With 14 playoff appearances, 3 WS wins, and another appearance in a WS, this is one of the more successful divisions in BPF. And with two owners who have been here since the start, it is one of the most consistent as well.
New Orleans won 83 games last season, the most in franchise history, as they also garnered their first division title. Should we get excited about this? Maybe. Management seems focused on improving even more this year, as they traded away a young prospect for some more ML talent, and last year's players are yet another year more mature. The roster is a pretty even mix of young guns and older veterans. Picking up Yearwood was smart. Signing Hendricksen was....interesting. If there's a flaw here, it'll be in the pitching staff.
Batting - B
Pitching - C
Fielding - B
Prediction - 78 wins, 3rd in the division
After finishing below .500 for the first time in franchise history, Jackson's GM was found by police in the pool behind his mansion, drunk and high on bourbon and cocaine, firing his shotgun at various awards and trophies that his butler threw into the air. "I used to be the king," he shouted as police put cuffs on him and hauled him away. There was a seven year stretch where the franchise made the playoffs six times, including five division titles. But after missing the playoffs in S9, and the embarassing S10 results, management clearly wants to make one more run before blowing up the entire system and starting from scratch. Signing free agents like Diaz, Chavez, Stahl, and Gorecki, the team's payroll is nearly $100M again. It looks like they have the horses, it's just a matter of their owner not putting them down with his shotgun if they stumble.
Batting - B
Pitching - B-
Fielding - C-
Prediction - 82 wins, second in the division
El Paso had one of the best turnarounds in world history last year, as they improved 20 games from S9 to S10. But considering the S9 record was the worst in franchise history, we can't help but wonder if the record was more a reflection of the new ownership that season than the quality of the team. Either way, they got their shit together last year, finishing second in the division. This offseason, they went out and made a huge signing with Delino Ryan, while also bringing in Travis Shea's big bat. The offense is certainly there, with a half dozen guys who are capable of 40 HR's. Pitching is the big question mark, like it is for so many other teams.
Batting - B+
Pitching - C+
Fielding - B
Prediction - 85 wins, first in the division
After a hiccup in S3, Jacksonville played .500+ ball for six seasons, before S10's 77 wins ended that streak. What was management's response to this issue? Standing pat. The roster is very similar to last year, with Neal and White and Valenzuela leading the way. I'm generally a fan of the idea that teams who stand still will get passed, but in this case, I think last season might have been a one-time deal.
Batting - B
Pitching - B
Fielding - C
Prediction - 75 wins, 4th in the division
All the World News that's unfit for print.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
NL Easy East S11 Preview
15 playoff appearances between the four teams, including 1 World Series win, with Durham 'tarding up the entire division by never making the playoffs. I asked my dog what he thought of the NL East, and he promptly walked onto our porch and took a shit. It was very runny.
Hartford is the sole WS winner in this division, but I kind of want to throw out that WS. Don't ask why. You know why. Anyway, the Insurance Men have been very average since that WS. How average? Vector's record is 571-563 during his time here. The staples are still here. Arias, Lee, and Pizzaro have all basically played their entire ML careers in Hartford, a consistency that is really lacking in this game. A small FA move and zero trades during the spring, means Hartford is going to battle with roughly the same team as last year, which won 77 games for the second consecutive season.
Batting - B+
Pitching - C
Fielding - C
Prediction - 80 wins, 2nd in the division
St Louis, lots of consistency the last four or five years, culminating with a division win last season. A huge payroll this year due to some heavy FA signings, these guys are trying to make a real run at the WS here in S11. Spahn and James are costing the team nearly $30M this year, but any time you can add two HoF'ers in their prime, don't you have to? Throw in guys like Bryant, Griffith, McGlinchy, and Morton, this team looks very serious. 80+ wins each of the last four years, they should easily hit the 90 win mark this year.
Batting - B+
Pitching - B+
Fielding - A
Prediction - 95 wins, 1st in the division
Historically, Durham has been the worst team in this division. Four 100+ loss seasons in the last six years, with S1 being the only time the team finished at .500 or better, the fans in Durham have had nothing to be excited about. Until now. Six guys are under the age of 25, and they'll all be starters this year. Are they going to win the WS this year? Nope. Are they going to make the playoffs this year? Probably not. Will they play .500 ball this year? Maybe. But will this be the start of a constant improvement over the next five seasons or more? Hells yeah. There are even more young studs in the minors, who will come up as the older guys finish their contracts.
Batting - B
Pitching - C-
Fielding - C
Prediction - 75 wins, 3rd in the division
Dirty Baltimore. I'm curious to see what Mr Gargle does here. $100M set aside for salaries, but only $62M spent so far. That's a lot of cash sitting in the bank account. Is Baltimore in official rebuild mode? Will we see $30M get moved into the prospect pool? After winning the division seven years in a row, with two WS appearances in that time, last year they finished 4th in the division, with the worst win total in franchise history. Three type B free agents were brought in, while they traded away Cammack and his $6.75M contract for a prospect. Yup, rebuild mode.
Batting - C
Pitching - B-
Fielding - B
Prediction - 65 wins, 4th in the division
Hartford is the sole WS winner in this division, but I kind of want to throw out that WS. Don't ask why. You know why. Anyway, the Insurance Men have been very average since that WS. How average? Vector's record is 571-563 during his time here. The staples are still here. Arias, Lee, and Pizzaro have all basically played their entire ML careers in Hartford, a consistency that is really lacking in this game. A small FA move and zero trades during the spring, means Hartford is going to battle with roughly the same team as last year, which won 77 games for the second consecutive season.
Batting - B+
Pitching - C
Fielding - C
Prediction - 80 wins, 2nd in the division
St Louis, lots of consistency the last four or five years, culminating with a division win last season. A huge payroll this year due to some heavy FA signings, these guys are trying to make a real run at the WS here in S11. Spahn and James are costing the team nearly $30M this year, but any time you can add two HoF'ers in their prime, don't you have to? Throw in guys like Bryant, Griffith, McGlinchy, and Morton, this team looks very serious. 80+ wins each of the last four years, they should easily hit the 90 win mark this year.
Batting - B+
Pitching - B+
Fielding - A
Prediction - 95 wins, 1st in the division
Historically, Durham has been the worst team in this division. Four 100+ loss seasons in the last six years, with S1 being the only time the team finished at .500 or better, the fans in Durham have had nothing to be excited about. Until now. Six guys are under the age of 25, and they'll all be starters this year. Are they going to win the WS this year? Nope. Are they going to make the playoffs this year? Probably not. Will they play .500 ball this year? Maybe. But will this be the start of a constant improvement over the next five seasons or more? Hells yeah. There are even more young studs in the minors, who will come up as the older guys finish their contracts.
Batting - B
Pitching - C-
Fielding - C
Prediction - 75 wins, 3rd in the division
Dirty Baltimore. I'm curious to see what Mr Gargle does here. $100M set aside for salaries, but only $62M spent so far. That's a lot of cash sitting in the bank account. Is Baltimore in official rebuild mode? Will we see $30M get moved into the prospect pool? After winning the division seven years in a row, with two WS appearances in that time, last year they finished 4th in the division, with the worst win total in franchise history. Three type B free agents were brought in, while they traded away Cammack and his $6.75M contract for a prospect. Yup, rebuild mode.
Batting - C
Pitching - B-
Fielding - B
Prediction - 65 wins, 4th in the division
NL North S11 Preview
It's a new decade. Will it be a good decade in the NL North, a division that combined to make the playoffs 17 times in the first 10 seasons, with one World Series appearance during that time? Let's start with S11, before we think about the entire upcoming decade.
Buffalo Wooden Nickle. I've been meaning to ask for a while now. Should that be Nickel? I don't get it. 89-76 last year, they made the playoffs as a wild card, and made it to the NLCS before getting stopped there. Not too shabby, but it's not good enough for management, as they went out and spent a shit ton of cash on some free agents. That should immediately makes them a contender for the World Series, but I feel like they're still lacking in certain areas.
Batting - C+
Pitching - B
Fielding - C+
Prediction - 85 wins, 3rd in the division
Iowa City Cornish Hens. Only two sub .500 seasons in the first 10, culminating with a WS appearance last year. They're not very flashy either, with very few high overall ratings, but they are very deep, with many guys in the 70's. They made one small free agent signing during the spring, with no trades during that time, so they have more or less the same team as S10. Is that enough to carry them further this year?
Batting - B
Pitching - B+
Fielding - B-
Prediction - 90 wins, 2nd in the division
Cincinnati Red Thumpers - My spell check tells me that Thumpers is not a word. Interesting. After some truly horrible seasons, the RT's are starting to benefit from those draft picks, as they made the playoffs three of the last five seasons, and are spending less than $60M on players this year. Collins and Bass really came into their own the last season or two, and the team only has four guys who are 30 or older. With everything coming together, can they win their division for the first time in a number of years?
Batting - B+
Pitching - B+
Fielding - B+
Prediction - 95 wins, 1st in the division
This division is so boring, and College Game Day is at fucking Boise State, I actually just fell asleep for a few minutes.
Helena Homies - 83 wins last year means they were 7 games out of the division lead, and only 3 games out of the wild card. It's amazing the cycles this team went through during the first ten years. pinner actually won 110 games in S2, before the team fell apart in seasons 3 and 4. Chadtv then tanked the shit out of the team for 4 seasons, only finishing above .400 once during those four years. andersaa got them back to respectability very quickly, as evidenced by them nearly making the playoffs last season. I just don't know if they have what it takes to get past all of the dicks in their division.
Batting - B
Pitching - B
Fielding - B
Prediction - 84 wins, 4th in the division
Buffalo Wooden Nickle. I've been meaning to ask for a while now. Should that be Nickel? I don't get it. 89-76 last year, they made the playoffs as a wild card, and made it to the NLCS before getting stopped there. Not too shabby, but it's not good enough for management, as they went out and spent a shit ton of cash on some free agents. That should immediately makes them a contender for the World Series, but I feel like they're still lacking in certain areas.
Batting - C+
Pitching - B
Fielding - C+
Prediction - 85 wins, 3rd in the division
Iowa City Cornish Hens. Only two sub .500 seasons in the first 10, culminating with a WS appearance last year. They're not very flashy either, with very few high overall ratings, but they are very deep, with many guys in the 70's. They made one small free agent signing during the spring, with no trades during that time, so they have more or less the same team as S10. Is that enough to carry them further this year?
Batting - B
Pitching - B+
Fielding - B-
Prediction - 90 wins, 2nd in the division
Cincinnati Red Thumpers - My spell check tells me that Thumpers is not a word. Interesting. After some truly horrible seasons, the RT's are starting to benefit from those draft picks, as they made the playoffs three of the last five seasons, and are spending less than $60M on players this year. Collins and Bass really came into their own the last season or two, and the team only has four guys who are 30 or older. With everything coming together, can they win their division for the first time in a number of years?
Batting - B+
Pitching - B+
Fielding - B+
Prediction - 95 wins, 1st in the division
This division is so boring, and College Game Day is at fucking Boise State, I actually just fell asleep for a few minutes.
Helena Homies - 83 wins last year means they were 7 games out of the division lead, and only 3 games out of the wild card. It's amazing the cycles this team went through during the first ten years. pinner actually won 110 games in S2, before the team fell apart in seasons 3 and 4. Chadtv then tanked the shit out of the team for 4 seasons, only finishing above .400 once during those four years. andersaa got them back to respectability very quickly, as evidenced by them nearly making the playoffs last season. I just don't know if they have what it takes to get past all of the dicks in their division.
Batting - B
Pitching - B
Fielding - B
Prediction - 84 wins, 4th in the division
Friday, September 24, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Early Free Agency
Hey dicks!
A lot of type A's have already been signed, and some of them got mother fucking paid. Spahn is the first one, getting $100M over five years, with a no trade clause thrown in for good measure. A future HOF'er, last year was a "down" year for him, as he only banged out 25 HR's and 4 frat boys, but he hit .329, which was a career high other than his season in Colorado, where everyone hits 40 HR's. On top of Spahn (but not literally, because Luis doesn't swing that way), the Oxbows also signed Luis James for a pawltry $31M over four years. Why the fuck didn't I resign James for that money? I'm an idiot. But for St Louis, after making the playoffs each of the last two seasons, these two pieces might be what helps get them beyond that first round.
Even more active in free agency so far has been Buffalo, who signed three type A's. Coco Coleman and his 56-93 career record is not a household name, but he impressed the Buffalo brass enough to earn $29M over five years. And they didn't stop there, as they then passed out $74M over four years to Frank Treadway, and $88M over five years to Gene Blackley. Jesus H Christ. That's a lot of cash, and Buffalo is currently sitting around $117M in total payroll for this season. After making it to the LCS the last two seasons, they are clearly trying to make that push that puts them in the same category as the yearly WS contenders. Picking up three SP's in one way to do that.
Dick Iorg went to Detroit, who gave him a four year deal worth $29M. I don't really care, I just like the name Dick Iorg.
Maybe it's because of the contract he received at the time, but I've never understood the hype behind Rico Arias. Maybe it's because he was a ML player from day one, and he then fucked over his original franchise by not resigning with them after they paid him a shit ton of cash. But he's never made an all-star game, he's never won an award, he's a career .282 hitter and .801 OPS, and despite being advertised throughout his career as a SS, he's really a 2B/3B kind of guy. With that said, the fucker will probably win a WS with the Yankees this season.
Talk about guys getting paid, Willie Diaz struck it rich this week. The first ever pick in BPF, Little Willie (as the girls in Montreal called him) spent 8+ glorious seasons with the Montreal franchise, before getting traded to Colorado, and nearly committing suicide. Or was it his career that nearly died? He attempts a comeback with Jackson, who gave him $10M up front, plus another $59M spread out over five seasons. Not too bad for a guy with a career 4.67 ERA in the Bigs.
Still a relatively young man, Delino Ryan got picked up by El Paso, who gave him $4M up front, and another $40M over the course of four seasons. After being traded four times, Ryan is hoping that his 6th team in his career will be the one he maybe sticks with for an extended period of time. Baltimore was good to him for five years, but he has since been passed around like a two dollar whore. It hasn't seemed to bother him, as he comes into S11 with 403 career HR's and just over 1100 RBI's.
I already know this deal will blow up in my face, when Wilfredo Mesa is 37yo and I'm paying him $10M to be my closer, because he no longer has the stamina to throw more than 30 pitches a night. He hasn't lost any arm strength yet, which is baffling to me. But with my team's luck, he'll lose two points in that category after spring training. And then another five throughout the course of the season. And his stamina will be down in the low 80's before we get to the playoffs. I hate this signing already.
Roosevelt Brower is a borderling HOF'er with 443 HR's and 1255 RBI's in his career, yet he was just a Type B who got signed for a measly $8M over two seasons. If he hits 30 HR's and drives in 100 runs, that's a great signing by Helena. And maybe he'll have that goofy "H" on his hat when he goes into the Hall.
A lot of type A's have already been signed, and some of them got mother fucking paid. Spahn is the first one, getting $100M over five years, with a no trade clause thrown in for good measure. A future HOF'er, last year was a "down" year for him, as he only banged out 25 HR's and 4 frat boys, but he hit .329, which was a career high other than his season in Colorado, where everyone hits 40 HR's. On top of Spahn (but not literally, because Luis doesn't swing that way), the Oxbows also signed Luis James for a pawltry $31M over four years. Why the fuck didn't I resign James for that money? I'm an idiot. But for St Louis, after making the playoffs each of the last two seasons, these two pieces might be what helps get them beyond that first round.
Even more active in free agency so far has been Buffalo, who signed three type A's. Coco Coleman and his 56-93 career record is not a household name, but he impressed the Buffalo brass enough to earn $29M over five years. And they didn't stop there, as they then passed out $74M over four years to Frank Treadway, and $88M over five years to Gene Blackley. Jesus H Christ. That's a lot of cash, and Buffalo is currently sitting around $117M in total payroll for this season. After making it to the LCS the last two seasons, they are clearly trying to make that push that puts them in the same category as the yearly WS contenders. Picking up three SP's in one way to do that.
Dick Iorg went to Detroit, who gave him a four year deal worth $29M. I don't really care, I just like the name Dick Iorg.
Maybe it's because of the contract he received at the time, but I've never understood the hype behind Rico Arias. Maybe it's because he was a ML player from day one, and he then fucked over his original franchise by not resigning with them after they paid him a shit ton of cash. But he's never made an all-star game, he's never won an award, he's a career .282 hitter and .801 OPS, and despite being advertised throughout his career as a SS, he's really a 2B/3B kind of guy. With that said, the fucker will probably win a WS with the Yankees this season.
Talk about guys getting paid, Willie Diaz struck it rich this week. The first ever pick in BPF, Little Willie (as the girls in Montreal called him) spent 8+ glorious seasons with the Montreal franchise, before getting traded to Colorado, and nearly committing suicide. Or was it his career that nearly died? He attempts a comeback with Jackson, who gave him $10M up front, plus another $59M spread out over five seasons. Not too bad for a guy with a career 4.67 ERA in the Bigs.
Still a relatively young man, Delino Ryan got picked up by El Paso, who gave him $4M up front, and another $40M over the course of four seasons. After being traded four times, Ryan is hoping that his 6th team in his career will be the one he maybe sticks with for an extended period of time. Baltimore was good to him for five years, but he has since been passed around like a two dollar whore. It hasn't seemed to bother him, as he comes into S11 with 403 career HR's and just over 1100 RBI's.
I already know this deal will blow up in my face, when Wilfredo Mesa is 37yo and I'm paying him $10M to be my closer, because he no longer has the stamina to throw more than 30 pitches a night. He hasn't lost any arm strength yet, which is baffling to me. But with my team's luck, he'll lose two points in that category after spring training. And then another five throughout the course of the season. And his stamina will be down in the low 80's before we get to the playoffs. I hate this signing already.
Roosevelt Brower is a borderling HOF'er with 443 HR's and 1255 RBI's in his career, yet he was just a Type B who got signed for a measly $8M over two seasons. If he hits 30 HR's and drives in 100 runs, that's a great signing by Helena. And maybe he'll have that goofy "H" on his hat when he goes into the Hall.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
If You Like Firstbasemen...
...You're going to enjoy next seasons Free Agent class. The biggest name out there is
Should land a maximum deal. Although not the greatest player in this world, but he is one of the best all-around guys. Would be an excellent finishing piece to a contending franchise.
There are plenty of firstbase and left field types to be potentially had:
With the exception of Ryan, who will command more than 10 mil, the other guys should score deals in the 6-8 mil range.
there are some notable world veterans on their last legs but might be worth one more season:
There are some very good players, just under the level of star.
For pitchers there are also a couple of world legends who are a bit long in the tooth, but might be useful for 50-100 innings.
...or not
In terms of non-dinosaur hurlers we could see some cash thrown around.
There are plenty of other useful guys that could be available next season plus the inevitable pre-arbitration player dumps. If you forsee having some cash in your player budget, you could build a very, very good team. So do it!
And now, somebody's daughter...
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Should land a maximum deal. Although not the greatest player in this world, but he is one of the best all-around guys. Would be an excellent finishing piece to a contending franchise.
There are plenty of firstbase and left field types to be potentially had:
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With the exception of Ryan, who will command more than 10 mil, the other guys should score deals in the 6-8 mil range.
there are some notable world veterans on their last legs but might be worth one more season:
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There are some very good players, just under the level of star.
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For pitchers there are also a couple of world legends who are a bit long in the tooth, but might be useful for 50-100 innings.
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...or not
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In terms of non-dinosaur hurlers we could see some cash thrown around.
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There are plenty of other useful guys that could be available next season plus the inevitable pre-arbitration player dumps. If you forsee having some cash in your player budget, you could build a very, very good team. So do it!
And now, somebody's daughter...
Sunday, July 18, 2010
How are they doing?
Big time FA signings, big time trades, and big time IFA's, how are they doing so far?
Joe Young -- After saving 121 games in three seasons for the Yankees, while picking up two WS rings, two all-star appearances and a FOY award, Little Joe decided to go out and see what he could get. Trenton signed him to a 3-year deal worth just a hair under $22M. Not a bad deal for a guy still in his prime, who throws heat, and can come out of the pen everyday. In 14 games this season, he has 13 saves, 12 SO's, and not a single HR given up. Maybe the most interesting stat: signing Young meant that Trenton had to give their 20th pick in the draft to NY, and that pick will be the first top 20 draft selection that NY has made since the inaugural season. It will be interesting to see if the NY brass will remember to adjust their alarm clocks so they get to the draft early enough to make their pick.
Hunter Bryant -- Maybe the steal of the FA season, Hunter signed a 3-year deal for around $7M/season with St Louis. But through 50+ games, he's not playing up to the level of this contract. 3 HR's, 19 RBI's, only 17 runs scored (!!), and an OPS of just .660, Hunter has his work cut out for him, if he doesn't want to get traded before the all-star break. Defensively, he's been great out in RF. So he's got that going for him.
Nate Laroche -- He's only getting $8.7M this season, but that quickly increases in future seasons. $14M next season, and $18M each of the final three seasons on his deal. Is he worth that kind of cash? Well it wasn't too long ago that he was belting 50+ HR's per season. He's lost some power lately, but is still very capable of 30-40 HR's, and so far is batting .301 with 11 bombs, 27 RBI's, and 25 runs scored in 39 games. And he got his first stolen base of his career. What kind of a tard catcher gives up a SB to that guy?
Gregory Jackson -- The price tag on this catcher made me stop for a minute, but I guess he ain't bad. An OPS of .860, he's thrown out 1/5 of potential base stealers, and his pitchers have an ERA of 3.55, which ain't too shabby.
Albert Cairo -- I'll admit it, that contract makes me nervous. I'll be paying him $20M when he's 35 years old. Unless his power is still 90+ when we get to that point, in which case I can easily trade him to domi. About a third of the way through the season, he's under-performing a bit. Only hitting .234 with 17 HR's and 15 SB's, I haven't been able to figure out the best spot to play him. I think I've had him at every position in the first four slots of the batting order. But he'll come around. HBD is all about numbers and ratings, right? Right?!?
Tex Lombardi and Dan Hernandez -- A current stud for a future stud, it's amazing that Milwaukee could afford to trade TL for the prospect, and not lose any ground on the other AL squads. So far TL is posting a 3.36 ERA for Trenton, with a 7-3 record, while Hernandez from Hoboken is sporting a 2.39 ERA and 2-3 record in 11 starts for the AA squad. Who will eventually get the better end of this deal? Probably Milwaukee. He's a fucker.
Kent Rivera for Tom Richards and Louie Barcelo -- In the final year of his expensive contract, Kent goes to Helena, where he is playing out of his mind. Batting .323 with a .908 OPS and 7 HR's with 40 RBI's, he's on pace for a career year. Meanwhile, Richards is playing like shit for Seattle, and Barcelo is lighting it up at the HiA level. If Rivera goes into the FA waters next season, and Barcelo turns into a stud, then Seattle gets the better end of this deal.
Aaron Spahn for Matty Iorg, Louis Cross, and Oscar Zhou -- Trenton was busy during the offseason, weren't they? Iorg isn't playing up to his abilities so far, but Cross is doing well with 5 HR's and 25 RBI's, and Zhou is doing even better with 7 HR's and 25 RBI's and .829 for an OPS. Meanwhile, Spahn has just 6 HR's and 21 RBI's and a .789 OPS. But he's playing Gold Glove caliber at 3B, soooooo.......fuck.
Gerardo Callaspo -- Signed for $11.7M, this lefty SP looks like he should be very solid once he gets a few minor league seasons under his belt. Scottsdale is doing a good job of babying him so far, keeping his pitch count low in the 80's.
Mark Cheung -- He isn't wowing anyone at the LoA level right now, but if his projections are near what I see, he is going to be a serious hitter when he gets to the ML. And for only $8.6M, that ain't too bad. My only real concern with him is his lack of ability to play everyday, and whether or not he can really play catcher. Might be more of a DH type guy.
Pat Shibata -- Way overpaid, in my opinion. $8.5M for a SP who I don't see ever really making to the ML level as anything other than a mopup guy, or maybe a LR guy for a bad team. Playing in LoA right now, he's sporting a 4.34 ERA. Ugh.
Alex Pujols -- If his glove turns out a little better than what I see, he's going to be a decent CF for just $7.2M. Health, durability, and speed, with decent hitting numbers. So far he's killing it at LoA, don't be surprised if you see him at HiA before the season is over.
OK, that's it, fuck you guys.
Joe Young -- After saving 121 games in three seasons for the Yankees, while picking up two WS rings, two all-star appearances and a FOY award, Little Joe decided to go out and see what he could get. Trenton signed him to a 3-year deal worth just a hair under $22M. Not a bad deal for a guy still in his prime, who throws heat, and can come out of the pen everyday. In 14 games this season, he has 13 saves, 12 SO's, and not a single HR given up. Maybe the most interesting stat: signing Young meant that Trenton had to give their 20th pick in the draft to NY, and that pick will be the first top 20 draft selection that NY has made since the inaugural season. It will be interesting to see if the NY brass will remember to adjust their alarm clocks so they get to the draft early enough to make their pick.
Hunter Bryant -- Maybe the steal of the FA season, Hunter signed a 3-year deal for around $7M/season with St Louis. But through 50+ games, he's not playing up to the level of this contract. 3 HR's, 19 RBI's, only 17 runs scored (!!), and an OPS of just .660, Hunter has his work cut out for him, if he doesn't want to get traded before the all-star break. Defensively, he's been great out in RF. So he's got that going for him.
Nate Laroche -- He's only getting $8.7M this season, but that quickly increases in future seasons. $14M next season, and $18M each of the final three seasons on his deal. Is he worth that kind of cash? Well it wasn't too long ago that he was belting 50+ HR's per season. He's lost some power lately, but is still very capable of 30-40 HR's, and so far is batting .301 with 11 bombs, 27 RBI's, and 25 runs scored in 39 games. And he got his first stolen base of his career. What kind of a tard catcher gives up a SB to that guy?
Gregory Jackson -- The price tag on this catcher made me stop for a minute, but I guess he ain't bad. An OPS of .860, he's thrown out 1/5 of potential base stealers, and his pitchers have an ERA of 3.55, which ain't too shabby.
Albert Cairo -- I'll admit it, that contract makes me nervous. I'll be paying him $20M when he's 35 years old. Unless his power is still 90+ when we get to that point, in which case I can easily trade him to domi. About a third of the way through the season, he's under-performing a bit. Only hitting .234 with 17 HR's and 15 SB's, I haven't been able to figure out the best spot to play him. I think I've had him at every position in the first four slots of the batting order. But he'll come around. HBD is all about numbers and ratings, right? Right?!?
Tex Lombardi and Dan Hernandez -- A current stud for a future stud, it's amazing that Milwaukee could afford to trade TL for the prospect, and not lose any ground on the other AL squads. So far TL is posting a 3.36 ERA for Trenton, with a 7-3 record, while Hernandez from Hoboken is sporting a 2.39 ERA and 2-3 record in 11 starts for the AA squad. Who will eventually get the better end of this deal? Probably Milwaukee. He's a fucker.
Kent Rivera for Tom Richards and Louie Barcelo -- In the final year of his expensive contract, Kent goes to Helena, where he is playing out of his mind. Batting .323 with a .908 OPS and 7 HR's with 40 RBI's, he's on pace for a career year. Meanwhile, Richards is playing like shit for Seattle, and Barcelo is lighting it up at the HiA level. If Rivera goes into the FA waters next season, and Barcelo turns into a stud, then Seattle gets the better end of this deal.
Aaron Spahn for Matty Iorg, Louis Cross, and Oscar Zhou -- Trenton was busy during the offseason, weren't they? Iorg isn't playing up to his abilities so far, but Cross is doing well with 5 HR's and 25 RBI's, and Zhou is doing even better with 7 HR's and 25 RBI's and .829 for an OPS. Meanwhile, Spahn has just 6 HR's and 21 RBI's and a .789 OPS. But he's playing Gold Glove caliber at 3B, soooooo.......fuck.
Gerardo Callaspo -- Signed for $11.7M, this lefty SP looks like he should be very solid once he gets a few minor league seasons under his belt. Scottsdale is doing a good job of babying him so far, keeping his pitch count low in the 80's.
Mark Cheung -- He isn't wowing anyone at the LoA level right now, but if his projections are near what I see, he is going to be a serious hitter when he gets to the ML. And for only $8.6M, that ain't too bad. My only real concern with him is his lack of ability to play everyday, and whether or not he can really play catcher. Might be more of a DH type guy.
Pat Shibata -- Way overpaid, in my opinion. $8.5M for a SP who I don't see ever really making to the ML level as anything other than a mopup guy, or maybe a LR guy for a bad team. Playing in LoA right now, he's sporting a 4.34 ERA. Ugh.
Alex Pujols -- If his glove turns out a little better than what I see, he's going to be a decent CF for just $7.2M. Health, durability, and speed, with decent hitting numbers. So far he's killing it at LoA, don't be surprised if you see him at HiA before the season is over.
OK, that's it, fuck you guys.
Friday, July 9, 2010
HBD musings, observations, and anecdotes by ME, Beloved Commish
*If you have multiple teams, when you check your first one and it lost, chances are all your other teams are going to lose as well.
*Your best hitters or pitchers will frequently and regularly be outperformed by much more mediocre players, in fact there tends to be a direct correlation between ratings and under/over performances.
*Some teams and players will always be underachievers, no matter what you do. A 70/90/70/70/80 hitter can easily be a career .275 career hitter in a hitters park, but your 50/60/60/60/50 hitter might easily be a .290 hitter in a pitchers park.
*The "320 ft shot to CF" in the home run derby, undermines any claim to logic in the sim.
*If your team starts hot, it will almost always collapse.
*The draft and IFA are not the best and fastest way to build. Most of the truely league killing franchises got that way through trade rapes/aliases. Draft and IFA are no guarantees and I have rarely seen a team add both a stud draft pick and international in the same year, year after year.
*Too many users take themselves way too seriously. Holy fuck we're playing imaginary baseball General Manager online, anonymously. Take pride in your teams but don't take it sooo goddamn seriously, relax.
*Since there is no "intangible" code (so claims admin), those seeking realism are tilting at windmills.
*If they do make the draft fuzzier or increase the chance of busts, then DITRs must have a better chance at becoming MLers, and in very rare cases, even studs.
*If results are truely ratings based and occur in a vacuum (as claimed by admin), then there's no way a 80/80/80 pitcher wouldn't get pounded by a 30/40/40/40/40 hitter, and vice versa. This observation is tied with the intangible code. There must be a luck or performance boost/dampen script in the code.
*I've long believed the delay before seasons start is when the engine "rolls the dice" and your team's season is pre-determined. You ever notice that if your team is struggling nothing will change that, not a huge trade, call-up, nothing.
I'll add more as I think of crap.
*Your best hitters or pitchers will frequently and regularly be outperformed by much more mediocre players, in fact there tends to be a direct correlation between ratings and under/over performances.
*Some teams and players will always be underachievers, no matter what you do. A 70/90/70/70/80 hitter can easily be a career .275 career hitter in a hitters park, but your 50/60/60/60/50 hitter might easily be a .290 hitter in a pitchers park.
*The "320 ft shot to CF" in the home run derby, undermines any claim to logic in the sim.
*If your team starts hot, it will almost always collapse.
*The draft and IFA are not the best and fastest way to build. Most of the truely league killing franchises got that way through trade rapes/aliases. Draft and IFA are no guarantees and I have rarely seen a team add both a stud draft pick and international in the same year, year after year.
*Too many users take themselves way too seriously. Holy fuck we're playing imaginary baseball General Manager online, anonymously. Take pride in your teams but don't take it sooo goddamn seriously, relax.
*Since there is no "intangible" code (so claims admin), those seeking realism are tilting at windmills.
*If they do make the draft fuzzier or increase the chance of busts, then DITRs must have a better chance at becoming MLers, and in very rare cases, even studs.
*If results are truely ratings based and occur in a vacuum (as claimed by admin), then there's no way a 80/80/80 pitcher wouldn't get pounded by a 30/40/40/40/40 hitter, and vice versa. This observation is tied with the intangible code. There must be a luck or performance boost/dampen script in the code.
*I've long believed the delay before seasons start is when the engine "rolls the dice" and your team's season is pre-determined. You ever notice that if your team is struggling nothing will change that, not a huge trade, call-up, nothing.
I'll add more as I think of crap.
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