers and 19 hitting,19 power. Deadwood got a nice waiver player as well in Jason whatshisname should immediately contribute. Busy waiver night for II.1? Updated Sunday, May 30 2021 @ 12:52:56 am PDT

#82099	05/30/2021 2:23:47 pm	Jul 2nd, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Doh... Now after game 1, we lose our RF for 11 games... This is getting ridiculous

#82106	05/30/2021 4:47:29 pm	Jul 6th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	And now I lost my other DH

#82107	05/30/2021 6:14:24 pm	Jul 6th, 2050
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	As of this post, there are six clubs tied for first place with three more a game back, one series before the ASG. Again, 9 of the 12 clubs are either in first or one game back and it's All-Star week. That's crazy.

#82108	05/30/2021 6:25:13 pm	Jul 6th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	That was a painful series in more ways than one, LOL We are now 17-27 at home and 23-8 on the road. I'm not sure I've ever seen such a large reverse split before. Updated Sunday, May 30 2021 @ 6:28:12 pm PDT

#82126	06/01/2021 6:36:11 am	Jul 9th, 2050
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	I have never seen an entire league so close. The battle for promotion is the same battle for demotion at all star break. This is an incredible race.

#82127	06/01/2021 7:37:24 am	Jul 9th, 2050
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	Yeah this is amazing.

#82128	06/01/2021 9:41:59 am	Jul 9th, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Over/under odds on claims in June of the season...18 claims. I'm putting in a claim, but I'm going to go with "under" just based on age discrimination. I guess the real odds were 18.5 16 claims. Jimmy Moses goes from II.1 first place Moore* to II.2 last place San Luis Obispo. *four way tie first place, with Denvy up top on run difference! Cows versus Horsies next.

#82133	06/01/2021 3:02:18 pm	Jul 9th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	And another injury... Seems like we are getting 1 a game

#82143	06/02/2021 11:39:01 am	Jul 14th, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Took us this long, but we got our first Birmingham-esque pick up. And a Birmingham waiver wire pick up gets a quick hook, about 15 games to see what is what, that is also the type of pick up where the player doesn't remember how to play baseball anymore. http://brokenbat.org/player/159573 19/14/17/19 on the card. 5 for 39. Batting .128 over 10 games. 22 runners left on base. No extra base hits, no HR, no RBI. Other than that, he is doing fine.

#82144	06/02/2021 12:16:30 pm	Jul 14th, 2050
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Other than that, he is doing fine. Never trust anyone older than 32. Now that I've said that, I look forward to him roasting Thunder pitching tomorrow. You're welcome.

#82152	06/02/2021 3:53:13 pm	Jul 16th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	0 All Stars for two years running. Says a lot about the team...

#82170	06/03/2021 4:02:33 pm	Jul 19th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Well Haverhill is doing great (1-12). My team is always so streaky. I swear the guys are all on the same biorhythm. Either 90% of the team is hot, or 90% of the team is cold... Looks like we are going to be going Last -> First -> Last, LOL. Updated Thursday, June 3 2021 @ 4:32:21 pm PDT

#82208	06/06/2021 6:37:44 pm	Aug 1st, 2050
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Moo Cows: Could this hypothesis be true? Would the plight of the Moo Cows suggest that the Broken Bat "Form" attribute is real and is on some kind of cycle? Keep a watch on the team lighting it up as the season goes on. As predicted, the Cows go on a tear in July. Fascinating. Thunder: As of this post, there are six clubs tied for first place with three more a game back, one series before the ASG. Again, 9 of the 12 clubs are either in first or one game back and it's All-Star week. That's crazy. Things have bunched up again in the East. Apparently, the Broken Bat code has a clause that the Moo Cows physically cannot finish higher than the Thunder. Never trust anyone older than 32. Ouch. Halflings: 0 All Stars for two years running. Says a lot about the team... We only had one and it hurts. But Kim's got a heck of a pedigree now. My team is always so streaky. I swear the guys are all on the same biorhythm. Either 90% of the team is hot, or 90% of the team is cold... Looks like we are going to be going Last -> First -> Last, LOL. No doubt the Halflings are on a wild ride this year. We'd like to note that every team in the East has a positive run differential. The sixth place Moo Cows are at 47-48 today, which would be good enough for a share of second place in the West. No shame. This is a very tough league. Whoever relegates it'll be almost unfair.

#82242	06/08/2021 9:04:36 am	Aug 4th, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Jul 28 2050: Detroit Tigers claimed Gerardo Jimenez off of waivers. http://brokenbat.org/player/159573 Jimenez goes from II.1 to II.2...Denvy to Detroit. And what are the odds he bats over or under .155, which was his contribution to Denver? Under! So far he is batting .125 for Detroit. Aug 04 2050: Corvallis Ravens claimed Juan Pablo Meza off of waivers. http://brokenbat.org/player/249716 A Round #8 reject pick, the wooden spoon harsh but just the facts, Meza was out of baseball for quite some time and discovered and convinced by Denver to resume pro baseball. Dropped by Corvallis in 2046, doing god knows what for three years, picked up by Denver in 2049 who dropped him four days ago, and now returns to the Ravens. What do these teams scouting reports show and know that other teams do not? Wonder what's next for this pitcher. Will he make it to the big leagues? Updated Tuesday, June 8 2021 @ 9:35:40 am PDT

#82249	06/08/2021 2:04:26 pm	Aug 4th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Meza has some nice stats, but he looks to fringy to me. I'm going over on Jimenez for the season (at DET). He probably regressed this year, and only performed well in lower LL, but I still think its too much of a swing at this point. If they keep him in, I think he'll hit at least .200.

#82254	06/08/2021 6:16:52 pm	Aug 8th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Nice series for Haverhill against Solana, but now we face Jefferson and Deadwood who went a combined 1-9 against in the first loop. Hoping the road advantage with Jefferson will help a little. Haverhill's goal for the rest interleague to try and keep a positive RD.

#82274	06/09/2021 4:56:20 pm	Aug 13th, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	The "over" wins the bet. Jimenez dropped by Detroit...batted .176 with them. 19/14/17/19 on the card 1 waiver claim in so far...Let's see where he lands. Solana Steve in the relegation drop zone. Last week Solana Beach lost 11 straight league games...Let's see where they land. Updated Wednesday, June 9 2021 @ 5:28:25 pm PDT

#82279	06/09/2021 6:13:56 pm	Aug 13th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	2-3 against Jefferson Huge improvement over 0-5 in the first loop. They are such a bad matchup for us, I'm really happy to have taken two Next up. The other ugly monster Updated Wednesday, June 9 2021 @ 6:15:25 pm PDT

#82289	06/10/2021 12:41:23 pm	Aug 14th, 2050
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1

#82291	06/10/2021 2:10:55 pm	Aug 14th, 2050
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	Beat up my ace in G1

#82297	06/10/2021 4:48:39 pm	Aug 18th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Beat up my ace in G1 Always nice to hear coming from an opponent A Cows last to 1st run is looking more a more realistic by the day!

#82305	06/10/2021 9:47:45 pm	Aug 19th, 2050
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	Second place in the west is 4 games behind sixth place in the East. #1 Deadwood which is 7 games up on the rest of the west would only be 2 games out of relegation if they were in the East.

#82346	06/12/2021 10:47:35 am	Aug 21st, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Gerardo Jimenez goes from II.1 to II.2 to Legends? 🤪

#82410	06/15/2021 2:45:02 pm	Sep 1st, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	1 LOB. Now that is efficiency.

#82411	06/15/2021 2:49:12 pm	Sep 1st, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Jimenez goes 0-11 initially, and then bats .350 for Minneapolis so far in 20 ABs in Legends, then gets the "fatigue" injury. MUst be all of that travel and flights.

#82423	06/16/2021 4:04:39 am	Sep 4th, 2050
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Wasn't able to get lucky and add the RH arm I needed going back east. Now it's like a slow moving train wreck: I can see what's happening, but there's little I can do to avoid it.

#82427	06/16/2021 6:29:07 am	Sep 4th, 2050
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	I grabbed this guy an hour before free agency closed. Hoping he can start a few games for me and hold his own down the stretch.

#82430	06/16/2021 3:07:21 pm	Sep 5th, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	He had a good debut versus MOO.

#82456	06/17/2021 5:04:29 pm	Sep 11th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Only two loops left and the East is still wide open. I don't think I've ever seen such a close contest at this point in the season. Usually at least one team has dropped out by now.

#82462	06/17/2021 11:20:54 pm	Sep 12th, 2050
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Long way to scroll to check in on PSFs predicting to find that..... They're mildly accurate! Good luck all for the rest of the way!

#82475	06/18/2021 10:11:01 am	Sep 13th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Just so we don't have to scroll, here were the predictions: West Division Order Finish 1. Jefferson City 348.17 2. Deadwood 343.49 3. Denver 342.86 4. Moore 341.27 5. Solana Beach 331.69 6. Corvallis 330.30 East Predicted Order of the Finish 1. Bloomington 360.86 2. Murfreesboro 350.45 3. Shamokin 347.71 4. Alexandria 343.87 5. Allen 338.39 6. Haverhill 323.07 Bloomington over Jefferson City 4-2.

#82476	06/18/2021 10:13:17 am	Sep 13th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Lots of time left (especially in the East), but I think I define Mildly differently than JJNZ :p I can easily see Murfreesboro clawing its way up to 2nd, but Jefferson City at 1st seems like quite a stretch at this point. Updated Friday, June 18 2021 @ 10:15:41 am PDT

#82479	06/18/2021 12:19:50 pm	Sep 13th, 2050
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	As predicted, the Cows go on a tear in July. Fascinating. Biorhythms? At one point, Murfreesboro went something like 22-4 (.846!). No doubt the Halflings are on a wild ride this year. It's still happening. This is a very tough league. Whoever relegates it'll be almost unfair. We'd like to reiterate this important point. Halflings: Only two loops left and the East is still wide open. I don't think I've ever seen such a close contest at this point in the season. Usually at least one team has dropped out by now. The East's sixth place team is just FIVE games back. That's crazy and so rare! We checked every other league from IV on up and it's the closest. (Legends East is actually packed fairly close.) We wouldn't be surprised if II.1.East is the most competitive league in Broken Bat right now. We could feasibly end up in first or last? Wild. Have you noticed the pitching in the East? The worst team ERA is 4.15! Isn't that insanely low?! Especially considering you guys are forced to play 20 games in the extremely hitter-friendly Cowabungalow? Also notably, every East team's ERA is lower than its FIP. Except the Moo Cows. Of course. And all of your RISPs are on the right side. Except the Moo Cows (and the Dopes). Of course. The infamous Cow RISP problem is easy to see from a second perspective. Murfreesboro leads the OPS category by .024 points. That's quite a bit. But we're only second in runs scored and just 4 runs above third place. 121 homers for and 100 against. Pretty decent. The rest of the way, we'll be praying to the gods of Regression to the Mean (it's a bucket of steely crabs) and Sequencing (a shining mountain goat). We had a claim on Jimenez every single time. His bouncing around only means one thing. He was going to sandbag it in any league but Legends. What a tulle. We hope our favorite story of the year is going to be junkballer "Tightrope" Sheridan. The Cows dropped him at the end of 2047, but we've claimed him back to (hopefully) throw him into the closer spot for the rest of 2050. Let's embarrass some opposing batters at 81 MPH and make it happen, kid. Finally, the Moo Cows are near the top of the league in stolen bases and near the bottom of the league in errors. Very unusual. Our pitchers have also hit the fewest batters in the league (20), but our hitters have been hit the most (37). Civility, guys, civility.

#82482	06/18/2021 2:06:17 pm	Sep 13th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	My hitters don't consider Cowabungalow to be friendly Its a huge pasture with relatively low cow fences. We prefer a small field with high walls (which is fairly rare in this league ).

#82514	06/19/2021 10:37:47 pm	Sep 20th, 2050
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	Currently in First place West, Deadwood has a magic number of 19 to win the West. Currently in First Place East, Bloomington (who has 2 more wins than Deadwood) has a "magic" number of 20 to not come in DEAD LAST in the East. THE RACE IS ON! Who can secure their spot first? A Deadwood 1st place finish or a Bloomington any place but 6th finish?

#82515	06/19/2021 10:39:29 pm	Sep 20th, 2050
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	ALSO... Does anyone know if two teams with winning records in the same division have ever relegated before?

#82520	06/20/2021 8:22:52 am	Sep 20th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Interesting thought. Maybe we can break some records

#82532	06/21/2021 3:25:34 pm	Sep 25th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Making their move in the final stretch! Updated Monday, June 21 2021 @ 3:29:14 pm PDT

#82534	06/21/2021 5:13:15 pm	Sep 28th, 2050
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Ain't nuthin' settled, but this is officially our new favorite picture on the internet. Except for, you know.

#82536	06/21/2021 8:56:51 pm	Sep 28th, 2050
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	There's not really a good time to go on a 6 game losing streak, but this is definitely NOT the time for it. From third and looking up, to 6th in the blink of an eye.

#82553	06/22/2021 5:18:19 pm	Oct 2nd, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Three sweeps in a row is certainly painful. No fear though, you have Haverhill coming up, and you've had our number all season. Starting the final loop, and its still tight race in the East!

#82568	06/23/2021 4:02:03 pm	Oct 4th, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Allen just dropped 10 in a row. What in the Ford is goin' on. I notice it is "silence on the forum" time for Bloomi and Deadwood, as if it even matters gentlemen!

#82574	06/23/2021 5:05:58 pm	Oct 5th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I think Deadwood is likely a lock, but Bloomington still has tight competition. No guarantees in the East.

#82577	06/23/2021 9:59:17 pm	Oct 6th, 2050
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	Food poisoning. I blame the Jack in the Box burgers in Murfreesboro. This has been such a weird season. We had a 9 game losing stretch in June 2050 and now the 10 game stinker. Winning just 9 of those 19 games (less than .500) is the difference between First and Last place.

#82584	06/24/2021 4:01:03 am	Oct 6th, 2050
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	I notice it is "silence on the forum" time for Bloomi and Deadwood, as if it even matters gentlemen! As I stated earlier, I'm settled in for the inevitable slide. IMO, Alexandria is the best the East has to offer this season. I'm .500 vs the East this year. Our usual stellar pitching has been MIA all season long. The only magic number that matters is the one pertaining to relegation.

#82591	06/24/2021 9:42:55 am	Oct 6th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Haverhill had a really strong division record, but the whole team has gone belly up of late

#82598	06/24/2021 12:36:53 pm	Oct 6th, 2050
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	The Moo Cows went 5-15 to the Athletics this year and just lost our 3 game homestand by a total of 33-5. Ouch.

#82603	06/24/2021 1:05:13 pm	Oct 6th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Haverhill has done better against Alexandria (10-7), but Allen has had our number all season (6-12). Tonight will be a competition between two flagging teams, and I'm giving Allen the advantage in the series. Haverhill v Allen (6-12) Shamokin (10-10) Bloomington (9-7) Alexandria (10-7) Murfreesboro (11-6) Updated Thursday, June 24 2021 @ 2:55:38 pm PDT

#82617	06/24/2021 10:01:42 pm	Oct 10th, 2050
allen54chevy Joined: 11/22/2015 Posts: 475 Inactive	Well here we are. Down to the wire. 10 or 11 games left. Deadwood magic number is 1. Bloomington is a hair behind with a magical-not-to-be-last place number of 1 and 2 points in diff (since the Chevys hold a slight advantage in point difference) This will likely be settled first game tomorrow and very well can come out as a tie! All positions in the East are still up for grabs, with the Chevys being the only team mathematically eliminated from winning the division. Likely Thunder and Athletics fighting for first with Halflings Cows and Chevys deciding who relegates and the Dopes could streak themselves into any position 1-6.

#82668	06/26/2021 6:47:40 pm	Oct 18th, 2050
hurstdm Joined: 01/18/2017 Posts: 576 Murfreesboro Moo Cows VI.5	Moo Cow offensive RISP in the tank compared to everybody but the Dopes. And even with the highest OBP in the East, we've been the kings of solo home runs. Meanwhile, defensive RISP: (-4) Thunder .245 .241 (+1) Athletics .248 .249 (+3) Dopes .235 .238 (+1) Halflings .262 .263 (+0) Chevy .251 .251 (+21) Moo Cows .260 281 Confoundingly, this seems to happen every year. We're also just 40-57 against the East (which means we were 40-20 in interleague play!). All this resulting in ... a three game playoff with Haverhill for the relegation. Can't say we're happy with this season. But no matter what happens tomorrow, good luck to the Halflings in 2051.

#82669	06/26/2021 6:52:41 pm	Oct 18th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Looks like we can't both stay up this year. Who ever wins the series gets to stay. And we are coming off a sweep

#82679	06/27/2021 8:59:26 am	Oct 18th, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Congrats wickersty! Ready for the Legends challenge?

#82681	06/27/2021 3:04:55 pm	Oct 19th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Down to the last game for Halflings vs Cows.

#82682	06/27/2021 3:06:08 pm	Oct 19th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Also on a less exciting side note, Alexandria is still in the race for 1st

#82683	06/27/2021 4:13:28 pm	Oct 20th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Good game hurstdm. And on a side note, Bloomington clinches with a lose.

#82684	06/27/2021 4:21:46 pm	Oct 20th, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Notes: Gerardo Jimenez just got Minneapolis relegated from Legends. Kryptonite everywhere he went this season. Waiting for the “part ways” press release to knock out Cows from PR dominance. Funny that it takes 160 games to determine those to drop to LL 3, good battle HH and Cows. Denvy beat the bots MOO in the West for 2nd today. Denver’s Tucker Polk sets both league II.1 and Denver club strike out record. See if Winchester has MVP votes. Good game everyone. I’ll make a playoff prediction later.

#82685	06/27/2021 4:26:20 pm	Oct 20th, 2050
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	IMO, Alexandria deserved better. I'm very fortunate to have survived what is hands-down, the toughest division fight I have ever been a part of. Much respect to you all.

#82687	06/27/2021 4:35:16 pm	Oct 20th, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Haverhill limps across the finish line. Luckily Halflings have longer noses than Cows (albeit shorter legs). Lucky for us, the only team we had a losing record against is demoting. Unluckily, the two teams we had winning records against are also leaving the league. Haverhill v Allen (8-12) Alexandria (10-10) Shamokin (10-10) Bloomington (11-9) Murfreesboro (13-7) Bright spots on the year: Julio Paz (CF) rebounds back to his 2048 form, gaining 150+ points in OPS. Mark "Baby Face" Bearden (CL) rebounded to his 2048 form, bringing his WHIP back under 1.000 again. 26 year old Gonzalo Enriquez (SP) showed good progress, reducing his WHIP by 200+ points. Dark spots on the year: 15 POT "Jaybird" Hawes (C) hits .223 and has worst defensive year ever. Henry Ras (C) hits .209 and has worst defensive year ever (20%!!!) Rueben Uribe (CF) hits .215... Slugger Carson "The Barbarian" O`Brien (1B) drops 100+ points in OPS. Silvio Feliciano (DH) drops 50+ points in AVE. 27 year old K.J. Thornton (RP) collapsed, gaining 150+ points in WHIP. 28 year old Lance Donaldson (SP) regressed, gaining 150+ points in WHIP. Updated Sunday, June 27 2021 @ 4:42:38 pm PDT

#82690	06/27/2021 5:11:42 pm	Oct 21st, 2050
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	And a belated congrats to Deadwood. I should have said something earlier, but superstition and all

#82699	06/28/2021 1:24:39 am	Oct 22nd, 2050
Meccanodonte Joined: 04/21/2014 Posts: 370 Inactive	Congrats Snowflake. If asked, I had no expectations for this season because of flaws in the roster and bad luck in the waiving/drafting system. I tinker with everything I can to survive. Anyway, I feel a little bit sad because promotion was there to catch and I left where it was. It was on me, because I had the best run differential in the league, so the manager was the weak spot. And my 2 damn top relievers.

#82707	06/28/2021 5:52:59 am	Oct 22nd, 2050
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	Grats, Deadwood and Bloomington. Have fun in Legends.

#82709	06/28/2021 6:41:32 am	Oct 22nd, 2050
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	Thanks all, I went a bit silent out of fear of jynxing myself down the stretch. I can't believe this is happening. I remember sitting in VI for season after season, thinking this was an impossible climb. Hopefully I dont embarrass myself up there. That's my goal for 2051 @Private gratz on the east, see you in the big show next season. Great playing with you all this season. Updated Monday, June 28 2021 @ 6:51:30 am PDT

#82711	06/28/2021 7:06:51 am	Oct 22nd, 2050
Haselrig Joined: 04/13/2014 Posts: 2790 Novi Doubledays III.4	I don't think you'll do worse than I did did my first time in Legends. Legends is a ton of fun. There's no league that feels quite like it. Congrats on getting there. The struggle makes it all the sweeter.

#82715	06/28/2021 12:39:16 pm	Oct 22nd, 2050
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	2050 playoff II.1 Season head-to-head matchup: tied 5-5, RD 67-62 in favor of BLO Batting edge: BLO Pitching edge: BLO Fielding edge: DW Manager edge: DW Jarrell, guided them to two PW's Ced's pred: Doesn't make lots of sense, but I'll predict Deadwood in 6.

#82737	06/30/2021 7:24:40 am	Oct 30th, 2050
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Deadwood D as advertised.

#82739	06/30/2021 7:37:51 am	Oct 30th, 2050
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	It's a punch for punch series. Every time I scroll through a game log I'm filled with nerves.

#82743	06/30/2021 3:06:49 pm	Nov 2nd, 2050
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	It literally went punch for punch the whole way. But since Deadwood threw the first punch... Just goes to show its advantageous to be aggressive

#82745	06/30/2021 3:22:51 pm	Nov 2nd, 2050
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	Amazing series @Private. Best I’ve ever been a part of, i think. Very happy to be going to Legends with you. Congrats!

#82749	06/30/2021 4:43:06 pm	Nov 2nd, 2050
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Much respect to wick for bringing home a Game 7 win for Deadwood. Despite it going 7, you owned my Thunder this series. Two shutouts and two more gems...that D backing up those pitchers is a beautiful thing! Congratulations on the League Championship. A few more days and I'll see you over in the Legends thread. Congratulations!

#82754	07/01/2021 4:35:43 am	Nov 2nd, 2050
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	How'd the ol' Apple II do in predicting the future? Prediction:Finish West Jefferson City -3 (but best RD) Deadwood +1 Denver +1 Moore -1 Solana Beach - Corvallis - East Bloomington - Murfreesboro -4 Shamokin - Alexandria +2 Allen -1 Haverhill +2 Not too bad. I guess the Apple survives another year of not being used as a boat anchor.

#82760	07/01/2021 9:13:23 am	Nov 2nd, 2050
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	Deadwood's RD tanked in the final week, once I clinched I had to get kids in there to work on their development.

#82785	07/02/2021 2:42:13 pm	Nov 2nd, 2050
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	For Immediate Release 02 November 2050 - Corvallis, Oregon The Corvallis Ravens announced the retirement of long-time manager, Harry Youngblood, who just recently turned 72 years old. Youngblood served as manager of the team for 20 seasons, staying with the team the entire time of his managing career. The team also chose to induct Youngblood into the team Hall of Fame as part of his retirement ceremonies. "It was time," said the stoic manager. "I've been doing this for so long now. I needed a rest. There comes a time when, even when paid handsomely, money isn't the main thing. And I was getting tired. I need to spend the rest of my years with my wife," he added. "I had a good run, and we even managed to win it all in Legends. What else can I ask for, except for more time with my family?" Youngblood finished his career going 1610-1500, a .518 winning percentage. "The final two seasons with the Ravens diminish his remarkable career," said owner lostraven when pressed for comment. "He truly was a hometown hero and local legend. The team had reached its peak, and he really didn't deserve those last two losing seasons," lostraven added. The Ravens simultaneously announced the hiring of a replacement, surprisingly another Oregon native in Dick "Ziggy" Waters. Waters notably served with the Mountain View Artists and Phoenix Stars for most of his career, before getting hired by the Meridian Knights for 2050. The Knights, surprisingly, decided to give Waters the quick boot, and the Ravens quickly tendered him an offer. "We see a lot of the similar traits we saw in Youngy with Waters," said lostraven. "That he's a native to the area is merely a bonus to his exceptional skillset as a manager. We believe the players will, while saddened by the retirement of Youngy, take quickly to Waters' managing style and thrive." The Ravens suffered a second demotion in a row this season, moving down to III.1 after a mixed 2050 that saw the team go 67–93. The team only vaguely hinted at its financial troubles at the beginning of the season, and matters apparently got worse for the team financially, choosing to pay veterans to maintain the team's position in II.1. When the wins failed to come and the budget bottomed, many were cut, leading to a season of numerous rookie performances. Owner lostraven hopes that despite the numerous young players making up the roster, the bleeding will stop in 2051 and finances—as well as win totals—will improve in the next few seasons. Updated Sunday, July 4 2021 @ 7:16:12 am PDT

#82799	07/03/2021 6:10:53 am	Jan 13th, 2051
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Haverhill hit HARD by aging this season... 27 SI drops, 3 POT drops, only 1 POT increase.

#82862	07/06/2021 5:01:51 pm	Jan 20th, 2051
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	Blaine "DeBeers" Might still throw you out. Updated Saturday, July 10 2021 @ 8:50:47 am PDT

#82935	07/10/2021 8:48:16 am	Mar 2nd, 2051
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	Have a few laughs ... Doowutchyalike

#83268	07/20/2021 4:04:08 pm	Mar 28th, 2051
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Well... Better start than last season. Less than half the -RD I had after my first series last season. So I guess that's improvement? LOL. Not too optimistic after the brutal aging whack we got at the start.

#83526	07/28/2021 4:07:21 pm	Apr 27th, 2051
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	So many injuries... I'm having to shuffle rotation and lineup every game just to keep up... LOL

#83579	08/01/2021 4:42:53 pm	May 12th, 2051
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Still struggling mightily against the Dopers. But Haverhill managed to retain the 3rd spot for the second loop. -34 RD isn't looking too good though. Really need some of these underperformers to turn things around if we want to stay up this season.

#83745	08/12/2021 12:15:05 pm	Jun 20th, 2051
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Well, the close series win against Rock and Haverhill was the first series win for us since opening day. I don't think we have even won 3 games straight this season. Just a terrible offensive ballclub at Denver.

#83838	08/18/2021 2:12:32 pm	Jul 16th, 2051
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yea! After a three year drought Haverhill finally has a player (3 in fact) on the Awards board

#83960	08/25/2021 7:06:52 pm	Aug 13th, 2051
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Absolutely destroyed by Moore. Going to be hard to come back after that...

#83963	08/26/2021 8:04:11 pm	Aug 18th, 2051
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	And four more dropped. Eight game losing streak has pretty much done Haverhill in for the season.

#84024	08/31/2021 12:42:22 pm	Aug 31st, 2051
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Andres "Anywhere But Denvy" Veliz...at least he is in the East, and we don't gotta worry 'bout the guy.

#84026	08/31/2021 3:19:19 pm	Sep 1st, 2051
hardhat Joined: 05/26/2013 Posts: 200 Oceanview Woods Grizzlies Legends	Oceanview ends up on the losing end of a near-perfect game today. Ended up being a 1 walk no-hitter. youch

#84027	08/31/2021 3:35:43 pm	Sep 1st, 2051
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	All these extra inning games give me no opportunity to bring my closer in

#84064	09/02/2021 6:28:47 pm	Sep 12th, 2051
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Feel a little bad that I am platooning Kim (1 claim!!!). Feels like I am doing him dirty for the HR contest. Does Runs/SB/BB count as a triple crown? Burrell keeps telling me he is due a bonus payment... :P

#84156	09/07/2021 5:31:46 pm	Sep 30th, 2051
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Entering the final loop, Haverhill has somehow managed to claw their way up to 4th. Both 1st and 4th place look to be tight contests in the east.

#84167	09/08/2021 4:43:15 pm	Oct 4th, 2051
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Oceanview Woods clinches Legends spot with 3-game sweep at Denver Field!

#84168	09/08/2021 6:39:05 pm	Oct 6th, 2051
hardhat Joined: 05/26/2013 Posts: 200 Oceanview Woods Grizzlies Legends	It will be my first time ever in Legends! I'm really looking forward to it

#84186	09/09/2021 7:28:30 pm	Oct 10th, 2051
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	According to the rankings, II.1 East has been the toughest division in the game this year - currently 4 in the top 12 and another in the top 20. Wouldn't worry too much about shorting Kim in the chase, Bechtel has been platooned too, not enough lefty starters in the division for it too make too much difference ... and it looks like Dowd is pretty intent on grabbing the triple crown.

#84228	09/11/2021 5:09:54 pm	Oct 16th, 2051
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Not so sure it makes no difference. Kim has 60 fewer ABs than Bechtel, 40 fewer than Dowd. At the rate these guys hit HRs, that's like 3-4 HRs he's missing out on.

#84337	09/14/2021 9:52:33 pm	Oct 30th, 2051
hardhat Joined: 05/26/2013 Posts: 200 Oceanview Woods Grizzlies Legends	Congrats Alexandria! That was...decisive 😅

#84352	09/15/2021 3:09:53 pm	Nov 2nd, 2051
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Congrats! I just noticed that Haverhill has two pitchers on the board for top ERAs... And yet we have the worst team pitching in the east. I think I need to reassess my pitching management strategy...

#84357	09/16/2021 4:58:47 am	Nov 2nd, 2051
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	For the cult(ure) ... The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary

#84636	09/26/2021 6:27:43 am	Mar 4th, 2052
Hurr Durr Joined: 05/01/2018 Posts: 32 Inactive	First it was, “Oh, after 15+ seasons, it has been decided your ballpark name is offensive. There, I went ahead and changed it for you.” Then it was, “Oh, now the team name that you had a couple of seasons ago when I changed your ballpark is offensive. Change it.” Now it’s, “Oh, you can’t have two teams in the same league… and even though you’ve had them in the same league three times before and no one accused you of cheating, now that they’re both in a high league which is heavily monitored by the most regular of users who would definitely detect any signs of cheating, I won’t have it. So take a couple of days and decide which of the two teams you took from LL6 to LL2 and have been playing daily for three or four years you want to keep.” Tell you what, you guys go ahead and enjoy the constant focus on trifles. Enjoy worrying about upsetting Anthony Fremont in the forums. And enjoy the fire sale; it’s suddenly a pretty solid free agent season. I’m out.

#84637	09/26/2021 6:29:52 am	Mar 4th, 2052
Herp Derp Joined: 02/21/2017 Posts: 132 Inactive	Allow me to reiterate.

#84654	09/26/2021 5:10:15 pm	Mar 6th, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	What a loser.

#84660	09/27/2021 6:18:40 am	Mar 6th, 2052
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Strange hill to die on.

#84663	09/27/2021 10:27:42 am	Mar 6th, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	He's upset he has to lose a team. Exactly why people shouldn't have two teams to start with. I understand why he was unhappy, but the whole "taking my ball and going home thing" is super childish. Of course childish behavior isn't really a surprise for that guy.

#84689	09/28/2021 10:45:16 am	Mar 8th, 2052
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	What a wild season 2052 is shaping up to be in II.1. Double ownership, two bots, a rebuild owner, not to mention my rival Murfreesboro back in a league with Bloomington. What is the over/under on 100 game winners? 3? 4? Now is the perfect time to come together as a league with something we can all agree on. PSF's 2052 Team Rankings, Predictions, and Capitalized Words Post! It's getting hard to come by parts for an Apple II with supply chains is disarray, but I've got a guy who has another guy who says he can get me ammo for dirt cheap. What that has to do with firing up the old Apple I have no idea, but somehow I feel as though Chinese-made Russian knock-off gunpowder is just what Steve Jobs would've wanted for me. Let's get after it before Reclaim makes Flower Mound slightly better. West Hitters Ratings Okay, before I begin, this is the first time a division ranks the same 1-6 in both hitting and pitching categories. It's like you guys all got together and agreed on who would be 1st 2nd 3rd in everything. Clearly I blame the Haitian refugees and the Tories. 1. West Allis 180.23 Sister city is not "East Allis" but rather "North Allis" 2. Grand Junction 179.86 3. New London 177.86 4. Redding 173.09 5. Moore 165.88 6. Flower Mound 52.57 - I don't know, but "Flower Mound Trojans" still feels like a double entendre... West Pitching Ratings 1. West Allis 174.08 2. Grand Junction 170.08 3. New London 165.12 Founded by settlers from London, KY. 4. Redding 163.68 5. Moore 159.54 6. Flower Mound 35.34 West Final Standings 1. West Allis 354.31 2. Grand Junction 350.16 3. New London 342.98 4. Redding 336.77 5. Moore 325.42 6. Flower Mound 87.91 Congratulations to West Allis! A Legends promotion is guaranteed! East Hitting Ratings 1. Murfreesboro 181.91 2. Fall River 180.73 - but you should see the River in the Spring! Dry as a bone. 3. Bloomington 177.89 4. Haverhill 175.05 5. Allen 164.15 6. Saco 53.02 East Pitchers Ratings 1. Murfreeboro 171.60 - you can pitch now? wtf! 2. Fall River 168.67 3. Allen 167.54 4. Bloomington 166.53 - ...and I can't anymore. 5. Haverhill 154.54 6. Saco 34.03 Final East Standings 1. Murfreesboro 353.51 - you cannot be serious 2. Fall River 349.40 3. Bloomington 344.42 4. Allen 331.69 5. Haverhill 329.59 6. Saco 87.05 Well I don't know about about these Chinese-made Russian forgeries. I don't know about anything anymore. Up is down, black is white, Murfreesboro going back to Legends. We're clearly trough the breach in 2021. And now a word from our sponsor, Huawei: We can see what you're doing. Well that's disturbing... Since it's the end of the life on Earth as we know it, let's pick Murfreesboro over West Allis in 6 games. Now back to that Huawei thing. Who do they thi disconnected

#84691	09/28/2021 12:08:53 pm	Mar 8th, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yea! Saved by the bots. Haverhill is no longer bottom of the barrel for Private's rankings

#84703	09/28/2021 3:57:40 pm	Mar 9th, 2052
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Awesome job PSF! haha I miss the rankings. or being in a league with a message board

#84734	09/30/2021 12:01:38 am	Mar 12th, 2052
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	My enjoyment at Privates post is being serious undermined by the aroma my dog is currently emitting at my feet.

#84741	09/30/2021 6:00:50 am	Mar 12th, 2052
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Freddy, we've seen Legends forums with less action than a married couple with 5 kids. And like a married couple with 5 kids, sometimes you just gotta do it yourself. Luckily, II.1 has Rock, hurst, & Brewnoe to keep things going. It won't be boring here. JJ, I checked the weather in Christchurch. I think you can open a window now. 15C converted to American hamburger weather is like, not too bad. And stop blaming the dog, that's the oldest trick in the book

#84929	10/07/2021 10:25:11 am	Apr 3rd, 2052
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Saco in first. Just as predicted.

#84930	10/07/2021 11:48:12 am	Apr 3rd, 2052
nbadh Joined: 08/24/2018 Posts: 6 Inactive	🙄

#84933	10/07/2021 1:48:21 pm	Apr 3rd, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	That jives :p To be fair its not the team Private evaluated. Its full of geriatric all-stars now Updated Thursday, October 7 2021 @ 1:51:15 pm PDT

#84957	10/08/2021 7:29:13 am	Apr 7th, 2052
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	you should see the River in the Spring! Dry as a bone Ice cold might be a better adjective. Mister tied for second highest SI in the game Blaine "DeBeers" is doing his early season zombie stumble towards the Mendoza line again. On the plus side he isn't repeating last season's 0-18 w/ RISP start. Had a little luck on the waivers this morning, so I might be trying one of those Ruslan knockoffs at SS if Samurai Cat doesn't warm up real soon.

#84958	10/08/2021 7:35:40 am	Apr 7th, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	DeBeers is doing better than Kim...

#85057	10/12/2021 4:31:43 pm	Apr 23rd, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Woops... Forgot to reset my steal settings after the cup. Having everyone set at ++ against a 19 Arm Catcher is a pretty bad move. Costly mistake given two one run loses.

#85077	10/14/2021 9:56:56 am	Apr 29th, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Somehow I knew Saco had the 1 claim on Mayer.

#85080	10/14/2021 1:32:27 pm	Apr 29th, 2052
nbadh Joined: 08/24/2018 Posts: 6 Inactive	Hey, if you got a pulse you get a chance in Saco!

#85081	10/14/2021 1:41:12 pm	Apr 29th, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I think Mayer still has something to offer. I just have a backlog, and his age made him odd man out.

#85140	10/17/2021 2:39:49 pm	May 11th, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Too bad the AI is so bad at substitution logic

#85154	10/18/2021 7:56:29 am	May 14th, 2052
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Twice through. What stands out? West Redding Raiders Riding High: .491 OBP, .824 OPS are great numbers for an All-Star caliber player, but for an entire team? Impressive. Clutch went out: Flower Mound is batting .201 w/ RISP. Quality is job "none": West Allis' starting staff has a meager 6 QS in 33 games. East Off-base: Saco sports a sub .300 OBP. That's Billy Hamilton levels of futility. The-not-so-friendly-confines: Fall River, Allen, Haverhill, and Saco all have lower BA at home vs on the road. You feelin' lucky?: Haverhill has a nearly 50% CS rate. Updated Monday, October 18 2021 @ 7:56:56 am PDT

#85155	10/18/2021 10:46:08 am	May 14th, 2052
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	Lorenzo "aunt Becky plan" Lemus 8 cs on "--" Go crew yourself ... deeply in the early morning

#85157	10/18/2021 1:35:43 pm	May 14th, 2052
nbadh Joined: 08/24/2018 Posts: 6 Inactive	@PSP ooof. a billy hamilton burn. cant argue. rebuilding from a train wreck isnt easy.

#85158	10/18/2021 3:12:07 pm	May 14th, 2052
electriceel883 Joined: 05/26/2021 Posts: 1505 Irvine Infernos III.3	My team had one year of Billy Hamilton Updated Monday, October 18 2021 @ 3:12:22 pm PDT Updated Monday, October 18 2021 @ 3:12:40 pm PDT

#85159	10/18/2021 3:47:56 pm	May 14th, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm pretty happy with our RD. Not so much with the losing record

#85170	10/19/2021 4:02:16 am	May 17th, 2052
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	My team had one year of Billy Hamilton As a Reds fan, we were regaled with stories of this speedy minor-league SS breaking all sorts of stolen base records. But the Reds brought him up before he was ready and Pfffttt...

#85185	10/19/2021 12:15:24 pm	May 17th, 2052
electriceel883 Joined: 05/26/2021 Posts: 1505 Irvine Infernos III.3	I guess we also had Vince Coleman for a short. It took him awhile to learn how to hit but he did eventually.

#85203	10/19/2021 5:06:01 pm	May 20th, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	1-run loses are really starting to pile up

#85237	10/21/2021 6:29:49 pm	May 29th, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Once again whining on the boards seems to be the solution Three lucky games against Allen, and we are up to a much more respectable 7-9 1-run record.

#85238	10/21/2021 6:46:51 pm	May 29th, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Not going to be a happy camper if Fredrickson kicks my butt in the next series. You're welcome BTW. Updated Thursday, October 21 2021 @ 6:47:26 pm PDT

#85283	10/22/2021 4:32:58 pm	May 31st, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Ouch. Not sure I am happy to see Fields grazing in the Cows... Looks like the Cows just ratcheted up the quality of their staff

#85315	10/24/2021 7:24:30 pm	Jun 8th, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Dang it! We somehow hit on two 1B while Valdez went practically uncontested to Bloomington. At least one of those 3 claims was a non-compete

#85321	10/25/2021 9:19:24 am	Jun 8th, 2052
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	...while Valdez went practically uncontested to Bloomington. Hard to believe a guy with that HR rate, K:BB rate, low arm and range, with a plus-pitch report had 3 claims. I'm more than happy to take a look In other news, Bloomington and Haverhill trade more 1-run losses. Yay.

#85345	10/27/2021 5:07:28 am	Jun 15th, 2052
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	We're into inter-divisional play and Redding has won 75% of its games.

#85364	10/29/2021 4:09:32 am	Jun 25th, 2052
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	I would be fine if my first look at Redding was also my last.

#85378	10/29/2021 3:57:54 pm	Jun 26th, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Not so sure I like having them last. I'd rather get the nasty opponents out of the way early...

#85379	10/29/2021 4:25:41 pm	Jun 27th, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Knocked off a II.2 team to advance in the cup today

#85440	11/03/2021 2:11:00 pm	Jul 16th, 2052
Rebuilder Joined: 04/27/2018 Posts: 67 Redding Raiders III.3	I'm blushing..lol Been a great year for us so far. Rooting for Haverhill in Cup, go get em!

#85449	11/03/2021 8:33:18 pm	Jul 16th, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	My guys all have red faces too... But I think its for a different reason.

#85459	11/05/2021 6:01:22 am	Jul 21st, 2052
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Must...survive...the...West... 2-9 in 1-run games vs the West. Outscored 6.77 to 4.26. Avg/Obp/Slg have all dropped by 8-10 points since inter-division began. RISP same. O Brother, can you spare a run?

#85475	11/05/2021 5:38:43 pm	Jul 23rd, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	We were clobbered by Eden Prairie. I expected a slightly better showing than we gave. Didn't help that I didn't have time today to get my other 2B back up. Trevino got injured in game #1, so I had no 2B. But really made no difference given the score.

#85488	11/06/2021 10:01:41 am	Jul 23rd, 2052
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	Not so sure I like having them last. I'd rather get the nasty opponents out of the way early... Whew, I'm done with that reading ... and it's railroads

#85496	11/07/2021 2:14:27 pm	Jul 28th, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Half my lineup is on the DL right now

#85503	11/09/2021 11:31:48 am	Aug 4th, 2052
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	I would be fine if my first look at Redding was also my last. Edit: Or maybe not. Holy cow that was unexpected!

#85506	11/09/2021 2:29:28 pm	Aug 4th, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Quite the run for Bloomington. 11 in a row right now after sweeping the indomitable Raiders.

#85533	11/11/2021 9:24:54 am	Aug 14th, 2052
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	I will call your sir If peppermint patty says Updated Thursday, November 11 2021 @ 10:28:57 am PST

#85541	11/12/2021 4:35:58 am	Aug 19th, 2052
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	East tops West, 157-143 West Redding 38-22 Grand Junction 28-32 New London 31-29 Moore 30-30 West Allis 31-29 Flower Mound 15-45 East Fall River 39-21 Bloomington 36-24 Murfreesboro 36-24 Haverhill 33-27 Allen 28-32 Saco 13-47 Cold takes: Redding grows lead by 10 games Fall River swaps places with Bloomington

#85609	11/17/2021 9:13:33 am	Sep 4th, 2052
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Record watch: At their current pace, both Tomas Lozano (36) of West Allis and Shi Woo Kim (36) of Haverhill look to break the League II.1 single-season home run record, set by Frank Kelly way back in 2025. Time to bat them lead-off and shoot for 50?

#85611	11/17/2021 9:59:49 am	Sep 4th, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Maybe I should stop platooning Kim? Had the same thought last season, LOL.

#85612	11/17/2021 2:13:48 pm	Sep 4th, 2052
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	Takes a bit to get Gabe out of the lineup ... "Ghost River" ... might need to air on the erap side .. and the sultans play creole Updated Wednesday, November 17 2021 @ 3:25:24 pm PST

#85631	11/19/2021 4:26:35 am	Sep 12th, 2052
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Two more times through, let's see how the races are shaping up... West 1. Redding <space> <space> <space> 2. Group of: New London, Grand Junction, & Moore 5. West Allis <space> <space> <space> 6. Flower Mound Nothing has changed at the top since 1947. It's Redding. West Allis is definitely on the outside and would need a great head-to-head record vs The Group AND for someone to fall flat this week to have a chance. That's a lot of "if's". East What's this? A RACE? 1. Fall River, Bloomington, Murfreesboro 4. Haverhill 5. Allen <space> <space> <space> 6. Saco After a flurry of moves before the deadline, the Moo Cows began to heat up, but ran into a surprising Allen club. Speaking of running into Allen, Bloomington was just swept in Allen. Fall River gets their chance tonight. Haverhill is definitely 4th: not in the top tier this season, but not a relegation-type team, either. Is Allen going to make a run? They have a better chance than their contemporary in the West. There is a chance, but they'll have to play .750 ball to get there. Updated Friday, November 19 2021 @ 10:28:12 am PST

#85636	11/19/2021 7:16:09 am	Sep 13th, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I wish we were confident in 4th. Then I could play rookies. But Allen has been making big waves.

#85637	11/19/2021 7:42:55 am	Sep 13th, 2052
nbadh Joined: 08/24/2018 Posts: 6 Inactive	I'm torn between laughing at the "space space space" part, or crying.

#85644	11/19/2021 10:35:08 am	Sep 13th, 2052
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	I'm torn between laughing at the "space space space" part, or crying. Don't worry. Karma will make sure you sweep my beloved Thunder tonight.

#85686	11/22/2021 4:30:09 pm	Sep 26th, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm torn between laughing at the "give Saco their first win in 40 games" part, or crying. Only Haverhill can lose games to a rebuilding team that has thrown in the towel and brought up rookies... Updated Monday, November 22 2021 @ 4:34:12 pm PST

#85701	11/24/2021 4:35:29 am	Oct 2nd, 2052
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Last time through. 17 games left to play. Magic numbers of note: West relegation 4. Moore (11) 5. West Allis East relegation 4. Haverhill (14) 5. Allen II.1 single season HR record is 47. Current leaders: Lozano 44 Dowd 39 Kim 38

#85704	11/24/2021 7:27:30 am	Oct 2nd, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm calling curse of the Snowflake on Kim. He was tied in the lead at 36 last time? Worth noting, we are actually just as close to 3rd place as 5th place right now. So definitely no guarantee of 4th Updated Wednesday, November 24 2021 @ 7:28:39 am PST

#85709	11/24/2021 5:10:31 pm	Oct 5th, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Trashed by Murfreesboro today. Halfling are working hard to keep things exciting down to the line...

#85741	11/27/2021 7:04:39 pm	Oct 18th, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Looks like everything is locked up. Congrats to Bloomington and Reading.

#85744	11/28/2021 4:04:27 am	Oct 18th, 2052
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Fall River with a heck of a season. 12-8 vs my beloved Thunder. Should be a favorite next season. Our rival Moo Cows also were in it all but the last week and have a shot at 90 wins. Haverhill is steady and as long as you're in it, you can win it. Congratulations to Redding. That's as dominant a season as you'll see. And best wishes to the twin rebuilds in Saco and Flower Mound. It's always darkest before the dawn. Now, time to get healthy.

#85763	11/29/2021 4:31:53 am	Oct 22nd, 2052
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	The 2052 regular season has come to an end. The Great Home Run Race was fun over the final month, but Lozano & Kim both fell short. Hey PSF, how did the predictions go? They went great! Glad you asked. Don't bother to go back and look, I nailed it. Actually, the predictions weren't too far off. West Prediction (2052) 1. West Allis (-5 spots) 2. Grand Junction 3. New London 4. Redding (+4 spots) 5. Moore (+1 spot) 6. Flower Mound So the Aces and the Raiders under/over performed based on the the Apple II's formula. East Prediction (2052) 1. Murfreesboro (-2) 2. Fall River 3. Bloomington (+2) 4. Allen (-1) 5. Haverhill (+1) 6. Saco The East had no major movers and therefore are much, much cooler than those in the West. How about MVP & Cy Young? It feels like it's Lozano's and Cordova's to lose.

#85779	11/29/2021 2:04:06 pm	Oct 22nd, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	All I know is that you keep predicting me to demote :p

#85786	11/29/2021 11:33:56 pm	Oct 26th, 2052
Rebuilder Joined: 04/27/2018 Posts: 67 Redding Raiders III.3	Split the first 2 games, best of luck to Bloomington Thunder in the rest, great season winning 100, that's our first time over I believe.

#85787	11/29/2021 11:35:02 pm	Oct 26th, 2052
Rebuilder Joined: 04/27/2018 Posts: 67 Redding Raiders III.3	Actually we did 107 in season 44 as well

#85789	11/30/2021 4:17:48 am	Oct 26th, 2052
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	All I know is that you keep predicting me to demote :p No, the Apple II predicts the Halflings relegation. Direct your hatred at Steve Wozniak. I do. Every. Single. Day. I believe the numbers kept predicting the New York Lancers would relegate every year. And every year almaric stuck around (Legends). Just goes to show it's not the best players, but the right players used in the right way.

#85790	11/30/2021 5:05:02 am	Oct 26th, 2052
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Seems legit.

#85791	11/30/2021 1:54:59 pm	Oct 26th, 2052
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yes, yes. That adds up. That is why I use a PC :p To be fair, I believe there are only 5 teams (not counting the two recently trashed teams in our league) in LL-IV and up with lower power index than Haverhill. Lancers of course being one of those teams Updated Tuesday, November 30 2021 @ 1:59:55 pm PST

#85797	12/01/2021 8:57:06 am	Oct 30th, 2052
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Tried to put this thing away without having to go back to Redding. Now Howell will get his first start of the series and if this goes to 7, Lorenzo gets the ball, rested or not.

#85804	12/02/2021 4:12:20 am	Nov 2nd, 2052
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Congratulations to Rebuilder on a terrific 107 win season and a return to Legends. Let's do this again in '53!

#85851	12/03/2021 10:28:52 pm	Jan 13th, 2053
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Mostly familiar faces on my return to LL2, glad to be on this side of the ladder! Not sure I've ever faced off against Steve, and Pearland / Canton are the only two I don't recognise instantly. Looking forward to a new season, TU#0 has been mostly kind to me so we'll roll with what didn't work last year.........

#85865	12/04/2021 5:04:16 pm	Jan 13th, 2053
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Haverhill looks to be quite a bit weaker this season. Said goodbye to two of our anchors in the rotation (Nicolás Calderón and Stuart Felder). Our cleanup Gregg Baird retired, and our biggest gun (Shi Woo Kim) has already started to regress... Looks like a rebuilding year. Too bad I don't have anything worth building... LOL.

#86053	12/18/2021 8:02:14 pm	Mar 18th, 2053
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Only had time to do a very brief scout so far, the only thing that's stood out is that there are a lot of old guys still playing in this league!

#86096	12/25/2021 12:23:19 am	Apr 10th, 2053
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Had a fat thumb moment in today's draft, selecting the wrong guy, other than that, and the poor overall training results, the season is going OK so far at this very early stage! Looking forward to taking on 'The Creator' (aka Steve) tomorrow, Merry Xmas to all! Updated Saturday, December 25 2021 @ 8:42:18 pm PST

#86183	01/05/2022 8:22:52 am	May 21st, 2053
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Why am I not surprised to see another x-Halfling land in Scranton, LOL. Our most reliable trading partner

#86197	01/06/2022 5:36:51 pm	May 29th, 2053
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Kind of sad when you play a 4 game series against an opponent, and at the end of it you are both 3-7 in your last 10. LOL

#86220	01/07/2022 10:41:32 am	May 29th, 2053
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Lol the East is a close race, don't see that changing any time soon either. The West is less so, surprised to be doing as well as we have, expect regression there, New London have put up a good fight so far

#86272	01/12/2022 3:26:49 pm	Jun 17th, 2053
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Gah, one error away from a perfect game! http://brokenbat.org/game/4343880

#86276	01/12/2022 5:59:15 pm	Jun 19th, 2053
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I wish I could blame our horrendous ERA on all the rookies, but even my veterans are sucking this year. Must have rolled for a bad team biorhythm. A lot of guys are two whole points over where they were last season

#86296	01/13/2022 11:56:28 pm	Jun 25th, 2053
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	Gah, one error away from a perfect game! http://brokenbat.org/game/4343880 Holy Batman ... bet he beats Battery unless I start walking folks. Updated Thursday, January 13 2022 @ 11:57:44 pm PST

#86297	01/14/2022 12:41:18 am	Jun 25th, 2053
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Technically he did sit down 27 straight since it was the very first batter of the game that reached , but still... Bechtel at 28 HR's on the season already, that's madness!

#86336	01/16/2022 8:18:54 pm	Jul 7th, 2053
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	East has devolved in to 2 completely separate races. Currently Haverhill is leading II.1-East-B, but we may well lose the lead after this next series against Boulder... Kim dominated Bechtel last season in the HR department. But like everyone else on Haverhill, he's having a poor season. Betchel is on a ridiculous pace to hit over 60 HRs this season... Right now it looks like Kim will be luck to reach 30

#86344	01/17/2022 8:26:56 pm	Jul 9th, 2053
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	I wish Kim a happy Jesse Galvin sunset. One not locked up prop Betchya ...Lemus stealing a top 20 outfield assist spot

#86345	01/17/2022 10:10:38 pm	Jul 9th, 2053
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Would be nice if he lasted that long, kinda looks like he is falling down hill pretty fast though...

#86372	01/19/2022 2:27:13 pm	Jul 16th, 2053
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	At first blush it seems weird that Haverhill got a relief pitcher (not a Closer) on the All-Star squad. But reality is, he is the only guy in our rotation having a good season.

#86396	01/20/2022 6:22:00 pm	Jul 20th, 2053
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	My best starter has a 5.20 ERA... Its amazing how thoroughly a team can implode from one year to the next... Especially with very few changes to personnel. Lance Donaldson Last Year: 3.56 ERA, 1.313 WHIP This Year: 5.51 ERA, 1.506 WHIP Zane Wakefield Last Year: 3.24 ERA, 1.146 WHIP This Year: 5.20 ERA, 1.598 WHIP Pedro DeJesús Last Year: 4.32 ERA, 1.294 WHIP This Year: 5.76 ERA, 1.738 WHIP I really have no idea what to do when the whole team falters at the same time Pretty convinced there is a team biorhythm in play here. Updated Thursday, January 20 2022 @ 6:32:10 pm PST

#86478	01/25/2022 3:58:03 pm	Aug 6th, 2053
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'd sad when you pitchers' ERAs go down when they give up double digit hits...

#86480	01/25/2022 6:29:00 pm	Aug 8th, 2053
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Getting swept by Moore now, LOL. Bad joke just keeps getting worse. Wakefield give up 9 hits, which was a good enough performance to get him below 5.00. But then he got injured for 20+ games. Donaldson continues to plummet. Everyone not injured has a 6+ ERA right now. Bailey finally got back from his long injury, in time to play 3 games before getting injured again... I do wonder if its the team that has a biorhythm, or if its individual players, and I am just unlucky enough to have a bunch of guys with the same biorhythm number. 90% of the team is playing like crap, but there are a few guys doing well which seems to support the later. The fact that poor performance is always consistent between inter and intra-league seems to support the existence of some sort of biorhythm. Otherwise you would expect variable performance between inter and intra depending of the makeup of your opposition. I supposed Moo Cows are also pretty good evidence of individual player biorhythms. Otherwise the hand-hand strategy wouldn't be effective. I think I've convinced myself that each player has their own biorhythm, and I just keep collecting guys who share the same number. Means when the team does bad the team does really really bad

#86507	01/28/2022 6:22:42 pm	Aug 21st, 2053
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Padron gets a shot at revenge against our favorite trading partner

#86510	01/28/2022 8:18:08 pm	Aug 21st, 2053
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	Biorythems or bot-o-rythems? Moore came close to bringing a broom to my room too. Momma sez dem Rays are debils. Back to division play.

#86550	01/30/2022 5:00:10 pm	Aug 28th, 2053
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	With waivers about to close, we still have two extremely tight races going on in parallel in the East.

#86634	02/05/2022 8:04:43 pm	Sep 20th, 2053
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Just how good is Bechtel's season? With over 20 games to go: He's alreadysmashed the previous record of 47 HR's in a season for LL2.1 with 52 He's also set the season records for SLG and OPS. With another 4 HR (to get 56) he'll get onto the leaderboard for ALL leagues for a single season. Might be a tough ask to get the 72 that's currently on top (a full 8 clear of the next best! Someone drug test that man!) Might also struggle to get close to the all time LL2.1 record of 181 RBI's, but should easily get onto the board. Good season Bechtel!

#86668	02/08/2022 7:33:09 pm	Oct 2nd, 2053
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Final loop starts tomorrow. Nail biters all around in the East.

#86680	02/09/2022 10:32:06 pm	Oct 6th, 2053
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	11 teams still with plenty to play for. I'll just sit in a corner and watch now.....

#86697	02/10/2022 1:20:15 pm	Oct 6th, 2053
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	We won the RD contest against Boulder this year, but split the W/L. Oh and congrats on clinching. I've kind of considered the West clinched since the All-Star break, but I guess its official now Its still very possible for the 6th place team in the East to finish with a better record than the 2nd place team in the West. Updated Thursday, February 10 2022 @ 3:40:17 pm PST

#86722	02/11/2022 8:15:06 pm	Oct 14th, 2053
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	Would be nice if he lasted that long, kinda looks like he is falling down hill pretty fast though... Looks like Kim used that downhill momentum to launch himself into a killer ski jump

#86723	02/11/2022 9:00:43 pm	Oct 14th, 2053
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yeah, he has been on a tear. Hopefully that carries through for the next series

#86739	02/12/2022 4:06:27 pm	Oct 16th, 2053
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Ugh... Three one-run losses in a row against Fall River. We are going to need to win the series against Durham to stay up. Check that, Canton on a hot streak. Now our magic number is down to 1. Pressure is on. Its still a three way race in the West. Updated Saturday, February 12 2022 @ 5:32:50 pm PST

#86742	02/12/2022 8:46:24 pm	Oct 18th, 2053
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Thanks Rock, been a good season for us. East all sewn up, three way battle to avoid relegation on the final day in the West ...

#86757	02/13/2022 3:06:26 pm	Oct 19th, 2053
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yes! We finally broke that horrid losing streak and secure the #4 spot. One game to spare for the rookies

#86811	02/16/2022 2:59:20 pm	Nov 1st, 2053
buffmckagan Joined: 12/22/2013 Posts: 651 Scranton Bears Legends	Congratulations Rock on a well-fought win!! Hope to see you both in '55

#86817	02/16/2022 7:47:29 pm	Nov 2nd, 2053
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	Nice series Boulder buff - If by both in 55 you mean me + Rock ... that could be quite a season if Gambler stays up there too. Can't remember how much we played in the hoops game, but there were some interesting in-state recruiting battles. I hope what Doug "The Mad Scientist" Reid has learned since his first trip to Legends back when he was a wet behind the ears 43 year old back in 2029 helps next seasons results. (OMG .. just realized he must have be born in 1986) Awards thoughts: MVP - Galvin should easily be the Dawgs 4th ever MVP and 1st non-1B/LF/DH and also much more deserving of having a Gold Glove on his resume than those 2 that grabbed one in LF Cy Young - I really hope "Kumite" is on the podium. Rookies - Not sure who else is in the running, but Craig Shuler played a nice 2B considering how many times I switched him around in the minors. He probably doesn't deserve a vote ... but I need to mention Soma "From Out Of Nowhere" Kamamoto - Disrupted my 1B/LF/DH type plans Rookie pitchers - Starting to look at this category as something to just survive. For those on a peloton ... Clymer Dunn

#86818	02/16/2022 9:03:42 pm	Nov 2nd, 2053
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	If Silinas still qualifies I think he could get some ROTY vote (despite a horrible defensive performance). Otherwise I think Padilla is my only other qualifier. Kim might get a few vote for MVP, but no one really stands a chance against Bechtel this season. My entire pitching staff puked all over themselves this season, so not even worth looking at those guys. Updated Wednesday, February 16 2022 @ 9:06:15 pm PST

#86820	02/16/2022 11:30:29 pm	Nov 2nd, 2053
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Cheers Brewnoe, I thought you were all over us after that first game but a couple of solid pitching performances got us through. I'll look forward to next season's rematches! Thanks all for a fun season, I doubt we'll be in the running for many awards, but hope to have a few rookies get votes at least.

#86822	02/17/2022 4:05:15 am	Nov 2nd, 2053
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Congratulations, JJ! This is a historic season for Boulder. They will/have joined an exclusive club of teams with 100+ prestige. Do they even have baseball in NZ?!?!

#86831	02/17/2022 10:34:51 am	Nov 2nd, 2053
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Ha, didn't even notice that! We do have baseball, until covid struck we just got our first professional team in the Australian league but that hasn't been able to happen for a couple of seasons We are perennial World softball champs though!

#86833	02/17/2022 11:47:28 am	Nov 2nd, 2053
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	@JJ, here is "American" softball: Final score is 39-37. USSSA 2019 World Series

#86834	02/17/2022 12:25:42 pm	Nov 2nd, 2053
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	To be fair, there is also Fastpitch softball. Fastpitch softball players can actually throw even faster than MLB pitchers.

#86842	02/17/2022 7:41:38 pm	Nov 2nd, 2053
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Haha you yanks always have to do everything bigger and better! But yes, it's the Fast pitch version that we do very well at for whatever reason.

#86846	02/18/2022 6:53:08 am	Nov 2nd, 2053
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	But yes, it's the Fast pitch version that we do very well at for whatever reason. Because the pitch comes from...wait for it...down under! I coach fast-pitch (girls) and will freely admit I can't hit those rising pitches. Fast pitch is hard. @Rock: You remember when Jennie Finch hosted TWIB and made all those MLB hitters look silly?

#86850	02/18/2022 8:47:32 am	Nov 2nd, 2053
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	LOL. I hadn't seen that before.

#86857	02/18/2022 12:47:19 pm	Jan 13th, 2054
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Genuine lol private, well played that man

#86859	02/18/2022 3:18:49 pm	Jan 13th, 2054
rlawrence Joined: 02/03/2020 Posts: 102 Inactive	Helloooooo! Soooooo excited, it only took 10 seasons, but here I am, DII! Not much for expectations this year, but we'll do our best. Even if I did, just making it this far is a win for me. GL all.

#86861	02/18/2022 5:33:12 pm	Jan 13th, 2054
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	Welcome rlawrence! It is always a pleasure to meet new owners in the league. Don't sell your team short. You have a good team to win your previous division, and will be a strong contender again this season! Nice to see the familiar teams of Scranton, Moo Cows and Halflings. Something about Moo Cows and Eden Prairie just jives well, and any league with Rock777 will sure have exciting conversations in the forums. The Wolves are definitely old and wounded after the relegation from last season. It will be a tough fight just trying to stay in Div 2 this coming season. Our drafting has been atrocious over the last decade, and the current team has only 3 positional starters and 3 pitchers who are homegrown, and 4 of them are on the wrong side of 30. Yikes.

#86868	02/18/2022 9:09:08 pm	Jan 13th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Halflings got super lucky last season, staying up with a -83 RD, while Durham demoted with a +60. Lots of aging, I expect Haverhill to be even worse this season... Going to be ugly. I doubt we'll be able to stay up this season.

#86869	02/18/2022 9:14:29 pm	Jan 13th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I agree with boltsman. I haven't scouted all the teams yet, but the Shipbuilders look like they are going to be major headaches this season. At least for Haverhill.

#86946	02/23/2022 11:48:57 am	Jan 29th, 2054
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	Hey Rock - we cross paths again. Looking forward to interdivision.

#86947	02/23/2022 11:49:26 am	Jan 29th, 2054
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	I totally didn't realize this prospect popped to POT 14 this week. Man that's a nugget of great news in Deadwood. https://brokenbat.org/player/276076

#86955	02/23/2022 2:44:34 pm	Feb 1st, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Good to see you again. Honestly, I'm not sure I am looking forward to any part of the schedule, LOL. Team is a wreck. Too many seasons without decent draft picks. Flaherty looked really nice even when he was a POT 13.

#87037	03/02/2022 3:46:05 pm	Mar 11th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I wonder if our stealing days are already behind us, or if we can squeeze one more season out of Burrell. Burrell's replacement next season will be Fisher. Fisher has a nice lead-off profile, but lacks any semblance of base stealing aggressiveness. Paz is our only other base stealer, but he has already lost a step this season. No speed in the minors

#87046	03/03/2022 11:42:22 am	Mar 12th, 2054
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	No speeds sounds perfectly fine. We haven't got a catcher that played for more than a season since we gave up on Delgadillo (yet another player who blossoms after leaving us, yikes). We did not find any decent temporary solution from waiver this season, and might have to go with the inexperienced noodle arm Uhm. Umm... I think we need a backup catcher too... Yikes, we're so screwed.

#87049	03/03/2022 3:03:58 pm	Mar 13th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Guess that means I should keep my elderly speedsters then Delgadillo wasn't ever going to compete at the Legends level. But he might have had some utility down here in II. I wouldn't even consider the performances he had in V or IV. Its pointless to try and compare performances between league levels. I never feel bad if a cut is doing good in IV or lower.

#87050	03/03/2022 3:08:57 pm	Mar 13th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Every season the Haverhill owners give us unreasonable goals This year's goal is to finish 6th or higher in the division. Head in the clouds as always...

#87055	03/03/2022 6:39:02 pm	Mar 14th, 2054
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	Deadwood’s season goals are to stop the bleeding, not demote two seasons in a row, and try and get the next generation of the team up and running.

#87102	03/04/2022 8:34:59 pm	Mar 16th, 2054
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Denvy returns from lowbie league ball. Have fun this season everyone. https://brokenbat.org/player/234937 I hate this player's agent. Updated Friday, March 4 2022 @ 9:24:48 pm PST

#87111	03/04/2022 9:57:55 pm	Mar 16th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Welcome back Ced.

#87124	03/05/2022 12:06:44 pm	Mar 16th, 2054
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	It's nice to be in the league with Ced again. I remembered his teams to be great at hitting and offers quite good pitching on top of it. Hmm, now I wonder if it's good to see him in the same league again. At least Broncos are in the West. Re: Delgadillo I suppose I was more traumatized by the 11 different players who played as a catcher in league and cup games last season, and how it look like it's going to be miserable again this season. We're also in the same boat as Haverhill with the two speedsters on the team in decline phase already. I have to say that I'm not sure on the value of steals. The speedsters usually only end up on the team by coincidence and not by design. I wonder if owners actively look for players with stealing ability to put on the team. I suppose from the preseason complaining, Rock and I will be slugging it out in the basement. I also shouldn't have peeked at the Draft thread. It always seems so easy for other teams to pick up 15, 16 pots. It's especially difficult since we haven't draft an impact player since '41. I hope my duct tape rotation with everyone 32+ or older don't explode over the season.

#87125	03/05/2022 3:31:59 pm	Mar 17th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I didn't even take anyone in the first round

#87163	03/08/2022 2:05:46 pm	Mar 25th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Ok. Time for a lock-out. Let's end the season now. 3rd place is the highest I will be all season. 1 game is enough to determine ranking

#87176	03/09/2022 9:21:30 am	Mar 30th, 2054
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	Haha, well, we are on pace for 0-160, so I suppose it can only go up from here. Not a good start at all to this season.

#87189	03/09/2022 4:59:30 pm	Apr 2nd, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I've already been proven wrong as the team slots in at 2nd... Its all an illusion though. The team took some big steps backwards this season, and we had a -81 RD last year.

#87232	03/11/2022 3:09:40 pm	Apr 7th, 2054
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Welcome back Ced. Thank you Rock.

#87241	03/12/2022 2:07:06 pm	Apr 10th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I swear Padron ups his game anytime he starts against Scranton

#87263	03/14/2022 5:53:16 pm	Apr 20th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Looks like Moo Cows are going bot

#87265	03/14/2022 7:50:29 pm	Apr 21st, 2054
Jerbeetwo Joined: 06/30/2019 Posts: 331 Tyler Goldendoodles IV.3	I sure would hate to see that.

#87270	03/15/2022 8:53:50 am	Apr 21st, 2054
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	Hope everything is fine with hurstdm. It is never good to lose a good owner like him. After the first cycle, we are sort of where we expect to be, fighting to stay away from relegation. Our hitting and pitching are mediocre at best. Bath is right on our heels with red hot hitting so far, it would be hard for us to stay ahead of them once Bath's pitching heats up from its current cold streak. Interesting to see the Carps in a relegation spot in the West. The underlying numbers and RD looks good for them. Could it just be an unlucky start to the season?

#87273	03/15/2022 4:28:16 pm	Apr 23rd, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Agreed, I hope Hurst is absent by choice. Ugh... Haverhill now accounts for half of Murfreesbot's wins this season

#87380	03/24/2022 5:24:19 pm	May 29th, 2054
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Salmon is a solid signing, sir. Should help you towards Legends.

#87385	03/24/2022 6:52:37 pm	May 29th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	He can't do any worse than Salomón was doing for me. He looks a little cheaper and a little better. I'm still very pessimist about winning anything. I was expecting to demote this season. It feels like some practical joke right now. We had a -83 RD last season, and key players like Kim have died of old age. Guys like Hamel are playing way over their heads... I'm pretty sure we've just had a streak of good luck.

#87430	03/28/2022 10:19:10 am	Jun 8th, 2054
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	I'm still very pessimist about winning anything. I was expecting to demote this season. It feels like some practical joke right now. We had a -83 RD last season...I'm pretty sure we've just had a streak of good luck. I think you should promote this season. Educated guess. Lucky for you, I worked in translation services as a hobby. Haverhill's owner has 777 in its username. They recently won 11 games in a row. Not luck to win so often. 777 upside down is a three game losing streak, three L's. Their current streak. "Its only baseball, though!"

#87438	03/29/2022 10:02:03 am	Jun 10th, 2054
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	Haha, Ced. So true! I think the Halflings are destined to advance this season. Being lucky is the Halflings trait in Dungeons and Dragons. My d20 die has confirm it for me. Rock shouldn't feel too pessimistic. Hopefully the Wolves can continue to stay out of relegation zone. We are far from being a contender with -115 RD last season. Our returning rotation of all 32+ vets are putting up a valiant effort, but who knows how long that will last. Yikes, I need help on how to replace the entire rotation comes next season.

#87443	03/29/2022 8:02:16 pm	Jun 15th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	You had a -115 in Legends, Haverhill had -83 in LL-2. All these guys doing good this year were garbage last season. No reason to believe they will keep it up.

#87452	03/31/2022 4:00:38 am	Jun 20th, 2054
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	There are 6 new reasons every season. 6 new opponents.🌞

#87630	04/10/2022 3:44:00 pm	Jul 30th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Best of luck to Eden Prairie, repping II.1 in the cup!

#87632	04/10/2022 5:26:10 pm	Jul 31st, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Just in case I wasn't clear. That's good luck for the cup only... You can slow down on the league games 😛

#87649	04/12/2022 5:21:22 pm	Aug 8th, 2054
rlawrence Joined: 02/03/2020 Posts: 102 Inactive	Well gents, 100 games in and I'm 12 games out of 4th. I'd probably need to win 45 of the last 60 to have a shot at staying up, so I'm going to go ahead an tap out. Before I start dropping vets, I sure would appreciate an evaluation or any kind of tips as to how my team was lacking. (i'm obviously last in pitching, which just weirds me out because it was a strength of mine in DIII)

#87655	04/12/2022 9:10:53 pm	Aug 9th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm always shocked by how inconsistantly players can perform from year to year. Sometimes your guys all just have down years. Last year we had a -83 RD. I'm still very skeptical of the team continuing to perform as it has so far this season, but it seems likely we will do a lot better than -83. Look at almost any of my pitchers. Cordero for instance. Cordero is one of my better pitchers, but he did relatively poorly last season, doing great this season, and he did well the season before. Just some bad luck and a few extra hits can totally bomb a guy's performance. Similar story with DeJesús, Wakefield, etc. Same with hitters. How is Howarth performing so well this season? So a certain amount is beyond your control. You get the best players you can on the squad, and then hope they perform well. I don't think your pitching is too bad. I'm not going to go into any details on your team while we are in the same league However you can glean some useful information looking at the league stats page. One thing that really sticks out is your BB number. Your team has like 25% more walks than the rest of the league. Things like hits allowed can be hard to judge with all the factors involved. But a large BB number can be laid squarely at the feet of your pitchers. Also your HR ratio isn't too hot. Despite a good GB/FB rate, your opponents are getting a lot more HRs than you. That could mean a lot of things. Maybe we just have more power hitters. But it also might mean your ballpark isn't helping against this set of opponents. Or maybe you have a couple guys who are HR prone (or just unlucky this season). There is probably a lot less distance between you and Haverhill than the standings indicate. Haverhill has had some good luck and overperforming players this season. Without that, it could very easily be us in 6th. Still plenty of time to make that happen too

#87656	04/12/2022 9:17:57 pm	Aug 9th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Its really hard to tell because its SO easy for humans to see patterns in random data, but the more I play this game the more I suspect that biorythms/streaks/etc. are variables in the game. I think players can have up or down periods of performance. Teams like the Moo Cows ran with a very mercenary strategy. They cut guys they thought were cold and hired in guys they were gambling were having a good year. They did pretty well with this strategy. I don't think its fun to play that way because I want to watch my guys grow and improve over time, but there might be something to be said for being a little bit mercenary. At the very least, I do tend to sit guy who seem to be performing well below average. Updated Tuesday, April 12 2022 @ 9:18:55 pm PDT

#87661	04/13/2022 5:58:09 am	Aug 9th, 2054
rlawrence Joined: 02/03/2020 Posts: 102 Inactive	Appreciate that bro! When it comes down to it, we are in the top 36 teams in the game just by being in d2, so I have comfort there, lol And yes, I'm starting to think 'streaks' are a real thing and not just 'random'

#87666	04/13/2022 11:48:19 am	Aug 9th, 2054
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	Thanks Rock for the extra luck boost. We will definitely need it in the Cup. As for the league, I think Haverhill will end up winning the East. While the difference is only 4, 5 games between Haverhill and us and Highpoint, but we have yet to play against the West-leading New London, and Highpoint has yet to play against Santa Monica. I agree with you two on the "biorhythm" theory. It is so strange to see your ace Garcia doing so poorly. Sure he's getting up there in age, but even factoring in the decline, that is a very unlucky pitching streak. Three of your usual dependent hitters, Ashley, Benavides and Godfrey are also having a poor season compare to their usual standards. It's so difficult to compete when that many of the dependable players are having their career-worst season. I find a mercenary-heavy strategy stressful to maintain. Sometimes you luck out and got players that give you all-star worthy seasons, but you are never sure if the hot streak is going to continue. You can hold onto a player for too long as they regress down to their mean. For players that don't perform, sometimes you cut them too early, and then they go on to have an amazing season with another team. Then, you have to do it all over again the next season. We have to do quite a bit of that lately since we haven't been able to develop any hitters, and will have to do it with pitchers soon. It's much more fun to see your own player grow, develop, and eventually reach their career milestones. I agree with Rock that you never know what is going to happen. Sometimes you can catch a hot streak after inter-league and make up a 10-game difference. It is so hard to get promoted with all the good owners up here, and I always try to win until I am pretty much mathematically eliminated.

#87668	04/13/2022 1:42:39 pm	Aug 9th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I agree with most of what you said, but WAY too early in the season to call a winner. Lot's of time for my guys to cool down. Didn't hit too well in the last series... Updated Wednesday, April 13 2022 @ 1:42:58 pm PDT

#87701	04/17/2022 4:58:35 pm	Aug 28th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Not super happy that Bath choose our series to get hot, but hoping it carries through to your next High Point and Eden series Then you need to go cold right after High Point 😛 Looks like its going to be a tight race in the East. Wishing Scranton good luck to overcome Murfreesboro since they've gone bot. Although I think they've gotten a bit better now that they are being actively managed... Will be a challenge.

#87704	04/18/2022 5:45:21 am	Aug 29th, 2054
rlawrence Joined: 02/03/2020 Posts: 102 Inactive	Hey, If I can't stay up, I might as well help keep it interesting

#87729	04/20/2022 4:29:20 pm	Sep 6th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Ouch. Hurts losing on an error by your 2 time gold glove winning SS.

#87757	04/22/2022 4:30:28 pm	Sep 14th, 2054
rlawrence Joined: 02/03/2020 Posts: 102 Inactive	it's a series! 1 Eden Prairie Wolves 77 52 .597 - +109 W2 8-2 2 Haverhill Halflings 77 54 .588 1 +94 W3 4-6

#87763	04/22/2022 7:38:58 pm	Sep 16th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Too bad we are heading in the wrong direction, and nobody can beat Eden right now...

#87764	04/22/2022 7:41:24 pm	Sep 16th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Still a really close race for 4th right now as well. Still routing for Scranton, but would really prefer if they got their wins again Eden Prairie rather than Haverhill

#87794	04/24/2022 4:00:43 pm	Sep 22nd, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Eden Prairie is just ridiculous right now... 18-2 in the last 20 games... They seem to be unstoppable

#87795	04/24/2022 4:02:57 pm	Sep 22nd, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Make that 19-2 and a 10 game winning streak...

#87828	04/28/2022 5:00:09 pm	Oct 9th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Was hoping to make the last series meaningful, but it looks like we are already out of the race.

#87842	04/29/2022 6:15:49 pm	Oct 14th, 2054
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	It looks like an exciting finish with us losing 3 straight and the Halflings winning 3 straight. It could all come down to the last series when the two teams go head to head.

#87845	04/29/2022 9:26:47 pm	Oct 14th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Too bad I already dumped half my team. It was certainly an unexpected result today with a bunch of rookies in the squad... I'm sure we'll be out after the next series anyhow.

#87850	04/30/2022 5:02:16 pm	Oct 17th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Surprising, the rookies managed to get two sweeps and Eden Prairie finally lost some games. Now I wish I hadn't cut all those vets, LOL.

#87874	05/02/2022 11:19:27 am	Oct 22nd, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Our speedsters and HR hitters are aging out. Trying to see if we should change the team philosophy... but we don't have any star players to build around...

#87884	05/02/2022 7:05:32 pm	Oct 26th, 2054
rlawrence Joined: 02/03/2020 Posts: 102 Inactive	Congrats Eden! Now go win the whole thing!

#87889	05/03/2022 2:21:52 pm	Oct 28th, 2054
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	Thanks rlawrence. It had certainly been a tight contest down the stretch between Haverhill and us. We have been quite lucky this season winning quite a few games despite being the team with less hits. New London has out hit us in all three games so far in the series while taking a 2-1 series lead. It will be an uphill battle for us from now on. Hopefully we can turn it around soon.

#87898	05/03/2022 9:26:40 pm	Oct 30th, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Good luck in the playoffs. I'm a little disappointed I didn't keep my best guys for our final show-down, but it would have been pretty tough to take all three anyhow. At least my scrubs seem to be able to win consistently, LOL. Updated Tuesday, May 3 2022 @ 11:15:44 pm PDT

#87917	05/05/2022 10:58:54 am	Nov 2nd, 2054
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	It is an exciting series that is decided by a single run in game 7. Great series played by New London, and we are fortunate to come out ahead despite being out hit in 5 of the 7 games and outscored 24-23 in the series. Congrats to Deuce for bringing his team back to Legends. We have been extremely lucky this season. Not only did we win a high number of 1-run games (23-16 compare to 14-19 last season), we also performed well in some of the lucky underlying stats like RISP. Almost all of the returning veterans have an above average to career seasons. Some notable mentions are: 34y/o SP Vásquez 13-11, 3.80 ERA, Got to 200 career wins and gave us 6⅓ scoreless innings in Game 4. 32y/o SP Salgado 16-7, 3.35 ERA, career season despite being in the second year of decline and gave us 7⅔ scoreless innings in Game 7. 33y/o CL Olsen 8-2, 25 SV, 2.85 ERA, 2-claim pickup this season who had a near career season performance. Helped gave us the lowest number of blown saves in the East. 34y/o RF Lynn 315/378/540, 1-claim pickup this season batting lead off who gave us his arguably career season despite only played in L5 or above once. We are definitely due for a regression next season. Besides Vásquez and Salgado, our other starters Garcia and Robinson are both 32 this season. We cannot try to put out a rotation featuring the big four of 35, 33, 33, 33 y/o veterans next season right?

#87918	05/05/2022 11:52:42 am	Nov 2nd, 2054
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Congrats Boltsman! Although I'm not sure how much those things are just luck. There is some luck built into every roll of the die, but I think RISP might be tied to a hidden "clutch" factor that players may have. In terms of 1-run games, again there is some luck, but I think it also says something about the strength of your bullpen. Having really good SETs will make a huge difference in 1-run games. Closer as well, although he is too lazy to join half of the 1 run games

#87933	05/06/2022 1:33:57 pm	Jan 13th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Greetings II.1. After 8 straight seasons in III.1 Waterloo moves to a new division to find ... relatively few new faces. During our time in III.1 the Dinos finished: - 2nd behind High Point - 2nd behind Haverhill - 4th behind Murfreesboro As well as 2nd behind the recently departed Eden Prairie and Scranton. Canton and Orlando will be new acquaintances. The West is also quite familiar, though Santa Cruz was still in Moore and under different management, and Freddy was at the helm of College Station. Not expecting an active off-season in Waterloo. Only made 4 additions last season, likely similar this season. No big holes to fill, and understudies lined up for the few aging vets.

#87934	05/06/2022 1:56:10 pm	Jan 13th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	+224... NO! Go away, you are not welcome! :P LOL Haverhill is full of weaknesses again. So we'll probably(hopefully) make some moves.

#87939	05/06/2022 7:20:18 pm	Jan 13th, 2055
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Greetings II.1 it's been a long time! Good to see so many familiar names and active managers. The Pistoleros have been working our way up from the basement leagues and have finally started to see some of our own developed prospects make into the starting line up. We hope with a little luck we can fill a hole or two this offseason and be competitive right away. Good luck to all!

#87943	05/07/2022 1:00:50 pm	Jan 13th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Good to see you back up here with your new team Freddy!

#87959	05/08/2022 4:55:30 pm	Jan 13th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Its an exciting time in Haverhill. Our stars are fading fast. Donaldson and Burrell retired at the end of the season. Our other long time anchors (Bearden, McGrath, Ras, Paz, Kim, and Hamel) are all on their last legs. Jake Fisher is the only promising guy in AAA (will be joining the team to replace Burrell after spring training). With practically no core to build around, we are free to employ mercenaries and can build the new team in any direction we choose

#87966	05/09/2022 5:05:58 pm	Jan 13th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Does sound exciting! I often see older players on waivers and think "he looks pretty good - too bad I don't need an x". Always seems when I do have a hole waivers offers square pegs. Murfreesboro did quite well with that sort of model. Did seem to have a bit of a delta. Dinos are toward the other end of the spectrum. Our core players (White, Lovato, Keller) are quite young. Minors is similar tho. Full of guys we like rather than guys who will be good. Not expecting much in the way of impact from below.

#87972	05/09/2022 7:25:40 pm	Jan 13th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I know what you mean. The only position we have well secured is 3B, and I am constantly finding nice 3B prospects on waivers... Back in the days before Burrell I struggled to find 3B. Now that I have one, they are everywhere!

#87974	05/10/2022 3:32:23 pm	Jan 19th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Ya, wasn't surprised when I clicked on Fisher and found he plays the hot corner. Murayama seems a nice pick up. Not really my cup of tea, but seems to fit with the Haverhill game plan. Bring out your dead! Update Zero claimed a couple casualties in Waterloo. We were close to cutting Arenas at the start of last season. Gave him a chance to pad his career stats a bit, and he ran with it. Unfortunately he's now a clear liability on defense. He leaves as the most accomplished C in Dino history. #11 in hits, #8 in HRs, #6 in RBI. A committee of Armenta, Watt and rookie Cammareri will man Arenas' post. Cervantes was our big waiver win last season. Hoped to get a couple good seasons from him. But he really struggled with his control in the first half of '54. Much better in the second half. Unfortunate Father Time came for him.

#87975	05/10/2022 6:24:08 pm	Jan 22nd, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Murayama is a back up plan. I'm hoping I don't need to rely on him, but he should be a fairly solid player. He isn't my cup of tea either (probably for a different reason), and I have been amassing way too many OBP guys. I would rather pull in a couple SLG guys to complement them, but that relies on a bit a waiver luck. Biggest issue is that my hitters have started to trend towards ground ball, but I still have weak OFs Range-wise. This puts me in an awkward position. My high high GB/FB hitters would prefer lower walls and a larger stadium. But my OF range is so weak that I am leery about making a large stadium right now. Especially with a low Range SS who can't help make up the difference. Combined with high GB/FB pitchers, a large stadium would turn Hospital Hill into a football stadium (with scores to match)... That's why I need to figure out a good strategy and move towards it. This year is going to be painful one way or the other because the team composition has drifted too far away from the team strategy. Yet with only Fisher (a high GB/FB) to build around, it seems like the right time to make a change. There are just SOOO many JAGs that are still tied to the old strategy... And then there is my personal goal not to fall below LL-3 doing a full rebuild... Decisions decisions. Updated Tuesday, May 10 2022 @ 6:28:50 pm PDT

#87977	05/10/2022 6:47:24 pm	Jan 22nd, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	To complicate things further, we do have one other key player in our low minors. Arce is a high GB/FB pitcher... So he fits better with the current team strategy. Not a good combo with Fisher... A few years out still, but I don't want to mess things up for him before he gets up.

#87979	05/11/2022 9:46:20 am	Jan 27th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Dang it! Eden Prairie put in a last minute claim on Salmon... Guess its a good thing I hit on the backup plan... Really not doing well this offseason... First I pull my claim on Hough at the last minute thinking I could pick him up later, only to have him signed by Reclaim. And now a last minute steal from Eden Prairie. Ugh! Updated Wednesday, May 11 2022 @ 9:51:03 am PDT

#87981	05/11/2022 10:55:14 am	Jan 28th, 2055
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	I think your back up plan was my plan A. I suppose we both ended up with our back up plan haha.

#87986	05/11/2022 3:45:35 pm	Feb 2nd, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Times like this I wish we could trade, LOL.

#87999	05/12/2022 1:28:37 pm	Feb 12th, 2055
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Growing pains. The Pistoleros' roster is a mess. Looks like we will be heavily dependent on our declining 34 year olds. Problems at the "easy positions" catcher, 1B and DH. We have good starting pitching but also we have 8 pitchers aged 25-23 and we are not really high on any of them! It's going to take a couple weeks to sort out who stays and who goes. I can see us competing for the pennant in a perfect scenario and I can also see us demoting. I think our defense/pitching will be ok, I just hope we can score a few runs! Really looking forward to our first crack in the II leagues.

#88002	05/12/2022 5:02:07 pm	Feb 18th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Spring training tomorrow! A week and a half with no games makes me look forward to spring training, even tho our chiclets always end up spread across Arizona. Still. We drafted 3 sorta middling P last season. Curious to see how they do. Dinos will have 2 rookies on the opening day roster, both position players. Romano's 20 speed will catch your eye, but its not his game. He plays to swat dingers. 21 in 239 ABs at AAA last season. Good hitting gives him a ceiling even if everything else breaks right. Cammareri will help with the catching, and may be a nice compliment to Armenta and Watt who are both very much bat-first players. Neither will get enough ABs to challenge for RotY. Several young arms may see service, tho the most prominent- Amrose and Villanueva - both lost their rookie status last season shuttling between AAA and the bigs. So. Dinos unlikely to challenge for the kid hardware.

#88020	05/15/2022 5:55:51 pm	Mar 6th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Mostly oldsters on the transaction list. Interesting to see Wally move from the East to the West. League mates the most likely destination when a good but not great player cut. Spring training as miserable as always. Thought our super manager would give a bit of protection from the error parade, but nope. O'Dell has 1.4 position knowledge and 9 fld - not great. But surely not 5 errors in 9 games at 1B bad. If he could keep that up it would be a 90 error season. Dinos liked the Mori siging. Our sort of dude. Solid defender, great hitting. Shame he doesn't have a bit more speed or pop, but he's got a decent floor. Waterloo wasn't in on him though. Think we only made 2 claims so far in 2055, and both were curiosity plays more than wants. Happy enough whiffing.

#88075	05/20/2022 3:16:19 pm	Mar 15th, 2055
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	The Pistoleros are ready to get this season started after a so-so spring. Spring pitching has been a disappointment but we think we drafted an eventual starter in round 1 which will take a little pressure off after quite a few probable cuts are piling up in AAA. Possibly all of them. But having said that, pitching should not be an issue this season. Non pitchers: Hopefully our manager will work well with a mix of some (really) old guys and our 2nd and 3rd year prospects. We still have lots of question marks and will still be looking for a bat upgrade at DH,C or 1B. As is we will need either Armenta or Peeters to turn back the clock after AI drops and have a better year than what we are expecting. 2B:Dillon is the type of player we would historically drop but he played so well last season that he will get the start over the better fielding back-up . That should get us thru until AAA prospect Citroen gets the call up next season. Other youth: We will give young gun Pinto full time duty to start the season and hopefully he is now ready for 500 AB's in RF. Another top prospect Floyd Tubbs will lead off vs. RHP and if he can get on base he will surely improve our non existent speed game. Running out of patience with Skinner but he could still play vs. LHP if he shows some improvement. Casas is a guy we had high hopes for as a lead off man vs LHP but he has dropped to 12 pot and could be a defensive liability. Still his limited numbers have been good (great) and he will get a shot. We haven't scouted the other teams yet so no real idea where we stack up tbh. We'll be happy if we can get the young guys into the line-up, sort the roster a little, and at least stay up in II.1 Good luck to all teams!

#88085	05/20/2022 6:37:38 pm	Mar 16th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Tombstone does seem to have the ends of the age spectrum covered. The new old guys both had nice seasons last year. Always questionable if there is still gas in the tank. McDowell is an old friend. We liked him, but let him go when we got Hammond. Good training update. 27 green arrows (tho 3 were inherited with our draft pick). Of note, Bowers got the green light for the show. We have high expectations for him. Not sure he'll see much action this season. (Might ride the shuttle for Cup. Haven't decided yet.)

#88092	05/21/2022 6:28:26 am	Mar 16th, 2055
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	That's funny, I had just counted before reading your post, 27 arrows (including 4 from our draft pick). We usually pass on waivers that were tested and then dropped by teams like Waterloo, Novi, Boulder etc. But we pretty much needed McDowell for the same reason. Short term defensive help. Let us know when you drop Hammond! Re:Bowers : it takes two looks to realize he will likely still add 20 AI to the big 4 categories and could become a dominant ground ball reliever. Nice prospect! We were mildly surprised to see the Cervantes drop but it looks like the Dinos are comfortable going with an impressive crew of young arms. The Arenas drop also sends a clear message. I'd guess this is the youngest Dino team in quite a few years.

#88093	05/21/2022 7:26:22 am	Mar 16th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	We've had a young team for a while. Have been going through a stretch where most of our players have been dropping off early. 30-31 has been the end of the line. Has meant cycling a lot of youngsters. Team isn't as young as it looks at the moment. The AAA shuttle has arrived for our cup series. 3 P (Villanueva, Doran, Lawrence) and Cockrell. Feel bad for Cockrell. He's been ready for a couple of seasons, but is blocked pretty badly by Alvarez. Cockrell is young enough we've kept him around.

#88099	05/21/2022 9:05:00 am	Mar 16th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	First round for Haverhill, we had to pick between garbage or yet one more 3B prospect... I tried to fish for a SS... Haverhill is getting pretty old. Not a lot of excitement in the draft (if you don't count the abundance 3B prospects), and not a huge amount of luck with FA. So our current minor system is pretty unimpressive. I expect to see at least one heart attack while running the bases this season. Updated Saturday, May 21 2022 @ 9:08:15 am PDT

#88120	05/23/2022 10:23:07 am	Mar 20th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Heh. Can't even offer "maybe his range will improve" as that seems unlikely. How about "Can't have too many 3B"? Looking around the league, I think Tombstone's pick is the one I'd most like to add to our system. Some nice picks amount the 12, tho nothing super flashy. Another dreary spring comes to an end. 12-18. Good news is our top performing position players (Cammareri, Cockrell, Reid and Romano) are either on the big club or the taxi squad. Top pitchers (Bowers, McDowell) making their case for back of the pen duty. Cup tonight. Will be the usual scratch-and-claw-and-maybe-sneak-in for Waterloo. Our 4 SP will be #4 and #5 from the rotation plus 2 guys from AAA. Only 1 guy in the lineup who had more than 210 ABs last season, and he's playing out of position. Moo Cows are in our group. A bit unusual to get 2 II squads in the same 6.

#88122	05/23/2022 10:33:52 am	Mar 20th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yeah, not with him already bumping to 14 last update... "Can't have too many 3B" Unfortunately I fear this probably isn't true, LOL. Lee looks like a REALLY nice pitching prospect. Would have loved to have gotten him on my draft board. Oliver doesn't look to shabby either. For Haverhill he would be a prime contender for CF, but probably only a LF for the Dinos Pity he isn't a lefty, but still looks quite promising if his PD growth is decent. Updated Monday, May 23 2022 @ 10:37:41 am PDT

#88123	05/23/2022 11:09:16 am	Mar 20th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Haha. Ya, you can definitely have too many 3B. I was dipping low in the solace tank. We'd be more excited about Oliver if his hit skill were more advanced. But he'll probably be ok. Beall is the star of our system. So ya, looks like Oliver will be in a corner. Edit: just checked. Oliver clocks in with a 77.7 prospect rating. 2nd in the system behind Beall's 81.5. Updated Monday, May 23 2022 @ 11:11:13 am PDT

#88125	05/23/2022 2:09:40 pm	Mar 20th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	3 is a rough place to start from, but he is only 17 and that Great Hitter comment should mean he tops out high. BC and PD are always more concerning to me when they are this young. His BC is starting off pretty good. Unless he flat lines it should be plenty good. PD is going to be the big question mark for him. But at least it isn't starting any lower than his future "great" hitting, so plenty of reason to be optimistic If he can top off high in PD and Hitting you'll have a nice speedy OBP guy there. If his PD falters a bit but his BC takes off, his speed could make him a nice bunting threat. I'm a bit worried about Lawson's BC and PD. He has a lot of SI in defense, and his BC and PD are both starting off as his lowest ratings. Just have to cross our fingers, but at least I have another young 3B option in C.C. Swafford anyhow. Not to mention Viciedo, Fisher, Vázquez and Barnard... Updated Monday, May 23 2022 @ 2:18:38 pm PDT

#88136	05/24/2022 8:42:56 am	Mar 25th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Ya, can certainly be done. Butler was drafted with 0 hitting and sat at 0 for 1.5 seasons. Dino brass was freaking out. But he got there. A good cup series for Waterloo. Hate starting 0-4 (which we seem to do frequently). Steep hill to climb. 3-1 will do nicely. Reid had 2 game MVPs, building on a nice spring. Would be great if his production improved this season. Opening day! Dinos hand the ball to our ace Kang for the inaugural match of 2055. Kang had a truly terrible rookie campaign, but has been awesome since. Last season he had a slow start and a couple lengthy injuries which took a bit of shine of his numbers.

#88139	05/24/2022 11:40:14 am	Mar 25th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Juan Padron gets the rock for Haverhill. Like most of our team he is aging, so it will be interesting to see how he does. Speaking of aging, Shi Woo Kim is a notoriously slow starter. Often hovering around the Mendoza line for the first 3rd of the season... He's getting old, so we'll see how much patience I have with him

#88147	05/25/2022 9:07:34 am	Mar 30th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Quite the game to start the season. Kang allows just 2 singles in 8.1 IP, but loses. Hale, Ureno and Rios were just as good and spaced their 2 hits out better. Runs could be tough to come by for Waterloo. Armenta, Wallace and Lovato all had career best seasons last year. Don't expect them to repeat (maybe Lovato). Romano finally registered his first big league hit. Bit of a relief. Get Murfreesboro tonight. I thought the low-overhead model Hurstdm used would mean the team would deteriorate a little faster, but the roster is hanging together ok.

#88165	05/26/2022 9:19:53 am	Apr 3rd, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Bullpen coughed up game 1 yesterday, but was otherwise a good series against Murfreesboro. Bats got going a bit better. Looking at Herrera's 5.2 million salary got me curious about where he stood. Tied for #17 for P in BrokenBat. Not the highest paid P or player in our league. (The highest paid pitcher and position player in II.1 both play for the same Western team!). Waterloo hosts Canton tonight. Bit of a quirky start for the Tornados. Stole over 200 bases last season, but just 1 for 6 so far. Hit a modest 140ish HRs last season, but currently tied for the division lead. The fun of small samples.

#88182	05/27/2022 8:07:00 am	Apr 7th, 2055
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Denver is the team in question from above but overall their payroll is low compared to the Pistoleros!! LOL I have a feeling Denver's strong management has been busy IRL as they have not been nearly as active as they were a few seasons back in legends. As for the Pistoleros, we have always been a financially responsible franchise (as was CS previously) but we are now at 60m !! Owners are calling for management's heads!! We expect this to change by next season if not sooner. Our 2B prospect got the call up today! That will spell the end of the line for aging star 2B Trent Dillon. Very hard cut after the awesome two seasons he delivered for us but he is our team's second highest paid position player and this change will instantly help with our goal of getting younger. I think we will bite the bullet and get the rookie in there asap. Waiver win CF Stu Rupp was meant to improve on (and signal the end of) another 34 year old with salary Russ Oneil, but it looks like nearly half our div games will be vs. LHP so maybe we'll hold on to them both for a few more weeks. RH hitting Casas and Skinner were meant to play this season but we have not been impressed with either and we still have (delusional??) hopes of competing for the pennant this season. (and dearly wish to avoid relegation). We added another 50/50ish starting pitching prospect via the draft today, our second decent pitcher in two weeks so we are quite pleased with that. Our minors was looking quite grim at starting pitcher. Edit: link to draft pick Agree he has a shot? Disagree? Finally, did you guys see that Meccanodonte/Alexandria had quit the game? I may be late to notice. Sad to see them go as they were a long time rival of my College Station team. In 2032 they broke our hearts by beating us in our first legends final. Updated Friday, May 27 2022 @ 8:10:54 am PDT

#88186	05/27/2022 10:31:23 am	Apr 7th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Ferrari looks good to me. I would have been happier getting him instead of the guy I got.

#88189	05/27/2022 2:40:19 pm	Apr 8th, 2055
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Good start to the career of Rueben Citroen. 2 for 4 with a double, HR, 2 rbi's, turned a double play and was awarded player of the game. Unfortunately the rest of the team didn't show up and we lost anyway.

#88207	05/28/2022 9:15:36 am	Apr 10th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Always exciting when a prospect comes up. Citroën might hit ~15 HRs 700-750 OPS. That with a slick defensive load out should make for a solid player. We've got some guys like Ferrari in our system. Hit and miss. At the moment ours look like misses. I hadn't noticed Meccanodonte's departure. Definitely had some competitive seasons against Alexandria. Last comments I saw from him made it sound like he was frustrated with the cyclical nature of the game. College Station got over their broken hearts the following year it seems. A good training update with 25 green arrows. A bit somber as a couple of our developing P seem to be stalling out. Complete whiff in the draft. Dinos get Highpoint tonight. Had 3 seasons against them in III.1, feel we know them well. Only finished ahead of them in one of those 3 seasons, and in that one we "teched" against them with 2 19 control starters. Don't have anyone near that level of command anymore. Expecting lots of BBs and a tough match up.

#88213	05/28/2022 9:20:56 pm	Apr 14th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Not much to be excited about in Haverhill, but Jake Fisher has had a nice start to his rookie season. He already has more HRs than I expected him to get all season

#88216	05/29/2022 5:20:23 am	Apr 14th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Must be the early favorite for RotY. Voters would be dazzled by that BA if he can keep it up. High Point series as expected. Kang, Vasquez and Andrew went into the series with quality starts in 7 of 8 games (combined), but 2 of them hit their pitch counts in the 4th, the other in the 5th. Tough sledding. Get Haverhill and their gaudy .366 RISP tonight. (Dinos lead the East in BA, but are last in the division in RISP). Heredia gets the ball in game 1. He's gone 4 training updates with no arrows, so I guess he's done. Came up a fair bit short. Oh well. Hasn't been hurting him. Jarrell gone from High Point. He had moved to the pen to start the season, but it seems that didn't work out. Fair bit of SI shed for 32. Understandable move.

#88217	05/29/2022 6:54:29 am	Apr 14th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I guess a high RISP isn't that useful if you just never get anyone in scoring position, LOL.

#88223	05/30/2022 5:25:12 am	Apr 18th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Dang it! Looks like Tombstone won the Becerra lotto. Not sure how there were only 24 claims on a superstar like that...

#88224	05/30/2022 9:30:40 am	Apr 18th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Indeed. Grats to Tombstone on Beccera. Dinos were in, but alas. It's almost been a BrokenBat calendar year since the Dinos added a player by waivers or free agency. Feel our luck will change soon. A good day for Waterloo yesterday. Hit some HRs, and pitchers not named Alcaraz were good. Bit disappointed with our early defense. After making 86 errors in 2053 we hired a super-manager, and saw our error total drop to 45 last season. So far in 2055 we are back on an 86 error pace. Poor Ragan has made as many errors in 11 games this season as in 114 last season. Murfreesboro took 3 off of us on the previous cup date. We take a 4-4 record into a series against the group leader tonight. A split would be awesome. Getting swept would be a steep hill.

#88226	05/30/2022 12:16:40 pm	Apr 18th, 2055
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Always exciting when a prospect comes up. Indeed. Once you get deep into the second calendar year and the team starts to get some "identity" I enjoy the game so much more. College Station got over their broken hearts the following year it seems. Touché RE: Jake Fisher Looks like he still has room to improve too! I suppose he had better with 6 more 3B prospects breathing down his neck! We are feeling very fortunate to add three players to our minors this season. Our franchise is aging and we were feeling the pressure of adding some bodies. If we can find a 3B prospect (swing a deal Rock??), one more pitcher and maybe a C, we'll have all the bases covered, so to speak. Next season will be the biggest challenge as we expect to drop at least 7-8 veterans (and 17m of salary) before opening day. The west tightened up yesterday when we got caught in the Texarkana Twister!! They really rained on our fast start parade. It's now or never to win a cup series and advance to the knock out rounds. Tombstone also sits at 4-4 but after today all that is left are the top two ranked teams. Our second level starting pitchers have not been effective so far but Beattie, Pack and Ramirez will get another shot as we play 4 more games tomorrow. I am one of the managers that really enjoys the cup (and dislikes off days!) so hopefully we can take 3 today and give ourselves a manageable shot.

#88228	05/30/2022 2:40:06 pm	Apr 19th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Second time this season I wished we could trade, LOL. I'm sure we'll shed one or two 3B by the end of the season. I just haven't been able to land anyone good enough to both shifting any of them...

#88231	05/30/2022 5:01:12 pm	Apr 20th, 2055
Mudcat325 Joined: 12/20/2017 Posts: 98 Columbia Catfish V.3	Hey Seca! Looks like you and High Point are at it again battling it out, just a level higher. Were off to another great start in the Cup, but about the same old same old strong slugging, inconsistent pitching, disappointing glove work, middle of the pack stuff in league play...at least so far. League IV.2 forum is quiet, so I just had to come over and say hey. Have a great season!

#88233	05/30/2022 7:22:11 pm	Apr 21st, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Saw five hitters that looked interesting on waivers... Of course they were all 3B

#88234	05/31/2022 9:46:46 am	Apr 21st, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hey Mudcat325. Good to hear about the start in the cup. I check out III.1 most days, sometimes take a look to see how the Catfish are doing. You were off to a good start in league last I saw, but it seems the Lancers but a bit of a dent in that. Cool to see Gonz getting the ball in the air a little more this season. If he can keep that up he's going to be something. Dinos got their split in a wild cup series. Our SP walked 14 in 14.2 IP, and we committed 8 errors in the 4 games. Scratched out wins, got clobbered in loses. Anyway. 6-2 in the final 2 series against the current #5 and #6 seems doable. Sent a few different bodies back on the AAA bus after the series. Going to give Cockrell a couple of games in place of the scuffling Alvarez. Saw five hitters that looked interesting on waivers... Of course they were all 3B Hehe. We whiffed an OF prospect last night that would have been a nice fit. We are going to win a claim soon. Soon!

#88236	05/31/2022 2:45:58 pm	Apr 22nd, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	My first choice Hudson Salmon is doing pretty good for Eden Prairie... The backup plan isn't doing too hot...

#88237	05/31/2022 5:08:38 pm	Apr 24th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	9-12 isn't too bad... Oh wait, that's actually 3-11 against real teams...

#88238	05/31/2022 7:49:34 pm	Apr 25th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Heh. You do seem to have the Moo Cows number. Was an eventful day for Waterloo. Took a right cross to the chin in game 2. Not on the scoreboard; 15 game injury to SP Vasquez, 11 games to RP O'Neill and 3 games to young OF Cockrell making his big league debut. Had to turn the AAA taxi around and bring in some reinforcements for a few days. Cockrell was great in his debut. Jammed him in the clean up spot. Went 3/5 with a couple RBI. Other news is Herrera blew his first save of the season. Looked like an easy one, but he just didn't have it. Guess he's mortal.

#88239	06/01/2022 12:16:47 am	Apr 25th, 2055
electriceel883 Joined: 05/26/2021 Posts: 1505 Irvine Infernos III.3	And you did: Lukas Berger. I was hoping to get him

#88242	06/01/2022 9:11:47 am	Apr 25th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Huzzah! We got Isales May 14 '54, so Berger on Apr 25 '55 wasn't quite a full calendar year. Nice to add some fresh blood. Think he is a nice fit. A bat first guy to go with Cammareri in the C tandem. Should be coming up right around when Armenta rides into the sunset. Switch hitter is very nice at C. Advanced hit skill. Could be a 20 HR a season guy. Low potential adds some risk, but we are very happy to add him to the organization.

#88243	06/01/2022 11:17:36 am	Apr 25th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I like his amateur numbers. Looks like a good prospect. Haverhill has gotten a bit spoiled with strong arm Catchers, so we are a bit snobby about not going below 17 Arm now. We also value BC a bit higher than most teams. But he looks like a good prospect for Waterloo.

#88248	06/01/2022 4:44:02 pm	Apr 28th, 2055
Mudcat325 Joined: 12/20/2017 Posts: 98 Columbia Catfish V.3	Speaking of waiver claims, we landed a pretty decent 31 claim pitcher in Alberto Hernandez. Looked pretty good in the debut, so he earned himself a nickname; The Barracuda! Released The Whale (Whaley, 35) and replaced him with another fish in the sea. Cuda should help us with the obviously deficient starting pitching we've had for some time now. I'm inspired by the Dino's '54 mid-season run where you turned it on and never looked back. Maybe we can pull that off too

#88249	06/01/2022 4:44:03 pm	Apr 28th, 2055
Mudcat325 Joined: 12/20/2017 Posts: 98 Columbia Catfish V.3	Speaking of waiver claims, we landed a pretty decent 31 claim pitcher in Alberto Hernandez. Looked pretty good in the debut, so he earned himself a nickname; The Barracuda! Released The Whale (Whaley, 35) and replaced him with another fish in the sea. Cuda should help us with the obviously deficient starting pitching we've had for some time now. I'm inspired by the Dino's '54 mid-season run where you turned it on and never looked back. Maybe we can pull that off too

#88250	06/01/2022 5:37:07 pm	Apr 29th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I had a claim on Hernandez. Looks like he'll be useful. My most exciting claim this year is Bernardo Trevino. I think he is a decent prospect, but I'm a bit concerned with his Control. Its going to be on the low side. He is also giving up an awful lot of hits in A for a guy who supposedly has 9 Vel... I suspect his Velocity rating may be a bit inflated... Updated Wednesday, June 1 2022 @ 5:42:20 pm PDT

#88252	06/02/2022 3:45:54 am	Apr 29th, 2055
Mudcat325 Joined: 12/20/2017 Posts: 98 Columbia Catfish V.3	I think I had a claim on Trevino as well. Pretty much had the same observations. Worth a wait and see as he could be a big pay off down the road.

#88255	06/02/2022 9:15:16 am	Apr 29th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I'm inspired by the Dino's '54 mid-season run where you turned it on and never looked back. Heh. We had one like that in III.1, and a half dozen where all that was left was smoldering wreckage after the wings popped off. (Not trying to discourage). Trevino is nice. Originally a 10, easy to see him as a 12. Unhittable FB guys seems to be able to get away with a little less command. Dinos do not have the Halfings' touch versus Murfreesboro, but happy with a split. Especially given our injuries. The O'Neill knock was a chance for Landry to step up, but he went straight into the doghouse. Some significant housecleaning in Tombstone.

#88257	06/02/2022 3:14:16 pm	Apr 30th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	It always amazes me how drastically my staff performance swings from year to year without changing up the rotation at all... 53' - 1660 Hits in 1421 innings -> 4th place 54' - 1432 Hits in 1470 innings -> 2nd place 55' - 281 Hits in 228 innings -> praying for 4th When the pitching tanks the team tanks with it...

#88258	06/02/2022 3:56:24 pm	May 1st, 2055
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Welcome to the chat Mudcat325, the more the participants the better imo. When the pitching tanks the team tanks with it. Indeed! Uugghh.. 2-14 in our last 16 !! When things go well for a couple seasons it sure hits hard when everything goes south. We went 1-3 in our cup series which will all but eliminate us. Hopefully we are in a slump but are not actually THIS bad. Management made a couple decisions: 1) We are going nowhere (even if we somehow promoted) without getting a little younger and possibly the best time to bite the bullet would be this season (and maybe the next couple as well). 2)We can hopefully go 1-9 WITHOUT 34 and 35 year olds who make 3m each! So here we are, we'll call it the beginning of our future. Enter Dawson, Pinto, Tubbs, Casas, Citroen, Kilpatrick, Fairchild and hopefully a couple more young guys (Richardson, Skinner) by season end. We badly want to NOT relegate but recent performance may suggest otherwise. We still expect to be able to put up a fight for at least 4th spot and nobody is throwing in the towel. Fortunately there is a long way to go, our pitching should improve near term and much experience will be gained. Expect more changes as the season progresses. Edit: and a win right after posting... One in a row! Updated Thursday, June 2 2022 @ 4:04:41 pm PDT

#88259	06/02/2022 6:30:06 pm	May 3rd, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Haverhill is in the same boat, except we don't really have much worth bringing up. Mostly just JAGs in our minors. Plus we probably do need the 3M players just to go 1-9 We do plan to bring up both Marvin Stiles and Marty Croft at some point this season, but I'm letting them both bake a little longer. Rogelio Deliz might get his ticket punched when Croft comes up. Deliz isn't that old be he seems to be a very poor performer... Its a lot more up in the air for who Stiles will replace. So many guys are failing in the rotation right now... Updated Thursday, June 2 2022 @ 6:30:55 pm PDT

#88284	06/03/2022 3:42:54 pm	May 4th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	An ok training update, but overshadowed by Alcaraz again failing to improve. 5 training updates with no arrows for a SP is no bueno. If he's done he might be the biggest flop in our training history. 11 pot SI total with a 13 "very good" pot label. Low rolled all his scouting. He and Andrew were drafted 2 weeks apart and were virtually identical. (Andrew had better amateur stats and was always viewed as the better prospect). Quite the delta in outcomes. Ambrose is going to take over 5th in the rotation. Alcaraz mops up in the pen for now.

#88287	06/03/2022 5:33:26 pm	May 5th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I wonder how we missed Alcaraz. Normally we seem to be a magnet for stunties. I'm used to guys missing by at least 1 POT, but I've also had a few guys miss their POT by more than 1 level. Not pleasant.

#88296	06/04/2022 6:15:32 pm	May 10th, 2055
Mudcat325 Joined: 12/20/2017 Posts: 98 Columbia Catfish V.3	Thanks Freddy for the welcome. I hope I can add something helpful and interesting to the conversations. I'll try to not make it all about the Catfish even though things are looking up at the moment after a 3-1 series vs. first place Abilene put us right back at the top. Very tight race in the early going and we all know how quickly tables can turn. That's what makes it so much fun! Best luck to everyone.

#88300	06/05/2022 9:39:59 am	May 10th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Tough day at the office for Waterloo. High Point is a poor match up. After getting crushed 9-1 with Kang on the mound in game 1 we went with our max range package to try to stem the singles part of the walks and singles onslaught. To no avail. 5 of the first 7 batters reach in game 2. Dinos drop all 4 with a -22 RD. Delgadillo an interesting pick up for Haverhill. Bit mysterious. His stats are such a tiny sample its hard to take much from them, and his 2054 is apparently classified information. Could be ok. Dinos saw him but thought there were enough question marks to pass. Haverhill on the docket today. Another team where the LHP lineup can put their feet up. Dinos are fully recovered from our rash of injuries, tho that didn't help us much yesterday.

#88305	06/05/2022 3:00:21 pm	May 11th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yeah, he doesn't really have any stats. Enough question marks that we decided he was worth picking up

#88306	06/05/2022 3:03:21 pm	May 11th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Ouch. Rough game #2. Waterloo scores 5 runs on 4 hits, while Haverhill is kept to 4 runs on 12 hits

#88310	06/06/2022 9:08:10 am	May 14th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Seems to be how we operate. # hits not really relevant (IIRC we loaded the bases 4 times against High Point with 0 out, didn't score a run). HRs we win, no HRs we lose. Bad luck for Haverhill. Armenta had 3 HRs in his first 30 games, 3 in the last 2 against the Halflings. Dino brass likes the Natale signing. Have seen a number of nice LHB corner OF types recently, but Waterloo doesn't have that as a need. Last AAA shuttle run of the season. Through call-ups and attrition it's down to 2 guys (was 5 earlier).

#88313	06/06/2022 1:16:32 pm	May 14th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yeah HRs can make a big difference. Unfortunately Haverhill doesn't get as many of those as it used to I had Natale on my tools page. I have too many LF prospects, but he seemed too good to leave on FA. We dropped Rich Hancock to make room. Another JAG, Natale seems like an upgrade. Hancock wasn't impressing with his Hitting growth.

#88317	06/07/2022 4:43:04 am	May 17th, 2055
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	A better week in Tombstone. 5-1 in league play since our last post. 7-1 in our final two cup match ups with the rookie pitchers getting it done. We ended up putting the starters back in for the last two games and finished at 12-8, good enough to move on to the elimination round. The good: We are getting some surprise production out of journeyman catcher Ian Benner The bad: We need to see more out of veteran 3B R.Dawson, and young high hopes prospect Andres Pinto. The Ugly: Rookie prospect Floyd Tubbs is off to a very slow start and has been benched. Notes: -Haverhill grabs a big bat -Columbia Catfish have a big 8-2 week in IV.2 to take over top spot Congrats to both.

#88319	06/07/2022 8:44:48 am	May 17th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Tough stretch for Tubbs. Dinos have never been afraid to pin someone's fanny to the bench while they sort things out. Dinos were already eliminated, but managed to go out with the biggest whimper possible losing all 4 yesterday. Look for the kids to make a case for more playing time. Most made cases they should be in a different organization. Last loop before inter. We've been without our CF Huerta for ~10 games. Murillo has been filling in. It was hoped our 20 fielding manager would help Murillo with his defensive woes, but not even Dancin' Jim can save him.

#88331	06/08/2022 9:50:09 am	May 21st, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Sort of an ugly Dino series yesterday. All 3 games with 9-2 score lines, tho Orlando and Waterloo did take turns winning. Heredia gets the ball in game 1 against Murfreesboro tonight. Has held opponent batters close to the Mendoza line, only 1 HR allowed in 36+ IP. But a losing record. Only getting 2 runs of support a game. Next worst on my staff is at 4.5. Euclid has risen to the top in the West despite brandishing a negative RD. Nice when you can win the close ones.

#88346	06/10/2022 6:13:20 am	May 29th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Rough stretch for Waterloo. Every time we finish with Murfreesboro we check the league stats and are surprised by their paltry RISP. They are uncanny against the Dinos. Tough training update again. Just 1 green arrow from the "developing" pitchers I tanked the Cup to play. So far this season we've put 5 SI on Ambrose, 5 on Villanueva, 1 on Lawrence, 1 on Doran (who's been cut) and nothing on McDowell, Alcaraz and Heredia. That's spring training and prominent roles in cup and some play in league. Starting to think missing potential is a more likely outcome for P now than making potential. Or maybe my super manager is nuking that side of the organization. Most likely just a bad batch of recruits for Waterloo.

#88350	06/10/2022 11:11:32 am	May 29th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I frequently have both pitchers and hitters come up short on potential... And most of my POT 13s who do reach their potential only make it to 103 or 104. Nevermind the POT 14s I can sympathize though. Always tough when they undercut by almost a full POT level. Especially when they were supposed to be your key players.

#88356	06/10/2022 5:25:25 pm	May 31st, 2055
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Did the Haverhill logo change recently??

#88357	06/10/2022 5:45:50 pm	May 31st, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Nah, we've had this logo since we became the Halflings.

#88361	06/10/2022 8:41:44 pm	May 31st, 2055
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	My bad lol. I thought you tweaked it with the swoosh on the right. Shows you how observant I am.

#88362	06/10/2022 9:39:50 pm	May 31st, 2055
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	The "swings" in baseball are mind bending. Good week followed by bad and repeat. Possibly worse are plans being trashed due to players not developing. That's really tough what the Waterloo young pitching prospects are going through. Some inexplicable training "stops". I think I'd be a little more frustrated than you seem to be! I have to agree that it seems more likely for the pitchers to suddenly stop improving. The Pistoleros have moved on to round 2 of the cup! We also went 4-6 in our last 10 and are sitting in a relegation spot in league play but still hanging in striking distance of even the top team. Our team stats are quite good tbh but our .218 RISP is by far a league worst and is really killing us. Usually we really look forward to interleague but we are very depth challenged this season at starting and relief pitching. You can get away with it for a while during three game series but InterDiv will usually expose depth weaknesses. There will be lots of finger nail biting moments as rookies get the ball in key situations. At least it should be fun!

#88364	06/11/2022 6:40:54 am	May 31st, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Heh. We didn't really expect many of those guys to pan out. Lower pot players always carry more risk. Hopefully the next batch of of young P is better. Very pleased with Mendez's play and development this season. Just one of the cycles you mentioned. When you hit on a good core of position players you are on the clock to get the arms in place to support them. And then you hope there isn't a team around that takes your lunch money. PD counters range, Dinos always likely to be in High Point's shadow. Waterloo takes their 1-5 recent record to North Carolina tonight. Not likely to be pretty. SP Kang and Vasquez have lost it, and closer Herrera has become a terrifying option. Dinos made a signing before the training update. Blair could be a replacement for Shoemaker (who was a stopgap himself). Blair is a guy that will need BC and PD to have value, and they don't look great at present. They have moved ok in the development graph. No imminent plans to call him up.

#88365	06/11/2022 8:17:50 am	May 31st, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Blair is a solid signing. I had him bookmarked, and was going back and forth on him. We already have too many LFs in our system. But his growth looks pretty solid. Speed demon too.

#88366	06/11/2022 10:55:08 am	May 31st, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Dang we're down to 99.6 for our power ranking... I think that is mostly due to my cycling pitchers back and forth from the minors.

#88374	06/12/2022 7:18:28 am	Jun 4th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	An expected series loss against High Point, but only 1 game with a T ball score. We'll take it. A series loss tonight the Dinos would take the Dinos under .500. We still lead the league in pitching and defense, but have slipped to midpack in offense (6th in OPS, 7th in runs). We do not have Euclid's magic. Cheers to Haverhill on a nice addition. I would imagine the plan is to deploy him at 1B. A rare find locating a Nelson in BrokenBat that isn't an Admiral. Don't seem to have many La Bamba fans around.

#88376	06/12/2022 8:16:58 am	Jun 4th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I really have no idea what to do with him. He is a good bat with speed, but defensively he is a mess. I have too many other guys who already know how to play 1B and wouldn't need to be trained from the ground up as a 27 year old. I'm thinking he's going to be constrained to DH with the occasional spot in LF. Updated Sunday, June 12 2022 @ 9:28:47 am PDT

#88382	06/12/2022 5:47:51 pm	Jun 8th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Euclid continues its crazy run; .600 PCT with with a -3 RD is just inconceivable. Updated Sunday, June 12 2022 @ 5:51:00 pm PDT

#88385	06/12/2022 11:02:29 pm	Jun 8th, 2055
electriceel883 Joined: 05/26/2021 Posts: 1505 Irvine Infernos III.3	One of the greatest movies ever!

#88393	06/13/2022 5:30:03 pm	Jun 10th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I read Cary Elwes' book about it (As You Wish). Had some interesting anecdotes. Suggested 1B for Nelson b/c I thought Haverhill was trotting oldsters out at the position. Does have a bit of knowledge there. Long thought 1B was one position where fielding skill could carry a lack of position knowledge. Fisher with a nice series against Waterloo. Sparkling numbers for a rookie. Dinos pull out of their swoon a bit and finish the 1st 50 above .500. Offense looks really shaky tho. Would be nice if Alvarez showed a pulse. Fighting the urge to call up Blair. Would only play against LHP, and likely only see 2 of those in our next 15 games. Tough year for the vs. LHP boys.

#88394	06/13/2022 5:43:03 pm	Jun 10th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yeah his fielding could help him out at 1B. I'm just used to playing low fielding high exp guys at the position. Padilla (27) is playing 1st against lefties. I think Padilla will be able to play at the major league level, but if he can't hack it there are a few other LF/1B guys in AAA. I am still putting DeJesús out there again righties, but the transition plan is Croft (25). Croft is already up on the major league squad. Just waiting for me to smarten up and cut DeJesús. Its possible Croft can't swing the majors, which could create a vLHP opportunity for Nelson. But I do what to give Croft a chance. I could have Croft DH instead. Just unclear to me if its better to have Nelson (0.8 1B exp and 16 fielding) or Croft (3.0 1B exp and 8 fielding) in the position. Updated Monday, June 13 2022 @ 5:43:42 pm PDT

#88396	06/13/2022 8:17:00 pm	Jun 10th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I'd be excited about both Croft and Padilla. Can see why shoehorning Nelson in is a challenge.

#88398	06/14/2022 8:40:20 am	Jun 10th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Always seems if you are only sorta-interested in a player, your chances of winning the waiver lottery go up. Dinos added Luttrell. Pricey. That was our only hesitation. He has pretty good numbers, but felt by looking at his stats there might be some tweaks to management settings that he would benefit from. Maybe some insurance behind Herrera should age catch up with him.

#88399	06/14/2022 10:29:59 am	Jun 10th, 2055
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Padilla (27) is playing 1st against lefties Did you mean to say against righties? He certainly seems to have the power. Low speed seems to depress BAve a little and he will likely strike out a lot but at 27 he'll likely improve OBP and SLG numbers. His RISP also makes it easy to keep playing him. Interested to see what you do with Nelson. he probably really needs to play asap if he is going to fill up his 14 pot. Re: Luttrell I'd also expect him to perform well with the Dinos defense. We didn't put a claim due to salary and our desire to play Fairchild but love how he keeps the ball in the park. The Pistoleros signed 29 yr old lefty McCombs as we continue to hunt for playable LHPs. We suspect long time all star Jacoby might be playing his final year for the club which leaves us with...not much tbh. Looking forward to interdiv play. Decision time will come at mid season. If we fall further back in the relegation race we'll switch development to priority A. For now we still feel like we could turn things around. Two easy series to start off interdiv play so hopefully we can get something started!! (clearly joking) Note: On to round three of the cup!!

#88402	06/14/2022 2:43:20 pm	Jun 10th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yeah I swapped those. Either through blatant negligence or subconscious misdirection

#88404	06/14/2022 7:14:55 pm	Jun 14th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I like the Cintrón pickup. He looks like a very solid role player; a nice efficient build so surprisingly useful for a POT 11 position player. Lack of PD is his only glaring shortfall. I need to dip down into the POT 11s more often...

#88410	06/15/2022 7:23:28 am	Jun 15th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Watched him for a bit. We think he's an upgrade on Cammareri. Give up 2 years of age for switch hitting. Seems a good deal. Feel like Cintron may have a better chance of sneaking to 12 pot SI. Watt was the initial cut, tho Cammareri likely goes too. A little sad to see Watt go. He carved out a decent career despite low potential and playing behind Arenas. We expected Luttrell to be a out of form, but were not prepared for that. Think I could get that level of play out of a 10 SI pitcher for a lot less money. Probably shouldn't have cut Ambrose. Frustrated with Luttrell. Frustrated with our training flops on the P side. Frustrated with his play. Likely won't regret it, but should have held off. At the start of the season we had a big backlog of P needing development. Like 6 guys chilling at AAA. Down to 1.

#88416	06/15/2022 5:08:12 pm	Jun 19th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Euclid has so many injuries on their staff, they trotted out their Closer to start against us today... And destroyed us...

#88423	06/16/2022 7:07:36 am	Jun 20th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Maybe on to something. Dinos took a 36 game knock to SP Heredia yesterday. Having cut a lot of our pitching depth we signed an old friend to fill in for a few starts. Dinos were looking forward to the series against Tombstone. As the laggards in RISP in the East we were encouraged taking on the the worst RISP squad in the league. But the Dinos showed their superiority. 15 LOB in a 1 run loss in game 5. All totaled from the 5 games Dinos 48 LOB, Pistoleros 31. Waterloo takes on Euclid tonight. May be timing it well.

#88424	06/16/2022 7:45:16 am	Jun 20th, 2055
electriceel883 Joined: 05/26/2021 Posts: 1505 Irvine Infernos III.3	Reminds me the AI defaults Johansen to SP3. I wonder what would happen if I went with that...

#88439	06/17/2022 12:58:52 pm	Jun 25th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Dinos were fortunate to catch Euclid while they were banged up. Old Turley looked good filling in for Heredia. A dismal 10 arrow update. That on the heels of several lackluster ones. Dinos found their manager in waiting a week or so back. May not have to wait too long. No point having a performance oriented manager when you fairly firmly entrenched mid-table. Expect Cockrell will be back up and playing this week. Alvarez just can't get it going. Edit/PS - good luck to Haverhill with Robinson. Dinos had a claim in for a while, but withdrew it before processing. Updated Friday, June 17 2022 @ 1:02:27 pm PDT

#88440	06/17/2022 2:31:10 pm	Jun 26th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Its been a while since I tried out a pure velocity pitcher. His HR/IP isn't too bad considering. But we'll see if he lasts. I've been having a bit too much luck winning JAG claims this season, so the roster is starting to bunch up. Mostly just getting desperate for someone I can throw in to close down games once father time finally catches up with Bearden Contrary to Waterloo, Haverhill had a fantastic 11 arrow update. Which is more than we are used to getting. Is that bad? Updated Friday, June 17 2022 @ 2:34:06 pm PDT

#88450	06/18/2022 12:39:00 pm	Jun 27th, 2055
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	One game under .500 after the first three series with the east. Fortunately that still gained us a game or two in the relegation race. We were able to get a fair amount of playing time out of the rookies without costing us much. Two fun series with the other posters here with all 3 teams playing well "at times". Haverhill won the most close ones in a fun 5 game series. From memory it seems like the Dinos series featured many quality starts and some young pitchers on both sides. Admittedly we deserved to lose that series (a couple well timed Dino hits and we'd have been swept) but hanging a loss on Wilkerson in game four after a stellar effort (the potential losing run was a wild pitch by Hornsby charged to Wilk) would have been unfair! Pitching depth has affected us as we continue to try to advance in the cup. We just matched up with what I feel to be the best bot managed div VI team I have ever seen. After scouting them I had a bad feeling they were going to bounce us. We had to sit #2 and #3 pitchers for a whole series so they could pitch games 1 and 2. Further to that we had our #1 RHP (Cruz) pitch game 1 vs. Orlando so he would be ready for game 3 of the cup. Unfortunately Cruz was injured during the effort and unavailable for the cup. My bot managed opponent had pitching injuries to deal with but miraculously had fresh arms every game. We then lost our top two hitters before game 3 as well and were getting ready to throw a fit if we lost game three. Overjoyed to hang on for a 1 run win to stay alive! In other Pistoleros news: We won a waiver this week. Should be useful vs. LHP and maybe rhp too. Released another 34 yr old...edging younger!! lol Andres Pinto reacted to the signing like a man about to lose his job with this 6 for 6 effort. We also had a ten arrow update..probably a norm for this time of year?? It can be irritating when your rookie pitches two games and doesn't pop!! P.S. I literally LOL'd after seeing "Euclid has so many injuries on their staff, they trotted out their Closer to start against us today... And destroyed us..."

#88451	06/18/2022 5:28:39 pm	Jul 1st, 2055
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Cruz comes back and wins and is out for another 9. Then Pineda goes down for 15! I notice a lot of teams with pitching injuries this season. Forced youth movement lol. Lots of work available for young starters in Tombstone! Now:• Your team has injured player(s): Domingo Pineda +15, Mateo Ramirez +2, Óscar Cruz +7, Reuben Citroën +3, Jim Shepard +2

#88453	06/19/2022 6:39:46 am	Jul 2nd, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Dinos are a little younger than the Halflings and I think our kids see a little more action. Getting fewer arrows than Haverhill doesn't make us feel better. Sucks about Cruz. Having a terrific season. Dinos had a good series yesterday, but by game 5 had a vs. RHP lineup with no LHB (some SH). Everyone from that side of the plate struggling this season. Not good as we take on LHP-need-not-apply Denver today. Dinos had claims out on 2 veteran starters last night. Whiffed. Another SP injury and things would be awkward. So picked up Salgado. Price tag and recent play are negatives. Sort of strange when the 2nd most expensive player on your team is mopping up in the pen.

#88461	06/20/2022 3:46:12 pm	Jul 8th, 2055
Mudcat325 Joined: 12/20/2017 Posts: 98 Columbia Catfish V.3	CUP Action Update: Benito Alvarado's hit a grand slam in the top of the 9th, while Elmer Okamoto closes it out in the bottom half win (4-3) to help keep the Catfish alive, but all tied 1-1 headed into game three.

#88462	06/20/2022 8:27:51 pm	Jul 9th, 2055
Mudcat325 Joined: 12/20/2017 Posts: 98 Columbia Catfish V.3	We squeaked it out by the skin of our pearly white sparklers there...6-5 in 10 innings. All three games were settled by 1 run. I'd rather be lucky than good any ol' day. Off to the ol' sweet sixteen dance.

#88466	06/21/2022 5:43:24 pm	Jul 13th, 2055
Mudcat325 Joined: 12/20/2017 Posts: 98 Columbia Catfish V.3	All-Stars coming! Who's representing Dino's other than Wallace-1B, (tearing it up!) Andrew-SP, and probably "Catfish Killer" Kang? Halflings: Arroyo-OF, Fisher-3B, and Kim-DH How about the rest of you? Updated Tuesday, June 21 2022 @ 5:51:10 pm PDT Updated Tuesday, June 21 2022 @ 5:51:54 pm PDT

#88467	06/21/2022 6:43:25 pm	Jul 14th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Nice Alvarado is coming through. His skills look good. Was always worried he was going to underachieve. We have mark II at AAA. Luttrell doing quite a bit better with his new team. Shame he couldn't have gotten a slightly better start with Waterloo. Ya, Wallace had a 1st half. 11 pot MVP candidate. Andrew for sure. Sorta doubt Kang. Herrera is close, but I would vote for Bearden. Lovato probably has a good shot. White if SS is thin.

#88470	06/21/2022 8:52:51 pm	Jul 14th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Mark "Baby Face" Bearden had a great first half closing games. He did the same last year, made the all-star team and then tanked the rest of the season... I need to stop putting all-star clauses into his contract, LOL. Herrera does have more saves, but I'm hoping Bearden's other numbers might get him in. I don't know that a closer always gets in though. Maybe an issue with low IPs? Despite multiple season with a WHIP below 1.0, Bearden has only been invited 3 times. Two seasons back it was our SET McGrath who made the all-star team. Would be super impressed if Fisher makes it his rookie season. Its a legitimate possibility though. A real bright spot on the team. But there are quite a few good 3B this season. Murfreesboro has skilled vet Lyons, and Highpoint is sporting their own youngling phenom Fitzgerald. Arroyo seems to be playing way above his level this season too. But there is always stiff competition for OF. Not sure he'll make it. I'm not sure Kim will make it either. He has one foot out the door and isn't really putting up solid numbers for a DH. I think Bearden and Fisher are my best shots, but you can never tell.

#88473	06/22/2022 1:58:36 pm	Jul 14th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Voters seem to value BA over HRs. Wouldn't surprise me to see Fisher at 3B. Best guess East: 1B Wallace (Wat) 2B Fukumoto (HP) SS Costa (Orl) 3B Fisher (Hav) LF Leal (Orl) CF Meija (HP) RF Arroyo (Hav) C Shapiro? (Orl) Wasn't really paying attention to C when I looked.

#88474	06/22/2022 1:59:51 pm	Jul 14th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	How about Tejeda at C. Gives me a Moo Cow.

#88475	06/22/2022 2:10:45 pm	Jul 16th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Bleh. Was forgetting Grosso at C. For sure Grosso. A good game. Baez wasn't sharp but the Dino arms picked up the slack. Mudcat was right about Kang. O'Neill gutted out an 8 game knock for his gold star. Happy Lovato made it and got an AB. Edit: 3rd consecutive selection for both Kang and Lovato! Updated Wednesday, June 22 2022 @ 2:12:45 pm PDT

#88478	06/22/2022 4:40:27 pm	Jul 16th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Mudcat made the right call on Arroyo too. Its not his first all-star selection, but its nice to see guys like that make it. Not surprised about Kim. His numbers look pretty good until you consider he is a platoon DH. Then they are a bit depressing I can't complain though; I'm getting at least 8 solid seasons out of guy no one else wanted Very nice to see Fisher get the selection for 3B in his rookie season. Should help his bid for ROY. Not too surprising to see Waterloo and High Point players dominating the team given those teams' clear lead in the standings. 5 from Waterloo and 6 from High Point. Considerable representation by Waterloo in the pitching staff; Haverhill's pitching has been pretty horrid this season so counting ourselves lucky to have 1 rep (Bearden) from the pitching staff.

#88479	06/22/2022 4:44:06 pm	Jul 16th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I think the AI rates offense much more highly than defense (which is probably realistic). Tejada has such a monster arm I think its a shame he hasn't been selected more often. He had an incredible season both offensively and defensively in 53' but I think he suffered from platoon de-selection.

#88498	06/23/2022 2:13:53 pm	Jul 16th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Tombstone earned that first win, but come on. We only get 2 runs out of 10 hits, 5 walks, and 2 HRs!? That takes great skill... Well, great skill or great incompetence. One or the other.

#88503	06/24/2022 12:09:15 pm	Jul 21st, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. I felt sort of bad pointing out the Pistoleros good luck against Waterloo, as it seems they haven't really had much this season. Except maybe in the cup. Best of luck to Tombstone tonight. Was a big decision made by the Dinos yesterday. Despite closing to within 1 game of High Point we decided to let our performance-oriented manager go, and replaced him with a development guy. We've seen this story before. High Points pitching buckles a bit during inter, and the Dinos make ground. But when inter is over the old dynamic is restored, and the Dinos fade. So with a couple bad training updates in a row it was a little easier decision. Definitely was fun having an S-tier manager for a season+. Every bit as broken as I suspected. Not a great update despite the change. 14 arrows. But good arrows. Romano is one of the bigger reasons for bringing in a development guy. He's going to need every fraction of a point he can on his hit skill to succeed. Nice to see him still popping. Dinos will be healthy for our next series. SP Heredia will be back from a 30+, and RP O'Neill back from 10+. With our roster moves today we are actually carrying the minimum number of position players. It's been ... 35 seasons? since that's happened.

#88510	06/24/2022 4:37:00 pm	Jul 23rd, 2055
Mudcat325 Joined: 12/20/2017 Posts: 98 Columbia Catfish V.3	A well done goes out to the All-Star reps for each team. We had 5 go to the game with three 1st timers and likely their last. That's ok though. A lack luster 11 up arrows in the training update. Also, the exit from the Cup after a poor showing at the plate. Losing Gonz for the series probably didn't help much. Last one standing from our league though. Best we've managed was a final four showing. Maybe next time. Good luck in the second half!

#88514	06/25/2022 5:20:47 pm	Jul 27th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I assume Aguayo was an internal promotion? He may specialize in development, but certainly no slouch with performance either. Looks like a S-tier manager. Haverhill is keeping an eye out for our next manager, but we haven't gotten lucky yet.

#88515	06/25/2022 6:12:06 pm	Jul 27th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Ok... 7 runs off of 6 hits, 2 walks, and 1 HR... I guess that makes up for the other game, LOL.

#88523	06/27/2022 7:03:26 pm	Aug 4th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Ya, internal. I was grumpy when I confirmed promoting internally counts as your coach hire for the day. He's more like what we want. While we like winning, we do lean more towards development than performance. Was still hard letting Dancin' Jim go. Was like having a 10th player that puts up 5 WAR. Belated condolences to Tombstone on their cup exit. Redding was a tough draw. Nice run tho. Not much new in Waterloo. Despite only having 13 position players on the roster we are struggling to get everyone ABs. Part of that is Burton who is finally putting together a good season and has been too hot to sit. We've actually had Lovato as a healthy scratch a couple of times lately to get all the hot bats in.

#88527	06/28/2022 7:26:34 pm	Aug 9th, 2055
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Tombstone earned that first win, but come on. We only get 2 runs out of 10 hits, 5 walks, and 2 HRs!? Hehe. I felt sort of bad pointing out the Pistoleros good luck against Waterloo, as it seems they haven't really had much this season. LOL. No worries. I felt like we got no breaks vs. the Haflings but got them all vs. the Dinos. Speaking of the Dinos congrats on the recent hot streak. I feel your pain @Mudcat Gutted to be out of the cup. We'd be as live as anyone if we got through that round. We rested our starters and were ready to go vs. Redding and their slightly fatigued starting pitching staff but that edge wasn't enough. Very strong team and they blew us out in the decisive game while facing our best. But that's in the rearview mirror as we focus in on division play now. We just got back to .500 and seem to be showing some signs of life. Optimistic. Edit: We've actually had Lovato as a healthy scratch a couple of times lately to get all the hot bats in. Lovato a healthy scratch?? That is just bragging!! hahaha Updated Tuesday, June 28 2022 @ 7:31:41 pm PDT

#88530	06/29/2022 9:52:53 am	Aug 9th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Nah. More likely admitting stupidity. A good series for Waterloo yesterday. With Villanueva as the 5th starter we are sort of conceding one game of each series. Did well in the others. Get the alrighties (all-righties) tonight. Through attrition we only have 2 LHB on the big league roster, and Alvarez just hasn't been able to get it going. Feels bad not being able to take advantage. (We do have 4 LHB on the cook at AAA). Just 10 games left in Inter. Cup final / waiver deadline approaching. Whiffed a claim last night we would have really liked. Nothing on our radar now.

#88534	06/29/2022 6:52:37 pm	Aug 14th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Ouch... Everyone is injured, going to be a REALLY rough series against Texarkana. At least Stiles will finally be getting off the DL.

#88544	06/30/2022 6:26:12 am	Aug 14th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Most are older, training update tomorrow. Chance to get some younger guys in. With 29 BBs in their series yesterday Haverhill takes over the league lead from High Point. Both seem likely to cross the 600 BB threshold this season. Grats to Denver on their snowman (8 run inning) against Villanueva. We should probably shelf the kid and pitch Turley. Really like dedicating that 5th slot to development. Grit your teeth and bear it. Very pleased with how our draft picks have performed in the minors this season. 1st rounder Oliver is close to 30 HRs - didn't expect that. 3rd rounder and 9 pot Burns also showing a good stroke. 4th rounder Shaver has been surprisingly effective since he moved to AA.

#88548	06/30/2022 2:21:17 pm	Aug 14th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	LOL, that is true, but I still replaced them with more old guys I hadn't noticed our BB number rising so quickly. That is a nice feather Our Power has definitely declined, but overall I have been very happy with hitting this year. Now if I could just get my pitchers to do half as well as they did last season

#88556	07/01/2022 6:16:22 am	Aug 19th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	PD is the new black. My little Excel charts show a stronger correlation between walks and runs than hits or HRs. A lackluster end to Inter for Waterloo. 6 errors in the series against the Carp. Without a 20 def manager we have quickly ceded the title of best defensive team. But Tombstone did us a solid taking 4 of 5 from High Point. Dinos head into the final 50 with a 2 game lead, but little optimism. May be seeing the benefits of the new manager. Back to a 20 arrow update. Burton capped of his hitting. 20s are pretty, hitting all the more. Heredia seems to have progressed from "hard luck loser" (no run support) to straight up loser. Turley will take his next start. Despite giving up 19 ER in his last 9+ IP the developing Villanueva keeps his spot in the rotation. Updated Friday, July 1 2022 @ 6:18:15 am PDT

#88563	07/01/2022 3:39:53 pm	Aug 20th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	That's a little disturbing. Hits should certain always be more valuable than walks in scoring runs. You can't score the runner on 2nd with a walk. And you can't go straight to 2nd on a walk.

#88579	07/03/2022 6:53:04 am	Aug 25th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Tough day at the office for Waterloo. Fonseca was the best player on either side by alot. 7/13 with a HR, 3 BB, 7 RBI and a clutch OA. The touchdown Orlando scored in the bottom of the 8th to take game 4 was dispiriting. Added a couple old friends in Meadows and Gordon so they can retire as Dinos. Both will get a chance to take the field vs. Murfreesboro. Think Salsbury is a nice addition for Tombstone. High floor defensively, hits HRs. A bit of BABIP luck and he could be an asset.

#88583	07/04/2022 6:46:37 am	Aug 29th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Another series loss to the Moocow corpse. Did get our two victory lap signings in. Meadows actually got a hit. Very different backgrounds for the 2. Meadows a privileged 15 pot draft pick, Gordon a scrap heap 27 yr FA rookie. Gordon was probably the better player in his prime. Meadows longevity should make him a HoF candidate, but his numbers a so empty. Wallace hit HR #30 yesterday. The team record is 39. Could get there. A last minute signing. We had a claim on Morelli earlier this season, got him this time. Very good minors stats. Don't think he'll be up this week. Maybe next week. Should probably give him Villanueva's spot in the rotation. High Point with an addition. We actually had Kang on our watch list as his 18 control blipped him onto our High Point tech radar. Hilton dropped to make room. His numbers, aside from BBs, were very good. And as you might expect a big chunk of those BBs came in a single outing. Understandable not having much patience with a 34 year old. Euclid amazes me. 11th in the league in offense, 11th in the league in fielding, 4th in the league in P - nice little lead in the West. Both Texarkana and Tombstone are better in all 3 departments. Whacky.

#88598	07/06/2022 6:49:21 am	Sep 4th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Cheers to Canton. Very opportunistic in their series win against Waterloo. 3 series losses since Inter has ended. Good thing we are well clear of the pink. Picked up Zamora for a bit of depth. (O'Neill just back from another double digit injury. He's had a rough go this season). Zamora is expensive, but he's not likely to collect a pay-check. High Point tonight. Given Waterloo's current form and the abysmal match up it's hard to see the Dinos putting up much fight. PS - I've never seen anything like Cintron's defense this season. A throwing error every 10 games for an 18 arm 2.8 p-knowledge C is bonkers. Updated Wednesday, July 6 2022 @ 6:56:49 am PDT

#88607	07/07/2022 5:46:56 am	Sep 8th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Strange game sometimes. Dinos come back from Inter and can't beat anyone. Take on High Point who we went 2-8 against in the first 50, and somehow get the sweep. Game 1 was something else. High Point unleashes the singles part of the walks & singles barrage - 15 hits, 13 of them singles - but it isn't enough support for Baez. This despite Turley, whose calling card is command, throwing 3 wild pitches in 5 IP. That's a season total for him. Murillo stole the show. In the lineup primarily for his range, he hit a HR in each game. Haverhill tonight. They haven't really been on form either since coming back to the East.

#88608	07/07/2022 3:14:27 pm	Sep 9th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yeah, we've been a bit of a train wreck since inter. Split so far. Final game pits stud hurler Turley against the inigma that is Wakefield. Wakefield is having a horrible season and is also "Very Cold". I feel like his ERA is currently a bit unfair to his overall performance though... We'll see which Wakefield shows up today (although it probably won't matter, LOL). The teams Haverhill really needs to worry about right now are Murfreesboro (who Waterloo keeps letting get wins ), and Canton (who we did very poorly with last series).

#88609	07/07/2022 4:02:49 pm	Sep 10th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yep. I had a feeling that was who would show up RD has been a really strange animal this season. A couple teams in the west seem to be outperforming their RD by a lot. But more disturbing for Haverhill is the Cowboys Updated Thursday, July 7 2022 @ 4:04:32 pm PDT

#88612	07/07/2022 5:35:04 pm	Sep 12th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Murfreesboro's RD really does pop off the table. We wish we could oblige with a few more wins against them. Doesn't seem to be in the cards. Waterloo's closer Herrera was the story of the Haverhill series (on the Dino side). 2 out bottom of the 9th before game 1 got away. 2 out bottom of the 9th before game 2 really got away. That got him benched for game 3. (Don't think Lawrence will be the new closer, but he filled in admirably in game 3). Herrera might get another day or two off. Guess we keep Zamora stashed in the minors (for bullpen depth) for another week. 1 paycheck isn't so bad for a bit of insurance.

#88619	07/08/2022 10:22:40 am	Sep 13th, 2055
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Hot and cold. We've been trying to get younger and we look like a team that has a lot of inexperienced youth playing. After a very strong final 20 games the Pistoleros finished 36-24 vs. the east and climbed out of a relegation spot and into the division pennant race. Now we are back to divisional play where we still can't beat anybody. Too many teams seem to have our number this season. 1-6 vs. the top two teams in the return to divisional play and not much better since. We'll have to be better this run thru if we are going to hang onto our relegation lead. We did a little more cost cutting/house cleaning before payroll yesterday. Forces the manager to play more youth.

#88626	07/11/2022 5:26:34 am	Sep 24th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Tombstone is hanging in there. With Deadwood's sweep of Euclid yesterday most everyone in the West is hanging in there. Could be a tense finish. Dinos had been on a good run of form, but lost another series to Canton yesterday. .ots of missed opportunities. Clean up spot has been such a void this season. Alvarez turning to mush has been something we have struggled to deal with. Decent training update. O'Dell got the green light. Not very excited about him, and Wallace's emergence means he's blocked at 1B. Won't see him this season. Another face-off with East leading High Point. They are without Baez who is their only bona-fide starting pitcher. May not hurt them much, as starting pitching isn't really part of their formula.

#88631	07/12/2022 8:34:07 am	Sep 28th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Game 1 of the High Point - Waterloo series yesterday was satisfying. Chased their opener after 3.1. With the game going to extras High Point blew out the entire pen (no long man). Last man was their loggy. Dinos finally got to him in the 14th. That was the end of the good news. Dinos couldn't hit any of the collection of stiffs that make up the rest of High Point's rotation. When Blank dazzles your lineup in a crucial game, it's not your season. Cleaned a little house. Cockrell back up.

#88643	07/13/2022 2:49:07 pm	Oct 3rd, 2055
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Let’s go! The Tombstone infield draws in. Winchester opposite field, walk-off grand slam. Magic number for Denvy is now 17. And you really do love to see it. 🔥

#88645	07/13/2022 4:30:35 pm	Oct 4th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	So much negativity in Haverhill, I thought I would peruse the leaders board to see if there were any silver linings. No one on the HR leader board... Three guys on the OBP board No one on the SB board Four guys on the BB board! #1 and #10 on the CS board / No one on the Ks board No one on ERA or WHIP boards Hammel is on both the DP and Error boards / So silver linings are 4 guys getting lots of walks, and my young gun vLHP catcher is firing on all cylinders Oh yeah, also Fisher. And Stiles has also been a bright spot in terms of rookie pitchers.

#88649	07/14/2022 5:17:33 am	Oct 6th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	It sort of seemed like Haverhill set out to tread water this season, so mission accomplished? Only have a couple P in their 30s. Lots of reinforcements (9!) at AAA. Some sunlight through the clouds. Wallace slipping in the MVP race. Would be cool if he could get it. Dinos have only won the award twice, and an 11 pot winning in a tall tree league would be noteworthy. But if his BA slides much further he's done. Quite the race in the West. 4 within 1/2 a game of the top. Denver and Tombstone seem to have the softest remaining schedule, with 7 and 6 games left against the Santas respectively.

#88652	07/14/2022 3:08:04 pm	Oct 7th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Mission accomplished if we can keep the #4 spot... But I'm still playing a bunch of old guys to try and accomplish that. Yeah if we end the season in the #4 spot mission accomplished. If we end up #5 or #6 we'll be sad we didn't play rookies, LOL.

#88654	07/14/2022 3:45:28 pm	Oct 8th, 2055
Mudcat325 Joined: 12/20/2017 Posts: 98 Columbia Catfish V.3	Some sunlight through the clouds Yeah, 9 guys in AAA seems like a lot and yet you still played several rookies. I'll be interesting to see how Haverhill manages the log jam in 2056. Wallace slipping in the MVP race There should be some award for 11 POT's putting up #'s like that, just because it's cool. Big fan of the underdogs! Quite the race in the West. Yes, that's going to be a real nail bitter those managers. I've never been in anything quite like that. Exciting...watching this one.

#88655	07/14/2022 4:11:13 pm	Oct 8th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I think we will be less interesting than you might think... Essentially I have 6 young LFs. A couple will make it. The others won't they are only still sticking around because I don't have anything better to put there, LOL.

#88662	07/15/2022 7:42:42 am	Oct 10th, 2055
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Ten games to go. It will be a surprise ending to a long up and down season if the Pistoleros promote. Three on the road then the last seven at home where we have been pretty good this season so we have as good a shot as anyone at this point. Beattie goes down with a season ending injury so we'll have to give two starts to our #5 pitcher as soon as we decide who that is, depth has not been a strong point for us.

#88668	07/15/2022 5:55:05 pm	Oct 14th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	With sweeps in both directions we are finally safe, so we can load up on rookies for the final two series

#88672	07/16/2022 7:06:13 am	Oct 14th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Grats to Haverhill. And to Highpoint. Herrera got save 40 the other day. (And then promptly got injured). Nice landmark. With his age, his future is uncertain. A good training update. 17 arrows, much of that in 3 big league arms (Lawrence, Villanueva, Morelli). Plus 2 more grads in Lemus and Hernandez (neither likely to be called up soon). Guess Lively will get the 25 yr boot. He was our SS of the future 2 seasons before White was drafted. White will have completed 4 seasons before Lively makes his debut. 2 weeks ago I had a tidy AAA with just Bowers and Blair waiting. Now 6. With things settled in the East non-playoff teams now wait 4 weeks for interesting baseball. Awards the last item of interest. Dinos will not claim any. Think we also surrendered any gold glove chances when we tossed our 20 fld manager. My predictions: MVP - Tamori (Mur) or Fukumoto (HP) Cy - Cruz (Tomb) Rookie - Fisher (Hav) (Lovelace in Orl 2nd) Rookie P - Schuster (HP) or Stiles (Hav)

#88673	07/16/2022 8:57:59 am	Oct 14th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Haverhill's certainly keeping our fingers crossed on rookie awards.

#88679	07/16/2022 8:58:26 pm	Oct 18th, 2055
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Texarkana or Tombstone will win the west. Getting 1 of 3 today was a blown opportunity for the Pistoleros. We can still win the division by winning 3 of 4 at home tomorrow vs. Texarkana otherwise the Twisters will take home the pennant. Good luck to patborders and the Twisters tomorrow, it's been quite a year.

#88687	07/17/2022 4:19:53 pm	Oct 20th, 2055
patborders Joined: 04/16/2018 Posts: 115 Texarkana Twisters II.2	Never doubted it for a minute. 😂 Crazy season!

#88692	07/17/2022 7:11:29 pm	Oct 22nd, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Grats to Texarkana! Felt Tombstone really needed game 1 with Cruz on the mound. When they didn't get that one, it became a steep climb. Going to have to amend my MVP prediction. At the time Waterloo's Wallace was floundering, looked like he would drop below .300. But he turned it on at the end (9/15 with a grand slam in the final series). With Tamori cooling off I think Wallace has a real shot. Was heartening to see Morelli pitch 6 scoreless in our season finale. Something to dream on during the off-season.

#88724	07/19/2022 7:06:56 am	Oct 26th, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Playoff series true to form so far. The walks and singles juggernaut putting up 11 runs a game. With their starting pitching sometimes that’s enough to win, sometimes not. Dinos had not 1 but 2 players go Ironman and play all 160 games. White and Wallace. Rare in Waterloo. Last to do it was the venerable Flynn in 2046. Wallace certainly the first 1B to accomplish that for the Dinos. White plays all 160, makes 5 errors and turns 77 DPs and likely doesn’t get the gold glove. Murfreesbot’s SS at 159, 3, 71. Pleased Dinos held on to the team ERA title despite using a kid 5th starter all season long. A shame none of them really panned out. (Villanueva might be ok). Our off-season deliberations focus on Herrera. Will be 34 next season, was showing some cracks. Think we’ve decided to keep him and let him try to keep closing in ‘56. Could still change our minds. Few days till pay day.

#88727	07/19/2022 10:17:57 am	Oct 26th, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Impressive to have two guys make it through the whole season without any injuries! I checked on the Haverhill mainstays, but none of them made it through the season without injuries. Still hoping Fisher can score ROY, but he definitely isn't earning a gold glove. He did poorly in the minors too. I'm not really sure why he can't field. Updated Tuesday, July 19 2022 @ 10:21:20 am PDT

#88736	07/19/2022 6:23:57 pm	Oct 30th, 2055
Ced Joined: 11/07/2014 Posts: 627 Denver Broncos IV.4	Man, EVERYone was in it out West till the end. There were days in September and October with 3 way ties. Congrats to the winners. We had a starting outfielder miss the final games, but no excuses. We led the league for two days total or so this year, haha. See you next year and good luck to all clubs, especially the promoters to Legends.

#88757	07/21/2022 8:30:14 am	Nov 2nd, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I think Haverhill is still in trouble next season. We will be treading water for a while. A couple rookies with impressive seasons is encouraging, but we just don't have any stars coming up. Fisher is great, but not sure how much he can accomplish by himself. Most of our big guns have one foot out the door. I'm satisfied with Padilla's performance, but really he is just a JAG. Looks like he will also stunt (in typical Halfling fashion). Stiles did pretty good for a rookie, but in general our pitching is in shambles. Same as with the hitting side of the ball, the best guys have one foot out the door (likely two by the start of next season).

#88758	07/21/2022 8:34:23 am	Nov 2nd, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Grats to Texarkana on taking the title! One game 5-2, rest shot outs. Not my kind of ball. Some team notes on 2055: - Haverhill tops High Point in the walk race. 685 is down from 690 in '54, but is impressive considering Burrell and his 94 BBs were gone. Top in the West was Tombstone at 507. - the 3 top SB teams in the league were Canton, Euclid and Santa Cruz. The 3 lowest scoring teams in the league were Canton, Euclid, and Santa Cruz. - the biggest deltas between BA and RISP were Denver and Orlando, both at +28. High Point next at +20. 4 teams had an RISP less than BA, tho the worst was Murfreesboro at -3. - for the first time in 3 seasons the Dinos did not surpass 1k Ks. The only team to go 4 digits was High Point. - Haverhill lead the league in blown saves (by alot). They were 1 of 5 teams (almost half the league!) to have more blown saves than holds. Haverhill came perilously close to having more blown saves than saves. - 4 teams made triple digit fielding errors (half the East). Murfreesboro led the league at 61, but Denver amazingly came 2nd at 65. The Broncos have a below average fielding manager, decent but not exceptional fielding skill, and made 80 errors last season. - 7 of 12 teams had a better BA at home. 7 of 12 teams had a better home record than away. Not the same 7 teams tho.

#88760	07/21/2022 12:24:14 pm	Nov 2nd, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I would feel worse about the blown saves if they weren't primarily coming from LRs and MRs. Surprised to see a negative RISP, we usually do pretty good with RISP, and overall we had a pretty good year offensively. SB ratio was horrid, but that's what happens with your successful aggressive base stealers get old... They don't realize they can't run anymore, LOL. Also had a LOT of failed hit & run attempts this year; guys with X for base stealing getting CS. That's my fault for not managing H&R more tightly in line with lineup modifications. Fisher has been super disappointing in the field, but I was surprised at our errors at SS. I guess Hamel is further gone than I realized... He can't run bases anymore either I was hoping to stretch him for a couple more seasons... Don't really have any good options for SS in AAA Its been a weak spot for a while, and drafting for SS only yields OFs and DHs... We didn't lose much of a step with BB, because we swapped out Burrell's 94 BB with Fisher's 85 BB Updated Thursday, July 21 2022 @ 1:00:08 pm PDT

#88761	07/21/2022 12:41:25 pm	Nov 2nd, 2055
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	7 of 12 teams had a better BA at home. 7 of 12 teams had a better home record than away. Not the same 7 teams tho. I think its more useful to look at the delta for home/away though. Otherwise your obfuscating hitter's/pitcher's parks with home team advantage. For instance Haverhill and .252/.276 hitting home/away, but our opponents are .267/.282. So its a .24 delta versus a .15 delta. That means we "lost" the home turf by .09 (which is pretty bad), and had a losing record. But if you look at a team like the Twisters, they had a delta of -0.13 at home, but their opponents had a delta of -0.22. So they "won" home by .09 (which is quite good), and had a winning record to match that performance. For giggles, here is everyone's home BA score (delta versus opponent) Twisters: +0.09 Panthers: +0.00 Pistoleros: +0.08 Broncos: +.45 (extreme home advantage) Carp: -0.06 Killer Whales: +0.20 Shaolin Stars: +0.02 Dinosaurs: +0.03 Orcas: +0.15 Halflings: -0.09 (incompetent management?) Tornados: +0.16 Cowboys: +0.03 I'll need to double check that math later, but it looks like most teams garnered a hitting advantage in their parks. Broncos especially. Of course this is just for AVG, not considering OPS or anything. Just for giggles Updated Thursday, July 21 2022 @ 12:58:00 pm PDT

#88774	07/22/2022 6:38:06 am	Nov 2nd, 2055
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Congrats to Jake Fisher and Hank Wallace. Great season for Cruz. Our ROY was Citroen encouraging season but stats suffered as he slumped at the bat in the second half. It was a pretty good season for the Pistoleros. We made money, had a great cup run and contended for the pennant up to the last day all coming after a 22-28 5th place and 11 games back start where relegation was very possible. We didn't win anything but we had a decent season in the draft and waivers and we unloaded a lot of retirement aged players. We will need to be lucky with waivers next season as we need a catcher and a DH/1B big bat (we did not have a 20 HR man this season).

#88775	07/22/2022 10:32:32 am	Nov 2nd, 2055
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. They were all quick (hot) takes. Purposefully obfuscating. Canton, Euclid, and Santa Cruz were also the 3 squads with lowest team BA. Can't really (or fully) blame the SB strategy. (PS - admire them for trying. Hard to give away outs with the current importance of big innings). Did enjoy your analysis. Home-away pitching stats must be mouseover? Thanks Freddy! Dinos are stoked with Wallace's MVP. Just our 3rd (Larsen, McCarty) in 38 seasons of BrokenBat. Now just a little below average. (None of our MVPs were drafted by the club). Also thrilled White got the gold glove at SS. Must have been super close. Grats to all award winners! And thanks again everyone! Next season looks fun in the East with Holmes, El Jefe and one of Jaguar or PrivateSnowflake joining us.

#88776	07/22/2022 10:48:01 am	Nov 2nd, 2055
electriceel883 Joined: 05/26/2021 Posts: 1505 Irvine Infernos III.3	Wallace: brought into Broken Bat play by us, haha.

#88779	07/22/2022 12:45:27 pm	Nov 2nd, 2055
bsmall84 Joined: 05/14/2015 Posts: 70 Inactive	Congrats to all the award winners. GL to the two promoted teams in Legends next year. Euclid gets no awards of anything. Munoz finishing 3rd in Cy Young is funny with a losing record, just failed miserably with no run support. The focus of the offseason for Euclid is to dial down the SB strategy a little. Second, find some offense to compete for the division next year(kinda of hard when every team avg was within .5 of each team). Third, probably trying to get better fielding at 2B and 3B, and always on the lookout for pitching (who's not). GL to all the teams next year and I hope this league is very informative

#88781	07/22/2022 3:03:24 pm	Jan 13th, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Sooo... I'm back with Seca, and with Rock. III.1 became very quiet after Waterloo was promoted last season, so I had no alternative but to move up, as well. I'm not too excited about my team, though. I still have a pretty good defense, by Manhattan's "bats first" standards, a few good bats including a monster in Takahashi, and an aging ragtag collection of pitchers with some highly questionably rookies. The farm is not very comforting either, especially when it comes to arms. In short, I'll enjoy the ride as long as it lasts, but don't expect me to compete for Legends anytime soon.

#88787	07/22/2022 3:50:20 pm	Jan 13th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Oh no... I feel like I am destine for 5th place now

#88820	07/24/2022 6:47:05 am	Jan 13th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	@ Electriceel883, Wallace still has his chili pepper tattoo from his draft day. Dinos should give him some money to have that removed. @ Bsmall84, Don't let my blathering put you off your plan. Underachievement with hits and walks was the bigger culprit. @ Holmes, Always a pleasure. Like Rock777 I'm skeptical of your modesty/pessimism. Won old III.1 convincingly. Slovak still carrying on like control is an unimportant skill. Wallace grateful he claimed his MVP before Takahashi arrived. Some tough cuts from Haverhill yesterday. Both Kim and Bearden with excellent careers in Massachusetts. Dinos haven't found anyone to put a claim on yet. Would like to add a minor league pitcher before spring training.

#88823	07/24/2022 2:06:37 pm	Jan 13th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yeah end of an era with Bearden and Kim leaving. Both of them were 1-claimers who became cornerstones of the team. Going to be a challenge treading water again this season, but the youngsters need to get a chance if we want to have any future.

#88828	07/24/2022 7:50:17 pm	Jan 13th, 2056
El jefe Joined: 04/21/2017 Posts: 223 Urbana Cubs II.1	Happy to have finally made it to LL2! Will be a challenging season but wishing good luck to all

#88838	07/25/2022 4:07:42 pm	Jan 13th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Welcome! The Cubs sure cut it close in 2055. Excited to play against your squad. Haven't had the opportunity in league before, tho fairly certain we've met in the cup (didn't do the legwork). Avila piqued my interest on his trips though waivers. Intriguing player. Will be curious to see how he does / how long you hold onto him. Dino salaries up 10 million from last season, now at 50M. Those season awards. Not that money is an issue, but 50M is on the high side of where we'd like to be. We could use a veteran arm to back up the rotation, but an unlikely luxury at the moment. 5.3 of that is Herrera who was a bit shaky at times last season and had half the team's red arrows in update 0. If he starts the season cold he is on shaky ground. Broke even on pot adjustments (1 up, 1 down). We had hoped Berger would blip up, but it really doesn't affect our appraisal.

#88843	07/25/2022 6:13:52 pm	Jan 13th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	We had 2 minuses and no pluses on POT. Was disappointed that Myers didn't go up. Updated Monday, July 25 2022 @ 6:14:40 pm PDT

#88850	07/26/2022 4:37:26 am	Jan 13th, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	New guy here. When does waivers start? The East resembles a retirement home with all the long-time owners. Good to see everyone. I see Seca talking about money. After years of 60+ I dropped it down to 37 to get my finances right. Now I think I can spend stupidly again (and with waivers so sparse, stupid is probably an understatement). The Halflings look a little different, although Julio Paz refuses to go away. I surprised Wadsworth is only 30. He should be 40 by now. He's been playing for 18 years. Holmes is here. We haven't met in 10 seasons? No way. El jefe? This is the first time we'll meet on the diamond in league play. After reading so many posts in the forums, I was sure you were more myth than man. Same with Orlando. Seeing Orlando in the top leagues makes me nostalgic for the old days when you could find decent players (at any time) on waivers.

#88853	07/26/2022 1:23:20 pm	Jan 13th, 2056
El jefe Joined: 04/21/2017 Posts: 223 Urbana Cubs II.1	The Dinos, Halflings and Thunder all on the schedule is like setting up a fantasy franchise mode in MLB the Show....the longest-consecutive Legends seasons streak, 30+ seasons in LL3 or above, and a recent Legends champ. Crazy tough! Hopefully the Myth of El Jefe gives me a psychological advantage in some of these matchups as my old stars like Avila and Bustos (and most of my pitchers) reach their swan song. Avila's power dropped off considerably the 2nd half of last season, as did Bustos's average so the leash will be short with them this season as I pivot to some youngsters with high potential. Updated Tuesday, July 26 2022 @ 1:24:23 pm PDT

#88854	07/26/2022 2:19:00 pm	Jan 18th, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	My salaries are sky high, too, but I have some housekeeping to do, anyway. My first point is checked off - add a veteran starter, so I can relegate one of my current starters to LR/SS. Hope Bair has something left in the tank. One more good reliever (who is ideally not 35) would be good. Magana, who was supposed to become my closer, was just terrible last season, and he's making 5 million at age 34, so for any decent bullpen help I get, he's gone. If I stumble across a righty power bat or even an acceptable shortstop, that would be icing on the cake, but that usually gets easier a few weeks into the season. I had one youngster go up in potential and one down, which is the best ratio I have ever had. So far, I think there were two or three years where I had one potential going up, but normally, three to five going down. That may have to do with the way I recruit, so I'm not necessarily complaining.

#88876	07/27/2022 2:53:14 pm	Feb 1st, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Ok ok. Time to give away some trade secrets. - I keep Wadsworth young by limiting his playing time. It makes him age slower - I keep finances low by stacking the team full of JAGs with below average skill. I encourage everyone to try it Also, @El Jefe, you missed Haverhill's notable Legends record. We hold (well co-hold) the record for shortest streak in Legends Updated Wednesday, July 27 2022 @ 2:56:43 pm PDT

#88888	07/28/2022 7:27:52 am	Feb 8th, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Then I feel honored to have faced you in Legends in both your streaks up there. First round of housekeeping done. Without the promotion, I would have probably fired all three towards the end of last season, but to survive up here, I first wanted to have an idea of replacements. The replacement arms so far aren't much younger, but yeah, they grade out a little higher in my projection, and Magana was just too frustrating to hang on to.

#88889	07/28/2022 7:35:37 am	Feb 8th, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Looking at my 2055 stats, I'm baffled that my offensive output was so balanced platoon-wise, as my biggest bats are left-handed and my lineup against lefties was relying on a bunch of aging castoffs from other teams. Still shopping for one or two righty sluggers, but as I'm willing to settle for aging rentals, I'm confident that I'll get something better than deJesús at least in the first weeks of the season.

#88892	07/28/2022 3:17:51 pm	Feb 16th, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Hi FreddyThe2nd... we'll be facing off both in the league and in the cup group phase, I'm afraid...

#88893	07/28/2022 4:39:39 pm	Feb 17th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Then I feel honored to have faced you in Legends in both your streaks up there. Yes, we have a VERY bad habit of coming in 5th place every time we play a season with the Isotopes...

#88897	07/29/2022 4:32:36 am	Feb 19th, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Updated Friday, July 29 2022 @ 4:33:00 am PDT

#88898	07/29/2022 9:34:24 am	Feb 19th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Heh. Think Birmingham has a longer Legends longevity streak than the Dinos. We came close (2 seasons). Believe theirs started before the waiver era. There have been so many transactions this off-season it has been hard to keep up. The Dinos checked off our list. Wanted a young arm to fill out the spring training roster and got 2 (Hough and Huggins). Both are long shots to make it, but you never know. Tough decision heading into spring training. Decided not to play either of our "ready" AAA 1B prospects (O'Dell and Hernandez). 1B/DH is blocked by Wallace and Lovato. If Waterloo was under more roster pressure likely would have shed these 2 already. Beneficiary is Burns who will get to play in spring. Excited about him despite the 9 pot. Last season he was the only 9 pot in II.1; now we have 3!

#88900	07/29/2022 11:41:00 am	Feb 19th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Figures we have horrible waiver luck when we have tons of free spots available, LOL. Carrying a few guys just to keep the roster from looking too skinny

#88904	07/30/2022 6:48:44 am	Mar 2nd, 2056
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	New Season!! @Holmes: "we'll be facing off both in the league and in the cup group phase, I'm afraid..." You're afraid? lol You've been patrolling legends league long before me! I think this is only the second time we've actually been in the same league and we've been happy to have avoided the Isotopes! Good to see you here and good luck in the cup group hopefully we both get through! @El jefe :"The Dinos, Halflings and Thunder all on the schedule is like setting up a fantasy franchise mode in MLB the Show....the longest-consecutive Legends seasons streak, 30+ seasons in LL3 or above, and a recent Legends champ. Crazy tough! Indeed!! And check out the Isotopes history! No shortage of strong managers in the east. @PrivateSnowflake: cheers mate! Pistoleros news: The search for a catcher continues! Other than that we are pretty much ready to go. Optimism in Tombstone as I think our roster looks a little stronger than this time last season. I think we are going to release future HoF'r Jacoby as he is near the end of the line. And maybe DH/1B slugger Orta as well as he is 34 and makes $6m. (we probably will not lose much offense playing the veteran waiver catch Earnst at 1B and also letting RHB's Flanagan, Kenyan and rookie LHB Tubbs get more at bats). We could also use a back up middle infielder and are searching. We won a 52 claim waiver and I'm not even sure he will last the season. Thoughts??

#88916	07/30/2022 12:59:39 pm	Mar 2nd, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	LOL, Minter looks like a Halfling. Curveball stunting way below expected. You never know, but my trigger finger would be itchy. The East is stacked... Maybe I don't need to fear the Isotope curse this season Seems like a 5th place finish would be an improvement over expectations Updated Saturday, July 30 2022 @ 1:00:01 pm PDT

#88942	08/02/2022 6:10:49 am	Mar 8th, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	We're right in the middle of ST, waivers have been poured over, our star prospects have lost a POT point, and we've all talked ourselves into believing that 34yo that hasn't been picked up in two years is the player who will lead us to Legends. Ah. Spring! But now it's time to see what the signings and SI bumps will bring us in 2056 and the only way is to use my proven scientific method that I've honed over many, many, years. Believe it or not, the Apple II fired right up (it's diesel-powered...somehow) and I've fed all of your teams' rosters and stats into that machine and what emerged is completely unreadable. Still, I've been able to come up with where your team will finish in the standings this year. If you don't like it, well it's too late now. In the words of famous American Hero Frank Drebin: "Truth hurts. Maybe not as much as jumping on a bicycle with the seat missing, but it hurts." Time to hand out the hardware... West Hitter Ratings: Brownsville 183.41 Arcadia 182.33 Tombstone 179.06 (didn't know it was Freddy! Welcome back) Euclid 173.40 (always round two places) New London 171.94 Denver 170.94 (yep, still holding a grudge from '44) West Pitcher Ratings: Euclid 170.60 (again, rounding) Arcadia 170.10 Brownsville 157.89 Tombstone 157.60 New London 153.72 Denver 153.20 West Projected Order of Finish: Arcadia 352.43 Euclid 344.00 Brownsville 341.30 Tombstone 336.66 New London 325.66 Denver 324.14 Congratulations, Jonny688! In just two seasons of ownership, you will have done what took so many of us so long to accomplish. You suck. East Hitter Ratings: Manhattan 190.10 Urbana 180.90 (named after founders Karl Urban and Colt Cabana)) Haverhill 172.92 Bloomington 169.49 Waterloo 167.70 (what's with everything rounding like this?) Orlando 159.39 East Pitching Ratings: Manhattan 169.95 (I'm sensing a trend...) Bloomington 169.48 Urbana 161.61 Haverhill 151.91 Waterloo 150.37 Orlando 145.63 East Division Predicted Order of Finish: Manhattan 360.05 Urbana 342.51 Bloomington 338.97 Haverhill 324.83 (nobody hangs onto a spot like the Halflings) Waterloo 318.07 Orlando 305.02 Thanks for playing, Holmes! GL in Legends! Welp, there you have it. Steve, go ahead and award the trophies. I'll also take Manhattan over Arcadia in five games. Updated Tuesday, August 2 2022 @ 6:11:12 am PDT

#88943	08/02/2022 9:47:06 am	Mar 8th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Very interesting! Appreciate the effort. Diesel isn't cheap these days. I find Denver's offense ranked last in the West surprising. Scored the most runs in the West last season. Led the league in HRs. Just 2 BBs and 6 H off West topping totals. Waterloo's pitching staff may take the 11th out of 12 ranking as bulletin board material. Did lead the league in ERA last season.

#88944	08/02/2022 10:14:44 am	Mar 8th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Woah... Private doesn't have us ranked 6th... That is definitely the kiss of death. Waterloo destroyed us last season, with a generally younger squad, so I don't see us beating them... Don't really see us beating anyone for that matter...

#88953	08/03/2022 3:12:34 pm	Mar 11th, 2056
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	From past experience I know better than to complain about our ranking as I am well aware of how much innovation, technology, mathematics and pure science goes into the rating machine. Also in 50 seasons I've never seen the machine fail, pretty much dead on every time. At least we now know we will not be demoting for sure so we can go ahead and play lots of youth. Fun read every season. Thanks for doing it PrivateSnowflake.

#88954	08/03/2022 4:36:05 pm	Mar 11th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Private usually has Haverhill ranked lower than we actually perform. I think he is over compensating this season

#88955	08/03/2022 4:46:30 pm	Mar 12th, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Holy smokes, Snowflake! You'll have my guys partying before opening day. But seriously, I'll be perfectly happy if we make 4th place, and neither my team nor my farm are one bit legends ready.

#88993	08/05/2022 6:53:41 am	Mar 14th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Awesome training update for the Dinos. 38 arrows (not counting a P gaining arm, but including 3 we got with our draft pick). Morelli worth noting. We were a little worried about his lethargic growth when we got him, but he's added 8 SI over the past 3 updates. Has pitched well in spring. Fighting for the 5th starter job with Villanueva. We always eat a 36 game injury in the spring. Plummer the sacrifice this season. He was having a nice spring. Got a nice draft pick, but thinking we should ask PrivateSnowflake to press the button for us. Another spit-your-coffee arm in Bloomington.

#89011	08/05/2022 12:10:56 pm	Mar 14th, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	I don't know why you guys don't just reload with franchise-changing pitching every few years. Borges got the call today. He'll get a chance to grow in the rotation like Starks did last year. Howell is a 3-time AS at 26 years old and Lorenzo, while 33 yo, should still be more than effective. Nieto was a claim last year and struggled in his first starts with Bloomington. However, he started reeling off QS to close the season. I feel good at the back-end of the pen, not great, but there's enough to get outs. And Karlsen (hopefully) begins working his way towards a back-end role. OF D is a concern. Not your typical Thunder range. 2B has two old guys going at it: one with pop, the other with OBP. One with glove, the other with range. Hoping they just meld together to make one decent player. I'll join everyone else in the East who thinks they'll finish 4th. There'll be no East division winner this year. No promotion, no demotion. Just .500 ball.

#89012	08/05/2022 1:16:05 pm	Mar 14th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Haverhill got yet another borderline POT 11 3B in the draft. I think we'd be better of with ANYONE else pushing the button... 28 pops for us is super good. Not 38, but still very happy.

#89015	08/05/2022 1:39:30 pm	Mar 14th, 2056
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Little bit late enjoying the private predictions, nice to see the (no doubt inadvertent) Kiwi link in there....

#89028	08/06/2022 7:22:18 pm	Mar 18th, 2056
Jerbeetwo Joined: 06/30/2019 Posts: 331 Tyler Goldendoodles IV.3	My new goal in life is to get into Private Snowflake's League so that I can partake in his league predictions.

#89031	08/07/2022 7:50:44 am	Mar 18th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Spring is usually a grim affair for Waterloo, but this season has been a pleasant change. 18-9 heading into the final series. The 2 guys fighting for the 5th starter job (Morelli and Villanueva) have both pitched really well. The 2 11 pots we added to fill out the staff (Huggins and Hough) also pitched great, tho didn't get a lot of innings. Main downer was that our first rounder Duncan got absolutely shelled in his 1st appearances (1/3 IP, 3 BBs, 2 HRs) but he's settled down a bit since. Dinos usually run a shuttle from AAA during the cup. Not this season. Have enough active roster spots to accommodate all the kids. Waterloo will be carrying 3 rookies. Bowers - RP. Was ready last season, but we left him down. High on him. Think he could be a high leverage guy. For now he's at the back of the pen. Lively - reserve middle infielder. He was our SS of the future for a while, but moved very slowly through the system. Hope to get him ~150 ABs, mostly at 2B. Could be more if Hammond struggles. O'Dell - 1B. Wallace's emergence blocks O'Dell. He's only going to play in the cup. Could be cut anytime. So no Dinos challenging for rookie hardware unless the fields are thin (or Lively gets more playing time than expected).

#89036	08/07/2022 9:26:21 am	Mar 18th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Haverhill always does well in spring training, but it never seems to translate to the regular season Barnard is crushing it in spring like he does every season, but I know that is just an illusion. Croft is pounding the ball like he does every year in spring (8 HRs so far). Hoping he can bring some of that power to the bigs. Looks like I had him up enough last season to lose his rookie tag, but this will effectively be his first real season. Sierra will likely get a cup of coffee at the start of the season, but I don't have high hopes. Its likely that Arellano will get his shot this season as well, but I did a poor job getting him ABs this spring (too many guys on the major league roster needed position experience)... Healey has been fantastic out of the pen in spring. This will be his rookie season with the club. We are in such tough shape, I'm going to skip LR and try him out at MR immediately. We'll see how painful that ends up being... Stiles was a rookie last season (edged out of Rookie pitcher of the year), but his spring performance is giving us enough confidence to put him back in the starting rotation again this season. Shelton, Ocampo, Carroll and Kee all doing great in camp. I'm doubtful of the lot of them in general, but hoping either Shelton or Ocampo can put in a respectable performance this season. Updated Sunday, August 7 2022 @ 10:34:58 am PDT

#89039	08/07/2022 5:06:13 pm	Mar 18th, 2056
El jefe Joined: 04/21/2017 Posts: 223 Urbana Cubs II.1	Always appreciate a Colt Cabana (Boom Boom) reference, @PrivateSnowflake......Karl Urban on top of that makes me believe I can run through the gauntlet at Helms Deep to come out with a surprise promotion

#89040	08/07/2022 8:31:26 pm	Mar 18th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I don't get good vibes from Barnard. Love Croft and Sierra tho. For a long time Healey's profile was the staple of our bullpen. We've moved away from that as our preferred build, but still respect it.

#89041	08/07/2022 9:24:11 pm	Mar 18th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yeah Barnard has never been anything more than a backup in waiting. Crossing my fingers I can find something else before Silinas ages out. Not that Silinas is anything to get excited about either...

#89062	08/08/2022 2:18:59 pm	Mar 20th, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Hm, I just don't have that many promising youngsters that it's worth giving them playing time in the cup group phase. Manhattan is pretty much at the zenith of its current generation, and there is very, very little coming after them. Spending most of last week on vacation on a farm on an island that had neither WiFi nor a decent mobile network, I did my first round draft pretty late and ended up with a rather uninspiring college pitcher that won't move the needle by much, either. Very good scouting blurb, but if he stays at 12p, he'll be of very limited use. The first training looks good at first sight, but it's mainly because I have a beepload of questionable young pitchers, and pitchers usually profit the most from spring training. All in all, yeah, the next one or two seasons better be good, because it's sure not going uphill from there.

#89065	08/08/2022 3:42:04 pm	Mar 23rd, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Likely better than the POT 11 Haverhill pulled early in the first round.

#89070	08/09/2022 8:00:12 am	Mar 25th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Dino brass really like Ureno in the Manhattan system. See a few other reasons for optimism. Have never seen anything like Waterloo's cup group. The other 5 teams are all in VI, 4 of them bot. Getting out of the group is often difficult for the Dinos, but have a good chance this season. That said, we struggled to a split in the opening series against a bot that hasn't been above VI since 2019. Shrug We picked up a catcher the other day. Not completely sold on Cintron. Some competition is good. Wilson has his rookie tag and could get lots of ABs if he plays well. Dinos get Orlando in our season opener. 2055 was our first against the Orcas, and we managed a 13-7 record. Well paid Kang gets the rock.

#89073	08/09/2022 2:54:24 pm	Mar 27th, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Ureño may be affected by prospect fatigue in my eyes... this is his seventh season in my farm. But, honestly, I'll be more than pleased if he turns into fairly decent fifth starter. Marino is my only pitching prospect, I'll call promising, but he won't fit in Slovak's shoes, either...

#89076	08/10/2022 5:00:58 am	Mar 30th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	A good start for Waterloo. Mostly good pitching and some timely hitting in the opening series. Bloomington is Waterloo's opponent tonight. The teams have faced off in 4 previous seasons; 2036 to 2039 in Legends. Waterloo finished ahead of the Thunder in 3 of those seasons, with the notable exception being 2038, the season Bloomington won its first Legends pennant. Dinos will be without White to start the series. One of our 2 Ironmen from last season didn't get far this go round.

#89077	08/10/2022 5:56:45 am	Mar 30th, 2056
El jefe Joined: 04/21/2017 Posts: 223 Urbana Cubs II.1	Very happy with the first series against the Halflings. Although the pitching left a bit to be desired, the offense was red-hot. Hopeful for more consistency on that front this season since the O was very choppy last season.

#89078	08/10/2022 9:34:18 am	Mar 30th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Munson looks ready to play. Haverhill's pen a little less so. Healey off to an inauspicious start. We'll see how painful that ends up being ...

#89084	08/10/2022 2:08:04 pm	Mar 30th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Lucky for him I don't make team decision base on a single series If I did, the whole team would be gone, LOL.

#89086	08/10/2022 4:02:55 pm	Apr 1st, 2056
El jefe Joined: 04/21/2017 Posts: 223 Urbana Cubs II.1	Lol, @Rock you had a helluva recovery series against the Orcas there

#89087	08/10/2022 4:35:50 pm	Apr 1st, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	True almost back to neutral RD. Its really impossible to tell how well the teams are doing at this point in the season. I like to ride out a loop or two before making any guesses about if we can win 4th or not

#89088	08/10/2022 4:40:55 pm	Apr 1st, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	And the injuries start piling up again

#89091	08/11/2022 6:39:50 am	Apr 3rd, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Aye. Dinos had 7 in red heading into game 3 last night. Cockrell going to be out for a spell. He was off to a good start. O'Neil will miss the Haverhill series. He's arguably our most important P. Close fought series against Bloomington. Injuries and defensive mistakes did the Dinos in. Haverhill tonight. This is the 6th time we've faced the Halflings in league. 2028, 2030 in Legends 2042 in II.1 2048 in III.1 2055 in II.1 The first 3 times we met Haverhill relegated (Dinos came along in '42). Halflings have fared better since.

#89095	08/11/2022 12:11:00 pm	Apr 3rd, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Close fought series against Bloomington. Injuries and defensive mistakes did the Dinos in. Shout-out to Bloomington's Rusty Springs Motel where all of our visitors enjoy breathtaking views of the Bloomington Airport and Artillery Testing Grounds. Awaken to the smell of burning garbage from our area-famous garbage incinerator located right next to the HVAC air intake and enjoy a complimentary breakfast of last nights drunken taco-run leftovers and a piping hot cup of "coffee". From there you'll be whisked to the ballpark by that one guy with glass eye, or possibly two...after the game we'll treat your players and staff to the finest of locker room spreads: rack of ribs slathered in sauce (piece of radial tire with ketchup), BBQ chicken (pigeon? squirrel even?), and your choice of wine (prison or radiator fluid).

#89098	08/11/2022 5:33:03 pm	Apr 7th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I think Healey took those comments personally Seca Will be glad to get Fisher back after the cup, but Stitch did quite admirably as the stand-in.

#89099	08/11/2022 5:58:54 pm	Apr 7th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Heh. Glad to see it. Pulling for him. Glad to see a split too. We expect the #5 starter to be weak, but Heredia has been a disaster as #4. May have to make a change. Wallace missed a couple of games. So neither of my ironmen from last season made it to double figures this time.

#89118	08/12/2022 7:02:45 am	Apr 7th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	A very good update for Waterloo. 1 arrow from our draft pick took us to 30. Mendez with the cinquain. Been impressed by his play (both minors and spring). Optimistic about him despite the vanilla scouting. Reid did well too. He's been our best player so far, which is a surprise. Long suspected he was a thick 14 or a 15. If he could maintain .750 OPS we'd be happy.

#89122	08/12/2022 11:15:50 am	Apr 7th, 2056
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Mendez looks like a Dinos type of player. Reid looks like a good puzzle piece too! Good start in the cup at 4-0. We have the Isotopes today and we have a couple rookie pitchers going again. A split would be great for us. A "meh" first week for the Pistoleros in league play. A weak training update and we lost two of three series. There is still much work to do on the roster but we are a little confused at the moment. On the plus side we did pretty good in the draft and have added four pitchers via the draft since the beginning of last year. This was a big stated goal that has now been accomplished. Also we are excited that our minor leagues now appear able to sustain adding a couple players per season. It will be nice to get "a little younger" and less waiver dependent.

#89123	08/12/2022 11:23:59 am	Apr 7th, 2056
El jefe Joined: 04/21/2017 Posts: 223 Urbana Cubs II.1	The Cubs closer-by-committee has turned out OK the first 10 games. "Old Reliable" Manuel Campos still has not earned back the trust of Frank Edwards after imploding the last quarter of the 2055 season (and almost costing Urbana a promotion in the process).

#89127	08/12/2022 1:18:49 pm	Apr 7th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Was happy to see our total salaries was under 40M this season (before promoting Arellano), but how is Rangel making 3M? The dude is my SP6/LR2... Not sure its worth keeping him at that price.

#89128	08/12/2022 2:40:32 pm	Apr 8th, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	If I had to trim my salaries (54M) down to anything close to 40M, I could just as well go back down without playing...

#89129	08/12/2022 2:48:42 pm	Apr 8th, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Only one longer injury so far, but that's to my ace. And the cup hasn't started well, either, although I had my best team on the field.

#89134	08/13/2022 6:28:17 am	Apr 10th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Ya. Nice thing out the economic structure is it is rarely a reason to cut a player. Salaries go in cycles. Make it up somewhere. Interesting El Jefe brings up closers. Herrera was one of our big question marks coming into the season. He's 4 for 4 converting saves, but man has he looked bad. .429 opp avg, 2.4 whip. Needs to start pitching better. Grats to Bloomington on landing Cammareri. Dinos are looking at pitching (despite not wanting to add salary). Thought Cammareri was the best available at the moment (but didn't offer). Interested to see how he does.

#89142	08/13/2022 6:23:30 pm	Apr 14th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Down to 36.4M salary. I haven't been that low for a long time

#89155	08/14/2022 10:50:58 am	Apr 14th, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	They've been playing one to two floors above us for quite a few seasons, but facing off against Manhattan can't seem to go well for the Halflings. Swept them at home featuring a 23-4 blowout and Takahashi flirting with a cycle twice (first two singles, a double and a homer, then two doubles, a triple and a homer - too fast for the cycle). http://brokenbat.org/game/4593426 http://brokenbat.org/game/4593450

#89159	08/14/2022 1:24:04 pm	Apr 14th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Solid start by Manhattan. Feel fortunate to catch them with Slovak on the shelf. Tough series against Urbana. First 2 games it felt like there wasn't anything we could do to slow their bats down. Andrew came up big for us in game 3. Little surprised Haverhill moved on from Rangel already. Get that he is 30, expensive, and not playing well. Coming off 2 solid seasons tho.

#89161	08/14/2022 3:24:15 pm	Apr 15th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Two expensive for a LR. I have lots of average pitchers, and need to move in some of the youth. 30 is actually pretty old for my squad. Plus a career 1.605 put him only second worst to Carroll. Except Carroll was better last season, 28 years old, and only 0.5M salary. Doesn't really make sense for my worst pitcher to be my most expensive. Rangle also had the distinction of walking more guys than he strikes out... Really a bad pitcher all around. Lots of hits. Did a good job with HRs, but ERA and FIP look better than he really is. @Holmes - I expect to see that a lot this season, Haverhill is likely on its way back to III. Updated Sunday, August 14 2022 @ 3:33:32 pm PDT

#89176	08/15/2022 12:43:09 pm	Apr 18th, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	So I managed to get a nailbiter series win against Waterloo... thanks in a good part to my closer-out-of-necessity Min Jun Ju. Due to his 12p, he was #2 on the layoff list for several seasons while he was in the minors (#1 was Wesley Thomson, who is also still around and still pitching way better than his skills predict). I know, Ju's five 9th inning appearances this season are a useless sample size, but he had a better start than anyone I tried as closer in the last 10 seasons. And of course, that is the point when I finally run into someone with legit closer skills on waivers. I'm convinced Peña only failed in the lower leagues because they kept running him out as a starter with his 6 stamina. That means he's way cheaper than the reliever he is replacing on the roster, and by the time the saves he'll hopefully get have an effect on his salary, he'll be long gone given his 34 years. Now watch him blow three saves in his first five appearances.

#89177	08/15/2022 12:58:38 pm	Apr 18th, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Thompson is remarkable. His development was way behind the curve, and despite his 13p, he never made it past 95SI - with a lot of that in the last three skills, even. Still, he never had an ERA above 4.20, and his career BAA is .239 with hardly any platoon split. FIP looks quite different, but just manages to be stingy with hits. Every season I think, that must be a fluke, but he just keeps delivering. http://brokenbat.org/player/243706

#89185	08/15/2022 3:16:21 pm	Apr 19th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	This is my excuse for investing in stunted players (rather than the reality of bad luck ) it seems like someguys get severely underrated. They just stop showing improvement in their skills. I'm crossing my fingers this is the case with Shelton who inexplicably stunted after one season in the majors. The other challenge with players like this is that they don't seem to show changes in their ratings when they start declining either. So its almost like their max ratings are just hidden (SI never sharpens all the way).

#89192	08/15/2022 6:38:23 pm	Apr 21st, 2056
El jefe Joined: 04/21/2017 Posts: 223 Urbana Cubs II.1	Holmes, is it fair to say you only really let him pitch against righties? Or are his low innings more about just not getting a ton of chances as a RHS2? If the former, I've definitely seen guys "overachieve" pretty frequently when you can find the right role for them in the pen, or take the pressure off them in the lineup. I kind of think the mix and match of skills in your pen overall might have some influence on individual performance too (e.g., bunch of fastball guys won't work as well as fastball guys + movement guys). Might be thinking too sophisticated though

#89193	08/15/2022 7:30:48 pm	Apr 21st, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Looks like he's faced more lefties than righties over his career.

#89196	08/16/2022 6:17:08 am	Apr 21st, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Thompson spent most of his career as MR, because I never trusted him much. He's faced a ton of lefties there, and he has no platoon split worth mentioning. That can't be it. As far as aging goes, in my experience successful low SI players generally don't age well, in the sense that the moment they start declining, they become unplayable real fast. I guess he's just a case of catching lightning in a bottle on waivers. I also have Ahlgren, that struggling in AA "control will always be lacking" (but 14p) guy from waivers who went on to become a rotation staple in the city. But Ahlgren was a contested claim, at least. Thompson got all of 2 claims as a 23 year old with 57SI and a >6 ERA in AA. I only picked him up because my farm was ridiculously short on pitching and only kept him around because it stayed that way. I was also hoping he might at least get a 10 or 11 stamina. Hoping there's another one like that among my "Marino plus some not worth mentioning" farm arms. Updated Tuesday, August 16 2022 @ 7:00:20 am PDT

#89198	08/16/2022 6:57:50 am	Apr 21st, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	The other Thompson has left Manhattan after a pretty long career. Mr. Bean is equally old, should be only a minor upgrade at SS and comes at a cost in dollars, but he should be an upgrade nonetheless. His batting skills look a tad weaker, but he has a better track record with the bat and has declined less. I remember being quite excited when I drafted Thompson, a 15p potentially great defensive shortstop. Unfortunately, the bat never quite came around. His .699 career OPS will hardly take him to the hall of fame, but my potential long term solutions at SS are nowhere near his glovework, so I would have really liked to have him near his prime for longer.

#89201	08/16/2022 8:42:57 am	Apr 21st, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Jaime Carrasco was a good example of this. A POT 14 who only ever reached POT 12 (major stunt), but performed like a POT 15. Then the second he lost 1 SI his performance tanked.

#89202	08/16/2022 10:57:29 am	Apr 21st, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	It was an enjoyable series against Manhattan. Like the close games. Dino bats a little slow getting going during the first loop. Especially against lefties. Not that our offense is great, but we're hoping for a little better. Another split in the cup. VI bots are serious business. 6-6 with 2 series to go. Starting to doubt.

#89207	08/16/2022 4:36:54 pm	Apr 23rd, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	In his first league game after being moved out of the closer spot, Ju gives up six earned runs in 1.2 innings... http://brokenbat.org/game/4593510 Updated Tuesday, August 16 2022 @ 4:37:12 pm PDT

#89218	08/17/2022 3:42:35 pm	Apr 27th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Really a painful process to try and find a cleanup hitter I wasn't expecting wonders out of Padilla, I know he would strike out a lot, but I really thought he would have more than 1 HR at this point Seems like the Padilla experiment is failing. This is why I avoid low BC guys

#89224	08/18/2022 4:29:49 am	Apr 29th, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	My goodness this is an offense-heavy division.

#89226	08/18/2022 6:48:22 am	Apr 29th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Very much the Takahashi show according to the league leaderboard. Dinos lost our backup middle infielder (Lively) for a dozen games coming out of the last cup series. Figured that meant one of my middle infielders was next. Sure enough, lost both White and Hammond during the Bloomington series. Very fortunate the patchwork infield held together. Injuries have been rough so far. O'Neill out again too. Was a waiver claim we were interested in last night, but hesitated opening a spot on the roster. One of our 1B prospects needs to go (O'Dell, Hernandez, or Orellana). Like Orellana the least, but his age works best.

#89242	08/19/2022 8:56:40 am	May 3rd, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	6 pops for Haverhill including 1 FLD pop for a pitcher

#89243	08/19/2022 10:06:13 am	May 3rd, 2056
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	@Seca : I'd vote Hernandez off that island.. @Rock : makes me feel better, I thought we were terrible with 12 pops (2 in fielding for pitchers) We dropped T.Kenyon and his big bat and bigger 5m salary. Too much for a platoon vs. LHP guy, he was picked up to play DH fulltime but hasn't really worked out. Older Orta was supposed to go but he keeps hitting walk-off RBI's! 3 keepers in three rounds of drafting this season. I don't recall that ever happening before for us. We have drafted well the last 3-4 seasons now. A good start for the Pistoleros despite our top 3 starters struggling and have a combined ERA over 5.00. Big cup series today, we are sitting at 7-5 and looking to win 3 today to get to a comfortable spot as we aim to get into the playoff rounds. Looks like another tightly contested season in the west as all 6 teams are still hovering around single digit run differentials.

#89251	08/19/2022 12:49:42 pm	May 3rd, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Not a good island to be on. Seems whenever I make a "cut one of these" list they all end up going, just the order to be determined. Cruz's slow start is a bit surprising. Looks like a combination of bad luck and bad command. With his pedigree I'd expect him to right the ship. Abysmal update for Waterloo. Just 4 arrows that weren't fielding or arm. Guess we were due a catch-your-breath week. Big cup series for Waterloo too (6-6). With our salaries up a bit it would be real nice to get out of group. Lots of frustration so far.

#89257	08/19/2022 5:01:21 pm	May 5th, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Average training update for Manhattan, plus an average third round draftee. I really haven't been happy with my draft results since the current "open" draft scheme was launched. Rather than taking focus away from being online right at the reset in the first round, that change made it even worse. I have drafted a few spectacular stars since then, namely Takahashi and Slovak, but unsurprisingly, they were both first rounders in situations when I could be online at the perfect time. Overall, looking at my draft results over the past few seasons, I'm wondering how I've kept the ship afloat. Nice situation in the league, though, and smooth sailing in the cup. Just got my 12th W, even with young reliever Diaz starting the last game. Sliding him and Cyr into the rotation for the cup also kept everyone nice and rested. That leaves me with five cup games for playing the kids (and after the latest callups, I even have some kids to play).

#89273	08/21/2022 8:24:29 am	May 10th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Dinos get some much needed pitching help! Suarez mostly what we are looking for. Not too expensive. Pretty good track record, especially considering he played in a tiny ballpark. Fair bit off his SI peak, but his kit may be a bit more resilient to erosion. He takes Heredia's spot in the rotation. Vasquez scuffling too. Addition is much appreciated. We had a ticket for Harvey too, but Suarez filled roster spot 50. Think quite highly of Harvey. Expect he'll do better than Cammareri. Wallace to miss the first 2 against Manhattan tonight. Not much bite in the Dino lineup without him.

#89275	08/21/2022 12:22:01 pm	May 10th, 2056
electriceel883 Joined: 05/26/2021 Posts: 1505 Irvine Infernos III.3	I am too, since Harvey already was in legends from 2048-2051 though not for long with full SI. He failed in V at his standard MR1 slot, and was a consistent but below average SP5. Also has begun his erosion this season. I'd like to see how he does on a real team.

#89282	08/21/2022 4:06:06 pm	May 12th, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	So, Seca likes close games. Looks like it... But yeah, good fights. I just would have preferred not to lose all three of them.

#89309	08/22/2022 2:06:27 pm	May 14th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Irvine has come a long way under your leadership. Harvey's '54 looks like he had some bad luck. Not so good last season. Curious what a fresh start will do for him. Manhattan certainly deserved better. Dinos were happy to see some production from players not named Wallace. Suarez not so impressive in his Waterloo debut. Crunch time in the cup. Dinos need to take 3 of 4 from the group leader (still a VI bot). Not much margin for error.

#89312	08/22/2022 3:37:53 pm	May 15th, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	For now, Harvey will be SP5 in a four-and-a-half rotation. Come cross-division play he may not be SP5 much, depending on the opponent. Just keep the ball in the park and let the D field the ball for 5 innings. But, that seems like a tall order these days. 26 yo and 3X AS Howell has been demoted and rookie Borges is the opposite of his MiL stats (HR-wise).

#89315	08/22/2022 5:10:22 pm	May 16th, 2056
electriceel883 Joined: 05/26/2021 Posts: 1505 Irvine Infernos III.3	Ya, sounds like an optimal use for him

#89322	08/23/2022 9:16:37 am	May 17th, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Phew, Seca, you should have kept some of those good luck charms you blew on the series against Manhattan for the cup. Losing 3 out of 4 in a decisive series against a bot is tough. Not that is hasn't happened to us before... As they say in German soccer, the cup has its own laws. I can't say I particularly like the cup format in BB. It's foreign to pro baseball, and justly so, because baseball has way too much single-game randomness for endless playoffs in three-game series. Steve one wrote that it was meant to keep the game interesting for teams that are not doing well in the league - but by the time you know you're not doing well in the league, there's a 90+ percent chance you've been eliminated from the cup, anyway. So now the group phase is mostly an opportunity for strong teams to give their kids some experience. We did just that in the final five games and somehow still won three of them. 81 SI, 7 stamina rookie Diaz got three starts besides his four relief appearances in the cup and finished his 16.2 innings with an ERA of 2.70, although he did throw the last game away. Still, that's almost as many innings as he has pitched in the league so far. Congrats to Tombstone, who made it out of the group phase, too. They had fallen behind after a strong start by losing the series against us, but then climbed back through a sweep in the final series.

#89329	08/23/2022 3:30:06 pm	May 18th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. The 4th game was a throw, we were already out (had Kang in the chute if we were still alive). Discouraging. I played way more regulars than usual, and still couldn't get out of an all VI 4 bot group. You are only allowed 8 losses. When you pencil in a guy with less than 90 SI as a SP, you are conceding 5 losses before you leave the starting gate. Steep climb. Borges is a little scary. He's in the tweener zone for HRs for me. No obvious problem, but also not stellar suppression. Those guys sometimes go either way for me in the bigs. Quite possible its small sample / rookie break in. Felt bad about the series opener against Orlando today. They are having a tough time getting rolling. Dinos shouldn't be throwing sucker punches.

#89330	08/23/2022 4:12:01 pm	May 19th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I don't feel bad for Orlando. Only shared pain Empathy not sympathy, LOL. Updated Tuesday, August 23 2022 @ 4:12:24 pm PDT

#89339	08/23/2022 5:06:39 pm	May 20th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	5 injuries later... Dropped 4 games to Urbana; 3 1-run losses. We really can't catch a break this season. LOL.

#89340	08/23/2022 5:21:42 pm	May 21st, 2056
El jefe Joined: 04/21/2017 Posts: 223 Urbana Cubs II.1	Thought you had me in Game 4, Rock. Those last few innings were high drama......might be time to send Campos out to pasture Updated Tuesday, August 23 2022 @ 5:22:36 pm PDT

#89360	08/25/2022 6:29:02 pm	May 29th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	LOL. Stiles was back for one game before going right back on the DL.

#89371	08/26/2022 6:50:57 am	May 29th, 2056
El jefe Joined: 04/21/2017 Posts: 223 Urbana Cubs II.1	Cantu gets his first big league start and tries so hard to make an impression, he injures himself hitting a game-winning 2-run homer in extras! Gotta love the commitment http://brokenbat.org/player/272223/G

#89373	08/26/2022 10:19:21 am	May 29th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Stiles looked very good. Not out too long. Consecutive series where an OF error in the late innings cost us the finale. Missing the ol' 20 fielding manager. Seems Bloomington was the only II.1 team invited to geezer swap meet day. Trying to boost program sales maybe. Back to 20 arrows in the update. The big news is a green light for Mendez. His stats have taken a bit of a hit recently. Still optimistic. Possible he comes up this season, tho more likely next. One of Mendez or Wynne our 5th starter next season.

#89379	08/26/2022 3:24:42 pm	May 30th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	We were up this week. 8 pops with only one fielding on pitchers. More guys look like they are probably stunting (like Stiles); seams like the team is really living up to its name

#89380	08/26/2022 3:31:41 pm	May 30th, 2056
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	You'll find Private does this sorry of thing during a season. I like to think of it as a few 'passings' at the Bloomington retirement village, and replacements moving into the vacant rooms.....

#89392	08/27/2022 4:07:40 am	May 31st, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Oh ha ha, guys. It has nothing to do with the new truck-stop/casket store/KFC we built down by the highway... nothing at all. By game 40, they are what they are and if they ain't, then they aren't.

#89393	08/27/2022 4:10:02 am	May 31st, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Ah, fudge nuts. I wanted Gardner in the purple and black, Freddy.

#89398	08/27/2022 4:40:43 pm	Jun 3rd, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Rock, what the...??? http://brokenbat.org/game/4593838 I mean, in Diaz I have <85 SI rookie in my bullpen, too, and the machine somehow gives him the ball in pretty high leverage situations, but he doesn't have a hook that lets him give up 20 earned runs in two innings... I mean, yeah, the rest of the Haverhill staff didn't exactly shine in this game, either, but still. By the way has it ever been discussed why New London (Connecticut) is playing in the Western division? That seems to be slightly stretching my concept of the West.

#89399	08/27/2022 4:46:03 pm	Jun 3rd, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	LOL. He has a hook of two. But the game was already lost from the previous rookie pitching, so the coach left him in. Two rookie pitchers is a bad combo I believe New London was a specific request for a name change, and the team was already in the west.

#89403	08/28/2022 12:25:20 am	Jun 4th, 2056
electriceel883 Joined: 05/26/2021 Posts: 1505 Irvine Infernos III.3	Congrats. Missed Aikawa for the 2nd time

#89410	08/28/2022 10:47:51 am	Jun 4th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Thanks! We uh ... sorta forgot we had a claim on him. Might have pulled it. He would be a lot more useful to us if he were RH. Not that we mind LH, just have alot in the pen already. Lefties actually pretty good in the East. I bumped Morelli up to start against the Cubs, and will do the same today against Manhattan. I more series and the first 50 is wrapped up.

#89411	08/28/2022 10:52:37 am	Jun 4th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Haverhill usually fights through to the last week or so. I think this is the first time we are considering a rookie squad before the end of interleague... We have already been prioritizing next gen guys this season, and we have a good amount of them in, but still not getting pops Lots of stunting going on... Updated Sunday, August 28 2022 @ 10:53:38 am PDT

#89413	08/28/2022 12:37:57 pm	Jun 4th, 2056
electriceel883 Joined: 05/26/2021 Posts: 1505 Irvine Infernos III.3	Then by all means release him to teams that can make him more useful hee hee

#89416	08/28/2022 1:10:46 pm	Jun 4th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	There was a pretty good SS option last night. Not sure where he landed, but had some hopes he could become our next SS...

#89424	08/28/2022 4:15:52 pm	Jun 6th, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Seca, it's a bit weird to me that we seem to be struggling against lefty pitching this season. We had very balanced stats last season and have only improved on right-handed batters and switch hitters since then. We'll see. Curious to see how Aikawa will do. In my experience, high velocity and low change of speed is not a good combination.

#89434	08/29/2022 7:48:10 am	Jun 8th, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Fun little pickup in Love. Not exactly a cost-cutting move, but he should be about equal to Lucero defensively, is the same age und should bring an even stronger bat to the lineup. Thrilled to see how he will do. At the very least his higher baseline should keep him playable a year longer.

#89435	08/29/2022 9:22:27 am	Jun 8th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Love looks like an improvement defensively to me. That extra range can only be beneficial.

#89437	08/29/2022 2:22:34 pm	Jun 9th, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	In right field (and I have Abreu in left), I value arm just as high as range, which pretty much makes it a wash.

#89440	08/29/2022 3:37:48 pm	Jun 9th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I value range much higher than arm. So he would be an upgrade in my view

#89441	08/29/2022 4:57:33 pm	Jun 10th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Interleague approaching. Now that we are out of the cup (and probably the race for 4th), seems like a good time to take stock of our developing players. That bad news is that my veterans are preforming well... Haverhill Youth Development Report 3B Jake Fisher is our best prospect. Struggling a bit at the plate this season. Surprised to see him keep the HR pace up again this season. It will be a pleasant surprise if he can hit 15 per season consistently. 3B Carlos Vázquez has spent extra time in AAA trying to learn the position. Not wowing, but he's just a backup who isn't likely to play much anyhow. C Tian Jia was picked up to provide depth at Catcher as Ras is close to retirement. Not expecting much from him, but he might get some playing time if we duck out early. 1B Alejandro Padilla - Seems funny to have a 28 year old on the list, but hopefully he is still developing... Although he may have stunted Very weak performance, but has picked up a bit of late. Still not quite about .700 OPS. K/BB ratio improved, but HRs have been very sparse. If we don't see improvement soon, we might be trotting out another rookie from AAA to take his place. 1B/DH Marty Croft vLHP platoons tend to get AB starved. But overall he has shown progress from last season. Hoping he can improve more. Basically the mirror of Padilla in terms of BC/PD, and as I've seen before the higher BC seems to result in a bit more consistent play. 1B/LF/DH Jeffrey Nelson hasn't had a great year, but some numbers have improved (HR, GB/FB). Has proven highly incompetent at base stealing despite 17 speed... Overall not doing great, but I'm hoping he can get back on track... CF/LF Santiago Sierra - Picked up from Eden Prairie this season. Not really expecting a lot from this JAG, but he's had a good start. LF Antonio Arellano is Haverhill's only legitimate candidate for ROTY. He's never going to hit a HR if he doesn't start relaxing a bit more at the plate, but can't complain about his season so far. SP Forrest Shelton has been a huge disappointment. Seems to have stunted and his performance has taken a big step back. SP Marvin Stiles just missed out on RPOTY last season, and continues to perform well this season. If he can just stay on the field... I believe he has already had three injuries this season. LHS Peter Kee is performing as expected. Which isn't great, but maybe passable for a LHS? RP Jamie Healey is off to a rough start this season. But he is young and we are hoping he can do a little better in the long run. RP Francisco Valentín is a recent acquisition from the Bend Beavers. Not expecting much based on his minor league numbers, but he gets a shot in a rebuilding year.

#89448	08/30/2022 7:01:15 am	Jun 10th, 2056
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	@Rock - thumbs up : Fisher, Nelson, Croft, Arellano - WOW stats!!!: Stiles (what a strange build, NOBODY can take him deep!!) - Shelton wow..ouch! So tough to develop pitchers and get them innings, you'd like to think they'll at least come a little closer to potential SI! Those ones hurt..been there!! Quick team check in: 50 games down!! Good start for the Pistoleros. Our starting pitching has continued to be a problem but we are getting some solid innings from some of the younger guys. We were bounced from the cup yesterday by a heavy underdog, big disappointment but at least we can get 100% focused on inter-league play. notes: -4 keepers after four draft rounds has been great news -we continue to hit a few waivers which has resulted in lower payroll and a slightly younger roster -we need to get some AB's for Tubbs

#89449	08/30/2022 7:55:23 am	Jun 10th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Enjoyed the youth report! Aye Holmes, we're not sold on Aikawa. Obviously I'd like more cos, but the high vel / high control load out isn't one I'm confident in. His minors numbers were pretty good. Condolences on the cup Freddy. Best wishes to our last remaining representative. In Dino news, Suarez couldn't get going in the grey & purple. Heredia gets his job back for the rest of the week. If he doesn't do better we may go ahead and call up Mendez. Would be nice to offset his and Wynne's development. Claim for Waterloo. Seems an upgrade over my 3rd rounder. Cool he is Canadian. Used to carry a token Canadian, but it eventually just meant playing with a 49 man roster. He's from Truro. I've been there. Back when I played ball my team made Nationals one year. That tournament was in Nova Scotia. Wife and I made a vacation out of it. A good first 50 for Waterloo. A bit worried about our HR production. Have a very surprising 10 from Reid, otherwise most are below expectations. Will need to improve because our RISP won't hold.

#89451	08/30/2022 9:00:32 am	Jun 10th, 2056
El jefe Joined: 04/21/2017 Posts: 223 Urbana Cubs II.1	The first 50 results have significantly surpassed even my most optimistic expectations for the Cubs this season. Pitching has started to come around more recently which has been good timing since the bats are cooling down a bit. Similar to the Dinos, I don't expect the RISP to keep up, so I'll need Butler, Munson and one of Avila/Norris (or their replacements???) to pick things up. Cubs used to reap the benefits of interleague play but the last few seasons have seen them give up games in the standings, so we'll see how long this holds.

#89455	08/30/2022 8:45:09 pm	Jun 15th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	We get lots of stunties marching through Haverhill. Carroll looks quite well stunted as well. Was sad to see Wakefield stunt, but at least he was close. Can chalk it up to rounding. Hurts more with guys like O`Brien who you were projecting to be cornerstones of the team. I never really project Shelton above SP4/MR, so disappointing but less devastating that O'Brien Granted O'Brien was still very good, but not as dominating as I hoped.

#89459	08/31/2022 6:59:59 am	Jun 15th, 2056
El jefe Joined: 04/21/2017 Posts: 223 Urbana Cubs II.1	How dominating did you want?! That was a great career for O'Brien

#89460	08/31/2022 9:21:25 am	Jun 15th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	But just imagine how good he would have been with 1 more point of SI. Good start to inter for Waterloo. Got to see Tombstone's scuffling starting pitching up close. Still haven't really found their groove. Got some work to do to get back to their league leading 85 QS from a season ago. There is some unrest in the Dino front office. There is a faction that would like to move on from Herrera before pay day. Has blown 4 of his last 6 save attempts. He gets more than 10% of payroll. Tend to let guys pad their career stats, but hard to stomach blown saves. Have long planned for Landry to take over from Herrera, but might actually go with Nunez.

#89467	08/31/2022 4:05:34 pm	Jun 18th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Well I imagined him with 5 more SI. A bit unusually to see a guy stop developing at 25. I thought he could be a 40 HR per season hitter; instead he averaged high 20s... He was really just an above average 1B. 18 Hitting is fine for a "great hitter", but 15 Power isn't super impressive for a "prolific slugger." Like I said, a good player, but rough when he was supposed to be the superstar that the team builds around. Updated Thursday, September 1 2022 @ 1:40:35 pm PDT

#89471	09/01/2022 7:59:19 am	Jun 20th, 2056
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Got to see Tombstone's scuffling starting pitching up close. LOL..they'll make you feel good about the Dino's offense! It's a head scratcher but it is what it is and we really do not have many other options. More likely to get better than worse tho haha. BTW..5m is a lot for 50 innings a year! While I do not think Herrera is done yet, the decline has started but I also don't think you'll miss him too much having a lefty/righty combo of Nunez/Landry to step in. Nice to have two choices.

#89472	09/01/2022 2:12:28 pm	Jun 20th, 2056
El jefe Joined: 04/21/2017 Posts: 223 Urbana Cubs II.1	Do the Dinos lose another game in interleague play???? Asking for a friend........

#89478	09/02/2022 5:45:32 am	Jun 25th, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Pistoleros live up to their name by gunning out 4 Thunder runners at the plate alone during our 5-game set.

#89481	09/02/2022 10:11:41 am	Jun 25th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Ouch. Getting cut down on the base paths drives me bonkers. 5m is alot for 50 IP a year It is. Closers are more fun factor than necessity. Herrera converted 4 of his next 5 to hang on another week. Decent 5th rounder. Hoping he can elevate his swing a bit. Snappy update with 25 arrows. Happy to see Burns promote, tho would have been cool to see him get to 30 dingers. 2 injuries to SP means Mendez will be up for the week, maybe more. Updated Friday, September 2 2022 @ 10:12:21 am PDT

#89483	09/02/2022 10:40:38 am	Jun 25th, 2056
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Slightly misleading as 2 out of 3 of those were bases loaded situations (also frustrating as a few too many runners get thrown out at the plate on ground balls imo) and only 1 was an outfield assist. In a very brief search I missed the 4th out. I predict Mendez does well. I'd love to have a young lhp like that. Big update for Navarro . We have a lot of time invested and would love to see him develop into a 4th or 5th starter. He has 5 cup starts and 5 league starts now. His run support of almost 7 has given him some extra shots. Wilkerson will get the 5th spot if Navarro falters. Wilk has hit his pot 11 max this season and has performed well in limited opportunity. Welcome new call up Lara. He will get the #13 spot and maybe get a few innings of mop up duty until spring training next season.

#89498	09/04/2022 5:52:35 am	Jul 2nd, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Low control guys like Navarro always feel like a gamble. Manhattan's Slovak has made it work. Reasons for optimism. Pretty tough stretch for the Dinos - 4 of our 5 SP got injured in their most recent start. Andrew the most severe with a max length. So young Mendez won't be going anywhere for a while. Looked pretty good in his debut. Still leaves us a starter short for tonight's series. Not that keen to call up Plummer. Harvey moves from the East to the West. Maybe that will help his fortunes.

#89499	09/04/2022 6:31:56 am	Jul 2nd, 2056
El jefe Joined: 04/21/2017 Posts: 223 Urbana Cubs II.1	Lordy though @Seca, the Dinos have been smoking hot! Never did I think a 4 game lead would evaporate with a 12-8 start to interleague. Cubs are trying to get Bustos and his "forever young" offense more at-bats but don't want to tire the old guy out too much! Back to a closer-by-committee as well which has had OK results

#89502	09/05/2022 4:40:10 am	Jul 7th, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Hey guys, can't make up ground if the whole division is winning! Thanks in advance, PSF

#89505	09/06/2022 8:12:47 am	Jul 9th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Heh. Indeed. East has been taking care of business. Dinos feel fortunate to get through the Arcadia series with our rotation in tatters. Much better now. Just missing Andrew as we take on Brownsville tonight. Looking ahead to the AS game. Andrew's injury likely cost him a spot. Think the Dinos may have a few P. Expect White to get his first selection.

#89506	09/06/2022 4:47:35 pm	Jul 13th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm thinking Arroyo has a chance again this season. Other than that its pretty slim pickings for Haverhill A few platoons doing well (like Silinas & Howarth), but probably won't get in because they are platoons. I'm really happy with Stiles, but I suspect it isn't enough for an AS spot.

#89510	09/07/2022 4:55:34 am	Jul 14th, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Hm, in Manhattan Takahashi looks like the only fairly safe bet to make it to the All-Star game.

#89513	09/07/2022 6:29:13 am	Jul 14th, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	I'll be going down to NAPA later to look for a clutch, because this team did not come with one. RISP is 20 points lower than our team avg.

#89514	09/07/2022 7:28:27 am	Jul 14th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Maybe you should switch to an automatic? Definitely painful when your RISP sucks. Arroyo and Takahashi seem like locks. Takahashi's numbers have actually slipped a bit since I last checked. Might be mortal. Nice 1st halves from Silinas and Howarth. If the competition were leaner I could see them making it. 2B is tough. Santiago (Urb), Fernandez (Blo), Muniz (Man) all having good seasons. Think it may Kim (Man) at C. Expect White to go at SS and Kang to start for the East. Lovato should make the bench. Wallace might make the bench. Despite skating on thin ice Herrera leads the East in saves. May punch his ticket. Besides that ... our pitching has been very good, but with all the injuries we actually only have 1 SP with enough innings to qualify for ERA (Kang). Not sure what voters will do with guys like Andrew and Morelli.

#89515	09/07/2022 8:52:08 am	Jul 14th, 2056
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Hey guys, can't make up ground if the whole division is winning! Last season was the same but being on the "other side " of it comes with big opportunity to gain ground! re: ASG : We usually do not do too well with the asg ballots and this season should be no exception. Orta should make it but it is quite possible he will be the only one from the Pistoleros. Our pitching has improved recently but still poor starts all around. Pineda could get in due to his w/l record alone though.

#89522	09/07/2022 6:46:08 pm	Jul 16th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Looks like you called it Seca. Even got Morelli in. Not as challenging, but I called it too, Arroyo was our only rep

#89532	09/08/2022 4:18:56 am	Jul 16th, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	BB thinks highly of my Thunder player's performances so far. Glad I'm able to steer this collection of stars to 8 games back. I figured (P) Lorenzo, (2B) Fernandez, and (OF) Cameron and Tejada were our best shots. Our (SET) Karlsen, (OF) Ceballos, and (DH) Patten surprised.

#89534	09/08/2022 6:37:38 am	Jul 16th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Was surprised Wallace was a starter at 1B. Didn't have anyone in mind ahead of him, just figured there would be a 1B having a better season. Jarring to see Morelli make it. 0-4 with an 8.20 ERA in the cup against a group full of VI bots. 8-2 with a 2.07 ERA against very good league competition. Shrug The AS game itself showed why the Dinos are contemplating parting with Herrera. A good first half for Waterloo. Don't expect the same level of success in the 2nd. Our offense isn't great, and our defense has overachieved. Our pitching has been excellent, but there is a fair bit of smoke & mirrors to it.

#89535	09/08/2022 6:54:02 am	Jul 16th, 2056
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Orta made the All Star game but Pineda did not. Kilpatrick was a surprise so we still ended up with two players in the game and he even picked up the "W" in relief.

#89536	09/08/2022 4:58:40 pm	Jul 20th, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Lost a perfect 10-innings with 2 out in the 10th. https://brokenbat.org/game/4593915 Would have been only our second no-no and first perfect game. Darn you, Jonny!!!

#89540	09/09/2022 6:25:04 am	Jul 21st, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Pretty cool, even tho he didn't quite get there. Meant to mention it before, but Denver's (37 yr old) Polk threw a 1 hit gem against the Dinos before the AS break. Unfortunately the 1 hit was a dinger and the effort went for a loss. Waterloo opened the 2nd half with their first lost series during Inter. Orta was too much to handle. A solid 20 arrows in the update. O'Dell has been making steady progress this season despite being pinned to the bench. Still 2 more series before we get Andrew back. Be nice to get Heredia out of the rotation.

#89542	09/09/2022 6:58:26 am	Jul 21st, 2056
El jefe Joined: 04/21/2017 Posts: 223 Urbana Cubs II.1	I'm pretty surprised Santiago didn't make the ASG squad for the East given his strong offense and superb defense so far (only 1 error at 2B). Was hoping Frias would get there too since he's been incredible in the pen, but not unexpected with so many good options across the rest of the league. Maybe my biggest surprise was Butler getting a nod in the OF despite some mediocre counting numbers - he always finds a way! He must know somebody who knows somebody who will hurt somebody

#89547	09/09/2022 6:10:49 pm	Jul 23rd, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I think Seca mentioned there was very heavy competition at 2B this season. Both my 2B are fielding .993 this season with OPS north of .800. Howarth is sporting a .395 OBP and .864 OPS which is significantly above his norm.

#89553	09/12/2022 6:50:56 am	Aug 2nd, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I would have voted for Santiago, but expected Fernandez to get in. The voters / algorithm really likes batting average. It's why I was tepid about Wallace's chances. He was sub .300 at the AS break, figured there would be a .300 1B somewhere. A claim for Waterloo! Our first double digit win since 2054 off-season. LH relievers are not exactly an area of need, but always happy to welcome reinforcements. Andrew almost healthy, back up. Heredia down. 2nd season in a row we've done some head scratching over Heredia. Fortunate our latest kids are doing well. Best wishes to Manhattan in the cup tonight! Getting down to the short strokes.

#89554	09/12/2022 1:49:49 pm	Aug 2nd, 2056
El jefe Joined: 04/21/2017 Posts: 223 Urbana Cubs II.1	Way to play yourselves out of contention Cubs...that got out of hand quickly. Arcadia getting revenge for the League Championship sweep at the hands of the Cubs last season

#89559	09/13/2022 6:23:34 am	Aug 4th, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Already looking at our Tragic Number (56). If the Dino's keep up their pace, my Thunder will need to finish 54-11 while jumping two other clubs. Call-ups may come early this year. Get the clock ticking on '57.

#89560	09/13/2022 3:11:35 pm	Aug 6th, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	The league is looking pretty bleak for Manhattan, too. We're lucky if we don't drop back into the fight to survive. Surprise success in the round of 8 in the cup, though. Facing a legends team, with only more of the same to come. I wasn't optimistic, considering that going into the double header, every single Manhattan pitcher able to go multiple innings was either injured or at least lightly fatigued. It somehow worked out though, with a solid game one and a one-run win in the rubber game.

#89563	09/13/2022 7:05:13 pm	Aug 9th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Those were some exciting games. Abreu was money in the 3rd one. Couple eye rolly games today for Waterloo. Our pitching staff gave up 64 HRs in the first 95 games, and then a septet in game 96. Followed that up with 3 errors by my 18 fld no longer gold glove contending 3B in game 97. Wild. Liked all 3 of Bloomington's additions yesterday. Dinos had a claim on Gleason, but were at 50 after adding Vance. Wallace popped career HR #100 this past series. Nice little milestone.

#89565	09/14/2022 4:47:10 am	Aug 9th, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	We're all living our Cup dreams through Holmes. No pressure. Gleason and Dorsey aren't Thunder-like pitchers as far as HR's go, but worth a closer look. Choi has the "great" report and should be OF. K's are very worrisome, but at least the speed isn't completely wasted. It's August. Time to fill out the roster.

#89566	09/14/2022 9:15:48 am	Aug 9th, 2056
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Pistolero notes: With 10 tough games left to play we are 27-23 against the east. Pretty good any season but really good this season considering the strength of the east this year. Most of the west has struggled. Our starting pitching is giving me ptsd. Last 5 series we have been outscored in the first inning 28-5. That includes Haverhill who we outscored 2-1 in the first but then were hammered by a combined 15-0 in the second inning. So it feels like we've been outscored early by a 43-5 margin which can really get ya worried!! We finally won our first ever series against Haverhill but only due to a very improbable 8 run comeback in game 2 or we'd have lost the first three. We failed in the hunt this season to find a catcher to play against rhp. The Pistoleros said goodbye to veteran pitchers Torrez and Beattie today. Both exceeded expectations but will now make way for the multiple young arms that are ready to play. Veteran staff ace Cruz (34) has also announced he will not be resigning with the team next season. This, along with two new waiver wins recently, will leave us with 12 guys all now 30 and under, ready to go next season. Good luck to the Isotopes!! Getr done!

#89567	09/14/2022 11:23:08 am	Aug 9th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Was hoping to snag 3 in that series But congrats on the win. Didn't realize it was a milestone

#89568	09/14/2022 11:28:30 am	Aug 9th, 2056
El jefe Joined: 04/21/2017 Posts: 223 Urbana Cubs II.1	After a more-than-solid 17-13 start to interleague, the Cubs are on a downward spiral and now stand at 23-27 (losers of 9 of their last 10). In short, nothing is working but the pitching (both SP and RP) in particular has been a disaster when we need them most. Hopes of a surprise Legends promotion are now out-the-window, replaced by urgency to avoid relegation brought on by a surging Haverhill squad

#89570	09/14/2022 5:36:43 pm	Aug 13th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	To be fair, we haven't made up any ground on Manhattan nor Bloomington, so I don't think you could classify Haverhill as surging. Its kind of like when you put your car in reverse and it looks like the parked car behind you is moving forward

#89572	09/14/2022 9:00:48 pm	Aug 14th, 2056
bsmall84 Joined: 05/14/2015 Posts: 70 Inactive	Euclid went fighting for a Legends promotion to battling to stay in LL2. Euclid's offense has gone dry, I've shaken up the lineup. On the pitching, how do I have the best pitching in the division still after this disaster of interdivisional play. GL to all the rest of the season

#89573	09/14/2022 9:30:10 pm	Aug 14th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	You are playing Haverhill tomorrow. So a good opportunity to pick up a bunch of wins.

#89574	09/14/2022 10:00:12 pm	Aug 14th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	At this point in the season, Bloomington and Urbana look to have the best ballpark designs (strongest homefield advantage).

#89575	09/15/2022 4:22:48 am	Aug 14th, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	At this point in the season, Bloomington and Urbana look to have the best ballpark designs (strongest homefield advantage). Interesting(?) point to that: my field dimensions are dead-center of all the building options. My Thunder put together a nice mini run over the past few and still didn't make up any ground. Like the other 17 teams in places 2,3 & 4, we too have a watchful eye on the Halflings...

#89578	09/15/2022 6:44:55 am	Aug 14th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Nothing to see here

#89586	09/16/2022 4:29:22 am	Aug 19th, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Well, cross-divisional play is over with. I think I can speak for the East when I sarcastically say to the West, "Thanks a lot guys. Great job vs the Dino's." Let's take a deeper look: WEST Before: TSN 0GB EUC 0GB DEN 3GB BRW 5GB ARC 5GB NL 11GB After:(current position, games changed in standings, record) TSN (NC) 30-30 EUC -4 26-34 BRW -1 29-31 DEN -5 25-35 ARC -7 23-37 NL -18 12-48 EAST Before: URB 0GB WTL 4GB MAN 6GB BLO 7GB HAV 15GB ORL 22GB After:(current position, games changed in standings, record) WTL +11 42-18 URB -7 28-32 MAN -2 36-24 BLO -2 36-24 HAV -2 36-24 ORL -4 34-26 So here in the East, we all played so well and LOST games in the standings because SOMEBODY had to get red-hot. Not pointing fingers, but their mascot is an extinct reptile.

#89594	09/16/2022 3:45:46 pm	Aug 20th, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Oh yeah. A dominant series win against division leading Tombstone helped us in the end to at least get close to where we were before interdivisional play. And somehow I knew the cup round against Boulder wasn't going to end well.

#89595	09/16/2022 4:39:49 pm	Aug 21st, 2056
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	FWIW I'm genuinely surprised to have got past Manhattan, that offence is pretty intimidating!

#89602	09/17/2022 2:06:16 pm	Aug 21st, 2056
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, we have the best run differential in the leauge, which is kind of a recurring theme in Manhattan. A couple of seasons ago, we were demoted while sporting the best run differential in the division.

#89614	09/18/2022 4:31:09 pm	Aug 27th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Disappointed to see the 'Topes get bounced, but a great run. Manhattan is indeed the top offense in the league (by runs scored). Haverhill 2nd. Haverhill actually has the top fielding % of the 12 teams. 2 of 3 facets of the team have done really well. Thanks for the Inter summary PrivateSnowflake! Ya, the Dinos are on a good run. Been a season where it seems like someone has always been hot. Good update with 18 arrows. Berger ticketed for promotion. Think we'll wait till next season - already have 2 developing C on the roster (Wilson, Cintron). Will likely have to drop 1 of the 3 sometime. Edit: Good luck to Bloomington with Villanueva. A little surprised to see him land there, as his inability to limit the long ball got him run out of Waterloo. We intended to try him in the pen before giving up on him, but decided we have better options there. Sort of think he is done developing. Updated Sunday, September 18 2022 @ 4:35:12 pm PDT

#89615	09/18/2022 5:27:56 pm	Aug 29th, 2056
El jefe Joined: 04/21/2017 Posts: 223 Urbana Cubs II.1	@privatesnowflake, Urbana was 31-29 in interleague. Still pulling up the rear on the East standings but not under .500! ~~~~~~~~~~(edited) EAST Before: URB 0GB WTL 4GB MAN 6GB BLO 7GB HAV 15GB ORL 22GB After:(current position, games changed in standings, record) WTL +11 42-18 URB -7 31-29 MAN -2 36-24 BLO -2 36-24 HAV -2 36-24 ORL -4 34-26

#89619	09/19/2022 4:37:35 am	Aug 29th, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Edit: Good luck to Bloomington with Villanueva. A little surprised to see him land there, as his inability to limit the long ball got him run out of Waterloo. We intended to try him in the pen before giving up on him, but decided we have better options there. Sort of think he is done developing. I agree his EXP points are maxed out, but at this point of the season I have the room to see if I get a lucky training (minors) pop before spring ends. No harm, no foul. Btw, you served up our hind end on a platter that last series. Never have I equated "Waterloo" with "offensive juggernaut".

#89634	09/20/2022 7:10:23 am	Aug 31st, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Numbers that don't mean anything...unless they do! So my Thunder have always placed an emphasis on pitching. We don't really bring up that hot hitting prospect because well, we never draft one. I usually just fill in through FA and try to get on, get over, and get in. Not easy to string a bunch of hits together at this level, but you only get a couple shots at the draft, so pick your poison. So, in an effort to get more runs up on the board, I went from "neutral" baserunning to "++". Never tried it before. Now I know it's two different leagues, 10 different opponents, different lineups, (you get where I'm going), but just want to throw some un-scientific numbers out there. 2055 AB per run: 8.5 AB per 2B: 14.9 AB per 3B: 145.5 AB per RBI: 8.8 League ERA 4.66 2056 AB per run: 7.1 AB per 2B 14.8 AB per 3B 129.9 AB per RBI: 7.3 League ERA: 4.55! So far we're more efficient when it comes to scoring and xtra base hits. Not a good case study, but it did pique my interest. I say it's a slight bump, in the sense managers are a slight bump. Slight. Thoughts? Updated Tuesday, September 20 2022 @ 7:12:01 am PDT

#89636	09/20/2022 11:18:12 am	Aug 31st, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Bloomington has improved it's standing by 2 positions, so it seems reasonable your offense is better despite the league pitching putting up better stats. Ya, out-slugging our opponent is not our MO. Bloomington's bats got Chappell sent back to AAA. Frustrating couple of seasons for him. Opponent BA in the .160s, but 26% of the hits he surrenders leave the yard. Something he had under control earlier in his career. The deadline approacheth! Dinos usually add some fringe prospect for kicks, but think we will abstain this season. Have a full compliment of arms for spring training already. The final cup break is the last chance to set the rotation. Unfortunately for Waterloo the 2 teams we most want to feed lefties are back to back in the schedule.

#89638	09/20/2022 11:31:02 am	Aug 31st, 2056
electriceel883 Joined: 05/26/2021 Posts: 1505 Irvine Infernos III.3	If I may say so, really wasnt much there at the end this year. That being said, Bloomington did sign Nathan James, who was on the list of guys I was considering.

#89639	09/20/2022 11:49:59 am	Aug 31st, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Ya. The most interesting names on my watch list (to me) are cuts I made that didn't get picked up. Try to stay away from exs. We've been watching for a LHB RF. Not super confident Cockrell is going to give us enough offence. The Aussie that signed with Detroit the other day would have been ideal.

#89640	09/20/2022 12:20:56 pm	Aug 31st, 2056
electriceel883 Joined: 05/26/2021 Posts: 1505 Irvine Infernos III.3	Yea, that Aussie was a ridiculous a cut. I was hoping everyones roster was full. Acuna that I released, wouldnt be a horrible RF-L. Just happened to sign Padgett and decided to retain Ono over him. Light bat with moderate power, but potentially 17-19 PD. Updated Tuesday, September 20 2022 @ 12:33:31 pm PDT

#89644	09/21/2022 9:01:02 am	Sep 4th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	We like Cockrell better. Probably being a bit hard on him. It is just his first full season. The hope was that he'd be a 20 HR guy, and he's not that far off the pace. Dude is unconscious with runners in scoring position. A sign of the good fortune we've had this season - Herrera blew his 7th save last series, but has only been tagged with 1 loss. Been a year where even when things go bad we come out ok. Just 2 more nights of minor league ball. Always sad to see that end. Very much enjoy following the exploits of our prospects.

#89645	09/21/2022 12:04:06 pm	Sep 4th, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Just 2 more nights of minor league ball. Always sad to see that end. That Villanueva guy I picked up from you has already made 6 starts in 14 days. I bet he's looking froward to the end of the season. He keeps saying, "hielo, hielo!". But I don't speak Spanish.

#89647	09/22/2022 8:14:47 am	Sep 8th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. I had checked in on him. He's trying to make me look bad. Tough day for Waterloo yesterday. Not much went right. Chappell's demotion meant Landry got an opportunity to get out of the dog house. He's been in AAA exile since July. Second game back he faces 6 batters, they all reach, they all score. Seems it's a lost season for Mickey. At one point we thought he would take over the closer job from Herrera. Now we're wondering if he makes the 2057 roster.

#89655	09/23/2022 7:09:17 am	Sep 13th, 2056
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Tombstone update: The Pistoleros are on a 7 game win streak and play #2 Brownsville (4 game win streak) today. A win at home in this series could get us 10 games clear of the pack with 30 games to go. If swept we will still have lots of work to do. One more season in II might have been ideal for our current youth movement but we would still love to get to legends for the first time in franchise history! Big hope is to get a few more young arms some innings down the stretch. Decent training updates this season. (just a few pops behind The Dinos) Pineda -has anyone ever seen a "super stats" pot 9 make it out of the minors?? Not that this guy has super stats but some do, I think they drop off around AAA ball? Ready for prime time? Clifford Ferrari (called up today), Dom McNair (will come to the bigs if/when we clinch), Floyd Tubbs (recalled after a pretty good minors stint) Gone: Wade Barney, had been brought in to catch vs. rhp, Valenzuela: makes room for the Ferrari call up We now have only 1 pitcher on the roster over the age of 30. (33 yr Oscar Cruz)

#89658	09/23/2022 10:47:24 am	Sep 13th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Have no experience with guys like Pineda. We do like low pot adventures, but are utter snobs when it comes to hit skill scouting. I would suspect Pineda would plateau somewhere when his hit skill flattens out. Really like Ferrari. Going to try to start McNair? I've had no success with low control starters. Get to the 4th inning and they've already thrown 100 pitches. I'd be tempted to try him in the 'pen. Quiet training update for Waterloo. Expected, we've been really gaining well this season. The somber news was Berger getting the double whammy of red arrows. He was already an offensive C when he had 16 arm. His bat is really going to have to play now. Found an interesting 8th rounder. High vel guys who can keep the ball in the park can be something else. Small sample against weak competition, but if Stephenson can somewhat maintain those numbers we'll be happy to have him.

#89660	09/23/2022 1:09:08 pm	Sep 13th, 2056
electriceel883 Joined: 05/26/2021 Posts: 1505 Irvine Infernos III.3	Yea, its why I picked up Harrison. 121 IP in Prep, 1.56 GB rate. The kinds I avoid of any type are pitchers with a strong groundball rate who are still giving up homers. Even if its a respectable 1:9 that has no place to go but down in most instances.

#89670	09/26/2022 6:06:24 am	Sep 24th, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Not the most exciting final week in terms of races, but the West has one to watch. In the race to avoid relegation, only Euclid has to face division-leading Tombstone twice more. Denver gets New London (no offense), twice more.

#89672	09/26/2022 7:54:27 am	Sep 24th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Ya, slow time of the season. No minors. No waivers. Both Bloomington and Urbana had been quite hot, though the Thunder managed to take the series yesterday. Helped the struggling Dinos. Poor Kang can't get anyone out these days. Nice manager signing for Haverhill. Previous one was getting a little long in the tooth.

#89673	09/26/2022 8:36:53 am	Sep 24th, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Recently called-up and top SP prospect Gallagher recorded his first win...then went on the DL for 20 games. And speaking of runaway races, Manhattan's Shinji Takahashi is looking like the clear-cut MVP. He can win another MVP while having a "down" year. Holy cow. Or, holy crp. I guess both reactions are appropriate here. Updated Monday, September 26 2022 @ 8:48:07 am PDT*

#89684	09/26/2022 10:04:29 pm	Sep 28th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yep, been keeping an eye out for a replacement for a couple seasons now. He's not perfect, but look like a reasonable gamble. Its just such a huge headache looking for a decent manager. By far the least entertaining part of this game.

#89692	09/28/2022 5:54:53 pm	Oct 6th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I don't know how anyone can play this game and not think there is an underlying form variable that significantly impacts player performance. Dinos were 10.5 games up with 46 to go when the form fairy drove a cement truck loaded with nitro into Dino HQ. Since then we've been the team that got bounced in the cup by 5 VI bots. Yeesh. Ah well. Good news is that Wallace hit dinger #30 today. Dinos have never had someone get to 40. 30 is a big deal for us. That is the sum total of good news tho.

#89693	09/28/2022 6:50:10 pm	Oct 6th, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	You'll never convince me there isn't a "roll of the dice" that says if a player will play above, at, or below their "mean". In fact, I believe there is one at the beginning of the season and again at the ASG. The year we won Legends, we were in 5th place at the break. After the ASG, we literally couldn't lose, winning something along the lines of 70 of our final 90. Seriously. What changed? Everyone hit on their form roll, imo. That's why guys that should be meh have that one great season and guys that should dominate no matter the competition have down years. It's to add to the realism.

#89696	09/28/2022 8:13:31 pm	Oct 6th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Certainly feels that way. A lot... But RNG also works exactly the same way, so we can never really be sure End of the day regardless of the mechanic, sometimes guys just have horrible horrible seasons. I wish I could blame our season that... But really Haverhill is just plain horrible right now, LOL.

#89697	09/28/2022 8:16:20 pm	Oct 6th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	BTW, one other piece of good news for Waterloo. Urbana just played it last series again Haverhill. Halflings have been in rebuild mode since the end of interleague, so we have been giving out free wins to everyone No more Halfling freebees for Urbana, Waterloo still gets one more series LOL. I just noticed. Quite ironic. There wasn't actually a battle for 4th this season, but we still ended up in 5th behind Manhattan. LOL; seems to be our destiny any season we play with Manhattan. Updated Wednesday, September 28 2022 @ 8:20:32 pm PDT

#89702	09/29/2022 2:07:21 am	Oct 6th, 2056
electriceel883 Joined: 05/26/2021 Posts: 1505 Irvine Infernos III.3	Interesting that you say that PS. Johansen (each of his 3 seasons in V): crap in the 1st half, lights out in second seem quite supportive of him getting a bad roll in part 1 and a good one in part 2. Hodson, the only 20 hitter I have ever had, sometimes bats .270 and doesnt snap out of it. Other years he will hit normal to hot. Some guys will play every day some years and need to sit down others. For whatever the reason is.

#89707	09/30/2022 4:30:10 am	Oct 10th, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Well the Dino's said "No" to my Thunder's glimmer of hope in '56. Our local station was receiving calls to interrupt the game with showings of "Heidi". *Probably a dated reference

#89710	09/30/2022 6:20:37 am	Oct 10th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Haha! Guess sometimes you just have to complain. Was quite a different Waterloo squad on the field yesterday. (I know of the Heidi game, but it does predate me ). No more Halfling freebees for Urbana, Waterloo still gets one more series Heh. Haverhill did hang 8 runs on Kang in 3 innings last time we met. The remaining schedules for Waterloo and Urbana are quite similar; Haverhill & Manhattan for Waterloo compared to Orlando and Bloomington for Urbana. Plus the head to head. Last real training update of the season (nub in the final week). Not as raucous as we were hoping for; just 10 arrows. Very pleased to see Romano's hit skill still improving. Always nervous about "good" hitters. If he can figure out how to hit righties that would be even better. The other good news is Wynne got the green light. He's penciled in as the 5th starter next season. His season in AAA this year is making us cautiously optimistic about him. Kept the ball in the park better. Updated Friday, September 30 2022 @ 6:20:57 am PDT

#89711	09/30/2022 7:08:40 am	Oct 10th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	César Arce gets a call up to start for the short week. I'm not convinced he's really ready yet, but a little experience couldn't hurt him. Likely will start next season back in AAA.

#89714	09/30/2022 8:22:05 am	Oct 10th, 2056
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	The Heidi Bowl!! haha famous but it predates me too I'd be excited to get Wynn in there! Romano looks able to provide signif. power and be very useful vs. lhp but near as useful as a 20 speed guy should be!! (were his minor league SB's the result of a "++" setting?) @Rock I'd be super excited to see Arce pitching!! The Pistoleros dropped a little salary yesterday including our SS Persson , he will be missed. Some newly called up pitchers are getting innings and holding their own. Lara, Ferrari, Navarro are all auditioning for a roll on next year's team. Wilkinson has looked ok, but has hit his pot "limit". Will he break thru? Tubbs has re-entered the line up vs. rhp. Hopefully he has a little better showing this run. We need just one win to clinch the anemic west and send Tombstone to their first ever trip to legends. Tombstone fans would love to see it happen in rival Denver's park. Ced " And you really do love to see it. 🔥" Good luck to both teams chasing the pennant in the east. Quite a dominant year for both clubs.

#89716	09/30/2022 11:35:54 am	Oct 10th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	We'll see. Acre was drafted as a POT 16, and I could easily see him reporting out at POT 14 next season. His performance hasn't be great in the minors. I'm still optimistic, but likely not the game changer we hoped for when we drafted a POT 16 pitcher I think his movement is going to be lower than was scouted for one

#89723	10/01/2022 7:21:47 am	Oct 14th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Tough debut for Arce. Hard to tell much about a pitcher in his first season. Kang was a completely different guy his rookie year. I was wrong about Urbana and Waterloo having similar ending schedules. Last week Bloomington isn't remotely close to Manhattan. Dinos have gone 1-6 against the final 50 juggernaut version of the Cubs.

#89725	10/01/2022 7:29:37 am	Oct 14th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I was pretty happy with his outing. Never very hard on developing guys who still belong in AAA, especially when they have a bunch of developing guys in the field behind them 3 K / 1 BB is promising.

#89730	10/01/2022 2:04:02 pm	Oct 14th, 2056
El jefe Joined: 04/21/2017 Posts: 223 Urbana Cubs II.1	Gotta win the last 2 to have a chance! Good luck @seca

#89731	10/01/2022 3:21:37 pm	Oct 15th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Bummer... Couldn't even get in 3 games for Acre. Pulled hammy

#89735	10/01/2022 6:05:26 pm	Oct 18th, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Hate to see a long time owner disappear. Hope it was nothing bad... Denver vs Arcadia on the final day. Waterloo with four vs Manhattan while Urbana finishes with three vs new bot Orlando.

#89736	10/01/2022 6:12:23 pm	Oct 18th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yeah. Maybe just lost steam. Its very common coming off Legends, but I imagine it can be a bit demotivating when you demote two seasons in a row.

#89737	10/01/2022 10:19:01 pm	Oct 18th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I experimented with some ballpark settings I suspected would be bad for the Halfling squad. Figured this was a good season to test things out. Given Haverhill's Home/Away record, I'm declaring the test was successful

#89741	10/02/2022 6:21:12 am	Oct 18th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	The test was successful because your road record is better? I'm a little confused. Game 1 of the Waterloo - Urbana series was the one I thought we had the best chance of getting. Knocking Rains out after 1 IP meant a bullpen day. Raised our hopes going into game 2. But Peralta threw a CG 2 hitter nullifying any advantage from game 1. The Cubs have murdered our RHP all season, so didnt have high hopes for game 3. But Andrew kept the ball in the park, and the offense sequenced one of those 6 single strings. Was the outcome that makes today the most interesting. Waterloo is 8-8 vs. Manhattan this season. (6-4 first half, 2-4 second with a Tope sweep in the most recent meeting). A split is likely the best Waterloo can hope for. That would require the Cubs to drop one vs. Orlando or our RD to hold up for the Dinos to hang on. Cubs without Munson and Schmitt for game 1. They've gone 13-4 vs. the Orcas.

#89744	10/02/2022 8:24:26 am	Oct 18th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I suspected those settings would hurt my team's performance, and my hypothesis was proven true. Now I can do the opposite moving forward I always assumed that would be the case, but I wanted to see for myself if they would have the effect I imagined. Updated Sunday, October 2 2022 @ 8:25:46 am PDT

#89745	10/02/2022 8:53:06 am	Oct 18th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Orcas are being actively managed now (by the bot), so they might put up a bit more fight.

#89746	10/02/2022 10:44:25 am	Oct 18th, 2056
El jefe Joined: 04/21/2017 Posts: 223 Urbana Cubs II.1	Rains getting pummelled in the 1st hurt big time; knew it was a risk going on short rest but suck it up Bernie! Definitely need the sweep and the injuries will hurt. What a crazy 2 seasons it would be for the Cubs if we end up tying for the League title AGAIN and it comes down to RD. I was on the lucky end last season and promoted with 90 wins on RD so regardless I can't be disappointed with this season (outside of my intraleague domination not translating to interleague!) Probably the best season in Cubs history I'm predicting the Dinos take 3 of 4 and Cubs take 2 of 3 though so probably won't come down to the tiebreaker. Updated Sunday, October 2 2022 @ 10:45:19 am PDT

#89749	10/02/2022 4:24:45 pm	Oct 20th, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I'm much better at predictions than you. Still 1 to play, but its over. Cubs don't just sweep the bot, they obliterate them to the tune of +19. With Manhattan curb stomping Waterloo in game 3 the +13 RD we had at the start of thr day is long gone. All good. Second place is what we do. I didn't want to take our tiny bars to Legends anyway. Am disappointed not to get a playoff series against Freddy.

#89750	10/02/2022 4:35:38 pm	Oct 20th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Antonio Arellano had a really nice rookie season. Not sure if it will get him ROTY, but should get him a few votes at least. Marty Croft also had a good showing for his first real season. But I think I made him ineligible last season (mostly sitting the bench).

#89753	10/02/2022 5:28:35 pm	Oct 22nd, 2056
El jefe Joined: 04/21/2017 Posts: 223 Urbana Cubs II.1	Oh my! Those last 3 innings against Orlando will go down in Urbana lore. Can't believe I'm onto Legends for the first time; honestly thought it would never happen with how much I toiled in the lower levels. So pleased with how my team played going 70-30 against the East, especially these last 40 games. Congrats to Seca on a great season as well

#89754	10/02/2022 5:30:46 pm	Oct 22nd, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Wow. Just...wow. A perfect storm. Congrats to Freddy and Jefe on your division crowns.

#89755	10/02/2022 7:21:43 pm	Oct 22nd, 2056
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	70-30 against the East 18-2 vs. Haverhill 17-3 vs. Orlando Shredded the pink. Will be parting ways with Herrera. Sort of feel like we should keep him on the roster to give him a chance at all-league. Sucks awards are determined after paychecks are printed. He's a long shot at best. Probably doesn't get paid. Awards: MVP: Tak (Man) over Orta (Tom) Cy: Morelli (Wat) over Poulin (Den) ROTY: Arellano (Hav) over Cantu (Urb) RPOTY: Mendez (Wat) over Borges (Blo) MVP will be alot closer than it should be. Morelli doesn't have the IP some other top P have which might hurt him. Rookie isn't close. Biased, but I think a noticeabley better ERA should put Mendez ahead despite Borges racking up quite a few more IP.

#89756	10/02/2022 7:45:13 pm	Oct 22nd, 2056
El jefe Joined: 04/21/2017 Posts: 223 Urbana Cubs II.1	Hey now, not just the pink! Manhattan was the only team that was able to muster a .500 result vs the Cubs this season. 18-2 vs Haverhill 16-4 vs Orlando 13-7 vs Waterloo 13-7 vs Bloomington 10-10 vs Manhattan I'm hoping Santiago can pick up some awards/hardware but probably not enough ABs since he doesn't play vs lefties. Maybe Ochoa can muster his way into the Top 5 of MVP with the HR/RBI combo though. The game engine seems to love Butler (a lot of surprising AS selections) so he's a possibility for all-league after his career year.

#89768	10/04/2022 9:33:19 am	Oct 26th, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Congrats to Urbana, Tombstone, Denver, New London, Haverhill, and Orlando for promoting to new leagues! Condolences to Brownville, Euclid, Arcadia, Waterloo, Bloomington, and Manhattan who are stuck living static and unchanging existences :p Special condolences to Waterloo for a tough loss in the final series. Updated Tuesday, October 4 2022 @ 9:33:40 am PDT

#89772	10/05/2022 11:34:09 am	Oct 30th, 2056
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	@ El jefe : Good luck today and congrats on a great season either way.

#89773	10/05/2022 3:37:01 pm	Nov 2nd, 2056
El jefe Joined: 04/21/2017 Posts: 223 Urbana Cubs II.1	Thank you and you too on a great season. That was an exciting Game 7, just too bad (for me) that the lineup didn't come through with guys on base. Congrats on the League title!

#89777	10/05/2022 5:04:44 pm	Nov 2nd, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Well heck, guys. That was an exciting series. Congrats to you both!

#89786	10/06/2022 11:04:39 am	Nov 2nd, 2056
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Good luck to everyone who is moving on next season. The forum won't be the same... II.1 will be adding a long-time owner, a new owner, and two veteran owners, plus whoever drops down.

#89792	10/06/2022 5:33:28 pm	Nov 2nd, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yes good luck to everyone now that you are no longer my enemies :P Well with the exception of one West team that is

#89794	10/06/2022 7:32:04 pm	Nov 2nd, 2056
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	thx Seca, Rock, P.S., Ej @ El jefe : tough ask to beat our #1 and #2 pitchers at home in the final two games but you almost did it. Clearly your team deserved game 7. Fitting end to a season dominated by the west!! kidding of course.. Tough to be in II.1 east atm. I have to wonder if my team could have stayed out of a relegation spot. Any div with the Isotopes in 4th is awfully tough. (they are a +192 runs team!!) You guys may be sorting this out for a few seasons yet.

#89812	10/07/2022 11:14:19 am	Nov 2nd, 2056
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	In my experience the Isotopes are always in fourth. And the Halfling always finish one spot behind the Isotopes... :<

#89816	10/07/2022 3:10:55 pm	Nov 2nd, 2056
FreddyThe2nd Joined: 06/08/2020 Posts: 163 Tombstone Pistoleros II.2	Congrats to the award winners (and those who picked/predicted perfectly!) Good luck next season guys. It's been a fun two seasons, see you all soon and thanks for the banter.

#89827	10/08/2022 11:50:03 am	Jan 13th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. No surprises for the big stuff. We were really surprised White got the gold glove over Cuellar at SS. Hard to justify unless Tavon had way more fielding chances. (Can't mouseover on tablet). We gave Herrera another half million paycheck to see if he could sneak All-league. Worked out. He had a very nice career for Waterloo. Nunez (who was a surprise at #3 in Cy voting) will get first crack at closing in '57. Morelli and Mendez getting hardware was evidence of how hard Waterloo highrolled last season (Mendez celebrated by dropping from 13 to 12 pot in update #0). Really happy to be back in II.1 again this season. Will have a rookie 5th starter (Wynne) and a rookie 3B (Lemus).

#89834	10/09/2022 7:44:59 am	Jan 13th, 2057
Vanity Joined: 11/04/2015 Posts: 33 Arlington Angels VI.2	Hey guys, finally made it to Div II ball. Yay! That said, a good portion of my team come to training camp in wheel chairs! 38 and 37 year old pitchers still on staff, 35 and 36 year old power hitters. Lots to work on if I want to stay at this level, lets see what kind of magic the Angels can pull off.

#89864	10/12/2022 4:50:45 am	Jan 22nd, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Off-season waivers through the years: 2025: I can't wait to add a few good position players and a starting pitcher! I'm going to turn my team around quick! 2037: Why do you fools get so excited by waivers? It's a couple top-tier guys and some filler. The good stuff is throughout the season. 2057: You know, if this 12 arm, "Good" hitting catcher can hit .220, he may have a home with me. Sigh I wish there was some filler material.

#89867	10/12/2022 6:43:42 am	Jan 22nd, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Ya. Dinos haven't put any claims out this season. Haven't seen any interesting lottery tickets, and don't want 33+ bandaids. Welcome Vanity! Nice to see you (and not because Waterloo and Arlington have a Manhattan-Haverhill style relationship). Some older guys means I still know some of your roster! Cool to see Bechtel still plugging away.

#89868	10/12/2022 10:42:22 am	Jan 28th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	21 claimer. Wasn't confident in 34yo Fernandez repeating his All-Star success at the keystone from a year ago. Porter won't be a threat with the bat, but my Thunder never are. If nothing else, I get two SS builds in the middle of the infield to start the season. Current range aggregate of 14.875 (minus the P) is the highest I can remember (I really believe in range). Should help my young P's. And hello to Arlington, Santa Cruz, Edmond and Pearland who I don't believe I've met yet (current owners anyway). Good to see EP and Detroit again, although I'm sure you'd prefer it to NOT be in LL2 Updated Wednesday, October 12 2022 @ 10:49:34 am PDT

#89873	10/13/2022 4:28:01 am	Feb 5th, 2057
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Sorry, folks, couldn't be active for a while, mostly for work reasons. Glad to still have the people around who are still around, although I feel bad for Seca, given the close call.

#89876	10/13/2022 5:40:10 pm	Feb 18th, 2057
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Nothing personal. But I'm just happy to not be in the same league as the Isotopes :P Haverhill has only demoted 6 times in my tenure. 2028(Legends) Halflings 5th, Isotopes 4th 2030(Legends) Halflings 5th, Isotopes 4th 2035(II.1) Halflings 5th, Isotopes 4th 2038(II.1) Halflings 5th, Isotopes 4th 2042(II.1) Halflings 5th, Isotopes 3rd! 2056(II.1) Halflings 5th, Isotopes 4th

#89893	10/15/2022 4:50:33 pm	Mar 4th, 2057
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	OMG, sorry, Rock! 8-O I just noticed that being absent cost me the initial round of claims. Just what I needed... Updated Saturday, October 15 2022 @ 4:51:06 pm PDT

#89895	10/15/2022 5:10:20 pm	Mar 4th, 2057
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm root for you to get to Legends, so that you can eventually go over to the other side of the pyramid 😛

#89908	10/17/2022 12:55:10 pm	Mar 6th, 2057
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	What I can say is that we generally finish 4th quite often - 11 times in the last 30 seasons. The reason is probably that when I know I'll neither win nor demote, I tend to play the kids quite a lot. Not last season, though; I simply wasn't online.

#89909	10/17/2022 9:34:30 pm	Mar 8th, 2057
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	And half of those 11 were with Haverhill nipping at your heels I think this last season is the first time we weren't fighting tooth and nail for 4th. I have actually managed to win 4th once or twice in our battles... but for the most part I lose out. This season was a blowout, but it was fun to see we were still coming in right behind Isotopes. Keeps the curse alive It's probably the size difference. Haverhill does better as Davids :p Updated Monday, October 17 2022 @ 9:38:46 pm PDT

#89910	10/18/2022 5:48:37 am	Mar 8th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Alright everybody settle down! It's here. It's finally here. Even with the price of diesel so high, it doesn't take much to get the 'ol Apple II going. If you don't know, each year I take all of your team data and feed it into my now 45 year old Wozniak computer and after a brief period of twenty minutes, the green screen comes to life, revealing just how well you've done in putting your club together for 2057. Once computed, I print the numbers out on some sweet dot-matrix paper and after tearing off the tabs (because it beckons me to), I use the printed standings as bedding for my chicken coup. Then I'll just take a stab at where I think everyone will finish this season. I'm always right. So let's get ready to hand out the awards and look forward to 2058, because this season is over. West Hitter Ratings Det 193.35 Pea 189.56 Brw 182.04 (interesting facts about Browsville are...) Arl 177.02 Euc 169.81 SC 169.33 West Pitching Ratings Euc 168.99 Arl 166.75 Det 166.40 Pea 161.95 (home of Megan T. Stallion, famous horse trainer I suppose) SC 159.32 Brw 156.40 West Predicted Order of Finish Det Pea Brw Arl Euc SC Congratulations to Detroit! Good luck in Legends next year! East Hitting Ratings Man 189.06 Arl 176.55 Edm 173.25 (arts and culture entry begins with: "The city of Edmond is making efforts..." so that's a "NO") Blo 169.15 Epr 168.58 Wat 163.51 East Pitcher Ratings Blo 172.86 Man 168.80 (named for Manhattan, KS., I think) Edm 167.54 Epr 149.84 Arl 148.19 Wat 144.30 (whaa??) East Predicted Order of Finish Man Blo Edm Arl Epr Wat Fine, Manhattan. Just go. I'm not crying, you're crying. Welp, that's that gang! Steve will be handing out the hardware any minute now. Championship Series guess: Det over Man in 7 games.

#89911	10/19/2022 12:12:00 am	Mar 10th, 2057
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Poor Waterloo, from losing by RD to an undebatable demotion. RIP Seca Although for what its worth, I think Private's chickens are racist, sexist and thanatophobiacal zombies.

#89914	10/19/2022 4:37:01 am	Mar 10th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Something about sexy chickens that don't fear death is all I took from that Updated Wednesday, October 19 2022 @ 4:38:27 am PDT

#89915	10/19/2022 4:57:46 am	Mar 10th, 2057
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	May I remind everyone that the Private had Manhattan winning the division my a mile last season? We ended up finishing fourth and have only gotten older since then.

#89917	10/19/2022 10:51:28 am	Mar 10th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	infallible /ɪnˈfæləbəl/ adjective 1: not capable of being wrong or making mistakes : not fallible 2: certain to work properly or succeed

#89918	10/19/2022 10:54:06 am	Mar 10th, 2057
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	lol

#89921	10/19/2022 5:37:18 pm	Mar 12th, 2057
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm pretty sure last season was the first time Private didn't predict me to demote... I knew I was in trouble right then and there

#89924	10/20/2022 6:55:10 pm	Mar 14th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Seems Waterloo is the Rodney Dangerfield of the division. IIRC last season our pitching ranked 11th and we were projected for 5th. One of the more tedious offseasons I've had. Didn't make a single claim. Lost interest in spring training after the first series. Not sure what we are doing with our 1st round pick. Have hit the pitcher pool 3 of the past 4 seasons.

#89942	10/21/2022 11:17:05 am	Mar 14th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	My Thunder did go pitching (again). 3rd straight 16 pot #1 pick. That's how #1 picks should go in BB. Weight the higher pot prospects to get them to rise to the top. But that's a rant for another day. Edit: East clubs did well on the pitching front (Bird & Frost) and Eden Prairie found themselves a SS! Updated Friday, October 21 2022 @ 11:21:32 am PDT

#89943	10/21/2022 11:24:23 am	Mar 14th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	How many 16s do you think are in the pool each year? If they are weighted to show first, won't the early birds scoop them all? A good training update for Waterloo. 34 arrows (including 4 from our very good 1st rounder). The big news was a promotion for Beall. We expected him this season, tho not update #1. He has been wearing a CF-of-the-future t-shirt. Not sure what the plan is. He could platoon with Huerta. He could get the full-time job. He could end up back in AAA after the cup. (Think the 1st option is most likely).

#89944	10/21/2022 11:44:57 am	Mar 14th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	I don't know that they're weighted, but I assume they are, otherwise we'd see more (some?) stories of late round super picks (other than in '41). I would guess there are more 15/16's than we realize. As long as I've been doing my pre-season rankings (and POT does come into play), I've seen a lot of rosters with players over 120SI. Even if there are 2-3 in a league, that's 63 leagues. And I would say that number is even higher. Edit: And you know as well as anyone high potential doesn't equal success. I would drop 14 POT pitchers Howell and Bianchi off my ML roster today if I had replacements I was thisclose to dropping Bianchi this morning for the 97SI, 31yo I have stashed in the minors! But that 14 mocks me! Updated Friday, October 21 2022 @ 11:49:33 am PDT

#89946	10/21/2022 6:30:27 pm	Mar 16th, 2057
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I don't think they are weighted. I've had far too many first round boards where my highest POT was 11 or 12 (even when picking right at the start). I think its just that everyone picks them up when they see them, so they get filtered down to only a handful after a few rounds. I wish they were weighted. I had previously suggested Steve pull out the top 756 POT players and distribute one to every team's draft board for the first round. Kind of creating two pools, and guaranteeing at least one high POT player for every 1st round board. But he didn't take that suggestion. Maybe concerned it would drain the pool too quickly and make later rounds more boring. Updated Friday, October 21 2022 @ 6:38:08 pm PDT

#89947	10/21/2022 7:04:19 pm	Mar 16th, 2057
electriceel883 Joined: 05/26/2021 Posts: 1505 Irvine Infernos III.3	@PrivateSnowflake Shanks says hello

#89954	10/22/2022 3:47:56 pm	Mar 17th, 2057
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	With 10 picks per player and round, higher potentials don't have to be weighted to be mostly gone after the first round. Before the current draft system was established, I was lobbying for making the later rounds more interesting, but unfortunately, Steve went the exact opposite way. Between my sick mother, work and my stepdaughter's birthday, I missed the start of the first round by a day and a half, and as I expected ended up with a thoroughly mediocre selection. I guess I'm just not active enough anymore to be really successful.

#89955	10/22/2022 3:50:40 pm	Mar 17th, 2057
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	And, PS, don't misunderstand me please. I really look forward to seeing your projections when a season starts, enjoying the privilege to be in the same league with you. I just wanted to say that your system overestimated the Isos last season and I think it overestimates them again.

#89958	10/23/2022 3:00:07 pm	Mar 19th, 2057
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	@Holmes - If it makes you feel any better, I've had 1st round boards topping off at 11 POT when pulling a board only seconds after the economic update. Timing has some impact, but RNG has a LOT of impact on the draft. I had also suggested Steve keep out some high POT guys to sprinkle in later in the season (to ensure sleepers). Updated Sunday, October 23 2022 @ 3:01:29 pm PDT

#89963	10/23/2022 6:32:37 pm	Mar 20th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Always thankful when spring training ends. I checked out after the 2nd series, but it appears we had one of our better springs (19-11). Of note, Beall finished with 4 digit OPS, Romano hit RHP a little bit, and Mendez still had his RPotY form. Last season Dinos had a pretty strong cup squad and a group with 5 VI teams (4 bots). Still couldn't get to 12 wins. So we have no delusions this season. Weaker squad (2 rookie SP for cup), stronger group.

#89966	10/24/2022 4:39:24 am	Mar 20th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	No worries, Holmes. The projections are all for fun. Just a way to get the board talking during the down time. Take care of momma. @Rock: You echo my thoughts. The first round should be first round "worthy". Nobody in MLB is drafting low potential guys in the 1st round, why are we? And for established clubs, the latter rounds in the draft is akin to walking into a strip club on a Tuesday afternoon. Eww. No.

#89969	10/24/2022 8:01:18 am	Mar 20th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Nobody in MLB is drafting low potential guys in the 1st round, why are we? I'd argue only the first 4-5 players in the MLB draft equate to 15s and 16s. The odd one sneaks through and lasts a little longer. Last year the Jays got Gunnar Hoglund at #19. He's projected to be a #3 or #4 SP. That's like a 13 pot. There are lots of 1st round misses too. MLB draft is the biggest crap shoot of the big sports. The Blue Jays had 16 first round + supplemental picks between 2011 and 2017 - only Marcus Stroman was good. Attempting to assign quality in the draft always runs into the same problem here. In real life the bad teams get the good picks. How do you determine a bad team here? Is the 6th place team in Legends a bad team? Is a first place V team a good team? It's impossible to determine. Even if you could ... now you reward tanking. And you make the draft less fun for your established teams (since they are likely to be good teams and get lower quality). So random is used instead. It sucks when you get the short end of the stick, but things will eventually even out (to a degree, early bird bonus).

#89970	10/24/2022 2:39:24 pm	Mar 20th, 2057
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I suspect that many of the POT "15s" and "16s" we draft are really POT "14s" in disguise. I also think "worthy" is a bit subjective based on each team's draft history. Haverhill is physicked just to get a POT 13 on our 1st round board It be nice to guarantee at least someone of that POT level. And plenty of POT 13s and 14s turn out to be duds in the long run. So you still get plenty of failures with "high" POTs. That is why I was suggesting the top 756. Could even just be a random selection of the top 1000. Everyone gets one random player from the "good" pool, and 9 random players from the "rest". And when half the bot/abandoned teams don't make first round picks, the remainder go back into the main pool for the 2nd round. Still be good players in the "rest", still be duds in the "good" pool. But at least you wouldn't be getting a 1st round board full of POT 9 - 11s. Updated Monday, October 24 2022 @ 2:43:24 pm PDT

#89977	10/25/2022 5:39:25 am	Mar 25th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	My Thunder get their first look at Arlington tonight. We're on the road in that corn silo of a stadium they have down there.

#89978	10/25/2022 6:30:06 am	Mar 25th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	That is why I was suggesting the top 756. How do you decide which players are the top 756? Or top 1000? Potential? I don't see what it solves. The manager who gets player #1000 on his list is still going to be miffed. Grats to Eden Prairie on Paris. Dinos were the other claim. We were surprised he got a couple hours from the deadline with only Waterloo interested. We didn't really need him. A lack of confidence in Cockrell motivated the claim. Hoping Robert shows a little more pop this season. Season is finally here! Dino callups have been made. We have 2 rookie position players in Lemus and Beall. Both are starting out as the short side of a shared position, but could see more action based on their play. 2 rookie pitchers as well. Wynne gets the nod initially as the 5th starter. Plummer was supposed to be shuttled back to AAA after the cup, but Bowers was so rancid in Cup play he got put on the bus instead. That's it for roster additions. One significant role change - new closer Nunez. Dinos had a high roll season last year. 1st out of 12 in pitching (ERA), 1st out of 12 in defense (team errors), 4th out of 12 in offense (runs). That was buoyed by an out-of-nowhere Cy by Morelli, and a somewhat surprising RPotY by Mendez. Expecting a step back this season (maybe not to 12th). The offense, as Privatesnowflake noted, is fragile and basically just the Lovato and Wallace show. Morelli and Mendez will likely prove mortal. Reasons for optimism tho. The Dinos start the season with 4 LH SP (not by design, just how things have worked out). Only 2 of our 11 opponents this season performed better vs. LHP last season (Eden Prairie, Pearland).

#89979	10/25/2022 9:08:13 am	Mar 25th, 2057
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yep, Potential. I wish I could get the #1000 ranked POT guy on my board. Most of the time my best guy is probably #3000 ranked POT. I would rather have a dud POT 14 on my 1st board than a dud POT 11. At least it feels like a legitimate bust than stupid scouts. And you are going to have fewer busts with those players than you do when you open it up to the whole pool. Additionally, you guarantee a more equal spread of talent. I remember Raven pulled a board with 3 POT 16 once. That wouldn't happen if those guys were split up for the first round. They would each appear on at most 1 board. Also helps address the draft glitch where you can lose a player immediately after pulling your board since those guys are guaranteed not to show on another board. It doesn't make things perfect, it just makes things a lot better. Updated Tuesday, October 25 2022 @ 9:10:49 am PDT

#89985	10/26/2022 4:03:03 am	Mar 30th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	I would rather have a dud POT 14 on my 1st board than a dud POT 11. At least it feels like a legitimate bust than stupid scouts. x2

#89986	10/26/2022 4:11:33 am	Mar 30th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Too early MVP projections: Shinji Takashi (MAN) .545avg/213HR/480RBI Ruben Perez (BLO) .462avg/267HR/427RBI

#89987	10/26/2022 5:58:05 am	Mar 30th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. Going out on a limb with the Takahashi prediction. Big start from Perez. Exciting young player. Dinos start the season on the right foot taking 3 of 4 from Edmond. This despite batting a buck 89 with runners in scoring position. A very nice debut from Beall. Doubles in his first 2 ABs, goes 2/4 with 3 RBI and a PotG. Already lobbying for more playing time. Landry may be looking for work sooner than later. Spent all last season in the doghouse. Needs to get it together.

#89995	10/27/2022 7:46:49 am	Apr 3rd, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	A good day yesterday for Dino bats, and a great day for the kids. Lemus goes 3/5 with 2 HRs and 6 RBI in game 1. 5 games into the season, and both our rookie position players have already got a PotG. Awesome. Lemus' game overshadowed a nice debut by Wynne. Dinos get the Thunder today. Hopefully slow down league dinger leader Perez.

#89996	10/27/2022 1:29:14 pm	Apr 3rd, 2057
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	The years of bad drafting finally caught up to us. We don't have any pitching right now. Hitting will probably end up being mediocre, not enough to out hit any problems we have in pitching. 6 games in, we pulled our starter in the first inning twice, second inning twice, and no quality starts so far. This looks like a very long season again.

#89999	10/28/2022 3:49:54 am	Apr 7th, 2057
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	The one thing I would change about the draft is make the lists shorter again. Yeah, even more of a chance to have a terrible first round selection, but it would help keep things interesting beyond round 2.

#90000	10/28/2022 3:51:27 am	Apr 7th, 2057
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	The last three seasons, I have made only one draft each season after round 4. In the other cases, nobody was even worth looking at them.

#90009	10/28/2022 2:16:30 pm	Apr 7th, 2057
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	It shouldn't be common to have good late round picks. That is why sleepers are exciting. Not that he is particularly good, but I still have my 8th round pick from 2051. I remember someone once pulled a POT 16 in the 8th round. If we wanted more sleepers, that is easy. Just reserve a few players into a "sleeper" pool that releases slowly into the main pool throughout the season. Updated Friday, October 28 2022 @ 2:17:21 pm PDT

#90014	10/29/2022 6:55:17 am	Apr 10th, 2057
Vanity Joined: 11/04/2015 Posts: 33 Arlington Angels VI.2	Arlington needed a catcher in the minors, 2nd round got this POT 16 guy. https://brokenbat.org/player/321137 We were happy.

#90021	10/29/2022 5:33:33 pm	Apr 14th, 2057
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	It shouldn't be common to have good late round picks. Why not? It used to be one of the things that kept the game at least a little bit interesting later in the season if you were not competitive for the division title and (like 99% of all teams) eliminated from the cup. One could in principle achieve that part by moving the first draft round later in the season, too, of course. Now it comes at a time when all kinds of things are happening in the game. But you'd still have the problem that if you're unlucky in the first two rounds, your draft season is basically done. Updated Saturday, October 29 2022 @ 5:34:07 pm PDT

#90022	10/29/2022 8:26:22 pm	Apr 14th, 2057
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Because that is how it is in the real world. Besides, what are you going to do with 8 new rookies every season. Better to actually let everyone get a good player once in a while, rather than a few lucky teams who are rolling double 6s. Besides, you can still pull a good sleeper in the 8th round. I always draft all the way through to the 8th round. If it was common to draft high POT players in the late rounds, that would make it less exciting. Plus the high POT players would be garbage since everyone is constantly drafting them anyhow. Updated Saturday, October 29 2022 @ 8:28:00 pm PDT

#90023	10/30/2022 11:57:44 am	Apr 14th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Dinos continue our good start with a split against Bloomington and a series win vs. Arlington. Both hard fought. Pitching and defense have been very good. Hitting a concern. We are temporarily at the top of the East OPS list, but much of that was in one series. There is a category Dinos always have a knack for. Unearned runs. No different this season. Dinos have made only 2 errors, yet have 7 unearned runs allowed. Bloomington and Manhattan both have 9 errors committed, but fewer unearned runs. Shrug. Edit: We whiffed Paris again. Seems he doesn't want to play in Iowa. Updated Sunday, October 30 2022 @ 3:26:11 pm PDT

#90031	10/31/2022 4:56:21 am	Apr 18th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Hitters in the East are struggling up and down the rosters. Do we attribute that to the cooler weather? Side note: the 'ol Apple II is really nailing the current league standings. /s

#90038	11/01/2022 9:04:36 am	Apr 21st, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Ya. And when I say "Dino offense" I really just mean Wallace. He looked a little better in the Manhattan series. Good first loop for Waterloo. So far the LHP is holding up. Frustrating cup series yesterday. In round 2 we took on the undefeated group leader, a strong III team, and managed to take 3 of 4. Yesterday we took on the group laggard, a 1-7 VI team, and lost 3 of 4. Really like the Grey signing. Missed him. Would have made a claim if I saw him. Been rather discouraged with the market and haven't been combing the lists as thoroughly lately.

#90039	11/01/2022 11:11:11 am	Apr 21st, 2057
electriceel883 Joined: 05/26/2021 Posts: 1505 Irvine Infernos III.3	Claimed him too, though the last thing I need is more pitchers. Thats how strong a prospect I think he is

#90050	11/02/2022 12:01:44 am	Apr 25th, 2057
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	I feel that every game we played so far are a hitting practice for the other team, but we also have a team ERA of 6.20. Other than Manhattan's 4.51, every team has a team ERA under 4. Maybe everyone needs to play us more to get out of any hitting slump you may have. I think the last time someone like the prospect who we picked up was Park. Hopefully Grey can be better than that (or Park can just hit better and hold down a starting job). We need any pitching help we can get at the moment. I used to think that middle infielders are harder to get, but now I find that starters are harder to find. Every team needs at least 4, and it's less likely for anyone to drop them with the fluctuating potential now. We also need to figure out which of our five young pitchers with 7+ career ERA (Brickman, Prado, Hartanto, Norris, Cornejo) is actually worth keeping. I tend to make some bad calls in these situations before. Coming into this season, I thought Brickman might be alright and Hartanto might be a longer term project. The results so far are not exactly what I expected. I think I almost rage cut all of them at some point this season except for Prado.

#90053	11/02/2022 8:44:23 am	Apr 25th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	I like Brickman and Prado. Cornholio would get a real long leash because of his K:BB, but his current HR rate wouldn't cut it in Bloomington. He's your Aroldis Chapman.

#90058	11/03/2022 6:38:15 am	Apr 29th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Also like Brickman. Would give him lots of rope. Second loop not going as well as the first. Pitching and defense are still mostly good, but the bats are struggling. One of the few bright spots has been Lovato who will miss all of the Bloomington series tonight. New closer is getting the job done, but it hasn't been pretty. 1.6 WHIP. Yeesh. We held off calling up Berger this season. With both Cintron and Wilson still developing I was unsure which 2 of the 3 I really want to keep. Cintron and Wilson have combined for a 9/56 start. Not helping their case.

#90065	11/04/2022 4:28:09 am	May 3rd, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	As long as my beloved Thunder pitch like Bob Gibson, then I guess we can hit like Billy Hamilton. Did the pitching just get that much better in the East or did our guys get old fast.

#90073	11/04/2022 4:44:47 pm	May 5th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Doesn't take Bob Gibson to shut down the Dinos. Definitely felt the absence of Lovato. I'd chalk it up to form for now. P&D does seem better across the 6 squads. See where we are at come season end. Half the Waterloo batters to take a cut this season are under the Mendoza line. 9 of 18. Those 9 have an average hit skill of 15.7. Will hopefully come around. Have taken the first 3 off Murfreesbot in the cup. Giving us some hope heading into the last series. An ok update with 16 arrows. Nothing noteworthy. Nothing to be seen in the draft either.

#90077	11/06/2022 1:20:30 pm	May 10th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Dinos halt the losing skid and add a player! McCall signing motivated by the dreadful 26/144 we've got out of Keller, Cockrell and O'Dell. McCall at best a side grade to any of those 3, but we need to shake things up. Would have called up Berger too, but have Manhattan tonight. The Isotopes might embarass his midgrade arm. Will hold off till Monday. Dinos .246 team BA feels bad, but is actually 2nd in the East. Things are tough all over.

#90080	11/07/2022 7:03:26 am	May 14th, 2057
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	The Isos aren't embarrassing anyone at this point.

#90081	11/07/2022 7:08:28 am	May 14th, 2057
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	If a team built around offense has a .723 team OPS, you know you're in trouble (we were above .800 the last three seasons). Takahashi is the only one hitting right now.

#90082	11/07/2022 9:19:30 am	May 14th, 2057
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	If a team built around offense has a .723 team OPS, you know you're in trouble (we were above .800 the last three seasons). Takahashi is the only one hitting right now.

#90091	11/08/2022 2:13:55 pm	May 17th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Sigh. Another error, another 4 unearned runs. Unearned Runs in the East Bloomington 9 Waterloo 16 Edmond 9 Manhattan 14 Arlington 25 Eden Prairie 9 Errors in the East Bloomington 16 Waterloo 6 Edmond 14 Manhattan 26 Arrington 24 Eden Prairie 13 Unearned Runs per Error Bloomington 0.56 Waterloo 2.67 Edmond 0.64 Manhattan 0.56 Arlington 1.04 Eden Prairie 0.56 Can you imagine the carnage if Waterloo didn't prioritize fielding?

#90103	11/11/2022 8:18:58 am	May 29th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Dinos have pulled out of their little tailspin. No thanks to our LHB. Cockrell is now firmly planted on the bench, and Keller is cooling his heels in AAA. Means that Beall is now playing full-time. Good training report. 19 arrows. Of note, Mendez crossed the 104 SI threshold. He was drafted as a 13, but dropped to 12 this spring. Nice he is still developing. Less nice is Wynne, a full time SP, going his second consecutive week with no arrows. The Alcaraz fiasco is still too fresh in our memory.

#90104	11/11/2022 9:03:02 am	May 29th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Did Mendez go back up to 13? If so, that's interesting...anyways, he looks like one of those guys whose statistical numbers do better than his SI (V, CoS, M) numbers. Gotta love that! Here in Bloomington, we always struggle with the "O", but OBP under 30% is insane. Yeah, I figured Cameron would get old fast, but Tejada is downright disappointing. It's over 100 AB's now, so you'd figure this is it, but it's always hard to pull the trigger with that track record. Clock is ticking tho...

#90121	11/14/2022 6:14:54 am	Jun 8th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Time to cross over. In general, it looks like an offense vs pitching and defense match-up, with a few exceptions. In Bloomington, we'll be keeping an eye on if we can keep our opponents off the board, or if we need to interrupt Perdomo's and Gallagher's growth to keep pace.

#90134	11/15/2022 12:10:53 pm	Jun 10th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Was a great first 50 for the Dinos. Come through it leading the East in hitting, ERA and fielding. Clean-up has been a big problem for Waterloo the past few seasons. Newest answer is Wilson. He's gone 10/19 with 2 HRs since moving to the #4 spot. Hopefully he can keep it going. It will be interesting to see what happens when the noodle bat Eastern teams had Westward. Maybe get some answers about the cause.

#90136	11/15/2022 4:27:42 pm	Jun 13th, 2057
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	We must have missed the notice on the noodle bats in the East, because we feel like facing hitting behemoth teams every game. At least we got our team ERA down below 6 now. Imagine how noodle the Eastern bats will look without someone like Phil Johnson serving up 7 HR in ~30 innings. These home-run derby pitchers are just so deceiving. I really want to cut them, but their ratings look so shiny! Hopefully the inter-league brings us better luck. The fight to stay out of relegation in the East is still close, and we are happy (and lucky) to still have a chance despite the league worst run-differential, team ERA and a bottom of the league batting so far.

#90138	11/15/2022 11:30:29 pm	Jun 15th, 2057
bsmall84 Joined: 05/14/2015 Posts: 70 Inactive	I feel like this may be my last season in II.1 or broken bat. To lose 6 in row with a -23 RD. I feel like every game is a coin flip. I'm at the end of the frustration

#90140	11/16/2022 8:06:19 am	Jun 15th, 2057
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Looking at the standings, one might not think Manhattan has a good problem, and I suppose neither of you is interested in keeping one of my best bats in the league, but I'd still be interested to hear what you think. Melvin Duke came up in my system as a 13p prospect with the chance to become a solid defensive catcher with an acceptable bat. He should have backed up Kim's later career and then maybe taken over for a year or two until I have found someone better. Now, however, Duke has turned into a 114 SI monster whose skillset makes his current 942 OPS look... well, at least not entirely flukey. So, while Kim still holds up, I have two perfectly capable starting catchers. Fortunately, the two at least match up as a platoon, but that means I'm benching one of my best hitters two thirds of the time. I could play one of the two at DH, 1B or, in Kim's case, even right field, but that would mean I don't have an adequate backup catcher. Fool that I am, I let Cheung (who really was a backup) go last season to give Duke playing time. Technically, Kim should probably the backup for now, but he is making 5.1 million, so he's a bit on the pricey end for that role. I also don't think he has declined so much that a .202/.244/.484 reflects his actual current abilities.

#90141	11/16/2022 12:03:05 pm	Jun 15th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	I'd be alright cutting Kim AND Love. Neither are helping the cause and neither have a future past this season. A backup OF playing a game or 2 at C isn't awful. You have enough offense to cover a short injury to Duke. Or Garza to LF, Abreu to right? Or just Najera in right and improve your D? Sometimes less is more.

#90144	11/17/2022 12:38:57 am	Jun 20th, 2057
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	@bsmall84 At least we are not Arcadia with the 4-12 one-run game record. I remembered when we started off with something like 2-12 in one-run game last season. It is so demoralizing especially when you are fighting to stay away from relegation. Argh, we are 3-7 in one-run games this season too. Yikes. We have the home run derby pitching machine Phil Johnson to thank for serving up to home run in our latest one run loss. I think that's it for him and he will not survive the cut today. To be honest, I feel the luck in drafting way worse than the fluctuation in performance in a season. A team drafting a couple of 15/16 pot stud aces can set the team in contention for a decade. Where as whiffing in consecutive draft classes for impact players leaves you trying to survive in years to come. @Holmes I was going to suggest plugging Duke at third until I realize he never played third in the minors. I wouldn't put him in 1B or DH since who you have right now are hitting just fine. I might be tempted to try to play him at third just to get his bat in the lineup. I think Kim is still hitting alright and giving you a bit of extra power, especially during inter-league where you get more games for the same salary. Wait... why am I giving advice to a team that I am chasing. Ooh, I know why, because Isotopes just cuts right through us earlier in the season with those gamma rays.

#90146	11/17/2022 1:46:20 pm	Jun 20th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Duke has been pretty good against the Dinos this season. Tough stretch for Euclid. Game can definitely feel patchy. Runs of good, runs of bad. Interesting series yesterday between the 107.3 power index Tigers and 98.6 power index Dinos. One team with no position players below 14 pot vs. a squad rocking 11s. Turned out to be a matter of which defense had fewer catastrophes. Nunez finally blew a save. Converted his first 24 this season (league + cup) after getting the closer gig. Hasn't been dominating, but always (until yesterday) good enough.

#90173	11/20/2022 2:43:17 pm	Jul 4th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	A good update for Waterloo. 24 arrows. Lively gets to 17 fld. That's both my middle infielders high rolling their "solid" glove scouting. Nice. Wallace picked up a 6 game knock yesterday. Will be without the main man on offense most of the Arcadia series. Thrilled with how our 8th rounder from last season is performing in rookie ball. Had a nice spring too.

#90179	11/21/2022 4:06:01 am	Jul 7th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Really, Seca? 16 straight!?!

#90182	11/21/2022 9:14:19 am	Jul 7th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Hehe. We were fortunate to get through yesterday unscathed without Wallace. This iteration of the Dinos (White-Lovato-Wallace-Kang-O'Neill core) has always done well in Inter. Not sure why. This season specifically the LH starting pitching seems to be playing well. Only Bloomington and Waterloo with positive records against southpaws. Nothing for the Thunder to worry about tho. Dinos finish 2nd. It's what we do. Good luck to Brownsville tonight. They got one of the tougher draws out there in this round unfortunately.

#90190	11/23/2022 4:12:37 am	Jul 14th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	It always feels like when I cross over and play West clubs, they play a more offensive style of play. Maybe it's because we churn through more pitchers during these series... Thunder before: .241/.302/.414 .716 OPS Thunder at ASG: .259/.320/.441 .761 OPS Before: 3.36 ERA/4.13 FIP ASG: 3.79 ERA/4.23 FIP (pitchers are actually consistent here- FIP, but ER are up half a run.) Thunder run-support: 4.38 - 4.96 Anybody else keep track? Do West clubs feel like their pitching has gotten better playing the East?

#90192	11/23/2022 9:09:15 am	Jul 14th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I didn't keep track. Wouldn't take much work to check the game logs of my starting pitchers and see if they've improved of not. Will take a look when I get a chance. Great first half for Waterloo. Not a surprise for us the pitching and defense have done well. Dinos leading the East in OPS at the break? That's a shocker. I haven't been paying as much attention to non-Waterloo games in the first half. Don't have a sense of other folks' all-stars. Will be most of the usual suspects heading to the Gala for Waterloo. Wallace, Lovato, White, Morelli. Nunez leads the East in saves and likely goes (despite every save being scary). Of note, Kang's 4 consecutive AS appearance streak will end. He has been Waterloo's worst pitcher in the first half. Surprising. Meant to mention the other day, but rookie SP Wynne went 8.1 IP in a recent start, combining with O'Neill on a 1 hitter. Wynne been a pleasant surprise in the first half. Exceeding expectations.

#90193	11/23/2022 10:29:46 am	Jul 14th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Beall might actually be a dark horse for selection. I was thinking he didn't have the ABs (started the season as a platoon player), but he's just 26 away from qualifying for the batting race. With offense down a bit across the East he might sneak in.

#90197	11/24/2022 6:02:35 am	Jul 16th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Dino picks as expected, aside from Lively. Not sure why he wasn't on my radar - his stats are virtually identical to Beall's (same AB, same H, 1 more HR). Like Beall he has earned full-time work; Hammond started the season as the everyday 2B. Goes to show how fortunate Waterloo was in the first half. Few would have predicted Beall starting the AS game ahead of Takahashi.

#90222	11/29/2022 1:54:56 pm	Aug 4th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Little slow with the Friday news. Quiet update. Just 12 arrows. Not unexpected given the great previous week. Got some clarity on the catcher position. With the roster at 50 we let Cintron go. The hope was that he would hit for an "empty" average (no walks or power or speed) and that would be enough for his D. But he just couldn't hit. Armenta has been hot, sipo he's been getting more action behind the dish. Fully expect Berger to make his debut next week. Have been contemplating bumping Kang from the rotation. Continues to struggle to find a groove. Plummer has been good in limited action. He'd be the beneficiary if we made the move. Not as many wins since the break. Feel the team is still playing well, just losing some sequencing battles.

#90227	11/30/2022 6:51:09 am	Aug 9th, 2057
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	So I dropped Kim, who was making way too much for a backup catcher, but I don't find a demotion inevitable enough yet to go with Hsu as backup catcher, so I picked up a cheaper actual C as backup (in fact I went through two already and might pounce again if I find an even cheaper one). It's really not looking good right now, but I'm not quite ready to accept defeat fire everyone who costs money.

#90229	11/30/2022 8:45:36 am	Aug 9th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Not as many wins since the break. Feel the team is still playing well, just losing some sequencing battles. 8-12 here. 14-6 vs same competition before the ASG. Join me in believing in a "second-half roll". Updated Wednesday, November 30 2022 @ 8:46:05 am PST

#90237	12/01/2022 7:26:28 am	Aug 14th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Both team's cold stretches shared the Pearland opponent. Pandas doing well after the break. Series against Waterloo gave me High Point flashbacks. Morelli walked 4 straight batters in the 5th in his start. Andrew walked 4 of the first 5 batters he faced in his start. Wynne walked 3 batters in the first inning of his start. Nice addition for the Thunder last night. I don't always check 29+ year olds on waivers, but did see Wilder. Should be an asset for a few seasons. Sad to see Kim go. The previous discussion around him got me looking at Manhattan's all-time records. Lots of names in there that still give me shivers.

#90238	12/01/2022 10:46:57 am	Aug 14th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	2-8 vs Pearland... Wilder was a 20-claimer. Will take over for Perdomo (developing prospect)vs RHP for the stretch run. Still looking for that RHH OF'er though... Rouse has been a nice claim as well. Don't look now, but here come the 'Topes.

#90239	12/01/2022 5:16:16 pm	Aug 18th, 2057
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Man, imagine being in fifth place, seeing land only two wins or so away, then going 15-2 and still being in fifth place. At least, in Moffet I should have found a cheap, decent backup catcher I can keep around for a while.

#90241	12/01/2022 8:38:16 pm	Aug 19th, 2057
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	At least it's almost all tied up between the three teams. Only 1 will relegate, so it's a 2/3 chance to survive! You only have to run faster than the slowest of the three (throws banana peels at Arlington and Edmond?). It looks like we are too far out being 10 games behind with 50 to go to catch up. Our hitting wasn't great, but pitching really hurt us this season. Time to play all the youngsters to try to find out who is worth keeping for the future. It's now two straight relegation seasons and no reinforcement any time soon. Hopefully we can stop the bleeding and stay out of relegation in Div 3 next season.

#90243	12/02/2022 4:42:29 am	Aug 19th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Before cross-divisional play: West DET PEA -1 SC -5 EUC -6 BRW -7 ARC -11 East BLO WTL -5 EDM -10 MAN -11 ARL -14 EP -14 Records in cross-divisional play, listed in current position: West PEA 33-27 DET 25-35 BRW 29-31 EUC 24-36 SC 21-39 ARC 19-41 East WTL 42-18 - best record BLO 35-25 ARL 38-22 EDM 33-27 Man 34-26 EP 27-33

#90262	12/04/2022 3:59:04 pm	Aug 27th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Thanks for the summary. Dinos fortunate to have a good swing through the West. Berger is up. At this point I think he will maintain his rookie status into next season even if he sticks through the end. Means we have 4 rookies in the lineup (McCall, Beall, Lemus and Berger). Wallace hit HR #30 last series. No Dino has made it to 40. Would have to stay fairly hot to pull it off. Keller up from the minors. Been in the doghouse all season. Not going to get much rope.

#90268	12/06/2022 9:07:44 am	Aug 31st, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Dinos with an impulse signing at the deadline. Don't really need another catcher prospect, and he's older than we'd like. No harm in keeping him around for a week or two when no one else was interested. 4 gamer between the top 2 in the East tonight. Coming off the last cup break can set the pitching how we'd like. May skip Andrew and throw the 4 southpaws at them. Berger off to a nice 5 for 12 start as a big leaguer.

#90274	12/07/2022 4:36:22 am	Sep 4th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	11 runs total in four games will make the baseball purists happy.

#90279	12/08/2022 7:14:13 am	Sep 8th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Bloomington's pitching was great. Dinos allowed more unearned runs in the first inning of game 2 than Bloomington allowed earned runs through 36 innings. Not much happening in Waterloo. We called up recent signing Kanas, but didn't face any lefties against Arlington. We might end up sending Berger back to AAA next week to give Wilson and Banas some ABs. Don't think Berger needs imminent playing time. Huerta has been a healthy scratch recently with Beall taking over CF. Likely our look next season.

#90281	12/09/2022 7:10:19 am	Sep 13th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	3rd consecutive week for a dismal training update. Barely broke double digit arrows this week (10). This for a team playing 4 rookies and a sophomore in it's starting lineup, with 5 rookie or sophomore arms getting action on the staff. Starting to get frustrating. More frustration in the minors. Oliver blipped from 14 to 15 pot on update 0, but is finishing up his 3rd full season in rookie ball. Greenwood not quite 2 full seasons of rookie ball, but just 1 point of SI gained in that time. I can't look at the league stats page without my eye being drawn to the brutal double play number for Waterloo. May say it serves us right for eschewing stolen bases. But it hasn't been a problem for the team in the past. Last season we ran a higher OBA and a higher GB:FB and had much few DPs. Two of the bigger culprits are Lively and Lemus - guys getting their first playing time. They do look like chronic DP threats (lots of ground balls, not great speed). Might be something we are going to have to live with for a while.

#90282	12/09/2022 11:47:57 am	Sep 13th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	I just realized my C, Norm Tucker was part of Mr. TwoPlums last draft class. The Great Draft of '41 at that. 4 years ago? That sound right? I'm surprised there are still 3 Thunder-drafted players active, including my biggest miss, Gary Odegard. Odegard was coming up with somebody and I decided he wasn't going to stick and boy was I wrong...

#90285	12/11/2022 12:27:23 am	Sep 20th, 2057
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Private's stats continue to amaze and astound me. 4 years without arguably the greatest player in BB history - long time! The battle in the east this season is probably the story of BB, great ding-dong warfare!

#90289	12/11/2022 1:24:08 am	Sep 20th, 2057
Brewnoe Joined: 03/25/2014 Posts: 818 Fall River Naughty Dawgs IV.5	buzz fed

#90290	12/11/2022 8:37:16 am	Sep 20th, 2057
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	So I decide to let Pena go and appoint Robles my closer for the remainder of the season - and Robles immediately thanks me with two blown saves. Still, we've climbed out of the hole over the last few series and are now dangling right above the abyss for a change.

#90291	12/11/2022 8:40:29 am	Sep 20th, 2057
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I'd like to get rid of my journeyman sluggers Love and Jauregui (especially Jauregui really hasn't delivered), but the current standing really don't look like the moment to weaken our lineup.

#90297	12/12/2022 1:16:04 am	Sep 24th, 2057
Ouija7 Joined: 08/06/2019 Posts: 88 Inactive	The bulldogs are fighting for survival and it couldn’t be any tighter than it is now. This is the last season for this team as a whole we’ve had a great journey rising back up but there will be a lot of changes for next season fingers crossed we’ll still be here for that.

#90298	12/12/2022 7:14:36 am	Sep 24th, 2057
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	It looks like it's going to be you or me, and you did win our last series...

#90299	12/12/2022 8:29:16 am	Sep 24th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Was an interesting note on Tucker. We cut Vasquez earlier this season. I was very cognizant at the time that he was my final player from the '41 draft class. That blip should finally have worked itself out. May see some more movement in the pyramid as a result. After getting shut out in 3 of our last 4 against Bloomington (and losing all 4) we were just hoping to score a few runs yesterday. Pleasantly surprised to win a couple games. Will be interesting to see how Marino does for Manhattan. Great skills, scouting, potential. Minor league stats are troubling. Could be one of those bullpen guys who's minor league stats lie a bit because he was starting so often.

#90300	12/12/2022 2:48:48 pm	Sep 25th, 2057
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I'll be very disappointed if Marino ends up as a reliever. He's by far the most talented prospect I have left and clearly expected to be Manhattan's next ace. On the other hand, I've just been complaining about not having a reliable closer... I have no idea what his minor league stats are. All I ever see in that is that somebody's minor league stats tend to be bad if he gets promoted early. I'd say 95% of the variance in minors stats is SI relative to average at that level and random noise. Especially pitchers throw way too few innings in the minors to read anything into that. The only situation I ever look at them is if I have to decide between two prospects who are absolutely equal in everything else.

#90301	12/12/2022 2:52:20 pm	Sep 25th, 2057
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	So Bloomington gave him a rather unpleasant welcome to the show... Either way, he got to face 13 batters, so it should help him grow faster.

#90302	12/12/2022 4:36:14 pm	Sep 26th, 2057
Ouija7 Joined: 08/06/2019 Posts: 88 Inactive	I think our last meeting will decide this in the end, we are up and down to much to have any security or confidence atm Updated Monday, December 12 2022 @ 4:36:46 pm PST

#90304	12/13/2022 5:48:18 am	Sep 28th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Regarding Marino: to be fair, it's tough at this level for a pitcher without a "plus" pitch. Just gotta keep feeding him. Don't see him as a SP, RHS maybe, but HR frighten me. K:BB is good

#90305	12/14/2022 4:21:58 am	Oct 2nd, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Last Call! One more time through the schedule and 2.1 doesn't disappoint. In the West, while Pearland is cruising to the division title, Euclid is still fighting to hang on to 4th place. The Panthers have two consecutive 4-game sets: 3rd place Brownsville and 5th pace Santa Cruz. A solid run by Euclid would go a long way in easing the stress of the Panther faithful. Over in the East, the series' beginning on Oct 11 could make or break the fortunes of 4 clubs. Waterloo visits Bloomington in what could be a must-sweep series for the Thunder, and Manhattan goes to Eden Prairie in an equally important battle for 4th place.

#90307	12/14/2022 12:19:25 pm	Oct 2nd, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	The last loop snuck up on Waterloo. Dealing with some injured arms at the moment. Mendez is almost back - only misses 1 more series. Andrew out for a spell. Likely only back for more 1 more start. Dude has trouble staying healthy. In only 2 of 7 seasons has he managed 30 starts. Plummer filling in for Andrew for now. Would probably be more competitive to use Heredia or just go with a 4 man rotation. (Heredia has been up a number of times this season, but has yet to see action). Plummer has been good in his limited time.

#90315	12/15/2022 4:42:32 am	Oct 6th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Really glad to hear the Dino's will be back at full health soon. You've really been struggling as of late /s My beloved Thunder have a chance to win 100 games for the 6th time during my ownership (2 more BP - Before Private ) 2.1 East could have its second 100-win division loser in as many years. For the rest of us, I looked down in D3 to see who will join our illustrious ranks next season. Santa Monica has clinched (our last meeting was in '42!). Deadwood, Abilene, and Poughkeepsie are the other current division leaders. I've done battle with Deadwood, but Abilene and Poughkeepsie would be new opponents. Not looking forward to typing Poughkeepsie all season long!

#90319	12/15/2022 1:53:14 pm	Oct 6th, 2057
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Wow, playing Poughkeepsie would be really cool. That's where I went to high school for a year, back in the 1980s. And that, actually, was the reason why I went looking for a team in New York.

#90322	12/16/2022 4:07:10 am	Oct 10th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Well after my big write-up, the races have nearly settled. Maybe a little drama left between Manhattan and Edmund? Looking around at the MVP/Cy Young award races I found this rather interesting nugget: Stephen Nash has 47 homeruns and only 99 RBI's. Here's a fun link I found about that very subject.

#90323	12/16/2022 4:55:04 am	Oct 10th, 2057
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, two wins ahead with ten games to play including a direct faceoff sounds more like everything open than like a little drama to me...

#90324	12/16/2022 6:39:56 am	Oct 10th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I was head-scratching over Nash the other day. Pulled up Edmond's lineup to see what was going on ahead of him. Interesting list of MLB players. Wasn't surprised to see Rob Deer types on there. Given how BB voters like BA/hits, I'm wondering if Lovato is the front runner for MVP (despite Nash mashing). Dinos are in an enviable position, but as we saw last season Waterloo can usually find a way to finish 2nd. I'm more confident we can hold the RD tie-breaker this season. Better training update - 18 arrows. Couple arrows for Wynne. Terrific rookie season for him both in performance and development. In other news Burns (who we hope could be our next Wallace) promotes to AA. A little concerning his HRs dropped this season. Hopefully just a blip.

#90328	12/16/2022 10:08:26 am	Oct 10th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Usually you can see a clear-cut MVP/Cy Young race based on the leaders board. I'm not sure that's the case this year. A LOT of different names on different lists. I'd put my Thunder's own Ceballos up there as long as he hits the 100 R/RBI thresholds. His focus on ~~steroid use~~ strength training has made this a banner year for him. Manhattan's Takahashi as always, remains the safest bet. Lovato should have votes as well. Speaking of obvious steroid cheats, my guy Lorenzo went from just being "a guy" in his 20's, to being "THE GUY" in his 30's. Career best 18 wins so far at age 34. Hmmm... Updated Friday, December 16 2022 @ 10:17:07 am PST

#90333	12/17/2022 6:57:19 am	Oct 14th, 2057
Ouija7 Joined: 08/06/2019 Posts: 88 Inactive	Nash for mvp surely ? He’s been robbed of atleast 2 mvp awards durin his brilliant career if you ask me, RBI total is low for his amount of HR’s, struggled to find someone to hit consistently in the 2 spot all season tried a few in there but no joy unfortunately, my lead off guy has done ok I suppose over 300OBP with nearly 30 SB avg around 250 with the bat, but obviously better hitting from them 2 might off had us in a better position, but we can live in hope till the end that we find a nice streak to end the season 🤞 All said and done my roster has been poor all round with the bat this season a lot of guy’s hitting low 200s right thru the team has hurt us if it weren’t for Nash we’d of been long gone a while ago, pitching has been hit and miss also some guys done well but a few been poor, but with no joy at all the whole season in winning any free agents and a lack of pitches coming thru has ultimately cost us, it’s gunna be a long rebuild for the bulldogs I think as our minors not full of great prospects. Updated Saturday, December 17 2022 @ 7:03:25 am PST Updated Saturday, December 17 2022 @ 7:13:13 am PST

#90339	12/17/2022 4:49:52 pm	Oct 17th, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Congrats to both Pearland and Waterloo for clinching division titles this season! I'll be on the road so we won't get a proper championship series write-up, but Pearland gave my Thunder fits and Waterloo is back to the Waterloo I'm used to seeing. Should be a fantastic series. Good luck to both owners!

#90342	12/18/2022 1:18:01 am	Oct 18th, 2057
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Welcome back to legends Seca, very tough second place for Private! GG to anyone else trying to promose from II.1 east.......

#90346	12/18/2022 9:09:29 am	Oct 18th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Was a very hard fought series vs. Bloomington. All 3 games could easily have gone either way. Dinos are down White for the rest of the regular season and the start of playoffs. Have a capable backup in Hammond, but White is our star. Thanks JJNZ. Not sure how competitive we will be. If nothing else gives us a chance to move back to the right side of the pyramid. Updated Sunday, December 18 2022 @ 9:10:51 am PST

#90355	12/19/2022 4:44:15 am	Oct 22nd, 2057
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	May I remind everyone that the Private had Manhattan winning the division my a mile last season? We ended up finishing fourth and have only gotten older since then. That makes it the second season in a row that Manhattan was projected to win and then just barely avoided a demotion. Looks like there's something in our team that throws the projections way off. Maybe Private is using a similar projection to the one I use to decide who might become a good player... Congrats to Seca who beat us up again in the last series, and hats off to the guys over in Edmond, who gave us the hardest race imaginable for fourth place.

#90356	12/19/2022 6:40:15 am	Oct 22nd, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	I'm guessing those predictions are SI based. They line up the same as the power index numbers. One of the strengths of the game is that there isn't a perfect correlation between SI total and success. Playoffs start tonight. During Inter Waterloo took the first meeting 4 games to 1, but got swept in the second series. So Pearland with a 6-4 edge. Dinos will be without star SS White for the first 2 games. Pandas are healthy. Pitching matchup could change, but at the moment it is Moya vs. Morelli in game 1, and Fernandez vs. Mendez in game 2. Moya faced Waterloo twice surrendering 8 earned in 14 IP. Fernandez faced Waterloo once; gave up 4 earned in 4+ IP. Morelli faced Pearland twice, giving up 7 earned in 9 IP. Didn't make it into the 5th in either game. Mendez gave up 3 earned over 11+ IP in his 2 starts. Strong possibility the Pandas see nothing but LH pitching in the series. They were 30 points of BA and 60 points of OPS worse against southpaws. Pearland runs an Earl Weaver offense, leading the West in walks and homeruns. The Dinos have been carried by their pitching and a league best 96 HRs surrendered. Whether the ball goes over the fence or not is likely what the series comes down to.

#90357	12/19/2022 8:30:31 am	Oct 22nd, 2057
Ouija7 Joined: 08/06/2019 Posts: 88 Inactive	Gd luck next season everyone, hopefully we’ll be back soon.

#90360	12/19/2022 2:38:56 pm	Oct 25th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Waterloo finds a win in game 1. Pearland bumped up Fernandez who was good. Bullpen let the Pandas down a bit. Morelli was not good walking 7 in 4 IP. That's been the fear I've had about going to Legends. Range can't stop 106 PI teams from walking. With Fernandez tossing game 1 it appears Cardenas will get the ball in game 2. Been very strong against Waterloo this season with just 2 ER in 14 IP.

#90366	12/20/2022 6:16:46 am	Oct 26th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Pandas take game 2. Guzman stole the show, with a 4/4 day including a HR and a game winning top of the 8th double. Not bad out of the 8 spot in the lineup. Guess he's our rookie of the year. Dinos had 3 decent candidates, but no 16 pot monsters. Wynne gets the ball in game 3 for Waterloo. Surrendered a respectable 3 earned in 10 IP in his 2 starts against Pearland. White is healthy for game 3. Big boost for the Dino lineup.

#90368	12/20/2022 2:21:06 pm	Oct 28th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Pandas take game 3! Executed their game plan to perfection with a BB-BB-HR-ballgame bottom of the 2nd. That was from 7-8-9 that run 119-116-126 SI. Magnificent. At the last moment Dinos have decided to start Andrew in game 4 over former staff ace Kang. We wanted to give Kang the start out of loyalty, but he's been so bad against Pearland (9 ER in 2.1 IP across 2 starts). Andrew has fared a little better and is hot atm.

#90369	12/20/2022 3:28:02 pm	Oct 29th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Dinos even it up in game 4. Not the cleanest start from Andrew, but kept the Pandas off the board for 5.2. Bowers was so awful in relief that he's like benched the rest of the series. Fortunate he did that in a game with a decent lead. Back to the game 1 starters Morelli and Fernandez for game 5. Series guaranteed to extend into tomorrow.

#90382	12/21/2022 7:40:50 am	Oct 30th, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Pandas best in game 5. Predictable. Morelli hasn't been good against Pearland all season. Morelli for the year, vs. Pearland: 4 starts, 16.1 IP, 16 ER (9.17 ERA), 15 BBs vs. everyone else: 30 starts, 181 IP, 47 ER (2.33 ERA), 52 BBs Things look dire for Waterloo. Have Mendez for game 6. Has been our best against the Pandas. But Cardena counters and has been close to unhittable against Waterloo. Even if we sneak game 6 don't really have a good option for game 7. Edit: Waterloo down Chappell for the rest of the series. Has had a solid campaign, though his command is a bit scary against a thick team like Pearland. Not sure if we will bring up Lawrence or just go a man down. Updated Wednesday, December 21 2022 @ 7:44:05 am PST

#90385	12/21/2022 9:40:19 am	Oct 30th, 2057
Jason2327 Joined: 09/02/2014 Posts: 722 Abilene Patriots III.2	Looking forward to competing in this division next season. Looks tough

#90392	12/21/2022 2:22:22 pm	Nov 1st, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Second toughest division in BB. Hope you have fun. Dinos steal game 6. Cardena was unhittable again, but Panda closer Fernandez was not. Waterloo rallies in the bottom of the 9th to take it. Torn who to start in game 7. Wynne is up and was best all year, but wasn't good in game 3. Andrew could go; didn't have the best season but was solid in game 4. Also Kang. Could give the old warhorse a chance to bring it home. Decisions.

#90402	12/22/2022 7:43:55 am	Nov 2nd, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Pandas take game 7 and the series. Congrats! Thought the Dinos had a chance. Believed we might get to Ordonez. We went with Andrew. He was ok, not great, and the defense let him down a bit. The bottom of the Pearland order once again too much to handle. Thanks all for the season. Now the 3 week vacay. Some quick awards predictions. Note these are who I think will win more so than who I think deserves to win (specifically the MVP). MVP: Winner - Lovato (Wat) Contention - Ceballos (Blo), Nash (Edm) Cy: Winner - Wesley (Arl) Contention - Gibson (Edm), Lorenzo (Blo) Rookie: Winner - Guzman (Pea) Contention - McCall (Wat), Beall (Wat) Rookie Pitcher: Winner - Wynne (Wat) Contention - Gallagher (Blo), Gomez (Man) And cheers to Bloomington's SS Cuéllar who will halt Waterloo SS White's gold glove streak at 4.

#90403	12/22/2022 10:54:01 am	Nov 2nd, 2057
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Congratulations to Pearland on the 2.1 Championship! Going to miss the Dino's next season. Years ago I picked a Legends club to emulate and Waterloo was it. All this time later and after a few tweaks of my own I get to compete with that very club. Glad to see the Dinos out of purgatory and back to the top league. All that's left now is awards, final goodbyes and warm hellos to the new clubs. Let's begin by complaining about the crop of waivers! I'll start: Pshh! All I need is an gold glove caliber 3B and a 40 HR hitter! Why aren't they available? Revamp everything, Steve! This class stinks!

#90416	12/22/2022 6:37:52 pm	Nov 2nd, 2057
Jason2327 Joined: 09/02/2014 Posts: 722 Abilene Patriots III.2	I have that 3B your looking for privatesnowflake

#90428	12/23/2022 9:30:02 am	Nov 2nd, 2057
Seca Joined: 05/05/2014 Posts: 5202 Waterloo Dinosaurs Legends	Thanks for the kind words PrivateSnowflake. I don't expect our stay in the top league to last long. Got the award winners right, but was a bit off with a couple of the races. Didn't think Mendez was only the radar for Cy; very surprised to see him 2nd just 3 votes back. He had 3 CGs (alot for Waterloo) and a SO. Carries some weight. Wallace wins a gold glove. Lol Parted ways with Landry before payday. Had a nice career for Waterloo. Needed the roster spot, have some young bullpen arms coming online. Lovato wins the batting title. That's our first since Rocha in '46. Thanks again folks. Updated Friday, December 23 2022 @ 9:35:14 am PST

#90505	12/30/2022 5:48:26 am	Feb 19th, 2058
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Through one round of waivers, I don't feel like we've improved anywhere. Sure we've made changes, but improved? I normally just rotate in position players to fill needs and it may take some experimenting for that to work, but the available players so far have been meh. We've seem to have just got older and more expensive. From not believing in anyone over 32 to relying on 34/35 yo's now is quite the evolution for me.

#90527	01/03/2023 6:35:02 am	Mar 8th, 2058
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	PSF's 2058 League 2.1 Prediction Post sponsored by Ron's Carpet Barn of Fort Myers. You want a new, contemporary floor? Too bad! You get carpet! If this is your first time in a league with my beloved Thunder, then ~~your~~ ~~youo'r~~ ~~uyou'rue~~ you're in for a treat! I have a scientific formula that predicts with 100% accuracy* how our league standings will finish. 60% of the time I'll look at all of your data, crunch the numbers with my diesel-powered, Apple II computer, print those numbers out on my never-ending supply of dot-matrix paper, give in to the desires of tearing off the tabs, and finally lining the cages of my various farm animals with said paper. Somewhere in between, I'll come up with the final league standings and present the information to Steve, who then may or may not choose to hand out the trophies. Shout out to Ron's Carpet Barn for sponsoring this season's post. I had no idea they still made orange shag carpet. West Hitter Ratings* Detroit 194.36 Brownsville 190.23 Huntington 170.94 Euclid 169.98 Santa Monica 164.32 Deadwood 155.30 (On April 7, 1877, Al Swearengen, who controlled Deadwood's opium trade, also opened a saloon. Well, that's...that's something.) West Pitcher Ratings Euclid 169.15 Detroit 166.65 Huntington 162.53 Deadwood 158.88 Brownsville 154.78 Santa Monica 140.86 (in Spanish means: Santa Monica) West Predicted Order Of Finish DET 361.01 BRW 345.01 EUC 339.13 HUN 333.47 DW 314.18 SM 305.18 Congratulations to charm! Trophy incoming any minute now... East Hitter Ratings Abilene 190.95 Manhattan 188.20 Arlington 173.23 Bloomington 170.96 Atlanta 170.78 (sister city is Newcastle upon Tyne, which sounds made-up) Poughkeepsie 162.70 (also sounds made up) East Pitching Rating Bloomington 172.40 Manhattan 166.32 Arlington 162.54 Poughkeepsie 160.61 Abilene 153.44 Atlanta 149.29 East Predicted Order Of Finish MAN 354.52 (congrats on your 3rd 2.1 East tile in a row!) ABI 344.39 BLO 343.36 ARL 335.77 POU 323.31 ATL 320.07 Holmes should have promoted by now. Weird. Anyways, these predictions are 100% accurate! So there you have it! Go ahead and add the trophies now, Steve. Season over. Oh wait... Det over Man 4-2. Now it's over. So what do you all think? Am I the ~~genious~~ ~~geneous~~ smartest predictor out there? I await your praise and adoration....

#90530	01/03/2023 9:58:35 am	Mar 8th, 2058
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Haverhill would love to see Manhattan go away before we get back to II.1. Its only logical to assume the Manhattan Curse will continue Unfortunately Private has ranked Manhattan as #1, which is basically a guarantee that they won't promote 😝

#90533	01/03/2023 3:39:19 pm	Mar 9th, 2058
Jason2327 Joined: 09/02/2014 Posts: 722 Abilene Patriots III.2	So it could be a close race

#90535	01/03/2023 8:47:45 pm	Mar 10th, 2058
Jerbeetwo Joined: 06/30/2019 Posts: 331 Tyler Goldendoodles IV.3	Well dang it. The year I finally make it to Legends and we don’t get predictions that year.

#90537	01/03/2023 11:43:58 pm	Mar 10th, 2058
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Top Effort as always

#90587	01/09/2023 4:53:40 am	Mar 20th, 2058
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I'm pretty sure PS put his dot-matrix paper in upside down - again. There's just no other explanation for Manhattan coming out on top - again. And I'll be happy if I can stave off a demotion - again. Miraculously, our pitching doesn't look like it's about to collapse totally with the golden pitching generation I had gradually retiring. Somehow, a farm desperately stuffed with scrap heap minor league pitchers has produced a few arms that look halfway reliable. Gomez in particular has been a pleasant surprise so far. Our lineup, on the other hand, keeps deteriorating, so I really don't expect much.

#90599	01/10/2023 1:47:20 pm	Mar 25th, 2058
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Welcome to chol, by the way. I find it a bit funny that we now have Arlington(TX), Poughkeepsie and the guy who went to Arlington High School in Poughkeepsie in the same division.

#90620	01/12/2023 8:30:04 am	Apr 3rd, 2058
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Panic!

#90624	01/12/2023 4:25:54 pm	Apr 5th, 2058
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Wow, you've shaken up your team quite a bit, PS! And Huntington has gone bot. I totally missed that.

#90625	01/12/2023 4:30:16 pm	Apr 5th, 2058
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I had actually just taken a good look at Lujan on waivers, without even noticing that he was coming from Bloomington. Finally figured that he was interesting, but no real improvement over what I have in the outfield.

#90651	01/18/2023 4:59:09 am	Apr 25th, 2058
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	One time through and my Thunder have performed just as they do any other season: very good at not allowing opposing clubs to score, but unable to score themselves. Just running down our stats we are division-worst in BB, K, and OBP. Need to add PD while keeping an eye on BC. Pitching-wise, RHB are killing us. My LH starters are not pulling their weight and with no reinforcements on the horizon, it's a waiting game...

#90658	01/19/2023 6:11:06 pm	May 3rd, 2058
Jason2327 Joined: 09/02/2014 Posts: 722 Abilene Patriots III.2	Ugh,I absolutely abhor form. It's killing my pitchers,as it does most years. They have a bad game and boom very cold. Then it takes half the season before they get back to average. It's a useless addition to the game

#90659	01/20/2023 5:36:39 am	May 3rd, 2058
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Dunno. I'm still not convinced form is more than overinterpreted randomness. What's also not more than randomness, I hope, is our last series against Bloomington. Now, we've faced off several times over the last couple of seasons, and being swept at home by such a very good team may hurt, but it is in no way disgraceful. But... being swept in three consecutive extra-innings losses with my young arms taking the Ls really bites.

#90660	01/20/2023 5:37:55 am	May 3rd, 2058
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Okay, let's see the positive: Lots of free experience for my rookie pitchers.

#90662	01/20/2023 8:02:21 am	May 3rd, 2058
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Lots to unpack with Form. The most important thing is that the Form we see is nothing more than performance. There may or may not be a hidden Form variable, but if that variable exists, there is no guarantee it would be accurately reflected in Form. I player who is in "bad form", might get a few lucky hits, while a player who is in "good form" might catch a few bad breaks. Thus their "Form" shown might be the opposite of their real form. Further, poorly skilled players will simply always appear to be in "bad form" regardless of what sort of Form they are in. This is because they will perform poorly even when they are in "good form". Another consideration is consistency. I've long considered Control and BC to be tied to consistency. Guys with lower Control or BC seem to swing more wildly in Form because their is less consistency and more randomness in their performance. Lastly, as Holmes said, it could all just be random. And we are just seeing the performance results coming out of pure randomness. All that is to say, I don't think seeing a player in "Bad Form" necessarily means they have a Form variable set that is killing them. It might, but its probably a lot more cloudy than we think.

#90678	01/21/2023 6:13:33 pm	May 10th, 2058
Jason2327 Joined: 09/02/2014 Posts: 722 Abilene Patriots III.2	1-11 at home makes absolutely no sense right now. As far as form, I have 2 SP's right now who have been very cold all season and are well below their carreer numbers

#90699	01/25/2023 12:06:43 pm	May 21st, 2058
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	I have to ~~hope~~ believe the back of my bullpen will come around to their career means. No way they are going to be this craptastic all season long. Same goes for Starks in the rotation. Hoping we can hang on until my (totally theoretical) mid-season roll of the dice where all of this will be forgotten...

#90735	01/27/2023 4:49:19 pm	May 31st, 2058
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	That all extra innings sweep by the Thunder I mentioned in my second to last post seems to have jinxed something. Since that, we have gone 14-3, und Bloomington has just cratered... I'm pretty sure those things are going to come back to normal. I just hope my young players show some improvement until then. I was pretty close to losing patience with Diaz this morning. He's only still here because if I call up Martinez to replace Diaz now, I'll have nobody to call up when Keller retires after the interdivisional season.

#90736	01/27/2023 5:01:57 pm	May 31st, 2058
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	From looking at Starks' skills, I wouldn't expect him to replicate what he did the last two seasons, but he should be serviceable. Maybe you're just seeing regression to the mean here. I really envy you when it comes to Karlsen. If he was in Manhattan right now, he would be a very traditional closer, though - if not a starter with a limited pitch count. He's throwing a ton of innings for a reliever. Maybe he's overworked? Updated Friday, January 27 2023 @ 5:06:20 pm PST

#90737	01/27/2023 5:05:09 pm	May 31st, 2058
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	And I'm not exactly impressed by your free agent additions. Will be interesting to see how they perform, but I'd be quite surprised if they really moved the needle in the right direction.

#90751	01/28/2023 6:18:48 pm	Jun 4th, 2058
Jason2327 Joined: 09/02/2014 Posts: 722 Abilene Patriots III.2	This is absolutely stupid. My team is better than it's playing. My home record makes no sense. My record against LHP makes no sense

#90762	01/30/2023 5:28:37 am	Jun 8th, 2058
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	And I'm not exactly impressed by your free agent additions. Will be interesting to see how they perform, but I'd be quite surprised if they really moved the needle in the right direction. 40 games in is too early to give up.

#90773	01/31/2023 6:17:20 am	Jun 10th, 2058
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Oh, absolutely. That's not what I meant. I'm just not sure if the particular players are stronger than the ones you let go.

#90774	01/31/2023 6:19:53 am	Jun 10th, 2058
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	We are definitely playing better than we are right now. At this point in the season, a 12 game win streak can distort everything.

#90775	01/31/2023 1:20:04 pm	Jun 10th, 2058
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Got kicked out of the cup by a LL3 team, though. Good luck in interdivisional, everyone!

#90780	02/01/2023 2:56:22 pm	Jun 17th, 2058
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	https://brokenbat.org/game/4760664 Wild game. My all-glove platoon CF hits three bombs and a single.

#90798	02/03/2023 7:00:38 am	Jun 25th, 2058
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	^^^Nejera hit about 20% of his career HR there. Mom must've been in attendance. You're right about Starks, he's useless this season. finding ANYONE to give us a QS in his place has become a fruitless endeavor. Overall, team numbers slowly improving. Goal #1 is getting to .500.

#90808	02/04/2023 6:44:49 am	Jun 27th, 2058
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	So, shortly after the 12 game win streak, we have a 1-9 streak.

#90823	02/07/2023 6:50:44 am	Jul 9th, 2058
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Nice prospect haul from waivers, Private Snowflake!

#90851	02/10/2023 8:06:25 am	Jul 21st, 2058
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	3 All-Stars isn't bad for a 5th place club. Perez gets his first, Ceballos of course, and 34yo Ramon was nice to see.

#90855	02/11/2023 3:47:58 pm	Jul 26th, 2058
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	From the Nukes, Slovak being back in the ASG makes perfect sense, although he ended up on the IL in his very next game after that. Duke would have deserved it last season already. Esparza is a bit of a surprise, so seeing him just riding the pine pony is fine, I guess. Takahashi only coming off the bench was a bit strange, though. What I really didn't expect was Valerio starting at short in the ASG, given his defensive limitations. I just pushed him over to 2nd for the rest of the season. But, yes, he's been swinging a hot bat so far.

#90865	02/14/2023 8:08:50 pm	Aug 9th, 2058
Vanity Joined: 11/04/2015 Posts: 33 Arlington Angels VI.2	100 games in and 5 teams within two games of first, have too love it! Good luck the rest of the way.

#90866	02/15/2023 4:29:15 am	Aug 9th, 2058
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Yeah, that's pretty crazy, especially compared to the West.

#90868	02/15/2023 2:43:07 pm	Aug 9th, 2058
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	It wouldn't be the first time that I end up getting demoted with the best run differential in the division.

#90881	02/17/2023 5:25:22 am	Aug 19th, 2058
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Our cross-division play is over. How did we fare? Below are the standings as they were after 50 games, games back of first, and then CD records: West DET - 38-22 BRW 7GB 28-32 EUC 9GB 32-28 DW 9GB 28-32 SM 14GB 32-28 HUN 15GB 22-38 East MAN - 23-37 ATL 3GB 24-36 POU 4GB 30-30 ARL 7GB 34-26 BLO 12GB 38-22 ABI 16GB 31-29

#90884	02/18/2023 1:53:31 pm	Aug 21st, 2058
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Not the first time that it's the interdivisional games killing the Isos...

#90900	02/22/2023 11:01:51 am	Sep 4th, 2058
Jason2327 Joined: 09/02/2014 Posts: 722 Abilene Patriots III.2	Could we just keep playing cross division please lol. The only good thing coming out of this absolutely disappointing season is I have the likely MVP in Tony Sierra. He's going to hit 40hrs which from I've seen over the yrs is unusual in these upper divisions

#90944	02/27/2023 4:11:20 am	Sep 24th, 2058
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Yeah, is it too late to ask for another cross-divisional series or two? My beloved Thunder's continued struggles vs our East foes continues...

#90957	02/28/2023 7:56:50 pm	Oct 2nd, 2058
bsmall84 Joined: 05/14/2015 Posts: 70 Inactive	Congrats to Detroit on clinching a spot into Legends. Euclid has officially waved the white flag. Good luck next year in Legends

#90962	03/01/2023 7:31:13 am	Oct 2nd, 2058
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Last time through. I'm sure the West clubs are ready for a new season to begin. Wasn't a lot to play for at the top this year. Two big series' tonight: Santa Monica is making a run at keeping the league. Big series vs Deadwood tonight. A split would keep hope alive, albeit barely. A series win would breathe life into the race. A sweep would shock it back to life. The East's top two clubs square off as well in a 3-game set. The series winner adds serious momentum to their title hopes.

#90971	03/02/2023 4:14:33 am	Oct 6th, 2058
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Welp, there was a sweep in the Deadwood/Santa Monica series. Down to one race left...

#90973	03/02/2023 9:27:54 am	Oct 6th, 2058
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	Man I've been so nervous the last week or two about being able to hang on in the league this season. That sweep was a huge surprise and relief!

#90976	03/02/2023 11:27:37 am	Oct 6th, 2058
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Not to mention, you now basically get about half a Spring Training's worth of major-league exp for those young hitters and pitchers.

#91000	03/03/2023 3:46:24 pm	Oct 11th, 2058
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	In fairness to Poughkeepsie, I'll still play my regular lineup in the last game against Bloomington, although it probably won't make that much of a difference. I need a spot start, though, because my regular 4-man-rotation late in the season is a bit fatigued. The final six games against Atlanta and Abilene will be practice for the kids. They are not changing anything, unless Atlanta catches up 120 runs in seven games.

#91001	03/03/2023 5:33:26 pm	Oct 12th, 2058
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	I also appreciate the fairness, Holmes.

#91007	03/04/2023 7:15:58 pm	Oct 18th, 2058
Jason2327 Joined: 09/02/2014 Posts: 722 Abilene Patriots III.2	So since I went with default settings in the managements settings my team has gone 9-3 🤔

#91018	03/06/2023 4:26:34 am	Oct 22nd, 2058
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	At the risk of sounding like a pompous a**, 2058 has turned out to be one of my Thunder's best performances. As we began inter-division play, we sat at 14-29 (.326) and in 5th place. My Thunder found the right combination of players and finished the season 75-42 (.641) to squeak out a division win vs a veteran field. Back in 2048, Bloomington began the season 24-31 (.436) and in 5th place. We finished on a 73-32 (.695) pace and won our only Legends crown. Maybe not the humblest post ever, but don't give up trying to find the right guys who have a positive "roll of the dice" for the season. Same goes for coaches!

#91020	03/06/2023 7:07:44 am	Oct 22nd, 2058
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Well, you have every right to be proud and happy. Congratulations! Unfortunately, that will move the predictions, which kept putting Manhattan into first place, to Legends and leave me without that little push of optimism early in the season.

#91021	03/06/2023 7:59:16 am	Oct 22nd, 2058
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Early indications show Manhattan 7th in Legends East next season... 2058 2.1 Championship Series Tale of the Tape AVG/OBP/SLG Tigers: .260/.334/.424 Thunder: .278/.337/.437 Scoring Tigers: 843 RS/677 RA Thunder: 791 RS/701 RA ERA/FIP Tigers: 3.87/4.14 Thunder: 3.98/4.21 DP/FLD Tigers: 220DP/.983% Thunder: 271DP/.986% And the Kiss of Death: Thunder won season series 6-4 Prediction: Detroit's bullpen is the difference in a battle of two good starting rotations. They check the Thunder power advantage. Late innings decide this series. Detroit wins 4-3.

#91022	03/06/2023 8:20:03 am	Oct 22nd, 2058
Jason2327 Joined: 09/02/2014 Posts: 722 Abilene Patriots III.2	Congrats snowflake! Finishing up on my default note, team finished 12-4. Guess it's time to trust the manager. Who knows how my first trip into division II would have gone if I had done so all season. I'll be back in 2 seasons

#91031	03/07/2023 5:06:23 pm	Oct 30th, 2058
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	First, congratulations to Charm and Detroit for winning 105 games, a division title, and a return to Legends. Second, my Thunder have finally reached 100 prestige points and move to #8 all-time in prestige ranking. That's a milestone we've been waiting a few seasons for. As for league awards, I think my OF Ceballos makes All-League and 1B Perez has a decent shot at it. I don't see any Thunder pitchers worthy this season.

#91036	03/08/2023 7:13:11 am	Oct 30th, 2058
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Congrats again. Quite the feat, considering how dominant Detroit has been all season.

#91039	03/08/2023 10:23:17 am	Oct 30th, 2058
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	A look back at the 2058 projections... West held to the predictions, although the computer thought better of Huntington. Prediction/Final Spot 1. DET: 1 2. BRW: 2 3. EUC: 3 4. HUN: 6 (-2 spots) 5. DW: 4 (+1) 6. SW: 5 (+1) Outside of the bot, the 'ole Apple II was pretty good. Aaaand then there's the East... 1. MAN: 3 (-2) 2. ABI: 6 (-5) 3. BLO: 1 (+2) 4. ARL: 4 Glad you could help 5. POU: 2 (+3) 6. ATL: 4 (+2) The teams picked to succeed didn't, the teams that weren't, did. Only Arlington gets a cookie. The rest of you can suck it. I'm convinced Manhattan does it out of spite now, as he's been picked 1st for the last 17 seasons or however long it's been. Some kind of twisted hate for pre-season polls or something.

#91058	03/11/2023 11:26:35 am	Jan 13th, 2059
Jason2327 Joined: 09/02/2014 Posts: 722 Abilene Patriots III.2	Have to say real fast before out here, Tony Sierra got robbed of MVP

#91085	03/15/2023 5:57:35 am	Jan 22nd, 2059
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	Hello again, II.1. Just poking my nose in to wave and wish everyone a quality 2059. More later, as this week is insanely busy for me.

#91135	03/23/2023 6:30:25 pm	Mar 14th, 2059
Addimgp Joined: 02/26/2023 Posts: 11 Rochester Hills Tigers IV.8	It feels a little odd to come into II.1. I came up the ranks on the right side of the pyramid so I played in II.2. Now after relegation I am here in II.1 and playing against teams I have never gone up against in meaningful games (that I recall). Good luck to everyone this year. Let's keep this forum among the top in the Leagues Forum!

#91137	03/23/2023 9:01:53 pm	Mar 14th, 2059
wickersty Joined: 05/11/2017 Posts: 1002 Deadwood Perambulators II.1	Welcome to the league.

#91152	03/24/2023 1:01:46 pm	Mar 14th, 2059
atomic Joined: 12/05/2012 Posts: 82 Sunnyvale Rebels II.2	Sunnyvale Rebels are back in II.1! I'm afraid it will end up just like our first and last time in II.1 in 2027. Good luck to everybody!

#91165	03/25/2023 5:40:21 pm	Mar 18th, 2059
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Good to have you here. I try to be active in the forums, but depending on work, hobbies and GF, I sometimes vanish from the face of the earth for several weeks at the time. Looks like I'm one of the older players on this side of the tree by now, and I think having an active forum in your league really makes the game better.

#91176	03/26/2023 2:01:39 pm	Mar 18th, 2059
Jerbeetwo Joined: 06/30/2019 Posts: 331 Tyler Goldendoodles IV.3	Sorry for any confusion up above. I spoke as my alter ego RHH. Looking forward to a new season in II.1 and competing against a whole new crop of good owners. Also it looks like this is a pretty active league forum and that is good to see.

#91177	03/26/2023 2:02:31 pm	Mar 18th, 2059
Vanity Joined: 11/04/2015 Posts: 33 Arlington Angels VI.2	Best of luck to everyone, should be a good season.

#91185	03/27/2023 6:25:15 am	Mar 20th, 2059
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	Cup time! Who still has question marks on their team post-spring training? (I do, I do!)

#91235	04/01/2023 2:26:22 am	Apr 10th, 2059
Jerbeetwo Joined: 06/30/2019 Posts: 331 Tyler Goldendoodles IV.3	I have perpetual question marks when it comes to pitching.

#91251	04/07/2023 6:14:49 am	May 3rd, 2059
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I have decided to stop asking questions, get rid of some journeymen and just go young. This must be the youngest Nukes team in years. It should have a better defense than it has shown so far (geez, most runs allowed in the league, and a team ERA over 5), but that is probably due to several very raw pitchers. It also has less thump than previous Manhattan lineups, but unless I run into someone exceptional on the waiver wire (at least I don't have to look at salaries right now), that's what it is now. Most of my youngsters are far from being rookie of the year candidates, and we might be relegation candidates this season, but considering how dissatisfied I was with my draft picks over several seasons, the nearer future doesn't look nearly as bleak as I though it would.

#91252	04/07/2023 6:17:44 am	May 3rd, 2059
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Looking at it, it's only the pitching staff that is really young, the majority of my pitchers being 23-26. The lineup is more 30ish, but it's not as dependent on 34 year old journeymen as it was over the last couple of seasons, and there are some people in their upper 20s contributing whom I had nearly given up on already.

#91261	04/08/2023 9:18:31 am	May 6th, 2059
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	I think it's just a poor run of forms for these young pitchers all happening at the same time. You do have a formidable bunch of young pitchers ready to lead the way. I think Crespin Ureño can be a #1 starter. His rookie year plus his amazing HR rate has me drooling all over. Similarly, I like Troy Spaulding with his extremely low HR rate in the minors. Nicolás Gomez just had bad luck giving up so many homers to start the season. Sure, he'll give up the occasional long balls, but 9 in 33 innings is something. That's Phil Johnson, but Gomez is definitely better than him. The other young pitchers are good lottery tickets, and I am sure a few of them will turn out well. Your bunch looked better than my bunch of Contreras, Hartanto, Norris, Brickman, Prado, and Cornejo back in 2056 where I ended up getting demoted two years in a row. Only 2 (soon to be one) remained with my team, but your other young pitchers seem to have more potential than mine.

#91288	04/13/2023 4:51:29 pm	May 28th, 2059
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	Wow, Fall River has built a sizable lead in the East by going 17-2 over the last little bit.

#91487	05/13/2023 3:23:47 am	Sep 16th, 2059
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I suppose when you're fighting to survice, getting swept by the 4th place team twice in a row isn't helpful...

#91489	05/13/2023 8:53:08 pm	Sep 20th, 2059
Vanity Joined: 11/04/2015 Posts: 33 Arlington Angels VI.2	I just took 3 off of them, got you within 4, good luck. Me, the poor Angels are having the worst season of my ownership career. Been sad watching the decline the last two seasons and not getting any waiver or draft help. Do me good to get a little of that humble pie

#91492	05/14/2023 3:15:26 pm	Sep 21st, 2059
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Oh, yeah, Arlington looked much stronger the last couple of seasons. Sorry, I have no freebies to give away this season, so I'm glad we got the first two of this series...

#91514	05/17/2023 6:12:25 am	Oct 2nd, 2059
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	Still relegation games that matter, with West's three, four, and five teams (Brownsville, Sunnyvale, Deadwood) separated by a half game, and East's four and five teams (Poughkeepsie and Manhattan) separated by a half game. Also didn't realize Edmond was largely being run by a bot until they went bot recently. Interesting season for them, but Fall River has been in cruise control for a while now. Commiserations to Arlington and Euclid for the tough seasons.

#91581	05/21/2023 9:57:36 pm	Oct 22nd, 2059
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Dang Walking into the Manhattan curse again...

#91583	05/21/2023 10:56:41 pm	Oct 22nd, 2059
Vanity Joined: 11/04/2015 Posts: 33 Arlington Angels VI.2	Enjoyed the last few seasons here in Div II, hope to get back soon. Good luck to you all next season!

#91620	05/25/2023 12:24:25 pm	Nov 2nd, 2059
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Welcome, Rock, old friend... The Manhattan curse got my high school hometown Poughkeepsie this time around. 5th place before the final stretch, then I was offline for a considerable time because of the breakup with my GF, busy time at work, my mom moving back home from the nursing homek and taking over the leadership of a volunteer organization with >2000 members, a handful of employees and massive infighting. I guess it was not having the time to actively manage my team that helped me make it to 4th place once again... Goes to prove I can get 4th place without having Haverhill in my league.

#91622	05/25/2023 3:14:06 pm	Nov 2nd, 2059
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	But I'm not sure Haverhill can come in 5th without Manhattan. In our 40 year history Haverhill has only come in 5th 4 times. Manhattan with 4th on each of those occasions. Haverhill has never demoted from a league that didn't have Manhattan in it... Haverhill has demoted 6 times. We have competed with Manhattan 7 times. In 2032 we somehow flipped the script. Edging out Manhattan for 4th place despite -64 RD from Manhattan. Super lucky that one year, but for the most part, Manhattan is like kryptonite to Haverhill. Updated Thursday, May 25 2023 @ 3:22:19 pm PDT

#91632	05/26/2023 9:15:03 am	Nov 2nd, 2059
atomic Joined: 12/05/2012 Posts: 82 Sunnyvale Rebels II.2	This season was the best result in Sunnyvale's 47 year history. After a long fight the Rebels managed a miracolous 9-1 finish, leading to a 80-80 record and ended up 3rd in the West. Previously it was 2027 when the Rebels ended up 70-90 on the 6th in II.1. What a great surprise to see Hubert Keefe becoming named the Rookie of the Year! Scouts still say "he seems a little overmatched at this level of competition".

#91633	05/26/2023 10:07:06 am	Nov 2nd, 2059
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Keefe looks great. 24 years old and 4 full seasons at AAA... I think you need new scouts.

#91635	05/26/2023 7:25:43 pm	Jan 13th, 2060
ademirademir Joined: 02/21/2023 Posts: 10 Kailua Donald III.2	Oh, Atomic is here, time to get spanked again.

#91637	05/26/2023 7:30:50 pm	Jan 13th, 2060
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	If we play in the West, we would tell you that Keefe definitely need more time in AAA :P The two Rookie of the Year winners are definitely players to be jealous about. Bob Wright looks like a perennial Cy Young contender.

#91642	05/27/2023 2:55:52 am	Jan 13th, 2060
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Good to see so many familiar faces in the East. Aside from Lawrence, my Thunder have quite the history with you all. I'd have to go way, way back to see a division with clubs I've never faced. Looking forward to competing with so many new faces in the West this season.

#91647	05/27/2023 8:00:42 am	Jan 13th, 2060
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	First time in Division II, looking forward to the season. Good luck to everyone.

#91661	05/28/2023 3:22:50 pm	Jan 13th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	@Boltsman - 3 rookies gaining a POT is really good. Never mind one of them was already a POT 16 SS! That guy is going to be crazy good.

#91669	05/29/2023 11:23:51 am	Jan 13th, 2060
atomic Joined: 12/05/2012 Posts: 82 Sunnyvale Rebels II.2	@ademirademir: iI guess this time the Rebels are going to get spanked. It's a miracle we are here

#91673	05/30/2023 4:14:26 am	Jan 13th, 2060
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Private Snowflake, you're back, too?!? Class reunion! Updated Tuesday, May 30 2023 @ 4:14:45 am PDT

#91675	05/30/2023 9:51:38 am	Jan 13th, 2060
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	It's mostly familiar faces here out East. Lawrence is the lone new face here, but I remembered playing against them way back in Div 6 years ago. Bloomington had been in relegated from Legends five times before. They have won the division the next season 3 times. The other two times only took them 2 and 3 seasons to win the division. This stat tells us to send our best pitcher against Bloomington! @Rock, I should've saved the screenshot from years ago where I had 7 (or was it 9) down arrows on my prospects. I think this has to be the most gains I've ever had. Usually my luck is terrible. Updated Tuesday, May 30 2023 @ 9:54:04 am PDT

#91686	05/31/2023 5:07:41 am	Jan 22nd, 2060
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Private Snowflake, you're back, too?!? Bloomington had been relegated from Legends five times before. Just pouring salt in the wound, boys. That East division was BRUTAL. What's really strange is this next sentence: Haverhill is a reigning division champion. How is Sunnyvale not the "Sunnyvale Bubbles" or the "Sunnyvale Weekend Assistant Trailer Park Managers"?

#91694	05/31/2023 4:03:23 pm	Feb 3rd, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Haverhill is a reigning division champion. Whaa...? Are you making crazy inaccurate predictions with your Mac again? We barely escaped DIII with a bunch of loaner mercs who have already been off loaded... I'll be surprised if we can stay up this season. Especially with the Manhattan curse in effect. Or do you just mean that we promoted from DIII. We've done that a few times. Its a more approachable goal than Legends, LOL. Updated Wednesday, May 31 2023 @ 4:05:38 pm PDT

#91695	05/31/2023 8:49:28 pm	Feb 5th, 2060
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	Just pouring salt in the wound, boys. We are trying to give you a cold welcome so you can go back to where you came from! Wait, actually we don't want that... don't go back to where you came from. Or do you just mean that we promoted from DIII. We've done that a few times. Its a more approachable goal than Legends Yep, most of us yo-yo between lower divisions and occasionally win one to get promoted, but Bloomington is a different level of yo-yo'ing between Legend and D2. Although the ultimate form of yo-yo'ing is what Birmingham and Concord do. They yo-yo between not winning Legends and winning Legends.

#91698	06/01/2023 5:16:15 am	Feb 5th, 2060
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	All that Manhattan "curse" means is Haverhill will finish 4th, frustratingly close to the top but too good for relegation There's kind of a feng shui to it all...

#91699	06/01/2023 5:25:30 am	Feb 5th, 2060
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	And speaking of loaner mercs, this season's signees are...meh. I need O but there just isn't any. Hasn't been. So deeper into the defensive hole I dig...

#91702	06/01/2023 11:41:00 am	Feb 12th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	If the curse holds true we will finish 5th. At least that is normally happens when we play with Manhattan. I have a lot of holes right now. I've can't remember the last time I had so much free space on my roster... Unfortunately we haven't hit on anything so far this off season. I did see that you were playing with Wakefield's emotions... Reneging on a cup of coffee, LOL. I'm pretty sure he is toast this season. Updated Thursday, June 1 2023 @ 11:41:21 am PDT

#91703	06/02/2023 4:50:58 am	Feb 19th, 2060
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	The back of Wakefield's baseball card says "yea", but it came down to #6/7 out of the 'pen. In the end, the loss of his plus breaking pitch did him in. Can't believe LL5/6 clubs weren't in on him. He can still be a starter down there. Plus all we really wanted was his Haverhill playbook.

#91704	06/02/2023 5:06:32 am	Feb 19th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Plus all we really wanted was his Haverhill playbook. - LOL, that's what I figured. He might still do for a LL5/6 team. But he slipped a lot last season, and he regressed even more over the summer.

#91705	06/02/2023 8:03:06 am	Feb 19th, 2060
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	2060 League II.1 Prediction and Top 10 Children's Name for 2014 Post. 60 seasons of Broken Bat. Wow. It all started back in 1963. Man hadn't yet stepped foot on the Hollywood moon set. Billboard's top song was "Surfin USA", confusing and angering many in middle America. President Kennedy proclaimed he was a Berliner, signalling to the world he was on way too many meds. Boy, time flies. It seems like just last week it was 2059, the 10th anniversary of the US annexation of Canada. So what did you say was in this tea? Since some of you are new league mates, I have been predicting for decades the exact finish of every team in the league with incredible accuracy. Many times, Steve will just award the trophies and we won't even simulate the season. Don't look back at other prediction posts I've made, just take my word for it. I've come up with a proven, mathematical and science (astrology) formula that I enter into my diesel-powered, Apple II computer. 176k and 467 floppy disks later, I print out my findings on that sweet dot-matrix paper. If I've lost you with all the technical jargon, it's because you weren't alive 64 years ago. Let's get down to it. West Hitter Ratings BRW 182.16 YUM 179.72 TYL 179.38 SUN 168.75 KAI 166.16 PTA 155.93 West Pitcher Ratings PTA 175.50 KAI 170.63 TYL 167.35 (according to Wiki: "Tyler has a modest skyline and downtown area". That's not a joke.) YUM 164.13 SUN 157.97 BRW 155.84 West Predicted Order of Finish 1. TYL 346.73 2. YUM 343.85 3. BRW 338.00 4. KAI 336.79 5. PTA 331.43 (made famous by the Jeannie C Reilly song, Harper Valley PTA) 6. SUN 326.72 Congratulations, Tyler! You're going to Legends! East Hitter Ratings MAN 189.58 (you know where is is going. it's tradition) LAW 169.29 EDM 167.86 EPR 166.82 BLO 164.48 HAV 155.62 (as is this) East Pitcher Ratings BLO 172.43 MAN 168.14 EDM 163.36 (motto: Live, Work, Dream. oh no. I think my wife has that saying somewhere in our house. Eww.) LAW 162.24 EPR 161.28 HAV 147.75 East Predicted Order of the Finnish 1. MAN 357.72 2. BLO 336.91 3. LAW 331.53 4. EDM 331.22 (you better not get beaten by a bot!) 5. EPR 328.10 6. HAV 303.37 Every time I'm with Holmes, I pick him to promote. And I've never been wrong yet. There you have it! One last prediction: Manhattan over Tyler in 5 games. Lock it in. I'm sure you all agree totally with these predictions. Updated Friday, June 2 2023 @ 8:06:47 am PDT

#91706	06/02/2023 10:03:15 am	Feb 19th, 2060
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	"(made famous by the Jeannie C Reilly song, Harper Valley PTA)" Think you just aged yourself there!

#91708	06/02/2023 11:08:19 am	Feb 19th, 2060
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	"Port Arthur is annually obliterated by hurricanes and thus its very existence seems a monument to mankind's hubris" was the alternate "fun fact".

#91711	06/02/2023 12:26:36 pm	Feb 19th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I think you have Haverhill ranked far to generously Haverhill always appreciates the bulletin board material that Private provides us every season Updated Friday, June 2 2023 @ 12:28:54 pm PDT

#91715	06/02/2023 5:23:26 pm	Mar 2nd, 2060
electriceel883 Joined: 05/26/2021 Posts: 1505 Irvine Infernos III.3	"Oh, what a night Late December back in 63 What a very special time for me As I remember, what a night" I tried to read these predictions, but you lost me with YUM --Tennis, where a shutout is called love

#91720	06/03/2023 12:09:47 am	Mar 2nd, 2060
atomic Joined: 12/05/2012 Posts: 82 Sunnyvale Rebels II.2	@PrivateSnowflake: Sunnyvalle Bubbles would be a great name indeed! Rumors say the CAlifornia (not CAnada) based Sunnyvale Rebels were found by an individual who called himself "the Scorpion", who back then, just recently moved in from the desert.

#91722	06/03/2023 9:57:48 pm	Mar 4th, 2060
Jerbeetwo Joined: 06/30/2019 Posts: 331 Tyler Goldendoodles IV.3	Tyler is the Rose Capital of America. 100,000 population so not much of a skyline. Still my favorite city I’ve lived in and I’ve lived in a lot. Also, I remember every historical comment mentioned. I always enjoy reading your predictions PrivateSnowflake. First time I’ve been involved in one though.

#91846	06/16/2023 4:07:36 am	Apr 7th, 2060
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Good update. Some ST games helped pad the stats. Was hoping this was Larsen's week to join Ramirez and Gallagher in the Thunder rotation, giving my Thunder a heckuva 1-2-3 punch.

#91869	06/16/2023 4:50:05 pm	Apr 9th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Dang. That is a lot of pitcher pops. Haverhill is languishing in a cup group with three LL-II teams. Doesn't seem like we're going to achieve much this season in the cup or the league.

#91872	06/16/2023 9:41:56 pm	Apr 10th, 2060
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	The three young aces from Bloomington with an average potential of 15 2/3 is giving us nightmares even before all of them make it to the majors. It's almost like PrivateSnowflake has some sort of spell that concentrates his luck for the entire draft on that first round pick. Wingardium Leviosa

#91878	06/18/2023 5:31:22 pm	Apr 18th, 2060
Jerbeetwo Joined: 06/30/2019 Posts: 331 Tyler Goldendoodles IV.3	I can only dream of ever having that depth and quality of pitching. Pretty pleased with the first round of the season. Sitting at 11-7 while playing 14 of those 18 on the road. Oh what coulda been if we only had played well our one home series. We lost 3 of 4. But we had 2 starters and our closer injured during that series so we'll just write that one off. Sure hope it doesn't become a trend though. Updated Sunday, June 18 2023 @ 5:37:35 pm PDT

#91883	06/19/2023 3:04:33 pm	Apr 19th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Dang it I forgot to increase my stadium seating this year. I suppose the silver lining is that I won't need to change it next season, LOL. Updated Monday, June 19 2023 @ 3:05:33 pm PDT

#91940	06/25/2023 5:10:09 pm	May 13th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Two loops completed it I'm getting déjà vu I fourth place battle with Manhattan doesn't seem unreasonable at this point...

#91942	06/27/2023 5:24:56 am	May 17th, 2060
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Trying to find a catcher is like trying to find a unicorn anymore.

#91943	06/27/2023 7:43:34 am	May 17th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm feeling the pain at SS right now 🦄

#91950	06/28/2023 7:11:29 am	May 21st, 2060
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	I'm fine at those key positions, but it seems my team is just not strong enough all around to compete in LL2. Pitching remains a major concern. I have a bunch of young arms, but they're just not that good. That's not that much of a surprise, considering I haven't been as active in the game during the last year or so, so I missed a few chances at development. Doing your first draft a few days late basically has the same effect as missing the first round, and I didn't place as many waiver claims as I used to, either...

#91951	06/28/2023 7:29:41 am	May 21st, 2060
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	But Private's predictions never disappoint.

#91956	06/29/2023 5:05:00 am	May 25th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Hoyle looks suspiciously like a real catcher...

#91996	07/01/2023 3:07:28 pm	Jun 1st, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Injuries are absolutely killing us this season. I don't think we've had less then 3 guys injured since the first week of the season 6 guys injured right now, three of them had double digit injuries

#92009	07/02/2023 9:45:30 pm	Jun 8th, 2060
Jerbeetwo Joined: 06/30/2019 Posts: 331 Tyler Goldendoodles IV.3	That is a run of bad luck. My trouble is my hitting. We just can’t get it going.

#92018	07/04/2023 6:52:24 am	Jun 10th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I like the look of the two young guys Tyler just picked up. Haverhill went the opposite direction and picked up some aged reinforcements.

#92029	07/05/2023 4:49:18 pm	Jun 19th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Dang it We need to spread these runs out more...

#92043	07/07/2023 9:58:41 am	Jun 25th, 2060
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	I normally don't have the patience to develop position players, but I decided to try to grow a few this season. Now I'm remembering why I normally don't. I can deal with 1 maaaaaybe 2. Stick 'em in the 8 or 9 hole as long as they can field. But when the fielding isn't there, my patience runs out. Back to cycling through vets...

#92077	07/12/2023 4:00:13 am	Jul 14th, 2060
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	The West is really laying the wood to my Thunder so far. 13-17. Could really use some of that mythical "East Beast" magic...

#92080	07/12/2023 8:00:48 am	Jul 14th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Haverhill has done very slightly better (14-16), but our RD has completely evaporated. Seems like a strong West division this season. On the bright side our hitting has been better in interleague. Of course that just means our pitching has been getting shelled, LOL. Updated Wednesday, July 12 2023 @ 8:04:42 am PDT

#92085	07/12/2023 3:00:49 pm	Jul 16th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I never realized that the AI plays injured players in the All-Star game. But Silinas still got to Catch regardless of his injury. Now if I could just get him to tough it out during league games 😜

#92088	07/12/2023 8:48:18 pm	Jul 16th, 2060
Jerbeetwo Joined: 06/30/2019 Posts: 331 Tyler Goldendoodles IV.3	Our All-Star POG with 3 HR’s is injured but played too.

#92153	07/18/2023 12:08:09 pm	Aug 4th, 2060
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	It's August?!?! I don't have my team together yet!

#92163	07/19/2023 6:04:12 pm	Aug 13th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Nice sweep Brownsville. Haverhill has really struggled again the West this season.

#92171	07/21/2023 4:19:04 am	Aug 19th, 2060
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Speaking of which, let's see how we all fared. The "East Beast" myth was not a factor this season and only Yuma and Lawrence had any serious success vs the other half this year. West Yuma 39-21 Sunnyvale 29-31 Tyler 27-33 Kailua 31-29 Port Arthur 25-35 Brownsville 27-33 East Lawrence 36-24 Eden Prairie 31-29 Bloomington 33-27 Haverhill 26-34 Manhattan 28-32 Edmond 28-32

#92175	07/21/2023 9:42:40 am	Aug 19th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I knew we did really poorly in interleague, but tough seeing the bot do better than us, LOL. And of course feeling the cursed Manhattan breathing down our necks I think I would counting the Bloomington record as real success. Updated Friday, July 21 2023 @ 9:45:36 am PDT

#92186	07/23/2023 2:37:15 pm	Aug 26th, 2060
Jerbeetwo Joined: 06/30/2019 Posts: 331 Tyler Goldendoodles IV.3	Why does the All-Star Break seem to turn seasons in the opposite direction in such a way? At the All-Star break Tyler was 46-34 and I thought in pretty good shape since we had played 12 more games on the road than at home. Since the break we have gone 11-23 to sit at 57-57 and now playing to stay in II.1 next season the way things are going. We were 17-13 against the East the first time through. Ended up 27-33. Teams seem to turn to beep or get really hot after the All-Star break. I know it happens in baseball but it sure happens an awful lot here. Rng just completely reverses. Our runs per game have dropped from 4.0 to 3.08. It's baffling. Updated Sunday, July 23 2023 @ 2:50:23 pm PDT

#92187	07/23/2023 2:39:42 pm	Aug 26th, 2060
Jerbeetwo Joined: 06/30/2019 Posts: 331 Tyler Goldendoodles IV.3	Lol. I did not know certain words are not allowed in the forums. I did not type beep. That is funny.

#92188	07/23/2023 2:45:02 pm	Aug 26th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Haverhill went 12-18 on the backside of interleague. But 14-16 on the front side wasn't really that much better...

#92192	07/24/2023 7:05:29 am	Aug 29th, 2060
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Get the tin-foil hats out: I believe individual players have a built-in variance on how they'll perform vs the mean of their SI stats. That's why some guys seem to be on-again, off-again year to year. I randomly chose Haverhill's Juan Pablo Silinas to illustrate this belief (bc he's a long-time vet), but I'm sure you all have guys that perform like this. See the ups and downs, season to season? Once he's developed, it's .300 season then not. .300 season then not. I think most of us refer to this as the player's "flip of the coin". The game does this so we can't count on a guy just going .300, 25HR, 100RBI consistently, every season. The variances make it feel more "real". My own documented theory is that there is at least one "second flip" at the ASG. In 2048, my club was 23-27 and in 5th place. Intra-Division begins and we go 21-9, then ASG, then 19-11. We close out the season going 34-16 vs the same competition we struggled so mightily against the first time around. And this was in Legends! So what happened? I believe we had a lot of negative rolls to start out. Then hit the jackpot on the successive rolls with multiple players. Of course, it's all just a theory.

#92193	07/24/2023 8:29:32 am	Aug 29th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I've had a few guys like that. Usually on the lower side for BC. I'm still convinced that BC is a factor on how bad those bad seasons are. A guy like Padilla demonstrates this well. Not a flip/flop guy, but lower BC than I normally allow, and his performance was all over the place...

#92206	07/25/2023 9:23:07 pm	Sep 4th, 2060
Jerbeetwo Joined: 06/30/2019 Posts: 331 Tyler Goldendoodles IV.3	So I signed Rangel this afternoon hoping to catch lightening in a bottle. Planned on giving him a 3 day test run to see if he could help my pathetic second half hitting. He gets a POG in his first game for Tyler. After three games he is 4 for 11 with 3 HR’s and 5 RBI’s. After game 3 he lands a 9 game injury. So much for those plans. Just how this second half has gone. http://brokenbat.org/player/243283

#92208	07/26/2023 4:41:41 am	Sep 4th, 2060
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Game planning for Haverhill: Halflings hit poorly vs LHP. Alright, he gets my lefties. Looks at record vs LHSP. Wtf? Pick a lane, man.

#92210	07/26/2023 7:02:59 am	Sep 4th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I saw Rangel hit 2 HRs in his first game for Tyler. Very typical. Haverhill paid the guy $6M+ all season to hit .197 with a .569 OPS. Then we cut him and he doubles his HR total for the whole year with one series at Tyler, LOL.

#92211	07/26/2023 7:10:13 am	Sep 4th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I think we will do better now that we dropped that Rangel dead weight. You should pitches righties against us

#92216	07/26/2023 8:09:31 pm	Sep 8th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Well we lost to both lefties. Pretty tough loss in the first game. Losing a 4 point lead in the 9th inning is never fun.

#92218	07/27/2023 4:39:20 am	Sep 8th, 2060
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	The infield draws in. Arellano hits a home run to right field of 340 feet. Garcia comes in to score. Corrales comes in to score. Palmer comes in to score. That was the exact opposite of the outcome we wanted there.

#92220	07/27/2023 7:40:10 am	Sep 8th, 2060
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Looks like Haverhill is pretty safe this time around. At least, I don't have anything substantial up my sleeve and don't see how we're going to catch up 8 games down the stretch...

#92221	07/27/2023 2:29:05 pm	Sep 8th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'll believe it when I see it. Too many times we have failed down the stretch versus Manhattan.

#92227	07/28/2023 9:43:55 am	Sep 13th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	If you are wondering why we have been so bad against lefties this season... All of the rentals I have tried out have crashed and burned. Would be bad enough if it weren't for the fact that a couple of them performed well for other teams in this league Jose Rangel hit .197 with a .569 OPS for Haverhill over 49 games (RHP platoon). Tearing it up for Tyler. Granted I only gave Scot Norton a short leash. But .227 with a .547 OPS (RHP platoon) after hitting .281 with a .821 OPS for Bloomington over the first half of the year. Aarón López hit .255 with a .595 OPS for Haverhil over 36 games (RHP platoon). Hit 31 HRs for a LL-6 team last season. Genaro Galarza has been the "bright spot" hitting .217 with a .677 OPS for Haverhill over 46 games (RHP platoon). Our latest acquisition Marty Meadows is hitting .211 with a .501 OPS (RHP platoon). Hit 29 HRs for a LL-6 team last year, and 12 HRs first half of this season... Seems like everyone just turns into refuse when they enter Hospital Hill... Updated Friday, July 28 2023 @ 9:46:00 am PDT

#92231	07/28/2023 4:35:25 pm	Sep 13th, 2060
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Hitters 1 & 2 go down for 10+ days with injuries. Perfect timing. Now those rookies that I hate playing will have to do... Rock, Scot Norton was a total DT. His SI numbers looked ok, but there was something off about him. He fooled me for longer than I care to admit...

#92232	07/28/2023 5:18:24 pm	Sep 14th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I only grabbed Norton because of his numbers in Bloomington. Didn't give him much rope though. Rangel was the surprise for me. Seemed like he was built to play in Hospital Hill, but he was a total dud for us Updated Friday, July 28 2023 @ 5:20:04 pm PDT

#92233	07/28/2023 5:22:43 pm	Sep 14th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Haverhill took quite a beating from the bot

#92245	07/30/2023 4:33:40 pm	Sep 22nd, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Only three games ahead of Manhattan now. Looking more and more likely that the curse is still in full effect...

#92246	07/30/2023 6:18:53 pm	Sep 24th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I suppose the silver lining on my starters averaging 2 1/3 innings last series is that they are all well rested for tomorrow, LOL. See Jerbeetwo. This is how you do it. I could probably get away with a 2 man rotation right now, LOL.

#92249	07/31/2023 3:22:05 pm	Sep 25th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	More silver linings. Rookie pitcher Gutierrez got lots of experience in that last game against Bloomington, LOL.

#92250	07/31/2023 5:04:02 pm	Sep 27th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Actually turned out ok for us, as it seems Bloomington tired themselves out from all the base running in game 2 Manhattan is still knocking at the door though My new strategy is to pitch Stiles in game 1 so I can fatigue all the offensive players on the opposing team for the remainder of the series Updated Monday, July 31 2023 @ 5:07:26 pm PDT

#92251	08/01/2023 5:24:46 am	Sep 28th, 2060
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Outscored Haverhill 34-16 and LOST 3 of 4. And that does it for my Thunder. Lawrence is the team of destiny this season. We'll turn our eyes to '61.

#92253	08/01/2023 12:03:29 pm	Sep 28th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	This is probably Harper's last season. Seems like he wants to retire before he hits 40. Haverhill didn't expect him to last as long as he has, so pretty happy with his overall production.

#92283	08/04/2023 4:02:17 am	Oct 10th, 2060
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	The relegation battle in the West just got real interesting...

#92288	08/04/2023 9:40:11 am	Oct 10th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm still biting my toe-nails in the East. Any other team I would feel comfortable. But this is Manhattan we're talking about... The team that makes our city tremble. In Haverhill, mothers tell stories to about Isotopes coming to eat them in order to frighten their children into behaving. Haverhill doesn't have the best STEM program, so Isotopes are perceived as a kind of langolier. Updated Friday, August 4 2023 @ 9:43:23 am PDT

#92289	08/04/2023 2:07:45 pm	Oct 10th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	1st game is in the books... A goose egg versus Guy-Ken-Doll; Manhattan's worst starting pitcher... Doesn't bode well. Manhattan swept us last time we met. Another sweep would put them 1/2 a game behind. Updated Friday, August 4 2023 @ 2:12:35 pm PDT

#92302	08/05/2023 5:38:26 pm	Oct 18th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Not looking too good. Manhattan got to face all the rookies on EPR, so now we have to go against real pitchers We probably have to win 2 to stay up; Manhattan finishes up against the bot. Updated Saturday, August 5 2023 @ 6:02:23 pm PDT

#92304	08/05/2023 9:14:31 pm	Oct 18th, 2060
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	The title for the East is coming down to the last 4-game series between Bloomington and Lawrence. Lawrence holds the lead now, but will likely need to win at least 2 to hold off Bloomington. I had expected Bloomington to catch up at some point with their outrageously good run differentials, but it seems Lawrence has managed to squeak out enough close wins so far to stay ahead. This is the second year in a row where the something came down the wire on the last day. Last year, it was Manhattan going on an incredible streak at the end of the season to escape relegation. I am secretly cheering for Bloomington to win because I cannot imagine having to face their three stud young starters for another year. ==== I'm fairly sure Rock is safe. Have you seen the development lineup that I am grouting out? Have of them cannot even hit .200. I would probably cut most of them if I have better prospects to take those at bats. To be fair, Manhattan only faced 2 Rookies and 2 veteran relievers filling in as starters, and it's likely going to be one veteran reliever and 2 Rookies starting for the final 3 games. I don't think the game will let me start pitchers on 2 days rest, but it will likely be Langford for game 2. He is pretty trashy for someone finishing their second year. I totally should not have dumped Shook, who is now pitching well in Legends after Langford jumped out to a good start.

#92306	08/06/2023 8:09:18 am	Oct 18th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Good to hear we get a shot at the development squad as well. Although I am still skeptical what with the curse and all... There was a pretty big gap at the All-Star break which has all but vanished. "I am secretly* cheering" But I was kind of thinking the same thing. No disrespect to Lawrence, which is clearly a better team than us, and always fun to compete with Private, but not sure I actually want to play against that Bloomington team again next season, LOL. Updated Sunday, August 6 2023 @ 8:29:07 am PDT*

#92309	08/06/2023 3:40:52 pm	Oct 20th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	A tearful Bagger Kroger says, "We owe it all to Bloomington." 100% of Haverhill's demotions have come at the hands of Manhattan, so the team expected the worse coming into the season. Luckily the Private Jinx proved to be stronger than the Manhattan Curse, and Haverhill stays in LL-II for one more season.

#92310	08/06/2023 4:42:54 pm	Oct 21st, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I haven't looked around the league. But I'm hoping Cary Yan gets some votes for ROTY.

#92318	08/07/2023 4:12:43 am	Oct 22nd, 2060
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Congratulations to ConradT and of course, Jayhawker. You guys should do well in Legends next season. Jayhawker, your guys won the big games all year. 27-13 in 1-run games? That's clutch. And you came up big in the last series. Go win the League Championship!

#92319	08/07/2023 6:15:55 am	Oct 22nd, 2060
Holmes Joined: 11/07/2013 Posts: 1175 Inactive	Congrats to Lawrence - and to Haverhill for hanging on. Hope to meet you all again sometime. I don't think I'll make it back up from LL3 that soon, though...

#92329	08/07/2023 5:37:45 pm	Oct 26th, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I hope you are back up soon Holmes. Now that we know its actually possible to win, it will be less stressful for Haverhill

#92342	08/08/2023 5:36:30 pm	Oct 30th, 2060
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	Congratulation to Jayhawker on winning Div 2 and moving up to Legends. What an clutch season for the Lawrence Hawks, winning all these important games. Congratulation to ConradT on returning to Legend with the minimum downtime possible. Locking up the division title that earlier really shows the quality of the Yuma Foxes.

#92343	08/08/2023 5:50:54 pm	Oct 30th, 2060
boltsman Joined: 04/18/2017 Posts: 109 Eden Prairie Wolves II.1	As for our Eden Prairie Wolves, "Noooooo..., not another season against Bloomington pitching." We were competitive for the first half of the season that was carried by favorable RNG, but we just lack a bit of talent, especially on the positional player side to really challenge for the title. Looking around our line-up and minors, it seems that we are unable to find and develop reliable hitters from waivers specifically. We need players who can contribute similar to Blankenship from Bloomington and Arellano from Havenhill. I suppose we have Collazo, but he profiles as a platoon guy rather than an everyday player. We have high hopes for Ramirez to take over as the everyday catcher this season, but he played poorly this season. Afoa will join him next year as our young catching tandem for next season as we hope one can break out and be our future catcher, but it seems more likely that both will be below average hitters and defenders at best. Gale had the most respectable numbers this season from my group of young hitters. That is more due to his super hot streak to close the season since he was still hitting sub-200 until the last week of September. With a right-throwing 1B/DH profile and a low hitting attribute growth, we are really playing him because he was our prized waiver win and his 14-potential, rather than his actual projected potential. The rest of my young hitters gives me even more headache. Beatty can hit in minors and spring training, but he is almost at his ceiling (with low-ish attributes), and haven't performed in Div 2 yet. We were happy that Colombo upped his potential to 13, but he hasn't hit in the minors, spring, or in Div 2. Hitting .031 against lefties is hilarious. Cooper and Woods hadn't shown much either. Tough off-season ahead for us.

#92350	08/09/2023 4:45:05 am	Oct 30th, 2060
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	I mentioned how clutch Lawrence was in a previous post and it showed up in the Championship Series. Congratulations, Jayhawker! Looking forward to '61, same 'ol story in Bloomington: yeah we can pitch, but who's gonna play the field? This was my 40th season in Bloomington and you guys didn't get me a cake. Cheesecake is the answer to your next question. Good luck to those promoting and relegating. As far as the newcomers, my Thunder have only ever faced Abilene.

#92360	08/09/2023 11:10:50 pm	Nov 2nd, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	You just need to tell your guys to spread out the runs a bit Two 1-run wins is better than one 22-run win 😜

#92363	08/09/2023 11:32:22 pm	Nov 2nd, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I decided to splurge and get you the most expensive free virtual cake. I didn't get any cake for my 40th either I'll take an ice-cream cake.

#92367	08/10/2023 4:43:31 am	Nov 2nd, 2060
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	You're just so old around here that you forgot... Updated Thursday, August 10 2023 @ 4:45:24 am PDT

#92373	08/10/2023 9:43:46 am	Nov 2nd, 2060
Jerbeetwo Joined: 06/30/2019 Posts: 331 Tyler Goldendoodles IV.3	Congratulations to Yuma on winning the West and Lawrence on winning the East. Good luck to you both next year in Legends. Come on now is Cheesecake really cake?

#92376	08/10/2023 2:31:33 pm	Nov 2nd, 2060
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I forgot all about the hoodie. I wonder where it is...

#92389	08/11/2023 3:51:40 pm	Jan 13th, 2061
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Boo! Way to much weight given to SS for ROTY voting. No way SS Jesus Acosta (.263 AVE, .718 OPS) should have beat out LF Cary Yan (.313 AVE, .941 OPS) in the voting.

#92396	08/11/2023 6:47:01 pm	Jan 13th, 2061
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Seriously... A +63 in Legends... Shouldn't be allowed to play in II Welcome new teams

#92459	08/15/2023 8:59:16 am	Jan 13th, 2061
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	So I cut Ceballos today. Realized he was the last Thunder player to play for our '48 Legends Championship team. Right in the feels, man.

#92461	08/15/2023 8:24:58 pm	Jan 22nd, 2061
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Always painful to cut a good player. Haverhill has been very lucky lately, no good players means no painful cuts

#92477	08/17/2023 6:27:05 pm	Feb 19th, 2061
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Intriguing to see Tyler raise Schrock from the grave. Been a rough offseason for Haverhill. 1/20 claims so far. Missed on all my young low claim guys, and only managed to land a washed up OF who will likely be Rangel 2.0...

#92487	08/18/2023 4:06:28 pm	Mar 1st, 2061
Jason2327 Joined: 09/02/2014 Posts: 722 Abilene Patriots III.2	Haven't gotten any claims myself this year so far. I've been a bit picky though. Only put 7 so far

#92489	08/18/2023 9:15:38 pm	Mar 2nd, 2061
Jerbeetwo Joined: 06/30/2019 Posts: 331 Tyler Goldendoodles IV.3	If he’s Rangel 2.0 I’ll be glad to pick him up after you cut him. 😁

#92492	08/19/2023 4:01:18 am	Mar 2nd, 2061
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	LOL

#92501	08/21/2023 8:22:47 am	Mar 6th, 2061
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	We all know championships are won during the off-season. All throughout sporting history, prognosticators and gurus have always been dead-on in their preseason predictions. I am no different. If you haven't shared a league with me before, I have been publishing league predictions for well over a century. I predicted the US Calvary over the Indians (sorry, Guardians). I predicted the USA over the Conch Republic in 1982. I was the first to predict a little-known film called Titanic would win Best Film at the 1997 Academy Awards. The list goes on and on. I have a scientific formula (and science has proved with nary a doubt in recent years to be 100% right) that I feed into my diesel-powered, Apple II computer. Once the smog clears the room (I should probably do this outside), my trusty PC prints out my ironclad league predictions that have NEVER been wrong. NEVER. SO without further adieu, lets start handing out the trophies. West Hitter Ratings DET 197.74 SUN 182.07 FHL 177.02 The DET/FHL series' is one the opposing teams can literally WALK to. OPK 176.71 TYL 170.63 PTA 166.16 West Pitcher Ratings PTA 175.67 TYL 168.63 Named for Aerosmith lead singer John Tyler DET 166.73 FHL 165.44 SUN 157.76 OPK 148.52 West Division Prediction 1. DET 2. FHL 3. PTA 4. SUN 5. TYL 6. OPK There's a Geography section on Wiki, which is weird because you know, KANSAS. Congratulations Detroit! Now there's two words you don't see together very often. East Hitter Ratings ABI 184.75 QNY 182.58 I was going to write something nasty, but I was thinking of the Central Park Rangers from the movie Elf. BR 180.57 EPR 168.47 BLO 164.16 HAV 158.91 East Pitcher Ratings BLO 176.55 BR 167.52 Huh. I thought this was the one in Louisiana. EPR 157.64 QNY 156.56 ABI 145.63 HAV 145.20 East Division Prediction 1. BR Made you look! 2. BLO 3. QNY 4. ABI 5. EPR 6. HAV Baton Rouge is going to Legends! Welp, that's it. You can start releasing players as we get ready for 2062. And let's go Detroit to win the league over Baton Rouge 4-3, with like 9,000 runs scored, nearly breaking a MLB record for a 7-game series.

#92502	08/21/2023 2:47:35 pm	Mar 7th, 2061
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Happy to see Haverhill at the bottom. That means we might actually stay up

#92504	08/22/2023 9:04:27 pm	Mar 10th, 2061
Alyksandur Joined: 07/19/2017 Posts: 228 Boca Raton Gryphons II.2	I’m in your neighboring league, but I share your sentiment. I started the spring going 5-2 and went into immediate panic mode, but I’m feeling a bit more confident after having gone 0-8 since.

#92507	08/24/2023 3:02:16 am	Mar 12th, 2061
Jerbeetwo Joined: 06/30/2019 Posts: 331 Tyler Goldendoodles IV.3	Hopefully my hitting is a little better than that. I have some tweaking still to do. Although if last year is any indication……..

#92508	08/24/2023 5:12:41 am	Mar 12th, 2061
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	In putting together my predictions, the offensive numbers really stood out. If this league is heavy-offense, I don't like our chances...

#92524	08/25/2023 5:07:32 am	Mar 14th, 2061
Jason2327 Joined: 09/02/2014 Posts: 722 Abilene Patriots III.2	Hoping to improve the pitching somehow lol

#92571	08/27/2023 9:24:03 pm	Mar 20th, 2061
Jerbeetwo Joined: 06/30/2019 Posts: 331 Tyler Goldendoodles IV.3	Holy Cow the storied Detroit Tigers franchise has pulled up roots and moved? Flint must be offering some really nice tax breaks to pull that one off.

#92580	08/30/2023 1:59:26 am	Mar 30th, 2061
Jerbeetwo Joined: 06/30/2019 Posts: 331 Tyler Goldendoodles IV.3	How does Farmington Hills, MI wind up in the West and Abilene, TX land in the East? 😂

#92582	08/30/2023 4:20:31 pm	Apr 1st, 2061
Jason2327 Joined: 09/02/2014 Posts: 722 Abilene Patriots III.2	Tomorrows series with Haverhill should be good

#92583	08/30/2023 4:31:31 pm	Apr 1st, 2061
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I'm curious to see how we match up. There aren't a lot of small park teams in the division. Although your CF is pretty deep... I think Port Arthur and Baton Rouge are the only other small parks teams in the division.

#92637	09/05/2023 5:11:25 pm	Apr 24th, 2061
Jason2327 Joined: 09/02/2014 Posts: 722 Abilene Patriots III.2	Why do I feel like I was given misleading advice

#92657	09/09/2023 5:42:35 pm	May 10th, 2061
Jason2327 Joined: 09/02/2014 Posts: 722 Abilene Patriots III.2	Back to the big ballpark next season

#92676	09/12/2023 4:16:20 pm	May 19th, 2061
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Probably a bad idea. You'll likely lose more games. Your home record is a lot better than your away record right now. Your team make-up fits better in a small park like Haverhill's Hospital Hill. Updated Tuesday, September 12 2023 @ 4:23:01 pm PDT

#92677	09/12/2023 4:18:57 pm	May 19th, 2061
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Haverhill's vLHP OF carousel continues to revolve... Howland seems like a keeper at least. So that's an improvement over last seasons carousel. Might need to adjust my strategy. Relying on waivers for my vLHP OF doesn't seem to work as well as I had hoped...

#92681	09/13/2023 8:56:06 am	May 21st, 2061
Jason2327 Joined: 09/02/2014 Posts: 722 Abilene Patriots III.2	My pitching won't fit that size ballpark.

#92683	09/13/2023 2:16:02 pm	May 21st, 2061
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	How do you figure? I thought your pitchers were mostly ground ball guys. Hospital Hill is optimally designed for ground ball pitchers and fly ball hitters.

#92688	09/15/2023 5:20:58 am	May 29th, 2061
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Thank goodness nobody is running away with the East. My Thunder ERA is on the wrong side of FIP. That's not very Thunder-like. Need to figure out the gloves.

#92691	09/15/2023 7:05:20 am	May 29th, 2061
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I think your bigger issue is hits. Bloomington's pitching stats align pretty close to Haverhill's in terms of hits, Ks, HRs, and ERA. Better with walks, but a bit worse in H/IP. Errors don't help, but the real damage comes from having a 1+ H/IP ratio. And FIP ignores hits, which is why I ignore FIP

#92715	09/19/2023 4:48:51 am	Jun 10th, 2061
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Thanks, Rock. I've always lived with the hits because of my going after movement and saying away from velocity. I'm ascared of the long ball Welp, here we go into cross-divisional play. So many fortunes won and lost over the years. Will my old fill-ins be able to handle the load or will injuries mount? Can we fake a 5th starter? Better Stallone movie: Cliffhanger or Cobra?

#92727	09/23/2023 6:01:24 pm	Jul 1st, 2061
Jason2327 Joined: 09/02/2014 Posts: 722 Abilene Patriots III.2	Good grief! My pitching starts getting decent and my hitters can't see the ball now

#92738	09/26/2023 9:14:01 pm	Jul 14th, 2061
Jerbeetwo Joined: 06/30/2019 Posts: 331 Tyler Goldendoodles IV.3	The West is getting pummeled by the East at the ASB.

#92741	09/27/2023 9:57:22 am	Jul 14th, 2061
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Well, Haverhill isn't contributing to that issue. We have a losing record against the West... Doing wonders for our division standings, LOL.

#92760	10/04/2023 4:03:06 am	Aug 9th, 2061
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	The East Beast.

#92761	10/04/2023 9:38:10 am	Aug 9th, 2061
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	(Not so) humble brag: My beloved Thunder are #1 in BB again. Playing .820 ball over the last 50 certainly helps.

#92763	10/04/2023 11:40:04 am	Aug 9th, 2061
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Congrats! But... I hate to burst your bubble; Haverhill is rated as being 33x better than Bloomington :P Bigger is always better.

#92770	10/04/2023 8:14:08 pm	Aug 13th, 2061
Jerbeetwo Joined: 06/30/2019 Posts: 331 Tyler Goldendoodles IV.3	The game sure seems to have gotten real streaky.

#92772	10/05/2023 4:25:31 am	Aug 14th, 2061
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Bloomington town council has just passed an ordinance banning Haverhill owner Rock from staying with his team in the seedy El Presidente Motel behind the train tracks and next to the sewage plant at the edge of town. He will be given a worn tarp, a square bail of straw, and be confined to the abandoned KOA campground along highway 46. When asked if this was in retaliation to the post above, Bloomington mayor Rusty Trombone replied: "How did you get in my house? I'm calling the cops!".

#92774	10/05/2023 6:22:42 am	Aug 14th, 2061
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	As long as its a big tarp and big bails of hay. Not some measly 1 bail of hay. 1 is never good :P

#92787	10/06/2023 6:38:31 am	Aug 19th, 2061
Jason2327 Joined: 09/02/2014 Posts: 722 Abilene Patriots III.2	Well the one,and only, good outcome this season is Tony Sierra having an MVP season

#92791	10/06/2023 10:58:55 am	Aug 19th, 2061
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	How'd we all do? West FH 33-27 SV 29-31 PA 26-34 TY 21-39 OP 17-43 FL 21-39 East BL 45-15 QP 38-22 EP 38-22 BR 36-24 HV 28-32 AB 28-32 Note on my own club: Our offense got worse in every single category since the start of cross-divisional play, except for BB and K. Defense is still last, but we lopped off nearly a full earned run (4.03 to 3.13) and 25 points off BAA (.257 to .232). The Big 3 (Ramirez, Larsen, Gallagher) combined are sporting a 2.67 ERA and 1.027 WHIP in 464.3 innings. Now we'll see what happens when we get back to a more offensive-heavy division...

#92792	10/06/2023 12:07:04 pm	Aug 19th, 2061
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	45-15 is ridiculous. For whatever reason the West just didn't get any hits on Bloomington. Your H/IP went WAY down. Unlike everyone else in the division, Haverhill actually did worse against the West than we did against the East in the first half of the season. Guess we match up bad against the West teams now. Its been trending that way for a few seasons.

#92794	10/07/2023 8:28:18 am	Aug 21st, 2061
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	We definitely lucked out in interleague this season. Arguably second best in hitting and 3rd in pitching in the west but our fielding is downright horrific. Far and away the worst fielding team in the league and if my guys had a fld% .005 higher I bet I'd be mirroring the success of Bloomington right now and lead my division by a few more games. I've tempered expectations for this season. I don't expect us to be leading the division after we play our next cycle of series. At this point I'm looking more to avoid relegation than I am to promote. I expect a big bounce back from our division mates with Sunnyvale and Port Arthur scaring me the most. We sit at 14 games above relegation with a heavy road schedule to finish the rest of the season. I'm just hoping we stay the course and place above 4th.

#92796	10/07/2023 11:51:43 am	Aug 21st, 2061
Jerbeetwo Joined: 06/30/2019 Posts: 331 Tyler Goldendoodles IV.3	I'm pretty sure this is the worst record I have had in interdivisional play for a season. I'm just hoping to hang onto 4th place for now and stay in II and have my youngsters grow a little more to prep for next year.

#92797	10/07/2023 1:51:11 pm	Aug 21st, 2061
Jason2327 Joined: 09/02/2014 Posts: 722 Abilene Patriots III.2	Ya played just as bad in interleague as in division, though pitching starting to get slightly better. Won't be enough to avoid going back down unless my offense goes into an even higher gear and puts me on a bunch of 10+ game winning streaks

#92800	10/07/2023 5:39:24 pm	Aug 25th, 2061
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I was curious how Haverhill lined up with the rest of the league, so I looked at the combined league stats. Exactly 6th place for WHIP, OPS, and FP... Extraordinarily average I was surprised to see that Haverhill has the highest AVG in the league.

#92835	10/17/2023 4:21:15 am	Sep 28th, 2061
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Magic Number Madness Coming down to the the final time through, there's still a lot to play for. With roughly 20 games left, here are the clinching scenarios in 2.1: West Division Title Sunnyvale 19 Farmington Hills West Relegation Overland Park 20 Tyler East Division Title Bloomington 12 Queens Park East Relegation Eden Prairie 16 Haverhill Where have the .300 hitters gone? Only two qualifying hitters above .300. Half-century mark for Sierra? Currently sits at 44 HR. Nobody else even has 30. Year of the pitcher. 6 qualifying pitchers with an ERA under 3. 7 with a WHIP under 1.2. Run Roddy, Run. Elian Rodriguez has almost doubled-up 2nd place in the stolen base category.

#92842	10/17/2023 3:46:23 pm	Sep 30th, 2061
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	We have a few. Corrales - .318, Howland - .309, Gleason - .305. But no one on Haverhill ever gets to any of the qualifying numbers due to our play style. Season is basically done in the East. Looking forward to ROTY awards. Especially since we got robbed last season. This season our best candidate is Lance Hill - .840 OPS.

#92843	10/17/2023 3:53:15 pm	Sep 30th, 2061
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Bad enough that Bloomington has three of those 6 pitchers under 3.00, but two of those guys are barely old enough to drink... Reminiscent of 90s Braves...

#92892	10/22/2023 9:40:41 am	Oct 18th, 2061
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Comiserations to Queens Park. Better division record than my Thunder, but no hardware to show for it. Best of luck in '62! Congratulations to Sunnyvale on winning the West. I still think you should be called the Trailer Park Supervisors. Me and the Mrs. recently were on a Trailer Park Boys bender. Just need a little drinky-poo Rand-man!

#92893	10/22/2023 4:54:38 pm	Oct 21st, 2061
Jason2327 Joined: 09/02/2014 Posts: 722 Abilene Patriots III.2	The 9 game injury slowed down Sierra. He's definetly the clear cut MVP. Sure wish we had another 20 games left, might not be going back down then lol

#92894	10/22/2023 6:57:59 pm	Oct 22nd, 2061
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	If there were 20 games left, none of us would be playing our scrubs. Starters vs Starters will give a very different outcome than Scrubs vs Scrubs.

#92905	10/23/2023 4:32:35 am	Oct 22nd, 2061
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	For the record, Abilene sure got a boost when Andrews took over at the helm. I know there were other factors, but they gave the East fits since he was hired. Haverhill just wanted to be in a division with Manhattan. We all know it's true. Good luck guys. See you both real soon.

#92911	10/23/2023 7:57:06 am	Oct 22nd, 2061
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Holmes' teams always gives us fits... I'm not sure if I want the challenge, or the possibility of promoting back to LL-2, LOL. Haverhill went full rookie squad for the last 8 games, and they performed better than expected! I really don't like the look of any of the guys coming up in the system right now I keep getting stuck with spike ball hitters in the draft... Would make a much better volleyball team...

#92915	10/23/2023 10:25:18 am	Oct 22nd, 2061
Jason2327 Joined: 09/02/2014 Posts: 722 Abilene Patriots III.2	Yes finding the right manager helped. I wasn't playing my scrubs Rock. I never do

#92917	10/23/2023 11:59:28 am	Oct 22nd, 2061
Jerbeetwo Joined: 06/30/2019 Posts: 331 Tyler Goldendoodles IV.3	Congratulations and good luck in Legends to Sunnyvale and Bloomington. Condolences to the other teams demoting with me. Tyler was 38-42 at the All-Star break but then went 27-53 in the second half. It has convinced me to go full on youth movement next season in LLIII so I don't know how long it will take before I see the rest of you boys back up here in II.1. Good luck to everyone next season wherever you reside.

#92936	10/25/2023 8:30:19 am	Oct 30th, 2061
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	Congratulations to Sunnyvale on a historic season and to atomic, who will make his Legends debut in '62. I don't think there is a question in this season's MVP race. It's Triple Crown winner Tony Sierra. He also led the league in runs, so Quadruple Crown? Cy Young should be either Luis Rimerez or Johnnie Dockery, but Tommie Pagliarulo wouldn't surprise. Some rookies I found interesting were Haverhill's James Christian and Queens Park's Sid Boswell. Rookie pitchers who caught my eye are Overland Park's Jorge Ramires and Tyler's Kevin Rice. Rookie races seem to be about number of AB's and IP, so who knows?

#92938	10/25/2023 11:38:25 am	Oct 30th, 2061
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	I think Lance Hill had better numbers than James Christian, but he might get punished for DHing most of the season. Of course neither of them are even close to the numbers Cary Yan put up playing OF last season, and he didn't win ROTY... Updated Wednesday, October 25 2023 @ 2:30:50 pm PDT

#92948	10/26/2023 6:22:33 am	Nov 2nd, 2061
PrivateSnowflake Joined: 01/06/2015 Posts: 1169 Bloomington Thunder Legends	My Acosta, who beat out Yan, certainly is never going to be the better hitter. I believe ROY is more about cumulative stats than performance. That's how a garbage hitter like Acosta can beat out Yan, who had the superior slash line. Acosta had 2-1/2 time the AB's to rack up "better" numbers. I don't know how I missed Hill. He's my new favorite to win ROY.

#92951	10/26/2023 9:57:44 am	Nov 2nd, 2061
atomic Joined: 12/05/2012 Posts: 82 Sunnyvale Rebels II.2	Congrats to Bloomington Thunder for winning the league! During the season we've had a 5-5 record and the first playoff games were quite close Yeah, it was a historic season for the Rebels, especially remarkable due to the promotion to Legends after 11 real life years on BB! An incredible finish of 23-7, I could not believe myself. Before the season I was just hoping to be able to stay in this league... In the end the Rebels scored the most runs and allowed the least runs in the West, the only team with a positive run differential, so I guess it's kinda fair to end up 1st in the division Looking forward to see the top of the mountain, but I guess I won't keep up there for long. I wonder who will be back here with me in II.1 in 2063!

#92955	10/26/2023 12:38:54 pm	Nov 2nd, 2061
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Yeah, I think Acosta definitely got points for his defensive performance at SS. I'm just miffed Yan didn't get it given his incredible hitting stats

#92969	10/27/2023 2:03:33 pm	Jan 13th, 2062
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9608 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Looks like Private called it again. Hill and Christian both got a lot of votes for ROTY, but Hill came out on top.

#93125	11/14/2023 5:47:00 am	Mar 25th, 2062
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	Good luck to everyone this season.

#94105	04/28/2024 2:59:15 am	May 10th, 2064
zimanable Joined: 09/13/2016 Posts: 30 North Bergen Polar Bears II.1	Sup everyone! This season we decided to suck at both hitting and pitching, can't wait to see how it turns out.