Broken Bat - League Forum: IV.2

Post ID	Date & Time	Game Date

#33213	04/10/2016 8:44:39 pm
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Didn't see thread for this league so I guess I have to start one. Good luck ya'all. I think this season will be between my team and Pittsfield. Maybe my team is to young yet I don't know.

#33220	04/10/2016 10:23:23 pm
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	Seems we both went down to the same league. I only know one thing for certain going into this season, Childs will be a strong candidate for MVP. Good luck to everyone.

#33251	04/11/2016 5:44:19 pm
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	And so will Bernie Austin for Cy Young. Lol hopefully.

#34242	05/18/2016 8:04:53 am
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	Thanks phillies world hi IV.2 I hope I can close the gap between me and Pueblo

#34243	05/18/2016 8:21:51 am
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Lost my ace Bernie Austin for 36 games he now has only 1 games left can't wait till he is back.

#34292	05/19/2016 5:59:36 pm
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Yikes squidd, tore you up for 11 bb.

#34401	05/22/2016 5:44:00 pm
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	I hope to have a good series again I don't know weather or not to keep one of my minor league players I would like your advice.

#34402	05/22/2016 5:44:49 pm
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	I don't know how my team is ranked 91. I was 162. In February when I started broken bat.

#34446	05/24/2016 3:45:56 pm
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Yeah which player?

#34452	05/24/2016 6:17:33 pm
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Horrible lost my first series in interleagues 2-3. My closer blew two saves.

#34454	05/24/2016 7:06:54 pm
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	Difference a season makes, my pitching last year was horrid, this year it's what is keeping me alive, two 10 game winners going into the All Star break.

#34531	05/26/2016 8:49:34 am
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	Phillesworld Kurt Higgins is a beast I do think he is the best young star but I think I have the second best with Zack Duncan. ZD is only 26 to higgins 27 both all stars this year. I guess that state of Colardo makes some good hitters(their both from CO). I hope my star can pass yours some time in the future.

#34537	05/26/2016 4:14:18 pm
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Thanks, but I got two better players com8ng up in Hector Alvarez, and Daniel Hackett. And watch out for OF Frank Shwarz coming in the minor leagues, he will probably be the best player I have ever had.

#34542	05/26/2016 6:53:54 pm
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	Before the season is over, barring injury, Mike Childs will show you why he was MVP for a league, while playing on a team that got sent down

#34553	05/27/2016 5:22:34 am
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Childs is an absolute monster. And most likely will be an mvps again. My closer is having a meltdown 3 blown saves in 4 attempts.

#34836	06/02/2016 5:30:27 pm
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	I simply cannot beat the bad teams just lost 4 straight to Compton. While I crush all the top teams.

#35179	06/09/2016 6:26:12 pm
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Yikes I have a seven game losing streak versus Pittsfield. They have been the only team I can't beat. And it might just cost me the division.

#35598	06/16/2016 8:58:44 am
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	Good luck on closing out this season, I am so looking forward to next as we did wonders improving our pitching this season.

#35848	06/20/2016 8:19:25 am
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	Valmion I hope we have a good season next year I think your team and mine well be the first and second place teams. I hate when I play you and Childs comes to the plate its always scary.

#35878	06/20/2016 4:57:54 pm
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Looks like I got the division unless I get absolutely blown out an Pittsfield has a better run differential. We will see in about 5 minutes.

#35881	06/20/2016 5:03:12 pm
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Lost but still got the better run differential so the division is mine. I dominated PEUBLO IN interested division play hopefully I will do the same in the Championship.

#35882	06/20/2016 5:03:43 pm
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	Yea, I love Childs, but watch out for my new young stud pitcher as well, Rodney Holmes. A name you best remember

#35977	06/22/2016 6:53:42 am
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	Pueblo takes the first two in Harrisonburg, not looking good for the Cardinals ;/

#36040	06/23/2016 5:01:23 pm
Philliesworld Joined: 10/17/2014 Posts: 788 Pierre Jacobins III.3	Not good at all. I got swept. three of the games were one run losses. I came into the series as cold as one of Saturn's moons.

#36079	06/25/2016 7:29:09 am
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	Duncan MVP lets go!

#36104	06/25/2016 3:26:30 pm
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	Grats to the award winners, lets now get this new season kicked off and best of luck to all of you!

#36938	07/08/2016 1:42:21 pm
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	I wonder who will win this year I think my team has a pretty good chance.

#37000	07/10/2016 3:09:47 pm
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	Let's see what kind of punch Chula Vista brings down with them from div III, but I hope to at least be in the pennant race.

#37079	07/13/2016 7:52:13 pm
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	I have to miss the first week or so of the season including opening day hopefully its not to bad

#37688	07/28/2016 5:41:05 am
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	Going to be an interesting season....

#38134	08/08/2016 6:17:08 pm
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	Chula Vista gets a new owner, interesting twist to a fun season.

#38189	08/10/2016 6:38:25 am
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	This happens with Pueblo too last year.

#38439	08/18/2016 4:31:42 pm
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	Look at the west dominating the east

#38685	08/25/2016 6:24:33 pm
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	Gives me a chance to try and regroup ;/

#39304	09/13/2016 12:00:00 am
shaoanling Joined: 09/02/2016 Posts: 2 Inactive	Sorry guys, but Dodgers won the pennant.

#39321	09/13/2016 7:38:10 am
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	Well done. I am getting relegated again, so hopefully in division V I will learn how to manage a baseball team.

#39416	09/14/2016 11:45:03 pm
shaoanling Joined: 09/02/2016 Posts: 2 Inactive	I will try to learn it the hard way in III league

#39462	09/16/2016 6:43:08 am
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	I'm the only one staying well I can't wait to see who moves down a league to Iv.2 Updated Friday, September 16 2016 @ 6:43:54 am PDT

#39477	09/16/2016 12:21:45 pm
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	I hope its pueblo want revenge.

#39634	09/18/2016 9:19:42 am
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	Any new people to this league form users because the only other 2 people last year besides me promoted and demoted. Updated Sunday, September 18 2016 @ 9:20:30 am PDT

#39669	09/18/2016 3:58:37 pm
xLee227 Joined: 07/06/2015 Posts: 269 Inactive	Hey! Looks like I fell down to this league instead of my old IV.1. I tanked after interdivision play, so hopefully that'll pay off this season with all the additional playing time my young players got!

#40240	10/02/2016 11:37:15 pm
xLee227 Joined: 07/06/2015 Posts: 269 Inactive	Any thoughts on how the division will play out this season?

#40333	10/04/2016 1:09:08 pm
ESac Joined: 09/05/2016 Posts: 340 San Antonio Defenders V.14	Always suck in League III... that's why I'm here!

#40352	10/04/2016 5:43:33 pm
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	I say I win west with bartlesville and Medford demoted. Bennington in east with Deactur and barnstable demoting trying to get my revengy on what is now Palm springs.

#40370	10/05/2016 10:44:23 am
xLee227 Joined: 07/06/2015 Posts: 269 Inactive	1-3 definitely wasn't the start I was looking for haha, my pitchers got shelled in yesterday's series against Wellington

#40557	10/09/2016 9:00:06 am
ESac Joined: 09/05/2016 Posts: 340 San Antonio Defenders V.14	Not what I predicted so far.

#40571	10/09/2016 2:21:51 pm
xLee227 Joined: 07/06/2015 Posts: 269 Inactive	Yeah, the East is a mess right now behind Wellington, with 4 teams virtually tied for 2nd through 5th. After going 11-24 in one-run games last season, we're 1-3 so far which won't cut it if we want to promote this season haha.

#40689	10/12/2016 6:00:30 pm
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	Should I give up on the season after 2 games from league III.1 IDK

#40728	10/13/2016 10:00:19 pm
xLee227 Joined: 07/06/2015 Posts: 269 Inactive	@Squiddcatt probably too early to know for sure haha, I'd wait until Interleague at least. Updated Thursday, October 13 2016 @ 10:00:30 pm PDT

#40812	10/15/2016 7:02:06 pm
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	Last year at the start of interleague I was 3 games ahead at the end I was 7 games behide. I almost sweeper Vista today 1 run 11 inning loss. Hope I can beat Palm Springs

#40877	10/18/2016 6:44:42 am
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	I hope I get out of this hole I think I can at least get to third or forth this year.

#40944	10/19/2016 3:49:23 pm
Buster Joined: 10/14/2016 Posts: 24 Inactive	Hi Guys, I just thought I would introduce myself as I am the new kid in town. Hoping to survive the League this season as I learn but I keep getting injuries which certainly is not going to help.

#40959	10/19/2016 10:08:21 pm
xLee227 Joined: 07/06/2015 Posts: 269 Inactive	Welcome to Broken Bat @Buster! Hope you're enjoying it so far!

#40965	10/20/2016 10:15:19 am
Buster Joined: 10/14/2016 Posts: 24 Inactive	Yes it looks a really good game. It would be even better if it would stop injuring my players! Haha!At least until I can train up some useful players from the minors

#40968	10/20/2016 11:11:03 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	That's how the game works, only players at positions you aren't deep at get injured. Also your star players will only get injured when the season is on the line. Once you are really deep at a position no one at that position will get injured, so the backups will seem like a waste of roster space. Updated Thursday, October 20 2016 @ 11:12:24 am PDT

#41090	10/23/2016 10:26:38 am
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	What is wrong with my team! Help lol

#41096	10/23/2016 10:44:03 am
newtman Joined: 11/02/2013 Posts: 3343 Inactive	@Squidcatt, I honestly don't know. Your defense looks pretty good, your offense against righties looks very good. Your lineup versus lefties might need some work as you have guys below the Mendoza line against lefties batting 3 and 4. The pitching seems to either be underperforming or having really bad luck, or a mix of both. A couple of pitchers seem to have long careers of coming up short of their skill sets. Usually I'd put that on the defense, but your defense doesn't look that bad to me other than having people playing out of position at catcher. My guess is your team should do better as the season goes on... Edit: ... either that or you have the terrible luck to have a lot of pitchers who will never play up to their skill sets. If that is the case there really is nothing you can do but hope to pick up some pitchers who can get outs. Edit 2: Your manager is even someone geared towards helping performance over development, which is fine right now, but MIGHT hurt you long term will your young guys. In other words, it likely isn't the manager either. Updated Sunday, October 23 2016 @ 10:49:40 am PDT

#41111	10/23/2016 4:00:41 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9607 Haverhill Halflings III.1	You have pitchers who give up and lot of HRs mixed with a small ballpark with short walls. Despite using a hitters park, you have less HRs than your opponents. I'd say your park is the biggest issue. You need to compensate for your primary pitching weakness (namely that most of them like to give up the long ball).

#41249	10/27/2016 6:11:27 am
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	3-7 to start inter league ok I guess my second base man suck

#41266	10/27/2016 5:48:45 pm
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	Game 2 of the series vs Decatur 5-2 win Hodges hits first career home run and first career player of the game Jensen solid 7 1/3 inning 8 hits 2 runs. GO BOBCATS Younth

#41279	10/27/2016 9:55:06 pm
xLee227 Joined: 07/06/2015 Posts: 269 Inactive	My team's been streaky, as per usual haha. Given that inter-division has historically been where our season goes off the rails, I'm actually pretty satisfied with the 9-6 record we have so far! Updated Thursday, October 27 2016 @ 9:55:19 pm PDT

#41303	10/28/2016 12:57:35 pm
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	Last year I was up 3 games going into inter league afterwards 7 games back from first.

#41337	10/30/2016 4:07:20 am
Buster Joined: 10/14/2016 Posts: 24 Inactive	So far for inter League i am 10-9 it just feels much worse because last 10 I am struggling a bit. Be glad to get to All stars and have a re-think on tactics for rest of season.

#41350	10/30/2016 6:22:12 pm
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	14 and 36 in division 14 and 11 in interleague wow.

#41452	11/03/2016 9:40:34 am
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	tied with palm springs at the brake

#41487	11/04/2016 1:51:33 pm
Buster Joined: 10/14/2016 Posts: 24 Inactive	Wow talk about a slump! A losing streak of 13 is definitely not good. Still learning but need to find a solution. Gone back to default and start tweaking gently from there.

#41492	11/04/2016 4:37:11 pm
xLee227 Joined: 07/06/2015 Posts: 269 Inactive	Gauging from our series yesterday, I think you might just be suffering through a spate of bad luck, especially given that three of your losses were by 1 run.

#41532	11/05/2016 7:13:59 pm
xLee227 Joined: 07/06/2015 Posts: 269 Inactive	I think I just jinxed myself lol 3 straight losses, the last two both blown leads to lose by a single run gosh my bullpen stinks =_=

#41597	11/08/2016 10:22:00 am
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	I hope I don't jinx my self but I'm on fire!!!

#41658	11/10/2016 7:15:44 pm
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	Jinxed it last 10 2-8 lol #slump

#42062	11/22/2016 4:10:36 pm
Buster Joined: 10/14/2016 Posts: 24 Inactive	How many games do we have left in the season? Could somebody be kind enough to talk me through or point me in the direction of what happens off season? Hope I can survive in this League but it might be tight!

#42063	11/22/2016 4:46:41 pm
xLee227 Joined: 07/06/2015 Posts: 269 Inactive	A season is 160 games, so 21 games left. Personally, I think the 10 game lead you have over relegation right now is sustainable, although by no means would I coast to the finish. Maybe you could look into a 4-man rotation? That would give your best starters more innings.

#42081	11/23/2016 11:29:11 am
Buster Joined: 10/14/2016 Posts: 24 Inactive	Best starters? Now what are they? Haha! My pitchers at the moment leaves a lot to be desired shall we say. I know what you mean though and thanks for the tip. Regardless of whether I survive here or get relegated what advice could you guys give me about what I should be doing in the off season. Many thanks.

#42086	11/23/2016 2:53:43 pm
xLee227 Joined: 07/06/2015 Posts: 269 Inactive	Although I agree that we could all use some pitching help, I think your pitching actually holds up decently compared to others in the west, which seems heavily skewed in favour of hitters. You're actually second in FIP and 2nd or 3rd for most pitching categories in the west. One area I'd probably look to shore up in particular though is the back-end of your bullpen, as you're tied for the division-high in blown saves (although still below my league-leading 29 blown saves! =_=) In general for pitchers, I'd look for guys with not only at least one "out" pitch, i.e., 16 or above in at least one of Velocity/Change of Speeds/Movement, but also good control, ideally at least 15. That being said, I have seen guys have success with less control, although not so much without at least one good pitch, so guys like Foster or Ventura for example would be pitchers I would consider cutting over the off-season if upgrades were available. Another thing I would look into is optimizing your batting order. Although there are lots of resources online if you have some time, I would suggest as a general guideline having your highest OBP first, followed by second and third highest OBP. For the 4 spot, I'd put your best power hitter (highest SLG) and then SLG in decreasing order. For a guy like Sugahara with high OBP and high SLG, I'd probably weigh the SLG a little more. Looking at your current starting lineup vs RHP right now, I would recommend reshuffling the lineup into something like Shaw - Espino - Jung - Sugahara - Kramer - Brewer - Hess - Haris - Miura. Although you can't add any players off of waivers right now, I would also recommend even just looking through what is out there and bookmarking any guys you find interesting and placing a claim on them later when the next season begins (you'll find bookmarked players under the "Tools" on bottom of the sidebar.

#42090	11/23/2016 3:40:13 pm
Buster Joined: 10/14/2016 Posts: 24 Inactive	Thanks for the help it is much appreciated. In your post you said............... You're actually second in FIP and 2nd or 3rd for most pitching categories in the west. One area I'd probably look to shore up in particular though is the back-end of your bullpen, as you're tied for the division-high in blown saves (although still below my league-leading 29 blown saves! =_=) where do you get this info from?

#42093	11/23/2016 4:16:28 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9607 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Click on the League tab. And then click the small staircase icon with the little L (second from the right on the very bottom of the main screen). http://brokenbat.org/league_statistics/9/2029

#42094	11/23/2016 4:30:19 pm
Buster Joined: 10/14/2016 Posts: 24 Inactive	OMG Rock you are a genius! Many thanks now I have a few more hours of research to do! Why didn't I pick a simple browser simulator game like cricket or something?

#42096	11/23/2016 4:34:40 pm
Rock777 Joined: 09/21/2014 Posts: 9607 Haverhill Halflings III.1	Not sure that qualifies me as a genius, lol. Happy reading

#42178	11/25/2016 2:51:12 pm
Buster Joined: 10/14/2016 Posts: 24 Inactive	Congrats on winning the East xLee227 a great result!

#42187	11/25/2016 6:45:50 pm
xLee227 Joined: 07/06/2015 Posts: 269 Inactive	Thanks @Buster! Glad to see your team is doing well!

#42213	11/26/2016 2:35:04 pm
Buster Joined: 10/14/2016 Posts: 24 Inactive	Congrats LimelightPete all the best for League III

#42252	11/27/2016 6:46:44 pm
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	This is season was nothing short of shocking I will finish fifth after 2 straight years finishing in second place well good luck too the rest of you will I fall back to V.4 or be new to V.3

#42253	11/27/2016 7:12:15 pm
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	Burt is first in home runs at 41 leads by 7 third in RBI's and first in Slugging and OBS my MVP pick but will he win on a 5th place team?

#42254	11/27/2016 7:14:22 pm
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	Burts also fifth in Player of the games and tenth in batting average.

#42275	11/28/2016 11:55:29 am
Buster Joined: 10/14/2016 Posts: 24 Inactive	Good luck squiddcatt I hope our paths cross in the very near future again, hopefully with you coming back up to join us again next season.

#42276	11/28/2016 12:37:31 pm
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	good luck too you too .I hope to last longer than 3 years up here next time

#42448	12/02/2016 6:24:19 am
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	By yall

#42476	12/03/2016 6:06:38 am
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	Burt is not even a finalist it's most valuable player not most valuable team fix your game

#42550	12/03/2016 11:00:11 pm
sShadow Joined: 12/05/2015 Posts: 59 Inactive	And New Challenger is here! Philadelphia Crusaders(former Phoenix), which was one of the first 12 Legend league team at the start of the era, finally come back to IV.2 in 11 years. I wish my team may survive this season and get more pitcher prospects due to lack of them. Good luck to all competitors! Updated Saturday, December 3 2016 @ 11:00:59 pm PST

#42564	12/04/2016 7:23:14 am
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	Pirates raid division IV.2 after a short absence. Two seasons in div V let me weed out the rest of my aging team and develop some nice new talent. Will be interesting to see how I fare against tougher competitors, though I am sad to see an old rival, OKC, leave as I arrive. Updated Sunday, December 4 2016 @ 7:23:41 am PST

#42677	12/06/2016 12:40:39 pm
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	Hope to be back up here next season

#42689	12/06/2016 4:19:29 pm
Buster Joined: 10/14/2016 Posts: 24 Inactive	Hi Guys, nice to have you here. I am relatively new here but am hoping to survive a second season as I keep learning.

#43366	12/27/2016 6:31:25 pm
sShadow Joined: 12/05/2015 Posts: 59 Inactive	West Division, 2030 Apr 25th 1 Lubbock Long Horns Cup 11 10 .524 - +19 L2 4-6 2 Bartlesville Blue Jays Cup 10 9 .526 - -5 L2 6-4 3 Oceanview Woods Grizzlies Cup 10 10 .500 ½ -2 W2 5-5 4 Colton Cowboys Cup 10 10 .500 ½ -8 W2 7-3 5 Port Arthur Pirates Cup 9 10 .474 1 -1 W3 5-5 6 Vista Cubs Cup 10 11 .476 1 -3 L4 3-7 What a balance. Let's see this will be preserved before inter-league. Updated Tuesday, December 27 2016 @ 6:32:01 pm PST

#44069	01/18/2017 9:51:57 pm
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	Mid season tweeks, can anyone catch Oceanview?

#44072	01/19/2017 1:07:16 am
sShadow Joined: 12/05/2015 Posts: 59 Inactive	IV.2 League 2030 League Standings Jul 16th, Mid-Season West # Team W L Pct GB DIFF Streak L10 1 Oceanview Woods Grizzlies 53 27 .663 - +106 W5 8-2 2 Bartlesville Blue Jays 42 38 .525 11 +5 L2 2-8 3 Port Arthur Pirates 38 42 .475 15 -27 W1 7-3 4 Lubbock Long Horns 37 43 .463 16 +1 L1 3-7 5 Colton Cowboys 35 45 .438 18 -29 W5 6-4 6 Vista Cubs 29 51 .363 24 -109 L4 1-9 East # Team W L Pct GB DIFF Streak L10 1 Bennington Pioneers 55 25 .688 - +151 W2 8-2 2 Philadelphia Crusaders 45 35 .563 10 +39 W4 5-5 3 Pittsfield Armadillos 42 38 .525 13 +17 L5 4-6 4 Wellington Hounds 41 39 .513 14 +27 W1 5-5 5 Coral Springs Yellow Jackets 35 45 .438 20 -30 L5 5-5 6 Lawrence Hawks 28 52 .350 27 -151 L1 6-4

#44073	01/19/2017 1:39:27 am
sShadow Joined: 12/05/2015 Posts: 59 Inactive	Same here to Bennington. Both are dominating each division. Maybe a little chance to catch them if they goes to slump, but stats&all-star list say it wouldn't... Anyway, our team is doing much better than I thought, though drastic fall on inter-league. If we can't decrease gap between the leader in 6~7 GB before the end of inter-league, I would focus on avoiding demotion and giving chance to prospects rather than challenge. Updated Thursday, January 19 2017 @ 1:40:40 am PST

#44074	01/19/2017 1:49:23 am
Buster Joined: 10/14/2016 Posts: 24 Inactive	I would be surprised if these two weren't promoted at the end of the season. They have both built up a healthy lead already and are playing really well. I think my mid season tweaks will be with an eye to the future and survival rather than trying to catch them.

#44463	01/30/2017 7:32:43 am
sShadow Joined: 12/05/2015 Posts: 59 Inactive	I had little hope on promoting if we can make W3 against Bennington today but result is complete disaster, but surely expected. Our team is a little far from promotion and relegation either, so it's perfect time to retool our team - give minor exp to pros that have a lack of it, and vice versa.

#44684	02/06/2017 4:43:18 pm
Buster Joined: 10/14/2016 Posts: 24 Inactive	Congrats to Oceanview winning the West. Brilliant season good luck in your promotion.

#44983	02/12/2017 3:42:35 am
sShadow Joined: 12/05/2015 Posts: 59 Inactive	Also give congrats to Bennington. When I first came to V.4, they were dominating the league on my first 2 seasons, and same thing happens on IV.2 after 3 seasons. Hope it would happens earlier on III.1 On league, there are only 3 teams left to need to go on last spurt. Who can take the last seat of Noah's Ark? Colton vs Bartlesville(H, 4 games), Vista(A, 3 games) Lubbock vs Vista(H, 3 games), Oceanview Woods(H, 4 games) Vista vs Lubbock(A, 3 games), Colton (H, 3 games) 4 Colton Cowboys 67 86 .438 37 -41 W1 5-5 5 Lubbock Long Horns 67 86 .438 37 -84 W1 4-6 6 Vista Cubs 66 88 .429 38½ -137 W2 5-5 Privately, I cheer Colton. I never forget 2029 playoff on V.4, which be swept by them. Waiting for revenge not on V, but on IV. The time will come faster if they survive this season.

#45516	02/18/2017 3:33:21 am
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Hey, guys! While I might not be thrilled about being relegated, I am excited to be in this league. I checked out my side and amazingly we average almost three years playing here with only one team under 900 days. Good luck to everyone!

#45521	02/18/2017 4:48:08 am
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Hey, guys! While I might not be thrilled about being relegated, I am excited to be in this league. I checked out my side and amazingly we average almost three years playing here with only one team under 900 days. Good luck to everyone!

#45637	02/19/2017 4:37:44 am
sShadow Joined: 12/05/2015 Posts: 59 Inactive	Welcome MukilteoMike! And also to Balbinjj and emptycan! Always happy to see a new team on league, especially to Huntersville. We are old rivals for each other since 2025(When I first came to BB) on VI.7 and V.4. and also this is first IV experience for Balbinjj. Good luck to him, other new two managers, also to Camerena, Dwhawley, and... to me! It seems other 5 managers on my division have better experience than me so this season will be another challenge to me. Our team's Aces(Segui, Winters, Casanova) are getting older, and we don't have any decent AAA pitchers to replace them. Fortunately, AA pitcher's quality and depth are pretty good, so maybe we need some luck on FA/Waivers market to fill the gap. Let's enjoy the season! Updated Sunday, February 19 2017 @ 4:38:38 am PST

#46020	02/25/2017 4:10:50 am
sShadow Joined: 12/05/2015 Posts: 59 Inactive	Two interesting claims today. Yobeepaka Kaneko : Wellington to Margate directly Javier Pagan : Euclid until 2029, to Wellington My former regular 3B Fossas also came from Wellington. REVENGE story always makes league more competitive. Updated Saturday, February 25 2017 @ 4:11:45 am PST

#46021	02/25/2017 4:13:48 am
sShadow Joined: 12/05/2015 Posts: 59 Inactive	Wow I thought link is wrong when I first find my post... That Japan guy should be written with last name only lol Updated Saturday, February 25 2017 @ 4:14:05 am PST

#46023	02/25/2017 7:25:10 am
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I'm not even sure I'm going to keep Kaneko. I wasn't home last night and saw him at the last minute, so I just went ahead and placed a claim on him. His numbers against righties last year are very concerning. Plus, I have a few budding outfielders that are going to need the spot to develop. I'm about 98% sure I'll cut him this weekend. It's a shame to finally get a decent lottery pick and have to boot him.

#46370	03/06/2017 6:42:54 am
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	Welcome to the new managers in our league, looks like we might have a very competitive season ahead of us.

#46942	03/18/2017 3:21:22 am
sShadow Joined: 12/05/2015 Posts: 59 Inactive	Knox : PHI -> BSP (20 claims) Park : MRG -> WLT (47 claims includes mine) Is there any more chance to same-league team? lol maybe not. I think Knox's hit would stop at low-level & claimed new SS and I have so many SS guys so released him but there is some probability to be a average-OPS guy with excellent defense. Give luck to him on new team. Also not happy to see Park again. I think his ugly ERA is due to unlucky and can be better. I have same problem on Segui last year (his mid 1-2 months are horrible) but he makes his career-low season. That's baseball. Updated Saturday, March 18 2017 @ 3:22:23 am PDT

#46945	03/18/2017 7:31:00 am
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I hope to be happy seeing Park again. It's time to put some balls over the fence against him. Unfortunately I don't have lots of power with my right-handed bats; they're more about contact. To be fair, I don't think he's horrible, but the age of 32, I needed to clear a spot for my young guys.

#46996	03/20/2017 3:53:23 am
Balbinjj Joined: 05/27/2014 Posts: 213 Appleton Foxes III.1	Got a sweep. Hoping that will ignite the true potential of my squad.

#47099	03/21/2017 6:08:07 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	I'm 7-3 against Pittsfield, who is 17-10 against everyone else. I, however, am 8-18 against everyone else. Weird.

#47412	03/29/2017 8:10:10 am
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	A quick post to keep us on the front page

#47499	03/31/2017 8:19:54 pm
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	30 teams left in the Cup and 4 of them come from our league, nice work guys

#47514	04/01/2017 1:00:33 pm
sShadow Joined: 12/05/2015 Posts: 59 Inactive	I always stopped at group stage or first round before this season. Hope to get higher where I can reach. Pray for Medford to show the power of underdog, also anticipate other 3 teams to beat our enemies and get a clash among us on upper bracket. By the way, this season is much excited and make us to use more brain than previous one. Now, my team has good hitting, bad starters and xxxx bullpens. Believe that our starters will get rebound on later due to their ability, but no idea to bullpen. Hope my new guy will makes change to us...

#47585	04/02/2017 9:10:02 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Nice job with the Cup. Good luck tomorrow to the Final Four remaining. Today was a blood bath between me and Euclid. The fewest runs scored in any of our games was 12 and the middle one was a 13-12 duel. Yikes. By winning 3 of 5, I am over 500 at the end of a day for the first time since opening day. Both divisions are pretty tight with no more than 9 games separating first to last. It should be a thrilling second half. Good luck all!

#47602	04/03/2017 8:06:33 am
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	@Mike - "Zo" is back on the market. Think he achieved his high-water mark last season, then returned to his usual self this year. No surprise, eh? Picked up a guy off waivers who, at age 24, at least has some potential.

#47603	04/03/2017 8:59:56 am
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Ha! I'm not surprised at all. He now has over 1800 ABs with a 217 BA / 572 OPS. He's valuable at short thanks to his killer range, but not nearly enough to make up for that atrocious bat. If the game made better in-game decisions, he might be worth a roster spot. I think he'd make a great late game defensive sub (for infield and out) / back-up infielder.

#47737	04/06/2017 11:12:40 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Check out the standings! In the West, three teams are tied for first with another just 2 out. In the East, second thru last is separated by just 2 games. We should have a thrilling second half.

#47764	04/07/2017 4:20:55 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Nice job, Cuppers! I think you both have a good chance next round, too. Good luck!

#47816	04/09/2017 8:05:37 am
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	Thanks Mike, a sweep of Wellington by the Pirates helps your cause as well

#47841	04/10/2017 4:18:12 pm
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	Good luck Philadelphia in the next round of the cup! Wish I was still with you, but alas, got swept in 2 today.

#47919	04/12/2017 7:06:09 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	The East has tightened up even further. Only five games separates first from worst. I thought I was going to get a nice bump when I got Trotta on waivers a couple weeks ago. He performed brilliantly the first few starts, but he's been relegated to middle relief now. Inter-division play has been a major struggle trying to cut and paste a starting rotation together. I only have one reliable, true starter in Alvarez. The rest are all either good, but should be relievers due to stamina issues, or have plenty of length, but should be relievers because they suck. Actually, Komatsu has been surprisingly good and probably deserves a shot as a starter. The problem with him is he's my only lefty in the pen. Good luck the rest of the way, including Philly in the Cup.

#48028	04/15/2017 4:44:40 pm
sShadow Joined: 12/05/2015 Posts: 59 Inactive	Our fans feel sadness to the lose of the semi-final against Oceanview Woods, but still we have great achievement this season. Now to focus on league. After the first series of the end-interleague, both division's leader has changed. Every team can be relegated or promoted. Who will be the last king? Let's enjoy the rest season!

#48314	04/24/2017 12:14:31 am
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	The West has likely determined who will be relegated, but promotion is still up for grabs with just eight real days remaining. Port Arthur has taken a slim four game lead over Bartlesville and surging Medford. The East is quite the opposite. Philadelphia has more than likely secured victory, while the other five teams are in a fierce battle to avoid the cellar. Only two games separate second from last and no team in the East is under .500 for the season. Good luck to everyone.

#48337	04/24/2017 6:48:18 pm
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	Next two days will tell a lot, 3 game series with Bartlesville, then Medford. Medford is hot, but my boys have been playing some good ball all year, will be interesting to see how it turns out.

#48493	04/29/2017 1:28:27 am
Buster Joined: 10/14/2016 Posts: 24 Inactive	Getting really tight at the top between yourself and Medford. I had a bad run of form at the wrong time so am now out of it. Will watch the last few games with interest especially as we play both of you so will have a big hand to play in who ends up top of the division! Good luck to both teams. Updated Saturday, April 29 2017 @ 1:33:03 am PDT

#48563	04/30/2017 9:35:50 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	The league has a fun final day ahead. Medford and Port Arthur have a four game series to decide the West. A Medford sweep would mean a stunning division victory; any other result and Port Arthur claims first. In the East, Philly has already won the title. However, Worcester and Huntersville have a three game series. The winner of it stays in IV; the loser is relegated to V. Good luck to the battling four teams!

#48608	05/01/2017 5:21:39 pm
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	Well played season everyone, it was close in both divisions. Best of luck to the Crusaders in the playoffs.

#48631	05/01/2017 10:15:27 pm
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Huntersville got swept again, losing their last seven to get demoted. Tough luck. Good luck in the playoffs and III, guys. I'm curious whether Perez from my team or Taylor from Blue Springs will win MVP. In my biased opinion, I think it should be Perez. He assaulted all pitching and made the top four in everything except stolen bases on the league leader lists. What Taylor has going for him are higher HRs and RBI thanks to 103 extra at bats. Let's face it, homers and guys batted in are the sexy categories. He also stole 31 bases, which isn't great considering he was thrown out 15 times, but I don't think there's much of a penalty for CS.

#48726	05/04/2017 5:58:12 am
Valmion Joined: 10/16/2015 Posts: 70 Port Arthur Pirates II.1	Well done to the Crusaders for sweeping our series in four games.

#49172	05/14/2017 11:14:05 am
Mcdoogle Joined: 05/21/2015 Posts: 243 Inactive	Hello all. GL to all on the upcoming season, I'm interested to see how I'll do in my 1st season in IV.

#50360	06/21/2017 5:42:14 am
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	Midpoint Report Well, Mcdoogle, I'd say you've had a successful first half in IV. If I would have said you'll be in first in the West by two games at this point, I'm pretty sure you would have taken it. You can't get too comfortable, though, as only 7 games separates first from last. Ten games ago it was even closer, but Medford went 2-8 to close out the first half. In the East, my Magicians are two games in front of Wellington and Lawrence. I expect it to be a battle to the end. As a sidenote, Wellington and Lawrence play each other in the last series this year. Get your tickets now before they're sold out! Regarding cross-divisional play, the East has 6 more wins at the halfway mark than the West. Good luck everyone in the second half. WEST East Lansing Roadrunners 43-37 +8 Bridgeside City Wolverines 41-39 +19 Blue Springs Generals 41-39 +2 Bartlesville Blue Jays 38-42 -17 Little Rock Trvelers 38-42 -47 Medford Mustangs 36-44 -30 EAST Margate Magicians 47-33 +82 Wellington Hounds 45-35 +35 Lawrence Hawks 45-35 +35 Worcester Rhinos 38-42 +14 Decatur Dragons 36-44 -29 Joplin Sluggers 32-48 -72 Updated Wednesday, June 21 2017 @ 5:42:50 am PDT

#50582	06/30/2017 1:33:10 am
MukilteoMike Joined: 08/09/2014 Posts: 3294 Inactive	East ends up topping West by 24 games. The races have widened a little, but things can change quickly now that we're back to divisional play. Good luck the rest of the way!

#56859	12/19/2017 2:27:04 pm	Oct 27th, 2034
Squiddcatt Joined: 02/25/2016 Posts: 375 Inactive	I'll be up here next season does not seam like much talking in this league. The west seems really week and the east looks very strong. Updated Tuesday, December 19 2017 @ 2:32:33 pm PST

#69094	10/25/2019 11:09:29 pm	Jan 15th, 2043
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	So. First time up to IV. Kinda excited. Been a while since this thread has been active, anybody else going to be here? (And could you bring a duster and a vacuum? There’s dust everywhere in here.)

#69473	11/11/2019 3:46:15 pm	Mar 23rd, 2043
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	Time my annual preseason by-the-numbers analysis on teams. As always, I just took averages of everyone’s rosters and didn’t look into things like who actually plays and where or who’s about to come up from the Minors. The only real difference from previous seasons is that now I actually calculate overall average ratings for each team instead of eyeballing it off of individual team average numbers. Yay for spreadsheets. <.< >.> <.<; ———————————————————— I V . 2 W E S T Kahului Turtles The Turtles have an offense geared toward contact and power, though their division-worst discipline could leave them vulnerable to strikeouts. Their speed is just IV.2’s average, which isn’t really particularly threatening on the whole. Defensively, they’re one of the best in the league overall, despite being only a little above the league average in any given category. Their pitchers have formidable stats mostly across the board, which is somewhat frightening since the overall staff is rated in the West’s lower half. Prediction: 2nd — They’re very good, almost good enough. Almost. Roswell Aliens The Aliens are an offensive powerhouse, the best in the league overall and tops in several category in the West, if not the IV.2 overall. Their speed is tops in the West, which should translate to plenty of extra bags. Their defense has the division’s worst arms, which may make them vulnerable to aggressive running games, but their gloves are excellent and range phenomenal. Their pitching staff has the best velocity in the West and exceptional control, with secondary pitches good enough to make them among the league’s best overall staff. Prediction: 1st — The division’s best overall team offensively, defensively, and nearly pitching? No-brainer. Belleville Leprechauns The Leprechauns are below the league average in everything offensive save power, and overall the league’s worst team at the plate. Don’t expect much of a running game from them, their speed is worst in the league by a wide margin. That lack of speed translates to a lack of range defensively, but their gloves are the best IV.2 has to offer once they track down a ball. Their pitching staff has a brutal array of off-speed pitches, excellent control, and lots of staying power to frustrate opposing offenses. Prediction: 3rd — Their offense is holding them back, but their pitching will often carry the day for them. Little Rock Travelers The Travelers have what should be one of the most consistent offenses in the league, with exceptional discipline and IV.2’s best contact. Their speed is somewhat subpar, but the sheer station-to-station barrage will dent many an ERA. The defense is their Achilles’ Heel, however, with poor range and league-worst gloves making for a painful combination. Their pitching staff blends exceptional control and easily the best movement in the league, leading them to be one of the best pitching teams in IV.2 this season. Prediction: 4th — If hitting and pitching pick up the shaky defense, this team could be terrifying. Cedar Park Raiders The Raiders are a poor offensive team by the league’s standards, being below average almost across the board. They do have decent speed, which could serve them well on the base paths when they reach. Their gloves are well below average, but their league-best arms handily will shut down most aggressive running games. Their pitching staff has the best control of any team in the league and good stamina besides, but their other pitching tools range from mediocre to average at best. Prediction: 5th — There are bright spots, but they’re overshadowed by an overall lackluster team. Butte Pirates The Pirates are IV.2’s most patient team at the plate, but lack the bat control to be a proper small-ball threat. They have good speed when they get on base, but the offense will likely be too inconsistent to properly capitalize on it. From a defensive standpoint, the team is almost a carbon copy of the Cedar Park Raiders, with everything that implies. While the team rates as the West’s worst pitching, their bendy pitches are some of the league’s nastiest and their control is quite impressive. Prediction: 6th — There isn’t quite enough offense or pitching to keep the team afloat in IV. ———————————————————— V I . 3 0 E A S T Palm Bay Swallows The Swallows have poor discipline at the plate but excellent contact capabilities, which could take advantage of weaker defensive teams. Their speed is roughly average for the league, but the occasional aggressive runner may surprise opposing defenses. Their own defense is roughly average for the league, though their arms are rated well enough that baserunners might want to take notice. Their pitchers lack stamina more than any other IV.2 team, but the repertoires themselves are all the best or nearly so in the East. Prediction: 3rd — Their offense needs to overachieve to really give them a shot. Atlanta Braves The Braves are an even more contact-focused team than the Swallows, and are almost as highly rated in other offense categories. They lack speed to be as effective on the base paths, and are the division’s slowest team. This also translates to the least range in the field, though they are otherwise one of the best defensive teams in the East. Their pitching staff wields some of the best fastballs in the division, but are somewhat below the league’s average in all other categories. Prediction: 5th — If they want to stay in IV, they’ve got their work cut out for them. Maple Grove Titans The Titans are the most impatient team in the league at the plate, but they have good contact and some of the best bat control in the league. Couple that with the East’s best speed and this team could be a credible small-ball offense. Their defense is top notch, with the best fielding in the East and quite highly rated in range as well. The pitching features excellent velocity and East-best movement, with excellent control to help make opposing batters look bad at the plate. Prediction: 1st — Strong defense and pitching will make sure the offense they get will be enough. Mehlville Panthers The Panthers are the offensive juggernaut of the East, with the division’s best overall rating by far. Their speed isn’t particularly impressive, but it won’t need to be with the incessant stream of baserunners. Their defense is mostly average for the league, though their arms are distinctly suspect and could leave them open to aggressive running games. Their pitching is just slightly below average compared to the rest of the league, which may not be much of a weakness. Prediction: 4th — With this kind of offense, don’t be surprised if this team overperforms. Memphis Pioneers The Pioneers have the worst contact of any team in IV.2 this season and are under the league average offensively in most other categories. Their speed is fairly impressive, so opposing defenses should be ready to come up throwing. The defense likewise has great range and very impressive arms, though their gloves can only be categorized as sketchy at best. The pitching staff have the East’s best heat and control, but worst movement and poor stamina. Prediction: 2nd — …At least according to some of the defense and pitching metrics, but I’m not sold on it… Deerfield Beach Rats The Rats have the East’s best contact and very good bat control, but the league’s worst power. Generally average speed might lend itself to a small-ball approach, but it’s not particularly intimidating overall. Their range is comfortably above the league’s average, but the fielding is the worst in the East by a fair margin this season. The pitching is technically rated as the worst in the league, but it’s a junkball and control staff with league-lowest velocity and limited stamina. Prediction: 6th — A bit more seasoning in V might be necessary for the team to compete at this level. ———————————————————— Playoff predictions: Roswell Aliens in seven — The Titans won’t quite have the firepower to keep up.

#69537	11/14/2019 1:50:15 pm	Apr 3rd, 2043
GrizzlyDan Joined: 06/30/2016 Posts: 199 Atlanta Braves IV.2	The household civil war begins this afternoon. This will be fun. For any uninitiated spectators, Assumed lives in my house.

#69634	11/19/2019 6:19:46 am	Apr 21st, 2043
JoeDaddyeous91 Joined: 01/21/2016 Posts: 62 Kahului Turtles IV.1	Sup boys, glad to see some life on the threads! Knowing it's up and running again for the league I'll be checking more often now Assumed, awesome analysis of the league. I'm excited to see what my team can pull of in the West. we've been stuck in this league for a number of years now, and replaced our starting SS, 3B and C with guys who have been platooning lately, just to switch things up. It will be interesting! We're about to have a bottleneck at the OF position also, whether we gear toward contention or youth will be an interesting things to spectate. Can you share the spreadsheet that you made? I'm so curious! Sounds like you and GrizzlyDan are going to have a fun year competing against each other, the household divided so to speak haha.

#69635	11/19/2019 6:28:22 am	Apr 21st, 2043
JoeDaddyeous91 Joined: 01/21/2016 Posts: 62 Kahului Turtles IV.1	Also, curious that Hatleyville relinquished his team. He's been playing since April, 2016! Wonder what happened

#69637	11/19/2019 2:23:18 pm	Apr 21st, 2043
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	Yeah, that was sad to see. He was a leaguemate of mine back when I first signed up in ’29, real friendly guy. Hate to see the Travs give up the name. As for the spreadsheet, I can find a spot to stick it online somewhere a bit later, sure. It’s kind of a quick-n’-dirty analysis thing, far from polished, but it gives me something to do at the start of the season. Updated Tuesday, November 19 2019 @ 2:26:14 pm PST

#69744	11/23/2019 2:43:07 pm	May 6th, 2043
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	So far this season, I’ve been outhit in over a third of my wins (and fairly significantly in most of those). Granted, that’s an admittedly paltry sum for a cellar dweller this early in the season, but it’s going to be a fairly nerve-wracking season if that trend keeps up. x.@;

#69746	11/23/2019 6:02:19 pm	May 10th, 2043
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	…Oh. Right. I said a few days back that I would get the spreadsheet I use for my analyses put somewhere and then promptly forgot to do so. Better late than never, I guess. Any questions, comments, complaints, or et cetera, just poke me with on-site mail and I’ll see what I can do about it. Here’s the link.

#70360	12/30/2019 6:05:51 pm	Sep 26th, 2043
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	Fun series with Atlanta today. Two consecutive games where someone hit for the cycle in a losing cause — once by Kroes, once by Easter. Updated Monday, December 30 2019 @ 6:06:08 pm PST

#71013	01/27/2020 6:21:27 pm	Mar 25th, 2044
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	Time my annual preseason by-the-numbers analysis on teams. As always, I just took averages of everyone’s rosters and didn’t look into things like who actually plays and where or who’s about to come up from the Minors. Yay for spreadsheets. <.< >.> <.<; A few notes before I start in: » Predicted second through fourth place finishers are separated by 0.03 (in both divisions). » East’s total separation is a miniscule 0.24 in overall team average scores. » This is a ridiculously high contact league. » This is a surprisingly poor fielding league. » This is a high velocity, movement, and control league. I won’t be mentioning those tools much unless they’re particularly noteworthy. ———————————————————— I V . 2 W E S T Kahului Turtles The Turtles have the most power in IV.2, but not a lot in terms of bat control or discipline. They’re not an especially fast team, and so may rely on simply bludgeoning opponents into submission. Their defensive range and arms good enough that this is one of the West’s best defensive teams. They’re IV.2’s highest velocity and lowest movement team on the mound, which ties in well with the team’s apparent mindset of foregoing finesse in favor of simply overpowering opponents. Prediction: 3rd — Subtlety is all this team needs. Butte Pirates The Pirates are the lowest contact team in the league, which is more of a credit to the league than a disparagement to the Pirates. They lead the league in plate discipline, and have the speed to turn those inevitable walks into doubles. Their arms are the best the West has, and aggressive running games against them may be unwise. Their pitching has the lowest velocity in the league and not much change of speed, but phenomenal movement even in a league that favors bendy pitches. Prediction: 4th — If this team patches the holes in the gloves, they’re leaving everyone behind. Little Rock Twisters The Twisters are the premier contact team of the West, with good patience at the plate but not much power or bat control. Their division-worst speed will probably translate into a lot of station-to-station baserunning. Their uninspiring range and league-worst fielding is a bad combination to have in a high contact league like IV.2 is. Their movement is tops in all of IV.2, but have nothing else particularly noteworthy by the league’s standards. Prediction: 5th — The defense is the only thing really holding the team back. Wailuku Mustangs The Mustangs have an interesting combination of the league’s best bat control and worst plate discipline. They’re a speedy team on the basepaths, so a smallball approach with an emphasis on bunting runners over might not be a bad approach. This is a defensive powerhouse, featuring the division’s best fielding and range; no divisional rival even comes particularly close. Velocity and movement are both notably above the league average, though other skills are notably under the league average. Prediction: 1st — The defense will carry this team if the pitching falters. Grand Rapids Raptors The Raptors are, by league standards, an unremarkable offensive ballclub, being near or at the league average in all categories at the plate. Their speed is the West’s best, and they should have no shortage of baserunners to challenge opposing arms. Their defense is, on the whole, roughly average by league standards, though their arms should give opposing runners pause. On the mound, the team could also be considered to be roughly average save that their control leads IV.2 by a ridiculous margin. Prediction: 2nd — Speed and pitch command tip the scales in an incredibly tight 2nd-through-4th race. Medford Mustangs The Mustangs are one of the West’s best contact teams, but lack much with that — including the league’s worst bat control. They do have a bit of speed on the basepaths, and an aggressive running game might shore up what might otherwise be barrages of singles. Division-worst arms and league-worst range are problematic defensively, though some of the better fielding in the West should mitigate the worst of that. Velocity and movement are both well below the league average, though their command is exceptional. Prediction: 6th — There’s not quite enough in any category to keep the team from demoting. ———————————————————— I V . 2 E A S T Laurel Sharks The Sharks have the lowest contact of the East (which, again, says more about IV.2) and lack bat control and discipline, but have a fair amount of pop. They do have decent speed, which will lead to challenging opponents’ arms. They’re the least rangy team in the field in the East, but do feature the league’s best gloves. Their pitching staff is spectacular, with the worst they have being slightly above the league average, and it just goes upward from there. Prediction: 1st — A bad day on the mound means a close win instead of a shutout. Duluth Yeti The Yeti are a potent offensive team, with good power and East-best bat control. They’re the league’s slowest team, which mostly only means teams won’t need to worry about stretching doubles into triples while being bombarded. Their fielding is the worst in the division, which could lead to adventures when their above average range gets them to the ball, and weak arms may fall victim to aggressive runners. Their pitching is mostly average for the league, though their strong command is worth mentioning. Prediction: 6th — Defense will be the downfall of the team. Atlanta Braves The Braves offense is focused almost solely around contact, with poor bat control and discipline. They’re one of the slower teams in the league, but slightly above average power will help avoid the necessity of station-to-station ballgames. This is the defensive powerhouse of the league, with above average range backed up by some of the league’s best fielding and IV.2-best arms — run at your own risk. Their pitching staff has the East’s best heat, but is otherwise slightly below the league average. Prediction: 3rd — Even a minor improvement to offense or pitching will send this team skyrocketing. Mehlville Panthers The Panthers are the league’s offensive powerhouse, carrying the best overall rating and the division’s best discipline and power. They’re one of the slowest teams in IV.2 this season, but won’t need much speed with what their bats bring to the plate. Their range suffers somewhat from the lack of speed and their league-worst arms practically beg for a running game, but their fielding is among the league’s best (which isn’t necessarily saying much). Their pitching is about as close to the league average across the board as you can get. Prediction: 5th — Or so say the numbers, but I’m not sold that the weak arms aren’t skewing those numbers. Coral Springs Dolphins The Dolphins are the league’s overall worst offensive team; their bat control is right at the league average, but everything else is significantly lower. The one thing they do have going for them is their IV.2-best speed, but as they say, “You can’t steal first base.” They do have slightly above average range and arms, but fielding is as much a problem for them as most of the league. Their pitching staff brings awesome control to the mound — tops in the East — and excellent change of speed to make hitters look bad. Prediction: 2nd — Again, so say the numbers, but speed won’t help the anemic offense. Deerfield Beach Rats The Rats are IV.2’s best contact team with good bat control to go along with it, but also league-worst power. Their speed is below the league average, but still enough that a smallball approach to things should serve them well. They’ve got the best range in the field in the East, and are one of the best overall rated defensive teams in the league. The team lacks velocity on the hill, but should make up for it with their great change of speed. Prediction: 4th — Almost any improvement anywhere could put this team over the top. ———————————————————— Playoff prediction: Laurel Sharks in seven — The Mustangs will crack the Shark’s pitching, but not break it. Updated Monday, January 27 2020 @ 6:23:46 pm PST

#71122	01/31/2020 5:15:27 am	Apr 7th, 2044
JoeDaddyeous91 Joined: 01/21/2016 Posts: 62 Kahului Turtles IV.1	Love the preseason predictions! May be one of my favorite additions to this league! Good job and thank you AssumedPseudonym. Sad to see my prediction this year has moved from 2nd place last year (realistically finished 3rd) to a 3rd place prediction! We have a lot of youth on the cusp of major league ball, and a well built roster in the Majors, so it is going to be a finesse game of calling up/cutting this year, just the same as last year. Good job on the predictions for last year! You got the championship game correct.. Bravo

#71521	02/18/2020 12:11:25 am	Jun 10th, 2044
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	I kinda knew from the start of the season that my bullpen was going to be an issue. This is apparently an understatement. Looking at the league stats so far this season, I’m second in quality starts and nearly last in ERA; I can only conclude from this that my bullpen is an absolute dumpster fire. (…Also I’m apparently the league’s offensive juggernaut…? o.O ) …Welp. Time to see what I can do against the West. Bring on interdivisional play!

#72194	03/23/2020 1:34:55 am	Oct 20th, 2044
JJNZ Joined: 12/09/2014 Posts: 1581 Yakima Monster III.3	Thought I'd have a quick nosey at who my opposition will been next season, didn't help at all, both races in the west are pretty incredible to go down to the last series!

#72236	03/24/2020 2:51:18 am	Oct 24th, 2044
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	Now that you know who’s promoting from the West down here, I have advice for you, JJ: Don’t take Hurr Durr lightly. He’s pretty much outperformed my predictions every season I’ve been in the same league with him. Speaking of: Congrats to Butte and Laurel for going to III! The Sharks aren’t surprising, though honestly neither are the Pirates. Numbers be damned, there was pretty much no way Butte was finishing as low as the preseason predictions said. Go give JJ and the rest of III.1 hell. ^.^ On another note, it really sucks that Atlanta is demoting with an 82-78 record, but it would’ve been Melleville going down — and with the East’s best run differential no less — if the Braves had swept the Rats in the last series of the season. I expect Griz will probably be right back up again in 2046.

#72807	04/14/2020 5:54:00 am	Mar 25th, 2045
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	Time for me to do the thing again. Y’all know the drill: By the numbers, didn’t check lineups/ rotations/Minors, yadda yadda yadda. Also it’s almost 9:00am and I need to get to bed after I post this. @.@ A few notes before I start in: » The West is notably stronger overall than the East. » This is a contact-heavy league. » This is not a good fielding league. ———————————————————— I V . 2 W E S T Wailuku Mustangs The Mustangs are nearly exactly at the league average for hitting and lead the league in bat control, but will swing at practically anything with IV.2 worst discipline. Their power is lacking, but their speed on the bases could make a small ball approach a good option. They have excellent range and are one of IV.2’s best fielding teams, though their arms are mediocre. Their pitchers feature potent velocity and exceptional movement, but have the division’s worst control and stamina. Prediction: 3rd — A little bump in offense or pitching will do wonders for this team. Jeffersonville Crusaders The Crusaders offense hovers around the league average nearly across the board, with only power being noticeably short. The fact that this is one of the slowest teams in the division bodes ill for catchers and outfielders all around the West. Their fielding is sketchy, among the division’s worst, but their league-best arms may shut down even the best running games. Their pitchers have the league’s best movement and excellent control, but lack stamina. Prediction: 2nd — With better bats or gloves, this team won’t be stopped. Texarkana Twisters The Twisters feature IV.2’s best contact and power, with excellent discipline at the plate — they’ll wait for their pitches and hit them hard. Their speed is only slightly below the league average, which is still plenty to give opposing arms fits. Their gloves and range in the field are second to none in the West, though their arms may invite runners to test them. Their pitching staff is solid from one end to the other, with their only glaring weakness being stamina. Prediction: 1st — Offense and defense will win when pitching can’t. Kahului Turtles The Turtles are one of the league’s poorer contact teams (which should be terrifying to pitchers all across IV.2), but have plenty of pop in their bats to help offset poor bat control and discipline. They’re also the slowest team in the league, which may lead to a lot of “three true outcome” baseball. Their gloves should be adequate, but their league worst range might not be. Their pitchers have the league’s best velocity and change of speed, but worst movement and somewhat iffy control. Prediction: 6th — This team needs more, well, everything to stick at this level. Roswell Aliens The Aliens are the worst contact team in IV.2 (which is a credit to the league) and lack patience, but have some of the league’s best power — when they hit the ball, it’ll go a long way. They’re also the West’s fastest team, and should be a challenge to contain on the base paths. Their league worst arms, however, will struggle to hold opposing runner, though the defense is otherwise alright. Their pitching ranges from good to great, leading the division in control and the league in stamina. Prediction: 5th — There’s not enough reliable offense to compete here. Middletown Lions The Lions are a league average offensive team in almost everything save discipline, where the lead the West. Even their speed is roughly average for IV.2, which is little solace for defensive arms against them. Their range is surprisingly low despite this and their poor fielding will infuriate their pitching staff, but their arms should give runners pause. Their pitchers lack change of speed — IV.2’s worst — but have good heat and command and a dizzying array of breaking pitches. Prediction: 4th — A fairly average team, a fairly average finish. ———————————————————— I V . 2 E A S T Ironbridge City Knights The Knights are slightly below the league average on contact, but make up for it by being above the league average everywhere else offensively. Their speed is low for IV.2, but not enough to hinder them. Their fielding is the division’s best, with above average range for the league to get them to the ball quickly, but their arms may have trouble with faster teams. While most of the pitching capabilities are roughly league average, their control leads IV.2 by a broad margin. Prediction: 1st — If the pitching doesn’t hold out, offense and defense will bail them out. Memphis Redbirds The Redbirds have IV.2’s worst bat control, but do have good patience to help shore up an otherwise average offense. They’re not really a slow team, but do rank poorly against the rest of the league. Defensively, they IV.2’s best range and arms paired with the worst gloves — they’ll get to everything, but who knows what happens at that point! Their pitching is relatively poor when compared to the rest of the league, with only change of speed rating noticeably above average. Prediction: 5th — Not enough offense, not nearly enough defense or pitching. Coral Springs Dolphins The Dolphins have good bat control, but rate from below average to far below average in other offensive skills. Their speed is exceptional when they get on base, however. That speed doesn’t translate to range as much as it should, however, and the poor fielding makes this ball club decidedly subpar defensively. They do make up for these shortcomings with a pitching staff that is the East’s best overall, with only their movement falling below average (which, again, credit to IV.2). Prediction: 4th — The pitching staff is going to hate the puny offense and bad defense. Mehlville Panthers The Panthers have a solid offense with the division’s best power. As the slowest team in the East, they may need that power to help get them around the bases. Defensively, the team is below average across the board, with their range in particular being the most sluggish in the East. Their pitchers have good velocity but fall noticeably below the league average in every other category, with change of speed being notable in particular as the division’s worst. Prediction: 6th — The offense giveth. Unfortunately, so too doth the pitching and defense. Deerfield Beach Rats The Rats have the league’s worst power and poor discipline, but good bat control and the East’s best contact. While one of the slower teams in IV.2, they may rely on a lot of small ball to push runs across. The fact that this is the best overall rated defensive in the division is horrifying; their range and arms are good, but their gloves leave a lot to be desired. Their pitching has little stamina and IV.2’s worst velocity, but the best junk balls in the division and exceptional control. Prediction: 3rd — A bit more power, a bit better glovework, and this team goes places. Stillwater Stallions The Stallions have the East’s best patience, and fall just shy of the West-skewed league average everywhere else at the plate. They make up for that on the base paths with the best speed in the league — these Horses run! But that doesn’t translate to the field; unimpressive range and abysmal gloves make them one of the East’s worst defensive teams overall. Their pitching is solid but mainly relies on East leading velocity and stamina — stamina they may need due to defensive woes. Prediction: 2nd — If the pitching can survive the defense, the offense will keep them in games. ———————————————————— Playoff prediction: Ironbridge City Knights in seven — The Knights pitching will weather the offensive storm of the Twisters. …Barely.

#72813	04/14/2020 8:56:33 am	Mar 25th, 2045
patborders Joined: 04/16/2018 Posts: 115 Texarkana Twisters II.2	Wow. Thanks so much for this. First year in IV and favored for promotion!? Feeling the pressure now!

#73342	05/04/2020 2:16:23 pm	Jun 9th, 2045
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	Hey, you seem to be holding up your end of the bargain so far. ^.~ The West is right in line with my predictions (or would be if Wailuku was in third instead of last). I seem to have been a bit off on my expectations for the East at this point, though. Still two-thirds-ish of the season to go, so plenty of time for everybody to jockey for position.

#73545	05/13/2020 2:24:05 pm	Jul 16th, 2045
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	The All-Star Game basically turned into Texarkana vs. DFB with guest stars. I was almost as surprised to Kim made the team as I was to see that Lang didn’t.

#73716	05/20/2020 5:23:52 am	Aug 9th, 2045
patborders Joined: 04/16/2018 Posts: 115 Texarkana Twisters II.2	We had 10 all star appearances, wild, definite club record. Liking our chances but need to make sure we beat up on the weaker teams properly when we get back to divisional play. East looks like a real dogfight between Deerfield and Memphis.

#73766	05/21/2020 11:45:16 pm	Aug 19th, 2045
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	Inspired by Geech’s post up in III.3, I decided to math up the results of interdivisional games for us here in IV.2 and see how things went. The East did noticeably better than the West, which surprised the hell out of me, honestly — my preseason analysis showed the West to be the tougher division by a significant margin. That said, DFB is going to be happy to get back to divisional games where we were performing better (and I daresay Memphis shares that sentiment). Ironbridge City is probably going to have to be dragged back to the East kicking and screaming the whole way, and I’m sure Texarkana would prefer not to need to head back to the West just yet.

#73821	05/23/2020 4:35:47 am	Aug 21st, 2045
Samsung Lions Joined: 07/31/2017 Posts: 22 Inactive	Just discovered this thread... So far the Lions are confounding the critics, and their GM, sitting in 2nd place. Glad to get through interleague at a steady .500. This season is all about finishing outside the bottom two after a surprise back-to-back promotion last season. Pleased with how it's gone so far for a team in transition, approaching the retirement of team legend Juan Trevino #sniff#. Hopefully can find another reliable SP and a bit more bullpen depth for next year.

#73922	05/25/2020 3:05:50 pm	Aug 30th, 2045
patborders Joined: 04/16/2018 Posts: 115 Texarkana Twisters II.2	We were definitely loving interleague! As much for the beating the rest of the West took as our strong performances versus East. Now, to test out this whole "hit and run" thing (literally have had everyone at x for last three seasons but now totally questioning that...)

#74028	05/27/2020 6:54:14 pm	Sep 8th, 2045
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	So I was going through league stats, as you do, and was fairly delighted to discover that the Rats are pretty much the exemplification of a pitch-to-contact mentality: League’s fewest Ks and BBs, league’s second lowest BAA and WHIP.

#74035	05/28/2020 3:04:21 am	Sep 8th, 2045
Samsung Lions Joined: 07/31/2017 Posts: 22 Inactive	Middletown = middle of the road for most of the league stats, except for the honour of leading the league in outfield assists.

#74037	05/28/2020 4:18:25 am	Sep 8th, 2045
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	I was honestly expecting your pitching to be higher ranked and your offense lower ranked, like almost the reverse of where they are. Pitching might be around the middle of the pack, but offense is very solidly up around 4th in a lot of categories. Unearned runs are killin’ ya. Regardless of that and what Texarkana is doing in front of you, you’re putting a pretty respectable season together. This, as they say, why we play the games.

#74144	06/04/2020 6:09:02 am	Oct 4th, 2045
patborders Joined: 04/16/2018 Posts: 115 Texarkana Twisters II.2	Well we did it! Third straight promotion! Feel like we are in for a rough ride next year but gonna revel in this for a bit anyway. Lots of time to give the kids some playing time. Good fight, Middletown. See you in playoffs, Deerfield!

#74171	06/05/2020 6:08:41 am	Oct 8th, 2045
patborders Joined: 04/16/2018 Posts: 115 Texarkana Twisters II.2	Interesting: We don't have one player in the top 10 for average, OBP, OPS, SBs, BBs, or RISP and just one top 10 in RBIs, HRs and SLG. Real team effort this season.

#74189	06/06/2020 3:07:00 am	Oct 12th, 2045
Samsung Lions Joined: 07/31/2017 Posts: 22 Inactive	Congrats Texarkana. Deserved champions.

#74217	06/07/2020 3:14:31 pm	Oct 17th, 2045
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	Memphis and Coral Springs put up a helluva fight, but it’s finally official: The Rats have clinched. \o/ See ya Tuesday, Pat! Good luck. ^.^

#74236	06/08/2020 4:37:46 am	Oct 20th, 2045
patborders Joined: 04/16/2018 Posts: 115 Texarkana Twisters II.2	Hope we go seven to maximize stadium revenues!

#74237	06/08/2020 4:40:39 am	Oct 20th, 2045
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	I’ll drink to that. ^.^

#74333	06/11/2020 2:14:59 pm	Nov 3rd, 2045
AssumedPseudonym Joined: 10/26/2016 Posts: 1130 Deerfield Beach Rats V.7	Didn’t quite make it the full seven games, but I daresay our bank accounts will be happy with six. Honestly didn’t expect to win that with a couple of the injuries that popped up on my side. (I’m pretty sure Hewitt was still playing through his when he got back, looking at his offensive production. Nothing wrong with his defense in Game #6, though; your guys were putting him through his paces!) Good series, Pat. Now let’s go show III.1 a thing or two. ^.~

#74344	06/11/2020 4:25:36 pm	Nov 4th, 2045
patborders Joined: 04/16/2018 Posts: 115 Texarkana Twisters II.2	I'd say my usually rock solid bullpen let me down in games 4 and 5, but that didn't matter much considering the way the bats dried up. Good series, well done to you. Wow, III.1, really getting into it with the big boys now!

#81964	05/21/2021 9:03:57 am	May 29th, 2050
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Almost a year since this thread saw the light of day, time to blow off the cobwebs! High Point and Goldsboro are the class of the East, looks to be a two-way fight between them for the rest of the season. Not the best of starts for Woonsocket or Coral Springs. In the West only Cheyenne look to be out of their depth. End of an era in the Big Apple, with longtime manager Monroe put out to pasture, due partly to old age but mostly to salary (near $7M/year). Tough to let an all-timer go, but you can only drift for so many seasons while shelling out all that money and the time had come - helped along hugely by the fact that new manager Espinoza was sat there waiting for me. On paper he could be even better, but only on paper - you don't easily replace a guy with Monroe's ability, ever. Been a bunch of changes over the roster this season too, 41 in fact, more than I can recall having in many seasons. A bunch of disappointments have been shown the door and I really like the look of some of the newcomers, though we could certainly use more pitching down on the farm. Had a nice unhittable fastball lefty in my draft pool today, but passed on him in favour of a 14pot OF who we hope will have a bit of Miranda (my fifth pick my rookie season) in him.

#82042	05/27/2021 6:35:48 pm	Jun 24th, 2050
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Glad you took the reigns and cleaned off the dust! I meant to post something up when Benavides made his debut against you but he was terrible then and it felt embarrassing to put a spotlight on him. My biggest question going into interleague was whether the pitching was so poor in the east or the bats were just that good. Only thing I can say for certain is my bats are horrid and inconsistent. I've outscored my opponents 61-45 and I'm 7-8 out the gate. only solace (for lack of a better word) is that only west allis(the bot, go figure) is showing success against the east so far, the rest of the division is struggling as whole. Hard to let a guy like Monroe go for sure, but Espinoza seems more than capable to carry your franchise going forward. Gwozdek is definitely an interesting prospect. But I'd worry about his lack of hitting skills. He'll be a solid glove in the OF but he'd end up being bottom of the order fodder with maybe a few good seasons of batting ~.240.

#82686	06/27/2021 4:33:16 pm	Oct 20th, 2050
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Whoa! A 1-run win in the last game of our season, with the bullpen going seven innings, our rookie 2B getting PotG, and our CF (who struggled so much he only played 62 games) hustling to break up a potential innning-ending double play in the 7th and then coming around to score on three consecutive walks, means we're staying in this league next season by the skin of our teeth - on RD alone (admittedly 137 runs better). I could have done without those levels of excitement, and commiserations to Woonsocket. First time in six seasons I've felt we made any real progress, despite the record, although the pitching is still a mess. We can at least breath easier for a while.

#82847	07/05/2021 8:25:55 pm	Jan 13th, 2051
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Very experienced set of teams in this year's bout(with the exception of the bot obviously). With New York, Youngstown and Goldsboro returning, The east will retain a rep of powerhouse offenses. The west looks like it will likely get bullied by the east once more. Belleville appears to have a balanced team while Rohnert Park and Livermore have their strength in their bats. It will be interesting to see how the west is situated when interleague begins. It'll be very interesting to see any offseason additions that will shake things up. Cardinals Pitching will be the exact same as last season barring any waiver lottery. The teams success will be the offensive development of 5 players all under 25 years of age. If Byrd, Goode, Guajardo, Short and Benavides can all hit over .250, we just may be able to be considered a threat in the division. Anything less than that and I'll be punching an express train ticket to LL5

#84255	09/12/2021 7:01:23 pm	Oct 22nd, 2051
Midas Mulligan Joined: 12/21/2018 Posts: 25 Goldsboro Goldbugs V.2	The Goldbugs scuttle away with the pennant! Shocker! Being 32-11 in 1-run games doesn't hurt.

#84264	09/13/2021 7:02:54 am	Oct 22nd, 2051
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Doesn't hurt!?!??!? We went 17-26 in 1-run games, and you finished three games ahead of us and won the division with a -33 RD!! Add in the fact that we swept Jersey City in the last series to hand you the title, and you certainly led a charmed life! But congrats none the less. You and the Scorpions were the class of the East all season, one of the two of you was always going to win it. And I say that in full knowledge of the fact that only SEVEN wins separate top and bottom of the East, which is (1) ridiculous, and (2) a testament to just how hard a scrap the East was all season long. Heck, the West was close a lot of the season too. I'm not going to lament our record in 1-run games, for the simple fact I really enjoyed this season, even with us struggling for the vast majority of it. I never expected to come within three games of the division title, nor anywhere near it - I was just trying to stay up this season, and next season will likely be more of the same. That perspective might be slightly rose-tinted given we achieved our aims, and perhaps I'd feel differently if we demoted (but I doubt it, we were competitive all season long, at the very least). I'm as surprised as anyone that we had the best divisional record at 55-45. Seems our 2-8 finish to inter-division cost us, as our 26-34 record was the worst of all East teams, and I remember that sticking in my throat at the time! *Just checked: we were 0-6 against Goldsboro in 1-run games!! There's your title!!* LOL!** I made my home foul territory 'Large' for the first time ever, to help my pitching, as large foul territories are meant to suppress batting average. I doubt it did - we gave up over 1600 hits, second only to Belleville's 1647, and only one other team gave up 1493. Despite that, we gave up fewer home runs than anyone else in the league, despite our ballpark ranking firmly in the middle of the pack in terms of size. And although we ranked 5th in batting average our .263 average was 14 points down on last year. Hanlon was the star of our batting lineup, though where all those GIDP came from is anyone's guess - he hit into just 8 in 445 games in the minors. I know the fielding will be better in the majors, but (I'm hoping) that is a huge outlier. He was 24 AB short of making the leader lists, sadly, but quite the production from a FA signing. Here's to 2052!

#84446	09/18/2021 10:11:26 am	Jan 13th, 2052
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	Hi. We didn't expect to be down here, but here we are. I see a looot of familiar names here though. Here's to hoping the Ravens don't slide down another rung. See you all on the field.

#84596	09/24/2021 2:03:01 pm	Feb 19th, 2052
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	We didn't expect to be down here, but here we are. Boy do I know that feeling! One day you're king of the world, a few short moments later you're down in LLIV. It happens. Welcome lostraven! Good to see the preseason 6th-ranked teams in each division are both former Legends winners. I managed to stop my free-fall here, hopefully you can do the same. New York could still go either way, got some nice pieces but - to copy a phrase I used in an interview earlier today - our to-do list is never completed, and is ongoing.

#84876	10/04/2021 6:15:03 pm	Mar 25th, 2052
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Ugh, Lost my starting 2B and LF for 7 and 3 days respectively. Not ideal when you have the 4th overall ranking in your division. Long road stretches to begin the year usually cause me to try and play catch up the first 1/3rd of the season. As always fellas, best of luck this season (except when you play me)!

#85137	10/17/2021 9:42:52 am	May 10th, 2052
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	I won't claim to even remotely understand Rohnert Park's pitching strategy, but it seems to be working for them so far. Forgive me if I think their pitching is playing way over their head right now though. I'll be genuinely surprised if they can continue to carry that 3.xx ERA and FIP into the All Star Game. Updated Sunday, October 17 2021 @ 9:43:04 am PDT

#85568	11/14/2021 8:34:20 am	Aug 25th, 2052
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	Only a half game separates second and fifth place in the West (8GB, 8GB, 8.5GB, 8.5GB). And we just started facing our own division again yesterday. I feel like we're at a critical point in the season, and despite playing a ton of young guys this season, I'd still like to stay in IV. So the Ravens have tightened up the ship a bit, including bringing in a veteran stop-gap at 3B while Rich Wing gets sent back to AAA. And moved to a four-man rotation. A few other tweaks as well. We'll see if the Ravens can do just enough the rest of the way to stay in IV. Good fortunes the rest of the way.

#85642	11/19/2021 9:21:44 am	Sep 13th, 2052
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	I don't know why I even bother to log in and check my games at this point. Looks like it's LLV for me. :/

#85711	11/25/2021 3:25:38 am	Oct 6th, 2052
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Well sweeping Rohnert Park last night has you just three wins off 3rd, so there's still hope! I made the mistake of checking the league leaders and stats tables yesterday, to try and comprehend my team's offensive explosion this season - 6.3 runs per game average, a record during my tenure. Of course, we were then shut out in our first two games last night and managed just two runs in the third, so were swept by Roanoke! Damn tempting of fate!

#85716	11/25/2021 5:33:37 pm	Oct 10th, 2052
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Ravens had another decisive series against us on the road to knock the wind out of our sails. that 3.5 games behind Roswell seems like a insurmountable distance at this point. The lack of rest days has certainly hurt us with the fatigue injuries popping up like bad acne on a teenager. I desperately need Corvalis to step up again and gain me some ground on the aliens. From one bird to another, I need your help!

#85722	11/26/2021 6:29:55 am	Oct 10th, 2052
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Still at 3.5 games with 9/10 to play, fingers crossed for both of you! New York clinched our first division title in nine seasons, which is as much of a surprise to me as anyone. Our gameplan this year appeared to be "hit the heck out of the ball and hope that's enough." Average game score: 6.2 to 5.0! Starting pitching still sucks outside of Miller but the bullpen has been good. But that offence...don't think we've ever hit 221 homers, let alone with ten games still to play. And they've been spread around - 11 guys have double digit home runs, but only three guys have hit more than 20, and they're all in the 24-25 range. Pretty sure we've never struck out 1000 times in a season before either, and we're currently at 1046! Not quite the old "close your eyes and swing" approach, as evidenced by a .289/.355/.494 slash line. Nice to be back in the winning habit, but we'll wait and see if it's for real or temporary!

#85726	11/26/2021 8:47:32 am	Oct 10th, 2052
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	Grats to the Lancers for a decisive win. Unfortunately my SP1 isn't 100% for game one today. Not sure whether to go with crummy spot starter or run SP1 out still. Need to win as many games as I can in the next three series to stand a chance of playing the fourth-place upset.

#85732	11/26/2021 7:30:26 pm	Oct 14th, 2052
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	Super-critical four-game series against Hanford next. Could truly be a make-or-break series for either team.

#85746	11/28/2021 7:36:26 am	Oct 18th, 2052
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	Last series of the season. WEST Farmington needs more or less a miracle to overtake Roswell. Granted, Rohnert Park is no push over for Roswell, but Rohnert Park will need to win its games, and Farmington all its games against Hanford. Corvallis would be pleased with that, as they try to fend off Hanford for fourth place. Corvallis faces Omaha, with a tough lefty in Cortez and some rougher starters in Virgil and Gandy. It's been a mixed bag for Corvallis vs. Omaha, with Corvallis winning nine out of 17 of the prior games. Tough to say how this goes down today. Edit: With the injury to Ramón, Farmington may be throwing in the towel. I'm just now noticing this morning they have two newbs in the SP rotation. This isn't good news for the Ravens. EAST The only meaningful race out East is for fourth place, between Abilene and Roanoke. Abilene goes up against second-place Jersey and three of their tough SP. Jersey also appears to have its offensive regulars in as of this morning. Roanoke faces last-place Mehlville, which has gone 2-8 for the last 10 games. On paper, Roanoke has the advantage here over Abilene, but Roanoke has its three worst SP scheduled in its four-game series. And Roanoke bats haven't exactly excelled this year. Even with those caveats, it's tough not to give Roanoke the edge here over Abilene. Good luck to all for the final series. Updated Sunday, November 28 2021 @ 8:04:33 am PST

#85751	11/28/2021 12:56:13 pm	Oct 18th, 2052
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	I wouldn't necessarily call it throwing in the towel. I will need a miracle to promote and the loss of ramon was tough. But I actually have a lot of faith in my team this series. I'm playing Pantoja and Vasquez on short pitch counts and then my reliable relievers come in pretty early. So far my team is 4-0 when those two rookies start(small sample size i know) and Vasquez has faced Hanford before and performed admirably. Corvalis is arguably set up the best to avoid relegation. Rohnert Park is just as likely to get relegated as you are with their face off against Roswell (who will likely play their top players just to remove any chance of not promoting) and Hanford has my squad who made minor tweaks in the lineup. I actually have a lot of confidence in the ravens to stay in the league. My money is on Hanford demoting (i don't usually openly say this but Hanford is basically a bot team rn) Best of Luck Fellas, I am openly rooting for Corvalis and Rohnert Park today!

#85765	11/29/2021 6:15:07 am	Oct 22nd, 2052
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	Wow, didn't expect Jersey City to drop all three games. Grats to Abilene, condolences to Roanoke. And somehow the Ravens sneak into third, with a rather iffy DIFF. And six points of DIFF saves Rohnert Park from Hanford's demise. Condolences to Hanford ... and grats to Roswell! Will be interesting to see how the series between Roswell and New York plays out.

#85788	11/30/2021 3:33:46 am	Oct 26th, 2052
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Going pretty much as I expected so far! We went 54-26 on the road this season so I fully expected to lose the first two playoff games on the road! We were 2-3 against Roswell home and away (ie. 4-6 overall), so I expect them to win the series. Miller pitched well in game one but we had no offence, and facing Gonzalez in game two was always going to be a tough ask. Now I just have to cross my fingers and hope for the best!

#85793	12/01/2021 6:07:52 am	Oct 30th, 2052
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	Grats to Roswell on winning the series. Convincing win.

#85798	12/01/2021 12:23:34 pm	Oct 30th, 2052
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Certainly was, not particularly close at all. As usual, if we didn't blow the save in game four it may all have been different, but I doubt it. Onwards and upwards. Good luck all.

#85842	12/03/2021 7:38:22 pm	Jan 13th, 2053
JJRR Joined: 12/16/2016 Posts: 160 Memphis Redbirds IV.1	Popping in from a horrible season in III.1 and ready to restart. Rebuild in progress. Couple vets on the bubble. Happy 2053!

#85943	12/10/2021 9:34:38 am	Feb 19th, 2053
JJRR Joined: 12/16/2016 Posts: 160 Memphis Redbirds IV.1	Hey Hey! It's Spring Training!

#86001	12/16/2021 6:51:53 pm	Mar 14th, 2053
JJRR Joined: 12/16/2016 Posts: 160 Memphis Redbirds IV.1	Two weeks later and SP is set, for now. Dropped some vets and signed a couple backups and subs. Delaying some 3A position players while a couple more vets make the lineup or go job hunting elsewhere. Three interesting Pot 11 RPs in 3A. Nice short reliever performance in ST. Might get a shot if needed. For what it's worth, one of my SP, Cristian Collazo [ID #249620], was picked up last year as Pot 11 and bumped to Pot 12. He was originally a Pot 10 when drafted by Temple in 2046! He did good service on my poor team last season. Speaking of Pot 11 RP, Floyd Mathewson [ID #240847] was Rookie of the Year Pitcher in 2050 in LLV IV-1. Let's have a good season.

#86057	12/19/2021 7:56:25 pm	Mar 20th, 2053
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Decent Training update for the boys. Have two players now with 20 ratings on the Squad (Byrd with 20 Hit and now Adams with 20 CTRL). We appear top ranked thanks to last year's failed playoff push, but I hardly feel we will live up to that ranking this season. I expect to be off to the same slow start as 2052 with the breaking in of a few too many rookies. Olivaros takes over the reigns of Franchise SS with Carrara crashing and burning last season. Arenas will try to make an impact as the new 1B against RHP. 4 Rookies join the staff this year but I have a feeling not all 4 will survive my patience if they lose me too many games. Burnett, Guzman, Pantoja and Vasquez hope to avoid repeating the past mistakes of other rookies I have cut to remain competitive. I'll be very happy if we can hit interleague above relegation, but I'm expecting placing 5 or 6 with the youth getting tossed out there. As Always, Best of luck to you all(unless you face me!)

#86217	01/07/2022 8:28:40 am	May 29th, 2053
JJRR Joined: 12/16/2016 Posts: 160 Memphis Redbirds IV.1	Looks like a crap shoot in the East as we go play the West. All teams in East can win the division or go down. Hot/Cold streaks will decide.

#86337	01/17/2022 7:04:02 am	Jul 7th, 2053
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	For the East, East Orange is the team to beat. Best pitching in the East, cranking out quality starts. Respectable offense with power and on-base, and their defense is limiting errors on the field. Meanwhile, continue to grumble about Farmington Hills. The entire first half of the season has seen their RISP anywhere between 25 to 30 points higher than their AVE. I think it was even a little higher to start the season. Hoping their RISP comes down closer to their AVE in the second half, otherwise I won't have much of a chance to keep up. Even so, their OBP is flat out better than ours, so I'm not expecting much. If I HAD to choose now, I'd say Farmington Hills and East Orange take the top spots this season. Memphis might have a chance to overtake East Orange, but that huge defensive gap at 2B and relatively poor SP options are a big hurdle to overcome. Updated Monday, January 17 2022 @ 7:10:05 am PST

#86540	01/30/2022 6:56:47 am	Aug 25th, 2053
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	East Orange is still holding up as I expected as we approach September 2053. The bigger surprise for me is the powerful push of Jefferson City upward. I admit, I wasn't looking too closely at their team, and my previous post was perhaps too dismissive of their chance of success. Since that post, Farmington Hills (FH) has indeed seen their RISP (.268) come back in line with AVE (.264). Unfortunately for them and the Ravens, Jefferson City's (JC) batters have heated up. Their RISP is slightly elevated above their AVE, but you also have to take into account JC's GB/FB and HR totals. They are blasting balls out of orbit, and that's always going to lead to a slight elevation in RISP. JC's pitching is still middle-of-the-packish in some ways, but that staff is striking out a ton of batters, and the quality starts are respectable enough. Defensively, FH and JC match up fairly evenly. FH has the edge pitching-wise, and JC hitting-wise. Could be a nailbiter regarding which team takes the top spot end-of-season. Still betting on EO to take the East; good pitching wins series, and EO has it. Updated Sunday, January 30 2022 @ 6:57:32 am PST

#86685	02/10/2022 5:32:36 am	Oct 6th, 2053
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	In an interesting turn of events, a new manager took over bot-controlled East Orange, and since the change, the team has lost five of the last six games. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory? So conflicted ...

#86689	02/10/2022 8:27:50 am	Oct 6th, 2053
JJRR Joined: 12/16/2016 Posts: 160 Memphis Redbirds IV.1	Same mgr, new owner.

#86840	02/17/2022 4:25:16 pm	Nov 2nd, 2053
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	Dominating season by East Orange, most of it run by a bot. Crazy season for Jefferson City, and condolences to Farmington Hills.

#86907	02/21/2022 11:36:29 am	Jan 13th, 2054
JJRR Joined: 12/16/2016 Posts: 160 Memphis Redbirds IV.1	2054 ahead. Birds manage to survive after some poor performances on the mound in 2053. Always looking to upgrade there, maybe this season. Cuts in prospects that were duplicates. Hopefully youngsters will develop and the vets won't slip on any banana peels... Added some new coaches in hopes of better performance. Happy 2054 to all! update Here we go for ST! Updated Friday, February 25 2022 @ 1:34:17 pm PST

#87001	02/26/2022 3:16:34 pm	Mar 3rd, 2054
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Welp, Back at it again for 2054. Still writhing in pain from last seasons ending. I'll try to enjoy spring before I have to get back into finding ways for my team to shoot themselves in the foot. decent bit of changes this offseason. Pretty much dumped my whole bench. dropped my closer and brought up probably too many rookies. Marroquín will look to take over for an aging Bauer. Sosa will be a backup to Gamez if heaven forbid he misses some games. Meyers, Escalante & King are gonna be the X factors this season. Meyers will replace Vasquez from last season as the 4.5 starter while King and Escalante will try not to blow too many leads as middle relief. the demoralization from lasts season's ending has lowered my expectations for this season. where I was bobbling first away last season, I truly think we'll be trying to avoid getting outplayed by the bots in our division and be relegated. Here's to my 8th consecutive season in IV.2, may it be equally if not more productive than the last 7

#87131	03/06/2022 5:46:52 am	Mar 18th, 2054
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	LL IV is tough; it took me six seasons to get out last time. I feel like I may be stuck here again for at least a few more seasons. Have a youth movement, but just haven't been able find any promising SP.

#87156	03/08/2022 5:43:20 am	Mar 25th, 2054
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	With league kicking off today I'd just like to wish you all good luck! May your fortunes be great unless you face the Cardinals!

#87171	03/09/2022 5:01:39 am	Mar 30th, 2054
JJRR Joined: 12/16/2016 Posts: 160 Memphis Redbirds IV.1	Thanks 5L1NK. Same to you and all the other IV.2 Crew!

#87256	03/14/2022 6:54:12 am	Apr 18th, 2054
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Well, first cycle of division play and we're middle of the pack. obviously too early for any big takeaways. Corvalis is maintaining their stellar pitching rep. Roswell appears to be the hot bat so far and i can totally see them in contention all season long. Cedar park is looking good with their new owner, first seasons are quite volatile. Lakeville has plenty of time to turn their rough start around. Cardinals rotation has been sluggish out the gate, as have Byrd and Marroquin on the offensive side. we'll see how we do with a road heavy cycle coming up. It will be interesting to see how Corvalis and Roswell do with their cycles, I find when my team has those long homestands and road trips, they tend to be two completely different teams. East looks competitive in its own right but I have little confidence in analyzing any further than that at this point

#87344	03/20/2022 8:13:46 pm	May 14th, 2054
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Second cycle down and we made a bit of progress. Two cycles at 10-7 isn't something to disappointed in by any means. Still too early to count out any teams as competition but Roswell and Corvalis are the biggest challenge to my squad so far. Roswell straight up has my number and the 1/2 game lead I somehow have over them will almost certainly disappear. As long as the Ravens keep that deadly rotation and bullpen of theirs healthy, I can see them breaking away right before the chaos of interleague commences. Speaking of health, Frank goes down for a few series and struggling Lombardo lands 35 days on the IL. Burnett and Meyers will try to fill in while Ramon and Pope attempt to hold my inconsistent rotation together. Next cycle will be interesting to say the least. I'm expecting a big push by Corvalis and Roswell before interleague while either Lakeville or Cedar Park (or both) will showcase why they belong here and get a good foundation before we take a break from division play.

#87401	03/25/2022 8:01:20 am	May 29th, 2054
JJRR Joined: 12/16/2016 Posts: 160 Memphis Redbirds IV.1	Still bouncing around in the East. Are Lancers making their move?

#87412	03/26/2022 7:09:09 am	May 31st, 2054
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	Nice write-ups, 5L1NK. Corvallis bats have gotten a smidge lucky, particularly against LHP. In our rotation, Andrew Minter is still a huge question mark; that home run propensity hurts. But he'll get more chances. McGowan and Wallace have to come back down to Earth too, and I'm guessing that will happen when I start facing East bats. Hanson really struggling at closer; he has to get it together. Quite atypical performance vs. RHB, but even so, it just may be an off-year for Hanson. On the front end of the bullpen, Calderón unlucky vs. LHB, Young unlucky vs. RHB. Hope they normalize. Lineup vs. RHP remains fluid with a lot of young bats. Then again, Ravens have almost always struggled vs. RHP. Regardless, still hoping for BA upside there the rest of the season. Roswell is definitely one to keep an eye on. I feel like they can pull a Jefferson City Patriots like last season and crank it up in the second half. Some good fight over in the East. Lancers are always a tough fight with those bats, but they have some holes in the pitching staff. Jersey city bats are scary, and if they can figure out their bullpen woes, watch out! Memphis really needs SP Stowe to perform like last season in order to stay in the pack.

#87428	03/28/2022 7:11:23 am	Jun 8th, 2054
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Well that's a wrap on Division Play. I have mixed feelings. I'm noticing a decline in my squad as division play progressed. Getting swept by the last place bot team really deflated my squad. Gonna need to call up Steve to rename fred08 the owner of the cardinals cause they truly own my team right now. My team is comically awful against LHP. took the liberty of scouting the east's rotations and determined 20/60 games should be against LH starters (barring any roster moves on their part) so interleague should be a rough go for us. If it weren't for our success against Lakeville and Cedar park, my team is well deserving of relegation. 60 games of chaos ahead so we can pretty much throw these stats out the window and go into interleague with a clean slate. my baseless prediction would be Roswell and Corvalis swapping places multiple times over the next few series while my guys struggle to keep the Bears, Raiders and Titans at bay. Best of luck to you all

#87464	04/01/2022 6:01:46 am	Jun 25th, 2054
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	Heh now! Apparently Corvallis is going to let every single East team #$%&$ walk all over them. (Though there have been some real lucky wins by the opponents on multiple occasions.) At this rate, we'll be fighting to stay in the division. Ravens better get their crap together vs. the East. :/

#87490	04/02/2022 12:52:48 pm	Jun 27th, 2054
JJRR Joined: 12/16/2016 Posts: 160 Memphis Redbirds IV.1	@lostraven Redbirds will take all the "real lucky wins" we can get. update ++++++ Yikes, need more luck update two ++++++ @5L1NK That wasn't a sweep, that was the hammer, ouch. Updated Sunday, April 3 2022 @ 4:55:48 pm PDT Updated Sunday, April 3 2022 @ 6:31:54 pm PDT

#87502	04/04/2022 7:00:40 am	Jul 7th, 2054
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	Ravens bats vs RHP only hitting .245. This game makes me angry sometimes. shakes head

#87606	04/09/2022 2:05:41 pm	Jul 19th, 2054
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	Just after the All Star break, the Ravens lead the league in one-run games, with 27, showing a 13-14 record. Man, if only my bats vs. RHP were hitting, the West would look different. Oof.

#87614	04/09/2022 5:46:39 pm	Jul 21st, 2054
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	I've said it before and I'll say it once more. Interleague is chaos. How we entered the break at the top was beyond me. I'm getting flashes of 2053 right now and I'm fully stating that the Cards are pretenders. Roswell is doing their best Jefferson City impression right now and I'm getting PTSD. We're also bringing back the Cardinal classic move of 2nd half drop off beginning with our series loss to last place Duluth. Stay tuned to watch the Cardinals attempt to dive bomb any chance of promotion. I'm writing this as mental preparation for the next 3 weeks of my team disappointing me and me reliving 2052 sucking on Roswell's dust.

#87664	04/13/2022 9:28:34 am	Aug 9th, 2054
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	Speaking of interleague chaos, apparently an informal "trade" happened between the Corvallis Ravens and the North Brunswick Blue Jays. I ditched Pino, the Blue Jays ditched Epps, and somehow we miraculously ended up with each other's player. Go figure!

#87717	04/19/2022 11:33:35 am	Aug 31st, 2054
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Been a busy easter weekend so i'm late in my analysis. the gross parallel of the west from 2052 is quite apparent now. We predictably cooled off from the all star break but were still competitive. Memphis got their revenge with a 4-1 series win to put us well behind Roswell and their dominance. Going to need a real lucky run if i want to make up ground for promotion. after this cycle i will need to evaluate if it's worth remaining competitive and just bring in the youth for low consequence experience. our problem seems to be consistency once more, can't win the games we should when we need em while Roswell just manufactures wins. I won't be surprised if the Ravens snap out of their funk and help the aliens grow their lead against us. around the east it will be interesting to watch how Cedar Park, Corvalis and Lakeville will fight to avoid relegation. Cedar Park has momentum out of interleague and i'm pretty confident Corvalis will bounce back from interleague struggles and remain locked in IV.2 Purgatory with me for another season. Lakeville certainly isn't counted out but their bats are on par with Cedar Park and Corvalis while their pitching has noticeably struggled, giving them a tough disadvantage to overcome. The still a lot of time for the west to swap around. Memphis bats and pitching earned them their stable lead so far but no lead is safe until that X comes into play. my interest is primarily in New York and North Brunswick. Both teams have the power to make a run for promotion but are two bad series away from fighting for relegation. That situation this late into the season would have me on edge and I do not envy them. With Cup play officially over we kick into overdrive divisonal play with friday and monday series so injuries will be costly and while at the time of posting i have a safe 17 game buffer from relegation, i'm not confident enough in my guys to count them safe from level V. I again wish you all good luck in the rest of divisional play. You'll probably hear my incessant whining in a few days Updated Tuesday, April 19 2022 @ 1:52:27 pm PDT

#87751	04/22/2022 11:18:37 am	Sep 13th, 2054
JJRR Joined: 12/16/2016 Posts: 160 Memphis Redbirds IV.1	@amalric7 Birds are cooling from their HOT hitting. Your sweep might be the end of our run. I'm in with my A Team for now but looks like Lancers have the momentum. My SPs and hitters need to suck it up and produce. Updated Friday, April 22 2022 @ 11:23:34 am PDT

#87752	04/22/2022 12:16:23 pm	Sep 13th, 2054
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Look out, it's time for the forewarned whining. Another cycle down, I made up 1/2 game of ground. a step in the right direction but 3.5 GB seems like a marathon's distance away. positive takeaway was first series win against Roswell, but that's about it. East and west are starting to mirror. two teams seriously competing for promotion. 3 teams (4 in the east's case) that are fighting to avoid relegation. over 30 games left so plenty of time for the dust to settle. I'm researching cardinals and redbirds to determine if they have natural choking problems as I can truly relate to JJRR's pain. I'm locked in competitive mode so rookies will have to wait for some ABs until Roswell decides to put me out of my misery. In the meantime, III.1 will be teasing me with a newly filled birdfeeder while IV.2 will try to keep me in the cage.

#87755	04/22/2022 3:11:57 pm	Sep 13th, 2054
JJRR Joined: 12/16/2016 Posts: 160 Memphis Redbirds IV.1	On second thought, maybe Blue Jays and Scorpions have the MO... Perhaps it's whoever plays the Redbirds??? Update-- Duh, back to back sweeps. Talk about Choke, Updated Friday, April 22 2022 @ 4:10:49 pm PDT

#87797	04/24/2022 7:30:40 pm	Sep 24th, 2054
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Welp, with that sweep by Corvalis and Roswell's sweep of Cedar Park, Ownership has decided to throw in the towel on a 2054 promotion. That 6 game lead may as well be 60 with the way my guys have played this second half of the season. Bring on the youth!

#87800	04/25/2022 1:17:53 pm	Sep 24th, 2054
JJRR Joined: 12/16/2016 Posts: 160 Memphis Redbirds IV.1	@5L1NK Been there, done that. Good Luck on the youth movement. Updated Monday, April 25 2022 @ 1:18:58 pm PDT

#87811	04/26/2022 6:23:34 pm	Oct 2nd, 2054
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Alright, we've entered the final stretch. Unless Lakeville gets a clean 16-0 stretch while i go 0-16, we've more or less officially guaranteed staying in IV.2 for another season. Focus is getting experience for my 5 rookie pitchers and rookie OF. from my perspective the only entertainment right now will come from Lakeville competing with Cedar Park for avoiding demotion and the far more exciting powergrab between North Brunswick and Memphis. Aside from that and Corvalis maybe overtaking me, the rest of the league has been relatively decided.

#87872	05/02/2022 11:12:26 am	Oct 22nd, 2054
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Well that was...anti-climactic. I think we topped the East at one point during inter-division, but we cratered during the run-in: during the last 50 division games, we won our first, then lost 5 straight, then won 9 of 10, then lost 9 of 10, then won 3 of 4, then lost 10 of 12, then won 6 of our last 8. Talk about a rollercoaster! An 80-80 finish, -25 RD, average in every way. But that's not entirely true. Offensively we were good, 202 homers and a .786 OPS. All those home runs (3rd in the league) kept us mid-table even with all the whiffs (1019, worst!). We have no threat on the base paths any more (14 SB, when EIGHT teams had at least 88). Pitching has been a horror show for some time now, not helped by the fact that my ace of the last three seasons Miller suddenly fell off the cliff. I had exactly one starter with an ERA below 5.14. A grand total of 49 QS in 160 games, a team ERA of 4.79 is very, very poor. Fielding was decent, led the league with 320 DP and was 2nd with 37 OA, but tied for 10th in errors with 98. Most of the latter comes down to Alonso having his worst season with the glove in four years (while also losing his touch with the bat in consecutive seasons), and forgetting I'd temporarily put Montes in at 3B, which ended up running to 41 games! Shockley was a nice surprise, even if he was never meant to be my full-time SS (and won't be next season, with Lezcano getting much more time). Leon always had potential but hadn't been consistent enough, and now he's double his career homer total. Hull was a pleasant surprise but I'd expect a regression next season, that's so far beyond anything he's done since rookie ball. Jelly had his second, sneaky 20-homer season, but he blows so hot and cold I never give him a good run, and then at season's end I'm cursing myself for it. We went 4-6 against Memphis in the first half, and 6-4 in the second. We went 8-2 against North Brunswick in the first half, and 4-6 in the second. We went 7-3 against Duluth in the first half, and 2-8 in the second. We went 5-5 against Jersey City in the first half, and 2-8 in the second. We started 0-3 against Roanoke, and then went 13-4 against them. The 4th and 5th place teams really did a number on us in the second half, but honestly I haven't been paying as much attention to the game during the run-in (RL has been a pain) so it's on me as much as anything. Congrats JJRR, a +95 RD shows the class of the Redbirds this year. Best of luck taking on the Aliens against who we also went 2-8!

#87876	05/02/2022 11:49:03 am	Oct 22nd, 2054
JJRR Joined: 12/16/2016 Posts: 160 Memphis Redbirds IV.1	Thanks Amalric. I decided to go for more hitting this year at the expense of def. Viera was unbearable at 2B to start the season and I picked up Donaldson which helped even though he led the league in errors, I hate that. Playoff will be a real test as the top 2 overthere worked me over. I was 1-9 in one set. I had a couple career years on hitters that helped. My young starters are improving which helped too. I had 3 22+ injr in the rotation in the first third that hurt. Still can't figure hot and cold streaks... If history repeats, I'll be back. 😀 Updated Monday, May 2 2022 @ 2:35:45 pm PDT

#87885	05/02/2022 7:46:24 pm	Oct 26th, 2054
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Glad you were able to make it back to us Amalric, was beginning to worry about you. Big congrats to JJRR on making sure at least one red bird had success this season. Fred and his Aliens were very deserving of their promotion as well. On to the year in review. We ended up at the same outcome as last season, 92-68 with a second place finish after another weak second half. Only solace was I was able to get the rookies in early enough so I got some long term gain from 2nd place. Cards have cemented themselves as a first half team, apparently we're so one dimensional that everyone figures us out after the all star break. 50-30 in the first half with a +107 RD and 42-38 in the second half with a +65 RD. we putter out right after interleague is over and our division rivals pounce on the opportunity. We led in several pitching categories including fewest blown saves and hits, Runs, Earned Runs, Complete games, ERA, BAA, and WHIP. Didn't help us overcome Roswell's offensive powerhouse but I should note a positive when I see it. Rookies typically made the most of their opportunities this season. Marroquin was underwhelming at the plate but solid behind it. Meyers was a serviceable inning eater in his rookie year, but depending on what training update zero does to my aging rotation, he'll likely see the door before spring starts. Escalante and King showed great promise out of the pen, typically rookie relievers cost me a fair bit of games but they lost a mere 5 combined games and kept sub 3.50 ERAs. It will be interesting to see how the offseason treats us with a lot of vets getting up there in years, training update 0 could ravage us and push me from competing for promotion to struggling to fight off relegation.

#87909	05/04/2022 2:29:12 pm	Nov 1st, 2054
JJRR Joined: 12/16/2016 Posts: 160 Memphis Redbirds IV.1	@fred08 Congrats on a very good series and season. Roswell Aliens are top notch.

#88329	06/08/2022 6:58:33 am	May 21st, 2055
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	Just looked at my team SB/CS and noticed it was crummy. Some tough catchers in IV.2 West. Though other teams out West seem to be doing OK with SB success. At a minimum, my OF Rios has gotten a bit unlucky this season, as prior seasons' SB/CS look better. Same with Lawson. More adjustments...

#88472	06/22/2022 7:30:11 am	Jul 14th, 2055
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Been a hell of a month so I haven't gotten a chance to do my typical forum venting this season. Entering this All Star break and I have no clue what to make of my team. We are straight garbage on offence, 3rd lowest in runs scored. Somehow we are 2nd in the division (3rd in the league in AVG & OBP, our RISP is 4th in the league. our low HRs and OPS are likely factors to our trash run output. The only teams that are better than us pitching wise at the break are at the top of their respective divisions. 80 games left and Corvalis is the clear favorite this year, it's their title to lose. Still a lot of time for interleague chaos to shuffle teams around but the west appears to be a 5 way fight to avoid relegation. The traditional 2nd half drop off by the Cardinals could get us in hot water the next couple weeks and that's got me nervous. 4 players are holding up my offence right now and my rotation is is doing what it can with sub par run support. The outlook for the rest of the season is rather bleak if we don't find a way to turn things around after the break.

#88558	07/01/2022 6:24:26 am	Aug 19th, 2055
lostraven Joined: 07/02/2016 Posts: 1269 Corvallis Ravens II.1	This is where I don't say a lot of anything, for fear of jinxing myself. Headed back to the West to face some competition in an effort to stay at the top. Sweating bullets, that's all I'll say for now.

#89103	08/11/2022 6:48:36 pm	Apr 7th, 2056
Jayhawker Joined: 01/15/2021 Posts: 30 Lawrence Hawks II.1	Lawrence is trying to achieve heights never before seen for the franchise - a 2nd place finish in IV level (or better!), but had a rough first week of the campaign - 3-7 record with 5 of the losses being by 1 run or in extra innings.

#89189	08/15/2022 4:37:52 pm	Apr 20th, 2056
Mudcat325 Joined: 12/20/2017 Posts: 98 Columbia Catfish V.3	Good luck Jayhawker. Catfish are off to a rough start as well. Cold bats and the usual mediocre pitching. Without the hitting it may be a very long season. The big hitters are doing much better in Cup play, so it's not time to panic. We may yet come around, but were not going to be too patient. There is a lot of promising rookies that we need to take a better look at, so the axe is ready. Hope we all have a fun season!

#89252	08/19/2022 3:30:07 pm	May 4th, 2056
Mudcat325 Joined: 12/20/2017 Posts: 98 Columbia Catfish V.3	11-3 in the USA Cup is good enough for #11 rank in the Overall Standings. At least something is going well for us because we sure stink thus far in the IV.2 league standings.

#89254	08/19/2022 3:41:09 pm	May 4th, 2056
hardhat Joined: 05/26/2013 Posts: 200 Oceanview Woods Grizzlies Legends	Hmm Mudcat, since you have such a cushion maybe you can just let me win our 4 game series on Monday 😅😅 come on let the young guys play!! For some reason these bots in our group are killing me so far lol

#89262	08/20/2022 11:38:58 am	May 6th, 2056
Jayhawker Joined: 01/15/2021 Posts: 30 Lawrence Hawks II.1	Good luck to you as well Mudcat! Sounds like you need to setup your player contracts so there is no cup bonus, that way they focus on the league games Or maybe a sign there is a bountiful harvest on the Columbia farm?

#89284	08/21/2022 5:28:17 pm	May 14th, 2056
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Wow, 15-2 out the gate with a +34 RD the first go around then we go 6-11 with a -27 RD. Life comes at you fast fellas.

#89334	08/23/2022 4:34:09 pm	May 19th, 2056
Mudcat325 Joined: 12/20/2017 Posts: 98 Columbia Catfish V.3	Maybe it's the scales of baseball justice that are finally making the proper adjustments or something like that. I've got to be honest...I'm fine with the current trend. More please.

#89336	08/23/2022 4:48:13 pm	May 20th, 2056
Mudcat325 Joined: 12/20/2017 Posts: 98 Columbia Catfish V.3	We just put up 37 runs in the 3-game sweep of Waltham! Knocked 24 points off the negative RD! Where were those bats for the first quarter of the season? How do we sustain this? Is it my rally underwear? lol

#89348	08/24/2022 3:27:00 pm	May 22nd, 2056
Mudcat325 Joined: 12/20/2017 Posts: 98 Columbia Catfish V.3	Even split for the Cup; 4 teams each from East/West. Well done, were representing strong! Good luck!

#89372	08/26/2022 7:28:48 am	May 29th, 2056
Jayhawker Joined: 01/15/2021 Posts: 30 Lawrence Hawks II.1	We just put up 37 runs in the 3-game sweep of Waltham! Knocked 24 points off the negative RD! Where were those bats for the first quarter of the season? How do we sustain this? Is it my rally underwear? lol Wow! If you can smooth that over to average 7-8 runs a game (in our latest series you had a couple 1 run games - thanks for leaving your rally underwear at home ) I have a feeling you'll be supplanting some teams in the standings. Any predictions for interleague? I'll go with the West +10 or more. Lawrence historically has given up ground in interleague and battling for the title, as Provo well knows. I don't know if my fellow East compatriots will pickup the slack.

#89381	08/26/2022 5:27:10 pm	May 31st, 2056
Mudcat325 Joined: 12/20/2017 Posts: 98 Columbia Catfish V.3	My luck, we caught Lawrence while they were on fire. Nothing works verses a force such as that. Our pitching was awful and for better or worse changes have to be made. Nice sweep JayHawker! Some good news...we made it through for another round of Cup competition. And now there are 6 representing. Good luck!

#89382	08/26/2022 5:37:04 pm	May 31st, 2056
Mudcat325 Joined: 12/20/2017 Posts: 98 Columbia Catfish V.3	What's really bizarre is that somehow we have the best ranking (#73) in the East division and 2nd overall. I can only assume it's because of our continual strong showing in Cup play. You'd think that being last in League play would have more weight against the formula, but what do I know. We'll take it as we're holding on to any positives we can find at the moment.

#89480	09/02/2022 7:25:13 am	Jun 25th, 2056
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Started 18-11 and made just a couple of minor tweaks in that time. Since then? 12-24!! Usual suspects: terrible starting pitching. Bats have been fine, relievers are good enough, ironic that we have a wealth of pitching prospects and nobody near ready to bring up. My most reliable starter the previous three seasons currently sports a 7.65 ERA! Think last night was our first league encounter with Deadwood. They certainly deadened our wood, sweeping the series - loss in extras, loss in extras, 1-run loss, shelled, 2-run loss. Fugly. Now, where can I purchase some rally underwear?

#89524	09/07/2022 7:10:18 pm	Jul 16th, 2056
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	We hit the all star break in classic Cardinal style, strong interleague showing with high hopes. I've been through this many a time. We are queued up for a shellacking in the next go around of interleague where all the teams we more or less dominated will get their well deserved revenge. Doesn't help with the demoralization of witnessing the Deadwood Dominance, I go 4-1, they go 5-0. and that's the best situation I can ask for. Deadwood is the clear favorite for promotion and if my first half Cardinals can't keep up, the second half will have them pull away to a laughable lead. Whining aside, let's look at some positives. We've got great rookie candidates on both sides of the ball. Reinhart & Savage have been neck and neck all season and i think the internal competition has kept them consistent. Both got all star nods and are still above .300 though there will be some regression expected. I haven't checked out the other rookie hitters around the league but I know my guys are definitely in the mix. Meade is an interesting case. He was awful out the gate and he's somehow seemed to have turned it around in interleague to somehow pull out a 6-1 record at the break. Cardinals history would suggest that he will now face a 5 game losing streak but I can enjoy his success while it lasts. Other than those positives we seem poised for another middle of the pack finish and extend our stay in IV.2. But who knows, we could pull off a miracle and catch up to an unstoppable Deadwood or spectacularly collapse and enjoy the sweet shame of relegation. Only time will tell! I wish you all the best of luck in the second half! (unless you're facing me!)

#89541	09/09/2022 6:58:22 am	Jul 21st, 2056
Jayhawker Joined: 01/15/2021 Posts: 30 Lawrence Hawks II.1	Better than expected first half from Lawrence - 2nd place feels a bit of fools gold, but I think we definitely deserve a shot to stay up. Usual suspects Shafer & Proctor, plus a bounce back season from Gallegos gave them All-Star nods. And rookie arms O'Neil and Miles have settled in well (19 SI & 13 SI since beginning of year!) I second the request for rally underwear when facing Deadwood... Won the first 5-3, then averaged 1.5 runs per game for the rest of the series. amarlic7 - I haven't been able to go to Columbia to snag some rally underwear, but if we come across some, Lawrence would consider lending out if playing Deadwood. Not to boast, but Lawrence did recently pass our last health check after receiving funding to renew our supply of Lotrimin Ultra

#89626	09/19/2022 4:07:26 pm	Aug 31st, 2056
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	So the Cards proved me wrong about the second half of interleague. Going 19-11 in the second half vs 20-10 in the first is nothing to complain about and I've been riding pretty high on that. Of course I have to face deadwood out the gate and get brought bright back down to where I belong. They truly are a better team than mine across the board. It's only a matter of time before they overtake me and finish with a minimum 5 game lead. Rookie talent has remained consistent so far with Meade, Reinhart and Savage giving mw hope for the future. I'm excited to see where they stack up on the ROTY voting. Lombardo is out, held onto him until the transaction deadline so he couldn't sign with one of you fellas and get revenge on me. One of two things will happen now. This leaned out rotation will step up and I'll actually pose a challenge to deadwood OR we crash and burn from the imaginary loss of team chemistry from dropping a tenured player and start trading places with Belleville for the rest of the season. Only time will tell! Best of luck to you all for the final stretch!

#89733	10/01/2022 4:57:47 pm	Oct 17th, 2056
Mudcat325 Joined: 12/20/2017 Posts: 98 Columbia Catfish V.3	The Blue Jays are chirping a happy melody in the East division. Congratulations on clinching mishortt! Looks like in the West we are headed for a very dramatic down-to-the-wire finish! Will the Cardinals also have something good to tweet about or will the Perambulators walk off with the title? Good luck folks! It's been a very difficult season for me personally and it has very little to do with the game. Let's just say that I'm pretty fortunate to even be here to see this exciting finish. Every moment above ground is a precious thing and I'd just like to encourage everyone to make the best of each and every minute of your time you're given. Thanks, for letting me ramble and have fun everyone

#89742	10/02/2022 6:29:06 am	Oct 18th, 2056
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Vert glad you're still with us, Mudcat! On a similar note, I was off work for nine months with back problems last year, and it's just flared up again - it's just depressing. Hopefully it clicks back into place a lot sooner this time. It's been a very difficult season for me personally and it has everything to do with the game! Only downside to our offence has been the proliferation of GIDPs, again. Not enough double plays and too many errors on defence. But I could put up with these things if we could pitch in any shape or form - not a single starter with an ERA under 5! The only thing the starters do right is not give up a ton of home runs, and although the bullpen is fine the game has often gone by the time they enter. My boatload of pitching prospects is a very mixed bag, too. The starters could face a mass cull as soon as tonight. So it looks like we'll be playing in LLV next season, for the first time in 24 years - it'll take us bettering Lakeland by two games tonight to avoid that, and given they play four to our three that's extremely unlikely. It's probably for the best. We could use some so-called lighter competition and re-tooling...which means we could be playing in LLVI by this point next season! Good luck all.

#89759	10/03/2022 1:14:52 am	Oct 22nd, 2056
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	LOL, ohhh we came oh so close! Sweep of Waltham and Lakeland dropping two of their first three meant that it all came down to the final game of the regular season - Lakeland had two pitchers with an ERA averaging 5.50 (or closer to it) give them seven innings of 2 hit, 1 run ball, and edged it 2-1. They stay up, we go down, that's just the way it is sometimes, and congrats to them. I probably hurt my chances this season by mostly moving Alonso off second base. He's far and away the best guy I have to play there and CF, but his glove has always let him down at the pivot. So I thought I'd reduce the errors by moving him to CF (after a failed experiment at 3B due to Gonzales slumping half the season) and having Ledesma be my regular 2B (instead of playing the OF). Turns out Ledesma isn't a slick gloveman either. As a result of this and (probably) some poor RNG returns, our defence had 27 more errors this year and 45 less double plays, hardly a recipe for success. Always next year, huh?

#89888	10/15/2022 8:27:15 am	Mar 2nd, 2057
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Well, 2057 is upon us now and the mindset of the club was determined yesterday with the blockbuster signing of Rene Ochoa. His addition gives me the most confidence in our offense in a long time. Of course knowing my luck, this could be the year he falls off a cliff. I'm only wiling to drop almost 9 mil on a player I don't desperately need unless we're in a win now mode. Biggest question mark is the effectiveness of the pitching staff. Training Update 0 wasn't kind to Ramon and last year's Cy Young winner Keith Pope. My hope is that they can at least remain serviceable. The hope is that Meade's Rookie pitcher of the year campaign last season wasn't a fluke and he continues his success, We'll need him to step up more than ever. As for our first glance around the league this season, I'm not looking forward to my matchups against Belleville and Jefferson City. Belleville wiped the floor with me in the last series of 2056 to ensure I had no chance of promotion while 2053's end of season collapse to Jefferson City still haunts me. This is the first time my club has not been ranked highest in the league for a while so we finally get a switch up of schedule with our 2nd half having more home series than the first. Maybe that will help us succeed. I'm going to enjoy the next week of youth on display in spring training before we start playing the games that matter. Welcome to all the newcomers to IV.2 and best of luck unless you're playing me!

#90441	12/24/2022 10:53:55 am	Jan 13th, 2058
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Annnnnnnd....we're back. Second good season in ten was very welcome, but perhaps that was simply the cosy confines of LLV. We have a few old guys who have still been bringing it so I've only made one cut, but I have a few 27-year olds needing playing time, so it'll be spring training and cup games for them until we see how the league plays out. Good luck all! And Merry Christmas!

#90539	01/04/2023 8:20:16 am	Mar 10th, 2058
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year and welcome back! Happy to have you and mudcat back to liven up the thread again. It's going to be a year of reunions as familiar opponents and players are ramping up for 2058. Couple former Cardinals are primed for revenge games this season: Sung Ki Lee - Livermore Generals (was a cardinal for 8 days) Lawrence Lombardo - Livermore Generals Marco Rivera - Lawrence Hawks Tracy Norman - Lakeville Bears My hopes are that these guys don't have MVP performances against me but my luck hasn't been that great. Another year of being highly ranked in IV.2 which will give us the same schedule that will lead to our classic second half downfall. Provo finished off the season strong and I'm fearing them most of all in the west. Lakeville has had a long history of being better than us with the exception of their demotion year. Belleville's season will be the biggest question mark, Training update 0 massacred their ageing staff and I'm intrigued to see how Knor will pivot if his team struggles early on. New London is going to be full of piss and vinegar from their demotion so I expect a strong showing. Every manager in the west has minimum 4 years of ownership under their belt so this is looking to shape up as a very competitive west division. The east is going to be a slugfest with the exception of Orlando. They're going to go bot in a few weeks and by the time an owner comes in to pick up the pieces it'll probably be too late. With Stillwater, Lawrence and Hackensack all having strong finishes and New York and Columbia with deserving promotions, I could see 5th place getting demoted with a winning record. Enjoy the rest of spring training and good luck this season!

#90664	01/20/2023 8:53:15 am	May 3rd, 2058
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Wowza, after clawing back to 8-9 for the first cycle and getting a much needed sweep of New London, back to back sweeps from Belleville and Livermore have me starting to sweat. Belleville truly has my number. The RNG noticed my comments on their pitching staff and made sure that my ass gets thoroughly kicked by them. 0-7 with a -31 RD so far and I wouldn't be surprised if I get swept again before interleague. 4 out of 5 starters have an ERA over 6 and my staff ace who just won a cy young is 0-4. Two rookies in the lineup haven't broken the Mendoza line so far and we're flirting with relegation consistently. Even our drafting has been sub par. There are dark clouds over Farmington Hills right now...

#90666	01/20/2023 12:41:16 pm	May 3rd, 2058
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	The east is going to be a slugfest with the exception of Orlando. They're going to go bot in a few weeks and by the time an owner comes in to pick up the pieces it'll probably be too late. LOL, they're doing okay so far! We swept them in the first series of the season, but they then returned the favour. We had a nice start but a 3-7 run has kinda pumped the brakes, I'll still take it. We've also had a couple of nice draft picks, so I'm still optimistic.

#90673	01/21/2023 11:17:14 am	May 6th, 2058
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Hahahaha. As you can probably tell, my predictive skills are as weak as my team right now. You are the object of my envy with Jurado and Bourne. 2 franchise level bats in back to back picks is a nice setup.

#90764	01/30/2023 10:38:10 am	Jun 8th, 2058
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	What an emotional roller coaster. It's a miracle we managed to come out of divisional play with a 23-27 record. I've been absolutely pummeled by Belleville and Livermore going 3-17 against them. Somehow Lakeville has shown me mercy going 5-5 with us but New London and Provo are the only teams my guys show up to play against. My team as been swept 4 times already and the highest i've had in a season since 2050 is 5 times, we're well on pace to break that record with the trajectory of this ball club. We're the 2nd worst offense in the entire league, and it's highly debatable that we could be the worst. Apparently we can't hit against a lefty to save our lives and glancing at the rotations in the east, we will have 18 more games facing left handed starters in interleague which is gonna wreck us. Pitching has been the only bright spot and even that's pretty dim. Our ERA may be top half of the league but our FIP in near the bottom, meaning our gloves are bailing us out. We walk way too many guys and barely strikeout anyone. Control, which is the attribute I try to focus on in my pitching staff, has been suspect this season so far with us having the second lowest strike %. I guess this should have been expected with 8 rookies on the major league roster. The blitz of interleague is going to push my roster to the limits and basically be our sink or swim test. I love and hate Interleague due to it's 5 games a day pace. It means any injuries are very costly and 2 days can put you 10 games ahead or behind someone. From now until Feb 18th, this league has the potential to either be turned upside down or set in stone. Struggles aside, I'm excited to find out!

#91024	03/06/2023 1:32:30 pm	Oct 22nd, 2058
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Well that was interesting. Didn't see the East St. Louis coming through to win the West, given how Livermore have performed all season, and given how close Farmington Hills have been all season. The West was the class of IV.2 by some distance - 4th place Lakeville would have won the East by two games. Such is life in Broken Bat, and baseball generally. We managed a comfortable 3rd place (we actually led the division for a point down the stretch), despite a -38 RD. Hitting was solid as usual, pitching was a mess as usual. Hitting will be an adventure going forward, after we cleaned house before the season ended: longtime leadoff man Meyer (.299/.378/.434 career hitter), 35, is gone; longtime cleanup hitter Leon (180 HR in five seasons), 34, is gone; longtime #5 hitter Ledesma (133 HR in five seasons), 35, is gone. Three mainstays of the lineup, and all were flyball hitters. We do have some depth with the bats, but those are some major holes to fill. Longtime 2B/OF Alonso may also be gone, as he turns 34 at the flip and has declined over the last four seasons while piling up GIDP (52 in four seasons). Had a great career though, and for a longtime was my best draft pick in about ten seasons. Pitching can only go up, as usual. We have a ton of young arms, half of which are just starting their majors development, which usually equates to growing pains. Longtime RP Watts may be gone, as he also turns 34 at the flip: 699 games, 86 holds (one off a tie for 3rd in team history), 3.95 ERA - not a bad career for a FA signing. Interesting times ahead.

#91050	03/10/2023 9:03:18 am	Nov 2nd, 2058
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	Another Season of being the highest ranked team to not achieve promotion. We really turned it around in interleague and had momentum going into the final 50 but Belleville still had my number and stole first right out from under Livermore. Incredible turnaround for Knor from last season and a well deserved promotion. I guess my earlier terrible prediction flipped, West was the slugfest with 5th place getting demoted with a winning record. I'm happy Lawrence beat out Orlando cause then I'd feel even more like an idiot. The awards were interesting, both Pitcher awards went to relievers and i can't say it's a shock. 50 fewer quality starts and a higher league ERA this season made this year very offense focused. this year felt a lot like my releivers were bailing out my starters poor performance. Last year out rotation accounted for 75 of our wins, this year it was only 49. I'm hoping we can return to our 2057 pitching numbers and put 2058 as an outlier season. We heavily featured 6 Rookies and it was quite interesting: Montejo MR1 (9-2, 2.65 ERA,RPOTY) Lang MR2 (7-2, 3.73 ERA) Sanford SP5 (9-12, 5.61 ERA) Holden SS/LR (1-8, 8.87 ERA) Copeland OF (.239,7HR-54RBI) Espinoza 1B (.247,11HR-66RBI, Gold Glove) Lang and Montejo definitely got a boost from the defense as their FIP was garbage but I'm not complaining with their success so as long as our D remains solid they should as well. Copeland and Espinoza were underwhelming on the offensive side of the ball but hopefully next season will allow them to grow into decent hitters. A Rookie Gold glove isn't anything to scoff at so I'm satisfied with Espinoza's rookie campaign. Holden and Sanford tested my patience, more so Holden. I'm hoping I can throw out this years performance an he can carve out a role in the staff next season. Sanford is out of the rotation and will be a lefty out of the pen, just not sure where his talents will be best suited, especially after Lang's success. I have a fair bit of excitement going into 2059. Virgil and Katz are ready for the show so my best on paper rotation is assembled, 2060 is when they should be fully developed but I'm leaning to the optimistic side for their performance in 2059. I should only need to break in one rookie hitter next season so I have an expectation that we will be competing for promotion instead of spending most of the season trying to avoid relegation. 2059 league outlook West Burnsville Dragons OR Chula Vista Padres Livermore Generals Farmington Hills cardinals Lakeville Bears Rohnert Park Rebels West Allis Devil Dogs East Lakeland Vikings OR Memphis Redbirds Orlando Orcas New York Lancers Stillwater Stallions North Bergen Polar Bears Duluth Yeti I won't even bother with analysis or predictions for fear or reprisal from the RNG. All I will do is agree with Amalric, interesting times ahead indeed.

#91054	03/10/2023 6:06:08 pm	Jan 13th, 2059
TheGmEra Joined: 04/30/2015 Posts: 36 Inactive	Won my division in v3 west and now im here. Im ready to have some human compitition this time as 4 of the 5 teams were bots. We are going to have some fun this season 5l1ink

#91198	03/28/2023 2:28:42 pm	Mar 25th, 2059
TheGmEra Joined: 04/30/2015 Posts: 36 Inactive	Nice 15-13 win to start things off

#91308	04/17/2023 2:12:15 pm	Jun 9th, 2059
5L1NK Joined: 06/10/2015 Posts: 291 Farmington Hills Cardinals Legends	And here we are, out of the fire of division play and into the frying pan of interleague. It's been a tale of 3 teams so far R1: 5-12, -30 RD R2: 11-6, +15 RD R3: 8-8, +25 RD Abysmal start to the season with my stud closer blowing saves right out the gate. The pitching I take pride in was an utter embarrassment. Hitting was and still is lackluster but it's not much of a surprise. Still can't hit lefties if our lives depend on it and our 1 run games and extra innings games are gifts to the opposing team. The team is the antithesis of clutch. we certainly have positives but they are far outweighed by negatives. ending off a game below .500 is a miracle when my team can't establish consistency. Just like 2057 it appears Burnsville has taken the early lead and will likely establish further dominance, ironic considering Lakeland is back in the east and they appear to be a dominant force once again. even better news is I get to start off interleague against them. We're still trying to get the sour taste out of our mouths from getting swept by Lakeville and luckily splitting a series against Burnsville. One thing I will say is I'm very excited to see if the low RA in the east is due to dominant pitching or weaker hitting. I'm hoping to see a lot of pitcher's duels against Orlando, New York, Lakeland and especially North Bergen (187 RA is some elite pitching and D) Loads of fun ahead!

#91616	05/25/2023 6:19:21 am	Nov 2nd, 2059
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	New York and Farmington Hills are moving on up! The home advantage was fortunately in favour of the East this season, and we went 3-1 there in taking the series in the full seven games. Won the first two at home, lost the next two on the road before taking game five, then promptly lost game six at home - it really was a series that could have gone either way. But on to more important matters, and on to LLIII after six seasons away. I'd hope results are better this time around, but I'm not putting on any wagers!

#91655	05/28/2023 1:15:07 am	Jan 13th, 2060
Pearlnew Joined: 04/07/2023 Posts: 1 Inactive	I'm very happy to start next season (my second) in this league. I hope to do a good job!! Good luck

#93333	12/22/2023 6:23:32 am	Aug 19th, 2062
zimanable Joined: 09/13/2016 Posts: 30 North Bergen Polar Bears II.1	So I was a bit bored and attempted to create a WAR table for our league. The main goal was to check how the players compare beyond usual stats and predict the most valuable offensive players. I used a very simple formula and it has obvious flaws, but it was still a fun experiment. oWAR takes into account OBP, SLG and Baserunning (only SB and CS, no extra bases on hits). dWAR takes into account games played at each position and staff like errors, assists and double plays. It uses some subjective coefficients that I tinkered with until the results seemed adequate to me. It doesn't include more advanced defencive stats, as I don't know how to get them. The game has infield assists, fielding attempts etc, but not in a convenient table. Also, calling it WAR is not completely correct, as I used an average player for our league instead of a replacement level player. Still makes some sense I hope. As for results, I find them quite predictable so far. Delray has by Farr the best player in the league. Here are 30 best players: And the worst: Updated Friday, December 22 2023 @ 6:30:54 am PST

#93372	01/02/2024 1:29:08 pm	Sep 28th, 2062
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Excellent work, zimanable! And congrats on a terrific season, the Polar Bears were the class of the East from day one. No surprise that New York has just one player in the top 30 here, and equally unsurprising that we have four in the bottom 30 (though three have been cut along the way, and they were all projects/bottom of the roster guys). We certainly have nobody like Farr, though not many teams do. The Stingrays might have really been in trouble without him. Other than the two division leaders, it's been close all season.

#93512	01/26/2024 5:25:40 am	Mar 14th, 2063
zimanable Joined: 09/13/2016 Posts: 30 North Bergen Polar Bears II.1	Excellent work, zimanable! And congrats on a terrific season, the Polar Bears were the class of the East from day one. Thanks! It was very unexpected to be honest, and I don't really know where the results came from. So it wouldn't be a surprise if we are back here soon.

#93587	01/30/2024 8:07:45 am	Mar 25th, 2063
texg8r Joined: 05/22/2020 Posts: 92 Pembroke Pines Gators IV.2	After a one season trip down to V.3, the Pembroke Pines Gators are back for another season in IV.2. Looking forward to a great season, good luck to everyone.

#93692	02/09/2024 2:07:46 pm	May 3rd, 2063
amalric7 Joined: 01/20/2016 Posts: 2238 New York Lancers V.4	Welcome back texg8r! Don't think we'll be seeing North Bergen anytime soon, off to an 18-7 start in LLIII. Despite our best Cup start in a while NY is struggling at 10-16 in league play and just lost our best (/only good) pitcher for 34 days. We clung on here last season by the skin of our teeth, so its either going to be another struggle this year or time to build for the future.