World Feller

Where am I? How did I get here? Houston Lone Stars edition

2012-02-08T12:45:00.001-08:00

Another franchise with with a new owner this season. This franchise has traditionally stayed out of the international market, but their drafts have yielded a number of big league contributors.
Top 10 Draft Picks:
10. Stephen Russ. S9, R1-#25. Had a productive Season 13. Had 27+ plays at 1B in Season 13 after 11- plays at SS the season before. Maybe he was best suited for somewhere in between.
9. Benito Beltran. S8, R1-#26. He has spent most of his career as a trusted setup man. Given the chance to close in Season 15, he recorded 28 saves.
8. Rob Borders. S2, R1-#40. He was a solid major league starter for three seasons (S8 to S10).
7. Nash Garcia. S7, R1-#22. He currently has a streak of 7 consecutive seasons with 30+ home runs.
6. Josh Jacome. S7, R1-#36. 1 All-star appearance. He's been a steady reliever his entire career.
5. Gus McDonald. S1, R1-#15. 1 Gold Glove. He had offensive production while playing a solid CF in S11.
4. Stevie Huff. S10, R1-#9. He has 7 seasons with over 200 innings pitched. In Season 16, he had an excellent ERA of 3.18.
3. Alex Wang. S5, R1-#14. 1 All-star appearance, 1 Fireman Award. Fabulous career WHIP of 1.05 for this reliever. He also has a sparkling 0.88 WHIP in 31.2 IP in the postseason.
2. Freddie Hunter. S4, R1-#14. 2 All-star appearances, 1 Silver Slugger, 2 Gold Gloves, 2 World Series rings. His nearly identical production in Seasons 16 and 18 are probably his best. He ha played 7 positions in his career, waiting to get behind the plate and on the mound.
1. Walter Evans. S3, R1-#20. He was a starter that could just barely get into the sixth inning, but he managed double digit win totals in 3 seasons thanks to sub 1.30 WHIPs, including 1.07 in S11.
Top 5 International Signings:
5. Benny Duran. S6-$4.9M. Who wouldn't be thrilled to get 73 at bats in the Majors?
4. Juan Sanchez. S17-$13.0M. A good rookie season in S18. His lack of power is a concern as a 1B.
3. Humberto Gomez. S14-$5.7M. Nice rookie season in Texas in S18. He hasn't translated too well to Augusta.
2. Julio Cora. S4-$11.8M. 4 time All-star. 51 saves in Season 16 is the single season record for Feller. He has 3 other seasons with 40+ saves.
1. Deivi Bennett. S2-$7.4M. 1 time All-star. In part time duty, he batted .309, .334, and .311 in his last 3 seasons. His 531 career stolen bases rank 7th in Feller history.

Next up: Charleston Soggy Dogs

Where am I? How did I get here? Louisville Sluggerz edition

2012-02-07T21:58:00.001-08:00

Moving to the American League South...Louisville captured the AL South title for 4 straight seasons in S9 through S12.
Top 10 Draft Picks:
10. Buster Long. S13, R1-#31. He flashed the type of ability he had with a no-hitter in Season 18. At 24, there's time for him to establish a pattern of success (or that one day will be the day the planets aligned for him).
9. Carson Shelby. S8, R1-#21. Posted 16 wins in Season 15. Since then, he has shuffled between the rotation and the bullpen.
8. Rex Brantley. S4, R1-#5. 1 Silver Slugger. Season 14 was the best year for Rex with .288/.331/.506.
7. Billy Diaz. S5, R2-#53. Season 14 was his career highlight with .875 OPS.
6. Will Benard. S1, R1-#23. In an otherwise very average career, Season 12 stands out.
5. Seth Sheehan. S7, R1-#11. 3 time All-star, 1 Fireman Award, 2 World Series rings. His 86.8% success rate in converting save opportunities ranks 8th for pitchers with at least 200 saves.
4. Nate Ratliff. S6, R1-#10. 1 time All-star. Career .300 hitter with .375 OBP.
3. Torey Thomson. S2, R1-#25. Seasons 8 & 9 made it appear Torey was headed for stardom. He had a decent career, but never approached his early success.
2. Russell Hutch. S4, R1-#19. S9 Rookie of the Year. 1300 career hits, 350 home runs. His career totals are impressive, but he has never played 150 games in a season. In S15, he slugged 52 homers in 120 games played.
1. Frank Rogers. S5, R1-#2. 2 All-star appearances, 3 Silver Sluggers, 3 Gold Gloves, 1 World Series ring. Rogers can do it all. Hit? Lifetime .285 average. Hit for power? 300 career homers with two seasons of at least 40. Field? Those 3 Gold Gloves are the answer.
Top 10 International Signings:
10. Hideo Tamura. S6-$2.9M. Career back up managed to play parts of 8 seasons.
9. Arlie Hermansen. S8-$8.0M. First basemen without power need to have a higher batting average than .284.
8. Harry Aguilera. S9-$261K. His S19 salary is almost 5 times his signing bonus. Not bad.
7. Pedro Telemaco. S10-$12.9M. Seasons 15 & 18 were his offensive peaks, still waiting for his defensive peak at SS.
6. Omar Seguignol. S6-$6.2M. Provided some nice bullpen work for a few seasons.
5. Orlando Padilla. S7-$10.3M. Season 14 was his best showing in the big leagues.
4. Valerio Martin. S4-$5.0M. Solid career ad a backup catcher.
3. Vic Park. S4-$15.0M. 1 All-star appearance. Tremendous in his All-star Season 10 with 44 homers and a .933 OPS. Followed S10 with 2 more strong seasons.
2. Roberto Valdez. S5-$16.3M. He did his job in Season 15 throwing 200+ innings with 3.51 ERA.
1. Donald Yang. S7-$9.1M. 1 All-star appearance, 1 Gold Glove. Batted over .300 in his superb S15 that included 15+ plays in CF. For his career, he's 66/2 +/- in center.

Next up: Houston Lone Stars

Where am I? How did I get here? Tacoma Explorers edition

2012-02-03T18:03:00.001-08:00

Okay, back to the Northwest. Right now the AL North is two Ohio teams, and two Washington teams. A new owner in Tacoma has no part in any of the acquisition of these players. Hopefully, their additions will fill this list in a few seasons.
Top 10 Draft Picks:
10. Patrick Gwynn. S9, R1-#7. Can we just mark down his 20 homers and 80 RBIs for the next few seasons?
9. Trent Wolf. S5, R1-#43. Hey, somebody has to be 9th.
8. Rudy Fassero. S7, R1-#13. Has played very good defense at 2B and 3B in his career.
7. Kiko Jackson. S7, R3-#86. 1 Gold Glove. Lifetime batting average around .270 as a catcher.
6. Zip Morris. Has had a number of stellar seasons out of the bullpen.
5. Julio Rijo. S6, R1-#5. Awesome in S14 with a 1.08 WHIP.
4. Paul Benjamin. S7, R2-#54. 1 time All-star. 7 seasons with over 40 homers. Has around 300 career home runs.
3. Alan Sowders. S2, R1-#18. A number of very nice seasons including S9, S12, S13, and S16.
2. Gabby Williamson. S5, R1-#7. 2 time All-star. Lifetime ERA under 3.00 as a very effective bullpen arm.
1. Olmedo Hernandez. S4, R1-#4. 4 time All-star, 4 Silver Sluggers. Tremendous career with lifetime batting average over .300 and OBP in the upper .380s.
Top 10 International Signings:
10. John Dong. S6-$4.1M. I think we'll just walk away from this.
9. Sammy Maranon. S8-$5.4M. Has been a fairly productive part time player in his career.
8. Enrique Ibarra. S12-$2.4M. He's trying to establish himself as a useful bullpen piece in the majors.
7. Carlos Cordero. S10-$13.2M. Another setup guy with limited success. Great.
6. Alejandro Romano. S8-$3.4M. Nice season in S15 with a 3.13 ERA.
5. Vladimir Benitez. S6-$5.1M. Put up some nice numbers in S17.
4. Benji Veras. S7-$3.9M. Has dine some nice work out of the bullpen in a few seasons.
3. Ivan Mieses. S2-$7.5M. 1 time All-star. Had back to back nice seasons in S6 and S7 with a .300 batting average.
2. Ivan Padilla. S6-$4.5M. Seasons 14 and 17 have been the bright spots thus far.
1. Pedro Alou. S8-$2.3M. In a platoon role, his S18 numbers provide a guide as to how to get the best production from this player.

Next up: Louisville Sluggerz

Where am I? How did I get here? Cleveland Cans of Corn edition

2012-02-03T18:03:00.000-08:00

Since this is the author's team, let's just get to the results.
Top 10 Draft Picks:
10. Dee Norton. S3, R1-#25. 1 time All-star, 1 Gold Glove, 3 World Series rings.
9. Morris Schmidt. S2, R1-#39. Back to back seasons with over 20 saves in S14 & S15.
8. Denny Schlehuber. S8, R1-#44. 1 time All-star, 1 World Series ring. Lifetime WHIP around 1.31.
7. Sal Allen. S2, R2-#53. 1 time All-star, 1 World Series ring. Lifetime WHIP around 1.30.
6. Paulie Mayne. S1, R1-#2. 1 time All-star, 2 World Series rings. His best season came in S11 with 230 IP and a 3.71 ERA.
5. Chris Hanson. S1, R2-#52. In S13, he pitched 195 innings with a 3.82 ERA.
4. Kennie Myers. S9, R1-#29. 2 time All-star, 1 World Series ring. For his career, the 28 year old has a WHIP around 1.20 and an ERA around 3.40.
3. Nick Jackson. S5, R1-#27. Over 400 career homers and 1000 RBIs.
2. Alvin Kohlmeier. S7, R1-#28. 1 time All-star, 1 World Series ring. 17-8 with a 3.30 ERA in S14.
1. Cecil Lieber. S2, R1-#6. 1 time All-star, 1 World Series ring. Went 16-5 in S14 with 2.47 ERA.
Top 10 International Signings:
10. Willie Veras. S13-$15.6M. 1 season in the majors.
9. Joakim Sanchez. S14-$12.1M. 1 time All-star. 2 seasons in the majors.
8. Roberto Beltre. S10-$19.3M. S14 Rookie of the Year, 2 time All-star, 2 Silver Sluggers, 1 World Series ring.
7. Carlos Trinidad. S8-$13.9M. 2 time All-star, 3 Gold Gloves, 1 World Series ring.
6. David Julio. S7-$6.8M. Lifetime WHIP near 1.30.
5. Damaso Fernandez. S6-$10.8M. 1 time All-star, 2 World Series rings. 18 game winner in S13.
4. Placido Lee. S4-$12.8M. 5 time All-star, 1 Silver Slugger, 1 Gold Glove, 3 World Series rings. Over 440 career homers.
3. Santos Mercedes. S5-$9.8M. 4 time All-star, 4 Silver Sluggers, 1 Gold Glove, 2 World Series rings. Lifetime batting average around .280 with .371 OBP.
2. Jackson Christians. S3-$13.8M. 1 time All-star, 2 World Series rings. S9 went 18-3 with 1.12 WHIP and 2.93 ERA. His S13 postseason performance was incredible.
1. Ramiro Otanez. S1-$8.6M. 3 time All-star, 4 World Series rings. Currently has most wins in Feller history with a chance to become the first to reach 300. Currently has most playoff wins in Feller history. 14 seasons with over 200 IP. His postseason performances in S6 and S13 rank among the best.

Next up: Tacoma Explorers

Where am I? How did I get here? Seattle Suckerfish edition

2012-02-02T16:06:00.000-08:00

Next up in this series is a look back at the Seattle Suckerfish. Current ownership is in their fifth season right now, so all of these players were acquired under previous regimes. Hopefully mccleak's players will start to make moves on this list in the next few seasons.
Top 10 Draft Picks:
10. Alving Gonzalez. S6, R3-#73. A Gold Glove in Season 13 is the highlight of his career.
9. Shawn Osbourne. S9, R1-#49. 11-9 in Season 16 with a 3.53 ERA.
8. Juan De La Vega. S1, R1-#4. 7 seasons of over 190 innings pitched.
7. Ted Jacome. S7, R2-#43. Had a nice season as a reliever in S15 after a useful S13 as a starter.
6. Randy Parker. S10, R1-#7. 2 All-star appearances for this reliever.
5. Keith Myers. S4, R1-#21. Solid career for this 2B with some offensive punch in Season 10.
4. Butch Gibson. S8, R1-#2. Seasons 15 & 17 stand out with 1.20 WHIP and ERAs of around 3.00 with 200 IP.
3. Clay Young. S9, R1-#1. All-star seasons in S13 & S17.
2. Yamid Perez. S11, R1-#7. Currently only 26 years old, Perez already has 5 seasons with 200+ innings pitched. As he enters his prime surrounded by improving teammates, expect his numbers to look stronger.
1. Gerald Suzuki. S6, R1-#1. 5 All-star appearances, 4 Silver Sluggers, and a World Series ring for the former overall #1 pick. A lifetime OPS over .800 for the mostly 3B to go along with close to 2000 career hits.
Top 5 International Signings:
5. Gio Tabaka. S14-$18.0M. Now 25 years old, hopefully his offensive numbers continue to ramp up.
4. Geraldo Batista. S9-$2.3M. Hey, he played a few years in the majors.
3. Brian Cheung. S10-$4.6M. He slugged 48 HRs in Season 17.
2. Michel Moreno. S13-$19.8M. Another player with limited big league experience. Hoping to build on his good Season 18.
1. Max Arias. S13-$16.4M. Following the theme, Arias is only 24 years old and has put up solid numbers thus far.

Next up: Cleveland Cans of Corn

Where am I? How did I get here? Columbus Clippers edition

2012-02-01T13:06:00.000-08:00

Hopefully, this will be the first in a series looking back at each franchise's drafts and international free agent signings. A few notes about this series. It's not meant to judge if a team used their draft picks or prospect money wisely. We have no way o knowing which players any team did, or did not, see. The ratings are based on ML production. It's not based on projection. So even though you have Bryce Harper in your minors, he'll have to produce in the majors to make this list. Your recent 20 million dollar international signing isn't on this list. Yu will have to look elsewhere.
First up, the Columbus Clippers.
Top 10 draft picks:
10. Todd Torrealba. Drafted S2, R1-#42. He put up nice offensive numbers in his brief big league career. Probably lacked the defense to stick as a full time catcher.
9. Alex Price. Drafted S4, R3-#109. Posted 11 wins as a reliever in season 13. His best seasons were seasons 14 & 16.
8. Andrea McClellan. S8, R1-#27. Had a nice season in Honolulu in season 18. At 29, he has a chance to move up this list.
7. Donovan Watson. S6, R2-#68. Had a tremendous season in Season 14 with a 2.99 ERA.
6. Red Rivera. S7, R1-#27. Has had a very nice career in Columbus as a key setup pitcher.
5. Jose Andujar. S2, R1-#21. All-star in Season 7. He played 162 games in 7 seasons.
4. Douglas Collins. S4, R2-#77. Over 200 career home runs. Made an All-star team in Season 18.
3. Clay Jacquez. S1, R1-#16. Highest draft pick Columbus has ever had. Has 391 career homers. In Season 12, he batted .342 with .986 OPS.
2. Jesse Penny. S1, R2-#66. Rookie of the Year in Season 7 with a 1.21 WHIP and 3.32 ERA.
1. Bryant Sedlacek. S4, R1-#28. 3 World Series rings, 2 time All-star, Cy Young Award winner. He's been a key starting pitcher for Columbus his entire career.
Top 10 International Free Agent Signings
10. Al Machado. S10-$1.9M. Lifetime WHIP of 1.20 in 266 innings.
9. Shigetoshi Chong. S2-$2.3M. He won a Gold Glove in Season 12.
8. Fernando Santana. S3-$9.0M. Won two World Series rings with Columbus.
7. Jose Romero. S4-$8.6M. I can't find anything interesting about this guy. Let's move on.
6. Tony Tanaka. S1-$12.5M. All-star in Season 8, although I think Season 9 was his best year.
5. Giomar Castro. S11-$10.3M. At only age 26, he already has an All-star appearance. He might not be able to move up this list, since we're now about to get to the superstar portion.
4. Jose Rios. S9-$21.0M. 6 time All-star, 4 Silver Sluggers, 3 World Series rings, and 1 MVP by the age of 28!! He already has over 400 homers, a career OPS over 1.000, and the second most career post season HRs and RBIs. His Season 14 performance is superhuman.
3. Magglio Trajano. S5-$15.6M. 7 time All-star, 5 Silver Sluggers, 3 World Series rings, all while playing most of his career in centerfield.
2. Matty Nunez. S4-$7.7M. 3 time All-star, 6 Silver Sluggers, 3 World Series rings, and 1 MVP make his closet pretty crowded. His career OBP of .425 is remarkable, and with that he currently has close to 400 homers.
1. Juan Aramboles. S7-$15.7M. 6 time All-star, 4 Cy Young Awards, and 3 World Series rings. We can pick a random number between 10 and 18, and this guy had a fantastic season in that year.

Next up: Seattle Suckerfish

That What Ifs of WhatIfSports

2012-02-01T11:10:00.000-08:00

One of the great things about WIS is the personal experience it creates with each owner. It doesn't take long for owners and coaches to develop individual mythologies. We remember our favorite players and triumphs with nerdy nostalgia, and our mistakes and losses with wistful regret. The difference with WIS is these incidents aren't shared with a broader fan base the way they are in real sports.

Mostly, my HD experience leans toward the wistful regret. I made so many mistakes early on simply because I didn't understand the game. That's part of the fun, I guess, and it makes success sweeter, but I still think back and cringe sometimes.

The incident I wanted to write about today wasn't exactly disastrous, but it certainly made me cringe when it happened, and I still wonder what could've been.

Here's what happened: I had the 5th pick in the Season 9 amateur draft. It was easily the highest pick I'd had to that point, and since I was in the throes of rebuilding, I knew I needed to make it count. I had a decent collection of quality prospects, but I didn't have a star, and with high scouting budgets, I felt I had a good shot at getting one.

Season 9 was a quality draft at the top. As I saw it, there were four prospects on the list I would've been happy with, and I thought I stood a good shot at getting one of them. (Clay Young, who went 1st overall, was fine, but I already had a shortstop.) I set about putting my list in order.

I knew I needed an ace, and they're hard to come by outside of the draft unless you're willing to pay out the ass, so I ranked Vic Spehr first even if his durability and health bothered me. Howie Vosberg was second, since that's a pretty great bat to have at 2B or CF.

After that, it was between Felix Crosby (who was rated as a DH, but had enough pitch-calling ability to work behind the plate) and Footsie Sanders. As I said, I needed a pitcher, and I'd grabbed a pretty decent catching prospect a few seasons before. Still, Crosby's hitting ability was unbelievable. He had the potential to be the best-hitting catcher in Feller history, better even than Rock Moore. I had some decent hitters, but no one near as good as Crosby. In the end, I ranked him third, and Footsie fourth.

So the day of the draft comes, and I see the picks I made, and I'm moderately satisfied at getting Sanders with the 5th pick. I knew Vosberg and Spehr would likely go early, but at least I had a guy who could be an ace.

Then I looked at the draft as a whole and I saw Felix Crosby was picked sixth by Charlotte, one pick after mine. I'd missed a once-in-a-lifetime hitter in favor of a very good starter. My heart sank. At first, I wondered if I'd somehow screwed up the order, but then I realized what happened.

Since I was in the National League, I'd set my DH picks at 0, and since Felix Crosby was listed as a DH, I passed over him to the next pick. On the plus side, as an ardent fan of the Portland Trail Blazers, I'm used to coping with franchise-shattering draft mistakes.

I trade chatted Charlotte owner joemac55, "You didn't want Footsie Sanders over Felix Crosby, did you? I accidentally picked the wrong guy."

"No," he replied.

Fortunately for me, Footsie Sanders won the NL ROY and the Cy Young in Season 13, the first player in Feller history to do so. He's been an ace pitcher in four World Series, a four-time All-Star, has the the single-season record for strikeouts, and might one day be the all-time strikeout leader if his career lasts long enough.

Fortunately for joemac55, Felix Crosby won the AL ROY and the MVP in Season 13. He has four All-Star appearances, five Silver Slugger awards, and a career OPS of 1.022.

Ten seasons after they were drafted, it's difficult to say whether my screw-up turned out for the better or not. On one hand, Footsie Sanders is on track for a Hall of Fame career, and I doubt I would've won two championships without him. On the other, a freaking 1.022 career OPS.

I think it worked out well for joemac55, because his staff is just fine. I'm still open to a trade, though, joe.

Most Expensive International Free Agents

2012-02-01T09:48:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure how it is in other worlds, but the international free agent market in Feller seems competitive. High quality IFAs rarely sign for anything under $15m, and regularly go over $20m.

Part of this is due to budgeting and lack of carryover. If you don't use your prospect budget, it's lost, so owners often hold out hope a future all-star will pop up late in the season and there's usually a scramble at the very end to grab whatever's left. Compared to the amateur draft, international free agency is a gamble, but the rewards can be worth the risk.

It's also essentially the only method outside of trading for successful teams to grab high-level prospects. Glancing over the past 10 seasons of signings, you'll see a lot of the best organizations highly active on the IFA market, from long-standing dynasties (Cleveland, Columbus, Washington DC) to the teams on the rise (Seattle, Toledo and San Francisco).

The following is a list of the five most expensive IFAs in Feller history, and my prediction as to whether they'll be worth the cost. Of course, "worth the cost" is a relative statement, since market demands and talent levels per class vary. In an ideal world, though, $20m should net an All-Star.

1. Carlos Rosa (3B) - $25.2m by Toledo Muddy Webfoots in Season 14

Will he be worth it? Yes. He's 25 now, and has three seasons in the bigs with a .879 career OPS. His makeup, endurance, and health indicate he'll have a long career. He's a great fielder at 3B, blazing fast, and a very good hitter. Awards haven't happened yet (outside of the two times he's hit for cycle), but they will. He should have a number of All-Star appearances in his future.

2. Luis Almonte (CF) - $24.5 by Seattle Suckerfish in Season 17

Will he be worth it? Maybe. Only 20 years old, but he's an ideal leadoff hitter in CF. He lacks power, but he's got great speed and and a terrific batting eye. With a 64 Makeup rating, reaching his full potential will be a concern. He may not be an MVP, but he'll be a very good roleplayer for a young, dangerous Seattle squad.

3. Orber Martin (SP) - $23.2m by Charlotte Sturgeon in Season 13

Will he be worth it? Maybe. Martin has the potential to be a very good ML starter, a 4th or 5th option on Charlotte's incredible staff. So far, he's been mediocre, with a 4.45 ERA and 1.43 WHIP. His main concern is control; he'll be lucky to top out over 70 in that rating.

4. Eduardo De La Rosa (3B/2B) - $22.9 by Portland Timbers in Season 11

Will he be worth it? Probably not. While a great defensive asset at 3B, a career OPS of .737 over his first five seasons isn't great. Since I signed him, I know this was one of those desperate end-of-the-season grabs, though the field that season wasn't much better. Except for MVP candidate Geraldo Marichal, I mean, who signed for $5.2m that year. The money clearly could've been better spent.

5. Naoto Suzuki (C) - $22.4 by Baltimore Blast (now Syracuse Excuse) in Season 13

Will he be worth it? Probably. His defense is serviceable enough to get by behind the plate, and his 72 Durability means he'll need a decent backup, but his 88 Power and 95/93 splits are beast-like. On the day this post was written, Suzuki ripped off 4 home runs and 9 RBIs in one game. His career OPS in the bigs is .912. Maybe he won't play everyday, but he's got the kind of bat that changes a game. Season 13 featured a number of quality IFAs (from the aforementioned Orber Martin to Max Arias), but Suzuki could end up being the best, at least when he's on the field.

Season 19 Playoff Predictions

2012-01-31T09:50:00.000-08:00

Since it got mentioned on the boards, I figured I'd take a stab. Before I get into this, I'd like to mention how little research I've done here. I mean, almost nothing. So, you know, don't feel slighted.

NL Playoff Teams

NL North: Iowa City Bees
NL East: Toledo Muddy Webfoots
NL South: Monterrey Victorious Secrets
NL West: Wichita Wastrels
Wild Cards: Kansas City Kings, Portland Timbers

NL Champion: Monterrey Victorious Secrets

Additional Analysis: The NL East is the toughest to call, as Kansas City is still very good. If Toledo doesn't take the division this season, they will in the next few. Both teams are one or two stars away from competing with Monterrey right now (or, I should say, Monterrey once Vic Spehr comes back). Wichita dominated the NL West all last season before Portland (that's my team) barely overtook them at the end, but they're on the rise and the Timbers are fading, though still dangerous. The NL North is pretty wide open, but I think Iowa City and Pittsburgh have the best shots (though Pittsburgh is OLD).

AL Playoff Teams

AL North: Cleveland Cans of Corn
AL East: Washington D.C. Nationals
AL South: Charlotte Sturgeon
AL West: San Francisco Seals
Wild Cards: Columbus Clippers, Syracuse Excuse

AL Champion: Charlotte Sturgeon

Additional Analysis: The NL North is probably Feller's best division right now, with two WS contenders in Columbus and Cleveland, but Tacoma and Seattle aren't bad either, and would probably be playoff teams in the National League. Washington DC is as good as ever, and Syracuse doesn't have the offense to win the East right now, even if they're very good. Charlotte has started slow, but they're easily the best team in the South. San Francisco's young talent puts them on top of the weak AL West, but both LA and Helena stand a fair shot. I gave Charlotte the AL Champ nod because I think they're due, but there's too much talent in the AL to make a clear call.

Primary World Series Contenders: Charlotte, Washington D.C., Cleveland, Columbus
Longshot Contenders: Monterrey, Toledo, Syracuse, Kansas City
Best Pitching Staffs: Charlotte, Washington D.C., Monterrey
Best Lineups: Charlotte, Cleveland, Washington D.C. (I really just threw these out there.)
Up and Coming Teams: Toledo, Wichita, Philadelphia
Teams on the Decline: Pittsburgh, Portland, Columbus (sorry, job, they're aging.)

A Sort-Of Counterpoint: Hall of Famers

2012-01-04T09:48:00.000-08:00

First, I should say MattFurjan has better access to stats (have you seen his Google database?) and he understands sabermetrics better than I do. Still, he left Harry Martinez off the list AND HE SHOULD BE INSTITUTIONALIZED FOR THAT.

So let's run through the top HoF candidates in my opinion:

Rock Moore (C) - He's a lock. I won't even get into the reasons, because I shouldn't have to explain why.

Harry Martinez (1B/DH) - Granted, no defensive dynamo, but the guy is the all-time leader in HRs. THE ALL-TIME LEADER IN HRS. He also won two MVPs. Everyone has their own opinion about what being a Hall of Famer means, but as much as I appreciate the value of the stat revolution in better determining player value, the "fame" part still has to mean something, and the most famous stat in baseball is home runs.

Matt Michaels (CF) - 2 MVPs, 8x AS, 6x SS, 1 GG in CF, and a couple rings. Probably the best CF through the first decade and a half of Feller, and the best player on some great teams. Also, he got derailed by injuries, so he would've been even better.

I think these guys should be unanimous, but I'll be using all five of my votes. For the last two, I'll have to choose between:

Russell Millwood (C) - See Matt's argument below. I didn't realize how valuable he was. Defensively, just mediocre, but not a liability.

Steve Daly (SP) - Rico Perez may have the longevity, but Daly has him beat in WHIP, ERA, AS appearances (granted, a sort of nebulous stat) and has a ring. The debate between the two comes down to what you value: the guy who lasts forever or the guy who shows more flashes of brilliance in a shorter career. It should be Daly spent a good part of his career in hitting parks (or at least Montreal was...I'm too lazy to look up Las Vegas.)

Rico Perez (SP) - See Matt's post.

I would vote for a number of other folks if I could. Either Bud Rodgers, Philip Wright or Miguel Samuel would be worth additions if you're not anti-closer. Hiram Huang, Hensley Lawson and Frank Barrett all had terrific careers, and should've been voted in last season if we weren't so apathetic. Please vote!

Hall of Fame Voting Season 19

2012-01-03T21:59:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the leading candidates for induction into the Hall of Fame:
Rock Moore - With 3 Most Valuable Player Awards, 10 All-Star appearances, 10 Silver Slugger Awards, 612 career HRs, .995 OPS, all while playing more innings than anyone else behind the plate. Moore is a HALL OF FAMER. In fact, he's one of the Hall of Famers that the other guys in the Hall want to get their picture taken with so they can show their grandkids that they knew Rock Moore.
Rico Perez - 2 Cy Young awards, 6th most innings pitched, 7th in quality starts. For me, he gets the nod over Steve Daly.
Matt Michaels - 2 MVP awards, 8 All-Star appearances, 6 Silver Sluggers, 2 Championships fill up his awards page. Michaels has the most innings played in CF thus far in the world. His offensive numbers as a CF are outstanding.
Russell Millwood - In the "non Rock Moore" category of catchers, Millwood might be the best. His 630 homers are the most for a catcher, he is 2nd in Runs Created for catchers.
~~Philip Wright~~ ~~- Wright gets the nod in the reliever category. He has four Fireman of the Year Awards and 6 All-Star appearances.~~
Harry Martinez - 2 MVP awards, retires as the all-time leader in HRs, second in runs batted in,fourth in runs created, fifth in walks, sixth in hits, only a total fool wouldn't list this guy as a hall of famer in his first season of eligibility for the Hall of Fame.

These are my choices, but great arguments can be made for deserving candidates like Steve Daly, ~~Harry Martinez~~ Philip Wright, Bud Rodgers, Charles Perry, Hiram Huang, and Frank Barrett.

How Much Do Parks Matter?

2011-12-05T13:53:00.001-08:00

I'm sure someone has undertaken this research far more in-depth somewhere, but I wanted to figure out the averages for my team (the Portland Timbers, who play in a heavily pitcher-friendly park) throughout Feller history. That way, I could adequately figure out my expectations on a year-to-year basis. To do this, I used OPS for hitting and WHIP for pitching. Here's what I figured out:

In the 17 season history of Feller, Portland has won around 53% of their games.

The average OPS over that time is .737, with the highest being .799 in Season 14, and the lowest being .642 in Season 8.

The average WHIP over that time is 1.32, with the lowest being 1.22 in Seasons 13 and 15, and the highest being 1.46 in Season 9. (This season's WHIP is a historically low 1.18, but that's been offset by poor hitting.)

Ideally, I'd like to compare these stats with a team with a similar overall record that plays in a hitters park and has the same number of seasons for accurate sample sizing. Also, they would preferably play in the National League. The closest example, I think, is Montreal, but they're overall winning percentage is higher (closer to 57%, I believe), and Portland is more of a pitcher's park than Montreal is a hitter's park.

Hall of Fame Candidates Season 19

2011-10-03T20:01:00.000-07:00

I agree with the previous suggestion about the glut of nominees. If too many players are nominated "just for fun", it really clutters up the list, and deserving candidates can get lost.
With that being said, here are a few thoughts on they guys that will be getting my vote.
Don Kell- While he was never great at the premium defensive positions of SS and CF (terrible plus/minus play ratio), his offensive totals are too impressive to ignore.
A note about closers/relievers. I think their value tends to be overrated, thanks in large part to the save stat, so I think we should be careful about voting them into the Hall of Fame. Also consider that there are about 6 All-Star closers per season per league, so the All-Star appearances (based on a half season of work ~ 40 innings) might be misleading. I think we need to look ahead to
Philip Wright- Okay, 4 Fireman Awards is impressive. I also like the fact that he pitched over 1300 innings in his career. Take a look at some of the other big name closers. Most of them are under 900 innings pitched for their career.
Bud Rodgers- A big save total, with an impressive 3.27 career ERA while posting a .294 OBP against. He has two World Series rings to his credit with a postseason WHIP of 1.08 and 18 of 22 in save opportunities.
Hiram Huang- He ranks third for LF in runs created. He won 3 Silver Sluggers and 3 Gold Gloves. Career SLG of .470. He was successful 81% of the time he attempted to steal a base.
Hensley Lawson- He ranks fourth for LF in runs created. He won 5 Silver Sluggers and 1 Gold Glove. Career SLG of .519. He was successful 70% of the time he attempted to steal a base.

Season 19 Hall of Fame Primer

2011-10-03T10:48:00.000-07:00

Before I run down a list of the potential Hall of Famers here, I'd like to send out a plea to nominating owners: it takes quite a bit to get in. Short of a grocery list worth of awards, my suggestion is not to nominate. There are too many worthy nominees this season, and when owners nominate everyone and their mom, it clutters up the voting. I have absolutely been guilty of this in the past.

Previously, only one player has snuck in any single season, but I think that absolutely changes this time around. The following is a list of the top HOF candidates, ranked in order of how I'd vote for them. Obviously, everyone will have their own opinions on what's worth voting on, but I'd say most of these guys deserve to be in on some level.

1. Don Kell (SS, 2B) - 5x AS, 3x WSR, 4x SS, 1 GG, 527 HRs, .897 OPS. To me, it's about his career numbers here. 527 HRs is a LOT for a SS.

2. Bud Rodgers (Closer) - 7x AS, 2x WSR, 1 Fireman, 492 saves (3rd all-time), 3.27 ERA, 1.20 WHIP.

3. Hensley Lawson (LF, 2B) - 7x AS, 5x SS, 1 GG, .913 OPS. A couple seasons ago, I said we should have an automatic cutoff for All-Star appearances. I'm not sure I agree with that now. Still, 7 appearances is impressive, especially as many were at LF, and a .913 OPS is solid.

4. Jim Durbin (Closer) - 9x AS, 454 saves (5th all-time), 4.14 ERA, 1.28 WHIP. I'm biased here, but the 9 all-star appearances work for me. Plus, most of those saves came during Portland's rebuilding years.

5. Philip Wright (Closer) - 6x AS, 4x Fireman, 384 saves, 3.53 ERA, 1.28 WHIP. Four Fireman of the Year awards is pretty impressive.

6. Miguel Samuel (Closer) - 5x AS, 1 Fireman, 270 saves, 3.00 ERA, 1.18 WHIP. Statistically, he's the most impressive here, just doesn't have the awards or longevity to back it up. Seasons 3-5, he was spectacular.

7. Hiram Huang (LF) - 6x AS, 3x WSR, 3x SS, 3x GG, .865 OPS, 617 SB.

8. Chad Beckett (LF, 2B) - 3x AS, 2x WSR, 3x SS, 485 HRs, .900 OPS.

9. Pepper Bailey (C) - 3x AS, 1 WSR, 1 HR Derby, 361 HRs, .964 OPS. It's the OPS that's impressive here, the highest of all retired players. Factor in Bailey's position, and it's even more impressive. Unfortunately, he wasn't great defensively.

The 14-Year Plan: Thoughts on Portland's Rebuilding/Competitive Eras

2011-09-22T08:59:00.000-07:00

Feller is my first and only HBD world. I started at Season 1 having no idea what I was doing. I assumed a rating of 50 meant an average ML player. I was competitive fairly quickly, finishing with Feller's best record in Season 2 before falling in the NLCS, then hitting the wild card a couple more times over the first five seasons.

By Season 6, it became clear to me I needed to put a long-term plan together. My teams were okay, but I was only mildly competitive, didn't really understand how budgeting and coaching worked, and I knew I couldn't compete with Feller's top teams.

I started rebuilding without a clear plan in place. I upped my college/HS scouting budgets, let go of Type A and B free agents, and had a couple of good drafts to build a base of prospects. After a few seasons, I realized I had a pretty decent core, and I moved them up through the minors season-by-season.

I knew my top prospects wouldn't be cheap forever, so I decided on a 7-season window where I knew I would be competing hard for a World Series. As players like Dan Minor, Erubiel Prieto and Footsie Sanders were reaching the ML level, I was adding FAs like John Tanaka (for a maximum $20m/year that I'd say was worth it), and Jeremy Judd (for around $13m/year, which might've been worth it if he wasn't derailed by a long-term injury). Then I traded younger prospects who weren't going to reach the majors at the right time (like Pascual Vincente, Kazuhiro Gong, Placido Johnson) for veterans, even if it meant having the veteran only for part of one season.

Plenty of teams in Feller (Cleveland, Columbus, Washington DC and, to some extent, Montreal) have managed to maintain very high talent levels for a long period of time. I don't pretend to know how they do it, though I would say they all seem to smartly utilize international free agency.

On the other hand, for the last few seasons I've had as much ML talent as any team in Feller. After that, it's a dice roll. I think I've been lucky to be in the World Series four out of the past five years; very, very luck to have won once, and very, very, VERY lucky to win twice. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to gloat for a moment.

I'm now entering the 6th season of that 7-season window, and I'm finally facing the consequences of the buying I've done the last few seasons. I'll have to start selling and putting Type A guys in free agency, even with low scouting budgets.

My point in writing this: unless you feel confident playing the game the way job, gidoni and mattfurjan do, I highly recommend thinking in focused rebuilding/competitive terms. And it's not like the rebuilding years sucked. I kept players I really liked, focused on defense, and only dipped into the 60-win range twice. My favorite part of each season was the amateur draft. I'm even kind of looking forward to rebuilding again.

Going forward, I doubt I'll try and build another super-team, and try and work on a mix of strong prospects while also competing for the NL West in the MLs. It's taken me 17 seasons to get to where I feel somewhat comfortable with HBD, but it's been a blast every step of the way. I hope our incoming owners have a similar experience.

120 or fewer wins in back to back seasons

2011-09-21T20:57:00.000-07:00

After a little bit of research, there have been 20 times in Feller history that a team has failed to win at least 120 combined games in consecutive seasons with the same owner.
Here's the list:
Washington S1 + S2. This owner has gone on to participate in all 18 seasons of Feller.
St. Louis S1 + S2. This owner played in the first 8 seasons of the world.
Burlington S3 + S4. Those were that owner’s only two seasons.
Dover S4 + S5. This owner has now played 15 seasons.
Rochester S4 + S5. This owner played 13 seasons before leaving.
Pawtucket S5 + S6, S6 + S7, S7 + S8, S8 + S9. This owner invested 8 seasons in that franchise and has since come back for 4 more with another team.
Seattle S7 + S8. This owner left after participating in the first 8 seasons.
Charlotte S8 + S9, S9 + S10. This owner now has 12 seasons in the world.
Texas S10 + S11, S11 + S12. This owner left after playing for 10 seasons.
Anaheim S12 + S13, S13 + S14, S14 + S15, S15 + S16. This owner stuck around for 7 seasons.
Houston S15 + S16. This owner played for 5 seasons with an original franchise, then came back for 9 more before leaving after S16.
San Francisco S16 + S17. This owner has been in the world since its beginning.
Are other owners so disgusted by these 20 occurrences (1+ per season) that they are leaving the world out of frustration? We need an average of just over 6 new owners per season. This 80% retention rate feels like a pretty respectable number when one looks at the franchise center and sees the number of openings in all of the worlds that are available right now.
Or are these franchises so destroyed that they cycle through owners at an alarming rate? Other than Burlington in S3 and S4, every owner that hasn’t met 120 wins in two seasons has invested at least 5 seasons worth of time and money into this world.
Maybe a minimum win rule would have altered the history for 1 or 2 of the franchises mentioned above, but I'm skeptical that it would have made Feller a more fulfilling experience for all of us.

2011-05-09T18:48:00.000-07:00

3000!!!
Congratulations to Mike Newfield on becoming the first player in Feller's history to reach 3000 hits. Newfield is one of the all-time greats in this world. In addition to his 3000 hits, he has over 400 home runs. He has an incredible lifetime average over .320. He is a 7 time All-Star, 6 time Silver Slugger, AL MVP, AL Rookie of the Year. He also has a .350 batting average for his postseason career in 58 games - that's not a fluke. Newfield was born to hit, and he has done it as well, and as often, as anyone in this world.
And he might have the best hair in the world.

Mike Newfield
San Francisco
Seals
Age: 37	B/T: L/L
Born: Barco, NC
Position(s): LF/1B/RF
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

2011-04-05T17:21:00.000-07:00

Most All-Star Appearances by Position Players

10: Frank Barrett, Rock Moore, Dennis Pratt

9: Endy Ramsey

8: Matt Michaels

7: Mike Newfield, Hensley Lawson

6: Dwayne Cox, Lonnie Lo Duca, Rabbit Lilly, Garry Brownson, Magglio Trajano, Nolan Power , Hiram Huang

More Hall of Fame

2011-03-16T20:19:00.000-07:00

As before, these are one idiot's opinions...
Magglio Cela
Awards: 1 Silver Slugger, 5 All-Star appearances
Cela didn't have enough time to rack up huge career totals, but he did a lot in his career. His 1101 RC are the 7th most among 2B in Feller's history. Beyond that, his 8.09 RC/27 is the highest for 2B with at least 2310 PA. For more traditional numbers, his .324 career batting average currently ranks 6th all time among all batters, and his .403 OBP is 12th all time. That's some great offensive production for anyone, let alone a 2B. As for Cela's defense, well, check out those offensive numbers. Unfortunately his 155 errors at 2B are the most by anyone at that position, and his 15/57 +/- plays aren't very good. He did play the 3rd most innings at 2B, and his .978 Fld % isn't too far off the average for 2B (.981).
Cela may have missed out on a couple of productive years at the beginnning of his career, but in my opinion, his career reaches Hall of Fame level.

Jimmie Mateo
Awards: 4 All-Star appearances, 1 Championship
Mateo's 168 wins currently rank 19th in Feller history. His 3.79 career ERA is 30th among starting pitchers (at least 810 IP and 100 starts). His 188 quality starts out of 368 games started (51.1%) is 92nd among starters. Uh-oh, this is headed in a bad direction for Jimmie. Moving on, Jimmie's 1.27 WHIP is 31st among starters. Most of the rest of his numbers (e.g. strikeouts. K/BB, OAV, etc.) rank around 15 to 30 for starters, but I don't really want to go through anymore, I already feel bad for Mateo.
When I chose Mateo, I thought he would be automatic for the Hall of Fame. After looking at the numbers, I think I have to say that he doesn't belong.

Hall of Fame Discussion

2011-03-13T21:23:00.000-07:00

This is meant to offer a few opinions on some of the higher profile candidates for the Hall of Fame. I recognize that there is a lot of room for discussion. These are just my opinions. One guy that will get my vote, one guy that won't get my vote. I might continue on to other candidates before the season begins.
Endy Ramsey
Awards: 2 time MVP, 11 Silver Sluggers, 9 All-Star appearances, 1 Gold Glove, 1 World Series Ring. No one has won more Silver Sluggers. His 9 All-Star appearances are bested by only 4 players, each of whom has 10. One of eight players that has multiple MVP awards. His closet is overflowing with awards. It takes a little while to scroll through his player card.

His 590 homers rank 6th, 1557 RBIs rank 8th (save your "isn't it 'RBI'" for English class), 1658 RC rank 4th, and 15091.2 Innings in LF rank 1st are all impressive. And Ramsey wasn't just a compiler of numbers, his 9.19 RC/27 is 8th in Feller history. He should be in the Hall of Fame.

Troy Brown

Awards: 1 Silver Slugger (DH) - end of the list (red flag for Troy)
Unfortunately for Brown, catcher has been a very deep position in Feller's first 12 seasons.

Brown caught 8129 innings for his career (22nd). The other 30% of his career was mostly spent as a DH. His 1068 RC currently rank 7th among players who spent at least 50% of their career behind the plate (50th among all batters). 7.56 RC/27 places 6th among the catchers.
As a catcher, it's troubling that Brown never made an All-Star game, and never won a Silver Slugger. I would place Brown just outside of the top 5 catchers in Feller's history. Brown was a very good player, not quite a HOFer for me.

Players Approaching "00" Milestones

2011-03-13T20:46:00.000-07:00

700 Home Runs

Hardball Dynasty's

Oscar Becker

This former MVP (Season 6) has 693 home runs. He is a free agent entering Season 16. His power is currently 75. If a team signs him to a contract for this season, it would seem that 7 homers is automatic.

600 Home Runs

Hardball Dynasty's

Russell Millwood

Millwood currently has 563 home runs. Like Becker, he is also a free agent entering Season 16. At age he still brings 90 power. He hit 31 homers last season. Over the next two seasons, he's likely to get at least 37 homers to join the 600 club.

500 Home Runs
Chad Beckett with 485 homers
Rabbit Lilly with 474 homers
Dingo Banks with 471 homers
Frank Barrett with 470 homers

At 36, Beckett has 63 power. If he gets enough PAs, Beckett should join the 500 club this season.

How far past 500 will Lilly be at the end of this season? And when will he be looking at the 600 club?

Banks had a major injury last season. He is currently a free agent. 500 might be tough for Dingo (make your own "baby" joke).

Barrett hit 30 homers last season. At 37, his skills seem to be eroding. 500 - it better be this season.

Season 10 Preview for the Powerloons

2009-09-06T23:12:00.000-07:00

So, it has been three seasons since I posted one of these. Lets see if I can do a proper one of these.

A lot has changed with the pitching staff. A trade with the evil empire (Washington) brought in staff ace CC Halter to us last season. Going 11-5 in 25 starts may not sound like much, but for a team that finished 76-86 last season, he was a star. Free agency this season has brought over Charlie Kelly. This 3 time Cy Young winner went 23-4 last season and the Loon management hopes he can be a great #2 man for us. After Tim White was sent to Washington in the Halter deal, Jaimie Ma was used as a closer. His age and relative ineffectiveness were shown the door. Sidney Kashmir, career saves leader in Feller, has come in to fill the closer roll. Hopefully he can continue to deliver what he always has.

More later, when I am more awake...lol.

Open to the Public

2008-11-22T07:19:00.000-08:00

Give Feller your poor, your tired, your huddled masses longing to become World Series champions.
- The new Plaque outside the door to Feller World headquarters.

Our doors are open to the public and it has helped our world fill quickly for Year 7. Here is a look at our new franchise owners.

Little Rock Shaggy Marlins (AL)
tori05
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tori05 brings his 8 seasons of experience and 5 division titles from World Gibson to Feller. He has moved the Jackson War Dogs to Little Rock. With the move comes a new marketing campaign with Shaggy Marlin team gear. The new ownership looks to build upon the AL South division title the franchise earned last year. The big question is will Little Rock build upon its core young players Josias Guerrero and Alfredo Ortiz both are arbitration eligible but look to be the future of the franchise. Will they re-sign star pitcher Junior Lansing ? He most certainly would return compensatory picks in the amateur if draft if they let him walk.

Texas Ballbusters (AL)
tabsterb
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

tabsterb is new to Hardball Dynasty but comes highly recommended from an existing owner. He returns the franchise back to their longstanding roots in Arlington after a 1 year stint in San Antonio last season. He aims to bring the AL South division title back to Texas, which the franchise had won in 4 of the last 5 seasons. Texas has a big decision to make if they will resign former Cy Young winner Steve Sherman and 35 year old perennial all star second baseman Magglio Cela. Will they bring them back for one more world series run or let them walk and rebuild? If brought back they will join their other big money stars like closer Mike Holdridge and gold glove thridbaseman Benji Olivo .

Vancouver Canucks (AL)
dshimoda
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

dshimoda is a well traveled owner looking for franchise fulfillment - hopefully he finds it in World Feller. dshimoda has well over 1200 HBD games on his resume along with his World Series championship from World Williams. He looks to turn over a new leaf with moving his franchise from Arizona to Vancouver. And boy does he have a great season ticket sales plan for his franchise - by naming his ball club the Canucks he hopes that the confused ice hockey fans of Vancouver mistakenly gobble up tickets to his baseball games. A cunning well thought move. Vancouver has quite a few arbitration eligible players this offseason. Leading the list is all star LF Don Tanaka if signed he'll join fellow all star Center Fielder Steven Mussina .

Arizona blazing fire (AL)
sideshowron
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Much like the NFL wouldn't leave Cleveland without a franchise World Feller feels the same about the fine city of Phoenix. With the Diamondbacks exodus to Vancouver, The Simpson's fan, sideshowron brings blazing fire to the valley of the sun. After logging over 30 seasons in Hoops and Gridiron Dynasty sideshowron has turned his sights on Hardball Dynasty in World Feller. The blazing fire will have to aim high as they share the divison with the perennial AL West division winning San Francisco Seals. Will they have what it takes? It might take them a season or two but one of their cornerstones could be the young Silver Slugger SS Tommy Newfield . He is arbitration eligible but might be the right guy to build a franchise around. However with Pedro Trevino on the horizon in AAA they might have a tough decision to make unless they move one of them to 3B or 2B.

New Britain Pelicans (NL)
larry1945m
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larry1945m (is that when you were born? If so I totally respect you) brings an amazing 3000 games of HBD experience to World Feller. larry1945m takes over the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise. We were sad to see Pittsburgh go as the number of owners present since world creation dropped from 12 to 11 with their deaprture. larry1945m is counted upon to bring glory back to the franchise but with a new start in New Britain. The Pelicans have two of last season's Gold Glove winners among their ranks in arb eligible CF/SS Glenn Thomas and 1B/LF Rule 5 acquisition Gus Roth . New Britain has some tough decisions to make, whether to rebuild or sign some of their vets like closer Charlie Winn and 2B R.A. Smoltz . Both would certainly contribute to the club.

Nashville Rhythm & Blues (NL)
rdwaltz71
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rdwaltz71 is moving the El Paso franchise to Nashville where he hopes to excite the local Rhythm and Blues Festival fans with baseball. By the way I can't get over the fact that there isn't a vowel between 'h' and 'm' in rhythm. When a language is invented by the Brits it has to be quirky I guess. Nashville will have some fantastic starting pitching this season with former Cy Young winner Rico Perez, all star Hector Romero, and Alex Campbell. With those three anchoring their rotation expect the Nashville franchise to win its 7th straight NL South Division Title.

Tacoma Totems (NL)
groverp
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The players of the Honolulu Surfers were dissapointed to be moved from their white sand beaches to rainy Tacoma. But new owner groverp realized their heads just weren't in baseball over on the island, and their record showed it. Tacoma will build around Center Fielder Denny Polcovich . Down on the farm Placido Toca looks ready to start playing Gold Glove defense in the Big Leagues as well.

Looking for a few good men

2008-11-13T06:11:00.000-08:00

World Feller is about to roll and a few good teams are avaialble:

Little Rock Friends of Bill (AL)
kmoyer
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Pittsburgh Pirates (NL)
typhoon26
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Honolulu Surfers (NL)
Dave062451
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Arizona Diamondbacks (AL)
rodgerturner
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Benchwarmer: Cleveland Edition Revisited

2008-10-23T09:38:00.000-07:00

Remember my blog post about Dennis Pratt ? I said don't worry about Pratt cause he'll still end up batting .280 and finish with around 150 RBI. Well guess what, since my posting he has found his grove... he is now hitting .276, OPS'ing .996 and currently has 132 RBI with 18 games to play.

My Favorite Player: Rob Benson

2008-10-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

Ron Benson
Jackson
War Dogs
Age: 29	B/T: S/L
Born: Nampa, ID
Position(s): 1B/LF/DH
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My favorite player? Easy, its “Psyco” Rob Bensen. When you look at Rob’s ratings, nothing pops out with a “wow” factor, except maybe his ability to hit right handers. However, if there was a rating for clutch hitting, he would be 100. I can’t count how many times he has driven in the winning run, or made that key late inning hit to start a rally. Plus, just look at him: the guy is crazy. You want a player that will sacrifice his body by crashing into the catcher at a play at the plate, he is your guy. Throw in the fact he is a left-handed first baseman, a switch hitter, and has already won one gold glove, and you can see why he is my favorite.

My Favorite Player: Timo Collins

2008-10-12T10:05:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to convince a friend of mine to try Hardball Dynasty. He's never played WIS, and is thrown off by the idea of not playing with real players.

"I understand," I told him. "But after a while they kind of become real."

Which may have made him even more skeptical.

But I'm sure you guys get it. After 6 seasons in Feller, there are players which hold some kind of unquantifiable hold over you. So this is my attempt to quantify...to expose my unbounded sports nerd-dom. Maybe we can make it into some sort of ongoing column.

My favorite player is Timo Collins.

Timo Collins
Portland
Tall Firs
Age: 24	B/T: S/R
Born: Portland, OR
Position(s): LF/RF
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First, Timo Collins was my first high 1st round draft pick...the 9th overall pick back in Season 2. He's a good (not great) hitter. He's fast. Decent defensively with a respectable arm for a right-fielder.

Those are the numbers, and they're convincing enough. But the real reason Timo Collins is my favorite player in Feller are these:

1) He has a cool name. Timo Collins. Like some sort of Irish-Finnish combination...only in a black guy.

2) He has a soul-patch and he smiles. His face sort of says, "Don't worry, Coach, I'm not a locker-room cancer, and I won't let you down at the plate."

3) He's a hometown boy. I'm a Portlander, and my team is based in Portland. I imagine, if the fans mattered in this game, he'd be a fan favorite...kind of like Damon Stoudamire, but without the getting-caught-with-weed-wrapped-in-tin foil-at-the-airport.

(Which, for most Blazer fans, wasn't that big of a deal compared to all the other crap we put up with for years.)

Anyway, that's why I wouldn't trade Timo Collins...not even for a package of Dennis Pratt and Endy Ramsey.

Okay, maybe for those guys...but it would hurt.

Who's you favorite player?

The NL West

2008-10-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

I don't think I'm going too far out on a limb by saying the NL West is the National League's premier division.

Salem and Las Vegas are perennial powers, Honolulu is decent, and my team, the Portland Tall Firs, seems to make some kind of run every season.

So what's happening right now? We've been in a freefall over the last 10 games, going 16-24. It's not as if the competition has been fierce...Portland is 1-5 against the Cincinnati Nuxhalls, Salem dropped its last two to the New York Evil Empire, and, as doontristy puts it, Las Vegas is showing no heart.

I'm not sure how my team was leading this division in the first place, but I've watched as that lead has dwindled away to a near three-way tie, and I don't see myself pulling out of this nosedive. And I know I play in a pitcher's park, but a .239 team BA at home? Doesn't home field advantage play in at some point?

I appreciate the opportunity to whine to you all.

Powerloons Prospectus : A view from the Nest;

2008-09-29T20:45:00.000-07:00

The Minnesota Powerloons are in the midst of their 6th season of current management. What follows is a “state of the union” view.

The team has been arranged in the mindset that there should be a decent mix of youth and experience. No player has the “skill ratings” that blow you off your seat, but all have been installed with the expectations that they will create a tough lineup from 1-8.

Through 72 games Billy Rivers and Patrick Stockton have handled catching duties well (.302-7-39) and they are holding their own at the plate. Losing Geronimo Mercedes to the rival Montreal squad was frustrating. Shows I didn’t do my homework. Robert McGee (.272-16-45) has done well at 1st, but has never gotten back to his pre-injury form. There are players waiting in the wings putting pressure on him. The combo of Flash Lane and Tony Soto (.284-16-49) have done well at 2B, but someone needs to step up and take charge. Management would like a fixture in this spot, but each time either one is given the chance, they fold like a cheap deck of cards. Clayton Koehlert (.303-7-38) has done what was expected and looks to be here a while. His combination of good defense and offense will be rewarded come contract time. Rounding out the infield is Vernon Hunter at SS. Vernon (.298-13-53) has a strangle hold on the position. The only thing that could shorten his future is his age. At 33, he is the oldest position player on the team and by the time his contract expires, Soto could be his replacement.

In the Loons’ inaugural season, the outfield was the strength of this team. It has slid a little since then, but LF Wesley Cook (.284-17-57) was brought in to solidify the line-up and add power. He has done both and currently leads the team in HR’s and RBI’s. CF Vic Cummings (.240-12-37) has had a disappointing season. A .300 hitter his 1st 3 ML seasons, Vic had promise. As much as the management would like to see him turn it around, this could be his last season as a Loon. In RF, Pablo Guzman (.279-14-48) is being pressed for playing time by Lance Hancock. Pablo had a big year in season 3 hitting .320-28-110 but has struggled to get back to that form since.

Pitching has been a problems for the loons from the start. Having an ERA between 4.75-5.13 in each of the first 5 years has left this team struggling to win games. This season, the staff has compiled an ERA of 4.30 and is holding the opponents batting average to .264. Trading away pitching prospects like Josias Guerrero, Clarence Jacquez and Alex Cambell have not done this franchise many favors. But young talent like William Cho, Angel Acosta and Russ Adkinson have proven worthy so far this season. At 45-34, we are pleased to be only 3 games out of the division lead.

The Best of: Hot Corner Edition

2008-09-27T10:40:00.000-07:00

So throughout the season I will review the various positions in World Feller and give my take on who the best 5 are at their respective positions. The way I’ll rank these guys is simply my opinion, if you disagree – no problem, throw your two cents in and comment on it. All my rankings are based on the current ratings and statistics (adjusted for park effects) of Major League players listed at that position at the time of review.

Benji Olivo
San Antonio
Immortal 32
Age: 28	B/T: R/R
Born: Palenque, DO
Position(s): 3B
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

5. Benji Oliva – His defense and 2 gold gloves speak for themselves. His offense is disemboweled by San Antonio’s ballpark and on top of it he has gotten off to a slow start. He did play in Texas prior to this season and didn’t put up numbers that would blow you away in a hitter’s park, but still drove the ball well and got on base. With his high contact and speed he would be an asset to a lot of teams. The reason he makes the “best of” though is for his glove and his career .985 fielding percentage, there aren’t many better.

Catfish Larkin
Las Vegas
Splittin' Aces
Age: 25	B/T: R/R
Born: Clarion, IA
Position(s): 3B
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

4. Catfish Larkin is coming into his own offensively this season. He plays in tough park so his career offensive numbers are slightly less then they would be elsewhere. Thus far this season he is off to a great start, hitting .323 with an OBP and SLG of .393 and .558 respectively. At the hot corner he has a good enough range and glove to go with his great arm. All this and a name like Catfish, how could you not like him?

Juan Rodriguez
Trenton
Thunder
Age: 33	B/T: R/R
Born: Elias Pina, DO
Position(s): 3B/C/MIF/OF
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

3. Juan Rodriguez is a great all around third baseman. He has great contact, above average power, good splits. His batting eye is not spectacular but his contact rating in combination with his splits is what gets him on base. Now that he plays in a neutral park you should see his career numbers improve. What puts Rodriguez on this list though is his defense, with a career .992 fielding percentage and 2.31 range factor at third base. Hopefully Trenton can keep him healthy.

Bonk Hurst
Washington D.C.
Nationals
Age: 25	B/T: R/R
Born: Lakeville, MN
Position(s): 3B/1B/2B/OF/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

2. Bonk Hurst – So anytime you have a superstar third baseman on your team it is great, well how about having three of them like Washington does (Bonk Hurst, James Langston, Dingo Banks ). Washington gets all of them at-bats through playing them at DH, First Base and RF. Bonk Hurst has monstrous power. In a home park that is tough to hit homers in, he has crushed 50+ homeruns in his last 3 seasons. To go with his offense is solid range and a great arm for third base play.

Charles Perry
Buffalo
Latchkey Monkeys
Age: 26	B/T: S/R
Born: Baxley, GA
Position(s): 3B/1B/COF/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

1. Charles Perry – I could have flipped a coin between Bonk Hurst and this guy. Both are awesome third baseman any team would want to have in their lineup. I gave the nod to Perry as he is slightly better rounded offensively then Hurst. Perry's great power, L/R/ splits and a good eye all lead to a .969 OPS thus far this season and a career OPS of .934. He has a great glove and arm for third base as well.

Honorable Mention: Nap Welch (PAW), James Langston (WAS), Sammy Harris (NO)

Benchwarmer: Cleveland Edition

2008-09-24T22:22:00.000-07:00

The Benchwarmer Post is dedicated to that special player who is grossly under performing their career statistics. If it weren't for a players underlying ratings he'd be riding the pine like Eric Byrnes with an alleged hamstring tear. We all have one of these guys, or in my case a few of these guys... Most of the time a player gets off to a slow start and his numbers look bad. Other times the only explanation is bad luck. I'll try to do a few of these throughout the course of the season.

Dennis Pratt
Cleveland
Cans of Corn
Age: 27	B/T: S/R
Born: Mt Blanchard, OH
Position(s): 1B/RF/DH
View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Three time AL MVP Dennis Pratt is having a tough time batting his weight this season. He is currently batting an awful .220 and OPS'ing, an average by Pratt's standards, .831. The sample size is quite large for this anomaly as Pratt has 264 at bats thus far. With a career batting average of .297 and a .609 slugging percentage, Cans of Corn has no choice but to keep trotting their star out there. I wouldn't worry much about Pratt though odds are he'll get hot and finish with a batting average around .285 and 150 RBIs.

Update from the Nest

2008-03-20T10:36:00.000-07:00

ebpyle

Update from the nest…………….

As expected, the NL North is paced by Montreal this season with Pittsburgh chasing closely behind. I only wish the Loons could close the gap. Not to panic, currently at 33-37. Last season we did not get over the .500 mark until the 93rd game of the year (47-46).

Well the off-season acquisition of Alberto Cruz has not worked out as well as hoped. Although he leads the team with 107.2 IP, he is only 4-7 in 15 starts. He leads the starters with .243 OAV but the ERA of 4.85 has been hard to overcome. The starting pitching has been OK, but the hitting has not generated the runs needed to win more games.

Last season the RPGS was 5.73 and RPGA was 5.26. This season, those numbers are 5.34 and 5.47 respectively. Although we are hitting well (.276 team BA), scoring runs needs to improve.

Robert McGee has done well so far this season hitting .338-17-55. He leads the team in BA, R, 2B, HR and RBI’s. He has clearly been the team MVP to this point.

A Can of Corn Falls Off the Shelf

2008-02-25T10:35:00.000-08:00

mattfurjan

Bad luck strikes the Cleveland franchise. Our offseason Type A free agent acquisition, SP Tito Bradley, sufferred a season ending injury in his debut performance. The cost is steep for 4 1/3 IP. Despite his questionable health (67), management was hopeful that the 20 million budgeted to training would keep him healthy. Oh well, hopefully some of the young guys will pick it up.

Charlotte Season 4 Preview

2008-02-24T10:32:00.000-08:00

richhill115

Watchout for the Hillbillys from North Carolina .IN season 3 they lost over 100 games.with new owership they improved with 20 more wins in season 3 and already they are 3-0 .Still the Hillbillys top 2 young prospects are playing in AAA and might be called up in the first month .They should be a .500 team this year and maybe make the playoffs.

Minnesota Season Preview

2008-02-22T10:30:00.000-08:00

Minnesota Power Loons

A review and preview of things to come

The defending division champion Power Loons seek to repeat in season 4. It by no means was a runaway, and judging by my competition, it won’t be this year either. Three different division winners in three seasons has proven that.

Montreal has been restocking through trades and the FA market. At 84-78 last season, (256-230 in three seasons) they have been in either 1^st or 2^nd each year. Judging by the talent they added they will be at or near the top again.

Pittsburgh is only 1 season removed from their 104 win season. They finished last season at 80-82 (276-210) and spent last season re-tooling after losing out retaining their top pitcher who bolted for Vegas. Considering that that was their worst season, they will again challenge for the top spot.

Dover is running with its’ 5^th owner. After finishing 33-129 (173-313) last season, there is hope the new ownership can provide some stability and get them back on track. In season 1 they challenged for the top spot at 86-76 and have since lost 100+ the last 2. Good luck and welcome to the NL North sccrplyr16!

The Loons have made the long climb from the bottom of this division to take the crown last season. Using primarily players developed from within, finished 86-76 (235-251) and then were promptly swept by the aforementioned Vegas in the 1^st round. Aquiring Alberto Cruz in the offseason from Little Rock has given the Loons a clear #1 pitcher to lead this young group back to the playoffs.

Pitching

Starting Pitching

The average age of this rotation is 26 years old, but don’t let that fool you. There is only 1 starter over that age. Although not flashy, the expectation is to keep the opponents down enough to allow our top offense to overpower the opponent.

Alberto Cruz 20-7 / 237.2 IP / OAV-.276 / Whip-1.33 / ERA-4.13

As a key FA acquisition, Alberto will be counted on to be the stopper this rotation needs. Won 50 games with his first three seasons in Little Rock. At 33 he is still young enough to play another 3-4 effective seasons.

Douglas Ducey 13-9 / 193.0 IP / OAV-.258 / Whip-1.38 / ERA-4.10

Douglas had made all 35 starts last season and proved to be effective. Tied for the team lead with 13 wins, he did a good job keeping the team in every game.

Tony Rosado 5-7 / 95.2 IP / OAV-.269 / Whip-1.41 / ERA-5.08

Tony won his first 5 starts as a late season call-up last season. Although he struggled late last year, he has the right stuff to be at this level. Lets’ just hope he can do it for an entire season.

Pablo Manzanillo 13-8 / 180.1 IP / OVA-.264 / Whip-1.40 / ERA-4.24

Pablo was the co-leader in wins last season. He has been steady since coming to the ML. Would like to see a breakout year from him.

Russ Adkinson 11-13 / 184.0 IP / OVA-.262 / Whip-1.42 / ERA-4.79

Russ came storming back last season after a season ending injury ended his year 2. Making 36 starts showed his durability. He was the only starter last season to record a CG.

Relief Pitching

Group 22-13 / 47 of 57 saves / 432.2 IP / OVA-.265 / Whip-1.38 / ERA-4.58

A couple years ago this was the achillies heel of the team. Adding Tim White to the team has produced amazing results. Guys like James Kim, Torey Alcantara and Billy Ray Sanders have solidified the group.

Position Players

Catcher

Rule 5 selection Patrick Stockton performed well last season (.290-16-79) and has earned a spot in the lineup. But Billy Rivers (.318-21-78 @ AAA) is demanding playing time and claims the job is his. Looks like a platoon for the start of the season.

1^st Base

Pasqual Guillen finished strong last season (.277-32-96) and finished 2^nd in HR’s. As well as he performed, others could split time here if he starts slow like last season.

2^nd Base

Greg Cobb had a great comeback season (.302-3-49 w/27 SB). The move to 2^nd base proved a good fit for Cobb and expectations are that he should flourish again.

3^rd Base

After the season Thomas Cannon (.298-36-87) had as a utility player. He is being asked to play fulltime at 3^rd to get his bat in the lineup more ofton. The fact that he led the team with .973 OPS and only had 363 AB’s shows what he can do with a bat in his hands.

Shortstop

Tony Soto was steller at 3^rd base last season and SHOULD have been awarded a Gold Glove. That said, he has the skills to be a SS and his move helps with the Cannon arrangement. After the great rookie season (.327-30-121) he had, this year comes with higher expectations.

Leftfield

Robert McGee (.271-28-92) had a good year and it is hoped he will build on it this season. A fine athlete with all the tools, Robert is expected to be a big part of this teams future. A late season call-up, Flash Lane (.299-5-16 in 24 games) has also earned a spot with the big club. His ability to play multiple roles will prove valuable.

Centerfield

Since season 2, when Vic Cummings (.329-18-89) took over for Cobb in centerfield, we have not had more steady play from any other position. The All-Star, Gold Glove and reighning NL batting champ will be patroling CF again for the Loons and his bat is just as valuable as his glove.

Rightfield

After a Gold Glove in season 2 and the All-Star MVP in season 3, Pablo Guzman has shown his ability to be another All-Star performer for the Loons. He became the first Loon player to amass 200+ hits in a season. He credits his and his teamates success at the plate last year to their new hitting coach.

San Fran Seals Preview

2008-02-21T10:29:00.000-08:00

bradydt

There is a little buzz in San Francisco this spring, as the Seals return their entire starting lineup from their 100 win campaign in Season 3. However, the real buzz involves the offseason acquisition of Season 3 AL Cy Young Award winner, Hades Reynolds.

Some of you may recall that the Seals were promptly bounced in a 5 game series by eventual champ, Columbus Clippers, losing game 5 by a score of 15-0, after 4 close fought games. Realizing their weakness was having no true ace, Seals' management moved quickly, and feels this may be the city's last chance to bring home a champion-- especially because D.C. team looks like a juggernaut in the making...

Don't fret, though, the Seals will remove $34 mil. from the books in the offseason, meaning they will have enough dough to stay competitve...

Little Rock Preview

2008-02-11T10:26:00.000-08:00

GuerillaZen1

Big, big changes in Little Rock this season. After winning 308 games in the first three seasons (and never falling below 101 or rising above 105 wins) the tides MIGHT be turning for Rebels. The team is getting much older and has already began to clean house and make room for the next batch of minor leaguers.

Staff stalwart and winner of 50 career games (3 seasons) has been dealt to intra-league rival Minnesota for two young arms.

Sliver slugger winner and All-star Darwin Cook has been dealt for a defensive minded shortstop prospect.

Youngster Wayne Banks will be inserted from opening day to help sure-up the offense and 27 year old, 56 game winner, and 2-time NL CY YOUNG champion Rico Perez has been awarded the richest and longest contract in team history, which should keep the rotation near the middle of the pack.

The Rebels will not win 105 games this season and will fight for their playoff life, but they do expect to be competitive in the National League South, where the competition is slowly getting much, much stronger.

Minnesota Trade Update

2008-02-11T10:25:00.000-08:00

Loons get No. 1 starter Cruz!!!!!

In a 5 player deal with Little Rock, the Loons have added Alberto Cruz. He has 50 career wins in the first three seasons of Feller. His 4.24 ERA is good but the 1.33 WhiP is a better sign. At 33 years old and in the last year of his contract, we are hoping to offer an extension that will allow Alberto to retire a Loon.

The departure of my 1st rnd draft picks from seasons' 1 and 2, Clarence Jacquez and Alex Campbell was tough, but I think it will be worth it.

Awards through Season 3

2008-02-11T10:20:00.000-08:00

thought I'd place the league awards here and the league members can comment on them. I'll update them as each season passes.

AL MVP Award
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Davey Fasano new york meade_2004
Season 2 Domingo Guapo Hummers 7Yankees7
Season 3 Dennis Pratt Cans of Corn mattfurjan

AL Cy Young Award
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Steve Sherman Lone Stars yanks0218
Season 2 Houston Vernon Hummers 7Yankees7
Season 3 Hades Reynolds Spartans jwillcox

AL Rookie of the Year Award
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Mike Newfield Seals bradydt
Season 2 Don Kell Nationals gidoni13
Season 3 Dingo Banks Nationals gidoni13

AL Fireman of the Year Award
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Timothy White Mud Hens kevmax100
Season 2 Philip Wright Hummers 7Yankees7
Season 3 D'Angelo Marichal Sea Dogs cj_stevie

NL MVP Award
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Rock Moore Silent Assassins ARomano
Season 2 Rock Moore Silent Assassins ARomano
Season 3 Endy Ramsey Nexus square2

NL Cy Young Award

Season 1 Rico Perez Southern Rebels GuerillaZen1
Season 2 Charlie Kelly Splittin' Aces doontristy
Season 3 Rico Perez Southern Rebels GuerillaZen1

NL Rookie of the Year Award
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Rock Moore Silent Assassins ARomano
Season 2 Paul Robinson Nexus square2
Season 3 Matt Michaels Splittin' Aces doontristy

NL Fireman of the Year Award
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Alan Grey Nexus square2
Season 2 Sidney Kashmir Splittin' Aces doontristy
Season 3 Louie Ardoin Latchkey Monkeys plessburglar

AL Silver Slugger Award - DH
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Ralph Lyon Hummers 7Yankees7
Season 2 Troy Brown ReDawgs BostonDawg
Season 3 Kerry Jensen Seals bradydt

AL Silver Slugger Award - C
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Willie Castillo new york meade_2004
Season 2 Del Cubillan Lone Stars yanks0218
Season 3 Milton Stokes Seals bradydt

AL Silver Slugger Award - 1B
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Davey Fasano new york meade_2004
Season 2 Jae Maeda Roadrunners quantum76
Season 3 P.T. Cortazar Seals bradydt

AL Silver Slugger Award - 2B
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Peter Sakamoto Gamblers gator993
Season 2 Domingo Guapo Hummers 7Yankees7
Season 3 Rico Rosa Seals bradydt

AL Silver Slugger Award - 3B
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Gregory Brower Roadrunners quantum76
Season 2 Gregory Brower Roadrunners quantum76
Season 3 Vic Miranda Clippers job314

AL Silver Slugger Award - SS
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 James Lo Roadrunners quantum76
Season 2 James Lo Roadrunners quantum76
Season 3 Don Kell Nationals gidoni13

AL Silver Slugger Award - LF
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Mike Newfield Seals bradydt
Season 2 Hensley Lawson Armadillos rmkelley15
Season 3 Chad Beckett Clippers job314

AL Silver Slugger Award - CF
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Rod Mahoney Sidewinders pak4427
Season 2 Daryl Perkins Stranglers acatala
Season 3 Steven Mussina Melanoma jwesty5

AL Silver Slugger Award - RF
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Jay Malone Roadrunners quantum76
Season 2 Dennis Pratt Cans of Corn mattfurjan
Season 3 Dennis Pratt Cans of Corn mattfurjan

NL Silver Slugger Award - P
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Geoffery McInerney Abnaki hhavey
Season 2 Julio Trevino Durham Bulls cortezd
Season 3 Claude Doerr Latchkey Monkeys plessburglar

NL Silver Slugger Award - C
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Rock Moore Silent Assassins ARomano
Season 2 Rock Moore Silent Assassins ARomano
Season 3 Rock Moore Silent Assassins ARomano

NL Silver Slugger Award - 1B
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Darwin Cook Southern Rebels GuerillaZen1
Season 2 Cooper Fischer Splittin' Aces doontristy
Season 3 Deivi Mendez Nexus square2

NL Silver Slugger Award - 2B
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Adam Miles freeze ggd1022
Season 2 Rogers Peterson Durham Bulls cortezd
Season 3 Elroy Williamson Polecats frik

NL Silver Slugger Award - 3B
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Sammy Harris Pirates typhoon26
Season 2 Charles Perry Latchkey Monkeys plessburglar
Season 3 Angel Polonia Red Wings TheGator

NL Silver Slugger Award - SS
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Angel Polonia Red Wings TheGator
Season 2 Angel Polonia Red Wings TheGator
Season 3 Vernon Hunter Surfers Dave062451

NL Silver Slugger Award - LF
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Endy Ramsey Nexus square2
Season 2 Endy Ramsey Nexus square2
Season 3 Endy Ramsey Nexus square2

NL Silver Slugger Award - CF
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Frank Barrett Alex Gordon's ewchippe
Season 2 Henry Bell Scandals orabbi
Season 3 Matt Michaels Splittin' Aces doontristy

NL Silver Slugger Award - RF
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Anthony Buehrle Tall Firs agentverde
Season 2 Richie Paul Splittin' Aces doontristy
Season 3 Richie Paul Splittin' Aces doontristy

AL Gold Glove Award - P
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Ralph Davis Lone Stars yanks0218
Season 2 Russell Broome Mud Hens kevmax100
Season 3 Pedro Martin Sea Dogs cj_stevie

AL Gold Glove Award - C
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Marty Williams Roadrunners quantum76
Season 2 Marty Williams Roadrunners quantum76
Season 3 Jose Olmeda Spartans jwillcox

AL Gold Glove Award - 1B
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Juan Mesa Sea Dogs cj_stevie
Season 2 Ron Benson Snowbirds drnick77
Season 3 P.T. Cortazar Seals bradydt

AL Gold Glove Award - 2B
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Ruben Diaz new york meade_2004
Season 2 Travis Strickland Melanoma jwesty5
Season 3 Francisco Rodriguez Mud Hens kevmax100

AL Gold Glove Award - 3B
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Woody Cannon Seals bradydt
Season 2 Benji Olivo Armadillos rmkelley15
Season 3 Trent Welch Melanoma jwesty5

AL Gold Glove Award - SS
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Richard Mills Cans of Corn mattfurjan
Season 2 Douglas Park Melanoma jwesty5
Season 3 Douglas Park Melanoma jwesty5

AL Gold Glove Award - LF
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Ismael Mondesi Clippers job314
Season 2 Fred Leach Dirty Old Men bobkordecki
Season 3 Javier Machado Cans of Corn mattfurjan

AL Gold Glove Award - CF
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Ralph Hines Lone Stars yanks0218
Season 2 Shawon Campbell Snowbirds drnick77
Season 3 Rogers Floyd Ponies sidekicker

AL Gold Glove Award - RF
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Del Chiba ReDawgs BostonDawg
Season 2 Christian Zheng Hummers 7Yankees7
Season 3 Tommy Newfield Krushers itsmedennis

NL Gold Glove Award - P
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Wilton Moore Southern Rebels GuerillaZen1
Season 2 Felipe Moreno Latchkey Monkeys plessburglar
Season 3 Ralph Davis Southern Rebels GuerillaZen1

NL Gold Glove Award - C
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Bronson Terrell freeze ggd1022
Season 2 Bronson Terrell Scandals orabbi
Season 3 Bronson Terrell C'est Moi! crehling

NL Gold Glove Award - 1B
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Gregg Lindsey Warriors itsjimmy91
Season 2 Mickey Fisher Tall Firs agentverde
Season 3 Deivi Mendez Nexus square2

NL Gold Glove Award - 2B
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Adam Miles freeze ggd1022
Season 2 Rogers Peterson Durham Bulls cortezd
Season 3 Tony Jacobs Kings trapapoodle

NL Gold Glove Award - 3B
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Milton Oliver Red Wings TheGator
Season 2 Leonardo Hill Southern Rebels GuerillaZen1
Season 3 Edgar Velazquez Kings trapapoodle

NL Gold Glove Award - SS
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Phil Gibbons Power Loons ebpyle
Season 2 McKay Forbes Tall Firs agentverde
Season 3 McKay Forbes Tall Firs agentverde

NL Gold Glove Award - LF
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Ruben Lira Southern Rebels GuerillaZen1
Season 2 Rodney Duckworth Silent Assassins ARomano
Season 3 Endy Ramsey Nexus square2

NL Gold Glove Award - CF
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Jeremy Hughes Southern Rebels GuerillaZen1
Season 2 Jeremy Hughes Southern Rebels GuerillaZen1
Season 3 Vic Cummings Power Loons ebpyle

NL Gold Glove Award - RF
Player Franchise Owner
Season 1 Shaggy O'Brien BlueNotes rpsrn
Season 2 Pablo Guzman Power Loons ebpyle
Season 3 Anthony Buehrle Tall Firs agentverde

Award leaders through three seasons are as follows;

New Britain - 9 awards from 4 players
4 Silver Sluggers
2 Gold Gloves
1 ROY
1 MVP
1 Fireman

Little Rock - 9 awards from 7 players
1 Silver Slugger
6 Gold Gloves
2 Cy Youngs

Santa Fe / Atlanta - 8 awards from 5 players
6 Silver Sluggers
2 Gold Gloves

San Francisco - 8 awards from 6 players
5 Silver Sluggers
2 Gold Gloves
1 ROY

Minnesota Playoff Review

2008-01-29T10:19:00.000-08:00

3 and out.

That was the Loons' fate for my first playoff series. All three games were close, but a loss is a loss. The team to take me out (Las Vegas) appears on their way to the WS as the NL rep. They need to beat Salem first, but the question that bothers the Loons is this;

Where would we be if we had just outbid Vegas for the services of Steve Cameron. 3Yrs-$50 min for a 35 yr old pitcher still seems too much, but he is in the NLCS and I'm not.

Minnesota Season 3 Review

2008-01-22T10:18:00.000-08:00

Season 3 end of year update!!!!!!!!!!!

The Loons are in!!

My first Division title came down to the last series of the season. Montreal put up a huge comeback, but a win in game 2 clinched. Here is some Loon info from the season;

Finished the season 86-76, 2 games up.

Three of the top 5 hitters (Avg.) in the NL were from the Loons.

Vic Cummings (CF, 27yrs) - .329 / 123runs / 18hrs / 89rbi
Also led the team with 36 steals. Vic won the batting crown. He has been a do-it-all player. Made his 1st ML All-Star appearance and is a finalist for league MVP.

Tony Soto (3B, 27yrs) - .327 / 93 / 30 / 131
Tony had an impressive rookie season. As a finalist for ROY (Cummings did it in Season 2) Tony homered twice in the division clinching game. Is deserving of the GG with 3 errors (.988 fielding) but appears to have been snubbed.

Pablo Guzman (RF, 25yrs) - .320 / 113 / 28 / 110
Pablo had a great 2nd season raising his BA from .268 and almost doubling his HR output. He did most of his damage from the lead-off spot. Had 18 steals.

Greg Cobb (2B, 26yrs) - .302 / 82 / 3 / 49
Greg resurrected his career by taking over the 2B spot early in the season. Originally a CF (Season 1), Greg was a backup in season 2. The loss of Gryboski to another ST injury forced the Loons to look for his replacement. Greg also stole 27 bases and did all this from the #9 spot behind the pitcher.

Thomas Cannon (Util, 31yrs) - .298 / 70 / 36 / 87
Thomas, as Cobb, had a change of position this season. Primarily playing 3B in season 2, he played 1B, 2B, 3B, LF and RF in Season 3. Lead team with a career high 36 HR's on just 363 AB's. Resigned for season 4 with the hopes that this can continue.

Patrick Stockton (C, 24yrs) - .290 / 69 / 16 / 79
A rule 5 pick taken from the Montreal franchise proved his worth. Patrick provided some consistancy and power from a position the Loons had struggled with. Hope to see more from him next season.

Mark Freeman (SS, 24 yrs)
Also a rule 5 pick from Pittsburgh(divisional foe), he played well in a limited role hitting .281 while filling in all over. Looks to replace Gibbons at SS in season 4

Pasqual Guillen (1B, 26yrs) - .277 / 73 / 32 / 96
Finished strong after a slow start cost him his job. Ended up finishing 2nd on the team in HR's and 3rd in RBI's. Would love to see him explode next season.

Robert McGee (LF, 22 yrs) - .271 / 93 / 28 / 92
Robert had a good rookie season and could really make a good splash next season. has power to all fields, but K's can be a problem (led team with 121)

Minnesota In Season Update

2008-01-05T10:16:00.000-08:00

Power Loon update;

At 60-53, the Loons are still holding the 1st spot in the North. That spot is closely challenged by Montreal and unless my pitching improves, they'll take it right back.

The starters are 34-35 with a .263 OBA

The Long Relief is 15-9 @.271

The Set-up is 11-9 @.276

Thank god for the trade for Timothy White. He is 14-14 in save opprotunities since coming to the Loons. His new nickname is "Its' Over" because that is what it is when he comes in.

Year 3 Standings Update

2008-01-05T10:15:00.000-08:00

Standing update;

In the AL, Columbus has regained the top spot in the North. At 68-45 (8 gm up), the Clippers are looking to take their show back to the playoffs. Pitching and defense are driving them this season, while getting just enough offense to do the trick.

The East has been a revolving door at the top. Currently the DC Nationals have the honors @ 66-47 (6 games up). Second in the league in runs scored and 5th in ERA, the nationals have a very balanced attack.

Texas is again leading the South. After climbing out of the cellar in season 1 to a division championship in season 2, the Armadillos (59-54) are 2 games up. Leading the league in fielding and 3rd in hitting has helped overcome the 11th rated pitching staff.

San Francisco is leading the West by 11 games @ 71-42. 2nd in batting and 1st in pitching has put the seals in a great spot late into the season. This is a step up from last season, where the Seals were hovering the bottom of the division.

The NL doesn't have as much of the volitivity of the AL;

The East is again dominated by New Britain. For the 3rd year in a row, the Nexus @ 64-49, are in a commanding position. This team hits well (2nd in NL) and scores runs. They are 7 games up on the Monkey's from Buffalo.

Little Rock is running away with the South. This team has won this division each of the 1st 2 years and at 76-37 (20 games up) looks to have no trouble again this year. 1st in pitching, 4th in batting and 5th in fielding Makes the Rebels the favorite this season.

Salem has made a good run out of the West. At 69-44 (7 games up), they ar pitching well (2nd in NL) and hit just well enough to drive you nuts. They are 5-5 against Little Rock this season and could be the David that could upset Goliath.

Last and probably least is the NL North. The Power loons are 60-53 (4 games up) on a division that took until the 76th game for anyone to be above .500. The Loons are 14th in pitching, 5th in fielding and 1st in hitting. If there is anything I can be happy with, it's the fact we are in contention this season (2.5 years in the making).

Minnesota In Season Update

2007-12-29T10:14:00.000-08:00

In season update from the Power Loon Press;

At 47-46, the Loons are over .500 for the 1st time after the All-Star break. Hopefully this trend can continue, because we are also in 1st place by 1 game. That said, we need pitching to come around to guide us to the finish line.

Notes from the All-Star Break;

Vic Cummings (CF) and Pablo Guzman (RF) were voted to the team this season. Cummings batted lead-off (0-3) and Guzman was the MVP hitting the game winning 3-run HR to put the NL club in front for good.

As for the season, well, it has been an up and down ride.

At catcher, Patrick Stockton (.316-12-60) and Brett Benoit (.305-1-6) are providing offensive help that was very unexpected. I hope this holds out. I had Rivers(.340-18-60 w/7sb) tabbed for this spot and he is tearing up AAA. Could make for interesting decisions next season.

1B has been occupied by Pasqual Guillen. Pasqual (.238-17-52) has good power, but the batting average has killed me. He has nice ratings, but they are not translating into good BA.

2B Greg Cobb is rockin'. Greg (.326-3-30 w/13sb) has filled a need, granted without power, but is getting on. He bats in the 9 spot AFTER the pitcher. I read in one of the forums someone asking if this had been done effectively. He has scored 52 runs this season from that spot and it looks like it may work.

3B Tony Soto (.311-15-63) has done nicely for a rookie. He played SS in AAA, but has done a fine job handling this role.

SS Phil Gibbons (.287-9-31) and Mark Freeman (.308-5-21) are platooning well at this position and will keep doing this as long as it works.

RF Pablo Guzman (.313-16-63 w/11sb) is building on last years' GG rookie season. Named a starter to the All-Star team this year, Pablo has done most of his damage from the lead-off spot.

CF Vic Cummings (.332-12-61 w/22sb) also made his first All-Star start. Vic is leading the team in Avg, runs, doubles and SB. He is a do everything CF that should make more trips to the mid-summer classic.

LF Robert McGee (.276-22-69) has cooled a little with the BA but is the team leader in HR and RBI's.

Pitching update;

Pablo Manzillo has bee solid this season (9-4 / 1.53 WhiP / 4.83 ERA) but I wish he could go deeper into games.

Tony Rosado (12-5 / 1.24 / 3.84 @ AAA) was brought up to see if he could add stability to the starting unit. Made ML debut right before the break and went 6 inn for the win. Lets hope this keeps up the rest of the way.

Russ Adkinson (6-9 / 1.39 / 4.67) has struggled at times, but he has the tools to survive. I think he just needs run support.

Miguel Hernandez (6-10 / 1.73 / 7.36) has probably come up too early. We just cannot stay in many of the games he pitches in.

Douglas Ducey (7-8 / 1.50 / 4.80) is having a better 2nd ML season. At 120 inn pitched, he leads the staff. This may not be saying much, but it is better than where he was last season

The middle relief has performed better. Most notably, James Kim (1.30 WhiP / 2.88 ERA), Ricardo Nieves (1.39 / 3.77) and Billy Ray Sanders (1.33 / 3.84) have done a nice job keeping us in games when the starters go out.

The Loons aquired Timothy White (1.08 / 0.84) from Toledo to be the closer. He is 6-6 since coming to Minnesota and is doing well.

Minnesota In Season Update

2007-12-10T10:11:00.000-08:00

Power Loons in-season update;

Well, the coach hiring process was slow, but the loon's (20Mil) budget provided a good base of teaching talent this year. Hopefully, this will help the young team.

The rule 5 draft brought a couple of talented players my way. At SS, the Loons took from talent within the division by stealing Mark Freeman from Pittsburg. Mark is definately a defensive asset, but his bat has helped to.

Minnesotan native Patrick Stockton (C) came over from Montreal. He has the ratings to make you believe he'll be a star. Only time will tell.

After the first 43 games, the Loons are 19-24 and only 3 games out of the division lead. They have shown signs of improvement this season (ie. leading the NL in hitting), but still are an up and down team.

The hitting is much better than season 1 when we were last in the ML and now in the top 5. They are still a young team and I think this could get better.

The Infield;

At catcher, Stockton has really done a nice job of adding average and power (.329 BA - 9HR - 36 RBI). His bat and Benoit's late inning defensive ability have been a good combination.

Guillen has taken the 1B job this season. He leads the team in HR's (.243-11-30), but the BA must improve or I will be forced to look elsewhere.

The plan at 2B was to use a combination of Gryboski/Cannon. Unfortunately, Gryboski was injured in spring training (I should have seen it coming because this happened in the start of season 2). Cannon was hitting poorly so I brought up Sanford to fill the role, but the hitting got worse. I made the decision to move Greg Cobb to 2B and WOW it worked. Cobb is hitting .320-2-15 and has a .987 fielding %. it is good to see him being productive since he lost his CF job to Cummings.

At 3B, Tony Soto started the season slow. Now he is storming back (.302-8-39). I hope this keeps up.

Phil Gibbons has done another fine job at SS .291-5-17, but the addition of Freeman has given me another option without giving up the defense.

The Outfield;

In Left is Robert McGee. Robert is hitting well (.310-9-33) and has been a great defensive improvement over Nick Jordan.

Vic Cummings has been his steady and consistant self. Hitting .331-5-32 w/11 SB he again is showing why I think he will be a perenial All-Star.

RF Pablo Guzman, fresh of his rookie year where he hit .268-16-73 and recieved his 1st Gold Glove, is hitting .326-6-22.

These three, I hope, will be a staple for the Loons OF for the next several years.

Little Rock Preview

2007-11-11T10:09:00.000-08:00

GuerillaZen1:

After consecutive World Series losses in the first two seasons of Feller, the Little Rock Souther Rebels are in the process of getting younger over the next two seasons -- having let two key offensive cogs hit the FA market and three more will do the same following season 3.

There is young talent waiting in the wings and following a 102 win Season 1 and 101 win season two, Little Rock still feels as though it controls the National League's Southern division, but has reservations about its ability to win a third National League Pennant.

Rookie Omar Candalaria has big shoes to fill following the inevitable departure of NL homerun king Joseph Chang. Last season, Candalaria batted .352/.439/.479 in limited duty during his late season call up.

Pepper Bailey looks to build on a stellar rookie season in which he hit .306/.434/.655 with 46 homeruns in 435 at bats. The phenom comes into his sophomore season with a chip on his shoulder after being ROBBED of the National Leagues Rookie of Year award. When asked about losing the award to a relief pitch, Bailey responded with a simple "No comment."

The pitching looks to be better than ever in Little Rock as three rookies who pitched well during season 2's second half look to sure up the back end of the rotation behind stalwarts Alberto Cruz and Rico Perez. Cruz has gone a combined 30-13 during the first two seasons of Feller and Perez is an equally impressive 36-15.

The bullpen remains exactly the same as last season and hopes to maintain an impressive level in excellence.

All in all, things are looking bright in Little Rock. The team continues to infuse young talent with its veteran stars while building its farm system through the draft. The teams frugile owner still refuses to dip into the International FA market and his pos. has not hurt the team thus far.

PLAY BALL!!!

Y3 Rollover

2007-11-10T10:08:00.000-08:00

ebpyle:

Whoo Hoo!!!!

Let Season three begin. The coaches have begun the rehiring process and the FA's are being resigned.

Let all that is Feller begin right here. All prognostications are welcome and encouraged.

Minnesota Season Review

2007-10-22T10:06:00.000-07:00

Been a busy month. here is how the loons fared in season 2.

The season is almost over and I sit in second place in the division, unfortunately 24.5 games out of 1st. The ML squad won't make the playoffs (67-77), but I hope the minors are a showing of things to come. All 5 levels have made their post-season (4 Division champs and 1 Wild card).

An update of the Pitching;

Doc Gentry was traded to Portland for prospects. This should be a move for the better, but Doc has gone wild for the Firs and is now a Cy Young canidate.

Howard Lidle .283 / 1.39 / 4.63 / 7-10
Darrell Robertson .263 / 1.74 / 5.10 / 9-8
Billy Ray Sanders .288 / 1.50 / 4.83 / 2-9
Douglas Ducey .283 / 1.59 / 6.32 / 7-10
Pablo Manazillo .259 / 1.41 / 3.43 / 8-5

This group will go through some changes next year, but there is a good core of players to build from.

The bullpen has been better this year (.269 / 1.55 / 5.37 / 27-29) and I think I am starting to understand how to manage it.

Finished the season 73-89, three games worse than last season, but I can see the rebuild process taking shape. Next seasons' lineup should be the best one yet.

At catcher, newly aquired Billy rivers will work with Brett Benoit platooning season 3

Pascal Guillen (.368-8-29 in 40 games) will take the 1B job.

Yannick Gryboski (.290-4-25) and Thomas Cannon (.257-35-105) will compete for 2B. Thomas was moved from 3B to make room for Tony Soto (.296-25-99 AAA) who appears ready to roll at the ML level

At SS, Phil Gibbons (.250-25-83) will again be patroling the left side. His bat is nothing special, but his fielding (.991) is second league wide.

There will be a change in LF this year. Nick Jordan(.268-0-34 35/43 SB) is being replaced with Robert McGee(323-28-130 12/20 SB @ AAA).

ROY canidate Vic Cummings (.294-20-87 29/33 SB) had a nice 1st season. We are looking forward to bigger things from the stud CF.

Pablo Guzman(.268-16-73) struggled his first season in RF. Fielding was good, but the batting could have used some improvement.

The team is gradually weeding out overpriced old talent for newer improved versions. Hopefully the Power Loons will be more competitive in season 3.

Minnesota In Season Update

2007-09-04T10:04:00.000-07:00

At 22-13, this team has surpassed expectations, so far. Pitching has been above average and we are getting major contributions from some who were not expected to be on the team. I’m trying not to get too hyped because it is a long season. Here are some team stats to be proud of;

Team BA is better than last year at .275 and HR’s are up (48). Runs per game is over 6 and that is a direct reflection to my record (22-13). Fielding % is tied for 1^st in the world at .988. this has been the staple of my team for the 1^st season plus. With the team ERA at 4.16, I am in most of the games this year (7-3 in 1 run games). The pitching staff is in the top 5 of the following catagories;

WhiP – 1.35

HR allowed – 37

OBA - .254

Here is a look at how my boys are doing;

Pitching

Starting Pitching

Howard Lidle

Last Season OAV-.233 / Whip-1.29 / ERA-3.43 / 12-6 (33 Starts)

This season OVA-.266 / Whip-1.14 / ERA-3.86 / 3-2 (7 starts)

Although the record doesn’t show it, we have been in each and every game he pitches.

Doc Gentry

Last season OAV-.260 / Whip-1.34 / ERA-4.03 / 9-10 (30 Starts)

This season OVA-.224 / Whip-1.13 / ERA-2.64 / 3-1 (7 starts)

Doc has not been the power pitcher he was last year, but he is steady and sure each outing.

Darrell Robertson

Last season OAV-.238 / Whip-1.52 / ERA-4.21 / 13-4 (29starts in MILB)

This season OVA-.213 / Whip-1.37 / ERA-3.56 / 5-2 (7 starts)

Darrell has been a great surprise this season. At 23 and playing mostly at HiA last year he has really come though. Only worry is the team leading 30 BB in 43 Inn.

Billy Ray Sanders

Last season OVA-.287 / Whip-1.35 / ERA-5.50 / 2-3 (15 starts)

This season OVA-.280 / Whip-1.32 / ERA-2.63 / 0-0 (2 starts)

Billy has come into the starting role as of late to see if he can’t improve on Torey Alcantaras’ rough start (.281-1.59-4.97). So far the reviews are mixed.

Douglas Ducey

Last season OVA-.305 / Whip-1.61 / ERA-7.82 / 1-3 (6 starts)

This season OVA-.319 / Whip-1.84 / ERA-8.63 / 3-4 (7starts)

Doug has got to pick himself up. 5 of his 7 starts have gone over 6 innings, but even though he leads the team with 31 K’s, his .319 OVA is killing him.

Relief Pitching

What can I say but WOW!. This group has greatly improved from the last season. Hopefully this can continue. At 5-2 and 11-15 in save opps, this has been a great improvement. 1.22 Whip and 3.38 ERA is far better than last season.

Position Players

Catcher

Turner and Benoit are driving me crazy. Last year you could count on them to hold up their end of the batting (around .277). This year their combined .228 avg is brutal.

1^st Base

Victor Lira and his .272 BA and team leading 12 HR’s are a pleasant surprise. Thank god I didn’t have to depend on rookies here. Lira has been a good FA pickup for the price ($875K)

2^nd Base

Gryboski was hurt to start the year and hasn’t come back well yet. Wiggington has filled in nicely and hitting .318 in the 2 hole has been pleasant. Both of these players are in the last year of their contract and if this keeps up, will not be back.

3^rd Base

Cannon is hitting less than last season (.256-10-33) for average, but the power numbers have improved.

Shortstop

Gibbons(.259-4-20) has picked up right where he left off last year. Great defense, average hitting. I guess I’ll take it.

Leftfield

Jordan(.282-0-9) has again held his own leading off. Second on the team in SB’s with 9, he has given the team a good start to each game. Would like to see that BA come up, but he is what he is.

Centerfield

Cummings hase been everything I expected. (.362-7-26) and a team leading 11 steals has been quite impressive. I have been hitting him 4^th, but I think I need to move him to 3^rd to maximize his Avg/Pwr/Spd combination.

Rightfield

Guzman(.287-4-28) has fullfilled my needs in right. His bat and range have filled a hole that was really a ? leading into the season.

Observations from the Nest

2007-08-28T10:45:00.000-07:00

WEEK 1 Observations from the nest.

7-0. That was the record to start the season. Too bad we have 155 left to play. It's very early, but feels good to have a good start.

Starting pitching has been solid. In 7 starts, the starters have gone 47 innings with an ERA of 2.49 per.

Middle relief has been quite surprising pitching 14 IP @ 1.93 ERA. Closer Benji Sosa earned the job with his ST performance, has had 2 appearances allowing 0 runs with 2 saves.

I'm waiting for the shoe to fall..............

The offense has been above average hitting .315-19-57 in the 7 games. Victor Lira has hit 4HR and Thomas Cannon leads with 5.

I've been happy with Cummings hitting clean-up. he only has 5 RBI's so we need to do a better job of getting on in front of him.

Up next is a 3 game series with the vaunted Rebels who are also 7-0 in week 1.

Observations from the Nest

2007-08-28T10:03:00.000-07:00

Wow my hitting has been horrible!!!! I seriously hope that they can pick it up a bit. hey but I"ve learned a lot. I'll have to put up some of my pathetic stats so all can ooooo and ahhhhh.

Observations from the Nest

2007-08-23T00:53:00.000-07:00

WHOO HOO!!!! I know, I know, it is early, BUT, Victor Lira homers 3 times in the opener and Cummings goes 4 for 5!!!!

Alright, now that I got that out, I feel better.

Boston Stranglers Review Preview

2007-08-22T01:29:00.000-07:00

Season 2: A review and preview of things to come

Taking over for the previous ownership – my first assessment of the Strangler franchise is that it is ready to win now. There is a good mix of youth and experience at the major league level. Pitching seems to be our strength whilst the offense will be no slouch. We expect to improve on last seasons 71-91 record. A playoff berth and potential run for the World Series title is the goal for this season.

The Starters:

Brad Gilbert OAV .258 / WHIP 1.37 / ERA 4.39

This elder statesman of the staff (35 years old) is the current ace and stopper. The lanky right hander carried the load going 18-10 over 239.2 innings. This was good enough to earn him an all star appearance last year. Hopefully he can duplicate that effort this year and next as he is under contract until season 3. Decline isn’t so much of a concern as Gilbert is a known workout warrior (92 makeup).

Esteban Owen OAV .293 / WHIP 1.59 / ERA 5.44

The left handed Owen had a disappointing first season in the eyes of the fans. The 29 year old Dominican was victimized by the long ball last season – giving up 45 jacks to opponents. If he could learn to keep the ball down a little more he should see a drastic improvement in his win totals. Then again – it usually “is what it is” for a player at this stage of his career.

Max Carrara OAV .271 / WHIP 1.44 / ERA 5.25

Another pitcher who seems to have underperformed last season considering the scouts ratings. This lefty came into spring training in great shape hoping to prove that last seasons performance was an anomaly.

Mendy Lee OAV .267 / WHIP 1.60 / ERA 4.52

Mendy Lee is the future staff ace of the Boston franchise. The 22 year old is a ground ball pitcher who fields his position well. Last year was a great learning experience for the young righty. This year should be another step forward in his development.

Thomas Padilla OAV .269 / WHIP 1.33 / ERA 4.18

This vet completes the Stranglers staff. The left handed Padilla posted a better than 2 to 1 K to BB ratio. Management is confident that he will be the kind of consistent 5^th starter that is needed to win at the big league level.

The Pen:

This will be a definite strength for the team as Boston’s bullpen expects to strangle opposing hitters in the late innings. Peter Hammond closed out a respectable 28 of 32 games last year. Rubber arm Charlie Chance held opponents to a .249 OAV last year over 111 innings.

Hitters Review/Preview to follow

Minnesota Season Preview

2007-08-21T00:02:00.000-07:00

ST is over and let the new year begin..............

This spring was a little easier than last. I knew what was coming and was able to try new faces in new places in my pen.

I'm toying with using just 4 starters this year, but my gut tells me they won't hold up. So I am stuck looking for that 5th arm.

Lidle, Gentry, Ducey and Robertson have solidified their starting roles, although Robertsons 13 walks in 18 innings is cause for concern.

I think the team of Sosa and Wilkins will close games, but Sosa has definately had the better spring.

I'll have to see some real action to detirmine if the middle relief is as good as advertised.

Most position races finished where I expected, but they got there in Odd ways. Yanick Gryboski is injured and out for 3 weeks. Wiggington can and will fill in, but this is a large defensive loss.

Victor Lira has done well at 1st and has the job, but I hope the bat comes thru.

Cummings is a star in the making. His bat (.392-8-22 plus 6 SB) have done nicely in the cleanup spot. Can't wait to see his total year numbers.

Spring Activity

2007-08-15T17:14:00.000-07:00

Coach hiring was almost impossible this year. Everyone was looking for that better deal, and if you missed their reply, you lost them.

My only FA aquisition came in the form of a 32 yr old 1st baseman named Victor Lira. Victor hit .292-68-146 at AAA last year and was looking for a break. He was affordable at $875K and may provide the power this team lacked last year.

2 games into spring training and Vic Cummings looks like the star we expected (3 for 8, 2HR's 5RBI's and 1 SB). I know, it's early.

Rating Regression

2007-08-06T20:43:00.000-07:00

bradydt

Veteran

Forum Posts: 8

I'm interested in how the turnover occurs. I had a vet on the team who was listed as a SS when I took the team over. His range was about 66, so I moved him to 3b. He is near the end of his career, yet played the whole last year (a contract year) at overall rating of 75, and he was 36 years old. He had a great year and won a gold glove, putting up the following numbers:

HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS

19	107	56	94	0	1	.323	.388	.511	.899

107

.323

.388

.511

.899

Then, time caught up with the poor guy, and at age 37 he dropped to an overall 65. All year he was demanding a 3 year deal at 4 mil a year, now he will play for one at 2.4 mil.

Anyway, to end my incoherent rant, I felt that players were ranked rather highly for their ages. In my other league (Pioneer) it seems that most of the old guys lose it at age 33 or so, and no one maintains an overall rating in the high 70's. Was this an anomaly, or do you think players can maintain at that age?

Power Loons

2007-08-06T13:37:00.000-07:00

Minnesota Power Loons

A review and preview of things to come

This was my first experience of HBD, and I can say without a doubt, a learning year. Although I was not very active in the trade market, I think I avoided major losses (Sidney Bailey, you we’re a waste of space).

Anyway, my inaugural team was loaded with veterans, not necessarily talent. I made the mistake of resigning many of the Arb eligible and FA’s without making sure they were worth it. This left me with a payroll over $100 mil and little to distribute elsewhere. That said, I felt I survived well in the tough NL North, at 76-86, I won’t complain.

On to the new season;

Pitching

Starting Pitching

Howard Lidle OAV-.233 / Whip-1.29 / ERA-3.43

He turned out a steller season for the Loons last year. His 12-6 record proved we were always in the game when he pitched. Hopefully, this year, the bullpen doesn’t let him down as much.

Doc Gentry OAV-.260 / Whip-1.34 / ERA-4.03

After a season ending injury robbed Doc of the final 4 starts last year, we are confident he will rebound well this year. Although he went 9-10 in his 30 starts, the ace of the staff amassed 210 innings.

Pepper Montgomery OAV-.290 / Whip-1.50 / ERA-6.23

Pepper has entered the last year of his contract, and the team, as of this writing, is pondering the buy out option. He seems to have good stuff, but his age(34) and his ERA make us doubt he is capable of bouncing back. At 7-15 last year, young talent could replace him with little risk.

Billy Ray Sanders OVA-.287 / Whip-1.35 / ERA-5.50

Billy is Arb eligible this year and if the decision was based soley on his ML numbers, he might not be back. However, with 12 starts at AAA last year (8-0), and .219 OAV, he shows promise. If Pepper goes, Billy probably stays.

Torey Alcantara(AAA stats) OVA-.243 / Whip-1.24 / ERA-3.23

Torey is only 21, but is being asked to show his stuff at the ML level this year. He went 9-6 last season and has the belief from the team that he can handle the pressure.

Relief Pitching

This hodge podge group barley deserves mention. Of the returning players, there vitals are 24 wins 24 losses 25 of 38 saves (ugh), 1.53 Whip and 5.11 ERA. Benji Sosa was the only All-Star pitcher, and no one knows how he did it………..Nowhere to go but up. Enough said!

Position Players

Catcher

Andre Turner(.277-18-74) and Brett Benoit(.276-2-40) split time and you could barely tell the difference. Andre has the leg up because he provides power to a lineup that has lacked it. His 18 HR’s last year is the 2^nd highest of the returning starters.

1^st Base

There is no clear cut player here. 3 AAA players have come up in other positions as backups and any of them could be moved here to fill this role. Anything could be better than last year.

2^nd Base

Yannick Gryboski did well last year (.280-13-68) and is strong defensively. Odd stat of the year, led the team in HBP(13). Milt Wiggington(.284-3-17) filled in well within the infield, he will fill the same role this year.

3^rd Base

Last season started by trading for the aforementioned Sidney Bailey. Flop! Bailey hit .201 and killed the lineup with his inconsistant bat. This season, in steps Thomas Cannon(.289-28-96). Thomas was used everywhere last year and came on strong after Bailey proved he didn’t belong. Jim Roberts(.269-40-109 @ AAA) has come up to see what he can do in the big show.

Shortstop

Phil Gibbons(.260-18-99) was the only All-Star from the field last year. His fielding was tremendous (5 errors) and his bat didn’t suck. He is durable and will be counted on again to anchor one of the better defensive teams.

Leftfield

Nick Jordan(.292-0-33) was the consumate leadoff hitter. His 30 steals and .364 OBP set the table, now we need to drive him in. Harry Sanchez(.262-34-84 @ AAA) will be given a chance to show off that power at the ML level.

Centerfield

A time for change may be coming this year. Gregory Cobb(.263-1-37) stole 46 bases last year but the BA could put him in a backup role if it doesn’t improve. Vic Cummings(.321-20-70 @ AAA) proved his worth down the stretch last year. Cummings played 12 games at the ML level after Cobb left with a season ending injury. Vic hit (.382-3-16), ran(3 steals) and played his way into the hearts of the Loons’ fans.

Rightfield

Another Pair of AAA players comes to fill this spot. Pablo Guzman(.304-22-99 total minors) played at 3 different minor league levels last year and appears ready for the ML. Brian Wall(.306-41-118 @ AAA) has shown he is capable of hitting, His bat could be a huge boost to this lineup.

World Feller

Where am I? How did I get here? Houston Lone Stars edition

Where am I? How did I get here? Louisville Sluggerz edition

Where am I? How did I get here? Tacoma Explorers edition

Where am I? How did I get here? Cleveland Cans of Corn edition

Where am I? How did I get here? Seattle Suckerfish edition

Where am I? How did I get here? Columbus Clippers edition

That What Ifs of WhatIfSports

Most Expensive International Free Agents

Season 19 Playoff Predictions

A Sort-Of Counterpoint: Hall of Famers

Hall of Fame Voting Season 19

How Much Do Parks Matter?

Hall of Fame Candidates Season 19

Season 19 Hall of Fame Primer

The 14-Year Plan: Thoughts on Portland's Rebuilding/Competitive Eras

120 or fewer wins in back to back seasons

More Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame Discussion

Players Approaching "00" Milestones

Season 10 Preview for the Powerloons

Open to the Public

Looking for a few good men

Benchwarmer: Cleveland Edition Revisited

My Favorite Player: Rob Benson

My Favorite Player: Timo Collins

The NL West

Powerloons Prospectus : A view from the Nest;

The Best of: Hot Corner Edition

Benchwarmer: Cleveland Edition

Update from the Nest

A Can of Corn Falls Off the Shelf

Charlotte Season 4 Preview

Minnesota Season Preview

Pitching

Starting Pitching

Alberto Cruz 20-7 / 237.2 IP / OAV-.276 / Whip-1.33 / ERA-4.13

Douglas Ducey 13-9 / 193.0 IP / OAV-.258 / Whip-1.38 / ERA-4.10

Tony Rosado 5-7 / 95.2 IP / OAV-.269 / Whip-1.41 / ERA-5.08

Pablo Manzanillo 13-8 / 180.1 IP / OVA-.264 / Whip-1.40 / ERA-4.24

Russ Adkinson 11-13 / 184.0 IP / OVA-.262 / Whip-1.42 / ERA-4.79

Relief Pitching

Group 22-13 / 47 of 57 saves / 432.2 IP / OVA-.265 / Whip-1.38 / ERA-4.58

Position Players

Catcher

Shortstop

Leftfield

Centerfield

Rightfield

San Fran Seals Preview

Little Rock Preview

Minnesota Trade Update

Awards through Season 3

Minnesota Playoff Review

Minnesota Season 3 Review

Minnesota In Season Update

Year 3 Standings Update

Minnesota In Season Update

Minnesota In Season Update

Little Rock Preview

Y3 Rollover

Minnesota Season Review

Minnesota In Season Update

Pitching

Starting Pitching

Relief Pitching

Position Players

Catcher

Shortstop

Leftfield

Centerfield

Rightfield

Observations from the Nest

Observations from the Nest

Observations from the Nest

Boston Stranglers Review Preview

The Starters:

Brad Gilbert OAV .258 / WHIP 1.37 / ERA 4.39

Esteban Owen OAV .293 / WHIP 1.59 / ERA 5.44

Max Carrara OAV .271 / WHIP 1.44 / ERA 5.25